Chapter 8
Chapter 8
“What are you doing all the way over there?” Chrysalis asked. “He won’t bite…” She said, before showing that toothy grin again. “I’m lying. He will bite. Might even puncture your skin.”
“That’s the reason why I’m all the way over here.” Twilight said. She sat and watched from a relatively safe distance. The egg wiggled around due to the inhabitant trying to escape. Twilight wasn’t sure whether or not it was some kind of creepy creature and thus stayed away for the time being.
The room itself wasn’t helping either. Whereas the other rooms she had been in thus far had been illuminated by an eerie blue light, this ‘nursery’ was bathed in a dark green glow. The light created strange shadows in the various indentations in the walls, which made Twilight feel rather uncomfortable.
The egg itself wasn’t aware of her discomfort or the odd feel of the room. It just wiggled around a bit, occasionally cracking a bit more. It had done so for the past hour or so and there was still no newly hatched Changeling to behold.
“Shouldn’t we help?” Twilight asked eventually. “He’s probably tired now.”
“No.” Chrysalis said flat-out. “Every Changeling needs to do this on their own. There is no place for weak soldiers here.” She added.
“Oh.” Twilight simply said. She frowned as she thought about what the queen meant.
‘CRACK!’
Twilight jumped back a little more, much to the queen’s amusement. The egg had gone from relatively intact to splitting down the middle, in less than a few seconds.
“That’s it, my son.” Chrysalis cooed as the egg shook with renewed vigor. “You can do it, make your mother proud!”
The egg fell apart entirely and Twilight braced herself for what monstrosity might dwell within.
But instead, she saw a tiny Changeling tumble out of the shell. No tentacles, no mandibles or overly creepy dexterous appendages. Just a little Changeling with bright blue eyes that stared curiously at everything around it. He had a short, fin-like mane and a stub for a tail.
“There we go.” Chrysalis said, leaning down to nuzzle her newborn son. “This one will be a strong soldier, I can tell.”
“Is it a boy?” Twilight asked as she gingerly stepped closer, trying not to scare her newest sibling.
“It is indeed.” Chrysalis said as she levitated the remaining pieces of shell off of the Changeling nymph. “All Changelings born are male.” She told Twilight. “Except you and I, of course.”
Twilight inched closer and closer to the little Changeling. For some reason that she couldn’t explain, she felt drawn to this little guy. “This must be how Shining Armor felt.” She told herself as she lowered herself to the floor, to be at eye level with her little brother.
The nymph stared at her curiously. He stood up on four shaky legs and took a step towards Twilight, only to collapse mid-step.
Twilight’s horn flared and she grabbed ahold of the nymph before her could fall over. “No!” Chrysalis’s horn lit up too and seemingly broke Twilight’s grip on the nymph. “He needs to learn on his own. You must not coddle them.”
“I was just trying to help.” Twilight said defensively.
“I know but you’ll only hurt him in the long run.” Chrysalis said, her eyes fixed on the nymph as he struggled to get to his little hooves again. “He needs to do this on his own. I did, you did and every Changeling hatched before him did and every Changeling hatched after him will do so too.”
Twilight nodded. As usual, she understood what the queen meant. That didn’t mean that she liked it though. What was wrong with lending a helping hoof every once in a while?
By now the nymph had gotten up again. He took a tentative step towards Twilight. And another. And another!
And then he fell over again. Twilight figured that a pony foal would have started crying by now, but Changelings weren’t the same as ponies. Not anymore.
Chrysalis observed her son with an approving look. “He’s a fighter.” She said, seeing the nymph scramble to his hooves again as if nothing had happened.
Soon enough he had made it all the way over to Twilight. Of course, the princess was only a few feet away but that was a lot of ground to cover for a newly hatched Changeling.
“Hi there.” Twilight said. The nymph’s eyes widened at the sound of her voice and he promptly sat down, the look of curiosity never leaving his face. “What’s his name?” Twilight asked the queen, though she didn’t look away from her little brother.
“Name?” Chrysalis asked. “He doesn’t have one. Nor will he ever have one. The majority of Changelings get upset if you call them by a name.” She explained. “They feel it bears down on their unity with the queen.”
“That sounds rather odd.” Twilight said, a giggle escaping her mouth as the nymph booped her nose with his front left hoof. “How can you tell everypony apart?” She asked.
“We are all linked into the hivemind.” Chrysalis strode over to her children. Her horn glowed as she began to lift the nymph off the ground. “And I know each and every Changeling by their place in the hivemind.”
The infant flailed his limbs about in a near comical fashion as the ground underneath him suddenly disappeared. He calmed back down as Chrysalis’s face came into view, prompting him to stick out his little hooves in an attempt to reach her.
“He is not linked yet.” Chrysalis said as she inspected her son for any flaws. “It takes a few months before a Changeling finds their place in it.” She lowered her son to the ground again and turned back to Twilight. “You were moved from here days after you hatched, long before you could be tuned in to us. That is being fixed as we speak. It has been causing those headaches of yours.”
