18: Surprises, surprises are always bad
Thorax had finally found himself a peaceful life. Married, with kids of his own. Little changeling grubs to care for as his own.
Chrysalis was only a distant memory. He’d found himself a little place not that far from Spike’s castle, so he could easily visit his friend whenever he wanted. It was a particularly pleasant day, the air nice and humid warning of rain later in the evening.
He found himself wandering outside into the swamps, fireflies already starting to appear from their holes and take to the skies.
Off in the distance stood Spike’s Castle, rising high above the treetops. On a good day, when the sky was nice and clear, you could see it’s lord and master flying above the highest tower. Circling around it, sometimes perched atop it to survey it’s kingdom.
“How long has it been since you got that thing, Spike?” Thorax asked himself, sighing in contentment as he remembered all of the good times that he had shared with his friends; far away from the scars of his past. “You, Gallus, Silverstream, and especially Smolder. How are they all doing?”
“Didn’t take you for a sentimental,” Sonata said, her massive form slowly rising out of the swamp waters. Thorax swore she got bigger every year, and wondered how long it’d be before this swamp could no longer sustain her. This year, or maybe the next she’d be forced to make her way to the seas, and that’d probably be the last anyone saw of her.
She rested her flippers on a nearby wooden pier, the wood creaking under their weight. For a brief moment, Thorax wondered if the pier would give out and crumble into the dark waters.
“Well, what can I say? I wanna remember all of the good times that I had. The more I think about them, the less I think about…” He shivered for a brief moment as he heard her laughter echoing in his ears. “Her.”
“She’s still out there, you know,” Sonata said. “Lurking, plotting… She’s a plotter! And I’m not talking about her butt, though I admit it is fine. Like, mmph. Yummy! ...aside from the whole bug tyrant queen thing, but evil’s always been sorta sexy you know?”
Thorax only scoffed. “You’re just saying that because of your sisters, aren’t you?” He said, reminded of the days where Sonata, Aria, and Adagio would terrorize the creatures of the other realms purely for their anger. At least, that’s what he’d heard. Aria had happily married herself off to some relative of Spyro’s rumor had it, and Adagio… well, for all he knew she was with some new pod somewhere. “Honestly, there’s more to someone than just what they do. It’s one of the reasons why I decided to leave her behind in the first place. I’m a Changeling, but do I really have to blindly follow her laws like some kind of drone?”
“Technically, you sorta did,” Sonata said with a small little shrug. “Drone, it’s sorta in the job description. But so sue me, I’m attracted to power. Well, that and really bad girls. Hit me harder Master! Yummy.”
Something nagged at the back of Thorax’s mind. Something about this whole scenario was… off. Something about Sonata… He pushed it out of his mind. It was probably nothing.
“So how’s the kids?” Sonata said. “I know, I know, I just saw them a few days ago but something might have changed! Plus, I love a good gossip! Oh, these fireflies rarely have anything interesting. It’s always haiku this and haiku that. There’s only so many times you can hear someone talk about poetry before it loses its luster, right?”
“I think if I remember correctly, Spyro’s friend, Sheila, said that she never wanted to hear those fireflies saying that they ‘went boom again’,” Thorax joked. “Y’know, if carrying bombs to set those eggs free was that important, then why not just give it to her instead of carrying it yourself?”
“Loss of magic?” Sonata said searching for an answer. “I mean, that’s what I heard. If that meanie the Sorceress hadn’t sucked all of the magic out of the realms, well the Fireflies could have probably solved their own problems. Of course, if the Sorceress never came to the realms, there wouldn’t have been any problems, and oh dear I think I’ve gone all crosseyed.”
“Careful Sonata,” Thorax said. “If you think any harder, I think I’ll be able to see the smoke.”
“Oh, you,” Sonata flirted seductively, tipping her flipper idly. Even when not in cahoots with a pair of other sirens, she still had the sexiness and allure of one. “Anyways, how’re the kids? Are they doing alright? How’s the wife? ...or is that a husband? I can never remember.”
