Chapter 36 - Moondancing with the devil
Fortunately, Ledger kept in mind his own limits, and only got himself slightly tipsy. And kept himself from making any business deals while he was. Alcohol and money didn’t mix well - one lubricated the other into leaving hooves quite quickly.
It was equally fortunate then that he remembered to drink plenty of water to avoid a hangover. He was already being woken up by a pink alarm clock, he didn’t need a headache to go with it as well.
It was when Ledger arrived at work the next morning that his good fortune ran out.
Standing in his office was a rather inquisitive Unicorn mare. She had the purest white coat and a mane made of two tones of red and purple. Her Cutie Mark was one of a silver crescent moon surrounded by five red stars.
The brown unicorn stallion raised an eyebrow at the mare. Internally he was panicking, but he’d practiced for panic situations. “Who are you, ma’am, and what are you doing in my office before me?” He moved to sit behind his desk before the mare spoke up.
“Hm, you really should invest in better locking spells, those ones you have are foalish at best.” She looked at the art on the walls and her face scrunched up in disgust. “Ergh, and get some better art, this makes me unreasonably angry for some reason.”
“An emotionally unbalanced opponent is one that’s easier to bend to your will, or so Toll Taker thought. I suppose I got used to it when working under her and just never thought to replace it.” Now comfortably seated behind his desk, the stallion gestured towards the empty chair. “You’ve still not introduced yourself,” he noted aloud.
The mare’s horn flashed as Ledger found himself seated on the couch as she reclined in his chair, her hindhooves up on his desk. “I approve of this chair though. Nice and comfy, and not imposing enough to compensate for a lack of a certain something.” Her eyes danced with a familiar sense of cheek for a moment. “So you’re Level Ledger huh...I figured you’d be more...” Her horn flashed once more and Ledger’s disguise peeled away. “Ah, now that’s better.”
“I get the feeling your name is Moondancer,” Ledger sighed as his own horn flared. The door locked and was sealed tightly in a pulse of silver magic. “Does this locking spell meet with your approval, miss?”
She looked at the door with a scrutinising gaze. “Meh, I guess it will do. And yeah, I’m Moondancer...how did you kno- Grissom!”
“Mmhmm,” Ledger said with a nod, deciding to not tell her about the ‘ling that had tailed Midnight in Canterlot. “Told me you might show up. Wasn’t expecting ‘now’ to be the time frame, but I’ll deal. So why exactly are you here, miss Moondancer?”
“Well, you see Mr. Ledger...or whatever your name is...” She sat upright and leaned forward. “You seem like a clever stallion-bug-thing...so my request is quite simple.” Her horn flashed as she was just a few inches from Ledger’s face. “Leave. Midnight. Alone!”
“No, and I believe if you say that again, I’ll have to tell you to go do something rude to yourself and your mother on principle,” the changeling said before shaking his head. “I tangled with the darkest of magics, I was unmasked in public, and I served dinner to Princess freaking Celestia. You rank somewhat lower than Shiny on my list of threatening ponies.”
“Oh really?” Her horn flashed as his body held a pale glow for a moment. “Your ability to transform is sealed, so last chance Changeling.”
Ledger’s response was to open a drawer in his desk and grab ahold of an old sack’s drawstrings with his magic. It was easier than grabbing ahold of the sack or what it held. He could just about manage bringing it to him, and when he stuck his hoof in and touched the stone, the glow returned before fading.
“Anti-magic stone. Have to thank Captain Narrow for forgetting it here. Now either we talk this out, or I shove this down your throat, miss,” Ledger warned.
“Ooh, somepony has a pair,” she smiled as she took her seat again. “So then entertain me. Why won’t you leave her? Lemme guess, because she’s so full of all that yummy love?”
“If you think I see your friend as nothing more than a food source, then we have nothing to discuss,” Ledger said as he put the stone back away and returned to his normal disguise. “Feel free to leave before I have somepony escort you.”
“Aww, you think I’m scared,” Moondancer smiled again. He could sense it too, she held no fear whatsoever. “But you still haven’t answered my question. What’s so special about that bat?”
“She cares about me for me.” Ledger said by way of explanation. “Do you know how rare that is for me? For my kind? For my gender among my kind? No, of course you wouldn’t.” Ledger’s tone turned dismissive and he turned away from the unicorn mare in his chair. “You’re just here to try and scare the bug into leaving the first pony to actually care about him...to actually love him. You don’t care about those inconvenient little things like facts and truth, do you?”
Moondancer stared at him. Even as she slowly got off of her chair and walked closer to him. Her horn had a pale light as the temperature in the room dropped.
“Don’t...care?” she said, her tone was even colder. “You mean like all the times we shared? About the promises we made to one another? And then how that promise was forgotten...because of what happened to her...because of your kind!” She was close to him now, even as the walls begun to form a thin layer of frost. “I will not allow her heart to break again!”
“Then stand the buck down before I have to break you!” Ledger warned as his own horn flared. “If we do this, no matter how it ends, she breaks! You go after me and win, she’ll be hurt because of you. I go after you and win, she’ll be hurt because of me. There’s no winner if we fight, got it?”
She stared at him, her eyes boring into his very soul...before her horn’s hue changed and the room began to warm up. “Okay! You pass Mr. Ledger~”
“...Are all of Midnight’s friends crazy, or did I just hit the motherload?” Ledger moaned as he let the magic in his horn die. “I was seriously expecting you to come after me for a moment there, and I’m pretty sure you’re less durable than my last opponent.”
“Mr. Ledger, if I was serious...” Her horn shone again and one of the paintings was teleported halfway through the wall. “You’d be dead before you even realise I was an enemy.”
“The last thing I fought, I hesitate to call it a ‘ling, I ripped a leg off with TK and skewered him with a kitchen knife.” In the lull thus provided, Ledger reclaimed his seat and sighed. “Plus you would not believe how many spots there are in a pony where just the wrong amount of pressure can kill. The heart, the brain, the spine…”
“Well, it’s a good thing we’re not enemies huh?” the mare smiled all too happily as sparks danced between them.
“I’d hardly call us friends either,” Ledger deadpanned. “You show up in my office before sane ponies do, put me through a ridiculous test to see how much I love the mare I would never hurt...I half-expect you to have a miniature shrine to her at your house, the way you seem to be devoted to Midnight’s well-being.”
Moondancer coughed lightly. He must never know...
“Yes, well. Look me in the eyes and tell me you have never done anything drastic that involved Midnight.”
“We kinda took down a criminal organization together,” Ledger said before laughing. “Had to fake her death too, while we were at it. Oh, and because I bucked up once, we started a herd and have made it a nice little family.” Yeah, drastic and Midnight seemed to go together like peanut butter and jelly.
...Dammit, now he was hungry again.
“Oh wow, She doesn’t do anything by halves huh?” Oh how Moondancer missed her. “Well, I could threaten you all day...or just remind you that you’re stuck with her. So...best of luck with that.”
“I like to think I’ve done fairly well so far,” Ledger said. “There have been a few missteps thanks to our clashing cultures. Took her forever to realize that I wanted her to be in control by default...but I think we’ve mostly worked each other into reasonably normal ponies.” Ledger paused for a bit before rephrasing his sentence. “Okay, she’s worked me into being normal. I keep her from bucking everypony from here to Canterlot.”
