>You are Anon
>Since you've been in equestria for the past half a year, you've learned a few things.
>One, shits reversed, stallions act like prissy women and the women are all butch to hell
>Two, as much as getting hit on is flattering, being told "hey slut wanna tussle in some hay till the sun comes up?" Everytime you walked outside gets surprisingly irritating 
>So, you decided to leave Princess Sparkles humble abode and live by yourself in the Everfree, much to her dismay
>Getting "zigged" or something
>Whatever, Zecora is decent and she doesn't bother me much, good friend.
>So anyway, living in the Everfree is hard, but the peace and quiet is damn near worth it.
>Hunting for exotic game and doing all the work yourself is surprisingly therapeutic 
>One day, walking through the woods, looking for your next dinner, you hear something in the distance.
>A faint, but slowly loudening buzz
>You head over to it and find in a clearing a large...bee pony?
>The thing is coughing and bleeding a strange green ooze
"Hey, you alright?" you say as you enter the clearing
>The bee pony coughs and strains a couple of words "Help...me" before collapsing into the dirt.
>Looking at the bee pony that just fell into the dirt, you feel pretty confused
>Honestly you're not even sure that it is a pony at all
>But one things for sure, you need to help her
>Walking over, you scoop her into your arms and start walking back
>Suddenly you hear the sound of galloping hooves coming towards the clearing you just walked away from
>That doesn't sound the best from the way she was looking, so you hide behind a tree.
>Three black ponies, legs like swiss cheese, manes like webbed plumes, and strange wings enter the clearing 
>The biggest one, a horn on her head, starts looking around, before grumbling to herself and turning to her two subordinates
>"Find her, with her injuries there's no way she could get much farther than this."
>"Yes my queen!" The two bugs say and she walks back into the foliage
>This seems serious, youve gotta get outta here
>Taking a few cautionary steps, trying not to step on any twigs, you begin making headway in being back at your cabin
>As nice as that thought is, you step on a rock incorrectly and your ankle bends inwards making you stumble decently loudly
>Well, you hope they didn't here that
>Wait
>You hear buzzing 
>Shit
>Breaking into a sprint, you hear the buzzing get louder and louder
>Cmon there's gotta be one of the traps you set up here for food somewhere right?!
>Then you see it, one of your net traps in the trees!
>You stop, take out a makeshift axe you keep on you for hunting in one hand, and chop two of the lines holding it up
>As soon as you see it stop you continue the run to your house, buzzing and the sound of bickering growing increasingly distant as you finally make it to the front door to your humble cabin.
>You open the door, the smell of wood and some old kindling filling the air. its reasons like this you live in the forest
>You lay the bee pony on your couch and go to get some medical supplies 
>As you sift through your bathroom and get the medical supplies you walk back into the living room you come back to find her breathing heavily and groaning in pain as she tries to sit up
"Whoa there lady, stay still, i need to tend to your wounds."
>She looks at you in what you would describe as kind of mockingly
>"Give me the bandages, im not in the mood to have some stallion mess me up more than i already am"
>You groan a bit and toss the bandages at her
>So this is what your mom felt whenever you got indignant about her helping you with scrapes
"You can do the bandaging if you want, I do the disinfecting, got it?"
>"Fine." She says showing off where her wound is 
>As you put water to wash it out and dab it with a small bit of cloth, she winces slightly, but quickly sucks it up
>With your job finished she bandages herself, wrapping it around her barrel multiple times before knotting it in the front 
"So," you say, pulling a chair in from the kitchen, "you want to tell me your name? and what you are? Generally i have a lot of questions."
>Despite the white bandage at her front she attempts to puff out her tuft and look bigger than she is, "My name is Princess Lesae, of the Beeling hive of the Everfree. The same can be said of you, who and what are you?"
"Anon, former resident of Earth and a human, nice to meet you too "Your Highness""

>You are still Anon
>quick rundown, you've just saved what seems to be a bee pony hybrid who calls herself a princess from some black evil looking ponies and are now sitting with said Beepony 
>Details are still hazy, time to start asking questions
"Whats a Beeling?"
>Lesae looks at you understandingly, "we are an offshoot of changelings! while they kept their primitive inhibitions of hunting for love, we found a better solution!"
"So whats a changeling"
>She looks annoyed now.
