Queens to Check, Dragon to Mate

by dracone

Chrysalis in a Different Sort of Meeting

After Emerald’s adorable statement of who is who Chrysalis told Spike he was in charge of Emerald for the time being, perfectly timed with said filly snuggling up into her father, while she went out for a morning stroll for some fresh air. Chrysalis hadn’t really spent some time to herself in the past few years, she actually enjoyed the family time she had with everyone but the previous day’s activities made her feel like she needed some time to herself. The cool autumn air would hopefully wake her up a bit if failed to refresh her. She was usually surrounded by her girls, interacting with Twilight’s friends and/or family, spending time talking with one of the royal sisters, or spending quality time with some of her girls and their friends.

The outside weather was warm for the season, she decided to just sit and take in it all on a bench at the park. When she made to the park and parked herself on a bench she thought back with some amusement at how she would have been so openly approachable before the events that led to her close family. For the past five years, she had never really had time to just herself, it was either her immediate family with the girls and/or Spike to some capacity or her incredibly supportive extended family, one that included friends of her new family members. However, with her siblings and mother, and to a lesser extent Arachne, showing arriving and interacting with her new family Chrysalis was reminded just how much of a pain it was to deal with them in short bursts. For the first time, in as long as she could remember, Chrysalis felt a need for some genuine personal time.

Chrysalis’s few minutes of relaxation were disrupted by the sensation of feeling the presence of an unfamiliar changeling. With a heavy sigh, Chrysalis said, “You might as well show yourself, your presence is pretty obvious.” With her statement what appeared to be a forest green unicorn with a rosy blue mane and tail in an orange track, outfit came out sit beside her.

“And I thought I was doing so well to keep hidden too,” said the mare in voice and tone that sounded concise, “you’re certainly making a stir, not all of us disapprove of that. I actually like it, makes things easier for me. I also approve of what you’re saying about the future of changelings as a whole, of course, my hive is so small it’s escaped notice for the time being, or at least it looks that way at the moment. My darling Indigo changelings have been needing a change, you showed me one. Do you know how long I’ve been watching you?”

“I’m guessing a few years,” said Chrysalis, giving the ‘unicorn’ a look that said she wanted this queen to get to the point.

“You’ve probably already surmised you’re communicating with me via proxy, which is accurate. I’ve actually been watching this nation since a few months after your botched invasion.”

“That was seventeen years ago,” said Chrysalis, “I’m guessing you were waiting for an opportunity to make a move on Equestria.”

“Yes, but then you came back in your self-imposed exile, I was curious. I knew where your colony in the Badlands was, even have a general idea of the region your new colony grounds occupy, but I have not once hinted at the idea I knew. My hive is far too small for the kinds of campaigns a purge tends to imply, but then I started to see your new hive and started being a little skeptical,” the mare gave a mockery of a disarming smile, “but as time went on I noticed a lack of your will on any the members of your hive that were made visible to me, the kind of self-autonomy they had fascinated me. I suddenly found myself wondering how effective that would really be. My hive is more designed in the more subtle ways of our kind, something the current power dynamic among hives is less inclined towards.”

“You know my name, but I don’t know yours,” said Chrysalis, “do you at least have an alias I can refer to you as?”

The mare gave a look of thinking before saying, “Shade should do, for now, I’m sure you’ll recall me in time. After all,” she gave a smile she thought was assuring but just came off as a little unnerving, “you did meet me at length thirty years ago, ironically with me propositioning some reforms and an alliance. I’ve already set things in motion to have members of my hive be a bit more autonomous than usual, not quite to the level your hive is but closer than any other queen thus far. We both know the major hives are likely to kill each other, taking many of their affiliated hives with them along the path of self-destruction, but the smaller hives that have little to no affiliation are more likely to survive that conflict. When the dust settles we will need a new power structure to have some semblance of stability, your current plan seems to one of the better templates.”

“I’m sure you are aware of the fact we are likely being listened in on,” said Chrysalis, “but I’m guessing you’re past the point of caring about that sort of thing. So, what are you really after?”

“I want to know how your hive’s members have their own autonomy while still being some level of dependent on you.”

“That’s it, you think it’s some big secret,” Chrysalis laughed out loud, “you’ve been watching me my family for years and you’re asking that question. It’s simple, I allow them to develop naturally, I don’t force their development, I give them the kind of love a mother is meant to give her children, treat them like the family they are, allow influences outside myself to have a hand in shaping them, give them guidance when I’m sure they need it, respect their sense of individuality, and let them know they’re loved and respected no matter what their choices. That all said, I’m still their mother and sometimes have to keep them from doing anything that could potentially be harmful. Will they scrape themselves running about the woods or park? Potentially, but that’s part of letting them learn from their environment more than me. It’s not my job to keep them from getting some minor damage, that would be potentially damaging to their development. It’s my job to make sure they don’t do anything too stupid or foolish, like try to take on manticores with just a stick and little courage. It’s a fine balance, one that’s not always easy to gauge. Do I dote on my girls? Occasionally, but that’s a mother’s prerogative. It’s my job to mother my children, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to coddle any of my children. As I said, it’s a balancing act.”

