Loyalty Steps Up
A Human, A Pony Princess, and a Mistake
Chapter 11: Loyalty Steps Up
It had been a little over a week since the Changelings had started to earnestly move into Ponyville. Their new Hive was well on its way to completion and honestly everyone in Ponyville was pretty happy with the situation. Everyone except Celestia, that is, who had left scorch marks along Main Street after getting into a shouting match with her younger sister.
In the end, all it had taken was one icy glare from Twilight to send the alabaster Alicorn scampering back to Canterlot. Rainbow Dash mused on how odd it was how these things worked out. As little as two months ago, it would have been impossible to imagine Twilight even entertaining a negative thought about Celestia. Yet here they were, in a world where Daring Do was a real pony and Twilight quite possibly hated her old mentor’s guts. Celestia was so lucky none of the Canterlot nobility paid any attention to what happened down in Ponyville.
Come to think of it, maybe that was why Celestia allowed herself to get into the shouting match with Luna in the first place? A chance to let off some steam? Well, Rainbow didn’t care. She’d thrown in her lot with Twilight, Tom, and Luna and Rainbow was nothing if not Loyal to her chosen cause.
Speaking of chosen causes, one such cause is what brought her to the still in progress Changeling Hive. She had decided to whip up a team for the Equestrian Games after Mayor Mare had mentioned to her that, with the influx of Changelings, Ponyville was now eligible to send a team to compete.
Rainbow Dash, as weather manager, had a fair idea of the abilities of all the Pegasai in Ponyville, because every one of them came together for when it was time to funnel water to Cloudsdale. The Changelings, on the other hoof, were unknowns, untapped potential. So Rainbow was there to tap that potential.
“Ah, Rainbow, what brings you on this fine day?” Chrysalis called out when Rainbow entered earshot. Rainbow touched down next to the Changeling Queen.
“Well, with all you Changelings coming to town, Ponyville can field a team for the Equestrian Games,” Rainbow explained, “I’ve come to scout for talent for the team.”
“Wouldn’t the Equestrian Games be Pony only?” Chrysalis asked.
“Nope, anyone can participate so long as they’re a citizen of Equestria and has a connection to the town they’re representing. Like me, for example, I could be on Ponyville’s team because I live here, or I could be on Cloudsdale’s team since I was born there and my folks still live there. Since Luna granted you guys full citizenship and you’re technically inside Ponyville’s limits, you all can be part of Ponyville’s team.” Rainbow said with a smile.
“I see…well I can think of a few soldiers off the top of my head that would probably enjoy the competition. However, there is one in particular I’d like you to take under your wing, if you can,” Chrysalis requested.
“Really? Who?” Rainbow asked curiously.
“His name is Pharynx. He’s not a problem child, in the traditional sense. He’s ferociously loyal to me and his hatching brother Thorax, but he’s a bit rough around the edges. If it doesn’t involve training, trying to toughen up his brother, or a direct order, he isn’t interested. Should anyone interrupt any of those three things, he gets angry and aggressive. I’m hoping giving him some harmless fun, something that has an end goal in mind, will help him start to relax a little,” Chrysalis confessed.
Rainbow considered for a minute. Honestly this Pharynx sounded kinda like Gilda. Both had a very narrow view of what was important and got angry when that thing was interrupted. If there was one thing Rainbow considered her greatest failure, it was not chasing down the Griffon and trying to make it right with her. It was her one absolute failing as Loyalty. She had tried to justify it to herself a dozen different ways; she was still new to her Element, Gilda was being an abrasive jerk, Gilda didn’t try hard enough, so on and so forth. Each excuse had rung hollow.
Rainbow Dash might not be as book smart as Twilight or Moon Dancer or heck, even Tom, but she wasn’t dumb. She knew when she was a filly and she had gone to flight school that some of her classmates had come from abusive homes. Some days they’d be just like any other colt or filly and other days they’d be Fire and Brimstone, wanting everyone and everything around them to feel as awful as they did.
Rainbow hadn’t come from an abusive home, far from it. Her parents spent virtually every waking moment letting her know how much they loved her. Outwardly she may claim to hate it, but in her Heart of Hearts, she was more grateful to them than words could express. They also hadn’t raised a blind filly. Rainbow had realized from a young age that if her parents loved her this much, then there must be others who didn’t get as much love.
