//------------------------------// // To find a spell // Story: The Daughter of Chrysalis // by evanim26 //------------------------------// “Okay, here’s the plan. Incey, you’ll create a distraction that will get the caretaker’s attention while Pharynx and I move the boulder.” Adiyis said Pharynx raised his hoof “Question, princess, can we even move a boulder that big?” he asked “I have no idea, but we have to try. We need to find that spell and that boulder is standing in our way. So let’s do this. Incey, go.” Adiyis said “Got it.” Incey said then he trotted off but quickly went back to Adiyis “Wait, how do I get their attention?” “Just...do something, anything. Just keep their eyes off of us and the boulder.” Adiyis said so Incey nodded and trotted off again “Okay, think, think, think. I got it!” Incey said as he trotted over to a wall then cleared his throat “Hey, every-ling! Since we’re gonna be stuck in here for a while, why don’t I put on a show?” he said getting everyone’s attention “Oh, this is gonna be good.” A nymph said “I bet it’s gonna flop.” said another nymph “I know it’s gonna flop.” said a third nymph “I think it’ll be petty great.” Thorax said “Who cares what you think?” “Yeah, just go back to playing with your dolls, Thorax.” “O-Oh, sorry.” Thorax said as he left the group Incey gathered up some big rocks he found on the ground in the basement. He stacked the rocks on top of each other until it was piled up high then he got on top of them and started balancing on one leg leaving every changeling impressed. “They aren’t paying attention, let’s go.” Adiyis said. Both her and Pharynx quickly moved to the boulder blocking the door and got ready to push it “On three. One, two, three!” they began pushing the boulder as hard as they could but it wasn’t moving an inch. Incey noticed Adiyis and Pharynx trying to push the boulder so he got off of the rock stack and let it fall down, then he picked up some of the smaller rocks. “Time for some juggling.” Incey said as he tried to juggle but failed and continuously dropped the rocks making every nymph laugh as the caretakers chuckled “Come on, Pharynx. Put your back into it.” Adiyis said “I’m trying, princess, but this is a lot heavier than I thought.” Pharynx said “What are you guys doing?” Thorax asked making Adiyis and Pharynx turn to him “None of your business.” Pharynx said Thorax gasped “Are you trying to escape? But that’s against the rules.” “Yeah? And what are you gonna do about it, brother?” Pharynx said trotting closer to him “Are you gonna tell on us? Cause if you are-.” Adiyis got in between them “Knock it off, Pharynx. He could help.” “Him? Help us? Apologies, princess, but he isn’t anywhere near strong enough to help us.” Pharynx said “Well, it’s not like we were having any luck either. We need all the muscle we can get.” Adiyis said “Plus if we tell him what we’re doing, he might keep quiet.” Pharynx glanced at Thorax then back to Adiyis as he growled “Fine.” Adiyis smiled as she turned to Thorax “Thorax, we need your help.” “Help with what? What were you two talking about?” Thorax asked “There really isn’t much time to explain everything. But just know, that if we don’t get out of here then a lot of changelings are gonna die.” Adiyis said “Wait, are you serious?” Thorax asked and Adiyis nodded “How?” “As I said, there’s no time to go into specifics. But me, Pharynx, and Incey have a plan that will save them and we need to get out of here. Will you help us?” Adiyis asked with pleading eyes Thorax nodded “Alright, I’ll help. What do you need me to do?” “We need you to help us move this boulder. We have to do it fast, I don’t know how much longer Incey can keep everyone distracted.” Adiyis explained “Alright. I’ll do my best.” “Good. Now let’s do this.” Adiyis said as she went back to pushing the boulder along with Pharynx and Thorax. Incey had gathered up the rocks again and was now balancing them on top of his head while nymphs from the crowd threw rocks at his hooves making him move. The nymphs and caretakers continued to laugh while Adiyis, Pharynx, and Thorax continued to try to move the boulder out of the way and were barely moving it. Adiyis noticed a light coming from a hole “it’s working. Keep pushing. We’ve almost got it.” she said All three of them pushed the boulder with all of their might until the hole had gotten just big enough to fit a nymph and not an adult changeling. Adiyis, Pharynx, and Throax stopped pushing the boulder when they noticed how big