Seeing a small group of pegasi gliding over the forest surrounding Hollow Shades was a rather unusual sight to Raven Whisper. Well, it wasn’t really unusual that they were flying above the woods, it was that they were doing so in the dark predawn hours since they lacked the advanced low light vision of their therstal cousins.
“Gloomy, you see that?” the slate grey mare asked her bat pony companion beside her as they flew over the forest canopy.
“The pegasi? Yeah,” the dull silver coated stallion, Midnight Gloom, said as he looked up at the far off figures.
“You don’t think it’s strange?” asked Raven, her charcoal black mane flowing freely behind her.
“Not really,” answered the stallion, “they’re heading east. Probably going to the city for some sightseeing.”
“While the sun isn’t even out yet?” Raven pressed, quirking an eyebrow.
“It’s not long until dawn,” Midnight shrugged. “Or are you suggesting they might be up to something?
“Maybe,” said Raven. “Maybe they are the ones stealing from our orchards?”
“They have a foal with them,” the thestral stallion pointed out, motioning with his snout in the direction of the distant pegasi. “You really think they would bring along a foal for robbing fruit trees?”
“You don’t know what someponies are capable of,” huffed Raven. “They could be a family of professional thieves, out showing their youngest the ropes.”
For a long quiet moment Midnight Gloom stared at her impassively.
“Well, you don’t know…” repeated the mare, her face growing hot with embarrassment at his silent judging.
“I think you’re reading way too many of those fantasy crime novels,” Midnight proclaimed in a grumble, “but if you’re really that worried about what they might be up to, we can fly up and check them out.”
“Let’s have a party, there’s a full moon in the sky, it’s the hour of the swarm and I just want to fly,” happily sang Pupa, currently impersonating an alabaster pegaus filly with a bouncy pearly purple mane and tail.
While skimming past a fluffy cloud the nymph reached out her hoof, rending a trench across the nimbus and causing a minor drizzle to leak out.
“I’m so happy flying while the grim reaper cuts cuts cuts, but she can’t get me,” the nymph continued until she was cut off by a pair of faded tumbleweed colored hooves that wrapped around her.
Confused, Pupa looked up at her pegasi guised mother who now held her protectively against her chest with an annoyed expression barely hidden behind her rich mocha mane. Glancing from side to side, the nymph noted the other two disguised changelings flanking her mother, Odonate and Bristletail, also appeared to be concerned.
“Did I do something wrong?” the nymph asked.
“No, we’re about to have company,” Chrysalis informed her daughter in a whisper, “and I need you to stay silent while we handle it.”
“Okay,” Pupa quietly said, looking down and spotting the approaching bat winged silhouettes.
Slowing their flight to a leisurely glide, the false pegasi allowed the thestrals to easily catch up and fly alongside them.
“Hello!” Odonate, in the form of an ultramarine blue stallion, called out to the bat ponies; his normally gritty voice replaced with one as smooth as polished silver. “A fine morning, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is,” the thestral stallion agreed, “but Luna’s moon is still up. If I may ask, why are you out at such an early hour?”
“We’re going to Fillydeplhia,” Chrysalis said in a cheery, bubbly, tone. “Taking the little one to the zoo.”
“She hasn’t stopped talking about it for days,” complained Bristletail, disguised as an adolescent mare with melon colored fur and a short cut tart orange mane. “Got us all up extra early too.”
“Oh, hush,” Chrysalis tittered and playfully swatted at the fake pegasi, “You were the same way when you were her age.”
It was amazing for Pupa to see the ease in which Chrysalis, Odonate and Bristletail could slip so smoothly into their assumed rolls. The way they bantered with each other and the bat pony interlopers, it was like they really were completely different creatures. She really wanted to join in and play along.
“Sounds like a fun day,” said the stallion, “My name is Midnight and this is my friend Raven.”
“She’s being rather quiet for an excited foal,” the thestral mare suddenly cut in, her cat like eyes focused squarely on the nymph and her nostrils flaring as she sniffed the early morning air.
The interruption caused all present to go silent and turn to face the slate grey mare; with the disguised changelings adapting looks of confusion while the other bat pony came off as slightly irritated. Pupa opted to follow her mother’s wishes to keep quiet and just stare back at Raven throughout the uncomfortable moment.
