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Carapace of Lavender

by Dark0592

Chapter 3: 2: The Princess and the Queen

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After Chrysalis suggested writing some of her experiences down after finishing that first lesson, Twilight took to it like it was her calling… or something like that. Either way it went well and she was enjoying it. The first lesson, though?... Well there was a reason she stopped where she did. She couldn’t even tap into her magical reserves like she knew she should be able to. She just didn’t know how. She brought this to Chrysalis’ attention the next morning, when the queen woke her from the bed they shared.

“Well, I will teach you your Changeling magic and hopefully that will jog your memory of how to use your own magic.” She answered. Twilight was satisfied with this answer, but only for a moment.

“But wait, does that mean this magic that I remember isn’t related to the Changelings?” Twilight asked. Chrysalis adopted a thinking expression as she beckoned for the girl to follow. Twilight followed and waited anxiously for her queen’s answer.

“Well, I guess put simply that is correct. It is not inherently Changeling, but we are not strangers to it. This magic that you remember is generally the ‘normal’ magic. A creature is considered a mage when they learn to channel and manipulate that magic. Since Changelings have their own magic, which is normally but not limited to just shapeshifting, mages are fairly uncommon among us.” Chrysalis explained. They had entered and left the massive hive chamber and now stood in the doorway of what seemed to Twilight as a massive mess hall-esq room.

“You must be very hungry, you haven’t eaten since your birth. I’m not talking about your natural hunger, I mean the hunger in your stomach.” Chrysalis said. Twilight thought for a moment and realized that she was indeed very hungry. The queen smiled and had Twilight follow her through the room. The tables were made of rather exquisite wood or carefully carved stone. Her carapace covered feet and toes clicked softly as she walked on the stone floor. For some reason she decided to focus on that clacking noise.

She was surprised a little bit, coming to a realization. She had been hearing herself make very similar clicking noise before, but at the time she had assumed it was others walking and rushing around. While most of it was them, it was an internal clicking noise, as if it were used for communication. Once again, Chrysalis seemingly read her mind.

“It’s not direct communication, but those clicking noises we all unconsciously make show a bit about what’s going on with you. Even for a Changeling some of these can be hard to make sense of, but they broadcast little things just as body language does. Quite a few of your brothers and sisters, namely those bred for battle and charged with the defense of the hive, can actually communicate fluently with these clicks and sounds. If you’d like I could have some of them teach you in time.” She explained as they walked up to a large counter with many rather well looking changelings were scampering around.

“Living in these mountains surrounded by a dangerous forest, food sources tend to differ between what we can grow and what we can kill. Many of the fierce predators are reduced to our prey, and the flora is particularly exotic.” Chrysalis continued, changing the subject, what what seemed like four small organic pods were handed to Chrysalis by one of the busy workers. Chrysalis handed two to Twilight and lead Twilight out. Neither of them spoke for a while, but before they left the room Twilight noticed that the many changelings in the room were splitting the pods open and sipping them, or picking various solids out of them and eating.

They reached the top of a hollow tower with their wings and settled at the top. They could see the surrounding areas in all directions for miles. To the north was a vast lake bordered by the mountain range, the rest was covered by a vast and sinister looking forest. Past the forest, though, were a few things of note. Directly south was a series of tiny lights on the land, seen barely as the sun had not yet peaked over the mountain in the early morning. To one side was a much larger and brighter spatter of lights and on the other was an in-between. Chrysalis pointed to each of them, naming them as cities.

“The city of Trottingham, Edinspur and the village of Ponyville.” She said, pointing at the largest first and ending with the smallest. Twilight felt something strange when she said Ponyville, but she decided to tuck that away. As she looked at the distant places she heard the sound of organic material splitting.

“As I was saying earlier, most of our food consists of game and what we grow. The fruits and some vegetables are juiced and blended to satisfy our thirst, and the flesh of the animals we hunt is cooked and sometimes dried. Different nourishment chambers like the one we were in will give you different food and drink and you will receive what you earn.” Chrysalis started.

Twilight looked and saw Crysalis crack open the second pod she held by biting the top and ripping it off. She chewed and swallowed it. What was this organic stuff anyways?

“Everyone does something to earn their food and their place in the brood. Roles change and shift as individuals come and go, but everyone does what they can. With their connection to my hive mind, I know what they have done and through that so do the individuals in charge of preparing and distributing nourishment. You have earned this meal by working hard to learn, even though you were just born. And this material is a material all changelings can produce. It has an immense variety of uses and can be ingested by other to recycle it.” Chrysalis explained. Twilight was starting to not be surprised by her ability to know what she was thinking by now.

