Cheersalis

by Prane

Chapter 3

Cheersalis

Every time Chrysalis was returning to the Spire she was greeted by Iqqel already waiting for her. It was peculiar – either her advisor had an excellent timing or was spending hours on the terraces anticipating the return of the queen. Probably the former, as the latter was against all logic and did not fit what Chrysalis knew about Iqqel.

“My Queen, the Equestrians have arrived early,” the changeling informed. “I’ve already sent for the representatives of the Seven Castes. They will be joining you and the envoy in the Spire ballroom shortly.”

“I’ve already had my share of Joinings today, thank you very much,” Chrysalis entered the obsidian palace and followed the corridors. Iqqel was trotting right behind her.

“Does it mean that your hunt was successful?”

“In a way, yes,” Chrysalis replied with a chuckle. “I incorrectly assumed that the Hive was in danger while its future has actually never been more secured,” she stopped upon reaching doors to the ballroom. “How do I look? And speak from your heart.”

“You look magnificent as always, my Queen.”

“Iqqel…”

The changeling shuffled her hooves in hesitation. Chrysalis stared at her, making it clear that she was expecting not a conventionality, but an honest reply. The advisor could only sigh to that.

“Very well, my Queen. Forgive me for what I’m about to say,” Iqqel said and took a deep breath. “Would you mind raising your head… and straightening up? Thank you… now please show me your charming smile… I meant charming, my Queen, not the seductive one.”

Keeping her head high, straight like a string and smiling in her own, specific smirk with her green eyes partially closed, Chrysalis shook her head and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Whatever do you mean? That’s just my regular smile.”

“I know that. I know,” Iqqel silently said, turning her head away to hide a slight blush from Chrysalis. She then cleared her throat and addressed the taller changeling. “Now, my Queen, it is time to show the ambassador that Equestria can benefit a lot from learning about our culture and customs. I’m convinced that you’ll be representing the affairs of the Hive in speech with the same passion you’re defending us in your deeds.”

Upon hearing that, Chrysalis felt pleasantly contented. She looked Iqqel in the eyes. There was something unspoken in that stare, something she knew she had already seen, perhaps quite recently, yet could not fully decipher… but as much as she’d love to ponder over it further, the envoy couldn’t be left waiting. She put a hoof on the doors to the ballroom and took a deep breath.

“Very well. I shall meet him now,” she pushed the doors.

“It is actually her, my Queen. I believe you two have already met,” she heard Iqqel’s one last piece of advice before entering the room.

The Equestrian ambassador turned out to be a well-known alicorn mare, and it was true that she and Chrysalis had already met – and more than just once. She was standing at the opposite end of the now exquisitely decorated Spire ballroom, guarded by two watchful white pegasi in golden armor who were standing out against the shining black floor like the stars on the night sky. Chrysalis had personal affairs with her, true, but she couldn’t allow that to jeopardize the chance of bringing a wealthier future for the Hive.

“Of all ponies Celestia could send, she is the ambassador?” Chrysalis muttered under her breath and paced across the ballroom. “Just my luck.”

At first she felt concerned – that one definitely was a world-class magic expert and things could go nasty if the other Chrysalis happened to drop by. But she was busy with caring for the Hive down in the cluster, so there was no need to worry. Remembering about keeping her posture straight and smiling in a charming way, Chrysalis approached the ambassador and put a right hoof to her chest in the universal gesture of respect.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, on behalf of the mighty Changeling Hive Chrysalis, I, Queen Chrysalis, bid you welcome. I do hope that our meeting today will prove beneficial to both of our nations, with mutual understanding being the most anticipated one.”

Instead of replying right away, Twilight sparkled up her horn and removed several bobby pins holding her coiffure, allowing it to fall into a disheveled state. Then, she employed her magic to rearrange her mostly sapphire mane into a different composition: slightly shorter, but equally elegant. As she was finishing, all of the bobby pins slid in between her hair, locking the configuration anew and leaving no spare pins.

The fact that Twilight did that actually really impressed Chrysalis. In the past, whenever a guest was arriving at the Hive it was considered polite if he altered his appearance in some way, usually by changing his accessories or hairstyle. This old custom was supposed to be a gesture of respect towards the ever-changing nature of the changelings, and Twilight had probably dug it up somewhere in one of her many libraries.

