• Published 2nd Aug 2015
  • 4,061 Views, 371 Comments

The Teal Changeling - MrAlterad



Princess Chrysalis was born a queen, but she has much to learn about becoming one. The war between her hive and Princess Luna may provide the lesson, assuming what follows doesn't destroy her kind...

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5. Family Time

“You sure you want to do this?” Bulwark asked in concern as they made their way to the Royal Halls, making Chrys hesitate for a moment. “Bringing this up could lead to delaying the attack on Canter Town.”

“I know,” Chrys said, a determined look in her eyes, “Which will tick off Mantis. But, what am I supposed to do? Just stay put and not tell her!?” she asked, scoffing, “Above all things, her safety is the hive's number one concern. Mantis will listen. He won't like it, but he'll listen. And if he's got a problem, that's what you're here for. Right?” she asked with a sharp grin, getting a solid nod from Bulwark.

“Of course,” he replied, a fiery look in his eyes.

Reaching the Royal Halls, they were informed by the guards that Mantis and Amber were in a meeting. Chrys hesitated on hearing this, frowning at nothing in particular as they made their way to the war room unimpeded. When they arrived, she peeked inside, seeing Mantis and Amber talking about their recent success over capturing Thundercloud.

The room itself had a number of maps on the wall, most of them being tunnel maps. The Queen and her general were standing around a large stone table that had a sprawling map covering it. Chrys noticed that Bastion and Aegis were standing at the queen's side, but Sledge was nowhere to be seen.

“Highness?” Bulwark asked in a quiet, curious tone. Chrysalis ignored him as she eyed Mantis, yesterday's events briefly playing through her head, before she took a step forward. Mantis and Amber paused when they noticed her enter, getting a frown from Mantis, while a surprised looked from the Queen.

“I need to talk to Her Highness,” Chrys said as she ignored the looks she was given, walking up to the table they were overlooking.

“We're busy Chrys, can it wait till later?” Amber asked in a warm, but impatient tone.

“No, it's important,” Chrys replied adamantly, getting a raised eyebrow from Mantis.

No?” he scoffed, “You think it's more important than our coming invasion of Canter Town?” he asked in a condescending tone.

“Yes, it is,” Chrys replied, prompting Mantis and Amber to exchange looks, “It's about the Moon Princess,” she added, making Mantis raise an eyebrow towards her.

“And what can you possibly know about her that we don't?”

“Silence, Mantis,” Amber stated coldly, getting a small bow from the General, before giving Chrys a subtle glare. “What's on your mind, Chrys?”

“I talked to several ponies in the feeding room about her," she lied, believing that to have more credibility than admitting that a crazy pony told her about the princess, "They all believe that the Moon Princess can raise and lower the sun.”

“We know of this already,” Amber replied, “It's just pony superstition,” she assured, making Chrys shake her head.

“How do we know that? What if it's true?” she asked, making the Queen look to Mantis.

“Ghost confirmed it,” he stated, “He's been in Canter Town for years observing her. By his words, it's nothing more than a well timed light-show,” he explained, getting a hard glare from Chrys.

“But how does he know!? He's just a drone! He can't use magic like myself or mother!” She blinked, “I mean, Her Highness,” she added, hiding her embarrassment to spare Mantis the satisfaction. Amber rubbed her chin as she appraised her daughter, before nodding.

“She does have a point," Amber said as she looked to the general, "Mantis, can we direct Ghost to do a more thorough investigation?” she asked, making Mantis' mood lighten slightly as he briefly considered it.

“It's not too late to send word to him. He can investigate during the winter, but we won't get the answer till we've opened up the tunnels again.” His brow furrowed as he looked to Amber, “We won't get his report until we're about to set out.”

“If that's the case, perhaps it would be best to postpone the attack,” Amber stated, making Chrys feel an unexpected chill run up her spine. She looked to Mantis, who was giving her a cold look, before he turned to the Queen.

