Meeting the Mother
Once again Princess Celestia finds herself, along with three of the mares she trusts most, waiting in a meeting room. One a little larger this time to account for the new addition of Captain Shining Armor, as well as two guests of the non-pony variety who would be arriving soon.
Another change compared to last time is her assistance's demeanor. She might have been a bit nervous before, but she had covered it up admirably while they waited for Prince Anonymous to arrive. Now she's a sweating, tomato-faced mess.
It's gotten so bad that Celestia even covertly offered to magically wick the moisture away when the guests finally arrive as to help her make a first good impression. After all, one only gets one chance when meeting your potential mother-in-law. At that thought, Celestia reflects on the night of their first meeting with the changeling prince, and the two missives she received after.
One was delivered to a tower guard by a frantic owl. The other tied to a brick magically launched through the glass of her bedroom window. The former was from Anonymous, and the latter his mother.
Anon's letter bore the marks of one hastily written, reading as:
Dear Princess Celestia, sorry for dropping off a letter so soon, but things got a little more complicated after our meeting concluded.
Turns out my mother caught onto me sooner than expected, and was waiting only a short ways outside of the city when I left. Pretty sure she and some guards were planning an assault on the castle to rescue me before I stopped them. Anyway, she was obviously quite upset with me, and would hear nothing of our plans to have Equestria lend aid to the changelings. She's adamant in her belief that ponies would never help us unless you had something to gain, and so, to get her to even consider the offer as anything other than a trap, I had to tell a lie.
I told her you did want something, and well...
Remember how, a little before I left, Cadence brought up the whole political marriage stuff to fluster Raven? Raven insisted it was a joke and that neither she nor any of you would ever expect me to enter an arranged marriage with her, and I completely believe that.
She's just too nice.
My mother, however, completely believes you'd demand something along those lines, and while quite angry about it, puts more credibility in your offered aid being genuine as a result. So in conclusion, Mom thinks you want an alliance between our peoples in return for aid, and that I'm to marry Miss Inkwell to seal the deal.
I'm sorry, but it was the only thing I could think of in the moment. I hope Miss Inkwell understands and doesn't end up hating me. Mom will want to meet with you soon to discuss the finer details of our alliance. Maybe we can think of something other than forcing Miss Inkwell into an unwanted marriage to officiate it?
Hope you can come up with a solution to the problem I've made.
Prince Anonymous.
Yes, the situation is delicate to be sure, and out of all of them, Raven had to feel the most pressured, not only because of how she's involved, but also due to the contents of the other letter.
To the most loathed Princess Celestia, congratulations.
You've managed to convince a changeling, a creature raised on subterfuge and deceit, that you have nothing but noble intentions for our kind. Your skills at manipulation rivals that of our finest infiltrators and no doubt reflect your vast experience at beguiling other's to your side. I now see how you've managed to convince the world of your benevolence, despite how you openly banished your own sister for a thousand years merely for the crime of seeking her dues after aiding in the rule of your kingdom unrecognized from your shadows for so long.
Yes, you are truly a mare worthy of both respect and hatred, and honestly, I find myself with mixed feelings on who you've decided to bind my son to. After all, while I'd obviously tear your throat out before I allowed you to defile Anonymous, I can't deny you are a worthy mare. One of the few alive worthy to wed my son, if only by your power and cunning.
More than I can say for one Raven Inkwell.
Frankly, it's insulting that you think my son, a prince and royal in his own right, is not worthy of a spouse of equal standing, but, luckily for you, he's expressed his willingness to marry Miss Inkwell, so for now, I'm assenting to his wishes. From what he's told me, she seems a decent enough sort, ignoble birth notwithstanding. In fact, I've come to tentatively agree with my son that she is a kind, loving mare, and will thus provide a a steady food supply for him.
Though I hope she doesn't intend to have him live in that minuscule home of hers on the corner of Saddle and Stirrup street. Her interior design sense could also use some work, too. I don't want for my son's abode to look like a museum, after all. And of course there are the in-laws to consider.
Anonymous would be just devastated if her mother and father didn't approve of him. They're retired to that quint little town, Hope Hollow, correct? Yes, she has a lot of work to do before I'll consider her truly worthy of my son, but I'm sure she'll have plenty of time to improve herself before the wedding. An event I'm going to want majority control over, seeing as how my input on it even happening wasn't considered in the least until now.
An insult I hope you intend to amend when we meet face to face. A meeting that will be soon, as we will have a great deal to discuss.
Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings.
The threat was clear, and had Raven shaking after they had read the letter together. Even after sending guards to protect her parents as well her staying in a guest room of the castle, she's been a nervous wreck. It pained Celestia to see her friend that way, but she did her best not to let the anger towards the changeling queen affect the upcoming negotiations.
This Chrysalis is in a difficult position, facing both a species-wide crisis on top of what would become a massive cultural shift for her people as their previous way of life would not be able to persist unchanged after her son outed them. A son who she also believes is being forced into a marriage with a mare she's never met. And so, Celestia would cut the foreign royal some slack and be civil.
She just hopes the queen returns the favor and acts halfway to cordial herself. This is supposed to be an official diplomatic meeting, after all, and she doubts she'll be able to remain professional if Chrysalis sees fit to verbally attack the other ponies present. She can weather insults slung her way with practiced ease, but those directed towards her family or friends have always caused her blood to boil.
There's a knock at the door, and one of her guards enters at her command. They'd been informed that they were expecting a very important pair of ponies and an unspecified amount of their entourage, but judging by the crack in the guard's stoic facade, something has gone amiss. As he opens the door fully to allow their visitors in, Celestia can see why.
The hall leading to the meeting room is filled with dozens of ponies, all different in appearance, yet eerily uniform in how they've taken up position lining the walls. All there eyes focused intently on the pair now stepping in, one, a familiar dark stallion, and the other a unicorn mare with a light green coat, orange mane, and ladybug cutie mark.
She'd honestly be quite unassuming in appearance, if she didn't hold herself with the air of a queen. Which Celestia guesses is probably the case. Prince Anonymous, in contrast, looks sheepish as he walks in, head low and a small, apologetic smile on his lips.