the hole was. “We did it!” Adiyis said “Let’s get out of here before any-ling notices.” Pharynx said as he went through the hole Before Thorax went through the hole, Adiyis pulled him back. “Wait, Thorax.” “What? Is something wrong?” Thorax asked “I...think you should stay here.” Adiyis said “But, I can help.” “I know but where we’re going is very dangerous. I can’t let you be put in danger like that. You’ll stay here where it’s safe, okay?” Adiyis said “But-.” “This isn’t up for debate, Thorax. You’re staying.” Adiyis said then she waved over at Incey which he noticed Scissa noticed Incey looking at something behind her just as she felt a cold chill, she turned around and noticed Adiyis and Throax standing next to an open hole outside so she quickly turned and ran at them. “Princess Adiyis, Thorax, what are you two doing?! Get away from there!” Scissa said getting the attention of every other changeling and nymph. Incey dropped the rocks and quickly flew to Adiyis and Thorax, much faster than Scissa. “What are you doing? We’ve got to go.” Incey said “You go first.” Adiyis said so Incey did as told and went through the hole. Adiyis pointed at Thorax “Stay. Here.” she said then she crouched down and tried to go through the hole. Scissa pushed Thorax out of the way and quickly grabbed Adiyis by her tail “Princess Adiyis, get back here!” she said Adiyis grunted as she tried to get free “Incey, Pharynx, help!” she called out so Pharynx and Incey each grabbed her hoof and pulled. “Princess Adiyis, you can’t leave. Her majesty will be beside herself with worry for you if you do.” Scissa said as she pulled back “I’m sorry, Scissa. But I have to do this. Tell mom, I’ll be back soon.” Adiyis said just as Pharynx and Incey gave one big tug and pulled Adiyis from Scissa’s grasp. Once Adiyis was free, they quickly ran away “Princess?! PRINCESS?!” Scissa shouted but they were already gone. Adiyis, Pharynx, and Incey stopped behind a pillar after they had spotted one of the changeling guards. They looked around and noticed many other changelings flying around. “Okay, the hard part’s over. Now we need to sneak past every changeling in the hive.” Adiyis said “How is this not the hard part?” Incey asked “Because all we have to do is make it outside then we’re in the clear. Come on.” Adiyis said as she moved onto the next wall while the others followed ”My queen, we have a problem.” Scissa said though the hive mind ”What is it? This had better be important.” Chrysalis said ”Three nymphs had escaped from the basement.” ”What?! No matter, I will have some guards locate them. Is that all?” Chrysalis asked ”There’s more. One of the escaped nymphs is princess Adiyis. She left with the nymphs.” Scissa said ”She what?! Make sure no other nymph escapes from the basement.” Chrysalis said ”Yes, your highness.” ”All changelings drones. Princess Adiyis, and two other nymphs, have escaped from the basement. Find them immediately!” Chrysalis said “Wait!” Pharynx said so Incey and Adiyis stopped in their tracks “The queen just sent a message to all drones. She’s having the drones look for us and she doesn’t sound happy.” “Maybe we should go back and forget about looking for the spell.” Incey said “No, it’s too late to turn back now. We have to find that spell.” Adiyis said Incey glanced away then back “But, Queen Chrysalis-.” “I know my mom will be upset, but I can’t let her stop me. Not before we even had the chance to search. That’s why we have to keep going.” Adiyis said “The queen isn’t gonna like this.” Pharynx said “Don’t worry, if we get caught I’ll take the blame so my mom will go easy on you two. Now come on, we need to keep moving.” Adiyis said as she moved from wall to wall. Pharynx and Incey looked at each other then shortly followed. Adiyis and the others continued moving from wall to wall to conceal themselves from the other drones that were currently looking for them. It had been working until they reached the heart of the hive where there were too many drones to sneak past. Adiyis and the others stopped where they were and watched the drones from behind a wall. “Now what?” Incey asked “Apologies, princess, but there is no way to get past that many drones.” Pharynx said “There must be a way. We just need to think.” Adiyis said “Pharynx and I could shrink ourselves down and sneak past, but that would mean leaving you.” Incey said “We aren’t leaving the princess behind.” Pharynx said “Shrink...small.” Adiyis mumbled then she gasped “That’s it, I got it. What