Prologue - Part 2
"Chryssi Cross?" Celestia set down the long scroll that she had been working through. Beside her Luna perched to one side and, beside Luna, Cadance was trying to pull faces without either of the two rulers seeing her—with marginal success. "Well, when my protege approaches me with a letter from a prospective assistant, I am always prepared to listen. And I must say, this letter is spectacularly written." Celestia gave Chrysalis a wink. "Thank you for that, Cadance."
"Your Highness?" Chrysalis was in awe of the Princess, she was strong, she was perfect. "I really want to help, I told a friend about the Nightmare Moon incident, she tried to make it in time to help."
"Be that as it may, what proof do you have you can be useful in this?" Celestia looked at the disguised changeling without knowing the full nature of the supplicant.
Chrysalis' mind raced, she tried to come up with the next problem. "Twilight Sparkle and her friends are now controlling the Elements of Harmony, right?" Celestia nodded. "And that is what you used to send your sister away?" Luna lowered her head; a big white wing curl around her protectively.
"Your point had best be a good one." Celestia was mostly even tempered, but for the moment her sister's feelings were a sore point.
"You were bound to the Elements, and used them to defeat and bind foes. Are there any others that you did?" Chrysalis' mind raced to the conclusion and she saw the one visible eye of the white alicorn narrow in surprise. "There is, I can bet. Those prisons could be weakening too." Chrysalis fumbled around for anything more but was cut off.
"You are hired. Please be mindful of your words around my sister, she was not at fault for her recent… problem." Celestia turned and nuzzled her sister, her lips moving as she murmured something to the mare. Turning back to Chrysalis, Celestia dismissed her, "Have Cadance find you a room in the castle to work from-"
"Your Highness, with respect, the house I am in right now is quite fine." Chrysalis wouldn't be able to take her drones into the castle. Or could I? "Unless you insist of course."
"It would be best to keep you close, I wish to know any further thoughts you have." Celestia smiled at the changeling.
It was a dismissal, and Cadance quickly trotted forward to walk with her friend. "You get to live in the castle, with me!" Chrysalis gave a happy sigh, Cadance's love was a constant and wonderful thing. "The room right next to mine is empty…"
"Cadance, I don't want to hear you and Shining… doing things." Chrysalis put up only a minor protest, their "doing things" was a feast for her. She let out a, dramatic sigh. "Alright, if it will make you happy. I can move my bed to the other side of the room, I guess."
"This will be great!" Cadance pranced as they headed through the castle to one of the towers. "And… here it is!" She threw the door to the little suite of rooms open. "All yours!"
Chrysalis stepped in and despite herself, had to smile. "This day has been just… perfect. I am totally going to have to get my things." And my foals.
"So…" Cadance rolled a hoof around the floor in a tight circle. "What do you think she and Luna used the elements to bind? Maybe a huge dragon?" Cadance flopped on a couch, fluffing her wings around her and leaning to one to pick through her feathers.
"Dragon? Nah, she would just send a squad of guards or her Wonderbolts, to deal with that. I bet it is something really freaky…" Chrysalis trailed off. "Freaky… the draconequus…" She looked around for a bookcase, her bookcase, but of course she hadn't moved in yet. "I need to go to the library!"
"Sounds like work. Maybe you should… move… in… first?" Cadance watched her friend gallop out the door and away. "Guess I will move your stuff in then. Hope she doesn't mind if I do a little arranging, too."
Chrysalis pounded along and realized—slowing down—that she had no idea where the library was in the castle. Spotting a familiar face she trotted up to a royal guard stallion. "Excuse me?" She tapped the shield-emblazoned flank with a hoof.
Shining Armor spun around in shock that quickly changed to delight. "Hey Chryssi! I heard the news from the throne room guards, congratulations." He held out a metal-shod hoof to the mare and got a careful bump.
"About that, do you know the way to the castle library?" Chrysalis couldn't help but feel a little safer with the stallion, but she knew it was partly a ruse and partly wishful thinking. The armor makes them look much more powerful than they actually are, stupid psychology...
"Sure, but until you are cleared for anything special, you can't go past the regular section." Shining pointed and led the way, leaving the bespectacled mare to follow. "What's the first target? Already figured out what the next 'big bad' that is going to attack?" It was meant as a joke.
