Chapter 28: Intervening
Chapter 28: Intervening
“Alright, I was bullied in school, okay?” I said. “It ended in my senior year in high school, and I’ve gotten over it.”
Liz glanced towards the way Digit had gone. “Have you?”
“I have!” I said defensively. “I don’t care anymore!”
“How exactly were you bullied?” Trixie asked.
I gave them a deadpan expression; were we really doing this? “Nothing physical,” I said, deciding to humor them. “Mainly because, anyone who would do something like that would be kicked out of the school almost immediately. It was always verbal, or sometimes they’d toss shit at me in class when the teacher wasn’t looking… I wasn’t the most temperamental, so they just liked getting a reaction out of me. I’d been suspended a few times for losing it and throwing a punch against them, though usually they got the same.”
“And you didn’t tell your parents?” Liz asked. “Or a teacher?”
“I did!!” I said hotly. “But ninety percent of the time they said, ‘just ignore them and they’ll get bored,’ or they just gave the jackass a warning that only made them stop for a while.” My voice started growing in volume. “More often than not, they didn’t face any recourse, so that torment-bullshit spread like goddamned wildfire as I went through school, word spreading that, ‘oh, that Chris guy is a riot, just keep screwing with him and he’ll explode’! Because verbal bullying, apparently, is just some inconsequential social ‘quirk’ that’s just accepted as normal among kids, even though it can leave its mark on kids in a way that lasts way longer than any wedgie or bloody nose!!”
I suddenly realized just how loud I was talking; Liz and Trixie were leaning back, eyes wide in nervousness. I found my breath was loud and quickened, my heart pounding from my little rant.
I took a deep breath. “Sorry, I… Christ… Maybe I haven’t moved on as well as I thought.”
Liz scooched over and put a hand on my hoof. “To be honest, you have a tendency to hold grudges, too…”
I nodded. “And now we know why Digit’s so irritated.” I stood up. “I’m gonna go talk to Shining; we’re gonna sort this shit out, now… Before Digit gets pushed too far. Because if torment isn’t enough, inaction just makes it worse.”
Liz nodded. “That might be best. Maybe bring Digit to see him, too—get on even ground, you know?”
I headed towards the treeline leading to the farm; I glanced back at them. “Thanks, guys.”
- - - - -
I returned to the farm, not bothering to take my human guise. The ponies once again spotted me and held a variety of reactions, but to a lesser extent—word of my presence had probably spread. Some of the newer ponies seemed rather thrilled to see me; likely, they didn’t have their true memories back, but they were bronies and liked Chrysalis as a character, in terms of animated villains. It was flattering, in a way; I returned the smile to those who grinned and waved at me.
Right, find Digit, then find Shining, I said, peering around the farm for either of them. I noticed Shift and Echo once again helping new arrivals get settled in.
Hey, Echo?
“Yes, Mother?”
You seen Digit around?
“I think Shift saw her near the farmhouse a few minutes ago.”
Thanks.
I headed towards the building, peering around its sides before I spotted Rarity walking from the driveway. She noticed me approaching and tensed slightly—a considerable improvement from open hostility or fleeing for the hills. “Hey,” I said casually.
“Hello…” she said levelly.
I rubbed a foreleg awkwardly. “Look, sorry for the scare with the truck and the… clutch…” I said guiltily. “I figured it would cause undue drama if you guys knew… Like I told AJ, I’m not planning on hatching them anytime soon. For now, they’re staying in there.”
Rarity slowly nodded. “I understand… I… apologize for how I reacted, it may have been… extreme.”
“‘Extreme’ was Shining banging on the door ten minutes later,” I joked. “Much as I’d prefer not laying eggs for now, I wouldn’t be thrilled if Shining decided to take a hammer to them.”
“‘For now’?” Rarity asked. “So, you… You’re aware there may be no going back? No way to be human again?”
I nodded sadly. “I’m seeking to keep both the lives I knew, but this is who I am now. I can’t ignore what’ll happen after Discord is gone.”
Rarity narrowed her eyes. “What exactly will happen?”
“We’re gonna start again,” I said with a shrug. “The eggs will be the start of our new generation.”
