Chrysalis peered into the fathomless darkness from an enclosure from her lonely slumber. A door had creaked open. Dramatically and slowly enough to know whoever it was, was taking his sweet, delightful time.
A slow rate of echoes from the 'clops' of hooves meeting a stone floor amplified, growing closer and closer to her location, to her prison, until suddenly the clip-clop of hooves stopped right in front of her.
A lantern was ignited, revealing the face of the current Changeling ruler.
"Enjoying your time here, my Queen?" Cyr snided.
"Kill me. Now. I am failure to this Hive. I failed in my task to preserve it and-"
"Quiet. I don't want to hear your drivel of repentance, or self-sorrow. Otherwise it would have been a complete waste of time searching all those months for you. And I hate wasting my time. You know what I'm here for."
"Oh, and what is that?" Chrysalis sniffed. She had hit her lowest point, where she couldn't even finish her monologues anymore.
Cyr's snout touched the bars of the cage enclosure. His face was dead serious.
"Where is Flux?"
"I have no idea what you're talking abou-ah!"
Cyr abruptly slammed his head in to the cage, instinctive from his Behemoth days, and leaving quite a dent in the bars.
He tried to hide his obvious discomfort when he repeated again.
"I'll say so again. Where is my Hive Mother?!"
"Wheeeee!" the young filly giggled happily without a care in the world, when Cyr lifted her up and made airship noises. Cyr slowly cruised the filly up and down through the air, and he could literally feel the happiness of the filly...and the enjoyment of himself.
"You spoil her, you know that?" Carrot Top said.
"Consider myself a third parent. Flux knows when I'll have little Spawnlings of my own. Mares don't go for age nowadays, and never will, so might as well just pretend that this is my little miracle, too."
"You can. You're her godfather."
"Hey, you're the one complaining!" Cyr laughed.
His chuckle was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"I'll get it," volunteered Cyr.
Carrot Top recieved the filly from Cyr, mumbling to herself, "Now, I wonder who that is..."
He sprinted towards the door after quickly yanking a hooded sweatshirt off of a nearby chair and placing it on to cover up his open heart. And, no, Cyr still found it annoying and slightly embarrassing that it didn't heal over yet.
Cyr proceeded to open the entrance of the abode and greet the mailmare. Irregularly-placed irises. Blond mane. Grey pegasus.
Ditzy Doo.
"Hiya, Cyr! Is Carrot Top around?" the mailmare asked. Cyr noted the crossed-eyes of the grey-coated pegasus the first time he'd met her not long ago when he returned to Ponyville, but gradually continued to ignore it.
You just have to accept things about others, and move on.
And he helped around with the foals whenever Ditzy Doo and Carrot Top met up or decided to attend social events, so he could say that they were pretty good fr-
Frrr-
Friee-
Frieeeend-suh. Friends. There. Said it. Cyr was still getting used to meeting new ponies that were actually eager to meet him.
Protecting your adorable unicorn filly from a Scorpio would, somewhat of course, lead to some sort of friendship.
He found such moments enjoyable though. Ditzy's filly still remembered Cyr even with his 'size reduction'.
Foals always seem to be smarter than their adult counterparts, somehow.
"Yeah, she's in the living room. But I'll give her the mail for you." Cyr answered. He gripped the slim packages with his fangs.
Cyr said, his voice muffled by the mail, "Say 'hi' to Dinky for me!"
"Sure will, have a nice day!
"Same to you!"
Cyr returned to the room and handed the mail to his friend.
"Thank you! Oh, wanna go get something to eat?"
"Nah, I actually..." Should I tell her?
Cyr looked at the filly. Do I really have to go?
"...I have to leave," Cyr revealed.
"What? Why?"
"Finally consolidated the treaty with the Canterlot nobility, but I need the signature of Changeling Royalty. Gonna have to leave today. I gotta see this through. I'm sorry, CT."
At Cyr's words, the filly's smile morphed into a frown.
"Go bye-bye?"
Cyr swore that his heart imploded. He looked down, and felt under his hoodie that his heart was intact...and still disgustingly exposed to the outside.
