All Hail the Wicked Queen
All Hail the Wicked Queen.
By MindEdge
Story Time
Years ago, maybe a millennia or more, the world was but a lump of wet clay. With nothing to roam its land or swim its seas, the spirits who crafted it came together and decided to fill the void.
Molded out of their own love, the spirits gave life to all that you see around you. They sprouted trees so that they may grow to vast forests. They seeded the waters with reeds and lilies, so that the water too could have its own forests. Once they had covered the world in countless varieties of woods, grasses, kelps and funguses, they decided to craft things a little more ambitious.
That is when they began to craft animals. This was risky on their part, as giving a being the ability to think for it’s self can promote unforeseeable consequences. But while they knew such an act would surely bring a series of challenges, they were driven to do so anyway, and set about giving life to animals.
One such animal was the pony. But while the basic shape of the animal was settled on, the spirits just couldn’t agree on what the final details would be. The spirits debated furiously, their arguments stretching years in length. During this time, they almost completely forgot about what they had already made. The arguments started to become so heated, that some of the spirits began fighting each other, resulting in catastrophic occurrences on the surface. Finally, one of the spirits spoke up.
This spirit was clever, and was known as the most level thinking of all of the spirits. What he proposed was each group of spirits create their own variety of pony, and when they were all finished, they would meet once more and would vote on who had the greatest form. The spirits all agreed, and set off to work, each thinking that their design would be the best.
After the spirits had left, another one, the smallest and weakest one, approached the clever spirit. She was known as the fool, the spirit that couldn’t do anything right, and the one who always got in the way. She asked the wise one, “may I too enter the contest, as I believe I can create a great design just like the rest of the spirits.”
“Of course you may, your input is just as valid as my or any others.”
The fool was elated by this, and began immediately on her pony.
She began by cutting down the largest ebony tree she could find, using only a sharp chunk of flint. After cutting the log into sections, she began to carve them bit by bit. She started with the legs, frequently making mistakes and removing far more than she should. As she progresses, she became better at her craft, with fewer cavities and fewer stray gouges. Once she had finished carving the body, she had to add the details. She wove their manes from sea grass harvested from the oceans. For the eyes, she placed two emeralds into the sockets. For the wings, she cut sheets of the finest crystal. Finally, the fool breathed life into her creation.
On the day of the judging, all of the spirits came together to display their creations.
The earth spirits stepped forward and proclaimed, “look what we have done, we have crafted a pony strong in bones and stout in heart. With strength like a bison and hooves of stone.”
Then came the spirits of the sky’s turn.
Look what we have crafted, though they lack the size and power of the ponies of the earth, they are light and swift, and can fly amongst the clouds in the air.
Finally the spirits of magic stepped forward.
“Our ponies may lack the strength of the earth or the gift of flight, but we have given them a small piece of our power, so that they may wield magic as we do.”
There were others of course, but arguments broke out before they could plead their cases. At first it seemed that the competition was a waste, as no one could agree on who’s pony was best, until the wise one again interjected.
“Why not let them all exist? Why not let them all live and thrive among each other, so that they can cooperate just as we have cooperated with each other.”
The spirits agreed, but no sooner had they agreed then they all realized the trick that had been played on them, That this was the wise ones plan all along. From then on the wise spirit was known as the trickster spirit.
But before the spirits could leave to release their ponies among the other creatures of the world, the foolish one appeared. With her she carried a batch of her own creations for the others to inspect.
“What is this?” said the first spirit as it looked upon the fools creation. “they are hard and sharp, and their feet are filled with cavities.”
The next spirit approached the new ponies, “how dreadful, it looks as if the maker couldn’t decide whether to make a pony or a mantis.”
As the fool’s heart began to sink, a third spirit looked upon her children. “These creatures are not fit to roam the land or sea, and should be dismantled.”
Horrified and frightened for the safety of her children, she gathered them and ran away, the trickster blocking the other spirits from pursuing her. When she could run no more, she put her children down and spoke to them, “I never meant for this to happen, and I am ashamed of how I have made you. But I can give you one more gift so that you may hide from the other spirits who would do you harm.”
It was then that the fool gave her children the gift of change, the ability to take the form they saw fit, to hide from the world and its creatures. But before the newly made changelings could begin their new lives, the trickster approached them and bestowed one last gift. He gave them the need to feed on the love of others. And with that, both the fool and the trickster departed, and left their children to the harsh world they had made.
The lecture
“Why?”
One of the children had stood up, speaking their question aloud.
The old teacher looked up towards the cavity marked hoof of a changeling nymph raised in the air.
“Why what?” He asked.
“Why did the wise, err, trickster make us need to eat love from other creatures?”
Their tutor, or ‘Old One-Eye’ as he was known, always anticipated this question every time he told this tale. It was an important question, which he felt changelings needed to answer in their own way.
“That’s a very valid question” he said, “Does anyone know the answer?”
Unsurprisingly, not a singly hoof rose to the challenge.
The ancient one sighed, “think about it, maybe next time one of you will have an answer, it looks like lady Long-Reed is back to take you back to the den.”
The children looked over to the changeling waiting behind them.
“Come children, its time for bed.” The tall changeling said as the nymphs gathered towards her.
As the hives nest watcher, it was Long-Reeds job to care for any changeling children, or ‘nymphs’ as they were often called by outsiders, whose parents were, at that time, absent. The number of children under her charge had increased in recent weeks, as more and more changeling parents had been captured by the Canterlot royal guard.
To try to help keep the children’s minds off of their missing parents, Old-One-Eye had taken it upon himself to entertain, and also educate, the children with traditional changeling stories and tales. As the hives historian, it was his job to memorize, archive, and recite all of the accumulated history and legends.
He was an old man, the oldest changeling in the hive in fact. His mane-like frill was ragged and washed out, and his face resembled something crudely carved out of black marble. His legs were sharp and gnarled, even by changeling standards, and his wings were crooked, barely capable of flight. He got his ‘name’ from the fact that one of his eyes, his left one, was clouded over, long having lost its sight.
Still despite his dulled senses, the old man knew when he was being watched.
“You know, if you want to listen to my stories, your more than welcome to join the children, instead of hiding in a tree.”
Old-One-Eye was addressing the tall, aqua manes changeling reclining on a willow tree branch above him. He didn’t turn around to face the one he was talking to, his brittle spine wailed whenever he twisted it.
A voice broke out from the dense leaved of the trees overhead.
“I still don’t get the point of your question, its just a story, its probably not even true.”
The old one grumbled, “It doesn’t matter if they’re true or not, those stories are supposed to teach us, to guide us as we go through life. But you never took well to lessons, you just run at life’s challenges like a blind ram.”
The tree dweller leapt down from her perch and landed behind the sitting teacher. It was the hives queen, Chrysalis.
Queen Chrysalis towered over the decrepit old man. Female changelings were normally a little taller than the males, but the queen was in another category all together. She stood over him like a crane over a toad, long thin legs raising her form well above her peers. Her mane hung limp off her head like wet kelp, with a large, gnarled horn protruding from its folds.
