//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: New Family // by awesomesauce4 //------------------------------// Jeremy found Chrysalis right back at Celestia’s palace, where she appeared to be discussing things with Sam, Celestia and Twilight, the four of them sitting in a circle just in front of Celestia’s throne. “Hey, honey,” she greeted amicably as soon as she caught sight of him, and Celestia and Twilight looked over as he took a seat by Celestia’s throne with them. “Hey to you too, love of my life,” Jeremy equally casually greeted as he took Chrysalis into a hug. “What’s been going on?” Chrysalis grinned. “Sam and I have been getting these two to work things out. I noticed they’ve been less friendly than usual, lately, so…” Twilight blushed, and looked away. “I… I will admit I have not been trying my hardest to forgive Celestia for what she did. A-as a Princess of Friendship, I should be better at this,” she explained. “And I say that you should not have to forgive me my crimes simply because I am your friend, Twilight,” Celestia immediately rebutted, sounding as though she’d been saying this for a while. “Hence, our impasse,” Chrysalis muttered, before looking up at him. “Any ideas?” Jeremy chuckled. “A few. For starters, Celestia’s right – the best thing you can do for a friend is let them know what they’re doing wrong. Staying silent when a friend is doing something terrible means you, too, are guilty of the Bystander Effect, and that’s no fun for anyone,” Jeremy explained. “What is the Bystander Effect?” Twilight asked curiously. “The Bystander Effect is when you don’t do anything to help someone in danger, either because other people are nearby and you assume they’ll take care of it, or because the person causing harm is a friend of yours, and you think their other friends will call them out on it instead of you. Essentially, the diffusion of responsibility causes each human to refuse to act, in the hopes that someone else will do it first,” Sam explained. “How odd. Humans will not interfere in a dangerous situation simply because of proximity to other humans?” Celestia asked. Jeremy nodded. “Like I said earlier, we make very unempathetic choices sometimes. So I want you two to not do what humans do, and for Twilight to start pointing out Celestia’s mistakes. Okay?” he asked, and Twilight reluctantly nodded, Celestia looking briefly triumphant. “That said,” he continued, causing the two of them to look at him in surprise. “Celestia, if Twilight chooses to forgive you even with the knowledge of what you did, there’s not a whole lot you can do about it. Best to just accept it even if you feel you don’t deserve it, and move on from there,” he counseled. This time it was Twilight’s turn to look smug, and Celestia’s to look away. “So… can we… talk about humans? Now that we’re all here, and thinking about it?” Twilight asked. Jeremy and Sam looked at each other uncomfortably. “Oh, come on! We promise we won’t judge!” Celestia pleaded. “Oh… alright,” Jeremy sighed. “Let’s go get the others…” Slowly, almost as if they were walking to a funeral, Jeremy and Sam made their way to the Secret Hallway, the other three uncertainly following behind. You okay, honey? Chrysalis asked as they walked. Not looking forward to this conversation… but I’ll live, Jeremy glumly answered. They arrived in the Secret Hallway to find everyone else in their rooms, either reading books or listening to music. “Everyone out here, team meeting,” Sam called. Kylie immediately popped into the doorway, eyes alight with interest. “Team meeting? We’ve never called a team meeting before. What’s up?” he asked. Sam sighed. “…Wait until the rest are here.” The other five appeared, some reluctantly, some interested like Kylie had been, some merely bored. Sam had everyone sit in a circle in the middle of the hallway, turning into a flattened ellipse as more people showed up. Out of curiosity, Nightmare Moon and Sombra also decided to join the conversation. “So, what’s up?” Nick asked. “Yeah, who died? You two look so down,” Avery quipped. Sam grimaced. “We’re here to have that conversation about humanity,” he explained. Immediately, every single human adopted the exact same grimace, looking anywhere but at each other as Nightmare Moon and Sombra looked on interestedly. “So… where do we… start?” Cory wondered awkwardly. “Maybe we could start with history?” Nick replied. “You know, the full… account…” he trailed off. Celestia looked at him sadly. “What have humans done, to make you all so reluctant to discuss it?” she wondered. “W-well, we’re not so bad, as far as species go! It’s just… you…” Brayden trailed off. “Me?” Celestia repeated, more confused than ever. “More specifically, Equestria. This place is… well, it’s not perfect, but it’s a lot closer than we ever got. We’re all embarrassed because… well, if we told you the whole story, you’d probably be disgusted with us, at the very least,” Jeremy finally spoke up. Celestia looked at him, dismayed. “But I said I wouldn’t judge!” she reminded him. Jeremy shrugged. “You did. We believe that you’re incorrect.” Chrysalis chose this moment to leap into the center of the circle, hackles raised. “Have you forgotten who’s present?” she furiously demanded. “Half of us are villains! We tortured, maimed and cheated for our own amusement, and you dare to presume us better than you?” she viciously lectured, stalking around. “Well, you are,” Nick rebutted. Chrysalis glared at him, her forest-green eyes staring into his lime green ones. “No. No, we’re really not,” she retorted. “Now get over yourselves, and spill it! Nothing’s going to be solved by sitting around and acting embarrassed for your entire species!” Jeremy put a hand on her leg. “Hey, you alright?” he asked, concerned. Chrysalis shifted her glare over to him, and Jeremy flinched backwards. Seeing this, Chrysalis’ gaze softened. “It’s just… you taught me that hating yourself, and your species for what we were was an unhealthy attitude to take. I wanted to tell them that, but… I got carried away. Sorry,” she apologized to the group, taking a seat. “No, you know what? You’re totally right,” Cory spoke up, Chrysalis looking at him in surprise. “Why should we act all embarrassed about it? What are we, misanthropes? We have the opportunity to give the first known aliens to humankind a full, unbiased account of our history, and we’re going to squander it just because we’re feeling secondhand guilt?” The other humans considered this. “Besides, now that all of you are here, you won’t have to worry about giving an inaccurate picture. After all, all seven of you can’t be wrong about