Two, once again in a different disguise - this time as a black, dark-blue maned dwarf mare wearing a short chain mail, looks into a mug on her table. The tavern she’s sitting in is a much smaller one in the far corner of the king’s part of Brauheim, but no less lively thanks to the evening stream of dwarves ending another busy mining day. The uniform rhythm of everyone despite any connection to daylight outside supports the theory that dwarves are half alcohol, half iron ingot, and half clock, all rolled into half of an earthpony.
She doesn’t flinch as our irritating and invisible golden alicorn slips on an unoccupied chair next to her. Corner tables are always a sign - approach at your own risk, no matter the culture.
”Ahhhh,” Scream stretches her legs, ”Boss bug is busy, chatterbug is... hopefully in pain, so it’s just the two, heh, of us.”
”Which means?” Two looks up from her mug, giving the full tavern a once over just in case someone wanted to approach her.
”Well, since your real mother is kinda… gone, I decided that I can help you learn some basic stuff a growing changeling needs, namely getting lust.”
”I’m okay on energy,” replies Two simply.
”Right now, definitely, but what if the dwarves reveal you? Replacing a loved one isn’t always possible, and it’s time consuming, while a one-night stand is a quick way to get some good old delicious lust. Plus, it’s your job to be able to feed your king under any circumstances. That’s what infiltrators are for.”
Two grits her teeth in determination.
”I understand. Why should I listen to you, though, and not the boss?”
”As you might have guessed, boss bug isn’t the most assertive kind of changeling, and from what chatterbug told me, and he knows your boss a lot better than you do, his experience with seduction is mostly others trying to seduce him. In short, if he was on his own, he’d either starve, or he’d have to attack someone and use venom on them, which supposedly makes love and lust taste much worse, and a softy like him would definitely regret using force. I, on the other hoof, am the alicorn of Lust, the being whom everyone needs deep down, the empress of wet dreams, the goddess of hot nights, and so on. I can show you how to turn mares, stallions, and anything in between, no matter the species, into a drooling, begging, hot mess,” Scream winks, shifts on the chair, and suddenly Two’s attention switches to how the flickering yellow light of torch-imitating light bulbs flows over Scream’s golden coat, leaving shadows accentuating the curve of her inner thigh-
The young changeling forces herself to look away, breathing heavily. For a moment there, all her instincts screamed at her to throw the alicorn on the floor, mount the mare until she was bulging with eggs, and then keep going until she herself slips unconscious from Scream’s back, exhausted and empty, but with already growing addictive need for the next encounter.
”I’m… I’m… stop!” Two whispers, unable to control the trembling of her mental voice, ”I don’t want you, I want the boss- I mean I want to serve the b- not in that way, I just… it’s… I won’t let you use me against him.”
Scream chuckles.
”Oh my cute, little, smart bug, if I really wanted you to, you’d slit his throat without a moment of regret just for a second between my thighs. Aren’t you glad I’m on your side?”
Is she, really? Despite her currently heavily damaged self-control, Two is absolutely certain Scream is only on her own side, and as soon as she or the boss get in the way, the mischievous alicorn could quickly become an enemy deadlier than the entire dwarven civilization.
Two, shaking all over, empties her mug just to feel the searing warmth of alcohol strong enough to disinfect surgical equipment in order to combat Scream’s creeping influence warping and corrupting her imagination. Just like her mother did, according to Three’s words, she could drag the boss off somewhere, and ride him until-
”STOP!” she tries to shout, but even the mental words come out only as loud croak.
”Hmmm… perhaps I overestimated you,” says Scream, her suddenly disinterested voice working like a cold shower. Two slowly reclaims her mental balance, and after some more heavy breathing she’s finally able to focus on here and now.
”Wh-what do you mean?”
