Something Legendary
"What's an Obedience spell?"
Twilight Sparkle was the first to gather her wits after that last little revelation. Over the course of the memory projection, they had demonstrated a broad spectrum of emotions. Horror, at Blattaria's treatment of other changelings; amazement, at the audacity and effectiveness of Cricket's attack (Shining Armor commented that, for somebuggy who was ten years old at the time, it was a decent strategy, but it would never have worked in Equestria); humor, at seeing Blattaria get a little comeuppance, but now, they were simply stunned to find that Cricket was the head of what could essentially be considered the first Changeling revolution in one thousand years.
In retrospect, Cricket supposed that the fact that he considered Portia to be the next queen of the hive probably had something to do with adding that last segment. Her approval and Chrysalis' being so closely intertwined, for radically different reasons, caused the two threads to merge, putting both into a single projection.
Celestia cleared her throat, then answered the youngest princess, saying, "It is a very old spell, Twilight, and one that is forbidden to all. It..." Here, the princess had trouble speaking, but gathered herself and continued, "It allows one who is in a position of authority over others to force their subordinates to do as commanded, regardless of what their subordinates want to do. It is a terrible violation of free will, and use of the spell is considered one of the most terrible abuses of authority, with the most severe of punishments allowed by law. Knowledge of it has been forbidden for over a thousand years, after it caused two terrible tragedies. Sombra used it, upon becoming King, to force his subjects to obey his will without resistance, even though there were hundreds of them, and only one of him. And..." The princess stopped abruptly, overcome with emotion. This was obviously a difficult topic.
"Your highness," Cricket said, interrupting her. The eldest princess looked up suddenly, and, after Cricket was certain he had permission to continue, said, "This is obviously a painful subject for you to speak of. Rather than telling it, perhaps it would be easier to show it."
Celestia turned thoughtful for a few seconds, then nodded. She cleared her throat, and said, with a friendly smile, "Very well. Thank you, Cricket." Then, in a much more formal tone, she said...
"This Is My Question: What Do You Know Of Your Kind's History?"
A familiar tingle ran up and down Cricket's skull, as the gem flared to life. A new window appeared above the changeling's head...
...
Cricket watched the battle unfold above him, and as he did so, he knew that things were going to take a bad turn: Lieutenant Halyomorpha Halys, last of Blattaria's lieutenants, was now fleeing the battle. His one hundred changelings, which were, up until now, doing a fantastic job holding off the sphinxian air force, were now without leadership. It looked as though he'd have to go up there and lead them personally...
Suddenly, with a fierce cry, a young changeling, couldn't have been any older than Portia, threw himself forward into the thick of the enemy formation, and managed, possibly through skill, probably through luck, to plant both back hooves into the face of the enemy commander, knocking him right out of the sky. The youngster then began barking orders at his fellow hatchlings, and more amazingly, they obeyed, even the squad leaders who were supposed to be his superiors. Within seconds, the tide was turning, and the sphinxes were fleeing. Meanwhile, the battle on the ground was just wrapping up: the nagas' hearts just weren't in it anymore, now that their air support was gone.
Cricket's head turned towards the lieutenant, who was still fleeing with pathetic slowness. His eyes narrowed, he said to Goliath, atop who's head he sat, "Would you mind bringing Lieutenant Halymorph Halys here to me? I'd like to have a word."
"Shur, Boss," the massive monster of a changeling responded, who then, with surprising accuracy, given the range, spat a line of adhesive that caught the fleeing aristo on the back leg, and then, with a negligent pull, brought the lieutenant in, screaming all the way. Cricket, now Commander of the swarm, was sick and tired of having to deal with Blattaria's leftover rubbish, was abrupt with the cowardly lieutenant: he leaped to intercept the changling, grabbing him in midair, setting both spinning. When Cricket was on top, and the lieutenant was on the bottom, he sprang in to the air... which had the consequence of sending the lieutenant screaming to the sands below. He hit hard, but the sand worked as a cushion, so while definitely rattled, he wasn't really hurt. When Cricket finally landed, hindlegs first, less than an inch from the lieutenant's head, he already knew exactly what he needed to say.
