Chapter 45 - Armor up, little bat! Time to go home.
Ledger woke up the next morning, feeling only slightly drained physically, and that one was with a good reason. Magically, he felt as though he could manage telekinesis today. And once again, he woke up covered in mares.
Not that he was complaining. Heavens no. He could get used to this.
Sweet, caring Apple Cider. Alway there to make him feel at ease.
Brash and disturbingly cute Secret-Treasure. She’d whip him back into line whenever he stepped over it.
And of course, his most treasured mare...who was not here...again.
Hives dammit! And on top of that, he needed to pee! He gently nudged Secret-Treasure so that she and Cider were cuddling each other before he delicately extracted himself from the pile.
Priorities. First, bathroom. Then Midnight. Maybe more snuggling after, time permitting. His list made, the drone wandered into the crystal castle...undisguised and uncaffeinated. He suddenly felt a boundless amount of love pouring from the kitchen, along with a touch of snark. There were at least two someponies in there... with coffee!
"Coffee..." he moaned as he headed in that direction. He could hold it for a little while longer if it meant coffee.
All he got in response was a panicked yelp and a giggle, followed by a snort. Spike had forgotten about the changelings as he dove behind the counter. Pinkie just smiled as she hugged Ledger, filling his nostrils with the overpowering scent of pure sugar.
“Morning Ledgie!” she giggled again.
"Coffee?" He questioned, not quite awake yet.
“Ohh, okay!” she blurred into the kitchen and a few moments later, more than a half-dozen mugs made themselves known. “Weeeeelll, since you didn’t say what kind, I went with everything! We have a flat white, espresso, mocha latte, frappuccino, cappuccino, black and a few others!” Pinkie beamed brightly at the tired ‘ling. “Enjoy!”
Ledger blinked a few times before he spotted the sugar bowl and drew it and the black mug of coffee to himself. Plunking a sugar cube into the cup and sipping from it, he nodded as then his brain started to boot up. He looked at the pink mare and quirked an eyebrow, or would have if he had any. "You seen Midnight this morning?" Hey, if she was going to be pink and unpredictable, he was going to see if she was going to be useful as well.
“Uh-huh,” Pinkie nodded as she mixed all the other drinks into a massive milkshake mug and downed it. “She’s walking around with Twilight. Ooohhh, I wonder if they’re being sneaky? It’s pretty early and Twilight isn’t a morning pony. I bet they wanna be alone and hug or something!”
"I doubt Twilight wants that," the drone replied before his brain registered that there had been another being in the kitchen. He looked to the counter and cleared his throat. "You can come out now."
“Uh, yeah...” Spike eventually emerged, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry, still getting used to this...urp...idea...!” And that sentence was promptly punctuated by a loud belch as a scroll bearing Celestia’s mark materialised. “Sorry bout that,” he smiled apologetically.
"Not your fault, at least, not the second part." The drone pointedly took a sip of his coffee. If he had eyebrows, they would be raised at the young drake.
The dragon just smiled bashfully again as he opened the scroll and read it. As his eyes moved further down the letter, they grew wider and his panic increased, far more that what it was a moment ago.
“She’s kidding...she’s kidding right?” Spike murmured.
"Do I want to know?"
Spike looked at him. He was a Changeling, maybe he’d have some insight on how to deal with this. Twilight was Celestia-knows where, so yeah, this guy was the next best thing right?
“W-Well, this is from Princess Celestia. It says, that she’s sending someone here that could use Twilight’s help. To learn from the Princess of Friendship...”
"Okay, so where does all that panic come into play?" Ledger asked as he looked at Pinkie. He wondered if she knew where a decent breakfast was in this place...
“Because the someone that Princess Celestia is sending...” Spike gulped as Pinkie heaped a pile of pancakes onto the table. “Is...Queen Chrysalis!”
Ledger was suddenly very thankful he wasn't corrupted anymore. As it stood, he still wanted to beat her to a pulp. The drone let a few choice swears in Changeish pass his lips before draining his mug. "Buck this, it's too early. I'm finding a bathroom and going back to bed."
Pinkie had finished putting his pancakes in a ‘to-go’ case as Spike looked at the letter.
“I need to find Twilight,” he murmured as he ran off, leaving Ledger alone with the pink mare.
"You might want to gently wake up your friends, if she is going to be here she might need some deterrence to behaving as she normally would," he verbally prodded the pink mare.
PInkie giggled as she bounced away. “Sorry Ledgie! This alarm clock only has one setting! Oh, and I’ll wake Scopey and Cidey for you as well~” And before he could offer a rebuttal, she was gone. Several yells throughout the castle showed her path of destruction and chaos though.
"...Secure the pancakes first, bathroom second," the drone said before attempting to avoid that which he had inadvertently wrought.
Midnight Song blinked at the room that Twilight had led her to. The Thestral, while she enjoyed cuddles, also needed some morning exercise. The Alicorn had caught her during one of her laps around the castle and figured now was as good a time as any to show her the room.
It was massive, and given that it had no natural lighting and the time it took to get here, the room was underground. When they entered, aside from the large, circular room, there were three other doors. Opening one showed a long, rectangular room with about two dozen or so beds.
“Definitely some barracks,” Midnight noted as Twilight wrote that down. “And it won’t house many, unless those other three doors are the same.”
“No, they’re all different,” Twilight replied. “So far, this castle is providing the basic minimum I think. I don’t know. What is one supposed to do with a magical castle that grows out of the ground?”
“Uh, figure out how it’s done, become the queen of real estate?” Midnight shrugged as she checked the next room. It was similar in design, but housed several rows of empty shelving and wall-mounted hooks.
“Armoury,” she nodded. “See these hooks here? These are used for mounting wingbades and these are for armour. The hooks are designed for quick release, so you can grab and go in an emergency.”
“I see, I knew you could figure this out for me,” Twilight smiled. “Ponyville doesn’t have any Guard, so I would have had to call somepony from Canterlot.”
