Chapter 96 - Getting Back To Normal
And so, life returned to normal in Equestria.
Yeah, sure!
With all the major threats now pacified, the alliances that had been formed began to fray. Nations that had been happy to accept our help when they needed it suddenly wanted to assert their independence. Abyssinia was the first to withdraw but that was hardly surprising. Cats were cats even if they walked on two legs and talked. On the flip side, the parrot representatives from Ornithia practically fell over themselves in pushing for closer bonds with our nation. Negotiations had begun to formally make the nation an independent city-state of Equestria like the Crystal Principality. Oh yeah, that had dropped its “Empire” title at last. I think Cadance managed to persuade them by implying that they were now part of the greater Equestrian Empire, and had therefore not slipped in status. Semantics!
The sphinx premier wanted much the same: formal recognition as an autonomous region allied with Equestria. Calling her a ‘premier’ was a bit of a stretch, considering the three villages she nominally controlled were each less populated than Ponyville. Equestria essentially signed a treaty with three retirement communities.
It turned out that all but the oldest sphinx were highly territorial. When your youngest and strongest warriors couldn’t stand to be within miles of each other for longer than a couple of days, that cut down on your options to take over new territory. The exception was their homecoming for mating season every seven years. Neighboring races knew to stay far away from the hormone-soaked giants during that two week period. The Premier hoped the new alliance could lead to a cure for their wanderlust. Failing that, the chance to establish new dens in the North would be acceptable.
Queen Novo wondered what the fuss was all about. She and Celestia had made this kind of political arrangement decades ago. The hippogriffs just tended to keep to their own corner of the world until recently when the Storm King attacked Mount Aris. Their sequestration (bad pun, sorry – not sorry) took another blow when Twilight started her school that integrated more species in a common bond of friendship rather than political alliances. Princess Gilda, for all her gruff bluster, knew what was best for her nation and the means of winning over the griffons was going to take a bit more than making friends. The war with Grogar actually helped there. Griffons are an extremely proud species and they reveled in tales of their heroics in the final battle. There was quite an uptick in applications to the E.U.P. military academy and Royal Guard from the cat-birds. I think this was the first event that stirred their blood since King Grover lost their precious icon. Sometimes I wondered if that was mostly a euphemism for the decay of their civilization.
Anyway, these and more were keeping the Triarchy extra busy. Celestia was a huge help though. She refused to take a well-earned break until I found a suitable advisor, and while a few had been suggested, none had felt right for me. Mostly it was because they were too compliant. I needed someone who could butt heads with me if they felt I was wrong or could offer a vastly different point of view. Starlight and Diadem had spoiled me. God, I missed that changeling princess.
These events and many more kept me busy for the two weeks after the war with Grogar concluded. I didn’t mind it a bit because, while I was preoccupied with those problems, I wasn’t thinking about the battle, the deaths, and worse. One advantage of not getting much sleep was that it kept down the number of visits from Luna needed to quell yet another nightmare. When things slacked off, I continued to bury myself in paperwork.
I was in my office slogging through the backlog of petitions, draft legislation, budgets and so forth, when I heard a hoof tapping at my door. Normally, visitors to my office are announced by my assistant who, embarrassingly, was Celestia at the moment. I told her that she didn’t have to do that – she was a former ruler and I had a regular secretary. She demurred and told me with the infuriatingly beneficent smile of hers that she couldn’t fulfill her duties stuck in another room. I swear she was doing it just to fluster me. Don’t let her fool you – that alicorn has a wicked sense of humor. Anyway, to bypass the princess, you had to be one of a very few select people. Therefore, it was no great surprise to see Shining Armor in the doorway, regarding me with his usual charming grin.
“Hey, Shining – what brings you here?” I asked as I got up from my chair.
He met me halfway and we hoof-bumped.
“Can’t a guy drop in on his friend once in a while?” he asked ingenuously.
I gave him a flat look. “Not when both are princes busy doing their jobs, and the wife of one of them is mere days from giving birth.”
Shining laughed. “You got me. I’m here on Cady’s orders. I’m to bring you back to the Crystal Kingdom with me.”
“And why should I go? I’m not kidding about being busy.”
The unicorn grew serious. “Busy finding ways to keep busy, you mean. Come on, Mark – you know why Cadance wants to see you.”
“What if I don’t want to go?”
