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by tom117z

Chapter 37: 37 - Departure

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Crystal Empire



Soronis sat quietly in the cellar as she mentally prepared herself for what she had to do. Accessing and taking some of the stored love within the Crystal Heart was damn near impossible, but she had to try. For the sake of her beloved little sister, she had to try.

But she was scared, terrified even, and rightfully so. She had no idea what the ponies would do to her if she was discovered, but there was little doubt it would be something severe.

As much as she tried to hide it, Puellula could still tell something was bothering her sister, so she and slowly approached Soronis, gently nuzzling the teenage changeling.

“Soronis? What’s wrong?” Puellula asked.

Soronis smiled lovingly at her sister. “Nothing, everything is going to be fine.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?” The puppy dog eyes came out.

“No!” Soronis exclaimed quickly, picking up her sister into a warm embrace. “You did nothing wrong. I’m just going out for a bit, OK?”

Puellula sniffled. “Do you have to, I don’t like being alone.”

“I know,” Soronis nuzzled Puellula gently on the head. “I will only be gone a few hours. But whatever happens. And I mean whatever happens. You stay down here, understand? Do not risk yourself, just stay safe and I promise I will be back soon.”

“O-Ok…” Her voice was slightly muffled, but Soronis felt her nod her head.

Soronis gently placed Puellula down onto the grimy floor, “Be a good girl for me?”

Puellula nodded again.

Soronis gave her sister one final nuzzle, before ascending the stairs up to the cellar door. Stopping in front of the hatch, she took a deep breath and then surrounded herself in green flames. The image of a random and completely ordinary crystal pony replaced the visage of a changeling, and then placed a hoof on the hatch and pushed it open. She clambered out into the alleyway behind the tavern, making sure to close up the cellar behind her.

Slowly, with nervous steps, she then began her journey towards the palace under which the Crystal Heart would be located.


The Badlands



The blistering heat pressed down onto the Badlands, searing its surface and keeping up with the area’s hostile reputation.

Carduus grunted as he and a few other drones finished lifting the final boxes of supplies and equipment into one of two magically enchanted carriages sitting in the dried up landscape. Once they were lifted inside he gave a nod to two of the hive’s strongest flyers, who immediately gave a salute and took their places in front of the carriage, morphing themselves into a Pegasus disguise as they did so.

The two carriages were set up just outside one of the hive’s entrances. The drones that would be accompanying the royals to the council stood vigilant in full armor, weapons dangling by their sides. Spike, who would be going with them, was standing between the two vehicles, his usual checklist in his claws as he oversaw the final preparations. The young dragon offered a smile to Princess Twilight and her friends as they exited the hive and made their way over to the group.

“All set over here,” Carduus reported to a nearby Queen Chrysalis.

“Secured and ready to go, your highness,” a drone near the second carriage also reported.

“Very good,” Chrysalis responded. “Ready for departure within five minutes, and shift into disguise. We don’t want to give the griffons a scare.”

With a salute, Carduus shifted into a black Pegasus with a silvery mane. A shield with his own favoured weapon striking over it was chosen to represent a cutie mark.

“Griffons?” asked Fluttershy questioningly, who was standing with Twilight along with the rest of the girls.

“We haven’t really had much contact with them,” Twilight explained. “So it is far less likely to catch much attention if we are seen as a group of nomad pegasi rather than a marauding changeling queen with a small army of drones.”

“Oh, I suppose that makes sense,” Fluttershy said.

“Well, do have a safe trip darling,” Rarity said to her changeling friend. “It is an awful long journey, and flying for most of it will place quite the strain on those wings of yours.”

“Don’t worry Rarity,” Twilight smiled. “I’ve been practicing.”

“Been taking notes from the best?” Rainbow asked, doing a quick loop just to punctuate who exactly ‘the best’ was.

“Carduus has been giving me a few pointers,” Twilight shot back with a smirk.

Rainbow just hung dumbly in the air for a few moments, before crossing her fore hooves in a huff.

