Pinning the Heart

by Random_User

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

“Dinks, sit down,” Amethyst said. “You’re going to wear a track in the floor if you keep pacing like that.”

“In Uncle Pin’s new workroom floor too,” Piña teased.

“I can’t help it!” Dinky said. “I can’t stop thinking about Mister Filter and Cubitus.”

“They’re fine,” Berry assured. “They’re with the Wonderbolts. Nothing is going to happen to them.”

Dinky stopped in her pacing. “I know, but them being with Wonderbolts is what’s bothering me.”

“What are you worried about?” Muffins asked.

“I might have gotten Mister Filter in trouble by getting into the bubble with Cubitus.”

“Soarin said it was okay, so don’t worry,” I told her, as I put plates and napkins out on a worktable.

“Soarin’s nice, but I’ve heard about Spitfire from Scootaloo.” Dinky resumed her pacing. “She sounds like she’s tough on everything. I don’t know if she’s going to arrest Cubitus or not or too.”

“I doubt she’s going to arrest a foal who didn’t harm anypony,” I assured her. “They may have to take him and the other the changelings into protective custody, though, to make sure other changelings don’t retaliate against them.”

“Does that mean they might take Kevin too?” Pinch asked, sounding worried.

“They might, since the changelings that ran off know he’s here.”

Dinky’s pacing resumed with her taking faster steps.

“Dinks, you need to chill or you’re going to drive yourself and Mom nuts,” Amethyst said.

Muffins extended a wing. “Come here and sit by me.”

A knock on the workshop’s door made everypony stop and turn their heads toward the sound.

“I’ll get it,” Rumble said.

“You’re not moving,” Noi said and put a restraining foreleg around his shoulders. “You need to rest.”

“That’s right,” Piña said as she got to her hooves. “I’ll get the door.” She ordered Rumble, “Sit.” She booped his nose with a hoof. “Stay.”

“I’m not a dog,” Rumble grumbled.

Piña trotted to the door. “Hello?”

“It’s us,” Kevin said, sounding as if he were away from the door a bit. “Soarin was the Wonderbolt who came to get us from the school’s basement.”

Piña opened the door. “Hello Mister Filter.” She sidestepped just in time to avoid Dinky running her over to get to Filter. “Dinky’s been worried about you,” Piña said and grinned.

Dinky hugged one of Filter’s legs and looked up at him with worried eyes. “You didn’t get into trouble because of me did you?”

Filter smiled and shook his head. “Nope.”

“Dinks, you’ve got to let him go for a second so we can get in,” Kevin said from behind Filter.

“Sorry!” Dinky let go of Filter and made room for him to step inside.

Kevin and Cubitus followed Filter into the room.

“Cubitus!” Dinky cheered.

“Hello Din- ulp!” an enthusiastic hug from Dinky cut Cubitus off.

“I’m so glad Spitfire didn’t lock you up!”

Kevin laughed as Cubitus froze in shock. “I told you there wouldn’t be a problem with them liking you.”

“Dinky!” Amethyst said and shook her head. “I know Filter has given you permission, but remember to ask first, then almost tackle somepony new,” she scolded, smiling in a way that ruined her authoritative tone.

Cubitus looked to Kevin with wide eyes. “Does she do this with everybuggy?”

“Not everybuggy, but the creatures she likes,” Kevin said. “Hug her back or you’re going to hurt her feelings.”

“Do I ask first?” Cubitus asked, glancing toward Amethyst.

“You can hug me any time you want,” Dinky said, through a giggle.

Cubitus returned Dinky’s hug as if hugging was not something he was used to doing.

“Dinky, you’re holding up progress again,” Thunderlane said from the doorway.

“Sorry!” Dinky let go of Cubitus and the trio of foals removed themselves from in front of the door.

Thunderlane came into the room. The room went silent as a full grown changeling followed him.

The changeling paused, as if uncertain about having so many eyes on him.

“A changeling,” Pinch whispered to herself. “A full grown changeling.” She looked over to Dinky, and the two exchanged smiles.

The changeling’s ears went up. “You’re excited and curious?” he asked as if confused by their reaction.

“This is Dinky and Pinch,” Kevin said. “They’re the ones I’ve been helping study changelings.”

Pinch motioned for Kevin to come to her. When he did, she hugged him. “I’m so glad you’re back. I thought they might take you somewhere with the others.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Kevin said and returned her hug.

Something in Dinky’s saddlebags, which were in the room's corner, chimed.

“Yes!” Dinky said, prancing in place.

“She loves him,” the elder changeling said as if not believing it.

“Which one of you was nibbling on her love,” Dinky asked. “I need to know for our study.”

Cubitus blushed, “It was me.” He paused and looked at her with amazement. “You’re not mad?”

“No!” Dinky said. “This is great! If you ever nibble on love and the detector doesn’t go off please tell me or Pinch.”

Cubitus and the adult changeling looked at each other as if to ask each other what was going on made sense to them.

“Don’t worry, this is normal for this group,” Thunderlane said. He turned to address the rest of us in the room. “Everypony, this is Radius, Cubitus’ brother and leader of the changelings that stayed behind in Ponyville.”

Radius gave us a bashful wave. “Hello. I’m really not the ‘leader.’ I’m more of a spokesbuggy. The leader of our team ran off when the Wonderbolts arrived.” He bowed low to us. “I would ask a favor of you.”

“We’ll be glad to help,” Berry said.

“Please help Filter take care of my brother for me while I am gone,” Radius said. “I have been asked to travel to Canterlot with Spitfire to provide information to the Equestrian Guard leaders about our Hive and its defenses and cannot take him with me.”

“Of course we’ll take care of him,” Muffins said.

“Where will he be staying?” Noi asked.

“Here, we assume,” Thunderlane said. “Spitfire assigned Filter to act as his bodyguard. Since Filter is staying here, we thought it would be a good idea for him to stay in the same place.” He looked at me. “Is that going to be alright?”

“Sure,” I said. “We’ll figure out the sleeping arrangements later.”

“Thank you all.” Radius returned to standing. “I can only hope to repay your kindness someday.”

“I hate to do this, but we need to get moving,” Thunderlane said. “Spitfire wants us in the air as soon as possible.”

Radius nodded to him. “I understand.” He turned to Cubitus. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“You’re not going to fight are you?” Cubitus said.

“I hope nobuggy, or pony, has to fight. We need help. Our queen needs help. This plan of replacing the leaders of Equestria shows she’s not thinking right. I hope that if the combined Equestrian forces push the matter that the queen will parlay and we can negotiate some kind of solution to all of this.”

“The queen will never negotiate,” Cubitus said with certainty.

“We have to try,” Radius said, not sounding hopeful. “If she won’t listen to reason, maybe enough of the Hive will so we can avoid a war.”

Radius turned and followed Thunderlane out of the workroom.