Rarity blinked, a hint of fear in her eyes. “...And what of us?”
I hesitated; I’d hoped to keep this talk for once Discord was defeated. Sure, it could help ease the tension between us at the moment, but I wanted them to focus more on current affairs—unlike me, their concerns laid more on getting home and stopping Discord.
But surely it wouldn’t hurt to mention it? I looked her dead in the eyes. “If there’s one good thing to come of all this, it allowed me to see just how low we’d fallen. Before, we would kidnap poor souls, bind them in amber and feed off of the dreams of their loved ones. My human life gave me a fresh perspective on just how abhorrent that was; we’re starting anew. My people will… will find a different way. We’ll stem our growth in numbers, to start—part of what drove my attack on Canterlot was a concern for my people growing to number in the millions. Then, each changeling born will be… an individual. They’ll set out and find loved ones, whether they be pony, human or otherwise.”
Rarity’s fear vanished, replaced with surprise and disbelief as I explained my plans for the future. “...Are you saying you want… peace?”
I nodded. “I want it almost as much as I want Discord’s head on a pike.”
Rarity stared at me, rolling my words around in her head; for a moment, she frowned. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
I felt a pang of disappointment, though wasn’t completely surprised. I shrugged. “You don’t, I guess.”
Rarity gazed at the ground, deep in thought. After a long silence, she finally spoke. “From what I’ve seen—or, rather, haven’t seen, I… I suppose I’d be willing to give you a chance.”
I smiled. “Thank you…” I glanced around the farm. “Now, have you seen Shining around? There’s something he and I need to discuss.”
Rarity glanced towards the farmhouse. “He’s in the house speaking with that human girl.”
I frowned. “‘Human girl’?”
She nodded. “Yes, she appeared to be Japanese? She seems polite enough…”
My frown deepened. “...That’s Digit. She hates his guts, why would she want to talk with HOLY CHRIST!!!!!” Rarity jumped at my outburst as I sprinted towards the farmhouse. “WHICH ROOM IS HE IN?!”
“Door at the far left!!” Rarity cried as she galloped after me, a hint of confusion in her voice.
I barged through the door and bolted down the corridor; Twilight was coming out of the kitchen, and jumped as I sprinted past. “‘scuse me!!” I said quickly. I bolted to the door and skidded to a halt in front of it, Rarity right at my side. I wound back with my magic and threw the door open with a deafening ‘SLAM’.
Shining was there with ‘Rarity’ in his embrace; the pair immediately cast shocked looks at me in the doorway, ‘Digity’ looking more distressed than surprised at my arrival. Shining glanced between me, Rarity at my side, and finally looked at the ‘pony’ in his embrace, horrified.
“DIGIT. NAUGHTY,” I said loudly and firmly, pointing a foreleg down the hall.
Digity immediately dropped her form and detached herself from Shining. She sulked out of the room, past me and down the hall, brow furrowed bitterly. I glanced at Shining; his expression was equal parts horror and fury, his mouth, eyelids and legs twitching madly. He repeatedly stammered out noises that were probably his attempts at speaking.
Rarity leaned towards me. “You should probably leave before he snaps…” she muttered out the corner of her mouth. “Sorry…”
I nodded slowly and inched out of his view. I slowly and stiffly walked down the hall; Twilight hadn’t moved, eyes wide in confusion and tension as I passed without a word. Once I made it outside I hauled ass towards the truck—partly to talk to Digit, but mainly to escape what I felt could best be described as a ‘blast radius’.
- - - - -
I lifted the truck door; Digit was inside, lying prone among the clutch with her back to me. I climbed inside, pulled the door shut behind me and lit up my horn to illuminate the bed. I walked over and lay beside Digit; despite the look of bitter anger in her eyes, I could see tears falling down her face. “So?” I asked. “What happened?”
“You know what happened…” Digit muttered.
“What I mean is, did you two ‘do’ anything?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No!” Digit said. “And we wouldn’t have!! I was just gonna… wait until he was ‘raring to go’, then dropped the disguise, scared him, and ran away. Leave him all confused and with blue balls…”
Part of me winced at my two-week-old bringing up the concept of ‘blue balls’. “Digit, what did we talk about, not thirty minutes ago?”
