Her calm and content expression that never turns away from the high, spherical ceiling is an expression I never thought I would ever see her make. Now that I have seen it, I wished I never saw it again. Her gnarled and jagged horn that once held me in its grasp- mostly for punishment or trying to stop me from bugging her- now remains silent. I had the servants clean up her mane back to its maculate condition, but yet it still clings to a sense of raggedness as if an act of defiance. She lays on the center of a large, exotic bed her mother claimed in a raid against the zebra king ram the second two-and-a-half centuries ago. Covering up most of her frame was a bright ichor-green bed sheet inlined with runes of ‘temperate weather’ to help maintain her temperature, and ‘pulse check’ to alarm us if she ever went critical.
The mere sight of the crisscrossing rivers of cracks running up and down on her Long, slender neck, and down onto her chest that was covered by the bed, makes me- even now- tremble with barely contained rage and hate. Even though the royal physician assured me that the worst of it wouldn’t scar, doesn’t know when- or if- she’ll ever wake up.
The line of succession if mother was to perish, however, leaves a pit of worry and stress within my heart. By technical right of succession, my sister- Pupa Chrysallwing- is the one to directly take over mother Incase of her death. But, combined with her hind legs being stunted, her learning difficulties, her weary health, and slew of minor physical deformities that doesn’t paint a pretty picture for a ruler of a hive as cannibalistic as the Vesalipolis. Just looking the casualties reports make that pit all the more pronounced and heavy. So many dead or dying in field hospitals just from impacting the ground at high velocity. So many mangled beyond recognition that we had to bury them in mass graves with nothing but an obsidian obelisk to mark which division their part of. Of the 24 guard divisions, only 6 made are still alive. The only real reason why their even alive right now, is because I suggested to mother that she holds a few divisions in reserve, and distribute them where needed. 5 divisions of the old guard, and one division of the new guard. My guard. Those that entrusted their lives to me. Saw me as a brother, a friend, and a comrade ready to fight and die alongside them. And I wasn’t there to be with them due to the fact that someone had to stay behind and take command of the garrison troops Incase one of the other major hives takes this opportunity to invade us. I argued with mother that I should be there to lead my guard divisions personally, but to also maintain the cohesiveness with so many of us swarming around, but she wouldn’t hear a word of it. And as the failure I am, I did not pursue the argument. Now, mother is in a coma that she is unlikely to ever wake up from, and most of the guard are dead. And it’s their and my fault. They refused all our diplomats, our messages, and our attempts to establish contact. They refused to listen to reason. Refused to all of our diplomatic attempts to trade for the love we needed to stave off the after effects of the famine that we recently went through. So we tried to the trade going by force.
From what information that I could gather from the crippled survivors, mother seems to have gone a bit overboard with all the theatrics and gloating. And before she could actually even begin the talks, they sent them all flying, thinking nothing of the consequences of their actions. I wonder if they even bother to check to see where they landed. Brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, friends, and many more are now gone into the great beyond. Widows, orphans, and ruined lives aplenty to be found on the streets. Mass mourning is currently taking place on the streets at this very moment. The tears of despair that falls from the innocent eyes of all those children, instead of dampening my anger, fueled my rage into a burning inferno of malevolence that I struggled to reign in. I want them to burn. I want them to pay. I want them to suffer. I want them to...
“M-My lord.”, a familiar, stuttering voice suddenly spoke up from behind me, breaking the ever darkening trail I was trekking ever downwards on. Turning around to see who it was, I saw a Changeling wearing a commanding officer blue helmet. Their chitin was a deep grey, their ears turned into pointed tips at the ends, their eyes a bright, emerald green, with his slitted pupils a much lighter shade of the same color. In height, the top of his head touched the bottom of my chin. “What is it, Adolf?”, I snapped at him, with aggravation heavily embedded in its tone. It wasn’t my intention to snap at him, but my has long since soured when I received the first casualty report on my desk. As if wilting Like a dead flower under my wrathful gaze, he continued to speak with a more nervous tone of voice. “The House of Lords, sir. They require you at the meeting.”, he nervously stated, all the while looking in every direction except mine in some vague attempt to not incur my wrath. “The House of Lords? What is it that they want from me now?”, I questioned, already feeling a migraine coming on. House of Lords. More like House of Nymphs. Too busy scheming and plotting to properly manage the hive correctly. Well, it’s more of the fault of the camber of barons, but the ‘lords’ don’t do anything to fix that. The mess that is hive bureaucracy, was always a constant aggravation for mother.
