Stories to (not) Tell Little Hatchlings
“Please!”
“No…”
“Pretty please?”
“I’m sorry but-”
“Come on mommy, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!”
Chrysalis hung her head and sighed. “I’m sorry children, but I just don’t have the time. Your queen is very busy with-”
“But you always have time! You’re a queen, queens have time!” The group of hatchlings were starting to crowd around her.
Chrysalis looked back up and gazed at the rest of the hatchlings, each one of them were looking up at her with pleading eyes, ear stems that were flopped down, and some that looked like they were on the verge of tears.
“Listen little one’s,” She began. “I can’t do things like this anymore.”
A hatchling raised it’s hoof in the air and asked, “But why Chrysie? Why can’t you tell us stories?”
Another hatchling raised it’s hoof. “D-did we do something bad?” More murmurs were heard
“No, my little changelings, you haven’t done anything wrong.” She turned away from them again. “It’s just that...I need to do things that are very important for, not only for you, but the rest of the hive.”
“But what’s more important than bedtime stories?” A hatchling ran up and hugged her leg. “Why can’t you tell us one?”
Chrysalis raised her hoof so the hatchling could be at eye level with her. “Because your queen must plan for the future of our kind.” She set him back down and looked at the rest of them. “You don’t understand little ones, right now, our kind isn’t doing so well on food.”
“But we have enough love for all of us...right?” Most of the hatchlings looked at one another, not sure if that comment he made was believable, they looked back at their queen. “Right mom?”
Chrysalis looked down again. “I wish I could say yes, but no, we are very low on food, little ones.”
“How?” Another hatchling asked. “We always get fed every day. How can we-”
“Because you are the first to be fed,” Chrysalis explained. “then the caretakers, then the workers, then the guards, then finally, me.”
A hatchling stood on top of her siblings and asked, “But everyling get’s to eat...right mommy?”
“Not everyone, hatchling. I haven’t had any for a long time now,” She heard gasps, but she ignored them and continued. “Your queen is going through a lot of things right now, and the last thing she needs is little ones begging for a story.” She shook the hatchling that was latched onto her off and started making her way to the hall of the cave. “I must go now.”
Another hatchling held onto her back leg. “Can’t we just have one? A short one?”
“Yeah! Just a short one!” Other changelings started raising their voices and asking for whatever story they wanted, and with each suggestion, the queen lost more and more of her patience.
“Just one little story.”
“One about pirates.”
“And Space bugs.”
“And banditos.”
“And magic Mr. Kite.”
“And-”
“ENOUGH!”
All the hatchlings in the room backed away at the queen’s sudden outburst. The one who had clung onto her dashed into the group and cowered like the rest of them.
“Your queen hasn’t eaten in months, and right now you want her to tell all of you a story instead of helping the rest of her hive!?” She made most of the hatchlings in the room crawl into their cocoon beds that were sprawled on the floor.
“B-but you are helping,” One hatchling spoke up. “you’re helping us sleep at night.”
“Some changelings can’t sleep due to stomach pains, little ones.” Chrysalis didn’t realise it, but her voice was sounding darker than usual as she continued yelling. “You can sleep by yourselves. You don’t need me.” She turned back around again, only for a small group of hatchlings to stop her at the exit.
“We do need you chrysie.” The begged.
Chrysalis was starting to lose it, “What? What do you need me for?”
“We need you for-”
“Besides stories!”
The hatchlings started cowering at her. They didn’t really like it when the queen raised her voice like this. “W-we just wanted to-”
“To what? Waste my time!” Chrysalis still didn’t realize how loud she was getting.
The hatchlings eyes were starting to water. “No...we...we just...wanted…” The group started moving away from the doorway, knowing now that their mother was mad at them.
Chrysalis backed up and realized what she was saying. “I’m...I’m sorry children…” She frowned and hung her head, not wanting to look at the dozen or so hatchlings that were starting to cry. “Just...Just let your queen think…” And with that, she walked out the door, leaving the hatchlings to look at each other and wonder why their mother was acting like this.
