Part 4: Chapter 2 Interrogating the Sisters

Continuing on my series about how I’ve been writing Equestria’s Changeling Princesses and the Kinsbane, here is what happened with Chapter 2.

First off, I'm on the Barcast on February 1, please feel free to comment, ask questions etc.
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/212308/the-barcast/thread/427629/vren55-2-1-2020-saturday-barcast

And if you're live, see here:
https://www.twitch.tv/mikesnipe/

Previous posts here:
Background
Prologue
Chapter 1

Chapter 2 was written very late into the writing process. Suffice to say, I actually wrote a different scene for what would become chapter 2 that was in play up until November 2019. This was where Chamelia would hold the sisters at spearpoint and interrogate them, essentially psychologically torturing them until they confessed. I’ve posted the actual scene at the bottom of the blog post if anybody’s interested in how different original was from what I ended up deciding.

Needless to say… that DID NOT make it. The hilarious thing was that I wrote an ENTIRE chapter that never saw the light of day, but ah well, that’s writing.

And the reason? My Pre-reader Wanderer D.

Wanderer D had issues with how the original chapter played out, namely, that Chamelia didn’t act like Chamelia, that Mirage and Kyria didn’t act like Mirage. It was rushed, and at the time I didn’t agree with him, but I felt that he might have a point when he suggested I should write a more coherent interrogation scene. I thus wrote the scene we have now with Chapter 2 and after thinking about it and sharing it with Dr. Tarbtano and Zervziel, decided that… yeah this new scene is better for the following reasons:

1. It was a great callback to one of the earlier scenes in Princess Celestia: The Changeling Queen where Alternia, Blueblood and Luna were interrogating Chrysalis’s changelings
2. It was a good way to show how different Mirage and Kyria reacted under pressure

As such, this is what happened with chapter 2. Enjoy the original scene below… or not, because I cringe when I see it, but well, full disclosure.

Sincerely,
vren55

“Unless of course you would rather my guards undress you?” asked Chamelia wryly.

“No, of course not, Your Majesty,” stammered Mirage. She bowed her head. “We surrender.” She unbuckled her peytral, took off her tiara, and stepped out of her hoof shoes. Slowly, she set them on the ground, where they were pulled away by the changeling guards.

She glanced to her side. Kyria had done the same, albeit, with far more trembling.

“Glad that is out of the way. Now, young queens. I would very much like you to explain to me who you are, and what was the purpose of that spell you cast.”

Mirage took a deep breath to buy herself time, but… she didn’t know what to do.

What if I say we’re queens who just wanted to pay her homage… wait, no, that doesn’t make sense… What about… no… that doesn’t. Shit. Neither Kyria or me know enough about this time to make up a good cover story.

Judging from the brief moment of concentration, and then prompt panic that Kyria was suddenly experienced, Mirage guessed her sister had come to the same conclusion.

“We are… Uh…” Kyria coughed, her throat was still hoarse. “Sorry, Your Majesty. We… My sister and I don’t mean you or your hive any harm. We just… we really can’t tell you who we are, Your Majesty, or what that spell was trying to do. I’m sorry, I know… this sounds ridiculous, but we can’t.”

Chamelia frowned. “Your emotions and your expression suggest you are sincere on this, but you do realize that you two sisters appeared out of nowhere out of a magical vortex, in the middle of my throne room.”

Kyria nodded and glued her face to the floor, almost kissing it as she did so. “Yes, Your Majesty. I’m deeply sorry, please… forgive us for our disrespect.”

“Shut up, now!” hissed Mirage.

Kyria glanced at her sister, standing tall. “Sister, why aren’t you bowing? Are you crazy?” she hissed back.

“Quiet,” Chamelia said. She rose from her throne and slowly trotted down the steps, each one deliberate, measured, and echoing through the cavern as steadily as a drum beat.

She walked right up to the two sisters, her face neutral, and her emotions… they were almost placid, like a calm lake.

