Trials of a Changeling Queen

by CTVulpin

For the Greater Good

Discord’s wasn’t the only betrayal that day…

---

Darkness. Darkness and cold. Something was wrong, but she couldn’t say what. It was hard to think, to… anything. She knew that she was, but… was what? Who? All was darkness and cold.

“Cabbage!”

Something in her stirred at the sensation, the sound, but it stilled before she knew.

“Please, Cabbage!”

Again, a sound. Again, a small stirring that stopped too quickly. Did she know that sound?

“I don’t think this is working.”

“Don’t stop.” A new sound, and another fleeting something inside. “So long as she keeps breathing…”

“She is, but it’s so faint.”

She longed for the sounds, tried to reach for them, but it was still too much or not enough.

“I can’t hear her heart, Turnip!”

“No… There must be something else… Ah! Forgive me, My Queen, but this is our last hope.” There was a sound of something cracking. The darkness and cold became warmth and-

Cabbage Patch gasped, filling her lungs with cold, dusty, wonderful air, and sat up. Turnip and Trixie both stepped away from her on reflex, and then returned and hugged her in obvious relief. Cabbage instinctively drew in the unicorn’s love until her hunger faded enough to permit her higher brain functions to exert control. “Oops,” she said, “sorry Trixie.”

Trixie hugged Cabbage a little tighter and then stepped back, saying, “Don’t apologize. When you come back from the dead like that, you’ve got every right to be famished.”

“Back from the…” Cabbage trailed off as she looked around, realizing for the first time that she was deep in the crystal mines beneath Canterlot, and that Trixie and Turnip were the only others around, and Cabbage was about their size instead of heads taller. “What happened?” she asked. “Where is everyling?” She looked at Trixie again and gasped. “Trixie! What happened to your coat!”

Trixie looked down at her legs which, like the rest of her azure coat, along with her mane and eyes, had become noticeably greyer. “You don’t remember?” Trixie asked.

“Temporary amnesia’s not unknown following trauma,” Turnip said. “After a near-death experience, I suspect it’s even more likely.”

“No, I don’t remember,” Cabbage said, getting a little testy. “I’m sure it’s not pleasant, but please jog my memory, Lorekeeper.”

“Ah… of course,” Turnip said, and brought his memory in contact with Cabbage’s mind.

---

“How far down are we going?” the Queen asks.

“Just a little more,” I reply.

“Actually,” a voice echoes from within a shadowed alcove, “you’ve come far enough.” Tirek emerges from the shadows, looking larger, younger, and infinitely more terrifying than the recent Lore said. Evidentially, absorbing magic improves his physical condition similar to how fresh love invigorates a Changeling, and he’s been feasting.

The Hive panics, naturally. Our efforts to escape have been in vain. Yet, one mind seems… less than concerned.

“Now, now,” Tirek says, an assuring tone in his voice made false by the rage burning inside him, “No need to worry, little insects, I’m not here for you. Your magic is worthless to me, fading even as I take it in.” Several Changelings, braver than the rest, cluster around Trixie in an attempt to hide her from Tirek’s sight, because it must be her he’s after, then. “Actually,” Tirek says, “I lie. There is one of you I’m interested in.” He reaches out toward the Queen.

“No!” Trixie yells, pushing through the Changelings screening her and throwing herself between Tirek and the Queen. “Leave her alone,” Trixie demands, “it’s me you want, my magic that led you here, isn’t it?”

Tirek sneers and snatches Trixie up. “Your sacrifice is admirable,” he says with little sincerity, and then inhales, drawing Trixie’s magic out of her and leaving her pale and listless. “However,” Tirek continues, dropping Trixie like a used napkin and reaching again for the Queen, “you’re just a bonus. This is the one I seek.”

Imago, Kumquat, Lemon Zest, myself, and others step to defend the Queen, blasting Tirek with the deadliest spells we know, but Tirek shrugs them off and brushes us aside with disdainful ease.

By the time I have regained my feet, Tirek has grabbed the Queen and started draining her, and I am driven to the ground again by her anguish.

The ordeal is mercifully short; Tirek does not linger over feeding from the Queen, and when he finishes he drops her and leaves without another word. He does, however, glance briefly at one of us. At her. They share a brief moment, and then Tirek is gone and she is already standing up.

“The Queen is dead,” Chrysalis says, smiling with triumph because she can’t possibly hide her true feelings from us behind a mask of grief, “long live the Queen.”

“I… refuse,” I say.