Before Adolf could respond, we heard a soft thud of something hitting wood. Looking around for the source, I saw nothing in my peripheral vision. Then another thud was heard. Then another. And another. And another. Soon, a series of consistent thuds began to sound off in an offbeat sync. Craning my head to the right to look past Adolf, I saw the right, dark-oak door being nudged open more and more. After another moment of the nudging, the door was slightly ajar. Poking through the gap was a short, darkly colored, scaly muzzle. Curling its lips, it flicked out its forked tongue into the air, as if tasting it. Retracting its tongue back into its mouth, it let out an almost purring hiss that reverberated throughout the room like a deep note played on a cello. As if satisfied, the thing slithered into full view. An utterly massive snake with a large, muscular mass that appears to not inhibit it’s quick movements in any way. “I should‘ve known that it was you outside, Slythera. You know that doors aren’t a necessary entrance for you.”, i said in amusement, managing to garner my first chuckle I had in a while.
“But that’s besides the point.”, I responded, turning my small smile into a deep frown. “I gave you specific orders to stay by my sister and guard her from any and all threats for the foreseeable future.”, I questioned, the unhappiness in my voice dropping ever so slightly. Instead of wilting like many have under my gaze, she meets it with an indifference many would kill to have. Her eyes then began to quickly glow a deep, blood-red that spoke of dark knowledge. After a moment of silence, Slythera finished passing her knowledge to me, and then proceeded to retreat into my shadow as she usually does. Turning to look at Adolf- who stood petrified in fear the entire time- for an answer to my burning question. “Adolf,”, I said, trying and succeeding at regaining his attention. “Why is my sister in the House of Lords?”, I demanded as I stalked closer and closer to Adolf. Realizing that I was getting closer, he hurriedly scrambled backwards, and tried to reason with. “T-That’s th-the reason I came here, my lord. The lords have decreed that a dictator shall be made for the duration of the Queen’s coma. Every prince, princess, dukes, counts, barons, and remaining generals are to participate in the voting of the dictator.”, Adolf fearfully responded, his eyes closed in preparation for a strike that would never come.
Instead, he found me pacing back and forth in deep thought. ‘A dictator? We never had a dictator in the last 50 years. Never needed one with mother having such a solid foothold here, anyways. But with mother the way she is, and the guard at its current state, I’m afraid of who’ll use this moment grab for power. Then again, the others would probably tear them apart, just so they can claim it for themselves.’, I thought in extreme worry. ‘If necessary, I’ll have the support of the guard if I ever needed to overthrow whoever is voted into power. I may be able to convince whoever becomes dictator to go through the ‘future of steel’ plan. At the very least, they could modernize the guard, since it would be a waste of equipment.’, I pondered as the gears began turn and chug in my mind. “Adolf, is queen Helvia going to be in attendance?”, i asked, already next to him and partly out the doorway.
Breaking out of his stupor, he seemed to think on my question for a moment before responding. “Yes she is, my lord. Should I send her a message?”, he asked while following behind me through the doorway. Firmly closing doors, and giving a nod of acknowledgement to the guard on both sides of the door, I began to leisurely walk towards our destination. “No need. I have a feeling that she understands what must not happen no matter the cost.”.
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“These are all that we’ve managed to find, Princess. There’s still no sign of the Queen or a large portion of the swarm.”, one of the night guard reported to princess Luna with a standard salute. With sigh of disappointment, Luna waves off the guard to continue their search. “Of all the things that could’ve happened during my fruitless time away at the Hooviet Union, it had to be changelings.”, she muttered under her breath.
When Luna left for her first official diplomatic meeting, her sister promised her that no massive scale of political mishap would happen. And what does she come back after a whole lot of nothing? Her sister tired beyond belief, Canterlot heavily damaged, goo-like substance everywhere, her niece being married, and changelings were sent flying at high velocities. Normally, it would be the changelings who are seen in a bad light. But, due to the fact that they are finding so many that are dead or soon to be dead. Those that they managed to save, are crippled for life without the possibility of returning to their guard carriers.
