Royalty
Kuno and Warden walked side-by-side, hooves kicking up puffs of dust from the barren, dry ground. The earth was the colour of mud, but there was no moisture here. Not in the Badlands.
It had been a full day since they had departed from the train at the stop closest to Badlands: Dodge City.
Kuno had opted to take the form of an earth pony for the trip, one of the regular forms that Warden was beginning to recognize. This iteration of Kuno was a little larger than warden, with a yellow coat and brown mane. She was singularly unimpressive and unremarkable, and that was fine with her.
Warden’s limp had become ever more pronounced the further south they went. He denied it, but his gimpy leg was paining him quite badly.
“So, how’re we gonna find your rellies?” Warden asked between clenched teeth, trying to make his tone seem normal.
“Oh, they’ll find us,” Kuno replied confidently.
“Couldn’t ask Celestia, or check the library?” Warden asked breathlessly. Coupled with the pain, he was severely unfit from never doing any exercise other than planting seeds and collecting berries.
“Celestia still thinks we’re all hatched from a single mother,” Kuno said with an exasperated shake of her head.
Warden mulled that over for several long seconds. “So... no eggs then?”
Kuno shook her head, pursing her lips.
Warden gave a long-suffering sigh. “And here I was thinking of the world's largest omelette.”
“So...” Warden asked, as they walked side-by-side down a narrow canyon. “What makes you think that Chrysalis would know all of this stuff?”
“She is the queen,” Kuno pointed out, with a helpless shrug of her shoulders. “If anypony knows, it would be Chrysalis.”
“And Chrysalis is definitely here in the Badlands?” Warden queried.
Kuno nodded grimly. “I can sense her. I was... part of the hive for a brief time, but I established a link with the collective when I was. It doesn’t take much to probe the link.”
“What’s that feel like, anyhow?” Warden asked curiously.
Kuno frowned at that, looking thoughtful. “Well... it’s sort of like a thousand voices whispering in the back of your mind. It’s really just white noise until you focus on a single whisper to understand. Sort of like... trying to hear a single conversation in a crowded room. It’s all just background noise.”
Warden gave a nod at that, pausing and then sitting down on his rump with a heavy sigh. “I need to rest.”
Kuno turned back towards him, sighing and shaking her head, moving to sit besides him. “You shouldn’t have come with me. Should have stayed at home and got your Aurora farm going.”
Grimacing faintly, Warden dropped down onto his stomach and stretched his bad hoof out, giving a faint groan of relief. “You know I’m not gonna let you out of my sight like that.”
“Afraid I won’t come back?” Kuno asked teasingly.
Warden went silent for a long moment, looking at his forehooves.
Kuno frowned, nudging her nose against his cheek gently. “You don’t really think that, do you?”
“I know it’s stupid...” Warden admitted, frowning at his hooves, rubbing at the dust with his good one. “But... every time I think of you going somewhere, my heart skips a beat and I think I might not ever see you again...”
Kuno made a soft, apologetic sound, throwing her hooves around his neck and squeezing gently. “I’m not going anywhere, Warden.”
“Chrysalis might have other ideas.” Warden looked up at Kuno, his ears drooping.
“She couldn’t keep me from you with her entire army,” Kuno said confidently, purring softly and nuzzling into his neck.
Warden lifted his good hoof to hook around Kuno’s middle, hugging her gently. “You know we could adopt, right?”
Kuno nodded gently, setting her jaw. “But it wouldn’t be the same. I want a foal. I want your foal.”
Blinking once, Warden tilted his head to the side. “Why is it so important to you?”
“What’s the closest two ponies can ever get?” Kuno asked suddenly.
Warden gave the changeling a long stare. “I guess... hugging? Kissing? Sex?”
Kuno nodded gently, and then gave him a level stare, locking her eyes with his own. “That’s what intimacy is. Two ponies trying to occupy the same space. Even if for just an instant. That’s what physical love is to me. It’s two ponies getting so close that they truly touch. Everything we do... when we kiss, our saliva doesn’t really mix. Our tongues don’t meld. Our hooves don’t really connect because they still belong to us. But a foal... a foal is part of us both. It’s proof that we came together for an instant, that our essences mixed.”
