"Sometimes what seems foolish is merely wisdom from outside normal circumstances."
"Triple-fudge strawberry fondue-style cheesecake sundae, extra whip."
Pinkie Pie gave a low whistle as her latest customer slumped into a chair. "Rough day?"
"Rough week, more like." Chrysalis let her hands drag down her face. "All day every day my children have been showing up, asking what this means for them, for us... showing off new talents and wondering where they should use them, or giving me new techniques they want approved for our next communal session."
"Oh, right. You're the leader of that orgy club."
The ebony-skinned woman glowered at the pink teenager as a decadent blend of ice cream and pastry was plunked in front of her. "As I have told you numerous times, miss Pie, the Wholesome is not an orgy club. We believe all people are born incomplete--"
"--and so you seek completion in each other, helping everyone in your group where they need help and providing help where you can," Pinkie rattled off casually. "And sex is only a part of that, yeah, you've told me. Seriously though, I don't know why you call yourselves the Wholesome when you have regular orgies."
"Calling ourselves the Swarm sends the wrong message," Chrysalis deadpanned, eating some of her ordered decadence. "And they're not orgies. They're communal pleasure and support sessions. Orgies are just about having sex with each other's bodies, what we do is quite a bit more intimate and personal."
She sighed, licking her fork clean. "Much more so, nowadays..."
"You want to talk about it?"
Chrysalis gave Pinkie a flat look. "I'm not going to tell you about more 'super-fun beddy-bye' techniques, Pinkie. Your parents made it all too clear what would happen if I did."
"Oh I'm not interested in that! Well, I am, but what's more important is how magic is affecting you personally, so I can wait until I hit official adulthood to learn more funfuns. Heck, I might even join your orgy club--"
"The Wholesome."
"--the Wholesome when I'm legal, but until then I'm just here to listen and maybe provide a new viewpoint on magical mishaps!" Pinkie leaned in closely. "I was near ground zero, you know. And actually kind of magical beforehand, but that's a secret."
The woman gave her a long look, before letting out a slow sigh. "Well... we've started to sense things, coming from each other. And from others. It's subtle for the most part, but when my children use their knowledge and skills to help others, the... gratitude, the joy, it's not just an abstract--they actually feel more powerful, in whatever way their tribe feels magic. In fact, an unofficial recruiting drive has started up because of that, not that I object of course but... there used to be only thirty of us, and now there's something like a hundred."
Pinkie whistled low. "More then tripling in a week? Wow, you've got to be running ragged."
"That's the thing. For most of us it's just power, but..." Chrysalis tapped her head. "Me, I hear things. Whenever my children are around, there's this... buzz. Sometimes words, but I... feel, what they're feeling. I know what they want me to say, and I can figure out what they need me to say. It doesn't work on others, just members of the Wholesome.... and I'm the only one that has it."
"Okay, that... is actually kind of freaky. I mean being freaky isn't a bad thing at all, and I should know given just how out there I can get in days where I get out there you know? But hearing the unheard whispers of the self even if the self is a self that has dedicated themselves to filling the selves of other selves via donation of themself sounds somewhat strange."
"Believe me, miss Pie, I'm well aware of the implications." Chrysalis hummed musingly as she slowly drained her spoon of its current contents. "Ooooooh, am I ever aware. I've got an ID PhD in biosociological science, and psychology is an important part of that. I'm being as careful as I can be with this... it's just..."
She stretched out her hands. "A hundred. A hundred, and more are still coming. If I try to tend to them all, I'll... fall into certain routines, manipulate them all into my own vision of perfection instead of their own, slowly descend into seeing them as nothing more than pawns... I'll become the tyrant that drove me to form the Wholesome in the first place. But I can't in good conscience turn away those who need me. I'm faced with two terrible options."
"Well, that's a conunderumum, alrighty." Pinkie tapped her chin. "...Have you told the rest of the Wholesome about this?"
"No. This new power... I know that there's something keeping most people from recognizing how magic has changed everything, but it's not affecting me. I know what this power can and can't do. I know what has fallen into my hands. If I told them, they might laugh it off or... worse."
"Well, what if you asked them to help you?"
Chrysalis blinked. "I... what?"
"What if you asked them to help you?" Pinkie repeated. "I mean, you say your whole thing is supporting each other where you need to be supported. I'm sure there are at least a few people in your orgy club--"
"It is not--"
"--that would be willing to learn how to do what you do, and if you're really as mentally connected to them as you say, you might even be able to give them part of your abilities. Grant part of yourself to them. I mean, magic's kind of metaphorisical like that, if you drift my catch."
Chrysalis blinked, not even noticing the flipfloped expression as the words of the pink teenager sunk in.
"...huh." She pursed her lips. "An actual hive mind... yes. Yes, I could... and if, handle it with care... make sure they know they can tell me when I'm being... yes."
She stood. "Pinkie, I need a box for my sundae, I have things to do and doctrines to forge."
"Alright! That'll bring your total up to seventy five ninety nine."
"...what?"
"Yeah. Custom order, plus box."
Chrysalis blinked twice, before facepalming. "I forgot to pay, didn't I?"
"Mmmmhmm, but don't worry." Pinkie grinned. "We take cash or credit."