Chapter 1: Deficit, Dispatch, and Dragons

The Queen? This must be important. Why me, though? "Okay, I'll be there shortly." The hiveguard nods her head and I begin walking to the main chamber. The halls aren't much, just tunneled-out stone with other tunnels branching off occasionally. Tall enough for a flier to hover over others, but only just that; and wide enough to have two changelings walk side-by-side with not too many problems.

Then I get out of the tunnels and into the main chamber in the center of the hive. No matter how many times I come here, the size of it still blows me away. Its ceiling is high enough for three swarms to have practice space, and wide enough for almost two thirds of the hive to fit on the ground. The Queen's throne is on the western wall, opposite of the tunnel to aboveground.

"Ahh, Blackshell, there you are. I forget that you don't share the hivemind like the rest of my subjects," says Queen Chrysalis.

"What is it, my Queen, that you require me for?"

"No need for formality, Blackshell. What I would ask of you is the answer to our situation," she says with full sincerity. "I understand that my actions at Canterlot have only made it more difficult to retrieve love," she sighs and looks down, "and because of it, the Hive faces death. Either at the hooves of the Equestrians, or slow and painful starvation," She looks at me with hopelessness in her eyes, "Tutor, is there nothing that can be done?"

Whoa, didn't see this coming! Think, Blackshell, think! "Well, I don't think that the Equestrians would try to kill us: the only one I can see even thinking of doing so is prince Shining Armor, and even then it seems unlikely," there we go, that should help.

Chrysalis looks more hopeful. "That is one piece of good news at least," aaaaaand she's not looking so hopeful anymore, "But that leaves only the long suffering of death by hunger. Oh what are we to do?" Well, she's got me there but… Maybe… If somepony could just convince one of them… It just might work!

"Well, Chrysalis, there may be a way. A risky and potentially dangerous way, but still a way to save the Hive." She perks up slightly, but still looks somewhat worried. "If we could manage to sway the opinion of one or more of these Elements of Harmony, we might be able to at least work something out from there."

She frowns, "I don't see how that would be dangerous…"

Really? I can see a plethora of things that could be dangerous about it. "The Element of Honesty can see through most any form of lie; the Element of Magic used to be none other than the student of Celestia herself and is an alicorn; the Element of Loyalty is suspicious about anypony who even so much as breathes funny; the Element of Kindness can stare down a cockatrice and make it flee with its tail between its legs; the Element of Generosity is reputed to have somehow convinced a pack of diamond dogs who had foalnapped her into letting her go along with most of their gems; and the Element of Laughter, well… I honestly have no clue what she's capable of other than somehow being able to defy physics and multiple laws of science and reality. Those are the very reasons that I consider this plan both slightly stupid, and very risky," Oh, I shouldn't forget, "And they have a direct link to the Diarchs in the form of their small purple gem drake. Almost forgot that one."

Yeah, that's more of the face I was expecting when I put this forward; a look of shock and possibly questioning my sanity for putting up such a plan. "Slightly stupid?! This plan is…" Chrysalis suddenly realizes why I put the plan forward, "… Is most likely our only chance at survival. Isn't there anything else we can do?"

"I don't see many other viable options… Other than simply going out in the open, which seems like an even worse option."

"I agree," Alrighty, now- "and I want you to do it."

Woahwoahwoah, WHAT?! "Qu-queen Chrysalis, surely there's somepony better suited for this mission than myself. I mean, I'm not a very strong infiltrator…"

"Yet you're the only one in the hive capable of not only blending into the shadows as if they were your very chitin, but also changing into any species of pony without needing a pony to mimic! Don't you see, you are probably the only changeling in the hive who can pull this off!"

"… Point taken. But you know that that's where my best work in the field is, in the shadows! When I'm in the open where I know somepony could see on-mission, I don't perform so well…" Oh dear Faustus, please just let her drop it at tha-

"Nevertheless, YOU suggested it, so you get to do it." FAUSTUS BUCKING DAMNIT! I knew this might come bite me in the flank, but I didn't see this coming!

Well, might as well get it over with… "… As you wish, Queen Chrysalis."

She looks at me with some kindness in her eyes and says, "Oh Blackshell, don't look as if I'm exiling you from the hive. I understand you're worried, but as you said, this is probably our last hope. Please," her look now gets a slight pleading look in it, "try your hardest to undo my mistake."

What the Tartarus, she's right. "Yes Chrysalis, as you wish…" It's either this or starvation, and I'd rather it be quick than the slow agony of starving to death.

She smiles slightly and says, "Thank you, Blackshell. Now, please report to the dragon dens for transport to the Equestrian border."