“I see.” Twilight said, thinking about it. It would be straining for her mind to be integrated into something bigger than herself. “It makes sense, I think.” Twilight couldn’t help but still this as a newly discovered field of research for her. That was just the way her mind worked.
“It doesn’t.” Chrysalis said. “But we make do with what we’ve got.” She shrugged.
“Anyway, he seems to like you.” Chrysalis noted as the nymph decided to ignore the queen for the time being. Instead, he began the perilous journey to his sister once more. “Would you like to feed him for the first time?” The queen asked.
“What?” Twilight cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “How do you mean?”
“His first dose of love.” Chrysalis clarified. “You should have a vast amount of love left from Shining Armor.”
“I guess I could give it a go.” Twilight said. She wasn’t terribly enthusiastic about the idea of sharing Shining Armor’s love. On the other hoof, this was for her new little brother.
“What do I do?” She asked.
“Find the love that’s coursing through your veins.” Chrysalis instructed. “Gather it. Focus it and move it to your horn.”
Twilight closed her eyes. Once again, the queen was rather vague about what she had to do. So she tried to visualize it. She imagined the love her big brother had ‘given’ her as a stream, a river of pink or red energy.
A warm glow suddenly became clear to her, as it coursed throughout her entire body. The glow told her that she had found it. But it was not alone. The love of several other ponies was there as well. Her mother, her father, princess Celestia, her friends, Spike. It was all there for her. Waiting for her to use it.
She taped into Shining Armor’s love, as it was the biggest supply she had at the moment. But the instant she did so, Twilight noticed that there was something wrong with it.
It wasn’t hers, she realized. It wasn’t intended for her but for somepony else. “Cadance.” She whispered as the love gathered in the tip of her horn, causing it to glow its usual purple color, though a nearly unnoticeable dash of green was flickering in and out of existence in it.
“Now touch your horn to his.” Chrysalis continued, pleased to see that her daughter was so quick to discover this.
Twilight slowly lowered her horn to the nymph. The little guy had been watching with interest, observing curiously as the grownups talked and performed their strange magic.
The big sister touched her horn to her little brother’s, causing a few green sparks to erupt from the tips.
She channeled Shining Armor’s love through her horn and offered it to the Changeling. The nymph eagerly accepted it.
The transfer felt rather draining to Twilight. As if every bit of energy was suddenly leaving her body.
“That’s enough.” Chrysalis said after a few seconds. Twilight yelped in shock as the queen lightly shoved her backwards, severing the link between the two Changelings.
“What was that for?” Twilight asked as she attempted to regain her composure. Her wings had opened up instinctively to balance herself, so she didn’t have much trouble to do so.
“Don’t overfeed him.” Chrysalis said as she levitated the nymph away from Twilight, before placing him at her own hooves. “Newborn Changelings only need a smidgen of love. With what you gave him, he’ll last for over a month.” She bowed down and nuzzled her son, who was licking his lips in approval of his meal.
“Really?” Twilight mentally checked on the love that coursed through her. There was barely any difference, almost as if none of it had been transferred. Even the feeling of being drained was gone entirely.
Chrysalis nodded. “Indeed. A single pony’s love is enough to feed the entire hive for a few weeks.”
Twilight looked at her, a skeptic look on her face. “A single pony? You expect me to believe that a single pony can produce enough love to keep three thousand some-odd Changelings going?” It should be impossible for a single creature to produce such levels of energy.
“Six thousand some-odd, if you include converts.” Chrysalis smirked. Again, she did her best to show off her sharp fangs. “But what you fail to realize is that love is a very, very powerful emotion. It, above all other emotions, is our lifeblood. And it’s even more powerful if given willingly.”
Chrysalis put a hoof to her chin, as if in thought. “But perhaps it’s best if I just show you what I mean.” She said before stomping her hoof twice. She then send out a message through her connection to the rest of the hive. Twilight felt the message too but as before, she didn’t understand it.
Some Changeling did. Twilight could hear somepony running towards them. Mere moments later, a portly drone approached them. “My queen? My princess?” She bowed before Chrysalis and Twilight.
“Take care of this nymph.” Chrysalis said, her hoof moving towards her son’s last known location. Problem was that he wasn’t there anymore.
“Over here.” Twilight groaned in slight annoyance. At some point, her little brother had decided that Twilight’s tail was an ideal chew toy and that it was a good idea to sink his teeth into it. “You’re lucky that you’re such a cute little guy.” Twilight said. A smile had found its way onto her face. The little Changeling reminded her of Spike when he was younger. He too found it rather amusing to munch on her tail for some reason.
The assigned caretaker quickly picked up the nymph and made and attempt to pull Twilight’s tail from his mouth.
Twilight had a flashback to her childhood, back to when Spike did the same thing and Shining Armor attempted to pull him off of her.
