Practice Makes Perfect
Cimmerian had just left for the day, off to take part in the ceremony. Pandinus lounged lazily on her bed, the odd habits of the ponies still flitting through her mind. She'd had a bit of fun despite the circumstances, and even managed to play with the stallion's wings a bit, learning a few more sensitive points for later use. Now if only she could both get Zelus to try such things on the alicorn, and get Cimmerian to agree to rut the other queen into a quivering pile of happiness.
It was harder than she anticipated. Zelus seemed to think that the male's acceptance of Din entitled her to the same, and Cimmerian was still held up on that odd preference for a single partner. The single partner thing still didn't make sense to her. If it was a natural prerogative to want to breed and continue the bloodline, then wouldn't several females be considered a good thing? It meant more offspring would be created, right?
But instead Cimmerian was tense around the second queen ever since their apparent mistake. How was she to know swapping out with another queen wasn't acceptable? He said he only wanted one mate, and she didn't make him mate with Zelus, the other queen was just feeling the sensations. It was Pandinus' body that was being bred.
At least she'd learned a few more things about ponies today. Cimmerian was a bit iffy on them as well, but he seemed more malleable when the new white alicorn was around. Tia always seemed to be on her side of most arguments, perhaps she could get the mare to help her convince Cimmerian to accept the position of proto queen breeder? Oh, that would be amazing, an entire generation of queens fathered by an alicorn, the most powerful of the tribes. She'd thought of trying to get him to also breed the daughters, thereby boosting the potency even more, but according to the pony memories she had access to such a thing was taboo. Her curiosity about why eventually turned up the fact that consistent inbreeding between close relations often led to birth defects, genetic issues, and a general drop in quality of the offspring.
'That won't work, which means we need to find a way to increase the number of alicorn stallions in the future.'
Pandinus looked to her barrel, the pregnancy now showing in what would normally be a horrific case of internal parasites that would set her panicking. If not for Gleam's constant reassurance and the images of pregnant mares Cadance and Sapphire had seen, she'd likely still be panicking. Her lower barrel was beginning to inflate a bit, the soft plates of her chitin bending and shifting easily.
She sighed in irritation. Zelus was going to have to avoid the stallion in this capacity for the foreseeable future. Her chitin plating wouldn't have nearly as much give as Din's did. That would likely end up being very painful for the larger mare, and thus she'd need to go through a focused molt before she was able to safely breed with the male.
'I've never been happier that I went with the minimal plating than when I found out what I'll look like by the end of this mess. At least it will boost Cimmerian's connection to me even more, according to Cadance."
Din was drawn from her thoughts by the door swinging open, a softly smiling Zelus walking in and approaching the bed.
"Well, it took a bit of time, but I managed it. I should be ready to lay by tomorrow evening."
"You didn't use any female forms that are here did you? Sapphire was mentioning that it may cause issues amongst the ponies if they think a mare was receptive to mating when they aren't," Din explained, drawing a shake of Zelus' head.
"I didn't, I used an old disguise from a long while ago," Zelus offered in response. "I'm fairly certain the mare's dead, so there's no issue with a stallion running into her again. At the very least, they wouldn't recognize her."
The smaller queen nodded, sending a quick command out to the hive. Two minutes later, several drones walked into the room with a collection of towels, brushes, and a bucket of warm water. Zelus looked curiously at the items as the drones left, giving her hive-sister an asking look. Pandinus merely took the utensils in her aura and brought them over to her bed before rising.
"I thought we might use this time to practice what we learned today," the younger queen ordered. "I also wish to try something, a changeling alternative to brushing. Lay down on the bed."
Zelus did so, watching curiously as the queen wrung out a wet rag and began wiping the warm cloth over her hive-sister's chitin.
"That...that feels kind of nice. I like it," Zelus said, relaxing under the ministrations. Din smiled, running the rag up and down the plates of the other queen, making sure to pay special attention to all the areas she knew were likely to catch dirt and debris. Her own chitin did the same thing and like Celestia had said about preening, knowing the problems faced by your own form directly translated into how well you could care for another.
After wiping down nearly every available surface, Din nearly burst into a fit of giggles when she noticed Zelus was dozing off, nearly falling asleep at the contact with the warm washcloth. She gave the lethargic mare a playful nip on the flank to wake her up, then traded off, taking her own place on the bed as Zelus carefully soaked a new cloth for her hive-sister. The process was repeated, this time with Pandinus being the target of the pampering.
"Couldn't we use the drones for this? I mean, some of them have the time to spare," Zelus asked as she ran the rag over the smaller queen's leathery skin. The much smaller amount of chitin covering the other queen's body meant that Zelus was having to rinse the towel a lot more, as there seemed to be more grime attaching itself to Din's hide than anywhere else.
Pandinus hummed contentedly for a few seconds before answering.