"Only for a little while, sweetie." Cyr exhaled, soon breathing in a little of the love from the filly. "It's only going to be for a couple of days. I have obligations."
Don't fret, dear. I'm not feeding off of you. It's just something to remember you by...
Looking at the filly's persistant facial expression, Cyr decided, "You know what? The day I'll get back, Your mother and I will go to the marketplace and get you ice cream. Any flavor you want. And I'm paying."
Funny that I have money now. And I have the sudden need to spend bits. Fillies can do that to you, I guess.
The filly grinned again, "Pwomise?"
"I promise."
Cyr said his goodbyes, and on his way out he ran into Noteworthy, whose bed-mane, lidded eyes, and yawning suggested he just woke up.
"Eh, another all-nighter, Notes?"
"Yeah, gotta keep those Canterlot musicians that can't compose their own songs happy. But...keeps food on the table," Noteworthy shrugged sleepily. All of a sudden, he realized who he was talking to.
Noteworthy's expression changed to one of slight anger and dazed surprise. His stance changed to a form prepared with the fight-or-flight response and his eyes quickly shifted back-and-forth from Cyr to his foal and his better half, half expecting there to be a massacre in the living room. Noteworthy blocked the doorway with his body to prevent Cyr from exiting.
Cyr said, "Now see here. Just because there's a Changeling in your house-"
The father of the filly hissed, "If you did anything- and I mean anything- to little Coda over there..."
"She means as much to me as to you."
"As a food source?" Noteworthy accused with disgust.
"No, as a foal. And I treat her as if she was my own."
Noteworthy's let his guard down slightly in surprise. "That must mean..."
"Nice to meet you finally. I'm the filly's godfather. Cyrilius. Or just Cyr. Things are simpler that way."
"Dude, I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you!" Noteworthy quickly apologized.
"No, need. But I'm in a bit of a hurry. Got a train to catch, so...just remember not to start off fights with any orange-eyed Changelings if you find them in your house, OK? They just might be me," Cyr blurted as he angled himself away from the bewildered father and rushed out the door.
Carrot Top trotted up to her baffled husband, nuzzling his neck, and said, "Good morning, hun! Did you see our guest out?"
Noteworthy responded sadly in his own colloquial terminology, "I didn't even know...that was him. I sounded like a complete douche!"
Carrot Top chuckled, "Cyr would understand. He's used to it, really. Maybe the next time he arrives to Ponyville, you can exchange with him a more pleasant conversation?"
Noteworthy asked with half-lidded eyes, "What did I do to deserve you?"
Carrot Top blushed at the compliment. "And this is why I married you. You can be so cute when you get all humble."
Carrot Top kissed him on the chops and walked away into the living room to ask the filly what food she would prefer to eat today, followed by her loyal husband.
She trotted into the dining room, and joked, "But for a second there, you sounded like you were really about to hit it off!"
The smell of hot dampness, the heat pressing down from the Badlands above the underground, radiated out from the network of tunnels, along with random scents of farmed fungi and plants used for structural supports in mining. Cyr encountered the familiar scents as he traveled deeper and deeper into the Hive.
Home is where the heart is, they say.
And Cyr truly felt at home. It seemed as if he'd been away from the Hive for almost an eternity, as being a Behemoth sort of placed a height restriction for most structures in the Changeling Hive, so the majority of his life Cyr physically couldn't revisit his favorite and most memorable locations in his home. But, now, Cyr was going to enjoy every moment of his regular size.
Unfortunately, today wasn't a day for tourism. It was a day for closure. Closure for the international community, and for himself. Cyr had learned the whereabouts of Flux some time ago, and as soon as he found her, he promised to reinstate her as leader of the Changelings...or at least the Equestrian division of it. Cyr wasn't allowed to have a say in the decision of other Hives, but he decided it was better to just get the ideal of Changeling-Pony clemency out there.
