Summary: Bitaly Last Part
OUTLINE
More Sweetie Diplomacy
- Cerci talks to Sweetie
- Sweetie thinks about what to do
Tries diplomacy with other hives, 1v1
over several days, Sweetie does research
- like “notes” or “Sweetie’s notes”
- has the meetings
- Cerci and Sever return
- Svikja (Blue)
- Olinca (Brown)
- Nkosazana (Purple)
the Spy Situation
- While researching (or elsewise) Sweetie is around when Urda (Red) is captured and accused of spying
Sweetie tries one last time to convince the quorum to make peace, using some of her discoveries (like Pupa’s ideas) as proof
- but the quorum is either deadlocked or turns against her
- So she releases Urda with her notes, telling her to give them to Lady Belle
- But Sweetie is captured soon after
Lady Belle Attacks
- Sweetie is being held while the others decide what to do with her
- They’re getting ready to move to another location when advance forces of Lady Belle attack, trapping them
- Fighting breaks out
- Pupa lets Sweetie out, hoping that together they can find a way to stop before this becomes a slaughter
Climax
- Cerci and Lady Belle clash
- Lady Belle reveals her void form, the result of her corruption at the end of TPC
- Svikja betrays Cerci
- Sweetie and Pupa arrive, too
- Sweetie-Lady Belle-Cerci-Pupa climax
. . .
. . .
“A moment, if you will?” Cerci was less than subtle in drawing Sweetie aside, nudging the smaller ‘changeling’ [whatever you prefer to indicate narrative sarcasm] slightly, much as a pony would in the same situation. The quorum was dispersing, the Princesses going their various ways, returning to their hives to speak to their sisters and subjects.
“Just what was that back there?” she asked, before Sweetie could answer her. She didn’t sound angry, just concerned and even a little upset. No doubt, as Sweetie had already learned, she hadn’t expected the new Princess she’d just rescued to argue against her or oppose her, much less in public or in quorum.
Knowing Cerci’s temperament, Sweetie considered her reply carefully.
"I'm just worried," she confessed, seeing Cerci’s eyes narrow suspiciously. "I've grown close to a few changelings here: you and your sister, your nymphs... I fear that outright hostilities when we're in such a vulnerable position is going to ultimately doom the whole changeling race. We’re the last changelings, aren’t we? The last ones we know about?”
She glanced at the council table. "It's frustrating because I know laying down and doing nothing is not an option, but I had hoped we could at least attempt to reach some sort of peace that doesn't involve genocide or the possible death of hundreds others." She looked up at Cerci. "I'm not trying to move against you, but I do want to do the best I can for all changelings here."
“That’s fear talking,” Cerci chided her, narrowing her serpentine green eyes from a curious squint to a genuine glare. “But think about what ‘peace’ would mean--” she spat the word “--it would be the end of us as a people! The ponies would not need to trample our eggs to destroy us. They would do it with soft words and helping hooves. How could we feed? How could we breed? Our very existence is a threat to them!”
“Do not forget, sister, never forget...!” Cerci leaned closer, until she was almost nose to nose with the smaller Sweetie Belle. “They hate[i/] us. In their bones they hate us. And you would do well to hate them back for what they did to your hive! No. Too much blood has been spilled and above all else, we must be masters of our own fate.”
She rested a hoof on Sweetie’s shoulder, an amiable peace-making gesture as Cerci’s features softened. It was an eerily pony-like gesture from a creature that claimed to hate equestrians. “Do you understand?”
Sweetie nodded sullenly, looking down at the floor and biting her lip. There was too much riding on this to just give up, but what choice did she have? Either she found a way or she'd have to betray some-pony. Either way, if she picked one side or the other, Sweetie knew this world well enough to know there would be nasty consequences even if she didn’t have to remain to see them.
“Can I count on you?” Cerci asked, a little more pressingly. “To stand with me?”
Sweetie said nothing, not turning away, but also not looking at the Green Princess. "I'll do my best," she muttered.
. . .
'So what do I do now?' Sweetie thought to herself sullenly as she made her way to her hive’s creche. 'The direct approach didn't work, and none of them were willing to stand with me.' She kicked a small rock out of the way and took a deep breath. 'But why?'
The thought bothered her more than her lack of success. From her conversations with the brown and blue queens, she had been sure they were not too fond of Cerci's plans, so why hadn't they stood up when they had the chance just now? Did she need to talk to the others first? Make them swear their allegiance to her?
Sweetie shook her head at the thought. That would only guarantee Cerci's anger and most likely Sever's rabid response. A direct challenge wasn’t likely to work, at least not from the get-go. But then... how to approach this?
By the time she found her way back to her Princessly lair, she’d mentally dissected the quorum meeting and assembled a little list in her head of potential points of failure. Most of those points of failure shared a certain commonality. Grudgingly, Sweetie was forced to admit her own inexperience in dealing with situations like this.
Back in her home world, she’d never been one for playing school politics, a game already slanted in one Diamond Tiara’s favor. Her own close friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, bickered often enough but didn’t have any sort of pecking order. It wasn’t like Apple Bloom tossed down a flag of challenge when they formed the group, demanding to lead them or whatever. She just fit in smoothly, organically. It was a perfect, basically natural fit. Not like this at all. Not really.
Twilight’s apprenticeship had also been essentially drama-free. Sweetie knew that sometimes when a unicorn had multiple apprentices there could be trouble—, Rarity had said as much once—, but it just wasn’t an issue. Twilight didn’t have other apprentices, aside from showing Apple Bloom and Scootaloo some tricks to help them get their cutie marks. The lack of drama, again, was proving to be a problem now! It didn’t help!
Not surprisingly, in many of the dimensions she had jumped to mares in power, like Nightmare Moon, did not concern themselves with petty politics. In all their hundreds of loops even Blueblood had glossed over how he did what he did. Sweetie sat still, closed her eyes, and thought back. How had Blueblood convinced Fleur to teach her Elementi? How had he talked his way into introducing her to Sapphire Shores, or Octavia, or Vinyl Scratch? How had he gotten access to the Sparkles’ personal residence to meet Cadance? How had he talked those Archmages into casting the age spell on her that one (totally awesome) time?
Was it just slapping someone over the head with a bag of bits? Yes. Yes it was.
Knowing him, she would well imagine the Prince just knocking someone out by dropping a bag of money on their head. That was probably how he got the Archmages to do some shady things for him. And for her. But it didn’t quite explain the less easily corruptible types like Fleur. What had he said before? That Fleur was also spying for him, that her family owed his? Yet Fleur definitely loved Fancypants... and she had said she was doing it to help him, and to try and bring the two stallions closer. How did that work? Was Fleur playing both sides?
Both sides... for her own end... maybe?
