Chapter 6

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Scootaloo looks at me with confusion. “What do you mean, big sis?”

I suddenly feel myself being held by magic, seeing a green glow around my body, before I’m yanked towards the exit, quickly grabbing Scootaloo and putting her on my back.

Once through the exit, the magic holding me drops and I can walk again. We’re standing in a long tunnel that looks like it was carved into stone, with green pods hanging from certain areas. Light seems to be filtering in through small holes that keep opening and then closing, only to reappear in other places.

Chrysalis is standing there outside, tapping her front hoof impatiently. “Well, are you coming or not?”

“Not like she’s really giving us a choice, is she?” I whisper to the filly resting on my back.

With that knowledge input into my mind, I make a mental note not to lose track of the queen, before turning my attention to the other changelings we keep passing.

Most look like the ones Chrysalis used to invade Canterlot, no manes or irises, just a bald head and completely blue eyes. It’s seriously creepy in person. In pony? In changeling? Gah! How would that even work in this world?

However, there is one other type of changeling that I hadn’t seen in the show. They’re a lot bigger and more muscular than the other drones. I mostly see them stationed in corridors, but a few I catch moving about.

One thing I don’t like though, is the way each changeling is looking at me, or rather, looking at what’s on my back.

I snarl through the Hive Mind.

This seems to make all the changelings stop looking at Scootaloo like they’ll eat her the moment I have my back turned, though I can feel their jealously and anxiety at not getting to taste the little pony.

I turn my attention back to Chrysalis as we pass yet another set of those taller changelings, each of whom avoid eye contact with me and I feel the anxiousness coming off of them, as if fearing what I might do.

I’m kinda liking this feeling of all the changelings fearing me. I just hope I don’t start feeling this way about ponies.

“Where are we going?” I ask, adjusting my wings a bit so that Scoots is more comfortable.

she states simply over the Hive Mind.

I glower. “Words, please. I want Scootaloo hearing this, too.”

My eyes bug out for a moment, before I let out a low growl. “Ever suggest that again and I will make you regret not leaving me in Canterlot to suffer a pony’s life with the alterations you already made before!”

She blinks, before going silent. It seems she can tell I’m being dead serious.

“What was she suggesting?” Scoots asks, her voice sounding both tired and stronger.

I shake my head. “Better you not know, Scoots.” I glare at the Changeling Queen.

The changeling snorts, not turning to meet my gaze.

I roll my eyes. “Oh, the silent treatment? Really?”

This time she glances back, glaring at me. “Why must you be so difficult?”

I snort. “I’m not intimidated by you. Without that, you don’t have anything over me. I can tell from the emotions of the other Changelings it's how you control them and it won't work on me.”

“How come you sound different?”

Chrysalis gives the smallest of glances to Scootaloo. “What?”

“Your voice,” Scoots says, sounding confused. “Back when you tried to invade Canterlot, your voice sounded all echoy.”

“Probably just another intimidation tactic, right?” I ask.

The huff she makes in response, along with turning again so she’s not looking at us confirms it.

“So, what’re your plans for me now, huh?” I ask after several minutes of us wandering through several large caverns. The Hive is structured like an ant hive, with the walls criss-crossing at odd angles.

One thing that has been making both me and Scoots uneasy are all the glowing pods hanging from the ceilings. It’s not every ceiling, but a lot of areas have them and, if I’m right, they’re holding prisoners.

Chrysalis grumbles. “My original plan was to train you, whilst also teaching you to hate the ponies.”

Scootaloo snorts. “Yeah. Good luck with that.”

The changeling stops, whirling around and glaring at her. “Hold your tongue! It is only by Flare’s wishes you aren’t already in a pod and having every last strap of love drained from you!”

“So those pods do contain kidnapped ponies?” I growl.

The black changeling steps back, turning around, whilst looking at me over her shoulder. “Not all of them. Your fellow changelings sometimes sleep in them too.”

“I’m honestly surprised how calm you’re being about all this,” I state as we move on. “You do realize Twilight and I are sort of a thing, right? You’re not worried about her somehow tracking me with her magic and coming in, horn a blazing and blasting this place t’ dust. Not to mention our parents.”

Chrysalis merely chuckles. “Highly doubtful.”

“Are you dissing our parents?!” Scootaloo growls.

This causes the taller pony to sneer. “No magic aside from Changeling Magic works here.”