"Goliath, is an officer allowed to desert his subordinates on the battlefield?"
The mountain of muscle and carapace saluted and said, "SIR NO SIR!!!"
Cricket, falling to all fours, looked at the deserter with an expression of loathing. "Even Goliath knows that," he said, with a touch of amusement. "So obviously, it's not too complicated for even you to understand." He began to circle the lieutenant, feeling a bit of satisfaction at this moment. This was a moment long overdue. The only reason he'd left the former toadies of the former commander alone was because the queen wanted to see if they might prove to be at least slightly competent if given a proper leader. Given that all the others were now... dismissed, it was obvious that they had nobuggy to blame but themselves.
The soon to be... dismissed changeling was gibbering in fear, trying to give an excuse for his inexcusable behavior. Finally, tired of the coward's blathering, Cricket continued, saying, "I'd like to consider myself a lenient bug. I gave you an opportunity to prove you could be more than what my predecessor allowed you do be. But obviously, I was wasting my time. Goliath?" The giant's ears perked up in attention. "Throw out this garbage."
Goliath nodded, stuck his hoof against the lieutenant's side, and adhered. He lifted the coward up effortlessly, stretched like a baseball pitcher, did a windmill windup, then tossed the now "dismissed" officer over the horizon. The titan had a terrific pitch, and while the coward would survive the experience, he'd not enjoy his landing, nor his permanent banishment from the hive. No more extractions, no more permanent lessons as warnings to others, Cricket insisted that anybuggy who made a serious mistake would be "dismissed" and left to fend for themselves. All the better to separate himself from his predecessor. The queen, surprisingly, had agreed.
Watching the scene above, he took note of the young changeling who had helped turn the tide of battle back towards the changelings. He already knew who would replace the now "dismissed" lieutenant.
...
There was an impression of time moving quickly...
...
The new lieutenant looked so excited he might burst. Hornet, now properly named, had been told that there was a private ceremony for induction into the Queen's Arrow, of which he was now a member. Cricket kept silent about what would happen, but it was clear that the youngster idolized the commander, as well as all the rest of the group.
They were gathered together in a cave, waiting for the last light of the sun to fade.
When the last ray vanished, Portia cast a spell, igniting a firepit set in the center of the cave. At a gesture, Portia placed both her forehooves on the side of Hornet's head. In a surprisingly gentle voice, she said, "I'm going to cast a small spell on you. It won't hurt, I promise. I've done it for all the rest of the Queen's Arrow, even the Commander, and I promise you, they each thanked me for it afterwards. May I proceed?" The new lieutenant nodded, nervous, but eager.
Portia cast the spell. If it was anything like how it went for Cricket, it would feel like you were suddenly released from a cage you had never known you had been put inside of. A strange sense of freedom, elation. Given how Hornet's eyes lit up in wonder, the commander was probably right.
Cricket nodded, and Portia released her grip on the youngster's head. "It is time," Cricket said, his voice formal, "that you were told the true nature of the world. Portia, if you would?"
The former aristo nodded, and projected upon a somewhat flat wall an image. Cricket provided a voiceover to the image that was displayed. A beautiful city, seemingly made of precious gemstones was shown, although it was somewhat abstract in appearance. Small figures of Earth Ponies walked it's streets, as well as unicorns, and the sky was filled with pegasai.
"This is both a legend, and the truth, the origins of changelingkind. The story of the worst betrayal ever committed. Once, far to the north, there was a beautiful city of crystals. The ponies who lived there were happy and prosperous, protected by an ancient relic called the Crystal Heart. The residents of this majestic kingdom were called the Crystal Ponies, but not all of them were earthbound ponies, nor were all of them without magic: among their numbers were crystal unicorns, crystal pegasai, and they were ruled by a beautiful queen, a crystal Alicorn. A queen as beautiful as she was selfish and vain."
