Chrysalis' Paradise Lost

So yeah, this'll be a chapter dedicated to events, knowledge, exposition, and other such things that are going to be referenced in the story, but you DO NOT NEED to read this, this is optional, and just here in case someone gets curious.

The Changeling/Equestria Treaty

In exchange for an official pardon from their royal highnesses, Princesses Celestia and Luna of Equestria, for Queen Chrysalis of the changeling swarm, for invading Equestria as part of her attempt to overthrow the aforementioned mares from their seat of power, the following stipulations are demanded.

1. Until such time as the Princesses believe that integration between species is possible, the changeling swarm is banned from setting hoof in Equestria. Non-negotiable

2. Failure to comply with the prior stipulation will result in the immediate eradication of the changeling swarm. Non-negotiable

3. While the Equestrian government shall officially sanction the Love Hotel and The Paradise Resort, in no manner shall it advertise its practice and/or purpose. Non-negotiable

4. This pardon has both the changeling swarm and the kingdom of Equestria officially recognize each other’s existence.

5. Should unforeseen circumstances necessitate cooperation between the kingdom of Equestria and the changeling swarm, stipulations 1, 2, 10, and 11 set forth by this pardon may be rendered null and void until said circumstances have come to pass.

6. The stipulations set forth by this pardon apply only to changelings that are affiliated with Queen Chrysalis and aren’t indicative of possible relations between Equestria and swarms not affiliated with her.

7. Should anypony who makes use of the services provided by the Love Hotel or Paradise Resort, come under physical or mental harm by Queen Chrysalis or her changelings, pending an investigative query to determine where faults lie, the changeling swarm will once again be considered enemies to the safety of Equestria and eradicated. Non-negotiable

8. Territorial acquisitions for either Equestria or the Badlands buying a section of land from the other are hereby prohibited.

9. Queen Chrysalis formally apologizes for her attempted invasion of Canterlot to the Equestrian government and Ponies in a public ceremony. Non-negotiable.

10. All Stipulations are timeless until such a time as Queen Chrysalis can prove herself reformed, or Princess Celestia & Princess Luna deem the Changeling Swarm to hold to the best interests of Equestria and its Citizens

11. All Changelings, alive or dead, within the borders of Equestria, at the time of signing, shall be returned to Queen Chrysalis and her hive immediately for safekeeping or grieving.

SIGNED

Princess Celestia: Princess Luna: Princess Twilight Sparkle: Princess Mi Amore Cadenza: Queen Chrysalis

WITNESSES

Prince Consort Shining Armour, Captain of the Crystal Guard: Prince Blueblood, Commander of the Royal Ordnance Surveyor Corps: Raven, Royal Secretary: Applejack, Element of Honesty: Rarity, Element of Generosity: Cloak, Captain of the Queen’s Infiltrators: Dagger, Captain of the Praetorian Guards

Queen Talents, an excerpt from "The Memoirs of Queen Aceso, Queen of the Marshland Changelings, Leader of the Blackrot Swarm, Killer of the Twelve Headed Beast"

It is a strange quirk of fate that our species, in our constant changing of forms, has almost no connection to the forces of Harmony.

One could say it is because we are not at harmony with ourselves, and it is true that few Changeling Queens will co-operate seeing other Queens as a threat to a hive's food source, especially in the wilder locations of this world, but I prefer to believe it is because a single hive is one living organism, from the might of the Queen to the lowest of the Drones, the swarm moves as one.

This lack of harmony has manifested in our lack of what the ponies refer to as Cutie Marks, although my old library holds mention to something called "Sparks of Destiny" which served much the same function, and the change in name might have simply been something as simple as the changing of language through the ages.

All creatures have access to these "Sparks of Destiny" in some way, although it manifests in different manner dependent on species, such as Ponies and their aforementioned Cutie Marks, Zebras and their much more limited, but flexible, tribal marks, Griffon's have been known to have destined songs, from simple ditties to sweeping operas; and the Diamond Dogs tell tales of Birth Stones, a single gemstone chosen from a pile at a young age that can foresee a pup's future.

As, in several philosophical writings of Queen Cliothalia (who headed the Masque Hive), the swarm can be considered, a single living entity made of many, my belief is the closest thing to a Changeling's "Spark of Destiny" is something referred to as "The Queen's Talent" a gift chosen by each Queen at the moment of their ascension as a Queen, these talents is gifted to the Queen's entire swarm, whether the Changelings in question are adopted, from a dead hive, stolen during warfare, or children of the Hive. This talent is one of the Queen's greatest secrets, alongside harvesting grounds, nurseries, and the Hive's Love Pool.