“Oh, I have instructions for that too.” The stallion’s horn flashed and I found myself englobed in one of his bubble shields. He turned around and headed out with me in tow.
“Hey! You can’t just foalnap a Triarch!”
“Don’t worry – I have permission.” He nodded to Penny who was nonchalantly trimming her hooves. “Just borrowing your boss for a while.”
The batpony nodded. “Have him back by dinnertime.”
“No problem.”
As I floated helplessly out of the office, I saw Celestia with a satisfied smile on her face. I suddenly knew who put Cadance and Shining up to this. I shook a hoof at her. “Traitor!”
“You can thank me later, Mark Wells.”
I folded my forelegs and pouted as I was carried to the daggerscale portal room, surprising not a few Royal Guards along the way. By the time we got to Cadance’s office in the Crystal Kingdom, I was pretty much done sulking and starting to feel the jitters that I had been staving off for so long. She smiled and bade me welcome before dismissing her husband.
“Thanks, love. Please let everyone know not to disturb us.”
Shining Armor nodded and gave her a kiss before departing.
The pink alicorn’s visage grew serious. “You should have come to see me days ago.”
“You have enough of your own problems right now.”
“There are few things more important than the welfare of a close friend and, besides, Shiny has taken over most of the royal duties until I give birth.” The gravid mare started guiding me over to a sofa. “You have my undivided attention.”
And the floodgates opened.
Three weeks and several counseling sessions later, I was far more serene but still occasionally stressed out by far more prosaic matters. Adding to that, I would think about Diadem’s fate at times I least expected it. That would always suck the energy from me like a blow to the gut. However, the Royal Sisters had other ways of relieving our mental burdens.
I was trudging to the dining room after a particularly draining meeting with representatives from Zebrica. Crimson Boulder was lending a sympathetic ear to my complaints about their unreasonable demands.
“Wanna swap jobs?” I asked with a groan.
“Buck, no! That would kill me.”
“If it’s so dangerous, aren’t you supposed to save me from that kind of thing?”
He snorted and replied, “Can’t stop you from self-inflicted torture. The alternative is to learn and grow from your mistakes. Let me know when you want to try that.”
“Gangway!” came a familiar voice behind us.
We glanced back and quickly flattened ourselves against the walls as both Celestia and Luna came shooting down the hallway on office chairs, their wheels squealing across the marble floors as the alicorns propelled themselves with their wings.
“What the…?” I began as I stepped forward to watch the two racing sisters, only to be shoved back against the wall by Crimson.
“HEY! No cheating! Wings only!” yelled Penny as she zoomed by on her own wheeled seat.
I looked down the corridor to check for further racers before watching my herdmate disappear around a corner in hot pursuit of the other two.
“Well… that happened,” I remarked.
“Never thought I’d see the like,” Crimson agreed.
“You know I’m going to have to do something about all this, don’t you?”
“Want me to find you a chair?”
I grinned. “Naturally.” Let me show those amateurs how it’s really done!
I was in Sugar Cube Corner, enjoying a relaxing weekend day with my friends and family. Well, most of them anyway. Nyx had popped up, asked if Gemini could play with her and the Crusaders, and disappeared with our child scarcely before my wife could say yes.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea, dear?” I asked.
“Trixie is certain that all we have to fear is excessive amounts of tree sap.”
She had a point and I was determined not to be a helicopter parent – a term even more appropriate in Equestria. This was the first completely free weekend we’d had since the battle and I intended to relax and not fret about anything. Easier said than done, I know, but when you’re royalty, you could always have discreet guardians watching out for you and your family. More than one pair of eyes would be ensuring that our child would stay safe. Regis too, as it happened.
“Don’t worry, Dad,” Twilight said. “Thorax has several drones shadowing the Crusaders.”
I blinked cocked my head. “What’s with this ‘Dad’ business?”
The purple alicorn grinned. “Well, Chrysalis is now your mate, and Thorax is her son…” She paused expectantly.
It hit me. “That makes you my daughter-in-law! Good grief! I hope that’s the last time you call me that though. You’ll make me feel old!”
Twilight giggled and there were chuckles from the others. I poked my tongue out and blew them a royal raspberry.
“Hey! What did we miss?” came a voice from the doorway.