”I’m just a projection of myself, with no real power, and yet you still almost ran off to rape you ‘dad’ within seconds of me removing the barrier protecting you mortals from myself. Even chatterbug is more resilient than you are, although I don’t know why. I should ask, really, but I doubt we’d survive another completely unrelated coloring book story with either my sanity or his tongue intact.”
Two hangs her head low, ears splayed.
”I understand,” she grits her teeth, ”How can I become like you?”
”Survive to be eons old, become the living embodiment of what is basically a force of nature, and practice on all species, genders, and races. First interspecies, then cross, then break their taboos,” Scream pats rather overwhelmed Two’s head, ”Nevermind, let’s start small, by which I mean dwarf sized. We can work up to having fun with minotaurs or dragons later. First, it’s important to always be in charge. You can let yourself go in the heat of the moment if you trust someone, but when you’re hunting, you must be the one making decisions no matter what. Second, don’t headbutt targets in the crotch like you did to the minotaur, that’s frowned or painfully groaned upon. Also, butting too hard can end the encounter quickly, especially if an accidental horn is involved.”
Pouting Two nods, upon which Scream continues:
”Keeping cool will come with practice, so let’s just jump in and see where your changeling instinct takes you. Step one - pick a target. The dwarven helmets are a good protection, but you see that guy-” Scream points across the room where a stallion turns his head to follow the passing waitress’ plot, ”-take a peek? It’s not his first. He’s looking for some fun tonight. The married and taken stallions drink more, bitch about politics, and focus on different things. We’ll leave those for some other time. The pent-up ones smell different too,” Scream takes a deep sniff, smile spreading on her lips, ”Yep, we found someone ripe for the picking.”
”Different scent?” Two furrows her brows, enhancing her sense of smell. Old, spilled beer, coal dust lingering on the miners’ horseshoes, faint scent of the waitress’ incoming heat all become prominent. She’ll be ready in few days. It takes Two minutes to untangle and categorize each confusing whiff, but Scream doesn’t rush her. She grins, though, when Two’s eyes suddenly go wide, ”Like… sweat, a lot of heavy dirt and sweat? Give me a moment.”
Two stands up, walking over to the counter and ordering another mug of liquor, all while deciphering scents belonging to dwarves she passes by. Closer, she can almost feel the warmth radiating from the target dwarf, and connects the heavy smell with the pink sun she can ‘see’ when closer.
”I think I’ve got it!” Two nods after sitting down at her table again, ”I can see six more I could go for.”
”Only six?” Scream raises an eyebrow, ”Well, not bad for a first try. Eventually, anyone here should be a potential target. The married ones often want a quick roll in the hay a lot more than the singles, they just aren’t allowed to,” she licks her lips, ”which makes tempting them so much more fun. A little test of their relationship, you might say. The worthwhile survive, tempered by me. The ones doomed to failure end up in rage and tears. More passion either way. Anyway, step two - did you notice how he didn’t turn his head when you passed by unlike with that chocolate waitress? We definitely want to change that. Hop to the bathroom, and we’ll make sure you turn more than just his head when you come out.”
”Mhm,” Two leaves the new, unfinished mug on the table as a sign she’ll be back shortly, because no well-behaved dwarf would leave alcohol un-drunk unless they were rolling unconscious under the table. Small side-door with a chain mail symbol lets Two through into the mare bathroom, and she slips into an unoccupied stall. Scream pushes her head through the stone wall due to limited space reasons.
”Hmmm… I’d say your overall size is right, although some stallions want their partners smaller or the more adventurous ones even bigger, but we’ll leave that for some other time. Let’s start from the top - mane. Light blue is nice, but I’d go a shade darker, because from what I’ve seen until now the dwarf natural colors are a bit dimmer than those of surface ponies. Let’s make it longer, too. No- move it onto one side so it hangs down to your cheek. Nice! Make it grow a little bit on the other side, just a little, as if you shaved it yesterday. Decent undercut, if I say so myself. That’s my good, little, cheap crackwhorse.”
