//------------------------------// // The Art of Science // Story: Lives of the Changeling Queens // by Big Saij //------------------------------// Soryth September 17, 1007 ------- "Now, the exact science of magic itself is still a point of contention among many scholars in the world. Many believe that it is drawn latently from the world around us, but some say that we have magic reserves within us that we draw from. While the former is widely accepted, the latter is lent credence from the fact that overexerting on magic spells tires the user..." The changeling professor continued to drone on while the students, numbering over a hundred all waited anxiously in their seats within the lecture hall. It wasn't because they were bored of his lecture, quite the opposite. In fact, many were paying careful attention and even taking extensive notes. No, the real reason was that the royal of the hive herself, Queen Yaria was coming to give a demonstration on magic. Some only wished to meet their queen in person for the first time. Others wanted to learn and hear what she had to say. The vast majority, however, were scouting their ideal future career, that being working in the official technological research department in the hive. Only the best and brightest were even considered by the staff, for those chosen had unrestricted access to Soryth's vast Love reserves in an effort to uncover the secrets of Key Lake, the magical body of water next to which the hive was settled on, as well as the use of magic itself. The high number of intelligentsia was one of the many things Soryth prided itself on, and perhaps one of the few that no other hive could rival them in. Their University of Magic was second to none in the Changeling Queendom, rivaled only perhaps by Celestia's School of Gifted Unicorns in Canterlot. It was why changelings from all across the hives traveled this far up north just to study and get a degree at the prestigious institution, which even with its sprawling complex still had to reject hundreds of applicants each year. An alarm on the professor's desk went off, startling half the class with a few dropping their notebooks or pens onto the floor. Simultaneously, a side door opened and four royal guards entered, taking up positions around the lecture hall. "All rise for the Ruler of Soryth, Queen Yaria," the professor said to his class, closing his own notebook and taking a position to the side of the stage. A single changeling strode into the hall, wearing a signature white hat and billowing coat. Looking out over the crowd, Queen Yaria did a quick scan before speaking. "You may be seated." All at once the drones who had risen sat back down, opening their notebooks to a new entry. "Today's lesson will be about Love, magic, and how the two are interconnected." Moving to the chalkboard, Yaria's horn glowed faintly as a single piece of chalk levitated upwards and began drawing out images as she addressed the drones before her. "Magic is one of the constants of this world, a phenomenon that despite existing since the dawn of time, is poorly understood even to this day. For many years, it was only unicorns that were considered to have control over magic, using their horns as conduits. It is a stigma that has lasted for millennia; ask many beyond the hives what races can use magic, and the first response is usually unicorns." The Queen moved out of the way to show the class what had been drawn, an image of a pony from each tribe arranged in a circle. "This assumption has been disproved following study, however. Pegasi use magic to fly and move clouds, and earth ponies use magic to grow crops. There are also griffon enchantments, zebra alchemy and such, but for today we will be focusing on the typical focus of magic; the kind used by ourselves and unicorns." The eraser flew up to remove the drawings of the pegasi and earth pony. "So, who can tell me a few spells that we can use?" Almost every drone in the room raised a hoof skyward. Yaria pointed at one in the front row, who responded immediately. "Telekinesis." She nodded, taking hold of two more pieces of chalk in her magic and twirling them around her before pointing at another student. "Concussive blasts." "Very good, but I will not be demonstrating that here today for fairly obvious reasons." This got a few muted chuckles from the drones. "Anything else?" "Teleportation." In a flash of magic, Yaria appeared at the opposite end of the stage from where she was originally standing. "A spell better suited for advanced unicorns, but yes. I doubt that any drone present here has successfully cast a self-teleportation spell, but simple combat and utility spells like the ones mentioned earlier should all be ones you have mastered at this age." The chalk that was still floating settled back into their places near the chalkboard, the glow on Yaria's horn fading away. "For my next demonstration, I will need a drone skilled in magic. Any volunteers?" Hooves were raised once more, though noticeably less than the first time. The Queen took more time picking out who to call on this time, eventually settling on a drone sitting right in the center of the crowd. "You. Come down onto the stage, please." After a moment of shock, the drone quickly flew down from her seat, taking a place next to Yaria and waiting respectfully. "Now, I would like you to perform your best shield spell. Hold it high above your head." Nodding, they