>"You can't be serious, changelings have been causing quite a few noticeable problems as of late, how have you not heard of them?"
"No one really felt like bringing it up I guess," you say as you shrug your shoulders.
>Lesae scoffs, "Then it's up to me to bring you up to speed, changelings are shapeshifters who can magically turn into other ponies, replace them, and feed off the love from those they replace to give them sustenance. We Beelings have long since replaced such things with our magically infused honey, instead of replacement, we integrate, and give goods to the ponies around us, in return they give us love passively, which makes more honey."
>Okay you're starting to get it now
"So what happened back there?"
>Lesae takes on a darker expression. 
>"We were betrayed, by one of our own."
>Her nose scrunches and she glares down at the ground. obviously, this is a sore subject
"Hey, it's okay, calm down, no need to tell me now," you say as you walk over to the couch and sit next to her. 
>Her expression softens with her nose only a little less scrunchy
>Fuck that's kinda cute
>"Either way, what's done is done, it's up to me to be the next queen!" she says as she tries to get up, winces, and then falls face first onto the floor.
"I don't think you're going anywhere too far, for now, princess, at least not without someone to hold you up and help."
>Lesae picks herself up and looks at you indignantly, "I'm a mare! I have no need to be chauffeured around by a stallion!" she says as she points her hoof at you, then immediately winces in pain again.
>Goddamn she needs a few pegs knocked down.
>You scoop her up into your arms and carry her upstairs to your bedroom, all the while she weakly struggles and baps you with her hooves.
>Taking off the covers, you slide her underneath and tuck her underneath
"Stay there, ill get you some of the food I usually save for visitors."
>She looks at you angrily with her face red with embarrassment as you close the doors and head downstairs to whip up some grub
>A little bit later, while setting up some hayburgers and fries and some other stuff for yourself, you hear a thud coming from upstairs
>Well, this is going to be entertaining at least
>Its been an interesting few days since you first took Lesae in
>In which you've learned a few things about her
>She produces honey due to the care you've been giving her
>She insists its due to the passive love you've been giving off by helping her, so its not much, just a jar in the past 3 days
>Its neat, you haven't had honey in a while, let alone THIS fresh
>Maybe those beekeepers had a good idea after all
>Either way, its been a few days, and slowly Lesae has started to move around a lot easier
>Things have been quiet, ominously quiet
>Nothing like random ponies coming to your door that you didn't know personally
>Which is strange because when you went back to get the changelings from the net trap they had flown the coop
>You had expected something more honestly, considering Lesae was a princess and all that
>Oh well, not bothering you, and if it did, you'd figure it out when you got to that point
>But at this very moment you are laying on the couch looking at the ceiling
>Bored
>You had enough food for at least a week, daily chores had been finished, and you've read all the Daring Do novels weeks ago
"You know what, I'm going out," you say out loud to no one in particular.
>Heading upstairs and into the bedroom you see Lesae doing just about the same thing you were not but 10 seconds ago
"Bored?"
>She turns her head at you, "Extremely so. As nice as the view is I am getting tired of being mostly confined to this bed."
>You think for a moment, then decide
>"Wanna come to Ponyville with me for the day?"
>"Ponyville? i haven't been there since I was a child!"
>Sheesh, she was sheltered or something then
> I mean, they are bees, super-secret civilization bees, but bees nonetheless
"Alright, we'll leave soon, I just want to get changed and put on something decently presentable," you say as you leave the room.
>You put on the old suit that you haven't worn in a little while 
>As much as you love your formal wear its not exactly practical in the confines of the forest, and you don't want to get it ripped up or else rarity gets really angry at you
>” No way for a stallion to behave!” you remember her saying
>So what if you like living in the woods! Its a lot better than the city from where you used to live
>...
>Whatever, you've finished putting on the suit and you've pushed the thoughts of your old home to the back of your mind
>You walk back to your bedroom and
>Wheres Lesae
>Instead of what is supposed to be a fluffy bee pony there instead stands a golden coated pony with a brown mane, a medium sized tuft under her neck, and a honeypot cutie mark squarely on her flank
>Then you notice the bandage
>You sigh a bit in relief
>” What is it?” Lesae says, confused at your reaction
“Are you telling me you wouldn't be the least bit confused if you found a stranger sitting in the room of some princess being hunted?”