When Rainbow had met Gilda, she knew the Griffon had been abused. Gilda had been angry, standoffish, and afraid of touch. Never mind the fact that she was a Griffon dumped in a Pegasus flight school. Rainbow foolishly thought that her friendship with Gilda had somehow healed all of the Griffon’s emotional wounds.
Then Gilda came to Ponyville on a Fire and Brimstone day seeking comfort from her best friend and Rainbow had run her out of town for it. Rainbow wanted someone to buck her in the face with a Rainboom every time she thought about it.
Pharynx had been abused too. Not by Chrysalis, Rainbow had only known the Changeling Queen for about a week, but already she knew Chrysalis’ love for her children was deep and true. No, as much as Dash hated to think it, Pharynx had been abused by Celestia. Because of Celestia he had been on the edge of starving to death. Rainbow didn’t know how close to that edge he had come, but anything other than three square meals was too close in Rainbow’s book.
Chrysalis must have tried her best to offset the abuse with her love, and in many cases it had worked, if the happy Changelings she had seen buzzing around Ponyville recently were anything to go by. But if Rainbow were to read between the lines of what Chrysalis had told her about Pharynx, then she could guess he had passed up at least some love to give it to Thorax. He had shut himself away, hardened himself, to give his brother as much of a chance as he could in that bleak circumstance.
But that begged a question, if Chrysalis loved her children so, then why hadn’t she used that love to feed her children? Rainbow would check with Luna or Twilight later, but she had a hunch that Changelings couldn’t feed on the love of other Changelings. That somehow made the tragedy all the greater. A whole ocean’s worth of love, and Chrysalis couldn’t use it to help her children.
Rainbow was getting off topic. Her mind snapped back to the present. She had failed Gilda. She wouldn’t fail Pharynx. It was that simple.
“I’ll do it, I’ll take Pharynx under my wing,” Rainbow finally replied. A full smile bloomed on the face of the Changeling Queen.
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash. This means more to me then I can express. I’ll call him now. Pharynx, come here please!” Chrysalis’ voice barely rose at all, but a Changeling on the other side of the Hive came buzzing towards them. Rainbow took stock of him as he approached. He was shorter than most other Changelings, if Rainbow was any judge, and he looked a little thinner. He wasn’t quite runty looking, but it was a close thing. What really got Rainbow’s attention were the holes on his carapace. They weren’t quite as bad as Chrysalis’ currently were, but he took a solid second place. Even after a week in Ponyville, there was still a lot of work to be done reversing the years of malnutrition. Pharynx landed in front of them and bowed deeply with his eyes closed.
“You summoned me, Mother?” He asked in a raspy, throaty voice. Chrysalis let out a small sigh.
“Really, Pharynx, you don’t have to greet me like that. You are not one of my personal guard and we’re in private besides,” Chrysalis admonished. Pharynx’s purple eyes snapped open, glaring at Rainbow, “Rainbow Dash is a friend. More to the point, until the end of the Equestrian Games, I am appointing her as your superior officer.”
“WHAT?! But-” Pharynx forcibly silenced himself before speaking again, “As you command, Mother.”
“Pharynx, please, I just want you to have a little fun. Who knows, you might enjoy it or even learn something,” Chrysalis said pleadingly.
“Permission to speak freely?” Chrysalis looked pained.
“All my children may always speak their mind to me,” She answered.
“I will not enjoy this exercise in pointlessness and I will not learn anything from this soft pony,” Pharynx spat the last word like a curse. Rainbow took a breath to even out her temper.
“Hey, Chrysalis-”
“That’s QUEEN Chrysalis to you,” Pharynx snarled. Rainbow ignored his outburst.
“What do you say to me making a wager with Pharynx here?”
“Go on,” Chrysalis requested.
“How about me and Pharynx have a race? We’ll fly from Town Hall and back. If I win, Pharynx will listen to me as his commanding officer. If I lose, then Pharynx is free to do whatever he pleases,” Rainbow laid out her plan.
“That sounds acceptable to me. What say you, Pharynx?” Chrysalis asked.
“I won’t lose to some pathetic pony. You’ve already wasted my time; why not waste a little more to prove Changeling superiority?” Pharynx sneered. Rainbow had to resist the urge to smile patronizingly at the arrogant Changeling.
