//------------------------------//
// Chapter 13: Indignation and Blind Disobedience 
// Story: The Half of It 
// by Shapeshift 
//------------------------------//

I awoke the next morning and got out of bed. Or rather, I sat up and rolled out of bed followed by an unceremonious fall to the floor, realizing that my hind legs fell asleep with Frost on them overnight. So with the skill that only somebody who’s had that happen several times before could have, I took a bipedal walk to the bathroom to prepare a bit for the day.

After that my legs woke up enough and I came downstairs to find a can of Frost’s food open in the kitchen, though it looked like it wasn’t opened with a can opener. The opening it had was crudely cut and, taking a knife lying next to it in my hoof, I smelled it to find the scent of the can’s contents. So I went out of the kitchen and into the living room, where I found the half-ling doing push-ups on the ceiling.

In a commanding tone I told him, “Get down from there!”

Not stopping his exercise, the changeling asked, “Why?" in a challenging tone.

“Would you rather do push-ups right side up, or die from the ceiling collapsing on top of you?”

“The ceiling in your flimsy house won’t hurt me, and even if it does, what doesn’t kill a changeling makes a changeling stronger," was the half-ling’s response, so I took him in my magic and, while he was squirming to get out, I took him off the ceiling. After setting him on the floor right side up, I kept him in my magic so I could say, “You forget who can fix you.”

Narrowing his eyes at me slightly, the said, “Fine," with heavy malice then walked into the kitchen. 

I followed and told him, “You were eating the cat food. Ponies don’t do that.”

I felt his irritation and he decided to leave the cat food where it was. Though he went to a cabinet and took out a box of cereal which he proceeded to eat dry, while I took a few oranges from the fridge and went to the counter.

While peeling the oranges, I said, “That tastes better with milk," without looking up.

“I’ll use whatever I want!" the half-ling growled at me, and went to a cabinet to take something out. Judging by what he took out, he had no idea what he was doing. Not only that, he also poured the entire bottle into the cereal box. So I just watched, with the smallest smirk, as he took his first mouthful. This gave him an odd feeling so he ate slower and slower as it became more intense, while my smirk grew with it. Eventually he started to tear up then stopped eating and began to breathe more heavily, at which point I was almost done eating.

“I think you’ll want to have that milk about now," I said with plenty of amusement in my voice.

“I’m a changeling. We endure," he said, then started to eat more of the cereal, to which I told him, “Well, when you’re done enduring, the milk’s in the big metal box over there. It’s called the fridge. Oh, and I’ll also need to tell you how to take a shower some time today.” 

Celestia knows you could use one…

And with that, I left the kitchen to start my lab work. During the session, I finished another batch of potions for Cordial and discovered a few more patterns in changeling magic that appeared to complete the information I was after. So I crafted each pattern’s detection method and integrated it into the detection spell. These patterns were in every changeling spell structure I could get my hooves on, possibly due to the nature of emotional energy and the changeling mind. And the best part?

This even detected the emotion digestion magic!

Seeing as this was the spell I was trying to create all along, I was excited to use it to find the half-ling and tell him “I’m going out for an hour or so. Don’t eat anything that’s not in the fridge!”

After which, I left for Cordial’s store to drop off the completed potions while using the new spell. After dropping them off, I started my way back, but three or four blocks away something caught my eye.

My spell picked up another changeling cocoon which was located on the second story of a small coffee shop. So I galloped back to Cordial, who was taking inventory in the store area, and told him “I need to use your office for literally ten seconds!”

“What? Why?”

I brought my muzzle up to his ear and whispered “It’s an emergency, a changeling has a cocooned pony!”

Immediately giving me the key, he said, “Then use it.”

Taking it just as quickly as he gave it, I casually walked to his office, unlocked the door, closed all blinds and locked all doors, then changed to a random pegasus. Before casually leaving, I tossed the keys back to Cordial then quickened my pace.

Upon arriving at the coffee shop, I waited in a short line, while having a quick look around. It was moderately occupied with customers, none of which were changelings, though two of the three running it were. After ordering a large coffee that I knew I was going to need, I sat at a table and drank it while deciding on what to do.

Once I finished off the coffee, I followed the sign to their bathroom which was located in a short hallway on the side of the shop. There was also a locked door leading to what I could only assume was their living space on the second floor, but I didn’t bother with trying to get the door open. So entering the bathroom, I did my business while analyzing the space for any ways to slip into the living space. 

