Death of a Queen, V2.

by Arkane12

9: Cleaning Up This Mess

“You know, Twilight, I thought you’d be more organized,” Fluttershy said, examining the chaos around her. Stacks of books were piled on several tables around the room, their topics ranging from magic to medicine and anywhere in between. Loose pages littered the floor, some clearly torn from damaged books while others were covered in scrawled notes.

“Yeah.” Twilight winced. “Normally Spike handles that part. With him gone, I’ve had to improvise.”

“Your servants are clearly incompetent. You ought to have them replaced and executed,” Chrysalis said as she pushed past. She focused on the carpeted storage area at the far end of the room, just beneath the bay window that took up most of the nearby wall. Heavy purple curtains had been drawn, blocking the midday sun. She squeezed into a small opening surrounded by dusty crates of books and miscellaneous scientific junk. Her chains finally stopped rattling as she put her head down.

“I saw your hive,” Twilight said, stepping aside to let Thorax through. “I’m not taking cleaning advice from you.” She closed the door behind them and strode up to a workstation at one of the tables. “Besides, they tried to clean it, but I couldn’t find anything I needed afterwards. I figured I’d rather have it be an organized mess rather than not be able to find something important.”

Fluttershy examined a strange glass contraption on the nearest table. A metal ring held a glass vial over an exposed flame. A small black rock was submerged in a bubbling pink liquid. “So, what is all this stuff?” she asked.

“My experiments. I’ve been testing a few different mixtures, hoping to find a cure. None of them have done anything so far.” Twilight came to her friend’s side. “This one is my most promising. I’m attempting to mix a potion that can nullify a changeling’s magic.”

“So, what’s that floating in it?” Fluttershy asked, tapping the glass. The dark core capsized and sank to the bottom.

“A shard of Chrysalis’ horn. I have so far been able to weaken her magic but can’t outright nullify it.” She scratched behind her ear. “It shows promise, but it’s still a long way from working on whatever’s wrong with Celestia.”

“Careful with that, Twilight. You’re playing with fire,” Chrysalis said, smirking.

Fluttershy tapped the glass a second time, generating a cloud of tiny bubbles.

“So, what exactly are we supposed to do?” Thorax asked.

“That depends on if Chrysalis actually decides to help.” Twilight offered him an unenthusiastic nod. “Until then, just make sure she behaves herself.”

Thorax joined Chrysalis in her impromptu box hive. From his perch, he watched the two ponies continue their introductory lecture, but neither changeling really listened for long.

“So, do you want to talk about what just happened?” Thorax asked, prodding Chrysalis.

“I’m not sure what you’re referring to,” Chrysalis said.

“Whatever happened back in Celestia’s room. With you and the fireplace?”

“No.” Chrysalis slapped his hoof away. “We don’t need to talk about it.”

“I think we do.”

“And why would I care what you think?”

Thorax shrugged. “Mutual respect?”

Despite her best efforts to hide it, Chrysalis snickered.

That sound made Thorax smile. “So, has Twilight been taking good care of you while I was gone?” He thoughtlessly plucked a book from a nearby box. The title resembled scribbles more than legible text, but there was a rather impressive drawing of a leaf on the cover.

“Oh, I’m sure she and Luna will be all too happy to take care of me.” Chrysalis snorted.

“I don’t know. If you can save Celestia, maybe they’ll go easy on you.” He exchanged his tome for another. This one had a manticore drawn on the cover. A monster index, Chrysalis guessed. He opened to the Bugbear and examined the page. A few of the sheets seemed to be missing here and there.

“You really don’t know how this works, do you?” Without raising her head from the floor, she glanced upwards at Thorax. “They’ll never let me go. I’ll spend the rest of my eternal life as a statue for little foals to point at, telling stories about the big bad Changeling Queen.”

“I don’t think . . .”

“Or maybe, If I’m lucky, they’ll just decide to kill me. I think I’d prefer that one. At least it’ll be peaceful.” She motioned to the world around her with a foreleg.

“It’s not funny.” Thorax frowned and turned the page. He didn’t recognize this monster.

“Who said it was a joke?”

