Refined Starlight in a Broken Vessel

by the-pieman

Chapter 51

Arriving at the classroom, I’m actually a bit surprised to find that they do seem to have a somewhat standard classroom setup, though it looks more like the college classrooms I’ve seen in movies; a large, semi-circular design with auditorium seating all looking down towards a single teacher’s podium or desk near the back.

In this case, the auditorium was about half full of young changelings, and only some of them were actually paying attention to the changeling nominally instructing them, who was droning on and on about something. It’s honestly hard to tell what it’s talking about, because trying to listen in for even a moment starts making me drowsy.

The teacher is so boring it’s literally putting me to sleep, and I had a long and very comfortable nap not a few hours ago. Figure it would be rude to interrupt either way though, so I ask my tour guide. “So... this is it? You just have one changeling at the front talking to all the kids until they absorb enough to... what? Pass a test proving they absorbed enough to pass?”

“Test? Only if the queen requires it.” the guard said. “I don’t know much about this system, it’s only for the more intelligent nymphs.”

“So... what does ‘education’ mean in this case then? What are they supposed to be learning, exactly?”

“I do not know.” the guard said simply. One of the nymphs, clearly dying of boredom and laying on its back in its seat, turns to look towards me and the guard. For a moment, nothing seems to register, until something clicks in the nymph’s head.

With a gasp, the nymph smiles and rolls onto its hooves, “You’re Anthony! The Queen’s chosen Praetorian!” the small changeling’s voice is moderately masculine, so I’m going to go with ‘he’ for now.

“That...” I pause trying to think of a response, but only one comes to mind. “Is not a word I was expecting to hear today.” Especially since, if I recall, that implies I’m a second in command of sorts... which is not really the case in the changeling hierarchy as I know it.

“No no no, you’re like the, uhm...” he paused for a moment, clearly trying to think of the answer, “Like a guard, but just for her, not the whole hive! A, a, a special guard!” he said, smiling. “And you killed the old queen, who was evil, and you’re gonna save all of us!”

“...You mean her bodyguard?” I try to clarify for both of us, really.

“Yeah, and a Chumpion!”

I physically wince at that, praying for the case of a mispronunciation. I dislike titles anyways but... ow. “So... am I more important than your, uh, teacher?”

“Well, duh, you’re only second to the Queen! And, uh, to the master of the Infiltrators, but she doesn’t do much anymore, but she’s still technically higher than you unless there’s monsters or invaders or something like that!” the enthusiasm of the little changeling is very heartening, though I find it a bit odd that none of this talking, which is all at normal volume (or above) is drawing attention from the others.

“I didn’t mean in the sense of pecking order, I meant more important to be paying attention to. Shouldn’t you be learning? Right now?”

“Oh, I uhm, Idunno what he’s been saying for the last hour, I kinda fell asleep but while awake.” he said. A couple of the other students are visibly nodding off, and another one starts looking my way as I watch. I also notice that I’m carrying a proper conversation with this kid, the responses aren’t robotic like most other changelings. I may have to ask what causes the difference later.

I roll my eyes. “Uh huh, and does that make it any less important to pay attention? Heck, what’s even the point of this anyways? What are you supposed to be learning here?”

“Uhm... mostly just stuff about sneaking around pony places, but we can’t do that anymore, so it’s all dumb. And anyways, you’re gonna fix everything, and we won’t need any of this!” he says, his unsure expression morphing back to nearly worshipful levels of glee and hope.

“I think that’s more Ren’s job. I’m gonna try and help but she gets final say on what sort of plan we use to integrate you guys. Though honestly most of them require the ponies being more receptive than making you all more presentable.” Hold on. “Wait, if infiltration has been... whatever word you’d have in place of ‘outlawed’ for the hive, why are you taking infiltration classes in the first place? Is there some other point to this?”

“Idunno.” the nymph says with a shrug. Guess he is just a kid, likely not involved with any local politicking.

“Well, if it’s important... or not... either way, I’m just getting the nickel tour of the place. Guess that’s all I need to see here.” The instructing changeling has yet to stop lecturing, despite what I can only call a complete disruption of the whole class. Maybe he’s on autopilot as much as the kids.

Speaking of, a few of the other changeling nymphs have started to notice me, and are starting to hop out of their seats to approach me, half with looks of almost reverential awe, and the rest with the same looks I imagine I’d give if I met a true superhero like Spider-Man or something. It’s a bit disconcerting in a way... and still, the teacher keeps droning on. “So...” I turn to the guard next to me, feeling like I’d rather be away from here. “Guess we’re done here?”

“As you wish.” the guard responds, heralding a chorus of ‘aaaaww’s from the changeling students.

