//------------------------------// // Changelings (The Status Quo) // Story: This Changeling Life // by Nasha Rei Kun //------------------------------// Is it about that time? It’s about that time! Heya my peeples, whazzup! Long time no see! I know that I haven’t updated in a bit, but you all know, school. Last year for me too, so I gotta be on it. Got my classes, handling the FAFSA stuff, and well, life doesn’t wait for anyone. Regardless of if they have to write about anthropomorphic, pastel colored horses. We’ll all live, I mean, we’re all going through it right now, anyway. That said, let me formally welcome you all to the end of this fic! *Fanfare* *Toots horn* It’s been a long time coming, and I couldn’t have made it, if it wasn’t for you guys. YOU! The readers, reviewers and commenters. Not just you, but my favorite, and only, editor! Thanks to XIII Hearts, man you rock hard. Thanks for putting up with me, and my antics, the whole Summer. Hope to see more of you in my future works. Expect this chapter to be exactly what you want it to be. It’s time for a WEDDING! ~TCL~ She stared across the table, red eyes staring indifferently towards the other female across from her. She sat in her personal throne, the blackened material adorned by obsidian silk, gold embroidery, and red crystals. She lifted a hand, glancing over her chitlin covered form of her slender body, feeling a self-gratified sense of pride. Her body was similar to her twin’s, curvy in all the right places. Her form covered in a dark, skin-tight mockery, of a nun’s adornments. The long dress was cut to just above her knees, with the sleeves starting from her bicep, to come down to her wrists leaving her shoulders open to the world. On her right shoulder lay a rose like construct, that bore in white against her skin. There was no coif, but she kept the stiff crown. It allowed the dual transparent veils to hang from her head, the see through materials allowing her long, dark red membrane-mane, to be seen. Her masterpiece of a horn sat atop her forehead, the magic conduit straight, with a set of missing sections, as should be expected. She was beauty. She was the succubus of their little quartet. The younger of two Monarch twin sisters. She was Nympha. She crossed her legs with the grace unbefitting of her dress, and she knew it. Many a spouse had been lured to her beds, their others left wanting. Ponies, minotaur, zebras, to just name a few. She’d tasted them all throughout history, and none have been capable of ignoring her wiles. There was a grunt from across the table, and she felt her lips’ corners dip in distaste. “You truly are the most vain of us.” The female across from her spoke, causing Nympha’s eyes to be casted upon the one across from her. Nympha allowed her lips to snarl, before they became bore a smug expression. “Yet, I’m the one with the largest hive. The most diverse of our subjects and,” she allowed her forked tongue to wetten her lips. “The one with the most “conquests”.” There was a gleam in her eye, as she watched her the youngest of four snarl in disgust at her. She feigned a remorseful expression. “But alas, if only you used those looks of yours for a better purpose.” She said dramatically, before her own lips curled in unpleasantness. “Truly, one who allows scars to bare their form has no place near me, Aurelia. Mother must be rolling her grave, from the sight of you.” The Monarch across from Nympha threw her a flat look, as she raised an eyebrow. Yellow membrane-mane curling over to one side, a braided ponytail going down her back, as she threw her sister an unbelieving look. Her body dressed from bottom to top, in metal and linen. Her hole filled legs, were encased in metal shin guards, and thigh high boots. Said boots were leading up to her dark grey shorts, with a brown rope tied around her waist. On her top was a robe like garment, of golden and black colors, with sleeves that ended near the wrist. One part top was off her form, showing the black feminine exoskeleton underneath, her modesty only covered by the padding that covered her upper half, like some sort of leather tube top. All across her shoulders were marks, and scars, that her outer shell could not be shed for. Battles she’d fought, won and conquered. The largest scar, lay on her back. Her most valued one. Her horn was shorter than her sister’s across from her. Actually, hers was the smallest of all theirs, causing her no shortage of taunts from her “siblings”. She had the biggest bust though, as much as Aurelia hated it, she could hold them above them. She was happy to have her leather armor, it was convenient. The youngest of four Queens rolled her wrists, the leather, fingerless gloves showing on them, as she threw her sister a disbelieving look. “You cared nothing for mother, as it stood. Those Chaste emotions must be dulling your memory Nympha.” The shorter of the two in the cavern said, from her throne of yellow minerals, dark vines and blackened rock. Nympha wasn’t amused. “For all Prudence you feed on, you must be one of the most foolish Changelings I’ve met. Especially with small hive of yours, hah! Even Chrysalis has a larger hive than you.” Aurelia glared at her sibling, and stood from her seat. A yellow vapor-like substance, rolling from her sleeves. A mark on her uncovered shoulder glowed a blindly yellow, the shape of a thin circle pierced by a single pin. “You’ll hold your tongue Nympha. This area only stands, because of Mother’s memory.” Nympha stood up herself, magic curling and extending slightly from her curled fingers. “Yet, you’re the one who stands as if to fight me. Remember your place youngest, lest you want your birthplace, to also be your deathbed.” The red haired changeling Queen spat, incensing her younger sibling. The two monarchs seemed ready to come to blows. The air thrumming with restless energy and hostility. An aura around the two built; vermillion red and sparkingly yellow. Yet, before any manner of harm could be exchanged between the two monarchs, a sound echoed in the halls of their rocky birthplace. The two paused, their magical energies simmering , before fading as they listened. The next moment, a feeling invaded their senses, and both groaned. “Ugh, it’s her. I have to wonder how much Wisdom she’s been sipping on, since we’ve last seen her.” Nympha groaned, as she allowed her form to fall back into her seat unceremoniously. Her legs kicking up, before falling back down. Aurelia’s yellow eyes looked in the direction of the blip on her radar, and narrowed her yellow eyes. “Wait… That… That isn’t our sister. That isn’t Cocoona.” This caused Nympha’s eyes to widen, before she turned her head in the same direction of the noise. The sounds were small steps, too light to be any of their sisters’ own. The “Feeling” wasn’t Cocoona’s either, yet it felt similar. “What in Tartarus…?” Nympha swore, even as her mouth opened wide. Aurelia wasn’t doing that much better, eyes widened to alarming degrees, as the two watched the small form of the changeling that entered the caverns. One that felt just like their eldest sister Cocoona. Like another monarch. The little changeling female who entered the fray, looked over at them with mischievous eyes, as her bright amethyst ones looked back at them. A dark purple membrane-mane that was seemingly unruly top the head of the child, curving around the small horn on her forehead. She was short, possibly even short shorter than Aurelia’s 5’2. She was definitely shorter than Cocoon’s, staggering, 6’5 or Nympha & Chrysalis’s matching 6’2. She might have been possibly a good half a foot shorter than Aurelia. Dressed in large poncho, that was seemingly made from tapestry of a Roamian royal’s, her form was mostly indistinguishable. The only other thing about her, that they knew, was that she was wearing white harem pants. “Hello aunties~” She sang, causing both of them to nearly choke, as she neared the circle of five thrones, before settling herself into the seat of their eldest sister. She sat there, feeling snug, as the two monarchs tried to regain themselves. Nympha nearly fell out of her chair, before she snapped her gaze to her sister’s in disbelief. Aurelia stared at the Ruby Hive Queen, before turning to the smallest changeling monarch in the room. “What did you just call us?” Aurelia’s eyes narrowed almost immediately, as they settled on the smaller female. Nympha’s disposition shifted, as she recomposed herself, before crossing her legs, and turning her attention to the anomaly. Seeing the attention on her, the little mystery seemed to giggle before she gave them a straight look. “Mother was correct, when she said that you’d be shocked. Sadly, I can’t stay for long,” the little brat