Exiting the great hall, I followed along Princess Celestia and the element bearers out into the bright sunlight, Celestia floating the big bug along.
As we stepped outside, I glanced up and could suddenly see exactly what had distracted the guards.
The air outside the pink shield was swarming with smaller, pony instead of princess, sized bugs and I suddenly felt like I was in Whiskey Outpost.
We might have captured their queen, but who knew if that actually helped. With that many, we might be over run.
“Princess...” Twilight asked, “What do we do?”
“Go get the Elements.” The Princess of the Sun answered with a smile. “Then return to your brother. If needed be, you will know what to do.”
“But...” Twilight started to say, before looking at the floating and still knocked out bug queen before she nodded, “Yes Princess.” and turned to the others, “Come on girls. We better hurry.”
As they galloped off, Princess Celestia turned to me, “Thank you, Blank Page. That was a very brave thing you did.”
“Nopony else was doing anything.” I didn't do much, I just jostled her horn at a critical moment. Celestia was the one that blasted the thing.
She smiled and then looked up at the swarm outside the pink dome with a small frown, “There may still be a way to resolve this without more violence.”
I frowned at that as Reliant Frost almost barreled into me in his hurry to get back to my side, “Sir! Are you alright!!?”
I chuckled, “I'm fine.” before turning from the panicking guard back to the princess, “Holding their Queen hostage?”
“I was thinking of asking you to talk to her.” Celestia clarified.
...Uhm, “What?”
She tilted her head, looking at big floating bug. It was still out like a light. “My sister and I fought her kind once before. We locked them away in a place where they couldn't harm anypony. Back then, they conquered several towns before we were able to stop them. Perhaps... With your origins you can find some common ground with her? Find a way to stop this?”
Yes, of course, put the fate of Canterlot in my hooves. Thanks a lot, Princess.
I took a slow deep breath before I nodded, “If you think it will help, Princess. But I need to do it my way. And you need to play along.”
Reliant Frost didn't look happy about this, not what so ever.
XXXXXXXXXX
The chamber was a rather plain one. One of Celestias private rooms, I presume. I crossed my frontlegs, waiting for the big bug to wake up as I did my best to relax. She was still in her magical bonds, Celestia was there was well, across the room from me. I was safe.
Reliant Frost was outside and he was about as happy about that as you could expect.
There's no way this is going to work.
The big bug slowly stirred, her wings fluttering before her eyes snapped open and she jerked awake. When she realized she was bound, she went bugfuck crazy, struggling and pulling until she finally collapsed.
Celestia didn't say anything, keeping to the background as well as a large white alicorn could.
Leaving me with the bug.
I watched her for a moment before I spoke up, “Good Morning.”
The bugs eyes flicked open again and she stared at me, “I doubt it.” she finally answered.
I nodded, “I suppose you are right about that on both points. It's neither morning nor good for any of us. I'm Blank Page. May I ask your name?”
“Does it matter?”
“It would save me the bother of making one up for you.” I said with a shrug, “But if you want to be called Buggy, that's fine.”
“...I am Queen Chrysalis in your language.” she snarled, “Where am I?”
“In a room at Canterlot Castle. The shield is reinforced, your plan failed. Your subjects will either starve to death outside it or be annihilated as soon as we feel like it.”
Chrysalis almost vibrated with rage but didn't answer at first. I'm safe. I'm safe. Her legs and horn are still supressed. She can't hurt me.
It was almost a minute before she spoke up, “Why am I here?”
I ignored her question, “Do you know who I am?”
“Princess Luna's plaything.”
“Not completely wrong. But did you know I'm not a pony? Not really, not where it matters?”
“...What?”
I nodded, “I ended up here after some sort of magical accident. Woke up as a unicorn. Now that was a surprise, let me tell you. I'm not even from this world.”
“You are lying.”
I grinned, “Why would I? What reason could I possibly have to lie?”
“You want me to call my subjects off. To surrender... after what your 'princesses' did to us...”
Hmm. Sounded like there might be more to that story that Celestia originally said.
“You were eating the love of ponies!” Celestia injected from the other side of the room and Chrysalis twisted around to glare at her.
“We were starving! We feed on love! We need it to survive!”
