• Published 18th Oct 2015
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Change - tom117z



Twilight Sparkle is not who she says she is, she doesn't really know WHAT she is...

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10 - The Changeling Princess

The Day After Twilight’s Awakening, Badlands Hive




A drone squirmed uneasily as Twilight, carrying all sorts of medical examination equipment, poked and prodded the unfortunate changeling with an ever so slight mad look on her face.

“A-all due respect your highness, couldn’t you research our physiology by, you know, reading our own books on the matter?” the very uncomfortable drone asked in barely concealed desperation.

Continuing her examination, Twilight answered. “All in good time! I want to get a look at our physiology myself before comparing my findings to that of others!”

The drone could only groan in exasperation as Twilight continued on.

“I mean, wow this is fascinating! When we disguise do we take on other forms physically or is it some sort of advanced projection or perception filter?”

Before the drone could begrudgingly answer the question, the door to Twilight’s room swung open and the tall form of Queen Chrysalis strutted in. “It would be, to an extent, the former my darling Twilight. Though not completely; for example, our magic colour carries over to a changeling's disguised form. Did you sleep well?”

“Oh” Twilight started. “Morning… Chrysalis. I couldn’t really sleep last night so… I just thought I’d get some research in!”

“And I’m the Guinea Pig,” the drone muttered under his breath.

“I see,” Chrysalis remarked. She tried to hide how much Twilight using her name bothered her, but a grimace still crossed her face. “Well, if you’re quite done torturing our own subjects perhaps you would like a tour around the hive? There is still much of our little society for you to see my daughter.”

“I would like that,” Twilight quickly put her equipment to one side before smiling, slightly apologetically, at the unfortunate drone. “Thanks for helping out!”

The drone stopped just short of saying 'Any time your highness', and instead chose to simply bow to the two royal changelings before rushing out of the room as fast as he politely could.

With a light chuckle Chrysalis motioned a hoof towards the door, before following Twilight out into the hallway beyond.


Back in the same residential area where Twilight had made a scene the previous day, a certain nymph scurried her way across the large hallway while bidding her friends goodbye. She burst excitably into the apartment she and her family called home, just in time to see her mother place onto the dining table the nymph’s favorite equestrian food item… waffles.

“Iuvenes, there you are my darling!” Panacea smiled warmly, becoming ever-so-slightly amused at seeing her daughter staring down the waffles; drool was even beginning to pool on the floor.

Panacea finished serving the syrup smothered waffles before motioning her daughter to take a seat at the table, instructions Iuvenes followed all too gladly.

As Iuvenes plunged her chitin clad face into the delicious treat a bedroom door opened up revealing a burly Changeling wearing dark blue armor, along with an iron, obsidian hilted sword strapped to his side. His blue orb-like eyes fell on his family, his daughter annihilating a plate of waffles and his wife staring lovingly back.

“Are you sure you can’t stay for breakfast? It’s waffles!” Panacea exclaimed.

Captain Carduus chuckled, before letting off a small sigh. “I wish I could, but now we’ve been assigned to the princess as her protection detail, I can hardly ignore my orders.”

“Honestly what’s going to harm her here, in the hive? The Queen rarely ever walks around with her personal guard detail while here so why would the princess?”

“It’s more to do with the princess being new to the hive, I believe her highness wants to familiarise Princess Twilight with all aspects of her new life, including her own protection detail.”

“So it’s just meeting and greeting then?”

“Pretty much.”

A voice pinged over the hive. “Captain, we’re all geared up and waiting on you by the atrium.”

“Understood, be there in five.”

“I’ve got to go, look after yourselves now.”

“We will,” Panacea nodded.

Carduus gave his wife a light nuzzle before giving his daughter a kiss on the forehead, she briefly looked up to give her father a gleeful smile before returning to demolishing a second plate of waffles.

With that Carduus exited his quaint apartment and marched off to perform his duties.

'Time to meet the princess’


Exiting yet another winding corridor Twilight turned her head to look up at Chrysalis. So far they had been to several residential districts, an underground play-park for the nymph’s, a nursery of several green pods containing new-borns, a library (It took a while for Chrysalis to coax Twilight out of there) and an underground farm among other areas. And still the hive stretched on with no sign of stopping.

“How big is this place exactly? It’s like a city down here!”

“It is a city. We have a population of just over ten thousand Changelings living here. Around three thousands of those drones act as soldiers and guards while the rest live more ordinary lives with ordinary jobs. Beneath the surface we’re not that much different from the ponies.”

“I see; how big a population do changeling hives usually hold?”

“We… are actually one of the smaller hives, though we are by no means the smallest. Others can go well into the tens of thousands of drones,” Chrysalis explained.

“The largest hive however belongs to Queen Crudelis, who has around two hundred thousand drones to her name,” Chrysalis spat Crudelis’s name out like it was coated in the vilest poison known to changeling kind.

Twilight went to inquire further but was stopped from doing so, as they reached a set of double doors that were only slightly larger than the others doorways before it.

“We’re here.”

“And… where is here?”