Knowing that Old One Eye wouldn’t turn to face her, she slowly circled around the log he was sitting on to meet his front.
The old changeling looked up at his matriarch.
“So. Are you here to listen to a tale? Or are you just going to glare at me until my joints give out?”
The queen always hated his attitude.
“Two more subjects have abandoned their hive, I need you to add their names to the banishment list.”
Old-One-Eye was initially confused by this statement.
“Why tell me this? I thought your secretary, Riki-tiki I believe his name is, was in charge of keeping the records of your denouncements.”
The queen’s eyes shifted away from the teachers contact.
“Unless…” the old one began, “Riki-tiki was one of the two who defected.”
The queen gave the old man a menacing look.
“Just wright his and his wife’s names down. I am bestowing upon you the title of royal scribe of hive Chrysalis.”
“I would be more than honored to take such a title.” The old teacher said. “Just as soon as you take Tulu’s name off the list”
Chrysalis glared at him.
“Your grand-niece is a traitor and a fiend, and is just as much an enemy of my hive as my sister is!”
Old-One-Eye was fully expecting this reaction. His queen was always quick to anger.
“It was worth a try.” He said.
Queen Chrysalis was already regretting her decision to talk to her old mentor. Their talks usually resulted in one of them getting angry.
“Why do you even stick around old man, you obviously feel no love for my rule, why not defect like your niece?” Asked the irritated monarch.
The old one glared at his queen.
“I almost did, once. This was many years back, before you were even born. I had the whole thing planned out too. I was going to travel to Alpacupichu and live as a potato farmer. I had even bought a boat ticket.”
He looked back down into the dirt, his mind pulling memories from deep within his skull.
“I can hardly imagine you living in the high mountains, disguising yourself as a llama. So what happened, why didn’t you go?” Asked the Queen. Despite knowing him for all of her life, she knew next to nothing of his past. She didn’t even know his real name.
“Unfortunately life doesn’t always go with your plans, as you have been made well aware. So I stayed put, and committed myself to the hive.”
The queen could tell that she had inadvertently brought up a sensitive subject for the old man, and didn’t press on it further.
“But you still think the hive is driving itself into the ground? That I’m a witch who doesn’t deserve to hold the title queen.” Chrysalis said, as she still didn’t quite understand where the old one was coming from. He gave a slight chuckle.
“The hive is already well in the ground, o queen of the changelings, and I think your wickedness speaks for itself quite clearly.”
The ancient one slowly pulled himself up onto his age-eaten hooves. Whenever her mentor stood up, Chrysalis could swear she heard the old ones bones creak and grind against one another. He then faced his queen, standing as straight as his tires spine would allow and continued his answer.
“But this hive is my home, wherever it may be, and you are still my queen, however cruel your decrees are.”
“Even after I exiled my own sister?” she asked. ”Or what about when I banished your niece, Tulu? Did that not cause you grief?”
“Exiling your sister for trying to protect a city from being razed by the hive was one of the most foolish things you could have done, she was our best doctor we had seen in decades, and she was far smarter than you to boot.” The Old One was looking directly into the queen’s eyes. “The only reason you hold the throne instead of her is because she believed she could do more good (cough) healing creatures, then (cough, cough) ruling them.”
Old-One-Eye started to hack and shudder. He dropped to his knees as his lungs continued to convulse. Without thinking, the queen bent down to try to help the old man back to his feet. The old mans health had been waning in recent months, and these coughing fits had been increasing in frequency.
The queen put her hoof on the old mentors back. Despite her best efforts, she did care for him, though she would never admit it. After all of these long years, after all of their arguments on morality and even after she exiled his grand niece for consorting with outsiders, he still tried to teach her, to mentor her. He had yet to give up on the wretched queen, and for some reason she appreciated him for it.
When Old-One-Eye had calmed his chest, Chrysalis put her hoof under his arm and helped his old bones up.
“Careful now you old stone, your likely to give yourself a heart attack.”
Old-One-Eye looked up at his queen. Even though he said nothing, Chrysalis could see the appreciation in his eyes. Well, one of his eyes.
“As for my niece.” Continued Old-One-Eye after he had collected his breath. “Her exile does little to prevent her from visiting me.”
Chrysalis was taken aback.
“What do you mean? She hasn’t been seen among us since I decreed her banishment.” Declared the queen. It was true; Tulu was never seen by anyone for years, she would have heard about her sneaking into the hives territory from her guards.
Old-One-Eye smiled a gnarled grin, something Chrysalis always found unsettling. “She’s tricksy that one, tricksier than even you perhaps, I made sure to that while I was raising her. She’s also quite a successful merchant, and knows the art of a good bribe.”
Queen Chrysalis would never think to hurt the old man, despite what she might say. But it was times like this that she wished the small thing before her was someone else, so she could give him a good left hook.
“So she has regular contact with you, despite my orders to never let her back.” She said.
“Of course”, scoffed the old one, “a woman like Tulu isn’t about a little thing like a royal decree stop her from visiting her great uncle and sharing some of the energy she had accumulated during her travels, how do you think I survived so long without leaving the hive? I haven’t impersonated a pony in ages, these bones don’t bend like they used to.”
Chrysalis growled in annoyance at her mentor’s blatant disregard for her rules. It was a clear sign that he thought little of her rule, and it made her look powerless in front of her subjects. The worst part about it was that she was in fact losing control of the hive.
“I still don’t understand what causes them to keep leaving me, I might find you irksome and rude, but at least your loyal.” The queen turned to leave, having learned little from this lecture. “Why cant the rest of the hive stand by their queen, why do they keep leaving me?”
Feeling defeated, the queen began to walk away, back to her ‘throne’.
“Would you like to find out?”
The queen stopped and turned back to the old man “What do you mean you old beetle?”
Old-One-Eye walked his aged body over to his satchel that he kept by the log he lectured on. He then reached into the weathered canvas sack, and pulled out a bit of bark paper and a stick of crumbling charcoal.
“If you really want to know the lives and wants of your subjects” he began to scribble on the patch of paper with the charcoal, “put on a new changeling face, and go to this address.” He held aloft the paper for his queen, who in turn took it with a green glow. “It’s a changeling safe house.”
“Its all the way in Baltimare is what it is”, the queen said as she looked at the writing.
“Go to that address, and just keep yourself disguised. Get to know the ones there, but never reveal who you really are. Then maybe”, the story teller said, “maybe you’ll learn something that I haven’t been able to teach you.”
The Room
Lightning ripped across the sky, sending shockwaves of sound throughout the drenched city below it.
With rain upon her head and a bag slung over her back, chrysalis stood before the entrance to building in which her destination lay. She was currently hidden behind the form of a pink-coated unicorn, a look she made up herself. It was dangerous these days to directly copy another pony while everyone was on high alert, so a unique body was often needed.
