Thread 84: Stories 1-15

https://archive.moe/mlp/thread/23581564/
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>41
"SP"
~~~~

>KA-POW! HA HA!

"No fucking fair! You can't just point in a random direction and then hit me when I'm not looking! That's such a... such a... what's the word for it?"

>...You?

"What? No, it's not a sheep, you're thinking of when you smother someone with a pillow."

>...

"...Damn it, it'll come to me."

>...Sure buddy. Hey! Wanna go get some more pizza?

"How do you stay so thin eating that much!? I'm porking out and my metabolism is insane."

>CHANGELING, BITCH! Get on my level!... I don't even really need to eat it.

"...Freakin' sucks."

>Heh... sure, now. Would've loved it if Pizza actually made me full back then instead of just making me more hungry.

"What was that?"

>I SAID BA-KOW!

"OW!... Damn it, Forty One!"

>Ha ha!

"Ugghh... I'm not feeling pizza."

>Cool, what'dya wanna do instead?... Oh! Wanna go mess with those... not Coltsy, the other robot guys. The ones that have little accessories!

"I haven't been over there in months. What are they supposed to do?"

>It's great! See, I'm not joking here, they've got these helmets that they GUARANTEE can block out changeling mind reading! They're so fucking huge and goofy looking, it's amazing!

"...Annnd-"

>Pfft, they totally don't work. Like they could keep out a changeling!

"You... actually read ponies minds to mess with them?"

>Wha? Oh, no, I just say really vague stuff I learned from a cold-read book. It lets them make up their own answers and then you pretend you lead it to them. Pffft, I suck at mind-magics, SP. That's why I'm SOLDIER class, not one of those fancy-shmancy infiltrators. I just know they don't work because we got changelings checking to make sure.

"Oh.. oh yeah, that's kind of funny..."

>...What's up?

"Ahhh, I dunno... just.. would it be so bad if they did work?"

>...I dunno, like I said, I suck at them. So, not like it would change to me... would have to ask an infiltrator like, I dunno... Maybe Eighteen? She's smart... Majesty wouldn't like it, I know that.

"It's just... you got mind controlled too, didn't you?"

>Yep! Weird time, still don't remember it.

"Doesn't that... bother you? That she could just come in and make you act like that for a month, and then just... poof, all gone, who cares?"

>W-well... well, no. She's my Queen, she's allowed to do stuff like that. Not much of a soldier if I don't follow her orders.

"Why?"

>Cause... she's the Queen. That's just how it works.

"Now that's just a load of-"

>SP!

"..."

>...Look, she didn't have to take me in, and ANYONE else would have literally cut off my head the second she figured out I was a female. Okay? She... look, I'm fed, and in case you missed that earlier point I can READ now, this is a big step up for me. I don't remember it exactly, but I probably agreed to this when she asked, I know I would now if she asked. So... just, don't bad mouth her to me, okay? You wanna do it when I'm not here, your business, but not when I can hear you. Don't be like that.

"...Fine. Just think it wouldn't be so bad if WE had the option of not getting mind read or controlled."

>Well... I can't help you there, I suck at mind magic.

"So you couldn't even read my mind?"

>...

"...Ah."

>I never would! She ordered me not to and everything, said I'd get punished if I did, so... you know!

"Still sucks you have that ability."

>Well you have the ability to stab me in the eye right now, and I'm not asking for bulletproof sunglasses to be mandatory.

"..."

>...

"...Sorry."

>Yeah, sorry for yelling. I mean... I get it, gotta be scary when a bug monster walks by and you just wanna shield your brain.

"Don't call yourself that."

>I can say it, I'm a changeling.

"...hrm..."

>...Wanna go try the fried daisy place instead?

"What is it with you and junkfood?"

>...

"...You know what? Sure, let's do that."

>Cool! C'mon Suckerpunch!

"THAT'S WHAT IT WAS!"

>.......

"...I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

>Nope.

"Damn."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

~~~~~~~~

It was a strange little congregation of the heartland pony nations' rulers that stood in a semicircle around a single, bedraggled-looking unicorn mare at the back of the Crystal Castle. After the crowd had dispersed, well-wishes and inquiries about the state of affairs were done with, those who had claimed the supervision over Sunset Shimmer's progress from now on gathered for some last words.

The first to step forward was the lavender princess of Friendship, opening her act with bringing forth two unmarked hardcover journals.

