Common Ground

by LunasCaptain

The Ambassador's Challenge

Carapace leaped to her hooves and whirled around. Acid-green eyes blazing, and small fangs bared in a smile, the Changeling Queen was perched on a low retaining wall several yards away. Gossamer crouched beside her, nervous and bug-eyed. There was a wad of dirty cobwebs on its horn.

Elytra spread his wings in a threat display, moving a little closer to Carapace. He flattened his ears against his head and hissed. "Leave, Queen. There's nothing for you here."

"Oh, I beg to differ." Chrysalis stepped off of the wall and moved languorously towards them. Carapace snarled involuntarily, her own wings rising. She didn't understand the fear and anger that the Queen of the Changelings evoked in her, and she couldn't stop herself from acting on them. "In fact, I see three rebel drones, just waiting to be reclaimed by their Queen."

Anomaly noticeably stiffened in his armor, and Chrysalis flashed him a poisonous smile. "Yes, that's right, I found your little diary. Cute, but stupid."

Carapace had to agree with her there. She had never felt the need to write down any potentially treasonous revelations. But then again, she hadn't had any until she'd left the hive.

"Come quietly," the Queen ordered. "We can discuss what to do with you as soon as we're out of enemy territory."

"You have no power over us," Elytra said in a low voice. "I won't tell you again--leave."

"Or what?" She laughed. "You'll attack me? Princess Cadance will swoop in to fight me? You'll have to forgive me if I don't believe that you're under the protection of the Crystal Court."

Before he could answer, she turned to Carapace, eyes narrowing.

"And you," she murmured, striding towards her. Carapace growled. "I talked to you not three days ago. What happened?"

She clamped her jaws together and shot a glance at Elytra and Anomaly. One's expression was unreadable, and the other's was covered with armor.

Chrysalis took a step towards her, and she scooted back involuntarily, turning her gaze on Gossamer. Its wings trembled, and a thin red tongue darted out to lick its lips. Other than that, though, it didn't move.

"What was it you said? That I have no power over you?" Chrysalis's voice grew dangerously soft as she turned her attention to Anomaly. "Well, Elytra and Carapace weren't there in Canterlot, but you remember the spell that I used on Shining Armor...don't you, Anomaly?"

He ripped off his helmet and growled at her even as her crooked horn began to glow. "Chrysalis--"

A sudden clatter of hooves made Carapace glance back over her withers. Twilight Sparkle rounded the corner of the palace guards and alicorns appearing behind her. Her face was twisted into a determined snarl, but as soon as she saw the Queen, Carapace tasted the way that her resolve melted. Like steel-flavored ice cream.

She stopped, eyes wide. Her gaze landed on Chrysalis, flicked to Carapace and then returned.

"You have got to be kidding me," she said in a shaky voice.

Cadenza stepped out behind her. Upon seeing Chrysalis, her eyes widened, her horn lit up in preparation, and a strangled gasp worked its way out of her. Her emotional reaction brought Carapace to her knees. It was like a sledgehammer, composed of vindictive fury and unstable terror and hate strong enough to rip the inner lining off of the digestive organs of any Changeling. Elytra grunted as his legs buckled, but Anomaly only swayed.

The Queen shot the princess a beatific grin, her eyes narrowing. "Mi Amore Cadenza. What a lovely surprise."

She continued speaking, but Carapace didn't hear her. She was crouched on the ground, quivering next to Elytra and trying desperately to fight back against the hate that surrounded her on all sides. It wasn't just Cadenza--the guards that had arrived hot on her fetlocks saw her, saw them, as monsters, as threats to their city. They hated them for that with a passion. The black emotion was twisting inside her like a poison, stripping away her knowledge of where she was, her ability to think coherently, the last vestiges of her disguise. Some parts of it, though, remained.

She opened her eyes briefly, and saw a white coat that seemed to blaze and a blue one that nearly devoured all the light around it. The sky goddesses. Celestia and Luna. Well, then, they really were doomed.

Twilight was whispering. Carapace strained her ears to pick it up.

"...risk them entering the city," she was saying. Her voice was shaky, almost distraught. "We have to..."

Her voice faded. Carapace tried to get to her hooves, and failed. But several words, in a voice that could only be Celestia's reached her.

"I suppose we must."

She exhaled. Whatever meager defenses she had managed to put up against the hate dropped. Her wings lay still against her shell, and she gave up.

"Wait."

Anomaly had said it, in a tone of voice louder and more commanding than she would have believed him capable of. Slowly, the hate and the crushing agony that came with it started to ebb. Carapace opened her eyes and raised her head, seeing Elytra climb onto trembling hooves beside her and Anomaly standing armor-less a few yards away. He was looking around, making sure he had everypony's attention.

A few moments passed. Nopony said a word.

"Don't kill us," he began quietly. "We aren't what you think. We are not with her--" he waved a hoof at Chrysalis "--and we mean you no harm."

