Dreams Of Glory
If one were to watch the equestrian forests, they would’ve seen something quite strange.
Burnt out on lack of hugs and from her changelings’ offense at random phrases like “please” and “don’t you want a hug?”, Chrysalis didn’t quite buzz her wings hard enough to keep herself up. Instead, she bounded over the forest like some sort of giant bouncy ball. To be honest, she might’ve been having fun, but she’d rather burn down Equestria than admit it. Though, that wasn’t actually saying much; burning down Equestria sounded like it could be a lot of fun too.
Chrysalis sighed.
After dealing with Butterfly and Mii Tool, she wasn’t sure she had enough mental energy left to spend on the next changeling. She could only hope their insanity wouldn’t cause her to catch fire or something. As it was, she would have to resist the hive-link to get away from their animated chatting. Now, if only she could remember how to do that…
“So,” Mii Tool began, “This ‘arithmetic logic unit’ performs addition, subtraction, logical AND, and logical OR, on a certain number of ‘bits’ representing numbers.”
“Correct,” Butterfly replied.
“Amazing! But if it only does addition and subtraction, then how can computers multiply so well?” Mii Tool continued.
Ugh! She couldn’t even understand half of the words they were saying now!
What she wouldn’t give just to talk to a reasonable, laid back changeling that accepted their own name and acknowledged her as queen. Maybe she could even tell them all her troubles and have them actually try to help instead of saying it was ‘out of their area’ or some nonsense.
Why couldn’t she find somebug that acted kind and considerate as they dutifully took orders from her? Somebug who would converse normally and do their work without complaint, who would graciously accept her hugs and smiles for the great gifts that they were, and who would return the love she put into them and more. Why couldn’t one of her changelings be like that?
As she flew, Chrysalis continued imagining her perfect changeling. She didn’t worry about causing herself disappointment, she just wanted to daydream.
Oh, she could just imagine their wonderful voice massaging her ears, ringing succulently in the air like bells from the most skilled craftsponies...
Wait a minute, crafts-ponies?
Argh! Curse those mini horses and their horsey horse words. She got too used to using them while infiltrating. She’d need something more changeling-like.
The bells would be crafted by crafts-changelings— No, craftsbugs!
“Oh, my most glorious Queen,” her perfect changeling would say, ”I, Dragonfly, would be honored if you would let me gather and protect the other changelings, if only so I may see your beautiful, adorable, and not scream-inducing at all smile.”
Why didn’t she think about them mentioning her hugs? Well, the changeling wouldn’t even dream of being hugged by her, as such a thing would be so amazing it was simply unthinkable. Of course, if offered, they would accept immediately and let their mind be blown.
And then Chrysalis and her perfect changeling would both enjoy a nice, cozy hug while the rest of Equestria burned.
Chrysalis yawned, feeling much more rested after that wonderful daydream. All she needed now was to actually meet the changeling. Then, all her woes would be forgotten.
Maybe the next bug she met would be that perfect changeling.
My name, is Andres Regis.
It is definitely not something shitty like Red, though my mind seems to insist on that word for some reason. It’s very annoying.
Anyway, if this is Hell, then the torture is not what I expected. I would’ve welcomed burning or freezing, both of which would’ve been blessings: I would have had something to take my mind off of how stupidly I died.
Yeah, that’s right. I died. If my memories were right, then I was as dead as dead could be.
But that particular memory is somewhat embarrassing, so let’s try to think of something else.
Let’s see…
The journey to hell was… strange, almost indescribable really. I couldn’t tell you if I’d been dead for a second or for a thousand years. I couldn’t even tell you if I was really awake during that time or whether I had a soul or not. It was like trying to remember what happened after a concussion, or too much alcohol, a particularly strong acid trip, shrooms, a couple bags of marijuana, a whole lot of tobacco, ecstasy, or some of those other drugs I tried but forgot the names of.
If only the last day of my life was as forgettable.
Oh well, I guess I’m thinking about it.
After having made my way through all the cartel’s defenses, I slammed the boss’s door open. Instead of seeing him sitting at his desk, the chair was empty and there were three briefcases filled with money, all opened and facing me. I could buy my own yacht with that kind of money! But where was the boss?
I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. The boss, Mr. Hernandez himself, was pointing a gun at my head. Luckily, I was able whip around in time to knock away the gun and point my own at the boss.
