Chapter 12 - Royalty
Yesterday...
Princess Celestia exited her study, the grimace on her face reminiscent of the traumatic event that just occurred. The event was only lightly traumatic for her. If she said this was the first time she caught this rambunctious little human falling from a high place, she'd be lying. They grow up so fast, she would think. However, she can only imagine what her precious Anon must be feeling. She wasn't there, and she wished she could be, but luckily her little niece was in the thick of it all.
Changelings. There are few creatures that Celestia does not truly love that reside in Equestria. From her balcony she would look below, the sun she shines down on them. Ponies, unicorns, pegasi, griffons, all the animals of the forests, rivers, and skies. Maybe even a draconequus, given the right environment. But not even a ruler should expect to deal with these parasitic creatures.
Morphing into the shapes of others, feeding on their very emotion. The stronger ones, she's heard, can even control and manipulate with magic. An act that's quite forbidden, quoting Starswirl the Bearded himself. Not that she'd ever bring herself to do such a thing, of course. Banishment is hard enough on an immortal psyche. No creatures should have such dominion over another, the removal of free will, or it's warping through deceit. Luckily, thanks to young Cadenza, it was easy to see through the uneasy fog.
She saw the whole thing, Cadenza would repeat to the radiant ruler. Rushing to check on her 'precious' Anon...oh, young love is adorable...she saw herself! The disgusting bug, in the young Princess' terms, was disguised as herself, and manipulated the cadet, Shining, into attacking her. Meanwhile, it guided Anon to the balcony, and shoved him off! The royal guard arrived in time to apprehend the creature, but was far too late to save him. Fortunately, Celestia herself was around to do that. Sunlight travels fast.
Her foster child was out cold, passing out the moment he landed on her back. Those moments spent flying to safe ground were agony, the possibility of carrying what might have been a mere husk...as soon as her worries were quashed, she immediately brought him to safety. Having already attacked him in the hallway, coming to finish the job...Celestia's face contorted into a flash of motherly anger. Despicable. The guards had it. This time, Celestia will get her audience.
-
The magical bindings surrounding her mouth would prove to be far less useful than the ones around her hooves and horn. Chrissy's voice would be gone from the screaming anyhow. Seeing Anon plummet, inches from her saving grasp, only to have it torn away. Even if he hadn't fallen, he'd still be torn away from her, thanks to the royal guard. It's burned into her mind, the look on Anon's face. All of them. Each and every one.
The face of pure, seething hatred. She had Shining take her to him, to save him from all this. As the gullible cadet spoke, Anon had turned to face his faux captors, feeling disgusted to even look like her. His eyes, for that moment, were dark pits of pure, concentrated malice towards the princess. It shook Chrissy to the core, but as she uttered her soft plea to escape, his eyes became sullen, his own emotions exhausting him. A momentary relief, that would be over all too soon.
The face of despair, of fleeting hopes. Surely it mimicked her own at that instance, her holed hoof was so close to him. But in that fateful second, her body was jerked backwards, absconded by the damned guard. If only he knew. He would have waited that mere second, if only to let her him. Surely he would have. No one's that heartless. Remembering who she once impersonated, she corrected herself. Almost no one.
And lastly, the face of joy, at the taste of a red, shiny apple. The deadpan stare after she would deplete the fruity rations. The sorrowful look as they parted. The boredom he would exhibit being forced to deal with that vile pink mare in the years to come. All of the emotions, all of them his. All of them gone. Her eyes closed. What her mouth was not allowed to express, her tears did.
The hoofsteps resonating through the room were enough to jostle her from her sadness. Looking up, she saw the elder princess staring her down, as angry as she was radiant. "Shall I allow her to speak?" One guard inquired, nudging the captured bug harshly. Celestia shook her head.
"All these creatures spout are lies." Leaning in, Chrissy began to muffle.
"Mff ammfmm ohkkff?" She attempted to speak, to no avail. Celestia didn't bother to ask what.
