Pupa-chan
Princess Pupa was sat in her chair outside in the gardens, placed right underneath a tall, beautiful cherry blossom tree and overlooking the ornamental koi pond. She was dressed up in a soft lilac kimono and a thick, warm blanket placed over her forelegs. One of her younger nannies knelt behind her chair, using her horn to levitate and brush her gossamer mane.
The princess felt very gloomy that day. She didn't like her mother's dacha, not this one all the way in the east of the kingdom. There was nothing outside but trees and mountains scraping the skies. She wanted so badly to go back to their grand palace in the enormous capital where the gardens were much more beautiful than this one, complete with a grand exotic menagerie, but her nannies told her it was "too dangerous" there right now and her mother "had important things to do".
She didn't care. She and her family had been at the dacha for days with a lot of other well-groomed Changelings in darker, muted kimonos. They certainly did not look regal in any way. Who were they? Were they important? They all went into rooms and slid the doors and Pupa stayed either in her bedroom or in the garden with her nannies. It was boring and unfair. Why couldn't she go with them? She was the Princess.
"Princess, keep your head still."
Pupa whined and pulled her head away from the brush. She didn't want her mane brushed anymore. This nanny was doing it too hard; it was making her head sore. It was also getting very cold and she was very hungry, but the nanny was too stupid to understand that.
"I said hold still!" She scolded, brushing even harder.
Pupa whined louder and flailed her legs in protest, kicking the blanket off her lap and banging the forelegrests. She rocked her chair, nearly making herself fall off. She didn't want to be brushed anymore! The nanny tried to hold her still, but she then started screaming, so all the nanny could do was try and cover her mouth.
At that moment, the back door of the dacha slid open and another, older Changeling mare in a worn grey kimono stormed into the garden, a look of fury etched onto her face. Pupa looked around and she knew who it was. Her heart filled with joy and she reached out her forelegs to her. It was Cerci-san, her head nanny.
"What are you doing?" She demanded of the other nanny in her strict voice, marching up to her.
"I...I was brushing the Princess' mane. B-But she's being completely impertinent, she--"
"Silence!" She slapped her.
Pupa then became quiet and scared as she watched the two older Changelings yell at each other. Her eyes watered, her lips quivered and she tucked in her legs. She did not like it when the grownups yelled in front of her.
"If the Princess is upset, it is your fault. You were obviously brushing too hard and hurting the poor foal."
"Hurting her? But Cerci-san--"
Cerci-san slapped her again and walked over to the Princess' chair. She put the back of her hoof against her flushed cheek.
"She's freezing!" She yelled at the other nanny. "Do you want her to catch her death!?"
"No, Madame. Th-that's why I put a blanket on her."
"Have you even fed her yet?!" The other nanny did not say anything and Cerci-san screamed at her, "Oh, so you just want her to starve instead!? Go to the kitchen and prepare the Princess' dinner! Go!"
The other, younger nanny scurried fearfully out of the garden and into the dacha, leaving Cerci-san and the Princess alone. Pupa was now crying a lot, and her favourite nanny noticed and all her anger disappeared. Instead, she looked calm and reassuring, like she usually was around Pupa.
"Oh, Princess," Cerci-san gave her a warm hug and kissed her forehead, letting the Princess cry into her dress. "No, no, don't cry. I'm here." Pupa reached out her forelegs and hugged her back. "Oh, you poor, poor creature. I had no idea you were so uncomfortable."
Her nanny's words soothed her and she slowly stopped her crying. Cerci-san was the same age as her mother, and looked a lot like her, too. She had been taking care of her ever since she could remember. She was very kind and would never hurt her. Whenever Pupa was upset or crying, Cerci-san always knew why and how to comfort her. She did not want any other nanny but her.
Getting behind the Princess' chair, Cerci-san used her horn magic to push it back up through the door and into the dacha. She took her back to her the dining room, where a low table and cushions had been set up for her dinner. Pupa frowned tiredly; of course, she wasn't going to be dining with her family.
As Pupa was lifted and set down in front of the table, the other nanny from before, accompanied by a few other mare, came into the dining room and set up all the dishes. Pupa was salivating and licked her lips hungrily. They were all the traditional Changeling dishes; rice bowls, sushi, noodles, and Pupa's favourite; a hot, delicious bowl of love soup, "fresh from a pony". The thought of this amused Pupa. There were ponies who worked in the kitchen? Why hadn't she ever seen them before, and did they have to squeeze the love out of themselves to make the soup? Thinking about a pony being squeezed and squashed like a sponge made her giggle.