What made it worse, was that it wasn’t just any of the queens. Oh no. It had to be queen Chrysalis the 23rd, who is widely popular amongst the still independent central hives. If Chrysalis is in the same state as most of these changeling drones appear to be, the kiss goodbye to their already strenuous diplomatic channels in the area. “Stupid love shield. Stupid politically inept niece and that consort of hers.”, she further grumbled as she trotted towards the large, black and blue tent ahead of her. Don’t get Luna wrong., she still loves her niece. It’s just Cadence’s inability to see just how large the political ramifications she caused are going to be, drives her mad. Cadence still has the notion that the global political community will side with them and condemn the actions of Chrysalis. Does she even know of the consequences of her actions? Luna knows that the one called ‘Shining Armor’ doesn’t. He even had the gall to call for anti-Changeling precautions to be implemented nationwide. She had to spend FIVE hours on just telling him why it was a bad, stupid idea. The sheer fact that Equestria has a few Changeling protectorates, makes the precautions seem ludicrous and and unwise in both theory and practice. She still balks at how her sister neglected teach cadence the finer point of politics. She knows Cadence would never really have need to know how to do it, since the plan her sister laid out leaves those kinds of things to Canterlot, but it still crazy how unready she is. Mayhap's she would benefit going through the training regime of old.
As she pushed through the deceiving heavy flaps with her magic, she saw her sister pouring over a rudimentary map of the area. “Still no sign of her, sister. At this rate, the theory of Chrysalis landing somewhere else is becoming all the more plausible by the hour.”, Luna sourly commented, quickly coming to the other side of Celestia. With a sigh of exasperation, Celestia brought her left hoof to her brow in an attempt to stave off the oncoming migraine. With no such success. “Luna, we’ve already been through with this already. Wether or not we do find her at all, is not the goal here at this very moment. We’re here to find as many as we can, separate and bury those, comfort those on the veil of death, and save those that we can.”, Celestia tiredly stated to her sister for the tenth time. She was not in the mood to get into another verbal joust with Luna over this topic. “If we find, then we’ll do what is necessary. If not, we’ll just have to worry about that when we get there. This ain’t the days of old, where you could go in and out of a foreign with neither a peep or protest from the natives. Now, it would be a declaration of war. Even with our protectorates, we are bound by the 923 Canter pact to respect their sovereignty.”, Celestia cautiously stated, knowing all too well the look on Luna’s face and what it meant. “I know that, sister. It’s just that I’m worried the rumors that are coming out of the Changeling lands, and the long standing consequences of today’s actions will have on the Thestral minorities and city-states in the area.”, Luna replied with a voice heavily embedded with worry and concern.
While Celestia understood her sister’s worries about the Thestrals, it was the comment about rumors that got her ears to perk up. “Rumors? What rumors?”, Celestia asked Luna, who now had her undivided attention. “I’m surprised that you haven’t heard of them yet. Their mostly focused around Chrysalis’s legitimate son. How he is very popular amongst the hives, even more so then his mother. How he is a very accomplished general, and Advocates for the formation of a modern army with the latest weaponry and tech available. Most concerning is his calls for a unified Changeling empire, and the downfall of the Hooviet Republic. From what information that I could gather was the is huge for Changelings, has a very strong magic aptitude, and is very charismatic.”, Luna explained, as if listening off things from a nonexistent list.
While the news is concerning- she will have to in contact with her sources- Celestia couldn’t see anything that they or Equestria could do about it in the foreseeable future. “Luna, even if all that you said was true, there’s nothing that we could do besides send a diplomat sometime in the future. The Harmonic law prohibits us from doing anything military-wise, unless it’s a defensive war.”, She explained with a voice full of exhaustion brought by that memory. Luna simply scowled instead of verbally responding. It still enrages her when she found out that the nobility took advantage of her sister’s unconscious state after their battle.