Sonata should know which was which, Thorax told himself. So why didn’t she?
“They’re… they’re great. Scorch, he’s finally learning to control his flame. Thinking of setting up a playdate with Spike’s and Smolder’s kids. ...Hopefully we won’t burn anyone’s castle down. That’d… that’d be fairly embarrassing. I mean, I’d probably get banned from that castle for life!”
“There wouldn’t be a castle to ban you from.” Sonata chirped.
“Geee, thanks,” Thorax said sarcastically. “Thanks for that reminder.”
“No problem!” Sonata beamed. “But really, if you’re a dragon and you plan to have kids, why build a castle in a forest? Highly flammable, and oh yeah there’s the swamp gas! One single spark and… WHOOMP! Am I right, or am I right? Seriously, walking fire hazards!”
“...you’re a real confidence-builder, you know that right?” Thorax drawled, having picked up the subtle art of sarcasm from his brother long ago.
“I know right?” Sonata beamed and Thorax’s face fell, reminded that sarcasm was pretty much lost on Sonata. It flew right over her head. Actually, a lot of things did. Metaphors for example. Oh, he remembered the time he tried to explain metaphors. It basically ended with Sonata saying nothing flew over her head, her jaws were too fast and she’d catch it.
“Well, you…” Thorax started before the whole world began to shift. Day turned to night, darkness falling over the forest. Flames were blown out by a gust of wind, and the air became a deathly chill. “...Sonata?”
Thorax turned his head searching for what had happened to her, but then when turned he found his house beginning to fade away. His family, gone in a blink of the eye.
“THORAX!” a voice called out from the gloom, beckoning him deeper into the swamp. Nervously, Thorax followed and a fine mist surrounded him before forming into a deep blue figure.
“P-Princess Luna, what are you…” Thorax stammered before his face fell as he realized. “This is a dream isn’t it? My… my family, none of it was actually real.”
“I’m afraid not, no,” Luna shook her head sympathetically.
“I knew something was off. Sonata… Now I remember. She knows how much I suffered under Chrysalis’ rule. She’s nowhere near that insensitive normally.” Thorax said, chastising himself for not realizing earlier.
“Thorax, I’m afraid we haven’t much time,” Luna said. “You’re one of the only ones I could get to. You need to wake up, Queen Chrysalis, she’s… Oh no. They’re here. Now awake, and up and about with you!”
Then the whole world went white, and Thorax shot up his eyes wide.
Nervously, he decided to set about the castle halls to investigate. Something was wrong, Luna had been terrified. What could scare the former Nightmare Moon so much? Thorax wasn’t even sure if he wanted to know. And the castle… normally it wasn’t this silent.
Thorax got out from his bed, and as his feet touched the ground, he could tell that something was up. And not the usual kind of something. This was big. He could feel that it was. The air had grown cold around him; the kind of stereotypical cold that would normally be seen in horror movies or those cheesy cartoons when they tried to do a dark scene in a normally friendly, bright, and colorful animated show.
He’d take the wind and the lightning right now thank you very much.
Grabbing a candle, he set into the halls. His hooves nervously clopped against the stone floor, his black chitlin nearly fading into the shadows.
“Come on Spike, Smolder…” Thorax murmured nervously to himself. “Where are you?”
What did Luna say to him? Something… something about Queen Chrysalis before she got cut off, and he was forced awake. Thorax’s eyes widened. Oh no. He broke into a gallop, and he rounded a corner having memorized the layout of this castle perfectly.
Down some stairs he went, and he found himself in the nesting area. Oh, thank the Hivemother. Spike and Smolder’s eggs were perfectly alright. Though, for how long… well, that was another question entirely.
“Okay, okay, Thorax. You’re going to have to assume everyone in this castle has been captured, and as we’re right on Equestria’s borders, with how Luna was acting? You’ll have to assume they’ve been compromised as well. So, you can’t expect any help from them anytime soon. What about the rest of the Dragon Realms? ...well, for the time being you’ll have to assume they’re under changeling control. This is a really fine situation you’ve gotten yourself into isn’t it?”
