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// Re-Growth 
// Story: Re:Changeling 
// by Robomac 
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I don't know for how long I cried for. My heart was in shambles and my world view had been shattered. What laid below that was a torrential storm that consumed everything that I believed to be true. There could be no friendship for me. There's no way I could return to the harmonious life that I've known for so many, yet too few, years. Twilight Sparkle was…is dead.

On some level, I knew what happened to me was bad, but I never understood. How could I…how could anypony? There was no book for this, fictional or not. There was nopony to tell me what to do, or how to do it. I was completely on my own.

Maybe that last bit wasn't completely true, but it didn't mean that they could help me. Formica was the most caring individual I've met since my initial death. Could she possibly understand the pain of watching somepony who has helped protect you try to do you harm?

Yes…she could. The memory of Chrysalis' outburst from so early in my new life pervaded my mind. Whenever I looked at where her horn used to be, I would remember that incident, but it's raw impact has long since faded. Now she and Chrysalis are close to what I would call friends. If they could make up, why couldn't I do so with Shiny.

'I'll just convince him of who I am and he'll be my BBBFF all over ag…' No. I couldn't do that to him. It would only end in him facing the same horror I was facing. How could I tell my brother that the same changeling princess he tried to kill was his own sister's reincarnated self? It would destroy him.

It was hard to believe that he was willing to kill any infant, but it made some twisted bit of sense after I thought about it. I was the changeling princess, Chrysalis' heir. The viewpoint had changed, but it was in essence the same as why some changelings wanted me gone so I couldn't grow up to be like Chrysalis. To Shiny, Chrysalis was the one responsible for my death. Of course he wouldn't want another. Justifying it didn't make it any less painful though.

Strangely enough, my thoughts returned to Wordsmith. I wanted to deny the last words I heard from him, but I couldn't do that anymore with the evidence glaring me in the face. Equestria was preparing for war, but I had to believe that they didn't want a true extermination. I had to believe that losing me like that wouldn't be enough to drive Celestia and Luna that far, at least not permanently. Maybe the wound was still fresh.

That begged the question: How long has Twilight Sparkle been dead? Not once did Chrysalis mention how long it has been since then, nor anypony else for that matter. I only had my time as a larva to judge the passage of time. It took some effort, but I eventually figured that it was close to seventy days since I first woke up inside my egg, give or take a few. I would've figured this out a week sooner if not for how much disarray my mind was in. That meant that it had to have been at least two and a half months since my death, with however long it took for me to be reincarnated added onto that. I could be certain that Chrysalis waited until after Twilight's death before she conceived me. 'If I can learn how long it takes between conception and hatching for changelings, I can have a much more accurate timetable.'

Of course I could calculate, analyze, and speculate all I wanted, but none of that told me what to do. I needed a plan, and for that, I needed information. I looked at Queen Chrysalis and saw her pacing relentlessly. She had spent every moment not trying to distance herself from the recent encounter trying to come up with her own ideas. So far, she only had three, along with one joke plan and another inconsiderable one.

The first was the original plan of hiding out in a pony town. What was once the best option became just as bad as the others thanks to the anti-changeling salve. Chrysalis would've still tried plan A if not for Formica explaining that Wordsmith believed that Equestria planned to bring the salve to every town at once. Any attempt to counter this strategy would require her to go with plan B or C.

Plan B involved ignoring all risks associated with potential usurpers and returning to the hives as if nothing was wrong. With the future conflict incoming, she would be too distracted to watch over me at all times. She had a few changelings she could trust without question, but she was certain that they'd be outnumbered and overwhelmed by any sort of direct assault on my life.

Her joke plan was handing me off to Equestria and telling them to raise me as they saw fit. She laughed it off as ridiculous in the instant after the words escaped her muzzle. The inconsiderable plan was to withdraw permanently from the rest of the hives and let them fend for themselves. This defied every instinct Chrysalis had that wasn't centered on me, especially when Formica informed her that the hives won't survive without the information Chrysalis had.

Plan C was to separate me from anypony that could link me to my heritage and leave me with a changeling she trusted above all others. She refused to talk about him much. Whenever Formica asked, she became evasive rather than aggressive/defensive as she usually did.

Her greatest concern with this plan was not being able to contact me for fear of tipping me off to my heritage, leading me to revealing myself through youthful innocence; barring the possibility of me revealing myself on my own. In other words, the biggest chink in Plan C was the natural assumption that my mental age was the same as my physical age.

