Twilight found herself wandering about the party for the next half-hour or so.
She had to remind herself a few times of the circumstances that had lead to being escorted around the massive party, taking place deep under a nigh-lifeless desert, by one of her most dangerous enemies. Sure, following the trail of events in her mind told her exactly why she was standing at the side of a certain Changeling Queen as she advised her changeling subjects about pony-party events. But, if you had told Twilight a year, a month, or even a week ago, that this was where she was going to end up, it wouldn't have been out-of-line for her to scoff at the idea.
But, here Twilight was, watching Chrysalis patiently instructing her attentive changelings on the rules of Bobbing for Apples. Which, due to a lack of readily available apples, had become Bobbing for Rubber-Balls-that-the-Changelings-had-in-a-Strange-Abundance.
When asked about why they had so many little rubber balls, Chrysalis, without even turning away from what she was doing, pointed a hoof towards Pinkie Pie.
Twilight had to admit that it wasn't the strangest thing she had ever discovered, that Pinkie Pie had brought with her a large supply of rubber balls for their trip.
Pinkie Pie, for her part, was delivering her usual Pinkie Spirit into the proceedings by cheering on the changeling nymphs that were trying to play the improvised game. She had originally been trying to teach the changelings the intricacies of the supposedly simple game. But when most of the little changelings had tried climbing into the tub of water after the balls, it was quickly concluded that the pink pony's rambling explanations were doing more harm than good. The Changeling Queen had given a huff of annoyance, before curtly ordering Pinkie Pie to one side and taking over the role herself.
Watching as Chrysalis carefully fished one of the bizarrely adorable little changelings from the tub of water, while Pinkie Pie continued to cheer her on, Twilight again had to remind herself of how she'd gotten to this point.
It had been a weird day.
Twilight had dealt with weird days before, with many of them being brought about by the aforementioned pink pony.
She'd dealt with a similarly weird day, when she had stumbled upon Chrysalis snoozing away in Princess Celestia's own private study not too long ago.
But this day might very well top her long list of weird days. With so many ups and downs, discoveries both personal and otherwise, and subverted expectations, Twilight found herself regretting not finding a way to record the day's events. She was sure that before too long, she was going to be losing track of important details or misremembering events.
She'd lose track over how such a traumatic and uncertain day, could end with her feeling so warmly and certain about her course.
Certainly, dealing with Chrysalis was almost perpetually stressful, as she seemingly went out of her way to tease, annoy, and unnerve the young princess. But now that Twilight was able to stand to one-side and look on, as the Changeling Queen looked after her young subjects, knowing what she now knew...
Twilight was left dealing with some inevitable cognitive dissonance. And unlike many ponies, she was well-read enough to recognize the mental phenomena as it was happening. With even this small amount of distance and calm, her thoughts cleared and she found herself recalling the events surrounding Cadence's Wedding. Twilight could see the juxtaposition between the monstrous individual that had turned her friends and mentor against her, and the imperfect, but-...complicated individual she had been around all day.
'It's not like Chrysalis' is anywhere near as bad as her mother...'
The young Pony Princess was given some pause by that thought. Not because she felt any confusion or regret about thinking such a thing of Manti. Twilight could think of some much more insultingly accurate assessments of the ancient changeling than that.
Manti had attacked Twilight, terrified her, and wished nothing less than death upon more than one of her loved ones.
Chrysalis' mother was dangerous, and maybe even insane.
And yet, Twilight had barely given her a second-thought since leaving her behind. Well, that wasn't exactly true. The ancient changeling had come up more than once, both in conversation and in thought, but there was still something off. It was like she was just so overwhelmingly impassive and apathetic, about the fact that Manti had tried to drive her insane with fear.
Like it didn't bother her as much as it should.
That was kind of weird...
Splash!
Twilight found herself shaking those thoughts away, as she returned her attention to the party game in-progress. It looked like Pinkie Pie had taken the liberty of joining in on the nymphs' game of Climb-into-the-Tub-of-Water, apparently deciding that was more fun than the game they were originally trying to play. There, glaring down upon the pink pony, was Chrysalis soaked by the resulting splash from, what Twilight assumed was, a pink pony cannonball. Suddenly concerned for her friend's continued welfare, Twilight was ready to attempt to intervene once more...
She came up short, as she reexamined that thought.
Certainly, Chrysalis seemed rather annoyed, but she had been annoyed before. The Changeling Queen had managed to restrain herself from harming Pinkie Pie before, despite making it no secret how aggravating she found the pink pony. And while it was true that Chrysalis even warned Twilight against trusting her with her friends...
...Twilight found herself sending an awkward smile the Changeling Queen's way, as she marched over towards the Pony Princess. Just behind Chrysalis floated the dripping wet Pinkie Pie, held in her telltale green magical aura, as she happily waved about the set of flippers she was wearing on her hooves.
“Hey Twilight!” Pinkie Pie enthusiastically greeted, apparently enjoying her time floating in the air.
“Hi Pinkie.” Twilight waved, a moment before Chrysalis abruptly dropped the Earth pony to the floor.
Chrysalis shook her own wet mane out of her eyes, incidentally sending a small cascade of water droplets Twilight's way, before stepping past her “We're going to be looking for a different activity for the little ones...”
“Oh, oh, oh! I know just the one!” Pinkie excitedly declared before darting past the Changeling Queen, quickly taking the lead.
A mix of wet and dry changeling nymphs quickly followed after her, leading Chrysalis to let out a sigh before trudging after them, with Twilight only a few steps behind her.
Wandering about the large cavern, watching the little changelings attempting to use their little wings to emulate Pinkie's trademark hops, Twilight couldn't help the burst of laughter that came rolling out.
Noticing the look Chrysalis was sending her, after the bout of snickering and giggling, Twilight quickly brought herself back under control “Sorry. It's just, they're really kinda cute...”