He looked back at the eggs. No, they were not going to get captured. Not while he was around. He had to get these eggs out of the castle, and quickly. Thorax took a nervous swallow, now how did his brother do it? Oh yes, now he remembered. Spitting up a wad of slime, he covered the eggs and holstered the clutch onto his back. There were a few caves near here, ones that Sonata used as her resting places. They were only accessible by water, and all he had to do was hide the eggs away in one of them.
As soon as the realms were free, he’d…
“Listen to yourself Thorax,” the drone told himself, his wings buzzing nervously. “You’re assuming you can free the realms. You’re alone, and probably all of your friends have been captured. You should just take the eggs and run!”
But then what, Thorax wondered. If he just ran and hid, Chrysalis would find him eventually. He knew that’s why she was here. To get him back. It was the only explanation. Chrysalis was never this bold unless she wanted something. And to challenge the dragons was tantamount to suicide. Chrysalis was risking it all, and the only possible reason why she would be was… him.
No, he was done running. He had to put an end to this here and now. But… how? Right, right. One step at a time. Get the eggs to safety, then worry about the particulars.
Thorax snatched the eggs up as fast as he could and silently sprinted out of the nest as fast as his hole-coated legs could carry him. He dare not stop or look back at the sight, lest his stomach churn again. All of it was far too similar. And it could only mean one thing; the very Changeling Queen that he had run away from was extending her reach to the dragon realms; likely snatching up every single dragon she could lay her eyes on; replacing them with her drones.
It was bad enough that the Changelings could become any creature; but a whole race of Changelings as dragons was enough to make Thorax’s blood run cold. Well, colder than usual.
His heart nearly stopped as soon as he ran smack dab into another drone. Featureless like him, only assigned a number. Never a name. His own had been Drone 3756. Chrysalis never called them by their real names. That would just create the illusion that she actually cared.
“So where are you going in such a hurry, drone?” the changeling lieutenant asked. Please, please don’t notice his shiny wings, Thorax pleaded. “Somewhere important to be?”
Lie, lie, lie!
“I have to get these eggs to the hive, before they hatch. Who knows, maybe we can brainwash the little ones,” Thorax said feeling sick with himself even as he said it. He all too easily fell back into obedient drone mode. “Hey, when they grow up we’d have our own personal squad of dragons to guard the hive! Imagine that!”
The drone examined Thorax from head to toe. It wasn’t in his place to question the orders of a drone like him, but there was some kind of haste in his voice; the kind of haste that reeked of some kind of another ulterior motive. But what was he to judge? After all, he was just another slave to the queen, just like this whelp before him. Any order that had been given to him, he had to follow; no matter how outlandish it was.
“Fine. Go!” The other drone hissed, throwing his holed arm down the hallway. “Hatch those youngling eggs!”
Thorax was out of the castle before long, shifting into the form of a siren and grabbing the cluster in his mouth. He swam down into one of the many little caverns, and went up. A little air pocket, hidden away from the rest of the world. And only two creatures -the other being Sonata- knew about it. The perfect spot to keep these eggs safe.
Kissing one of them, Thorax whispered: “I’ll be back for you, I promise.”
Diving back into the waters, he returned to the castle shores pulling himself out of the water. He shifted back into his usual form, taking an extra bit of care to disguise his wings as their original state. Thorax sighed in relief, never had he thought looking just like every other drone would ever come in handy.
“Now, Spike…” Thorax said to himself. “Where are you?”
Guess he’d have to talk to one of the other drones again. Yay.
Taking a deep breath, he found the nearest drone. A guard, recognizable by his distinct midnight blue-tinted armor. “Hey, just wondering. There were two dragons here right? What happened to them?”
He had to sound natural, not too inquisitive but just curious enough. Hopefully this drone would buy it.
“The dragons that you’re talking about have likely been captured by the queen,” said the drone. “Such are her orders. Subjugate the realms, spread her reach, make sure that absolutely nothing, and no-one stops her plans for realm-wide dominion. These dragons deserve to be part of her brood until the end of time if you want my honest opinion.”
