//------------------------------// // 1: Nightmares of years gone by // Story: Solar Child: Past Demons // by Bakmah Genesis //------------------------------// Blood. That's what she was smelling. The iron smell of freshly spilt blood that filled the throne room she stood in. The throne room where she and the rest of the Royal Family ruled. It was this exact scene of the throne room, however, that held so many dark memories for Chrysalis. The High Queen of Changelings scanned the room. A pile of black, twisted armour gave off the acrid smell of sulfuric acid that she used to brutally murder an entire army. On the foot of the throne itself laid a blue figure she knew all to well to be her wife, laying in a pool of her blood. Finally, it was Blueblood. The stallion that brooded so much hate and remorse in this memory that she hoped was long forgotten. The stallion's white coat was stained with his blood, a hole in his abdomen from where his entrails hung. He was still alive however, living off a cruel spell. She couldn't see it, but she could feel the creature that did all this. She could feel her, her insanity and rage cascading around in the room in a thirst to destroy, corrupt, and kill. She could feel her satanic demon. "And I am you." Chrysalis turned to find the speaker of the demonic voice. Before her stood the demon itself. Standing a full head taller than Celestia. Her eyes and mane were entwined with blood red color, giving a dangerous look as those eyes of rage and insanity looked down at her with a wicked smile. "And you can't deny it." ~~~~~ "NO!" Chrysalis shot up I'm her bed, panting heavily as she awoken from the all too real nightmare. She scanned her surroundings to find herself in her bedroom. There was a shift in the bed before a pair of hooves wrapped themselves around her. "Nightmare?" asked Trixie, the azure alicorn Princess of Lunamancy. "Yes." replied Chrysalis, leaning into her and laying her head onto the alicorn's. "What was it?" She asked. "That fucking satanic demon." said Chrysalis, tears starting to well up I'm her eyes. "It's been twenty-four years, Trix. Why am I dreaming of her now? Why now when my life is finally perfect?" asked the High Queen. Trixie sighed and nuzzled into her wife. "I don't know. There is nothing we can do except talk to mother about it." she said, humming slightly. "Mom, Mother, are you alright?" They turned to find a young pink alicorn standing inside the doorway, her dark blue mane appearing black in the dark night. Nympha Lulamoon was the twenty-three year old pony/changeling daughter of the couple. She had Chrysalis' horn, fangs, shapeshifting, and ability to feed off emotion. However, Nympha could choose to feed from either food or any emotion. She was the only changeling with this option. "It's okay, honey, I just had a nightmare." said Chrysalis, opening a foreleg to allow the hybrid access. Nympha walked up and wrapped her hooves around her mother. "What was it?" she asked, her purple eyes, from her mother no doubt, wide from lack of sleep and concern. Chrysalis chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Just an evil pony that I had to fight so long ago." said Chrysalis, slightly proud of her cover up. "Are they dead?" Nympha instantly sensed the sadness from her mother. She didn't know if this meant that she regretted this pony or if this pony was still alive. "Why don't we just go back to bed? You have to join me when I hold the High Court for all of the changeling Queens tomorrow." said Chrysalis, putting on a fake smile. Nympha groaned. "Do I have to sit through politics? They are always boring and the only interesting ones are Queen Swarm and Pupa." Chrysalis giggled at this. Swarm was the pony who took the throne of her old hive when she was banished and also worked with Chrysalis' younger sister, Queen Pupa, to place her as High Queen to keep a full government on the changelings as they melded into the pony kingdom. "Well, you are going to get the title of High Queen one day when your mothers pass on, so you might as well be prepared." said Chrysalis, bopping the mare on the nose. Nympha scrunched up her face. "Mom, we are alicorns. We don't die." said Nympha, shaking her head, "Everypony dies someday, sweetie." said Trixie. "Even alicorns." agreed Chrysalis. "Now, get to bed. We have a very important day tomorrow and I need to have to have a chat with your grandmother." ~~~~~ "This is just getting really stressful, mom." said Chrysalis, rubbing her temples. Across from her sat Princess Luna, Goddess of the Night. She sipped her tea as she tried to figure out the situation. "Well, you said it felt more real than anything, am I correct in saying this?" asked Luna, setting down her cup and leaning forward. "It feels exactly like it was the day it happened." said Chrysalis, shaking her head. Luna hummed softly as she thought to herself. "Well, it could just be a memory like