Cerci-san ordered the other nanny and mare to get out again as she sat down next to Pupa and tied a bib around her neck. She used her horn magic to lift the chopsticks from the table, first picking up lumps of rice and feeding them to the Princess. Sometimes she had to stop and help the poor thing chew. Once every single grain was polished from the bowl, they moved onto the sushi, starting with fresh futomaki glazed in soy sauce. Soon, the table was nearly cleared, leaving only the love soup left, which had cooled down to her liking. She lifted the bowl into the air, placed a funnel in between Pupa's lips and gingerly tipped the pink, glowing soup into her mouth and down her throat. It was so sweet, her fur stood up and she felt ticklish all over.
In no time, the soup was all gone and a clutter of empty plates and bowls remained on the table. Pupa felt her belly swollen up like a balloon. She no longer felt cold; her cheeks were rosy, even. There was nothing that cheered the Princess up more than a big bowl of love.
"There, now isn't that better?" Cerci-san undid her bib and rubbed her cheek. "Now, let's get you into bed, hmm?"
But just when Cerci-san was about to lift Pupa from her cushion, the door opened again and the same nanny walked in, looking more worried than before.
Cerci-san hissed at her, "What did I tell you?"
"I know, Cerci-san, but..."
"But what? Spit it out!"
"The Queen wishes to see her."
Nochangeling said a word. All the warmth Pupa previously felt was now gone, replaced a chill that ran down her spine. Her breath rose and she curled up into her seat, hoping that she would just vanish.
"I thought she was in a meeting."
"It is now finished."
"Fine. Come, Princess, your mother requests your presence." Cerci-san levitated Pupa back into her chair and moved her towards the door.
Pupa knew trying to curl into a ball would not work, so she tried to fidgeting in her chair to make them take her back to her room, but Cerci-san only petted her head and hushed her. She didn't want to go see mother. It was the last thing she wanted and Cerci-san understood that.
The dacha was so big that Cerci-san had to push Pupa's chair through dozens of long halls, like they were in the grass maze in the palace gardens. The halls had so many boring pictures hung up on them, a lot of them of old Changelings dressed in colourful clothes and crowns. She figured they must have been very important, but she did not care about them. They were all gone now, what did they matter?
Soon, they were at another set of grand doors with strange markings on them. Pupa put together in her head that since they were not moving past these doors, mother was on the other side.
Madame Cerci-san brushed down her dress, stood up straight and knocked the door twice. There was a long silence that made Pupa fidget uncomfortably in her chair, and when the doors started to slide open she felt a large lump in her throat.
The door opened and out walked a Changeling who Pupa knew right away. He wore a black robe and had a long, thin beard reaching down to his knees. It was Notumu Sensei, one of mother's many "royal advisors" and her good friend.
He looked down and smiled at her, and she smiled back. Notumu Sensei had lived with her family at the palace before she was born and he always made her feel safe. Mother told her how he and her other advisors had something called "mist-i-cal powers" and "wiz-dom", so she grew up to love and treat him with respect.
"Princess, there you are. Your mother is expecting you," Notumu Sensei said as he bowed to her, and Cerci-san bowed back. He stood aside and showed them into the room.
The first thing Pupa noticed was how dark the room was. All the curtains were drawn and the light came from the crackling fireplace. It made her feel nervous. She had always been scared of the dark, that's why Cerci-san always left a candle in her room at night.
When her eyes finally fell upon her mother, a sharp chill ran up the foal's spine.
Queen Chrysalis was laid down on her favourite cushiony rug next to the fireplace, using her horn magic to write some papers with a black quill. Cerci-san always told Pupa how she looked so much like her, calling her "a spitting image". They had the same mane, the same coat and even the same weird shaped horn. She did not mind, because mother was a very pretty Changeling, but still, she was scared of her.
Cerci-san pushed Pupa's chair across the room, until she was close enough to mother. It was so quiet the squeaky noises from her chair wheels sounded louder than they used to. Mother did not look at them, like they were not even there.
After a moment, Cerci-san cleared her throat and spoke to mother, bowing, "Queen Chrysalis, I present you your daughter, Princess Pupa."
"Thank you, Cerci, I'm not blind," Chrysalis spoke in the strange shaky voice that sounded like two Changelings were speaking at the same time and she turned her head. Her eyes, those big, green eyes, they were what frightened Pupa the most. Whenever she looked into them, she kept thinking how she was going to grab her and cobble her up like a piece of candy.
Chrysalis looked right at Pupa and gave her a nice, warm smile, but Pupa looked down at her lap. She then looked at Cerci-san and Notumu Sensei at the door, telling them, "You may leave us."
Cerci-san bowed again and left the roof with Notumu Sensei, leaving Pupa and mother alone. This upset Pupa very much. No! She wanted Cerci-san with her. She didn't want to be left alone with mother.
"Well, well, my Pupa-chan, I must say, I haven't seen you for a while," said mother and she put down her quill. "I'm sorry I've been busy lately. I feel like I've been neglecting you, and that's not acceptable at all, is it?"
