Chapter 32 - Shine on, you crazy batpony
After the announcement, Ledger’s extended group headed for the square in front of the palace, where the Crystal Heart was located. High above them, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was preparing her speech.
“To my beloved citizens!” she called out with a magically amplified voice. “I thank you for another wonderful Fair. You have shown just how loving and beautiful our Empire is. And to everypony that has graced us on this fine day. I hope that you have enjoyed yourselves.”
The Heart was slowly rotating and began to glow as all the Crystal Ponies closed their eyes and smiled widely. Scope and Ledger suddenly shuddered, the love in the air was so thick it felt like they could drown in it.
“Geh! I think now would be a good time to raise those shields of ours Ledger,” Scope muttered from her place on his back.
“Yup,” Ledger agreed as he flared his horn only slightly. Stronger and more lasting illusions and transformations weren’t hard to do, but shielding themselves from love? They’d only researched it after…
Heh. After the wedding. A thought crossed his mind, and he changed from the spell he was going to do...to a spell that he’d only had cause to really use once before. A thin, silvery bubble flashed into being around the pair of ‘lings. “Done. But I’d reinforce your disguise just in case my plan didn’t work.”
“Already on it. The amount of love in the air? I could teleport us all the way home I think.” She closed her eyes as her body shimmered slightly. The Heart begun to spin faster and then a massive flash covered the crowd, out-of-towners letting out surprised gasps as the light dimmed...and a stunning aurora filled the sky.
“Okay, that’s impressive,” Ledger admitted, thankful that he’d not more directly felt that pulse. It was like a tidal wave of pure love had washed over them. Something like that tended to dispel illusions. Probably had something to do with love being blind and not lying...
“Urgh!” Scope clung to his back as her body rippled. Her horn flashed and with a loud ‘pop’, she was gone.
‘Can’t...keep my form up...hiding for now...’
‘Remind me to teach you my magical insulation spell later,’ Ledger sighed. ‘It looks like it only works for one at the time.’ Still, since the Heart had asked earlier, he watched the entire ceremony, grateful for the non-combat use of Emotional Insulation.
But with Cider and Midnight, it was a whole other story. When the light had washed over them, it had a rather profound effect on the Thestral.
Notably, a rather fetching crystal coat.
Now, the Crystal Thestral was hugging her marefriend from behind, giving her a fanged grin.
“Well now,” Midnight purred as she nipped at Cider’s neck. “Is this an interesting turn of events~”
Ledger grinned as he knew what the two most likely responses would be to Cider seeing a sparkly thestral~ He then realized he would need to adjust his glamor spell so that he appeared to be sparkly for...however long the effect lasted. ‘I don’t suppose you could have warned me ahead of time? I’m about to stick out like a sore hoof!’ he idly ‘thought’ at the glowing artifact.
“I FEEL AMAZING!!!~” The Heart sang in his head as it spun and glowed brightly. The stunning aurora could be seen all across Equestria.
As for Apple Cider. The mare took one look at her sparkly marefriend...and fainted, her face bright red.
“Oh come on!” Midnight cried above the cheers of the crowd. The distraction was enough for Ledger to quickly - and shakily - come up with a ‘crystallized’ version of his own disguise. Mostly because he’d just watched how that pulse affected the other ponies. And hopefully nopony would ask why his reaction was delayed...but between watching the light show and admiring their own appearances, nopony said anything.
“This concludes our Crystal Fair,” Cadence called out. “Thank you once again, for helping keep our fair Empire safe and happy. And while the main event is concluded, we still have much to do and see. Be safe and happy everypony!”
The crowd cheered as Midnight dragged Cider over to Ledger.
“You have got to be kidding me,” she groaned. “I can’t believe she fainted...and why the buck am I shiny?”
“Don’t ask me,” Ledger said as he moved to help. “But I know why she fainted. Cadence probably saw that blush.”
“I swear to Celestia, Ledger,” Midnight growled. “You had better not say it. Or I will guarantee that your future meals will require a straw to eat.”
“I would never!” Ledger said with as much sincerity as he could muster. So not much. And he also kept to himself how he was thinking of now looking into applying glamor to others. Specifically for this reason.
Hives, he had come a long way. Previously when he saw a new spell or effect, he either ignored it or disassembled it for useful innovations. Things like a spell his Orange stepdad used to help simulate real sunlight in their underground farm had been...refined into his heat beam. Or like that spellbook of rather lewd spells, he’d been taking apart for similar reasons as well.
Now he just wanted to make these mares happy. Somewhere his life had gone very much differently, and the reason was probably Midnight.
“Why don’t I believe you?” she sighed as she looked up at the aurora. The rainbow light filtered down, giving the Thestral an otherworldly glow. All she was missing was a horn for the effect to be complete. “It’s beautiful, huh?”
“Not as beautiful as the mares I’m sharing it with. It would be pretty without you, yes...but with you, the picture is complete.” For some reason that was the first, honest thought to cross his mouth without going through any of the filters on his brain.
...Yeah, she’d been having an effect on him. They all had.
“Flatterer,” Midnight blushed. Even her manestyle had changed from the effect. Her platinum blonde locks shimmered like gold as it was put up into a long braid. Stunning blue sapphires were woven into each knot and her tail had gotten the same treatment, only it had a beautiful white silk ribbon wrapped around it.
Cider’s hair was done up in a bun, a ruby broach holding it in place as her tail was more flared out, looking thicker and more luscious. Ledger pouted as he looked at his rather simple disguise before shooting half a glare at the Heart again.
“Seriously, it’s like you’re trying to annoy me at every possible moment regarding this. It’s either put up shields and miss out on all the fun effects, or lower them and let everypony know there’s a bug in the city.”
‘As your snarky friend just discovered, you’ll have a little surprise when you revert to normal,’ Heart explained, Ledger could almost feel it’s smirk. ‘You didn’t block the effect, even an Alicorn can’t do that. You’re simply hiding it.’
‘...why do I fear for my life now?’ Ledger whimpered. “Okay, so I think we should go pick up Scope,” Ledger said aloud as he looked at Midnight and the slowly-stirring Cider. “She didn’t take too well to being so bombarded. I had a trick and it worked. She’s...I don’t know where, actually,” the unicorn said as he put a hoof to his chin. “Might be hard to find her-”
‘LEDGER? HOTEL! NOW!!!’ Scope’s voice was filled with more than a little surprise, shock...and fear?
“She’s at the hotel,” Ledger said. “You two good? I think she wants me there right now.”
“Yeah, let’s go,” Midnight nodded as she put Cider over her back. “I really hope this effect doesn’t last long...”
‘HURRY UP!!!’
