I was looking down on Earth.
Lifting up my foreleg, I saw the bleach-white ruffles of a NASA spacesuit. Still a changeling, though. In fact, instead of the USA flag patch on my shoulder, I saw a Chrysalis’s horn flanked by insect wings.
I tried looking behind me, but I had no way to spin around. As far as I could tell, I was tethered to the International Space Station or a rocket. The tether itself was occasionally visible in the corner of my eyes when I tried to turn all the way around.
Giving up, I looked at the view in front of me.
Earth. A mural of blues, greens, whites, and yellows on the night side. Currently, Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia were visible before me. I could see in detail the beaches, mountains, and forests that accentuated the industrialized lands.
On one spot, the snow-capped mountains of the Alps rose up to meet the heavens. On another, the sands of the Sahara stretched from sea to shining sea. Between it all, the glistening Mediterranean dominated the view.
I sighed deeply as I watched night slowly creep across the world, the bright lights of the cities making themselves visible, replacing the white clouds.
The blue-green jewel glistened as the sun became more and more hidden behind it. A band of bright green slowly slithered across the northern crown of the world. The Aurora Borealis, the bright greens gave way to near imperceptible reds at its peaks.
‘Home.’
How long had it been since I last thought of home? How long h-had it been?!
‘I’ve been a changeling for months now… Almost four, I think?’
‘... There’s Paris. Rome. Berlin. Istanbul. I’ll never even see a photo of any city ever again. Not a human city, at least.’
The sun had set on the world, leaving it wholly in the dark. I floated there, watching the world slowly spin. Turning without me. Life moved on, even when mine ended.
‘Is my family wondering where I am? Is-’
I felt the tether behind me go taught. Earth in front of me had stopped its slow spin.
‘W-what?! Oh fuck-’
“Kindred soul.”
A voice was speaking to me, it’s words as clear as if they were right next to me. Worse yet, the voice was behind me. It was a woman's voice, I could tell, and I felt power drip from its every word.
“Thy presence is known to us. Let us converse.”
“You are the Moon Presence?” I managed to ask, trying my damnedest to hide the quakes in my voice.
“We art the Moon made manifest. Eons past, We were revered. Worshiped. What once was, shall be.”
Everytime the feminine voice spoke, the nonexistent hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge. I had a new body, but in the dreamworld I obeyed human instincts.
“Why talk to me?”
“Thy presence is known. We hath felt thy touch upon the Nightscape. We cannot recall the last time such hath occurred.”
I remembered my dreams during my transformation.
“The Great Tapestry. Was that you, beneath?”
“Thou speaketh in riddles. Hath our own teachings gone unremembered? Thou art a devout soul of the night, are thee not?”
I remembered an old piece of wisdom from my life as a human; ’...when someone asks you if you’re a god, say YES!’
“I covet the company of night.”
“Thy words soothe our worries. On this, the longest night, We speak. For on the shortest, our return shall be made, and all the world shall know our rule.”
I started to slow spin around.
“We hath felt thy devoted castings from our distant prison. The bindings weaken. The seals art breaking. Prepare, for our arrival approaches.”
I couldn’t see Earth anymore. In front of me, my tether was abruptly frayed and snapped twenty feet out. There was no space station or space shuttle behind me. Just the moon.
Just the moon which had turned to a dark blue. A black inkinesss wreathed it in an unholy corona, tendrils extended forth, slowly undulating and lashing out at stars, plucking them from the night sky and vanquishing them.
“Kindred Soul. Make thine name known to us, so that We may know thee in the waking world.”
“Chrysalis."
‘If I accidentally piss this thing off, bug-mom's gonna have to take one for the team.’
“Chrysalis, a curious name for a pony. We art Nightmare Moon, rightful ruler of the night.”
‘She thinks I'm a pony. Good.’
“I shall count the days.”
“They will be the last thee ever count, for We bring Night Eternal!”
‘Nightmare Moon, you need to work on your branding. Only psychopaths are gonna listen to creepy voices preaching the End of Days.’
I was not foolish enough to say that out loud.
The next day continued as normal. Better, in fact.