we need to do is use the holes.” “The holes?” “Yeah. I remember there were some holes around the hive too small for adult changelings, but just the right size for us. We can use the holes to escape past the drones.” Adiyis said “Do you think one will lead outside, princess?” Pharynx asked “I don’t know. We’ll just have to look. When I count to three, we run. Ready?” Adiyis said and both of them nodded then they got ready “Okay. One, two, three!” Adiyis said then she and the others immediately ran and were quickly spotted by the drones who gave chase. “This way!” Adiyis shouted as she jumped through a nymph-sized hole and the others followed while some of the drones piled up on each trying to follow after them. Adiyis and the others rolled out on the other side but quickly got up and kept running “Come on. We just need to keep heading for the hive wall.” she said A changeling flew through a hole behind them “Princess Adiyis, by order of the queen, you must stop.” “Not a chance. This way!” Adiyis said as they jumped through another hole and came out the other side. Adiyis looked around and noticed a wall that had no holes on it “There, that’s the hive wall. Now we just need a hole.” “I can make one.” Incey said as his horn glowed then he shot the wall, making a hole just big enough for a nymph. Incey turned to Adiyis “Let’s go!” The army of drones had all come through the holes and headed straight for Adiyis and the others who ran for the hole. Adiyis jumped through the hole, followed by Incey and Pharynx. The drones who tried to follow only ended up piling on top of each other which blocked the hole from anyone else who tried to follow. Incey and Pharynx looked back at the hole while flying “Hey, we made it. The plan worked.” Incey said “Incey, Pharynx, help!” Adiyis shouted as she fell. “We’re coming, princess!” Pharynx said as he and Incey flew down as quickly as they could and each caught one of her hooves “Gotcha.” Adiyis sighed “Thanks guys. Now let’s hide behind that rock.” she said “Why? Aren’t we home free?” Incey asked “We need to hide from the guards. They might still be looking for us.” Adiyis said as Incey and Pharynx flew her behind the big rock. They then used the nearby rocks to sneak away from the guards who were keeping their eyes out for them until they had gotten far enough and began to move freely. Incey looked back at the hive and gasped “Hang on. Do you guys see that?” he said making both of them turn around and see massive clouds headed their way. “Is that the winter storm? It’s gigantic.” Pharynx said Adiyis stared at the storm then turned away “Come on, we need to find that spell before the storm hits the hive. We don’t have much time.” she said as she kept trotting while the others quickly followed. ”My queen. We have terrible news.” A changeling said through the hive mind ”What is it? Do you have Adiyis?” Chrysalis asked No, my queen. They escaped and left the hive.” The changeling said ”How hard is it to capture two measly nymphs and a princess?!” Chrysalis shouted ”Forgive us, Queen Chrysalis.” ”No matter. Just focus on fortifying the hive. And Scissa?” Chrysalis said ”Yes, my queen?” ”If my daughter is found to be harmed in any way, I will hold you responsible as her caretaker and protector. Understood?” Chrysalis said ”Y-Yes, my queen.” Scissa said ”Vask, Dairs, I require your assistance.” ”What would you like us to do, your highness?” Dairs asked ”Go and find the three nymphs. Bring my daughter back to the hive as soon as possible. The longer she is outside the protection of the hive, the higher the chances of her being hurt by the ponies. Be swift about it as well, the winter storm is coming.” Chrysalis said ”Understood, my queen. We’ll leave immediately.” Vask said ’My little Adiyis. Just what are you thinking?’ Adiyis and the others trotted through the massive forest that separated themselves from any other civilization. They made sure to avoid any monsters they had run into until they had spotted the small pony village in the distance. They snuck close to one of the buildings that had a small clothesline that held small coverings, mostly made to keep you warm. Pharynx flew up and grabbed a brown cloak off the line then handed it to Adiyis “here, princess. You should cover yourself to hide your extra features.” he said Adiyis put the cloak on “Right. Since I still have yet to master my own shape-shifting magic, I need to hide this way.” “Now, how are we gonna find the pony library?” Incey asked “We don’t