Warden nodded at that, gently nuzzling his cheek against her neck slowly. “I keep forgetting how deep you can be sometime.”
“I hide it behind goofiness,” Kuno said calmly, smiling and kissing his cheek. “If there was ever a pony I wanted to get that intimate with... it’s you, Warden. I want us to truly connect...”
“And?” Warden asked, pressing her for more with a knowing smile on his face.
“And foals are cute,” Kuno added with a helpless smile. “Plus, you and I? The foal will be a walking heart-attack factory!”
Warden nodded, gently nosing into his fiancee’s neck.
“I’m very proud of you, Warden,” Kuno said quietly.
Warden blinked once, raising a brow.
Kuno gave him a long, sober stare, before breaking into a goofy grin. “All of those openings and you didn’t make a single lewd joke!”
A cold night spent cuddled up to eachother in the light of glowing coals, and Warden and Kuno had progressed further into the Badlands than Warden had ever wanted to go. It had been miles since they had seen the last thing. There was no grass here, just dust, and jagged rocks thrusting themselves up through the earth like teeth.
“I wish Sunshine was still alive,” Kuno said suddenly.
Warden blinked once, unsure what to make of that. “Wha?”
“I killed him far too quickly,” Kuno said simply. “If it weren’t for him, we’d be there and back by now.”
“How far is it even to the hive?” Warden asked glumly, kicking a stone.
Kuno paused at that, looking thoughtful. “A while yet... at least another few hours.”
“After this is over, I’m going to sleep for like, eight years,” Warden stated, pausing again and sitting down heavily on his rump, stretching his bad hoof out in front of him.
Kuno nodded and splayed herself out besides him. “Kinda glad I chose a darker fur colour. You look like you rolled in the mud.” Kuno lifted a hoof, swatting his rump and then giggling at the puff of dust and the outline it left in his dirty fur.
“I need a bath,” Warden admitted, nodding once. “I might even drag you in with me.”
“I wouldn’t say no,” Kuno replied with a low purr, snuggling up against his side, pushing her way under his wing.
“You’re cute,” Warden said with a smile, nuzzling into her neck slowly.
“You’re just crawling for sex,” Kuno accused, swatting his rump.
Warden gave a wry smile at that. “Actually no, I’m a little too tired and worn out for something that strenuous.”
“A male turning down sex?” Kuno asked with a slow shake of her head, smiling faintly. “Now I really have seen it all.”
Eyes fluttering open, Warden stared up, and up, and up, into the eyes of a giant stonewolf.
Stonewolves were a rather less-publicized version of the timberwolves of the Everfree forest. Rather than being made of wood, these were composed entirely of jagged stones. A pair of glowing red eyes completed the terrifying ensemble.
Warden immediately backpedaled in reflexive fear, kicking at the dirt with his hooves, wincing in pain as he stretched his bad hoof, and his wings bumped against the rock behind him.
After several long moments, Warden managed to cogitate on the fact that there was a changeling standing behind the wolf.
Kuno stepped forwards calmly, looking up at the stonewolf. She lifted a hoof. The stonewolf snarled faintly, growling down at her, before leaning in and snuffling at her hoof for a moment, eyes narrowing. After a moment, it ‘arf!’ed and took a step backwards.
A soft hissing, clicking sound left the changeling, and it made a motion with a hoof.
“We have to follow him,” Kuno said calmly.
Warden nodded slowly, eyes wide, not taking his eyes off the wolf.
“Is this normal?” Warden whispered to Kuno, motioning towards the wolf following behind them.
Kuno shook her head, whispering back: “Chrysalis was talking about charming the stonewolves... but I didn’t think it was possible.”
“It’s kinda creepy,” Warden admitted quietly.
“Then it’s succeeding in its intent,” Kuno said with a wry smile.
Another hour of walking, this time with a stonewolf behind them, and they were at the base of the tower.
