Myths and Birthrights: Anthologiae

by Tundara

Queen to Queen

Queen to Queen
By Tundara

Chrysalis sat in upon throne, weary and broken. Hidden deep within her hive, such as what remained, chin on her hoof and eyes half-lidded, she listened to yet another drone explain in fits and stops how it had failed to collect any Love during its latest excursion. The excuses were the same as those given by the previous dozen drones; there were simply not enough ponies within the surrounding lands, and those few that did call it home either had been drained, or grown wary of strangers, turning the collectors away.

Many of the drones around the throne room were in some state of Love deficiency. Wings dangled in limp sheets and their blue eyes lacked a previous vibrancy. Dull and listless, they hung around the hall’s edges like broken dolls, draped over ledges and outcroppings dotting the walls. The weakest changelings couldn’t lift their heads and had to be dragged away to the lower chambers where they inevitably expired.

Even Chrysalis suffered, perhaps worst of all. She was a crippled queen following her failure in Canterlot, both politically and physically. Her beautiful wings were gone, burnt to ash by Cadence’s spell, and she’d forever move with a limp. Aches radiated down her back from her landing in the Everfree. If not for using the last of the magic she’d stolen from Cadence, Chrysalis would have perished that day, along with dozens more of her changelings. That she’d managed to preserve even that small number astounded her still.

She gritted her teeth thinking of her many failures that day, and how so few of her drones and chevaliers had survived. It wasn’t just the cataclysmic conclusion to the invasion. Far more had died on the wretched journey south back to the hive, their love syphoned off so that others could continue. Off the several thousand that had followed her expedition north, barely two hundred managed survive the march back to the hive.

At least her precious Polyphenic had listened to her and remained in the hive during the invasion and avoided being maimed or killed. With the princess were only the drones tending to the hatchlings. Enough that the hive wouldn’t be lost to the dusty pages of history, but it would be generations before even a third of its former strength was regained. And that was only if a fresh source of Love could be found.

If only her daughter were older, Chrysalis would have abdicated the hive and found a quiet place to await her end.

But, Polyphenic was far too young and inexperienced for such responsibility. There was so much Chrysalis had to teach her daughter still, and her pride demanded that when the hive was passed on that it be in a position of strength, not dilapidated and barely hanging onto survival by the tips of its fangs.

So lost in her thoughts, Chrysalis hardly noticed the scratching at the back of her head, just beneath the plates of her carapace, like a boney wingtip running down hear brain. The air in the throneroom, already heavy with a thick, humid musk, pressed down on her back. A few of the livelier changelings twitched and scraped their legs together, creating a long chittering song similar to that of crickets, but with a deeper thrum.

Brought out of her contemplations, Chrysalis was struck by a heavy blow to the depths of her being. Carapace prickling, her eyes darted to the darkest corners of her throne room. Where before she found the shadowed nooks a comfort, now her addled mind conjured all manner of monster lurking within the velvet folds of darkness. Eyes, she could sense eyes of some unknown, formless terror staring back from every alcove. Breath catching in her throat she hovered on the edge between lashing out and running to her inner chambers to hide beneath the threadbare silk sheets.

A groan came from the throne room’s doors as they were pushed open. The panic rose, and with great effort, Chrysalis swallowed the bitter emotion. A burning glare leveled at whoever was so foolish as to intrude into her domain, Chrysalis snapped, “Who goes there?”

Polyphenic poked her head through the gap, banishing the knot of anxiety in Chrysalis’ gut.

Not all of the anxiety, however. And her heart was racing again before Polyphenic had slipped fully into the throneroom.

She was a slight nymph, thin legged even by the standards of changelings, a mop of unruly blue mane perched just behind her oddly straight horn. Green eyes flecked with gold darted over the drones and up to Chrysalis, concern flashing in them that was enhanced by the snaggle toothed frown she wore. That worry was quickly subsumed—it was unbecoming on the hive’s future queen—as she fully entered the hall.

“Mother? I mean, Your Majesty?” Polyphenic called, her voice uncertain and slight. It only reached Chrysalis thanks to the unnatural stillness within the chamber.

A roll of Chrysalis’ good leg signaled for Polyphenic to approach.

“Your Majesty, there is a… pony, I think, here to speak with you.”

Chrysalis raised a brow and put on a little smile at how her daughter kept glancing from the door to her. “A pony? Here?”

Perhaps their Love needs would be met, if for a day, after-all.

“Well, I think she’s a pony. She looks like one… but…” Polyphenic bit her lower lip, a habit that reminded Chrysalis of her long dead mother without fail. “She feels… wrong.”