Hernandez chuckled. That threw me off.
“Impressive.” He clapped his hands. “Now, instead of shooting me, how does all that money look to you?”
What was this, a game show? If I played my cards right, could I win a free car too?
With a placating smile, the boss continued, “Heck, I’ll even give you my favorite Porsche. I’m sure that’s much better than whatever deal you’re gonna get if you kill me and go back to your gang.”
Wow. It really was like a game show.
But wait, couldn’t I just kill the guy and take that stuff anyway? And how did I know the briefcases weren’t fake, or that Hernandez wouldn’t just kill me whenever I turned my back? No, accepting his offer would’ve been suicidally stupid. I felt dumb for even considering it.
Time to finish the job. But with all that gameshow stuff, I was in the mood for a more theatric end.
“Hasta la vista, b—”
Just then, reinforcements came in, and instead of a new car, I found myself with a brand new hole in my head.
Argh! It was so stupid! I had him! I killed dozens of Hernandez’s men while they ran around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to understand why a smaller cartel was attacking them! But then, at the last moment, the moment where I would normally have just shot the guy, I had to quote some stupid movie!
...Y’know, that stuff about concussions and the afterlife gives me an idea. I think I’ll just lift this black bug thing off me, find a rock, and…
Andres hefted the enormous bug up. But instead of falling over limply, it looked him straight in the eyes and spoke.
“Ten more minutes...” It smiled lazily as it limply rolled out of Andres’ grasp. “Darn, sun’s already up? Oh well,” it sighed. ”I was having this hilarious dream: some idiot was about to kill the lead bad guy, but then he quoted Arnold and got his head blown off.”
Great. Of course the thing would know Andres’ secrets somehow. He was in Hell after all.
In a sudden rage, Andres picked up the bug and threw it at a nearby tree. Being a disgusting insect was one thing, but no one would be allowed to know his greatest failure.
He stomped over to the bug. He didn’t have any drugs on him, but hopefully a good enough concussion would make it forget everything.
“Dude, what the heck!?” it shouted.
That caught him off guard. Since this was Hell, he assumed the other guy would automatically know all of his worst secrets, and the only redeeming thing that could happen would be him beating the entrails out of the thing. Honestly, Andres would’ve expected the bug to cry out in laughter, not pain or surprise. This place was supposed to be torturing him.
Maybe he’d still be able to keep some of his dignity.
“Sorry.” He offered the bug-demon a… hand?
Well, would you look at that. He was a bug-demon too! Hell worked in mysterious ways. He was going to miss his hands though.
The other bug suddenly gawked at Andres, who was still inspecting his not-hands. “Whoa!” the bug said before voicing its profound realization, “You’re a talking bug!”
“Look who’s talking,” Andres mumbled, sitting back down so he could inspect himself more comfortably.
Then they just stood there like that for minutes, gawking at various parts of their own bodies as if they were both stoned out of their minds. Andres mostly stared at his hole riddled legs, but the other bug seemed to have an extreme fascination with his wings.
At some point during Andres’ self exploration, something drew his attention away. Lying around Andres and the other bug, in nearly every nook and cranny, were countless bugs just like them. Many were on the ground, on the tree tops, resting on branches, or floating in puddles. The place resembled a scene of old, rotting food being swarmed by insects.
But if there were that many people always popping up all over the place in Hell, there were bound to be some groups who would try to make use of the new guys. After all, if he really was in Hell, that meant there were people that died long ago, and thus had much more time to form larger gangs.
Andres wasn’t about to become another bug-demon’s lackey. With all these bodies lying around, he had an opportunity to be the one that ruled over the bug-demons, and he wasn’t about to let some old wrinkled cabrón take that opportunity from him just because he was too slow.
He tried hitting that other bug to get its attention. It didn’t seem to mind violence much, and he needed to let off some steam. This time though, the bug had other ideas.
“Okay—” It easily dodged Andres’ attack “—That’s enough of that.”
This only annoyed Andres. When did insect number two get smart?
But as his eyes narrowed in anger, he remembered the other bugs. Gangs would surely be coming by soon to transform newcomers like him into crap they could fling at their enemies. This was Hell after all. Dealing with uppity followers could wait.
“Shh!” Andres warned. He wasn’t about to let this dung beetle’s stupidity ruin things.