The tower was a giant black spire of something that looked rather like Kuno’s chitin. Hundreds of holes were visible along the sides of the spire, each of them filled with the glowing eyes of changeling, watching the new arrivals. Kuno gave an apologetic look to Warden, before a flash of green consumed her and she reverted back to her natural form.
Warden pressed close to his fiancee, afraid of losing her amongst the likenesses.
Up and up and up they were led, climbing a winding, zig-zagging staircase towards the top of the tower, until they emerged into the throne room.
The throne room was a large, open-air platform at the top of the tower. There were three giant floor-to-ceiling windows, that gently tapered to a smooth point at the ceiling. The windows themselves were comprised of what appeared to be hexagonal cells made of glass, giving the world outside a distorted, many-faceted appearance.
The stonewolf behind them pressed closer, and Warden jumped in place, yelping as he felt it’s nose against the small of his back, just above his tail. A large, stone paw lifted and pressed down on his back, quickly pinning him to the floor, and the stonewolf slunk up his form, until its nose was pressed against his forehead, red eyes staring down into his own.
Warden gave a faint whimper.
The stonewolf snorted once, and then stepped off him, walking towards one of the windows. A flash of green light consumed the stonewolf, and when it faded, Chrysalis was standing in its place.
“You come into our home... and you bring... this, with you?” Chryslis asked flatly.
Kuno shrunk back slightly, before glancing at Warden and then puffing her chest up, standing up straight and tall. “He is my fiancee.”
Chrysalis raised a brow at that, slowly turning back to face the pair. Her eyes narrowed slowly, and she gave a contemptuous snort. “He loves you despite of your species?” Kuno opened her mouth to respond, and Chrysalis lifted a hoof, halting her. “Let him speak himself. He has a tongue.”
Warden swallowed hard at that, his ears pinning back. “Y-yeah. I love her.”
“You would love a changeling?” Chrysalis asked, pressing close to the pegasus and trailing a hoof along his wing slowly, whispering into his ear, “You would willingly give yourself to a changeling?”
A tingle of magic arced between the queen and the pegasus, and Warden quivered faintly, his face slackening.
Kuno moved to stop the queen, and Chrysalis hissed at her dangerously, bringing the smaller changeling up short.
“Tell me, pegasus... you would give up everything for me?”
Warden existed in a grey haze, and Kuno was in front of him, asking him these questions. He nodded enthusiastically. “I would cross the sky for you, even with a broken wing.’
Chrysalis withdrew then, and the gray haze dropped. Warden blinked rapidly, lifting a hoof to his head and wincing.
“Dumb meat,” Chrysalis stated, waving a hoof dismissively. “It would take exceptional stupidity to love a changeling. I am unsurprised.” Kuno growled faintly, and Chrysalis rounded on her, eyes narrowing. “You would challenge me?” she asked silkily, her horn crackling with energy. Kuno shrunk back slightly, though her gaze was set.
Chrysalis snorted again, turning away. But before she turned, Warden caught something in her gaze as she stared at Kuno. He thought it might have been... envy.
“What did you come here for? Are you offering this dumb meat to me?” Chrysalis asked simply.
Kuno growled again, splaying her forehooves angrily. ‘Never!”
“Then speak, child. What is it?” Chrysalis asked, growling faintly.
“I...” Kuno trailed off, biting her bottom lip, deflating greatly. “I... want to know if it’s possible for us to have children.”
Chrysalis gave a low, low laugh at that, a building rumble in the back of her throat. “So it is not just the pegasus who is smitten?” she asked simply, giving a slow, malicious grin. “How different must you be raised where you come from to fall in love with a pony. What delicious irony.”
Kuno growled again, stamping a hoof. “I knew this would happen. Warden, we’re leaving.”
Chrysalis held up a single hoof, and it was a mark of how much power her presence had that both Kuno and Warden stopped mid-step.
“It would be... possible. You would have to be in pony form for the entirety of the conception, the carrying of the foal, and the birth. Any change magic would cause the foal to simply... cease to be.”
