2 - Communication is Critical
Everypony had reacted in their own way to Chrysalis' recovery. Princess Celestia had been the most wary but she had good reason for that. Twilight's friends were more accepting but that was only relatively speaking. Pinkie Pie's fearless, unquestioned, and rather exuberant acceptance didn't count. Nopony but Twilight Sparkle herself really had the guts to walk right up to the former queen and offer friendship. But even that was by a slim amount. Not wanting to admit it, Twilight Sparkle had been a tad scared with being so close to the large black changeling. The wedding incident trauma had probably played some role in those feelings but, in recent days, Twilight had not felt any fear so perhaps it had finally melted away.
One way or another, things had worked out. Chrysalis had fully recovered with the then-unicorn's help and took up residence in the Ponyville library. The princess didn't necessarily intend for it to end up that way but there was simply no other place for the changeling to go. She would not be accepted anywhere and, even if she was, she needed Twilight around to prevent starvation.
Friendship had become the changeling's source of food. Or, at least, that's what Twilight assumed. What else could she come up with to explain the changeling's recovery? But in spite of the initial theories and conclusions, the now-alicorn was beginning to wonder if she would ever understand how Chrysalis survived or continued to thrive. The exact method of changeling emotional consumption was hard to understand and their general culture was even worse.
"You don't need to escort me around," Princess Twilight Sparkle stated pointedly to the two guards that walked alongside her. They both looked like they expected an attack at any second and almost seemed to believe it would come from the large black pony-like thing that was also escorting their purple responsibility.
"It is imperative that your Highness remain safe," the guard on the left replied.
"We will forfeit our lives so that you may safely escape any danger," the guard on the right added.
Twilight was about to continue the debate when Chrysalis spoke instead. "I will eliminate anything that would pose a threat to Queen Twilight Sparkle."
The guards looked like they wanted to respond in some way but had difficulty in deciding how. A queen should technically be a higher rank than a princess so they couldn't imply that Twilight deserved a lower rank. That would be an insult to their master. Nor could they imply that Chrysalis should not protect the alicorn. That would insinuate treason. In the end, it wasn't even their right to suggest who should and should not be accompanying Twilight if she had permitted the accompaniment in the first place. So they moved their mouths wordlessly for a second and then shut them entirely.
"Queen?" Twilight raised a brow to her dark friend. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"Exactly. I thought you knew all along," Chrysalis buzzed happily. She must have believed that she already had everything that she wanted out of life because her mood was far too positive.
"Excuse me for missing the hints. I'm not exactly an expert on changeling societal norms yet," Twilight bleated as they continued their leisurely walk.
It would be nice when they reached their destination, the princess thought. Fluttershy's cottage was a much calmer place than most unless the pegasus was dealing with one of Angel Bunny's hissy fits. Twilight liked to assume that wouldn't be the case whenever she decided to visit. It resulted in much happier thoughts en route.
Of course, it hadn't been Twilight's idea to visit this time. It had been Chrysalis' suggestion and why that was the case Twilight didn't yet know. The changeling wouldn't say and the alicorn decided to go along because she wanted to see each of her five friends anyways.
"Oh, but you've been extremely accepting of me, Twilight. I can't expect anything in return and I really shouldn't. I would have died if not for you," Chrysalis mentioned for the millionth time.
Perhaps that was why she had transformed into something of a servant since Twilight had saved her. Perhaps she even believed that she had some life debt with the princess. So then, how did changelings deal with life debts in comparison with, say, dragons?
"I'd tell you to stop saying that over and over again but I already know that you won't. And on that same point, is failure to cease mentioning your salvation not a form of disobedience to your ruler when you are explicitly ordered not to?" Twilight half-joked while again slipping into a tone that was far too elegant. She began to suspect that Princess Celestia had slipped some speech spell over her to guarantee a princess-like tonality.
"If you really order me to then I will stop," Chrysalis replied gravely. Her happy mood switched off momentarily as she considered the seriousness of Twilight's suggestion.