“Stay out of this, Princess.” I told Celestia, shifting to look at her, “You want me to talk to her? I will do so. But I can't with you here, so with all due respect, Fuck Off.” Too damn stressful for me to moderate my language. Besides, she promised to play along.
Both of them twitched around to stare at me with wide eyes for a moment before Celestia slowly got onto her hooves with a nod, “...Very well. I will remain outside” she said and opened the doors, walking outside before closing them behind her, leaving me with the bug queen.
She just kept staring at me, “D-did you just...”
I shrugged, “I'm Luna's 'plaything'. I bet she can get me back from the moon if needed. And as I was saying, I'm not exactly a average pony, nor a pony at all at heart. You see, humans are not like these ponies. We had two arms and legs, walked upright like minotaurs. Even more importantly, we are omnivores. Vegetables, fruit, nuts, berries... meat. We eat it all.” I said before I sighed, “I miss meat so badly. It's been over a year since I've had some. You are not the only predator in the room.”
Chrysalis actually shifted away a bit from me, “...You really are no pony.”
“I am now. But I need you to understand a important thing. I don't care what happens to you. You threatened me and more importantly, my friends and girlfriend. If it had been up to me, Celestia should have kept hitting you with the magic beam of arse kicking until you were a stain on the marble floor. If necessary, I'll kill you myself.”
I really didn't think I could. In the heat of battle, maybe. A tied up prisoner? No. But she don't need to know that.
Shaking my head, I continued, “So, as you see, I really have no reason to lie to you. But Celestia wanted me to talk to you, try to find a common ground. To end this without more loss of life.”
She was quiet, looking down on the floor as she shifted from laying on her side onto her stomach, her frontlegs still tied before her as she looked at the glowing bindings, “...Then kill me. Because there can be no peace. We need love, we can't live without it. The Princesses won't accept us feeding on their ponies. We will not willingly starve to death.”
“You fed on Shining Armors love for Princess Cadence?”
“Yes.”
“Any spells on him? To keep him under control?”
Chrysalis sighed and nodded, fluttering her wings, “I did. The feeding is just that, draining of love. I used several spells to hold him under control. They are all broken now.”
“Does it have to be romantic love?”
“It tastes the best. I didn't finish draining him, he wouldn't be able to function if I did.”
“You are an idiot.”
That got a reaction, her eyes snapping to me, “...What?”
I shook my head, “You want as much love as you can handle? Get a puppy.”
“Puppy.”
“Yes, a puppy. A dog. A small ball of fluff which will love you unconditionally. I have seen them around, I'm sure you have as well. You clearly don't drain all the love at once or Shining Armor wouldn't have been able to function at all, right? Can't you just... nibble? Does love 'grow back'?”
“...Yes. If you drain a pony, if they survive the time they spend apathetic, in a few weeks they will return to normal.”
I nodded, “So you really are an idiot then. Why this big stupid invasion? You could have kept hidden in the general population. Nibbled a little here and a little there. You could have thrived.”
Chrysalis shook her head, “...The Princesses would have found us, sooner or later, no matter what the other hives think. As long as they existed, we are in danger. Last time we did, they discovered us. We drained ponies, yes. But we did 'nibble'. We lived among them for years before we were found out with no damage done. When they found us out, they couldn't stand for it. We drained ponies fully to obtain the power to defend ourselves.”
There is almost never one side in a conflict. It didn't seem to be here either. Not that I took her at her words, but neither did it seem like everything was told in the version Celestia told me either.
Also, the mention of other hives was interesting.
“So what will it be? Make a decision.” I finally asked, “Combat or surrender and peace talks? Try to work out a way to solve this without more violence. Without you and your subjects being locked away again. Or will your subjects fight to the death uselessly?”
Chrysalis was silent for a long time before she let out a long deep breath, “...I just want to keep my subjects safe. My children safe. If I have the Princesses' word they will not be harmed... we will surrender.”
I glanced down at my medallion, making a quick decision and then I nodded, “You have the word of Princess Luna.”
“Get Celestia. I need to address my subjects.”
The thing about "If you want love, get a puppy," I know I've heard that before in another fic.
