I'm sorry.
Chrysalis floated. She felt nothing but numbness. Beneath that numbness was pain. Beyond the pain was a creeping cold slowly overtaking her. Fear gripped her soul in a vice and she felt helpless. She could feel nothing with her body. Her nose detected no scent. Immobile ears could not detect sound. The Queen was helpless.
I’m so sorry.
She could hear nothing but the sound of her pride breaking apart all around her. It had all been for nothing. The ponies had finally done something they should have done weeks ago, in her opinion. Celestia had been too weak to do it herself.
Vaguely, she was aware of movement around her as she groggily came to. She moaned in agony. It hurt to even turn an ear towards the sounds around her. Tracking was impossible. The commotion refired her instincts and they clashed with her desire to simply stop caring.
This had to be Celestia’s doing. This was her way of showing her contempt by throwing common riffraff at a Queen to kill her and her daughter. This was a new low. Celestia wanted to look perfect and clean and immutable in her image as the perfect ruler, above reproach. There was a lot of shouting and it was muted to Chrysalis. She felt something wriggling against her belly. It was something very familiar to her, very dear.
I’m so very sorry.
The Queen could not move. Her body refused to obey her commands. With a pained sigh, she surmised poison had been added to the blades for good measure. Why not? What a very changeling thing for the ponies to do! For a moment, her eyes focused and she noted Celestia was standing over her, her eyes wide with shock and outrage, shifting to concern as she looked down at the fallen Queen. She would look up, the anger would return and she would command in a voice that brokered no argument. Then, the alicorn would bend her neck to a floppy ear and say something reassuring. Chrysalis did not know what she was saying, only that it seemed odd the concern was seemingly sincere.
There must have been a great deal of confusion. Chrysalis felt all sorts of emotions. Upset ponies were bare with how they felt in stressful situations. There were covered bodies where they had fallen. From the Queen’s angle, it was as though one of the uncovered hooves was beckoning her to join the ponies she knew would feel no more.
She was so tempted to simply give in. Chrysalis was tired. She was tired of fighting. Tired of struggling. Throughout her long life, nothing had come easy. She knew she was scarred both physically and even more so internally. Why bother the fruitless struggle any further?
The White Changeling would come and take her soul to be judged before the goddesses. Tappis and Tappaz would receive it and judge her accordingly, as it was their duty to all changelings even beyond life.
Or so Chrysalis had been taught. She found herself morbidly curious to see if the Immortal Queens could indeed pass judgement upon her soul. Slowly, she began to slip away, embracing the darkness reaching for her.
I’m sorry. I am ready.
A golden aura filled her vision, sharpening her vision. A voice softly pleaded to her to stay. She was needed. She was wanted. There was a little one depending on her! Multitudes awaited her, for her to resume her position! The hive! Her hive! Her changelings…
What did it matter? They would select another queen.
Chrysalis was tired. So very tired. She just wanted the pain to go away, the worries to cease. Her burdens were great, the weight upon her shoulders the very world itself. The Queen smelled her daughter as Atalanta cried out. The hatchling was being lifted — gently — and placed at the Queen’s muzzle.
Suddenly, Chrysalis no longer wanted to die. But, was it too late?
Darkness overcame her.
She was being moved. Celestia kept speaking soothing words to her. The Queen moaned in agony. Her body felt constricted. Other ponies kept looking over her. She could barely make them out in her peripheral vision. Celestia took up most of her line of sight. Encouraging sounds came from the alicorn. She kept floating Atalanta in front of the Queen’s eyes and in front of her nostrils. Chrysalis inhaled her daughter’s scent. Her hatchling was safe. The chirping sounds from the little one tugged at the mother’s heart. Chrysalis wanted to do something to comfort her wailing child, but she found she had no strength. She managed a smile and a gurgling purr.
Atalanta reached for her mother with stubby little legs and pleading in her chirps. It was loud and heartbreaking. Chrysalis wanted to reassure her only child, but she could not move.
Something was in her body. She felt so numb and her limbs were as if they had turned into granite. What did those ponies do to her? Groggily, she tried to reason with herself and failed miserably. Everything was in turmoil. She was hurt, angry, and confused. Her daughter was calling for her. Chrysalis felt very cold and very alone despite her daughter’s presence.
Again, her world was enveloped in shadows.
“So, tell me, is this going to be the end of the mighty changeling queen?” The voice was all around her, bringing Chrysalis to a sense of awareness. She tried to open her eyes, but found her lids sealed shut. She tried to turn her head in the direction of the speaker, but the voice seemed to change locations with every word uttered. “Laid low by halfwits? Brought down by simpletons controlled by an insane and heartbroken lunatic?”
