“I could not have gotten out of there fast enough.” Thorax said between exhausted breaths. The two of them knew they should have kindly refused, but they didn’t as to not be rude.
“Remind me to never do that again.” Chrysalis was equally exhausted. “Please tell me that you have a less exercise oriented destination picked out for our next stop.”
Thorax sat down and leaned against a wall. “I do. But first,” He took a deep breath to get himself settled, “I think we both need a breather.”
Chrysalis settled into her own spot. There was a strange feeling within her, however. A sort of uneasiness…
>~~~~~~~~~~<
After a bit of a rest, the duo continued on their way to the next location. Chrysalis had done away with her disguise ( a little begrudgingly), since they were no longer among ponies.
“So…Where are we going now?” Thorax was withholding their destination from her.
“We’re almost there.”
Chrysalis felt like an impatient foal, of all things. Being forced to wait like it was Heartwarming eve
for a surprise. However, as they walked there was a smell that became more distinct. It was one of stale, sterile air. Even stranger was that it seemed familiar.
She began to actively, though subtly, focusing on the scents that came across her nose. ‘Let’s see…chemicals, plastic, and…hoof sanitizer.’
Chrysalis thought her senses were playing tricks on her, but her hypothesis was only further supported by the sounds of shuffling paperwork, scrolls being received, and the sound of several, rhythmic beeping, monitor spells. They were going someplace she had been before.
They were heading to the medical department.
Naturally, this discovery prompted the question, “Thorax, why are we heading to the medical department?”
For a moment, Thorax had a small expression of surprise, over the fact that Chrysalis had accurately guessed where they were going. He quickly looked past it, however, responding with, “There’s something really special I want you to see.”
They entered the medical area. The place was abuzz with staff, who were moving papers, equipment, consoling relatives, things that would normally happen in a hospital.
Thorax looked around the main room until he found the Changeling he was looking for.
“Doctor Cloverfield,” Thorax called out.
The primarily red Changeling in a white lab coat turned to the calling of his name.
“Thorax,” said the good doctor, “Good to see you!”
Thorax shook hooves with him, “It’s good to see you too, doc.”
“So, what brings you here?”
“Well, I want to show someling around.” Thorax looked back at Chrysalis, who was gazing about in awe, before noticing the eyes that were on her.
Doctor Cloverfield returned his eyes to Thorax, “Have you brought her in for a check-up, or do you just want the tour?” He chuckled a little at his own joke.
“Well, as long as we get lollipops at the end,” Thorax comedicly retorted.
Chrysalis quietly laughed a little at the remark. Though she tensed up again when Dr. Cloverfield came over to her.
The good doctor put his hoof out to shake her’s, “It’s nice to see you in good health. Pleasure to have you here.”
Chrysalis slowly shook his hoof, “T-Thank you for taking the time to treat me.” Chrysalis then looked to Thorax, “So, what here did you want to show me?”
Thorax looked at Dr. Cloverfield, “Doctor, if you could please act as our escort?”
“Of course,” he began walking towards one of the coradors, “If you would please follow me.”
>~~~~~~~~<
Dr. Cloverfield was taking them past rooms and rooms that Chrysalis thought they would be stopping at. He pointed them out when asked, for sure, but didn’t go into deep detail. They were heading somewhere more important, but where?
“Ah, here we are,” the doctor announced.
Chrysalis looked the glass that displayed the room, and froze.
In that room, there were several nurses, tending to several cradles. And in those cradles were hatchlings. Nymphs. They were at the nursery.
Chrysalis felt some stress rising up, but it wasn’t to severe. After all, they were just taking a passing peak it wasn’t like they were going to-
“Would you like to go in?” Cloverfield mostly asked Thorax.
“Absolutely,” Thorax happily replied
The realization only then hit Chrysalis over the head. ‘This is what he wanted to show me…’
This revelation then made her think ‘Why!? What makes him think I would be at all good with children? What event transpired to-‘
It was then that she was hit with yet another realization. ‘That nymph from weeks ago. Artex…Oh, curse that hatchling.’ In reality, she didn’t hate the young Changeling.
“Coming Chrysalis?” Thorax had a habit of pulling her out of her moments of deep, prolonged thought.
Chrysalis intended to simply shake her head and politely refuse (She was still paranoid about doing something horrible). However, rather than expressing a refusal, she took a step forward. Again, there was a disconnect. Chrysalis looked back up to Thorax, who was patiently waiting for an answer with a twinkle in his eye.
‘You know what? Fine,’ Chrysalis took a deep breath as she reworked her mental plan, ‘I just won’t get close to them.’
“Coming.” She eventually said, keeping her worry contained, as she joined the other two.
>~~~~~~~~~<
The nursery was quiet, but not in an unsettling way. It was a quiet that was calming. All the hatchlings in their cribs, content. It made Chrysalis feel all the more like she was trespassing on sacred ground. As if she desecrated everyplace she travelled to.
Her eyes darted about, hoping that none of them woke up or noticed her.