Thorax swore under his breath. Yeah, he suspected as much. “You know where they might have been taken? I just want to mock them, you know? Say that we’ve won, and how their arrogant asses have been completely beaten. Rub it in their faces, you know?”
“Saw two big cocoons being moved to the dungeons,” the other drone said. “Apparently, a few of the drones were complaining about how their backs were about to give out. Weaklings,” He scoffed. “A changeling that complains about their work and wants another way is no changeling at all. They put up or shut up as all insects do.”
Thorax blocked out the drone’s ramblings about how most insects could carry 5,000 times their own body weight anyways. He knew where to look now.
He remembered the previous owner of this castle, some evil sorcerer. So of course he’d have a dungeon. Wouldn’t be too hard to find. Sure enough, just down the nearest stairs…
And he knew just how to get rid of all the guards as well! A flash of green flame and he was no longer Thorax but Queen Chrysalis.
“Guards, leave them,” ‘Chrysalis’ said, Thorax hoping he could pull off the role long enough. “I’ll be taking these two back to my Hive myself. Hahaha, the dragon of two realms. It’ll be such an honor to have him and his mate as my personal… pets.”
The drones bowed before the queen immediately and let her pass. “Right, I can only get one of you free before that one guard gets suspicious. Chrysalis is supposed to be in her hive, and I was the only seen going down here. The drones here are dumb, but not that dumb.”
He sliced open Spike’s cocoon with his horn, watching Spike tumble out of the green mass. Some residual slime and bile came with him. And it wasn’t until it all hit the ground that Spike started to twitch ever so slightly.
His nostrils lit up with green flame. “Chrysalis…” he growled.
“Sorry, got the wrong bug,” Thorax smiled weakly as he changed back. “Now, we have to get out of here. We’ll have to come back for Smolder later, because…”
Sure enough, the guard from before was shouting to grab the traitor.
“You’re popular,” Spike said before casting one last longing look at his mate. “I’ll be back, Mate of Mine. I promise.”
Spike swinging his tail sent all the drones flying. “Come on! There’s a portal out of here just upstairs!”
What happened next was all a blur, Spike rampaging through the castle halls sending drones flying. Into a portal they went, and soon they found themselves in Gallus’ house. Spike readied his flames, just in case.
Gallus peeked his head from behind a corner, sword in hand. Well, it could have been Gallus, Spike could never be too sure right now.
“Spike? Thorax? What are you doing here?!” Gallus asked in surprise.
“Tell me when you were born, who your parents are, and your first pet. Tell me something so odd, something only you would know,” Spike said, remembering from his talks with Thorax that changelings could only recall recent memories. “Tell me now, or I’ll roast you alive.”
Gallus could see the fire in Spike’s eyes. “Alright, alright! But I don’t think you’re gonna like this.” Gallus gulped and finally said, “When I was a hatchling trying to fly, I lost control and fell into a muddy ditch. Most of the other kids in Griffonstone called me Mudbird for weeks after that.” He drooped his head and let out a painful sigh as he recalled the laughter of the kids in his mind. “That's enough proof for you?”
Spike nodded. “Yeah, that’s good,” Spike said before smashing the portal behind him with his tail. “It’s finally happened, the changelings have gotten to the dragon realms.”
“And Equestria,” Thorax said nervously. “I… I swear, I had nothing to do with it! I only found out because Luna told me right before she was…”
He couldn’t even say it. Acknowledging the Princess of the Night had been captured in her own bed was acknowledging the fact that they’d probably lost already.
“Before she was what, Thorax?” Gallus tilted his head.
“...we’re screwed, we’re so screwed…” Thorax whispered. “Chrysalis has won and there’s nothing we can do about it. I’ve had nightmares about this, but… but I never thought they’d come true. Spyro, Cynder, the Elders, the Royal Sisters… all of them, c-c-cap…”
Thorax felt like he was going to be sick, and he soon was.