Kuno’s ears splayed back at that, and she frowned deeply. “I figured as much... but thank you for the confirmation.”
Chrysalis snorted once, waving a hoof. “Another mindless drone to add to the horde of ponies,” she stated flatly. “You sicken me. Leave my presence.”
Without another word, Chrysalis motioned towards the ceiling with her horn, and a long black staircase descended. The changeling queen stepped up the stairs, before they magically retracted, sealing the room from outside interference. Before the stairs were fully closed though, Warden caught sight of what appeared to be a tattered pony-plushie on Chrysalis’ bed. He was sure he saw a glimpse of a dirty blue mane, but then the stairs closed.
“She knew we were here the whole time?” Warden asked, rubbing a hoof against his temple.
“She probably sensed me the moment I entered the Badlands... probably came out to meet us as the stonewolf as some kind of reconnaissance,” Kuno said with a shake of her head. “C’mon, we’re leaving.”
As they were walking back through the horde of changeling, Warden was pushed to the ground by a changeling, and then a zap of magic hit him in the face. In an instant, Kuno was at his side, dragging him away. “C’mon, run!”
Warden bounded after her, his heart thudding in his ears, trying to wipe his face to figure out what had happened to it.
After a few minutes of running, Warden had to stop, taking shelter with Kuno behind a rock formation. Warden’s mind was buzzing with something from the magic hit, and it was hard to focus. “ugh, got me right in the face...” he murmured, rubbing a hoof against his cheek.
Kuno gave a worried frown, scooching closer to him and lifting her hooves to tenderly stroke over his cheeks. “Doesn’t look to be any damage... maybe an attempted stun? Doesn’t seem to have done much damage.”
Warden nodded, wincing faintly and grimacing. “Feels like my entire head is numb... or maybe just my mind. Like I haven’t slept in days.”
Kuno gave a worried frown at that, leaning forwards and kissing his nose, and then his lips, purring softly. “Let me kiss it better.”
Warden blinked once, his brows raising, before he purred faintly and leaned into the kiss, throwing a hoof around the changeling.
A smile spread across Kuno’s face, and she shifted closer, trailing a hoof down his form. “Doesn’t all this danger just excite you?” the changeling whispered faintly, a lustful note in her tone.
Warden nodded dumbly, pressing into Kuno’s form eagerly.
A roar from nearby made them both look up. Kuno’s eyes widening, and she leaned aside to peer towards the tower. “D-dragon!” she hissed in warning, pushing at Warden’s shoulder. “Hide!”
“They have a dragon?!” Warden asked, his eyes wide, pressing himself against the rock with a scared whimper.
“Y-yeah, that’s it!” Kuno stuttered. “They have a dragon!”
A shadow passed over them, and Warden looked up to see the golden eyes of a blue dragon staring straight down at them. “I-It sees us...” Warden whispered, clasping his hooves around Kuno tightly, staring fearfully up at the flying shape.
With a shake sigh, he pushed the changeling away, and then stepped away from the rock. “Run Kuno! I’ll distract it... I’d never outrun it anyhow. Run!”
Kuno glanced up at the dragon, back at him, and then immediately turned away, taking to the air and sprint-flying towards the tower at top speed.
Warden barely spared her a glance, focused on the dragon. He swallowed hard, closing his eyes as the dragon got closer.
A swoop of wings and Warden was snatched up by the dragon’s large paw, carried away.
Warden found it amazing that even in the claws of a dragon, he was getting bored. It had been a full hour since the dragon had swooped down and snatched him up, and now he was resting, albeit comfortably, in the dragon’s large paw. Escape was impossible. He had already tried to wiggle out. The fall to the ground would be fatal with his broken wing, either way.
Another half an hour, and Warden felt the paw shift. There was the sensation of them dropping, and then he was deposited delicately at the shore of a river. He blinked up at the dragon uncertainly, his eyes wide.
The dragon snorted once, smoke rising from its nostrils, staring down at him in response.
Warden gave an uncertain motion of a hoof. “Uh... hi there big dragon. Please don’t eat me?”
