After agreeing on Sazh's plan, Chrysalis and Wizel decided to give Sleight a tour of the kingdom, showing him exactly what he was going to be standing for.
The first stop was the barracks, containing the Changeling army (for lack of a better term). The number of battle-ready Changelings was quite low at the moment, barely reaching four dozen. They all looked suitably tough, though. Char was amongst them; He bowed respectfully to Chrysalis, then threw a dirty look at Sleight when she turned away.
"Not much of an army, is it?" Sleight asked.
"If we had an army greater than this, we would not need you, would we?" Chrysalis counted.
"Their numbers may be small, but they're ready to fight." Wizel declared.
Sleight sidled over to Sazh.
"Speaking of fighting, why didn't you use some of your Changeling magic against those thugs back there?" Sleight asked. "You could've zapped 'em good, or better yet, turn into something that would throttle those guys."
"Well… the thing is… I can't…" Sazh sighed.
"Come again?" Sleight asked.
"I... cannot perform Changeling magic." Sazh admitted.
"Seriously?" Sleight frowned.
"Seriously." Sazh nodded. "I do not know why, but for the longest time, I had been unable to tap into my Changeling magic. Can't fire a beam of magic worth a darn or even change my shape. And to make it worse, every Changeling here knows it. To them, I am nothing more than an outcast who they want nothing to do with. It is why I was out in the forest when we first met: because I had no place else to be."
"That's rough, kid." Sleight admitted. "And I thought I had it bad..."
"Well, it's not all bad… at least they aren't as mean as Char…" Sazh grimaced.
"Yeah, I noticed that… what's his deal with you?" Sleight asked.
"Oh, Char is just one of those Changelings who thinks that strength rules over all. Doesn't like there being a powerless Changeling in his swarm." Sazh explained.
"Looks like the sonofvagun needs to be knocked down a few pegs." Sleight growled.
"Please, Sleight, it doesn't matter. I gotten used to him hating me." Sazh responded.
Sleight wanted to say more, but Chrysalis cut him off.
"Let's move on." Chrysalis declared. "To the village."
"Already seen it, thanks." Sleight shrugged.
"Well, now you are to know it." Wizel stated.
As they entered the main hub of the village, a number of Changelings muttered and pointed at Sleight, word of his performance having spread by then.
"It's him!"
"The wizard!"
"From the prophecy!"
"He's here to save us all!"
"Believe it, good citizens." Sleight smiled. "The legendary wizard is here to save the day!"
"Hey, just because you're pretending to be their savior doesn't mean you need to showboat." Wizel scolded. "The savior is supposed to be humble and dignified."
"Look, grandpa, back where I am from, no pony had appreciation for what I did. It's a nice change of pace to be considered famous." Sleight defended.
"Don't you call me grandpa, boy." Wizel grunted, "I may be old, but I am not feeble. I happen to know judo."
"Whoa, okay, sheesh…" Sleight held up his hooves in defense, "I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted." Wizel gave a smile.
"Let's not dawdle, boys." Chrysalis said testily. "This our village square, where our good citizens meet and talk amongst themselves."
"Good to know." Sleight smiled. "...What do Changelings talk about, anyway?"
"Oh, the same as anypony else, I suppose." Chrysalis shrugged. "The weather, current events, the best way to apply one's resin to shore up the wall of their abode..."
"How things are on the western front…" Sazh added.
"Co-population." Wizel stated nonchalantly.
"Okay, I did ask for that." Sleight shuddered.
"Shall we move on?" Wizel asked.
"If we must." Sleight sighed. "Farewell, my adoring public..."
Chrysalis and Wizel lead Sleight to a small cave.
"What's in there?" Sleight asked.
"The heart and soul of the kingdom." Chrysalis smiled. "Our birthing chamber."
"Birthing?" Sleight asked. "You mean, like... foals?"
"Larvae, actually." Wizel corrected him.
"Oh, okay." Sleight smiled. "let's see the little nippers."
Sleight's curiosity started to dip when he noticed the abundance of slime in the cave, which grew thicker as they went in deeper. At the back of the cave was a green honeycomb structure. Inside each honeycomb was a pale white Changeling larva, covered in slime.
"Holy-" Sleight gulped, suppressing the urge to vomit.
"Precious, aren't they?" Chrysalis smiled.
"That's... one way to put it." Sleight gulped, "Where exactly did they all these guys come from?"
"Well, Sleight… when a mommy changeling and a daddy changeling love each other very much…" Sazh began.
"Whoa! No, no, no, NO! I do not need to hear that!" Sleight stammered.
"He's joking, Sleight." Wizel smirked, quite amused, "These little larvaes were laid and hatched by Chrysalis herself."
"Wait… so Chrysalis is…" Sleight's eyes widened, as he turned to Chrysalis, "These are all your kids?!"
"Of course." Chrysalis nodded.
"G-gah, how is that even possible? I mean, I thought you need… you know… a guy to have foals…" Sleight explained, quite stupefied.