And Chrysalis did not see it coming! Unprepared, she was about to disregard the gesture completely, but she spotted Iqqel flying towards her carrying a silver plate with two green scrunches on it. Blessing the advisor in her mind, Chrysalis immediately lifted them and used to alter her appearance as well. She parted her mane into symmetrical bundles of hair which she then secured near her head with the scrunches into something one could call ‘pigtails’.

Twilight spoke only when Chrysalis was done.

“On behalf of the land of Equestria, reigned peacefully by the Princesses Celestia and Luna, as well as my own, I’d like to conduct gratitude for inviting us here,” she said. “Though I know that you weren’t expecting me in particular, I hope that it will not cause any inconveniences regarding the treaty.”

“Of course not, ambassador. We’re… happy to host you here.”

“Please, just call me Twilight,” the mare smiled.

“Twilight, then,” Chrysalis drawled, but then immediately rebuked herself in her thoughts. She smiled and softened her tone. “Twilight, since the official part is over and the welcome feast…” she looked at Iqqel who was flying behind the Equestrians – the changeling shook her head, “…is not ready yet, I suppose you have many questions about the Hive life. Shall we sit to discuss them?”

“Thank you,” Twilight replied and turned to her guards. “You may ease up now, friends,” she turned to Chrysalis again, joining the changeling at a formidable, round table made of quartz and onyx. “Yes, I actually made a list of several aspects that I’m eager to learn, but I thought maybe you could start by telling us more about this place?”

Describing your home while at your home. That sounded trivial enough.

“Ah, perfect,” Chrysalis said and waved her hoof around. “We are currently in a place called the Spire. For generations, it has been a duty of changeling queens to carve in it and to shape it. Each queen brought something new… I added several chambers myself. Just like the Altering you’ve performed with your mane, the Spire symbolizes the ever-changing nature of our society.”

Twilight nodded attentively.

“Very thoughtful. I was told earlier that this particular chamber is the ballroom?” she asked and pointed at the walls towards the banners. “I find your decorative arts very impressive. One of my friends would love to learn the technique in which they were made.”

Phew, Chrysalis had a hunch to bring those otherwise redundant decorations from the Vault. Points for the Hive!

“Thank you, Twilight, I'm glad that you're finding them interesting,” she said. “Yes, this is the ballroom, although it actually serves many purposes. It is also much smaller than the one in the Canterlot Castle which I happened to…” she halted for a while, searching for a proper word, “…visit, but I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying our traditional craft.”

“What about this work of art?” Twilight pointed up at the chandelier full of greenish and bluish crystals. “It provides light but from what I see those are not candles… but some kind of glimmering gemstones?”

“Very observant of you,” Chrysalis said. “This chandelier is composed of luminite crystals.”

“Luminite?” the mare seemed surprised. “I never heard of it. Is this some kind of ore, or a mineral?”

So far so good. According to the plan, the envoy was supposed to inquire about the luminite so Chrysalis could bathe in glory of the Hive’s technological prowess – it tasted even better due to the fact that it was Twilight Sparkle, the most studious and well-read of all ponies who was asking the question. Candles, bah!

“It is a mineral we mine which shines in the dark,” Chrysalis explained, unscrewing one of the crystals from the chandelier and sending it to Twilight. The mare grabbed it in her own magic and stared into it intently. “Interestingly enough, breaking or refining it does not cause it to lose its properties. We’re using chunks of unrefined luminite as lamps to light our homes and we purify it– ah, it seems that the Seven Castes have arrived!”

Twilight looked back to see seven changelings entering the ballroom. Overall they were nearly identical, but differed in the unique color of their eyes. They approached Chrysalis and bowed deeply, then formed a line along one side of the table.

“Ambassador Twilight,” Chrysalis said. “As you may already know, the changeling society is divided into castes. Please spare a minute to acquaintance yourself with those representatives, and they will explain what our Hive has to offer to Equestrians better than I ever would.”

And so the procession began. First a green-eyed representative of the Tender Caste told Twilight about his cluster’s revolutionary techniques of growing plants underground. Then a Thinker described what kind of research they would like to conduct in association with the Equestrians. Then came a Warrior, Speaker, Worker, Maker and finally a Feeder with red, glowing eyes.

In the meantime, the welcome feast was served for the Equestrians and the representatives of the castes, and Chrysalis had a minute to evaluate the progress so far. She had to admit that Twilight Sparkle was no longer the obnoxious filly that thwarted her plans those few years ago – around the appearance of the Secretariat Comet – but a rather skilled diplomat and a fine grown mare.

