A Queen and Her Trainer

Queen Chrysalis… wasn’t quite sure where she was at the moment.

Granted she hadn’t opened her eyes yet, but the fact she had to open her eyes at all meant that something had gone wrong. What that was currently escaping her mind, recently awoken from unconsciousness as she was, but she knew something had recently gone awry. Scowling, her groggy brain got to work.

That’s right, she was in Canterlot. She had infiltrated the pony capital, taken the place of the to-be-wed Mi Amore Cadenza, and planned to use the wedding as the start of a swift invasion. Oh, it had been so utterly perfect and brilliant, the pride she held at how seamlessly it had all gone. Up to the private ceremony none of the dumb ponies had suspected a thing… but then there was that unicorn.

Then the name slipped her mind, but she knew they were purple and a nuisance. If she had not had her ‘future husband’ under her control, and the stupid equine had given actual evidence… but that had not mattered. It was easy to make her seem like a liar, and all those present had rightfully fallen for it. Then it was a matter of disposing of the pony, putting her in the same place as the alicorn she replaced, and finishing the real wedding.

It was there that Chrysalis realized things had gone wrong. She remembered now. Both that unicorn and Cadenza had reappeared, revealing her for who she was. At first it had seemed pointless, especially with their dear Princess Celestia so effortlessly defeated, but then Cadenza managed to cast some sort of spell. The last thing she remembered was being flung into the air, falling, and then… she wasn’t quite sure.

Am I dead? Chrysalis asked herself. It was immediately casted aside. If I was, then I wouldn’t be able to recall anything. That means I’m alive, but what about

Dozens of knots suddenly formed in her stomach, and with more effort than she wished was needed, her eyes opened up a crack. The world around her was too dark for her to see anything, yet it didn’t have the coolness of night. It wasn’t even warm, now that she focused on it, and that extended to how her back did not meet grass or dirt or rock. Even the wind was absent!

Yet, worst of all, she felt alone. Changelings had a way to always tell where each other was, disguised or not. They couldn’t talk to each other, but their presence was always there to comfort and reassure them they weren’t alone. In the many years she had lived and ruled, Chrysalis had never before felt its absence. Not until now at least.

Chrysalis’ first thoughts were to find exactly why she no longer felt her hive. Several terrifying possibilities attempted to take center stage in her brain, but she was well practiced in putting them aside. Her hive was strong, it would take more than some stupid magic spell to eradicate them! With all her strength, the queen opened her eyes as much as they possibly could… and was met with nothing.

It wasn’t nothing in the sense that it was pitch black, but literally nothing. The space around her was completely blank, with her form the only bit of life and color before her. There was no sign of the hive she and her kind called home, no sign of the city they had been blasted away from, and most despairingly of all, none of her dear hive around her. Of all the horrible scenarios that had tried to present themselves to her, this was by far the worst!

My drones. My sweet, wonderful drones, Chrysalis thought, trying to twist this way and that in the void around her. It was impossible to tell if she was actually moving. No, do not tell me. That damn pony did not–

“Your hive is fine.”

A brief moment of shock was visible in Chrysalis’ eyes, only for it to be swiftly cast aside as the possibilities behind those words hit her. Snarling, she searched for the individual that voice belonged to, yet all her eyes met was the void. Her anger rose, wings buzzing in rage.

“Release me and my hive at once! Do it quick enough and I might show mercy,” Queen Chrysalis said, the slightest fear for the life of both her and her hive making its way into her voice.

Having noticed it, her captor let out what Chrysalis could only assume was a snort of amusement. It only served to lower her mood more than it already was.

“In time. For now, know that you need not worry for the safety of your children,” her captor replied.

Chrysalis’s anger didn’t relent, but she stored it for the time being. While she abhorred how she was being kept from her drones, not to mention the fact she was this unknown creature’s captive, she had no choice but to relent on some level. Whoever this was, they were clearly a powerful enough mage to trap her in… wherever she was. It felt certain that, if she stepped out of line, things would get far worse than they already had.

“Fine,” she spat, “but do not expect me to be pleasant, especially with you hiding from sight?”

“I am not hiding, Queen Chrysalis. I have simply chosen not to reveal myself.”

Chrysalis was about to point out how they were basically the same thing, before something appeared before her. No fanfare, no sign of teleporting, where she was surrounded by nothing she now found something before her. A creature unlike any she had seen, with a strange golden ring around its middle and a body both equine yet distinctly not. Any possibility of it being a pony, however, were dashed by the weird pointy hooves, the lack of a mane, and a tail that ended in a stub instead of hairs.

“I am Arceus, and I desire to help your kind. I need only gain your approval.”

“You kidnap me, lock me someplace where I can’t feel my own hive, and you say you want to help?” Chrysalis asks, before scoffing and attempting to look away, only to still find Arceus there before her, as if she hadn’t moved at all. “What do you really want?”

“Exactly as I said. A child of mine has told me of your hive, and how the lack of ability to feed has driven you to desperate measures,” Arceus explained. “You and your kind feed on love, and you have been starved of it. I asked another child of mine to tell me what the course of time held for your species. Most of the outcomes are grim, and so here I am to step in.”