‘Keep your shell on! We have a passed-out Cider!’ Ledger all but screamed back. “Okay, I need a pair of earmuffs. For my brain. Oh, there’s an idea.” Even as he was walking, his mind was whirling. Emotional Insulation might be adaptable to whatever Hive-whatever spell that Scope would show him. Mental insulation! For pesky nymphs!
‘Okay...okayokayokayokay! Just...really freaking out here!’ Even as her voice sounded in his head, it had a strange duality to it, like two Scope’s talking at once. It seemed to have some kind of underlying buzz to it.
‘I couldn’t tell,’ Ledger said as he rolled his eyes. They turned onto the right street and began the long, slow plod back. ‘Seriously, it was just a wave of love. Whatever happened can’t be too bad. By definition. The fact that you’re still around to talk is testament to that!’
‘Just...Hives this is weird-OW!’
‘Are you okay?!’ the disguised ‘ling thought before his steps had a noticeable increase in speed. ‘Scope?’
‘Ahh, yeah...just bumped my horn on the doorframe. Just...GAH! You’re too slow. Stand still!’ Before the stallion could respond, a sphere of azure light surrounded him and his two mares, the scenery shifted and he found himself staring at the interior of his hotel room.
“Dammit Scope! Warn us before you do that!” Ledger reeled a little from the disorientation, but growing up with a little Pink sister had helped him acclimate to weird things. Like finding out that she could apparently exert enough magical force to find whatever she was looking for, no matter where it actually was.
He still didn’t know how she did it, but it was the most logical explanation he had so far for her...antics. The disguised drone looked around the room and called out. “Scope? Little jewel? Where are you?”
There was a cough from behind him and he turned his head in that direction...
A changeling stood in the doorway. Maybe in inch or so shorter than Celestia, she had long slender legs with almost no holes in them. Her back was covered in a gleaming sapphire shell and her carapace shone like the purest onyx. Her deep azure eyes, now showing several shades of blue as her black slitted iris’ stared at them, were hiding behind a light blue mane that seemed to ripple like water.
“Um...help?” she said in a quiet voice.
“...What.” Ledger stated more than asked. “Just...what.”
“I don’t know!” Scope cried, hugging the now smaller drone with near bone-cracking strength. “It was like the wedding, or at least, how others described it. But...it didn’t force me back, but rather...I think I absorbed it...All of it.”
“All that you could stand, anyways,” Ledger said as he squirmed in her grasp. “I’m rather glad I put up my insulating spell now. I do not need to explain to my uncle why there are two silver kings running around. And I think Lord Azure is going to want to meet with you.”
“Well, I don’t know if this is permanent,” Scope said. She frowned as she looked herself over. “I look like fucking Chrysalis now...dammit!”
“Meh, she blended Green and Blue. You’re better-looking than she ever was,” Ledger pointed out before realizing how that sounded and blushing.
Scope blinked and blushed, looking away. “I-Idiot!”
“No way,” Midnight finally spoke up. “Holy crap Scopey, you’re hot!”
“Shut up...” Scope replied, blushing deeper. Ledger considered something then and opened his mind to the Heart.
‘You said we didn’t block it...does that apply to me as well? Or did my trick work?’
‘Ask and ye shall receive!’ The Heart beamed happily. ‘While your little trick did block a significant amount of the power, you might notice that you’ll be able to cast a lot of magic without tiring. Oh, and you might have a little shine to your shell/carapace/thing. And tell your snarky friend not to get used to that form. It’s only temporary.’
Ledger gulped and lit up his horn. “Here goes…”
When his disguise washed away, he was hit with a few things right off the bat. First, he was taller now. Not on the level of Scope, but he was at least as tall as his mom now. He’d seen a Yellow Princess once, and he’d put himself at about that level of height.
Second, he looked liked he took actual pride in his appearance. His silver shell and mane shone as bright as Luna’s moon at their fullest. He considered flicking his wings out, but decided against it. It might be too much.
Third and most striking to any ‘ling: the holes were gone. The reason behind them had been debated by philosophers for ages, but the best the changelings could ever come up with was the holes symbolized a changeling’s own ‘incomplete’ nature. Practical applications were few and far between.
To see something like that, just...gone, even if it was only temporary, left him stunned.
“Holey moley, you have no holeys!” Midnight gasped as she looked at the new and improved drone. “You know, I like our reskins. Can we keep them?”
“It’s temporary,” Ledger said automatically as he looked at all the sides of one of his legs. It felt...weird, not having holes anymore. “Even Scope’s. I think the Heart just shows us...what we could have been in the best of all possible worlds. If only for a moment.”
‘Close. I just ‘Crystallize’ normal ponies. I had no idea what would happen to a Changeling. Good to see you lived though~’
‘If we ever come back during another fair, we’ll need time to prepare and get Crystal versions of our disguises made...assuming Scope even goes in public,’ Ledger sighed. He then looked at the psuedo-queen and smirked. “Well, I must say, you clean up nicely,” he told the rather stunning nymph, now fully intending to flirt with her.
“W-Well, so do you,” she replied, gazing on his form and blushing again. “So uh...what do we do now? I know that there’s this huge feast going on, as well as the parade. But...I dunno if I can transform safely, my magic is waaaay stronger.”
Ledger took another step closer and rested a hoof on her withers, lowering his head and horn at the same time so that it neared hers. “Let me help,” he offered. “I know the sort of form you’re going to need to assume, and with another mind helping you, there’d be less risk.”
“Aww, and here I was hoping I could enslave the city," she pouted. “This day has been perfect so far.”
“Let’s see about getting you to those events safely, then we can see about a ‘perfect’ day,” Ledger teased. “Though, we should really see about pulling Cadance aside and showing her the effect this has on ‘lings. Assuming we can.”
“Oh that would go down a treat...what are they doing?” Scope stared past him as Ledger turned to see Cider trapping Midnight against the floor, giving the Thestral a kiss that seemed to be giving even her a run for her bits.
“I’ll tell you later,” Ledger brushed the issue to the side as he stared at the nymph, coughing lightly. “Well? Going to let me help or are we going to stand here all day?”
Scope nodded as she lowered her head, so his horn could reach hers more easily. “This should be interesting.”
Magic mingled between the two, and Ledger nearly reeled at the feeling of Scope’s new heights.
Nearly. He’d not earned his name by not tracking down mysteries and not confirming rumors. He’d never felt this much power before, true...except during that brief moment with Celestia. Still, each confirmed rumor had dealt with some source of power. He could take solace in the fact that he’d faced more than this.
...Not all at once, but he’d faced more than just this. Maybe.
‘Okay, so, first you’re going to need to think of your form. Pegasus or Unicorn?’
‘...Which...do you prefer?’
