//------------------------------// // 20- Endymion // Story: Changing Expectations // by KKSlider //------------------------------// “No, it’s definitely not supposed to do that,” Queen Chrysalis confirmed. She gently tapped my horn. Causing it to jiggling and me to yelp out in pain. "I'm gonna peel you apart layer by layer if you do that again!" That got a giggle out of Chrysalis. "You've yet to show proficiency in the Sharpened Will spell or any alternatives, Prince Phasma. And you're in no condition for casting spells." "Does My Queen know what ails our Prince?" Nurse Obturator asked from behind Chrysalis. "Yes. He's losing his horn." "Thanks captain obvious." "Captain Obvious has been retired from the Equestrian Royal Guard for thirty years now. Prince Phasma, this has nothing to do with ponies. No, your horn is falling out. Not to worry though, you will sprout a replacement.” “Changelings don’t just grow horns! We’re not deer!” Chrysalis grinned. “Astute observation, Prince Phasma. We are changelings, yes. However, you forget that we are changeling royals, our biology differs from that of a drone’s.” “So are you saying that your horn falls out, too?” “Don’t be ridiculous, of course not.” I groaned and put my head in my hooves. Then I yelped in pain and shot upwards when I accidentally brushed against my horn. “Then what the fuck is happening to me?” Chrysalis’s grin vanished as quickly as it appeared. She cleared her throat, “It would appear that there are unforeseen consequences to your upbringing.” Behind her, Nurse Obturator opened his mouth and raised a hoof as if to argue, but quickly shut his mouth and put his hoof back down. Chrysalis continued, “It’s not unheard of for a changeling royal to lose their horn. It is assumed to be a… defect…. However we have neither the time nor the resources to truly investigate the matter. You will have to be placed in a healing pod shortly as you transition to a new horn. An unfortunate delay in your training, but I’m certain you will be able to make up for lost time.” ‘There’s definitely something she’s not telling me.’ “I’m going to be placed into a pod and that’s it? I’ll be all good?” “Yes.” “No chance of anything going horribly wrong?” “Y-Yes.” “You hesitated there.” “No.” “How bad is it?” “....There is a chance you will explode.” ‘Oh god I’m gonna die again!’ She must have noticed the clear signs of panic because she followed up with, “Just a small chance. Well not really, but I’m sure you will be fine. You’re too important to my plans to die.” “How reassuring.” “Keep your sarcasm limited, Prince Phasma. You’re not as witty as you think you are. No, you will not die to this. Losing your connection to your mana-pool is far from safe, but you will have access to the best healing on this continent.” ‘I died once before, it’s not like I have plot armor or anything.’ “You may suffer other symptoms, though. Do not panic, I can have your peytral enchanted with a permanent disguise spell if you turn pastel green or pink.” “I think I’d prefer death.” “A reasonable response, but your duties come first. Once Equestria has been conquered, then I may consider a petition for your release from life, My Pretty Pink Prince Phasma.” More carefully this time, I facehoofed. “Ain’t this just fantastic? What does this mean for my immediate future?” “You will molt very soon. Your combat training will also be delayed a bit to make sure that there are no complications, but you will begin reforming the Swarm soon. You have been creating a plan, of course.” “Yes,” I answered the non-question. “I have been putting no small amount of thought into it.” ‘As well as finding answers that I need, ones that you won’t provide. Speaking of which.’ “Queen Chrysalis? Is there a reason you couldn’t acquire Equestrian books on military tactics?” She took little time to think of a response. “The infiltrator network has yet to breach Upper Canterlot, let alone the E.U.P., and the ponies keep their military tactics close to their chest. Rest assured, as the promised day grows closer, we will gain access to their codices and doctrines. The best way to fight an enemy is to know how they think, after all. It would be preferable to manufacture and distribute their training manuals ourselves for obvious reasons, but we do not have the time for such a deep infiltration.” “I suppose I’ll have to implement counter-strategies and drills in the small amount of time between the delivery of their manuals and the invasion day?” “You have excelled at all goals placed before you thus far. But first, you should focus on the herculean task in front of you: the Swarm’s reformation.” For security’s sake, the bio-pod was placed in my own room. Nothing’s better than the most defended wing of the entire hive, after all. Nurse Obturator and Chamberlain Eucharis were in my room with me, the nurse to oversee and control the process, and the chamberlain for some reason I didn’t know. My bed, still bare, had been pushed to the corner of the room. In its stead, a dark blue ovoid dominated the small room. It had a glisten to it, like I was looking at hardened candy. Knowing that it was going to be filled with a love slurry added to this comparison, though strangely enough I was not looking forward to being submerged in the drugs-gel combination. ‘I really hope I can’t overdose on love. I’m too handsome to die!’ Obturator popped open the top using his magic, revealing the translucent pinkish slurry within. “This positively charged psychomagnotheric love-gel will help facilitate the sealing of your mana-pool when it’s exposed to the outside environment. In addition, it will also prevent infections. Now, Prince Phasma, all you have to do is hop in. Once you are lulled to sleep, I will close the pod. Your health will be checked up on several times a day.” I turned to face the nurse. “Look, I don’t mean to call into question your qualifications– mostly because I doubt their existence– but this does not look like something I want to ‘hop in.’ It looks like it’s going to digest me!” “Well…” “Oh for fuck’s sake!” I rubbed my temples. “I was joking, My Prince. I am sorry, this is serious business. It’s perfectly fine, plenty of changelings are podded to repair serious injuries. I’ve got a pod occupied right now, down in the medical spire. Everything will be fine.” Eucharis added, “I was briefly podded a few years ago when an accident destroyed part of the training room I was in, Prince Phasma. It fixed me right up, and was as pleasant as a long snooze.” My studies did briefly cover the different pods. These had a very, very high success rate, the kind that human doctors would salivate over. Or insurance companies looking to bleed people dry. “It looks disgusting.” “We all endure hardships, Your Highness,” Eucharis spoke up. “Surely some discomfort is worth not dying?” ‘Eucharis has a point, I’m acting like I’m a six-month-old child. I need to stop acting my age.’ “Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry, this pain has made me irritable.” Eucharis gave me a smile, then nodded towards the pod. I dipped a hoof in. It was lukewarm, and the slime felt strange on my chitin. I buzzed up and above the pod and slowly lowered myself into it and the sudden movement sent a jab of pain through my head. The pod was giving me a very strong sense of déjà vu. “Hey, is this the same stuff that’s in larva eggs?” Obturator’s eyebrows shot up. “It’s actually very similar. In fact, we discovered it after reverse-engineering the albumen fluid found within those eggs.” “Your mind never rests, it seems, My Prince.” “Not by choice. I’ll see you when I wake up and undertake the biggest reformation in changeling history, then?” “Yes, My Prince. Focus on that, and a week will fly by in the blink of an eye.” I already felt the warm ooze– which should by all accounts freak me out– start to make me feel drowsy. ‘Why does love always make me sleepy? What is love?’ My eyelids started getting heavy and I didn’t fight to keep them open. As I let them fall closed, I sunk lower into the gel. I didn’t even notice when my head became fully submerged in, though I did notice the pain slowly ebb away. My whole body, in fact, started to feel better immediately. ‘There must also be a numbing property as well.’ I couldn’t tell when I fell asleep. The moments seemed to blend in with each other as blackness took me. However, I knew I was asleep for some time when I started dreaming. My eyes shot open and I found myself staring at the night sky. My night sky, not the alien one I caught glimpses of during my flying lessons. I could point out the constellations. The Big Dipper. The… well only the Big Dipper. Still, the sight made me smile. I was lying down, I noticed. Turning my head, I felt fine silt brush against the back of my head and neck as I turned towards the side. Grayish white rocks and powder rose up to meet the sky. It looked like I was in a crater. A glance at the night sky confirmed my suspicions. Flipping over and standing on all fours, I rose out of the shallow crater and took in my surroundings: a vast, unending landscape of white dunes, rocks, and craters. I looked down at myself. Unlike my last eventful dream, I had no space suit. No, I was as naked as the day I was born. And the day I hatched. And every day after that one, except for one occasion where I had a fancy necklace. I giggled at my own joke, but I couldn’t hear myself. I felt the vibrations from my vocal chords, but no sound reached my ears. Instead, I heard someone else’s voice. A very familiar someone. Someone feminine and right behind me. “Who Hath… Chrysalis? My, this is a most unexpected development.” ‘Can’t go a week without this shit.’ I put on as big of a smile as I could, and turned around.