“Well I guess Ponyville is pretty quiet,” Midnight replied as they headed for the last room. She opened the door and looked inside. It was mostly empty, save for some exercise equipment and...something else. She stepped closer and reached up with a hoof, pulling the cloth off of the object.
Her squeal of delight could be heard throughout the entire castle.
After her ears stopped ringing, Twilight looked at the mare with a bemused smile. “You know what that is?”
“Do I...Do I know what that is, she asks,” Midnight laughed as she looked at it. “This. This is by far the greatest armour ever crafted. Only six of these suits still exist and nopony, not even Celestia or Luna knows how they’re made. And the creator died like six hundred years ago. But...” she looked at the purple alicorn. “How do you have this? These suits are supposed to be in the Royal Armoury. Only to be used in an emergency. So...”
Twilight shrugged. "It was here when I was exploring. I’ve been meaning to send the Princess a letter asking what it might be. But to me, it was just some old armour...”
In that instant, Midnight was an inch from her muzzle. “Princess Twilight Sparkle. I have a request that would make me a very happy mare.”
“You want to try it on, don’t you?” Twilight deadpanned.
“Ohh, so books aren't the only thing you read well,” Midnight cooed as she looked at the suit. “Yes, I would very much like to do just that.”
“Hm, alright,” Twilight smirked, an idea forming. “But under one condition.”
Midnight squeed and nodded. “Anything!”
“You have to stop flirting with me,” Twilight said with a nod.
The bat paused and looked at her. She’d have to stop teasing the adorkable bookworm? That...that was harsh. But even so...
“Okay, but all you had to do was ask me,” she replied as she reached for the suit. “If I was making you uncomfortable, then I’m sorry.” She gave the Princess her own smirk. “Tell you what, how about I snag Ledger’s book and distract him for a while so you can study it?”
Twilight’s eyes widened and the two shared a wide smile as they shook hooves.
“Deal!” Twilight beamed.
Midnight grinned as she started to fit the armour and Twilight noticed something. The suit itself was far too big for her. “Um, Midnight, I hate to break it to you but...”
“Just watch,” Midnight said as she finished attaching the last piece. Once the final part was clicked into place, it gave of a low hum as the armour shifted and locked, shrinking down to fit the mare perfectly. “One size fits all,” the bat grinned. “It’s a special armour that will fit to the user, no matter the species or gender. Pretty cool right?”
“Incredible,” Twilight breathed, furiously writing notes. Midnight made some final checks and stepped out into the main hall. The armour felt so light, yet it was said that even dragonfire couldn’t scratch it. She extended one wing as the attached wingblades clicked and opened, and though the blade itself looked a little dull, it would do for now.
“Okay, think you could create something to train against?” Midnight asked. “Maybe a spectral dummy or some sort of magical construct?”
Twilight grinned as her horn glowed. “Better idea, I learned this one when I was just a little filly to help my brother train. Haven’t used it in a while though.” A glow surrounded Midnight as suddenly, a second Midnight emerged.
“Ohh, I’ve never fought me before,” Midnight whistled as she took a stance. “This might be fun~”
Scope grumbled at the fact that she was rudely awoken by that crazy pink mare. She’d barely gotten any sleep as is thanks to her partners, and Midnight alone had been freaking insatiable. She was lucky that Ledger had taken most of the heat for that one. Though the bat had still gotten some time with her and Cider.
“This day had better not suck, because I don’t think that Twilight would like me redecorating her castle with somepony’s intestinal tract,” she muttered as she walked the halls, looking for the wayward Thestral. She looked around and decided that the direct approach was necessary.
“Where the hell is everyone?” she shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Pinkie made pancakes," Ledger said as he rounded the corner. "And I need to hit the bathroom...assuming I can find it."
“There’s an adjoining one in our room,” Scope informed him, then put a sly smile on her muzzle. “Cider’s in the shower right now...so if you hurry...”
"...And now I need it for two reasons," he muttered before vanishing down the hall. Scope just chuckled at his predictability and made a beeline for the kitchen. She figured Midnight was somewhere in the castle. Those emotions were easy to pick up on. By the time she got to the kitchen, all of Twilight’s friends were there as well, sharing various states of sleepiness. Applejack looking the most awake, while Rainbow Dash snored peacefully.
The petite pegasus climbed up onto a chair and nodded at Pinkie. “Breakfast please.”
Pinkie smiled as she served up some pancakes and Scope wasted no time in digging in with the most adorable ‘nom’ noises. She failed to see everypony else just gushing at the sight.
Midnight ducked and weaved as her doppelganger slashed out with her blades. A few times, Twilight had to look away from what could have been a fatal blow, but Midnight had made her promise not to break the spell. She already beaten one of them, and Twilight’s clone was now a little stronger. Midnight ducked again, the clones blades removing a few strands of her mane though.
“Hehehehe! That was a close one,” Midnight cackled as she pivoted and kicked the other Thestral away, as she hit the wall with a resounding thud. “This spell of yours is awesome Twi! You really need to teach Ledger this one.”
“Perhaps,” Twilight winced from the brutal blow. Speaking of said stallion, the exhausted drone, along with Cider, Scope and the rest of Twilight’s friends made an appearance, mostly curious as to all the racket. Twilight gave the drone an odd look.
“You okay? You look like you ran a marathon.”
"Some days it feels like it," he replied cryptically. "So, a training dummy just as good as her?"
“A punching bag that punches back,” Midnight said gleefully, doing a twirl to show off her shiny magical armour... right before her clone punched her, sending her tumbling across the ground.
“...ow.”
"Saw that one coming," Ledger said, before something happened that he didn't. The clone walked up to him and stared at him for a moment...before it started kissing him. Everyone stopped as they saw that, most having their mouths open in surprise and/or shock.
Rainbow was howling with laughter.
And Midnight Song? She was not bucking amused.