“That's something we mustn't do, Your Highness,” he said, and Amber looked to him for a moment, her brow furrowed in thought.

Why?” Chrys asked as she took a step forward, getting a surprised look from Mantis and Amber. “Why can't we put it off for a month? If the ponies are right, Her Highness would be in danger!”

“...My Queen, may I enlighten your daughter on the importance of this attack?” he asked, surprising Chrys with his question as Amber looked to him for several moments, before nodding her head.

“Please do,” she replied, making Mantis smile briefly, before he washed his face free of emotion. He then adopted a professional stance as he looked to Chrysalis.

“Princess, we've taken Tampa Neigh, Iron Trot, Neighgarou, and just this week, Thundercloud. We've kept their suspicion away from The Badlands, but thanks to our recent attack, that's not going to last much longer,” He explained as he tapped the table with his hoof, motioning for her to look.

“I'm not a hatchling, Mantis. I know all this already!” Chrys replied in an annoyed tone.

“Knowing the outline doesn't let you see the whole picture!” he quickly replied, “You wanted in on this meeting, so you can enjoy learning what's needed to be a part of it,” he said resolutely, making Chrys frown as she eyed the table, which was taller than she was.

Reluctantly hopping onto Bulwark's back, she got a better view of the large map; a map that showed most of the continent. There were several markings on it, written in words most changelings wouldn't understand, but Chrys did; words written in the pony language. The map also had border lines, indicating the influence of pony magic on the land, and how its reach waned with the loss of those towns.

Mantis hovered to the east side of the map, indicating a marked spot on the east coast. “Tampa Neigh was our first ploy, where we dug a number of large tunnels under the town. It took three years to make those tunnels, and as they were made, my soldiers infiltrated the population. When everything was in place, we captured the ponies, called back most of our infiltrators, and collapsed those tunnels. Tampa Neigh was swallowed by the sea, and our infiltrators traveled to Iron Trot, spreading the word of the terrible disaster, being the 'sole survivors' of the town.”

Her eyes hovered over the eastern coast for a brief moment as Mantis moved along. Tampa Neigh was the home of the old stallion. It had been a small town, whose population was now mixed with all the other ponies in the feeding room. Seeing that town on the map made her chest ache slightly, but she pushed that feeling aside; Mantis was continuing on, and she didn't want to fall behind.

His hoof hovered over Iron Trot, a mining settlement that was close to The Badlands. Its location lined up perfectly between Canter Town to the north, and their hive in the south. “Three years later, we successfully repeated this strategy with Iron Trot, collapsing the mines that weaved through the area, claiming its population for our needs.”

Chrys could still remember the excitement following their success at Iron Trot. Any doubt to the risk behind Mantis' ploys were swept away with that victory. And shortly after his return, one by one, she'd had to remove the shells of her other clutchlings from her egg, leaving just Momo and Darrin.

Mantis then looked to Chrys with a raised eyebrow. “Naturally, losing two whole towns so close to each other was bound to raise suspicion, so we held off on the next target for a while.”

He then indicated the doomed town, Neighgarou, further north, which rested close to a large mountain on the western side of Equestria. “This time, we left no spies to tell the tale. We took the population overnight, added some features to shift the blame, then razed the entire town." He then pointed to the mountain overshadowing the town, "The general assumption the ponies agreed on was that a dragon attacked Neighgarou, as there was one sleeping in the mountain at the time.” He then adopted a rather proud grin, “We made that dragon our scapegoat,” he emphasized, making Chrys wonder if that dragon had anything to do with Dud's presence in the village. As Mantis indicated the pegasus settlement of Thundercloud, Chrys' brow furrowed.

“Why are all the targets southern towns?” She asked, “Isn't that stupid? Wouldn't that make it a bit obvious that something from The Badlands was causing this?” She asked, getting an impressed look from Mantis.

