How Chrysalis Got Her Groove Back V

>There were very few times when a Changeling hive becomes silent
>Changelings, though a race known for its stealth and ability to blend into any crowd, were very noisy creatures when in the safety of their home
>Usually not a second went by when one couldn't hear the buzzing of wings or chirping or the dull thud of hooves hitting stone
>But, at that moment, all was silent
>The Changelings of the Southernmost Hive, from hatchlings to adults, were completely silent and still
>Even the ones that were deep in the hive, far away from the hive's entrance, found themselves stopping what they were doing to nervously look around
>Something was wrong in the air
>It was as if a void had been created
>The various emotions--joy, love, irritation and the like--in the air seemed to shift as if caught up in a wind
>The very air itself was cold, and the darkness that clung to the edges of the rooms and halls seemed to grow and become darker
>This could only mean one thing
>Mom was mad
>Very, very, VERY mad
>"... Twenty-four-nineteen? I would have words with you."
>Twenty-four-nineteen, one of the many personal guards to both the king and queen, found himself shivering as the Queen of the Changelings turned her attention to him
>He could feel cold fury radiating off his queen in waves
>It was a spicy yet sour taste; not at all appetizing
>It was never an emotion that a ling wanted to taste; doubly so when that fury came from the queen herself
>In fact, it was so potent that many of the lings that were unfortunate to be at the entrance of the hive found themselves wanting to vanish from the cavern
>And Chrysalis herself wasn't helping matters
>This fury, this rage, was beginning to twist the queen's form
>Her fangs seemed longer, her face and body seemed to become more angular
>Her gaze was sharp and predatory, and her eyes seemed to glow in the dim light
>Gone was the motherly ling that they all had been growing accustomed to

>The one that stood before them was the Great and Powerful Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings and Destroyer of Nations
>A growl escaped her throat, and despite himself Twenty found himself flinching
"I-I am yours, my lady," he said with a shaky salute
>Chrysalis took a step toward the ling, and it took a considerable amount of willpower for him not to take a step back
>Twenty, despite the lizard part of his brain SCREAM to run away, stood firm as the queen descended upon him in the same manner a lioness would her prey
>"Why is there an alicorn stuffed in a bag sitting in my hive?" she asked in an icy tone, leaning forward until her muzzle was pressed up against his. "WHY. IS. THERE. An. ALICORN. IN. MY. HIVE?"
>Twenty gulped
"U-Um, well, you see, your m-majesty--"
>"Hon," King Anonymous said. "Why don't you step away from the poor boy so that he can ac--"
>Without looking away from the ling soldier, Chrysalis extended a wing and brought it to her husband's lips, effectively silencing him
>"You WILL tell me what happened, Twenty-four-nineteen," she commanded. "You will tell me EVERYTHING."
>A muffled grumble could be heard in the burlap bag
>The bag's occupant began to shift around, kicking her legs
>King Anonymous, keeping a careful eye on his wife, quickly nudged the bag with his foot
"W-We were in the northern part of Labyrinthia, tasting some of the famous blue cheeses that the minotaurs p-produce there," Twenty said, almost managing to keep the quiver out of his voice
>"The cheese was wonderful love," Anonymous said, pushing his wife's wing away. "It was a more... layered kind of cheese. I wouldn't recommend it with crackers but a nice wine woul--thmp!"
>Twenty-four-nineteen jumped again as his queen's wing once again covered King Anonymous's mouth
>"Twenty..."
"We w-were about to disembark to the eastern part of the 'taur lands when Princess Twilight Sparkle came into town--"

>"TWILIGHT SPARK--" the queen began, only to take a deep breath and close her eyes
>Twenty, dryly swallowing, utterly failed to keep his legs from shaking
>Chrysalis was silent for a few moments--you could almost hear her counting down in her head--before she opened her eyes
>"Proceed," she growled
"We attempted to l-leave the town quietly, but Princess Tw--"
>"Do NOT speak her name!"
"--T-The Equestrian, for reasons t-t-that we cannot d-discern, knew what we w-were. Because o-of that we were f-forced to take e-extreme measures."
>Chrysalis's eyes narrowed
>"Extreme measures?" she questioned
>Twenty nodded his head rigorously
"We k-knocked her out a-and stuffed her in t-that bag, my liege."
>The guard's answer didn't seem to satisfy the queen in the slightest
>Her face twisted further in rage, and she bared her fangs at the little ling, causing him to take a nervous step backward
>"Why in the name of the Thousand-faced God did you bring her here then? Do you know how much danger you put us in?"
>Eyes wide in panic, Twenty began to back away
>Chrysalis, her green eyes blazing, matched him step-for-step
>"And what about my beloved? Because of your actions he could have been captured or WORSE if this alicorn's guard happened to find you or if you didn't manage to incapacitate her!"
"Y-Your g-grace--"
>"It is not your job to seek glory my little ling. Your one duty, your sole purpose, is to protect my husband and I. The MOMENT that you saw the Equestrian you should have LEFT! RETREATED! RAN!"
"B-But--"
>"I CARE NOT FOR YOUR EXCUSES, TWENTY! BECAUSE OF YOUR ACTIONS WE COULD HAVE A WAR ON OUR HOOVES! WORSE YET, ANONYMOUS COULD HAVE--"
>Chrysalis, shaking in anger, jerked as she felt a hand on her wither
>Her head snapped to the side, a snarl on her face, to see her husband looking at her calmly