have time to go searching. We’ll have to ask around. You guys should change to.” Adiyis said so they did as told. Pharynx changed into dark purple colored pegasus colt with a chili red mane and tail. Incey changed into a unicorn with a forest green coat and a brown mane and tail. “Alright, let’s go.” Adiyis said so they began trotting around town and as they did so, they also noticed the decorations that had been set up around town as well. “What’s up with the decorations? Is this some kind of party?” Incey questioned. “I don’t know, but it actually looks...pretty fun.” Adiyis said “It looks disgusting to me. All this partying and decorating. Leave it to ponies to do something stupid like this.” Pharynx said Incey spotted a lone brown stallion “Hey, why don’t we ask him? He may know where the library is.” he said “Worth a try.” Adiyis said so they trotted up to him “Excuse me?” The stallion looked down at them “Hello, happy hearths warming.” “Hearths warming? What’s hearths warming?” Adiyis asked “Oh? You don’t know? It’s the day we celebrate the founding of Equestria.” The stallion said “The founding of Equestria? Wha-.” “Later. We were hoping you could point us to the library of the town.” Pharynx said “Oh sure, it’s over that way. Though, I’m not sure why you would want to go there. Everypony knows that the library has been closed down ever since the librarian moved out.” The stallion said “Thanks, mister.” Adiyis said so she and the others ran down the path and to the library which did look quite old. Adiyis looked into one of the windows and noticed there weren’t any books “There are no books in there. It’s all empty.” “Great. Now what? If the spell isn’t here, then where do we go?” Incey said “Mom always talked about the pony’s “great” city, canterlot. If it’s that great then there has to be a library there to. We just need a way to get there.” Adiyis said “Maybe there’s some kind of carriage or something. It’s a city, right? So it has to have some kind of transportation.” Incey said “Like a train? Pharynx, can you fly up and see if you can spot anything?” Adiyis asked “Yes, princess.” Pharynx said. He flew up above the town and began looking around the town until he spotted the small station then he flew back down “There’s a small train station that way.” “Then that’s where we’re headed. Come on.” Adiyis said as she ran off Vask who was disguised as a black coat pegasus with a red mane arrived at the village along with Dairs who was also disguised as a pegasus with a white coat and a yellow mane. “We need to find the princess. Let’s start looking.” Vask said “Hmph, if I knew the princess was gonna be so much trouble, I would’ve forced Demyx to leave it in the everfree.” Dairs said Vask grabbed Dairs by the throat and slammed her against the wall “Do. Not. Speak of the princess that way. Not unless you want the queen to tear your wings off and drain you of your love.” he said “FIne. Let go of me.” Dairs said so she was dropped. She rubbed her throat as she stepped forward “Where are we even supposed to look? We’re looking for pony disguised nymphs in a pony village.” “The two nymphs may be able to change themselves, but the princess still has yet to master her magic. We will be able to find her easily. Let’s go.” Vask said as he and Dairs continued on their way through the village. Adiyis and the others arrived at the station “We made it. Now we have to get on the train.” “But, don’t we have to pay? We don’t have any bits.” Incey said “Then we’ll sneak aboard.” Pharynx said “How?” “A distraction.” Adiyis said as she looked at Incey. “Again?” “Well, after your show in the basement I think you’re perfect for it.” Adiyis said Incey sighed “Fine. Let me see what I can do.” he said as he trotted away Incey trotted around to look for something he could use as a distraction, but all he could find were the decorations around the station. “As Adiyis said. I need to do something, anything as long as they keep their eyes over here.” Incey said as he thought for a moment then he looked up at the streamers and a box next to him. Incey shrugged “Guess this is all I got.” Incey picked up a box and set it down then he used his magic to bring down the streamers and tie them onto his hooves. “Hey, ponies. Watch this!” Incey said then he began waving his hooves around with the streamers, getting the attention of every pony on the platform. Just as the ponies were distracted, the train had pulled into the station. “The train is here. Let’s go.” Pharynx