Chrysalis stayed silent, unsure of what to make of his words. Arceus had claimed one of his children could see the future, but as far as she knew no spell for that was ever made… or at the very least finished. There was no reason to believe his claims, and yet she didn’t need a spell to see there was truth in it.

With the ponies now aware of their existence, gathering love would be harder than it already had been. The already small amount of love they were able to collect would dwindle lower, if they were able to get any at all. That meant fewer would be fed, and her dear drones would quickly starve to death. It would only be a matter of time before she joined them.

Chrysalis lowered her head, growling at her incompetence. The invasion had possibly been the last chance she had to save her hive. Now, there was nothing left…

Nothing, save for the strange creature keeping her here.

“I should know better than to believe you; no doubt there is trickery in your words,” Chrysalis said to him, tired and dejected. “Besides, there is no doubt something you want out of your help?”

“Time has broken your ability to trust. It is unfortunate, but understandable,” Arceus replied. He sounded sorry for her, and that just proved to make Chrysalis seeth. “There is something you can do for me.”

There it is, Chrysalis thought to herself. She looked back to Arceus, trying to burn her eyes into his being. “What is it?”

“Before I tell you,” he stated. Suddenly he was much closer to her, flanking her right, despite having not moved at all since he had first shown himself, “let me show you.”

Before she could ask how he had gotten where he was, everything moved. Where once was void, Chrysalis found herself zipping between far too much, far too fast. Planets, moons, suns, and the empty space between them all, all passed under her hooves at speeds no pegasi could fly. Arceus gave her time to see none of it, every mass of earth leaving her sight far before she ever got to take even the barest glimpse of it.

At least, that was the case, until they came to a very sudden stop on some random field. Chrysalis barely even registered that everything had stopped, her stance wide and her breathing ragged as she tried to comprehend just what she had witnessed. Arceus, whatever he was, had just moved them across space with the ease of a grub crawling towards the hive’s nurse.

She had thought him a simple mage. Now, it was clear she was dreadfully wrong.

What is he?

“At the surface, the surroundings may seem no different than yours,” Arceus said, drawing the queen out of her stupor. “Merely watch, however, and you will find this is not the world you know.”

Chrysalis had a question on your tongue, but her mind was still reeling from everything she had just experienced. Still, she did as he suggested, scanning the horizon around her for anything obviously different. Before her was a grassy plain, with a road cutting it down the middle and a brook directly behind her. The wind calmly blew, and with it floated strange… blue… fluffy things.

What the…

She watched as creatures she had never seen before. They happily floated along the wind without a single care, not even as equally strange, large birds could be seen watching them with what could best be described as hunger. One took flight, and Chrysalis was ready to see it plucked up for food.

Instead, they released yellow spores, filled with an energy Chrysalis had not seen before, towards the bird. As its wings touched the spores, its body seemed to seize, and it crashed to the ground. The queen couldn’t help but wince at the impact, the bird’s prey letting out what laughter that sounded like words.

Hoping for something that makes just a little more sense, her eyes turned back to the plains itself. Her eyes caught on a small, brown tail wading through the tall grass in her direction. Wings flared out and buzzing, she waited for whatever predator was possibly coming towards them, prepared to defend herself.

Only to find a small, ferret-like creature walking out of the grass. Staring at it, Chrysalis watched it plod pass her without single care. She wasn’t sure whether to be more surprised by the fact it ignored her, or that she had even considered it a threat.

“They can’t see you, by the way,” Arceus said.

“You couldn’t have told me that before?!” Chrysalis shouted. Her anger faded away quickly, though, as she looked at the world around her. “Though, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any creatures like these before.”

“Given we are on an entirely different planet to your own, that is not a surprise,” Arceus said, tilting his head slightly in her direction. It looked back to the wilds of Johto not even a second later. “The creatures you have just seen are called pokémon. They are one of two kinds of creatures that make up the world I created.”

Once more, the world around Chrysalis sped up, though this time it was only for a few seconds. When it stopped spinning, she suddenly found herself on a concrete sidewalk, surrounded by bipedal creatures with clothes all over their body. Traveling in the shoulder, head, or by their side were various pokémon. Far too many for Chrysalis to count.

“These are the other type, humans,” Arceus said. “They are the reason I have made the proposal I have.”

“What could hairless apes do for my hive?” Chrysalis said. Then, moments after, her nose caught a hold of a smell. One far too familiar for her to not recognize, after how much she had syphoned off Shining Armor. “Wait, that’s…”

She let her muzzle hang open, and started to pull in all the ambient love around her. Trails of pure love came from every human around, and Chrysalis greedily drank it all. It caused no harm to the humans or pokémon it came from, and when she was finished there were still oceans of love surrounding her.

For the first time in years, she couldn't bring herself to have more. She was… full.

“It’s like you dropped me in the middle of a buffet,” Chrysalis mumbled.

“pokémon love humans, and humans love pokémon right back,” Arceus said. “A bond formed from generations living alongside each other. There are bad eggs, sure, but they are far fewer than the good ones.”

Chrysalis still believed there was a catch to it all, but for the first time in forever, she was willing to allow help from some creature that wasn’t one of her drones. All this love was just too good, and if she could get enough for her hive, then they might never have to worry about going hungry again! With resolve of steel, she looked to Arceus, and found he was looking right back at her.

