Chapter Twenty Nine
The throbbing in her horn from when that accursed snow white unicorn had bit her was no longer excruciating to the point of her vision being blurry, having calmed down considerably to simply being miserable in nature. She still couldn't perform any feats of her magic, as it would just reignite the pain, and start throbbing all over again. However it was a moot point as she couldn't perform any magic while confined in this dimly lit cell anyway. The entire area was blanketed in a magic cancelling field, and there was nothing she could do in response to it.
She'd been bitten, stomped on, spat on, sat on, kicked, her horn bitten and threatened with cutting off, effortlessly played for a foal, sucker punched and left with a busted muzzle, the back of her head nearly broken, and now locked in a cage. And on top of that, she'd been tricked into involving her entire hive, the entirety of the current generation of changelings. She'd so easily fallen for the words of a stranger she'd just met, promising to assist her in retaking Equestria for her hive, and this is how things turned out.
And now here she was. Locked in a poorly lit cage, her loyal drones on another floor entirely, left alone to wait out their fate. What Celestia had in mind for them was truly heinous in nature, and made her wish she'd actually been killed instead of simply imprisoned.
She'd found out from Luna that she and her entire hive would be exiled from Equestria proper, to a facility that had the dubious honor of being referred to as "the waiting room to Tartarus." A penal colony located deep inside gryphon territory, and known for the unusual magical qualities of the area it was built in; simultaneously able to magically sustain whatever or however many inmates were sentenced there, while at the same time negating any attempts at magic carried out inside the facility to prevent escape. A facility that was rarely used, except for when dealing with the most violent of all violent criminals, who presented a true risk to society, and couldn't be placed anywhere else; even the gryphons, who were known for the penchant at hostility, rarely encountered a criminal severe enough to be sentenced there.
And unfortunately, she and her hive had drawn a life sentence at the facility for their actions here on this day.
"Chrysalis you foal," she said to herself as she rested her forehead against the bars of her cell, her voice sounding distorted from earlier, mentally kicking herself for everything that'd happened. Why had she allowed herself to trust a being she'd never seen before, when he came promising to help her retake Equestria for herself? Why had she allowed herself to be so gullible and let her guard down?
Then again what could she have done to the contrary? He'd thrown her across the throne room without even trying, it wasn't like she could've actually stood up to him and fought him off. He'd slapped her on the back of the head, and nearly broke her jaw against the marble flooring from the force of the impact of landing. She couldn't have resisted even if she'd tried. Even her attempts at mind control had been futile.
She'd been flankbucked once again it seemed. Fate was so, so cruel at times.
Her thoughts on self pity, and how unfair life in general was, were interrupted by the sounds of hoofbeats coming down the hallway. Perhaps guards carrying out searches to ensure none of them had escaped? Maybe there was a unicorn she could sweet talk into assisting her? Unfortunately no such luck in this case, the source of the hoofbeats entering her view, and she saw that it was Celestia's little annoying sister Luna, and the even more annoying stone faced Ulquiorra. This truly couldn't be good for her.
"Two of the three responsible for my situation. Such an unfortunate meeting," Chrysalis commented as she rested her forelegs against the bars and used them to support her weight in a lean. She scowled particularly at the sight of Ulquiorra. "I have nothing to say to you, biped."
"I have questions," Ulquiorra stated simply.
"That doesn't concern me," Chrysalis replied and stepped back from her perch, and walked over to the far wall of her cell consisting of stone rather than metal. She had no desire to talk to the one who'd betrayed her and tricked her into her current position.
"These bars will offer you no protection should I choose to come in there and demand answers," Ulquiorra explained, taking his left hand out of his pocket to give a demonstration, showing as he began bending one of the bars out of shape as if it was nothing, causing Chrysalis' jaw to drop at the sight of it. Perhaps he should go ahead and rip the entire section of bars from the masonry that held them, to prove to her that he was not to be trifled with.