As for Chrysalis...Cyr regretted how he treated her. She cared for the Hive in her own way, so Cyr wouldn't exactly label her as negligent. Her efforts were simply...misdirected. So imagine her surprise when Cyr freed her. Unlike the ancestors before him, Cyr considered execution a rather barbaric practice. Too much had happened to simply add another death to the casualties of the Changeling Coup. Everyling deserved second chances. After that, Chrysalis's behavior had shifted. She was still her regal self, but she had become more compassionate. And she respected, even with Cyr's opposite ideology, that it wouldn't hurt to have other alternatives. Mercy and opportunity did that for most individuals.
And Cyr decided that was good enough, even after the numerous threats and attempts to have him killed, for Chrysalis to be re-titled as Queen Regent, that is, as long as she didn't perform anymore coups. That was his last act before leaving the throne. Power was never his thing. He could use it well, but he didn't trust himself enough with that type of responsibility.
Cyr was going to lead the modernization of Changeling culture and advancement, and he would do so even if the Changelings weren't ready for it. His people will become a great race once more. But he wasn't the right Changeling for the job. Sometimes, the best individuals best suited for something were literally born to inherit it.
Cyr finally arrived at his destination: The Royal Throne room. Behind the massive doors guarded by the still-implemented Praetorian Guard, he heard the private speech preparations of his Hive Mother.
"All the past we leave behind;
We debouch upon a newer, mightier world,
Varied world;
Fresh and strong the world we seize - world of labor and the march -
Pioneerlings! Pioneerlings!"
"Confound this! In the past, such words would simply flow out! Now, my brain requires rote memorization? Oh how things have changed!" The voice of Flux stated.
Chrysalis's voice boomed uneasily. She still never forgave herself for imprisoning the Matriarch that brought her into the world. "Now, mother, you have to look at it this way. You've simply acquired greater amounts of worldliness in your...travels."
"Dear, just say it. 'I'm old.' Don't try to coat it with cactus honey for me. I can take it. I've tolerated you over the years, haven't I? You owe me that much, at least."
Chrysalis decried, "Never, mother. Not after..."
There was a pause.
"Oh dear, I never expected to bring that up again. Cyrilius said so himself. The past is the past. We can only look towards the future," Flux reassured.
"But-"
"No, 'but's'. You are still of my Spawn. And I will love you equally so."
Cyr sensed the reconciliation between mother and daughter reached its climax, and waited a few more moments before he would knock on the doors and-
"My Queen! Our negotiator requests your presence!" A Praetorian shouted. Damn you.
There was a moment of silence. Cyr heard a bare whisper of chitin-on-chitin scraping.
Awww. They hugged...
Chrysalis responded, "Welcome him in..."
The Praetorian duo opened the doors for Cyr, and as he walked past them, they bowed.
As the massive wooden doors closed behind him, Cyr was greeted by the sight of his Hive Mother Flux.
Her auburn mane and navy-violet irises still had their beautiful, siren-like sheen, and almost nothing had changed about her, except for the most bare of wrinkles around her eyes. But such details were negligible.
You don't exactly greet your mother with the statement "Oh wow! You aged really well! How long has it been? 400 years?"
Cyr bowed in her presence, but his Queen shook her head. "Nay, you shall rise..."
He did so.
"...and share an embrace with your old Hive Mother," Flux finished with a telling grin.
And Cyr rushed forward to do so, yet again.
"How I missed you, my Queen."
"And how I missed you, my little Cyrilius." They absorbed each other's love, feeling their own hearts swell with warmth.
But they broke away, much to Cyr's disappointment. But Cyr didn't dare let it show, as there were more important matters to deal with. There will be much making up to do...later.
Cyr rustled in his saddle bags for the imperative sheet of rolled parchment, and presented his Queen with the treaty.
"The document, My Queen."
"Ah, the end to all our troubles..." Flux remarked. She lifted the treaty and a healthily-dipped quill with her magic and rejoined Chrysalis at the throne(s). As she signed the multiple signatures and initials in triplicate, Chrysalis waved to Cyr.
"My Queen-" Cyr bowed, but stopped mid-way much to Chrysalis's commotion.
"Oh stop that rubbish. You know better than I ever will that you deserved the Royal Position more than I."