the same stuff,” Twilight posited. “Given we’re friends, and share similar political views, you’d be surprised about that. But… I see your point. So, how far back do we want to go? The very beginning?” Jeremy asked. “Not that far, I think. Maybe start around… Roman times?” Sam rebutted. “A bit earlier than that. We have to throw Aztec and Mayan society in there as well,” Avery countered. And so, the discussion of Earth’s bloody, violent, and yet strangely productive history began. Nick spoke fondly of the tools and artifacts of prehistoric humanity, while Avery told of the sacrificial rituals of the Aztecs, the marble craftsmanship of the ancient Greeks, and the massive pyramids of the Egyptians. Sam and Brayden covered the Roman Empire and subsequent rise of Christianity, and Kylie proved a surprisingly well-educated speaker on the history of Europe. From there, Cory described in great detail the Renaissance, while Jeremy and Nick took turns discussing the Industrial Revolution and colonization of the Americas. Jeremy spoke at great length of the technology used in the World Wars, with much attention paid to the atomic bomb in particular. By then, it was time for dinner, and Celestia sent for packaged dinners to be brought to them in order to continue the discussion. As they spoke, the Equestrians asked questions, clarifying a detail here or a historical account there. Finally, Jeremy concluded the discussion by speaking about the Information Age, reminiscing about the invention of computers, television, phones, and many other important electronics. By the time they finished, it was close to midnight, and all of them felt as tired as they looked. Twilight was sitting next to a pile of notes nearly as tall as Celestia, papers spilling about the hallway as she tried to get every detail she could. “…So, that’s everything, then. All of humanity’s history,” Chrysalis spoke up, after a moment of silence. “Everything major. There’s plenty of stuff we didn’t cover, because if we even tried, we’d be here for at least a straight week,” Jeremy countered, leaning back and laying down on the carpeted floor. “I… I hate to say it, but that was not nearly as bad as I was expecting,” Celestia noted. “Really?” Sam asked incredulously, and Celestia nodded. “War is nothing new to me, nor are your reasons for conflict. I have been around long enough to remember many similar conflicts, both in and out of Equestrian history.” Brayden sighed. “Then why are you… why is Equestria so…” he trailed off. “Peaceful?” Celestia supplied, and the seven humans chorused their confused affirmations. Celestia chuckled. “I am not the only immortal ruler. Every country has at least one, each having found their own methods of immortality. And with that immortality, as you may have imagined, comes great wisdom. Not the wisdom you might think, though – we’re not all-knowing gods and goddesses. You know enough about me now to confirm that for yourselves.” There was a round of uncertain laughter from the humans. “Rather, the wisdom we immortals have obtained is that we’ve seen all this before. War, strife, disease – eventually, it all starts to repeat itself. We immortals became so good at pointing out the causes of these events to each other, that we have managed to find a sort of equilibrium – in which no conflict, plague or calamity occurs, simply because we have so much experience in preventing them we stop them before they even start. For a world ruled entirely by the mortal, I am not at all surprised that no such equilibrium exists,” Celestia explained. “That… that actually makes sense, in a strange way,” Jeremy remarked, sitting up again. “So… are we a bad sapient species?” Sam asked. Celestia shook her head. “It is not your species’ fault, Sam. That is simply how mortal minds work, one way or another. They forget, and even if they do not forget, they cannot empathize as much as someone who has lived through such evils, so the lessons one generation learns diminish with the next, until they are once again lost. Besides… even if humanity was ‘bad’ before, you seven have an opportunity. What was it Cory said? That you should not squander it because you feel guilty? Yes, that. You have the opportunity to fix everything wrong with humanity, because you seven have been exposed to the magic of friendship – a magic which, I might remind you, is a very tangible and very powerful force,” Celestia continued, smiling slightly. “That is why you are here, and that is what should give you motivation to succeed. Not the threat of failure… but the ultimate prize of success, the reward for all of humanity. The chance to make things right,” Celestia finished. There was a moment of silence, as every human digested this. “…Right? Does that… make sense?” Celestia added, a note of uncertainty in her tone. “Oh… c’mere, you,” Sam replied, grinning as he pulled Celestia into a hug. Celestia emitted a startled squeak, and Jeremy smiled over at the pair of them before joining the hug himself. “Now you’re getting it,” he complimented her. “Group hug, everyone in,” Brayden joyfully called, and the other humans quickly encircled Celestia, who was by now watery-eyed. “I… you…” Celestia mumbled for a moment, before bursting into tears, beaming as she was hugged from all sides. Chrysalis joined the hug as well, her long and thin forelegs able to wrap around half the group. “What? It’s a group hug,” she defended as Avery looked back at her in surprise. Nightmare Moon circled around to the other side, just barely connecting with Chrysalis’ hooves as she hugged all of them with surprising strength. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in a group hug this big,” Jeremy mused. “Hey… Sombra! Get in here, we need to make this group hug even bigger!” Sombra, who had been circling around the hug uncertainly, appeared relieved at this excuse to join. “Um, yeah… where do I…?” he wondered, trying to hug the outside of the group and just barely managing to hug Avery and Cory. “That’s fine,” Jeremy laughed, only seeing one of Sombra’s glowing eyes past the many entangled arms. After a moment, they finally broke apart, laughing and sitting down again. “So, now what? It’s kind of late,” Kylie pointed out. “Uh… well, before you all go off to sleep, I wanted to show you something,” Jeremy shyly began. He pulled out the drawing the changeling child had given him, hours ago. “One of the kids did this, and it is the best thing I’ve ever seen,” he explained, placing the drawing in the center so everyone could look at it. “Our Future…” Celestia read out loud. “Oh my goodness. That’s adorable!” Avery gushed, and Jeremy instantly