Chapter 1: A Draining Glare
"I guess he planned it this way, not like it matters"
"No, no it does not"
"Ooooh, what is with that face? It does all but fit you, my dear"
"You have three prisoners and you think this face isn't called for?"
"Three prisoners? Oh no, no, I have two, and they are all but prisoners, my dear princess. As you can see I have two... guests, and a little larva"
The scene was interesting, mostly because there were few words to describe it other than maybe 'strange', 'weird' or 'what the hell is happening here?'. For those in the know they would be aware of the identity of the two figures, while most would wonder what they were, how had they arrived here and what was the blue rippling effect behind the three figures that were lying haphazardly in the floor. So many questions, right? But let's begin by putting things in context with those two.
The first figure, the on the right of this whole picture, was almost the size of a horse, albeit her mane, the fact that she could clearly talk, a certain brand in her flank and that she wore clothes (So to speak) did give away the fact that she was all but a horse.
Then we take into account the wings and horn and we are ready to drop the nuke.
Celestia, the princess of the sun within the land of Equestria in a world whose name escapes most creatures' mind and is a subject of heated debate since every species wants to call it one thing or another (Though Equis was a popular name for most despite certain complains). The large alicorn was regal white in color with a multicolored mane that floated around as if alive, whether there was wind or not. With large wings as far as the common pegasus was concerned, and equally large horn, for unicorns hardly had such length to body ratio even when they were taller than average, one would think Celestia an imposing figure if it wasn't because the long lived mare was as gentle as it could get.
It hadn't been like that, not always at least, and Celestia's face was perfected as far as smiling or scowling went. She had done a lot of both in her lengthy life and politics, as well as past experiences, had made her perfect them.
Even after so many troublesome situations that all but tested her patience, Celestia was quite the gracious mare, if only after she had mastered herself once she noticed the harm she had done. Whatever the case was, for her subjects didn't care as much for the past as they should, the magenta eyed mare was seen in thought with a neutral expression, or smiling and quite happy most of the time these days. With her crown polished and radiant alongside her collar and shoes, all made of an alloy that was even more vibrant than gold itself as far as most her subjects were concerned, the daily monarch was as bright as the sun whose cutie mark she had on her flank.
"I may be weakened, Chrysalis, but I am not about to let you run off with somepony like that"
Right now her face conveyed little more than barely held anger as she eyed her counterpart mere steps away from her. Had she decided to walk instead of teleport, at her own body's expense, back to the portal that she had made (with some help mind you), then she would have missed the scene. The fact that there was not a battle raging right now was not only thanks to the weakness Celestia admitted to, but many other little things that the changeling was all but privy about, or so Celestia hoped.
"Oh my dear sun princess, how hard it must be to admit you are weak like that. I am sure it must be... infuriating"
Celestia's voice was gentle and caring, like that of a mother that, even when she scolded their children, had a warm feeling about it as she tried her best to help. Chrysalis' own was between sensual and grating, with something akin to buzzing, though some would describe it in far less pleasant way, mixed in for good measure whenever she talked.
One of them was a pony, so to speak. She was a mammal, and an intelligent creature capable of magical feats beyond most creatures' imagination, feats that ranged from simple combat magic and telekinesis to the incredible power of taking control of the sun itself.
The other was more akin to an insect while still retaining more than enough similarities to the former to be called a mockery in very poor taste by many. And yet she was a mockery that was perfectly capable of replicating nearly any and all ponies she wanted to, and many other creatures, much like the rest of her kin.
However, and despite these differences that could utterly set them apart without much effort, both mares had their similarities, one of which was their size. This single and easy to spot similarity on itself meant nothing, but it did make comparisons much easier, more so when both figures were mostly still as both of them thought of what to say next for completely different reasons.
To start this deep comparison, let's begin with the one thing that most would see first in the alicorn, other than her cutie mark, horn or her wings: Celestia's mane. The daily monarch did have a very strange, albeit beautiful, multicolored mane. Different, yes, but it was indeed a mane.
It would be hard on anyone at first, but to begin understanding how different both mares were you would just need to look at her counterpart and see that Chrysalis had something that could be considered a mane, but the 'hair' was, for a lack of a better term, strange, and the word hair would be deemed even less fitting if you ever touched it.
Not only was the touch different; it didn't have single strands in the same way as any other horse would, as it was, in fact, extremely soft dark cerulean chitin whose tact, the feeling your brain would perceive at least, was almost similar to that of hair. The warmth, consistency and the solid sensation it gave out could be considered unnerving, at least for those unused to such, let's call it exotic, mane, a bit of an aquired taste, if you ever got to touch the real thing that is.
It was not the only thing made of an interesting type of chitin on the mare's body either, as changelings did have both an internal and external skeleton. The internal was to ensure functionality and survival chances in case of enough superficial damage while the external, the chitin plating, was both a defense, a way to control their powers to mimic others via visual, scent based and magical cues, as well as an easy way to determine a changeling's function just by size and form. In the case of Chrysalis this meant that she was as tall as the princess in front of her, and while the black chitin was smooth and maybe even pleasing to the touch, even soft when Chrysalis wished, it could be as easily rendered sickening and hard as steel just by the empath's desire and a magical change.
This, of course, would bring the important question as to why did the changeling's large horn have holes much like her mane and tail. It could be considered an oddity at first glance, worrying when you looked at her horn and knew no better, but it would turn to be downright horrible to the mind when you found out that her own legs lacked massive CHUNKS from one side to the other. It could be explained with some anatomy lessons however.
While much larger and much more complex than any other insect, changelings were partial insects, and while they required things that insects didn't (Like emotions such as love to feed themselves), they had certain needs common to insects. Changelings, unlike mammals of their size, required an increased amount of oxygen to sustain themselves, and to make sure that they satisfied that need they had a very complex respiratory system that was connected to the holes.
Simplified version: The bigger the body, the bigger the holes as far as proportions went.
It was hard to believe but they didn't harm their capabilities, not even those holes located around the insect wings that the changeling had along her back. This was partially because the back carapace protected incredibly powerful muscles for their size, that, and their wings acted like those of a pegasus and caught magic to fly, though they required more muscle than the nimble flying equines. For that reason the carapace was vividly marked, in this case with green coloration, a green almost as vivid as that of the queen's predatory eyes.
Yes, predatory, because not only did Chrysalis have slits in her eyes, much like many known predators, and her fangs didn't help to dissuade that notion. Adding her temper to the equation, the fact that she was quite ruthless, capable of backstabbing anyone if she found it beneficial and that she was actually capable of physically harming even those that even most villains would pity, if only a little, would make it easy to understand how dangerous she was... and how different both mares were from each other.
The important thing that made them alike, however, was not so easily seen, and most would think it impossible for the changeling to begin with.
"Let's stop with this game, Chrysalis: Release them at once" A level voice hardly meant calm when Celestia was involved, much less when she was obviously holding anger behind the scowl that could convey many an emotion "Otherwise I will do something that both of us will regret"
Chrysalis just laughed, and she laughed hard and loud for a good ten seconds, showing her fangs and the green flesh within her mouth. She hadn't mean to, truly, but laughter had been something almost alien to the changeling queen for quite a while and the opportunity had to be savored despite how over the top or undignified it looked.
The answer to Celestia's order once Chrysalis calmed down? "No"
"You'll...!" The white mare was about to get up, composure lost and anger rising, when Chrysalis lifted her forelegs to signal her for a moment.
"Have I harmed them, Celestia? Truly, have I done anything bad to them?" Chrysalis looked at the three figures lying close to her and the portal "I have done nothing, yet. I simply offered them a little choice, with help of your gallant mismatched knight in furry and scaly armor of course" The changeling chuckled at that "How else could I find a little larva here of all places? You don't think 'I' would bring one here, do you? Changelings do not abuse their young despite what some uncultured oafs think" She offered Celestia a disdainful smile "Ponies do that more than any other culture anyway, no need to add mine"
Celestia looked at Chrysalis with a neutral face, scowl gone, for now, but the anger was present. The dark green around her pupils was as still as the lighter hue she had further back. Much could be said with the eyes, and as someone that mastered the sun Celestia knew that even a simple glance away could mean the world, much more where they were now.
Changelings have a hive mind. This was a much more complex form of communication than most common insects had as far as common knowledge was concerned. It varied greatly from hive to hive or group to group, and while in some it meant total control of those beneath the royal changelings, in others it was simply a way to talk to the point where you could decide who to talk to and who to block out, other than those that had an higher rank in society of course. It was one of the reasons why changelings could coordinate as well as they did, which included knowing the locations of others that came from the same hive.
This, though, much like many other capabilities that Celestia had, required magic. It was, after all, a natural part on both the alicorn and the queen in front of her, and as such it required the one thing that both of them took for granted.
Here there was hardly any magic, if you don't count what Celestia was sacrificing at the moment anyway, and there would hardly be any more than that for a long time. Chrysalis would need cues for other changelings to follow, be it visual or vocal. Celestia was not focusing on the other mare because she wanted to after all; she needed to act fast if Chrysalis did something that she could consider as dangerous. Back home she would be giving Chrysalis just enough attention to ensure she was not trying to attack her as Celestia looked around for more danger.
Chrysalis didn't do much other than move her lips to talk though "Or do you think it strange that I have them outside of cocoons, hmmm? Is that it, Celestia? Think I can only have others come to me against their will?" And it was quite surprising that the changeling queen was as civil as this "Because I seem to remember that we changelings didn't always do things this way..."
Celestia furrowed her brow at that "Chrysalis..." There was something wrong here, but she didn't manage to push it any further as Chrysalis cut her off.
"Why, I even remember the tales of old when there was no alicorn MAD with grief and anger lashing at EVERYTHING and EVERYPONY" The glee on Chrysalis' face could be easily taken as madness and Celestia's worry grew "I wonder HOW that changed"
"Chrysalis" Celestia's mood soured to the point where her scowl returned as the queen grew in agitation.
"What? Does it hurt to bring back those memories of yours? Why? It has been, how long? Maybe three years since you had your sister back? Somepony that went over the verge because somepony else that we shall not mention was little more than a tyrant with a gentle smile?" The smirk on Chrysalis' face fell alongside her mirth "Every war and death you have caused have been but a footnote to you. Bravo my dear princess, bravo, because not only did you get to do all you did, but you are still portrayed as 'best pony', even once those that starve because of you are forced to bash down the gates and try to dethrone the abusing monarch"
"This is not the time to bring that up"
"I disagree: It is the perfect time!" Chrysalis all but burst out as she got on her hooves, forcing Celestia to do the same just in case "Do you know madness like your sister does? Did you ever go so hungry and lonely that you turned as bad as Nightmare Moon herself!?" The changeling queen snorted as she gritted her teeth in pure hate at the monarch of the sun "How long has it been, Celestia? How long since a changeling could feed without turning its feeder into a dry husk after prolonged exposure just because we are starved at all times and can't stop feeding when we get our hooves on somepony? How long since every species could simply stand each other instead of going for each other's throats when you aren't looking? Not even my mother saw such a thing, Celestia, they are but fairy tales now"
Celestia stamped a hoof on the ground "The matter at hoof...!"
"The matter at hoof is that I have two creatures you need, Celestia" From raging to completely even tone. Celestia had seen this kind of change quite a lot during her life, and the look in Chrysalis' eyes told her more than enough to know that the changeling would do something very stupid if she tried to shut her up "Either you tell me what they are worth to you or we are done with words"
Chrysalis shook her head for a second "I am tired of this, Celestia" The changeling mare started to walk circles around the daily monarch "Losing sons and daughters left and right everyday as I took villages and cities. They died, and not only from battle, but also thanks to the ever pressing famine"
From changeling to zebra Chrysalis went, it was but a blink of green flame within the night. The pupils were pinpricks, only to be replaced by those green eyes, those slits, that hunger. Celestia made sure to follow the queen as she trotted around her.
"Traveling far and wide, hardly stopping for anything or anypony" The zebra, simply the size of a pony instead of her previous queen height, changed into a large brown colored horse slightly taller than Celestia "Tasting love, seeing happy lives, crushing them" The large mare stopped in front of Celestia to change forms as fast as the eye could see. Hundreds of species, massive waste of energy, energy that the changeling needed to live. It was obvious that Chrysalis didn't give a damn anymore "Everywhere, Celestia, everywhere we went we were hunted, both before and after I gave up on everything. I slaved myself day and night to feed my children and those that joined me from hives that had lost their own queens and couldn't go on alone. And you know what I got in the end?"
At that point Chrysalis' eyes glassed over, only to turn bright green in coloration. The brightness was little more than the common denomination of your average changeling no matter its position. The change did not stop there, for her form sifted, the cloak left her, and it could be seen at last that the queen had lost more than one would thing. It would begin with the tip of her horn, her wings in tatters and her shell cracked in so many places that Chrysalis looked like a scar riddled war veteran. Her eyes didn't change at all for a moment, not until their bright green turned into a slightly dull blue with pupils still focused on Celestia despite the faraway look on them.
She was a veritable mess, and Celestia was sure that both of them were much less than what they had once been.
"Failing at Canterlot was crushing, our first real defeat in so long... What could be worse than that? To be stomped after taking that damned castle with those sugary critters around" Any other time Chrysalis would've shuddered, gagged or laughed, but right now she didn't seem to care or have the strength for that "Another plan, another failure, with my own trap trapping me of all things, and those damn animals giving us love to the point that saturated us nonstop. It reached a point that made us sick"
She chuckled without mirth as Celestia tried to picture that scene "It went so far as for me to be needed almost all the time. I had to literally take away the love that my changelings were being feed or they would bloat and... well, you probably know how it would have ended if I hadn't" Again Chrysalis laughed, this time in a way that sincerely scared Celestia "How ironic that we had gone from starving to being close to death by overfeeding ourselves. You know what is even worse? Since I could not free us, even when I tried to use my magic to blast us out of that damned prison, my hive grew restless. When another hive found us and freed us... they... took my hive away from me"
Celestia hadn't heard many rumors, but after being assured by Twilight that Chrysalis wouldn't be a problem for a long time, paired with everything that happened after the changeling queen disappeared... she just couldn't look into the few things she did hear. There was a problem every week, big ones at that, world threatening in the worst cases. That Chrysalis was nowhere to be found was, probably, so far back in her mind that Celestia sincerely almost forgot that she was, technically, still at large. However she did have to admit that the idea of 'serving justice' right now felt...
"No, they didn't take my hive, that was something I just couldn't have anymore, thus I was not robbed of my title and followers. I failed, I brought too much attention, other hives had been discovered because of my little act" Again she chuckled, this time with a sad undertone as her eyes and form as a whole returned. Despite looking 'whole' it was obvious that Chrysalis was tired "But it still saddens me that they did take away the few of my children, my true children, that still lived... all but a few"
She did her best to compose herself "Less than two dozen of my children stayed with me, Celestia. I wonder if I should still hate you for that" Neutrality was inching towards a monotone droning by now "You caused so much havoc, my dear Celestia, and most of today's problems were born thanks to you. How does it feel that lives are still crumbling left and right because you pushed your sister away just enough to allow for the darkness to consume her?"
Her smile was teasing, predatory, the only thing revealing just how close she was to snap "But we can't have that, can we? Another problem, another solution, and if it is not one executed by your loyal Sparkle then it is done by the mare in person. Everypony thinks you are such a saint" Celestia did flinch at that. It was true and it did hurt more than Chrysalis thought "When I was told that there were new creatures that could feed us, creatures of such emotion that we would not dry them ever if we managed things right, I simply wondered 'how?' at first, but then..."
A few seconds passed with neither mare speaking. After a slight breeze managed to get at least some movement out of Chrysalis, if only to pull her mane away, she nudged the regent of the sun with a simple "Well? Don't you have anything to say?"
"You think this is my fault too" It was not a question, it was fact.
Chrysalis didn't even smirk this time, she just shrugged "Who else? Who else but you, or maybe Discord, could know of another world? The question was not 'how?' anymore, not once you know of those that can be responsible" There was another little pause added for effect "The question is 'why?'" Then, and much to Celestia's surprise, emotion returned to Chrysalis as she sported a feral grin "Reasoning aside, you want something here, and you try way too hard to be nice, too hard even for you. I was told a few things, and after a few days of thought I came to a conclusion: This could benefit me and I would hardly need to do a thing"
"So" Celestia let out a sigh as she saw where this was going "You want to know why we are here, how it was done and what you can take from me. Is that your little plan?"
Chrysalis' feral grin didn't diminish "Bravo, seems the sun has yet to fry whatever remains hidden under the crown" Her mirth died down once more as she stated the only thing that seemed to be on her mind at this point in time "One way or another I want you groveling, that way I can die in peace if nothing else. There is hardly anything else I can fight for anyway"
By now Celestia had stopped paying attention to the changeling queen, or ex-queen as it were. To admit that many of the problems that had taken place on Equestria had been, indeed, because of her was something that Celestia didn't do, and she didn't do it because she could not. After all the turmoil that the banishment generated? After her depression and anger? She had created so much bad blood that it took every day, every hour, every second of her life to fix those problems once she managed to regain her sanity and put her subjects before her wallowing. Admitting the truth behind those claims would bring just more misery, and there was plenty of that already, way too much.
Immortals had a tendency to create massive problems, and this new one was just another one to add to the pile.
"You know humiliating me will give you nothing of what you want, Chrysalis, not even satisfaction at this point" The sun mare noticed that the feral glee on the changeling went away as quickly as it came "I can offer you something else, something worth your time"
The former queen gave Celestia little more than an arching eyebrow to signal her curiosity.
"Yes, this is my fault, albeit indirectly, and I will tell you what I need of your... friends, in a moment" Chrysalis' chuckling didn't take more than a few seconds from Celestia, though the mare was truly getting worried that this would end badly sooner rater than latter "Even if I were to beg for your aid, in public" And it seemed the idea did get Chrysalis giddy, much to Celstia's chagrin "It would do little more than harm the both of us. Instead of that solution, which would make things worse than they are, I recommend you show everypony they are wrong about changelings"
"Yea, of course, because that would be soooo easy" Chrysalis deadpanned with a heavy voice comparable to a ton of bricks "I think your sun did burn something important after all"
"Chrysalis, look" Celestia did the best she could to remain civil in front of the probably slightly unbalanced changeling "You may have heard stories from those that were there, but let me tell you that it was worse than most would tell you. I will NOT tell you anything other than yes: many of the problems, villains and a few disasters were caused by me, and yes, I lost it for a long time" The former queen was about to say something before Celestia cut her off "But now look at you, look at yourself and tell me you aren't headed down the same route"
Chrysalis stopped right then and let her brain work for a moment before her dark green eyelids made her otherwise neutral face look bored. She had heard similar things before "Are you trying to be high and mighty with me, Celestia?"
The sun mare shook her head "No, I am trying to save everypony I can. This includes giving a second chance now that I am able to" She threw a look at the figures besides them "And if nothing else you have leverage on me, something that I am sure you love"
"Very much so"
That composure of hers was wavering at the smirk she was given. Chrysalis was not helping Celestia as far as peace of mind went, mostly because the worry that the white mare had was directed to the figures lying there, but also towards the whole of Equestria. No, not really Equestria this time, because this little problem was a bit too big for it to harm just Equestria if someone messed up.
"I supposed so. Now, I know for a fact that some of the underground areas outside of the Everfree Forest have been vacated. Since the creatures living there have very long life cycles I could easily arrange to separate a big enough area for a settlement, just for you and your small hive" Chrysalis' wide eyes were enough to calm Celestia, if only just a bit "Twilight Sparkle would make sure to enforce peace between Ponyville and your new home. Not only that, but if you allowed her to study your hive she would make modern books on your general attributes and show facts, not diluted rumors that had once been widespread with an intent that is too well known by us both"
Chrysalis' bored look returned in earnest. Skepticism badly masqueraded as disinterest "And how do I know your little student won't blow me away?"
"Because she will have the chance of making more than one book maybe?" Once more Celestia pointed at the figures "You show her that you are not a threat and you abide by simple rules that would translate into approval from me and Twilight will be more than glad to help. Despite her faults she does what few ponies do: She tries to be the best pony she can and offer friendship to everypony" Turning her gaze to the figures once more, Celestia focused on the little one "But first I do need to ask you something"
"What is it?" Celestia didn't see her, but Chrysalis had a pensive look on her face at this point.
"Where did you stay after you left your, shall we say, self made prison?"
The changeling's face morphed into an angry one at the mention of the castle, if only for a few seconds "I traveled to the Everfree Forest. No creature desires to anger a changeling unless they are constructs, and those timber wolves do not feed on us even when we are weak"
"Did you meet a pair of fillies during your stay?"
Silence reigned and the question remained without answer. Celestia didn't need to look at her to see Chrysalis having a blank expression, and this time she still looked like she had the last time anypony had seen her as a queen.
"Little foals with no family are not that uncommon, sadly, as you probably know" Celestia did her best to remain neutral as she said that despite how much it hurt her to admit such a thing "Not everypony is as nice as I have tried to make them, but there are those that go above and beyond just being nice. These ponies try to do their best, and they are widely recognized for their acts. That is why it was so strange to have an unknown mare drop two drained fillies back at Ponyville's hospital explaining in perfect detail what was happening to them and asking for their treatment, only leaving when she was promised they would be taken care of" The sun monarch finally faced a forlorn looking Chrysalis "Few know how an emotional drained pony looks, how to treat them or where to send them. Why, with no changeling reported anywhere close to pony borders it was night impossible for any creature with your diet to be found feeding on them"
"How are they?" Not that Celestia thought Chrysalis would say anything, either to confirm or deny it, but to look worried, genuinely so... "Is... is Sparkly Glass okay? And Sweet Cinnamon?" The episode ended as fast as it began and Chrysalis' face turned from worry to anger "You..."
"Did I do something wrong?" Steel seemed to reinforce Celestia's voice as both mares eyed each other "I wanted confirmation, Chrysalis. At the time there had been other problems, and while worrying, the poor fillies were okay" For a moment it seemed like she had said all she wanted to, but right now she felt, just felt, that she could make a push in the right direction if she let something slip "They asked for their new mother" Chrysalis' face changed in a flash once more, but the expression was a mixture that Celestia would not rush to define "Just thought you would like to know that"
"This is not how I planned it" By this point Chrysalis' voice conveyed feelings that Celestia could categorize as longing, hate, anger, fear and probably just plain depression "I was supposed to drag these away, convince them to help me and get back at YOU!" At any other moment, and with any other pony, Celestia was sure that those eyes would be full of tears, but these ones were dry, they had been for some time now. Right now her worry lingered on the things that Chrysalis could do if she went over the edge "What else do you want to take from me?"
"I am offering them to you, Chrysalis"
The changeling looked dumbfounded "Huh?"
"Many things may have changed, but I know a hive is everything for a queen" Chrysalis gave Celestia a hateful look that was simply welcome at this point, anything to have a single emotion within the unstable mare "The backlash of what you went through probably has affected you in many ways, one of which is sterility, if I remember how your kind works"
"Such a nice memory, princess" The changeling deadpanned with venom dripping from every word.