Chrysalis could not move. She felt alone and vulnerable. A frightened shiver ran down her body. No voice could form in her throat. The words she wanted to speak crumbled in her addled mind.
She fought to open her eyes as panic began to overcome her. Another shiver ran up and down her spine. The Queen could not even cry out her terror. As much as she had demanded death from Celestia, she knew deep down inside she craved life. Chrysalis wanted to live! She wanted to see her daughter grow! She wanted to be with her changelings! They were her children and they saw her as their mother, as all she had offered their ancestors a choice so long ago. The Bond reflected the openness in which she had allowed a small group of changelings to decide their own fates: follow her willingly or stay and remain subject to the whims of ruthless queens.
“I am probing your memories, Chrysalis. I know you won’t like it, but we need to know how to heal you. You have sustained quite a bit of damage and you were poisoned. By all rights, you should be dead. You have a remarkably resilient body.”
Chrysalis was deathly afraid. As a creature who worked best in the night and the shadows, the darkness touched at her deepest fears at a primordial level. As much as she wanted to fight her fear, a part of her simply wanted to curl up like an abandoned nymph and make herself as small and insignificant as possible.
She focused on the voice. It was known to her, but an addled mind tended to make identifying the owner of that voice harder than it needed to be. After whirring silently in her head, the memory clicked and she knew who it was.
Princess Luna seemed to acknowledge the recognition by appearing before the changeling. It took a moment for Chrysalis to register she was lying on her stomach, her legs splayed out. The alicorn appeared before her, standing tall and proud. Concern filled her eyes as she gazed gently down upon the fallen changeling queen.
“I beg of you, please. Please, let us help you. I swear upon my moon I wish to be your friend and your confidant. I swear upon the very spring from which all life flows I mean you and your changelings a hopeful future. I swear upon the love of my mother I wish to live in peace and harmony with you and your kind. Please!”
Chrysalis felt everything stop. She felt! Felt! With a ragged gasp, she began to sob. Nothing was certain anymore! She could feel the curtain of her mental defenses begin to fall as something gently pulled away at it, bit by bit. The Queen could not move, but she began to feel slowly, ever so slowly the slightest twinge of sensations returning to her. It burned and was like pins and needles. It was ecstasy and agony. It was fire and ice. It was so slight, she barely noticed it.
But notice it she did. Chrysalis wept.
She was enfolded in something soft and silky. Limbs snaked around her head and shoulders and she was pulled into an embrace. Her cheek found contact against something velvety. It was such a slight sensation as her nerves were still quite numb. But she could feel!
Desperately, she wanted her daughter.
Her eyes cracked painfully open, her breathing was ragged. Sight was a blurry thing to her, refusing to focus properly. A whine of pain slid from her throat and it hurt just to make the sound. The Queen took a moment to realize she was laying on her side, her legs straight out and beneath sheets and blankets. The lighting was low, she noted. Her whole body was on dull fire. It was a throbbing ache pulsating with every beat of her heart.
Atalanta was nearby. Her scent was strong and there was no distress in her pheromones. Chrysalis instinctively tried to make a sound, to call out softly to her daughter. Instead, a groan rumbled like distant thunder from deep in her chest. There was a lump on the bed with her. It moved from between her forelegs and chest in a clumsy crawl along her neck. Chrysalis managed painfully to turn an ear towards the rustling movement.
She heard a chirp right in her ear.
Chrysalis smiled. Rather, she tried to.
Beyond the bed was a great white form, blurry and seemingly lying upon another bed. The great swanlike neck was arched gracefully, wings folded elegantly against her sides. For a brief moment, the Queen could make out the form of Princess Celestia, seemingly in quiet repose. Her vision then failed her again and Chrysalis felt exhausted from the effort of simply focusing her vision. Confused at the sight, the changeling wondered just what was going on. It was difficult to think. Atalanta butted her head against her mother’s chin repeatedly, chirping. It was as though she was trying to check on her mother.
By the Maker, the hatchling was loud!
It was also the sweetest sound she had ever heard.
Chrysalis then felt eyes upon her. With a painful sigh, she tried again to look upon the great white mare and saw —briefly— magenta eyes tired and relieved absorbing a view of the changeling and her daughter. Celestia looked… exhausted.
The alicorn said something quietly, far too gently for Chrysalis to catch.
Her eyes felt heavy and she drifted off.
Chrysalis was standing in a field of clover atop a small rise overlooking a vast plain. To her left, she could make out the distant outline of Canterlot jutting from the side of the hazy mountain. To her right stretched the vast expanse of a great forest. Before her and at the bottom of a hill lay a large manor. The sun felt warm upon her back and head. At her hooves played Atalanta, her dark form that of a nymph’s. The little changeling was chasing a ball. It was red and small, just right for a little filly changeling to play with.