The building she stood before was old and decrepit. The brick it was stacked from was crumbling, and years of rain had caused the mortar to run with streaks of lime. This was definitely not high-class society.
The queen opened the front door slowly, and was rewarded with an unpleasant squeak from the un-oiled hinges. After making sure to close the door behind her, she began to ascend the staircase. She tried to move silently, but the constant groaning of the wood beneath her hooves dashed all hopes of stealth. After four stories of screaming oak boards, she arrived at the final door, room 402.
The door was strangely plain. Most changeling safe houses were marked with symbols or images that let changelings know safety waited inside. If Chrysalis had to guess, the Royal Guard had deciphered these symbols and was now using them to identify changeling hideouts.
The pink unicorn put her hoof to the age worn door, and gave it three gentle knocks. A few seconds of silence went by, then as she was about to knock again, the door opened a few inches, revealing two orange eyes.
“Hello?” the eyes asked.
The undercover queen quietly, but clearly, addressed the creature behind the door. “Hello, my name is Hawthorn. I heard that I might find asylum here.”
Another pause.
“Who sent you?” the eyes further inquired.
Chrysalis, or “Hawthorn”, as she proclaimed herself, considered saying, “a creepy old man told me about you”, but resisted this urge and recited the phrase her mentor taught her.
“I was sent by last years locust.”
Once again, another pause hung in the air, until the door opened in earnest to let the changeling queen in.
As she stepped in, she surveyed the room around her. She wasn’t impressed. The furnishings included a 4x4 wooden table, 2 lamps, s single boarded up window, and about 6 chairs scattered about. Hawthorn heard the door close behind her.
“You can take your cover off, there’s no way for anyone to see inside once we boarded up the window”, said the indigo stallion as he warped into a changeling, “I’m Orok by the way.” Where a stallion unicorn once was, now stood a purple frilled changeling.
Seeing that it was safe, the queen too dropped her pony disguise, or rather, she exchanged it for another. Instead of reverting to her normal form, she took one of another changeling, one she made herself. She kept her aqua colored “mane”, but lowered her height to a more normal stature for a changeling. She also adjusted her facial features a bit, as to avoid any possible identification.
“There’s not much here, other than a table and some chairs. Make yourself comfortable. Or as comfortable as you can. That’s Cricket by the way.” Said Orkook, pointing to the middle of the room.
“My names Cricket, pleased to meet you.”
Cricket was rather short, even by changeling standards. So even though Chrysalis had reduced her height significantly, she still stood over a head taller than him.
The queen took a stool and pulled it up to the table. She then took the pack from her back and placed it on the table and removed a small net of turnips.
“I’ve brought some food”, she said to the two changelings, “you’re welcome to have some.”
According to Old-One-Eye, it was common courtesy for a changeling taking refuge in another’s safe house to bring food or love energy to share. Having spent her accumulated love energy from shining armor in her battle in Canterlot, Chrysalis instead brought a bag of semi-fresh turnips she swiped from an unguarded market stall on her way there.
After eying the food, both changelings set upon them in quick order.
“So”, said Chrysalis, “are we to expect anyone else?”
Orok stopped gnawing on his turnip to answer “Hawthorn”.
“My sister went out to get fresh water, she should be back soon, she was only supposed to be gone for an hour.”
There was a hint of worry in his voice.
Chrysalis studied Orok and Cricket more closely while they were distracted by the raw roots she had given them. They both had very thin frames, as if they had not eaten in some time, and by the way they were attacking the turnips, they probably hadn’t. Their motions were weak and shaky, and their eyes showed signs of fatigue. It wasn’t just a physical hunger either. Chrysalis could feel that they were both starved of love energy just by sitting near them. Their famine wracked frames were a harsh reminder of what her subjects were going through on a daily basis.
After a few awkward minutes of her just sitting there, watching two starved changelings chew on turnips, Chrysalis decided to break the silence.
“So what’s going on in Baltimare? I was thinking of staying and setting up shop and-”
A knock came from the front door, prompting Orok to morph back into the indigo stallion and jump to it. He then opened the door a crack and looked at who lie beyond.
“Oh Itza its you! I was getting worried that you had been caught. Come in quick!” Heard Chrysalis from the front of the room.
As Orok widened the door, two ponies stepped through, a pink unicorn, and a green earth pony. The Unicorn gave way to a slender, wide-eyed changeling with a long purple mane and large purple eyes. She also had two jugs of water slung across her back. She looked similar to her brother Orok, but like most female changelings she stood a little higher than him. The green earth pony turned into a heavy jawed and hooved changeling with a moss colored frill.
“Sorry I’m late”, said Itza as she embraced her brother with an arm, “I hit a bit of trouble when I was out for water, but luckily I met Tek-Tal here.”
“Hey.” Said the moss frilled changeling. He also had a bag slung over his back, as well as a blue shawl wrapped around his neck.
After everyone had exchanged names, they all pulled up chairs and sat down at the table.
Normally when changelings congregate, they exchanged accumulated love energy that they had gathered. This was often done unconsciously, as love energy has a tendency to spread easily. It was an almost osmotic process, those with high levels of energy empowering those with lower levels, until an entire group of changelings would eventually have an even distribution of energy. However, due to the recent changeling hunting, it was rare for a changeling to enter a group with enough energy to go around.
So it was quite the shock when after Tek-Tal sat at the table, the rest of the refugees were flooded by a wave of love energy. What once felt like a cold, dreary room, was now the warmest place any of them had been in for weeks. Both Orok and Cricket had ceased their vulture like slumps, and were now sitting up in their chairs with looks of ease, rather than looks of despair. Even queen Chrysalis was energized by Tek-Tal’s presence, not having felt this much vitality since she was draining Shining Armor. Tek-Tal must have been a master hunter to drain such joy from ponies without getting caught.
It was odd then, that Tek-Tal had such a dreary look on his face. His overall demeanor conveyed a sense of sadness.
“So now that we have five members of this little secret club-house, who wants to play a game of Horseshoe hold ’em?” Asked Orok as he pulled out a deck of cards.
Chrysalis usually forbade her subjects from playing pony games such as poker and checkers, as she felt that outside influences might threaten her hold on the hive. But she was still undercover, and for the purposes of not wanting to draw suspicion, she kept her mouth shut and went along with the game.
It looked like it was going to be a long night.
Awkward Conversations
“And then the baby mole said; ‘I smell molasses!’”
The table erupted in laughter at Orok’s joke.
It had been hours since “Hawthorn arrived, yet the rain was pouring down as hard as ever. Yet between the card game, Orok’s cards, and Tek-Tals energy, the room seemed like the most wonderful place in the world for the five changelings. Even the grumpy doppelganger himself seemed to have warmed up since his arrival. Though the hidden queen couldn’t help but notice that every once in a while, Tek-Tal would pull a small book out of his saddlebag and flip through it.
