145. Biology of Love
Twilight yawned as she awoke, and immediately realized that there was another pony sleeping beside her. However, unlike how she would have reacted in the past, instead of backing away in embarrassment and shock, she moved closer and hugged him tighter.
Just laying with Arthas like that was amazing to Twilight. Feeling the warmth of his body, his heartbeat, breathing his scent, and knowing that they were together. “Not to mention how good kissing feels,” Twilight thought, giggling into his neck.
She must have woke up Arthas by doing so, as she felt him stirr. A moment later, she heard him murmur: “Good morning.”
Twilight smiled and pulled back a bit. “Good morning,” she replied, looking into his eyes.
His sea green eyes looked back at her with warmth. “I could just drown in them…” she thought dreamily.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked her.
“Mhm…” Twilight purred in reply.
Arthas inched his muzzle closer to hers, and Twilight instantaneously moved hers closer as well. As they kissed, it once again struck Twilight how… right this felt. As if it was meant to be. “Almost as if our cutie marks were us kissing,” Twilight thought, stifling a giggle.
“I’d love nothing more than staying like this forever,” she murmured as they finally broke the kiss.
Arthas chuckled warmly. “Me too. But we need to get back to Ponyville.”
Twilight nodded, a bit reluctantly. “I know. Nymph is going to tell us about changelings. And besides, we have to see Spike and the others…”
Twilight eyes snapped wide open. “The others!” she thought, her sleepiness gone.
“Oh no, this will be horrible!” Twilight exclaimed out-loud, sitting up.
“What? What is it?” Arthas asked, alarmed.
She turned to him, worried. “Can you imagine how smug everypony will be when they hear we are together? After all those months of them saying that we should, and us telling them that we shouldn’t or couldn’t?”
Arthas opened his mouth… then closed it, along with his eyes. “Twilight…” he groaned, facehoofing.
“What?” she asked, baffled by his reaction.
He sighed and turned to her. “You are lying in bed with a mass murderer, who personally destroyed three kingdoms, committed patricide, regicide, and near genocide, but it is our friend’s reaction to our relationship that concerns you. I love you, Twilight, but you really should revise your priorities.”
Twilight blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry… I suppose you're right,” she said. “Even though you aren’t the pony who committed all those things anymore,” she added, frowning at him. “But it’s just… I’ve never been in a relationship before,” Twilight explained. “It’s all new to me, and everypony saying ‘told you so’, ‘we were right’, and ‘I knew this would happen’ for months won’t help me get used to this.”
His expression softened. “I understand that it might be… intimidating,” he said, wrapping his foreleg around her. “But won’t all those remarks of theirs be proof of how much they care about us and want us to be happy?”
“Well… I suppose,” she admitted unhappily. “But knowing that won’t make it easier to endure it. Not to mention everything Rainbow Dash could say.”
“What do you mean?” Arthas asked, confused.
She looked at him sternly. “One pony in this bed had been having a sort of relationship with Rainbow,” she reminded him. “Now the other pony will be hearing jokes like ‘I taught him this and that’.” Twilight blushed at the images that appeared in her head as she said that. “Even though we hadn’t…” she trailed off, embarrassed.
Despite that she was dead certain that she loved Arthas, Twilight didn’t feel ready for that aspect of a relationship quite yet. She was relieved that Arthas seemed to know that and she hadn’t had to embarrass herself by explaining this, and instead they just simply went to bed and fell asleep last night.
He reached to her cheek with his hoof. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know.”
“I know,” Twilight sighed. “Though seeing how you and-”
She stopped when she saw Arthas rub his temples and sigh. “I shouldn’t have agreed to any of that…”
“Why did you?” Twilight asked him. This was something that she needed to talk about with him. “I mean, I know that back in Altomare we had agreed that it would be best that we’d remain as just friends, and I even told Rainbow that you are…‘free game’, but it didn’t mean that you had to start having sex with her. Or with that sea pony you never met.”
