Princess Chrysalis

“... That means we have enough food to last till the twentieth of next month your majesty,” Velix, the minister of food distribution for the changeling kingdom stated. Cylka peered over the documents currently levitating before her with a cold glare.

“The twentieth? You said we would have enough for another 2 months,” Cylka reminded, her patience running thin towards the minister.

“Yes your majesty I did, however we did not include the data from the northern district,” Velix explained before noticing his Queen’s gaze, causing him to lower his ears and shrink down a bit.

“Care to explain why you did not include the northern sectors?” Cylka wondered, looking at all the ministers with curiosity.

“U-uh... w-well your majesty... we had been told that ponies from our reserves had been sent up north... however it turns out that the reason those ponies were missing was because well... they have already been fed on,” Velix explained, a growl coming from Cylka’s throat.

“So you were lied to?” Cylka questioned, gaining a small nod from the minister before the Queen raised her hoof, gaining the attention of a guard.

“Yes your majesty?” the guard spoke, like all guards he was dressed in armor.

“Tell your superiors to execute whoever lied to the minister,” Cylka ordered, receiving a nod from the guard who then proceeded out of the room. Her ministers all were seated before her at their usual places, their documents placed on the table and their gazes on the queen at the head of the table, ready to explain the condition of the topic they were the minister of.

“General Nox,” Cylka spoke, turning her attention to a changeling dressed in black armor with green eyes. “Please explain the condition of the military,” Cylka ordered, resting the previous documents down on the table.

“Well your majesty... it’s too large,” the changeling spoke, gaining confused gazes around the table.

“The problem is too large to explain or... Please elaborate your statement general,” Cylka requested before the general cleared his throat.

“By too large I mean the army your highness. Currently we have seven hundred forty-five thousand and eight hundred soldiers, those tasked with training the recruits are becoming lazy due to the staggering amount of changelings that join each year and frankly... the new soldiers are nothing compared to ones from say three years ago,” the general explained, receiving a growl from Cylka as her anger grew.

“Then why don’t you replace the trainers with different changelings?” Cylka wondered.

“That is the problem your highness, when we assign the replacements they simply fall into the same routine as the ones before, we need strict requirements and... possibly dismiss at least four hundred thousand soldiers”

“That’s your solution! How can you even call yourself a soldier?”

“This is ridiculous! Were you dropped on your head as a child?”

“How can you even call yourself a changeling? That kind of talk is treason!”

“Silence!” Cylka’s voice echoed through the room, causing the shouting ministers to silence immediately. “General Nox is a friend of mine and frankly the best general we got, before you stick your snobbish snouts up at him hear what he has to say!”

“Your majesty, the kingdom is deteriorating. Young changelings join the military knowing that it, for one, makes their families proud. Two, they know that they will be fed emotions free of charge and finally they know that if they die in the military their families get a pension.

“In the last fifteen years we have had over eight thousand changelings commit suicide, particularly those from the northern sectors to give their family food. Now that may be weak and pathetic of those changelings to do so but it is that bad your highness. They know that if they sacrifice themselves their family will be given ponies or whatever they receive to feed off of, potentially saving a child or a sibling.

“If we simply change the rules and remove some of the changelings from service to a reasonable number we will be able to control our army. Its size is too large currently to actively and accurately control, we can’t move seven hundred thousand plus soldiers into battle with coordination, your husband knew that and you know that, it’s just not possible.”

Cylka stayed silent for a moment as she thought of what he had said. Never had that been done before and she was hesitant to do so. What if shortening the military backfired and caused the changeling kingdom to become weak in defending itself? She did not know for she was usually not the one in the past to make these decisions.

Her husband had been a colonel when they met, her mother and father still had control over the kingdom and she was free to do what she wanted to do. The two quickly fell in love with each other and upon her taking the throne and him being promoted to General they married. He had always kept the army stable during their marriage till the day he caught a disease that prevented him from feasting on the emotions of creatures. He stayed alive for awhile by eating normal food but it did not last and soon he died.

“I’ll... consider your suggestion Nox,” Cylka spoke, receiving a nod from Nox in understanding.

“Yes, your highness.”

“Dismissed,” the Queen said, rising to her hooves and leaving the table to gaze out a window while the ministers packed up their documents and exited the room.

“Stunned as usual,” Chrysalis responded upon hearing her uncle’s information on the meeting. General Nox had been her father’s brother before his demise.