Behind her waited her hive, expectantly looking to her to lead them.
“This would be yours,” said Luna, appearing before her in a ghostly form. “All that stretches before you would be yours. Celestia wishes for you to be a part of Equestria, but she goes about it in a way that does not get to the point. Everything before you could be yours. The one who ordered your death was insane. He used foul and dark magic. Forbidden magic. He took the minds of his personal guard and set them against you. I still do not know how it was made known you were still alive.” She shook her head and sighed.
Chrysalis did not know what to say. She stared at the alicorn for a moment as she fought to find the words. Her mind was still addled.
“My sister and I have both worked to heal you, to mend you. Your mind is a fortress, perhaps the most formidable I have ever encountered in a long time. You might be exactly what my sister was looking for. The task she would present before you would be great and perilous. The rewards, however, would be great. But you need to work with us, Queen Chrysalis. You need to learn how to trust us.” Luna flicked her tail, then spread her wings. “We need you. There is a great task at hand and we need the unique capabilities of you and your changelings to accomplish that task. Without you, countless lives would be lost.”
For the first time in what felt an Age, Chrysalis found her voice. “What task? This confuses me! First you put me on trial, then you tell me you need me? What mockery are you attempting now, Luna?”
The alicorn sighed, looking away from the Queen. “We needed answers. You attacked us. It was not until after we had captured you that we discovered changelings convert the emotions they ingest into mana. You might be an answer to a problem that we feel needs to be addressed and soon. Otherwise, it could be too late.”
“You sent assassins—”
“They were not—”
Chrysalis snarled, “How can I trust you ponies? You tried to kill—”
“We did no such thing! We need you! Were you not listening?”
“As if I would take the word of assassins!”
Luna had enough. “I DID NOT SEND ANY ASSASSINS! MY SISTER DID NOT SEND ANY ASSASSINS! I HAVE JUST TOLD YOU AN INSANE PONY OF THE NOBILITY HAD USED FORBIDDEN MAGIC UPON HIS PERSONAL GUARDS! ARE YOU THAT STUPID?” Her eyes were aglow with fury and she had spread her wings out as she reared upon her hind legs. The stars in her mane and tail undulated madly. “MY SISTER USED HER OWN BLOOD TO PURGE THE POISONS FROM YOUR BODY, YOU UNGRATEFUL MARE! SHE LIES WEAKENED AND VULNERABLE NEXT TO YOU. YOU. DARE. ACCUSE?”
Chrysalis quailed before the might of the Princess of the Night. Atalanta continued to play are her hooves, even as the world around her shook in the face of the alicorn’s fury. The changelings behind her still waited expectantly. The proud Queen quivered. Fear gripped her heart as she stared into the Abyss that was Luna.
As quickly as her rage erupted, the dusky mare’s temper fell away. A great sigh escaped her lungs and she looked sadly upon the Queen. “Is this all you can see us as? Is this all there is to you? Just a frightened filly afraid of the world and constantly at war with it? Is this what you wish your daughter to be a part of? Is this the future you had hoped for your hive? You must be willing to change, Chrysalis. You must care about things other than yourself. You claim affection for your changelings and you daughter, yet I only see a mare hiding behind them as a coward. You use them as a shield to keep yourself satisfied in the belief that you are right and everypony else is wrong.”
The Queen worked her jaw soundlessly and found she could not look Luna in the eye. Her attention went to Atalanta, who seemed — for the first time — to notice her mother in the dreamscape. Of course, she was a part of the dream, as were the changelings behind her. Chrysalis was aware of this, yet her heart ached. She saw her daughter as she believed Atalanta would appear after her first molt: shiny teal carapace, charcoal black chitin, and a mane and tail like her mother’s. She would have blue eyes, Chrysalis was sure.
The nymph stopped playing with her ball and swiveled her ears towards the Queen, sporting a happy smile that was infectious. Chrysalis smiled back at her, only to hear Atalanta quite plainly state, “Don’t be an idiot, Mommy!” Dream Atalanta was a very blunt nymph.
“She speaks the truth,” Luna noted. The alicorn sighed deeply, settling her hooves delicately down among the clover. “I cannot even begin to fathom the abuse you sustained when you were young. What I saw in your mind… I am sorry. I only wanted to help you. I tried to avoid them, but they bubbled up on me while I tried to gain an understanding of your mind. I needed it tranquil and rested in order for my magic to help in healing you. We both healed you. We took turns. The poison had to be leeched out of you slowly. It was a burning poison and it ate away at your blood. They used more than one type of poison. All of them exotic and painful, subjecting the victim to unimaginable pain and suffering.”
