How Chrysalis Got Her Groove Back VIIII

>"My queen? My queen? Are you alright?"
>"Do you wish us to get you something, my lady?"
>"Are you injured? Do you require aid?"
>"Say something, your highness!"
>For the past ten minutes, Chrysalis had stood at the mouth of the hive frozen
>Her eyes were wide and unblinking, her mouth partially opened
>Her body was tensed from her tail to the tip of her snout
>There was a look of unrestrained horror on her face, as if what she had just seen had broken her utterly and completely
>And this, for all that stood waiting and watching, was not only worrying but disheartening
>"My queen, lady Chrysalis," one of the general's said, poking the statue-like queen on her side. "My lady, please, speak to us!"
>For the first time since she had looked through that telescope (which hovered by her head via magic), the queen blinked
>She then leaned toward the telescope, adjusted it, and stared into it for a few moments before moving away
"Oh horse apples..." she muttered once again, a far off look in her eyes
>This was too much for her generals, who immediately sprung into action
>"FIRST PLATOON! SHIELDS AND SPEARS AT THE READY!"
>"MEDICS, COME! YOUR QUEEN HAD NEED OF YOU!"
>"Sergeant, come over here. You must get a message to our lings over the hive. They need to be on the lookout for--"
>"I NEED A DOZEN LINGS SCOPING THAT DESERT FIVE MINUTES AGO!"
>As the queen mumbled nonsensically to herself, the other Changelings at the mouth of the cave ran around at a frenzied pace
>A formidable shield wall was set up
>Dozens of lings with spyglasses began to survey the desert
>Changeling's horns sparked and crackled with energy as they readied their most powerful spells
>"I have a lock-on on the group making their way here!" one ling shouted
>One of the generals, haggard and breathless, marched over to him

>"Does there seem to be anything unusual about them?" he questioned. "Can you detect a magical field around them? Are they casting any magic? Are they wearing anything that seems out of sorts? Do you feel odd?"
>The ling shook his head
>"Negative, sir! They seem to be completely unarmed!"
>Making a face, the general looked at the other terrain-scanners
>"What about the rest of you? You do see anything? Any hidden Equestrian soldiers hiding in that desert?"
>"No sir!"
>"Nope!"
>"Nada!"
>"I might--no, that was just a cactus..."
>"We don't see SHIT, sir!"
>Snatching up the spyglass from the ling beside him, the general quickly looked for the three ponies making their way toward the hive
>Like his underlings had said, there didn't seem to be anything unusual about them
>The guards wore the standard armor of the Crystal Empire's Legion, while the stallion in the middle only wore a simple hood to shield himself from the punishing sun
>Only one of them was a unicorn, and from what he could see that unicorn wasn't casting any spells
>There was also no amulets, or anything that seemed remotely magical on them
>They just appeared to be three envoys
>Three envoys with a fruit basket, but three envoys nonetheless
>But, if they were the case, why was the queen acting so… strange?
>Eyes narrowing, the aging general turned his attention back toward the unicorn standing in between the two crystal ponies
>His face was partially covered from his hood, so he couldn't see his face cleared, but there seemed something awfully... familiar about him
>The general couldn't quite place him, but he was positive that he had seen the colt before
>Perhaps it was during the invasion?

>Maybe he was a soldier that had tried to defend the city?
>Before the general could wrack his brain, however, another general was standing at his side
>"What do you think we should do?" he asked. "Should we refuse to see them? Should we attack?"
>The older general grimaced
>"There will be no ATTACK, Seventeen. You know that," he whisper-shouted, leaning toward the ling so that the queen wouldn't hear.
>"Then what should we do?" the younger general demanded
>They both quickly looked over their withers at the statue-still queen
>"Oh horse apples..." she muttered again
>The two generals looked at each other before they frowned
>"...Our king said that no harm will come to the hive," the elder said. "He was told that the Equestrians would do us no harm."
>”They could have been lying, sir," the other protested
>For a moment, the older general considered treachery before shaking his head
>"No... no. We must trust in our king," he proclaimed, standing up a little straighter. "And if he wishes us to trust these... ponies, then we shall do so."
>The younger general released a lungful of air through his nose
>"...Very well," he muttered, hesitance coloring his tone. "I shall tell the troops not to treat them as hostiles when they come within range."
>"Have a small group of lings go out and escort them so that they may speak to her majesty post-haste," the elder said, rubbing his temples with a hoof. "Also, while I do my best to help her majesty to retain her senses, have the troops ready themselves for any funny business. I may trust our king's judgment but I am practical enough to know when to be cautious."
>Saluting, the younger general rushed off to do as he was asked
>The elder's orders were discretely passed to the other generals, who then passed them to their underlings

>A small group of lings were sent out--unarmed of course-- and the bulk of the soldiers were placed at the back of the cavern, no longer with spears at the ready but still prepared for any mischief
>Sighing, the old general took a few deep breaths, trying to ignore the emotions raging through the hivemind
>He turned back toward the queen, to see a trio of medic lings standing around them, their equipment out and in use
>"My lady, can you hear me?"
>"..."
>"My lady? Can you hear my voice?"
>"Horse apples..."
>"My lady, I need you to focus on my face. Now, can you hear me?"
>"Why in the name of the thousand-faced god would they send HIM here? Don't they know what that would..."
>"My lady, I'm going to yank your tail. Please turn your head and cough. My lady?"
>Making his way over to his queen, the general looked over at one of the lings looking her over
>"So what seems to be the problem?" he asked nervously. "Is there something the matter with her majesty?"
>The medical ling, who had a stethoscope pressed right about the queen's chest plate, hummed thoughtfully
>"There doesn't seem to be anything PHYSICALLY wrong with her," he said
>His horn glowed, bathing Chrysalis in a green aura
>The queen barely seemed to notice it as she continued to mumble to herself
>The medic ling hummed to himself again
>"And there doesn't seem like any odd magic has gotten a hold of her," he continued, scratching his head
>"Load of horse apples..." Chrysalis mumbled as one of the lings gave her tail a hard tug
>The general bit his lip
>"So there's NOTHING wrong with her?" he asked
>"Not from what I can see," the medic said, placing the stethoscope around his neck
>"Then WHY is she acting like that?!"
>The medic shrugged

