Chapter 18
“Why do I have to go?”
That was the third time that morning Daybreak had asked the question, and every time it got the same response.
“Because,” Twilight said, “today’s very important to your uncle.”
The two of them were together in Daybreak’s room, Daybreak sitting on the floor with Twilight on the bed behind her. Twilight was patiently running a brush through Daybreak’s mane, carefully clearing up every knot and tangle in a process that always took quite a while.
“He’s not even really my uncle.”
“Sure he is,” Twilight said. “Just because he’s not Chrissy’s brother doesn’t mean he can’t be your uncle. Changelings have different rules.”
“Shouldn’t he be, like, my brother or something though? I thought you said mom raised all the changelings before him.”
“Like I said, they have different rules. Hives are more structured in a lot of ways, but when it comes to families they’re actually pretty easy-going. It’s more about who you grew up with than the actual circumstances of your birth, since changelings are all—”
“Gah!” Daybreak winced as Twilight, caught up in her explanation, accidentally pulled too hard on a knot of hair.
“Oh, I’m sorry, sweetie.” Twilight rubbed Daybreak’s mane and gave her a kiss on the head. Then she floated the brush back over to the vanity and pulled Daybreak up onto her lap. “I think that’s good enough, anyway.”
Daybreak crossed her legs in front of her chest and pouted. “I don’t wanna go.”
“Well, you have to,” Twilight said.
“What if I don’t? What if I get Angel to hide me somewhere?”
“That sounds like a good way for her to actually get Fluttershy mad,” Twilight said, “and I doubt she wants to do that.”
Daybreak huffed. “Can I at least take Gooey with me?”
Gooey was the name Daybreak had decided to give the strange cat-like creature that her experiments had made. Now, as it often did, it was lounging in the tank at the end of the bed that served as its bed, but it perked up at the sound of its name.
“Will Gooey behave?”
“Probly.” Daybreak shrugged. “It’s been pretty good the past couple weeks.”
“Would it even want to go?”
“How should I know?”
“It’s your pet,” Twilight said. “Gooey can come if it wants, but don’t force it.”
Daybreak sighed. “Fine. I’ll go to the stupid thing.”
“Good!” Twilight squeezed Daybreak close. “Now, how about a dress?”
“I gotta dress up?” Daybreak groaned. “Why?”
“Because it’s a big day,” Twilight said, “and I want you to look nice.”
“I bet mom isn’t dressing up.”
“You’re right, she’s not,” Twilight said, “but you are.”
“You’re so mean,” Daybreak grumbled.
“And you’re so cute,” Twilight replied playfully. “Now c’mon, go pick something out. It doesn’t have to be a dress, but you have to wear something.”
Daybreak hopped off Twilight’s lap and stomped grumpily over to her wardrobe. “Are you gonna dress up?” She mumbled as she threw it open and started to rifle through the mountain of clothes Rarity had thrust onto her over the years.
“Of course,” Twilight said, “I just need to know what you pick out first so that we can match!”
“Ugh.” Without putting too much thought into it, Daybreak pulled out an airy gray scarf and a set of black boots. “Is this good enough?”
“Mm, a little more,” Twilight said. “A scarf’s an accessory, not an outfit.”
Daybreak rolled her eyes and picked out a light grey, nearly-white cloak and draped it over her back. It was a bit too big on her, and the ends of it dragged on the ground, making her look even smaller than she already was. It wasn’t helped when she put on the scarf, which, although it did fit her, was so light and fluffy that it puffed out around her neck.
“There,” Daybreak said. “Happy?”
“Very,” Twilight said. With a massive grin, she hopped up off the bed, gave Daybreak a kiss on the cheek, then trotted over to the door. “Alrighty, meet us in the throne room in a few minutes, okay sweetie? Love you.”
“I love you too,” Daybreak grumbled under her breath. Satisfied, Twilight practically pranced out of the room, shutting the door behind her with a quiet click.
Still mumbling incomprehensibly, Daybreak sat down by Gooey’s tank to put on her boots. “So,” she said to Gooey as she started lacing up the first one, “do you wanna come with me?”
Gooey looked up at her, yawned, then dropped its head back down onto its paws.
“C’mon, that’s not an answer,” Daybreak said. She started in on the second boot. “If you don’t come, I’m gonna be so bored.”
Gooey opened one eye and peered suspiciously at Daybreak.
“You’ve never even been to the hive,” Daybreak said. “I bet there’s stuff there you haven’t tasted.”
That got Gooey’s attention. It raised its head up and thought for a moment, then stood up and hopped out of the open tank with a damp-sounding meow.
“I knew that’d get you.” Daybreak reached over and stroked under Gooey’s chin. Its body felt strange to touch, liquid one moment and solid the next, but Daybreak was starting to get used to it.
When she was done getting ready, Daybreak hopped up and walked begrudgingly out the door, beckoning Gooey along with her.