“Ouch!” She cried out as the drone pulled a bit too roughly, ripping out some hairs from Twilight’s tail.
“My apologies!” The drone fell to her knees, quacking in fear. “Please, I did not mean to!”
“Uh, it’s okay.” Twilight said, taking a look at her brother who was now attempting to spit out the few stray strands he had managed to pull out. “I know you didn’t mean to do that.”
“Get him out of here.” Chrysalis ordered with a serious tone. “And keep a close eye on him.”
“Of course my queen!” The drone groveled and bowed before the royal pair. She then stood up on shaky hooves and placed the nymph on her back between her wings and ran off as quickly as she could.
“That’s taken care of.” Chrysalis said. “Come, I’ll explain on the way there and… what are you doing back here?” She asked.
Twilight looked down. Her little brother was sitting at her hooves again. “Hey little guy.” She said. A look towards the other side of the room revealed that the drone hadn’t noticed the absence of the nymph yet, as she just kept running as fast as her hooves could carry her.
The queen ignored the drone for the time being and lifted her son up to eyelevel once more. “You are a stubborn one. Nothing good ever comes from stubborn soldiers.”
The nymph didn’t understand the severity of Chrysalis’s words and just tried to grab ahold of her nose.
Chrysalis rolled her eyes and placed the nymph back on the ground.
“Can’t he come with us?” Twilight asked. “I don’t think he’ll be much of a bother.” And she wanted to spend some time with her new little brother. She had never been a big sister before. Well, except to Spike but she wasn’t entirely sure what the dragon thought of her when it came to relation. So this could be a new experience for her.
Now that she thought about it, nearly everything so far had been a new experience for her.
“He should be sleeping now, to conserve his energy.” Chrysalis said, her lips curling into a smile as the little Changeling latched onto Twilight’s leg. “But if you insist. A few hours can’t do much harm. But come along now.”
Twilight nodded. A look of surprise came over her face as the nymph proceeded to scale her leg and make his way onto her back.
“He’s surprisingly nimble.” Twilight admitted as her little brother settled on her back between her wings. Right in the same spot that Spike preferred to lay. She missed Spike, she realized.
“Indeed.” Chrysalis said before focusing on the hivemind again and sending out a new message to the drone they had seen before, along with something else.
A yelp of pain was heard, a bit further away from them. Twilight took an involuntary step away from the queen. “What did you just do?” She asked, her voice betraying her feelings of shock.
“I punished that drone.” Chrysalis said. “She allowed her charge to get away from her.” She pointed at the nymph on Twilight’s back, who was unaware of anything bad.
“Wasn’t that a bit harsh?” Twilight asked, a shudder running down her body. Even she felt that and it wasn’t even directed at her.
“I reward good work and I punish bad work.” Chrysalis simply said. “Nothing more, nothing less. Her punishment should be more severe actually.”
Twilight didn’t want to say anything about that. It just seemed way too harsh for her standards.
“Come along now.” Chrysalis said.
-
“And that’s how I single-hoofedly wiped out the Griffon threat.” Luna said, a touch of remorse in her voice.
The group had taken to telling stories, to pass the time as they travelled towards the border. The forests they were passing through right now were rather dull anyway, so they needed something to pass the time.
“That… that sounded awful.” Rainbow Dash said. “Come on, meteors?”
“It was a different time and it was an easy solution.” Luna sighed. “Celestia and I were different ponies back then. We were proud and vengeful.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “So very vengeful.”
“Ah don’t know what to say about this.” Applejack frowned. “Sounds like a horrible thing to do.”
“It was.” Luna said. “But it was in response to a horrible thing they did. An eye for an eye, so to speak.”
“If ya keep to that the entire world will end up blind.” Applejack retorted.
“I keep forgetting how sheltered you ponies are nowadays.” Luna admitted. “The Griffons attacked us first. They had plans to slaughter our little ponies for their meat. Can you blame us for wanting to nip that in the bud?”
“Well, no… but you could have tried to reason with them.” Applejack said. “Like we’re trying right now!”
“We tried that.” Luna admitted. “We invited the Griffon warlord into our city, to talk him out of it. We offered to trade food.” She grimaced. “He spat in my face and demanded that we surrender unconditionally. In return, we firebombed their capitol and imprisoned him.” She said with a hint of regret in her voice. “We weren’t good ponies back then.”
“You don’t read that in the history books.” Rainbow Dash said. “Not that I read history books, obviously. I’m not an egghead.” Her eyes shifted nervously from Luna to Applejack to Pinkie Pie, who was trying to make sense of a map.
“Anyhow, it turned out that Feather Fiend the Terrible, much to my genuine surprise, was an awful warlord.” Luna continued her story. “He oppressed the Griffons he was supposed to protect, kept the meager supplies they had to himself and attempted to gain more assets by shifting the blame to us. After Celestia and I ‘removed’ him from office, we aided in the rebuild of Weather Top and we set up a trade route with the Griffons, trading fish and other food items for miscellaneous spices and herbs. Most of the Griffons were happy, the ponies weren’t on the menu. All was well.”