“It is clear what your offer is, and I won’t deny it is extremely tempting,” Chrysalis says. “Now, I believe this is where you tell me what I won’t like about your deal.”

“Very well, though I believe you find it more than manageable,” Arceus replied, nodding his head. “You and your hive’s arrival would be as pokémon, not humans. There will not be any physical changes to your body, though you will find that you have obtained abilities you did not have previously… and possibly lost some.”

Chrysalis turned her eyes back to the humans. A larger amount of the love they gave off was directed towards the pokémon either with or around them. Not to say they didn’t feel it towards their fellow humans, but it was clear where her hive would get more love from. Becoming a pokémon didn’t not feel like the catch she was expecting, which meant there was more.

Arceus, having anticipated that wouldn’t be enough for the queen, continued on. “As for the ‘catch,’ there is a human child going on a journey in a few months from now. A very important child that needs to be protected. I want you to go on that journey with him, and keep him safe.”

Chrysalis smirked. That sounded a bit more like a catch to her. A rather simple one, for a creature that seemed to be as powerful as Arceus, but no doubt if this human foal needed to be protected it was for good reason.

“That’s it?” Chrysalis asked. “Just protect some kid?”

“You accept, then?” Arceus asked back.

“If it means my hive can thrive, and we can eat without issue, then keeping some child alive is nothing,” the queen said, voice brimming with confidence. “Though I will have to know who I’m looking for, when the time comes.”

“Of course,” Arceus replied. “His name is Ash Ketchum. Ten years old, tends to wear a white and red cap, and you will find a yellow mouse called a pikachu at his side. That should be enough to identify him.”

“Or at least all you are willing to give me,” Chrysalis muttered. She held her hoof out to Arceus, his focus on him to watch for any funny business. “We have a deal.”

Arceus took the hoof on his own and shook it lightly. “Then I will send you to your hives new home, and let your kind set roots.”

Chrysalis attempted to ask exactly what their new home would be, but Arceus teleported her away before her muzzle had opened. That left him alone for the moment, the humans around him still unaware of his presence. A sigh of relief, perhaps an unfitting action for a god-like being such as himself, was released. There was never a doubt in his mind he would gain her consent, but that didn’t make her abrasive nature better to deal with.

One of his children flew up and landed on him, the exact same one who had made him aware of the possible futures for the queen and her changelings. He wouldn’t deny twisting the truth slightly to better secure the deal, seeing how most of the time it was Chrysalis herself that befell a terrible fate and not her people as a whole, but that just made him more certain in his choice. For every time she would take Starlight’s hoof in friendship, she would smack it away one hundred more. For each redemption after that, a thousand more of her would come to suffer in stone… or worse.

“I get the feeling telling her to protect Ash isn’t exactly for himself, is it?” his child, Celebi, asked. She already knew the answer, no doubt, but acting like she didn’t make for better conversation with her family.

“She has long lost trust in others, but that doesn’t mean she can’t gain it back,” Arceus answered. “He has no need for extra protection, but if any human is capable of restoring her ability to trust, it is Ash.”

“Definitely,” Celebi replied, before letting out a mischievous giggle. “Though it will definitely be funny to watch.”

Arceus laughed along with Celebi, the latter already foreseeing the many possibilities that the future now held. As his true form ruffled his daughter’s head, the body he used to communicate with mortals vanished from the city.

After being teleported, Chrysalis momentarily spent her time scowling at where she thought Arceus should be. The fact it meant she was looking at a tree as if it had called her fat didn’t matter. She wanted to know about what becoming a pokémon entailed, where her hive would have to make their new home, all the important things a queen needed. Instead, like she expected of anything that wasn’t a changeling, he had given her the minimum and thrown her to the wolves.

With a sigh of frustration, she looked down at herself. Arceus had said there would be no physical changes, but she needed to see it to believe it. From what her eyes told her, she still had four hooves full of holes, her chitin was still black as pitch, and her mane and tail were still that same lovely color she had known. A horn still graced her head, and wings still adorned her back. It seemed that he had told the truth, though she wouldn’t be surprised if that changed later down the line.

With her body still itself, Chrysalis took a look at the forest she had been unceremoniously dumped in. Rows upon rows of trees filled her vision for as far as her eyes could see, with various pokémon climbing or hanging off them. Most of them took the shape of worms or cocoons, the latter extremely uncanny with the way their eyes were still visible, though occasionally she would see birds flying overhead or rat-like creatures scurrying across the ground. No sign of humans for as far as her eyes could see.

That was fine, though. There was still plenty of ambient love in the air, and it would be better to build her hive's new home here instead of some city.

It was at that point that she finally noticed something, Chrysalis’ head tilting upwards as she did. Where Arceus had previously deprived Chrysalis of her connection to the hive, she now felt them, all of them. In turn they no doubt felt her, and if what her link told her was try, they were close.

Shoving her feelings towards the orchestrator of her arrival into the deepest pits of her mind, Chrysalis shot off in the direction she knew her hive was. They were rushing to her as well, neither caring as they trampled through the forest, scaring Caterpie and Ratata alike. At least those near Chrysalis only had to worry about one strange new pokémon stampeding towards them.

