Night prowled through the streets of Canterlot unopposed as she approached the hive. She looked it up and down as she approached it, muttering faintly under her breath. "Stupid stallion…" She came up to the guards before the hive and nodded to either. "I'm here to see Fast Change."
“Do you have an appointment?” One guard asked absently only to receive a glare from his compatriot.
“She doesn’t need an appointment, doofus!” the other guard snapped, “Right this way Mrs. Watch.”
Ugh, she was Missus Watch. She would… Night shook her head as she proceeded forward. Why didn't Silver understand? She was trying to protect him, all of them! With a loud snort, she followed after the changelings, though said little.
The changelings led her through the hive’s labyrinthine interior before stopping before one of the smaller, personal, audience chambers, “The Princess will be in to see you shortly.”
Night strolled in and began to pace, looking at the various decor. Unlike a 'traditional' hive, there were more things to remind one of a normal pony home, with paintings, tables, and general clutter to distract one from the idea that the inhabitants were insectile in thinking.
"You look nervous." Fast entered from outside. "Is it Silver? Is he in trouble again?"
Night turned towards Fast with relief flooding through her. Fast understood… "Yes. He decided he doesn't want to marry you."
Fast recoiled. "But… I thought…"
"So did I," agreed Night. "You were going to join our herd."
"But… you're here. You…?" She sounded so lost.
Night would protect her. She advanced. "It's alright. You're still invited."
Fast blinked at that. "Invited to what?"
"I'm making a herd." She turned to the side and stood so that her mixed status was easily visible. "I will be your stallion."
Fast sank to her haunches. "I… Look, that's… appealing, really, it is… I want nothing more right this second than to let you do what you want with that thing of yours."
"But?"
"What happened?" Fast leaned forward and nuzzled Night gently. "I don't oppose the idea of you wearing the pants of the herd, but why?"
"Because I can protect it." All the cards were coming out. There was no need to hide. "I learned magic, powerful magic. Be my First Wife, Fast, and I'll protect you gladly."
Fast shook her head slowly. "I… You forgot something."
"I did?"
Fast poked Night on the nose gently. "The mares protect the stallion."
Night felt something break as she crashed to the ground on her belly. The mares protect the stallion… How did she forget?
Fast nuzzled her left ear gently. "It's not that bad. You look sexy as hell. Want to give it a spin?"
Night fought her way to sitting on her haunches, "So you'll be part of my herd?"
"As soon as you go back to Silver, yes. We can all--"
"I told you!" Night bristled with sudden fury. "He doesn't want a herd… He wants to get married, the old-fashioned way."
Fast worked her jaw quietly a moment. "Oh…"
"See? No herd with him." She rose to her hooves. "I'm forming a herd, and you'll be part, please. You'll make a fine First Wife."
Fast gave a smile, a sad smile. "I want to, really… Look, why don't you think about this? My house is your house, you're welcome to stay here and decompress." She leaned forward and kissed Night's cheek. "I love you."
Night staggered out of the room. She had been welcomed there, to the hive, but she did not have her wife at all. That hadn't gone nearly as well as she thought, as she'd… hoped…
Surprise led the way, a strange juvenile burgundy changeling with a distended jaw and shark-like teeth trotting at her side, and a fairly nondescript changeling drone following behind. Suddenly the drone moved in front of the family, “It is the mean pony who tried to hurt Z-978’s hive sister in the bat-time!”
“Z,” Surprise corrected gently, “We’ve been over this. Those worlds weren’t real. And you shouldn’t call them bats. They don’t like that.”
The shark-toothed filly trotted up to Night curiously, “I remember you. You were that diplomat’s wife who came to see Uncle Train Wreck in the hospital. He was the human in the pod…”
Night blinked in surprise, her confusion wiped away with the new situation. "Hmm? Human?" She tilted her head. "I was…" She glanced from pony to changeling to… Oh. "Surprise." She gave a little smile, before she remembered. "Oh, sorry. Is everyone alright?"
Surprise gave a deep sigh, “As alright as we can be. I don’t know how much you heard… I was pretty hysterical when I wrote that letter. But you know about what happened to the bakery, right? And what happened to my husband, Train Wreck?”
“It was Luna’s fault,” the smaller, shark-tooth changeling sulked.
“Diane,” Surprise said wearily. “This is not the time to have this talk again. Anyway, meet… what’s left of my family. This is my adopted daughter, Diane, and my herd sister, Z-978.”
“Z-978 is pleased to meet the Night Watch who is not a servant of the evil Nightmare Moon,” Z smiled brightly.
“Hi,” Diane smiled, trying not to show her teeth, “We’ve met, but I was pretending to be a grown up changeling nurse. I’m not allowed to play pretend anymore.”
Night nodded to each of them even as the words echoed in her head. The mares protect the stallion, what if the stallion were a mare, and could defend him, or her, self? "I'm sorry for your loss. What… brings you here?" She gestured around the hive in general.
“Princess Fast Change is letting us stay here for a while,” Surprise bowed her head sadly, “We all lived in the bakery. We had an apartment downstairs. With the bakery gone and Charlie too… I’m just not sure what we’re going to do now.”
Z moved to nuzzle and support Surprise, while Diane glared at Night accusingly, “You made mom cry!”