“I know,” Arthas said, sounding both tired and embarrassed. “I… it’s difficult to recall what exactly I was thinking, but… I think I had several reasons for… that. One of them was that I was curious about such life. Before I held that cursed blade and became a death knight, I was expected to act with honor and to live up to certain standards… you know, because I was a paladin knight,” he added quickly. “Here in Equestria I felt greater freedom than I had back on Azeroth, so getting into those sort of relationship held a captivating element for me. Even though after some time I decided that it wasn’t for me. Another reason was that I hoped that it would help me put you out of my head,” Arthas said, smiling weakly. “Even though I thought that you were right, that it would be best if we remained friends, it wasn’t easy with those feelings. However…” he started and hesitated. “... the most important reason I had was that I hoped… it would cause you to distance yourself from me. Because I felt that you shouldn’t love me,” he added, sighing.
“Because of what you’ve done in your past life?” Twilight asked, somehow managing to not roll her eyes.
But to her surprise, Arthas shook his head. “No… or rather, it wasn’t just that. You see…” he trailed off, sounding even more embarrassed. “I thought that I initially developed feelings for you because you reminded me so much of Jaina.”
“Jaina?” Twilight asked, blinking in surprise. “You mean your ex-girlfriend? The sorceress from Dalaran?” she added when Arthas nodded. Twilight wasn’t sure what to say to that. “You did mention once that we would get along,” she recalled, trying to collect her thoughts. “Are we really that alike?”
Arthas chuckled warmly. “You two are so alike that it’s eerie. You both love books, are dedicated to your studies, are masters of magic, are friendly and kind to others… For a long time, when I’d try to imagine Jaina in Equestria, somehow transformed into a pony like me… she’d look exactly like you in my mind. However,” he suddenly said, smiling to Twilight, “after some time, I realized that there are plenty of differences between you. You are… Light, I don’t even find words to describe it. You are somehow more easygoing than Jaina at some situations, and more strict in others, depending on the need of it. You panic over things that to most would be silly, and you are more… hm, violent,” he finished, smirking. Twilight glared at him, but allowed him to continue. “You also like different foods - aside from apples - and I don’t mean just hay and stuff. Trust me, you’d hate Dalaran Sharp. But above all else,” Arthas added, reaching to Twilight. She felt a pleasant shiver as he caressed her cheek, “you can do something Jaina, or anybody else, never could. Reign me in,” he finished, smiling.
Twilight couldn’t help but smile, despite blushing furiously hearing that. A part of her mind wondered how would Rainbow Dash laugh about Arthas being whipped, but she quickly silenced those thoughts.
“I wouldn’t say I can reign you in,” she said, smiling awkwardly. “Remember how I was angry when Chrysalis sent Wind Reaver to the Abbey? I would say it was rather you who reigned me.”
“It was a special case,” Arthas objected. “You, your brother and your sister-in-law have suffered because of her, so it was natural that you… hm…”
“Hated her?” Twilight suggested.
“I was going to say ‘didn’t trust her’, but I suppose that fits as well. And as for me, well, while I was naturally enraged by what she had done to you, I am a bit older and more experienced than you, so I know that letting one’s anger control you isn’t the right way. Not to mention that somepony very dear to me, along with her friends, had taught me how powerful the magic of friendship can be,” he added, making her once again blush.
“Sure it had nothing to do with how you had kissed her?” she asked teasingly, looking at him through narrowed eyes.
Twilight smirked seeing him sigh and roll his eyes. “I’m not getting into that argument.”
“Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”
“Do you see what I mean?” Arthas asked. “That right there, that comment that made me stop to sigh; the way you pull me by my ear when I annoy you with something. You do those little things and it makes me want to obey you, and… I just love that about you.” He leaned closer to her, so close that their noses touched. “All those differences…it might have taken me a while to realize it, but I hadn’t fallen in love with you just because you share some similarities with Jaina. I’ve fallen in love with Twilight Sparkle, who has many wonderful traits about her, some of which she shares with Jaina. I’ve fallen in love with Twilight, who was the first to offer me friendship in a long time.” Twilight couldn’t hear anything besides his voice and see anything besides his eyes. “I’ve fallen in love with Twilight, who loves me despite who I used to be.”
“Sweet talker,” Twilight replied after a few seconds teasingly. “How long have you been preparing this speech?”
“I just said what’s in my heart,” Arthas said, smiling, then winked. “That part I actually thought beforehoof.”