“He didn’t give Cubitus a hug goodbye,” Dinky said, sounding astounded, as I shut and locked the door with my magic.

“Changeling’s don’t hug that much in the Hive,” Kevin said. He scrutinized Cubitus for a second. “You gave them your reserves didn’t you, Cubi?”

Cubitus nodded. “That’s why I took a nibble of the pon… Pinch’s love. I couldn’t help it.”

“You’re hungry?” Berry asked.

Cubitus nodded.

“The spaghetti's about ready,” I said. “Or do you need love?”

“He needs both,” Kevin said.

“That won’t be a problem.” Amethyst walked over to Muffins and gave her a hug. “If there’s one pony who can put out love, it’s Mom.”

“You’re so sweet,” Muffins said and took Amethyst in a wing hug.

“Pinch, Sis, get over here,” Berry said and extended her forelegs towards them. “We can’t let those two show us up.”

Piña and Pinch trotted over to Berry and joined her in a hug.

Rumble, moving as if fighting sore muscles, reached out a wing and guided Noi to his side.

Noi blushed and leaned her head against Rumble’s.

I felt a pang of longing for Coco. We could have helped too, and she would have loved it, I thought to myself.

The chiming from Dinky’s saddlebags began again.

“I can’t beli…,” Cubitus said and swayed on his hooves.

“Catch him!” Kevin said, as he tried to steady Cubitus.

“Got em!” Dinky said and grabbed Cubitus and pulled him to herself, keeping him upright. She looked to Kevin with concern. “Is he okay?”

“He took too much too fast, but he’ll be fine,” Kevin said. “I had the same problem, when I first got here.” He patted Cubitus on the shoulder. “Slow down. You know you can’t take love in that fast after being drained.”

“They’re giving it away,” Cubitus said, slurring his words. “I can’t believe they’re giving it away.”

Dinky adjusted her hold on Cubitus so they were in a more comfortable position. “We want to help.”

Barrel and Turner walked into the workroom from the store side entrance. Turner had a large bowl of salad balanced on his back and Barrel had a basket of homemade rolls.

“What’s going on?” Barrel said. “It’s a hug fest in here.” His eyes went to Cubitus. “Who’s that?”

“Put the salad down first, Barrel,” Turner told him. “We’ll ask questions in a second.”

Barrel looked at Turner as if he was not sure what to think. “You’re pretty calm for someone whose daughter is hugging a changeling we don’t know during an invasion.”

“Dinky hugs everypony,” Turner said. “I hope she asked permission first, though.”

“She didn’t,” Amethyst tattled with an older sister’s smirk.

“Let me get those for you,” I said and used my magic to take the food from Barrel’s and Turner’s backs and put it beside the plates and napkins.

“Thanks.” Turner said. He walked over to where Dinky, Cubitus, and Kevin were standing. “You must be Cubitus.”

Cubitus nodded in a slow, cautious manner.

“You missed his brother, Radius, being here,” I said. “Radius heading to Caterlot to help get the Elements and the Princesses back. Cubitus is staying here until his brother gets back.”

Barrel walked over and took Berry, Piña, and Pinch in a hug. “You three doing all right?”

Piña nodded and put her head against Barrel. “We’re fine. You don’t have to worry about us.”

“I won’t stop worrying about you three until this is all over,” Barrel told her.

“Is he okay?” Turner asked Dinky and then nodded to Cubitus.

“He’ll be okay,” Kevin said. “He gave all his reserves of love to the other changelings. He fed too fast, and it’s making him woozy.”

“Ah. I think I understand.” Tuner walked over to Muffins and gave her a kiss that lasted for a long moment. “I have a similar reaction when I get to be with my love again after being separated from her for too long.”

Muffins blushed. “Tuner, everypony can see.”

“You can’t complain too much, Mom; you enjoyed it,” Amethyst teased.

“So you’re having a changeling version of a brain freeze?” Dinky asked Cubitus.

“I don’t know,” Cubitus said. “I’ve never had a brain freeze.”

Kevin grinned. “It works the same, but it gives you a headache instead of making you dizzy.”

“There’s something we can put in our next report,” Pinch said. Her ears dropped in worry. “At least, if they can get Twilight back.”

“We’ll get her and the others back,” Filter said.

Cubitus sat back up under his own power. “Thank you. I’m feeling much better.”

“Wait a minute, if you’ve never had a brain freeze that means you’ve never had ice creme or cold drinks,” Noi said.

“I haven’t,” Cubitus confirmed.

“We’re going to have to fix that,” Noi said.

“I bet he’s never had spaghetti either,” I said. “I’ll go get it. Everypony get your salad and rolls. I’ll be right back.”

I trotted up to my apartment and retrieved a large pot of spaghetti and a couple of trivets. As I returned to the workroom, I announced, “I think Turner’s done it again.” I put the trivets on a work counter and placed the pot on top of them. “If this tastes half as good as it smells, it’s going to be delicious,” I said, taking the top of the pot with a flourish that wafted the aroma from the spaghetti around the room.

“That smells good,” Barrel said.

“Guests first,” I declared and stepped back from the food.

“Good call, having everypony eat in here,” Turner said, as he sided up to me. “It would have been a wee bit too crowded in the kitchen.”

“Here you go, Cubi,” Kevin said and gave a plate of food to Cubitus.

“Thanks.” Cubitus took the plate and took a bite of the spaghetti. “Mmmm!”

Kevin laughed. “Pretty good, huh?”

“This is fantastic,” Cubitus said and took a larger bite.

“Slow down or you're going to have a tummy ache to go along with that brain freeze,” Dinky said.

“There’s a pot full, so take your time and enjoy,” Turner said. “There will be plenty left over for seconds and maybe even thirds.”

“I’m not too sure about those thirds,” Barrel said, as he picked up a plate.

*****

“Stay safe everypony,” I said, after we had all stepped out the workroom’s back door.

“We will,” Berry said. “You colts stay safe tonight. We’ll see you in the morning.”

Pinch’s ears went up. “That’s right! School’s canceled.”

“Does that mean we can come and visit?” Dinky asked to nopony in particular.

“I think that’s a question for your folks,” I said. “You’re welcome to come over, if they say it’s okay.”

“We’ll talk about it,” Turner said.

From his tone I got the impression it was going to be a brief talk and we would see Dinky the next day.

While the others walked away from the shop, Kevin lingered close to Filter.

“You okay?” I asked him.

Kevin looked to Filter as if seeking approval.

“Go ahead,” Filter said. “Ask him.”

“Mister Pin, can I stay over tonight?” Kevin asked.

Before I could answer in the affirmative, Filter prompted Kevin, “Tell him what you us earlier too.”

Kevin nodded and looked at me. “Changeling nymphs are raised together and we sleep together in small groups. Cubi was in my group, and I wanted to help him get some sleep tonight, since this is his first night here in Ponyville without anybuggy else.”

