//------------------------------// // Chapter 30 // Story: To Be a Changeling // by PlagueRat //------------------------------// The little grey rock didn’t show any signs of movement for the past hour. She had a growing urge to kick the defiant pebble because no matter how hard she focused on the stone, it remained on the floor in the same spot her mother placed it. “How are our guests doing?” Chrysalis asked Odonate from her bed of pillows. “The earth ponies put up a bit of a fight when they were cocooned,” answered the guard, “but they are sleeping peacefully now.” “And the wounded pegasus?” inquired her mother. “She was too injured to be placed in a pod so for now she is in a cell,” Odonate explained. “She has a fever, her front leg was broken and she had a dislocated shoulder, but Earwig has been tending to her. So far she’s reset her fracture, popped her joint back into place and dressed the rest of her wounds. Once her fever breaks she should be well enough to join the others.” “I see,” said Chrysalis, “and how are Aphid, Weevil and Featherwing?” “Other than a few bumps and scratches, they are fine,” said Odonate, “but I told them to stay in the hive and rest up for now." Her mother nodded before glancing over. “You’re not giving up already are you?” the changeling queen asked Pupa. She had stopped trying to move the stone while listening in on their conversation. “No,” Pupa said defensively and turned back to glare at the pebble. “Are you focusing your magic like I showed you?” Chrysalis asked. “Yes,” the nymph huffed. “Show me,” the queen said, putting her full attention on Pupa. The nymph stared hard at the stone, telling it to lift up into the air over and over again in her mind. She tried narrowing her eyes, clenching her teeth together, folding back hear ears, and readjusting her posture but none of it seemed to help. “You’re not focusing your magic,” stated Chrysalis, “you’re just making faces.” “I’m trying…” Pupa muttered and sat down on her rump. “Pupa, come here,” her mother commanded. Sluggishly the nymph rose back to her hooves and with her head down, walked over to her mother. Once she reached the older changeling, her mother directed her to seat herself, then placed one hoof against the nymph’s chest. “Start here,” instructed Chrysalis, pushing slighting with her hoof. “Don’t worry about moving the rock, don’t even think about casting a spell. I just want you to focus on this spot inside you.” At first Pupa just gazed at the floor in front of her, and her mother must have had an inkling that that was all she was doing because the matron began to press her hoof a little harder into her chest. So after exhaling through her nostrils, Pupa centered her attention on the spot where she could feel the warmth from her mother’s hoof. “Good,” whispered chrysalis, “keep concentrating on this spot.” Something gradually began to stir within the nymph’s chest. It felt like it was a part of her and yet not bodily, slowly turning under the surface of her carapace. A shiver of excitement ran through her, causing her focal point to slip and she felt the spark begin to wane. “Don’t lose it,” her mother said, “you know where it’s at now, take control of it.” Taking in a determined inhale, Pupa again focused inwardly to retrieve the intangible feeling. Her mind pictured it as an expanding drop of honey, green tinted and glowing; and it began to grow and roll in on itself while rotating in place. She exhaled again and swallowed the saliva that had been building up in her mouth. ‘I have it,’ she thought, not daring to speak and lose her grasp on the spark again. ‘Now to move it.’ With her head still tilted down, Pupa channeled the power from her chest to her horn. Her eyes wandered up and forward across the chamber floor, absently straying along with the flow of energy, until they stopped at a pair of dark hooves. Then a streak of uncontrolled green energy shot forth from her horn and pushed her backwards against her mother. Squirming back to her hooves and recomposing herself, the nymph looked over to Odonate. The guard was holding up his right leg while inspecting the small smoking pockmark in the stone where his hoof would have been. “Did she get you Odonate?” Chrysalis asked. “No your highness,” the guard said before coughing. “Looks like my reflexes are still just as good as ever.” “I’m sorry,” Pupa told Odonate and looked back at her mother. “I didn’t mean to do that.” “It's fine your highness,” he reassured the nymph. “Even if you did get me, it wouldn’t have been a severe wound.” “Right,” agreed Chrysalis, “just the loss of a hoof or, at worst, the leg from the knee down.” Pupa gaped at her mother with wide eyes and the changeling queen simply looked back at her with a neutral expression; however she couldn’t keep it up and had to cover her muzzle with a hoof as she began to laugh. Odonate also apparently couldn’t help but find the nymphs reaction humorous and allowed himself a couple of gravely chuckles. “Pupa,” Chrysalis said, stroking the nymph’s mane, “it would only have caused a small hole at the most.” “In all seriousness though,” Odonate said, “it’s impressive that she learned to channel her magic so quickly.” “Really?” the nymph asked, looking from the guard to her mother. “It is,” confirmed Chrysalis, “but it also means I’ll want you to work harder at the lesson I gave you.” “Oh,” Pupa said quietly. “Yes, and for that you’ll need a proper meal to keep up your energy,” her mother said while climbing to her hooves, “so it’s good that our pantry has some new stock. Come along and let’s get some lunch.” Her little wings buzzed excitedly as Pupa crawled over one of the five new pods that now hung alongside Sandbar’s. Within she could see a pale lapis furred pegasus stallion with a plum colored mane, though his colors were tinted green by the material of his enclosure. She had already fed from the other ponies and was eager to compare this one’s taste to the rest. Opening her mouth wide, the little nymph drew out a long pink ribbon of delicious love energy. “None of them appeared to have been harmed during the evacuation,” Mosquito said to her mother, “and Katydid thinks the new clutches of eggs will hatch any day now.” “That’s good,” Chrysalis said, though she didn’t express any emotion at the news. “And Lacewing says that the new nursery is almost complete,” continued the attendant. Chrysalis gave only a single nod as she watched her daughter. “Ah, would you like to visit it your highness?” asked Mosquito. “Not at this time,” her mother told Mosquito, “maybe in a day or two.” “Did you want to be informed if the larva begin to hatch?” inquired Mosquito. “Yes,” Chrysalis said, but only after an uncomfortably long stretch of silence. Mosquito looked like she wanted to say something more but decided against it. “That’s enough Pupa,” said the queen changeling, “come back down now.” “Okay,” the nymph chirped before dropping from the pod and hovering to the floor. “Let’s continue your lesson,” Chrysalis said. The little grey rock shook slightly as Pupa stared down at it unblinkingly. Gradually a thin field of green magic coalesced around the stone and caused the nymphs heart to quicken. At an almost painfully glacial pace it started to rotate before rising into the air at a height even with her muzzle. Carefully she pushed it with her magic, sending it to drift lazily until it was over the chosen location, and then released it to fall among a pile of similar size pebbles. An accomplished grin stretched the nymphs muzzle and her little fangs poked out from under her lips.