“My conditions are that you to return to Canterlot for a check-up, once a week. I will try to analyze the Gem, your current state, your abilities as thoroughly as I can before we try to... bring your body back to its original state. Of course, we need to see if we can follow the traces of Chaos you spoke of. We'll go from there once that happens.”

Some of those in the gathering perked up, Celestia most prominently. Chaos?

Twilight just continued for now.

“The brown journal is for personal notes. If you notice anything unusual both in the physical or psychological sense, jot it down and we will talk about it during your check-up. The red journal is some of the rules laid down for you. What you may or may not do, restrictions on travel, magic and so on. I wrote them in consultation with everyone else, so it should cover just about everything.”

Sunset nodded and took both in the grasp of her telekinesis.

Then, for just a moment, she faltered and gave Twilight a an uncertain look. The alicorn realized why right away, stepped forward and gave the other mare a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“You can use telekinesis. Don't worry, the limitations on our own magic are very light. You will probably need plenty of it for the tasks ahead of you.”

Twilight shot a glance at the stoic face of her brother as if for confirmation, received a light nod, then looked back to Sunset.

“Good luck.”

Next up was Applejack, looking as placid yet caring as ever. Over time she had refined her own magic enough so that she was able to hover a whole stack of parchment, an ink pen and inkwell.

“As fer me: Ah want'cha ta write me letters. Once a week 's 'nuff. Y'all can leave 'em with Twilite durin' yer check-up or jus' send 'em the normal way. Ah dun wan' any Friendship reports or anything silla lahk that. Jus'... lemme know how yer doin', what yer feelin's are and how yer adjusting. Ah promise ah'll write back and let'cha know how things're goin' in Equestria. Okay?”

Sunset nodded numbly, accepting the items. Her concentration faltered, almost dropped everything, when Applejack stepped in close and actually hugged her.

“Work hard. Ah know y'all can. 'tween yer business in the Crystal Empire, y'all and ah are gonna have some private classes, so prepare ta travel back 'n forth a lot.”

Applejack grimaced, and with a gentle nudge of Celestia, continued.

“Ah'm gonna need sum magic classes, and y'all are gonna teach me, since Twilite has her own business ta attend to. Y'all wanted ta pass on knowledge? We all figured y'all would be the best candidate considerin' the situation. Show everyone that ya can act on what yer rpeachin'. In return, ahm gonna show ya how ta run and keep tabs on the legislative of a kingdom peroperly. Y'all always wanted to know what it takes ta rule? There's yer chance. O'course, ah want ta talk ta y'all whenever yer comin' over, so don't forget ta knock on mah door. Ya know where mah office is.”

With a delicate smile and a sharp nod, Applejack made room for Celestia who, instead of her usual air of gentle assurance and control, looked just the slightest bit uneasy. Centuries of rule helped her hide it well, but those who knew her well could see the tall alicorn's uncertainty. Sunset only noticed that the princess wasn't looking directly at her, even as the brilliant golden-yellow of her magic shone upon her horn and covered Sunset's body from the tip of her horn to the bottom of her hooves into the illusion of her healthy, former self.

“This glamour should work for about ten days, given its current level of power. It would be possible to fuel it with more potent energy, but it might interfere with your... heart.”

Some of those present winced in response to that, all eyes flicking to Sunset's chest, who covered it self-consciously with one hoof.

“I ask that, between Twilight's medical attention and your classes with Applejack, you come see me in my study on a weekly basis. Please announce your intentions to do so beforehand to Captain Pommel, as I can't always guarantee I will have the time and attention you deserve.”

The lavender eyes of the ancient alabaster mare flickered briefly, holding her gaze for the first time during this talk.

“My sanction would be that during those times, you stay with me for some conversation and more. It should take about an hour or two. I might riddle you with some thing or ask some personal questions, so please try to answer as honestly as possible. It will be a bit of a test of character, you could say.”

Several feelings were welling up in Sunset's chest when her former mentor stepped close, craned her neck down and rubbed her cheek against hers. The next words she spoke were quiet, almost entirely imperceptible to anyone else but her.

“I believe in you. I always have.”

Here it was once again, that pang, that pain in Sunset chest that let her know that she was still alive, that she could still feel. Sunset wasn't one to express much emotion, but the lest few hours had been emotionally grueling enough for to be a near-constantly weeping wreck.