"We doth advice thee not to anger him Chrysalis, when Ulquiorra Cifer doth get like this, we cannot control him. We hath seen him angered before, and 'tis not a pretty sight. One time before, he didst become like this, and we did bear witness to him jerk a being's spine out of their back, and show it to them. There was nothing we could do about the unfortunate incident, as we were forced to go vomit at the sight of what we didst see," Princess Luna explained.
Ulquiorra stopped his demonstration of strength, but failed to remove his hand from the bar, as he turned his attention to Princess Luna at her words. What nonsense was she speaking of? He hadn't ripped anyone's spine out of their back in his time here. Nor was he particularly motivated to do such, as it was an entirely wasteful manner at killing, when impalement through the chest was so much more effective and straightforward.
Then there was the practicality issue of actually trying to separate the spinal column from where it joined to the pelvic bones and ribcage; the spinal cord that the individual vertebrae were designed to provide protection to, as well as the tissue that linked them together, would never withstand the amount of force necessarily to rip that particular section of the skeletal structure out of the body. Even if he would engage in such a tasteless manner of execution, there was the distinct possibility that should everything go right, and the entire spinal column come free without a hitch, the skull would come along with it, thus ripping the victims eyes out, while in the process of turning the remains of the head inside out from where the tissue connected to the bone structure. In such a case there would be nothing left to show the spine to as the eyes would see nothing but the collapsed fleshy remnants of the head and face.
Such a procedure could indeed be performed, but only through significant surgical effort, and only after the individual it was performed on had died. If the victim was still living, they would've died from the traumatic shock long before they were able to see their own innards being displayed, in a morbid and ultimately redundant manner of telling them they were soon to die.
Princess Luna appeared to catch his gaze in her direction, laughing nervously as her serious look faded and gave way to one of far less professionalism. "We didst believe some degree of levity would assist thee," she said in her own defense.
Ulquiorra ignored her and turned back to face Chrysalis, who appeared equally dumbfounded. "When did you decide to launch a second attack on Equestria?" he asked simply.
"And what concern is it to you?" Chrysalis asked defensively. Why did he care after all he'd done to her already?
"I possess questions. You possess answers. And the dragon from earlier is in no position to speak, so my options are limited to you," Ulquiorra explained evenly despite her obstructiveness. Right now he had to put up with her, as she was the only link they currently had access to that could communicate intelligently. At present time she was too valuable to risk losing.
"Dragon?" Chrysalis asked and blinked in confusion. What dragon was he talking about? When?
"Thou doth not want to know," Princess Luna replied in a low tone. This wasn't getting them anywhere. "Queen Chrysalis," she spoke up, "as one member of royalty to another, we ask that thee answer the questions presented. We suspect that thou hath been made into an unwitting pawn, and art innocent of the charges against thee. If thou doth help us with this mystery, we shalt speak to our sister about thee's sentence. But thou must be honest with us, if thou art deceitful thee's fate will be most unpleasant as a result."
Much to their surprise Chrysalis began cackling madly at Princess Luna's words, her head thrown back as she howled with laughter.
"A most unpleasant fate you say? My entire species is being shipped off to some remote penal colony, far beyond the bounds of what's come to be our home, stored away from the light of day for what's going to prove to be a very long time. Do you know what the average lifespan for changeling drones amounts to? Fifteen years. While I'll live considerably longer than that, my children most certainly won't, and without any available males to enable repopulation, my entire species will go extinct in Tartarus' waiting room! And because of my long lifespan I'll have the dubious honor of experiencing all my children dying around me, and knowing that once the current generation is gone, there won't be any others. The only option I'll have to spare myself this suffering, will be to end my own life, and traumatize them in the process by depriving all those hundreds of changelings of their mother, and them realizing that there's no hope for their species!" Chrysalis stated as she directed her gaze in Luna's direction. "So tell me, Nightmare Moon, what can you possibly do to me, that will be a more unpleasant fate than spending every day of the rest of my life, knowing that my race has been sentenced to extinction, and forced to watch it occur?" she asked, her tone indicating a challenge.
