//------------------------------// // Queenly Meeting // Story: CCC-Back Home Again // by Fresnor //------------------------------// The revelation of just who Velour’s mother potentially is, was something that neither of expected. It brought up a lot of questions and there weren’t many who could answer them for us. I had many reports of beings living in the boundaries of the Everfree Forest that I had yet to look into and it was the perfect place for someone to hide if they didn’t want to be found. While I was looking into these sightings it left Twilight to head to Canterlot to talk with Celestia about both flutterponies and what happened to Chrysalis when she was imprisoned. I sent out others to verify the furthest and to report to me directly about what was there for further review later while I focused more on the closer areas. Velour had mentioned that her parents were close so I focused on the areas that could be reached easily with no more than a day of travel on hoof. Considering that she wasn’t hiding as a pegasus she would most likely stay on the ground and not use her real form to travel. There weren’t many places that close I found, assuming that she was even in the Everfree, but it still was the most likely place for her to be. In total there were only five places that were likely to be where she could be living but one of them jumped out at me as I recognized it. “I hadn’t heard anything around town about there being anyone living in Zecora’s old place. It could just be a coincidence but with how Ponyville attracts trouble all the time I’d be willing to bet she’s there.” I lean back as I try to figure out how best to approach this situation without it turning into a major incident. “We can’t just send anyone to check her out as she could easily hide who she is from them. That means it has to be someone that can see through her disguise and is strong enough to survive being attacked. But there just has to be a way to keep her calm enough so that she won’t attack and will actually listen.” I sigh as I look up from the information and watch my daughters wrestle around with each other. I smile as I watch them play around with each other before looking back down at the map of the Everfree before I stop and look up again. The idea is crazy and I shouldn’t even be considering it but it is the only thing that could possibly keep Chrysalis off-guard enough to make it possible to speak with her. As I gather my daughters up for a bit of a walk I chuckle at the fact that it’s probably the only thing we have in common as well. <><><><><><><> I was still debating with myself on the wisdom of this idea as I walked through the Everfree with my kits bouncing along at my side. I had a couple guards following along at a distance just to be safe but they weren’t to interfere unless called for. I was swiftly running out of time though as the building was coming into view. It surprisingly hadn’t changed much beyond the masks and other personal effects of Zecora being swapped with animal homes. I sigh as I wave the two closer and approach the door slowly while keeping a subtle protection spell active on them. I then take one final moment trying to tamp down on my protective instincts before knocking on the door. There is a lot of scrambling sounds from inside the building as whoever is inside stumbles their way to the door. Soon a shutter is opened revealing a cyan colored eye for a moment before it closes again and clattering could be heard behind the door. “One moment, please.” I raise an eyebrow at the soft-spoken male voice that filtered through the door. When the door opens I am shocked by the figure that appears in front of me. There is no other was to describe him other than a completely male version of Fluttershy, right down to the cutie mark even. I had never heard of anything like this before and just the sight of it caused my mind to shut down for a moment. “You sure are a big one. Can I help you with something? My daughter usually handles this stuff now but I- Hey wait, where are you two going?” I shake my head as my daughters rush by him into the interior of the house. Before I can say anything there is screaming from inside of the building followed by some crashing sounds. The source is soon revealed as a familiar black figure rushes out to hide behind the stallion in front of me without noticing my presence. “Butters! Where did those monsters come from?! Get them away from me, please!” I have to restrain myself from laughing as I watch Chrysalis hiding behind a pegasus from what are little more than babies after all the things I had seen her do. I take a moment to examine her from behind while I’m unobserved. I almost thought she was unchanged since I had last seen her yet there were some subtle differences. Her mane and tail actually seemed to be less limp than they were before and it looked like her chitin shell was softer as well. Her wings were a tad less torn up as well and even the holes in her legs appeared to have shrunk. If what I suspect is correct then there might really be something to how stolen love damages the changelings. If that’s true then the changes to her really are a good sign. As entertaining as it is to watch my little ones terrorize someone that I had problems with in the past I was here to solve problems, not cause them. “As much fun as this is, I’d like to speak with you if you have the time and are finished hiding from children. Besides, we have a lot to catch up on since we’ve seen each other Queen Chrysalis. Oh, and Velour says she is planning to visit again within the next week.” At the sound of my voice the changeling queen froze up completely and even the stallion