“That.” She stated calmly as she grabbed the mare and tossed her over her shoulder. “Is my stallion!”
“I didn’t mean for it to do that!” Twilight wailed, completely embarrassed. “I’m so, so sorry!”
"...If you mean it, you can take the flak for the inevitable 'which one was better' question I'll be getting," the drone informed the alicorn.
“Hey Mistress!” Scope called out to the mare. Midnight looked at the little Pegasus as she gave the Thestral a cocky grin. “Finish her!”
Midnight smirked as she looked at her clone. Oh yes, she hadn’t had a chance to use this new technique yet. She lowered her front body slightly as she spread her wings.
‘Glittering Embers that Dance in the pale Moonlight’
‘Sing a sweet Lullaby’
The air around her wings and her blades shimmered as she sang those lines. Twilight tilted her head at what was happening. But, that was impossible... She shouldn’t be able to use magic...
‘Shine with Brilliance’
‘Burn with Righteousness’
The shimmering became more visible... then, her blades ignited with brilliant orange flames.
“Flamenco of Flames!”
Her wings...were on bucking FIRE! She launched herself at her clone as she slashed out in a ‘V’ pattern, the flames leaping from her blades and colliding with the clone with tremendous force, sending her flying across the room and smashing into the wall, the spell shattering as the clone was destroyed. Midnight gave a few flaps of her wings and looked at the burned and blackened blades. Well, they were no good anymore.
She turned and looked at the group that just stared at her.
“What?”
Ledger walked to her and drew her into a deep kiss, apparently not caring about their audience. When it was over, he had a smug smile on his face. "You're still as hot as the day we met."
“Ledger, I love you...but that pun was terrible,” she sighed. “And don’t worry, I know that I’m the better kisser, or does anypony here want to disagree with me?”
A round of silence and awkward coughs later, Midnight smirked triumphantly.
"As if anypony would disagree with your fiery personality," the drone quipped. Midnight looked at him again and rolled her eyes.
“I’m giving you that because I love you, but one more...and tonight the Mistress might pay you a visit Ledger~”
“For the love of all things Holey! Don’t do it!!” Scope cried out, latching onto Ledger’s leg.
Ledger drew a deep breath... "Like that's supposed to dissuade me. You are, after all, smok-"
He stopped as all three of his mares whapped him upside the head. Midnight looked down at her fallen stallion and smirked. “You’re fired Ledger.”
"...I'm good," he eventually, weakly, said.
“Seriously...” Twilight sighed as she looked around the rather destroyed room. “Oh well, at least I know what this room is for now." It was also around then that Midnight had the biggest sadface that she could unleash. Giant, watery eyes, a quivering lip...there would be no survivors..:
“What’s wrong?” Cider said, nuzzling her marefriend. “Did you get hurt?”
“Noooo,” Midnight sighed. “I just have to give back this really cool armour...”
"I am not bugging Twilight over armor," Ledger eventually replied.
“And you won’t have to,” Twilight smiled as she stepped forward. “Specialist Midnight Song?”
“Yes Ma’am!” Midnight stood up at attention and saluted.
“I wish for you to take that armour. I know that you’ll use it, both to protect yourself and to protect everypony else.” Twilight gave a nod and even though Midnight remained the stoic, model guard. Ledger and Scope could almost see the happiness that rolled off of her. Twilight smiled and returned the Thestral’s salute. “At ease soldier.”
It took about a half second before the princess was tackled by a golden, bat-shaped bullet as Midnight nuzzled the Princess happily. “Ohhh, now I really wanna keep you!”
“Middy~ You promised~” Twilight pouted as she tried to escape the Thestral’s affection. Cider just chuckled as Scope rolled her eyes. As the group tried to separate the two, Spike came running up to them.
“Huff, There...you are,” he panted as he held his round little tummy. “I’ve been...whew...”
“You need a minute there?” Midnight asked, rubbing his back. “Breathe slowly, in...then out.”
Spike did as instructed and smiled. “Oh, hey..that’s better.”
“Proper breathing is key. So, what’s up Spike?”
“Huh? Ah, right, didn’t Mr. Ledger tell you?”
Midnight and Twilight looked at the stallion and tilted their heads at the same time. The synchronization was kind of adorable. He coughed before looking aside, coincidentally at Cider.
"Well, I was kinda distracted..."
"Distracted?" Midnight looked at her partner. "Seriously? I didn't get invited again!?"
"You had me to yourself for most of last night," Ledger returned. "Totally planning on something with Scope for the train ride home."
"Is that so?" Scope snarked. "That's if I let you."
"Well, then I suppose you can deal with being the only one to not get some private time with me," Ledger returned the snark fire.
"Hah! Like you'd go without this for long," Scope flaunted her flanks. "You remember the Crystal Empire."
"You seem to be forgetting who was in control," he teased back. "I remember you doing a lot more screaming for me than vice-versa."
By now, Twilight’s friends were sporting serious blushes and the princess herself surrounded the two in a silence bubble.
"I think that's enough of that," Twilight huffed. "Seriously, we don't need to hear about your abundant sexlife!" She turned to Spike as she dropped the bubble. "So what's the big emergency?"
"Queen Chrysalis will be here any minute!" He practically shouted.
"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about that..." Ledger muttered. "Well this sounds like the perfect time for me and Scope to vanish."
"Are you kidding?" Scope grinned maliciously, her wings buzzing. "This is going to be great."
"But why is Chrysalis coming here?" Twilight said as the group hurried to the central hall.
"Because Princess Celestia sent her," Spike replied. Midnight sighed softly as they ran.
"I wonder if Changeling blood is hard to clean off of a crystal floor...?"
"Let's just hope she doesn't try throwing her weight around," the drone muttered before re-donning his usual disguise. "Otherwise I'll have to use mine..."
When the group arrived, a Thestral stallion was already waiting in the main hall, along with a Unicorn mare that had a white coat and a green mane and tail. Her Cutie Mark was a green crystal heart.
