//------------------------------// // Madame Alias' Fantastic Pandemonium of Wonders (Jimmy Jack): What Was Never Told (Part 2) // Story: Awkward Conversations And Other Stories // by No one is home //------------------------------// “Okay,” the changeling queen who called herself Madame Alias said soothingly, “Yes, maybe we’ve been pretty much putting the product in the candy…” “I can’t believe you!” the giant pale earth pony seethed, “When Butterfly ran things, this was a respectable show!” “Come on, big guy,” the Queen gave her most come-hither smile, “It’s not like they’re actual people. They’re technicolor ponies, for Christ sake!” “And that’s not the worst of it!” the stallion continued in his outrage. “Okay,” the queen rolled her eyes, “So the torch job went south. Some pony got killed by a passing guard. How is THAT my fault? We needed that space for our new brewing facility. You agreed with me. After what happened in Filly, everypony agreed with me. We’re all in this together because, why? Let me spell it out for you: We. Are. Not. Little. Ponies.” “Even if we may look like little ponies sometimes, we are all changelings, aliens, and freaks. We are monsters!” the queen pressed her case, “If we want to survive and thrive we have to understand that. The ponies put us in this role! Not us! So before you start lecturing me about my supposed crimes against the cute little ponies, remember what happened in Fillydelphia! Madame Butterfly showed those ponies nothing but kindness!” “And then there’s that!” the Stallion stamped, shaking the earth, “The pony we burned out; he was one of us! He was a human!” “Oh really, now?” the queen cocked her head to one side, “You don’t say.” “I met his adopted daughter, she was a changeling, one of us too,” the earth pony shook his head sadly, “It’s bad enough what we did, but we did it to our own, man. We killed one of our own.” “No,” the queen replied coldly, “The ponies did. One of those pretty little clippity cloppity ponies out there killed him. We lit the fire, but they were the ones that drove him into it.” “But you knew,” the pale stallion shook his head in realization, “I mean, you cased out the place. I know you! You had to know! Ponies like him only come from one place! They come from one very specific human universe! Did you know who he was? Don’t lie to me, goddamit! You always acted weird when we’d all talk about where we came from and I’d bring him up.” “Don’t get too hasty, Jimmy,” the queen tensed, “You know I like you, but remember you’re already in this up to your neck. We’re all on the same side here.” “He was my friend, Iam,” Jimmy Jack choked back a sob, “He saved my life. Even knowing I was infected, he stuck by me. I don’t know how, but that crazy bastard led us out of the hospital. He got us all the way to the train yard and then he just stared at this train with this really funny look in his eyes. And then he just vanished. And he was here. And you had him killed.” “Things are a bit more complicated than you realize,” Iam Noone took a long draw from an ornate hookah, “I like you Jimmy. I really do. I let you call me by my real name. I would have killed Bali by now, I promise, if he talked to me like you just did. Hell, I almost DID kill him just now, but then I gotta find a new fortune teller, but hey, I just heard a lot about this goat…” “My point is, we’ve killed people to survive, me and you,” Iam drove home his point, “Fuck ponies, we’ve killed people. Yes I knew he was your friend. I feel bad about that. To be honest, I thought he’d be the one with blood on his hooves at the end of the night... and apparently Celestia’s not nearly as executiony as most pony universes I fall into…” “He was a hero man,” Jimmy Jack flopped back on his haunches. “And look how the ponies repaid him”, Iam Noone smiled cruelly. -=-=-=-=- “Does Surprise think Diane is okay?” Z-978 paced nervously. “Of course she’s ok, silly,” Surprise laughed easily, “She’s just out with her friends enjoying the circus. She’s fine. And she will be fine. She needs this. What’s wrong, sweetie? This isn’t just being worried about Diane, is it? You can tell me, we’re herd sisters. Even if Train Wreck's gone, especially now that he’s gone, we have to remember that we still have each other.” “Does Surprise remember the last night before we left?” Z asked, crying just a little, “Does she remember when Z-978 asked if it would be okay… if…” “Of course I remember,” Surprise hugged her sister tightly, “And I’m glad you did. I know you don’t really have those kinds of feelings, but you wanted to have that kind of bond, like me and Charlie shared. There’s nothing wrong with that, Z. Considering… what happened… I’m glad you did. It was really special to Train Wreck. It meant a lot to him. YOU meant a lot to him. You know that, don’t you?” “S- something happened,” Z fell into waves of sobs, “Something happened and Z has kept secrets from her sisters!” “What’s wrong?” Surprise became concerned and alarmed in equal parts, “You’re scaring me Z. Whatever it is I promise, we’ll deal with it as a family.” “Z should not have kept secrets,” the changeling sulked miserably, “Z always tells her sister, Diane that secrets are bad. But this was not supposed to happen…” Z quickly scuttled into a room of their suite that she had been using to sort their laundry (a task she had specifically insisted should be hers) and looked back at her herd sister expectantly. Surprise followed tensely, not knowing what to expect. She had thought the changeling’s insistence that the task of laundry was hers, and hers alone had been some sort of coping mechanism. Clearly, she had been hiding some secret in that room. A secret that terrified her. Z stepped aside revealing a small nest formed from clean linens, in the middle rested a small translucent green sphere. “Z… is that what I think it is?” Surprise asked in awe. “Z-978 does not know how this could happen,” the mare sobbed in confusion, “Z-978 is a drone. Her sister is a queen. One day when her sister is older she will lay eggs. Z-978 does not lay eggs. It is not a thing that she does.” “I- it’s okay,” Surprise was stunned by the revelation, “It just means you're gonna be a mommy now. There’s nothing wrong with that…” “But Surprise does not understand,” Z protested, “Z cannot be a mother because Z cannot lay eggs because Z-978 is a drone…” “She can, and she has,” Surprise bopped her herd-mate on the nose, “And it’s wonderful, and fantastic, and wondertastic, and I can’t wait until we tell we tell Diane she’s going to be an auntie. Now shush those tears and come here, silly bug.” Surprise held the confused changeling for a long time as they contemplated what this new development would mean for their family.