Ah well, if I need more of that for whatever reason I can just go see the pony children too. They really aren’t that different until they grow up, being molded by a different culture. Helloooooo race allegories. Well, guess that’s why we’re trying to fix it.

Now that we aren’t meandering around, it doesn’t take long to get back to Ren. Sure, the primary hub is still in need of repairs if it’s even salvageable, but the tunnels are really networked into each other. A map would be handy. The maze of corridors makes it feel like Metroid.

...did we get another Metroid game before I left? Eh, probably not.

Approaching the throne room once more, I’m met by the sight of Ren looking over a very long list, held in her emerald green magic. The whole thing is folded over several times so it can be carried by a single band of magic, though I have to wonder if that’s for efficiency or if she didn’t think to just grab the whole thing.

I figure I wouldn’t interrupt her... even as she seems to be having difficulty. Now that I think of it, the likelihood of Chrysalis being the kind of abusive vampiric parent that decided to let her children learn to read is pretty darn low... Ah well, Ren can take what time she needs.

After a few minutes, she notices me and the guard, and gasps. “O-oh! Anthony, you’re back!” she says, smiling happily. “H-how did the tour go?”

“It went alright. Kind of a small place you have, honestly. I can see why you might get overpopulated quickly. Especially with so many rooms having collapsed to the point of being uninhabitable.” I shrug. “So, what are you working on now?”

“O-oh, going over a p-population census...” she says, “As well as trying to make sure the hive is prepared for the near future. I’ve had to request q-quite a bit from the Equestrians, but their Q-Q-Queens- er, their Princesses have been very kind.”

I nod. “So I guess once the near future is taken care of, we’ll have to consider longer term plans. I’ve been thinking that it would be beneficial to have someone from the hive who could effectively explain a lot of things about changeling culture, obviously aided by a pony ambassador of sorts. The root of racism is fear, and fear is stopped only by understanding. So we get the ponies to understand, and the fear will go away.”

Ren just blinks at me a few times before simply nodding hesitantly. “Ah, yes, of course!” she says, smiling again. I’m not entirely certain she fully understands but... small steps.

I fold my arms in thought as I continue the dialogue. “The problem I’m having is deciding who that pony ambassador could be. It’d have to be someone the larger masses trust to tell the truth, but doesn’t have any predisposition towards or against changelings... meaning Twilight is right out. She hates admitting it but she’s still suffering from the trauma, even if it isn’t obvious. Celestia maybe but... Idunno, I think they listen to her too much and things could be taken in an undesirable direction, not to mention if she develops a great support for changelings with seemingly no prompting it could be misconstrued. I don’t know enough about you all to be a proper advocate. Regardless, I think the first place to start is Ponyville, because... well, they’re the closest. We don’t want you going right for the capital city, ignoring Ponyville and then trying to get on their good side after they find out how many of you are literally only four-ish miles away from their houses.”

Ren nods. “Alright; I’ll start planning for that.”

“Sorry, I’m sure this is a lot to dump on you.” I apologize. “I’m just... I make plans. It’s what I do. I like laying things out so we know what may or may not need to be changed as we move forward and... this is a very delicate situation. I’m just trying to cover variables and... accounting for ponies is very difficult. Prey species are just so... ugh.”

She nods again, smiling to me and gently, timidly setting a hoof on my knee. “Thank you, Anthony. You’ve helped the ent-t-tire hive so much, and your c-continued help is deeply appreciated.” she says.

“Yeah, I’m just... I’m trying to do right by you. I was rather prejudiced about you guys myself and... It was unwarranted. I was just really... angry. I’ve been dealing with that a lot lately. So I suppose I’m trying to make up for that.” I recall she wasn’t in the room at the time of my suggestion of genocide being a viable solution to changelings existing, and realize how fortunate it is she never heard that. “I make mistakes and have lapses in judgement so... I’m trying to make sure that doesn’t happen. I know what being a pariah can be like and that’s not something that should happen to an entire race due to one bad example. Chrysalis may have been Hitler, but not all of you were Nazis.” I blink. “You... have no idea what that means. Let’s focus on how we’re going to handle what’s in front of us. What sort of short-term plans are you considering right now?”

“O-oh! I, uhm, I’m working on rew-working our education, and trying to set up agrariums to raise some animals to try feeding us instead of having to foalnap ponies. I’m also t-trying to find places that might be able to have changelings working openly, so we can try getting some money. All that we had was stolen, so I gave it back to the ponies.” she says, smiling to me.

