//------------------------------// // Re:Sponse // Story: Re:Changeling // by Robomac //------------------------------// The changeling stallion stalked with a grin that grew ever more feral with each step. It took a few seconds to recognize when I last saw that expression: when Fine Slice was killing me. I watched the approaching changeling with new-found terror while the sensation I now recognized as dread brew within me. 'No! No! I don't want to die: not again!' "I'm surprised that I couldn't get you alone yesterday, but I couldn't let your mother suspect me in this: I have plans after all. Still, it was fun sending that worthless Caretaker-11 to you and hearing about her getting kicked out." He chuckled. "I can imagine her broken up over not even knowing that you were the princess. It's not her fault that only the two highest ranked members of each class were told why Chrysalis was really here." His expression shifted to a snarl "I didn't even know!" then it shifted back just as suddenly. It was clear to me that this changeling was unhinged, which only compounded upon my fear of him. I took a deep breath and put all the effort I could into screaming louder than ever before. It only took a second before I began to feel the strain, but I had to keep at it. Without Caretaker, without Chrysalis; I was defenseless. A green magical light flashed from his horn followed by me hearing something truly terrifying despite my loud crying. Silence. "I do love that silencing spell. It's perfect for when those pathetic low-rankers won't shut up long enough for me to give my message." He suddenly brought his face inches from me. "It works on crying brats too," he added with a dark chuckle before starting to prance around me. "I honestly don't see much difference between the two: all the whining, always needing help, and can't do anything themselves. I can't imagine how Informant-5 is only one rank below me." He smiled a sinister smile. If I had noticed that he was monologuing, I would have calmed down slightly, but I was more concerned over having no way of dealing with the threat: no magic, no wings, and no strength. Anything that I could try to use against him would've only made him want to kill me more. Even then, I couldn't completely accept that I was going to die as a defenseless infant. 'Not like this! I need something, anything that could work!' "I have to admit, when those Rankers from Hive-1 asked me to kill the princess, I was impressed. They did pick one of the few who'd actually go through with it, and why wouldn't I. Our dear queen made only two big moves against Equestria, and both ended in complete disaster for changelings everywhere. I'm sorry princess, but those Rankers and I all agree that we can't have you taking after your failure of a mother." 'That's why he wants to kill me ... because of Chrysalis's mistakes. I - I - I don't ... I can't even follow that logic.' "Of course that got me wondering, what's to stop our dear old queen from having another little brat, but they answered me before I could even ask: she can't. The queen can have all the sons she wants, but just one daughter and she's done." He let out a long relieved sigh then smiled down at me. "You know, that felt good: therapeutic even. You can't imagine the stress from half of everybuggy in this hive not wanting to listen to me or thinking I got the message wrong. I'd love to see if they manage to get this message wrong." He levitated a bottle out of his bag and began mixing together some liquids, pills, and herbs with a large amount of dark paste. 'Is he going to poison me?' He then took the mixture and put it in a bag-like bottle that was affixed to a stone nipple that I knew I couldn't chew through. 'He is going to poison me!' Expecting to be killed versus having proof were two different beasts. Still, new-found hope filled my heart once I realized what his method was. "Open wide princess," he said as if I would comply. The bottle dripped some of its contents onto my mandibles, but I kept them closed. To my amusement, the changeling growled in frustration as he continually poked at the barrier guarding my mouth. "I said," he growled out while adding my jaws to his magical grasp, "open up!" What followed for the next few seconds was him struggling to force my mouth open until he put the bottle in his mouth and put all his magical focus on me. Once that proved futile, he started using his hooves to physically force my mouth open. I failed to understand why he didn't simply rip my jaws apart or even more simply, inflict a fatal wound, but I was more concerned with keeping him at bay. Unfortunately my strength couldn't last forever, and fade it did. He wasted no time working the stone nipple into my mouth. I reacted by blocking the liquid's path with my tongue while simultaneously hoping that the poison couldn't be absorbed through my skin. "Well princess ... how's those sedatives and painkillers taste." 