"Um, sorry for bringing so many guests," he says with a forced chuckle. "Hope the invite wasn't a plus one sort of deal."
"Our subjects only wish to keep you safe, Anonymous, which, after your recent habit of tossing yourself into the lions' den, is a perfectly valid desire," answers the mare haughtily as she scans the room.
Her sharp green eyes pass dismissively over Shining armor, flash with something akin to respect on Luna, glow with hunger upon the Princess of Love, and not quite concealed disdain when looking at Celestia, which the solar diarch suspects is intentional. Especially since, once the queen's eyes land on Raven, her expression smooths out, not a hint of her feelings showing on the surface.
"I can take care of myself," grumbles Anon.
"Can you? As I remember, last time you were left to your own devices, you ended up engaged with a complete stranger."
"That's not..." Anon begins, but just heaves a sigh and trudges the rest of the way into the room and towards the table as the door is shut behind them. "Let's just start the meeting." Walking passed Princess Cadence and her coltfriend with a nod, Anon plops down in the seat Cadence insisted be left open.
"I presume you're Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings, yes?" Celestia decides to start, causing the shorter mare to sniff derisively.
"A phenomenal deduction. I can certainly tell it would be a fool's errand trying to slip anything passed you."
"Truly, my sister is quite perceptive to identify you correctly," Luna cuts in, eyes narrowed. "After all, you certainly don't conduct yourself as a queen should."
Chrysalis turn's her gaze to the dark alicorn, a hint of something almost akin to approval in her expression before the bored mask is back in place. "Ah, Princess Luna, I almost didn't see you there from within your sister's shadow. How kind of her to allow you to think you'll be participating in this meeting."
"Why you little-!" Luna begins, rising from her seat with a snarl, only to come to a halt as Celestia holds up a wing.
"Calm yourself sister. She's clearly trying to ignite conflict here so as to prove her perception of us correct. Isn't that right, Queen Chrysalis?" Luna's scowl deepens, but she returns to her seat, earning a slight frown from the queen before it's turned on Celestia.
"Whatever do you mean, Princess? I'm not doing a thing."
"Yes you are, Mom," Anon cuts in, his forehooves folded over his chest as he looks at her in frustration. "You just want to make them lash out so you can say 'I told you so,' and call the whole peaceful negotiation thing off. I can already tell you that it's not going to work, though."
"That's right, " Cadence interjects with a smile. "We aren't going to give up on helping your people out just because you're being a major jerk. You're stuck with us. Isn't that right, Raven?"
"Oh! Ah, y-yes, that's right. We have every intention of lending aid to the changelings, regardless of whether or not you wish to accept it," Raven says, adjusting her glasses as she offers a tentative smile. "It would, um, it would certainly make things easier if you accepted it, though."
Bright green eyes snap to the unicorn mare and practically glow green as Chrysalis hisses, "I suppose you, more than any of the ponies in this room, would want that. After all, my changelings wouldn't make effective pawns if they're half-starved, right?" Chrysalis stalks towards Raven, who takes a half-step back. "Tell me, do you think marrying my son will make you a princess? That you'll suddenly have command over my subjects? If finally having power of your own, as opposed to being the Sun's little servant for the rest of your life is what motivates you, than you might as well know that won't be the case."
Raven isn't sure if it's her imagination, or a subtle use of shapeshifting, but she's certain the changeling queen wasn't this tall as she looms over her, glaring down with slit pupils. "I am the sole ruler of my people, and they wouldn't follow a single command from a worm like you unless I approved it, so perhaps it'd be best for all involved if you squash those expectations now before I have to do the same to your-",
"That's enough, Mother," A deep voice growls just as a green barrier springs up between the two mares and forces Chrysalis back a step. Turning to look at the rest of the room, Chrysalis sees all the ponies frozen in positions suggesting they were about to intervene, but it's her son that is standing directly behind her and sporting a glare she'd never seen on the colt before. "We've come here today to ask for help, not act like deranged sociopaths. If you can't conduct yourself in a civilized manner, then maybe I should take the lead on behalf of our subjects' best interests."
Chrysalis stares, as wide-eyed as the others in the room. She can hardly believe that her son, the once cute, silly, near-perpetually cheerful grub, would not only show such hostility towards her, but do so in defense of a pony. It both infuriates her, yet makes her strangely proud.
She had long ago discarded the notion that Anon could be anything more to their subjects than a beacon of hope and source of good cheer. Yet, now she's seeing a stronger, fiercer side of her offspring she never thought existed. Still, there are ponies watching, so she chooses to feign indifference and roll her eyes.
"Apologies, my son, I didn't know you'd already grown attached to your new pet." She turns her disinterested gaze back to Raven, who barely resists flinching away. "I suppose it's at least comforting to know you won't be the one wearing a collar if this ridiculous marriage comes to be," she says as Anon lowers his barrier and takes a step back, though keeping a stern look on his face.
"Right..." Cadence says slowly, sitting back down with her coltfriend, who is sporting a similar expression as Anon. "Can we just all agree to keep the teat-weighing to a minimum from here on?"
"I agree," Celestia says. "There's more important things to discuss than my assistant's character. Though I feel I must tell you, Queen Chrysalis, that Ms. Inkwell is a gentlemare of impeccable morals. You have no need to fear her mistreating your son."
"Of course you would say that," Chrysalis responds, but moves to sit in one of the open seats. The room only has one desk, which Celestia sits behind, but there are multiple plush chairs and a love seat lining the room for everyone to get comfortable in.
Luna occupies the chair closest to the desk on the right side of the room, then the next is quickly occupied by Raven. Cadence and Shining are curled up on the love seat to the left, then Anon and Chrysalis take up the other two seats next to it. There's a long moment of silence as everyone simply stares at each other, some nervous, other's hostile.
"Alright, I guess I'll start," Anon pipes up, looking to Celestia. "When I last left, you said you would begin looking into the creation of relief packages."
Celestia smiles gently and nods. "Yes, and they've already begun assembly. As of right now, there are already over a thousand ready to be shipped out, with more being produced."