The three princesses of Equestria all sported different expression, bore different thoughts foremost on their mind as they gave the stage to Cadance and Shining Armor. They gave one last look to the wayward unicorn, a a hug, kiss and squeeze to the Prince and Princess of the Empire, then theyleft.

Shining Armor waited calmly for them to be gone, his face a mask of stern neutrality while his wife looked uneasy, almost out of place. Sunset had only spoken to him twice before her departure for the other world, but unlike the inept oaf she spoke to back then, this stallion cowed her a little. He held her gaze without even twitching until eventually, she looked away first.

Whatever that was about, he seemed to be satisfied and she was shaken out of her reverie when he rocked his head towards the castle.

“We will give you the details of what we expect of you from now on while we walk. Come on, no dawdling.”

Sunset nodded hastily and followed the two, feeling anxious. This was her one, last chance. She was going to make the very best out of it. But... she had many apologies to make.

Her eyes lingered on the pink princess of love, who had first tried to gently coax her into being calm after show awake. Kindness that she had repaid with abuse. She was determined to try and make amends to her first and foremost.

She just didn't know how, yet.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >SA
"Cadence"
~~~~~~

>... Honey?

"Yes, dear?"

>Are we... Are we going to celebrate Hearths Warming this year?

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't we?"

>The Empire doesn't, for... Obvious reasons. Does that mean we shouldn't either? Show of solidarity with our subjects?

"I don't think they'd mind."

>Just thinking political.

"Who cares about politics with what holiday we celebrate?"

>Lots of countries, especially since we're outsiders.

"... Huh. Point, I guess?"

>....

"... I'm not going a year without my presents."

>... Fair enough.

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>Luna
"29"
'MM'
[Zecora]
{Trixie}
~~~~

"Ahhh, now this is a lesson I can be most excited by! The splendor, the joy of matching wits with one another in a heated battle! This is how a game should be played, nothing more but the mind in thine head and the will to overcome thine opponents greatest tactics! Well met, princes! On this battlefield of the mind!"

>...This game is boring.

"MONOPONY IS NOT BORING!"

'It's pretty true to life, I've found.'

>It is frightfully boring.

[Oh? Boring, so you say? Well then, what should we play?]

{The GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie requests strip poker!}

"No!"

{HAH! Trixie knew the bug was a shy thing under his bluster!}

"No, I mean 'no, we are not playing that again, you have a terrible gambling addiction despite the fact you always lose'. Thou owes me six hundred bits and... whatever these 'IOU 1 B' things you kept putting in the pile are! I have a dozen of these, and don't even know what you were offering when you did it!"

{...B-... Berries... Trixie...Trixie totally meant berries... one berry.}

'How was one berry worth twenty five bits?'

{...H-heh, exactly! You... Totally should have called Trixie out, because she meant berries, and nothing else... berries...}

"...Ignoring that, no strip poker!"

>INDEEEED! INSTEAD WE SHALL PLAY THE TRUE GAME OF QUEENS!

"...Chess? Okay, fine, I like chess."

'I don't, I always lose and end up owing Zecora something by the end of it, she's very demanding.'

>Pft, for thou maybe.

[...]

>I mean, NO! Instead we shall play the TRUE game of Queens!

"Oh? And what is-"

SLAM!

>MAHJONG!

"..."

[You poor fool.]

>What? Mahjong is serious business! Only the four wisest may play... so Trixie, thou may sit off to the side, as it is only the greatest who can-

{FREE! YOU HEARD HER!}

"DAMN!"

[FUCK!]

>...We feel as though something has changed.

'You want to play...'

>...Why did the room suddenly get dark?

[NOOOO!]

"YOU FOOL! YOU FOOOOOL!"

>...

'...You want to play.... MAAAAHHHHJOOOONNNNG!'

GONNNNGG!

SLAM!

>... W-we had a board, thou did not need to summon thine own from... space...

'GET READY!'

>It is just a friendly game, the fire is really not nessecary-

'FOR I AM ABOUT TO FUCK! YOU! UUUUP!'

'PREPARE YOURSELF!'

"ZECORA HELP!"

[NONE CAN HELP US NOW! OUR SOULS SHE IS GOING TO PLOW!]

>...We feel as though we have made a mistake.

"PLLLLAAAYYYYYYY!"

*MAH-GOOOONNNGGGG*

>Sister help.