After a minute or two, I found only one possible entry to the second floor. It was a small vent, though too small for even a foal. At that point I exited the cafe and went around to the back of the building to get closer to it’s back room and out of everyone’s sight.

You've left me with no other choice.

I then changed into a unicorn and waited for one of the infiltrators to enter the back room. Once one did, I waited for him to close the door then cast the disguise dispel and before he had time to react, I made him punch himself in the stomach with my telekinesis, then the jaw, the stomach again, the cheeks a few times, and finally the jaw again.

While the changeling was dazed and confused, I switched to a changeling and quickly entered the shop again. Though once I did the other changeling was going to the back room, likely to check on the other one, which meant I had to act faster than I hopped. At this point I did the only thing I could think of.

Quickly walking towards the back room, the only actual pony running the place stopped me right after going past the counter.

“Sir, what-”

But she didn’t have time to finish as I took her in my magic and gently slid her to the side, saying, “Ignore me for now," in a tone just as gentle.

Surprisingly, she let me continue into the back room, where I sneaked up behind the second changeling then cast the disguise dispel on him while grabbing him with my magic. After that I cast the interrogation stun spell on both of them, though the whole thing alerted the mare and she came in, shocked to see both the conscious and unconscious infiltrator.

“Were they the owners?" she asked with moderate fear of not just the infiltrators, but me as well.

So I told her, “If you mean ‘Were they disguised as the owners?’, then yes.”

“H-how do I know you’re not sided with Chrysalis?" she asked.

“Hive changelings don’t know any disguise dispels they can cast.”

After she thought on it for a few seconds she told me, “Okay, I believe you. I’ll get a Guard to help with this," then galloped off.

Though I opted to cast the full stun spell on the two infiltrators, started the mid level invisibility spell on myself and the two, then changed into a pegasus. Exiting through the cafe’s back door, I took off with the infiltrators on my back and leveled out at a moderate altitude to keep ponies from seeing me while I flew out of the city. I then landed at a cave entrance, stopped the invisibility spell as I went through it, and finally stopped at a good spot in the crystal mines to talk with the infiltrators.

After binding them with resin in a changeling form and casting the interrogation stun on them again, I said, “I have heard a lot about enduring from changelings, but why do you think that experiencing changes in the way you live is not a test of your capacity to endure? Because there are dozens of changelings living in Sky’s home, enduring the transition to a pony way of life.”

“I’m not talking to you about the hive," said the conscious one.

“You do realize that statement alone, even without emotion, proves that what I have been doing has been effective, right?”

“You’re trying to play mind games. It won’t work.”

I responded by obviously playing stupid and saying, “I am?" though I went back to my usual interrogation demeanor right after. “Regardless, all hive changelings have been lied to about how everypony views them, and the way they should live.” 

But the infiltrator became infuriated and yelled, “Shut it!" so I told him, “If you can not be civil I will just use the full stun again while I finish. Now, the hive is currently taking your view of the world in exchange for a role, your individual logic to take orders, and for infiltrators like you especially, your ability to feel so you can put on a mask. This is why you and many other hive changelings lie to themselves and believe it, why they can't see any truth, why they have no respect for themselves, and could even be why your species needs to consume love. It could even be said that, in a way, without feeding on positive emotions, changelings die from a lack of self respect.”

“You’re lying, just like with every other infiltrator," he said with hate.

So I asked him, “Oh? Then why it is that the changelings that left the hive have enough self respect to make their own decisions? Why it is that their self respect earns them enough friends and therefore positive emotion to live on while the hive's deceptive ways give them next to nothing in comparison?”

“It doesn’t matter," the infiltrator said, grinding his teeth in irritation. Though my passion, determination, and worry for the subject at hoof was starting to give him uncertainty.

I continued with said emotions in my voice. “But that is where your understanding ends. You only know the traditional way of gathering emotion, and that has become ineffective ever since the Canterlot invasion. Chrysalis knows this, yet she turns a blind eye to it and lies to all of you. If you want to know whether or not you are being lied to, cast aside everything you have learned in the hive about what ponies think of you. Form your own point of view about what is going on by experiencing it with your own senses.”

By then the infiltrator seemed afraid of what he might find if he did as suggested and was skeptical, yet with all seriousness he still said, “If you turn out to be correct about this, how could the hive even change to ensure it’s survival? Nearly all of us are loyal to Chrysalis.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t want to stay in the mines much longer so as I charged up a spell, I told him “The answer will become obvious with time," then cast it.

After the full stun spell, I crafted two cocoons for them and put a resin slab on each. One had the phrase, “Your queen is not the answer, because only love can conquer hate," while the second said, “It is when the talking ceases that the ground becomes fertile for violence.”