Chrysalis narrows her eyes. "And pray tell, just what will be in these relief packages? Bread baked with saw dust? Rancid milk labeled as cheese?"
"For crying out loud, no, Mom!" Anon says, throwing his hooves up in exasperation. "Assuming they did what we discussed, it should be filled with baking supplies, isn't that right, Princess Celestia?"
Celestia nods at the stallion. "Yes, sugar, flour, oil, eggs, baking powder, as well as dried berries, nuts, and other preserved goods."
Chrysalis raises an eyebrow. "All raw ingredients?"
Anon chimes in. "Yeah, I figured since you were going to have everything checked for poison or whatever, raw ingredients would be easier to inspect. Plus I took the liberty of digging out a bunch of old changeling recipe scrolls from our archives. You know, give our people a chance to explore some of our heritage, and, well, let's be honest, you aren't the only stubborn changeling in the hive when it comes to accepting help."
"I am not stubborn!" Chrysalis snaps. "I'm a realist, and realistically, it's foolish to expect help from outsiders."
Anon rolls his eyes. "Sure, and as queen, of course quite a few of our subjects take your opinions as fact. This way will make it easier for those changelings to feel like they aren't accepting charity outright as they have to put in the work to actually make and cook the ingredients themselves."
"That's incredibly well thought out, Prince Anon," Raven says with a bit of awe. "Here in Equestria, we have a few welfare programs in place, too, for those in need, but they see little use. I'd like to believe it's because our Kingdom is simply that prosperous, but in truth I know it's because the pride of many mares out there forbid them from applying to such programs, even when their families are in need. It's as if doing so for them is a perceived admittance to their failings as providers."
Chrysalis feels like she should be offended, though she doesn't know why. She's an excellent provider for her subjects, it's simply the world that is working against them that has had them fall on hard times. Regardless, seeing her son outright blush and beam like the sun at the unicorn mare's words distracts her from saying anything.
"Thanks! And hey, if it's pride that's keeping those ponies from accepting help, you just have to make them feel like they're earning it, right? Have you thought about making the programs into public works? Like, make the help the payment for volunteer community services, like digging roadside ditches or filling in potholes. Simple stuff, but it would keep their pride intact while letting them help their families."
"That's an excellent idea!" Raven says, levitating out a notepad and pencil to make a note. "You're a genius!"
"D'aw, Shiny, look! They're already work shopping policies together, isn't that cute?"
"Yep, that's true love right there. Reminds me of when you and I worked on updating the training drills for the guards."
"I was unaware we were starting this meeting off with lunch, but I supposed I won't refuse if you're going to roll out the buffet like this," Chrysalis says dryly as she stares at the two lovebirds. It's said mostly in jest, but the love exuding from the pair of ponies is rather distracting.
Not nearly as much as the response, though, as the couple look at her and the pink alicorn shrugs. "I mean, sure, we can, if you really want a nibble."
Her dull expression craps, eyes widening as she blurts, "Excuse me?!"
"What? I mean, we are here to discuss helping feed the changelings, and your a hungry changeling, right?" Cadence says, gesturing up and down at the disguised queen. "Besides, I don't know about you, but I hate working on an empty stomach. Makes me grumpy. What was it your first letter said, Anon? Your mom gets megalomanic when she's hungry?"
"he said what?" Chrysalis grits out while leveling a harsh glare towards her sheepish son.
"Eheh... I might have written something like that..."
"And if how rude you've been is any indication, that's probably not far off, so yeah," Cadence chimes back in. "If Shining is cool with it, we can share some love with you real quick."
"This is preposterous! Am I joke to you?!" Chrysalis yells, jumping from her seat. "I will not have the plights of my people be made a mockery of!"
"Wow now, Ma'am," Shining cuts in, putting a protective hoof across his marefriend's chest. "We aren't making fun of you, and yes, Cadence, I wouldn't mind sharing some love with the queen."
Anon perks up, looking at the other stallion. "Really? You'd be alright with that?"
Shining shrugs. "As a guard, it's my sworn duty to serve Equestria in any way I can and maintain harmony. If feeding your mom some love will help these peace talks go more smoothly, then, well, it's my duty to oblige."
"Ah, Shining, that's why I love you so much," Cadence says as she nuzzles his cheek. "Always so giving." Punctuating her statement with a peck, she leans back and scoots as far to the side as she can while he does the same in the opposite direction, leaving some space in between them which she taps with a hoof. "Come on, Chryssy, take a seat and let us love you."
"C-chryssy?!" the previously composed queen sputters. "You can't be serious right now!"
"There are two things I never joke about, mare, and one of them is love, now are you going to be the filling in this snuggle sandwich or not? It's not gay as long as there's a stallion involved, you know?" Cadence says with a smirk as she taps the cushion again.
Chrysalis is at war with herself. On one hoof, she already feels utterly embarrassed, and taking the couple up on the offer would only make it worse. But on the other, it's practically unspoken changeling law than any opportunity for easy love must be capitalized on for the good of the hive.
In the end, she tells herself that she's gaining an extra meal for her subjects, and hesitantly moves closer. The pony pair give her welcoming smiles, even if the stallion's holds a hint of caution that really should be in his mare's. Seriously, who lets an apex predator this close to their mate? Especially when said mate is a mere mortal and you are a demi-goddess?
Doesn't this foolish alicorn know how easily Chrysalis could sink her fangs into Shining's neck sitting so close to him? She'd only do so to inject him with aphrodisiac venom, which she's certainly not foolish enough to attempt while surrounded on all sides by enemies and with her son in the room, but still, the arrogance is irksome. Nevertheless, Chrysalis won't say no to her enemies giving her free power.
Trying to regain some dignity, the queen holds her head a little higher as she spins around, then lowers her royal bottom between the two ponies, posture regal and rigid. As she does, she nearly goes slack and slumps as her short descent is akin to lowering herself into a perfectly warm bubble bath. At this proximity, she can literally feel their love for each other washing over her being as it passes between them, and she has to fight the urge to drop her disguise just so she can feel the radiating emotions upon her bear carapace.