I blink, a little taken aback by that. That was never something suggested in the many Changeling fics. “How?”

Chrysalis pauses, before changing direction so fast I narrowly manage to follow her through before the tunnel door shifts into a wall. Strangely, I was able to tell how fast I’d need to move to get through.

She leads as through two more caverns and up several flights of stairs before we come to the biggest chamber yet and, on the far wall is a large black, jagged-looking throne.

“Behold, my throne,” the queen brags, waving a hoof in its direction. “It’s made of a special Obsidian stone that drains all other magic, like we Changelings drain love. How do you think we haven’t been taken out by Discord after all this time?”

I frown, glancing to her. “Discord knows the Hive’s location and that even his magic won’t work here?” It takes a second before my last words actually sink in. “Wait. Discord’s magic can’t work here?! The Lord of Chaos’ magic doesn’t work here?! Really?”

Chrysalis just chuckles. “Impressive, no?”

I... I hate to say it but, yeah, I am impressed. Seriously, that’s one heck of a game changer. Something that even Discord’s magic can’t effect?

Suddenly, a thought occurs to me and I scowl. “You do realize this means you could’ve helped stop him from being all evil a thousand plus years ago, right?”

Chrysalis just raises an eyebrow at me. “And why would we have bothered? His magic couldn’t get here, so we saw no reason to go after him.”

I open my mouth to argue, but close it again. Damnit! She makes a good point.

“Anyway, I’d think you’d be more curious about,” she points at me, “all that... stuff that was inside you. We couldn’t remove it and I feared what might happen when we started your change. What was that stuff, anyway?”

I blink, before cocking an eyebrow. “Wait. You’re the Queen of the Changelings, being who feed off of love... and you don’t know what sperm is?”

She blinks, before I can somehow see her blanching despite having chitin for a face. “You... Why would you let a stallion put that in you?!”

I scowl. “I didn’t. Twilight did. Alicorns have both sexes. Jeez, you impersonated one and didn’t even know that? My belief in you being a tactical leader is really diminishing the more I learn.”

She frowns. “Wait. Princess Twilight Sparkle... Don’t tell me you let that mare breed you?!”

I blush hard, my wings flaring. Jeez, does she have to say it like that? It’s stirring me up so bad I can feel my— well, my parts telling me that wouldn’t mind some action.

I glare at her, my shame at knowing she’ll see my blush not helping dispel it.

She cocks an eyebrow, before shrugging. “Fine. Shall we move on with the tour?”

I nod and she leads us back out of the throne room, myself quickly glancing back at it before the wall seals itself and we follow her.

She shows us a few more corridors and caverns, many of which holds dozens of glowing green pods, which I’m always wondering which have ponies and where have changelings.

At one point we pass what I can identify as a hatchery and learn a little more about changleings. When they hatch, they look like little grabs, larva, like insects and they’re so tiny. Seriously, I think even Parasprites are bigger than them.

“This is all nice, but can we please just go to my supposed room, now?” I groan after passing a ninth hatchery. Seriously, if they’re hatching this many changelings without stopping, it's no wonder they’re always looking for more love.

Chrysalis sniffs disapprovingly. “Fine.”

I barely even have time to flinch as a flash of green fire blinds me. When it fades, we’re in a whole other room. This one looks more like a room for royalty. The bed is a lot like the one I was using back in Canterlot Castle, only with a changeling style to it, grey, with silk covers. And it’s huge, you could probably fit all the Alicorn princesses on it at once.

Thanks to the hormones now running through me after she asked why I'd want to mate with a pony in the first place, susiquently making me remember that night with Twilight, I suddenly have a vision of Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Twilight all having their way with me. WHY do Alicorns have to have cocks and I don’t now?! God, I’m going to kill you for this, Discord.

I quickly shake my head, trying to dispel the thoughts and turn to glare at the taller changeling.

“So, care to tell us why you didn’t just make one of the changelings in the hive a princess instead of my sis?” Scoots asks, looking both annouyed and confused. “Since they were already changelings, it would’ve made more sense, wouldn’t it?”

It is then that Chrysalis provides us with something apparently only Queens and their heirs are given knowledge of... which is why she grumbled half of it, since Scoots was hearing it too. A Changeling Queen takes a pony, male or female, it doesn’t matter which, and converts them into a Changeling Princess.