dream, explaining the realness of it all. There is also the idea of this actually being some sort of way to tell of the future by using an old memory that is relevant to what it wants to show." said Luna, tapping a hoof on her chin. "What would it mean, though? I have her under lock and key. We all do." asked Chrysalis, mildly confused. "That doesn't mean they can't escape. They aren't stupid, Chrysalis. They use our immortality to live forever in exchange for short periods of release. However, if they try hard enough they can break free of us and live for a few years and cause who knows how much damage to the world. "Demons are deadly, dangerous, and cunning. You should know this after using one of the most powerful demons we have ever seen." said Luna. Chrysalis sighed and shook her head. "Don't remind me. The energy that coursed through it was immense. Hell, I wondered if it was nothing but pure raw magic, but that would have torn me apart." said Chrysalis. Luna nodded. "We have to be careful. Each of us is carrying a time bomb big enough to destroy Equestria and then some. We can't let our guard down long enough to let that happen." said Luna, standing. "Now, I have documents to look over and you have a monarch meeting right about now." "Getting to listen to other Queens bitch about hive conditions. It's scary how alike our governments are." said Chrysalis with a shake of her head. She turned around and walked out of the room, it was time for a long, painful meeting. ~~~~~ "Our hive is running low on supplies due to train raids from the AC. The pride hive cannot survive too long without our supply of water." said Queen Pincer, Queen of the Pride hive. Hives were now named after the emotion they fed on. "We need to act. The AC are crippling supply trains to multiple hives. There is already a high pupa death count in hives across the nation because they aren't getting the correct care and we can't escort them into Equestria." said Queen Cocoon, Queen of the Passion hive. "We can't exactly do much against them. That will start a war and half of us are married to nobility. This will only cause further complications." said Queen Pupa, Queen of the Sympathy hive. These changelings worked in orphanages, hospitals, and terminal wards where sympathy ran deep in the nurses and visitors. Chrysalis remembered how her younger sister turned into an injured bird and fed off the sympathy of a small filly. "Ladies, let us calm, please. I've dealt with antigovernment groups before and these ponies aren't much different. The solution is a simple colab with our Equestrian hosts." said Chrysalis with an air of calm. "What do you purpose, High Queen?" asked Swarm, the Queen of the Love hive. "We work with the Princesses and work on a law to outlaw acts against the changelings and severe penalty to damage against supply trains. We will even place guards on them if need is be." said Chrysalis, sitting back into her throne. She turned to Nympha and smiled. "Now, Nympha, I already know what to do, but what is the best route to take when considering punishment?" asked the changeling. The hybrid brought a hoof to her chin in thought. "Well, a few years jail time is sufficient due to the fact we don't want to give a worse name for ourselves as it already exists. It should be equal to attempted murder charges since the supply trains govern the lives to countless pupa that mares have birthed in the hives. "Going back to the point of not wanting to worsen our name, we should make it a lesser sentence in some way and sentence according to damage. This could prove as an efficient punishment to help lessen raids as well as keep our name somewhat clean." finished Nympha. Chrysalis chuckled. "And the right choice indeed. Learning quite fast, my dear. Now, I will speak with Celestia, then the noble court on this proposal. Hopefully if this goes to plan, we should be able to get regular supplies back to hives. You are dismissed." said Chrysalis, standing. "Do you think we made the right path to go on this, mother?" asked Nympha, following her mother out of the meeting hall and back into the hallways of the castle. "There is not much else we could have done short of declaring war on the AC which is just insane. Do you know how hard blood is to get off of chitin." said Chrysalis, earning a giggle from her daughter. "I have not once seen you raise a hoof against anypony. I doubt even you know how difficult it is." said Nympha. She stopped, however, when she noticed the sad, faraway look Chrysalis had on her face. "Mother, are you all right?" Chrysalis shook her head and smiled. "Oh yes, just fine. I was just...thinking." said Chrysalis, trying to keep her discomfort hidden. "Is this about that nightmare from before?" asked the small hybrid. Chrysalis sighed and ruffled her mane. "It's nothing, my dear. Maybe I will tell you when you are older, but not today." With that, they continued off.