//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Twilight Sparkle Becomes a Changeling Queen, Book 1 // by bahatumay //------------------------------// On the borders of the thriving city of Canterlot, two guardsponies, one pegasus and one unicorn, stood watch over the gateway. Ever since the changeling invasion, guard patrols had been increased, which meant a lot of patrols—and a lot of overtime. This also meant that the guards were more tired, and thus more easily distracted. Luckily, at this time, they were passing the time and paying attention to their surroundings by using a tried and true method, passed down from time immemorial by guards of years and eras gone by. “I spy something... yellow,” the unicorn said. “Is it your armor?” “...Yes. How did you know?” The pegasus fought hard to keep from facehoofing. “Because that's the only thing you've said for the past three turns. Think of something new already.” The unicorn huffed. “Ok, fine… Let’s see. I spy... Is that a changeling?” The pegasus rolled his eyes. “That's not how the game is played, you moron.” “No, I'm serious. Look.” The pegasus snorted derisively, but decided to humor his companion. When he turned and looked, his jaw dropped. Sure enough, along the path walked a single changeling. It wore a white cloth on its horn, and a sign hanging from a cord wrapped around its neck. “It really is,” the pegasus whispered. “Toldja.” “What is it doing?” “Looks like it's coming this way.” The unicorn readied his spear. “If it wants a fight, it'll get it!” he promised. “I'm still bitter about the invasion! I'll never forgive those changelings for what they did to me!” The pegasus sighed. “You slipped on some slime and knocked yourself out before they even touched you.” “Irrelevant!” the unicorn scoffed. There was a pause. “I don't think it's here to fight,” the pegasus said. “Look at the sign.” The unicorn squinted. “I can’t see that far. Pegasi have better eyesight. What does it say?” “It looks like it says, 'please take me to Celestia'.” The unicorn lowered his spear. “Is it turning itself in?” “It appears so.” Both looked at each other. Of all the changelings they had seen post-invasion, the grand majority had been attempting to flee Canterlot; not show up at its doorstep. But sure enough, here came the changeling. Although changelings always looked a little thin and grubby, this one really did look as though it had been through the wringer. Its chitin looked dull and its wings limp and wrinkled. Still, it walked firmly up, presented itself in front of the guards, and then sat and waited patiently. “Well,” the pegasus finally said. “Let's get him inside, I guess.” * * * Princess Twilight was reviewing the protocol for working with the griffon ambassadors when there came a knock at the door. She calmly marked her place and slid off the bed. Trotting over to the door, she opened it to see a guardspony standing there. “Yes?” Twilight greeted him. “Your Highness, Princess Celestia has requested your presence in the throne room immediately.” Twilight froze except for her wings, which flared out in fear. “Oh no! I’m still not done reviewing! I’m still on what to do if I’m offered meat! What if there’s a griffon in there and she wants to test me?” She grabbed the guardspony and shook him dramatically. “I’m not ready for that test! I’m going to fail!” The guardspony, who was by now used to these outbursts, gently removed her hooves and set them on the ground. “There is no griffon. I did, however, see a changeling.” Twilight’s eyebrow raised. “Changeling?” * * * Sure enough, when Twilight entered the throne room, the first thing she saw was a changeling chained to the ground. He—at least, it might have been a he—turned to look at her and shuffled a bit at her arrival, but said nothing. Twilight noticed with some apprehension that the loops his chains attached to were built into the floor itself, and briefly wondered how many others had worn those bonds. "Twilight Sparkle," Celestia warmly greeted her former student. "We've been waiting for you." ’We’? Twilight looked over and saw Princess Luna also there, looking none too pleased at being awake at this hour. Or maybe it was the fact that one of the creatures who had invaded her land was now standing in front of her. Luna was still slightly bitter about the whole changeling incident, although Celestia and Twilight had both tried to convince her otherwise. It really wasn't her fault that her estrous cycle had begun during the week of the wedding and she had had to voluntarily exile herself from Canterlot. Twilight shook these thoughts off and walked over to the dais, taking her throne next to Celestia. "What's going on?" she asked. "You know as much as I," Celestia admitted, her smile fading slightly. "He arrived and requested an audience. That is as far as we have gotten." Twilight nodded and shifted her weight slightly. "Very well," Luna said, her voice loud and commanding. "We are here. Speak." The changeling nodded. He leaned forward and attempted to flare magic, but the suppressor on his horn redirected it into a feedback loop. The sharp smell of ozone filled the air, and he collapsed in pain, unable to even rub his horn. "You think he came here just to attack?" Twilight asked quietly. "No. I am sure there is more to this," Celestia whispered back. The changeling struggled to his hooves. “Hermouf sinit ihnoa frifs nighzyeh!” he protested. All three alicorns cocked their heads. “Do you think they have their own language?” Twilight asked. The changeling nodded, muttering, “Henoa nachit.” Right. Dumb question. “Are you even able to speak our language?” The changeling nodded, and then an idea occurred to him. He made a writing motion with his mouth. Celestia nodded and gestured at the recorder nearby. The recorder flinched, not used to being put on the spot like this, and really not keen on fulfilling this silent request. Still, she was nothing