"We could, but it would defeat the purpose. Besides, the free time is time they spend strengthening their bonds with the ponies and griffons. I know it may not seem like much, but it does help. The amount of emotion we've needed to pull from Cimmerian is steadily dropping. Added to the fact that several changelings are attempting to merge with some of the herds in the Temple, and we may be able to survive even in a worst case scenario; that of Cimmerian's death."
"You've gotten awfully interested in making certain the hive could continue without us. Alright, done. What next?" Zelus asked, tossing the dirty rag onto the one Din had used on her.
"Now we try brushing," Din answered, levitating a brush over to the pair and motioning Zelus to take a spot on the middle of the bed. Once the larger queen was shape shifted and on the bed, Din continued.
"I want you to take that alicorn form you had earlier, and we're going to use a full connection. I want to compare sensations. You've been an actual alicorn, so you know the sensations a bit better than I do. You'll go first."
A second wave of fire washed over Zelus as she attempted to recreate the exact body she had been trapped in due to the poison joke. She was a bit apprehensive about such a thing as she knew it led to all kinds of other problems, but she wasn't going to be stuck in the new body this time.
Pandinus carefully ran the brush over her sister, making note of the sensations and making changes to her own form accordingly. She stopped just under the wings as the other queen burst into giggles, an familiar sensation flooding their shared sense of touch.
"He's ticklish under the wings? Oh, I'm filing that away for later! Where else?"
So the experience continued, the two queens trading notes and learning a few tricks about brushing that would be put to use later. At long last though the two arrived at the part Zelus was dreading.
"You do know that if we do this too many times, Cimmerian's not going to be able to fly," Zelus chimed in. "I'm going to pull out too many feathers."
"Come on, it's not that bad. Besides, this time you'll feel how hard you're pulling and know when to stop. I'll go first to show you the amount of force you should be using," Din explained, both queens preparing for the preening practice. It didn't take long for Din to once more run across a few sensations that struck her as strange.
"What is, whoa! That's what he felt when I did that earlier?" Din asked as the queens both gasped. The smaller queen had accidentally hit a sensitive point on the other mare's wings once more, discovering the warm echo it left in both their bodies. Curious, Pandinus began working on the area specifically, attempting to find the full range of contact the point was receptive to.
"S-stop it, we're supposed to be, we're supposed to be practicing," Zelus moaned, her wings tensing up.
"I am practicing. I need to know what will make Cimmerian feel good. This is very important information to have, Zelus. I would think you'd be more than happy to help. Maybe we can even get him to, hmm reward us later?" the smaller queen said, her hum buzzing against her hive-sister's wings. Zelus squeaked at the pleasure running through her body, but the second she tried to move away Pandinus was making her move.
"What's the rush, Zelly? We've plenty of time before Cimmerian returns for the night, and we're far from done. There's just so much more to learn!"
<-(0)->
Cimmerian strode into the Temple in a sleepy daze. The ceremony had gone on for a long time and while he felt for the lost and the ones who had been lost, it was still a very, very long ceremony, especially at the end. He'd been up in the air for nearly an hour with Buster on his back. It wasn't anything he couldn't handle, but it had just gotten so tedious, especially when he'd have to flap his large wings to keep himself in the air. He'd nearly hit several griffons or pegasi a few times when he'd started to lose altitude.
Opening the door to his room, he blinked a few times as he ran into a figurative wall of scents.
Both queens were sprawled on the bed, though Zelus seemed to have had the worst of it. Pandinus was still awake and aware, though barely, and looking to him with a mischievous grin on her face from her position on her hive-sister's barrel. Both queens were holding tightly to one another, leaving no guess as to what the two had been up to while he was gone.
"I don't know why I'm surprised," Cimmerian muttered to the queen. "You're the worst when it comes to sex, and I suppose it was only a matter of time before you went after Zelus now that she's in this little family."
Walking up to the bed, he sighed and levitated both queens while changing the sheets. At Din's irritated huff, he rolled his eyes.
"I'm not sleeping in a mess I didn't make. How long did you torment her, anyway?"
Din snickered weakly as she nuzzled her hive-sister.
"Not very long. We could only go for a little bit before we used up my extra bottle of love. We were practicing the things Tia taught us when I found out just how sensitive your wings are. Zelus was letting me copy the sensations, so I think I've managed to make my alicorn form a bit more natural. It should react the way a normal alicorn would now, I even added the ticklish spots."
Nodding, Cimmerian crawled onto the bed, chuckling as the insensate form of Zelus reacted to his warmth by shifting to get closer. Din just snuggled closer to Zelus, enjoying being in contact with both of her mates, and the three were soon fast asleep. Or in Zelus' case, passed out.