The image zoomed in, to the top of the palace at the center of the city. The pony at the top of the spire was quite lovely, even if it was an abstract image. Yet at the same time, there was something... off about her. Something wrong. She was tinged with shadow...
"For time out of mind, the realm was a place of joy and wonder... until one day, a black shadow fell across the land."
Suddenly, with frightening speed, a black shadow appeared, shaped like a unicorn. It snatched something out of the palace and ate it. The earth ponies in the picture began to cower in fear, trying to hide from the horror above them. However, the pegasai in the air looked angry, and the unicorns seemed determined. They were still prepared to fight.
"So terrible was his power, that many cowered in fear. He stole the Crystal Heart, and demanded that all bow before him. The Earth Ponies, unable to contend with his power without the relic, could not resist him. The pegasai, soldiers and warriors all, readied for battle, their courage overcoming their fear. The unicorns prepared their mightiest spells, their determination conquering the terror they felt... and then..."
Suddenly, the image changed, showing twelve ponies cloaked in shadow, and an alicorn.
"Their queen, and her twelve highest nobles, fearing the loss of their power and authority, should they lose the battle... betrayed their subjects."
The Alicorn and her cronies cast a spell, and suddenly, the unicorns and pegasai began to flee the city, leaving the earth ponies behind.
"The rulers of the land were too frightened to face the shadow, and chose to flee, taking all the military might and magic of the realm with them, to cover their retreat. Using forbidden magic, an arcane work known as the Obedience spell, they forced the empire's unicorns and pegasai to flee, in spite of their willingness to fight for the sake of their kingdom, as well as their defenseless brethren. Instead, they were forced to protect those who had betrayed them, betrayed everything that the city ever stood for. The shadow dared not pursue the fleeing ponies, else he risk the remaining ponies inside of the city reclaiming the heart he had stolen, and rise against him. However, he decided that, if he could not rule over the ones who fled, then they would forever feel the brand of his hatred."
The shadow opened it's mouth, and breathed a black mist upon the fleeing ponies. As it cleared, the ponies began to change, to twist into something else... something dark... something familiar... changelings.
"Their curse would not end, the shadow proclaimed, until the day that they came back to the Crystal Empire, and that so long as he held breath in his body, they would never be allowed to return. They would live, bereft of both hope and love, until the end of time, unless they could defeat him."
The image vanished. Cricket looked down at Hornet. Horror and understanding mingled upon the youngster's features. Cricket asked, in a gentle voice, "Do you understand what you've been shown?" Hornet nodded. "For more than two years, we have been traveling north, towards Equestria. Towards Canterlot, the queen believes. But our ultimate goal is further north. The queen has insisted upon taking personal charge of the operation. I have not objected. When she ruins everything, as she so often does, she will lose what support she has amongst the aristos. Her throne will topple, and we, as the only source of strength and unity in the hive, will take her place, with Portia as our new queen. From there, we will march north, until we find the Crystal Empire. And when we arrive, if the black shadow spoken of in legend still exists... we will strike him down with the strength that we have gained through a thousand years of fighting for survival. Fighting that both he and our queen have forced upon us; he through cruelty, fear, and malice, her through cowardice, vanity, and betrayal. We will need bugs with courage, determination, and heart to overcome the trials ahead. I believe you have all those qualities in abundance. I have freed you of the Obedience spell so that you can answer this question of your own free will: Will you join us, in forging a brighter future?" Cricket extended his hoof.
Without hesitation, Hornet took it.
With a smile, Cricket said, "Welcome to the Queen's Arrow, Hornet."
...