Ulquiorra observed as Princess Luna sputtered at the taunt and the title of her past self, likely a severe insult to be hurled at her. The fluctuations in her detectable reiatsu were considerable, and he half expected to see her reiryoku arcing off her body like lightning at some point.
"I've already been sentence to a lifetime of misery, sadness, and death. Nothing you could possibly do could be any worse than that," Chrysalis taunted.
"We shalt see about that," Princess Luna stated in a vicious tone, malice and ill intent practically dripping from her lips with each word uttered.
"Princess Luna," Ulquiorra spoke in an even tone. He could see what Chrysalis was doing, and how the alicorn was taking the bait being dangled in front of her. “Now is not the time for pettiness,” he explained in a calm manner.
He waited until Princess Luna turned her attention to him, and nodded her understanding that he was right, before finally turning his attention and focus back on Chrysalis. “I make no claim of knowing what this facility is like that you will be departing to. But I’m quite certain your presence there will be rendered far more intolerable, if your hind legs are paralyzed and you must drag yourself along the floor by a single functioning limb in order to be mobile. How long do you believe it would take for your exoskeleton to erode away against a rough stone structure, and leave the soft tissues underneath exposed?” he asked her. "I've heard that septicemia is a truly insufferable condition to contract and leave untreated..."
The nervous gulp that came from Chrysalis was quite audible in nature, the changeling queen understanding exactly what he was saying, and believing that he had no qualms with doing such; after what he’d done to so many of her changelings, she had no reason to doubt him, and the way his voice remained so neutral and even just made it all the worse.
“What is it you wanted to know again?” Chrysalis finally asked.
“When did you decide to launch a second attack against Equestria? Ulquiorra asked.
Chrysalis sighed something unintelligible, before sitting down on her carapaced haunches to get into a semi-comfortable position. She cleared her throat before speaking again. “The decision to make a second grab for Equestria had been in the planning process for months before actually being carried out. It started off slowly, a drone here, a drone there, nothing too major that might alert anyone’s attention. We started by targeting isolated and lonely ponies who wouldn’t raise much concern if they didn’t talk much, didn’t interact with others on a significant level, or seemed a bit strange. We even targeted old ponies that'd died previously and hadn't been discovered yet. From there, we began looking for other targets of opportunity who could be safely replaced, to aid us in our gathering of reconnaissance of Ponyville and Canterlot to determine the best course of action,” Chrysalis explained.
“How did you come to the idea of targeting the holders of the Elements of Harmony and replacing them?” Ulquiorra asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? The Elements of Harmony are the most powerful force to be found in all of Equestria. If we could separate them then even if we were found out it wouldn’t make any difference as they couldn’t be used,” Chrysalis stated. It was a fairly obvious solution to the conundrum; six individual ponies, six different targets to pick apart, six easy ways to render the Elements of Harmony useless. It was amazing how nopony had thought of such before.
“Why was Fluttershy specifically targeted?” Ulquiorra asked.
“Out of all of the Elements of Harmony, Fluttershy was the easiest to secure. Quite, isolated, meek, and often left to her own devices while other ponies go about their daily lives, completely unaware of the presence of the meek yellow pegasus who can’t even be heard talking, even when she’s surrounded. It was the most logical choice, to focus our attempts on her than any of the others. And once we had the Elements of Harmony separated, it was easy to engage in the next part of the plan, increasing the number of changelings in each of the cities, targeting and replacing other ponies who could either directly or indirectly affect the other Elements of Harmony. Friends, family members, loved ones, anypony that could prove to be disruptive to them, and beneficial to our goal,” Chrysalis explained, a grin crossing her features as she thought back to the elegance of it all.
“A rather pragmatic approach to the situation,” Ulquiorra commented. Subterfuge and destabilization could indeed lead to devastating developments if not stopped immediately. It was quite fortunate he’d been so quick to discover what was up; even more fortunate that Princess Celestia had allowed him to depart when she had. “Had I not become involved, how long would it have been before you launched a full scaled attempt?” he asked.