I looked around to see Rainbow Dash and Applejack approaching. I hadn’t noticed them entering the shop. “Hi, Dash, Applejack. I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“Me and AJ had something important to do,” the colorful pegasus replied. “Glad to find you all here together. It’ll save us a lot of time.”
Applejack reached into a saddlebag, pulled out a bunch of letters, and started passing them around. When Rarity’s eyes lit up, I didn’t even need to look at mine to know what it was. The golden wedding bells on the envelopes kind of gave it away though. Opening mine with my magic, I started reading the card inside. My eyebrows shot up and Rarity was already squeeing excitedly. The card read:
Dear Prince Mark Wells
You are cordially invited to the weddings of
Applejack Apple and Rainbow Dash
and
Macintosh Apple and Marble Pie
Just one date was mentioned for the two nuptials. I looked up at the grinning mares, my ears pricked up. “Big Mac is getting hitched too?”
“Eeyup!” Applejack responded. “Matter o’ fact, he proposed to Marble before Dash done the same to me.”
Rainbow grinned wryly. “Yeah. When I saw how thrilled AJ was about it, it kinda prompted me to finally bite the arrow and ask her if she wanted to get hitched too.”
“So that’s why you did it in the middle of the ceremonies. It did come out of the blue. What gets me is that Big Mac never mentioned it to me. I knew that he and Marble had been seeing each other a lot but he never said anything about planning to pop the question.”
“Y’all were a tad busy for a long while,” Applejack explained. “Besides, Ah reckon Granny done gave him a push. Somethin’ about seein’ the next generation sometime soon.”
Rarity said, “That’s quite understandable, dear. The Apple Clan is very big on family. Presumably, that’s why you’ll be having the weddings concurrently. Every Apple across Equestria will want to attend, so it makes sense to hold them together.”
“Y’all got that right,” Applejack replied with a wide grin. “It’s goin’ ta be the biggest shindig in Apple history!”
“When can I expect the two of you to come to my boutique to plan your wedding gowns?” Rarity gave Rainbow a particularly firm look.
Applejack chuckled. “Don’t you worry none, Rares. Ah’ll make sure Dash and me will come ’round soon. Marble too – Ah know ya won’t be able to resist offerin’. There’s a whole lotta other plans ta get rollin’ also.”
I said, “I’ll have to drop by Sweet Apple Acres later and give Mac my congratulations.” I turned to Rainbow. “How’s this going to affect your work with the Wonderbolts?”
“Not much, really. Ever since we got the daggerscale portal set up at HQ, I’ve been able to easily visit AJ whenever I’ve been off-duty. I’ll take some leave for the wedding and honeymoon, of course.”
I nodded. “Fair enough.”
“Oh, just one other thing, Mark,” Rainbow said with a grin.
I raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“Don’t forget that you said you’d be stud for me when we’re ready to have foals.”
I blinked a bit. “That was years ago, Dash. You still want to hold me to that?”
“Yep. Only the best sire for me and Applejack.”
I looked at the farm mare who shrugged and said, “Yer kind of scrawny an’ homely lookin’, but her heart is set on ya, and Ah won’t object.”
I gave her a flat look. “Gee, thanks, Jackie.” I turned to my wife, but before I could say anything, she spoke up.
“Trixie remembers you telling her about this, Trademark Nutshells. She will not stand in the way of a prior obligation.”
Well, drat! There went my last chance of wriggling out of playing breeding stud. Penny must have picked up on my mood because she laughed and slapped me on the back with a wing.
“Poor Mark! So many mares want a piece of him. Got a list somewhere of the rest waiting their chance?”
“What?” I shot back. “Afraid you’re going to miss your turn at this hot stallion?”
“Nah – I’ve got a couple of sexy mares to keep me company.”
I sighed. Serves me right for even trying. I faced Rainbow again. “When do you intend us to do the deed?”
She held up both forehooves and waved them in negation. “Oh, no! Not for a few years. My Wonderbolts career is taking too much of my time and AJ is busier than ever. Just wanted to make sure you remembered your promise.”
That was a relief. I might be ready for her then. Right now, I was still coming to terms with gaining a changeling queen for a fourth herdmare.
“Anyhow,” Applejack said, “Lots more invites ta pass out. Be seein’ y’all!”
“I seem to recall you inviting the whole town and more,” I commented.
The farm mare grinned and winked. “Yep!”