“Huh, I can't believe you noticed that. Yes, it is obvious, and I'm getting to that, Princess.” He replied as he looked back to the map. “Tampa Neigh, Iron Trot and Neighgarou were operations to secure resources. Because of those victories, the hive is the largest it has ever been.” He said with a proud smile. “Our attack on Thundercloud wasn't to secure resources. Which is good, as we only captured less than half of the population; what we really gained from it, was confidence.”

“Confidence?” Chrys asked in confusion, getting a smug smile from Mantis as he continued.

“The attack on Thundercloud served several purposes. Being a pegasus town, it was stationed on a cloud in the sky, making it mobile to the inhabitant's whims. This made it a perfect staging platform for any offense into The Badlands, so it needed to be removed. Doing so would also impact the weather in Equestria's southern region, dissuading any of its forces from crossing during the winter.” He explained as he looked to Chrys, raising an eyebrow, “The operation was also staged, to see how well we fared at an open assault against pegasi. See, we have a tactical advantage against earth ponies and unicorns, since we can fly. Pegasi can negate that advantage, so our mettle needed to be tested against the fliers.”

He then placed his hoof over the marker for Thundercloud, grinding it underhoof with a smile. “The outcome, was as expected. Only trained pegasi were a threat to our troops, and most of them were captured before the attack began, under cover of night.” He explained, making Chrys' head spin a little at all the information he was feeding her. She hadn't realized what amount of effort went into the victories her life revolved around, and thanks to his droning on, she was indeed starting to understand.

“And ultimately, Thundercloud was bait. We took it with force, disguised as ponies. Those that got away will carry word of pegasi from The Badlands attacking and destroying Thundercloud,” he said with a small nod, “And over the winter, the Moon Princess is going to strengthen the southern areas, and try and locate these ‘pegasi’,” he said with a small smile, “Leaving Canter Town exposed,” he finished as he lightly tapped the marked town to the north.

“So, all of this,” Chrys said as she indicated the whole map, “was so we can attack Canter Town while it's exposed?” she asked, getting a nod from Mantis and Amber. She looked from them to the map, having no words to offer. She was impressed, and she didn't want to admit it; not to Mantis, and not to herself.

“We need to capture the Moon Princess,” he emphasized, “Ghost believes that she loves all of her subjects. She is their greatest asset, their ruler, and with that much love, there's no telling how much nectar we can gain from her," he said as he leaned on the table towards Chrys, "Though we've made it appear as nature at fault, it likely won't take long for her to connect the fallen towns to what happened at Thundercloud.” His brow then furrowed as he looked Chrys in the eyes. “We need to capture her, before they discover what we really are. I have no doubt, even if we do nothing, that Equestria will learn of our existence before the end of next year.” Chrys eyed him for a moment longer, before glancing to the side.

“Okay. I get it, we need to attack Canter Town as soon as we can,” she reluctantly admitted, “But, if she's strong enough to raise and lower the sun and moon, then when the queen fights her, she could lose,” she said with a concerned look in her eyes. “We should wait, and learn more,” she added, blinking in surprise as Mantis gave her a caustic glare.

“Chrys,” Amber began, giving the princess a steady look, “it's a risk we need to take.”

“And, if the princess was that strong, then what?” Mantis asked cold tone, “We seal our tunnels? Hide away with what we have and count ourselves lucky!?” He then shook his head, “We've done that for far too long; it got us nothing but hunger and fear,” he said, a hint of shame flashing in Amber's eyes as Mantis swept a hoof over the map. “Thanks to my risks, that era is behind us!”

Your risks? Don't you mean the hive's risks?” Chrys asked as she gave him a glare.

“Then were my risks, my plans, my coordination, you little-”

“Mantis,” Amber interrupted, giving him a cold glare, “remember your place.” The drone glanced to the side, taking in several deep breaths.

“My apologies, Your Highness,” he said with a small bow, getting a smug smile from Chrys.

“Look,” Amber continued, “instead of postponing the attack, we should think of a way to better secure our victory,” she said, making Mantis blink, before giving her an agreeing nod.