The guards suddenly shot beams at Mirage. She twisted, trying to dodge, but they hit her, and they forced her to stand still, facing Chamelia.

“Mirage! No! Please, Your Majesty, you have to believe us!” Kyria yelped as the guards fired spells at her, forcing her to stand up, and look at her sister and her grandmother.

It was as if the queen didn’t even notice Kyria’s pleas, for she extended her axe to Mirage’s throat.

Alternia’s oldest daughter gritted her teeth, and tried her best to force herself not to cry. But she wasn’t hoping for much.

“Mirage is it? Explain to me why you are here, and how you got here, and you will live,” said Chamelia, her voice cold as ice, every word dripping like blood off the edge of a blade.

“No! You can’t do this! You don’t know what you’re doing!” screamed Kyria.

“Sister, quiet! I know her game. You will not tell her anything!” snapped Mirage, unable to look at her sister.

Kyria froze. She knew why Mirage had said that, but… if she obeyed. 

“Your sister will die if you stay silent,” said Chamelia, as if reading her mind. And at the same moment, she inched her axe’s blade forward, closer to Mirage’s throat.

Despite being held down by spells, Kyria was shaking, trembling so hard that her tears were zig-zagging down her cheeks. “No. Nononono. This… this can’t be happening. Please… Your Majesty. I’ll do anything. Anything you ask, just… just leave her alone.”

“Then tell me,” said Chamelia, not even glancing at Mirage.

“Why are you doing this! We don’t mean any harm!” screamed Kyria.

“Convince me. After all, you showed up in my throne room, one of the most secure areas of my hive in one of the most powerful magical vortices I have ever seen.” Chamelia gave one small, almost sad look at Kyria. “If you mean no harm, then save your sister.”

She pushed her axe forward.

“Grandmother please don’t do this!”

Mirage’s jaw dropped open in horror, as the blade pricked the edge of her chitin, whilst Chamelia had spun around eyes wide.

“What did you say?”

Kyria gasped. “I said Your Majesty--”

“Liar! You called me Grandmother. Why? Whose daughter are you really?” demanded Chamelia, her spear now levelled at Kyria.

The smaller queen shook her head. “I can’t tell. I’ve already said too much. Please… Grandmother, this is only for the good of our family!”

---

Chamelia arched an eyebrow and sighed. 

This situation was… getting absurd. All she had wanted was to relax on her throne, away from her newest daughter Belladonna for a bit, when that massive vortex had appeared. She had gathered a company of guards, expecting some kind of invasion from a rival queen, possibly one who was not one of her allies on the council, but it only deposited two young, unascended queens.

Still, the two queens were a threat. After all, the older queen was a warrior-no, a soldier, that much was for certain. She carried herself with a surprising degree of discipline and had said nothing, except to order her sister to silence. She had no weaponry, but it’s possible her peytral and shoes might be concealing something.

This was why she had threatened the older queen first in order to pressure the younger queen, who was… intriguing. She was far more emotional, younger, and definitely not a fighter. After all, she fell for Chamelia’s ploy (she never intended to kill the older queen). But what was revealed was surprising. The younger queen, despite being far less stoic, was intelligent, and talkative, even under pressure that would freeze most changelings. She seemed… to care for Chamelia, which was odd.

In fact, this whole grandmother business was the most confusing part of this. 

Chamelia only had ever had four queen daughters. None of them were of the age to have children as they were children themselves, and yet these queens claimed to be her granddaughters.

Of course, it was possible one of her drone sons or daughters in bygone decades had married or courted a changeling Queen then. She’d had a few over the centuries and many had set off on their own. Yet, if that was the case, then why didn’t they just tell her the whole story and whose daughter she was? Why was protecting their identities as her granddaughters so important that one of them was willing to die for it? Wouldn’t it be smarter for them to tell her that they were her granddaughters and beg for mercy then? Could it be because their queen mother was an enemy of hers?

She needed more information. Maybe this equipment of theirs might help.