As the couple left, Rarity said, “Mark, darling, I know you were terribly ignorant of Equestrian ways when you first arrived here, but do you think you have many more mares waiting for your services?”
I shook my head. I fervently hoped not!
“Are you ready yet, love?” I called out.
“One moment longer, Dowser. Trixie must be Great and Perfect for the night,” my wife replied from the bedroom where her maid was helping her get ready.
“We’re going to be late,” I insisted. “The foalsitter collected Gemini for the night long ago and everyone else is waiting for you.”
Penny and Steady smirked, Twilight rolled her eyes, and Rarity tittered. Celestia and Luna exchanged knowing glances. Thorax looked a little uncertain but at least he wasn’t impatient like me.
Despite my fears, Trixie stepped out only half a minute later. I gaped and then gave a long whistle of appreciation. My beloved was wearing a new gown created by Rarity, of course. I hadn’t been allowed to see it until Trixie had ‘completed the ensemble’ as she firmly told me. This outfit wasn’t designed for a formal ball though. To put it in my herdmare’s words, it was intended to make the wearer look ‘absolutely fabulous’ while giving her plenty of room to move. For tonight, we were going partying!
The Anticyclone had at last returned to Canterlot. The previous time, I had not been able to take my wife but now she had wings of her own. Rarity had them too – magical butterfly wings that lent a fairytale look to the mare. I was a little concerned that they might be a bit fragile for their intended purpose but Twilight had insisted that they were much more durable than the first ones that she had made. I wasn’t sure what to make of that statement, but Rarity seemed fine with them. I insisted on a cloud-walking spell to back them up though.
I gave Trixie a kiss and whispered in her ear that she looked hot.
She smiled in satisfaction and murmured, “Wait until later and find out just how hot.”
I already felt a bit steamy. I then congratulated Rarity on the wonderful job she had done on Trixie’s outfit before we started heading out… from the balcony, of course. You couldn’t walk to the Anticyclone.
Chrysalis would not be joining us. Two days ago, she had completed her penance by making peace with the families of all thirty victims of her attack on Canterlot. I escorted her to the Crystal Castle where she sat down for a private talk with Cadance and Shining Armor that lasted for hours. I knew better than to ask any of them about what was said.
What I can repeat is what happened while I led her back to the daggerscale portal room. I heard flapping wings which made me turn around. Shiny Button glomped onto my herdmate’s legs with a flying hug. “Mommy bug!”
Chrysalis returned the embrace. “Ah, my dearest nymph, Shiny Button! All grown up and healthy as a maidenfly in summer. Let me take a look at you.”
The small Prince of the Crystal Principality backed up a step and bounced on his hooves. And by that, I mean fairly high in the air. You’d think his four legs were pogo sticks. His smile radiated the pure joy that was his default expression.
Chrysalis grinned with true affection. “Your alicorn form suits you wonderfully.” Her face turned serious and her voice dropped an octave. “Now, then. Have you been thoughtful and kind to everypony you meet?”
Her son smiled back and shook his head. “Nuh-uh! Sunburst says I’m a little r-r-r-r-rascal!”
“And how do we learn?”
An even bigger smile. “Making mistakes! The bigger the better!”
The changeling queen pulled Button into another embrace. “Such a brilliant nymph. Keep making me proud!”
“OK, Mommy Bug!”
With that, the foal pronked past us and Chrysalis continued down the corridor. “Coming, husband?”
That woke me up from my stupor. I trotted after her. “Chrysalis, we need to have a talk about parenting styles.”
That evening, she sealed herself into a pod for a week of rejuvenation. Before doing so, she secured an appointment with Rarity to explore fashion designs for her restored form. When I asked for a preview, or even a hint or two, Rarity laughed in my face. “And miss seeing you gape like a fish when my creation is revealed? Please, darling. Such moments of absolute honesty are what every fashion designer lives for.”
The wandering cloud resort looked just as I had remembered it from its last stopover, right down to the neon sign advertising The Anticyclone Bar and Grill. Naturally, the non-stop dance rave was our choice of destination. While we had made reservations, we hardly had to introduce ourselves to the maître d’ as we were quickly shown to our tables. The last time I visited, we had been seated in a booth intended for two couples. This time, the table and seating were clearly intended for larger groups such as my herd, each of them capable of six occupants. Celestia practically counted for two though.