“Oh, shut up,” she told him before kissing him.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you with my behaviour,” Arthas told her after the kiss.
“You are forgiven,” Twilight said, resuming kissing. “Always… and completely…”
They both fell back on the bed soon, continuing to kiss for several more moments. Afterwards they just laid there, content. A part of Twilight would have been perfectly content staying in her old bed for much longer, but they couldn’t.
Arthas was the one to brought that up. “We should start getting ready to leave.”
“Mhm,” Twilight hummed in answer, a bit unhappy.
“We’re supposed to meet up with Nymph and Wind Reaver in your library at noon, and it’s already…” he paused to glance at a clock. “Past ten. And we still have to pick up Doctor Angelic Touch.”
“And your paladins.”
“I know.”
“Really?” Twilight asked humorously. “So you didn’t forget about them yesterday and let them wait for you in the Night Guard barracks?”
“I sent a guard to inform them about a change of plans,” Arthas replied, sticking his tongue out.
Twilight rolled her eyes, already knowing that he wouldn’t forget about his paladins like that, and began to rise. “So, um, about what we talked earlier,” she started, wanting to make sure they were on the same page regarding this, “about our friends…”
Arthas sighed. “You really want to hide this from everypony? I know they would make fun of us, but they would be also happy for us.”
“I know, but…” Twilight began.
“Well,” Arthas interrupted her, adding: “besides your brother.”
Twilight deadpanned at him, but quickly shook her head and continued. “Just… I’d like to keep us a secret for a short while,” Twilight pleaded. “Give me some time to get used to being in a relationship, then I’ll be much more comfortable listening to their jibes.”
She looked into his eyes, wondering how he would reply. “If he really won’t like it,” she thought, “then it can’t be helped…”
Her train of thoughts trailed off as she saw Arthas sight and close his eyes, then smile and begin to chuckle. “What’s so funny?” Twilight asked, confused.
“Nothing, just…” Arthas began, looking at her and taking her hoof. “You’d have been a great princess, Twilight,” he said, kissing her on the hoof. “I can’t seem to deny you anything.”
The sun had long since been risen by Princess Celestia by the time Big Mac woke up. The big red stallion, unused to sleeping in for so long, glanced at the window to gauge what time it was, before turning his head back to the other side of the bed and hugging tighter…
Nymph.
When they have finally fallen asleep last night, she had her back turned to him, and his one foreleg wrapped around her. Big Mac smiled as he saw that at some point during her sleep, Nymph had hugged his hoof with her forelegs.
He briefly pondered on why he wasn’t bothered at all with how different she was from him. When other ponies would learn that the two of them became a couple, many would probably think him to be some sort of pervert. With her chitin, blue pupiless eyes, insectoid wings, no hair whatsoever, and some… less obvious differences. “Although it’s not like Ah was actually into that,” Big Mac thought, shaking his head.
Despite all that, there was no change in his feelings for Nymph from when he had only seen her in her unicorn form. And even though they hadn’t known each other for too long… Big Mac couldn’t imagine life without her.
The changeling stirred and yawned. Big Mac frowned, as he didn’t want to wake her up, but quickly brightened up as she opened her eyes and looked at him.
“Hi,” she whispered, gazing at him with affection.
Instead of replying, Big Mac leaned to kiss her. He knew very well that, with her ability to sense feelings, this would convey his emotions far better than a simple word. And so Big Mac kissed her, not disturbed at all by her fangs; as during the course of the last night he had gotten completely used to them.
“Last night was amazing,” Nymph sighed contently after the kiss, while Big Mac moved to nibble down her neck. “I… have never done that in my real form,” she confessed, sounding embarrassed. “In a way, this was my first time… I’m glad it was with you,” Nymph said, looking back at him. Big Mac noticed that she blinked as he continued to move down her neck. “Oh, you were… um, Big Mac,” she smiled awkwardly, “I did mention last night it takes some time for me to begin feeling through my chitin. You should have told me you, um, started.”