I nod. “And I’ve done some light animal raising myself so I could possibly help in that first area. The residents of Ponyville would likely be more informative as it is a farming town, but relations would need to be resolved before then. In the meantime I could offer some advice, though my greatest knowledge of specific animals mostly consists of rabbits, chickens, ducks, frogs, toads and tortoises. I know plenty about animals in general but those are the ones I cared for personally.”

“Oh! Well, uhm, rabbits were my f-first choice for animals to raise. S-since they grow in n-numbers so fast, even if we over-feed by mistake at first, they c-can recover more easily.” Ren said, which seems pretty sound to me.

“Yeah, bunnies gestate over about a month-ish and then you’re looking at seven more to be fully grown. Though, that depends on the breed of rabbit. Larger rabbits can take over a year to become ‘food sized’ for actually eating them. Though I’m not sure if that’s going to be a big factor for your needs.” I pause and think about what else I know. “And as for how you’re going to get the rabbits, I recall Fluttershy having a few bunnies aside from her pet but I don’t know if those are for sale. Certainly be easier than trapping several yourself, quick little bastards, and the claws on their feet hurt a lot when they start flailing and kicking once you grab them.”

“Th-they have claws?!” Ren said, her voice a startled squeak. “B-but they’re plant-eaters...”

“Yeah, claws for digging. How else would they carve out their burrows?” I question, though it’s understandable that someone who only thinks of rabbits as hoppy fuzzballs to not have any sort of defensive capabilities. “Also, don’t frighten a momma rabbit too much when she has her bunnies nearby. Try to grab rabbits when they’re alone, if you’re going the trapping route.”

“Oh, uhm, alright. They get really defensive, right? I was told that’s how animals get if you go near their young ones.”

“Yes... but in extreme cases if the danger is notable, a mother rabbit will eat her youngest bunnies. The extra nutrients serves as a way to enable the mother to escape much quicker, and the calories allow her to run for longer without tiring.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” Ren nods, completely accepting this fact as if it weren’t an odd behavior, when just earlier she hadn’t considered they would have methods of hurting others. I’m having a hard time really nailing down what does and doesn’t make sense to them.

“Yeah, but it’s not a super common thing, especially since they stay in their burrows more often than not. This would only happen in extreme circumstances. Also worth mentioning that rabbits do have an herbivorous diet, but that’s not to say they can’t eat meat. I fed little bits of ground pork to one when I was done eating and had a little left. Figured it’d be interesting to see what would happen, curious kid I was. Funny enough, rabbit ate the pork, and never had a problem all the time we had it.” ...the reminiscing makes me a bit homesick, I should stick to facts.

“Oh, so they aren’t j-just plant eaters... that’s interesting.” Ren says, looking thoughtful.

“They’re good for sustaining gardens as well. They really like alfalfa, and alfalfa makes a great, ah, fertilizer in general. Properly fed rabbits produce very effective manure. Basically, you take their leavings and grow vegetables with it, and then feed the resulting veggies to the rabbits. It’s actually fairly cheap to keep rabbits as long as you have a good hutch to keep them in and have a proper garden already going.” Considering the nature of the local equines, I decide to leave out that the only animal’s manure that functions better than rabbits is from horses. That could lead to an uncomfortable discussion.

“That does sound very easy...” she pauses, brow furrowing. “A hutch is... a rabbit house?” she asks.

“Yeah, I could probably draw up a rough diagram of one. They aren’t hard to make really, only took my sister, mom and myself to get a pair of them ready for breeding rabbits in... about a few weeks with intermittent working on it. Wood, bedding, wire fencing.... Pretty standard animal holding, the important part is to make sure it’s got legs to keep it off the ground, has a solid floor, and the walls are too high for them to jump out. Have them open via removable roof panels and that’s about it.”

She furrows her brow again. “... I thought r-rabbits liked being in the g-ground. Why do they need to be off the g-ground?” she asks, sounding confused.

“Well... mainly for rain and such. If they’re stuck in a cage when it rains or snows then it would obviously be very bad for them, but you want the hutch outside because that’s their habitat. I suppose if you can simulate the outside with your agrarium then precipitation wouldn’t be a problem. Other than weather, hutches typically have legs so that the roofs are about chest height to a human so they can be grabbed from inside easily, no bending over. Again, since you guys aren’t that tall though, it being on the ground would probably be easier. Alright, maybe omit the legs. The rest is still important though. The roof should open so you can reach in to grab one without it dashing through a hole in the wall, and the wire is so they aren’t just locked in a solid box. Just don’t have the bottom be wire because, well walking on suspended wire fencing is pretty uncomfortable for anyone.”

Ren nods, looking rather somber out of nowhere. “I know that; even with hooves, it is very p-painful. Bars are t-too.”