The dragon snorted again, seemingly amused. It twisted its head, leaning in close and staring at him. A large paw lifted, and a single claw extended.
Warden shirked back from the claw, closing his eyes and waiting for it to grind him into the ground. The clawtip delicately touched his forehead, and suddenly his mind cleared.
Suddenly, Warden was aware of everything. The magic blast in the crowd of changeling had worked. It had tricked him into thinking that the changeling he went with was Kuno. It hadn’t been!
Warden looked up at the dragon with a sudden new understanding, eyes wide. “K-Kuno?” he squeaked.
The dragon gave a wry smile at that, and then shivered all over. A flash of green encompassed its form, and a puff of smoke filled the air around it. Kuno came staggering out of the smoke, giving a cough that sent forth a single tongue of flame. She looked up at Warden with a weary smile.
“Bloody... changelings...” Kuno murmured, before she collapsed.
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Bloody changelings!
Self irony at it's best.
Edit: happy new year!
BLOODY PIRAAAAAATES!!!!!!
*Ahem*
I mean, uh Changelings...
Kuno turned into a dragon?
Chrysalis with a Shining Armor plushie?
The fact the two can have a foal?
Another stellar chapter, my good sir.
Kuno is a badass. 'Nough said.
Oh, and I guess this is now confirmed as not being part of the Transcend universe!!
....what just happened at the end?
and who's the plushie of?
I wanna say Shining Armor
Wait, I thought changelings were limited to only turning into similarly sized beings. I think you may be OPing them a little.
Damn Kuno, way to go!
1881187
Kuno is not being OP necessarily.
With some illusionary magic worthy of Trixie and the mimic-magic of a changeling, it wouldn't be hard to simulate a dragon. And with as much love as Kuno gets, her magic reserves are constantly being topped off at maximum capacity. But after this stunt, she's obviously tapped out now.
Everytime I read the word 'Warden' I think of Dragon Age
And then all the changelings turned into dragons and conquered the world.
And it's all Kuno's fault for giving them the idea.
The End.
only two Ponies coming to mind with blue manes are "unpowered" Luna and Shining Amor, and even then Luna probably hadn't met chrysalis since she was asleep during the wedding...
Hmm i though plot with Chrysalis will be longer heh
>>Seether001
Normally, maybe. But shoot a changeling full of love for the better part of a year....
1881330
BAHAHAHA
Great chapter, can't wait for more!
Kuno is able to change her shape, weight, features, and magic on a massive scale, becoming a blue dragon. This form is kept for hours. She is not connected with the hive. She speaks about changelings in the third face. Something in her past is not disclosed. She - a dragon(cursed maybe)!? I read fanfiction, which mentions blue dragons-mages, they are also able to take another look.
All of these wardens and flip-dragons resemble Dragon Age.
1881330
Chys was able to take down Celestia with a few weeks of love from Shining. Kuno has had MUCH longer to feast and his love is just as strong. I can see that transformation being possible, just dangerous and VERY draining.
Commence read.
Chrysalis seems to be longing for love. Shining Armor plush?
Dragon Kuno GO!
HOLY CRAP KUNO DID SOMETHING EVEN MORE BADASS!
Dragon Kuno is best Kuno
Awww man i need more to read this is awesome... I started reading an affliction of the heart and immediately moved onto this.
Ohhh, this is getting interesting. Can't wait to see what happens next. The constant jumping forward to the next scene was a little bothersome though.
Ah Chrysalis loves Shining Armor!
I DEMAND MOAR!
Sneaky sneaky.
1881330
I'm thinking illusion plus telekinesis here. After all, the only thing the dragon actually tangibly DID was hold him and carry him, while flying. Still magically intensive, but manageable with an overtopped reserve like Kuno would have at this point. (Chrysalis, with a few weeks to months' charge at most, was able to fight Celestia from a slightly superior position)
Kuno is Best Changeling.
Maybe Chrissy is gonna try to kidnap Warden and try to force him to marry her?
Shocking ending!