She indeed had mentioned that. Big Mac recalled her explaining that her nerves whatsit would drill through her chitin when aroused, or something along those lines. But Big Mac didn’t let that discourage him. “And besides,” he thought mischievously, moving further down, “Ah have an idea…”
On Nymph’s back, there were two small nubs, through which her wings were attached to her body. Big Mac hadn’t taken a closer look at them yet, but he was wondering that, since those moved her wings, were covered by thinner chitin to make them more flexible. “And if that’s the case…” Big Mac thought as he nibble one of the nubs.
Squeaks that Nymph uttered briefly worried him, but as it quickly turned into moans, he relaxed and resumed his caress. Big Mac slowly increased his efforts in pleasing her, moving from one nub to another, and even licked her wings. Nymph, however, wasn’t completely satisfied, as soon he felt her pushing the forehoof he was hugging her with down.
When they had finished, Nymph was breathing heavily. Big Mac smiled seeing the effect he had on her, but before he could do anything else, his lover turned around and crawled on top of him, pressing her nose against his.
She stayed silent and just looked into his eyes for a moment. “You… you’re wonderful, you know that?” she finally said, a bit hesitantly. Big Mac kissed her, happy with her praise. “I… need to be in Twilight’s library at noon…” she said after the kiss. “You know, tell them all about…” she trailed off, sounding almost drowsy. Since Big Mac knew what she spoke of, he nodded. “But I think we have enough time for a bath… What do you think?”
“Eeyup,” was all that Big Mac said.
“Ah, it’s good to be home!” Twilight exclaimed as she trotted towards the Golden Oak’s Library’s door.
Arthas smiled, seeing her happy, before he turned back. “Guard, Tucker, you two can go back to the Abbey,” he told the two paladins as they jumped down from the chariot. He then addressed the two pegasi that had pulled it. “Royal Guards, your orders are to wait for Doctor Angelic, correct?”
However, it was the Royal Physician who replied to him. “Do you expect me to trot back to Canterlot?” she said as she and Twilight entered the library.
“I assumed you can teleport,” Arthas replied, trotting after them after nodding to the pegasi royal guards.
Angelic Touch was about to reply, but she was interrupted by Spike, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, as they greeted Twilight.
“Hi everypony,” Arthas told them as he closed the door behind him. “Nymph and Wind aren’t here yet?”
Their friends were sitting around a table, on which there were some cookies, several teacups and a pot of presumable tea. “No,” Spike replied to his question, reaching for a cookie as Arthas, Twilight, and Angelic sat on the empty seats beside them.
“Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy,” Twilight began, “this is Doctor Angelic Touch, the Princesses’ Royal Physician. Spike and I knew her back from my school in Canterlot.”
As the mares exchanged greetings, Arthas found his attention drawn to Fluttershy. There was something… odd about her, but he couldn’t put his hoof what exactly it was...
Pinkie’s voice snapped his attention back to the conversation. “Aw, so you’re going right back to Canterlot? Pity. Okay then, more importantly;” she said, looking at Arthas and Twilight with a serious expression, “now that everypony in Equestria knows we have here two changelings, can I finally throw them a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party?”
“I… suppose?” Arthas said uncertainly.
“Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow and the girls won’t be back for a couple of days,” Twilight reminded her. “You do plan to throw this party after they come back from their camping trip right?”
“Of course!” Pinkie replied happily.
“Actually,” Arthas started, “Serenity is supposed to return from the Crystal Empire two days after they get back from their trip-”
“Oh, that’s great!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I can throw a ‘Welcome to Ponyville / Welcome back to Ponyville’ party! And it will be so great to see Serenity again; I feel like I hadn’t seen her in almost two years. Huh, weird…”
He was about to ask her why she felt like that, as Serenity wasn’t gone for even a month, but at that moment they all heard knocking on the door. Twilight opened it with her magic, revealing the two changelings.
“Come in,” she said, then looked with surprise at the changelings beside Wind Reaver. Arthas couldn’t blame her; he too was surprised to see Nymph in her real form. “Nymph? I thought you weren’t comfortable with walking around ponies without your unicorn disguise.”
“Yes, well… I’ve lately received a confidence boost, so to speak,” Nymph replied, smiling a bit awkwardly.
The snort Wind Reaver uttered had probably not helped her feel more comfortable, judging by the short, disappointed glare she gave him.