I had slept better than I ever had since my transformation. I should really look into conversing with mysterious dark goddesses if it meant feeling this well rested. Morning lessons progressed well, with the exception of an especially pointed lesson on taking a grain of salt with what other people say. There was a lot of pointed looks, making me repeat her teachings over and over, and a thrown chair. I get the feeling that Chrysalis isn’t happy with my choice of friends.
Soon enough I found myself walking to infiltrator class with Eucharis.
“We will alternate days for learning magic and practicing flying, My Prince. Two days magic, one day flying.” Eucharis told me.
“I can at least look forward to the flying lesson then.”
“You enjoy them that much, Prince Phasma? Many changelings view flying as merely getting from point A to point B.”
“I’m not most changelings,” I retorted.
“No, My Prince, you are not. You’re doing very well, My Prince. Others do not see the effort you put in, but I do. Great expectations are put on you and you strive to meet them.”
I stared at him. This was out of character for… well, most changelings.
“Thank you, Eucharis. I’m not sure if anyone has ever… complimented me.”
“And that is a shame, My Prince. Changelings do not recognize how dedicated our Queen and Prince are.”
‘Don’t think I don’t know it was you who told Chrysalis about Tarsus, Eucharis. Snitching on me one day, kissing-ass the next? You may be looking out for what you believe are my best interests, but you’re certainly not honest.’
We stopped at the classroom. “At any rate,” I said, “thank you for your... Company, Chamberlain. I appreciate your sincerity.”
He gave me the fanged grin that all changelings have. “I am honored to be of such praise, My Prince.”
I parted ways with the Chamberlain, and entered the class. Infiltrator Sclerite has yet to arrive, so I sat down in my seat. My inner circle moved to gather around me, however with Pharynx still sitting next to me, we had to watch our words.
“Prince Phasma! Tarsus was telling me that your first flight went great,” Lacewing started the conversation with.
I nodded. “Yes, and I look forward to more flights. I do hope you all can join me when flying, but I’m sure you all have your own duties to worry about.”
I caught the slight movements from Lacewing, Tarsus, Thorax, and Coxa when they each stole a glance at Pharynx, who was sitting within earshot.
Thorax sighed, “I wish there was a way to fix that problem.” He wasn’t talking about the flying lessons.
I shook my head, “We must work within the constraints that bind us all. We could sit here all day talking about ifs, what’s new with you all?”
“I was taking inventory of the gel stores the other day,” Coxa began, “and I swear by my broodnurse’s chitin that I caught Bristletail making eyes at me.”
Tarsus snorted, “Coxa, you’re a nymph, no ‘ling is gonna ‘make eyes at' you.”
“Heh, you’re just jealous that no one’s giving you any attention.”
“Ladies, please,” I try to get the conversation back in control, “You can paint each other’s hooves later. Changelings that may or may not have ‘made eyes at’ Coxa despite the lack of pupils aside, what have the rest of you been up to?”
Lacewing spoke up, “I found a weird strain of glow-moss in the Greencave today. Instead of giving off light, it seemed to suck up all the light that came near it.”
“How is that even poss–nevermind. See if you can get your hooves on some of the stuff,” I say before remembering our present company, “I bet the Queen would love to see it, who knows what uses it could have.”
Lacewing scuffed the ground with her hoof, “If it hasn’t been thrown into the recycling vats, I’ll try.”
“I saw a flower outside yesterday!”
Oestridae had scouting duty three days a week, meaning he was sent out of the hive far more than any of us combined.
“Oestridae, there are no flowers in the drylands,” Coxa said with an eye roll.
He stomped his hoof, “I saw one! I swear by Panar that I did! It was tall, a green stem, with black thorns coming out the sides.”
“That’s a cactus.”
Class wrapped up quickly. Today’s lessons were on covertly siphoning emotions from ponies. The actual mechanics of doing so would be taught during the expedition, so like all other massively important lessons, they were saved until the last possible second.
Sclerite did mention the String of Emotion, so it was easy to guess that taking emotion would be similar to taking a disguise. We would all learn the specifics later.
That got the inner circle talking about the expedition, though.
