//------------------------------//
// Chapter Two-The Switch 
// Story: Falling from Grace 
// by Diamond Sparkle 
//------------------------------//

After the meal was over, Chrysalis said to a couple of Changelings "Those two who we just fed off; as an act of good will to her Royal Highness Princess Celestia, they are to  be cut out of their cocoons and set free." At once the Changelings cut the cocoons down with care and used their horns to slit open the tough green webbing. The ponies inside opened their eyes, stretched their limbs, hissed with pain as cramp set in but were soon standing again. One, with a cutie mark of two crossed sticks of rock, was clearly the missing Sweet Sticks. They stared around, clearly frightened by where they were now, and knelt down in respect when they saw Princess Celestia. "Please...your Majesty, could you tell me...am I dead and being judged for my sins in the afterlife?" Sweet Sticks asked. The sight of the immortal goddess coupled with the dark interior of the Changeling hive and her returning memories of being ambushed and fanged clearly made her think she was dead. Celestia replied "No...no, you are very much alive and in a Changeling Hive. I am here on a formal diplomatic mission to try and get as many of my little ponies released as possible," Celestia replied.

"Oh thank you, thank you so much." Sweet Sticks bent her head and kissed the alicorn's royal hooves before a guard ushered her away. Queen Chrysalis said "Your Majesty, I would like to take you on a tour of the Hive, with no bodyguards on either side, just you and me. I know you may find it very hard to trust me enough to do that, but if I had really wanted to harm you, all I would have needed to to would be to order my army to attack your delegation when it entered my Hive. Right here, right now, you have nothing to fear from me." Celestia thought a little bit. "You know, you're right. Shining Armour, you and the guards stay here. Queen Chrysalis is going to show me around the hive." Ignoring the horrified look upon Shining Armour's face, she walked off with Chrysalis down one of the many twisty tunnels that led away from the banqueting hall. "First I would like you to see the maternity ward, where the grubs are kept for their first month of life, before they grow a cocoon and hatch not long afterwards as young Changelings." The room they entered was full of what appeared to be large grey maggots, each bigger then a watermelon and sporting a pair of bright eyes and some very sharp fangs, and above them hanging from the ceiling were dozens of cocoons, each containing some luckless pony or griffin. 

Celestia got a little to close to the grubs and one of them reared up and struck like a snake, giving a short sharp bite to Celestia's leg before detaching and rolling away. Celestia raised a hoof to stamp the thing into  a mushy jelly and then remembered that in Changeling terms, these were like newborn foals with the minds of the newborn. Instead she backed well away from the grubs and Chrysalis levitated a towel over to her to wipe the blood off. "I'm sorry, you just got too close. It didn't bite you out of malice but out of a reflex, it was just defending itself from a non-changeling that it thought wanted to kill and eat it. Changelings can get close with no problems. Don't worry, it's bite carries no poison, it's too young for it's poison glands to grow yet. Once it's soaked in enough love from the cocoons up there, it will pupate and then become intelligent enough to relate to others and be taught things. But at the moment it can only recognize it's own parents." As she said that two changelings came in and looked at one of the grubs, which looked back at them and let out a happy little giggle. "Ah, little Lovemore, in a few days you will pupate and then we will have a new addition to the family," one of them said, gently stroking the grub with a hoof. The grub responded by gently rubbing itself against it's father's leg.

Chrysalis next led Celestia to a Changeling School where Changelings were taught what would serve them best inn life...reading, writing, Changeling history and geography, arithmetic, and of course, how to replace other races and pretend to be someone, which was vital to gain not only enough love to live off but also to gain enough love to feed the Hive. A whole Changeling Hive needed a lot of love to keep it fed, and that love generally had to be stolen from somewhere.

Afterwards she led Celestia to her private royal quarters, a place where no non-Changeling had ever been allowed to go before, and sat on her throne, where she picked up a royal scepter made of ebony set with amber and diamonds and spoke a few strange words. 

Celestia staggered and fell to her knees, her cry for help reduced to a choked whisper. As she passed out she thought Shining Armour was right...never trust a Changeling.

"Good, you're awake." As Celestia opened her eyes, she realized with horror that the voice she heard was her own. Her own beautiful immortal alicorn body was walking up and down in front of her, and she...she was now in Queen Chrysalis's Changeling body. Oh no, this cannot be happening...I can't move, can't speak... "Don't worry, in a couple of hours you will be up and about, but by that time I'll be out of your domains and starting my new life as an immortal alicorn. I could have changed into you and tried to kill you somehow, but I would not have your memories or your powers and would soon have been uncovered. Your blood was the last thing I needed for my body-swapping spell. I also put a powerful geas on you so you can't tell anypony or indeed anything who you really are or who I am, nor can you change into my shape. You can take all sorts of other shapes, just not mine. Nor can you say or do anything I would not say or do. I'd like to use the geas to stop you plotting against me, but even the strongest Changeling magic wielded by a Queen can only do so much. You have about a century left before you start to suffer old age-Changeling Queens live long, but nowhere near as long as immortal alicorns do."

Celestia's new green eyes widened in horror. Already she could feel a little feeling creeping into her new limbs as her brain mastered the new nerves, but it was not strong enough yet for her to get to her feet or call for help.

Chrysalis continued. "I have access to your memories and you do to most of mine. Even if you somehow deal with the geas, who would beleave a Changeling Queen saying that she is an alicorn? Now you get to rule over a large Hive, and in time you may get to enjoy doing so and truly see the other Changelings as your children. You will be in overall charge of getting enough love in to feed everyling. Your subjects will do the hard work of course, but you will decide overall strategy. Mess things up, and everyling including the little grubs will be condemned to slow starvation. It's not easy ruling a large Hive, but you'll get used to it, and will be as loved and respected by your Changelings as you were by your ponies as Princess Celestia. And love has a wonderful taste and it's all you'll ever need to sustain yourself. As Queen you get the first taste of anything brought in." She bent down and planted a light kiss on Celestia's forehead."Goodbye, your Majesty. I don't want to be around when you can walk and speak again." She turned and trotted out of the room.

It seemed an age, but at last Celestia was able to spring to her feet. She at once tried to take the shape of the alicorn she had once been, but the geas prevented her doing it, neither even alone could she speak or write or signal what had been done to her, However, she could change into almost any other shape. The Mane Six, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence and all manner of other shapes were useable.She marveled in her new-found ability to shift shape and then let her thoughts go out to her hive. And found that in her minds eye she could picture everyling as they tended the grubs, did guard duty and the many other jobs of the Hive, or just spent time off with their families. Those who were out on missions to harvest the love she could sense as well, down to the last one. She also sensed the love her Hive had for her, sadly it was inedible as only the love of other races could be eaten.

I will have my vengeance she thought and when you are fanged and strung up in a Changeling pod you will wish you had not usurped my throne and my eternal life. She summoned the nearest Changeling, and ordered him to summon General Mandible. "General, I will have war, the love in Equestria if we can take it is enough to sustain this hive for generations. But send in spies first and take it slow." It took six months, but at last she had a plan together. First she and her Changelings would abduct Cadence so that she could take her place, then she would use her powers to weaken Shining Armour and destroy the force field he had set up around Canterlot, and then her army would take the city by storm and the one who stole her life would be strung up to feed the grubs. It would be a glorious revenge. What could possibly go wrong?