“Looks like her date with Big Macintosh went well,” Arthas thought, feeling happy for the two. He looked at Twilight, and saw her smiling, as she too had figured out the reason behind Nymph’s “confidence boost”.
A part of him wished that they too could make their relationship known to others, though it would probably be revealed in a less subtle method, but if keeping this a secret for some time would help Twilight get used to it, then he was fine with it. “Even though I really hate the idea of courting in secret again,” Arthas thought, before returning his attention to the present moment.
Nymph, who had stopped glaring at Wind, resumed: “Still, it wasn’t easy coming all the way here, but I think I’m going to slowly get used to it.”
“That’s great to hear,” Fluttershy said, smiling.
Angelic cleared her throat. “That’s great to hear,” she began, “but could we perhaps get to the point of this meeting?”
“Of course,” Nymph said enthusiastically. “Where would you like me to start?”
“I would prefer to learn about your biology first, so that later I can zone out and let Twilight record and make notes of the rest,” Angelic said airily. Her horn began to glow and from her saddle bag came a notepad, a pencil, and a small sphere that she placed before the two changelings. “To be more precise, I hoped you could explain to me about your cells’ molecular structure. You see, we had run some tests…”
“This will be fun,” Arthas thought sarcastically.
About twenty minutes worth of Nymph’s explanations later, Doctor Angelic got her answer. Arthas, for all the knowledge he had gained in his previous life, wasn’t certain if he understood half of it correctly. The fact that he considered most of this part to be really boring hadn’t helped him focus. “I’m certain that from Azeroth, only Kel’Thuzad and Putricide would have found this interesting. And maybe Jaina, but only because she loved to study,” he noted, glancing at Twilight, who was also making notes. Pinkie and Fluttershy, on the other hoof, looked confused and bored; and so was Wind Reaver to a degree, much to Arthas’ amusement.
“So, to sum up,” Angelic began to say, glancing at her notes, “your entire body is made out of magic that took the form of a flesh?”
“That’s really simplifying it,” Nymph said, although she nodded her head. “Every living being on Equestria is magical in nature. We changelings are just… a more extreme case. It’s because of that characteristic that we are all able to completely change our bodies. We don’t know the reason for it; it could be that we are some sort of constructs that somehow evolved into biological beings, or that we were subjugated to some bizarre changes.” Nymph shrugged. “It is because of our unusual biology that we feed on love, but we cannot even be sure if we had developed our diet after our our bodies changed, or if this diet is what caused those changes.”
“Which brings me to my next question,” Angelic said. “How do you ‘feed on love’?”
“It’s quite simple, actually,” Nymph replied. “When ponies - as well as members of other races, of course - develop feelings for another, they focus their thoughts on them, and attach themselves emotionally, it causes their magic to ‘reach out’. Well,” she amended, “it’s actually the ‘magic of love’, but that’s still their magic. It’s not an amount that’d cause any visible loss to a pony, and it seldom causes any noticeable effects. However, there were a few rare cases that, for example, the love between two lovers had created a bond that allows them to communicate telepathically without even trying.”
“Yes, that’s a known fact,” Angelic nodded. “Even though a lot of those lovers simply think they know the other well enough to imagine their reply.”
“When a changeling takes shape of somebody’s affection,” Nymph continued, as if she hadn’t been interrupted, “their love reaches to the changeling. We absorb their love, or more correctly, their magic of love, and feed on it.”
“How does your gastrointestinal tract work?” the doctor asked without missing a beat.
The changeling pondered her question, seemingly hesitant. “Hm, how it would be best to explain it… the changelings… don’t actually have a gastrointestinal tract,” she finally said, making everypony stare in surprise. “We don’t have stomachs, bowels, and the, um… the end of the gastrointestinal tract,” she finished, smiling sheepishly.
Angelic was so utterly stunned that Twilight had to be the one to ask the next question. “Then how do you gain energy from love?” she questioned, obviously also shocked.
“A changeling heart converts the love into nutrients and stores them,” Nymph explained. “We still need the oxygen to convert those nutrients into energy, like all living beings, and then our cardiovascular system distributes them through our body. However-”
“Excuse me,” Doctor Angelic, who managed to snap out of her shock, interrupted her. “Did you just say that you store the love you steal from ponies in your hearts?”