“Hey, it’s okay…” Silverstream’s voice whispered in his ear, the hippogriff royal holding him close. “It’s alright, we’ll figure something out.”
Thorax wished he could believe her.
“So what, we just sneak into Chrysalis’ hive, knock her off of her throne and rescue everyone. Bing, bang, boom,” Gallus said slamming a fist into his outstretched palm. “Easy as pie, right?”
“It’s never that easy, Gallus.” Thorax shook his head. “I know Queen Chrysalis better than anyone. Don’t you get it? If it was so easy to take out Chrysalis, someone would have done it decades ago. She’s got… I don’t know how to explain it. Anti-Magic? Apparently it was to keep out Celestia or Discord. That’s how strong it is. Her throne… it’s the source of it. If you get within even a mile of it, say goodbye to your magic!”
“So, can’t you just burn it to the ground with Spike’s flames?” Gallus asked.
“My flames are magic,” Spike corrected.
“So we’re screwed then?” Gallus said. “Greeeeeeaaattt…”
“No, we’re just… inconvenienced,” Spike said. “We’ll figure something out. Don’t you remember, when we’re together nothing can stop us.”
“Bah, you sound a bit too much like a pony,” Gallus grumbled. “Friendship is magic and all of that!”
“Well, I am the dragon ambassador to Equestria…” Spike smiled.
Chrysalis was a self-satisfied mare. She’d been growing fat and plump on her victory. Her greatest yet. Now both the Dragon Realms and Equestria were under her control. In a single night, all of their high-ranking figures had been replaced with her drones.
Every part of the two nations was now an extension of herself. The Mane Six were no longer a worry. This time, they couldn’t rally to their nations’ aid. And the best part? Princess Cadence was right here cocooned above her throne room for all time.
Chrysalis wanted to laugh, she may never have to go out to feast again. Having the Princess of Love as her captive? She could sustain herself for probably decades to come, perhaps centuries if she played her cards right.
“Oh, and we mustn't forget about you…” Chrysalis said lowering a cocoon and looking at the mare inside it. “Celestia.”
Chrysalis did laugh this time, throwing back her head and laughing long and loud. Seeing the Princess of the Sun’s surprised expression frozen like that for eternity? That alone was a victory.
Hmm, should she? Oh, why not? Ripping open Celestia’s cocoon only slightly with her hoof, Chrysalis allowed the mare to regain consciousness. Then she did the same to Cadence.
“Surprised, Celly-Belly?” Chrysalis remarked as she watched the mare struggle to free herself. “Oh, don’t bother. You won’t ever be able to get free. Neither will you, Candy! So don’t even try. Besides, there’s not much you can do anyways. Know why I’m gloating? Know why I’m allowed to gloat? It’s because you, without your magic, are nothing.”
Celestia lowered her brows into a fiery gaze as she came face-to-face with her captor. “Just you wait, Chrysalis. Your moment won’t last forever.” She snarled.
“Ooh, you’re such a brave little captive, aren’t you?” Chrysalis sniggered as she brushed her hoof against Celestia’s cheeks. “Even in the face of defeat, you’re still as defiant as ever. Good. I like my prey to be extra fiery.”
“Spike will stop you!” Cadence said, though from the sounds of it she barely believed her own words.
“Oh please, the ambassador?” Chrysalis said, giving a little dismissive wave of her hoof. “Got him too, him and his mate!”
She thoroughly enjoyed the look of horror and despair on Cadence’s face.
“Oh, by the way. I was surprised when I saw you had a daughter. How much did you have to convince Shiny to let you give him a kid? And oh dear Hivemother, I can’t imagine what magic you had to use. Stallion can’t get it up in bed, because oh trust me I checked,” Chrysalis cackled. “He’s hardly worth the effort. Really Candy, you could have done so much better. For a pony I mean. Honestly? I’d have happily shown you a real good time. You know what they say right? You haven’t had fun until you’ve had fun with a changeling!”
“You just love to hear yourself talk, don’t you?” Cadence said with narrowed eyes.