Cricket admitted, after the display ended, "Had we not been scattered to the four winds, the plan would have worked. The queen had lost a great deal of popularity, as she became more cruel, needlessly so. We ended up making many enemies on the way across the southern kingdoms, the great desert, and the badlands. Having to fight for every inch of land we crossed, the burden placed upon aristo and commoner both caused a schism to start to form, between the few loyalists to the throne, and the vast number of commoners and aristos who bore the brunt of the hard work needed to move forward. I've not seen a single changeling since the defeat, nor heard anything but rumors of where they may be. However, I hope that Portia, Hornet, Goliath, and the rest were able to gather the rest of the hive together, and that they're safe, waiting for some sign that it's okay to travel north."
For a moment, nopony spoke. Then Shining Armor said, a little guiltily, "Great. Now I feel REALLY bad about punching you earlier."
Cricket chuckled, and said, "You feel bad? My jaw is still sore."
That got a few chuckles from the assembled princesses. After a moment, Celestia spoke. "After this interview is over, we have a great deal to discuss, both about your race's past, and their future. However, we should finish the business at hoof first. I believe that there is still one more question to be asked before we adjourn to discuss your application for citizenship. Cadance, whenever you are ready, feel free to proceed..."
Stats
Page generated in 0.03 seconds
Total duration
1,009 users online
1,823,951 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Next chapter up. Serious, but don't worry, I plan many, many daws in the next couple chapters.
Yay! How long do you think you can keep this exemplary pace of writing up?
So should Portia bring the hive North to the Crystal Empire, what becomes of Cadance's position? In fact does she have relation to the Changelings? (Expanded material, in the form of a published book, which the shows writers have confirmed as canon) point to Cadance having been found alone as a Pegasus, and then ascending to Alicorndum.
So who's going to be the Princess/Queen/King in the North?
3753323
Let me be frank: after this story is finished, I am going to take a break. The sequel will be kinda long, too, but I may take a slower pace with it. My muse, who occasionally gets on my backside with a cat-o-nine-tails and tells me CREATE CREATE CREATE is starting to run out of energy, and is just whispering now. Which is good, in a way. I have a bunch of video games that I need to get beaten so I can trade them in for new games when they come out. Don't worry, though: I may also do a series of short stories in the Mole Cricket-Verse, regarding the adventures of the Queen's Arrow while the hive was separated.
3753592
To tell you the truth, regarding Portia, she's not really the queenly type. I mean, she'd serve as figurehead, for Cricket's sake, but only until it was no longer necessary. I'd like to think that, if given the choice, most of the changelings (in this little universe of mine and out of it) would choose to live a normal life like a pony, if given the choice between that and living like a changeling.
And regarding expanded materials: I haven't read them, so I can't say yes or no.
3753685
Oh, my apologies... I didn't intend for my statement to seem so demanding or enforcing a canon, just didn't know how it influenced it due to the cowardly queen previously and how the bloodline ended up, so I used the only canon I knew since I don't have your fanon view on the matter, my apologies.
3753699
No, it's quite alright. I realized I was a little harsh there, so I adjusted it. It's been a little bit of a long day. Anywho, in regards to Cadance's relation to the prior queen, until more info comes out in the show, I'm not gonna go into it. Worst comes to worst, I'd say that she's the coward queen's estranged daughter, if any relation existed at all.
3753658
Okay Frank, that's totally cool!
3753715
You can take the canon origin: an abandoned pegasi, raised by Earth Ponies, who protected their village from the curse of the witch Prismia and was rewarded by Harmony ascending into an alicorn.
3755397
In a universe with talking ponies, magic, and impossible bug creatures that eat emotions... the thing that gets the most attention is the fact that Cricket's number happens to match that of the most famous phone # in the world.
I can't wait for the sequel!
3755993 didn't even realise that
Y'know, now that I've made the connection, I can't not see it:
Cricket is Sam Vimes/Captain Carrot
Goliath is Detritus
Portia is Angua
And so on. The resemblance to the Watch is uncanny. The dynamic is almost identicle.
3762259
Oh god I cant unsee it now. Its so true.
And Blattaria is Lord Rust.
so who was the one that used the obedience spell?
