Common Ground

by LunasCaptain

Queen's Quest

Oh, this is such a bad idea.

A nervous little voice had sprung up in the back of Chrysalis's head, and its constant whining had planted a dull pain right below her horn. She narrowed her eyes and placed a hole-filled hoof against her head.

Silence!

"Queen, are you--" Gossamer glanced in her direction.

"I'm fine," Chrysalis snapped.

"I only asked because--"

"Silence!"

Gossamer's mouth snapped shut and it cowered under her glare, which had been rumored to set plants and small insects on fire. The Queen marveled at the command's ability to work both in and outside her head, then turned her full attention to the drone, her upper lip curling at what she saw. Its mane and tail had been cut back, exposing its crests, and the horn that she had injured several days ago had been bound in cobwebs. Chrysalis had no idea who had done that. But she was immediately irritated by it.

"Can you retain love yet?" she asked, tapping its horn with intentional force. Gossamer yelped and cringed back.

"I think so, Queen."

"Good." She stalked out of the chamber where she normally received her sentient drones, into the caverns that she slept and ate in. Chrysalis didn't feed from the same stock of Cocooned that her drones did--she had her own private stash. Foals, young couples, old mates...those whose love was purest, hanging in surprisingly beautiful cocoons that the Queen had spun herself. Her kind had no concept of art, but if they did, Chrysalis's complex geometric patterns would have gotten her recognized.

Gossamer padded after her, eyes wide and head bowed. Only the Queen fed from this clutch. Elytra had been allowed to in its last days, in the hopes that a break from communal love would heal it, but that was the one exception.

"Queen," it said carefully, "what are we doing?"

"Feeding," Chrysalis replied abruptly, stopping in front of one Cocooned. Her horn glowed green and she laid it against the intricately-woven surface, and the stallion inside opened his eyes. Gossamer felt the gentle pulse of canned love and automatically opened itself to it.

"But..." It trailed off, unwilling to question the Queen, who had closed her eyes and leaned back on her haunches.

"But what, Gossamer?" Her voice was like ice.

"Why?"

"Because. We are leaving the hive on a long journey, and I have no idea when we will next be able to eat."

The fragmented pulse that passed for Gossamer's heartbeat sped up exponentially.

"W-what?" The Queen's eyes snapped open, a furious green, and the drone cowered.

"Carapace." Chrysalis forced the word out through gritted fangs. "We're going to retrieve it."

Buck diplomacy. Buck it--stealthy takeover had never been her way. Whatever half-plotted plan had sent one of her two remaining sentient drones to the Crystal City (she couldn't really remember now), it would just have to wait. Carapace was coming home, where its Queen could keep an eye on it. And if she and Gossamer just happened to stumble upon Anomaly or Elytra while out...well, so much the better.

"Queen, may I ask why?" Gossamer squeaked out timidly. Chrysalis glanced at it.

"No."

She closed her eyes again, reaching a hoof to the bands of her stomach and rubbing them. She felt full, her organs going to work on the emotional energy and converting it into nutrients. But she didn't sent the Cocooned stallion back to sleep just yet. Her kind could retain love in their horns, much like camels held water in their humps, just in case of a shortage. It was an alternative to fat storage, which Changelings were incapable of.

Of course, Chrysalis didn't know anything about that. She just knew that the horn thing was pretty useful.

Finally, her horn pulsed green, and the stallion's eyes closed again. The flow of emotion trickled off. The Queen of the Changelings rose to her hooves and nudged Gossamer, none too gently.

"Come on," she said. "Night should have fallen on the surface. Nothing will be watching us."

"We're leaving now?" The terror was obvious in Gossamer's voice. "B-but--the hive. The Swarm, I mean. Without you, they'll--"

"The Swarm will be fine," Chrysalis interrupted. "There will be chaos for a day or two. Three at the most. Some will be lost, of course, but that's nothing new. Instinct will eventually kick in, and they will hibernate."

She didn't wait for a response to her explanation, leading Gossamer out of her chambers and into a set of tunnels that were rarely used. Hunters and guards entered and exited the hive through a different route, and besides, there were barely any of them left anymore. Drones never came here, and these tunnels were largely below the Queen's attention. As a result, they were in poor shape.

