“They did what?!” exclaimed Twilight.
The alicorn, in a state of complete dismay, tipped her chair over and crashed to the floor as she attempted to quickly exit her seat. Triggered by the resulting tremor from her fall, the haphazardly stacked books and scrolls on the headmare’s desk began to tumble over in a cascade of parchment that buried the purple mare and littered the floor. A transparent raspberry colored aura coalesced within the disarray and then there was a flash of bright light. The alicorn, using a teleportation spell, vanished from under the jumble and now stood snout to snout with her changeling student.
“They went to rescue Sandbar!” repeated an equally concerned Ocellus.
“This is bad!” said Twilight who began to trot quickly in place. “What were they thinking?!”
“Rescuing Sandbar was taking too long!” Ocellus answered and started to mimic the alicorn’s hoof movements subconsciously. “Or that’s what the note they left said!”
Lifting up the startled changeling in her magic, Twilight suddenly shot forward at a gallop as if some invisible force that was keeping her in place had been removed. Out of control of her own momentum, the disoriented student pumped her legs in a way that appeared like she was running on air. Seconds later they both burst through the door of Starlight’s office, causing the light pink unicorn within to jump in surprise.
“Starlight, I need you to help me gather up the girls!” explained a rapidly speaking Twilight. “Gallus, Smolder, Yona and Silverstream have gone off to save Sandbar!”
“They did what?!” balked Starlight. “How do they even know where to look?”
Twilight opened her mouth to elaborate but froze in place with her jaw hanging open. She turned to look at the changeling, who still floated in her magic, for the answer to the question she neglected to ask the student herself. Ocellus, realizing they were now waiting on her to enlighten them to more details, looked down at the note from her friends that she still carried.
“Let me see, found out Sandbar was somewhere in Rambling Rock Ridge, didn’t have time to let you know, left right away…” the light blue changeling squeaked when she finished reading snippets from the note aloud and looked at the two mares, “it doesn’t say how.”
“Rambling Rock Ridge is where Applejack said they think the changelings are,” said Starlight.
“Yes but if Chrysalis now has Gallus, Silverstream, Smolder, and Yona, it creates a new set of colossal problems!” said the alicorn, “and who knows what will happen when the other kingdoms find out!”
“Panicking won’t help,” the unicorn said, placing a hoof on her friend’s withers. “Take a deep breath Twilight.”
Following Starlight’s suggestion, the alicorn closed her eyes and inhaled through her mouth before calmly letting her breath back out. After repeating the action a few more times Twilight opened her eyes again and nodded to the unicorn.
“Okay, let’s think this over,” said Starlight. “Would Chrysalis harm any of the students?”
“If I go by the stories Thorax has told me about growing up under her rule, along with our past experiences with her and if we can trust the note she sent about Sandbar and the guards, no,” the alicorn answered.
“And remember when I, Trixie, Thorax and Discord went to rescue everypony from her a few years ago?” asked Starlight. “The changelings had just been keeping all of you in those cocoons when they could have simply done away with any of you.”
“Thorax told me that if it could be helped, it’s not in their best interest to harm potential meals,” nodded Twilight.
“So maybe there’s still is a chance for all this to work out peacefully,” said Starlight.
“Starlight, I don’t think there is,” said the alicorn, looking forlorn.
“Why?” blinked the unicorn.
“Because I need to contact the griffon, dragon, yak and hippogriff kingdoms about the missing students,” Twilight said. “They’ll send representatives to retrieve the students and I have a feeling they’ll be very aggressive going about it.”
“But why tell them?” Starlight questioned.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Twilight explained. “I’m responsible for the safety of those they left in my care and that includes keeping them informed on the good and the bad things that occur here at the school.”
“But if it could cause more harm than good wouldn’t it be better to wait?” asked Starlight.
“Starlight, if your foal was being held by Chrysalis wouldn’t you want to know?” the alicorn rhetorically asked.
“Of course!” said the unicorn, “but we don’t know if they are with Chrysalis or still just searching for the changeling’s lair. We should check around and see if we can find them first, then inform the other kingdoms. It will also give us time to try and contact Chrysalis and fix all this without anypony else getting harmed.”
Seeming very conflicted, Twilight began to pace in front of Starlight’s desk.
