//------------------------------// // The Meeting // Story: The Origin of Fluffle Puff // by Square Root //------------------------------// Why hasn’t she answered my knocking? Pycna asked herself, raising her hoof to the doors of Chrysalis’s chambers once more. Just as before, there was no response. Pycna slowly opened the door and found Chrysalis sitting at her papery windowsill, staring out into the surrounding wastelands. “Chrysalis, are you alright? I knocked but you didn't answer.” Pycna had never seen Chrysalis in such a slump before and she was very concerned. “I am fine,” Chrysalis replied, her voice and face lacking both emotion and conviction. “I was just thinking about some decisions that I have made recently.” She blinked and a sparkling droplet rolled down the side of her face, leaving behind a glistening trail, salty and wet. “Pycna, I must confide in you the plan that I have been working on. It is not to leave this room until a later date. Do you understand?” “Of course,” Pycna placed her hoof on Chrysalis’s shoulder, “Being queen is a difficult task that can be yours alone, but I am always willing to help you ease the burden. You’ve been a great friend to me all of these years.” “You have been just as great, if not better,” Chrysalis said, her face softened and she smiled gratefully. “You know of the ponies that were captured, yes?” Pycna nodded. “I ordered their capture because I plan to keep a small colony of ponies who will provide us with a steady stream of love. My plan was to have them be treated as if they were a part of the Hive, make them feel at home, but I visited them the other day and I realized that I have completely destroyed their lives. My actions have been horrible and sickening and I just do not know what I can do to make everything right again.” She paused and looked a Pycna who was taking in what she had just heard and deriving an appropriate response. “I don’t believe that your actions were horrible or sickening.” “But their lives are in shambles,” Chrysalis protested, “as it is all my fault.” “Chryssi, you were acting with your subjects best interests in your heart. You did not ruin the lives of those ponies, even though it may seem that way now. Just give the plan a little time and its outcomes will match its intentions.” Pycna gave Chrysalis a reassuring hug, “In all of the years that I have known you, I have never known you to ruin anypony’s life and that still stands true.” “Pycna, I wish I could be nearly as wise as you are,” Chrysalis smiled. After a brief moment of awkward silence, Pycna remembered why she was there. “The meeting!” she yelped, “Chrysalis, you have a meeting with Dr. Chitin, Dr. Telson, and your advisers like right now.” A startled look passed over Chrysalis’s face. Now I have to face the, she thought. I fell apart just telling Pycna about all of it and she is my closest friend. Chrysalis closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and once again entered a state lacking all emotion. “Thank you for reminding me, Pycna. Have a good day.” And with that Chrysalis left her quarters leaving Pycna alone in the room. Oh Chryssi, Pycna thought to herself as she left her friend’s chambers, When will you ever learn that your poker face doesn't fool anypony? ~ Everything will go perfectly. Pycna understood and so will they. Chrysalis turned the last corner of her journey and faced a door. Chrysalis’s greatest fear was currently lurking behind that door; the fear of harsh judgment and being a screw-up. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked in, her posture reflecting confidence. On the inside, however, Chrysalis would have preferred to enter silently only to sit in the corner and be ignored, or to not be there at all. Instead she was met with the immediate attention of five highly ranked Changelings. They stood and bowed, then waited for their queen to take her seat before sitting down themselves. “Good morning everypony. I have gathered you all here to discuss certain aspects of this war, particularly involving the prisoners that we have taken. To begin, I will answer any questions pertaining to the subject because I realize that I have made most of these decisions before consulting any of you. For that alone I must apologize, because I fear that I may have dug a treacherous pit by doing so.” Chrysalis looked around the room at the Changelings’ faces. She saw a variety of expressions: fear, shock, confusion, and amazement. Then, one of her fellow Changelings piped up. “Pits can be filled, Your Majesty,” Labium said. A quiet moment passed, during which everypony was glancing at one another, silently urging nopony in particular to speak and break the odd silence. Hex cleared her throat, “Why did we capture the ponies, might I ask? As far as I am aware we have never taken prisoners before.” “Without realizing it you have gotten straight to the point,” Chrysalis chuckled nervously, “You see, the goal of this invasion is not the same as every single invasion previous.” “Is it not to feed our subjects?” Labrum asked. “It will feed our subjects but not by the same methods as before. I ordered the capture of the ponies because I thought that we could keep a colony of them at the Hive.” “And then we could study them and perfect our pony imitation so that we could gain all the love we require through quiet infiltration rather than the full out attacks that we have tried before!” Dr. Telson exclaimed, unable to restrain herself any longer. She was known throughout the Hive as the pony who on occasion transformed into a Changeling. She was constantly researching ponies and she had interacted with them the most out of all the Changelings. “Um, that is not exactly what I had in mind,” Chrysalis grumbled. This is torturous and their assumptions are not making it any easier. “I was thinking that we could teach these ponies to love us as ourselves. That way we would not have to even leave the Hive to obtain the love we require.” “Even better!” Dr. Telson piped. “Your Majesty, you are a genius.” At least somepony supports me, Chrysalis thought as she glanced around the room once more, biting her lip and awaiting the other comments. “Well that’s all fine and dandy, but how