//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: Health benefits // Story: Itinerant Kingdom // by Istaran //------------------------------// Mirror slumped onto the floor, defeated by his own weariness. He watched Wind Chaser finish pushing out the egg, then strain to try to push out another.. but there was nothing forthcoming. She seemed a bit confused by this, but.. well, he had an embarrassingly good view from here. "I don't see any more coming," he offered helpfully. She examined the egg closely, before properly covering it in slime and securing it in its place against the wall. "I thought for sure there were twins.. I guess they're sharing an egg?" She didn't want to admit she had guessed wrong, but Mirror didn't see a point in rubbing it in. She was beautiful, he decided. Kind of small for a queen, probably because she was a drone like him. But she legged an egg, so she had to be a queen? She was confusing. Also very well fed. Probably a big part of what made her beautiful. Also, didn't she get thrashed by a dozen other drones like.. the day before yesterday? She didn't have a scratch on her beautiful, chitinous body. "You're looking well," he said. "You're not. Which is probably better for you. If I thought you were capable of being a threat, I might have bashed your head in just to be safe," she replied. "Makes sense," he shrugged. She obviously didn't have the kind of.. output that Chrysalis did, at least not yet. One egg from a drone was kind of a miracle already. If it was this hard for her to make one, she wouldn't take any chances on losing it. So yay for broken bones and being half starved? Who was he kidding, it just meant a slower death. At least he had someone to talk him through it. "So.. I guess that king of yours is working out for you?" She rubbed the egg and smiled. "The results speak for themselves, do they not? You are here, broken, alone, your siblings scattered. And I am here healthy, well fed, and with an egg of my own. So tell me, how is your queen working out for you?" Mirror thought in silence for a while. "Are you able to.. you know, lay.. because your mate is a king?" She nodded, then thought for a bit before deciding to come clean. "We had to borrow a fair bit of extra love to make it work. He might not be able to get you pregnant right away, until we learn how to do it more easily." Mirror blushed hard enough to show through his chitin. "What makes you think I even want to lay?!" Wind Chaser looked him in the eyes wordlessly for several seconds. "Okay," he confessed. "Maybe, just one? But does it matter? I'm just a half dead enemy about to starve to death here." "Join us." He hesitated. "You'll feed me?" She nodded. "Join us." He looked up at her. So well fed. So beautiful. He wanted to be beautiful like her. Even if that meant being someone's spare mare. "What about my injuries. I'll just slow you down. " "We can heal your wounds. Join us." She pierced herself at a joint in the chitin, drawing a drop of blood on her hoof, and offering it to him. "Swear loyalty to the Itinerant King, lick this drop of Kingsblood, and become one of us. I'll get him to give you that egg someday, as soon as we know how." "You can't make promises for your king," he said before licking the drop into her mouth. "Can you?" She shrugged. "Ask him yourself then, when you see him. Also.. the oath?" He lifted his one good leg into the air. "I, Mirror, do solemnly swear to serve the Itinerant King." He lowered the limb. "Like that?" "Good enough," she shrugged, and went back to her egg. "What about that healing you promised?" He asked hopefully. "Get some sleep," she replied. Mirror sighed, defeated, and fell asleep, convinced he would never awaken. Mirror's body was too drained to even produce a proper fever. Which made the integration process happen much more consciously than it normally would. It was like a sort of lucid dream, but the dreamscape was this incredibly abstract thing.. thoughts, numbers, logic. There were more concrete bits to it, but they were.. a detailed breakdown of his own biology, at a molecular scale. He was in awe at his own thoughts, as they became one with 'Rorrim'. Heh. Mirror, backwards. Mirror's mirror. [Hi!] [Rorrim? You sound more girly than I would have thought.] [No. Midnight Oil. I'm connected to you through Fossil and Rorrim. You're new to the Kingdom. Welcome!] [Oh.] He thought about what she said, and soon they were in a sort of black void together, the black unicorn mare standing before the changeling. This was a bit more like what he expected from a dreamscape. And hey, he was uninjured here. So this was a fairly pleasant place to spend his last remaining minutes. [This place is a bit bare, huh? Here, let's decorate.] One after another, features