<-(0)->
There was no early morning wake up call this time. Cimmerian later learned that Celestia had tried waking them, but a few well-placed drones and some liberally applied changeling mucus left the mare glued to the wall and unable to bother them until Gleam came by around eleven o'clock. The white mare was struggling in her bonds, staring at the queens with outrage in her eyes as she mumbled threats and general hatred through the gel currently keeping her muzzle shut.
"I think I have an idea," Cimmerian muttered to the queens, getting the attention of both mares. "I want you to bind her wings and legs, then detach her from the wall."
Pandinus did so quickly, applying the new bonds as Zelus removed the paste keeping her stuck to the wall. Din held the still-struggling alicorn in her aura and allowed her mate to take Tia. Cimmerian just grinned at Celestia, grabbing her and trotting off merrily while the two large shape shifters following curiously.
Cimmerian trotted through the halls with a smile on his face, greeting the residents and acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary despite the confused looks he was receiving. Finally reaching his destination, the stallion threw open the door and walked into the nursery.
"Hey guys, I have something for you. Aunty Tia here isn't feeling well, and she needs lots of hugs to make her strong again. You guys think you can do that for me, and keep her warm?" the stallion asked the gathered children.
He was answered with a resounding cheer, the kids all bouncing around happily even as Celestia thrashed in her bindings. With a final laugh, he chucked the mare into the sea of happy children, watching as the white alicorn disappeared under the wave of cute.
"That was interesting. I'd never have thought of such a distraction," Din stated as Zelus watched curiously from the doorway. The roiling sea of bodies gave way to a single white hoof for a moment, Gem or Adamant taking off the bindings so they could get a better angle for their hugs and allowing the mare to flail a bit more. After that the hoof slowly sunk back into the crowd, never to be seen again.
"A tear is shed for those who were lost," Cimmerian recited, pressing a hoof over his barrel in mock respect. Din followed suit, giggling a bit as she sense the quick flash of irritation from Celestia before it gave way to happiness.
"Okay, any idea what's on the agenda today, Din?"
"First order of business is lunch. Both forms," the mare said, placing a simple kiss on the stallions cheek.
Cimmerian grinned, wrapping his hooves around the mare and affectionately nuzzling her before planting a kiss on her nose.
"I'm happy to help. We can continue this in the dining hall though. Come on."
The three left the happy shouts of children and soon were making their way along the buffet lines, Cimmerian and Pandinus piling up their plates while Zelus was grabbing a few cookies. The three took their place at a table all beside each other, with one queen on each side of the alicorn. Din began almost immediately to ravenously tear into her meal, only stopping with her teeth halfway into a fillet after Cimmerian hit her with a burst of irritation. She turned to him with a piece of fish still hanging from her muzzle before choking out a laugh.
"Didn't Thrisha teach you about eating properly?" Cimmerian asked the messy queen.
"She did, but I'm hungry and this tastes really good," Din answered, giving Zelus a quick glance.
Before Cimmerian could ask what they were planning, the other queen pulled his head to face her, licking the splatter of fish off of his face.
"Huh. She was right, it does taste pretty good," Zelus commented, her ears perking up a moment later.
"That tasted pretty nice too."
Cimmerian whipped around and scowled at Pandinus.
"You planned that."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she answered, her smile only furthering his suspicion. It was either a smile of amusement, or a smile of a successful plot. With Din it was hard to tell sometimes.
As the stallion was turning back to his meal, Zelus spoke up again.
"She said yesterday I need to earn the affection, that I can't just expect to get as much as she does because you've agreed to try things our way. Please accept my, my apologies for not understanding how pony emotions work. This is new to me."
"Accept her apology, Cimmerian. You know how much we queens don't like admitting we're wrong," Din whispered into his ear, poking him with a hoof.
"Fine, but I still find this weird," Cimmerian said dismissively. "I don't mind it too much Zelus, it just...surprised me a bit is all. It's something I expect from Din but not you."
"So it's something I should do more often?" Zelus asked in genuine curiosity.
While Cimmerian was staring off at the far wall, a flash of irritation washing over him, Din leaned forward to look at her hive-sister.
"Speak to Cadance about things ponies do with their mates. It helped me a lot and I'm certain it will help you. Just be sure to tell her it's for him, as he doesn't like all the things most stallions do. Oh, and if you find he's angry at you, just display yourself to him. That tends to distract him."
"Din!"
The accused changeling giggled at his roiling emotions, giving him a long kiss and moving closer to his side while pulling a wing over her back. Sighing in defeat, the dark alicorn continued working on his meal, stealing a few bits from Pandinus' plate in retribution as well as a cookie from Zelus. To his surprise the armored shape shifter hissed in anger, only stopping when Din bopped her on the head with a spoon.
"Stealing food is a major offense with how strained the hives were for resources, Cimmerian. I know you didn't mean it, but as you do know Zelus is still living by many of the old ways. She likely didn't even notice your amusement," Din explained before turning to the other queen, likely giving her an entire explanation via the link.