Several talents I have seen in my years as queen have both been abominable and beautiful, and even centuries after the fact I fondly remember the Crystal Queen of Rainbow Falls whose talent was her wings of shimmering light, or the Leech Queen, my seemingly immortal elder, whose own life is supported by her extracting of vital essences from Ponies and enemy Changelings alike. As I approach my final years I put thought to my Talent, the understanding of disease, knowledge, not prowess, has allowed my Changeling's to integrate as Doctors, Nurses, Caretakers, and I have grown old and fat on the love gathered from this simple knowledge, and this knowledge has kept my hive safe by allowing my swarm to fight my enemies with insidious plague and terrible disease.

I doubt that we Changelings have been fully turned away from Destiny or Harmony, these Talents demonstrate that each of us are indeed unique in our own manner, but that we are truly part of a greater whole, and I wonder what it is that destiny intends for us.

The memoirs end here, despite several intended chapters being referenced earlier in the collected works, Queen Aceso died in the night before finishing her completed memoirs. The original copy of this work was found in the ruins of her hive by her daughter Queen Simulacris, who passed it on to her own daughter, Queen Chrysalis. A hoofful of copies have been made and are currently stored in the Canterlot Archives, and the Great Library of Ponyville

A (very) Short Guide to the Various Castes of a Changeling Hive - P.Face (First Draft)

As it falls to me to explain the differences between the members of our species to our visitors, I shall endeavour to keep it as simple as possible.

The Queen

The Queen is the cornerstone of the hive, she organises the hive, manages the emotional energy stores, maintains the thought-link that binds us together, and feeds the swarm with gathered love. Should the Queen die the Swarm is not far behind unless another Queen is able to take the queenless swarm into their own.

A Queen's power grows with both, the amount of Love that she has stored and the size and/or strength of her swarm, and as the Swarm is reliant on the Queen to survive, the Queen is reliant on the Swarm to be able to feed.

A Lone Queen could survive on the love of a Single pony with no complications, but as her Swarm grows the amount of love that she needs to harvest grows.

The Drone Caste

Drones are the run of the mill Changelings, rarely larger than the average pony, they have wings, a curved horn, and while numerous and weak, they still form the backbone of any hive. They are capable of any task that they put their minds to, and can be found with several advantageous alterations to their basic physiology such as Soldier drones who have grown thicker Chitin and adapted their internal magic to better support combat magic, or Farmer Drones who have grown to mimic Earth Pony Biomancy.

The Healer Caste

The Healer caste are rarely seen outside of a Hive as they as they are important to the well being of the Swarm, and they need to be ready to respond to any injuries, all Healers have white abdomens.

Healer's are capable of digesting the emotional energy and food they consume to create several Goops, Resins, Salves, and Unguents that have exceedingly powerful restorative properties, similar to a cocktail of medicinal compounds. However this process is draining and it is not unheard of for Healer's to be drained completely dry during emergencies.

Very rarely Healers who have been exposed to large quantities of pure love can create a substance known as "Ambrosia" that is said to restore one's youth, however this process has not been seen in millennia, and remains a myth.

The Infiltrator Caste

The Infiltrator caste are the caste responsible for the harvesting of love. They look remarkably similar to the drones, but usually grown slightly leaner and taller.

Infiltrators are naturally talented in the usage of magic, which they use to form their disguises in a manner to use as little energy as possible, and can alter their own magic to be nearly indistinguishable from Pony magic, only an expert in the field can identify an Infiltrator's magic from a ponies magic.

Experienced Infiltrators may moult further if allowed by the Queen, a process that strengthens the Infiltrators natural abilities, and further improves their ability to handle magic, this process is not without its risks, and the Infiltrators that survive this process are known as the Queen's Assassins, and will often command small groups of Infiltrators for the Queen.

The Behemoth Caste

Behemoths are the largest changelings known to the hive, standing taller than the Queen. However despite their size and strength Behemoths are naturally more inclined towards defensive fighting rather than offensive, and can be found performing brute labour in all areas of the hive.