Ideas and new fears ran through Chrysalis as she propped herself up on her throne. Was the pony a spy? Somepony foolish enough to think it possible to join the changeling hive? How had the pony even found the hive? They were deep within the badlands, beneath the burnt wastes of ash. Half of Chrysalis’ hive used tunnels built by the ancient Tenochdeerlan, before their entire civilization was incinerated by Sol landing atop their great city. The area was inhospitable to almost all life. No pony ever ventured into the badlands, terrified of the ghosts said to roam the ever changing desolate grey sea.

The one saving grace the location boasted was security. If that was compromised…

Chrysalis shook her head. Fretting wouldn’t provide answers, and so she called out for the pony to enter.

She immediately found that even her worst fears paled next to who stepped through the door.

Though it—she—appeared as a pony, Chrysalis’ visitor most certainly was not a member of the race. Long of leg, with her head held in an imperious angle, the visitor strode past the ranks of changelings as if they were naught but gnats. Her tail seemed to be made from braided seaweed, little streaks of dark blue veins throughout, and her mane put up in a bun held by coral pins. Horns of the giant erlands of central Gryphonia sat beside her ears, perched just above eyes of a striking emerald. Wings hovered against her side, the tips extending to a cutie mark of an eye encircled by a snake.

Through the thick walls of the hive, the visitor’s presence was enough to make Chrysalis’ carapace itch, and drip fear into her mind. Standing at the heart of the throne room, she exuded waves of madness, pure wrongness assaulting the minds of all who beheld her. Supreme power fairly oozed through the air, forcing the drones deeper into the shadows, unable to lift their gazes from their hooves. The weaker willed among them began to babble and froth at the mouth, eyes rolling into the backs of their heads.

Chrysalis had heard legends passed down by her mother of the dreadful Queen of Envy. Fearful whispers only, for to speak her name was to draw ill omens of the worst sort upon the speaker. There was no-one else the visitor could have been but Leviathan.

“Queen Chrysalis.” The way her name flowed from through the chamber made Chrysalis shiver. It was as if Leviathan had caught a grasshopper in a jar and she were contemplating whether to release her prize, or remove its legs for fun. “You’ve been a very ambitious little changeling; attacking Canterlot, poisoning Celestia, syphoning Cadence’s power. Why, if I did not know better, I might almost suspect you were trying to steal my toys.”

“I assure you… wait, toys?”

Chrysalis wasn’t sure why that description tripped her up. Perhaps it was the absurdity of the image of Leviathan sitting in front of a toy box playing with little Celestia and Cadence dolls. Or it might have been the happy, playful lilt to her tone, as if she both approved and was disappointed at once.

Walking in slow strides around the throne room, Leviathan continued as if Chrysalis hadn’t spoken at all. “I’m just curious what you thought to accomplish. Would you have taken over the role of raising and lowering the sun and moon each dawn and dusk? I can tell you now, you would have failed even if you had possessed all of the power on the disc. Sol and Selene can be very stubborn. This is assuming Luna hadn’t taken your head the moment she realised what you’d done to her sister and daughter. Trusting her to stay moping in Neighpon while you attempted your little coup; it is as if you wished to fail.” Leviathan stopped at the base of the short steps to Chrysalis’ throne and the waited for something.

It took Chrysalis a moment to understand that Leviathan was waiting for her to bow. Gritting her teeth, and having to bite down a shrill scream and running, Chrysalis forced herself from her throne, chitin creaking along her bad hip. The bow was short and sloppy, a murmur rippling through the hall from her changelings.

“Much better,” Leviathan purred, skipping past Chrysalis to plop herself on the throne, wings extended to form a feathery cape as she lounged over the legrest, chin resting on a hoof. “It is so nice to see common courtesy still exists. Oh! This is lovely.” Leviathan wriggled around a little and cooed. “I may have to add this to my collection. It has a wonderful, worn feel to it. How many of your ancestors sat in this throne? A dozen? Two dozen? Yes, this has been made into a most comfortable and historic throne indeed. Mmm, just delightful.”

Teeth grinding together, Chrysalis wished to yell for Leviathan to vacate her throne. Oh, how she wanted to order the interloper to leave. But the words lodged themselves in her gullet, never to be spoken.

Unfortunately, Polyphenic was not so wise nor old enough to know better. Or, perhaps she was less affected by the ancient demon’s presence. “Hey, that is the Queen’s throne.” Her high pitched voice squeaked. “Not yours! Get out of it.” She followed up with a stamp of her hoof and marched up until she reached the base of the steps.