Unabated, a small moan parts her lip, and in an instant, her tongue is awash in the flavors of young, but true love. Still spicy and fresh, but incredibly deep. "Oooh, Shiny, I think she likes it," Cadence coos, looking around the queen's back to smile at her coltfriend who's mirroring her.
"I think she does. So, how is our love, Queen Chrysalis? Good?"
Giving a quick shake of her head and clamping her mouth shut, she clears her throat and says through clenched teeth, "It's... adequate."
"Adequate, hm? I think that means we're gonna have to kick it up a notch," Cadence says with a devious smirk.
"What do you have in mind?" Shining asks.
"This," is all she says as she moves her head back around to their guest's front, Shining once again moving to mimic her, only to have the back of his head captured in a pink aura and pushed forward to meet her.
Chrysalis yelps as two ponies begin making out practically in her lap. Scratch that, with Cadence pulling her stallion closer while scooching forward herself, they are in her lap as Chrysalis is practically forced into the back of the coach and given an impromptu backstage pass to his makeout show.
"W-what are you two doing?!" she nearly screeches, getting Cadence to open one eye to look at her.
She breaks the Prench kiss and winks. "Rolling out the buffet, remember? Eat up while it's still hot, Chryssy." Then the two are back at it, and Chrysalis gapes, which in her turn allows love to flood her mouth. She practically has no control as she starts to swallow, her hungry body desperate for sustenance not willing to let a drop of this bounty go to waste.
From an outsider's perspective, it probably looks like she's panting, hot and bothered by the lewd situation she's found herself in. She can't care less how undignified she looks in that moment as she attempts to fill what she'd always believed was a bottomless pit inside of her. How could she not when, all of her long life, she had never once managed to feel 'full' like her subjects could claim on rare occasion.
Yet, here she is, devouring passion, love, and no small amount of lust like she's never had before, and it just keeps coming until finally, unbelievably, her reservoir starts to bulge like water at the precipice of flowing over the lip of a glass.
It was the curse of changeling queens. One of their many purposes within the hive was to serve as a reserve, a final stockpile of the entire colony's love in case of utter disaster. In the time of ancients, when her people first settled the Badlands, long before her birth, or her mother's, or even grandmother's, the first settler queen of their current home stumbled there.
Alone.
No hive and body scarred.
Something had wiped out her subjects, and with no hope to stop this purge, the queen had been forced to do what all queens must be prepared to do. She took into herself all of her hive's love, and fled. That love sustained her for years as she ran and hid from that which wished her kind extinct, until finally, finding herself free of her hunter's malignant gaze and in a foreign land, she could put down roots.
She settled, laying her first clutch and digging out the rudimentary tunnels that would become the skeleton of their home. The love of her people lasted through it all, such was the near-infinite capacity for love a queen was both blessed and burdened with.
And Chrysalis has now reached her limit, just as the two ponies break away, gasping, leaning against her chest with tired eyes. "Wow... I... Ah... I think we got carried away," Shining breathes.
"Yeah," Cadence responds. "That's my bad... On the bright side... I think I just discovered a new kink for both of us."
"What's that?"
"Exhibitionism... Don't tell me you didn't enjoy given them all a show, too."
"M-maybe a little," he mumbles with a blush. They both look over at the crowd of ponies.
Raven has her red face covered by both forelegs, but with one brown iris visibly peaking through a small gap. Celestia is stone-faced, but her cheeks are tinged pink and her eyelid is twitching. And Luna, beet-red, eyes wide and pupils shrunk, is openly gaping at the sight, sweat beaded up on her forehead. She looks around frantically, spots a pitcher of ice water on the trolley laden with refreshments that had been set aside for later, and grabs it in her magic.
She pours the entire thing over her head, starry mane instantly being weighted down as the mare gasps from the shock. She shivers for a couple of seconds, then ignites her horn, evaporating all of the water and even the ice cubes stuck in her mane in an instant, filling the air with a cool mist.
Shining says quietly, "I'm sooo glad we didn't invite my sister to this."
"So, Mother," Anon says after watching the whole thing with a smug smile. "do you still think that ponies wouldn't give love to changelings willingly?"
"I think..." Chrysalis drawls, one eye blinking, then the other. "I think..."
Anon's smile starts to fade as he asks, "Mom? Are you alright?"
"I think," she mumbles again, a line of pink leaking from her left nostril, causing all the ponies in the room to gasp. Raven starts to say something about taking her to the medical wing while Luna and Celestia stand. Anon is up and in front of his mother, holding her lulling head in his hooves as Cadence and Shining both stand to give the queen space.
"Mom! What happened why are you- wait, what even is this?" he begins to say, furrowing his brow and leaning in to look more closely at the mare's nose. "Is this... honey? I've never seen it pink before."
"I- urk!" Chrysalis begins, blinking rapidly as she comes to her senses, only to lurch forward, her cheeks puffing out as more pink goo leaks from between her lips. She's so full of love that it's literally threatening to burst out of her. The pressure, the fullness, is both bliss and pain as she swallows down and gasps. "I think I need to go!" she rasps, pushing past her son and running towards the door, ignoring the worried calls after her as she throw them open.
Her subjects are still there, milling about, some even talking with ponies, but they quickly snap to attention at her presence. "My Queen! What's wrong- Mph?!" The nearest changeling goes to ask, rushing up to her, only to be grabbed and have their lips smashed into hers. The shock only grows as a thick, viscous mix of amorous emotions fills her mouth.
On instinct, the changeling, a praetorian guard disguised as a pastry chef from down the street, starts to swallow. Her body, on the brink of starvation for the last several months, ravenously starts to break down the substance from it's distilled, solid form to suffuse her every cell with life-giving energy.
Once she's full, Chrysalis pushes her away, letting her stumble almost drunkenly to lean against a wall, panting, eyes hazy, and with a dopey smile on her face, and then points rapidly at several stunned changelings. "You, you, and you! Come here, now!" They scramble to obey, and one by one, Chrysalis presses her lips to theirs and fills them. Once she feel like she's not about to burst and splatter the walls pink and green, Chrysalis breathes out a sigh and an order."Alright you four, return to the hive immediately and spread that love to those in critical condition."
