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by tom117z

Chapter 40: 40 - Stories

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The war room within the first hive was seldom used. Any matters between queens were debated and sorted within the council chamber and thus the room had grown disused ever since the old hive was turned into the centre of changeling society rather than a conventional hive itself.

Not anymore however, as the room was now being utilised by Queen Crudelis and several of her top changeling drones. Maps of the surrounding area, Equestria and the Badlands were laid out on the table before them.

“Do you have everything?” Crudelis asked the drone holding the checklist.

“Everything is in order.” The drone levitated the list towards his Queen. “That captain from the Badlands actually thought that it was part of some scheme instead of what it was, a list of statistics to help better organise this council. Their paranoia knows no bounds.”

“And rightfully so,” another chuckled, tapping a hoof on the map of the Badlands. “Reports tell me that our agent is inside. Soon enough everything will be ready; at least it will be once she acquires the device.”

“When will these plans be placed into action my Queen?” the first drone asked.

“We can’t rush this,” Crudelis stated. “I have ordered our agent to lay low until Chrysalis and Twilight Sparkle are returning to the hive; that is when she shall acquire the device from their own storage. The moment those two return to the hive is when we strike.”

“But what of Equestria?” the changeling asked.

“What of them?” Crudelis asked bluntly.

The changeling shuffled nervously. “With Princess Twilight’s personal connection to both the Crystal Princess and the Sun Princess, I doubt her death will go unnoticed, or without consequence.”

“Let me worry about those alicorn princesses and their little ponies. I have my own plans for them, but baby steps, Lieutenant. Chrysalis and her brat must die first.”

“Yes, my Queen.”

“Good. Now, the council takes place tomorrow morning and I want it to run smoothly. Keep hostility with other hives, even the Badlands, to a minimum. I will not have these hostilities spoiling our most sacred tradition. Is that clear?”

“Yes, your highness!” All the present drones saluted with the affirmative.

“Good, you know what happens to those who disappoint me, just as Vespula did. Dismissed.”

All of the drones saluted one last time, gathered up their things and began to file out of the door. Crudelis herself gave a small hum of satisfaction as all her plans slowly but surely same together, before too exiting the room.


Twilight and her mother, Queen Chrysalis, walked through the hallways of the ancient changeling hive. Drones of various hives passed by them, as did the odd queen here and there. They were on their way to the council chamber of which Twilight Sparkle, as a long time scholar, was eager to lay eyes on for the first time.

“Who did this hive belong to originally?” the young princess asked her mother.

“Hmm?” Chrysalis was broken out of her own thoughts by her daughter’s voice, having just missed her line of questioning.

“I asked, who did this hive belong to originally?” Twilight repeated.

“Ah, now that is the question…” Chrysalis half muttered.

“Huh? Does that mean you don’t know?”

“Well, there are stories…” Chrysalis began to explain. “But none truly know what happened in this hive. The details have long been lost to time.”

“What are the stories?” Twilight’s curiosity only grew.

“There are several. Some say the hive was never actually a hive, but was purposely built for the council, or some other alternate purpose.”

Twilight seemed wholly unconvinced by that theory. “That seems… unlikely. This place seems like it once held a permanent population of changelings from what, admittedly little, I have seen of this place.”

“That is just one theory, though I do admit is one of the less likely options. The most likely is that it was just a hive to some changeling queen way back when. Perhaps that queen died, or moved on and left the place empty, only for it to be re-purposed later. Or perhaps it was home to the queen who founded the council in the first place, who knows?”

“That does seem far more plausible than the first theory. I can easily see that one being true,” Twilight nodded, being far more convinced with that theory than the first one.

“It is the most likely,” Chrysalis agreed. “But there is one other story…”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You trailing off there sounded rather ominous.”

Queen Chrysalis chuckled. “Yes well, this is a rather fantastical story. One usually told to scare young nymphs just before bedtime.”

“Now it sounds really ominous,” Twilight remarked. “Used to scare foals you say?”

They stopped in the middle of the corridor just nearby to the hive’s old war room, not far from the council chamber itself.

“Do you wish to hear it?”

Twilight gave an affirmative nod. “To do a good job researching you need to hear all sides of the story to some to a set of satisfactory conclusions.”

