Chapter 9
Chapter 9
___________________________________________________________
Chrysalis, now known as Crystil walked towards where Celestia had said her Changelings were. She knew it would take a few moments for them to notice her in the hive mind, but she was fine with that. As long as they were all safe, she was glad.
As she drew closer, she at once felt the hive mind and every Changeling reaching out to her frantically through it, their anxiety due to having thought her dead for so long almost making her stumble from the pressure. She tried to send as many comforting feelings through the hive mind as she could, to ease their minds.
The guard escorting her opened a door to a large room and she walked in, him remaining outside.
Upon entering, she found a large gathering of changelings, some of whom were not coloured black, but a variety of colours.
One, a cream coloured one with a trio of candy bonbons on her flank, was the first to step forward, before she went into a deep bow, to which all the others joined.
“Rise, my children,” she said calmly, causing them all to do so. She looked around, giving them all warm smiles. “And thank you all for staying so loyal.” She looked down. “I fear I do not deserve it.”
“No, Your Highness,” the cream coloured changeling said, rising and shaking her head. “Whilst we all may not have agreed with your methods, you only did what you did for us, your hive.”
Crystil found herself smiling, lifting her head and nodding to the Changeling.
She looked around at all the smiling faces, feeling the care and love each Changeling in the room had for her. How could she have not noticed it until after failing so horribly?
She moved further into the room, her smile growing as at least twenty nymphs of varying ages hurried over and hugged her front legs.
Princess Crystil couldn’t help but feel so much joy at their smiling faces, especially now that they looked so much more like ponies.
She wasn’t sure why, but she felt something about her Changelings accepting her and whatever had happened to cause her to feel the odd care she did for Shining Armour had something to do with the ability to take on these exact forms.
True, Changelings all had the special ability for a new default form, but those were used when a Royal Changeling left her home hive to start her own, using it to give herself and her hive their own identity, though that in itself was a rarity, so most hives looked the same. Yet, there had always been a constant with each form.
It had never mattered what default form a Changeling chose, it was always riddled with holes, be they in the wings, the legs or, in her previous hive’s case, both.
But, that was not the case with her new hive. When they had taken on their new default form to distance themselves from what was now Chitan’s hive, they had no holes at all.
Even she, taking on a form to match, had been surprised to find herself having not a single hole poked anywhere around her body. She didn’t understand why, now so willing to share her feelings, this could have happened and yet, somewhere, deep in the back of her mind, it felt right, as if this is what should have been from the beginning.
Upon thinking this, she realized she’d never bothered to question a single love collector of their lives in the places she’d sent them. Sure, she asked about how their cover was going, but had never truly bothered to find out how their lives in their homes among the ponies went.
With this new thought in mind, she turned to a pinkish-purple changeling with a two-toned bluish-purple mane and tail and a duo of dolphins on her flank, intent on asking just that.
“I hope Twilight and the princess are alright,” a voice murmured from in the back.
Crystil blinked, her train of thought being cut off, before looking around for the voice. Everyling quickly moved aside, revealing a darkish-yellow Changeling with a brown mane and tail and three blue horse shoes on his flank, who flinched when he realized everyling was staring at him.
Crystil cocked an eyebrow. “Are you referring to Twilight Sparkle?”
The Changeling looked down, nodding. “She and princess Cadance left for Ponyville yesterday.”
The Changeling princess blinked, before nodding to herself. It would make sense, she supposed. Things weren’t going to get any easier, staying here in Canterlot.
“I think we should be more worried about the Changeling Kingdom,” one of the changelings who were black said. It was honestly a little jarring now, so many colourful changelings interspersed among black. “We all know why it’s been kept safe all this time. With the way some of the nobles here in Canterlot are acting, I wouldn’t be surprised if Princess Luna sends ponies to confront the new queen.”
There was silence for several moments as what the two Changelings had said filtered through Crystil’ mind, before her eyes widened in horror.
She looked firmly at all her Changelings, namely the ones with colours. “Any of you who were stationed in Ponyville, return there right now!”
Every Changeling blinked in confusion at her sudden anxiousness.