said with a sigh, as she allowed her eyes to go half-lidded. “Cocoona’s your mother isn’t she? I’d recognize her colors anywhere, but that doesn’t explain-” Nympha started. “-Who you are, and why you’re here.” Aurelia finished, eyes constantly looking over the new addition to their little circle of Queens. She was wondering how she even got into the place, all things considered. As much as they didn’t like each other, and that was putting it lightly, they did have meet once every decade to make updates on territories found, lost and conquered. You learn to avoid stepping on anyone’s toes, when you know whose area you’re stepping into. The littlest changeling in the cavern hummed, eyes closed, before she smiled. “Pupa.” She said simply, causing them both to blink, before she pouted at them. “None of you even asked for my name!” She stated with a huff, causing both the others to simply look at each other. Neither of them were even remotely entertained. “Neither of us are laughing child!” Nympha’s shout was followed by both the echo of her voice, and her crimson aura burst from her seat to the ceiling. Aurelia’s eyes switched to her sister’s position, before they focused back on the smallest-Pupa, and warned her. “This is not a game for children. Neither is being here,” The Topaz Queen stated. “Remove yourself from the premises. You’re only being forgiven because-” “Because this is a gathering for those of the Monarchy.” Pupa finished, her expression turning to impassiveness, causing both of the two sisters to grit their teeth. Nympha finally stood from her seat. “That’s it, you fucking brat. I was being nice, but now I’m going to-!” -Going to what Nympha? Because it sounds like you were about to inflict harm to MY heir.- All sound stopped, as Pupa removed an arm from within her poncho, to reveal a bright purple glowing mark on the back of her hand. Everyling else in the room stared, at the glowing mark, before the voice sounded out again. Each word accentuated by a brief glow of the mark in question. “Mother…” Pupa whispered, eyes retaining a softer quality, as she stared at the back of her hand. -Make no mistake you two, I may have retreated from the game, but should even a hair be out of place from Pupa’s head. NOTHING will save you from me.- Both adults flinched, only for their eyes to widen as they processed everything that was just said. “Wait-!” Aurelia. “You mean-!” Nympha. There was a sigh from the glowing mark, before Pupa spoke up. “Mother decided to pull away from Equestrian territory. In simpler terms, Mother has given up all ownership over the lands she laid claimed to in her term.” -Correct, all my land- “Is free game! Yes! I’m been waiting for years to steal that stupid bit of land by Los Pegasus. That place is a gold mine of idiots to feed from!” The Red Hive leader could just sing! Aurelia on the other hand, looked over to the smallest changeling in the room, and watched as her countenance fell. Mind trying to piece together the facts, she spoke up, ignoring her more “passionate” sibling. “Cocoona?” -Hmm?- “Why?” This cut Nympha’s self-celebration short, as she turned to look at her sister with a dumbfounded expression. “What is WRONG with you?! She just gave up her lands, and you’re going to ask why?!” The yellow Hive Leader turned her glare on her sister, before turning back to Pupa’s direction. “I could understand her doing this, if she DIDN’T just state that this little one was her heir.” She pointed at the youngest one in the room, causing Nympha to focus in on the brat, who focused more on the glow on her hand. -Hmm, I see. You know, out of all of us, I hated you least Aurelia. Most likely because of your preference, I guess. Yet, that doesn’t answer your question does it? I… I can’t continue this anymore. My Hive...- The voice stopped, and if they strained their ears, they could hear slightly sobbing. Pupa’s own expression only darkened further, both Aurelia’s and Nympha paying closer attention. -It’s gone.- Their hearts stopped cold. W-what? What! “Cocoona! Make sense!” Nympha stated, rather loudly, as she paid more than the obligatory attention to what was being said. Aurelia’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, before their eldest sister spoke up. -...Is everyone there? I’m noticing a severe lack of Chrysalis’s monologues.- They sighed, even as Pupa did look around for a moment. “No Mother, Aunty Chrysalis isn’t here.” -Where is she?- Pupa looked up at the two others, and Aurelia sent a look Nympha’s way. “...Fine! That idiot’s been up to something for the past year. I don’t know what, but her drone have been making some dangerous loops near Canterlot.” -And you didn’t stop her?!- Came the surprised, and a little angry, voice from the mark. Nympha scowled. “You act like I care! Whatever she’s doing, is none of my business, unless she makes an opening, I’m not gonna give two damns.” The red stated, uncaring of the child in the room. -... I specifically told you all, to stay AWAY from the Pony settlements around Canterlot! We discussed this a century ago! We do NOT want Celestia to have any incentive to come and wipe out our hives!- “Well, don’t look at me! If I was her owner, she’d either be dead at my feet or at the foot of my throne getting-!” “ENOUGH! One more despicable word out of your mouth, and I’ll rid this world of you and your Hive myself.” Aurelia’s voice burst throughout the caverns, giving Nympha pause, before she scowled once more. Regardless of what she would say, Nympha was no fool. Small her sister’s hive may be, but weak it was not. Much less, Aurelia herself. There was a reason why, after all this time, there were still FOUR sisters/monarchs. Though now, that may not ring true. Aurelia reigned in her temper, before turning back to the smallest in the room, who looked notably twitchy. -Thank you Aurelia.- Actually hearing her say that, made the Yellow Hive leader feel… complicated. -We’ll address Chrysalis’s missing attendance later. I need to make sure everyling knows that I’m not coming back.- Nympha and Aurelia looked to one another. All in all, this was good news. Wonderous, even. One less piece of competition to deal with getting control over Equestria, but they were still suspicious. There was still one more question to ask. “Sister?” Nympha spoke up, and they all looked down at the sign on the back of pupa’s hand. “...Mom?” The child’s voice sounded even more saddened for reasons they didn’t understand. -... It’s nothing. What is it Nympha?- They honestly weren’t sure why, but they didn’t believe her. That was neither here, nor there, though. “You’re saying a lot right now Cocoona. You can say all these things, but that doesn’t explain one thing.” -You’re wondering why I sent Pupa, instead of coming myself.- They nodded, before realizing, she couldn’t see them. “Yes.” Came Aurelia’s curt reply. Yet, as they waited for her answer, they watched as Pupa’s expression seemed to disappear from her face. Eyes dull, as she stared at her hand. What? -... I can’t.- That wasn’t the answer they were expecting. -I didn’t want to send my girl across the oceans to meet you, but if I didn’t… I don’t know if I’d get the chance to ever again.- They just stared, the silence between all of them suffocating. Aurelia swallowed. “W-what do you mean?” There was a long silence, before the shining mark glowed again. -It’s nothing. I don’t want to extend Pupa’s stay here, any longer than necessary.- All in attendance, simply sat in silence, letting everything that happened sink in. The first to break the silence, was Nympha. “Y-you’re serious? You’re not coming back?” She asked, an emotion was present in her voice, that she was afraid to identify. -Yes, this will be the last time, you hear from me.- Nympha remained silent for a moment, before she spoke up again. “T-then, good-bye.” There she’d said it, and she was still afraid of that strange emotion that was well in the back of her mind. Aurelia looked to her sister for a moment, before she turned to Pupa’s direction. “Yes. Yes, the same as Nympha said. If you truly mean this.Cocoona. Then good-bye. I.. I hope you can live out the rest of your days in peace.” The sole blonde in the room said, head turned away from the other occupants. “Mother,” Pupa’s voice spoke out. -It’s okay, you can come home now. There’s nothing else you need to worry about.- Pupa looked at her hand for a moment, before shaking her head. “No, that’s not… That’s not what I mean. You said that you had three sisters.” The words the young one spoke, caught everyling’s attention. -Yes?