‘Pegasus has more erogenous zones, but you can get away with magic as a unicorn. Your choice.’ Even her voice was stronger! Before it had been like an irritating buzz. Now she sounded like she was actually in his head.
‘Who are you calling irritating?’ she snapped as she chose Unicorn as her form. Being able to use magic would be more useful right now.
‘...Okay, you officially scare me,’ Ledger whimpered. ‘Ah...next. You’re going to need to apply a crystallizing effect to it. Watch.’ The drone then replayed his memories of the event happening around him, specifically what had happened to the ponies of each tribe.
‘Hmm, seems simple enough...’ Scope gasped as the transformation took effect and an azure inferno engulfed her form. She had burned quite a bit of magic, so her new Unicorn form was now a more believable height. Her new body was reminiscent of Fleur De Lis, a famous model in Canterlot. She was tall and slender, with a long horn and large doe eyes.
Her coat was that of her Pegasus form, a charcoal black with a snow white mane and tail, and after applying the Crystal Glamour, she looked simply amazing.
Ledger barely held his jaw up. If he let it drop, he was certain his tongue would be lolling out. Shaking his head a few times to clear it, he followed up by clearing his throat as well. “Well, okay. That was interesting. And while you come up with a name and backstory, I’m going to try and get a little better at the crystallizing glamour.”
Scope hummed and she grinned slightly as a Cutie Mark appeared on her rump, one of an open book with a sparkling gem coming from it.
“My name is Secret Treasure, an antique dealer of jewelry from Las Pegasus.”
“Oh?” Ledger said as he applied the crystal effect only partially, catching only his mane and tail in the full effect of being crystalline. “And if they ask if you have any pieces, or why you’re with us?”
“I choose to travel light, to avoid being mugged. And I’m a business partner of yours that has travelled here to study the unique crystal structures and Crystaltech that the Empire uses.” Scope replied in a no-nonsense tone.
“Good enough,” Ledger said as he tried again, this time only catching his back half in the effect. This time, though, he’d studied it fully and would be able to integrate it into his disguise on the next go around. “And what does your mark mean? Everypony knows what their mark means.”
“I first discovered my mark when I was reading a book about precious gems,” she explained. “It was then that I realized that there was so much I wanted to know about them. How they form, what they can be used for..”
“Scopey?” Midnight called out. “If you’re gonna keep being all eggheady, then put on stockings and a pair of glasses and get over here so I can ravish you!”
Ledger blushed even as he donned his now-fully-crystallized disguise. With all the love the mares kept giving him, he could shrink down to his usual self easily.
Something Ledger learned really quickly was that blushes were easy to spot on Crystal Ponies...or somebuggy pretending to be one.
“Heh! Somebuggy likes that thought~” Midnight sang out as Scope just shook her head.
“You know,” she replied. “Minus the Crystal Glamour, I think this form could be fairly manageable...as a more permanent one. And I could replace the horn with wings if you like.” Here she smiled at him, “Or would you prefer both~?”
Ledger just stammered for a moment before shaking his head. “You two. Incorrigible. And let’s see you say that when we go home, missy. The change is temporary, after all. Might be harder than you think to be so much larger than your normal self.”
“Well, I’ll just be more petite then,” she giggled. She stood up and kissed him on the cheek. “Now, should we go and educate royalty?”
“Yes, let’s show off what the Heart does to ‘lings that enter the city on the day of the fair,” Ledger rolled his eyes. “If we don’t see both of them together, then let’s at least see Cadance. And definitely avoid being along with Shiny as you are now.”
“Yeah, that might be an idea,” Treasure nodded. “Well, we are about to board Flight Treasure. Please ensure your seatbelt is fastened and your luggage is in the overhead compartment.” Her horn started to glow as she powered up a Teleport.
“Here we go again,” Ledger sighed before the world was awash in a sea of blue…
“Well, all things considered, that went rather well,” Ledger observed after they reappeared in the room. “I think we’re just lucky Cadance was there, though.”
“Yeah,” Scope replied. Through the constant use of high-level magic, she was almost back to normal. Though, she still seemed a little larger than her usual self. More around the size of a standard nymph. She tilted her head when she heard a noise coming from the bedroom.
“What the heck was that?”
Ledger sighed as he picked up on the emotions in the room, figuring now was as good a time as any to explain a fact of Cider to Scope. “Okay, so...Cider is a fan of an author you might have heard of, might not...she writes stories about sparkly thestrals. Mostly around them being vamponies.”
“That sounds...highly inaccurate,’ Scope frowned. “No wonder Mistress understands our plight of not having much known about us.” She opened the bedroom door and her eyes widened. The room was filled with candles as the only source of light. On the bed, Cider lay there in a simple white dress as Midnight stood over her, a red liquid dripping from her fangs, and the two marks on Cider’s neck.
“Uhh....”
Ledger walked over, looked at the scene, surprisingly retained a blank expression on his face, and reached one hoof up to close the door before grabbing Scope and scooting both him and her away from the door. “I don’t care how much the hotel charges us. I am burning that bed.”
The door opened a moment later and a bloodied Midnight emerged, licking her lips and humming. “Well, that was actually more fun than I thought...but Cidey’s feeling a little drained right now.”
“...Midnight, keep up the puns and I will toss you into the room before I burn the bed,” Ledger threatened. “What...possessed you two to reenact a scene from...that series? I thought you hated it more than anypony!”
“I do, but I love Cidey and you two more. It made Cidey happy, so I’m happy.” She gave Ledger a kiss on the lips and the taste of raspberry jam hit his tongue. “You’re being a tad dramatic aren’t you?”
“I’m more offended by the fact that you chose to enact a scene from the worst series ever written,” Ledger grumbled. “I knew you wouldn’t hurt her, but still. I’ve only read one book that was worse than that.”
“Like I said, it made Cider happy. But just you wait, I get to be a vampony from my favourite series later~” She smiled as she wondered where she could get a large red hat from.
Cider eventually stumbled from the room with a big smile on her muzzle as she looked at her two Changeling’s.
“...What?”
“For somepony that works on a farm all day and could likely buck a vampony’s head clean off, you certainly do make a convincing damsel in distress,” Ledger teased.
“I like my head where it is,” Song said in an alarming tone. Mostly because Cider probably could do that.
Cider’s mane had been let down, rather than her usual pigtails, and the white dress complimented her coat nicely.
“I’m more surprised she actually packed a dress like that,” Scope noted as she reverted to normal and gave a loud yawn. “Also, I’m curious as to how you knew that scene was from that book with just a glance.”
“I read it thinking it might have been some sort of diary on dealings with vamponies,” Ledger said. “...I was ten at the time, and it wouldn’t be until later that I would learn what utter drivel it was.”