With her level of independence and that much magic I'm wondering if Kuno could be a juvenile changeling queen.
that was awesome! and cute! and WEEEEEEEEE!
When I hear the word Wardon I think of megamind
1881325
1884289 if you have ever bothered to look in the comments section of the first one, I was reading it from the time he posted his 2nd chapter...
1883039 I think that would be a "changeling princess" or something of that sort. it would make sense, and make for a fucking epic plot twist.
1881552 this is Kuno we're talking about. assuming that she can't pull of more bad-ass is like assuming that everyone on this site has black or brown hair. is it possible? slightly. is it likely, or even that plausible? FUCK NO!
1881187 She does love him a lot; I've heard tales of mothers picking up cars to protect their young.
1884889
Yeah but turning into a full sized dragon is a little much. Maybe a Griffin I could buy.
1884507
I doubt she's actual Changeling royalty, but rather has acquired enough personal being and a steady stream of love to gain the magical reserves of what usually never leaves that of Royal changelings. (Chrysalis kills and/or forces submission to those capable of opposing her. Usually the changeling in question would have changeling backing for a startup of a hive; but in this case Warden supplies enough.)
I suspect the doll to be that of Shining Armor. I doubt Chyrsalis fell in love with him like the main characters; but rather Chyrsalis has a certain respect for him, and his magical capabilities. She also likely misses the energy she got from his love. Hell, she may have had some "bedtime" with him aswell which she misses but that is unknown.
that was a chapter worth opening up fimfic for late at night... definitely a holy ---- moment.
hive for a brief time. 'hive only for a brief time' sounds better.
fiancee’s. ...Um, aren't they married?
How much do you want to bet that Kuno takes Swarm's form.
i just noticed today that this fanfic was out and i am so happy
really wanted so read more about the lives of warden and kuno
Woah, that last bit seemed really disjointed. Everything happening so quickly, seen through the eyes of a dazed, fatigued pony...
And then it all made sense. Also, what the heck? She can turn into a dragon?
btw, spotted a few errors:
> as he felt it’s nose against the small of his back
Should be "its".
> He loves you despite of your species?
Should be either "despite your species", or "in spite of your species". But not "despite of".
1885354
Or Spitfire's
You're quite a capable writer, so I assume you're fine with some critique. I'm just saying this because I'm going to be blunt, which I am in turn doing because I like this story and your writing in general. On to business.
this chapter is shit. It isn't THE shit, it's just shit. Here's why: First off, while the start is perfectly fine, as soon as the stonewolf is encountered, it takes the first big dip in quality (why introduce stonewolves, what purpose does it serve? How can Kuno know what it wants, why is Chrysalis' plan for the wolves and the supposed impossibility of it relevant to anything, why would the intention be cor then to be creepy when anything nonchangeling finds changelinvs creepy anyway and where the fuck did that line about Sunchaser come from anyway?).
Continuing into the hive the awfullness just increases: Why does Kuno see it necessary o be in changeling form, why does the wolf "attack" Wards. In the throne room, why the fuck was Chrysalis disguised as wolf, why does Chrysalis have half a page of completely uninteresting interrogation of the lead characters that yields zero new information, why the bloody hell did Kuno and Warden even need to go to her in the first place when Kuno already knew what was needed (This is just plain stupid and almost completely invalidates the existence of the entire chapter in just one sentence, and it is still only the second worst thing in this chapter.), why even give an explanation for why Chrysalis found them when it's as half-assed as that (Answern neither why she's a stonewolf nor why she's doing reconnaissance when she's got an entire hive to do it for her.).
Lastly, the quality takes a good long soak in a pool of crap during the escape. Why does a changeling attack him unprovoked and with no sign of hostility until now, why the bell is there suddenly a completely random dragon on the hunt, why do they assume that the changelings are In control of the dragon, why is this random dragon interested in him Warden anyway, why the hell is the changeling he was running away with suddenly not Kuno, how was it able to instantly replicate her behavior perfectly and where did Kuno go if that one wasn't her, why does Warden know that Kuno is the dragon and why, why, why is Kuno the motherfucking dragon? This is the worst thing. Kuno being able to shapeshift into a dragon retroactively destroys the entire plot of the first Affliction of the Heart, since Kuno in a goddamn dragonform would easily be able to scare Daggertail into submission or just outright slaughter, his entire organization and any others like him.
