• Published 29th Oct 2013
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Memoirs in Ink and Blood - Corah Il Cappo



She betrayed us. She mislead us. She imposed her rule upon us. We rose in defiance. Sequel to The Monster We Made

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Locust

Changelings were a vile race.

They fed on emotion, impersonated loved ones, and were known to suck the land dry of love and harmony within moments of their arrival.

Changelings swore allegiance to no banner or creed or nation. The only loyalty they had was to their hive, and above that, loyalty to their Queen. Some questioned whether or not the changelings were even smart enough to think when separated from the mind of the Queen. I for one, knew that they were. A lone changeling was not an intelligent creature by any means, but they could survive. If nothing else, they were resilient little bastards.

Yet, here I was, standing directly outside a changeling hive (alongside Discord no less) awaiting an audience with their queen. I could feel the millions of glassy eyes boring into me. I could hear the clicks and clacks of carapaces shuddering in movement mingled with the buzzing of ribbed wings. My nostrils flared at the lingering stench of decay that the hive extruded.

I came to offer peace.

Twilight had all of ponykind at her back. The royal guard would support her, so long as their captain remained steadfast. The number of ponies enrolling in the guard was sure to skyrocket now that tragedy had struck. Cries for revenge always made good battle cries. Celestia and I had rallied the ponies against Discord in this way. They would come for us, they would fight, and we would die.

We needed an army.

A low hiss reached my ears. There before me stood Chrysalis, the Changeling Queen, in all of her rotting splendor. Like a snake she slithered towards me, her eyes glowing in the dark of the night. Her glassy wings twitched as she moved, buzzing at even the slightest movement.

"You reek with the scent of a love freshly lost. Why have you come here, Moon Princess? To tantalize me?"

I swallowed hard. Her very presence stirred something deep inside me. I felt a near primal urge to strike down this loathsome creature where she stood.

"We've come to speak with you, Chrysalis. We have an offer for you."

She wasn't expecting that.

"We?"

Her gaze turned to the side, where Discord stood, absentmindedly doodling a mustache on one of her changelings. He waved happily, then went back to his work with a childish giggle.

Chrysalis frowned. I watched her stiffen slightly, standing up to her full height.

"Tell me Princess, what is this 'offer' you claim to bring? Is this Celestia's sick attempt at pacifying me like she has Discord?"

I shot back with a glare that could have bored through iron.

"Celestia is dead."

She wasn't expecting that. In an instant, the hive seemed to hush. The Changeling was silent, so I went on.

"Celestia is dead, and so is Cadence. Twilight Sparkle killed them both. She killed them both in cold blood, and nearly did the same to me. She-"

Before I could go on, I was interrupted.

"This deal already sounds droll. What could you possibly offer me that I cannot go to Canterlot and take? After all, almost everypony that opposed me the last time is dead. What can you offer me that Canterlot doesn't?"

I had prepared for that exact question.

"Protection."

She laughed uproariously at that. Her cackles echoed through the empty forest, accompanied by the lifeless attempt at laughter that her changelings produced.

"Protection from what?"

I was unfazed.

"I can protect you from Twilight. Do you really think she will let something like you exist even near her kingdom? Nay, she would hunt you down like an animal, then cut you down without a second thought. She did it to my sister, she did it to Cadence, and she did it to her friends. I ask that you side with myself and Discord. Lend us your aid and help us dethrone this tyrant."

She looked pensive for a moment, tapping a porous hoof against her chin.

"What makes you think she's strong enough to defeat me?"

There was a short burst of laughter from Discord, who had until now remained mostly silent. He looked at her with a condescending sneer, still chuckling.

"Oh Chrissy, you're a riot! You just barely managed to out-muscle Celestia when you invaded Canterlot, and you think you can take on Twilight?"

His expression suddenly hardened.

"I was barely able to hold my own against her. I daresay that she would have killed me if I remained and tried to fight her. Really think about that. When you have someone as powerful as me, who can do things like this..."

With a mere snap of Discord's fingers, every single changeling in the area suddenly changed into butterflies. He clicked his tongue, and the butterflies became elephants. Smirking, he clapped his hands, and the elephants became little piles of chocolate frosted cupcakes. Discord grabbed a pastry and popped it in his mouth. He chuckled slightly, then gave a shrill whistle, reverting the cupcakes back to changelings.

"Just think. I can do all that, and she still was more than a match for me. What hope do you have to stand against her?"

The look in her eyes was desperate. She knew what she had to do, and yet every fiber of her being urged against it. I felt her pain. My instincts told me that I should never trust her. That I should hate her. That I should crush her like the insect she was...and yet, my logic told me otherwise. We needed one another.

She reached out her hoof to me, and I took it in mine. Then she smiled.

It was a small smile, and not a very pretty one by any means. Yet she smiled nonetheless.

I wasn't expecting that.