Leaving them hanging from the cave ceiling, I walked back home.

~~~~~~

Upon opening the door, I noticed several small puddles of mud around the living room. Upon further inspection of said room, I spotted a moderate sized pile of sludge that looked like it contained or reflected the night sky. I also noticed a few deep voices in the kitchen speaking of hunting things, including what I could assume was me.

So just to be sure that it was as harmless as I expected, I started the invisibility spell and took a peek to see that the walls were, in fact, talking without mouths. So I set my bags next to the laundry closet’s wall and cast the detection spell, but I didn’t pick up anything so I went to search the apartment for the half-ling.

Great. He found Clumsy Caster's Book of Ill Conceived Spells, and probably cast Breath of Mud, Beast's Thought Walls, and Celestial Cloak of Sludge. Him successfully casting the second one is probably a fluke, and for his sake I hope he hasn't used the Wizard's Disappearance spell, seeing as no one who's ever cast it has ever returned.

I started by checking all potential hiding places and when I took a look behind the couch, I came across an open container of laundry detergent.

Please tell me he didn’t actually eat it.

So I called out for the half-ling, who responded with, “Your stupid hot sauce made me go blind!" to which I immediately galloped towards the source of his voice. Finding him in the hallway upstairs that connects my lab and bedroom, I saw him lying on the floor and noticed his breathing was heavy enough to be like he came back from a jog just now.

“I’m taking you to my bathroom," I told him with haste, and grabbed him in my magic.

As I picked him up and went through my room, he tried to squirm out of my grasp and demanded to put him down, but I ignored it. He needed to get the detergent out of his system immediately so after setting him down on the tile floor, I filled a cup with water at the sink, and went back to him.

Passing the cup to him, I said, “You drink this water.”

“No! I you can’t trick me!”

“If you don’t start drinking water now, you might stay blind!" I warned him.

Unfortunately, he took it as a threat. “I knew it! You’re tying to make me blind!”

“I meant that drinking the water now will help keep you from being permanently blind! You need to drink it!”

“How would I know if you poisoned it?!" he asked, breathing getting worse still.

“It’d taste different!”

“Then what if it’s tasteless?!”

Seeing as his train of thought was going nowhere, I responded with, “If I wanted to kill you I would've done it last night after interrogating you!”

“You’re just trying to torture me for hive secrets!”

“I don’t care about any hive secrets that I don’t already know, and even if I don’t like you I don’t want to torture you because of it, and I especially don’t want you to die!”

“Then give it to me!" the half-ling said as he held out a hoof. So I levitated the cup onto it and he took a few sips, then quickly drank the rest. I then took the cup and filled it again, and he did the same thing as before. After several cups and several more minutes, Frost came into the room and the half-ling seemed like he could see again.

Looking at me, the half-ling asked, “Why do you care about me at all?” in a tone less commanding than usual.

With a straight face I said, “I’d feel like a monster if I didn’t.”

“Why?”

“I’m… a sympathetic and empathetic pony. I hate seeing others unnecessarily suffer, no matter who… and especially if it's because of a selfish mentality.”

At the last part, I could begin to sense the half-ling‘s trust in me. He still didn’t like me, but it was a start.

So I continued with, “And it’s not just me either. All decent ponies are sympathetic and empathetic because it's part of Equestrian culture.”

“I haven’t ever seen any proof of that with ponies towards changelings, besides you," the changeling said in a slightly accusatory way.

That reminded me about my weekly bar visit, which I knew I’d have to bring him to in a few days, so I told him, “You’ll see more of it soon.”

Changing the subject with an unamused tone, he asked, “Why do you have a book with so many stupid spells?”

After taking a few seconds to think of how to explain it, I said, “It’s the novelty of having something that represents a hilariously bad idea.”

He obviously didn’t understand. Regardless, he changed the topic with, “Why do you have an animal as big as yourself in your house?”

I didn’t want to be the one to explain that, but I decided to try anyways. “His name is Frost and he’s my pet. Ponies adopt and take care of pets for… various reasons.”

“That’s pointlessly frivolous and a waste of time," the half-ling responded with a clear absence of amusement.

“Well, they used to be kept mostly for help in physical labor, like farm work.”

“That’s obviously lazy.”

Seeing as I couldn’t convince him of a pet’s usefulness in that regard, I tried something else with, “I doubt that, but the biggest modern reason is that they usually have less complicated relationships than ones between just ponies. It’s mostly due to a language barrier, yet the owner and pet will usually be happy with each other.

“So pets can be another living thing that you can depend on to comfort you… but I guess hive changelings don’t want that. They’re also easier to please, and can be a way to teach fillies more about responsibility. It usually rewards them with a nice companion when they can handle it.”

Despite all that, the half-ling said, “Still sounds like a waste of time.”

“The only other reason I can think of is that, for some ponies, it feels like they’re raising a very young filly because they generally act similar.”

“I’ve never raised any young," the half-ling pointed out.

I should have expected that… 

Then he asked, “And how do you know things about the hive?”

“You’ll know soon enough," I said as I got up. “Right now I need to clean the mess you made.” Leaving the half-ling to himself, I went downstairs to do just that.

The weird sludge and mud-vomit were the worst to clean up, even with a spell I knew to aid in stain removal. In contrast, the kitchen walls were very easy as I just needed to find and use the dispel that was in the same book. After that, I went to my lab to get to work, though I decided to check on the half-ling every few hours. I thought he could have been doing other things that he shouldn’t without realizing it.