After waiting for the mares to return to their meals, he shot Din a question.
"Anything planned for today?"
"I'm headed to the infirmary for a checkup," she answered. "Gleam says pregnant mares receive them often during any pregnancies that are not normal, and this qualifies. We've even found a decent doctor that will be helping- oh, hang on."
Both Cimmerian and Zelus watched the smaller mare cock her head in curiosity as she communicated with a distant drone for a few seconds. Afterwards she nodded before turning to her mate.
"There's an airship on the way. It stopped in Zarris, but it's making it's way to Shadow Talon for now. We may need to allow it to land in the airfield while this storm passes by."
"The thestrals?" Cimmerian asked, receiving a nod from Pandinus. He smiled in response.
"I'll go with you for your little check up, I'm curious how it's going as well. After that I'll head to Shadow Talon to greet them. Then, as much as I'm going to regret it, I'm Gleam's for the rest of the day. She told me last night that there's a ton of stuff I need to catch up on after my trip."
"Well, Zelus can go with you to Shadow Talon, and I'll get started with Gleam," Pandinus offered, Zelus looking at her in curiosity.
"I don't like wandering around ponies I don't know like this, Zelus. It makes me feel vulnerable. I'm not putting my hatchlings in a situation where they could end up in danger, no matter how small the chance."
Their schedule made up for the day, the three turned to finish their meals. Or extract it via cuddling, in Pandinus' case.
<-(0)->
The medical room looked much more full than the last time Cimmerian had been there, both in terms of staff, supplies, and after the raid, patients. About half the beds were occupied, though most were for injuries that were far from fatal. To his surprise, Cimmerian spotted a pink mane among the crowd.
Pinkie was sleeping deeply on the bed, not even twitching as the crowds moved around her. A single caretaker, a griffon medic, came by and checked her chart before looking back to the alicorn.
"I was going to send for you sir, but since you're here you can take care of this. A few of the changelings want to pod her if she's going to be out for much longer. She's been sleeping almost constantly since her little spurt of energy upon arrival. Talking to Celestia brought up a case for mental exhaustion, so an induced coma in the pods may give her time to recover in peace."
"Have you told her friends about this?" Cimmerian asked the griffon.
"Fluttershy,"he said, motioning to the Pegasus two beds down "was fine with it, as she's come to know the local changelings enough to understand their goals. It also helps that she spent a day in a pod herself to help prevent scarring from the attack she suffered. The unicorn helps during the night shift here, and she's fine with the pods. The other two we haven't been able to contact. The blue Pegasus has been pretty belligerent with the changelings and we've kicked her out of the infirmary while the orange mare is busy in the fields. She's sent a few baskets of various fruits for the staff and her friends, but otherwise we've only seen her here her once or twice. She's pretty content to let us do our job."
"I think it would be fine," Din chimed in as she walked by, stopping on her trip to a large bed towards the back. "The pod will allow her to be cared for on a more long term basis and they wont have to awaken her for food or water. The pod will sustain her."
Cimmerian nodded.
"Fine, do what you need to. I'll see if I can speak to her in her dreams tonight and let her know what's going on. That way there's no panicking on her part once she wakes up."
Walking past the prohibitively pooped pink party pony, he stopped once more as his mate wandered off without him.
"How are you feeling, 'Shy?"
"Oh, much better. Thank you," the butter-yellow pegasus answered. "It's been, well, very scary but everypo-er everyone has just been so kind to us."
"Glad to hear that. I know it's a bit weird, but listen to the guards about the animals for now, okay? You're not full strength yet, and even then the animals are different. We have some books and scrolls on the local fauna upstairs if you're interested. I'm sure someone can grab you some reading material in the meantime," Cimmerian offered.
"Um, actually I've already asked. I've read two or three of the books already. T-thank you for the offer though," the mare apologized with an embarrassed blush.
Cimmerian nodded, giving the yellow pony a sad smile.
"I know things are bad for you girls right now and you're out of your elements. Trust me when I say I know the feeling all too well. But if we do manage to free Twilight from the Nightmare, she's going to need support. So you heal up and keep your friends safe for her sake, alright? She's going to need you and you wont do her or your other friends any good if you get torn up by wild animals. Don't go off into the woods again until your certain you can handle the local fauna. I'll show you something later, there's a healing spring where you can safely play with anything that comes near it."
"If, if you have a healing spring nearby, why not use the water for the ponies here? I mean for the injured, um, residents?"
"Because if you try to remove water from the spring, everything nearby gets angry, even the birds," the stallion explained. "I'm not turning the jungle against the Temple, and I don't think it's wise to carry the injured through the forest. The spring is nice, but it's use is limited. It also doesn't reset bones or replenish blood.
"Get some rest, 'Shy, and if you see Dash, Rarity or AJ, send them to the war room. I'd like to speak with them as well."