The bug tilted its head.
“You died, right?” Andres asked, hoping it would see the obvious.
The bug frowned. “Well, I did drink two five hour energies and probably had about ten red bulls, and then my chest started hurting after I finished running... And now I’m a bug. Soooo either I’m hallucinating, oorrrr…” He bit down on his bug-foot, hard.
”Ow…” The bug winced harder at the realization than the pain. ”Crap.”
Good. The guy was catching up at least.
Andres leaned toward what would hopefully be his first follower. “The last thing I remember was a bullet to the head.” His hoof pointed at his head and sprang up, as if it were a gun. “And now we’re in hell, with a bunch of other dead guys around us.”
The bug squinted. “Are you sure we’re not in purgatory?”
Andres glared. “We’re not in purgatory! Now focus!” he practically shouted. ”This means there are others who were here before us. Others that could’ve formed groups, companies, kingdoms even!” He frowned. He wanted to be the ruler of a huge kingdom, and that would be much harder if there already were several kingdoms.
The bug nodded. “Oh. You mean like raiders and tyrants and stuff? But we only have to worry about those if we’re in Hell. How do you know we’re not in heaven, or purgatory at least? I know I was pretty righteous...”
Andres stared back at the bug. Was it just deluded? “We’re bug-demons in the middle of a hellish forest. And if that’s not enough, I’m certain I wouldn’t have been sent to heaven.”
“Well,” the bug replied, “I can understand you, but why would I go to hell?”
Andres rolled his eyes. “Maybe you worshipped the wrong religion.”
The bug frowned as it sat back, sighing. “Well, that sucks.” It looked away, pausing to think for a moment. “Eh, I tried my best. I’m Isaac, by the way.” He offered his black insect-appendage.
“Andres.” Andres shook roughly and held the handshake for a little longer than Isaac seemed comfortable with. “Now, let’s gather the others.”
About half of the changelings’ backs were scuffed with dirt as Andres haphazardly dragged them over and tossed them into the pile. Andres seemed to treat the bugs with a little less care than used furniture, so it was no surprise when some of the changelings in the pile started to look the part. Isaac, on the other hand, made a point of carrying them on his back, and it always annoyed him whenever Andres would smash a changeling into another changeling’s face just because he couldn’t be bothered to not treat them like garbage.
Once the duo finished dragging most of the unconscious ‘demons’ to the dirty pile around the tree, Andres heard a buzzing sound in the distance.
“Isaac!” Andres yelled. “Do you hear that!?”
“Are you talking about that annoying buzzing noise?” Isaac replied. “Cause that’s been going on for a while. I’m surprised you didn’t notice.”
“What!?” Andres ran over and grabbed Isaac by the shoulders. “Why didn’t you say anything!?”
Isaac shrugged. “I thought it might’ve just been one of those guys talking in their sleep.”
Andres paused. He had to admit it was a possibility.
He inspected the bug-demons, but the sound wasn’t coming from any of them. Besides, if it was, he’d expect to hear some of that dust and dirt being flung off. Now that he listened though, it was clear that, whatever the sound was, it was getting closer. When he looked in the direction it was coming from, he could see something approaching.
“¡Mierda!” Andres exclaimed. “It’s too early!”
Isaac looked over at whatever Andres was gawking at, shading his eyes so he could see more clearly.
“Don’t worry,” Isaac said. “I don’t think it’s slavers or anything. There’s only one of them.”
“Huh?” Andres looked closer.
It was true, the rapidly approaching bug was alone.
However, it also looked like it could be much bigger than him. Perhaps it thought it could take him on its own. Judging by its size and his lack of weapons, it might have been right.
“Isaac!” He called. “Don’t let your guard down. That thing looks like it’ll be pretty hard to take out. Grab the biggest stone you can find and hide behind some trees. On my call, jump out and bash its head in!”
To his credit, Isaac was very quick when following orders. He only stopped for a short nod before hiding.
Chrysalis stopped when she saw a large group of changelings piled around a tree. She sensed a couple changelings from far away, so she expected a group, but that bundle of unconscious changelings seemed far too convenient. They couldn’t have all landed there together, and she would’ve noticed if a group that large woke up and dragged themselves through the dirt on their backs. No, this had to be a trap.