said as both of them made a run for the train but because of the crowd of ponies, they had to struggle just to get past one of them Vask and Dairs continued on their way through the village when they saw a couple of colts run toward a train station. “Come on. I’m telling you, this guy is amazing. He has everypony watching his show. You don’t want to miss it.” The colt said “What’s his name?” The other colt asked “Don’t know. I’ve never seen him before and he didn’t say his name. But he is amazing. You gotta come to see him.” The first colt said then they ran off. Dairs thought for a moment “A colt none of the ponies had seen before suddenly appearing and doing a show? Seems like we’ve found our nymph.” she said “Let’s go.” Vask said as both of them ran toward the station Adiyis and Pharynx struggled to get past the ponies “Let me through!” Adiyis said Vask and Dairs made it to the station and immediately began looking around until they had spotted a small pony with a brown cloak on. Once they did, they began to move toward her. Adiyis had finally reached the end and saw the doors to the train “Just one more push.” she said Pharynx had made it through the crowd and quickly grabbed Adiyis’s hoof “I got you, princess Adiyis.” he said as he pulled Dairs had gotten close to Adiyis and was trying to grab her “Come here, princess.” Pharynx had given one big tug and pulled Adiyis away from Dairs and into the train car. Adiyis scratched her hoof a little from the unexpected tug but ignored it and looked back at Incey then waved at him, so he untied the streamers and jumped on top of ponies’ heads until he had reached the train car just before the doors closed and the train began moving. Adiyis sighed “We made it just in time. Next destination, canterlot library.” she said Dairs growled and stomped her hoof “Ugh, I was so close. Just a little more and I would’ve had her. Where is she even going?” “We follow the train and find out. We’ll capture her when she gets there.” Vask said so both of them took flight and followed the train Adiyis and others hid away from the conductor during the whole ride until they had reached canterlot. When they did, they snuck away with the crowd who was still on board. They ran through the city until they had reached a plaza that had a fountain. “Okay, we made it. Now what?” Incey asked “We find the library. Which means we ask around.” Adiyis said so she trotted to a mare wearing a dress “Excuse m-.” “Get away from me you filthy thing. This dress cost more than your life, and I won’t have a filthy filly like you ruining it.” The mare said as she trots away. “Wow, she was rude.” Adiyis said “Give me the order, princess, and I’ll make her pay for speaking to you in such a manner.” Pharynx said “No, Pharynx. Leave her. Looks like mom was right about the ponies here. They’re nothing but stuck-up snobs who don’t care about others.” Adiyis said then she looked up at the palace “Just like their princess.” she mumbled “Well, now how are we gonna find the library?” Incey asked “I believe I can help.” Said a colt who had a snow-white coat and a bright blue mane and tail. Pharynx stepped in front of Adiyis “Who are you?” “Oh, pardon me. My name is Fancy Pants. I apologize for how that mare spoke to you “Princess”.” Fancy Pants said “Oh, you heard that?” Adiyis asked “Yes. Although I must ask, are you really a princess? Or are you just that high on the standing?” Fancy Pants asked “Um...I-.” “That’s none of your business. And if you’re smart, you’ll forget you ever heard it.” Pharynx said as he moved closer to Fancy Fancy Pants put his hooves up “Very well. I know how to take a hint. By the way, you’ll find the library that way. Just keep heading down the street and take your first left and it’ll be sitting right in front of you.” he said as he pointed “Um, thanks. Let’s go guys.” Adiyis said so she and the others ran off. Fancy Pants watched them run off “What a strange group of pony’s.” Adiyis and others had followed Fany pants’ instructions and found the library and it was open. They quickly entered the library and saw the rows of books. “Hello there, may I help you?” The librarian mare asked “No, thanks. We’re just here to look around.” Adiyis said so she and the others trotted through the library “Now that we’re here, we can finally start looking for the spell.” “Where do we look first, princess Adiyis?” Pharynx asked Incey thought for a moment “We’re dealing with a winter storm, right? Then shouldn’t we look for some