The sound of dripping water echoed alongside Chrysalis and Gossamer's hoofsteps, and while she easily stepped over the stagnant pools that cropped up every few feet, the shorter-legged drone had to splash through them. It grimaced at the strands of algae that clung to its legs.

Glowing fungi sprouted on the damp walls, home to numerous blind, crawling things. The colonies started to diminish with the first hint of fresh air. When the two Changelings caught their first glimpse of the night sky through the mouth of the tunnel, the mushrooms were completely gone.

Gray sand had drifted in. Chrysalis walked gingerly over it, not wanting to get any in her hooves. Gossamer trotted beside her, looking around with wide black eyes.

"It's so...big," it whispered, crouching in the mouth of the tunnel and staring across the wasteland that was home to its kind.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

"Carapace took it in stride," she snapped, pushing past it. "You are a Changeling. A warrior of an ancient race. Get over it."

Shaking, Gossamer rose and galloped after her. It walked practically right underneath her until she kicked it.

It was a clear night. No wind blew, for which Chrysalis was grateful. Gossamer stayed close, examining all the openings in the sand--tunnels that led into other hives. Dead hives. Chrysalis had once ruled over hundreds of them, and they had all thrived, making up the Swarm. But one by one they starved, until only the one that she and her drone had just left remained. And even that one was dwindling. Without food, the Hive-mothers laid very few eggs, and even fewer of those lived to adulthood.

They were dying. She felt a hint of the desperation that had driven her to attack Canterlot, coming up with the hard details of the plan as she crouched in her caverns. Instinctual horror and a drive to protect her subjects had made her clever that night. No, they weren't her children, as the ponies believed. But they were hers to look after nonetheless.

She would not let them die.

Chrysalis shook those dark thoughts from her head with a snort. They weren't in trouble anymore--they had enough Cocooned to sustain them for months. The Hive-mothers were laying again. She didn't have very many drones now, but soon she'd have many. Maybe even by the time she returned with Carapace, leaving Elytra and Anomaly dead behind her. She could plan again--maybe take the Crystal City this time. Make Cadance and Shining Armor pay.

The Changeling Queen allowed herself a small smile.

Yes, everything was going to be fine.

No. Perfect.

---

A/N: My writing's pretty shaky in this chapter, and I'm not proud of it. But I had fun writing it. This signals the return to the 'updates every three or four days' schedule, for anyone who cares.

Comments

[Inkblot]

so we just made a complete 180?

[Percussor Armis]

Wow, this has gone a little wrong, a shame that Carapace's hard won audience is now going to be made useless.
I really like this story, it's well written, and I'm sad that you claim to have lost the track that you had for the story, I just hope that what comes next keeps a satisfying story and doesn't divert too far from the promised and promising storyline. Keep it up though
Also, if I may give my suspicions (I meant to put them in a review for last chapter a week ago but got MAJORLY side-tracked). I had the suspicion, that the Captain of the Crystal guard, Claymore I think, (the one that doesn't show emotion) is Elytra, hiding from the swarm, and that the 'creature, that attacked Carapace and Twilight is Anomoly, come to search for Elytra, and maybe join him in the kingdom, and warn Carapace like he wrote he would. Or at least that's my thoughts.
No mistakes that I saw
Keep it up.
Good work.
Honora Imperator

[LunasCaptain]

1498989
Thank you so much for the review! It really means a lot, and I'm so happy you think it's well-written. :D

Don't be sad that the original storyline was abandoned. The original storyline was boring. It was a rough draft and it has been replaced by bigger and better things--for example, in the original storyline, there was no Anomaly, no griffon king, and absolutely no fights. Until the climax. But what I had in mind could hardly be called a fight.

As for your suspicions... mylittlefacewhen.com/f/8169/

Who are you and and how in the name of everything solar did you read my mind

Amending the above statement, I shall continue with my plotline regardless of your suspicions. Whatever similarities (or poorly-covered-up, last-minute changes) may occur, they were unintentional! Truly, they were.

Seriously, though, thanks again for the review.