Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Secundus was sitting at his desk, filling out paperwork. Albert was curled up on the floor, reading busily. Thorax walked into the room, dressed in a warm coat, some skates slung over his withers. “Hey, a pond at the edge of the Badlands has frozen over. A bunch of us are going ice-skating. Do you want to come?” Secundus simply raised an eyebrow. “Right. Bad idea,” Thorax quickly corrected. “Albert, do you want to go?”
“I don’t have back legs,” Albert grumbled. He then asked, “Why is it a bad idea if Dad goes skating?”
Secundus chuckled. “A few years before your papa met me, he and his friends had to break into the Hive to save Equestria. In order to tell themselves apart from the Changelings, they used the passcode ‘Klutzy Draconequus.’ Little did your papa know he’d one day marry a klutzy Draconequus. My going ice-skating would most likely end in a small disaster, and I might accidentally hurt one of the Changelings. I could write Discord and see if he wants to go with you, he loves ice-skating.”
Thorax shook his head. “No thanks, we’ll be ok.”
Albert asked, “Why did you have to break into the Hive? Changelings are pretty nice.”
Thorax chuckled awkwardly, a strangled grin on his face. “Um … we weren’t always. I’ll tell you about Changeling history when I get back. Have fun you two!” he waved.
A few minutes after Thorax left, Secundus thunked his head down on the desk, and groaned, “Ugh! All these forms are starting to blur together! I’m beginning to see why Celestia could potentially turn into Daybreaker, it’s a never-ending daymare. I give up. I’m pretty sure most of the Hive went skating, so you do you want to do today?”
Albert thought about it. “Could you tell me about humans? What are they like?”
Secundus froze momentarily. He then laughed. “Sheesh. I have no idea where to even begin.” He thought about it. “Wonderful. Horrible. Amazingly kind. Horrifically cruel. They create amazing beauty, and they tear down other beauty. Selfish. Self-sacrificing. Supportive. Hatefully prejudiced. Brilliantly, wonderfully intelligent. ‘My-gods-what-were-you-thinking’ stupid. Protective. Dominating.”
Secundus laughed, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, I know I’m just describing them in conflicting dualities, which is my thing, but it’s all true. You can actually get a lot of those conflicting traits in the same individual. I … never really understood humans, they always seemed too complicated. They are amazing though, I have to give them that. They always tell amazing stories, and that makes everything worthwhile, even on the worst days. Collectively, they can be pretty scary, but they can also be some of the most wonderful people you’ll ever meet. Sorry, that didn’t nearly describe them well, ore come remotely close to doing them justice.” Secundus thought some more. “Hey, come here.”
Albert unwound, and slithered over to his father. Secundus’s horn lit up with its black and white aura. He bent down, and touched his horn to Albert’s forehead. A flood of sounds and images filed Albert’s mind, showing as much of humanity as Secundus was able to fit into a fifteen-minute slideshow. When he was done, Albert had a huge smile. “Wow!” Albert said. “They’re just … wow!”
“Yep!” Secundus replied with a grin. “Don’t tell me I’m raising a reverse brony?”
Albert chuckled. “I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t want to be a human, they’re just … fascinating.”
“Yes, Spock,” teased Secundus.
“Albert thought for a minute. “When you were showing me stuff, some of the humans were playing a … game? I think it’s a game. It had a white ball and a … tree branch?”
“Baseball?” asked Secundus. “What about it?”
“So, could we Papa? Please?!” Albert begged Thorax.
Thorax sighed. “I don’t know. It sounds like you need a lot of space to play this.”
Secundus shrugged. “You don’t need Candlestick Park to play baseball, you can do it in your yard if you want. We’re not exactly short on acreage out here. I never got to play baseball with my dad.”
“So, is that a yes?” asked Albert slyly.
Secundus started to stammer. “In the first place, it’s not the right season for baseball quite yet. In the second place, I’m supposed to limit cultural contamination. I mean, I do bring some contamination all the time accidentally, or by just existing, but if I can avoid it, I should. In the third place, you need teams for baseball, and I don’t know if any of the Changelings would want to play it. In the fourth place, … maybe we could make it work,” he sighed, giving into the hatchling snake eyes Albert was giving him. “I’ll just go and find a place I can conjure up a baseball field,” he muttered. “I hate when you do that to me, you get it from your papa.”
“Do you want to play?” asked Albert.
Secundus cringed. “I’d love to, but unless I use magic, I’m not exactly what you could call coordinated. Since I’m the only one who knows all the rules, I think I should be the umpire. Why don’t you play against your papa?”
Albert grinned.
“ARE YOU BLIND?!!” roared Thorax. “That ball was out by a mile!!”
Secundus calmly said, “The ‘out’ line was clearly defined. If you have a problem with my rulings, play better.”