Her parents were already there, standing by the thrones and chatting as they waited for Daybreak. Chrysalis, as expected, hadn’t dressed up, but she was wearing her ornate silver crown. Twilight, meanwhile, had thrown on a slim dark gray dress that hugged her body, along with some indistinct black shoes and long, opaque black stockings on all four legs. Unlike Chrysalis, she’d decided to forego her crown.
They stopped talking as she walked out, and Twilight waved excitedly. “You look fantastic, honey!”
“Mm-hm,” Daybreak mumbled.
“You do look nice, Daybreak,” Chrysalis agreed. “Are you excited to see your uncle?”
“Not really,” Daybreak said. “I don’t get what the big deal is.”
“Mm.” Chrysalis nodded. “Well, I’m sure you’ll have fun regardless. Are you ready?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“We’d best be off, then. Twilight?”
Twilight nodded. “Okay, here we go!” She lit up her horn and, with a massive flash, transported the group of them out of the castle, our of Canterlot, and across Equestria.
They reappeared at the front entrance to the changeling hive. It was a colorful, lively place, filled with all sorts of wreaths and wildflowers that brought life to the otherwise barren landscape. Changelings flitted around the foliage, caring for the plants and making sure none were withering away in the hot, dry sun.
The hive itself was a strange, towering structure that tapered off as it rose, giving it the impression of a bulb that was just waiting to erupt into a gargantuan flower. It was made of an odd, petrified wood that was as hard as stone, but you could still see the telltale signs of the hive’s steady growth. The outer reaches of the wood were light, fresh, clearly new despite the petrification and many knots and hollows that ran through it, but the deeper the wood was into the hive, the older and darker it got.
“Huh?” Daybreak looked around, confused. “Why’d you bring us out here? Why not inside?”
“I thought you might like to see the hive before we got to Thorax,” Twilight said. “You haven’t been here for a while, right?”
“Uhh… Yeah, I guess,” Daybreak said.
As they talked, a couple of changelings wandered up to them, one an adult and the other much younger. They were both a bright, pastel green, and the child was clearly nervous.
Chrysalis stood up straight as they approached. “Good morning,” she said calmly.
The adult gave the child a light, encouraging push, and the child started to talk. “U-Um, good morning. Are… Are you, um…”
“Queen Chrysalis?” The child nodded. “Yes,” Chrysalis said, “I am. And you are?”
“I’m, um, Spiracle, ma’am.” They looked down at the ground and dug a hoof into the dirt. “I-I, um, I wanted to ask…” Their voice trailed off anxiously.
A resigned look found its way onto Chrysalis’ face. “I mean you no harm, child. I am, and always will be, a friend. Please, you don’t—”
Spiracle shook their head. “N-No! Um, I mean, that’s not what I…”
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What is it, then?”
“I, um…” Spiracle took a deep breath. “Are you okay?”
Chrysalis was knocked off guard by the question. “What?”
“It’s just… I mean, you always look so hurt,” they explained. “Your wings are all torn up, and your legs, and… You look like you need help or something.”
“I…” Chrysalis took a second to process it all, then laughed under her breath. “I’m fine, child. I just look like this.”
“But why?”
“Because…” Chrysalis pursed her lips. “Because I’ve lived a long life.”
“Will I look like you one day?” Spiracle asked.
Chrysalis laughed. “Maybe if you try hard enough. It’s tough to get this beautiful.”
Spiracle laughed and nodded. The adult mouthed “thank you” to Chrysalis, patted Spiracle on the back, and started to lead them away.
Behind Chrysalis, Twilight started to laugh quietly.
Chrysalis turned around and raised an eyebrow. “What’s so funny?”
“Sorry, it’s just…” Twilight shook her head. “It’s weird seeing changelings not know about who you used to be. We’re getting old, Chrissy.”
“I was already old,” Chrysalis said.
Twilight scoffed. “You didn’t act like it.”
“I’d hardly say I’ve matured since we met,” Chrysalis told her.
“You never actually met the old you,” Twilight replied.
Through all of this, Daybreak had been staring up at her parents, watching them curiously. Finally, she decided to speak up. “What are you talking about?”
“Hm?” Twilight looked down at Daybreak. “What do you mean?”
“You said changelings don’t know about who mom used to be,” Daybreak said. She turned to Chrysalis. “Who did you used to be?”
Twilight and Chrysalis shared a sudden look of concern as Daybreak stared up at them, her eyes filled with a curiosity that demanded to be sated.
Stats
Page generated in 0.019 seconds
Total duration
794 users online
882,670 hits today, 2,571,732 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.®
UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!
10167793
calm down you'll scare the author away!
10167844
UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!
I really like your style, my friend. Short, punchy, but never leaves me feeling like I missed something or that there were details missed. Keep it up, I'm rooting for ya.
10168545
Aw, thank you! What a kind compliment ^w^
Chryssie is as she always was, best changeling.
10627813
Chrysalis was always best changeling