Like me, her lack of information limited her options. I stared at her for a few more seconds before nodding in grim determination. 'Here's hoping this doesn't backfire.'

I crawled away from Formica and began to search the forest floor for the necessary tool. It didn't take long to find a stick in the desirable shape and thickness, but I still needed to shorten it. My mandibles proved very effective at splitting the wood piece by piece. Once I had my makeshift pen, I searched for a section of ground that wasn't covered by debris or undergrowth. I managed to find something desirable, but I still needed to clear a bit out of the way. This seemed to draw Formica's attention, which was exactly what I wanted to do regardless.

I glanced over and saw her looking at me with soft eyes and a small smile. It hurt me a bit to know that what I was about to do would shatter her understanding of me, but I needed to make a move. Chrysalis and I were both going around in circles, and it was the only way I could think to break the cycle. With that thought in mind, I carefully began to draw in the dirt. I couldn't do anything complicated without using up a lot of time, so I drew something simple yet undeniably intelligent: the words yes and no. I had drawn them as carefully as possible to ensure they were unmistakable. 

I looked back at Formica an saw a flash of confusion before she smiled normally. "That's lovely. Did your mother teach you that?" I immediately turned and poked the spot under the 'no,' before turning back. I looked into her eyes, which showed a temporary flash of understanding. "When did you learn this?" I only stared at her: This would get complicated quickly if I tried to answer anything more than yes/no questions. I was still not ready to share everything about myself. "Do you know how to read?" 'Yes.'

She looked at me with wide eyes for three seconds before snapping her gaze towards Chrysalis. "Your Majesty?" Her voice was that unique fusion of urgency and confusion that anypony would use when addressing the one who could have the answers. When Chrysalis didn't immediately respond, she tried calling out to her again.

Her second attempt proved more effective than the first. "What is it Formica? Can't you see that I'm trying to come up with a plan!?"

Formica completely ignored her biting tone. "The Princess is doing something," she explained with an unsure singsong tone.

The Queen looked towards us with a scowl on her face before relenting with a sigh. "Very well. It may do me some good to spend some time with my daughter."

And so would begin the literal moment of truth. 'It's up to you now Chrysalis. What will you do?'

Chrysalis took appraisal of the area before shooting Formica an inquisitive expression. "What is this about?"

"I think she can understand us." I decided then to point at yes.

Chrysalis looked between the two of us, nonplussed. I could count the seconds before she finally reacted. "Are you certain?"

"I don't know! She's always been more quite and observant than any larva I've ever known, but…I don't know."

"Nor do I." Formica slowly looked up at Chrysalis in bafflement. "The former Queen was forthcoming on how to rule the hive, but she was sparse on details pertaining to raising my own successor. We must test this: Any advantage we can get is worth it."

'Well...this is turning out easier than I expected.'

"What should we ask her?" After Formica asked this, they began brainstorming questions between one another. Most were more complicated than I could answer with yes or no. The rest were them confirming how far back I can remember. Due to embarrassment over my initial behavior and the associated complications, I let them believe that I only remembered as far back as when we first encountered Wordsmith. Applejack wouldn't approve, but she'd understand not wanting to reveal the full truth.

As they continued their debate, I decided to write down my goal. They paused their exchange of potential questions as I was half way through writing the final word. "We need to make a plan," they both read out simultaneously.

Chrysalis raised a hoof to her chin in thought for a few seconds before turning her focus on me. "Tell me my child...do you think you'll carry this memory through your pupation?"

Electricity coursed through my system at the question that I never thought to ask. Yes, what was happening to me was unusual, but how could I know that it wasn't typical? No child in the world retains the memories of their time as an infant. What if what I was experiencing was in fact the norm? I gave the only answer I could by drawing a question mark upon the ground. She growled and forced her hooves into the ground for a second. I could hardly tell that it was a tantrum considering how tame it was compared to others. It only took her one quick breath to resume a calm yet vacant gaze. I could not tell if she was concentrating on adding the possibilities involved with what I told them or if she was blanking out, just so she could give her mind a moment of rest.

Regardless of which she did, life returned to her eyes abruptly with the light of confidence glowing across her features. "We will go with Plan C provided that my daughter retains her memories. If she does not, then we will hide her near a hive and periodically send out trusted individuals to provide food as needed." I tilted my head at the new plan she came up with. Something about me partially revealing myself helped calm her enough to consider a new possibility.