Chrysalis rolls her eyes. “Please, Lorekeeper,” she says, “as if there’s anyling else qualified. How fortunate that little Cabbage chose to keep me around, hm?
Else, where would the Hive be? Bereft of a Queen’s guiding mind and too few in number to hope a replacement can be bred before we tear ourselves apart with indecision or disagreement.”

---

Cabbage staggered under the weight of the memory. “Oh my gosh,” she said, “Trixie. Tirek got you. I’m so so-”

“Don’t apologize,” Trixie said. “I did what I thought I had to do.”

Cabbage opened her mouth to protest, but held her tongue at Trixie’s stoic look. “Thank you,” she said instead. “Thank you for staying with… wait.” She looked at Turnip. “How am I still alive, anyway?”

Turnip shrugged. “You are half-pony, my Queen,” he said. “It was the magic of your pony half that Tirek wanted, and I suspect it was your pony half that granted you the chance to hold onto life even as your lifeforce was pulled out of you.”

Cabbage looked over her shoulder at her cutie mark. What a bittersweet blessing you’ve turned out to be, she thought. “How long was I… out?” she asked, “and what of Queen Chrysalis?” When Turnip started to protest Cabbage’s use of the title, she glared at him and asked, “The Changelings are following her now, aren’t they?”

Turnip nodded, sullen.

Cabbage nodded as well. “Then, she’s Queen,” she said.“For now. Now, how long was I mostly dead?”

“Almost a full day,” Trixie said, “I think. I didn’t leave your side, giving you all the love I could muster to keep you from slipping away. We might have lost you anyway, if hadn’t been for Turnip breaking that crystal you got when Barnacle Salt retired.”

Cabbage blinked slowly in thought, and then remembered. “Oh!” she exclaimed, putting a hoof to her throat and finding only a string there. “That last bit of love Barnacle gave me,” she said. “Turnip turned it into a crystal as a memento. Emergency rations, I think you called it?” she glanced questioningly at Turnip.

“Yes,” Turnip said, looking away guiltily. “I hope you can forgive me for feeding it to you, My Queen.”

“Forgive you?” Cabbage exclaimed, then grabbed the Changeling in a hug. “You saved my life with that, you dimwit! You deserve thanks, not forgiveness!”
Turnip relaxed in her grip, and then stumbled when she unexpectedly let go a second later and started walking toward the entrance to the mine, saying, “Now, let’s go get my Hive back!”

“Say what?” Trixie asked, as startled as Turnip by the sudden shift in tone.

“You heard me, Trixie,” Cabbage said, her voice steely.

“Yes, but…” Trixie said, trotting to catch up with her, “but you’ve been trying to pass the Queenship back to Chrysalis since the day you became Queen, haven’t you?”

Cabbage glanced back at Trixie, a furious glint in her yellow eyes. “I was,” she said, “but on my terms, when I could be sure she’d stick to the new, non-predatory methods of collecting love. Trying to have me killed is not the kind of power transfer I had in mind.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Trixie said, galloping up and putting herself in Cabbage’s path, “what do you mean, ‘trying to have you killed’? Are you saying you think Chrysalis led Tirek to us?”

“It’s a reasonable conclusion,” Turnip said, catching up. “With Discord serving the entire kingdom up on platters, do you really think Tirek would’ve noticed that one unicorn and a half-pony Changeling had slipped away? How would he have even known Cabbage was half-pony in the first place? Someling told him, and there’s only one who would benefit from eliminating Cabbage but sparing the rest of the Hive.”

Trixie looked at the ground thoughtfully, and then looked back up at Cabbage and Turnip grimly. “Why, that little… insect,” she growled. “I oughta…” she trailed off, looking at her horn and remembering her magic was gone. “…oughta let you two deal with her,” she finished lamely, “but maybe let me get a kick or two in before you throw her off the mountain or whatever?”

“We’ll see, Trixie,” Cabbage said.

---

The walk from the mine up into Canterlot proper was exhausting for both the recently-revived Cabbage and the magically-drained Trixie, and while Turnip was content to move at a slower pace for their benefit, Cabbage forced herself not to rest until her legs started to give out just inside the city walls.

“Good grief, Cabbage Patch,” Trixie groaned as she caught up, leaning on Turnip for support, “slow down! I doubt Chrysalis will have gone far.”

“She hasn’t,” Turnip said. “I was able to touch the Hive Mind again halfway up.”

“So did I,” Cabbage said. “They’re still in the city.”

“All the more reason not to rush,” Trixie said. “I mean, you just woke up from a coma, and you’re probably starving in more ways than one.” Turnip nodded in agreement.

