A Penny for your thought

by Damaged

22 - Gaining Trust

Oh noes, it is happening again!

This is part of an integrated crossover/collab over with David Silver over here

While we talked with Cadance, changing between Stick and I to get all the angles covered, Shining moved to talk with his guards. The guardsponies' departure left just the four of us in the big room.

"And, after getting Penny out of hospital in Canterlot, we came here, to find Silver and deliver these letters."

"Silver?" Cadance and Shining each looked at the other after saying the name together. Cadance continued, though. "Silver Lining?"

Puzzlement, surprise. "Uh, yeah…" I wasn't sure what the problem was, I mean he was a diplomat and they likely knew of him, but there was more than that.

Cadance seemed to be still a moment and nodded. "There is more here I wish to talk about, but your special somepony here can field my questions better than you. You have my word, she will come to no harm."

Penny blinked, looking to Stick and then Cadance. Finally back to her marefriend, she starts to channel, focusing on the changeling. Cadance blinked, and blinked. "What…"

Stick almost glowed and trembled in satiation. "There, that should cover you." Penny nuzzled the changeling, letting her magic flow back and, bowing deeply to both Cadance and then making a point of doing the same for Shining, approached the door.

---

"So, what did you want to know?" Watching Penny leave had been hard, but I trusted Cadance to keep her word. She might be angry and still a little afraid, but I hope it is directed at the right changeling now!

Cadance was still a little surprised by the magical display. "Did she just… what did she do? It looked like a wave of happiness and love seemed to pour from her and you just… you coiled around it and swallowed."

I thought of that. I hadn't had time, or the desire to brush Penny that way, but I could have sunk my hunger into her. "She feeds me like that. It is more physically draining on her and much less emotionally. If she didn't feel those emotions, she couldn't have fed power through them."

Shining tilted his head. "You can only feed on love, right?" I nodded. "So she loves you?"

"She does." Cadance confirmed. "And it flows back, doesn't it?"

"Of course. I liked her right from the start, but she told me her boundaries. I let her cross them first, not me." I nodded, one hoof rising to rub at one of the healed rents in my carapace. "I wanted her love, she gave it. I couldn't hold that back in return."

"And shouldn't. Okay, I am well convinced you are probably the nicest changeling ever and look, I have an afternoon free!" Cadance gestured around the room. Something was a little up here, court wasn't just for show, they had real reasons to have it.

I blushed at the compliment. "Chrysalis… what she did is inexcusable. Not just to you, but her hive. Penny thinks there might be reasons, she is too kind but I don't think even she would trust her."

"That was what I wanted to know. How do you think she will take this theft of… how much of her hive was it?" Cadance had relaxed and was chatting to me, really chatting. I almost chittered!

"I am not really sure. The hive wasn't huge, before the attack at your wedding. But she swelled our numbers, had a lot of the new drones trained up fast and taken with her. They were barely fitting their shell and she took them to war." I felt down, the memories of that time, of food getting harder and harder to find, with Chrysalis telling all her new 'recruits' how well they will feast in Canterlot once she was Queen of Equestria.

"Shame. Do you think, if I invited… Queen Fast and a few of her retinue, they might have a better idea?" The cost of what she was talking about was clear, Cadance seemed to radiate that… princessness, a whole lot less as she contemplated inviting those she still felt were 'enemy', to her empire.

My wings buzzed, a slip I sometimes made but really didn't want to now, the less reminder I was a changeling and like Chrysalis, the better. "That would not be… a good plan. You would need to have ponies to feed them, let alone how you reacted to just a little drone like me. Queen Fast is much more… changeling queen. I only ever got one order from her, and that was more offer than order." I closed my eyes a moment, remembering how having two queens issue commands had broken the grip of the one. "She is a good pony, but she is a Queen."

Shining returned with a plate of snacks for his wife. I didn't need the food but I took one when offered. They were tasty, but not as tasty, nor filling, as Penny. "A letter, a missive, would be best. I am not sure such avenues have even been opened with Celestia yet. I think it would be a step forward in more ways than one."

This had Cadance think, then smile. "I see why my aunt and sister, both, wrote what they did. Alright, changeling Stick, you are recognized as a dual citizen of the Crystal Empire. You can disguise yourself, can't you?"

I figured best not to show her, enough shocks for the day. I nodded.

"Good, how is such handled in Canterlot?" Shining stood at the doorway now, leaving us to chat further.

"When we take a form, since we have no cutie mark of our own, we make our new one a little changeling. It is a well respected custom there, even if quite new." I stood. "If you permit?"

She nodded. I embraced the warmth, coiling it like a spring and then letting it loose to roll over me, the image I imagined being a familiar one. As the flames receded, I knew I was a perfect copy of Penny, down to every last detail except one.

She looked a little put-off by the flames, in her eyes I saw a pain that might heal, but not today. "Very well, if you would…" I relaxed and let the flames come again, no target in mind and I was myself again. "You may use your power, as you see fit, in the betterment of lives and to save them." She kissed my horn and I felt an odd tingle. A nice, odd tingle.

