//------------------------------// // Vulnerable // Story: They're Not Bugs, They're Features // by RunicTreetops //------------------------------// Gena’s eyes flutter open. With a tiny groan, she rubs at her blue eyes before glancing at the clock on her nightstand. It’s almost 2:00 A.M., so why did she wake up? She’s always been a light sleeper, but not even she just wakes up for no reason. Focusing on the quiet darkness of the house, she barely hears an unintelligible whisper come from downstairs. A few seconds later, that whisper is followed by the distinct sound of the front door opening and then closing again, with whoever is stepping outside intentionally trying to do so gently and quietly. This, of course, only further piques her curiosity. If past experience is anything to go by, someone heading out the door at this hour means trouble. More than likely, it’s Tarsus or Terga getting up to something again. With an aggravated sigh, she throws the covers off of her small body and steps outside of her bedroom.  Her first instinct is to go tell her parents. However, as she looks at their closed door, she considers two possibilities. First, they could easily be doing something she does not want to see. Married changelings tend to, uh… do that a lot. Her mother is no exception. Second, said mother might not be happy to be woken up at this hour. The mental image of Chrysalis’s half-asleep rage being directed at her is enough to make her blood run cold. Deep down, she knows her mother isn’t the changeling everyone says she used to be anymore, but she’s seen her when she gets mad. To say that it’s intimidating would be an understatement. No. The risk is simply too great. Taking a deep breath, she steels herself. On light hooves, she sneaks down the steps and out the front door. She’s never snuck out of the house before, but her small stature and quiet nature make it shockingly easy for her to do so undetected. The evening air immediately washes over her. The night carries a gentle breeze, which does much to counteract the humidity. As per usual, the moon hangs high in the sky, providing just enough light to allow her to see where she’s going. Ponyville is practically silent. It isn’t a loud town to begin with, but at this hour, even the night owls have fallen asleep. Taking advantage of this, Gena closes her eyes once more. There wasn’t much time between when she heard someone sneaking out and when she herself stepped outside, so they couldn’t have gotten too far. Her left ear suddenly twitches. Sure enough, she can faintly hear more hushed whispers walking away from her down the road. While she cannot make out the words being said, she’s fairly certain that there are two voices. For a moment, she considers if this is even worth it. Regardless of which siblings she might be tailing, she will gain nothing but their ire for ratting them out. Or, even worse, she could get in just as much trouble as them for sneaking out to begin with. However, Gena is curious to a fault. Even if there is nothing to be gained from this endeavor, she won’t be able to sleep if she doesn’t satisfy her own desire to know what’s going on. With a defeated sigh, she begins to follow the sound of the whispers. Thankfully, she doesn’t have to go very far. While she at first assumed that her targets would be heading into town, they instead make a sudden left off of the road. Even in the darkness of night, she knows their route to be a shortcut into Ponyville Park, a quiet little piece of nature that’s great for picnicking and not much else. What business would her siblings have over there? Did Tarsus hide something in the bushes again? Perhaps Terga got it in her head that late-night training is another way to make her taller. Or maybe Seta is secretly meeting up with a guy she doesn’t want their parents to know about? …No. All of those would require complete secrecy, even from the rest of the family. What would two of her siblings be getting up to out here? Gena furrows her brow as she considers the possibilities before creeping behind some bushes, carefully following the dark outlines of whoever it is that she’s following. It’s difficult to do without rustling the foliage, but her tiny body helps with that. Finally, she watches as the pair comes to a stop. They stand beneath a big, shady tree next to a small pond. After a moment, they both take a seat on the grass. Gena tilts her head and leans forward, but no matter how hard she tries, she can’t quite make out who they are or what they’re saying. Then, a couple seconds later, they stop speaking entirely.  Ugh, great. Without voices, she’s going to have to rely on visual confirmation. After taking a moment to confirm that neither of them are looking around, she takes a big risk. She emerges from the shrubbery and immediately dives to the side. As expected, the foliage rustles around a bit. As far as she can tell, neither of her targets bothered to look back. For now, she is safe. Letting out a silent sigh of relief, she steps forward. The shade of that big tree blocks out the moonlight, so it’s nearly impossible to make out who exactly is sitting there. Feeling impatient, she steps forward again. Then again. Then again. At some point, she starts doing it without thinking. With every step, she’s that much closer to solving the mystery. She just needs to get a little bit closer, and she’ll– “AHH!” The creature sitting right in front of her reacts without warning. Its head silently rotates a full 180 degrees, its large, green eyes that seem to pierce the darkness immediately locking onto her own. Gena falls onto the grass below in shock, but even through her now rapidly beating heart and strained breathing, something clicks when she looks into those eyes. “M… Mom?” Chrysalis stares at her daughter silently for a moment before her head swivels back around. Before it does, however, Gena senses that something is off. She knows her mother. Chrysalis is a strict, aggressive, powerful changeling. She never shows weakness. She never shows vulnerability. And yet, her eyes