“Yeah, she’s...exuberant,” Moondancer sighed. “And sorry, but given what happened, I guess I just needed to see this for myself.” Her horn flashed again and Ledger was sitting in his seat, Moondancer was reclining on his couch, her position made it so only her tail was saving her modesty. Ledger blushed and looked away, not wanting anything to do with this. He did not need more mares. Especially not more crazy mares.
“You remind me a bit of Cadence...well, if you take away the near-obsession with Midnight. She was glad to see this happening as well. Hugged us both even. Alicorn hugs are damn strong.”
“Cadence...the fluffy pink princess of love?” Moondancer chortled as she switched the way her legs were crossed. “Oh please, you think I’m that sweet and innocent? I guess I should be flattered.”
“Cadence, innocent?” Ledger snorted. “We had lunch with her and Shiny. Looking back, I’m surprised she didn’t drag him off for a ‘bathroom break’ between the time it took us to order and the time it took the order to arrive. She’s the perverted one of the pair.”
“Huh? I guess she took my advice to heart then,” Moondancer giggled. “And, and before you get your shell in a twist, I’m not after a spot in your herd. I love the fact that Midnight has found love again, even if it isn’t with me.”
Ledger sneaked a peek and returned to looking at the ceiling. “Then please stop showing off. I really don’t need to see that about you if we’re not involved.”
“Oh don’t be such a pansy,” she giggled as she sat up. “Besides, are you worried that she’ll-”
Moondancer didn’t get to finish as the door slammed opened...well, more like an antimagic blade reduced it to confetti.
“LEDGER! I’LL SAVE YOU!” Midnight yelled as she charged in. Ledger blinked at the sight before slowly turning to Moondance.
“She do this often?” he asked in an even tone.
“Oh you crazy Little Bat,” Moon chuckled as she looked at her. “She has slain many a door in the name of victory and vengeance. Ever wonder why Celestia has such powerful enchantments on hers?”
“You break ONE pair of thousand-year-old doors and nopony ever lets you forget it,” Midnight sighed as she sheathed her blades. “Also... MOONY!” she leapt at the mare, only to be snagged in a magical aura. “Aww, only you know when I’ll pounce.”
“A skill I earned the hard way,” Moondancer smiled.
“I just go with ‘always’ and brace myself,” Ledger volunteered.
“Well, not all of us have natural armour,” Moondancer hummed as she lowered the mare to the ground. Though once she was free, the Unicorn got hugged anyway.
“I heard that somepony had locked Ledger in here, and I thought a whole buncha things,” Midnight said as she snuggled her mare...ex-marefriend. “Well, good to see you didn’t kill him at least.”
“No, I approve...for now,” Moondancer said with a small smile.
“I would rather hang out with Shining Armor than go through what she did,” Ledger said in a deadpan, knowing only Midnight would know exactly what he was talking about.
“Moonbutt...” Midnight said as her hug became tighter. The Unicorn’s stoic expression turned... winded? And Ledger could swear he could hear her ribs creaking. “What did you do to my Levvy?”
“uhhhh” Moondancer wheezed out, trying to free herself from the vice-like grip.
“While I appreciate that you accepted my apology, and are happy for me,” Midnight continued, not noticing her friend’s plight. “I still can’t believe that you would come and threaten my family like that. I mean...who does that!?”
“Help...me...” Moondancer croaked, it wouldn’t be long until she actually croaked.
“Somepony that cares a great deal about your happiness and could use some air?” Ledger queried as he watched the one-sided exchange.
Midnight glanced at the white Unicorn, who was now turning a rather lovely shade of blue. The Thestral gasped and dropped her friend, Moondancer gasping for air.
"Just...haah, like old...times..."
Ledger chuckled at the antics and shook his head. “Well, at least you’re less threatening this way.”
"Go buck a cactus," Moondancer grumbled.
“What is with you mares and that sentiment?” the stallion asked of nopony in particular. “Y’know, one of these days, I’m going to go get a cactus. It’d probably love me more.”
"What do you mean..?" Moondancer looked at Midnight, her eyes shimmering slightly. "You remembered that?"
"I remember everything about us," Midnight smiled softly. “I may...I may have stopped, well...you know. But, I never forgot.”
“...And now I feel bad for complaining,” Ledger said with a soft smile of his own. “Okay, you two clearly have issues you need to work out. Things you need to talk about. And Moondancer and I have had a talk already...so g’on, go talk you two.” The unicorn made shooing motions with one of his hooves.
“I agree,” Moondancer nodded. “And I still have an Earth Pony and another Changeling to grill. So let’s go Little Bat.”
“Well this should be interesting,” Midnight hummed as Moondancer’s horn fired up and the two vanished in a flash of light.
“...And hopefully one day, I will know how to teleport half as well as she can,” Ledger observed aloud as he opened a folder on his desk and began to read the details of his latest case. His nose scrunched up as he caught a familiar odor in the air, and he opened a drawer to where his bottle of rum should have been.
Should have been. Somepony had been here and emptied the bottle. Ledger had a sneaking suspicion as to who. Especially when he read the nearby note.
‘P.S. Thanks for the drink. Love. Moonie~’
“...Great. Now I not only need a drink, I’m out of booze at the same time,” the stallion complained. “I’m not letting her back in here again if I can help it.”
As they walked down the street, Midnight looked left and right, like something was going to jump out at her at any given moment...probably because something was. She had managed to give both the Pinks and the Violets the slip yesterday, but she just knew that they wouldn’t give up so easily. They’d just get more sneaky...
“You okay Moonbutt?” Moondancer asked, her head tilting slightly at the batpony’s quirky behaviour. “You look like you’re expecting an attack at any moment.”
“I am,” Midnight said with a serious tone, her emerald eyes scanning the crowd around them. “I know they’re here somewhere. I can feel it!”
At the moment, though, the only even remotely odd thing in the crowd was a blue unicorn colt slowly eating a bowl of ice-cream at this early hour.
“It’s hard being so irresistibly popular,” Midnight said with a dramatic sigh. Then she got an idea, an evil, worthy-of-being-banished-to-the-moon idea. The Changelings of Las Pegasus, they had never met Moondancer before.
Moon stared at her friend, who was currently cackling madly and getting odd looks from nearby ponies.
“Uh, Middy? Your evil laugh is showing.”
While most of the ponies in the crowd were giving her odd and wary looks, the blue colt wasn’t affected too badly by the laugh. And had slowly turned to look at her when she did...and hadn’t turned back yet...
Midnight paused and cleared her throat. “Ah, well...” she blinked as she looked at the pair of eyes watching her every move... Oh buck!
“Don’t. Move.” She said with a whisper. “They can’t see you if you don’t move.”
“Not true,” a voice chirped from behind her. “We can still see you. We’re just waiting for the chase to begin properly, otherwise it’s no fun.” Midnight whirled to see Amy a few inches from her face, she yelped and landed on Moondancers back.
“Oh yeah? Well...I have a teleporter! Moondancer! Giddyup!”