‘Why do I keep doing this to myself? It’s like some internal force makes me feel compelled to do these things.’
“Nurse Arachnia, how are things?” Dr. Cloverfield was addressing one of the leading nurses who was cradling a young hatchling.
“Ah,” Arachnia said in a quiet tone as to not disturb the children, “Doctor. It’s good to see you. And Thorax, have you gotten taller?”
Thorax blushed in playful embarrassment, “Hi Arachnia.”
Chrysalis wanted to say a way from the exchange. She privately thanked the fact that most of the newborns were asleep. She didn’t want to imagine a room full of screaming nymphs.
She was about to quietly leave the room, when a little sound made her look right down into one of the cribs, and right into the large eyes of a hatchling.
Chrysalis made a small yelp and hid her face behind her hooves. After a few seconds she removed her hooves from her face. The moment she did so, the hatchling giggled a little. She hid her face again. ‘Are they laughing at my face?’
However when she did it again, it seemed that the newborn was laughing at the act of her hiding and revealing her face. Her fear turned to confusion, then to intrigue. It was strange. It made her feel tingly inside. ‘As long as they’re not crying’
Suddenly, she sensed something. She detected energy. Love energy. She looked around wondering where it could be coming from. She eventually looked back down to the child before her and got her answer. The child had an invisible cloud of love energy about them, and they were directing it at someling.
That “someling” was Chrysalis.
Her eyes widened and pupils shrunk as she reeled back. ‘N-No! I can’t do that! Y-You can’t do that!’
“Chrysalis?” Thorax walked over to her. He noticed that she seemed stressed, “You alright?”
Chrysalis looked to him, doing her best to hide that she was mentally freaking out. “Yes. I’m fine.”
“I see you’ve met Dakara,” Nurse Arachnia gave a little smile as she picked up the infant Changeling and began cradling it, “Adorable little thing, isn’t she?”
Chrysalis kept quickly glancing to Dakara from time to time, still shaken by the fact that the child intentionally directed its love at her. Nevertheless, she played along, “Yes, she really is.”
“Would you like to hold her?” the Nurse offered.
Chrysalis’ pupils became dots, “Ehh?”
“Would you like to hold Dakara?”
“Oh, no I couldn't do that,” Chrysalis dismissed as a bead of sweat came down the side of her face unnoticed, “I don’t even know how to hold a baby.”
“It's never too soon to learn,” Nurse Arachnia proposed.
“But, I-” Chrysalis then noticed Dakara looking at her with big wonderfilled eyes. ‘What if they start crying because they think I hate them?’ the child looked happy to be in her presence. ‘Guess it wouldn’t hurt. As long as I don’t feed off their love.’
“Sure, I guess I could,” Chrysalis conceded to the adorable Changeling.
“Alright then,” Arachnia said cheerfully, “Just put your hooves like this…” Nurse Arachnia guided Chrysalis’s hooves into the proper position and then, slowly and carefully, passed Dakara over to her.
The young Changeling seemed so inexplicably happy being cradled by her. They didn’t think that she was their mother or anything but it was still odd. Again, Dakara began directing love at her. Chrysalis didn’t take the energy. She still, however, managed to muster up the courage to rub Dakara’s belly. The joyful giggles of the child unconsciously brought a smile to her face.
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~<
All these experiences, the shows, dinners, holding a member of the next generation, they all left Chrysalis with a strange sensation. One she couldn’t identify. The rest of the walk around the Medical Department was a blur in her memory. All she could think about was her holding the Changeling nymph in her hooves. All the joy and love it was expresing. She felt like she had committed a borderline crime. And yet, her environment said otherwise. That what she was doing wasn’t wrong. The mixed signals left her clueless as to how to feel.
Regardless, they were coming to their last stop. They were going to sit at the balcony in the Throne Room. ‘Great,’ She thought, ‘Lots of wonderful memories waiting for me there.’ The last time she was there, she had been made self aware of her crimes against her own kind. She started to remember days when she was on the Throne. Days when she scolded and shamed the seekers and workers under her rule. Days when she would take the ponies they had captured and suck them dry of their love, regardless of race, gender…or age.
She shuddered at the sounds of screaming that came into her memory. She picked up her pace to keep up with Thorax. With a whisk of magic, he brought a tablecloth, candles, and a few other things.
“Please,” Thorax motioned to the other side of the small round table, “Take a seat.”
She slowly pulled out the chair and sat in it, awaiting what would happen to her next.
“This is one of my favorite places to go, in the Hive.” Thorax looked out onto the horizon.
“The Throne Room?” Chrysalis questioned.
“Oh, no. I mean this balcony,” Thorax specified, “Here I can just sit, relax and watch everyling go about their day. These mundane moments are things I really cherish. Especially considering my job.”
Chrysalis looked out upon the view Thorax loved so much. She could see the enormity of the garden. The sprawling acres of fertile farmland. And further out were the outlines of construction, the expansion of The Hive to accommodate the growing and thriving civilization. ‘It is a wonderful view isn’t it.’
