//------------------------------// // Chapter I - Memories // Story: Bring on the Pirates // by HypernovaBolts11 //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash marched up and down the line of young changelings. She cast them each a stern look, causing them all to straighten their legs out. She made her way to the far right of the line, and shouted, "Alright! Each and every one of you will come to me as a little filly! By the time we're done here, you'll be the most formidable guard on the planet!" She turned around to face them, and looked down at the one closest to her. He was smaller than his sisters, but he was also younger, and wasn't even going to be a guard. His parents had just decided that an heir needed to know what his guard went through, along with how to defend himself. She caught his silver eyes pointed up at her, whereas his sisters' purple eyes were all pointed directly forward, at the grand wall the civilians were constructing, and the rising sun beyond it. She cast a quick glance at her own daughter, who stood at the far end of the line, her red eyes full of determination, and took a moment to smile at the young hybrid. She knew that her daughter didn't see the smile, but it was moments like these that made her proud of the rainbow changeling. Rainbow Dash drew in a deep breath, and shouted, "Now give me twenty laps around the city! Go! Go! Go!" She blew her whistle, sending a piercing sound through the air. All fifty four children raced forward, while their sergeant flew alongside them, singing, "Let's get down to business, to defend, the hive. Did they send me stallions, when I asked, for mares? You're the saddest bunch I ever met, but you can bet, before we're through. Misses, I'll, make a mare, out of you." "Tranquil as the castle, but a fire, within. Once you find your center, you are sure, to win. You're a spineless, frail, pathetic lot, and you haven't got a clue. Somehow I'll, make a mare, out of you," she told the silver eyed colt as he stumbled. "I'm never gonna catch my breath," he panted. "Say goodbye to those who knew me," her daughter sang. "Was it just me or did she try tripping him?" one of the purples said. "This mare's got you scared to death," one of the cadets told her brother, having wheeled around to pull him back onto his feet. That was Glados, always having a soft spot for her brother. "I know she wasn't speaking to me," another of the purples muttered. "Now I really wish that I knew how to swim," someone shouted as she leapt over a series of columns jutting out of an artificial pond designated for the civilians to bathe in. "To be a mare-" the group shouted. "You must be swift as the coursing river," Rainbow Dash sang. "To be a mare-" they repeated. "With all the force of a great monsoon," the sergeant declared. "To be a mare-" the cadets sang. "With all the strength of a raging fire. Mysterious as the dark side of, the moon!" Rainbow Dash shouted, smiling at the class as they raced around the city. Glados hummed the familiar tune to herself as she buzzed her vibrant purple wings, gently setting her hooves down on the floor —if one could even call it that. She looked around the gondola, smiling warmly at her comrades as they sat at their posts, all exchanging information about their current position, wind conditions, and the total force with which the endless sandstorm outside was throwing them off course, all oblivious to her entrance. She made her way to the middle of the ellipsoid room, and spun her chair with a hoof before taking her seat. She swept her gaze across the room, from port to starboard, admiring the clean white control panels and the neon green displays of the ship's many systems, all under her command. The front view windshields had been equipped with heavy armor, which could be removed at the push of a few buttons, as, out here, in the desert, there was only one thing to see; sand, endless, unforgiving, relentless sand. She sighed heavily as she slouched into the red cushions that adorned her smooth, white chair. She had sometimes been a little envious of her brother, knowing that he would have a throne someday, but this, this made up for it. "General," a voice shook her from her state of quiet contentment. She opened her left eye, the pinkish purple orb turning to locate the source of the voice. She stood up from her chair, and made her way towards the front left section of the deck, where Milli and Kaytsak, better known as Lightning, sat, monitoring the weapon systems and shields. She narrowed her eyes at the displays, and quickly scanned them over as she awaited a briefing. Instead, Milli gave the general a peck on the cheek, and smiled as her more authoritative sister —clutchmate was the correct word, because they were genetically fourth cousins, but they considered themselves closer than that— blushed madly, her cheeks practically glowing a slightly darker purple than her eyes. The subordinate changeling returned to watching the display