perked up. “Right? It’s the best thing ever!” Chrysalis studied the drawing as well. “One of the little drones did this?” she wondered. Jeremy nodded, beaming. Chrysalis smiled. “Well, I was going to save this paper to one day teach a drone or two to do fancy portraits of me… but I think I like this better,” she murmured, picking it up. Cory snorted. “I can do fancy portraits, easy. But a drawing like that, with real feeling put into it? That’s a lot harder. That’s real art right there.” They retired to bed, Jeremy pausing to hang up the drawing just above their bedframe. “So, I’m hearing tell from some of the nurses that you’ve been quite busy today,” Chrysalis murmured as they snuggled together. Jeremy laughed quietly. “Yeah… all the little ones seem to consider me their dad, so I figured I might as well start acting like one…” Chrysalis chuckled and kissed his cheek. “You’re a wonderful father,” she whispered. “They all love you so much…” Jeremy smooched her on the cheek, heart practically jumping out of his chest in excitement and happiness. “I love you, Queen Chrysalis,” he whispered as soon as they broke apart. “I love you, King Jeremy,” she returned, eyes watery as she beamed at him. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, simply cuddling and enjoying the warmth of the other’s presence. As Jeremy slipped away from the waking world, he awoke in a sunlit field of flowers. Flowers of every type and color stretched off into the distance, an endless plain of bright hues. He got to his feet, noting that the area he had been laying in was devoid of any flowers, a perfectly human-shaped patch of grass underneath him. He looked around, wondering how he had gotten here. He studied the flowers closest to him. The flower immediately in front of him was massive, perhaps the size of his torso, with hundreds and hundreds of emerald green petals on an inky black stem. Jeremy reached out and idly stroked a petal, and it shivered, quivering almost as if it enjoyed the touch. Jeremy drew his hand away, moving as if underwater, and stared at the flower, wondering why it had shivered. Finally, his gaze was drawn to the comparatively tiny flower next to it. This flower had two stems splitting out from the middle, with one being navy blue and the other a much darker shade of blue. Jeremy felt that this flower was very important, somehow, but in the dream he couldn’t exactly tell why. He reached out to touch this one, and was surprised to find it reacted before he even touched it. The darker blue flower was leaning toward him, and the lighter blue one was leaning away. The stem, caught between, was being stretched in both directions, and Jeremy could see a tiny split happening. Reluctantly, he withdrew his hand – somehow, he knew that it was very important that he treat these flowers carefully. He looked at the other flowers, but they didn’t seem as important. A light yellow flower with a white stem was next to the two-headed blue one, and there were a few others of various colors. Uninterested, Jeremy returned his attention to the giant green flower, which had craned its stem so that the flower head seemed to be ‘looking’ at him. He reached out to touch it again, and it strained to meet his forefinger, shivering again as soon as it did so. Jeremy smirked in the dream, and boldly put his whole hand on the flower, rubbing it slightly. It shivered more, petals fluffing outward to provide more room for his hand to rub. Jeremy laughed, and leaned forward, encasing the flower in a hug and vaguely wondering why he was hugging a flower. It felt good, so he was in no mood to complain. He stayed there, hugging the flower, for the rest of the dream. Jeremy awoke to find Chrysalis still asleep, a blissful smile on her face. Briefly, he wondered what his dream was about, but he was distracted when she shifted in her sleep, grumbling a bit as her smile disappeared. Immediately, he threw an arm around her, cuddling her close, and her smile slowly reappeared. It took an hour of soft head-rubbing, gentle scratching of the ears, and the occasional nuzzle to get Chrysalis to wake up. She cracked an eye open, bemused but still smiling. “I wondered why I was so comfortable,” she joked quietly, and Jeremy softly laughed. “Morning, sweetie. Ready for a new day?” he asked. Chrysalis stretched out her legs, yawning, then flopped back onto the bed. “Now that we’re free… I think we should actually just enjoy ourselves,” she proposed. Jeremy snorted in amusement. “I’ve yet to not enjoy myself, around you,” he returned, and Chrysalis blushed furiously. “S-stop, someone’s going to hear you,” she whispered, grinning and trying not to laugh. They visited the dining hall, only to find it empty. “Ah, we must have overslept,” Jeremy grumbled, stomach complaining in tandem. “Want to go out to lunch, then?” Chrysalis offered, hefting a bag of bits in her magic. Jeremy looked at her strangely. “Where did you get that?” he wondered. Chrysalis shrugged. “You brought it into the bedroom last night. This is ‘money,’ right?” she asked. Jeremy nodded, walking back through the empty throne room and towards the front door of the palace. “Oh, right… yeah, that’s money. Apparently that’s quite a lot of money, too, though I’m not quite sure. Equestrian currency is a bit new to me,” he joked, grinning expectantly. “Why are you… oh, really? ‘Bit’? Honey…” Chrysalis complained at the awful pun. Jeremy burst out laughing, and Chrysalis glared at him, even though she was still smiling. They found their lunch at a cozy little café titled ‘Clawfee Shop,’ run by a rather well-dressed griffon. Jeremy chose a meat sandwich, as was typical for him, while Chrysalis elected to try the chicken salad. Jeremy made no comment until she had already taken a bite, watching her expectantly. “What?” Chrysalis said, noticing his stare through a mouthful of salad. “You… do know that chicken salad contains chicken, right? That’s a type of meat…” Jeremy trailed off. “Really? I thought it tasted good. How odd…” Chrysalis wondered, staring down at the rest of her sandwich apprehensively. “Say, I know the palace replicates their meat by magic. But what about this guy? Does he actually use real chickens?” Jeremy wondered. “No, it was on the menu at the bottom. ‘The meat products included here are a product of magic, and no living creatures were harmed in their making,” Chrysalis quoted. “Huh. How ‘bout that. Maybe it’s standard practice even without the upcoming griffon meeting, or something,” Jeremy mused. “Speaking of which…” Chrysalis dropped her voice, looking around for a moment. “Wouldn’t that be an excellent opportunity