concentrated before a light green barrier appeared between the two. Looking satisfied, Yaria summoned a spear to her side before motioning to the royal guard closest to her. The armored changeling grabbed the weapon and raised it high towards the ceiling. The student's eyes widened, and they braced themselves just a second before the spear came crashing down upon the barrier. A web of cracks spread from the point of impact, and the drone winced, her legs threaten to buckle beneath her. "As you can see, a drone's magic is nowhere near the level of a unicorn's. While their spells can hold back even a swarm of changelings, such as the Captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard Shining Armor did during the Siege of Canterlot, yours can at best take two or three hits from a blunt object before failing. However..." A single vial appeared from deep within Yaria's fur coat, the substance within colored bright pink. "...There are ways to strengthen a changeling's inherent magic that I am sure you are all aware of." "Now this is a vial of Love, triple-refined." The last two words snapped the few students drifting off back into reality, with one of them even falling out of their chair. Quite a few were staring at the substance hungrily, as if they were going to grab it at any second. Yaria took note of those that did so; scientists who consumed their own resources were usually not good ones. "It is common knowledge that Love enhances the abilities of both drones and royals past their normal limit for a time. The purer and more refined it is, the stronger the effect. The prolonged lack of it in a changeling also has some rather negative effects, hence our endless studies to improve both the extraction and refining process." The vial uncorked itself, tilting towards the drone who was still recovering from the blow of the guard. She looked up, first at the offered Love and then at the Queen who simply nodded, before chugging the magical liquid down. The effect was almost immediate, with the student standing up straight and even looking stronger than before she had first come onto the stage. "The shield again, please." This time the color of the green was much stronger, less clear than before. The guard slammed the spear once more upon it, causing the student to flinch. The barrier remained steadfast, not a single crack appearing, and in fact even repulsed the blow sending the weapon flying. Yaria caught it in her magic just before it hit the ground, teleporting it out of the room seconds later. "As demonstrated the Love has amplified her natural magical talent, as well as giving her increased alertness, reaction time, and strength. At such a low dosage, the effects will only last for an hour or so, which is why we do not widely distribute such highly refined Love." The Queen waved her hoof at the drone. "You may return to your seat." She nodded before flying back to her open spot in the crowd, receiving multiple envious looks from her peers. Two more bottles of Love made their appearance from the inner pockets of Yaria's royal coat. "Love offers many benefits to our race, and we never have enough of it. But, that does not mean we can become reliant on it." Both disappeared back into her outfit, leaving mildly disappointed looks on many faces. "Love addiction is a very serious thing that causes reduced mental capabilities in most cases. It is why you should all train your magic without using it, to avoid it becoming a crutch. It is my belief that all of you can one day rival even a unicorn in magical talent, without the use of Love, if you put your minds to it. Any questions?" The sounds of pencils to paper echoed across the entire room as most were busy rapidly taking notes, but one sheepishly raised a hoof. "Will we be tested on this?" It was not Yaria, but the professor who stepped forward and answered. "Yes, all of this will be on your final exam. I suggest you go over whatever notes you have written to review, or consult your textbooks for extra guidance." The bell rung, signaling that it was three o clock. "And that will be all for today from our Queen! Class dismissed!" Snow slowly drifted downwards outside the window as Queen Yaria looked from within the University of Magic. Even as the winter slowly inched closer and the rest of the rivers this far north began to freeze over, Key Lake remained completely normal just as it did all year. The research team attributed it to one of the magical properties it had; after all its unnatural warmth was what allowed changelings to survive here in the first place and the reason Soryth existed in the first place. Boats dotted the water's surface as far as the eye could see, traveling from dock to dock along the hive. It was more long than wide, as many changelings wanted to live as close to the waterfront as possible. Even so, Soryth was built to be spread out and non-crowded, and the northern climate plus a lack of real concentrated industry created a clean and tidy environment. It made it easy to see all the way across the lake to the other side, where the coastline marked the beginning of polar bear territory. A race and nation which, if the One Queen Chrysalis' words rung true, would become one of the first targets towards changeling greatness and the conquest of Equus... "My Queen?" A drone in a lab outfit stepped forward, clipboard levitating beside him. "The labs are ready for you." Yaria