We started off with drinks all round, but as soon as the waiters had taken our meal orders, we joined the crowd in the dance area. DJ-Pon-3 dished out the beats and we immersed ourselves in the magic of the music. No ground-bound species could ever appreciate a dance like pegasi, griffons, and the like. We had a three-dimensional volume to work with and we made the most of it. I was able to dance with all three of my mates at one time in an interweaving rock-driven waltz. If you have never experienced it, I feel sorry for you.
Even the Princess of Dork was doing better than normal while dancing with Thorax whose wings were sparkling up a storm. Luna had surprised Steady by asking him to dance with her. After overcoming a case of nerves, he seemed to be enjoying himself greatly. And Celestia…? I had no idea who that mare was that she was gamboling with, but they looked more like two lovers by the closeness of their sky-dancing.
I remarked on this to my herd when we sat down for our meal. It was disconcerting how all three mares laughed.
“Okay – what’s so funny?”
Rarity replied, “Darling – haven’t you realized that Celestia is a fillyfooler? Remember the portrait of Mountain Blood in Celestia’s secret chamber? After Celestia banished her sister to the moon, the poor mare fell into a depression for decades. Mountain Blood’s love and care lifted her out. No stallion could compare to his memory and she’s had no desire for a replacement since.”
I looked over to where the solar alicorn was seated with the mystery mare. “When did you realize this?”
“At the fashion show. Our newest herdmate gave me the rundown from her perspective. Celestia was not embarrassed by your outfits – she was aroused. Actually, that’s not quite true. She was also embarrassed to be aroused by essentially herself.”
“Huh! So Tia’s gay. Maybe that’s why I still prefer mares when I become Marklestia. I always thought it was because my sexual preference carried over into my other form.”
My wife shrugged. “Whatever the case, we mares win. As for Celestia…” She looked over to where the alicorn was laughing at something the new mare had said. “…she’s free and available for the first time in centuries. Trixie predicts many flings over the next several months.”
My eyes shifted to my valet and close friend. “What about Steady and Luna?”
Penny snorted. “Those two are just having a fun time. Not everything is shipping material.”
I took a sip of my wine and chuckled. “Why not? After all, I’m a former human from another world and now I’m an alicorn prince with a herd of four.”
“Putting it that way doesn’t sound so far-fetched,” Penny admitted while giving the odd couple another appraisal. “Wanna have some fun with those two? I’m not just going to gift you the rank of Apprentice, Second Class.”
I looked at the smirks on the rest of the herd and added my own. “This ought to be entertaining.”
Best! Night! Ever!
And we finished it off with all three mares and myself sharing the bed. Now I know why Equestrian beds are so big. It was obvious in retrospect, although I had almost always bedded my herdmates individually before now. Silly me.
How does a stallion figure out how to keep several mares happy at the same time? Answer – he doesn’t. That’s the Lead Mare’s job. That’s why the wife has so much say in who joins the herd. She understands the different ways we interact and she plans around for them. Naturally, the wife gets first crack at the stallion if she wants, but the rest is arranged in some arcane manner that no mere male can comprehend. What I could understand was that each mare was happy with the arrangement and I had a heck of a night. Yeah, I know that this probably wouldn’t work for most humans but, for ponies with their different mindset, it was all perfectly normal. And I was most definitely a pony now – a very happy one.
The pregnancy that had kept Princess Cadance out of the battle with Grogar came due. Unlike her first childbirth, the delivery was unremarkable. She bore another daughter whom her parents named Skyla. She strongly resembled Cadance’s appearance in both mane and coat, although the latter was a darker shade of pink. And she was a pegacorn like her older sister. Oh, yeah – that’s something that we finally figured out. Although Flurry Heart had magic surges from Tartarus, she wasn’t an alicorn after all. As she grew older, it became apparent that she had no earth pony magic. When Auntie Twilight offered to run blood tests on the two foals, her offer was shot down by the parents. Since both knew Twilight from foalhood, they were more than familiar with how experimentation brought out her manic side.
