//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty-Two // Story: The Day My Life Continued // by Authora97 //------------------------------// Princess Cyanide returned home to a war won. She didn’t know that it wasn’t her own side that had lost, of course, not when the changelings were greeting her with such loud cheering and praise. Not when she flew into the Hive to find it in tact (aside from the holes already there). Cyanide couldn’t have known that deep in the tunnels of the Hive that the Great Betrayer and another traitor were planning the downfall of Queen Chrysalis and her plan. She flew up into the throne room. The trapped ponies in their pods shined down on the throne, like a macabre chandelier. Her mother was on the scarab connection, speaking to a changeling general. You could see the home of the Bearer of Kindness in the background, with only the shattered remains of a shield behind it. It was going to be a highly celebrated victory. Cyanide could already hear the echoes of screaming ponies in her ears. “The shield has fallen.” The head changeling guard reported. “We have taken the last of the Bearers, and the Great Betrayer’s spawn. You have succeeded, My Queen.” He bowed the her. Chrysalis bowed her head in acknowledgment. The guard rose back up. “Well done, Pharynx. Bind them in pods, then bring them to me. You have served the Hive perfectly.” The scarabs turned off. Chrysalis began to laugh, maniacally. She threw her hooves in the air. Cyanide joined in the laughter, though more subdued out of respect to her mother. This was the Queen’s victory. This was the Hive’s victory. This was Equestria’s downfall. “At last!” Chrysalis cheered loudly. She flew up in the air, flying in loops above her throne. “My ever so hungry changeling will be allowed to feed on the helpless ponies of Equestria!” The celebration was cut off by the doors being thrown open. A group of twenty changeling guards brought in a prisoner. Chrysalis’ grin stretched out to her ears. If Morgan was asked, she’d say it looked like Beetlejuice. The Great Betrayer could not look any lower. Her wardrobe was dirty from wherever she’d been hiding. There was a heavy scowl on her face, like some kind of Diamond Dog snarl. “Chrysalis. You recruited Garfield Logan?” She seethed. She spoke as Chrysalis’ prisoner. Her arms were encased in changeling gel, keeping her as their prisoner. The Queen has the impression this could change any time the Great Betrayer wanted it. Which was ridiculous. Her magic was cut off by the throne. Chrysalis laughed at the Great Betrayer’s rage. ‘How foolish Logan was. The Betrayer is useless now, without magic and aid.’ “So now you see! Tell me, does it burn to have one of your own betray you?” “Can’t you tell, Your Majesty? You have personal experience with it.” The Betrayer hissed. “Of course, your’s is going to end up a lot happier than Garfield Logan.” Chrysalis didn’t let her emotion show. The Great Betrayer was truly a dangerous enemy. The Great Betrayer was trying to get Chrysalis to react emotionally, she remembered that mistake from last time. “All traitors to the Hive are dealt with. Swiftly.” Chrysalis stated. She laugh, deep in her throat. “He was a fool to betray the Hive, and a bigger fool to be captured by them! When my guard find your precious ‘coltfriend’, he will see what happens to those who betray the Hive!” Chrysalis taunted. The changeling around her laughed. But what really gave away the secret was when the Great Betrayer’s eyes flashed blue. They were so small on that misshapen head, Chrysalis had missed it because her back was turned. Lucky for her, Cyanide was watching The Great Betrayer. She never looked away. “And Mother doesn’t have to wait long, does she?” The Betrayer squeaked. That was curtains. Game over. Hasta la vista. Chrysalis whirled her body back to the Traitor. She powered her horn up with the borrowed magic of the throne. Before the Traitor could plead, Chrysalis fired a shot at his feet. He changed to the Traitor, wings sparkling in the light of the pods. His brothers and sisters of the Hive hissed at him. Cyanide ran forward, standing at her the Traitor’s side. She grabbed his neck in her