Blueblood suspected that Fancy was a potential rival. He felt threatened by his popularity and influence in Canterlot. Fancy, from what Sweetie recalled, had a grudge against Blueblood because the Prince had blocked some of his commercial projects or something. In the middle of the two stubborn stallions was Fleur, in just the right spot to ease the worries of both of them. To give them both some of what they wanted, and in the process, get what she wanted, too.
‘Hmm.’ Sweetie thought on that, and on Rarity.
It was no secret her big sis had a way with stallions. The mechanics of a lot of it was murky: batted eyes and sweet talking guys, things Sweetie had not paid much attention to at the time. Yet Rarity always seemed to be adept at getting what she wanted. Was that part of the process, too?
Rarity. Fleur. Blueblood. Fancypants.
Celestia. Luna.
There were similarities there. Could it be that the trick was working with others, understanding the obstacles, understanding the variables and elements involved, working around the ones that couldn’t be co-opted, and finding mutual ground with the others. Sweet talking wasn’t possible without knowledge. Compromise wasn’t possible without information. The more Sweetie thought about it the more sure she became, and the more she thought Twilight would feel the same way.
She needed more information. Only then could she understand how to bring others to her side without them even seeing it as ‘her side.’ Instead, it would become ‘their side’ because they had a vested interest in it! Her thoughts went back to the only suggestion she'd made that they didn’t hesitate accepting: getting meat from gryphon traders.
“The ponies would not need to trample our eggs to destroy us; they would do it with soft words and helping hooves. How could we feed? How could we breed? Our very existence is a threat to them.”
Food was an issue... it made sense, too. Changelings worried about their next meal just like ponies did, except they couldn’t just go to a market or to Sweet Apple acres for a bite to eat. They lived hoof-to-mouth. It was a good place to start, and with that realization, came a flood of questions. Once that necessitated a quick jotting down in her notebook.
First on the list: were greens only able to eat emotions from ponies?
This required more data. It was time to channel The Inner Twilight.
The following section was essentially Sweetie's observations. The plan was to either write them down and post the diary "pages" as pictures. Sweetie would now spend some time looking into the different cultures of the changelings from This Platinum Crown, figuring what they specialized in, traditions, and what they liked to focus. Her honest interest would endear her to most of the queens. The Diary entry below was written by Capn as an example of what we could/should write.
SWEETIE’S NOTES [Sec A]
OBSERVATIONS
(compilation) [date: day 6]
GREEN HIVE
(Biscione)
> Hornet is totally crushing on Spiracle.
[reproduction][hierarchy]
>> sub-observation: changeling relationships must pass approval with the Princess.
>> Pupa: Pupa explained that changeling males are controlled by the Princess.
Biscione hierarchy very rigid. Legacy of Chrysalis or innate socio-political structure? (unknown) Princess controls all aspects of behavior in the hive through reproductive monopoly. Have identified only two males in the green hive: Spiracle and Coxa. Coxa is an older male, previous generation (Gen 3, see: [Exuvia] see: Changeling Genealogy Chart, fig 3.2), darker coloration, shorter horn. Spiracle is younger male, current generation (Gen 5, see [Tagma], see: Changeling Genealogy Chart, fig 3.2), lighter coloration, glossy chitin, prominent horn. Male changelings possessed of thicker barrel, secondary sexual characteristics grossly similar to those of equestrians.
Tentative analysis (fig 3.2) indicates that Coxa is Cerci’s uncle and Spiracle her nephew. Both are subordinate to her and both are considered her mates. Changelings seem to have very different concept re: familial relations than normal sapient species previously encountered. Have spoken to both males briefly. Nature of subordinate position due to ‘royal jelly.’ Hierarchy enforced by sexual selection and pheromones. Princess is primary source of all eggs and nymphs, but establishes secondary sources. Sister-surrogates? Fascinating. TAG: Need more info. The possibilities for this are kinky. I mean informative. Of comparative cultures and biologies and stuff.
Conclusion: Hornet and Spiracle made out three times over the last five days. see: fig 3.4. Observed: Kissing. Petting. No copulation. >:( (will continue to observe.)
Additional note: Pupa has suggested I push my research in “other directions.”
. . .
‘It's good to be the Princess,’ Cerci thought to herself as Coxa groomed her wings. As the most civilized of the changeling hives to comprise the swarm, Chrysalis’ Own, the greens had fittingly adopted a meticulous regimen of preening and grooming. It served a practical purpose as well: good hygiene led to good health, good health led to stronger drones, stronger drones created a stronger hive.
“Oh yes, that’s the spot,” she murmured as her mate’s nibbling reached the base of her left wing’s humeral angle. His saliva was cool on her chitin and a natural anti-microbial. And, yes, it felt sinfully good sometimes, too, but that was of course just a side effect.
“Princess,” Coxa said, nudging her with his nose.
“Hmm? You’re not finished yet,” Cerci slurred, coming down from a bit of a grooming-high. She batted her eyes and noticed the look on his face. “What?”
“We don’t have any potted plants, do we?” he asked, pointing over to a dark green azalia bush in a corner of the chamber. “Was that here before?”
The two changelings stared at the totally inconspicuous and not suspicious in any way bush.
“Pupa’s always moving those things around,” Cerci grumbled and closed her eyes as she relaxed. “Back to it, Coxa.”
“As you command, Princess.”
‘Nature is so fascinating,’ the bush whispered to itself.
. . .
> Changeling flight (<) Pegasus flight
[development][combat ability]
>> sub-observation: green changelings are the most adept flyers and practice frequently in the open vaulted area of the mine.
>> Pupa: Pupa has explained that changelings must learn to fly, just as ponies do.
The mechanics behind flight in changelings are only superficially similar to that in pegasi (and, I assume, alicorns). Wing structure very different. See appendix B, sketches. Appear to have lower top speed, similar or reduced maneuverability, no ability to interface with or manipulate cloud-matter. Have not observed any others with ability to use partial-metamorphosis and actively alter wing structure aside from Cerci. Unique mutation? Adaptation? Cerci’s nymphs too young to indicate if trait will be inherited.
. . .
“Since we’re the most nimble flyers, green changelings have always made up the bulk of the swarm’s air support,” Pupa explained, wings buzzing as she hovered just out of reach. Sweetie nodded, watching her move and then observing the other changelings in the vaulted underground chamber.
Green and Yellow changelings were in the air, practicing. The Golden changelings were ungainly in their normal forms but those that took the form of manticores or, in one case, a scorpicore, were much more dexterous. The greens likewise seemed to improve in ability when they took on the form of a pegasus pony. It helped them fly, yes, but it didn’t give them innate pegasus magic unless they had previously imprinted on and taken on the identity of a pegasus pony.
“During the Battle of Canterlot, Princess Instar personally led a sortie of more than a thousand changeling air cavalry against the forces of Cloudsdale... including the Wonderbolts and their Captain, Spitfire,” Pupa described the events of that day with more than a little pride. Instar was her great aunt, after all. Sweetie knew this also had to be the battle over Ponyville that had left its scars on Diamond Tiara and her counterpart here. To Pupa, though, it was just history in a book.
