Carve's Final Story

by AizakkuHorooee

Act 3

Back in the throne room, Kuma perks up and sees me and Patch enter.

“Sorry it took so long,” Patch casually apologizes. “I was in the middle of teaching when Carve got me.”

“That’s fine. Classes come first,” replies Kuma. “So Carve, is it just you and him?”

“Not exactly…” I admit, numerous other peers of mine - Cervix, Brand, Cilia and Seta - appearing behind me, ushered in by Pharynx. “Lectures would all be finished, which was why I decided to bring the whole gang.”

Kuma smiles sheepishly and blushes green, realizing they forgot what I said earlier. They also appear to buzz their wings to mimic a popular squeaky sound from the real world.

With all of us sitting, the throne becomes a little crowded, but nothing I couldn’t handle. As soon as I take a seat, the room does the same thing it did before when it was just me and Patch.

In the rejuvenated projection, it’s not just Aita and Cozy Glow on screen, but also Chrysalis as well, whose age appears to be catching up with her now. Her mane is now grey and in a bun, her eyes have dimmed some, and her wings are starting to split at the edges. And due to her dimmer eyes, she is now wearing glasses.

“Hello, everyone. It’s great to see you all again,” Chrysalis greets.

“Hi, Chrysalis!” Kuma replies, prompting everyone on screen to wave.

“So, what’s the verdict, Carve?” asks Aita. “What do you have planned for the school you run?”

“Well, as it turns out, my guess was spot-on. I helped Kuma out by telling them about my first week on the throne, and they are proving to be a great learner with information tailored specifically for them.” I now turn to Kuma, who now looks just like I did when Chrysalis sung me her song from so long ago when I was a sub. “Now, I’ll have to change the teaching style in the education hive, but this will only be in effect starting next semester. If you need the help right away, Kuma, I’m more than willing take you in as a personal student of mine. Would you mind?”

Kuma looks around and puts a hoof under their chin.

“Who knows; maybe you will rule one day if you take this offer, Kuma,” boasts Chrysalis. “It would be really interesting seeing you there.”

“Hmm… Monarch Kuma,” they ponder. “And all it takes is to learn from you?” I nod at them. “I think you’ve enticed me enough now. I’m in.”

“Great. Now, before we continue, there is something I would like to ask you.” Kuma promptly listens to me rather carefully to hear out my next question. “Since now you know you could always talk to me, even from Equestria and possibly beyond, do you have any place in mind you would like to move to? Or do you still wanna stay here to keep things a little simpler?”

“I-I don’t know,” answers Kuma, once again reminding me of myself that week I’ve been telling them about.

“Don’t worry about it too much, Kuma. Believe it or not, I didn’t know where to establish the education hive at first.”

---

In one last flashback, not a lot of time passed between talking to Mother Membrane and returning home, but I was met by Patch on the throne. I was still not quite used to that.

“So, what’d Grandma have to say?” he asked me.

“Ah, that. Well, Patch, she proposed the idea that we start educating the changelings, soooo… where do we put that branch of the hive?”

Patch started thinking and looking up when the throne room began to glow just as Membrane described. A quartet of beams shot from up above and together, they formed a projection of Chrysalis, Cozy Glow and Aita in the throne room.

“Hey guys,” said Aita as she waved. “I heard I missed you and Membrane coming over, Carve.”

“Hi, Aita. Hi, Mom,” Patch greeted back, then noticed Cozy Glow and pointed to her. “Um… who’s this again?”

“Right! You two never met! Patch, this is my organizer, Cozy Glow.” Aita wrapped her hoof around Cozy as she introduced her.

“So Carve, what did you and Mother discuss?” asked Chrysalis.

“Membrane came up with the idea of me and my peers basically running a school, but I have no idea where to put it within the hive. I know we can’t put in that abandoned hallway. It’s an important part of changeling history and I-”

“Yes, you can.” Chrysalis’ interruption had me a bit surprised. I was not expecting her to say that. “You are the queen now, Carve. The changelings are not my subjects anymore; they’re yours. Even barring that, having transformed momentarily during the battle with CHS Spitfire, Svengallop and the sirens has gotten me to understand what Thorax was going through the moment he transformed, and I have since found the will to forgive him. If you’d like to replace Crater Hall, you can, and I won’t object.”

When Chrysalis explained her reasoning, I could see Aita and Cozy Glow hugging each other with tears in their eyes. It must’ve been tough for them, since they partook in that battle too. But me and Patch, we were amazed, Patch because of the fact his own mother of all changelings managed to undergo the same transformation Thorax revolutionized, and me because forgiving Thorax was the last thing I thought Chrysalis would do. I guess as a queen it was true, but still.

“We know you have this, Carve. Whatever you decide, you have our full support.”