The Changeling Queen didn't give any sort of response at that, leaving the purple pony feeling as if she should add something to round out the thought.
“I didn't really expect you to be so gentle with them.” Twilight noted.
The royal changeling furrowed her brow at that “Why wouldn't I be?”
“That sounded better in my head...” The young alicorn sheepishly admitted, realizing how that statement came across now.
“It would have to.”
“Right. Sorry. I guess even you-...” Twilight abruptly stopped herself, preempting another hoof-in-mouth moment.
“Go on?” Chrysalis pressed.
Twilight tilted her head back and forth, as she tried to sort herself out of the hole she seemed to be digging for herself “I- That is-...You're just really good with your children. Surprisingly good, even.”
It took Twilight several moments to realize when Chrysalis came to a sudden stop. When the young princess turned back, she was met by an intensely scrutinizing look from the Changeling Queen.
“What was that?” Chrysalis sharply asked.
“What was what?” Twilight cleverly replied, looking for all the world like she was caught in some sort of trap.
“About-...” The Changeling Queen started before pausing. Tilting her head, as she considered the alicorn for a few moments “...Do you think that they're all my children?”
“...Not as much as I did a few minutes ago.” Twilight admitted, her ears drooping as she realized her mistake.
“So a few minutes ago, you were comparing me to a termite in your mind?”
“What?! No, no, no no! I just thought- I mean, with all the insect terminology- And termites aren't really that bad. I might have gone with bees instead, but-”
“You really are too easy.”
Twilight blinked at that, before facehoofing.
“It's almost like you're looking for opportunities like this to embarrass yourself. I barely even have to try.” Chrysalis observed with a smirk.
Twilight was tempted to ask the Changeling Queen to, at least, stop trying to do that to her, but suspected nothing helpful would come of it “So, I guess the little changelings aren't all yours then.”
“Do you have any idea how exhausting that would be? I do have other things that I need to do.”
“Right...so, I guess changelings are like ponies, in that they-”
“Breed with one another?” Chrysalis supplied.
“But where exactly do new changelings come from?”
Chrysalis shrugged “It's like you said, not really being that different from what you ponies have to go through, though there is an egg involved.”
“There's technically an egg involved when ponies do it too.” Twilight pointed out, unable to resist sharing a bit of information.
“Oh, is that so? I wouldn't think you were so knowledgeable about such things. Going by the way you fainted when I mentioned walking in on Celestia that one time-”
“That's entirely different! And that wasn't just about Princess Celestia!” Twilight blurted out.
The young princess realized how Chrysalis would take that, the moment it exited her mouth. Indeed, the Changeling Queen was looking at her with an upraised eyebrow and a near-predatory smirk.
“I'm not talking about that anymore.” Twilight abruptly stated before sealing her mouth shut. She was starting to realize that Chrysalis was never not going to find that incident hilarious.
Chrysalis merely shook her head, before glancing about the cavern. Easily picking out the distinctly pink hues associated with Pinkie Pie, she reset their pace to rejoin the energetic Earth pony.
Trudging along a few steps behind Chrysalis, Twilight found herself chewing on her lip a few moments later “I was being serious.”
Noting the look the Changeling Queen sent her way, Twilight cleared her throat before continuing “I honestly didn't really expect that, you taking care of them like that. I mean, not that I-”
“I understand what you are saying.” Chrysalis cut her off, before she could slip into another rambling attempt at explaining herself.
Twilight nodded at that “Right...was Manti ever like that?”
“She cared in her own way.”
“I guess it's not the most amazing thing in the world, seeing someone that cares about their children.” Twilight admitted.
The Pony Princess again found herself coming to an abrupt stop, as she bumped in the changeling's backside. Shaking her head and blinking away her confusion, Twilight tried to send a look towards Chrysalis “Could you please stop-”
Twilight quickly lost her train of thought, as she noted the stern look Chrysalis was sending her own way.
“As I said before, if you have a question you want to ask, ask it. Don't spend all your time trying to dance around the topic.” Chrysalis sharply demanded.
“I didn't mean to-” Twilight started, not sure how her comments had offended the Changeling Queen this time.
“Is there a question you wanted to ask, yes or no?”
“Not...particularly. I was just-...” Twilight replied haltingly, before coming to a pause. Furrowing her brow, she hardened own resolve, before taking a more confident stance “Actually, yes. I do have a question for you.”
Chrysalis merely tilted her head, to show she was waiting.
“What exactly have I done that has you so upset?” Twilight demanded, leading to a short silence over the two, as they stared one another down.
“...Nothing.” Came Chrysalis' abrupt reply, leading to some brief confusion from the young alicorn, as the Changeling Queen started to walk away.
“But-” Twilight began, reaching a hoof out towards the changeling.
“As I said, the process isn't that different from what ponies go through. We have to be a bit more conscious about how much energy we invest and most of the gestation takes place outside of the body, but it's otherwise the same.” Chrysalis calmly relayed without slowing down.
Twilight tilted her head at this, before cantering after her “What?”
“You were wondering about changeling children.” Chrysalis supplied.
“Oh.” It was a fairly obvious attempt to change the subject and Twilight was briefly tempted to call her on it, but couldn't really imagine that it would help things “...Go on?”
“What more is there? The egg moves outside the body, we supply it with nourishment, it eventually hatches. New changeling.” Chrysalis summarized.
“Nourishment? You mean the energy you collect from ponies?” Twilight asked.
“Yes. Any physical nutrients they need are already supplied by the egg.”
“Who takes care of the egg?”
“Sometimes the parents. Many are looked after communally, for the sake of convenience.”
Twilight looked up at that “Communally? Like a sort of nursery?”
“More or less.”
“Can I see it?”