“That was at the height of our power, of course,” the little changeling recalled with a shrug. “Anyway, are you sure you don’t want to try transforming into something with wings? Pegasi are super easy once you get the skin right!”
Sweetie smiled anxiously. “Uhm, no, that’s alright, thanks.”
. . .
> Changeling Feeding Habits
[reproduction][development][hierarchy]
>> Green Hive changelings capture ponies and keep them in a form of suspended animation via cocooning (see: cocooning, Appendix D). Suspended equestrians are fed on while unconscious, using magic-assisted emotional extraction, a form of hybrid equestrian-changeling magic. Observed changelings changing appearance while feeding. Instinctive reaction? Autonomic reflex? Assume: taking form of a loved one during feeding. Analysis of feeding habits: three (3) earth ponies (1M 2F), two (2) pegasi (2F), zero (0) unicorns. Preference for earth ponies as prey species? Need more statistically relevant sample size for proper data distribution.
>> Pupa: Interestingly, Pupa seems uncomfortable with the forays to the surface to kidnap victims. More reticent than normal to discuss this topic. Will have to investigate.
Changeling feeding here is different compared to my own home reference dimension. I think it must be due to the degree to which these changelings have adapted equestrian magic combined with the desire to reduce their ‘hoofprint’ on the surface and reveal their location. Equestrians are not held for more than four days and are returned in what can only be called a fugue state. How the changelings manage this, I have not been able to determine. The pony is largely unharmed by the experience, at least superficially (I have not been able to isolate one to study the effects in full), but the amount of “love-meal” gained by this process is clearly not great. Cerci’s changelings are not starving but are also not entirely content.
Conclusion: If I can find out more, or find a way to improve the process, maybe I can find a way to solve the problem of changelings feeding on ponies. But that still leaves the problem of changeling imprinting. Further research required.
. . .
The changeling pantry actually wasn’t as macabre as Sweetie had first imagined. The changeling emotional diet was almost entirely equestrian but the ponies were kept unconscious and in storage within tough, waxy cocoons. Currently, the pantry held five individuals in five separate cocoons.
Each cocoon was securely fashioned to an alcove in the wall and the Green Hive kept meticulous written records of who they fed on, who fed on them and when, and for how long. To feed, a changeling needed to write her name down at the front, where a green changeling secretary handled all the organization and paperwork. They then had to sign again on a clipboard hanging next to the cocoon. It was all very... methodical. Sweetie couldn’t help but think that Twilight herself would’ve approved, if not for the whole pony-napping and emotion-eating thing.
“If a pony disappears too often it becomes suspicious,” Pupa explained, showing Sweetie the ropes in case she wanted to come by for an emotional nosh or nibble at the changeling deli. “While it is tempting to repeatedly abduct the same ponies to feed off of, a rotation is a safer feeding model. Before I was born, Cerci and my mother were part of a different group of survivors. They got caught because they kept picking up the same ponies again and again. We’ve resolved to be more cautious.”
“And nopony remembers any of this?” Sweetie wondered, looking up at one of the cocooned earth ponies. She looked like she was sleeping beneath the transparent shield of the cocoon.
“Mostly,” Pupa answered, waving a chitinous hoof. “Sometimes they remember enough to think they were abducted by aliens...” She snorted and laughed. “Or humans. Imagine that!”
“Imagine that,” Sweetie agreed, laughing a little less heartily.
. . .
> Authority (=) flank kicking
[hierarchy] [combat ability]
>> If you thought Diamond Tiara was a Queen Bee, she’s got nothing on Cerci. All the other greens I talked to either thought she was the best thing since whipped cream or they were too scared to say anything at all except that they follow “the will of the Princess.”
>> Pupa seems to admire her aunt but still disagrees with her on a few things. Her higher degree of individuality has to be due to her status as a potential future Princess. No surprise there: princesses have more freedom of thought than drones, just not as much as a queen or alpha-princess like Cerci (which might be the reason Cerci suffers my attitude; she does treat me a little like an older sister would treat a younger one).
Apparently Cerci is a badflank, too. I guess that makes sense, I saw her do some wild stuff when we escaped the prison. I heard that if a Princess becomes stronger than a Queen then she kills the queen and eats part of her. Gross. She’s got that partial-metamorphosis thing plus unicorn magic, and she’s no dummy. Wish I knew more about what she’s capable of.
. . .
“Who were the most powerful changelings?” Pupa repeated the question, rolling her green eyes as she considered the question. The two of them were going over the books in the small changeling library and coming up with notes on stories to tell the nymphs. The subject turned to history, specifically changeling history.
“And how does Cerci stack up to the competition?” Sweetie asked with a sly nudge.
“Aside from the Ichchadhari, who were more monster than changeling, Chrysalis herself was probably the most powerful,” Pupa speculated, tapping her nose with her hoof as she thought on the question a moment more. “Queen Freyja was probably also up there while she was mimicking Chrysalis. She died, but there’s no shame losing to an immortal alicorn’s five-alliteration mega spell.”
“Then there was Tlanextli in her Tatzlwurm-body,” the young changeling princess continued, spreading her forelegs wide. Sweetie still found it surreal sometimes to imagine this changeling was Chrysalis’s great granddaughter. The family resemblance was there in all but personality. “She was huge! But does that even count when her real body was so tiny and helpless?”
Pupa smiled when she returned to more familiar territory. “After Chrysalis you’d have to mention her first generation of Princesses: Instar, Exuvia and Ecdysis. Instar was the oldest and the most ferocious. Exuvia was the more cunning and skilled in magic. Ecdysis was the most dutiful and unrelenting. Instar took on the entire roster of Wonderbolts and Ecdysis held off the legions of the Terre Rare and Lady Rarity’s Diamond Dogs. They were all very powerful! Hard to believe they were my ancestors!”
She looked away, narrowing her eyes. “I’m not very strong myself, but Cerci says my mother had powerful magic, like Exuvia. And Cerci... she’s the strongest living changeling, I think. Not only does she know unicorn magic, she’s also mastered transformation to a degree no one ever has before, even Chrysalis.”
. . .
> Have I mentioned that they really don’t like ponies? LOL
[hierarchy]
>> Maybe sampling bias. They depend completely on ponies to survive. Is it anger at their need or more? Frustration?
>> Pupa: She’s been more willing to talk about it. No surprise the war didn’t go well for the changelings. Interesting though: they’re afraid of some ponies, too, especially Twilight Sparkle. The loss of their queens completely upended their social structure and organization.
Trying to gauge the opinion of the ‘changeling on the street’ is pretty tough. First of all: no streets. Once you get over that, the drones are kind of insular. Changelings groups tend to stick mostly to themselves. They also parrot what their Princess or Queen says. That individuality problem again. Hierarchical compulsion, pheromones, sexual selection. Drones can ascend to Princess or even Queen status under some conditions, but it seems Princesses are basically selected from birth.