Twilight shook her head slightly. “If it makes you feel any better, the next time I visit Ponyville I will allow my famous Wonderbolt friend teach me a few tricks.”

Rainbow cheered up immediately. “Aw yeah! I’ve been waiting two years for you to ask me!”

Twilight chuckled. “I know.”

“Yeah well, how long is the trip anyway? It’s not like you guys can just rainboom over there.”

“About two days, give or take,” Twilight responded. “We should arrive just in time for the council.”

“Well, just give me a heads up if you need any back up, a word to Spitfire I could have the Wonderbolts show up and kick some flank on a moment’s notice,” Rainbow offered, slightly dubious of the whole council affair.

“Thank you for the offer Rainbow Dash, but I don’t think that will be necessary. No changeling would dream of starting anything at the council, it would violate traditions the changelings as a whole hold very dear.”

“Ah don’t know sugarcube,” Applejack voiced her agreement with Rainbow. “With what you told us about this great aunt of yours, Crudelis was it? Something about this whole darn thing rubs me up the wrong apple tree. Ah know ah once said that that anypony of relation to y’all was practically family, but ah think she may be an exception.”

“That makes two of us,” Twilight muttered. “Please don’t worry Applejack. Even if she has the largest hive, I don’t think aggravating every other queen is high on her to do list.”

“Enough of the doom and gloom,” Pinkie butted, or, more accurately - bounced in. “Thanks for having us over Twilight, it was fun and we should do it again!”

“Sorry it was cut so short,” Twilight apologised. “But yes, we should. And I think the others are certainly going to miss your parties.”

“Don’t you worry!” The pink party pony winked. “I have something awesome planned for the next one!”

“I dread to think,” Chrysalis deadpanned as she approached the group.

“Aw don’t be like that, Chryssi!” Pinkie suddenly appeared next to and leaned up against the Changeling Queen casually. “My next party involves you, and you will definitely enjoy yourself! Cross my heart hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye!”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “One, stop leaning on me please. Two, we shall see. Three, never call me Chryssi ever, ever again.”

“No can do, Chryssi!” Pinkie proclaimed happily.

Chrysalis could only groan.

Twilight chuckled behind a hoof. “Come on mother, would it really be so bad to join in? Believe it or not but I truly believe you are capable of enjoying yourself every now and then.”

“Is that so?” Chrysalis deadpanned.

Twilight only smiled ever so innocently.

“Oh fine!” Chrysalis gave in. “Pinkamina Pie, I promise to join in on your next visit to the hive, happy?”

Pinkie shook her head. “You have to Pinkie promise.”

“Seriously?”

“Do it…”

Twilight gave her mother a quick nudge, while the others all tried to hide grins behind their hooves.

Chrysalis mumbled something.

“Come on,” Pinkie continued to pressure the queen. “Even Fluttershy can do better than that.”

“Thanks… I think?” the yellow Pegasus in question said.

Chrysalis sighed, and then reluctantly began the motions. “Cross my heart hope to fly stick a cupcake in my- ow!” Chrysalis gently rubbed her eye after accidentally poking it.

The girls could no longer contain their laughter and burst into a fit of giggles, much to the changeling queen’s expense.

“See? That wasn’t so hard!” Pinkie gave Chrysalis a side hug.

“Right…” Chrysalis pried Pinkie off of her with her magic, and deposited her next to Rarity. “Well enough of this demeaning situation. Twilight, we must be going, unless you want to be tardy to your first queen’s council?”

That spurred Twilight into action. “Um, of course not! Leaving, now, alright then!”

Twilight turned to her friends. “I’ll be seeing you girls soon, alright?”

“You have safe travels now sugarcube, ya hear?” Applejack approached and hugged her friend.

“Will do Applejack, same goes to you on your trip back to Equestria.”

“We’ll be fine darling,” Rarity assured. “Oh and do try to enjoy yourself. I know you do so enjoy delving into different aspects of various cultures.”

The group all hugged and shared a few friendly nuzzles, saying their farewells as the group parted ways. As they split, the group of five ponies were escorted back into the hive to await transport back to Equestria while Twilight took her place by her mother’s side, and together they began to approach the waiting changelings.