~~~~~~

It turned out that I wasn’t wrong, seeing as I had to explain other things to him. He tried to practice knife throwing with the kitchen knives, turning pencils into arrows, and eating erasers. But the most interesting instance was late at night.

I went to the kitchen after I was done with lab work for the night and one of the first things I noticed was that the oven’s racks had been taken out. So I went to the oven and took a look through it’s window to notice something big. Opening it up, I found that it was the half-ling fast asleep.

I gave him a deadpan glare.

Really? Why would squeezing yourself in there be worth the effort? It’s not even comfortable!

I managed to wake him up with his pony name, and he responded with, “What do you want?" in a slurred voice. I naturally assumed that he was just sleepy, so I didn’t think much of it.

“You’re not supposed to be sleeping in the oven," I warned him in a flat tone.

The half-ling responded in a challenging tone with, “Then why?”

“It’s used to cook food at up to five-hundred degrees fahrenheit. Do you want to be cooked alive?" I told him.

Though he didn’t take me seriously and starting climbing out while staying, “Your house is practically the arctic. I’m turning it on.”

I immediately responded by taking him out myself with my magic and gave him a serious look while holding him. “You’re not sleeping in there. Also, why are you drunk?”

“Because you ponies need physical food to… live, you moron.”

Seeing as he wasn’t in any state to teach him anything effectively, I told him, “You’re either going to sleep on the couch or the sleeping bag. In fact, at this point I don’t care if it’s the floor, and if you try sleeping in the oven again I’ll lock you in my bedroom for the night.”

As soon as I let him go, he just plopped down, lying right where he was standing and closed his eyes. I didn’t think much of it, so I went to the trashcan to see what he drank, but it didn’t quite add up. He drank the few bottles of cider I had, but that shouldn’t have gotten him that drunk. Thinking on it for a minute, I realized the other thing he likely drunk and headed to the bathroom.

Upon entering, my eyes went right to the mouthwash, which was empty. I then decided to take a look in the cabinet under the sink where I noticed that the other bottle was also empty.

For the sake of not having to tell him about drinking too much alcohol, I hope he has a Celestia-awful hangover. Though I still have to tell him what the rest of the stuff in the bathroom is. I can’t have him using my toothbrush to clean the toilet or something else like that. I’ll also need to tell him about the oven again.

After going to my bedroom I laid down on the bed and started reading a novel. Though only a few minutes later, the half-ling comes in and tells me, “Your cat’s possessed," still slurring.

I sighed, looked at him, and said, “The only kind of possessed he is, is the fact that I’m his owner.”

Giving me a deadpan look, he said, “He made a zombie moan.”

“The lynx equivalent of a hiss sounds like that a lot of the time," I said, unamused. “Also, if you threaten or hurt him, I’ll turn you into a dragonfly for him to play with.”

At this point the half-ling turned around and walked away, doubting that I could do it and saying, “Ponies are insane," to himself.

