Tartarus Hath Frozen Over

Three years later

In the Haysend Swamps, Chrysalis' new hive buzzed with life. Upon a throne of pearl white, sat the revered changeling queen. The throne’s backrest stretched high toward the ceiling. The tentacle-like spears of varied size, shape, and configuration protruded from the sides of the backrest. The armrests emerged from behind the throne, snaking their way outward in a narrow wavy pattern.

Chrysalis was quite busy planning their next potential conquest, coordinating her drones, and receiving reports from outside the hive. Combining these tasks usually induced a migraine of Helios proportions. The culprits being endless paperwork and conveying of orders. However, every changeling was telepathically connected, eliminating both paperwork and the queue of commands.

This advantage greatly increased the efficiency of her hives. A raspy voice entered Chrysalis' mind, "My queen, drone 791 reporting, we've finished constructing the new hatchery to your specifications." "Very good drone 791, report to sector 7-J for your new assignment," Chrysalis replied. With a word of acknowledgment, the drone ceased communications.

Soon afterward a deep sounding voice entered her mind. "Dodge Junction Infiltration team, drone 1052 reporting. We've successfully captured and replaced the last of the populace." "Excellent, what's the status of our guests?" Chrysalis inquired. "They are secured and heading toward the hive, your majesty," was the drone's reply.

She was about to speak when a familiar dragon, accompanied by two drones, entered the throne room. "Drone 1052 Inform me when our guests are properly taken care of," Chrysalis demanded. The group stopped a couple of feet away and bowed low. Holding the pleasantry for several seconds, they raised their gaze to meet the queen‘s eyes.

"Good afternoon Chrysalis, how have you been these past few days," the dragon asked. Between the changelings was a tall, broad dragon. Its scales were a sleek dark crimson color while it’s spines, a mesmerizing aquamarine. He had piercing topaz eyes and a white underbelly, severely scarred during his youth. Chrysalis rose from her throne, which turned out to be fused bones of willing equine contributors. Chrysalis descended the stairs to stand erect in front of her visitors.

"The same as usual, managing an empire is quite a tedious chore," Chrysalis answered nonchalantly. Chrysalis eyed the three of them indifferently before walking away, followed by the dragon. The two drones stood there and watched the pair leave. Every drone knew why Chrysalis decided to take the dragon in. What baffled them was her treatment towards him. Their silent musing was shattered by a thunderous rebuke.

"Drone 2755 and 2832 get back to work you lazy maggots!" Chrysalis' voice snarled in their minds. Panic gripped them as they stumbled about before galloping away. Chrysalis and the dragon continued to walk side by side toward her private chambers. It was the only place that any changeling refused to disturb her unless it was a dire emergency.

The hive wall, sensing Chrysalis' presence, opened wide. Revealing a single bed, a private washroom, and a large room with soft plush cushions. "You should really think about redecorating," the dragon jived. Once they were through, the opening closed behind them. "I know it's not as shiny as your room but it serves me just fine," Chrysalis retorted.

"Besides, I want to hear how your first assignment went," Chrysalis asked impatiently. "It was kind of awkward at first until they came to terms with a grown dragon in their town.“ “I even choose a name for myself," the dragon finished. Chrysalis turned to look at the dragon, anticipation gleamed in her eyes. "I've decided to call myself Zembani," the dragon proudly proclaimed.

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow and gave a thoughtful hmm. Zembani droned, downtrodden by her expressive contemplation, "You don't like it do you." "It doesn't matter if I approve, all that matters is that you like your new name," Chrysalis reassured Zembani.

"So how did your reconnaissance go," Chrysalis probed the topic again. "Better then I thought, they didn’t even monitor me, Appleloosa should prove an easy target.” Zembani snickered. Chrysalis trotted toward the dragon and threw her forelegs around his broad torso. Zembani wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug.