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NC
>56
~~

>CUZ! CUZ I FIGURED OUT WHAT B MEANS, AND YOU NEED TO GIVE ME THOSE PAPERS RIGHT NOW!.... GIMME THE B!

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>Spitfire
"???"
~~~

Spitifire, being a bright orange and yellow, was not built for sneaking.

Despite her obvious handicap, she felt she was doing quite well as she hovered above the Empire, following a very peculiar figure.

If it had been anyone else, it would be rather hard to explain if someone noticed, but through combination 'just doing the rounds' and 'obviously I'm looking out for them', she could explain away any misgivings.

Her explaining away why she clicked a little stopwatch every time said figure entered into a building, clicked it every time she got out, and proceeded to follow them to their next destination would probably be harder.

But she did this, as she had been doing this for at least a week now, with little regard for that.

Instead, when that figure finally made it back to the castle and she clicked that stopwatch for the final time before jotting down the numbers on a clipboard, she only had regard for how... off these numbers were.

>...This makes no sense.

It didn't make sense today, didn't make sense yesterday, and didn't make sense any day before that.

But it hadn't changed.

>How... there's so little time... even I couldn't move that fast. Is she really just that powerful? Is she really so strong she could-

"What are you doing?"

>GAH! NOTHING! I DO NOTHING JUST PATROLS THIS IS NORMAL CARRY ON CITIZEN BYE!

She was gone before she had even looked at the figure who spoke, gone in a burst of yellow streaks and a puft of air. Gone so fast, she didn't even notice that she left her clipboard behind.

But, as she would reason later, surely that didn't matter, surely nobody would actually understand that mess. It was just a bunch of jumbled numbers, right?

"...What in the..."

Surely nobody could put together what, and who she had been timing.

"...Wait a minute, is this..."

Surely, nobody could.

Not even the bacon-colored mane mare who looked it over again and again.

"...is this Cadence's schedule? But... how could she..."

Surely.

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>Sunset
"??"
'AJ'
~~~

Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif.

>...

Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif.

'Are ya' really just gonna stand there and let'er hit ya'?'

>I feel like it's the right thing to do.

'Why's she doin' it? Ain't the type.'

>She uh... she heard I hurt 'not-mom', whoever that is, and 'mom'... who I know and feel really terrible over.

'...'

Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif.

>She was just kind of wagging her hoof when it was just 'not mom', but when she heard I hurt 'mom' she uh... she started throwing them.

'...Sugar cube?'

Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif.

'Come on, ya' don't wanna waste 'em.'

"They're the really hard ones that are really hard to chew and get stuck in my teeth, so I wasn't gonna eat 'em anyway! YOU ONLY GET THE WORST MARCHMALLEYS!'"

Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif. Pif.

'...Still ain't movin'?'

>Seeing her frown at me is somehow the worst punishment I've had today.

'Huh... d'ya apologize?'

>...Come to think of it... Miss, uh Miss Two?

"WHAT!?"

>Sorry I hurt 'not-mom' and 'mom', I was feeling bad and I'm sorry.

"...okay! Wanna share my marchmalleys? Not the hard ones, they get stuck in yer' teeth."

>...

'...Can feel the teeth rottin' outta' yer' skull, can't ya'?'

>...

'...Er, bad phrasin', sorry.'

>I understand... and I want a marchmalley so bad.

"Okay!"

>...W-will you think less of me if I cry?

'Nope.'

>Just checking....