Some even considered a pack of beedrill better; at least they flew.

Chrysalis had no idea how far she had run before her eyes glimpsed them. With a young drone at the front, probably having only recently gotten their chitin, Chrysalis slowed as she saw a river’s worth of changelings running towards her. She braced herself, preparing herself as that young drone jumped up and hugged her. Followed by another, and another, and many many more afterwards.

“My queen!”

“The queen is alive!”

“You’re alive, my queen!”

These and many, many more reponses met her ears as she was swarmed and buried under her hive. There was no way she could hug so many at once, having neither forelegs big enough or enough legs at all for the amount of drones swarming her. It didn’t stop her from chuckling and smothering herself in their appreciation. It was only right that she showed it back, by giving them portions of the love she had taken not too long ago.

Chitters and chirps filled her ears as she did, those weak from the failed invasion gaining the tiniest bit of strength. It was only enough to make the hunger pains lessen, but with love rich in the air from all the other pokémon in the forest – and the humans that had passed minutes to hours earlier – that would become a non-issue. Soon they would be strong, and with that they could easily start building a home.

“My queen,” the young changeling from earlier, looking up at her with awe. They had never tasted so much love in their life, “where did you find all of this?”

“From creatures that hold just as much love as the ponies we had attempted to conquer,” she answered, giving them a pat on the head. The changeling chittered at the queen’s affection, leaning into the hoof lovingly. “Now, if you would all give your queen some room, she will explain what occurred.”

Everyling immediately shuffled or crawled off her, sitting their rumps onto the ground and looking at her with big, hopeful eyes. The cuteness was almost too much for her to bear, but Chrysalis was nothing if not strong of will. She would not cave and usher her drones back into a hug pile, as much as she wanted to. That could be left till they were settled in on this new world, and knew that they were on a new world at all, of course.

Clear her throat, she stood up with her head held high. “Listen closely, my ‘lings, for fate has gifted us a second chance!”

It had taken a while, mainly due to the sheer amount of questions her drones asked and how after she had to skirt around the fact she didn’t know all the details, but before long Chrysalis had her entire hive caught up to speed. They had taken the idea of being in a new world rather well, though she was not surprised by that. Her kind had been outcasts back in their original home, ostracized because the idea of feeding off of emotions was too terrifying to the creatures around them. Their home in what ponies called the badlands was not their first…

The promise that this forest could be the last time they ever had to re-settle was more than enticing to her drones.

Explaining what humans and pokémon were was much more difficult, especially when Chrysalis knew she had to look like the ‘ling with all the answers. Humans seemed easier, especially since she could acquaint them to ponies that were more willing to give food. That got a collection of excited chitters from the drones, especially the younger ones. The possibility of not even needing disguises was fascinating to them.

The more dreadful question to answer came much, much later. It had been given from that same young changeling that had led the charge to her. A young drone who had given themself the name Echo.

“What is a pokémon?”

Chrysalis had no idea how long she had stayed silent after that, but it was long enough for her drones to start muttering to each other. Her mind tried desperately to figure out some sort of explanation, but all of them were vague and incomplete. None of them would satisfy her hive, and the last thing she needed after their defeat at the hooves of that stupid pony princess was for them to question if she knew what she was doing.

Think Chryssy, think. If you don’t say something soon then they’re going to… wait, that might work!

“Fr-from what I was shown,” she said, keeping her stance regal and proud while desperately hoping none of the drones had caught her stutter, “pokémon are far more varied than humans. Some are avian, some like insects, and there are lots of them. Humans seem to get along with these pokémon, and shower them in lots of love. It’s why Arceus has made us them, instead of something like humans.”

“So it’s going to let us feed better?!” asked another excited drone. “All we have to do is befriend humans?!”

That was far simpler to answer, as all Chrysalis needed to do was nod. A chorus of cheers met her ears, smiles and happy stomps from everyling before her. Once more, the queen was nearly overcome by the sheer level of cuteness her hive displayed. She put a hoof towards her heart, smiling and holding back tears as she watched them. This might have been the happiest she had seen her hive… ever! All from a little ray of hope given by some insanely powerful creature.

As she remembered her deal with Arceus, Chrysalis shook her head and steeled her expression. She couldn’t lower her guard, not when she would have to leave them in some months. There was so much to do then, so much to prepare her hive for, and as queen of the hive that had to be her focus. She could dote and adore that hope at a later point.

“As much as your joy makes me happy, there is work to be done,” she spoke. Instantly, every drone looked back towards her, giving her their full attention. “Before we interact with these humans, we must build ourselves a home. Many of you are still with me from when we last did it. I trust you to instruct your brothers and sisters who were not, and to find a place in this forest suitable to live.”

“Will we be building it underground this time, your majesty?” another drones asked, standing at attention. It was easy to tell who they were; he had been in charge of the invasion force for Canterlot.

“Yes, Pharynx. With our new environment, that would be the easiest,” Chrysalis answered. “Somewhere that the roots will not hinder digging, yet still with enough cover to hide the entrance from those who would do us harm.”

Pharynx gave a salute, and with some chitters to the changelings around him, he took a group into the woods to fulfill his queen's desires.