“I can’t ignore him, Mom!!” Digit snapped. “I’m just sick of being treated like a time-bomb!!”
“And you think that would’ve gotten him to stop?” I asked.
“Yes—well, I…” Digit sputtered angrily. “...I don’t know, it’s just… I hated that he could keep acting like a dickhead and get away with it!!”
I sighed; if there were any doubts regarding my buried, petty grudges being imprinted on Digit, they were gone now. I stretched out a wing and laid it over her, pulling her close. “I know, baby, I know… I’m sorry.”
Digit blinked and glanced up at me. “What?”
“I should’ve acted,” I said. “I should’ve talked to him the moment I heard that he was bothering you… Instead, I just followed the philosophy that something will go away if you ignore it.”
“I wasn’t even alive, all those years ago…” Digit said, her eyes welling with tears. “But he doesn’t care, he’s so sure that all of us are monsters…”
I laid my head over her as a sob escaped her. “I know, hon… I know. He’s treated you unfairly, and no one’s the better for it.” Digit pushed her face into me, quietly sobbing; I kissed her head lovingly. “I’ll talk to him. We’ll sort it out.”
“...Am I a monster?” Digit asked.
“What?” I glanced down at her. “No!!”
“But I… he was tricked by a changeling, again!! I did exactly what we did before!!” Digit wept.
“Hey…” I said firmly. “What we did before was a vile means of survival. What you did was more or less a prank; not a very tasteful prank, sure, but it doesn’t make you a monster. You were upset, you were angry, you weren’t happy with him or me.” Digit remained silent, save for the occasional sniffle. “...If you’re feeling bad about it, maybe you should apologize,” I suggested. “The thing about monsters is, they don’t apologize.”
Digit slowly looked up at me. “...I don’t know if I can…”
I stroked her head with a hoof. “Give it time… He might not accept it now, but… forgiveness doesn’t always come overnight.”
Digit nodded slightly, then leaned against me. “I’m sorry…” she said softly.
“It’s okay, honey…” I whispered in her ear. “It’ll be okay…”
- - - - -
Digit fell asleep some time later; as we laid together I needed to put extra focus towards keeping any of the love between us from seeping into the eggs and leading to the addition of a new grub to our list of stresses. I carefully stood up, taking care not to wake Digit, and crept out of the truck.
As I climbed out, Liz, Shift, Echo and Trixie were approaching from the barn. “Rarity said something happened,” Liz said urgently.
I lifted a hoof to my mouth and made a ‘shush’ gesture. “She’s asleep in there. She… kinda pulled a prank on Shining that was a bit… tasteless.”
Trixie flinched nervously and looked towards the farmhouse. “Should we leave? If the eggs weren’t enough, this would probably…”
“This was more of a ‘personal’ thing,” I said. “I doubt it would be considered an open declaration of war, especially considering the fact that I stopped Digit before she went too far.”
“So Shining won’t be mad?” Liz asked.
A loud slam from the farmhouse made us jump; we turned to see Shining leaving the house and heading for us. “Didn’t say that…” I muttered.
Shining’s gait didn’t seem to say, ‘I’m going to tear someone a new asshole’; it was angry, sure, but it was more controlled—it was the walk of someone angry with you, but reasonable enough to let you explain yourself. Nevertheless I tensed up as he approached, clearly trying to keep his temper in line; he noticed Trixie among us but didn’t seem to care. “So…” he said hotly.
Might as well lay ALL our cards on the table. I took a breath and glanced at Shift and Echo. “It’s okay, kids.”
The pair glanced at each other and dropped their forms; Shining flinched a bit, but did nothing else. He looked between the two, then back at me. “Where’s she?”
I frowned at him. “In the truck. She’s asleep.”
“You said you weren’t planning on hatching any of your eggs,” Shining said curtly.
“And I haven’t,” I said before gesturing towards Shift and Echo. “Digit, Shift and Echo, however, are my firstborns, hatched two weeks ago from my first three eggs in a very long time. Hatching them was… well, I wouldn’t say an ‘accident’, but it happened a bit sooner than I would’ve liked…” I gave an apologetic look to Shift and Echo, but they didn’t seem to mind.