- There was a sort of uncertain quality to the response. “Chrysalis, Aurelia and Nympha.” She rattled off, and they got the impression that Cocoona might have been nodding her head, though with an unsure expression. “So why did I feel four monarchs?” The cavern fell into stunned silence. Aurelia stood from her chair almost immediately, while Nympha sat stunned in her chair. Silenced reigned for a moment. -Pupa, what do you mean?- Her voice sounded disbelieving, but also worried. “When I was coming into Equestria, passing the borders of Yakyakistan and entering pass the Crystal Mountains. I felt another monarch.” “...” “...” -Explain.- ~TCL~ They watched on, as the littlest of those gathered left, and only once she was out of eyesight, did they turn to one another with grave expressions. “Do you believe that she was telling the truth?” Aurelia asked, eyes narrowed. “Who? Cocoona? Or that brat?” Nympha responded back, tone seemingly nonchalant, but there was a deep venom that Aurelia could hear, and feel. “... Either one.” “...” “...” That was the question wasn’t it? Did they believe Cocoona? The one who wasn’t even in Equestria at the moment? They’d known she’d left for some place called the Echo Lands half a century ago. Now she comes up saying that her hive is gone, she hid a child from them and that she was giving up? It seemed far too good to be true, but at the same time, the fact that she’d sent said child to them, spoke wonders. Either she was losing her touch, or… Aurelia decided that she’d play this by ear. With all said and done, there were lands she needed to look into occupying before her sisters got to them. More important than that thought, though… “What do you think of it?” She could hear Nympha speak from her side of the large cliff they stood on. Her body facing in the same direction, as the one where Pupa had gone off to. “You mean of this other monarch?” The Red Hive Queen grit her teeth. “I can’t believe for even a moment, that there’s another one out there. Tsk, I’m bet that kid just got mixed up.” The “redhead” scoffed, as she crossed her arms, eyes narrowed. ______________________________________________________________________________ “I remember the feeling of them all. Mother said there were only three other monarchs, her sisters. I could feel you from all over at the borders, bt I also felt a fourth.” -Are you sure? Pupa… It’s okay if you aren’t, I’m won’t be mad- Cocoona sounded so off-put by this little nugget of news, but Pupa shook her head, and replied in the negative. “No, I’m absolutely sure. There were four. I could never forget the feeling of the fourth one…” The heiress stated, as she let out a breath. “It was so strong…” ______________________________________________________________________________ Aurelia knew her sister wasn’t taking too kindly to this. Neither her, nor Chrysalis, were the type to accept the concept of surprises too well. Nympha may look, and act, like a dumb harlot but she was far smarter than she showed. It was her, and Chrysalis’s planning that had them off their “Blue” sister. Turning her mind on that thought, there was a unbidden thought that hung in the back of her mind. Was it possible for there to have been another “Blue” in hiding, that was a monarch? The very idea was illogical, yet at the same time… It was almost scary to assume otherwise. There was no possible way for there to be another monarch of any of the currently existing hives. It wasn’t a mantle that was just given, or grown into. The powers that be, made it so. Their mother had originally had control of the Five Hive Colors, but with her giving birth to them, she allowed for each of her and her sisters, to command a troop of their own. With her passing, that may have been the last time they’d cordially spoken to one another. They’d divided the hives, and from there things snowballed into what they were now. They may have each welcomed Blues into their hives, but they had to keep an eye out for any of them gaining the Feeling. Over all the years, there were only two instances where a Blue may have been developing one, and they’d snuffed that out before it could get anywhere. So there couldn’t be any other monarch. With them all, her and her sisters, still in power, and no blue cropping up into their Hives with the characteristic, the possibility should have been less than ZERO! Unless… Was it possible for their sister, to have…? The more she thought about it, the scarier the thought was. Had she pulled one last hurrah, on them? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Pupa moved as fast as she could. Her tiny form moving past the landscape with every beat of her wings, as she mulled over the information currently roaming in her noggin. She was moving over the Badlands with as much speed, her small body could muster, eyes keeping attention to the two senses at her back. Her mother had always told her to be wary of her aunts, and she understood “why” now. Their power was something she could feel, and it was amazing just how easily they could engulf her hold. At the tender age of 8, her mother had divulged the entire scope of what her sisters were like. She had lessons on who they were, as Changelings. Their temperament, scope of abilities, looks, age and so on. Seeing it up close though? That was whole other monster. Chrysalis and Nympha were coordinated with their hives. Minds molded by centuries of conflict with one another. Aurelia was the physically strongest. Having battled the Dragon Lord previous to Torch, when she was but 200 years old, and both gave each other matching scars along their backs. She’d heard about her “Blue” Aunty, who wasn’t with them anymore. About how she’d been capable of adapting abilities of others. Her mom hadn’t been to knowledgable about how she could do it, but she could. Thinking about her mother, Pupa frowned. Her flying form bypassing the beginnings of a forested area. Her mother wasn’t going to live for that much longer. Weakened by an attack on their hive, back when she, Pupa, was born. Some manner of beast had came, and eaten their changelings. Mother had barely made it out of it alive, and she’d only been carrying her, two months pregnant. She felt the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, but brushed them off. She felt her tummy rumble. Pupa, age 13 going on to 14, was hungry for some Ambition. She’d been warned countless times about how a changeling’s “diet” could affect their mindset, so she always took some in decent amounts.The monks her mother fed off of, weren’t typically that ambitious, but they’d been enough. Yet, even she could tell the differences in her mindset. These changes also helped push her to make a decision upon coming to Equestria. She would find a way to save her mother’s life. If maybe she could get the resources that some of the Hives could offer, she might be able to find something in their hive-memory. Easier said than done, but her preference made the will to do these things, a lot more easily acquired. While she didn’t think she could ask one of her aunts for it, maybe she could of that unknown monarch? They may be her best choice, and probably her only one. She was pretty sure aunt Chrysalis wouldn’t take too kindly to her. Not with how desperate her energy felt. It wasn’t impossible for a changeling to feed off of other emotions, from their preference. Her mother had done so before, and she heard stories of how her Blue aunty could feed off of any emotion, so it wasn’t impossible. Yet, a changeling whose preference is LOVE, and is desperate? As the saying goes, Love makes you do crazy things. Crazy, and Desperate, things. ~TCL~ He nodded to himself, as he looked at the artifact in front of him. His brown cloak, hiding his form from being seen, as he reached out and picked up the weirdly shaped key. Running his exoskeleton covered fingers over the old magical item, he grinned and turned around. Taking in the architecture of the temple he was currently in, he looked down from the top of the stairs, leading to the artifact in his hands, and saw the tied up forms below. “Thanks for this guys, seriously.” He gloated, as he walked down the steps and passed the forms of a tied up pegasus, a crew of earth ponies and the knocked out form of some giant blue cat-monkey thing. They all had bunch of ninja wire spun around them, with the mare’s being a slight bit thinner in wrap. Her mouth was still uncovered, unlike the others. “Get back here, you sonovabitch! That’s not yours to take! Who the Tartarus do you think you are?!” She shouted at him, and he could see her bindings were starting to come undone, but wasn’t worried. He’d be out of here in a bit anyway. “Hmm, well, what do you want me to say? Want my likes, dislikes and dreams for the future?” He teased, causing her to snort in a very unmarelike fashion. “How about your name, smartass!” She shouted at him, and