Finding somewhere desirable had been easy, and before long the hive was at work. A single tunnel from the surface down underground was built, and from their Chrysalis advised where new ones went and what they led to. Once they got low enough, it was much easier to avoid the roots that riddled the upper levels of their new hive. Before the end of their first week there, what had started off small had become a series of corridors leading to chambers of various purposes. From future nurseries, places to store love, and much more.

Yet Arceus had mentioned there would be changes, even if not on a physical level. Chrysalis found out about one of those two weeks into the development of the hive, when it was nearing its completion, when she heard what sounded like an explosion in one of the chambers above her. It nearly knocked her off her hooves both from how the ground seemed to shake, and the suddenness of everything.

An attack on the hive?! She thought, snarling in rage.

Chrysalis rushed in the direction of the chamber in question, keeping her eyes peeled for any other signs of attack. She knew that things would be that simple, especially with her kind simply planted in a forest. No doubt one of those pokémon creatures had invaded in an attempt to rat out intruders from their territories.

At least, that seemed to be the case, before she arrived at the chamber where the explosion had taken place: the training area. Where she had expected to see drones fighting one of the many creatures that her drones had confirmed to call the woods home, she instead found them all staring at two drones. One had been knocked firmly onto their back, overall fine but with the wind knocked out of them, while the other stared slack jawed at their training opponent.

“How did you… do that?” the winded drone asked, stumbling back onto their hooves.

“I-I don’t know!” the other drone said, bring a hoof to their muzzle and giving it a few taps. “I’ve never done a spell like that before?”

“What kind of spell are we referring to, young ‘ling,” Chrysalis said, the crowd around the two drones easily parting to let her through. At the voice of their queen, the drone responsible for the explosion froze up. “I do believe you know that casting spells capable of rocking the entire hive are not to be cast inside of them.”

Though there was the question of how he had cast such a spell at all. While their magic had proven capable of lightly manipulating objects and other simple things since their arrival, noling had been able to produce anything as grand as they once did. Even transforming had felt more taxing, not in terms of love but something else. A new source of energy within their being, that none of the changelings yet understood beyond possible being part of what now made them pokémon.

“I-I-I didn’t mean to, your majesty, I swear,” the drone said, bowing low with their ears flat against their head. “We were training as usual, and then suddenly I felt that strange energy store up in my mouth and… then everything exploded!”

“He’s… speaks the… truth, my queen,” his opponent replied, still catching his breath. “It was some weird dark ball. I stared at it stupidly, and that led to me getting hit.”

“It does not seem to have hurt you, at least,” Chrysalis said.

“No, but it… makes me feel… exhausted,” they replied. “Like I’ve been… running the entire day.”

Chrysalis’ curiosity piqued at the statement, bringing her hoof to her chin. This was definitely one of the changes Arceus mentioned would come with being a pokémon. Even if it just tired someone out, that could prove very useful for defending the hive, and the human child when that time came.

“Do you think you can replicate it?” Queen Chrysalis asked her drone.

“I think so. It felt very distinct,” the drone replied. He looked at the drone that had been his opponent, and then back at Chrysalis. “I don’t think he can take another one though.”

“Indeed. We shall let him rest,” Chrysalis said, motioning for some of the other drones to take their exhausted sibling somewhere to rest. “We shall leave the hive as well, and find a pokémon to test it out against.”

A sudden chorus of intrigue and curiosity came from the crowd around them. Closing her eyes, Chrysalis let out a sigh.

“None of you will follow us.”

Hundreds of drones all lowered their heads, letting a simultaneous ‘aw’ echo through the training area.

Chrysalis and the lone drone searched around the forest floor, the latter sticking close to the former. They slowly trotted through the forest, looking for something to test on, though Chrysalis would prefer a pokémon. If this was an ability they had, after all, there didn’t seem a better subject to test it out on.

The problem was that, for some reason, there were no pokémon to be found. Usually the area around their hive had caterpie or weedle around it, but they had all scattered. Even the pidgey and rattata were gone! It made the forest strangely quiet, and not in a comforting way.

Did that explosion perhaps scare them off? Chrysalis asked herself.

It was certainly possible, but if that was the case she had to wonder just how loud the explosion was to begin with. She’d have to check to make sure that none of the drones present when it had occurred didn’t lose any of their hearing. That was for later, however, after they found out where the pokémon had gone.

Thankfully, while they did have to stray further from the hive than she hoped, it wasn’t too much farther. Chrysalis was the first to catch sight of the ‘mon in question, putting a hoof in front of the drone to stop them and leaving the two of them hidden behind a tree. Leaning out from behind it, she narrowed her eyes, and remembered some of what Arceus had mentioned of the human she was to guard.

Specifically, the type of pokémon that would be at his side.

Before her was a yellow mouse-like creature, smaller than both her and her drone. Brown stripes lined its back, and it had a tail that zig-zagged into the shape of a lightning bolt. Along with the long yellow and black ears, a slight turn of their body allowed Chrysalis to see red circles on each of their cheeks. They were facing away, munching on a rather delicious looking berry, and humming to themself.

“Is that the pokémon we are going to test it against?” the drone asked quietly.