And I’ll need to make sure he knows about that in the morning as well.

~~~~~~

The next day I woke up really early. Not because of myself or even Frost, who was lying on me, but the half-ling.

“What did you do last night?! I can’t remember anything after drinking those bottles in the fridge and I can’t stand the slightest bit of light and sound!" he said, probably with his hooves over his ears.

Frost made a sudden movement, probably just to see who was yelling. As for me, I told him, with a half awake slur, “You got manure-faced last night cause you drank too much alcohol. Drink a lot of water and it might go away quicker. Now go away, I’m trying to sleep in.”

“Ponies drink things that make them forget entire nights?! All you ponies are psychotic!" he yelled, then stomped out of the room.

After several more hours of sleeping, I got up and went through the living room to see all the blinds closed and the half-ling doing more exercising with resin in his ears. Once in the kitchen, I put some food in Frost’s bowl, ate some cereal, then went to my lab.

I was able to add on something to the half-ling's disguise spell that leaves a trail of inert changeling magic which lasts for a few hours. I didn’t want him running off and looking for him for days or weeks. As nonsensical as it would be for him to do so, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he did.

After several hours of more lab work and a total break time of an hour or two, the sun was about to set so I had to explain some things to the half-ling.

“I’m going to a type of place called a pub and you’re coming with me," I told him.

“Why?" he asked in his usual hostile tone.

“Because what you did while I was out of the house last time inspires the term ‘blind disobedience’," I told him, as unamused at his attitude as usual.

“Then whatever a pub is better be a quiet place.”

“It probably won’t be. It’s a place where ponies go to drink cider and chat with others. I’m meeting my friends there and if you want your body fixed, you’ll keep your ruse of being a pony up.”

“Then you better have some pony thing to put in my ears," he warned me.

I told him, “I do," and went to get my earplugs. After I gave them to him, I told him what my two friends looked like so he wouldn’t be confused, then he cast his disguise and put the earplugs in.

Arriving at the pub, Dew was acting just about as I expected. He had an irritated look on his face with a bit of confusion, was dragging his hooves, and looked exasperated overall. So it was a bit awkward to introduce him.

Arriving at the table that Blitz and Modus were already at, I greeted them with, “Hey, guys. I, uh, brought someone with me.”

And of course, the first question Blitz asked was, “Is she your marefriend?”

“No," I said, after a short and quiet sigh. “She just needed a place to stay for a while.”

Despite Modus already knowing that she wasn’t, he still said, “Well then. You’ve raised my hopes and crashed them just as fast.” To which I responded by applying my hoof to my face and rubbing it down one slow, singular time while audibly sighing.

“So what brings you here, other than Shape?" Blitz asked.

Though Modus immediately asked, “I think a better question is, why is she wearing earplugs?”

“She had too much to drink last night, and was bored at my place," I told them as I sat down next to Modus, who was facing Blitz on the other side. Dew decided to sit on the opposite end of Blitz’s side and put his head on the table, burying it in his forelegs.

Blitz seemed to know almost as well as Modus that I wanted a change in topic, because he took the opportunity to say, “I had a mare at my place earlier today, though that was because she slept there after I took her on a date last night. We hit it off pretty well, so it looks like this city still has mares of my preference after all!”

“Well, you’re not too picky on looks," Modus pointed out. “So I’m not that surprised.”

“Yeah, I think you were just having a stroke of bad luck," I added.

Blitz then said, “Either way, I have a pretty good feeling about her.”

So we continued to talk about his recent date for another half hour or so, until Dew told me, “I’m going to the bathroom," in a zombie-like tone, and did so.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Modus said, “I know she’s got a hangover, but why’s she acting a little weird?”

“Weird how?" I asked.

Blitz answered with, “I got the impression that she likes nobody. At all.”

“She definitely doesn’t like me, even though she hasn’t even talked to me yet," Modus added.

Blitz pointed out that, “She hasn’t even heard us yet.”

“She’s… not a ponies pony," I told them. “She doesn’t like anyone she doesn’t know.”

Modus shrugged while saying, “I guess that makes sense. I knew a pony who was like that.”

“I’ve never known a pony like that, but it makes sense to me," Blitz said.

Suddenly a mare called out “Hey, Shape!" and when I turned my head to the source I saw Crooked Gallery. Hamartia didn’t tell me which disguise he was going to use, so for all I knew, this changeling could actually be a hive infiltrator. My safest course of action was to act as if I hadn’t seen her since school.

Gallery came up to me and gave me a hug from behind, which surprised me a bit.

“I, uh…," was all I could say before Blitz surprisingly asked, “Are you Gallery?”