>"I have absolutely no idea."
>Biting his lip, the general looked over his wither
>"Well, you're going to have to figure it out NOW. The envoys are coming and--"
"General, what's going on?"
>The general stiffened
>Spinning around, he saw that king Anonymous was staring at him not five feet away, an eyebrow raised
>"M-My lord!" he squeaked, his stomach drooping as he quickly looked over at the queen
>Anonymous, following his gaze, looked over at his wife
>"...Hon? Are you alright there?"
>If Chrysalis heard him she didn't give any signs, still staring at nothing with her mouth partially opened
>Anonymous, flanked by his personal guards, made his way over to Chrysalis, the trembling general, and the medics
>"Chrysalis, my queen, hon," he said, snapping his fingers in front of the ling's face
>When that didn't work, he knelt down in front of her
>"Chryssi. Hon. Love of my wife," he said, lightly slapping her face
>When THAT didn't work he quietly "humphed", a small frown on his face as he got up and dusted himself off
>"Huh... It seems like my dear wife is discombobulated."
>He turned toward the general, who dryly swallowed
>"Two, why in the name of Caesar's ghost is my wife discombobulated?"
>A shiver ran up Chrysalis's spin
>"Horse apples... Horse apples..."
>"I-I don't know, my lord," the general said, bowing his head. "The queen was speaking to us, but then--"
"Oh sweet Celestia on a pogo stick was it HOT out there!"
>Every single ling in that cavern stiffened as a voice carried through the air, especially the queen, who paled
"I don't know how you Changelings DO it! That sun was so wicked that I swear to the stars above that all of the moisture in my mane and tail is GONE!"

>Shining Armor, Prince-Consort of the Crystal Empire and Ex-Captain of the Royal Guard stepped into the mouth of the cave as if he not only owned the place but drew the blueprints and built it
>Behind him were a group of battle-hardened Changelings that looked like they very much needed a nap
>Beside him were a pair of Crystal ponies that looked the same
"My, my, MY does it look bigger in here than I thought!" Shining commented, paying no mind to the spears pointed at him as he made his way through the lings toward Anonymous and Chrysalis
>"Halt!" one of the lings barked. "State your bus--"
>Side-stepping him, Shining walked past the ling
"It is far cleaner in this hive than I expected," he said, looking around. "A lot cleaner than back home. Then again, Cadence can't clean a thing to save her life..."
>"H-Hey! I said halt!" the guard snapped, only to be ignored
>King Anonymous, turning to face the stallion as he continued to chatter about anything and everything to anyone that he saw, raised an eyebrow as Shining stopped in front of him and bowed
"It is very nice to meet you, my lord," he said gracefully. "I am Prince-Consort Shining Armor, at your service."
>Chrysalis began to sweat, looking at both the unicorn and her husband
>"Horse apples... horse apples..."
>"It's very nice to meet you, Prince Shining," Anonymous said, bowing his head politely
>Shining smiled
"Please, call me Shining, your highness," he asked, bowing even lower
>Anonymous carefully looked the stallion up and down before smiling
>"Very well, so long as you just call me Anon. None of this “your highness” business."
"Alrighty! If you insist," the ex-captain chirped with a little bounce
>"So what brings you to our little hive, Shining?" Anonymous asked as Shining took a step forward
"I was sent to parley with you and your queen so that you may release my little sister," Shining said, puffing his chest out
>He then looked the king up and down

"...But, before that, might I say that you look positively breathtaking in that sweater."
>Anonymous looked down at his sweater
>"What? This old thing?"
"And those SLIPPERS! They match perfectly with your pants."
>"Well, you look quite fetching in your cloak."
"You think so?"
>Both the human and the unicorn moved closer toward each other
>Chrysalis, seeing this, let out a quiet whimper
>"Oh please, I wish I could look so good in one of those."
"Don't sell yourself short. I'd bet my horseshoes that you'd look a million times better in this silly old thing than me!"
>Anonymous chuckled, placing a hand in Shining's wither
>Shining, without missing a beat, wrapped a hoof around his lower back
>"Why don't we go and get some refreshments before we begin all of this silly business?" the king suggested. "I'm sure that you and your men could use something to drink."
"No stallion would love you better if I was given a glass of tea," Shining admitted, fanning himself with a hoof. "It has to be a hundred and ten degrees out there..."
>"Come, come, if you'll follow me I'll make sure that you're seen to," the king insisted, the ling soldier's parting ways as the two made their way toward the back of the cave. "Now why don't you tell me about yourself, Shining, you seem like a really..."
>The lings could only watch as the two, talking and smiling, disappeared into the hive with various levels of disbelief
>In front of Chrysalis, there was the fruit basket that the prince had brought in
>She was looking down at this basket, terror making her chest tighten
>Now there were two of them in the hive...
>Two crazy, weird, sassy stallions that could make a war seem like a tea party
>The kind of stallions that would make a mare rip her mane out
>She had TWO of them in this hive
TWO!
>Chrysalis, First of her Name, Leader of the Southernmost Hive, could feel the reaper breathing down her neck, could only say one thing
>"Horse apples…”