"Then you obviously don't know jack about changelings." Wizel declared.
"You see, Sleight, while Changelings themselves can produce the old-fashioned way, most of the Changelings usually comes from a Changeling queen, like yours truly." Chrysalis explained. "While two Changelings can have only one to two larvaes at a time, a queen can lay up to a hundred eggs and hatch all of them."
"So… when you refer to the Changelings as your children… you meant literally?" Sleight asked, stupefied.
"Indeed. In fact, Sazh here is from one of my broods a while back." Chrysalis gestured to Sazh.
"Yup. Chrysalis is my birth mother, number 28010136." Sazh stated proudly.
"And Wizel?" Sleight pointed to the old changeling.
"Oh no, I was hatched from Chrysalis's grandmother's brood." Wizel explained. "I'm number 00000256."
"And what about Char?"
"Chrysalis's mother. Number 10000002." Wizel answered swiftly.
"Huh." Sleight murmured, before coming to another realization. "Wait, doesn't that make every single Changeling here related to each other?"
"Yes." Chrysalis, Sazh, and Wizel answered at once.
"Then how does that figure in with all the Changeling couples? Because I may not be an expert on changelings' customs, but I do know that by pony standards, that's considered incest." Sleight stated.
"Well, yes and no." Wizel shrugged. "Yes, some of us Changelings are paired off with our brothers, sisters, and cousins… but given how we are also creatures with needs, and being rather unpopular with the ponies themselves, we can't really afford to be picky."
"Besides, most of the time, Changelings that do mate are very distantly-related from each other." Sazh chuckled.
"You don't say…" Sleight explained, quite unsure of how to respond to that remark. Hoping to bring it back a bit, Sleight then asked the queen "So… do you raise all these little guys when they hatch?"
"For the first few years after they hatch, yes." Chrysalis smirked. "But as they grow into little pupas, I usually pass them along to other Changelings who raises and teaches them in the ways of being a changeling. But even then, I see to it that they are still be taken care of, as a mother should for their children."
"Wow… that's very admirable." Sleight smiled.
Chrysalis was slightly taken off guard by the comment, but then smiled "Thank you."
"Hey, Sleight, would you like to hold one of the babies?" Sazh asked.
"Actually, I-" Sleight tried to come up with an excuse, but stopped in his tracks when Sazh placed a larva in his hooves, having retrieved one from one of the combs.
'Ew, ew, ew!' Sleight cringed, his eyes shut tight in disgust as he felt the slime covering his hooves.
"Aw, she likes you." Sazh smiled. "She's smiling!"
Sleight opened his eyes a crack. The larva was indeed smiling, her big blue eyes shining brightly.
"Huh. Up close, you're actually kinda cute." Sleight admitted. "Could do without the slime, though..."
The larva chirped and clicked.
"Are you trying to say 'hi' to your uncle Sleight, kiddo?" Sleight cooed. "Hi there!"
The larva giggled.
"Does she have a name?" Sleight asked Chrysalis.
"Of course. Number 32425761. Name: Glinda." Chrysalis smiled.
"Cute name." Sleight smirked.
"Yes. These larvae are our future." Wizel declared. "But what kind of future can they have, when there's a stallion like Red Eclipse threatening to destroy our way of life?"
"Red... who?" Sleight asked.
"Red Eclipse." Chrysalis declared. "The one responsible for all the trouble around here lately. No pony knows for certain who he is…but all I do know that he is evil."
"He appeared out of nowhere a couple of months back, with a group of ruthless mercenaries under his name. Ever since, he and his ponies had been terrorizing us, raid after raid, brutality after brutality. We try to scare them off, but we don't have the sufficient amount of battle-ready Changelings to match his army of merciless cronies. As of now, they had been rather quiet… but with those thugs you encountered earlier, it's only a matter of time before they come back." Wizel explained grimly.
"Oh my gosh…" Sleight murmured. "Why would he be doing this?" Sleight asked.
"I honestly don't know." Chrysalis admits, "Could be that he desires the territory that we are standing upon, or simply out of sheer malice. All I do know is that he hates all non-pony forms of life. Griffons, minotaurs, buffalos, dragons… their very existence is an affront to him, and unfortunately he has chosen us Changelings as his next targets. And if the past few months had been any indications, he will not rest until we are gone."
"I see." Sleight noted. "Well, after I've rallied the troops, he and his lackeys are going to be running for the hills! Especially if said lackeys are anything like the three I drove off earlier!"
"Sleight's right! Once we are through with them, they'll know not to mess with Changelings!" Sazh cheered.
"Now that is the kind of spirit our changelings need." Chrysalis smiled. "You may not be our wizard, Sleight, but you might just do the trick."
"Geez, thanks." Sleight blushed.