he took up a mock thinking pose. Sliding the key shaped object into his sleeve, passing it into a storage seal, he held up a finger. “The digit glowed, as did two lights coming from the top of his cloak’s hood, before he spelled out a name. She stared at the name for a bit, before recognizing it, and paling. Mondomezza She looked up at him. Though his hood obscured most of his face, she could see that amused grin from the shadows. He reached into his long sleeves, and retrieved what looked like a piece of paper, before it began to light up. “Good bye Daring Do, don’t worry,” He tilted his head in a nod. “Your secret is safe with me.” He grinned, as the light from the slip of paper began to glow brighter. Her bindings of wire broke, and she lunged at him, just as the light grew beyond bright, and blinded her. The next moment, Daring Do, Caleberon and his henchman as well as Ahuizotl (Who’d just woken up) only stared, as the weird figure disappeared. Daring stared for all of a moment, before she grit her teeth, and slammed a fist in the floor. “FUCK!” ~TCL~ He appeared in the middle of the formulaic circle, decorating the floor, underneath his feet. Up and around the circle, was float, rotating and spinning strings of light. Each light line crossing over with another, as numeric degrees, coordinates and spatial formulas floated about in the space. He rubbed his shoulder for a bit, before turning his attention to mare to left of the boundary spell. The unicorn mare with the deep red, with a dark blue and tan streak, mane that was pulled up in the front, and held there by a clip, smiled at him. She adjusted her glasses, before moving towards him with a clipboard in hand. Her purple irises glinted in delight, as he shook off any feeling of discomfort. Dressed in a white lab coat, a large, salmon-colored sweater and a long knee-length skirt, she walked over. Her eyes trailing a randomly moving line of the spell in place. The next moment, a glow from her horn caused the entire spectacle to stop, before it all settled down. The lines shifting before they became a triplet of circles, the width of the formula circle, about 8 meters, and falling into the array below their hooves. “Thanks again, Naruto. I needed this for my dissertation. Now if you’d be so kind as to tell me about your experiences with the Latitudinal Orbit Graphing Spell.” Moondancer spoke up, as the changeling monarch dropped his hood, revealing his spiky blond tresses and blue eyes. Blinking a bit more, Naruto Uzumaki focused in on his student, head turning her way. A clinking sound could be heard, as he adjusted the bangle, a black one with a small orifice that held a black metal “X” in it, on his upper right bicep, his cloak being shed so he could stretch out. Dark brown pants, with a pair of bright orange “X”s on each sides of the ends, covered his bottom, while a dark orange under-armor covered his top. Strapped around his waist was a brown band, with a small fanny pack attached. His marked shoulder was free to be seen by the world, as he cracked his neck, his long ponytail, whipping with the movement. “Ugh, you know, it seems like the longer the distance, the more nauseous I get.” He responded. Moondancer nodded her head, as she finished writing something down, before looking back at him. Around her neck was a necklace, of black beads, and a black cross made of metal, that glinted in the light. “Hey mind if I leave a clone with you, to explain the rest?? I gotta get something to Celestia.” The Changeling Monarch stated, causing Moondancer to pause for a moment, before she nodded. “Yeah, it’s no problem. Plus, I know how swamped Princess Celestia can get, before the day’s lunch hour hits.” He grinned, before using a hand to ruffle her mane. She giggled at the action before a puff of smoke later, found her sitting with the clone of her “Master”. She grinned up at him. “So, tell me about…” And the questions broke forth. ~TCL~ He stood before the two grand doors, with his eyes closed. The next moment he opened them, before opening the entrance. All those inside, simply looked on, as the changeling came inside. Out of the 8 figures in the room, one smiled brightly, as she caught sight of him. “Ah, Grand Spymaster,” she always liked noting that glint that seemed to pass his eyes, when she said this. “I think I’d be right to assume that your work is finished.” She saw him nod before, a small poof of smoke later, he presented her with a key shape object. Bowing as he did so, he responded. “As always, Princess Celestia. One magical artifact of the Great Mage Melorbrook, to add to the collection, the Key to Duality.” A glow enveloped the object, and brought it to the Sun goddess’s fingers. Her digits trailing the surface of it, she stood from her throne, and tasked the Royal Advisory to gather their opinions for her return. “Come along, Spymaster. Tell me of your mission, personally.” She stated, as she walked to the back of the throne room, Naruto following after. Reaching a wall near the back, her horn shimmered, before they both disappeared in a blink of light. ~TCL~ “Ahahahahha!” She couldn’t help it. She loved hearing the stories the blonde would tell of his adventures to the temples. “It’s true! Man if I didn’t already know about Daring Do, I’d be flipping my lid. I’ve been doing this for a while now. Who’d have thought that some of those fictional books were actual adventures!” Naruto exclaimed, as he and Celestia stood in front of the Artifact Vault. The alicorn’s horn glowed before a large conical construct was formed in front of her, and was inserted into the hole in the middle of the vault door. There was a series of interchanging clicks, and clacks, before it opened up, showing the prizes within. Idols, statues, wands, rings and other trinkets, decorated the inside. Pedestals, with magical codes casted onto them for safekeeping. Others had motion-detecting spells formed around them, while some of the magical items had magic-draining implements in place. Moving through the familiar scenery, the duo of monarch and princess.walked to a free space, next to a contorting mass of cloth. Naruto watched on, as the sun goddess’s horn glowed, before that same glow traveled down to her hoof, and she stomped once. From the ground arose another pedestal like the others, before she set the key in place upon it, and it floated, before becoming inanimate. Sbe raised a finger, before using it to mark the pedestal. Intertwining spires of magic shot from the ground, before coming together to clasp around the object, before hardening, and becoming chains. She nodded her head once, and the two ventured back out of the vault. As they left the vault, the door automatically closing behind them. Throwing his arms behind his head, the blonde changeling’s lips tilted into curious smile. “I still don’t get it, why do we keep the Element’s of Harmony in a second vault? I mean, they’re just like the rest of the artifacts, no? They just had a good use.” Celestia hummed for a moment, before responding. “I’ve told you of my prophetic dreams, have I not?” He closed his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. The world’s in for a slew of other problems, that only the Elements can be used for. Which I’m still calling bullshit on by the way. You don’t have the full picture, but get vague dates, or weeks, yeah? But we both know that it’s not always telling you everything, otherwise, you’d have known about me coming here.” Her lips set to a small frown, as she tried to phrase it in a way the bi-horned individual would understand. The blonde was right in some instances, because she’d never know about his interdimensional travels to Equestria. Him having told her, a couple years back, and showing her his “human form” form when he was a teen. “Not every problem can be punched in the face, Naruto.” She said. “That’s just because you haven’t tried hard enough Celly.” He responded, with a cheeky smile, that made her have to fight the smile that came to her lips. The years had done well for their relationship, overall, and Celestia wouldn’t give it up for the world. She’d been lonely since her sister’s imprisonment, and welcomed the change that had come in the recent decade. With her sister now back though, she was happier than ever, and it showed. “Be that as it may, how do you think we would have beat Discord?” He blinked at that, before grumbling, as the two stood. “Special exception.” He mumbled, but she knew she’d won, so Celestia grinned. “Speaking of the Elements, where’s Princess Luna?” He asked, to which Celestia’s grin grew just an inch wider, and his face grew hot as his eyebrow twitched. “Oh sleeping. She’s getting back into things still, and needs to fix her