//------------------------------//
// Proper Plot Care 
// Story: The Substitute Demon 
// by Reykan 
//------------------------------//

	It had been four days since the proto-queen first stole that clip of hair from Ted, and he'd assumed the changeling wouldn't be too much of a problem. Yes she seemed a lot more touchy, tended to show up for meals at inopportune times, and was generally as clingy as a small child, but it wouldn't be much longer. The previous night had seen her slowing down, her eyes looking a bit glassy, her steps a bit more wobbly. Actually, that was probably why she was so clingy. Her final molt seemed to have left her weak, and he was the largest and safest thing in the jungle.
Looking at the sleeping changeling curled up under his wing, he chuckled. Yes she was a pain in the flank, that didn't stop it from being funny when she teased the other changelings or made fun of Shadow for tasting weird. That last one he assumed was the fact that Shadow Weaver seemed to be obsessed with enacting his plans to construct the buildings around the Temple of the Shadows, sometimes even foregoing sleep to work late into the night. Ted had ordered the stallion to bed several times after waking up and finding him drooling over the maps in the war room.

Stretching his wings, still stiff from his first few practices with Blur, he went through his morning rituals before nudging the proto-queen, waking her up to tell her he was taking off, but she didn't react. Confused, he tried again, louder, before escalating to shoving her. Still the changeling didn't react. Worried something was wrong, he flashed his life detection spell, breathing a sigh of relief when the shape-shifter glowed under the spell. Trotting out the room and down the hall, he entered the nursery and approached Mirage.

"Mirage, do you have a moment?" He whispered, seeing the foals still sleeping. 

The smaller changeling nodded sleepily, following him into the halls. Finally getting back to his room, he sat before his bed, gesturing to the still insensate proto queen.

"Is this normal, or is something wrong with her?" He asked. "I've tried waking her up, but she doesn't even flinch."

Mirage sighed, before flitting around the larger being, poking and prodding here, rubbing a hoof there, muttering to herself all the while. Finished with her observations, she landed next to the alicorn once more, before turning to face him.

"If you decide you don't want her to become a queen, now would be the time to act. She's undergoing the final stages of her last proto queen molt right now. From what one of my sisters told me, they're pretty deep changes, so the proto queen usually hibernates through them to avoid the discomfort. Of course, by discomfort I mean gut wrenching pain. I think she said the final stage only lasts a few hours, she'll wake up later and break out of her old chitin a full fledged queen."

"So nothings wrong?" Ted asked.

"No, nothing's wrong, except with your head. With all due respect, of course." The shape shifter replied, staring at the hibernating proto queen.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he thanked her for her help, before heading to breakfast. There were some things he needed to check on today before he met with Blur in the courtyard.



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Walking out into the morning sun, the alicorn noted the buildings finally going up around the Temple. The smithy was about half-way complete, still missing the outer structure but having all the important parts already set up, like the forge and the anvil. Inside, directing the final placement of tool racks and storage bins for metals were an earth pony mare and a gnoll. Walking up to the building, the gnoll responded to him first.

"Can Spot help Dark One?" The canine asked.

"Hello Spot, how are you and Sterling handling the things here?"

"Almost done, Dark One. Pony know much about metal, but not like make weapons." Spot explained. "So Spot learn, then make better claws for pack. Pony make what she want, Spot make what he want, everydoggy happy!" 

"Good to hear. We need some decent armaments for everyone while we're this deep in the jungle. Let Sterling know I stopped by." Having said his piece, Ted continued on his inspection. The outdoor barracks wouldn't be used to a while, but it gave them extra living and storage space once it was completed. Until they either left or the group grew, it could possibly be used for a merchants quarters until they built an actual inn.
Ted smiled at that thought. Ponies, changelings, griffins, dragons, thestrals, gnolls, creatures of all walks of life sharing a drink and a good story over a hearty meal. That was something he could back. He may not see it in his lifetime, but it was still fun to dream of it. How would this place grow if he did his job right? No world-ending mistakes, just a small group that barely qualified as a village growing into an honest to god city. Generations growing up, looking to the old temple and saying 'That's where it happened, that's where my great-great-great grandpa and grandma helped summon Cim-Theodore, the one who helped them, who presided over their wedding, and who turned this place from an abandoned temple in the middle of the jungle into the home it is now.'
How long would he live in this current form? Luna and her sister were damn near immortal, so surely a bit of that longevity would rub off on him. He was betting it would add at least a hundred years to his life, maybe two if he was lucky and didn't push himself into an early grave with stupid mistakes. He frowned then, the thoughts of life and death drawing him back to thoughts of home. He still wanted to go home, but would he survive it? Unless he managed to get Luna's memories not just sealed but outright removed, they still posed a threat, not to mention the fact that he didn't want to just leave the cultists in the middle of the jungle with no protection. At the very least he wanted them settled to the point of being safe, maybe even look into actually pushing against the mad queen, freeing the alicorns and those ponies she was using to power her arrays. He wanted to help this world, not just those he happened to be able to see and speak to.
Then there was the issue of dimensional travel. How much did they actually have researched on the topic? Did the ponies have the ability to trace things back to their point of origin? If not, how many years would it take to find his own home? Would anything he knew back home even be there by the time he got back?

