A/N: Okay this is the last time that I'm going to warn you readers.
If you haven't read my last story, you should go back and read it. If you continue to read this story without reading "A New Friend", then you are going to be very confused.
Otherwise, you're good to go. I won't write this warning anymore. You'd think after two chapters, some people would take a hint.
Anyways, let's get this show on the road!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Naractia wandered through the tunnels of the new changeling hive. This was a habit that she'd developed ever since the swarm had begun to gather again. The hundreds of changelings that had returned now were seething in anger from being thrown across the bad-lands for a second time.
It had been almost two months since Rowan and his friends had defeated Chrysalis. The changeling queen had been badly wounded, but Naractia, feeling sympathy for her mother, had spent the past weeks healing her, as well as helping to gather the remaining changelings that had been scattered across the bad-lands. Chrysalis might have thought that this was Naractia's way of redeeming herself, but the changeling princess had other intentions. She wanted all of the changelings back together so she could keep an eye on them and prevent them from entering Equestria again.
Chrysalis had recovered from the injuries that she had acquired, somewhat. However, the power of the Elements of Harmony had drained the changeling queen of her magic, including her ability to change into a pony. Along with this, she had received a scar from Rowan, who had punched a hoof into her face. The scar was a single crack in her exoskeleton that ran down between her eyes.
As well as working on the tasks of gathering the changelings and healing Chrysalis, Naractia had given herself the job of finding another hive, suitable for the changeling drones to survive in. She was actually surprised to have found the cave that now served as the hive. It was about the same distance away from the Equestrian border as the old hive, but the new hive was situated a few miles away from the old one. And now that Naractia had gathered up the last of the remaining changelings, the new hive was buzzing with the sound of a thousand changeling wings.
Naractia had spent the last week caring for her mother, but when she wasn't, she took strolls down the hundreds of tunnels of the hive. This wasn't to get exercise or because she was bored, but rather it was to keep her eye on the activities of the changeling drones. She didn't want any of them to sneak away and attack somepony in Equestria. She knew that they would if the chance was given to them.
Naractia had finished her usual rounds through the hive, and started to head back down the tunnel leading to the queen's chamber. Her wings powered her through the tunnel at high speed, throwing her green mane back in the air. She laughed as she recalled that for the past several months, she had been disguised as a drone. After all of that time, being in disguise, she had forgotten what it was like to have any hair. But now that her mother had accepted her back into the hive, she was back to her original form.
Soon, the entrance to Chrysalis's chamber came into view, and Naractia lighted down onto the floor of the tunnel. Once she was on the ground, she began to walk towards the chamber entrance, but then a voice stopped her.
"So, you've decided to come out of hiding."
Naractia turned to see a single changeling standing in the shadows of the tunnel. She narrowed her eyes as she recognized the voice, "You're that spy that Chrysalis put in Ponyville. You stole the Liber Tenebrarum from me."
The spy laughed, "That's as close of an identification for me, seeing as I don't have a name." His laugh subsided and was replaced by a frown, "Although, I didn't think that the queen would have allowed a weakling like you back into the hive."
Naractia glared at the changeling, "What do you want?"
The spy sighed, "I'm just letting you know that not everyone in the hive is happy with your return, especially me. You see, when I brought back the Liber Tenebrarum, I expected a reward from Chrysalis. But she told me that I would receive it in a few days, after she had full control of the book's power. But since you came back, the queen has all but forgotten about me."
Naractia sighed, "So you're just angry with me because you didn't get your reward?"
The spy chuckled, "No, not for that reason alone. When you weren't able to bring the book to the queen, you tried to win back her acceptance by helping her recover from her injuries. It might work for now, but once the queen doesn't need you anymore, she'll get rid of you."
He pointed a leg towards the changeling princess, "You of all changelings know that when a weakness exists in the hive, it doesn't last long. If I were you, I'd leave now and save myself the pain of death."
The spy gave Naractia a mocked bow, "I must be off, *princess*." He spat out Naractia's title, and flew away into the depths of the hive.
Naractia shook her head as she whispered to herself, "You don't know me, or why I came back. No changeling would understand why, except me."