Trotting over, she picked up the black-crossed satchel, and cast another shield over herself. She opened it at a distance, an eye on the pair, but they didn’t flinch. So it wasn’t booby-trapped or anything. Still, it paid well to be cautious.

The satchel had some multi-colored vials in them with labels. They were… medical potions, with ingredient lists. Some of the ingredients she recognized, like phoenix tears, but there were others that she failed to understand. Aside from that, there were bandages, compresses, and other objects labelled “Smoke Bomb”, “Flare” and “Emergency Barrier Gem”. It was essentially, a kind of emergency pack, similar to what her changelings would carry, but far more extensive than she expected.

She set it down and brought the regalia over, focusing on the peytrals. They were exquisitely crafted from silver, and set with emeralds. To her surprise, there were also runes carved into them, artfully done so too, and these runes were sparkling with power.

“Impressive.” Chamelia studied them, trying to find a maker’s mark.

When she found it, she frowned. It was illegible. And it looked… like Equestrian lettering, but not Equestrian. Well that was a dead end. Still, these items were highly valuable, and definitely not something any changeling was capable of making. Rather, they almost seemed Equestrian in style.

There were only more questions being raised, but hopefully, leaving the captives in silence had helped softened their will. But what to do next?

She thought about continuing to threaten torture on the older sister, Mirage, and if that failed, casting an illusion on Mirage to show her in extreme pain. But if Chamelia was their grandmother, the younger queen may not believe that she would go to those lengths. She seemed to believe in Chamelia’s mercy.

Wait, hold on. The younger queen believes in my mercy, but the older queen… she seems to think differently. She knows about what I could do when pushed.

Chamelia smiled and turned to Mirage. 

“Mirage, is it? I’m afraid it’s your turn,” she said.

“You won’t break me, Your Majesty,” hissed Mirage.

“It’s not you that I plan to break,” said Chamelia, the lie fluently exiting her lips. “I prefer not to inflict such torture on any changeling, but you have forced my hoof.” 

She raised her horn and a semicircle dome of green magic surrounded them, blocking them from view of the guards, but keeping the strange regalia and equipment they brought in the dome.

“I do not want my loyal changelings not to see, or hear this, as it is not very pleasant,” said Chamelia almost resignedly. She trotted up to Kyria and touched her cheek. “I am sorry, whoever you are but… you cannot be my granddaughter. I know you say you are but that cannot be true. I have to protect my hive, and since you refuse to tell me anything, I have to take drastic measures.”

“What-MMHMM!” Chamelia had unrolled one of the bandages from the strange kits and gagged the younger queen securely. She turned to Mirage and lit her horn again with a flash of green.

Several knives, some straight, some wickedly curved, a hammer, and a hook-like device materialized beside her. However, most of them were just illusions that affected Kyria and Mirage’s sight. It required no outside distractions though, but there was a shield up.

That being said, she did have one real knife.

“You won’t dare. She’s your flesh and blood!” hissed Mirage.

Chamelia shook her head. “My changelings will understand. They know I have to protect them after all, and someone who can just enter the hive is someone who is a threat to them all.”

Mirage smirked, but despite this brave act, Chamelia picked up her burgeoning horror with ease. It was in her emotions and it was in her ears, laid flat against her head. 

“You don’t torture, grandmother. You’re well known for your compassion and kindness.”

“Not to enemies of my hive, or potential threats. I am sure you know that too,” said Chamelia. She looked straight into the older princesses eyes. “You are a soldier, Mirage. I can see that. I was also a soldier too, and you and I know we do anything to protect those precious to us.”

Mirage swallowed, her eyes moistening up again. “You won’t. I know you won’t. This is a trick. You aren’t serious.”

“Tell me what I want to know, Mirage.” She touched the real knife to the younger queen’s back. The actual Kyria was paralyzed, and glanced at her with a look of horrified disbelief. 

“Tell me, Mirage, or I will peel each layer of chitin from your sister with this knife.” She lightly glided the point knife up the changeling’s back, watching her squirm. Chamelia took no pleasure from this, but she could sense the very very real panic and terror in Mirage’s emotions, and see her eyes widen. She was close to getting them to talk. 

