//------------------------------// // Chapter Eighteen: Visitors (Part One) // Story: Changeling Mine // by Futile Task //------------------------------// Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes. Not a few moments ago, she left Chrysalis in the forest to clear her head a bit, and not a moment later Chrysalis had appeared in her palace, brining with her a monster of a changeling like nothing she had ever seen. It was built like a dragon, except it had six legs, eight eyes, and its wings were folder upon its back, providing it extra protection there. It had no lips, instead its teeth were exposed, all of them sharp which indicated they were made primarily for tearing into flesh. The most disturbing thing about it though was its belly, which was swollen almost to the point of hindering the creatures movement, and which also was drawing the most concern from the changelings which were huddling around it. According to her new changeling advisor, the changeling before them was known as a praetorian, a changeling bred for protecting and transporting nymphs while their care takers or sires were away, and from what she said; this one was carrying many of them within its carrying pouch, and that they were in danger. “Couldn’t we just cut her open?” asked one changeling called Siphon, her blue eyes scanning the pouch tentatively as another shook her head. “No, that could damage the nymphs,” said the other changeling, who was named Wild. “We need a way to open her pouch without harming them, but with her barely holding onto consciousness, that is unlikely at best.” Twilight tore her gaze away from the two debating changelings, turning instead to Chrysalis, who had the beasts head cradled in her lap, its breaths shallow as she spoke to it. “Canis, where have you been, I thought you dead?” “You…you told us to protect,” said Canis, one of its middle paws rubbing its distended belly as it struggled to speak further. “So…so we protected…though we couldn’t save all of them…” “You saved as many as you could, that is more than enough.” “I am Praetorian,” said Canis simply, “it is never enough…” Twilight looked on a bit more, then moved forward, moving till she was standing in front of Chrysalis before sitting down, coming into the sight of the praetorian. The moment she entered her site her eyes widened, Canis reaching out a paw to her and placing it upon her chest. “You are queen mother, are you not?” Twilight nodded, which made Canis smile, “then you can help me…please come closer.” Curious, Twilight did as asked, moving so that she right beside it before it spoke once more. “Tou…touch your horn to my pouch…that…that should cause it to open, at least I think.” “What do you mean, how would that work?” “With the hive mind gone, none of my…sisters, nor my mother can connect with my mind and force my body to do what is required. But larvae growing inside you, the one connected to your magic, might be able to, if even by accident.” Twilight nodded at that, then placed her horn to the changelings belly, watching in amazement as it glowed with magenta light before the sides opened up to reveal what was inside. Crammed closely together inside Canis’s pouch were no less than thirty changeling nymphs, all of them shivering due to lack of popper temperature control, and some of them even beginning to cry as fresh air filled their lungs. The changelings surrounding Canis leapt into action, grabbing the nymphs and spiriting them away down into the hive below the castle, to tend to them as only they knew best. When all was said and done, only two nymphs were left, which Canis pulled out of her pouch, allowing it to close and then shrink to its regular proportions. “Mothers that feels so much better.” Twilight watched as she began cleaning the nymphs, and then got her attention so she could talk. “So, I’m just curious, how long have you been carrying these nymphs?” “For over two weeks, which is the longest any Praetorian has gone carrying and nurturing nymphs. It’s risky, especially if you take on more than you can handle, as I did, for I have nowhere near the capacity to hold as many as I was.” “I see, said Twilight, “but…now I’m curious. One of your fellow changelings gave me the cliff notes on what you are, but I was wondering if you could explain in more detail.” The changeling nodded, using her middle paws to move the nymphs to her teats allowing them to suckle as she got comfortable. “Well, as you no doubt know, all changelings start out as Nymphs, and then progress to the drone stage when they reach maturity. After this, and if the changelings wish it, they can choose to become more…diverse versions of our species to better assist the hive. I chose to become a Praetorian, for they serve as protects of our invaluable young, and as such those seeking to become Praetorian are put through many vigorous tests.” “If one is selected, they are reshaped, and then tasked with three sacred duties. The first is to care for and watch over the unclaimed nymphs birthed by the queen, making sure they are protected and cared for till they can be claimed by responsible caretakers. The second task is to care for nymphs who were sired by other changelings that are either orphaned, or whose parents are out in the field, ensuring that all nymphs are cared for on regular bases. And finally, the last task of all Praetorians is to move all nymphs to a safe location in the event that the hive comes under