She turned back to the chamber and walked inside. In the chamber, was a stone pedestal that served as a crude throne, and on top of it, was Chrysalis. Her face was contorted in anger, making the scar on her face scrunch into a cruel shape.
Naractia stepped up before the throne, "Hello, mother."
Chrysalis said nothing as she looked down on her daughter with narrowed eyes. Naractia, surprised by her silence, began to feel uneasy at the angry expression Chrysalis held.
But then Chrysalis spoke, "Naractia, I have something to ask you.."
"Yes, mother?" Naractia wasn't liking the sound of this.
"I have heard rumors wandering throughout the hive; reasons of why you came back to me after I banished you. Many say you came back to redeem yourself. Others say that you came back to steal my throne." Chrysalis leaned forward towards Naractia, "And I want to know, why did you come back?"
Naracita felt like a ton of bricks had fallen on her as she stared at her mother in silence, Should I tell her? Would she understand? And more importantly, would she banish me instead?
The changeling princess swallowed down the lump in her throat, "Mother, I came back for one reason, and one alone. I came back because you are *my mother*."
Chrysalis didn't seem phased as she continued to hold her fierce gaze, "I do not understand. Explain yourself."
"Well, you're my mother and the only family that I have. I came back and nursed you back to health because I... well, I love you." Naractia explained, trying to keep herself from showing any emotion at all, whether it be fear or sympathy.
Chrysalis looked down at Naractia, "You feel love for me... Is that right?"
"Yes."
Chrysalis sighed, "Naractia, you should know that no changeling can feel love. You have deluded yourself in the ideas of those pathetic ponies in Equestria. Changelings only feed off of love from other creatures, because they are incapable of showing love. And wherever our hive goes, the love dies along with the creatures that held it. This is all because..."
Suddenly the queen shot into the air and landed hard onto the ground in front of Naractia, making large cracks in the floor of the chamber. Chrysalis screamed in a horrific voice, "Love is a weakness!"
Naractia stumbled back, startled by her mother's outburst, "No, love isn't a weakness."
"Then why are those pathetic ponies that love so much so easy to frighten? With our power, they deserve to be crushed."
"No! We don't have to hurt them! They are good and innocent! What we do is evil. We don't need to-"
"Shut up, you weakling!" Chrysalis barked, cutting Naractia off, "I want to know why you would lower yourself to being a traitor."
Naractia glared at her mother, "When I was in Canterlot, I saw something that I wanted, which everypony in the city had. They had love from their families and friends. I know what the love that we steal is like, but this love is different. It isn't taken, but rather given. I want to experience that love for myself."
"Bah! This is nonsense! No changeling can ever show love. It's not in our nature." Chrysalis let out a high-pitched shriek that only a changeling could make. Naractia's eyes widened as she realized that Chrysalis had made a signal call, and now the changelings in the hive would be coming soon.
Chrysalis glared at Naractia, "When I was injured by Rowan and his friends, I needed you to heal me. But now, I'm back to my full strength, and I won't be needing you anymore. My changelings will tear you apart, limb from limb. And then after that, I'll destroy Rowan and the rest of Equestria." Chrysalis let out an evil laugh as the tunnels of the hive became loud with the buzz of changeling wings.
Naractia crouched back swiftly, pointing her horn at Chrysalis. Her horn glowed softly with a green aura as she readied her spell, "Sorry, mother, but I won't let that happen. You don't have your magic anymore, so you can't stop me."
Chrysalis only laughed, "You fool, you know no magic that can save you. You will die anyway, so why even try to escape?"
Naractia let out a small grin, "Actually, I know more than you think. Back before you got the Liber Tenebrarum, I ripped out a page. I used it to learn a couple of spells, using shadow magic."
Chrysalis let out an angry snort, "What are you talking about? The Liber Tenebrarum is destroyed. There's not a single bit of it left in existence."
"No you're wrong. One page survived, and I learned shadow magic from it." Naractia smiled as she saw a surprised look appear on Chrysalis's face. She couldn't help but gloat, "And you know what, I don't even have the page anymore. I gave it back to its original owner."