Ted shook his head. He'd already traveled that path earlier, he didn't need to revisit it just yet. Going back to his inspection, he came across his first major request that was already nearing completion. Before him stood a large plot of land, cleared over the last few days of lumber and food, being tilled and seeded for farming. From Gleams estimates, the smaller plants would be harvestable within two weeks, while the trees were several years down the road. The bushes would, if treated properly, be usable by the end of the season. Ted shook his head at the thought. The idea of a pony's magic accelerating crop growth beyond anything hundreds of years of science could accomplish blew his mind if he stopped to think about it. It was also a wonderful relief to hear the foraging trips would be cut down in the future. Around the fields a small barrier was being erected, wooden fences lined with simple deterrent arrays to keep pests and rodents out of the fields. Walking the perimeter of the construction, he talked with his followers, new and old, and generally attempted to get an idea of where morale sat. Overall, it seemed that the ponies were happy, their current situation better than they expected to find in the middle of nowhere. The gnolls were harder to read, though he was thankful for their efforts. Many stood guard throughout the work zones, keeping watch for predators and bandits, while several pegasi had set up a cloud-based lookout over the Temple of the Shadows. His current goal was to be able to inspect that building as well, but it was currently beyond what he felt safe trying to do. Baring his fangs in a grin, Ted headed off to his next stop. It was time to visit his favorite little zealot.



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"...and remember to check your feathers' alignment before each flight. Most pegasi memorize the feeling of their feathers after a few years, but you don't really have that luxury. You forgot yesterday and ended up crashing because of it." Blur said, running a trained eye over Ted's wings and pointing out any misbehaving feathers. It was part of the training he'd asked her for, a 'Don't do it for me, let me know what to do and how to do it, then tell me if I do it wrong' set up. He was becoming a bit more comfortable with setting the feathers, though doing it with his mouth would always remind him of the times he'd get hair in his mouth after a haircut. He'd spend several minutes spitting and sometimes even wipe his tongue off, only to sputter after the taste of mud from his hooves ended up in his mouth.
'Sometimes I really miss my hands.' he thought forlornly. Magic allowed for more precise movement of many more objects, it was true. However, Ted had yet to learn how to use it to wipe feathers and dirt from his tongue.

"Ok, we're going to start by hovering a few paces off the ground." Blur said, taking flight.

Ted followed her up a few feet, the basic takeoff never really giving him any trouble. He'd looked up a spell for observing mana flow after the disaster of his first practice in which he couldn't even get any lift, speculating that magic was involved in keeping creatures as aerodynamic as a brick in the air. His gamble paid off in spades, allowing him to observe the individual beats of Blur's wings driving not only air, but magic downwards as well. After figuring out how to get the magic flowing to his wings, he'd managed to launch himself nearly forty feet into the air on accident. Only a quick shift to a more shadowy form kept him from sustaining any injuries from that mistake.

'Moving forwards is like the breast stroke, turning is done by shifting the wings while in motion, unless you're at a stand still, then its a slight shift of the wings on each beat, left is left wing pushing forward a bit and right wing pushing backwards a bit, right is vice versa.' Ted reviewed. The mechanics were a nightmare to learn, on top of everything else he was having to learn, like the basics of magic from an old tome he'd snuck out of the library when no-one was looking, or local geography( thank god for boy scout map reading classes). Still, the ability to move as quickly as a bird, able to respond to any threats in his land was just too much to pass up. What if things had gone badly for the griffon and the thestrals? He'd have been too late to help them, even moving at top speed. If something else happened in his territory, Ted was going to be able to respond like lightning.