"Changeling. Your kind has always earned my ire." She began, staring the bug down.
"Ahnnmmffnn! Ihhnnff hff oohhkkffmm? Another futile attempt.
"But what you did..." Celestia's eyes burned with the fires of the sun she rose. "...what you did to him was unforgivable."
Chrissy fell dead silent for the brief moment, her eyes widening. She shook her head. He couldn't be. "Nff...nmmmff!!"
"You listen, and you listen good." The acid dripped off the princess' words like the tears that formed at the changeling's face fell from her cheeks. "Tell this to your hive." She steps forward, hoof moving past the bug, their horns nearly touching in confrontation. "If I ever see you, or one of your kind, in my kingdom again..." Her teeth grit in anger, visions of her nearly murdered 'son' in her mind. "The only thing blacker than your empty husks will be the chars I leave behind."
The guards shook in terror. They would be regaling this tale at patrol-duty poker tonight.
Celestia's horn illuminated with strong magic, and pressed into the captive changeling. For the split second before the bug disappeared from their immediate existence, her mouth was free from the bindings. Her scream echoed through the chamber long after her body disappeared. Celestia expected such a response. Few creatures could withstand becoming the object of her displeasure. Unbeknownst to her, the bugmare's breakdown was for a different reason.
She lay in the wastes outside of Canterlot, grains of sand clinging to her tear-stained face. She's the only one now who can hear her pained screams.
-
Later that night...
A gentle knock at the infirmary door was responded to with a tired, sore moan.
"Mnnhh...." The pink mare tossed in the cot, lightly creaking it. The door opened anyway, as if her incoherent moan was a 'yes, come in'. The white cadet made his way inside, closing the door behind him promptly.
"Cadance." He said, almost as if reporting to a higher up. That amount of urgency. She didn't seem all too interested.
"Shining, you idiot...I'm trying to sleep..." She sits up lightly, groaning in the typical 'teenage mare who totally has somewhere better to be but isn't right now' style.
"I found out what happened to the changeling."
That changed her tune rather quickly. The sound of her sore body cracking as she stretching upright, giving him full attention. Once acclimated...she grinned.
"Tell me! Did she string it up by the balcony? Oooo, perhaps the stocks! They haven't been used since the olden times, I've heard! That's deserving of what it did. Yeah, public execution..." Her tone was oddly, disconcertingly soothing as she perused her own imagination for the fate of the changeling, which to her immediate disgust, was not as she expected.
"She let it go."
"WHAT?!" She's fortunate she was the only patron in the infirmary at the moment, or her little outburst would surely have awaken the other patients. Not that they would have the gainsay to confront her about it, of course. "She didn't kill it? How?! After what it did to you? To Anon?" Her performance regarding Anon is convincing, even though Shining is one of the few she needn't convince. Living the lie makes it easier to stick to, after all.
"Apparently her threats were terrifying, sending a message to her kind." The cadet grins a bit. "The guards with her said they had to change their outfits." Cadance has no time for his little story. Her head is already racing.
She's alive. How hard is it to execute a criminal? Especially one of that magnitude! Attempted murder of royalty. Multiple accounts, no less. She stews it over in her mind. Anon, her dear sweet Anon, must still be sleeping. That was a nasty fall. It's amazing Celestia was nearby. The way she flew through the window, a radiant blur, diving after her son. How did she even know this was happening? Mother's intuition, maybe.
"...that she'd reduce them to cinders if they ever showed up again." Shining finished. Cadance wasn't listening, but caught enough she could use. Bringing her hoof to the heart around her neck...that changeling's been manipulating him since he was young. Since the little inkling of affection crept into her mind. And now, with the bug banished, she's as good as dead to him. That night, she could barely sleep, letting the scenario run through her mind. She would talk to him, and he'd be hers, and hers alone. No creepy bugs. No blackmail. Just true young love. Closing her eyes, she slept with a smile on her face, anticipating the day. Everything would be perfect.