"This brings us to the fillies" It was back to neutrality with Chrysalis' face once more "I will ensure you have a safe haven close to Ponyville AND I will let you have the fillies you bonded with"
"Bonded?" Curiosity, interest, maybe doubt, better than most other things Celestia expected.
"I may know the theory, Chrysalis, but you can imagine I hardly had much contact with your kind, unlike others from my family back in the day. I know not how badly things have affected you, but I have had the chance to talk with both fillies and I know you didn't charm them or harm them, in fact they may have a minute connection to your hive mind. You may not be queen, but you are something similar to the little ones and you still have your hive, however small it is" Celestia wanted, wanted so much, to have a tender tone. Situations like these were heartwarming, but at the moment it was all but recommended "But I cannot do that, not without assurance"
"So this is it, isn't it?" By now it could be said that Chrysalis had gone full circle as far as emotions went, only to reach acceptance, whether she liked it or not "I can't even do this right..."
"Sincerely, Chrysalis, if I tried to do this without getting some assurance from you then we both would get ponies at our door, figuratively speaking" The attempt at lighting the mood didn't have the desired effect, as Chrysalis made sure to express "But if you were to come to me and offer your help with your new... friends, once you get them to speed in a few days, we could talk terms"
"And I expect an apology would be in order" Chrysalis deadpanned once more, this time with no joy left, sane or insane, since her little ploy had been utterly crushed by now.
"Nopony was hurt during your latest attack, other than the critters you bothered, and even they weren't really all that hurt. Fluttershy said they can't really be harmed as far as one of them stays strong with love" Even for Celestia that was a little too much, she had been unable to stand so much cute in one place for as long as the elements. Maybe back in the day, but now... "Equestria was barely touched by your hive, the problem will be with other nations, but that will be for a different time, a less troubled one if posible. If someone comes forth wishing for an apology, it will be Shining Armor and my niece"
The former queen rolled her eyes at that "Oh, them, joy. I can forget ever living past THAT one"
"There could be worse things than that"
"Worse?" Celestia feared that Chrysalis was about to get into another rant, or mad, but she seemed to be spent by now, in all senses "Did you or did you not hear me, Celestia? Do you think I don't know how far I have gone? Do you think I am unaware of the hate I have created? Unlike your little Discord" And she did say the name with disdain "I did things that cannot be undone. Your little 'chaos god' hates death, it is 'unfunny', if I remember correctly. He may love fights, but he would prefer extravagant punishments to outright killings. Last I checked though, changelings don't feed on laughter"
"Preaching to the choir much?" Usually Celestia would have laughed at Luna once she said that. This time she was pretty much serious as she eyed a surprised changeling "You know very well that any other time we would have done much more than talk if I found you in this situation, don't you?" Chrysalis just nodded, still surprised "Chrysalis, let me be direct here before I tell you what is happening: If these two are one of the few I need, they will have to help, if they don't, we all perish" For a moment it looked like Chrysalis was going to laugh at her, but Celestia pressed on "This is not a test for Twilight, this is not a small villain or another would be conqueror. I mean it when I say that nothing would remain if things get out of hand. No chaos from Discord, no oppressive rule from Tirek, eternal night from Nightmare Moon, a damaged land thanks to the changeling swarm... There would be death, just death"
Madness could've been there before, but Chrysalis' eyes widened in pure terror at Celestia's words. Celestia would hardly bluff with such a topic. She could be shrewd, but not like this, at least not anymore "Tell me what in Tartarus is going on, now"
Celestia smiled with anything but happiness or mirth "Funny you mention Tartarus..."
The scenery hadn't changed at all since the last time Celestia had been here, not that it had been so long that something big could have happened anyway. As things were going though, one would think that Tartarus itself opened every week or so, what with Twilight and her friends having an adventure a month when things were slow. Right now, and she had to say that it had surprised everypony, the adventures had stopped completely, in fact things had been strangely quiet for too long after a few years with a disaster or two taking place in a regular basis. Many ponies were quite worried.
And with good reason.
Few knew about it, at least for now, and Celestia hardly could believe what Discord, DISCORD, had told her that something felt wrong before it started. The draconequus could be as reformed as one could expect the embodiment of chaos to be, but Celestia hadn't expected for him to be all business, for real (as strange as it sounds), when he confided with her on what he had seen.
Celestia shook her head. This could still be a joke in very poor taste, Discord had a bit of a bad time being friendly and chaotic. True that he was categorized as a monster by many, and he was, even if he liked to consider himself a party animal more than anything these days. Celestia had to do her best to not roll her eyes at the thought and the parties that he and Pinkie Pie tried to throw around nowadays. What scared her was that he had stopped doing anything but watch the sun for a few days, with little more than a few scares or pranks on the side mind you, but nothing that could be considered normal for him. He had been... tame.
It unnerved her enough to give to his suggestion and check. Why? She didn't know. Celestia was sure that SHE of all ponies would have been able to feel whatever was wrong, if anything had been wrong, but she refused to believe that Discord had been trying to prank her in such a distasteful way... Then the first report came in and Celestia felt herself drown in worry when it became evident that Discord had really tried to warn her.
Discord didn't laugh, he didn't even say 'Told you so' when she told him. He just frowned. Her worry increased as more reports arrived, it grew until she finally decided to check, and then her worry became utter fear when she heard that voice calm as a sunny day. He had been waiting for her.
"It seems you found out at last" The tired and weak voice of Tirek didn't betray any feeling as Celestia finally came to face the weakened immortal centaur "I have to say that you took longer than expected. It is... disappointing"
Tirek was still its weak, thin, self. His horns were small, his appearance resembled that of a creature about to wither away thanks to famine despite being feed regularly, and his eyes spoke of well calculated anger and plans. Whereas his skin had been once of a vivid reddish hue, now it was little more than a dusty discoloration of its previous incarnation, much like his once black fur that was now grayed out all over his equine lower body. The only thing on his body that was intact, the only that had not felt the force of discoloration brought by his forceful power down, were his yellow eyes.
Surrounded by darkness and fixated on Celestia, Tirek's dot like pupils were like daggers that wanted oh so badly to pierce their target. Tirek wanted to break his chains, destroy the prison and wreck Tartarus alongside Celestia, but he had a weak body, no powers and he knew that even that would probably don't do much more than bother Celestia for a little while, not unless he had more power.
At one time his form had been majestic, brutal, the embodiment of conquest and raw power. Now he was little more than a failure full of anger and he knew it well. Despite what others thought Tirek was all but a stupid muscle mass with too much ego on him, although he had to admit that learning faster would have been handy when fighting the ponies.
"Unlike you may think, Tirek, you are not the center of the universe" Celestia could hardly contain her emotions this time. Her little ponies were suffering and this creature was the cause of it all. His anger was not one of her many failures as a regent and she felt that this particular punishment was not justified "There was hardly any time to catch up to your ploy, Tirek. I had to repair what damage you had done and ensure that the order of things was restored" The prisoner just let out a little 'Heh' at the memory "But I did catch up"
"And I suppose it was thanks to Discord's help?" His tired voice revealed as few details as Celestia's neutral face. Neither of them could fool each other "I thought so"
"Tell me what you did, Tirek" Celestia's frown could have scared anyone else. Tirek didn't even blink "I have a few of my guards falling into a magical coma first thing in the morning a few days ago. After that happened I receive reports of similar happenings from a few cities that also reported spikes on magic in the environment, as if it was trying to saturate certain areas completely " Her scowl deepened to a point that few had ever seen "Then I find out that the sun reacts differently to my commands, something I hadn't noticed, and I would have missed, if Discord didn't tip me about it" Being humble was no weakness, and baiting Tirek could potentially pay off. Celestia had said worse things to herself in any case "It all started shortly after your defeat, so I will ask again: What did you do?"
Tirek simply chuckled as he paced around his prison. Despite the limited space and the brooding surroundings of stone, far, far underground, he found the place... comforting, at least now. To have Celestia visit him for this? Better than to have her summon him to the overworld. She didn't want to make a scene.
She was scared, and Celestia knew perfectly well that Tirek could see it, either that or he would just assume soon enough.
"A deadmare switch, as you Equestrians put it" Tirek commented offhandedly "When I absorbed Discord's powers I saw what he saw: Infinite possibilities. The crazy idiot has had so many lives, has seen so many worlds, universes, dimensions... It was just a second, but a second for Discord is enough to live billions of different lifetimes" He barely turned his head to look at Celestia "So I used a fragment of his power to spread thousands of plans and as much destruction as I could, in case I was defeated" The centaur gave Celestia a smirk before he turned to face her fully "This is one such plan, and you can take it in any way you want" Not like Celestia needed his permission to form a few possible answers to what he meant "Had I not feed on Discord, well, let us say that I would've missed on the previous incarnations of our world, and our bonded world"
"Bonded world..." Celestia muttered to herself.
"I know you are aware of different dimensions, Celestia. When I feed on your collective power, that of the four alicorn princesses, I saw it, I saw everything" Tirek's tone was distant, as if he was in a haze, looking beyond any barriers that could damper any living mind "I saw how many different incarnations of our world and bonded world were out there, how many alternative realities of them all existed at the time, how many times they connected with each other" His haze came and went, only to be replaced by an even voice "Creating another one was not hard, but it needed a trigger, a cause, a reason to exist... and power"
Celestia thought for a moment about what could be such a trigger, but despite all she knew and all she had seen, there was not a thing that came to mind. She did know of different worlds, of course she did, but every single one of them had their own rules and was vastly different in at least a few key elements. She was sure that she was all but omnipotent and knowledgeable in some, while in others she probably didn't exist anymore or at all, while a certain one had her as the villainess until recently, but other than that? It was incredibly hard to break those barriers and gain insight, well, except for Discord that is. The thing is...
"You are not Discord, nor are you as capable as he is with his powers" Celestia directed an inquisitive look at Tirek "For as powerful and intelligent as you are, Tirek, you would need time to master it all. You could not create such a disturbance by yourself"
"Such a shame that you prefer your little friendship over anything else, Celestia. I know for a fact that you would make such a delightful overlord" Tirek grinned at Celestia, even more so when it was obvious that she was offended by his words "Yes, I could not do it myself. The ins and outs of chaos magic are... volatile, at best, and I had little time to do much. When I got everything I wanted from Sparkle I did have a moment, though, a moment to connect"
With whatever magic Tirek had left, which was not much more than his own diminished reserves, the centaur conjured a very simple illusion that did little more than flicker. What he created was nothing else but the sun.
"How long can an artifact gain magic until it becomes more than an object? It is quite the question if what I have been told is true" Tirek grinned as he played with the sun on his hands "Weapons can gain some short of sentience after years, maybe months at best, or worst, depends on the power of the enchantment and in a very simple variable: If it is permanent. Different thinks take different time, and they depend on the intent of the enchantment as being exactly what I told you, to grant them life, or a connection to its user"
"To put it bluntly" Tirek slowly expanded the sun in his hands. Celestia could swear she saw something within, something... "I connected with the sun and found an entity forming within its brilliant visage, a young, malleable, entity. After that I just focused all the spent magic, magic spent thanks to your connection with the sun from countless dimensions if we are to be precise, and poured it in our lovely star" The centaur grinned as Celestia saw what was hiding within the one thing that had made her special for all these years "Then, I let it free to enjoy sentience and an immeasurable wealth of power"
"ARE YOU MAD!?"
Tirek's boisterous laughter was as close as his original form as he could muster. But there was no madness there, Celestia saw way too late, as Tirek dissipated his illusion, that there was something else.
"At one time I tried to bring darkness and pure evil to corrupt the ponies" Tirek calmed quite quickly, surprising the princess with a demeanor that was akin to someone that knew horribly well just what he had done "I died" And Celestia did not like where such realization was headed "I came back once, I did so in this world after many cycles. I have no doubts at all that I will be back again be in this life or the next, in this world or another one. I am immortal, the same as you" Tirek's gaze burned on Celestia's mind "Death, as our bonded friends would say, is just the beginning"
It came like the first light in the morning: Crashing down your window. In this case the window shattered and waking up rudely thanks to the sun's glare was akin to an explosion to the face.
Celestia had little more than a few seconds to notice that Tirek had not collapsed the illusion, he had condensed it. It would not mean anything more than just maintaining the magic there for latter use, but in this case it was something else. When she noticed what he was doing it became clear that harming her was not the objective, even if destruction would be achieved.
In a quick attempt to fix the problem Celestia used her magic, only for Tirek to smirk and lift one hand, pushing her away with more power than Celestia thought possible of the weakened being. A flash, a rumble, the impact of her body against the stony surface of the prison, and Celestia managed to regain herself and get back on her feet. The impact hadn't been strong, but it had been a direct assault with something that was no elemental magic, not even life or death, it was just... a pull... like he had tugged at her very being. And what did he want to gain out of such display of power?
"Seek counsel somewhere else, Celestia, and be warned..."
Little more than scrap metal remained in the area that Tirek had been just a moment ago. Nothing around the sphere of his spell existed anymore, it had literally been erased from existence and transferred to something else; a transmutation spell that would basically consume the user no matter its intended objective. In layman terms: A form of suicide and sacrifice to empower something or someone else with the totality of one's own energy.
"I will be watching..."
A cold shiver ran down Celestia's back as she used her magic to leave. This had gone beyond quick escalation.
"Interesting" Chrysalis muttered as she mulled over what she had been told. Celestia could see that she was toying with many ideas and problematic thoughts that clashed with what she wanted to attain "What exactly did he mean?"
"I did not know at the time, but I talked with Discord and Luna once I was back" The notion of Discord being helpful still seemed extremely weird to Celestia, almost as much as talking more or less amicably with Chrysalis right now "Chaotic magic was used in such a hasty way that even Tirek could hardly know what he did, other than predict the end result, and even that could be an stretch on our part"
Celestia was about to say something else, but decided to be sincere "To be frank, Luna needed to know, and I thought that not even Discord knew what would come out of doing what Tirek did. For that reason I was sure that the only thing Tire would know was that he was capable of destroying everything. I found myself with knowing more than Discord himself, and it was not a welcome change" She gave a very tired chuckle "Luckily, or unluckily, he decided to tell us many things during our meeting"
"The entity that resides in the sun is the polar opposite of what my sister once had" Celestia had made sure that the throne room was devoid of anything but the other two figures there with her. No guards, no mane six, no royalty. This had to be a secret for now "There was a time that I tried to escape from reality after... Luna and I had our fight. My attempt fueled Star Swirl the Bearded and his research on alternate dimensions after he managed to create a mirror that allowed to..."
"Yes, yes, we know about that, little sun-butt" Discord chuckled as he floated above Celestia's head "Twilight could hardly shut up about THAT adventure of hers, if you can remember, so no need to give me the 'theory' cover story" He literally made air quotes in front of Celestia's face "Nice coltfriend by the way"
"What I am TRYING to say, Discord" And the draconequus simply laughed at Celestia's stinkeye like it was nothing "Is that there are so many it is impossible to know which one is the real one, IF there is a real one. This means that there are infinite possibilities out there" She let out a sigh as the huge migraine she had been trying to suppress decided to make itself apparent once more "What I saw on Tirek's illusion... It was similar to Luna's moon, similar to the essence of Nightmare Moon and her desire to have everything under her hoof. But it just... it felt worse, without any real desire or feeling at all. A blank slate given power and a nudge in the wrong direction"
Celestia's sister, Luna, was sitting beside her daily counterpart. Whereas Celestia embodied the day with her colors, Luna took on the darker hue of the night. Her mane was of a sapphire blue coloration with purplish aura on its border adorned with magical sparkles that perfectly mirrored the star filled sky at night. With a much lighter sapphire tonality for eye shadow, dark blue coat and a much darker, if not black, representation of the night sky with a crescent moon as a cutie mark, Luna looked the perfect opposite of Celestia in many ways.
Despite this apparent mirror image, Luna was much gentler in her approach than her sister. Having been all but pushed away back in the day, which in turn brought her close to madness thanks to what she felt as rejection, and with a long time needed to adapt to modern times, Luna was, whenever she could get away from court, livelier than her sister and less, shall we say, stuck up. Hardly anyone knew that of course, what with her guard being composed of thestrals (widely known as 'bat ponies' by most) instead of the more known pony tribes, or her penchant to use the royal Canterlot voice that she went back to from time to time when she was nervous.
She could be smaller, her clothing and regalia darker than her sister, and she was hardly seen by the royals compared to Celestia, but for those that knew Luna she was slightly more approachable than her sister, if only because Celestia had less free time than the smaller alicorn. That, and Luna had found so much enjoyment with other ponies now that her night was widely appreciated unlike bad in the day.
"How could it be worse, sister?" On par with her, shall we say, younger look, her voice sounded almost like that of a teenager.
It still scared some people though, and by now Luna either rolled her eyes at that or snickered in front of them.
"Poor little woona" Rolling her eyes was right whenever Discord did that at least "What your sister means is that the world could survive with eternal night, you know? There are plants and that can grow and the animals would adapt, much like ponies, despite the cold rising, much like near the Crystal Empire's wastelands" The embodiment of chaos finally touched the ground, only to turn into a pile of ash with eyes on contact "Getting hit by the sun's direct power does hurt, tough"
Discord, chaos incarnate, the creator of mischief, nonsensical chief of laughs and overall swell guy when he wants to be, which depends on his fancy. To describe discord one would need to explain how likely you are to like falling into a hole, this is to say: It depends what you find in that hole and how deep it goes.
It was hard to know where the chaos begins and ends with Discord, because as surprising as it may seem, he was slightly more orderly than one may expect. This, however, didn't translate with his body. A deer horn paired with that of a goat, if you decided to do something truly horrible to the goat's horn anyways, these were located atop of a horse like head with yellow eyes and crimson pupils of different sizes with a muzzle sporting horse like teeth for all but a single dragon fang and a goat like beard with bushy white eyebrows to top it off. And that was only the head.
From there you go to a feathered main body with a small bat wing on the right and a pegasus wing on the left, a lion's leg on the right and an eagle's left, talons and all, to support his upper body. His lower body not only has a dragon's right leg and a the left leg of a goat, but Discord's body ends in a dragon's tail, either that or a very weird snake, that ends in a white tuff. With a body shape like that of a dragon from the west, including the viper tongue (literally, not figuratively), it was hard to know how to describe discord in a few words.
He was, however, a more careful planer than he seemed, though he was a bit of an egomaniac and little more than a kid with powers that could rival nearly any other creature in the world. Let's just say he gets bored easily, but he usually means well, more or less.
"That is to say, my little moon butt, that the sun does not appreciate a world that seems to lack the order Celestia wanted to bring to it" Discord reformed with the snap of his fingers, better not think how he did it when he was ash, much to Luna's chagrin "So we basically have thousands of years worth of magical buildup in something that we cannot even touch and that probably feels like a spoiled brat that has been denied its toys"
"Excuse me?" Luna stomped a hoof in anger. It surprised her a bit to find it echoing within the throne room, but then again Celestia had made sure no sound could escape "We managed to force the moon to get closer to the world without it affecting anypony. How could controlling the sun to stop it for burning us be any different? Even if we need to force it to come closer for the bearers of the elements to do something it should be..."
"Pretty much a waste of time and very unintelligent on your part" Discord seemed instantly bored with Luna's lack of imagination "Let me make it simple, my dear Luna" And by now Luna had such a tick on her eye that anyone else would fear for their ears "What you lacked was control and appreciation, and you wanted that above all else, so of course Nightmare Moon would do anything to have that where she found it lacking" Interestingly enough, Discord didn't laugh as he embarrassed the nightly monarch "Celestia had all the control she could want, but after certain... ventures, shall we say, that control was little more than an illusion despite her wishes against such outcome"
Luna tilted her head for a moment before eyeing her sister as Celestia looked away "What do you mean?"
"Come on Luna, how long has it been since you came back? We are approaching the third year now, or at least I think so. You see I tend to not keep up with time you know?" A rain of mistreated calendars fell on top of Discord. The draconequus made an act to get out of the pile, gasping for air "Okay, so maybe I REALLY need to be more orderly, but thing is I am not the only one"
"What he is trying to say, sister" Celestia cut on Discord's shenanigans to move things along "Is that all those story books were... touched up a bit" She sighed as Luna's eyebrows rose "Despite all I had back then, I... was not happy. Star Swirl lived long and happily despite all I did, we were never the closest of friends we once were when I betrayed his trust, but once he too passed away I was... alone... Not you, not him, no one was with me" Celestia let a her eyes water for a few moments "I pushed everypony away, I hurt so many people, cut trade and entertained myself playing a selfish game of crowns with the other species on our world. Many of today's conflicts and disputes happened because of me, although few know of the truth, and of those that know I had quite a few in my hooves thanks to information or more mundane needs"
"Other dimensions were not enough" She went on "I could have... happiness... or as close to it as I could have, in some of them, specially one of them, but my time was limited despite how omnipotent I wanted to portray myself to my little ponies. I grew bitter, resentful and, over time, I cared for nothing, not even myself" Celestia looked down in shame while Discord lied to her side, on a magically summoned couch, taking notes and motioning her to go on "I hurt so many ponies, your thestrals know about it as much, if not better, than most" Luna didn't say anything, and it hurt almost as much as being slapped as far as Celestia was concerned "By the time I got myself together things had spiraled out of control"
"All those wars... so much misery..."
Celestia felt like she was going to cry as Luna's eyes widened as her mind decided to get back to work "Not ALL of them were my fault, but they could have been stopped if I had done what I had to. For all intents and purposes I am to blame for everything that made everypony suffer after you were gone, despite my best efforts" The otherwise regal alicorn let herself fall from her sitting position until she lied on the throne room's floor "It was thanks to me that you had to be sent away, and instead of learning I deluded myself more and more until I just... didn't care"
"Sister..."
"And that is why I told you back in the day that you had to get a coltfriend. Thinking about it you totally should get your REAL coltfriend back" Both sisters eyed Discord as he put the couch and notes away in some kind of alternate space between dimensions "What? I may not enjoy how you ponies procreate, too many fluids, but I am told it is very therapeutic as stress relief"
"Seriously, Discord" Celestia did her best to force the migraine away alongside the retort she wanted to use "Not. The. Time"
"Oh but it is! And for various reasons!" Discord seemed as eager as a foal with a new toy. Compared to his demeanor prior to this little meeting Celestia had to admit that it was an improvement, barely "While you were away I went to the sun you know?"
"YOU WHAT?!"
Celestia composed herself and her mane after that little outburst that surprised her more than it did Luna or Discord. Then again Discord probably expected it and Luna was just a bit shocked at Discord, enough to ignore her sister's outburst.
"Come on, little princess, you know I can't keep quiet, and I haaaaaaate being serious" He droned that last part like a robot "I dislike being down as you very well know, and this problem means one of the few things that I really don't like: Real harm and death. It is ironically unfunny in so many ways that you don't even realize, and the Elements of Harmony know it as well as I do. Why do you think I was turned to stone instead of 'defeated' in a more permanent way?" Celestia didn't exactly have an answer for that "So I made sure to go check on what was making me feel like this, found the problem and made a solution!"