“If everything had gone according to plan,” she paused to scowl directly at him, “another three days would’ve been more than enough to allow us to have sufficiently secured both cities. Not that it makes any difference now,” she grumbled.
“What was the significance of your timing?” Ulquiorra asked. Chrysalis responded with a confused look at the question. “Why did you wait until you did in order to replace Fluttershy with a changeling? What was the significance of the three days before the planned assault?”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. You’re asking why we chose to perform on a specific day?” Chrysalis asked.
“Correct. It has been estimated Fluttershy was replaced two days ago. What was the significance of waiting until then instead of choosing any other day? Why didn’t you choose to make such a move last week?” Ulquiorra asked.
He observed Chrysalis as she tried to formulate an answer. Changeling body language wasn’t too particularly different from that of ponies, and it became quite obvious that she had no idea what he was asking about. She lacked the answers he was looking for, that would lend credibility to his theory. This lead to three possibilities:
One: The changeling attack had no connection to the dragon, and was separate and not indicative of any discernible pattern of behavior, and it truly had been a matter of coincidence.
Two: While the changeling attack may have been planned out months in advance, the timing and decision to proceed could suggest that it was still directly related to the incident regarding the dragon, and was yet another attempt against the holders of the Elements of Harmony, and Equestria as a whole.
Three: If Chrysalis had been involved by an outside force, her lack of knowledge could be sufficient to suggest she wasn’t conscious of the fact she was to play a role. It would also suggest the outside force possessed a sentient nature, as well as enough intelligence to not leave behind any information that would constitute a loose end that could be traced back to a source of origin, and possibly unravel whatever operation was currently in the works.
Of the three possibilities these facts could be read to support, he favored possibilities two and three. The thought that two attacks on the holders of the Elements of Harmony within such a short amount of time, holding no connection to one another, didn’t seem logical to him.
“Then thou art of no use to us. Come, Ulquiorra Cifer, let us depart,” Princess Luna stated and turned to leave.
“There is still another question to ask,” Ulquiorra stated in response and made no effort to move from his spot, keeping his attention focused on Chrysalis. “When I arrived at your hive, you said something that didn’t make sense. At first I assumed it was some standard speech, similar to boastful concepts of conquering the world. Afterward, when I had time to rethink the structure of your statement, I came to inconsistencies between this assumption and your words. I need clarification,” he explained. Chrysalis said nothing so he continued speaking. “Your term of “devouring love” is most confusing. Your phrasing seeming to treat the notion of love as something of a real and physical nature, such as wood or stone, rather than an intangible emotional concept like hope or happiness. Your terminology didn’t suggest bringing despair to the optimistic, and crushing their will to live, but rather depriving them of something real. Can you elaborate on what you meant with your selected terminology?” he asked.
"Oh love is quite real in nature, quite real indeed, and very much physical in construction. Love is as real as the air we breathe, and it's just as vital to the existence of life; especially to those that feast upon it for nourishment, such as us. Equestria is surging with the most love to be found in any region of the land, and is a veritable paradise... a paradise that my kind seems unwelcome in," Chrysalis stated. When Ulquiorra said nothing in response she continued. "Do you have any idea how long we've been searching for a suitable location to live in? How many generations have been spent on the move from place to place, searching for any establishment of sentient life with enough love to sustain us like a civilized society? Equestria is the only place capable of doing that and so much more! But we've been rejected from this paradise because those who rule feel we're too parasitic for their perfect little world. Celestia and her like want to keep all of the love for themselves, and not share it with anyone they have no liking for. We've tried so many times to implement diplomatic negotiations over the years, but we've always been rejected. Time and again we've been given no consideration, our needs have gone ignored for so long," she moaned.
Princess Luna looked between Ulquiorra and Chrysalis, the look on her face one of confusion at what she was hearing. Her sister had been engaged in diplomatic discussions with the changelings in the past during her absence?
"'Tis a lie! Our sister wouldst not keep something of such from us!" she stated.