“I feel as though I should take horrible offense to this treatment,” Moondancer sighed. “And I can’t teleport without a destination in mind moron.”
“Anywhere but here!” Midnight yelled. “Oh Sweet Celestia hurry. She’ll eat our souls!!”
Moondancer rolled her eyes and her horn lit up, before they vanished with a pop. Amy grinned and nodded to the colt, who saluted and ran off to a messenger she and the violets had set up beforehoof.
The hunt was on, and she was gonna use everything at her disposal to find that Thestral and get a smile from her.
Including Acey~
“So uh, can you explain something?” Moondancer asked as they sat in Fredrick’s Cafe. The Thestral figured they wouldn’t try anything here, lest they anger the best chef in the city.
“Mmm?” Midnight hummed as she sipped her coffee.
“What the buck is going on?”
“Ah, well... the Pink Changelings want me to smile and the Purple ones want me to screw them. It’s complicated.”
Moondancer shook her head and stared at her idiotic friend. “So...your twenty first birthday all over again huh?”
“Pretty much,” Midnight sighed. That had been both a confusing and a rewarding birthday. One of the serving-colts, a red pegasus with violet eyes, came up to their table.
“Do you want anything now, ladies?” he asked politely. They’d said no before, and then they merely asked to not be bothered. Third time’s the charm, maybe?
“Hmm, how about a plate of hayfries, a pitcher of lemonade and one of those cute waitresses?” Moondancer said, her tone rather reminiscent of a certain Griffon.
“Fresh out of the last one, I’m sad to say,” the stallion said without missing a beat. “All the colts beat the mares here to learn from the master. I’m afraid you’ll have to settle for a cute waiter, assuming we have any fresh ones lying around.”
“Meh, sorry little colt, but males do nothing for me,” Moondancer sighed. Well this restaurant got infinitely more boring. At least Midnight could be counted on to spice life up a little.
“Ah, if it’s eye-candy you’re after, I might recommend The Chop Shop, they do cater to both griffons and ponies, and employ both as well. You would have to go down the strip to get there though…” The colt trailed off, and that was when the mares noticed the color of his eyes.
“You’ll get a nice tip if you don’t tell the Pinks that we’re here,” Midnight said calmly. The stallion smiled at them.
“Well, I haven’t told the Pinks anything,” he emphasized. Just then, a violet-eyed mare walked into the restaurant and started slowly coming towards the pair.
Okay, time to unleash her secret weapon. Midnight smiled brightly as she waved at the mare. “Hey Sugar. Sup?”
“Midnight, dearest,” the mare said in a tone as smooth as silk. Which was probably what her sheets were made of. “I am ever so happy to see you again! You really must come back to the club someday soon.” The nymph in disguise had reached the pair of mares and was putting on a few charms. Mostly to throw the unknown pony off.
“Middy?” Moondancer said in a hopeful tone. “Status report please?”
“Moondancer, this is Sugar Darling. A dear friend of mine and single-”
Moonie had already hopped off of her chair and pulled the newcomer into a kiss. She broke it after a moment as she gave her a gaze that made Midnight seem tame. “You. Me. Your place. We’ll bang okay?”
“Somepony’s feeling forward,” the mare teased. Still, this mare was...mmm, her lust was tasty. “Wait for me by the door? I have a few things to tell miss Song here, then we can negotiate.”
“Aw dang, my Moonie distraction didn’t work?” Midnight pouted. “Oh, and Moon? She’s one of those friends.”
Moondancer blinked and then her face became rather neutral. “Huh. Well, never mind then,” she simply said as she sat back down. Sugar pouted at the loss of both the chance to bed this mare and the chance to have a moment alone with Midnight.
“I was going to say that in exchange for that...encounter, I would have called the flock off for a moment or two...but I suppose not. And really dear,” Sugar shot Moondancer a look that would make any stallion weak-kneed. Several of the serving colts already were. “You’ve not really bedded a mare until you’ve bedded a violet. We wrote the book on sex with ponies.”
“Still, no offense dear, but no,” Moondancer smiled sweetly, but that smile held no love for the black bugpony underneath that disguise. Midnight figured that ruse wouldn’t last long. Oh well, not everypony wanted to hug a Changeling.
“So what did you want Sugar?” she asked. “And don’t worry about sour-face here. She’s an old friend.”
“If you say so,” the mare said with a shrug. “And I assume you mean what do I want besides you screaming my name at the club?” Now she was turning her gaze on Midnight.
“Do you have Ledger’s permission yet?”
“He’s being stubborn about it, almost as much as you are,” the mare huffed. “Still, I came to tell you that two pink little pegasi and us aren’t the only ones looking for you. There’s also a rather large griffon on the prowl.”
“Ace!?” Midnight gasped as Moondancer cocked an eyebrow. Now there was a name she hadn’t heard in a while. “What the hay is he doing looking for me? It’s not one of our training days.”
“His marefriend probably had something to do with it,” the violet nymph said with a wide smile. “He does look rather dashing in pink.”
Midnight suddenly twitched, her eyes narrowing slightly as her wings flared and she raced from the building screaming Ace’s name. Moondancer watched her go and looked at Sugar with a bemused look.
“Okay, I’m impressed. Was that all a ploy to get me alone? Or did Ace seriously not tell his best friend and student he was dating?”
“A happy coincidence,” the mare said with a soft smile. “You...should really get to know us, dear. I’m not pressing you for anything!” she said with a raised hoof. “But...we’re more numerous and spread than you might think. And I swear to you, what you probably first think of when you think of us is an aberration. The worst of us are far from the norm.”
“Think about this club of yours,” Moondancer instructed with the same tone she used with her students.
“Thinking about it,” the mare said with a more lecherous grin. “Oooh, I love it there~”
“So I see,” Moondancer sighed as she dropped some bits on the counter and her horn flashed, the Unicorn and Changeling winking out of existence. When the serving colt returned, he found enough money to pay for the food and a tip, and a note saying to enjoy the fries.
“...What the hay, free food,” the colt said before digging in.
Inside the currently empty ‘Love Shack’, the two mares re-appeared, the disguised one reeling from the sudden and long-distance teleport.
“Hm, not bad,” Moondancer said as she looked around. “At least the atmosphere is nice. Not at all what I was expecting.”
“Dear, we may sleep around, but we at least have class and style.” Sugar had managed to pull herself back together and looked around, smiling at the memories this place was full of. “This city is like a beacon to us, and we try to help keep it under control as best as we can. Without us here to act as a stress-relief for the city’s pent-up lust, how long do you think it would take for it to get worse?”
“I try not to think about it,” Moondancer replied as she looked around. “This is quite strange for me. Dealing with you things was so much easier when I labelled you as monsters. And then my ex-marefriend had to go and fall in love with some. Now I’m being forced to re-evaluate my worldview and it’s a little jarring.”
“Well, while what I know about our kind’s history is a little lacking, feel free to ask me questions, and let me address that point real fast,” the white mare said as she sat at a nearby table. “We try to keep the ones that think of ponies as nothing more than ambulatory food far away from ponies. Since we literally can’t live without you, it’d be rather self-defeating to let them present a bad image of us to you, wouldn’t it?”