“It’s okay sweetie,” Surprise sniffled and put on a strong face, “It’s not Night’s fault. I’m really sorry. She can get protective, since… you know…”
Night drew a small breath. Was this the mare she had been so angry about? Who… "So… you're from… wherever Silver was, right?" She glanced left and right. "Tell me about it? Maybe talking about that will lighten the mood a little?"
“Okay,” Surprise nodded sadly, “It might really help, come on we might want to go back to our suite, instead of talking in the hallway.”
Surprise led the way as she spoke quietly, “It wasn’t just me and Silver. There were lots of ponies there. And other humans. My Charlie was there, but he was like Silver. He wasn’t from our world he was…”
“Luna put him in that stupid nightmare!” Diane said, snapping her vicious teeth for emphasis, “It was terrible! I saw it once! Everything was all broken and mean! And Celestia tortured humans and threw them in even worse nightmares!”
“Diane,” Surprise nuzzled the filly, “Princess Luna was trying to help. Your uncle was hurt very bad, he’d been hit by a train. Luna wanted to make things better.”
"By a train?" Night squinted faintly. Princesses had not turned out well. Luna was a huge headache, even if she was sexy. Celestia, total stuck up… Fast… Even Silver… Maybe royalty just wasn't for her… "Tell me, how did you end up with a herd, instead of, you know, the usual marriage?"
“Well,” Surprise smiled a little as they reached the door to her suite, “I met Charlie in my world. He was a lost human eating out of a dumpster. He was confused and angry, and nearly naked. I couldn’t leave him like that! I just couldn’t.”
The changelings proceeded into the room, followed by Surprise and finally Night. They all took seats as Surprise continued her story. “I let him stay in my Pinkie Cave, and we became really good friends. Almost a lot more than friends. We’d play naughty pranks, and stay up all night laughing. But… well in that world I was the element of laughter, and Charlie was… well at the time I thought it was part of his condition, but it wasn’t, he was right. Celestia really was out to get humans. Anyway I sent him away where I thought he could be safe and happy and I thought I had all the time in the world to go back and we could maybe just be us… I guess you know how that worked out…”
Night rolled a hoof as she settled onto her haunches. "I understand that, but none of it explains how you ended up in a herd. Besides, that was then, how did you do it now? I mean, if you'd rather not say, I won't pry…"
“What does Night Watch mean?” Z-978 interrupted in confusion, “How do we do what now? We are a family. We are together in a dream or in a not-time or in the world. Because if we are not together we are broken. Even Z-978 understands this.”
“I guess you could say it’s complicated,” Surprise admitted, “Each of us intercepted each other’s path before we ever met in the ‘real' world. The pieces just seemed to fall where they fit.”
“Actually in the dream, I was Charlie’s wife,” Diane bragged. “He didn’t know how old I was… or maybe he did and that’s why I could never get past snuggles…”
Night raised a brow at Diane. What a strange family she had the fortune(?) to meet. "I see, well, Night Watch is my name. I was a night guard for quite a long time, and good at it I'd say." Her wings rustled on her back. "So… not really a herd now, with no stallion."
“What does Night Watch mean we are not a herd?” Z cocked her head to the side. “Z-978 loves her sisters. Z-978’s sisters love her. We are a family. We are a herd.”
“I have to agree with Z, Night,” Surprise nodded, “What do you mean?”
"You can be a family without being a herd." She held up a hoof. "I wouldn't want to imply you're less of a family, because obviously you care about each other, but you aren't a herd. Without a stallion, there is no herd."
“I think I see what you're getting at,” Surprise scrunched her face a little in thought, “But how does it make a difference what you call it? We had a husband, and a brother, and an Uncle. Now we don’t. Now we have each other. I really don’t get where you're going with this Night, I’m really sorry…”
Was she going anywhere? Night rolled an ear back. "Sorry…" Even in her state, it seemed wrong. "You must be sad." A smile suddenly erupted over her face. "We've only met a few times, but I know what you need to do." She rose to her hooves. "They have a kitchen around here?"
“Of course we have kitchen.” Diane rolled her eyes. “These suites are for pony guests. We do know ponies have to eat food. You know that, right?”
“Diane!” Surprise scolded. “It would be nice to do some baking again. Although, I guess since smarty pants changelings don’t need to eat they don’t want cupcakes…”
“Z is not a smarty pants,” Z cut in quickly, “The other changelings remind of her this! Z-978 wants cupcakes!”
“Can we make banana bread?” Diane asked earnestly. “It was always Uncle Train Wreck’s favorite!”
“What about you, Night?” Surprise smiled. “I know that you don’t know me very well, but how about a ‘Yay We Found Another Friend We Met In An Alternate Universe Party?”
"Better than the alternative." She adjusted her glasses lightly. "I'll help, if you don't mind?"
“It’s always more fun with friends to help.” Surprise felt the hint of her first real smile since the funeral.
“What is this ‘alternative’ Night Watch speaks of?” Z whispered to her sister.
“I’m pretty sure she was totally hitting on mom.” Diane shifted her eyes left then right. “But I think it’s okay now. I’m not gonna have to see if her head will fit inside my mouth this time…”