//------------------------------// // Changeling Kingdom // Story: Echoes of Harmony // by Scyphi //------------------------------// Twilight stood anxiously, quadruple-checking that she had everything needed in her satchel. She’d already confirmed repeatedly that she had before even leaving her room, including all of her notes, presentation materials, and reference texts just in case she needed to look up or double check some detail in her imminent meeting, and the contents of her satchel hadn’t changed at all since she’d last checked less than five minutes earlier…but the pins of needles of anxiety made her second-guess herself nonetheless. She also fretted about whether or not her appearance was suitable for whom she was about to meet, and kept looking over her dark chitin for any blemishes or imperfections. There were none though, as her chitin bore the usual glossy sheen of a healthy changeling. Likewise, her gossamer wings were also sparkly, crisp, and clean, with her purple elytra similarly spotless. Even the distinctive holes in her legs were all in precisely their usual places. Not there would be much reason for them to not be, but it didn’t stop Twilight from fretting she’d somehow gotten their placement wrong last time she shapeshifted, even when reminding herself it didn’t work that way. Still she wished there was a mirror she could use while waiting outside the throne room entrance. Speaking of, was she being made to wait for so long deliberately? Was it to make her second-guess herself into giving up and going away? If so, it was admittedly working a little, but Twilight resolutely forced herself to not back out. This matter was too important. She knew she and the queen didn’t always see eye-to-eye on everything, but there was still a reason the queen had chosen her to be in charge of the Archivum over other changelings—Twilight generally knew what she was talking about more often than not. She believed this was another one of those times. Now she just had to convince the queen of that. Speaking of, it was at that moment that an armored centurio arrived, stepping through the large beetle-wing doors. “The queen will see you now,” he informed her, motioning for her to step through. Twilight made one last check that she had everything before taking in a deep breath. “Informis Una auxilio mihi tribuit,” she murmured to herself in the native changeling tongue before trotting on through the door and into the corridor beyond. It swiftly led into a large circular room ringed by resin columns and lit by the traditional green glow common throughout the capital hive. At the center was a large circular table. Next to it, a large throne carved out of a dark ancient stone stood on a pedestal where one could oversee the whole room with ease. Seated upon that throne was a female changeling twice Twilight’s size, power, and authority—Queen Chrysalis herself. As was the tradition, Twilight approached the base of the throne’s pedestal before bowing respectively. “Queen Chrysalis,” she greeted as evenly as her nerves would allow. “Thank you for granting me this opportunity to speak with you.” “Hello, Twilight,” Chrysalis greeted back with cool contentment. Luckily, Twilight seemed to be catching her in a good mood. She stepped down from her throne so to stand at Twilight’s level and motioned for her to rise with one of her holed hooves. “What brings you before me this time?” She eyed the research-filled satchel strapped around her subject’s barrel. “I assume you’ve found something else in your unending studies that you wish to share with me?” “You know me well, your highness,” Twilight replied as she straightened. “But I believe this particular matter to be of potentially grave importance, quite possibly for this entire continent.” Chrysalis raised a cautious brow at that claim. “I will be the judge of that,” she reminded, but nevertheless motioned for Twilight to continue. “But by all means, do elaborate.” Twilight nodded and lit her horn, pulling out her materials and placing them on the nearby table. “You recall, of course, that I’ve been studying the collection of ancient texts that recently came into the kingdom’s possession a few moons ago, correct?” “Yes, a minor prize my structors uncovered while building a new outpost near the northern border,” Chrysalis hummed idly as she watched. “I was under the impression the texts were only historically significant though.” “Admittedly, I had thought the same,” Twilight conceded before holding up a text in particular. “But then I started reading through this old Equestrian text, Predictions and Prophecies, and came upon one entry in particular that I find alarming.” She gazed resolutely into her queen’s eyes. “Are you familiar with the story of Nightmare Moon?” Chrysalis immediately scoffed. “Nightmare Moon is ancient history and of no concern to me or my hive.” She gave Twilight’s snout a soft, reprimanding, tap. “Nor should it be for you.” Twilight scrunched up her