“I don’t think I understand.”

“To change your hive, you must first change yourself. So far, no queens have been willing to do that other than me. I was already on the path to changing when I found myself with the one who is now my mate, I just didn’t realize it until our children started to come along. I didn’t leave him, I willingly invited him to stay and later formed meaningful connections with his extended family. The so-called traditional Changeling policies are in just as much need of reform as many of the other aspects of changeling culture at this time. If you’re unwilling to do something a bit dramatic then you’re not willing for any real change.”

“I’m not entirely sure I could follow all of that.”

Chrysalis sighed, “As you know, changelings take on physical and mental properties of their mates.”

“Yes, my mate was an entity I came across by happenstance, he was actually pretty close to death when I found him. I figured I might as well give something like a last hurrah, turns out he was a Shadow Stalker. I know because of the abilities I found myself with shortly after the encounter.”

“Yes, well,” Chrysalis said with a diplomatic cough, “my mate’s traits have permeated me a bit more thoroughly than most queens, as a result, my abilities and behaviors are a bit different. What you probably were unaware of is that while taking on their mate’s mental properties changelings also take on the properties of their mate’s idealized partner.” The disguised changeling gave Chrysalis a confused look, “some of my mental traits are actually more in line with aspects of individuals my mate respects and would like to see as traits in his partner. Spike actually tried to have a few therapy sessions when he realized I have some mental traits of the pony he sees an older sister, the pony he sees as a mother-figure and pony he had a bit of a crush on when he was younger. My maternal traits come from the pony he sees as more of a mother than anything else, I have academic tendencies reminiscent of the pony he sees as more of a sister and my sense of aesthetics is something reminiscent of the pony he had a crush on in his younger days. In short, your mind has just as much of your mate’s idealized mate as it does their own mental aspects.”

“So, you’re saying that our understanding of changeling breeding is incomplete? That’s a rather large assertion.”

“Tell me, are you aware of any queen actually taking the time to learn about the quirks of their mate? Other than me.”

“No,” said the disguised changeling, surprise evident on her guise, “I don’t even think it’s policy to do research on entities one is considering for a mate, most queens just go for something violent or deadly with little regard to any information pertaining to it beyond that which is readily known or available. But if I took on aspects an idealized mate, that would mean to some extent my hive would as well.”

“You would think so,” said Chrysalis with amusement, “but so far that hasn’t been the case for Spike and me, the girls all have aspects that are varying blends of our own. Of course, they also have taken on aspects of other individuals they’ve had some measure of contact with, their natural magics seem to see certain personalities as templates that are compatible with the kind of changeling they are and thus have some aspects about themselves tweak a little. For instance, both Knowledge Keepers and Spell Collectors see aspects of the alicorn known as Princess Twilight as being highly compatible with their own magic’s functions and as such those sorts of changelings in my hive have begun taking on some of her quirks. The same holds true with several other ponies and their interactions with some of my girls.”

“I can feel a vibrancy to your energy, one that I’ve never felt from any queen.”

“It’s because the love that I have is given freely, without tricks or coercion. It’s pure, untainted, given in genuine earnesty with no deception on my part. My mate is a dragon, their emotions run intense, and he was merely the first to give love freely to me without me doing anything to deceive him. After him, his family and friends gave unto me freely, after some of them had gotten their need to exact retribution for my actions in the past,” Chrysalis gave a giggle, “Princess Celestia’s was as amusing as it was unexpected in terms of action. Some were more than willing to just forgive and let the past be the past. Before I knew it, almost the whole town was freely sharing their love with me, and many were even willingly directing it at me. And I got it all by being upfront with no deceptions regarding myself towards them. I know I’m known to try and play the long game, you probably even respect me for that, but my only long game now is a beneficial relationship with Equestria. I am working towards a mutual relationship with Equestria and my hive for the purposes of having a safe place where my offspring can freely roam without fear, showing changelings can change on almost every level and ensure my hive is well cared for should the worst come to pass in regards to myself.”

“That was rather ranty, but I think I get the gist of it all. What is this I hear of a new drone type being born to your hive?”

Chrysalis gave a disapproving look at the disguised changeling before saying, “Firstly, she’s not a drone, she is my daughter. Secondly, her abilities have never been seen in any hive before now. She’s unique in that she is currently the only changeling of her kind there is, that will hopefully change in the coming years, and her abilities are something that can change everything. That’s all you’re going to get before all this is over, but I can assure you that after this all ends you’ll know exactly what she’s capable of.”