Chrysalis let out a startled gasp, "You mean..."
Naractia nodded, "That's right. Rowan has it, back in Equestria." Naractia felt the buzzing of wings reverberate into the chamber, "Now if you'll excuse me, I don't plan to die today."
Naractia turned back to the tunnel that emptied into the chamber, horn glowing as she readied her spell. Soon, in the dim tunnel, she could see the swarm of changelings approach at high speed. Wasting no time, she let her spell loose and a green beam of magic shot out from her horn.
The beam didn't hit any of the oncoming changelings as it exploded against the ceiling of the tunnel. However, Naractia hadn't been aiming for any of the changelings. It was in her nature that she didn't want to hurt anyone, not even the changelings.
The beam of magic had exploded against the ceiling of the tunnel, causing large boulders to fall down in front of the oncoming swarm. The massive boulders blocked most of the tunnel, making the swarm screech to a halt. Several of the changelings crashed into each other, due to the sudden stop, which disoriented most of them.
Naractia was pleased with her work, but then she spotted a small space open between the boulders. Now, time to get out of here. Naractia powered her wings and flew through the opening in the boulders. She entered into the tunnel and flew as fast as she could.
Far behind her, she heard Chrysalis scream, "Kill Her! I Want Her Dead!"
The changelings behind Naractia quickly recovered from their confusion and began to pursue Naractia. Naractia beat her wings even faster, building speed greater than the changelings behind her. Flying faster than she had ever flown before, she navigated herself through the hundreds of tunnels of the hive.
She laughed as she found that she knew every corner of the new hive. I guess those walks I took really paid off. But then her thoughts were cut off as she heard the changelings behind her start to catch up. Naractia cursed to herself, They're going to catch me sooner or later, unless I do something fast. I need to slow them down.
Naractia pointed her horn to the ceiling of the tunnel above her. She fired a beam of magic, which exploded in the ceiling above her as she flew past. Boulders dropped down behind the fleeing changeling, blocking the tunnel like the time before.
Even though her pursuers were slowed down for the moment, Naractia didn't falter in her speed. She raced through the tunnels of the hive. But then, she saw the light of day begin to trickle down into the hive as she neared the exit to the hive. In a large burst to effort, Naractia propelled her wings, flying her out of the hive and into the light of day.
Naractia allowed herself a moment to catch her breath and she landed behind a large boulder. She breathed deeply as she looked around at the bad-lands. The new hive was situated in the center of a vast desert, which was dotted with boulders, like the one that Naractia was hiding behind now.
Her breathing slowed as she managed to catch her breath, "Chrysalis wants revenge on Rowan and his friends, and now she wants me dead, too." The changeling sighed, "I hoped that this wouldn't happen. But now, I need to get out of here and warn Rowan."
With no time to lose, Naractia beat her wings and took to the sky. Once she was high above the desert floor, she turned towards the direction of the Equestrian border. Leaving the hive behind her, Naractia flew through the air, towards her destination; Ponyville.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The changeling spy looked out from his hiding spot to see Naractia fly away into the distance. A wide smile spread across his face, My plan worked perfectly. All that I had to do was tell those rumors to the queen, which would make her question the motives of Naractia. And now, Chrysalis wants her dead, He chuckled to himself, And as for me, I can finally claim the long awaited reward that I deserve.
The spy turned to the three changeling drones that he'd brought with him, before chaos broke out in the hive. Pointing a fore-leg at the fleeing princess, he ordered them, "Track her down. Do not let her detect you. She needs to think that she's safe from danger. And then when that happens, seize her and bring her back to me."
The three drones grinned wickedly as they powered their wings and took off into the air, following Naractia's course to Equestria.
The changeling spy laughed to himself as he watched his minions chase after the princess, "Keep running, Naractia. You'll never be able to come back now. A weakling like you has nowhere to go in this world."
He beat his wings and flew into the air. He turned back towards the hive and dove down into the depths of the cavern, planning in his mind how he was going to relay this news to Chrysalis. Hopefully, if he played his cards right, he could get his reward along with so much more.