The Teal Changeling

by MrAlterad

Prologue - Color

Hibernation. While ponies were knocking leaves from their trees, The Badlands south of their borders underwent a change of its own, unguided by pony hooves. The temperatures fell, bringing the flooding rains upon the scorched earth, signaling the need for the hive to seal their burrow, and sleep.

Every year it was always the same. Gather what food they could for the next clutch the queen would lay, and ultimately grow hungry over the four months that composed of the monsoon; their hibernation season. Fortunately, this year was different.

A lone changeling wandered through the deepest parts of the hive. He took in a deep breath, smelling the faint hint of sulfur as he took his time enjoying the moist warm air, hearing a steam chute go off further down the corridor. He then paused for moment, wiping dew from his decorated helm, a relic passed on from his predecessor; the helm of the general; the helm worn by the one named Mantis.

Entering the hatchery, he paused when he noticed his queen, asleep in the room's center; an exhausted, yet happy look hidden under her long dark orange mane. Behind her stood two of her royal guards, Bastion and Aegis; taller than the queen, they watched Mantis silently, still as statues. Laying around her, reaching to the walls of the chamber, were countless eggs in varying shades of amber, each of them half the size of the helm Mantis wore.

This clutch was thrice as large as last years. A fact that played through the changeling's mind, his chest swelling with pride. Thanks to a bold strategy of his own design, the hive now had plenty of food to support the new clutch, and even more. This year, no changeling would go hungry in the ‘spring’.

As he circled the room, he noticed that the queen didn't sleep alone. Curled in a ball close to her was a hatchling, one Mantis recognized; a royal guard almost two years old. While barely able to talk, he was already the size of a mature drone, and in another six years, this royal guard would reach his full imposing stature as one of the queen's personal protectors.

Seeing the hatchling made Mantis wonder if any new guards lay dormant in the clutch around him, making his eyes scan for any eggs larger than the rest. He took the clutch in slowly, seeing these eggs as the evidence of a brighter future. His future. He then paused when an unusual color caught his eye.

Nestled behind a part of the clutch, sitting apart from all the others, was an egg sporting a cool deep blueish green color. Teal. The color brought back memories that made the soldier pause, his good mood melting away as he took it in. The egg was easily twice as large as the rest, and its color quickly washed away the pride he'd been holding. It was different. He was the sire of this clutch, which meant he was also the sire of that egg. A teal egg.

“Teal?” he stated under his breath as he approached the egg, “This- This isn't our color. It's a cold color. A weak color; a color better suited for ponies.” He then shook his head, glaring angrily at it. “We have no need for another color in this hive, this one is better left abandoned!” he declared as he adopted a disgusted look. When he reached the egg, he bent close to it, the telltale spots on it informing him the hatchling inside was female. His eyes widened as he took a step back, his mouth hanging open.

“A queen's egg!? I sired a queen?” he asked, his mind immediately sifting through the implications and the impact this could have on the hive's future. He stood there for several moments as his mind played it out, and all he saw was chaos. A hive needed unity to survive, and her color was the most basic of means of breaking that. A fact he could look past, if it weren’t for one thing. “Why teal!? Why couldn't it have been red? Even purple would have been acceptable!" he spat out furiously; he then placed a hoof atop the egg as he adopted a dark scowl. "No! Our hive has no need for a queen like this! Queen Amber is all we need, and with this large clutch, we can capture even more-”

The air was knocked out of him as she was sent sprawling. With quick reflexes, he rolled back into the wall, coughing as he sprung into the air, hovering there as he saw the queen's hatchling now standing between him and the egg. The royal guards simply watched in silence. Mantis stood as the second in command of the hive. It wasn’t their place to interfere with him, unless he threatened their queen.

“You would strike Mantis, you nameless child!?” Mantis spat, his body shaking in the indignation of being caught off guard by a hatchling. His eyes snapped to the egg, before his wings buzzed loudly as he charged the young guard, intending to smash him into the teal eyesore. Before he could reach his mark, he was slammed into the ground by an orange telekinetic force, making him let out a small groan as he saw his queen glaring at him, her horn glowing.

“Is there a problem, Mantis?” Queen Amber asked, punctuating her question by putting more pressure on him. “Child, bring her here,” she commanded of the young guard, who suddenly looked very sheepish as he gave a small nod.

“Yes mama,” he replied, carefully carrying the egg towards her. As he placed it next to her, she rolled it close, cradling it as she let go of her general. Mantis took in a ragged breath as he got on his hooves, while Amber gave the hatchling a small smile.

“It's 'Your Highness' now,” she cooed as she rubbed the egg lightly, getting a flustered look from the child.

“Umm, no name-” the hatchling let out.

"And you've just earned it,” Amber quickly replied as she pulled the hatchling close, getting a confused look from the young changeling. “Well Mantis, is there a problem,” she asked again as she gave the general a slightly detached look.