Chrysalis flinched. “Am I so loathed?”
Luna looked at her plainly. “Yes. You hurt many ponies during your attack. There were deaths. One unfortunate one was a pregnant mare. Her foal survived, but the noble to whom she was married absolutely went insane. He was never stable to begin with and lived far from Canterlot. He came because Princess Mi Amore Cadenza had known his wife since they were both fillies. They were friends. The noble loved his wife very much and brought her here to see her friend get married. He loved her so. We think he sent ponies to kill you, then committed suicide. His daughter was taken by her nurse to a nearby town. The authorities were notified by her. She was in hysterics. He had killed himself before her eyes. Now there is a filly that has no mother and no father. The ripples you caused continue to spread. You have no right to assume the role of the victim. You made a foal an orphan. There are now a lot of orphans because of you.”
Chrysalis normally would have scoffed at such losses. Such was collateral damage in any war. But being told a foal had been made an orphan struck a chord with her, though it should not have. And yet…
“What did you do to me?” she asked Luna hoarsely.
The alicorn glared at her. “I put room in your heart, Queen Chrysalis.” And she disappeared.
And something stirred deep within the dreaming changeling. Something that went beyond the shell she kept her cold heart closed within. Her changelings were the only things within it she cared for, yet…
What did Luna do to me?
There was a crack in the shell.
What did that dusky alicorn do?
Remorse leaked in. Guilt followed. She could not stop it.
Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, a feral queen by her own guile and acumen, and mother felt remorse for the deaths of ponies.
She could not understand it, but she knew, Chrysalis knew Luna had done something to her! What was it?
Once, while I was on my journey to see the Two Queens, I came across my first pony. She was an earth pony. She was a slave. I was a slave. We looked into each other’s eyes in passing while on the dusty trail of the vast Savannah. She was chained, her head hung low. The glanced we gave each other revealed to me a mare who had lost all hope and was on the verge of breaking.
I was frightened, having just lost my mother less than a week ago. My hive was gone; my hive mates either dead, enslaved, or scattered to the four winds.
She must have seen me, seen the chains around my neck. I was the smallest of my group. Taalia was off to the front of the group and speaking to the changeling who was leading the group of slaves the mare was in. They chatted. The two groups stopped.
Miserable, I sat in the dusty road, missing my mother and knowing I would never see her again.
The mare approached me. She was a dirty thing. I stared at her, too numb to care or think. Her eyes had lit up when she saw me, though I knew her mind was nearly broken. She had seen me, as I mentioned, and she came towards me, as I just said. Silently, she reached down and gathered me up into a hug and began sobbing. The mare sat in the dirt and rocked me, mumbling words over and over again I could not understand.
I fed off of her. The love she had was filled with indescribable loss. She knew I was feeding off of her, but she held me anyways. I could not understand her words. I wish I could remember to this day what it was she had said, but it was so long ago and I did not know of the Equestrian language.
She opened herself to me fully.
Her spirit was crushed, yet she could still love.
I did not understand.
Did she lose her daughter? Was her family slaughtered before her eyes? What did she lose? What was her pain? I never would find out. She was whipped back in line and I was discovered by Taalia to be full of love. It was stripped from me forcibly while I was physically pinned beneath her hoof. She drew out the love that mare had just given me and painfully so.
“Such a taste is wasted on little slaves like you,” Taalia hissed at me. “Never have room for pity, little one. Never have remorse. Remorse makes you weak. I will leech that weakness from you and I shall enjoy it. You are mine. All you have is mine, even what paltry love is given to you freely is mine. Your whole life is mine, Chrysalis. You will understand. You will learn or I will simply turn you into a broodmother. Would you like to be a broodmother? Maybe I should show you. Yes, I shall show you.” She threw me a terrifying smile.
Very interesting chapter!
I'd really like to see artwork on the different changelings, Chrysalis has witnessed during her childhood, including Taalia.
Hm. Can't say I care for Luna's tone or methods. Forcibly inflicting feelings of remorse on someone pretty much defeats the purpose of remorse in the first place. Not to mention that the deaths caused by the invasion were already a known quantity, so while this foal losing both of her parents is tragic, it doesn't add anything new to the discussion. It also doesn't make the failed assassination of Chrysalis her own fault, no matter how Luna tries to spin it. That is still the responsibility of whoever all was in charge of keeping her status and whereabouts unknown, as well as the state of security, and the names at the top of that list are Luna and Celestia. Nice chapter though.
6604181Actually...she did something else. You see, Chrysalis was conditioned to think a certain way when she was younger. Luna is trying to repair the Queen's mind. Think of someone who has had a repressed part of their personality, beaten into something that is so small and with such a little voice within herself, that she can no longer notice it as a part of her conscience. Luna is trying to heal Chrysalis. Celestia, too.