“Good riddance then.” Rainbow Dash said as she leapt off of her cloud and landed next to Pinkie Pie, who was reading a map. “Are we nearly there, Pinkie?”
“I don’t know.” Pinkie said. “It says here that this map isn’t to scale. And there’s a whole lot of places I’ve never even heard about on here!”
“Let me see that.” Luna swiped the map from Pinkie and took a closer look at it. Her eyes moved from left to right quickly as she took the image in. “Pinkie Pie? Where did you get this map?”
“From the library!” Pinkie said happily.
“Pinkie, did you steal this from the library?” Luna asked seriously. “The ROYAL Canterlot library?”
“No silly! You can’t steal from a library!” She said with a sugary sweet smile. “I just took it when that grumpy pants didn’t want my library card.”
Luna resisted the urge to facehoof. But it was oh so tempting! “Pinkie Pie, you stole this map. And when you did, the anti-theft system kicked in. It renders the map completely useless.” She rolled the map up and stashed it in her saddlebag. “You will apologize to Dusty Tomes the moment we get back to Canterlot, do I make myself clear?”
“Okay, I’ll apologize to Grumpy.” Pinkie said with a smile on her face. “And then I should throw him a party! An apology party! That might make him less grumpy! Or I should find his long lost love, that worked for Cranky. Maybe he and Grumpy are friends! Wait, why would either of them be grumpy or cranky if they have friends…”
Luna’s eye twitched as Pinkie rattled on and on and on and on. There was just no stopping her, Luna realized. All was lost!
Rainbow Dash put a comforting hoof on Luna’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, she’ll stop in a few minutes.”
“Ah hope.” Applejack said.
-
“So basically, there’s two ways a Changeling can feed. But they both boil down to the same thing.” Chrysalis explained as they wandered through the hallways of the hive once more. “One, by masquerading as a pony’s loved one and basking in their love. But in that way, only the individual Changeling gets fed enough for a month or so.
“Two, the Changeling that obtained that love can hold onto it and supply it to me, the queen. In turn, I can transfer that love to every Changeling in the vicinity, keeping them fed for a month.” She looked at Twilight. “Are you still getting this?”
“Sort of.” Twilight frowned. “Where does the excess energy go?” She asked. “You’re saying that the same amount of love that feeds one Changeling, can be enough for a few thousand Changelings if it passes through you. By that logic, the single Changeling should be set for life if he feeds once.”
Chrysalis nodded. “It doesn’t make sense, does it? It took a lot of trial and error for the previous queens to discover this.” She stopped and rubbed her chin in thought. “I’m not going to say that I understand it, because I don’t. Changelings are rather… chaotic, if that’s the right word.”
“Perhaps.” Twilight mused as she waited for the queen to continue on to their destination. She had seen a lot of hallways thus far but found it very difficult to tell them apart. She wasn’t sure if they had been here before or if she was just imagining that.
“Let’s continue.” Chrysalis said, leading the way once more. Twilight was starting to feel a bit awkward, trailing behind the queen from strange revelation to stranger revelation. The more she learned about her species, the more confused she got.
On her back, her little brother chirped cheerfully, almost like a cricket. He was not aware of his sister’s conflicting thoughts. He was more than happy just sitting around, listening to the strange things the two Changelings said to each other, though he did not understand a single word they spoke.
“What you’re about to see is just another way of harvesting love.” Chrysalis continued their interrupted topic. “It works by taking a pony’s love. All of it, whether it’s willing or taken by force. The process changes the subjects, turning them into Changelings.”
“Is that what you’ve been doing to my brother?” Twilight asked.
“Exactly.” Chrysalis said. “Just over a longer time than usual. Shining Armor’s on the brink of becoming a Changeling now. Just one more time should be enough.”
“No thank you.” Twilight gritted her teeth.
“Spoilsport.” Chrysalis said playfully, though to Twilight she sounded more sinister than Discord and Nightmare Moon put together.
“But as I was saying, that’s the most effective method for gathering love. Take it all by force or get it all freely. End of story.” Chrysalis said.
“Are there other ways of turning ponies into Changelings?” Twilight asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. “Or back, perhaps?”
“Back? No. At least not that I know off.” Chrysalis shrugged. “And there is one other way to change a pony into a Changeling… it’s dangerous.”
“How dangerous?” Twilight asked.
“The kind of dangerous that kills you.” Chrysalis said forcefully. “Long ago, your great grandmother’s older sister lost her lover when she was revealed to be a Changeling. She tried everything to get him back, from hexes and charms to venomous love potions. Nothing worked. Grasping at straws, she used her magic to turn her lover into a Changeling but kept his love for her, what remained of it, intact. Unfortunately, she dropped dead on the spot, completely drained. The lover on the other hoof, remained an individual but was still tied into the hivemind. And when the hive figured out that he was responsible for the princess’s demise… well, let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.”