"...That is not the normal reaction ta' marchmalleys, and Ah's should know."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Luna
"Nightguard"
'Chinieghs Assistant'
{Chinieghs Representative}
~~~~
>...They're making us wait.

"It is a long distance, for the Chineighs to travel, Princess Luna"

>We don't like waiting.

"Are you sure I can stand in for Glimmer, I mean-"

>Silence, they're here.

'Pardon our tardiness. We didn't plan for winter.'

{Princess Luna, shall we begin the negotiations?}

>Of course. If we win, thou shall trade thy rice and yams, for our wheat.

{If we win, we're trading our rice for wheat and honey.}

>...deal
They sit down at a table and the tiles are dealt.

"I'm glad that leaders can sit down and play a fun game."
He discards a tile

{RON!!!}

"What the heck! That was fast! 3 moon suns, 3 hays, and 3 clouds!"

'You must be new here. This is not a normal game. This is a game of gods and goddesses'

{Did you really bring a newbie to the game?}

>He will do. Now pick up thy tile.

"Your highness, perhaps-"

>Pick up thy tile!

He picks up a tile.
>Pon!

"Hey!"

'What's this? Are you sacrificing your subordinate?'

>Don't be silly...he was already dead to me...PON!

{Is...is this the power of the moon?!}

>KAN!

"I'm not sure what's going on."

{It can't be...you are! It's an all moon sun hoof!}

>RICHII...LUNAR ECLIPSE!!!

{'NOOOOOOOOOO'}

>Negotiations...are over.

{...heh so this is the power of the Princess who prevents debt. It was a good match. Expect more from our next negotiation.}
The Chineighs quietly get in their carriage and leave.

"...what was that?"

>Mahjong...is serious business.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Night Guard 1
“Night Guard 2”
____

>You know, when Glims first said that our new order was to watch some changeling to determine his eligibility into the Night Guard, I’ll be honest… I thought she’d slipped over to the dark side.

“Ha. Dark side. I see what you did there.”

>Laid it out in plain sight, no way you couldn’t have. But back on subject, yeah, no, I’ve been having a blast tailing this little guy so far. You?

“Is that a legit question? Course I am. Knowing his background I feel kinda sorry for the kid. I mean, Changeling. Kidling, whatever the fuck. He’s trying so hard to avoid any and all booty but he just… keeps… somehow it always finds him, right in the face.”

>If he weren’t blessed by the gods of ass themselves, I’d swear he were cursed.

“Maybe he is. Gotta admire that determination, though.”

>I admire the way the fucker gets away with it more than he gets beat. Bastard.

“The beatings are pretty funny, though.”

>Well, yeah. When you’re furiously whapping a little black bug with a handbag or whatever and he’s all flustered, trying to explain while totally oblivious to the aforementioned thrashing, shit gets hilarious.

“Glims didn’t say we had to help him, right?”

>Don’t recall, no.

“…”

>Yeah, not like we would anyway. This is his test, remember? Kidling’s gotta learn.

“Honestly? I get that he has to learn but what the fuck is he supposed to be learning? How to dodge ass?”

>If so, he’s failing like mad.

“…Envy... building."

>I reached critical jelly when he tripped into the plot of that one mare, the one with the wide hips and tail band. She even laughed and patted him on the head!

"...I just want to push him."

>Fuck that, I just want to BE him. Ten minutes. I could die happy.

"If we weren't family and I weren't wishing the same, I'd think that pretty pathetic, Freighter."

>HEY! ...Wanting ass is never pathetic.

"True."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Chitania
"13"
~~~

It itched.

The t... the changeling Queen found herself thinking that thought, or rather focusing on it, as she once more scratched her chest where that ugly, disgusting looking scar had been.

One might wonder why, even in her thoughts, she could not bring herself to call her title of the... what she had been. The answer was as equal parts simple as it was painful.

"You can stop pretending you know I've been watching..."

>I don't know what you're talking about.

"You need to get that fixed."

>I will, in time.

"Mother... you can't keep going on like this. You miss it, I know you do."

>I miss a lot of things, you'll have to be more specific.

"... I know you can't go into your Titan form."

She had said that to her weeks ago, very shortly after they had at last been reunited. And things had not changed.

She didn't know when... when "Thirteen" had seen her, but it didn't make any difference. That day was still fresh in her mind, going down into the forest, hiding among the trees, summoning her powers to her call...

And falling back in mind-rending pain as her chest threatened to tear itself open again. This was not a normal wound, this was not a normal scar. Something had happened when it had been resealed, it had come together wrong, mishmashed and out of place as it should not be. It was more than a giant red weakpoint like some ill-constructed guardian, it was a weakness that threatened to spill out her guts the moment she attempted a single massive step.

That blow had done worse than break her chest... it had broken her titan form.

Even with that in mind, at first she had not been worried. Upon examination, it was but a simple piece of her chest chitin that had been effected. Her magic, shaky as it was, revealed no deeper tissue damage into her body. It was enough to ensure she could not maintain her form, but it was but a single rusted piece in her otherwise untarnished armor.

A chink that could brink her low.

So long as she could remove it and all of the damaged tissue around it, a simple charge of love from any source should allow her to heal it perfectly, so much so it would be as if it was never there. She had repaired thousands of scars over her lifetime, and none of them had left a trace. She merely had to remove it, feel the love, and she would be back to her unstoppable Titan grace in no time.