Twilight nodded and bit open one of the pods. The liquid inside had a very good aroma, though it didn’t look all that appetizing. She tentatively sipped at it regardless and was surprised by the glorious fruity taste and light fizz to it. She coughed slightly as a very strong flavor overwhelmed her senses a second later and Chrysalis giggled softly.

“It seems this particular beverage is alcoholic.” She said with delight and took a much larger sip than Twilight did. Twilight should have known there was something like that about it, the scent had tickled her nose slightly. She opened the second pod and found some dried meat in strips and chunks. Something in the back of her mind told her that it was deer, and hte name for that style of dried meat was jerky.

“So, Chrysalis, are we just going to repeat yesterday until I get it?” Twilight asked as she plucked a chunk of jerky from the pod and put it in her mouth. It had a very distinct flavor that was very appealing to her.

“Today we will, but overloading your mind with one thing alone wouldn’t be the best course of action. Every day you will be taught or trained in something different. Today will be more on shapeshifting, tomorrow you will learn with the mages, the next day the defenders and so on. You will have natural and acquired affinities to certain roles and responsibilities and as time passes we will narrow it down to what you’re good at.” Chrysalis answered. Twilight smiled and nodded as she chewed the meat. She stared at the pod in her hand and suddenly a thought came to her mind, one that made her a bit wary of the organic material of the pods she had thoughtlessly consumed.

“How is the material recycled, exactly?” She asked. A particular image, namely that of how bees created their hives, entering her mind.

“The material is consumed and converted into a substance that resides within our bodies. That material can either be spit out to create solid surfaces and the likes or it can be further converted into the energy that our changeling magic uses. Don’t worry, these pods are made with that magic. You’re not eating somebody’s spit.” Chrysalis answered, ending with a giggle. That relieved her, but surprisingly not very much. Honestly it wouldn’t have bothered her very much, it’s a natural part of her race… right?

They consumed their meal in a sort of companionable silence, Twilight soon finding she quite enjoyed the alcoholic beverage. She somehow knew that it would take much more than that for her to show signs of intoxication. When they were both finished they came to a silent decision that they should start the shapeshifting training again and they returned to Chrysalis’ chambers.

When Chrysalis told her to continue what she was doing yesterday she didn’t do anything. Well, she wasn’t physically trying to force her form into that of Chrysalis’ at least. She was thinking hard, trying to focus on all of her internal and conscious and unconscious abilities and whatnot. If you can do something, shouldn’t you be able to figure it out on your own?

“Now you’ve got it, you don’t force yourself into the form of another. Think of it like your battle plates, how you imagined them moving into place. That wasn’t quite changeling magic, but it’s the same basic concept of willpower. Focus on your own image. You must know yourself in and out, every little ridge every single plate and everything that makes you you. There are certain things about you that you will come to relearn in time, but for now focus on everything that makes up your being at this very moment.” Chrysalis explained.

“What does that mean? Are there things I should be remembering that I don’t?” Twilight asked, confused. Chrysalis cringed slightly at her mistake, she probably could have worded that better.

“Well, Not really… I promise you that I’m not hiding anything from you, Twilight Sparkle, it was merely a poor choice in words. Try to shapeshift now, if you would.” Chrysalis replied. Twilight was a bit skeptical but she quickly dropped it for now and concentrated. This hasn’t been the first time the queen has implied that something was amiss like that.

But still, Twilight concentrated. She paid attention to every single little tiny detail. Be they her solid purple eyes, her oddly elegant carapace covered lips, her sharp teeth and fangs and the mysterious scratches and scar-like carvings scattered about her midsection and arms. She became acutely aware of her battle plating and the fact that what she had extended previously was not complete.

There was a sort of lower part of the mask, making the previous face covering sort of like a visor, and a part that covered her navel completely. There were also spines that extended from her forearms and shins that seemed nearly lethal if enough force was used and also claws that would cover her fingers and toes. SHe refrained from calling them out, but the more and more she studied herself the more she realized that she probably knew less about herself than any of her brothers and sisters of the brood.