if not obedient to her princess. Picking up a spare piece of paper and a pencil, she hesitantly stepped down from her spot and nervously walked over. She made it nearly all the way there before her nerve failed her, and she dropped the supplies and retreated. It was a bit too far for the changeling to reach, so she darted forward, kicked them over a bit closer, and then retreated again, not wanting to be in the changeling’s radius of attack. Though the paper was nearly out of reach, the changeling nodded his thanks, and stretched out as far as the chains would permit him to pick up the pencil. Celestia shifted the paper forward with a little flick of magic, and he nodded his thanks to her as well. Now that he had what he needed, he sketched out a crude drawing of a changeling and a speech bubble with strange, wedge-shaped letters, and then a stick figure of a pony saying, ‘I am Bruch’ in legible letters. He held it up for the three to see. Luna squinted as she studied the drawing. “It appears that he requires a pony form to speak our language," she decided. The changeling nodded his head vigorously. Luna lit her horn and lifted up on the little strap attached to the magic suppressor, removing it from his horn. "Then assume a form and speak. But be warned, if you use your magic for other purposes, you will find that it is not just the power of love that can send a changeling flying." The changeling had the decency to look slightly cowed at the threat. Scanning the room, he took in the princesses, the guards, and finally closed his eyes. Green fire flared up around his body, and when it cleared, there stood a lavender unicorn with two stripes in her purple mane. Before he could speak, Celestia cut him off. "No," she said coldly. (S)he nodded before flaring again. Now there stood a lavender unicorn with two stripes in his purple mane. "No." "It's easiest if I have a target," the changeling explained quietly. Twilight wasn't sure if she should be offended or flattered that the changeling had chosen her form, but after hearing the male version of her voice, decided on the second. Luna was not as impressed, nor was she feeling particularly sympathetic. "Then make one up. And fast." Sending that he was quickly using up patience that he desperately needed, he transformed again, and now there stood an earth pony stallion with a simple, nondescript red coat and a messy brown mane. “Much better.” Twilight decided to open the discussion with a question. “I see that you had your own writing language. Is that your own language for the transcript?” The changeling nodded. “It is.” “I’m surprised,” Luna murmured. “It seems quite advanced for your kind.” The changeling narrowed his eyes. “If you're implying that we are savages, I must forcefully disagree. Remember, we infiltrated your country—along with many others—for over a thousand years without getting caught. Even the weakest changeling can take on any disguise, and we learn how to impersonate ponies of any age with striking accuracy." Luna raised an eyebrow, but merely said, “I see. I stand corrected.” Twilight poked her head up. "Then it stands to reason that you have your own fine arts as well," she said. “Writing and art…?” “Did,” the changeling corrected bitterly. “We’re not much for painting or things like that, but our sculpting rivals the unicorns and our poetry outstrips that of the griffons. But ever since Queen Chrysalis came to power, those things have been pushed to the side in favor of things like war, espionage, subversion... She is not the wisest leader.” “So that's why you're here,” Celestia surmised. "She has not led the way you want." The changeling shook his head again, and a dark look crossed his face. “I'm here because she killed my wife and shattered my egg. Vengeance, justice, call it what you will.” “Your wife?” Twilight asked. She didn't explain what she meant by that question, but the changeling understood. “We reproduce like ponies, monogamous relationships, except we lay eggs instead of live birth.” “Fascinating,” Twilight whispered, the fires of research already lighting in her eyes. She reached subconsciously for paper and quill that weren't there. "How many per clutch?" He frowned. "One, sometimes two; but that's not relevant in the slightest." Celestia, on the other hoof, was more interested in the here and now. “You are here committing treason, then.” His eyes hardened. “You don't know what it's like,” he accused softly. “You don't know what it is to starve. You don't know how hard it is for a female to lay eggs while starving, how severely it drains her to care for her young. She does. She rallied us to war anyway. She single-hoofedly killed half our population. She called my wife to war even though she was weak from laying eggs." His voice cracked ever so slightly. "Years and years we tried for offspring. She finally conceived and laid two and now? Now she is dead. My eggs are broken; without her care they didn't stand a chance. And Chrysalis has the audacity to rally us to war again? To attack a country we already lost to? She is no longer my queen.” Celestia nodded, her face a stone mask even as she processed that warning. “What are you offering?” “I am willing to betray the hive's location, and by extension queen Chrysalis.” Luna narrowed her eyes. “Here comes the bargaining part,” she muttered. “I will do so on condition of amnesty for me and those who feel like I do. Those who no longer wish to be lead by Chrysalis.” Celestia nodded. “And how many of you are there?” The changeling swallowed nervously, knowing he was about to break open quite the stinkpod. “Not quite seven.” Luna was not fooled. “And?” she prompted. “That is not counting the nearly two thousand more remaining members of the hive who will join when Chrysalis is defeated.” Had Twilight been drinking something, she definitely would have spat it out. She did cough and splutter a bit, though. Celestia and