Chrysalis smirked. “Spoken just like a princess’ protégé.”

“Oh just tell me the story,” Twilight said as she rolled her eyes.

Chrysalis giggled mischievously. “Are you sure? I did say it was used to scare young foals…”

“Mother!” Twilight fumed.

Chrysalis’ giggles turned into laughter. “Oh you are too cute when you are flustered, daughter of mine.”

Twilight gave her mother a deadpan look. “Finished?”

Chrysalis let her chuckles trail off. “Yes, I think I am quite done. Now… the story?”

“Yes, if you please.”

Chrysalis took a moment to recollect the old story, but it quickly returned to her.

“It is said long ago, all of our kind was ruled over by a single changeling, a single unifying, and oppressing voice among a single hive mind.”

“A single hive mind ruled by a single individual?” Twilight gasped. “How is that possible? If a drone tried to actively link with an entire hive as we do it would drive them insane. Only queens are able to handle that many voices at once over the Head‐based Internal Vocalisation Egregore, whereas most drones merely are able to sense most in the hive and are only actively able to speak over it to us, those in their class and family! And even we have our limits.”

Her daughter’s information dump over, Chrysalis deadpanned: “Yes Twilight, I am fully aware.”

“I know but, if a queen tried to connect every changeling in existence at once it would tear them apart!”

“This changeling was anything but ordinary,” Chrysalis continued on despite the ramblings of her daughter. “Her power was extraordinary, as was her ruthlessness. She ruled over all changelings with an iron hoof, effectively robbing all, even the queens of their free will. Our kind was completely bound to her will, we couldn’t say no. We couldn’t rebel. In short, we couldn’t truly live.”

Chrysalis gave her daughter a moment to process this information. “It is said this hive was her home. And that from here she ruled her empire with evil intent, destroying all that got in her way. This was an age when the sun and moon moved by their own accord, when nature was unregulated and the existence of alicorns were a simple myth. The zebras and griffons were closest, and were subjugated in their earliest history, history now lost to time. Ponykind however, would escape her brutality as her empire never reached the shores of what would become Equestria, never mind the original land where the three tribes lived in their founding days.”

“So long ago, this planet was so chaotic back then, and I don’t think even Discord was alive then to make it so!”

“Indeed. But that is the nature of evolution, and progression.”

“I guess so,” Twilight agreed. “So? What happened to her?”

“The same thing that happened to King Sombra, and other similar tyrants,” Chrysalis stated like it was obvious. “Apparently one day a Changeling Queen got free of her control, and brought everything crumbling to the ground. She defeated the tyrant and likely killed her, creating the society we changelings have this very day.”

“Wow… that does seem pretty fantastical,” Twilight said. “The second theory seems more likely to be true.”

“Perhaps.” Chrysalis casually stated. “But so did Nightmare Moon once. As did the Crystal Empire, and the Elements of Harmony themselves. If you recall, even we were once relegated to mere myths and legends until the wedding a couple of years ago.”

“Touché,” Twilight conceded. “All that power for a single queen to hold…”

“Actually, according to the story the changeling in question wasn’t quite a queen but something… more. And far worse.”

“I see,” Twilight hummed in contemplation. “Still, best to take it with a grain of salt. But if I can, I certainly will be putting research time into this!”

“I had a feeling you would, checklists are going to be involved I assume?”

“Of course!”

“Of course.” Chrysalis repeated in a deadpan voice. “Anyway, enough stories. I believe we were heading towards the council chamber?”

“Ah, right. We should probably get on with that...” Twilight chuckled.

Chrysalis herself chuckled in return. “Come on, let’s go.”

Just as the two royal changeling turned to continue on down the corridor, the two froze in place as the door to the war room opened and several changelings in blue and red armor came piling on out. The drones eyed the queen and princess spitefully as they sauntered on past, but did no more than that.

But that was not the worst part.

The worst part came when Queen Crudelis followed them out.

“Oh buck my life,” Chrysalis broadcasted over the entire hive.

When Crudelis spotted the two other royal changelings her blood red eyes locked on to their green and lavenders ones, an unnerving grin spreading across her face.

“Ah! There is my favourite niece!” Crudelis exclaimed in fake cheer.