With a smug and slightly prideful grin, Chrysalis placed a hoof on the door and pushed it open. On the other side Twilight stepped onto a balcony that viewed down upon an incredibly large area, with drones, both young and old, filling the space as they walked to and fro. The area reminded Twilight of the Canterlot mall, only this place was far bigger and delved deeper into the depths of the planet's crust. The balcony sat at the very top, and from it Twilight could see several different floors filled with shops, restaurants and a great many other establishments. Each floor was connected with a large double backed stairway at the far end, though most drones seemed to prefer flying from one floor to the next. At the very bottom floor Twilight could see a large statue of a changeling queen with one hoof outstretched, in that hoof the queen held a large dazzling cyan crystal that shot a beam of light up into the air. The beam of light coalesced at the very top where there was a large fissure revealing the bright blue day's sky and the wonderful sight of Celestia’s sun. The beam of light ended at the entrance of the fissure and was creating a soft blue shield that filled the entire thing.

Twilight stood staring at the sight for a few moments before simply stating: “Wow.”

Chrysalis chuckled. “Welcome to the atrium. Do you approve?”

Twilight slowly nodded, before looking up at the large skylight, “That crystal is producing one powerful spell. I’m guessing it makes it so that on the surface there appears to be no fissure in the ground, and that anything that walks there is met with the very ground that they perceive to exist. In other words, camouflage.”

Chrysalis seemed to be surprised at Twilight’s knowledge, before remembering she was the personal protégé of Princess Celestia herself. “You are correct.”

Twilight's gaze fell away from the fissure and down to the crystal, or rather the queen holding the crystal, “And who is that? Holding the crystal?”

Chrysalis looked down on the statue below, her smile fading away into a look of long worn sorrow. “That… is my mother, Queen Avia, your grandmother. She built this hive you know, left the hive of her mother with a hooffull of loyal drones and came here.”

“Why did she leave her hive?”

“Her mother was named Queen Imperatrix, and she was rather… iron hooved. She didn’t agree with her mother’s ideas of how to rule a hive so she left, when Imperatrix died the throne went to mother’s younger sister Crudelis instead.”

Chrysalis sighed before continuing, “Do you remember what I said about your grandmother’s ultimate fate?”

“The dragon attack?”

“Yes… the ‘random’ dragon attack. The thing is I don’t believe the attack was all that random.”

Understanding dawned on Twilight. “You believe her sister caused the attack?”

“I don’t believe, I know it. Crudelis always hated mother, despite her civil persona whenever the queens would ever meet. I don’t need proof to know what I know in my heart,” Chrysalis near shouted, long held hurt and rage seeping out.

“I’m… I’m sorry I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

Chrysalis looked at her daughter with both prideful, and yet sad eyes. “She would have loved to meet you” she sighed.

A welcome distraction came when Chrysalis spotted a group of guards converging one floor down, standing at attention awaiting their arrival.

“Come Twilight, I have to introduce you to some changelings.”

Chrysalis opened her wings and buzzed off the balcony into the open air, she started to fly forwards, before turning back to see Twilight still on the balcony observing her own wings sheepishly, scuffing the ground with one hoof.

There was a load smack of chitin impacting chitin as Chrysalis facehoofed with some force. ‘I really need to teach her how to fly’.

Flying back to the balcony Chrysalis landed next to her embarrassed daughter, whose chitin seemed to somehow turn an even darker shade of black, “It’s fine, we’ll walk.”


Several guard stood to attention as Captain Carduus looked them over, making sure they had presented themselves as any self-respecting guard should.

“All right, the Queen pinged me over the hive and in a few moments we shall be introduced to her daughter, Princess Twilight. Now I want you all to keep a professional manner while meeting the Princess, she is new to our way of life and the last thing she needs is you miserable lot making life difficult; and if we are to be her personal protection detail the last thing we need is her being afraid of us, or worse, thinking that we're not capable of doing our jobs, understood?”

“Understood, sir!” all the guard affirmed with a salute.

Right on cue, a nearby door opened up and two royal changelings emerged from the staircase it contained. With a deep exhale Carduus marched up to the two.

“The squad is at your disposal your majesties!” Carduus reported while bowing to the two royals.

“At ease, Captain,” Chrysalis said. “Twilight, this is Captain Carduus of the Changeling Royal Guard, he will be in charge of your personal guard detail.”

“Personal guard detail? Is this necessary?”

“I know you will hardly need them in the hive itself; it’s more for if you ever leave it they are to accompany you. They will also help you get around until you can orientate yourself properly.”

Captain Carduus turned to face the Princess. “It’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am!” Carduus exclaimed with a salute.

“And you too. Please, relax; there really isn’t any need for all that nonsense around me. And call me Twilight,” Twilight said with a slight roll of her reptilian-like eyes.

Relaxing his posture, Carduus continued. “Right, sure thing your hi… Twilight.”

“I’ll leave you two to it then,” Chrysalis said. “Come find me when you’re finished.”

Chrysalis gave a nod to the guards before walking off towards a stretch of cafés on the other side of the floor.