They walked on, an uncomfortable silence hanging in the air only disrupted by the nymph’s occasional chirps.
-
“It was so nice of the princess to offer us this chariot.” Fluttershy settled herself into the middle seat on the bench so she wouldn’t have to look out the window.
“Indeed, very generous of her.” Rarity said. “Much more comfortable than the train.” The white mare sunk into the velvety cushions of the golden chariot, feeling like a princess.
“Miss Rarity?” Applebloom asked. “Do we really have to go home now? Ah’m still worried about my brother.”
“I know you are, my dear.” Rarity said. “But you won’t have to miss him for long. The doctors told me that he’ll be transferred to the Ponyville hospital tomorrow.”
“Really?” Applebloom asked.
Rarity nodded. “Indeed. Now rest your eyes for a bit, you’ve had a rough day.” She levitated a blanket out of one of her bags and draped it over Applebloom, who squirmed in protest. “And the same is true for you three.” Rarity pulled out more blankets and placed them on Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Spike.
“Aw, but Rarity…” Sweetie Belle whined.
“No buts dear.” Rarity said. “It’s way past your bedtime.”
It took a bit more complaining from the three fillies and one dragon but soon they were all sound asleep. Not long after, the chariot took off, eight white Pegasi pulling it forward. Fluttershy smiled at the sight of the fillies and dragon sleeping, though Spike and Applebloom didn’t seem to have a very calm sleep, as they were both muttering in their sleep.
“How have you been holding up, dear?” Rarity asked.
“I’m fine.” Fluttershy said. “Just so worried. And scared.”
“Scared of what?” Rarity asked.
“The Changelings.” Fluttershy admitted sheepishly. “They frighten me. To think that anypony could be one of them, it just…” She stared out the window, watching the bright moon and the stars in an attempt to hide her face from Rarity’s eyes.
“Don’t bother yourself with such thoughts.” Rarity said, trying to reassure her. “It’s not good for you to worry like that.” The white Unicorn leaned in a bit closer. “But I admit, I too will be keeping an eye out for any suspicious behavior.”
Fluttershy turned to look at Rarity and nodded. “You’re right Rarity.” She said eventually. “But I just can’t help but feel like this is all just the beginning of something much worse.”
“I sincerely hope that you’re wrong.” Rarity said.
-
Twilight’s mouth fell open in shock. She too had a sizable set of fangs but that mattered little to her at the moment. “Wh-what? What is this?”
“Most Changelings refer to this place as ‘the rebirth’. I prefer the term ‘pantry’ to be honest.” Chrysalis said, waving a hoof from left to right.
They had passed from one hallway into another hallway. Lined along the walls were several green cocoons, each with a pony in them. Or at least some of them were still mostly ponies. Some had become Changelings, others only displayed a few traits that the emotion devourers possessed.
“The cocoons make it less taxing on both us and them.” Chrysalis explained. “It also allows us to harvest their love easier than if we were to drain them in one go.”
As if on cue, a Changeling drone walked up to a pod and prodded at it with his horn. The cocoon pulsed and shook as the pony inside trembled. A green glow formed around the protective case and the drone greedily absorbed it all.
“How can you do this?” Twilight asked, horrified by this display.
“You say it like it’s a bad thing.” Chrysalis said. “Some of these ponies were volunteers. A few others were nomads without a home. We provided one for them.” Of course, she neglected to mention that they had stolen away a few members of a travelling caravan in the dead of night.
“Volunteers?!” Twilight uttered in shock. “Ponies volunteer for this?” The thought of transforming ponies into Changelings was already strange to her. But to think that ponies would actually sacrifice their individuality and life for this? It boggled Twilight’s mind.
“Indeed. Some ponies long to be part of something greater than themselves.” Chrysalis said as she walked over to one pod in particular. “Of course, there are exceptions. This one for instance: we found her broken in the streets of Las Pegasus. Poor thing was starved for love and attention. If I didn’t know any better, I would have said that she already was a Changeling.” She ran a hoof over the thick membrane keeping the pony sealed within. “And now she’ll never be alone, never be starved and never hurt again.”
“Unless she fails, right?” Twilight said forcefully.
“Of course.” Chrysalis said without blinking. “The converts especially need a strong and firm, yet caring, hoof to guide and mold them.”
Twilight did not like this. She did not like this at all.
“Something bothering you, my dear?” The queen picked up on Twilight’s hostile thoughts. The princess was improving, Chrysalis could now only make out the intent of her thoughts, not the content.
“Yes! You say you want to help these ponies, yet you hurt them when they fail!” Twilight was seething by now. “You should help them learn from their mistakes, not punish them!”
“Changelings, both converts and natural born ones, learn best by punishment and reward.” Chrysalis said. “Punishment for errors, reward for success.”
“Like training a lapdog?” Twilight took a step forward. Anger was clear on her face by now and the nymph on her back was trembling from the amount of emotion the princess was giving off.