face at the tap, rubbing her nose with a free hoof. “According to my research, it was Nightmare Moon’s grab for power that resulted in the rapid collapse of the nation of Equestria that shortly followed,” she countered in a grave tone. Her gaze remained deadly serious. “A nation which was, at the time, by far the largest and most dominant political power on this continent, if not the known world—it wasn’t a nation to be dismissed so lightly. And Nightmare Moon, a single creature, brought it to its knees.” “Yes, but that was all, what, nearly a thousand years ago now?” Chrysalis retorted in turn, still not sharing her concern. “And Nightmare Moon was also defeated, so why should she be relevant to us now?” “Not defeated, your highness,” Twilight swiftly corrected, turning to a bookmarked page, “Imprisoned. And like all prisons, it can still be broken out of in the right circumstances.” She tapped a particular passage with her holed hoof. “According to this, Nightmare Moon was magically sealed within the moon itself and indicates such a sealing cannot last forever. It will eventually degrade enough for her to get free again. It even gives an estimated timeframe, saying that she will escape on the longest day of the thousandth year of her imprisonment.” She looked back at Chrysalis again. “It’s interesting you point out this imprisonment took place a thousand years ago, because by my calculations, the date this books suggests Nightmare Moon will return on is slightly more than two weeks from now. So if true, and I believe that likely, then we are facing the very imminent return of an extremely powerful enemy to our world.” Chrysalis’s brow had furrowed as she thoughtfully considered what she was being told, but was still clearly skeptical. “I still don’t see what this has to do with the Changeling Kingdom,” she began by admitting. “And besides, I’ve always been distrustful of the art of divination, and this…prediction…of yours seems entirely too similar. So what proof do you have of this?” “I thought you might ask that,” Twilight said, having anticipated this while switching to some of her other research materials, spreading them out so Chrysalis could see for herself. “I’ve already cross-referenced all of this in as many credible texts that the Archivum and the kingdom on a whole currently have access to. Only Predictions and Prophecies gives this exact timeframe for her escape, but numerous other texts collaborate that she will eventually escape too, with many suggesting, albeit more vaguely, that her escape can be expected around a similar timeframe. Additionally noted is a number of forewarning events said to take place in the build up to her return. Things like changes in tidal patterns, unusual animal migrations, even shifts in the positions of certain stars in the night sky.” Twilight spread out a new swath of research for the queen to see. “All of which I have found collaborating evidence they’ve indeed been happening as predicted and with increasing frequency the more her predicted return draws closer. As such, I feel confident in saying that, even if Predictions and Prophecies is off on when the escape happens, it is safe to assume that escape will still happen and soon—very soon. And I feel we should prepare for it now while we still have the time.” Chrysalis looked over the vast amount of research laid on the table, but Twilight was dismayed to see her queen’s eyes starting to glaze over it all, and that mixed in with her being clearly skeptical from the start didn’t bode well. Finally, the queen changeling shrugged. “Let’s assume,” she began, putting deliberate emphasis on the latter word, “that you’re right and Nightmare Moon will be returning. So what? Would this mare even still be alive after so long a time?” “She’s a powerful alicorn corrupted by extremely potent dark magic,” Twilight replied flatly, a little frustrated by Chrysalis’s skepticism—she’d known there was a good chance of it, but this was hardly the time for it. “Further, the stasis-like nature of being sealed inside the moon alone would be enough to keep her alive without aging.” Twilight raised a hoof pointedly. “In fact, it’s quite possible she’s not fully aware what has happened since her banishment. That’s part of my point, though. Your highness, what do you suppose she will try to do upon returning?” Chrysalis, to her credit, did pause to consider the question. “As I recall, her modus operandi was using her dark magic to bring about an eternal night,” she offered, her tone suggesting she thought it a rather poor evil plot. “And the conquering of Equestria, placing herself as its sole ruler,” Twilight added. Chrysalis frowned at that. “But there is no Equestria anymore.” She pressed a concealed switch on the circular table beside them, resulting in its surface lighting up with a magical green glow and forming into an accurate map of the continent they lived on. She then waved a hoof at the color-coded outlines marking the nation