“Well, to each their own,” Cider pouted. She didn’t tease them about those foalish Daring Do books.
“Those books are utterly unhelpful in an actual undead situation,” Ledger huffed.
“Yeah, everypony knows that fire solves that particular problem,” Song nodded in agreement as Cider and Scope stared at them.
“What?” the Thestral blinked.
“No, no it does not,” Ledger said in a deadpan. “Because then you have flaming zombies after you. The only thing worse than zombies is zombies that are on fire.”
“Well, excuse me for not having fought an army of zombies,” Midnight pouted and folded her forelegs. With a soft shimmer, the Crystal effect wore off on the ponies present, Midnight was left wondering if this was a good thing or not.
“Aww,” Cider pouted. “Ah looked so pretty too...”
“I’ll see about illusion spells,” Ledger said as he cracked his neck, before shifting back to normal and panicking. “Um. Scope? Scope, are you seeing this?”
The holes were back. But they were very much smaller. Scope blinked and stared at her own hooves. Even hers were smaller, and her form was slightly larger.
“Um...this is weird, has it not worn off for us?”
‘Well now, that’s interesting...I guess the way your bodies react to love just means they processed as much as they could towards making the changes you underwent permanent before it wore off. Maybe if you came back for two, three more fairs, you’d stay that way?’
‘Well, all I did was absorb a ludicrous amount of love,” Scope said. “Perhaps...with enough time spent around one another?’
‘It’s likely,’ Ledger pitched in. ‘That all the love we’ve been getting...them loving us for us...and this blast of love...changed something in us.’
‘But, I’m just a nymph, a number. How did I take a Royal form in the first place?’
‘I don’t know...with you being what you were, it’s unlikely we’ll find any trace of your lineage around, so we can guess until we go home and we’ll never get anywhere. For the time being, let’s just chalk it up to “weird love magic shenanigans” and move on. Do you want to come back during the Fair again, try and have a go at making it stick now that we know what it does?’ The drone prodded the nymph mentally.
‘Maybe...I dunno. I feel...uncomfortable in that form,’ Scope sighed as she shook her head. “I just wanna sleep for now. Today has been equal parts nice, and weird.”
“I can agree with that,” Ledger said. “Cuddlepile?”
“Cuddlepile!” Midnight suddenly agreed as she tackled the drone happily. Cider just chuckled and went back into the bedroom to clean up, with Scope helping. Eventually the four of them found their way to the bed, and the rest of the night was spent snuggling.
Early the next morning, four tired, but happy ponies boarded the train bound for Las Pegasus, with a stop over in Canterlot. While the trip was a little longer, it was also much lighter on the purse strings.
As the desolate Tundra scenery eventually gave way to the lush greenery of Equestria. Midnight watched it race by as an idle thought crossed her mind when Ledger called Scope his ‘Little Jewel’ again.
“Okay, fess up, what’s with the cute nickname?” she asked with a click of her tongue.
Ledger paused in writing in his book as he considered the question. “Okay, so I’ve said before that one major difference between Equestria and the Lands is names. Specifically, we’re not named at birth, but we earn them. Usually. Some nobles do things differently, but that’s how it usually goes.”
“Yeah, you mentioned that,” Midnight nodded as she realised something. “So where does the name ‘Secret-Hoarder’ come from?”
“When I was eleven, I set out to learn from all the Hives,” Ledger said as he picked up his writing again. “Picked them out somewhat randomly to begin with. Orange first, then Green. Moved to Red, then I went to Yellow. Then I made the mistake of visiting the Violets, and ran quite quickly to the Blues.” Here he looked over his book at the thestral mare. “Y’know all those things I rattled off in the street with our mutual foe? I didn’t let anything stop me from confirming those things to be true.”
“Wow, that sounds like an adventure and a half,” Midnight nodded, making a note to get him to explain it all in detail at some point. “So what about Scopey? What’s with the nickname?”
Scope sighed and nodded at Ledger while she scribbled something in a book. “Go ahead, you can tell her.”
“Well, Scope here decided to change her name,” Ledger said with a smile. “Not uncommon, but typically it’s not done by the one receiving the new name. Still, she’s not the ‘Discarded-One’ anymore. I get to introduce her as ‘Secret-Treasure’ instead.”
“Secret-Treasure?” Midnight and Cider echoed, the latter just returning from the bathroom. Midnight smiled as she tried to hug the Pegasus filly, only to be pushed back. “That sounds adorable...but, what’s it mean?”
“Typically, drones take the names of the nymphs that they ‘belong’ to,” Ledger said as he continued scribbling. “It’s as close as the common drone gets to a marriage. Having it happen the other way around? Now that is unheard of...unless you look at my uncle, of course. Scope here is the second nymph in recent history to take the drone’s name rather than vice-versa.”
“Well, ‘Discarded-Secret’, or ‘Secret-One’ doesn’t have much of a ring to it,” Scope said as she continued to write, not looking up from her pages. “And I feel treasured here with you all, and my existence is mostly a secret, so it just fits...” She stopped writing as the cabin fell silent.
“What?”
“Ledger?” Midnight said quietly. “I feel an irresistible urge to hug her now.”
“Do keep in mind that I’ve yet to introduce her to the parents,” Ledger said as he wrote out several theoretical spell frames for the crystal glamor effect and how best to apply it to other ponies. “I’d rather like to be able to.”
“So, iffn ah’m getin’ this right.” Cider said slowly, rubbing her head. “You and Scopey...are married now?”
Scope’s writing paused again as a fierce blush overtook her face and she buried her head in her book. One could see steam rising from her head.
“If we were in the Lands, your statement would be accurate,” Ledger pointed out. “As we did exchange names and consummate it not ten minutes later. But, I’m an Equestrian citizen, if only in name. So I’d have to file for a marriage license. And there’s no way I would do it with one of you without doing it with all of you.”
Now it was Cider and Song’s turn to blush as they sat back down. Scope had recovered enough to resume her writing and the carriage fell into relative silence again. Mostly, the drone thought on what he said, and was shocked that Midnight didn’t have a comment. Was she doing that, ‘I’m going to be less perverse’ thing again?
“Ah guess, we should discuss that at some point,” Cider said quietly. “Marriage that is.”
“We should,” Ledger agreed as he finished up his notes and cast a quick-dry spell. Snapping the book shut and putting it away, Ledger turned to look at both Midnight and Cider. “Scope scared me a lot earlier, so while I’m thinking about it, I’ll tell you this: I’m so not ready to be a dad yet. Living with you three, being there for you three, loving you three? I can deal with that. But I am not ready to be responsible for another life that I helped bring into this world. So please...let’s keep up with the birth control for a little while yet? And perhaps sometime in the next...six months, maybe sooner or later, depending, we can look into getting our herd, our whole herd, married.”