“I imagine you're physically capable of viewing it. But, no, you won't be seeing it today.” Chrysalis quickly denied, before muttering “...this day has already run on a bit too long, as things stand.”
Twilight nodded, before glancing back towards the Changeling Queen “So, the little changelings just like you because you're nice to them.”
“Why is that so puzzling for you?” Chrysalis asked with a narrowed gaze.
“I- it's not! What I meant to say is-...” Twilight quickly blurted out, even as she tried to figure out exactly what it is that she meant. It took her a few moments to admit to herself that maybe there was no polite way to articulate her thoughts on the matter.
Glancing down at her hooves, Twilight swallowed before looking back up towards the waiting Changeling Queen “Actually...it is strange, for me...”
Chrysalis in-turn, pointedly oriented her ears Twilight's way, letting it be known that she was listening.
It took Twilight a moment to come to terms with the direction she had just committed to, but soon managed to let out the breath she was holding “That is...you're kind of intimidating...”
Chrysalis tilted her head at this.
“And, it is surprising. I've never seen you as being particularly nurturing till now...” Twilight pressed on a bit further, glancing up towards the changeling to gauge her reaction. Noting the impassive look being sent her way the princess continued “I mean, up till now you've come across as less nurturing and patient and more...”
“Does the Princess want to meet Mr. Skink?” Twilight almost jumped out of her skin, as the young, chipper voice piped up behind her.
“Ooohh! I want to meet Mr. Skink! Can we meet Mr. Skink, Twilight?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed a moment later, just as the young princess turned herself around to see a changeling nymph hovering in the air at her friend's side. Both of them were sending excited, hopeful looks her way.
Glancing to-and-fro for a moment, trying to take in the situation she found herself in Twilight focused back in upon the little changeling in front of her.
Putting on a smile that she thought seemed non-threatening, Twilight tilted her head to the little changeling flapping it's wings in front of her “I'm sorry?”
The little changeling briefly glanced towards Pinkie Pie, before rubbing its two forehooves together anxiously “Does the, uhm, Princess want to meet Mr. Skink?”
“Oh, you just gotta meet Mr. Skink, Twilight! He's the best! The best, Twilight! The best!” Pinkie helpfully exclaimed, gleefully leaning in towards the bemused Twilight as she did so.
“What's a Mr. Skink?”
“I don't know.” The pink party pony happily answered.
Furrowing her brow at this response, Twilight refocused on the bashful changeling in front of her with an encouraging smile “Do you mind telling me your name?”
“I'm-” The nymph began.
“This is Silky! We were just playing right over there, and then Silky was all like 'Do you want to play with Mr. Skink?' and I was like 'Sure!' cause I've never met a skink before.” Pinkie Pie giddily rambled over the little nypmh's words, excited to explain everything she could about Silky “And then she was telling how she'd love to introduce us, then I was like 'You know who loves meeting new friends?'...Well, do you?” Pinkie eventually trailed to a stop, evidently waiting for Twilight to provide an answer.
“...Is it me?” The young princess asked, with a raised eyebrow.
“It is! So then I was like-” Pinkie started up again.
“Pinkie!” Twilight interjected, before her pink friend could regain her momentum.
“What is it, Twilight?”
Sparing a smile for her friend, Twilight tilted her head towards Silky “Do you think perhaps Silky would like a chance to introduce herself?”
“That's a great idea, Twilight!”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, do you think-” Pinkie began again.
“Do you think she might like to do it herself, Pinkie?” Twilight gently asked.
“That's an even better idea, Twilight!” Pinkie exclaimed, before stepping to the mildly annoyed Chrysalis' side to watch the two of them intently.
Nodding in thanks towards her friend, Twilight turned her attention back towards the still hovering changeling nymph. She momentarily found herself as hesitant as the young Silky, unsure how to continue. Twilight found herself smiling to herself, as she recalled her earlier attempts at introducing herself to changelings, how much effort she had tried to put into something that should be relatively simple.
She didn't need to make it complicated.
“I'm Twilight.”
“I'm...Silky.”
“It's nice to meet you, Silky.” Twilight earnestly replied.
“Can I touch your mane?”
“What? Why?” The princess immediately blurted out, surprised by the request.
Silky bobbed her head again, before turning her gaze towards the Changeling Queen standing just behind Twilight “I was wondering if it feels like Queen Chrysalis'...”
There were a few moments of silence, during which Chrysalis noticeably avoided making eye contact with Twilight.
“Uhm...well, sure. I guess that's fine.” Twilight awkwardly relented, before leaning towards the little changeling.
A moment later, she could feel the air being displaced by Silky's buzzing wings as she hovered over and began moving her little hooves through Twilight's mane.
Despite herself, the situation didn't actually feel all that strange to Twilight. Yes, if she thought about it, this wasn't something she ever expected to be doing, but as far as how she felt about it...
Actually, something didn't feel quite right.
Blinking, as Twilight took note of where Silky was hovering at the moment, it took the young princess a moment to realize she could feel another hoof moving through her mane. One that couldn't possibly belong to Silky.
Turning her head a bit, she quickly cast her eye to one side to try to take in what was going on. “Pinkie!”
Twilight felt a bit bad, when noting how she managed to startle Silky.
“What is it, Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked, still happily pawing her own hooves through Twilight's mane.
“What are you-...why are you doing that, Pinkie?” Twilight quickly corrected, recognizing that she knew exactly what her friend was doing.
“I just wanted to see what the big deal was.” The pink party-pony explained in a chipper tone.
The alicorn had to pause for a few moments to collect herself, before letting out a sigh. It didn't make much sense to be upset about anything “Alright...but, please ask ahead of time when you're going to do something like that. Like Silky did. Okay?”
“Okie-dokie-lokie!”