>Lesae ponders that before nodding, “I guess when you live with shapeshifters its unusual that ponies are alarmed when you look different.”
>Nodding your head you hold the bedroom door open for her, and she pouts ever so slightly
>Cute
>This doesn't stop her from trotting down the stairs and holding the door open for you
>What a...gentlemare
>She sticks her tuft out and smugly looks up at you
>You roll your eyes and walk through
“Thank you, your highness”
>She closes the door and you lock it
>As you begin to make way through the slightly shown path through the trees, you decided to make some idle chatter
“So what should I call you while you're like this? Just in case there might be some changelings snooping around town?” you say, wiggling your fingers for effect
>Lesae stops and puts a hoof to her chin, then perks up, “Amber Honeypot would do nicely, Anon”
“That sounds good to me, we're getting pretty close now, so if we get attacked by a blur of pink, just know to keep your head down and try to survive her questions,” you say as you both exit the Everfree into the far part of town.
>” Her? Whom do you mean?” Lesae says, an ever so worried look on her face
You chuckle, “Don't worry your fuzzy head, shes no one dangerous, I promise, just a very enthusiastic pony who likes making friends”
>"That does little to assuage my fears Anon if shes so enthusiastic she could be a changeling in disguise looking for me!"
"Please, like anyone would notice one of the closest friends of Princess Twilight acting strangely, hell I doubt anything could be able to match her energy even if they tried"
>Lesae's look of worry lessens, but not entirely
"Listen, you'll understand when you meet her okay?"
>"If you say so..."
>You continue your peaceful walk into town until you finally hit the town square
>Ponies hustle and bustle around the square, stallions out grocery shopping while mares walked around trying to peddle wares and such things
>Suddenly you feel a disturbance, wind whooshing everywhere, and suddenly everything goes pink.
>"Nonny! You're here! Oh my Celestia I can't believe it's been almost a week since you've been to town! Is everything in the Everfree alright?" You hear and feel the vibrations around your face and pull Pinkie off to give your answer
“Don't worry Pinks, I'm fine, just needed a breath of air and something new to distract myself for a bit, and I wanted to help the new pony that I helped out in the forest to learn a bit about the town,” you say, holding her up to eye level with you
>"New pony!?" She has now ripped herself from your grip and is now on the ground in front of Lesae bouncing up and down energetically
>Oh no
>Here we go
>"OhmygoshanewponywhatsyournameimPinkiebutyouprobablyalreadyfiguredthatoutwhereareyoufromhowdyougetintotheeverfreewhatsthatbandageforhowdyoumeetanon-" Pinkie says in a manner so fast you'd have a hard time believing she was speaking any language at all, and still barraging her with questions
>Lesae looks on in what you would probably describe as somewhere between abject horror and amused fascination at Pinkie.
>That's about the reaction you expected honestly
>"-itssuuchaniceplacewouldntyouagree?" Pinkie says, finally finishing her introductory one-way conversation
>Lesae looks like she just snapped out of a trance, "uhhhhh, yes?"
>"amazing! We'll be some of the best of friends then!" Pinkie wraps her in a vice-grip of a hug, "before I forget to ask, what's your name?
>"Amber, Amber Honeypot" Lesae manages to croak out in between the pain from her wound being touched and the choking hug shes getting from Pinkie. "Could you please let up just a little bit?" Lesae says weakly 
> "Huh? Oh! My bad!” Pinkie says as she releases Lesae, who is now heavily breathing and groaning in pain. “I thought you were being a bit of a stallion, but then I remembered you were injured, my bad.”
> ”It's fine, just don't try and choke me out again please”
> ”Okie dokie lokie, I have to head off back to work, or else Ms.Cake will give it to me, bye guys!” Pinkie says and hurriedly speeds off to Sugarcube corner.
>You look at Lesae
>She looks like she just got shot
“Yo, Earth to Amber, you all right?”
>Lesae shakes herself, “yes, yes I'm fine, I see what you mean, she couldn't be one of them.”
“Exactly, so where do you want to go first?”
>Lesae scans around the pavilion, her head eventually turning onto the Castle of Friendship
> ”There, i would like to meet the Princess of Magic”
“Woah, you sure? Are you gonna meet her like this or are you going to “look nice” you say, the last part in air quotes
>”I need to speak to her, I can't say why here but I will explain in private, okay?”
>You sigh, “fine, let's head over there then.”