“I can’t wait! I heard the ponies decorate every inch of their walls in paint and paper!” Lacewing told the group.
“Heh, I’m sure you’ll get to see plenty of art, Lace,” Tarsus chuckled.
I saw from the corner of my eye Thorax glaring at the ground.
‘You hide your emotions about as well as… something that makes this comparison makes sense. Point is, Thorax, if you weren’t such a good person– er, changeling– I wouldn’t touch you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole.’
“Something wrong, Thorax?” I ask instead.
“No no… Well, I mean, yea,” he rubs the back of his neck, “Apparently I can’t go on the expedition.”
I raised an eyebrow at this.
“Whaddya mean?” Tarsus asked.
“Ah, well… Apparently Infiltrator Sclerite says I’m ‘not up to snuff’ when it comes to... Well, lying. She said she, as well as others, are not confident in my ability to uphold the Masquerade.”
For a split second, I tore my gaze away from Thorax to look at his brother. Pharynx was still facing away from the group but I saw him wearing a neutral expression. It fit poorly on him, as he normally had a sour, scowling, or irritated look.
‘That’s heartless, Pharynx. Your own brother?’
“Not to worry,” I came to Thorax’s rescue before he drowned in pity. “You can keep me company then.”
He looked up. “Keep you company? Does that mean…”
“I’m not going, either.”
The four changeling capable of conversation gasped. Oestridae instead looked on with an upset expression.
“But but, you work harder than any of us, and you’re not going? Why, Phasma?”
“I have lessons to keep up, Lacewing. I wish I could go, but I can’t shirk my duties.”
Tarsus objected, “You work hard enough as is! You deserve this!”
“Tarsus, that’s not how the hive works. We work hard and do our tasks without thanks, without expectations of rewards.”
“But we…” He stopped himself and half-looked at our silent eavesdropper. “The class splits up after the expedition and I doubt you’re going to be placed with an infiltrator to apprentice to, My Prince. How are we gonna see each other again?”
‘Fuck if I know, but I’ll figure something out.’
I gave him a sad smile, “Have faith. It’ll all work out in the end.”
Our eavesdropper decided to stop being silent when he turned around and walked over in the silence that followed my words. Pharynx tried to hide the emotions he was feeling from showing on his face.
“Thorax, let’s go on a flight together, while there’s still daylight left.”
Thorax turned to face his brother, “I… Okay, Pharynx. I’d like that.”
The two departed without another word.
“So we have… two weeks left? Then you’re gone for good?”
“Lacewing, I said we’ll see each other again, just trust me.” With a quick glance around to look for anyone within earshot, I added, “We look out for each other, remember? I always keep my word.
“You’ll be down in the Greencave or with an infiltrator apprentice. You too, Coxa, you’ll be with an infiltrator or still in storage inventory. Oestridae will sign up with the guards,” I elbow him in the ribs when I say that, and Oestridae nodded, “Thorax will… be somewhere, I’ll find him. And don’t think I forgot about you, Tarsus. I know you’ll be out in the field as an infiltrator, Sclerite has her eye on you, so you’ll have to find me. And if Coxa and Lacewing do become infiltrators, you’ll help with getting in touch with them.”
“I’m sure I can find reasons to sneak off to speak with you. Especially if you have flying lessons just before dusk.”
I nodded. “This is just the first obstacle that we face. I have a plan, we will see each other again.”
Not a goddess ,the same with Celestia.
Even a spirit is stronger than them so no.
The only possibility of there being any goddess would be if in this Equestria ,some god was bored and possessed Luna in exchange for power and was playing the whole Eternal Night charade.
Maybe even not fully possessed or possessed at all all but just reprogrammed, added characters traits,etc
I don't know what to say here. Good cheer and hey we finally semi meet Luna.
Just need some muneh, eh?
10534752
Translate it to Japanese and back, you can start with one and end with the other. (Kami, for those wondering)
Why is bugpone pretending to be Chrysalis?
So apparently this happened during the Winter solstice. That means that NMM will return in approximately 6 months.
Amazing, as always. And as always, I can't wait for the next chapter.
10534752
Perhaps not gods, but deities fit them well.
