Why Humans Shouldn't be Allowed in Equestria

I decided to start with something, though it was probably a bad idea. I do that a lot. “What were those spikes when you started changing?”

“Spikes?”

“Yeah. I tried to sleep next to you during the change, but you grew spikes and kicked me away.” Yeah, this wasn't a good idea. But what's said is said.

“I... am sorry Nohbodi. It was not within my control...” I got up and rushed to her, trying to stop the impending tears. Dammit.

“I know, I know. Was only wondering why.” Yeah, start this by fucking up. Go me.

Aranea collected herself. “I did not percieve the actions of my body during the transformation. However, there was a shifting pulse inside the place I found myself. At times near the beginning, it became erratic. There was a perception of threat. I surmise that without the protection of a cocoon it was reflex to keep other beings away during that time. I did not hurt you, did I?”

“Um, no...” I still have a small scar from a spine going through my hand. It didn't punch through, but it did enough to leave a mark.

Aranea looked at the floor. “You are lying.”

Sighing, “Yes - But it's not your fault! We both know that.” I held on to her as she stared at the floor, stroking the hand in question through her hair. She eventually looked up again, right into my eyes. I kissed her softly. We nodded to each other that everything was OK, and I returned to my seat next to her. We kept holding hands between the seats.

The other three kept silent though this. After the situation was diffused, Spike piped up with a question of his own. “How can a human fall in love with a changeling?”

“The same way a dragon is chasing after a pony twice his age.” Twilight retorted. Owned. Spike blushed under his paler scales, then got excited. Not that kind of 'excited'.

“So I really do have a chance with Rarity!” The implications of what she just said sank in for Twilight.

“Um...”

“Give it time.” I interjected. Everyone had a youthful crush or two in their day. I assumed it'll fade. “You're really young yet. Life'll tell you the rest, when you need to know.” I went from Spike to Twilight. She had a slight smile, or even a smirk on. Someone's said that to the dragonling before.

Spike absentmindedly scuffed a claw over the floor in a kicking motion. “Aw ponyfeathers. How long do I have to wait?”

“Don't know, but some growing up is left in that. Just remember to live the rest of your life while you're waiting.” I turned my head to Aranea. “Because you never know who'll fall into your lap.”

“She fell on you?”

“Not literally.”

“Oh.”

After a few moments it became obvious that this line was done with, at least for now. Twilight probably had a clock set to his thinking.

With the mood for most of us suitably lightened, Luna got down to business. “Your body is significantly different than that of Chrysalis. It appears similar to a variant of war-armor ponies wore in battles a millenia ago. You understand that this is troubling to me. As co-regent of Equestria, I must ensure the safety of my ponies.” I could have mentioned us being citizens now, and therefore under the same guarantee, but I'd said enough for now.

“A simple enough answer. I do not look precisely as Chrysalis did because no other changeling would. The form given to a new queen reflects perceived challenges, both in the past and possible future. It is to ensure that the hive is equipped to survive in the environment it occupies. As a drone stranded after the expulsion of the previous queen, I was hunted. I was often hurt, sometimes badly, by the few willing to give me sustenance. To a pony this is a world of plenty. To a changeling it was nearly barren, as well as hostile.” I left my seat again and stood behind her, wrapping my arms around her. Luna showed genuine sympathy for her case. “This armored chitin is not for offense, but defense. In turn my metabolism is slowed, requiring less than what would have been required. Previous queens, in times long since passed, have had a similar build. They held the hive through deserts and wildlands. A queen has not had a form like this in Equestria since populations grew, and cities were built across it.”

Luna stared at the floor, a single tear staining the crystal pavement. “I have an idea of such an occurrence. After my release from Nightmare Moon, many ponies feared me. If not for Celestia's protection, and Twilight's intervention on my behalf... I am sorry. Please understand that I must understand all I can to ensure safety of my ponies.” Twilight put a hoof on Luna's shoulder, and we all just stayed where we were for a while, both comforted by shared experience and troubled by what the world is capable of. Well, they took it harder. Coming from a place that's constantly at war somewhere doesn't make it better, but you get used to the idea of things being messed up, even if you don't have a personal reference for it.

Eyes dried and composure was restored. As everyone calmed down, things began again. I hoped the rest of the questions weren't going to be bringing up these kinds of memories.

Twilight picked a suitably scientific question. “I noticed that you don't have the gaps that Chrysalis had. Why is that?”

“The spaces show hunger. On a drone it denotes the condition of that single entity. On a queen it reflects the health of the hive as a whole. Though she was at the height of her power during the struggle, her hive was far too large. She left it starving to keep herself strong, and it was reflected in her appearance.”

“And the other drones of her hive, what happened to them?”

“I do not know. The power that defeated Chrysalis severed the connection to the hive, thus knowledge of the lost is not in me. Most are likely dead, hunted or starved.”

Guess there was no avoiding this kind of thing. We summarily agreed that any time needed for mental recovery between questions would be given, though the worst was probably over. Twilight ordered Spike to get some tea for us all. With a bit of refreshment we returned to our treatise on changelings.

“I noticed that you don't speak exactly like a pony, and that – no offense – the changelings I saw all looked the same to me.”

“Chrysalis created a brood for her attack. Changelings were not meant to be mass-hatched in such a way. They – myself included – were given very little knowledge outside of the basic norms for pony society. They were given additional knowledge if they acquired a... target. I was intended to be part of the force sent to Canterlot, not a spy. Some knowledge was lost with the separation. Thus the changelings you saw were near-identical in form and function, having been created for one cause.”

Tea break.

“So individual changelings do, or they're supposed to, have individual personalities and looks?”

“Yes. After the separation I became self-aware, or more fully aware than before. No doubt the other survivors have done the same. It is apparently difficult for a pony to tell in a changeling body, as much communication is done via pheromones. In another form that is not intended to mimic a specific creature, such as my human form, it becomes pronounced.”

“And you are comfortable in this human body?”

“As much as my changeling form. There is no true distinction between forms, when done of free will.”

“And this 'hive' allowed it? What Chrysalis did?”

“The hive is a neutral force. It is memory, but not body. It has no will of its own outside of survival as a species. Once a queen is created, it collects memory and records circumstances, but does no more.”

Tea break.

“Why did the hive choose you to be a queen?”

“Since the fall of Chrysalis, I was the first changeling to have a sustainable source of energy. I was the first to be whole, and therefore the first capable of undergoing the metamorphosis.”

“But it's been two years!” Twilight announced in shock.

“It has.”

A moment of silence took over. Two years, and it took someone from another planet, who had no idea at first what a changeling was, to do it. The knowledge of what must've been happening to changelings everywhere brought more shame to Luna and Twilight than they could cover.

The tea was gone.