Honestly, she expected this kind of thing. She did wish her trappers could’ve treated her sleeping changelings with a little more care though.
Chrysalis looked around. There was nothing moving that she could see, and there was nothing standing still that looked like anything living. There was no smell save for the smell of changelings either, but one of the other species could’ve learned to mask its odor, or they could’ve been upwind.
However, she could feel fear from one of her trappers, as well as a whole lot of tension from the other. When she closed her eyes and concentrated, she could feel two sets of rapid heartbeats thumping away against her hooves, despite all of the changelings in sight resting. She could also hear bipedal steps coming from behind a tree.
The steps stopped, then a hoof slowly slid over the ground like its owner was winding up for a pitch.
Ah, close quarter battles. It was very nostalgic.
Chrysalis ducked. A rock the size of her head blasted over her and crashed harmlessly in the distance.
“Now!” She heard the voice of a… changeling? Couldn’t be. Maybe she was hearing things wrong because of the deafening emotions coming from the other being. Awe, confusion, guilt, and panic were all practically exploding out of it. If she was reading those emotions right, it wasn’t going to fight unless it absolutely had to. It also wasn’t in a position to defend its partner.
She opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of the fool that threw the rock…
Wait, what? Why would one of her very own changelings throw a rock at her with that much force? Had they truly gone insane!?
There were those hoofsteps again. The changeling was trying to run away, but just like the last one, it foolishly tried to run on its hind legs. It did know to try and stay behind its tree to keep out of Chrysalis’ sight, but once she was in the air, it might as well have been trying to outmaneuver a jet.
Chrysalis pounced on the changeling before it managed three steps, holding it down with one hoof.
“Red!” She exclaimed, noticing the slightly red birthmark on its horn. “What are you doing throwing rocks? Who even does that?”
The question only seemed to annoy it.
“I’m not Red.” It squirmed, ineffectively trying to escape her grasp.
“Myyy…” For some reason, it suddenly grabbed the Chrysalis’ neck with its hind legs “naaame...” It grabbed her forelegs with its own. ”iiiis…” It coiled its muscles. She could feel something coming. ”AAAANDRES!”
On ‘Aaaandres’, he gave a herculean pull, but instead of pulling Chrysalis to the ground, he only lifted his rear end a little.
He did manage to make her sigh though. “Of course it is.” She paused. “Anyway, was it you who gathered all of my changelings?”
“You mean the bug-demons?” Andres asked, giving up on his little wrestling move.
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Sure, the bug-demons. At least we’re not cockroaches anymore.”
Instead of paying the strange comment any mind, Andres simply glared. “And what if I did?”
Chrysalis glared back down. This was quickly becoming aggravating. “Watch your tone, ‘Anders’.”
“Andres. Not ‘Anders’.” He continued glaring.
Chrysalis scrunched her muzzle. “What is it with you changelings and your crazy names?”
She received no answer.
Andres’ glare never faltered. But then, neither did Chrysalis’. Neither would back down, lest the other know that they won. But unfortunately for Andres, he had to blink. It was a very long blink.
When he tried to glare back up again, Chrysalis looked even less impressed.
“Oh, stop it,” she admonished him, still looking him straight in the eyes, “you’re just embarrassing yourself.”
She offered him a hoof, pulling him back on all fours. “I should thank you for gathering everybug like that. Unfortunately, they won’t be safe here. It’s too close to Canterlot.”
Andres’ glare faltered at the thanks and the mention of safety.
“Oh?” Chrysalis gave a sardonic giggle. “You thought I was some sort of monster coming to eat you? Well, don’t worry, you're not the first changeling that jumped to that conclusion.” She huffed in annoyance. Was it too much to ask to have somebug react positively on first sight?
“How do I know I can trust you?” Andres’ glare returned.
Chrysalis opened her mouth, but the other changeling, the one that she forgot about, spoke up. She decided she would hear it out. It was, after all, the only one here that hadn’t attacked her.
“Well, first off,” it said, ”she didn’t attack first.”
Chrysalis stood aside for the moment. This other changeling seemed to be getting off to a good start.
“Also,” the bug continued, “she could’ve killed you after you threw a rock hard enough to decapitate anything.” He pointed back at the rock in question, which was deeply embedded in a nearby tree. ”And third, she seemed sincere to me when she said she was trying to help the other guys.”