was a bit shocked. Her head slowly turned towards me and I watched her eyes widen in fear at the sight of me. She tried backing away from me but her movement was impeded by the presence of the stallion behind her. At the same time she completely forgot about the other two she was hiding from until they began climbing all over her again causing her to freeze up. I look at the stallion version of Fluttershy as he looks at me suspiciously before I shake my head. “How about we all find somewhere to sit and talk before someone decides to do something drastic. Besides, I’m only here to talk and no mother would do anything to put their own children into danger.” Chrysalis freezes up yet again at my words but moments later her head darts between looking at me and my daughters. She starts to relax a little bit but I can still see that she is still just a bit tense and she eventually sighs. “Fine, we’ll sit and talk before you once again go and ruin my life like you have always done. But if you dare hurt my darling Velour I will do everything in my power to destroy all that you hold dear.” I just roll my eyes at her threat but I still nod to her while my kits continue to chew on her tail. The stallion sees this and relieves her of one of them and sets my daughter in front of him on his couch as he pets at her. Chrysalis joins him on the other end while I take my place across from them in a large comfy chair. “If you don’t mind my asking, who are you and how do you know my wife? I’m Butterscotch.” I look him over one more time before I tell him the tale of how I first met Chrysalis and everything that happened all those years ago. Chrysalis blushes a few times when he looks over at her for confirmation of a few points but she doesn’t interrupt at all. She does start petting at my daughter as she stops chewing on her tail and curls up in front of her which does hint at a change in her as I come to finish. “If she came in peace I’m sure things could have turned out much differently and I know I actually would have helped.” Chrysalis freezes after I say this and she shoots me a glare. “Help me? Help me!? Why would you have helped me when you were living under the protection of that traitor princess?! She’s the reason why we are even like this in the first place!” She is breathing rather heavily after her rant though she looks over at her husband and looks down. I’m actually curious about what happened between her and Celestia in the past but that could wait a little. “I was never under her protection so much as being a thorn in her side. When she first saw me she was threatening me with the Elements of Harmony until I turned her mind around. Eventually I learned that much of her behavior was influenced by Discord and he caused her to nearly destroy my kind.” I look out the window into the forest that I technically rule over before turning back to the two. “Now those that she tried to destroy have returned and stand as equals with her after saving her kingdom. You could easily do the same if you tried, especially with your own daughter proving that you don’t need to be a threat.” Chrysalis looks even angrier than before as she starts off on a rant. “Why would Celestia ever accept us back again? She was the one that destroyed our home?! If it wasn’t for her overloading the sunstone that protected our home we would never have become like this in the first place. The Badlands would still be a paradise instead of the disaster that it is now and what we were wouldn’t have been forgotten!” It sounded like there was a story behind all of her anger but only half of it was here and I hope Twilight was getting the other half. This was something I couldn’t handle alone but there was something I could do to at least salve the issue. “Even if she won’t do anything I can still guarantee that as long as you live peacefully in the Everfree Forest that you won’t be harmed. I can say the same for any changeling that does the same as long as they aren’t stealing love.” They both look at me, Chrysalis with disbelief and Butterscotch with curiosity, before the stallion speaks up. “Just who are you that you can guarantee that? If Celestia just allows you to be around then what could you do to stop her if she tried to take her away?” I’m actually surprised at how isolated they must be to be not know anything recent especially with how close they are to Ponyville. Seeing as I wasn’t wearing it now I levitate my headwear from my packs and set it on my head before answering. “Being the princess of Sionnach, which encompasses the entire Everfree Forest, it’s actually rather easy to guarantee it. You really have been out of touch since this has been widely known for the last few years now.” Chrysalis just stares at me before she brings one of her hooves up to her face. “Great, so now I have to resort to being protected by a child playing make-believe. Why couldn’t you just want to take my life from me like every other creature that has chased after me?” I realize now that my offer might be damaging to her pride which could be a very bad thing. However when I notice the stallion lean over to nuzzle her, which she tentatively returns, I get an idea of how to respond. “Your life already belongs to someone else so it wouldn’t be right to be asking for it. Besides your daughter wouldn’t be happy if I hurt you and I enjoy talking to her.” I actually see Chrysalis blushing as she looks over at her husband before she sighs and looks at me. “Fine, if you really think that you can do something for me then I’ll accept whatever you have to offer. Just don’t expect me to thank you for forcing me to give up my last shred of dignity.” She turns away from me pouting, but