fire and heating up spells?” he said “You’re right, Incey. We should head to the heating spells section.” Adiyis said so she followed the signs and found the spells that deal with heat “Right, let’s get to reading.” “Right.” Incey said as he and Pharynx grabbed a book and began reading. “I’ll take some of these.” Adiyis said as she grabbed a book herself and began reading. (A few minutes later) Adiyis and the others had been reading for quite a while but still had yet to find a spell that could help them. They searched through book after book but none of them held the spell they needed. While they were reading, another pony had entered the library and found them with books piled high so she approached them. “Excuse me?” The filly asked. Adiyis looked up from her book and at the unicorn filly who had a lavender coat and a mane with a purple and pink streak. The same as her tail. The filly also had a star as her cutie mark with multiple other stars surrounding it. “Hello. Can we help you?” Adiyis asked “Actually, I was hoping to help you. You see, I couldn’t help but notice the books you have piled up here and was wondering if you were looking for something. If you couldn’t tell, I know my way around these books since I did read a lot of them so I may be able to help.” The filly said “That’s...interesting? Well, we’re looking for a spell that can keep a hi-I mean, a building heated. Do you know wher-.” “Oh, it’s right here.” The filly said as she used her magic to float down a book into her hooves then she opened the book to a specific page “This is the spell you’re looking for. It’s called the heating dome spell. It’s used to keep an area around your house completely protected and warm from the cold winds. Though, if you want it to affect a bigger area then you’ll need to get more unicorns on it. But more unicorns means you’ll-.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ll just take the book.” Adiyis said as she took the book from her “This is exactly what we need. If we show this to my mom then we’ll finally be able to protect the others. We’ve got to get back to the hi-Mm.” she was cut off when Pharynx covered her mouth. “Alright, we’ve got the book. Let’s go.” Incey said “But wait. Shouldn’t you check the book out?” The filly asked “But, we did check it out and it has the spell we need. Why would we need to check it out more?” Incey asked “She means, we take the book for a set amount of days and return it before the time runs out.” Adiyis said “We can’t do that. We need to keep this spell for when the next winter storm comes next year.” Incey said “B-But that’s stealing.” The filly said Adiyis snuck over to Pharynx “I have an idea. When I give the signal, run.” she whispered and Pharynx nodded then she turned back to the filly “Oh, look. It’s Princess Celestia!” she said as she pointed behind the filly The filly turned around “What?! Where?!” “Let’s go!” Adiyis said so all of them made a run for it toward the door. Adiyis was so distracted looking behind herself that she didn’t notice the pony entering the library and ended up running into him Adiyis rolled over a bit but quickly got up and shook it off “Sorry about tha-.” “What in Celestia’s name? What are you?” The stallion said. Adiyis looked at him confused until she noticed that her hood was down and now every nearby pony was looking at her. Pharynx and Incey ran back to Adiyis “Princess, are you hurt?” he asked “What is she?” “She’s some kind of freak.” “Her eyes are slits. And are those fangs?!” “Somepony call the guard!” Adiyis moved close to Pharynx “We need to leave! Now!” she said Three guards stepped through the crowd “Alright, what’s going on he-.” he cut himself off once his eyes were set on Adiyis “It’s a monster! You two ready your weapons! I’ll get reinforcements.” The other guard said as he left and the other two pointed their spears at Adiyis. Adiyis backed away along with the others as the guards moved closer “Pharynx...I’m scared.” “Don’t worry, princess. I won’t let any of them harm you.” Pharynx said. Suddenly two pegasi ponies flew down and smashed both guards into the ground “Princess Adiyis, are you alright?” Asked the black coat pegasus. “Wait, who are you?” Pharynx asked “It’s us nymph. Dairs and Vask.” Dairs said Adiyis smiled “Dairs, Vask. Am I glad you’re here. How did you find us?” “We followed the ponies. Though, you did give us the slip after you left the train.” Dairs said “Now’s not the time, Dairs. There are more guards coming. We need to