Well, Binky snuggling the larvae appears to have done it a world of good? I note in my mind, as I gaze at the impressive looking worm-like creatures, wriggling on the ground, in the cave…

I’ve never seen anything like it! My new children are so strong! Wait! If one foal could do this, imagine if we got more of them? I smile to myself, before turning towards the small pink unicorn, as she stares at six worms, on the cave floor, “Hey, Binky! Don’t you have some friends at school, whom you could bring to the cave?”

Hereyes grow large, and she turns right towards me, “What? No! I don’t really um, I don’t actually have any friends… “

I frown, “What do you mean, you don’t know anypony at school? You’re a child’s age, yes? Shouldn’t you have friends?” I ask the strange looking pink pony, who now stares at me with huge green eyes.

She glowers, “Well, that’s just it! I don’t really talk to anypony else, and kinda just do my own thing… “ before gazing up at me, nervously, with a smirk on her muzzle…

I stare at this foal carefully, “Do you mean to tell me that you’ve never played with other fillies?”

Her eyes somehow get bigger, “Um, maybe? Uh, not really, I don’t think?” as she trails off and brings her eyes towards the ceiling… *

Incredible! This filly has no friends… Well, there is one thing I could do?

<*****>

So I walked into the North entrance of Ponyville, with the filly trotting next to me…

I turn to her, “You don’t have to do this, mom!” and see her small purple body, and wavy long silvery mane, with the horn on her head.

She keeps her gaze forward, and chirps, “Yes, I do! I’m playing with my child, in the playground, and we’re going to have fun, is that understood?” authoritatively, as we both trot down the cobblestone streets of Ponyville.

I widen my eyes at her determination, as we pass yet another house, “Uh, yes ma’am!” before gazing forward, to see nopony but us on the road, with rows of houses, neatly arranged in file.

What is wrong with her? I just told her I didn’t have any friends! I think, before feeling the gulp go down my throat…

“Where is the playground?” She asks me in a squeaky, albeit authoritative voice.

“Um, I’m trying to remember. I think there’s one on the East side of town?”

I used to play by myself at home, all the time… But with another filly, er uh, I just don’t know?

“And we are heading south! That means at the intersection coming up, we will turn left!”

I turn forward, to see more vacant roads, and nod, “Right!”

<*****>

I want this foal to enjoy her childhood… What is wrong with me? Why am I thinking like this? Well, playing with her might help me blow off some steam?

I see the chain link fence in the distance, with it’s metal top, and rails every 7 feet or so, approaching from the right, as we both trot through the neighborhood, in Ponyville…

Nopony seems to pay much attention to fillies?

Then again, nopony seems to be around?

We pass by a brown earth pony, with a fedora hat, and red scarf, as he says, “Pardon me, fillies! I guess you’re off to the playground, huh?” before he trotted away…

He acknowledged me!

Maybe ponies are friendlier than I thought?

<*****>

“Um, it’s a slide!” I say, as I stare down into the metal tube, with the ramp heading down…

Mom stood there on the wooden platform next to me, her purple body and wavy silvery mane gleaming in the sunlight, as she smiled at me, "So, what do you think of this playground?" she asked, her voice laced with a hint of excitement.

I look around at the various equipment and slides, as we both stood on top of the large wooden structure, and widen my eyes, as I feel them quiver! I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever been to a playground before, and everything looks new and interesting! "It's huge!" I finally manage to stammer out.

I look over at the swings and think I’d like to try that next, when I hear her say, “Go down the slide, when ready!”

I gaze back down the shiny metal tube, while surrounded on all the other sides but behind, by a little metal railing, to keep fillies like us from falling down..

Wait a minute…

“Well, what say you, Binky? Would you like to go first, or should I?”

I gulp, “Uh, I think you should go, because uh, you’d enjoy it more! Yes!”

She widens her eyes as her face empathically says, “Do you need me to help you down the slide, Binky?”

“Um, n-no!” I say, before turning to look down into the big scary tube… “I can do this! Yes!” I blink, and nod…

I take a few timid steps towards the slide, and stare down into the drop-off…

“It’s okay, Binky! You’re not alone… “

I’ve seen other fillies do this…

I can’t remember if I ever have, though?

“Are you alright, Binky?”

I nod at the other filly standing on my left, “Yeah, just uh, gimme a second!”

She smiles at me, “Take your time, Binky… “

I’m gonna die…

There’s gonna be bloodthirsty cannibals on the other side of that slide, and they’re gonna eat me…

… That was oddly specific…

I take a few more steps, and breath…

In and out…

“You’ll be okay, Binky!”

I smile, “Yeah, thanks mom… “ before laying my body on my back, and sliding down the tube, with a woosh…

I finally land on the other side, on my hooves with a small thud, in the sandbox…

I actually did it… I went down a slide…

“Clear the way!” I hear the filly up top say!

I take a few paces away from the slide, and soon hear a second small thud…

I turn around to see the red eyes of this small purple pony wide with excitement as her silverish mane jitters, “Whoa! That was a lot of fun!”

I stare at her with a big grin on my face, “I wanna try the swings, now!”

She stares at me, “Yeah! Lets go play on the swings!”