"Well, I have a lead on one, I think I remember reading about a draconequus that was imprisoned by the Elements, that was a long time ago…"
Shining was a little surprised, he hadn't expected an actual answer. "What, so this dragon thingy could break free and attack?" He looked back and caught Chrysalis' nod. "Well, then you had better find out all about it."
~~~~~+++++~~~~~
Chrysalis slowly moved her drones in. She carried them in as furniture or as some art pieces for her room, but every waking hour not spent smuggling her children in was spent in study, pouring over what books were available and even trying to sneak into the restricted areas.
It was on one such foray that she finally found what she needed. "Discord?" She read the name from the ancient book. Pulling out the notes, she added the name into the relevant place. "I have it all, I can finally see-"
"Ahem?" The voice was distinct, Chrysalis knew who it was. As she spun around, she spotted Princess Celestia herself staring down at her. "I don't remember giving you access to these shelves."
"Princess Celestia! I found out all the information on one of the worst of the detainees!" Chrysalis spun her notepad around to show the ruler. "See! Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. A dracone-"
"Draconequus, I know of him. He is safely secured." Celestia had to admire how the mare had managed to get past the royal guard posted to protect the section she was in. "The magic holding him is well secured. As for you, this is a grave breach of trust."
Chrysalis' face dropped. "But… I came because I needed to find the books with the information-"
"Then you should have come to me, I could have saved you some time." Celestia gave a sigh. "Maybe you need a little more time in school before such studies are undertaken."
Her blood ran cold, Chrysalis looked up at the Princess of the Sun. "But…"
"Dear, it is for your own good, don't you see? I already know of these problems and have everything in hoof. Twilight and her friends will save Equestria, no matter what." Celestia gave her beatific smile to the overly focused "unicorn." "Now, I won't kick you out of the castle, don't fear that, but you will return to your studies. For now though, you are no longer researching on my behalf."
As the words sank in, particularly the ruler hinging the entirety of Equestria on one little group of young mares—as Chrysalis realized just how deluded the idea was—her hope broke. She gathered up the book she had been using and carefully returned it to the rack.
"I admire your work, Chryssi, and once you have learned a little more in the way of manners I will assuredly ask for your service again." Celestia smiled, beaming at the disguised mare. Grabbing up her notes, Chrysalis made for the exit.
Her hooves felt extra heavy as she clopped along the hallway and up to her room. Slamming the door behind her, Chrysalis stumbled inside and flopped onto the bed.
"My Queen?" Braced was first to her side, shedding his disguise as her chest of drawers. "My Queen," he repeated, "what has happened."
"The Princess is useless, she won't see reason or try to defend Equestria." Chrysalis' heart had sunk about as low as it could. "She fired me, she ignored my warnings. She believes, no matter what, that Twilight Sparkle and her friends can save the day."
"Can they?" Braced rarely spoke without giving his mother an honorific, but with the mood radiating from her now he didn't feel up to it.
"They might. They did once, by dumb luck. They might just be lucky again. But will they always be this lucky? Can they possibly always get it right just at the last second?" Chrysalis let her own disguise drop completely, revealing her shape to her children. "I can't trust that, luck is luck, but it should be backed by plans."
"My Queen?" The tone of his mother had changed perking Braced up. "What is your plan?"
"I… I need to work on the actual plan, but there will be one, if this Discord comes into being, we will fight him, but then…" Chrysalis felt a dark pull in her chest. "We have to invade Canterlot, we have to… to protect the ponies."
Every drone gasped at the pronouncement, it made Chrysalis feel good that such a declaration of intent would shock them. Closing her eyes, she took three deep breaths. "We will start planning, a year… a year and a half should be enough. We need more changelings for a start." Smiles lit up among her foals. "I didn't want to begin a hive, hives get found, invaded, and destroyed. We won't build a hive, we will build a nation, a shield around Equestria."
Chrysalis waited with her children, waited until the elite royal guard had either all gone to sleep for the night or had been changed out to bleary-eyed night guards. "It is time." She lifted to her hooves and stepped over to gather the letter on her writing desk. "Cadance, Shining… I hope you both can forgive me for this." Striding out of her room she slipped the letter under Cadance's door and marched off through the castle, going ever deeper. One by one her drones followed, picking disguises that would blend in. "I knew they were down here." Chrysalis had reached the entrance to the old crystal caverns below Canterlot.