The animal caretaker nodded before pulling a book out from under her left wing.
Cimmerian made the rest of the trip to the back of the room in silence, smiling and greeting a few of the injured as well as their caretakers on the way. He even helped a unicorn power a healing spell, though the effect was apparently in the acceleration of healing. Spells that would actually heal the damage before one's eyes were considered master-level healing spells.
"It's about time you're here, she's already started," Din grumped from her bed as Gleam and a second mare went over her body and their notes. The second mare, a blue unicorn with a white mane, was currently comparing notes with Gleam, a frown spreading across her muzzle as she poked at Din's baby bump. At his cough, the unicorn jumped with a squeak.
"S-sorry sir, I'm Soft Touch. I'm in from Zarris for a weekly checkup for your mate. Normally I wouldn't be making such a trip, but since your people are providing the transportation, the port's hospital felt they could spare the time.
The mare giggled nervously
"It doesn't hurt that your hive here has helped them deal with cuts and scrapes much faster with the pods and the changeling medic you sent them. My assistance was considered a small price to pay for that."
"What's got you upset about Pandinus' pregnancy, though?" Cimmerian asked while waving a hoof at the lounging queen.
"Um, the records state that she's only been pregnant about two months, and yet she's showing signs of being at least three months along. Maybe four," Soft Touch explained while flipping through her notes. "I understand she's a different species, but it's been a bit frustrating trying to plan accordingly. I'd like to get her to an actual hospital to get this information officially recorded, but that's just not possible out here. That, and I don't think she'd react well to such a public location in her current state."
"We've got three distinct hearbeats, confirming the fact that she's expecting triplets, we've also got scanning spells that show three masses in her womb. The thing is, one is smaller than the other two, while the third, I don't know, I think it's a changeling. The spells act weird when they run into chitin."
"My proto queen. I hope," Din added sleepily.
"Um, yes. That's a possibility. Queen Pandinus has told me she's beginning to feel wisps of emotion from the other two, while the third is starting to pull emotion from her. Her caloric intake is almost exactly what I'd expect from a mare expecting twins if we take into account the fact that she doesn't normally eat. Maybe a bit on the high end, but I don't think it's possible that she'll get fat from it."
Soft touch took a deep breath after her rambling explanation. She looked at the queen one last time before looking back to the stallion.
"I'm sorry if it's I come across as a bit flustered. I've been working with pregnancies and foals for almost five years now, and I've never run into a case that laughed in the face of everything I knew. I've just been feeling a bit, inadequate I suppose."
"You're doing fine. It has been a strange experience for everyone, not just yourself, Touch," Din reassured the mare. "Have I not accepted all of your recommendations for foods and allowed you access to my barrel like you requested?"
"Only after freaking out the first time she got close to you," Gleam muttered from her place near the unicorn.
"Hush you!" Pandinus shot back "Oh, and since I haven't spoken to you lately, congratulations are in order. I take it Shadow finally accepted your offer of being mates?"
As Gleam turned from a pink unicorn to a sputtering red unicorn, Din just giggled as she laid her head on her crossed hooves.
"Oh come now, every changeling in the Temple can taste when ponies consummate their love. We of course don't say anything as some of you get weird about it but that doesn't mean we don't know. If you need anything done though, like a nice dinner set up on the beach, I'm certain I could find a few changelings to set it up and even a few more to guard you during the outing. It wouldn't do for one of our most important ponies to be eaten while bonding with her mate."
Gleam stared long and hard at the queen before turning to grin viciously at Cimmerian.
"Keep teaching her about dating and caring for one's herd. It's good for everyone."
"Thank you for your help, Soft Touch," Cimmerian said to the unicorn as Gleam and Pandinus began chatting amicably. "This strangeness has left me a bit worried. If you need anything that I can get ahold of, just let me know. I owe you big for keeping her healthy."
"It's her job, Cimmerian. Now we should get going, the airship will be arriving shortly," Zelus cut in, nudging the alicorn with her shoulder.
Cimmerian smiled warmly at the unicorn. "Just because it's someone's job doesn't mean it hurts to hear a compliment, right?"
The mare nodded, waving as the two walked off to see to the newest additions to the Temple. Cimmerian trotted alongside Zelus for a while, soon emerging from the Temple and turning to the armored queen.
"We still haven't had a new name decided on for the Temple of the Shadows, have we?"
Zelus was silent for a moment, likely asking around or just asking Din before shaking her head. With a growl of frustration, Cimmerian spread his wings and stretched them, preparing for the journey.
"Ask her if El Dorado is fine. Means The Golden in English, or Equestrian. Whatever the case may be. Everyone keeps saying Temple, and that's the first thing that comes to mind. I'm sick of calling it the Temple, or the Temple of the Shadows. It sounds too generic and like a place a bad guy would live, and no one here will get the reference anyway."
