A Meeting Under the Moonlight
Author's Note
I don't know why, but I have been overcome with the changeling bug! I can't stop thinking about them! Someone...anyone...PLS HALP ME! Yet, before you do, please enjoy this story. Leave some comments ,concerns, positives, negatives, or even TACOS!!
ANYWAY, PLS SEND HALP!
Chapter One
Two pairs of different guards stood around a rounded table with only two chairs. They looked at each other trying to figure out what the other tick, yet the stoic emotion plastered on each of their faces proved it to be difficult. Yet, it wasn’t all a bad experience. Each pair of guards saw resemblance in the other. Whether it be stance or in the eyes, the guards noticed something in the other that was part of them.
Then, on either sides of the table, a door opened and in walked whoever each guard was guarding. The two figures stared at each long before they sat down.
“Hello, Princess…” greeted one figure. Her black shell shined in the moonlight.
“Greetings, Chrysalis…” greeted the other. Her moon slowly moving in the sky.
“I believe we have much catching up to do.”
“Indeed…”
“Especially since you abandoned me centuries ago…”
Clouds rolled in the sky. They itched slowly across the sky. Time seemed to be moving as if it was hindered…but the once buried memories of the past surfaced with ease.
The halfmoon was high in the sky on this night. Its light shined softly on the earth below, yet, as always, nopony was awake to enjoy the atmosphere created by the dark blue, princess alicorn. It had been this way for centuries, and it will be this way for centuries to come. Alas, it didn’t matter. The alicorn had grown used to the loneliness of her nights. Besides, it gave her time to decorate the sky each night with different constellations. Only those dedicated enough to stay conscious past a certain hour saw her art. Though, it wasn’t many, and they would play it off as their imagination.
Trapped within her thoughts, the princess wasn’t aware of her guard entering her chambers. It was a nightly duty that was bestowed on the guard, and to make sure she didn’t wake the princess, she walked lightly, flapping her bat-like wings softly to gain a lighter step. It wasn’t until he noticed her princess awake did she bow and speak.
“My dear Princess Luna, whatever are you doing awake at this hour. We know you guard the night, but you still need your rest.” she stated.
Startled, the princess jumped, yet quickly regained her composure. She smiled knowing her guard cared and that someone was awake besides her. Repositioning the stars in their default manor, the princess turned around.
“Thou have taken liberty while speaking to the princess.” She smiled to her favorite guard. She treated her as somewhat normally, and was usually awake when at the late hour. A night time companion, yet she never got her name.
“And you still fail to realize that your way of speaking has long since departed. Now please get some sleep, Princess.” She replied, relaxing from her stance.
Luna only nodded as she walked to her balcony. No matter how many times she saw the night sky, it always looked different to her each time. Once she was settled, she motioned for her guard to come. The guard obliged, tightened her armor so it wouldn’t rattle, and flew towards the princess. Soon, they sat in each other’s silence observing the sky.
“You put a star in the wrong place.” The guard commented.
“How did you know?” Luna, amazed, asked as she repositioned the star in its correct position, “Not many know my sky…”
“Not many are up with nothing to do but study the sky. By the way, you make beautiful star art. A pity no else sees it.”
“Yes a pity-” The princess agreed, yet when she went to continue speaking, she noticed her guard staring at her weird.
“Hold still, Luna. There’s an insect crawling near you. I’ll get it.”
“It is ‘Princess Luna” to you ,and you shall not harm this creature,” Luna commanded. She gently enveloped the creature in her magic and observed it. It was a small black beetle with a green midsection. Its antenna was one long jagged piece of shell that resembled a horn. It seemed to have gone through hard times since its legs seemed damaged. “Do insects ever rest?”
“Well, Princess Luna, most seem to rest at night, but this little bugger seems to enjoy the dark.”
“Enjoy the dark…” Luna pondered to herself,” Leave Us! We have much to think about!”
“Yes, Princess Luna.” The guard turned to leave.
“Wait…what is your name, dear guard?”