for something to go ‘horribly wrong’?” she whispered. Jeremy nodded. “Yeah, it would. I was wondering about that myself… glad you caught on.” A thought occurred to him. Wait, why are we talking out loud anyway? We have telepathy, he sent. Oh… right. Um. I’m not actually… well, sometimes when I use telepathy, I remember… his voice, she sent back, looking awkwardly away. “Oh, okay,” Jeremy whispered, immediately switching back to non-telepathic communication in the hopes of not upsetting her. “Sorry…” Chrysalis whispered. “Don’t worry about it, girl. I understand,” Jeremy dismissed. Having finished their lunch, Jeremy and Chrysalis returned to the palace to find Celestia and both Elements of Harmony, as well as Starlight Glimmer, amidst what appeared to be some kind of team meeting. “Hey!” Jeremy complained as soon as they caught sight of the pair. “A meeting, and nobody invited us?” Celestia snorted. “Cadance and Shining Armor are also not present,” she pointed out. “…Still. What’s going on?” Jeremy asked, taking a seat with the others as Chrysalis curled up in his lap. “Just figuring out what to do today,” Celestia informed him. “Gotta plan out a friendship lesson, or something,” Sam added. “Right, right. Um… well… does anyone want to hang out with some changelings? I could use some help taking care of all of them, and it’d be a good cultural exchange,” Jeremy offered. “I thought you’d never ask!” Avery exclaimed, standing up. “Can we hug them?” Brayden wondered. “You’ll have to ask them, but I don’t see why not,” Jeremy immediately answered. “Can we throw a party for them?” Pinkie gasped. “A ‘Welcome-Back-to-Canterlot-Sorry-About-The-War-Party’?” Jeremy laughed. “Sure, why not? Just don’t startle them too much. They’re still getting used to the whole ‘not fighting’ thing,” he cautioned. Pinkie nodded so rapidly her head was a blur, and zoomed away, leaving a pink cloud in the shape of her body as she disappeared. Chrysalis watched where she had been silently. “I fear that mare,” she spoke up, and Rainbow laughed. “That’s Pinkster for ya. Don’t worry, she’s chill,” the cyan athlete dismissed. “I would like to hug a changeling…” Fluttershy muttered, just barely audible. “I… I don’t understand. We were just enemies. Aren’t you… supposed to be still getting over that?” Chrysalis asked, looking suspiciously at the nine ponies. “We… we’re a little apprehensive, sure,” Twilight allowed, looking around at the others. “But how are we going to make any progress if we don’t try to put aside our fears?” Celestia nodded. “I, for one, would love to see how changelings act when not fighting. I admit, I have always been curious about your kind. Perhaps you could show us more of your history?” she asked. Chrysalis looked at Jeremy. They’re so… friendly. Is this normal? she asked. Hard to say, Jeremy answered. This might be the setup to a ‘hilarious’ mishap between our two races, which results in a happy ending where we understand and respect each other just a bit more. Go with it? he decided. “…Alright,” Chrysalis hesitantly answered. “Let’s… um… go, then.” Should we invite Sombra and Nightmare Moon, too? I haven’t really been… doing stuff with them lately, Jeremy guiltily noted. No, they’re busy. They told me last night about a ‘surprise’ they’d been working on, Chrysalis answered. Oh? That sounds interesting. I wonder what they’re doing… Jeremy trailed off, noticing the others were staring at the pair of them. “Right, sorry, yeah… let’s head out, then,” he decided, laughing awkwardly. Jeremy led the way, strolling through the streets of Canterlot with the rest just behind him. “So, how does ‘sharing love’ work?” Brayden asked him and Chrysalis, the rest falling silent to hear the answer. “Any kind thought or positive feeling directed at a specific changeling, disguised or not, is something they can feed off of. General positivity can also be fed off of, though it’s both less filling and weaker in potency,” Chrysalis explained. “Intimate contact such as hugging enhances the effect,” Jeremy added, and Chrysalis nodded. “Can changelings share love with each other?” Twilight asked. Chrysalis reluctantly nodded. “I… suppose they can. That’s still very strange to me – how could a lowly drone like Thorax have accidentally stumbled upon such a viable source of love, when none of the Queens ever figured it out? Hespera, at the very least, should have been able to do that. Reduuva as well,” Chrysalis mumbled. “They probably had a lot more to worry about – establishing a fledgling hive, taking care of their subjects, avoiding ponies’ wrath,” Jeremy countered. “Besides, the past is the past. You can focus on our failings then, or do what I do and focus on the future. I’m looking forward to seeing a bunch of non-hungry changelings,” Jeremy encouraged her. “Yeah… yeah, you’re right,” Chrysalis agreed after a moment. They hiked down the sloping mountain trail, Jeremy sweating slightly in the afternoon sun. “You okay, honey?” Chrysalis asked, seeing the sheen on his forehead. “I’m fine, just a little hot. I’ll be better once we get inside again,” Jeremy dismissed. “Sun’s not good for Jeremy. He bursts into flame after a few hours,” Sam joked. “What?!” both Chrysalis and Celestia cried in unison, looking at Jeremy in horror. He rolled his eyes, chuckling. “He’s joking. I just don’t get enough sunlight regularly,” Jeremy retorted. “…Oh,” Chrysalis replied uncertainly. “Sorry, I didn’t think you’d take it so… literally…” Sam apologized, with a worried look at her. Chrysalis sighed. “Honestly, that’s one of my biggest fears. That what I consider a normal thing to do or experience, like sunlight, or draining love, or something will turn out to be fatal to him, because he’s from a different planet, and I'll lose him forever. It’s just…” she trailed off, looking for the right words to say. “Relax, honey. If I can survive a dance-off with Tirek, I can survive whatever you throw at me,” Jeremy snarked. Besides, it’s not like you can kill me permanently. Anything that did accidentally happen would just tip me off about it as soon as I go back, he added in her head. “Wait. You had a dance-off with Lord Tirek?” Rainbow asked incredulously. Jeremy laughed and nodded. “And it was glorious,” he answered, and that was all he said on the matter. Finally, they arrived in the atrium cave. As soon as Jeremy’s shoe hit the floor, causing a soft echo of his step to be sent throughout the entire cave, every single changeling looked up in unison, causing most of the ponies to cringe. Jeremy, however, was unperturbed. “Hi, everyone!” he called up cheerfully. “Hi, my King!” they chorused back in