"I will." Zelus answered, giving the stallion a confused look before spreading her own wings and following after him.
As Zelus followed the stallion to the port, she caught a strange sound on the wind. It took her a moment to realize he was humming. Soon the humming became louder, until he was outright singing. It was a strange song, but it was calming and peaceful.
"Through sunshine and shadow, from darkness 'til noon...
Over mountains that reach from the sky to the moon.
A man with a dream that will never let go,
Keep searching to find, El Dorado..."
She giggled as he continued his strange tune. It wasn't the first time she'd heard him singing songs from his home, but it was something only she was listening to at the moment, something that was for her ears only. So she hummed along, doing her best to memorize the words. She would keep them to herself. As Din had suggested, it would be something the two of them shared. Something that only Zelus and Cimmerian knew.
Such sharing was important according to the other queen. It would get her access to the love she sought.
Zelus' smile fell into a scowl as she followed the stallion, his happiness a beacon in the midday light over the leafy jungles. It was so much work, so much more than what she'd ever put forth and focused on a single male. All of this focus and energy had better be worth it, or she'd-
"Come on, Zelus, we're almost there, and the first group should have my stuff from Silver City! Ah, I can't wait to get a Christmas tree set up!" The stallion said in excitement, picking up the pace and leaving the queen in a daze.
The sheer joy that had begun to radiate from him when he'd remembered that silly enchanted acorn had been focused on her for a moment, leaving her eyes glazed with a white tint. She was directly connected with his memories of the aforementioned seed. His happiness had leaked over to her, blasting the unprepared queen with an emotion that nearly reached the levels of what she'd drank from Din's stash of love. Perhaps Pandinus was on to something, then. The emotions a changeling could receive from a willing host would always be stronger than what could be stored for later use in gel form.
'I, I guess I'm okay with working a little harder for it,' she thought to herself, shaking off the wave of emotion before letting off a drunken giggle. Yes, nothing wrong with putting a bit more effort into it if the rewards were so high. Or tasted so good. Or left her feeling fuzzy inside. He was fuzzy too, maybe she could feel both later?
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Awesome update right when I was looking for something to read.
El Dorado is a good name for it. Can't help but think of the John Wayne movie of the same name.
This was a very nice chapter, but I worry what is really on the airship.
6943525 try now
6945000 wrong el Dorado. I liked it, granted, but the John Wayne one is much better.
6945019 That's what I linked at the end in the authors note. I love that song, and have often listened to it. That, and North to Alaska.
Aw Yiss. More. This shit is the dankest. (I'm so sorry)
The chapter was great. I laughed very hard when Celestia was hog tied and used as a diversion to deal with the foals and how confused Pan is about Cimmerian's costumes (him not wanting to have multiple mates despite being the logical thing to do to propagate the species, him being iffy about incest until she learned why), among other things, particularly Cimmerian's annoyed reaction when he found Pan and Zelus in bed. Thanks for the chapter, also it seems that Zelus is falling hard for Cimmerian given her last scene with him.
Wait... what did Celestia do to deserve that "thrown into a pile of foals hogtied" thing? Did I miss a previous prank? It couldn't have been from just coming to wake him up in the morning, right...?
And, gotta say, I'm glad the Mane Six are brought up again. I was starting to wonder if they hadn't been transferred somewhere else or fallen unconscious due to more injuries. It's a bit like Cadence all over again. Extremely important character of the past rescued, then fades into the background. It's... weird. I dunno, there's just those conflicting interests. Sure, the OCs are all pretty good, but after spending so long planning for their return, it's weird how little we get to see them. So, yeah, hoping this is a sign of more of these mares in the future.
Oh, and El Dorado? it grows on you surprisingly fast. Cute ending with the holiday spirit too.
Wait a second, did Zelus sleep with another stallion? Does Cim know that? Because will it could be argued that polygeny is natural instinct to some degree (spreading of genes and all that) but allowing another male to sleep with what's now one of his mates is most definitely not. Even if he says he's fine with it right now, I can't imagine that it wouldn't cause long term problems. That would go against not just his cultural sensibilities but also against his most base instincts. Of course it's entirely possible that was not what you meant and Zelus was doing something completely innocent that I forgot about. It's just the talk about eggs right afterwards that makes me nervous.
El Dorado means the golden one, not just the golden.
6945251 yes she did sleep around and Cim does know, he agreed during the PanZel mind meld, since zelus needs to lay, and they don't want to risk another pregnancy like Pan's.
Getting to know you, getting to know all about you...
Getting to know you, getting to know you like me.
That was running through my head the whole 1st half of this chapter.
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Oh whoa, first time i'v seen you in the comments section! Well, in a story that's not yours that is.
People; Read this person's stories, they're great!
