//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Love's Many Forms 
// by DraconequusMaximus 
//------------------------------//

It was a beautiful day in the town of Ponyville, birds were chirping, the sun was shining, & nopony suspected that the large covered cart Berry Punch was hauling through town had anything other than alcohol from her wine cellar outside town. Ponies waved at her as she pulled her cart through the town square, Berry was a very popular pony in town. She was well known for being the best alcohol supplier this side of Equestria & was always there to help when somepony had been irresponsible with her product. The changeling in the back of the cart was trying to be as still & silent as possible under the tarp. Everything was going smoothly until he felt the cart lurch to a stop. He dared not move until Berry came & pulled the tarp away.
"We're here, we're around back so nopony should see you. Follow me okay?" Berry whispered to the now uncovered passenger. He merely nodded & peered over the edge of the cart. They were on the covered porch of the backyard of what he presumed was Berry's home. Being glad for the shady covered porch he got out as fast as his tired limbs would allow. Berry opened the sliding glass door & ushered him in with her other hoof. Not wasting a second he trotted into the house, this is going better than I thought it would. He thought to himself with a smile. He was instantly proven wrong as a minty unicorn mare trotted into the room.
"Hey Berry, Pinchy called us when you were late getting ba-" Was all the mare said before stopping dead in her tracks. The mare & the changeling stallion looked at each other wide-eyed before the both fell over after fainting. Berry trotted in with a crate setting upon her back a moment later. She surveyed the scene before her for a moment before sighing. She placed the crate on the floor next to her before trotting over to the fridge retrieving a hard cider which she downed quickly.
"Well buck." Was all she had to say afterwards.
About an hour later the unicorn mare awoke to the sound of talking.
"She knows! I'm dead Berry! We can't keep her here, somepony will come looking for her! What are we going to do?!" A male voice said from somewhere behind her. She tried to right herself & look but she found she was tied to a chair.
"Calm down, she's a friend of mine. She just has some history with changelings, we can show her you're a good colt & everything will be fine. Lyra's not a nark, she's weird but a good mare." The mare apparently named Lyra recognized that voice.
"Berry? What the hay is going on?! Why was there a changeling in your kitchen! Why are you talking to it?!" Lyra yelled as she struggled in her bindings. Berry trotted over to the bound mare & sat down in an adjacent chair where Lyra could still see her.
"Good you're awake, I thought maybe you hit your head on the floor when you passed out." Berry then motioned for the changeling to come over. He complied but reluctantly so, Lyra gazed at him with a mixture of fear & hatred which he could taste. He was less & less optimistic each second.
"This is my new friend, I found him passed out in the Everfree near the cellar. Poor guy was starved, he's a good guy despite appearances. He's gonna work for me for awhile. We can let you go if you promise to keep this quiet, deal?" Berry asked in a calm tone. Lyra's eyes darted from her to the changeling several times before she nodded affirmative. Berry smiled & undid the ropes keeping her in place. As soon as Lyra was free she took a deep breath, let it out & jumped onto Berry pinning her to the floor. The changeling succumbed to his baser instincts & hid behind the sofa.
"Where's the real Berry Punch?!" She screamed at the pink mare.
"One & a fourth ounces dry gin, three fourths of an ounce lemon juice, three fourths of an ounce simple syrup, three ounces club soda. Put the gin, lemon juice, & simple syrup in a shaker of ice. Shake well & then strain into a glass of ice cubes, add the club soda & stir well. Garnish with an orange slice or maraschino cherry depending on preference & serve." Berry stated completely from memory just as easily as she would her own name.
"What? That's a Tom Colttins... Berry?" Lyra replied with a confused expression but pulled herself off of the mare nonetheless. 
"So you really brought a changeling to your house? What were you thinking? Wait, where did it go?" Lyra said looking around the room. Her response was a holed leg waving from behind the couch.
"You're kinda scary so I took cover while you were distracted with Berry." The changeling replied from his refuge.
"Wait, you're afraid... of me? Aren't changelings supposed to be deadly love stealing warriors?" Lyra said looking from the sofa to Berry who merely shrugged. He poked his head out from behind the couch warily. When Lyra didn't assault him he emerged from the safety of his plush bunker.
"Changelings only steal love so they can eat, we don't like hurting anybody. The black swarm is the only militant hive, they're the ones who tried to invade. Chrysalis wants to take control of all the hives so they stole love from Equestria to fuel their soldier drones. They're why I was headed to Ponyville Chrysalis wouldn't come here because of the elements of harmony. They conquered my hive & captured me but I managed to escape." He said with a sad expression as he remembered his awful time as a captive. Lyra took a good look at him now, although he was obviously a changeling he was taller than the ones that had invaded Canterlot. He was also different colors & had a different shelled carapace across his back. The cracks in his chitin seemed to tell that he was indeed worse for wear. She still was wary of the changeling but had to admit he didn't seem to pose any threat to anypony.
