Chapter VI
The sun has always kept the bad things away. Hunters almost always struck at night. The time for fear begins when the last rays of the sun die away. The darkness hides the things that stalk their prey until the waking hours bring about the new day. For some changelings, the past night was their last.
I had always revered the sun. Mother had always said it watched over us. Nothing watched over us in the night because the moon had grown cold and indifferent and worried only about its own pride. So the legend goes.
The Ravagers came in the night. They used no subterfuge. They required no stealth. They simply appeared, reeking of hatred. Any who resisted them were cut down. They did not belong to the queen Mother served. They bore tiger stripes. They were led by a tiger striped princess. She was easily twice Mother’s size! Her horn glowed as her orders were constantly streaming from her mind to her Ravagers. We tried to fly away, but we were inside our hive. Our hive denied us the only ability we had to allow us a chance of escape. Our magic was useless against these monsters.
Fear drove us. Hate pursued us. To feel fear is like having a cold talon grip your heart and squeeze. To feel hatred is to put a pit in your stomach that churns bile and makes you want to vomit.
They were not just after the nymphs, the hatchlings, and the eggs. No, these were invaders. They served a different Greater queen. A war had begun. We were to be a part of the statistics. Mother tried to resist. She was strong. She tore down first one, then another Ravager with her hooves, having turned them into wicked jagged sickles. Mother was leading the defense of her hive’s future. The other changelings followed her lead, meeting the Ravagers in physical combat.
They were not Mother. They tried valiantly.
They died valiantly.
Why?
All hope crumbled when the princess strode into the chamber we were in with a smirk on her face. Her mane was done up in braids and burned with magical fire. Golden eyes flared with cruel purpose as they swept over the carnage before settling on Mother.
Mother was covered in wounds. She was still fighting. Her snarl accompanied her grunts and hisses. Her fury was beyond her physical capabilities. The wounds criss-crossing her body were numerous now. Blood smeared her carapace. Each Ravager was larger than Mother. They were heavily armored. They had singular, massive claws instead of forehooves. Their horns were small. As they communicated with each other, the savagery they exhibited in combat translated to the core of their beings.
She looked at me fiercely when she could spare the chance. “Run! Take them and run!” she cried! Mother then slew her third Ravager.
A beam of magic lit the room, streaking from its source to Mother’s chest. A smoking hole appeared. She faltered on her hooves and leaned heavily against the wall. I could see she could not breathe. The fire in her eyes flickered, fell upon me. Slowly, she slid down, her legs giving way beneath her. The tiger princess approached her, oozing superiority. The smug expression was accompanied with a cruel laugh.
Mother was gasping.
No, she was dying.
I could feel it.
My heart was breaking. I cried out to her. My legs were pumping. I broke from the others even as the Ravagers went about gathering them up casually, as one might herd a warren of rabbits.
Sobbing, I reached Mother. I nuzzled her and pleaded for her to get up. She tried to mouth words, but no sound came. Mother’s light went out and she sighed one last time through a gurgling sob.
“I am the Huntress Taalia. You are mine, little one,” cooed the princess behind me. Her magic took a hold of me and I was lifted. I met her eyes and found them basking in my misery. “Your hive is mine. Your life is mine. Everything about you is now mine.”
She licked me, running her tongue up along my neck and side of my face. I was given to a Ravager who in turn tossed me with the other nymphs. Those of us old enough were ordered to pick up the eggs and hatchlings. We soon left our hive. I could smell the smoke and blood. I could hear the cries of the survivors, their spirits broken. Those too wounded to travel were left to die. I watched as a pair of Ravagers fed on a changeling. He screamed while he was eaten alive.
Despite what horrors they had done, I found myself staring at them in morbid fascination. Hate rolled off them. They hated. I could feel their hatred for other changelings. When their princess appeared, it all melted away. The awe and love they had for her made me sick to my stomach. Something was not right about it.
Until I realized they were thanking her for allowing them to hunt and kill.
She went among them, smiling like a proud trainer. Her horn lit up as she rewarded her monsters with love. Our love. The love my hive had spent so much time and effort in gathering!
