Epilogue: Love, and the Joy it Holds
Epilogue: Love, and the Joy it Holds
Two Days Later
“Scion and Kaz’tik,” I said to the two Royals before me. “I charge the pair of you with leading those of our brood who have chosen to remain in Equestria. You are to ensure their comfort and well-being, and to see that changeling integration into Equestrian society proceeds smoothly. Do you accept this charge?”
“Yes, my Queen…” The pair said, bowing low.
“I’ve already made arrangements with Princess Twilight,” I continued. “She has granted her blessing for the construction of a hive cluster, just outside Ponyville. In return, the remaining brood is to grant what aid it can in the reconstruction of Ponyville. Each changeling is to earn their place in society. Your duty is to manage these efforts, and deal with any difficulties faced by our brood.”
I glanced behind me; about half of the new brood had volunteered to return with me to Earth, and were waiting patiently in the center of town, ready to proceed through the relocated portal at a moment’s notice. Liz, Shift, Echo and Trixie were standing directly behind me, each loaded with dusty old saddlebags. Shining, Twilight and Dash were standing some ways down the street.
I addressed Scion and Kaz’tik again. “Know that, when the portal closes, I will not be able to aid you any further for the next two and a half years. I will return at my next opportunity, though I am unsure whether I will be staying for that next cycle or simply visiting. Whatever the case, you two are responsible for ensuring a peaceful, prosperous future for our kind, here in Equestria.” I leaned towards them, my voice softening. “This is a heavy, heavy burden. If you have any doubts…”
The pair shook their heads firmly. “None, my Queen,” Scion said.
“Nor I,” Kaz’tik said, his head held high.
I smiled and straightened myself. “Then it is decided; Lords Scion and Kaz’tik shall lead our people here in Equestria for the foreseeable future.”
The pair sprung to a salute; the Equestrian swarm behind them began cheering, wings buzzing happily. “For the Swarm!” Scion cried happily.
“For Equestria!” Kaz’tik yelled in reply.
Casting formality aside, I leaned down and hugged the pair. “I have faith in you two…” I said.
The pair hugged me back. “We’ll miss you, mother…” Kaz’tik said.
“More than anything…” Scion replied.
“I’ll miss all of you…” I said; tears were welling in my eyes, but I held them back.
We broke the hug and parted. Scion and Kaz’tik turned to their swarm. “Let us rebuild!” Scion cried. She pointed to a portion of the Equestrian Swarm. “Aid those on the edge of the Everfree who are harvesting lumber!”
Kaz’tik gestured to the rest. “Assist in cleaning the debris from the buildings still standing!”
The swarm buzzed in affirmation, and took off to perform their respective tasks. Scion and Kaz’tik flew out to oversee the efforts, pausing to turn and give me one last wave of farewell.
I smiled and waved back, managing to hold back the tears in my eyes. “Stay safe…” I said.
Liz walked up beside me and nuzzled my neck. “They’ll be fine…”
I nodded. “Yeah.” I turned and approached the Earth Swarm, who were unloading crates from a number of carts. Most crates had some of the eggs I’d laid over the past couple days—I was leaving most of them in Equestria to be incubated—while some had a great deal of gems, courtesy of a few of Varn’s friends—their way of saying that their peace with the ponies extended to us as well.
I was more interested in examining the cart closest to the portal, though. It hurt to approach, but I wanted to be sure it would be ready to be carried through. Sighing heavily, I stood at the side of the cart and beheld the simple casket upon it. It wasn’t the prettiest, but it would do until we could get home and make proper arrangements. It seemed sturdy enough, but I’d asked Twilight to do what she could in making sure it wouldn’t be damaged as it went through the portal. A faint purple glow surrounding it told me she’d delivered.
I laid a hoof on the casket lid, this time not bothering to hold back the tears. “We’re going home, baby…” I whispered.
I looked to the side and saw Dash, Shining and Twilight approaching, trying to look as tactful and respectful as possible. “So, you’re… heading back?” Dash asked; the healing spells seemed to have worked wonders on her, seeing how she’d essentially been ‘broken’ by the end of the battle.
They did more for her than they could for--
I immediately stamped that thought down, doused it in gasoline and flicked a lit match on it.
“Yeah…” I said. “I’ve… I can’t leave my family behind… My human life is the reason we stand here as… friends… And I don’t want to leave any of it in the dust.”
“Did I hear right that you… remain a changeling, when you come out the other side?” Shining asked, jerking his head towards the portal.
I nodded. “Changelings are master shapeshifters; as such, we tend to be more resistant to forced transformations, where they either don’t work or fade quicker. That’s why I was… well, fully ‘committed’ just a day in.”