“Um, yes?” Nymph confirmed, confused. “Changelings have hearts, it’s located in the middle of a chest in between lungs-”
“No, it’s not that,” Angelic cut her off, waving her hoof. “It’s just… that it sounds like something out of fairy tale.”
Arthas, who had been thinking the same thing, was inclined to agree on that statement. “Equestria never ceases to amaze me,” he mused.
The other ponies seemed to share Angelic’s opinion. Pinkie even nodded. “Yeah - or something out of a fanfiction.”
Arthas frowned, confused. “What’s a fan-”
“More importantly,” Doctor Angelic interrupted him, turning to Nymph, “what was it that you were saying? That your hearts are located in the middle of the chest, between lungs?”
“Yes, that’s correct.” Nymph sit up straighter, puffing up her chest and poking right in the middle. “It allows our cardiovascular system to transmit blood across our body more efficiently. Also, it makes it easier to exchange hearts during the Lifemates Bonding Ceremony-”
“I’m sorry, WHAT?!”
Arthas grabbed his ears as Angelic’s shout nearly deafened him. Spike reacted in similar manner, and Fluttershy looked so startled that he was surprised that she hadn’t hid under the table. “Not the only thing to be surprised about around here,” Arthas thought, turning his attention back to the changeling.
“I was going to bring this up during the second part of our interview,” Nymph began. “When two changelings are in love and want to become lifemates, they partake in the Lifemates Bonding Ceremony. Of course,” she added, a bit hesitantly, “both changelings have to be mature to undergo it.”
With her pupiless eyes it was difficult to say, but Arthas was sure that she had glanced at Wind Reaver.
“The Ceremony resembles your weddings. At the end of it, our Queen exchanges the hearts of two changelings. This creates an unbreakable bond between the lovers, allowing them to communicate telepathically freely, no matter the distance or magical interference.”
“So that’s why he’s so angry all the time,” Arthas suddenly understood, glancing at Wind Reaver. “If he and his intended mate had been a little older, he would have been able to find her long ago.”
Now more than ever Arthas felt for the changeling, as well as was amazed. He could only imagine how infuriating this must be for Wind, and yet, aside from a few episodes, he was acting quite calm and collected, given the circumstances.
“It also ensures that neither lover will outlive the other,” Nymph continued. “Due to their bond, when one of them dies, be it of old age or other causes, the other will too.”
“What?” Fluttershy exclaimed, covering her mouth. “But that’s horrible!”
The others looked as appalled as her, even Doctor Angelic, but the changelings shook their heads.
“To a changeling, there’s nothing worse than loneliness,” Nymph said. “The Swarm is like a big family, and we all consider each other as such. Not to say we all like everyling,” she added; Arthas noted that her voice sounded sad for a heartbeat there. “Or that we all get along perfectly. But from what we know, that’s alike to how pony families, especially the big ones, work.”
“I suppose…” Twilight said slowly; Arthas wondered if there was somepony in her family she didn’t get along with. “But what does this have to do with you dying at the same time as their loved ones?”
“It’s quite simple, really. Like I said, there’s nothing worse than loneliness for a changeling. The mere thought of having to live without the one we love the most, who is an inseparable part of our live is… well...” she trailed off, looking for the right word.
“A living hell,” Wind Reaver finished for her. “Which is why most of the Swarm fears I’m going to go insane at some point.”
“I suppose this reasoning has its point,” Arthas thought while Fluttershy and Pinkie tried to offer Wind some words of sympathy. He glanced at Twilight. “I certainly wouldn’t want to outlive her…”
“Thanks, but I’m fine. Mostly,” Wind added, waving his hoof at the two mares casually. “I believe we will find her, sooner or later, and I get to cut whoever is responsible into several pieces. Or maybe I’ll flay them first,” he mused, scratching his chin.
“I would advise you to go to attend some therapy,” Angelic said, but then she shrugged, “but you seem to be dealing with this well. Anyway,” she said as she turned back to Nymph, “could you finish telling us about all the other biological systems? Also, you’ve mentioned about dying of old age earlier. How long do the changelings live? And is your life cycle different from ponies?”