It only took a flight of stairs to break the delusions of grandeur, among other things of hers.
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I almost urinated myself laughing at the stair bit. Suddenly, the stairs return for an encore.
Brilliant.
4969430 yes followed by headshot
Sweet! Been waiting hours for the update thanks to that password pay-wall.
CLIFFHANGER, WHY YOU BE IN MY WAY?!
NEXT NEXT NEXT!!!
You know, if they'd all actually talk for five fucking minutes all of this could be avoided. Also, Celestia's being kinda OOC, don't you think? I get she's got mother hen urges, but sheesh! Doesn't she have some kinda major taboo against killing?
4969961
Just wait 'till you've had a kid. I'd cut a bitch for my kids, any day.
Go. Go to her, Anon. Find her and run. Run away from this place. Run far, far away.
Why do I have the feeling to go dalek on these ponies?
4970399
Because, we must EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!
4970461 agreed! Summon the daleks and start pest control on the ponies, not changelings. They're nice.
Run, Anon! Run!
I remember this story! Why did I unfav it?
4970465 I'll get Dalek-sec up real quick. Ok, let's do this
.
There's no way Celestia is that dumb
The most messed up part, is that the misunderstanding of the Changeling race and the thought that ponies can do little to no wrong but still can be heard and forgiven is completely canon!
Hell, I wonder if Dash and Gilda will ever make up? There better be something about that in Season 5!
Good chapter. LOVE the reminder at the end
! Blackmail and rape me will you? Here, let me introduce you to my friend, Mr.Stairs.
Stairs, Cadance. Cadance, Stairs. Give each other a hug!
4972406
Dumb is perhaps a strong word, but it is strange that she didn't let Chrissy have any say at all. I would have thought she would have at least let her tell some of her story, if only to know how she did it.
Then again who really cares, it barely effects the story overall.
4969961
Yup. It's the classic but ham-handed way of creating drama - just have none of the characters ever talk to each other.
4972567
You do realize that changelings in canon are just as bad as the worst criminals/barbarians/terrorists on human earth, right?
Kidnapping, illegal impersonation, unlawful imprisonment, deprivation, torture, coercion, mind-control, attempted enslavement, destruction of property on a massive scale, multiple counts of attempted regicide and potentially attempted murder as well, widespread terrorism, economic destabilization...
Should I go on?
Oh, and the best part? Chrysalis knew exactly what she was doing and was enjoying herself the entire time, which shows us that she's horribly depraved.
4972234 start the invasion on the ponies, and let's make sure the doctor has the entire story before he goes to the ponies, otherwise this whole plan will fall.
4972752 You do realize most of what you said is "fan" based, not canon, right?
As far as canon does, the most she's guilty of is kidnapping, impersonating, mind-control, imprisonment, neglect, mild destruction and a hunger for power and love. For herself and her changelings. But even that can be still be seen as misunderstanding since we know nothing about their past or way of life. Cadance was the only one to know something about them, for what ever reason, and even that wasn't much.
Aside from the human, this comes very close to being canon! The changelings are just seen as the "Bad Guy" because their different and how they were introduced into the show. And what ever past stories this story has given them.
I think this story, "When Villain Win" by vavacung, has a real good idea on changelings. Plus it's an awesome comic!
Don't think we're ever going to get a more in-depth answer on changelings from the show.
Whatever the actual reason is that Cadence got her slightly creepy "force ponys to love each other" ability and cutie-mark. I'm always going to prefer this story's version of her gaining it through manipulation and horribleness.
Good story, I found it easy to sympathize with Chrysalis her motivations are entirely rational.
4972752
Don't be so hard on the poor changelings they are the downtrodden underclass struggling to survive on what they can get from the uncaring (now outright genocidal) bourgeois upper-class. [//slight exaggeration//]
Plus her enjoying replacing and knocking down a notch the pony who she's watched blackmail and emotionally torture for the past year or so isn't exactly the worst thing in the world. In this story cadence really does deserve worse.