“Very well, the terms are agreed upon. Please line yourselves up to the edge of this platform. On my mark. Three. Two. One. Go!” Chrysalis started the race and Rainbow was off like a shot. Even if she was sure she would win, she wouldn’t take it easy on the Changeling. She needed to make a point. So she barreled through the air at just sub-Rainboom speeds. She had learned not to Rainboom too close to town a long time ago.
Rainbow reached Town Hall and made as sharp a turn as wind resistance would allow and zoomed back the way she came. She even briefly saw the shocked face of Pharynx on her return trip.
A couple of minutes after Rainbow had landed back on the platform, Pharynx completed his lap. As much as Rainbow wanted to gloat, she would control herself.
“You cheated!” Pharynx sounded for the entire world like a petulant child.
“No, I didn’t. Hi, I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest pony alive. The only pony to pull off the Sonic Rainboom in hundreds of years. Also, I’m now your commanding officer. If you don’t like it, then you shouldn’t have agreed to the race,” Rainbow said simply.
“You- I- Mother!”
“I watched the whole race. Rainbow succeeded on her own talents. If Rainbow were truly going all out, you would have lost even harder. You made your bed, Pharynx, now you must lie in it,” Sometimes showing love meant showing tough love. Pharynx fell like a house of cards.
“I understand,” Pharynx murmured.
“Good. Your training starts tomorrow at 8 am. Get a good night’s sleep and as much love as you need, because you’re going to need it. In three day’s time, I will be vetting candidates for the Ponyville team going to the Equestrian Games. You will be among those candidates and you will pass or I’m gonna train you so hard your wings fall off. Am I understood?” Rainbow barked.
“Yes ma’am,” Pharynx responded.
“Good. Dismissed!” Pharynx buzzed away as fast as his wings would carry him.
“I hope we are doing the right thing,” Chrysalis muttered.
“Don’t worry about it. First Pharynx needs to see there’s more than one kind of big fish in the pond. Then we’ll get him to actually respect me. After that, then comes the friend making. It’s foolproof!” Rainbow exclaimed.
“I wish I had your confidence,” Chrysalis said wistfully.
“Not everyone can be Rainbow Dash,” Dash teased playfully. Chrysalis shape shifted into a copy of the chromatic mare.
“I beg to differ,” Chrysalis said with a smirk that looked right at home on Rainbow’s muzzle.
“Oh yeah? I’d like to see you try and Sonic Rainboom, even with my wings,” Rainbow challenged. Chrysalis returned to her natural form.
“I yield. I don’t have your years of experience or training,” Chrysalis gave up.
“At least you know when you’re licked. Anyway, I need to get home. I have to dig out some old manuals for Pharynx’s training tomorrow. See you later, Chrysalis!” Rainbow said as she prepared to take off.
“I will see you later as well,” Chrysalis agreed and Rainbow flew off to her home. The future was still uncertain, but it would be better than the past.
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10295304
Very good, you've spotted something the Ponies and Changelings will eventually decide is a front runner idea for Tom's new vessel. It might still be a few chapters before they stumble upon that option, however, and it might not be the one they ultimately go with.
I am very glad you consider my story good enough to spend some time thinking about options for Tom. It brings a smile to my face.
10295341
Fluttershy won't get her own guard, per say. Ultimately Fluttershy needs her alone time with her animals too much for a posting of guards to be a good idea, and Chrysalis knows this. She's raised introverted children in the past and knows giving them their space when they need it is extremely important.
That being said, Fluttershy is definitely going to make friends with a certain Changeling and he'll do his best to protect Fluttershy if it should ever come to that.
10295419
i did get thinking on something else aswell that i wasent sure you would explore that is basicly is tom himself even after he gets seporatid capible of weilding the element of magic or being an alicorn as for the element him being in the same body as twilight for so long might have synced them up to the point they could both use it together or swap out as that could be an interesting thing to explore as tom might not have been destind to weild it but he might become able to by himself through experence.
Also with him being in twilight and able to use her magic could suggest that he didnt have any before hand which in a would of magic would be an impossiblity so since his soul has been bondid to twilights for so long you could arge he might have began to develope his own.
there is also the fact he has been using alicorn magic already and while it has been through twilight it could mean that he is aclimating to it to the point that you could justify whatever body tom gets in being to turning into an alicorn.
sorry for rambeling
That's sounds interesting, Phanrix be like a little stubborn boy who always scream his mothers name when he didn't like something XD.
