//------------------------------// // 9 Horny // Story: For science - Book three // by Znegil //------------------------------// We all stood in the smaller room of my lab surrounding Chrysalis. Lyra and I were a bit uncomfortable putting our guest in such a spotlight, while Twilight was so excited she had a little Pinkie-bounce in her steps. “Well, how do we start?”, I asked more to myself than to the others. My marefriend showed a big grin waving some papers around. “Yesterday I made a list for the best sequence to examine her body and abilities.” “Of course you did, honey.”, I replied and was actually glad she did. “We start from the top of her head and work our way to her lower back.”, she explained. “So let's start with your horn, it's shape is very unusual, does it look like this for all the changeling princesses?” I immediately noticed how Chrysalis mood dropped and her body tensed up. “Maybe we should start with something else.”, I suggested. “But my list…”, Twilight protested and suddenly looked like she was about to cry. Chrysalis coughed to get our attention. “It's okay, we can talk about it. It isn't one of my favorite topics by far, but I will explain it to you.” She took a deep breath before she continued. “The shape of my horn is unusual amongst şahzadə as well.” There were confused looks from the others who hadn't heard this strange sounding word before. “A şahzadə is a ‘noble changeling’, the princesses and the queen. We have some unique abilities and are much larger than a normal changeling. The word itself is from our ancient language, which isn't used in daily life anymore. The only exceptions are funerals and things there is no word for in the common language of Equestria.” She waited for a few seconds to let it sink in before she touched her horn and continued. “The horn of a şahzadə looks very much like Celestia's horn, apart from the dark color. Size and form are nearly identical. My horn is some kind of birth-defect, I looked different from the other princesses. Being different is something very undesirable within the changeling race, we can change ourselves in all kinds of things to disguise us, but every changeling should be the same, uniform, replaceable.” She sat down on a nearby chair and we did the same, I think we all felt there was a longer story in this. Chrysalis waited a moment before she continued. “I have been told after I had hatched the queen and one of the nurses had a discussion if I should be killed for being different… I heard they discussed for about ten minutes before the queen decided to let me live. But you shouldn’t assume she did it because I was her daughter, I was just one of many and easily replaced, she never had such emotions towards me. She let me live because she was curious how the horn would affect me. As she had said back then ‘If she can’t perform like the others I can kill her later anyway.’ “ I looked around and saw the others horrified expressions. Ponies generally supported diversity, their cutie marks were even a symbol of that, so they were absolutely shocked to hear this. It didn’t shock me the same way as them. I knew back in my world there were thousands of babies killed every year, just because they were born a girl. Chrysalis noticed their reaction but decided to just continue in her story. “As I grew up, all my siblings, big and small, made sure I never forget that I was different. They all looked down on me for not being like them.” She looked up at the ceiling and her eyes seemed a little hazy. “Get to of the way, Crooked!... You can't do anything, Crooked!... Why don't you just die, Crooked!” She quickly wiped her eyes and continued talking before anyone of us was able to say a thing… not that I had any idea how to respond to something like that. “I noticed pretty soon I was different from them in more than just how I looked, my feelings and personality were different as well. I was curious about new things and felt pity for others changelings who came back injured from fights to protect our hive. I quickly learned not to show these feelings, my siblings had enough hate for me just for looking different, it would have made things only worse.” She traced the shape of her horn with her hoof. “The shape of my horn made it difficult for me to cast spells, but I made up for it by training every free moment… until my abilities surpassed my stuck-up siblings. Of course they hated me even more for that, but I didn't care anymore… I had found a way to prove I wasn't worthless. And if my plan to conquer Canterlot had succeeded, I even could have dethroned my mother and take her place instead… none of them would have been able to look down on me ever again…” She blinked a few times and looked like she only remembered where she was right now. “Sorry, I guess I digressed a bit, but that's the story of my horn.” “Now I almost wish you had succeeded in Canterlot.”, Lyra said and surprised us. “Lyra!”, Twilight complained. “I see what Lyra means by that.”, I told her. “What she told us right now combined with her explanation about starving changelings helps me to understand why she made the decisions she made. I’m not saying it was right what she did, but I understand it.” “I guess…”, my marefriend mumbled while I got a very surprised look from Chrysalis, which turned into a warm smile after a moment. I decided it would be best to go on. “What’s the next point on your list, Twilight?” She quickly refocused on our task and levitated the papers in front of her again. “Her crown-thingy.” We all focused our attention on the crown like shape on top of her head. I stood up and came close to her to get a better look. “Would it be okay if I touch it?”, I asked while I extended my hand towards it. “No, you can’t touch it!”, she replied surprisingly harsh, her face reddened while she moved her head out of reach. I looked at her surprised from her reaction and took my hand back. “The beads at the end are highly sensitive to touch.”, she explained in a calmer voice but her face now in a scarlet color. “It’s a… very private thing to do…” My face gained some color as well as I understood what I almost had done. “Oh… sorry… I had no idea…”, I stuttered. “Well… I guess we learned something here… Twilight write that down… in an appropriate wording.” Twilight looked at both of us with a confused look. “I’m don't understand what we are talking about.” I wasn’t sure how to word it in the best way to explain it. “It’s the same thing as when Stella licks your horn.”, Lyra explained it to Twilight in her typical direct way. “Lyra!”, Twilight shouted.