“My Qu—princess?” a black Changeling asked, stepping forward. “Why are you sending them back to—?”
“Think about it, all of you!” she said, her worry entering her voice, though coupled with anger they all could tell was not directed at them. “Chitan thinks I am dead. As far as she is concerned, that means all bets are off. She will likely target Princess Cadance, not realizing the flaw I myself failed to see in the plan to take Canterlot. This means she and Twilight Sparkle are now in danger!”
Everyling from Ponyville, all of whom were among the coloured ones, flinched, before nodding and hurrying out the door.
The Changeling princess grinned sheepishly at the startled cry of Shining Armour and the guard who’d led her here.
When Shining looked in with a scowl, she held up her hooves, her expression firming.
“If you want your sister and former fiancée safe, I need to send those Changelings back to Ponyville, now!” His eyes widened at the mention of his sister, but she did not give him a chance to reply. “Also, I need to speak with both Celestia and Luna, as well as anypony who would be in a position to lead an attack, at once! I must stop Equestria from making a fatal mistake that could doom us all!”
Shining blinked a few times, before he saw the resolve in her eyes. He nodded, before speaking to his fellow guard.
The other guard grumbled, but saluted his captain and hurried off to deliver the messages.
Crystil felt bad for Celestia. All that paperwork and now she’d be adding more worries to the plate.
___________________________________________________________
“This had better be important,” General Thunder Hooves, a grey-coated Earth Pony with a black mane and tail and an axe for a Cutie Mark said as he and several other generals sat around a circular table.
They were in the war room. Whilst Equestria had not needed to go to battle for many years, the room was still there and it wasn’t like the ponies of today weren’t ready to fight, if need be.
“I have to agree with Thunder,” Commander Spitfire nodded. It was a state secret that the Wonderbolts were actually, unbeknownst to the public, a means of training pegasi for battle, should the need ever arise. “Even for a Wonderbolt, being called into duty at this time of the night, or morning, or whatever, is ridiculous. I've a new training regime I need to start the new Academy cadets on this afternoon.”
The double doors to the room opened, cutting off the small talk and in walked the princesses of day and night. However, they were not alone. With that was the Captain of the Royal Guard and one other. It was this one that caused all their eyes to widen.
She looked very different from the last royal of their kind Equestria had dealt with, but those eyes and wing types made it clear; a Changeling.
Before any of them could react in fear or protest, however, Princess Celestia held up a hoof.
“I am sorry for calling you all in on such short notice,” Princess Celestia said, looking to them all in turn. “However, last night I was informed of some new information that makes any plans intended to attack the Changeling Kingdom a futile endeavor.”
“And just who gave you this information, Your Highness,” a unicorn with a cream coloured coat and light-yellow mane and tail asked, looking at her with narrowed eyes, before glancing to the Changeling.
“Princess Crystil,” the solar Alicorn answered, the Changeling stepping forward.
“You would trust the word of one of those things?” Thunder Hooves asked incredulously.
“Say what you want, pony,” the Changeling replied, giving him an uncaring look, in a voice that did not have the same distortion as the one that had attacked at the wedding. In fact, there was no distortion to her voice at all, which was enough to through them all off. “With Chitan now ruling Chrysalis’ former hive, you would be wise to trust any who wish against her getting anywhere close to this land at your side.”
“Crystil is a Changeling Royal who denied Chitan as her ruler and came to Equestria alongside many of the Changelings who came for Queen Chrysalis’ funeral,” Princess Luna said, her voice firm. “She has agreed to take over the ex-Queen’s hive under the condition she and those of said hive are allowed to remain within our borders, in exchange for information that will aid us should Chitan try what her sister failed to do.”
“And what information could that bug provide us that would aid in anyway?” a green unicorn with a bright pink mane and a Cuite Mark of a golden sword asked, his tone mocking. “I am already preparing an army of my finest unicorn soldiers to be ready should we ever need to go into the Changeling Kingdom.”
“At which point, each and every one of those unicorns would become useless and mere target practice for Chitan’s hive,” Princess Crystil said flatly, but in a tone that said it was pure fact.