“I am your only niece, Crudelis. What do you want?” Chrysalis snarled.

Crudelis rolled her eyes. “Oh please, do you have to act that way towards family? I have been dying to see you again, and to meet a certain other.”

Twilight flinched as Crudelis’ eyes locked solely onto the young princess. “Twilight Sparkle. You have no idea how pleased I am to finally meet the latest addition to our family. How are you my dear? Well I hope?”

“Fine, thank you.” Twilight responded through gritted teeth, half tempted to bear her fangs, knowing it would likely do little to intimidate the much older Changeling Queen.

“Good, I heard about that nasty business with that dastardly assassin a while back, I hope the scar doesn’t bother you too much?”

Twilight instinctively placed a hoof on the permanent mark on her chitin, while Chrysalis flashed her fangs angrily, eliciting little more than an amused smirk from Queen Crudelis.

“If you would excuse us, ‘aunt’ Crudelis. We have business to attend to.”

“Come now Chrysalis,” Crudelis smiled. “You can set all that aside for a while.”

Crudelis turned back to Twilight, “Besides, I have heard so much about you Twilight. Defeating as many evils as you have, you certainly are quite the hero back in Equestria. If you were a pony you may have even ascended to an alicorn.”

“That was the original plan, apparently…” Twilight admitted.

“I thought as much, Element of Magic.”

Twilight glared at Crudelis. “Well I have heard much about you too, Crudelis.”

“Oh?” Crudelis was all ears.

“Yes. Rather impressive how you convinced a dragon to murder a fellow queen!” Twilight accused

Crudelis snorted. “I see you are rather privy to rumours and speculation my dear, but yes my sister’s death was terribly tragic. Honestly though, it wouldn’t be that hard for any queen to convince a dragon commit such an act, a life debt is a very serious thing to their kind. Such a queen might even have a dragon like that in her service to this very day. Actually, don’t you have a dragon yourself?”

“You aren’t denying it,” Twilight pointed out spitefully.

“Aren’t I?” Crudelis smirked.

“Enough of this,” Chrysalis stood in between Crudelis and her daughter. “Don’t you have a council to run?”

Crudelis sighed. “Yes I suppose I do. But don’t worry, we’ll be seeing each other very soon.”

Crudelis brushed past Chrysalis and began to walk down the corridor in the opposite direction of where Chrysalis and Twilight were heading, much to their relief.

“She is meant to be related to us?” Twilight asked.

“Come on, the council chamber is just down the hall.”


Twilight examined the council chamber with great interest. The room was circular in shape with around thirty seats spanning the edges of the hall. The roof was made up of some kind of semi-transparent material Twilight couldn’t identify. It allowed sunlight to enter but it wasn’t transparent enough to clearly see out. In the centre of the roof the crystal keeping up the perception filter hummed away as it did its work, as it had done for thousands of years preceding that day. The floors were tiled with intricate patterns and shapes. Similar decorations adorned the walls and pillars of the structure which had all been masterfully crafted with gold and various other materials, and then well-kept over the hive’s long history.

It wasn’t a stretch of the imagination to visually replace all the council seating with one giant throne at the end of the room, as it would have looked back when it was still utilised as the hive’s throne room. And when Twilight looked at the design of the room her thoughts were brought back to the story her mother had told her. She could certainly imagine some king or changeling empress running an empire from the room she now stood in.

Her scholar side was squealing like a little filly Twilight.

Fifteen guards lined the room, one from every hive attending the council. Each held the usual stoic expression on their faces. Spike was also present, speaking to a few other drones about the event the next day.

“Hey Twilight!” Spike called when he spotted the Princess.

“Hey Spike,” Twilight replied back to the young dragon. “How are things coming along?”

“Nicely. Things are just about ready for tomorrow.”

“Good to know. But… wow! Have you seen this place?”

“Yup. It is pretty impressive. Actually, I am surprised you haven’t started excavating it already.”

Twilight groaned. “I am not that bad!”

“Uh-huh.”

Author's Notes:

Guess which of the three stories behind the hive is true... :trollestia:

Also, I am sure you spotted the new work-in-progress cover art? You should go check out and support its creator:
http://jesuka.deviantart.com/

Next Chapter: 41 - Chase Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 56 Minutes
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