But it couldn't be that simple

Obviously, the chitin was directly above her heart, her most vital and important organ. As such, trying to remove it herself would likely lead to... an unfortunately short bleeding out, and a rather insulting obituary.

Worse than that, the tissue was obviously damaged beyond repair. She would have to ensure she cut open outside of where the injury had been, which meant opening a hole even larger than the one that had been blown into her. Turning already an already delicate operation into a nightmare. The hoof that cut out this damned poison on her chest would have to be of a delicate kind, and would have to take great care to let her heal. A minor issue for any trained surgeon. Any pony could do this.

Any PONY could do this.

She, sadly, was lacking in any changeling with knowledge in advanced surgery. And even if there had been, one, there was the matter of her trying to crush them not long ago.

As such, she was down to ponies.

To trusting ponies to expose her heart to all the world, to leave her beating and raw and thumping under their gaze, and then kindly let her heal up so she could once more turn into a beast of legend.

This issue was pretty fairly apparent, even to her.

Which is why, right now, she was as still as a stone as she stood outside of a clinic, doing her best not to look like she was leafing through the cosmetic surgery brochures. Her disguise magic, with a little help from her strangely talented daughter, had allowed her to hide her weakness from sight, but it was still there.

And it was a problem.

Sweet Note, helpful as she was, offered to hook her up with some 'discreet' doctors down in her old home. Strangely, the thought of going to an even less reputable source and offering her heart? Not something she was willing to do. So, here she was... strangely feeling very alone.

Sweet Note had pulled her daughter away, declaring they were going 'Hearths Warming' shopping, whatever the fuck that was, and had left her to her own devices. Perhaps it was this, the brief moment when her daughter was gone, that allowed her to realize... just how few options she had.

She had no allies, no matter what that paper implied about her and Applejack. She had no reputable sources she could trust to be alone in the room with a Queen's heart. She had no Hive to call upon, nor a fellow hive that she could believe in. She was... surprisingly without options. She needed to have the surgery done if she wished her Titan magic back, but those she could call upon to do it were... non-existent.

If she were being honest, she knew full well that was her fault, and hers alone. She had none to blame but herself.

And there was still one final issue to be had.

Normally, her Chitin was her armor, her skin a shield stronger than any steel, her very being as durable as any dragon scale, unbreakable, impenetrable...

Very hard to bite through, especially for a weak jaw and teeth.

She had not brought up the issue with her daughter, had not even hinted at it out of fear she would take it the wrong way and flee again. She had learned her lesson, and she was going to stick to it. Her daughter had said to her, in no uncertain terms-

"I will never be a Queen."

And she would not dare dispute that, never again.

It was so... tempting now. Now that she had a single area her daughter could no doubt get through if the need arose. If she ever finally accepted her heart and legacy, the choice was there...

But that wasn't all she said.

"You need to have it back. You need to have it, in case my hive needs you."

Her hive.

...it still stung, worse than this even.

Her hive.

That was, and likely forever shall be... her hive. Her home.

She had accepted her back, she was her child and she her daughters mother once more, they would not be separated... but that was her hive.

And she couldn't deny it, for Chitania had no hive to give to her instead. She took her blessing of her parentage back, and was content enough. She called her mother once more... that was enough. It was okay that was her hive.

And her hive might one day need her.

She held little love for them, likely none if she was honest, but that meant something to her child, and thus...

...But she had no one she could trust. She had none she could turn to.

She was not her daughter. She had no hive.

...She had no allies.

That scar would stay upon her chest forever if she did not free herself from it.... but there was none she could call upon with the key. What it unlocked was... her everything. The thing she clung to, even if she would never speak it, that she could pass on to her daughter, and make her a force to be reckoned with.

Or, if not that... the thing she could finally use to bring low the gods above. Her quest, no matter what family had revealed to be, had never ended. Without this, she was still without her greatest strength. She could not fight them as a Queen... she needed to be a Titan to fight the gods.

Or if not her... someone else needed to be.

>...Damn it all.

Roughly, she shoved the brochure back where it had been. She trusted no pony with her life, she trusted no one.

No matter how much she wished to grow again... she could not trust anyone.

She was no Queen, for she ruled none.

She was no Titan, for her size was small.

If this stayed as it was... she would forever be merely Chitania, and nothing else.