Males also selected from birth.
Universal negative opinion towards ponies, pretty much, but Pupa and some that defer to her seem less adamant about it. Must be element of coercion or ‘trickle-down’ to account for groupthink. Impossible to isolate drones from queen/princess. Can’t test theories yet.
Conclusion: only way to push for peace is to go through the Princesses or near-Princess rank changelings. Unfortunate. Green hive probably lost cause right now. Focus on other hives?
. . .
**!!**
The Red Hive of changelings, also known as the Zilant, were clearly the hive that tried the hardest to appear intimidating. Which Sweetie found a little strange, since the only ones they’d ever need to intimidate here were other changelings. The quarters of the Red Queen Hyacinth were adorned with red and gold: Hyacinth’s room was also a trophy room to display the spoils of war, carted from hide-out to hide-out over years and generations since their landing on Equestrian shores.
Golden trinkets hung from hooks and pointed spiked jutting out of the walls and floor. Sweetie saw horn-rings and necklaces, scraps of dresses and ruined armor, a collection of teeth in a cloth bag from a griffin along with the upper half of a beak... this last one Hyacinth herself had to take out to show her guest and fellow Princess. She held the ferocious, hooked beak in her emaciated hoof, dutifully recalling the history of the trophy.
“Not all of Equestria’s nobles are equine,” the weak Princess said, showing the beak to Sweetie so she could take a closer look. She tried not to balk too obviously at the gesture. “The griffins are especially fierce. This one belonged to a noble of clan Redwing, Gloria Redwing she was called. A deadly foe. She was slain leading a raid on the royal gardens.”
“Very impressive,” Sweetie lied, glancing away from the beak and trying hard not to imagine it attached to somegriffin’s face. From what she had heard of the Battle of Canterlot, Equestria’s nobility unicorn-or-otherwise had been singularly decimated fighting tooth and hoof for the city. So many had been present for the royal wedding... it was almost like it had been planned from the start to be a massacre of Equestria’s elite.
“Yes,” Hyacinth agreed, ostensibly, with how impressive the trophy was. She slowly returned the beak and teeth into their silk bag and looped the string around a hook in one of the room’s many spikes. “In that same raid, fearless red changelings defending Chrysalis also slew the terrible Lady Winewood. Like the infamous Lady Yumi of Neighpon, Winewood had a magical command of plants. This is her necklace right here.”
A fine gold chain hung from another hook. A brilliant jade stone formed a centerpiece and the necklace itself was wrought in the form of overlapping leaves. Sweetie could tell it was a fine piece of jewelry, maybe even a family heirloom. She wondered, for a moment, if there was some daughter of the Winewood family out there, still hunting for the lost family necklace. Even if it wasn’t magical, that sort of attitude would be par the course for an Equestrian noble. No one in Equestria held a better grudge.
“Those were our glory days,” Hyacinth said, coughing into her hoof as she took a seat in her throne. A great panoply of intersecting spines formed the back of the throne, overlapping before jutting out to either side like a fan of knives. More spikes and spines still erupted from the ground at mad angles, adorned with yet more trophies of war and combat. In her mind, Sweetie dubbed it the Hedgehog Throne.
It really would have been an even more intimidating sight if Hyacinth wasn’t so frail and sickly.
As it was, she looked more like a skeleton princess on a lifeless throne, head of a dying hive. Hyacinth struck a proud, regal pose but coughed softly again into her hoof. Pupa had speculated on the reason for her poor health, aside from the lack of red meat. Hyacinth had been desperate to conceive and have nymphs. She had lain eggs but none hatched. All were still-born. It was putting a strain on her body, but still she kept trying. She had to know her station and her life depended on it. A Princess who couldn’t give a hive their next generation would not be Princess for long... and there was no retirement policy for changeling royals.
“Sister,” Sweetie addressed her fellow Princess. “I would very much like to know more of the Zilant Hive and especially how you ended up here. Afterwards, maybe we could talk about the plans I put forward in quorum?”
“Of course,” Hyacinth said, summoning strength into her voice. “Yes, that would be fine. Our current history began when Chrysalis and the Green Biscione returned to the Sunset Shores. We met them in battle on the Red Field... but despite the bravery of our hive we were defeated and driven back. Many years before, we had been the ones to drive the Greens out of their ancestral lands. Their Queen, the mother of Chrysalis, had escaped and slowly rebuilt her power. When her daughter returned it was with a vengeance.”
Hyacinth sighed, a wracking sound in her throat. “Pardon. As you may know of the Red Field, it was a portent of things to come. Two years later, Chrysalis also humbled the Gold Hive, the Inkanyamba. Their time in Equestria had taught them magic and strategy the likes of which we never knew.”
Hyacinth went on to describe how Chrysalis had conscripted the Zilant Hive, the first junior partner in her grand changeling alliance that was soon dubbed the Changeling Swarm. Sweetie could imagine that Chrysalis’s choice in this had been as much to settle an old score as it had been prudently picking off a vulnerable enemy. Despite being conscripted at horn-point the Reds had fought loyally for Chrysalis and the Swarm, all through the unification campaigns and into the Battle of Canterlot. In battle after battle Hyacinth described how they had fought to the last despite their ability to turn invisible making escape almost always the easy way out.
“Cerci found you?” Sweetie asked, as history turned to more current events.
“My mother was the last daughter of Queen Sarai,” Hyacinth explained with another soft cough. She paused a moment to wipe the phlegm off her hoof with a scrap of silk folded up next to the throne. “We had been hoping to secure transport back across the sea to the zebra-lands... but the eyes of Canterlot are ever-watchful. All traffic into or out of Manehattan was closed off and we were hunted down. Cerci personally rescued us and secreted us out of the city.”
“She did, huh?” Sweetie’s ears flattened in dismay. Well, Cerci could be counted on to bail out her fellow changeling, she knew that already. Especially when doing so would earn her a loyal ally.
“We have been friends since then,” Hyacinth answered with a nod. “Cerci looks out for us and keeps us safe.” The frail Princess narrowed her pink eyes. “You were at the quorum so it is no secret: there have been whispers within my hive about my... fertility and my health. My friendship with Cerci had bought me time. I owe her a great deal. I stood by her during the feud with Svikja.”
Hyacinth smiled weakly and touched her stomach. “Very soon I shall have a new clutch and it will be because of Cerci.”
Sweetie hated herself a little when her first thought in response to that was, ‘not likely.’
“And you as well, Allure, my Sister,” Hyacinth added, leaning forward to lift Sweetie’s hoof to her belly. “I pray your scheme with the griffins bears fruit.”
“I do, too,” Sweetie replied, and it wasn’t a lie.
> NOTE we should probably change the name of the red changeling who died and is mentioned at the start of the previous chapter. She’s also Hyacinth and it has led to some confusion.
. . .