Chrysalis considered it for a second, looking around to make sure that the Ash Ketchum mentioned wasn’t around. When she felt positive that this pikachu was likely not the same pikachu she would be travelling with later, she nodded to the drone. Quietly exitting from behind the tree, she gave the ‘ling with her some distance.

She fully expected him to take some time to remember exactly how he had done it. That made it a surprise when, as if it was second nature, she saw the drone open his mouth and draw upon that new energy within them. Within seconds, a strange ball of dark energy took form in their open jaw, and once it was big enough, they fired it forward.

The pikachu’s ear twitched, hearing the release of the shadow ball. They only managed to let out a yelp before the attack collided with their face.

Chrysalis could only watch in shock and amazement as that ball of energy exploded, kicking up dirt and grass. That was to say nothing of the gust of wind created from it, leading her to widen her stance ever-so-slightly, just to make sure it didn’t knock her off her hooves. Not that there was any actual danger of that, but the queen was not taking any chances.

When the dirt cleared away, they found the pikachu flat on their back, just like the drone had been earlier. Chrysalis’ eyes sparkled at the power behind the drones attack. The idea that not just they, but herself, would be capable of such feats excited her. Turning to face her drone, she gave a proud, maternal smile to them.

“Excellent, young one! It is clear that you have a natural talent for some of the changes we’ve been granted by this world,” she said. The drone smiled widely at her, unable to help but soak in every bit of praise he was receiving. “Do you think you would be capable of teaching it to your fellow changelings? Mastery of these new abilities is essential to our survival in this world, after all.”

The drone stood straight and proud, basking in the approval of his queen. “I-I’m not quite sure how I did it, but if it is your demand then it shall be done!”

“Wonderful!” Chrysalis said. “Then let us return to the hive and tell your brother and sisters the news.”

They barely managed to turn completely around when a new, far angrier voice chimed in.

“All right!” it called out. Both drone and queen halted midstep, turning back around to see that the pikachu was back on its paws… and electricity was sparky from it’s cheeks. “Which one of you two did that?!”

Chrysalis wasn’t sure what was more surprising: that the mouse wasn’t out cold, or the fact that lightning was somehow sparking off its body without harm.

The fact it could talk did not surprise her; her hive had encountered more than their fair share of caterpie, butterfree, weedle, and the like in the first two weeks. They didn’t make for the most interesting conversationalists, she found, but they were certainly more pleasant than a swarm of Beedrill.

This pikachu currently seems to be closer to those than the other bugs in the forest. Worse yet, at the sight of the electricity coursing across its fur, her drone had decided to hide behind her. That meant, whatever this oversized mouse planned to do, she was going to be the main target.

She would have to address them about endangering the queen later, when she wasn’t about to be filled with hundreds to maybe thousands of volts if the wrong thing was said. ‘If’ being the important word, because as queen she obviously had the perfect outcome to this situation.

“Apologies, it was an accident. I was merely teaching this young changeling how to fight, and their first successful attempt at anything missed the tree,” Chrysalis fibbed.

She felt quite proud of herself for that lie; a real show of how talented she was in imitating, improvising, and fooling those around her. Moving herself away from the drone, she gave a kind yet false smile to them and motioned towards the pikachu with a hoof.

“Apologize to the poor rodent, drone,” she said, the kind nature of the words hiding authority behind their tone.

Too afraid to go against the queen's words, especially with the high possibility of getting shocked, the drone gulped and followed orders. “I-I’m sorry.”

Pikachu looked at the drone, tilting their head to one side and the other. He didn’t know exactly how to react to these strange pokémon before him; they were certainly new to Viridian Forest, and he was even more certain they didn’t have a trainer. After all, he would have had a pokéball thrown at him if that was the case.

Which meant that Pilachu knew Chrysalis was telling the truth on some level. Not completely, but enough for him to come to the conclusion that the apology was legit.

“Fine,” Pikachu said to the drone, the electricity faded from their cheek pockets, “I won’t shock you.”

The drone let out a sigh of relief. Chrysalis would have done the same… if a surge of lightning didn’t suddenly hit her. The other changeling jumped at the sight of their queen being electrocuted, not sure what to do till Chrysalis was free from the attack. Their queen collapsed to the ground, and they immediately rushed to her side.

“A-are you alright, my queen?” he asked, trying to help her get back onto her hooves.

“I’m… fine,” Chrysalis replied.

It was partly true, but that was simply because the full truth lines up with what she had witnessed back in the hive. The shock definitely hurt, there was no way it couldn’t, but outside of her chitin feeling scorched she was physically fine. The real trouble came from how exhausted she felt.

It was like she had experienced half a day of manual labor in the span of seconds. Her brain and body were both drained to the point that she felt like she needed to lay down. Maybe take a nap, too, just for safe measure. All because some mouse had decided to zap her when she had let her guard down.

Just how strong is this creature rodent?

Getting her legs back under her took far longer and far more work than she would ever admit. That included the fact that it was the drone who ended up doing most of the work. It was embarrassing, but since being embarrassed meant showing weakness, she instead turned it into anger. All of which was pointed towards the yellow rat responsible.

“What was that for?!” She shouted. She nudged the drone away with a hoof, getting into a fighting stance. “You said you wouldn’t shock us, you dumb rodent!”

