Changes

"I'm happy that Chrysalis wasn't too broken up about the whole petrification. Though, I wasn't entirely sure if it was because I freed her or because Celestia didn't know... - Princess Twilight

Twilight Sparkle never really had the time to think about why Chrysalis had attacked as she was too busy fending off various other attacks as well as world-ending threats. Of course, she had the theory it was about love, the pure unadulterated love that flowed through Equestria, but once she had been stuck in the Changeling pod within Chrysalis's throne room, somehow that theory took a back seat.

But now that she had a chance to look over the statue that sat in front of her, she could see the utter hatred that was etched onto the Changeling's face. Chrysalis utterly despised her with all of her being and it showed. In her very last moments, the Queen lashed out at her.

This realisation froze her blood.

Twilight didn't hate the Queen, hell, she didn't even know much about her. She could have been a friend if only she had reached out and took Starlight's hoof.

Tearing herself away from those empty stone eyes, Twilight turned back to Instar who was gazing at the statue in thought.

"Is she my mother?" the Queen asked pointedly.

Twilight blinked and glanced between the statue and Instar with a little concern. "Oh, uh... No," she stated, shaking her head. "She was already put in stone before you arrived."

Instar kept her eyes on Chrysalis for a few, long, seconds before turning and walking away towards the luminescent barrier.

Stopping just short, Instar held a hoof up and looked it over, comparing it to Chrysalis's." Do I have a mother?" she asked, her voice low.

"I- You have me and the girls..." Twilight replied, trying her best to sidestep the obvious.

"Not what I asked."

Twilight blinked then sighed. Forgot she's a quick learner...

"No... It isn't," the Alicorn muttered, rubbing her leg awkwardly. "There's other Changelings, but no," she paused, letting it hang for a second. "You are the first Queen we've met since Chrysalis."

Instar could feel the beginnings of something new rise up within her: sadness. It was a vile, oozing feeling that threatened to swallow everything else within her. Only by pushing it down and thinking of what she had did she stop it from spilling out into the real world.

Twilight turned to look at Chrysalis once more, a frown appearing on her face as she wondered. Maybe... she thought, I'll need some Changeling help.

"We should go," she said, turning back to Instar. "We have a meeting to attend."

"Meeting with a friend?" Instar asked, staring back at her.

"Indeed. Someone I hope you'll like."

Truth be told, Twilight was extremely nervous about the meeting. The lasttime Thorax and a Queen were together in a room, they had nearly killed each other, so was it any surprise that there were added security posted outside the door.

Twilight had picked a lovely furnished guest meeting room for the three of them to talk which faced out towards the east, allowing the room to be illuminated with Celestia's bright summer light.

The room itself was furnished with only the essentials, such as an oak meeting table in the centre which was surrounded with several cushions to sit on, as well as various plants hanging or standing around the room to give colour to the otherwise plain, white walls.

Twilight and Instar had arrived first and sat down on one end of the table, an awkward silence filling the room while they waited. In reality, the awkwardness was from Twilight's side as Instar was just happy to see something other than Ponyville.

Instar could taste the Alicorn's nervousness and in turn wasn't sure what to say, considering it was her fault for making the mare like this.

"Twilight... would you like a feeding?" she asked, tilting her head upon seeing the mare's cheeks darken considerably. "You are always calmer after one."

"N- I don't think that would be-" Twilight said, only to be interrupted by the door opening.

Flicking her head over, Twilight rose up off her cushion and forced a wide smile upon seeing Thorax stride into the room, flanked by two of his guards.

"Thorax!" she gasped, cantering over with a grin.

"Twilight, it's good to see you again," he replied, reaching forward and pulling her into a tight hug. "How have yo-"

He cut himself off upon noticing Instar staring over at him from her cushion at the other end of the room.

"Instar..." he mumbled, pulling away from Twilight and beginning his walk over towards the Queen.

His guards and Twilight followed the king, his eyes focused only on the Queen.

Instar, on the other hoof, could feel her heart thumping in her chest as she gazed upon his brightly coloured chitin and long, curved horns. If she could blush, her cheeks would have been flushed crimson. Instead, her body settled with producing a Queen's pheromones instead.

Reaching Instar, Thorax stopped in front and took hoof before placing it against his neck in greeting. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he began, smiling. "I now see why Twilight wished for us to meet."

To Instar, his words were like honey mixed with Twilight's love. Intoxicating.

"Y-Yes..." she whispered back while the wings on her back buzzed.

Placing Instar's hoof down, Thorax turned to Twilight, who was staring at the pair. She now sported a deep flush across her face and a pair of ruffling wings upon her sides.

"She is young indeed. I doubt she even knows she's releasing her scent," he said, chuckling while glancing back to the pair of stallion guards who were having a hard time within their rigid armour.

"She- Ooh..." Twilight replied, shaking her head and squirming. After a second, she opted to simply sit down on the cool cushion and chew her bottom lip.

"Why isn't it affecting you?" she stammered, while thoughts and plans of her and Instar in the throne room, going at it like bunnies, popped into her head.

"It is," Thorax chuckled, noticing his guards slowly beginning to look up at him worried. "I'm simply more resistant to the effects."

Turning to the now confused Queen, Thorax smiled and lowered himself down to her level. "You'll make a fine Queen one day, Instar. But not with me," he whispered, brushing along the chittering Changelings cheek. "Close your eyes."

Instar leaned into the touch, purred and did as he asked.

"Now reach inside of yourself... To that part which is yet to show and calm it."