“And that’s why Digit was still a changeling when she came--” Liz began, but quickly stopped talking, casting a shocked, apologetic glance up at me.
I nuzzled her head. “Don’t worry about it.”
Shining stepped forward. “So what’s your brood gonna do? In terms of… secrecy?”
“I’m thinking we lay low from the public eye for a while,” I replied. “When we get a decent place to hole up, I’ll get in contact with the US Government, and we’ll see if we can arrange a civilized integration into human society.”
“Metaphorical fingers crossed, things don’t blow up…” Liz said.
“But if things work out, we can work on getting my brood everything we need to become citizens,” I said. “IDs, social security numbers, things like that…”
Twilight’s gaze drifted over to Trixie. “You’re going back too, Trixie?”
Trixie nodded. “Same story as Chrys, I… I don’t want to leave my family… And I promised that I’d come back, soon as I could. Not sure what I’ll do there, though; I’ll probably use some of these gems to get my own place, near home.”
“You might still be able to be a track star,” I joked, though with a hint of optimism.
Trixie chuckled. “...But then, I think… Next time the portal opens, I’ll come back here… Maybe my family will join me. Either way...” She reached into her bag and withdrew a familiar hat and cape. “I think I’ll give showbiz another go,” she finished with a wry smile.
I turned back to Shining and Twilight. “Now, my people staying here are gonna work to earn their place in your society. These are not just my people—they’re my children.” I learned towards them, my tone becoming more serious. “I have your word, you will protect and aid them, just as they would protect and aid you?”
Twilight stood tall and nodded. “You have my word, as Princess, Queen Chrysalis.”
“And mine as well,” Shining said, bowing low.
I smiled gratefully at them. “Lords Scion and Kaz’tik are the ones leading the brood here; just call on them if you need anything from the swarm.”
“You’re coming back, right?” Shining asked.
I raised an eyebrow at him and smirked. “Grown fond of me, Shining Armor?”
Shining sputtered, caught off guard. “I-- what?”
“I’ll have you know…” I said, nose pointed high; I pulled Liz closer with a foreleg. “That I am spoken for. Hmph!” I dropped the ploy and gave him a good hearted smile, which he returned. “Yeah, I’m coming back, next cycle. Not just because I’ll wanna see how our brood’s doing here, of course.”
Shining held out a hoof. “Then… until we meet again.”
I smiled and bumped his hoof. “...D’aww, c’mere.” I suddenly reached out and pulled him into a tight hug; he initially squirmed uncomfortably, but then returned the hug.
“...All of ya,” I said, glancing around. “Come on.” My horn lit up, and I pulled Twilight, Dash, Liz, Trixie, Shift and Echo in for one big group hug.
After a moment, the nine of us parted--
Wait, nine?
“Bye, Chrys!” Pinkie chirped, still hugging me tight. “And don’t worry! I’ll make the big “Changelings Make Peace With Ponies” party one of the best I could ever throw!”
“I have no doubts, Pinkie,” I replied.
The hug lasted until a good five seconds after it started feeling a tad weird, then Pinkie bounced off happily; it wasn’t surprising that such good cheer could survive even the darkest times.
“Alright…” I said, turning back towards my group. “We’ve probably… another half hour, I think, before the portal closes, let’s start bringing things over.” The brood buzzed in acknowledgement, began hefting crates and carried them through the portal.
Trixie gave Twilight, Dash and Shining one final hug before heading towards the portal.
With a low sigh, I slowly approached the cart bearing Digit’s casket. I lifted it gently in my magic, and delicately moved it towards the portal; Shift and Echo nodded at me, then headed through to take the casket on the other side.
“I’ve made sure it’ll come out the other side in one piece,” Twilight said delicately.
I nodded. “Thank you… truly.”
As I gently fed the casket through the portal, feeling Shift and Echo take it on the other side, I found my gaze drifting towards the world around me.
I’d labored over the past week to return to this world, to protect it… I didn’t want to leave.
This world had known pain—and I, once, had been known to harm it myself… I wanted to stay, to help mend it, to stay in the world I and my brood had fought to save…
I felt a wing drape over my back; I turned to see Liz, a look of sympathy in her eyes.
Behind her, I could see the Equestrian Swarm cleaning up several demolished buildings; two Drones—Zeta and Carapace—had run up to an earth pony, who had been struggling to lift a heavy beam on his back, by himself, and were helping him lift it up. The pony gave them each a look of surprise, then an appreciative smile, and the trio carried the beam out of the ruin.
