>Be the Mistress of Manipulation
>The Duchess of Deception
>The Mother of Harlots!
>Queen Chrysalis! Ruler of the changeling hive!
>"Alright, Chryssi, I'm headed out. Be good!"
>The order is immediately followed by the shutting of the front door
>The human has finally left to his pathetic job
>Now's your chance to-
>"Mom?"
>Oh, for hive's sake
>"Mom?"
>You raise your head from its immensely comfy spot on the floor and poke it out from beneath the couch to see your drone's blank blue eyes staring back in your general direction
>"Mom?"
"What?" You bark
>"What are we-" She pauses to take in a deep breath, "-gonna do today,-" Another breath, "-Mom?"
>You groan again and restrain the urge to bury your face in your hooves
"Use your spiracles, Drone."
>"Oh yeah!"
>The drone takes a stance, and a faint whistling can be heard, the tell-tale sign of a changeling taking a proper breath
>"Thanks, Mom!"
>You roll your eyes as you drag yourself out from beneath the couch
>Your drone speaks up again as you're stretching your stiff chitin
>"What are we gonna do today, Mo-"
"The same thing we do every day, Drone." You interrupt
"We're going to play the 'don't talk until Anonymous returns home' game."
>"Oh..." The drone slumps dejectedly
>The sight nearly makes you take pause
>She usually loves that game
"Explain your reaction, Drone."
>"Well, it's just..."
"Go on."
>"I thought we'd do something special for Dad today."
"He's not your father. And even if he were, why would we do anything 'special'?"
>The drone's eyes widen in a silent gasp
>"C-cause it's..." She sniffs and casts her gaze to the floor
>"It's Dad's birthday..."
>You give her a disdainful look
>The human's doing, no doubt
>He's been filling your drone's susceptible mind with the most inane "knowledge"
"Changelings don't celebrate days of birth, Drone."
>"But Dad's not a changeling. He's a monkey."
"Human." You correct
>You'd never admit it, but your drone had a point
>And knowing ponies, he'd be getting love and admiration poured onto him all day
>How wasteful
>They should be pouring all that delicious love onto you!
>Maybe...
>You smile to yourself as your superiorly strategic mind swirls up a superb scheme
"At attention, Drone. I've made a royal decision."
>She instantly straightens up, putting on the most serious face she can muster
"We're going to bake a cake."
-=-=-
>You glare menacingly at the tome before you
>Somehow, through all your years as Queen, you've never seen a script like this before
>Perhaps it's in code?
>"Mom, what's an angel?"
>You look at your drone who is buzzing in midair beside you to see the book, her legs dangling freely beneath her
>You'll have to remember to add proper flight technique to her training regimen
"A what? Where did you hear that?"
>"Right there."
>She points at the book lying open on the counter
>"Annngeeel...fooood...cake!"
>She scratches her head
>"Who would eat a cake made out of angel food?"
>You furrow your brow at your subject
"You read human?"
>Your drone nods ecstatically
>"Dad's been teaching me! He says I'm a really good learner."
>Hmph
>At least he's showing her something almost useful
>You slide the book to sit in front of her
"Read out the instructions, Drone." You order as you use your magic to open up various cabinets
>"Okay!"
>She floats a bit closer to the page, focusing intently on it
>"O-one...cuuup...fuh-fluh-floor. One cup floor!"
"Flour."
>This might take longer than you thought