“They been well-fed?” Shining asked.
For a moment, anger overtook me—in a way, I felt he was implying I considered them as tools rather than as my kin; I stomped towards him. “I’ve been feeding them myself…” I said firmly. “Feeding them with the love that usually comes from becoming a parent.” I gestured at Liz, who seemed to be trying to keep out of Shining’s notice. “Liz has been feeding them as well; while we’re not exactly sure if she’s really a mother, she’s acted as one nonetheless.”
“Then what was that about?” Shining asked harshly.
“Changelings aren’t the mindless monsters you think us to be, Shining Armor!” I snapped. “Every changeling, from the moment they hatch, is a living, thinking being, just like any pony or human. Yes, we tend to act as a form of hive mind, but it’s more a method of communication than a lack of real identity. Digit is no exception; she is a sweet, goofy girl, who enjoys being loved much more than feeding off of it. And she does not appreciate your constant glaring and distrust towards both her, and me.”
“If you’re asking me to openly welcome our would-be conquerors…” Shining began.
I cut him off. “When I first got here, I told you I’d understand if you didn’t trust me, if you would have put me in chains… But this is too much. You’ve confused ‘caution and wariness’ with ‘bitterness and hatred’, and it’s causing so much unneeded drama!!” I advanced towards him; he didn’t back down, but I wasn’t looking to intimidate. “Discord’s uprising led to the starvation and near-extinction of my people!! Do you really think I would ever seek ANY form of allegiance with that monster?!”
Shining’s expression softened slightly, but I didn’t let up. “Digit hates how you’re treating her, how you see her as one of the monsters we used to be. What she did, however extreme and tasteless, was her way of telling you, ‘I am not okay with it’.” Shining evaded eye contact, my words clearly getting to him.
“...I just…” Shining began. “...You tried to…”
“Shining.” I sat down in front of him. “There is no way to justify what I did before. I would have turned what should’ve been the happiest day of your life into the downfall of your nation.” Shining glanced up at me. “My human life let me see just what I’d become, and I… I’m ashamed, Shining. I don’t want to be that monster again… That’s one of the reasons I came here. To try and… put my people on a better path.”
A sign of guilt flickered in Shining’s eyes; I reached out and laid a hoof on his shoulder. “Shining, I want nothing more than to help fix things… Between your kind and mine. I want peace, Shining… I want your people to forgive mine… I want you to forgive me…”
Shining took a breath. “...To be honest, I… I was only being so… so cautious because… Because of the ‘you’ I’d seen on the show.”
I frowned. “What?”
“I don’t have all my memories back,” Shining explained. “Just a few. I don’t really remember the Wedding, the Crystal Empire… The only thing I really remember is the time before Discord cursed me.”
I withdrew my hoof. “...So, this wasn’t quite as… personal?”
Shining opened his mouth to respond, but hesitated. “...Well, maybe a little… I thought it was coming from the show alone, but… I think I did feel a sense of hate towards you…” He sighed. “Either way, now I just feel like an ass… For judging you based on what I got from a TV show, no matter how accurately you may have been portrayed… I might’ve been willing to trust you if you were more like a… confused human in a changeling queen’s body, but… When I first saw you, it was clear you did remember who you were… I feared you’d gotten back to your old ways, that your attempts at civility were a sham.”
“Well, they’re not,” I said earnestly. “I do remember, Shining—everything. But what I once saw as the means to power and survival, I now know is just the act of a monster, turning herself and her kin into something horrible. Again, you have every reason to hate and distrust me—no matter how you know of my crimes—but just know, I want things to change… I want my people to no longer be seen as monsters.”
Shining stared at me; there was no anger or hostility in his eyes anymore. Finally, he took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”
I blinked. “What?”
“I was… wrong to judge you,” Shining said. “Even if I did truly remember everything, I should have considered the fact that you were human as well; it’d be hard to find anypony here who hasn’t come out differently from this disaster.” He gazed at the ground. “I don’t know if I can forget what you did, but…”
“We don’t have to be BFF’s,” I said. “We’ll just… get on friendlier terms.” I grinned. “It’ll be more fun that way when we’re curb-stomping Discord!”