Not actually meaning to be serious, the alicorn felt a little guilty. But it was a passing feeling. Might as well, she decided. "Yes. I'll make it an order. Cease going on about how I saved you. And also cease any similar remarks. I prefer you as a friend, not a servant. If only these guards will listen..."
Both of the stallions stiffened at the call-out. But neither had further time to consider it or respond as the entire party had arrived at the cottage. Whether it be day or night, the little house regularly appeared the prime example of tranquility. A few birds even flew by to perch on a nearby tree and chirp happily. If Twilight could speak bird then she might have understood that the two cardinals were singing a poem about the kindness of Fluttershy. But Twilight didn't speak or understand bird language so that fact was lost on everypony present.
Knock knock, rattled the door as the princess tapped her hoof against it.
"Coming," echoed a soft and gentle voice from inside. Not two moments later, the door opened.
"Good morning, Fluttershy," Twilight beamed once again with the happiness of greeting a long-time friend.
Fluttershy smiled in return while stepping aside to let the princess in, but flinched noticeably when she saw the changeling to the side.
"Oh, Twilight. Good morning," her voice wavered in nervous anticipation. What exactly the anticipation was for was unknown. To her, Chrysalis was still scary. Anything might happen.
"It's okay," the princess calmed her friend as she stepped into the cottage with the changeling in tow. "You know Chrysalis is as harmless as a marshmallow now."
The two guards took positions outside of the door, which only worked to continue the yellow mare's flustered state. Feeling just a tad awkward and closing the door again, she turned to her two guests.
"T-tea?"
"I prefer love," Chrysalis joked and received a purple elbow to her side.
"I don't think I can..." Fluttershy flustered even more.
"We're both fine," Twilight explained. "To be honest, I just wanted to check up on everypony since I haven't seen you all since yesterday's coronation. I really didn't want that to be our last meeting and it feels like it's been months already."
"Oh...yes..." mumbled the pegasus as she walked over to her sofa and curled up on it. Something was very off.
As Twilight approached her friend, Angel Bunny started giving Chrysalis mean expressions. A bunny-changeling war erupted behind the alicorn princess but she didn't take any notice. Instead, she laid a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder.
"Did something happen when I was still in Canterlot?" she questioned.
Fluttershy sighed deeply and then came out with it. "We were on the train talking about what it was going to be like when you came back. Everypony was so excited. I thought that poor Dashie was going to blow a fuse waiting for you to return. She's always wanted a flying partner and I'm just not any good with my wings."
Twilight looked downwards, feeling in an awkward position.
"I guess I just feel kind of," the butter-yellow mare winced before saying, "useless."
"Fluttershy," Twilight attempted to reprimand gently. "Nopony is useless, especially not you. You're the element of kindness for Pete's sake. And you're one of my best friends."
"I know," the pegasus replied in that faint whisper that was hard to hear.
Twilight took on a lop-sided look. Day one as princess and she already had a friendship problem. All she wanted to do today was take a quick round through Ponyville and spend some time with her friends. But now she had to figure out how to make Fluttershy feel that she wasn't getting pushed to the back of the train.
"How about we do something together?" Twilight rubbed a forehoof across the yellow wings. "Oh! We can do a research project together and it'll just be our secret!"
Fluttershy turned her face and looked the purple mare straight in the eyes. "That's something only you want to do, Twilight," the pegasus suddenly declared.
It was so blunt and unexpected to hear from the quiet and shy mare that Twilight felt her entire world turn to stone and crumble.
Luckily, Chrysalis made a noise behind them and snapped the alicorn out of her despair.
"H-how about a picnic then? You're always going on picnics with your animals."
"Oh, but Angel is on strike right now," came Fluttershy's swift response.
"Seriously?" deadpanned the alicorn.
The changeling was next for a suggestion. "We can improve your critter homes. And yours too while we're at it," Chrysalis buzzed cheerfully. "Your 'Angel' has already given his approval."
Both the element of magic and kindness peered around Chrysalis' large black form to discover the rabbit had been tied with a rope, gagged, and blindfolded. Twilight made a mental note to check her house when she got back. She expected that's where the materials came from but still wondered exactly why the changeling had thought to bring the proper equipment for hostage-taking.