”What’s a cra-”
”Don’t worry about that,” Scream waves her hoof through the wall, ”This makes you look cheap and wild, which to the dwarves could seem extremely exotic, or off-putting to some. We’ll have to see, because I’m not too versed in their culture. Eyes… let’s go with wine red. Show yourself-”
Two looks straight up at Scream.
”-Yep, works like a charm. Add some lipstick. I’m personally in favor of green or gold for the crazy effect, but that wouldn’t work on you in this disguise. Let’s go for a dark blue, but just the faintest touch of it.”
”I… don’t know what a lipstick is, Scream. Like… branches in the mouth?” Two taps the floor nervously, ”There’s no information about it in our hive mind, among a lot of other things I see around,” she sighs, "And that goes for a lot of things you're saying. I understand all the words... you just don't make much sense to me."
”Don't worry about that, this will help you get proper branches into your mouth. Thick, long, meaty branches,” she slowly traces a line on Two’s lips, ”Just add a little dark blue film where I touched you. Eeexcellent, I think I can freely call you smart bug more often than mini bug now.”
Two can’t help smiling when Scream pats her head. The happy expression doesn’t go too well with the cheap but attractive whorse look Scream is trying to build, but she doesn’t complain. After a second of pondering the result, Scream continues:
”So, the upper part that’s gonna help you attract your target is sorted out, now we need to go lower. Your coat should be a little longer, and shinier. No, that’s too much, you look like a bearded collie crawling from a tub of lard. Just a little more than before. Hmm… looks good, but- AH HAH! Add a faint touch of dark blue to it, it’ll reflect the electric lights better, and also fit with your mane and lipstick. Ohhh, now that’s bucking epic. If you weren’t so bony, I’d be tempted to bend you over the toilet and teach you the true meaning of deep core mining.”
”...pleasedo...” squeaks Two before jamming her hoof into her mouth, ”I mean… I mean...”
”I get it, I get it. Being too long around me even when I’m not trying to do anything is a problem for you mortals. But, if you can’t handle something as small as this, then I won’t be able to teach you, and you won’t serve boss bug to the best of your ability.”
Two grits her teeth, takes a deep breath, and with a determined expression totally unfitting her disguise, nods.
”This’ll be a problem. I might make you look good, but you’re making yourself look bad. Your expression doesn’t fit the image at all. Let’s sort out the easy part first - your body. Now, different stallions like different things, unless you make them think about what you want them to like. You can covertly change yourself as you notice where they glance as you talk to them, but that’s risky. The easy way is to flaunt your assets properly. If a stallion likes butts but you’re not exactly developed in that department, touch him with your soft coat, shift on the chair so that when he looks down he gets a quick peek of a thick nipple, you get the idea.”
”Why can’t I just max out on the butt, coat, thighs, and everything? Then no stallion would resist me, right?”
”As one fat Nightmare Night pumpkin in a different reality said more than once - WRONG! Being too over the top is a turn off, even if you’re myself. One, you’d look unapproachable. Only the dumbest douchebags with too high opinion of themselves would have the courage to talk to you, and if you took charge, those with less confidence would be suspicious you want to drug them, and that they’d wake up in a bathtub full of ice with a missing kidney. Plus, sex with stallions too full of themselves quite often sucks. It’s just in-out, in-out, roll over, snore. I like stallions who use their mouths properly and keep going even after I pass out. Those are keepers. Too bad ponies are only useful for few decades. Oh, where was I?” Scream returns to the subject when she notices Two listening intently, but now slightly confused, ”You don’t understand most of what I’m saying, do you?”
”I’m sorry. I know all the words, but there’s no experience within the hive mind that I can reach. I… most of it makes no sense to me.”
To Two’s surprise, Scream just smiles.