Once a princess has hatched enough soldiers and drones of her own, she leaves the hive to start her own. It sickens me to know that it has been this way since long before Chrysalis’ time. From what the hive remembers from shared memories, it has been happening since even before the three tribes came together, even before the first pony got their Cutie Mark and ponies were just like any ordinary animal in this world, aside from the talking, of course

I frown after she finishes explaining this. I didn't know that about changelings. Then again, it seems there's a lot I don't know. I have a feeling I'm gonna have plenty of time to learn, though, whether I want to or not.

Chrysalis frowns, hearing something on the Hive Mind that is only fuzz to me. “I must leave you now. There are matters I need to attend to. You and your pet—”

“Sister!” I correct her.

She grumbles. “Fine. You and your sister will have to get settled on your own. If you need anything ping one of the drones. They will assist you in any way they can.”

With that she disappears in a flash of green light.

With the room to ourselves now, I lean down so Scoots can hop off my back, before rising up again, glancing around the room. “Suppose, until we can convince her to let us go back to Equestria, we’d better get used to this place.”

She walks around, looking at the frankly sparse room. Guess changelings aren’t much for decor. She stops by a mirror, looking at herself from different angles.

“You think I could fly if I became a changeling?” she asks, buzzing her tiny wings.

A stern expression comes over my face as I walk over to the mirror and look down at her. “No, Scootaloo. You are not becoming a changeling.”

“But you have,” she states, looking up at my reflection.

I nod. “And, because of that, Chrysalis is now my mother and I’m some freaky amalgamation of changeling and pony. The only way you could become one is by either becoming hers as well, or becoming mine.”

Her eyes widen and her jaw drops. “What? But I thought you became her wife?!”

I sigh. “To changelings, it would seem the word wife and heir are the same thing. I am not her life partner, but her offspring.”

She grimaces and sticks out her tongue. “In that case, I’ll pass on becoming a changeling and stick with being a pony. I don’t want her as my new mom and, no offense sis, but having you as a mom would just be weird.”

I chuckle, shaking my head and ruffle her hair. “Same here, Scoots.”

I look back at my reflection. This is the first time I’ve actually gotten to see my face since becoming a changeling. In truth, aside from my face being a tiny bit longer, my face doesn’t look that different.

The only real big change, aside from the horn on my forehead and the canines in my mouth are my eyes. My irises are still the same blue they always have been, but the pupils are dragon-like now, like Chrysalis’. There’s also some kind of second, inner iris around the pupil that’s a darker blue than the outer irises.

My Cutie Mark is still on my flank too. Though, with my luck, it’ll fade away with time. I read a fic where Twilight Sparkle was really a changeling and, after she fully became one again, her Cutie Mark vanished.

Then again, Twilight had technically always been a changeling in that fic. I’d been turned into one, and badly, it would seem, so maybe I’d still keep my Cutie Mark?

“So, you’re still a mare... or whatever a female changeling is called?” Scoots asks from behind me.

I glance behind me and nod unintentionally doing a perfect Big Mac impression, no doubt to my Changeling Magic. “Eeyup.” I blink, shaking my head and clear my throat, my voice returning to normal. “Sorry. Gonna have to watch that.”

“So, why’s your belly so big?” she asks, pointing.

Looking down, I notice I’ve a slight bulge in my stomach.

I chuckle. “Maybe I’ve eaten too much love and it’s making me fat.”

With both have a good laugh at that. It feels good to laugh.

Author's Note

Phew.

It was a little trickier writing this chapter than i expected.

Now, a fair warning, the next chapter does contain a full on clop scene as Chrysalis delves into Flare's memories for answers to some questions, i'm sure you can guess which scene and whom it will have in it.

When that chapter will be out though, i cannot say, as i've got a preread/editor helping me out with it, since clop scenes involves the normal ponies isn't really my thing, but thought it needed to be in this story for context.

In the meantime, i have gotten the go ahead for another fic i've wanting to start writing involving Trixie and no, it isn't like my last Trixie fic. for one, it takes place in the equestria girls' world, so keep an eye out for that one.

So, what were these matters Chrysalis had to leave Flare and Scootaloo to deal with? What's going to happen to the nymph left behind in canterlot? Why does Flare really have a bulge in her stomach?

You'll have to wait and see my friends.

Until next time, later everpony and here's to the Friendship Games tommorow!