Author's Note

So this was going to be the intro to the navy chapter, but it didn't really fit with the theme, and got wayyy to long. So I just decided to make it its own little mini chapter and have it be an in-between thing while I work on the navy chapter. Sorry if you were expecting a longer chapter, that's coming.

This is also a show of the Chrysalis we all know and love. I'm just writing her as able to switch between loveable queen and deranged murderer at the drop of a hat, so that's been fun to write.

Feel free to point out anything I did wrong, and I'll get back to you on any questions in the comments. Cheers.

'Intelligence'

To the Changelings, Chrysalis was the perfect queen who’d led them to greatness. She’d united the hives, modernised the economy and turned them into a military superpower capable of fighting muzzle to muzzle with the greatest empires on the planet.

To the ponies, she was the devil incarnate; the most horrifying enemy to ever face harmony. The queen of all changelings was the monster lurking in the dark and just out of sight. The threat to the equestrian way of life which could consume them all.

To her advisors, Chrysalis either spelled doom or power beyond one’s wildest dreams. Right now, it was probably doom for all in the room. Chrysalis had summoned all her intelligence experts and spymasters into the highest levels of her great tower and sat them silently around a large conference table.

The queen herself sat at the head of the table; the back of her winged armchair silhouetted against the ranging storm outside an entirely windowed wall. Standing just behind her was Hivesmarshal Trimmel, smoking from a pipe; the military officer having brought accusations personally to Chrysalis against these intelligence operatives.

While the intelligence operatives and spy’s sweated and waited in silence, Chrysalis ate her tea. Using various implements and brute force with her own magic, she tore apart a lobster and extracted the flesh from its interior. In between bites, she drank the finest of wines imported from overseas. Not many places to grow grapes in the frigid north.

After watching her eat for a couple of minutes, their great queen tapped her hoof against the table. A section of servants rushed in and cleaned away her dishes in record pace. Then one ling dressed in a fine suit, the queen’s private secretary, presented her with a menu. Their great queen scanned it briefly before making her decision.

“Medium rare manticore steak and a glass of Reich Red.” She told her loyal butler.

The well-dressed butler nodded before levitating over a box of Marelborough cigarettes, the queens favourite brand along with her long cigarette extender and a box of matches. Nodding in thanks, the queen waved a hoof and dismissed him. Kurt Helborg, the renown butler of Chrysalis, perhaps one of the few if only that she fully trusted.

He was a relatively young changeling, perhaps only in his early twenties. He wore a full suit, bowtie and black blazer, like a true gentleling. His position alongside the queen was a highly coveted one, something many changelings had tried to take before. But his position was secure, Kurt was totally loyal to Chrysalis.

His personal relationship with Chrysalis also helped his position, Kurt was a war orphan from the Canterlot invasion and despised Ponies and their harmony. Kurt was also adopted and raised in Chrysalis’s palace following the invasion, he was like a son to the Queen of all Changelings. Being part of her extended family, the two were certainly close. Some even believed that Kurt was being groomed as a potential successor to the great Queen.

“Smoke anyling?” The queen offered out in her magic.

Not daring to say no to any of her questions, all seven of the changelings at the table took one in their magic. Chrysalis then passed around her matches as everyone lit their cigarettes, taking uneasy drags. Finally, it got back to The Queen of all Changelings who lit her own and took a deliberately long drag.

The changelings at the table were right to be scared, they were the seven individuals in charge of intelligence gathering in the Crystal Empire, a job they had failed thoroughly at. With Vaspier briefly out of country, no one could protect them from the Queen. It would doubtful they would even be safe if Vaspier was in country.

“Tea anyling?” the Queen politely asked the table.

A number of small nods and quiet affirmations from the assembled table returned to Chrysalis. Tea could be any number of things, poison being the most obvious. As infiltrators, they all knew spells to detect poisons, but all were very visible. If the Queen spotted them scanning for poisons, that would probably mean a bullet in the back of the head.

Chrysalis waved a hoof and Kurt appeared next to her. It was almost scary how he appeared out of thin air next to her. The butler had a single extended wing he was balancing a large tray on, teapots and cups. The butler gentley poured tea and handed it out to the seven changelings, they were all nervous of the potential danger.

Until the butler poured a cup for from the same pot and levitated it over to Trimmel. The Hivesmarshal took a sip from the cup and thanked Kurt. Seeing that the drink was safe, they all took polite sips of the warm drink and savoured it. They still waited in silence however, praying that the queen would soon get to the point of the matter. All the Changelings knew that at least some of them were going to die, they could only pray it wasn’t them.

“You seven are personally responsible for the greatest intelligence failure in all of changeling history.” She began “do enlighten me as to how you let this happen.”

The Changeling sitting closest to her stammered briefly before speaking. This was the director of crystal operations and the one directly responsible for the catastrophe. “We simply weren’t given enough funding your majesty, with all the money and resources going to the equestrian operations the crystal division wasn’t give the…”

As the changeling stallion talked, a queens guardling moved to the large windows behind Chrysalis and opened one. Another queens guardling grabbed the director mid-sentence and roughly pulled him to the floor. During the chaos, the other changelings at the table stood up and backed up a few paces in fear. Even Trimmel placed a hoof over his mouth to suppress a gasp, the Hivesmarshall being visibly disturbed by the ongoing events. Chrysalis meanwhile was served her manticore steak and wine, having no outwards reaction to the events unfolding next to her. She even stubbed out her cigarette and placed it gently down.