“So given this information, Chrysalis was part of a minority group or was completely rogue then,” Moondancer hummed to herself a she paced around the room. To those that knew her, she was just a big a flirt as Midnight, so it was quite often that ponies would forget that she is actually smart.
“And you seem to have different colours and common personalities associating with those colours. That suggests that you prefer particular emotions, and eating those emotions may have sway over those personalities and given yours...” she tapped her chin and looked at the mare. “I’d say love or lust?”
“Right on the second, and we all like love,” the mare said with a grin. “I know the color-emotion scheme at least. Love’s a universal - you won’t find a changeling that dislikes love or being loved. Violets are Lust. Would you like to guess the others, or should I simply tell you?”
“Well, I’m only aware of Pink...and given what I saw in Canterlot, I’d say that Green, Blue and...” she paused for a moment. “...Black.”
“...Blacks aren’t a proper color,” the mare said in a more level voice. “They’re made, not born. And I’ll not go into the hows. Anyway!” She switched gears so rapidly it was a wonder she didn’t get whiplash. “There’s also red, orange, and yellow. And silver! And each one has their own emotions they like in addition to love.”
“Interesting,” Moondancer replied as she had taken a book out of...somewhere and started writing all of this down. “And the reason you haven’t already written a text on all this information is because...?”
“Because I’m no silver, and because Chrysalis all but ruined any hope of proper relations between our kinds?” the mare offered. “We have...Secret-Hoarder to thank for opening up the chance again. Were he not already taken, we would be doing just that in our own way.”
“Then you’d have to get past a certain batpony...and I doubt that would end well for you,” Moondancer giggled. It was still strange talking with a Changeling like this. But maybe it was because she looked like a pony still.
“Do you mind?” she asked suddenly. “I’d like to see what you really look like.”
“You’re sure?” the mare asked with a raised eyebrow. “That’s a bottle that can’t be unopened.”
“I hate having to hate something for a stupid reason,” Moondancer nodded. The invasion was bad, sure. But the Griffons invaded a few hundred years ago, and she didn’t hate them. And if worse came to worse, she could just teleport away. “Now I am a grown mare and I think I can handle it. So bring it on!”
With a gentle violet flame, the mare’s disguise peeled away. Slowly, inch by inch. Almost like she was teasing Moondancer with every bit of revealed chitin.
Eventually what sat before her was a changeling with violet highlights instead of the blue Canterlot had seen during the invasion. The violet, pupil-less eyes looked at her. Possibly. It was hard to tell, but she felt confident that the mare (did they call them mares?) was looking at her by the fact that her head was pointed in her direction.
“As bad as you were expecting?” the bug-pony asked.
Moondancer had already put up a personal shield strong enough to make Shining green with envy. She stared at the bug from beyond the bubble, her hron already multicasting something...at least until she calmed down somewhat from her hair-trigger response.
“I can see this form isn’t wanted, so I’ll just-” the bug-pony had already lit her horn up and held up a hoof, re-applying the disguise as slowly as she’d taken it off.
“No! Wait!” Moondancer dropped the shield as she blushed with embarrassment. “Sorry, just...flashbacks.” She shook her head as she looked over the Changeling, drawing forth more courage. “Um...may I...take a look?”
“If you think you can handle it,” the changeling said as she let the disguise fall again, sitting there calmly as though she were just another pony. Moondancer nodded and stepped closer, inch by inch until she was rather close to the...mare?
“Hm, so do you have terms to distinguish mare from stallion?” Moon asked as she observed the Changeling female. The way her ears would twitch and respond to sound, the small gaps in her chitin...
“Nymph and drone,” the nymph said with a nod. “We are a bit like insects after all, so the terms fit for us.”
“I see,” Moondancer hummed as she walked around her, making idle sketches in her book and then poked at her chitin. “Hmm, hard to the touch but still flexible and surprisingly warm.” She frowned as she looked closer. “I thought you had wings?”
“They’re under the shell at the moment,” the nymph said as said shell flexed a little. “Don’t need to be crushing them every time I lean back, after all.” This whole observation thing was unusual, but not unpleasant. It was basically a Violet’s job to be touched and watched, after all~
Moon nodded and wrote some more notes down. She leaned down and lifted one of the nymph’s forehooves with her magic, taking a close look. “And what about these holes? What possible use could they serve?”
“Reduced weight for when we fly? Can you imagine something with bug-wings keeping up with a pegasus if they weighed the same?” the nymph offered. “Or perhaps they help with airflow - we do get warm quickly and retain that heat for a while. It might be worse without them. I’ve also noticed a peculiar sound coming from them when air passes through on a midnight flight or two - sounded like there was something really large flying by instead of me.” The nymph sighed as she shook her head. “The philosophical arguments are all variations on the same thing, though: we are incomplete, not whole as we are. And they help us remember that.”
“Now that is interesting,” Moondancer hummed as she suddenly opened the nymph’s mouth and peered inside. “Hmm, large front fangs, possibly for intimidation more than anything. A collection of both sharp incisors and flat molars indicate a possible omnivorous diet...if Changelings can process matter like that at all.” She wrote it down as she released the nymphs jaw finally. The nymph worked it a few times before smirking at the unicorn.
“Well, that was the first time somepony used their eyes to inspect my mouth, aside from my dentist,” the nymph purred. “Most use...other appendages~”
“I can imagine,” Moondancer noted as she flipped pages. Even the inside of the mar-nymph was a light violet hue. “Hmm, I wonder if she’s that colour elsewhere...”
“I’d be willing to let you look after you buy me a drink, sweetie,” the nymph giggled.
“Maybe later,” Moondancer said, again, only half-listening. “Holes in the hooves could be used as a natural defense against predators, by using sound to make them appear larger or more numerous... How very interesting.” In just ten minutes, she’d already learned more about Changelings than any other pony...except for...
“I really need to talk to Middy more,” Moondancer smiled to herself. “Ohh, I bet I could get a Novelle Prize for this study~”
“Perhaps you could, when relations are stabilized,” the nymph said as she slowly pushed her chair back. No sudden moves were made as she lowered herself to the ground and flicked her shell open, displaying her wings for the mare to observe as well. If she was going to be inspected, best to make it complete.
“Oohh, translucent and possibly quite fragile. So much different from Pegasi or Griffon wings. It’s a wonder you can even fly with these. I’m guessing Aero magic is used, like the Pegasi?”
“Mmhmm,” the nymph said as the wings buzzed into life, slowly lifting her off the floor. “And even then, we can only go as fast as a hover when we’re like this. We’re nowhere near as speedy as a pegasus, or gryphon, or a thestral. But for maneuverability…” She didn’t even turn to look as she hovered left. Then right. Then in a complete circle before pulling off a short spin and landing back where she started from, wings slowing before coming to a standstill once more. “Small things only, we can barely pull off weather-work in our natural forms. We have to transform in order to pass as pegasi.”
“Low power, yet great maneuverability,” Moondancer had filled nearly half of her book now. And she still had so many questions. But more importantly...
