That night I learned how changelings defecate.
To be specific, I learned that they don’t. Instead, they regurgitate a sort of slime. Big Bug Mom gathered the waste and threw it into one of the empty pots.
”The changeling digestive system,” Chrysalis began, ”rids itself of the waste from processing love by congealing it into a thick mucus, then rids itself of the slime. We use this slime in a myriad of ways; from construction to being the basic component of a self-repairing salve, the changeling gel is our most abundant material.”
That would explain the warped-looking walls, columns, and ceilings; they are made of bug slime. Considering concrete is one of the most consumed resources in human society, I find it hilarious, disgusting, and most of all impressive that the one of the most used resources in changeling society is bug vomit.
Changeling anatomy lessons with Chrysalis continued into the night. She told me we could change our form at will, using magic inherent to changelings themselves. No other species had such an innate master over shapeshifting.
That’s another thing. Magic. It was very real, and it was how Chrysalis, Psocid, and Lethocerus could levitate objects. It also unsurprisingly had countless other uses: from popping popcorn to transmutation of elements.
‘I wonder if this means it is possible to split atoms using magic...’
That wrapped up the impromptu nightly lessons from bug mom. She told me to get used to the study, as it would be my room until one of the spare rooms could be prepared for me. The other larva of my generation had to sleep in a pile on the floor of a cavern while I got a room to myself.
I could get used to this.
With Prince Phasma asleep on the couch of the study, Queen Chrysalis made her way to her bedroom. Tomorrow, before the Prince awoke in the afternoon, she would check the archives. For now, she retired to her chambers. The bleak changeling-gel walls stood in stark contrast to the room’s contents.
They were the pinnacle of luxury in the changeling hive: an actual bed, complete with two pillows, a few blankets, and a mattress. She had to hand it to the ponies, they know how to live comfortably.
There were also three wooden chairs around a low table. A chess was set on the table, though Chrysalis never played. No windows, she would not tolerate such a security risk in her own personal wing, just as her predecessors never did. The pony Princesses were fools to leave such vulnerabilities in their castles.
Ponies. Right.
Chrysalis trotted over to the table and picked up the Black Queen using levitation. She started to giggle, then moved on to a full-blown cackle. The thin layer of dust was quickly brushed off as the piece jiggled in her grasp.
“Centuries of-” Chrysalis looked at her door…
However no guard knocked, bringing news of supply shortages, of strange happenstances, or of the latest issue of Colt-Cloak Magazine being released. Her monologues were interrupted more often than not, and it was starting to get on her nerves.
“.... Of planning, and the Great Weaver grants me such a boon! And the fact that Prince Phasma is blessed with being such a prodigy? The signs are clear, the sun shall set upon the eternal Sun Princess!
“How many centuries have we toiled in the dark? It is finally time for our place in the sun; Prince Phasmatodea shall deliver the final blow to the oh so glorious E.U.P., and city by city, Equestria will fall! My most loyal son, you shall be the key to delivering me Celestia’s head on a silver platter. Together, we will bring in a new era for our kind.
“No more hiding in the shadows! No more food shortages! No more suffering! Well, for my changelings, that is. Dear Celestia and her little ponies shall wish they were granted the mercy of death. Soon she will feel that her nightmares are real!
“Yes, step aside Celestia! The age of ponies has ended. The age of changelings has begun!”
Queen Chrysalis hummed quietly to herself as she headed down to the archives the next morning. Getting to the lowest layer of the hive was far easier than getting to the top spire yesterday. Without Phasma on her back, she could use her wings in the vertical shafts that formed the arteries of the hive.
Changelings moved out of her way and clung to the walls. The oncoming traffic parted as she made her way all the way down, past the dormitories, the nursery, the storage rooms, until she reached the final layer.
At the bottom of the shaft, just above the grate leading to the Underhive, there was one exit. That exit lead to one hallway, which lead to one room with one final door.
This final door was more akin to a wall that moved, it was thicker than many of the walls that made up the hive. A giant, circular vault door, twisting inwards in a spiral, converging to a circle that held a picture of a blue scorpion. Just below this central circle was two holes, equally distant from the center.
Chrysalis paid the two royal guards stationed on either side no heed as she slotted her forelegs into the circles. As her hooves pressed against the end of the recesses, tumblers slotted themselves through the holes of her legs. She turned her left leg clockwise ninety degrees, her right counterclockwise forty five, then her left counterclockwise one hundred thirty five. Finally, she turned her right leg ninety degrees. There was a loud click and the tumblers retracted.
She never got the combination wrong, not after accidentally getting it wrong once and having to sit there as the royal guards attempted to get her unstuck when the magical tumblers locked in place. The alarm blaring just added to the indignation.
The vault door started to swing outwards and Chrysalis pulled it out all the way with her magic.
“In the dark of the night, evil will find her!” She quietly sang to herself as she stepped through.
Proximity runes triggered the activation of the white light orbs on the walls, revealing the massive room. Rows of bookshelves, extending out a hundred feet and fifty feet to each side.
“In the dark of the night, terror comes true!” Chrysalis trotted to just to the side, where the index lay.
Finding the section she wanted, she pranced off to Row Fifteen, Section Three, Shelf One. There were the journals of King Mesopleuron, Queen Cantharidae, Queen Maxilla, and Queen Sphecidae. She pulled them out and brought them to the table that was in the center of the room.
Chrysalis pulled out the one chair at the table and continued to sing to herself as she read through the entries.
Outside, the royal guards glanced at each other. Despite the rigorous training they endured, ensuring they remained vigilant and reserved at all times, their stoic poise was broken.
Queen Chrysalis was singing.
Royal Guard Hydro made a quiet prayer to The Great Weaver.