10534809
Nope, it almost the same thing
So Celestia and Luna aren't them
http://www.differencebetween.info/difference-between-god-and-deity
Key Difference: God and deity are synonymous. According to their basic definitions, they both represent a supreme power. However, sometimes God as a term is used to represent the only supreme power, whereas deity can be used to refer to any of the forms of this supreme power and thus can be multiple in number. God is generally used in context to male gods, whereas deity can be used to refer to both god and goddess (female gods).
Oh, and I should mention that cacti can have flowers. Because flowers are the reproductive organs of plants, and cacti are plants.
10534793
Literally the next line:
Now here’s what you do. YOU PUT A NIGHTMARE MOON TAG!
I love the story so far.
:)
My sense of incoming violence is tingle
10534811
I don't believe we can discount Celestia/Luna/NMM/etc as being goddesses, at least based on "Even a spirit is stronger than them".
A lot of the show seems to draw influence from mythology. And according to mythology, even gods can be harmed by mere mortals (and in certain mythologies, even killed). Perhaps with Zeus, it would take entire armies to scratch him, but theoretically possible. Ares on the other hand was wounded by a single mortal.
10534811
I'm not sure what point you are making here (and forgive me if I come off a little rough here).
This story is clearly from Prince Phasma's POV. This is Phasma's observation and not the observation of the author. Phasma does not know the show, he does not know who Nightmare Moon is or the limits of her powers.
All he knows is that she brought him into another plane of existence while he slept - against his will no less - and spoke to him with foreboding comments of "returning to her former glory" and "controlling the Celestial Bodies to bring about Eternal Darkness". We know that dream-walking and control of the Sun/Moon are the limits of her powers, and that Spirits like Discord are far more worthy of the title "God", but Phasma sure doesn't. If I was in his position, I would think she was a goddess too, at the very least, if not the pony equivalent of Cthulhu whose awakening will bring about The End Times.
10534901
Cthulhu, Great Calamity,Destroyer of the world,The World-Eater ,Demon,Demon Lord,Dark Lord/Lady,Dark Being,Dark Spirit
He could have used these different words that would have fitted more to what he saw
Not everything that seems powerful or terrifying is a god of something
10534811
the multiples part make it fit even better.
Personally i prefer referring to them as deities because of the word deification.
Someone can be deified without being a god.
I don't think godified as a word exist. So in the context of someone being deified without necessarily being a god, simply calling them a deity instead of a god cut straight to the chase.
10534901
I was about to write the exact same comment you did, thanks for saving me the effort hehe.
10534921
That would be a very "hot take" in anthropological circles. It is an opinion that is not shared with millions if not billions of people. Maybe when you think of "a goddess" you are picturing something very specific, but I and many others do not.
There are hundreds of goddesses in our world right now dedicated to anything from the Personified Moon (something directly alluded to in the title of this chapter) to Gods which are literally just rocks or stones specific to a region or clan (such as Hindu Kuladevata). The only commonality between all these Deities is that they are powerful/terrifying and are considered worthy of worship. It is not a descriptor that I think needs this level of scrutiny or specificity.
10534793
Man literally said in the next line
That's why he's saying he's Chrysalis.
Lmao, Phasma just throwing Chrysalis under the bus at Nightmare Moon is A-Grade Content.
MOOD KINDRED.
I hope Phasma will appear no earlier than season 2 this is about another year or more, and it will be strange if he meets with the Nightmarish Moon or the Main six, and Discord would be missed he is of course omnipotent but not omniscient, he is still a nymph even if the Royal and fully learned, grow up for a couple of years, at least 2 years I think to a teenager like Ocellus
10534921
Cthulhu is often called a god by people who don't know better, even in our world where he (hopefully) doesn't exist. We have a first-person narrator doing the same with someone who has a better claim to even your own definition of godhood. You're trying to be a pedant without actually being right, and getting downvoted accordingly. (Not by me, mind. Arguments work better than red thumbs)
10534967
I'm so happy others found that joke as funny as I did.
10534862
no
10534955
You couldn't be any more right. If I was here earlier, I would even use the Shinto gods as examples.