Chrysalis nodded. That changeling was very attentive. Still, there was something off coming from Andres according to her emotional senses, something she would need to verify. She took a small breath to ready herself.
“Well said,” Chrysalis started, refraining from clapping her hooves. She always loved it when somebug pointed out how good of a queen she was, even though this was technically the first time it happened. “Now, I’d like to move everybug to a safe place as quickly as possible. I’m not sure what waking them up prematurely would do, and I don’t want to risk it, so that means that us awake changelings are going to have to carry the sleepy heads. Sadly, the last few changelings I met didn’t know how to fly. Do either of you know?”
Andres only blinked in response, but the other bug raised its hoof. “I’ve done a lot of training on my own so I could be a pilot one day. This may be a bit different, but I’ll try it out.”
Chrysalis smiled. “Good. Now, climb that tree and jump off once you reach the top. Don’t worry about getting it right on the first try; I’ll catch you if you fall.”
She was missing something. It might not improve the act, but it was important. What was it? Ah, that. “Oh, and before I forget, I’m Chrysalis. What was your name again?”
“Isaac.” The bug saluted as it scurried up the tree.
While Isaac’s back was turned, Chrysalis turned to Andres and winked. The implication was clear.
The confusion was expected, but if the sick feeling of delight that came from Andres wasn’t enough to confirm her fears, the quick smirk was. The trees were more than tall enough to cause injury if anybug fell from them. Though, she didn’t feel the need to mention they’d just fallen from much greater heights and survived.
“Ready?” Isaac called from the top.
Wow. He climbed fast. But then, he was an awakened changeling.
Chrysalis hovered into the air. “Ready!”
Isaac jumped. He managed to do some things that looked like the beginnings of expert maneuvers, but he couldn’t get any lift. The problem, as far as Chrysalis could see, was that he was trying to flap his wings like some sort of bird instead of buzzing them like a changeling.
She held her forelegs open while Isaac plummeted.
“Oof!” He landed in her arms.
“Ha HA!” Chrysalis exclaimed. “Now we’re hugging! Where’s your anti-hugging prudishness now, changeling?”
There was a strange feeling of confusion coming from both of the bugs near her now.
“Wot?” Isaac replied from inside her grasp.
“Huh?” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “But the last changeling wouldn’t hug me even after I saved her life.”
“Wow. That does seem a bit rude.” Isaac furrowed his brows. “Wait, all you wanted was a hug?”
Chrysalis shrugged, letting go of her stolen hug and setting her changeling down. “Well, it would have been nice if somebug would accept it...”
Suddenly, the atmosphere changed.
Chrysalis sensed a change in Isaac. It seemed he took hugging even more seriously than she did. If the emotions coming from him were true, this would be a hug to be remembered.
His face now gravely serious, Isaac stood up on his hind legs and stepped forward.
Chrysalis, not used to such boldness, reared her head back from the sudden display of affection. But she would be damned if this hug went down in history as the hug she was too shy to reciprocate.
Chrysalis’ face took on the same grave seriousness as Isaac’s. She opened her front hooves.
Now that both parties were in agreement, the hug commenced.
Chrysalis couldn’t help herself. On that day, she broke the Equestrian record for most adorable smile. If any being were to see such a smile, be them changeling, pony, dragon, or any other creature, they would readily offer all of their love. Only the most heartless of creatures could have remained unaffected by that smile.
Andres only scoffed.
Chrysalis broke off from the hug.
“You!” Chrysalis thrust an accusing hoof at Andres. “You question my motives? You, who tried to kill me on first sight? You, the one who smirks at the idea of this wonderful changeling crashing to the ground when I fail to catch him? You, the one who scoffs when he didn’t die? You, who would rather drag your brothers and sisters through the dirt than suffer the burden of carrying them?” She wasn’t completely sure of that last one, but his surprised eyes confirmed it.
She stepped towards the now wide eyed changeling. “Well, I hope you’re happy. I don’t know when I’ll be able to trust you now.” Her voice was dangerously low.
“But you're lucky it’s just me you’ve annoyed,” she continued, crouching to his level. It seemed more like a battle stance than anything that could be considered polite. “There are other races out here, races that we should be afraid of, and I’m not going to leave a single changeling for them to dissect. That’s why you’re coming with me no matter what. Whether you do it as a citizen or as a prisoner is your decision.”