“There’s no time to worry about food,” Cabbage said, standing up. “I will get my Hive back.” She marched deeper into the city, following the mental signature of two dozen Changelings.

“She seems… different all of sudden,” Trixie said to Turnip. “Colder. I don’t like it.”

“I’m concerned as well,” Turnip said. “Maybe Tirek took more than just magic from her.” The Lorekeeper and the unicorn shared a look, and then stated following Cabbage together. The Changelings both kept their thoughts quiet so they could try and get a sense for what was happening with the rest of the Hive before revealing themselves, but as they got closer they realized the Hive was so full of distress and strife that masking their presence wasn’t going to be an issue.

“Now what has Chrysalis done?” Cabbage growled.

“I have a few suspicions,” Turnip responded as the trio rounded a corner and came upon a large mob of ponies marching toward the city gates. Every pony in the crowd had dull coats and wearied eyes, but they marched with a conviction and a gestalt of righteous fury that made Cabbage and Turnip intimidated even before a member of the mob glanced over and spotted them.

“Look!” the pony exclaimed, “There’s three more of them!” And before Turnip, Cabbage, or Trixie could react they were all swept up and being pushed roughly toward the center of the mob. At the heart of the mob were all the Changelings including Chrysalis, tied up in ropes and strung together in a chain with Chrysalis in the middle. The two Queens exchanged a look, but before either could speak, the crowd parted to let a tall, white unicorn stallion approach and regard the three newcomers.

“What’s this?” Prince Blueblood said with a wicked smile, “Seems you aren’t as dead as I was led to believe, Queen Cabbage Patch.”

“Blueblood,” Cabbage said coldly.“What’s the meaning of this?”

“What does it look like?” Blueblood said with a sneer. “We’re kicking you Changelings out of Canterlot; you’ve quite overstayed your welcome.”

“Now hold on,” Trixie protested, “Princess Luna-”

“Princess Luna is gone,” Blueblood snapped, “and so are the other Princesses. Tirek banished Celestia, Luna, and Cadance to Tartarus, and he’s gone to hunt down that upstart Twilight too.”

“And that puts you in charge, then?” Cabbage asked, narrowing her eyes skeptically.

“As head of the new Unicorn Council,” Blueblood said, “yes.” He pointed to Chrysalis and continued, “Now, Chrysalis there seemed to think she deserved to take control of Equestria by virtue of already being a Queen. When given the choice between her and my Council… well, you can see what the decision was.”

Cabbage’s hard glare slid from Blueblood to Chrysalis. Ingrate, Cabbage thought, and she reached into her meager store of emotional energy to generate magic for a spell. Just as her horn lit up, however, somepony struck her on the back of her head and she blacked out.

---

Cabbage woke up to the sound of Trixie ranting, “You can’t exile me! I’m not a Changeling; your oppressive dictate doesn’t apply to me!”

Cabbage opened her eyes and looked around. She and all the other Changelings were on the road just outside the main gates of Canterlot, which had been blockaded with a makeshift barricade of boxes. Apparently, the ponies couldn’t actually close the gate without magic, so they’d improvised. Blueblood and a few other ponies were peering over the barricade, and all except Blueblood at least had the decency to look ashamed as Trixie harangued them.

The alleged Prince, on the other hoof, simply returned Trixie’s anger with a hard look and said, “So long as you insist on sympathizing with enemies of the kingdom, you’ll be considered one as well.”

Trixie had a sharp retort to that declaration, but Cabbage tuned her out as she spotted Chrysalis. Getting to her hooves, Cabbage stormed over to the Queen and said, “You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?”

Chrysalis looked down at Cabbage – she still held the Hive’s acceptance and the Queenly stature that went with it – with defiance. “Do you realize, child,” she asked, “that we still have magic, while the ponies don’t? I could have forced the issue, put that entire mob into cocoons within minutes. And yet, here we are, outcast without a fight.”

Cabbage bared her fangs. “There are so many other ways you could have presented the Hive besides ‘hey, put us in charge now.’ Did you honestly expect those ponies to accept that when you’ve tried taking over the city twice before? Not to mention, although they wouldn’t know this, you tried to assassinate me!”

The Hive Mind exploded.

She what?

No, impossible. We would’ve noticed her plotting.

She is crazy enough to try…

“You made a deal with Tirek,” Cabbage accused Chrysalis. “You led him to the mines and revealed that I’m half-pony, offering me up to him so you would be the only possible Queen.”