RED HIVE
(Zilant)
> Bad table manners
[feeding][hierarchy]
>> sub-observation: okay, so, the reds are the ones that eat meat. Like griffins. Need to keep an open mind. Cultural sensitivity. Thankfully my experience with meat and other meat eaters ensures I don't even scrunch up my nose at their table.
>> Pupa: Pupa doesn’t like the reds much. Considers them wasteful.
Soylent Pastel is made of ponies. Remember that short story Twilight wrote? The only one not in her secret folder, you know the one I mean.
Back in Gen 2, the reds ate ponies. They still want to but the greens don’t let them. I guess we’re part of their ‘catch and release’ harvesting strategy and the reds ruin that. As I understand it, the mechanism is the following: following an emotional meal, consisting of a variety of emotions, the red changelings use raw meat like a powerful metabolite. In other words, their emotional consumption is decreased in proportion to their protein consumption.
According to the greens, that makes the reds more of a primitive throwback in the changeling family tree, a missing link between the flesh-eating changelings and the pure-emotion-draining changelings. No scientific evidence to support this. Anecdotal. Nopony knows for sure and no resources to devote to research on the topic.
Food situation is actually easily resolved. Griffins already a well integrated community in Equestria. Systems already in place to support meat eaters (griffins, minotaurs, diamond dogs). Reds do not need to eat victims, even plant-protein likely sufficient (soy, lentils) or sustainable animal produce (whey, milk). Marked preference for red meat, though, and unsavory cultural preferences, violence. Ironically, much of this has already been weeded out by necessity and the efforts of the dominant green hive.
. . .
“Is this it?” Hyacinth peered down into the icebox with a curious expression. Reaching inside, she pulled out a frozen side of... Sweetie wasn’t sure what it was. Pork maybe? For obvious reasons, Ponyville didn’t have a meat market. Only a few griffin-heavy places in all of Equestria did.
“Oh! So cold!” She quickly dropped the meat back into the icebox and clutched her hoof. “How can griffins eat something so cold?”
“I do believe they defrost it first,” Sweetie helpfully replied. “They cook it, too. There are quite a few famous griffin chefs like General Lagassy.”
Hyacinth just stared at her like she’d grown a second head.
“You know, the BAM! Buck it up a notch guy? No?” Sweetie frowned. “What about Robby Flay?”
The Red Princess simply shook her head. “I... don’t know these names... these are famous griffins, you say?”
“They’re cooks! You’ve never cooked anything?” Sweetie had to resist the temptation to try and teach the other Princess a few recipes. Cooking had always been a fascinating subject to Sweetie Belle, even after her apprenticeship with Twilight. That said, most of her knowledge was academic.
And no academic treatise could explain how she’d managed to make wet cereal catch fire.
“Can you teach me how to cook, Sister?” Hyacinth popped the dreaded question, the one no sane creature should ask any Sweetie Belle, interdimensional or otherwise.
“I don’t know how to cook meat, so I probably, really, definitely shouldn’t,” Sweetie demurred, looking away and blushing. “Surely, someone else could...”
Hyacinth persisted. “But you know so much of the Lagassys and the Flays! You must know at least a trick or two? Allure, please, share your knowledge with the red hive!”
Sweetie nibbled guiltily on her lower lip, fighting the temptation. Fighting and losing.
“Well,” she finally gave in just a bit. “I may have a suggestion or two...”
. . .
“Is it supposed to be burning like this?”
“No.”
“I see... and this hammed-burger, is it supposed to be some sort of ooze?”
“No.”
“Ah.”
“I’m not a great cook, okay?”
. . .
> Princess Hyacinth
[hierarchy]
>> sub-observation: there are currently four red changelings with this name. Confusing. Princess Hyacinth is in poor health, possibly related to lack of protein and/or stress. Lost several clutches of nymphs over the last year. I feel sorry for her. She doesn’t seem like a bad pony. Changeling. You know what I mean.
>> Pupa: Pupa says that Urda is likely to kill her within the next few weeks to become the new Princess. She doesn’t see anything wrong with this.
First of all: confirmation that the weaker the alpha-Princess gets, the more aggressive and independent the ones beneath her in the hierarchy become. It is apparently completely normal for Princesses to kill their mothers or even sisters if they grow stronger than them (will mention this to Rarity one day—joking). Chrysalis never mentioned her mother, but I’d bet she did it and probably laughed, too.
Have not been able to talk to Urda yet. Seems secretive.
Asked Pupa if she thought Urda actually wants to kill Hyacinth to become Princess. No good answer. Biology? Cultural? Made up story about how Pink Hive had “renewal day” for old Queens. Seemed to work. Pupa thought it exotic and fascinating and wanted to know more. Had to keep making stuff up. Starting to wonder if I was ever like that to Twilight or Rarity.
Anyway, Hyacinth sickly but aligned with Cerci. Tried feeling out her opinions, getting a sense for her politics. I think she mostly just does what Cerci tells her to do. Potentially problematic. Pupa hasn’t said anything, but is Urda pro-Cerci? Or is Cerci propping Hyacinth up and keeping Urda in line? Will need to investigate more.
. . .
Sweetie watched the young red practice fading in and out of view under the careful supervision of two adults. She had been making her way out of their small territory, when she had noticed the training taking place.
She had carefully made her way there, making sure not to draw their attention. She didn't want to distract the young one during such an integral part of their training. Well, that and she was really curious about how it actually worked.
The steps for fading out of view were simple in function. The young changeling would slowly start losing color until it was completely gone, turning it completely transparent. However, it was more complicated than just doing that and walking around. Apparently moving and sneaking meant that the changeling had to compensate for changes around them. If the background changed, a novice changeling would lose some control over their transformation, making them somewhat visible, possibly even completely so if they didn't adapt quickly enough.
Sweetie watched the trio practice, with the young changeling getting more and more frustrated at his inability to dash from one place to another without appearing in the middle of the run.
"I can't!" the changeling gasped, collapsing at the hooves of the other two, who gave her unimpressed glances. "I just can't. Why don't you tell me the trick?"
One of the two adults shrugged. "There is no trick. You just get used to it."
Sweetie couldn't help herself. "Have you tried studying the area you should head to before you run? Or are you just trying to get there as quickly as possible?"
The three changelings had jumped in place the moment they heard her voice and turned to stare at her as if she had grown a second head, much like Queen Hyacinth had done earlier. It was at times like these that the deep connection between members of the same hive became more obvious.
"H-how—where did you come from?!" one of the adults hissed.
"I uh, was standing right here the whole time?"
The three looked at each other in silence before the younger one prostrated herself in front of Sweetie. "Please, Princess... teach us your secrets!"
"Um..." Sweetie cleared her throat. "I-I can't, it's too complicated?" She grimaced when she saw the young changeling flinch. "But! Try turning invisible and study that area next to the well... tell me when you think you've memorized the way there enough."
The young changeling gave her a sceptical look, but nodded. The others watched as he faded from view. After a few moments she heard his voice.
