//------------------------------// // Crouching Changeling, Plugged-up Prince // Story: Cheesecake and Changelings // by Dropbear //------------------------------// “I still don’t think that travelling to Nocturnia is a good idea, there’s no way that my parents would take me back.” Nigel looked at Midnight as the pair walked side-by-side down the side of the road, the moonlight providing ample light to travel by. “It’s not just about your parents, think about it. Nocturnia from what you have told me is separate to Equestria, therefore I doubt Royal Guard will look for me there. Nocturnes haven’t had much contact with changelings and hopefully a lot of the bias you told me about doesn’t exist there. It’s also the closest country from where we are, should only be a few days of travel.” “I guess you’re right,” Midnight said, the mare lowering her head. “I just don’t want to have to face my parents over what’s happened, I know they’ll hate me for it.” “No they won’t, you’re their daughter and although I can’t speak from experience a parent will always look after their child.” Nigel knew that what he just said was not true in the slightest, however the words served their purpose and Midnight’s mood seemed to improve, the mare raising her head with a smile. “Thanks Nigel, you always know what to say to make me feel better.” Nigel didn’t reply, knowing that Midnight’s parent’s reactions would no doubt not be as welcoming as he indicated. The two beings pressed on in silence for a few hours, the moon steadily arching in the sky. Nigel was surprised that the majority of the terrain seemed to mainly consist of green fields with the occasional forest or mountain. The road they were using as a navigation guide was well-travelled from the looks of it, the plain dirt road beaten flat by many hooves. Lakes and rivers broke up the bland countryside somewhat, the waters crystal clear according to Midnight. The mare had stopped to quench her thirst at a few that they had passed, Nigel only stopping to drink at one. It seemed that his new body did not require as much water as a human or pony, a plus in Nigel’s opinion. The two’s journey so far had been uneventful, it appeared as if no-one else travelled at night meaning that there had been no reason to stop and hide. This allowed the two to travel at a decent pace, a lot of ground having been covered in a small amount of time. “Nigel, can we stop for a bit?” inquired Midnight, the Nocturne mare panting a little. “My hooves are killing me.” Nigel stopped walking, feeling no fatigue at all which intrigued him. He looked at the mare and smiled warmly. “Sure, if you want we can stop more often, considering your condition. I’ve got a theory I want to test while we have a moment.” “What theory?” Midnight asked as she sat down, resting her back against a flat boulder beside the trail. “I never told you much about what I do for a living, did I Midnight?” Nigel replied as he sat down next to her. The mare looked at him thoughtfully. “All you said was that you were a soldier in the ‘ISA’ Department of your Military’s Intelligence Division.” “Well,” Nigel started, “As an agent of the ISA I was augmented to better preform my duties via the use of Biological science. What that means is that my body’s genetic code was tweaked slightly to enhance and add abilities.” Nigel paused to allow Midnight to absorb the information, the mare enraptured with the details. During their earlier talks she had expressed great interest in the advances that the UIP had made in regards to technology, Midnight being especially amazed by the existence of space-travel. Nigel held a black hoof up to his face, studying it and the attached leg for the upcoming test. “Nothing major, unlike some agents but minor upgrades that are mainly focused around survivability for instance,” Nigel bit into his leg with his two fangs, Midnight’s eyes widening as she let out a gasp. Two small punctures in the chitin began to leak green blood, Nigel licking some residue off of his fangs. “Hmmm, sure doesn’t taste coppery. I wonder what it’s made of…?” Nigel pondered as Midnight stared at him with concern. “Are you alright!?” she exclaimed as she held his injured leg with her hooves, staring at the green blood with alarm. Midnight looked up at him, “Why did you do that!?” “Testing a few ideas, don’t worry too much, I feel fine which confirms one theory” Nigel answered as he gave her an apologetic smile, the mare reluctantly letting go of the injured limb. “I hardly felt that bite and considering it went in quite deep that would be unusual. I don’t know a lot about changeling biology but a normal creature would certainly feel a wound that large. Considering the fact that this experience as well as my encounter with the charming Equinox”-Midnight scowled at the name-“did not hurt as much as one would expect leads me to believe that I still possess heightened pain resistance. However this test proved that I am missing at least one modification.” Midnight glanced at him, “Which one?” “Enhanced blood clotting” Nigel responded, both beings looking at the bite-marks, blood still slowly trickling out, “by now the wounds would have ceased to bleed. A shame too, that one is always handy in a scrap.” “Just how many changes did you have?” Midnight questioned as she adjusted her position, angling herself so that she was able to extend her wings. Nigel watched the wings closely as the mare flexed and stretched them. “Not too much myself, only the two I already mentioned, faster blood production and hyper oxygenated blood which means that each blood cell carries more oxygen around resulting in increased stamina.” “Not much? How