"Now" Discord made sure to start his explanation before the two mares could stop him "I may not like death, too common, boring, it is quite the final thing you know? Despite whatever Tirek may thing" He sent Celestia a pointed look that told her that yes, he had been spying on her "You need a lot of magic to make sure you don't get lost in limbo for a few lifetimes, and I mean an universe's lifetime. Boring, boring, boring" He sighed as if he was speaking of a mundane play "Anyway, that is not exactly a problem now since our little ball of radiance is generating magic nonstop"
"Generating magic?" Celestia furrowed her brown at that "You mean to tell me that the magic buildup is thanks to the sun itself?"
"Of course!" A loud 'POOF!' echoed within the halls as Discord got a pair of large glasses and long coat with pencils in every pocket, pants with a book on one side and a few rulers on the other... He was simply nerdy "You see, a lot of worlds think that everything is finite, but it is wrong! Oh boy is it wrong. You see, you can take something and create TWICE as much, if not more, that is how every universe is expanding forever, only to collapse on itself and then produce more universes out of seemingly nothing"
Both mares blinked a few times. In a moment of clarity Celestia thought that this is how most people may feel when Twilight is around.
The draconequus didn't seem to care about this and droned on "Now, universes are very large things as you may know, and they have an extremely long lifespan. I have to say that we aren't 'immortal' enough to see them collapse, though it would be quite the chaotic thing, hmmm yes... But anyway, let me show you"
Discord summoned a glass of his favorite drink: Chocolate milk. Such a simple thing yet something so tasty. It was nothing like cake as far as Celestia (And Luna, not like she will admit it to your face) was concerned, but the spirit of chaos LOVED the damn thing. This time his drinking problem came with a lesson attached, because as he placed the glass on his lips and started drinking... the glass grew and its contents expanded.
After a few seconds of chugging it down Discord had on his hands a massive barrel made of glass, a barrel full of chocolate milk that he was downing with a crowd of burly Discords all around him, 'forcing' the nerdy one to drink more and more while roaring 'CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!'. A few seconds of this and the barrel reached immense proportions that risked the walls and ceiling.
Then it blew up with a loud 'POP'.
A battlefield would leave less of a mess behind. Every glass window was now stained, literally and figuratively. Nothing but brown could be seen all over the place, and two very angry mares eyed a very, very fat Discord with hearty intent placed behind their plans for his demise.
"BUUUUUUUURP!" Discord hardly had time to place his lion paw in front of his lips "Erm, excuse me"
He snapped his fingers and relaxed as his normal (pun totally intended) form came back, with every bit of chocolate cleaned off, though both princesses had their piercing glares aimed at the lone male in the room.
"Discord, I am going to turn you into a lawn ornament, permanently" Celestia hissed between gritted teeth.
"Well, I for one think it was a sweet way to demonstrate what I meant" The draconequus mocked feeling hurt at the comment "But let's get back on topic: What is happening now is nothing new" It was out of need, but at least both mares stopped glaring daggers at him "Magic, like everything else, keeps growing, in fact magic worlds tend to last forever unless someone messes it up. This happens because magic replenishes itself and the world's resources over time, if it is traditional magic of course. It is partially thanks to that fact alone that ponies can do all they can do, which includes growing plants with Earth Pony magic, flight with Pegasy Magic and, well, magic with Unicorn Magic"
Luna decided to take a few seconds to whisper "It is scary when he makes this much sense" To her sister, which got quite the sharp nod from Celestia.
"Magic is the reason why ponies can last up to three hundred years a piece, much like most other sentient species" Discord didn't pay the two flabbergasted mares much attention as he was now drawing in a chalkboard to emphasize his points "This means that, over time and without any technologic advance, ponies would live more without need for further evolution and all that. However..."
"Why is there always a 'but' in these things?" Luna hissed under her breath.
"Too much magical buildup in a short time would be harmful and it would affect the living creatures of this world quite fast. One of the possibilities would be a magical induced coma, as you know" He looked at Celestia for a nod of confirmation, one that she gave him with reluctance. The problem was that there was no way to say no, no matter how much Celestia wanted "But even with so much magic poured into the sun, and it is a ton for what I managed to see when I went to check, it would be impossible for that thing to affect anything this quickly"
"But you just said...!" Luna blurted out, feeling like Discord was just playing with them again.
"The sun could not bleed out this much power without harming itself" Luna scrunched her muzzle as she heard the serious tone on her sister's voice. As she turned to look at her she did see that Celestia had a pensive frown on her "To affect the whole world would require a very precise amount of energy, and with how much has been placed in the sun..."
"Even the lightest show of force would incinerate parts of the world, or destroy it" Luna gulped at the thought "Magic creatures, from unicorns to dragons, spend years training. If there is something within the sun it will be young, months young at worst, no matter what Tirek did, right?"
"Exactly!" Discord took both of the mares away from their musings "That is why Tirek connected us to another world, what he called a 'bonded' world" In a moment, and with some magic, two worlds appeared on the board "While connecting with an alternate reality is 'easy'" This time the air quotes decided to poke both alicorns on their noses "Having a connection with a world that should be linked to the one you reside in is, well, quite impossible unless you are a god like me"
Discord had both worlds in front of each other in the middle of the board at this point. One of them had a map that neither mare knew about, but the other had Equestria on it and they knew it was theirs. Once they realized that it was time for Discord to make another world close to their own, quickly linking it with a line of chalk.
"The one Celestia went to visit regularly is now permanently linked with ours despite her best interests" Celestia cringed at that, and the memories, now that Discord was completely serious instead of poking fun at her. Luna was perfectly aware that her sister had not recovered from that one, nor would she for a long while "While rare in occurrence it IS still pretty common, but as I said, linking a completely DIFFERENT world is something else" Another chalk line went straight to the other world "This often happens with very bad reasons behind the link, and I mean reasons I would hardly use for my amusement, none at all"
The serious moment died when both mares gave Discord a deadpan look as he looked from left to right, changing his face to that of Applejack, the element of Honesty. It is not like he was lying or anything.
"Okay so maybe I have brought a few of these creatures to Equestria from time to time, it is funny and they usually enjoy it here, plus I like adventure and romance and it is cute to see them paired with ponies" The deadpan looks turned into disbelief as both princesses tried to retain at least some semblance of seriousness after hearing Discord "Oh come on! Fluttershy likes romance! I had to read SOMETHING when I was living with her!"
"Yea, of course you did" Celestia could hardly contain her chuckles at that "But do go on, please"
Discord harrumphed before resuming his task "As I was saying: Making a link is hard. Forcing one or two creatures to cross over? Doable. There are natural portals that open at random intervals all over the world, some of them even go to different realities of our bonded world, and no, I did not make them, magic is chaotic by definition thank you very much" Discord had to add that one when Luna was this close to bursting into laughter "To link both worlds permanently is extremely dangerous, not to mention foalish. Everypony could die on both sides, mostly because this other world, Earth, hardly has any magic at all"
"No magic?!" Luna's humor was gone in an instant "How can a world LACK magic? It is needed by almost every living thing, even small quantities of it are required at all times"
"I said 'hardly', I didn't mean 'no magic at all'" Discord blew a raspberry towards Luna "Because Earth usually has little to no magic the creatures in there are, in most cases, weak and mostly unintelligent, unlike here where almost any animal has a bit of sentience except certain species, most of which are fishes, monsters or some cattle as you two know" Both princesses nodded at the common knowledge "Earth usually has a single truly intelligent species, and I will refrain from air quotes because I would need half of Canterlot for this one" The deadpan tone and the look on his face made the sisters worry for a moment "I am usually quite picky with the individuals I 'guide' here" At least Discord recovered his grin quickly "But you two would have a heart attack if you saw some of their worst examples, even Nightmare Moon would refuse to go here or cut a deal with some of these things"
"I have to say that you aren't making this look good, Discord" Celestia's worry encroached on her mind once more.
"Oh don't worry, they are my kind of people" That really didn't help much "They can be either truly evil or good, it depends on their upbringing and many little things, unlike many ponies since you guys are generally goody two shoes even under the worst circumstances"
Luna sighed at Discord's offended tone "We'll take it as a compliment"
"You better" The chaotic creature smirked "In any case, because these creatures, the humans, have hardly any connection to magic, usually because they are deeply connected to technology and lack a proper magic source on their world, they, obviously, generate very little magic themselves. However, as our lovely sparkly head here mentioned" Luna frowned at Discord's new prod "Living things NEED magic, and this is a perfect way to show how something is created from almost nothing"
Discord drew a little stick figure that represented a human, though neither Celestia nor Luna really knew it was a human. Said figure was atop the world that represented Earth. After that was done Discord made the sun of their world atop of their own planet, then made a faint line of chalk directed to the human and a much denser one directed to their own world.
"Any creature has a soul, and a few things that aren't alive have one too, but the more complex they are the stronger the soul. Souls create energy just by existing, and this energy is what helps universes grow. Once somepony dies their soul breaks into thousands of little souls that will fuel more lives and, in many cases, will give the original person another chance" Discord made sure that both princesses were following him thus far. Since neither of them had steam coming out of their ears Discord considered his little lesson a failure, but he had some flanks to save, so he went on "In the meantime souls generate the energy we know as 'magic', which is known in solid form as 'mana'. This energy allows souls to exist, and is a necessary part to life, basically it is a permanent cycle that can only grow"
Celestia pursed her lips at that. If that world had so little as far as magic went... "Now, because magic is all but common on Earth, and it would need a miracle to change" Discord, however, just looked back and winked "The effects of this would be the same that ponies suffered here, only it would happen much faster. The thing is that the entity that lives within the sun uses what it steals to pour much more magic here. Basically it is like Pinkie Pie and her cakes: Give her enough ingredients for one and she will make one hundred, and all of them will be excellent"
"You just conjured enough chocolate to give Pinkie an attack" Luna was doing her best not to explode "I know it pains you but please finish the explanation"
Discord huffed with a frown on his face "No one appreciates what I do" He grumbled to himself for a moment "Okay, okay, don't get your hairs in a knot" And just for good measure, Discord made it happen, testing Luna's patience even more "And since you want me to be brief, let me be brief: If this keeps up both worlds will be no more in a few months"
There was a moment of silence. Luna had stopped fidgeting with her hair and was staring blankly at one of the walls as if she had been slapped. Celestia's pupils had turned into pinpricks and looked at Discord as if trying to search for something to say.
Discord just smiled happily at this little speck of chaos in the room.
"Of course, there are ways to slow it down, or stop it whole"
Both mares let out the breath they had been holding without them realizing it.
"Earth would be the first to go, and it would be what made the sun react. Alongside the chain reaction that would shake our world, I'd say the last bits of magic force feed to the land would make this place just, well, depressingly dead, quite literally in fact" The only thing that was stopping Celestia from being angry was the fact that Discord was calm "To counteract this problem we would need to give back the magic we are taking in"
Celestia furrowed her brow for a second. This had crossed dangerous territory, already, even crazy, but it was too well planed "Discord, a question please" The draconequus tilted his head for a moment until it literally fell to the ground. Celestia just sighed in exasperation "Did Twilight make you do this?"
"Oh? Whatever gave you that idea?" Discord smiled as he reattached his fallen headgear.
"The fact that you wouldn't sit still for two minutes and also the simple point you brought: You dislike death, you are not one for drama" That did make Discord look down for a moment "You went to her with your worries I assume"
"Of course!" Discord seemed insulted for a moment "I AM in my best behavior, and Twilight said that friends talk about what worries them" Then he looked away sheepishly and let his fingers play with the tuff of his tail "But maybe I got her to overreact and have an episode that resembled that 'Smarty Pants' incident a bit too much, so she 'grounded' me for not getting to her earlier and made me explain this to you whenever I could or she would tell Fluttershy about it"
Celestia finally sighed in relief, real relief "Oh thank goodness. I can relax now"
"Hey!" Discord crossed his arms, quite grumpy at what was being hinted here.
"Sorry Discord" Luna seemed to get some of her usual mood back "But I am much better knowing most of this came from Twilight's brain, not yours"
The chaos spawn grunted and grumbled a few words under his breath "It is not like I told her all I knew or anything" before sulking against the board.
"Now, now Discord" Celestia gave him a slight smile "Don't be like that. Twilight did make a plan, right?"
"Yea..." He got back in the mood with a mischievous smirk "Yea she did..." That didn't exactly seem reassuring to the sisters "Since I can go anywhere I want just because I can" It really, really didn't do anything to calm either of them "I can make permanent portals to that other world, but as said, it is dangerous, or it would be if there was no permanent link like the one that exists now"
When Discord drew again he did so in the lower side of the board, though as he did so the draconequus decided to flip gravity, quite literally, and stand in mid air like nothing. This was nothing new, and just because of that, and because we are talking about Discord, both sisters found themselves floating upside down with unamused glances directed to the little circular drawing that was connected with another faint line to the other world.
"Twilight thinks that it is possible to channel part of the magic that is radiating this world and send it back to Earth, but it will be taxing" Discord started to deflate slowly, as if he was a balloon with a little hole, while gravity slowly reasserted itself "It would need you, Celestia, and probably your sister, to keep the flow so as to increase Earth's magic and maintain the magic within the land as it is"
That was... a viable option. Waiting for infinity to get back on track and make another world was much harder to just wipe the slate clean and make a scorched ball, a dead planet, grow life again. Just killing everything sentient in a quiet way would make things even faster, so going slow would in fact be simply more productive in the end, but it would give time to at least stall.
It was a shudder inducing thought, and horrid beyond belief, but looking at it from a young creature's stand point of view it was much faster than waiting who knows how long for new toys.
Even Nightmare Moon was more mature than whatever the sun had within, mostly thanks to Luna herself, and even then it obviously had a lot of flaws. But that was because the plan had been partially overly complicated, as it required the conquest of Equestria first and foremost, and Nightmare Moon was physically located in the middle of ground zero. She had to be there to do everything and she had to risk herself to achieve her goals.
Destroying everything just enough to have the building foundations still standing after it was all said and done? Hundreds of years of work, maybe thousands, with magic, but much better than waiting an eternity for things to get back on track if the place just turned into dust.
Celestia did in fact shudder at how easily she could picture it happening.
"It is too easy to be a solution" Luna's musing took Celestia away from her own mind and the fear building within "And it would require a lot of effort. Either way the sun would end up noticing sooner or later"
"Yup! We would be in a tight spot" Discord was way too lively when he hung himself with nothing but air for a few seconds. Celestia didn't know about Luna, but she wasn't amused, at all "That is why Twilight and I came with two different plans"
Celestia snickered when her sister looked to the ceiling with a groan. She was obviously in mental pain at the idea of Discord genuinely planning something, not that Celestia could blame Luna at all for that.
"My plan first!" Discord clapped and jumped like a little filly, he even got a filly scout uniform that she had copied from the cutie mark crusaders some time ago "Since the creature in the sun is made of such condensed magic, more so than any other creature I know, even me" He tried to act thought when he said that, but this time the slip of a frown wasn't there for fun, as Celestia noticed "One way to prepare in case the thing tried to land would be to bring some humans here"
Both sisters looked at Discord as if he had turned into a pony permanently, willingly and had also asked to be a palace guard.
Discord just looked at them with a curious look on his eyes "What? I have done it a lot of times"
"Yes, you made sure to make it obvious" Celestia frowned a bit "But why should we pluck some creatures from another world into this one?"
"Oh, simple" Discord's grin turned more like the ones he had back in the day. Neither princess liked it "I would prefer to remain alive, that is all"
Luna was quicker to judge than Celestia on that one "Explain thyself!"
"At least you didn't use your royal voice this time" Discord chuckled "Oh 'thyself', great lapse there" Luna puffed her cheeks in indignation, but Discord thought it was better to leave the poking for next time "Look, I know that this place is flowing with magic, but can you imagine what a body completely accustomed to a partial lack of magic would suffer if we started bombarding it with the stuff twenty four seven when they suffer that little allergy I mentioned?"
Realization dawned on Luna "Oh..."
"'Oh' is right" Discord blew a raspberry her way "Twilight brought the topic up mind you, I am not trying to be cute here... for once" He added with puppy eyes directed at Celestia after she gave him a funny look "So I told her how easy had it been to shield those creatures from magic in various ways with a little help of yours truly. The problem is that the spell on itself feeds on a lot of magic, so leaving them in their world would only protect them for a while before it crumbled, and it is not a spell that can be used twice... it usually causes problems if you do" Neither one of the sisters asked, but it looked like Discord wasn't going to answer even if they did.
Clearing his throat as if he had said nothing, he went on "For that reason most of the humans that end up in the land of Equestria remain here forever in almost all other 'instances'" Celestia promised herself that she would bite Discord's paw once this was done, the air quotes were starting to annoy her and Discord was taking this all but seriously. That, and her nose was starting to itch whenever he did that "Their bodies can't always get used to the lack of magic once they leave, it is a massive shock to the mind and body to have magical alimentation happen twice in your life, that and in most cases they are much, much happier here. That and their struggles create so much chaos that it is just too funny to pass"
"Discord" Luna's face was turning red at this point "You still destroy lives... just for fun!? I thought you had changed!"
That made Discord frown for real this time. The visage was simply daunting "Didn't you hear me? They end up being HAPPY almost every time!" That Discord looked angry was scary enough to give both sisters pause "Chaos is needed for life, my little alicorn, but chaos means change, and change does sometimes mean death. It does not mean I have to like it" And from the venom in his voice it was clear that he didn't "It is a fact of life, I accept it, but I don't like it" He served himself some tea that neither sister wanted to try to even explain at this point "Humans are chaotic to the point that the cycle is broken: They can either be the gentlest creatures in the world, or pure monsters. Humans are unlike you in the fact that most ponies will do the right thing; they can convert, they can be sorry, they usually thinks of others first. There are many ways for ponies to go from bad to good, but few to go from good to bad, and usually they don't stay bad for their whole lives"
"Humans tend to tip the balance in the other way" He added with a very unhappy grumble.
"Then..." Luna was quite taken back by Discord's fuming "Why bring them here? Can't we make sure they stay alive back there? I want an adventure, but not against a whole world of strange creatures that are suffering, or against those we try to save"
"Because, my dear Luna, it is that inner conflict that gives them as much strength as you ponies have" The two sisters relaxed as Discord seemed to get back to his usual good mood "Those that are deathly allergic to magic deprivation or buildup are the ones that have suffered the most, be it to their own doing or somepony else"
"And that humans have a connection with whatever was created has nothing to do with this?"
Celestia was a bit less impressionable than her sister. She had been cold and calculating once, she was still quite shrewd. Discord was able to plan, and she was sure that everything he had showed hadn't been told to Twilight.
Discord just grinned in confirmation.
"Well, if worse comes to happen..." Discord let the words linger for a moment "If everything goes more or less according to what Twilight suspects, and it usually does when she shuts herself in solitary confinement to study, then the aspect of the sun should decide to come here and stop us so things go its way" His words don't help the sisters much "Going to the other world would destroy it, which would in turn destroy this one, that and the creatures of this world should be susceptible to its magic without the place ceasing to exist. You know, a bit like me but without being a nice guy"
"You think we need pawns" Celestia cut in once more. Discord's face turned sour at her words "Sacrificing anything to save your friends, I suspect"
"Would you do any different if that is the only choice you have?" That made Celestia pause. She had wanted to say a few more things, but she didn't feel capable of answering that question "I see" Discord being serious was... scary "We can do nothing to it, not only because the intense magic would leave us like any other affected pony, but because Luna, you and I, even Cadence, are tightly connected to that thing. Twilight has a pass thanks to the Elements of Harmony, otherwise she would be in the same boat" He had no mirth when he added the last bit. Despite his pranks Discord did enjoy Twilight's company, it was easy to get her to fuss over a few things "We need someone to take the brunt of the force if it comes to that, and I think it would be just payment for saving them"
Celestia sent Discord a knowing, unfeeling glare "Of course" She knew perfectly well what he meant.
"But the original purpose is not that one, I would prefer if it didn't come to that" Both sisters' interests were picked by Discord's sincerity "I talked with Twilight about very important things of the magic that was used in most the incarnations of Earth I have seen"
"I thought you said there was little magic on that world" Luna quipped.
"Most times there is not, but there are a few things that are almost universally regarded in all of its incarnations, so I mentioned them to Twilight and she is pretty sure that she can help me modify the spell I use for a few select humans, a few that would be able to help us against whatever is in the sun if things get really sour" A few seconds went by without Discord talking until he smirked "Nope, not telling you what is it, not yet anyway"
"Ugh" Celestia surrendered "Okay, keep your secrets, but go on please"
"You are no fun, and smiling is hardly going to be easy from now on until this ends, so I recommend you lighten up a bit" Discord decided to just stay where he was and float a bit "The reason that we, and I mean to add Twilight on this to in case you are wondering, want this to happen is because we will get quite a few immigrants directly to Equestria" The pointed look he got from the sisters wasn't missed, so teasing and stalling would have to wait "Humans are very resilient and harden quickly, but certain events do hurt them and it takes time to heal or would scar their souls for life. We will have at least a few hundreds, or a few thousands, that will whiter away if we don't act soon thanks to the damage to their very souls which would, as I said, basically make them allergic to the utter lack of magic or to the increase that will be needed for their world to stay alive"
Luna pursed her lips for a moment, as if thinking of something "We have the space for that" She muttered after a few seconds "Between our allies, all the cities, towns and villages in Equestria and some that my thestrals hold" The nightly monarch grimaced at the fact that her bat ponies weren't exactly accepted as citizens yet "We can help them find a place, and in case they eat meat..." She wasn't exactly happy of that part, but Celestia had made sure to help her 'open up' a bit since she came back "We still have the gryphons nagging at us for an open market on that border if I remember correctly"
"That is good and all" Discord did his best to not roll his eyes or do something else, only to find it very, very, very hard "But there is always a problem with humans, one quite bigger than most" He paused a bit for dramatic effect "They fight for power, messily I must add. Usually funny, but not in this case"
Both sisters blinked for a moment. What would that matter? They would be living in Equestria, or in some of their allies' lands if too many of them ended up coming here, so why worry? Celestia knew that some species were quite... belligerent, but there was none that was, well, headstrong enough to go against everyone because they wanted to be on top. That usually didn't end up very well.
Celestia was surprised when Luna was the one to catch up first "Oh... They are the ONLY sentient species on their world" That left Celestia doing a little 'o' with her lips. The sisters weren't as naive as far as certain things went.
That would be a problem.
"Exactly" Discord said as if he had read their thoughts "A few of them being close to 'leaders' would give them peace of mind, more or less, and since they would function somewhat similar to the elements if Twilight nails it down..." Discord lets his words hang for a second "Let's simply say that that would solve a lot of problems before they form, because I do not really like where that would go since it would burn quite a bit"
"So they would serve both to help calm their people and as a wall in case the other plan crumbles" Celestia felt the words leaving a foul taste in her mouth "I don't like it. I don't enjoy the idea of using anypony in such a way. I did it once and I find the very idea of doing it again simply repulsive"
"If we need them and we don't have them then the alternative is worse than some manipulation, manipulation that doesn't necessarily mean such a thing" And Discord knows a lot about what is what, he is chaos incarnate after all "Having so much control over it is not exactly funny either" He didn't seem any happier about it, as weird as it sounded "If they are needed then and we don't have them then it means we may be about to get toasted, and if the humans do something bad because they feel wronged, then many ponies, and other creatures, may want them gone, something that would make us end overly cooked"
The so familiar silence reigned for a few more seconds once more until Celestia made a simple question "Are you sure it is necessary?"
