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Organised by
RogerDodger
Word limit
400–750
Waiting on a Hatching
A white chicken sat under a ray of sunlight poking through a hole in the ceiling of a cavern. All eyes were upon it.
The chicken clucked nervously.
The darkness crawled and moved, surrounding the lit center of the cave. A flurry of hisses broke out from one pocket of shadow. A rough translation would be “Oh, come on already!”
“Patience, my children,” a voice spoke in recognizable Equestrian. “The bird is not going anywhere.”
The chicken performed the bird equivalent of a loud gulp.
7 days later
The chicken still sat in the middle of the chamber, now with feathers fluffed up as far as they could go. The glowing teal eyes that watched were all narrowed. Tension hummed in the air.
Low hisses came from various areas of the cave. Even somepony who couldn’t speak changeling would be able to detect the frustration and impatience running rampant.
The voice that spoke Equestrian approached from a passageway, saying, “What do you mean, it hasn’t laid an egg yet? You assured me that chickens laid eggs every day or two, and it’s been a week!”
Hissing answered.
“STRESS?! The book you stole says chickens don’t lay when they’re stressed?!” There was a sound of chitin smacking chitin.
The chicken cowered.
The voice spoke up, this time syrupy sweet and in control. “Well, I can do something about THAT.” A green-glowing horn approached to touch the trembling chicken’s forehead. Its eyes began to glow a matching green as its shaking eased.
Fifteen minutes later, a changeling carried the chicken away while Queen Chrysalis crowed in glee over the freshly laid egg left behind.
“HAHAHA, success! Phase one of my glorious plan is complete!” She called over her shoulder to those of her children still covering the walls of the room, “Bring the heat source and the snakes!”
A flurry of motion and a buzzing of wings later, the egg had been moved to the throne chamber and settled onto a heating pad, a hypnotized snake coiled around and on top of it. Queen Chrysalis wore a predatory grin.
“Phase two has now begun!”
She settled onto her throne and dismissed her drones, but soon leapt back to her hooves. “This plan is going to be perfect!” She buzzed over to the incubating egg and cooed. “A simple chicken egg, carefully hatched beneath a snake—and I’ll have a ferocious, vile basilisk! All I have to do then is feed it up, and then it’ll be ready—ready to set loose on Equestria! Those cowardly ponies already fear snakes; a giant one that turns them to stone with a glance will send them fleeing in utter terror! They’ll just be tripping over each other, trying to get away.”
She cackled, delighted with the image she’d conjured.
“As my monster ravages the land, it will be all too easy for my children to slip in and replace pony after pony. They’ll be too caught up in panic and terror to notice a thing—even that pest, Twilight Sparkle! And when those foolish ponies finally bring my basilisk’s rampage to an end, my subjects will be inextricably mixed into their population, and it will just be a matter of waiting for the perfect moment to STRIKE!”
The changeling queen’s laughter echoed throughout the hive.
Ten days later
Queen Chrysalis sat on her throne, one hoof propping up her head, as she glared at the snake-covered egg. Did this really have to take so long? With a thought, she summoned two drones, each bearing a book. They knelt before the throne, offering themselves as convenient and tasteful bookrests. A glimmer of the queen’s crooked horn flipped the pages in the first book, a bestiary.
“Hmmm… This explanation of how a basilisk hatches is lacking important information, such as how long it takes. Foolish ponies, they probably never expected someone to need practical information… What does this book on chicken care say?”
The two kneeling changelings flattened their ears against their heads and tried not to flinch as their queen’s angry screech broke over them. “TWENTY-ONE DAYS?!?!”
The 21st day after the egg was laid
The walls of the throne room were swarming with eager changelings as Chrysalis peeled the snake aside to reveal the egg, now shaking as the creature inside struggled to break free.
“Come forth, my fierce little basilisk!” Chysalis crooned.
Finally, the egg cracked in half—and out tumbled a tiny yellow chick. The chamber fell deathly silent.
“Peep?”
The chicken clucked nervously.
The darkness crawled and moved, surrounding the lit center of the cave. A flurry of hisses broke out from one pocket of shadow. A rough translation would be “Oh, come on already!”
“Patience, my children,” a voice spoke in recognizable Equestrian. “The bird is not going anywhere.”
The chicken performed the bird equivalent of a loud gulp.
7 days later
The chicken still sat in the middle of the chamber, now with feathers fluffed up as far as they could go. The glowing teal eyes that watched were all narrowed. Tension hummed in the air.
Low hisses came from various areas of the cave. Even somepony who couldn’t speak changeling would be able to detect the frustration and impatience running rampant.
The voice that spoke Equestrian approached from a passageway, saying, “What do you mean, it hasn’t laid an egg yet? You assured me that chickens laid eggs every day or two, and it’s been a week!”
Hissing answered.
“STRESS?! The book you stole says chickens don’t lay when they’re stressed?!” There was a sound of chitin smacking chitin.
The chicken cowered.
The voice spoke up, this time syrupy sweet and in control. “Well, I can do something about THAT.” A green-glowing horn approached to touch the trembling chicken’s forehead. Its eyes began to glow a matching green as its shaking eased.
Fifteen minutes later, a changeling carried the chicken away while Queen Chrysalis crowed in glee over the freshly laid egg left behind.
“HAHAHA, success! Phase one of my glorious plan is complete!” She called over her shoulder to those of her children still covering the walls of the room, “Bring the heat source and the snakes!”
A flurry of motion and a buzzing of wings later, the egg had been moved to the throne chamber and settled onto a heating pad, a hypnotized snake coiled around and on top of it. Queen Chrysalis wore a predatory grin.
“Phase two has now begun!”
She settled onto her throne and dismissed her drones, but soon leapt back to her hooves. “This plan is going to be perfect!” She buzzed over to the incubating egg and cooed. “A simple chicken egg, carefully hatched beneath a snake—and I’ll have a ferocious, vile basilisk! All I have to do then is feed it up, and then it’ll be ready—ready to set loose on Equestria! Those cowardly ponies already fear snakes; a giant one that turns them to stone with a glance will send them fleeing in utter terror! They’ll just be tripping over each other, trying to get away.”
She cackled, delighted with the image she’d conjured.
“As my monster ravages the land, it will be all too easy for my children to slip in and replace pony after pony. They’ll be too caught up in panic and terror to notice a thing—even that pest, Twilight Sparkle! And when those foolish ponies finally bring my basilisk’s rampage to an end, my subjects will be inextricably mixed into their population, and it will just be a matter of waiting for the perfect moment to STRIKE!”
The changeling queen’s laughter echoed throughout the hive.
Ten days later
Queen Chrysalis sat on her throne, one hoof propping up her head, as she glared at the snake-covered egg. Did this really have to take so long? With a thought, she summoned two drones, each bearing a book. They knelt before the throne, offering themselves as convenient and tasteful bookrests. A glimmer of the queen’s crooked horn flipped the pages in the first book, a bestiary.
“Hmmm… This explanation of how a basilisk hatches is lacking important information, such as how long it takes. Foolish ponies, they probably never expected someone to need practical information… What does this book on chicken care say?”
The two kneeling changelings flattened their ears against their heads and tried not to flinch as their queen’s angry screech broke over them. “TWENTY-ONE DAYS?!?!”
The 21st day after the egg was laid
The walls of the throne room were swarming with eager changelings as Chrysalis peeled the snake aside to reveal the egg, now shaking as the creature inside struggled to break free.
“Come forth, my fierce little basilisk!” Chysalis crooned.
Finally, the egg cracked in half—and out tumbled a tiny yellow chick. The chamber fell deathly silent.
“Peep?”