“Yup!”

So Blitz asked, “How did you find us?" as Gallery sat next to me.

“Well, Shape wasn’t hard to track down," she said as she gave me a pet on the mane. “Ever since the changeling invasion, Shape was accused of being a changeling enough times for the city to generally know him a bit.”

“Looks like your time of being the mystery stallion is over," Blitz amusingly stated, though I wasn’t worried about it.

“Ponies will soon forget about it. I’m the kind of pony that most forget about," I said with no sorrow whatsoever, leaning into the back of the booth seat.

Modus then asked Gallery, “How do you know these two?”

So Gallery put her foreleg around my shoulders, gave me a gentle squeeze and said, “I was Shape’s marefriend for a while.”

“Oh," Modus responded. “Well Shape mentioned you but not your name.”

Gallery responded to that by looking said and asking me, “You forgot my name?”

“No! I didn’t!" I worryingly said with haste.

Gallery just giggled and said, “Shape, I’m joking.”

“Well, I thought so but I wasn’t sure," I said with slight embarrassment.

“You really haven’t changed much," Gallery told me.

To which Blitz causally responded with, “Yeah, he really hasn’t. He’s still a dork.”

“I’m not a dork," I said to Blitz.

Modus added to it with, “I didn’t know him back then, but I don’t think he’s much of a dork now.”

“I’m disappointed," Gallery said to me with a hint of sadness. “Now I can’t call you adorkable anymore.”

Both Modus and Blitz chuckled at that, while Dew came back and took his seat and I sank down a bit from more embarrassment. The arrival prompted Gallery to ask, “Hi! You know these three?”

“She can’t hear you right now. She’s got earplugs in," I told Gallery.

“So she has a hangover already?" Gallery jokingly asked.

“Actually, yeah, she does. Too much to drink last night," Blitz said.

Gallery looked a little confused and interested, so I explained with, “She needed a place to stay for a while, and I somehow found it hard to say no to her. She apparently found it just as hard to say no to my cider.”

I started to notice Gallery’s small suspicion of Dew, while Gallery said, “Oh, well it’s good to know that you’re still such a nice stallion!” Gallery then turned to Modus. “So how did you meet Shape?”

“He was in two of the classes that I teach," Modus answered.

Gallery followed up with, “What were the two classes?”

“The first class he had with me was philosophy and the other was logic. He found philosophy pretty easy to understand. The paper he had to write was crazy and more interesting than many of the others. Though he wasn’t all that great in the other class. He had to take it a second time and did okay.”

Planting my head on the table, I said, “Now I feel like I’m in a parent-teacher conference. Why is everyone embarrassing me tonight?" which made Modus feel pretty bad about what he said.

“Because it’s entertaining," I heard Dew say, not knowing that he took out the earplugs a minute or so ago.

I gave Dew a deadpan and slightly threatening glare while Gallery asked Blitz, “Have I ever told you the first thing Shape ever said to me?”

“No. What did he say?" he asked.

“It was really cute!" Gallery exclaimed. “It happened when we were getting paired up for an in-class assignment.”

Knowing what was coming, I started to bury my face in my forelegs.

“We turned out to be the last two in the class who didn’t have a partner, so the teacher told us that we had to work with each other. I just said ‘Hi!’ and he said ‘It’s a meet to pleasure your acquaintance’! I still giggle about it sometimes.”

Blitz followed that up with, “Hey Shape, I bet she was a real pleasure to meet.”

A muffled, “Shut up," was the only response I had to that.

Gallery also responded a bit shyly with, “Actually… I never did that with him, even though I was willing to in the last few weeks of our relationship.”

I was surprised that Gallery felt that way about me at that time. All she had to do was ask, but I guessed that she was afraid of becoming too attached. Yet I was also further embarrassed because my friends would soon find out how this was big evidence that I never pondered the unicorn.

Though Modus helped save me any further embarrassment with, “I, uh… think we should change the subject. I’ve never seen Shape this embarrassed before.”

Gallery must have known how I felt about what she said but didn’t realize why until she slowly said, “Actually… I completely agree. Sorry, Shape.”

Sighing, Blitz said, “I guess we can," with a small bit of regret about what he said and sympathy towards me.

So none of us talked for a few minutes, during which I realized that having Gallery back in my group just felt right. Even if I wasn’t dating her anymore. I eventually unburied my head from my forelegs and a minute or so after, Modus said, “I think I found the right combination of flora to create the explosive fruit.”

Gallery burst out laughing at that, saying, “A naturally explosive fruit?!”

“Well," Modus said, “as funny as I do think it sounds, I’m actually doing it.”

After Gallery finally stopped laughing, she dismissively said, “I’m not surprised. Shape’s friends have always been weird and crazy. In fact, my talent is creating uniquely strange pictures.” She then shrugged. “So I’m at least weird.”