“It’s because they want to be lapdogs!” Chrysalis yelled. “They revel in being obedient! They long for complete control over every action! Every one of them longs for complete unity and complete servitude! They are jealous of every other Changeling that is in total synchronization with the queen!”
Twilight was taken aback by the queen’s outburst.
“They want punishment. It helps them serve their queen better.” Chrysalis said, trying her best to calm down again. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her heart was still beating way too fast from the excitement.
“I’m sorry.” Chrysalis eventually said. “But they are not ponies. None of them are. Not anymore, so don’t think that you’ll be able to treat them as such when you come to rule.”
“Then I won’t convert any pony. Ever.” Twilight said. She couldn’t imagine doing this to anypony.
Chrysalis shook her head. “There will always be ponies like her.” She turned back to the cocoon. “Broken ponies, outcasts of society. Ponies who want nothing more than their heartache to end. Your children will find them. Or they will find you.” She turned back to Twilight. “Would you turn your back on them, knowing that you might be their last hope for some sort of decent existence?”
Twilight opened her mouth to respond but no words came out. The queen’s words struck deep. As with everything so far, they made some sort of sense to the mare.
“I want to go back to my room.” Twilight eventually said, when nothing else came to mind. “I need some time to think.”
“Of course.” Chrysalis said. “Take all the time you need.”
Chrysalis called for a Changeling through the hivemind. Mere moments later, a pair of drones came running.
“You, take your princess back to her room.” She said to the left Changeling. “And you, take the nymph back to the nursery. I think he’s had a big enough adventure today.”
The Changelings nodded.
Twilight craned her head around and looked at her little brother, who was curled up on her back. Despite her earlier display of emotion he had managed to fall asleep. “Bye little guy.” She said as the drone gingerly lifted the nymph off of her back.
“He’ll be taken good care of.” Chrysalis assured her.
Twilight nodded. “Good night.” She simply said to her mother before allowing her to be led away by the drone.
“Good night.” Chrysalis said back as Twilight departed for her chambers.
She waited a few moments before turning around to the pods again. “Today could have gone better.” She said to the pod-pony in front of her.
-
“I think we should set up camp here.” Luna said. as they came to a small clearing. “We’re close to the border but we should still be safe here from the fumes.”
“Can’t we go further in?” Applejack asked. The more ground they covered in a single session, the closer they got to Twilight and possibly a cure for Big Macintosh.
“No.” Luna said as she levitated a sleeping bag out of her enchanted saddlebag. “We rest here, at the border. We would have to rest within an hour or so anyway, so it would be foolish to head in.”
Applejack wanted to complain about that but was quickly shushed by a glare from Luna.
“Come on Applejack, it’s like camping!” Pinkie wrapped a hoof around her fellow Earth pony. “We’ll build a campfire, we’ll roast marshmallows, tell ghost stories and talk about colts!”
Luna continued to resist the urge to facehoof. “Pinkie Pie, I will not partake in such trivial activities. Remember that this is not a happy camping trip. We are on a diplomatic mission into what could be considered enemy territory.”
“So… no ghost stories?” Pinkie asked.
“No.” Luna stated. “Now, you will rest. We leave at dawn.”
“What?” Rainbow Dash complained. “But that’s in three hours!”
“All the more reason for you to go to bed right away.” Luna said as she crawled into her sleeping bag.
The other ponies followed her example and quickly slipped into their sleeping bags.
“Good night.” Rainbow Dash said, a loud and obnoxious yawn following.
“Sleep tight!” Pinkie said cheerfully.
“Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” Applejack said before zipping up her sleeping bag.
“Bed bugs?” Pinkie asked. “But we’re in sleeping bags! Shouldn’t we be afraid of sleeping bag bugs? Or maybe they like being called bag bugs. Let’s call them that...”
As Pinkie droned on and on, Luna’s eye twitched. For the first time in recorded history, she was looking forward to seeing the sun rise.
-
-
-
This took a bit longer than I had expected, so I apologize for that. Also, I want to thank PPS once more, for taking the time to look for my errors in my unedited chapters. Thank you so much!
[E/N]: Hello everypony/dragon/griffon/changeling/draconequus! uT.TerAbsurdity here with another edition of Absurdity’s Chaos Corner! ….....Yeah, I’m afraid that might have to be postponed for a bit. My creative chaos side isn’t feeling too well right now. So I’ll just share a bit of news: On Friday in the nice, little (I use the word little quite loosely) town of Seattle is Everfree NW. It’s like BronyCon but for us cool kids on the west coast! It’s gonna be a nice long drive but I’m looking forward to it, all the ponies, the friendship, and especially the magic! And just a word to whoever is going to be selling stuff there: Bring it on. My wallet is ready!
I leave you with this wonderful piece of music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ixvsV-ahI0
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yaya I have been waiting for this all week! Thank you
edit
Nooooooooooo i have finished it now i have to wait for the next chapter.
