Chapter 07 - Odonate
Odonate stood outside the entrance of the queen’s chambers. The older changeling had been guarding Queen Chrysalis and her hive for decades now. Despite his age and how grizzled he looked he was still strong and still felt like he could serve her for many more years to come. Just as his father, mother, grandfather, and great grandmother had all done before him.
His family line had always been devoted to the queen and for their service they had been treated respectfully. If he ever had any offspring of his own he would instill that same loyalty in them as his parents had in him and he would be damned if he let a single one turn their backs on her. He sneered just thinking about how the old hive did just that.
He ran a hoof down the left side of his scarred head, starting at the torn place his ear had once been and ending at the side of his neck under the jawline. When the queen’s throne room had collapsed, he had been struck by falling debris and left trapped under a pile of rubble. His helmet had saved his life but it had also dented slightly and so when he tried to free himself it tore into his chitin. When he had later been rescued, by the very traitors that caused the catastrophe, he had been offered help with his injuries. He refused and flew off.
Battered and broken, he followed the Queen’s trail for days until he collapsed from exhaustion. When he had regained consciousness, he was resting in an underground chamber with a few of his fellow changelings. All of his wounds had been tended to with a coating of love infused resin and he was informed that the queen herself had mended his injuries.
He wanted to see her then and there but she was out harvesting love to bring back to her remaining subjects. When she did return he tried to bow to her, tried to apologize for failing at his duty to protect the hive. She stopped him with a shake of her head and a firm hoof on his shoulder. “Just rest and get well,” she had told him.
He removed his hoof from his wounds, placed it against the wooden chamber door, returned his thoughts to the present and knocked. After a moment he heard the scrape of the latch being drawn back and the door opened revealing Phasmid on the other side. The younger changeling looked up at him, glanced for just a second at his scars and quickly returned to making eye contact after he realized what he did.
“I’m here to see her highness,” Odonate said, his voice gruff but clear.
“Her highness is bathing at this moment,”Phasmid responded, looking back over his shoulder at a closed door on the other side of the room.
“No,” a third voice called out. “Her highness has finished her bath.”
Chrysalis opened the door with her magic and strolled into the chamber. She had a towel draped over her withers and her mane clung to her neck, still slightly damp. Floating next to her, carried by her magic, was a second towel bundled around a changeling larva that peeked out from inside the cotton cocoon. Both guards bowed their heads before her.
“Are you here to update me on the status of the hive, Odonate?” She asked while gently placing the little larva on a pine colored chaise lounge, one recently pilfered from a business in the nearby pony settlement.
“Yes your highness,” Odonate answered while entering the room and letting Phasmid close the door behind him. “One of the tunneling teams accidently broke into the Tree’s chamber,” he informed her as he stood at attention. “Despite the repeated warnings”
“I guess it was bound to happen eventually.” Chrysalis sighed, now drying her mane with a towel. “The castle is close to the thing after all. For now have one of the tunneling teams create a false wall, it wouldn’t hurt to have another secret exit and a way to keep an eye on the wretched thing. Anything else I should know about?”
“A few thing but nothing very serious,” Odonate said. “One of the scouts spotted a few creatures from the princess’s school near the castle ruins again. They haven’t tried to go inside, they just sit out on the entrance stairs and talk to each other. I believe they just like to use the secluded location as a private hang out.”
“Have the scouts continue to keep an eye on them but don’t approach unless they enter the ruins,” she said. “And only if they enter the lower halls. Just scare them away, pretend to be… ghosts or something. If they still don’t leave we might have to capture them.”
“One of them is a betrayer changeling,” Odonate said, keeping his voice neutral even though he wanted to hiss out the words.
“I already know,” Chrysalis said softly, turning her gaze over to the little towel wrapped bundle. “And it doesn’t change anything. Despite how sick they make me, I don’t want to risk the hive being discovered by trying to capture a traitor. We have to stay hidden.”
“Understood your highness.” Odonate nodded. “And despite my own anger against them, I do agree, the hive can’t be jeopardized over a little revenge. We are too few in number, and that brings me to the next topic.”
Chrysalis unwrapped the little larva from the towel and climbed up onto the lounge. She lowered down to her belly, resting her hind legs out to the side and then placed her front legs protectively around the larva.