But by Faust, she was right. What could they do? Their either too busy cleaning up messes around Equestria, or prohibited from doing it by a bunch of unnecessary red tape. She herself is too busy trying to mend the rift between the three tribes and the Thestrals. By the gods, she hopes that this doesn’t blow up in their faces. For the good of Equestria and all future generations.
Author's Note
I was inspired to write this after watching Pravus Gaming play as the changelings in Equestria Total war
The closing of the door heralded the arrival of the captain to the secluded room. With a clopping of hooves on a hard floor being the only sound filling the silent room, the captain quickly reached the only furniture in the room. A simple, circular, wood table with five equally simple, wooden chairs. Four out of five were occupied when he entered the room. Sitting down on the remaining chair, the oldest of the group began the meeting.
“As you all already know why we’re gathered here to discuss, I’ll simply cut to the chase. Eclipse must be nominated as dictator.”, the oldest of the five stated with a firm voice. He had the common physical characteristics of drones, with his slightly larger size and a deep scar On his left cheek being the only distinguishable things about him. The old blue captain helmet he always wore distinguishing him further. The other four nodded in agreement. “He is the only hope we have on preventing total collapse of the hive. Those nobles are too busy fighting amongst each other to ever properly rule, and those ‘generals’ only know how to do everything by the book.”, another one stated, looking up from a document he was reading. He was noticeably pale in color, with a thinner body build then the rest. Besides his torn and scarred ears, most would mistaken him for a librarian. “What about his mother? What do we do if she ever wakes up?”, a third asked. He was the darkest in color, with his mane giving away his status a prince. The others look towards the oldest for guidance on the question.
“She has proven herself incapable of leading us to victory or effectively. If she ever does wake up and attempt to reclaim her throne, she shall be taken care of. Fillo, are the guard of your division in place?”, he seriously said, before asking the youngest in the group. Being the only Thestral of the group hasn’t hindered his workability with the others. Being of midnight black in color, with a light blue mane and tail with toxic green eyes, he wore a retrofitted blue helmet to fit his head. “Yes, they are in position and ready if given the order. They are inside and around the House of Lords, and secretly passing the messages to their rightful sender as we speak.”, Fillo calmly stated while stretching his legs in order to get more comfortable.
“Good, good. Have them be ready to storm the House of Lords if it doesn’t go in Eclipses favor.”, he ordered, before turning towards the last one who has yet to speak. “What shall be our recruitable percentage be, dril?”, he asked the one known as Dril neutrally. With a sea of scars all over that culminates with a blind right eye, many would overlook just how pale their complexion was. “In total, we should expect to see a three percent increase from the old measly 0.25 percent. Around 0.50 shall come from both the garrisons and militias as a means of filling a few gaps that will inevitably form.”, Dril dully reported without ever looking up at any of them.
“Marvelous. That should be enough to fully supply the troop numbers for the foreseeable future.”, the eldest said happily, before clearing his throat and took a more somber look. “Remember, we must remain firm in this dire situation.”, he firmly said before raising his left hoof into the air. “Blood for blood.”, he recited. “Life for life.”, the others followed soon after. “Rip and tear for the foreign soul, for it we shall feast on for the rest of eternity. Harken, our foe. For if you wish to come, prepare to gaze into eternity.”, they all simultaneously said in unison, their voices reverberating throughout the entire room, and into the immediate hallway.
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“Now presenting, prince Eclipse Chrysallwing. Son of Queen Chrysalis, High General of the guard, and protector of the innocent.”, the greeter announces to the entire room, drawing the attention of all in the room and simultaneously ending any and all hushed conversations. Every single member of the House of Lords looked at the entrance with different expressions. Some looked with hope, some with fear, some with indifference, some with hate, while a few princesses looked on with lust dancing like a raging inferno deep within their eyes.
The Thestral guards on each side of the doors pulled them inward, giving all full view of a stone-faced prince Eclipse, and his nervous personal guard Adolf. Walking forward at a leisure pace with Adolf awkwardly keeping pace with him, they both fully enter the chamber. The guard then proceeded to close both doors with an audible thud, before returning to their original positions. Walking around the edge of the circular, multilevel chamber, he reached his normal chair to sit upon. What he thought as a chair, looked more like a dialed down throne carved entirely out of oak or pine. Farthest to the right was his sister’s throne. It was more comfortable and manageable for her needs.