Fluttershy "eeped" as she scurried over to her pet bunny.
"Oh, Angel," the pegasus sighed. "You really must be more considerate of others."
It was funny in that odd way that the comment was directed at the rabbit rather than the changeling. It was probably a result of the mare's slightly improved boldness in handling tough customers. Angel really was something of a bully, after all.
"I'm not sure if 'improvement' is the word that you mean," the princess directed at her insect-like friend.
"Oh, it is," Chrysalis insisted as Fluttershy released and tried to calm an enraged Angel Bunny. "Your bedroom has improved vastly. You already agreed to that."
Twilight Sparkle squinted back. That matter was still officially undecided.
"Well, I doubt Fluttershy will want to make any vast changes. Her house is extremely complex to account for all of the different animal life."
"You consider this," Chrysalis gestured to the various holes, walkways, and birdhouses, "complex? I'd create something twice as complex everyday for the hatcheries."
"But," Twilight started to stall. "Hive chambers are unnatural for these critters. Squirrels," she pointed a hoof to one nearby, "are not changelings."
"Spike is not a changeling either but he rather enjoyed it," Chrysalis responded with the resolve to not be deterred from her course.
"Spike doesn't count," Twilight deadpanned again. “He'll sleep anywhere if he's tired enough. Besides,” she tilted her head up and closed her eyes, entering that unusually regal mode again. “Animals don't have the same sense of logical adaption as ponies do in relation to long-term lifestyle modification. There are at least four books in my library that specifically-”
Twilight stopped herself short when she started opening her eyes again and found that Chrysalis had turned from her and was accompanying Fluttershy to her bedroom. “Fluttershy!” the purple alicorn pouted in retaliation, as she believed that she was being ignored.
Fluttershy looked back to her friend without breaking stride. “Oh, I know, Twilight. But it's only polite if I try it out, right? The animals won't mind if it's only my bedroom.”
Twilight gaped and then trotted to catch up. “But you're okay with it? Just like that?”
“It was very nice of,” Fluttershy practically flinched but didn't move away from the changeling beside her, “Chrysalis to offer. Discord needed some room to be himself and we're all the better for it. Why should it be any different now?”
Twilight felt like she had a million arguments against it and she knew she still had some issues with the way Fluttershy handled things. But she also knew that the yellow mare could be quite adamant when she put her mind to doing something and it was not as if Chrysalis was going to do any harm. If anything, Fluttershy might even like the sleep ring. So why was Twilight feeling so strongly against it?
Chrysalis had meant yesterday's renovation to be a special present to her for the coronation. Something special. As the three of them entered Fluttershy's bedroom, Twilight kept her mouth shut as she contemplated. Was she being...
Jealous?
“Perhaps I will just put a small sleep ring in the corner,“ Chrysalis commented as she took in the room and discussed the matter with Fluttershy. “Otherwise it will take all day and I wouldn't want to spend so much time and energy over something that you might not like.”
The tone of the changeling's voice very much indicated that she knew Fluttershy would like it. That fact, however, was lost to the alicorn who was too busy wondering why Chrysalis would offer to Fluttershy what she had first gifted to her “Queen.” Something was up. But then something always seemed to be up these days.
“Oh, well,” Fluttershy flustered again. She seemed to be trying to approach Chrysalis in a similar fashion to the way she approached Discord. Nevertheless, she still feared the changeling more than she ever feared the draconequus. “If it's not too much trouble or anything...”
“Hardly,” Chrysalis waved her hoof as if to dismiss the notion. “You are, after all, one of Twilight's dear friends.”
The purple pony caught the changeling's tone that indicated she had forced herself not to prefix her name with a title. She had probably forced herself not to say “Queen Twilight.” But now the alicorn's suspicions turned into hard fact. Twilight was not one to be slow on the uptake so she spoke her mind. “Chrysalis,” Twilight called.
“Yes, Twilight?” the changeling again strained against speaking the prefixed title.
“What are you doing?” the princess inquired plainly.
Fluttershy looked down, not knowing where she belonged at the moment.
