Chapter 31

12-30-13, 10:47 P.M.

God, Jeremy was hungry. He mentally smacked himself for not bringing food to this – he had stupidly assumed he’d be able to finish this fight sooner than the others. He was partially right – this was the fastest he’d ever killed a large group. Or… wait, right, he wasn’t killing. Incapacitating? No, he hadn’t done that before, so the analogy was ruined. Oh well. Point was, he was hungry, and very, very tired.

As he wandered through the caves, he recalled Luna’s advice: Find that last group, take them out carefully, and exit the cave the same way he entered. He wandered around for a while, silent – he wasn’t going to make it too obvious for them. Finally, as he admired the crystal formations on a wall, he was tackled by a colorless-shelled changeling, teeth dripping with what might have been saliva or venom. Jeremy squirmed to extricate himself, finally succeeding in throwing the changeling off. As he started to climb to his feet, more appeared out of nowhere and held him down, and the changeling he had spoken to earlier came out of the gloom of the cave, hissing eerily. He struggled for a while, but not too hard – putting on a show was so much easier than actually fighting. Finally, as she reared back to bite, he rolled out of the way, twisting his arms uncomfortably as she stopped and attempted to pin him down again. Bursting up, he threw the remaining changelings off of him and whipped out his gun, only managing to drop a few before they got out of range. They charged him, knocking the gun from his hand – were they faking or not? Jeremy was starting to get confused – he thought the agreement was that he would eliminate them last, but they were clearly going for first. Mentally shrugging, he punched the nearest changeling in the face before scrambling for his sleeper gun. One changeling got to it first, and sprayed it at him. Jeremy stumbled back, wiping the tranquilizer off of his helmet – he didn’t know if the onboard air filters could take out that much. After clearing his vision somewhat, he made a grab for the weapon, only to see it tossed over his head. Okay, now he was irritated – he hated Keep-Away games. As a changeling near to him caught it, he took advantage of its distraction to deliver a roundhouse to its neck – it dropped like a stone, clutching where he had hit with its hooves. Jeremy frowned – he hadn’t intended to do that. Was he getting too bloodthirsty again? Best to finish this quickly. He took his weapon back, and quickly fired at the changelings who had closed in again, and they all dropped. Finally, he took care of the changeling who was still on the ground, moaning in pain, and it slumped to the floor, almost gratefully.

As Jeremy trudged out of the cave and into the open sunlight, he noted the stares of the changelings around him – they clearly regarded him with fear. Some openly stumbled back as he walked past, and Jeremy gave a tired sigh before finally coming over to Chrysalis and Luna. Luna held out a hoof for a hug, but instead of taking it he collapsed against the wall, not daring to remove his helmet in case of a surprise attack. Luna quickly sat beside him, placing a hoof around his shoulders – he was slumped so low against the wall he might as well have been laying down. Art thou alright? Luna mentally asked.

Jeremy took a while before answering – now that the usual battle adrenaline had worn off, his thoughts came slowly and disjointedly. No, he finally answered, and Luna frowned but didn’t press him. Looking over wearily, he saw Chrysalis accepting her odd little crown back – when had she lost it? Jeremy couldn’t remember.

12-31-13, 8:04 A.M.

The preparations had been made for their departure – surprisingly, they were traveling by land this time. Even more surprisingly, Chitin was carrying them home, and Jeremy, Luna and Chrysalis rode on his back as he crashed through the treetops, managing to only knock a few over in the process. Jeremy was unusually silent for most of this, and Luna seemed to notice, not saying anything in turn. Chrysalis was carrying on a hissed conversation with Chitin, who’s deep rumbling responses made his whole body vibrate in a sensation that was not altogether unwelcomed. Of course, Jeremy was focused on something very different as he finally got around to pulling his helmet off, and stashing it in the extradimensional void his suit carried with it.

“Luna?” Jeremy asked, his voice sounding small. Luna looked over at him, concerned – this was a new tone for Jeremy. His voice usually ranged from sarcasm and snark to concern for others or apathetic resignation, with rare interludes of joy or rage.

“…Yes?” Luna prompted. Jeremy stared at the ground for a while before answering.

“Can I quit my job?” Chrysalis looked over, now concerned as well.

Luna stared at him for a while. “Why?” she finally asked. Jeremy gave a deep sigh.