“No. I… I can’t. You… I…” Mirage shut her eyes. “No I won’t look. I have my duty to E- I have my duty. I must stay true. I am … I am…”

“What duty can be more important than protecting your own sister, Mirage? Or are you really going to watch me tear her open?” 

Mirage’s eyes shot open, tears streaming down her cheeks, jaw agape.

“Kyria…” she whimpered.

Chamelia shrugged. “Oh Kyria is it? Well, I’m sorry that your sister’s decided not to save you, because time’s up. She raised the nastiest of the illusory knives, waiting for the words she knew they were coming.

And as she expected, Mirage broke.

“I’ll tell you! I’ll talk! Please, don’t hurt my sister!”

Kyria relaxed in relief, as Chamelia smiled. “Go on then.”

“Nobody can hear us now, right?” asked Mirage, dejected, eyes averted.

“No… does that make a difference?”

Mirage shut her eyes. “We’re from the future.”

Chamelia snorted, and took off Kyria’s gag. “Pull the other leg. I have three more. Or would you like me to cut off one of your sister’s?”

Kyria forced herself to speak. “Grandmother, she’s telling you the truth!” She took a breath. “You recently gave birth to a daughter, Belladonna, with purple hair.”

“That information could have easily been collected by your associates,” said Chamelia, though her eyes did narrow from anger. How did these two queens find out from just arriving here?

“There are no associates, no other spies, no lies! We’re telling the truth! That’s why we can’t tell you much! I mean… you looked at our peytrals and regalia right? Did nothing seem odd about them to you? Didn’t they seem too finely made by any changeling of this time?” asked Mirage.

“They could have been made by Equestrians, and then stolen by you,” said Chamelia slowly, but the detail work of the peytrals made her pause. Indeed, Princesses Celestia and Luna had similar items. She actually had opportunities to examine Celestia’s regalia during their odd chats, but these particular pieces were even finer than theirs.

Mirage swallowed. “Kyria, we need to tell her about who our mom is at the very least. We need to tell her more about our family!”

“She might not believe us!” retorted Kyria.

“I can’t protect you from her by playing quiet! Knowing her identity won’t change the timeline much anyway, but she might show some sympathy to us!” cried Mirage.

“But… But the timeline. If she knows…”

Mirage nodded. “I know. I know… but I… I am willing to die, but… I can’t watch you suffer. Please… don’t make me watch you suffer.”

Kyria froze, indecision momentarily clear on her young features, before she nodded and fixed Chamelia with a resigned look.  “Grandma, we’re… we’re Alternia’s daughters.”

Chamelia’s jaw dropped open.

She initially was going to tell the pair that they were being ridiculous, but most creatures won’t tell a lie like that under such pressure. Most creatures weren’t changelings that… now that she was looking closer, had an uncanny resemblance to herself and her children.

“No way.”

“We’re telling the truth. We… we were trying to look back to about  … wait, can’t tell you that.” Mirage groaned. “We were trying to look into the past with an experimental spell that malfunctioned for some unknown reason and dragged us in. It was only meant to look into the past though, not take us to it.”

Chamelia didn’t want to believe them. She thought she couldn’t believe them, but the more she thought about it, that one fact, explained more about their reticence, their reservation, their stubborn determination to resist her interrogation, more than she had ever expected. And what they felt now was sincerity and desperation. They wanted to be honest.

There was just one… rather large, unanswered question.

“For what specific reason did you want to look into the past, though?” Chamelia asked. For there were many reasons why any changeling would be interested, but such an effort would take a great deal of magic and skill. 

“We just wanted to see you at the height of your power. We… we oh… We didn’t mean to do anything wrong!”

Chamelia switched her focus Kyria and felt her heart sink. The younger changeling queen was bawling, tears flowing freely down her face, and the terror in her heart had now given way to deep regret and a good deal of bitter self-loathing.