“So Hawthorn”, said Cricket, “What’s your story, what brings you to Baltimare?”
It seemed that Orok had run out of crude jokes, so Cricket decided to fill the air with life story questions. Chrysalis had prepared for such an instance, and recited her story.
“I’m just passing through, looking for a new place to hunt in. I’m from hive Chrysalis so I don’t often come out this far.”
This apparently wasn’t enough for Cricket.
“Hey, I’m from the Chrysalis hive too. The only reason I’m so far from home is because my parents cant find me out here. Although I’ve never seen you before. We haven’t met have we?”
Chrysalis had not prepared for this. The only reason she told him her true hive was because she didn’t expect to meet someone this far out to be a member of it as well. Baltimare was very far from the now empty hive nest, so she expected to only meet changelings from a more local hive, like queen Zoat’s hive, or even the hive of king Stagget.
“I uhhh… don’t spend much time back at the nest” she hastily explained, “I’m more of a wonderer. I’m sure you’ve seen me before though, you just don’t remember.”
It was the best she could come up with
“I don’t know, I think I would remember someone as pretty as you.”
Chrysalis paused for a second, as it took her a while to fully register what the small changeling had just said. As a queen, she had never been hit on by a subject, for such an act would be rewarded by a firm stomp of the face by her hoof. In fact the only thing resembling a romantic advance was by the changeling prince Ouroboros. Although it was hard to tell if him comparing her mane to a “fine bed of river grass” was a compliment, or an insult. Changelings who lived in zebra territory had odd customs.
Chrysalis decided to divert her current situation, and asked her own question.
“Itza, Orok, what have you been up to? Are you from Hive Chrysalis as well?”
“No, were from Hive Zoat”, Orok said. “We actually run this safe house year round, we’ve even met Cricket a few times. But were thinking of skipping town to find a more “quiet” place to forage.”
Chrysalis took another look around the room. Water was dripping from fissures in the ceiling, causing sizable puddles to form on the un-varnished floor. She could see small indents in the wall where chunks of plaster had crumbled away. The room looed like it had been unoccupied for a few years at least.
“Exactly how long have you been living here?”
Itza gave an uncomfortable look.
“We actually only moved into this particular room rather recently. We used to actually rent a much nicer apartment down-town, but we were forced to move after the landlord started asking questions.” Itza was starting to sink in her seat as she was saying this. “This was the only place that didn’t have anyone looking after it.”
Orok leaned over and put his hoof on his sisters shoulder. He then looked up at Tek-Tal, and asked him a subject changing question.
“Ok Tek-Tal, what’s your story? You’ve never come by our safe house before, so you must be new to the area.”
Tek-Tal shifted in his seat a little, and gave a few cautious glances arund the room before he answered.
“I’m actually from Hive Chrysalis too, but like Hawthorn here I don’t visit the nest as much as I used to. I did have a nice thing going in Mareland, and I would still be there if the idiot queen hadn’t ruined everything.”
Everyone froze and looked over at Tek-Tal, not expecting such slander from him. It was a very serious offence for changeling subjects to insult their own monarch.
“Now Tek-Tal”, began Itza, trying to ease the situation, “Queen Chrysalis might be a bit disagreeable, but she’s still your queen, and should be respected as such.”
“She’s a selfish bully”, continued Tek-Tal, his voice raising in volume and agitation.
“I kind of agree”, added Cricket.
Chrysalis couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Did all of her subjects feel like this? Sure she wasn’t the perfect queen, but she still didn’t deserve to be spoken of in such a way. She had to get to the bottom of this.
“Wait, what’s wrong with the queen? Just because she lost-
“Its not because she lost the war”, Tek-Tal interrupted, now out of his seat. “Its what she risked to win it.”
“Explain”, the queen inquired.
Tek-Tal relaxed his body, took a deep breath, and began.
“Before the invasion, everything was fine. Ponies barely knew we existed, no one was hunting us, and we could roam the land free and unhindered. But ever since the queen’s botched invasion, every pony in the kingdom is on our tails, making love gathering almost impossible. But say she had won the battle, say the queen now sat on the throne in Canterlot and the city was ours, what then? Chrysalis would have her city? That’s just one city, one ruined city devoid of love or kindness, meaning we would have to go to other cities for energy. Except now every city on the continent would be knocking down Canterlot’s door to rescue their princess’, and if it took every changeling soldier in the world to take Canterlot, that means it would take just as many to keep it secure. So whether we won the battle or lost the battle, we’re still in the same place, running for our lives and cowering under crumbling roofs.”
“I knew the invasion would end the way it did, with our faces in the mud. I knew assaulting one of the grandest cities in the world would result in disaster. That’s why I stayed hidden at home, and didn’t participate in the attack.”
The rest of them gasped, not quite believing what they were hearing.
“You have to show up”, Orok said, hooves planted firmly on the table, “Chrysalis might be incompetent, but she is still your queen, you still have to do what she says. No one wanted to start a war, but our kings and queens ordered us to follow Chrysalis, so we obeyed.”
“That’s right, you do!” The queen said. She was up on her hooves as well, and anger was clearly etched on her face. She wanted to reveal herself right then, to show the little rat just who he was dealing with, and then send him to the deepest gem encrusted cavern she could find.”
“My family needed me, and I put my family before all things, even the hive.” Tek-Tal said, his voice unwavering and proud.
“But Tek-Tal”, spoke Itza, “the hive is your family.”
Tek-Tal sighed and sat back down. He then pulled his book out of his bag once more, and opened it under the table to look inside.
“Things change”, he said, “you wouldn’t understand.”
He then closed the book back up, but not before Chrysalis could catch a glance as to what was inside. All she could make out, however, was a picture of a gray blob with numbers and letters typed underneath it.
Eventually Chrysalis sat back down as well, still fuming over the drones insolence, but not wanting to incite further arguments.
She would deal with him later.
Ghost stories
Again a few more hours passed. The group had restarted their game of cards, and the situation had overall become less volatile. There were few words spoken however, as no one wanted to initiate any more arguments.
Eventually, though, Orok looked to his sister and spoke.
“Are you alright Itza? You keep looking at the door.”
Itza looked at her brother.
“Sorry,” she said, “its just that I keep expecting the Canterlot guard to break down our door at any moment and take us all by storm.”
“The Canterlot Guards are idiots”, said Chrysalis, “we could post a sighn on the front of out door saying, ‘changelings inside, arrest us now please’, and they still wouldn’t be able to find us.”
Itza giggled cutely at this.
“The Canterlot royal guards might be incompetent, yes”, said Tek-Tal, “but they aren’t the only ones looking for us.”
“What are you talking about?” Asked the queen.
“He’s talking about the spooks”, answered Orok.
The queen stared blankly at Orok, not sure what he was getting at. Orok saw this, and put his cards down.
“So after the queens failed invasion, it became apperant that the canterlot guard was not exactly a force to be reckoned with. So word on the street is Princess Luna called in a favor from a princess from another country. I don’t remember the countries name, but they loaned some of their royal guard to help ‘blster the defenses’ of Canterlot.”