They shake the dopey smiles from their faces and throw up sloppy solutes. "Yes, My Queen!" they all shoat before diving out the nearest window. At least one of them still had their wits enough about them that they opened it first with her horn before changing her disguise to have wings. Once that's done, Chrysalis turns around while assuring her subjects through the hive mind not to worry.
The ponies don't have this benefit, left utterly confused, but that's hardly her problem. Well, except for the room of ponies giving her confused, and even concerned looks in some cases. It's almost surreal to see the Princess of Love and her stallion looking at her with worry, even while still looking drained after she ate so much of their love.
"Mom, are you sure you're alright?" her son asks. "I'm sure we can put off this meeting until you're feeling better."
"And make our people wait longer for aid? No, if we're going to actually go through with this, we might as well be quick about it," she says with a huff, then slowly trots towards the couple who had fed her. "Besides, I'm feeling better than I have in a long time... These two are in worse shape. You should be asking them if they'd like to retire for the evening."
"Cadence, Captain, are you alright?" Celestia asks.
Cadence smiles and waves off the concern.
"We're fine, Aunty. This isn't the most warn out Shining and I have gotten before."
"Though there's usually a lot more involved than just kissing," Shining mumbles, then yawns and says louder. "I'm a bit tired, but I'm good."
"I saw chocolate on that trolley over there," Chrysalis observes. "Eat that."
"We did bring it in case of such a scenario," Luna says, side-eying Raven Inkwell. "Though admittedly, we didn't think it would be for those two specifically."
Raven blushes and quickly tries to change the subject. "I can send for coffee, as well, if you're tired."
She jolts as Chrysalis hisses at her, fangs visible and looking so out of place in a pony's mouth. "You will not bring that poison anywhere near my son!"
"W-what?!"
"Mom!" Anon shouts, jumping between the two mares as Chrysalis takes a threatening step forward. "Calm down! You know she didn't mean anything by it!"
Still glowering, Chrysalis nevertheless backs down. "If she's to be your wife, then she'll need to know how not to poison you."
"Poison?!" Raven squeaks. "I would never-!"
"Caffeine is lethal to changelings," Chrysalis interrupts.
"Only at certain dosages," Anon says, exasperated. "Some changelings even like the feeling a small amount can give them... Not that I would know."
"And you never will if I have any say on the matter. I will not have my son become a strung out caffeine junky."
"You won't even let me try a piece of milk chocolate!"
"Milk chocolate is a gateway drug! Soon you'll be eating dark chocolate, then you'll start popping coffee beans, and before you know it, you'll be found in the lower tunnels, overdosed! I've seen it before, Anon! Do you really want our subjects to go through that?"
"Fine! Whatever! I get it! Can we just get on with the meeting?"
"Ah, but this is really entertaining," Cadence says from back on the couch, snuggling with Shining and popping chocolate truffles into his mouth while he does the same for her. "And educational. So caffeine is poisonous to changelings, and chocolate is like a drug?"
"An incredibly addicting drug," Chrysalis grouses. "I can't tell you how many of our harvesters had to be reminded to not bring chocolate back to the hive. It does at least serve a purpose for the hive, helping you ponies generate more love." She wrinkles her snout in disgust. "Coffee, however, is like stripping away all the benefits of chocolate, and then concentrating the poison. Frankly, I don't understand how you haven't outlawed it yet. From what I've seen, it's horribly addictive to you ponies and even those at the highest level of governance are dependent on the stuff." She shakes her head and goes to sit down. "As far as I'm concerned, it's sheer dumb luck that those in the southern regions haven't realized the stranglehold they could have on Equestria through their holdings of coffee production."
"Don't you think you might be exaggerating a tad?" Celestia says with an amused smile, which Chrysalis hardly finds appropriate.
This certainly wouldn't be a laughing matter to her if she were in the predicament of over half her populous being addicted to a drug produced by foreign powers. After all, her changelings literally need the love of others to survive, and she's never found it one bit amusing. She doesn't say this, instead pointing at Princess Luna and dryly stating, "How about you ask your sister how much coffee she drinks in a night and then tell me it's not a problem."
Celestia blinks, then turns to Luna who's glaring at the changeling, her cheeks red. "Luna? What is she talking about? You don't drink that much coffee, do you?"
"Of course not! I only drink four servings a night!"
Celestia frowns. "Four cups? Luna, that is a bit excessive. You really should try and cut back."
Luna looks at her sister, confused. "Cups? No, I said servings. You know, the pots you brew it by. Why would I pour it into cups? That just dirties more dishes, and I'm sure the staff doesn't appreciate pointless extra busywork." Everyone staring gets Luna to look around in growing confusion. "What did I say?"
Celestia sighs, ignoring the smug look of the changeling queen, who had moved, not back to her seat, but between Shining and Cadence without thinking. "We'll talk about this later... and set up a physical with the castle physician," says the larger alicorn.
"Why? I feel fine, Tia."
"I want to make sure your heart hasn't been damaged by your incredibly unhealthy diet choices."
As Luna squawks in indignation, Cadence elbows Chrysalis gently in the side and whispers behind a hoof, "Bit of the pot calling the kettle black there, eh? With the way Celestia eats cake and all."
Chrysalis snorts in amusement. "Yes, it certainly did cross my mind to have the castle's head baker replaced by one of my changelings. She who controls the cakes, controls the Sun, after all."
"Oooh, you are devious!" Cadence says with a smirk, even as her husband tries to give the pair an abolishing look, though it's clearly tainted with amusement.
"Please don't encourage foalnapping. It makes more work for us guards."
While Cadence giggles and there's even an upwards twitch of the changeling queen's lips, Anon can only sigh and run a hoof down his face. Just as he opens his mouth, a hoof comes to gently rest on his shoulder and he looks back to see Raven giving him a sympathetic smile.