“You don’t have to stay here,” Cubitus told him. “I’ll be fine.”

“Do you not want me to stay?” Kevin asked.

“That’s not what I meant,” Cubitus said. “I don’t want to cause anybuggy any trouble.”

“Then, if Mister Pin says yes, I’m staying,” Kevin insisted.

“Of course you can sleep over,” I said. “We’ll need to talk to Matilda and Cranky so they know where you are.”

“They were at the meeting at town hall,” Filter said. “They already knew he was going to ask. We thought it was a good idea to keep them together since they both could be at risk too, but we thought we would ask you first.”

“Then everything’s set,” I told them. “I’ll be glad to have you both stay for as long as you need. Let’s go back in, and we’ll figure out where everypony is going to sleep.”

“I get the couch,” Filter said. “They can take Coco’s bed.”

I snorted in mirth at the image of him trying to fit all of his enormous frame and legs onto the couch. “You won’t fit on the couch. You can have my bed.”

“Nope,” Filter said without hesitation.

“Why not?”

“It would be too awkward.”

“It would have to be less awkward than you sleeping on a couch that’s too small for you.”

“You and my sister sleep there,” he said.

Things connected for me and I chuckled. “We’ve slept in her bed too.” I grinned and heaped on, “And on the couch, and-”

“Stop right there!” Filter said, as he shut his eyes and raised his hooves. “I don’t need nor want to know.”

Cubitus and Kevin grinned at our banter.

“Now will you take my bed?” I asked Filter.

“Might as well,” Filter said, acting as if unhappy with the situation. After a second he smiled. “Thanks.”

*****

My alarm clock went off.

I sat up and groaned to myself, “Why did you set your alarm?” I stopped the clock’s ringing with a hoof. “The town’s going to be shut down today, so it’s pointless to open the shop.”

“Force of habit,” I answered myself. “And you have guests to care for.”

My bedroom’s door opened and Filter glanced around the den. “You okay?” he asked in a hushed tone. “I thought you were talking to one of the foals.”

“I’m fine,” I said. After putting my blanket aside, I rolled off the couch and onto my hooves. “Sorry about that. I’ve gotten back in the habit of talking to myself, since Coco left.” I looked toward Coco’s door. “I wonder what she would think of all of this. Even though the situation’s serious, and I wouldn’t want her to be in harm’s way, I bet she would have enjoyed being with everypony.”

“You miss her,” he said. “I could tell you were thinking about her last night.”

“I’ve missed her every day. There have been so many moments I would have loved to have shared with her.”

Filter patted me on the shoulder. “She’ll be back soon.” He smiled. “Once you ask the big question, you’ll have the rest of your lives to share.”

“That’s a good thought to start the morning on. Sorry about waking you up with my alarm.”

“You didn’t, my alarm went off a little earlier. I’m trying to keep on the Guard’s sleep schedule.”

“Coffee?” I asked, as I took off my horn protector and put it on the coffee table.

“Yes, please,” he responded.

The workshop’s back door doorbell chimed.

“Who would come here this early?” Filter asked.

“I’ll go see,” I said. “Stay here in case there’s trouble.”

“Trouble wouldn’t be polite and ring the doorbell, but I’ll keep an ear out.”

I made my way to the workroom’s back door. “Hello?”

“Pin, it’s me, Silent.”

I recognized his voice, but I thought some caution was needed and asked, “What’s my nephew’s name?”

“Intense Rain,” Silent said. “His mother’s name is Satin, and his father’s name is Stormbreaker. I’m no changeling. I come bearing orders and Filter’s barding.”

I opened the door and let silent in. I looked at the large bag he was carrying on his back and his bulging saddlebags and winced. “That looks heavy.”

“I got my leg workout for the morning, that’s for sure,” Silent said.

“I’ll take the bag,” I said and tried to lift it from his back using my magic. I grunted, as the effort it took to raise the bag required more than what I had expected it to. “Is his armor made of lead?”

“Nope, but there’s a lot to cover somepony as big as he is.”

I put the bag on one of the work counters. “No wonder he’s in such good shape.”

Silent glanced around the room as if curious about something. “Is this place bigger or is it just me?”

I laughed. “It’s bigger. I had an expansion put on not too long ago.”

“The back door’s open, is everything okay?” I heard Muffins say to somepony from outside.

Piña poked her head around the door frame and smiled. “Mister Silent!”

“Good morning,” Silent greeted.

Piña led Dinky, Pinch, Berry, and Muffins into the workroom.

“You’re in your armor,” Dinky said. “I guess that means I can’t hug you.”

“That would be uncomfortable for you, and against regulations for me,” Silent said. He raised a hoof and grinned. “I can offer a hoof bump, though.”

Dinky smiled and bumped hooves with Silent.

Silent asked, “What brings you ladies here this early?”

“We brought breakfast muffins,” Piña said and pointed a hoof at the picnic basket on Muffin’s back. “Dinky and her mom made them.”

“We wanted to do something special for Cubitus, since he’s going through so much,” Muffins said.

“He’s still in bed, right now,” I told them. “He and Kevin haven’t gotten up yet.”

“Kevin’s here?” Pinch said, sounding surprised.

“He stayed over to help Cubitus settle in.”

“That’s… nice,” Piña said in an odd tone.

Dinky and Pinch glanced at each other and then to Piña.

Using my magic, I took the basket from Muffins’ back and the saddlebags from Dinky and Pinch. “Come on up, everypony. I’ll get some coffee and tea going.”

We made our way into the kitchen. As we entered the room, Filter looked at us with surprise.

“Good morning everypony.” Dinky hugged him and he hugged her back. “Hello, Dinky.” He looked to Silent and his expression turned serious. “I take it you’re here on official Guard business and not to visit.”

Silent nodded. “I brought your barding and new marching orders. “Captain Night Flight has assigned me to be Kevin’s protection.” He pulled out a sealed envelope from his saddlebags and gave it to Filter. “If I had to bet, you’re being assigned to Cubitus.”

Filter open broke the seal on the envelope and took out the letter from inside. “We’ll find out in just a second.”

“How is Miss Sassy doing?” Pinch asked Filter.

Filter smiled. “She’s doing fine. I saw her yesterday, before I had to get on the train to Ponyville. The princesses and the Elements being taken has her worried, but otherwise she’s great.”

I put the basket on the counter top and placed the saddlebags at the far end of the counter. “Let me get the coffee and tea started.”

“You had it right, Silent,” Filter said, looking up from the message. “I’m now Cubitus’ official bodyguard until further notice.”

“Should we get them up so we can tell Cubitus?” Pinch asked.

“Sure,” I said. “We don’t want the muffins to get cold on them either.”

“I’ll get them,” Berry said. “Which room are they in?”

“Coco’s,” I told her.

“Coco’s?” Silent said and grinned. “So that’s how serious it’s gotten.”