>...You're all laughing at me, aren't you? Get my daughter back... lose everything else. Figure I would lose it now, when I need it to look out for her. Took it for granted, didn't I? Didn't know what I would do without it... just like I didn't know what I would do without you all.

There was no sound as she looked to the stars, as she had expected.

>...guess I'll just have to find out with this one too.

Her muscles tensed, rippling beneath the still intact chitin on her legs and stomach.

>You know... I made it through that first one okay...

It still throbbed, painfully. It was a weakness, it was a poison.

...But she had fought through weakness before. She had fought through poison before.

If she was not a Queen.

If she was not a Titan.

...She was still Chitania.

>...And that will have to be enough.

She turned away, away from the silence behind her, away from the stars that she swore sparkled a dull green in the light. She left them behind, as she had before. They would not hold her down, nor would this.

And yet, after she had passed, if one listened to the chilling, snowy wind as it whipped by... one would swear there was the ghost of a cry.

Not a sound of mockery, or cruelty, or spite...

Only sadness.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Non-Canon
>Pinkie
"Shining"
~~~~~
>Welcome to Not Late Night /pa/ with your host Pinkie Pie! It's during this time that content does matter, but everything changed when winter came! Now for our main guest...SHINING ARMOR!!!

"Hey-"

>That's all the time we have now and it's not because I'm pocketing budget money!
Shining wakes up.

"Oh um...okay then."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Chrysalis
"Twilight"
~~

>WHAT DO YOU MEAN, NO!?

"I mean, no. I don't have time to examine the orb with you right now, we're going to have to wait."

>But... but... TITAN MAGIC! Fucking TITAN MAGIC IS IN THERE!

"I know, and a lot of other things, among them a very dangerous changeling Queen who already took over someone."

>Who's ass I kicked, you left out.

"Nooo, who's ass you tried to kick, but she blocked with walls of death, and then was going to smash you."

>...That was the Crystal Heart, not her.

"And this is me, no."

>Why the fuck not!?

"Well, since you need to know so badly, in addition to trying to make Sunset ALIVE again, I'm doing my Hearth's Warming shopping."

>How the fuck is that more important than the discovery of a lifetime!?

"It's not, and we're going to use that discovery. But we're not going to rush into it, we're going to make sure it can't resurrect her again, and then we're going to use if for everyone."

>...Wait, hold up. The fuck you mean, everyone? I'm not letting you ponies get a hold of this thing. I agreed to let YOU help, key word, help, not everyone getting their hoofs in there.

"You do realize that this could revolutionize a lot of fields, right?"

>You do realize that's exactly what Sunset thought, right?

"...Low blow."

>You're the one who apparently wants honesty so bad.

"Well, still, no. Not yet. After it's removed, I'm going to use Sunset's stone as a baseline for a way to look into the mind, and hopefully only extract some of the information, not get flooded with everything like Applejack was. But before I remove it, I've got to make sure she won't DIE, sorry."

>...I find out you and Celly went behind my back and looked at it, I'm punching you. No joke, punch.

"...You let Celestia have access to it too?"

>She asked.

"..."

>...

"...Huh..."

>...

"...We'll look at it later, laaater. Relax, for once. You almost got put back in the hospital again, and you were already in pretty rough shape before the brawl, missy. As your doctor I order you to for the love of Faust just enjoy the damn holidays, and try not to wreck yourself too much for at least a freaking week. The orb isn't going anywhere! Just... relax! Go have fun! Drink some eggnogg and watch one of those awful Hearth's Warming movies! Do something, anything else but worry about the orb and do SOMETHING damn it!"

>...So, this is what science blueballs feels like...

"Yeah, I get that a lot, but trust me. After you fire off too early one time and wreck the whole city, you learn to live with it."

>...Ew.

"Oh wow, I'm thinking of it too, and it is not good. Ew.

>Ew.

>"Ewww."

>....Shiny's probably so pent up he would-

"OUT!"

>Fine, I'll go... shopping for whatever the fuck this is.

"Good. And Chrysalis? Don't almost die again? You're starting to give my brother heart problems."

>...heh.

"What?"

>Nothing... nothing at all.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Chrysalis
"Twilight"
'Primrose/Brahmos/Cordy'

>Alright, I'm out, call me if you need me.

The doors of the lab wooshed open to reveal a small Equidroid, a plate full of hayburgers balanced on its head.

'Princess Twilight, this unit has come to deliver your lunch.'

"Over on the desk, Primrose, I don't eat while I'm working."

'Of course Princess I-'

>...you're blocking the door, Roboto-

'AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!'

One of the robot's eyes turns from Blue to White, its voiced considerably different.

'What the FUCK are you!?'

>Excuse me?

'Yes! Excuse you! Oh dear Bullfather, someone get us outta here! The psycho princess made a space alien!'

"What is it with pirates and calling changelings aliens?"

'What did you do, you purple mad mare!? Is this the white one with the big ass!? What hath Twience wrought!?'

>Can someone please tell me what's wrong with this thing?

"Hm? Oh I trapped a monstrosity from before time in there along with digital constructs of that pirate king Pommel-"

>Who?

"-killed and...well..."

>Who? Who else is in there? I swear if it's somehow Variolus AGAIN I'm gonna-

'EEEEEEE!'

>Hrk!

The changeling Queen's brow furrows in disgust as the droid hugs her. Its White eye now Pink.

>Oh for fuck's sake!

'Spread!'

>...

'Spreeeead! Spread! Spreadiiiiing...no spread. Sadness.'

>So I'm gonna kill this thing.

"No don't! If you destroy it, the horrible monster inside will be free to come back."

>So I'll kill it then.

"And then it'll come back."

>And then I'll kill it again.

"...and again."

>Okay, that sounds like it'd get old. You promise it's harmless like this?

"Completely, it couldn't do anything if it wanted to, Primrose is Three Laws Compliant."

The pink eye turned white.

'Please kill me, I hate being in here with this obnoxious twat.'

>Ehhhh, nah, have fun, loser.

And she was gone.

'...wow, what a bitch.'

"She's not that bad."

'...you just like her ass, don't you?'

"Mute."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Chrysalis
"Changelings"
'42'
~~~~~