As soon as he sat, Queen Helvia spoke in a voice not unlike honey. “Marvelous, everybody is now here. As such, I Queen Helvia of Ditrysium, as the only able queen of the Vesalipolis-Ditrysium Axis, I call this emergency meeting into order.”. With those words spoken, all within tensed up in and worry. Unknown to most, the Thestral guard looked at one another with a nod of confirmation, and proceeded to get marginally closer to all the occupants. “As it has been stated, we are at our most vulnerable state since Chrysalis the first’s guard fell to King delirium the second of the deer at the fifth battle of Walterloo in 645. With Queen Chrysalis the sixth unable to properly lead the Axis into stability for the in foreseeable future, we must vote on Who shall lead it into salvation.”, she said as she nodded towards a nearby guard with an old, wooden ballot box. Silently, the guard began going in an anti-clockwise circle around the room, passing out rectangular, lime green paper ballots to write their votes of choice on the candidate. As soon as they finished the circle by giving Queen Helvia her own, they moved back towards their previous position and waited for those to write their vote.
It a silenced, suspenseful thirty-five minutes with the sound of ink-quills hitting paper being the only thing that broke it. One by one, all began to fold their ballots in half and set their quills back into the inkwells next to them. The same guard then began to pick up the ballots and put them in the ballot box, this time in a clockwise circle. Once they reached Queen Helvia, and put hers in the box as well, the guard took it to the center of the room, where there was a small, ornate table made entirely out of jade. Besides it is a prince of great age, wearing a cloak of dark-green with blood-red outlines. His bearded, wrinkled face seemed to be eternally set on a sorrowful frown. Solemnly taking the ballot box with his faded green magic, he sets it on the table, and begins to sort them out with the help of the guard who brought it. All within the room watched as the prince slowly, yet meticulously, individuality opened each of the ballots, look at the name written on it, and set it on a pile. The guard helping did the same as well, but a bit quicker due to not having to squint to read some of the more fluid hoofwritng.
As time quickly passed by, it was becoming apparent to all those looking, that one stack was reigning supreme amongst them all. All waited with an a-baited breaths, while the guards inched closer and closer towards the occupants, with hard to read expressions seemingly etched onto their faces like a chisel on a stone slab. Once the final ballot was read and carefully placed into its corresponding, they then started to count and recount the number of ballots in each pile. This went by quicker, and were done in less than three minutes. “The ballots have now been read, grouped, counted, and recounted.”, the old prince loudly stated with booming voice that sounded like gravel grating against stone. “As per the traditions of old, the ballot votes shall be read from least to most.”, he also stated, before clearing his throat and listing off names, their position, and the amount of votes they received. “Pupa Chrysallwing, high princess of Vesalipolis. 15 out of 300 votes. Plumbel Pturd, veteran raid general of the Carthigan wars. 23 out of 300 votes. Prusia Napole, minor prince of hive gallopia. 27 out of 300 votes. Chrysall larvae, minor princess of hive Vesalipolis. 30 out of 300 votes. Chrysal Lupa, imperial war-mistress of the Vesalipolis-Ditrysium axis. 35 out of 300 votes. Eclipse Chrysallwing, high prince and high General of Vesalipolis-Ditrysium guard. 170 out of 300 votes.”, the old finished announcing and proceeded to where the shocked high prince of Vesalipolis sat. Pupa seemed rather unaffected by the outcome. In fact, she seemed rather pleased with herself, loudly clapping her front hooves. Seemingly following her example, those that voted for Eclipse and Pupa both then began to simultaneously clap in a more reserved manner. The others give looks mixed with both unhappiness and displeasure, but withheld saying anything that may compromise their standings.