"My Queen, we are almost all together, what is your command?" Braced was puffing out his chest, feeling his mother was more a queen now than ever before.
"We build, we need barracks, hatching grounds, a war room, some chambers for myself and," Chrysalis inhaled deeply, "a nursery." It will take time, I have never had my foals build like this. Let's review things.
Marching to one wall, Chrysalis lit the surrounding area with her horn. Lifting out the careful notes, she began to review them. "So, my facts are… Celestia hinging national safety on her own student. Her student… is not stupid. She found out about Nightmare Moon almost a day ahead of me." Chrysalis tapped her chin. "Not stupid by half. Okay…" Chrysalis set a notepad down with Twilight's name emblazoned on it. "She is part of all this, I just know it. Celestia isn't completely stupid, she sees something in Twilight… she must have seen her grow, become something amazing, in a prophecy..." Chrysalis opened Twilight's pad and started writing notes in it. "But she can't grow if she is put in front of every threat to face Equestria."
Another pad came out next. "Cadance… you are bound to him." Shining's pad landed beside Cadance's. "Inseparable, a powerful combination… a fuel source." Chrysalis beamed at the sketches she had made of her two best friends.
Celestia's pad landed out next. It was packed nearly three times more full than the others. "Why wouldn't you just listen? Or tell me?" Chrysalis set a hoof down on the sketch of the princess. "I just wanted to help you, to be your shield." The hoof drew back. "I need to think about this, but not here."
Marching down, Chrysalis inspected the room that would become a nursery. Crouching low, the queen of the changelings caused changes within herself—vast changes. "Celestia won't listen to reason when it is offered, what about if I demand, an ultimatum?"
"My Queen, what about an offer, from a position of power?"
Chrysalis' head snapped around to the drone building the wall up. "Something to try, but first, we need the power." Her body rippled and seemed to tremble, mostly toward her rear. Panting and swearing suddenly, Chrysalis' body shivered and disgorged an egg. "The first of many." It was a determined look that she wore, as she started pushing out the next. And the next. And the next.
~~~~~+++++~~~~~
Egg, egg, egg, egg. Chrysalis disliked wasting her time but of course it wasn't really wasting it. "Braced!" Egg, egg, egg. "BRACED!"
The sound of wings buzzing furiously heralded Chrysalis' smartest son's arrival. "My Queen?" The drone froze, in awe of his mother. "My Queen!" His stance changed, he perked right up seeing Chrysalis crouched, laying eggs. Around her were nearly half a dozen eggs, a clear indication of her intent.
"Braced, I… I need something to keep me sane. Bring me Twilight's file and a quill." Egg, egg, egg. "The first batch are nearly done, mostly Brutes, there are to be a few of mother's specialties." Chrysalis disliked speaking of her mother, and it showed. "Ten Foragers, ten Farmers."
"I… I don't know what those are, my Queen?" Braced flicked his wings in agitation as he looked up. "What about drones to tend to new grubs, what about the spawning room?"
"Those will be there too. You will see what I am doing, Braced." Chrysalis reached out a hole-filled hoof. Egg, egg, egg. "Please bring me the file… and some sudoku…"
The drone gave a giggle and kissed his mother's cheek. "It is now my life's mission, my Queen." He hugged his mother once more and took to his wings.
"Egg, egg, dratted egg!" Chrysalis slumped back down to her bulging belly, "It wouldn't be so bad if my instincts didn't make it feel so right." She was halfway to her first goal. Her eyes dipped a moment, she relaxed and startled back to full consciousness by the feel of another egg leaving her body and by a happier sound; Braced was back with a bundle of things gathered in his forelegs. "How are the reserves going, are the visits into the castle working?"
Setting down the folder and a little flip-book of number puzzles, Braced nodded. "We are sustaining food, even with the need to pour it into your eggs. What… what are we going to do? Are we going to capture ponies?"
"We are, Braced. We need to capture some, for the good of the hive and all Equestria. They will go free when we are… established. One way or the other." Chrysalis picked up the folder pertaining to the unicorn and started all the way from the start. Adjusting her glasses, Chrysalis began reading.