“Your Highness, the egg is teal!”

“I don't need your powers of observation to see that, Mantis.”

“But, it's teal!" Mantis let out in exasperation, put off that she couldn’t see what he saw. "It is a weak color! A color a pony would wear!” he let out in a heated rant, “That, and it's a queen's egg! You're in fine health, the hive doesn't need two queens, it'll only lead to chaos!”

“Mantis, are you suggesting that our future can't support two hives?” she asked coolly as she raised an eyebrow, getting a surprised look from him.

“Two hives?” he asked, his mind immediately picturing the potential logistics behind the possibility, “I mean, if we can get all of Equestria under our hooves, then-”

“Then we could support three, or even four hives,” she pointed out, “Mantis, capturing that village was just what we needed, and the Moon Princess is none the wiser thanks to your clever ruse.” Mantis couldn’t help but smile at her praise, though the grin was short lived as his eyes fell back to the egg.

Amber then made a sweeping motion to the room’s contents, “This clutch is just the first; in a decade, our hive will be three times the size it is now!” she said, a glimmer in her eye that left the general in awe. “The time for another queen is coming, and she'll be ready when we need her,” she stated as she continued to pat the egg. Her brow then furrowed as she glared at Mantis. “And if something untimely were to happen to her, you can rest assured that you'll be following suit shortly after. Understand?” she asked, and Mantis returned her glare, before lightly kicking the ground.

“As long as I breathe, she will live,” he stated, avoiding eye contact with his queen as he did.

“I think you meant to say 'As long as she breathes, I will live',” Amber replied, before making a dismissive gesture, “Now leave me, I'm quite tired, and dealing with you isn't helping.”

“I understand, Your Highness,” Mantis replied as he bowed lightly. As he turned to depart, he gave a dark glare to the hatchling that got in his way, getting a glare in return as he left. Immediately after he departed, Amber let out a weak sigh as she collapsed, rubbing the small egg as she pulled the hatchling closer.

“That was a very brave thing you did,” she said in a kind tone as she looked to the young royal guard, who blushed in turn. “Tell me, why did you stop Mantis?” she asked, and the hatchling's face scrunched up as he pieced together her question, and his reply.

“I, dinna wanna see egg get hurt,” he replied, a small fire in his eyes that made Amber's heart swell with pride. With a warm smile, she indicated the egg.

“This little one is special, she's gonna need someone to keep her safe,” she added as she pointed to the hatchling, “You will be her shield, her protecting wall; your name will be Bulwark. Understand?”

“I- I'm, Buulwok?” he replied, getting a small chuckle from his mother.

“Close enough.”

“Who...?” Bulwark asked as he gently touched the egg.

“Her? Her name is Chrysalis, and though Mantis doesn't want to see it, she's our future,” Amber explained, that glint returning, making her own guardians smile at her mirth. “And with his aid, I'm going to make sure that all of you will have a brighter tomorrow, free of hunger,” she promised, and though the hatchling didn't understand what she meant by that, he smiled all the same.

“Buulwok keep Chrysalis safe...” The young royal guard said sternly, surprising the queen.

“You get her name right, but not your own?" she asked, letting out another small laugh, "Yes, Bulwark will suit you fine...”

~~~~~~~~~~

“I'll be dead before I see that maggot become queen!” Mantis mumbled resolutely, before reaching his destination. Looking to the ceiling, his anger started to ebb away as he saw the fruits of his labor.

Lined up in a large series of amber cocoons were sleeping ponies, an entire town's worth. A town believed by Equestria to have been swallowed by the sea. “We don't need another queen, or another hive for that matter. We just need one. And with this, we won't know hunger anymore.” he stated, a confident smile punctuating his words. “With this, we have all we'll need to take even bolder action,” he added, his mind already at work planning the next harvest. The second, of many to come...

Author's Note:

Somechangeling isn't getting a '#1 Dad' cup this Hearth's Warming Eve...

Welcome to The Teal Changeling, and the Trio-verse!
As stated in the story's page, you don't need to read other entries of the 'verse to enjoy this one. And I do hope you enjoy it.

Comments

[KiaraGate]

I look fowards to see where this goes.

[Fourpony]

“Why teal!? Why couldn't it have been red? Even purple would have been acceptable!"

Does Chrysalis have any teal on her?
i.imgur.com/fRynZzl.jpg

[PhycoKrusk]

Ah, already we see Mantis' motivation: Greed.

[Razzy]

Yeah, dad of the year he ain't.

Yay egg Chryssie!

Cya
Raziel-chan

[The Forgotten Comrade]

This is interesting.

[AQueerReader]

I'm so excited to see where this goes. It's a definite change in what I'm used to reading and I am hooked!