9 years, 8 months, a week and 4 days after Exile.
Royal Garden, occupied Canterlot
POV: Commander Pharynx

The red-crested Changeling walked through the old hedge maze of the ponies castle, weaving past the tight-packed piles of pods. His guards weren't as lucky and had to follow him a single file. That didn't save him from the occasional brush up against the slimy pods, with him shuddering in disgust when he did. While any Changeling could do it, it was still kinda gross. He snorted, finally arriving at his destination.

Just below the statue of some old Equestrian foe (Eris, if he recalled right?), sat an especially large pod. He let out a series of sharp clicks and hisses, and his Lings saluted and walked a short ways back into the maze. He then went over to the pod, sliding his horn across the side. A goo covered pony, much larger than the average one, slid out, groaning.

"Get up, 'Your Highness'", he said. "That time again."

The former Equestrian monarch stood shakily as if her wings and horn were made of marble. "Y-yes", she said weakly, and her horn lit up.

In the distance, as the moon began to fall below the horizon, the ball of fire that was the sun began to rise. Reports and scouts failed to indicate where the other sister was, but the Queen couldn't control the celestial bodies, and so they had to keep the Princess out of the pod twice a day to let her out. It was a pain, but as the Queen commanded.

As he sat back, watching the alicorn perform the action for which she had been released, he began to think. Namely about the queen and her recent actions. She had released other ponies to work in the catacombs beneath the mountain, or as servants for Changeling Commanders. Changelings were not slavers; it drew too much attention, and made staying in the shadows too hard and too complicated. She had begun to send Drones up to the Griffonian border, claiming small sections of territory and moving progressively forward. Changelings were not conquerors; again, it made them too noticeable and was too direct. The whole invasion of this place, and the capture of the ponies. Changelings were most certainly not invaders; the Eternal Queen expressly said they shouldn't enter the spotlight. They were supposed to be subtle, not blunt. All of what she did went against almost all Changeling doctrine.

The alicorn must've noticed his troubled look. She said in a hoarse yet caring voice, "Is something wrong?"

"Shut up and do your job", he snapped. She just sighed and went back to her work. Soon, the sun was in the sky, and her time outside of the pod had ended. "Well, that's that. Get back in the pod."

He didn't know if the Queen had put a spell on her, or revealed something to her, or if the goo in the pod was addling her brain. But, like always, she complied; getting on her knees and sliding into the pod. He then used his green mucus to seal up the slit, then stuck his horn into the top. It glowed lightly inside and filled with the goo. Soon, the pod was practically bursting under the strain, and he removed his horn.

Suddenly, another Changeling flew down, landing next to him. "Commander Pharynx", she said. "The Queen requests your presence in the throne room, effective immediately, Sir."

He nodded. "Best not to keep the Queen waiting."

He took off, following the Drone. As he flew, he looked out over the city. The pony buildings were all but abandoned, bits of debris and other bits flying around the street with the wind. Blast marks, small craters, and weapons, both makeshift and purposeful, littered the streets, evidence of the battle for the city. Pharynx, having seen the city back around the time of the Guard Captains' wedding, was somewhat disturbed by the quite, and the lack of life.

That was almost the exact opposite of the old palace. As the Changelings favored monolithic, singular dwellings, they had chosen the old palace to make the hive. Sections of the palace that were broken in the fighting, or were simply made of weaker material, were filled in with black chitin, some sections of it pulsing with green light. Changelings milled about, carrying out orders or watching groups of pony slaves from the catacombs. He muttered and flew in a hole in the hive to the throne room.

Converted out of the old Princess's throne room, it was the only room of the whole Main Hive made almost entirely of Chitin. The throne from the old Badlands Hive was brought in and was glowing lightly with power. A massive table, made out of the chitin, surrounded the old dais and was filled with the Queen's lieutenants. As Pharynx sat down, she began her meeting.

"Welcome, Commanders", she said. "I have called all of you here because we have a very big problem." She gestured to the door, where a Drone entered. He had a warped section of his carapace, with small cuts breaking it up. "Report."

"T-they c-came out of, of nowhere, my Queen", he sputtered. "One minute, w-we we-were getting out of-of the Hive. The the ne-next, the h-hive wa-was on fire, a-and the Commander was d-dead!"

"What? Who's 'they'", one of the Commanders asked.