Nymph seemed to not be troubled by the number of questions. “Of course. Like I said, we also have lungs; our respiratory system isn’t different from those of ponies. The same can be said about our muscular system and nervous system, aside from a greater number of nerves around our hearts. Also, they’re not connected to our chitin.” She lifted a hoof. “Our chitin is extremely durable, capable of withstanding great pressure and heat, though not to the degree the crystal ponies’ coats can. Under them, we have a very fragile skin. In rare cases when our chitin would get punctured, the skin under it would too, most likely. Our chitin also serves to help us hide from various methods of magical detection; only warding spells that were placed with an intention to detect just changelings can spot us, and until recently they did not always work.”
“Well, you did leave plenty of samples of your magic in Canterlot,” Angelic pointed out. “It helped us to better calibrate the warding spells.”
“Anyway, due to the lack of the nerves in the chitin, we cannot feel anything through it. However,” she added, suddenly sounding embarrassed, “in the event of a changeling getting, well, aroused, the nerve ends in the skin would grow and puncture through the chitin, letting the changeling receive greater pleasure from the partner.“ Nymph paused to clear her throat. “As for the rest of our internal organs… we have no kidneys, liver, or a bladder. Because every part of our bodies are made out of the love magic, even our blood, urinating would make us waste love, so we don’t do it. We also don’t sweat or cry; we have no lacrimal glands. Hm, what’s next…” Nymph pondered briefly; Arthas glanced at Twilight and Angelic. Both of them were taking notes of every word the changeling had said, moving their quills with magic seemingly without any effort. “Contrary to popular pony belief, we do have bones; however, we only possess axial skeletons. We don’t have bones in our legs,” she added, lifting a foreleg again. “The holes in them allow us to form our claws.”
As soon as those words left her mouth, green substance emerged from those holes and in a blink of an eye, it took the same shape of a blade-like claw. “Exactly like Wind had done,” Arthas noted, recalling his sparring fight with the changeling in the Crystal Empire.
“We have miniatures pores located in the chitin in those holes,allowing us to form our claws,” Nymph explained. “The amber quickly hardens upon contact with the air, making our claws about as durable as our chitin. However, retracting it requires from the changeling to use magic. Less magically talented changelings need help with it,” she said as her horn glowed, making the claw dissolve and retract back into her foreleg.
“By ‘less magically talented’,” Wind spoke up, “she means the changelings who completely suck at it. What?” he asked when Nymph looked at him disapprovingly. He pointed at himself. “I know only the basic spells and have no problems with retracting my claws.”
Nymph shook her head and turned back to the ponies. “Where was I… Since we’re back on the subject of our exterior...” she said and turned around, showing them her back. Her wings buzzed briefly. “They’re obviously more delicate than pegasi or griffon’s wings, and are prone to damage. However, we have great regenerative ability. Everyling can easily regrow their wings, although the process isn’t exactly pleasant.”
“Yep,” Wind once again interjected. His wings buzzed. “Stings like a bitch.”
Nymph closed her eyes and breathed deeply, probably uncomfortable and annoyed with Wind Reaver interrupting her and cursing.
“You lost your wings?” Fluttershy asked, worried. “How? I-If you don’t mind me asking, I mean.”
“Was helping warriors chase off a dragon from the Dread Wastes,” he replied, shrugging. “It was about four years ago. I got hit by the dragon’s flames in the back.”
“The speed with which changeling’s wings would regrowth depends on the amount of love the changeling had stored,” Nymph resumed. “Of course, another changeling can always transfer love to them, or assist their regeneration with a healing spell. We can also regrow other parts of our body, as long as we have enough love, though regenerating organs takes much more out of us. And since we are on the subject of love again; we possess an ability called ‘burning love’. It allows us to convert love for energy at much quicker pace, increasing our strength, speed, and the force of our magic. However, not only does this make us lose love rapidly, but it also puts an enormous strain on our heart. If a changeling continues to burn love for too long, they could even die, which is why we don’t use this ability too often.”