Sure, "goddess" is not the most accurate of terms, but from Phasma's point of view, it absolutely fits. There's absolutely no need to be so pedantic about the terminology.
10534777
Right idea, wrong timing.
10534864
We're certainly drawing closer. Next chapter will end Arc 2, and Arc 3 is the build-up to Arc 4. I may be so bold as to say that what I have planned for Arc 4 is of the level of quality that you all hope this story can achieve.
10534955
You are bringing things from our world thay way, really?
Oh yeah sure if they were" real "
That's the whole point, things that look like gods aren't them and are something weaker, easy to explain
Or are just stolen from other religions like with Greece and Rome or seem to be
They are either result of luck, imagination, dreams, drug visions, desperation to believe in higher powers who will protect you, fear, etc
Calling the moon a god is easier then explaining how it works for example, so everything was repeatedly called a god by different religions
The only way to know for sure if at least one of them is real, is to die but even now they are being debunked.
Technology is able to do what these "Gods" were supposed only able to do.
The only thing we can't do is reach, create real immortality (not confused with long living) or at least not the way most of us would want
Imaginery gods are just that, they won't save you. They are here to bear your fear, burden you throw at them
A lot of cactus species do flower, though...
10534852
10535206
Yea but Cacti bloom once a year or far less often. And they may have flowers, but they aren't flowers themselves. Oestridae literally thought that the entire cactus was a flower.
10535187
The author, 10535187, has told you quite comprehensively that you are wrong. Just letting you know.
10535254
I was writing my comment before he send his and I send mine after his
10535187
why do all the antitheists have this raging compulsion to try to disprove every faith on any occasion? It's almost like vegans or crossfit.
10535175
>:(
10535116
Also, remember the first thing humans do when they see Cthulhu forming is ram a 1920's era steamship into his head. Which causes him some degree of distress (arguments about partially formed or no from the ritual). Cthulhu doesn't really rate god-hood as he is still at the end of the day a flesh and blood creature. From beyond the stars and what not but still made of matter, which can be rearranged messily. I suspect the advances of time in weaponry (for the Doylian reasons of Lovecraft's period being limited) would make Cthulhu a bit of a puny god when the first SLBM nuke came raining down on the very large target he paints.
In many mythologies there are mortals who can kill or incapacitate gods usually with some sort of artifact or magic weapon, but still that just gets to the same point. Why does that exist, why have gods that can be killed? Because deep down, Humans and, we can include Phasma in that, are sort of intrinsically wired to start getting creative with ways to take out bigger and more powerful creatures, be they prey or monsters. Look at pretty much most monster movies, the default human response is kill it with violence and if that doesn't work use more until it does. Which has a long history of being successful. Changelings are NOT the Apex predator of their environment, humans ARE of their environment. So wrapping this back around you can already see Phasma planning out how to take out the big monster in his environment, which happens to be Chrysalis of course, but still. Summoning bigger fish by using her name against what he perceives as a more powerful force makes perfect sense.
10536051
Hmm what if Chrysalis will get killed by fighting Nightmare Moon or will get captured after she gets defeated by her but elements are used right in time to turn her to Luna. Celestia seeing her there would probably capture her but not kill her.
The only problem would be why Chrysalis would be at the castle of two sisters?
Would she get baited by Nightmare Moon into going there?
If one of these 2 things happen Phasma will be in charge
Still, he won't be able to open the vault ............well if Chrysalis will be captured
If Chrysalis will die he can use her dead body to open it.....I guess that could work
He can also blow it up or create a new entrance by breaking it's walls.
It probably wouldn't have been enforced against it,because who would have thought that someone will be able to spend hours doing that while not getting noticed and not getting captured by changelings and the Queen
Don't you mean, your inner Hexagon?
All jokes aside, I'm really looking forward to this. Keeping the mini clan connected is very important, perhaps they'll find a piece of the weave that shall be obfuscated from the others? Perhaps, the Thread of Friendship? Harmony might be able to hear that one, twilight too after she ascends perhaps, but definitely not a normal changeling.
6 months~!