“Isra…my name is Isra.”
For the next couple of nights, no one saw Princess Luna. The moon would rise and set as usual, but no glimpse of the princess known. This was usual since the princess was a secluded, secretive pony, but what worried Guard Isra, who couldn’t enter the chamber on the last few nights, was when the sky art stopped. The stars would remain in their position, leaving the guard nothing to see. Nothing to excite her on the long, lonely, night shifts. On the fourth day of no art, Isra decided to discover why.
She walked to the door of Luna’s chambers, and then knocked. Each one resonated throughout the empty halls of the castle. When no response came, Isra decided to go a less convention route. She spread her wings and flew. The breeze ran through her violet hair, yet she couldn’t enjoy the moment. She flew around until she reached the balcony of the room. She could barely see through the curtains into the room, but she could make out two figures- one the princess and the other unidentified. Grasping her blade, Isra exploded into the room.
“Halt! Step away from the Princess or immediate, lethal action will take place.” She yelled. She saw the figure, slightly smaller than herself; hide under the bed while Princess Luna sighed.
“See what thou have done! I just got her to say her name. Now she’s scared to death…” Luna complained. She went to the bed and persuaded the figure to come out.
“Who is she?” asked Isra. Her sword still drawn.
“She is my new friend of the night!” Luna explained, “Her name is Chrysalis!”
“You what?!”
“It’s a very simple process. My guards can’t be imbeciles, you know.” Luna commented, “I simply mixed my DNA with the DNA of the insect we found yesterday, created an artificial womb with egg like accommodations, sped up the maturing process, and out came my new friend!”
“That’s possible!”
“Anything’s possible when you’re an alicorn. Isn’t that right, Chrysi!”
The pony-insect hybrid looked around Luna’s hind leg and nodded. She then returned to hiding from Isra.
“What does it eat?”
“Well, with a little magical engineering, I managed to make her diet mostly of love.”
“How?”
“Her body converts the feeling of love into self sustaining nutrients. Basically, emotional/ nutritional alchemy.”
“Is she…allowed to exist?”
“Not exactly. New life isn’t supposed to be created without both Celestia’s and my consent. That’s why you shall not tell anyone, okay Isra?”
“Yes, Princess. I promise on my duty as your guard, I won’t tell.”
For the next couple of months, the friendship between Luna and Chrysalis grew. The hybrid would rest in the day, and then become active in the night. Perfect for Luna. Luna even began teaching her new friend. Every night soon became a school session. From basic math to politics, Chrysalis’s mind grew. She also grew physically. The love Luna felt for this creature allowed it more than enough love to grow. Soon, it became bigger than Luna and almost the size of Celestia. Its magical abilities, which Luna’s DNA must have passed on, grew too. Though, for some odd reason, the mixed genetic material allowed the creature to magically morph; and genetically and physically become any pony. A magical ability not yet mastered by ponies. One that made Isra nervous every time she came to visit.
Yet, even with Chrysalis’s company, Luna felt alone. It was nice to have a friend who enjoyed her night, yet she constantly had to bask in her sister’s glory as the citizens of their empire enjoyed, lived, and thrived in her sister’s sunlight, yet slept in her moonlight. Her nights deserved to be seen…not ignored. So, she began to resent her sister. Chrysalis could feel the change in emotions but, try as she may to get Luna to stop and see the error in her judgments, she failed.
“Chrysalis, I need you to get away from here…far away.” Luna stated as she moved her rook forward on the chess board.
“What do you mean?” Chrysalis asked. She moved her knight left in the standard “L” shape.
“Tonight, I have something planned. Something dangerous. You don’t need to be around.” Luna moved her pawn in a dangerous to try and save the king, but left and open path for Chrysalis’s pawn.
“But…But…” Chrysalis began, but was interrupted. She moved her pawn forward.