“What does ‘bolster the defenses’ mean?” Asked Itza. Chrysalis could see Itza wringing her hooves in anxiety.
“They’re changeling hunters”. Said Tek-Tal. He was staring into the table, his eyes once again narrowed in anger. “The princess commissioned them to track down changelings, but more importantly, to train the Canterlot royal guard to do the same.”
Chrysalis wasn’t yet convinced.
“I’m sure they cant be that bad”, she said.
“But they are!” declared Cricket as he stood up. “I’ve even seen one of them, and I can definitely say that he was the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen. At least I think it was a he, it never took its mask off. They’re sneaky, sneakier than we are. It’s said that they can spot one of us out of a crowd of ponies by smell alone, and that they can crush rocks with their teeth, and that they can read minds and breath fire!”
“That all sounds made up”, said Chrysalis. Her belief in these boogeymen was waning by the second.
“Ok so maybe they can’t read minds”, Chricket said. “But I do know one thing; they are teaching the Canterlot guards to do this thing where they chase you for a while, then they pretend to lose you, except they’re really secretly following you until you go back to your hideout.”
At this, Itza leapt out of her seat and began to shout.
“Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no! we have to get out of here guys!”
Orok quickly went up to his panicking sister and put his hoof to her shoulder.
“What’s wrong Itza, what’s going on?”
Itza looked at her brother with her large, worry stricken eyes.
“I was looking for water, then two guards spotted me and yelled at me to stay where I was. So I ran. Then they started to chase me, so I kept running, then I got away, then I stopped running, then, then…”
The thunder of over a half-dozen sets of hooves could be heard roaring up the staircase. It seems the Canterlot guard had found their hidden hovel.
“Get to the trap door!” yelled Orok. They all rushed to the stained rug that hid the door and uncovered it. Cricket grabbed the ring handle and pulled on it with all his strength and will.
The trap door didn’t open.
“It’s locked!” cried Cricket.
“How can it be locked?” Orok said, panicking. “There is no lock on this trap door!”
Chrysalis was about to blow the lock with magic, but before she could the front door burst open, releasing an entire squad of gold dressed Canterlot guards into the room.
“Go for the window!” yelled Orok, but it was too late. The changelings were all grabbed by rough hooves and slammed against the wall.
The Raid
When the room had settled down from the storming, three more figures stepped through the door.
The first was obviously the sergeant of this little band of brothers, his rank made painfully apparent by his ornate, gold plated armor and over sized helmet plume. He stood with a regal and imposing stance, head held high, and legs standing straight. Truly an idiot if Chrysalis ever saw one.
The next one to enter was an odder sight. He was an earth pony, coated in an orange and cream-colored splotches of a paint. With only a red patterned cape wrapped around him, he looked very out of place in a room full of armored soldiers.
This odd looking pony was followed by a third figure, a far more unsettling figure.
It was a pony, covered from head to hoof in jet-black armor, the only part of his body showing was a pair of dusky blue ears. Like the pony before him, he also wore a cloth cape over his back, only this one was a dark purple with grey geometric designs.
The sergeant walked into the middle of the room, and addressed the crowed.
“Well done men, four changelings in one day is the best catch we’ve had yet.”
The soldiers all showed big grins on their faces, obviously proud of their accomplishment.
Did the Sergeant just say four? Thought Chrysalis. She looked around the room as best she could. Where was Itza?
The Sergeant looked over to the dark stallion, who, along with the orange paint, had taken to the far corner of the room.
“I’m surprised your catch-and-release tactics worked so well. Its too bad they’re growing wise to it.”
This startled Chrysalis. Had they been listening in on us? And if they had, for how long?
The shade gave no reply.
“Uhhh anyway,” started the sergeant, “we’ve got four bugs in our net, now lets… what are you doing?”
The Sergeant looked back towards the dark armored pony, who had wandered over to a large pot of flowers that was sitting against the wall. A large pot that Chrysalis had failed to notice when she first arrived a few hours ago. The dark colored pony put his hoof to the pots ceramic exterior, and gave it a few gentle knocks. The noise the pot made was oddly dull sounding. The shade then hefted the pot up with one arm, walked it to the far wall where the changelings were being held, and placed it next to chrysalis.
“Ummm… What?” asked a nearby guard. The rest of them were just as perplexed as he was.
A low, somewhat muffled voice came from the armored stallions dark metal mask. He spoke in a language Chrysalis was only vaguely familiar with. He sounded western, possibly from Ponondaga or Hoofajo. From the looks he was getting, the other guards couldn’t understand the spooks words either.
The red robed paint spoke up, bearing a similar accent, “He says that it’s too early in the year for chrysanthemums, and that you are under arrest.”
This would have been an odd statement, had the potted plant not immediately morphed into the wide-eyed changeling known as Itza. She gave a soft whimper as an empty hooved guard pressed her against the cold brick wall with the others. If Chrysalis would hazard a guess, this was one of the ‘Spooks’ the others spoke of.
“It was a nice try Itza”, complimented her brother Orok. This statement was rewarded with an electric shock from a nearby royal guard holding a mean looking stun baton, something Chrysalis had never seen a royal guard use before. This caused the orange pony in the red robe to speak up.
“According to the agreement signed by princess Luna herself”, said the paint, “thunder rods are only to be used on violent suspects, and not used as a form of silencing.”
This gave Tek –Tal the idea that now was a good time to speak up.
“Pleas, you have to let me go, I have to-“
Tek-Tal also received a taste of thunder for this outburst.
The sergeant stared at the captives, a hint of a grin on his lips. “Anyone else want to share their feeling? No? Good.”
He turned to the foreigner.
“I will use whatever I deem necessary, and if that means I bend the rules a bit, then so be it. Now if you or Prairie-Dog here has a problem with that, he can take it up with the captain. But since he’s on his honeymoon, I wouldn’t expect a speedy reply.”
Truly this unicorn was a jerk of the highest caliber.
“Where were you anyway during he raid Mr. Prairie-Dog?” demanded the sergeant as he pressed his polished hoof against the chest-plate of the foreign agent, “When we stormed the building you disappeared, what were you afraid of getting into a tussle?”
The paint then conveyed the sergeants message to his armored friend in their language.
The spook stood completely still despite the soldiers prodding, and he showed no emotion or obvious reaction to the gross invasion of personal space. All he did was speak an undecipherable sentence, which his companion promptly translated.
“Prairie-Wolf says he snuck out back to block the escape door.”
The sergeant gave a perplexed look.
“What escape door?” asked the sergeant.
“I think he means this one sir.” Said one of the soldiers as he pointed to a rather obvious square cut in the floor.
The sergeant hid his embarrassment behind a sour face,
“Whatever. Men, pleas escorts our ‘guests’ and all evidence to the cage cart.”
The Orange paint spoke up again.