Andres growled. But to his credit, he knew when he was outmatched. After only a moment’s hesitation, he grumbled his response, “Fine.”
Chrysalis maintained her discontented frown, but on the inside, she was happy that something was finally going her way. Winning these changelings over was much more in her element than winning over Butterfly Fang and Mii Tool.
Now all she had to do was find some shelter. Then she could truly rest easy.
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Curses, that one scene perspective shift causes stuff to slip through.
[edits fixed, hopefully no one read the bad version]
I decided to calm things down a little from last chapter and introduce a druglord into the story. (Or at least a drug lord's right hand man.) He's kind of like a timelord, but with drugs.
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Aaand edited!
6243130
Druglords sell drugs, so do Timelords sell time?
... Whoa...
6243130 *wants to calm a story down*
*adds a druglord who thinks he's in hell*
SEEMS LEGIT.
Just how many random souls do you need!?
I can't help but feel the name "mii tool" is an obvious reference to the mii of nintendo
For a second we thought, "Nuh uh! Pokemon? Get outa here!" but then we were treated by some more insight.
Keep going! ;)
What if:
- medieval knight
-marines veteran
-a child/children
-a wizard
-scientist
-fimfiction author
-Roman
-Spartan
-brony
-monk
The possibilitit's . . . .
Binary single-digit multiplication is identical to the logical AND operator. That is, only (1,1) will return 1. All other combinations (1,0; 0,1; 0,0) return 0.
You multiply in binary (base two) the same way you multiply in decimal (base ten): by multiplying each digit in one number by each digit in the other number and adding the results together.
Combining these two facts, we get multiplication of multiple-digit numbers that doesn't require a dedicated multiplication ability.
For more information read this page.
6243386
mechanics
doctors
pickpockets
scam artists
musicians
cooks
internet trolls
.... this looks like the backstory to the changelings becoming equestria's drug cartel.
so what happens when their tanks full of love start running low?
... I like this.
I hope it becomes an awesome uprising, with Chrysalis using the knowledge from another worlds to built an advanced empire beyond any other, with cars and industry and... pollution and... modern warfare...
...
Huh, well maybe that would be putting a damper on things.
There is a powerful meta tension in the audience: we all sense the open possibility for someone to recognize Equestria from the show, but we all sense the chaotic nebula of infinite paths of potential story destruction by the introduction of such a character.
You wanted personality Chrysalis? Well here you go. Have all the personalities, & may Faust have mercy upon your soul...
:) good chapter
Still good! However, there was one funny typo:
<XCOM rookies panic>
Less jokingly, there are a few minor grammar and spelling issues. I'd suggest running the story through Word to catch some of them. Should only take <10min per chapter...
Will Chrissy ever figure out what exactly happened? and by extension will we?
6244628 I expect Q and Discord are working together...
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Aw, thanks.
Hopefully all these editors will help me keep up the quality.
6243179
Why else would most of them have like... 12 lives?
It really puts Doctor Who in a different light, doesn't it?
6243205
Hue.
Though, I did have to take out a fight scene. I think the story did calm down a bit from the absolute chaos of last chapter. (A little bit, at least)
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Well, the first one at least.
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About 5. Don't worry, there'll be more than just introductions in this story
In terms of anything mental, I'm gonna keep to human limits. Because Chrysalis has to interact in a human way, she can handle a group of about 60 before she faces diminishing returns. (Dunbar's limit.) And she's probably not gonna get anywhere near that limit in this story.
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That's probably why it's in my dictionary. Chrysalis doesn't actually know what a mii is. I can confirm she hasn't played Nintendo.
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Wait, were you thinking Giovanni? Did this sort of thing actually happen in pokemon? I thought pokemon was TV-Y7.
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6243486
Yeah, there are a lot of groups of people I could include. I don't know if it'll even be possible to include them all.
6243457
Ooh, neat! I haven't actually bothered looking up binary multiplication, but it's good to know.
Now I wanna see if I can make some hardware optimized versions of the algorithms for multiplying large numbers.
6243562
That's an... interesting theory.
I don't think it's gonna happen. Too many humans are against drug cartels, and for good reason.
6243600
That's a good question.
First, you have to know how long it takes to lose the love, and how it can be replenished. That'll determine if they can organize before they start having problems.
