//------------------------------//
// Ch. 9: Mertensian 
// Story: The Rocks And Water 
// by KingReptarAlmighty 
//------------------------------//

“You know, I’d say that went better than expected.” Cadance remarked. Discord nodded, with a satisfied look on his face. 

“Agreed. She only tried two truth spells before realizing that’s such an absurd claim that there would be no reason to lie about it.” Cadance smiled.

“And she was only in the fetal position for around eleven minutes. That’s a massive upgrade from when she was little.” Twilight stood there, desperately raking a comb through her hair in an attempt to rein it into pre-freak out order, trying to once more appear presentable. Once it reached her standard, she once more turned to face the two, looking slightly more bashful. 

“Okay, I’m sorry about that you two. But I’m still having a little trouble understanding, what do you mean Spike is some kind of…” She waved her hoof as if the word had escaped her.

“Elder god?” Discord offered. 

“Yes, that. I watched him hatch, heck, I hatched him! What do you mean he’s never been a dragon?” 

“Well for one thing,” Discord began, “Many things hatch from eggs. I did, for example.” Twilight narrowed her eyes. Discord peered back at her, confused. “What? I did. It was a rather large egg though. I’m sad to admit, I wasn’t always this lean. That said, the second thing being that just because he is not a dragon, doesn’t mean he isn’t good at looking like one. Have you ever heard of the viceroy butterfly?” Twilight’s eyes lit up.

“Of course! They’re a remarkable species of insect, they mimic the monarch butterfly almost unbelievably well! That said, their mimicry is for their own defense. They’re not poisonous like monarchs, but the more they look like monarchs, the less likely things are to eat them. If Spike is so powerful, why would he need to protect himself through mimicry?”

“Simply put, I assume it’s because it’s a different type of mimicry. There is a format, such as with the false coral snake and deadly coral snake, where a deadly prey mimics a less dangerous species, because it means that it’s easier for attackers to learn the warning signs.” Twilight blinked in recognition, letting the information wash over her. Cadance on the other hand, was already putting the pieces together.

“So, he’s camouflaged because it would be more beneficial to him if predators or attackers would learn to stay away? If they learn that dragons are already dangerous, it’s better for him to be hidden than to constantly be getting attacked because no monster knows what he is or how dangerous he is.” Discord nodded. 

“Of course, this is as much for the safety of the predators as it is for his safety. There’s a reason Spike is such a pacifist, it’s because giving life is naturally ingrained in him. From what I can tell, he’d grow much stronger at sea or in the ocean, from where all life naturally hails, and his very existence is effectively pushing forward the growth of everything as we know it. I’ve yet to tell him, it could be overwhelming, but you two should know at least.” Twilight groaned, rubbing at her temples.

“You’re worried about him being overwhelmed…”





When Spike and Thorax arrived at the dining hall, Shining Armor was already present, attempting to feed a rather giggly Flurry Heart. While he cooed and attempted to get her to eat instead of simply throwing the food around, the two asked the chefs for their own food, and sat down to wait.

“So, how are you two doing? Is sleeping in the same bed working out?”

“Thorax treats me like a teddy bear.” Thorax scoffed.

“Well, not my fault you’re the approximate size of one.” Shining Armor snorted.

“What kind of teddy bears have you had? Spike is taller than me.”

“Yes, and so am I, but by a much wider margin.” Shining Armor rolled his eyes, but Spike continued the conversation, shocked by the wild misinterpretation of his size. 

“Now hold on, last I checked, I was bigger than a teddy bear when I first met you, and you were shorter back then. You’re making a lot of inconsistencies here.” 

“Okay, maybe, but you’re still smaller than me, so if we’re in the same bed, you’re approximate cuddle size, and I am a physically affectionate person, you should not be surprised that I start holding you like a foal holds a doll their parents get them.”

“I never said I didn’t like it.” The room went briefly silent, and Thorax’s face was lightly dusted purple as he processed what Spike just said. Then, slowly, wordlessly, the Changeling reached over and pulled Spike into his lap. Neither party protested, and the conversation quickly returned to normal, aside from a slightly stewing Shining Armor, who lamented the fact that he might owe Cadance five bits. Eventually, the conversation did take a turn when in the middle of eating, Shining Armor placed down his fork, and looked at Spike semi-seriously.

“So, Cadance told me something interesting when she went out this morning. I was half asleep, but if I remember, she said something about ‘Going to tell Twilight that you aren’t a dragon’. Have we had a changeling around this whole time and I just never knew?” Spike groaned.

“I wish it was that easy. Apparently I’m some Discord level something-or-other, and over the course of yesterday and the day before I had a habit of rewriting reality whenever Thorax got into trouble.”

“He saved me from a brewer changeling who accidentally overbrewed acid and attacked me for some reason.” Shining Armor barely reacted to the news, the part that he most reacted to was the ending.

“Brewer changeling?” Thorax nodded.

“Some of us could eat plants to brew chemicals in our bodies. Shoot, I was one, so I can do it too. My favorite was eating a green flower that grew a little ways away from the hive that when you mixed it with twisted roots and spiney pears made a sort of gel perfume. Some of the more dangerous stuff you could make were acids, but if you brewed too much it… well…” Thorax gestured to Flurry Heart, and Shining Armor covered her ears. “It would melt your internal organs. That’s what was happening to the changeling that attacked us, he was basically dying. If it weren’t for Spike, judging by what it did to that poor barista’s floor, both of us would’ve died.” A horrified expression remained on Shining Armor’s face, and Spike gagged.

“It was worse to actually see it happen.” Spike’s eyes went wide and he whipped around in Thorax’s lap to look at him. “Is that what the chunks were?!” Now it was Shining Armor’s turn to gag, before swallowing hard.

“Eugh… I wish I hadn’t asked. In any case, I wonder how Twilight is taking it. She’s learned a lot, but I think this might still be too much for her.”





Pharynx stared at the egg, contemplative. 

The changeling that this egg had been was a drone named Chelice, a brewer known for having a remarkably kind heart, even during Chrysalis's reign. So it didn’t make sense that she’d suddenly leave the hive, same day as Thorax and his dragon friend, only to hunt them down and encounter them in some food place, to then try and kill his brother with acid. He’d need to make a note to organize some sort of thank you for Spike. Saving the ruler of the Changelings would typically grant you anything the hive could offer, but given what his brother had said about Spike, they’d hopefully end up together, so there wasn’t much need for that. 

That weird hodgepodge creature had told him to keep watch over the egg until it hatched, and he wasn’t sure that was a good idea. Reverted to an egg or not, a clear attempt was made on his brother, the King’s life. That warranted imprisonment. Or worse.

Still, a more logical, less ruthless part of his brain though, that hodgepodge held some serious firepower, and he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that. Not to mention that according to that hodgepodge, the drone was likely under serious mind control, and that did not warrant worse.

Pharynx sighed, simply sitting in his chair and staring. It wasn’t worth the risk. He’d simply have to let it play out and hope that it wouldn’t cause any issues. He scratched mindlessly at his ear. An annoying ringing had taken refuge, and didn’t seem to be going away any time soon.