"My Queen, I will return to organizing the hive construction." Braced was a troubled 'ling. On one hoof the plan Chrysalis had formed would be for the best of all, ponies and changelings. On the other hoof, some ponies were going to have a lousy time for a year or so.
~~~~~+++++~~~~~
Dear Twilight Sparkle. I don't know how to explain this easily, so I will put it as bluntly as I can, please keep Equestria safe, do the best you can and I promise you, help is on the way. Chryssi.
Chrysalis pondered balling this letter up and throwing it into the waste with the others. "Twilight Sparkle, if I could give you all the strength to protect Equestria, I would…" She ran a hoof down the small drawing of the unicorn mare.
If you need anything, anything at all, stand in the town square of Ponyville and shout my name.
Why did I even add that? Now I have to leave a drone in town to watch her. "Braced!" Chrysalis looked back, spotting a few of her eggs almost ready to hatch. "Braced?" Chrysalis relaxed a little as the drone in question appeared. "Braced, please deliver this to Twilight, in Ponyville." She saw the shock on Braced's face. "I know, this is not part of the plans, but if there is no Equestria left to save by the time we are ready all is lost."
"My Queen!" Braced took the folded letter. "I will have a drone take it-"
Chrysalis cut in on her foal's words. "Pick a good infiltrator, have them stay there. If Twilight, or any of her friends call for me, they are to give aid or get to us." She gave a deep sigh. "I really hate having to sit here and lay eggs."
Braced froze, realizing his mother needed more from him than blind obedience. "My Queen." He stepped closer to Chrysalis, reaching up and hugging her neck. "We are all giving something for this. Equestria needs us."
Chrysalis blinked in shock and had to readjust her glasses. "It does. I wish I got to just stay in school, keep learning about the amazing things that ponies have done and made. If I did, I would be giving up any hope of those things staying around." She reached her forelegs up and pulled Braced tighter, squeezing the smaller changeling. "How is the harvest going? Things will be easier once the first of these hatch."
"It goes well, we can sustain ourselves and feed you and the eggs." Braced's attention focused on the eggs, briefly. "I don't want stupid siblings, we are giving all we can so they grow up just as smart as us."
"They will not be." Chrysalis sighed and looked into the eyes of Braced. "Most are more stocky drones, what mother called Underlings. A drone egg can only sustain so much 'ling, for them, energy is spent on their strength, their wings; all else about them will be less than what you are."
Braced blinked a few times at this, not sure what to say about these "lesser" changelings. For Equestria... "Then our little brothers and sisters will be kept safe and will be loved by all." He was squeezed tighter by his mother and he smiled to her. "What about the other ones, my Queen? You said 'Farmers?' "
Chrysalis giggled at her drone. "Yes, farmers of a sort." She reached a hoof up and brushed Braced's fangs. "Vestigial, is the word for these things. At least for you. Infiltrators are not the only types of drones a queen can make. Underlings, Farmers, Gatherers." It is good to just relax and talk, talking to eggs is very one sided. "Farmers, like most of the other drones, have venom. Theirs works slow, but it completely numbs and knocks out a pony. They can bring them carefully back to the hive."
"We are foalnapping?" Braced had to harden his heart, but regretted it instantly when he saw his mother leaking tears of her own. "My Queen!"
"We have to. A dozen drones, a few hundred eggs? Ambient love can feed that. A few hundred drones and a thousand eggs? We need a food source now, we need healthy and strong drones. Of course we can't just start stealing them right away. So the other ten, are Gatherer drones. Much like the Farmers they have venom, but theirs is… the pony stays awake, but they will feel a huge boost to their emotions. If a bite is given to a happy pony, they could feed a dozen changelings on their own." Chrysalis felt her words were coming from her mother. "They can store more honey too, more love." Chrysalis pulled out her little pad, with calculations all over it.
"So we will use those pod things?" Braced remembered the one time his mother had made one, it was to protect a wounded pony while they recovered, but it had poured out love from the trapped pony.
"No pods, not now." Chrysalis consulted her notes. "Not ever if I can help it. After this lot I will recalculate where we are and our projected love intake, then lay some more. By the end of the year I will be talking with Cadance and Shining, I need to get their opinions..."
