Resurrection

by Magicman7997


Chapter 1 (Prompt: Pod)

The Changeling hive was a quiet place. Every drone settled in for the night, not even the guard drones made much noise as they patrolled the labyrinthine halls. It was a very unsettling feeling for one Twilight Sparkle, one she wasn't sure she'd ever get used to. How beings, who seemed to have no real acclimation to magic or modern tools could so effortlessly tunnel through layers of bedrock still astounded her. Of course, given how powerful their, “Mother” was...

Twilight blushed at the thought. Five years had passed since a broken Queen Chrysalis appeared in Canterlot again. Five years had passed since she was taken into custody on the spot and dragged before Celestia and Luna. Five long years since Chryssy had surrendered herself begging for any help to save her race from complete extinction. Her pleas struck a particular chord with Luna who could easily see the Queen's redemption as a parallel to her own. It was Luna who suggested the peace accord between the nations, but it was Celestia who sent for Twilight to assist in discovering some way to feed the Changeling race without resorting to harming anypony. Now, not even five years on, the Changelings had not only survived, but thrived in their newly constructed hive under the mountain of Canterlot.

Twilight had discovered she could synthesize the same nutrients the Changelings required with out their need to feed off emotion. Now, every single drone could be well fed and never need to assault a pony. The discovery had been a great achievement. In return for a never ending food source, the Hive had named Twilight “Zug'marshalproteca” or “Savior of the Hive”. Even Chrysalis herself had seen fit to thank the lavender alicorn. It was in that short meeting that something clicked.

“Is something wrong Zug'marshalproteca,” asked a guard drone. “You seem lost again.”

“No, I'm fine, thank you though,” Twilight replied. She was still adapting to how these beings sounded when they spoke Equish. Their native language as a mixture of buzzes, chirps, and clicks, made it difficult for her to teach them Equish at all. It had been necessary however, when the Hive discovered a large trove of minerals in the mountain. Chrysalis saw great potential to trade with Equestria and thus peace, for now, was solidified.

“Mother was asking for you,” the drone spoke again. “I believe she said something about your shared project bearing results.” Twilight perked up at this. Without a word, she quickly sped to the Queen's chambers. Stopping just short of the door, she caught her breath and approached the two guards posted there.

“Good evening sirs. May I enter,” it was a formal request. If Chrysalis was looking for her, she had no doubt left instructions for Twilight to be instantly admitted on arrival. Still, appearance to keep up and all.

“Hail the Zug'marshalproteca! We are not worthy of your presence. We humbly submit ourselves before you and grant you entrance to the Mother's chambers. Long may you both live!” That part was still taking some getting used to. Hero worship was never high on Twilight's list of life goals. But, the more time she was spending in the company of the Changelings, the more she was getting used to it. She stepped softly in the cavernous room that Chrysalis had taken upon starting this new hive. Lit up by spellfire torches that Twilight had designed herself, the massive space resembled more an alchemist's laboratory than a Queen's chambers. All matter of test equipment and vials of liquid were scattered about the place. A small apartment like area did occupy about a third of the circular room, the rest dedicated to the furtherment of the Queen's beloved race.

“So nice of you to find you way back,” Chrysalis' voice called out. “I missed you you know,” She left the workbench she was at and crossed over to where Twilight had entered. She gave the alicorn a soft kiss on the muzzle. “Your synth food might be good enough for the drones, but I still prefer the real thing.”

“Missed you too,” Twilight said as she muzzled into her lover. She could feel Chrysalis' magic begin to ebb into her and take a small bit of power from her. Over the time that they began to date, Twilight had been able to help Chrysalis come up with a method of feeding that didn't leave the alicorn so exhausted that she couldn't move. In truth, Twilight enjoyed the small bits of energy she gave to Chryssy. It was as intimate an act as one could share. Just one more thing she loved about the queen. “I was told you'd made some progress on the pods.”

“Oh yes! Come, you won't be disappointed!” Chrysalis led Twilight to two small pools of a ruby colored liquid that were stationed near another work bench. Inside the two pools Twilight could clearly see two Changeling pods adrift in the liquid. “The DNA took hold easily. Your magical manipulation of life matrices combined with our spawning pools was a genius idea. I was finally able to find a suitable drone carrier strain to use as a base. After I was able to make sure it was all stable, the rest was just elementary.”

Twilight peered closer into the pools. Using her magic, she lit up the pools with a soft magical glow. Inside the pods, she could see two pony foals, incubating quite nicely. The one on the left, a pegasus filly with a cyan coat. The one on the right, an earth pony with a pink coat and mane. A small tear threatened to fall down Twilight's face. Sensing the change in her lover's emotion, Chrysalis came to Twilight's side and nuzzled her softly. “Don't worry dearest. It will work this time. We'll be able to get them back. All of them.”

“I hope so. I really do. Thank you my love. For everything.”

“Only for you. Only for you.”

As the two lovers shared a tender moment, the foals slept peacefully in their pods, growing stronger and nearly ready to bring the first two of the five lost Elements of Harmony back to the world.