Shining gave a little chuckle. “Enemy of my enemy…”
I held out a hoof. “We cool?”
Shining bumped it. “Yeah…”
A noise from the truck made me glance back. Digit was lifting the door open, gazing guiltily at Shining. She leapt down from the bed and awkwardly approached him, keeping her gaze focused on anything but him. “...Shining…” she began. “I just…”
Shining nodded solemnly. “I’m sorry, too.”
Digit smiled softly at him. “You were just protecting your friends… I get it.”
Shining smiled back; he and Digit did a reconciling hoof bump. “...Okay, so…” I said. “It’s only now that we’ve patched things over that I see how hilarious Digit’s prank would’ve been.” Liz, Trixie and the grubs laughed, Digit harder than all of them.
Shining pouted for a bit before smirking. “Wanna know exactly what we would’ve done if you hadn’t shown up?”
Digit and I immediately yelped in a ‘do not want’ manner and covered our ears. “Dick move, DICK MOVE!!” I yelled before shooting a glare at the others, who were laughing even harder. “Yeah, yeah, yuck it up, jack-offs!!”
“Hey, Shining’s the one who would’ve been banging a two-week old!” Trixie cackled.
Shining’s grin instantly dropped, his white face somehow getting noticeably paler.
“Shining Armor, why don’t you have a seat over there…” Digit said.
*Assuming you've read the latest Main Fic chapter*
Eeyup. 
And now you know why I waited to throw this one up.
"Uh, I read the Mature version, things got a bit... closer--"
I WILL TAKE... YOUR WORD FOR IT. *digs nails into desk*
Just assume the bit to be (loosely) matching with the cleaner version.
Regarding the bullying bit; I'm thinking, down the line, I'm gonna tweak the earlier bits to include that aspect of Chrys's human past... Mainly rewriting the bits with Dane in Chapter 4, and tweak Halford's involvement with Prima.
"Sounds like more than a 'tweak' to me..." Well, some small changes can lead to you making improvements all around! 
Regarding the FUTURE of this fic...
Are you ALSO writing a Side Fic? Wanna bump shoulders, collab or something? Message me, we'll work dis sheet out.
IN OTHER NEWS:
New story! Dread! Check it! Go! Do it!
"Oh, huh, okay, I might take a look at that..."
*grabs your face*
YOU. WILL. OBEY.
(Yeah, I'm hyped for Shadow of Mordor, in spite of me not being the most die-hard Tolkien fan. DEM WRAITH POWERS, MM-MMMM)
IN OTHER OTHER NEWS:
CHANGELING. MASTER. RACE.
Stats
Page generated in 0.027 seconds
Total duration
667 users online
787,722 hits today, 2,004,447 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Chrysalis is best queen!
What did he expect? That Digit was also a transformed Human?
The crossover section didn't quite sync perfectly as far as dialogue, but that's to be expected.
Still, glad to see there is an understanding now, should help smooth things over.
Here's an idea, maybe Chris can surrogate the eggs out to each pony to dole their love on and hatch! Wait, no, forget that, that's a terrible idea! Sorry!
Keep going! ;)
Chrys just described my childhood with that bullying thing. If I have kids, I'm telling them to go ahead and beat them up. ...Okay I probably won't but damn I want to!
...I just realized that's exactly what Digit just did and I feel bad.
Still support Frontier Justice.
Sounds like I'd better go read the new 5s/4 chapter.
Also the largest reason for me voting for Chrysalis in that poll was this fic.
Haha! A Two week old turned Shinying on! Pedo alert!
YES, YES WE ARE
Congratulations on finally being properly confirmed as part of Five Score canon. Prior to the latest main fic chapter it was technically possible that the other Chrysalis side fic was canon, thanks to TwistedSpectrum keeping things vague wherever possible, but the latest chapter appears to be the proverbial final nail in the coffin. You have now joined the ranks of The Last Crusade as being an inarguably canon sidefic.
There are a couple other implicitly canon fics, as well as a couple OCs from side fics that have made an appearance but technically don't have such explicit confirmation.