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Well, that escalated quickly. Not that I can really blame her. I'd love to see a situation blow up in Celestia's face for a change rather than her scraping by on dumb luck.
Interesting, though the obvious timing issue with Shining being the captain of the guard...
I was hoping she would get to build a friendship with Twilight first before things blew up like that.
So does Vavacung do requests?
7640330 Her commissions are closed at the moment, but you can always ask her if she can squeeze something in.
Well, that escalated quickly. But it makes sense, she's an outsider, so she's not blinded by the ponies' devotion to Celestia and she clearly sees just how hinged on dumb luck the whole thing is.
Snrk, I just imagine Chryssie having hours long discussions with the eggs.
It is weird that I want to hug this version of Chrysalis? Please tell me I'm not the only one.
I hope chrysie shows Celestia how dumb luck shouldn't be relied upon.
Please, don't let this be a canon with few details changed. Derail the whole thing!
7640912 I promise you much derailing. INFINITE derailing. *
* Infinite is valued at 80%
I'm vaguely imagining Chryssi here as a cartoonified and immensely-bored version of the Alien queen.
liking so far .. i like seeing chryssi in a noble intention light. it is not done enough.
And this is the breaking point. Oh Tia, you don't know what you have started. A little more forgiveness would have gone a long way.
Big 'D', was a little hesitant at your original blog on this one, but it is turning out far better than expected, shall read on with relish...and mustard...and pickles...make sure the doggy is Castlemaine, they have the best hot dogs.
sunshinesmallgoods.com.au/shop/images/Sunshine_Smallgoods_%20KR_%20Continental_%20Franks.jpg
It's amazing how Celestia can make enemies without even trying. She's just lucky that Chrysalis is intent on doing this FOR the ponies, even if it's a little bit of a misguided intent.
img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130405221911/mlp/images/e/e1/FANMADE_Luna_I_see_what_you_did_there.jpg
I suspect you meant something different there.
was?
Awkward phrasing. she must have potential to grow, or to become something big." might work better.
"I
The comma isn't necessary, but I'm of two minds on whether it needs to go.
I'm sorry. This is just absolutely hilarious considering what is going to happen soon.
Also, please let this adorable depiction of Chrysalis tell Celestia "I told you so."
And then we realized her alias is basically criss-cross. Clever!
Oh thank goodness, for a second there I thought the invasion was going to be a result of her just snapping. Like if all her prep work and studies were counting for shit as the Mane 6 natural D20 themselves across every crisis, and the invasion was just to prove Equestria could fall if serendipity was removed from the equation.
Now I'm curious to see where this will go
And this is where I get off. This characterization of Celestia is murder just to make Chrysalis look better as the main character.
This is moving way, way too quickly. The time jumps, on top of being completely undefined, are disjointed and incredibly difficult to keep track of.
Like, for an example, she got back to Canterlot, had cadence help her get an audience with Celestia, had that audience, became her advisor, immediately found out about Discord, was removed from her position, decided to make a hive, and got pretty far into making that hive all in one chapter. That's ridiculous even for a fast paced story. The reigns need to be pulled back hard.
That said, I'll give it a few more chapters, because i line the premise and it definitely has some foreshadowing for Twisalis romance. If it isn't Twisalis, let me know now though, so i dont get mad later.
7884931 Twialis is not planned for, the romance is mostly to cover Shining Armor and Cadance. And a few other unnamed characters... once the story actually starts.
7885208
so many people assosiate shiping with romance, but its just the act of pairing 2 charicters in 'some' kind of relationship, which youa re doing in this story if the tittle card is any indication, instead of lovers you will have chrysalis being twilights new mentor and leader...
interesting thing here is chysi is asuming alot, a WHOLE lot, then again she doesnt know about the astral realm the fact that celestia can literaly see 'everything' going on in the world, past or present, and now and then can see the future...not exactly things celestia bandies about
still hear heart...or what passes for it in a changeling, is in the right place....i do wonder how this will go
7884931
Yeah, it moved really quickly, but I can sort of see why. This starts at the absolute front of the seasons, without a few quick introductory chapters, we won't arrive into the meat of the matter soon enough.
7644413
depend on which AU it is. the current cannon chysalis definitely doesn't have ability to lay eggs this quickly.