boundaries that existed now. “When it collapsed, the other creatures of the world—such as ourselves—came and took that territory for themselves. There’s barely even a pony populace in this part of the world anymore.” “Exactly,” Twilight said, eagerly jabbing a holed hoof at Chrysalis and grinning a little. “Nightmare Moon will come back expecting to find Equestria ripe for the taking only to instead find, what would be to her, invaders on land she wants to claim as her own.” She motioned to the map too. “So what do you think will happen then?” Finally, for the first time, Chrysalis seemed to consider the matter with some seriousness. She surveyed the map for a long moment, taking in the five major political states covering most of it. “Depends,” she finally answered, glancing back at Twilight. “Where do you think Nightmare Moon would ultimately return to?” Feeling put on the spot, Twilight reviewed her notes briefly while considering the matter. She gave her wings an anxious flutter as she did so but soon had an adequate answer. “Difficult to say for certain with the information I have,” she said, turning back to the map, “but I would assume near the same spot where she was originally banished, which would, presumably, have been the capital of Equestria at that time.” She pointed with her hoof towards the center of continent. “So I think somewhere in here.” Chrysalis rubbed at her chin thoughtfully, clearly planning something. “That could easily be within the territory of the griffons then,” she remarked, motioning to the pale blue patch on the map covering most of the continent’s northeastern side. That patch stretched from the coast and into its center. A cruel grin slowly inched its way onto Chrysalis’s face. “And being forced to fight off Nightmare Moon would certainly push them into political instability, probably dragging the Avis Colonies in with them.” She motioned to the creamy white patch sat to the immediate west of the pale blue patch, both sharing a border. Intrigued now, she turned away from the map, glancing at Twilight as she did. “Perhaps enough to give us a chance to expand our own borders a little while they’re otherwise…preoccupied, hmm?” Twilight didn’t share her malicious glee, not seeing the benefits of such an incursion. “The griffons and the parrots are also both vital prey to us for feeding, your highness,” she stated pointedly. “Leaving them to suffer whatever fate they face with Nightmare Moon could easily be to the Changeling Kingdom’s detriment, and that’s just for starters.” Chrysalis only seemed to be half-listening though. So while she went to a series of cubbyholes near the base of her throne, pulling out some documents, Twilight glanced at the map, eyeing the distinctive green patch marking their territory further south on the map. It was nestled between the southern border of the Griffon Order, the Arimaspi Ridge marking the western border they shared with New Hippogriffia, the edge of the jungles controlled by the dragons to the east, and down to the edge of the mostly unclaimed and unwanted Bone Dry Desert in the far south. In all, the changelings had, over the generations, expanded their territories fairly significantly beyond the Badlands they’d originated in…but geographically, they still possessed a fairly small share of the land in comparison to other powers. With that in mind, Twilight tried another approach. “Your highness, I know it is your ambition to try and expand our territory however and whenever you can,” she conceded in an attempt to placate the queen, turning to face her. “And I can see how Nightmare Moon’s return would cause enough chaos to seemingly give opportunity to do so, but please consider this—once Nightmare Moon is done exacting her revenge on wherever she returns at, what do you think she’d do next? Do you really think she would not try attacking any other political powers that could potentially challenge her?” She made a sweeping motion at the map. “Like it or not, your highness, this is a threat that concerns all creatures, including the changelings, and it should be treated as such.” “So what do you propose instead?” Chrysalis challenged in a warning tone. “Actually aid our political enemies in saving themselves?” Twilight hesitated. Her plan actually had been exactly that, but she was no fool, she could tell Chrysalis did not like that idea. And one never wants to make an enemy of Chrysalis. “If you so wish,” she carefully deflected instead, so to leave that call to Chrysalis. Chrysalis scoffed again, trotting back with her documents in tow, sorting through them as she walked. “I do not,” she affirmed resolutely, in a tone making it clear it was final. “I have no interest in enacting any plan that ensures our enemies are better off than before, especially not by our own hooves or when we could use that chance to seize control of them and thereby eliminate them as enemies.” “Then at least let me recover the means to defend ourselves against Nightmare