“I might be able to talk to Twilight. Maybe once you’re done helping, you can come back to live with us?” Thorax asked. He flipped to the page marked with the bookmark: the Changeling. He frowned.

“You say that like it would be any better. Those little traitors would never accept me back. They shouldn’t accept me back. Unless of course, you’re planning on executing me, too.”

Thorax slammed the book shut and heaved it over his shoulder, earning an intense glare from Twilight. “The changelings would love to have you back. A lot of them have missed you.”

She blew a puff of air that almost sounded like the start of a laugh.

“I mean it.”

“No, you don’t. Even if they would accept me, I wouldn’t go back.”

“Why not?” Chrysalis noticed Fluttershy nodding eagerly at Twilight. They both seemed excited about some unheard piece of conversation.

“I’m not their Queen anymore, Thorax. I would have hoped you figured that out by now.” She tugged on his antler with her teeth, nearly tipping the king off his wooden throne.

“Hey, stop that.” He pulled himself free with a grunt. “I’m not saying you would come back as queen. Maybe an advisor. Or just a friend.” He reached out for her, but she pulled away from him.

“We both know that wouldn’t work.”

Thorax let his legs relax, hanging them over the edge. He didn’t say anything else, only fidgeted in the silence. He glanced up toward Twilight. Though she didn’t make a show of it, Chrysalis could hear Twilight’s rant. The string of names and overly complex terminology just made her headache worse. To her credit, Fluttershy at least seemed to be doing her best to keep up.

“Why do you still care, Thorax?”

He fumbled, nearly toppling off his crate at the question. The two ponies cast concerned glances in his direction, but he smiled and waved to show he wasn’t hurt. When they returned to their work, he steadied himself on his platform.

“What kind of question is that? Did you think I wouldn’t care?”

“Truthfully? I don’t know any reason you should.”

“You don’t?” Thorax flipped himself onto his back, splaying his memories across the bright white paint that lined the arched ceiling. “Well, to start, you raised me. You’re my queen.”

“I’m not your queen anymore, remember?” She sunk the words into his ribs like a blade.

“You were my queen. Did you know that my first memory is of you sitting in the nursery, watching over us as we hatched?”

“Can’t say I remember it.” She looked away from him. She could still hear the eggs crack as the nymphs pushed forward to meet their new world. “I don’t know if you knew this, but I raised a lot of changelings.” Truthfully, he didn’t look much different from the day he hatched. Just a little bigger.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you were there. You watched over us as we grew. Trained us to survive in a world that hated us—”

“Led you into a full-on war with ponies, drove my own hive to leave me behind to seek better lives, and buried my own sons and daughters. Give me some time, I’m sure I can come up with more.” Chrysalis retreated inward, tucking her head down into the dark. “You should go home. Take care of them. Do better than I could.”

“That’s why I’m here,” Thorax whispered. He couldn’t tell if she heard him.

Hours passed while Twilight ran Fluttershy through each experiment she had in the works. Fluttershy did her best to try and engage Twilight but eventually accepted her role as more of a soundboard to bounce ideas off. Occasionally, the less studious pony offered a solution she thought might hold some merit. A few suggestions led Twilight to add another page to the growing heap of notes, while others were shot down almost immediately. By the time the two were finished with their work for the day, neither changeling could tell if they’d accomplished anything.

“I should head back to my room. It’s getting pretty late, and Pharynx will probably be wondering where I am,” Thorax explained. With a fond farewell to the rest of the group, he left. Chrysalis found the silence more agonizing without hearing his quiet breathing nearby.

“I’ll have one of the guards escort you down to dinner, Fluttershy.” Twilight retrieved one of her underlings and assigned him to Fluttershy. “Go ahead and start without me. It might be a while before I’m able to join you.”

“Alright, Twilight. If you’re not down in an hour, though, I’m coming back up here to carry you down, myself. Spike made me promise.” The two of them shared a quick laugh, and then she too vanished into the winding corridors of the castle.

“And what about me?” Chrysalis asked, finally rising from her alcove.

“I’d almost forgotten you were here.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Glad I could already be useful to your efforts.”