in front of her, and asked Glados, "You're in a good mood today, so what's up?" Glados said, "I've been thinking about our commander recently. Why, you rarely ever ask?" Milli beckoned her sister closer, and whispered into her ear, "Make sure you use protection next time you genderswap." The general remained still for a moment, and asked, "Is it that time of year already?" "'Fraid so, sis," Milli answered, and tapped a few keys on the arm of her seat, which lit up a golden green color as she pushed them down. The screen in front of her presented a green outline of a generic member of the purples, and she spun her chair around to face the general. She said, "Along with that, I just recieved a message from a particular apple farmer." Glados's eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed completely. Her ears pinned back, and she shook her head. "I don't know any apple farmer," she told her sister. Milli grinned, and slid her hoof over a trackball on the arm of her chair. She pressed down on a button with her other hoof, and opened a word document on her screen. "If it up isn't for you, then I'll read it aloud until the recipient claims it," she said, and promptly began to read the message, "Dearest Glados, I eagerly await your arrival, and have a special surprise for you, my very special somep-" Glados covered her sister's mouth with a hoof, and tapped her other hoof on a memory cartridge labeled, "For Glados." She grabbed it in her magic, and said, "It's um... Yeah, that's mine. It's about uh... that shipment of crystal apples for Ladybug." She looked down, and bit her lower lip nervously, slipping the coin sized object into one of the holes in her legs, which she closed up around it. Milli rolled her eyes, a sly grin on her face, and said, "Now you're purchasing apples from your stallionfriend for your crush." She shook her head slowly, and said, "Glados, at least wait until the poor thing recovers from the loss. Not everyone bounces back as fast as you." Glados sighed heavily. "I know, I just..." she began. She shook her head slowly, and asked, "Can you blame me?" "What for?" Milli asked. "Having the hots for our princess, or pursuing two lovers at once?" "The former," Glados sighed. She mumbled something under her breath, and made brief eye contact with her sister. "It's just that... she's so... She's adorable, and sweet, and kind, and funny. She's all anyone could ever want, and have you seen her working out, with her well toned, smooth muscles flexing, and have you wondered how nice it would be to just touch her wings, and those soft, delicate feathers?" She looked up a bit, her eyes glazing over as she drifted away. She shuddered upon snapping back to reality, and pouted, "Whatever, it's none of your business." Milli said, "It's not my fault you've slept with everyone on this ship." Glados glared at her sister, and said, "It's not like I'm hurting anyone." Milli shook her head, and said, "Well, I could have gone without the role play about me being in trouble. I was genuinely freaking out, but I relaxed when I realized that I was just talking to a nymphomaniac." "I'm not a nymphomaniac. I'm your general, and hold a lot of sway over who helps you this time of year. Talk too much, and I might just have the entire city avoid the very scent of you like it's a chemical weapon," the general said. Milli turned around, throwing her hooves in the air as the general marched back to her chair in the middle of the gondola, then snickered as she opened a copy of her sister's messages. An object flew across the bridge, lodging itself in the memory slot containing the copies, destroying them. It fell to the ground, and Milli looked down at the polished, curved dagger her sister had always carried with her. It was bright white, some article of their father's adventures, and serrated three times over, each little tooth covered in more teeth, which still had more teeth. Glados walked back over to her sister, picked up the old weapon by its smooth, wooden hilt, and asked, "Any other copies?" Milli shook her head immediately, and turned around to look at her monitor, a wild fear in her eyes. The general returned to her seat, sliding her weapon back into its sheath, which was on the belt around her shoulders, releasing a sharp, metallic sound. She watched Milli for a moment longer as she resumed her normal activities, and sighed as she pushed the cartridge she'd grabbed into a slot on her chair. She tapped on a button next to the slot, and beams of light shot from the front of her chair's left arm to generate a screen. She used a trackball to scroll through the data, scanning the files for one specific thing. She grinned as she located it, and quickly closed the window to pull up one that looked more important. She'd need to see how well the file worked later, when she wasn't working. She still smiled as the day went on, with no one looking over her shoulder, calling for her attention, or alerting her of some