She steps forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with him and clears her throat. "While the last few minutes have been rather exciting and informative, I do believe we've gotten quite far off track. We were discussing the care packages, and their contents, which Queen Chrysalis should be glad to know contains no coco products or caffeine." She glances sideways at Anon and adds. "The prince had left us with a short list of things to leave out, but perhaps the Queen would like to see what has been included? I brought such a list, of course."
Chrysalis looks at the mare, specifically the hoof laid on her son's shoulder, with narrowed eyes, but doesn't comment and instead nods. "Yes, I would."
Raven retrieves a scroll that had been set on Celestia's desk and levitates it over to the disguised queen, who takes it in her own green glow. Unraveling the paper and going over it, Chrysalis doesn't see the look exchanged between her son and the sole true unicorn mare in the room as he mouths a silent thank you and returns to his seat. Raven looks around a moment, a blush forming on her cheeks, before she suddenly stands and shuffles over to the now vacant seat of Chrysalis closer to Anon and sits down, earning a approving nod from Cadence and a subtly surprised look from the other two princesses.
"Hmm... No peppermint, good. Such a horrid sent. Cinnamon? I suppose it's an acquired taste for some of my subjects. Vegetable oil? No soybean oil, right? It doesn't agree with most changelings, and I'd rather not have to air out the hive."
As Chrysalis goes down the list, removing a few items and suggesting replacements, the others find themselves surprised by how much more agreeable the changeling queen had become. "She must have been 'hangry', as the youths call it," Luna whispers to Celestia, who nods in agreement. She knows what it's like herself to try and govern on an empty stomach. She once had to work through tea time, and being deprived of her evening scones nearly had her reducing a particularly irksome noble to ash.
Luckily she only lit their toupée on fire before Raven intervened with a fire extinguisher and a call for a quick recess of court so that Celestia could go eat some snacks.
As Chrysalis finishes with her revisions, she levitates the scroll over to Celestia who takes it and nods after giving it a quick once-over. "I'll makes sure this is implemented before the relief packages are sent out."
"See that you do," Chrysalis says with a huff as she crosses her forelegs. "The next matter of business is my son's marital status, I presume?"
"Actually," Luna cuts in, eyes narrowing. "We still have the feeding of your subjects to discuss. More specifically, the methods that have been used so far, and how they will cease immediately or those relief packages shan't ever reach the Badlands."
"Excuse me?" Chrysalis whispers, eyes wide even as her son winces, recognizing that tone. "You dare presume to dictate our way of life, pony?"
"When that way involves the continued deception and assault of our subjects, certainly."
"If you think your pathetic little care packages are worth my subjects starving themselves of love, than you truly are as delusional as the Equestrian tales of Nightmare Moon claimed. Perhaps it truly was for the best that your sister struck down your pitiable little rebellion so quickly, or else my changelings would be without an Equestria to even gather from."
"You dare say such slander?! I'll strike you down where you sit, cretin!"
"Come and try! I'll defeat you faster than even the Elements!"
"That I let one insult pass through your vile lips once today without proper retribution was clearly a mistake! I shall have to pummel your face for each barbed would you've spoken to me and mine! Perhaps then you will learn proper respect!"
"I'd like to see that! After I've put you in your proper place, perhaps you'll finally learn to come and enjoy the shade of your sister's and my own shadow!"
"Mine battle ax shall taste chitin this day!"
"Oh! Some true fight in your eyes! Maybe that mare of a thousand years ago filled with brazen fire hasn't been as quelled as I was led to believe! Come, Nightmare! Show me the true might of the Moon so that I can prove even the celestial bodies are nothing compared to me!"
"Oh my Gosh! Just get a room and kiss it out you two!" Cadence yells at the two mares now who now have the bridges of their muzzles pressed together and their sparking horns crossed.
The ire in Luna's eyes fizzle out as she quickly basksteps. "W-what?! Do not speak such nonsense, niece! I with to slay the fiend, not lay with her!"
"Yeah, well, from here, the sexual tension was thick enough to cut with a knife," Cadence says, a smirk pulling at her lips even as Shining chastises her under his breath.
"S-slander! I would never bed a mare! To even contemplate it would have me abandoning my crown and entering well-deserved exile in accordance with the law!"
Everyone, even Chrysalis looks at Luna like she's sprouted a second head, the silence only being broken by the thunk of Celestia's hood to her face.
"... I take responsibility for this," she says. "Since your return, we've mostly been focusing on changes made governing structures and technology. I suppose I failed to mention that homosexuality is no longer viewed in such a negative light, nor does it carry any legal repercussions anymore."
"Oh..." is all Luna can manage, cheeks red. "Um, well, our niece still misread the situation. Really, her blunder of mistaking blood lust for regular lust is far more embarrassing if you ask me, so she should be the one we all gawk at. All in agreement?"
While Shining raises his hoof, earning an exaggerated gasp of betrayal from his wife, the rest of the room either sigh or shake their heads. "Well, she certainly ruined the mood," grumbles Chrysalis. "I haven't had a proper duel in ages, let alone one where I had as much love to fuel my magic as I do now."
"Are you kidding me right now, Mom?" Anon grouses, getting Chrysalis to glare at him.
"It's not as if my anger was unfounded," she says heatedly. "Or did you not just hear her demand we starve ourselves further in exchange for some baking supplies?"
"She said no such thing," Anon responds with just as much agitation. "She said we can't keep stealing love, which is perfectly reasonable, especially when Miss Inkwell, Princess Cadence, and Guard Captain Armor have proven it's not necessary anymore."
"The insane inhabitants of this room are exceptions, not the rule," Chrysalis argues back. "You think the average citizen, especially those of more rural, superstitious communities aren't going to take up torches and pitchforks once they find out about us?" She barks out a harsh laugh. "Or how long before conspiracies arise that we've replaced their leaders with our own or are controlling their minds? No, obviously it's better we maintain what little secrecy we have left with the Equestrian public."
She looks to Celestia and continues, "That's why I suggest you keep our need for love a secret, or that we can even shapeshift for that matter. Claim we're a community of ponies who have chosen to live in seclusion within the Badlands and the food being sent is meant to help us after a bad crop. In return, I'll inform my collectors to minimize any harm they bring to ponies while going about their duties."