perfect unison, and Jeremy laughed at their enthusiasm. “Why are they here, my King?” a nearby drone asked, looking at the ponies and humans with some apprehension. “They’ve agreed to learn about changeling culture, so the Queen and I will be escorting them around and talking about stuff,” Jeremy explained. The changeling brightened. “Oh, okay! Let us know if you need any help.” Jeremy nodded and thanked him, and the drone returned to the miniature, hoof-carved cave that served as his bed. “So… all the drones live in this cave?” Celestia asked, looking around. “Yeah,” Jeremy answered. “I do still wish we could get them beds…” Chrysalis snorted. “If they feel cold or uncomfortable, they can build cocoons, honey. They’re okay.” Jeremy sighed. “If you say so..." "Okay, so, I suppose we'll start the 'tour' now. This main cave is where most of our drones live, and work. The smaller ones have a cave of their own, and the hatchlings are hidden somewhere. We’re not going to take you to the hatchlings, because they’re not ready to see anyone besides the hatchery drones or the King and Queen, but I suppose we can let you visit the nursery,” Chrysalis began. “Normally that’s a pretty big deal for outsiders, so feel honored, okay?” Jeremy added with a grin at Celestia and Twilight, the latter of whom was already taking notes. “Just be very careful around the little ones, no matter what. Especially you, ‘Rainbow Dash,’” Chrysalis snarled threateningly. “And just what is that supposed to mean?!” Rainbow retorted, already in the air and firing up. Applejack pulled her tail, causing her to crash back down to the ground. “It means ‘be careful around the lil’ wigglers,’ sugarcube. No shoutin’, no ‘encouragement,’ and no competition,” Applejack explained dryly. “Thank you, Applejack. The small ones are very sensitive to noise and high emotions,” Chrysalis agreed. “Aww, but that’s like half of who I am…” whined Rainbow. “Then exercise your other half, it’s healthy,” Jeremy snarked, causing a few humans and ponies to burst into giggles. They finally arrived at the makeshift nursery, the assorted humans and ponies blinking at the powerful green lights glowing overhead. “Why is this place so green? It’s horrible for my complexion,” Rarity complained. “We keep it this way to get the small ones more used to the surface light. Otherwise, it’d hurt a lot when they went outside for the first time,” Jeremy explained. “Daddy!” a tiny changeling cried out, looking at him exuberantly. Jeremy instantly beamed as they came running over, tripping over themselves in their haste to greet him. “Hello, tiny friend!” he called back as they leaped into his arms, giggling and kissing every inch of him they could reach. “Awww…” Brayden and Fluttershy whispered in unison, causing the tiny changeling’s ear to twitch. They looked over and pointed at the assorted group of humans and ponies. “Who dat?” they asked curiously. Jeremy smiled. “Those are some of my friends. They’re here to learn things,” he explained. “They want hug?” the changeling asked. “They absolutely want hug,” Jeremy affirmed, setting the changeling down on the ground, where they bolted for the closest pony – Rainbow Dash. Without skipping a beat, they tackled her to the floor, where they promptly repeated the same motions they had done for Jeremy, Dash spluttering and laughing as the changeling did its best to hug and kiss her face. “Don’t crowd them,” Jeremy called out as the others made to circle around and watch, and they obediently backed off. “So, does this little one have a name?” Celestia asked. Jeremy shook his head. “As it stands now, changelings don’t get names until they’re older and have done something for the Hive. About three-quarters of all of our current changelings don’t have a name, they’re just referred to as ‘drone' or 'you there' or 'them'. Something else I hope to change…” Chrysalis nodded. “Someday, I hope to spend some time coming up with names for all of them. But with how busy my King is going to be, I’ve been putting it off so I can help him more,” she added with a significant look at Jeremy. “Also, all changelings are genderless unless they choose to be otherwise. Pronouns are they/them/it, as well as whatever else they decide to add,” Jeremy continued, Twilight furiously scribbling. “Is Thorax ‘genderless’?” Applejack asked, pronouncing the word as though unfamiliar with it. “He wanted to be male, for whatever reason. I allowed it because at the time, he was better at disguising as males anyway,” Chrysalis answered. “Are you genderless?” Sam asked her. Chrysalis considered for a moment. “Biologically, I suppose… but by my own personal choice, I am female.” Jeremy snorted. “Her pronouns are ‘Your Majesty’ and ‘the Queen’ respectively,” he joked, and Chrysalis burst out laughing. By this time, more of the small ones had ventured out to discover the source of the commotion, and one brushed by Fluttershy’s foreleg. Curious about the tall yellow thing in front of it, it sniffed once, bumping its nose against her leg in confusion. “Oh my goodness, hello, little one!” she softly cajoled, leaning down to stare at it eye to eye as she smiled. The tiny changeling tilted its head in confusion at the much larger head in front of it, before reaching out a hoof and booping her on the nose. Fluttershy, taken aback, crossed her eyes to look at the spot where she had been booped, before breaking out into full-on giggles as she nuzzled the tiny changeling, who smiled and nuzzled back. The changeling in Dash’s embrace, watching this, reached out a hoof of their own and booped her nose, causing Dash and Jeremy both to stifle a giggle. Emboldened by the success of their peers, more changelings swarmed forward to try the new thing, and Jeremy watched on in great satisfaction as every single human and pony eventually succumbed to the flood of tiny, smiling changelings. Celestia in particular had five or six, playing around in her pink hair or snuffling at her wings before cuddling up with the others underneath the front of her belly as she happily snuggled them. “Wow. This worked… really well,” Chrysalis noted. “Yeah… Like I said. They’re super adorable,” Jeremy reminded her, to a chorus of affirmations from everybody else. “Thorax once told me that changeling foals were… well, they made a lot of rasping noises like he did, almost constantly. I imagine that those were less pleasant to deal with,” Starlight spoke up. “That would be because they were hungry,” Chrysalis informed her. “I imagine pony foals are also less pleasant when they are hungry.” Celestia snorted, raising her head from where she had been laying it gently