Moon, should her wrath turn our way,” Twilight pleaded as an alternative. “You?” Chrysalis inquired, taken aback by the idea of a changeling like Twilight personally carrying out such a project, but before Twilight could explain her reasons, she went on. “And what means of defense are you talking about? Is this something like a weapon?” “Of a sort,” Twilight conceded and held up her research again. “All accounts of Nightmare Moon’s defeat say it was done with something called the Elements of Harmony which were then hidden away until needed again, meaning they’re likely still out there.” “And what are these…elements?” “My research is too limited to be totally certain, but they seem to be some sort of magical artifact of great power, enough to at least even the odds in a fight with Nightmare Moon.” “So whoever has these element things would be the ones with the advantage,” Chrysalis didn’t phrase it as a question. She stepped in front of Twilight and used her taller form to loom over her. “Do you know where they are?” Twilight winced, biting her lip. “…not as such,” she reluctantly admitted. When Chrysalis scoffed for a third time and started to turn away, Twilight scampered to recover. “But that’s why I wished to meet with you at all! I want your permission for me to go and investigate some leads! I’ve exhausted about all the resources I can here in the kingdom, but surely our neighbors have texts of their own that could tell more, if I can just get access to them, even briefly…” “Absolutely not,” Chrysalis declared firmly, returning to her throne to sit down. “I will not send any changeling on what would clearly be a wild goose chase with no guarantees of success, let alone you.” Her gaze grew weary as she stared down at the crestfallen changeling. “Twilight, you a praefectus, a changeling working an administrative role in charge of the kingdom’s information archives, a little bookworm who spends too much time with her snout in books than anything else. You are not a centurio, a legionarius, or even a venator. You have no experience in combat, hunting, or really anything beyond our borders. As I recall, you have never even been outside the kingdom before. You are not the changeling for that job.” Chrysalis sighed and turned her attention back to the documents she was perusing. “Besides, unlike you, I have faith in this kingdom’s ability defending itself against whatever threats come its way. That this Nightmare Moon, assuming she actually does return at all, isn’t even likely to do so anywhere near our territory makes it simply not our problem. So I intend to leave it to others to worry about until such time that this changes, if it changes.” “But…” Twilight started to object, approaching the throne. “You are not, under any circumstance, to leave the borders of this kingdom,” Chrysalis cut her short to stress. “Do I make myself clear?” Twilight hesitated, but clearly fighting this would only get her in deep trouble, so letting her head sink in dismay, she nodded. “…yes, your highness,” she relented softly. “Good.” Chrysalis reached down to give her a condescending pat on her purple elytra. “I think we’re done here, so I’ll let you get back to more important concerns at the Archivum. But thank you as always for bringing this matter to my attention, Twilight.” She then motioned her to collect her things and leave. “Now off you go.” She then proceeded to ignore Twilight while she sadly collected her research, returned it to its satchel, and exited the throne room, dejected. She chose not to return directly to the Archivum or to her solitary room but instead wandered around the corridors aimlessly in an introspective daze, reflecting on the dilemma this left her. Eventually, she arrived at an open promenade arcing around part of the capital hive, and stopped to gaze through one of the many open windows looking outside. It actually gave her a stunning view of Capitalis, the principal city at the heart of the Changeling Kingdom housing the seat of its government. Normally, the sight of dozens of twisting spires and numerous changelings buzzing about and carrying out their business was motivational for Twilight, reminding her of how much her species had not only built for themselves but also how far they’d come since their early history living mostly underground in squabbling, disunited, groups of scant numbers, poor resources, and seen more as myth and legend by other creatures. Now they were a notable political power, recognized and known across the continent, and their strength respected enough that most made it a point to try and keep their distance from them, in a sort of “you leave us be, we’ll leave you be” sort of arrangement. Which only went so far, since the changelings still needed to harvest love and other positive emotions from them in order to survive. But after learning the hard way that these creatures typically didn’t respond well to invading and taking those resources by force, the changelings