Chapter One
Chapter One
Pained cries echoed through the cave walls. Queen Chrysalis cast a sad look over the one hundred starving and injured changelings that survived the invasion of Canterlot. They were all collected in a group in the center of the large cave, their dead piled up along the edges of the walls, hundreds of bodies of changelings whose lives were taken by their injuries or the hunger that consumed them all.
Starvation wasn't new amongst Chrysalis' hive. For years, they had starved with no real source of food that lasted for a long period of time. They had moved from place to place, scrounging up what scraps of love was in the area. Finally, the loss of life that the absence of love was created drove Chrysalis to look for an alternative. And it only led to sealing their doom.
At this point, Chrysalis was the only Changeling that was actually alive. The rest that still lived were husks, only their link with the Hive giving them a small stream of love was keeping them alive. The moment she severed that link, she would be alone to die once the time is right.
The changeling queen stood with a sigh, heading towards the entrance of the cave. The cool night aired sent a shiver down her spine as she walked out into the open. She was met by a sea of green stretching out for miles. To her right, shining dimly against the fields around it, was Ponyville. It was the nearest town for miles, and was the last place she wanted to be next to Canterlot.
Sitting down, Chrysalis closed her eyes as she laid her options before her. No matter what she decided to do, her changelings will die. Her best option would be to rebuild by finding a suitable mate in Ponyville. Once she found one, and has cemented a good relationship, then she can reveal herself and hope she can keep her mate long enough to create a race once again. She would also need to fix the mess she made with the Ponies, but that would take time.
Chrysalis opened her eyes, looking back at the dark cave behind her. The stench of death poured from the entrance, it was almost a surprise no predators have been attracted by the smell of dead meat. Not that she was complaining. She barely had enough energy to travel, let alone fight off the monsters of the Everfree.
Deciding that it was time to take action, Chrysalis reached into her mind, grabbing onto the tendril of thought that was the connection between the hive. She hesitated before disconnecting it. Almost instantly, the cave went quiet. The sound unsettled her.
Not wanting to be around the cave when scavengers raided it, Chrysalis used some of the precious energy she had to guide herself down to the forest floor on her paper thin wings. Upon reaching the ground, she she cast on last look behind her at the race she had ruined.
"I promise," said the Queen with a shaky voice. "I will fix this."
The moon was just past it's zenith when Chrysalis arrived at Ponyville. The only light in the town that she could see was that of the street lamps and, to her surprise, the windows of a big oak tree sitting on the edge of town. Since she had entered from the opposite side of town, she couldn't make out the sign, but it would be her best hope for shelter.
Before traveling further into town, Chrysalis used even more of her remaining energy to summon up a disguise. Her chitin melted away into a red coat, her green mane into pink, and three pink hearts appeared on either side of her flank.
As she got closer, the sign reading "Golden Oaks Library" became more visible. Chrysalis chuckled at the irony. The library's windows were warmly lit, only the topmost window wasn't. Inside, she could see the sillouhette of a pony, a unicorn by the looks of it. Chrysalis let out a sigh of relief.
"So I won't have to wait till morning to find some pony." The former queen walked up the purple door of the library. "There is some hope." She knocked three times, keeping the tone soft so as not to waken any other possible members of the library.
The sillouhette moved from the window, assumingly to answer the door. The sound of hooves striking wood stooped outside the door as the knob was engulfed in an eerily familiar violet aura. As the door was pulled open, Chrysalis' hope sank along with her stomach.
"Um, hello? How may I help you?" asked the pony from the window, or more correctly, Twilight Sparkle. The pony who had doomed her race to death.
Just like when she was disquised as Princess Cadence, Twilight seemed less of a menace than she truly was. The mare was able to figure her out in less than a day. Her current mission was going to need more than a day to complete, and she had no doubt that Twilight had been finding ways to detect changelings faster. She had to at least try to get Twilight to trust her enough to look over her when she begins her tests.
"Uh.." Chrysalis shook her head. "I am sorry to disturb you at this time of night, but I have been traveling for a few days and, uh, may have gotten lost. Is it okay if I stay the night?" asked Chrysalis, hoping she would take the bait. Twilight raised an eyebrow before putting on a smile.
"You are welcome to stay the night. Do you want some tea?" Chrysalis was about to refused before a gust of freezing wind rushed past her, causing her to shudder.
"Yes, thank you." The Queen walked into the library, closing the door behind her. On the inside, the library looked as she expected from a tree. The library looked like the side of a tree, just like the outside, with shelves filled with books carved from the walls. The stairs were also carved from the walls, it seemed. She was about to go examine the shelves when Twilight entered the room, bringing a cup of hot tea with her.
Cursing the fact that she chose to be a Pegasus instead of a unicorn, Chrysalis grabbed the cup with a grateful nod. The changeling queen looked at the amber liquid, trying to figure out if there was anything laced in it. She let out a sigh before taking a sip, the hot liquid almost burnt her throat, but filled her belly with warmth. It sent a warm, tingly feeling over her body, causing her to let out a pleasured moan.
Opening her eyes, she found Twilight glaring at her, her horn was bathed in her aura as she pointed it at her. She dropped the cup, scrambling backwards in shock.
"What are you doing?" asked Chrysalis. Her eyes widened, however, when she noticed that her voice was normal and not that of her disguise. "W-what...?"