>Walking up to the incredibly reflective castle, you pulled Lesae off to the side where you were sure no one could hear you
“Alright,” you said, looking around the corner to make sure you weren't followed, “so why exactly Twilight?”
> ”You see, my lovely stallion, we Beelings do not simply feed off others love like changelings, without the consent of the rulers. It sets up a good business relationship, and since we're giving good services, we are tolerated and allowed to live and build our nests near cities and towns.”
>Well that's a better explanation than you thought
“Okay, I guess we can go in then”
>Lesae chuckles, “Silly stallion, what made you think you were going to change my mind on doing it”
“I can and will carry you back to my house if I feel like it.” you say seriously “I'll walk through town too, make all the mares see you cradled like a baby in the arms of a stallion.”
>Lesae now looks a little embarrassed at the thought of it
>Good
>Your not dealing with getting treated like that from anyone
>Not again
>” A-anyway, lets head inside, right?”
“Agreed, lets.”
>Walking into the crystal tree, you look around, trying to see if anything had changed
>The answer: Not much
“Hey! Spike! You here?!” 
>”Anon!? Is that you?” says the voice of a particular dragon
“Yeah! I wanted to pick up a few books and talk with Twi for a bit, is she here?!”
>The patter of clawed feet against crystal reveals to you the dragon boy
>He was always good to you
>None of the bullshit, just a good kid, glad Twi raised him right
>Lesae looks at Spike with curiosity
>”Yeah, she just finished up at the school, she's up in her study. Follow me.” Spike walks off and you begin to follow him
>Lesae looks at the walls surrounding, filled with vases and portraits, with a sense of wonderment
“Feeling all right Amber?”
>”Yes, of course, it's just the first time I've done this, a little nervous.”
“Oh relax, everything is gonna be just fine.” you say as you both reach the door to Twilights study
>”I'll bring you guys some tea, ill try to make due but there's no honey in the market recently so I can't make it the way you like it Anon”
>Gee you wonder why
“It's all good man, don't worry”
>with that, spike walks off, and it's just you and Lesae facing the door to the study
>Lesae takes a deep breath in and out 
> “I'm ready”

>You open the door
>Inside is a sprawling landscape of books, lining the wall and ascending for a decent while
>Down the main hall of books on the far wall is a few chairs surrounded around a fireplace
>You can see a book levitating in front of one of the chairs
>From here you can only see the name of the Author
>Albert Camel
>...
>Fucking puns here you swear
“Twilight? Is that you?”
>The book quickly snaps closed, ”Anon?” 
>Twilight turns around, sees you and quickly jumps out of her chair and walks over to you and Lesae
>She wraps you in a hug that you reciprocate
>”It's so good to see you! You're not hurt anywhere right? And whos this?” Twilight says, looking at Lesae
“Don't worry I'm fine, just the usual, no more poison joke like that first month.” you say with a chuckle. “And this is a friend that I met in the forest, I think she’d rather introduce herself to you personally”
>Lesae takes a step forward, releases her transformation, puffs her tuft out and says, “I am Princess Lesae, soon to be Queen Lesae of the Everfree, it is a pleasure to meet you, your grace,” Lesae says with a bow
>”O-oh don't worry about bowing, we don't do that here!” twilight says flustered. “But why are you here? Usually, it's your mother who takes care of trades and things like that, is she okay?”
>Lesae’s face twists into one of sadness and anger, “My mother...has fallen. The Hive has been destroyed.”
>Twilight gasps and puts a hoof to her mouth, shocked beyond belief, “By Celestia… what caused the Hive to fall so quickly?”
>”Is it alright if we sit down? The story is a tad long and I'd rather be more comfortable before I tell it”
>”Of course, come this way,” Twilight says, walking over to the fireplace, sitting down and throwing another log onto the fire with her magic
>Both you and Lesae sit into the comfortable chairs, sinking into the fabric slightly
>Lesae turns to you ”Anonymous, are you sure you wish to be here? I understand you aren't most stallions but it is rather...depressing.”
You shake your head, “nope, I'm staying, I've been curious about your state ever since you wandered into that clearing, and id rather know what I might be up against since I'm basically in the middle of this now.”
>Lesae chuckles, “Of course, I understand perfectly.” Lesae takes a deep breath and releases it. “It all started that morning.”