"If Berry trusts you I guess you're alright, but no more tying ponies to chairs or anything alright?" Lyra asked with a serious expression.
"Actually, he fainted when you did. I'm the one that tied you to the chair." Berry admitted as if it was nothing important. Lyra shot an angry look at her but said nothing of it. After a moment something she had forgotten crept back into her mind.
"Berry, Ruby Pinch was in here before I passed out. Where is she?" As if on cue a young filly's voice came from upstairs.
"Mom? Can I come down now? I wanna talk to the changeling!" Soon hoofsteps were heard & a little pink unicorn appeared at the top of the stairs. Berry nodded & the filly jumped onto the banister & slid down to the bottom. She jumped of & trotted up to the changeling with wide eyes & a smile of wonderment.
"Can you turn into anypony?" Ruby said after a moment. The changeling was nervous but answered the question to remain polite because he was a guest in their home.
"Well, if I know what somepony looks like yes. But I haven't eaten much in awhile so I can't transform right now." He said looking at his own hole riddled hoof.
"We have food in the refrigerator, mom keeps it really well stocked." The little filly said unaware of changeling dietary needs. 
"Well, I don't exactly eat the same things ponies do, changelings eat love. But we do eat solid food when we're growing or we need to heal." As he said this he looked back to the cracks in his chitinous exoskeleton. He poked one of the fissures with a hoof & a small chitin chip fell off & landed on the carpet. 
"Maybe food isn't such a bad idea" He said meekly as he picked up the chip with a hoof. Berry & Lyra had noticed the declining health of his carapace but now genuinely worried about it.
"Well, let's get to the kitchen then, can't have my little filly or employee starving now can I?" Berry said before trotting to the room in question. Lyra stood there for a moment before an idea struck.
"Berry, I'll be back in just a second!" She shouted before heading out the door. The changeling was visibly worried that she would call for help from somepony but had no way of stopping her. He sighed & trotted off to the kitchen as well where Berry was already going around gathering the necessary ingredients for whatever she was making. Ruby was sitting at the table with a coloring book featuring some kind of bipedal creatures that looked ridiculous to him. After a few moments he was coloring with her holding a crayon she had given him in his teeth. She looked at him like he was insane.
"Why don't you use your hooves or magic? You have a horn." Ruby asked as she pointed to the smooth curved horn on his forehead. He looked up at it himself before sighing.
"I'm not very good with my hooves & I'm not strong enough to use magic right now." He said lamenting his predicament. As he spoke with her & Berry put pasta into a boiling pot the door was heard opening. Lyra rushed in with another mare the color of cream with navy blue & bright pink mane. The new mare was genuinely surprised at the presence of the changeling who was sitting there next to Ruby Pinch with a crayon in his mouth. Before he or the mare could say anything Lyra pulled her into a deep passionate kiss. Initially surprised the cream colored mare's eyes were wide with surprise but after a moment they closed & she got into the kiss. Berry chose this moment to trot over with plates & other supplies on her back.
"Well, I haven't even set the table for dinner yet but you seem to have skipped right to dessert girls." She said in a smug tone, proud of her quick wordplay. Ruby though young obviously got the joke as she began giggling.The mares separated blushing & catching their breaths. The changeling had just been hit with a fair amount of love just then & was feeling a tad giddy at the sudden influx of energy. His wings were abuzz at the energy as it soothed some of the aches & pains he had. The new mare was returning to reality & looked over to the changeling with returning surprise. She quickly ran behind Lyra using her as a shield.
"Lyra, would you mind telling me why we just made out in front of a changeling in Berry's kitchen?" She asked with worry & confusion evident in her voice.
"Bon Bon, this is Berry's new employee. He's seen some hard times lately & he was starving, so I thought he could use a snack." Lyra stated as if she thought it was the greatest idea of her life. Bon Bon did not share in her enthusiasm however as she punched Lyra in the shoulder before emerging from behind her.
"Berry, is this changeling really going to work for you?" Bon Bon asked still very confused & more than a little irritated. 
"Yeah, he's going to be great for quality control. He can literally feel the love coming off my booze." Berry said proudly. Bon Bon thought about that for a moment before turning back to the metaphorical elephant in the room. 
"So you can feel love coming off of things made with it?" She asked a seemingly evil grin coming across her muzzle. He was a bit intimidated by the smile but nodded nonetheless. Bon Bon's smile didn't falter whatsoever until she said: 
"How do you feel about working two jobs?"