The Regime

by Wheller

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ryswell had taken back the binocular goggles. Turning the click wheels softly as he looked up at the sky from the mouth of the cave. He was satisfied in what he saw, an empty sky. He pulled the goggles off his head and deposited them back in his bag.

‘Ryswell, I—’ Carmine began, but the stallion cut her off.

‘I will answer your questions at the proper time. We seem to be safe for the moment, we should rejoin the others and—’

Carmine found her blood boiling at the way that Ryswell had casually dismissed her. She gritted her teeth and let out her anger. ‘No!’ she snarled, and leapt at him.

Ryswell stumbled back. She had clearly caught him off guard. Carmine thrust a hoof at him, pinning him up against the wall.

‘I am not going another step without an explanation!’ she growled. ‘You want something from me Ryswell. You keep pushing me into a direction you want me to go. Well I’m tired of it. I swear Ryswell, if I don’t get some answers right now, I will hurt you!’

Ryswell could only stare back at her. He was shocked by her outraged response. As he thought about it, he realised that this was his own fault. Now he had to live with the consequences.

He slowly nodded his head. ‘Very well, I had hoped to delay this for a bit longer, but it seems that I have no choice now,’ he admitted.

Carmine let him go. She felt nauseous, dizzy, and exhausted. Such intense anger had fatigued her, it seemed. She sighed and shook her head. ‘My explanation?’ she asked.

Ryswell nodded. ‘It is not by chance I chose this cave. Follow me deeper inside, and you shall have it,’ he said.

Carmine opened her mouth to protest, but Ryswell raised a hoof.

‘I promised you an explanation. I shall give you one, come with me,’ he said and took her foreleg, giving it a gentle tug and began to walk deeper into the cave.

It was pitch black in the cave, the light from the outside world couldn’t penetrate this deep, but despite that, Carmine found that she could still see.

Something had happened, her emotional outburst had done something. She looked over at Ryswell in confusion.

He looked back at her. ‘I think you are beginning to understand why I must show you the explanation. I doubt you would believe me simply telling you.’

They stopped by a pool of water. Ryswell pulled up a hoof-ful for a quick drink. Carmine knelt down to do the same.

She let out a gasp of surprise. Even in the low light, she could tell the difference.

Her eyes were no longer their normal pink, but had changed to emerald green.

She looked to Ryswell for explanation. ‘Patience, I have promised you. I will not renege on it, I swear it.’

They continued walking for what seemed like an hour. They were getting close to their destination. Carmine could see a faint light at the end of the tunnel. She knew that was where her answers would be found. She could feel it in her heart.

The end of the tunnel opened into a massive cavern, it was faintly lit with candles scattered around at opportune places to allow just enough light to see clearly without her newly found dark sight.

It was warm, and quite humid for being so far underground. She reckoned they had descended at least two hundred metres. Something was controlling the climate to make it more comfortable for something that most certainly wasn't a pony.

She had not needed to wonder what for long, as she glanced around she saw several sets of glowing blue eyes looking back at her. Several equinoid figures approached out of dark corners of the cavern to investigate her. There could hardly be any confusion as to what they were. Black carapaces with gossamer wings, jagged limbs and glowing blue eyes looked back at her.

Changelings, she thought.

Indeed, they were. A group of six had approached, one leaned forward and gently sniffed at her, before offering a warm smile. It approved of Carmine being here.

Carmine smiled at the changeling before her, reaching out with a hoof and gently rubbing its head. The changeling approved and chittered quietly, rubbing its head against her hoof as she pet it. She glanced over to Ryswell. ‘This is the hive?’ she asked.

‘One of them, there are tunnels and burrows that stretch all across the Regime,’ he said simply. ‘Come on, we have just a bit further to go.’

She followed Ryswell’s lead, falling into step behind him. The changelings following close behind. They wound through the complex for a while, making twists and turns that Carmine could hardly keep straight. Ryswell seemed to know exactly where to go. She was nervous by this; how did he know where to go?

They finally came to the largest of the caverns, a rounded room with high vaulted ceilings. Carmine looked up to see a skylight at the very tip of the room. They must have made their way under the mountain that the Blackjack had crashed into.

In the centre of the cavern was a large throne, manually carved from obsidian. Ryswell waved her over towards it, and stood just before the seat. ‘Here we are,’ he said with a smile.

Carmine looked confused. ‘A room is an explanation?’ she asked.

‘No, of course not, don’t be silly,’ he said with a toothy smile. ‘There’s a person in it that has one though.’

She cocked her head to the side, Ryswell’s face suddenly began to flutter, almost as if he was made of putty. Carmine watched as he began to change. He grew to two hundred centimetres in height, sprouted gossamer wings, His limbs grew into jagged shapes like the other changelings around them, he sprouted fangs, and eyes turned to a glowing green.