“Huh, I’m not afraid of you anymore...well, at least you in particular. I’d need to see another Changeling and work out a baseline for the experiment.”
“If I may quote Secret-Hoarder...’Where there is knowledge, there is no need to fear.’ Understanding something helps remove the unknown things about it that cause ponies to panic.” The nymph folded her wings back up and put them under the shell again in one smooth motion. “Now if only some weren’t so panicky about the known…”
“Well, given what happened, I believe my fear was justified,” Moondancer snorted as she sat and went over her notes, correcting any spelling and grammar and putting some final touches on her sketches. “Hmm, I should remember this one too.” Her horn lit up with a soft pulsing light. “Okay, memory saved and filed away for retrieval later.”
“Mm, and now I think it’s my turn to observe you,” the nymph said as she drew a little closer to the mare. “Fair’s fair, after all~”
“Turnabout is fair play,” Moondancer nodded, missing the implied nuances due to being in ‘Study-Mode’ as Midnight would often put it. “I guess ponies aren’t too known to you either.”
“Oh dear Moondancer,” the nymph purred as she put one chitinous hoof on the mare’s withers. “I know my way around several ponies. It’s you I’m interested in right now~”
“Mmhmm,” Moondancer nodded, still enthralled in her book as she went over the information in her head. “Go nuts,” she said with a half-hearted tone. Wait, the horn was a different shape. Curse her lousy artistic skills!
And that was when her left ear was nibbled on by those fangs and incisors she’d just put the finishing touches on in her book. She gave the appendage a flick, then gasped as she suddenly back-peddled.
“W-W-What are you doing?”
“Inspecting a pony,” the nymph said once she released the ear. “I expect to find it most...enlightening.” A hoof ran down her spine, lightly caressing her at some points and sending shivers up and down it.
“Oohh,” Moondancer sighed. That had felt...nice. And she knew it wasn’t mind-control, the mare hadn’t dropped her mental shields since entering Las Pegasus. It had taken her some time to see another pony after Midnight, and even then, her flings were far apart, and were made simply for pleasure.
“How...how much do you know about Midnight and her...abilities?”
“She wore out five of my fellow nymphs,” the changeling said as she rubbed at the mare’s withers with both hooves. “Oooh, you’re carrying a lot of tension. Perhaps you should relieve it?”
“Five?” Moondancer frowned as Sugar suddenly felt her chitin itch. That was...strange.
“It might have been more, the after-action memories are a little hazy,” the nymph giggled. “But we all agreed that she’s not to be bucked with, in any sense of the term. We leave that to Secret-Hoarder~”
“So she’s mellowed out,” Moon said to herself as her horn lit up. She may have had a fear of Changelings...but, you know what?
Buck it. You only lived once after all.
“Now,” Moonie said as she levitated the nymph and trotted towards the backroom. She assumed all the fun stuff was beyond that door. “Let’s see how you handle the mare that taught Midnight Song~”
“And let’s see how you handle me~” the nymph said, wiggling a little in the grasp of the mare, hoping to be put down so that she could show off her final secret. Moon glanced back at the mare and placed her on the ground.
“Sorry, too used to just doing as I please with my magic. Now, you were saying?”
The nymph smiled and glowed violet again...and began to grow. Soon, she was staring at a bug that resembled Chrysalis in all but color.
“There is a reason we are called the Ladies here,” the taller nymph said to the unicorn. “I blend in to hide for my own protection. Any of us could be me. I am a Lady back in the lands, first cousin to the Queen of the Violets.” The changeling bent her neck down and stared into Moondancer’s eyes with her slitted ones.
“Hello, poppet~” the nymph giggled.
Moondancer did what any powerful, magically gifted mare trained by the Princesses would do.
She fainted.
Midnight finally found the target. He was sitting outside Amy’s shop eating a delicious-looking chocolate sundae. Strangely enough, there were no foals around either and the store appeared to be closed up for now.
“This is a trap, a really obvious trap,” Midnight muttered from the rooftop she was sitting on. “The logical side says I should wait until he’s alone to talk with him.” But her impatient side?
That caused her to land on the table with a light thump, her emerald eyes boring into Ace’s gold ones.
“So,” she smiled sweetly. “Care to tell me if you’ve been doing anypony important?”
Ace just ate his ice-cream as he gave the batpony a once over. “Hmm, you should learn to calm yourself dear. All that unnecessary stress is adding years onto you.”
“Acey, if you don’t take this seriously, you’ll be taking that banana as a suppository.”
“I’m being quite serious,” Ace hummed. He had a new idea for Cherry now. Let’s see how he likes it. “You look like a mess, your mane is all out of sorts and a mare of your abilities shouldn’t be so out of breath. You worry too much.”
“So when were you going to tell me that you were dating that little Pink demon?” Midnight huffed, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table. “I thought we were friends.”
“We are, and we always will be Midnight,” Ace put down his spoon and sighed. “And I do apologise. Are you truly that upset?”
“Of course not,” Midnight responded, snagging his bowl and eating some of the chocolate sauce. “I’m happy for you. And it seems that I’ve started a trend around here.”
“Indeed you have,” Ace gave a loud laugh. “Perhaps next time Equestria has relation problems with a particular race, we should send you to fall in love with one hmm?”
“Nah, Ledgie and the others would get jealous that I didn’t invite them along,” Midnight giggled. “So I wonder if your little buggy is still searching the city for me?”
“Perhaps,” Ace nodded. “You certainly seem to have her riled up. What did you do to get her to be so persistent?”
“She wants me to smile,” Midnight replied, staring into the now empty ice-cream bowl. “I dunno, I just feel like I can’t give her what she truly wants from me.”
“A smile is easy,” Ace nodded as he lamented the loss of his dessert. “But if I know that little ladybug, then she desires one that comes from the heart.” He leaned across the table and stared into Midnight’s eyes. “What’s truly bothering you Midnight? Is Ledger or somepony else mistreating you?”
“Of course not!’ Midnight replied, her eyes widened slightly. “He, nor any of them would do that. In fact, I’m friends with Moondancer again as well.”
“Oh? Now that is something to be celebrated then,” Ace smiled. He was one of the few privy to the whole story. Along with her parents, Shining and the princesses. “How is she?”
“Hmm, I’d say she’s discovering the hidden treasures of Las Pegasus,” Midnight winked and Ace let out a belly laugh again.
“Haha! You truly have started a trend my dear. But if you are as happy as you say, then a smile should be easy yes?”
“I suppose...but they’re Celestia-knows-where by now.”
“Midnight, what colour are they?” Ace simply asked and Midnight blinked in response, before she had a lightbulb moment and smacked her forehead. “So, you have one too then?”
“Never used it yet though. On three?”
Midnight nodded as her head bobbed to an unknown beat. “Oh Little Fairy~ Where have you gone~”
Ace’s voice was much deeper, singing out in a deep baritone. “Come back to me, my Sweet Little Flower~”
The two conflicting voices answering them managed to overwrite each other’s responding lyrics. It was a discordant mess that had the pair of suddenly appearing pink ponies glaring at each other for about ten seconds.
Then they realized where they’d been called to, and both of them glomped onto Midnight’s form.