In addition to their natural predisposition towards protection, Behemoth's rarely if ever leave the hive due to their inability to take forms smaller than them. This limits them to taking the shape of Buffalo (for smaller Behemoths), Bears (for average behemoths), or Elephants (for larger Behemoths), and several grow large enough that they are incapable of changing their size to a suitable disguise.

Oddly, the Behemoth's of our hive have developed a talent for Floramancy, similar to that of Earth Ponies and can be found working in the farm district alongside Drone Farmers.

Due to their size, and lack of magic, most Behemoths have a considerably more physical diet compared to the emotional diet of most changelings.

The Praetorian Caste

The Praetorian caste are the elite soldiers of any hive, and are often considered the Queen's personal bodyguards.

Fierce, Strong, and Loyal, Praetorians will rarely if ever leave the Queen's side unless ordered to do so, and any attackers have discovered the Praetorians natural ability for transmutational transformation and camouflage means that even if the Queen looks like she's alone, she isn't, and any assassin thinking that she was is in for a rude awakening.

Much like the Infiltrator Caste, Experienced Praetorians may moult further with aid from the Queen, although this is rarely done as the process is even riskier than the Infiltrator moult, and is often reserved for the Captain's of the Queen's Praetorian guard. This process enhances the Praetorians shapeshifting abilities at the cost of increasing their diet.

A good start Poker Face, however you need to remove any mentions to secondary moults, or adaptations, as these are hive secrets, secondarily, separate the Drones section into Builders, Soldiers, and Farmers, and for the love of the Swarm remove that mention of Ambrosia, I don't want ponies knocking down of hive trying to find the secret to eternal youth. Chrysalis

Author's Terminology Notes

Okay so this will probably never come up except in Author notes attached to other chapters, but there are several names of a gathering of group of changelings.

A singular Changeling who does not belong to any hive (whether due to exile, or the death of a Queen) is known as a "Drone", regardless of caste (due to the dull noise that their wings make).

A small group of hiveless changelings is known as a "Buzz", and larger groups are known as a "Noise", these groups can hold their hive minds together for short periods, but rapidly lose their ability to co-ordinate as a Hive Swarm would, and will often find themselves joining hives.

A singular hive changeling is known as a "Voice" in their hive, and a "Drone" in other hives, while small groups are respectively known as a "Song" or a "Conversation" and a "Susurration", while large groups are "The Swarm" & "Mindless Noise".

These terminologies are in part due to the way that hive mind links interact with each other, while hives CANNOT directly interfere with another Hive's thought-speak (makes for a very good way to catch infiltrators, HEY LISTEN!) they are 'audible' on the edge of a Changeling's Thought-Link when they use their own thought-speak, due to "Arcano-Psionic" (Magi-Technobabble) interference.

Hive Territories - A list of Sites In Equestria thought to be home to the Ancient Civilisation of Changelings (taken from the research notes of Sharp Tongue, the research is dated for some time before the Wedding Incident, the original copy was found in a state of extreme disrepair).

The Southern Equestrian Badlands - While old evidence points to this being an unlikely location for a Changeling hive, the desolate landscape, and abundance of natural caverns do point to the possibility of something having inhabited the area, the area that would need to be covered by any expedition is preposterously large, and the most likely areas would be towards the fertile lands where the Badlands meet the San Palomino Desert

The Crystal Mountains - As what evidence we have of the Changish Civilisation points to them being Philiaphages (Lit - Ancient Equestrian for "Love Eaters"), and the old texts that point to the crystal empire being a place of forgotten love magic; it would make entirely too much sense for there to be old hives in the area, however the disappearance of the Empire, and the cold nature of the area, combined with the Changelings rumoured insectile biology would make the cold climate unsuitable without a readily available food surce.

Froggy Bottom Bog - While several pre-equestria pieces of literature point to the existence of a Hive in the Froggy Bottom Bog area, the hostile environment is likely to have destroyed all traces any potential Changeling Hives, and the local megafauna makes any exploration far more dangerous than it should be despite it's relative proximity to Canterlot.

The Everfree Forest - Go ahead, explore the depths of the Everfree, I need a laugh.

Very good Praetorian 23, a cunning piece of misdirection that should allow our Infiltrators to return safely under the guise of Archaeological expeditions, do not forget about Queen Aceso's references to "The Queen of Rainbow Falls" as a potential additional dead end for the ponies to follow - Queen's Assassin, Freedom