“It’s just… Making all these weapons… and then using them to fight things… it’s killing me.” Luna merely looked at him. Jeremy buried his face in his hands. “I can’t take it anymore! I keep fighting, and fighting, and everyone I love looks at me like I’m a monster. And maybe I am! How can I tell?!” he hysterically finished. Chrysalis attempted to place a calming hoof on his shoulder, but he shook it off. “First thing before I got here, I killed over a hundred people. Next thing? Gunned down a bunch of changelings. And then what? I fought off a crazed mare, and died. And now I’m back to do – what? Kill more?” Luna interrupted his ramblings by grabbing him by the shoulders with her hooves and shaking him hard.

“Jeremy, look at me,” she commanded. When Jeremy refused to do so, she used a hoof to move his head for him. “Defending thy life is no act of evil. We cannot undo the things thou hast done, or thy perception of them. But we are here to help thee move on.” Jeremy acknowledged this with a nod. “If thou still want to quit thy job, we will accommodate. But… please don’t ever think thou art a monster.”

Chrysalis nodded at him. “I might not have your body count, but I know what you’re going through – and I’m sure Luna and Celestia do too. We’ve all been monsters, and we all have our own ways of coping with it – just let us help you.” This was an unusually serious tactic for Chrysalis, which snapped Jeremy out of his self-pity. He gave them a tired smile.

“Yeah… you’re right. And… I’m not sure about my job. I just… can I have a few days to work that out?” Luna nodded.

“Take all the time thou need,” she answered, wrapping a hoof around him.

“You know, there are better ways to get out of work,” Chrysalis commented, back to her old snide tone. Then she frowned. “Sorry, was that insensitive?”

Luna glared at her. “A little bit, yes.” Chrysalis drooped her head, and Jeremy reached over and tousled it.

“Relax, I’m not that mad,” he replied, and Chrysalis enjoyed the attention for a moment before Luna protested, clamoring for his affection as well. As the three laughed and relaxed together, Jeremy sighed inwardly – but this time with a modicum of content. Sure, his life had been hell. But it had also been heaven, in a way – and he was fighting as hard as he could to keep it that way.

After a while, the earlier tension had all but been forgotten. Luna and Chrysalis were curled up on either side of him, and he had a hand on both of their manes. Luna was asleep, her job of lowering the moon accomplished. Chrysalis was still awake, but only barely. Jeremy, still wide awake, was reflecting on the insanity that had been and continued to be his life. When he had burst out back there, he had seriously considered running away from all of this. But now? He realized he couldn’t do it. Here were more sources of joy and happiness than he had ever had back home. Leaving Luna? Impossible. He would die for her – already had, in fact, and would gladly do it again. Chrysalis… She used to be callous towards his feelings, and was the only one here he knew could rise to the same level of sarcasm he himself displayed frequently, but she had changed recently. Speaking of which… “Chrysalis?” he asked.

The Queen looked up at him. “Yes?” she asked.

“I don’t mean to insult, but… you were always so negative. And sarcastic, and snarky. Why, then, are you so…” Jeremy spread his hands in search of a suitable word.

“Happy?” Chrysalis finished, smirking at him.

“Sure,” he replied. Chrysalis looked away.

“I could give the usual answer, but… why not. I’ll tell you the truth,” she responded, somber. “I first started changing my attitude when you started helping me, with the food problem,” she began, still serious. “No pony had ever dared to build such a thing before, let alone deliver it to the Hive in person. They run at the sight of me. To them, I’m a freak of nature – don’t deny it, you know that’s how they see us!” Chrysalis exclaimed, seeing him about to protest. “We’re a mutated version of them, with holes, and insect-like parts. Legend has it we steal their babies and replace them with our own, converting their babies into more of ourselves – not that we would bother with such an enterprise,” she hastily amended when Jeremy looked at her. “But you… you were never culturally trained to hate us. So… when you brought down our entire army, using the same technology we stole from you, I thought it was the final proof that nobody could ever like us - that even a race as warlike and dangerous as our own couldn't bring themselves to respect us.” Jeremy frowned, and she looked down. “But then you came to my cell – you might have done it out of boredom, or curiosity. But you visited. And… you were so different. You refused to demonize me – and then you stood up for me, in royal court, against two who I had considered your closest friends. So then I was confused – what were your motives? Did you simply want to trick me into thinking you had forgiven me, so you could follow me to the Hive and kill off the remaining changelings?” Jeremy grimaced. “But… you never gave any indication of being anything other than sincere. You didn’t even try to seduce me or anything. It was the first time anyone had done such a thing with no intent other than helping me, and let me tell you, it shocked me,” she admitted. “Then, after just a week’s scant work, you stood there, grinning like an idiot as the problem that had consumed all my waking hours was solved. Just like that.” She paused to catch her breath.

