I am so done right now.
Hold tight, folks.
This is where it gets even more ridiculous and complicated than usual.
So, where was I?
Oh yeah, her.
Another yellow beam whizzed past my head as I sidestepped it. I slid to the right as two more nearly hit me. I wasn't going to use Agility, because that would be cheating, and also because I'm smart enough to calculate the beams beforehand. I heard a growl of annoyance as she outright blasted a beam of lighting at my head. I simply moved my head up and my body down, allowing it to seamlessly pass between the two.
"So, why am I your heir?"
After I had upstarted Conversion 2, Queen Sepia wanted to see what else it could do, so we devised a game. I dodge her magic, I ask questions, she answers. If I am hit, it's her turn to ask questions, except I'm still trying to dodge while answering. It's not like the bolts would hurt, because I still have Conversion 2 online, making me a Ground Type.
Huh, a floating Ground Type.
The irony.
"Because, when my mother introduced me to different research materials from the library above on your kind, I had to have such abilities for my changelings! Who wouldn't?"
I flung myself upwards as a few electric orbs scattered out of the changeling Queen's horn, right before the converged on where I had been, scorching the floor. Breathing a whir of relief, I began to do figure eights in the air.
"So you just want power? How cliche!"
I zipped to the side when she fired yet another beam at me, still sitting on her throne in concentration, but looking bemused at my comment.
"Not just power, defense! Queen Chrysalis revealed the changelings to the world when she foolishly attacked Canterlot. Due to my hive being close to a town in direct contact with that very same city, it stands to reason we'd need protection in case the Princess sent her wrath upon us!"
Sepia charged her horn, a yellow orb slowly growing at the tip. I had seen other Electric Types make the same mistake before when summoning an Electro Ball, but I digress. You shouldn't keep a move powered up for too long or too close to you, as it could backfire and explode in your face, literally. It's the same reason Energy Ball is a hard Grass Type move to master, along with Aura Sphere and the like.
I fired a well placed Signal Beam at the orb of energy, causing it to rupture and explode. I couldn't see anything for a few moments, but upon the smoke clearing, I noticed Sepia was still at her throne without a scratch on her or anything else. While I just stood and stared with wide eyes, the Queen guffawed like no tomorrow at my shock, if you will.
"Ohhh, your face! Priceless!"
She continued to laugh, while I immediately entered 'I am not amused' mode. Leering gaze, crossed arms, pouting expression. The whole nine yards. She calmed down enough so that I could speak.
"Yes, yes, make me worry that I blew you up. Hilarious."
I pointed a flipper towards her.
"How did you survive?"
She giggled, and tapped her horn for emphasis.
"Changelings are naturally capable of draining magic. Normally we feed on emotional magic, but I've conditioned myself for otherwise using the information I learned about your kind."
Sepia examined her hoof in a nonchalant manner, then looked at me with a glint in her eyes.
"I believe you call it Volt Absorb?"
Oh.
Clever girl.
Huh. I have a hypothesis, but I'm not sure if it's right. Let's put that to the test, then.
"You say changelings feed off of emotions?"
Sepia nodded.
"Alright, so you fed off of the electricity-"
"Lighting magic."
I huffed at being interrupted, but continued anyway.
"...lighting magic, thus allowing you to heal yourself and preventing damage to the surrounding area."
I hovered over to her, and poked her horn. She cringed, but I was in explanation mode.
"Meaning, you did indeed just execute Volt Absorb. One problem, though, is that a Pokemon Ability like Volt Absorb is always active."
She laughed and waved a dismissive hoof.
"Which it is. I heard you had tried to attack my guards who had been escorting you."
I rubbed the back of my head, remembering the futile endeavor.
"Oh, that. Yes, my Discharge failed to faze them at all."
She gave a smug look towards the throne room doors.
"That's my girl..."
I slapped my flipper to my forehead.
"That does not explain how you are generating electricity in the first place."
I held out my arms in front of me, and she just smiled.
"Static."
I promptly double faceflippered.
"What about the conservation of energy-"
"Magic."
With that, I grabbed my head from the air, and spun in a circle, then tossed it like a baseball pitcher straight through the throne room doors.
I screamed in frustration the whole time it happened.
[|||]
Once our little Q&A session was over with, and I was one hundred percent certain I hadn't forgotten one single thing, I headed down the hallway outside the throne room in the general direction of sound. Sepia was walking alongside me, except she had a little sway in her step, as if her pride had been strengthened considerably.
I was still fuming about the answers I had been given, and I wasn't quite sure why. I had absolutely no reason to be angry, nor did I require launching my head through a door, yet all of it happened. I rubbed my head, a migraine slowly hammering it's way into my head, while I wondered about what Sepia had said earlier.
"Uh, Sepia."
She looked at me while we walked.
"You said you feed on emotion. What kind of emotion?"
The changeling Queen laughed, and flipped her mane, the yellow fuzziness going everywhere.
"See for yourself."
We had reached the end of the hallway, and she opened the door with her yellow aura, the doors opening with a squeak. Upon seeing the room, at first I thought I was crazy, because I had just been in this lobby not even a few minut--an hour ago.
The changelings were all enjoying each other's company, chatting about their duties or some such. A few noticed their breaks were over, and begrudgingly exited the room. Sepia tittered as she watched a drunken drone stumble into a table, while a friend next to him just dragged the poor changeling off to a sick bay.