“Okay,” the purple alicorn stopped and took in a deep breath, “here is what we’ll do. I’m going to speak to lieutenant Silverspark and tell him to hold off any operations they have planned. Then I’ll ask Thorax and the other changelings to update the message on the sign. While I’m out doing that, I need you to gather up the girls and let them know about Yona, Silverstream, Smolder and Gallus. We’ll all meet back here in an hour, figure out who should stay behind to watch over the school and who will go to Rambling Rock Ridge to search for the missing students. If they can’t be found before sundown then Spike will send the letters to the other kingdoms, explaining to them what has happened and what we are doing to remedy the situation.”
“Alright, I’ll go find the others,” said Starlight as she walked over to her office door.
“Um Twilight?” squeaked Ocellus “Could you put me down now?”
A blush of embarrassment covered Twilights cheeks as she looked at the young changeling. Ocellus was still floating helplessly in her magic and somewhere along the way ended up being upside down.
“Our situation is growing more complicated,” Chrysalis addressed the assembled changelings. “Keeping the hippogriff, dragon, yak and griffon here will only lead to more trouble.”
“But if we free them then they could just tell others where we are,” said Phasmid.
“They already know,” grumbled the queen. “The griffon was lying through his beak, I could easily sense the increase in his anxiousness.”
“My queen, why not call him out on the lie?” asked Featherwing.
“Because doing that wouldn’t change the situation, others still know we are here,” said Chrysalis, “It’s better to let the griffon and his friends think they can trick us for now and use it to our advantage later.”
“If others know we are here then should we begin relocating?” asked Aphid.
“Yes, but right now we don’t have any place picked out to move to,” the queen said bitterly. “Frankly I’d like to just turn Sparkle’s castle into a new hive and she can go look for a new home.”
“There are four locations I could suggest,” Odonate said. “Ghastly Gorge to the south west, Hayseed Swamp to the south east, the Foal Mountains to the north east or Galloping Gorge to the north west.”
“Foal mountains will stick us between Canterlot, Fillydelphia and Hollow Shades,” Chrysalis thought aloud, “Hayseed swamp is close to here but will take us farther away from Ponyville. Galloping Gorge is also a good distance away and puts us closer to Vanhoover and the Crystal Empire. Ghastly Gorge has lots of hiding places but is also infested with quarry eels.”
“Is there a problem with moving away from Ponyville my queen?” asked Aphid.
“Only that it will make it more difficult to figure out who really attacked our Everfree hive,” answered Chrysalis.
“It was the ponies and the traitors,” Featherwing said before looking from one changeling to the next, “wasn’t it?”
“I’ve been talking the matter over with Odonate and have come to the belief that someone is using Thorax and the ponies as scapegoats,” Chrysalis informed them.
“Thorax is too soft hearted, too tainted by pony ideology to orchestrate an unprovoked attack on us,” explained Odonate, “and Princess Sparkle is more interested in making friends than enemies.”
“If they aren’t responsible then why did Leech betray the hive?” blinked a confused Featherwing.
“Hopefully Vespa will catch up with him soon, return him to me and I can pry those answers from his filthy husk,” Chrysalis hissed. “But going back to our current issues-“
Stopping mid sentence, the queen focused her attention to the changeling fidgeting at the chamber entrance.
“Is something wrong Bristletail?” Chrysalis asked the infiltrator.
“Sorry for interrupting, your highness, but the dragon and yak have been quelled and are now freed from the mucus trap,” said the soft voiced mare. “We have them in a holding cell and await your orders for them.”
“Leave them there for now,” instructed the queen, “and once we finish our conference I’ll let you know what to do with them next.”
“Yes my queen,” bowed Bristletail, “I also have news from Antlion; she said the sign in Ponyville is already being updated.”
“Sparkle probably knows I hold four more of her little students now,” the queen smirked, “and is eager to get them back.”
Chrysalis began to pace slowly across the chamber floor, taking a moment to digest the new bits of information and add it to what she already knew or suspected. The other changeling patiently waited, giving her both silence and the time she needed.
“Odonate and Phasmid, gather any changelings you need to keep lookout for any more intruders and to begin preparations to have the hive relocated to the Foal Mountains,” Chrysalis began. “I know it must be aggravating for everyling to have to move again so soon but it needs to be done.”
“Yes my queen,” the two guards said in unison with a respectful bow before flying off to start on their tasks.
“Aphid, I want you to take Mosquito’s place watching over the griffon, hippogriff and pony,” continued Chrysalis, moving her gaze to the scout. “Then have her return to me with my daughter. Featherwing, go with Bristletail to Ponyville and tell Antlion that I want to know the moment a single guard even looks in this direction. Once the sign has been finished and you know sparkle’s answer, come back right away.”