“Thank you.” Twilight said with a nod before turning back towards the anxious changeling nymph hovering a couple of steps away “Sorry, about that Silky, I didn't mean to startle you.”
“It's alright...”
“...Did you, uhm-...did you want to feel anymore of my mane?” Twilight clumsily asked.
“No, thank you.”
“Sorry. I was a bit startled myself, so-” Twilight tried to explain.
“It's okay. I really liked your mane.” Silky earnestly replied, giving a small smile that the princess returned.
“Oh, oh, oh, Twilight!” Pinkie clamored, while waving her hooves around to garner her attention.
“Yes, Pinkie?”
“I really liked your mane too!”
“Thanks, Pinkie.”
“Can I smell it now?”
“What?” Twilight blurted out, understandably flabbergasted by the request.
“I bet it smells like grapes! Oh, can I, Twilight?” Her Earth pony friend continued to plead.
“I've never smelt a grape before.” Silky helpfully chimed in.
“Yeah, me neither!” Pinkie excitedly claimed.
“Pinkie...I'm fairly sure you've had grapes before now.” Twilight pointed out.
“But how will I know unless I smell your mane?”
The young princess was given some pause, as she struggled to unravel that string of logic. Quickly realizing that it was pointless, Twilight gave a vigorous shake of her head to dislodge those bewildering thoughts.
“No one is smelling my mane.” She authoritatively declared.
“Awwwwww....” Pinkie Pie moaned in an over-the-top display of disappointment.
“...I've never smelt a grape before.” Silky pitiably reiterated, sharing in the pink Earth pony's disappointment.
Seeing this, Twilight was left feeling a bit trapped, as she took in the easily readable expression of sadness the changeling nymph was sporting.
Twilight gave a heavy sigh “...Alright.”
Both Pinkie and Silky glanced up questioningly.
“Just one smell.”
“Yay!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
“Just Silky. You're still not allowed to smell my mane, Pinkie. Or my tail, for that matter.” Twilight declared, firmly setting down the boundaries between herself and her hyper friend.
“Awwwwww...”
Twilight just shook her head, trying not to smile at Pinkie's antics, before turning towards Silky.
“Alright, so...” Not knowing how to approach this, Twilight just gave up before leaning her head towards the hovering changeling.
A few uneventful moments later, Twilight could see Silky floating away from her with her wings, the nymph having apparently gotten her smelling in.
“So...”
Silky ended up tilting her head in apparent thought, before focusing back on the princess “I still don't know what grapes smell like.”
The young alicorn didn't know how to respond to that “Right...so, who is this Mr. Skink you wanted to introduce to me?”
“Oh, Mr. Skink is my pet!” Silky excitedly explained.
“Just like Gummy! Oh, I pet Gummy would have loved to meet you all!” Pinkie added.
Twilight just smiled at that “Well, I think I would love to meet Mr. Skink.”
“Really?”
Twilight gave an easy nod to the child.
“I'll go get him then!” Silky declared, before darting off through the air. Just out of the corner of her eye, Twilight noted Chrysalis making a subtle gesture towards another older changeling. A moment later, the older changeling was quickly following after Silky, presumably to keep an idea on the child.
“I can't wait to meet him, Twilight! I wonder what kind of pet Silky has! Ooooh, I bet it's a falcon! With great big wings and a-” Pinkie quickly started speculating.
“Somehow I don't think Mr. Skink is a falcon, Pinkie.” Twilight pointed out.
“Do you think Mr. Skink will be hungry when he gets here? We should get him something to eat! Oh, what about you two? Are you hungry? We've got treats!” Pinkie Pie babbled, before setting a pace towards a particular section of the party-cavern.
Once more leaving Twilight standing, more or less, alone with Chrysalis.
Glancing towards the Changeling Queen, the young princess tried to put on a casual smile, only to be cut-off.
“At this rate, if you have to force anymore smiles your face is going to become paralyzed.” Chrysalis observed, before following after Pinkie Pie.
Twilight tilted her head at this, letting her face slide into a more neutral expression, before quickly trotting after the larger changeling. Coming up along her side, the princess briefly cleared her throat before speaking “I wouldn't say that I was forcing any smiles...”
“Please, your discomfort was palpable. Though, I suppose you have to do that sort of thing a lot, for your pink friend.”
“Actually, I don't.” Twilight quickly asserted. Seeing that she had gotten Chrysalis' attention, she continued on “I admit, Pinkie's been a bit much today. But, most of the time I really do enjoy spending time around her...maybe she was feeling a bit nervous about today too.”
Chrysalis offered no comment to that.
After a few moments of...Twilight wasn't really sure what kind of silence it was. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but neither was it an oppressive silence. In any event, she found herself clearing her throat once more “So, I didn't know that changelings did pets...”
Chrysalis briefly glanced towards Twilight at that “Changelings that can do a good job taking care of pets are often considered for roles taking care of others, when they're older.”
“That's...practical.”
“Oh, did I forget to mention the joy and comfort that taking care of another living being cultivates? My mistake, for not bringing that up.” Chrysalis snarked.
“Sorry, sorry. It makes sense. I guess I've been realizing that most of the things changelings do have to serve some purpose or another.” Twilight explained.
“We don't exactly have a lot of room for frivolity.” The Royal Changeling agreed.
A few moments later the royal duo caught up with Pinkie Pie, finding the pink party pony excitedly waving them over towards a long table that had been laid out in the middle of the cavern.
“What have you done now?” Chrysalis unhappily intoned.
“I made cupcakes!” Pinkie exclaimed while gesturing a hoof to the table, which was indeed laden with some manner of cupcakes, among other things.
The royal changeling let an eyebrow climb upward, as she cast her gaze across the table “So you have.”
“Pinkie. Just what exactly are these cupcakes made of?” Twilight asked of her friend, even as she scrutinized one of the odd looking confectioneries.