“Do you think she hates us?” One hatchling asked with water filled eyes.
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“I don’t know Mark, why don’t you ask her yourself?”
“Well, we haven't been fed in a long time now, Steve, so I’m pretty sure the queen is holding out on us.”
“No she isn’t!” A changeling slammed his hoof on the table, making the others around it jump and look at her. “She is the last to be fed, how would she-”
“She tells that to everyling, Lily. I’m pretty sure Mark over here is right. For all we know, she could be lying to us.”
Lily stood up and placed both her hooves on the table. “She wouldn’t dare!”
The other changelings in the mess hall started turning their heads toward their table. Lily realized this and sat back down. “She wouldn’t lie to us, we’re her children.”
“So, she’s a queen, and queens are far more important than subjects.”
Lily growled. “Everyling is equal...and she is trying her hardest to help us.”
“How?” One changelings stood up from the table. “How is she trying to help us, last time I remember, the town kicked us out the second we changed out of our disguises, and all she did was go to the next one”
“Rick's right.” Mark said. “every plan she came up with has led to the same thing, us getting kicked out of town.”
Another changeling got up and started down at Lily. “Yeah, what makes her think that the fifthteenth time will be the charm?”
“I’d like to see you try to come up with a plan Tim!” Lily filled the gap between her’s and his face. “Last time I remember, you dropped your disguise the second we walked into town.”
Tim growled at her, others around the table were starting to see where this was going. “Who do you think’s gonna throw the first punch?” One changeling whispered to Steve.
“Probably Tim, since he always-”
The changeling was immediately interrupted by Tim crashing into him. Gasps were heard seconds later as Lily jumped and tackled her brother into the ground. Changelings around the room were starting to crowd around the two of them, some telling them to stop while others were cheering.
After a while, more changelings were fighting, and before anyling knew it, half of the cave were fighting one another.
“You hit like my sister!”
“I am your sister, you idiot!”
“Exactly!”
“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!”
Everyling in the room stopped and looked at the entrance. Now realizing that fighting wasn’t such a good thing to do.
“Q-queen Chrysalis!” A couple changelings started letting go of their siblings. Most of them either scratched the back of their neck or fiddled with their hooves. “Um...W-we were just-”
“Fighting…” Chrysalis said blankly. “And here I thought you all knew just why the ponies hate us.”
“W-what do you mean?” A changeling spoke out. “The ponies-”
“Don’t you see, it’s things like this that show just how stereotypical we are.”
“What?”
Chrysalis walked in, and every changeling cleared the way while she talked. “They think that just because we look like monsters makes them think that we are. How will we prove them that their wrong when we do things like...this!” Chrysalis pointed at the many hoof made tables that were now flipped over or smashed. “I expected better from all of you, why did you do this!?” Chrysalis stomped her hoof.
Mike got off the floor and pointed at Lily. “She started it, saying that...well...we don’t get a lot of food.”
“I didn’t start anything!” Lily yelled. “You were the one who said she doesn’t help the hive!”
“I didn’t say that”
“Yes you did!” One of the changelings in the crowd yelled.
“I’d like to see you try and help!” Another shouted.
“Why don’t you try-”
“ENOUGH!”
The changelings settled down and looked back at their queen. “Why...Why must you act like this, sure, times are hard for us, but we need to stay strong, not attack one another like animals!”
All the bugs in the room were hanging their heads in shame, realizing this was a hatchling-ish thing to do. “Sorry queen…” Many of them said, most rubbing their arms in either pain or regret. “Is there something we can do to fix this?”
Chrysalis sighed. “You can start by fixing this place, and after that...after that…” She started trailing off, unable to think of a proper punishment to give them. “What would be an appropriate punishment for these bugs acting like hatchlings...wait...hatchlings…” Chrysalis smiled and looked at the small group of changelings in the middle. “I want the six of you to follow me.”
Rick, Shift, Steve, Mike, Lift, and Lily turned their heads to the queen
“B-but queen,” Lily said. “I didn’t-”
“Thats an order Lily.” With that, Chrysalis walked out of the room. Leaving every changeling to themselves to clean up the mess they made.