leave.” Vask said as more guards ran towards them “Right.” Dairs picked up Adiyis “Let’s go!” she said as she took off along with everyone else “After them!” The guard shouted as three pegasus guards flew after them “Vask, take care of them.” Dairs said so Vask nodded then flew back at the guards Vask flew at one of the guards and used his hind legs to knock him back. As one of the guards tried to attack him with their spear, Vask grabbed it and forced the pegasus guard to let go of it then he smacked the guard away with it. The last guard charged at Vask with his spear ready so Vask used his hind leg and kicked the spear out of the way then he spun his spear around and stabbed the guard in the chest. Vask then let the spear go and watched as the guard fell to the ground dead. “We’re done here.” Vask said then he followed after the others. Dairs flew Adiyis and the others straight back to the hive where the winter storm is nearly upon them. The winds were raging and it felt even colder than it ever did before. As soon as they had entered the hive, Dairs put Adiyis down. “Head back to the basement, Princess.” Dairs said “Not yet. I need to show my mom this book, and fast.” Adiyis said as she ran off “Princess, wait. The winter storm is nearly here. We don’t have time for this.” Dairs said as she chased after her “What do we do?” Incey said “We head back to the basement. There’s no reason for us to go with.” Pharynx said so he and Incey headed back to the basement. Adiyis ran straight to the throne room and burst through the doors with the book in her hooves “Mom!” Chrysalis turned to her “Adiyis? What are you doing here? You should be in the basement.” “But, mom I-.” “No, no more of this. You have wasted enough of our time by making us go on this wild goose chase. You will go back to the basement and stay there.” Chrysalis said “But I-.” “This conversation is over, Adiyis. Dairs, take her back.” Chrysalis said so Dairs nodded and went to grab Adiyis who broke out of her grasp and ran to Chrysalis. Adiyis held the book up “I found it, mom!” “Found what?” “The spell we need. I found it in the pony village. Here, it’s right here.” Adiyis said as she opened the book and took it to the page that held the spell and showed it to Chrysalis “...A heat dome?” “Yes. If we use this spell then no more changelings will have to die ever again.” Adiyis said “Will the spell work?” Chrysalis asked “I don’t know, but we have to try something. No more of my family should die just because we didn’t try, right?” Adiyis said Chrysalis stared at the spell for a few minutes then took it using her magic “Guards. Take this book and have those who can use magic learn the spell. When they have done that, have them surround the hive.” she said so the changeling guards took the book and left. Chrysalis got off her throne “Adiyis, with me.” she said so Adiyis followed her Chrysalis and Adiyis trotted through the hive until they had come to a wall which Chrysalis used her magic on to reveal a balcony with no railing. Both of them stepped through and into the raging winds with snow so Adiyis had to cover her face to protect herself. Adiyis looked below the platform to see multiple changelings gathering around the hive itself while others were looking at the same book she brought here. A changeling guard flew up to the platform “My queen, the changelings are ready to cast the spell. Just give the word.” ”Do it.” Chrysalis said so the changelings down below ignited their horns The changelings cast the spell and slowly made a red shield rise until it had covered the whole hive. Once it had, every changeling in the dome felt the heat like there wasn’t a winter storm right on top of them at all. Adiyis looked around then removed her cloak “It worked?” “It appears so. You have done well, my little Adiyis. Now no more changelings will ever have to die to the cold again.” Chrysalis said then she nuzzled her “Adiyis, you traveled into dangerous lands just to help your family. You have made me proud.” Adiyis nuzzled back “Thanks, mom.” Chrysalis moved away and trotted back inside along with Adiyis ”Changeling caretakers, you may bring the eggs and nymphs out of the basement and return them to the nursery. Every other changeling, report to the throne room.” she said over the hive mind Chrysalis and Adiyis returned to the throne room where Chrysalis had Adiyis join her side. While they waited, more and more changelings entered the throne room until it eventually stopped and the