There is a huge reason for this.
It's up to Chrysalis to discover this forgotten part of herself. She might accept it, or she might reject it. She can remain the way she is or reach out for that part of her Taalia had beaten into submission all those years ago.
6604198
Fair enough in that regard then, though "putting room in your heart" sounds less like a repair and more like an addition. It also doesn't change the fact that nearly being murdered while lounging in the sun literally cannot be Chrysalis' own fault, and Luna is a prick for suggesting it was. Chrysalis was indeed a victim here.
6604219 The deaths of hundreds of ponies were at her own command. Canterlot nearly burned. There were a lot of victims. One of them simply decided to do something about it. Details in future chapters!
6604248
Looking forward to it, though leader of a violent invasion or no, I'm going to have to maintain that a prisoner having nearly been murdered while peacefully resting in the custody of her jailers is in no way responsible for her own assault.
6604272
I think the whole part with playing the role of the victim is not so much what she is doing right now after the attack but rather how she has been acting this whole time. Sure, she is the victim from the attempted assassination but she can not claim the role of victim after being captured in a war she started herself.
That's how I see it at least.
// Sphex
As much as Luna's arguments make sense, Chrysalis shouldn't be taking instruction from her as long as the ponies are trying to force her to do their bidding, or giving her orders in any way. She has to decide freely and without restraint what to do. And Luna really has no right to say that Chrysalis has no right to assume the position of victim. As far as I'm concerned, as long as they are trying to give Changelings orders and control them, they have no right to be giving those orders.
Please maintain Chrysalis' defiance toward her captors.
wow fuck luna
Alicorns offer her vast lands, property that lays in good climate. Basically they offer her position of baroness, maybe even position of a minister at royal court in exchange of cooperation and help. But what in truth? Celly said that changelings should be contained despite loyalty or species, Luna practically has no power, trial showed that Luna`s influence over other parts of alicorn olygarchy is low, low enough for entitled psychos to use illegal method in sight of Luna. Celestia showed effectiveness of her protection to. In light of this it is logical to assume that manor and lands will be old building at swamp and safe land will be nothing more than concentration camp.
Despite further characters development, Chryssie should betray them for her and her changelings sake, in my opinion.
6604514 Luna and Celestia still have personal issues to sort out. Celestia will not be happy. Think of it this way: Luna is still trying to rediscover her identity since returning from her banishment. She has focused on Chrysalis because she feels she can genuinely help.
Even if Chrysalis doesn't want it.
6604439
Has she been playing the victim due to her general captivity? I honestly haven't noticed, unless you're counting the times she was actually vicitimized in some fashion, such as being abducted from her cell and separated from Atalatana, or when Twilight placed her under a heavy duty spell that went against the law. I mean, she obviously doesn't want to be prisoner and has made that known, but that isn't playing the victim card. That's wishing things had turned out better(for her and her hive).
I'm always so excited to read new chapters of this.
Liked this one, I see what Luna did as magic assisted psychotherapy. Chrysalis had been pretty much beaten into locking her feelings away when young, she's been basically brainwashed, Luna is trying to rid her of some of that brainwashing . Also, I'm really intrigued what they need her and her changelings for. Seems like she is very important.
I think Luna worded that badly, she was frustrated that they were being accused of ordering the hit while her and Celestia just finished slaving away to save her. Still, she IS a victim, even if the assailant had some justification. Law is there for a reason.
Overall, good chapter. I hope Chryssie will start shedding her she'll, but won't bend over.
Cya
Raziel-chan
This chapter, hmm. Where to begin?
Perhaps, well, what strikes me most on this, that for all the issues here, luna and celestia both aren't trying to convey things in the right terms to a child soldier. And that miscommunication kills. Especially so when someone is thinking of it all in the tactical means of this being a long war. Worse, in breaking this dam, and I do mean breaking it.
As bad as celestia might have been for all she did, luna just broke the major one that earns you the worst of things because she is 'fixing' a survival mechanism for coping. Without permission, with the mental equivalent of a tactical nuke to break it. It's one thing to get answers how to fix someone. And yes, as a dream warden/guardian, thats an okay thing. But this, i'm sorry, I really hope they both fail now, even if it ends with chrysalis's death. It's at least a freedom from the hell they plan. Celestia at least gets a pass for this being her modus operandi for the past years in a literal vipers nest to play them against each other and a poker face that could bluff satan. As for the noble, it was fluer de lis wasn't it that died wasn't it?