“Prairie-Wolf suggests that we search the belongings of the suspects before bringing it into the station. To check for any dangerous artifacts the bags might contain.”
“Fine”, said the unicorn, clearly annoyed but feeling obligated to follow his own protocol. He pointed to one of his guards, a lilac coated unicorn.
“Windswept, check the bags, but be quick about it.”
“On it sergeant Hammer Stone.” Said the soldier unicorn.
Windswept approached the table in the center of the room, picked up the nearest satchel; the one that belonged to Tek-Tal, and cautiously opened it.
“Pleas be careful, that’s-“
Another outburst from Tek-Tal, another jolt of electricity.
Wind-Swept placed a purple hoof into the ratty looking bag, and slowly pulled out a small pouch of bits, containing about 15 worth. He put that to the side, and then reached in again. Next he pulled out a small, thin blue shawl, the same one Tek-Tal had been wearing when he came in. For some reason this gave the lilac unicorn pause, like he wasn’t quite sure what he was holding. But he put that to the side as well, and reached in once again. Next to come out was a small net bag with three peaches inside it. He found nothing particularly out of place with the fruit, and then put his hoof inside the bag once more.
Chrysalis periodically glanced over at Tek-Tal as his satchel was being searched. Every time the soldier placed his hoof in the bag, a quick look of panic appeared on the changelings face. What could he possibly have in there that was worth worrying over?
Nothing apparently, as the last item to come out of the bag was the small book he had been flipping through earlier.
“What is it Windswept?” asked one of the soldiers.
“I think it’s a photo album.” Answered Windswept as he opened the cover.
As the unicorn flipped to the first page, a look of shock crossed his face. He quickly glanced up at Tek-Tal, then back at the book. As he turned the pages of the album, his face sunk lower and lower into worry.
“Well, what are the pictures of?” asked the same soldier.
Wind-Swept nervously looked back up at his team.
“Uh… there pictures of ponies, and… uh… a picture of a grey blob looking thing, and… uh…”
A black hoof grabbed the album from the stuttering stallion. The hoof belonged to the spook, who then brought the book up to the amethyst lenses of his mask and looked inside. After a few seconds of flipping through the pages, he closed it and placed it under his cape. He then spoke a few lines, which his companion translated.
“He says it’s just a picture of various ponies, probably former targets that the changeling was keeping tabs on.”
Apparently Tek-Tal loved the feeling of thunder running through his body, because once again he spoke out.
“That’s not what it is, it’s my-“ and then he took another zap in the back.
Wind-Swept continued his search of the bags, finding only some mushrooms, more bits, and a few bits of string.
“Good, now unless Prairie-Dog here has any more objections, lets be on our way.” Said the sergeant as he looked over at the to foreigners.
Again Prairie-Wolf spoke to his interpreter.
“No, sergeant Sunflower,” answered the paint, “you may proceed.”
The sergeant clearly looked flustered at this.
“How do you know my real na- never mind. Boys, cover them.”
Before chrysalis could enjoy Sunflowers reaction, a burlap bag was pulled over her head.
Cell Time
Its not fun being tossed into a sack and then carried for who knows how long in a poorly crafted prison cart. Again the queen thought of revealing herself and escaping, but her curiosity got the best of her, so she stayed hidden. She had to know what happened to changelings who were caught by the authorities.
When the bags were finally removed, the changelings found themselves being shoved into a metal cage with wires woven into the bars. After the cage was locked behind them, the sergeant approached the metal gate.
“Wow, five little flies caught in a web.” He chided in such a way to maximize the queens loathing towards him. “Enjoy your time here while it lasts, where your going you’ll probably never see the sun again.”
It took every ounce of the queen’s strength not to reach through the bars and remove every bone from the unicorns-
“Don’t we get a lawyer, or even a trial?” Itza Begged, her voice breaking down into a sobbing mess.
“That’s right!” Added Tek-Tal as he ran forward and grabbed the bars with his hooves. “According to Canterlot law everyone must be given a lawyer and fair trial before-.”
“Every Pony must be given a lawyer and trial.” The sergeant interrupted with such smugness that he risked chocking on it. “That law does not apply to the likes of you.”
Tek-Tal grew even more panicked. “Well can I at least get a message out? A letter, a telegram, a carrier pigeon?”
A few of the guards chuckled at the poor things pleading.
“And who are you planning on contacting, that witch of a queen? I’m sorry to tell you this, but she cant save you now.” Said the sergeant.
He hen stepped away from the bars, and walked over to a small motor next to the gate. The machine was attached to the wires in the bars of the prison gate.
“I don’t want to contact the queen, I need to contact-
The sergeant flipped a switch on the box. It then lit up and sent untold volts of electric energy down the wires, through the iron bars, and into Tek-Tal’s gripping hooves.
Tek-Tal shot across the prison cell and slammed into the brick wall. The other prisoners rushed to help their fallen friend, making sure he was still alive after the massive jolt of thunder he just received. Chrysalis looked back towards the golden clad unicorn, only to see him open the door to leave. Just as he closed the door behind him, the queen saw two amethyst eyes, peering at her from down a dark hallway.
Hours had passed, or at least it felt like hours. There were no clocks, and no windows, so telling time was impossible.
Luckily, Tek-Tal had regained consciousness, and was now huddled up against the corner of the cell against the cold brick wall.
Itza was pacing across the room, humming a nervous tune to herself, while her brother Orok lay on his side, not sleeping, just staring into space.
Cricket was currently occupying himself with a few pebbles and a bit of string he had found.
Chrysalis was growing restless in the gloomy cell, and decided to break the silence.
“Who were you planning on contacting anyway, Tek-Tal. Whoever they are I highly doubt they could get you out of prison.”
“I wasn’t planning on getting broken free”, Tek-Tal said, not bothering to look up.
“What was your plan then?” asked Itza while she was still pacing.
“You wouldn’t understand”, Tek-Tal mumbled once more.
“Were not going anywhere any time soon” said Orko, “so you might as well try us.”
Tek-Tall slowly sat up and faced the rest of them. “Well,” he started, all eyes were on him. “I recently got married.”
“And you wanted to get a message to them? That’s completely understandable.” Said Cricket, having abandoned his rock fiddling.
“Yes”, said the hidden queen, “That’s completely understandable. Congratulations.”
Changeling weddings were usually a very informal affair, lacking the frills and flashes of pony weddings. Weddings usually consisted of the engaged couple, a few close friends to witness to the occasion, and someone to conduct the ceremony, either a changeling monarch or one of their officials. Married couples would then usually work in tandem on hunting trips, as to keep an eye on one another in case of trouble. If they had children, they would alternate between hunting and child raising every week or so.
But there was something fishy about Tek-Tal’s statement. The waver in his voice, the fact that he refused to make eye contact.
“But there is something your not telling us”, said Chrysalis, “Isn’t there?”
Tek-Tal nervously looked up at the queen, and finally spoke.