"You obviously don't know Celestia as well as you think you do. But then again you weren't around a hundred years ago, so you wouldn't know," Chrysalis stated in response. Her attention was no longer on Ulquiorra, but rather the younger of the two sisters. "My hive has slowly but surely been starving for years! Do you know what it's like, having to hide yourself from view, and surviving on scraps when others are free to feast to their heart's content? We've tried asking, we've tried begging, we've tried pleading! And each time we've been shot down and summarily rejected! We've grown desperate, and have been forced to take drastic measures to survive, because of the likes of Celestia and her greed! We had no other choice but to take the course of action we took if we were to survive! My own children are perishing, one by one, because we have no food for ourselves, and yet we're tortured by the delicate aromas in the air that just remind us of how hungry we are! The only reason I'm still alive and standing before you, in order to answer your questions, is because six of my own children decided to sacrifice themselves in order to sustain me, and allowed themselves to die instead! They loved their mother so dearly, that they couldn't bear the thought of continuing on without her. And now it would seem their sacrifice was meaningless as we'll all die soon enough..."
Ulquiorra stood silently and listened as Chrysalis talked, observing her reiatsu intensity as she shared her tale. His statement about her strength in comparison to Princess Luna's had been something of another falsehood, necessitated by carrying out Princess Celestia's orders. While Chrysalis' overall level of strength couldn't have truly competed with Princess Luna, it had been significantly greater than currently. Somewhere between now and their initial meeting Chrysalis' reiatsu had dropped considerably. It almost even had a different texture to it.
In her current state, the earth pony Applejack would've been able to go toe to toe -or perhaps hoof to hoof was more accurate under these circumstances- and come out victorious in a physical altercation. Twilight Sparkle was more powerful than Chrysalis was currently, even without resorting to her magic. If her hive was indeed starving as badly as she was suggesting, it would reasonably explain the utter desperation of her decision to invade Equestria, and make a grab for rule; it was a simple matter of preservation of the species, and no different from a pack of wild dogs attacking a herd of larger animals. It wasn't even much different from Hollows with insatiable hunger turning on their own and evolving into Gillians.
Still. The notion of an emotion actually being tangible in nature, and a source of sustenance, sounded ridiculous to him. But all things considered, it wasn't the most ridiculous thing he'd heard since arriving here.
"Oh please! Thou art attempting to tug at our heart strings!" Princess Luna replied, disgusted with the tale that was being weaved before them. How dare Chrysalis slander her sister's rule with such a disgraceful tale? She had half a mind to unlock the door and nag slap her where she sat.
"Believe whatever you wish to believe, because right now I don't have the energy to care. I'm tired, I'm defeated, and the only reason I have left to go on living, is to try and keep my children from panicking," Chrysalis replied and laid down on the floor of her cell, using her forelegs as a makeshift pillow. However it wasn't two seconds later before she brought her head back up. "Oh drat! I suppose it's too late now to ask for a final request while there's still time..."
"And what kind of request couldst thou have the nerve to make after insulting us in such a manner?" Princess Luna asked. She certainly had some nerve.
"I would like to negotiate for the release of my hive," Chrysalis replied simply.
Princess Luna quirked an eyebrow at this. "Surely thou doth jest. Our sister will not release thee no matter what thou might say," she stated.
"My hive, not myself. I don't deny that I'm responsible for what I did or that I did it. But my children are innocent of whatever charges they face, merely doing as their mother told them as that's how our species works. I can quietly resign myself to whatever fate I'm destined for, but they don't deserve to share it with me, for the duration of their lifetimes. Surely you and your sister have enough kindness in you to at least let me plead my case," Chrysalis explained.
"Really now? Thou doth expect us to believe such?" Princess Luna asked skeptically. Did Chrysalis take her for a foal?
"I don't really expect you to do anything. I'm just asking that you inform your sister, and let her deal with the matter. A mother has to try and do what she can for her children. Surely you'd do the same thing to protect your own subjects if faced with a similar situation," Chrysalis replied.
"Assuming the unlikely possibility of Princess Celestia granting your request what then?" Ulquiorra asked, interrupting the back and forth conversation between the two. The emotional drivel being traded right now was thick enough it could be cut with a knife. "You've already attested to the fact your hive is starving to death. Assuming you can secure their freedom, what will change this fact?"