Pikachu rolled his eyes at her. “I said I wouldn’t shock the smaller pokémon. After all, it’s clear you are lying to me.”

“I was not!” Chrysalis replied. “My drones fired at you, that is the truth!”

“Maybe, but it was definitely not an accident. I’d have known if it was,” Pikachu said. Compared to the changeling queen’s manic tone, he was confident, a little prideful, but most importantly, calm. “You're just trying to use a younger pokémon to your advantage, aren’t you? Probably because you’re too weak to fight anything more than a metapod.”

Chrysalis’ eyelid gave a twitch, and her muzzle scrunched up. “What?”

“Yep, definitely weak,” Pikachu said. “Couldn’t take me on, so you made this mon do it. What’s your name?”

“Oh, uh, Thora–“

“Don’t answer the rat!” Chrysalis shouted at the drone. With her eyes on the drone, she didn’t notice Pikachu’s eyes narrow at her. Even when she did, her own anger kept her from noticing the way the mouse pokémon scowled at her. “And don’t you dare call me, the queen of the changelings, weak!”

“Ah, so you hide behind a lot of pokémon, not just one,” Pikachu said, showing just the tiniest bit of anger himself. “Then you must be even weaker than I thought.”

Those words were the final straw for the queen. With a scream of rage, she stomped the ground and aimed her horn right at him.

“That’s it! I’ll show you who's weak!”

Thinking that it would come as naturally to her as it did her drone, Chrysalis raised her head so her muzzle was aimed at the pikachu. She opened her mouth, willing the newfound energy in her there. Tunnel visioned on the mouse, she waited for the shadow ball to form.

…

…

Pikachu’s anger subsided, and the drone tilted his head at his queen in confusion. From both of their perspectives, Chrysalis looked like she was waiting to be fed like a baby pidgey. The energy never took shape into that same dark ball it had with the ‘ling beside her. In fact it took no form at all.

Oh for the love of… work, damn you! She thought, leering at her own muzzle.

Pikachu gave the queen a smirk; the only sign of his amusement. Dropping onto all fours, the electricity in his cheeks once again started sparking.

“Nice try,” he mocked, “now let me show you how it’s really done.”

Pikachu used thundershock. Chrysalis fainted.

The queen only realized she had blacked out when she suddenly had to open her eyes. Her body felt like it had woken up from hours of sleep, muscles being both rejuvenated and tired at the same time. Stretching her limbs felt amazing, as did the yawn that came after. The sounds of many hooves and dozens of changelings chittering, however, caused some concern.

Especially when the last thing she recalled was some dumb mouse zapping her.

Lifting her heavy eyelids, she found at least a half dozen drones looking down at her. That alone was enough to put their minds at ease, at least to some extent. The fact their queen was currently in the hive’s makeshift infirmary chamber, new and understocked as it was, made certain that worries were impossible to completely eradicate. The sight of her hive all worried for her wellbeing did chip at the cunning, calculated exterior she usually kept.

“Oh thank goodness, you are awake,” one drone said.

“When Thorax brought you back unconscious, we thought something really bad had happened to you,” another said, leaning just a little bit more over the ‘bed’ she was laying on. “Then he told us you were electrocuted by a pokémon.”

“It didn’t hurt you badly, right?” yet another drone asked, taking up more than half of her vision with he close they brought themselves to her face. “There still isn’t a lot of love to go around, but I can share some to help you get back on your hooves if you need it.”

Chrysalis groaned, tilting her head away from the crowd and closing her eyes again. As if being beaten by a rodent wasn’t bad enough, now her entire hive knew about what happened. Either Thorax or spilled everything, or his brothers and sisters were so overwhelmed with concern for her that they wouldn’t let him go without the full story. She preferred to think the latter, simply because it showed her hive cared, even if bullying information out of one of their siblings was incorrect.

She at least hoped he hadn’t explained just how humiliating her defeat was. If she had actually fought back and given the pikachu a taste of his own medicine, then at least she could have kept some dignity. Instead, Chrysalis could distinctly recall how that new energy in her refused to obey her commands, leaving her looking like a fool. Leaving her looking weak.

If there was one thing Chrysalis knew about herself, it's that she was not weak. She couldn’t be, for the sake of her hive’s future.

She scowled. The last thing any mouse should be able to do to her, queen of the changelings, is make her seem weak. Upon sitting up, the drones surrounding her took a few steps back in order to give her space. While Chrysalis knew that she should comfort them, let them know she was fine, her mind found it hard to stray from her swift defeat. If she was to fulfill her end of the bargain she made with Arceus, then she had to master these new abilities she had.

“Next time I see that rat,” she mumbled to herself, “he will not get the better of me.”

A few of the drones looked at each other, concerned, and then back to their queen. “Your majesty?”

“The hive has a new priority!” Chrysalis shouted, the authority in her voice leading all those in the infirmary to suddenly go to attention. “If we are to defend ourselves, we must learn how to harness this new energy.”

The following two weeks proved to somehow be even busier and more exhausting then the first two in this world. Building a new hive was something many of them had done before, and while it didn’t make it any less tiring, it was familiar. Collecting love, donning disguises, that was second nature to every changeling from the youngest grub all the way to Chrysalis. Using powers that they had never had until a month ago, however, proved to be far more difficult than any of them imagined.