>"Chrysalis," he said. "Remember yourself. You're scaring the children."
>Blinking, the queen found herself looking around the room
>She could see nearly every single one of her lings huddled at the end of the chamber
>They were shaking, cowering, staring at her with their big, fearful eyes
>She could taste the fear coming from her
>It was thick in the air, it's foul taste making her nose scrunch up
>"I understand that you're upset, but I think that you need to tone it down at bit," her husband murmured, giving her wither a squeeze
>It was then, when she saw what her rage had done, that she also noticed the anger pouring off of her
>No doubt the entire hive could taste it
>Many of her lings were probably just as fearful as the ones in front of her
>The anger left her like a puff of air
>She turned back to her husband, who gave her a gentle smile
>"Twenty? Why don't you and the boys go and rest up? I'd be happy to tell the queen what happened."
"YES SIR!" Twenty squeaked, before he cleared his throat. "Um, yes S-SIR!"
>With a quick bow Twenty, along with the other two lings that had accompanied the king on his journey, fled the room
>Chrysalis watched them quietly, her face an emotionless mask
>Anonymous, just as quiet as her, took a step forward and placed one of his hands on the small of her back
>She sighed, withers slumping, as she felt his fingers scratching her chitin
>"Do you feel better?" the king asked
>"They should have done their jobs properly," she replied quietly, stubbornly. "Your safety was their top priority."
>"They were trying to get us out of there without the little princess noticing."
>"They are the elite of the elite. They shouldn't have need to TRY."
>"You weren't there."
>"Nevertheless, I--"
>Grimacing, Chrysalis turned away, prompting her king to kneel down
>"Everything's fine, hon," he said, wrapping his arms around her in a hug
>Chrysalis made a half-hearted effort to pull away from his grasp, making him hold her all the tighter

>"Other than the princess over there, who no doubt has one hell of a bump on her head, no one got hurt."
>"But what of the alicorn's guard--"
>"The princess took off after us before she could say anything to her guards," Anonymous said, cutting her off. "I'd wager that they still think she's in the city trying to solve some friendship lesson or some such nonsense."
>The king pressed his forehead against hers, smiling all the while
>"Twenty and the other boys did a thorough inspection of her royal highness. There's nothing that will let the Equestrians track her, and we both know that she won't be able to use her magic to call for help. We're safe, love. We're safe."
>Chrysalis was silent as her husband nuzzled her cheek
>Her mind raced, calculating and weighing and judging
>She had Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Savior of Equestria half a dozen times over, tied up in a burlap sack
>While she could appreciate the humor in that--gods know that she was going to laugh herself sick later-- she also knew that a very delicate, dangerous, and possibly profitable situation had fallen into her lap
>If her husband was right and the Equestrians had no idea where their newest princess was, who knows what she and her lings could gain from this
>She could tear through the alicorn's mind and learn every secret that she knew
>She could random her off for land, wealth, or whatever else she desired
>If she were so inclined, she could even replace herself with this purple annoyance and infiltrate her enemies from the inside
>And she had learned from her mistakes
>Her conquest would be savage and shift
>There would be no time for some other annoying pest to come in and ruin her plans
>She no longer needed to capture a stallion full of love so that she stood a chance against the other alicorns
>Her husband was the only one she needed, and with him she had all the love and power that she needed