"Absolutely. A lone human would be fun, a lot of them would be a handful unless we are prepared"
"Then we shall do that" Celestia sighed "But we will need to meet with their leaders. If we are going to be linked and this is going to escalate, then we need to make sure that nothing blows out of proportions"
"Can be done" Discord nodded, grinning at the thought. Oh boy, he found that part funny. Celestia knew it was going to be anything but entertaining "But don't you worry. The portals I open will push anyone away unless we bring them in, that way there will be a safety net, so to speak"
"How thoughtful of you" Luna deadpanned without so much as a smile "I guess you already tried?"
"Tried? I went and picked up the first one!"
Both mares' eyes grew as big as saucers as Discord said that. In a flash Discord created clothes that resembled Flim and Flam, two colts that Celestia had sadly met after Apple Jack sent her a second complain about their acts. Suffice to say that this didn't bode well, nor did the door that Discord had made appear out of apparently nowhere.
"Discord..." Celestia tried to keep a gentle and cool voice. What had he done now?
"Royal mares, friends of mine and cake filed plots" She just threw her hooves as high as they could go as if screaming 'WHY!?' to whoever was watching "Let me show you the unique, the incomparable, the most singular...!" Discord was about to open the door when he chuckled and winked at Celestia "You can't tell her about him yet, sun butt"
"You can't be serious" Chrysalis' face was incredulous if nothing else.
"We are talking about Discord here" Celestia managed to smile, but by now her facade had gone away and she just looked... tired "He didn't even tell me what he meant, but I think it fits this moment perfectly"
"You can be as bad as that damned jigsaw puzzle" The changeling groused. If nothing else she had calmed down for various reasons, not all of which were known to Celestia "So these two are part of this plan?"
"They should not be here to start with, not this close to the portal, unless they were meant to go in" Celestia sighed, her tiredness even more obvious as she fought to maintain her eyes open "There is only one more portal open in Earth right now, and Discord made sure it is somewhere safe before he got the first victim of this sickness. This one appeared because more victims had been found, so I have to guess that they are it"
Chrysalis looked to the pile for a moment "Discord did something to the young one, he turned him into a larva..."
Celestia nodded "I am sure that is part of why you don't want to relinquish them" The murderous glare on Chrysalis' face told her enough "Young ones and the elderly cannot be affected by the spell since it is very taxing to the body and mind, and you know Discord does not like death unless it is unavoidable. Giving them a new life was an apt solution, or at least Twilight was sure that changing the spell would be better than risking a worse end. I think Discord made some modifications afterwards though" She gave the little larva a gentle look, hoping Discord hadn't done anything too rash "Make sure he is well cared for alongside your fillies"
"..." She wanted to say something but right now Chrysalis wasn't exactly sure as to what that something was "You are really going to let me close to the fillies?"
"If you behave" Celestia promised "This is no time to be fragmented. There are many other things we need to talk about, but hat can wait, a week at the most" Chrysalis found herself grateful for that time if nothing else "It will take some time until more victims start ranking up, but Discord is sure that it will happen. In a week's time we may have only three, four, maybe five..."
"But that will change very fast"
Celestia nodded grimly.
"Show me the place you are offering me" Chrysalis remained neutral "And bring your student. I want to talk some terms" When Celestia gave her a questioning look Chrysalis explained with a big smirk "I know you, Celestia, and I know you would alter our deal if you thought it was necessary" That made the white mare purse her lips. There wasn't a way to say it was a lie when it technically was not "But your student? She can't. Even if her life is on the line she won't do anything she thinks goes against what is right, and if I am going to be a 'citizen of Equestria' by living in your land in an official way..." Chrysalis' fangs shone under the moonlight "Then our little purple princes will make sure whatever deal we make is as strong as a castle's foundations unless either of us break the rules"
"Accepted" Celestia pursed her lips but said nothing else.
"And..." On the other hand, Chrysalis was going to see how much she could push "I want what you have hidden in your collar"
Celestia was sincerely surprised, outraged and protective at the same time "My... collar?"
Anyone else would have seen nothing but the collar, well, other than the jewel it had encrusted in the middle of course. Chrysalis was a changeling though, and it meant that as a changeling, an empath, she could literally see the feelings, as well as what they were directed or attached to. A single strand of love, a very powerful one in fact, went to the white mare's collar.
One would need to look intently to see a little something sticking outside of its borders, a little something made of very special paper.
"N-no... I can't give that to you... Please, chose anything else, anything at all"
"Yes, I think you CAN, princess" Chrysalis' face ran the risk of degenerating into that feral grin from before as she hissed those words "You say you are oh so sorry, that you want to change, do the best for everypony... But here we are, with everypony losing things left and right, including our guests" She grinned, pointing a hoof at the three figures "And you fear giving me a little something that would remain safe with me unless somepony went back on their word?"
"I-I n-need it..." When she had said she was weakened no one would have expected her to sound like she was in the verge of tears. Chrysalis didn't let it show, but she was surprise because, yes, Celestia was indeed close to that. The former queen had touched something sensible and Celestia didn't have the strength to hide it "Please Chrysalis... I just..."
"Give that to me or there is no deal" Steel reigned over anything else that Chrysalis wanted to put forth. Enjoyment? Pride? Simple glee? The moment was exhilarating if nothing else "You may be doing all you can, but I don't believe for one minute that you won't do something, not without assurance" She took a step forward to remain inches away from Celestia "I may need to answer to many things, but I won't do it in chains. You either ensure that we both get what we want and then I'll return your little trinket. If you cross me, I'll destroy it"
In any other situation Celestia would glare at Chrysalis, in any other situation, even weakened, she would've given her a what for, but right now she didn't have the strength and she didn't want to endanger anything else.
But she didn't want to part ways with her little treasure.
She was being selfish, she knew, but just once, just once...
"I am a bad pony..."
The words burned her back then, and the pain was all too real now. Nothing had changed. She could say all she wanted; that she was doing her best, that she didn't like it, that she was practically slaving herself to help this world and her own, that she had given every second she could spare to this and that the pain it created was driving her insane... So many possible excuses.
It wasn't enough, because the one time she was asked to do something that truly hurt her, she said no. Much like the last time...
"Chrysalis" And Celestia felt pathetic as she looked back at the display she had offered. She had started with a strong front, she would end on the same note whether Chrysalis wanted it or not "I will give one of my dearest treasures to you" And it just made her angry that it would come to this "I will do my very best to uphold whatever terms we agree to, and I will ensure your hive isn't harmed any further by Equestrian citizens" She inched closer to the changeling, both of them had hardened their faces enough to compare them to stone "Break the agreement and I will kill you. No more playing"
The changeling blinked. Celestia wasn't lying.
"Oooh, the princess has bite as well as bark" Chrysalis smirked toothily, the playfulness leaving her voice "We have a deal"
Without another word Celestia pulled what she had tucked away. It was a simple piece of orange paper, or looked like it, a little something with a single word written over it. The writing, for as little as there was of it, was done with care and so gently that every letter looked, at least to Celestia, as a work of art.
Always.
She wanted to hold it down, to nuzzle it, kiss it. She wanted so many things, and not just from the memento, but from the one that was with her the day it was made. Celestia gazed at it longingly, not seeing the grin on Chrysalis' face, a grin that returned to stony neutrality once Celestia let the former queen's own magic hold onto the little piece of paper.
"Guard it with your life" That was the only thing that Celestia said. Everything else was unimportant.
Weak or not, Chrysalis was not stupid enough to do something now. It wouldn't end well for any of those present.
Chrysalis, for her part, said nothing. Both mares turned as one and started walking towards the portal, making sure to lift the three figures and help them cross the gateway that headed towards a world they had never seen. Most would think that adventure, danger and a new life awaited on the other side. Neither Chrysalis nor Celestia found those things as palatable as the ones they carried would. The future, for once, was uncertain for every creature that walked the land.
At least they did knew what they left behind: a world largely ignorant of what was going on. But for how long?
Author's Note
WARNING - Notes will occur when I deem them fit and are usually there to answer certain questions people may have or to voice some of my thoughts, which means they are, technically, not required as far as reading goes.
These first notes have me rambling a few things I thought necessary, so if you want you can skip them since they are not really of much use for most, and they are lenghty... It is mostly for those that remember my old story
Hello everyone, I am Uros Osium Tokker, mostly simply known as Uros by my friends (Or Joel for those that keep teasing me with my real name). Some of you may look at this MLP - FIM and think back to an older story I wrote and that, surprisingly (for me at least), people liked: The Time of the Grey Knight. I know, old news and all, but hey.
I fell so damn hard when people started commenting on the story that you couldn't believe it. I mean, I hardly ever received comments in any of my works back then, granted that most of my works were adult material and most people weren't there to comment *cough cough* but you know... I always try to give a plot, to give nice descriptions, to make it entertaining, of course it is for my own enjoyment first and foremost. This is because I have learned that if you make something to please someone and you DO NOT like your own work, then it is, more often than not, pure crap.
So yea, I was quite giddy and happy to give people something they liked while enjoying myself.
Then the shit hit the fan over at home and writing was the last thing on my mind no matter what I tried.
Do not misunderstand me here. I seek no pity or anything the like: Shit happens, deal with it. In this case it was, and still is, hard to cope with how things are, but I refuse to let it keep me down. The problem was that I could not use time to write since I was needed to support things at home or help here and there. Despite how much I like writing, and the idea of doing this as a job, I am not there yet, maybe in a few years by the time I reach thirty, or maybe earlier than that, but not yet. Thanks to that, and the depression I had at first, I stopped everything, and I mean everything: From naughty to funny to the little story I so enjoyed writing.
With that said, I know it may seem stupid, but I want to say I am sorry to those that followed my old story.
As I said before 'I' was the one that wanted to write the story and that enjoying creating it, thus I was the first target of said story, but for those that write or draw, or create youtube videos, or make music... Having what we love to make as our work, doing what we enjoy and living out of it, is a dream come true. I may not be there yet, not fully at least, but a simple sincere comment, not nice, not hateful, just sincere and with an objective mind, is what makes creating something worth the effort for so many reasons it is just hard to describe with words.
I am not usually this sappy and shit, I prefer to be goofy and have fun. This is mostly because I am a very emotional guy that cannot deal with people in real life because I am shy as heck. But the time I was writing my previous story gave me a lot of practice and made me happy with what I was doing because I gave the people something they enjoyed, discussed or, sadly, hated.
Positive or negative, both types of feelings are required and you can NEVER make something that EVERYONE will like or dislike, it is a very important truth you need to know and accept, and you need to have that present at all times no matter what you aim to do. I would've preferred to have it all good, but as said, everyone has their own tastes, I just hope that most enjoyed the story.
Another reason to be writing this is because, as many will know, moving on is very important.
It wasn't under my control when things spiraled down to hell, but it soured everything and that was on my hands to control, but it slipped by. I stopped watching MLP for a long time, and I have to say that I regret it because that show made me smirk and laugh quite a bit, something I deeply needed during my time away, and now that some free time and good mood is genuinely returning I watched what I had missed. Of course I ended up enjoying every second of it, even if the end of Season 4 made me think 'Mare Ball Z, Mare Ball Z' a lot.
So, while I will not resume 'The Time of the Grey Knight', as I think I would be unable to do it justice after so long and with most, if not all, of my notes lost in time and anger... I wanted to start a new story. Yes, it will have humans. It is VERY possible that it will have naughty. For sure it will have adventure, a good bit of slice of life, probably some drama and romance (Well, this last part will be less mebe), but I probably will drop a lot of the dark themes I tried to use on my previous little tale. It will be a nice world saving adventure with all the good and bad it entails.
Incidentally it should be obvious, but I feel like I need to say this: My time is still wonky and I am doing many a thing, be it other writings to pass the time and calm my mind, reading or gaming when the stress is just too much. This means two things:
An easier story that will be, as usual, adventure like and shiz, but also with looooots of pronsies and such with anthro ponies, because I want something lighter and probably sillier as well as naughtier within this universe. If you like hermaphrodites and other smexy stuff you probably will enjoy it. Since it will be easier to make and less time consuming I SHOULD update that more often.
The other thing is a second attempt at writing an original story (Translation: A book) like I wanted to make back when I was still writing The Time of the Grey Knight. As said, I want this to be my work, and as said, life decided to impale me, hard, so I had to stop that and with a new computer and no saved data, I need to begin anew. Despite this I STILL need to help around, so I will not have an schedule of any kind. This means that I will be doing whatever I can to write THAT as well, but I will ALSO be pulled away a lot.
So yea... Oh, also, another warning if you didn't notice: I write long, I write detailed. If you cannot stomach such things then I welcome you to complain and leave, but that is how I roll. It takes longer for me to work things? Yes. Would I be willing to make things shorter? Fuck. No. I am sorry but I am picky as hell with my stories, and short ones don't work with me because I get so fucking bored, not even short chapters work well when I write them. For those that read my previous story this will be no news, but for those new it may be a bit of a shock if they see a chapter close to, say, 20k words. I know a lot of people prefer short, easy to digest, works, but I just don't work that way.
Now, speaking of lengthy things (Hey now, this is not my naughty story) this 'Notes from the author' section is over 1k words in length, so let's get into the story shall we? Hope you all enjoy.
Chapter 2: My little hive.
Author's Note
Twelve bucking days. Twelve, bucking, days. You may wonder why I complain about this, but the reason is simple: I hadn't expected this to be so long! The chapter is just shy of 24k words, I could almost get 150€ out of this if I was getting paid you know o3o !? Well, it would be 144 to be specific, but you get the gist of it: I am being absorbed by the pony once more, so I can finally kiss my free time goodbye. In fact this was done three days ago, but I keep editing bits in and out, as well as typos, for three bucking days.
Sorry about the rant.
Anyway: I am sorry to say that there won't be much adventure and shiz for a while, this is all still getting settled, so have patience. For now lets introduce some humans and a couple other characters. Also, I would recommend for those interested in this story (or my work in general) to check my next blog (Will be a link right abouuuuut here) since it will have a few necessary things that I need to say.
There will be another blog detailing creatures, plants and other such creative liberties I have taken with MLP (Such as Changeling, Pony and human biology and all that manure). These two blogs should be updated whenever something new is added, so if you check, do take care, I don't want to spoil things for you but I want to have things safe in here (Plus I want people to see these curiosities if they are interested).
Also, swearwords, tons of swearwords, get used to them. And no, don't expect clop for a while, but there WILL be glorious human on pony shenanigans sooner or later, because it is me and I like it 
.
If it suits the story of course.
Chapter 2: My little hive.
The night was quite beautiful today, a veritable contrast when one thought about what was happening around the world. It had been hidden, almost, but too many people had suffered this new illness, some short of comatose state that left people in limbo. They required no food, no water, and it happened all over the place, not only in third world countries, as it had been theorized at first, but everywhere.
There were so many affected in such a short time... Panic rose like fire when the count reached five million, and a worldwide program was started to have all the victims directed to certain locations once it was discovered that there was no risk of contagion after a few unlucky breaches. It was almost like someone had wanted to laugh at their faces by simply dismantling every precaution that the doctors had put in place, only for several teams to notice they were perfectly fine while a random passerby fell into deep sleep outside of the hospital they were located at.
Someone really had a very special sense of humor.
Once it had been discovered that this 'sickness' was not a contagious one, and once the locations had been decided and made public, things had been good... for a while. People were scared, and despite this malady being little more than a Russian roulette kind of thing (a game that had you wondering if you had your gun loaded or not before you checked by shooting yourself was quite the perfect comparison here), it was very common for most people to freak out when anyone showed the symptoms. It went to the point of treating the affected as carriers of a damn plague by people that would've gone through tooth and nail with them because simple fear makes people worse than stupid.
What were the symptoms? Let's talk about the most obvious affected people: Insomniacs. These people, in extreme cases, do not sleep; they just rest and close their eyes, hoping for some relaxation and recovery. Now imagine that these people finally manage to sleep a few hours for a few days, no pauses, all of them straight in a nice line without a single bump. Then they sleep like any normal person, maybe six, seven, eight hours... There will be a time that has them sleeping almost a whole day whenever they finally close their eyes, and once the twenty four hours mark is reached, there is almost nothing left to do, because once you break twenty five hours you won't wake up again as far as the medics are concerned.
Was it a problem? Not really, not when compared to some of the most destructive sicknesses in the world, be it artificial or made by nature one way in another. It was new though, and that was the problem. With people fearing for their lives, loved ones and other such things, it was very easy to just push others away when it became apparent that they were going to go down that route. This was partially because, as far as scientists had determined, there was nearly not a chance to bring the affected back to the world of the awake unless there was a, very unlikely, breakthrough.
Under the starlight sky there was someone that wondered if that had been the reason for him to be in this situation, or if it had been him being, simply and plainly put, stupid.
"Bro, let it go"
It was not one, for in truth there were two. There was not a time in the life of either of the two men that they had been separated from one another for more than a few hours. They weren't brothers by blood, but as far as they were concerned they were brothers in every sense of the word, more so than most.
On the right was Amos, most known as Bone, and on the left was Pacho, most known as Bender.
Amos was a tower o f a man, almost literally, with two meters and four, almost five, centimeters to his name. Lanky and thin, most people considered him to be a sickly man, which didn't help any when they saw that he suffered from albinism, had a clear skin that allowed to see the veins close to the surface and that his eyes were of a red that approached pink just enough for it to be some more ammo that people used against him.
He had soft features with a bit of a stubby nose that was smaller than usual, he lacked width as far as his back went and, as far as lanky people go, he was noticeably longer in certain parts of his body, longer than he 'should' be anyway. It wasn't exactly bad though, mostly because while he lacked a bit of meat in those bone ( he didn't eat that much), he was very strong as far as his arms went. It was easy to notice if one looked, and one of the few things he took pride in, because while his legs were perfect for jumping, it had been his arms that had the lion's share of the work every night that he did what he loved most: Parkour.
You could say that the young man was accident prone.
Despite this it was hard to take a look at Amos. He usually went around with the trademark clothing that both brothers were known for: Green hoodie with a pair of bones on a red circle on the back with the words 'Bone' written in bold white letters over the picture. This is paired with a white shirt under the hoodie and blue pants. He tends to wear durable shoes with a good grip.
If you ever saw this guy jumping around like a monkey it would be with those clothes on, the hood up, his self inflicted baldness covered (he shaved his hair a lot) and most of his body concealed but for his eyes. Considering that he was not a people's person, talked as little as possible, was as direct as a kick to the nuts and had a hate for liars that could spur violence as easily as you could snap your fingers, most people had learned to just give him a wide berth whenever 'Bone' was around, with or without his brother.
"She promised" And despite appearances, Amos was a very soft individual, as his bloodshot eyes showed.
His brother was a total contrast in most cases, and this didn't just meant height. True, Pacho had the Hispanic features of a Mexican while his brother was American, true that he had quite the belly and very muscular arms and legs, TRUE that he was TRULLY bald and he had a well trimmed beard and moustache that made him look like a younger Santa, and yes, he was barely over a meter fifty, but that wasn't what made them both all that different.
Physically speaking Pacho was almost the polar opposite of his brother. Large nose, wide back, muscular (and rotund) frame... He was basically a dwarf in appearance as far as most people were concerned. He was short, stocky, had harsh features born by how hard he worked compared to his little brother, whom preferred to take things calmly unlike Pacho, whom worked hard every day of his life, and he was tanned since he preferred sunny days to the cover of the night.
It was a myriad of differences as far as the physical body goes, but Pacho was mostly different in that he had made sure to steal his brother's spotlight every time he could. Why? Because Amos had simply asked for him to do so.
Horny and forward, friendly and jovial, welcoming of food and drink, Pacho did his best to captivate everyone's attention when he was in the room. At first it had been so he could make sure his brother was as inconspicuous as possible, but he had learned to enjoy the attention over time and it had basically made him the charismatic front of the two brothers. They were tighter than tight however and it was so damn hard for people to get Pacho to forget about his brother that it looked impossible despite how different the two of them seemed to be.
As a testament they were matched in many ways, like the clothes: Red hoodie with a broken iron pipe located within a green circle on the back with the words 'Bender' written in bold black letters over the picture. This is paired with a black shirt under the hoodie and blue pants. Unlike his brother he preferred booths with metal reinforced tips and usually adds gloves to his repertoire.
The 'Bone Bender Brothers', a moniker they got after their first fight. Quick, nimble and precise in his blows, Bone was there to support the tanking and hard hitting Bender. Could you believe this stupidity was born after a little school brawl over the brothers' favorite game? If you are thinking Super Mario Brothers you'd be right.
And yea, it was stupid, but it stuck and they were quite happy with it, so they made it a thing, a very obvious thing, as you could see from his clothes.
Hell, they even had their own 'Peach'. Well, 'had' would be more precise.
"Bro" That was why it was being so damn hard for Pacho to help his brother "Let it go man... I know it is recent, but..."
"It is NOT easy, brother"
Pacho hardly had a frown or scowl in his face, and it matched his voice. Gentle but grave, as if he was a giant of a man, while Amos was light and quiet, even when angry. Right now both of them were full of hurt.
"You must understand that people are scared" Despite his best efforts and how much he knew about his brother, meaning everything, this was a lost cause "Sara didn't mean to hurt you"
Amos scoffed at that "Yet she did, again"
Unlike the real Mario Brothers, these two had their own brand as far as 'princess' goes. Sara was more like Daisy than Peach, but she got in so many problems that even the tomboy couldn't get out of every mess she made. And unlike in the games it wasn't the 'red plumber' the one to get the goodies. They had grown together, they had been friends since they were young, but it was obvious that Pacho and Sara were just that while Amos and her had wanted a thing since they were teenagers.
Less than a month after they start and everything goes to hell, go figure.
There had been a few problems at home, with their parents panicking as their family was hit hard by this new sickness. Both Amos and Pacho had almost been forced to stay within their house at all times and their parents had snapped at them so many times that even the understanding pair was hurt. With every friend they had made also refusing to get close to them as more people from their family became sick, it didn't take long for their parents to notice they were sleeping longer and longer and react either.
"It isn't fair" And once things escalated, Amos just broke.
Years making the few friends he had, that is how hard it had been for him, everyone knew that he would've preferred to be alone. And yet, with how little he enjoyed most modern topics, be it games, movies or even books and series, it was hard to just make small talk when he wanted to talk, but he had done so. Now those friends had said their last goodbye by running away, scared of a monster, at least that is how Amos saw it.
So many failed attempts to approach Sara because he thought it would just blow in his face, so many heartaches, so much hurt, with hope blooming when he was about to let it go, only for her to react in a less than stellar fashion once he told her what was happening. As said Amos was, despite his usually stony exterior, quite weak emotionally, and this time even his brother had been utterly floored.
At any other time, ANY other, going to the woods during the night would've meant a campfire, some marshmallows, his brother getting drunk and a few laughs as he monkeyed around from tree to tree, much to his brother's delight. Today it meant loneliness and a tiredness that was encroaching like an impending storm. To say that Amos' birthday, the mark of his twenty two years of age, had gone down the shitter was, to put it bluntly, underplaying how fucked up this month had been.