There was a changeling drone at a turntable, with a pretty good stereo system hooked up. Said changeling also had neon blue hair that was set up a fashion almost as crazy as Sepia's. I pointed at the DJ changeling.
"Uh..."
It suddenly hit me, all at once, exactly what this room was.
I was in the middle of an Arceus damn night club, for changelings.
...
SON OF A B-
[|||]
Sepia simply observed the Porygon-Z go through several different emotions in less than ten seconds. His head twitched a few times, until he finally just went limp, his limbs dangling loosely while his head hung in the air.
"Of all the things, it had to be this..."
The former human groaned, turning to the Queen for assistance. He indignantly pointed a blue limb at the party.
"What even IS this?!"
Sepia put a reassuring hoof on the red and blue bird's shoulder, hoping that would calm him down. Right before she wrapped him in a hug, and smiled devilishly, of course.
"Did I mention what we feed on?"
The Porygon-Z shook his head. Sepia just leaned right up against him, and whispered.
"Ecstasy."
[|||]
AN ERROR HAS OCCURRED. TO CONTINUE:
PRESS ENTER TO RETURN TO SILPH OS, OR
PRESS CTRL+ALT+DEL TO RESTART YOUR PORYGON. IF YOU DO THIS, YOU WILL LOSE ANY UNSAVED INFORMATION IN ALL OPEN PROCESSES.
ERROR: 0E : 016F : BFF9B3D4
PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE _
...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Oh.
Well, that's a thing, that exists.
I think I'm going to go see that bartender over there and find out some way to drink, physical limitations be damned.
As Sepia and I made our way to the bar, I started another Q&A session, along with a new headache.
"So, ecstasy. Still doesn't explain the night club."
Sepia ordered a white wine, while I asked for plain water, not wanting to become an alcoholic at any point. I don't care how many strange ideas I get, I'm never drinking the stuff. Ever.
"You see, there's actually a lot of changelings around Equestria in places similar to this."
She motioned a hoof around the room.
"Even if we can't feed off of each other, it's still all in good fun."
She giggled into her hoof, and I just groaned. I propped my head up on the table, not that it needed supports in the first place, and I looked at the rest of the changelings in the room.
"So is that why they're always smiling? An emotional high? Interesting."
While my mind began to run the implications of such through my head over and over, and changeling mare clambered over next to me, still a little tipsy. I debated on whether or not I should just Signal Beam her and run out of this insane asylum, but decided to let Sepia handle the drunk changeling.
Sepia strode over and carefully helped her subject to the bathroom, or at least I think it was a bathroom. I wasn't sure, because all of the rooms looked the same. My thoughts of the throne room and this club immediately sprung to mind after I thought that.
Okay fine, nearly the same.
[|||]
Meanwhile, near Ponyvill-
"HUZZAH! WE SHALL HAVE A WONDERFUL BATTLE, WORTHY OF OUR MAGNIFICENT GLORY! COWER IN FEAR CHANGELINGS, FOR THEE HAST MET THY END, AND IT IS THE NIGHT!"
Princess Luna had received word from the royal guard that changelings had been spotted in the Everfree Forest. She hadn't had a good fight in a very long while, and Celestia usually forbade her traditional sparring. Except with the soldiers, of course, because they needed as much combat help as they can get.
The Lunar Princess waded through the dark forest, while her thestrals guarded her at different areas. Although all this stealth was sort of pointless, considering Luna had just announced to the whole forest she was about to mow down changelings like cutting grass. The group weaved their way along the vegetation, before stopping right next to the bridge to her old castle.
Luna frowned, and tapped a silver clad hoof on the bridge lightly.
"How the mighty hath fallen..."
She gazed intently at the castle, a new form of anger ripping through her. She called out to her guards.
"Hark! If the changelings wish to defile Our old castle, then they shall pay for doing so tenfold! CHARGE!"
[|||]
As I sat at the bar with a glass of water next to me, still untouched, I was beginning to wonder if I should just give up and fight my way out of this situation, beak a' blazing. I huffed, and jut sulked in my self indecision. That was, until a changeling burst through the door.
"My Queen, I have important news!"
Queen Sepia had been dancing with reckless abandon, generally having the time of her life, but now the music stopped as the atmosphere went serious. She walked over to the scout and picked the drone up in her magic.
"Don't tell me you have news, tell me the news."
The changeling cringed in her grasp, but pointed at the door where he had entered.
"Our scouts had just seen a few thestrals headed this way, along with Princess Luna-"
The drone was cut off due to the fact he was now embedded in the ceiling. Queen Sepia stormed over towards me with a righteous fury in her eyes.
"We have no time."
She lifted me up, and dragged me out of the room, while every other changeling scattered. I flopped and struggled in her magical grasp.
"What's happening? One of the Princesses is here?"
I looked at her, and all she could give me was a solemn look of finality. I was dragged, very painfully I might add, to the throne room. Once I had been unceremoniously locked inside, Sepia shut and sealed the doors several times over. She cast a spell across the entire room, before collapsing on the floor, panting heavily.
I floated over to her, my body in a Y position.
"What is going on?"
The changeling Queen looked up at me, and I suddenly saw all of the years she had lived visible in her visage. She spoke darkly, and I had a feeling I was not going to like this at all.
"I have to speed up my plan."
Nope.
Not one bit.