”Then we’ll just have to make you experience all of that. Over time, of course,” the alicorn rubs her hooves together, ”Ooooh, it’s so much fun having an apprentice! I’m actually giddy. Anyway, having somewhat of a one-track mind comes with the territory, I assume. So, no turning into the wet dream of all stallions for now. Let’s start off simple - you need bigger butt and thicker thighs. Alright, but that’s too fat, it needs to be firm, but enough to jiggle a little when you walk. Well done! Maybe more muscles on your front legs and chest? No no, that looks too warrior-y, and the chain mail already doesn’t fit too well anymore. Let’s stick to the original. Now we need to add a flaw that would add a touch of personality but wouldn’t ruin your appearance… too much.”
”A scar maybe?” offers Two, ”Some small one in a visible place? Mining accidents and cave-ins must be quite common. Plus, it could be a conversation starter.”
”Good thinking! Lower neck, I’d say? Hmm… looks good. Noticeable, but not obtrusive. Now go out there and get him!”
Two leaves the bathroom with one final look in the mirror. She has to admit Scream’s guidance has been helpful. What’s left is to find out just how much.
However, as soon as she returns to the main room after so much time spent in the stall, something different she didn’t smell before catches her improved nose. Something… familiar yet new. Immediately, she follows the scent towards the bar counter.
”Our dwarf is over there, smart bug,” comments Scream in the original direction.
”Not now, Scream. I smell… a changeling,” Two furrows her brows, ”Venom, to be exact. That dwarf,” she nods towards a solitary mare sitting on a barstool, ”has been bitten by someone. Very recently, too. Minutes, maybe?”
“Hello there,” with a friendly smile, Two sits on the stool next to the dwarf.
“Oh h- hi,” the the mare looks up from her drink into Two’s eyes. Two’s glowing wine-red eyes. She doesn’t know how to break anyone’s mind with just a thought, but her body is reacting to her need to be persuasive on instinct.
“Why so sad?” Two pushes her stool a little closer, and orders the other mare another drink. She downs it in one gulp, and after a moment of choking, she slams the mug down on the counter.
“I met the love of my life, and then he just walked away, giving me the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ bullshit.”
“You know,” Two winks at her, “I’m kinda bored tonight. Can you tell me who was it? I feel like giving somepony the taste of their own medicine.”
“I don’t know...” hesitates the mare.
”Say a case of blue balls,” whispers Scream.
”What?”
”Just trust me.”
“How about a bad case of blue balls, hmm?” Two leans closer, wiggling her eyebrow, “A little strike for mare rights in this city.”
That makes the dwarf grit her teeth, and loudly order another drink.
“It was a dwarf with a brown beard,” she hisses, turning around and scanning the area, “Such beautiful black coat and cyan eyes...” shaking her head, she sighs, “Oh, he must have left. I could swear he was over there with the, yeah,” she points at another solitary mare sitting in a corner booth alone, ”with her. Damn, did he leave her too? What an ass! Lemme...” she blinks out of sync, the alcohol and Two’s befuddling pheromones finally catching up to her, “Lemme go tohk… talk.. thhr… to her. Kick dat… dat fake ass playa… in d… nuts… sis… ter,” she wobbles off towards the other seemingly downcast mare.
“Damn it,” Two curses quietly, leaving a coin on the counter as she rushes out of the tavern. Outside, she sniffs the marginally fresher air. The scent trail is weaker, but unmistakable, “Gotcha!”
Few minutes later, she catches up to a fully armored dwarf carrying a pickaxe on his back, and decides to follow him.
”Can’t he smell you too?” asks Scream as Two’s target leads them through the calmer hallways of nighttime Brauheim, ”It looks to me like he’s just walking around.”
”It’s possible,” admits Two, ”I’ve been trying to limit my trail in any way I can, but I’m new to this. However, there’s still enough dwarves everywhere so that I don’t stand out, I hope. We’ll see. He’s not walking around, he’s headed for the outer mine shafts.”