I found myself smiling at the display; such a simple act, and I knew… this world would heal. And my people would aid in mending it, any way they could.
And this didn’t have to be goodbye.
The last of the Earth Swarm had passed through the portal, now; it was just Liz and I. I gave her a nod, and the two of us began approaching the portal. I gave Dash, Shining and Twilight one last nod of farewell, then looked at Liz.
In her eyes, I could see everything that made being with her… well, worth it. Worth any struggles, any arguments, any time she’d roll over in her sleep and inadvertently hog the blankets.
I could see every ounce of warmth, compassion and adoration that I felt for her. There was never any one particular aspect that most drew me to her—I’d assume it’s the same for anyone who had found ‘the one’.
Nothing could describe it… But I never felt the need to justify it.
She didn’t care if I was human or changeling. She didn’t care just how many children I’d have in a week. She didn’t care that a life we’d share would be as far from a normal life as one could get.
And I didn’t care what I did, so long as Liz was there by my side.
I kissed her.
We stepped through.
The End
And... that's it.
(Yes, I'm just sharing this cause I heard it at the end of The Walking Dead Episode 3 and it's what got me in the right mood to write the ending.
)
I've been at this story for about eight months. Over that time, the feedback, the praise and criticisms I've received have shaped this story, and allowed me to grow more confident in my writing.
I would like to thank TwistedSpectrum for writing the original fic.
I would like to thank Meghan McCarthy, Rob Renzetti, Rebecca Dart and, of course, Lauren Faust for creating probably my favorite villain on the show.
And I'd like to thank all of you, for giving me the courage to just write.
I'm not done with Chrys, though; I have a few ideas for a Slice of Life series down the line. Keep an eye out for it. (Risk a follow?)
Again, thank you all so much.
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Yaaaaaaay more chrys! also great ending and I think FIRST
Actually, 30 moons is about five months... Because it goes off the phases of the moon and there are eight phases of the moon. And 30 divided by 8 is 4.75. So yeah I decided to throw that out there for no reason.
Great ending! I can't wait to see what's next!
I'm gonna follow the heck out of you. Like... Pinkie on a party platter!
4386717 actually, according to every source i could find, a 'moon' references to a single lunar cycle, not just a phase within said cycle so 30 moons would be 840 days or roughly 2.3 years. it's also my personal belief that this is where the word 'month' originates from though i have no evidence to back that up :P (well, aside from things that may or may not be coincidences.)
4386966 thanks.
But another question just came to my mind, what happened to Celstia, Luna, and Cadance?
Yep, you have yourself a follower now. Not sure why I didn't do that earlier, really.
4386966
From my brief research, you're right about the common etymology of the words, but the common point was further back than you might think. The two words have been similar but not the same for at least a couple thousand years, but are believed to have been the same in the proto indo european language that romance languages and germanic languages both derive from.
It's everything I hoped it would be, heartfelt, warm, and having a 'growth' feel to it, it's been amazing going through each chapter wondering 'what next?' and reading the different perspective of a mysterious character in Five Score, you should be proud!
Yay!
That is all.
Keep going! ;)
And so ends what is arguably the best sidefic to Five Score. In my opinion, The Last Crusade is the only competition for that title and boils down to personal preference.
Really?!?! A Series!!!! YESSSSSS!!!! BEST NEWS/DAY EVAR!!!! Please makethe sequel/series! Please!
Easily my favorite FS/4 side fic.
Can't wait to see what's coming up.
WHY DOESN'T FIMFICTION ALLOW ME TO LIKE MORE THAN ONCE!!!!!
4387052 Destroyed. By the Empire.
Man, this story has already become nostalgic for me...
This side story was the most brilliant out of all the side stories I read of Five Score. Digit dying was one of those perfectly sad, tear-y moments that you simply never forget. The entire time I read this story, I couldn't help but marvel at how emotional, humoured, and amazing it was. I spent the last few chapters procrastinating, waiting until you updated it, then not reading because I didn't want it to end.
At the same time, If a story doesn't end, you'll never stop reading it.
The music you adding in the Author's Note was so amazing it flashed images of what happened during the fight in my mind as well as everything the characters have been through.
This, along with the main Five Score storyline came in my top three stories, with Pen Stroke's Past Sins in second.
As you said this has helped you to write better, I hope to see you write more in the future.
Thank you so much for all the feels,
Shadow
4389472
Heh, I got to the end and scrolled down to like it, to find it was already liked...
Damn, now that's an ending.
My only major complaint is that I'd really would have liked to see Trixie do more. She just all but dispersal for quite a bit, only to pop-up once more at the end there.