“Some of the other changelings would like to start having broods of their own,” Odonate said, his eyes going from the queen to the observant little larva that had been watching him almost the entire time. “Now that it’s been many weeks since your brood has hatched the nursery should be empty again by the time they are ready to lay their eggs.”
“I had wanted to wait until my brood had begun pupating before the rest of the hive started to have their own young,” Chrysalis said, looking down at the little larva between her front legs. She smirked a little and gently nuzzled her nose against it. “But you’re right, we are too few and need to strengthen the hive. They can begin mating again but remind them not to go overboard. We can’t have more changelings than we can feed right now.”
“I’ll pass the warning along,” Odonate responded and returned his full attention to the queen. “Lastly I have an update on the zebra that resides in the forest. After a few weeks of observation the scouts reported in with her current, on average, routine. Most of her mornings she spends inside her hut but sometimes she’ll go out to adjust the masks she keeps around or change out the bottles she has hanging from the branches of her home.”
“Do we know what she keeps in the bottles or why she changes them out?” Chrysalis inquired.
“No, but we think whatever it is keeps away the more dangerous creatures of the forest,” Odonate Answered. “We’ve noted timberwolves, manticore, and cockatrice all give her home a wide berth.”
“Would it be possible to acquire one or two bottles without raising too much suspicion?” Chrysalis asked, keeping her ears and attention focused on Odonate despite her eyes watching the little larva as it climbed over the top of one of her hooves.
“I’m sure we can find a way,” Odonate answered. “Shall I continue my queen?”
“Please,” she replied, pulling the roaming larva back when it crawled too close to the edge of the cushion.
“Mid-morning she ventures around the forest, collecting different plants and then returns home around noon,” Odonate resumed his briefing. “Occasionally, around this time, she’ll travel to a little stream to bathe or go to visit the nearby town. Her home has been explored in a few instances while she’s been out. She keeps an assortment of potions and the means of creating them. Mundane mixtures mainly, ranging from medicines to sleeping aids. From the afternoon to the evening she sometimes has visitors looking for help with minor ailments. Most of them are ponies from the adjacent town, but we’ve witnessed a griffon and donkey visit her too. Before she goes to sleep she spends the rest of her time cleaning up, or reading from books and scrolls.”
“Well…” The Queen said, thinking to herself for a moment. “She doesn’t seem to be a threat but continue to keep her under observation. We don’t need our neighbor dropping in unexpectedly.”
“Yes my queen, I’ll let the scouts know their orders,” Odonate said, bowing to her before turning to leave.
“Odonate,” She said, stopping him mid-turn. “Wait one moment. Phasmid, please stand guard outside.”
Phasmid, who has been standing vigilantly by the door, bowed his head, almost lost his helmet in the process and then took up guard outside the room. Once the door closed, Odonate turned back to face the queen.
“This has been a trying time for everyling in the hive and you’ve been a huge asset to all of us throughout it.” She said to him, looking directly into his eyes. “Thank you, Odonate, for keeping things in order.”
Odonate stood quiet for a moment, his eyes on the floor.
“It’s my duty, my queen,” he answered, standing proudly.
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If I didn't know better I'd think you knew I was looking. I had just checked the details on this story and then 5 minutes later you updated.
Seems like Chrysalis has developed a soft side. She never acted anything like this in the show. Is this an AU or are you running with the idea that losing the majority of her hive taught her some humility?
9414217
Ooo, I like that idea. She's not becoming a good person or a reformed changeling, but I like the idea that she is changing and is becoming something in the middle.
Chryssie seems to have... mellowed. A lot. I wonder why.
9414217
We never really see her in her everyday life around the hive in the show. She might as well act this way many times.
9414325
Not impossible but the character and personality we see in the show doesn't seem like the type to act like this at any time. I would have a hard time reconciling the idea that the Chrysalis we read of in here is the same one we see in the show without her having had an entire humble pie shoved down her throat.
Nice chapter, I find it odd that they chose to hide near Ponyville.
9414357
Classic strategy really, hide in the place that seems foolish to hide in because it's less likely to be searched.
