The Queen and I, Book 1: Ponies and Changelings

by SoloBrony

Chapter 4: AWFUL news!

I stared at the letter in dismay. This was such awful news!

This is awful news! I've only been here a week, and I already have to go?! I was having so much fun!

“Pinkie? Is something wrong?”

I looked up from the letter at Cheery, who had concern written all over her face.

Whoa, she looks so much more intense like this. She's usually so bubbly! Heehee, that's a funny way to describe someone!

“Oh, it's just... oh, right...”

I had forgotten about the letter... it's just so hard to be depressed around Cheery!

“Pinkie? Is someone hurt? O-or...”

“No, it's not that! It's just that I have to LEEEEAAVE!”

I rushed over to Cheery and gave her a hug, squeezing back some tears in my eyes.

“I mean, I'm happy to go see my pony pals again, but I've got so many buggy buddies here, too! I wanted to hang out here a bit more and see more of the Hive!”

Cheery seemed kind of stiff when I squeezed her, like she had been frozen solid. She was normally so cuddly when I huggled her, it felt weird for her to be so still!

“Ch... Cheery? You alright? I know it's really sad I have to go and all...”

“Er... I'm alright! I just don't want to see you go yet! I know we had a whole week, but it just flew past so quickly, and there's so much more I had wanted to do!”

“Oooh, I know! I know! It really flew past even for me, and I'm used to time flying!”

We stood there in silence for a few moments. The past week had been a blur, meeting so many new faces (well, really all the faces looked kind of the same to me, but the idea is that they were new people!) and seeing so many new places! (Hey, that rhymed)! We had gone to all of the 'primary clusters', whatever that meant and a lot of changelings had been so happy to meet me! I thought back over a few of the encounters of the past week...

~~~

“...So you see, the Maker Caste is full of brilliant, proud artists who-”

“HEY! Pinkie! Come check out the cool floating water thingy!”

Naro-Takumi glanced over his shoulder at Cheery, buzzing his wings in irritation at the interruption.

“Oooh! That looks neat!”

Before I knew it, I was bouncing towards Cheery, and once I caught up with her we were bouncing together in a big circle around some kind of art.

“It's like a... a...”

“A big, glowing... water...”

“Pretzel! It's like a big glowing water pretzel!”

“It's called a luminite hydrocircuit!” Takumi called out in frustration as he caught up to us.

The luminy hydrowhatsit suddenly sparked and twisted into a new shape, taking on different hues at different points. Both Cheery and I froze to stare at it.

“Whoooooaaa... that's really neat!”

I felt Cheery close my hanging jaw about the same time I closed hers.

Takumi snorted proudly, strutting haughtily in front of it.

“Yes, this is one the Makers Caste's most impressive showcases! The knot folds itself into non-trivial distinct shapes without ever self-intersecting!”

Takumi was obviously getting really worked up, standing on his hind legs and buzzing his wings for balance as he pointed to the cool thingy. I found myself bouncing up and down as he raised his voice and Cheery started buzzing her wings in excitement!

Oooh, I get the feeling something REALLY COOL is going to happen!

“As a result, this amazing work of art can show every system compatible with a given knot in VIRTUALLY! NO! TIME! AT! ALL!”

Takumi was slightly airborne at this point. Cheery and I kept watching him expectantly, as he lowered to the ground, panting.

“Err... sorry, I seem to have gotten a little over-excited.”

“You mean that's IT?! I thought something cool was going to happen!”

Takumi got a devious look in his eyes. I mean, more devious than changelings normally look. Er, wait, I mean-

“You want something COOL, eh? Try THIS!”

Takumi's horn took on a dull aura, and then winked out. There was a beat where nothing happened, but he was smiling deviously, so I stood there tense as a spring, waiting for the delivery! And let me tell you, when a changeling smiles deviously, it looks REALLY devious!

… They have fangs! It looks cool!

Suddenly, the water pretzel started folding itself into ALL KINDS of stuff REALLY fast! There was a lot of crackling and water was splashing out but then flying back in and it was just SOOOO cool!

“Aaaah that's so great that's so great Takumi that'ssogreatEEEEEyouguysaresocool!”

Takumi staggered. I might have hugged him a little too hard, but it was just so cool and I just had to share the excitement with somebuggy! I felt Cheery's hooves wrap around me from behind as she buzzed into the air, taking me off of Takumi, who staggered around a bit.

“Ooh, he looks really dizzy!”

“Hah! I think you got him tipsy on love and excitement, Pinkie!”

“I am NOT tipssshy!... I... I need a minute...”

“Oh, that's right! Buggies can feed off of energy! I had forgotten about that! Wait.. what's keeping YOU from getting 'tipsy', then, Cheery?”

We wobbled around in the air drunkenly a bit. I started giggling in response.

I wonder if that just makes it worse? Oooh, but this is so funny!

“Just kidding!” Cheery landed us immediately, “I still have perfectly precise poise!”

Cheery lifted her right front hoof and rear left hoof away from her and stood in a haughty pose, her eyes closed and nose in the air.

I started giggling uncontrollably.

“Oooh! Nice - heehee! - alliteration! But how - hee! - did you keep from getting dizzy?”

I realized that my giggles might have actually been hiccups.

Cheery examined her outstretched hoof with an air of indifference. “Oh, that? I am immune to such petty concerns, of course, being a Queen.” With that, she thrust her nose up in the air. She cracked an eye open to take a look at me, a little grin forming, and we both burst out laughing.