"Ready."
"Now, go!"
The trio waited for a moment before they heard the young changeling's voice calling them from the other side a second before she materialized. "I did it!"
"H-how did you know?" one of the elder changelings asked.
Sweetie shrugged. "Observation! One of the fundamental secrets of science! I imagine that with long practice all reds develop a subconscious ability to study and memorize their surroundings. Therefore, guiding your young apprentice here to do it seemed like a good option."
The reds chuckled. "You really do seem to be trying to help, Princess, like we heard," the other one said at length. "Thank you."
. . .
> Invisibility!
[combat ability]
>> They can turn invisible. Unbelieveable.
>> Pupa: Pupa says they’ve always been able to do it.
The red changelings can all blend into and mimic the background. Not just chameleon-like, though, they become completely translucent. Some form of intrinsic magic, just like the green changelings change appearance. Apparently Twilight Sparkle also developed a spell to interfere with their magic, too, another reason why they’re so scared of her.
There could be one right over my shoulder right now, watching me write this. In which case: you suck! Did that make you angry? You going to try something? You want a piece of me?
I guess not.
Will have to try and find some way to counter this, too. If Twilight could do it, I should be able to, too. I am her awesome apprentice and--aahah
JK
I seriously hope no changeling ever sees these notes. Or the diagrams. Especially fig 3.4. It was research! That’s all! They signed the consent forms.
. . .
**!!**
This is where Sweetie talks to Olinca and, for the first time, really makes some headway into her scheme. Like a montage, she gets better and better at this as time goes on, and as she builds up her research notes. Montage!
The browns, despite being probably the most loathsome of the changelings (they infest bodies), are very passive now. Their old queens and princesses were very bombastic and arrogant because of their huge bodies, but they’re all dead now, and the remaining browns are much more humble. Juxtapose the disgusting appearance of this group with their generally more peaceful desires. The “true” appearance of the brown changelings is that they’re small, shriveled little parasites, so they know they’re actually rather easily exterminated and afraid of just that happening (they know their appearance is off-putting).
However, a bit like the goa’uld in Stargate, they can actually be beneficial when they take over a dying body. Some of the hosts are this sort now, including the one Sweetie will talk to/with.
BROWN HIVE
(Q'uq'umatz) (say that three times fast)
> Surprisingly harmless for tumors
[hierarchy]
>> these changelings inhabit the bodies of others, ponies are on the small end, diamond dogs are in the middle, and the adults body-snatch giant worms
>> Pupa: according to Pupa, the browns never interacted with the other hives before Chrysalis talked Tlanextli into joining her great changeling crusade. She confirms that the Queens become more arrogant the larger their host. Tlanextli was on the order of a hundred meters long and weighed as much as city block. That was one Big Worm. She was probably pretty full of herself. According to Pupa and others she was killed by Princess Luna literally ‘ripping her in half.’ Wow.
These guys have to be the weirdest of all the changelings. They invade your body and merge with you, like some sort of symbiote or parasite. Their changeling mimicry is different from the greens or reds. Instead of copying appearance or copying background they copy the organs and immune system. Once they bond with a victim they can’t be removed without killing the host. Sounds like something out of one of Scootaloo’s “Terrifying Tales” horror comics.
. . .
Sweetie watched as the brown changeling attached onto the back of an old, suffering diamond dog.
"And you're saying that this old diamond dog will be able to live at least another ten years?" Sweetie asked, eyes wide as his breathing became easier and color seemed to his previously deathly squallor. "But, how is this seen as a bad thing?"
Olina shrugged her tiny, shriveled body. "When you control huge worms and use them to destroy and consume your enemies whole, it creates a bad precedent."
Sweetie nodded in understanding. "Ah yes, I can see how that could be a problem."
. . .
> Parasite or Symbiote?
[feeding]
>> The brown changelings feed on emotion directly, through their host. They cannot feed on emotive energies aside from those of their host. See diagram 4.1 for known points of entry for brown parasites.
I’m not sure if these changelings are really parasites or symbionts, or rather, if the relationship with their host is primarily parasitic or symbiotic. Certainly, if an unwelcome host is attacked then the relationship would be largely parasitic. This was undoubtedly the case with the changelings before, during and immediately after the war in Canterlot.
However, according to Princess Olinca the old ways have proven impractical. Those browns who continued to parasitize victims were quickly discovered and exterminated with (given her description) rather extreme prejudice. The brown changelings have no way to hide themselves except to physically run away. Until and unless they acquire a massive body, like a Tatzlwurm, they are at a severe disadvantage. They are also gregarious by nature, making them even easier to eliminate.
Consequently, in what you could almost call a form of natural selection, Olinica’s hive is not composed of kidnapped hosts in the prime of their lives. Rather, she and her offspring and sisters inhabit the bodies of sick ponies and diamond dogs. While inherently parasitic, the brown changelings possess the ability to mimic and replace a number of failing or diseased organs, effectively healing their hosts to varying degrees.
Olinca claims that all hosts of the brown hive are now volunteers, however the veracity of her claim is difficult to corroborate. With the host already compromised, any testimony is already suspect. The hive is also small and not growing, with no clutches of new nymphs approaching maturity, so I won’t be able to test the truth of this any time soon. Still, I think I believe Olinica. Why would she even bother lying about something like this to another changeling? Unless she suspects I am not what I claim to be... I just don’t know. It is strange how paranoid changelings are now, and yet how desperate they are that they allowed me in with little to no proof… other than suddenly being able to produce royal honey.
> Apparently their idea of 'good-looking males' is something that has more than three eyes.
[reproduction] [hierarchy]
>> Every filly has her own taste in whatever, and that’s cool. We’re all different. Rarity liked “studly” guys, especially[i/] ones with big horns, Applejack has pictures of work horses in her room, Scootaloo likes wings and horns and draws pictures of red and black male alicorns (patently ridiculous). That’s all fine.
BUT changeling tastes are weird as heck. Then again, the ‘hot bachelor’ is also in the body of a giant worm. Olinca offered to ‘hook me up’ and I had to politely decline. Bad enough that Cerci keeps asking me about when I’m going to start up the Pink Hive again. Since I didn’t show up with a BF she’s betting one of hers will help me along with that.
**!!**
The Golden hive is animalistic and aggressive. They’re the “oldest” of the hives. Pretty firmly in Cerci’s camp, plus there’s Sever. Let’s have them not respond all that well to Sweetie nosing around.
Maybe instead of her approaching them to talk, they confront her about being nosy and remind her to stay in line. This’ll be a good opportunity to show Sweetie standing up for herself, too.
GOLDEN aka YELLOW HIVE
(Inkanyamba)
**!!**
These guys. This is the hive that Sweetie wins over but they later betray her. She’s already talked to the Blues before, and Svikja. We can have them meeting somewhere discreet just to formalize their partnership. We have to sell here that it really seems like Svikja is on Sweetie’s side.