could they accept us?” Labium asked. “And how are we going to keep them from trying to get back home?” Labrum questioned, “They are going to remember their homes and will try to escape.” “I understand these concerns but I don’t believe they are an issue. I went down to the prisons and visited them. They already seemed accepting of our race’s differences.” Chrysalis answered, “However, when I was down there they asked me why they were taken.” Chrysalis sighed and continued, “I was not expecting that at all so I ended up telling them that our race had predicted an apocalypse and that we managed to save them. I figured that way there would be no home for them to return to.” “Excuse me, Your Highness, but how long do you plan to keep a colony here?” Dr. Chitin asked. Everypony turned and looked at him. He had been silent up until now. “As long as possible, Doctor,” Chrysalis answered, “We all agree that this plan has promise.” “I see,” Dr. Chitin replied, his brows knit, “Did you tell our captives that they were the only ones to survive the apocalypse?” “Well yes, I did. That way there would be nopony for them to return to.” “All due respects Your Highness, but I believe that we have stumbled upon the pit you mentioned earlier. We will not be able to keep a colony for long because we only have seven individuals. Inbreeding will become a very large problem after a few generations.” The room fell silent as everypony grasped this major flaw in their minds. I knew this meeting was going along too smoothly. Now it is not, thanks to my error, Chrysalis thought, Not having this meeting before visiting the prisoners has really come to bite me in the butt. “Wait a minute,” Hex projected, “This isn’t all bad. If we discover that a colony of ponies is too difficult to handle they will die out from a variety of inbreeding complications –“ “Or we could just kill them,” Labrum interrupted. “True, but that’s not the point of what I’m trying to say,” Hex huffed, “Now, I’m no doctor, so correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that inbreeding will cause our colony to die out eventually. This colony can be our test run. If we discover that this is not an efficient method for obtaining love then we will drop the project once the colony dies out,” she glanced over at Labrum, “or sooner. Now, if we discover that keeping a colony is beneficial then we can perfect our methods and start another colony once the original one dies or sooner.” Chrysalis blinked. Did she just solve all of my problems and mistakes in a short speech, or am I dreaming? “That sounds good to me,” Labrum said. Everypony else nodded their heads in agreement. Chrysalis cleared her throat, “Very well. Is anypony opposed to keeping a colony of ponies in the Hive?” There was silence. “Ok. Dr. Chitin, would you be willing to monitor the wellbeing of the ponies and provide medical care?” “Yes.” “And Dr. Telson, would you help them get adjusted to the Hive and such?” “Of course! I would be honored.” “And lastly, Hex, would you oversee this project? I know it is a lot to ask but I feel that your department will benefit the most. This will be a wonderful opportunity to perfect out imitation techniques.” “I am up to the task, Your Majesty.” “It is settled then. Seven housing units are to be prepared next to Dr. Telson’s so that she can best assist our little colony. We will aim for the ponies to move into the units in two days’ time. This meeting is adjourned.” Everypony left the room, but Labium lagged behind. “Your Majesty, may I have a word please?” Chrysalis looked up, “Is something troubling you?” “If you are going to let these ponies have free range of the Hive, or even if you aren't, you must let the public know about it.” “Oh, I never thought of that. And we do not have any idea to how they will react, do we?” “None. If you would like, I can prepare a speech for you that would explain the situation to the public.” “That would be greatly appreciated. We are swimming in uncharted waters as far as keeping the public happy goes.” “I know. Have a good day, Your Majesty.” Labium curtly bowed and left the room. Chrysalis got up from her seat and stretched. I would say that the meeting went very well. Now all that is left to get through is the public announcement and the actual implementation of the plan. She glanced up at that the clock that was hanging above the door. It is about time for their lunch. Her horn glowed green and seven plates of food were teleported to a certain cell in the prisons. ~ “Everypony, the grub’s here!” Bottle Cap yelled. “This room ain’t that big. There’s no need to yell,” A pink female pegasus with a short brown mane grumbled, wiping the sleep from her eyes. “Well, Soap Suds, somepony likes to sleep until noon and needs to be woken up.” Bottle Cap grinned. “I bucking hate you, Bottle Cap. Where is my food?" “I’m not your slave. Go get it yourself.” “Would you both shut up?” Crystal Dust scolded. Bottle Cap snickered, “Jeez, somepony is in a mood today.” “Sorry. I’m trying to think and you two are making it rather difficult.” “Hey Dusty, no worries. What are you doing trying to think on an empty stomach anyway?” Bottle Cap brought her a plate of apples and oats. “Hey! How come you’ll get her food?” Soap Suds whined. “Because she isn't annoying.” Bottle Cap replied. Another one of the captured ponies, an orange stallion with a dark blue mane spoke up, “And I thought it was obvious who he carried a torch for.” “Shut up Spoke.” Bottle Cap mumbled. “Getting defensive about it just proves my case.” Spoke said before digging into his own plate. “Whatever.” Bottle Cap said, ending the conversation. Everypony ate the rest of the meal in silence. When she finished, Crystal Dust went back to her cot and continued to think. Soap Suds stretched her wings the best that she could in the low ceilinged chamber. Spoke and Bottle Cap finished last, gathered the plates up, and put them by the door where they were out of the way until they disappeared with a green flash. “Thanks a lot.” Bottle Cap quietly said. “Any time.” Spoke replied, grinning. In response Bottle Cap shoved Spoke into the door. The force pushed open the unlocked door and Spoke tumbled out into the hallway.