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Especially dragging an unwilling ex--human into communal family bathing and preening lessons before he is fully awake to object.
in the previous chapter, Tia was mentioned as being a relentlessly "Morning Person" (naturally) more than once since her arrival, coming in and getting them up.
The trio are most definitely NOT "Morning People".
Those who are in the NOT category will take drastic steps at being constantly rousted before they are darned good and ready to join the living...
I... I'm sorry I just can't the whole love triangle or whatever it should be called is just too much I love everything else the setting the characters the conflict it's just this damn changling "relationship" that is driving this story down real hard I get that he is compromising it's just that I didn't want him to basically just accept too easily in my eyes I'm sorry Reykan this is bugging me way to much.
I don't think she would be technically wrong....
Ah, I forgot the nitpicks!
sensed
its way
I'm afraid that "after the raid", being a parenthetical phrase, needs two commas instead of just one:
staff, supplies, and, after the raid, patients.
Think of the commas as being parentheses or dashes, which are also acceptable:
staff, supplies, and (after the raid) patients.
"Fluttershy," he (space)
down, "was (comma)
won't
you're
its
heartbeats
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As a literal translation, no, el dorado is just "the golden", not "the golden one".
However, El Dorado with regard to the mythological place is a shortened form of El Hombre Dorado, El Indio Dorado, or El Rey Dorado. (The Golden Man/Indian/King.) The myth of El Dorado has its roots in a ceremony of the Muisca native people of Colombia, in which the supplicant would be covered in gold dust and throw a bunch of gold into the lake as an offering to Chiminigagua.
6945640 that's probably something I should have known as a descendant of the conquistadors and all. My Spanish sucks though, haven't spoken it fluently in probably 20 years.
6945047 Son of bitch! You beat me to it!
...
That was my favourite movie when I was little.
...
I should track down a copy for my niece...
El Dorado is a decent choice, I suppose. Just seems a bit... sudden. Wonder how everyone will react. "Hey, when are we leaving for.... wait, what? They changed the name? What? When? I didn't suggest that!"
this is gonna get awkward real quick.
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Nice placement of a decent song.
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Got fern gully? that is another good one.
This song is so awesome.
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A glorious city, was built by the divinities, by gods. Who saw fit, to bestow. The gift of a paradise, peaceful and harmonious upon us mere mortals below. And made El Dorado the magnificent, and golden, 1000 years ago. El Dorado, El Dorado, El Doraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaado.
sounds like the alternate version of the season 1 intro. Maybe make a sequel set 1000 years after all of this goes down.
I've finally managed to pin down in words what this story feels like. Its like a strange combination of a game of Civilization V, a D&D campaign, and a dating simulator with alien expansion pack. And Cimmerian's playing all of them at once with no manual.
HAAA
Frankly, I figured a good name would be Par Concursus.
All you young'ins. Ya gots the wrong El Dorado movie.
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She's just not using the right techniques. If she's as crafty as the world's oldest alicorn should be, you'd think Celestia would have moved on to chemical warfare against the anti-morning trio-- coffee, peppermint... coffee with peppermint in it?
I do wish Luna was here and not captured, she'd be the perfect foil against morning ponies. Or at least offer suggestions on how to deal with Celestia's penchant for getting up at the asscrack of dawn and waking everyone else too like some... some horned rooster! (Ok, that was a very strange mental picture)
6945711 ...meh.
Fern Gully was my sister's thing.
I stuck to more like Atlantis: the Lost Empire, The Road to El Dorado and Hercules style of animated films.
You know, historical and mythological.
My sister was always more...fantasy. Fern Gully, Little Mermaid, so on.
The torturous part was that she's my OLDER sister.
Celestia thrown to the kids reminds me of Kenneth Williams in Carry On Screaming.
Frying Tonight.
As for the name and the song? Wish Id hav written up that short when I origionally thought of it a couple year back, about Fluttershy and The Giant Golden Condor.
The Road To Eldorado Leads To
6945561 I agree with the 'love' triangle dragging thr story down if only because it is incredibly and overtly unhealthing for Cim. Cimmerian is a relatively normal person. With normal person needs but Din and Zelus are high functioning sociopaths that he is teaching how to ACT like loving mates. That is the core of the problem, he wants a lover who is withhim through thick and thin and they want a very valuable resource and the moment he stops being valuable they are gone. That is why the whole addiction trit comes from, some half assed reason for why they wouldn't just abandon him the moment it is advantageous.
He deserves better than both of them.
Oooohhh.. THAT El Dorado. Heh,
Aww, I liked 'Temple'. Had a nice, succinct feel along with the inbuilt mysteriousness aspect. El Dorado seems a bit clunky and contrived, Imo. The sudden name change is a bit weird anyway, been calling it Temple this long...
Tia getting thrown to the kids is one of the funnier things I've read on this site.
She deserves it!