Twilight turned to Carduus and for the first time examined him in detail. A shiver went down Twilight’s spine as she remembered a great many like him bearing down on Canterlot.

“So, Carduus, nice weather we’re having.”

Carduus couldn’t help but snicker at that. “Wow, that’s where this conversation is headed.”

“Well…”

“It's fine, I know you’re new to all this so I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. And besides, you’ve already made quite the impression on my daughter.”

“Your… wait, was she the…”

“The little nymph you met yesterday in the residential district? Yeah. Little Iuvenes was ecstatic to have met you. You’ve already met my wife as well, Panacea.”

“Huh, small world. So… are those stallions with you?”

Carduus smirked. “Yep, those morons are indeed with me.”

“We heard that!” a voice called out from behind Carduus.

“Yeah… they may be morons, but they’re morons who’ve got me in charge, so they’ll do their jobs just fine, so no need to be worried Twilight.”

“Wow Carduus, you should move to Canterlot and become a salespony with that little description,” another voice jeered.

“Can it!” Carduus tried to sound serious, but couldn’t help laugh. “Wasn’t it you who couldn’t figure out how to change a light bulb the other day?”

“Hey! I was drunk at the time…”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the ongoing dialogue. “Well, it seems you lot are good friends.”

“Yeah…” Carduus admitted. “I’ve known them all pretty much all my life, and I’d die for any of them.”

“Well let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Let’s hope. Anyway I’ve taken up enough of your time; your mother is waiting for you.”

“Right…” Twilight said, a look of uneasiness dawning as Carduus said the word ‘mother’.

“Are… you okay?”

“It’s just… my whole life Twilight Velvet was my mother and now… how am I meant to process this?”

“You want to know what I think, Princess Twilight?”

Twilight looked questioningly at Carduus, who took it as a signal to continue.

“I know the importance of family first hoof, and I think this shouldn’t change a damn thing between you and your pony family. If anything, this is just an extension of your family rather than a replacement. Your mother loves you, as does Velvet I’m sure.”

“I… thank you for the advice. I’ll see you around Carduus,” Twilight said mulling over his words.

“Anytime, Twilight.”


Twilight found Chrysalis in a quaint little establishment called ‘Le Café Blanc’, owned by a changeling with an odd accent Twilight had only before heard when Apple Bloom had the Cutie Pox. Chrysalis sat at a table by the window looking out onto the rest of the atrium, staring into space. She only turned away when she heard the sound of hooves approaching her.

“Twilight, all went well with the guards?”

“Yep, Carduus is a nice enough stallion, and he made some good points.”

“Oh?”

Twilight took a seat opposite Chrysalis at the table. “It… it doesn’t matter. Say, does this place have any donut shops about?”

“You mean like ‘Donut Joe’s’, I know you are rather fond of that establishment.”

“Yeah...” Twilight looked down sheepishly, a light blush on her cheeks. Until her face suddenly fell. “…if it even still stands after the invasion.”

Chrysalis seemed visibly irritated by that remark. “This again? I did what I had to, and I would again.”

“It doesn’t mean I approve. You could have simply TALKED to Princess Celestia and explained the situation!” Twilight stood, all four legs planted firmly as she scowled at the Queen.

“By the time I would have done that it would have been too late. How long do you think collecting that much love by any other means would take? You would have died long before we even got close to saving you, and while I breath nothing will bring you harm!”

“I… this argument isn’t going to go anywhere...” Twilight slumped into a chair.

“Probably not,” Chrysalis agreed.

“Hey listen, while I may not agree with what you did, I still want to say thank you.”

Chrysalis looked up, confused. “For what?”

“For caring.”

A smile split her face. “Anytime, my daughter. And thank you for giving me a chance.”

“Yeah well… I would like to go back to Canterlot by the end of the week. I need to see my friends and… family. I need to make sure things are OK between us.”

“Well I can’t say how they’ll react to me, but after what I’ve seen over the past year alone, they will accept you no matter what. Though I would still ask you take Carduus and the others, your friends will accept you but I can’t speak for the rest of Equestria.”

Twilight slowly nodded in a reluctant agreement, the two sat in silence for a few minutes following before Twilight finally spoke up again.

“So… flying lessons?”

“You’re asking for them? Honestly, I was expecting to have to convince you.”

“Why? For one thing, Rainbow Dash would never stop yammering on about it if I didn’t know how to fly by the time I got back.”

Chrysalis tittered gently into her hoof. “Flying lessons it is then. Foremost however, I think we should get back to the tour, there’s still a fair bit for you to see.”

“Alright, you know this might be easier if you had a checklist of all the places we need to go.”

“Honestly, what is it with you and checklists?”

“Well you see a checklist can…”

Chrysalis’s eye twitched as Twilight entered lecture mode. ‘Well done Chrysalis, now you’ve done it.' With a sigh Chrysalis tried to keep up as Twilight droned on about checklists, for about an hour.

Author's Note:

Next chapter should be out tomorrow at the latest.

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