King Thorax, leader of the Changelings rolled over in bed. His hooves were met with empty air. His eyes snapped open, glowing a faint violet in the dark. A scan of the Royal Bedchamber confirmed that he was its only occupant. Thorax stretched all of his legs, and sat up on his haunches, thinking. He then smiled thinly, he knew just where to look at this time of night, or most times for that matter.
He silently crept out of bed and left the chamber, nodding to the drones on guard. He set off at an almost silent trot down the ever-shifting halls of the Hive. His destination was a relatively-recently added wing of the Hive. Changelings were still unused to doors, they considered them an unnecessary segregation of space. Instead of knocking on a door, Thorax knocked on the inner wall of the room, near the entry hole. “Sec?” he called, “Honey, are you in here?”
“Up here, Moosey!” came the muffled reply. Thorax chuckled, and stepped into the Hive Library. The room was almost pitch-black, but changelings needed very little light to see by. Thorax looked all around him, but couldn’t find anyone. A laugh caught his attention. “Moosey, how long have we known each-other? I said ‘up’ here.”
Thorax glanced up. Perched on the ceiling of the Library was Secundus, the Spirit of Duality, and mate of the Changeling King. Thorax laughed, and flew up to meet him. Walking on walls was second nature even for young Changelings, so sitting on the ceiling wasn’t much of a stretch. Thorax stretched out a bit, and nuzzled Secundus affectionately. “You never could like gravity, could you?” Thorax asked teasingly.
Secundus stared at him. “After all of my encounters with Discord, and meeting others of my kind in my travels, I think I can scientifically prove that ‘It’s a Draconequus thing’ to not like gravity. Unless you’re Steve, the Spirit of Order.”
Thorax gave Secundus an amused look. “The Spirit of Order is named ‘Steve?!’” he said in a semi-mocking tone. It wasn’t a good idea to insult a Draconequus, but it was still too funny of a name for so important a Spirit.
Secundus nodded seriously. “Yeah, it’s not even ‘Steven,’ it’s just Steve. Given that a Draconequus’s name is our version of a cutie mark, no one is brave enough to ask him why. It’s just one of those things. I learned not to question some things.”
Thorax’s mind wandered for a moment. Despite them being mates for three years, Thorax couldn’t help but think of Queen Chrysalis when he heard Secundus’s voice. It sounded like two very different stallions speaking in mostly unison, with the occasional lapse between the two voices. Thorax then remembered what had brought him here. His face took on a concerned expression. “What’s wrong?” he asked politely.
Secundus took on an expression of innocence. “What makes you think something’s wrong?” he asked in a casual tone.
Thorax smiled wryly. “I know you don’t need to sleep, you just enjoy it, but whenever you come in here for a reading binge in the middle of the night something’s usually wrong.” Thorax put a leg around Secundus’s shoulder. “I should think I know my own mate a little better than that.”
Secundus sighed, and snapped the book he was reading closed, casually defying gravity by putting it “down” on the ceiling next to him. He then looked at his form, his mind wandering. Whenever he was in Equestria, or just being himself, his usual form resembled Discord’s. Secundus was every bit as Chimeric as Discord, but with a slightly different theme, his body was split in half.
His head resembled a pony’s, instead of a goat’s. The left side of his face was a sunny yellow, the right side of his face was a muted blue. The two colors were not split in a straight line, but in a mild wave. Instead of two horns, he had a horn that resembled an unreformed Changeling’s, although it was a bit oversized. His eyes were jet black from edge to edge, with glowing blue irises, which served as a separation between his sclera and pupils. The teeth on the right side of his mouth were like those of a deer, the teeth on the left side of his mouth were needle-like fangs. The long fur on his neck was the same yellow as the left side of his face.
His ears were like a bat’s, with their colors opposing the sides of his face, blue on the left, yellow on the right. He had a long white goatee, but it only ever grew on the left side of his face, the right side was always beard free. His mane was shaped like Discord’s, but had the colors of a Zebra, repeating stripes of black and white. The fur on his body was a slate grey, which he’d never really liked. His left arm and paw was that of a grizzly bear’s, his right arm and paw was that of panda’s. His right leg was that of gazelle, his left leg was a lion’s leg and paw. Instead of one long tail, his spine split into two short ones, the left was that of a cheetah, the right that of a kangaroo. He seemed to be split along carnivore/herbivore lines. He didn’t have any wings, but could still fly by “snaking” through the air like a Chineighes dragon. Magic came in handy sometimes.
Thorax waved a hoof in front of Secundus. “Sec? You OK?”