“I’ll be right back,” Berry said and left the kitchen.

“I guess I’m out of uniform, considering I’m on duty again,” Filter said.

“Your armor is down stairs,” I told him. “That’s a lot to lug around all the time.”

Filter shrugged. “I’ve worn it so much I don’t even think about it anymore.”

“Pin!” Berry said in a whisper from the kitchen doorway. When I turned to her, she asked, “Where’s your camera?”

“It’s in the hall closet.”

“Can I borrow it?”

“Sure, but it’s only got four shots left on the roll. I used the rest during the tournament, the cookout, and our buckball games.”

“That will work,” Berry said. “Where is it in the closet?”

“I’ll get it for you,” I told her.

“Thanks.” Berry motioned for us to follow her. “Girls, Muffins, follow me. You’ve got to see this, they’re so cute.”

I walked out of the kitchen in time to watch Berry open the guest bedroom’s door a little ways with a quiet, slow motion.

“Oh my goodness,” Muffin’s said in a whisper. “They’re adorable!”

I could not see through the door to see what they were looking at, as I walked past them to get to the hall closest.

“What did they do to the bed?” Piña asked.

“They made a nest,” Pinch answered.

Intrigued, I got the camera and returned to the herd of mares outside Coco’s room. “Here’s the camera,” I said and offered the camera to Berry.

Berry opened the door a bit more, and I grinned at the sight of the two colts. They had used the bed’s comforter and top sheet to make a round nest in the middle of the bed. They had forgone using the pillows, and slept resting their heads on each other’s backs, curled together in a ball like a pair of cats trying to stay warm.

“That looks so comfy,” Dinky said.

“Maybe if you ask real nice, Cubitus will let you try it with him,” Piña teased.

Dinky blushed and muttered something that made Piña giggle.

“How do you turn off the flash?” Berry whispered.

“The switch on the top right,” I told her.

“Thanks.” Berry turned the flash off and snapped a couple of photos.

Kevin raised his head. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and then looked surprised at all of us at the door. “Cubi,” he said and gave his friend a light prod. “We’re being watched.”

“Keratin?” Cubitus said, sounding half awake. He rolled on his back, yawned, and stretched his front and back legs. “Is it time for roll call already?”

“Doesn’t that make you want to tickle his belly?” Berry asked Muffins.

Cubitus’ eyes snapped open and he turned his head toward the door.

Muffins grinned. “It sure does. Should we girls?”

Kevin a foreleg on Cubitus’ front legs to hold them over his head. “Go ahead,” he said with a mischievous grin.

“Wait a second!” Cubitus said and curled his hind legs towards his belly, as Dinky, Piña, and Pinch approached the bed.

“They’re kidding,” Dinky said. “We wouldn’t do that to you.”

“Yes we would,” Pinch said. “Dinky’s being nice because you’re new.”

“Maybe,” Dinky confessed.

As Cubitus relaxed and let his hind legs down, Dinky looked at his stomach and tilted her head.

Cubitus looked down to where Dinky was gazing. “What?”

“You don’t have a belly button,” Dinky said.

“He doesn’t have a belly button?!” Piña asked.

“If he does, I can’t see it.” Dinky said.

Piña moved closer to Dinky and inspected Cubitus’ stomach. “He doesn’t!”

“You silly fillies,” Pinch said. “Changelings come from eggs, they don’t have belly buttons like we do.”

Berry moved to a better angle and snapped another picture of the scene.

“Kevin has one,” Dinky said.

“When he’s disguised as a pony he does,” Pinch said. “I bet you he doesn’t right now.”

“I don’t,” Kevin said and rolled on his side so Dinky could see his stomach.

“You can let him go now, Kevin,” I said and chuckled.

“Oops!” Kevin said and moved his forelegs. “Sorry, Cubi.”

“It’s all right.” Cubitus rolled over onto his belly. “Why is everypony here? Did something happen?”

“We brought breakfast,” Dinky said.

“That sounds great,” Kevin said. “Have you heard anything about what’s going on?”

“Not so far,” Piña told him.

“Silent is here, though,” Dinky told Kevin. “He brought Filter’s armor and orders from his captain.”

“Awesome!” Kevin said and grinned. “I haven’t seen Silent in a while.” He got out of the nest of sheets and blankets and joined the other foals at the edge of the bed.

“Now’s your chance Dinky,” Piña teased. “There’s a spot waiting for you. All you have to do is ask.”

Dinky blushed. “I’m not going to ask him that.”

“Ask me what?” Cubitus said.

“She thought you and Kevin looked cozy,” Pinch said. “I did too,” she said, glancing at Kevin.

Cubitus’ ears went akimbo. “Ponies don’t nest together?”

“Not like you two were doing,” Piña said. “How good of ‘friends’ are you two anyway?”

Cubitus tilted his head. “I don’t think I’m getting what you’re asking.”

Berry snapped off the last frame on the roll of film. “We’ve got to share that one with June Bug,” she whispered to me, and I chuckled.

“Does my niece need to be worried about you stealing her coltfriend?” Piña asked in a blunt tone. “Or are you going to discuss sharing him?”

“Piña!” Pinch said.

Kevin made a strangled noise. “It’s not like that! Nymphs and young changelings nest together to stay warm in the Hive’s caves not for...”

“For?” Cubitus asked.

Kevin blushed. “Romantic and other reasons.”

“Oh.” Cubitus snorted with good humor. “Kevin might as well be my brother. He’s a great friend, and we’ve been through a lot together, but we’re not special somebuggies or anything like that. We were part of a group that used to nest together every night, including Radius.” Cubitus’ ears fell, and he looked worried. “I hope he’s doing all right.”

Dinky leaned over the edge of the bed and gave Cubitus a hug. “He’ll be fine.”

Cubitus hugged her back. “Thanks, Dinky.”

Pinch teased, “You didn’t ask to hug him again.”

“She can give me as many hugs as she wants,” Cubitus said.

*****

One of Silent’s ears angled out. “What?”

Cubitus continued to stare at Silent. “Sorry, but you’re the first bat pony I’ve ever seen. I’m trying to get all your details.”

“You guys can copy ponies pretty fast, right?” Dinky asked. “Could you make yourself into a bat pony?”

“I can try,” Cubitus said. He closed his eyes and changed his form with a puff of green fire.

Cubitus opened his eyes and looked down at himself. “How did I do?”

“Really good!” Dinky said. “I like you kept your blue eyes.”

“Thanks, but I should have caught that.” Cubitus closed his eyes again.

“Don’t change them!” When Cubitus opened his eyes, Dinky said, “They’re pretty like they are.”

Cubitus blushed. “Okay.”

I put the last of the plates away. “I just thought of something. If you’re here, does that mean there are more Lunar Guards here too?”