Thorax then pulled over a tray with two cups on it. The tray also had. a little bowl of sugar, a bottle of honey, and a…teapot.
Thorax poured his own cup before holding up the empty one. “Tea,” He offered, “If you’d like, I could get you something else.”
Chrysalis just stared at the cup in front of her. It slowly made her blood boil with rage. Perhaps it had something to do with all her self-loathing and guilt. Those years of brutal famine, totalitarian control, and scoffing at the idea of peaceful coexistence. She hated herself for those dark days. It made those first few weeks, where she locked herself in that room refusing to come out. Those days when Thorax would kindly, and bizarrely send food, invitations…and tea.
‘Always a cup of tea. Every Faust forsaken time!’ Chrysalis was angry. She was angry that she didn’t understand why Thorax was so nice to her after acknowledging all her crimes. Angry that she didn’t know why every Changeling she had met so far was genuinely happy to see her, despite her horrible leadership in the past. Heck, she was angry that they didn’t hate her in general. She hated herself, and she knew why. So why? ‘Why don’t they hate me?’
“Chrysalis,” Thorax’s voice came into her mind, “Are you alright?”
Chrysalis clenched and grit her teeth in a scowl. “Alright, that’s it!” She slammed her hooves on the table, making the whole thing shake. She looked Thorax in the eyes. “What are you playing at?” She growled.
“W-What do you mean?” Thorax nervously asked.
Chrysalis leaned forward, glaring at Thorax with a look of rage that stemmed from her confusion. “What. Are. You. Playing at?” She repeated the question with a heavy emphasis on each word.
“Chrysalis, I don’t-”
“NO! I have listened to you for the longest time, and that has only given me more questions than useful answers!” She seathed, “Now you are going to listen to me, and you are going to tell me everything I want to know!”
>~~~~~~~~<
Thorax was a bit frightened. He never liked it when ponies angrily yelled at him, as if he did something wrong. ‘I won’t yell,’ he repeated in his mind, ‘I promised myself that I won’t yell.’ He organized his thoughts and prepared for the oncoming onslaught. ‘I’m not breaking that promise now’
>~~~~~~~~~<
“I have done terrible things, monstrous things! And it’s very obvious that you know this. I’ve kidnapped high royalty on multiple occasions. I tried to use the entire population of Equestria as Cattle to feed my people! I immediately jumped straight to waging war, rather than even considering peaceful negotiations!
“And because of that, because of my obsession and fixation, I ended up driving my kingdom into ruins. I put my people through famine, for the longest time, because thought it would be a ‘smashing’ idea to try and over turn Shining Armor’s Royal wedding. All for the sake of nourishment. I didn’t even begin to imagine that Changeling-kind could evolve into a self sustaining species! So I also denied my people the chance to grow and evolve, consciously or not!!
“I have done so many horrible things for so long, I don’t even remember some of the things I’ve done. The most hospitality I deserve is a cold dark jail cell carved into the core of a mountain! I HATE myself for it all!! You should hate ME! I thought you hated me! I thought that you would turn me in! Publicly execute me!! And yet, here you all are! Galloping about in a constant state of nirvana! Then, when I show up on your doorstep, you and everyling else treats me like I’m a prestigious guest! Why are you showing me such kindness?! Why are you treating me with any kind of respect?!
“Why…why…WHY ARE YOU BEING SO NICE TO ME??!!!”
It was honestly a miracle that noling came charging through the doors wondering what all the fuss was about. The most fragile layer of silence coated the situation. The meer blowing of the wind had the potential to shatter it.
Thorax looked down as his his hooves as he fiddled them, trying to find the strength to give his answer. For a while, Chrysalis that he had no answer, no excuse.
Then, as Thorax looked up from his hooves, she got his answer in a small, kind voice .
“Because…you’re our mother.”
…
…
Whatever tracks Chrysalis’ initial train of thought was on, were now irrelevant. That train had been brutally derailed.
“And good kids take care of their mother, when she can’t take care of herself. They help her get well, and back on her feet.”
A new deafening silence filled the air. An outside observer would say it only lasted a minute or two. For Chrysalis, however, it seemed to last for hours. It was as if she, along with time, had frozen. Everything just seemed to stop. The whole world seemed to stop.
The moment seemed to last forever.
It was only when a messenger politely approached the table, that time seemed to pass normally. However, the exchange between the messenger and Thorax didn’t pull her back into the conscious world. All she could hear was a rhythmic thumping, and a light ringing in her ears.
>~~~~~~~<
The next few moments were a complete blur in Chrysalis’ memory. At some point, They went back to her room. Thorax might have said some kind words concealing his internal worries. It didn’t matter. All she knew now was that she was lying on the bed in her room, just starring endlessly at the void that was the ceiling.
No thoughts formed in her mind, not a muscle in her body moved, not a sound graced her ears.
Only one word escaped her lips…
“Mother…?”