Midnight launched herself at the stallion with a happy cry and hugged him tightly. Twilight blinked at the sudden affection and looked to Ledger for an explanation.
"I did my best to keep her out of trouble, Mr. Grissom, but she seems intent on sticking her muzzle into it at every chance she can get," the now-a-unicorn stallion said. The Thestral stallion looked at him as Midnight let him go. He quickly closed the gap between them and pulled the Unicorn into a powerful hug.
“Thank you,” he said in a hushed tone, and Ledger felt something drip onto his shoulder. “Thank you for saving my little girl...”
The white mare behind him just rolled her eyes and snorted.
"I did what I could," Ledger replied. "And for her, I would do anything."
“You have my gratitude boy,” Grissom said, placing an arm around Ledger’s neck. “Anything you need, just say the word okay?”
“Oh, guess what Daddy?” Midnight bounced on the spot, her eyes filled with glee. “I proposed to them and they said yes!”
Grissom’s grip suddenly became a lot tighter. “Is that so,” he said in a low voice, as the silver changeling started to turn blue...
"What was I supposed to do?" The unicorn wheezed. "Say no?"
Except that the Thestral wasn’t trying to kill him. The tears flowed freely now as the stallion hugged the unicorn tighter. “Course not! I’m so happy right now. Wait until your mother hears about this!”
“Won’t be much of a wedding with a dead groom,” his travel companion commented. “Not that I care really. Accidental murder is pretty funny.”
"Oh, so if a chunk of crystal were to accidentally fall on you, the proper response would be to laugh?" Ledger snarked. Hives dammit, he needed those ribs!
“So who’s your friend Daddy?” Midnight asked her father, hoping to change the subject and rescue her cuddlebug.
“Ah!” Grissom dropped Ledger and nodded, taking a more serious persona. “My apologies. It’s nice to meet you again, Princess Twilight. Element Bearers.”
“Who’s this guy?” Rainbow nudged Twilight. “He looks cool.”
“Grissom Gossamer, head of the Canterlot Council and Equestrian Affairs,” Twilight introduced him to her friends. “And it’s nice to meet you again too. How is the Princess doing?”
“She’s still breathing, unfortunately,” the white mare snarked as she looked at Ledger. Something seemed...off about him.
"Oh shut it!" Ledger grumbled as he drew himself up. "I've only just met you and I'm getting a headache!"
“Hmm, might be a tumor...well, we can only hope,” she grinned maliciously. Everypony else watched as the two squared off. This showdown was going to be epic!
Ledger snorted and...said something in Changeish. The mare’s eyes widened, before her body erupted in a gout of emerald flame, causing almost everyone to yelp in surprise and flinch away. Once the flames died out, the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis, stared at the Unicorn.
“So, an insignificant little drone thinks he can match me?” The buzz in her voice was enough to send shivers down the spines of almost everypony. Ledger's disguise melted off in a silver flame, before he opened his slitted eyes and stared into hers. The same thing was said again, but it was much longer this time.
“You honestly think I care about your name and station?” she stepped forward, looming over the drone as she sneered at him. Midnight was about to launch herself at the queen, but Grissom held her back.
Chrysalis looked at him, a mix of amusement and disgust. “Do you know what happened to the last drone that defied me?”
"No, but I know what happened to this one!" Using knowledge gleaned from his time with the orange hive, Ledger used his magic to hit under her armor, at a pressure point that defied casual observation. "I am Secret-Hoarder for a reason!"
Chrysalis winced at the pressure, not letting on how much that had actually hurt before she activated her control pheromones. “And I am a Queen. And you. Will. Kneel!”
"Somebuggy got extra balls in their cereal this morning," Ledger quipped before shaking his head. "What...oh, nice try. Maybe you should see how much I love that idea?" His magic flared again, hitting more pressure points in her body, and not doing any serious damage...yet.
“I will end you, you miserable little—” Her rant was cut off as something slammed into her face. A little, rage-filled ball of fangs and chitin as Chrysalis stumbled back, pawing futilely at her face.
“Oh Sweet merciful Hives! Get it off!” She screeched as Secret-Treasure ravaged the older nymph with righteous fury.
Ledger paused in his assault, before smirking and powering down his magic. "I'm sure the great Queen Chrysalis can deal with one runt, yes? I'll just sit over here..."
The assault paused as Scope looked up at Ledger with furious indignation. “Oh you did not just call me that!”
He chuckled sheepishly. "I'll...make it up to you later?"
“You fucking better!” she yelled as she went back to punching Chrysalis in the face.
“Uh, shouldn’t somepony...y’know, stop her?” Applejack asked, wincing as the little nymph wailed on the ‘Queen’
“You wanna try?” Rainbow said, shaking her head. “Be my guest cowgirl. I ain’t getting involved with that.”
Midnight rolled her eyes as she walked over and picked Treasure up by the scruff of the neck, not unlike a mother cat. “Okay, that’s enough," she chuckled as she carried the fidgeting Changeling over to Ledger, casually tossing her towards him. He reflexively caught the nymph in his magic and put her on his back before recalling what he'd just said. Ledger turned to her and smiled sheepishly. "Heh...hi?"
She just huffed and folded her legs. Her angry pout was undeniably adorable. Chrysalis tried to get to her hooves, only to be confronted by Midnight Song, who extended a hoof to help her up.
A hoof that was slapped away as the queen rose by her own strength.
“I don’t need your help bat, and I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for extenuating circumstances.”
“She’s here because Celestia sent her here,” Grissom explained to Twilight. “Since your work with Discord went so swimmingly, for the most part, she’s put you in charge of this one as well.”
“Did someone call?” a voice rang out and Chrysalis groaned.
“Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me...”
“Sorry Chrissie~” Discord grinned as he appeared. “You aren’t really my type. Now that lovely Violet queen. Mmm, now she was something...Oh?” He looked past the queen at Ledger. “Heya Levvy! Long time no see eh?”