magic. “Where is the Great Betrayer?!” Then, they heard the explosions. ==DMLC== The entire changeling hoard turned to face me as I threw another lit stick of dynamite. It wasn’t doing anything to even make a scratch on the carapace. I turned to then when the explosion failed. “Don’t mind me!” I shouted. Reaching in my bag, I pulled out a grenade. “You guys can have your family drama. I’ll stay out of it.” Pulling the pink out with my teeth, I tossed the grenade at the throne. It fell in one of the holes. It shouldn’t be too hard for it to- BOOM -okay the throne was still standing. “What is this thing even made of?!” I shouted. “Seriously! One of you needs to tell me the chemical structure of carapace. This stuff is impossible to break!” Chrysalis and her daughter hissed at me. I hissed back, mocking them. “Are you done? I have more work to do, taking apart this thing.” My arm swept up to the giant black throne. “Go back to the family spat.” “Morgan!” Thorax choked. “Coming back to you, honey, just busy here.” “Choking!” “That’s because your sister has you in a death grip. Please try to keep up, honey, you’re making me look bad.” I chided, playfully. “I am not his sister!” Cyanide snapped. “Yeah he explained that bit.” I turned to Chrysalis. “I’m gonna argue with you later about giving his sister to my mortal enemy.” Princess Cyanide snarled loudly. Her body flared bright green. “How dare you disrespect the Hive?!” She dropped Thorax to the ground. She marched towards me, her body changing to match my own. “I’ll kill you with your own hands, Betrayer!” I blinked at her. “You know, you’re not the first person to say that to me. Funny enough the other person wasn’t my sister.” She snarled. Then charged. Rolling my eyes, I lifted my Bag up by the handle. When she was close enough I whacked the side of her head with it. Princess Cyanide flew to the side. “You just brought hands to an explosives fight. Do you know how stupid you are?” I put the Bag back on the ground. Once it was flat I grabbed more dynamite. “Granted those are my hands. Legal lethal weapons, those are.” “You attacked my daughter?!” Chrysalis hissed. “You attacked mine first.” I argued. “And you sided with him. Garfield Logan. That traitorous-” I lit the fuse on the dynamite. “-heartless-” I lifted the stick above my head. “-son of a bit-” Chrysalis lit up her horn. She lifted Thorax up from the ground. He gagged again. I stopped. “You brought explosives to a magic fight.” Chrysalis mocked. “Do you know how stupid you are?” She blasted my dynamite wick with her magic. The flame was gone. “Put him down.” It was supposed to be a stern order. It came out weak, a plea. “Please. Just...hear me out.” “Why should I?” Chrysalis argued. “I’m on the cusp of victory!” “Fine! Take over Equestria!” I shouted. “Give it a few years, there won’t be any love left. You’ll be right back at square one. Then what will you do?” “The Changelings will find a way!” Chrysalis decreed. “Thorax already did!” I snapped. “He found a bloody way! Thorax left the Hive and made a fillyfriend, me by the way. Your biggest enemy. He shared love, and now he doesn’t need to feed.” My arm waved out to the rest of the Hive. “They don’t have to live your lives starving all the time!” Cyanide jumped at my side. I yelled out in pain when my back hit ground. “Star!” Thorax called out. He fought against the magical hold of his sister. It didn’t work. “You know nothing of the changelings or what it takes to be their queen!” Cyanide snarked in my face. “You pathetic beast!” I pushed her hooves off me. What came out of me next was more of a dragon snarl than true words. “Are you kidding me? Me? I don’t know what it takes? Back Home, I’m the Queen to an entire planet! To millions of people, and the ones they interact with! Before that, I know what it’s like to be a mother! I know what it’s like to put their needs before your own! Give a try sometime, princess!” Kicking her stomach, Cyanide groaned in pain. I pushed her off me. Rising to my feet, I narrowed my focus on Chrysalis and Thorax. “And I have seen this story play out in hundreds of worlds for thousands of people.” I explained, my feet firmly on the ground. My