4972061 wrong anime but you were close
4973915 spice and wolf the wolf's name is holo
4972982
A few, but not as many as you're thinking.
Kidnapping: Princess Cadance and Twilight Sparkle
Illegal impersonation: Princess Cadance
Unlawful imprisonment: Princess Cadance and Twilight Sparkle
Deprivation/Neglect: Princess Cadance (Twilight Sparkle hadn't been there very long)
Torture: Princess Cadance (long term deprivation and targeted emotional torment can be considered torture)
Coercion: Shining Armor and the bridesmaids
Mind-control: Shining Armor and the bridesmaids
Attempted enslavement: All of Canterlot, some of it was temporarily successful
Destruction of property on a massive scale: All of Canterlot - look at what the changelings are doing when they're rampaging
Multiple counts of attempted regicide: Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance - I admit this is somewhat non-canon, but the charge closely models what actually happened - whether regicide actually sticks is up to Chrysalis' motivations of the moment, and blasting Celestia/torturing Cadance aren't good signs.
Potentially attempted murder: Innumerable ponies who were also attacked during the invasion
Widespread terrorism: All of Canterlot (the invasion itself)
Economic destabilization: All of Equestria - I admit this is non-canon, but the destruction of Canterlot would have had far reaching consequences
Let me add a couple more
Unlawful Acts of Warfare: All of Canterlot/Equestria
Destruction of the Day/Night cycle: The entire world
Most of these are actually in the episodes.
4973128
I actually not referring to this story with all this. This story is the author's own interpretation, which is fine. I don't mind a good story where the Changelings aren't so bad, but I cannot stand people who take fanfiction interpretations of the Changelings and then try to tell everyone that Chrysalis in the show "just wasn't that bad!"
4973934 Bingo
holo is best wolf just saying
4972739 I meant that she thinks Anon and Cadence love each other
4974100 That actually wouldn't be terrorism. A surprise invasion does not fall under the classification of terrorism. Pearl Habor wasn't terrorism.
4974100 I think I finally realized the misunderstanding here.
When I said,
I meant she wasn't that bad for "teen" or higher rated show. But for, MLP: FIM, a show rated for everyone it can be seen as bad. Hell, a lot of situation in that show could be seen as worse then they really are
.
Think I just dislike how "black and white" canon Chrysalis is, and this story really has my feels going out to her and the changelings in general for the role she plays in the show and how she is being treated in this story.
It also doesn't help that people who act like, this stories Cadance acts (like a bitch is the only word that comes to mind) is something I really hate to see a people.
4974625
Yeah, you're right, she wasn't really going for the whole "fear me because I'm going to hurt you when/where you least expect it" angle.
4974641
Some people are like that, unfortunately. I too wish that she would get some kind of turnaround. Friendship is Magic and all, and she just needs a good walloping.
4974359 i know right
4974729 I can't tell whether or not you're being sarcastic, so I'll just leave you the definition of terrorism.
Terrorism: the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.
Actually, now that I think about it, one could easily make the argument that any military engagement is terrorism.
PLEASE MORE!
4975628
OKAY.
4975639 SORRY FOR CAPS.
But seriously, this is gold, keep up the awesome work.
Bitches be crazy!
you call that knocking someone of a building? this is knocking some one of the building! *turns to celestia*
"THIS IS SPARTA!" kicks celestia who turns into a spy, looking down the tower I kicked the spy off "we all knew you were a spy!"
4974621
well point still stands
Oh
Can't wait for more
4981187
That's a shame, you're missing out on a great story.
Are you seriously going to keep circling the bush like this. How long till the main character gets the damn thought to explain things to celestia.... the drama got stale some chapters ago
8861467
I agree. Its literal bullshit at this point
9432864
I just want blood and gore