“I sing for the very first time, and this is the thanks I get?” Ace pouted, it looked rather strange having a scarred, muscled Griffon pouting like a foal that didn’t get a treat.
“I’ll get you yours later,” the older, pegasus of the pink pair said, waving a wing at him in response. “I’ve been looking for Middy all day! I think a hug is in order.” The small unicorn of the pair said nothing, but hummed her agreement.
“And I get her for you, plus she ate my ice-cream,” Ace poked out his tongue, as Midnight groaned from under the cuddlepile.
“Just gimme ten more seconds here,” the pegasus replied. “...And done! Your turn now Acey~” With that, the pink pony propelled herself at Ace with prodigious speed. The Griffon tried to brace himself, but there is no defense for a Pink Hug!
“Gah!” he yelped as the mare knocked him off of his seat. Midnight sighed, now that she had something smaller to hug.
“So, did you have fun on your wild bat hunt?” she asked the filly.
“Gasp!” the filly gasped. “You’re wild? Does that mean you have rabies? Are we gonna die if you bite us?”
Midnight gave her a stare that could murder a thousand pans. She deadpanned so hard it caused pan genocide. Ledger would have been proud.
All before she opened her mouth and began to gently nibble on the filly’s leg. “Omnomnomnomnom.”
“Nuuu!” Joyful cried out dramatically. “Miss Amy, save me! The wild bat’s got me!”
“Eh, I dunno,” Amy said as she looked up from cuddling her griffon. “Acey, think we should?”
“Hmm, well the little filly doesn’t seem to like me much, so she might not want my help,” he said with an indifferent tone.
“Imma make you a sparkly vampire Changeling!” Midnight said, her eyes glowing bright green. “Mwahahahahahahaaa!”
“Halp! Somepony help me!” The filly paused for a moment before adding “Or somegriffon. Doesn’t matter. Just please help!”
“I don’t knowww,” Ace said, hugging Amy closer. “I’m awfully comfortable here, and that sounds dangerous. Picking a fight with a wild vampire bat. What about you love?”
“Maaaaybe if she apologized to your properly,” Amy said as she trailed a hoof down Ace’s neck.
“Argh!” the filly yelled as she tried to fend off Midnight’s fangs. “OkayI’msorryforglaringatyoumistergriffon. Now can you please save me?!”
Ace made one swift move, and soon he cradled the filly in one arm, and a blinking Amy in the other. “Hmm, now I have two cute pink fillies. This might just be better than ice-cream.”
Midnight just smiled at the whole thing. That had been fun and it made her wished she had a filly of her own. Ledger would be a kind and caring father, working hard to support his family. Cider would teach Midnight how to cook properly, and Scope’s young demeanor would mean that the foal would grow up, not with a parent, but a best friend. Maybe having a foal wouldn’t be so...
Okay, squashing that thought now. It had been too late, though, and Amy pointed a hoof at her dramatically. “Ah-HA! I knew you could smile!”
“M’not smiling” Midnight replied, looking skyward, the ceaseless grin still plastered on her face.
“Acey, that was totally a smile, right?” Amy asked with a poke to her griffon’s ribs.
“Hmm, maybe more of a wistful sigh or smirk?” Ace chuckled and Midnight’s glared at him. “I think you should get her to smile again, my little cotton candy~”
“Deploying mini-me!” the pink pegasus said before grabbing hold of Joyful and casually chucking her at Midnight. The pink unicorn squealed in laughter at the sudden flight she was taking. The Thestral yelped and caught the flailing filly, sighing when she did. If she had missed, well, that was something she wouldn’t like to explain to Madam Gossip.
“Aw, well I guess I can’t stay mad when you give me such an adorable snack,” she cooed before nibbling the filly’s belly. The filly took up screaming and giggling at the same time in response to the nibbling.
“Miss Amy, why did you betray meeeee!” the filly called out as the Thestral tickled her with those fangs.
“Cause she’s cuter like this,” the pink pegasus said with a nod and a soft smile of her own. Even Ace had a small smile on his face. Midnight had always been a natural with foals, and seeing her like this was always adorable. To most ponies, Changelings brought them nothing but fear, and yet to Midnight Song, they had helped make her whole again.
How ironic.
“Mwhaha! The Nibbling is completefied!” Midnight declared. “You are now my adorable slave forever!”
“Nuuuuu!” the filly cried out before going limp. “Bleh.” And then she did an impressive impression of a brain-dead minion.
“What-is-your-bidding?” she droned.
“Hmm, I require more slaves for my Army of Darkness!” Midnight said with a triumphant smile. “And I see two victims right there. Sic ‘em Joy!”
The filly let off a moan before shuffling towards the pair of pegasus and griffon. “Must-obey,” she said, intending to get Ace first.
“Fear not! I shall defend you my love!” Ace replied.
He lasted about three seconds.
Now Middy had two zamby slaves that shuffled towards Amy. The taller and more feathered of the two had a wicked glint in his eyes though.
“Acey, no! You had so much to live for!” the pegasus said as she looked at her ‘turned’ lover. She then glared at Midnight. “How could you do this to him? He was your friend, my love!”
“You should have told me~” Midnight sang in between peals of laughter. She was having a blast right now.
“Uurrrr, Acey. Want. Suggaarrrrrr~” the griffon moaned as he scooped up the pink pegasus and gave her a deep kiss.
“Oh well I can give you that easily,” the pegasus replied before drawing the griffon in for another kiss. One that was normally a prelude to other activities. Midnight yelped and moved to cover Joyful’s eyes from the very affectionate display.
“Oohhkay, it seems that love is too strong for us. We are defeated!”
“Aww, why’d you have to hide what they were up to?” Joyful pouted as she tried to move Midnight’s hooves.
“Tell you what, ask your dad about the Birds and the Breezies later,” Midnight nodded. “And on that note, we should head home and hope most of our family is still in one piece.”
“I’m sure they’re fine,” the pink unicorn said with a nod. “Brother wouldn’t let anything happen to anypony he cared about.”
“True, but he’s at work right now. Which means Cider is all alone with your sister and the triplets.”
“Oooh,” the smaller filly winced. “Not a good idea...those three can break almost anything.”
Ace and Amy seemed to be in their own little world right now, and were getting into things...like each other. “Okay, time to go then,” Midnight nodded as she grabbed the pink filly and flew off, leaving the two to their ‘alone time’. Eventually Amy came up for air and gave the griffon a smoldering look.
“So, the back room or my place?” she offered.
“Could you wait long enough to reach your place?’ he pointed out to a damp patch of fur of his stomach.
“Like you could wait either,” the mare teased back. “The back it is then, Acey~ Try to keep it down, though. I don’t wanna tell the foals the shop’s haunted when lunch is over.”
“I’ll do my best,” the griffon nodded as he scooped her up and waltzed inside the store. He had a few tricks with a banana to try~
When Midnight and Joyful finally returned to the farm... All was not well indeed.
The trio of terror had managed to break one of the greenhouse windows. Cider had tied them up and was now looking for a good place to bury them.
Their three fathers were trying to convince her otherwise.
“Miss Cider,” the yellow one pleaded. “While the greenhouse was most likely a substantial investment on your part, surely retribution for their actions would not extend to such...extreme actions.”