Luna, however, kept on their expressionless, diplomatic faces. “I see,” Celestia said. “Allow us time to deliberate. You may leave us.” The changeling looked down at his bonds and looked back up at the alicorns, cocking his head in confusion. “Oh. Right,” Celestia grinned with a modicum of sheepishness. “Force of habit; most petitioners are not chained… Well, remain there.” Rearing up, she lit her horn, forming a protective golden bubble around the three princesses for private discussion. As soon as it landed, Twilight released the breath she didn’t know she had been holding and shook her head. “Thousands? Thousands of changelings? Here in Canterlot?” “They wouldn’t all have to live here,” Celestia said. “The majority, if not all, could stay in the hive where they came from.” Luna shook her head. “We would be removing their queen, and possibly causing mass destruction there. If they resist, their hive could be destroyed and uninhabitable. They would have to come here and learn to live under our laws. I see no other option besides destroying them completely.” “After what they did? Nopony’s going to accept them. Or forgive them,” Twilight said sadly. Luna coughed once, pointedly. Twilight blushed. “Oh. Right.” “Either way, the question remains. Do we take the offer?” Celestia asked. Twilight tried to reason this situation out. “Well, let's look at the pros and cons here. Pros, we eliminate a threat to Equestria.” “As a former threat, I do not know if I like this plan,” Luna interrupted. "We do not know how much of a threat Chrysalis even is." “She is planning another attack,” Celestia pointed out. “We don’t know that,” Luna protested. “He has a personal vendetta against the queen. Perhaps he is blinded by pain and desires revenge. Perhaps the changeling queen is merely licking her wounds and no longer has set her desires on Equestria, and we would attack unprovoked.” “Why would he travel all this way, then?” Twilight asked. “It could be a trap,” Luna suggested. “Leading one or all of us to a painful destruction.” “That is a possibility,” Twilight conceded. “Also, the sight of us cavorting with a known enemy of Canterlot won’t look very good to the nobles.” Luna’s snort of derision was quick, but indicated clearly just how little she cared about the frumpy nobility and their opinions, and just where exactly they could stick them. It was quite the powerful snort. Celestia looked at her fellow alicorns. "So what shall we do?" Twilight suddenly looked up. "I have an idea." * * * The golden bubble dissolved into nothing and the three alicorns returned to their thrones. Celestia was the first to speak. "We have reached an agreement." The changeling looked up hopefully. "We have decided to discuss your offer more fully with the leaders of the Guard." The changeling sighed in relief. "Do not celebrate just yet," Luna warned. "We have not agreed to your terms. You will be removed to the dungeons." Luna's voice hardened. "And your actions there will show how truthful you are." The changeling stammered a bit. "The second attack is coming sometime next week. She probably already knows I’m here, and might attack sooner if she feels she has lost the element if surprise. How long will it take?" "I know not," Luna answered loftily. The changeling swallowed. "V- very well,” he said. "If that is as good as it will get." "They do say beggars cannot be choosers," Luna observed dispassionately. "Revert to your changeling form." He did so. At Celestia's nod, the guards returned the inhibitor ring and unhooked his chains from the floor. "Thank you," Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but say. The changeling's face bore no discernible emotion as he was dragged away. * * * The changeling sat dispassionately in the cell, barely reacting to anything. The ambient emotions here were mostly despair and frustration, neither of which made for appetizing meals, so he mostly just sat there numbly. "Hello, Bruch." Until this. His head shot up, and his eyes widened as he heard his own language spoken. Changeling language was a little harsh on a pony’s throat, so hearing that meant... "H- hey, hivemate. What's up?" he greeted the guard. "Spare me the formalities," the solar guard growled, reverting to speaking Equestrian as he circled the cage like a shark watching its prey. "Oh, I've Just been standing guard, protecting the alicorns...” His voice hardened. “Watching a traitor to the hive waltz in here and try to betray the queen!" "The queen has already betrayed us!" Bruch argued. "Under the alicorns we get a ghost of a chance to survive!" "The queen’s new invasion will work. You are a fool for distrusting her." "And you a greater fool for blindly trusting her!" “Enough! Chrysalis has ordered me to ensure this invasion will succeed at all costs.” ”With what army?” Bruch turned away. “We’re destroyed already. Our eggs lie in shards, our warriors are weak, and our population is dying.” “You’re a talkative little chitin slag, aren’t you? Defeatist! Traitor!” The guard spat angrily and lit his horn... and was blindsided by a purple blast that knocked him into the wall. Bruch sprang to the bars and saw Twilight Sparkle fade into existence. He turned and saw the changeling, now devoid of his disguise and recognizable as one he knew as Drict, laying on the ground. Bruch could almost see the little canaries flying around his head. Twilight turned to Bruch. “You were right,” she said, almost as if in shock. Bruch shrugged. “Veij voff.” Twilight assumed he had agreed with her. “How many more are impersonating our guard?” she asked. Bruch shook his head slowly and spread his hooves, indicating ignorance. Twilight frowned. “Then we need a test. Something specific. Something that any changeling would react to.” And as Bruch watched a slow smile spread across Twilight’s face, he had a sinking feeling that he was about to become a test subject, and a cold shiver ran up his back.