Thorax, the drone that had first discovered the capabilities of these new powers, certainly had it easiest when it came to learning how to control them. While timid in nature, he proved to be adaptable and a very capable teacher… when he wasn’t stumbling over his words. Chrysalis was certain, however, that his confidence and ability to teach others of the hive would grow as time went on.

However, it soon became very clear that there was only so much he could teach, and it also led Chrysalis to understand why she had failed to use the same attack as her drone. While many could use what the pokémon of the forest called a shadow ball, there were also many who couldn't. The same went for the various other moves that Thorax, Pharynx, and other drones had learned. It did lead to the hive making many new discoveries, but it also made training everyling a more difficult task than it had first seemed.

It also didn’t help that, while using these moves did lead to exhaustion, getting hit by them was far more taxing. Sparing became far less common, lest too many of Chrysalis’ drones found themselves passed out from the amount of blows they took. It still occurred – attacking stationary targets would only get them so far – but it meant the training chamber had to be fortified to deal with the power these attacks held.

However, that was only part of the reason. After all, they were still changelings, and changelings need love. Love that was held in far greater quantities by humans than the pokémon around them. Not to mention they seemed to hold their love back significantly less.

Their cities flanked either side of what they now knew as Viridian forest, with the city it was named after lying to their south. To the north was Pewter city, and while their locations were different they both had many humans inhabiting them, and therefore a lot of love. Scouting parties came back with some basic idea of how they were laid out, what humans were really like, and the like.

Talks with the bug pokémon of Viridian forest also held their own revelations about what these creatures were like. Specifically how the relationship between humans and pokémon usually went. Sometimes they worked together in the various jobs that kept human society going, sometimes they were simply lifelong companions. The most usual form, however, and the one that most of the pokémon seemed to enjoy most, was battling with humans. Not as in a human fighting a pokémon, but the two training, strategizing, and working side by side to overcome another team for glory, fame, and pride.

Through these scouting missions and chats, they learned about pokéballs; how they were capable of holding even the largest of pokémon inside of them despite their size, and how the pokémon themselves still had choice in whether it captured them or not. Chrysalis was more than relieved to learn about that latter part. She wasn’t sure how much truth there was in it – centuries of dealing with hatred from griffons, dragons, and the pony tribes making it hard to trust anything from a non-changeling at face value – but if it was accurate she wouldn’t need to be concerned with a drone of hers being taken against her will.

Yet if they did go with these humans, then they would likely be secured love for the rest of their lives.

“Are you sure we can trust them, your majesty?” Pharynx asked. His immaculate work during the invasion of Canterlot, not to mention his status among her guard, had made him the perfect drone to discuss this with. “No doubt they hold great love, everyling has said so, but what if they turn out to be like the ponies?”

“I am more than aware of that possibility, but we can not starve ourselves either, Pharynx,” Chrysalis said. “You told me yourself that noling has been capable of transforming into a human so far, only pokémon. If we are to survive, then we must interact with them in the same way they do.”

Chrysalis took a deep breath in, and then exhaled. These next few words were hard for her to say.

“We must trust that these humans are as open as Arceus has made them out to be. I must put my trust in them.”

Pharynx frowned, not out of annoyance at his queen’s directions, but out of solidarity. Every other syllable had felt forced, every word carrying hesitance. The fact his queen had to steel herself for them alone spoke of the difficulty. It was a sign of vulnerability that would never be glimpsed by any other drone, and Pharynx knew what that meant of himself.

“Still, many of the other drones will likely not be open to the idea,” Pharynx replied. “Many of us have been hurt before, and those who haven’t have heard stories about the species we once lived beside. Very few would be open to a human capturing them.”

Chrysalis sighed. “Yes, that is true. Still, humans don’t yet know of our existence, so unless one stumbles upon our hive it is up to us to make the first step.”

Chrysalis closed her eyes and thought hard about how to press forward. Her drones were intelligent, strong, but they were also subservient to her before anything else. She had to be the one to make the decision, and she had to be sure it was the correct one.

The first thing to consider was how Pharynx was correct about the majority of the hive. Even if they hadn’t gathered love themselves, many of them had heard horror stories about the things ponies and other species would do if they had been caught. Nonetheless, one drone needed to be the example and show both the rest of the hive and Chrysalis herself that this could work.

Now who could possibly… Chrysalis’s thoughts stopped as she thought back to the day she arrived. She remembered Echo, the young changeling who had led the charge to finding her. Now that I think about it, hasn’t she also been helping in gathering info from the pokémon in the forest? If she’s willing to talk with them, then perhaps…

“Pharynx,” she said, opening her eyes and focusing on the drone, “fetch Echo for me. She might be the solution to our trust problems.”

“At once, your majesty!” Pharynx said, giving her a salute before dashing off into the hive.

Once he was gone, she leaned back on the makeshift throne the hives had made for her. Her frown deepened, her mind trying to make her question herself. Despite it all, Chrysalis remained steadfast, and with another deep breath, she managed to shove them into the corner of her mind for the moment.
Well, humans, she thought to herself, if you wish to prove that you aren’t ponies, then you will have your chance very soon.