"It isn't fair, a'ight" Pacho was, at least, intact enough to try and knock some sense into him "But are you sure we should be here, bro? Why not go back and..."
Amos wanted none of it "Do we need food and drink?"
"Well, the brainiacs say we don't but..."
His brother cut him as quickly as he could "Then I want to rest in peace"
Was this stupid? Oh, you have NO idea. Well, not that stupid really, more like self centered if you knew what Amos wanted to do. The woods close to the city were, sadly, devoid of big animals, and the predators were mostly small ones. The younger brother had been all but subtle whenever he muttered to himself, so his brother had caught on.
For that reason Pacho had made sure to send a message to their parents with his phone, saying they would probably stay in their usual spot within the woods. It is true that Pacho was hurt, probably as much as Amos, but he wasn't as uncaring as his brother and his broken heart, even if he too wanted for many things to happen in a different way. He just hopped that his brother would be the first to go to sleep, but telling him that would be stupid.
Whatever else he wanted to say he kept to himself, it was the smart thing to do. Getting Amos riled up was not exactly something anyone wanted to do one on one, much like with Pacho. Alone thy could wreck someone's face, together they could wreck whole groups, standard co-op as far as close knit teams go. Whenever they fought, usually play fighting, they ended up bruised.
Fighting him out of anger was not something Pacho wanted to do, not like he wanted to hurt his baby bro or tire him out faster than necessary. This was going to be their last day awake if he was correct, and while he worried, he wanted it to be peaceful.
Yea, that wasn't going to happen.
"Happy birthday to me"
Both brothers felt Amos' melancholic tone in different ways. Pacho felt like hell just because he was unable to help his brother. Amos just feel like a discarded tissue. Both of them just felt bad thinking about their family and friends and how they reacted, but could they blame them? What was going to happen was basically guaranteed unlife as far as the scientists and doctors were concerned.
Hell, even Amos had said that he wasn't sure about how to react if someone he knew ended up afflicted this way, and he did a great apathetic act.
At least the clearing they were headed to had not changed any: The usual four stumps, the rock circle ready for a fire, the almost ever present pile of crap left by some of the less civilized visitors that the brothers usually cleaned because no one else gave a damn... Yes, at least this one thing hadn't changed any.
"Greetings"
Or had it?
No, the place was the same, minus a single person clad in a brown fedora, jacket and pants, all of it high end alongside a very well kept white shirt, black tie and black shoes. Sharp features crossed his face with a well trimmed beard, populated eyebrows and a perfect smirk and nose to match it all. Taller than Amos and perfect in his proportions, with a large cane with a silver head in one hand and a bundle of something cradled to his chest in the other, the man was an imposing figure waiting right there, as if it was the right thing to do and he had been expecting the pair.
"A few minutes late, but it was to be expected that schedules weren't going to be mingle perfectly" The man smirked with a voice full of mirth as he lifted his face just enough for both brothers to see the red glint and that yellow color even under the moonlight "I trust you had no problem coming here?"
Pacho was the first to react, one step forward and a fist up "Who are...!?"
The man shushed him quickly with his cane pointing at the shorter brother "Please... the little one is sleeping"
It came as a shock to see that the little bundle that the man had in his arm was nothing more than a little horse, or it looked as a horse at first. It quickly became obvious that it wasn't.
For starters: The thing was black, and it looked segmented, as if it had a carapace. Want more? It had a very little horn with a hole in the middle, gossamer wings, holes all over its legs (Seven tiny ones in each) and the mane and tail were of a light purple coloration that was just not normal, that and even the damn things had holes on them too. This is if we miss the pair of prominent fangs that the little creature had on its cute little muzzle.
"Poor little thing" The man said with care and a smile as he looked down "His parents left him here when they found out he was sick, like you two are" Pacho lost whatever was left in him after the shock, with Amos just standing there, watching "Such an unlucky little one... You humans tend to be chaotic, but being downright evil? Not so much, and yet this poor thing was unlucky" The man tsked at that "No matter, he will be much happier with his new mother, and I am sure he'll entertain me quite a lot as a just reward"
"Who are you?" This time it was Amos the one to talk. He was even, almost dropping to a whisper in his tone.
"That is much better" The man smirked and bowed just enough, almost mockingly, towards them "Discord, spirit of chaos, creator of mischief and funny guy to know and party with. I also have a mean poker face" The hushed chuckle did tell the brothers just enough: This guy was crazy. The information he gave was just the icing on the cake after they processed it "I came with an offer"
"An offer" No question, no statement, just disbelief. Pacho resumed a neutral stance as he crossed his arms "If you expected us then you do know enough to be aware that we don't tolerate this kind of crap, right?"
"Would be funny if you did" Discord smirked widely, showing a single fang growing from the corner of his mouth, just big enough to show even when he closed his mouth "Then again, this is not the usual 'Pick up, drop in the forest' kind of thing I do" That made both brothers twitch for a second "After all, and no offense to you, I hardly make my involvement known. It is just les funny when humans are ready for the travel"
Blood ran cold at the many possible implications, and neither brother wanted to explore what the man meant. He was obviously insane and... different in ways they could not explain.
"Oh don't worry about little old me" The man's smirk and playful voice made both brothers flinch "I am not the one to make the offer per se, kids, it is my friend the one you have to hear out"
A loud snapping sound caught the brothers by surprise, making them flinch and turn their heads away from the man. At any other time they'd decide who watched the back and who watched the front, but right now the situation was a bit special so to speak. Paired with tiredness and just plain worry, well, both of them ended up with an eyefull of changeling.
Many questions were made and unmade at lighting speeds within the brothers' minds as they saw the creature walking towards them: Was it an alien? As in a xenomorph, those that burst from your chest and all? Not really, but there was an undertone to it as far as the brothers could see. Was it simply a monster? If you cross a bug with a horse she did look that way, but not exactly. Was it simply a mythical creature? That could be it, but still...
Whatever it was, it was soft to the eyes, as if it was a... cartoon, so to speak. Was it a visual hallucination of some kind? Altered perception? Or was it something else? Whatever the case it was obvious that such a creature had to have sharper features than that, like a real mix of a bug and an equine. Instead of that, instead of the sharp exoskeleton, menacing mandibles, weird antennae, strange hair and whatever other thing most bugs had, the changeling was, well, pretty in a sense, with those green eyes looking their way and a smile that seemed perfect.
Had the eyes turned up the brightness at some point? Because there had been a flash and the brothers found the thought of the creature being 'pretty' as alien after a moment. There was not denying that it walked with a regal poise and very sure of itself, until their moment of admiration vanished at least.
"Do allow me, gentlemen" Discord had approached the pair without making a single sound. For a man at least over two meters and ten centimeters, wide as he was, it was impossible for him to do so in this place "Meet my friend: Queen Chrysalis, leader of her hive and mother of the brood of changelings under her command" His grin was a mix that neither brother wanted to describe. They already had their minds full.
"Please Discord, leave the games until we are done" Chrysalis' voice, or simply the fact that she was speaking, caught the brothers by surprise. She didn't miss it of course, so she turned to face them with a smile "But I am Chrysalis, and I was told I was here to meet you two..." She lifted a one of her forelegs and offered a hoof to the pair so as to encourage them to... to do what?
Oh! Pacho knew right away, and this was one of those situations he had to defuse before his brother got a conniption.
"Pacho, Pacho Baros" He pointed at his brother before shaking the queen's hoof, just in case "Amos Baros, we are brothers"
The grin on the changeling was... unsettling as she took the hoof away once the greeting was done "Delighted to meet you two, my darlings" She almost purred "Would you like to know why are we here?"
Amos nodded crisply at her question, but Discord was faster than the queen this time "Well my friends, allow me" He chuckled as he started, much to the brothers' surprise, to levitate until he was inches away from Chrysalis "I am perfectly aware of the sickness that has afflicted your kind, and you two" The brothers flinched, making Discord chuckle "Do not worry; no one is in danger, not an imminent one anyway" Which didn't help them in any way "Except for the little one and you two"
"You see" Discord cut before they could ask any questions "This is not a malady born here my friends, it was created in our world by a hostile entity" He offered another smile before he touched the ground without a sound, just shy of stepping on Chrysalis' hoof, much to the mare's displeasure "It is affecting this one because we are linked, and it is affecting you two, and the young one, worse than many other people because you have suffered certain events that have weakened your grip in life, in a manner of speaking" The brothers eyed one another for a moment. No need to ask questions when it came to which events "This, sadly, means that unless you are, let's say 'treated', you will die"
"The sickness just forces us to sleep" Was Amos' curt, short reply.
"Under normal circumstances, yes" Discord wasn't affected, or he didn't seem to mind at least "But in your case? In your case your soul will just be plucked away, much like your inherent magic energy" If there was a question here, it just died. It just did. There was a weird creature and a floating man in the picture, who would just ASK about magic instead of just winging it in case you got force chocked for being dumb? "So the offer here is simple"
Amos wasn't dumb, but this was one case that didn't allow him to see truth or lie as clearly as he'd like to "You are going to offer us a way out?"
"With consequences, of course" That did make Amos relax a bit. At least there were consequences, not the 'perfect choice' that would have raised red flags to fill a country "You two cannot stay here. If you remain on Earth you will just waste away, and I dislike waste, a lot" The way Discord said it had an air of finality that neither brother liked "I can take the both you to another world, full of magic, that will fuel the remedy I can offer you, but it will be a permanent transfer and you two need to know it beforehand" All as straightforward as one could hope with this much bull... "There you will find no other humans, or not many anyway, not yet. There will be many more that will be unable to cope with grief, anger and many other feelings, situations that will weaken their souls, thus there will be many other humans that will end in our world. This will help and lessen the effect of this sickness, but you should understand that it will not cure it"
Pacho clenched his fists at that, but Discord hadn't finished "An incredibly evil creature linked our worlds together and created the entity that is generating the phenomenon that ails you two. Said phenomenon could be resumed as a magic imbalance that is hurting both worlds, and the moment one of said worlds dies, most probably yours" The brothers flinched "Then the other one dies too. Doing it this way will 'cleanse' the worlds, which is what this entity wants, but it will take time, so as you can imagine..."
"It will just get worse" Both brothers said at the same time.
"Exactly" Discord smirked as he nodded "But things should get better if what we are trying to do works, something that will inherently require people like you. More humans will end in our world and we do need to make sure things are okay and that everyone gets along, after all you will be in a new world with many different species that are as intelligent as you" This brought no surprise, after all it was mild compared to just seeing one of said species pop out of the woods like it was nothing "So the offer is not just whether or not you accept to come, because you WILL come with us" And this was said in such a serious tone that no amount of balls could counteract "The offer, offers, are... different"
"I offer you two a place in my hive" Chrysalis purred, surprising both of them.
The brothers snapped to attention like a pair of soldiers.
"Let's say that I know a lot about you too, like I do about the little one, it is part of my job after all" Discord grinned, disappearing from view for a few seconds, only to appear behind the pair while the young one floated in midair "He was mistreated, abandoned, practically abused... You, Amos" He began with a casual tone as if it was nothing "Have been lied and betrayed, you have been left in your time of need and the love you sought was just taken away" Which made the tall man fume and look away "While your brother has been given fake friendships and suffered the disdain of others on his back to keep attention away from you for years, and he has endured it with a smile" He placed a hand on each brother's shoulder "Neither of you feel wanted"
"I, on the other hoof, would offer the opposite" Chrysalis kept her purring tone as she approached the pair "No lies, my dears" Her grin widened "Acceptance of who you are, and a big and nice family that will keep you company"
Her toothy grin was... unnerving, but was it insincere? Pacho had his arms crossed, wondering, while Amos stared at those big, green eyes. Really, was it worse than being here? Was it worse than the alternative he had opted for? That he didn't really give a damn didn't help much, but his mind was tired and the temptation was there.
"Would you lie to us?" Amos pursed his lips as Chrysalis sat, relaxed, with an entertained smirk, in front of him "Would you leave us like everyone here?"
"No, I wouldn't"
She didn't say why, nor did she specify if she would not lie or leave them. It was obvious she didn't want to and Amos knew she would not do so even if he asked. He wasn't going to anyway. He felt heartbroken, abandoned and angry, but he wasn't one to lash out unless he could, unlike many people that did their best to make it happen regardless of the consequences.
Amos had decided to come here to die, and if there was any kind of truth to the man, Discord, and his words, then he would have died and nobody would've cared until they found out. He was sick, his brother was sick, and instead of support when everyone knew that they wouldn't get sick themselves, they treated the brothers like the walking dead, both in disgust and fear. Was this normal? To not give a damn? Well, that was the point: Not fucks given. That it was the right thing to do or not didn't matter, maybe it would matter, later on, but not now.
People would call him mad, or they would at least call him stupid, but at the moment he didn't give a shit about anyone else's opinion except his brother, and Amos knew that his brother would come with him if he decided to go. Besides, would you care about anything when you were about to die, be it by your hand or someone else, once it was obvious you WOULD die and you could do nothing but to trust the devil and its deal?
Weird alien creature offering a home to be alongside magical human thingy? He had seen worse on the internet, so fuck it.
So, to resume it all for you: "I accept" To which his brother reacted by almost breaking his own neck. Turning his way that fast wasn't healthy "Going in blind or having a place? If she is sincere, then I accept"
"You have to be fuckin' kiddin' me, bro" Pacho was basically stupefied "We have jus' been told we were goin' to die, man, if we don't go to this other world bullshit that is"
"You are going whether you like it or not" Discord pointed out matter of factly.
"Whatever" The older and smaller of the brothers was trying to wrap his head around this "Thing is: We are screwed, probably drugged, suffering from hallucinations or the like"
Chrysalis eyed him with curiosity "What is his problem?"
"He freaks when he isn't in control" Was Amos' simple response.
And it was true too: Pacho kept the attention on his person, talked people out of almost any problem, be it his own, his brother, friends or family, or managed to get things done one way or another. He was all sunshine and lollipops all the time, but he was always more or less in the lead. It wasn't something all that important to know because he hardly got surprised, and if something goes down the drain, it goes down the drain... But a situation that couldn't be explained to this extent? This was considered 'out of control' in his book.
"... and we don't know if you are right in the head right now!" It also made him prone to rambling, though Amos knew how to tune him out.
"New place with a guide? New place and good luck? Option A" Was his morose response.
"..." Pacho just rubbed his forehead. A good wall, or a close enough tree, would've gotten a different response out of him "You really don't give a fuck"
Amos just shrugged "Not really. There are worse things"
"... Fuck you, bro, fuck you" Pacho grunted and just shook his head before his smirk returned "Well, let's say this is happening and that I haven't fallen asleep on the way here" That got a chuckle from Discord while Chrysalis just gave him a deadpan stare "And let's say I accept..."
"Yeeees...?" Chrysalis arched an eyebrow at him.
"What is the catch?"
The mare chuckled openly at his question "A level headed one when it suits you, aren't you?" She smirked at the man's questioning glance "Well my dear, truth be told, us changelings aren't in the... best of terms with the rest of the world" Her purring tone hid obvious anger and distaste, but she hid it like a master with her sweet voice and calm acting "And with how things have been, why, I think that mending bridges would be an apt thing to do" Chrysalis didn't catch herself on time as she winked at the man in a teasing way, and much to her surprise neither of them seemed worried, disgusted or just plain surprised. In Equestria she'd been incarcerated for less, mostly because ponies knew about her and what her 'favors' entailed "So, in all sincerity, you would be helping me out and I would be helping you in return"
Ironic how things would turn out to be in the future.
"I scratch your back, you scratch mine, huh?" Pacho didn't seem to like that as much as he thought he would.
"Oh don't get me wrong my dear" Chrysalis got up from her sitting position and flapped her wings gently until she lifted herself, gently sitting on a low branch close by "My kind is, shall we say, misunderstood. We aren't like the rest, we need to change ourselves to be able to blend in" Her purr became more obvious until a flash of green light blinded the brothers for a second. When they opened their eyes the only thing they saw on that branch was a black cat staring with deep green eyes in their direction "So..." And the surprise was as Chrysalis expected "I would think you two of all people would prefer a place where you could be ourselves, a place with... kindred spirits. It would be a mutually beneficial deal, one where the mismatched find common grounds to care for each other"
Well, that was that. Vague promises of a 'good life' or just rocking it by ear. If this was really as things looked, and Pacho wasn't all that sure about it yet, then could be the worst thing to happen?
Stupid question, yea, you know you fuck up when you ask that one.
"That is not the only thing though, I do offer you a little something else, a choice, so to speak" Discord distracted both brothers from their worries and thoughts as he proofed into existence in front of them with his hand open "There are more choices than you those you see, so pick one"
On his hand rested two bands. One of them was white, the other was black, quite simple. He had them extended in a way that made them fall down on both sides, but they weren't more than a few inches in length and as simple as they come, other than being capable of shining brightly under the moonlight.
"Do not be shy, do pick one" Discord smiled, his red pupils watching the pair intently "This will be a parting gift, one you can keep until I come to collect them. It may be soon, it may be not, but this will be a bit of a lucky charm one way or another to show you that I do mean well" He chuckled at that, making Chrysalis hiss at him "Most the time at least"
The brothers eyed those bands, and from out of nowhere the things multiplied. Instead of just two bands there were four, perfect for both of them to chose whichever one they wanted. Since Pacho had already decided that 'Hey, fuck it' was the only viable option, he went ahead and picked the black band. Amos was reluctant even after his brother had pocketed his own, looking perfectly fine and with Discord still smiling.
"Something the matter, my young friend?" Discord grinned at the younger brother.
"No, just thinking" Was his simple answer.
"Do be careful" And even such a simple thing made Discord chuckle "They say that it is bad for your health" He winked at him and waited, still as a statue.
Amos let out what could be considered a chuckle despite his best effort. The man was damn crazy, but at the moment crazy was perfectly fine with Amos, mostly because he hardly gave much of a damn and this case made that little concern go fuck itself.
So Amos just shrugged and picked the band in the middle.
Not white, not black, it was a grey band that hadn't been there before. Discord had said that there were more choices, so it was obviously hinting at something like this. Amos was sure that he could have chosen to not pick any band, but not doing so had seemed wrong somehow.
"I was right with you, kid" Discord's voice was full of mirth "You were a good choice, both of you" The bands just disappeared from his hand as he pulled away, giving them a playful nod "Now, what will it be? Do you want to wake up wherever, or are you accept Chrysalis' offer?"
The brothers looked at each other, one worried, the other uncaring at this point. Both asked the same question at the same time "For the swarm?" And at least got each other to smile amidst the craziness before nodding to each other "For the swarm"
Pacho smirked at his brother "Someone has to keep an eye on you, you know, so you don't blow in front of a crowd"
"Said the wanted sex offender" His brother replied in kind.
Discord did his best not to laugh, mostly to respect the little one if nothing else, but at any other time he would've been roaring for a good while now. Maybe the humans didn't know it, maybe they did, but the spirit of chaos was having quite a blast with how things were going right now. He had a hunch indeed, and he loved it when those paid off in spades, much like this one did.
Chrysalis decided to get back to ground level by then, change back and also approach the brothers. At that point it became obvious that the mare was as tall, if not more (Which was quite probable but hard to see at night), as Amos. This close and with her smile in full force it was easy for Pacho to think of her as dangerous, though his brother kept the neutral face he had been offering since this had started. That only served to make the mare's smile wider it seemed.
"Good to hear, my dears. I am sure you two will be a fine addition to my little hive, and capable of oh so many things" She let her purring tone drip with a flirtatious undertone that made Amos shiver, the one and only reaction the mare had managed to get out of him "But you will need to sleep for a bit for my friend to work his magic, if all is done"
The brothers nodded and Discord closed in once more, only for Chrysalis to stop him when she remembered a little something.
"Do wait a moment though, this is a perfect time"
Her smirk curved a bit, but neither brother saw it as she inclined her head enough for her mane to hide most of her face as she touched Pacho on the forehead. The stockier of the brothers promptly felt dizzy and fell on his ass, with his brother's attempt to help being halted by Chrysalis touching his forehead in the same way with her horn. That made Amos felt both the dizziness and the small pinprick of pain that surged through his mind, as well as the sliver of blood running down his forehead, as if Chrysalis had penetrated his skin (Though the feeling made him think it had gone right to the brain for a single moment) before he fell on his knees, sweating profusely as he gasped for a few seconds.
"You two will feel more at home with my children and me once you wake up, though it may take you some time to appreciate, or control, my gift" Chrysalis half whispered to them "Now sleep, and have sweet dreams" Neither brother heard or saw what was hidden behind the mare's mane or apparent kind words as Discord snapped his fingers.
The sound didn't even fade before both humans were in a heap on the ground.
Once both humans were out of it, at least as far as Chrysalis could see, and care, Discord let out an animated (Literally, the words appeared all around him) 'POOF' and changed back to his usual form. Without effort, and despite the lack of magic still around him, the large draconequus lifted the little larva atop of Amos before both figures were guided to the sleeping Pacho. Discord let out a little chuckle at the sight and stopped himself before he muttered something aloud.
"Good, let's go" Chrysalis cut the purring from her voice altogether, sounding serious and to the point "The portal is close by and I don't want to risk Celestia finding about this, not yet anyway"
"That sounds like a plan" The mirth in Discord's words was all too obvious for the changeling queen's tastes "Sounds so, so boring"
"You wouldn't dare" Chrysalis hissed at Discord without any hint of fear.
"Of course not, taking that much control of things would damper my fun" Discord waved her concerns away, after all he knew how Celestia was. He was pretty sure that Chrysalis' little plan was going to get shattered, and he would laugh a lot when it happened "Besides, whatever happens, happens, and I'll be entertained. In fact I have some popcorn ready by now I am sure"
"Better be true" Chrysalis growled as she walked towards Discord. She had managed to hide it before but there was a glint in her eye, madness ready to break free, that looked outright unnatural "There is too much at stake!" She hissed to him in a low tone.
"Oh do be quiet my dear, you could be heard" The spirit of chaos was having too much fun at the mare's expense, but she needed this little set up more than she realized "But believe me, my little dragonfly" And it was oh so hard not to laugh as Chrysalis reddened with ire "This will give you what you desire most"
Chrysalis didn't miss the wink Discord offered her, much less his tone. She hadn't been alive when he was at his best and causing the most chaos, but she had been around and heard from his 'reformed' antics. That was more than enough to give her pause. No one was stupid enough to trust him fully, not with some leverage. He WAS genuinely friendly, mostly because he always ended up with entertaining someone apart from himself, but things could get out of hand.
"Then we should move, unless you do want for us to be discovered" As apprehensive as she was Chrysalis still had many an emotion dripping like venom from her voice.
"Do not worry about me, my dear ladybug" Chrysalis did wince at such bad pun "I'll drop them close to the portal, you just need to get there and take them away. Treat them well and you'll have your dues, as I promised"
Chrysalis grumbled something before the bundle of people, and larva, was transported somewhere else with Discord looking their way. Amos was the only one awake, and barely at that, but he was still very aware of whatever was being said, which had made his utter distaste for manipulators quite known to Discord. For the magical being it was much easier than even Chrysalis to read someone's feelings, he was an specialist as far as manipulation and control (the opposite would be equally accurate) went after all.