“As you wish my queen,” the trio said and quickly left to complete their orders.
Now alone, Chrysalis let out her breath and began to plot out what to say in her next letter to Twilight Sparkle.
that second queen is being really quiet I don't like it
9632296
What do you know, she did figure it out.
but
your
Should the 's be removed?
One ‘the’ too many.
happened
thought
matter
Thorax
Missing comma.
lookout?
sign's
Lowercase S should be uppercase.
And I feel like Scarab should soon be back with the news that Cicada has left her assigned feeding grounds.
I do feel for Chrysalis, here. I hope she comes to a truce with Twilight soon. People on the run commit rash actions.
More please
9632480
Because they're being smart about it. Why stir the nest when your foes are tripping over themselves?
Aaah, so Chrysalis CAN think about this straight. This is very, very good. She realizes this is all a setup. She really should tell Twilight Sparkle and Thorax about this. Even if they don't work on this directly, simply having them aware there is another party involved in this mess that is trying to start a war between the three of them will help put them on guard about further oddities/actions by Cicada. I hope her next letter helps spell this out. Now the question becomes does she release everyone and they head to the Foal Mountains without food? Does she release the students except for Sandbar? Hmm... Questions, questions...
Anyhow, thank you very much for the last few updates since I last replied. Updates are always appreciated, even if I haven't said anything.
9632661
True but it's still unnerving
Yes, yes it has and yes, yes it will
Good job, took you long enough
It's annoying that they forced to run around like that.
I bet cicada being patient or securing more "fans" heck maybe she busy replacing other celebrities? she so does love her audience and power probably maybe putting her charm to use on her community to secure her mansion hive since she "deserve" the best after all and maybe has to keep an iron hoof for deserters or weakness to her cause or plans even if the others don't approve that death was "necessary" order for her goal I just hope cicada never enslaves or gain pupa I feel really bad if that happened.
Awww man moveing again, but i liked the everfree hive better.
Excellent chapter!
9632296 Soooo... she's stupid, like I said. Since, you know, a smart person would find such a convenient piece of paper really suspicious.
9632991
Let me put it this way. You are a mother of several babies and they are killed in a gruesome fashion and left for you to find, with your heir also kidnapped. Would YOU be thinking straight in the immediate wake of that? I sure as hell likely wouldn't.
Awesome, despite the distractions Chrysalis is starting to get back on track. "getting" complicated? Oh, dearie, you don't even know...
She'll be making some difficult decisions soon. Will she parley? Continually running is an inefficient strategy at best and white detrimental at worst. Can she swallow her pride?
Keep going! ;)
9632991
Not all that difficult. The various US State Attorney Generals have sent many people to Death Row, and Death, with flimsier evidence. And they refuse to release files on people executed because they don’t want the embarrassment of being proven to have executed innocent people.
9633270 Ah, but that first impulse lasted far too long. One cannot stay enraged forever. As with a star, the greater and more intense the fury, the faster it burns out. It's extremely draining, and I'd think this would be double for a creature that needs to feed on love.
Once the initial rage starts to fizzle, allowing for 'planning' which is required for revenge schemes, then the suspiciousness of the scroll becomes obvious.
Unless the person is stupid.
Hence, stupid cherngelerng.
9633599 Yeah... might want to look up those cases a little more closely. There is always a political motive behind it. Sometimes, as with the Rosenbergs, they're quickly gotten out of the way before they can name the high-ranking people they collaborated with.
You're trying to tie political corruption to a long-winded rampage. Bad move.
Beside which, it looks like now Chrysalis is realizing it's a setup.
A little slow, but those handfuls of neurons underneath her weird flesh crown are finally kicking in.
9633840
Not sure what you're considering, as I'm referring to the Innocence Project cases where they are showing time and again that prosecutors jailed suspects and ignored contrary evidence because they "knew" the suspect was guilty.
Holy shoot, plot!!!
9633928 They claim that, but the deeper research done into many of those cases indicated either a bias and/or a political motive. In many cases, it's a prosecutor wanting to make a name for himself, or seeking to have a big impact on election campaigns. In other cases, it was clearly racially-motivated.
Never believe what people claim is their excuse, especially when they're on the defensive, having been proven to have done something wrong.
People lie. All the time. About everything.
9634748
Yes. And when the problem is race, white prosecutor vs black criminal, the situation is quite similar to the relations between Changelings and ponies. Each views the other through a racial bias to not believe the truth, no matter what it truly is. Ponies suspect changelings of planning crimes in their towns just as whites suspect blacks in a white neighbourhood. I personally know of people arrested for “driving while black” in a white neighborhood.