Shall set on shall set upon
Normally I dont correct things, but that one threw me off. Sorry.
10500730
Thank you. I do one or two rereads of each chapter to catch mistakes like these-- there's usually two or three-- but this one slipped by
Queen Cantharidae—Queen Blister Beetle?
NO!
10500933
YEEEES!
Ah yes, Queen Rasputin.
Pray you survive at least half as much as your namesake.
10500983
Little Cadence beware, Chrysalis's awake!
Gotta love "In the Dark of the Night" from Anastasia. You've seen the Ink Potts animatic?
10501010
I have not. Watching it now and wow, the use of Windigos is pretty awesome.
MLP really underused its villains.
I really like it.
10500933
While I too imagine the question is asked in reference to a certain big boom, it could also be in refernce to power plants. After all, the only thing done differently is that they control the reactions.
10501171
Fair enough, but then there is the problem of waste products.
10501238
You say waste I say currently purposeless biproducts.
In all seriousness, yeah, that can be a problem. But who knows? Maybe magic horse/bug people could mess around with it and come up with some awesome uses on their end?
I'm really interested to see where this goes since the writing and plot has been really good so far.
Lol nice use of the song, I'm interested to see where this goes. Though always thought she was kind of an idiot for the whole enslaving ponies thing. Unhappy and dead ponies can't give that much love right?
Oh man, I haven't read a changeling story this good in a while. I love how you're doing it so far, and I look forward to seeing how you proceed.
10501325
You probably don't realize that those are purposefully purposeless. Practically everywhere processing waste in order to refine or extract materials is either banned or state monopoly ( e.g. as result it's totally banned in USA)... you know why? Because technology to do is a technology to make nuclear weapons
Yeah, nukes are made from waste of specially over-powered reactors.
But if you can split light atoms? No problems like that would arise
10502447
Interesting and makes sense. Though I still think there are other uses we could find for the waste material. Only time can tell though.
10503295
Waste material contains weapoinzable components , so no, not likely. That's actually secondary reason why some countries banned fission altogether, like Germany or Austria
10500933
Nuclear reactors do create some isotopes that are necessary for some medical machines to function. I'm interested to see what happens when Chekhov's Gun is used
Now that’s a lot of damage
HOW ABOUT A LITTLE MORE
10502447
Splitting light atoms doesn't do anything particularly useful. You need the density in order to have the critical mass that has the bits of split atoms splitting other atoms. And if you meant "the atoms light is made of" then you were making even less sense, because photons are just plain individual photons and not something you can split.
I mean that's how bees work. More or less.
Oh my god she's singing the thing XD
I have no recollection of this movie except this song haha
Really... You want to create nuclear bombs already? Actually no, I mean you want to create nuclear fission already? I doubt you'd find enough uranium-235 considering how hard of a process it is to even get it from uranium-238.
Poop.
I was going to say poop; since it is their way of riding the body of waste. But bug vomit is good!
Knowing her, if she was feeling in a good enough mood to sing then there is plenty to be worried about.
Great chapter. Wonder if she really thinks it wise to rule in the light for everyone to see instead placing pawns from the shadows to rule em all wile noone notices a thing.
Also...
That Chrysalis song more or less.
Big booooom
Oh no...
10616065
Oh no indeed. Hopefully he doesn't do that in proximity to anything he doesn't want to lose. Like, say, his face.
Chrysalis you are really really putting the cart before the horse here and are probably gonna get a real rude awakening when he turns on you if you try that.
10537924
Same. Except including once upon a December.
Oh yes, great things will come for the changelings. Just, maybe not exactly what you expect...
I'm sorry but I can't read big bug mom with starting to giggle. I can't read that part with a straight face it's impossible
I do hope he stands against Chrysalis in the end, but this is a really interesting story so far
ahh Anastasia why does that song fit Chrissy so much i mean there are alot of other songs but with how Chrissy just craves to get Sun butt and in a way i guess star butt... it really does fit XD
Oh... OH!!! I never thought of that.
Well then.
the 'Queen Chrysalis was singing' line is just hilarious here i'll follow this story thanks for your work
As a changeling fic fan, this story is quite eye catching. Not many fics has this type of POV.(You know, being in one of 'other' sides, especially in the enemys.)
Gonna give it a shot.
Oooo nooo I hope he can survive school from his Mom
That's one creative application for changeling leg holes
10500933
Y-e-Ssss...
10500966
Exacly
10500983
Nice
10500998
Meep
10501010
Masterpiece ♡
10501325
Glowing in the night bugs
10501523
Sound logical...
10503295
Make glowing mushrooms
10537916
Neat.
10537924
Enjoy the videoclip of chapter 5
This
Your version of the changelings are hiliarious
“Yes, step aside Celestia! The age of ponies has ended. The age of changelings has begun!”
“The age of men, is over. The age of the orc, has come!” -Gothmog
I’m not sure if you were quoting LOTR but as a Tolkien fan I’ll take it.
10969092
I was
I don't know why, but I thought of TLK2 Zira's Lullaby when Chrysalis was 'Singing.'
People talking about that split atom line and I'm just wondering if I'm the only person who remembers that it's next to impossible to split atoms, with a handful of exceptions, all of which are quite rare, difficult to refine, and otherwise a long way down the road.
like seriously not to be the "ACKTUALLY" guy but y'all know that atomic power comes from *chain reactions* and for power plants, controlling and slowing that reaction? Was it a throwaway line of course not but seeing see payoff for a long time on that front.
Connors log
Stardate 03102021
Supplemental
When the queen sings all hell is about to break loose. Persnaps this may be weaponized if one can find her favorite song… More research will need to be done.
Connor logging off
10988219
I immediately thought of this.