Chrysalis' smile had stuck and did not falter now. “Just being friendly and helpful. You should go do something with Fluttershy while I prepare the ring. It will take a bit of time.” She turned to face the pegasus. “Off you go then.”
“Oh, um,” the shy mare stumbled quickly over her words before giving up. “Okay.”
Twilight would have done something herself if the changeling didn't shoo her out of the room as if she were a young filly. Perhaps it would be best to leave Chrysalis alone and let her do what she wanted. At the very least, the princess was confident that whatever she had planned would not be harmful or dangerous. She knew she could trust the pseudo-pony at least that much.
The purple and yellow ponies were walking outside, having left Fluttershy's cottage. The day had good weather and the breeze made the mild heat quite bearable. But there was still something wrong with the pegasus because a vague dampness hung in the air between them.
“You sure you don't need to take care of any of the animals back at your place?” the princess asked politely.
Fluttershy nodded but didn't answer until they had tread long enough for the pause to be awkward. “I took care of everything already. I have to be up extra early every day so that I can be there when the animals wake up.”
Twilight gave her own nod in return but her brow remained at a suspicious tilt. “Fluttershy,” she tried again to approach the subject from earlier in the cottage.
“Oh, it's not your fault, Twilight,” the mare replied with a sobbing tone. “You're just doing what you've always been meant to do and I...”
Her voiced trailed off to such a quiet tone that the alicorn couldn't hear it. Seeing that the mare had lowered her head and hid her face behind her mane, Twilight knew that she should just give her friend some time. So they walked on for a few minutes, passing trees and grassy hills at a leisurely pace with no end destination in mind.
“I'm not good enough to be your friend,” Fluttershy finally whispered just loud enough for Twilight to hear over the breeze and sound of their hooves.
“That's not true,” Twilight responded, realizing that she had done so too quickly and loudly. The yellow pony beside her had flinched as both of them came to a halt on the country trail. The princess sighed to make herself calm before turning to face the other directly. “You know that's not true,” she said softer and more gently, putting a hoof on her friend's shoulder. “If anything, I'm not good enough to be your friend. You're always so kind and considerate towards me. Forgiving me every time I do something wrong...” Stretching out her wings without realizing it, Twilight closed in and gave the butter-yellow mare a hug. Everything snapped together like a perfect and complete puzzle in Twilight's mind. She knew exactly how to reason out the matter with her friend.
“Twilight,” Fluttershy said more than asked, not quite understanding the gesture. Why would a princess want to be around her, let alone hug her?
“Sometimes you just need to give it a little thought and you'll figure it out,” the alicorn said as she deepened the hug. It was one of those rare times where she was right up against Fluttershy's mane and could smell that faint lavender scent. She had noticed it long ago only because it was rather uncommon.
“Huh?” the pegasus said, now even more confused.
Twilight leaned back from the hug but kept her hooves on the other's shoulders. “It's simple. If you believe that I've changed into some incredible princess then my decisions should be sound, correct?”
Fluttershy didn't react at first but then slowly nodded her head as if she was still trying to grasp the situation.
“And if I decide that you are an incredible friend then it must be true,” the princess continued.
Again Fluttershy nodded slowly, if even a tad slower.
“Thus, you must be an incredible pony. Isn't logic great?” Twilight beamed like a school filly.
“But-”
Not to let Fluttershy come to any other conclusion, Twilight leaned forward and hugged her again. This time becoming more serious and speaking softly into her ear. “I'm not some incredible pony, Fluttershy. I'm the same Twilight Sparkle that I was when I first came to Ponyville - just a little wiser about the importance of friendship. My wings and title make no difference to who I really am. And they certainly don't change the fact that you are very important to me.”
Letting out a sigh of mixed relent and relief, Fluttershy leaned her head back against her friend's. She closed her eyes for a moment and then pushed back out of the hug with her front hooves. “I'm sorry I made such a fuss,” she apologized.
“It wasn't a fuss,” Twilight smiled back faintly, knowing to be gentle as possible with the shy mare. She always had to be gentle to not upset the very sensitive pegasus. “It was how you felt and I'm glad you were willing to tell me.”