The princess then looked up and beyond us gathered young ones. A grin spread across her narrow features. Her fangs gleamed in the light of the fires. Everything was burning and she basked in the hell she had created. We were not the only ones to fall.
The Savannah was burning.
Another morning of writing had did little to dispel the nervousness. This was the day. That doctor who was cheerful to the point where Chrysalis wanted to throttle him had declared her healed enough to have her hearing. She bore his prattling patiently (by glaring at him in hopes she could melt him with her eyes) until he was done listening to the sound of his own voice. It was not until after he had left Chrysalis realized he had mentioned blood samples somewhere in his test results.
Maybe revenge against him should take top priority…
No doubt they had done things to Atalanta, adding to the insult of her inability to protect her tiny, helpless daughter from the overly curious ponies.
Chrysalis checked the sling slung over her shoulder and across her chest. It was made of cloth and was designed to carry a precious bundle. The reflection in the mirror showed the plaid design of red and black to be an interesting contrast to her largely healed chitin and mane. She wasn’t sure if it looked good or not, but it felt comfortable around her. She could easily open the flap in front of her to reveal Atalanta. Unsurprisingly, the hatchling was sleeping.
“Are you certain you wish to take your daughter with you?” Luna asked. The alicorn stood a respectful distance. Nightstorm stood silently behind her.
“I will not leave her. She comes or I will not attend this farce.” Chrysalis adjusted the sling and made a face in the mirror. Maybe a bit tighter? Atalanta rolled, opened her blurry eyes for a moment, yawned, and went back to sleep.
“It is not a—” Luna stopped when Chrysalis turned from the mirror with a deadpan to show.
“Deception is my specialty, just as dreams are yours,” reminded the Queen flatly. “You ponies want something from me. I intend to find out what. Nothing about this hearing makes sense. Why won’t you simply kill me and be done with it? Do your punishment. You have all the advantages. Your laws are bad and you should feel bad.”
The alicorn matched expressions with the changeling Queen.
“Even after all this time, you are still nothing more than a puppet for your sister, Luna.”
The Princess showed no anger. “Let us make haste.”
Chrysalis made one last adjustment to the sling. Mentally she shrugged. Some things simply could not be helped. “I am ready.”
“Do not provoke my princess,” growled Nightstorm.
“Even if truth is a provocation?”
“Enough. Queen Chrysalis. Follow Us, if you please. Nightstorm will follow behind you.”
For the first time in weeks, Chrysalis left her cell. There was a sense of trepidation as the hated room she had been confined in had also been her only place of comfort. Stepping beyond it was stepping into the unknown. Still, Chrysalis was no stranger to the unknown. Going where no changeling had gone before had kept her and her hive alive for a very long time.
It had been a while, but Chrysalis thought the halls were familiar. Despite her struggling weeks ago, the Queen paid attention to the little things as best she could. At some point, she would leave this place.
She was surprised when no chains were shackled to her. If she were leading a prisoner, it would be with a blindfold and a contingent of guards, especially for a captive as dangerous as a changeling queen.
Ponies were questionable in their decision making.
The journey was short: down the hall, down the same flight of stairs. Chrysalis caught sight of sunlight filtering through windows. Though she was a creature who preferred the darkness, the sun had always seemed like a trusted companion when she was small. The irony of who raised and lowered it left a sour taste in the Queen’s mouth. There was longing in her heart to feel the sun again. She wanted Atalanta to feel the warm, welcoming rays of the sun for the first time.
Her steps faltered. Luna seemed to sense her hesitation and halted. “Queen Chrysalis?”
“It is nothing.” Chrysalis tore her gaze from the shafts of sunlight. “Lead on.”
Luna led the Queen to a set of double doors flanked by Solar Guards. Both unicorns lit their horns and bowed respectfully to the Lunar Princess, the doors swinging away from them. Momentarily, Chrysalis was blinded by light and felt warmth cascade over her head and shoulders. With each step she took, the daylight warmed her back and flanks. Chrysalis stopped and tilted her muzzle to the sky, closing her eyes and just letting her dark chitin drink up the sun’s glory. A smile threatened to emerge and she allowed it to show a little. She could feel grass under her hooves. Grass! The spongy earth beneath gave to her weight. The air was sweet and warm. Birdsong caused for twitches in her ears.
