The Pony Dreadfuls

by No one is home

Chapter 45 - Missing Pieces

“Z,” Chitin shuffled nervously in front of the mare, he knew she wasn’t going to be happy to hear what he had to say, “Diane has… done some bad things…”

“NO!” The heavily shelled changeling stamped all six of her hooves. “The stupid smelly Chitin will stop lying about Diane! She would not kill a pony. Not even the Nopony! And even if she did, she was only defending herself!”

“It’s not… just the Nopony, Z.” Chitin admitted sadly. “She’s been killing any pony and any changeling she could find in his entire organization. And… we’ve had reports that she’s planning to move against Fast Change and the hive…”

“No! The Chitin is lying because why does that make sense?” Z sobbed openly. “Fast Change took us in! The Hive is our home! Diane would not betray our friend who has taken us into her hive! The Chitin is lying and the Chitin smells bad!”

“I just want you to be ready Z. Because Princess Fast needs to talk to you.” Chitin lowered his head sadly.

“The Princess? The Fast Change?” Z perked up. “Z will tell her about the nasty lies the Chitin has told about her sister!”

A large figure stepped in from outside, clucking her tongue softly. "Relax, even if you're tired of doing that." She, Fast Change, glanced to where the castle would be would the hive not in the way of seeing it. "I have a feeling it's all coming to a head right about now."

“The Chitin is a bad changeling!” Z angrily accused. “He pretends like he is Z-978’s friend but hell tells horrible lies about her sister!”

“I didn’t tell her the details, your majesty…” Chitin shuffled in place. “But it’s going to come out… I just wanted her to be… ready when it did.”

"There are only so many details to share," sighed out Fast as she settled beside the others. "We're going to have a bit of a mess. With luck, the ponies will be too busy being happy that everything is fixed to care much about anything else."

“Diane would not kill ponies! The Princess must tell the Chitin to stop telling lies!” Z insisted vehemently. “If he does not stop telling lies, Z-978 will NOT be his friend anymore!”

“I can’t get through to her your majesty.” Chitin admitted meekly. “I thought she might listen to you.”

Fast reached out a hoof, the one who's leg still bore that hole she had earned not too long previously. "Sometimes ponies… act badly. As friends, we have to be there, ready to catch them when they fall, and help them stand up again. Real friends are ready to do that, which means admitting they fell in the first place. Are you a real friend?"

“Diane is a GOOD changeling!” Z cried softly. “Why would she turn against the hive that has taken her in? She would not kill ponies.”

"We won't know until we have a chance to ask," replied Fast with a tired tone. "I'm as eager to know as you are at least. Whatever the case, this is still Equestria. We will not meet an eye for an eye. That just ends up with profits to the eye patch makers."

“Z-978 misses Surprise. This would not happen if Surprise were here because Surprise would not let Train Wreck disappear and she would not let Diane do horrible things that Z-978 does not believe that she did.” Z looked at the Changeling queen and sighed, looking away to the floor. “Is the Face Hugger alright? Z does not get to see her grub enough. She is bigger than the other grubs in the nursery, and Z worries that the other grubs will tease Facehugger.”

Fast had to chuckle a little at that. "Oh, it's the other way around. Face'll be running the place soon." She rose to her hooves and turned for the door. "Let's go check on them. That's something we can do right now, instead of worrying about what's outside the reach of our hooves."

“We will see Facehugger?” Z nuzzled into Fast Change. “Surprise said Z should listen to Fast Change. Even if Train Wreck was being stupid. Does the Fast Change think Train Wreck will come back?”

"Look, let me be… honest. If you had asked that say ten years ago, I'd have said no way, but things… I've seen the impossible a few times now. It happens." She leaned in and kissed the top of Z's head. "Let's hope and move forward."

“The Train Wreck liked the Fast Change.” Z trotted along with her odd six legged gait. “He said it was complicated. Can Z pretend to be a regular changeling? Z knows it’s just pretend, but Z-978 does not want to be an ugly bug.”

That made Fast wince softly. She spent so much time hiding herself. With a rush of green flame, the ruddy red-furred unicorn had returned, limping with every step. "We are what we are, but, no, you can put on a pretty face if you want. That's part of being a changeling, isn't it?"

In a flash of changling flames Z was back in her changeling drone ‘disguise’. “Z-978 knows she is not a normal changeling. She knows she is not a pretty changeling. And she knows she is not a smarty-pants changeling. But she is a good changeling. That is what she wants ponies to see.”

Fast pat Z on the head lightly. "Ponies will see what you really are through your actions." She held up her leg, hole still intact. "They were surprised when I first got this, but they knew why, and they know who I am and what I do. That means more than how many holes you have. Never forget that."

“Maybe Diane is just defending us too?” Z asked hopefully as they approached the nursery. “Perhaps she is only doing what she has to do? She will not turn on the hive. The Fast Change has always been our friend.”

"Maybe," allowed Fast as she guided the way. "We won't know for sure until we talk. It doesn't look good, but I'm not throwing down sentences or anything until the smoke clears, and we got plenty of that to go around."

“Then Z’s sister… Diane killed ponies…” Z swallowed hard. “Z-978 is not a smarty pants changeling but she is not a stupid bug! The Surprise said that Princess Fast Change would not lie to Z-978 so you have to tell Z the truth! Did her sister kill ponies?”

Fast inclined an ear at Z a silent moment. "I didn't see it myself, but the reports… aren't looking good. I'm still hoping it'll all be proven wrong, but, no… It really isn't looking good." She stopped just before the door. "Do you want to go in?"

“Facehugger must cling to her mommy’s face.” Z smiled, grief rolling off as she accepted the truth. “She is Z-978’s perfect grub.”

Fast let Z go past into the nursery and gave a little smile. There was still some happiness to be found. "You'd better pull a rainbow out of that plot of yours," she grunted, thinking of her would-be husband. "I'm tired of waiting for it."

Author's Note:

Collab chapter with David writing for Fast Change today. So typos are his fault. That makes sense, right?

I wanted to do a Fast Change chapter because she really been getting kinda shafted in this arc. She's actually doing exactly what she should be doing. She's protecting and comforting her subject during a time of extreme unrest. Where-as Diane is using the invasion and her sisters purely to pursue her own quest for vengeance and advance her personal ambitions.

Comments

[Not so New Brony]

Would-be husband...oh right, forgot about the agreement Fast and Silver made.