“I promise not to be a bother again,” she turned to look at the ground.
The alicorn sighed this time in exasperation, knowing that the issue might not have truly been resolved. “You're not a bother. And do tell me next time you start feeling this way because I want to be with you to cheer you up.”
Fluttershy blushed faintly and spoke again nearly to the point of not being heard. “That...would be nice...”
Chrysalis blinked twice in an attempt to clear her mind. Or perhaps to fill it up. The lack of the hivemind's presence had been painful of late and she couldn't wait to fix it. But, at the same time, she needed to keep Fluttershy's bedroom door shut so that the animal noises wouldn't interrupt her focus.
Creating a linked sleeping ring was actually rather complicated because it was, essentially, the application of persistent magic that could link multiple minds across great distances. Changelings, being of a hivemind, only had need of such chambers for two typical reasons. First, for hatchlings that had not yet developed a strong enough hivemind to maintain a regular connection. Second, for communication between whole or celled hives.
But this one was going to be problematic. Chrysalis had built the more complex hive quarters on occasion but had only learned about the method in which to create a linked ring as part of her leadership studies. She never actually used that knowledge in practice. Sure, she had said that she helped build hatcheries, but she hadn't mentioned that she had “passed the bit” on the more magically complicated parts. How could she have guessed that she'd ever have need to create something other than a basic sleeping ring?
It was one thing to mold the magical link for use between changelings but it was entirely another matter to do it successfully between different species. Chrysalis would have to set it up for Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns in addition to at least one alicorn, dragon, and changeling. With a smug grin, the former queen assured herself that she would deserve a golden trophy for ingenuity if she pulled it off. Not if but when, she reminded herself proudly.
That was when she opened the bedroom window and peered outwards in search of materials. Spotting all that she needed in the magically-reachable distance, her horn came aglow with green energy. The detritus began lifting and moving towards the cottage even as it began morphing in midair into the clod material.
The changeling strained and started to sweat under the drain, trying to distract herself from growing hunger with some mental planning. It would be challenging for the plan to succeed if Twilight found out too soon. The purple mare would have to already be under enough connections to see the sense of it.
Or perhaps an extra emotional hivemind connection would help...
No, the green-maned changeling attempted to prevent the thought. It would be no good if too much of Fluttershy found its way to Twilight. There was no need to go fusing personalities. Especially if it was with that frightened little one.
Still, Chrysalis would have to deal with the guards before evening since that would be when they switched for the night-shift. The current two with day-shift were the ones from last night. She knew without a doubt that they were the ones that had pulled the princess' carriage from Canterlot because she had been watching out a window when Twilight had returned the previous night.
While that white snob of a princess had prevented Chrysalis from participating in any of Twilight's coronation process, the changeling had used her wits to find out all that she needed. The two guards that pulled the carriage were not the only two. There was a second pair that switched on twelve hour shifts out of a low-profile cottage on the edge of Ponyville.
But that wasn't all that she had found out. The guards were strict enough in their duty but pretty sloppy when they were off-duty and not sleeping. The two that had carried Twilight home were new but the other two had been in Ponyville for a few days, which was how the changeling had figured out what she needed to know. It had also made her more suspicious of Celestia because the white alicorn had obviously been doing some under-the-table planning of her own.
A loud knock from the animals outside the bedroom interrupted Chrysalis' thoughts. Just as well, she thought as she rolled her eyes. The clod was all ready and situated into the appropriate piles in the room. It was time to create.
One minute.
Five minutes.
Twenty minutes.
After the fortieth one passed, Chrysalis was done with the ring itself. It almost looked like a meteor had burned a black spot in the corner of Fluttershy's bedroom. But that was only because it was daytime, the windows were not filtered, and the yellow mare's room was decorated in light pastels that spoke much of her personality.
Now, the changeling laid into the ring and lowered her head so that it was pointing into the spot where the ring pushed back against the corner of the wall. Touching her horn to the correct location, she made a magical connection to the ring's inner workings and made the appropriate adjustments. Just the kind of modifications she needed to make her plan work.