'Mildly sweet, but there's no way I'm going to swallow,' but I was glad to know what was in me and even more glad for an opportunity to ruin his plan. With a firm bite to hold the bottle, I jerked my head to the side and watched with mischievous glee when his fangs tore through the bottle's relatively soft casing. Sure, some of it landed on me, but it was worth it to see him spitting and sputtering in reaction to the liquid in his mouth. It was because of the liquid in my mouth that I keep myself from laughing; though I still smiled widely and snorted. "Why you little!" he yelled as his hoof came up and struck mehard on the head. The blow dazed me and caused most of the liquid to seep out of my mouth while the rest made its way down my throat. I was too stunned in the moment for my mind to register the small sensation, but I did watch as Mr. Monologue's eyes shifted from an angry glare to being widened in fear. He turned away sharply and spread his wings then left with all the haste that he could manage. This left me wondering why he'd suddenly run, but my lack of clues and dazed state of mind left the mystery unsolved. I did at least keep track that only a few seconds passed between him leaving and me seeing the familiar green flames of Chrysalis's teleport spell. She immediately ran over to me and looked me over with a horror stricken expression. "No... it cannot be. I thought we wiped this knowledge clean from the hives." She lifted me magically and gasped upon bringing me close; then she brought over a cloth rag to clean me off. Once that was done, she held me over her shoulder and began casting a spell. My eyes widened and mind cleared as a familiar and unpleasant turbulence cascaded into a boil within my stomach. I made no effort to hold back the vomit that expelled what little I swallowed on top of rinsing out what adhered to my mouth. My mother let out a loud sigh of relief, but it did not clear away her worry. "Where'd your Caretaker go?!" she asked me not expecting an answer that I wouldn't be able to give her anyways. I could only watch as a symphony of different emotions raced across her expressions: rage, calm, confusion, then finally worry. She picked me up in her magic and raced out of the room with me in tow. It was the first time I was ever outside of the room, but I could not enjoy the experience due to the racing speeds and my still recovering senses, but I did notice that the area was sparsely populated and presented as well as cave caverns could be. Time blurred with the background up until I fully recovered. It was at this time that she stopped near a group of mostly unrecognizable changelings with the exception being the one with her head hung low. "Caretaker!" yelled the queen urgently. Most of them looked at their queen in surprise, yet some looked scared. They turned to run but were zapped with a spell that instantly brought them to the ground. A wall of Chrysalis's flames then surrounded the downed changelings, Caretaker, and us. I knew she teleported us all, but I could not initially see where due to the blinding light. My eyes had yet to adjust when I realized that for the first time since before my death, that I was seeing the light of the sun. By the time I adjusted, Caretaker had already entered a panic over the sudden activity. "Your Majesty, what's going on; why are you doing this; are we " she gulped loudly then froze " outside!" Caretaker began hyperventilating but was stopped short thanks to a spell Chrysalis fired into Caretaker's forehead: similar to the one her disguised self used on my brother, minus the screwy eyes. She visibly calmed down but still attempted to appear as small as possible. "What's happening Your Majesty?" Chrysalis ignored her and instead grouped the other four changelings together then used her magic to cocoon them together. Once she was sure they were secure, she levitated me over to Caretaker who took me gently into her hooves. Chrysalis then spent a few moments catching her breath, something that made me realize how much she must have pushed herself with all the spells and running on top of levitating me the whole time. As a magic expert, I knew that she should have been a fair bit more exhausted than what she was showing. Even so, she looked down at Caretaker with all the presence of a proper leader. "I have a lot to explain and not much time to do so. I believe there are changelings within the hives that are conspiring against me and my daughter's eventual succession." "What?! Why would they..." A stomp and glare from Chrysalis silenced her. "I said there is no time!" she growled out. "First you must refresh my memory on how to perform the Detox Spell." Caretaker's eyes widened in shock as she struggled for a moment to find the words she needed while repeatedly glancing down at me. "Are - are you sure?" "Time is wasting Caretaker!" Caretaker recoiled, but maintained some steel in her gaze. "We need to know what's in her." I once again wished I could talk. "We need to know what's in her. Do you know how to scan her?" "Remind me!" Caretaker flinched back from the outburst which made Chrysalis look apologetic. "Hurry." Caretaker nodded back. "A scanning spell is fed by " she gulped " fear. It works like telekinesis, but you must force your will upon them instead of infusing them, then you must draw your magic back into yourself." My eyes widened in confusion and surprise. I didn't understand the mention of fear, but I knew that telekinesis involved the forcing of magic onto the target while scanning used infusion. Not only was her description wrong, it was in complete opposition. "Give me some of your fear," said Chrysalis, interrupting my thoughts. "I do not normally feed off such emotions." Before I could object to what I thought would be a disaster for me, she used what felt exactly like a scanning spell on me. "What do you feel?!" asked the still panicked Caretaker. "I can't tell!" Chrysalis yelled fearfully. "I feel nothing from her!" Caretaker let out sigh of relief that I shared in. "That means that there are no poisons in her system." "How can that be?! I saw the poisoned liquids all around her! She must be poisoned!" Chrysalis nearly took a step back from a hoof suddenly being placed on her. "You must calm down Your Majesty. Are you absolutely sure she drank any?" Chrysalis looked up from Caretaker and stared blankly at empty