on the changelings in her embrace. “Fair enough,” she agreed, as the changelings below her whined in complaint at the loss of warmth. A few changelings who had not managed to find a human or pony to snuggle with wandered over to Jeremy, and he happily picked them up and began petting them, the changelings emitting soft coos of satisfaction as they tried to wriggle further into his warm embrace. “What are human foals like?” Chrysalis asked, sensing a lull in the conversation. “Oh, they’re horrible,” Jeremy instantly replied. “Yeah…” Sam reluctantly agreed. “Their only response to everything is crying. They wail when they’re hungry, thirsty, angry, lonely, queasy, or… well, anything else, really. They throw things, grab onto people in painful places, and cannot control their own bodily functions, so things quite often get... messy,” Jeremy explained. “Yeah, they’re super loud. Not like these cute little guys,” Avery noted, rubbing one’s nose with a finger. “Changelings express their needs in a different way. Because they are connected to the Hive mind at birth, every changeling close by is automatically aware of exactly what they are feeling. Most changelings dislike the intensely foalish nature of these feelings and thoughts, which is why the only ones that interact with the little ones on a regular basis are the trained nursery drones, myself, and my King. So, in our own way, dealing with the little ones can be unpleasant as well,” Chrysalis revealed. “Huh. How come I haven’t been feeling any of that?” Jeremy wondered. “Our crowns allow us to ignore such low-level thoughts if we so desire, and both I and the other changelings have noticed that you do not speak mentally very often,” Chrysalis observed in response. “Oh. Well… I’m not very used to it,” Jeremy answered, feeling slightly guilty. “It’s alright, we understand. Take your time,” Chrysalis politely dismissed. “So… ‘speaking mentally?’ How does that work?” Twilight asked. “We’re all connected to a hive mind, a vast mental network of information and consciousness that apparently houses the minds of all changelings, living and dead. So we can all speak to each other using this network, a bit like telepathy. It’s tied to our crowns as well, so we’re a lot more mentally ‘powerful’ than the other changelings, doubly so when we’re wearing these,” Jeremy explained, looking at Chrysalis. “Changeling royalty can actually control the minds of others, which… I haven’t tried to use often,” Chrysalis muttered, distinctly looking away from Twilight. “The old King stayed in power that way – either controlling or killing any changeling who disagreed with him. Now that he’s gone, I… really don’t want to do that. So, Jeremy and I simply give orders or suggestions through the hive mind.” Noticing Chrysalis’ apprehension, Jeremy nudged a few of the changelings towards her, and they wandered over to plant gentle kisses on her hooves and try to fit themselves in the holes in her legs. Surprised, Chrysalis eventually relaxed slightly, smiling as she allowed them to play with her legs and hair. “So, how does this connection vary with distance? For example, can you tell what Thorax is saying right now?” Celestia wondered. “No, he’s too far away. It gets weaker by distance,” Chrysalis answered. They played with the smaller ones for a moment in silence, most of whom had already fallen asleep, their bellies swollen with a full meal of love. One of the few who was still awake was scrunching up its little face, its horn giving off sparks of green as the assorted humans and ponies watched. There was a wash of green fire across its body, and it expanded, transforming into Princess Celestia as the others gaped in shock. “Whoa,” Avery breathed, and the Celestia-lookalike glanced over at him, a puzzled frown on her face. Jeremy stifled a giggle, and she noticed this, trotting over to him on unsteady legs as she emitted sounds that were far too young for her new appearance. “Well, aren’t you an overachiever?” Jeremy praised, scratching the changeling’s neck as she leaned into him and purred. Celestia watched on in bemusement. “So that’s what I look like,” she observed. “Never thought ah’d see Celestia actin’ like a lil’ foal,” Applejack snorted, and Rainbow laughed. “We should put her on the throne, see what happens,” the cyan pegasus joked. Chrysalis smirked. “Well, Celestia? I don’t think it’d make much of a difference to the public,” she added, as Jeremy continued to cuddle and praise the faux-Celestia. The real Celestia chuckled, watching almost enviously as Jeremy scratched her counterpart’s pink hair. “It would raise a few eyebrows… maybe,” she retorted. Just then, the changeling Jeremy was petting transformed back with another wash of green fire, looking disappointed and tired. Jeremy held it close, smooching it on the cheek. “Don’t look so sad! You did very well,” he encouraged. Sam laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you be this much of a dad before, Jeremy,” he ribbed. “Normally you’re locked away in your room, building robots or something!” Jeremy laughed amicably. “True, but that was before I had over sixty children,” he returned. Celestia’s jaw dropped. “S…sixty children? I thought you and Chrysalis never…” she trailed off, aware that everyone else was looking at her. “Adopted children,” Jeremy clarified, trying his best not to laugh, and Celestia rapidly nodded. “Right! Right, that makes more… sense,” she hastily agreed, looking around awkwardly. “Alright, these ones are just about asleep,” Jeremy decided, gently setting down the one he had been petting and standing up. “Want to move on?” There were groans of protest, and Jeremy laughed softly as to not wake the sleeping foals. “I know, I know. You can always come back and visit! I know the nurses would be thrilled at a steady source of food for the little ones.” Chrysalis snorted as the group began moving back into the atrium cavern. “Oh, you have no idea. Being a nurse used to be the most stressful job in the entire Hive, to the point where I reserved all my best drones for that task. Well… all the best drones that were left.” Celestia flinched slightly. “How many died in the invasions?” she wondered softly. “A hundred and forty-eight,” Chrysalis instantly and flatly answered. “They all died during the first invasion, when the love shockwave Cadance created pressed them against buildings.” Celestia gasped. “I… I’m so sorry,” she apologized, eyes watering. Chrysalis shrugged. “Don’t be, I can just re-birth them whenever I get around to it,” she replied indifferently. Celestia looked at her strangely, pausing a moment to dry her eyes. “Re-birth? What