And so, we both galloped off in the direction of the swing set…

We swung on the set, climbed the wall, explored the little jungle gym, and she had a blast playing on the monkey bars… We did all of these things, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like an actual filly…

<*****>

We both trot towards the gate in town, as she stares at me with excitement in her eyes, and a vibrant pace, “Oh, wow! That was so much fun, mom! I haven’t been on a playground since uh, well, since my mother started to pass on… “

My hooves go, clop, clop, clop…

I stare back at her and smile, as we trot side by side, “Yes, I don’t know how long it’s been since I actually just had some fun, and playing with you was great, Binky”

While hers’ go, clop clop cloppity clop clop!!!

“Yeah… “ I say, while keeping my eyes trained on her, at my right, as we both trot out the wrought iron North gate of Ponyville, towards the farmland, and the Everfree, beyond that…

Her face starts, before she turns towards me, “What?”

“I just think it’s interesting? I lost my mother, and never really had friends, and here you are, trying to fill all these roles for me… “

She stops, and I do the same, “I uh, Binky… “

My eyes widen, “Yes, mom?”

She’s silent, before asking me, with enormous red eyes, now brimming with curiosity, “Who am I?”

I gulp and turn my body towards hers, “You’re my new mommy, and the kindest, most wonderful changeling I know!”

Her eyes widen, “I uh, I think we need to talk to Celestia, soon?”

I frown, “What?”

She gulps, “Yes!” and nods, “We shall see the Mayor of Ponyville tomorrow, and I’ll tell her who I am and what happened… I will rebuild my hive, but I’m going to do it differently this time… “

“What are you saying, mom?”

She smiles at me brightly, “I’m saying we’ll soon both have everything we want!”

<*****>

The brown earth mare stared at me from the other side of the bleached oak, desk, with it’s ultra shiny finish, and frowned heavily, “Wait! You’re the evil Queen Chrysalis?” as her blue eyes studied me, underneath her white mane.

I sigh, “Okay, hang on!” I say, before feeling my body shift and I become my old self with my black jagged horn, and insane green eyes, to shout, “I AM THE EVIL QUEEN CHRYSALIS! BLEH!”

She nervously squeaks out, “O-okay! I believe you! Please change back!”

That was pretty easy! I think to myself, before feeling my body shift again, and I now have the familiar bluish-white body, that I’ve been growing used to…

“So, I guess this means, you’re giving yourself up and becoming reformed?”

I smile, “Well, yes… After all this time, I realize that sharing love is a give and take sort of thing, and that if I am indeed to participate, it would be in my best interest to have the backing of ponies… We can share Equestria! I only wish for a part of the Everfree for my hive! And we can simply give and share love, from this point out, rather than jealously hoarding it, for our own selfish ends… “ I take another deep breath, in and out… “Love was meant to be shared… “

The mare is silent for another moment… “This is going to be a long letter!”

<*****>

The gray pony, sat with a pen in her mouth, and a long brown mane over her shoulders, while sitting hunched at the desk, and ready to dictate… “Go ahead?” She says out the corner of her mouth…

I clear my throat, “Take the following dictation:

Dear, Princess Celestia

As you’re aware, I have been an enemy to Equestria and have attempted to take over Canterlot in the past, as well as made at least two attempts on overthrowing the government. That said, I come to you now, a changed changeling and I would like to extend an olive branch! I don’t wish to fight anymore, although I would very much like a section of the central region of the Everfree Forest, in order to rebuild my hive.

I’ll have you know that I have adopted a unicorn foal named Binky Hooves, and desire to raise her within the confines of this new hive, and I’m also interested in (I shudder at this point) sharing love with the ponies of Equestria. Any assistance you’d be willing to provide on this endeavor would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Signed, Chrysalis

<*****>

I have lived for over a thousand years… And yet I had never known true love, before this foal…

She was older now, and living in her own room, in the new hive…

I stared at her to the right of my white throne, in the brightly lit hive, with it’s polyps on the walls, and the baby bluish weaving's of the structure, and smiled at my wonderful filly, “It’s almost slimy time, Binky! Are you ready?” and once again admired the rising phoenix cutie mark on her flank…

She turns her head left to me, and I see her purple mane, unkempt as always, with her bright green eyes and a smile on her muzzle, “You bet, mom! It’s been years, but rebuilding your hive is neat! Uh, I’m uh, sorry I couldn’t be of more help… “

I sigh, “Nonsense, Binky! Go play with your siblings now! I shall call you when the drones are back with your dinner!”

Suddenly, we both her a CAW! As the yellowish-orange fire bird flies towards Binky’s shoulder, to land…

She turns her eyes on the bird, at her left, “Hey, Sunny Dawn! We can’t play right now! It’s slimy time!”

She caws again!

Binky giggles, and nuzzles her beak, before saying, “Okay, maybe a quick birdy treat!” before trotting off with her feathered companion riding her back…

(The end… To be continued?)

Author's Note

*”Not remembering sucks!” - Blackjack, Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons

And thus ends another hypothetical thought experiment in pony format, for my therapy… While I never really got the chance, it does make me happy to know that Binky did… I’ll also admit, I’m thinking about writing a sequel from Binky’s POV called The Hive, which details Binky’s bizarre new life, living with her new mommy? Her classmates call her “bug horse” because of where she lives, and she has several changeling siblings in school with her… Her cutie mark is a rising phoenix among flames, and she has a peculiar affinity for that particular bird… The phoenix being an adequate metaphor for my own life, after all…