When she heard a commotion outside that indicated the two mares were back, she rushed to finish and leaped out of the ring. She was just in time as Fluttershy opened the door gently and poked her head in.
“Finished? Oh, I hope I'm not bothering you...” the butter-yellow pegasus said. Twilight leaned around her so she could also see in.
“Oh, yes. Just in time, in fact,” Chrysalis almost purred in satisfaction. She couldn't wait to see the results of her work when nighttime came around again.
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Yes, communication is very important......especially when you plan to link the minds of several people you know of course. Just saying Chrysalis, it might not be a good idea.
Goddammit Chrysalis, you idiot.
raise hoofs those who think that is almost a CMC dumbass idea ???
two here !!!
3019995
/)
Make that three.
3002821 fic updates far earlier than expected.
My reaction:
i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/429/265/bff.gif
I've got no idea if Chrysalis has some sort of scheme going on or whether she's just desperately lonely in that head of hers.
3019995>>3020381
/)
make that four!
Hopefully Twi will be able to handle the influx of thoughts from the others, while Speaking sternly with Chrysalis. I mean she's already developed a crush for the changeling it's just a matter of pushing the relationship a bit further without Celestia finding out.
You made nice plot twist here, i though it will be some blant story but i was wrong and good
3020612
I guess a bit of both
3019815
well yes but from the changeling point of view it is a good idea to ensure the hive grows and the queen gets more power. Twilight doesn´t seem to get that being called queen by chrysalis is a lot more heavy than she thinks^^
3019995
i raise 4 *falls to the ground* worth it
Nice twist. The process of the hive mind is an interesting bit of information. It's discovery will undoubtedly cause some friction down the road. I wonder... how will Celstia's little ponies handle this?
Well THIS should be interesting.
3019995
Now I'm picturing her screaming something long the lines of "Changeling Mind Crusader ring buildr, yay!"
Now I have to fave yet another story for updates.
This could be good.
I have a bad feeling about how this story is going to treat the concept of informed consent. Is this going to require a Dark tag?
Sneaky maths is sneaky
Nice chapter by-the-by
3023265
eeeeyup
3022529
*Levitates two ponies upside down*
And raise you eight.
I'm glad so many ponies are enjoying this. I hope you continue to as well.
Don't forget to relax and enjoy your time here on fimfiction.net. It may sound odd of me to say that but I know how easy it is to get lost in the swing of things and forget to simply have fun.
So take a deep breathe, relax, and be awesome!
Chrysalis is being anything but subtle.
Thank goodness for her these ponies are about as intelligent as the local government of Detroit!
If it were me, I'd have suspected her of trying to transform me from the start and torn her head clean off her body.
Nopony tries dat shit with me and lives.
“I'm not some incredible pony, Fluttershy. I'm the same Twilight Sparkle that I was when I first came to Ponyville - just a little wiser about the importance of friendship. My wings and title make no difference to who I really am. And they certainly don't change the fact that you are very important to me.”
Well said.
Let me know if I'm getting this right. The lack of a hivemind is causing Chrysalis pain, so she is going to try and create a hivemind affect by linking sleep rings with Twilight as the queen?
There is no way Sparkle will flip her lid over this, nope nope nope.
3124829 Ponyville: We're not Detrot!
3026604
I see your eight... And raise you 24.
Come on girls!
4842283
The plot thickens! And probably cause it's changeling goop.
To an extent, a fun plot always trumps writing quality, imo. *takes out popcorn*
Knew there was something up with the ring....
5500502
You have an unhealthy obsession with plots.
Home improvement changeling edition.
Wow, these guards are very dedicated, both in words and actions. Dedicated to the point of being comedic.
WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO FLUTTERSHY!?!?!
Accept the royal logic, Fluttershy, because you are a great pony.
Aha, an agenda is revealed! A good-intentioned if probably-going-to-backfire one from the looks of it, though.
Eh… who’s Pete?
10911799
Celestia, but ponies didn't want to use her name in an exclamation with a negative connotation. At first they tried to use Petestia, but that was as mouthful as her actual name, so only first half sticked.