“Tain’t no need t’rush,” Cider nodded as she settled into her seat more. “My Momma might say otherwise, but it’s a big decision, ‘specially fer ponies in our...circumstances.”
Midnight just stared out of the window, watching the scenery race by as Scope continued her writing, but made a small grunt of agreement.
“Midnight?” Ledger asked upon her non-response. “Love? Are you okay?”
“I’m alright,” she replied. “I agree with Cider...no need to rush after all...”
“True enough,” Ledger said as he lay back and watched the scenery go by as well. “I just...don’t want anybuggy to get the wrong idea as to why I hang around you three. I want to be able to say to the world that I love you three and will never leave you, no matter what. Marriage is the way I’m most comfortable with at the moment.”
Midnight just nodded, though her heart raced when she thought about it. The idea of walking down that aisle, wearing an expensive dress and saying those words of commitment? It scared the Tartarus out of her. And then there was the menagerie of customs that would be involved...and the size of Cider’s family alone could populate a large town.
But more than anything, it was the feeling, the knowledge of being bound to someone for the rest of her life, to honour their wishes and... Her breath hitched as some memories surfaced. Ones from when she was being raised...
And what was expected of her at the time.
And then Ledger was there, holding her and caring for her like he always did. “Shh,” he whispered. “If the idea upsets you, we can put it off. I’m not in any rush and I’m still young. Heck, my noble blood will keep me going for a while as long as I’m well-fed. No need to rush into something you don’t like.”
“It’s...complicated,” she said quietly, leaning into the hug. “I love you guys, more that anything...but marriage? It...scares me.”
“...This is another one of those cultural differences, isn’t it?” Ledger deadpanned. “To Equestrians, ‘Marriage’ is synonymous with ‘I love you and want to be with you for the rest of our lives.’ To ‘lings, it’s more of a...social contract. One that can be renegotiated at any time if you fancy your odds. What does it mean to thestrals?”
In his warm grasp, the Thestral shook. “I...don’t want to talk about it.”
“...Midnight, if the idea of being married to me upsets you so much, you are always free to leave the herd an-” the drone started to say, thinking only of trying to avert this latest hitch in their relationship. He wasn’t prepared for her rebuttal.
“Slavery!” she snapped at him. “I would never be unhappy with you or Cidey, or Scopey...but to a Thestral, one that resides in the home country? It’s slavery. Nothing more or less. The mare? She does whatever is demanded of her, without question. Being married to a Lord or a Count? It’s considered a privilege...and one must constantly pay for that privilege.”
“...You’re afraid of marrying me,” Ledger said softly, cursing his blood. “Now I wish I wasn’t born a noble.”
“No!” she said, shaking her head. “I could-could never be afraid of you. You're not like that, and I’m not stupid enough to think that you are. It’s just...I was raised...to be the perfect wife. An obedient wife...It’s not you, it’s the thought of marriage itself...” She tried hard not to cry at this point, that would have been totally uncool.
“Then I have a radical idea,” Ledger said with a smirk. “We’re unconventional enough as it is. Why not make it even worse?” He paused for dramatic effect before informing them of something that was definitely a plan only he could cook up.
“We’ll wait for you to propose to us, Midnight. The day you can without any trace of fear is the day we accept.”
“Ah reckon that’s a fine idea,” Cider hummed. “The whole ‘herd’ thing was her idea anyhow. An’ she is the one that seems to hold this weird, little family together.”
“Whatever,” Scope shrugged. She was getting to an important part in her story.
“You’re an idiot,” Midnight giggled as she leaned into Ledger. “But you’re my idiot...and I guess, I kinda like that idea as well.”
“Then it’s settled,” Ledger said with a nod as he leaned down to kiss his mare. “Like I said, no rush...but I will be waiting for you, my silly bat.”
“Mhmm,” Midnight smiled. “And as for your earlier comment? Don’t you do all of us all the time?”
“Only if you ask for it,” Ledger replied without missing a beat. He’d had time to come up with responses for when her snark resurfaced.
When the train whistled to signal it’s brief stop in Canterlot, Midnight’s eyes widened. “I need to go!” she said suddenly.
“Bathroom is down the hall,” Scope muttered as she still wrote away in her book.
“Not like that, well, also like that,” Midnight hopped. “I mean here in Canterlot. There’s somepony I have to see. See you guys at home later!” she gave each of them a quick kiss and bolted from the room, and the second she left the train, she took flight and soared off into the city.
“Um...” Scope put her book down. “That was...weird...even for her.”
“She lived here, her parents live here, and I’m willing to bet she’s bucked half the town at least once,” Ledger said as he stretched. “There’s no telling who she’s off to see, but I have faith she’ll come back. Now if you’ll excuse me, I do have to go to the bathroom.”
Cider looked at Scope, then to where Midnight flew off. “We’re totally following her right?”
“Yup,” Scope hummed as she got up and stretched her wings.
“Take care,” Ledger said as he left the compartment. “Train leaves in an hour! I’m not abandoning our stuff!”
“Apparently our things are now more important than Midnight,” Scope remarked. “You stay here with him, I’ll find her. Information is my specialty!” She shifted into her unicorn form and Teleported with a light ‘pop’.
“I just don’t think that I’d be able to chase after her and come back before the hour is up,” Ledger said. “I have faith she’ll come back and that she doesn’t need me prying into this. Is that so hard to believe?”
“No, but ya gotta admit it’s a little unusual, it’s got me all curious,” Cider noted. “Well, Scopey’s on the case, so we’ll head home so ah can get this crystal set up. Ah miss mah farm and ah know Little Bat know’s what she’s doin’.”
“...And I can tell I’m missing her, because I totally expected a ‘and who’ right there,” Ledger said with a chuckle. “Ah well. It’s not my place to pry.”
“True enough,” Cider nodded as she stared out of the window. “Still, ah wonder who she’s goin’ to go see?”
Midnight took a deep breath as she landed near ‘Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns’. It had been...a long time since she was here last. The school didn’t seem to have changed much, and she had no trouble getting access and walking the empty halls. At this time, most students would be about to leave for Winter Break, but she knew that the pony she was after would still be here.
And once she reached an office with the name ‘Moondancer’ on the door, she knew her old love was there. The muttering from inside was a dead giveaway.
She raised her hoof and knocked on the door, and when an irritated voice asked whom it was, she nudged the door open and peeked inside.
“Hey...Moonbutt~’ she said with a nervous giggle.
The white Unicorn was annoyed. Not only did her students lack any sort of drive or willingness to learn, they thought a half-assed paper would satisfy their teacher. Well, jokes on them. She’d assign them enough homework that they’d have to ascend to Alicorns to get it done!