Svikja’s own interest is going to appear partly ideological, that she’s swayed to Sweetie’s side (she isn’t), but mostly personal, in that she wants power and influence over the other hives. The Blues are well off and quite strong and want to take advantage of that. Sweetie, of course, also needs them to offset the greens.
BLUE HIVE
(Nidhogg)
**!!**
The Purples are another small group, like the browns, but even smaller. IIRC there were only like two or three of them present, but they have voodoo and freaky magic. Nkosazana is the current “princess” unique in that she’s really a queen, since the purples handle succession differently (it passes to the oldest, so from sister to sister not mother to daughter). They also don’t travel or stay in big groups.
The Purples are swayed over to Sweetie’s side, honestly. They have a different history than the other hives and used to live among ponies (outside equestria) since they take dead hosts instead of living ones and feed off of the memories of the deceased’s family. Even under Chrysalis they had little interest in fighting and basically abstained once they were sure Chrys wouldn’t turn on them. They’ll be receptive to Sweetie talking about peace, especially once she hints she has the Blues and Browns on her side.
We may also have the wise/freaky Purples notice something is odd about Sweetie or even that she isn’t a changeling “like them.” Not that they’d be upset, as long as it gets the changelings off the path they’re on now.
PURPLE HIVE
(Aida-Weddo)
> Cerci and Sever return
> The Spy Situation
I HAVE to use this quote at some point: re attacking Equestria itself
“This is not ten years ago. One does not simply walk into Canterlot... its white gates are guarded by more than just ponies. There is a magic there that does not sleep... and the twilight eye is ever watchful. It is mountain surrounded by green fields, ringed with towns and towers and wards. Every rainbow in the sky is a enemy bastion. Not with ten thousand changelings could you do this. It is folly.”
Gens
- Chrysalis’ mother (more horse-like, weird voices)
- Chrysalis
- Exuvia, others
- Cerci
- Pupa
- Sweetie meets with Blue, Purp, Brown... maybe Red/Urda
- post-terrorist thing (did it work? it did)
- Sweetie tries again to vote for peace
- the spying stuff
creche or lair or nursery or retreat
The following part are notes and messages we wrote to each other, and about the story. We were naturally not able to be on the document at the same time all the time, so somtimes we needed to play catch-up.
Cerci (Green Hive) - highest ‘ranked’ Princess, changeling leader
Sever (Yellow) - ‘griffin/manticore’ changeling, loyal to Cerci
Svikja (Blue) - (old) enemy/rival of Cerci, normally challenges her, potential ally for Sweetie but treacherous
Vigil (Green) - older changeling who participated in the invasion, barely escaped Canterlot, bitter veteran of the battles there (paranoid, doesn’t trust Sweetie)
Pupa (Green) - very young changeling (trusting/naive, idealistic?)
Olinca (Brown) - sympathetic to settlement/peace with ponies, natural ally of Sweetie
Bumblebee (Green) - criminal contact (?) changeling mostly forsaken other changelings for life of crime among equestrians (?)()
Urda (Red) - changeling double-agent, working for the Quartz (Hyacinth)(?)
Nkosazana (Purple) - healer and ‘witch doctor’ of the group, Zecora-like, voice of reason/restraint
Skell (Purple) - Nkosazana’s brother-mate in the Aida-Weddo tradition. Speaks for the other cloistered males (?). Surprisingly perceptive, since he had an outsider’s view on things. Another ally of Sweetie’s? Source of info?
WD Note: I want Sweetie to learn Teleport in this chapter. It's going to be easier than she expected, but it comes up naturally in the following stories so... I'm thinking when she's fighting her way to get to Lady Belle and Cerci?
> after this, Sweetie meeting with other Princesses in private to secure allies for a new vote
a variety of them. Ponies, although not carnivores, live along griffins, and meat could be procured for the reds. Some are feeble and have become scared of their eventual fragility, they could take the brown's help to "
> note, we might want to add in some of the above stuff, before Sweetie speaks up, how she’d building up bit by bit to object. Make it less abrupt.
>> okay, so did you want to jump to another scene? We could have Sweetie mentally reviewing what she learned during the day before she sleeps?
that sounds reasonable, the conversation has pretty much died and we have some possible allies as well as the general feel of the situation. Sweetie can also worry about Diamond Tiara and Lady Belle's possible actions.
>> she can find out more, too. No need for her to learn everything right at the start. too easy.
Indeed, but at least some very important bits of information. There's still the other changelings that are more reserved than Cerci
>> some stuff she can muse over (having learned) ... back ... is some info about the different types and factions among the changelings that she’s picked up on. There’s Olinca, but Sweetie only has a vague idea that she’s wary of Cerci, and the freaky browns. Then there’s the ‘old’ faction of the blues led by Svikja who are the “opposition” in the group. The Blues are the changelings that mimic other changelings, and ironically, there’s a natural distrust most changelings have towards them.... Cerci mostly has the Reds and the Yellows in her camp, plus the greens of course. Sweetie probably hadn’t met the two purples yet (the voodoo couple).
>> One of the things I’d like to do, of course, is to give an insider’s perspective of these TPC changelings via Sweetie poking around.
Yeah, the voodoo couple will be interesting. Are they going to approach her or does she need to go to them? That would also show a bit of their approach tho.
>> Maybe she might go them for some zecora-like advice about “being a Princess” and blending in. We could go either way, tho.
>>Remind me, what did browns look like? Weren't they like, disgusting to look at?
>>> The browns are more complicated. They’re the parasitic ones and can’t (or don’t) survive on their own as adults. They ‘attach’ to larger creatures, typically ones that given them mobility or utility, like diamond dogs. The strongest ones took over giant Tatzlwurms.
>> Ok, but if Sweetie is to talk to Olin, what is he attached to? And are all the browns there attached to something?
>>> Good question. We didn’t work that one out. I guess it depends on how sympathetic we want the character to be... if it was infesting a pony that would be more squick than if it was infesting a diamond dog or minotaur. What do you think? Which way do you want to roll? We also have to have it jive somewhat with Olin being one of the few wanting to find a way to live in equestria despite her species... peculiarities. Ah. I guess if you want to go the ‘easy’ route, you could have Olin infesting a terminally sick pony, and say she’s keeping him/her alive as a part of her. I think Sweetie - like most sane creatures - would be pretty terrified of the browns on general principle. I’m surprised she’d work up the guts to talk to one right away.
>>> An alternative is that Olin isn’t attached to a host and instead being carried around by a follower or something. That’s kind of self-sacrificial, though.
>> Well, Sweetie did go through a lot of shit in the Backwards Through the Mirror world. She wouldn't have such a visceral reaction... some of the ponies that were transformed were horrendous in looks. Anyway... I feel a pony would be ironic, more appropriate and also a good way to start that character off... if Olin is helping the pony stay alive, perhaps they can eventually both reason out a way Browns could be symbiotic rather than parasitic. It would be a good sign if Sweetie talked to the pony itself at some point, it depends on the depth of character?