"...I'll deal with you in a moment," Ledger said to Discord before turning back to Chrysalis. "The council gave you up, then?"
“Go fuck a cactus, drone,” Chrysalis spat, earning another glare from Scopey.
"...You know, it'd be so easy to leave you paralyzed from the neck down," the drone threatened. Chrysalis just glared at him as her horn glowed, only for Discord to snuff it out like a match.
“Oh there is sooo much tension in here,” he sighed. “Oh Pinkie dear, don’t you think little Chrissie deserves a Welcome party?”
Pinkie was torn, between not liking Chrysalis, and the desire to throw a new pony a party. She frowned, but still bounced, in slow motion.
“Fine...but she’s getting a vanilla cake.”
“But I hate vanilla!” Chrysalis replied, poking out her tongue. Pinkie just shrugged as she bounced from the room.
"You know that if they gave you up, you lose the rights a citizen of the Lands normally enjoys, right? You're Equestria's prisoner of war, essentially." Ledger spelled it out for the queen. "And if Equestria and the Lands really are talking peace...they'll never take you back."
“You think I care?” she spat, stepping closer, only to back off when Scope growled at her. “Those ingrates sold me out, my own family doesn’t want me. And where do you get off telling me what to do? Just because you’re fucking the locals, doesn’t make you Equestrian!”
"The application for citizenship papers I picked up disagree with you," he hummed. "Now the way I see it, you can either try to get along with the locals...or starve."
“So you sold out,” she smirked at him. “You folded to their rules, their way of life. You aren’t a Changeling, and you aren’t a pony either... just a sad little grub playing dress up.” She pointed outside and hummed. “You think they care about you little piece of paper? Why don’t you go outside? I’ll give it about two minutes before they form an angry mob.” She gave a haughty laugh and turned her nose up. “Citizen, give me a break. You have to hide your true self constantly. So tell me Secret-Hoarder? What kind of life is that?”
"The kind where I put down 'Changeling' in the species box before turning it in at Las Pegasus," he fired back. "I earn every scrap of positive emotion I am fed. You...I give three days before you starve, even under a disguise."
“I’ll survive,” she said in a hushed tone. She switched to Changeish for the next part. ‘And what about those two mares of yours hm? What happens when somepony discovers that they love a Changeling? Good luck little drone. You’re going to need every ounce of it.”
"No, I actually don't think I will. If we play our cards right, then you can just watch as history is made...without you." Ledger then turned to the nymph on his back. "I'm good, you?"
Scope was about to reply, when Midnight cleared her throat. Everypony else had been silent until now. She opened her mouth and what came out was rough, and the accent was...odd, but...
She was speaking Changeish.
“It. Does not matter... what they, think,” she said slowly, trying not to mess up the words. “I-We...love each other. That is all. That matters.”
"...I have so many questions," Ledger eventually said, before walking to her and drawing her into a hug. "But for now, shut up and hold me."
Midnight just smiled and nodded, hugging the drone as Scope and Cider joined in. Several of the mares cooed, while Chrysalis rolled her eyes and huffed.
Discord figured now was a good time to skedaddle. But as he was just about to teleport...
"Don't think I've forgotten about you, Discord," Ledger spoke up. "Sorta covered in mares at the moment, but I'll get to you."
“Oh, by all means, take your time,” Discord bowed politely before vanishing. Chrysalis sighed as he did. That was one less annoyance to deal with.
Twilight frowned as she turned around and started to walk away. Rainbow tilted her head and called out. “Hey Twi? You doing okay?”
“I need an aspirin to deal with this,” she sighed. “Ledger, try not to kill Chrysalis while I’m gone. Grissom, please keep Midnight reigned in...and, uh... Fluttershy! You watch Scope Lens.”
“Oh, um...okay?” the timid Pegasus nodded.
Ledger smiled before holding Scope out like a foal towards the ponyfication of Kindness Incarnate. "Aww, I promise she doesn't bite...others...often."
Scope emphasized as much by growling and snapping her teeth, causing Fluttershy to flinch and hide behind Rainbow Dash. She looked back up at Ledger and smiled at the way he was holding her. “Strike Two, stupid drone.”
He sighed before turning to Rainbow Dash. "You're...Loyalty, right?" He questioned the chromatic mare.
“Damn right!” Rainbow nodded. “Won’t find a more loyal friend than me. Why?”
"Catch," he said before lightly lobbing Scope at her. Scope squealed at the sudden toss as Rainbow caught her. The petite nymph glaring at Ledger. If looks could kill, he’d be chatting up the ferrypony now.
“Strike Three!” she hissed at him.
"Time for a quick lesson in changelings and color," he spoke up. "Each color corresponds to what we feed on. Red is duty/honor. Orange is kindness."
“Oh, I’d like to meet an Orange one,” Fluttershy smiled sweetly.
"And they'd love to meet you," he replied. "Yellow is courage, Green is creativity."
“So what about Little Miss Blue here?” Rainbow asked, holding a fidgeting Scope as she continued to glare at her idiot drone.
"Getting to her, I'm surprised she's not trying to get comfortable. Anyway, silver is knowledge, or more accurately learning. And violet is...well, it's lust."
One could hear the crickets chirping as even Chrysalis facehooved. Some of the mares looked at Midnight, wondering if a violet-coloured bug lay underneath. She was speaking like a Changeling just now.
"Getting back on track, Pinks feed on happiness...And Blues...feed on loyalty." Ledger paused before smirking at the mare holding Scope. "Enjoy your new tick."
Rainbow yelped as she tossed Scope away, rubbing at her chest with her hooves. Scope bounced once and turned to Ledger, her eyes burning with rage.
“Call me a runt huh? Treat me like a foal huh? Toss me around and call me a tick huh!?” Oh dear sweet Ledger, it was nice knowing you. He yelped before running for his life. Scope bolted after him, her horn sparking as she powered up a lightning spell.