"Do give her a chance, friend" He spoke to apparently no one. Amos was sure whom was his target though "Chrysalis has a few problems she should be able to iron out" Strangely enough, Discord did his best to sound neutral as he talked "You could use a lesson or two too, you know?" And that killed it "But in all seriousness; don't jump to conclusions yet, it would spoil so many things for me"
After that it was sweet oblivion for Amos.
The fog within the young man's mind was shattered in the same way as his sleep and mind were: By a literal burst of pain. It wasn't anything new, since he had gone out with his brother a couple more times than recommended, which meant very big headaches after a night of drinking with their friends thanks to those stupid games they played. So yea, waking up dizzy, with a huge throbbing headache and feeling like he was about to puke was more or less normal. Not being able to move at all was new though.
Waking up to the sound of dripping water on stone? Nice. Opening his eyes to see darkness illuminated by faint light? Cool. Seeing his body trapped by some kind of green/grey thing? Yep, he was sure he remembered something about aliens, it was a lingering thought on his mind, but whenever that happened once he opened his eyes it meant a nightmare and brutal pain in his chest.
...
Any day now.
...
Hello?
OF COURSE Amos wasn't going to say anything. People in dreams usually did, probably would do it in real life too, stereotypes (And confusion, and stupidity, and just plain fear) die hard, but much like he did all the time, talking was not part of his routine if he could help it. The thing was, and it was rather important, that this kind of dream usually took place before a lot of imaginary pain surged forward alongside screeches, blood, entrails, etc. You get the picture. But it didn't take more than a few seconds.
After that it was all sunshine and rainbows since it basically wasted a whole night's worth of sleep, dreams seemed to be funky that way as far as he was concerned. This time was weird because he was basically struggling a little bit and the cocoon, or whatever the hell was trapping him, was slowly giving away.
Scratch that, it gave away.
*Crack!*
"Shit!"
*THUD*
Face full of stone, pain in the noggin, he was awake.
"Fuck"
There was no life flashing in front of his eyes, but the previous night did come to his mind in a quick rush of memories. Surprising when you consider that he barely avoided cracking his skull against the floor. Then again it is not every day that you find magic, or whatever the hell that was, and an insectoid horse of some kind, a talking one at that.
Interesting night indeed.
Getting back to his feet was easy enough, minus the dizziness of course. Walking was a chore however, and instead of trying to get out of here, or at least finding where 'here' was, Amos found himself resting against the remains of the cocoon as he looked around in search for something or someone, hopefully his brother. He found the place deserted however, with little more than the droplets of water disturbing the silence.
Despite the water's apparent nonstop echo, which would get old quite fast in Amos' mind, there was no stalactite or stalagmite formation anywhere. The area was spacious and clean, except for the remains of the cocoon Amos had been in and a much sturdier looking one, not to mention smaller, a few steps away from him. It looked completely grey instead of somewhat green like the one he had been on, and only when he found that did Amos notice that his own was graying out slowly around the area that had been destroyed so he could get out.
That is to say that his brother had been up before for a while. Typical.
While Amos waited, trying to get his legs to work properly and expecting the dizziness to go away at some point, he noticed that the light was coming from some kind of bug. It was large, very quiet and he was close to him. It resembled a segmented scarab, but it was larger and it didn't seem to have wings, only a multitude of plated segments connected, segments that gave off faint light that illuminated quite a lot. It didn't seem to have the normal eyes for a bug, even when Amos closed in a bit more, it was... stylized, like the body of the creature, Chrysalis, that had offered them a new home.
He was about to touch the bug, just for curiosity's shake, when he noticed that his hand wasn't the same. Well, it WAS the same, but he had to put some effort before he saw it as it would normally be. It was so damn weird to see himself... softer? It was hard to explain, but the best way to go about it would be this: It was as if he was slightly more cartoony.
Literally, whatever it was, wherever he was and whatever had happened, perception seemed to have sifted. He was still himself, he was sure of it, and his hands were still pale, with his veins visible as they had always been, but it just was... softer, smoother. It looked like someone had taken all the time in the world to just draw and animate him.
You know what? There were worse things to wake up to, like the massive claw marks that had been imprinted all over one of the walls. It looked like Godzilla had decided to come by and redecorate his home by hand, literally, and the cuts looked so smooth that, perception playing tricks or not, Amos was sure that he didn't want to meet whatever could cut stone like it was butter. He could be very, very stupid, but not that kind of stupid.
The wonders of what would happen if he poked the luminescent bug on the side became secondary as Amos got up, new determination found, and walked towards the only corridor available for him. There could be many things out there, but right now the only one he cared about was his brother and his health. If there was a creature out there...
"Hey bro"
Amos almost got another face full of floor.
His brother was perfectly okay, and he, much like Amos himself, looked slightly different, but by now Amos had already decided that this was going to be the norm, so screw it. What wasn't the norm was the creature that his brother was hugging like his life depended on it.
It was smaller than Amos, that much was obvious and borderline expected, but it was also slightly smaller than Pacho himself. One meter something in height, more or less one ten, maybe one fifteen at best, and probably little more than a meter in length. As far as Pacho was concerned the creature in his arms was close to him in size, but it lacked the width to compare since the little thing was quite as thin as Amos.
The black creature on Pacho's arms was like Chrysalis in a sense. By this it meant that it had a horn, wings, holes on its legs (Just three in each, almost egg shaped all of them), a pair of little fangs showing from the sides of her cute muzzle and also the colorful spot of carapace on its back where the wings were located, though in this case it was a very light green, much like its eyes. That part called to him because the creature did have white pupils within those eyes, but they were purely green otherwise, and the light coloration made the pupils almost impossible to see if you didn't look for them.
Its horn seemed to be shattered at first, but it wasn't. It just looked like a large, thin needle with four smaller ones growing on the side, pointing at the larger protrusion's tip once they stopped growing. While Chrysalis' horn was large and twisted like if it was a tool of war, the insectoid's own horn looked like a fixed antennae of some kind. Amos could call it interesting, maybe cute, but he would really call it different as far as horns went, as well as fragile looking.
A few inches away from the base of that horn was its mane. Unlike its black carapace the mane on its head was of white coloration with slight hints of green that managed to flow down the creature's head to her neck, reaching the midway point between neck and body before splitting in four directions for a short while. It was interesting to see the mane rigid over its head and neck, as if standing to attention, looking almost solid, while the four segments lower down were floppy, as if whatever made them stand had been shattered, but no wound seemed to exist on the creature's body.
Overall its body was lithe, and other than its tail seemingly having the same split as its mane (meaning its base looked rigid, only to let four different strands fly everywhere past certain point), she looked just like a miniature version of Chrysalis, minus the pouty frown and pleading eyes asking Amos for help.
Well, there was something that did call for his attention once Amos took another look at the creature's base: Two socks were lying on the ground while. They were long and with hooves in mind, not only that but they seemed to match the green on the creature's body quite well. Pacho seemed way too happy while he 'forced' the second one into a perfect fit for the poor thing in his arms.
That... that just made him chuckle and crack a smirk despite his mood.
"Meet Quadra, the cuddliest changeling, ever" Pacho announced with a grin on his face and voice.
"I am not cuddly..." Quadra pouted with but a whisper. Her cute voice would've made a normal person aww.
Amos was about to laugh, but caught himself in time to sound at least partially serious "So I see... I was scared out of my mind when I didn't see you"
"Oh yea, you seemed to need more time to rest" Pacho began with a nod of his head as he picked up the third sock "Seems you were worse than me, just a bit though, but still"
Amos grumbled a bit at that. The last pieces of the previous night were coming to him still, but he was sure of what he had heard before he was put to sleep, just a few minutes after his brother. There were other things in his mind but he couldn't place them, neither did he know what they meant.
"I have to say that a whole day seemed overkill, but I was promised you would be well" Amos did raise one eyebrow at that. A whole day? "I got to meet Quadra, her sisters Dual and Triada, and her brother Uno, so I was busy, otherwise I would've pummeled you until you woke up" Quadra squeaked as Pacho chuckled "Once I managed to calm down and get out of here I also found work right away. Do you know that they made a tunnel going to the closest village? And do you know they lacked a decent bartender? Now you can't laugh at me for liking a good drink"
Amos just pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation "You can't be serious..."
"I couldn't stay put man! There was so much sugar waiting for me, so many flavors, so many drinks!" Quadra eeped at the eager Pacho and his antics "You better get there tonight too, there are other humans already here, I meet them this morning and told them you'd be over once you got your sorry ass out of bed"
"I dislike socializing" Amos growled at his brother "And I am not in the mood"
"Yea, well, I don't give a flying fucking fuck" Pacho was indeed in high spirits as he kept on harassing the poor changeling "And you stay quiet. Rarity offered you some clothes and you chose the leg warmers"
"I don't want my wings touched..." Quadra spoke in such a squeaky voice it could just be considered pure sugar.
"But you are such a cuddly thing!"
She pouted again "I am not..."
"For the love of all that is holy, sweet and good" Both Quadra and Pacho looked at the increasingly frustrated Amos "You haven't done anything, have you?"
"Not yet" Pacho grinned from ear to ear "I mean, we got here, I woke in the morning, meet the hive, went out, talked with a nice tall mare that is almost as tall as you, found out about her protégé, they are alicorns by the way, and princesses too in case you wanna know, and then they gave me a tour around Ponyville" His brother didn't let the glare drop "I didn't say anything bad to anyone, I swear"
"No hitting on girls?" Amos prodded further.
"Nope! The ratio is fucked up though, so I doubt they would mind" And the shit eating grin he had spoke volumes of him.
Amos was beyond concerned when he asked "How screwed is that ratio?"
That was the wrong question because Pacho's eyes lit "Depends on the place and species" Pacho picked up the last of the socks, much to Quadra's chagrin. She had hoped that the man would forget about those things "There are theories, or so I was told by Cheerilee a teacher at the village. Basically they range from the wrath of the gods or some shit, to a deliberate gender imbalance to force feed the sharing of love in quite a few ways, as well as the acceptance of homosexuality and such, something about the betterment of everyone and the creation of harmony. I honestly thought it was bullshit and it is just magic being magic since this place seems to have a lot of it"
"For example" He started to recall what he had been told "Gryphons and dragons, and yes, they do exist here, have a gender imbalance of two to one in favor of females, while minotaurs and diamond dogs (I don't know what the fuck diamond dogs are) have the complete opposite. I was told that gryphons and dragons are basically cranky motherfuckers, but not violent unless provoked one way or another, while minotaurs and diamond dogs seem to be naturally aggressive, so another theory has that into account and says that the more violence prone a species is, the more males they have" Pacho thought for a moment until he added "Then again I really don't know shit about how things work here"
"Mmmhmm, and where is here?" By now it was obvious that Amos was only paying partial attention.
"We are in Equestria, believe it or not, and yes: Horse puns, a lot of them" Amos groaned even more than Quadra as Pacho finally got the last sock on her "The population? Ponies, mostly. Pegasi, unicorns, normal ponies that are called earth ponies as well as crystal ponies and bat ponies called thestrals with a few alicorns, and now our little hive is added to the mix" He smiled at that.
Amos felt satisfied with that, but Pacho just kept babbling "Ponies are really pacific most the time, but it depends on the place they live in, there is a 95% chance of you finding nice ponies anywhere you go though. They do have the most random imbalance though, because Cheerilee told me that there are places with almost one to one gender ratio, but they are extremely rare, while some areas have up to eight mares to one stallion! True that there are spells to have a temporal sex change, natural or artificial hermaphrodites, or the usual adoption, but ponies are very open about love and fun" His grin just got bigger "Boy, I can tell you I am going to get around" He laughed obnoxiously while Quadra tried her best to escape "Trying to escape again?"
"Pleeeease, let me go. I want to have my wings free" Quadra pleaded, giving Pacho the best puppy eyes she could.
"Aww... okay, okay, I'll be nice. I need to get up anyway before my ass gets numb" He sighed and let the changeling go. She just got up and walked away a few steps, she had been asked to guard him after all, but hugging made her uncomfortable "And before you ask" Pacho got up, finally eyeing his brother once more "Yea, ponies don't really need males around, so they are one of the most chill species as far as homosexuality goes, in fact I meant it when I said they are the most calm species I have seen, heard or read about, period. They are also basically the apex species, as ironic as it sounds, whether the other species want it or not, so their culture is quite widespread and popular, that is why most species are a bit more open than you'd expect"
"Like I care" Despite all that Amos had been told, his worry was simple and his annoyance clear "All I want is for you to stay out of trouble"
"Hey, I can be a saint" The look Amos was giving his brother could level a city "When I want to" At least that got him a nod "Besides, with monogamy all but frowned upon in this world, except in certain cultures that we probably won't meet unless we travel a lot, I am going to have a field day one way or another"
Pacho was way too happy about that, but his brother wasn't. While both were liberal as far as sex went, not caring for one's orientations, sex, likings and other such things, which seemed to included species too, they were different on the basic thing: Amos wanted someone to love, singular, Pacho just wanted to have fun.
It had been obvious that the elder brother wasn't fond of monogamy and hated to be tied down, in fact it had been made so clear that he had been banned from the church their parents went at. It was just silly to him, and a very egoistical thing to do in his book. Amos didn't mind being a self centered asshole as far as that went because he wanted only one special someone in his life, not a damn harem.
"Hey, don't give me that look, I am not saying you should quit your little search" Pacho could be many things, but one that he wasn't, was an asshole to his brother "By all means, do go and seek someone, however I would like you to do two things" He lifted one finger. Amos sighed and prepared for his rant, because he knew what was coming.
"First: Take time to heal, and take time to calm down. I know you will get worked up easily, the same as me, until you do" Amos grumbled but didn't say anything, mostly because his brother forced the second fingers against his lips so he would shut up "And two: Get used to the idea that you will get grief if you decide to marry instead of forming a... herd. Apparently only nobles or shit like that get to have a single mate for some reason. Gay guys, even girls that don't want or need a stallion, tend to go in groups of three at least" That did make Amos grit his teeth. Did he have to get a noble to have at least something he wanted?
Pacho was fucking giddy though, and it showed "This place is fucking perfect, bro, serious shit hardly happens, or so I am told, and most creatures tend to be very forgiving. Only monsters and other non intelligent beings will really try to screw you over, so you can talk away most worries. It will be the same if you decide to explain why you only have one mate whenever you find it"
"Because 'I' am a talker and I can explain, of course" Amos deadpanned with a level stare.
"No, you most certainly aren't and probably can't" The smallest brother grinned again "Look, what I am saying is that we are in a new place with different customs and fewer assholes. Try to open a bit and be happy, okay?"
Amos scoffed at his brother "You are the one that freaked out last night"
"Because I am still sane and I CAN have a cold and calculating mind if I decide to give two shits bout the situation" Pacho defended himself with a far serious tone than his face betrayed "Besides, you are the one that just didn't give a shit 'bout anything after... You know what? That is spilled milk, and we don't cry over that" Neither brother was able to look at the other in the eye for a few moments "But this place is great; then again the ponies did freak out a bit, and everyone that came here did so in a less than stellar way, in fact I think we are the luckiest ones and I heard Chrysalis was basically a bad guy, so yea" The short man grinned as he remembered something Amos wasn't privy to "So there are a few ponies that aren't exactly happy about us being here, that is to be expected, but they will get used to us soon. And man, there is magic, there are so many creatures and there are a lot of chicks"
"For fuck's sake"
"The internet caused much harm, okay?" Pacho, as any older brother did, enjoyed his little brother's pain whenever he could tease him like this "Look, I don't give a fuck about almost anything, but things are like this: We have lost everything" But when he was serious and his smile banished, Amos knew to pay attention and stay firm "No family, no friends, no lovers, no nothing, got it?" Amos did nod, albeit begrudgingly "I don't know if we could've said no or if we would've tossed here no matter what, I don't know if we would've died, but we are here, so fuck everything else and make most of it. Do not cry, do not weep, do nothing but live on. We have gone through similar shit before and the only thing that has changed is that there is magic and way less humans than what we are used to"
Quadra had approached the pair during Pacho's rant, prodding at the elder brother with one of her hooves "Ummm..."
"Wait a second, Quadra" But whatever the little changeling wanted to point out was lost on both humans as the elder brother keep pushing "Do we have a deal, bro? You didn't even think about coming here, for once it was you the one to decide, so I am telling you that I am making an effort here, an effort to be like I was before the shit hit the fan" Amos' expression softened a bit, nodding slowly "Now I want you to relax, think about what I told you, maybe talk with our little queen and go to Ponyville at night to relax"
"Sounds like a beautiful idea"
The brothers turned their heads so fast that a wince of pain was the least thing anyone expected out of them. Despite having hooves instead of feet the changeling queen was deceptively sneaky, much like her companions it seemed.
The brothers turned their heads so fast that a wince of pain was the least thing anyone expected out of them. Despite having hooves instead of feet the changeling queen was deceptively sneaky, much like her companions it seemed.
At one side, and with a painful neutral expression, was Princes Celestia. Being barely smaller than Chrysalis she was basically at eye level with Amos, and she obviously towered over Pacho like his brother did. She made sure to change her expression as soon as both brothers looked her way, but it was obvious that the queen to her side was souring her mood considerably despite appearances.
On the other side, and with a more genuine smiling face, was a smaller pony with a light purple coat and a mane with various other purple colorations, or Amos at least thought they were purple. Mostly she had what looked like very dark blue with violet and pink, the latest two in perfectly made streaks with the blue taking most of her mane and tail. Whatever, her mane and tail looked pretty much ironed, or at least brushed flat, and very well cared for, it almost shined under the dim light of the cavern.
That made Amos grunt and roll his eyes. He already didn't like the idea of technicolor creatures and how confusing it was going to get them spot on because he could see a buttload of combinations. Whatever the case, the smaller pony was as tall as Quadra, maybe slightly taller in fact, and had both horn and wings, so she was filed under 'alicorn'.
The difference with Quadra (other than the species, of course), was that this mare (at least Amos thought it was a mare thanks to the eyelashes and all), seemed happy, curious and a maybe a big giddy as she carried a pair of saddlebags with books and some supplies that she left at the cavern's entrance with some kind of purple field.
While Celestia had the mark of the sun on her flank the other pony had a sparkle of some kind. A large pink sparkle in fact, with white bat wings and smaller, white sparkles surrounding the large one. Amos stopped looking at her flank when the little alicorn cocked her head to the side, after catching him. She didn't seem all that bothered, but her violet eyes had the shine of curiosity in them grow as she inspected him from head to toe.
Amos was willing to bet money in the obvious and simple fact laid in front of him: He wasn't going to like her.
"Hey queen lady, how's everything going?" Pacho didn't seem to mind, or detect his brother's automatic uneasiness.
"Perfectly fine, thanks you for asking" Chrysalis gave a smooth and gentle tone to her voice as she approached alongside the other two mares "But I have to say I hadn't expected you to be so... lively after coming here"
"I have drinks, I have sweets, I have a working place and there are lots of girls to ogle" Pacho enumerated with no shame whatsoever "Give me videogames and I am served"
Chrysalis chuckled good-naturedly "Well I will not be the one to deny you your fun, that is for sure" And yet Amos couldn't help but seeing something hidden behind her smirk "I'll admit I hadn't expected you to be so... promiscuous, though. I hope you won't create too many scandals for me to handle"
"Not in my first week I promise" Pacho grinned back "But browsing is free" He wiggled his eyebrows playfully at that, making Chrysalis laugh some more "Speaking of browsing" Turning to his brother, Pacho all but presented Amos with little to no shame "My greatest friend and younger brother: Amos, but call him Bone until he feels better around you. Bro, these are Princess Celestia" He pointed at Celestia with little formality "And Princess Twilight Sparkle" And then at the purple mare.
Amos' voice was little more than a hiss "Brother..."
"Just Twilight please" Twilight's melodic voice called for Amos' attention "It is nice to meet you, Bone" She offered him a hoof as best as she was able to with the size difference.
"..." Amos stayed put for a second, but decided to bend over and shake the hoof, which Twilight seemed to grab somehow with her hoof like it was a hand. The feeling was, shall we say, different "Likewise"
"I have to say it is a welcome change" Twilight smiled, apparently quite happy after Amos let go "The other humans I saw were not as different from one another as you are" Pacho's smile fell into neutrality and Amos' expression hardened as Twilight said that "I would like some time with you to go all over your differences if you don't mind? Since the four, taking you into account, humans currently present in Equestria have been guided to Ponyville I would like to be the first to conduct some research. Your brother and the others were quite open to the idea and..."
"I am sure he wouldn't mind, Twilight" Pacho went forward as any good brother to the rescue would. Amos knew better, his little plan had been obvious by now "But he just woke up and I am sure he would like to have a few words with the queen if you don't mind?" He offered his best smile, all but a pleading look towards Chrysalis "She did spare some time for me too after all"
Twilight blinked a few times "Umm.. But... I thought..."
"Excuse Twilight if you don't mind, young Amos" Celestia came forward to defuse the situation as Amos' brow furrowed further and further "Despite all she has learned there is always something new for her to see, and she thrives when she delves in knowledge, be it old or new"
"Then sensibility seems to be a topic she needs to rediscover" Amos didn't bat an eye, neither did he, or the princesses, notice Chrysalis' grin at his words.
"Twilight is just enthusiastic about this" Celestia chuckled a bit despite the young man's lack of tact "She got used to excitement, adventure or other events happening weekly. You all have been branded as a novelty, and you will be for a while, so you have to understand that this won't be the exception, but the rule" She could do little more than offer her understanding when Amos groaned "I am sure you two will make friends and will enjoy your new home, after all I was told you knew you would be staying here"
Discord decided to use that exact moment to teleport there. He did so in a very special and very inconspicuous way of course. In fact it was night impossible, or so he thought, to be discover thanks to his camouflage.
A crude and massive drawing in the wall.
"Oh, it is so sad, I ended up arriving a bit late" Discord chuckled, grabbing everyone's attention "Seems some beauty sleep did marvels with you though" The crudely drawn draconequus chuckled as he pointed at Amos "Hope your bed wasn't too tight for you, my friend"
Celestia directed one scornful glance to the sifting painting "You and I have yet to talk, Discord"
"Come on Celestia, aren't you the one always preaching about making your little ponies the best of the best?" Discord chuckled as his face moved from the wall to the rocky ground, expanding to cover the whole room "What better way to make them even better than having them accept others into their fold? I am sure you won't oppose to that"
A flash of light enveloped the cavern for a second, and when it was gone Celestia found herself staring at, well, another version of her. This one had a colorless mane, basically a rosy grey instead of the multicolored one, with a less vibrant white for a coat and much harsher eyes.
"Of course" And the voice was hers too, despite Discord obviously impersonating her "We may be having a little relapse here. But we wouldn't want that, do we, Tia? So how about relaxing and accepting somepony else's help for once?"