Flurry’s pegacorn status came as a bit of a relief to those who felt that alicorn status had to be earned, not inherited. I was of two minds on the subject though. Trixie and I were both alicorns now, so would the next foal we conceived be one? Time would tell, I suppose. At least it was almost certain that the current bun in the oven would not be an alicorn. I was less worried about that and more concerned about the one that I had conceived with Penny the previous night. And, of course, there was Rarity. She was conspicuously pregnant now although it wasn’t slowing her down yet as evidenced by her participation in the battle. I was quite ready to put off that drama for a few months yet. I had more than enough headaches with my latest herdmate.
How do you mate with a changeling queen? Chrysalis had only smirked when I broached the subject, so I decided to consult with the voice of experience. One quick trip to the portal room and I was in the Crystal Castle in Chryssy’s dimension. I intended to have a chat with Shining Armor, stallion to stallion, but I happened to arrive at a time when both his mares were with him. Of course, Cadance was delighted to learn that I had taken Chrysalis as a herdmate, while Chryssy smugly pointed out that she had been right about my attraction to strong-willed and prideful females. Both blithely ignored my protestations that I had inadvertently trapped myself into the commitment. I gave up trying to convince them and returned to my original reason for visiting. All three were grinning after my explanation and Shining was about to answer when Chryssy beat him to it.
“I’m so glad you asked! Naturally, Shiny was ignorant about the process too, so I had to give him the lecture before we first made love. Let’s start with the ovipositor…”
Chryssy launched into a lecture about changeling queen anatomy and mating procedures that sounded more like they belonged in a Lovecraft horror story than a bedroom. As the blood slowly drained from my face and my head spun, I scarcely noticed the raised eyebrow on Shining’s face and the hoof that Cadance was holding over her muzzle. When Chryssy finally ran out of gruesome and painful details, I turned to the stallion and stared at him in panic.
“How?! How can you cope with that?!”
The unicorn shrugged. “I don’t. She turns into a pony of whatever kind I desire. Pegasus, earth, unicorn, or even a zebra. I’ve made love with two Cadys more than once. She’s quite imaginative.”
I looked at the two mares who had fallen into each other’s arms and had started laughing their heads off.
I scowled and snarled, “Oh, sure! Make fun of the ignorant pony trapped into an obligation.”
“Oh, stop pouting,” Chryssy said. “You’re the one who made a mountain out of a molehill. It was just too good an opportunity to pass up.”
I sighed and let it go. One of these days I’ll get used to being the butt of the jokes of every mare in every dimension.
The next step was to figure out when I had to do the deed. I hoped I’d get a straight answer on that.
Apparently deciding that she had carried the joke far enough, Chryssy replied, “Changeling queens are always ready to breed. Just choose a night that suits you both and do it.”
“What about—”
The changeling mare held up a hoof to stop me. “Mark, some things you need to talk about with your mate. In spite of what you might think, Chrysalis cares about you and your herd. She would never have asked to join if she did not. Stop thinking of her as an imposition and focus on how you can improve your relationship and strengthen your herd. Believe me – I know what I’m talking about.”
All traces of humor had left the changeling’s expression. Cadance smiled encouragingly. Shining got up, urged me to my hooves, and started guiding me out of the room.
“Take my advice, my friend. Make the most of your good fortune. Marrying these two mares was the best thing I ever did, even if they had to beat me over the head with a club to get me to realize that we were meant for each other. There’s a reason why this is a mares’ world and that’s because they have to stop us stallions from screwing up relationships. Go home and demonstrate to Chrysalis why she’s your mare.”
I snorted. “Just when I think I have this relationship thing sorted out, this happens. Okay, I’ll take your word on that.” My mouth curled in a smirk. “In fact, I think I have the perfect idea.”
I confronted Chrysalis that evening after dinner. She had picked at her physical food but apparently fed well on the affections of her grandson as well as a goblet of love gel. At least, I knew she had the energy to spare for other activities. The changeling queen had come out of her rejuvenation pod looking a bit more like her alicorn self from the battle: six inches taller and no holes in her legs, mane, or tail. Her wings and hair retained the sparkly appearance that danced in the light. Chrysalis was displeased by this last bit but I found it mesmerizing to look at, especially in the moonlight.
“I plan to mate with you tonight,” I said abruptly.
Chrysalis looked at me with genuine surprise which turned into a grin. “My! You have grown bold. Yesterday, it seemed you were trying to find any excuse to get out of your stallionly duties.”
“Mating with you may have been implied but not guaranteed. However, I have changed my mind after some good advice. So – are you ready to be my mare and bear my foal?”