Chrysalis chuckled to herself. This one was quite observant in nature. "I intend to make one last plea for my hive to be granted refugee status in Equestria. Surely there's somewhere Celestia will allow them to nest and live in peace with her subjects. There's got to be someplace in this vast land where my children can live, without suffering from constant starvation," she explained.
"And why doth thou believe this time will be different from any other time that thou hast mentioned?" Princess Luna asked.
"Because unlike all the previous times, I intend to offer Celestia something that's never been put on the table before; my life, in exchange for the freedom of my hive," Chrysalis replied simply.
The resulting silence in the dungeons was so stifling a pin could be heard dropping from the other end of the hall.
But that lead to the obvious question of who would be down there, and playing around with pins in the first place?
Celestia is really being put through the ringer. A ruler's job is never easy.
Loving this so far.
That last line I do enjoy those stories where Chrysalis comes off as affably evil She only tries to go leaps and bounds to care for her children, even if it means force.
Also...
ANATOMY~!!
Wow Celestia is a massive b**** if Chrysalis is telling the truth. Not surprised but somewhat disappointed.
I rather do enjoy conversations that lead to such interesting revelations. Now Celestia may face displeasure not just from her student however from her sister as well. Great chapter.
As usual I enjoy any story that makes Celestia out to be the asshole. Yes the changelings attacked, but guess what? They were desperate and starving, all because a fat white alicorn is too much of a speciest to let them live in peace.
Such disharmony being created. Discord is most pleased.
3595498
Wait... I just got a wild and crazy idea...
What if... the changelings are the emaciated forms of Flutterponies?!?!
This one seems a bit lacking compared to the previous chapters in terms of writing, but still good.
Hehe, the "love is tangible" idea reminds me so much of Ulquiorra's speech about things that aren't visible. I was hoping he would be fascinated to the point of asking Chrysalis to show tangible love to him. Perhaps he would just think the idea insane though.
I do hope that the changelings continue in Equestria. Transformation is such an awesome power.
Ulqy doing something sub zero would do is hilarious to think about xD this chapter was good much shorter then usual I wonder why that is? If its an occational thing then nevermind it probably can't helped though it would be nice if chapters came a bit faster if the price to pay is shorter chapters :)
Too many questions, too few answers, and the end nowhere to be seen. Oh well, watch the puppets long enough and eventually you'll see the strings leading back to the puppeteer.
Ulqy talking about the spine thing makes me want to see what he'd do to Jack harkness from doctor who (Who quite literally CAN NOT DIE)
3595573
You're just getting that?
Oooh, I can't wait to find out if Chrysalis is telling the truth. If Tia really did turn the changelings way time and time again then all that's happened can be laid at her hooves.
Only one correction this time, you're getting way better at this.... Oh no! I'm gonna loose my job!
*bit strange. We even targets old - bit strange. We even targeted old
3595723
Actually the whole spine ripping thing was a reference to "Alien Nation" that I just couldn't resist putting in. Just like the rope and Colt Bronson thing from a few chapters back was a "Boondock Saints" reference that just seemed right.
Some chapters unfortunately won't be as long as others, but sometimes that's par for the course. Sometimes one has to sacrifice length to keep up with a schedule.
3595573
I always thought that changelings were regular ponies suffering from a case of "Discord did it" and that the elements just didn't purge them. Meh, just my head-canon. Feel free to ignore it.
I am loving this so far!
Huh, so Celestia do have some more skeletons in her closet.
3596865
Well we knew she had to have something in her closet. She certainly doesn't keep any clothes in there.
3596919
Untrue! She needs a Place to keep all her big a** Heavy golden jewelry, and she does have a dress or two, as seen when Twillight officially became a Princess.
That ending... perhaps someone breaking a lock?
3596435
I saw you mention "Boondock Saints" and I cracked up laughing. I rewatched the Helsing Abridged series last night, and that just brought it all back, hahaha...