“Thanks, Chrysalis,” I humbly replied. “I won’t let you down.” The signal fizzled out once we were done talking, so as my personal royal advisor, Patch offered me a hoofbump to boost my confidence, which I kindly accepted.

---

“Ah, I remember that call as if it were yesterday…” With me telling everyone the last of my story, Chrysalis becomes nostalgic about her first time calling me. “I really wish Mother were here to see the fruits of her proposal today. With the right environment, you, Kuma, can blossom into one of the greatest changelings of your generation, just as Carve is for hers.”

Kuma responds as they begin hovering in the air in front of the projection, “But that’s the thing… I just don’t know where to start and set up camp. You’ve gone all over Equestria. What more of it is there to see?”

Their question briefly gets my gears turning. Originally the name, Kuma, was going to go to Aita’s younger brother. She comes from the real world because an old friend of mine that’s been gone for decades now happened to be her mother, and had her in Wisconsin.

“It’s alright, Kuma. After hearing Chrysalis’ will to forgive Thorax of all beings, I think I know exactly where to send you. It just seems right.”

As I announce my final answer, I start buzzing my wings to mimic the strumming of an acoustic guitar, a bass, and a drum set.

If it’s study you’re looking for, but the moments seem dull,
I am willing to have a few strings to pull.
Go and live in the real world, and have some fun;
no matter where you go, you can come back to everyone.

As I begin singing, Aita, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis teleport into the throne room, causing the signal to fizzle out. The four changelings Patch and I brought with me to the throne room jump off the throne and wave goodbye. In between stanzas, I teleport everyone else sans Patch to the site of the former Headrest Centre. The building is now gone, and replaced by several new houses.

Aita is the next to sing. Meanwhile, she, Cozy Glow, Chrysalis and I lead Kuma to a furniture store to get their nest materials. We also pick up a bag of pear tree seeds at a department store’s garden center for Kuma to plant so they can call me in the future.

There are times you will find some room to grow,
so by taking them in stride, your path to good will show.
You can visit your homeworld, and there we’ll be;
with the humans by your side, they will help you see…

When Aita has reached the chorus, I join to harmonize her while we open the door to Sophie’s house. Kuma will be living there at Aita’s request, since she and Sophie now maintain their friendship after Chrysalis put the past behind her. When Kuma and Sophie hug, the former returns to us with a hoofbump.

When the magic of friendship spreads around the world,
it reaches places you’d never know.
And it all started with a changeling girl,
when an urban explorer, had a place to go.

As Aita and I finish singing the chorus, a little acoustic guitar riff plays in the audio my wings produce. This riff is similar enough to a certain leitmotif to get Cozy Glow to sing next as we stop by a convention hall to spectate on long-standing competitions regarding different NES games. When Kuma leads us back to Sophie’s house, they plant one of the seeds in the bag in the backyard.

It has taken a lot of time, for me to learn
all the nuance a gift may have, but this is one you’ve earned.
And with you in the real world, an opportunity
has come into our land, for all can see…

When Aita and I start the chorus a second time, Cozy Glow joins in, having just done her verse. Our next stop while we sing is an opera house, where a play depicts what likely would’ve been the result of Chrysalis’ research before getting her hive back way back when, that is if Carina and I never survived. The final place before Kuma is home is a local museum, where we spot a replica of a thirty-year-old remote control helicopter. In front of it, Kuma wraps their hooves around me and Chrysalis and pull us into a hug.

When we arrive at Kuma and Sophie’s, the former takes a quick moment to set up their nest, right where Aita had hers when she lived with Sophie. There, they sing a half verse the instrumentation winds down momentarily.

It was study I was looking for, and now I’ve found
the experience I need, so I can fly around.

When Kuma finishes their nest, they come outside to the front yard to see me, Chrysalis, Aita and Cozy. I sing and the instrumentation starts to pick back up. After the experience in the museum, I return the hug back to Kuma now.

I look forward to your time with family.
By the time you rule my hive, we’ll clearly see…

All of us who’ve sung so far sing the chorus one more time, Sophie leading us to her living room and pulling out a DVD that when played contains a picture of Carina and a nymph Aita wrapping one hoof each around each other and smiling at the camera, which fades into a picture of the old Headrest Centre.

By the time we finish singing, the DVD finishes and is slid out of the player when Sophie presses the eject button. As the instrumentation winds down a second time, this time also slowing down in tempo, all of us look up except for Sophie, who puts away the DVD in its case, imagining what Carina might’ve been thinking if she were here right now. It’s possible her pride in Aita is so strong that us changelings can almost taste it.

As queen, I have a relatively limited time on the throne, so Kuma’s life here in the real world should prepare them for when they succeed me. But for now, Aita and I have nothing left to learn now, as if our book has finally closed. Kuma’s book has opened now in our place; it’s their turn now.