Nothing in this chapter makes sense and it is not because it's one of those funny-because-random-hilarious-shit-keeps-happening stories, it's just confusing, alienating and generally horrible to read. Also it invalidates itself as mentioned and kills the story prior to it. It's not just bad, it is horrendous and ruins the rest of the story up until this point.
When did you throw proper storytelling out the window for this garbage? You should really. Consider completely scrapping and rewriting this chapter. It really is bad enough to warrant such measures.
Again, I'm sorry if I come of as bad-tempered, elitistic, pretentious, or any combination thereof or offended anyone, that is not ny intent. I like your work and this story in particular, and I don't want to see it ruined just because no one told you how bad this chapter is.
(Sorry about any potential spelling mistakes and such, this was written on my phone and formating is really hard on this crap.)
Also, happy New Year to everyone.
Nice update, keep up the good work!
1888880
Okay, let's start from the top.
Stonewolves were introduced because they're cool. And it illustrates there there are things living in the badlands other than changeling. Kuno knows what it wants because of the CHANGELING standing behind it the entire time. The plan for the wolves is irrelevant other than to be FLAVOUR. You know, that stuff that makes a story interesting rather than just a blase romp through two-dimensional space. Kuno goes in changeling form because she's... I dunno? A changeling? Something to do with the fact that she's in a changeling hive at the time, surrounded by changelings. Fuck, it could even be seen as an INSULT that she's assuming another form while in the hive.
I'm sorry if the interrogation revealed absolutely nothing to you. You know, except for the fact that it shows Chrysalis, the queen of the changelings, pining after Shining Armor (the plushie she made), and envious of Kuno's and Warden's relationship. Chrysalis was disguised as a wolf, as it was said in the chapter, for reconnaissance purposes. She sensed a changeling and a PONY coming into her lands, and we like 'wtf is going on here?!' and wanted to see for herself exactly what was going on before they got too close to the hive.
Kuno SUSPECTED that this was the case, with the baby. Suspected. But hey, if you feel fine gambling on the life of unborn child with nothing to back it up but unconfirmed speculation, then cool. But how does SHE know the baby won't be stillborn and they'll spend nine months working towards having the baby just for it to die because they're not REALLY compatible?
And then the final scenes.
Chrysalis isn't FEEDING her changelings, so one of them decides to TAKE love from Warden. An 'easy target'. Kuno is dragged off while Warden is stunned, and he doesn't even notice because he's under the effects of the changeling magic. The changeling acts like Kuno because that's what the changeling mind spell if making Warden's mind DO. He projects her personality onto the new changeling.
Kuno escapes by using up over six months of stored love energy to turn herself into a dragon. The process almost kills her. The fake Kuno is equally as stunned and uncertain as Warden is at seeing a motherfucking DRAGON, and goes all 'holy shit, what do?!'. Hence it's confusion and uncertainty.
And the most insulting thing about your entire fucking post is that there's no problem at all that wouldn't be specifically touched upon in IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.
If you can't grasp the storyline, then stick to pointing out spelling mistakes, please.
P.S. The bit where you fucked up was saying 'time for critique!' and then following it up with things like: 'this chapter is shit. It isn't THE shit, it's just shit.' 'Lastly, the quality takes a good long soak in a pool of crap during the escape.'
That isn't critique. That's just insulting.
1888989
Nice beat down
Ignore the haters, your story is wonderful.
Few things to say:
1.
You just have Kuno, you just have
2. Can't wait to read the next chapter
3. I have to agree, the Dragon-Kuno part felt too short and unexplained; I hope too see that explained in future chapters
1882390 That would seem like a good plot-twist
1885790 Not to sound like a grammar Nazi, but names should start with capitals.
Sorry 