The green unicorn snarled. “How dare you? Those unicorns are some of the fastest spell casters I have ever commanded. What in your right mind could possibly make you think they would be useless upon entering the kingdom you’ve clearly been exiled from?”
“Only Changeling magic works in the Changeling Kingdom.”
There was silence for several moments, before Spitfire spoke. “Um, can you repeat that?”
The Changeling Princess looked to her with a firm nod, her expression not holding the same look as when she’d spoken with the unicorn. If anything, it should some fraction of respect. “Within the Changeling hive there is a large throne, carved from an ancient black stone. This stone absorbs all outside magic like we Changelings absorb love, spanning a distance of the entire Changeling Kingdom. Many a foolish rulers in the ancient past have tried to take the kingdom, but, the moment they passed the border, all their magic became worthless.”
“Wh-what about pegasi and Earth Ponies?” Thunder Hooves asked uncertainly.
Princess Crystil gave him a stern look. “Earth Ponies get their strength from their magic, as do pegasi the power of flight and weather control. They too, would become helpless against the Changelings in their own Kingdom, the Earth Ponies no longer possessing their strength and the pegasi would drop from the sky like flies. How do you think our kind survived Discord’s rein without a problem?”
There was silence, before a chill ran throughout the entire room. A race who could even take down the Lord of Chaos himself had he been foolish enough to enter their realm? The idea was too chilling to speak aloud.
“It would also explain why, in areas near where Crystil has revealed the location of the Changelings Kingdom, that many ponies have mysteriously vanished, leaving no trace,” Celestia spoke into the silence. “With magic of any kind save Changeling being rendered useless, they could keep themselves safe and never bother fearing any coming to their realm.”
“And, since attacking their kingdom as a whole is a suicide mission in and of itself,” Luna continued for his sister, “Crystil has agreed to work alongside Equestria and its allies, fortifying our defences, should Queen Chitan ever try and repeat where Chrysalis failed.”
There were murmurs all around the room, before a majority of hooves rose into the air to show agreement. Those who kept their hooves down grumbled amongst themselves, but said nothing.
Celestia looked to the Changeling Princess, who nodded firmly, before the white Alicorn cleared her throat. “Very well then, we shall begin preparations to keep our kingdom safe from the threat of Queen Chitan’s hive right now.”
___________________________________________________________
“I never thought that would end,” Crystil groaned as she walked with both princesses on either side of her, Shining Armour and several more guards trailing behind.
Celestia nodded, looking exhausted herself. “I am sorry you have to pretend you are not yourself and that you died. It is the best way to keep you safe from your sister’s ire and keep your non-death a secret. At the very least, your hive can live freely among our subjects and we have formulated plans to start implementing the Anti-Changeling Defences around the kingdom.”
“Even if several ponies could not remove their heads from their flanks and admit they were wrong,” Luna huffed. She did not envy Celestia today. She herself would be going to bed soon, whilst Celestia had the whole day to still contend with.
Crystil nodded. “The fact that my own subjects will not have to walk around in disguises makes it much easier for us.. though I'm sure some will continue to wear their disguises, having gotten so used to them over the years.”
The sun goddess smiled. “Thank you again, Princess Crystil. You are doing a great thing by helping us against your sister.”
The Changeling snorted. “You gave my hive a chance to flourish again. I’d be a fool to take that for granted and not help out. My sister’s hive is now as much a threat to my own as it is to your kingdom. If you go down, we will follow.”
“I must thank you for sending some of your hive to watch over my niece and student,” Celestia replied, trying to brighten the mood.
Crystil merely sniffed. “After what I did to both of them, it is the least I could offer. Besides, though of my hive, those Changelings have found homes, families in that town. All I did was let them know that they would also have to watch over the town, something they would likely have done regardless, for the safety of their loved ones.”
Sensing the conversation was over, the two sisters took their leave, Crystil returning to her hive’s designated area of the castle. It had been a long night and the days to follow did not bode to be any shorter.
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lf is a suisicde miss
Did you mean if it's a suicide mission?