Secundus blinked. “Hmm? Oh! Yes, I’m fine. Sorry, my mind was wandering again.” He gave Thorax a sheepish smile. “Uh … what were we talking about again?” He cringed slightly.
Thorax rolled his eyes. As smart as his mate was, he could be a little featherbrained at times. “We were talking about why you’re wandering the Hive in the wee small hours, and why you’re currently trying to escape into,” his eyes scanned the upside-down title, “Harry Trotter and the Dungeon of Mysteries.”
Secundus lightly pushed Thorax’s hoof off his shoulder, and sighed. “Just … thinking. I do my best thinking at night, and not physically needing sleep anymore keeps me up even more. I mean, I’ve had a crazy time these past two years.” He grinned at the memories. “Going from bipedal ape-thing to Draconequus, and getting sucked into an alternate dimension would be a shock for anyone.” He frowned slightly. “Yeesh. Took me months to figure out I even had magic, let alone how to use it.” He then shuddered. “Meeting the Draconequine Council, that’s an experience unto itself.” Secundus then smiled again. “It was really cool to find my name and destiny: Secundus, Spirit of Duality, bringer of balance.” He put an arm around Thorax, and snuggled into him. “Plus, I got to fall in love with the most wonderful technicolor bug-horse I’ve ever met.” Thorax gave him a Look. Secundus shrugged. “It’s true. I still think you’re adorable.” Secundus frowned. “Although, two stallions as mates is still kind of rare. That was an entirely new hurdle, I didn’t even think I was into stallions. Although, you and I might not qualify as stallions due to our natures, we both can change if we want. Sorry, I’m rambling again.” He then pulled Thorax into an even tighter embrace, snaking lightly around him. “Thorax,” he said softly, “Did I do right?”
Thorax didn’t know how to respond. The two sat in silence for a minute, then Thorax began to run a hoof through his mate’s mane. Secundus began to purr softly. Thorax then put a hoof under Secundus’s chin, and tilted his muzzle up until he was looking into Thorax’s eyes. “What do you mean, ‘Did you do right?’” It was asked in a slightly forceful tone, but still a caring one.
Secundus pulled an arm free, and gestured at the room below them. “This. Our life. You’re the King of the Changelings, I’m a Spirit with responsibilities in a minimum of seven different dimensions. I can go months without seeing you, even if I’m back almost before I left. I’m immortal, and you might be, I at least know you’re very long lived, but ... I don’t want to lose you. You have a kingdom to run, I have to help keep balance across the realms. I just …,” he paused. “Do you think this will work out? I can’t see the future, at least not without getting in major trouble from the Council. What if - ”
Thorax put a hoof on Secundus’s lips. “What’s to work out? You’re my mate, and I love you. Yes, we’ve both got busy lives, and more responsibilities than we can count, but we still have each-other. And yes, you have to travel even more than me, to places I can’t imagine, but I know you’ll always come back, knowing you, with a physics-defying gift. And if one day I do die,” Thorax stopped for a moment, before tenderly kissing his mate. “You’re a lot stronger than you think. I know you are, because you helped me to find my strength. You always pull your weight around the Hive, and Equestria as well. It’ll all work out somehow, you don’t need to know how, you just need to know it will.”
Secundus gave crooked grin. “So, I not only married a King, I married a philosopher and an optimist. This just keeps getting better. Thank you. Just for being you, the Changeling I love.”
The two sat embracing each-other for a long time, feeding off of each-other’s love. Thorax smirked, unseen by his mate. He then bent his head, and gently bit Secundus’s neck. He then flicked his forked tongue into Secundus’s ear. “Want to make a nymph?” He hissed in a goofy attempt to be seductive.
Secundus laughed as his mate’s adorkableness. He then sat up, and started stroking his half-goatee, looking thoughtful. “Well, … actually yes. I don’t know what kind of father I’d make, I believe in dessert before dinner, among other crimes. Hmm. I wonder if we’re even genetically compatible? I mean, I am a Spirit, I could always tweak it a bit. It’d be interesting to see if the baby’s a hybrid of some sort. Say that reminds me-” He then caught Thorax’s expression.
“You just went full Twilight Sparkle mode dear,” said Thorax.
Secundus gave a weak grin. “Sorry, did I kill the mood?”
Thorax shook his head. “Never,” he said with an evil grin. Secundus swallowed nervously, he knew that look.
Secundus then said, “Well, let’s get to it … Papa Thorax.” He started to kiss his mate. He then snapped the fingers on a paw, and teleported them back to the Royal Bedchamber. Where, thankfully, there were doors.