appeared within the space. A nice big rug floating under their feat, comfy looking cushions, a low table with a fully deployed tea set, a cup of steaming beverage already placed before each of them. They each took a seat, and sampled the impossibly good brew. [Better?] [Better,] he agreed. He savored heaven while he could, certain hell would catch up to him soon enough. [You seem troubled. What are you worried about? Don't worry.. we all had things to worry about when we joined.] [Oh, I'm just about to die,] he sipped the tea again. So good. [Thanks for giving me such a pleasant exit though. It's very nice of you. I wish I could do something to repay you.] [Hold on. First off.. you mean it? If you mean it, I will find a favor for you to give me.~] She grinned. [Yes, I mean it. Even if I wasn't about to die, this is very pleasant, and I'm glad you were nice enough to welcome me like this.] He even thought he felt a bit of love from her. Just a bit. She closed her eyes and thought a moment. [You're not going to die. Just check with Rorrim. Your wounds are all healing nicely. You definitely need more love though. And I've got an idea of a favor that will help you get it faster.] When I returned to the cavern, Midnight Oil was standing next to Wind Chaser, chatting casually while they waited. Midnight was a bit more animated than usual, pacing and otherwise moving her body in restless fashion. Her tail wagged almost like a puppy as she saw me approach, and I was instantly being stroked by her magic along my back and flanks. "I didn't expect to see you here," I said. "Why aren't you in Canterlot?" "I figured out a neat new magic trick to come visit you two. Aren't you glad to see me?" she said. "Of course.. " I said, thinking. I sensed Fossil's presence in front of me, but also in the distance at Canterlot. But it wasn't Turbine faking it this time.. Wind Chaser was right there. "Why do I get the feeling that this magic trick is like the last one you two pulled on me?" I asked Wind Chaser. "Just play along," Wind Chaser suggested. "Let us have our fun. Midnight needs your love, now, badly." At this point I was pretty sure what was going on, or at least part of it. But I heeded Wind Chaser's suggestion, and made believe I didn't suspect a thing. I bedded the unicorn before me, giving her all the love I could muster. I immediately felt the drain, all too familiar, and my suspicions were confirmed. By I trusted Wind Chaser, and knew there had to be a reason she had me feeding an unfamiliar changeling. When we were done, I rolled onto my back, pulling her atop me and looked into her eyes. "Alright, so.. is someone going to explain to me why you couldn't just tell me we had a new changeling?" Mirror looked nervous and also embarrassed as he returned to his true form. "It was Midnight's idea, she asked me to do it as a favor for her." The unicorn's thoughts reached me from Canterlot. [That was really fun. Don't be mad at Mirror. He was just helping me try a new trick. With the spider nets he can pass me his senses, and let me control his movements. It's just like I'm there! And since he can take my form, it feels totally natural to me. Well, mostly. There's a very slight lag, but that's all, and it isn't much at all. I was even able to use horn magic through him.] I petted the changeling, who was still looking a bit nervous. "Are you okay with all of that? I mean.. she kind of used you.. like a puppet or something." "." Wind Chaser offered. "What, it's your word. In Equestrian, the closest would be 'avatar'." "I don't mind," Mirror said, "it was actually kind of fun. And I got fed out of it, so there's tha-" I cut him off with a kiss, rolling him onto his back and got started with him anew. After a moment he thought to use thoughtspeech since I wouldn't let him talk. [Okay, yes, that's a lot better!] I knew I didn't have to have sex to feed him direct love, but it did make it easier for me.. and I was getting a lot more used to the intimate touch of changelings. To my surprise, when we finished he climbed off me, and ran off, saying only "I've got to go!" I tracked his movements as he ran off, apparently beginning some kind of broad search pattern, but apparently since Turbine had been the source of the nanospiders, Rirrom had the same modified permissions as Turbine, and I couldn't force him to answer my questions. "Trust him, he is on important business on your behalf. And his own, truthfully. Now, come spend some time with Alexander and Gabriella," she said, pointing to the lone egg. So I sat by the egg, resting a hoof on it despite the grossness of the fluids covering it, and let Deus and Stormbringer connect me to the young, disturbingly alert minds. [Hello, my children. Daddy is right here.]