“Gonna zap me a bug!” she yelled after him.
Midnight giggled as she watched them leave. They were so cute when they flirted like that. In the meantime, she looked back at Chrysalis and a thought crossed her mind as she licked her lips.
“Middy, somethin’ wrong?” Cider asked her.
“No, just realising that I missed an Alicorn for my collection,” she hummed as she walked closer to the nymph...
Hours later, once the castle and its occupants had forgotten about them, Ledger could be found ambling out of the room that he and his herd had been given. Scope was right: they would have to do that again, in some way.
However, he had a certain being to meet. Pausing in the middle of the hallway, Ledger sighed before looking up. "You could just say 'hi' like a normal being every once in a while, change things up from being predictably random."
“But where’s the fun in that dear Ledger?” Discord said, as he had appeared as a fancy necktie around the changeling. “Hmm?” he sniffed. “You ah, smell a bit singed.”
"Happens when you sleep with a dragoness," the drone replied as he continued on his path to life-giving coffee.
“Ahh, kudos then, quite the lofty achievement.” The necktie vanished as a mug of coffee appeared in front of Ledger. “So, what’s with the call this time? You aren’t still mad about that little Tirek thing are you?”
"Actually, I wanted to thank you for your role in that," Ledger replied before sipping at coffee. Somehow, it tasted a little like toffee, but otherwise was exactly how it like he liked it.
“You...want to thank me?” Discord tilted his head, enough that it fell off and rolled along the floor. “Say what now?”
"If it weren't for your intervention, Middy would be dead," Ledger replied. "I can't imagine she was the first or last time you found yourself intervening."
“It wasn’t her time yet,” Discord said in a rare moment of seriousness. “Nor was it her destiny to defeat Tirek. Maybe in another world, she did just that. Maybe she died, maybe she lived and became a hero... But that is neither here nor there. And I doubt you called me just to thank me.”
"Actually, I kinda did," Ledger replied before sipping his coffee. "Well, that and to say sorry."
“Sorry?” Discord picked up his head and put it back on. “This... is some kind of trick isn’t it? Lower my guard and hit me in my mismatched jewels?”
"I have no doubt if you hadn't been there to help me get my head screwed on right and seen me on my way, Midnight would not be here. So for that you have my thanks," the drone honestly said. "...That being said, pull something like that again, and little Scope knows your weakness."
“Weakness? I have no weaknesses!” Discord puffed up his chest and he donned a top hat and a monocle. “I do believe you are mistaken good sir!” Ledger raised an imaginary eyebrow before coughing lightly.
"So if I were to start thinking random, chaotic thoughts..." he trailed off.
“Ooh, you think you can feed from me?” he said with a wide smirk. “Very clever, somepony has done their homework. Still,” He snapped his fingers and Ledger found himself standing in a grey, desolate wasteland, surrounded by an ocean of stars and a bright blue and green sphere in the distance.
It took a few moments for him to realise where he was right now.
“So, shall I just leave you here for a bit then?” Discord smirked.
"...Have fun explaining where I am to Twilight and her friends," Ledger mentioned, internally panicking his head off. "I'm sure she'll be quite understanding when you mention all we did was talk, and I even apologized, before you stuck me up here."
“Hah, little miss Bookpony would be torn between telling Fluttershy on me, or wanting to visit the moon herself. Still...” He clapped his hands and the two were standing inside the Crystal tree of Friends and Rainbows once more. “I suppose you’re right, and although I do not deserve your apology, I’ll take it and extend my own as well.”
"...We both really need to learn how to not lash out at others," Ledger observed. "Let's not tell the ponies, though. If I know my mares, they'll just hit me for realizing the obvious."
“You and me both brother,” Discord sighed, remembering the chewing out that Fluttershy gave him. They might have been fine now, but he knew he had damaged the cute Pegasi’s trust a great deal. No amount of tea and cucumber sandwiches would fix it either.
“Tell you what, I’m still new to this whole ‘friendship’ thing. But I do owe you and Miss Bat Horse an apology. So I’ll keep my old word and give you a wish. Anything you might think of. A new house, maybe a ton of riches? I could even make you a pony.”
Ledger sipped his coffee, the trip to the moon had been quite helpful in cooling it off. "Five words, Discord. Random acts of beneficial chaos. Think about them."
“Ah, but chaos isn’t so predictable,” Discord replied. “I could do that, but there is always a reaction for every action.”
Then something dropped from the ceiling, a Thestral mare that had pinned the spirit to the ground. Discord blinked, surprised that the mare had literally gotten the drop on him. He looked at Ledger and gave him a toothy grin.
“Oh she is good!”
"I say that every night, and I'm sure there's a way for you to do a little something every now and then." The Changeling looked at the Thestral and grinned. "For example, since Middy wants to wear a suit of crystal armor for the wedding, I'm sure there's a way we'll find Shiny's misplaced a set..."
“Quite possibly,” Discord nodded, before Midnight stared him in the eyes.
“So, giving away free wishes huh?”
“Limited time offer, buy now and get free shipping on all wishes. Only one per customer and no laybys.”
Midnight nodded and looked at Ledger. “I had a few, like making sure that Ledger was back to normal, or removing the memories of my kidnapping... but then, another one occurred and only you can fulfill it.” She trailed a hoof along his arm and gave him a seductive smile. “What do you say stud? Think you can fulfill a mare’s wishes?”
Discord just gulped loudly and nodded. Ledger sighed, hoping his earlier words, those of marriage, had actually been heard by the spirit. Midnight leaned closer as she licked her lips. “In our old home...we had the most lovely couch. I want it back.”
Discord’s train of thought jumped the tracks and exploded in a ball of flame, before that ball of flame exploded again. “Uh, come again?”
“I usually do,” Midnight giggled. “Now hop to it. Make with the couch Dissy!”