“Sorry?” Nox wondered, unsure by what his niece meant. The two sat at a table inside the local bar, Nox without his armor and Chrysalis in disguise. Chrysalis had changed her eyes to red with her mane and had left her crown behind causing every changeling in the city to not recognize her due to her altered appearance.

“My mother, she was stunned upon your explanation,” Chrysalis said, lifting a glass of water to her lips and having a sip.

“I’m sorry to bring this up again, but are you sure its safe for you to be here? I mean...you only changed your colors” Nox pointed out, receiving a small laugh from his niece.

“Just like Equestria, changelings are very dense, I spend most of my time on the streets of the kingdom,” Chrysalis replied before finishing her glass of water.

“May I ask why? I mean... it doesn’t seem logical, besides it has been dangerous on the streets lately,” said Nox.

“Dangerous, ha! Tell me, how much energy am I emitting?” Chrysalis questioned.

“More than anyone in the city.”

“How many changelings have you met with this much power at a single time?”

“None.”

“Would you attack me on the streets upon sensing my power?”

“I would be terrified if I was a criminal.”

“See? No fool would touch me uncle,” Chrysalis stated before a waitress approached, carrying five trays with her magic.

“Your... drinks” the waitress said, pausing upon sensing Chrysalis’ power. She took two drinks off one of the trays and placed them on the table, a glowing pink liquid with ice visible through the glass.

“Thank you,” Chrysalis thanked before the waitress trotted away to the other tables and Chrysalis grabbed the glass with her magic. Chrysalis raised the glass to her lips and took a drink, holding it nearby afterwards for quick use. It had a very acidic flavor, like a lemon, though a very sweet aftertaste. The drinks were magic made artificial emotions that only lasted for a few hours and had negative consequences upon drinking too much.

The consequences being an overdose on the liquid that was used to produce the drink; overdosing sent a changeling into a dizzy, unfocused state that in a way resembled a pony drunk, but it didn’t make changelings do stupid things like alcohol did for ponies. Some drank it for the temporary emotions while others, like Nox and Chrysalis drank it for an emotional boost without the need to consume them from another creature and made them happier and calmer than usual.

“Then why do it?” Nox questioned.

“I’d much rather see what my future subjects act and live like than to hear it from my mother or some other changeling,” Chrysalis stated before Nox sighed.

“Chrysalis, your mother will find out eventually.”

“She won’t. She, as you know, is much too busy for everything, Tella is more of Varia’s mother than her,” Chrysalis complained, earning a sigh from her uncle.

“Your father...”

“Don’t,” Chrysalis growled, a nerve obviously being hit in Chrysalis’ usual unbreakable emotional wall. Chrysalis was a confusing changeling to many throughout the kingdom. All times she had appeared in public she either had a emotionless expression on her face, or a look of anger. Some believed she hated the kingdom, others believed she was simply a cruel changeling, the first being incorrect, and the second almost correct. There were three subjects that hit Chrysalis emotionally; them being: Her mother, her sister and her father. She hated her mother, she loved Varia, but whenever a changeling brought up her father she locked up and didn’t want to hear anything they had to say.

Nox gave a sad nod before continuing “Be nice to your mother Chrysalis, she is just as stressed about the kingdom as you, more so however since she is queen, and you are not.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“All I am saying is: be kind to her, you will get the throne and turn the kingdom around soon, she is old and since...” Nox said before noticing Chrysalis’ magic glowing brighter around the cup before shattering the glass into a hundred pieces, causing the liquid to splash down with broken glass onto the table top. “She was hit hard by it too Chrysalis, she doesn’t have much left in her,” Nox explained, his niece looking away from him.

“Does anyone else see that she is nothing but an imbecile and unfit to rule the kingdom due to her pride?” growled Chrysalis, raising her voice and leaning over the table as she spoke, saying the last word with some venom.

“Some changelings do, some don’t. Be patient, if not for me then for your father.”

“I thought I told you to not speak of him,” snarled Chrysalis, her eyes and horn glowing green once more. That would have stopped any changeling in the kingdom but Nox knew her better than any other changeling currently alive.

“Go ahead Chrysalis fry me in my own chitin and send me to meet Aktez, but just remember: I miss your father too, I was his brother for Aktez’s sake so before you kill me think about how I feel as well instead of thinking of yourself.”

Chrysalis’ horn and eyes dimmed before she sighed sadly. “I-I’m sorry uncle,” Chrysalis apologized.

“I know,” Nox said, before looking at the spilled drink. Damn thats seven coins out of my pocket.