I'm not sure if they'll be able to harvest love from animals. (Even if they used puppies repeatedly, the constant taking away of a good thing could make the dogs very opposed to love gatherings, and it wouldn't give as much love as sapients like ponies.) And it would probably require finding and raising smart domesticated animals like puppies. (Bunnies are too dumb.)
But I'll consider love an essential nutrient to a changeling's diet, not the only ingredient. (Kind of like how vitamin C is essential to humans but other animals can create it.) So, just like Scurvy, it'll take a few months of no love for changelings to see symptoms, and about a year with love from normal animals. Symptoms include: lack of magic, lethargy, physical weakness, mental fog, and in more sever cases: loss of sapience, joint and muscle pain, shortness of breath (from muscles weakening), and death. I don't think I'll get to the point where the symptoms of missing an essential nutrient become relevant though.
As for how they'll make sure that doesn't happen, I'm not gonna say, because it'll probably pop up as a main source of conflict soon since it has to do with survival.
6245158 No, I meant Pokemon coming into Equestria. A few times Red came in and unwittingly enslaved the whole of Equestria.
6243609
Eh, realistically it would take a while to go from the technological level of changelings to where mankind is today. First, they'd need to establish a bunch of mines or at least establish trade with groups that already have mines, otherwise they wouldn't have the material needed for modern technology. That would also require that they have something to trade or that they be more powerful than other nations already.
So even if all the changelings came in with the brightest souls from mankind, they wouldn't be able to recreate human technology any time soon.
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That's what I'm trying for. Picking people randomly from all over the world is harder than it sounds though.
6243678
I'll be honest, if someone came in knowing everything about Equestria and the mane six, I think they'd make things too easy. Why do recon when someone already knows absolutely everything important that went on while you were out? Why fear ponies when you know they have a good chance of eventually becoming friends with changelings? Why even bother with ponies when there might be a land of griffins living in squalor you could pretty much do anything you want with?
Nah. I think including such a character would take away a whole lot of potential.
6243722
It's funny you say that here, 'cause she enjoyed these guys more than the last two. I mean, antagonistic relationships just seem right up her alley.
6243790
Thanks!
6244030
Fixed!
I actually ran this through google docs and four editors, so I guess my dictionary thinks 'Chrysalid' is a word for some reason. That, or we just missed it. It happens sometimes.
6244628
You mean the souls transferring...
Maybe.
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6244866
I haven't watched enough star trek to pull that off.
6245178
Oh.
Wait, there are fics about Red from Pokemon coming in and enslaving Equestria?
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6244030
Q is only in a small handful of Star Trek episodes, and honestly he acts pretty much the same as pre-reformed discord: a practically omnipotent prankster who does things for the lulz and to see what will happen.
EDIT: Whoops, responded to the wrong person.
6245411
From what I know of Q, I think he's a little more held back than pre-reformation Discord. I think he's more like early post-reformed Discord.
In any case, two of those guys would be a lot of chaos.
6245278
I can't wait for more of this story. And here a list of possible kind of people that you could use in this story:
A gamer
A teacher
A mechanic
A cook
A extreme manga/anime fan
A gardener
A cop
A architect
A yoga instructor
A musician
A artist
A scientist
A accountant
A rpg role player
6245832 A drill sargent, or anyone military for that matter.
6245535
Oh, you should see what I have in store for the real antagonists. My dreams came up with something pretty terrifying.
6245832
6246328
I'm gonna start writing these down...
6246412
6246328
Your sequential comments inspire this article of existential horror:
A squad of soldiers rediscovering eachother as changelings. They died after a well placed RPG took out their APC.
It is nice from Chrysalis, but if he would not have done something bad, i would not like the idea of him being forced to go with her either way, but he would probably be attacked, and no one would believe him.
I somehow like Andres really much.
Why did Andres threw the rock? Didn´t he told Issac to throw the rock?
do they go with her too?
I think i prefer Mii Tool, and Andres, but the serious hugging from Issac was funny too.
6246412 also, of course, a brony.
Chryslais would be glad to have a drone that at least seemed somewhat sane.
And so, in Isaac, Chrysalis found everything she dreamed of. And thus the most serious hug in all of hugdom commenced. And it was glorious.