"I will relax when you stop playing games" Celestia caught herself before snorting, but the harsh tone was still there "Now how about you stop what you are doing and instead explain your impromptu visit to our young friend here? I thought you wanted to be polite after all"
"My, my, Celestia, you'd think I would come here and not offer an explanation?" Discord smiled, shedding the disguise with the cover of some randomly appearing smoke, only to show his real body "I wanted to check on our young friend here after all" Discord grinned, pointing a talon at Amos "Many of our little visitors are going to make a ruckus, but he is going to be something else, I assure you"
"Excuse me"
You know, most people would've tried to get a word in once this little debacle began, but if there wasn't obvious by now, some prefer not to say anything at all. In this case they would prefer to be anywhere but here. One or two strangers would be fine, but more than that would be smothering.
In all honesty Amos would've left outright if he had heard the group incoming. If it had been Chrysalis alone he would have stayed, though it wasn't lost on the queen how differently the young man looked to, or felt about, her, what she didn't knew was why. The fact that this section of the cave had various exits only made his nonchalant escape all the easier, not like anyone here but Chrysalis would've liked to force him to stay. Doing it would have been quite a mistake however, for various reasons.
No door closed without another being open, and the leaving human had given the queen a perfect opportunity whether he knew it or not.
"Do forgive me, princesses" Chrysalis called as she trotted towards the retreating human "It seems something else requires my attention more than our little scheduled talk"
There was silence as Chrysalis left, there was literal silence until she exited the section of the cave and her hooves resumed their clip clop as it should have been. Amos hadn't noticed it, he had been way too embroiled with his brother's rant. Celestia had noticed right away, she was sure that Chrysalis had too, but Twilight had been preoccupied with so many thoughts floating within her mind that she probably hadn't noticed. It wasn't hard to miss either, after all most ponies were so used to the sound of their hooves that they tuned it out most the time unless they were alert or searching for the sound itself in a game or something else, after all it could be quite annoying otherwise.
A spell could be easily noticed though, it would be blatantly obvious when someone wanted it to be too.
"Discord" And despite what was growing within Celestia, she made sure to keep a calm front. She had already exploded two days ago and this was not going to be a repeat "Why did you do that?"
"Whatever are you referring to, my sweet Celestia?" Discord gave an innocent grin to the mare on his side.
"Why did you cast a silence spell on our hooves?" She let go of a tired sigh "Haven't we had enough trouble?" Celestia turned to face the spirit of chaos and disharmony, wondering if her words would someday get to him or not "I lost it in front of Chrysalis over a... measly piece of paper, I haven't slept in three days in a row by now and I am not sure why I didn't dispel your little trick, thinking there was a reason to it. Would it be too much to ask for some peace and quiet once in a while?"
"My, my, are we losing our heads now?" Discord chuckled as he did just that, lose his head for a good ten seconds and acting like he was trying to find it before it reappeared, backwards "You should really calm down, Tia" In a more serious note he added "And it is not just a 'measly piece of paper', if you remember what we talked about"
"That is why I haven't had any sleep!" Celestia was unable to control herself, be it the hoof smashing the stone or her yell. A blink, another sigh, a calming breath and the worried look of Twilight got her to relax, if barely "I can't stand this, Discord, I just can't. Humans and ponies now depend on me, more so than I ever wanted ponies to. I could have endured with just our kind, maybe even the rest of the species here, but there are two worlds out there, three even. I am too old for this and I just want to rest"
Celestia was surprised to see a cane fly over her head, shy of touching her horn. When she looked at her side she saw an old looking Discord with wrinkles, bald in the tail, fake teeth and slightly grayed out with age. Her deadpan stare was noted within seconds.
"In my time, young lady" Discord waved his cane in a way that made everyone around him evade for dear life, Twilight let herself fall to the ground in the end or risk a concussion "The younglings respected their elders!"
"Discord!" Twilight jumped back up, grabbing the cane with her teeth and throwing it away. It was more a reflex than anything else "Can you take things seriously for once?!"
Discord changed back and huffed, looking perfectly upset at Twilight's jab "I'll let you know I can be perfectly serious and collected when I want, but it is way too boring" He grumbled a few words under his breath "Besides, I was not alone in this"
The mismatched creature wasted no time, he simply pointed at Pacho.
"Yo"
"You mean... Bender helped you?" Twilight was much less direct than Celestia, and since Pacho had asked for her to use his nickname, it stuck "B-but why? I thought you would like your brother to be alright..."
"Because he isn't going to be okay" Pacho let himself fall down on his ass. He didn't give a damn that it hurt, but he showed disappointment when he found that Quadra was nowhere to be seen "I can shrug almost anything that comes my way, but..." He didn't really want to say it, it was true, yea, but it hurt.
"But your brother can't" Celestia supplied in a tired but concerned voice.
"My brother can't take shit" It was said in a much harsher way than intended, but it was true "He acts basically apathetic as all hell most the time, but he is way too sensible and gets worked up very fast. Lie to him and he'll find it perfectly fine to pummel you to a paste, and he can very well go through that without caring" He chuckled without much mirth "We got the 'Bone Bender Brothers' moniker for a reason, not only because we enjoyed that little old game, and we have had quite a few fights through our life. Be it because someone hurt someone we considered friend or family or because someone betrayed our trust, there were times we send people to the hospital, and quite a few times the reason was simply the worst one" Pacho sighed and let his back rest against the floor "We are not good people"
"I said that about myself, many times over, through the years" Celestia tried her best to calm the troubled man as she took a seat in front of the troubled brother "I assure you that there are worse things than just being slightly... aggressive"
"You don't get it" And Pacho found himself slightly exasperated at that "We aren't blood brothers, and that is only one of the many things that earned us bad looks. Do you know that there are humans that will make fun of you, or give you grief, for something as simple as a hair out of place? As far as Cheerilee told me that kind of conduct is hard to come by, at least one as serious as what we had in our world" The young man finally sat up once more "My brother suffers albinism, he has a skin condition that I am unsure is connected to that, and is prone to having brutal accidents that leave no damn marks on his body (Though that is mostly because he likes doing stupid things), that and he dislikes large groups of people. It is very easy to rile him up and I am very protective of him, heck, I have tried to shield him from the worst of it all for as long as we have been together"
By now Discord had summoned a couch from somewhere and was reading some kind of love story, if the cover was any indication, while Twilight scowled at him. Pacho didn't seem to care as he went on.
"I know he isn't a lil kid or anythin', ya know?" But everyone did notice that Pacho's speech was getting, well, worse "I thought I could make 'im a little tougher an' all, get him with mah friends and shit" He shook his head with a sad smile. English wasn't his first language, but he had been using it so long that he was almost perfect with it, unless he got worried in excess "He hardly liked to get out with us an' all, I tried to get him to come, a lot of times in fact... Ya'll would have nightmares with some of the shit I did to drag him out of the damn house"
He let out a deep sigh, calmed himself and decided to finish "I don't want to give the impression that I am breaking down here, 'kay? I was serious when I told him that I am pretty chill, but he was going to have a bad time and Discord's idea seemed sound"
"Force feeding knowledge is always a blast" Discord commented as he kept reading his book. Everyone knew he was doing something else behind their backs though "It was either that or let the introvert romantic discover that his human ideals were going to be shattered once he stepped outside of the cave system here" He stopped what he was doing and looked up in thought "Hmmm nah, would have been too big of a mess for me to clean"
"You are all heart" Twilight deadpanned as she let her ears fall down. She was worried about the younger brother after all.
"I am sorry I worked you so much Twilight, that I have to admit" The young princess' attention refocused on Pacho with a questioning look "I needed to put a lot of pressure on my brother. He needs to get angry now"
"But why?" Twilight was curious about what possible reason could exist for this "Getting angry over anything helps nopony"
"Because otherwise he would bottle that anger until the bottle shattered and it was let free" Celestia decided to explain with as much precision as possible "It is similar to what Luna suffered before she turned into Nightmare Moon, and similar to... It is a far more common problem than you think"
Pacho nodded at the princess' words "My bro talks with me, but he talks little. It is hard for him to go in a fully fledged conversation, and sooner or later he is going to let go of all the anger he has been holding since we got 'sick'"
"Do not worry my little ponies, and human" Discord hummed in high spirits "I assure you that the queen and our young friend are perfectly good for each other..." He coughed quickly and corrected his little slip "I mean to say that she will calm him down, of course" He looked over his book and offered a shy smile.
No one but Celestia saw that the cover and title of the book changed to 'Equestria Master - Ponies & Humans'. She was pretty sure that Discord did it on purpose too. All she could do was just roll her eyes at that and just hope for the best.
"Still angry?"
"Incredibly so"
Chrysalis chuckled "Did you expect to have a perfect fantasy world ready for you?"
"..." There was a moment of pause "Yes... Not that I gave it much thought"
"Oh I know you didn't. You may not be aware of it but both of you have been connected to the hive. I can read you two like a book" Chrysalis let out a low purr "True, I could do so before, but it is easier now"
"Then you know that I don't trust you" The sincerity and lack of fear was slightly off putting for Chrysalis. Amos, for his part, just stared forward.
She waited for a moment before asking "Would you have gone through with it?"
"Yes" For some reason, she flinched "We weren't going to wake up, I had lost everything. I didn't have any hope" Amos pursed his lips at that "Now I am unsure if I should have hoped for anything when you and Discord came along"
Chrysalis did her best to remain neutral at that "Just because this is not how you hoped? Don't you prefer this outcome? The idea to be with your brother? To have a family that won't let you down?" She didn't let the venom in her words show. This was hitting home more than she wanted "And what about Discord asking for you to give me a chance?"
Amos didn't say anything for a long time after that.
He had been surprised to finally hear hooves clopping close to him, only to see Chrysalis following in his wake. When he turned to up the pace he found himself face to face with a miniature Discord, or his head to be precise, as he grinned. He had the gall to mouth 'Give her a chance' before disappearing. The time that he took to recover was enough for Chrysalis to get close to him and offer a smirk as if they were good friends.
God damn it too, because she was almost like Sa...
Of course she was, she had peeked around his brain, she had said as much. Copying Sara would be too easy, and a big mistake.
He had told her that if she tried to imitate his... previous acquaintance, he would forego any gratefulness and would instead slap her without so much as a second doubt. There were many other things he had wanted to do, both in anger and in hopes to regain what he had lost, but most feelings died as simple and stupid rage tried to take over his mind at the sight.
That had been an awkward moment, he had even been scared, but she just nodded as they resumed walking, leaving the anger behind.
Their walk had at least showed Amos that this tunnel went straight to Chrysalis' chamber, which was another reason for the queen to follow him. It was basically a very large chamber with a ledge dominating a mostly empty looking space that had been filled with an extreme variety of mushrooms, many of which were bioluminescent, green being the predominant color and the larger in size, though Chrysalis assured Amos that these could be grown to be of any color, even changed at any moment. Different hives had different giant mushrooms and they were an alternative way of having light if not enough segmented scarabs were available.
One of the largest mushrooms was so tall that it reached the naturally formed balcony, and it was wide enough to be considered a small room all on its own. The small larvae was there, napping, and despite Amos' doubts Chrysalis gave the little thing a very loving nuzzle before resting at his side. She called him 'Tiny', because the young little thing had admitted to her that he hadn't been given what his parents considered a 'real' name because he was special. The way she put it, and the way she said it, with the young one's own words, made Amos think that the young kid had been... well...
He didn't like to be so direct with this, but the little kid had been retarded, simply as that.
In fact, and since it was obvious that everything that happened the night before was beyond true, the kid had changed in body, but not in mind, so he was indeed deficient. It was never a really bad thing of course, they just needed a bit more attention and love, but they returned it in spades and were some of the best people to be around. Sadly they were so easy to manipulate or exploit that Amos felt bad for them just because of that, not pity, just sympathy because there were far too many bad people in the world. The fact that Chrysalis seemed genuinely enthralled by the young one made Amos think of her in a better light.
"I may give you one, but just one"
He ended up saying before tearing his gaze from the pair. Chrysalis had returned to her nuzzlings, trying to make something out of the young changeling's mane, but it seemed intent on being little more than a fuzzball. Chrysalis said that Tiny had a much thinner 'hair' than she did, that it was almost real hair, a real mane, instead of what changelings had, so she had a hard time getting it done.
Amos felt no remorse whatsoever when he laughed silently at the scene.
"Hmmm... so the ice man can melt" Chrysalis purred, making sure to speak in a low voice while she was this close to Tiny "Or is there something else?"
Amos' look was one of neutrality, but Chrysalis could see he was not amused at her comment "I haven't promised anything to Discord, and since you didn't tell me the truth I don't owe you anything either" His eyes hardened at that "But my brother is happy here and I won't hurt him, so I will be civil"
"You won't try to get back at him?" Chrysalis cocked her head at that "Your brother did just hurt you"
"Like he has done, many other times" Amos let out a sigh. Even sitting as he was, even trying to calm down, he felt uncomfortable "He knows I don't take well to... certain things. I can't, I just can't, and I won't explain why to you because that is none of your business"
Chrysalis closed her mouth with a bit of a hiss that was between annoyance and a chuckle. She had made sure to try and learn as much as she could from the brothers, and she had been obviously displeased when the eldest woke up so early. Once he was up it was made clear that Pacho was mentally strong, even if he wasn't as adaptable and capable mentally as his brother, and Chrysalis meant that in the magical sense. This basically translated in worse communication that would limit Pacho as far as the hive mind went, and it would also make it more difficult for Chrysalis to address him directly in certain ways, if needed be. She was sure that Amos knew it too, since she had hardly used anything that only the elder brother knew better than the younger.
That, and she knew that Amos would catch fast when she referenced something. He had a lot more time resting than his elder brother, thus his mind had mingled longer with the hive mind. This included simple thoughts from some of her changelings to memories, even hers. It would be easy for Amos to catch the meaning of her words, or any other changeling's words, and the meaning behind them, their actions and much more. His brother didn't seem to need it, but Amos would benefit from it.
It showed, because Amos was sure that Chrysalis was pretty happy, despite setbacks. Simply because he and his brother weren't exactly model examples as far as any person, or pony, was concerned, she was happy. She had obviously lied, or she had at least hidden the truth, and that she wasn't exactly an angel was as obvious as the queen in a white room. Since neither brother was just plain 'good' she was more than glad that they decide to come, and she made no effort to hide it.
Doubts about that particular thing were the last thing on his mind, mostly because the facts were there. Chrysalis wanted them here, Discord did too, for whatever reason, and Amos had decided to go and jump through the hoop even when it was in flames because fuck it. Had it been a stupid idea? Yes, so much yes. But had it been better than the alternative?
...
Probably.
He had seen Chrysalis, he had been offered a hive, a home, a place to be where no one would frown upon him or his brother for being different. Despite Chrysalis' teasing and half truths he felt, as much as he loathed the idea of admitting this, that she was genuine. Seeing her caring for a kid that had all but been abandoned simply because he was sick and different was heartwarming, and it was that, and not Discord, that had given her the benefit of the doubt.
Or was this some manipulation? Some master plan? He had thought he would be in a nest of ants, and it probably was still that, but the lack of intellect expected on the other residents, minus Chrysalis of course, had been the first thing to be dispelled as far as misconceptions went. The simple idea of having a chance at a life he considered comfortable with his actual standards also died quite fast, mostly because if the princesses were an example, and he was pretty sure they were the best one, then the ponies would be incredibly social creatures. Guess what the hell he didn't want to be a part of.
Also, and very important, was the subject of romance. Why? Because he had messed up big time. He had grown up with love for someone, and at the first sign of the end it had shattered on her end. He had always been a romantic one, he had always hoped, because she was the one friend both brothers had, she was what he considered perfect.
But he also considered his family to be perfect despite setbacks.
Then, surprise, surprise, he was shown that no one was as perfect as he had hoped for them to be.
No one was...
They had been shunned so quickly... shunned by those he had cared or/and loved.
Was he really considering his end a better outcome than possible eternal sleep? He had never been a fatalist, more of a realist kind of person, though that mean jack where he was now with magic and all, but the idea of going to sleep forever and being dragged away to be studied/cared/stored away? He had hated it, he had hated the rejection and he only had his brother with him.
His brother, the one person that had shielded him from as much as he could while tackling problems together every day of their lives. Amos had almost left him alone because he didn't want to deal with all that crap. Despite whatever stupidity his brother did, no matter how many times he aggravated him, Amos loved his brother, and he had almost betrayed his trust like many others had done before him.
Amos felt like shit, and there was no other way around it.
"You taste turned sour"
Well, there was a way to be semi tactful about it, apparently.
"You are feeling many things, but the basic feeling is there: You feel sorry about yourself" Chrysalis was anything but subtle or gentle as far as words went though "Shame because of what you thought of doing, shame for jumping at this opportunity, shame for leaving just a moment ago and shame because you almost blew up in my face" The mare did her best not to laugh at that, but the naughty smirk was there "You could have some positive feelings, you know?"
"Yea, because it is so easy" Amos gave her a cold stare "Doesn't seem like you being nice is all that genuine either, and I don't eat or feel feelings like you do"
That did shut Chrysalis up for a moment.
"Should I be all sunshine and rainbows?" She asked after a moment "I lost everything, little by little. It began with my sons and daughters, one by one, followed by my patience, my mind and sanity, then what was left of my family, minus those that remain here today. The only reason I am still addressed as queen is because the few changelings that remain with me want to keep it up... And because Celestia seems happy to humor me, for some reason" She rolled her eyes at that, contempt obvious in her voice.
Before Amos had a chance to retort she was back in action though "But what about you? You had a breakup, you had your family and friends turn their back on you. How many were they? Less than twenty? Well, now consider around twenty being all that is left of a family of thousands" Amos grimaced at the thought "I thought so. Who is more qualified to feel sorry about themselves? Who do you think had a harder time waking up in the morning instead of allowing a manticore to eat her?" The question was, of course, rhetoric, but Amos felt so tempted to answer, just for the sake of arguing "Do excuse me if I can't feel pity for you, much less now that you have a new home and future"
Amos hummed for a second, bringing the only words that would shut her up "And you don't have a future because...?"
Chrysalis opened her mouth once, then closed it. Her smirk grew quickly "Touché, my dear human, touché. Few words seem capable of doing more than Celestia's little speeches" She laughed softly "I would have said many things a few months back, quite a few indeed, but you are right. Your brother seems to love us, quite literally, and he has been able to feed us without even feeling slightly worn out, much to my surprise, so I could consider my little hive lucky. I didn't expect to be this well off in just a few days"
"Wait until he has a few in him plus some sugar" Amos did his best not to grin "I would recommend Quadra to buy some contraceptive"
If Chrysalis was surprised she did hide it behind a little grin "I'll tell her about that" But what she didn't manage to hide was the humor behind that little grin of hers "Now, since you seem to be in a better mood, why don't you tell me what you think about doing?"
"Hmmm?" Great response, yea, but it was all that came to him.
"Your brother found work right after he got out of here" Which still surprised Chrysalis "He seems to be a highly social creature, charismatic and a bit of a jackass, but in a good sense" The human nodded, appreciating the queen's direct approach "You are not" And then frowned as said forwardness "So I wonder what will you do with yourself, after all I doubt you may enjoy a diet of fungus, insects and emotions" The mare chuckled lightly "Unless you can stomach that, you will need bits, and to get bits you will need a job. The hive will take care of you, but while ponies seemed quite ready to trust, which still surprises me, they do not feel comfortable giving us jobs... yet, so we can't support a creature with different needs within a civilized society" The queen grumbled. She had plans for a very different situation, not this one, so she had to go with the flow.
Amos frowned at that, but it was a valid question. He had a job back home, yea, but it hadn't been anything big really. Working at a game store as the guy that keeps everything tidy, the shelves stocked and those nasty kids away from the merchandise until they buy it, usually by scaring them away, isn't exactly the best thing.
"I am screwed"
"Undoubtedly so" Chrysalis couldn't help but smile widely at that "But this is also perfect for you to adapt to changeling life"
"Do explain" Chrysalis was happy that there wasn't as much confusion or distaste as there was interest on the young man's voice.
"Changelings adapt" She began "We can disguise ourselves as anypony, we can even change species, we can make it all work" And she had fun teasing him with a sultry look. It was so interesting to see a species that was as open as ponies, but so much more complex and different, as well as literally over charged with emotions. Chrysalis' visit to Amos' mind made up her mind about keeping the pair and the young man knew it "You have lost your previous life, as do most changelings when they are found. We endure, live on and get better. You shall do the same as a faithful subject and you will seek something that makes you happy since that would help the whole hive, would make you produce more for us and would ensure that you don't fall into another depression"
"Easy to say..."
"... hard to do" Chrysalis smiled "I know, remember that you are not alone as far as that goes" Once more it was very easy, disturbingly so, to notice Chrysalis being sincere. The one most disturbed about such turn of events was the mare herself "I'll admit that my interests were for you two to be food and help, as well as leverage for the little princess to bend to my will" And the most surprising part was her being sincere even if it made Amos distrust her "But having your brother poking at my changelings had made them happier than I have seen for quite a long time. He is sickeningly sweet for an oaf with his libido in overdrive, not the serious, brooding creature that this hive was used to host before you two came along"
"Live with him for a week, it grows old" Amos chuckled, mood improving as he crossed his legs "I am surprised you are being so open"
"Me too" The queen admitted as her smile fell "But I have to or our dear and magnanimous princess will have my head"
Amos threw her a curious look "Would she do that?"
"Eh..." Chrysalis shrugged as best as she could "We both have something on the other, and while she says I never harmed Equestria, so to speak, I did give her a nice headache or two" She snickered for a few moments "However she has been on edge since I came back, and Celestia has been more than just a nice monarch, so I wouldn't rule out fire and brimstone in my future. She is not a goody two hooves despite what most ponies think of their little princess"
There was a few seconds of silence that, for once, seemed uncomfortable for the both of them.
"So..." And equally interesting was for Amos to break it without beating around the bush as he focused on a certain topic "Is it true that ponies have such ranges of, well, you know..."
"Mmmhmmm" Chrysalis nodded absentmindedly "But your brother probably told the same thing that the teacher pony would tell the children: That the spells to change are temporary. This is done to accept oneself first and foremost, it is a necessity to be happy, believe me on that because I know" She cracked a smile "There ARE permanent ones, though, and both mares and stallions can use them or have an official 'medic' unicorn cast it on them. You'd be surprised how many stallions want to be mares and how many mares want to be stallions" The mare snickered at that "Changelings have it easy as far as that goes since we may identify with one sex, but we can be both, at once if desired. Simply put: The imbalance within Equestria is there because pony society likes it that way and has been so used to it that they don't want it any other way"
Amos hummed at that. His brother would enjoy the idea, hell, a lot of humans would, but Amos was straight as an arrow, or so he said, and didn't enjoy the idea of more than one lover. Whatever the case, the idea of a society willingly loving polygamy didn't sit well with him when there was a way to make one on one relationships available.