All the Changelings had stopped playing, and were watching this exchange with interest. Most of them weren’t even bothering to hide their grins.
Thorax flew up so that he was eye level with his husband, giving Secundus his version of the Stare. It had no effect. The two of them literally locked horns as Thorax headbutted Secundus and started to push him backwards. “I can’t believe you!” Thorax shouted. “You’re just cheating in Albert’s team’s favor so that he’ll win! How can you do that?!” He then stopped pushing Secundus, and started to snicker.
Secundus said, “Moosey, it’s just a game. I wasn’t cheating, that hit was in. Cornicle can still make a run, assuming anyling wants to play still?” he shouted the last part at the crowd. The Changelings all nodded, chatting happily. Secundus blew a whistle around his neck. “PLAY BALL!”
All the Changelings trotted or flew back into the Hive, discussing what they all thought about the slightly strange game they’d just played. Secundus overheard Aphid say to Thalamus, “That was even better than buckball!” Secundus grinned, thinking they were right. Thorax and Albert walked/slithered into Secundus and Thorax’s room trailing mud and grass.
“Right,” Secundus said to the two of them, pointing out the door, “Showers, now. There’s going to be a run on the hot water and the springs in a minute.”
Thorax gave Secundus a kiss before bringing a hoof up and dragging dirt along Secundus’s nose. “That was really a lot of fun!” he said over Secundus wrinkling his muzzle.
“Yeah,” said Secundus, “It was one of my favorite games. I think the Hive needed a fun day out. Although between most of the Hive going skating this morning, and the whole Hive playing or watching baseball this afternoon, everyling’s going to be exhausted tomorrow.” He reached out and tapped Thorax on the snout. “Boop! Anyways, I believe you promised Albert a Q. and A. on Changeling history?”
Thorax nodded. “I did, yes. Keep in mind most of the early stuff has been hoofed down as word of mouth for millennia, so it’s as much legend as truth.” Albert nodded. “Right!” Thorax said, “Do you want the long version or the short version?”
“The short version to start with,” said Albert.
Thorax cleared his throat, and sat down. “Almost 2,000 years ago, the first true Changelings arose. These were the Changeling Elders, and the young Changeling who would one day become Queen Chrysalis. In those days, Changelings were born starving. The Elders found that pony food, or meat, or fruit could neve fully satisfy their ravenous hunger. The Changeling looked upon the ponies with a deep envy. Changelings believed themselves superior to ponies, even the lowliest drone could fly as fast as a Pegasus, could hone their magical abilities as well as a Unicorn, was as strong as an Earth Pony, could sense the emotions of those around them, and could shapeshift into almost anything they could imagine. If they could do all these, why were these limited ponies so much happier, and more prosperous?”
Thorax gave a nervous laugh. “OK, no Changeling has thought of ponies as a lower lifeform for years, this was way back when in the days of yore,” he said, gesturing with his hooves. He cleared his throat again. “Anyway, on with the story. Chrysalis was and is the most cunning Changeling to have lived. She discovered the reason that ponies were so happy and prosperous, something the Changelings believed themselves to be lacking: love, the purest and most powerful emotion. Chrysalis discovered that this was the key to the ponies’ happiness, she discovered that Changelings could feed on love and that it could truly satisfy their hunger for a short while.
“When the Two Sisters discovered that Changelings were draining ponies of their love, they cast them out of pony society, exiling them to the Badlands. In defiance, Chrysalis swore to build a kingdom as prosperous as that of the Two Sisters. She and the Changeling Elders commanded the very dust of the Badlands to form into the new home of the Changelings: a semi-living Hive that would thwart, mislead, and trap any pony foalish enough to enter it. (OK, noling is sure exactly how they built the Hive, but it’s a cool legend.) In recognition for her accomplishments, the Changelings made Chrysalis Queen of the Hive.
“For reasons unknown, the Changeling Elders left the Hive, fading into myth and story. Chrysalis was now the Queen and mother of the Changelings, laying and caring for her broods. Yes, Sec, she’s my mother, happy now?” Thorax snapped slightly, rolling his eyes.
“After a few centuries of foalnapping ponies to impersonate them and feed on their loved ones’ love and … other misdeeds … the Changelings decided to invade Canterlot. Chrysalis chose to impersonate Princess Cadence, using her and her fiancé Shining Armor to get to Celestia. To make the story a bit shorter, Shining Armor’s little sister, Twilight Sparkle stopped the invasion. I was … part of the invasion force,” Thorax said, his ears drooping. “When I saw what we were doing to the ponies, how scared they were, I decided to leave the Hive. When we were throw back to the Badlands after the invasion failed, I ran away and didn’t look back.