“No buts.” Luna moved the rook to take the knight, but saw the game would soon be over. She was never a gracious loser so she stood up from her seat, went to the door, and opened it. “Leave this place; it’s not safe here. Look, we have a connection, so if anything goes wrong, you’ll know. For now…this is farewell…I love you…daughter.”
With that, Luna shut the door and left. Chrysalis couldn’t help, but stare at the door. The shock was too much to handle. Yet, before she left, she did her final move in the chess game. She moved her pawn to the other side of the board. She then found a specific chess piece to replace it.-The Queen. “I love you too, mother.”
A Meeting Under the Moonlight
The tea kettle whistle. Using her magic, the queen changeling poured two cups of tea. She then handed one to Luna who took it, smelled it, and took a sip. IT was the same brew they both would drink in the dead of night a thousand years ago.
"How have you been the passed few centuries?" asked Chrysalis.
"Well I was trapped on the moon for a thousand years, but I'm back..." Luna responded.
"Sounds terrible..." mused the Queen.
"So tell me, what have you been doing?"
"Oh...you know...living..."
Centuries had passed and with it, the bond Chrysalis had with Luna. It didn't break like she expected, but the night Luna left, it became so faint, so unnoticeable that she soon forgot about it. If Luna could just leave and abandon her, then Chrysalis could do the same. Within her lonesome, she became hungry and literally starved for companionship. The small bond still fed her, but it was becoming futile. She managed to live off the land for many years, but what kind of life was that? Starving? Cold? She didn’t want that any longer. So, taking the form of a female guard long since deceased-with less bat-like features- Chrysalis, soon found a male who provided her with love that matched Luna’s. She began to reciprocate his feelings and she moved in with him.
Soon, she completely forgot about Princess along with the rest of the world. All she cared about was this one stallion. They were married, and soon she was pregnant. Yet, she felt as if she was lying to her husband. Her real form never being exposed, so decided to show the truth. It was a hard decision , but one that needed to be told.
“Honey…I have something to tell you.” She told her husband.
“What is it?” He responded ever so happy to see her.
“I haven’t been telling the whole truth about myself.”
“Okay? We all have our secrets.” He nodded, “Like me, I’m the one who keeps eating the hay when you leave.”
“That explains why you’re getting fat.” She smiled at her statement, but returned to her purpose, “I’m not exactly what I say I am.”
“You’re not a Pegasus from Canterlot who served in the royal guard?” he asked, “What are you? Some sort of monster?”
“Depends on your definition…”
A green aura surrounded Chrysalis. Swirling around gathering dust. As it descended , the fur turned to shell, she grew in height, the wings changed in shape and colour, a jagged horn from her head, the mane the stallion so loved grew in length and changed to green, yet what remained the same was the bulge in her abdomen. When she was finished transforming, she smiled and took a single step towards her husband.
“Stay away from me you…you monster!” He yelled, “You can’t be my wife…what have you done to her? Give my wife back!”
Within that day, Chrysalis was ran away from everything she had grown to love. Her husband gathered townsfolk to hunt her down. Try to find her “real wife”. They never would, though. Chrysalis knew her husband had fallen in love with something she couldn’t always be. So, she fled into the woods. Pregnant, alone, scared, but not hungry. She could still feed from the love of her husband and sustain the children. Eventually, she went in labor,and laid multiple eggs. Instinctively, she buried them and waited. When they hatched, they were smaller, more generic versions of her. She could already feel the love they felt for her, and they could feel the love she had for her, successfully creating a self contained community.
“The rest is history…” Chrysalis concluded, “My children and I built our home, and I kept laying egg. I only needed to be inseminated once. “
Everyone sat in silence as the recollection of the past ended. The royalty in the room seemed unfazed, but the guards were at a loss of words. History like that was never taught or exposed. It was simply hidden from the daylight. It didn’t take long for Luna to get uncomfortable in the silence.
“So…how did you know I was back?” Luna asked.