“You’ll have to forgive her,” Chrysalis said, acting sheepishly and gently running a hoof over her daughter’s mane. “This is her first time seeing a bat pony. I hope you’re not offended.”
Using her mother’s excuse to act shy, Pupa turned away from the mare and pressed her face into her parent’s chest. It was a good thing her muzzle was now obstructed from view because she couldn’t help but grin at being included in the charade, even if it was only to a lesser extent.
“We’re not,” said Midnight, “and please excuse my friend. We’ve had some trouble around here lately and it’s put a lot of us on edge.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Odonate with an empathetic frown. “Is it dangerous out here?”
“No, nothing like that,” said the stallion, “just some creatures been stealing fruit from our orchards.”
“Well you don’t have to worry about us, we ate already,” chuckled Odonate.
Midnight smiled good-humoredly while Raven continued to scrutinize the faux pegasi.
“Anyway, sorry to have slowed you down,” said the thestral stallion, “we’ll let ya go now so you can get back on your journey.”
“It was nice to meet you,” Chrysalis said with a smile to Midnight before looking to Raven, “both of you.”
“You too, take care,” the stallion called out as he and his cohort banked off, heading back toward the forest below.
Once the pair of bat ponies had gone well beyond earshot, Chrysalis held Pupa aloft and waited for her to begin flying under her own wing power again; then, after watching the nymph for a few moments to be sure she wouldn’t tumble from the sky, the queen released her and turned to Odonate.
“I thought you said the thestral’s patrols had grown lax?” Chrysalis scowled.
“My queen, from everything the scouts have reported and my personal observations, they have,” said Odonate, his voice returning to its natural grittiness. “But I believe this particular occurrence only happen because we are flying unobstructed over their forest.”
“A mistake we won’t make again,” the queen said. “On our return trip we’ll circumvent the forest, I don’t like how the thestral mare was scrutinizing us.”
“I agree,” nodded Odonate, “and I think that would be for the best.”
“Well?” Raven questioned her companion when they had retreated a safe distance from the pegasi.
“Well what?” the stallion asked her right back, staring straight ahead with a bored expression.
“Didn’t they seem strange to you?” the mare pressed, her front legs outstretched in exasperation.
“No, not particularly,” Midnight answered, “other than perhaps being a little too cheerful this early in the morning.”
“What about the foal?” Raven went on. “About the way she watched us?”
“She had never seen a bat pony before,” the stallion shrugged. “It’s not like we’re the most sociable group among pony kind and can be found around every corner.”
“I don’t mean like that,” hissed Raven, “I mean, it’s like, I don’t know! I felt like she was studying me.”
“You can’t really blame her for being curious,” Midnight said with a bit of a teasing grin. “Besides, the way you were inspecting her, she was probably thinking you were the one acting strange.”
“Gloomy, please don’t brush this off,” sighed the mare, “I really did feel like something was off about them.”
Midnights tufted ears twitched at the sincerity in her tone and he dropped the smirk.
“Did they really put you off that badly?” he asked, watching her out of the corners of his eyes.
The thestral mare gave a single nod.
“Alright,” Midnight exhaled, “when we get back to Hollow Shades we’ll talk to the others about the pegasi.”
You know... one thing I missed from before you started again was that you would label a chapter with a different point of view with a name. Doesn't truly apply here (though it could have) as about half was the main character; it is a thing that bothered me in few of the previous chapters.
Say... that might of been why the first hive was in the middle of nowhere; there was nopony around to really notice. I get that you don't quite have the numbers to build an 'industrial' chain but getting a new out-of-the-way hive might be in order.
I mean, none of what they've said at this point in the chapter is actually a lie.
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Well there is no telling if Chrysalis was the one to set up the Badlands Hive or if it was always so far from civilization. Unreformed changelings seems to function a bit like locusts, draining the love from local fawna and people untill none is left. The Hive was likely there for decades and the surrounding land long since drained of resources, add to that the magic nullifying black throne and the Badlands where probably assumed to be cursed so no one ever resettled thier. Who in Equestia would want to settle barrent land where mafic doesn't work that has a history of disappearances!? It's no wonder Chrrysalis thought she needed to attack Canterlot, her Kindgoms was a barren wasteland with no prey! Like I said they see to function like Locusts, environmentaly wrecking a area untill there is nothing left and moveing on.
well, raven got sharp senses kudos on her instincts I hope she doesn't ruin zoo day completely poor lings just wanted a good mix of fruit and emotions and good grubs let them indulge a bit it's not like they're salting the earth, and stealing till you're starving fruit an adored treat and don't want to decrease good emotions... I wonder if they should find a way to make underground fruits a thing? they must be a thing for sure too many giant creatures are in those caves!