>Her power at the moment eclipsed what she had had during that BLASTED wedding
>There was no doubt in her mind that, if it came to a fight, she'd be able to take on both the Princess of the Sun and Moon
>And then there were her little lings
>Just like her, they had grown strong on her husband's love
>They were no longer starving, weak creatures that overwhelmed their enemies by sheer numbers
>Each one of her soldiers were now as strong as an elite guard from Canterlot, if not stronger
>And there were thousands of them; tens of thousands
>If she wished it, she'd sweep all of her opponents from the table all at once with little to no effort
>She'd be able to get her lings out of this accursed desert, build a nice hive in Manehattan or Las Pegasus or near Cloudsdale
>There, her hive could grow and expand until it reached the sky
>Then the Southernmost Hive would go from being the most powerful Changeling hive to being a powerful kingdom that needed to be reckoned with...
>The dread, fear, and worry that had been twisting Chrysalis's gut began to slip away, replaced by cautious excitement
>Giving her husband a nuzzle in return, she stepped away from him and made her away over to "Princess" Twilight Sparkle
>The pony was shifting uncomfortably in the bag, trying to roll onto her stomach to do gods know what
>A pair of lings guards were keeping careful eye on the bagged alicorn, their spears at the ready
>They stiffened as she came near, standing up straight and saluting
>"At ease, by little lings," Chrysalis said quietly, carefully eyeing the bag. "Now step away. Your queen desires to have a little... chat with the princess."
>The queen's horn glowed as her lings quickly stepped away
>Her green magic surrounded the bag in its eerie light
>The bag was hoisted into the air, and with a flick of her horn Chrysalis send it floating it toward her

>Twilight Sparkle began thrashing wildly in the bag, trying to shout through the gag that her husband's guard had placed in her mouth
>Chrysalis's soared when she tasted the fear pouring off her
>She SHOULD be afraid, she should be fearful
>She had entered the domain of Equestria's greatest foe, and she would only leave once the queen had allowed it
>IF the queen allowed it
>Chrysalis's horn glowed a bit brighter
>The bag containing the princess began to disintegrate
>A muffled squeal could be heard from inside the bag
>Twilight Sparkle began kicking as hard as she could
>But she was in the queen's grasp now
>There would be no escape
>None
>In a matter of moments, the bag was gone, leaving the sweaty, haggard, and disorientated alicorn out in the open for all to see
>As Chrysalid expected, the alicorn had been bound up tight and gagged
>Though her lings hadn't tied the ropes securing her tight enough to cause any serious injury, she could see the beginnings of rope burn on the secured bits of her body
>Amusement and more than a bit of satisfaction filled her as she looked upon the young princess
>Here was the one that had destroyed her hopes for bring all of Equestria under her hood, bound and gagged and at her complete mercy
>It was delicious; easily one of the greatest gifts that her husband had ever given her
>Twilight's purple eyes darted around the room, widening at the sight of the Changelings, before they rested on the queen
>The princess stiffened, her bound wings straining against the ropes holding them to her sides
>The fear, confusion, and shock around her became more and more concentrated as she tried to wiggle from the queen's magic
>Twilight Sparkle closed her eyes, no doubt trying to use her magic, but that would only end in failure
>In this hive, the only magic that could be used was ling magic
>Twilight Sparkle was as helpless as a newborn lamb

>A giggle escaped the Chrysalis's lips, which turned into a chuckle, which turned into a guffaw
>Soon, her laughter was bouncing off the walls, menacing and cruel and EVIL
>"Oh, Twilight Sparkle. It is ever so good to see you...~"


~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~


>The cell was dark and cramped
>There were no windows of any kind, and the only thing from keeping the room from sinking into total darkness was a small torch outside the iron bars
>There was an unpleasant, undefiable smell in the air
>It was also completely silent; so silent, in fact, that if one listened carefully they'd be able to hear the beating of their own heart
>Twilight found herself shivering as she looked at the green flame of the torch that sat next to her cell
>The light felt unnatural, wrong, as did the shadows that danced in it
>If she wasn't so terrified of what lingered in the darkness, she would have hide from that awful light
"Sweet Celestia, what did I get myself into..."
>Her cell was cold, but the air was somehow humid
>While it was oddly clean for a cell, she still couldn't help but feel some unseen filth clinging to her fur
>She hugged herself with her wings, curling into a ball on that cold, hard stone floor
>They hadn't given her a bed; hadn't given her anything really
>The only other thing in the room besides her was a small bucket
>What it was for she couldn't discern, nor did she particularly want to
>She licked her dry, cracked lips, desperately wishing for something to eat and drink while, for the thousandth time
"It'll be FINE, Twilight," the mare grumbled her to herself in a mocking variation of Cadence's voice. "Nothing will happen to you. You'll make friends with Chrysalis, forge a lasting peace with the Changelings, and be home within the week. It'll be your greatest work in friendship! What a load of horse apples..."
>This was just Twilight venting of course