“I wandered Equestria for a few years on my own, always hiding what I was, usually starving. Then Cadence and Shining Armor had a daughter, Flurry Heart. The Crystal Empire was now filled with more love than a Changeling could ever eat, and I was drawn there like a magnet. While there, I met Spike. Spike the Brave and Glorious!” proclaimed Thorax, his eyes shining with excitement. “He showed me how amazing friendship was, I’d never had a friend before, even though I’d always wanted one.
“When Spike’s friends found out I was a Changeling, after a … mishap, he stood up for me, and then his friends did too. I was able to live in the Crystal Empire, and discover more about friendship, in the hopes I could bring it back to the Hive. I found that freely given friendship was more satisfying the stolen love. For the first time in my life I wasn’t hungry!
“Then, Chrysalis returned. She foalnapped the Princesses, Shining and Cadence, Twilight and her friends, anypony who could have stood up to her. When I saw my friend being foalnapped, I flew to Ponyville to find Twilight, but it was too late. Starlight Glimmer, Trixie Lulamoon, Discord and I went to the Hive to free our friends. When we faced Chrysalis, Starlight gave me the idea to share the love I’d found. I did, and wound up like this.” Thorax pointed at himself. “Almost all the Changelings shared love and transformed, and Chrysalis fled.
“I became King of the Hive, and did my best to do right by the Changelings. I also continued to have adventures with Twilight and her friends, who helped me put the Hive in order, including sorting out some rogue Changelings. About a year later, your dad fell from the sky. Literally,” laughed Thorax. “He wound up in a crater near Ponyville. He had to find himself due to some weird Draconequus thingy, which Twilight and Discord helped him to do. One day I went to visit Twilight, and since your dad was living with her at the time, I met him too. I’d never met anyone like him before, he was very … intriguing. Twilight and Princess Cadence sort of tricked us into our first date, and we wound up falling in love.”
“It took King Sombra foalnapping your papa to for me to realize he was my mate,” Secundus cut in with a grin. “Before that we were just coltfriends. That’s a story for another time. I saved the day, helped reform Sombra, blah, blah, blah. A few years later you came along, and now here we are, one big happy family.” Secundus gave Thorax a smirk “By the way, your ‘short version’ was almost two pages long.”
Thorax chuckled. “There’s no way of knowing how much of that early Changeling history is actually true, a lot of it came from Chrysalis. Any questions?”
Albert thought for a minute. “Since she does so much, is Twilight like a goddess?”
Secundus guffawed. “No. She’s just very involved in the narrative of Equestria.”
Albert asked Thorax, “Were you scared when you had to break into the Hive?”
Thorax chuckled and nodded. “Terrified, yes.”
“Is Chrysalis still out there?”
Thorax looked uncomfortable. “Most likely, yes, she is. The legends aren’t kidding when they call her crafty. If she’s smart, she’ll lie low and not try anything. If she does, your dad has my express permission to kick her flank.”
Secundus chuckled. “I can’t be the deus ex machina of every story. I prefer to leave the flank-kicking and reforming to the professionals. Anything else you’d like to know Albert?”
“Actually, yeah. Could you teach me more about humans? They’re pretty cool.”
“Cool?” mouthed Thorax. Secundus shrugged. “Yes, if you’d like me to. I don’t know if I have the right words for it, it would be a lot easier to…” One of the bioluminescent lures that served as the Hive’s interior lighting flickered brighter over Secundus’s head. “Thorax, is that storage room in ‘I’ Wing still empty?” Thorax nodded. “Right. Both of you, meet me there. After you shower,” Secundus laughed. He then proclaimed, “Dichotomy, dualism, duplex. Dichotomy, dualism, duplex!” A portal opened in front of Secundus, and he stepped through it. Thorax and Albert heard him start to hack out a lung. “Good Lord, I need to dust in here!” *Choke!*Wheeze!* “WHO REORGANZIED MY TIE RACK?!” Then he was gone.
“He’s … going to his realm?” asked Albert uncertainly.
Thorax shrugged. “Apparently.”
“I thought he hated it there.”
Thorax shook his head. “No, he actually loves his realm, he just hates being alone in it for long periods. Really hates it,” Thorax said, wincing at the memory of Secundus having a breakdown in his room at three A.M.
“So what’s he doing in it?” asked Albert.
Thorax grinned. “I have no idea. Race you to the showers!”
“Eat my dust, four legs!” shouted Albert, streaking out the door. Thorax laughed, and flew after his son.