does that mean?” Twilight asked curiously. “Changeling personalities are all stored in the hive mind, from birth until death,” Jeremy answered. “When a changeling dies, its consciousness can be re-used in a newly born changeling baby, which gradually assumes the former personality as the changeling grows up. With recent… population trends… due to starvation, there are currently more stored souls within the hive mind than there are available bodies.” Rarity raised her hoof as though in a classroom, and Jeremy glanced at her. “How… many stored souls are in the hive mind?” she wondered. “About ten thousand, including those that are alive,” Chrysalis answered. “The current population of my hive is one thousand, eight hundred and twenty-six changelings.” Applejack swallowed nervously, and Rainbow whistled, clearly impressed. “You mentioned other Queens back at your old Hive. Are they in the hive mind as well?” Brayden asked. “The Queens are… a special case,” Chrysalis carefully answered. “They are specifically stored within me, and every Queen is essentially a different incarnation of the same being – Hespera, the first Queen. That’s why my voice sounds the way it does,” she explained. “So how many Queens have there been?” Cory asked. “Nine,” Chrysalis answered. “Hespera, Reduuva, Mimica, Aranea, Reclusa, Avicularia, Diptera, Vespula, and me, Chrysalis.” Avery raised an eyebrow. “How come your name doesn’t end with an ‘a’?” he asked. “It did, once. I was born and raised Princess Chrysalia, until I… well, until I met him,” Chrysalis explained, the disgust in her voice making sure they all knew which him she was referring to. “I renamed myself ‘Chrysalis’ to sound less… young,” she muttered. From the expression of surprise on Jeremy’s face, it was clear to everyone that this was as new to him as it was to them. “’Chrysalia,’ huh?” Jeremy remarked, trying the name out. “Not bad… but I think ‘Chrysalis’ does suit you better.” Chrysalis gave him a fanged smile. “Thanks, honey,” she replied, and everyone could see a slight but unmistakable spring in her step as she led them onwards. “Why do you have holes in your legs?” Pinkie asked as they reached the center of the atrium cave. “Why do you have pink hair? We just do,” Chrysalis retorted. Jeremy chuckled, then did a double take. “Hey, when’d you get here, anyway? Last we saw of you, you were running off to plan… the…” Jeremy trailed off as he beheld the sight in front of him. Without anyone managing to even notice, Pinkie had transformed the entire atrium cave into a massive party, streamers and balloons decorating the ceiling and massive tables of colorful food laid out all around the cavern. A drone trotted up to him, looking nervous. “My King… do you know what she’s doing? She just kind of… appeared, and began placing all this here,” they whispered, apparently forgetting that Pinkie was less than four feet away from the two of them. “It’s called a ‘party.’ Basically, a time to get together and be merry about something,” Jeremy explained. The drone cocked their head. “A ‘party’? I’ve heard of those… never been to one. Are we supposed to do anything in particular?” Pinkie giggled. “It’s an excuse to be happy, silly! To have fun, play games, and have a good time!” Jeremy chuckled. “Yeah, that. In this case… what are we partying about exactly, Pinkie?” he asked. “This is a ‘Sorry-About-the-War-Can-We-Be-Friends-Now?-Party!” Pinkie enthusiastically answered. The changeling perked up. “So… this party… is a way of asking to be our friends?” they clarified. Pinkie rapidly nodded, and the changeling smiled. “That sounds nice! Um… what’s with all the pony food?” they asked. “So you can eat it, silly! Changelings can totally eat pony food, we saw Queen Chrysalis doing it!” Pinkie informed them. “So… we eat a lot of food, we’re happy… this sounds a lot like what our Queen promised us after the Canterlot invasion…” the changeling observed. Chrysalis flinched, ears splaying backwards. “Well, it is after the invasion, and she did technically help set this up. So, I think she kept her promise,” Jeremy immediately returned, smiling slightly. The changeling considered this for a moment. “Yeah… I guess she did…” they pondered. “Yeah she did! Let’s get this party started!” Pinkie announced, zipping off elsewhere to explain the concept of partying to more changelings. A few minutes later, Pinkie had set up several games, and explained how to play them. The changelings were confused at first, wondering what the point of it all was, but they slowly began smiling and playing along as they discovered how entertaining each of the games were. Pinkie, as always, kept a bright and cheerful smile as she helped them along, beaming every time one of them smiled back. “She really is trying hard,” Jeremy observed from the sidelines as Pinkie showed a group of changelings how to play an indoor basketball net she had somehow obtained. “That’s Pinkie for ya,” Applejack agreed with a smile. “They’re all… enjoying themselves. Smiling, and… and having… fun,” Chrysalis quietly noted, looking around. Jeremy wrapped an arm around her neck. “They deserve it,” he softly replied. “And hey… you deserve it too. Wanna go out and try some of the games?” Chrysalis appeared uncertain. “First… can I… can I try something?” she asked, looking around nervously. “Oh? Sure,” Jeremy replied, the other humans and ponies watching curiously. Chrysalis took a deep breath, shaking slightly, and Jeremy detected nothing short of a flood of doubt and fear coming from her, nearby changelings pausing to look at her in concern. He knelt down and hugged her tightly, stroking her hair. “I’m right here. I promise you’ll be okay,” he murmured. Slowly, her fear died down, to be replaced with a stronger emotion, one that Jeremy had only truly seen in her a rare few times. She looked into his eyes, the weight of a thousand years of pain and suffering reflected in her forest-green gaze. Jeremy smiled encouragingly at her, and she smiled back. “This day has been just perfect… the kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small…” she whispered. “Changelings and ponies are now friends, here together until the end, and a new day of love and peace has dawned for us all…” Jeremy completed, not sure where the words were coming from. And just like that, the weight had been lifted. Her lips brushed against his, so softly and quietly that Jeremy was not even sure she had moved her head forward. The love emitted from her thickened to a tidal wave of emotion, and had Jeremy’s eyes been open, he would have noticed that nearby changelings were getting physically pushed back