Blur circled him a few times, watching every movement of his wings. "Ok, now try moving forward a bit. Remember, its all about the twist of the wings and where you push the magic."

Ted complied, slowly inching forward, before reversing his wings, throwing the magic forward a bit to counter his momentum. Slowly, he then started twisting to face the smaller flyer too lost in his concentration to see the grin on her face. It was about control at this point for him, as his power was well beyond what pegasi usually have. Taking a deep breath, Ted started pushing down with a little more force, slowly rising higher into the sky. He still had his human fear of heights, and that would only distract him in the future. Ignoring Blur's confused attempts at getting his attention, he slowed his ascent, and opened his eyes.

Jungle. As far as he could see, the trees stretched on forever. Rotating to the west, he spotted the ocean in the distance, the top of the abandoned town's guard tower barely identifiable over the trees. A quick look north left a small speck in the distance, a shift of colors alerting him to a boat either coming in to port or leaving for another dock. It was breathtaking, something he only ever saw from either a plane or the top of a skyscraper. And it was all under his own power. He could feel the winds, he could probably even go and touch the clouds if he had the mind to. 
Smiling, he brought the shadow-form spell to the forefront of his mind. It was something he'd wished he'd thought of several times over the last week, but as they said, hindsight was twenty-twenty. Slowly giving himself some forward momentum, he spread his wings and allowed a steady stream of mana to flow, leaving him in a slow glide.

'Hold them steady, mana output at about point five percent for this kind of thing. Don't panic. If you start to fall too fast, add more. Don't panic. After a while, twist to the left, pull the wings up a bit while angled to turn, and then allow yourself to level out. Don't panic.' He could vaguely make out the sounds of beating wings, but didn't look, for fear of losing his concentration. 
'Holy hell, I'm actually doing- no, focus, that gets people killed. Turning, turning, level-whoa, level out, ok. Now more gliding.'

After returning to the airspace over his original training spot, he started flapping again, throwing himself much higher than he'd anticipated.

"Shit!" 'Don't panic. Don't panic, panic and you die. It's the magic output, you're not gliding anymore, turn it down.'
The alicorn's ascent stopped, followed by a quick increase in downward momentum. 
'Too low!' Before he hit the ground, he activated the shadow-form spell, leaving a dark blur to bounce off of the ground.

"Father!" Blur was at him a moment later, trying to check a shuddering shadow for injuries, only to be spooked when the color returned to the alicorn with an explosion of sound.

"Hahaha, oh my god, that was sick!" Ted laughed, rolling back onto his hooves. "That was bucket-list material right there, fly under your own power. And the view! The sooner I get this under control the better, I can't wait to get this licked!"
Finally becoming aware of the fact he'd just scared the color off of a Pegasus, Ted took a few giggling breaths to calm himself. Still giggling quietly, he picked up the spooked mare, and gave her a fierce hug.
"Thanks, Blur. I'm sorry if I spooked you, but I got a bit carried away. I promise to warn you if I get any more dumb ideas while practicing, ok?" A murmer and a nod were his only response.

"Alright, well, since we just finished that wonderful workout, how about we get some dinner, ok?"



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Dinner was uneventful, though the alicorn would continue to burst into giggles until the rest of the adrenaline worked its way out of his system. The rest of the evening was spent on spell-craft and geography, as well as meeting up with Gleam and Shadow as they brought any major issues to his attention. Seeing the two spending so much time working together, Ted had jokingly asked if he'd be presiding over another wedding in the future. Shadow had almost immediately dismissed the idea, citing not having the time with the community sitting on the edge of disaster seemingly every day. Gleam seemed to stare at her fellow unicorn for a few seconds after the comment though, earning a chuckle from Ted, and a request for at least a week's notice beforehand. Fighting her blush, and sputtering a few times, the unicorn countered.

"What about your Changeling pet? She's been practically attached to you for the last few days. In fact I've not seen her since last night." Afterwards, the mare immediately covered her mouth.

Ted just laughed at the jab "She's cute for her kind, yea, but she's still young and, I don't know, she's still recovering. Not only that, she's going through her final proto-queen molting right now, so she's weak. If I lost most of my strength for a few days, I'd stick close to someone I trusted as well." Smiling sadly, he looked up from the maps to Gleam. "Don't be afraid to speak your mind, Gleam, you and Shadow, hell, everyone here is a family. If something bothers you, speak up, if something looks stupid, say so. I don't need to end up losing people to a stupid mistake because someone was too scared of my ire to warn me of a danger in my plans. You two are advisors here, not royal yes-men."