“Two dozen of us,” Silent confirmed. “I’ve visited Ponyville, know some of the ponies here, and I’m one of the few diurnal Lunar Guards, so they assigned me to the detachment that came here.”

“Do you know what the plans are for getting everypony back?” Piña asked.

Silent shook his head. “We’re on a need to know basis. Our orders were to come here with a detachment of Royal Guards and keep watch over the town. We weren’t told anything else. Considering what we’re facing, we can’t be too careful with security.” He looked to Cubitus and Kevin. “No offense.”

“It’s fine,” Kevin said.

“I can’t imagine how they caught you,” Filter said to Cubitus. “If you’re that good at copying new ponies, how did they pick you out?”

“I panicked when they came running up to the school warning everybug- everypony that changelings were in Ponyville,” Cubitus said. “When the other foals started looking each other over I knew they were going to figure out I was an ‘extra’ and ran for it.”

“Then Rumble got you,” Piña said with a bit of pride.

“I remember somepony else tackling me too,” Cubitus said, giving Piña a look.

Piña smiled. “He got to you first, though.”

“Speaking of Rumble, where are he and Noi?” I asked.

“Noi’s with Golden Harvest,” Berry said. “Rumble’s staying with Flitter, while Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser are away.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Kevin said. “His brother and his cousin both are in Wonderbolts. That means they both might...”

“His brother and cousin going to be fine and so is my brother,” Cubitus said as if trying to convince himself.

Muffins glanced up at the clock. “I hate to do this, but I have to go.”

“You’re going on a mail run?” I asked, surprised.

“Ponies are going to be sending a lot of letters, with what’s going on,” Muffins said. “The Equestria Mail needs to keep going to make sure everypony can stay in contact with each other.”

“Be careful, Mom,” Dinky said. She moved over to Muffins and gave her a hug.

“I will be.” Muffins kissed the top of Dinky’s head. “You behave.”

Dinky snuggled against her mom. “I will.”

A chime came from Dinky’s saddlebags.

“Which one of you nibbled?” Dinky asked, not letting go of Muffins.

Cubitus raised a hoof.

“Are you still hungry?” Muffins asked, sounding like a concerned mother.

Cubitus shook his head and then smiled and patted his belly with a hoof. “I’m full. Those muffins were fantastic. I didn’t need the love, but we’re taught to take love whenever we can, since we don’t know when we will get more.”

“You won’t have to worry about not getting love while you're here,” Kevin told Cubitus.

Muffins nuzzled the top of Dinky’s head and let her go. “I’ll see you in a little bit,” she said and left.

“Well, what are we going to do?” Berry said. “We’re going to be stuck inside today with everything being shut down.”

Filter raised his hoof. “I want to know more about the report you guys did, how the changeling feeding detector works, and how you came up with the idea.”

“Dinky’s the genius behind the detector,” Pinch said. “We just helped her with testing it and getting the study done.”

“You did a lot more than that,” Dinky said.

“I’d like to know about the detector too,” Cubitus said.

“So would I,” Berry said. “Barrel and were part of the study, but I don’t think I got a good idea of what the device does and what you were trying to measure.” Berry put a hoof to her chin. “Now that I think about it, I’m not sure what you and Twilight are studying about the changelings.”

“I don’t think I know either, and I helped with the study,” Piña said.

“We’d be glad to tell you,” Pinch said.

Dinky trotted over to her saddlebags and pulled out her detector. She returned to the kitchen table and put the detector on it. “Here’s the detector. Right now it’s still picking up all kinds of affection, but we're trying to get it to where it will only pick up on when ponies are feeling love, but it’s tougher than we thought it was going to be since isolating the specific magical resonance of love is hard.”

Filter raised his hoof again. “Love is magic?”

“Dinky and I think it’s a kind of magic,” Pinch said. “Twilight thinks so too, but we’re having a hard time proving it. It acts like friendship in some ways, which has been Twilight’s major area of research, but it’s more complex and more subtle at the same time so we haven’t been able to pin down exactly what it is.”

“As a non-magical pony, I could use a primer on what you’re talking about when you say ‘magical resonance.’ ” Silent said.

Dinky shook her head. “That’s a misconception. You are a magical pony, but your body uses magic in a different way than a unicorn’s does.”

“Do what Miss Cheerilee told us to do in class,” Piña said. “Start with the basics and then work up.”

Pinch nodded. “We can do that.” She turned back to Silent. “Each type of pony uses magic, but in their own way. Flying ponies use magic to stay in the air, earth ponies...”

Filter looked over to Berry and me and gave us a wink.

*****

“This is amazing,” Filter said, as he looked at the pieces of the deconstructed detector. Any signs that his interest in the foals’ discoveries and explanations was a polite ruse had long disappeared and he looked over the parts with genuine fascination.

“It is,” Silent said. He smiled at the foals. “You should all be instructors. I’ve learned more about magic this morning than I have in my entire life.”

“It can’t pick up emotions from changelings though,” Filter said. “That’s weird.”

“That’s another thing we’re trying to figure out,” Dinky said. “It’s almost like changelings can take in forms of emotional magic but they can’t share them.”

“Which fits, since most changelings are jerks,” Kevin said.

“You aren’t, Cubitus isn’t, and Thorax isn’t,” Silent said.

“Thorax?!” Cubitus’ ears shot up. “You know Thorax?!”

“I’ve met him. He visited Ponyville a while ago and spoke with everypony about being accepted by the Crystal Empire’s royal family.”

“Accepted?” Cubitus asked, looking stunned. “What do you mean ‘accepted’?”

“He helps take care of Flurry Heart with Sunburst, her crystaller,” Silent said. “They all came as part of Princess Twilight’s celebration.”

“He was here with them?” Cubitus asked Kevin as if not believing the idea.

Kevin nodded. “He was.”

“Was he… okay?”

“He looked great,” Kevin said. “I should have told you earlier, but with everything going on-”

“No, it’s okay,” Cubitus said. A strange look passed over his face. “So the Queen lied about what happened to him too.”

Kevin nodded. “Almost everything she’s told us about ponies is a lie.”

“Our lives… they’ve been built on lies,” he said as if he had come to a disturbing revelation. “The Hive is built on lies.” Cubitus sat in silence.

“Cubi, you- Oh no, Cubi,” Kevin said, as tears went down Cubitus’ face.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Berry said.

Before Berry could reach him, Dinky had Cubitus in a hug. “Hug me back,” she told him.

Cubitus hugged Dinky back, rested his head on her shoulder, and cried in near silence.

Dinky gave Cubitus a comforting nuzzle. “Hold me until you feel better.”

On the table, the closest gem to Dinky lit up.

“Dinky, you just lit up a gem,” Piña said.

“Sympathy,” Pinch said. “It’s picking up on her wanting to help him.”

“I don’t want him to hurt like this,” Dinky said. “Nopony should hurt like this.”