“I… we’ll never see Mom and Dad again! All because of this stupid, STUPID birthday present!”

“Kyria, Kyria please don’t cry.… it’s my fault. I… I roped you into this. It was my suggestion,” sobbed Mirage. “I… I just wanted to see grandma.”

Something clicked in Chamelia’s mind and she froze. 

“Oh Great Creator. I’m dead am I?”

Both sisters eyes widened and thanks to that, the panic she could feel and the shock on their faces, the great queen knew.

“No! You’re fine! We just wanted to see you when you were younger!” Kyria babbled.

“Yeah! You are very much alive and well!” stammered Mirage.

Chamelia shook her head, dispelling the illusory knives and putting the real one down. “You’re lying. I can sense your sadness, despite the horror I put you through. And besides… why in Tartarus would you look back into the past, if I was alive and willing to tell you about it?”

She shot out two beams of magic, dispelling the paralysis spells on Kyria and Mirage. Since their legs were probably numb from standing there for so long, or more likely because of the psychological gauntlet they had been put through, the pair collapsed on the ground, whimpering.

Chamelia trotted up to them, slowly. She didn’t want to frighten them more than she already had, and so she didn’t dare touch them, although every instinct she had was to sweep the pair up in her hooves and smother them in a hug.

“Mirage, Kyria, I’m… so sorry. I had no idea. There are still a few queens who are hostile to me and my allies on the Queens Council, so I reacted so poorly.” She pointed at the lone knife. “I know that these were illusions… I did not want to kill or torture either of you after all, but still… I hurt you both deeply, and for that, I am deeply sorry.”

Kyria wiped her tears with a shaking hoof. “I… I’m alright and… I-I forgive you. I understand why. I…” She laughed weakly, not quite sure why she did. “I did a lot of reading about the changeling queens of the past. It was pretty cutthroat.”

Mirage forced herself to her hooves, taking deep breaths. “I… I get why you did it too. Just…” She couldn’t quite force a smile, and so settled for a half-wince. “Mom tended tell stories about your kind and caring side.”

“Your mother… Alternia right?” - the sisters nodded, and Chamelia shook her head - “I’m… I’m still finding it hard to believe it. It’s just so… outlandish.”

“I can imagine--” Mirage blinked. “Hold on. Would you mind letting me get my peytral?”

At Chamelia’s puzzled nod, Mirage grabbed her regalia and reached into it, pulling out a very wrinkled photo.

“Mirage… timeline?” asked Kyria.

“I think… Grandma deserves this at the very least,” said Mirage in a quiet, somber voice.

Flinching, Kyria couldn’t help sharply suck in her breath and bite her lip. 

Chamelia frowned. “I know how much of a problem time magic is, and that I probably should listen, but not ask anything about the future, but what are you trying not to tell me?”

Mirage could not suppress her sadness, but she had enough presence of mind to take a moment to gather her thoughts.

“There are many critical and harrowing trials our Mother, and our Aunts are going to have to face. Things that… while we wish for you to prepare them for, will not be able to happen if we tell you what happens next.”

Chamelia nodded. “And I imagine that those trials have to happen, or else something even worse will occur.”

Kyria and Mirage met each other’s eyes, and Chamelia baulked at the sudden burst of anguish, followed by stoic resolve. The sisters weren’t even tempted to mention it, both knew they were thinking about Chrysalis’s coup, how it ended in Chamelia’s accidental death, and weighing it against the possibility of having no Alternia moving the sun for Celestia for a thousand years. 

“Still, we want you to have… some comfort that they will be fine,” said Mirage. She glanced at the photograph and extended it so Chamelia could see it.

The queen’s eyes widened. “What sorcery is this?”

“It’s… it’s technology that we develop in the future that allows us to take… instant portraits of a kind. I can’t be more detailed than that.”

Chamelia took the photograph in her magic, bringing it closer. 