"Minimize harm?" Celestia repeats with a raised brow. "You really think I wouldn't recognize such intentionally vague language? You're practically demanding you receive aid in exchange for an ambiguous promise that you won't hurt my ponies more than necessary, while leaving out how much you believe still would be." She levels a hard stare at the other royal. "I'll tell you how much harm is necessary. None at all."
Chrysalis scowls, but it's Shining Armor who speaks next. "You're underestimating the forgiveness and acceptance ponies can show. I'm a guard, I've seen lots of fights in my day. Between recruits in sparring where things got out of hoof, from criminals being arrested, and even skirmishes on the borders. You'd think that sort of thing would only create bad blood between individuals, but I've seen recruits who beat each other bloody become closer than siblings. I've seen reformed criminals come and thank the arresting officers that stopped them and helped them get back onto the right path, and I've even seen griffon garrisons and pegasus battalions play sky ball together."
"Shiny's right," Cadence says. "Sure, there's going to be some questions at first, even wariness, but I think once ponies see that changelings aren't trying to hurt them, they'll come to accept your subjects as much as we have."
"You say that now, but it's only a matter of time before they demand to see us undisguised, then there will be no chance of friendship as they call us monsters," Chrysalis fires back, snorting derisively. "As a matter of fact, the ever so enlightened ponies in this room would probably do the same. I'm sure little Miss Inkwell over there would be having second thoughts about marrying my son if she saw our true visage, or demand he remain transformed at all times in her presence."
"I would never-"
"You know, you're making a lot of claims about us ponies, like you know us better than we know ourselves," Cadence says with narrowed eyes and a challenging edge. "Not to mention it sounds like you're calling me a chicken, so let me tell you this. I faced down and evil witch when I was thirteen years old and won, Shiny here is a soldier, and my aunties have been around for, like, thousands of years, so I doubt you're going to be the scariest thing they've ever seen." A smile pulls at her lips. "And as for Raven, I've seen her deal with a hundred annoying, insipid nobles, business tycoons, dignitaries and wackjobs without batting an eyelash, so your real form won't even make her sweat."
"You think so?"
"I know so."
"Let's see if you still think so after this!" Chrysalis bellows, erupting in green fire as her form within swells to enormous size. Within seconds, in place of an unassuming mare now stands a giant, insectoid beast, it's hunched form bringing its five, green compound eyes level with Cadence's wide blue ones. The creature looked like a monstrous wasp, green and black, with large lances that could pierce castle walls for forelimbs, along with four small, but just as sharp ones lower on its body, which was tipped by a large stinger literally dripping with venom.
"Are you still not terrified, princess?!" growls the beast in a gravelly voice.
Cadence squeaks even as Shining throws a barrier up over both of them while Luna brandishes a large, crescent moon-themed ax from who knows where and Celestia ignites her horn with solar flames. Raven can only stare, mouth agape as the queen's terrifying visage, trying to relate such a creature with the friendly stallion she's seated by.
If this is what the queen looks like, what could the prince...?
When she looks over, she is surprised to see a look of annoyance on Anon's face as he yells, "Oh come on, Mom, this is ridiculous!"
"D-doesn't seem to ridiculous from where I'm sitting," Cadence mutters, wide-eyed and watching a string of drool fall from the queen's fang-filled maw onto her husband's barrier.
"Oh believe me, it is," Anon practically growls as he jumps from his seat. "Because that's not her true form. That's the form of a Kumonga Roc Wasp, a monster from the badlands."
"You share territory with those things?!" Raven asks, suddenly very concerned for Anon's safety back home.
"Yeah," he says dismissively, "They mostly leave us alone and bother the kumonga spider monsters. They paralyze them with a sting then lay their eggs in their bodies." He shakes his head and meets his mom's glare as she turns to look at him. "And we look nothing like them, right Mom? I can't believe you're trying to scare the ones trying to help us with such a blatant lie. This is what we look like."
With that, Anon is engulfed in green flames of his, though the silhouette within remains the same. When the fire dies, what's left behind is at first rather similar, until Raven realizes the black coat is now replaced with a hard shell. She slowly looks the creature before her up and down, noting similarities and differences.
She sees that the holes truly did riddle all of his legs, making her heart clench in sadness. There are even a few holes in his ears and his grey mane, even though that should be impossible. He flicks a quick glance at her, revealing that he still has green eyes, albeit with slit pupils instead of round. She reaches a hoof towards him, hovering over the strange, green bands around his torso from which translucent wings sprout before remembering this is a prince and she's in a serious political meeting, getting her to put her hoof back down.
"There, your little scare tactic has been revealed, so how about you show them what you really look like and see if they still think we're horrifying?"
Queen Chrysalis looks at her son with wide, then narrowed eyes, but another tower of flame nonetheless engulfs her to reveal a much smaller form. Smaller being subjective in this case, as the queen is now only as tall as the tallest pony in Equestria. She shares the same as as her son, as well as holes in both her legs and her green mane, though where his horn is a long and smooth with a slight curve to it, hers is longer still and jagged, like a piece of chipped obsidian.
"Are you happy, Anonymous, or will you not be satisfied until all of our secrets are laid bare?" she says in clear annoyance, voice now deeper and with a strange echoing quality to it, though Anon remains firm as he meets her hard gaze with his own.
"Wow..." Cadence breathes from behind the queen, getting her to turn once more to see a grin start to spread across the pink mare's lips. "You look like Aunty Celestia if she were an emo and was addicted to celery sticks instead of cake."
"Excuse me?" Celestia asks indignantly.
"She is rather... svelte I think is the right word," Shining agrees, looking her up and down appraisingly. "That horn looks really sharp too. She must spend a fortune on pillows."
"Oh, oh, Shiny look!" Cadence says, grabbing hold of her husband and pointing at the queen's head. "Look at the tiny crown! It's so small and adorable! Like a little foal's crown!"
"I'll have you know this crown has been passed down in my family for thousands of years!"
"Thousands of years of changeling queens wearing the cutest crown ever, and you thought we'd be scared?"