“Ridiculous,” Chrysalis countered. “He just tracked Trixie’s and your magic.”

“The Lorekeepers saw differently,” Cabbage said. “Show them, Turnip.”

Turnip obliged, and the Hive Mind quieted as everyling watched his memory of the mines play out, with particular attention paid to Chrysalis’s reactions.

“W-well,” Chrysalis said, thinking fast, “sure, I wasn’t broken up about it, since my opportunity to reclaim my rightful place had come. That doesn’t prove I had anything to do with Tirek finding us, though; the memory’s tainted by Turnip’s disdain for me.We all know how he wishes you’d killed me after you took over.”

“You didn’t hesitate to declare Cabbage dead after Tirek was finished with her,” Turnip pointed out.

Chrysalis shrugged. “So, I was hasty. So what? The Hive needed a Queen. One who takes action.”

“It still had one,” Cabbage said. “You let your own selfish ambition guide you, and now look at us: driven out of Canterlot with none of the love we had stockpiled, our reputation for having reformed crushed in one fell swoop, and we hadn’t even started our theater’s first season! There’s not going to be any Changeling-produced Changeling of the Opera!”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes with an exasperated sound. “What is with you and that obnoxious play?” she asked. “Did you really believe it was going to change how ponies think about us, when it ends with the Changeling being rejected and chased away, just like we always have been?”

“Error isn’t chased away,” Cabbage argued. “He leaves of his own accord, knowing he’s misunderstood love but not yet sure how.”

“Sure,” Chrysalis said, sarcastic, “and the mob of ponies approaching his lair has nothing to do with it. Face it, Cabbage, this was inevitable. It’s the lot of the Changelings to always be hated and driven away by ponies, because prey cannot abide predators in their presence.”

“That’s not true!” Cabbage shouted. “We were starting to be accepted, slowly but surely.Princess Luna believed in us, Trixie and the troupe-”

“They all abandoned us,” Chrysalis cut in, “for one reason or another, they found excuses to get away.”

“I’m still here,” Trixie said, coming to stand next to Cabbage. “I brought Cabbage into my troupe out of simple compassion, and I’ve come to regard her as family. Even if our paths diverge in the future, my feelings for her won’t change. I’ll come to her aid whenever possible when she asks; I’m sure Barnacle Salt and Maggie Pie would say the same thing.”

The Hive buzzed with discussion, and while many mental voices were raised in agreement with Cabbage, others seemed to side with Chrysalis. Before the debate could really get going, however, Chrysalis shut it down with such strong mental pressure that several Changelings winced. Cabbage pushed back against the pressure, and then matched action to thought by throwing herself bodily at the larger Changeling, making Chrysalis stumble back a little.

“That’s enough,” Cabbage said, pointing her horn threateningly at Chrysalis. “I’d like my Hive back now.”

“Your Hive,” Chrysalis said mockingly. “I guess all that talk of eventually giving it back to me was just empty words after all. This power, it’s impossible to just let it go, isn’t it?”

“You’re unfit to rule,” Cabbage said. Chrysalis sneered, but her confidence began to falter as first Turnip and Lemon Zest went to stand by Cabbage, and then one by one so did Kumquat, Imago, and others until a full dozen had followed the example of the Hive’s two Lorekeepers. These Changelings asserted their selection of Cabbage as their Queen, and Cabbage quickly grew while Chrysalis’s stature decreased, leaving the two nearly eye-to-eye.

A couple of the Changelings who remained by Chrysalis began to waver, but before anypony could make another move, Chrysalis surrounded herself and her group in a circle of green fire. “Fine,” Chrysalis said as the flames grew higher, “then let it be war between us!” The green flames leapt, and Chrysalis and her Changelings vanished.

Silence reigned over the road outside Canterlot, as even the ponies who guarded the gate stared in shock at the spot where Chrysalis has once stood. So surprising was the turn of events, that nopony noticed the explosion of magical energy from the direction of the Everfree Forest until it washed over them and everypony felt their magic return.

“What was that?” one of the ponies with Blueblood asked.

“Somepony… Twilight Sparkle defeated Tirek,” Blueblood replied, ears lying flat. “The Princesses are probably going be leaving Tartarus soon…” He looked over at the Changelings, catching Cabbage’s eye, and started to say something, but Cabbage cut him off with a dismissive toss of her head.

“I don’t want your apology, Blueblood,” the Changeling Queen said. “You kicked us out when you had the power, so you have to stand by that choice. Come on everyling, we’ll have to find someplace else to live. Trixie, do you want to come along?”