John Wayne reference. You don't see enough of those any more. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
6945773 Greetings from Nightmare, Queen and High Ruler of Equestria. Our words are backed with NUCLEAR CHANGELINGS.
s3media.247sports.com/Uploads/Assets/928/206/3206928.jpg
Didn't they all just take a bath?
I wouldn't be surprised if Cimmer just up and left, he is very stuck on the monogamous thing. Also, monogamy seems to be in certain biology when children are born in small batches. More energy needs to be put into keeping the one child alive.
Cimmer is dealing with this very well compared to his reaction only just a day in the past.
And El Dorado doesn't?
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Neither he nor his needs are normal - not any more, anyway. The queens ARE learning, though, and Din at least is doing things that I consider sweet, in her own, alien way of thought. If I of all people can understand (believe you me, I am NOT a social person) maybe Cim can tell something else is up?
EL DORADO
THE MAGNIFICENT
AND GOLDEN
6946007 You pretty much nailed it.
They are being taught how to act. Constantly they are speaking about "How can we make him the happiest in order to extract the most emotion?"
Then they are converting his thoughts. He has explicitly stated he is monogamous, but they are pushing for "Hey how can we convince him to fuck us. Not because of the bonds we share but really because we want more queens and emotion."
There was no consideration about the two non-changeling foals. The first main thought from Dim was the proto-queen.
"OH BUT THEY ARE CHANGELINGS" Fuck. That. Din has only suffered in terms of character development since Zelus has been brought on. It has got to the point where I am almost skimming over their parts because they are now one-note characters. "How can we get more?"
I used to defend the author but now... now I see what people have been talking about for the last few chapters. Now that we know that the Changeling Mind Swap is a thing I am calling this now.
During the final battle, Zeus or Din will Changeling Swap with an extremely injured Cim.
Great chapter as always! May I ask if you have a specifik upload schedule?
It's Zelda, right? The reference, I mean.
>inb4 It's tough to be a god.
Very nice chapter.
So the foals are going to be two Alicorns and a Proto-Queen? I pity the babysitters...
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Never really liked power armor, i liked swimming too much. Didn't stop me from owning a dozen suits of X-01 power armor though.
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Sssh, its okay. There is a reason the fic has no romance tags.
6945119 The funny thing is, she's not falling for him. She's just coming around to understand why Din is so adamant about working with him. Zelus sees him as a resource, and while Din does as well, the latter is also learning that it's a very delicate situation she's working with. Din is getting very attached to the creature that helped her and is willing to keep helping her, so she wants to help him back. That means going through this shit to understand his wants and needs better.
6945419 Changelings do feel emotions, but it's just in a very different way. They don't exude them like other creatures, it's instead very concentrated and held within their own bodies. That's why Din was able to find her own, she just had to clear out the noise. Like finding salt in sea water by boiling away the water.
6945654 it's not even what it's going to be called. Cimmerian's just tired of calling it The Temple, so he's going to start throwing names at the wall to see what sticks. It's a first attempt, and I don't know if I like it. I'm just trying things out. Din's not going to like it XD
6945836 I know, right? they keep posting that new one. Not that I don't like the cartoon one, but I specifically had Cimmerian singing the cowboy movie one's lyrics. Ride, boldly ride, till you find El Dorado.
6947027 I don't really. I just write when I'm not working or playing games. That means I'm going to be writing some more in a little bit.
6947132 WHY IS EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT THAT ONE?!? I EVEN USED THE LYRICS FROM THE OTHER MOVIE!
6947826 Another way of looking at it is she's terrified. It all makes sense, but it's just too much too fast for her to adapt. Not everyone is going to be able to adapt to a new situation, and with Zelus walking out into the sunlight like that, willing to accept another queens orders? That's scary. What's even scarier is how much energy such a transformation would have cost Din. It would be enough love to fuel the drones of a small hive for a long time. Din is moving away from desperately scrounging for food, and Lestidae doesn't understand it. She's just not ready for that kind of transition.
6946659 nice job, the only thing you didn't mention was the radial disarm that Ted was popping off every now and again. Currently MR 19 in-game, PC version. good to see another fan of the game.
6948165 Someone had a definition of murderize. I think it was to make a single living thing into many non-living things.
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Nevermind. It wasn't linked in the next chapter so i didn't have to randomly break down crying.
And I'm caught up. Now I can focus on things other than constantly reading this fic every waking moment, and get back to sleeping normal hours. I greatly look forward to the bat ponies again! I bet they will have a different opinion on him now that they see he was correct.
I don't really like El Dorado. It's not really bond well with the temple or the area surrounding it. It would be more a Celestia kind of place rather than a dark alicorn like Tuna.
Better names would be Shadowspire, Ebony Hold, Black Temple. Something that makes it Cimmerian's seat of power, not something golden. That's more for Celestia.