attack, as such, it is quite normal for a hive to have enough Praetorians to carry all the hives young to safety.” Twilight looked surprised, for it meant that the changelings as a whole were a lot more complex than anypony had ever thought, something she kept discovering with each and every new bit of information gained on them. “The queen wishes to speak with you by the way,” said Canis, causing Twilight to be jerked from her thoughts.” “Huh, oh, what about?” “I don’t know,” said Canis simply, “I could just tell by her body language she wanted to speak with you about something.” Twilight hesitated for a moment, and then got up, moving out of the room and making her way down to the lower levels. “Whoa…they certainly do work fast; this is nowhere near what I expected.” Twilight was standing in the entrance hall of the changeling hive, and she was honestly surprised at what she saw. She had honestly expected something more…organic, with pulsating walls and bone like columns holding up the ceiling. Instead, what she was presented with was something like out of one of her all-time favorite Sci-Fi books, Wrath of Kaa. Grass was growing everywhere, along with various plants and fungi, including the ones Twilight was expected to eat. Along the ceiling, crystals of various sizes and shapes could be seen, glowing bright pink, which indicated they were filled with love magic. “And this is only the main hall,” thought Twilight in awe, “who knows what other rooms lie beyond.” She quickly got a changelings attention, finding out Chrysalis was deep down browsing in the recently completed librarium. She made her way down, finding Chrysalis rather quickly and tapping her on the shoulder before speaking. “Hey, Canis said you had something you wanted to talk to me about, care to share?” Chrysalis looked puzzled for a moment, and then smiled, “That lovely little changeling of mine, she could always read me best out of all of them. As to your question, after our little spat, and after tending to Canis for a bit, I decided to look through some of the newspapers and gossip magazines my changelings have gathered from Ponyville, and…and what I have found is rather troubling.” Seeing Twilight’s confused look, she passed the current paper she was reading, Twilight grabbing it gingerly in her magic before beginning to read the first article. The Equestrian Guard has suffered a heavy blow to both popularity and moral, after the shocking atrocities committed by Prince Shining Armor and his subordinates came to light. “We had no idea we had let such an unstable soldier into our ranks,” comment former captain of the guard Broken Shield. “If we had known, we would have never let him into the guard.” Many of the citizens are now calling for the excommunication of Shining Armor from the Crystal Empire to face charges for his crimes, despite a few rumors that he was not… Twilight could read no more, throwing the article away before picking up another, but that proved to contain about the same as the last. In fact, the next ten or so articles and magazines proved to contain the same, if not worse, kind of articles, one even saying that Shining Armor had been killing the changelings to create a undead army that could disguise itself at will. “How could the princess let this happen,” said Twilight as she let the last article drop from her magic. “I am not sure, but it does lead me to a question I have wanted to ask you since I started reading these. Do you know any nobles who hold any sway over the equestrian media, because if you do, I would like to meet with them to see if we can fix this problem?” Twilight thought about it a moment, then nodded her head, “I know of a few, and they should be willing to meet with you, I’ll arrange for them to be brought here tomorrow for a meeting.” Chrysalis smiled at that, “thank you, I just hope I we can fix this entire mess. In the meantime, my mother has sent me a letter telling me Shining is progressing well in his treatment, and has asked if he could see you.” “Really?” asked Twilight, receiving a nod and thinking about it for a moment. “Well, if she says he’s improved, I guess I better head over to the crystal empire. That will allow you to meet with these nobles alone, though if you need anything; get Spike to send me a letter straight away.” Chrysalis nodded, but just as Twilight was turning to leave when a changeling burst into the room, heaving great breaths as it leaned against the door as it tried to calm down. “Ruined Wish, what’s the matter?” asked Chrysalis. “Her relatives are here,” said the changeling in fear, shaking from head to hoof as she kept trying to calm herself. “Wait, mom and dad are here?” asked Twilight, moving over to the frightened changeling as it took in a breath. “Grandparents to,” said Ruined, “and what smelled like your mother’s sister and her daughters as well.” “Trixie’s here to,” said Twilight, drawing a confused look from Chrysalis as she explained. “She sent me a letter telling me we were related, and the reason for all her show boating was because her mother kept going on about her “perfect little niece,” which drover her crazy.” “I see,” said Chrysalis, “well…I guess we will have to go up and talk to them then, after all…they should be told about your condition.” Twilight nodded, but as they started making their way to the entrance of the hive, she couldn’t help but think one simple thought. “Oh man, my parents are going to kill me.”