"I don't know! G-griffons, Buff-buffalo. I think a few Equestrians. A-and som-something else. N-never seen any-anything l-like them. Ch-chain ma-ail, we-weird helmets, I-I just don't know", he said, breaking down sobbing.

"How did you get away?", the Queen asked.

"The-their leader sel-selected m-me. L-let me g-g-go. T-told me to de-deliver a messa-message. Sh-she sa-aid th-that the full mi-might of, some Em-empire w-was going to, to come dow-down on u-us. T-told us to sur-sur-surrender."

Silence reigned over the room as all of the other Lings soaked in the news. Pharynx himself was stunned. From his experience, the Equestrians were terrible soldiers and, while not entirely, somewhat isolationist when it came to other nations. And now, they were knocking on their new southern border.

"You're dismissed, Drone." The Drone bowed, choking out thanks to the Queen as he fluttered off toward the healers. "And this isn't the only news. Commander Mantis in Stalliongrad reported a counter-offensive by the Griffonians, aided by the Yaks and the Crystal Empire, of all places."

"If we don't do something soon, then they could easily overrun us. We only have so many Drones, and we can't afford to fight a two-front war", one of the Commanders said.

"Don't be a coward!", another yelled. "We're Changelings, not Ponies! We can fight them!"

Soon the yelling tore the room apart, as the officers clambered for the ability to be heard. Pharynx himself was silent, soaking in the news. He knew this was a bad idea. They had become too exposed and were trying to cover too much territory. And due to what they did and how many Changelings there were now, there was no way they could just fade into the shadows like how they planned to after the Wedding.

"We could always negotiate."

Those words rendered the room silent, all eyes on the speaker. It was Commander Cocoon, another conservative who shared many of Pharynx's beliefs.

"What did you say, Commander?", the Queen asked, eyes narrowed.

"Well", he began. "We aren't in the best position. Like it's been stated, we're stretched thin and have no way of fighting off a two-pronged offensive. If we-"

"Are you saying that we should 'surrender', Commander?", the Queen questioned, malice leaking into her voice.

"No, my Queen. I'm merely saying that we should consider our options. If we choose to negotiate than we could at least keep some of our land and the ponies. These Imperials, whoever they are and wherever they come from, are ruthless. They took back this 'Appleousa' in less than an hour, and with no casualties. We just can't fight that. If we-*Hurk*!"

A green aura surrounded his neck, and he was lifted from his seat without using his wings. The Queen also stood, her horn glowing with the same green light. "Listen here, Traitor. While I still draw breath, we will not do several things. We will not surrender, we will not negotiate, and we most certainly, not, COWER!" With that, the green aura tightened, and Cocoon went limp. She then tossed his body aside, where it landed with a sickening *Crunch*. She sat back down, snarling.

"We can, and we will fight. We don't need physical food; they do."

"What do you have in mind, my Queen", the Commander next to him asked.

"Scorched earth." She stood, saying, "Poison the rivers and lakes. Burn the farms. Destroy anything and everything that could be considered a source of food for them. We'll starve them out of the field, and crush them like the gnats they are. Commander Pharynx."

He stood himself, bowing his head. "Yes, my Queen?"

"Take your Drones down to the town near the base of the mountain. Ponyville, I think it was called? Reinforce it. The rest of you, return to your Hives. Hold them out. They think they can crush us; we'll return the favor." She then burst out laughing in her maniacal laughter. Pharynx nodded, then left to go ready his troops to move out.

Ponyville Hive

He landed in the old town square, his Changelings falling in behind them. This town's hive was built out of the old town hall and had the love storage at a place called Sweet Apple Acres. The small garrison of the town, only about a hundred Lings before he and his troops arrived. The commander of the town had welcomed him and offered him a spot in the hive. He accepted but said he needed some time to think.

He entered the old library, looking around at the dust-covered shelves and books. He sighed, looking down at the splintery floor. He then turned to his second, a Changeling named Web. "Get the troops into the Hive. Separately, contact Coxa. Tell him to make ready a message for the Equestrians. And have some of the higher up Drones come here tonight. Pincer, Mandible, Moth; you know who I'm talking about."

"By your command, Commander", the Drone said, before flying off.

Pharynx sat on his haunches, forelegs pressed against a table in the center of the room. He sighed, muttering to himself, "I pray to the Eternal Queen I'm doing the right thing. But if the Queen won't see reason, then I don't know what else I can do."

Next Chapter: 90~Supply Lines Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 38 Minutes