She stared at me for a long moment. I think she was taken aback by my reversal of course. Then she surprised me by bowing her head and saying, “I will bear you a changeling princess who will be the start of a new and glorious hive.”
“Then, let’s head to your suite and fulfil your destiny.”
“And your other mates?” Chrysalis asked, looking about at Trixie, Rarity, and Penumbra who merely gazed back in quiet amusement.
“I already informed them of my intentions.”
“Then let’s go, my stallion.”
Penny followed us to Chrysalis’ suite but parked herself outside the door. “I’m still your bodyguard and I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed,” she declared, causing the regular Royal Guard posted there to raise his eyebrows in surprise.
When the door closed behind us, Chrysalis turned and flared her shimmering wings. Looking at me proudly, she declared, “Show me how to serve your queen!”
I gave her a flat look. “Is that what you said when you were pretending to be Cadance and used Shining Armor?”
She gave me a sour look without replying.
I let her stew for a moment. “Chrysalis, you are my herdmate now. Regardless of the circumstances that brought this about, I intend to treat you with the respect due to all my mates. I also intend to make this as enjoyable as possible for both of us. So, knock off the posing so we can start.”
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow and smiled with amusement. “And how do you intend to proceed, Prince Mark?”
“First, I want you to turn into a pegasus the same size as me. I’d like you to retain your normal colors for your coat and mane.”
Her other eyebrow joined the first. “You’ve gotten advice.” At my nod, she said, “Very well.” With a flare of magical green fire, the changeling was replaced with a gorgeous pegasus mare. She had taken a bit of liberty with her coloration but was still recognizably herself. I could tell I was getting seriously aroused.
“Does this meet with your satisfaction, husband?”
I didn’t bother correcting her. Stepping up to Chrysalis, I put a foreleg around her neck and gently pulled my herdmate’s face towards mine. “It does. Now let me show you the difference between taking love and making it.” I then kissed her, putting my best effort into making it pleasant for the both of us. It took a few seconds before she responded, but from that point, it opened the floodgates.
Chrysalis stopped being coy and began taking delight in our togetherness. I showed her how I could arouse a pegasus until she was practically begging me to mount her, and by then I was ready to do so. We made love for the first of several times that evening. Chrysalis showed me a few other forms that she created just for me. While she and I would still have to work some things out with our new relationship, at least we had this part well and truly covered.
The next morning at breakfast, Penny told me that I had forgotten to put up the silencing spell and she gleefully recounted to my other mates the night’s activities that she had heard with those sensitive batty ears of hers. I face-hoofed and blushed, but Chrysalis just smiled smugly. Some things never change.
Six days later, Chrysalis laid an egg. She was quite proud but I admit I felt a little weird about it. Even Twilight’s hybrid child was a live birth. I would have to re-examine my feelings when the egg hatched. Fortunately for our herd, Twilight Sparkle assigned two of her drones to care for the egg both before and after it would hatch. Before the changeling queen took it away to be incubated in a specially prepared nursery, I held the egg in my hooves and pondered how this offspring of mine would change the world when she hatched. The Canterlot Hive would be nothing like any that had come before, and its future ruler lay within that delicate shell. How was Equestria going to react? We would all learn that soon enough, I supposed.
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Neat
Well, Mark had a very enjoyable chapter!
So. There is another changeling queen in his "pocket" that can fill that role. Well, less pocket and more bed, but I digress.
Can't Mark ever catch a break? With all these foals (and Gallus) coming, Father's Day is going to be a Pinkie-style party!
Wonderful chapter, Goldfur.
10417590
I couldn’t remember if they had done that with this world’s Celestia or not. I remembered they had with several other parallel Celestias.
10417777
This world’s Celestia and Luna attended one of Rarity’s fashion shows in Chapter 89.
I bet Marklestia will enjoy the Lovecraftian lovemaking
You finally gave chrysalis the love she needs.
Why can't people just accept the fact Flurry is a born alicorn. for god's sake this is getting annoying
And being allowed to take home "trophies" that might--might!--one day reanimate and give them a chance to relive a small portion of the most glorious battle of their lifetimes didn't hurt, either.
oh, this made me think of an x-rated comic i saw on E-Hentai, "the royal exchange" by Kanashiipanda, where Chrysalis uses an ovipositor on Cadence AND shining...and to make thing sillier,she makes herself look like Twilight!