“I’m okay,” Cubitus said. “I just got hit by everything at once is all.” He said and sat up. He let go of Dinky, gave her a brave smile, and wiped the tears from his face. “Thanks.”

“I was in my room alone, when I broke down after realizing what the Queen had done,” Kevin said. “Matilda came into the room, like she could sense it, and held me until I cried it all out.”

Filter watched the gem’s light fade with open curiosity.

“What is it?” Berry asked.

“If friendship and love require two ponies, how did it up on what Dinky is feeling since it can’t pick up anything from changelings?”

“They don’t have to have two ponies, but the effects are stronger if there are,” Pinch said. “The two ponies’ emotions and magic harmonize, like tuning into a radio frequency, and it makes their friendship or love easier to detect.”

Filter’s eyes widened. “Like casting a spell with somepony else. You feel each other’s magic out until things get in sync, which strengthens it, and then cast the spell.”

“That’s it in a nutshell,” Pinch said.

“So if you aren’t in tune with the other pony magic-wise you can’t fall in love?” Silent asked.

“You can fall in love without your magic touching somepony else,” Kevin said. “I’ve fallen in love with Pinch, but my magic can’t reach hers,” he said, sounding unhappy with the thought.

Pinch blushed as Berry gave her a teasing look.

“Your magic and the other ponies can tune together over time, if you and the other pony let them,” Kevin explained. “There are a lot of things Twilight and Pinch are trying to figure out with both friendship and love that work like that.”

Piña moved one gem on the table closer to Silent. “Close your eyes and think about Miss Sassy.”

Silent closed his eyes.

“Think about her voice, her smell, her-” Pinch encouraged, and then stopped when the gem on the table glowed.

“That didn’t take long,” Piña said.

Silent opened an eye and grinned. “Yep. It works with one pony.”

“What were you thinking about?” Berry asked.

“The first time I saw her,” Silent said.

“That’s so sweet!” Dinky said.

“How did you two meet?” Berry asked. “We know you met in a cafe, but we have gotten details from either of you.”

“It’s kind of a bland story,” Silent said, seeming embarrassed.

“I’d disagree,” Filter said.

“Please tell us,” Pinch said.

“Yes, please!” Dinky added.

Filter reached over and poked Silent’s shoulder with a hoof. “Go on.”

“Since the ladies asked so nicely, I will.” Silent sat up straighter. “I had a long day that day. I spent most of it finishing up a project with Filter and then had to present the finished product to my Lunar Guard superiors that evening. By the time my presentation ended, it was getting late. I was tired and didn’t want to cook, so I headed over to my favorite all night cafe.”

“I thought Canterlot had all kinds of places to eat,” Cubitus said.

“It does, but most of them don’t keep bat pony hours,” Silent explained. “Right after I put in my drink order, I saw Sassy sitting at the counter. She was drawing in a sketchbook. She seemed so focused on what she was doing it was like the rest of the world didn’t exist for her.”

I thought of Coco when she would get into her work and smiled.

“When Perigee brought me my coffee he noticed where I was looking he said I should go talk to her. At first, I told him I thought it would be rude for me to just walk up to her, but he insisted and said I would be doing him a favor since she had not even looked at the menu since he had taken it to her after bringing her a drink.”

“You owe Peri big time,” Filter told Silent.

“I do,” Silent agreed. “I’ve been trying to send as many ponies to his place as I can since then to thank him.”

“Is Perigee a friend of yours?” Dinky asked.

“He is,” Silent confirmed. “He’s a fellow bat pony and he’s the owner of the cafe.” Silent acted as if he were girding himself for battle. “I gathered my courage, went over to the counter, offered Sassy my untouched cup of coffee, and then asked her what she was drawing. She told me she was just doodling. What she had been doing was drawing an excellent portrait of a pony. When I told her it looked like she was doing a lot more than doodling, she said what she was doing wasn’t that good. When I disagreed, she gave me that cute smirk of hers and asked what qualifications I had to judge art beyond being ‘an obvious flattering flirt.’ ”

Berry laughed. “That sounds like Sassy all right.”

“When I told her I was an artist myself, she pulled out a sheet of paper from her sketchbook, drew a few lines on it, and then slid it in front of the seat next to her. She offered me her pencil, and said, ‘Then you should be able to help me finish this.’ I sat down, took her pencil, and turned the lines into a drawing of a leaf. She said she was impressed. I drew a few lines myself and slid the paper back to her. She took up the challenge, and we ended up eating together, talking, sliding the paper back and forth throughout the meal, and finishing each other’s drawings.”

“That’s so cute!” Dinky said.

“At the end of the meal, she let me keep the page we had worked on.”

“He had that page framed and put on his wall even before he met Sassy again,” Filter said.

“That was a special night and Sassy’s a special mare,” Silent said. He shook his head as if clearing it. “Enough of this sappy stuff, I want to know more about what you are researching.”

“We’ve about covered it,” Pinch said. “I’m trying to find out more about the origins of the changelings and how they used to interact with ponies, but I’ve hit a dead end.”

“What about changelings now?” Silent asked. He gestured towards Kevin. “You have a living source of information at hoof all the time.”

“He doesn’t like to talk about what it was like at the Hive,” Dinky said.

Kevin’s ears fell a bit, as we all looked towards him.

“Things were that rough?” Filter asked.

“You know how he became one of the twenty nymphs that were sent out to be infiltrators, right?” Cubitus asked.

Pinch shook her head. “We don’t.”

Cubitus gave Kevin a disbelieving look. “You didn’t tell them?!”

“Cubi, don’t,” Kevin said. “It doesn’t matter what happened, I’m here now, I’m safe, and I’m happy.”

“They should know,” Cubitus said.

“I don’t want things to turn into a pity party.”

“Kevin,” Pinch said. “What happened?”

Kevin would not meet her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“His parents ‘volunteered’ him to be one of the twenty changeling nymphs on the suicide mission,” Cubitus said.

Berry, Pinch, and Dinky gasped.

“No way,” Piña said in a horrified whisper.

Cubitus nodded. “They thought he wasn’t ‘true changeling’ enough since he had been listening to Thorax’s ideas of trying to get along with ponies and he wasn’t as aggressive as other nymphs.”

“That’s why Thorax was so glad to see you,” I said. “You two were friends.”

“Thorax tried to be every changeling’s friend, and he and Kevin clicked,” Cubitus said. “He was good friends with Radius too. I thought Thorax was crazy, but harmless, and didn’t listen to him like Kevin and Radius did. Now I know he was right, and I have a lot of apologizing to do.”

Pinch reached for Kevin.

“Pinch, I need this,” Berry said, sounding like she was trying not to cry. She moved from her spot and took Kevin into a mother’s hug and nuzzled the top of his head. “How could they do that to such a sweet foal? To their own son?!”