Mr brother, a white teenager, was stopped repeatedly by the police in our home town for driving his corvette — because, clearly, no teenager could ever afford a corvette. He ended up being on a first-name basis with every cop in town, all fifty of them.
And who is to say that Chrysalis isn’t being politically blind, herself? Food actually showing her up? How dare inferior creatures resist her! And now, they attacked her? Got inside her very hive? It would be totally out of character for her to acceptance any contrary evidence at face value (they’re covering their butts, they’re trying to shift blame, they’re refuse to admit the truth).
9634893 Sooooo... Chrysalis is a stupid AND racist!
CNN: Breaking news! Cherngelerng Queen Chrysalis confirmed as alt-right! Believed to have ties to Putin!
I wonder if Sandbar and Co are going to think to tell Pupa about how Ocellus and the other reformed changlings work. Get some propaganda in with the young queen about unlimited love, no hiding etc.
9635079
Just because someone is a racist doesn’t make them stupid, unfortunately. Maybe the bias has them unwilling to “see” things that don’t re-inforce the stereotype they believe in, but they are still extremely bright.
And yeah, I could see that headline -- from either Fox News or CNN, depending on who politically would benefit.
Thanks for the New chapter
9632594
Unless she will stay and play her part. Her Cover stays intact she still get overall informations and can eventually goat others to follow or do stuff for her!
9633270
Yep! Its odd how some ignore see things from Chrysalis side... Its actualy not so hard
9632480
New queen only have 1 follower and 1 bearly established hiding place to build a hive. 3 month egg stage than grub stage... She will have no food problems but is lacking personal. Also wile holding her cover she needs to make breaks for plans and there need to be executed accoraccording to it!
The assembled Changelings must have run out of cupcakes by this point.
Edit: Seriously, does no one remember that Chrysalis doesn't do meetings unless cupcakes are provided? https://youtu.be/HLY-hcxJjmc?t=143
Well, obviously, Thorax is too much of a useless milktoast to do something like that.
9835543
Sweet! Nice one! Basic diplomacy. If your meeting have a gift ready. Its the tought that counts.
The classic Changelings have it really tough. But Chrysalis survived and lead for Centuries if not millenia.
THE SWARM WILL ENDURE! GLORY TO THE HIVE!
Cuddle Pupa because she is to cute not toNo security at all. No guard for the property or the inhabitants. Not even locked doors to preventing thiefs to get a Princess of Equestrias scrolls to successful get trough in fraud...
Reasonable Reaction.
Chrysalis on war path:
Isn't there a way to end this all peacefully...
Wait... What is that soundtrack?
Dr. WHOoves comes out the Tardis with 12 Nymphs.
Dr.Who: "Sorry we are late, the traffic was murder..."
Chrysalis: "What is this?"
Dr.Who: "Your 12 Larve who just hatched a day ago, didn't you get the message?"
Chrysalis: "What? What message?!"
Derpy Hooves comes out the Tardis:
"Delivery for Queen Chrysalis!"
Dr.Who: "Why didn't you deliver the message sooner?"
Derpy: "You said deliver this to Queen Chrysalis as soon as possible, but than we had to stop the Cyberman invasion. Also the Weeping Angel's incident keep us bussy for a few days..."
Dr.Who: "I guess better late than never..."
Chrysalis: "Sooo... You exchanged my Nymph cocoons on the ceiling with dummys-?"
Dr.Who: "Yes."
Chrysalis: "-and left Pupas cocoon there to be taken by Leech"?
Dr.Who: "Exactly."
Chrysalis: "So my Nymphs are all save and...?
Dr.Who: "Now you need only to take revenge on Leech for attempting to kill you'r Nymphs and everything will be perfect. Also you might want to give back the students unharmed back to miss Sparkle in 3 days time and not sooner.
Chrysalis: "Why 3 days?"
Dr.Who: "Reasons..."
Derpy: "Look, we used a Time Travel wibbly wobbly device to save your familie, just do it please... Also don't tell Twilight or Starlight Glimmer.
Especially Starlight Glimmer!
Chrysalis: "...OK..."
Than the story continued normaly just with Pupa having a bigger familie and Chrysalis not going Doomguy vs Demons on Twilight and others.
The - End ♡
"You're dumb and you smell."
"Perfect!"
Re-reading the comment section is always fun, i never remember all my random comment section shenanigans i come up with