Cyr humbly returned, "Well...we don't know that."
Chrysalis snorted, "Unbelievable. Do you know how long that took me to force myself to say? It's quite hurtful to one's pride, you know."
Cyr was about to apologize when Chrysalis interrupted him, her bristling gone, "Bah, such matters of the past are gone, as you've said to me months ago. Never mind that. I just wanted to tell you that there are a pair of very elderly Changelings that wish to see you."
She can't mean...
"Guards!", Chrysalis summoned for the Praetorians, who've replaced the standard position of the Soldier caste for Royal protecion. "Bring in the Nursery Changeling and Worker!"
The guests were presented. Then Cyr saw them. And they saw him.
One of the pair, walking towards him with a severe limp, shouted craggily, "Cyr, my boy. You look exactly the same as I remember you all those years ago! But seriously, how haven't you aged at all?"
It was true. With the removal of the permutation, Cyr seemed to have turned back to the exact age and form as he was before the transformation. It confused Cyr to no end, but magic...was magic. You just have to accept its eccentricities as well as its benefits.
"Talc?"
The other sweetly stated, with the voice of a female, "I'm going to have to agree with the old boy, here. Or what he should have said at first, at least. Nice to see you again. And you've grown so well!"
"Saifra?" Cyr questioned unbelievably. They nodded and smiled in response.
"So the Old Breed is back togeth-oof!" Talc screeched, as Cyr hugged them both with enough force to crack both of their chitin.
"Don't kill us lad! Allow us to breath for a couple of seconds!" Talc attempted to chuckle.
Cyr quickly let go. "I'm so sorry, I never meant to-"
Saifra smirked, "That's just his way, Cyr. He makes you feel sorry for things that you should never feel guilty about."
Talc and Saifra drew closer together, smiling at Cyr, as if they were waiting for him to ask the obvious.
"Is...there something I should know? You two are awfully chummy for a pair of Changelings that are complete strangers to eachother."
"Let's just say that being held in isolation as hostages forces a couple of old aphids to start knowing each other very well," Saifra hinted.
The geriatric duo crossed hooves, the ridges from their holes acting as hooks that kept their forelimb in a permanent caress.
Cyr whispered, "Oh...tied the knot, haven't we?"
They nodded happily.
"Well a celebration is in order-" Cyr's words were stopped in his mouth when Flux cleared her throat to interrupt the rejoicing.
"Maybe another time, my subjects? May you all please leave the room? Except for you Cyr."
Flux had a way with words. That's what Cyr missed most of all. She could make a decree or ruling sound like a gentle request, when in reality it was a royal command. A brutal action of power disguised as a socially-acceptable comment.
Saifra gripped Cyr's hoof. "We'll be waiting for you outside dear." She let go with a motherly smile, and rightly so, for she was technically Cyr's traditional guardian from birth.
Once Chrysalis, Talc, Saifra, and the royal servants trotted out, all that was left was Flux, Cyr, and the stale underground air between them.
"I'm terribly sorry, Cyrilius, but it had to be done. There are matters that are best told in secret," Flux reminded her subject, presenting him with a completed treaty.
"The deed is done. The war with our Equine bretheren is over. But our personal war, our war for survival in the grand, political rat race has just begun, I'm afraid."
Cyr questioned, "What do you mean, my Quee-"
"Stop. You deserved the full rights and privileges of the standing ruler of our race. We both know it."
"I wouldn't have handled the responsibility well, my queen. Power corrupts. I know wiser than to indulge myself unhealthily when there is far more at stake. I know my place in the world."
Flux laughed all of a sudden, "If only the rulers before us had shared in your wisdom. Much has been lost, and your ideology would have saved us the trouble of the past."
Her face grew sullen, all joy scraped off by the responsibilities of the throne.
"I need to ask you for advise. You are, by far, the most sage Changeling in this Hive."
"I wouldn't say that...but go ahead, my liege."
She shook her head, "Flux. Call me Flux. After everything you've done, you deserve to call me without title. In fact, it should be the complete opposite."