It was a group of changelings posed under on the steps leading up to very throne that Chamelia usually sat. At the front sitting down, were Mirage and Kyria, slightly turned toward one another, grinning widely. They seemed about  a year younger than they were now.

Behind them, also sitting, were four ascended queens, and a drone. The first from the left had turquoise-green hair. She was wearing a proud smile. It must be Chrysalis, or, whom she would become. 

Chamelia gasped. Oh Creator. She looks so much like Zagara. The thought nearly brought the queen to tears as she remembered her mother.

At the opposite end of the group a relatively short, but stocky queen with purple hair, was grinning.

That must be Belladonna. Chamelia thought wryly.

Next to Belladonna was the red-haired queen who must be Simulacris, wearing a more wry smile. 

Simulacris… She rather resembles Aunt Araneae. She had been her mother’s younger sister and a great sorceress.

Finally, in the centre, the tallest of the group, was a blue-haired queen, the tallest of the group, who had to be Alternia, along with a drone with purple-eyes, who must be her mate.

It took a moment for Chamelia to realize who Alternia was, though, as the queen in the image looked nothing like a typical changeling queen. She did have the crooked horn of most queens, but it was now slightly curved and had a triangular cross-section. Her carapace seemed to have been… hardened, ridged and reinforced plated ridges on her flanks, chest and underside. The typical delicate crown antenna of an ascended queen was also larger than most and again, seemed more angular and almost… reinforced.

Alternia… does resemble me, but it’s as if someone layered several layers of extra chitin over her frame.

“Who is the drone, and… why does Alternia look… different?” Chamelia asked, narrowing her eyes at the sisters.

“The purple drone is our father. We can’t say his name I’m afraid. I don’t think we should let you know if you knew him or not,” said Kyria.

Mirage swallowed. “As to why does Mom look different? I can’t give much details. She got badly wounded and needed significant… healing that ended up changing her appearance.”

Chamelia frowned. Truth… but only a half-truth, yet, I… I shouldn’t press further, but… oh Great Creator… what happened to my daughter that required her appearance to be changed to such an extent?

She handed the picture back, eyes narrowed, lips pursed. 

“So, you got trapped here by this accident. Can your parents and Aunts get you back to the future?” Chamelia asked.

“Yes.” - Mirage blinked, turning to her sister, who smiled - “Mom and Dad promised. It’s why they gave me the Emergency Kits. We just need to sit tight,” said Kyria.

A little surprised by the young queen’s confidence, Chamelia asked with a rather skeptical tone, “How do you know they’ll succeed?” 

Kyria bit her lip. Okay, definitely can’t say Mom partly rules Equestria…

“Throughout their lives… Mom and our Aunts have… attained a great deal many skilled personnel and resources. Suffice it to say, we are fairly confident that we stand a good chance of being rescued.”

“I will hold you to that, but for the moment, until you are rescued, you’re going to have to listen to me on how to survive in this time,” said Chamelia.

“Of course, Grandma,” piped up Kyria and Mirage in unison, glanced at each other, and grinned.

Chamelia blinked. That was disturbing. “First things first, don’t do that. Next, stop referring to me in past tense. I know I will be dead, but I’m not right now.”

“Crap, we were doing that?” muttered Mirage.

She hummed quietly and nodded. “Just refer to me as Chamelia. Grandma raises a bit too many questions. I’ll swear my drones to silence and say that you are changeling daughters from another queen who married one of my sons long ago to explain why you called me that. Otherwise, DO NOT call me Grandma in front of anybody else.”

“Agreed, but how are you going to explain your treatment of us when you take this shield down?” Mirage asked.

“I will explain to my drones that you have been vetted, and am being escorted to guest rooms where… I think you would very much like something to eat and drink after all of this, maybe some love.” 

“That, would be very much welcome,” said Mirage smiling.

“We’re good on love, though. I mean we are--” Kyria clapped her hoof to her mouth. “Woah. Sorry, that could have been very bad. I mean… we are good on love at the moment.”

“Future stuff?” asked Chamelia.

“Future stuff,” chorused both changelings.