"You really liked it, huh?" Ledger asked aloud. Midnight turned to look at him and nodded.
“It was the first thing we bought together, as a couple. Aside from being a comfy couch...it just, meant a lot to me is all.”
"...Fair enough," the drone agreed before knocking the rest of the coffee back. Discord snapped his fingers and nodded.
“Well, I suppose I can manage that. Oh, and Ledger, I have a piece of advice for you. A cheat sheet of the future if you will.” He vanished from under Midnight, now draped across the stallions shoulders. “Be careful when you get home. Not everypony is going to be pleased to see. You have old friends with old grudges hmm.”
And with that, the spirit was gone. Ledger sighed before looking at Midnight. "So, how bad is it with queen Bitchalis?"
“Huh? Oh, Twilight gave her a room to stay in, so she’s just been sulking in there. Oh, and for a Changeling Queen, she’s not a very good kisser. Just saying.”
"...I should be surprised you know that, but I know you, so I'm not," he replied. "When did you want to leave for?"
“Aw, I love you too Ledgie,” Midnight cuddled him, still wearing the armour that Twilight gave her. “Hmm, well we could leave whenever you like. But I haven’t gotten Twilight to agree to a date yet.”
"Tell ya what, you have until Scope and Cider gang up on us to try," he chuckled. Midnight giggled, not sure if he was serious or not. She was just having fun messing with Twilight until now. The blushing Alicorn was too cute to pass up.
“Well, once we find Scopey, we could probably head home. Dad’s being all clingy and stuff, so the sooner we leave, the better.”
"Scope's gonna be out of it for a little while yet," Ledger responded. Midnight blinked and sighed.
“Twice in one day, seriously? I have no bucking luck whatsoever.” She gave his nose a small flick with her tail and she trotted off. “Well go and get her, and we’ll meet up in the main hall.”
"Kinda hard to when she's a dragon," he called after Midnight. The Thestral stumbled as she cantered off. Ohh, that faceplant looked painful. He also heard her muttering something about missing all the fun stuff.
"It's why I gave you time, silly Songbird~" the drone sang out.
A little over an hour later, the four individuals were ready to leave Ponyville. Scope was still in her dragon form and was taking great pleasure in making Spike blush a furious red whenever she winked and smiled at him. Cider was busy talking with Applejack, wishing she’d had more time to catch up with her family.
Midnight rolled her eyes as her father continued to fuss over her, as well as give her a long package, eerily similar to the one he’d given her before. Ledger had a feeling that a new set of wingblades lay within it.
Twilight stepped forward and smiled. “Well, it was nice meeting you Ledger. And, it’s good to see that our two races can be friends so easily.”
"So long as you're willing to look past the surface," Ledger returned, before smiling back at her. "Seriously, though, I enjoyed myself. I wish I could spend more time here, but we have a business and home to get back to."
Twilight nodded and offered her new friend another hug. “I’ll be sure to come visit sometime, once things aren’t so hectic. If...that’s alright with you guys?”
“I have no objections, and who knows, having a Princess around might be a good idea. We did sorta just try to put the town back together after that whole attack undisguised, and if what Cider says is true, the ponies might remember what we did.”
“Guess we’ll find out when we get there,” Cider spoke up. She’d finished up talking with AJ and walked over to Ledger. “You okay? You look a little drained.”
“I’m still feeling the exhaustion from what nearly happened to me,” the disguised drone said, before leaning over and giving the farmmare a kiss. “Did I say thanks for helping me with that, by the way?”
“I think so, but don’t fret none. Ah’m yer beloved, s’what I do.”
Midnight had moved to hugging Fluttershy, having finally succumbed to the mare’s cuteness. Scope on the other hand, had Rainbow Dash ensnared in her tail.
“Hey Ledger! Can I bring this one along? I could use a snack for the trip.”
“You know all that hot air will go right to your hips,” he chided. Scope sighed as she tossed the mare aside.
“True, I suppose I should be avoiding the junk food huh?”
“Hey!” Rainbow called out, not sure if she should be relieved or insulted. She settled on relieved indignation instead.
“Besides, I thought you were getting more than enough food from us?” he asked with a raised brow before gesturing for the currently-a-dragoness to lean in.
“I guess so,” she shrugged. With a heavy sigh, her body was engulfed in azure flames and she reverted to her adorable Pegasus form. “Whew, taking a form like that, you never seem to realise how draining it is until you turn back.”
“You’re far more cuddly this way anyway,” Ledger replied before scooping her up and kissing the top of her head.
“So I keep getting told,” she giggled.
Eventually, the group couldn’t procrastinate any longer and it was time to go. Midnight said goodbye to her father, who was planning on staying a little longer to get Chrysalis settled here. The Thestral mare settled herself on Ledger’s back, wrapping her hooves around his neck.
“Carry me?” she asked with a cute batting of her eyes.
“As if you had to ask,” he replied before looking at the Bearers one last time. “Let’s not be strangers. You’re all invited to the wedding, provided you can contain yourselves.”
“Now what’s that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked. Ledger pointed a hoof at Pinkie Pie, who seemed fit to burst with joy. Applejack shrugged and gave Ledger a deadpan stare. “And what makes y’all think we, or anypony can contain Pinkie Pie?”
“...Fair enough, just give me advance warning so I can see to it she doesn’t meet the Pink of Las Pegasus?” The Changeling seemed genuinely scared of the idea.
“That is a really good idea,” Scope shuddered. Applejack just blinked and shrugged. She figured it was safer not to ask.
An hour later, the four ponies were seated on the train and were speeding away to Las Pegasus. Midnight sighed as she leaned against Ledger, rubbing a hoof against her forehead.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, concerned for his mare’s health.
“Hm? Oh, just a small headache, nothing to worry about,” Midnight sighed. “I’m just glad to finally be heading home. It feels like a lifetime since I was there.”