Luna, this is called mentally raping some being because they broke for a very good reason and expecting them to be able to cope with the things they had to seal away to live day in and out. Taalia may have broken a pony or changeling physically or mentally, but their spirit at least was undaunted until death. I'd rather trust taalia after this, than luna. At least a quick death, or a long time psycophage feeding is better to the mental slavery or 'conditioning/fixing' that luna does here.
My vehemence here stems from the all too slippery slope this opens. And luna has directly made sure everything that chrysalis does from here on out is on her head. I hope you do treat carefully with this, because it is a slippery writing angle and can break things from a readers perspective. I don't want you to change things based on review. Just, be careful. This is a good story.
6604861 There will be backlash between Luna and Chrysalis.
Luna blunt as usual I see. Excellent way about it.
Glad this happened. While I understand people don't want Chrysalis to become a doormat and I agree, her vehement defiance of the ponies and her pride have become absurdly annoying. She says she cares about her changelings but her plans have failed and every single moment she sits there defying Celestia and Luna, she gets nowhere and she buys more time for Taalia and her Ravagers.
6604898 haha, love how tight lipped a response this is. I wonder what I hit on that was right, over conjecture. Though, I do admit to it being, direct there. sorry about that.
Yes.Chrysails is victim here, but this doesnt get right to accuse Celestia or Luna about assasinating her.
And i think Luna just open some repressed memory of Chrysalis.
Wow... Luna... ouch...
On another note... I really hope Taalia dies a slow and painful death
Nicely done, nicely done.
6604975 Im curious to hear why you think why not if you don't mind saying? (I like the viewpoint you have here in counterpoint.)
6605396 Ditto here.
I don't like that Changeling Taalia at all. It's obvious that witch tried to turn Chrysalis like her, doing awful thing when Chrysalis was a little thing & vulnerable. Obviously Taalia failed turning Chrysalis into a monster like her.
Since the beginning in the story, despite she put up a cold front, deep inside her, Chryslais cares more then she realize. She cared about her people, & she even felt sorry that the ponies would have to deal with the cruel hate-filled minion Ravagers of Taalia. And come they will.
6604861
Don't forget Equestria destroyed, Chrysalis hive (which she loves) obliterated, her people & the changeling families broken up, & finally, her dear daughter Atalanta made into a slave in the hoofs of Taalia, destined to suffer the same fate Chrysalis went through. That will be worth it as long as the two princesses fail.
But still, what hell are they planning for Chrysalis? Luna offered a place for Chrysalis & her people, no more hiding, no more running, & no more starving, if they succeed living in peace with the ponies. Sure the question will stand whether Chrysalis will still be queen or a subject of the sister princesses> But I doubt Chrysalis will allow herself to be anouther subject under the princesses sister. Chrysalis is to proud & stubborn & she will want to remain the queen to her people & answer to no one. Could it be that the princess sisters are willing to cede part of Equestria so the Changeling can have their own place to call home? As the story progresses, will find out soon enough.
Mental rape? Can you elaborate. The only one that have done a lot of mental rape is Taalia, along with physical torture. The pony that offered solace to Chrysalis was already on the verge of her spirit breaking down & may have broken eventually. But before that happened, that mare offered consolation to a little filly in chains. Who knows what horrors that mare experienced, but offering solace was also to comfort herself as she pouring her love to a child. That is before Taalia cruelly & painfully removed all that loved poured into Chrysalis. If Luna mentally raped Chrysalis, it's a miserly pittance compared to Taalia's methods. With Luna, Chrysalis can complain, even clock Luna on her snout for putting something she didn't ask & without her permission. With Taalia, no doubt that evil mare would devise some cruel punishment to any signs of defiance, no matter how small, Chrysalis would dare show.
And I don't see nothing wrong revealing Chrysalis that what she did have ramifications. In this story ponies were hurt badly during the invasion.
6605590 I do hope Chrys will get some redemption, she needs some luvin ;n;
And Taalia needs to be shot
6604444
I've no doubt she will continue to show defiance against the sisters, & I bet Chrysalis will get even with Luna for that little "room" she placed in Chrysalis' heart. Chrysalis is too proud & stubborn. I have a feeling Luna may see Chrysalis as a kindred spirit hence why Luna is butting in Chrysalis' dreams, but until then. I have feeling there will be a fight between them.
The only hope is that Chrysalis will learn not to distrust the ponies any more, & prepare for Taalia & her Ravagers.
Wow, some readers want to see Princess Celestia & Luna the bad guys no matter what. Ignoring or forgetting that Chrysalis attacked Canterlot, & in your story, not only hurt ponies but as it seems, even died during the attack.
Then there is the Taalia that brutalized Chrysalis, it's obvious she's coming to get Chrysalis & her daughter. Taalia sees Chrysalis as a failure & will love to get her hands on the little filly. And do even worse to the little girl.
