A Penny for your thought

by Damaged

88 - Petulance

The two identical unicorns stepped up to the front entrance of the hive. "Hi, we are here…"

"… to see Princess Fast Change." They looked to each other, then back to the two drones guarding the place.

"Uh…" This was clearly above their pay grade, thought wise. "Whichever of you is a changeling… you are required to show the cutie mark-"

"Of any pony we copy so as not to…"

"… create confusion." They both giggled and one changed into the form of a changeling drone with a flash of green fire. "But that is only a law-enforcable requirement if the changeling is copying somepony directly. And besides, I gave permission for Stick to copy me."

The second unicorn melted under green fire, becoming an exact copy of the first changeling. "There now, are we allowed to be the same if we are both disguised as changelings?"

Both guards were confused. This kind of thing wasn't what they had signed on for and besides, changelings weren't meant to play tricks on each other!

"Both of you, in your natural forms right now." Fast had stepped up behind Stick and Hay, bopping both playfully on the head.

Two burst of green fire revealed a changeling with scars and marks on her chitin and the original unicorn, still lacking a changeling cutie mark.

One of the guards pointed with a hoof. "Princess, they still don't have their cutie mark right!"

Hay turned back to the guard and poked her tongue out. "This is me, this is my cutie mark!"

Stick leaned into her mate and nuzzled her. "Yup, sorry, we wanted to test how good Hay's shifting had become, since you thought she was a pure changeling, I would say it is good?"

"So you are more and more becoming a changeling? Kneel, Hay." Fast's words rang in all the changeling's minds, but Hay blinked up at the princess. "So, not a drone then. What about you, Stick."

"I would kneel to you if you were queen or not, mom." Stick grinned up at Fast, precociousness in her every feature as she lowered her torso and dipped her head. "My princess."

Fast stepped forward. "How goes the preparations?" Her hoof reached down and ran along Stick's horn, noting the single hole still in it.

"As well as we could hope. Poor Penny is having a little bit of a rough time of it, she keeps getting distracted by the smallest things." Stick tilted her head and nuzzled into the hoof. "I like them, they remind me of what I was, what I am, and what I don't want my foal to ever have to worry about."

Fast gave a little snort. "How are you keeping them?" She herded both her visitors into the hive and left the two guard drones with a little rub on the head each, eliciting chitters of delight.

"Penny helps, she just needs to struggle a little while I feed, it doesn't work as well as if I were actually feeding on the unwilling but gives the effect I want." Stick leans over and kissed Hay on the cheek.

They reached the throne room soon enough. It was more of a lounge all told, but there was still a big chair. Slow Perfection was there, pouring tea into cups. Hay looked at the changeling drone she had met a few times, something seemed off. "What is-"

"Congratulations!" Stick pounced onto Fast, giving the mare a tight hug with her forelegs. "Is he the first of many, or are you going to keep to just one breeder? Do you need drones to be trained to take care of him?" Questions tumbled from the drone, questions Fast was blushing too hard at to answer.

"In order." Slow stepped over and tried to peel the drone from Fast. "None of your business and no." Slow seemed bigger than he had been, the change in stature still confusing Hay.

"What happened? Are you becoming a leader, like my dad?" Hay looked between the three changelings present.

Stick was finally disentangled from Fast Change and bounced around on four stiff legs. "Fast has a breeder!"

Hay reached out with her magic and grabbed the pronking drone and pulled her over. "Answers, now… if it's not too much trouble…" The mare realized she was demanding things of a princess and tempered her words.

"Certain members of the hive believed it was time to grow a little, there is plenty of food here for us, the ponies of Canterlot are as generous as they are loving." Slow seemed much more… in control. Hay smiled at this. "Our wonderful new queen," he stressed the word, "was a little unsure of how things worked. Explanations led to confessions. Confessions led to confiding. Confiding led to-"

"Eggs." Fast gave a deep sigh. "I am going to grow big and slow…" The changeling princess looked at a grinning Slow Perfection, knowing she had walked into a pun. "And I never really wanted this."

"But you are our queen, you are the center of our hive, you are the mother to all." Slow reached a hoof up and rubbed Fast's cheek, getting a grunt from the mare, who turned away.

"I just wanted to protect my ponies." Fast stepped over to her throne and flopped onto it.

"You are going to be a mother, like Penny." Hay smiled and trotted over. "You aren't really my queen, but you will be a good mother. You already are."

The words got a blush from Fast who wanted to look away, to ignore it all. But she couldn't, this was not just expected of her, it was her duty. "Where is the most delicious pony in all Canterlot?"

Stick levitated the tea tray over to them, finishing the job Slow had been working on. "She is meeting her friends, inviting them to the wedding and asking them something important."

"Friends?" Fast sounded mildly interested.

"Silver Lining and Night Watch. Penny is asking them to be guardian to our foal, if anything ever happens to us." Stick hadn't noticed until she lifted a cup to Fast, that the mare had frozen stiff. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Fast's reply certainly didn't sound like 'nothing'. "Life happened, different paths were taken. They are going to be at the wedding, then?"

"I would count on it. Penny can be quite the persuasive mare when she wants to be." Hay reached a hoof up to rub at one of Fast's forelegs in what she hoped was a comforting manner. She hadn't really noticed it, but Fast was now even larger still than a normal pony, she was likely approaching one of the princesses for stature.

Fast actually caught herself chittering. It was something her body seemed to want to do instead of a sigh. "But now I have a bigger family."

"About to get bigger." Slow Perfection grinned, showing fangs and more than a little pride.

Stick snorted. "Such a stallion." It was a teasing insult, and the bigger changeling took it as such.