~~~

… Cheery had managed to make everything SO FUN! I didn't want to leave, I felt like I was really making an important friend!

“Cheery! You should go back to Equestria with me! I'm sure whatever Twilight needs me back for, it won't take too long, and you can meet all my other friends!”

Cheery looked downtrodden, “I can't, Pinkie... the Hive needs me here! I can't just take off on the exchange program!”

“B... but...,” I could feel myself pouting. Cheery's ears flattened when she saw it.

“Aww, Pinkie, I'm sorry! It's just I have things I have to do here!” She leaned in closer, more conspiratorial, “I mean, do you remember that letter I sent you?”

“The one inviting me here? Of course! 'Dear Pinkie Pie'-”

“Think about the later part. After 'keep quiet about this'.”

I thought back to the letter. I had been so excited to receive an invitation to come visit my buggy buddies in their own Hive, I could only barely finish the letter! I only opened it when the train was getting ready to leave, so I had to really hurry to get there in time!

What did it say again? 'Keep quiet about this, but privately, I also really wanted your help organizing a big, important party'! Oh my gosh!

Oh my gosh!

“Oh my gosh!”

I sat there dumbfounded for a second.

“THAT was the super ultra exciting thing that I was forgetting! You need me to-mph!”

“Shh! It's a secret to everyling!”

Everyling? That sounds silly! Everybuggy sounds so much more like 'everypony'!

Cheery took her hoof out of my mouth and glanced around. I leaned up to her ear and whispered, “So what kind of party IS it?”

Cheery glanced around nervously, before leaning down to me and replying, “It's for Chrysalis! It's her FIRST EVER birthday party!”

At that news I just OH MY GOSH!

OH MY GOSH!

“OH MY... errr...,” I tried to look around indifferently. Once I was sure no one was watching, “GOSH! Oooh that's super nice of you!”

Cheery smiled bashfully, a blush forming. I didn't know buggies could blush! It looks super cute on them!

“Oh Cheery, that is such a super duper great idea! I definitely need to help you with that, but... I also need to go back...”
We both sat there, thinking for a moment.

“A-ha! Now you HAVE to come with me!”

“Wah... what?!”

“I can show you ALL ABOUT-” a glance around, leaning in to whisper, “-parties, back with my friends in Ponyville! We party all the time! You can plan the party while we're over there!”

Cheery considered this, rubbing her chin with a hoof. She looked reeaaaally nervous, which made sense when she said, “I... guess that means I have to go ask Chrysalis for permission to go on the exchange...”

We both looked away nervously for a minute. I finally made up my mind, and thunked one hoof into the other, before grabbing Cheery and leaping up onto my rear hooves.

“Then let's DO IT!”

Comments

[Nyerguds]

Whoops. Seems I accidentally posted this in the wrong chapter!

“...So you see, the Maker Caste is full of brilliant, proud artists who-”

“HEY! Pinkie! Come check out the cool floating water thingy!”

Naro-Takumi glanced over his shoulder at Cheery, buzzing his wings in irritation at the interruption.

I swear, they have the attention span of a bunch of cats with ADHD doped up on amphetamines.

“Hah! I think you got him tipsy on love and excitement, Pinkie!”

Called it

Everyling? That sounds silly! Everybuggy sounds so much more like 'everypony'!

Yeah, but unlike pony, 'buggy' is a diminutive term, which sounds kind of weird when used like that

This fic has waaay too few views! I'm loving this!

btw, a way to get more views is generally to leave a few days between each chapter release. Maximize your front page release exposure time.

Another small remark:
> We both sat there, thinking for a moment.
there's a missing open line before this, to properly split the paragraphs

[FanOfMostEverything]

Pinkie picked up on changeling body language inside of a week. Color me impressed.

Dang it, Pinkie, stop force-feeding the changelings as soon as you meet them. Who do you think you are, Applejack?

Oh, that's why Cheery was so unsettled by Pinkie leaving. Well, that's a lot more innocuous than the reasons I suspected... assuming there isn't another layer of deception under that one. Still, a nice chance for Iqqel to get back to being Chrysalis's right hoof.

Also, you've captured the mad bounciness of Pinkie's thoughts to an almost terrifying accuracy. Well done.

[nioniosbbbb]

6834657 I think that Twilight Sparkle created the spell that she planted in Chrysalis to plant a Pinkie Pie mode-Chrysalis in them. It's actually morally questionable and yet... nice? I don't know.

[tsaukpaetra]

Well maybe Chrysalis would appreciate the respite?

[Black--Soul]

Chrysalis first B-Day?! This is going to be awesome