Chrysalis went on "Ponies don't need males, or strict males so to speak, and there are many more mares than colts, but the 'remedy' of changing one's gender was not widely used until recently since it was considered taboo, ironically enough" The mare could feel the young man's unease, which only seemed to make her smirk grow as a result "I sincerely don't care about that part of their story and tales, so I don't know WHY that is, but in a hive it had always been common to have more than one mate since we are all a bit family and we share more than some ponies. We go quite far in fact, and being blood related doesn't matter to us changelings in the instances that brothers or sisters get together with each other or other relatives, it just doesn't harm us, or most species for that matter, thanks to some passive magic in the world" That part Amos could've lived without "Royals tend to get whoever has decent genes and hoard them though, disregarding everything else, but I never saw the need to have anypony after I started moving. Now that I am to have a quiet life once more... things may change"
"Right" Amos didn't feel comfortable saying anything else when Chrysalis eyed him like a piece of meat, much less after she was so... direct about how things work in the hive "But then why is there such a negative view on marriage?"
"Because ponies are goody two shoes and they have Celestia in a pedestal" Chrysalis huffed with distaste "Everything has to be harmonious, good and cute. It makes me gag" And she did feign the need to puke, way too realistically. It was not her fault that she looked back at a certain wedding "Sharing is caring, and it is something ingrained on them, like those butt tattoos" Chrysalis was indeed going all out, except for the need to yell it all out thanks to Tiny "But of course, if it is royalty it doesn't matter that two ponies love each other so much that they deprive some other mares of a colt or a mare they love because the royals are linked to Celestia and everypony knows that Celestia is best pony, so said royals deserve the best" She growled under her voice "And those that aren't related to her would have their feelings hurt if Celestia reprimanded them, so she allows the higher ups to have their piece of heaven, or whatever they call it, while the common pony has the love of many very close friends when they have a herd. Everypony wins, Celestia is a goddess, Chrysalis is the evil monster under the bed"
"You really have it in for her"
"Don't get me started or you'll be lunch"
Both shared a little chuckle. Amos felt that it had been at least a decent idea to talk to Chrysalis, if only because his mood had improved.
"Ponies have had it all so much better" Chrysalis sighed as she nuzzled the little one at her side "I can be a total monster, but they don't know what some monsters go through to end like they do, even a hydra can be like a puppy if they are raised right" She sighed "Seeing your own family dying to famine, or killed when they try to combat said famine, despite not harming anypony to do so, takes its tool. Invasion, conquest and feeding frenzy is how every changeling life ends these days, either that or you end cold hearted as most other queens, if you have that position and survive long enough"
"So you chose insanity as an extra alternative I gather" Amos prodded.
"You know I can nibble around the edges and no one will notice" The queen grinned, shutting him up "But you could say I did... or well, I didn't have much of a choice in the matter to be sincere. I just lost it between hunger, desperation and anger" She snorted "Fat load of good it did everypony in the end, even with my mind clear enough to make a decent plan for my hive to succeed"
"Everypony?" Amos arched an eyebrow at that "I would expect 'everyling', not everypony"
"Despite what most think, I am not a heartless monster, just a monster, there is a difference" Chrysalis explained with a smug tone "I would have made sure that most ponies had a happy life, in fact I could have made sure that they ALL had a happy life, even Celestia... more or less, after I conquered the place" She huffed at the thought "Cocooning them all and trapping them forever would have dried them in record time, faster if their little princesses were part of the menu. This is, of course, disregarding the sun and moon and the fact that they would be a problem since I have no connection with them and could do nothing to control the cycle of day and night if I won unless Celestia and Luna remained awake" That part had been the only one she had doubted as far as her plan went "But scare tactics do work, so I hoped the invasion went well enough for me to reign over such a large food stock that no changeling would be hungry and no pony would be permanently damaged" She grinned at Amos "I thought humans had this kind of thing mastered down to an art"
"Yea, how about no?" This time it was Amos the one to laugh "We aren't the worst out there, but there are so many closed minded humans out there that we do need help. Most humans could be nice, or so my brother says, but I am no expert on that" He thought for a second "However, long term planning? It is not our forte, let me tell you, at least it is not practiced enough"
"Shame, otherwise I would have at least one good cold head by my side" Chrysalis purred, inching maybe a bit too close for Amos' comfort, but he didn't move "And I mean it, your brother is going to get in so many problems soon enough. I don't know how he managed to tell that damn pink pony to cancel a welcoming party for us when he seemed so happy about meeting that ball of cotton candy" When Amos' only answer was to look at her questioningly Chrysalis just snorted "Pinkie Pie, hyper active sugar addict, baker of all that is sweet, party maker, you'll hate her"
Amos found himself agreeing.
"He didn't manage to get her to back off completely though, in fact he admitted that he didn't want her to" Chrysalis' smirk made Amos shudder "There is a welcoming party for the humans living in Ponyville and any willing changeling from the hive the next weekend"
Shit.
"Tell me you suddenly got a very bad sense of humor"
"Nope"
"Fuck"
"Oh my, I would be delighted, thanks for the offer"
"What the f...!?" Amos almost shouted "You know what? We'll talk more tomorrow. I am going to be with my brother today and maybe even get a job at that"
Chrysalis almost lost it when Amos got up and walked away, but the same calm, so to speak, demeanor and low tone continued in hopes to let Tiny sleep. The young man was quite sure that the mare was getting a good look at him when he walked away however, it was obvious that she had enjoyed his company for some reason and she had made sure to try and get him to relax. Maybe it was because she was technically in charge of his sorry ass, or she just wanted to fuck with him, but he wasn't going to jump to conclusions this fast.
Between bravado, haughtiness and quite a dirty mind, it seemed like Chrysalis had basically copied his brother, and this he didn't like. Then again it had been made painfully obvious that mare had so many colors that it would be impossible to just pin down a set of guidelines for him to follow so he would know 'who' Chrysalis was, not in a single day.
He was sure that she was acting, at least partially, despite what sincerity she had offered with a smile and as much tact as she could muster. If it was true that changelings had it as hard as she had told him, then he would be understanding, but the idea of someone already lying to him made his blood boil to the point that there was no other feeling on his mind but anger once he finally left the chamber. It didn't feel right to be this angry, not anymore at least, but part of him was still pissed and doing its best to remain irrational.
The feelings as he left tasted disgusting.
Basically put, Chrysalis' mood plummeted as she felt the young man's anger and distrust once more. He thought she was lying, or at least he thought that she was being dishonest, and that was after she had managed to lift his spirits a bit. That he wasn't completely wrong was more painful than she had expected.
Damn Discord to Tartarus! Why couldn't he do something without playing her for a foal?!
She wanted to scream so bad, to literally wipe half the chamber from existence, and more than anything else, she wanted to burn the damn paper piece that she had hidden within that damn crystal shard! But of course she couldn't, because it would show everypony that she wasn't doing her best, because it would deny her the chance of meeting the little fillies once again and it could even cost her the only thing that had made her smile sincerely since she got back here.
"Tiny be special, momma Chryssi, first momma said so"
Chrysalis looked down at the little one. His velvet eyes had been so sincere when he said that, and he had such a cute squeaky voice... When she promised that she would love him as if he was her, that he was her little prince, those eyes had brightened and Chrysalis had felt the love coming from the young one. Love coming from a changeling, even if he was transformed, was not supposed to be the same as what came from a pony or any other creature, yet Tiny gave that love to Chrysalis with such a little thing as that promise.
Or was it a little thing? No, it was all but a little promise, it was something sacred, something she had forgotten. Chrysalis had many children, once, but after times turned harder than ever, after food became scarce, her children became a minimal part of the hive as the bulk turned out to be formed by those fleeing from other hives with far less luck.
She remembered a time when she would love all her children no matter what, like her mother did with Chrysalis herself, like it should've been... That had been so long ago.
But she also remembered a time when she had to leave some of them behind, when she had been a ruthless creature and had lost most of her family because... because they all would've died anyway if she didn't do so.
Was it fair to blame Celestia? Maybe not, or maybe it was, she didn't care. She cared for the hive, for the few children she had left, for the little one she had with her and those two little fillies. They had been the only ponies to not leave her, they had not only feed her, but her remaining children, they were part of the hive. Celestia would not take that away from her, she had already lost everything but these few scattered remains.
She would kill whatever stood between her and whatever happiness she could get for those that remained. That happiness was in the balance because one brother was unsure about his new home and family. There could be a chance of him finding something 'better', or a chance meeting that would spook him. As far as Chrysalis was concerned there was but one thing to do.
"If something, be it pony, gryphon, diamond dog, minotaur or the bucking sun itself, tries to take him away" And she was not above being a monster once more if it was needed "Kill it"
"Of course, my queen"
The four figures within the chamber moved away, be it flying, climbing the walls or, in the case of one of them, limping on its three legs. Quadra didn't talk much, but it was because she knew her job and did it well, much like the rest of her group. They were some of Chrysalis' best children, some of the oldest still alive and with her.
She had never told them she was so proud of their little group... And she didn't plan on doing so, the damage was done and there was no point in repairing bridges that had collapsed thanks to the builder's own doings. They didn't have any love for her anyway, just respect.
All of her children had respect, obedience, maybe fear, but not love.
They didn't love their mother anymore.
A whisper claimed her attention "Mommy Chryssi... Tiny had bad dream"
Well... maybe some of them loved their mother, even if she was not their birth mother. The feeling was ecstatic however, and it had nothing to do with feeding, the taste of it or any other such thing. It was a feeling that only a mother could understand, and she had missed it greatly until recently. She would kill to keep it, she would literally do it without a second thought.
"Hush little one, mommy is here and will chase the bad dreams away" She purred, looking down at those pools of velvet and the love they had for her "Mommy will be here for you, always. I promise you" She meant it, and she'd be damned if anypony forced her to break that one promise "Go back to sleep, my little prince" Chrysalis smiled as the little larva rested against her body, yawning gently.
She could have plans, backups and a blade aimed at a few ponies' back, just in case, but she had a reason to wait and see. She had reasons to bite back her remarks, to play nice, to be pleasant. But if those reasons were taken from her, if Celestia thought that she had gone back in their deal...
Any creature could do a lot of harm if they had nothing left to lose, and if Chrysalis lost her little ones, if she lost the only thing that was making her smile with any sincerity, she would see the world burn.
"So Princess, what was that you were talking about?"
Amos had walked to the chamber his brother was at, almost. He had heard voices coming from within and curiosity was a powerful feeling within him.
"I thought you were daydreaming" Came Celestia's playful prod at Pacho "After things quieted down you seemed a bit lost"
"No debauchery, food, drink or fun" Amos could even hear his brother's shrug "I got bored, but I heard something about immortality and some such"
Celestia's voice turned a mix of curious and serious "Does immortality tantalize you?"
"Fuck no!" The answer was so strong, both in the voice's volume and the feeling behind it, that it almost made Amos jump "Who would to live forever and see everyone around them age and die? Living for a few hundred years? Good, more so if we are still young and full of spunk, if you know what I mean" Discord laughed at that while a tiny voice, that Amos assumed was Twilight, tried not to sputter "But living forever? Forget it, I would prefer to go back to Earth and see how I end when I get that eternal sleep Discord told me about"
"I see" Celestia's voice turned neutral in a heartbeat "And if the life of countless creatures depended on one being immortal?"
"Fuck that"
Amos finally took a peek, seeing Celestia's eyes going wide "Excuse me?"
Twilight was located with her back aimed at the corridor Amos was at, while Celestia and Amos were sitting in front of each other. Discord was buried behind a book but a single eye was floating around, catching Amos and winking at him, or he thought he was winking at him anyway, while the scene unfolded.
"Yea, I mean what I said" Amos saw his brother and it was obvious he was uncomfortable "Do you know how many people have written about immortality, how many people have been seeking it, and what kind of things they would gladly do for it? Many atrocities were done in pursuit of real immortality, or just the chance of being remembered. The memory would outlast everything, good or bad, but for that to be you, for you to outlast everything?" He shook his head "I would hate it if I survived my brother, I am supposed to protect him, it is the only thing I want to do more than anything else"
"And wouldn't you give everything to be with him forever?" Celestia's expression was hopeful.
"No" Amos felt his heart skip a beat "I would give everything to live a life with my bro, but not forever" Pacho grumbled something under his breath "Immortality is a punishment, not a gift. Living forever would end up hurting you in the short or long term, it would be a kind of pain that would at some point drive you mad, period. People change all the time and to try to stay still as you are for hundreds, thousands or millions of years, would end up costing you... At some point you wouldn't recognize yourself, or you would end up twisting everything you once knew"
"You seem to speak from experience more than anything else" Discord commented casually as he finished one page of his book "It is quite accurate, I have to say"
"Give a machine enough intelligence and with the speed of thought that the artificial intelligence has, they would change and develop, as well as adapt, so fast that you would meet a person in a matter of days" Pacho looked down at his crossed legs for a moment "Keep it isolated for a few days and it would be an utter eternity for the machine. Now consider yourself" He looked at Celestia once more "Can you tell me that during your long life you haven't changed from the mare you once were?"
"I can tell you she isn't" Discord made sure to speak when it was obvious Celestia wasn't going to open her mouth "In this world, the next and almost every other incarnation of Equestria, Celestia always changes after a certain little event with her sister" He finally put the book and the couch away, although he was sitting on thin air at this point "There are always variables, but the only one that stays the same is me"
"Because you are pure chaos" Twilight almost snorted at that.
"Exactly" Discord grinned widely "I am what I am, and I can be as crazy or as serious as I wish because I am chaos" He smirked as he got up, finally catching his fluttering eye to put it back in place "No one can make me do anything I don't want, and that is why I am as nice as I am now: Because I want to and because I enjoy it"
"Wasn't it because Fluttershy got under your skin?" The purple alicorn gave Discord a deadpan stare.
"Oh don't misunderstand me, Twilight" Discord smiled at her like you would a kid "I love Fluttershy, quite literally in a few instances. She is one of the few ponies I tolerate in almost any incarnation of this world because one way or another I can connect with her, either when she is sweet and caring or when she is a monster" And Discord seemed perfectly fine and serious when he said that, which seemed to make Twilight blanch at the simple thought of it "There is something in Fluttershy that calls for me, much like there is something between your brother and Cadence in any iteration of Equestria as we know it, even if it doesn't mean love itself. You could say we are quite similar in that regard"
"That is the thing, though; I can fit any role for all eternity because it is me, much like Fluttershy is herself. I will never forget, I can relive anything at any time and I can go from one point in time to another whenever I please" Discord grinned from ear to ear, literally "Once it all stops, of course, there are rules even for chaos after all, but I can enjoy any world, any life, any memory, as many times as I want, and I can tell you that if you aren't me..." He spared Amos a glance that was missed by the others "Then you don't want to live forever. At some point it all breaks down, my dear Twilight"
There was silence as Amos slumped against the wall. Where had this topic come from? And why had his brother decided to butt in? True that they played a lot of games, true that they saw a lot of typical evil guys and gals seeking or having immortality and whatever else, but he had never thought that the topic was this touchy.
Then again he barely talked, even with his brother.
"I see where you are coming" Celestia, apparently, was quicker on the uptake "And I understand you. I suppose it hasn't been fair... for anypony"
"Princess?" Twilight's concerned voice made Amos frown.
"Cadance has asked me the same thing you did, Twilight. She asked me if she would survive Shining Armor, if she would survive her own kids if they aren't alicorns. It is a difficult thing to think or talk about" There was an almost imperceptible sigh "And I have to admit that I found out how to take away the longevity charm that is cast upon any and all alicorns a long time ago" That elicited a gasp from Twilight "But I was afraid to use it... I am still scared, even today"
"Why?" Amos thought that the question would come from Twilight, maybe Pacho, but it came from Discord "That is a question I always wanted to make" He clarified "Because I know that you do it almost in every iteration, but you always get scared, and not in every single incarnation you are alone or lack somepony special, but you always seem" He searched for the word for a few moments "Let's go with lost"
There was a scrape of hooves against stone for a few seconds, an uncomfortable silence and then the intake of air.
"I am afraid of death" The world fell silent "When I visited the mirror world I saw that my opposite was equally afraid of death, but was too stubborn to lose, too angry to lose, to malicious to care in the end because she accepted what I was afraid of. I can guess that the reasons for this fear is different in every world, but I am afraid of dying... alone, truly alone"
"But you aren't..."
"Yes I am, Twilight" Celestia probably didn't intend to let her voice sound so harsh, but it happened anyway "I banished my own sister because I hurt her, I hurt everypony under my care because I was depressed, I all but tested you since foalhood to be a princess and hardly gave Cadence any choice on the matter either once I adopted her. The only pony who cared for me after getting to know me as I am was turned into a monster because I am one myself and decided to go against my first friend's wishes and recommendations, something that also cost me Starswirl's friendship" Celestia took a long and heavy breath after that "It doesn't matter if I am better or worse from one world to another, there is hardly any difference between how Chrysalis was and how I am, because I am a conniving monster that cares for the end result. And what is that end result? Everypony living even if I have to hurt somepony else to make it happen because the happiness of the many outweighs the single pony. It is always the same story, always..."
The sound of four hooves clopping echoed quickly. It was not as surprising as the loathing that Celestia seemed to have for her own person. There wasn't any self pity, just distaste, if not simple disgust "I'll prepare the four notices you asked for, Discord. I need some time alone... and probably some sleep"
Nothing made a sound in the cave system other than the occasional buzz or the hooves as they clopped further and further away. Suddenly Amos had to think if this had been luck or someone had decided that he had to be here to hear this little rant. It was maybe one of the few things that could get him to sit down and look at everything once more.
Then he was transported to Discord's side.
"That is why your brother hates immortality and would rather have a normal life at your side"
And the moment made him feel even worse.
Many hours later, with a great deal of silence and short conversations, two figures appeared in Ponyville after what looked like a train with Discord's colors went flying through the twilight sky at supersonic speeds. It was launched towards the sky through the hole that had once nestled Ponyville's library, surprising everypony and leaving both brothers to fall face first on a pair of beds that disappeared a moment after their first bounce so they would finally crash against the ground with a groan of pain or two, but no really damaging either of them.
"I hate him" Amos growled against the cobblestone path.
"Oh come on, he is funny" Despite the fall that he had suffered, and probably a very light concussion knowing his luck, Pacho seemed perfectly happy "You just can't stand anyone for more than five minutes"
"That is not true" It was a weak retort, but it wasn't like it was a lie. It was mostly true.
Pacho got up first, shrugged with a "Whatever", then fell down on his ass when he got dizzy, got up again and kicked his brother on the side just hard enough to make him jump to his feet. Roughhousing may be a family sport, but the ponies around were already eyeing them with various degrees of curiosity or/and animosity, while one mare seemed to have fainted a couple inches in front of them.
"Man, ponies are weird" Pacho chuckled. He was indeed in high spirits, then again it was hard for him to not be happy "Now, come with me and you'll get some drinks" He all but grabbed his brother's arm to guide him through the little village.
"Twilight wasn't very happy whenever you brought the bar up"
After Celestia left Twilight had been quite silent, even Discord had been quiet, for a few minutes, possibly thinking about all the memories he had of Celestia and looking through them to see if she was so consistent through them all. It was hard to know what Discord thought about, since it could change in a heartbeat and all, but he did end up poking everyone from time to time after a while.
It was a bit depressing to hear that Celestia had managed to stay in a more or less positive mood for a few days when things started, only to have her mood plummet at supersonic speeds. It was not the best topic to talk about, but Twilight seemed to idolize Celestia and even Discord found it left a foul taste in his mouth to see 'Sun butt' like this. Both of them had their own reasons, but Discord had made sure to explain that he loved to tease Celestia as much as possible because her reactions were priceless. Right now all she did was fume and, at worst, let her anger reign, and when Celestia was angry cities could collapse, so it wasn't as fun if she all but ignored him out of anger and spite, or worse yet: sadness.
Once that topic was exhausted, better say that Twilight had gone from neutral to eye twitching angry, Pacho started talking with Amos about how simple alcohol beverages are in Equestria. Alcohol does exist, but it is hardly used and alcoholism is not only frowned upon, really frowned upon, but healed as quickly as it is developed or when it is found. For that reason toying with alcohol is not exactly common for most ponies unless it is quite light, so bars did exist but nothing a human would call a real barman, puns aside.
Pacho was so damn giddy when he told his brother that.
Maybe it wasn't his great vice (Said great vice was simple: Sweets), but Pacho knew a lot about alcohol even if he didn't go for the stronger stuff. He knew how to make a lot of different liquors, mixes and some weird recipes that not even Amos knew about because they had been 'troublesome', and when Pacho meant troublesome you don't want to be near the end result. The younger brother had considered his passion for booze to be stupid, but now he had to wonder if it had been.
Apparently the village had only one bar, which would've been something unthinkable on Earth if you asked either brother. Finding it had been easy for Pacho since he had no shame when he asked Celestia, that and he had found Pinkie Pie, whom had been more than happy to help and give him sweets.
Talking with Berry Punch, the owner, and sharing a lot of recipes with the mare had made him get a position almost right away. Ponies were nice, and if you were nice, and helpful, you had a place in their society almost as quick as blinking. Probably a lot of that going on since Pacho did say they had 'taste tested' a few drinks.
"Ponies are so cuddly man" Pacho commented "And when Berry got drunk she was sooo clingy, it was funny and warm as all heck"
As the night settled at last, and as the bar came into view, Amos had to think hard. What if coming her had been a bad idea? He was not a social person and the ponies were the polar opposite to him. Whether alcohol was common or not, a bar would be packed at night. Pacho was delighted, but Amos was obviously not.
It didn't help that the building was thrice the size of the rest of the houses around, houses that were large enough to house humans with ease. This was explained in a simple way: Many creatures were accepted in Equestria, and human height was more or less the standard since the tallest creatures, minotaurs, were as tall, or taller, than most humans. Since ponies seemed to range from around ninety centimeters to one meter as the most common height, or one meter and half on all fours (Alicorns tended to grow as tall, or taller, than humans), the bar was positively huge and it could probably house half the village.
There were some ponies milling around, with one specific pony waving at Pacho from the door. Said pony had a cutie mark composed of a bunch of grapes and a strawberry shining against the light coming from inside the bar, with a dense mane and eyes colored a certain shade of pink, purple? Pacho clarified it and called the color 'cerise', whatever the hell cerise was. On top of that she had a mulberry (Again Pacho knew jack about what it was, he called it 'pink') coat and was barely under a meter in height, maybe a centimeter or two.
Once they got close the pony almost leaped towards Pacho, giving him a hug, being all excited and such. Amos stayed put, doing his best to ignore the stares he was getting from every single darn pony, both because he was technically new and because his brother was making a scene. Berry seemed to be as hyper when she was happy as his brother, either that or their love for the fine things in life, that being drinking, sparked friendship quite quickly.
Or Pacho was just lucky, that worked too.
"I knew you'd make it!" Berry was so cheery it was about to give Amos diabetes "Come on in, come on in! And bring your brother with you too!" She all but bounced away from Pacho and went to open the bar for everypony willing to go in.
Yea, Pacho was lucky. Amos just wanted to get away from all the stares.
"Come on bro" Pacho grunted, stifling a chuckle as he got up "Let's get you a seat and wait for the others, they promised me a story or two"
Then again, he could have it worse, right? This wasn't the first time he was handed some shock therapy from his brother, so it would be all right.
At least he wanted to believe it would be.