“It was because he was ‘soft’,” Cubitus said. “In the Hive, they teach everybuggy to be tough and to only focus on what the Queen wants and to do whatever it takes to gain her favor. His parent’s thought the Queen would be disappointed with Kevin, since he never did well in the more aggressive forms of training. They volunteered him to avoid the possibility of him being chosen and losing face with the Hive and the Queen.”

Kevin hugged Berry back. “It’s okay. Family bonds in the Hive aren’t like they are here. Elytra and Tarsus were more my parents than my parents were.”

“Who are Elytra and Tarsus?” Dinky asked.

“My mom and dad,” Cubitus said. “They aren’t as… tough as Keratin’s parent’s are. Mom and Dad agree with a lot of what Thorax has said about being kinder to others too. They had to be careful, since they didn’t want to be labeled as being disloyal to the Hive by helping ‘weaklings,’ but they helped Keratin and a couple of other nymphs get by as best they could.”

“Wait a second,” I said and raised a hoof. “If changelings can sense emotions, how can you be so nasty to each other? I would think that acting like that would taste bad, or something like it, and would stop one changeling from hurting another.”

“We can’t feel each other’s emotions,” Kevin said. “We can feel ponies’ emotions, but not other changeling’s.”

“That’s weird,” Piña said. “You can tell when another changeling is around, though.”

“Because it’s like there’s a hole there,” Kevin said. “You can tell when you're not getting emotions from somepony. It’s kind of like if everyone is talking and you can tell when there’s a quiet pony in the room.”

Pinch sat up as if she had gotten a jolt. “It has to be related to why you can’t share love!” She looked at Dinky. “Am I crazy, or would that would explain why we can’t pick up anything from him with the detector?”

Dinky’s ears went up. “They can take love and emotions in, but they can’t send them out so there’s nothing for the detector to pick up on!”

Pinch looked toward the corner of the room. “I’ve got to get my notes!” As she got to her hooves, she asked, “Uncle Pin, can we use your workroom? We’re going to need to spread out a lot.”

The workroom’s doorbell rang.

“Let’s hold that thought.” Berry glanced at the kitchen’s clock. “I believe that will be our lunch arriving.”

“Lunch? I didn’t know lunch was being delivered.” I looked up at the clock to see it was almost noon. “We talked for that long?”

“We sure did,” Filter said.

“I’ll get the door,” I said.

“I’ll go down with you,” Filter said. “I’ve still got to get into my barding.”

“Barding?” Piña asked. “What’s barding?”

“Armor designed for ponies and horses,” Filter explained.

“Got it,” Piña said. “Thanks.”

“I’m coming with you two,” Berry said. “Barrel’s the one who’s supposed to be making the delivery.”

"You'll have to let go of Kevin then," I pointed out, doing my best not to grin at Pinch's rising impatience.

"I get him now," Muffins declared and held out her forelegs.

Piña patted Pinch, who was fidgeting in place, on the back. "You'll get turn."

Dinky giggled, as Muffin's took Kevin into a full wing hug. "At some point today, maybe."

Chuckling, I led Berry and Filter down into the workroom.

“Ah, there it is.” Filter said and opened the bag with his magic. “I just hope he got all the pieces.”

“Need any help putting it on?” Berry said, as Filter took the armor out of the bag with his magic.

“Thanks, but I’ve got it,” Filter told her.

As I walked toward the workroom’s back door, the sound of metal clinking and buckles being cinched and adjusted came from behind me.

“You got all that on that fast?!” Berry asked.

I looked over my shoulder in time to see Filter, in full armor, grin at Berry. “Lots of practice.”

Berry raised a teasing eyebrow. “Does Saffron know you’re so good with buckles and leather?”

I laughed as Filter blushed and stammered. Turning from them, I opened the work room door. “Berry, you were off by three,” I said.

“Three?” Berry smiled, as I let Amethyst, Noi, Barrel, and a sore looking Rumble into the workroom. “Hello everypony,” she greeted.

“Hello Miss Berry,” Noi responded.

“Poor little guy,” Berry said. She held her forelegs out to him. “Come here.” She gave Rumble a hug, when he got close to her. “You look like you’re not having a good day today.”

“He’s paying the price of being a hero,” Barrel said.

“I’m not a hero,” Rumble said. “I just flew to get help.”

“You might want to go to the spa to get some help with that,” I said. “The twins did wonders for me, while I was training.”

“I’m sure they’d do a very good job for the colt that captured a changeling and got the Wonderbolts to come so fast,” Barrel teased.

Rumble blushed. “Thunderlane’s going to take me to see them, when he gets back.”

“They’ll have you feeling better in no time,” Amethyst said.

The sounds of hoofsteps came down the stairs. After a second, Piña poked her head into the room. “You’re here!” she said, and rushed to Noi and Rumble. She took them both in a hug. “I didn’t know if you were going to make it.”

Rumble gave a slight grunt as Piña put pressure on his wings, but smiled and hugged Piña back. “Mister Barrel came and got us.”

“Sorry!” Piña said and let Rumble go. “I was just so glad to see you, and-”

Noi interrupted, with a giggle, “You pulled a Dinky.”

“Who’s hugging ponies without warning?” Pinch said, as she led the other foals from upstairs into the room.

“I am,” Piña confessed.

“Whoa!” Rumble said. “You decided to be a bat pony?”

Cubitus nodded and gave Rumble a nervous grin. “Dinky asked if I could change into one so I tried.”

Noi gave Dinky a teasing look. “How many hugs have you given him this morning?”

“Two,” Dinky said.

“Just two?” Amethyst said, sounding surprised.

“One of them was a pretty long one,” Kevin said. “Cubi needed it, though.”

“What inspired you to ask him to change into a bat pony?” Amethyst asked.

Silent stepped into the workroom. “Hello.”

“Never mind. You answered my question.” Amethyst waved at Silent. “Hello to you too. I take you’re here with the other guards patrolling around town.”

“That sums it up,” Filter said.

“Have they been behaving?” Amethyst asked, giving the foals an exaggerated suspicious look.

“They have,” Filter said. “They have been telling us about the research you’ve been helping them with.”

“We’ve got something new to look into,” Pinch said. “Cubitus and Kevin told us that changelings can’t sense each other’s emotions.”

“You can’t?” Amethyst asked Kevin.

“We can’t,” he responded.

“Pinch and I think it might have something to do with why the detector can’t pick up anything from Kevin,” Dinky said. “It’s like they can take in love and other emotions, but they can’t put any out.”

“You can take in other emotions?” Filter asked.

“We can, but we don’t get any energy from them,” Cubitus said.

“We’ll need to run some tests for our baselines,” Amethyst said. She looked to Cubitus. “You up to being a test subject, after lunch?”

Cubitus smiled. “Sure. It sounds like fun.”

Comments

[TasermonsPartner]

Hooray! Another chapter! And a love-packed one at that (though, much of it is comforting love, and not all strictly romantic, which is also just as nice).