"Ever since the invasion, I tried to find ways to detect changelings. One of them works, it seems." She growled, stepping forward. "Explain why you have returned, Chrysalis."
Chrysalis blinked. Why was she there? The town probably had a hotel or inn of some sort, it was a tourist attraction. So why did she come here like a moth to flame?
Hunger.
The queen grimaced as her stomach turned at the thought of it's need. She gulped as she noticed the unicorn getting impatient, the aura around her horn getting more violent. She weighed her options, trying to find ways around this situation, out of it, any way to ensure not only her's, but the hive's survival.
"I need help." She said with a croak. The room went quiet, only the sound of their heartbeats and the soft hum of Twilight's magic filled the room. The unicorn stared at her for a moment with an unreadable expression before squinting her eyes.
"With what?" She said skeptically. Chrysalis let the air held captive in her lungs out with a sigh. She shook her head before looking up at her.
"I...I am the only one left of my kind, Twilight Sparkle. I cannot let my attempt to feed my hive off Canterlot be the death of the Changeling Race." She shook her head, tears starting to build. "I need to start over from the beginning, I need to repopulate, find a source of love we that will feed us so we won't starve to the point where drastic measures are needed, again. I need...to rebuild my relations with Ponies."
Throughout her speech, Twilight's magic had slowly died out until the unicorn was sitting and watching her curiously. "But...why did you come to me?" asked the unicorn. Chrysalis let out a bark of laughter.
"Running into you was an accident that I thought would be the death of me. I thought you were some ponie up past curfue. Instead, I found the most feared pony to the changeling race." The Queen sighed.
The unicorn blinked. "Feared? Why am I feared?"
Chrysalis snorted. "Because within a matter of hours I was found by you, then you were able to escape and take down hundreds of changelings before being captured. That is why we fear you, Twilight Sparkle." Chrysalis looked away. "Cadence may have dealt the final blow, but that wouldn't have happened if you didn't give it a push."
The lavender mare sat there stunned, Chrysalis could see her head racing by the look in her eyes. The queen sighed. "Just hurry up and do what you desire. Kill me, turn me in, which ever you wish. It is obvious my race was destined to die."
"I have a better idea." said the librarian standing up. Chrysalis eyed her cautiously before standing up as well. "I have been wanting a Changeling to observe and question to better help us understand Changelings." Twilight took a deep breath. "And my research would be useless if only one Changeling existed."
"So you are going to let me stay hidden in Ponyville?" asked Chrysalis, not fully believing what the mare was promising.
"Well, you will be forced to stay in the library and will only be let out with my permission." And there was the catch. Chrysalis sighed. She had no troubles with staying in a library, the queen always believed that knowledge was power and now she had a whole building of that power in front of her. However, her progress will be slowed with the addition of not wandering out on her own.
"Fine." said Chrysalis after a while. "It will slow me a tad, but it will do. But I have one question. How do you expect me to feed?" The queen cocked her head. "I am questing that there is a rule against me taking the form of another pony, which is how we had to get food for the last five decades. How do you expect me to gain the essential need of my race if I cannot collect it as I normally would?"
The unicorn thought for a moment. "Can't you feed off the excess love that is given off indirectly? Or do you have to collect from the source that is directing it towards you?"
"In large amounts, we can easily feed off excess love, which is why we attacked Canterlot in the first place. Even without Cadence there, it was overflowing with excess love, albeit tainted with the corruption and greed of your politics." Chrysalis snorted. "It's like a treat that looks too good to be true, but you can taste the sour with every bite."
"But yes, that is why we feed directly. In small amounts, excess can barely feed on changeling. However, nothing is stronger than love that is directed at you, which is why we adapted to change our form so we can better gain love." The changeling sighed. "It was before my time that changelings were forced to go into hiding. Your princesses weren't manifested yet."
"You mean you are older than Princess Celestia and Luna!" said Twilight, blinking in surprise. Chrysalis shrugged.
"Only by a hundred years or so. I remember when they were manifested into pony form it was quite a shock. Mother tried to gain negotiations with them, but the ponies had claimed them as their own and wound a tight barrier around them. So we had no choice but to live like the parasites the ponies believed us to be."
"I see..." Twilight bit her lip, obviously troubled by the information she just learned. The unicorn sighed before standing. "I only have one idea to feed you until you can get your own love without stealing it. It will be risky, and neither of us will like it, but you need food."
Chrysalis opened her mouth to question her, but her eyes widened as they were ensnared by the lips of the purple pony. Twilight's eyes were scrunched up as she kissed Chrysalis, a faint, almost forced amount of love trickled from her. Greedily, Chrysalis snatched onto it, letting it feed her.
As she pressed herself deeper into the kiss, she could feel all of the energy she had lost come back. Her aches slowly healed themselves and she felt like she was once again whole. Before she could gain anymore love, Twilight pushed her back with a gasp, her face beet red from the exchange.
"T-th-there, f-fed." Twilight shook her head as she decomposed herself, the faint blush remaining on her cheeks. "You can sleep upstairs in the quest room, just make sure you are disguised, Spike wakes up before I do." With that, the mare turned and walked up the stairs, slightly quivering.
Chrysalis, full from the love given to her, sat on her haunches with a blank expression. After a moment, she blinked. "What the fuck was that?!"