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// 1 - The Queen's watchful eyes 
// Story: The Saviour of Saddle Arabia 
// by The Marshmallow 
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 [...] After four days of stride and four bone-chilling nights, we had consumed our last drop of water and the last of our food. On the morning of the fifth day, as we thought our life forfeit to the sands of the desert, Serene saw in the distance white towers of alabaster and shining domes of turquoise. Cautiously, as we thought of it as a mirage, we approached them, finding an Oasis large and plentiful in water and fruit.

Earth ponies dressed in elegant silk and rich in gold and gems welcomed us, and they were soon enraptured by the many tales of distant lands we could tell them. We spent twenty-two days and nights as guests in the palace, under the watchful and kind eyes of Queen Oasis, which offered us food and gifts as luxurious as those they consume among the richest and most respected of the unicorns. [...]

At noon of the twenty-second day, a caravan of nomads reached the White Oasis to trade goods, and we left with them. With their knowledge, in three days we were out of the desert, and with the supplies that our friends from the Oasis left us with we reached in six more days a port without ever going hungry. As in those lands, outside of the Oasis, gems are scarce, we could buy a whole ship with a fraction of what we were given as a parting gift. Such was the generosity of Golden Oasis, Queen of saddle Arabia.

-Mistral Wind, Explorer 1400 BD ca




The name was Oasis. Queen Oasis. Only, it was not 'her' name. So many among the Queens of Saddle Arabia shared that name in the past two or three thousand years that historians themselves had lost count. Not that inflation made it lose any value; as the latest among them, she didn't lack privileges. Her beautiful palace stood tall in the middle of the largest and most luxuriant Oasis in the whole country, the amount of wealth she had access to was measured in fractions of GDP, and her decisional power was 'limited' only by an ineffective council of elderly nobleponies. Also, the prince that fathered two of her three foals was long dead, but she still had dozens of suitors, some of which were much younger than her. Although she recognized the futility of the fact, she couldn't deny it was flattering.

On the other hoof, the title of queen entailed some duties towards her subjects. Powerful and respected, and yet generous and wise; She played her part to perfection. What she would have said was even more impressive was that she managed to do so despite so many conspiring against her. Not in the literal sense, as the crown was as stable as it had ever been. Just metaphorically, against her mental health. The aforementioned council's members, much to her displeasure, thought they had a saying on her actions. And they understood nothing about the sheer scale of what she was aiming for. She would have had them replaced a long time prior, wasn't it for the wealth of knowledge about the bureaucracy of the kingdom.

It was after one such meeting, an especially long and intense one at that, that the Queen was coming back to her throne room, with a grim expression on her face and a lingering headache pushing on her temples. Her displeasure was only increased as she noticed the two unicorn guards which were supposed to stand near the large gem-encrusted door and open it to her passage were not there. She sighed and asked a nearby maid if she knew of their whereabouts, only to receive a negative answer. It was highly unusual, especially since in a country of earth ponies like Saddle Arabia unicorns were extremely rare, and those in the palace were especially visible due to their extravagant ceremonial uniform. It was a tradition four or five generations old, going back to when it was decided that having unicorn servants was the mark of royalty and that having doors magically open was much more dignified than the old fashioned way. Considering the riches of the crown, it is was never difficult to find volunteers.

The queen didn't think too much about it all, besides starting to think of a fitting punishment for their absence, and ordered two guards among her entourage to open it for her. They were quick to follow their order, grabbing the rings on it with one of their hooves and starting to pull the large, elegantly ornated door. They had not moved it but by an inch when it was slammed open, hitting the two unlucky guards, as the supposedly missing unicorns ran out of the room screaming. They seemed mostly fine, albeit terrified, but it looked like their uniforms had been bitten in multiple places. The reason was quickly found as some apples, pears and oranges (exotic fruit for Saddle Arabian standards) with small but sharp teeth and wings like those of bats chased them down the hallway.

The entire entourage was simply speechless, excluding the two guards that were freeing themselves from the heavy door and moaning in pain. The Queen was silent too. She wanted to laugh and to cry at the same time. What she had feared for the longest time finally happened: her meetings really drove her to madness.