“Yes, of course! I'll get on it immediately,” he replied, giving Chrys a sly smile of his own as he did.

“But Your Highness—” Chrys began as she stepped forward.

“That's enough, Chrys,” Amber said sternly, “If the Moon Princess can actually raise and lower the sun, then what does that mean? I've never tried such a task, there's undoubtedly a complex spell behind it. Maybe it's easier to do then we think. Either way, Mantis is right. I've abandoned laying a clutch this year for this plan, something I haven't had to do in decades. We're committed to this attack.”

“If you lose—”

I won't,” she said confidently, before giving Chrys a reassuring smile, “Don't worry, dear. If the worst does happen, and it won't, the hive will still have you,” she assured, making Chrys' frown as she stomped her hoof, on Bulwark's back no less.

“I don't want to be your backup plan!” she declared, getting a surprised, and almost pained look from Amber.

“There are a lot of things in life we don't want,” Mantis began, “But, if you don't want that, it can surely be arranged,” he said with a subtle grin, making Chrys take a small step back in surprise.

“Mantis, was that a threat?” Amber asked coldly, prompting the general to shake his head.

“Of course not, Your Highness, I was simply referring to securing our victory. In fact, I already have some ideas in mind if you're interested.”

“...In a moment.” Amber replied as she looked to Chrys, “Anything else you'd like to add?” she asked, making Chrys look between them, glaring at no one in particular as she shook her head, making Amber turn to Mantis. “Capturing the Moon Princess would be the best outcome, so make sure Ghost looks into this matter more thoroughly. We can go over better securing our victory over the next few months.” She then looked between Chrys and Mantis, before giving him a dismissive gesture, “We're done here,” she said firmly, getting a bow from Mantis before he made to leave, pausing a moment as he passed Bulwark and Chrys.

Mantis' eyes met hers, and for a moment, she was struck with a strong desire to step back; she felt as if he was about to attack her. But the moment quickly passed, and he continued on, Bulwark's eyes glued to him as he left the room.

“Mother—”

“That's enough, Chrys. I'm happy that you're worried, but we've got to take risks if we want to have a brighter future. Understand?” she asked, making Chrys shake her head as she hopped off Bulwark's back, walking over the table towards the Queen.

“No. I don't understand,” she firmly replied, “How are we supposed to have a 'brighter future' if you fall in battle!?” she asked, getting a painful sigh from Amber.

“Look dear, before you were born, before I gave Mantis his title, times were rough. There was barely any nectar for the hive, and if something happened to one of the ponies we fed from, it was a big hit to all of us. Mantis, he took a risk, and thanks to that, we have the hive as it is now,” she said as she adopted a warm smile, “Now, the tunnels are bustling with activity, and there's hope for an even more plentiful tomorrow,” she added as she got closer to her daughter, “And, because of that risk, I also have you,” she said as she placed a hoof on Chrys' cheek. “Don't worry dear. We'll win. Just wait and see,” she assured, making Chrys glance away for a moment, before looking to Amber.

“...I want to help,” she murmured, getting a proud smile from the queen.

“You have no idea how happy that makes me. Still, I'd rather you didn't. You're just as important to me as I am to you,” she added, making Chrys blush as she glanced to the side. “So, do you understand?" she asked again, getting a small nod from Chrys.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," she muttered under her breath, getting a small laugh from Amber.

"That's fine, I'd be concerned if you did," the queen stated with a nod. "...Now, I believe you mentioned talking to ponies earlier?” Amber asked as she raised an eyebrow.

“I-” Chrys began wide-eyed, “I may have been in the feeding room again,” she admitted, making Amber place a hoof on her head, as if trying to stave off a headache.

“Chrys, you need to stop feeding from the cocoons.”

“Why?” Chrys asked as her brow furrowed.

“Because ponies can talk and have feelings too,” Amber replied heatedly, “If you got too attached to any of them, it would cloud your decisions. You may even end up putting a pony's life ahead of a changeling's!” Her gaze then softened as she looked Chrys in the eyes, “Ponies are not pets, or 'friends', dear. They're food. I need to know you understand that,” she finished, looking to her daughter in expectation.