There were a few murmurs of uncertainty among the crowd, but he ignored them.

"You can't kill us--" he continued.

"Why the buck not?" somepony yelled, to widespread agreement. Anomaly's silver pony eyes flashed.

"Because we are like her," he said, pointing a wing at Cadenza, who blanched in shock. "We're like them." He waved the same wing at Celestia and Luna. "We're alicorns. Or, at least, we will be."

The garden exploded with noise and activity. Guards hurling insults at Anomaly, Cadenza talking rapidly with Twilight, Chrysalis shrieking in disbelief. Carapace felt the hate coming back, and she cringed, lowering her head.

But, suddenly, Celestia spoke.

"Quiet, all of you," she said, her voice loud and firm. "Let him speak."

The Queen snarled in defiance, but everypony else fell silent. The sun goddess inclined her head slightly to Anomaly. "Please. Explain."

"There are tunnels in my hive with ancient paintings on the walls," he started again. "That's where I learned about it. All alicorns start off life as something very similar to what these two are now." He nodded to Carapace and Elytra. "It allows them to travel the world, to learn without race or ability restricting them. They're fluid at first, but they settle, eventually. Into a gender, first, then a personality, and so on. Only those who settle as female have the potential to become...like you are, Princess Celestia." Even though Anomaly was speaking to the princess, he was looking at Carapace. She realized vaguely that she was hyperventillating.

"We feed on love so that we are literally forced to be nice to others. We have to form strong bonds and keep them in order to survive. This is how alicorns learn to be good and just rulers, how they learn the importance of friendship. Even after they've settled completely, the significance still persists for them."

"Wouldn't I remember this?" Celestia asked. From the looks on the faces of Luna and Cadenza, they agreed with the question.

Anomaly hesitated. "Only a little. In dreams, maybe. I believe that the specific memories fade, because there's no reason for them, but the lessons learned don't."

"Then what changed?" That was Twilight. "Why haven't there been any new alicorns since Cadance?"

"There was one," he replied, his voice subdued. "The paintings told her story. How something went wrong, as she was making the transition, leaving her with a warped body and stunted powers. How she determined that if she couldn't reach her destiny, nopony should be able to. How she enslaved our entire race and bent our will to hers."

He turned to look at Chrysalis.

She snarled with sudden, vicious fury, her eyes burning with hate. "Lies. I ascended the Changeling throne after my mother died, and I killed six of my siblings to do it. You made this all up to try and save your own chitin."

"But it fits," Twilight murmured. "The book...everything the seapony told me." She spun around and looked at the assembled legions, raising her voice. "He's telling the truth!"

"He can't be," Cadance whispered.

"He is." The smaller mare placed a hoof on her wither.

"That doesn't change the fact that these three are mine," the Queen hissed, settling her caustic gaze on Carapace, Elytra, and Anomaly. "Let me take them, and I'll leave in peace."

Carapace growled, even as Elytra bared his fangs next to her. But somepony else spoke up before they could.

"No."

Hooves struck the crystal of the garden path. A purple blur raced up on Carapace's other side, and Twilight stood in front of her with her horn pulsing magenta. Chrysalis's face broke out in an incredulous grin.

"Oh, that is adorable," she cooed. "You think that they're your friends, do you? You're a food source. They'll rip your throat out as soon as you stop loving them."

Twilight just squared her withers.

"Believe me, I know my Changelings," the Queen continued. "That one..." She pointed to Anomaly. "...hurt, hm, I believe it was five ponies during our attack on Canterlot. It might have killed some of them. I don't remember."

Twilight's ear twitched.

"Let's see..." Chrysalis tapped her chin, pretending to think, before pointing to Elytra. "It brutally murdered the royal guard that took it under his figurative wing and then took his place."

"That's a lie!" Elytra spat with sudden vehemence.

"Prove me wrong," Chrysalis replied. He snarled at her. "As for the blue-eyed one, we used to have these training exercises. I'd order several Changelings into the forms of Cadance, Shining Armor, you and your friends. You get the idea. Then I'd pit my chosen against them." She smiled. "Carapace once punched a hole through the chest of a Changeling wearing your form."

Carapace lowered her ears and growled deep in her throat. But she couldn't deny it. She had been younger then, she hadn't known Twilight, the Changeling in question had healed...but it had happened.

Twilight glanced back at her, and she knew that her face would be unreadable.

The purple unicorn faced Chrysalis, meeting her eyes. The guttering magic around her horn brightened.

"They may be monsters," she said through gritted teeth, "but I'm not. You'll have to go through me to get to them."

The Queen of the Changelings blinked down at her, seemingly surprised. Then she shrugged.

"If you insist," she said.

"Twilight--" Carapace took a step forward, but before she could do anything, Chrysalis's horn flashed green. Twilight screamed, green fire erupting in a halo around her head. It dissipated, and she crumpled, the scream trailing off. The Queen lowered her head to the unconscious unicorn with speed only a Changeling could match, her horn beginning to throb with green light again.