It took until around midday, but Twilight finally managed to shift her form. It wasn’t even close, but her figure had matched Chrysalis’ and her lavender hair had gained a teal tint to it. Chrysalis was pleased by her progress, and they went to eat lunch. They returned to the chamber with pods of normal fruit juice in one pair of pods and something called ‘Lasher Stew’, which was apparently made from the meat of one of the very dangerous creatures in the scarred forest. When Twilight heard the name of it she felt an odd satisfaction. Before they could even open the pods, though, Chrysalis gave a troubled glance towards a direction and seemed to lose consciousness.

Worried about her Queen, Twilight quickly looked her over and found nothing out of the ordinary. It was just as if her mind was elsewhere, though now that she thought of it the queen could be ‘possessing’ another of the brood somewhere else in the hive. It took nearly fifteen minutes for her to regain consciousness, but she looked greatly troubled.

“Twilight Sparkle, it appears we will have a very important guest joining us for dinner. I will warn you now, this encounter will be very strange and possibly harmful to your mind, so steele yourself.” Chrysalis said quickly.

“Who is it? Would I know them?” Twilight asked.

“It is Celestia, the Princess of our neighbors, the humans. And no, you wouldn’t know her.” Chrysalis replied. Twilight was a bit unsatisfied with that answer.

“Should I know her?” She asked softly. Chrysalis gave her a strange look. It was as if she wanting to say something but at the same time didn’t want to in the slightest.

“Yes…” The Queen replied. Before Twilight could ask what that means there was a rather sudden flurry of movement. Pristine white wings and regal attire mixed with the lack of visible muscle or carapace and the feature of perfect skin told Twilight that this guest was definitely not a Changeling. It must be the human Princess, Celestia, then. Something deep within Twilight told her that she really absolutely should know this woman and that feeling was a strong one.

“That was coupled by the fact that the regal woman had nearly tackled her in a hug.

“Celestia, you really shouldn’t…” Chrysalis started but stopped. Celestia was in tears.

“I-I’m sorry, Chrysalis… I know… I am sorry, Twilight Sparkle… You should probably pretend that didn’t happen for now…” Celestia said, quickly stepping back from the girl and wiping her eyes. Twilight was very confused by this. Why did this woman she doesn’t know do something like that? Even with that gut feeling that told her she should know said woman.

“Ok, there’s something I’m not being told… Chrysalis, I thought you said you weren’t hiding anything…” Twilight said, not sure of what to think. Chrysalis sighed and Celestia had such a mixture of emotion adorning her expression it was impossible to read.

“I hid nothing from you, Twilight Sparkle. You are a changeling, you were born yesterday from a royal pod. That is the proof of that fact. I haven’t been lying to you about anything either, merely not telling the full truths at the same time. I told you that you will relearn things in time, did I not?” Chrysalis replied. Now that really confused Twilight. She didn’t know what to do. SHe was sitting on the bed, but without realizing she had pulled her legs up to her chest and the full extent of her battle plating had extended. It was probably in response to her feeling incredible vulnerable, having no idea what was going on.

“Chrysalis, we have much to discuss… “ Celestia said, almost darkly. Chrysalis sighed and nodded.

“Twilight, I’m sorry but what we must discuss is not for your ears. I know you’re confused and you have no idea what is going on, but when we finish I will come find you and explain what I can. Be sure to finish your meal, you need to keep your strength up.” Chrysalis said, walking over and gently holding the girl’s shoulders. Twilight looked up and the mask part of her plating retracted slightly. Chrysalis saw her face, then. There was so much going through Twilight’s mind, so many thoughts and emotions. She was running her brain ragged with all of it, and her face shows that.

She simply nodded and stood up, though. She retrieved her meal pods and bit the top off of one of them as she walked to the exit. She didn’t see, but Celetia cringed when she saw it and how she used her gossamer wings expertly.

Of all the jumbled and alien thoughts and feeling and emotions and everything going through Twilight’s mind, one thing stood out. What the hell is going on? Who was she? What was she? She really hoped Chrysalis could answer those questions clearly when Celestia left. She could still feel a tiny bit of warmth from the embrace, and for some reason they comforted her. The lingering feelings of Chrysalis’ touch calmed her a bit as she tried to piece together her mind again. Maybe she was going mad, but for some reason she felt a bit of excitement at trying to piece together this disaster of a riddle.

Author's Notes:

So I still haven't the slightest clue where the hell this is going, I'm just pulling all of this out of my ass to be honest, but I'm certainly enjoying the concept more than I originally thought.
What do you guys think? This was written in two different writing sessions so the flow might be choppy around halfway but hopefully it isn't too bad.

Next Chapter: 3: Hunting the Hunters Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 60 Minutes
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