“Well, it’s not like I can hold much of a conversation with the rest of these idiots,” Chrysalis said. “Oh, you can’t imagine it. It’s all ‘yes my queen’ and ‘how may I serve you my queen’. Can you imagine how boring it is when all your subjects just bow to your every whim?”
“You don’t deserve them,” Celestia said. “A true ruler would-”
“Yes, well, call me when a true ruler shows up, Celly,” Chrysalis said. “Far as I can see, there isn’t one here. You weren’t able to protect your subjects from me, so it’s not like you deserve the title. Agh, I’m growing bored with you already. You and your goody two hoovesness is so soooo dull. Tell me when you’re ready for some actually interesting conversation.”
With that, she spat her slime on both Cadence and Celestia, covering their mouths and rendering them both silent.
Oh, who knew winning would wind up being so annoying, Chrysalis thought to herself.
It took a fair bit, and some creative thinking but Spike managed to get his party to the Artisans realm.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Silverstream asked. “There’s changelings everywhere! They know you’ve escaped Spike. They simply have to have realized it by now! They’ll be looking all over for you!”
Spike turned and smirked at the hippogriff. He gave her a reassuring nod. Silverstream was scared, but a good old nod from Spike the Brave and Glorious would calm her. It calmed everyone.
“Yes, but that’s the genius of it,” Spike explained as they ran from alleyway to alleyway avoiding the changeling search parties. “Think about it, okay? They’d think I’d have to be suicidal to come back here.”
“You probably are,” Silverstream said, nervously rubbing her necklace. “I saw all those guards. Have you seen all those guards?”
Gallus had heard part of it was made up of the Hippogriff’s legendary Pearl of Transformation. Spoke only in hushed whispers. He wondered, did changeling anti-magic cover that?
“Yes, I have seen all of those guards. If I may continue?” Spike asked. “Think about it, they’d never expect me to come back here.”
“Why are we coming back here anyways?” Thorax asked. “You never said. Surely all of the dragons have been captured. Spyro, Cynder, hell even the Peacekeepers!”
“Maybe, but I want to know how they pulled it off. Zantor and Eldrid were supposed to whip up a potion, put it in the waters of the realms. It would expose any changeling who tried to drink from it. They shouldn’t even have known about it! Not all of them, anyways. And how can simple changeling drones -no offense, Thorax- take down highly trained dragons anyways?” Spike asked.
“That’s… that’s a very good point,” Silverstream said. ‘But isn’t it a question we should be asking very far away from here?”
Gallus and Spike shared a look.
“You alright, Sil?” Gallus said looking at his mate. “You’ve been nervous ever since we left the house.”
“Yeah, because we’re going around town practically begging to be captured,” Silverstream said. “We might as well put up a sign saying Changelings, here we are. Come and get us!”
Gallus put a claw to her beak to shush her just as they reached the town hall. Going around back, Spike and Thorax looked to see if the coast was clear. When they were confident it was, they gestured for Silverstream and Gallus to come closer. All four peeked into a window where six ‘dragons’ gathered.
“Oh, that’s just wrong…” Spike muttered as he saw a changeling in Nestor’s clothing.
“Tell me about it,” Gallus agreed as they heard the changelings whisper something in an unknown language. It was mainly comprised of chitters and wing buzzes. Spike looked at Thorax for clarification.
Surprisingly, it was Silverstream who answered. “...they’re contacting the Queen,” she said, and when everyone looked at her, she said: “What? I read! I get bored like anyone else, so I decided to take linguistics. Plus, it helps when you’re nobility to know every language you can.”
Everyone else seemed to take this as acceptable, but Thorax frowned. Knowledge of that language rarely ever left the hive. Helped to keep up an aura of mystery really. Chrysalis really loved that aspect, nobody knowing really anything about her race. He supposed he could have given Silver a book on it and forgot about it, but all the same…
Inside the room, Queen Chrysalis appeared in a flash of green fire and smoke. “I assume everything is going according to plan?”
“Yes,” said ‘Nestor’. “Drone 7850, aka Zantor’s plan worked like a charm. Instead of exposing changelings, his little potion just knocked everyone out. We even bagged a siren, can you believe it?”