“Remember that bond? Well, after you returned, it became relatively stronger. It had to be you;somewhere inside you is still love for me. I know my babies love from any other. Plus, I only felt love like that twice…and the other option is long dead. I…sometimes visit his grave. He spent his whole life searching for a lie…”
“So why come to me? I assume you out grew our previous friendship?” Luna assumed.
“How could one possibly forget growing up with their, mother?” Chrysalis replied,
“Look, Chrys-“
“Queen Chrysalis…”
“Queen…Chrysalis…We can try to return to our old ways, but I must warn you, I’m still getting use to the new world.”
Chrysalis laughed before immediately calming herself. Luna’s guards took their spears and pointed them towards Chrysalis causing her guards to point them towards the guards. Luna used her hooves to lower her guard’s weapons, returning everything back to it calm demeanor.
“No…I don’t want to return to our old ways, mother. Rather, I want a chance.” The Queen changeling explained.
“A chance for?”
“A chance of victory. A chance of glory. A chance of a new empire.”
“Please explain.”
“We changeling are tired of leaving life as a small shadow, or a hushed rumor. It’s time we came out of hiding and showed everyone who we are. Plus, the amounts of love on the surface are insurmountable after Celestia’s reformation.”
“What exactly do you want?” Luna asked, becoming defensive.
“A chance to take over Canterlot.”
“This meeting is over!”
Luna turned to leave, yet as she did, her two guards cross their spears. “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded. Right before her eyes, the guards morphed back into changelings. She could have simple used her magic to remove the pests and her creation, but decided to stay and listen.
Chrysalis eyes Luna as she sat back down. It had been centuries since she has seen her mother; she hadn’t changed a bit. Well, she looked less stressed than when the incident happened. It was until recently that she even discovered Luna was banished. All those years, she didn’t know. But, without them, she wouldn’t be who she was now.
“Go on, Chrysalis…”
“The way I see it, you have two options. Either way, the invasion is going to happen. Number one: You let us invade. You do nothing to stop or help us. You’re simply a bystander. Option two: If you don’t agree, we will invade, yet this time we will tell everyone that you created us.”
Luna scoffed at her options, “How is the latter so bad?”
“Sources say…you’re not exactly the most trusted pony around. The whole “NightMare Moon" thing, So after all the hard work you put in to build up trust and your reputation, it comes out that you illegally created the creatures that invaded Canterlot. That would be a trajedy.”
Silence once again took over the meeting. Chrysalis waiting for an answer; Luna weighing her options. Within her thoughts, Luna nervously started to make star art. The Queen Changeling was transfixed; her memories of a simpler time flooding back. Both royalties seemed to remember those moments. By the time Luna stopped, she had made a decision.
“I choose option one, but on one condition…” Luna stated.
“Hmm?”
“Once you lose, we’ll find a way to meet every so often. For old time’s sake.”
“Deal...”
Both equines shook hooves, yet in the action, a green mist filled the area. It wasn’t thick, and Luna saw the changeling disappear, but not without her feeling a quick hug. She returned it before Chrysalis ran away. The fog rose leaving the area clear of any clues to what happened. Luna sighed as she made way for her room. Was it worth it? Can her daughter be trusted? Will she succeed in invading Canterlot? She was drowning in her thoughts.
“Whoa! Watch out ,Princess Luna!” yelled a female guard as she barely dodged Luna, “It’s a little late for you to be up.”
“I was just walking…” Luna solemnly responded.
“Maybe walking and doing star art.”
“You noticed my art?”
“Of course! It’s been a saying in my family to always look up to see the pictures in the sky. You know, my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother was a royal guard. She’s the one that started It.” explained the guard as she flapped her bat wings excitedly.
Luna simply nodded at her guard’s saying. Even through the generations, her favorite guard still managed to cheer he up.
“What do you think of my art?” Luna asked as she began putting the stars back in order.
“Your art is beautiful,” The guard commented watching the stars, “… but a star is out of place.”
“Your ancestor said the same thing…” Luna said as she moved the star, “Dear guard…Let me tell you a story of when she was around…it’s about…a simple insect.”