looked as though she’d been crying. “We were followed.” There’s a sigh. She knows that sigh. “It was bound to happen at some point.” “D-Daddy?” “Hi, Gena.” Both figures turn around completely, though neither bother to stand up. After all, they meet her at eye level when they’re sitting like this. “Wh-what are you two doing out here?” “I believe we should be asking you that question.” Chrysalis’s voice is as stern as ever, but once again, Gena can’t help but feel like something is different about it. “I-I heard someone sneaking out, a-and I thought it might’ve been Seta meeting a new boyfriend or Tarsus trying to–” “You thought it was appropriate to give chase?” “I…” “Come on, Chryssi. What was she supposed to do, tell us? The ones that snuck out?” After a moment, a groan escapes from Chrysalis. “Whatever. Let’s just go home.” “N-no!” Chrysalis, who had begun standing up, looks down at her with a mixture of anger and surprise. “Excuse me?” “Y-you…” Once again, the vision of her mother’s face contorted into a hideous snarl of disapproval shoots through Gena’s mind. And yet… “Something is wrong with you!” “I beg your pardon?!” “Your voice is all shaky! And your eyes are watering! That’s not the mother I know at all! I know being sneaky and lying is your thing, but… but…” Gena feels her own eyes getting misty, but she’s not particularly sure why. “I didn’t think you lied to us!” “Gena, she–” “Especially not you!” She points accusingly at her father, who simply stares back with a downtrodden expression. “Why would you go sneaking around behind our backs?!” “...” “...” “...Chryssi.” “Yeah,” she whispers. “I’ll tell her.” The darkness is suddenly pierced by the sickly green glow of Chrysalis’s horn. Gena gasps as she feels herself being lifted off of her hooves. She’s only brought a couple of inches above the ground before she’s pulled forward. What happens next is the last thing she ever expected. Chrysalis pulls her into a tight embrace. There’s a long, awkward moment where she’s legitimately unsure of what to do. It has been a very long time since her mother has hugged her, especially willingly. She opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. What would she even say at a time like this? “Gena.” Chrysalis’s words are quiet and, in a manner completely unlike her, gentle. “Every so often, I find it difficult to sleep at night.” “H-huh?” “I’ve been alive for longer than you can imagine.” She closes her eyes, and Gena does nothing but blink as her mother begins to stroke the back of her head. “I’ve done… I’ve made more mistakes than I count. It wasn’t until not very long ago that I even considered them mistakes.” “You mean… back when you were a queen?” “Right.” There’s a long pause before she continues. “I was of two minds at the time. On one hoof, I thought I had it all. I thought I was the most beautiful creature alive. I had an entire kingdom at my disposal. My armies were nigh-unstoppable. I was at the very top of the world.” Another pause. “On the other, I always wanted more. More land. More troops. More love to feed on. No matter what I did, it was never enough. I was still… hungry.” Anon reaches over to place a hand on her shoulder before she continues. “Then, I lost it all. I lost the trust of my kingdom. I lost the victory I thought I wanted. I lost my crown. I lost… well, what I thought were my friends.” She pauses one last time before finishing her story. “Then I met your father. I don’t need to bore you with what came next, but… for the first time in my long, long life, I no longer feel hungry.” “Well, yeah. We’re light changelings. You finally have all the love you could ever want.” “True. But I never considered what that might mean.” “What does it mean?” “It means that for the first time in a long time, I have something to lose again.” Gena feels her mom reinforce her grip on her small body. Unsure of what else to do, she starts to return the hug as best she can. “Your mother gets extremely vivid nightmares from time to time. I know you kids probably can’t imagine it, but dark changelings don’t do a lot of dreaming. She’s still not very used to it.” “Wh-what about Miss Luna? She always helps us out when we’re having nightmares.” “I told her to stay out of it.” Chrysalis’s voice is cold and stoic when she mentions the ex-princess. “My fears are not hers to see, and my life is not one for her to provide counsel for.” “But she still needs someone to talk to.” In contrast to his wife’s cold tone, Anon’s voice is somber and calm. “We all do. And sometimes, those talks come with tears. That said, your mother doesn’t like you kids seeing her tears.” “Shut it, Nonny.” Finally, she lets go of Gena. However, to her surprise, Gena does not do the same. “Gena?” “I… I don’t really understand what you’ve been through. I don’t know if I ever will.” “That’s a good thing, Gena.” “But I’m here, too.” “...Hm?” She looks down at her daughter in surprise before glancing towards Anon, who simply crosses his arms with a proud, knowing smile on his face. “You don’t need to hide it from us, Mom. Dad’s not the only one who loves you.” “...R-right.” Gena feels her mother awkwardly pat the top of her head. With a quiet giggle, she takes that as her cue to back away. She does so just in time to see a few more tears begin to form in Chrysalis’s eyes, which are quickly wiped away. The troublemaker in her wants to say something snarky, but she holds herself back. “Regardless, it is way past your bedtime.” “Why don’t you walk us home, Gena?” Anon chuckles as he gets back on his feet before offering Chrysalis his hand. “I’m interested in seeing how such a master of stealth does it.” “O-oh, I’m nothing special like that.” “Come on, not just anyone can sneak up on your mother like that.” “True,” Chrysalis mumbles as Anon helps her to her hooves. “Though you didn’t quite make it all the way. We’ll have to work on that.” “There’s no way you’re about to lecture me on my sneaking right now!” After a moment’s hesitation, all three begin to laugh. With a smile on her face, Gena quietly escorts her parents home.