However, Chrys couldn't nod. She felt as if she would be betraying someone if she did. Her mother, the old stallion, herself? She wasn't sure who, but she didn't want to make that betrayal, so Amber got no reply from her daughter, no assurances that she wouldn't become attached. The silence between them troubled the queen, making her frown as she took a step back, a troubled look on her face. The continued silence prompted a confused look from Bulwark, who eyed his charge, before subtly nodding to himself in understanding. Amber however, didn't understand, and it drove her to action, making her turn to one of her guards.

“Aegis, deliver a message to Mantis for me. I want guards posted at the feeding chambers, Chrysalis isn't allowed inside.”

“W-What!?” Chrys asked in surprise, getting a determined look from her mother.

“No more talking to ponies, Chrys. If you want a taste, you'll have to wait till you've shown me you understand the importance of how we treat our food. Food is food. Seeing it as anything else, is dangerous,” she stated, before making a dismissive gesture, “We're done here,” she declared, and seeing Chrys about to object, “Chrys, that's enough,” she warned, making Chrys' heart sink as she closed her mouth, looking away as she felt her eyes start to itch.

Seeing that sad face, Amber hesitated for a moment, before steeling herself, and turned around, leaving Chrys and Bulwark to themselves as she left the war room. Chrys wanted to make her reconsider, but she couldn't muster the words. Amber was right. Food was food, and seeing it as anything else was dangerous to the well being of the hive. It was a fact of life, yet, Chrys didn't like it.

“Why does it have to be that way, Bulwark?” she asked quietly, wondering if she'll ever get the chance to learn the old stallion's name.

“I'm sorry, Your Highness, that's simply the way things are,” he said, making her frown as she directed him out.

“I don't like the way things are,” she replied, words she'd only say to Bulwark, or her clutchlings. She then hopped on his back, not feeling up to walking herself. "Can you take me to the others?" she asked, noticing the disapproving look he was adopting, "I know they're busy, but I really want to talk to them right now."

"I understand, Your Highness," he replied, carrying her off as they sought out Momo and Darrin.

~~~~~~~~~~

"General Mantis," Aegis began as he gave the drone a salute, getting a curious look in return.

"Orders from the queen?" Mantis asked, getting a nod from the royal guard.

"She wants guards stationed at the feeding chambers, the princess is to be kept out," he explained, making Mantis raise an eyebrow.

"How did that happen?" he asked, and as Aegis explained Chrys' reaction to the queen’s lecture on ponies, Mantis' face darkened. "I see. Orders received, thank you Aegis," he replied, releasing the guard, who quickly left to return to Amber's side. Mantis then continued down the hall to his room, Sledge returning and taking a step behind him as Mantis' mind reflected on what just happened.

The princess had interrupted their meeting in order to assure the queen's safety. It had been annoying, and infuriating, but her heart was in the right place. She even listened to his words. Admittedly, she had almost postponed the attack, but that was, as the ponies put it, simply water under the bridge. Or at least, it would have been.

"You foolish little hatchling," Mantis muttered, his words heard only by Sledge, "Truly, a color fit for a pony," he added, his mind weighing his options for several moments. He then stopped, and turned around, his brow furrowed, "Let's go, Sledge, there's work to do."

"Work?" Sledge asked, a little confused, "I thought we were done with all that. What're we doing?" he asked, getting a cold look from his master.

"Culling the herd."

Author's Note:

Resting alone, on the floor of the cavern, was a shattered mug.


I promise that there's no more intended bulk exposition to be had for a while. :twilightblush:
I want to add some uplifting words here, but after finishing that chapter, I can't really think of anything appropriate that wouldn't be spoilers. Sorry. :fluttershysad:
Thanks again for reading, and I hope to see you beyond the cliff's edge!
I also wanna thank OCisbestpony for help with editing.