Wizel watched the three as they seem to relish in their newfound hope, as he then whispered to himself "Confidence and spirit is one thing, Sleight… but I sincerely don't know if it will be enough…"
Meanwhile, Twitch, Slice, and Dice finally made back to their destination, a run-down old boarding house, abandoned long ago by their proprietors. Currently, there was a lot of rough-looking and rather intimidating ponies residing in it, so much in fact that there were not enough room for all of them, thus leading to all the other mercenaries to pitch up tents outside.
The three gave gulps as the glares and evil eyes of the 'soldiers' followed them all the way to the back room. Standing in front of it was a rather big pony.
"State your business." The pony demanded in a fierce tone.
"W-We're here to see the boss..." Twitch declared.
"Sorry, but Mr. Eclipse doesn't wish to be disturbed." The pony grunted.
"B-but it's v-very important!" Twitch insisted. "W-we have in-intel he might want to know about…"
"Very well…" The guard sighed, as he stepped aside.
The three made their way into the room. It was rather dark on the opposite side of the room and rather empty. In fact, at first glance, one might say that the room was empty... but alas, there was indeed life, as a small glow of a lit cigar revealed itself and with it, a blood-red snout. The cigar was removed from the mouth as it let out a huff of smoke…
Then, a rather deep and gravel-like voice spoke up.
"Twitch… Slice… Dice… I take it that you three have a reason for disturbing my 'me' time?"
Slice and Dice were immediately shivering, as they ushered Twitch forward. The blue pony gave a gulp as he began.
"H-hello, er, Eclipse, sir… h-how ya d-doing this fine af-af-af-af-af-" Twitch was stuck in a loop again.
Then there was a loud stomp on the ground, shaking the floorboards in the process.
"I do not have time to humor you in your frivolous and pathetic stuttering, Twitch. Do you have anything worthwhile to report or will I have to give you a repeat of what happened when you last bothered me?"
"Oh no, not that!" Slice whimpered.
"My back's still trying to fix itself from the last time!" Dice wept.
Twitch shuddered before continuing. "N-no need for t-that, sir. Y-you see, w-w-we m-m-might have a situation…"
"Might have?" The voice repeated.
"Y-yes…you see, we r-ran into some runty Changeling out n-n-near the forest." Twitch explained. "W-we were about to give him the business, but this Unicorn 'wizard' guy s-stopped us."
"He had some powerful tricks, boss." Slice chipped.
"Yeah, his cards and exploding dice thingies-" Dice was about to say.
"Wait, you mean to tell me that some nopony scared you off with playing cards and some gimmick pair of dices?" The shadowy pony did not seem amused.
"Yep. Sent us runnin'!" Dice nodded.
"Utterly pathetic." The deep voice snorted. "There should never be any pony under my command that is scared off by a bunch of cheap magic tricks! I should be rid of you all right on the spot!"
"B-but there's more to it than that, boss." Twitch countered. "You r-remember that there prophecy that old bug went on about that our s-s-spy overheard a c-couple months back?"
"You mean that confounded drabble about some mad unicorn wizard with the blood of an even more mad wizard's blood falling out of the sky and rising up to face me and my army?" The voice snorted.
"That b-be the one, sir." Twitch nodded.
The voice scoffed "It's complete utter bull-crud. Even if there's a unicorn dumb enough to face me, who would risk their hide for a bunch of measly shape-shifting vermin?"
Twitch twiddled his hooves a little, "Actually, s-sir… you know that unicorn we m-mentioned?"
"Yes?"
"I d-don't know the whole story, but those Ch-ch-changelings are in a-an uproar about the g-guy and…" He trailed off, trying not to gaze at the pony in front of him.
"…And?" The voice asked.
"I really d-don't know h-how to p-put this…" Twitch muttered.
"Get on with it!" Dice barked desperately.
"Yes, get on with it!" Slice ushered on.
"Yeah, get on with it!" A clamor of unknown voices demanded.
The four ponies stood in silence.
"O-oh geez, w-what was t-that all about-"
"Get on with it!" The shadowy pony bellowed, the floorboards shaking again with another stomp.
"Alright, alright!" Twitch stammered, "The thing is… the changelings s-seem to b-believe that this unicorn is the w-wizard… the one t-that will r-rise up and s-stop you…" Immediately, he winced, preparing for pain.
The pony in the shadows did not say anything at first… but then, he dropped the cigar he was smoking on the ground, immediately crushing and grinding it with one heavy shaggy-fetlock hoof, which was well-sharpened.
Slice and Dice slowly backed away, while Twitch remained in his winced state, failing to notice as their boss began to step away from the shadows, revealing a powerful, tall and rather intimidating blood red stallion with a black mane and golden eyes… or rather eye, as his right eye was concealed behind an ragged eyepatch.
Twitch slowly open his eyes, only to be met with the chest of the boss. He let out a whimper as he glanced up at his face, looking down at him with a grin that only the devil himself would possess.
"...Is that a fact?" Red Eclipse questioned, his curiosity piqued. "Well then… perhaps I should meet this 'great wizard' in pony, and see if he lives up to the hype..."