"Soon we'll enact our revenge upon those who’ve wronged us," Chrysalis hissed softly. The two of them began to laugh maniacally. Meanwhile, at the Ponyville Post Office, a pegasus stallion was methodically sorting the mail. His vision was glazed over from the irksome task. Extracting a letter, identifying the recipient’s address, and place it into the proper mailbag.

The constant repetition pained his fatigued mind, sapping his nearly exhausted energy. Yet from the shrouded recesses of his stupor mind, a bolt of recognition emerged. Dispelling the miasma of dullness and resuscitating the mind from its monotonous state. The pegasus yanking the Ponyville sack closer, plunging a hoof into it. After a few moments of searching, he withdrew a thin white envelop from the bag with a lasso stamp on it.

Unsure of what his dead eyes might have seen, he scrutinized the writing on the letter. To his surprise, the recipient was Applejack. He soon saw that it came from Appleloosa, by a pony named Braeburn. Knowing that Chrysalis had ordered anything relevant to Twilight or her associates to be reported. The pegasus stuffed the letter down his shirt, after making sure he was alone.

He quickly returned to sorting the mail until it was time to head home. After a quick word of departure, to his coworkers, he took to the sky of blazing red and orange. Soaring at a steady pace, the wind gently tussled his mane. He felt trapped, on one hoof he would be helping Chrysalis with her schemes. On the other hoof, if he refused, he and the ones he cared about would be in danger.

The beautiful scenery of blue and velvet tinted clouds, conjured by the setting sun was lost upon the homeward pegasus. Soon he could see his home through the tree limbs. With a heavy heart, he landed on the doorstep, opened the door, and entered the house. The door gave a soft squeak as it revealed it‘s charming yet humble interior.

As he trotted inside, a sweet voice could be heard from the next room, “Clover, is that you?“ “Yea it’s me, dear,“ Clover replied, stashing the letter in a dresser drawer. Taking off his uniform, Clover hung it on a peg sticking out of the wall. His eyes glanced at his wife’s similar uniform. A golden nameplate that read "Derpy," was fastened to the front of her hat.

Clover turned around and was greeted by Derby’s cheery face. She was a gray pegasus with a long flowing mane and tail of golden blonde. Her cutie mark was several ascending bubbles of light purple. Flashing a smile of his own, a swirling vortex of cyan flames engulfed Clover's body. Burning away his azure colored fur, four leaf clover cutie mark, and mocha colored mane and tail.

Where a pegasus stood moments before, now stood a changeling with blue eyes. “What’s wrong,“ Derby asked, seeing the insincerity of his smile. Her misaligned eyes struggled to meet Clover's gaze. "Same old thing dear, I can‘t wait until I‘m rotated out of the sorting room," Clover chuckled. Derby could hear the disdain in his voice.

Catching Clover off guard, Derby glomped him. A pair of forelegs wraps around his neck. Immediately Clover's expression changed to one of content. A loving mmm vibrated in his throat as their cheeks pressed together. The scent of lavender rose from Derby's hair to greet his nostrils. "No matter what, you always brighten my day," Clover whispered into her ear.

The sound of little clopping hooves from upstairs, caused them to break apart. Shortly afterward a very unusual filly slid around the corner. She was a hybrid of pony and changeling, the first of her kind. Her chitin was quite different than any other changeling, reformed included. Instead of being rigid and hard, it was soft and scaly.

Her horn was jagged but not gnarly, her body lacked the usual cavities that non-reformed changelings had. Her wings seemed to take on the characteristics and texture of a dragon‘s wing. "Welcome home dad," she called out cheerily, running towards him. Clover’s smile grew even wider as he scooped her up into a hug. "How's my little Typhoon, have you been a good filly for mama," Clover lovingly said.

"Of course I have been, I even helped mom cook dinner," Typhoon replied with a giggle. Sniffing deeply into the air, several different aromas met Clover's nose. "It smells like you two have been cooking up a storm," Clover joked. "We didn't cook that much, just some blueberry muffins, hay steaks, and steamed carrots," Typhoon replied.