Ahh, yes, the dragons; both our firebreathing neighbors and fastest mode of transportation in the Equestrian Wastes. We used every dragon we had to get as many troops in the air as possible above Canterlot at the time of the invasion, (honestly I'm surprised that the ponies didn't notice the slimmer-than-normal dragons ferrying reinforcements in at the other side of the mountain!)The dragons of the waste are naturally slimmer, smaller, and faster so they can catch the swift-moving waste geckos, the main prey-animal of the wastes. The geckos are as large as a 4-year-old foal when fully grown and feed off of the arid shrubs and tough grasses found throughout the waste.

I was downcast as I entered the dragon's den. It was a natural cavern that had been shaped by multiple quakes and floods over hundreds of years. It was only in the past twenty or so years that many thunders of dragons had moved in and made their own modifications, (i.e., melting and crushing the rocks to form dens and nests.) The cavern's ceiling was as high as the main chamber's, but the room itself was wide enough for two medium-sized thunders of dragons to train in; in other words, as wide as the town limits for Ponyville, (a medium-sized town south of Canterlot, and the home of the Elements of Harmony,)and had an exit to the outside that was large enough for five transport dragons to fly wingtip to wingtip.

"Hey, Black! How ya doin'?" Says a voice I know well. Shadewing: the Hive's top infiltrator and gatherer, mostly due to the fact that he knows how to attract mares exceptionally well. He looks like most of the other changelings at a glance: black carapace, pale blue-green eyes and pale green mane, but he actually styles his mane to be slicked back. He says it helps attract mares, but I doubt that.

"Honestly Wing, not so well."

"Huh, what happened? Hatchlings use you as door?"

"No, but that might as well be it." It's quiet for a few seconds as he trots over and I continue on to the dragon requisitionary.

"Sooooo you gonna tell me what's up and why you're here instead of teaching the little kids about stuff?"

"Honestly, it's because I had a good idea and said it around the Queen."

He gets a confused look, "Uhh, details anywhere in there about that?"

I sighed, "I came up with an idea that might reverse the effects of the Canterlot Disaster when the Queen asked me for advice, and guess who she picked to do it."

"You?" I nod, "Black, what're you worried about, colt? You're stealthier than me! I doubt that Mom'd send you out on something that you couldn't do." Huh, I guess even changelings call Queens that. How did I never notice? I really ought to get out more.

"I hope you're right, Shadewing, I really do hope you're right."

I stopped in front of the dens for the dragons used for stealth missions and rapid recon. These dragons were dull-scaled, small even by badlands standards for dragons, and fast. Very, VERY fast. The slowest can perform a form of magical sonic boom, albeit from a steep dive. The very fastest… Only work with us because they need some form of challenge other than the normal territorial races in the wastes; for the seven "Thunderbolts" as the fastest waste drakes call themselves, in our employ can take off at almost sonic speeds. The den's overseer, a changeling with a scar running along his entire left side minus his wing and a much more rugged mane than the rest of the changelings, was talking with one of the Thunderbolts. "Look, I know you want a mission, but nothing's come up since the incident with that crazy black fog up cost us all one of the best scouts we had!"

The dragon glared and said, "So Deekus bucked-up and got himself killed, so what? He wasn't in my wing anyway, I don't see why we're all grounded because one scout failed to outfly a wild Tempest!"

Drakken, the den's overseer, sternly replied, "That was no Tempest and you know it Xreeneus! Now if you'll just wait a few more seconds, then- Ah, there you are Blackshell. Here for a ride out to the Everfree?"

I sigh, "Yes, and I'd prefer a dragon that knows stealth as well as speed for this."

"Well," Drakken turns to the Thunderbolt once more, "It just so happens that Xreeneus here wanted a chance to get some wind on his wings."

Xreeneus snorts, "So teach here's going out to the Everfree, doesn't want to be seen, and needs to be there yesterday… Payout better be good Drak."

"No less than 15 Blaze Rubies."

Xreeneus grins in an almost predatory fashion, "Now we're talking!"

Ah, yes. I almost forgot how blatantly mercenary the waste drakes can be. I sigh to myself, "Can we please just get going and get this overwith?"

Xreeneus looks over at me, "Sure teach, hop on back and I'll get you to Everfree in the blink of an eye!"

I shake my head slightly and proceed into the gecko-skin dragon saddle.

"See ya in the field, Black!" Shadewing says as Xreeneus takes off.

I look back at him and say, "Yeah, I guess so!" And with that, Xreeneus angled his flight to the exit and out into the waste.

As I said, I will upload each chapter when it is completed. As such, there are no reviews for me to, well, review yet. Please let me know what you think of the story so far and what needs improvement.

Without further ado, farewell.