So when she heard somepony knock on the door, she figured at least one of them had come crawling in to beg for forgiveness. None would be found. There would be no survivors!
“Hey...Moonbutt~”
That voice? There was...no way. Moondancer looked up, brushing a lock of her red mane from her eyes to see a familiar Thestral in her doorway. Those emerald eyes she loved so much...looked right back at her.
“Hey...Moonbutt,” she smiled back. “It’s been a while.”
“Yeah,” she said, it wasn’t until Moondancer asked her to come inside, that the Thestral actually did. This was weird. It was like somepony had flicked a switch and all the memories they had shared had come flooding back, along with the day that Midnight had so casually dismissed their love. The hurt look the mare’s eyes when she said that. Just thinking about it destroyed her.
“So...what brings you to my office?” Moondancer asked as she sifted through her papers. “Need a wingmare?”
“No...not, anymore,” Song replied as she sat down. “I uh, I live in Las Pegasus now. As a standalone unit.”
“Well, congrats then,” Moon said, not looking up from her work. “So is that all?”
Midnight flinched. They were friends, but since they separated, there was an underlying coldness between them. A wound that had never closed.
“No,” she said as she looked at the floor. “You know...that I never stopped loving you Moony. I could never hate you, never not love you...if that-that thing hadn’t-”
“I am well aware of what happened. But that doesn’t change what did happen between us,” she said calmly. “What we had? It can’t be restored...”
“I know, and...I could never leave the ones I’m with now,” Midnight said. That had gotten a reaction, as Moondancer put her papers down and finally looked at the Thestral.
“I’m sorry. What.”
“I have...a herd now,” she smiled warmly as she thought about them. “Two mares and a stallion...and, I love them Moony. I love them a lot. But, it’s different to what we had. And...I’m scared Moony, scared of doing to them, what I did to you.”
Moondancer looked at her, at the Thestral that once stole her heart and set it ablaze with passion...the mare that still held a small piece. “Alright Moonbutt. Explain. Now.”
Midnight blinked, the sudden emotion in Moondancer’s voice caught her off guard. “W-Well, a few weeks back, I had an assignment in Las Pegasus...to investigate a local mob boss. As I did, I happened to...befriend a close employee of hers...”
“You used him?” Moon said without mercy and the Thestral gulped and nodded.
“At first, yes. But...he was, different. He was hurting, much like me. So...I guess I latched onto that at first. And after everything was said and done, we were... more than friends.”
“Why do I get the feeling this is just the start of a loooong story?” Moondancer sighed as she poured some coffee, levitating a cup over to Midnight. The Thestral nodded and took the cup, smiling lightly.
“Yeah, well, long story short. Stuff happened, and we soon added two more mares to the mix. But...wanna know the best part, and the part that scares me the most?”
“Do tell,” Moon said dryly.
“He’s a Changeling.”
Moondancer paused, as her cup fell from her grasp and it shattered on the ground. “I’m sorry,” she said, her eyes wide. “I think I misheard you, but...you said, he was a-”
“Changeling, as well as one of the mares,” Midnight said with a nod. “The other is just an Earth Pony, one of the Apple mares. But yeah...ironic huh? A Changeling destroys my love, and a Changeling gives it right back.”
“Un-bucking-believeable.” Moondancer said as she sat next to Midnight. “Are you...?” her horn suddenly flared as she cast a multipurpose Dispel on her, the Thestral cooing lightly at the magical tingle. Moony’s magic felt so nice~
“I’m not being brainwashed Moonbutt,” she said once the mare was done. “A lot has happened in the last few weeks. I got ones I can say I love, I’ve kissed almost all the Princesses, and I’m...feeling more like my old self again.”
“Is Princess Bookworm the only one left?” Moon asked, and the Thestral giggled. “Eh, she should be easy enough. Her magic has a range of about four or five kilometres, so as long as you can cover that once you kiss her, you should live.”
“Nah, she’ll like it, you did~”
‘Still do,’ Moon sighed to herself. “But...why? Why tell me all this?”
Midnight’s smile faltered as she looked at her mug. “I dunno. I just...I don’t want things to be bad between us anymore. I love you Moony, always have-”
“Always will, my Song of the Night.” Moondancer sighed as she leaned against the Thestral. “You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“Terrified,” she smiled weakly. She’d missed this, the feeling of that fur, the scent of that mane, and for a brief moment, it was like it was before. Just the two of them.
But that wasn’t the image in her head. It wasn’t the Unicorn mare leaning against her. She felt the hard, yet warm chitin pressing against her. The scent of paper, apples and...whatever Scopey smelled like.
“But,” she said. “I can’t...imagine being with anypony else now.”
“You found your happiness again,” Moondancer sighed. “Just...not with me huh?”
“Wanna join my herd?” Midnight giggled. “Ledger would just love you.”
“No way, I’m a mares’ mare. You know that Batbutt!” she giggled and leaned closer, giving Midnight a gentle kiss on the lips. “Now, go and get your herd before you lose ‘em!”
“So...” Midnight hopped up with a small bounce. “Friends?”
“...Heh, friends” Moondancer agreed.
“With benefits?” Midnight leaned closer, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Don’t push it,” Moon sighed. “Go on and get out of here, unless you wanna make good on that offer?”
Midnight looked at the door, then to Moondancer...then at the door again.
“Just go,” Moon rolled her eyes and her horn flashed, the Thestral blinked as she grinned widely. And the train was still here, if she hurried...
The train gave a whistle as it started to pull out of the station.
“Guess it’s just us huh?” Cider said as she leaned against Ledger. “Maybe I’ll break out the sugar when ah get home?”
“I’m surprised you still have any with two ‘lings under your roof,” Ledger observed. “Speaking of, I’m surprised Scope’s still missing as well.”
“Yeah, well she was stalking Midnight...” Cider blinked as she looked out of the open window. She got up and pulled Ledger to his hooves...before ducking onto the seat next to him.
“Dare I ask?” the stallion questioned with a raised eyebrow.
“Uh, good luck?” she grinned sheepishly, before a brown blur zipped through the window and crash tackled Ledger at high speed, enough to send him sprawling across the floor and out into the hall.
“Somepony stop the world from spinning,” Ledger groaned from his new position. “I wanna get off…”
Midnight giggled as she looked at her silly stallion, before she picked him up and gave him a rather passionate Thestral kiss. And once she broke it a minute later, she turned and pounced on Cider, who gave a soft ‘meep’ of resistance.
It did not save her.
As she was molesting the mare, Scope winked back into existence next to Ledger, her face quite pale.
“Oh hey Scope,” Ledger said in his dazed state. “You missed Middy coming back.”