“Being a changeling, I’m used to manipulation and lying. It’s part of our culture, in the same way violence is a part of yours.” Jeremy made a disgruntled noise, and Chrysalis gave him a small smile. “But to make such a rebound like that – from our worst enemy to our best friend, without skipping a beat – it made me realize something. Maybe my perception of being hated was my own design – maybe I could be liked if I made an effort. So… I made an effort. It was hard, at first – I wanted to scorn you, like I’ve done before. But you were always so accommodating, even if you didn’t say it out loud. And… it worked. We became friends. And to tell the truth? For the first time, I was nervous about going further. What if you spurned me? I didn’t think I could take that,” she admitted, head drooped. “I mean, I thought it could never work from the start, when you said you were monogamous. But then you changed – and that was what really won me over. You went against everything you’d been taught, just to make me happy.” Chrysalis looked away, cringing as though she expected him to be angry. “And what's worse, you didn't stop there - it's like no matter what I do, or how I mess up, you won't ever hold it against me. I... I don't understand it..." she admitted, lip quivering.

Jeremy pulled her into a tight hug, eyes watering as he laid his head on top of hers. “Chrysalis... I think that's called 'love'," he answered.

She looked up at him, mouth opening in surprise. Jeremy smiled down at her, blushing, and after a moment, she returned it, and settled back down so that she could lay on his lap.

After a moment more of silence, Chrysalis struck on a new topic. “What are you going to do when we get back?” she asked. Jeremy was surprised by the mundane nature of the question – he’d heard it before at the end of camping trips, or vacations. Certainly not while riding on the back of a giant alien while conversing with a smaller alien that he was in love with.

“I… I’m probably going to work on heading home, figuring out the interuniversal stuff so we can hang together.” Chrysalis smiled.

“Never a dull moment, hmm?”

Jeremy gave a tired nod. “You have no idea,” he muttered.

She grinned. “Oh, I think I do~,” she growled playfully. Jeremy gave her a shove, and she actually started to slip down Chitin’s back before he hurriedly pulled her back up, apologizing. “Oh, stop! I could have just flown up, you sap,” Chrysalis teased. Jeremy frowned as this obvious conclusion hit him.

“Well… still…” he mumbled, and Chrysalis kissed him on the lips, shocking him into silence. As she pulled away, she grinned. “You are such a hopeless romantic,” she remarked.

“Is that a bad thing?” Jeremy asked as he pulled her back onto his lap and began rubbing her belly.

“Ooohhh… not at all…” Chrysalis replied, before once again making that odd purring noise. She covered her mouth, and Jeremy gently pried her hooves off before continuing.

“Did I mention I love that sound?” he commented. After a moment of seeming indecision, Chrysalis actually blushed before succumbing to his hands. Jeremy grinned – he had actually won a blush from her.

As they entered Chrysalis’ hive, Jeremy looked up, feeling like he had just returned home after a long vacation. “Hive, sweet hive,” he happily commented. Chrysalis grinned, and gave out a jubilant hiss. Immediately, the hive sprang to life, changelings pouring out of every corner to greet their queen. Upon seeing her crown still on her head, they grew more excited. Chitin lumbered off to his duties, leaving Jeremy and Luna to watch as Chrysalis was swarmed by her adoring drones. After a moment more of Chrysalis joyfully conversing with her changelings, they turned to him and Luna, quickly surrounding them before raising them up into the air. Jeremy froze in fear, unused to the sudden change in elevation, and Luna was similarly surprised.

“What? Isn’t this what you do for celebrities?” Chrysalis asked, noting their looks.

“…Yes…” Jeremy answered after a moment. He gave a confused, but happy grin, and Luna looked over at him. “Looks like you’re quite the returning hero these days,” she commented. Jeremy gave her a genuine smile at the reference.

For a while, they stayed there, and the mood was festive as the changelings partied in their own special style. Jeremy, unused to parties of any sort, simply stayed off to the side, calmly conversing with any changeling that approached him but otherwise not making any attempt at being social. Only when Luna pulled him into a conversation of hers did he begin to relax, and even then it was difficult to resist the urge to escape the conversation. Not that it wasn’t bad – Jeremy found himself more and more interested as he listened. As far as lifestyle went, just talking like this wasn’t nearly as hard as fighting – and he was determined to appreciate the break in pace.

Next Chapter: Chapter 32 Estimated time remaining: 7 Hours, 7 Minutes