I liked the picture so much I wrote something.

It had been days… weeks… no, months? Greyscale didn’t know anymore. The changeling stronghold she was trapped in lacked windows. Instead, light in the twisting miles of passages was provided by glowing fungi that the lesser drones tended to.

It constantly bathed everything with a dreary blue gloom. The bugs didn’t seem to mind, perhaps too dim-witted to be bothered by the lack of natural light. But the light gnawed at her.

Wasting away within this hole without the guiding light of Celestia or Luna’s light, she was starting to doubt that time was a legitimate concept. What time not spent awake was occupied by restless sleep in her cell until the guards roused her to repeat the cycle.

But the eternal twilight was not the worst part of her current fate.

She had expected the beasts to stuff her into a pod to forcibly extract her essence. Or, if the rumours were true, converted into one of them. No doubt, having a member of the Adepta Agmina within their ranks would have been a great boon to the bugs. They were the elite of Equestria after all, searing streaks of red who tore through Harmony’s enemies like an unstoppable avalanche.

No. The bugs were more devious than she had given credit to.

To her great shame, a second of folly had allowed herself to be knocked out by a Shadow Stalker. When she came to, they had long since violated her pride, stripping her of her armour.

In its stead was the ridiculously frilly uniform of a maid’s. The black cotton dress was perfectly tailored to her form, gently hugging every curve and flowed mockingly off her body with a grace that mirrored her crimson robes.

Said robes had been torn apart and fashioned into a ridiculously oversized bow that now sat mockingly atop her mane. The irony was palpable - she was still visible to her enemies, but instead of striking fear into their hearts, it now signalled the arrival of a lowly servant.

A polished collar provided the bugs with an easy way to lead her from one location to the other, or keep her at one if they desired. The piece of jewellery was moulded from her chestplate that once shielded her from harm and now sat permanently around her neck, its seamless form made possible thanks to changeling metallurgy.

They kept her armoured leggings and shoes to top off her new look. They were relatively unscathed, maybe even improved upon better now that their matte black rubber and gold was polished to a mirror like shine that would have made any drill sergeant envious.

And her weapon? Melted down and refashioned into the pair of golden hoof cuffs currently locked securely above her fetlocks. They made any movement above chest height an exercise in careful planning, spitefully clinking with each step she took.

The changeling queen, a tall creature that went by the name of Nyroxa, had gained a victory far greater than any of their previous incursions into Equestria: she had reduced one of the Princesses’ best to that of a mere servant.
Naturally, Nyroxa took great pleasure in relishing every second that her newfound maid spent under her hoof. Her waking hours were spent on menial tasks, a suspicious majority that required either bending down or standing on something. Every now and then, a cool breeze would mysteriously manifest and lick at the barren fur that her scantily cut skirt failed to cover. Or if she was especially unlucky, at her barren marehood.

Wake, eat, serve, sleep, wake, eat, sleep, serve, sleep, sleep, eat… wake? She stopped bothering to keep count - time had all but blended into a blue haze in this dump.

Occasionally the haze would be pierced by a brief respite of colour like today - she found herself standing in the middle of a wood panelled room, ever-present blue gloom replaced by a warm fireplace that burned brightly in the corner.
If she ignored the changeling, it was almost like being back on the surface again. Almost.
“Did you know it’s been almost a year since you were first delivered here?” The changeling queen had her back turned against her, just a little too far out of strangling distance.

Ignore her. “What is it that you want?”

Nyroxa tsked, coming into range. “So much arrogance for such a puny little filly. You and your sisters brag about your battlefield finesse, and yet you fell to a single, lowly Shadow Stalker.” The changeling queen paused, reaching out to smooth a crease in her uniform. “Given your exemplary performance so far, I think your true finesse lies in domestic service, don’t you think?”
The maid rolled her eyes. “Were it not employing the tactics of its coward leader, I would ha-”
Her muzzle was rudely snapped shut by holed hooves. “You will respect your Queen!”

Greyscale huffed, shaking her head free of the changeling’s grasp. “As I was saying before your blatant disrespect, since this is a special occasion, I shall grant you this one chance to prove your worth.”

The hilt of a knife was thrust into her hoof, its inlaid gems glimmering a threatening, brilliant green in the firelight. Magic enveloped the hilt, guiding it up to Queen Nyroxa’s chest. Her chains had just enough slack for the blade’s tip to be positioned at the insect’s heart.

“Strike me down where I stand right now, and become known as the one who slayed their leader,” The Changeling eyed the pegasus before her. “or maybe you agree with my assessment. In that case, and given your exemplary conduct so far, I will gladly keep you as my personal servant.”

“Your funeral.” And Greyscale, loyal defender of Equestria, thrust the knife into the Changeling.

The tip remained at Nyroxa’s chest. She tried again. It remained perfectly still.