Lily sighed and glared at Mike, who just rolled his eyes and followed the queen along with the rest of the group. “This is gonna be a long night.” Lily thought
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Stories?”
Chrysalis nodded as she walked down the hallway with a couple of changelings on both sides of her. “That’s right, all of you, and the others, will be telling bed time stories to the little ones.”
Mike tilted his head. “Isn’t that your job?”
Chrysalis looked down at her subject and laughed. “Well, it was, until some changelings decided it would be okay for a fight to break out in the mess hall.”
All the changelings looked down at the ground. “Look queen,” Mike started. “we were just-”
“I don’t care Mike.” Chrysalis said. “You six, and everyone else in the hive, will be telling the hatchlings stories while I plan for...well...things.” The queen looked down when she said that.
Lily raised an eye. “What kind of...things.”
Chrysalis stopped walking, as did the other two. “Things you shouldn’t worry about, now then.” Chrysalis pulled the drape that hung over the entrance of the hatchlings room and poked her head in. “Oh, children~”
Most of the hatchlings in the room raised their heads out of their cocoons, though some were reluctant to do so. One hatchling had the courage to walk up to her. “A-Are you still mad at us?” He asked.
Chrysalis smiled. “Of course not little one.” She wrapped an arm around the hatchling and pulled him in for a hug. “I could never be mad at you, or any of my children.” She looked at the other hatchlings, who were starting to climb out of their beds.
“Does that mean you can tell us a story now?” One hatchling said while wagging its tail. others smiled and did the same with their tails.
Chrysalis let go of the hatchling in her hooves and pointed at Lily and Mike. “Not me little ones, them.”
The hatchlings stopped smiling and tilted their heads. “Them? Why are they-”
“I hope the six of you have a story prepared.” Chrysalis smiled again and started making her way out of the room.
“Um...What? Chrysalis, I thought you-”
Mike was interrupted by the queen’s laughter. “Of course you have one in mind, because if you don't.” She walked up behind them and wispered. “I’ll be sure to tell the little ones the story of six changelings who went missing after not following the queen's orders...Okay?” She pulled away from them and smiled.
The older changelings dropped their jaws. “A-Are you being serious?” Lily said mercifully.
Chrysalis ignored her and waved at her other children. “Good night little ones.”
“Good night mommy!” The hatchlings yelled as their queen made her way out of the room, leaving the six changelings to the children.
They turned around and faced the hatchlings, causing an awkward silence to fill the room. “Um...well...go on Mike.” Lily nudged her brother forward. “Go and tell them a story.”
Mike looked down at the dozens of hatchlings in the room, each one of them looking at him with big smiles and tails that couldn’t stop wagging. Mike scratched his chin. “Well, uh...yeah, a story...a story of...uh…hmm…”
Then it happened, a simple thought, and idea that immediately came to his head, one that he knew he could get away with, one that would make him never do this again. He smiled at his other brother and sisters, who looked back at him in worry. “Um...you okay Mikey?”
Mike walked up to them and started whispering, the hatchlings craned their necks to try and hear, but they couldn’t make out a single word.
Lily backed up from the group. “Are you crazy, what kind of changeling-”
A changeling to the right of Mike nudged Lily. “Oh come on Lily, its just one little story.”
“I gotta admit, Shift’s got a point, and the story idea ain’t to bad neither.”
“Why thank you Lift, and Lily, the queen’s not gonna know about this, and it’s gonna be fun!”
Lily crossed her arms. “How will this be fun, Rick?”
“It will be, now come on, we got a story to tell, don’t we Mikey?”
“Right.” Mike smiled and turned to Lily, as did the others.
Lily sighed. “Alright, fine, I’ll be over here and look down at the rest of you.”
After a while, there were sounds of agreement heard between all of the older changelings. They then all turned around and faced the children, making the hatchlings start to get worried as well.
“How about we tell the you story of...the hatchling eater.”