Oops. That link is missing an "H" at the beginning.
1090169 No it isn't 'insert liarjack here'
No idea where that 'H' went but I fixed it.
'For the first time in recorded history, she was looking forward to seeing the sun rise.'
Pinkie and Luna should have their own TV show.
Oh don't tell me Twi's being brainwashed?
Nice chapter. Much nicer balance between the dark and lighter portions while showing the shades of grey that is the Changeling society in your story. Very intriguing and well told tale. Nicely done.
I was going to go to Everfree NW, but they sold out before I could buy tickets because my parents thought they would never sell out.
1090181 Oi you! Are you hiding that poor H back there?
24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lr4k6001Jn1r0z1wao1_400.gif
1090184 YES!
1090206 Bummer.
You have my sympathy.
Let's hope that bucking homming beacon disgised as a lucky charm, have a really limited range, because I fear that Blueblood will fuck things up for the diplomatic team soon
oh cool i i didn't know that was happening in my home town
This is what happened.
I exited the bathtub.
I noticed that I had an email.
Mirror's Image has updated!
FUCK YEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHH!
Now then, I have three other fics, an episode of Scrubs, and a half-written creepypasta open in my other tabs. Multi-tasking will be the end of me.
As for you, UPDATE MORE OFTEN OR I WILL RAPE YOUR DOG, KILL YOUR CAR, AND CRASH YOUR MOTHER.
Wait a second...
just a detail. You said all drones are male, but called the nursing drone a she.
1090331 all the Changelings born/hatched are male, except Twilight and Chrysalis. The portly nursing drone was a pony once.
1090352 Ah got it, thanks.
1090206 From this experience, we can say that time is of the essence when it comes to pony events. Never assume, think, or believe that they will never sell out. Unless you can learn to Pinkie Pie your way anywhere (imagine all the gas money you can save!), always get tickets and other things ASAYHAI (As Soon As You Hear About It).
Hmm... a pony mare... down on her luck... wanting to be paid attention too and loved and admired... possibly kidnapped...
What have you done to the Great and Powerful Trixie, you monster!
Say it isn't so!
What I'm hoping is there won't be some bullshit cope-out of having the Changelings become flutterponies again. If only because none of the current ones were born flutterponies, but as changelings. Plus it effectively destroys an incredibly interesting race and replaces it with a generic "pretty race." Not too mention that the ponies never have to own up for their prejudices and therefore remain static and ultimate unchanging. Speaking of which, I hope you aren't going to write away the younger Celestia's rejection of Chrysalis as her mother's manipulations.
yay
1090181
images.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw2379-99229_-_animated_applejack_Applelie_liarjack_what_.gif
An ironic cliffhanger! Classic.
Hooray! Two days after "It's finished, just needs to be edited", I was starting to wonder a little. I hope Luna's expedition actually meets Twilight/completely misses Twilight and reaches the hive by the next chapter, though. The Changeling hive exposition has been taking a while.
It appears the hive actually does have the crazy low resource footprint implied by "1 family can feed a Changeling princess" and "1 growing Changeling princess takes an amount of love on the scale of the entire rest of the hive".
The queen is incredibly vital to the Changeling hive. Central command, central reproductive organ, and now central food processor. I wonder what other vital functions the queen is at the center of.
That bit about "The kind of dangerous that kills you" sounds like a Chekhov's gun. I wonder if it'll get used, or if (a) character(s) will only consider using it.
So that one drone who Chrysalis mind-punched must have been a convert? PRE-EDIT: Looks like you answered that while I was writing this.
A few general grammatical/stylistic notes:
Have a brief guide to dialogue grammar. Short version:
Wrong:
Right:
The rest of the info in the guide is relevant, too, but this is the big thing.
I don't know if this stood out to anyone else, but the word "distress" comes up a lot in this story. It shows up 11 times, usually in the context of characters sensing, noticing, or otherwise detecting other characters' distress. Neither of the chapters edited by uA have it anywhere, though. Did uA tell you to tone it down? Did it just not come up? Did you notice on your own that you were using it a lot?
I feel like your comma usage got somewhat better, but I can't really tell without going back and doing a more careful comparison. I'm still hesitant to correct comma errors, for fear of making the narration sound weird.
Twilight! Your whole life has been a LIE!
THIS STORY PROVES IT!
*Steel moves aside, letting Twilight sit down in his chair. She goes over the description, her eyes widening in horror.*
YOU-
ARE-
A-
CHANGELING!
*Twilight screams to the heavens, holding her head between her hooves. She was a Changeling! Her whole life has been a sham, a lie, a copy of someone else's! She's been living a lie this entire time, and she'd NEVER EVEN REALISED IT!*
Quite a pair of lungs...
*Steel blinks as the scream carries on for a full minute, Twilight only stopping at the end to take in a breath as her face turns blue. She plants her head between her hooves and leans back to continue before Steel slaps a hand over her mouth.*
Ok! I think we've had enough dramatic Darth Vader screams for one day! Let's just read and see what happens, eh?