“Something the matter?” The monarch’s voice oozed with false concern as she looked down at the struggling mare.

“Ignoble wrench!” She willed her body to lean into the blade, but found her hoof unable to move. No matter how hard she tried, an immovable blank space blocked the path in her mind that she simply couldn’t cross. “Even now you are as cowardly as your predecessor!”

“Such language! Here I stand humbly before you and yet!” Nyroxa chided, booping her on the nose. “My enemy hides behind empty insults, lacking the gall to act upon her threats! But perhaps she is at least honourable when it comes to agreements?”

Perhaps it wasn’t too late to strike yet. Grey cleaved at the air, pouting with disdain as her practised swiftness with the blade was reduced to a feeble swipe by her shackles.Still, the emerald trail left stopped just short of the now sniggering Changeling Queen’s chest.

She hissed, failing to share in the Queen’s bemusement at the situation. Making a fool of herself in front of her enemy while dressed as a frilly maid, topped off with a nice red bow on her head was just about the final straw for her. The knife clattered to the ground like a piece of unwanted junk. “Are you entertained yet?”

“Oh, yes quite, my little pegasus maid. But you haven’t seen it all yet.” Magic wreathed her collar, but nothing happened.

“More cheap entertainment?” She scrunched, catching a whiff of the changeling’s sickly sweet breath “My Queen.”

What the? The mare paused. Respect was reserved for the princesses who protected and watched over them, not some tyrant who plotted away in a dinky hole in the ground. She would never have dreamt of calling anything of the sort.

“Something the matter, my servant? I see that you’re finally warming up to your Queen.”

“Servant? As if I would ev- Of course my queen.” Soft, warm tendrils reached into her mind, twisting her words and reshaping them like soft dough before she had even spoken. The pegasus looked at Nyroxa with wide eyes, fur on her back brushing stiffly against the uniform draped across her body. “What foul sorcery is this, insect?! Evidently, my Queen is the most skilled in magic.”

“Indeed!” Nyroxa beamed, gently ruffling Grey’s mane.

She hissed, recoiling from the insect’s cold touch.“What. Did. You. Do, Insect?!”

“Do? Ah! Nothing except turning that compliance spell implanted in that collar of yours by just a notch.” The insect queen laughed, waving a hoof. “After all, I had to make sure my maid didn’t try anything too… creative while she was tending to her duties. In any case, I think you forgot to say something.”

Her lips quivered, the words begging to be uttered. Tendrils sunk themselves into her thoughts, embracing them in its gentle caress. Say it. You know you want to.

Don’t! You’ll be a traitor! She bit down on her lips.

Is it treachery to just say two simple words? You’ve already been obeying her orders for soo long. The warm tendrils squeezed her thoughts harder, gently nibbling away at her concerns.

Your loyalty lies with the Princesses! Her voice shot back, repelling the intruders sneaking up on her psyche. She was right! She was Greyscale, defender of Equestria! Her sworn duty was to them first. You need to-mmpf!

Just a little break, nopony would know. A tentacle pushed its way past her defences, gagging her voice. Deft appendages smoothed away her doubts, moulding it into a soft, comfortable cloud for her to sit in. You’ve earned it. Rest.

“My Queen.” Her eyes unfocused as she fell into the fluffy embrace, weeks of tension leaving her body. The pegasus mare sighed, her muzzle growing into a dopey smile at the truth. They were right. Surely, the princesses wouldn’t have minded if she took a little break.

Leading her squad in the liberation campaign was stressful, and she had to constantly deal with the aches that followed after days of combat. The past days… months, it didn’t really matter, were blissfully free from that.

No life or death decisions or dealing with uncomfortable armour plates that constantly nicked at her body. All she had to do was serve and obey her Queen, and she would be rewarded with a comfortable dress, hot meals and a warm bed to sleep in every night.

Think of it as a vacation. The tentacles quipped, helpfully tending to the aches in her mind. You deserve it. Besides, how much can a single mare contribute to, anyway?

So what was there to lose?

“You will serve me without question?”

A servant should be humble when addressing their Queen. “N- Yes, my Queen.” She replied, her voice soft and mellow.

“Good, good.” Nyroxa cooed, licking at her fangs as she regarded her latest trophy. It took a great deal of patience in dealing with this particular… specimen while waiting for the compliance spell to finally bear fruit.

It would have been more efficient to torch the pony’s resistance outright, but the satisfaction of watching one of Equestria’s finest slowly succumb to the spell’s suggestions was all the more rewarding.

Experience also taught her that no matter how gentle the process was, the mindcinder spell was still terribly unpredictable. Keeping a gibbering Agmina around was simply too boring to justify sourcing for food, let alone gain any satisfaction from parading them around the hive.

Plus, this particular specimen really did prove herself to be quite adept with domestic work. No, this was a great deal more satisfying.

Maybe it was time to expand her service staff.