HA, yeah right
...huh, I suppose they had been wanting to do that for a long time
So it did
Heh
10417915
You just needed to be patient.
10417924
Different universe - different result. I didn't de-alicorn her in my other series.
10418136
Now make her queen again damn it
10418158
She'll be the queen of her new hive when it gets established. These things take time.
10418169
Not if she takes the prisoners and makes them into egg farms. And love slaves.
10418140
So why here?
Keeping a close eye on the egg cos teh last thing they need is a new and improved Chrysalis popping up every week?
10418178
In this alt universe, alicorns have a specific area(s) of mastery. They ascended when the Spirit of Harmony judged them to be worthy. Celestia: Sun; Luna: Moon; Cadance: Love; Twilight: Magic and Friendship; Mark: Lightning; Trixie: Illusion.
That makes Flurry Heart the odd pony out. I mean, what would she be? The Alicorn of Messy Diapers?
10418247
Love and shielding. It's just I am annoyed at everybody giving Flurry crap because she was born alicorn. Her mom is an alicorn, her dad a high power unicorn. Aunt was a high power unicorn and now alicorn. So chances were high from the start
this is a amazing chapter so much love all around.
10417955
Heh, should look up the story Polygamy here on this site. Now that's an XXX rated sex story with Chrysalis and many others having their naughty fun.
Yeah... not having the intended effect. Whenever she's brought up, I can't help but think "what a waste of a character" because I cared about her for how she was learning to see the world in a new way. (ie. The counter-productive meta-narrative effects flood out any narrative effects.)
That aside though, great chapter.
Awesome chapter
This was a great chapter as always, and it had plenty of laughs to!~
Tho I do having a question in regards to all the mating scenes. Will you maybe if you have the time, put together a side story clop fic with each chapter holding a scene from his first time doing it with each of his mates, and maybe for each time he studs out in the future?
10418363
I have never given Flurry crap. Just because I took a different approach to her in this story doesn't invalidate other approaches to the character in other stories. At this point, you are just whining because this instance has hurt your personal views which apparently no one is allowed to contradict.
10418575
Sorry it's just a thing I have seen like crazy and annoys me
10417880
Of those who have had encounters with Eldridge horrors, 19 out of 20 said the sex was always more interesting when shokushu goukan was involved.
No twiggy?
But great chapter. And good story telling. The craftsponyship is amazing.
Hehe, resolving many things so we can start getting the next arc set up? 😘
The time of foals is among us!
10421589
Yeah, I can see the appeal - just not my thing in the end.
10422005
So still, why blame Mark? You said yourself, no matter what he said - ponies would go and eat the poison joke. Maybe you've missed it, but I was angry at Zecora, because Mark was in a no win situation. He could do NOTHING to stop it. It wasn't his damn fault.
10423090
Basicly i re-read the hole story, commenting now spoilerfree every chapter
Okay, that was funny!
To channel Brawny Buck for a moment, "Oh, Celestia! The implications!"
By that logic...
Gallus = Twilight's step-brother/Thorax's brother,
Twilight = Thorax's SISTER,
Shining Armor and Cadence = Chrysalis' niece and nephew,
Night Light and Twilight Velvet = Thorax's step-parents/Chrysalis' cousins
I could probably go on.
At that rate...
Hmmm... Really, I'd expect 'Jack and Mac to have Smith (As in Granny Smith) as their last name, but whatever.
Let me guess: she said
(insert terrible apple jokee here.)
Doubt iiiit~!
That a lot you covered in a chapter
Fantastic work 
Even slice of life is full of events 
Chrysalis hive will be GLORIOUS in time
Kinda getting 'Changeling story gerne vibes' 😍
camo.fimfiction.net/HGKOVNTrPh_dQIegq-4XQTTfq37sBPSPcGN3_7ZAMFg?url=https%3A%2F%2Fderpicdn.net%2Fimg%2Fview%2F2014%2F7%2F10%2F671941.gif
Well, she is the element of honesty, Mark.
This line from Chrysalis is oddly worded. I’m not entirely sure what she means.
Hopefully the changelings will take the snobs down a few begs.
Pretty sure Marks offspring will start many changes. I wonder when Space travel will become a thing...