>>>Okay. That seems fine. Yes, let’s go with that and see how it works.
>>Alright... let's see where she would go first, also you got my chat message about the phone, right?
>>> where she goes next is up to you. I’m guessing we can jump ahead a few hours or some stretch of time, when she’s been shown where she’ll stay in the little part of the salt mines that the changelings are using.
>>do we need to show that part right now? I was thinking more on throwing her straight into the politics of the situation. Perhaps confronting that changeling that was glaring at her would be a good way to open up the fact that there was more than one stance on pony/ling relations.
>>> This is your place, pursue the plot in whatever way feels good. Do what Sweetie would do, that’s all. What’s extra important throughout all of it is to show her thoughts in the narrative so we know why she’s doing stuff and what she’s thinking. All the other stuff will flow from that.
>>LOL alright, we can always add a better transition if it clashes too much
> okay. next bit is for Sweetie to start to explore some more and try and find allies. She probably doesn’t even know that all changelings aren’t Cerci clones, but she can probably guess it from some of the mixes reactions before. So, yes, maybe have her mingle or start talking to the changelings after the rally or something? She’s new, so it makes sense for her to ask around.
(Assassinate Sand Dune? Blackmail info from family w/decryption code. Cause diplomatic incident w/saddle arabia?)
Cast of Characters (reference)
Equestrians (ponies and otherwise)
Sand Dune (Duchess) - Duchess of Bitaly
Sand Stone - Quartz Clan, prison warden
Lady Belle - this world’s Sweetie Belle
Changelings
Cerci (Green Hive) - highest ‘ranked’ Princess, changeling leader
Sever (Yellow) - ‘griffin/manticore’ changeling, loyal to Cerci
Svikja (Blue) - (old) enemy/rival of Cerci, normally challenges her, potential ally for Sweetie but treacherous
Vigil (Green) - older changeling who participated in the invasion, barely escaped Canterlot, bitter veteran of the battles there (paranoid, doesn’t trust Sweetie)
Pupa (Green) - very young changeling (trusting/naive, idealistic?)
Olinca (Brown) - sympathetic to settlement/peace with ponies, natural ally of Sweetie
Bumblebee (Green) - criminal contact (?) changeling mostly forsaken other changelings for life of crime among equestrians (?)()
Urda (Red) - changeling double-agent, working for the Quartz (Hyacinth)(?)
Nkosazana (Purple) - healer and ‘witch doctor’ of the group, Zecora-like, voice of reason/restraint
Skell (Purple) - Nkosazana’s brother-mate in the Aida-Weddo tradition. Speaks for the other cloistered males (?). Surprisingly perceptive, since he had an outsider’s view on things. Another ally of Sweetie’s? Source of info?
Carnation, Bumblebee, Agave, K’larra, Pandinus Imperator, Calyx, Hyacinth, Sazzix, Nester, Aalactli, Flitter
Note to self:
changeling males? We’d probably need to name at least one. Green is most likely, maybe purple. In fact, Nkosazana might have her own if she’s the oldest surviving Purple. The Purps have special rules with their males, who are as functional as the females and not hidden away.
>> There’s bound to be some changelings who are tired of fighting and running and being hunted down. Even in TPC, during the attack on Canterlot itself, there were factions of changelings (like Exuvia herself) who were in favor of some sort of co-existence setup, though usually still with changelings in the top spot or otherwise in control. They were very Equi-phile. But Chrysalis was the Queen, and her will was enforced by pheromones that couldn’t be resisted for long. After years of fleeing, I’d expect three main groups:
- This group wants to keep trying to carve out or destabilize Equestria so that changelings can seize power, either overtly or (more likely now) covertly.
- This group wants to flee and leave Equestria and go back to the Sunset Lands where many of them came from. This will also probably mean going back to their old way of life, something the greens in particular would object to, since they’ve all been raised in ‘civilization’ and trying to start anew, openly, in the old homeland would make them a target.
- This group wants to try and find a way to acclimate and stop fighting, but it is typically seen as surrender, and with how changelings are hated due to the Battle of Canterlot and the chaos they caused, most don’t think it possible anyway.
>> I’d guess that Sweetie would be able to ferret or feel out elements of all three groups once she’s exposed to the surviving changelings currently working under Cerci.
>She'd most likely be optimistic about it, not knowing how bad the situation truly is. The second important part would be how she becomes really aware of it, her possible competition with Cerci and how to finally reach out before we need to plan the next stage
>> I’m thinking Cerci is planning something big. That’s why Bitaly is on edge about changelings and why Sweetie showing up got such a response. She’s planning some sort of scheme, either a big terrorist attack to remind Equestria that changelings are still around and not to be trifled with, or a more subtle scheme to try and replace someone important. As long as it is something BIG it fits our purposes. Once Sweetie realizes what Cerci intends, she’ll be forced to try and counter-balance her among the changelings.
>She could try, and I mean try, to replace Sand Dune herself? That seems Chrysalis-tier foolishness. But, if she manages to do that undetected, it could be an interesting Tweest. Extremely unlikely though.... they could be planning on sinking the city? Somehow?
>> I’d have to think about what fits. Right now, I’m not sure. I just have vague ideas. It’ll be something to think about as we go forward, though. And I’d encourage you to think about it, too, in case you hit on a good idea before I do. I’ll already have a bunch of my hands full doling out worldbuilding info on the changeling remnants and how they’re coping in a Queenless underground society.
Once the whole mess with the changelings was solved, a tentative peace between the species would take place. Blueblood would have communicated with the local Sweetie Belle, so there would be no lingering doubt about Chronicles Sweetie being an ally. Cersi and co would not be necessarily 100% happy, but they'd be willing to work with the ponies to ensure the safety of their clans.
The chapter would have ended with a battle between both Sweeties, just for fun, to see how strong they truly were. As for the result? Well... we always intended for it to be a secret.
Stats
Page generated in 0.018 seconds
Total duration
650 users online
714,820 hits today, 2,244,100 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.®
Ah, and so it shall likely forever be.
The research notes were definitely an interesting (and sometimes quite amusing) angle for the storytelling.
I hope one day Capn finally finishes TPC.
Sweetie, you're kinda being a salker right now. It's creepy, of course they don’t want you spying on them. How would you like it if the Mayor started spying on you when you went on a date? It'd be weird.
On the one hand, Subtlety is good. On the other, you are now officially a stalker.
Sounds like the sort of thing people make up about outsiders they don’t like, and we already know those two used to be ancient enemies.
Sweetie Cook is always fun.
Okay, now I'm curious about renewal day too! Tell me about your made up culture, I just eat that stuff up!
I love how she's more worried about that than her breaking character moments.
As long as it flowed naturally, that would be awesome!
Shame you never finished this, but thanks for not simply leaving a giant hole here.