You know, not to dis your portrayal of changleings or anything, but the more stories I read that elaborate on them and/or have Chrysalis or some random changeling interact at length with someone else, just talking and explaining, the more I realize that I like the changelings most when they're something unexplainable, slightly unreal, more spirit-like than just insect ponies, something lovecraftian perhaps. When they're mythical beasts that thrive on not just "consuming love", but depraving other beings of it in the process. Unqestionably evil and unreasonable. Because when they're grounded, made to be like a simple insect species with society, structure and whatnot, it really becomes rather baffling how they are hated because surely there would be no reason for the all-loving ponies to not help them, sparing some of their love for them. In almost every story the changelings are made to be the victims, "just trying to survive" etc. I kinda want them to be more like the Windigoes or the Everfree forest (by itself, or it's beasts like the timber wolves, which are just some random magic making wolves out of wood and attacking people for seemingly no reason).
Perhaps it helps that the only source of the word "changeling" I had before ponies was "Quake", which called it's lovecraftian horror monsters "changelings" in some intermission text (possibly the ending). And it does sound extremely sinister and scary unless you completely trivialize them like everyone who's ever done a story involving them does. Oh well.
I'll say it once, and I'll say it as many times until everyone agrees with me! Changelings are the Quincys of MLP.
3597856
That's assuming Chrysalis is telling the truth rather than attempting another trick.
Considering what happened in previous chapters with Ulquiorra's supposed defection, is it really safe to take anything at face value?
3598001
Maybe. But Twilight is the one with the spell to absorb mana from the surrounding territory.
Think maybe she could've used it and pulled Ulquiorra apart if he was in the area at the time?
3598297 You got a point there... Still, in my personal perfect portrayal of the changelings they wouldn't have a hive, or any sort of detectable presence, they would vanish from imprisonment and keep reappearing in villages and towns even after everyone's sure that there's none left and all the borders and perimiters are secure... Oo-oo-ooh!
3598563
Ah, but the thing about simple insects is how a hive doesn't account for an entire species, but simply one colony. Perhaps Chrysalis is simply the rogue of the lot, the black sheep of the family. Perhaps she was kicked out of the main cluster due to extremism, or even simple genetic defect that left her brood retarded at birth that would taint the rest of the species if allowed to remain.
Oh... I normally don't like stories where Chrysalis is affably evil. I see it as a bunch of fellow bronies trying to see the good in a character clearly placed in the 'evil' category, that and because they remind me too much of the attack dog-like, soulless, irredeemable Xenomorphs. But in this case… CELESTIA, YOU LITTLE BTCH! I WILL RIP YOUR THROAT OUT! YOU'RE LETTING LITTLE LARVAE STARVE, YOU NO-GOOD FCK! WHY, WHY, WHY? IS THIS JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU AND YOU ALONE ARE THE MOST POWERFUL? HUH? ARE YOU SO PARANOID YOU CAN'T RISK ANYTHING BEING STRONGER THAN YOU? IS THAT WHY YOU CAN'T TRUST ULQUIORRA? BECAUSE HE'S STRONGER THAN YOU? IS THAT WHY YOU REALLY GOT RID OF LUNA? BECAUSE HER NIGHTMARE MOON FORM WAS STRONGER THAN YOU? HUH?
3596621 Or how about this: The changelings were the lovely and elegant Flutterponies. Their lands were frozen during the attacks of the windigos upon the old homeland of the ponies (Dream Valley). The ponies simply fled and left the Flutterponies to freeze, and the Flutterponies with their queen Lacewing despised the cowardly and hateful ponies... and when Discord showed up and offered them a way to both survive and take revenge upon the ponies who'd so cruelly abandoned them, they gladly accepted.
And since the decision had been theirs, since the hatred was borne within their own hearts and minds, when the Elements trapped Discord it had no effect on them and they remained in their mutant bug-pony forms.
Of course, with that fannon fact in mind, it leads one to wonder why the Elements freed Luna if NMM was formed only from her jealousy (this follows the comic canon that the Nightmare was another entity).