she still continues to run a hoof over my daughters back. I just roll my eyes at her attitude as I can see how fake it is. “As a mother you already know that all dignity is lost when you truly care for children. Only a monster would intentionally make one sad by denying them a bit of fun even if it would embarrass them.” The changeling queen doesn’t look at me by I can see her mouth twitching upwards a little as she looks down at my daughters who had fallen asleep. There is a bit more talking but soon the fear and excitement catch up to Chrysalis and she falls asleep next to them and I collect my children to leave. The yellow pegasus stallion escorts me to the door and stops me right before I leave with a question. “So what now? Am I going to have to take her and run again now that she’s been discovered again?” I shake my head and reassure him. “All you have to do is to keep doing what you are doing. I am granting you both a provisional citizenship which can become a full one if you two wish it later.” I was about to turn away when one more thing came to mind. “You really have done so much to live up to your family line. I can definitely see much of Fluttershy in what you’ve done and she would have been proud to know that her legacy of kindness still lives.” I watch as a look of shock passes over his face before I turn to leave the home behind. I had to admit that I didn’t know what to expect here but things had turned out much better than I thought they would. It also explained much of why Velour was like she was with a father like that. After dropping my daughters off at home I made my way towards Twilight’s castle to see how things went on her end. I found her in her bedroom staring at a picture with a disturbed look on her face and her mane a bit frazzled. Sitting across from her I wait for her to say something as she looks like she needs a friend right now. “I can’t believe that she killed them all. It may have been an accident but she did nothing to help them after it happened. She let an entire tribe of ponies die out for no reason at all.” I move closer to the purple alicorn and set a tail over her back while I wait for her to explain. “The flutterponies used to live in what is now the Badlands. One day the gem they used to protect their home was losing its power and they asked Celestia to help them try and fix it. Something happened though and she ended up putting too much power into it and it exploded, flooding their home with so much magic that it transformed it from a paradise to the wasteland it is now.” She sighs in sadness and I notice a tear fall from her eye. “Without the protection of the gem the flutterponies eventually starved as something in its energy energized the food the collected. Celestia was injured by the explosion and was taken back to Equestria but she barely did anything to save those few flutterponies that they could find. Now there aren’t any left so Velour can’t be one, she’s just a changeling.” I chuckle a little, which draws a sharp look from her, as what she said just confirms things for me. “You’re actually wrong about that Twilight. The changelings actually are the flutterponies, what’s left of them at least. Velour is probably the only one that has gotten what she really needed to keep her true form after all these years. The shapeshifting powers are most likely a side-effect of the explosion if flutterponies didn’t naturally have them.” Twilight looks at me in shock as I explain everything that I had learned on my end. When I finish she is muttering to herself for a moment. “Butterscotch, why does that name sound so familiar?” She digs through some stacks of papers on her nearby desk before she exclaims in triumph. “Ah ha! I knew I heard that name before. He used to be part of the Royal Guard until he helped a high ranking prisoner escape. I never knew that the prisoner was Chrysalis though. This really is something that should be dealt with.” I only shake my head at Twilight as I already had plans going forward on this. “The best thing to do would be to do nothing except watch. Even if Celestia didn’t plan this out, which I wouldn’t put past her, this situation is exactly what needs to happen. In fact it’s not much different from with Discord all those years ago but instead it’s a stallion version of Fluttershy doing the reforming.” I shudder a bit at the thought of him. “It’s still scary how much he looks like Fluttershy and I think I caught him trying to use the Stare on me a time or two. What’s odd though is that I don’t think Chrysalis has any connection to the changelings that have been spotted the last few years. If they aren’t hers then that means there as some other power at play behind them and keeping Chrysalis safe and happy could help us find out more.” Twilight stops for a moment thinking through the idea before she tentatively nods. “I still think that we should tell the others about this though since I don’t like hiding anything from them.” I nod in agreement as something else comes to mind. “I agree, though I’m still keeping the location to myself for now. I think that Cadance might have a solution to an important problem that the changelings/flutterponies are facing which is the lack of food. If the flutterponies food was energized by the sunstone, and the changelings eat love, then wouldn’t food grown under the influence of the Crystal Heart be exactly what they need?” Twilight’s eyes widen at the implication of what this could mean, and immediately starts writing out the letters to the other five princesses. As I look out the window I start to wonder how much this information could change Equestria, and if it would be a good or bad change.