//------------------------------// // Chapter 23 // Story: Looking Glass // by Hiver //------------------------------// I opened my eyes. I had half a day. We had that long before the solar guard descended on this place like the literal wrath of a goddess. Sunrise. Maybe a little longer. Kicking off from the roof, I let go with my tail and turned it into a flip as I spread my wings and caught the wind. I could not take Chrysalis on my own, she was just stronger than me. But this entire thing hinges on Chrysalis being Chrysalis. I swept around, dropping my invisibility spell as I folded my wings and dove through the open window before spreading my wings again, flaring a bit to lose speed not to run into the far wall, turning it into a circle. There was a yell of alert but I ignored it as I banked around before coming in to land on the crystal map before Chrysalis. She looked unbothered as drones surrounded the map, “There you are. I was told there was another alicorn somewhere,” she said before she smirked, “Come to defeat me, little pony?” “No,” I said and settled down on the table, laying down as I met her eyes and folded my wings, crossing my forelegs on the table, “Just want to ask why you’re acting like a desperate idiot.” That got a reaction from her, her eyes widening slightly and she barred her fangs, “What did you say?” she asked as the drones hissed. “Come on, this?” I asked and looked around, “This is dumb, this draws attention and you know you can’t defeat the ponies with force. You tried that with complete surprise when your last deception failed. Didn’t work out for you then, won’t this time and you’re too smart to think it will now.” Chrysalis stared at me for a long moment before she spoke up, this time she shifted to sit up as she looked down at me, this time seeming more cautious, “Who are you?” “My apologies,” I said and stood up, giving her an elegant bow as I spread my wings, “I am Prince Blank Page of Nocturnis, slayer of Tirek, leader of the Thestrals, speaker of the hive. And a bunch of titles I can never keep straight.” “Hive?” Chrysalis asked with a small hiss, her eyes narrowing in suspicion “Which hive?” I sat down and folded my wings again, “Check if you like.” Chrysalis hissed, “Hold him!” A pair of drones jumped onto the table and grabbed my shoulders. I rolled my eyes but didn’t move as Chrysalis approached me slowly and carefully before she sniffed the air by my mane before she jerked back, staring at me with wide eyes and taking half a step back, “You carry the mark of my hive! How!?” I smiled at her, “If you know about me, you know I’m not from this world. Back in my world, I he-” “Traitor! I know you couldn’t be tr-” “Excuse me,” I told Chrysalis and ignited my horn, grabbing a chunk of changeling gunk from a drone that was using it to secure Talon firmer to the wall and threw it at Shinings mouth, making the rest turn into muffled sounds. “Now,” I continued and shrugged her drones off, “As I was saying, in my world your hive is allied with the ponies after the failed invasion. It was that or be destroyed. And because you did, your hive flourished.” Chrysalis hissed at me, baring her fangs as she took a full step back, her wings buzzing, “Impossible!” Oh come on. “Search your feelings, you know it to be true,” I told her, holding my hoof out towards her, “With ponies willingly giving you love, even allowing you to harvest from the Crystal Heart, your hive is growing. Your Princess is growing nicely.” Chrysalis froze. Completely frozen, stopped moving completely, she didn’t even seem to draw breath before she spoke up quietly, “Princess?” “The reason you do all this,” I said and stood up, walking to the edge of the table to meet her eyes, “You think you are getting old, that you need to gather enough love to get a Princess before you no longer have time to train her. Desperate for it, same reason you tried something as risky as what you did in Canterlot. Back home, Princess Skitter is a friend of mine. I have represented your hive several times to the other ponies.” Chrysalis still didn’t move, her eyes still flicked around, “...You’re lying. I would never pick Skitter as my Princess,” she said quietly with a small hiss. “Normally no,” I said and met her eyes again levely, “But when the good health of your hive relies on good relations with your food source and not just try to steal it? I know you can taste my emotions from all the way over there. Am I lying? Have I said one untrue word since I landed?” “...No…” I smiled at her and changed to changeling, “Zazzikz zrzzikzz zirrkzz.” Hive over all. Or somewhat like it, similar meaning at least. Her eyes went wide again, her jaw working slightly before she managed to speak, “You speak changeling?” “Some,” I admitted and cleared my throat, “As well as any pony can I think, but it hurts my throat and there are a lot of words I don’t know or can’t pronounce. I’m told my accent is awful.” “It is,” Chrysalis said almost absentmindedly, looking towards the side before she turned to look at me again, “If what you say is true, you have a changeling name. What is it?” I scowled, “I don’t know, they refuse to tell me. But you mostly call me, ‘my little predator’. Or if she’s annoyed, Zezk-” I tried to say before I stopped and cleared my throat again, “...Yeah, still can’t manage that word.” “Zeezzkekeezzkzk?” Chrysalis hiss clicked, her wings buzzing against her back. “That’s the one. Whatever it means.” Chrysalis looked at me closely for several long moments before she took a slow deep breath and looked to the drone next to me which was staring at me with wide eyes, “Release him. Then wake the Princess of Magic. We have plans to make.” “E-excuse me? Queen Chrysalis?” Everypony turned to look at Talon where he hung on the wall contained in changeling resin. “Yes, scaled one?” Chrysalis asked, looking up at him. “Could you let me down as well? I can get everypony some food.” Chrysalis turned and looked at me for a moment and I nodded with a small smile, “Should have some hot chocolate ready. Because Midnight will be pissed when she wakes up. This will go much better with a ready bribe. I trust him and so can you.” “You will be under guard. Behave as such,” Chrysalis told Talon before looking at another drone, “release the little wyrmling first.”