“I swear some of the pictures you made in school gave me nightmares," Blitz said with a deadpan stare.

Giving a devious smirk, I asked, “Was one of them the picture of the pony with six legs arranged like a spider’s?”

To which Blitz gave a face of moderate horror and a tone to match. “Don’t even remind me.”

“So what’s the exploding plant idea, exactly?" Gallery asked before I could say anything back.

Modus started with, “Apparently Blitz was on to something with using pineapples or coconuts, so I’m combining them with a plant called peat.”

“So if you can’t get enough pressure to cause a good enough explosion, you’ll stick with the pineapples for the shrapnel that it’s skin can be?” I asked. 

Smiling at me, Modus said, “Yep. Though I’m expecting the coconut to hold more pressure than the pineapple.”

“So the pressure’s going to come from the peat somehow, right?”

Still smiling, he said, “Right again. The peat’s properties I’m going to try will cause a gas pressure buildup, which is something the plant does to shoot it’s spores into the air.”

Though both Blitz and Gallery looked skeptical and worried for some reason. 

“Might one of the new plants in the breeding process release spores upon exploding?" Gallery slowly asked.

Blitz picked up with worry in his voice. “It could spread to anywhere if you’re not really careful, and if it gets to a spot where it can fully grow, it’ll explode and spread! If that cycle continues, we could have an epidemic of exploding plants!”

“Hold your halberds," Modus calmly said. “They’ll be in a tempered glass greenhouse, so there shouldn’t be much trouble.”

“That still won’t keep the spores from sticking to you and getting a ride out!" Blitz said a bit louder than usual.

But Modus said ,“I’m positive there’s a spell or potion to entirely prevent that," with a pondering voice and a hoof tapping his chin.

“For the sake of all of Equestria, I hope you find it," Blitz said with a sigh, knowing how much trouble there would be if Modus didn’t.

Gallery then suddenly blurted out, “Oh! Did any of you go to Princess Twilight’s coronation?”

“I was there to guard to skys," Blitz explained. “Thankfully it wasn’t entirely boring ‘cause I was able to see most of it, including the speech. It was interesting.”

Modus said, “It was really touching to see the speech, and my wife felt more of the same.”

“I went to it with binoculars!" I exclaimed. “It was amazing! Twilight was stunning with royal regalia and wings.”

Seeing as I was swooning over her, Blitz was slightly weirded out. “Why have you been so infatuated with her ever since she saved Equestria from Discord?”

So before I could say that I thought they were done embarrassing me, Gallery dramatically exclaimed, “I have to compete with Twilight for your love now?" while putting her foreleg up to her forehead in a dramatic pose. Both Blitz and Modus snickered.

“I’ve got my hoof in the door," I countered. “I go to Ponyville for a few days every once in a while and visit the Golden Oaks library every time.”

Modus raised an eyebrow that he didn’t have and said, “But that won’t help much. You’d have to ask her if she’s willing to do anything with you.”

“If you mean a way to get her to notice me, I’ve got that completely covered," I confidently exclaimed. 

“Then what is it?" Blitz asked.

So I gave a cocky grin and said, “All I have to do is ask her for help with anything involving advanced magic, which I work with all the time!”

“I think she’ll get too distracted by your magic work and friend-zone you," Blitz said.

“That’s just the first step," I said. “After I get her help a few times I’ll try to get her to go to some place nice with me, then do things for her every time I’m there and she needs help.”

All the while Modus was slowly raising his other eyebrow, which met the risen one’s height by the time he said, “You’ve been thinking about this more than I thought.”

“Yeah," Gallery pondered. “I might have some competition after all.”

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about. It’s a long shot for him," Blitz said dismissively.

To which Gallery responded with, “Probably, but I’m not taking any chances.”

At that point I was starting to get tired of how the topic that night was changing against me all the time, so I turned to Blitz and said, “I don’t see you trying to get with Applejack.”

Knowing that Modus would likely know if he was lying, Blitz’s first few attempts at a response were met with him abruptly stopping at the first or second word to rethink it. Eventually he realized that he had to tell us, or we’d probably keep bugging him about it.

“Fine. I’ve had a crush on Applejack for a few years and did nothing to get her to notice me. Happy?”

Before I could say anything, Modus told all of us, “I had a crush on Pinkie Pie for for a month or two, before I found my wife.”

“Really? Same here," Gallery said. “Though mine lasted about a year.”

“You swing both ways?" Blitz asked, and Gallery answered with, “I realized it about a year after I moved out of Canterlot. I started having feels for a mare and I asked her out, so she said yes and everything went well. I’m still friends with her after breaking up.”