3596435 I See and Ah I never heard of either of them so that I didn't know on. XP
3596621
We're all here to share, troll, and make merry
I can't take it... The guilt is too much, I did it... I was using my multiverse toy kit and accidentally dropped the pin I the dungeon. I'm so sorry I take full responcablity and wait for whatever punishment awaits.
3598297
Perhaps, perhaps.
A bit of a short chapter but yeah...molestia!
Also that last line about a pin was funny, and the person who dropped it is going to get murdered by Ulquiorra!
Huh, Celestia really is the evil one here. isn't she.
Makes sense Luna wouldn't know, and if my Queen tried being diplomatic about it, and failed, one could easily see Celestia as the villein.
3609934
Not really. There's nothing for an avatar to represent. The only thing over here is the story itself.
3610206 Fair point.... Also, can't wait for the next chapter
That's a good Chrissy!
The whole "being controlled by an outside force" thing reminds me of the creepy pasta "psychosis" for some reason.
...I believe I have said it before, but I never made it to the fight with Ulquiorra back when I read Bleach due to my school's library running out of novels. I have yet to get back into the story since then, partly because of all the reading that would need to happen for me to catch up, partly because I found something about the story to be a bit...flat...I dunno, just bland somehow, and partly because I do not want to deal with searching through every chapter to figure out where I left off.
That said, I have heard that Aizen supposedly had directed every aspect of Ichigo's life from the moment he had been born, which thus made Aizen basically a god of manipulation. Should this be the case, then considering the quote above, I would not be surprised if Aizen turned out to be behind the negative events of the story, and the climax/conflict would boil down to Ulquiorra choosing between redeeming himself for his failure to accomplish Aizen's orders versus defending his new friends. If I am indeed correct, then for the sake of referring back to it later on, I will mark down the very number of the chapter I am posting this comment on.
5343436 Although based on the last reveal of information from Chrysalis...perhaps a plot twist is in the making with a rather unlikely villain, that villain being Celestia herself attempting a tyranny brought by loyalty and dedication rather than fear? I won't deny, I have thought of such a concept before, though not with any MLP characters involved.
The gears in the mind go round and round...
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If you want here is the final fight between ichigo and Ulquiorra in the anime, might be missing a bit of context though depending on when you had to stop reading. Although something secret will happen about half way, so if you don't want to be. . .would it be spoilers if this is a fanfic based on something else and something that is shown already, but hasn't showed up in the fanfic........I'm confusing myself.
Is Celestia really so forgetful as to forget a race that easily? If she wasn't you think she would've had something that would've let her know about their presence in the Canterlot wedding.
Meh scratch that. She didn't find a way to prepare for them after that either. Maybe she really is that forgetful.
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Y'know, I'm pretty sure changelings would never starve if they opened official, legal brothels
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Don't say it.
I'm so gonna say it.
No, seriously, don't, just don't.
I'm so gonna do it. He started it.
That doesn' mean ya gotta finish it. Show some maturity.
Fuck maturity, this is too good to pass up.
Well, they do have enough holes to fill.
Pesky eavsdroppers
I'm rereading and I've noticed that you're missing chrysalis actually responding to some of the questions.
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Yeah, that's sort of deliberate to suggest that Chrysalis has no idea what they're talking about, and to help allude to how not everything is right inside the changeling's rotten brain.
This is why I hate Celestial as a character both in fanfics and the show, she treats every pony - heck everyone - she’s older as children even grown adults.
This leads into some self-righteous mind set that others aren’t trusted to handle serious situations, even ones she’s unrelated to.
She just bulldozes her way to others problems unless they aren’t somebody she trust - Twilight for example - but this leads to problems like every pony being to dependent on her and I don’t mean her controlling the sun, I mean when it comes to governing.
A better example of somebody in a ruling position is Mayor Mare as she knows her townsfolk but doesn’t belittle them by calling them “her children”.
I feel Celestia as a character doesn’t handle or portray certain scenarios that well in my opinion.