blinked. "Ah, yes. Thank you." Turning away from the pristine scenery, she followed the drone out of the office and into one of the many hallways of the university. All the students had already left hours ago; the only changelings left were the professionals and the professors, often the same changelings. Both took a halt at a nondescript pair of steel doors, which the Queen easily slid aside with her magic. Behind was a hidden elevator, kept secret from all but the staff that worked below. Officially, the University of Magic studied the magic of Key Lake to discover the odd properties that the water possessed. And they did, having made several breakthroughs in the exact composition of magical radiation. But it was also an international cover front, created to hide the more covert discoveries and research undertaken. Pushing a hidden panel up, Yaria pushed a button below the rest of the regular floor ones. The elevator doors closed and the entire lift slowly descended, downwards past ground level and into the subterranean labs. "Progress?" The scientist flipped a page on his clipboard. "Still slow. All their attempts have so far ended in failure." "So the usual. Any issues?" "No, my Queen." Yaria gave a short nod as the doors opened and they stepped out into the clandestine section of the facility. Drones wearing laboratory equipment scurried all across the halls, traveling across the halls with files and clipboards trailing behind. Most gave curt bows to their Queen as she passed, moving through and taking a left at the first intersection before eventually stopping at the door labeled "LOVE RESEARCH LABS". Once again she opened the door and walked into the next part of the building. The room was entirely tiled, white and clean despite the fact that there were even more drones within than the hallway before it. Beakers, funnels and other chemistry equipment were strewn on the countertops, many filled with Love. A great vat of the precious substance sat over in the corner, hooked up to a metal piping system that went all across the room. Spying a familiar drone, Yaria made her way across the room to the scientist. "Doctor Starynx," she addressed, "how is your research faring?" Starynx didn't even bother looking up at the Queen, normally a slight that any royal would take personally and incur some sort of punishment. For a fellow researcher who had known Yaria since her hatching, however, the occurrence was completely normal. "Good to see you, Yaria," he said simply, a pair of glasses delicately perched in front of his eyes. "Same as always. You can see for yourself." She looked up to see the scene beyond a glass window, yet more drones taking notes while looking at a rare sight in the hives; the colorful equines from across the southern border known as ponies. Some were in green hibernation pods sleeping soundly, others were getting things like their cutie marks and mane colors documented, and a few were even stumbling out a back door assisted by a changeling student. All were here voluntarily; if word ever got back to Equestria of pony hostages being used in experiments, even harmless ones... well, even Queen Chrysalis knew the importance of not overstretching her hoof too early. Everypony had their own room and board, though had no idea where they were. For all they knew, the facility could be anywhere from a factory in Vraks to the mountains of Neverwarm Point. "So far we've found nothing in ponies that naturally increase the amount of Love extracted. Nothing about their cutie marks, their colors, being wide awake or in a pod... we've tried members of all the pony tribes, even a rare thestral, but still nothing." Starynx looked up at Yaria, a slight smirk forming on his face. "Well, every tribe except..." "You know that's impossible." He shrugged. "Just saying. If any species of pony gave more or higher quality Love, it would be the alicorns. They are the Queens of their race, after all." "And it's exactly why it can't be done. It's only been pulled off once, and even then Princess Twilight Sparkle discovered the deception before the wedding even started. It's not happening." A moment of silence befell them. "You know, I wish that we were still back in the old days." Yaria looked at him inquisitively. "What do you mean, Starynx?" she asked. "Back when things were good." He waved a hoof around for emphasis. "When you were just a Princess, and I was a student. When we could just be friends and not... not this." The Queen of Soryth gave a long, drawn out sigh. It wasn't like she didn't look back at those years fondly as well, but there was no sense in dwelling in the past. "Those days are gone. They can't come back, Starynx. You and I both know that, and there's no use denying it." Starynx slowly gave a nod before turning away. "I know." His voice sounded bitter, with just a hint of disappointment. "You should go. Tell Tartius that I send my regards," the scientist said. "See you later." "Until next time... Starynx." Hiding her turbulent emotions well, she turned quickly and left back for the door. It hurt, hurt to see him like this, but she didn't have a choice. When did she ever have a choice? The luxury of such a thing disappeared long ago. Now only duty, the burden of duty remained. Someday she would be free of that burden, Yaria knew. When she could be her old self once more, have friends and partners to talk to. But not today. It would never be today.