Proud and terrified for her daughter, Chrysalis began to sputter apologies and excuses, only to be cut off with a stern hoof.

A grin far more dangerous than any glare grew on Leviathan’s muzzle. She slid from the throne with a long purr. “Not my throne, you say? Well, then it shall be no-ponies.” Quick as a cobra, her hind hoof snapped out and sent the throne, a giant piece of solid obsidian, flying. WIth a great bang it shattered against the far wall, debris scattering across the hall, pinging off Chrysalis’ and Polyphenic’s chitin. “Come up here, child,” Leviathan said to Polyphenic through the following silence, waving a hoof for the little princess to approach.

Polyphenic glanced towards Chrysalis for guidance. Every instinct she possessed screamed at Chrysalis to teleport Polyphenic somewhere safe. She had just enough magic and Love left to get her daughter to the edge of the badlands. Polyphenic would be alone, surrounded by hostile lands, and with little training in infiltration or much beyond the most basic aspects of being a queen; but she’d be alive.

For how long, though?

Denying Leviathan anything was beyond unwise. There would be no hiding from her, and when she caught up to Polyphenic, the consequences would be most dire. Death would be the merciful outcome.

Swallowing her bile, Chrysalis gave her daughter a nod. Were she at the heights of her power, Chrysalis wouldn’t have hesitated to rebuff Leviathan. Perhaps to her doom. Perhaps not. Drained of love and crippled there was no chance of winning.

They had to play along.

It was the only hope the hive had of surviving the day.

“What a cute little grub you are.” Leviathan cooed and pinched Polyphenic’s cheek when the princess slowly approached. “I could just eat you. A little tartar sauce, maybe some spring beans, and yes, you’d be just lovely. Raw or fire roasted, however? Oh, decisions, decisions. Slow roasted. Yes, with a bit of lime and cracked peppercorn. Mmm, I’m starting to get hungry.”

Out darted Leviathan’s forked tongue to wet her lips, eyes lingering on Polyphenic a few seconds longer before she abandoned the princess and marched in a wide circle around the royal changelings.

“Sadly, I don’t possess the time to stay for a proper feast. Having to come here at all puts so many plans in jeopardy. Equestria can not seem weak. Not yet. And, after your little stunt, the sharks will be smelling blood in the waters. Hackney in particular is liable to leap into things far too early. You’ve made a mess of two thousand years work, changeling, and that puts me in a very foul temper. If I had imagined Celestia would grow so complacent as to be bested by a mere parasite such as you…” Leviathan trembled, a wave of anger rolling from her back and twisting the drones into maddened convulsions.

Chrysalis’ face ticked as she forced herself to withstand the onslaught. Her defenses were bolstered at the pride of Polyphenic weathering the mental attack with only a slight jitter of her wings. A lesser princess would have broken down in a blathering, weeping wreck under such pressure.

Either not noticing, or not caring, for the effect she were having, Leviathan continued, “Well, no point crying over slaughtered lambs.”

Leviathan widened her circuit around the throne room, touching the worn columns with a wingtip as she passed. Spiderwebs of corruption wormed their way through the rough stone where her feathers lingered. Sickly, green veins stealing the strength and leaving the columns brittle and creaking.

If it were possible, a cold line of sweat would have been running down Chrysalis’ neck. A few more columns and the entire inner core of the hive would begin to collapse.

At the prospect of her changelings’ destruction, a small kernel of strength broke through the nightmarish fear gorging on her mind.

“Please, Your most Immense and Mighty Majesty, I had no idea that you were even on the disc anymore. All the demons have long since been captured or destroyed by Celestia or various heroes. Nopony has even seen you in many thousands of years. Long enough that it was impossible to tell if you were real, or a myth to serve as a lesson in the ponies silly holy texts. Had I any idea, I’d never—”

“But you did, Chryssy, you did.” Leviathan stomped a hoof, crushing basalt into powder. A furious hiss issuing between her fangs, Leviathan towered over Chrysalis. “I have plans. Plans that you put in grave jeopardy. There is a storm on the horizon, and I can not afford for Celestia to grow wary now. I require her to be complacent and self-assured. To ignore the signs of danger lurking under her nose. To remain so proud and noble on that vaunted throne of hers, high above the disc. So much further for her to fall that way.”

In a flash, the anger boiling behind the emerald eyes of the ancient demon queen was replaced by a curious light of amusement. She threw back her head, letting out a long peal of booming laughter. “Ah, the looks on your faces. I so do enjoy these house-calls. Your predecessors were more combative. Going so far as to attack me. Me! The temerity of your race. They never came close as you, however, to besting the alicorns. I might have been proud, if I were not Envy. That is a joke.”