schedule. As long as she doesn’t find more couples in her sheets...” He was offended, and pointed at the trying-to-look-innocent Celestia whose grin could not remain hidden. “You set me up, dammit!” She wagged her finger at him. “Naruto...No, of course I wouldn’t. I can’t control the acts depravity that goes on behind closed doors. I’m a princess, not a mind reader.” There was never a day, where she wouldn’t try and get him. He burned a bright blue. “...Ghrk!” She loved the reactions she could get out of him. “But you are adults, grown pony and changeling, how you conduct yourselves in your private time, is something I don’t keep track of.” She said it all eloquently, but that only seemed to cause the transdimensional shinobi’s eyebrow to tick. “YOU…!” He pointed dramatically at her, before he stalled for his words. The next moment, saw him grumbling. Celestia smiled in victory. “Oh come now, Naruto!” She pat him patronizingly on the back, and the twitching grew two-fold. “Things are fine, Luna forgives you… Probably.” She finished uncertain, and leaving Naruto to bury his face into his hands. “Ugh! Whatever, I still can’t believe that I missed the whole “Nightmare Moon” thing. Seriously, I’m in frozen mountains, and that happens?! That’s some bulshit!” He swore to himself, he wasn’t going to miss something as outrageous as that again. Celestia could see in his face, and felt a smile spread across her own. She knew he was still annoyed by the recent event from half a year ago with Discord. “Worry not, I’m sure you’ll be here for the next big thing to happen.” She sounded way too happy while saying that, causing him to raise an eyebrow. “Though I’m still kind of sad you couldn’t make it to the Grand Galloping Gala last year.” He looked at her, before shrugging his shoulders. “Not much to say to that. I was vacationing with the family. I mean Shining and Cadance were with us, that’s why they weren’t here for it either.” She pouted at this, and crossed her own arms in a slight huff. She’d been lucky that Twilight and her friends could liven up the whole thing. Normally she’d have relied on Naruto for that, but alas, it wasn’t to be. She honestly wanted to see everypony screaming as they ran away from the talking ice sculpture again. ‘Oh phooey.’ She felt a pat to her shoulder, and looked to see Naruto giving her a simple smile. He understood, but there was nothing they could do. From what he heard, Twilight’s friends gave her enough excitement that night. “Come on, it’s cool. Besides I’ll definitely be coming to the one this year, can’t leave you all alone now can I?” They grinned at one another. “Plus, I seriously need to meet Twilight’s friends. Like, I don’t know what kind of luck I have, that I’ve yet to see them.” It was beyond strange, really. He’d been seeing Spike every other week, at the minimum. Then again, when it came to him and Dinky, they had that whole Partner Seal thing going on. The duo of Dinky and Amethyst moved to Ponyville a year ago, Amethyst deciding that she wanted to spread her metaphorical wings, and Dinky went along, because Spike. Seriously, if the monarch didn’t already know the young dragon was dating his sorta-daughter, he’d have been suspicious. Speaking of children… He reached into his fanny pack, and pulled from it a photo. Looking over his shoulder, Celestia smiled at the picture in his hand. It was photo of his “family”. Those related to him, and not, at his son’s third birthday party. The photo showed a picture of a panicking Shining, as he ran from a determined looking Cadance. The two were passing Amethyst, Golden, and Spike on the couch. The three laughing at the running pair, with cake in their hands. Off to the side, Derpy could be seen coming into the room, where with a bemused expression, bless her soul, as she carried a large present with her father. Twilight Velvet seemed to be cheering Cadance on, if that shining look in her eyes was anything to go by. Night Light simply looked on, as he On a nearby table, was Twilight, with Dinky, both trying to steady a smaller being for the shot, as a little “colt” sat ramming his face full of cake, as he stared at the camera. The “colt” was a dark grey in color, with a head full of vibrant red spikes. On his back sat a pair of feathery little wings, with a membrane-like pattern running across the edges. Heterochromatic yellow and blue eyes, stared at him, as he smiled down at the picture. His little boy, Gallant Jiraiya Hooves. Named after his late, Great-grand godfather. He honestly wondered what the little bundle of chaos was doing right now. ~TCL~ Derpy Hooves watched on, as that little blur of moved out of the corner of her eye, as her other looked to her in the same direction, but more towards the upper direction. “Come on honey~” She crouched low, as she caught movement from behind the second couch in the living room. Dressed in her lavender sweats, and pale yellow tank top, she looked side to side. In her ears, were a set of black, cross shaped earrings, that she was tempted to tap the side of. They’d long since furnished the place with more furniture. The two ceiling fans up above her twirling, and creating slight shadows in the well lit room. There was a corner with a small bookcase in it, to keep her and her husband’s literature of interest. Shadow she knew how to use. She sent a slip tap towards the direction of her writing desk. Ears perked, as she listened. She felt the magic in her swirl,a s her wings flutter slightly, spreading the energy to the right side of the couch near the windows. She had to be steady, and slow. Otherwise, he’d be tipped off to her plans. “Come on out, you know we’ve played this song and dance before.” “Muy Libewties will stway! Uh-oh!” She heard his declaration, and couldn’t keep the smile off her face. ‘Just like his father.’ She looked to the large projector screen that was down by the triplet of windows. She’d heard him over there, but if she was right… She had to fight the urge to look in the direction of what could only be the world’s most obvious moth. That was adorned in a myriad of colors, so eye-catching, that it’d be the hardest thing in the room to not pay attention to. She kept it in the slight corner of her eyes, before she smiled. “Oh well, I guess he must be in the other rooms. Better go check~” She said in a faux defeated tone, before she briskly walked out of the room. She entered the kitchen before counting to one, and a slightly loud thunderclap echoed from the living room. “AAAiiieieeieWeee!” That was her cue. She quickly tapped the side of her earrings, and disappeared from the kitchen. She locked her sights on a small figure that seemed to have just jumped in fright, from a small roaming cloud, that was light grey in color. She sped towards the small airborne being, before wrapping her arms around him. “Gotcha!” “Nwwooooooo!” She proceeded to administer punishment. “No! No-heheheh- no! Mwercy! Mwercy!” Hearing him squeal, as she used her fingers to catch him under the armpits, she decided it was enough. Simply holding onto him, she looked down at the membrane-mane redhead child. “Now what did we learn about avoiding baths.” She admonished, as the small colt in her grasp looked up at her with. Wide, quivering red and yellow eyes looked at her. “Mommy?” She gave him a smile, before she twitched a wing across his nose, causing him to sneeze. Out of his hands was a bottle of eyedrops. Both looking at the tear-implements, the small child pouted. “But I don’t wanna!” She simply started snuggling the little bundle of fur and mischief, before standing up with her baby under arm. “Now don’t be like that. Don’t you want to be like your papa?” He crossed his arms in a huff. “Daddy doesn’t have to bawth. Uncle Spike doesn’t when he’s hewe.” The small colt complained, in his adorable lisp, nearly causing his mother to smother him. “You’re so adorable! My baby Gallant!” His face burned a bright red. “But you’re wrong. Your god father Spike, does bathe. I should know, him and your big sis Dinky used to all the time when they were young. As for your father, I know he does.” “How?” Gallant J. Hooves asked, as he looked up at his mom. She tucked an errant red bang away from his head. “Because he knows mommy doesn’t like it when he’s dirty, and smelly. It makes cuddling very hard.” Here Gallant could understand wholeheartedly. Mom hugs were awesome. Seeing her little stallion being complacent, she raised a finger, and popped the cloud she’d made like a balloon, before walking to the bathroom. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ All squeaky clean a half an hour later, both Mother and son laid down on the couch. Both dressed in a white shirt, and light blue (Derpy), and grey(Gallant), shorts, with the son all snuggled up in his mom’s bosom. “Hmmm,” The little changeling-pony hybrid yawned, smacking his lips together. “Mom when is daddy coming howme?” Derpy stared at the small colt, before she stared at her left hand, where a gold banded ring lay situated. Encased on the top of the ring was a deep purple gem. Staring at it for a moment, she ran her inner magic through the symbol of her matrimony. The next moment, it shone with a decently lit glow, which had her smiling/ Right before it glowed significantly brighter. She stared for a moment, before she smiled even wider. “Gallant?” The small child looked up at her, those bright red and yellow eyes filled with curiosity, “Why don’t you close your eyes for a second, can you do that honey?” The hybrid wasn’t sure why his mom would want him to do that, but he did as he was told. “Now I’m going to count to three, and then you can open your eyes! Okay?” He nodded his head. “One…” He listened, as his mother’s soothing voice reached his ears. “Two…” He wasn’t sure why, but why did it feel like the room got more crowded? “Three...Open them up, Jiraiya.” His eyes snapped open wide, at the sound of the very familiar voice. Red-yellow, met a pair of blues, and Naruto didn’t have to wait long, before a missile, of fur and happiness, found itself buried against his chest. “Daddy!” The small colt hugged his father for all he was worth, as the larger changeling hugged back with just as much intensity. “What’s up my little stallion? I hope you’ve been doing your best to keep mommy happy.” He felt the child, his kid, nod his head against his chest. Looking over to Derpy, he felt his eyes soften even further. Her own did as well, as she got up from the couch, and gave him a quick kiss to the lips. From his neck hung a cord, which was strung through a golden band with a cerulean gem at its top. “I’m home, honey.” “Welcome home, Naruto.” ~TCL~ He held onto his marefriend, now fiance, as they cuddled up on their couch. He’d come a long way, as he looked over at the wall of their living room, and saw the Captain’s Plaque, on the wall. Underneath on a pedestal was a helmet, that signified his status. That was one of the greatest moments of his life, only topped by Cadance becoming his marefriend and, recently, her accepting his proposal to be his wife. He felt Cady snuggle into his embrace, as they watched some random comedy movie. “Hmmm, Shiny?” He looked down at his soon-to-be wife, and grinned. “Yeah?” She pushed up from him, and looked him in the eyes. “When should we set the date?” She questioned, causing him to tilt his head for a moment. Currently, he was on three month leave from the RG for some good ol’ R&R. It was so he could destress, spend time with Cadance and pitch the question. Yet, now that he did, he guess he really should think about when the wedding should be. If he was being honest, he’d have preferred to have it be before he went back on active duty. He’d like to enjoy the “honeymoon phase” for a bit, before going back to work. “I’m honestly not sure. If anything, I’d like for us to have it in the next month.” The pink alicorn’s eyes burned bright, as she heard his words, before she giggled relentlessly. “OH! We could have it at the castle!” He looked over at her in shock. “Your aunt would let us?” She buffed her fingernails against her own bosom. “Oh Shiny,” she began, and he smiled at her. “Of course she would! Aunt Celestia would LOVE to be the one to do our ceremony. If anything, after Naruto and Derpy got married, she’s been itching for the day we would.” Possibly even more than they were. Aunt Celestia really wanted some grandkids running around. Blueblood wasn’t exactly doing a good job of making that happen any time soon, either. Shining Armor looked slightly pensive. Mi Amore Cadenza stared at her fiancee, and gave him a soft smile. “It’ll be perfect. It’ll be a nice ceremony, auntie will marry us, Naruto will be your best stallion, while I can have Derpy my bridesmaid and Spike will be our Ring-bearer. I can recall several of Twilight’s friends that might want to be our flower girls. Dinky and Gallant could even give me away at our wedding!” He nodded through it all, expression relaxing, before he started to laugh near the end. “Alright, alright, we can have it at the palace. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?” He said, before kissing his soon-to-be wife. Leaning into the show of affection, she enjoyed it for the moment, before separating from her beloved. “And we could also tell them the other good news.” She stated, as she rubbed her hand over her stomach. Shining never felt more proud. ~TCL~ They’d moved from the field to the back of the Golden Oaks Library. The event going on between three of them, getting the others roped up into watching in curiosity. “Come on Rainbow, you can do better than that!” “Ah reckon she could, but Ah don’t think she’s going to beat us anytime.” “Grrr, shut-up you two! Get back to counting squirts.” Twilight looked on in amusement, as she, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, watched their three other friends try to outdo one another. “Come on Dash! You can do it! 58!” “Ah honestly can’t believe that Spike’s beating both of you guys. He doesn’t even look tired! 64!” “Maybe it has to do with his dragon side? 67!” And from the back of each of the “contestants”, came commentary. On the ground were Spike, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, each of whom were in push-up position. On the back Spike was Sweetie Belle, while Apple Bloom sat on her own sister’s back, with Rainbow being the one with Scootaloo. Needless to say, that the prism-separated maned mare wasn’t happy with the results. “Ugh! Come on!” Rainbow pushed, arms burning something fierce, as she heard Scootaloo shout out a “60!” Sweat decorating her form, the weather captain had seen better days. Applejack pushed up another time, a grin on her face, as she heard Bloom call out a “68”. Her own form less sweaty than her pony friend’s. “Come on guys, I’m almost at 100! You just gonna let some little dragon tell beat you!” Spike couldn’t help it, but boast, as he came up for another time. Sweetie’s call of “72” had him smirking the whole way, as he was the least sweaty of the trio. “Argh! Spike I’m gonna race you into the ground for this! Just you watch!” “I’m enjoying where I am right now, thank you!” Twilight couldn’t help, but to chuckle, as she watched on. Hard to believe this started off, as a simple punishment. ______________________________________________________________________________ Twilight looked on at him in disbelief, as he looked anywhere else but her. The others were just as shocked. They’d honestly never knew, which made this all the more shocking. Twilight wasn’t having this. “Get into push-up position, Wyrm!” Spike’s body seem to run on auto-pilot, as he disappeared from the grips of the others, and was already in form before she finished the last word. His wings partially spread out. Nodding at this, she proceeded to sit on him. “Dammit, this is going exactly where I think this is going, isn’t it?” He questioned, only to have his adopted sister looking down at him. “One Hundred for your transition against the sibling treaty!” He made a face, before he say her reaching a glowing digit down towards his Black Cross. He was moving before she even got halfway. “1!” “I want you counting louder!” “2!” The others just looked on flabbergasted. “Uh… huh.” Rarity. “Oh my…” Fluttershy. “She’s got him whipped!” CMC. “Heheh. You got that right!” Pinkie. “Darn, Ah’ve never seen somepony that quick to act, besides my brother when he’s gettin’ told off by granny.” Applejack. “Hahahha! Enjoying the ground Spike!” Rainbow. Spike had a few choice words about that. “Oh, I’m sorry Rainbow. I didn’t realize this looked too hard to you. But we can’t all be as strong as I am, so I completely understand- OW!” He stopped mid-push-up, to throw some shade, before being thwacked by a paper fan via his sister. They ignored the “Excuse me?!” they heard from their colorful pegasus friend. “I didn’t say you could STOP, Spike! Let this be a lesson to you! Never try and hide things from family! I’m going to find out.” He had opinions. “Blasphemy! Down with the oppressor! Ah!” She hit him once more. “You made this up when you were ten, smart flank!” He cursed under his breath. Hindsight was a female dog, as they say. “Wait a minute, you got something to say to me Spike?!” They forgot about Rainbow. The duo of pony and dragon looked at the Element of Loyalty, as she sat there with her eyebrow twitching, arms crossed in irritation. Spike smirked. ______________________________________________________________________________ And here they were. Applejack joined in, because she found the competitive scene too good to pass up. All three of them were in the same push-up position, when they started. “And this is the last twenty!” Came Applejack’s shout, as she continued. “Argh!” Rainbow pushed on,a s Scootaloo announced a “74”, in tandem. “Come no Spike, 15 more to go!” The dragon could hear Sweetie Belle at his back, and he looked over to the mares at his side. Yes, he’d come a long way under Naruto, and Shining. Workouts like this were easy now, in comparison to what he did in the beginning, and he was all the happier for it. Even with the gravity turned down from the 3.5 he had to the 2.5 now, he was still outpacing them. Applejack, not by much, but Rainbow he was pretty much beating out of the water. That said, he still had one more card to play. Twilight and company, could only watch as the sole male of the group switched from two-handed, to one-handed push-ups, continuing with the same pacing he originally had. Sweetie Belle, being the good helper that she was, adjusted herself, before holding onto the limb. Obviously there was some reactions. “Well Ah’ll be.” Applejack. “Bull! Ah!” Rainbow. “Rainbow’s really not liking that.” Pinkie. “That’s impossible!” Scootaloo. “Spike you sure about that?” Apple Bloom. “Not to be rude, but is he going to be okay, Twilight?” Rarity. “He’ll be fine. He’s done worse.” Twilight. “Ten more Spike!” Sweetie Belle. Fluttershy merely looked on, in concern. “Argh, dammit!” Rainbow chose that moment to collapse at the 85 mark, taking deep breaths, as Scootaloo quickly swung off her. “And done!” Out came the dual calls of Applejack and Spike, as they finished the last push up. Both the fillies on their backs quickly getting off. Applejack got to her knees, before falling backwards to sit on the ground. Spike on the other hand, stood up, and stretched his back. Looking over at the others, he grinned a cheeky grin. “And that class, is why we don’t bet against a dragon. Any questions?” He leered down at Rainbow Dash, who gave him the sourest look possible, as Applejack merely laughed. “Alright, alright Ah getcha, Yer built tough. Now Ah know why you come around to help with the harvest every now and then.” The farm mare supplied, causing the dragon teen to laugh. “I was always told, that sometimes everything can be training. So why not help a friend, AND get some training in? It’s a win-win for me!” He pushed out his chest, hands on his hips. Having seen enough, Twilight walked over. Alright, everypony! I think that’s enough for today. Besides, Spike,” he looked over at her. “I believe you have a date with a certain unicorn, in about… an hour?” His eyes went wide, before he dashed into the library. “Why didn’t you tell me?!” ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ They were all back inside, with Twilight offering both Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, the use of amenities of the library. “That’s right. As soon as me and Spike came, and moved in, we had to call in some construction workers.” Twilight explained, as she and her three friends sat at the table in the middle of the living room. The Cutie Mark Crusaders currently weren’t in the room, probably somewhere near where Spike was. She hoped they listened, and stay the innocent ponies, she hoped they were. Any funny business in her home, was not to be tolerated. “I see, there probably wasn’t much room for both of you to have your space. Oh, dear you should have told us. We’d have been fine helping out, and giving one of you somewhere to sleep.” Rarity, ever the generous one, offered. Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded their heads, though due though due to their own living conditions, they might not have been able to do much. “Yuppers! While I don’t think the Cakes have anymore space, I’m sure I know a few ponies who wouldn’t mind Spike as a roommate.” The baker stated, as she turned in her seat. Fluttershy simply smiled, but nodded her head. “I’m sure I could give up some space, if that’s okay.” “Guys I told you, it’s fine.” The librarian said, as she finished her cup of tea, Spike made apparently before going to take his shower. Just then, the quartet heard a pair of hooves coming down the steps, revealing Applejack with a towel around her shoulders. Wearing a pair of sweatpants, and a white dress shirt. “Thanks fer the bath Twilight. I’ll be sure to bring back the shirt and pants.” Twilight chuckled. “No problem.” “Where’s Spike anyway? Ah figured he’d been up and about already. Unless he left.” The older of the two occupants of the library shook her head, and turned to the direction of a staircase leading to a lower floor. Seriously, what was he doing? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ If somepony ever said that he’d have more girls in his room than just Dinky, he’d say… That they were probably right. It was bound to happen with how skewed the gender ratio was in Equestria. That said, if somepony said he’d have that, and he would be half-naked, well he might be a bit more skeptical, and call that guy crazy. Turns out, he might need to apologize to that imaginary person. “Girls please, can I just get dressed in peace?” He pleaded, as he currently rifled through his drawers, searching for a shirt to go along with the dark grey cargos he wore. “We just wanted to see your room. I mean, it’s not like you haven’t seen ours.” Sweetie said, as he looked at her with a flat expression. The unicorn filly was situated on his bed, staring at his back. “Last I checked, I wasn’t in the room when you were mid-change.” The male explained, as he pulled out a black tank-top. “Oh come on, what’s a little skin between friends?” Scootaloo supplied from his side, staring at his wings. Her arms crossed, as she stared at one of the peculiar scars along the wing’s edge. “Oh sure, why don’t you invite me over next time, when you just get done bathing. See how quickly your parents kick me out, Scoots.” He rebuked her, only for her to grin. “Sure, we can make a date out of it.” He felt his eyebrow begin ticking, as he threw both the tank-top, and a mesh top on the bed, before he dove back into his wardrobe for more tops. He stepped away from the dresser, before going to his closet, and rifling through its depths. “Come on y’all, don’t be messin’ with Spike like that. Besides, he already gotta special somepony.” He sighed, as he listened to the lone piece of sanity in the room. Well, he would call her that, were it not for the fact that she was going through his stuff. “Bloom I appreciate the help, but would you please stop touching my gear! That’s not a play thing. Scootaloo, don’t make jokes like that. Dinky’s already had to deal with a couple of fillies like that, since she came to Ponyville.” He said, causing the pegasus to blink. “She does? Who?” She questioned, as Applejack’s little sister stepped away from the sharpening kit he had in the corner of the room, whistling an innocent tune that nobody in the room believed.. “A couple of your classmates, actually. Lily Longstocks, Twist… Silver Spoon.” The admissions caused the three to gawk at him. “Wait, wait, what? Silver Spoon? As in Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon? When the hay did this happen?” Sweetie and Bloom looked over in interest, as Spike sighed. He pulled away from the closet, bringing a jacket vest with him, that was dark blue in color. “Believe it or not, this started happening sometime around after the whole Nightmare Moon incident. I kind of helped them out, when I came late. Remember? I didn’t come with Twilight originally to Ponyville.” He began to put on the tank-top. They watched as he slid it on, the muscled form of one of their male companions being shown off, as he struggled slightly to get the cloth over his wings. They were growing girls after all, and hormones were a thing, as much s they didn’t understand them. Scootaloo watched this “show”for a little bit, before she went over, and helped him. He muttered a quick thanks, as she did, and shivered when her finger touched a sensitive spot on his wing ridge. He quickly shoved on the mesh shirt, having her help again, and he shivered once more. He turned his head to look at her, but all she did was grin at him, causing him to deadpan. “Anyway… Yeah, and Dinky’s not exactly fond of the whole “intrusion on her dragon”.” He grinned, as he finally put on the vest. Walking over to a mirror, he looked at himself, before turning around and presenting himself to the others. “How do I look girls?” He flexed his wings out a little bit, before they went back to rest against his back. All three of them sitting on his bed, they each made a square with their fingers, turning them every which way, before throwing him a thumbs up. “Looking good!” Scootaloo. “It looks good Spike.” Sweetie Belle. “It’s nice, though why are ya asking us anyway? You probably been on how many dates this past year.” Apple Bloom. He shrugged. “It’s never wrong to want a second opinion.” That done, he moved over to his dresser, before prepping some cologne. “And done. Good job, Spike. Real good.” He self-praised, ignoring the giggles coming from the corner of the room. “I’m good, and ready to go!” ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ When Spike finally appeared from the depths of the tree home, with the Crusaders in tow, those at the table were the full set of the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow Dash looked up at the coming teenagers/pre-teens. “Well if it isn’t the dragon of the hour! So Spike, what’s on the agenda for your date today, hmm?” Rainbow laid it all out on the table, pun not intended, and everypony was paying a decidedly large amount of interest. The dragon felt his eyebrow begin to tick once more. “Okay, one, I’m just going to do what we normally do. It’s kind of like a date/hanging out.” He could hear the whine from Rarity’s part of the table, and chuckled. “I don’t know what you guys were expecting. Dinky doesn’t expect any grand, or anything. We’ve been friends since we were kids.” He shrugged. “Ooh! Ohhh, oooh, ooh!” He stared at the frantically waving pink hand. “Uuhh, yeah Pinkie?” “Well~ Why don’t you tell us when you guys started dating?!” She asked, and the others began to nod their heads in unison, before they all turned their heads to him. He rolled his eyes. “We’ve known each other for years. I know her “dad”, and well, we just decided to try it out. We were best friends, and figured, “why not?”.” He shrugged his shoulders once more. “There isn’t some magically reason to it. We knew each other, we dated and we’ve been dating ever since a year ago.” His point said, he walked over to the kitchen area, got a large cake from its depths, and set it on the table. “Eat it with the tea.” Seeing Twilight’s empty cup, he nodded. “There’s more tea on the stove. Now if you’ll excuse me.” He quickly dipped back into the fridge, bringing out a basket of some sort, before he walked to the front door. “At least now I don’t have to lie to Twilight anymore, about going over to hang with Snips and Snails.” He took several steps towards the front door, before he froze, and realized that he’d just said that outloud. He didn’t doubt that that slapping sound of paper against wood, was a certain fan. He was out the door before she could get a word out, edgewise. “300 PUSH-UPS!” ~TCL~ He walked on, mind running over his to-do list for the day. “I guess we will just find something random to do today. Her letter wasn’t exactly picky.” Spike mumbled, as he walked through Ponyville proper, idly waving at some ponies he recognized. Ponyville was a pretty nice place, regardless of the insanity that went on seemingly every other week. A small rural town, it was nice and lacking of the rambunctious noise of Manehattan. Spike had long since gotten used to Manehattan, so even now, a year later, the quietness of Ponyville was just weird to him. Getting to Ponyville Square, he looked at the few stands around, taking notice of a few produce ones, and thinking about whether he’d be able to get some stuff after his date session. ‘Maybe, but more likely than not, I’m gonna have to come back another day. Dinky is kind of a cuddler.’ And she’d not be letting go for a while, not that he minded. Taking his attention away from the stands, he looked at the large board in the middle of the marketplace. A few moments later, he was viewing some of the requests, and tapped his chin. “Still no monster requests.” He whispered, but that was not surprising to him. Before today, anything even close to monster/Everfree/etc related, was seemingly delegated to his older pony companions. No one knew of the power he, or Dinky, held. If one ever wondered, why nopony knew, well… Spike was sure it had to do with the fact that he and Dinky didn’t want to. About a couple months in, after just starting their relationship, Dinky had proposed that they not show off what they could do. Nopony knowing what they could do, was better in the long run, mostly so they didn’t get hounded by the others ponies in their age range. Thinking back to the Crusaders’ reactions, he’d have to say that she was right. That was just the Crusaders at the time, but he knew them, and they knew how to, at the very least, not go into his privacy 24/7. The other kids though, would probably pop up in his dates, and things would get frustrating at that point. He stopped thinking for a moment, and blinked as he looked skyward. Noticing the placement of his mother’s sun, he went wide eyed. ‘I’m late!’ He panicked for a moment, wondering before deciding that running to Dinky’s house was obviously the best choice. As he was about to, he took a single moment for thought. So right, the cat was out of the bag, when it came to his friends. For as long as he, and Dinky, had been dating they’d had that self-imposed rule. So with everything out, could he just do things his way? Or more, the Naruto way? ‘...Screw it.’ He looked to the rooftops, and leaped, before landing on stone tiling. He brought the magic within himself to the surface, his hands glowing, before he tapped on a corner of the wrist bangle. The next moment, the dragon teen was bouncing from house to house, with a burst of speed, the likes of which nopony knew of. He’d been honest with Rainbow. He was a faster “Runner”, than he was a flyer. ~TCL~ She looked at her mirror, inspecting the visage that stared back at her. “Maybe a little more crazy…” She muttered, her horn glowing, as she grabbed a bit of styling gel from an adjacent dresser. She kept her eyes straight ahead at her reflection, golden irises taking in the just-breaking-into-adulthood body. A slender form covered by a form-fitting black top, and just-as-fitting grey shorts that came to her knees, she finished it off with a red camisole. Around this mare-to-be’s wrists, were a pair of gold bangles, whereas her neck bore a dark necklace with a black, metal cross at its center. Her mane was pale yellow, just like her big sister’s, and long, almost like her brother-in-law’s. Taking the gel in hand, she scooped out a good amount, before she ran her hands into her mane. Several furious motions later, she pulled her hands away, and stared at her mane. The top portion, down to the nape of her neck, had a sort of feather, spiky quality. The tresses leading down her back looking slightly like somepony had wrestled with them. She grinned her reflection. Pointing a fist at the mirror, pointer finger and thumb extended, she spoke. “Bang! You’re a knockout.” She heard giggling from behind her, and turned to see her sister there. “Enjoying ourselves, a little bit sis?” Amethyst Star jokingly asked, as she walked towards the youngest of Rolling Barrel’s children. Dinky pouted slightly, as her sister took the messy strands going down her back, before using a rubber band to about the three-quarters mark. Taking a stray brush, she finished off, by brushing a few of the longer strings of mane, before showing Dinky to her reflection. Looking at it for a few moments, Dinky chuckled, before hugging her sister. “Thanks again, sis! Now, for the last touch.” A quick motion of her magic later, and there were two bottles of perfume in her hand. Watching Dinky picking between the two, Amethyst couldn’t help, but smile in pride. That little filly from 5 years ago, was growing into a beautiful little mare. Looking around the room, she saw a couple of books, as well as paper with writing on them. On one of the few stray papers around the room, she saw the words “Apprentice Application” with a large stamp on the upper corner. ‘Moondancer is going to have her hands full, when Dinky comes on up.’ The middle fo three thought, before turning her head back in her sister’s direction. Dinky seemed to have chosen between the two scents, and decidedly finished. “Okay, now, knowing Spike...” She stared at her left hand, for a moment. On the back of it was a large six-sided gem, inside of which was a trio of arrows that pointed in three directions. Focusing on the hand, a red sigil appeared, overlaying her Cutie Mark, before it shone a dim glow. “Okay, I think he’s running a little bit late, but he’s going to be here soon. Thanks for the help Amethyst, I’m gonna wait outside.” With her piece said, she left her room. The older, unicorn mare shrugged, before she left as well, but not before turning off the light in the room. ~Part 1 End~