voice filled the throne room, maybe spilling out into the hall. “And I refuse to play the part of your conqueror.” I stated. “Then be conquered!” Queen Chrysalis  insisted. “You’re already defeated!” She lifted Thorax higher in her magic. “And I’ll drain you of everything, just as soon as I drain every last ounce of your love from him and show my subjects what a real leader is!” Her horn blared with magic. Thorax cried out in pain. “No!” I screamed, running toward him. It felt like my own body was being drained, watching him be hurt. Cyanide appeared in front of me, aiming her horn at me. It flowed a threatening green. “Put him down!” I ordered Chrysalis. She ignored me. She cackled as Thorax screamed. “I can feel the love inside me slipping away...! I can’t hold onto it much longer...!” Thorax shouted to me. “Star I’m...I’m sorry!” “No! Stop it! Stop-” I stopped myself. Thorax was still screaming. “Holy crap. Thorax, give it to her!” I called out. “What?!” He shouted back. “Share all of the love with her! All of it!” I shouted. “Do it now!” “But-” “Trust me and do it!” Thorax took a deep breath then unleashed. The first blue blast sent Chrysalis off into her throne. This was enough to crack it. The cracks spread across like a spiderweb, the tips fell off in chunks. It made me grin. My attention went back to Thorax in time to see the blue magic wrap itself around him. He locked eyes with me just as the cocoon finished itself. “Bee!” I screamed. Running up to the cocoon, I felt the warmth of it. It wasn’t warm enough to burn skin. It was the warmth of a cup of cocoa, or fresh made soup. I reached up to touch it. The cocoon warmed under my palm. The cocoon burst in near white fire. I flinched away from it, not watching where I was going and fell on my ass. Thorax’s form changed. He was taller now, I’d say my height without the giant moose horns. His skin was mostly bright green, his underbelly was dark green, chest a bright orange ending with three diamonds. His wings weren’t sparkling now, they were a dark pink (including the carapace) and stretched out like a dragonfly. I blinked. ‘Huh...was not expecting that.’ “How did you know it would do that?” Thorax asked, giddy. It switched to uncertain. “You did know it would do that, right?” “...sure?” Thorax didn’t even pause. “Morgan.” “Okay...I may have thought she would explode. You were shooting a laser beam at her face!” I admitted, shrugging. Giving the new body a once over, I smiled warmly. “But this works too.” Thorax snorted. He looked at the top of his head, then looked up to his antlers. He started beaming. “Yeah. I think it does.” I wanted to punch him. ‘Don’t make fun my shortness because of your sudden height, you jerk!’ Thorax turned to his people. “You guys! You can change too! This is what we were supposed to be. Giving love, instead of taking!” “No!” Cyanide screamed out. She huffed, smoke coming out of her nostrils. She growled, charging forward like an angry bull. “Not to rush you but I’d do it fast!” I called out. Cyanide snarled loudly, coming closer. I stood by Thorax’s side, ready to push us apart if it kept him safe from the insane changeling. Behind me and above and all around the room, the changelings changed. They started shooting off bright pink beams. The beams hit Cyanide. She was flung back. She landed on top of her mother. The cracks made from Thorax’s change glowed pink, growing wider and longer. The entire Hive shook. Then...KABOOM! ==DMLC== The smoke cleared. Or I assumed it did, I was under a blue changeling-made magic shield. Thorax was wrapping me up in a hug. The wings felt soft against my sore skin. It faded away after Thorax unwrapped his wings, the glow on his antlers fading with it. I looked out at the remains of the throne room. The roof had been completely blown away, the ponies trapped inside were scattered about (unharmed as one would be, being trapped in goop for so long) on the floor. There were dozens of new colorful changelings too. Green ones, and pink, orange, even blue! I’m not sure if it was pride or relief in my chest. (I figured out really quick it was actually the start of something worse) I saw the Heart of Damballa nestled in a