Instar thought she knew every part of herself, but she had just found something new, something within the deepest depths of her body that had been kept hidden until now. It was empty and aching to be filled, to be used, but she used Thorax's silky words to push past the need and calm herself.

"Good," Thorax laughed and placed his hoof on her shoulder. "You're a quick learner."

Finding herself decidedly calmer, Instar could look away from the other Changeling and could taste that Twilight and the guards were in various states of arousal.

"Was that me?" she asked, confused.

"Indeed," Thorax answered, chuckling. "Queens can produce a scent to entice a mate. It's very effective with ponies."

"Mate?" she asked, still confused.

"Has Twilight not taught you that?" he countered, suddenly concerned. Turning to the Alicorn, who looked ready to pounce across the table, he asked, "Are you not teaching her?"

Twilight, for the most part, tried to look a little sheepish, but couldn't help but gaze at Instar as if she was a first edition Star Swirl hardback. "Books in Changelings are limited..." she whispered, teleporting beside the Queen to nuzzle and lick at her cheek. "I don't have everything."

"and I can't be here all the time to teach her," Thorax muttered, watching Twilight nip at Instar, who giggled at the attention.

"I'm afraid to say it, but you'll need help," Thorax finally stated. "You'll have to de-petrify Chrysalis."

Now that got Twilight's attention.

She turned to Thorax with a concerned expression, despite her legs still wrapped around the Queen.

"She bad?" Instar asked, causing the other two to look down.

"Yes... But she's the only one that can teach you, well... Changeling stuff. There's just not enough reference material for me to teach you properly and Thorax has a kingdom to run," Twilight replied while softly nibbling along Instar's neck.

"I wouldn't say she's bad," Thorax spoke up. "She's more of- I guess she's misguided. Chrysalis was a kind ruler, but she changed suddenly before the wedding. She had a singular goal of gluttony and was never satisfied with any amount."

With a sigh, he shook his head. "A Changeling ruler's appearance changes based on their ideals; their purpose. Chrysalis didn't have holes before- she was smooth with an especially lovely mane, much like Instar's."

He then gestured to his own body, "Mine changed after I gave my love," then to Instar's, "I would assume she's quite passionate, judging from today."

"So... Chrysalis could be changed back? To how she was?" Twilight asked, a little hope welling up inside her.

"It could be possible. You'd have to find out what happened to her first," Thorax replied, nodding.

He turned his head at a chirp from one of his guards and nodded. "Looks like my time is up. I am needed elsewhere."

"Of course, thank you," Twilight said, smiling up at him.

"It was lovely seeing you, Twilight," he replied, before placing Instar's hoof to his neck once again. "I hope to visit your hive one day, Instar."

After a short trip to the royal infirmary to make sure that she, and the guards, weren't under the effects of the pheromones, Twilight had brought Instar back to the statue to start the process of de-petrifying the Changeling.

Looking up at the snarling mare, Twilight couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt at knowing that she could have done more. She should have made more time to look into why Chrysalis acted the way she did.

As the Princess of Friendship, it was my job... she thought, shaking her head.

Instar brushed up against Twilight and unfurled one translucent wing to wrap around her tight.

"Thanks, Instar," Twilight whispered, leaning against her. "There are things I could have done better," she said, sighing as she closed her eyes. "We reformed Discord, of all beings, but didn't even give a second thought to Chrysalis We just blasted her with the Elements."

Twilight lowered her head and dug at the ground while shame began to fill her.

"You help her now though?" Instar asked, nudging the mare with her muzzle. "Better late than never."

"Yeah, I guess so," Twilight replied, pulling her head back and leaning her head against Instar's own, their horns rubbing together. "I'll try my best to make her feel as welcome as I can. She'll need to teach you everything I can't."

Twilight parted from Instar and levitated the mare outside the dome. "Stay there. If anything goes wrong, the shield will protect you."

Turning back to the statue, she focused on Chrysalis and pointed her horn at her as it began to glow a harsh pink. "Come on..." she grunted, grimacing as she dug herself into the ground. The glow around her horn brightened until she had to close her eyes and even the pure radiance was filtering through, leaving stars in her eyes.

Ever so slowly, cracks began to appear around Chrysalis's hooves which then extended up her legs and over her barrel. With a cry, Twilight pulled her head up and unleashed her spell which flared out with a pulse that slammed against Chrysalis and shattered her stone prison! Both Twilight and Chrysalis were thrown back from the force of the blast, hitting opposite sides of the shield and slumping down to the dirt.

"Twilight!" Instar cried, hitting her hooves against the barrier frantically. She couldn't let her lesser get hurt anymore.

Mere minutes passed, but to the Queen it felt like an eternity of pacing and worrying, until Twilight let out a groan and began to pull herself off of the ground. Coughing, the mare wearily looked around and found Chrysalis still on the dirt directly opposite, behind the statue of Cozy and Tirek.

"Thank harmony they're still there," Twilight groaned, pressing a hoof to the barrier to let Instar through.

Instantly, the Queen threw herself at Twilight and pinned her to the ground using her nose to gently find and lick anywhere that seemed hurt. "Silly Twilight..." she stammered, finding her heart thump hard within her carapace as she nuzzled deep within her mane. "Don't scare like that."

"Sorry..." Twilight apologized, glancing back with a sheepish smile. "I think we should focus on the other Changeling though."

Instar let out a small huff but pulled away anyway to let Twilight up. As she did though, she leaned in and licked her cheek with a giggle.