“But yeah, as for bedding, cover the floor in a mat of hay and alfalfa. It’s comfortable and can even work as a snack for them. Though this means you may need to replace it fairly often. As for food and water... a dish and a drip-bottle are perfectly effective.” I try to think of what else to note about rabbit care, but unless she prompts with another question, recollection is difficult. Memories are... fuzzy when I’m not searching for specific ones. It’s pretty disconcerting.

Nearly an hour of talking about caring for rabbits later, and I’m finally leaving the hive. That slope back up is hell on my ankles, but at least it’s not as confusing on the way out - everywhere leads either down into the hive, or up out of the hive.

The trip back to Ponyville isn’t difficult either - one of the scouts leads me to the edge of the supposedly spooky forest before turning back, leaving me to head in on my own. As soon as I exit the forest, I can see that it’s nearly sunset with the sky painted a mix of rose red, saffron, and buttercup yellow, fading slowly through violet and into the navy blue of the oncoming night.

It’s hard to tell time in the forest considering how thick the canopy is. Odd how the trees are so gnarled and twisting, yet also their leaves are so dense. I can see why townsfolk call it unnatural. Though I wouldn’t go that far, I’d likely stop at ‘bizarre’. It’s clearly natural, but that’s what makes it odd, that it’s growing this way without any outside influence.

Not a long walk back to town. I see other ponies walking home, their day finished as well. Ponyville is pretty quiet at night, but not that ‘oh gosh something terrible has happened’ silence. It’s peaceful in a way, though the quiet isn’t really my cup of tea. I pick up the pace a bit and get back to the library. I could use some rest.

Either way, the library is pretty close. The sunset through the leaves of Golden Oaks is an interesting sight. Kinda wonder what it looks like in Autumn, it certainly doesn’t look like a standard evergreen tree. What kind of tree is it anyways? Whatever it is, it’s big and can grow a very thick trunk, even up to the branches since one can make a two-story building out of it.

I open the door and see Spike dusting the place, the floor clear of books at this point. “Hey, been wondering where you were.” he says in greeting.

I shrug. “Twilight wanted me out of the house so...”

“Yeah.” He nods. “I figured as much, she’s still asleep. I’m-” He lets out a big yawn. “Heading to bed too.”

“Where did you all go, anyways? Twilight had a test, didn’t she? Why’d you take so long to get back?”

Spike blinks slowly. “Oh, right, yeah. Test. Crystal Empire. Evil ghost king. Crystal ponies.... Other stuff. Saved everypony.”

I pause at his slow, tired drawl. “You should get to bed, you’re hallucinating.” I suggest.

“I’m not.” He says through another yawn. “I beat the evil king guy, and... saved the whole place.”

“And I’m sure you did it with nothing but your bare hands and that dustpan. C’mon dude.” I pick him up to carry him upstairs.

“Mmph, is true. Ask Twilight.” His eyes are barely open by now as I get a hold on him that’s not too dissimilar from one I’d use for a cat. He’s about the same size, just bipedal.

“Sure, when she wakes up. Probably around the time you do.” I put him down in his little basket/bed, Twilight just a lump of covers at the moment.

I get to my room and sit down. Spike yawning made me a lot more tired... maybe read a bit before I pass out. I grab one of the books on my nightstand after wading through my room full of junk. I open to where I’d placed my bookmark and- what was that? Sound from my window, like... oh, yeah. I get up off the bed and go to my window. The simple latch is easily undone and Owlowiscious flies in silently. “Hey buddy. Probably... not gonna stay up much later, fair warning.”

I get a soft hoot and a birdlike murmur in response. He’s pretty easy to understand, for an owl. I don’t know whether to be more impressed with him or myself.

“Yeah, Twilight’s been out for the whole day, and I’m still a bit off with my powers gone. I’m probably gonna get through a chapter here and then nod off myself.” I just get a winged shrug in response, and Owlowiscious perches on my window. Guess he was looking for something more like our all-night hangouts. I mean, him being nocturnal is pretty handy when you’re awake at literally all hours but everyone in the entire town is in bed and will throw things at you if you ask for a conversation at two in the morning... but I just can’t stay awake that long now that I need sleep.

Twilight should be giving him more attention since Owlowiscious is her pet, but even she can’t stay up as late as I can, and so often at that. At least, that’s the way it usually is. I crick my neck and settle in with my book, preparing to wind down.

Author's Note:

This chapter will be the last one that involves Quantum Shift as a co-writer. He will continue to be my occasional editor and quality assurance assistant, but he will no longer be writing for characters, even those that were his idea to include in the story. He will also be fully active on the various spin offs as usual, just not this, the primary story