I wonder if pupa's encounters with bat ponies are gonna have her look at bats and other nocturnal flyers? or a personal disguise of a bat pony their cool things plus she already has bat pony bones she can totally make an improved customized bat pony!
also, I adored her flight and song so precious she has a talent for lyrics she would totally be a child superstar easily also she wants to join the masquerade fun with her mother YES so cute~!
also when she played with that cloud I wonder if she can do enough pegasus magic to do wild weather? or just encourage a nice drizzle to listen with a good book? OH, I wonder if she tries a rainbow or makes snow? innocent stuff their just something pure about magic!
lil random but I wonder if winter is a good time to offer cacoon to hibernating animals till spring arrives? I totally see pupa offering it to a few lucky animal friends for the small price of lil love eating and good deep sleep till spring arrives to release them to have lil families is better than being eaten and wasting energy and I think the cacoon doesn't allow atrophy of muscles so it is safe stasis and good cacoon practice mostly!
11505027 Half truth's are very convincing and easier to sell then a lie. You don't have to remember a story, just remember what not to say.
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heh, imagine if our group pulled a maverick act who is "attempting" the thorax steps program the pamphlets to say this is just part of the process of doing activities we're just shy so we put on some disguises out of habit honest mistake really will have those glowing wings in no time and be a rainbow shifter in no time just taking a lil time like thorax brother! do you like the mane it pony like right? and those bat pony eyes were so cool do they look good~?
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Yes... like locus but there also seemed to be a population issue. Plus a desire for secrecy. I actually feel they were there a lot longer than a few decades. A spontaneous magic null area (that killed off the plants too, if the sudden forest is any indication) next to, or even on top of, a population center would begin an investigation. An investigation noling would want to have happening. While the throne kills any chance for farms its incredibly potent defense would prompt me (and likely her) to remain in that spot for as long as possible; once the full properties of the throne are observed just settle in at some remote point and dig in. We also have no way of knowing the plan after victory at Canterlot. Half the population could have been easily shipped back to the hive (especially the high value prisoner Celestia who would be powerless once at the hive) with the city kept as a staging ground for future raids.
Now that secrecy is a foregone conclusion and a new throne, and new barren lands, would lead to accurate conclusions of the hive's location a new throne should not be built (I imagine a smaller throne would be built with a short range). With friendship spreading, not burdened by the throne and the number of mouths lessened this is the perfect time to setup outside of Equestria. This would have the added bonus of no magic users in ready supply and could start growing their own food.
We unfortunately have no way of knowing how long Queen Chrysalis was 'banished' under the mountain (in the comics) and how long she was free but it was long enough that Celestia never knew until the wedding. As depicted it (the zone) looked to be only two to three miles across and if kept a day's flight away from any population centers and not directly between the area affected might not of been noticed until the throne was roughly completed. Equestria, also, doesn't really have a high population density.
My head cannon is an investigation was launched but was pretty much halted shortly after magic loss. If the field kept getting bigger, or the hive (which is vary obviously a structure) was visible and obvious there would likely of been a research team stationed if it was only decades. I'm thinking a century (at least) and it managed to pass itself off as an old, and finished, 'innocent' scar of dark magic long enough to close any investigation.
Lmao the paranoid are always right
Looks like we're going to have some new playmates got the day!
Awesome, shows how Changelings are in dangerous situations 24/7.
Pupa is adorable
Thestrals are awesome
The Changelings are in general 047 on a casual hit mission
Thestral
Pegasus
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I don't think so. I think common species names like those are lowercased. When you say "human" in a sentence, you don't usually capitalize it, do you? I think the same applies here.
He did misspell thestral, though.
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That said, spellcheck tends to ask you to capitalize "pegasus" because it was originally the given name of a specific winged horse.
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It makes perfect sense that Raven got some bad vibes. You can't spell Pegasus without SUS, after all
Wow, what nosy ponies.
Karen Pony: the Achilles heel of changelings.
Damn close, this might yet become problematic in time.