space. "No ... I don't think she did." "You're sure?" "Yes, I remember. There was a lot of poisoned liquid around her. She couldn't have drunk more than a few drops. What she did consume must have been expelled when I made her throw up." The queen quickly shifted into having deep controlled breaths. I honestly found it impressive that she was able to clearly remember how it really was even during something like that. I was already certain that I didn't have much toxin in my system, and I was glad they came to the same conclusion: a detox spell can cause more harm than good. Caretaker nodded firmly in satisfaction. A second passed until her eyes widened instantly and she dropped back into a submissive stance. "C - can you tell me tell me what's going on?" Chrysalis sent her a sharp glare. "First tell me why you were with them instead of my daughter." Caretaker looked up at Chrysalis's oppressive glare in fearful confusion. "You d-don't know?" "Do you think I'd ask if I did?!" snarled back the queen. Caretaker gulped, swallowing both her fear and her reservations. "I was told that my rank was being re-evaluated. I did worry for the princess, but believed Informant-4 when he said she'd be fine. Before I got to the meeting hall, I was stopped and told that you wanted to banish me too. They were escorting me out." The pieces were starting to come together for me, but Chrysalis's growing rage and the magic arching from her horn distracted me from the full picture. I could feel a sense of dread in the pit of my stomach that somehow felt connected to Chrysalis and the five unconscious changelings. Her rage subsided, but the pressure inside of me remained. "Very well then; I will tell you. ... I suspect that these five are conspirators and I intend to get any info I can out of them through any means necessary." Caretaker looked accepting of the explanation for a second, but again had widened eyes. "Then what will you do to them?" Chrysalis froze for just a single instant and gritted her teeth. She quickly turned away from us with a growl. "I'll - I'll have to dispose of them." "You can't!" yelled Caretaker, mirroring my own feelings. "What other choice do I have!" she snapped back; her even more distorted voice showing her fear and uncertainty as clearly as the look on her face. "These conspirators want my daughter dead! I can't let that happen!" "How are you so sure?!" she yelled back in tears. "Why would anybuggy want to betray you?!" "Because I! ..." Her panicked expression suddenly fell into one as cold and oppressive as death. "Who gave you permission to speak to me as if we were equals?" Caretaker tensed for a single instant before dropping low to cower before her Queen. She held me uncomfortably tight; as if to draw some sort of security from my proximity. Even I felt that I was the only thing keeping her safe. After an amount of time I couldn't think to track, Chrysalis released an exasperated sigh that also dispelled the frigid atmosphere. "I am certain that you know about my latest failed plan, but may be ill-informed on how violently it backfired." A sense of dread griped my heart at the mention of violence. I knew that she was speaking of my assassination, but only then did I realize the potential repercussions of my death. I was a princess, known throughout all of Equestria and many other countries. Not only that, but the nature of my death was unsettling without doubt. There could only be one conclusion, war. 'No, all my work spreading friendship undone just like that.' I knew it wasn't my fault, but I felt responsible just the same. Through my musings, Chrysalis herded us into a cave saying that she'd interrogate the five captured changelings. With a torrent of green flame, Caretaker and I were left alone. Any awareness I had of my surroundings was tuned out by my thoughts over what would be happening to the captured changelings. I doubted that she had real proof linking them to the conspirators. 'What if they're innocent?! What if they had no idea about anything?! ... What if they're guilty?!' There was no possibility I could think of that didn't fill me with dread ... and the thought of death. I finally decided to find a distraction in my surroundings, but there was very little to see in a dark hole in the ground, though I did find it unusual that she was able to find a cave we could easily hide an adult changeling in the middle of a savanna environment. Something like it would have had to been dug out by something big. 'Uh oh,' I thought with bugged out eyes. 'Please no, please no, please no!' The sound of low rumbling and claws scrapping against dirt ruined all hopes I had. 'Buck you to Tartarus Spurphry's Law.' Caretaker immediately acted on the only option left to her: she dashed out of the hole as quickly as possible. I barely made out the figure of the creature whose home we narrowly escaped; it had an irregular outline and it was noticeably larger than Queen Chrysalis; easily twice Caretaker's size. I hoped that the creature would be too stunned by our sudden appearance to give chase; a hope that was crushed by a sound that was a cross between a squeal and a roar. A loud thump signaled the creature's pursuit. The sense of dread I felt proved its intent. My terror pierced my core once I realized that with one limb holding me, Caretaker only had three hooves to run with. I tried to think of any solution, but screaming out in hopes of attracting Chrysalis was my only option. Caretaker looked down at my screaming self with a worry stricken expression: a fatal mistake as she missed a hurdle that took her hooves out from under her. Her hooves shot out instinctively, leaving me