Flabbergasted, Chrysalis couldn’t provide more than a shaky, hesitant chuckle.

Settling down, Leviathan came up beside Chrysalis, the supernatural aura of dread pervading the air lowering to a barely discernable noise at the back of Chrysalis’ thoughts.

“You actually helped, without realizing it of course. Celestia may be a little more on guard now, but so too she believes that Cadence and Twilight are capable of defending themselves. A third threat in as many years bested. With a slight alteration, all will be even better than before.”

Leviathan reached up and patted Chrysalis on the cheek. Were she capable, Chrysalis would have put on an angry blush.

“Here is what I decree, Chrysalis; On the day the Stars awaken, you will infiltrate Equestria once more. There will be a gala in Canterlot to celebrate the arrival of yet another alicorn. Use what ever means you deem necessary, but you will be at that gala. There, you will find a filly newly adopted by Cadence and that annoyingly dutiful, new husband of hers.”

“A riddle? Stars awakening? A filly? But no name?” Chrysalis snorted, putting extra effort into her distaste. “If you want me to do something for you, I need to know when and to whom.”

Still smiling, Leviathan purred. “Figuring out those answers is part of your punishment. I’ll give another, little hint, it’ll begin as the ponies celebrate all the bundles of joy just arriving. But, I’m not done! Take this,” Leviathan swirled a wing, a midnight black gem appearing before Chrysalis.

The gem reeked of evil and sickly magic of the foulest sort. Hooves snapping up, Chrysalis took the gem. It whispered to her in a voice that left droplets of insanity running down her ears. A wicked, pleased grin formed on Chrysalis’ muzzle.

“What you hold is a piece of Moloch’s throne. My boy has a fetish for foals. He’d not have been able to resist gobbling up your little grub.” Leviathan winked at Polyphenic. “This gem will corrupt the sigil Celestia will place on the foal. Twist it and turn it against who it was meant to protect. Like worms it will burrow into her very essence, and then kill her. The pure and perfect Celestia will be blamed. Cadence and Luna will turn against her. My other plans will proceed unmolested. Oh, and I suppose you’ll have your revenge, as well.”

“And if I refuse?”

A necessary question, even though Chrysalis knew the answer. Not that she had any intention of refusing. Already, plans began to formulate on how to take the most enjoyment as Cadence’s happiness was destroyed.

Rolling her eyes, Leviathan let out a bored snort. “Then I will be forced to expunge you from history. I will consume not just this hive, but every hive. The changelings will cease to be anything but a memory. You will join the deer in whose ruins you have built your own, crumbling empire. Only, I will not make your end quick as Celestia did Tenochdeerlan. I will peel your chitin one plate at a time. And so on, and so forth, yadda, yadda, yadda. You get the idea, I am sure.”

“What if I am caught?”

“I would recommend avoiding that outcome.” Leviathan cackled and clapped her hooves. “Though, if you are, I will be entertained, at least.”

Chrysalis nodded slowly, not looking up from the abomination held in her hooves. With this, she’d make Cadence suffer. Make all of Equestria suffer, as their precious princesses turned on each other. Already, the delicious taste of victory tingled across the tip of her tongue. The nubs of her wings buzzed, and her heart fluttered with joy and the promise of vengeance to come.

By the time she looked up, Leviathan was already gone.

Good. She needed to prepare.

The day the Stars awaken. That could be years, or mere weeks. She had to be ready. Settling on her throne, Chrysalis plotted, while her daughter just shook her head and slipped out of the hall.

Whatever the outcome, dealing with demons never ended well.

Author's Note:

This is one of the earlier side-stories I began to work on. For one reason or another it'd get no more than a few sentences, and then be abandoned for months and months. For the longest time it was merely just a bit of back-and-forth fluff between Chrissy and Levi. It was as Queen in Stone was drawing to a close that I struck upon the idea that it was them working together that caused the corruption of the Fostering.

As to how Leviathan was able to predict things so far in advance? That is a subject for another story, perhaps. There is a reason, written in my notes. But, I'll keep it under my hat in case something even better comes about.

Comments

[JustBrowsing]

Good story, but how did Chrysalis sit on the throne after Leviathan shattered it on the back wall?

Still, glimpses behind the curtains are always nice to see. Love this series!

[Kapuchu]

Oooh.

So That's how and why the spell on Tyr became corrupted. Jokes on Leviathan, they fixed it!

[redmar]

Leviathan was not subtle enough in her plan because Faust had already planned to undo Envy's plans.