Plus there this subplot about the hunger like curse, I feel that Chrysalis seems to be the key to end that strange curse that torments her people. And if there is a back story how & why the Changelings got cursed, & who is responsible for that curse.
Can't wait for the next update.
My sister was carving her initials on a moose with the blunt end of a toothbrush and the moose bit her!
6605942 What?
6605926
That's a good point. According to that logic, the insane noble should stay defiant and do his utmost to get revenge on the Changeling tyrant! Justice for Canterlot!
That's not what I think, but giving Chrysalis a pass and not him is hypocritical.
6604942
This! I'm so glad somepony finally slapped some sense into her. The magical manipulation is an iffy point, but just having somepony getting tired of her crap was long overdue.
Just imagine what Chrysalis might get to write in her journal if she keeps this up.
"My dear Atalante, never forget that I stayed true to my childish, pouty self while your people died violent deaths. It's true that you don't have a people to rule now, but at least I got to spit in Celestia's face when she offered us some silly idea of peace and our own home!"
6605831
I meant in the failure to what they want with her. The sheer stops pulled both to save her here makes me wonder just how high a gilded cage they want to place her in. I have my bets hedged towards secret police, and hidden blades personally. Likely far off, but eh, with what ive seen, and celestia as distant as she's been, coupled with the by the book approach that you get more out of a military pow, but without the death penalty if you can avoid it.
Luna I admit to being torn between a long lived friend, outside twilight, and family in celestia. To being the carrot of the stick in this regard. Twilight here acts more as a pawn overall for what celestia needs, she herself, up until this chapter, very removed save as the judge of things. As for a home, no idea, but call me a bit of a cynic, There's more to the dark tag we haven't seen yet.
As for the mental rape, taalia here is a master of the induced stockholm syndrome effect. Coupled with the nature of what she relishes in, and grows stronger in, she has evolved as a perfect natural counter to the more common changeling paths. She revels in her mastery of control. And where the nature of the child soldier comment comes into play. Chrysalis is not unlike the african pirates whom pillage on the seas, raised in a constant conflict. Rather than fold under taalia's control, she shut off what she could get access to twist with her ways. Even in this little aspect of the earth pony, there was some manner taalia couldn't break them of.
What luna did, was cut the mental defenses she had against taalia, and so many others. The centuries and decades of time she had spend keeping that in check so that she might have some distant chance for her people. The choice of being a demon to give her people paradise. And now. Now she has no means to defend herself against anything. Luna has crippled her better than taalia could ever dream of in destroying that control. This is someone who fought day in and day out for her people. And in the span of a day, one alicorn wiped it out. That is why I say mental rape. There was nothing she could do, no means to stop luna. Taalia would be proud of what luna managed to do here. I view it more as taalia could only harm on those physical and emotional trials. Luna bypassed the two and hit her where she has been able to fend off taalia.
6606243
There was no logic, not even a point.
Just commenting an observation based on the comments of some readers. Chrysalis is a prisoner because of her attack on Canterlot. I don't see where I gave Chrysalis a pass & not the other pony.
Followed by why Taalia is after Chrysalis, plus the possibility that Chrysalis may be the key to that hunger like curse (I call it a curse) the entire Changeling race is experiencing. A subplot to the story... a possible quest? I'm wondering if anyone sees that.
Other then that:
Now that was funny! To that I agree. This is a mare who has learned to distrust for a reason & that distrust may get in the way to save her own people. In the meantime Taalia is coming for her.
There still the matter of what happened to her hive. If they weren't wiped out, are they prisoners? Or are they free but scattered & in hiding, avoiding the Princesses royal guards & Taalia's Ravagers. I'm going to reread to see if I missed a clue in the story or I simply forgot.
6606352
What they want from her is becoming clear, they want Chrysalis help defeat Taalia. Seems the sisters may not be up to deal with a viscous changeling. I don't see anything that suggest gilded cage, secret police, or hidden blades.
I don't see Twilight as a pawn of anything, other then changing the truth spell trying to get to Chrysalis. Then having a taste of her own apples when Chrysalis had a chance to interrogate Twilight. Chrysalis has some privileges not often granted to prisoners. A chance to interrogate one of her "jailers" Twilight.
I don't see Chrysalis lost any defense or change anything for that matter. Chrysalis has been running away from Taalia already, obviously because Chrysalis never had any defense against her to begin. Nothing to match against the hatred of Taalia's cannibalistic Ravagers.
And then there's that curse like hunger. Seems Chrysalis will be the key for that somehow.
6606489
The point is that Chrysalis created serious suffering when she decided to attack Canterlot. Ponies died. You said that, and I agree.