“Lots of stuff! Here you go!” Pinkie replied, before hoofing over a rather odd looking cupcake. Topped with some fairly normal looking icing, the 'cupcake' was some sort of dark, mottled green substance, resembling...spinach? If spinach could be sculpted into the shape of a baked good.
Sporting a leery look as she accepted the cupcake, Twilight cast her eyes back towards Pinkie “What kind of stuff?”
“Stuff I found around here! And here's one with chocolate frosting, just for Chryssie!” The party pony unhelpfully answered, before shoving another such cupcake towards Chrysalis “Oh, wait here and I'll get you guys some punch!”
Chrysalis spent several moments looking over her own 'cupcake', before taking a bite without comment.
Twilight glanced back to her own treat, considering it carefully before finally giving voice to her curiosity “I don't suppose you know what Pinkie Pie used to make these, do you?”
“Changeling baby food, essentially.” Came the Changeling Queen's simple response.
“Baby food?”
“Yes?” Chrysalis replied, clearly wondering how the young princess could find her answer confusing “It's for young, still growing changelings. Baby food.”
Twilight briefly frowned to herself, before giving the substance an experimental sniff “...Is it safe for ponies?”
“I have no reason to think it isn't.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“It means I don't know for certain that its safe for ponies to eat, but based on what I know it should be fine.”
“But how can you not know something like that?”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes at this “Well, I've been meaning to to abduct a pony, hogtie them, then force feed them until something happens, but I've never been able to find the time. You know how it is.”
“Well, when you put it like that...” Twilight conceded.
“You know, you don't have to eat it.” Chrysalis pointed out, before deftly snaking her tongue out to snag the remainder of her own cupcake and pop it in her mouth.
“No, I-...it's probably fine. I was just...curious.” The young alicorn said in an apologetic tone, before focusing back upon her own treat.
“Whatever. I have other matters to tend to.” Chrysalis replied with an easy wave of her hoof, before stalking off, leaving the Pony Princess staring at her cupcake.
Swallowing down a bit, Twilight took the green cupcake up in her magic, steadily bringing it closer to herself. Letting out a held breath, she slowly opened her mouth, slowly inching forward to take a big bite...
It kind of tasted like a pickle. If a pickle had the consistency of bread pudding. And kind of tasted like...mushrooms? So maybe not a pickle. It was really hard to place, but she couldn't say it was bad, by any measure. There was definitely a veggie-taste in there, which was a bit of a relief, but it was also oddly juicy. And it had a bit of a melt-in-your-mouth quality.
Twilight wasn't sure whether the pink icing on top was a welcome addition or not, at this point.
Then it hit her, a sort of...warm sensation, that seemed to radiate outwards from her mouth. Twilight almost didn't realize when she swallowed her first bite, as a brief wave of giddiness overtook her, before settling pleasantly in her belly. Twilight felt like she'd just drank half-a-cup of coffee, whilst in the midst of a particularly cuddly hug.
Shaking her head to clear it a bit, Twilight sent a wide-eyed look of amazement towards the remainder of her cupcake “What-...what was that?”
“What was what?”
“Rainbow Dash? Where have you been?” Twilight blurted out, surprised that she failed to notice her friend's arrival. She soon turned her attention to her airborne friend “You look...clean.”
“Tch, yeah, right? These two really knew what they were doing.” Rainbow Dash easily agreed, gesturing back to the two changelings following her through the air, one of which seemed to be sifting through a small box, the other carrying RD's Daring Do book. Idly brushing her hoof against a worn set of goggles hanging around her neck, Rainbow Dash focused back on Twilight “So, what's up?”
“That's what I'm trying to figure out.” Twilight explained while holding out the cupcake for Rainbow Dash to see.
“Hey, cool. Pinkie made cupcakes?” The polychromatic pegasus eagerly asked, a flap of her wings carrying her over to the over-laden table.
“Sort of, yes.”
“Sweet!”
Seeing Rainbow Dash quickly snagging up one of the cupcakes, Twilight quickly reached out a hoof to try to stop her friend “Wait, Dash! I'm not sure-”
“Wha's tha', Twi?” Came the muffled reply, as the pegasus turned back towards the princess, her mouth full of 'cupcake'.
“I-uh...I'm not exactly sure what Pinkie used to make those...” Twilight finished, letting her hoof drop.
RD swallowed the majority of her mouthful, before shrugging “Eh, tastes fine to me.”
“Really?” Twi asked with a tilt of her head. They didn't exactly taste bad, but they certainly didn't taste like any normal cupcakes.
“Yeah?”
“You didn't find that cupcake...strange?” The princess asked.
The pegasus raised an eyebrow at this, before glancing back towards the table, where the twins were themselves prodding the unusual treats. The fact that even other changelings found them odd was a bit of a concern for Twilight. Picking up another one, Rainbow Dash considered the treat for a few moments “...I guess, they look kind of weird.”
“...I don't suppose you felt anything...strange, when you ate yours?” Twilight prodded.
Rainbow Dash just shrugged “How do you mean?”
“Like a-” Twilight began.
“I got the punch!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, pointing a hoof to the two cups perched atop her brow
“Sweet!” Rainbow Dash declared.
“Hey Dashie!...Hey, where'd Chryssie go?” Pinkie asked, after glancing about for a moment, noting the conspicuous absence of the Changeling Queen.
“She had some things she needed to take care of.” Twilight easily explained.
“But, she never got her punch...” Pinkie lamented.
“I'll take it.” RD quickly volunteered, before snagging the cup off of the pink pony's head. Leaning back to swig down the beverage, the pegasus was given some pause, as she noted the looks Alate and Cryptic were sending her way. Glancing from the cup and back again “What? It's not like she would have wanted it anyway.”
The twins rolled their eyes at this, but didn't contest that point.