"My child." Chrysalis' voice brought my attention back to her. During the seconds I spent zoned out, she had lowered herself so that her eyes were level with mine. "I hope that all of this is true, rather than coincidence. A princess should not be forced to live away from her future subjects because of the mistakes of her mother. I hope that you can forgive me."

I had forgiven her, but that was before I was forced to understand how bad it was. My forgiveness was cracked, but it wasn't so bad that I'd return to being petulant. I gave her an exaggerated nod that she returned with a subdued tilt before she stood tall and began channeling massive amounts of magic through her horn. The aura around her horn pulsed every second, growing slightly larger with each pulse.

Expecting some sort of big spell, I was surprised when absolutely nothing followed the small flash that indicated her spell's completion. "I've contacted our ally that still hides within Equestria's borders and told him all he needs to know. We should be able to meet with him before my daughter escapes her cocoon. Now would be a good time to decide how to confirm if your retain your memories...and I have the perfect idea."

She looked into my eyes with pride shinning from her slitted gaze. "I have watched you as closely as I was able since you were born, and Formica has watched you any time I couldn't. We both agree that you've always demonstrated skills in observation beyond your age. Your ability to understand and react has astounded me time and time again. Perhaps this is why I am so ready to believe that you understand us. Even before now, I knew how intelligent you are and knew what name I wanted to give you.

Once she gave me my name, the plan was set. The weeks passed by uneventfully until I suddenly began feeling an overwhelming and irrational sense of exposure. It was like thousands of ponies were watching me; judging my every move and my every breath. Celestia's disappointment, my friends' sorrow, Formica's shock, Chrysalis' horror, and my brother's rage all stood at the forefront. I tried to hide, but no refuge was reclusive enough.

Nausea hit me like being caught between a buffalo and yak stampeding into each other. A smidgen of relief came when I inevitably vomited upon myself. The skin covered in my puke stopped crawling. I kept at it, not thinking for a second about what I was doing. It made me feel safer with each glob I spewed.

By the time I regained my sanity, I was fully cocooned. I understood what was happening to me seconds before the drowsiness set in. I only had time for one thought, 'Will I really retain my memories?'





Cramped.

It was so cramped. I couldn't move at all. I could feel my muscles flexing against my confines, but I couldn't generate enough force. It made me angry, furious. I could fell an energy building up around the crown of my head. It was familiar, yet different. I didn't think about it. I just let it build ever stronger until it exploded in a burst of magic.

Finally using magic for the first time in months didn't register ahead of taking a deep gasping breath. I reached out of what remained of my confines and fell forward upon overextending. Instead of falling on my face, I landed squarely on my hooves. That was the moment when it hit me. A rush of elation flooded my system like liquid sunlight. I felt like a pony again. I opened my eyes but winced at the sun shining down on me. I brought my leg up to block the light, but it only worked for one eye.

I adjusted quickly and opened my eyes fully. It took a few seconds for the black blur ahead of me to resolve into an unfamiliar changeling. I froze, as did my blood. It was a harsh reminder that the me from then died long ago. I looked around and found neither Chrysalis nor Formica in the vicinity. I was prepared for this, but it didn't make it hurt less. I looked my new guardian over. He looked much like any other changeling except for the armored shell on his back wrapping around his front. Beyond that, I was barely able to differentiate his gender. His expression was stern and static, like a soldier. "Name?"

'Right...the plan.' I was left with two choices. I could feign ignorance and pretend that I couldn't remember anything. Chrysalis and Formica would come back and I'd be taken to a secluded location where Formica will watch over me and Chrysalis would send other changelings towards us periodically to ensure we don't run out of resources. With this option, came the possibility of escape. I could get away and try my hoof at returning to Equestria.

The second plan was to play along. I know next to nothing about changelings. Joining a hive would give me a chance that no pony has ever had before. Maybe that would give me the edge I need to end this conflict the right way. All it would take was abandoning everything I used to be.

I looked into his eyes and saw no sign of impatience. It seemed that my prolonged silence alone would not be enough for him to decide on an answer on his own. I tilted my head subconsciously as I tried to puzzle him out. "That's disappointing."

My heartbeat sped up when I realized that my display of curiosity had been mistaken for confusion. I could not be sure of what exactly came over me, I only knew what I said. "My name is Princess Antennae."