As the old prince got around the table, he motioned for two other changelings in the same robes as him, who each held a ornate cape and crown, to come forth from their positions by the doors. The cape seem to be a sea of constantly moving of circles, lines, dots, curve and straight angles, and combinations of all the above that is constantly shifting and changing. The crown is made of a dark-grey Metal that end in smooth horns with jade as the tips. Once they reached Eclipse’s side, one of them motioned for him to move in the ways needed. He numbly complied, too caught up in one of the rare times that he was left speechless. Taking out a royal scepter of green and black from the satchel hidden under his cloak. “Under normal circumstances for these kind of situations, you would be given limited powers for 11 months and 5 days before another ballot takes place.”, he said before raising the scepter sideways towards Eclipse. “But, given these dire circumstances, this requires something more. By the power invested in me by Boreium, I name you as Führer König for life.”, he loudly announced to all within the room, before settling the scepter in Eclipse’s left hoof.
The moment that shocking declaration rang out, all were shocked. It didn’t last very long. Within a blink of an eye, many began decrying this very idea. “This is madness! The Referendum of 945 clearly states in section 2, paragraph 3, line 2, that only royal members of the Chrysallwing line may become Führer König!”, Chrysal Lupa heatedly raged out as she slammed her right hoof onto the table in anger. “Is he not the direct son of Queen Chrysalis Chrysallwing the sixth”, the old prince questioned back at those that are raving over something that isn’t up for them to decide. When none dared to respond, he continued. “As her only direct offspring, it’s his birthright and duty to rule in his mother’s stead.”, he calmly stated, as if he were talking about the weather. “Besides, while it’s within my power to crown him Führer König, but the same cannot be said in taking it back. By all rights, he has the power to order the remaining guard to round us up and have them execute us at this very moment.”, he offhandedly commented while looking at the back of his right hoof in interest. That comment made many of the occupants-even those that voted for him-then began look at The guard near them with a light touch of fear within their eyes, just now noticing how close they really are.
“My friends and comrades.”, Eclipse suddenly said, finally regaining his metaphorical footing. “I know that many of you fear what I may do, but know this. This is bigger than me, bigger than you. This is bigger than all of us individually. This is about those that entrust their safety into our hooves. Loved ones who look to us in comfort in times of woe. Children who up to us in admiration, awe, love, and guidance to a better future. I have seen that group time and time again be the sword and shield in the defense of the meek. I have seen that group time and time again be the hammer and anvil in shaping the guard of the axis to become one of the most respected and well loved by our people. I have seen that group time and time again inspire future generations to climb the ladder known as history, and leave their mark. I one question you all, who have done so much bleeding and toiling over this place. Where is that group now?”, he asked as he peered around the murmuring chamber questionably, none meeting his gaze of steel and blood.
“I see it tearing itself apart at the seams, gnawing and gnashing at one another over simple ideology. Have you forgotten what this group has done in the past? Or do you think that it was one individual at the helm of a colossus golem? No, it was done through a united effort that oblivion was vanquished, and prosperity grown and harvested to spread amongst the masses.”, Eclipse stated with a will of fire. A fire that was beginning to spread throughout all those listening, as murmurs of agreement began to fill the chamber. Even the guard were feeling this fire seep into them too, joining and stoking the fire already within them. “Now more than ever, we need to be united. Now more than ever, we must work as one. Now more than ever, we need to show a united front towards all who threaten that we were sworn to protect. Even now, our shows that the Vraks are once again bolstering their forces to storm us again in the north. The Jerva to the east has sent spies into our land, and the Grotia have sent scouts to their strongholds of old in the west. The hive confederation to the south has been quiet as of late, but it is only a matter of time before they realize that our forts along the border are only held by garrison troops. I ask you, are we going to lay down and die, undoing all that we have accomplished??!!”, he yelled out his question for all to hear. As if a spark was thrown to fuel, the room came alive with chants of ‘Nay!’ from all within. “Then I ask of you, help me forge this land into a place of unity. Out of the ashes of old, we shall forge a new, modern, organized fighting force that will stand the test of time. We must forge an army that will stand above all hives, for I have a dream. A dream of a united changeling empire that shall be a beacon the destitute and loss. I have a dream where hives don’t fight one another, but work together for a better future. I have a dream where brothers and sisters do not fight each other over loyalties to a certain hive. In the name of Boreium, who shall help me make this dream a reality??!!”, Eclipse asked all who could hear with a voice mighty as an avalanche.
The sound of the applause and yells of confirmation could be heard out in the hallway.
