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// Chapter One: Fear And Snuggles 
// Story: Inquiline Imposter 
// by Nyarlathi 
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White Hat was asleep in his bed when Discord warped into his bedroom, snuggling in with what appeared to be an array of handmade plush toys. Peering down at the slumbering hero, Discord stroked his goatee thoughtfully, pondering what he had made an intruder of himself to do. This particular eldritch being had done him no wrong, nor, as far as he knew, even heard of him. However… he realised that he ran the risk of causing a parole-violating catastrophe if he introduced only a world-conquering villain to Equestria, and he doubted Fluttershy wouldn’t be disappointed in him if he didn’t take some kind of precaution. An equal opposite seemed just what the doctor ordered, in terms of keeping balance, and he doubted they wouldn’t have entertaining clashes to amuse him with when they met. Something about this still didn’t feel quite right, but… he wasn’t sure what. Oh well, time to get this party started.





The first thing White Hat became aware of, as he drifted towards wakefulness, was that he was no longer clutching anything. Had he somehow dropped his plushes? His bed was rather large, so he wouldn’t have expected it, but… that wasn’t the only weird thing, he realised. Why couldn’t he feel his pillows? His blanket? Even his mattress seemed to somehow be absent, and that didn’t make all that much sense, but it was undeniable. Instead, there was something somewhat gooey completely encasing him, warm and secure, comfortable and distinctly not what he’d gone to sleep in. Eyes sliding open, he peered blearily out into what seemed to be a softly-lit bluey-purple capsule of goo. How had he gotten into that? Squirming, he quickly found that the boundary of it was quite close – constrainingly so, in fact.

Anxiety fluttering in his chest, he ran through his memories of the previous night, trying to figure out what could have caused this situation. Had Dr Slug been working on anything gooey? Had he clashed with anyone with a preference for encasing people thus? Nothing seemed to present itself, even considering whether he himself might have accidentally done this. None of his known enemies or allies made sense for this, and with his rising confusion came a sense of frantic unease. He tried to shapeshift into something too large for his encasement – but nothing happened. Whatever equivalent he had for adrenaline spiking, he tried to claw his way out – but where were his arms? His legs? Something brushed gently against his mind, feeling both bizarrely natural and terrifyingly other – in a blind panic, he thrashed madly, in the midst of a fully-fledged freak-out.

Something on his forehead caught against the boundary, puncturing and tearing it as he writhed, the goo spilling out alongside him as what seemed to be an egg gave out and disgorged him. Flopping about, he stared, eyes wide – and since when had he had both of those? Damp fluff greeted him when he tried to look at himself – like a furry caterpillar, but for the lack of legs, each section of him either off-white or pale purple. ...At least he still bore his signature colour scheme, sort of, but since when had he been a baby bug? Eyes prickling, he opened his mouth and keened piteously, disoriented and in much distress.

Another brush against his mind, this time clearly someone else’s presence, trying to convey a sense of care and soothing. He only trembled more, not really in much of a frame of mind to appreciate it – only to freeze up when he felt something take gentle hold of him and lift him into the air alongside what seemed to be a soft towel, carefully brushing the moisture from his fluff. Suspended in midair by a green glow, he stared warily at the source – a long, curved horn, one nick taken out of it. The horn was grey, mottled darker around the nick, and belonged to… an equine? Insectoid? Moth-horse didn’t seem to be an entirely accurate descriptor of the partially fluffy being despite the wings and antennae, but even if he’d been more lucid, he wouldn’t have been totally sure, as she seemed… unwell. Her lighter grey fur was unkempt where it hadn’t fallen off amidst more mottling, blue chitin and mane dulled, and while he could tell as he began to calm just enough to be more observant that her fur was likewise on a layer of chitin, there was wrinkling, as though aged skin. Chitin wasn’t supposed to do that.

Staring into her tired blue-layered eyes, his breathing slowing and his wail ceasing, he felt a distinctly strange sense of knowledge. She was a changeling – he was a changeling – she was the Queen, and his mother… Again, he was poleaxed by bewilderment, feeling even more lost. He was an ancient being, and one who’d never known a mother of his own – why was he feeling those things? His internal questions temporarily ceased, along with most of his thought processes, as the glow around the Queen’s horn brightened. Euphoria poured into him, feeding him somehow as he was swept away in a swell of… was that love? Whatever it was, it was intense, blotting out almost everything else – until the flow tapered off, leaving him giddy and bemusedly full. Gently, the Queen took him into her forelegs, releasing the magic field and holding him close to her rather soft and fluffy chest. It was so warm… Though he’d only just awoken, he felt drowsy.

In an attempt to keep himself awake long enough to at least take stock in some way, he bit his lip – discovering in the process that he seemed to still possess fangs. Well, at least there was that. The flash of pain seemed to do the trick for the time being, but he wasn’t sure how long that would remain effective. Peering out from over the Queen’s leg, he stared out at a chamber with what looked like warm brown resin walls, dangling lights in the form of gel capsules casting a soft white glow across the apparent nest area. There was only one nest, lined with more gel, and as he watched, he could see other larvae bursting from their eggs. Fluffy like himself, but bearing soft blue rather than purple, each was scooped up in turn to be fed, then cuddled close alongside him. As they nuzzled in close, he found himself losing the battle with sleep, eyelids drooping as he sank again into slumber.