"I've been waiting for a while..." She was brought back to reality, if reality could still be called, by a familiar deep voice. His tone was clearly amused, it was obvious he was having fun despite the supposed wait, but the Queen couldn't help but shudder "I hope it isn't a problem if had some fun with your ponies in the meantime..."

It would have been a problem, a huge one, had it been anypony else. Invading the palace, attacking two guards and, worst of all, sitting on her throne as if he belonged there. Not only he would have broken many laws, but his arrogance in front a monarch would have been a crime in itself. But all the Queen could do was to humbly advance in the throne room keeping her head low, kneeling in front of him. "Not at all, Lord Discord..." The one and only Draconeequs, a chimaera with some pony-esque features mixed with a serpent-like body, a paw of lion, a talon of eagle, a hoof of pony, and a claw of dragon, not to speak of his mismatched horns and wings. The creature that, despite his bizarre appearance, stood above every king and every queen in the world. "What do I owe this visit to?"

For the prideful Queen, kneeling was already hard enough. What really hurt her, though, was the fact he was clearly having the time of his life. There was something in her behaviour that deeply entertained him, and she couldn't understand what it was. Her behaviour towards him was the same as always. After a few more moments, with a large grin, he chuckled: "Come on, Blue, you can drop the formalities."

Blue. At this single word, the Queen froze. Blue Oasis, that was her given name. An unusual one for her own dynasty, characterized usually by much more earthy colours. The lower part of her body was sand-coloured, as expected. On the rest, there were large patches of light blue fur, matched by a dark blue mane styled in saddle Arabian fashion. A good omen, they said, in a land always poor in water, and an essential part of her renowned beauty. And she certainly didn't dislike other ponies call her 'Queen Oasis, the beautiful', as they sometimes did. How they didn't call her, though, was 'Blue'. She would have guessed most of her subjects didn't even remember that was her name, and even if they did that was certainly way too confidential, too intimate. She didn't recall having any such relation with Discord. She only met him at important events, like the anniversaries of his reign. The relationship between her kingdom and that of his Lord was mostly handled by diplomats, so she could hardly recall any one-on-one conversation.

But what if that was the nature of their relationship? What if she simply had no knowledge of any such interaction? She really couldn't tell. It was so difficult to read Discord as she could do with other ponies. With him, there were too many different signals going on at the same time. Was he serious in his request? Was he just teasing her? Was that a trick? Would she be punished for acquiescing at his request? Or worst, would he be disappointed had she did indeed 'kept the formalities'?

"Sure", she said through her forced smile, raising her head and straightening her back. She was still cautious as she took a few steps ahead, getting closer to the throne. Her guards, which had now closed the door behind them, although uncertain on how to act were still to trying to follow their Queen at a reasonable distance. The Queen was paying them no mind, just closely observing Discord and thinking carefully about her every action and her every word: "You haven't answered my question, though." The perfect balance between formality and informality, she thought, a neutral in-between.

And yet, the first answer she received was a long, deep, hearty laugh. "You are so funny!" The Queen blushed, humiliated. Did she not deserve having her questions answered? Was she nothing but a laughing stock? "If that's what you are wondering about... It was the first time I called you 'Blue', and I do not plan to make it a habit." That was not her question, but she could hardly deny it was an answer she wanted. She sighed, relieved. Sure, she didn't like being teased, but in the end, it was easily the superior outcome. Her relief was short-lived. "I love how hard you try to, should I say, 'look the part'!"

The Queen flinched for a moment, and some of her guards started to look at each other with worry in their eyes. The Queen was trying to keep her smile, her composure, but for a moment her voice wavered "What do you mean?" She didn't understand. Or better, she really hoped she didn't.

"It's a funny story, really!" There was a slight shift in his tone of voice, although the Queen couldn't really put her hoof on it. Its amusement was different. Faker? Or more real? "When I first met you, two anniversaries ago..." The Queen looked confused. There were so many anniversaries before that, as the reign of king Oasis had by then spanned more than two decades "Everything was normal." He stopped. "Boring, even", he added after thinking for just a moment "Except for a certain something I couldn't explain!" He was still smiling, not showing too much of his hand, but the Queen was carefully considering his every word. "The year after, as you came back, I felt it again. Stronger, I'd say, at least when you were with your guards." The guards were still perplexed, but the Queen knew too well what he meant. And for the first time in the longest time, she was afraid. "It was like the... Buzzing of a bug!"