The queens guardling grabbed the two wings of the intelligence director and roughly ripped them out. The director let out of blood curdling scream as his blood actually began to curdle on the carpet. The guard dragged him over to the open window and threw the director out of it, ignoring the sobbing and pleas of the changeling she held. The guard closed the window and returned to her original position along the wall.

Excluding the queens guardlings, all the changelings in the room were disturbed. The intelligence advisors and operators were so terrified they probably would have run at any sudden noise. Trimmel meanwhile had dropped his pipe and suppressed a gasp, but remained quiet and recovered the quickest from the shock. He picked up his loose pipe from the floor and placed it inside his coat pocket.

Queen Chrysalis started to eat her steak before looking up at the terrified intelligence advisors. She gently spoke when she said “sit.”

Kurt spoke up for the first time as well, not acknowledging the brutal death just like the Queen. He politely held out the teapot in his magic “More tea anyling?”

They practically clambered over each other to get back to their seats, ignoring the question from Kurt. “Now then, Hivesmarshal Trimmel here has accused you of…” Chrysalis paused and glanced back at the Changeling behind her “be a dear and remind me what is was again.” She ordered.

As he stood behind the Great Queen, the butler used both his front hooves to communicate Chrysalis question to in sign language. Trimmel nodded in thanks and gave Kurt a small smile, he was a good kid. It was very rare for anyone, changeling or otherwise to learn sign language, so Trimmel deeply appreciated the extra effort that Kurt had gone to for him.

“My accusation was that Director Nanitic has been embezzling funds from the crystal division.” Trimmel gestured towards the window “although I see he’s already been taken care of.” The Hivesmarshal cleared his throat before continuing “the second part was that 1 member of the crystal intelligence advisory committee began feeding intelligence to the Crystal empire following the strategic redeployment on the border.”

The strategic redeployment, better known as the great, was Trimmels decision to withdraw from the occupied Equestrian territories. Following the retreat, there was a surge of traitors and leaks as officers and civilians thought that the Equestrians might keep going and threw their lot in with them. Trimmel’s subsequent decimation of the Heer’s middle rank assured their loyalty. Vaspier however hadn’t conducted any such investigations, and now Trimmels boys were playing the price.

The Crystal Imperial forces had begun a limited counterattack, against Kampfgrupper Peiper and inflicted heavy casualties on them. Recognisance flights now indicated that the Crystal Imperial army was built on intricate defences exactly on their line of advance, and Trimmel was furious. The Crystal Empire had obviously

“Thank you.” Chrysalis smiled before turning back to the four anxious lings at the table “now then, let’s see if we can’t find out who the little traitor is shall we? I will also say that only one of you has to die, but if we can’t find the traitor, I have no problem in shooting all of you. Let’s get started, shall we?”

A well-dressed Queens guard officer entered the room at a quick trot. Guard Lilac wore the full-dress uniform of the guard, her blue hair tied up in a neat ponytail swished off to her side. In her magic, Oberstleutnant Lilac she held a pack of pictures and letters. She circled the table quietly and handed out pictures to each of the changelings at the table. The intelligence officers looked at the pictures and letters one by one, looks of horror plastering their faces.

The pictures showed the loved ones and family of the various changelings bound and beaten, the pictures were dark, obviously in basements or cells somewhere. The letters were equally disturbing, they were pleas of mercy, of forgiveness, one of them even begged to be put out of its misery.

“As you will notice, these are pictures of loved ones; parents, siblings, children.” Oberstleutenant Lilac explained “If you fail to answer the great Queens’ questions, I order them to be executed. If you are one of the traitors, I order them to be executed. However, if you step forwards now, then they get to live.”

There was total silence for a moment, noling moved as they weighed their options. Then one stood up, the male changeling raised a hoof. His eyes were filled with tears, and he appeared distraught. “Theres one more traitor, I don’t know who.”

Chrysalis smiled sweetly at the intelligence officer “They’ll be told you died a hero.” She then levitated her steak knife over and dropped it in front of the intelligence officer “please see yourself out.”

The changeling bit his lip, then he picked up the tea in his magic as well as the knife. “Thank you, your highness. I won’t let this tea go to waste.” Carrying both the steaming cup of tea and the sharp steak knife, the officer walked strolled towards the door. The two changelings at the door opened it, as the officer walked out without looking back.

As the doors closed, Chrysalis turned to the remaining changelings. “Anyling else?” when no changeling stepped forwards, she sighed “Then let’s get started with the questions. Trimmel, you can go, I think there’s a war you need to command.”

Trimmel, who was able to conceal how disturbed he was by the whole investigation, eagerly nodded “Yes I’ll take my leave now, until next time Chrysalis.” As he trotted towards the door, one of the guards let out a quiet growl at the Hivesmarshals casual and informal use of the Queens name. Trimmel just scoffed “oh grow up.”

As the Hivesmarshal left, he never turned back to see the doors close. He expected to see at least one of those V.O.P.S agents again, so Trimmel mentally reminded himself to ask them how it went. That of course assumed that Chrysalis didn’t just shoot them all, a very real prospect. But such is life, some live and some die.