They were interrupted as a small group of ponies, flanked by some drones, entered the big room. One of them, a mare who looked directly at Fast with more than a little focus, spoke up first. "Lunch is served."

Stick reached over to Hay and leaned in to whisper to her marefriend. "Changeling fans. Some of them even get hooked on being fed from. Part of the reason we charge bits for it, from most ponies, is to… avoid this kind of thing."

Fast was all smiles to the ponies who entered. "Just in time, my two drones are famished."

The look on the mare, suddenly realizing she was not going to be fed on by Princess Fast, was the textbook definition of petulant. "What? They said we would be volunteering to serve as the princess' lunch!"

Slow looked at the mare, identifying her immediately. "Candy Blood, that is not what was said and you well know it." He stepped between the mare and the throne smoothly, his form only a little larger than a regular pony, but it was larger.

"It was!" The voice was shrill and drew a sad sigh from Slow.

"Please leave, you are not welcome. You were invited to serve as lunch in Princess Fast's throne room, that was all." Slow gestured to the door.

The mare was having none of it. "No, I demand the princess feed from me-"

Stick had stepped up, passing Slow. "The princess is very busy, may I, her daughter, be of assistance?"

Confusion reigned. "Her daughter?"

"Stick Farthing is, indeed, Princess Fast Change's daughter." Slow saw the curve Stick was swinging, but he hadn't thought of it himself.

"You were intended to be the choicest of meals for me and my marefriend," Stick gestured to Hay, "we have been so busy seeing mother's will be done, and a regular pony's love is simply not on par with such a pretty mare's."

There was a blush in Candy's features, but she hadn't stormed out yet. "I… I guess that would be true." Her voice gained in reassurance as she spoke, rising. "It appears there was a misunderstanding."

Stick beamed up and leaned against the mare, suddenly dragging her fangs along the noble mare's neck. Candy practically folded in a heap as Stick began to feed on her. "Come, my mate, this one is absolutely delicious."

Hay tried to play along, but she was no actor. Stick had clearly been playing what Hay had heard the drone call 'The Game'. Stick got her meal, the mare looked over the moon to be feeding her and Hay… Hay could practically smell the pleasure the noble scion took in being fed from. Hay moved up on Candy's other side, leaning in and drank slowly, dragging out the feeding.

By the time the two had fed and fully recovered their energies from the earlier games, there were four wobbly-legged mares to be led from the room.

"I called you daughter, at first, because we both needed to hear it, but Stick, you are better at handling nobles than I am." Fast looked amused at it. "Do you think you could write a careful letter to their family, thanking them for the frequent and repeated gifts, but somehow make sure it conveys the message that we don't need them quite as often."

Stick gave a little bow of her head. "I could visit them myself, if you would rather. It certainly would convey how highly I am sure you think of them."

"Don't play games with me, daughter." Fast reached down and rubbed the changeling drone's head. "A mother should not look weak to her daughter, and in this game you would beat me. But yes, a visit would be better, if you can spare the time."

"You need to teach me that." Slow cut in on them, slumping down beside the throne. "How did you know she would react so well to that ploy?"

"It's The Game." Stick grinned, reaching a hoof out to bop the slumped breeder on the nose. "If I had a cutie mark it would likely have to do with it."

Slow reached out with both front legs, grabbing Stick and giving the drone a hug.

"Hay, that's my mare!" Hay herself jumped in and hugged too, leaving Fast to frown a touch, excluding herself from the familiar reassurances.

Magic wrapped the queen changeling. She was gripped tight in the hold of multiple horns and dragged off the throne and into a big, tight, squeeze. "What I…"

No words were given as excuse for their actions, the two pure-bred changelings and the half-changeling giving their princess, lover, mother, and friend the hug she looked like she needed.

Author's Note:

Aww, changeling queens are really just big snuggly monsters who need a hug, it is true!

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Comments

[Dravkwn]

Baby changelings! We knew Fast Change had it in her. 'It' being Slow Perfection.

[Damaged]

7046854 Heh, you do know about the mature version of this, right?

[tsaukpaetra]

From what we know, it's probably a good thing Fast feels a touch inadequate. We wonder if her pony genetics will still be able to contribute to the offspring?
It's cute she still has feelings for her would-be herd.
Keep going! ;)

[No one is home]

[Damaged]

7046921 RIP, God.

[Boulder]

"I… I guess that would be true." He voice gained in reassurance as she spoke, rising. "It appears there was a misunderstanding."

'Her' I think but I'm not sure?
7046921 And geez how did you come across that one? very few PMV's fit songs long that so well.
7046964 Fast misses her past & maybe something of a future that now can't be.

[Damaged]

7047033 Thanks, all fixed. Fast may have some regrets, but the regrets are crowded out from time to time by snugly changelings.

[harts fire]

did somepony say huggy time?

[Vutava]

This was clearly above their pay grade, thought wise.

thought-wise

But that is only a law-enforcable requirement if the changeling is copying somepony directly.

law-enforceable

"How goes the preparations?"

Should be go, but grammar rules don't have to fully apply to speech.

"In order." Slow stepped over and tried to peel the drone from Fast. "None of your business and no."

He didn't answer the third question.

[Cursed Quill]

"How goes the preparations?"

go

snugly monsters

snuggly

[Damaged]

7251236 I will point out, Snuggly isn't even recognized by most dictionaries (Oxford for example).

[erictheblue]

Stick reached over to Hay and leaned in to whisper to her marefriend. "Changeling fans. Some of them even get hooked on being fed from. Part of the reason we charge bits for it, from most ponies, is to… avoid this kind of thing."

oh, that made me think of the "vampire groupies" in a couple of Diskworld books...

[Chrome Masquerade]

Okay, the clone prank was hilarious!