You have the worst timing ever! I was just about to sleep when you updated this!
I'm shocked that I found this story by accidentally clicking a random link, I'm also shocked that I went ahead and read what is there in a couple of hours. Keep up the good work.
"Digity"?
Naw, PC Master Race.
3854286
Digity: Digit-Rarity. Dig-ity. Digity.
And I, too, enjoy PC Gaming; my Alienware laptop's served me (relatively) well for three years and counting. I still get some titles on consoles, though, mainly out of fear my PC might not be able to handle it; I'd never be able to upgrade it myself, I'm hopeless on the more tech-heavy side of things. But still, yes, PC gaming is the tits... so long as developers put some effort into a good port.
Changlings rule, nuff said.
3854755
Digity just made me think of...
i.imgur.com/gbb94wE.png
I suggest you make a PC if you ever get the chance. Logical Increments is a good place to start and the guys over at r/buildapc are always willing to help. Then, once you are finished, you can post the build to a circlejerk.
Wow this story is like... Cannon now. Happens to be the only side fic I have ever touched XD Brilliant chapter as always, here's hoping the main fic continues with constant updates :O
3857878 "Canon" not "cannon". One is the established story, one is the weapon that shoots big balls at people, ships, and various other things. Or confetti, take your pick.
When and where was this poll? GOD DAMN IT.
3860171 It's on Equestria Daily.
...DON'T TELL ME YOU DON'T VISIT EQUESTRIA DAILY.
YOU HEATHEN!!
HEEEAAAAAATHEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNN
3860246 I guess I'll keep my 'heathen' mouth shut
I think Chrysalis just invade Crystal Empire because her children were starving.
To make Chrysalis seem less...... well you know
3860250
Heh, ditto.
Definitely relate to the bullying story. I eventually came to the conclusion that parents and staff and such simply don't give a damn so they say whatever cliched thing or half-assed attempt that passes as "support" or adherence to the disciplinary policy.
For all his behavior earlier, even I feel the need to comfort Shining for the realization at the end. I think Trixie broke him.
3859574 ah thank you for correcting me, know knows how long I could have continued in blissful falsities XD
Mmmph... I've finished the chapter and I've put it on the site, but... I just can't... seem to reach... the 'Publish' button...
(Once I get something sorted out, it'll go up. Until then, I shall enjoy your furious, envious tears...
)
3867901 As Pinkie Pie would say...
dashie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw3530_small.jpg
Oh, and you're welcome. ;-)
3868138 You trolling *yay*, you dare withhold the latest chapter? I'll *buysomeapples* ya hear me?!
Hey, uhhh.... I read the Mature version, and Digit totally got *Censored for possible non-mature viewers* and then the [Redacted] with a jackhammer right up the *You don't want to know*
LOL
No, but didn't Chrysalis say "NO, BAD CHANGELING" not "NAUGHTY CHANGELING"?
From this chapter:
From the main story:
This incongruity is bugging me, especially as it was perfectly well avoidable.
I'm surprised that digit did not get at least grounded for her actions
..... what would a changeling equipment of a spanking be anyway?
3992149 Author's notes aren't really intended to be part of the story, they're more like the acknowledgements at the end of a book, or an intro written by the author.
CHANGELING MASTER RACE WOOOOOO!
Buh--loooop. Bloop.
ALL HAIL CHRYSI!!!!pinkie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw3075-Itsjustsomelancholy_d60d3a373fff6c0dd26808c9ae96128b.gif
And wittle woona too. pre05.deviantart.net/249e/th/pre/i/2013/318/5/3/happy_woona_by_starlyk-d6u8sjs.png
And the fic just keeps getting better and better. I love the characterisations, how the characters play off each other. And I like how Chryssie's two lives changed her.
I have Shadow of Mordor (Game of the Year Edition) Its so much fun to create armies of orcs and kill more orcs
I think Chrysalis's life as a human is coloring her feelings about her past actions a bit. While capturing ponies and feeding off them in cocoons is obviously immoral, it was also a choice between that and starving, and it's a hell of a lot better than killing them in a war.