complication in the flight plan she'd prepared for this trip. And in there lay the problem. She had been in charge of this ship long enough to know that if nothing appeared to go wrong, something had already gone wrong. It was a part of the vessel's personality. She looked up from her monitor, and dismissed it with a wave of her hoof. She removed the cartridge room her chair, and lifted her purple helmet over her head a bit, slipping the storage device between her head and helmet. She looked over at the front of the bridge, and silently tiptoed her way towards June and Fire, who were supposed to be watching the radar, but had taken a break to share a kiss at the worst time possible. Glados tapped June on the head, and whispered into her ear, so as not to make a scene with the rest of their crew, "Guys, I get it, but at least wait until we change shifts, or for me to pretend to fall asleep." Blink called the general over, "Glados, we may have a problem." The officer rolled her eyes, and pulled herself into a more authoritative composure. She smiled at Blink, and said, "Just when I was starting to get bored. This ship never fails to entertain me." She walked to the starboard side of the gondola, and looked over her sister's shoulder. The monitor showed a green outline if the ship as viewed from above, a great ellipse with a pointed front and a flattened back, with tails and rudders placed pointing vertically and horizontally. The display put the tail end of the ship on the far left of the screen, where a dozen or so red objects blinked in unison. Glados narrowed her eyes at them, and then turned to look at Milli. "Put the shields up. We've got company," she said. She turned around, and marched to the back of the bridge, leaving the red dots to move further and further left on the screen. She flew up out of the gondola, and ran towards the barracks, where a dozen other guards slept in preparation for their shift. She threw the doors open, and shouted, "We've got unwanted guests! I expect to see each and every one of you armed in the next minute! Move! Move! Move!" He remembered dying, falling, and running out of time. Chrysalis had managed to cast one final spell on him before she'd died, one that didn't even take its time in leaching his body of love, which wouldn't have hurt a normal pony —it was the same spell she'd used on Shining Armor before— but was a gruesome way to kill a changeling. He had pleaded for one thing of the castle as his limited energy had run dry. He had known that it must have been impatient with him, as it'd saved his life several times already, but as he had died, the stone had moved. He had drifted away, his mind slowing into nothingness, his heartbeat ceasing, his heavy breathing coming to a stop. He hadn't gone anywhere, but found himself limited to a presence in the castle, a mind on its own, trapped in the obsidian walls and floors, able to think, able to gradually manipulate the stone, but unable to know what was going on with his friends, family, or mate. The stone had gathered a few things to replace him with, some metals here, some water there, channeling it all through porous stone, into a shell that had become his new body. Then, with a sudden start, a dose of much welcomed energy, and a surge of newfound strength, his new body called him back into physicality. He felt the stone encasing his body shatter, falling off of the white chitin in plates, leaving behind a new body, where his old one had turned to dusk. He collapsed, his new legs shaky and weak, barely able to support themselves, much less him. He fell flat on his face, opened his eyes, and smiled inwardly. The timid little filly, with a pair of golden eyes, had grown wings. She flapped them delicately as she smiled at him, showing off the membranes of shimmering chitin, clear in some places, blue and pink in others. They were shaped like those of a butterfly, but more regular, composed of squares, octagons, and triangles. He willed himself to move, and gasped as he remembered how to breathe. He coughed up a cloud of dust, and flicked his ears as he took inventory of his body, tensing each muscle in turn. It was strange, as his new body didn't feel the same, like each muscle worked a bit differently, and the actions that had once moved his wings now made his jaws clench. It took him a bit to get used to, and as he pushed himself up on his legs, the sound of footsteps on the cold castle floor approached. He took a shaky step forward, stumbled, and fell over, landing on his left side. He let out an exasperated grunt, and looked up just in time to see who was coming. A yellow and red pegasus stood in the doorway, a shocked expression on her face, but her camouflage brown eyes told him only one thing. She didn't look much older than when he'd last seen her, but her shoulders and neck had gained a bit of muscle, enough that he worried how long he'd been absent. He opened his mouth to speak, but found even that challenging, and only