After a lengthy wait to clean off, Thorax and Albert descended to the lower levels of the Hive to meet Secundus. Thorax noticed that the storage room now had a freshly-installed door. Only one individual in the Hive liked doors for privacy. Thorax raised a hoof and knocked. “Come in!” called a double voice. Thorax and Albert walked/slithered into the room and their jaws dropped. Secundus was surrounded not by piles, but by towers of books that took up the whole room and nearly reached the ceiling. Secundus had a small sack on the floor in front of him, and was quickly pulling even more books out of it. The sack looked too small to hold even the books he was currently pulling out. As he pulled out a book, he’d glance at the title, name a subject or genre, and toss the book into the appropriate pile. “Art, history, philosophy, fiction, political science, astronomy, mythology … hi you two,” Secundus said, giving a wave.
“Dad, what is all this?” asked Albert.
“I told you I didn’t have the right words to describe humans accurately, so I thought I’d let them describe themselves in their own words!” Secundus said with a grin. “My family always said research is the answer to your problems. I tried to describe humanity from every angle you could want. You might want to take Nietzsche in small doses, but to be fair, he lived during a really depressing time in human history, so I can’t really blame him. You … uh, … don’t have to read them all … at … once,” Secundus said, his voices trailing off at he glanced at the mountains of books he’d made.
“Where did you get this many human books?” Albert asked eagerly.
Secundus smiled. “Well, I can’t visit Earth for at least a thousand years, but the library in my realm connects to the Draconequine Central Library System, which can get you any book in the multiverse, provided you know what to ask for. It’s pretty cool,” Secundus grinned. “The gods wouldn’t be cruel enough to cut me off from books. Actually, they aren’t cruel at all.”
“This is awesome!” grinned Albert.
Thorax pulled down a book and flipped through it. “Some of this stuff seems pretty advanced. Do you think Albert would understand all of it?” Seeing Albert and Secundus’s expressions, Thorax sighed and said, “I wasn’t calling him stupid or anything. For being only a year old, Albert’s actually one of the smartest Changelings or ponies I’ve met, but I think philosophy will go over his head.”
Secundus shrugged. “It goes over my head, and gives me a headache. It’s just there if he wants it. I’m not expecting him to understand all of this, or be an expert on humanity overnight. Humans aren’t experts on humanity. This is just the best way I could think of to teach Albert about humans.”
Thorax laughed, giving in. “All right, all right, you win. It actually is a good idea. So … can I read some of this?” Thorax asked slyly, a large grin on his muzzle.
“Sure!” Secundus replied. He passed Thorax and Albert a key to the door each. “You’re my mate and my son, which means you get special privileges. It’s fine that the rest of the Hive knows I was human, but I’d get in trouble if they read these. Don’t lock yourself in here for ‘research’ Albert, I’m not going to fall for that. Anyway, enjoy you two! I have a lot of recommendations I could make.” Secundus spotted something, and grinned evilly. “Hey Albert? Do you want me to read you my favorite book from when I was your … uh … age?” Secundus finished uncertainly. He wasn’t sure what age Albert actually was since he still thought of him as one, he just usually guessed “early teens.” Albert still had a lot to learn about life, the world, and everything, even if it wasn’t obvious when you first met him.
“Thanks!” said Albert. “Is it a cool book?”
“The coolest!” replied Secundus.
“Have fun you two!” Thorax trotted out of the room, a stack of books levitating in front of him. Secundus curled up on the floor, and Albert curled up next to him. Secundus opened the book and began to read.
Half an hour later, Thorax trotted into the new library. “How’s it going?” He then screamed when he saw the cover of the book. “What are you reading him?!”
Secundus paused. “You heard me. My favorite book from when I was around his age. It’s a modern fairytale of sorts. It’s really good.”
“Ok then,” said Thorax nervously, shooting glances at the book as he left the room.
Secundus started reading again, changing his voices for different characters.
“Why does she want me?” Coraline asked the cat. “Why does she want me to stay here with her?”
“She wants something to love, I think,” said the cat. “Something that isn’t her. She might want something to eat as well. It’s hard to tell with creatures like that.”
The day and night slowly wore on for the two of them, and even Thorax snuck back in to hear some of the stories.
Stats
Page generated in 0.018 seconds
Total duration
1,043 users online
1,609,785 hits today, 2,054,621 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.®
I saw secundus and thought it might have been something relating to TES
What is that thing in the picture?
Coraline? Oh lord, if Chrysalis pops up he's going to see some disturbing parallels.
8879621
Just a couple, yeah...
8879589
A picture of Albert in the Hive
8879488
What's TES?
8879777
The elder scrolls, secundus was the name of one of the moons.
8880005
Thank you, I’m rubbish with acronyms and abbreviations. Cool to know, Thanks!
8879488
How in the world did I never notice that?
Fasinating how trilling slice of life can be... Love our story
This is definitely my mist favorite Thirax shipping story yet. Hope the storybget continue one day. Otherwise it's a still worth while reading storyline ♡