>...So they've just been doing this since they got here?

'Yep.'

>Just... been sitting in a perfect line, not moving, barely doing anything?

'That is what they do.'

>...This is kind of unsettling me.

"We aren't breaking anything!"

"WE'RE SORRY!"

>...What are they sorry for?

'One of them punched a guard when we came back because he kind of not-really pushed him.'

>Oh Hivemind damn it...

'Yeah, they were a little antsy being forced to come back. He had to spend a couple days in lock-up until he calmed down. Now they pretty much just hide here in the hopes they don't make anyone mad.... you mostly.'

"WE'RE SORRY!"

"LET US GO BACK ALREADY!"

>...But nobody, like, keeps them in here, right? Applejack didn't order them to stay put 'for their own protection' or something?

'Ah, no... when has she ever done something like that?'

>Damn, there goes my blaming things on her... you know, you all don't HAVE to stay in here, holiday shit is happening outside.

"WE'RE GOOD!"

"JUST KEEP THOSE FUCKING PONIES AWAY FROM US!"

"WE WANNA GO BACK!"

>S'not like they're all bad.

"Yes they are! They're just a bunch of assholes!"

"WE JUST WANNA GO BACK!"

'...I fear their perceptions of this place have become... rather skewed after certain events.'

>Huh... but they're being quiet?

'Majesty...'

>...Meh. I'm sure this'll be fine.

'...'

>...

'...'

>...What?

'I-... ugh... this is why we almost got genocided twice.'

>STOP MAKING UP WORDS!

"..."

>...genocided isn't a word.

'...'

>...We're going back in a week!

"YAY!"

>See? Problem solved!

"..."

>...Bye!

'...I might need to go ask Cadence for help with this one. She's the princess of love, she's good at it... probably...'

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Changeling
"Changelings"

>I hate you all.

The changeling with a rope tied around his middle glared at the others.

"Hey, you're the one who didn't say 'not it' fast enough, 38, so you get to be our scout."

"Also you punched a guy, nobody's gonna mess with you."

"Yeah, this place is a prison, and you punched out the big dog, you're fine."

"Didn't he punch out the one that looks like a girl?"

"Potato tomato."

>Why do we have a rope?

"Well if you DO get in trouble, just yank on the rope and we'll pull you back."

>Couldn't I just fly-?

"Get going!"

As one the changelings toss their comrade out the door, slamming it shit behind him.

>Oof!

The lone changeling, fighting the shaking of his limbs, steps forward...

Oblivious to the fact that a length of very short was now dragging on the floor behind him.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________