Pupa just sat there and listened. Mother wasn't normally happy and smiling. She was always yelling at everychangeling or at worst, zapping them with her horn.
"Come to mother," Chrysalis said sweetly, patting the rug.
Pupa didn't know what to do. She couldn't ever get up from her chair. Didn't mother know that? She just looked timidly at her, and then at her little hooves, worried mother was going to get angry now for disobeying her.
But instead of getting angry, Chrysalis kept smiling and waved her hoof. "Oh, that's right. You still can't walk, can you? No matter." Her horn glowed again and Pupa saw that she was floating up from her chair.
Pupa started panicking and breathed in and out really fast. What was mother doing?! She was going to harm her, she just knew it! She closed her eyes and prepared to be punished, but opened them again when she felt her hooves touch something very soft and plush. The Princess was shocked by what she saw. She was lying on the rug right next to mother.
"Are you comfortable, my dear?" Chrysalis asked, picking up her quill again to write on her papers. Pupa nodded her head feebly but she did not get too close. "A little closer." She put her foreleg around Pupa and pulled her in closer. "That's better."
She could not understand. Why was mother doing this? Cerci-san always told her how she and mother had to have "et-i-ket", but was this "et-i-ket"? She couldn't remember the last time she was allowed on mother's rug with her or when mother looked so happy, but then she couldn't remember a lot of things. Her mind then started to wonder, ignoring mother's presence as she thought about things she began to think she'd forgotten. Had she been on the rug before? Had she seen mother so happy before? Was she really that bad at remembering things?
"Quite the day dreamer, aren't we?"
The Princess suddenly remembered her mother lying right next to her on the rug, who was now looking at her again. Her quill and papers floated away to a desk in the room.
"I've finished my work." Chrysalis reached out her hoof and gently stroked her mane. "Did you miss mommy, because mommy's missed you. Hmm?"
Pupa just stared at her for a bit, but she felt like mother wanted her to speak back this time. She opened her mouth and tried to say 'yes', but all she could manage was a loud moan with her tongue dangling from her mouth.
"Oh, of course, how could I forget? You still can't talk, either."
This saddened the Princess. Her mother forgot that she couldn't walk or talk? Why would she ever forget? She was still her haha. Pupa wished she could talk properly, just so she could remind mother everyday so she would never forget.
Chrysalis then said, "Oh, sweetie, you look so ever thin."
No she wasn't. She'd just been fed. Why was mother saying that?
"Here." A big silver tin floated down between the two royal Changelings. Chrysalis made the lid lift up and Pupa's eyes grew as big as her tummy. It was lokum, sweet lokum.
"Lokum, dearest? I know how much you love it," she said, pushing the tin towards her. "Straight from the Griffins' colonies."
It was true. She loved lokum. It was her favourite treat. It came in lots of sizes and colours and was very, very sweet. Cerci-san would sometimes give her a whole plateful after dinner if she behaved. Mother had never before offered her some herself, so this really was a surprise.
She reached for a big red lump (mother said she didn't need chopsticks to eat lokum), but she couldn't pick it up. She tried again, but it still just fell out her hoof. Mother laughed softly and made the red lump fly into Pupa's mouth with her magic. It was so light and sweet Pupa let out an excited whinny.
"Have some more. It's all for you."
More and more lokum floated in the air and into Pupa's mouth, so much her cheeks puffed out and any more, she would choke. She started dribbling, so mother took a hankie and wiped her powder covered mouth.
"There. You like that?"
Pupa nodded eagerly. She felt so much comfortable around mother now. She didn't seem so scary anymore... until she got very close to her face, looking like she wanted to bite her head off and Pupa shied away.
Mother did not look pleased by this at all. "Pupa-chan....what's wrong?"
The Princess shook her head and whimpered, as if trying to say 'nothing'. Mother, however, was not fooled and she reached out a comforting hoof, but when Pupa trembled, she finally understood.
"Pupa," she said sharply, her face hardening. "Are you...afraid of me?"
The Princess became frightened again. She did not look mother in her eyes and tucked her head in.
"You are, aren't you?"
She whimpered into mother's rug, fearing the worst. She had angered her mother now, she just knew it. Would she scream at her? Would she strike her? She'd never struck her before. The worst mother ever did was order Cerci-san and the other nannies to punish her, but nothing else. What about now?
"Come here, Pupa...now."
Pupa knew not to disobey and crawled up right into mother's forelegs, but she did not look her in the eyes. Mother lifted Pupa's chin with her hoof so she had to look her in her eyes. She didn't look as angry as she sounded, but Pupa knew by her mother's deep frown she had done something wrong. For a long time, mother didn't say anything to her, until she sighed and started stroking her face.
"My darling, how could you think I would ever harm you?" She spoke sadly in such a soft voice that Pupa could hardly recognize now as her mother's. "I'm your mother. You know how much I love you. Don't you love me?"
