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// Chapter 9: Sharing Is Caring 
// Story: Vampirism 
// by Someguy458 
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The next day, Rarity woke up to the sound of birds chirping. Rising, Rarity stretched out her new wings, along with the rest of her body.

Then she remembered she had wings, and frowned. What changed while she was sleeping this time, she wondered? Did she even want to know? Steeling herself mentally, she rose out of bed and headed into the bathroom.

Her transformation was complete; she was now full Changeling. The fin-like crest on the back of her head was slightly purple, her eyes seemed a few shades darker than Thorax's, and her wings were cloudy, but other than that, her body was Changeling in every way. Even her Cutie Mark was mostly gone, although, if one were to look closely enough, they could still see the faint outlines of the three gems on her flank.

She sighed, before getting into the shower. If she was going to be a Changeling, she was going to make it work.





Almost an hour later, Rarity stepped out of the bathroom. She now sported eyeshadow that helped smooth the transition between her dark chitin and bright eyes; glossy orange lipstick to contrast all the greenish-blue; and false eyelashes to help her retain her feminine look.

When Thorax saw her, he sighed — though whether it was out of relief or resignation, she could hardly tell. "I think it's over, Rarity."

"Unless this body has any extra surprises under the surface, then I'd agree."

«You mean, like this?»

Rarity leapt back with a yelp, but Thorax was able to catch her. "S-sorry, Rarity! I was just trying to see if you could hear the Hive Mind."

The fashionista blinked. "Hive mind?"

Thorax nodded. "It's an extra way we can communicate with each other. Well, unless the distance is too great; in that case, there's also a relic we can use."

Now that Rarity actually focused on it, she could hear a faint collage of voices in the back of her mind. Some of the voices were rather hazy, while others were a bit sharper and louder, but none of them were as clear as Thorax's just was — must be that proximity limit.

"Anything else I should know?" Rarity asked.

"You should probably know how to change," Thorax pointed out.

Rarity grinned slightly. This was the part she was most excited about. "Alright, what do I need to do?"

"Just picture how you want to look, then summon your magic. Let it wash over yourself — don't force it." To demonstrate, Thorax transformed into a blue colt with darker blue hair.

She paused at that. With such a limitless prospect, she'd thought that it'd take more effort than that.

Not that she was particularly complaining.

With a flash of fire, Rarity transformed herself so that she had her original hair. She would've transformed the whole way, but she didn't want to ruin her make-up.

Thorax blinked. "Wow, you cottoned on pretty quickly."

Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Well, it was rather simple."

He blushed, "It took me about a week to pull off my first successful transformation."

"Oh... Well, I suppose everypony has their own pace, and there's nothing wrong with that."

With another flash, they both dropped their disguises. "Alright, anything we missed?"

Before Thorax could reply, his stomach growled. He blushed sheepishly, "How about some food?"

"Ah, yes, how selfish of me," Rarity apologized. "Will this work?" She stepped forward and grabbed Thorax into a hug.

Thorax rolled his eyes, "Rarity, that's not—"

Then he froze as he tasted the air. "Uhhh... how are you doing that?"

She paused for a moment. "Doing what?"

"You're giving off love!" He declared as he backed off from the hug.

The fashionista looked at him for a moment, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, and?"

"Changelings have never been able to do that; that's why we've always had to steal it from others!"

Rarity paused. "Perhaps it has to do with my pony origins?"

Thorax shook his head, "It's never happened before."

She fell into silent thought at that. Then, remembering how Thorax had described life in the Hive, she asked, "Have any of you ever tried?"

Thorax went to give a rebuttal, but came up short. "Not that I can recall..."

Rarity then had an idea. "Thorax, how about you give it a try?"

He blinked, then nodded unsurely. Moving closer to Rarity, he gave her an awkward hug back.

Rarity smirked as she tasted a small amount of love coming from him. It wasn't much, but it was something.

After a moment, he backed off again. "Did I, uh... Did I do it?"

She grinned, "Yep."

His eyes widened, "Really? You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

Rarity nodded, "That's right."

Thorax sat there for a moment, unsure of how to react.

Then he blushed. "That actually felt kind of... nice. Could we...?"

Her smile turned into a smug little smirk as she held out her forelegs in invitation. He grinned, accepting the hug in a heartbeat.

Eventually, Rarity had to break off the hug; she had orders to fill, after all. As she left, two things were left on Thorax's mind.

One: Were all Changelings capable of sharing their love?

And two: Why was Rarity's first instinct to hug him?