“No, I saw,” she said. “I was hiding until she was well and truly distracted. Nice form by the way, I give it a seven.”
“Thestral tongues are awesome,” the stallion giggled as he pulled himself up. Leaning in to whisper to the smaller mare, he painted a vivid picture for her.
“You should let me kiss you with one sometime...or use one on you.”
“Yeah, some other time,” she replied with a wave of her hoof. “By the way...who’s Moondancer?”
“Not a clue,” Ledger said as lucidity returned. “Why?”
“Well, that was who she went to see,” she replied as she watched the Thestral snuggle Cider. “And well, it was an awkward conversation...until she told the mare that she was dating Changelings.”
The name finally clicked for Ledger and he blinked a few times. “Okay...if she brings it up, I’ll ask why she was visiting her old lover, but for now, just…leave it lie, okay? No need to tell her what you were up to.”
“Yeah,” Scope said. She also wasn’t telling him the whole conversation, but Scope needed more info herself. “So...home then?”
The train gave a mightier jerk as it started to pick up speed during the descent from the mountain. “Home,” the unicorn agreed.
The first clue that something had happened at Cider’s farm was the silence. It was not just too quiet, but eerily quiet on the road to her home. The sort of quiet that somepony normally only heard during a funeral.
The second clue was the evidence of fighting going on around her home. A few pieces of glass were strewn around the lawn, but if they had been from windows, they’d been replaced. Random objects, however, had apparently been thrown out them and not picked up. Apparently, somepony had thrown whatever had come to hoof out a window more than a few times...or in the case of one of Cider’s beloved books, had seized the whole series and thrown it out one after another.
The Earth Pony looked around at the carnage, her mane obscuring her eyes as she stepped closer to the house.
The first clue? The fur between her shoulders was standing on end.
The second? With each step, the stones under her hooves cracked and shattered like glass.
The third? When she lifted her head, those beautiful blue eyes were cold and distant. The one or ones responsible? They were already dead, they just didn’t know it yet.
That was when the foursome got within five feet of the door, and a familiar female voice made itself known to Ledger.
“I don’t care if you three ‘can see forever,’ stop eating all that sugar! We want to leave this house in the same condition we found it in! And Joyful, stop encouraging them!”
“No...way,” he breathed. “Oh...Cider, love, I know I’m asking a lot here, but...please don’t kill them?”
His desperate pleas fell on deaf ears. Her ears flattened against her head as she walked up to the door, and with a tired sigh, raised her hind legs and her door ceased to exist, as it exploded in a shower of splinters as the pissed off mare walked inside.
“Ah hope y’all have made peace,” she said in a low tone. “Ya’ll broke mah home...”
“Oh buck!” a teenaged pale-green unicorn said from the middle of the room. “They’re home! Scatter!”
“Midnight, Scope, the trio will be going out the back,” Ledger informed. “Cider, don’t let her get a spell off. Get them all in line and, I know you want to Cider, but I will deal with them.”
There was an explosion of sound from the kitchen as three pegasi colts tried their hooves at running away from Tartarus incarnate, a.k.a. Cider.
As the exited the backdoor, a Thestral dropped out of the sky, a gleam in her eyes as she deadened her emotions.
“Make a move,” she said. “I dare you!”
The red, yellow, and blue colts looked at one another, then at the mare...and then they all flew up and over the house before peeling off in different directions. Hopefully one would get away and live to tell the tale!
That hope was dashed as an azure aura snapped them up, warping around them and the three colts found themselves planted on the ground in front of a petite Unicorn.
“You three have a lot of explaining to do,” Scope said with a wicked gleam.
Inside, Cider had just planted one off on the back of the Unicorn filly, and a second on her horn. “Y’all better pray that Ledger here is feelin’ generous...cause ah ain’t!”
“Oh don’t worry Cider,” Ledger said as he saw to the health of the green filly. “I know exactly who these troublemakers are. Once Middy and Scope bring the other three in, I’ll introduce you.”
He heard three screams as three colts flew inside, an insane-looking Thestral dragging her blades along the ground stalking after them. And a little Unicorn crackling with power was close behind her.
“By the Hives! We’re all gonna diiieeeee!”
“Aaaand stop,” Ledger said as he fired up his horn and dragged the three colts in front of him, to stand next to the filly. “Okay, loves, time to stop the crazy and mad acts. You’re gonna want to be sane for the next bit. I think you might’ve already guessed it, but it pays to do it right.”
Like a switch, Midnight flipped back to normal as she kissed Ledger on the cheek. “Meh, I’m done screwing with ‘em.”
“Same,” Scope said as she started to bring their luggage inside. She already knew who they were, but playing like that was fun.
“Ah reckon y’all have a good reason,” Cider growled as she looked around her home...or, what was left of it. “If not, well...plenty o’ space left in that desert.”
“Believe me, some days I think about it with these three,” Ledger moaned as he rubbed his head. “Okay, glamor off.”
With four colorful flashes, the filly and colts were replaced with teenaged changelings with highlights that matched the color of their coats. Each one had slitted eyes, and each one was looking at Ledger.
“Mares, my step-brothers and step-sister.”
“Yer what.” Cider blinked.
“Figured,” Scope said as she dropped her disguise.
Midnight blinked, then looked at Ledger, then back to the smaller bugs as her wings gave a small twitch. Ledger knew what was coming…
“And ME!” a suddenly appearing pink unicorn said from atop Scope’s head. One that was the same size as her. Scope screamed as she fired her magic, sending the little unicorn spiralling across the room, only to be caught by Midnight, her disguise now off and revealing her to be a small pink changeling.
“Oooh, that was a fun ride sister! Again!” The pink ‘ling made to leave Midnight’s embrace. The Thestral refused as she pulled the other three into her hug, four little changelings now trapped by the bat. Ledger looked at the green ‘ling with a stare that could cause paint to dry. Instantly.
“I know we’ve never gotten along really, but you could have stopped short of wrecking Cider’s home.”
“It wasn’t my fault!” the green nymph protested as she pointed at the trio currently being snuggled. “They found some sort of alcohol and drank it behind my back! I kept trying to fix the damage they caused!”
“In between commenting on Cider’s choice of decor and her choice in novels I’m assuming,” Ledger replied with that same expression on his face.
“...Admittedly yes, this place could use some time alone with me, but once it became clear what was going on, I tried to stop them and put the place back in order! And then they found the sugar!”
“So ya mean...” Cider started as she idly played with a large vegetable knife. “”That between drinking mah livelihood, wrecking mah home, insulting mah decor, eating mah sugar...Ohhh Ledger~ Ah do hope you realize this is gonna cost you...”