Anyway, I can't wait to see Dragon Lord Ember meets Thorax and Phanrix. XD
I love the story and the constant updates, but i do have to ask why vilify Celestia. At the time she did what she thought best, her course of action atleast made it so Luna and Crysalis could meet again if nothing else. Please make a redemption arc for her.
Celestia could realise what she has done and come with a bowed head seeking forgivness, at heart she is not bad by any stretch of the road. Let her promise both Luna and Crysallis to help them if she can as long as its possible and not over the top. Make a chapter where she and Luna could talk sister to sister at what they went thru. Celestia could show her remorse for being the catalyst that made nightmare moon and being foolish to not research Changelings before making a call on how to deal with a new race.
I do not like stories where Celestia simply spirals into madness and evil, because she is simply not like that. She can be manipulative and prideful but she is also quirky and easily amused. Shes panicky and sometimes makes bad calls but she ownes up to them. All i saw from her is daybreaker shouting match with Luna segment that was not even explored.
Twilight is everything a daughter is to Celestia beside attaching a title to her. Let her come both to Tom and Twilight in tears and seek forgivness and showing that she is not perfect, nobody is. She only did what she could for her ponies even if it was misguided and sounds like an excuse.
Celestia in this story i liked before you started to make her into a caricature villain from ages long past. SHE did rule for a thousand years of relative peace and offer her soul and life to teaching Twilight and making things right with Luna.
10295453
I have plans for Celestia. She won't go Nightmare Flare or anything like that. She's just chaining mistakes right now. Like in old Tom and Jerry cartoons where Tom walks into all the rakes and gets slammed in the face repeatedly.
Celestia is currently in a 'let's put out the fire with MORE FIRE' mindset. Great idea when dealing with forest fires, not so much when dealing with family drama. As Luna mentioned earlier, both Alicorns have hurt each other, and neither are 'good' ponies, but both have bounced back. Once Sunbutt steps back a bit, she'll realized what an ass she's making of herself. It's just hard to be objective about your own behavior sometimes.
Celestia also really doesn't want to deal with Chrysalis, at all. She views Chrysalis as a living, breathing, talking reminder that for all she's tried to be the benevolent ruler, she can have a nasty streak to her. Chrysalis isn't going to be a fan of Celestia, I don't think ever, but ultimately they'll be capable of being civil to each other.
Also, I don't think it's possible for most versions of Twilight to not forgive Celestia. Twilight has certainly had the scales fall from her eyes in regards to her mentor, but Sunbutt is only really in the doghouse right now for how she treated Tom while they were staying in Canterlot. Celestia was trying to fix a problem where one no longer existed. Again, MORE FIRE and more rakes.
Oh, I just had a wonderful idea~ This calls for an extra, completely unplanned chapter! MUHAHAHAHHAH!
10295500
there is the question of how twilight feels about what celestia did to tom because of how they are always together you could say they might have come to view eachother as close frends or family so seeing or hearing how twlight feels about things would be good
Onward the plot rolls, where shall end, only the author knows!
10295426
shiper alarms are going off on this just going to say
This Chrysalis is really different!
I think I’m gonna put this as my second favorite universe.
10347623
As I mentioned to someone else, I view Chrysalis as someone who has gone through great hardship. Some, like the Chrysalis in the show, break under that pressure and become monsters. Others, like the Chrysalis of my fic, use their trials to sharpen their swords and polish their shields. They come out the other side better for the experience. Both have the same impetus, but put it towards very different things.
10347653
I like this point of view you have on Chrysalis.
Welcome to Boot Camp from Hell, Pharynx, population: you.
Perfect word choice
So far I dunno how the skittlebug forms and new way of life for Changelings can be integrated into this 'verse. I mean, you'd think Chrysalis would know of this original state (maybe?) of her race, the millennia-old being she is, and so since she's good here and not so vengeful, corrupt and narrow-minded, she wouldn't deny her children the opportunity to not go hungry anymore. To adopt a form that's not dependent on love energy from others. (And btw, the "acceptance of Changelings as they are" thing was accomplished in canon a la Thorax and Spike before the mass change happened. And of course here they are already redeemed and accepted. The change thing is another matter entirely. So no more bellyaching on the Changed'ling concept for that reason.)
I'll just have to read on. You did finish this story and the sequel (I think) after all.
Sad but it happens
I've seen what happens when that does occur personally
My dad had three brothers not the most loving of childhood homes but they managed one brother in particular my uncle Bruce got the worst of it hence the nickname uncle grumpy