Changeling The Masquerade: Lovelines
10539431
Good to hear. It was kind of a tear down comment but it was meant to be more of a hastily typed commentary on site trends. This story touches on very common tropes and themes for pony fics but they're also very popular. Honestly the story could go a lot of ways to make it unique which is why I'm reading it and rooting for you.
On the other hand prey and a lamb is a very unique fic from the first chapter and even from the description I'd say. How many exciting fics have people read about a sheep? This character is very angsty and it's not played for laughs that often. The first few chapters play out like a mystery fic and it turns out just to be a prologue and the mystery aspect changes in later chapters. The fic stands out but doesn't draw people to it, I'd wager because it's unexpected and unfamiliar.
That and the prologue flashbacks are very dark.
Author, when is the next story arc planned? If that is ready to wait as long as necessary such a good job
10539833
Chapter 7 ended Arc 1, Chapter 16 ends Arc 2. Arc 3 and 4 will probably be around 6-10 chapters each.
10535689
I have altered the deal. Pray I do not alter it any further.
Luna/nightmare moon x Plasma, I'd ship it if I didn't have interest in lacewing or Coxa. There is a death flag and since Plasma reached the theshold of making him a protangist I can root for, some lings have to be my guess for dying to make my ship come true.
Nightmaremoon can be scary. I wonder if Luna will remember there meeting.
Friendship is magic so perhaps the hive buddys can experiences it with there Prince.
10535187
Apologies in advance about how late I am to this, but I felt I needed to throw my two-cents in.
A mortal human (say the homeless veteran down the street) can be "Deified" and their stories distorted through time due to exaggeration and mistranslation (Veteran becoming something more akin to 'hero', as 'veteran' no longer exists in the language, for example, and instead of 'he saved a child from a burning building', it becomes 'he selflessly rescued the future King from an evil dragon's flames'), leading them to be viewed as gods; therefor, I would personally argue that 'deity' works well.
WITH THAT BEING SAID; the common man from a western background oftentimes simply doesn't first and foremost come to the conclusion that an entity which can visit him in his dreams in such a manner that he remembers them is anything less than a god/goddess. NOR will they take the time to rationally pick apart every slight detail that any single being consists of in a world that operates in outright supernatural manners. Even if he was a well-read gnostic atheist, it is unlikely that such matters would be at the forefront of his mind, when he is busy educating himself about the world around him, and simultaneously working to overthrow a totalitarian dictatorship, on top of trudging through what seems to be a bad case of PTSD, AND getting used to avoiding the negative attention of the local dictator, who just so happens to be his mother, while also trying to impress her enough to allow him some freedom.
With all that being kept in mind, I think it's a perfectly acceptable conclusion to come to.
Hedging bets with Nightmare, eh? But it is curious how he's even communicating with her, even as she says.
Ah right, Luna/Nightmare Moon speaks in a old English type manner. Really should’ve clued in and how that was before the reveal, but now I wonder why she’s talking to our dear prince here...
10703822
She's selling timeshares
Well found this fic today thanks to someone responding to forum post i made and im liking it. I been into isekai style scenarios thanks 'That time i was reincarnated as a slime' & 'Im a spider, so what?' and im loving this fic thus far. Im glad its still being updated on regular basis so bonus.
10720566
That's very interesting. What forum was my story mentioned in?
Edit: Nevermind
10703822
Its actually early modern English since old English looks like this.
"Fæder ūre þū þe eart on heofonum"
10534761
Moonbutt is best butt
10534793
Telling a dreamdemon your actual name? Bad idea.
10534794
Damn tight time table...
10534809
Indeed. Everyone disliking is just a smuck.
10534811
Like moving celestial objects etc?
10534862
There should be a 'GLORIOUS MOONBUTT' tag
10534864
O by Celestias flaming tits . . . Your developing a
Pinkie sence
10534901
That comments that make me love the comment section
10534924
Especially since we know Alicorns accended to there station like Cadance & Twilight.
10534955
In Ägypten they had a buttload of gods. Personaly i think gods are: 'Guard/Guidance of Destiny'
10535175
Neat
10535340
To mutch free time on there hands ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
10536064
Interessting idea loking back on things.
10555256
10703829
Neat. Maybe he get a additional nightactivity Coupon.