“Don’t worry Cider, I have a plan. Midnight, if you would stop hugging them for a moment?” There was a silver flash around his throat: he hadn’t done this impersonation in a while and he would need all the help he could get. Midnight let them go, four of the five were still wondering about the pissed off Earth mare that wanted to grind their chitin to dust.
“I swear,” the green one hissed at her brothers. “If we die, I will kick your asses for all existence you little snots.”
“Ah-ten-SHUN!” Ledger barked out in a perfect imitation of their Red stepfather, causing the three drones to snap to. “You three have committed various crimes during your stay here without the approval of Apple Cider here. Your task is to clean up every single mess she points you at, no matter if you caused it or not. Is this clear, maggots?”
The trio of male ‘lings nodded before they thought to question, so ingrained was their training. “Even-” the yellow one managed to get out.
“Is. That. Clear?” And now that military tone Ledger had borrowed was very menacing, causing the three to shake their heads and salute.
“SIR, YES SIR!” they bellowed.
“Cider?” Ledger asked in his normal voice.
“Yes?” she said, her voice was as sweet as honey, and yet, it sounded far scarier.
“Just make sure they live, I don’t think mom would appreciate three body bags rather than their living bodies showing up on her doorstep.”
“Fair enough,” Cider said as she stood in front of them. “Besides...if ah was serious, there wouldn’t be enough left fer a bag.”
“That being said, have fun!” Ledger chirped as he dragged his sister over to stand next to him and Midnight. “Sis and I are gonna talk.” And now the menacing tone was back.
“Wait, take me back there, I prefer her to your talks!” she begged.
“Aww, but you don’t know her, or what she’ll do,” Ledger all but purred.
“I’ll take my fucking chances!”
“Y’all are gonna go outside an’ pick up mah books,” Cider started. “After that, youll pick up the mess, clean the kitchen, wash mah windows and then I’ll give y’all a list of shopping. That should do that start with anyway.”
“...Yup, still prefer her to you,” the green sister said.
“Midnight, can you believe the loyalty she’s showing to her elder brother?” Ledger sighed mock-dramatically.
“What do you expect?” Scope said as she began to fix a pot of coffee. “She’s just a Green. No loyalties whatsoever.”
“Hey!” the sister said. “I’ll have you know I am very loyal to my work and my supporters!”
“Until they so much as hint that you could be better,” Ledger said. “Then you tear them to shreds at the next social function.”
“Heee, your family is fun,” Midnight giggled as she continued to nuzzle the adorable Pink one. “I like this one, can I keep her?”
“Hey, that’s my line!” the pink nymph said as she beeped Midnight’s nose. “And don’t worry Ledgie, when I saw what the triad of destruction were up to, I decided to leave and make sure I didn’t add to the mess.”
“Ah, well, at least we won’t find any surprises when we open doors around here,” Ledger sighed.
“I didn’t say that.”
“...Pink...why’d it have to be a Pink,” Scope muttered as she made her coffee a double shot.
“I think I only got about halfway through the house before I saw them finding something in the cellar,” the little happy nymph said. “One of you should probably visit the bathroom, I think there’s a zebra in it.”
“You touched mah CELLAR!?” Ciider roared from outside. “Oooh, that does it! Iffn’ y’all touched mah special reserve...ah swear-”
“Run for it!” the three of them said as the chase started again.
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.....Why is there a zebra in the bathroom?
Hah! For some reason I keep picturing a mini Pinkie Pie.
6760619 I read her lines in pinkie's voice
ha Queen scopy love it
LOL! That was a fun chapter. Keep up the good work you are doing. I wish you wood have shown the part where the changelings show the effects of the crystal hart on them to Princess Cadence. It wood have been fun to see her reaction to them.
Dragonfox
YES! Meet the family, we are an odd bunch.
Fighting, laughing, blaming each other.
There is always something going on!!
cant wait to see what happens next
also what a twist about the crystal heart being able to change a changling.
Well now we have
indentured servantsI mean, "kids" to help out around the farm.Will this be the introduction of hole-less lings? Sweet!
Keep going! ;)
6760720 Aren't all Pinks a mini-Pinkie Pie? Almost a good thing that they don't have a hive, just im gine tossing Pinkie Pie into the middle of that with all her baking supplies.
I rapidly switched from "d'aww" to giggling like TFS Alucard with the Pink
Christmas came early this year and gave us this beautiful chapter.
So wow I kinda figured that marriage for females
bat poniesThestral's was bad but just straight up slaves?!? Now that is just horrible(great world/culture building though).Now I do have a question though. I may be wrong but isn't Midnight's mom a regular pony not a Thestral? From what I got from the time with her parents I highly doubt that they would raise their daughter to be a slave once she married off. So I'd like to know what's up with that please.
Right now though I can't really decide who has it worse male changling's or female Thestral's... ... well if I remember correctly Ledger said that male changling's are lucky if they still have their virginity by like 10 years of age was it?... But still trained to be slaves... wow I have to say that the female Thestral's take that title. One I'm sure no one would want.
Well let's get off that depressing topic and focus on Ledger's step siblings shall we? So ah man that whole family fiasco man that just put a big ol smile on my face. Although as a side note never ever ever piss Cider off.
I love this chapter so oh much. Excellent chapter and I'll read you later-BFBL
So let me guess this straight...He has 3 brothers, 2 sisters?
I wonder if some art of Queen Scope will pop up in some time?
6762671 - O.M.G. I want fanart of this fic so baaaaad....
6760591 IT's a Hangover Scenierio ....
So... do they have the same mother or not? Because you, at the very least, strongly implied before that they did but you flat out said here that they don't.
Two shared biological parents=Sibling
One shared biological parent=Half-sibling
No shared biological parents=Step-sibling
6765247
I use step-sibling for a lot. You should probably just substitute half for step whenever you read it.
Because apparently I don't know the difference.
They are soooo dead.
6760591 Because she wouldn't fit under the cabinet and she didn't have the grip to hold onto the chandelier. What a silly question.
Well, that was an interesting effect the crystal heart had. Still, Chryssie's series.
here's the reason why they shouldn't of went into her cellar.
6761126 ill get the megaspells... maby a few redmatter bombs too. atleast the world might survive that..
vampires...large red hat...Hellsing?!
As far as I understand they all have the same mom, so they'd be half-brothers/sisters not step.
Hellsing? Alucard that you?
Hellsing
Seriously who will repair Ciders home and fix everything? That will not be cheap...
oh, that Hellsing reference reminded me of this video:
Time to go for a walk...♤
Magnificent chapter, is the solution to Changelings everywhere to visit the outer layer of the City to receive their share of love energy wave?
Would be very mutch a culture thing znd make the Empire very rich for the days they visit ♡
CmC in Changeling and not after cutie marks...
👍