The Queen opened her mouth just to close it moments afterwards. She was speechless. Was that expression a coincidence? It couldn't be, it was way too specific. Had her body allowed so, she would have started to sweat. Had her situation allowed so, she would have tried to run. But there was hardly anywhere to go, even throwing all his ponies at him would have yielded no result but gaining a few seconds. Not even enough to reach a window.

"A good metaphor indeed! ...Or was it a simile?" The Draconeequs scratched his beard for a moment, looking as if lost in thought. As if trivial details like that were more relevant than the big picture, then the very destiny of the mare in front of him. "Anyways, I recalled what that feeling was, despite it being amiss for centuries..." He got up from the throne, and in just a few steps he was right in front of the Queen. She didn't move a muscle, frozen, as his paw reached the tip of her nose, pushing against it and producing g a comical squeaky sound, immediately followed by his own comment "Boop"

Instinctively she ended up briefly closing her eyes. As she opened them again not only they had changed to an intense green hue, but she could now see green flames twirling around her body. In front of her astonished guards and the amused King, her whole body underwent a slow metamorphosis. The soft fur replaced by black chitin as holes appeared in her legs. A distorted horn and insect-like wing springing up from her previously earth-pony frame. Also, her now green mane was growing much longer, while her whole body was growing much taller; considerably more even of the above-average Saddle Arabian mare she already was. Or at least she looked like. Because what she was now was certainly no Queen Oasis.

"N-now that you know", she stuttered, her position shifting to a defensive one. The Queen of the powerful, fearsome changelings reduced as a meek prey. It must have been so funny for the Draconeequs, she thought, stripping her of everything before killing her. "What do you plan to do?"

Slowly, as if to be unnoticed, the guards were trying to get a little bit closer to the two, still intentioned to defend their Queen. While they still kept their pony form, many of them were starting to show that same greenish hue in their eyes, which revealed their true nature. A threatening look from Discord was more than in enough to stop them in their tracks. Then slowly, painfully so in the Queen's opinion, he tapped his chin with his talon a few times, looking pensive once more. After what was but a few moments, although it certainly felt much longer, he finally deliberated: "Nothing, really..." He shrugged his shoulder apathetically, giving the Queen an ambiguous half-smile

"W-what?" No assumption and no presupposition could stand the passage of Discord, as the Queen learnt once more. She herself replaced a monarch, filling the ranks of her army and her bureaucracy of faithful changelings, and even upon discovering the fact Discord showed no desire to act. It must have been a trick, there was no other explanation because the alternative was simply too monstrous to conceive even for the Changeling Queen. "Why?" She tentatively asked. Although uncertain although weakly, a little bit of hope was re-emerging.

He chuckled. "First, it is much more interesting like this!" While Discord said that as if it was self-evident, the Queen was more and more astonished. "Second, you are quite impressive, if I say so. It takes skill to replace a Queen without anypony noticing, and running the kingdom this flawlessly." He was ready to speak again, to conclude his brief catalogue of reasons, but he only managed to emit a quick "Finally..."

Then the Draconeequs was then interrupted by a bitter comment: "You noticed, though..." A stain in the pride of a master infiltrator, a shame so deep it prompted her to speak up, even against her better judgement.

Discord was not at all angry. He was impressed! There was still some bite in that mare, despite the utter sense defeat she was feeling: "If it was just you, I wouldn't have. Changeling magic is impressive like that, yours especially." The amount of magic leaking outside a changeling body is so small that no pony and only the most advanced magical scanners could realize. Not even the unbelievably sharp senses of a draconequus were normally up to the task.  "But if it a swarm, then it becomes quite easy..." Multiplying the number of changelings, especially as not every everyling is naturally as skilled, also multiplies the magic leaking. It is simple math, although the discovery was only made possible by Discord's extraordinary feats

She nodded, while mentally taking note of that. Her mistake was, in a way, being too eager to have her changelings by her side. Had she kept the regular pony guards, she would probably never have been caught. Assuming he was still telling the truth... Which seemed reasonable at this point.