"S-sorry, father, I just got a little carried away." Gleam stuttered out. "And, thank you. It's nice to see everyp-everyone smiling again. It was getting bad before the ritual."

"Some of us thought it would get worse afterwards, actually." Shadow muttered, not looking up from the document he was pouring over. "You know for a fact I was one of the ponies in that particular camp." Suddenly he stopped, staring Ted in the eyes. "I fully expected to die out here, either by the claw of a monster or at your own hoof. I'm... still working out how I feel about the current possibilities for the future."

Ted looked at the stallion with sorrow in his eyes. "How you were before, Shadow? Running headlong into what you thought was certain death? I appreciate what it did for me, but never let yourself fall that far again. It's why we keep other's by our side. It's why I keep pushing you all to try for a better future. What you were before was a person without hope, right? That's why you came out here, why you tried bringing back a being that you thought would kill you out of boredom. Without hope, we can't live. Hope is why we get up in the morning. Hope is why we push through the aches and pains of each day. Hope is why we continue, even when we have nothing, because when we lose hope, we die. We may still be alive, walking the world as others do, but we're not actually living that life, are we? Without hope, we're just an empty shell, waiting until the day death takes us."

Shadow Weaver chewed his lips a few moments before standing, removing his cloak for the first time in Ted's memory. Underneath was a lean, battered body, several signs of scaring showing through his coat.
"I was always the odd one out, Father. A name like Shadow Weaver, and everyone assumes I use necromancy or dark magic. Even Celestia's school for gifted unicorns wouldn't have me. I aced the exams, had the power they required, but they took one look at me, at my name, at my cutie mark, and said I'd destroy the country if I ever got the chance. That with the proper training the only thing I'd manage is to be the next Sombra."

Ted glanced around the table at the now displayed image, an image he recognized from the spell books as an array. The details didn't make sense to him, but all things considered, the story didn't seem that farfetched. A pony's name seemed to be linked to their magic, as was their emblem, a direct display of their talent manifested through their magic. A pony with a dark name and a strange symbol on their rump? People had been burned at the stake on Earth for less.

Cocking his head slightly, the alicorn asked one last question. "I assume you know what the array does?"

Shadow chuckled turning to look at the mark once more. "It's a shielding array."

The conversations turned more work related and lighthearted after the revelations. Having a pony as rough as Shadow baring his soul like that to him left Ted feeling a bit at odds with his own worries. Here he was, worried about a second name, one that probably fit his new form better than the 'Mr. Nightmare' thing that was going around, and one of his followers couldn't even introduce himself without others classifying him as an evil sorcerer.
Bidding the two a good night, Ted headed to his room, ready to get some sleep. Opening his door a bit, he was reminded that it was currently in use. Walking up to the insensate changeling, he nudged her once more, before turning to the door, wondering if he'd have to sleep elsewhere. Right next to a comatose person was not how he planned on spending his night, and he wasn't sure if moving her was possible or healthy. As he reached the door though, one of his ears flicked. Turning and approaching the proto-queen, he leaned in closer, hearing small creaks and cracks coming from the chitin.

Suddenly the entire length of the changelings back was ruptured by a large crack, the ashen plates separating to allow the proto queen to escape the older exoskeleton.
'Queen now, I suppose.' Ted thought to himself while backing up a few paces.

As she worked her way free, he noted her new skin seemed a bit darker than it was before. Then with a gasp, she pulled her head free, allowing a clean and full, if short, mane to fall free. Writhing free of the last bits of her prison, she finally managed to separate from the shell, slumping onto the bed and breathing heavily. All the while Ted could only stare at the absolutely bizarre situation unfolding before him. Then it hit him, the reason she stole that clip of hair. Her mane was darker, almost an ashen blue, while most of the plates actually seemed to be missing, or thinner than they had been as a proto queen. Finally, after a few moments airing, the chitin darkened a bit, leaving her ash-white plates a dark blue-grey instead.

Eyes finally coming into focus, she spotted Ted and grinned. Weakly, she brushed a hoof, bearing only slight pock-marks instead of holes, through her short mane.

"Enjoy watching mares struggle out of their old clothes?" She asked him in a rasping voice.

Ted merely stared at the changeling and her discarded shell, before trotting closer, earning a larger grin from the newly molted queen. Lifting a section of his bedding in his magic, he held it in front of her.
"You ruined my sheets."