Sparing a look for the pegasus, Twilight quickly accepted a cup from Pinkie Pie “Uhm, Pinkie...what exactly did you make these cupcakes out of?”
“Oh, it's-” Pinkie began.
“It looks like what we feed to the younger changelings.” One of the twins observed.
“But, what exactly is it? I mean, it tasted...I don't know what it tasted like, but it felt good when I ate it. How do you make this stuff?” Twilight pressed, turning her attention to the twins in the hopes that they could offer an answer.
“By partially digesting a large portion of specially cultivated fungi, mixing in some water and grit, forcing your love-energy into it and then expelling it back out to be stored for later.”
“...What?” The young alicorn blurted out.
“Well, that's how I would do it.” Pinkie casually elaborated.
“Pinkie...where did you even get an idea like that?” Twilight asked, utterly perplexed.
“From Amanita!” Pinkie declared in a chipper tone.
“Amanita?” The young alicorn asked, recalling the name being mentioned by Pinkie earlier.
Pinkie gave an excited nod “Yeah! She's the one that helps grow the special mushrooms that they use!”
“So...what you're saying is, these cupcakes are-” Twilight began, giving a leery look towards her half-eaten cupcake.
Rainbow Dash darted over waving her forehooves to put a halt to the conversation “Wait, wait, wait-...you're not serious, right?”
“I'm always serious when it comes to cupcakes, Dashie. You know that.” Pinkie Pie replied with a laugh.
Rainbow Dash paled a bit at that, before turning to the twins “She's kidding, right? You guys don't do that right? Not with cupcakes.”
The changeling twins both shook their heads at that, before Alate waved off the question with a hole-filled hoof “No way, we'd never do something like that.”
“Oh, Sweet Celestia, that's a relief!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a relieved sigh, a sentiment that Twilight sympathized with.
“It's like she said, it's Amanita and her changelings that are the ones that take care of that kind of thing.” Cryptic quickly followed up.
“...What?”
After sharing a glance with her twin, Alate made a waving gesture towards the ground with a hoof “They grow a bunch of mushrooms and whatnot down below-”
“-some of which are the kind you eat-” Cryptic filled-in.
“-and then regurgitate them back up for the little ones, once they've soaked in enough love-energy into them.” Alate finished.
Cryptic noted the growing look of horror on Rainbow Dash's face “...It's kind of like what we do with the floors.”
“Only you can eat it.” Her sister added.
“Which you just did.” Cryptic finished.
“So...I just ate changeling vomit?” The pegaus quietly asked.
Twilight herself was processing this revelation a bit better. Having studied a wide variety of subjects in her time, including many fields that some would find gross, the young princess was quite capable of bringing a level of clinical detachment to certain things. It certainly wasn't as bad as her friend was making it out to be, she reminded herself, even as she found a few crumbs of the substance still stuck amongst her teeth. It was just something the changelings did to survive. It wasn't any worse than what some other animals went through to feed their young.
Looking at it through that lens helped a bit.
“Are you going to be alright, Dash?” Twilight gently asked.
“...I think I'm going to be sick.” Rainbow Dash admitted, before landing and holding her hoof over her mouth.
“What's wrong, Dashie?” Pinkie asked, not understanding where her grounded friend was coming from on this issue.
Twilight just shook her head, before coming up along side the cyan pegasus. Extending out a hoof she settled it over her friend's withers, before moving it lightly back and forth “It's not that bad, Dash. I mean, you didn't have any problem with it before, right?”
“Yeah. Before.” Rainbow Dash pointed out, before suppressing a bout of gagging.
“Come on, Dash. Lots of animals do things like this.” Twilight pointed out.
“Yeah! Like bees!” Pinkie chimed in from the side, before reaching over to the table to scoop up another of her improvised cupcakes.
“What? Since when do bees vomit-” Rainbow Dash began, bewildered by Pinkie's interjection.
“Actually, Pinkie's right. The process for making honey does involve bees regurgitating up nectar into honeycombs.” Twilight added, sending a surprised glance towards Pinkie as she did so. One can suppose that as a baker and a fan of all things sweet, the pink party pony would have picked up some peripheral knowledge about things like honey.
“Nopony ever warned me about that! What other things-...what?” Rainbow Dash started, before stuttering to a stop. Turning to her other side, revealed the twins at her other flank, each of them resting their hooves along her back. Much like Twilight had.
Picking up on the questioning looks being sent their way by Rainbow Dash and Twilight, the twins shared in a shrug.
“You seemed upset-” Alate pointed out.
“-and this seems like the thing to do-” Cryptic added, while gesturing a free hoof towards Twilight.
“-since we're friends now.” The duo finished at the same time.
For a few moments, it seemed like Rainbow Dash had completely forgotten about being sick to her stomach, as she processed the awkward gesture the two changelings were trying to demonstrate for her.
“I, uh...thanks.”
The twins nodded in tandem.
“You seemed upset.” Cryptic explained, with another shrug.
“Can I touch your wings?” Alate asked, her hoof inching its way towards the feathery appendages.
“Okay! That's enough of that.” Rainbow Dash declared, before slipping out from beneath their hooves. Ears twitching, as she caught the sound of barely suppressed laughter, she found herself turning towards Twilight “What's got you giggling so much?”
The young princess waved off her pegasus friend as she got her little fit of laughter under control “Sorry. I'm sorry, I was just so worried when we started all of this.”
“Uh, yeah?”
“I mean, you made some friends, Dash. With changelings. That's- it just seems like that means a lot right now. I'm not really surprised with Pinkie, but-...” Twilight tried to explain, but was given some pause at the disgruntled look being sent her way by her pegasus friend “...It's good to know that you're onboard with helping them too....You are, right?”