“We apologize there was no opportunity to allow you access outside. Many a night was made arguing with Our sister as we both discussed you. We were very divided and it took a great deal of persuasion to convince Celestia to allow you outside.” Luna felt as though she was very pleased in showing off her victory. Chrysalis was grateful.
“Could it not have come sooner?” she asked as she slowly brought her head level. The Queen kept her eyes closed, enjoying the sun. She guessed it was summer, perhaps just reaching its zenith. Early June, perhaps? It felt right. She did a quick mental calculation of her daughter's age. If the attack had been on the first Sunday of May, then, let’s see...six weeks? Seven? “Before the Summer Solstice?”
“National affairs became quite hectic in the aftermath of you and yours.” Luna blew out an exasperated sigh. “We still receive false reports of changelings in the countryside. Colts and fillies have nightmares of being eaten by changelings, even though most of them have not an idea what one looks like. The mere thought causes quite the stir of the imaginations. Newspaper illustrations do not help matters much.”
“I see.” Chrysalis opened her eyes. “Lead on then.” Outside! She was outside! A little nymph popped up in her mind and began to pronk for joy within her common sense and cool demeanor. The flight of fancy irritated her and she growled at herself quietly. There was no time for such foolish thinking!
It was a garden. Summer flowers were in full bloom and their scents filled the nostrils of the Queen pleasantly. She had always a fondness for flowers, allowing herself to wear a small and pleasant smile. Chrysalis decided she would adopt a reserved approach, lifting her neutrality as to show appreciation for this treat. It would be enough for decorum. And, as the old saying went, she stopped to smell the roses. Azaleas and day lilies were the nearest plants to her. A thought occurred to her as she delicately sniffed at an orange and yellow flower.
Chrysalis gently fished out Atalanta, who did not appreciate being jostled from her nap. The hatchling trilled her objections loudly. The changeling eased her rump into the grass, scooting a bit closer to the flower she was focused on. Leaning forward, she guided her daughter’s nose to the flower and gave her a moment to sniff it out. Atalanta stopped her peeping, the nubs of her ears perking as she caught a whiff of the plant. A soft and curious chirp came from her little mouth and she leaned into the center of the petals. She batted at it with a clumsy little hoof. She liked it! Then, she grabbed the plant with both hooves and tried to eat it.
“No!” Chrysalis commanded gently, extracting Atalanta from the flower. The hatchling chirped out a tantrum as she was stuffed back into the sling. Luna, she noticed, was staring at her. “I wanted her to smell her first flower.”
The pang of longing slammed into the Queen’s senses like a crashing wave. She took it gamely, thinking awkwardly she might have made a gaff. She wanted Luna’s sympathy, not her resentment. Chrysalis hoped the alicorn would not begrudge her for having what she dared not have.
“I have delayed long enough,” she sighed as she came to her hooves. Her wings buzzed as she suddenly pondered herself taking to the sky and escape. Chrysalis did not need to look up to see the dozens of pegasi guards. They were there and they were watching. “Where are we going? I thought we were going to this hearing of yours.”
“We are almost there, Queen Chrysalis.”
The garden was large, but not expansive. Chrysalis was able to make out the walls of a castle around her, with parapets and towers. Banners of the Sun and the Moon fluttered from the tops of spires. Everything was functional in design, having none of the elegance and grace of Canterlot. It was a fortress. She was unfamiliar with the mountain peaks to the south and west. They were jagged and still had snow caps.
Chrysalis had no idea where she was.
The garden wrapped around the keep Chrysalis had emerged from. The stones of the keep and walls were dark gray. She noted it too was squat and ugly. The garden was beauty in the middle of ugly. Atalanta was still fussing within the sling, still upset at having her new plaything taken from her. Chrysalis nudged her gently to quiet the hatchling. It partially succeeded and the mother had to deal with her daughter squirming feebly and making the occasional protest. Mildly irritated, the Queen slogged onwards, looking up as she rounded the corner a few feet behind Luna.