from the raw magical force of her love. Chrysalis began to glow with a blinding white light, causing everyone to shield their eyes as her love took physical form around her body, a sphere of white magic enveloping her and lifting her gently away from Jeremy’s grasp. Jeremy looked up, opening his eyes again, and immediately squeezed them shut as the light assaulted his retinas, Chrysalis lost amidst the glow. He blinked a few times and looked up again, too stunned to even speak. He remained silent as the light slowly dissipated, and Chrysalis gently descended to the ground once more. Chrysalis opened her eyes and looked down at herself. “Wh…what?” she asked, her voice reverberating throughout the cavern as not a single changeling dared to speak. “But I… I thought I… wasn’t I supposed to transform? To be… perfect?” she worried, looking down at her hooves and beginning to tear up. “I don’t understand… why didn’t it work?” she asked again, speaking to herself. Jeremy smiled and hugged her. “It did work. Anyone got a mirror?” he called out. Pinkie pulled a hand mirror out of her mane and handed it over. “See? Your horn’s different, and the holes in your legs are gone,” Jeremy pointed out as Chrysalis examined her appearance. “But… that’s barely a change. I was… I was supposed to be beautiful,” Chrysalis choked, tearing up again. “You already were beautiful,” Jeremy insisted. “You don’t need some magical transformation to be pretty, alright? You’ve always been beautiful to me.” Chrysalis sniffled a bit. “R-really? I’m not… I’m not a hideous, ugly, freakishly-proportioned insect?” she asked in a low voice. Jeremy took her into a hug. “No, you’re not. You’re my beautiful, gorgeous changeling girlfriend, who doesn’t need any magical transformation to tell her how to look,” he softly answered. Chrysalis still looked uncertain, so Jeremy cupped her chin in his hand. “Chrysalis, before I met you, I didn’t have any plans for romance. I was never going to get married, or have kids, or have a family. But now? I… I want to. I want to do each and every one of those things, and I want to do them with you. So, um… I hope this isn’t a b-bad time or anything, but now seems like the right moment to ask… Queen Chrysalis, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Will you… will you marry me?” Jeremy asked, to the gasps of every changeling, pony and human in the room. Chrysalis stared at him with wide eyes. “Y-you mean it?” she whispered. Jeremy nodded, smiling even as he was crying. “I’ve never meant anything more in my entire life,” he whispered back. Chrysalis stared a moment more. “Y…yes…” she breathed, barely audible. “YES!” she squealed, tackling him and kissing him all over his face as Jeremy laughed in relief. “Awww…” the assorted ponies and humans called out, recalling the two of them to their senses. “Right, um… sorry, I’m supposed to have a ring for you,” Jeremy remembered, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. “I don’t care if you don’t have a ring! I’m going to be married!” Chrysalis shouted with joy, dancing around him. She stopped suddenly, glancing at him almost sheepishly. “I mean, not to disrespect your marriage customs, or anything, it’s just…” she was silenced as Jeremy kissed her on the lips. “It’s fine,” he soothed. “We can always get a ring later. Besides, this way we can have it custom-made. The most beautiful ring, for the most beautiful mare…” he trailed off, beaming at her. Chrysalis blushed and looked away. “You really believe that, don’t you?” she quietly asked, smiling back. “I never believed otherwise,” Jeremy answered. “Just make out already!” Sam called out, startling them, and Jeremy burst into laughter. “Let’s save that for later,” he called back, grinning exuberantly. “For now… let’s party!” The entire cavern of changelings cheered in agreement, the very stones vibrating with the force of their enthusiasm. “Ooh! Engagement party! I’ll go get the cakes!” Pinkie called, zipping around the cavern before disappearing once more, the balloons and streamers having now changed color to white and pink. Now that the changelings actually had a reason to party, they did so with gusto, smiling happily as they danced, played games, laughed, and enjoyed the food Pinkie had mysteriously conjured. The humans and ponies happily joined in, whether it was Cory giving the younger changelings some art tips, Rarity discussing the latest trends with the trio of changeling fashion designers, or Kylie out-eating everybody in the entire Hive, humans and ponies included. Chrysalis in particular simply couldn’t keep a smile off her face, and every time she so much as glanced in Jeremy’s direction her eyes started watering with joy again. Jeremy, who was well aware of this, made sure to slip in a hug or a gentle smooch every now and then, leading her around to enjoy the games. He suspected she wasn’t enjoying the party so much as she was enjoying herself: For the first time in her life, Chrysalis had finally set down the burdens she’d been carrying for so long. Her happiness was infectious, and changelings around her found themselves laughing and hugging her, only to yelp in surprise as she hugged them right back as hard as she could. A few of the young ones came up to Jeremy, all of them giggling as a certain familiar changeling revealed a new drawing – that of him and Chrysalis at a wedding. Jeremy instantly pointed this out to Chrysalis, who gushed almost as much as he did at the cute sight. She hugged every single young one, and smooched Jeremy on the cheek again before Pinkie and Rainbow called her away to try another game. “Mama is very happy!” one of the younger ones noticed, smiling. “She is, isn’t she?” Jeremy agreed, watching her with a small smile. “I guess you could say she finally achieved her dream.” Pinkie brought out the engagement cake, and Jeremy was surprised to find that it was a towering, gargantuan creation of buttercream frosting and vanilla cake mix, which Pinkie started handing out slices of as soon as it fit through the cave entrance. On top were a pair of plastic figurines of him and Chrysalis, and though Jeremy had no idea where Pinkie obtained them he had to admit that they were quite accurate. The little plastic version of him was kneeling down, Chrysalis’ front hooves in his hands as the plastic Chrysalis looked up at him with a clear expression of adoration. “Huh, they’re like… little toys of us,” Jeremy realized, noticing the articulated joints. But who could have made these? He decided to ignore his curiosity and instead focus on the real issue, which was the fact that he hadn’t stuffed himself with cake yet.