far do your people go?” “Well there’s this one guy I know,” started Nigel as Midnight continued to stretch, “he took a high-explosive rocket to the chest and although his armour saved his life his body was trashed. The medics got to him in time and he was stabilised before he was returned to a Military medical facility. They replaced the majority of his damaged organs with artificial ones that preformed ten-times better and replaced three of his limbs with military prosthetics. Ten days later and he’s back on the battlefield out-preforming every other soldier present.” Midnight paused her stretching as she stared at Nigel. “He lost three limbs and they sent him back to war after only ten days!?” she exclaimed. “A wounded soldier is of no-use to anyone so the faster they get fixed the better. That’s one of the advantages of war, your medical technology evolves quickly along-side your military, and considering that the UIP is participating in at least three major wars at any one time…” Nigel trailed off, leaving Midnight to piece the information together. “Constant war…” the mare replied awestruck. “Why do you fight so much?” she asked as she looked to the changeling sitting beside her. Nigel let out a little chuckle at her query. “We’re a large Empire and we stop at nothing to get what we want, that tends to not make us many friends. You’d be surprised at the amount of times I’ve been asked that question.” “Please don’t get mad Nigel,” Midnight began hesitantly, “but is the UIP, your Empire… evil?” “It’s okay Midnight to ask questions, that one is also a frequent one. It all depends on your definition of evil. We, meaning the UIP, put our own citizens first above everything. We’re not afraid to declare war at the slightest provocation; we’ve annihilated entire planets and solar systems to end said conflicts and if someone threatens us then we’ll crush them and make all efforts to ensure that no threat remains. However we also attempt diplomacy when it is feasible, have a very strong stance against slavery, rape and other vile practices and if we encounter another civilization in need that is not an enemy of ours then we will provide assistance if we are able. That is the way it has always been and that is the way it will stay. While we do commit atrocities from time-to-time we aren’t complete arseholes, as long as you stay out of our way we don’t bother you. Does that make sense to you?” Midnight slowly nodded her head, moving closer to Nigel so that the side of her body rested against his. “I can see where you’re coming from, while the fact that your Empire has done terrible things like killing entire races is horrible I don’t think you could do anything so terrible” she commented as she rubbed her head against Nigel’s shoulder. “I’m glad I haven’t” Nigel lied, deciding that it wasn’t the best time to let the mare know about his violent track-record and the fact that he had personally ordered multiple genocides in the past. Granted he only had done so against foes with no hope of redemption but he doubted Midnight would see it that way and the prospect of the mare fearing him disturbed him greatly. In cases like this, he reasoned that the lie was justified as it couldn’t do any harm. “That’s good to hear, I know you’re not evil even though you do act like it sometimes” Midnight sighed as she pressed against the changeling as she lay her head on Nigel’s shoulder. Nigel felt energy flow through his body once again, the changeling looking at the mare as he pondered what it could mean. After an hour's rest the duo had continued onwards, the pause re-vitalising the both of them. Midnight had eaten again, the pair down to the last few muffins. Nigel had been sceptical at first of the mare’s supposed ability to carry the box of treats on her back but his doubt was soon gone, Midnight proving capable of transporting the box, the mare using her wing to stop it from falling to the sides. The moon had begun to descend in the night sky, morning drawing ever-closer. No-one else had been encountered so far, not many towns situated in the area according to Midnight. As the stellar object became obscured by the horizon and sunlight began to fill the sky with light Nigel left the side of the road, heading towards a dense patch of long grass that extended into the distance. “Are we going to stop here for the day?” Midnight enquired, the mare watching Nigel as he walked into the long grass, the changeling’s head scanning the surrounds as if he was looking for something. Midnight wasn’t sure if he was looking for a campsite or a place to go to the toilet, although so far he had not stopped for a bathroom break at all. ‘Do Changelings even need to go to the bathroom?’ thought Midnight, not knowing such a detail about the creatures as the Royal Guard did not deem it important to brief guards upon every-day changeling habits. Nigel stopped, his eyes locked onto something that was hidden from Midnight’s view. “That’s right; I think I just found a great spot. Come and have a look at it and tell me what you think.” Midnight trotted over to join her companion, Nigel pointing towards an area located in the grass. A clear space, enough to comfortably fit four ponies was hidden amongst the grass. The dirt patch was shaded by a large tree, Midnight not able to determine the type. The spot was good, it’s position was hidden from the road and it would be a nice place for a rest. “It looks like a good-enough spot to me Nigel,” Midnight replied, the mare letting out a small yawn. “I could do with some sleep; do you think we need to watch the road for any travellers?” Nigel looked back at the path thoughtfully as he pondered