She balked. Before her lay a large white table with a glass top. Upon the table was everything needed for a tea party. There was a large and ornate teapot with gold and silver flower art upon a silver tray. Four teacups of the same design were arranged on that tray around the pot. Next to the tray was another one with neatly arranged triangle sandwiches. All of them had the crusts cut off. Four chairs were arranged around it. Before each chair was an arranged napkin, cunningly folded to look like a swan. Two of them were occupied.
The first pony Chrysalis noted was none other than Princess Celestia. The great alicorn wore a serene mask and regarded the Queen coolly. To her right sat her purple progeny, Twilight Sparkle. The unicorn was trying not to stare at the Queen, her eyes going over changeling perfection with a look of, well...everything.
Anger.
Curiosity.
Outrage.
Curiosity.
Loathing.
Curiosity.
Resolve.
Oh, look, more curiosity!
Chrysalis almost laughed as the emotions coming from Twilight Sparkle nearly matched her expressions. The unicorn shook her head and finally looked down at her hooves. She closed her eyes and appeared to be doing some sort of breathing exercise. The Queen sensed her calming and was somewhat impressed.
“I bid you welcome, Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings,” greeted Celestia respectfully. She must have taken lessons from Luna. The smile was gone, but those eyes. The moment Chrysalis locked eyes with Celestia, it was as though the intensity of the sun were behind them.
She might as well have slapped the Queen.
Celestia bore the weight of her mental fortitude down upon the Chrysalis. It was not a cruel display, nor was it meant to subjugate. The Princess established her dominance at the start. Chrysalis felt her legs wobble beneath her, but she stood fast in the maelstrom of power she had never felt before, not even from a Greater queen! That mind! That vast and boundless mind held her, scrutinized her, held judgement at the tip of a thought. Chrysalis was as a hatchling before a goddess. It was a spectacular show of force, filled with grace and deliberate gentleness. She could crush on a whim.
Despite such power, and against what Chrysalis imagined was reasonable, Celestia merely caressed her and was quite gentle as she seemingly dominated the very essence of life around her. Impossible! Chrysalis gasped and felt very, very small. She felt Celestia shift, turning her attention to Atalanta. The Queen’s fear shifted for her daughter. The intensity abruptly dropped and became a tickling whisper. Atalanta responded by poking her head from the sling, her blurry eyes wide with wonder.
It was then Chrysalis understood her folly. But...why?
“If you would join us, I would be honored. There is much to discuss.”
How could I have beaten that??
“Of course,” Chrysalis managed, steeling her resolve. Luna had already seated herself and was looking at the changeling expectantly. The Queen managed to make herself look stately as a stiff-legged walk guided her to her awaiting seat. Why did it seem so far away?
Somehow, she managed. Everything had gone numb.
“Tea?” came a disembodied voice to her left.
Chrysalis jerked and whipped her head around, her eyes round. Luna was levitating the teapot and teacup. Recovering, she offered a weak smile and a nod. “Yes, something to drink would be lovely.” Luna poured and floated the cup to the Queen. Chrysalis accepted it graciously, darting a glance at Celestia. Chamomile, she noted with the first polite sip.
“Twilight, if you would be so kind as to get us started?” Celestia asked pleasantly. “Let’s get this over with so we can move on to more important things, shall we?”
“Yes, Princess,” said Twilight, giving her teacher an odd look. She caught herself staring and cleared her throat. “Queen Chrysalis of the changelings. You have been informed of the charges against you and your swarm. Do yo—”
“We are not a swarm,” interrupted Chrysalis.
“I’m sorry?”
“A group of changelings is not a swarm. We are a hive. A hive of changelings is a group of changelings. Changelings live in colonies. Colonies live together in hives. Hives move as a group of changelings. Understand?” Chrysalis sipped her tea. She wondered if any in her hive were still alive. She faltered in her smugness, feeling so very alone.