“Well, the thing is, I…”
Just then the door to the prison room slowly creaked open. The changelings all immediately jumped to their feet and faced the opening door. Was it morning already? Was lord bucket head here to take them to the underground dungeon?
Oddly enough it was not the sergeant who walked through the door, but one of his grunts. The same grunt who had searched their bags back at the hide-out. The lilac unicorn cautiously stepped into the room and looked at the changelings behind the bars. He had the same anxious face he had on back at the hide-out as well. A few moments of tension went by as both parties just stood and stared at eachother, each waiting for the other to make the first move.
Finally, Windswept spoke.
“Which one of you owned the photo album?”
It took a few seconds, but Tek-Tal rose his hoof into the air. Windswept then looked at him, and him alone.
“Who was the mare in the first picture, the one with the blue mane?” He asked. His voice was starting to shake.
Again a few seconds passed before Tek-Tal spoke again.
“Sea Song, her name is Sea Song”
Windswept looked like he was about to fall apart after hearing this. His legs were wobbling uncontrollably, and his breathing quickened to a rapid pant.
“I am going to be in SO much trouble for this.” The unicorn said. He then procured a single silver key from underneath his armor and held it aloft.
“Pleas”, he said, “don’t tell anyone I’m doing this. I could go to prison for a long time.”
He then put the key into his teeth and went for the prison cell lock. The prisoners were left speechless. Why was he doing this? Why would he risk his career for a couple of changelings? What was he doing?
“What do you think your doing?”
The hopes of entire room sank.
Right behind Windswept, seemingly from nowhere, stood the dark armored pony from the raid. The one who got them caught in the first place.
The frightened unicorn quickly turned to face the spook.
“I was, uhhh…” he started, “ummm… inspecting the lock for rust. You k-know, to make s-sure the lock is functioning properly.”
“No you weren’t.” Spoke the spook. He walked over to the key the unicorn had dropped onto the ground. The left side of the spooks cape was flipped over as a long, membranous bat wing extended from underneath it. He then knelt down and grasped the fallen key with the thumb like claw on his left wing.
“What you were doing”, the spook began again, “was attempting to put this key into the lock of the gate. Why?”
The unicorn began to stutter again.
“Th-the changeling, Sea Song, th-they’re-
“Yes I’m quite aware of your sister marital status.” Said the bat pony, handing the key back to the unicorn guard.
“What I want to know is, why were you going to insert a silver key into a highly electrified gate without first turning off the generator powering said gate.”
A tint of embarrassment could be seen on the trembling unicorns face.
The spook turned to face the prison, his wing back under his cape.
“Alright, lets see if I can get this right”. The spook addressed them. “Itza, of hive Zoat”, he pointed to Itza, who timidly withdrew, “Orok, also of hive Zoat”, Orok was better at standing his ground, “Cricket, of hive Chrysalis”, Cricket looked away from the bat pony, “and Tek-Tal, also known as Dune Runner, of hive Chrysalis.”
Tek-Tal took a double take when his name was called.
“How did you-
“I do not know who you are, you must have just arrived today, what it your name ma’am?” Continued the spook as he pointed to Chrysalis.
“I’m Hawthorn of hive Chrysalis.” She said to the pony, not moving an inche like the others had. He wasn’t afraid of him, no matter how menacing he made his voice.
“How do you know our names?” Itza asked. She had backed up a bit, standing behind the others.
“My friends and I like to know everything about our targets long before we let the Canterlot guard know about them. I’m sure you could guess why.” Answered the Prairie-Wolf. He then looked over to the guilty looking unicorn at his side.
“I would ask how you made it into the ranks of Celestia’s royal forces, but your boss seems to answer that question. It is of no wonder that Canterlot fell in only a few minutes.”
Despite the fact that this bat-winged guard was the reason that they were all in this mess, she was actually starting to like him.
Windswept was obviously feeling rather uncomfortable being lectured to by the angry spook.
“Why did you even bring a translator if can understand what we say?” Inquired the unicorn.
“My fellow agents like to put on a ruse where we pretend to not speak your language. We find that ponies are more likely to slip their secrets to you if they think you can’t understand them.”
The spook approached the bars of the prison and looked at the ones inside.
“Now listen very carefully, as what I am about to say and do must never leave this basement. I am going to shut down the generator and open this gate.” The hearts of everyone in the room immediately leapt at this. “When I do this, you must follow everything I say, and I promise I can get you out of the city.”
This was too good to be true. The changeling hunter was just going to let them go? Why would he do this? There had to be a catch.
“What’s the catch?” Chrysalis asked. She wasn’t about to let her hopes get too high without knowing the whole story.
Prairie-Wolf looked at the queen, then at each of the others.
“The ‘catch’”, he said in a stern but even voice, “is that each of you must promise me that you will never from this day on, harm another creature. If arrested you will not fight back, if hungry you will not kidnap, and if your queen or king orders you to lay siege to another city, you will leave their dominion and find another. I am the one taking the risk here. I am the one who will be thrown into a cell if you break your word. And if I hear that any of you have hurt another being on this land or another, I will personally track you down and lock you in a cell myself. Don’t betray me, and I wont betray you”
Each of the prisoners promised to the arrangement, even Chrysalis. Although, she knew she was lying.
“I’ll turn off the generator then.” Said Windswept as he walked towards the electric box.
“Just turning off the electricity will cause suspicion”, Prairie-Wolf explained, “we have to make it look like a jail break.”
Prairie-Wolf withdrew his left hoof under his cloak, then pulled out a small metal drinking flask. He then popped the cap off with his teeth, lifted the canteen over the electrical generator, and tipped its contents out.
“Oh no, look at all the rain leaking in here”, he said in mock worry as water poured upon the generator. “I sure hope all this rain doesn’t damage anything important.”
A loud crackle was heard as the generator died from the moist sabotage.
Windswept turned towards the prison door.
“I’ll unlock the gate.”
Prairie-Wolf put his armored hoof out to block the unicorn.
“If you unlock it”, the dark one said, “then your friends will know something’s up. Remember, we have to make this look like a breakout. Besides, the gate still has a lingering charge.”
Prairie-Wolf reached out with his right armored hoof and lodged it under the gates bottom lip. The sound of groaning metal rung in the air as the pony bent the gate upwards. Feint crackles could be heard as residual electricity ran about his heavily insulted armor.
“How are you able to do that?” asked Itza.
“A society with few prisoners make poor jails,” he replied, “this metal gate is made from poorly processed iron rebar, I’m sure even Windswept here could bend this.”
Prairie-Wolf stopped pulling up the now twisted gate once the gap between the metals edge and the floor was just big enough to squeeze through.
“One at a time please, and try not to touch the metal.
One by one the changelings scooted under the gates warped edge, making sure not to make contact with the electrically infused iron. Once they were all through, and gathered around Prairie-Wolf, the dark pony spoke.