"It is a pretty cute crown," Shining agrees.
"Verily," Luna agrees, reaching up to adjust her own tiara. "In truth, I've at times felt my own royal head regalia was on the small size compared to some others, but seeing yours, I feel much more confident about mine."
"You should count your blessings, Sister," Celestia says. "I've often thought of downsizing. Having such a heavy crown like mine has caused me numerous neck aches over the years. And you even chose a lighter material than gold; I always thought that was by design. Function over form, you know?"
"None of you are afraid? Do you not see the fangs? The predatory eyes? The lithe body of a natural born hunter? You should be terrified of me!"
"Everything you just said describes a cat perfectly, and in case you didn't know, ponies love cats."
"I've always been partial to dogs, but kittens are cute too."
Chrysalis looks around the room in disbelief, then to her son, who has an air of pure self-satisfaction about him. "Anon, my son, I think I'm finally starting to agree with you."
He looks surprised as he says, "Really? About what, exactly?"
"These ponies pose no threat to us."
"I knew you'd come around!"
"Indeed, they are far too moronic."
"Ah..."
"Honestly, I feel like a fool myself. All these years being wary of creatures with IQ's nowhere near even breaking double digits."
"You realize we can all hear you."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Celestia, I guess I forgot you lot somehow miraculously understand speech. Should we continue the meeting? What do you propose we do about gathering love if we are to not take it by force anymore? Go on, I'll humor you."
Well, Celestia thinks even as she feels her jaw clench and her temples pulse. It's progress, I suppose. She shoots a glance at Luna behind the changeling queen's back, silently telling her to put the ax away. Luna looks disgruntled, but lowers it with a mouthed, 'Fine.'
Raven merely watches as Anon returns to his seat next to her, seemingly in awe of him, but for what, Celestia is unsure. Truly, the colt has done nothing but surprise them all since he first introduced himself, and in all the most impressive ways. Celestia feels her headache lessen slightly as she smiles.
If any pony deserves such a fine stallion, it would be her stalwart assistant, even if she feels a little envious herself.
She has an eternity to wait for such a once in a (mortal) lifetime stallion to come her way, though, so she focuses on the meeting at hoof, and making sure everything works out, not just for the changelings in need, or her subject, but for her dear friend, too.
With a mother-in-law like Chrysalis, Raven will certainly need all the help she can get.
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I loved this one, glad to see it over here.
Okay, this is REALLY good, and I hope there is more!
I don't really have any adequate words for this statement from Cadence towards Chrysalis.
It's just too spectacular and actually made me laugh out loud.
Very much looking forward to watching this story develop.
I wonder how long it's going to take them to get to the 'the prince and queen are immortal' bit?
Suddenly Celestia is way more interested.
Other than the fact that you can't be addicted to celery sticks sincemyounget less energy from them than you expend, I can say one thing: I friggin' lost it.
Glad to see this one is still being worked on. Can't wait to see more
Really good stuff.
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Covered in the story.
Read and find out, if you pay attention.
Kumonga mention!
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fa/Kumonga_kaiju.png
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The "celery is a negative calorie food" thing is a myth. negative calorie foods don't exist.
https://www.inverse.com/science/debunking-the-myth-of-negative-calorie-food
> Celestia feels her headache lesson slightly as she smiles.
Also, small crown humiliation is hilarious.
This is gonna be glorious
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11876651
Perhaps.
I'm leaving it vague, but I'm leaning towards Changeling Anon's dad being either a human, or transformed human, and how he raised his son in those early years is what imparted the prince's less RGRE-stallion personality.
Whew!
Is it just me, or was it getting hot in here?
That kind of "overt diplomacy" Cadence and Shiny executed is something I usually only ever see in crackfics and sh!posts.
Seeing it here taken more seriously but no less amusingly is a real treat.
The prince is really good at derailing his mother's drama ways that are both comedic and further the narrative by averting those story-slogging dramas entirely.
He's like an internet troll if they used their powers for good.
One- I'm curious about Anon's Father... and would love more backstory about him, and guessing he's not around anymore
Two- If I was him, I'll let his mother cook about his people steal more love in order to bring more levels of love stored, the faster it's stored for bleak times, the less they starve. Being a realist and all. Bring it up a later date. Not that the tension between Chryssy and Lunny has been... saucy...
Three- I'll be more than curious if there was some weird third phenomeon if there were some drop off of humans throughout the world. Like some very light tidbits here and there... make for a secret arc throughout the story
Four- I'm faving, it's a cool concept I haven't ran across yet, and you got me hooked at the moment
Sole true unicorn in the room? Did you forget that Shining Armor was still in the room, or that he wasn't an alicorn?
Interesting start but Anonymous just doesn't work as a changeling name.
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I would say it’s actually fitting for a species that normally keeps their identities hidden!
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Most likely this is a mistake by the author, but it would be funny if it later turns out that Shining Armor is actually also a changeling, but he just doesn’t know about it yet.
Quite interesting. I think my favorite part so far is the family dynamic between Anon and Chrysalis. In this situation she's misunderstood or just evil. Here she is paranoid and distrustful, but still a mother. I can appreciate this. I wonder how far this will go?
I'm intensely intetested! I will certainly be following this with a close eye. Job well done! Your skill (and love of Raven) is apparent!
Perhaps my only major complaint is the rating. The characters in this story--as is common in the RGRE setting--readily discuss sexual topics with little subtlety to speak of. I feel this warrants at least a T rating and perhaps a corresponding tag just to be safe. Just a simple recommendation--you can follow it or not. I would point out that I've seen various authors get in trouble with the mods for misrating their work.
Jolly good show! I'm excited for the next update
author, do a search for >
You've got greentext bleeding through
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It's literally the most appropriate name
OMG they have tiny crown envy!!! 😂
What a show the meeting has been so far, way more interesting than the typical diplomatic travesties. The Princess of Food giving a pre-load of the upcoming care packages without condition will go a long way.
They're on to something about the whole "maintaining pride" thing. Having the lings implicitly ingratiate themselves through service will start as a demeaning activity but soon enough they'll branch out and level off into normalcy.