changelings lined up before the queen and princess. “My changelings, today is a day for celebration. For today, your princess has saved the hive by traveling to the pony lands and returning with the very same spell we required to protect ourselves from the winter storm.” Chrysalis said making every changeling gasp in surprise A changeling raised its hoof “Excuse me for asking. But did she do it alone?” “No, I believe there were two others. Right, Adiyis?” Chrysalis said Adiyis nodded “Yeah. Pharynx and Incey helped me find the spell to. They also protected me.” she said “Then I will see that they are rewarded as well. But your reward comes first.” Chrysalis said as she turned back to the changelings “To reward Princess Adiyis for her bravery, I will take a small portion of love from all of you and give it to her.” “Yes, Queen Chrysalis.” The changelings said as Chrysalis ignited her horn and extracted love from every changeling in the room then she turned to Adiyis. “Here you go, my daughter. Enjoy the meal.” Chrysalis said then she sent the love to Adiyis who absorbed it all. Adiyis licked her lips “Mm, that was good. Thanks, mom and every-ling else.” A changeling bowed “It was our pleasure, princess Adiyis.” “Now, all of you, leave us. We may be protected from the storm, but we must still be prepared for an attack. And take this book with you. Make sure it’s put in our library.” Chrysalis said as she levitated the book to a changeling “Yes, Queen Chrysalis.” The changelings said then all of them left the throne room. Chrysalis turned to Adiyis “I hope you enjoyed your little adventure because I’m making sure you don’t have another.” “Yeah, I’ll have to agree. One trip to the pony village is enough for me. It was a fun adventure though...until the end.” Adiyis said looking down Chrysalis softly rubbed her mane “What’s wrong, my little Adiyis?” Adiyis looked away “It’s nothing.” “Adiyis, tell me what’s wrong. I will not allow my daughter to be unhappy in my presence.” Chrysalis said Adiyis sighed “I...went to canterlot and-.” “You went to the very same pony city where the princess lives? What were you thinking?!” Chrysalis nearly shouted “I had to find the spell and canterlot was the last place we had to look! If I didn’t go then I would’ve never found the spell!” Adiyis nearly shouted back. Chrysalis took a deep breath and nodded “Very well. I will overlook this since you did save the hive. Go on.” she said “Okay. After we got the spell, I ran into some stallion which made my hood come off. Every pony there saw my eyes and fangs and they called me a freak and a monster. It was...hurtful.” Adiyis said looking down again Chrysalis pulled Adiyis close to her “Yes. The ponies of canterlot will despise anything that isn’t part of their normal. Especially anything different, like you.” she said Adiyis nuzzled herself into Chrysalis’s chitin “I know. But the worst part was the guards.” “Guards?” “Some guards trotted over and when they saw me, they pointed their weapons at me!” Adiyis said “They what?!” Chrysalis said then she lifted Adiyis up and looked her over “Are you harmed in any way?” “Well, besides this little scratch on my hoof fro-.” “A scratch?!” Chrysalis nearly shouted as she grabbed Adiyis’s hoof and looked at the scratch “Tell me who did this and I swear, I will make them regret it for the rest of their life!” “Mom, calm down! This is from when Pharynx pulled me into the train to take me to canterlot. There was this big crowd so we had to get a little forceful. Don’t worry, none of the guards hurt me. Dairs and Vask rescued us before they did.” Adiyis explained Chrysalis set Adiyis down and sighed “That is a relief. I am glad you were not harmed by the ponies.” “Me to.” Adiyis said when she suddenly yawned Chrysalis smirked “It would seem all of this adventuring has left you quite exhausted. Perhaps it is time you retire to our bed chambers.” “Yeah, maybe.” Chrysalis got off her throne and levitated Adiyis onto her back “I will take you there myself.” “Thanks, mom.” Adiyis said “My pleasure.” Chrysalis said to the now sleeping Adiyis. Chrysalis trotted through the hive as quietly as she could as to note wake the sleeping nymph. Once they had reached their bed chambers, Chrysalis used her magic to put Adiyis in bed and make her comfortable. But instead of joining her, Chrysalis had to leave the room to take care of the rest of her duties. Chrysalis looked back at Adiyis “Sleep well, my little nymph.” she said then she closed the doors.