Having her sock Prima in the face to help Chrysalis, or whatever, wouldn't have gone amiss, is all I'm saying.
4389779
I learned that when I watched anything by Joss Whedon. Happiness = Someone's gonna die.
I loved this side-story and I definitely consider it my favorite 5s/4 fic period, actually
4396078 4394910 4387052
Well this is the end of a great story.:
1.bp.blogspot.com/-wGd2NtdnflY/UQ5C3j9bXOI/AAAAAAAAI9U/ErAkjFd5KBY/s1600/citizen-kane-clapping.jpg
But what happen to Discord?
4396650 You didn't read the finale of the main fic, did you?
To find out what happened to Discord, go back a chapter here and look for the curse the Element Bearers placed upon him, written in bold text.
4424967
I mean what the curse do to him?
4425114 The curse is VERY clear about what it does. Even so, I'll try to simplify it further for you.
“For Five Score... to the power of four.”
That's 100,000,000 (Five score = 100)
“Your powers removed, your mind marooned.”
Discord will have his powers stripped away from him, and he'll be mindless/dumb.
“Your treason and crimes we can never forgive.”
Pretty self explanatory, they'll never forgive him for the evil things he did.
“So we sentence you to a life of a worthless captive.”
For his crimes he'll be sent to Earth living as a slave.
“You will live a million lives on Earth as a common horse,”
He'll be turned into a normal horse. The "million lives" part his an underwhelming approximation, it will probably be longer than that, since horses don't live 100 years.
“Forced to serve man endlessly, and without remorse.”
He won't be able to resist his human masters, and will work tirelessly all his days.
“Reflect on your moral sins and heinous actions, As you endure mindless work for countless generations.”
While he's living as a horse and working endlessly, he will still remember part of who he was and what he did, and will be able to reflect on his actions and think of what he could have done differently.
And then he's sent to Earth to begin his sentence.
So, to sum it up, he's cursed to live 100,000,000 years on earth (obviously being born, living, dying, and repeat) as a common horse, forced to work for his human masters all the days of his life, while reflecting on his evil deeds.
4425191
Okay, thanks.
4389472
You seem annoyed.
Sequel?
Was an awesome work, preferred it actually over the original. But that might just me be bias and liking changelings over rainbow dash
4449228 clever
this was a great story I was glad to add this to my favorites
4503990 very.
Huh, well what da ya know? You wrote this as well as Dread? Neat. Finding two of your stories a year apart from each other and loving both if them. *Clicking Follow Button*
Definitely following for the potential of future slice-of-life stories with the Earth 'lings.
4503990
now your annoyed
4842916 ugh....Congrats you succeeded.
the story was great butt, can you plz do a story on zecora being a famous rapper in the human world, come on my Zigga help a brother out mlpchan.net/pony/src/1371795747037.png
5075254 You forgot perpendicular.
5074911
I think that was only explained later once TwistedSpectrum started to realize how popular his story was.
4396650 read the main story. actually, it says in this one too. He is made mortal by the elements, beat up by the mane six, and then banished using a modified version of the five score spell.
He was banished to earth to live as a horse for 100,000,000 years. (five score to the power of four = 5*20^4 = 100^4 = 100 million)
5103738 Because I'm HAWT!
... Just kidding.
Well done sir well done
Just got done reading your story A New Hive, i love the story and i hope you make more stories with these charters
So anyway this was my first 5s/4 read, and I must say it inspired me to read the original and several side stories. I enjoyed it very much, and I wish some of the others were of this high quality and had an ending as satisfying as this one.
Congratulations on a job well done, and thank you so much for a fantastic story.
It is us that should be thanking you for such a great story.
Fucking Digit man, that one still hurts and probably will for a long ass time. I'm going to sob for a bit. God damn it, long live the motherfucking hive.
I hate endings. And fucking digit man. I think I need to sob silently for a bit still. I hate endings, I hate them with a burning passion. I like to believe the world continues on but deep down I know the continuation is up to the author, anything I imagine is none canon. Man you did something that even the main story couldn't, make me cry like a bitch. Fuck hell, I just dammit long live the mother fucking hive.
An interesting story. Thank you for sharing.
Okay, honestly the sixth or seventh FS story I've read.
I usually rate nowadays, but my rate-meter broke due to mysterious emotional outbreaks caused by stimuli and something somthing .
Ten.
Honestly, this is perhaps the best portrayal of Chrysalis I've seen in awhile. And I like this one, I really do.
exultant story I am so happy I found this story and I am more happy that this is one of the few 5s story that are completed.
good work bossfight1
That.Was.AWESOME!!!