Click.

Chrysalis blinked at the sound of chitin on chitin, and raised her head. Carapace, standing over the fallen Twilight, snarled as soon as her eyes came into view. Cadance and several guards were shouting. She didn't care.

A look of annoyance crossed Chrysalis's face. "Oh, what now?"

"I challenge you," Carapace growled, "for your position as Queen of the Changelings."

Chrysalis's eyes widened. There were procedures for this sort of thing, technically. But there was no precedence. Nopony had ever challenged her for her title before, as Carapace knew.

Nopony had ever been able to.

She felt her Queen's gaze raking down her body, taking stock. Of the braids in her mane and tail. Of the clefts in her hooves. Of the scratches on her shell and the exhaustion evident in her spindly frame and the inexperienced way she was arching her neck so that her small crest showed through her mane. Chrysalis laughed. Just once.

"I'm going to crush you like the insignificant bug that you are," she whispered to Carapace.

"No," said a voice as powerful as Celestia's, but in a completely different way. "You won't."

Carapace looked up. Elytra and Anomaly stood beside her, ready to fight, but so did...Princess Luna. Her wings stood out from her body and her eyes almost glowed.

"I know what it's like to be believed to be a monster," she said softly. "I will not allow you to harm these Changelings--and especially not Twilight Sparkle."

"Neither will I." Celestia suddenly appeared on her other side. "I don't know if what you told me was true," she said to Anomaly. "But one of your number is willing to fight for the life of my student. It appears that there's more to you than I realized."

Carapace heard quiet hoofsteps, and tensed up when they stopped directly behind her. She nearly jumped out of her shell when Cadenza spoke.

"I guess she's right." The words were bitter, but for once, she didn't taste any hate rolling off of the princess.

Chrysalis just stared in shock.

"You've lost, Chrysalis." Celestia's voice was soft, but hard as iron. "Step down, and leave."

The Queen's jaw worked. There was more hate in her eyes than Carapace had thought anypony capable of feeling, but she was a little too preoccupied to wonder why she wasn't vomiting blood as a direct result.

"I--I relinquish my place as Queen of the Changelings," Chrysalis finally spit.

"Go," Celestia ordered.

Chrysalis's eyes latched onto Carapace.

"You," she hissed. "You traitorous, soft-shelled worm. This isn't over."

"Now," Celestia snapped, spreading her wings.

The former Queen turned abruptly and stiffly walked back to where Gossamer waited. With a shimmer of green flame, she changed into a pegasus, and glared, waiting for it to do the same.

It shot a glance at Carapace and Elytra. But it still changed, and followed Chrysalis up and over the wall.

Carapace stood stock-still in the brilliant light of the setting sun, surrounded on all sides by her brothers and the alicorns who had come to her aid. Underneath her, Twilight stirred. She looked down.

A pair of violet eyes focused on her. "You saved me."

"What are friends for?" Carapace replied.

Author's Note:

Unexplained alicorn OC? Never.

Nope, I present to you...a semi-explained alicorn OC.

Now. Tell me and be honest--how far have I gone into Mary-Sue territory with this chapter?

Comments

[LunasCaptain]

2067509
Why thank you.

[anomaly]

If you really think that after recent reveal you can go to Mary Sue territory just be adding another alicorn you are wrong. Now you need to make some effort to be worse than... *cough* ...canon.

[Drake Varanus]

So much plot twist!

[BlackVion]

Eh. If Carapace actually fought and won against the Queen, in her current state, that would've been a nice drive down Mary Sue Lane. Maybe.

How it actually went down was fine.

Stop worrying so much. You've kept me reading and for the most part, I've been burnt out on changeling fics since a few weeks after A Canterlot Wedding.

You've avoided many of the things I dislike seeing in fics featuring the form stealing bastards. Keep up the good work.

[LunasCaptain]

2068882
Well, I was just a little apprehensive. I have the potential for my OC to become an alicorn, she challenged the changeling queen, the three princesses of Equestria backed her...but thanks for the positive feedback. The flames I was expecting never arrived, and I feel a little better now.

[ADrunkChangeling]

A little rushed maybe, but not a Mary Sue. Carapace's individual strength means very little when public oppinion can LITERALLY kill the combatants. She won the crowd and therefore the battlefield: simple as that.

[Perteks]

24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me5q9ySpIf1rphuzwo1_1280.jpg
Anserw yourself

[Sketchy Markks]

2072385 lol.

Also, the changlings are alicorns thing was truly awesome. It is now one of my headcanons.

[Brony Tom]

This was fine, not Mary Sue-ish at all. I'm glad we finally got the big reveal.

[Percussor Armis]

Well, Imma say it, I did not expect that
Amazing.
Review pending my friend.
Oh, by the way, why didn't they catch Gossamer before Chrysalis left? Sequel?
I'm being hopeful I know
Great job, reading on.
Honora Imperator