My head tilted, this sounded formal, she was trying to give me everything Celestia had. "You need something?" A little weight seemed to fade from the alicorn's shoulders.

"I do. I have had warning that… shadows, may return to my empire. I would wish this even less than to dine at supper with Chrysalis. If you hear anything that leads you to suspect these elements are being supported, I would have you report it to myself or Shining." I looked shocked a little, for Cadance to ask a changeling for help meant she feared these shadows much.

"And if I am required to…"

She nodded and lowered her head. "You have a good heart, Stick. If you find those that would bring about the loss of my ponies' freedom, and you see not a single other option, you can use any power you have to assist my empire." I had to pull my jaw closed and, without a word, I stepped forward and leaned down, pressing my horn to the floor and the top of my mane to her hoof.

"You honor me… I… I will do all I can. My marefriend might be confused…"

"You can tell her, she has her head screwed on straight and I doubt you would agree unless I let you include her." I understood why Cadance asked this of me. I wasn't attached to the princess in any official way. I was also a changeling, not something typically welcomed by her. The fact I wasn't one of her ponies… wait, but she had claimed me…

"Because of my love for her?" I looked up, sitting back a little in surprise.

Cadance nodded, reinforcing it with words. "Because of your love for Penny. If a pony can really love, they can be trusted to protect that love." She called me a pony. Not a monster. Not a changeling. A pony. "Now, I have nothing else to ask for now, you may go up and rejoin Penny."

I got up and leaned in. She tensed only a moment as I hugged her, the feel of my shell likely a bit strange, but she didn't hold back once she realized what was happening.

"Enough, away with you, be true to yourself and your love." Her words to me were solid, ones I hoped to always follow.

Shining met me at the door. "So, all sorted?" His slightly peculiar way of talking was oddly soothing. I nodded. "Then lets get you up to your friends…"

Another guard was summoned and I had an escort, one who had been commanded to deliver me to the room, at the princess' orders, no less.

"You really a changeling?" It took the second flight of stairs before he broke his stoic demeanor, the stallion under the armor sounding a bit younger. I nodded.

"In the shell. Not had many around here?" His snort of short laughter was a good answer. "Figured, might change now. You need workers out here?"

"What makes you ask that?" We were leaving the stairs and walking down a hall toward a single door.

"Oh, I saw a sign or twenty."

"Right you are then." He stopped at the door and knocked.

"The Ambassador is entertaining a guest. Can you come back later?" I recognized the voice, it had been Silver's wife, Night Watch.

“Princess Cadance insisted I bring this pony to your room.” The guard’s formal words implied that he was quite literally under orders.

“Penny is in there?” I moved a little closer, my voice slipping a little with sudden worry.

Then I heard her, Penny's voice, muffled by the door. “Stick? Please, let her in.”

The door opened and I saw the familiar lunar pegasus opening the door with a clever wing. "She can come in. Thank you for bringing her." She looked a little startled, I guess we hadn't really said too much to each other. "Come in, Stick is it?"

“Stick, yup. You are Night? We met at the train station.” I leaned to peek past the mare and spotted Penny, seeing her smile light up her features.

Penny was on her hooves and moving toward me, I could feel the connection slip back and establish between me and her.

The unicorn, Penny's friend, was sitting on the bed. "Hard to forget you. You're just in time."

Night shut the door behind me, closing the door and returning to the room itself.

There was some nuzzling from Penny, but she tasted a little odd. There was new taste and odd taste, but it was still love. “What’s wrong, you feel a little off?” With concern, my voice slipped further than usual.

“Nothing, well, something. Maybe something big.” Penny pointed a hoof to the couch and I took the cue, trotting over, pressing in so our flanks and shoulders kept brushing. “How do we start explaining this?”

Author's Note:

Wait, what is this, why does the world tremble a little just now?

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Comments

[Daremo]

Story lines are converging, what will happen when they achieve synchronicity? I predict awesomeness. ^_^

[Cursed Quill]

guardsponie's

guardsponies' [if you mean plural possessive. If singular possessive, guardspony's]

[The almighty bread god]

There comes a time in every reader's life where they must debate to themselves if they read too much.
do I...?
...
nah.
ONWARDS!

[Damaged]

7344835

There comes a time in every writer's life where they must debate to themselves if they write too much.

do I...?

...

nah.

ONWARDS!

FTFY

[Chrome Masquerade]

Shining tilted his head. "You can only feed on love, right?" I nodded. "So she loves you?"

you established that they can feed on happiness somewhat and a few other emotions.

[Damaged]

8800918 They are much less nourishing. It's not really a lie. If a changeling is fed no love, but any other emotion, they will still wither.

[erictheblue]

8800918
reminds me of "shifting melodies" where changelings came in different colors, that liked to feed on other emotions. yellow and red fed on courage and loyalty (i forget which), pinks fed on happiness (and were as weird as Pinkie), and violets fed on...lust.