“Sonata…” Thorax whispered trying not to faint in terror upon seeing his former Queen again. Silverstream didn’t look that far off either, now that he thought about it.
Spike snarled, so that's how they did it. He should have known. Gallus, for his part, whispered to his mate. Soft calming things, under his breath. “It’s just a potion call, she’s not really here. As long as we keep our heads down, nobody will ever be the wiser.”
“Oh, for pity’s sake, drop the act,” Chrysalis lectured. “Hivemother knows I can’t take you seriously looking like those… lizards.”
Several flashes of green fire later, and all of the assembled changelings were in their true skins. Or chitlin, as the case may be.
“Is it done?” one of the drones asked. “Is it true, has Equestria fallen?”
“Everything here is going according to plan!” Chrysalis cried in glee clapping her hooves. “We thought too small last time. One ponynapped princess wasn't enough. With all the most beloved ponies of Equestria taken care of, nopony can stop us!”
Spike felt a torrent of fiery rage rush through him, and before he could stop himself his body acted. He smashed through the windows, wings flared and teeth bared. A green fire erupted from his nostrils, the assembled drones taking a few nervous steps back in fear of the angry drake.
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Spike declared as Chrysalis’ smile went wide. “You said nopony right? Nobody ever said anything about ‘no dragon’. Now what have you done with my parents!?!”
“Oh, the prodigal son returns. Spike the Brave and Glorious, is it?” Chrysalis said in a tone that was so obviously one of fake sweetness. It was practically dripping with ridicule. “Was wondering where you’d gotten off to. Heard some idiot drone let you escape. No, that’s not right. Drone 3756? You there?”
Thorax seized up, his breath caught in his throat.
“Heard somepony was impersonating me,” Chrysalis said with a nasty little smile. “Didn’t take me long to figure out who it was. Not like there were a lot of candidates. I always knew you were a failure. Ugh, can’t believe I had sex with you. With the benefit of hindsight…”
“Leave him out of this,” Spike snarled. “Now I won’t ask again, where are my parents. Tell me, or your drones get flame-baked!”
“They’re safe and sound. Really, you needn’t worry yourself. They don’t even know they’ve been captured, and for all they do know it’s just a nice long nap. Hibernating a couple of years too early, really!” Chrysalis said. “As for the drones, well, flame bake them all you want. It’ll still get you no closer to me. Really, Spikey-Boo… actually, can I call you that? I really don’t like to go with formalities. Ugh, so boring and way too stuffy for my tastes. Anyways, Spikey-Boo, if you want to beat me, you’re going to have to think smart. That is, if you can. Dragons, ugh, you barely ever think beyond your next hoard of gems.”
“You know nothing about us,” Spike hissed out.
“Mhmm, maybe. But you’re hardly a credit to your race are you?” Chrysalis said, a hoof poised under her chin in thought. “Charging in like that? Having this little battle of… well, I wouldn’t say wits. But talking like this? Oh, that just gave the cities’ guards plenty of time to find you… The alarm’s already been raised. I’d suggest you start running now.”
Sure enough, came the sounds of shouting. Spike figured he could probably fend off the drones, but his companions? Maybe they could take a few, but not an entire city’s worth!
So Spike ran, and so his companions ran.
Through a maze of twisting city streets and alleyways they ran, never stopping. Not even once, because if they did it would mean certain death.
Spike looked behind him, and his eyes widened. Changelings, far more than he could account in practically flame-proof armor right on his tail. Then he looked ahead, and his heart plummeted. A dead end. They were boxing them in!
“Well, this is a fine way to go out,” Spike muttered. “Death by the literal Anthill Mob.”
Silver looked terrified, before her eyes steeled. And with a flash of green fire, she changed. She didn’t clutch her pearl of transformation to do so, she just changed. Exactly like a changeling.
“Sil… Silver?” Gallus whispered as the former hippogriff assumed the form of a Neighponiese style dragon, and spun like a drill sending the changeling squad flying off to parts unknown via whirlwind.