At this point, it was clear that he was no longer a ‘he’. Carmine stood face to face with Chrysalis, the Queen of all changelings.

Carmine’s eyes widened in shock, and she dropped to her knees. ‘My Queen!’ she gasped.

Chrysalis smiled and offered Carmine a hoof, helping her back to all fours. ‘Please, Miss Carmine, there is hardly need for that,’ she said and trotted over to her obsidian throne, sitting back on it. ‘Well, you wanted an explanation, didn’t you?’ she asked and spread her forelegs wide, gesturing to her surroundings. ‘How is this?’

Carmine could hardly believe it. ‘Y—you were Ryswell the entire time?’ she asked.

‘In a manner of speaking,’ she said with a playful giggle.

‘And the others? Martel, Flint?’ she asked, cocking her head.

Chrysalis beamed at her. ‘See for yourself,’ she pointed back to the tunnel with her hoof. Carmine turned to watch as Martel and the rest of the troop trotted in. Each of them in turn bursting into green flame, revealing their true forms as changelings.

Carmine blinked at them, but offered the changelings a smile after a few moments. One they were all quick to return. Chrysalis cleared her throat, and Carmine turned back to her.

‘I believe you had a question you wished to ask me, yes?’ she asked, resting her chin under her forehoves.

Carmine had to think about it for a moment, but she finally remembered it. ‘Yes. Do you know who my mother is? What became of her?’ she asked.

Chrysalis grined. ‘That’s two questions,’ she said playfully and stuck her tongue out at her. ‘I do know the answers to these questions.’

Carmine sat at the foot of her throne, looking up at the queen longingly for the information.

‘Your mother was a changeling, one of the hive that we sent into the village those fifteen Junes ago, disguised of course. A changeling’s shapeshifting ability is flawless, right down to the genetic level. Your father sired you with her, and she carried you to term. The hive decided it would be best for you to live as normal of a life as possible. So you were deposited with your father in his Food Slave village,’ Chrysalis said.

Well, that had answered her main question, but now she had many more.

‘Food slave?’ she asked.

‘That’s what you are,’ she said with a smile. ‘All you who live in the villages we keep as food! Changelings feed on the emotions of others, you see. We keep you as happy as possible, and harvest you during Trade time, like any other crop!’

Carmine frowned at this, but Chrysalis waved a hoof.

‘I’m sure it sounds callous when I put it that way, but believe me. We genuinely want you to live happy lives. For our own benefit, as well as yours,’ she said.

Carmine nodded her head. ‘What happened to my mother?’ she asked.

‘I am sad to say, that the physical drone that carried you to term is dead. Killed in a raid against the Praesidium, where the Blackjack came from. It was not six months after you were born, though the physical drone is not the one that matters. You see, it was the hive that you can consider to be your mother. I am the hive, therefore, I am your mother,’ she said brightly.

That worried Carmine more than it helped, the thoughts of her changed eyes popped into her head. ‘Am I a changeling?’ she asked.

Chrysalis gave her a hearty chuckle. ‘No, don’t be silly. If you were a changeling my darling daughter, you would have known a long time ago. No, like I said, the changeling impersonation is flawless. Right down to the genetic level. You’re an earth pony, truly.’

‘Why have me at all?’ she asked.

Chrysalis bit her lip, she must have been hoping not to answer this particular question. ‘You were an accident to be honest. The hive did not maintain full transformation discipline, and as a result, a few changeling traits did manage to sneak their way into you. Your changing eyes, for example? Classic changeling trait.’

Carmine clutched her head, she had a lot to think about with what her Queen had told her.

‘Tired?’ Chrysalis asked.

Carmine nodded her head.

‘It’s been a long day so far,’ Chrysalis said with a nod, and rose from her obsidian throne. She gripped Carmine in her telekinesis, and brought her into her outstretched forelegs, and gave her daughter a hug. ‘I am so glad you’re home, my Carmine.’

Comments

[Razzy]

So some of my guesses were right.

Hmm, so in this version they're much more hiveminded.

You need to work on your PR skills, Chryssie.

The Praesidium... Now I'm even more intrigued.

To be honest, the entire setup isn't a bad idea. Ponies live however they want, changelings come once a month to stock up on food, nobody is hurt

[Razzy]

7641626 I must've missed the point where I mentioned her being good or evil.

I was just referring to the fact that her public relations skills leave something to be desired.

[Razzy]

7641805 Whether someone is good or evil, having good public relations skills helps. She could've replaced the word food with sustenance, which sounds much less harsh, maybe avoid using words line slave, etc. Generally, better PR skills would've made the discussion less awkward.

[Wheller]

7641626
7642074

Unless of course, she intended to illicit a specific emotional response. Chrysalis is very deliberate in her actions and words. Careless she is not.

[tuntematon]

Well this is a surprise