“I’ll take you back to your room in a bit. I just have to finish recording my thoughts for tonight. Apparently, I only have an hour,” Twilight joked.

“Oh yes, Fluttershy’s threat. I must admit, it would be amusing to see her try. I quite enjoy the sight of ponies failing,” Chrysalis mused, her chains rattling as she stretched her cramped muscles. “Now, I want you to take me back to my room.”

“In a bit. I’ve got to finish this,” Twilight muttered, her attention focused solely on her notes.

Chrysalis didn’t back down. “I said that I wanted to go back to my room.”

Twilight glanced up momentarily “Just give me a minute.”

Chrysalis twitched. Turning back to her nest, she retrieved the book Thorax left there. Shaking with anger, she took the book and launched at Twilight. The chains’ limiting her movement made her shot go wide. Although it missed its intended target, the missile crashed into Twilight’s workstation, knocking over piles of books and spilling her experiments.

The alicorn jumped back from the table, toppling her seat. She turned to Chrysalis, who wore a look of mischievous pride.

“What is your problem?” Twilight demanded, marching up to Chrysalis.

“I told you that I wanted to go back to my room.”

“Your room?” Twilight recoiled. “I should send you to the dungeons for that. Do you know how much work you just set me back?”

“I hope it was a lot. Maybe now you’ll listen to me in the future.”

The doors burst open and the guards poured in, weapons ready.

“What was that noise, Princess?” a soldier asked.

“It was our guest throwing a tantrum,” Twilight spat. “Take her back to her room.”

“Yes, Princess.”

The soldier nodded to his companions. They marshaled Chrysalis out at spearpoint. All the while, Chrysalis smiled, keeping her head held high.

“Do you need assistance with cleanup, Princess?” one of the remaining guards asked, motioning to the aftermath of Chrysalis’ outburst.

“I’ll have a team take care of it later,” she sighed. “I have to go through it first and see if there’s anything I can salvage from it.”

“Very well, Princess. I’ll be outside if you have any need for me.”

The soldier returned to his post, leaving Twilight alone with the disaster in her study. She spent a moment calming herself before taking stock of the damage. Several of her inkwells shattered, soaking the table and most of her materials in thick black ink and making the nearby pile of notes worthless. She slid them off the table and into a trash bin.

She found a rag on one of the shelves and started to wipe the area clean. After several futile minutes of scrubbing, she abandoned that idea, tossing the ruined rag into the trash with her day’s work.

After half an hour, she managed to tidy up into what she considered an acceptable state. She collapsed into her chair and sank down with a long, drawn-out sigh. She grabbed the book that had caused all of this. The Guide to the Dangerous Creatures of Equestria. Somehow, the title only made Twilight angrier.

A few stains marred the book’s cover, but nothing that would cause actual damage. She turned her attention to the pages themselves. Some were inky. Some were missing. Then she reached the bookmarked page. The Changeling.

The image of the black-shelled equine creature gave Twilight pause.

Changelings are widely considered one of the most dangerous monsters that roam Equestria. Their ability to mimic and infiltrate pony culture should be treated with the utmost caution. Should you come across a changeling, your best bet would be to flee and report the sighting to the guard.

Twilight’s stomach twisted as she read the passage.

“Princess?” the guard’s voice echoed from outside.

“Yeah?” Twilight shut the book.

“The cleaning team has arrived.”

She took a deep breath. “Fine, send them in.”

The doors opened and a pair of cleaning staff stepped inside. One of them carried a bucket and mop while the other pushed a cart laden with cleaning supplies. Twilight pointed out the area she needed cleaned and thanked them both. She didn’t have much of an appetite, but she headed for the kitchen anyway. As she left, she swept the bestiary from the mess and tucked it under her wing.

She needed some time to think.

Comments

[oblivion2k]

“Can’t say I remember it.” She looked away from him. She could still hear the eggs crack as the nymphs pushed forward to meet their new world. “I don’t know if you knew this, but I raised a lot of changelings.” Truthfully, he didn’t look much different from the day he hatched. Just a little bigger.

Loved this paragraph. Chrysalis has a big heart hidden under all that chitin.