The break from cannon is clear now, with a group of changelings staying loyal and having young to care for Chrysalis didn't have the "luxury" of her mental break down. Makes good sense too, she isn't alone and has things besides to revenge to focus on so doesn't suffer the mental deterioration.
So they lings that are there all have person reasons for following Chrissy one out of wanting to prove himself and another out of loyalty
Ooh~ getting a bit more of that sweet sweet context! So this is during Season 8's premiere... Neat!
9414790
A very kind person volunteered to go over the older chapters and newer ones to fix my errors
Great story! Hope to see more soon!
More please
Favorite!!!
9414217
I dunno... She seems so natural at it. No hint of self-conflict or growing pains in her interactions with her hive. That show of thanks at the end didn't seem awkward or unsure; she seemed so confident in her genuine appreciation of Odonate's loyalty.
Honestly, I'm hoping that, within the hive, she's actually always been this way. A very spiteful part of me likes to think that what the traitors did to themselves actually has some extreme or dangerous long-term consequences that Chrysalis desperately wanted to avoid. That her vitriolic interactions with those outside of the hive had some real basis.
9415425
It starts with the new changelings getting shinier. Next, they start smelling wonderful to dragons. Last, profit! Wait, sorry. Last, the dragons eat them, go feral, and the world burns. Celestia is peeved this happened. Again.
Finally a well paced and well written changeling story
great pace and content, keep it up, i am eagerly awaiting more.
More AWESOME updates!!!
Intriguing. I look forward to seeing where this is going.
"to much suspicion" and "to close to the edge" should be "too much" and "too close" respectively.
"Phasmid who has been" should be "Phasmid, who had been"
It's amazing how different people can be when not under the spotlight and stress of an invasion.
I think the drawback to a traitor changeling is there in the open and have to trust nothing can go wrong in the long run heck who knows if they would stand the test of time without help.
This is going to be one of the best Storys i read
Have text error. I think the a is unnecessary.
I'm definitely enjoying the interactions between and perspectives of all of the changelings so far
Odonate is a bro.
One of the best Changeling based storys. A human soul reincarnation in a Changeling larve body. That would make a great anime / manga
More Changeling larve to cuddle incoming
Nice development. How do you pronounce his name though? Oh-do-nate? Or is it Oh-do-na-te?
9415425
well, seeing how mane6, the icons of harmony and friendship. reacted to discord and nightmare moon when they're attempting to take over equestria....
9414217
More like she neglected the softer side.
The show has only so mutch time for show and tell. Just the difference between books and movies...
9414238
The was a Queen with a huge Queendome and had to mutch time to be familie. Now with a smaller Group she can be familie again.
9414246
Less time conumed by ruling, time for familie is always a great way to mellow ♡
9414325
Indeed. In some storys she is a mother towards Changelings and a heartless Tyrant towards non food sources.
9414343
This story is basically that. Very lovely result ♡
9414357
Keep your friends close, but your enemys closer...
9414382
Far more potencial than the lunatic route of the Canon...
9414575
That and maybe get lucky♧ with best Bugwaifu Queen themself ~♡
9415290
Great Griffon avatar!
9415387
Indeed
9415425
There are many very well made stories explaining why Chrysalis is a great Mother/Leader and her cold heart Tyrant self towards non Lings.
Example:
Griffon and other like to use Lings Shapeshifting for their urges, no matter the consent.
Or
Lings are like Caviar for other people. A delicious meat source (Dragon etc.)
Ordonate could have never suspected what was going on in this Larves mind:
"I am cuddly, if i can persuade the other Larve to form up and swarm over Motherbug than we could form a superbattle armor made out of C rated material.
Rated C for Cuddle ♡"
It's always the parts that humanizes the villains that actually make more terrifying. Villains who are cliche evil for evil's sake can't be taken seriously. Ones that have insecurities, love, fear, hopes... very much can be.
11495324
Reminds me of the absurdity that is bras from Codename: Kids Next Door. Battle-Ready Armors.
Loyal to the bone I see. I like this character.
Hmm, lots of potential dangers around.
That loyalty should be preserved, hope he helps with the re-population. A bloodline of loyal royal guards should not run extinct.