Midnight’s question. “We should be fine; this spot doesn’t stand out as anything special and I cannot think of a reason that anyone would investigate it. The tree provides us with cover from the air in case of any flying guards and the grass forms a nice visual buffer.” Nigel walked into the centre of the area and began to stamp the ground with his hooves to flatten it. Midnight, upon observing what he was doing moved over to help him. After the ground was moulded into a fairly even surface Nigel and Midnight laid down next to each other, Nigel placing the blue cloak on the ground like a blanket. Nigel laid down face first, resting his head on his fore-legs while Midnight lay on her side, preferring to rest her head on Nigel. He was about to jokingly lecture the mare about personal space when he felt warm breath on the back of his neck. He craned his neck to look behind him, something that he could only do due to his new body’s flexibility. Midnight was fast asleep, the mare obviously more exhausted than she had let on. Her mouth was open slightly, revealing some teeth and her two fangs with a small red tongue in the middle. Nigel smiled a little at the look on her face, wishing that he had an image-capturing device to record the moment. He placed his head back down upon his legs, closing his eyes as birds chirped while nesting in the surrounding trees. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ “I am a Prince!” Nigel opened his eyes at the shrill voice, coming from the direction of the road. He reached a hoof over and tapped Midnight on the head before placing his hoof in front of her muzzle, the mare not uttering a sound as she looked questionably at him. “I should not have to grace this filthy countryside with my Royal Presence! Surely there is a bathroom fit for a pony of my standing somewhere around here!?” The voice once again cried out, Midnight’s eyes widening as Nigel stealthily moved into the long grass next to their sleeping area. Midnight followed him, the mare picking up the box containing the last few muffins and Nigel’s cloak. Nigel motioned for her to stay hidden before he continued to the edge of the grass that faced the road. Making a small gap so he could see but still remain hidden he scanned the road, spotting an ornate carriage sitting on the road. Attached to the carriage were two ponies, stallions dressed in what appeared to be butlers’ uniforms, another butler-like pony attempting to calm down a blond-maned, pearl-white stallion. “I’m sorry Prince Blueblood,” the butler apologised, the blond prince letting out a huff, “but the next bathroom is in Hoofsdale, at least another three hours away. If you really need to conduct your ‘royal business’ then we have some lavatory paper in the carriage for emergencies. “You expect me, Prince Blueblood, to go to the bathroom in the woods like a peasant!?” The blond unicorn fumed. “There is no other option Sir, either that or you wait three hours” the butler replied, his blunt answer to the obviously narcissistic arsehole of a Prince bringing a smile to Nigel’s face. The Prince raised his head into the air as he snorted, a roll of toilet paper levitating out from the carriage surrounded by a yellow aura, the butler’s horn also glowing. The Prince looked at the paper in distain, the glow surrounding the roll changing to blue as the prince began to walk over to the grass next to Nigel, the pony’s head held high. ‘Damn’ thought Nigel as he tried to slowly back away before halting, the rustling grass at risk of giving his position away. He watched the Prince as the pony stopped barely three meters away, the unicorn’s lower half thankfully concealed by the grass. Nigel winced as the unicorn grunted, the smell of faeces annihilating the surrounding country air seemingly with the ease of a small-yield antimatter bomb. Nigel held a hoof in an attempt to block his nostrils which proved futile due to the many holes that dotted the limb. The unicorn had his back to the hidden changeling as he continued to empty his bowels, grunting all the while. ‘The Hell?’ Nigel thought to himself, ‘what, does this guy eat curried eggs and baked beans for every meal?’ After a few very unpleasant minutes that felt like hours to Nigel the unicorn stood up, a thump sounding as a small sack of cloth rolled over towards Nigel. The unicorn did not notice the missing bundle as he trotted back towards the carriage, an empty toilet paper roll following him as it floated in the air. Nigel poked the golden-cloth sack with a hoof, a small jingling emitting from inside. He looked at it warily before picking it by the top with his mouth, trying to avoid thinking about all of the germs that no-doubt were covering the purse. He crept back to Midnight, the mare staring at him strangely as Nigel dropped the purse on the ground. “We better get going, I think it’s about to get hot around here” suggested Nigel as he glance back towards where he came from. “Why Nigel, please tell me you didn’t get spotted by a guard?” Midnight said as she moved her snout forward to sniff at the purse. “Uh, no you see what happened wa-“ “My Royal Purse, it’s disappeared! Shoeshine, hurry up and search everywhere, I want my purse back!” A panicked shriek interrupted Nigel, the changeling shooting Midnight a look. “It’s about to get hot because I just lifted that wanker’s coin-sack while he was conducting chemical warfare strikes, let’s book it” Nigel hissed, picking up the purse with his mouth as he began to move towards the direction that the carriage had come from while staying adjacent to the road, Midnight holding in her questions as she followed him away from the commotion.