“One broken pane should not a martyr make of them,” the red pegasus agreed.
“There are...other ways to get your just due, yes?” the blue pegasus asked.
“But burying them will make me feel so much better,” Cider replied in a chipper tone. “Only up to their necks. Ah’ll water them, feed them, and maybe they’ll grow into respectable stallions that have respect fer property that ain’t theirs!”
The three colts winced at the tone Cider used and fell to blaming one another. Again.
“Lightning-Wits was the one that broke it!” Tank protested.
“Only because Brute threw me into it,” the yellow pegasus grumbled.
“Well maybe Tank shouldn’t have ducked!” the red pegasus finished.
The three fathers looked at their colts for a moment more before looking back at Cider.
“Need any help?” they all offered at the same time.
Luckily for them, Scope Lens trotted her, sweat dripping from her forehead as her horn smoked slightly from magical exertion.
“Well, it wasn’t easy...but I repaired the window,” she said, taking deep breaths as she did. “Seriously, Localised Time Reversal spells should not be so damned hard to cast!”
“...You can pull that off?” the yellow stallion questioned in a trembling tone as he inched his way back. “That’s...rather advanced for a regular nymph, yes?”
“Is it?” Scope asked. “I dunno, It was in a spell book I found lying around the house. Burned through all the power I acquired in the Crystal Empire though. I could use a refill Cider...”
“Of course,” the mare nodded as she pulled the little nymph into a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you very much Scopey. You’re a good girl.”
“Yeah, I’m kinda awesome,” she blushed as her horn glowing, drinking the the freely given love hungrily. “Ahhh, so much better.”
“Me too!” Midnight said, leaping forward and making herself known as Scope and Cider nearly jumped out of their skins as the bat hugged them, Joyful clinging to her back for dear life.
“...So what should we do with these three, then?” the red stallion asked as he looked over the trio of destruction.
“I say we let Critical-Eye come up with something, then let Joyful-Heart implement it,” the blue stallion proposed. “Worst of both worlds.”
“I like it!” Joyful beamed. “I gots lotsa surprises to use still! It’ll be AWESOME!”
Midnight chuckled as she stepped forward. “Alright Maggots! AAATTEEENN-SHUN!!”
The three wriggled in their bindings, before glaring at Midnight. “How?” they deadpanned in unison.
“Oh, is that too hard for you?” Midnight teased. “A little rope too much for you little foals to handle huh?”
“That, and that mare ties knots like no other,” the blue started with.
“Plus the rope is real sturdy,” the yellow observed.
“She’s still hot, though,” the red finished with.
“That she is,” Midnight winked as one of her wingtips travelled down the mare’s spine, making her shudder. Then her left wing blurred and the three colts found themselves free of their bindings. “Now! Fall in Maggots!”
After a little bit of work to get themselves free of the rope, the three colts formed a line facing Midnight and performed a salute while they waited for orders.
“Right. So in the last three days, I have drilled into your chitinous heads, all the skills I have learned. You are not at my level, and it will be years before you can even be considered close. HOWEVER...” She smiled this time, a rather pleasant one actually. “I am quite pleased with the progress you have made in such a short time. So, in honour of this occasion. You are getting promoted! No longer will you be Maggots! You are now Worms! Be proud!”
The three said nothing - they hadn’t been told to. Their fathers had been very...strict in their upbringing and with what did and did not constitute an order. And they made sure to follow those rules.
During training time. Which this was. It also explained why they were so...rambunctious all the other times: they were blowing off steam.
“So as of now. Consider the first stage of your training complete!” Midnight continued. “Alright Worms. DISMISSED!”
The three lowered their wings and cautiously looked at one another. “Is this a good thing?” Brute asked.
“Probably?” Tank replied.
“It certainly doesn’t bode very well,” Lighting-Wits observed aloud. “But...maybe?”
“It means,” Midnight said, her head suddenly appearing in their little huddle. “I approve of your skills. You three have actually managed to impress me slightly.”
The three colts yelped and tumbled apart from the sudden intrusion. “Um. Thanks?” the yellow one said. “But why do I have a feeling of impending doom at this announcement?”
“Well, should you want further training, then Ace will help next time.” Midnight’s smile was so friendly. “And he is nowhere near as kind and forgiving as I am.”
“...I get the feeling our life expectancies just dropped,” Tank sighed.
“Agreed,” Brute said with a nod. “You were bad enough. Now you’re telling us there’s someone who’s worse?”
“Hah! I’m Princess Celestia compared to Ace,” she smiled fondly at the memories of those training sessions. All those flank-breaking hours of climbing mountains, swimming upstream in rapids and fighting with creatures that looked like Tartarus would be too good for them.
“Ahh, good times,” Midnight sighed.
“...And if we ask to train with you again, something tells me you’re just going to laugh at us,” the yellow colt observed before sighing.
Midnight snapped out of her daydream and shook her head. “Why would I laugh at that? If you truly wish to continue wanting to improve yourselves? I have nothing but the highest respect for that.”
“...You just said that this Ace would help next time,” Tank said out loud. “So who do we see if we ever come back? You or Ace?”
“Both most likely,” Midnight nodded. “Tell me, what is ultimate strength?”
The three of them looked at one another before shrugging. They didn’t know the answer to this question, nor did they think they knew any answer that would satisfy Midnight.
“Good, then you’re already starting to understand,” Midnight answered. “If you think you’ve hit your limits, then push past it. If somepony stands in your way, overcome them. Never assume you are the strongest. There is always somepony stronger. If you ever want to push past those limits. Then I will always be here to help okay?”
“Okay,” the three said as one. The trio helped each other to their hooves and saluted Midnight once again, in thanks for everything they’d been through making them stronger.
“One last thing,” Midnight said. She looked at their fathers and smiled. “You three are warriors. Proud fighters of your race. But before anything else, you are brothers. Always keep that in mind. That bond is more powerful than any weapon or spell. Can you promise me that?”
The three stallions smiled at the sentiment, and all six of the changelings nodded. The fathers joined in on the salute before dropping it and, in a rare show of affection for them, picked their colts up and hugged them. And while the little changelings tried to squirm free at first, eventually they just gave up and accepted the attention.
Midnight smiled, before she looked at her mares and looked a little sheepish. “Also, can I get a little help here?” she turned and showed them the Pink filly gripping her flank. “I appear to have gained a new Cutie Mark.”
“You grabbed me and flew off,” Joyful said from her position. “I’m just returning the grab.”
“Ah, fair enough,” Midnight smiled.
“Yer Papa is getting ready for you t’head home,” Cider said with a soft smile. “He’s inside the house right now with yer Momma. Why don’t y’all give him a hoof Joyful?”
“I can do that!” the pink said before bouncing inside. With spring-like sound effects punctuating her every bounce.
Inside, an orange stallion heard his daughter even before she hugged the back of his head with a giggle. “I found you Daddy~”
“I wasn’t hiding all that well,” the orange stallion said before reaching up with a hoof and pulling her around to his front. “So what have you been up to today, my little ball of energy?”