Obligatory - ITS ALIVE
oh dear, it's been long enough we've forgotten most of the premise of this story. This is where Twilight broke her destiny to Flash and luckily only ended up screwing him out of the deal, right?
Erm, in any case, glad to see progress is being made, right decisions are being enacted and life is moving on. Good break with the season finale, right?
If there's material that absorbs pony magic, it's probably going somewhere, right? Maybe there's a sister-stone that's the wormhole destination for that...
Keep going!
For twidance I would work on Twilight's aversion to being with Cadance based on her past actions. Sure they memory wiped Twilight so she couldn't work on a counter spell but that doesn't mean that she has accepted Cadance. So I suggest Cadance and Twilight have an honest and Frank discussion including that Cadance wishes to persue a relationship with Twilight, perhaps even initiating a kiss.
It's alive!
Nice chapter. While I'm not a fan of the new forms in the show, how it happened here makes more sense, with it being dependant on the Queen to initiate a change and it being caused by some powerful magic, not just suddenly sharing love for the first time ever. Plus it seems that this time the final look is more dependant on what the changeling in question chooses, so there are probably quite a few who are still black, just without holes and with different wings, etc.
I would imagine Chryssie would need to talk to Shining, maybe at dinner, talk stuff over so that they can slowly grow closer together.
'the accident past' - ancient
'to entire their' - enter
Was not expecting to wake up to a zombie, but I'm glad your back from the dead!
Glad to see this being updated, quite frankly I had all but written this off has dead and buried.
Happy to see I was wrong.
Just a head's up for a few typos:
Chance.
Enter.
Cool, it ain't dead.
I think the first thing for twidance should be twi coming to terms with her feelings. Also glad this story is back!
I had to reread this story to remember what happened prior. I know we have been exploring Twilight and Cadance (well, mainly Twilight) trying to deal with their new bond. However, I would like to explore Chrysil and Shining adjusting to theirs. All while trying to prevent Chitan from trying to succeed where her sister failed.
I would like to request more. In fact. I demand more.
i have an idea to suggest that since the soul-binds have changed that the dynamic of the Chrystal empire changes along with it, Instead of Cadence who takes over ruling that instead that Chrysalis/Crystil takes that place with Shinning in the idea that it was shinning is the protector of the empire and the one he was soul-bound to was to be the princess of the realm.
But just expanding on the relation of shinning and Queen Chrysalis/princess Crystil. would be a good start to work on.
but this is just an idea I'm throwing out to ya that i think would be a bit more original in my option.
Reads the description.
Oh and faved.
when can we expect the next chapter? i would really like to finish the story.
Crystil and Chitan should exchange a vowel, becoming Crystal and Chitin, and preserving me from my continual urge to vomit every time I read those names.
Pretty good story otherwise, it's just that those names are horrible.
This is really good so far and I can't wait for the next chapter.
Uhm sir could I please have some more?
Fine you may have more in the future.Filthy peasant
What was that, a peasant asking for more!
B-But sir I would very much enjoy more.
Well you shall have none from me!
I said I would very much ENJOY MORE!
Fuck!
Please find some way to counter attack! Please!
My strategist side is killing me over this nightmare!
7959704
When can we expect an update?
I've truly enjoyed the story thus far, I hope you get back to it at some point.
this story seems to be dead.
Two words: one word:
MOAR!
Please come back to this, it was sooo good.
I look forward to the next chapter.
any idea when we can expect an update and new chapter?
Good joke
Fav'ed and liked. I do hope you come back to this or at least change the status to "cancelled" or "haitus", whichever is most accurate. I'd love to see closure. Thank you again for this interesting story. I really love that you didn't have twilight immediately forgive them for their admittedly awful transgressions.
any idea when we can expect an update and new chapter?
*leaves love hearts candy changeling bait out*
10135124
Honestly, in this case? The fear and hatred are justified because again, they attempted to enslave the entire population of the country to use as a food source. That isn't something you should forgive too easily.
any idea when we can expect an update and new chapter?
Update soon?
Really enjoyed the story so far. Hope you plan on continuing it in the future.
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Cute story. Still worth a read even in it's incomplete state.