Cubitus seems to be adjusting extremely fast, abandoning life-long beliefs in the span of a day. Then again, with foals (and adults) like these, it's very easy to succumb to the dark fluffy side. 😉 And, of course, having Kevin there to ease him in helps too.

And it seems that Dinky has found a special someponybuggy. I would make a comment about her falling so heavy for a changeling she just met a day ago, but fast romances and love at first experience are par for the course in this story (courtships aside), and plus, this is Dinky we're talkin' about. She's basically affection in pony form, so to fall for a creature that literally devours it actually makes sense. She's an all-you-can-eat love buffet that never runs out and will probably almost always be able to provide love faster than Cubitus could eat it, so she'd never tire out from it. And that's just Dinky. That doesn't even begin to take into account what happens when they officially get together and you throw Muffins and the others into the mix. 😙

Plus, with the upcoming "changes" it soon won't be much of a problem how much love they'll consume, as they'll be able to give it back just as good as they take (as is somewhat alluded/foreshadowed here with the talk of the detector and how it can't detect changelings "giving" love). That was a good addition, too. Some more detailed information on how the detector works and the project they've been working on as a whole.

Hmm, and this leaves open many possibilities for Cubitus. Will he return to the hive with Thorax? Be adopted by the Hooves family? Or maybe Cranky and Mathilda will adopt him and he'll be something of a brother to Kevin? Then again, it seems Cubitus parents back at the hive aren't bad, so maybe they'll be the ones to help adopt Kevin into their family, even if Kevin remains in Ponyville with his donkey family? That also leaves open the possibility of Kevin having to confront his own parents...that'll be a can of worms, for sure. He'll need Pinch's support for that option, no doubt.

“I’m coming with you two,” Berry said. “Barrel’s the one who’s supposed to be making the delivery.”

Wait! You can't stop hugging Cubitus yet! Or are you just handing him off to Muffins; she is his future mother-in-law, ya know? 😆

While Cubitus' reveal about Kevin's past and family...interactions...was a big dramatic reveal to the story that may set up conflict for future chapters, I don't know how "right" it was for Cubitus to reveal such personal information that Kevin himself asked him not to. On the one hand, it was apparent that Kevin was suffering internally from it, and changelings (especially Cubitus, who's new to pony culture) may not have much in the way of concept of privacy, but still. Oh well, he got a fluffy Berry hug outta it anyway, so...

The little backstory between Filter and Sassy was nice, and some more details and dimension to their relationship that made it (retroactively) seem to progress more naturally than just a convenient plot pairing (despite everyone being paired up in the story regardless 😉).

“We’ll need to run some tests for our baselines,” Amethyst said. She looked to Cubitus. “You up to being a test subject, after lunch?”

Cubitus smiled. “Sure. It sounds like fun.”

“We’ll need to run some tests for our baselines,” Amethyst said. She looked to Cubitus. “You up to being a test subject, after lunch?”

Cubitus frowned, looking nervous. "T-Test subject? I-I...don't know?"

Amethyst, realizing she may have inadvertently hit a sore spot due to her poor choice of words, quickly added, "There will be lots of Dinky-flavored affection for you to consume for dessert..." Dinky blushed heavily, but nodded enthusiastically nonetheless.

Cubitus smiled. “Sure. It sounds like fun.”

[Random_User]

This chapter turned out to be a lighter one than what I had first planned. The next one is not going to be quite as light. There are going to be a couple of tough subjects brought up with the aftermath of the Hive collapsing and Chrysalis being overthrown.

I worried that Cubitus might be fitting in a bit too well too fast myself, but decided to risk him going down a similar route to Thorax’s and fitting in fast. I agree with you, Kevin is a good pillar of support for him who can let him ease his guard down faster. Having heard Thorax’s ideas would also help Cubitus adjust to the reality that ponies are not the nasty creatures they were painted to be too. I think the thing that would have the most impact on Cubitus’ view of ponies is his ability to sense their emotions. Since he has been around them and felt anger, fear, hate, or other bad emotions and only sensed concern, support, and caring I would think he would be able to cast off the propaganda of the Hive pretty fast in a rational way.

Dinky’s a caring soul to everyone. She rushed and hugged Luna because the princess was feeling glum, having a homesick, having a worried changeling close by is going to kick her comforting instincts into overdrive. I will not say too much, but Cubitus is most likely never going to lack for affection again with all the ponies he’s going to be around.

Thank you! When I first had the idea for the detector and their project, I had a hard time figuring out how to bring it into the story without having an information dump in the middle of the narrative. Breaking up the explanation into bite sized bits has worked better than I thought it would. Having scenes that have the foals play the role of teachers is always fun too.

I cannot say much about what is going to occur with Cubitus and Kevin without giving some major things away. However, you have touched on several items that will be addressed soon. I hope I can pull things off without throwing off the tone of the story with some of the things that are going to be discussed.

I did have Berry drop Kevin right in the middle of hug there. I will have to go back and adjust things so he’s not comfort deprived so suddenly.

This is another section I want to say things with, but I will hold off for the moment. Though not as hardcore as most, Cubitus is more of a typical changeling and has taken more the the lessons of being tough. He will face consequences for talking about Kevin’s parents, but it will not get too unpleasant.

I have been waiting to put the scene between Sassy and Silent into the story since Silent showed up. Their flirting verbal sparing and challenging each other felt right for their personalities. That they fell for each other accidentally and through playful banter and testing each other felt right too. This was another instance of me finding right time to put the scene in so it did not interrupt things.

I like your take the on the scene. I can seen Amethyst conspiring with the fillies to ‘nudge’ Dinky and Cubitus along while doing their studies with him and Kevin.

[Bhals4]

That was a really nice chapter not to heavy as I imagine the next few might be

[Random_User]

10749424
Thank you! This was a very chill chapter to write, and writing for the foals is always fun. I am glad you liked it. The next chapter is not going to get too heavy, but there are going to be a couple of issues that come up that are not the story's typical fluffy style.

[Nopetrain]

So I was up to chapter 7 and wanted to know if there's any real conflict in the story and there isn't. I skimmed a couple of other chapters too. Also most of the dialogue feels robotic and forced. Overall there's a constant veneer of wish fulfillment but with no tension the story falls flat.

[Random_User]

10828255
If you are talking about good guy vs. bad guy kind of conflict I would have to say no. There are some life troubles, some existential musings, and there is a deeper examination of what happened with the changelings when their society shifted which is not warm and fuzzy, but there is no violence or anything of the like. This is a lighthearted slice of life story more than anything else.

[Random_User]

10828255
If you are looking for a story with more direct conflict, please consider looking at Rare Gems Embracing Shadows. It is an older story that does not conform to later show canon, but it has much more of a bad guy vs. good guy vibe. Rarity even gets to show off her martial art prowess.