In any case, Andres and Isaac have done a lot of work for the hive in gathering all those unconscious bodies. Now the question becomes where to hide and how long it'll take for them to be ensouled. And, of course, Chrysalis continuing to learn what coordinating fellow sapient beings entails. It should be very interesting to see.
What a lovely mental image.
Well, that was certainly a creative way to get a hug. And then another one in all seriousness. Amazing
Though Andres is a jackass. He'll have a long way to go.
6246483
That seems like it could be a small story on its own.
6247479
The rock was both a surprise attack and a distraction. If it hit, then they won. If it didn't hit, then Isaac could come out while Chrysalis was running away from or running towards her attacker.
Also, Chrysalis told Butterfly and Mii Tool to spread out from her and find other changelings. The forest isn't really dangerous to them when they're flying.
And I'm glad that hard work on the hugging scene paid off.
6247487
I don't know... A pony sympathizer could set Chryssi off. Plus, the knowledge a brony would have could ruin the story. For me, handling a character with that knowledge would be like handling powerful explosives.
6248979
Yup.
They're all gonna follow her orders now because they're in a crisis situation, but what about later? What about people that might blame her for that crisis situation? What if she's only used to having her orders followed to the letter?
6249433
Yeah, I could imagine Chrysalis treating Equestria burning down like it was a campfire.
6250372
Chrysalis' new hive comes with all sorts of benefits, including free hugs!
I think Andres is a little bit more than a jackass though. He straight up tried to murder Chrysalis.
6257686 Or maybe one of those people who just go 'F*** it, I'll roll with it.' because they can never be botherd to give a damn.
6257696
You mean a new apathetic changeling?
It depends how you mean it. If it's someone with an apathetic personality, that could get depressing because of the typical causes behind that. If you mean someone who could roll with the punches, that's more of a quirk than a core aspect of personality. (I have a very high tolerance for pain, both physical and mental, workout fairly often, and have few qualms against fighting, but 'tough' isn't the first word that comes to mind to people who meet me in real life.)
6257743 well, either that, or a child (Just imagain chryssy having to put up with a hyper active changeling.)
6257748
Ooh! That could be interesting.
6257798 hehe, espeicially if said child actually thinks shes his/her mother
6257836
Hmm. I'm not really sure how that one would work though.
6258079
Angry bitter old school rural-born grandma with a "rage against the dying of the light" worldview dies especially angry because she goes through her dying in a goddamn nursing home. Grandma character becomes a changeling and decides she doesnt care for Chryssi's attitude.
6258150 Oh, that will be good.
Don't worry Chrysalis. I didn't understand it either!
Great to implement such know-how by the way. The characters seem really animated, when they have discussions like this.
6258150
6258173
I... I don't even know if Chrysalis could handle that one.
She's not gonna have much respect for her elders, being like a million years old, and she doesn't seem like the kind to take kindly to insults.
6259084
Would you like a crash course on digital logic? I could stand to brush up my old skills.
Also, thanks. I'll try to include more things like that if it helps make the characters feel alive.
6262058
Chryssi can't handle the attitude, or Chryssi can't handle being the only sane one?
The inspiration was "old person is reborn into a fresh body, uses every arthritis-free moment to the fullest, holding nothing back with no regrets"
6262258
Oh, I was thinking they were going to stay a bitter old lady, insult everyone and everything, and just be rude because they don't really give a fuck. I kind of got an image of gremlins or something. Though, Chrysalis would still get a little annoyed if they refused to help out the other changelings.
Living their new arthritis free life to the fullest would be more just flying around and ignoring Chrysalis. She probably wouldn't have as much trouble with that.
6262420
Why not both?
Chryssi being treated like some young upstart with good intentions but not a lick of sense, would be a fun way to feed back to audience expectations of stereotypical chrysalis, while setting up the scene for your version of chryssi to show more of her character via her choices, reaction, and decision making processes.
All of the reborn changlings still kept their human voices, so Chryssi will have to deal with a crazy changeling grandma character screwing with Chryssi by pretending to be stereotypically old and deaf and senile, purposefully alternating between being impossibly dense and insufferably sharp tongued.
6262722
It's like granny smith mixed with Discord.
Yeah, I can see how Chrysalis having to prove her expertise could flesh out her character a lot more. Could be pretty interesting.
6262770
I am glad you approve!
I will go make up more changelings...
6262058
You can try, but I'm not really good when it comes to understanding things like this.