Some ten minutes later, Two has to drop her horseshoes and shapeshift her hooves into soft pads so that she can walk unheard in the mine tunnels. The target disguised changeling doesn’t seem bothered, though, as he’s happily humming a tune while his plate boots crush loose gravel underneath, giving Two more than enough cover. Either he knows what’s up, and is leading Two away into a dark corner, or… he’s really completely oblivious to her stalking.
The answer becomes apparent as he grabs his pickaxe, and begins chipping away at a wall with absolute precision in complete darkness.
”His natural night vision must be better than mine,” Two uses love to improve her eyesight, and stops the flow into her nose in order to save energy for a possible fight.
”Did the idea that you’re not much of a fighter cross your mind?” asks Scream.
”I’ll have to improvise,” Two grabs the dark priest’s device, aims it around the bend in the mining tunnel, and it fails to beep, leaving only the humming and sound of pickaxe hitting the wall. Nevertheless, she pushes the button.
“Argh.. wha-” the dwarf groans, as green sparks run through his coat as Two approaches, not lowering her wand. Before her, the spasming dwarf’s coat disappears, giving way to black chitin. Cyan eyes remain the same, only lose pupils and fill out with color.
The plate armor sags, dropping onto someone even smaller than the dwarf was. A changeling drone’s head peeks out of the neck hole of the heavy plate mail, head turning in panic, and eyes wide as it scrambles to push the armor off of itself before Two reaches it.
Two pushes the armor away, and the drone kicks her leg, immediately darting past her back through the tunnel, wings buzzing to help the small legs pump away.
Another use of the dark priest’s wand yields no result now that the drone has been revealed, so Two has to gallop as fast as she can to catch up, taking off her chain mail in the process.
The drone is quick, and Two has to burn love in order to catch up, feeling her energy reserves depleting rapidly. No matter how smart or adaptive Two is, she’s also very young and undeveloped, so her love capacity is nowhere sufficient for a long, strenuous combat and chase. With one final leap, she lands on the drone’s back, grabbing it tightly with her forelegs.
“Aaaaah!” the drone flails its legs, its blows being more annoying and painful rather than dangerous even to Two. She grabs its head, and smashes it against the jagged floor, repeating the process until the drone’s flailing subsides.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” growls Two.
“Uahgh...” the drone just moans over a thin trickle of green blood from a broken tooth.
”ALL THAT BEAUTY WORK AND NOW YOU’RE JUST PUNCHING THINGS! SEE, YOU CHIPPED THAT POLISHED HOOF.”
”I’ll use this body later, Scream, I promise.”
”I’m making you start off with three stallions at once for this...” the pouting alicorn disappears.
Two grabs the dazed drone by its neck.
”Talk!”
“I’m... a dwarf?” croaks the drone hopefully, before looking at himself, “Uh oh… the black stuff is… coal dust, right, coal d-” Two rams his head into the floor again, picking a more rocky spot.
“Try again.”
“Owww… please don’t kill me!” the drone covers its muzzle with forelegs full of holes, “I didn’t hurt anypony, miss dwarf, I just wanted to dig something, but they sent me to spy on the king’s side-”
“Who sent you?!”
The drone goes quiet, then furrows its brows.
“I… I… I can’t say-”
*Smash!* *Crack!*
“WHO sent you?!”
“I DON’T KNOW!” yelps the drone, “There’s something in my head. I can’t tell you, I don’t know! I swear I don’t know...” the drone breaks into sobs as Two grabs it by its head fin, ready to keep smashing until either brain or information come out.
Faced with the trembling and horrified small creature, Two stands back up while the drone keeps cowering on the floor, walks over to its hind leg, and-
*Crack*
-breaks it.
“Aaaahhh owowowowowow...” the drone in shock just keeps quietly crying, scared out of his chitin.
“Just so that you don’t get any funny ideas,” Two scowls. The drone apparently barely registers it, so she raises her voice, “GET UP!”
The broken, shaking, and crying pile of chitin tries to get up on three legs in fear of being hurt even further.