“If you’re sure,” the drone said before giving her a peck. “Maybe you should pay a small visit to the hospital when we get back? Just a quick check-up to make sure you’re doing okay after...everything.”
“Maybe, it’s just a headache though. And if you recall, I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, followed by some pretty vigourous training.”
“Fair enough. If you wanna nap on the ride home, I won’t blame you.” He held the thestral mare close and sighed. This felt...good. Midnight nodded as she closed her eyes, soon drifting off to sleep. Hopefully, life would finally calm down a pace.
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Thadius0 I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you're now facing a lynch mob if you dont make a spin off story about Twilight rooming with Chrysalis. You know that right?
6901228 i woud love that
and chrissy coud have told leger that he wood not be where his is whith out her doing what she did
6901228 need to throw fluffle puff in there as well XD
Calm? With these four? Not a chance in Tartarus.
So when is the Pink Hive reunion so someone can smuggle Pinkie in?
6901410
Pink hive? What... like a giant Disneyland/Wonka Factory with changelings running it all instead of Oompa-loompas?
Pinkie Pie's probably an honorary Pink anyway, it's just no pony ever asked her to show them the award. Heh.
*Thank
Either remove the "for" or add "home".
*Makes
Anyway, continue...
6901228 All of my yes.
As a side note, are Ledger and Scopey going to be called out on assaulting Chryssie? She didn't even strike back and they attacked her repeatedly. And if she's really considered a prisoner of war, what they did is punishable by law, you are obligated to treat prisoners of war humanely. Our, in this case, ponyely.
6901611
I doubt it. In a comedy, you generally have to allow characters to get away with little things like breaking the Geneva Convention.
Midnight uses V-Attack. Its Super Effective.
Midnigh has concussion, sickness, or insiduous mental attack occuring? A little side effect of having Chrysalis and Ledger facing off?
Wonder if Twilight got the extra two dozen guards for the barracks ec, if they would still be visible in that place, or if they could get blended Crystal Armor, so that as long as they dont move, they are the same style, colour etc as the surrounding walls?
Pinkie can have so much fun helping Chryssy by keeping an eye on her, popping out whenever she seems frustrated, offering her more of her favourite foods like Vanilla swirl, Vanilla slices, Vanilla Ice.
6901623 I suppose, but Ledger drew attention to it in his spiel. Just doesn't really sit well with me, he outright assaulted her unprovoked and repeatedly, plus I find it weird she didn't retaliate.
Though, she totally beat him verbally. Looking at it like that, his attack was him being frustrated that she trashed him in the snark off, which only confirmed that she's a master snarker compared to him.
Though I still hope she'll get back on the two for these attacks.
6901857 no she should die in a ditch.
6901857 You commited war crimes...all of your rights are lost.
So, no...our characters didn't do anything inheritly "wrong"
heck, it is not even that bad to begin with.
6902192 You need to read up on international laws of you think that. And, as far as I know, nobody even died during the invasion.
All apprehended criminals have rights. You cannot just dispense your own justice.
6902282 Go back to your law book and look closely again.
Laws aren't always absolute...It is created by men and men is inheritly flawed. Denying just prove my point...
Justice is not something Laws can bring. Laws bring a certain type of Order, not Justice.
I personally not the type to cause uneccessary pain like torture and such. I prefer quick, clean and efficient...If possible, redeem.
I don't think its just a headache... possible child in development?
I don't think I stopped laughing the entire time I read this chapter.
Hmm, either that armor is having side effects (assuming she didn't remove it) or.....
Keep going! ;)
Oh why do you tempt faith
6902314
6902282
The laws of men have no bearing in a fictional universe full of talking ponies.
Remember, international law is a construct invented here in reality to deal with people in reality. What it says, or even its very existence is in question in-story. You can't break that which does not exist after all. In this manner, the story can do literally anything it wants with any laws it decides to bring up, making them as precise or as ambiguous as works. The Geneva Convention, a result of man kind looking at his recent wars and going "Holy shit, we were monsters to each other, let's agree that no matter how much we fight, we don't act like THAT any more...", might not even exist in any ambiguous form simply because ponies both do not have that kind of bloodlust in them, AND they've never participated in a war of that scale and brutality.
So really, what does reading law books do but inject views that are based on a history that doesn't exist in Equestria?
Chrysalis will get what's coming to her... She gets to learn under Twilight, and she'll be exposed to Pinkie Pie. For someone of her demeanor, that's torture.
6907219 Problem with that, Ledger calls upon the concept of a prisoner of war, which is part of international law in our world. Logically, it is part of the law over there sell, though we have no proof either way.
Yes, she'll get what's coming to her, but I doubt part of her sentence is for Ledger to attack her out of the blue, aiming to make it hurt as much as possible. Just thing he should be called out on it, since he's supposedly a law abiding citizen of Equestria now, and I do think attacks like that are against the law there.
6907548
Prisoners of war is older than international law.
deck the halls with her intestines!
the pinks will gorge just by intering that room... a month after this!
that made me think of a silly story called "ponies are squishy": a changeling shows another that ponies can easily bounce back from any accident, but a deliberate act would hurt them...
The comfy couch gets resurrected!
yay!
7150561
fa-la-la-la-la, la-la ka-boom!
...i forget where i heard that.
When I reread this, and saw this part, I realised that this was the first sign of Middy's pregnancy!
It can be backup career plan in case this Princess thing doesn't work out
I mean it's a clone of Midnight, so I don't know what everyone was expecting it to do when Ledger showed up
This is even funnier when you find out that they're half-sisters
Which is why that's what you get
...how are you, a changeling, still alive if you shun affection like this?
So who wants to remind him that he has a little sister that will show up for the wedding no matter what he does
What a adventure this kinda vaccation was...
Midnight should really get a full medical check.
Better save than sorry...
A lot has happened, still some things are to happen.
Great chapter, Discord is a lot of fun
Who to ship Discord with? Violets seem to have his attention ♡