"That sounds delicious princess, why don't you and mama head to the kitchen." "I'll be right there, then we can enjoy dinner together," Clover softly said, placing her back on the floor. Typhoon smiled before merrily high stepping toward the kitchen. Derpy soon followed but not before giving Clover a look of concern.

The expression on Derpy's face told Clover she knew what was happening. He always made sure that Typhoon wasn’t in the room when he reported to Chrysalis. Regardless of never meeting, Clover wanted to keep any semblance of Chrysalis away from their daughter. Making sure that he was indeed alone, he withdrew the letter, and carefully opened it.

Dear Applejack,

Something unusual happened today, a dragon arrived in Appleloosa. He called himself Zembani, he appears friendly. I remembered that Twilight was a very knowledgeable pony. While Spike might be able to lend some insight as well.

Hope to see you soon,

Braeburn

As he read the note, he was telepathically relaying the message to Chrysalis. "Excellent work drone 4931, inform me if anything new arises," Chrysalis replied before severing the link. "Yes.. my queen," he verbally muttered, any trace of enthusiasm having vanished long ago. After being accepted as a non-reformed changeling by Derpy. Clover began to question the validity of Chrysalis' prejudice towards the equines.

Although Chrysalis was furious when she discovered that he was smitten by a pegasus. In the end, Clover managed to negotiate with the changeling queen. His continued and unwavering cooperation in exchange for non-interference into his private affairs. Recomposing himself with a deep sigh, Clover pushed aside such thoughts. Returning the letter back into the envelope before putting it into the drawer.

He walked into the kitchen, ready to enjoy a meal with his family. Back at the Haysend Swamp, Chrysalis was deep in thought about the recent report. It seemed that this Braeburn might lure her enemies to Appleloosa. After a while she turned to Zembani, "It appears that your visit has caught more than the attention of the locals."

"Perhaps we can use this to our advantage," Chrysalis mused. Zembani, eager to hear Chrysalis' plan, waited patiently. "I think it’s about time we announce our presence," Chrysalis hissed. "I wouldn't advise an ambush, instead we should gathering intelligence about these visiting ponies," Zembani humbly suggested.

Chrysalis let out a hearty laugh, "when did you become such an astute strategist." "I'm learning from the best," Zembani shrewdly replied. "Agreed, you'll also have an opportunity to learn about your species from Twilight's pet dragon," Chrysalis cooed wickedly. Zembani narrowed his eyes and stared at her with steely conviction. "I may look like them but that's where the similarities end," Zembani growled.

Smiling, Chrysalis continued, "I've decided that you need a more active role in this plot." "Applejack and her friends will come to Appleloosa, befriend them and return to Ponyville," Chrysalis explained. Zembani was crestfallen, he was hoping for more then gallivanting with the enemy. "Do I really have to befriend them," Zembani groaned.

"Yes, then I want you to learn everything you can about them," Chrysalis sternly replied "When the time is right, we'll set our plan into motion," Chrysalis stated. Zembani let out a groan of agitation. “Are you sure that I couldn‘t do anything else,” Zembani complained. A sinister sneer crept across Chrysalis' muzzle while her green eyes began to pulsate.

“Are you questioning my decision,” Chrysalis repeated with a deep growl in her voice. Zembani just sulked, falling to his stomach in disbelief. “I understand your frustration if I could I’d spare you this disgrace,” Chrysalis spoke sympathetically. Placing a hoof on his shoulder, Chrysalis continued, "my drones cannot maintain their disguise if they cannot feed.” Relocating her hoof from his shoulder to underneath his chin, Chrysalis gently raised his head. Once their eyes met, Chrysalis declared, "You‘re the only one I can trust with this infiltration.”

Zembani gave a deep sigh as he broke eye contact with Chrysalis. This meant that he would have to leave behind the only life he knew. To make matters worse, Chrysalis wanted him to live amongst ponies. He didn’t have anything against equines personally but they were enemies of Chrysalis. That’s all the reason he needed to classify them as his enemies. Zembani replied with a sigh, “I’ll accept the mission, only because you asked me to... mother.”