Blitz then turned to me, leaned in a bit, and with a quieter voice he said, “Shape," so I leaned in as well and he continued. “I don’t talk about feelings much, but after my favorite dog I ever had died, I didn't feel like I should have ever adopted another because none would likely measure up. But after a month or so, my dad said that even if the next dog we adopted doesn't measure up to my favorite dog, the fact is that there's still other nice dogs out there that could use a good home.”

I wasn’t sure what he was trying to get at and I looked confused at that point.

“So, I know it’s not exactly the same, but you shouldn't let the end of what was one of the best, if not the best, relationships you ever had stop yourself from finding a mare that wants to live with nice stallion like you for the rest of each other's life.”

It was obvious that he figured out there was something at least moderately serious causing my dating reluctance, but it wasn’t even simple to choose who to talk to about it. 

After a few seconds of no one at the table saying anything, Gallery gave a cocky grin and asked, “So females are a bitch?”

Dew snickered at that while Blitz facehoofed and said, “The one time I spill my feelings and someone just has to ruin it with a joke.”

“Sorry," Gallery said, looking embarrassed. “I… still sometimes make jokes at inappropriate times.”

“Well," Modus said, “I think what Blitz said was fantastically wise.”

Blitz gave a slight smile at that, and I said, “I already know that lesson, but my problem is something else entirely.”

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Modus asked, “Then what is it?”

A bit nervous, I said, “I-I can’t talk about it yet.”

“Why not?” Modus asked, though Gallery gave a small soft frown said, “He doesn’t want to talk about it, guys. Just leave it be.”

Blitz responded with his hooves raised in defense and said, “I wasn’t going to push it. I respect everyone’s privacy and the right to have secrets.”

Gallery already knew my reason and, if she was Hamartia, she was trying to cover my back. I already had enough problems to sort through at the time, though I couldn’t blame him for what he did back then, at least for the most part, so helping me to keep my cover was the most I’d ask of him.

“My bad," Modus said with embarrassment. “I can still sometimes push for too much information. It only happens once a year or so.”

With a sly grin, Blitz quietly asked, “Like that one time you asked that mare at the Gala something and she threw the punch bowl at you with her magic?”

“How do you know about that?" Modus asked.

“You were on my patrol route for the night, so I stopped to watch when she started to look embarrassed. Don’t know why they had a punch bowl sitting in the halls, but don’t worry," Modus said, then switched to a foreboding undertone. “No one here’s going to tell anyone else.”

No one was really intimidated by it. Not because he’s not intimidating, but because everyone at the table knew that he knew that we could be trusted with that secret.

For the rest of the night, we went back to the topic of romance. Blitz and I ended up asking questions about same sex couples. It was kind of embarrassing, but we never asked much about it with anybody. It was interesting and cute to hear about Gallery’s relationship, and Modus ended up answering questions valid to stallion couples, as he was in a few. Dew occasionally made a witty remark about me, but I took it in stride every time.

The last thing we did was go to Blitz’s home and casually took a pack of cider with us to a few houses some blocks away. At each one we put them in the mailbox while Dew rolled her eyes. Once we were done, we started snickering about it a few blocks down from the last one while sharing how we imagined the ponies would react.

In retrospect, we probably did that because we didn’t quite know what our minds of varying inebriation and exhaustion were thinking at the time. Though after that topic, we realized that we were just wandering and talking at the latest hours of the night, so we all went home. 

~~~~~~

The next day, Metrion came to the meeting spot and we both went to the music practice hall in Celestia’s school after getting Metrion’s violin. Once in one of the small practice rooms, the changeling asked, “So what happened?" in an expecting tone.

“He wants to stay in Equestria because he loves a pony," I said. “So I’m not going to capture him or find where he is for you.”

This quickly irritated Metrion, who asked, “What did you not understand about our deal? I need him as the perfect proof of the switch they pulled!”

“I understand the deal, but I’m not going to do anything to that changeling. The deal’s off.”

As Metrion viciously said, “If you won’t capture him, I’ll do it myself," I felt his emotions match his words. Knowing what this meant, I immediately took him in my magic and restrained him on the floor while I cast the stun spell. From there, I took the best option, which started off with changing him into a dragonfly, even though that spell was still moderately hard to cast.

I then left the room with Metrion, leaving the violin, and started towards one of the less conspicuous crystal mine entrances. After I entered one, I started finding a hidden enough spot for him, which didn’t take long. So I did what I usually did with the infiltrators I incapacitate, including a resin slab, this time with the quote “Your queen is not the answer, because only love can conquer hate.”