generally strove to obtain it more stealthily, swiping it when creatures weren’t looking or at least not expecting it. That is, unless, their queen saw a chance to obtain a section of land left vulnerable enough it wouldn’t be unable to resist them, which was generally how the kingdom had expanded its borders in the past. And as such, Twilight supposed she shouldn’t be surprised Chrysalis saw Nightmare Moon’s return as an excellent chance to do it again, taking territory that had otherwise long been too secure to seize before. It matched Chrysalis’s style of rule to the point that Twilight, in the past, hadn’t really questioned it—it was just how things worked here. But the thought left a sour taste in Twilight’s mouth this time around, if only because it now felt grossly short-sighted. Not only was it needlessly cruel of Chrysalis to exploit another creature’s misfortune and suffering like that, she’d expand their borders only fleetingly until Nightmare Moon decided to push back on their incursions…before probably leading an incursion into their own territory after that, one they would be poorly equipped to resist. It made Twilight fear that the prosperous changeling city she now overlooked would all end up being lost or worse by the end of it all. …Unless she did something about it. Chrysalis had ordered her not to, of course. Or at least, she had ordered her not to leave the kingdom or alert their political rivals of the oncoming danger, but she might as well have ordered not to do anything about it, as Twilight couldn’t see any way to defend against Nightmare Moon without doing either of those things. Because in order to find what was needed to do so, she needed more information and more resources…neither of which she could find here. Both lay beyond the Changeling Kingdom and she knew it. But as she continued to watch the hustle and bustle of Capitalis outside, the more she knew she couldn’t possibly stand by and do nothing when there was something, anything, she could do to potentially save her fellow changelings from needless danger and harm. And so, in that moment, Twilight made the conscious decision to ignore Chrysalis’s orders and leave in search of the tools needed to hopefully ward off Nightmare Moon. One didn’t just disobey a direct order from Queen Chrysalis, though. The queen of the changelings was many things, but she was no fool. The moment Twilight went missing, she fully expected her queen would put two with two and take immediate action so to try and stop her, probably by force if necessary. Twilight knew full well this could even be ruled as traitorous and she could very well end up in a dungeon if not worse once this was all over. But that was a risk she was willing to take. Careful planning was nonetheless called for though, but as Twilight was always a careful planner in most everything she did, this was the easy part. Even though time was limited, she chose to spend her first day after meeting with Chrysalis as if following the same routine, in hopes this gave the impression she was obeying commands. To the other changelings she interacted with—not that there were terribly many as Twilight had never been an especially social changeling—she was doing what she usually did, going about the capital hive with her snout buried in a book and trying to learn everything about some random topic. In reality, she was discreetly gathering materials for her voyage. She would, most likely, have to travel by hoof or by wing solo for most of it, at least until she reached neighboring New Hippogriffia, her first planned destination. That meant collecting her research and getting carrying bags, blankets, a travel cloak for bad weather, money to pay for any unanticipated things if needed, and most important of all, food. To that end, she managed to convince the messores to spare her a share of the love they’d harvested on the excuse she needed it for an experiment she was researching. As this was perfectly in character for her and assuming she had the queen’s permission—as she typically had in the past—they hadn’t questioned her on this. Finally, by the day’s end, she had everything she needed. She waited until the thick of night, when most everyone was asleep, before sneaking out, hoping her departure would go unnoticed until at least the following morning. She seemed to be successful, because she swiftly managed to cross all the way to the Changeling Kingdom’s southwestern border without anyone trying to find and stop her. And when she did reach that border, secured by patrols of legionarii, she shapeshifted into a fellow changeling solider bearing falsified orders authorizing her to leave the kingdom on an intelligence gathering assignment. The legionarii bought it and let her through without protest. A part of Twilight didn’t like deceiving her fellow changelings like that…but she told herself it was for a greater good. And by the time any of them would get word otherwise, she would already be miles away.