“Yeah, it’s still me. Just… not as you expected. Uh, surprise?” ‘Silver’ said as she resumed her hippogriff form, Thorax’s eyes wide and looking white as a ghost. Of course, he should have known.
“That’s how she knew the changeling language…” he started.
“...because she’s one herself,” Gallus whispered before hugging her. “My wife’s awesome.”
“Well, now that we’re getting everything out in the open, not sure if wife is the correct term here,” ‘Silver’ laughed nervously. “Mate works. Mate’s honestly what I prefer. Not really confined to any one gender role really. Heck, I used to be called Kevin! Silver, I’m sorry for this, never really existed. At least… not as you know her. The real one died long ago, but I… sorta stepped in? I guess you could call it that. It’s just, I didn’t have the heart to tell her -well, mine really- parents that… Oh, I’m rambling again aren’t I? Sorry?”
Kevin smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of their head with a wing.
As Gallus gaped wordlessly -rather resembling a fish- Thorax slapped a hoof to his face in remembrance. “Now I remember you! Kevin, aka Drone 7898! You were always asking us to refer to you not as a him but a they, or a their or a them. How could I forget?”
“So you’re non-binary?” Gallus asked slowly, attempting to understand. “Yeah… yeah, I can… I can deal.”
“You… you don’t hate me?” Silver asked. “Even after I lied to you for years? After I just told you that I’m not exactly a girl? Or, at least, I don’t identify as one all of the time. Actually, do I even have a gender…?”
Gallus hugged them tightly. “I could never hate you. You’re the same hippogriff I fell in love with all those years ago. You are my Silver, my Kevin, and I love every part of you. I promise you, we will make this work. That’s what marriage is about, right?”
Kevin wiped away a little tear from their face. “T-Thank you…”
“See, true love does exist,” Thorax said. “Now Pharynx owes me twenty bits. Or gems, I’ll take gems.”
“You’re becoming a real dragon aren’t you…?” Spike snorted as the party got back to walking. Their direction? A portal leading to the Skelos Badlands.
“...well, spend enough time around dragons and you do tend to pick up a few habits,” Thorax shrugged. “I can probably con you out of a good portion of your hoard, if I wanted to.”
“Don’t push your luck,” Spike said as the world went white, and then a blast of heat hit him. Spike coughed from all of the smoke and sulfur in the air, his companions soon to follow.
Rivers of lava ran below his feet, tossing up soft-ball sized balls of magma. Geysers erupted all around, blowing hot steam a mile or so into the air. And towering above it all was a truly massive craggy structure of pure obsidian, full of holes and changelings buzzing around its highest towers. Spike felt his magic begin to leave him, suddenly feeling very small in the face of all this.
“Home sweet home…” Thorax murmured.
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Here's to hoping Chrysalis gets her loins ripped apart. I already hated her in the normal series, but now she captured Spyro and Cynder? Time to F that bitch up.
I hope Chrysalis enjoys her last bits of freedom. For when she falls I hope she enjoys her new stone prison, if she will even be awake for it.
Well dragon war council, what do you have to say now about Chrissy? Oh wait, got yourselves captured alongside everyone else!
That bit with *Silverstream* caught me by surprise, but in a good way! Well played Bricklayer!
Loved how Thorax protected Spike/Smolder eggs & got him out, even though Solder's still trapped. At least 2 out of 3 ain't bad, here's hoping they can whomp the wicked bug queen but good next chapter!
10250532
See, I was worried the bit with 'Silverstream' would catch readers off guard and not in the good way. There's nothing even hinting at it, aside from a few minor cues here and there.
But yeah, you do not get between Thorax and his best friends' children. Oh, by the way, been meaning to ask, can I get a source to where you found your profile pic?
10250580
Sure thing, here you go!
https://www.deviantart.com/foxlover91/art/Dragon-moonlight-sonata-839417815
This was a cool piece I commissioned from an artist friend of mine, just love the work she did on my fave dragon pair!