*Twilight nods, and Steel lets go.*
We shall soon find out, Miss Sparkle. We shall soon find out...
ah, Pinkie, always with the motor mouth...
1090435 Nope, I'm probably not going to do that... probably. The Changelings are my favorite race, so I won't kill them off like that.
1090555 Thanks for that guide. I'm going to read that before I start the next chapter. Maybe then I'll save my editor and you some work.
Yes, I realise that the queen is a bit too important
but that was the intention, really.She dies, the hive dies.
And I had to look up the term 'Chekhov's gun' because I've never heard it before. I'm not spoiling anything yet about what happens later on in the story though.
And I just haven't found a reason to put 'distress' into the story since. Everypony's pretty chill at the moment
well, except Twilight.
I love your reviews, they're always so thorough.
1090558 I know but 'Tally-Ho' is a British phrase, used in foxhunting, when the rider sees a fox. I'm not a fan of foxhunting but I was trying my hand at making a pun with Italy. Didn't work out so well to be honest, so I left it out.
UM... you forgot the h in your http... thought you should know...
Edit: and first...
No "Scootaling is a Chicken" jokes yet. On the other hoof, according to this chapter, Scoots, should she actually turn out to be a Changeling, is actually a dude.
yaya Update.
Hmmm "This one for instance: we found her broken in the streets of Las Pegasus." is that Trixie
That map...
not to scale...
places never heard of before...
not from library...
She couldn't have possibly... no. She'd never be able to take this map, would she?
Why do you insist on making Twilight suffer watching the Holocaust, and making justifications for Chrysalis's inhumane behavior?
...
I'm going to bed.
1090199
I don't think she is being brainwashed. My assessment of this is that Twi is so confused that she will respond relatively well to almost any information
1090199 No, she is starting to view things as a Changling, no a pony.
1090657 Haven't seen that movie in years. But no, it's actually based on what 'real life' Changelings are. Are you familiar with the myth?
1090811 maybe...
1090849 Remember who we're talking about
1090900 She's not justifying her behaviour, she thinks it makes sense from a Changeling's point of view. And Chrysalis is still the bad guy, no matter how you look at it. But what do you mean by 'watching the Holocaust' ? It was never my intention to reference to that, so if I apologise if I did.
1090638
That pony that chrysalis said they found in Los Pegasus isn't Trixie, is it?
Awesome chapter!
BTW, I have a theory of why the same amount of love can feed a single changeling, or the entire hive if it goes through the queen first.
The queen do have emotion as well, and so, her own love for the hive would act as an amplifier of the love of others that rest in her body...
oh, and meteors? That' must been an awesome sight
"You spat in my eye, I spat meteors on your city"
Good stuff, as the story continues.
The only big problem I see with this chapter is that it is finite; I've finished it and I want more.
Can hardly wait for the next part.
Can't wait for the next chapter. This story is brilliant.
Hooray! Ever since I found this the day Chapter 7 was released, I've been anxiously awaiting the next installment. You've got a really intriguing story here, and I'm on the edge of my metaphorical seat for the next chapter!
Another chapter full of win
I love the way you characterize the changelings and how Chrysalis views them and life in general.
The best antagonists are the ones who think that they are the good guys!
how long until we can see more, i want to see the Reunion of twilight and her friends. THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME!!!
wonder if a changling turned trixie will have the obvious quirks of trixie.......and if said changling has any kind of abrupt reaction to changling princess twilight
You know, Twilight is taking this completely not like how I expected her to.
I am almost certain that the Las Pegasus pony is Trixie.
Of course, now I expect you to throw a curveball and make it an OC instead of Trixie.
Awww... no mention of everychoco in the E/N? That would make meh sad, if it weren't for them not being MLP... XD
How long till a new chapter please not as long as this one took
Bugger, I've ran out of chapters
MOAR!
Aww, the changeling nymph is so cute!
Weather Top? LORD OF THE RINGS FTW!
Changelings are rather chaotic come on Twilight if that isn't a hint on who is behind the Changelings than Pinkie Pie isn't random. Is the pony from Los Pegasus Trixie? If it is Trixie how will that affect things?
1090435
And why would not having been born Flutterponies matter? For the amount of power the reversal spell calls for (much more than the spell to become changelings), it is quite likely it can turn them into Flutterponies regardless of having never been one.
The other reasons you list are a matter of writing. Either direction can be interesting if written correctly. Turning the Changelings into Flutterponies is not a path free of issues after all. First there is plenty of things that could get in the way of it. Then after they have been reformed there is having to adapt to their new form.
Although I will say that throwing in a change to Flutterponies would be a distraction from the main purpose from this story: Twilight dealing with being a Changeling. Therefore Flutterponies would work better as a sequel dedicated to the transformation and the aftermath of it.