Pupa was so shocked by what she heard and saw. She had never before seen mother so hurt, and as she quickly understood what she had done, the Princess was overcome with shame. She had dishonoured her mother. Wanting to make amends, she lifted her heavy forelegs and wrapped them around mother and pressed her cheek against her chest, feeling a new sense of warmth from the older Changeling.
Mother knew what she was trying to say without being able to say it, and a warm smile returned to her face. She put her forelegs around her daughter and returned the hug.
"Oh, my little Pupa-chan," she planted a kiss on the crown of Pupa's head. "You are my one and only treasure, do you know that?"
The words swelling her heart up with love, the tiny Princess kissed her mother back on the muzzle.
"That's right, mother loves you..." Mother scooped her up in her forelegs and began cradling her like a larva. "Now, go to sleep, my dear, and dream. Shhhhh."
Letting out a loud yawn, Pupa shut her eyes and nestled herself within the elder's soft embrace. She did not want the mother-foal moment to end, but she felt fatigue overtake her and she started to drift off to sleep.
"That's right, shhhhh." A toothy grin appeared on mother's face as her green eyes lit up in an eerie glow. "Sleep tight, my delicate cherry blossom, and I'll, heh heh..." She craned forward her head and flashed her fangs. "I'll care for you."
The tips of her teeth pricked through the skin and fur of her daughter's neck, and immediately Chrysalis could taste the sweetness. There was nothing more salivating for her than the innocent love of a Changeling foal. Her foal.
Pupa's sleeping form winced and kicked her leg, and the Queen paused cautiously, but the foal did not stir from her slumber. Chrysalis resumed her feeding gently; she didn't want to harm her daughter, after all.
The Changeling Queen took her time with her meal, savouring every precious drop she sucked passed through her lips. But all good things came to an end, and when she was at last done, she made sure to lick up the wounds. They were not serious wounds, just tiny little holes, barely visible at first glance, but Chrysalis always liked to make sure.
Her meal finished, Chrysalis continued to cradle and fawn over her sleeping daughter in her forelegs for just a little while longer. She pushed a few loose strands of her mane from Pupa's eyes and held her pudgy little face in her hooves. Nochangeling in her inner circle and certainly none of the servants ever witnessed such maternity from the feared matriarch, and she preferred to keep it that way. She had her image to maintain.
Cerci-san was summoned back to the room and she took the sleeping Princess to her chambers and tucked her into bed. For her, it was always early to rest and early to rise. She slept soundly throughout the night, dreaming of the gardens back at the royal palace in the warmth of the sun, her head resting in Cerci-san's lap as they watched and fed the peacocks and the doves. It was one of the only things that truly made the poor Princess happy and right now, she could not even have that.
Pupa did not awake until near midday, and when she did, felt awfully gloomy and lethargic. She had a slight soreness in her neck which irritated her for most of the day, but eventually went. Like the day before, Pupa was placed back outside in the garden, under the same cherry blossom tree, where she sat for hours on end. The dull routine was now working her very last nerves, but at least she did not come across that stupid other nanny that day. Cerci-san did her hair, and this time, Pupa could enjoy it.
Sometime before she was taken back inside for her dinner, Cerci-san was picking the flowers and placing the best in the Princess' mane when they were joined by a most unexpected visitor. Cerci-san had to rub the sleet from her eyes to make sure she was not hallucinating.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."
It was Queen Chrysalis, mane done up into a thick tail that draped over her shoulder, over a gorgeous black and green patterned kimono that was trimmed with gold. She elegantly cantered out into the garden, effortlessly not tripping up over the long hem. She said not a word but smiled at her foal, and told the parting Cerci-san she could stay. Chrysalis then took her foal off her chair and they settled down on the grass, right in front of the koi pond.
For a while, neither spoke to each other, and just enjoyed the other's company. That was until Chrysalis' gaze fell on the decorative fish dancing about the sparkling surface. She frowned distastefully.
"Ugh. I hate these ugly things. It was your grandfather's idea, really--"
Pupa only half-listened to what her mother said. She hated the koi. It gave her an idea. She glared at the koi in the pond and focused as hard she could. She very rarely tried this before, but she thought this would make mother happy. The tip of her little horn sparked bright green, until all the energy she could muster shot into the pond in a loud crack. The resulting splash caught her in the face, but she looked through her dripping fringe at the bodies of some orange and white koi floating belly-up.
Pupa looked up at mother, grinning toothily, but immediately shrunk and dropped her head when she met the elder Changeling's stern glare. She had done wrong, again, and now she was in trouble.
She surprisingly felt a hoof ran gently down her head and raised her head again to see mother's expression had softened.
Chrysalis pushed aside Pupa's drenched fringe, took her cheeks in her hooves and rubbed her muzzle against hers in a rare showing of affection for anychangeling.
"That's my girl."