Twilight blinked. “Erm, yes. I can amend that. One moment.” She magicked a pen and was about to go through the paper she was reading from when Celestia cleared her throat.
“Don’t worry about it now, Twilight. Please continue to read.”
“O-o-of course!” Twilight grinned sheepishly. “Do you, Queen Chrysalis understand the charges that have been levied against you or do you wish them to be explained to you this moment before we continue? The prosecution would be more than obliging in order to ensure you understand to the fullest of your capacity all charges.”
“I do. My council explained everything to me in detail.”
“How will you plead to them?”
“I refuse to plead.”
Twilight seemed about to argue, but thought better of it, firming her lips in a straight line as she repeated the Queen’s reply over and over in her head.
“A refusal to enter a plea will be considered an admission of guilt,” she warned.
“You know, my mother once told me the sun watched over all living things. She would tell me stories of how the sun would find a lost changeling and guide her home. I had loved those stories. I grew up loving the sun. It was my protector.” She stared into her teacup, then up at Celestia. Chrysalis sighed. “The lies mothers tell their children.” The Queen turned to Twilight, who was gaping at her in shock. “I refuse to recognize your legal system.” Chrysalis sipped her tea again. “This is a kangaroo court. I have told Princess Luna this is a kangaroo court. You are all kangaroos. Just kill me and be done with it. Your laws sicken me. This pathetic and heavily biased so-called hearing sickens me. Both of you princesses sicken me. You sicken me, Twilight Sparkle. I damn all of you for this farce. Let my daughter and me join our hive so we may have peace and be done with this lie I have spent almost my entire life chasing. Damn. You. All.”
She finished her tea, savoring the taste.
Chamomile. Chrysalis held her cup to Luna. “Might I have more?”
Note: Twilight is not yet an alicorn. The story is going to progress more or less along the seasons.
Please understand I am not dumbing down Twilight nor the Princesses in any way. This story is almost entirely from the Queen's perspective, so don't be too harsh to judge. I'll understand if there are Twilight fans or fans of Moonbutt and Sunbutt. Heck, I like 'em tons! I like to do my best to keep core characters in character, so please bear with me.
Again, apologies to my editors. They saw the gdocs. I just finished before they could give it the run through the wringer.
Damn the typos! Full speed ahead!!
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Moment of truth!
Love this story so much, it's gripping, it makes my own imagination run apace.
Stories like this inspire me to try my hand at writing.
Squeeeeeee!
....... the reacton of celestia right now would be thus.
"She's right. this system should have died out long ago. I'm burning it to the ground so we can build up a new one."
celestia would not bind herself to something so one sided. that would be folly.
6473699 Yes, because one should create laws based upon your own will, I mean it's not like it's becoming a tyrant at all to basically burn all the laws and force up new ones.
All simply for one creature who decided her answer was to turn the inhabitants of a kingdom into her own personal meat farm.
Awesome chapter! Chrysalis' daughter is a cute little bugpony btw.
Twilight is personally affected by the actions of Chrysalis and therefore should not be considered as a legitimate prosecutor. In fact, none of those there should be involved in the trial. This really is not a fair trial.
6474013
Well most of the other ponies would be biased too. To be honest you'd probably need to pull in outside observers. I'm just glad Cadance or Shining isn't involved.
6473702 when someone is right, someone is right.
besides why would she let such a worthless system continue and not gradually give it the boot after A Thousand Years
i REALLY hope this has a happy ending!
i hate sad endings ._.
I am intrigued as to where this shall go. You have held me so far, I anticipate great things from this story.
Hopefully, the Queen maintains her defiance, regardless of everything, and refuses to take whatever punishment this "court" has for her.
Ha go chrissy
6466899
Hmm, I think I've seen that angle done maybe once before, I think it was a story by Pen-Mightier, where Chrysalis tells Twilight not to tell Shining Armor, how he shouldn't be pulled into this and cause him more pain, something like that. Honestly, I think Scarheart's other story, The Halfling, provides a quite refreshing angle, where Shining actually does take in his son and accepts and loves him from the start. I understand it may not be the most realistic take, but hey, at least it's a changeling story/ChrysalisxShining offspring story where Shining Armor isn't a total douche.