Started out a bit weak, but the creativity for their origin story made up for it. I confess, I had, as an earlier commenter also guessed, that the Changelings would turn out to be Flutterponies, as several other authors have done. I was surprised to see otherwise, and hope to read that he's reunited with his buddies.
Hmm... The crystal ponies seemed to remember their rulers rather fondly.
Then again, while preparing the jousting presentation, Fluttershy and RD found armours with wing holes, despite all the citizens being earth ponies.
Also, since all ideas repeat endlessly and reflect in each other, I'm instantly reminded of a different fic, where Twilight used Sombra's version of the Obedience spell to give DIscord a magical lobotomy.
3753685
Does the Cricketverse include the events of the official comic's "Return of Queen Chrysalis" story arc? I'm guessing no, but I'm really curious. If you haven't read it yet, I think you might enjoy it whether you choose to incorporate it or not. It's the first four issues of the IDW comic series.
... I find it extremely hypocritical that Celestia talks about mind control being such an atrocity, a violation of free will... and then proceeds with a spell that is forcing out memories of someone, without their control about what these memories will entail and whether they want them to be seen or not... pretty much an equal violation of free will, if just slightly below it...
I know I said I decided to overlook it, but... this is pushing it... with Goliath as the one doing the pushing...
Still, the story sucks in... I can only continue.
Just so you know, "pegasai" is not a word. You may want to correct it.
3907871
Cricket is the commander of an army that invaded Equestria, and is now requesting citizenship in that same country, in large part to attempt to live peacefully rather than continuing to fight. He volunteered for this, and it turns out to be critically important for his people as well, given the revelations in this chapter. And it works really well as a storytelling device.
"dismissed"
-Is the similarity to the specifics of how our main character handled this supposed to echo what happened in Canterlot for irony?
4160801 It's not explicitly stated that the device was required or optional either. Merely that it would be "a good idea".
So I'm going to assume he could have refused, but saw the logic in allowing it.
Sees odd to me; the flashbacks of his rule showed ponies in chains.
Uh, then it wasn't Sombra who cast it
Ohey. The changeling you were so angry at was on the verge of starting a revolution to dethrone the evil queen who's the one you're actually angry at
Remarks and corrections:
> Cricket, now Commander of the swarm, was sick and tired of having to deal with Blattaria's leftover rubbish, was abrupt with the cowardly lieutenant
Should be "Cricket, now Commander of the swarm, [who] was sick and tired (...)"
> he leaped to intercept the changling
chang-ling? That some kind of oriental changeling?
> Small figures of Earth Ponies walked it's streets
"walked [its] streets"!
Whenever you use "its" or "it's", simply replace it with "it is" to see if you're using the correct one.
> crystal pegasai
> However, the pegasai in the air
> The pegasai, soldiers and warriors all
> the unicorns and pegasai began to flee the city
> forced the empire's unicorns and pegasai to flee
It's spelled "pegasi".
5185275
You need to remember that Sombra is the kind to try and break any remnant of free will. The chain are either to show the audience his cruelty or to emphasize to the crystal ponies that their will is no longer their own.
5941011
Seems to me like it'd only hinder his already-will-less slaves in their assigned tasks.
Crystal ponies. Well, not as bad as flutterponies, I suppose. But why do people insist on using this trope, anyway? Is it so bad that changelings look like insects? This is that stupid Beauty and the Beast message where ugliness is a curse, and in order to be pure, you must be beautiful in the eyes of the common world. This is a seriously backwards message, and changelings look fine the way they are, anyway. They're cool, but also cute in a way. But stories like this are basically saying that changelings are wrong in their existence and should be altered, when in another of your stories, they were able to get along with ponies simply by removing a bad leader, which felt much better in the end. This 'we must be beautiful' thing just feels hollow and pointless. Heck, even Cricket right now is getting along fine, so the story has already negated its own message.
While they have not lost their memories, I can't help but find a certain soundtrack fitting.
I think it fits...