“You do realize what you’re doing, right?”

“Sparking the flames of change, one possibility on the wind as it spreads the embers is a revolution. Revolutions are neither good or bad, they are merely what occurs when a new system of relation to a power structure is chosen in favor over an older one. Changelings have been working with an antiquated system for a long time just because they don’t want to change the system, despite the fact should they follow the current system to its logical conclusion all that awaits them is an undignified end. No matter how you slice it, extinction is not a charming prospect.”

“Your act is better than I thought, it sounds like you’re really committed to it all.”

Chrysalis gave a heavy sigh, she figured this would be a response, “You are aware of the honesty field around the town, I presume?”

“A ploy to discourage deception,” the disguised changeling said offhandedly.

“If that’s what you think, then test it,” said Chrysalis, “try a deception here and one abroad, as long as at least one member of your hive is here the effects of the field should filter on to you, and through you the rest of the hive. I can wait, but not too long on account of the fact I still have a meeting in few hours.”

“This is too easy,” said the disguised changeling, “I have exactly twelve hive members in this nation, three of which are currently in this very town,” she stopped, Chrysalis took the blank staring to mean the queen that was commanding her was blinking in surprise, almost a minute later the disguised changeling started talking again, her speaking was less natural in feel and had the feeling of being very stilted, “I see I was mistaken, I meant to give the impression I had more agents in Equestria and had no intention of giving the exact number for how many are in the current location.”

“Seems your ability to make it all seem natural is waning by the moment,” said Chrysalis, “before I head back I’ll leave you with a little something,” she stood up and made ready to leave, “mate has a much deeper and intimate meaning than most queens use. I use that rather than the one preferred by the bulk of changelings, you included. For changelings the term mate merely means one with whom sexual relations were engaged, it’s actually quite clinical in its execution. But for many creatures, dragons and ponies among them, the term mate means a long-term partner with whom you share a great deal of intimacy, in most cases it even means a life partner,” she brushed off her skirt, “for me, and by extension all members of the next generation I beget, the term mate means a life partner that can not be matched by any other regardless of how much time has passed. Mates share their lives on the most deeply intimate level, it is as if our very essences feel so completed by each other that being apart from each other for extended periods of time hurts us on the deepest level, the loss of one meaning a sense of never being whole again. I know you, and whoever else is listening, won’t act on any of that because you respect the rules that are abided by all changeling queens. I respect those rules as well, it’s just I’ve found a way of working with them that’s unfamiliar and foreign to you.”

“A little wordy there, aren’t you. No matter what comes of this, Fallen Queen, you must know the ultimate outcome.”

“I have no intention of leaving the confines I chose of my own accord, the only way that will happen is if some force or manages to bring outside the boundaries I set upon myself by force or without my knowledge.” With that, she made her way back to the castle. Chrysalis had always had a feeling something like this would happen, she just hoped a speech like that would be enough to get some to consider changing things for the better.

After arriving back at the castle Chrysalis gave Emerald a kiss at the base of the horn and Spike a playful nibble at his Spines, Emerald gave a giggle at the show of affection and Spike returned the gesture with a playful nibble upon her neck. While she didn’t see them when she arrived, Chrysalis felt the presence of the other queens just as she was moving toward her playful interactions with Spike. It felt like ages since they’d done something like this, to her anyway.

Author's Note:

I've had everything basically contained with little reference to things going on outside the castle that I thought it would be a good idea to have a glimpse of things outside, it also gave an opportunity to show just how skeptical other characters outside those that are named are of everything.

I haven't come up with a name for the Indigo queen, just a general outline for what she like, which you got in the chapter here. If you have any suggestions for names either put them in spoilers to keep them hidden from those who have yet to read the chapter or PM them directly to me to keep it a secret from the readers. I didn't just come up with the name Shadow Stalker, it comes from and old animated series (bonus points to anyone who can correctly guess the name of the series, your hint is that it's the name of a supporting cast character). If you have any suggestions on what a Shadow Stalker's abilities are PM them to me. Please don't put Shadow Stalker suggestions in the comments, even if you are using the Spoiler block, I would prefer to not have anyone peek at that sort of thing just yet.

If any of creatures that I introduced as part of the universe over the course of this story and its predecessor interest you feel free to use them in your own works feel to use them, even expand on them a bit from the general info I've given on them. As always, you know my policy.

Comments

[Razzy]

More Queens lurking in the shadows.

Been busy lately, so no thorough proofreading this time.

'is given freely, with tricks' - without

'you're ability' - your

[dracone]

8650458
Thanks for pointing that out. In case you missed it, I recently put up a new story, which happens to be a Daring Do and Spike ship