Rainbow Dash blinked at the question, before glancing towards Cryptic and Alate “Well, yeah, I guess. It's really more your call, but-”
“But it can't be, Dash. I mean, it is, but it's also-...It is my choice, but I also want it to be everyone's choice. So, I'm glad that it's your choice too....does that make sense?” Twilight struggled, as she tried to articulate her feelings on the matter.
“Is it alright if I just say that I'll support you, no matter what, Twi?” Rainbow Dash asked, with a tilt of her head.
“No! I mean, yes, but-...even if I'm a Princess now, that doesn't mean that everypony else doesn't get a say now.” Twilight tried to explain.
“Oh...why didn't you just say that from the beginning?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight was given some pause at that, taking a moment to rub a hoof along the back of her neck “Sorry. I guess that came out all wrong. I just wanted you guys to know that I'm listening, I guess.”
Scrutinizing her friend for a bit, Rainbow Dash flipped her polychromatic mane from her eyes as she considered her alicorn friend “Uh, you been thinking about that kind of thing a lot lately, Twi?”
“What?”
“Like, is this whole Princess thing bothering you or something?”
Twilight froze up a bit at that question.
“Do you, uh, need to talk about it or something? Cause we can totally do that, if you want?” Rainbow Dash offered, if a bit unenthusiastically. Which made it all the more annoying when Twilight burst into laughter at that “Hey! I was being serious!”
Forcing herself to calm down again, Twilight held a hoof to try to calm her friend, while stifling a bit more laughter “Sorry, Dash. I know you're being serious, and I appreciate it. I really do.”
“Then what is it that's so funny?” The pegasus demanded.
“It's just, I just got through talking about this- this whole princess-thing, with Chrysalis.” Twilight explained.
“Seriously?”
“I know. Of all pon-...individuals, I never would have thought, but...Sorry, I shouldn't have laughed.” Twilight conceded. No matter how hilariously weird her life became, that was no reason to laugh in the face of a friend that was offering a hoof “Really, Rainbow Dash, I'm sorry. It's just the way that you said it, and I guess I've been really stressed about everything-”
“Nah, I get it, I think.” Rainbow Dash waved off her apology.
“You do?”
“Not really.” The pegasus admitted with a smirk.
“Rainbow Dash...” Twilight groaned.
“What? Listen, it's like I said, I'll stand by you no matter what. If you want to get all buddy-buddy with the Queen of Mean, I'm sure you've got a-” The pegasus started to explain.
“Buddy-buddy?” The alicorn blurted out.
“Yeah, if you want to be friends with her, I guess-”
“But, I'm not- we're not friends.” Twilight haltingly denied.
This lead to Rainbow Dash lifting an eyebrow “What, really? You've been hanging out with her all day.”
Twilight shook her head at this “That- she's been showing me around the hive all day, Dash. So, I could learn more about her changelings. That's it.”
“Okay. What about the part where you ended up talking about your problems with her?”
“That's...the conversation took a strange turn. I was asking for a bit of clarification on-” Twilight started to explain.
“She gave you a book, Twi.” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
Sparing a glance for the hefty tome floating just behind her, Twilight hesitated for a moment “...Lots of ponies give me books.”
“Uh-huh.” Came Rainbow Dash's skeptical reply.
Shaking her head again, Twilight looked down as she tried to form an argument against this notion “I'm serious, Dash. You've seen how she is around me, always teasing me and-”
“Yeah, and friends never do that to each other.” Rainbow Dash smugly countered.
“I'm not friends with Chrysalis!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Twilight's friends with Chryssie? That's great!” Pinkie declared, much to a certain pegasus' amusement and a certain Princess' exasperation.
The twins, still looking on from the side, both gave a tilt of their heads at the ongoing antics of the ponies.
“Ponies are weird.” Alate observed.
“Mm-hmm...Do you think the pink one would want to take a look at my collection?” Cryptic asked.
Her sister gave a look at this, before giving a sigh “Well, we've just established that she's weird...so probably.”
Cryptic gave a sharp glance at that, before muttering “It's not that weird...”
“Uh-huh...you want to try some of these weird pony-things, the pink one made?” Alate asked, gesturing to the cupcakes, eliciting a nod from her twin.
“Pinkie! I'm not friends with Chrysalis!” The changeling twins shared in a twitch of surprise, at another loud declaration from the Pony Princess.
“Awwww! But you two were getting along so well! What happened?” Pinkie asked.
“Nothing happened! I mean, I was never friends with her, and-” Twilight tried to explain.
“But, I thought you liked hanging out with Chryssie! You even spent all day with her.” Pinkie pointed out, unwittingly retreading the same ground that Rainbow Dash had already gone over.
Loosing another sigh of frustration, Twilight brought a hoof to her forehead before turning back towards her friends “She- she has a lot of interesting things to say, I admit. And, she's not as bad, as maybe I originally thought.”
“Great!” Pinkie cheered.
Twilight held up a hoof to keep her friend from getting ahead of herself “But, Chrysalis still did a lot of things that I'm not ready to forgive her for. Things she hasn't even tried to really apologize for yet. She basically brainwashed Shiny!”
“She did?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“What? Yes! You were there, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Oh, yeah, that does kind of sound familiar...” The pegasus admitted, after putting some visible thought into it.
“How could you forget something like that?!”
Rainbow Dash gave a slightly embarrassed shrug at that “I don't know, Twi. I mean, I never see your brother or anything. I guess I don't really think about him very much.”
Twilight had to take a calming breath at this admission, holding up her hoof to forestall her friends for a moment “Listen, I-I'm not saying that it's impossible that she and I will become-...friends. Chrysalis isn't really what I expected, and maybe in the future...But, right now, I'd like to try focusing on-”
“I found Mr. Skink!” The princess nearly jumped out of her skin, at the shrill, childish cry that had sounded just behind her. Glancing back, she half-expected to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders where little Silky was standing.