Apparently being Celestia’s prized student was more than just applying magic to the concept of friendship and vice versa, because Twilight had clearly accrued some practical skills as well.

At some point of the feast, after learning more about the Seven Castes, Twilight felt necessary to inquire more about the way changeling society was organized.

“It’s very impressive, it seems that everyone knows their place,” she said. “But I don’t quite catch your naming convention – they all seem similar, but at the same time different. Your advisor that welcomed us…” she turned to address the changeling standing by Chrysalis’ side. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to mispronounce it… Liliquel?”

“It is Lili-Iqqel,” Chrysalis corrected. “A changeling’s name consists of two parts: first half is dependent on the caste to which the given changeling belongs. You can also tell its gender from it,” Chrysalis nodded at Iqqel to continue.

“Every female changeling of the Speaker Caste, like me, will have ‘Lili’ in her formal name,” Iqqel explained. “It is ‘Lilo” for those who identify themselves as males, like representative Lilo-Varrex here,” she pointed at the changeling sitting at the other side of the table who nodded slightly.

“Excuse me, ‘identify’?”

“Changelings are essentially sexless,” Iqqel said. “We do not have distinction for ‘mares’ and ‘stallions’ based on anatomical features like you do. Some of us have more feminine characteristics while some resemble males, but in the end it is about choosing the gender we feel comfortable with. It all comes down to the Ceremony of Names, but I wouldn’t want to bore you, ambassador.”

“No, please, go on! This is actually quite fascinating!” Twilight said. “Oh, I have so many questions! Like what about the second part of your name, what is this Ceremony you’ve mentioned, how does it all connect to the caste system and the color of your eyes!” she turned to Chrysalis. “And why doesn’t your name follow that compound pattern?”

Iqqel seemed a bit confused after that sudden outburst of pony inquisitiveness and looked at Chrysalis questioningly, who just giggled and encouraged her to continue. With a smile on her face, the changeling eased up a bit, obviously content that she could be of help.

“A changeling is hatched without a name, gender or purpose in life. Its eyes are white and it is considered a youngling and referred to as a drone,” Iqqel began. “Through interactions with older changelings its personality is being slowly shaped. When a certain age is reached, the Ceremony of Names is being held. The changeling goes to the Hall of Names and spends a night there under the care of a Speaker, while the friends and acquaintances from the cluster are meditating outside and beseeching resolve,” she turned to Chrysalis. “My Queen, may I…”

Chrysalis was already there, filling a cup with orange juice and passing it to Iqqel, which she emptied in three big sips.

Comments

[Des92]

This old custom was supposed to be a gesture of respect towards the ever-changing nature of the changelings, and Twilight had probably dig it up somewhere in one of her many libraries.
had probably dig it up
Please take a look at this sentence.
Otherwise, really good story! The only thing I disapproved off was advertisement method. But whatever, it led me to a good tale. I especially liked your portrayal of the Hive. There are so many interesting concepts of it, yet very few are thought out well. Yours had its flaws, but was pretty decent nevertheless.

[AppleTank]

ooooo. Worldbuilding.

Orangey is crashing in next, I presume?

[DanielLC]

Changelings are essentially genderless

Should be sexless. Sex is physiological. Gender is psychological.

[Nyerguds]

Hee. Worldbuilding, and Twilight being Twilight. Nice!

[treegrowth]

I'm sorry, but; WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN!

when did Chrysalis wanted peace with Equestria, I'm not agenst it I just want to know when this came to pass.

[Csquared08]

guarded by two watchful white pegasi in golden armors

Singular?

I do love me some world-building.

But, uh, that's an odd place to end the chapter, I feel.

[Harmony Charmer]

I find this whole system regarding the changelings rather fascinating! (Whoa, do I sound like Twilight...) The Seven Castes are actually quite reasonable, and the who gender and sexlessness is pretty neat! It's nice to have a species with gender identification and sexual orientation that isn't persecuted or demeaned! I feel like humans could take a lesson from this.

[Black--Soul]

I love the the lore building Lets party

[Black--Soul]

5642938
So mutch i see only pros from Changeling Culture humans could learn from it but how about the negativ ones that sure to come?

[Black--Soul]

5101647
Pretty sure that was planed exactly like that! Queen is the main egg source if im not mistaken...