Cyr blushed at the suggestion, "No need to revolutionize the monarchy just yet. Now...Flu-"
"-Mother, what was your question?"
Flux smiled at Cyr's stubborness. Such a fine breed of her generation.
"What would you do, if you were in my position? I've heard of Chrysalis's account of your compassion...and mercy. You save such love for even your enemies."
"The effort anger needs to burn is better saved for something else. And I would call it even. I pushed her off a cliff," Cyr humbly shrugged.
Flux snickered again, "I shouldn't laugh. My own children have been wounded by infighting that I should have dissipated when I saw the first signs of it."
"It was all resolved in the end, Mother. And if you want my advise, you need only ask."
Flux beckoned him to continue, "Do tell, then."
"First, you should prohibit the birth system. Our genetic abilities should no longer be the basis of our future. What I learned from the ponies is that free choice begins equality, and equality begets internal peace and love. The caste hierarchy is a barrier to such an existence. Autonomy should gradually replace monarchy, and leave the future in the hooves of our subjects, slightly guided by the rule of a Queen, of course. It is the only way to reach your goal for Changelings to depend, not on the love of others, but the love from ourselves."
"Continue."
Cyr did as she commanded. "Second, replace our military with permutation units, like Praetorians and Behemoths, but gather them from volunteers. We have no need for a shape-shifting army. We are far from obscure since the Canterlot Wedding, and with the ability for unicorns to use identification and Anti-Changeling spells, it is better to compete with the magic and ability from the other races with our own. Stealth from the permutation units' light-reflecting camouflage should be sufficient, as from my personal experiences."
Cyr gasped for a breath, "Finally, create a public image. Present yourself and our race with pride, but self-control, to the Equestrians. Send envoys to other races, and start releasing our Changelings undisguised into Pony society in small quantities for gradual integration."
Flux nodded in agreement, solemnly considering them all in thought.
Cyr had quench his curiosity, "So...what was the speech for? I heard your rehearsal session."
"It is my address to our subjects in a few moments. I wanted to promise them change, but everything seemed so alien. So odd. Life, it seems, has continued without me. I'm simply catching my breath on the sidelines, while everyling else is crossing the finish line. I didn't believe the words I was planning on saying."
Cyr gave her an understanding look, but he spotted a hint of rebellion in her countenance. A small, clinging sign of hope.
Flux continued, "But now, I know what to do. I will carry out your plans to the letter, and we shall bring forth a new generation of Changelings, ready to accept and conquer the world with their grasps... figuratively of course. The idea of world domination is absurd and suicidal."
"Do you know what I consider your most prized quality, Cyr? You have an understanding of friendship that noling else in the Hive does. You not only understand that love and positive emotion is our sustenance, but our salvation. It is our lifestyle, our life force, our most prized possession and curse. But also our gateway to bring forth new opportunities and companionship. You understand that about our race, Cyr. You truly believe that friendship..."
Flux gazed at him with a loving grin.
"...is simply more than food."
This time, Flux's smile held. It didn't falter, and it was an effrontery to the sadness and utter chaos of the universe. That she could keep on going, keep on persisting no matter what.
"Cyr, I have a special duty for you. I have gotten word from the Princesses of Equestria that they not only have invited us to integrate ourselves in a united kingdom, but have trusted us to act as envoys to Dragon Territory, in order to unify the separated kingdoms. Think of it as an act of trust, and a test of our commitment."
"So deliver the treaty, Cyr. But I need a favor to ask you."
"Yes, Hive Mother?", Cyr eagerly asked.
"Our diplomats will accompany the Pony envoys during the trek, but I cannot trust our new allies to keep our own safe. I'll converse with Chrysalis later on the subject, but you are the main subject..."
"I will do anything you command, my Queen," Cyr bowed
Flux winced at the austerity of the title, but continued with her request, "How would you like to protect our diplomats..."
There was dedication in Cyr's eyes. He saw her hesitancy, and he knew what was coming. But the fierce determination in his eyes did not change.
"...as a member of the Behemoths, again?"
The End