You also said some folks want to see Celestia and Luna as the bad guys in this no matter what. That's also not without merit.
If you take the initial point (ponies suffered because of Chrysalis' decisions) and add it to the idea that she (Chrysalis) should stay defiant, that Celestia and Luna are the bad guys in this, that Chrysalis is morally in the right not to care about any consequences but her own wounded pride and petty need for revenge, then the noble who ordered her death was also in the right. He suffered from what Chrysalis did. He lost the love of his life.
Again, I'm just pointing to what you said to illustrate, not to say you think like this.
6606559
I found it funny that some readers view the princesses the bad guys ignoring the facts you pointed out, plus ignoring that fact that Chrysalis was granted some privileges unheard of for a prisoner. She even got to interrogate Twilight after she abused the truth spell used on Chrysalis. I hope the author doesn't follow that line & make the Princesses the bad guys. I love the story the way it is, & I suspect there is more to the story.
I kinda modified my previous reply to you either way. Kinda expanded it a bit. Still not satisfied with it...
6606605
6606559 I love debates like this. It's one of the reasons I chose to write this story, not only to help me become a better writer by encouraging me to think, but to also encourage readers (and this was a bonus) to actively engage in a good discussion.
What you see here can easily be translated to what goes on in the world around us. Just look at the current conflicts and worldwide issues involving conflict and how to deal with perpetrators of such conflicts, especially when there is a huge gulf between cultures. What is challenging to me is being able to tell this story in a way that is believable, even if some people agree with it or not. In the end, I want to give the readers the satisfaction that the time and dedication they took to read the meager words I write was well worth it.
Also the reference to the moose is from the opening credits of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Watch it. Read the texts. It's hilarious!
6606537
Why should she? I mean that question. Why should she. Better to be tried and sentenced to a quick death or prison, and let them endure than be a slave again. She already ran from it once for however long its been. What good reason can there be for her to submit to being a living weapon? The pair of sisters are approaching this in very much the wrong manner, outside luna's brief talk. Which was the closest that they ever managed to being civil, and dare I say it, friendly.
The worst taalia will do is what she fled from however long ago it was, and if she goes after the kid, then she does. She already knows what Taalia can and will do. And its a quick end to ensure she doesn't. Taalia is a FoN Styled villain here. Eat, sleep, kill, pillage. Not unlike a locust swarm or rat swarm when you consider the damage it does.
As for twilight, its a nature of what happens when you attempt to rise above the law. Long term damage, not really. But it was a very clear wake up call. As for chrysalis, the only reason she hasn't been tried is that they want something. Good or bad, celestia and luna want something from her. Ultimately, that's the only reason why she does have any.
How far they will go to do so, well, skies the limit with a dark tag. Since more, direct means of torture aren't exactly something they seek to do. But the problem from the sun and moon, is how they are approaching the changeling. The perspective of things, is what you get, that she would see celestia as letting in assassins for the humiliation delivered. If or not luna's outburst will sink in, again, does she have any reason to believe it? She's faced deaths door, she's had luna batter down the fortress'es mental gates, and a good chunk of the walls, and even had her daughter threatened. No one is going to remotely view their captors, even a lesser captivity such as this without a huge deal of suspicion.
Have her actions caused this bit, well, we have only the word here, so yes, its possible. But recall our viewpoint. We don't see alot, so we have to view based on a biased perspective.
Apologies on the rambling in part, but the whole things a "Fubar going on a total and complete snafu." to use the lingo.
As for the hunger, eh, time will tell. Maybe so, maybe not.
6606850 This is how you maintain an objective view in an intelligent and observing manner.
6606861 I like that you've kept this to her perspective. Because we don't know so much, and we have understand her viewpoint and how she sees the world. And you never break her character for it. Every bit, is a gem to figure out what is and isn't, and how her mind works in this situation. So bravo!
Wait, was it an actual attempt? Cause if so, I must agree with what Winston said in the last chapter's comments.
There seems to be a little inconstancy with Chrysalis' hive. We are first introduced to her in captivity and Chrysalis going on about how she will be replaced. Then we learn later she escaped Taalia in some way and pulled a hive together around herself and her vision of a cure. Now it is back to the original hive setup.
Does Shining Armor have blue eyes? Sucks being colorblind, they could be purple...
Geez, you really know how to ramp up the suspense factor!
6901437 not to mention the feels booster
Wow you have made a very sympathetic bastard in the form of Chrysallis. It also looks like her Fortress of Solitude is beginning to crack, if out of necessity than anything else.
Edit: Taalia is a real bitch. Here's hoping Chrysallis at least manages to raise her surprise daughter right. This has shown she isn't heartless.