“Hmm, well I played ‘Super Spy’ with Miss Amy, that was fun. Oh! Then Middy made me her zombie slave, but we were beated by the power of love. And is that...um, iconic?”
“Ironic,” the orange corrected before blinking a little at the content of what she’d just said. He loved his daughter, and sometimes he wished she explained what she did. But down that road, madness lay. “Well, as long as you didn’t get into any trouble, dear,” the changeling said before rubbing her belly with a hoof.
“Hee hee, That tickles daddy,” Joyful giggled batting at his hoof with her own. “Oh! And then Miss Amy and her griffonfriend, who isn’t my enemy anymore. They got all kissy and then...” She looked at both of her parents inquisitively. “What’s the ‘Birds and the Breezies’?”
Madam Gossip actually stopped in her preparation work and slowly lowered her clipboard before looking at Peaceful and Joyful-Heart. The stallion had a face that was the purest expression of ‘does not compute.’ The mare shook her head a few times before quickly raising the clipboard again and studiously looking away.
“We’ll tell you when you’re older,” the Madam decided. If she wasn’t going to tell the Trio about...that, yet. Then no way in Tartarus was she going to tell the Impossible Pink!
“Oh come on!” Joyful threw her hooves into the air dramatically. “Miss Middy said to ask you guys!”
“...Did she?” the Madam said as she lowered her clipboard again. She was wearing a smile that she normally only wore when she considered the depths of the violence she’d still like to commit against one particular Yellow nymph. “Thank you for telling me, Joyful. But I’m still not going to tell you until you’re old enough. There’s an age restriction on that knowledge.” And the restriction is ‘when I think you can handle it.’
“Aw bugbits!” Joyful pouted. “Life was simpler as a zombie.”
“I’m sure it was,” Peaceful-Heart said as he hugged his daughter. He wasn’t ready to have that talk with her yet either. He didn’t even want to think of some colt touching his daughter like that. “Did you at least have fun in Equestria?”
“Yuh-huh! This place is totes fun!” she giggled, having learned ‘street-slang’ while out and about. “I fo shizzle wanna come back again!”
“...I assume that’s a good thing,” Peaceful said with a sigh. His daughter. She was the most precious jewel, the light of his life right next to the Madam...but sometimes. Okay, a lot of the time. She just did not make sense. “Well, maybe when you’re old enough to apply for a visa, you can come visit your brother legally.”
“Yay!” Joyful did a backflip and when she landed, she looked around confused. “Huh? Where are the fireworks? I know I-”
There was an explosion from outside, as a certain trio’s saddlebags erupted in a shower of colourful death.
“Oh. Never mind. I found them.”
“...You’re not...leaving any surprises for your brother to find, are you?” the stallion asked after hearing the rather...inventive curses the three mobile wrecking balls used.
“Nooooo?” Joyful replied in an unconvincing tone.
“If he writes about anything you left behind,” the Madam said as she adjusted a number in one of her earlier columns. “Then I will put a similar surprise in your bedroom.”
“That...sounds AWESOME!” Joyful beamed. She couldn’t wait to see what surprises her Mommy could pull off. The she saw her mother lift a bag with her magic and open it. “Wait! That’s my-”
A blast of confetti at point blank range. Madam Gossip would be left sparkling for a week.
“...Your daughter, you can pick up after her,” the nymph eventually said before leaving the room. She couldn’t get mad at Joyful, but she also couldn’t take much of her impossible antics before overheating. And Joyful didn’t deserve that.
A certain bat on the other hoof? She had...words for her.
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Your lappy died?! Oh noes!!!
All this fluff is going to give me a heart attack.
Nuuuuuuu, not the lappy! And...should we worry for Middy...?
A powerful ally has been added to the mix! Will Moondancer stay a while?
Keep going! ;)
I like your story, but you retracing the same topics over and over again. Some topics I think have been brough up at least a dozen times, and have become quite annoying to read.
6831291 With the kind of shenanigans she and her usual associates get up to, I think we should ALWAYS be worrying for Midnight.
...and for Ledger, Cider, Scope, Narrow, Fred, Grissom...
You know what?
Just worry, period.
Moonie got a Queenie all to herselfie? they really should get a TV studio upstairs. Then they can have lots of Violets on the Media.
With the parting of the families, things will be setting up for the next storyline arc?
I assume you pulled the memory out, plugged it into another computer, and got the chapters off? Because otherwise, how are we reading this so soon?
RIP in pepperonies "Lappy"
me like. but y so much hate for chrissy
6833274
Pretty sure the reason for the hate for Chrysalis has been spelled out several times in the story. I'm not sure we'll ever see her in this story, not that we need to with all the OCs and cameos making it harder and harder to keep up with who/what everyone is. Although, besides changeling terrorists, what of the changeling haters? Ponies that were so traumatized by the invasion that they'll do most anything in the name of protecting Equestria.
Hopefully narrative causality won't turn everything to crap and throw it at a fan once Ledger's family leaves for the border; reason being that sexyfuntimes left so nastybadstuff can sneak in on the next story arc.
Not to say there won't still be sexyfuntimes. Moondancer's managed to capture the interest of a noble violet (remember to drink lots of fluids to prevent dehydration). Ace and Amy are trying out a very adult banana split dessert among other things. And with the house/businesses returning to a more quiet state, Cider, Midnight, and Ledger can spend time together, er, comparing notes?
Ah, author, why you so clever?
All the deadpan puns...
It's becoming a ...
Pandemic
YEEAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, so we got a queen in the violet den, do we? Wonder of she was there when Midnight unleashed her inner self that night
Interesting thing about the holes, they were actually explained in the comics as battle scares from a fight with Celestia. (And don't start with "the comics arn't canon, omg!!!1!" I'm not saying they are, just posting some interesting trivia.)
6833947
She said she was related to the violet queen, not a queen herself.
6833616 yes i see but the invasen plane was not stuped like thay say. i still love the story
6835238 I remember all that, yes
What Midnight did a chapter or two ago is really gonna bite her. Yeah, telling a young kid to ask their parents about sexy times is a really good way to get the parents really annoyed with you. Seriously it might seem like a fun idea at the time, but it is not with it.
6833616 Yeah, Chryssie done goofed, but I still have my hopes up that she won't get thrown into a dungeon nor killed. I bet she'll be punished for what she's done in ways that aim mostly at her ego.
Clearly couldn't handle Joyful then.
groan...that made me think of a rather nasty story, where Changelings' fangs produced a hallucinogenic drug...it was intended as a back-up tool: if somepony saw a changeling, a bite would cause the victim to babble about pink elephants and other such nonsense, so nobody would listen when he told them what he really saw...unfortunately, it was also deadly in large doses.
Your Manslayer is showing there, Commander Moondancer.
Madam:
mlpforums.com/uploads/post_images/img-1375855-3-celestia-execute.png
I rolled on the floor LAUGHING at this! This is what we need more of in other stories!
WOW
Cuteness overload
With a Pink in your life there is no boredom
R.i.P. lappy
Great chapter, best slice of life I have read since I joined Fimfiction sooo long ago
Best story to read ones kids once some details are changed up. A blast for any teen or adult
👍