puddle of goo. Without much forethought I ran to it. Thorax chased after me, warning me about slipping on the goop. When I had the Heart in my hands, I had this overwhelming surge of memories come with it. Ones with Darcy, back in that world. All those times we used to run and hide from the pain caused by this totem. Now here I was, going through more pain to take it back. Thorax sat by my side. “What is it?” He asked, trying to get a peak at the necklace. After a long pause I answered “Important.” Slapping it in his hoof, I made sure he held it tight. “You give this back to me when I’m coherent, yeah? Or I’ll hurt you.” “You can be coherent?” Thorax asked, sounding serious. I saw Twilight crawling away from her pod, so I went to her side. Thorax a step behind me. Twilight groaned. “Raspberry? What happened?” Her eyes bugged. “Why are you a person?” “Oh good! You are fine!” I cheered. Twilight froze. “Why did you emphasize the ‘you’ in that? Nothing good happens when you emphasize words.” “We’ll talk in Canterlot after they let me out.” I supplied. “After who lets you out?” Twilight interrogated. Before I could reply (something sarcastic about her emphasizing words), there was a loud shout across the room. I expected Chrysalis and Cyanide to be snarling vengeance me. It wasn’t unwelcome, by the way. They could snarl vengeance all they wanted, I won. What I saw was weirder. There was a new tall changeling blocking the Royal Changelings. Her carapace was bright orange around her head, fading in red around her neck. There was a pair of feminine antlers on her head (I don’t know if antlers can be feminine, but this changeling was pulling them off) glowing an acidic green, matching her compound eyes. Her wings were a dark red, the carapace beneath even darker. She was snarling at the Changeling Royals. The two actually looked afraid of this new changeling. She looked deadly. And elegant. (Maybe it was the delirium talking, but she was hot) “So...who’re you?” “I am Princess Thorne.” The colorful changeling introduced. Her entire body said ‘I am regal. Hear me roar!’ “The Queen exiled me after my evolution. They believed me weak!” A dark grin formed on my face. The extra cocoon, the one holding someone I couldn’t see. It had been holding Thorne! My attention returned to the scared Chrysalis. “I can’t accuse you of sentiment. From what I’ve seen you would’ve killed her when she changed. She was stronger than you. You locked her away because you were scared.” Chrysalis denied me a response. Cyanide nearly did, so Chrysalis silenced her with a glare. “How are you...like this?” Thorax asked. “I loved my sister.” “She was my only friend.” “Well your mother and sister were keeping mine dead.” I motioned to the Heart of Damballa in Thorax’s hoof. “So you can handle your internal affairs and then when my sister is back and if I’m not about to die, you, Celestia, and I can get together and...make peace or whatever.” “Discord! Make sure everyone gets back to Canterlot Hospital. Can you bring Lilac and Cookie when you pick up Fluttershy?” Discord rolled his eyes. “Of course I will! What do you think I am? Some monster who likes pain and misery?” “Pass.” I turned to Thorax. “You, catch me.” “What?! Why?” Thorax asked in a rush of panic. “Is something wrong?!” “Yeah. Because I’m about to...” As I’m saying this, my eyes rolled back in my head. My body went lax. When the throne exploded, I felt my magic return to me. Problem was, my body knows that when I’m in Equestria I’m supposed to be an alicorn. I’ve been holding off the effects of changing back. Not only that, the magic had been held back. There was a lot there to begin with. As I felt myself fall to the ground, my magic grew out with it. The ground around me start blooming flowers, complete with bright green grass. Trees in the distance were coming to...well I guess life. And I only knew this because I felt it. I felt the magic pour out from my feet and extended to the end of that anti-magic barrier. It hurt, oh hell did it hurt. The further my magic went out the more my body burned. My skin was buzzing as it changed from human tan to alicorn pink. It was a relief when I passed out in Thorax’s hooves.