smiled as Ladybug pulled him onto his feet. She gave him a stern look, a hug, and a swift slap across his left cheek, confusing him completely. She then began talking frantically, "Where have you been? We all thought you were dead! I thought you were dead! Why the hay are you just coming back now?" He sat down, rubbed his cheek with a hoof, and bit his lip as she added one final question, "Are you even Toothless?" He nodded slowly, and ignited his horn, only for it to snuff itself out as his vision clouded. He was low enough on energy as it was, and casting even a minor spell was nearly enough to put him back to sleep. He steadied himself against the bed, realizing that they were in his old room, and cleared his throat. "I... I need love," he managed, with a few syllables slurring. She rolled her eyes, and pulled him into a hug, wrapping her soft, feathery wings around his back. She gently nuzzled his neck, and whispered the three most dangerous words in the changeling world, "I love you." He had to moderate himself, because if he didn't, he might take too much from her, but slowly drained small amounts of love from her. He wrapped his forelegs around her back, and told her, "Sorry about this whole mess I got you in. Thanks for not leaving, and not killing me for doing something as stupid as taking on Chrysalis myself." "Oh, and um..." she said. She paused, and took a deep breath. "You missed a few things, a few months worth of things. Glados and a few of the others just left on the ship to tell Princess Luna that her son is dead. The purples formed a committee to run the country in our stead for the next few months, so I could go to school." She took a step back from him, and looked him over while she tried to add a few things, "And uh... I was busy arranging your funeral, but I guess that's gonna have to be cancelled. We... You never properly proposed, and you promised me a ceremony." "That I did," he said, and smiled at her. "Have you been training with my sisters?" "Well... after homework, there isn't much else to do here," she said. She sighed, twiddling her front hooves anxiously. "Do you... Do you think you'll outlive me, with the whole... you being a god thing and all?" He shook his head, and said, "First of all, I'm not a god, I'm simply relying on a spirit to save my sorry flanks every time I die, which has happened twice now. Secondly, I will properly propose, publicly. Thirdly, have my sisters explained the family curse to you yet?" She shook her head. "Basically, if I ever have children, only one of them will be a boy, and the rest will all be girls," he said. He blushed, his white cheeks turning bright blue. "I'm not even sure if this body can reproduce. I sort of trusted the desert to make one as similar to my old body as it could. I mean, we don't need to have kids if you don't want any, but my grandmother is a bit insistent that she gets tons of descendants." She blinked at him, and said, "Well... I'll think about that." Then they both just stood there, avoiding each other's gaze, looking nervously around the room. She stepped forward, wrapped her wings around the back of his neck, and nuzzled his shoulder. She muttered, "I thought I'd never see you again." He winced, wrapping his chitinous wings around her, and said, "Sorry." For one thing, he was usually talkative, the exposition person, so summing up his entire thought process in one word felt strange. For another thing, he, at the age of sixteen, was technically married, in charge of a country, and recently brought back from the dead. This had been the most hectic part of his life —not that he had even been conscious for most of it. He sighed, leaning against her, and said, "You're a princess." "Don't remind me," she grumbled, and asked, "You don't mind that I moved into your room, do you?" "No, not at all," he said. "You're warmer than my blankets, and my blankets aren't nearly as beautiful as you." She took a step back, looked him in the eye, and walked past him, shaking her head. As she walked, she pushed him over with her wing, shoving him onto the bed. She said, "Your blankets must be really ugly." He blinked, more than a little confused. "Th-that was supposed to be a compliment. Take a compliment every once in a while. I'm putting effort into these lines. At least acknowledge that I'm trying," he said. He sighed, and lay down on his side, tucking himself under the thin blankets. He closed his eyes, pinned back his ears —or not, as he couldn't quite get the proper nerve signals through his new body— and declared, "I'm going to sleep." Silence fell upon the room, and after a moment or two, curiosity about her actions got the better of him. He opened his eyes, and went still as she gently landed behind him. Ladybug slipped underneath the blankets, and pulled him to her chest with a wing, her two hearts thumping like soft, soothing drums. She opened her mouth to speak. He said, "I love you." She smiled at him, and said, "I love you more."