"Finally, as I was saying..." With his paw, delicately, he picked her chin and slowly raised her head, then looking her in the eyes. Long blond hair appeared on his head, sensually fluctuating in a non-existent wind, and her voice became two octaves deeper, some stereotypical mock-seductive tone. "I prefer you like this..."

Chrysalis smiled. He was lying, she was sure of it. She didn't feel any spike of love, not even lust. Nothing, really, emerged in the sea of twirling, undiscernible emotions that Discord was in the eyes of a changeling. So she did what she could, which was lying as well "Oh, I'm flattered..."

He laughed once more, throwing away his wig, before going back to the main topic "Seriously, Nothing picked my interest as much as you have in the past..." he started counting on his fingers, raising first all those of his left arm, than those of his right one to the same effect, and then making many more arms appear from seemingly nowhere. After a few moments, though, he got tired of counting "A very long time, anyways. And I look forward to strengthening the relationship among our kingdoms..." He winked at her. their kingdoms were, in fact, pretty close already. Saddle Arabia was, by all means, a subject of Equestria, as it had been for more than a millennium. "We will have so much fun, Queen..." he prolonged the word, gently moving her paw toward her, prompting the changeling to complete his phrase.

"Queen Chrysalis, monarch of the southern hive." That was her title, although the southern hive had been long lost. Driven out of their very own lands centuries ago, forced to live as fugitives, hidden at the margins of society, and finally finding a safe shore in the saddle Arabian desert. Such was the story of her people "Although, in public, I will still go as Queen Oasis" It was obvious, her citizens would never have knowingly accepted a changeling as their monarch. But with Discord, it felt like it would be better to make it clear. "Also, could you start by dealing with the... 'creatures' you conjured earlier?"

Now he looked disappointed. Or at least feigned disappointment. "I thought you would like my... Fruit bats!" A small drum set appeared in the hair next to him, as two sticks played it producing a 'Badum tss' sound, as if to underline his pun. "Can do, though". He snapped his talon, and although no effect was immediately evident, somewhere in the palace two unicorns and probably some maids were infinitely relieved "Done, I made them disap-pear!" 'badum tss'. The changeling guards were looking at each other in confusion, while the Queen was now regaining her composure, and she even offered a smirk to Discord jokes. Although, naturally, a fake one "By the way, I had not seen you changelings in centuries. Where had you been?" He asked, with seemingly honest curiosity in his voice.

Now, Chrysalis didn't resent Discord. She didn't, just like one wouldn't resent a hurricane or an earthquake. But at this question, she couldn't but flinch, although Discord didn't really notice. How could he say such a thing, how did he dare to ask? He must have known. Could he have just forgotten? The changeling couldn't. There were still tales of how they were driven out of their hive, in the times of his great-great-great-grandmother by nopony else but Discord, with a swarm of his nightmarish, chaotic creatures. "As it happened, we migrated". But she had enough wisdom left to just lie once more.

"I see", I sighed. He kind of hoped for a more interesting story. But it was fine, they would have many more chances to exchange interesting memories, and to write new ones as well "Now, sadly, I have a meeting..." A Dali-esque clock appeared right in front of him "Some twenty minutes ago". Punctuality wasn't really his thing. Not that anypony could force him to be punctual, after all. "But don't worry, I'll be back soon..." He smiled, as his body started to disappear. Only his smile was left, and his lips moved one last time before vanishing as well "Chrissy!"

And so Chrysalis was left there, and she tried to wrap her head around what just happened. She laughed, for long moments, as the reality of the situation became apparent. She thought not of the risks, not of the dangers that a relation with such a dangerous and unpredictable creature could bring. In her eyes there was a gleam of greed, as she saw the infinitely deep well of opportunities he could offer.

Little did she know, the same forces that would soon raise her at the top of the world would be the ones driving her downfall.