“Walk!” Two nods into the tunnel, keeping the crippled drone in front of her as she marches through the mining tunnels back into Brauheim. Aside from the drone’s quiet whimpering, the two walk in silence, Two shooting dirty glances at any occasional dwarf still roaming the streets under the dimmed night lights, and hiding the drone behind herself until they’re out of sight.
After the dwarf king’s split from the queen, the big tavern became the new town hall, and a vault bordering with residential district became the mostly unused prison. Two dwarven guards, though, still stand in front of the larger building, and don’t say a word as Two after returning into her disguise as Hammer leads the drone on the border of collapse from exhaustion and pain, ushering it into one of the smaller vaults where it immediately keels over onto a pile of gold coins, gasping for breath.
“If you move, I will find you. Don’t forget that,” says Two, closing the inside door behind herself, and walking over to the guards, “I’m Hammer, the new queen’s right hoof. Make sure nothing gets in and out of that vault. I’ll go inform the queen immediately.”
The metal buckets nod, and one takes his place by the inside door while the other remains within sight, but by the outer door.
”You know,” Scream says slowly, ”This kinda goes against boss bug’s ‘friends at all cost’ policy. That changeling wasn’t a threat.”
Two, striding towards the royal tavern, bites her lip.
”I don’t know what it can do. I don’t know its motivation or from where it came, but it said it was sent here by someone. I haven’t met a changeling other than the boss. I didn’t intend to give it a chance to get up and fight,” Two frowns, letting out a sigh, ”You were right, I’m not a warrior. I’m an infiltrator. The drone was actually physically stronger unless I used my love, and I’m running low. The armor, the constant shapeshifting we did in the bathroom, enhancing my senses, it was too much. I can barely walk, but I can’t show it. I must look strong, even if I can’t really be like that. I am the only changeling the boss has, which means I am his eyes and ears, as well as his hoof. I must be.”
”The thing is, smart bug, that you were trying something you aren’t built for - using force. You infiltrators are supposed to use mental abilities to control other changelings, not force. That’s for warriors. Maybe you just take after your mother a little too much. Chatterbox’ words, not mine.”
”Scream, I DON’T KNOW how to use anything like that! There’s NO information in the boss’ hive mind, which means he himself can’t use it or teach me. He did it once by accident. Unless you can teach me, there’s no one. I’ve got some instincts, and half of that is the punching my… mother left me, but that’s all.”
Scream is quiet for a moment before saying:
”I know how the things you changelings can do work, but I don’t know how to… evoke those biologically like you do. I can cast spells with the same effects, but that’s completely different.”
Two enters the tavern, immediately walking towards the stairs up.
”And can you teach me that?”
”That would be a waste of time and effort. Mental magic, that is. You have to understand what your body does on your own. If you want, let’s say, to blow something up...” Scream leaves the thought unfinished, ”No, I think you’ve got enough to learn about yourself before trying to control a force as unstable as raw magic.”
Two knocks on the boss’ door.
”Oh, finally some peace and quiet,” Scream beams, rubbing her temples, and Two feels a new hive link in her mind open, ”Looks like the ritual didn’t kill either of them. Is it bad that I feel somewhat disappointed?”
***
My legs are weak as noodles. My head hurts, and I’m seeing double. Outer layers of my chitin have been stripped by the raw magic coalescing in the magical circle, leaving me with something as soft as skin.
Blinking away tears, I see teal eyes staring back at me as the glow of the magic fades, leaving behind a black silhouette half my size.
The silhouette looks at its small hooves, claps them together, then turns its head up at me.
“Heya, boss!” it says, “OH MY HOLE, MY LEGS ARE ALL PURPLE AND GLOWY! I DON'T NEED MY SPEAR TIP ANYMORE.”
”Scream-” I croak.
”Yes, yes, you’re happy. I’m sure I’ll enjoy the silence too, but smart bug here has something to show y-”
I crash on the floor, passing out.
”Or... maybe later.”