“Good, now you will all follow me out of the building, and into an ally. From there you will take off under cover of darkness to the forest east of here. Enter the forest and keep walking for about an hour, then split up and go your separate ways. Now Dune Runner”, he faced Tek-Tal, who again looked surprised at being called this, “I suggest you go straight home to your wife, she needs you right now.”
“How did you know my name?” Asked Tek-Tal.
“Because”, Prairie-Wolf said, “you were the one with the ultrasound image in you backpack.”
He then reached under his cape, and pulled out the small photo album that was confiscated from Tek-Tal’s bag. He then offered the book to the changeling, who took it in his waiting hooves.
Tek-Tal opened the album to make sure everything was in place. The rest of them couldn’t help but look over at the pictures. The first was of two ponies side-by-side, smiling at the camera. One was of a purple unicorn mare, and at her side was a green earth pony stallion, the same stallion that walked into the safe house mere hours ago.
“We thought it would be safer if I skipped town for a while. The guard was hitting Mareland pretty hard and we thought it best if I left until the heat died down. It was a stupid idea.” Tek-Tal explained as he flipped the pages.
More pictures were contained within the album, all of them having the same green earth pony in them. In each one he could be seen with other ponies, but the one who he was seen with the most was the purple mare.
“We didn’t think other cities were just as dangerous for me to be in. I shouldn’t have left.” He continued.
He then flipped to another photo. In the frame was what looked like a living room, with a sofa in the middle on which lay two figures. On the left side of the sofa lay the purple mare, smiling and looking over at the other figure. That figure was not a pony, but a broad jawed changeling with a moss colored frill, Tek-Tal. The pieces were starting to fall into place in Chrysalis’ mind. Tek-Tal wasn’t married to another changeling like she previously assumed, he was married to a pony. This mare knew he was a changeling, that he wasn’t really a green earth pony named Dune Runner. And yet, she still loved him, Chrysalis could see it in her eyes on the photograph. It then became obvious that the energy they were all receiving wasn’t from Tek-Tal being a good hunter, but because he was genuinely loved by a pony.
“I shouldn’t have left her by herself, especially when she needed me the most.”
Tek-Tal flipped to the final picture. It was of a fray, foal shaped blob, with a date printed on the top left of the frame, and the name “Pearl” written in black ink across the bottom.
Tek-Tal closed the book. He then looked up, and saw the other changelings had been looking over his shoulder into his album. He gave them all disapproving looks.
“She risked a lot contacting us, you’re very lucky to have her.” Said the spook.
“I know.” Tek-Tal said.
Prairie-Wolf looked at the rest of them, including the unicorn guard. He then gave his orders.
“All right, I need all of you to follow me as quietly as possible. I don’t think we will run into any trouble, but it is better to be cautious.”
They all scuttled carefully behind the spook as he led them through the guard station. It seemed Windswept was right when he said that the rest of his squad were out at the bar, as there wasn’t a single soul to be found inside the building.
Prairie-Wold led them out of the back door, and into a dark alley. He then turned back to address them.
“Now remember what I said, move east towards the forest then scatter. Tek-Tal, go directly home and lay low. If you can do that my colleague Hummingbird can protect you.”
“Hummingbird?” Questioned Tek-Tal.
“He’s another spook like me. Obviously not his real name, we all have code names to protect our identities. Do not worry, he’s a big guy so he is easy to spot.”
Tek-Tal nodded.
Prairie-Wolf faced Windswept.
“Windswept, go back to the bar and pretend you were with them the whole time, im sure they won’t notice.”
The unicorn saluted the spook. He then turned towards Tek-Tal.
“Please, look after my sister Te- Dune Runner.” He said.
Tek-Tal looked up at the unicorn guard.
“Your sister talks about you a lot, she says you’re a bit of a goof.” Tek-Tal sad. This caused Windswept to blush.
“But don’t worry, ill take care of her. And I’m glad we finally got to really meet, I just wish it was under better circumstances.”
Windswept reached his arm out, and grabbed the changeling in a great big hug.
“I think we should get moving”, Chrysalis said, “I don’t think this night will last much longer.
And so, the group dispersed. The changelings to the forest, the unicorn to the pub, and the spook seemingly into thin air.
The Woods
The group of changelings had been walking for over an hour now, finding themselves deep in the forest the spook had directed them to. Finally after an hour of trekking, Orok addressed them.
“I think now would be a good time to split up. Itza and I are probably going to Las Pegasus, the crowds should make it easy to hide there.”
“I’m off to Oxbow Valley, maybe I can pose as a farmer or something, what about you Hawthorn?” Asked Cricket.
“I’m going back to the hive, I think the queen needs to know what’s happening here.” She answered.
“But we promised”, said Itza, her large eyes staring pitifully at Chrysalis, “we promised we would keep what happened a secret.”
Chrysalis sighed. “Don’t worry, everything that happened between the jail-cell and now will not be mentioned, but the stun rods, the outsourcing of help, the rude officers, she needs to know so we can properly prepare for it should they find us.”
This seemed to appease the group, but Tek-Tal had one more request.
“Pleas, don’t tell the queen about me and my new family, I don’t want to be exiled like the others.”
Chrysalis was puzzled by this. From his earlier ranting she assumed the changeling wanted nothing to do with the hive, that he had abandoned it after the invasion. She needed to know more.
“Why? I figured you wouldn’t mind being banished from a hive you had turned your back on.”
Tek-Tal’s eyes narrowed in anger, “I may denounce the queen, but I still love my hive. It’s where I’m from, its part of my history, it’s part of who I am. I might have married a pony, but I still see the hive as my part of my family as well. If you tell the queen, she will take that part of my family away from me, and I can imagine few worse punishments. So please, I’m begging you, don’t tell her.”
The hidden queen was stunned by this changeling’s conviction. She had always assumed that those that defected were nothing more than traitors, that they genuinely hated the hive. But if what Tek-Tal said was true, that he still saw the hive as family, then maybe the same was true for them too, just like it was it was true for Old-One-Eye. Chrysalis decided her verdict.
“Very well, I shall not inform the queen of your ‘treachery’”.
“Thank you.” Said Tek-Tal, and with that, the escapees scattered.
The Lesson
“So”, said Old-One-Eye, “does anyone know why the trickster gave us the hunger for love?”
The queen was back at the hive, now no longer shaped like a stranger. She once again listened to the old mans story, this time though, not in a tree, but sitting amongst the children. She raised one long, black coated arm.
“It seems our queen would like to answer the question”, said the mentor, “tell us, o queen, what do you think?”
Chrysalis raised herself onto her hooves, and spoke her answer.
“The trickster gave us the hunger for love, the need for love, because he wanted to encourage us to live amongst the other creatures of this world, so that one day, maybe, we would no longer have to put on disguises, that we could live amongst the worlds creatures as equals.”
The old storyteller smiled at this.
“That’s the best answer I’ve heard in years, thank you my Queen”.
The queen, too, smiled. She had never been happier to be right.