I understand the justification for his anger and how he (if at first) can't find it in himself to accept his offspring; he's more than entitled to his share of sympathy. My main problem comes from how so many of these kind of stories are so biased in favor of changelings and the desire to make Chrysalis and THEM sympathetic, that Shining, his sympathy and his right to be angry often get sidelined at best. There are stories that--instead of using plenty of canon material to portray Shining as a hurt, troubled pony dealing with his own pain and conflictions--spend far more effort in characterizing him as a snarling, violently racist/borderline genocidal antagonist in order to wring as much sympathy for the child and the changelings as possible, until his inevitable heel-face turn.
I don't know if Scarheart intends to include Shining Armor in this story or whatever role he'll play, though knowing Scarheart, so there shouldn't be too much to worry about. I'm just often apprehensive due to how a lot of stories portray him.
Oh man, I can't wait to see more of this tiger-stripped, dynamite babe in the future!
6458191 What do you feed it?
6474975
That one is actually in my favourites. ^_^ And it's as close as I've yet seen a story go.
6474375
Unfortunately, Chrysalis can hardly be called right in this. She's a power-hungry, paranoid egomaniac who desires nothing more than to spite everypony around her.
Plus, at least the supposedly worthless pony system hasn't led to the near-extinction of ponykind. Unlike Chrysalis' leadership did to her own people.
6475097 Sunshine and rainbows! And snuggles! Lots and lots of snuggles!
Can I hug Crissy for that? xD made me laugh quite a bit, hehehehe!
Nice job once again! Can't wait for more, and keep it up!
6488867
That was a mistake? I just figured all three of them were lying to Chrysalis for their own ends.
6488887 Huge mistake. I rewrote the chapter several times and didn't fix that part. I was wondering why everyone was still ragging on the ponies. That is not what I wanted. At all.
Seriously considering scrapping the whole story I'm so upset.
6488910
I'd definitely rather you didn't scrap the story. But now I'm dismayed, are we really supposed to see Chrysalis as a completely unsympathetic and unlikable character? Because I was enjoying the fact that the ponies weren't all white hats, and were actually rather underhanded in their tactics, even though they were pissing me off. You made them believable enough characters that I genuinely disliked them for what they were doing to Chrysalis, and you succeeded in making Chrysalis the underdog villain who I felt sorry and was rooting for.
6488937 I'm happy with how Chrysalis came out. That was what I wanted. I certainly didn't want the ponies to come off as underhanded. Frightened and facing an unknown threat, yes. Being monsters? No. Absolutely not. I'd rather scrap the story than go that route.
Good story, horrible execution. That's why I'm an amateur writer.
6488944
Well to be fair, they weren't being monsters. I can definitely say that I see how they were acting out of fear, but in their actions they were cruel. As cruel as Chrysalis would've been had she won? Probably not. But they were making it real easy to dislike them.
6488910
You should, hell you might feel better. I mean I really like the story allot but I also like destroying or watching the things I like being destroyed, It's very therapeutic.....
Edit: and then start all over..
This is amazing, please don't scrap it
*Yoda voice* Much bitterness in this one, I sense.
I wonder just how much that has changed considering it is Celestia who controls the sun.
How would Luna not be a puppet? Raze Equestria to the ground?
As per her customs, she is leaving her queendom and entering another. So does that mean she keeps her chin lower than Luna's?
That is until the shackles of friendship are fully realized. But when that occurs, it is already far too late.
"Your laws are bad and you should feel bad."
ZOIDBERG! XD
Ouch, that was harsh! I knew that she was bitter, but wanting herself to be killed? That's just sad!
I wanna say it was chapter 3, where Chrysalis made an alliteration of P's. Pretty sure purple pony princess was in there, may wanna change that if Twilight is still a unicorn. Unless she was refering to Luna, but I can't see her as purple.
This is how i see the Ravagers.