I liked it more when he went berzerk and got dark powers
6391491 from ''Who Is This Lord Tirek You Speak Of? ''
6391548 Yup that's it, It ended too suddenly for my taste.
From the IDW comics we learned that there are no hives. Chrysalis isn't only a bug but also a plant. And she realy looks like one. She has pistils on head and her mane looks like petals or leaves with holes and she was born from a tree. She is plant, insect and pony hybrid. And plants grow better when you show them love. And it looks like changelings don't age and don't multiply. Maybe new changelings only grow in one place where their mother tree is.
6391635 I go by show, not comics.
6391639
From the show we know nothing what changelings are. The only thing we know that they eat love and can change form. The information i wrote was from official comic that was focused on Chrysalis and until show say something different the information from comics is valid.
6391668
There are a lot of questionable choices in the comics, the choice to not include information from them as canonical if it isn't referenced in the show is an accepted practice. Many people don't even accept stuff from Equestrian Girls as canonical.
He is getting Knighted after this! A barondom, a fiefdom, a lordship. Prince Blank Page!
I gotta say that I do like these changes!
Please don't end!
6391491
6391548 In The Rise of Darth Vulcan, he got them to use bunnies I'm pretty sure :D
This is one of the best stories and it's fine but one chapter a day is making me so anxious.
Going stir crazy here! !!
Throw her....
TO THE PIT OF PUPPIES!
*incoherent screaming in befuddled terror.*
6391548 I'm fairly sure the original was from Diaries of a Madman... Or some earlier fic
6392111 Star Wars is accessible, widely known, plus a fairy tale in space fusion, Knights, heroes, monsters, evil and good.
Also the choice in stories is not really important to the story as a whole.
Luna love is goodpre03.deviantart.net/8a6b/th/pre/i/2015/246/5/8/page_and_luna_by_sipioc-d98aob2.jpg
6392480
Great picture.
It's saddening I don't get to see great fan pictures like this for good stories often.
Excellent story.
6391491 Also used in Diaries of a Madman and there was a passing mention in the DisQord series.
You know, considering the whole, revealing to Chrysalis as being a human, he really could have gone into more detail with the whole eat meat thing.
Me personally, I would have described to her the process of cooking lobster, and then explain to her it helps the savory meat while its still in the shell and then just point out she has a shell as well.
Then again, I can be pretty imaginative when it comes to gruesome things like this.Lobster Chrysalis... Hmmm.
>:D
6396579 the I'm. It really tirek series as well, And it really annoys me. As a joke, fine, but it shouldn't really work and if it does their is no way they wouldn't have figured it out before.
Exactly why the Changling invasion was a dumb idea in the first place. Taking over a nation and enslaving it's people, as well as revealing that anyone and everyone you know could be a parasite feeding off your love for them is a sure fire way to REDUCE the amount of love felt in a kingdom. Might as well have gone and tossed Equestria, essentially a love buffet, out the window as a good feeding ground after that.
the only thing I ever questioned was, if they would really die from them feeding on the Ponys, and I guess no one tried to find out, because then it probably wouldn't have been necessary to attack in the first place.
7121187
This, right here sums up what I was screaming when I first watched the episode... sure you could mind-fk your victims turning them into mindless, obedient puppets. But it would only work for so long until the law of diminishing returns kicks in.
If you planned on staying, you'd need food for your new slaves, which takes time and resources. You'd have to fight off/capture/re-captute the one's that have made a tactical withdrawal. Among many other things.
I don't think canon Cryssi planned beyond "om nom nom, food", she'd most likely be sitting there thinking something along the lines of: Okay, Me and mine have food, now what?
Even her most recent invasion attempt, while very well executed, would have eventually failed. Too meny slip-ups.
This is a good way to end things, of course with what the show has now revealed, she didn't want food and safety, she wanted Power and dominion. She was scary, controlling bug mommy, not loving and concerned bug mommy.
Heh, seen the 'give changelings pets' idea before, but even if that was ever negated by canon, Thorax and the new changelings clearly show that Chrysalis was doing something wrong, since the converted chabgelings get along with others just fine.
noone seems to see the most logical solution. lock a few gatherers in two rooms with Pinkie and Fluttershy for a few hours. bam. food aplenty.
9092716
Yep. Or get puppies. Care for them and they care right back till they die of old age.
9092716
oh, that reminds me of a crazy scene in the story "quantum gallop", where Pinkie was feeding a bunch of captive changelings...