“What's a Mr. Skink?” Rainbow Dash asked aloud.
“Mr. Skink's my pet.” Silky helpfully supplied.
“Ah, Silky. You-you startled me.” Twilight admitted, around some nervous laughter, wondering how much of that conversation the little nymph had been privy to.
“I'm sorry...I was just really excited.” Silky sheepishly apologized.
“That's alright Silky! I get really excited about pets too! Just like Fluttershy. Oh, I bet you'd love to meet her!” Pinkie interjected, easily dismissing any worries that the little changeling might have had.
“Oh...I'm still sorry for scaring you.” The little nymph reasserted.
Twilight quickly put on a smile for the child, not wanting to leave her upset “It's really alright, Silky. I was just a bit distracted, but I'm definitely ready to meet Mr. Skink.”
“Great! Mr. Skink is-...Mr. Skink is-...” The princess found her brow furrowing, as Silky started glancing around her own hole-filled hooves.
“Is something wrong?” Twilight asked with a tilt of her head.
“Mr. Skink? Mr. Skink? Where are you?” Silky began calling out, having apparently misplaced her pet. Twilight was almost ready to offer to help find Mr. Skink, when the nymph's gaze made its way over to Twilight “There you are, Mr. Skink!”
“Huh?”
As Twilight glanced downward, she discovered two very interesting facts:
Mr. Skink was not a skink, as Twilight had initially assumed. Nor was Silky's pet any other sort of lizard or newt. Mr. Skink was a very large millipede.
And, much more pertinently, Mr. Skink was crawling his way up her leg.
“Gyaaahhh!” Twilight shrieked, rearing back and flailing her foreleg through the air, as she was briefly taken by a panic. Falling over backwards, Twilight quickly shifted her hooves back underneath her before darting her gaze back and forth.
This let her catch the sight of Rainbow Dash rolling through the air, holding her sides, as she laughed at Twilight's reaction “It's not funny, Dash!”
“Oh, that was priceless! The look on your face when you looked down!” The pegasus continued to guffaw.
“Where'd Mr. Skink go?” Silky chimed, bringing Twilight's focus back upon the matter at hoof.
“What? Where did he-”
“There he is!” Silky exclaimed pointing to a spot along the alicorn's back.
“What!” Indeed, glancing back revealed the millipede cheerfully crawling its way across one of her wings. Loosing another shout, Twilight couldn't entirely stop herself from reflexively snapping her wings open, again launching the arthropod through the air.
“Yikes!” Rainbow Dash's laughter was suddenly cut-off, as the pegasus took note of the creature flying through the air towards her. Loosing her own yelp, she ended up falling to the floor to avoid Mr. Skink's flight path.
Shaking her own head, as she picked herself up from the ground, Rainbow Dash looked herself over “Did he get-”
“Hey there, Mr. Skink!”
Both alicorn and pegasus turned towards a certain pink pony, to see the multi-legged creature crawling its way across Pinkie Pie's snout. Loosing a giggle, Pinkie Pie brought a hoof up to soothe the confused millipede “Awwwww, he's like a friendly little mustache!”
“What's a mustache?” Silky asked, even as she fluttered her wings over towards the Earth pony.
“It's this really great thing for your nose, that-” Pinkie began.
“Silky, that- Mr. Skink is a millipede?” Twilight eventually managed to ask, having finally managed to compose herself.
“Uh-huh! I've had him for three years!” Silky proudly informed.
“But, why do you call him Mr. Skink?”
“Oh. Because 'Ms. Skink' sounds silly when you say it out loud.” The changeling nymph informed in a matter-of-fact manner.
As Twilight tried to process this reasoning, Pinkie Pie stepped over, millipede still draped across her snout “Ms. Skink! Ms. Skink! Hey, she's right! It does sound silly!”
Shaking off Pinkie's contribution to the conversation, the princess turned back to the hovering changeling nymph “But, why not call him Mr. Millipede, instead?”
This lead to Silky giving Twilight a funny look, the kind of look children always gave adults when they thought they were being weird “I don't know if Mr. Skink is a boy millipede...”
Twilight was a bit dumbfounded by the simple reply.
“Huh. She's got you there, Twilight.” Rainbow Dash observed.
"Where'd Queen Chrysalis go?" Silky suddenly asked, casting her gaze about for the Royal Changeling.
"Oh, she-" Twilight began.
"The Queen is probably getting ready to tell the story everyone wanted from her." A changeling abruptly supplied. Standing just a little ways away, he was very likely the same changeling that Chrysalis had sent along to escort Silky earlier. Noting the looks everyone was sending his way, the changeling shifted a bit on his hooves "She did say she was going to tell one earlier...remember?"
"She hasn't started yet, has she?" Silky quickly asked.
The changeling gave a helpless shrug, not knowing for sure "If we hurry, we can probably catch the beginning."
The nymph gave a quick nod, before fluttering over to Pinkie Pie, holding a hoof out to the millipede crawling its way across the Earth pony's brow now "Come, come, Mr. Skink. We gotta go now."
"Awww, it was really nice meeting you Mr. Skink." Pinkie said, as she watched the millipede crawl over onto Silky's outstretched hoof.
"Mr. Skink really liked meeting you too. Bye now." Silky quickly declared, every bit a child that was excited to go somewhere else.
The same changeling from earlier gave something between a nod and a bow "I'm sure the Queen would not disallow you, her guests, from attending."
"I want to hear the story!" Pinkie exclaimed.
The changeling gave a simple nod, before gesturing after Silky "If you'd like, you can follow us."
"Wooo!! Story-time!"
And Pinkie was off, eagerly bouncing after Silky and her guardain, leaving Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and the twins to share a look between one another.
"So...story-time?" Twilight asked.