“You’ve never been so far from Equestria before, have you Twilight?” Chrysalis asked her daughter.

“No,” Twilight confirmed. “The furthest I’ve been is a brief visit to a Griffon coastal city with Celestia once when I was a filly. She was there to set up some kind of trade with them.”

“Well then, we shall be traveling through the Griffon mainland and right up to the Zebra border. It should be quite the experience, yes?”

Twilight happily nodded in return.

“Your highness!” The disguised Carduus approached. “Is it time?”

“We are ready, Captain.”

“Very well, then we shall depart at once!” Carduus turned to address the gathered disguised changelings, “Changelings! I want this journey to be clean, swift and without incident. Stay in a tight formation around the carriages and be on constant alert for any sign of hostilities, understood?”

“Yes, Captain!” A chorus of voices confirmed at once.

“Very good. Now spreads your wings and move out!” The flock of ‘pegasi’ immediately spread their wings wide and took to the air, moving to cover the two carriages as the changeling pulling them got a run up and pulled the enchanted vehicles into the air with the others.

Green flames surrounded Chryaslis and her tall form was replaced with a black Pegasus mare with a teal mane and green cocoon cutie mark.

“Come then my daughter, let us be off,” Chrysalis said as she took to the air after her drones.

Twilight nodded, and green flames surrounded her next. The visage of the pony Twilight Sparkle, the one the princess had worn for much of her life, returned to the world. The only difference was that instead of a unicorn horn, she had the wings of a Pegasus on either side of her barrel.

Briefly receiving a wave of nostalgia as she looked down on a lavender hoof, she spread her own wings and quickly got back into position next to her mother.

Rainbow Dash stood at the entrance to the hive, watching as the disguised changelings became mere shades far in the distance. She was alone in the entrance with the others, both pony and changeling, having already entered the underground structure.

At least until Pinkie Pie bounced up next to the cyan Pegasus.

“Sup Dashie?”

“Hey Pinks, why aren’t you inside?”

“You were up here by yourself, so I came back up here too!” The pink pony answered, still pronking up and down.

“Ah,” Rainbow simply said as she smiled. “Welp, I’m coming in now anyway. Come on.”

Rainbow turned back to the hive, with Pinkie Pie following shortly after.

Once they entered the hive proper, the doorway closed behind them and the perception filter took effect once more. The two walked (or bounced if you’re Pinkie Pie) down the large corridor, until they reached an intersection.

“Hold on Dashie, I’m just going to go down that hallway a moment, go on without me.”

“Um… why?” Rainbow asked.

“It is a super-duper secret!” Pinkie exclaimed happily as she bounced her way down the adjacent corridor.

Rainbow watched her bounce away into the darkness, and simply rolled her eyes and continued on. A short way away Rainbow Dash almost bumped straight into a mare bouncing up the other way.

“Woah!” Rainbow screeched to a halt in order to avoid the collision, the other mare just stopped dead, momentum be damned.

“Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow looked at the pink mare in front of her.

“There you are Dashie! I thought you got lose or something!” Pinkie Pie smiled widely.

“But how did you get here first?” Rainbow asked in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean-“ Rainbow paused with a sigh mid-sentence, “Never mind, just you being you.”

Rainbow Dash simply walked past Pinkie Pie and continued walking down the hallway knowing the pink mare would most likely follow on.

Pinkie Pie sat motionless for a moment, looking on at her friend in genuine confusion.

A short distance away another Pinkie Pie grinned as green flames flickered around her body, extremely pleased that her spur of the moment plan to use the pink pony’s strange abilities to her advantage had been such an extreme success.

And now she just had to wait for the royals to return.

Author's Notes:

We are now a little over halfway through all currently planned chapters. Pretty strange when you consider I originally intended for it to be between 12 and 15 chapters long.

Oh, and here is a little teaser for what is to come (WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS):
http://imgur.com/fCVnPcb

Next Chapter: 38 - Intruder Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 26 Minutes
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