Hehe, can't outclass an Apex Predator!
9988703
I don't think apes are predators. We were hunted too, pretty sure. What we CAN do is INSTALL ourselves as apex predator. Tools, teamork, tenacity, all the stuff.
The puppy thing seems like a cheap out, it does not make sense, if they could do that with animals they would already know, after all they feel love, they should be able to feel animals emotions as easily if it was an option.
I like more the diplomacy, finding ways to work together. As told what caused violence was fear of the uknown not actual damage. They can easily coexist.
Also, I have heard that humans are endurance predators, going after a single prey day and night until they fall from exhaustion and we eat them. Which is actually stupid scary when you think about it.
10237953
We are predatory. We are predators, but we are not equipped for it. Like Parrots, like macaws, are mainly herbivorous, they become very,very predatory in both behaviour and diet when they get their beaks on meat and eggs. Same thing with us. It is a documented effect when food get scarce, especially carbs (veggies,grains and roots, sugars etc) we turn very predatory. Aggression heightens, our eyes sharpen (in how we precieve and search for food). A phenomenon I have myself experienced. It is our body's hard wired emergency response in moments where we lack easy food. Its not a huge difference but enough to provoke you into actions to chase and follow whatever your head says is potential food, it is a pure survival mechanic.
10347503
I meant to say that we are not predators(not equipped) as we "start out" with nuts, fruits and stuff. Predators start out with teeth, speed and all that other stuff to only pursue pray. Yes, we can eat meat, and we can hunt but we are not predators, not apex ones anyway.
10373884
You're actually wrong about that. We are equipped as predators, just not in the classic sense. We're endurance hunters rather than ambush or power in the classic sense. We're not built for mailing, because we don't need it, what we do need are tracking skills, endurance, and the ability to scavange, all of which we have. Humans are built to move at a jog for practically days on end untill our prey is exhausted and no longer able to flee, and have the eye set and facial structure of a predator (forward set and geared for detail and motion rather than peripheral coverage). Layer on, evolution figured out that throwing stuff gave us a better range and greater power than simply claws or fangs, so we developed the upper body musculature for long distance throwing, something that even other.primates and endurance predators can't manage the torque to do. Add in our pack tendencies and rapid breeding, and you have a recipe for an absolute apex predator; just not one that can one on one other apex predators. Because that's not what we're built for.
10425400
Facts
10373884
Ancient hominids have always used tools. They would chase their prey until it collapsed, or simply wrestle it to the ground, then hit it with something hard. A rock to the head can kill as reliably as teeth or claws.
But humanity's true tools are creativity and stubbornness. We have the ability to do absolutely bizarre things that no creature is prepared by instinct to deal with, and do it over and over until it works. https://youtu.be/wJiZ2HgV5E0
10334599
Humans are scared of many things. These fears have been encoded into us. Take heights as an example. You would be too scared to try to walk off of a cliff.
Humans are also scared of humanoid creatures with long arms and legs. This fear is also encoded into us. Do you want to find out what our ancestors had encountered to get this fear?
Another example is the uncanny valley. We get creeped out by almost human like things that almost imitate us perfectly. Perhaps there was a time when an apex predator that could blend in with us lived on this Earth. We evolved this fear to counter them.
They might still be here.
Damn fine chapter! Page sure can be counted on.
From Earth Apex to Equestria Apex Predator
10933247
Wait really?
time parodox idk
11021419
I want to know what it is myself.
Yes, but nibbling on love while hiding among ponies looks like an invasion and like you’re a threat. The puppy idea would be separate from ponies and therefore wouldn’t make them feel that way.
Yeah. Humans are great at peaceful resolutions. Totally.
11300010
Sorry for the reply :D
It's called the uncanny valley, effectively it's a fear response to when you are looking at something that looks like, but not quite, human.
Which is nightmare fuel for me as the thought of the NEED For such a fear response?
To quote mordin Solis? "Implications Unpleasant"
11571779
Peace through violence but not just any violence EXTREME violence, like the kind that will get you to the Geneva convention
11604352
They will learn of our peaceful ways!
BY FORCE!
From one predator to another, empathy to victory.
Odd Celestia did not try...
Maybe no side really tried before?