at the mercy of the the laws of motion. At the pinnacle of my arc, I caught a glimpse of our pursuer: a bush boar. I knew of them from books, but no illustration could do those sharp tusks riddled with even sharper thorns justice. I hoped that they weren't as ferocious as the rumors claimed, but I realized that it was ferocious enough. The fundamental laws decided then to grant me my impending appointment with the ground. The blow forced the air from my lungs and made replacing it a challenge. My vision blurred, but I could easily make out the dull green figure stalking towards Caretaker's prone form. Before any hopelessness could set in, a torrent of lime-green flames rose up at my side. I forgot about the boar's presence at the wave of warmth from Chrysalis's arrival. She barely spared me a worried glance before narrowing her eyes coldly. "Leave, or you - will - burn!" The boar squealed back in defiance. Even with the heat of Celestia's sun beating down, a chill passed across my skin. Not only did I feel her killing intent, I could feel it all being directed towards the bush boar. The tension between them grew as Chrysalis slowly approached the steadfast boar. Only the flames conjured protectively around Caretaker made it step back. It continued its retreat from Chrysalis, but only after she passed through her flames did the boar flee with an angry squeal. It took more than a minute before Chrysalis relaxed and released her flames. She then levitated me to her side and cast a spell to soothe the ache from my fall. "There, there, you are safe now. I won't leave you again." She inhaled and exhaled sharply. "At least... at least not yet," she whispered with a pained tone. "I'm so sorry! I didn't..." "Enough." Gone was the the oppressive and authoritative tone; replaced instead by something subdued and ... broken. "You did well." "I ... how? I dropped her; I practically threw her?! How can you forgive me like that?!" Chrysalis looked up from me and towards Caretaker. I didn't know what expression she had, but it made Caretaker immediately back away in shock. "At birth, all changeling princesses are at risk of being assassinated by others that want the title of Queen for their own line. I do not know how long it existed, but queens eventually developed an innate spell that alerts them when their daughter feels pain. I would have not arrived in time had you not dropped her." Chrysalis gave a long pause to allow this information to sink in. Normally I would've tried to analyze the nature of what Chrysalis said, but I was overwhelmed by the intensity of the last half-hour. Soon the silent reprieve devolved into awkwardness. Caretaker shuffled in discomfort while Chrysalis diverted her gaze to likely follow stray trains of thought. It was a minute before Caretaker worked up the nerve to speak through the tension. "W-what happened to..." "Those five I captured," Chrysalis interrupted. "I got my answers, but had to come to your rescue before I could administer punishment. They likely escaped by now. Do not apologize," finished Chrysalis, interrupting Caretaker before she inhaled the breath that would feed her apology. Chrysalis' gazed into Caretaker's eyes firmly, but with a hidden gentleness that I thought was reserved for only me. "I asked you before now who gave you permission to speak to me as if we were equals. It seems I've found the answer myself." She took a moment to close her eyes and smile softly, then snapped her gaze into one of firm kindness with an undertone of pride: it was as if Celestia took her place for that instant. "Take heed of my words." Caretaker snapped into a full attentive posture, her body becoming an motionless statue, except for her eyes; her eyes which held a glimmer of fear ... and confusion. "As you should know, all changelings have a duty to the hives, myself included. As queen, it falls upon me to ensure that all my subjects are safe and that their future is secure. How I go about achieving this is left to my own discretion; none of my subjects are privy to my reasoning unless I allow them to be." Chrysalis sat with a strong posture with the pride of a queen and the confidence of a true leader. The air itself took on a sense of significance in response. "I've decided to trust you with everything, but I must grant you a gift to cement the trust I have in you." Caretaker's shocked gasp of realization reminded me that I too had forgotten to breathe for a moment. I could see all of Caretaker's fear being replaced by hopeful expectation with the stunned silence of her expression. "Caretaker 1 of hive 19! As thanks for your service to the crown, I am prepared to grant you the highest honor I can freely give. Know that you are free to share this gift with whomever you chose, but be aware that there are those who know how to use it for their own gain. Open your ears and never forget what I say." Chrysalis exhaled and inhaled audibly, reminding Caretaker and I to do the same. "As your Queen, I have decided that you will no longer be known to me as Caretaker. Now we, and any that either of us deems worthy, will forever know you by the name ... Formica." A name: something that I've had since shortly after I was first born. Always I've taken it for granted, but only then did I realize what it meant to have an identity that is yours and yours alone. The expression on Caretaker... no, Formica's face drove home the significance of Chrysalys's gift: tears, joy, and so much confusion. "Y-y-your Maj-Majesty..." Chrysalis's raised hoof silenced any response that rested upon Ca - Formica's tongue. "Save your objections. I still have as story to tell, so follow me and listen well."