“I wonder if Chrysalis was using it during our fight,” Arthas pondered, recalling her overwhelming strength.
Nymph also appeared to be pondering something briefly as well. “Getting back to the topic of the wings… um, our tegulas,” she said as she turned around once again and pointed at the tiny nubs on her back from which her wings grew, “are the only part of our body where our skin is exposed. Though it’s harder than the skin under our chitin, it’s still very touch-sensitive. Because of that, we… don’t let just anyling touch us there,” she explained, sounding embarrassed. “In most cases, touching a changeling’s tegulas without permission results in getting hit by them. And mostly, only the changeling’s lifemate can touch them. In fact,” Nymph added scratching the back of her head, “nibbling a changeling’s tegula is considered amongst us the same as your proposal. If the other changeling won’t hit them, well, they’re engaged.”
“Interesting,” Angelic mused, looking at her notes and underlining something. “Since engagement usually leads to procreation…” she trailed off, obviously meaning for Nymph to continue.
“Well… as for male’s reproductive system, it’s not that different from a pony’s.”
“Except the changeling’s penis is bigger,” Wind added, giving a sage nod.
Though Arthas rolled his eyes, he noticed that Nymph sighed, Fluttershy blushed, Pinkie snorted with laughter, Spike seemed confused, Twilight deadpanned… and Doctor Angelic looked under the table.
“Doctor, I hope you don’t plan on asking what I think you’re going to ask,” Arthas said.
Angelic Touch raised her head, a bit embarrassed, but it was Wind who replied him. “Having insecurities? Or are you just afraid you’ll get complexes?” he added, smirking.
“I’m not even going to dignify that with a reply,” Arthas replied calmly. He then glanced at Spike and turned to Twilight. “This reminds me… is this an appropriate topic to be discussed with, um, well…”
“Oh, for the love of…” Spike exclaimed loudly. “You guys know I also live in this library, right? And that there are plenty of books about this? And that after what happened in Altomare I wanted some answers?”
“Oh!” Twilight exclaimed, surprised. She looked at Arthas, very clearly abashed. “I... guess it’s okay then?”
He shrugged and turned to back to the changelings. Thankfully, Angelic didn’t ask them to show their privates.
“The male changeling’s genitals are within the body,” Nymph continued her explanation, “which is about the only difference from most pony kinds other than sea ponies. Similarly to them, as well as dragons, the penis emerges when the male is aroused. The female reproductive system is a bit more different.”
“Because you lay eggs?” Angelic hinted; her voice sounded almost hopeful to Arthas.
Nymph nodded. “Yes. We’re also fertile all the time, unlike other creatures. However, since females all place magical protection on themselves and, when they’d try to conceive they would remove it, you could say that we have a private breeding season of sorts that’s triggered by magic. After the egg cell is fertilized, the egg forms within a couple of days and the mother lays it. Sometimes she lays more than just one egg, but those cases are rare. Our eggs look like this,” she added, using her magic to create a projection.
Intrigued, Arthas looked at it closely. The egg was much smaller than a nerubian one; in fact, he was almost certain than it was smaller than a newborn foal would be. It was oval and grayish-greenish-bluish in color.
“After a month, the egg hatches,” Nymph continued “and a larva emerges.”
The projection of the egg disappeared and was replaced by… one of the weirdest examples of just how weird this world was.
“Wow, it’s so cute,” Fluttershy exclaimed, leaning a bit closer to the projection.
“It… sorta is,” Arthas admitted. “And at the same time, creepy.”
The changeling larva wasn’t black, as its chitin-clad adult form was. Instead, it was white. Its head was the biggest part of its body, with big blue eyes and a mouth that looked like a mix between pony’s muzzle and insect’s mouthpieces, with two very small mandibles that when closed - as Nymph made her projection open and close its mouth, as well as move around - would make the larva’s head almost seem like a pony’s. When opened, it revealed a tongue that brought to Arthas’ mind a resemblance to butterfly’s tongue (“What was it called? Pro- something…”), only much shorter. There was also a small horn on the larvae’s head.
The rest of its body bore resemblance to a caterpillar. It didn’t have legs, only an oblong torso. It wasn’t segmented like caterpillars, but the larva moved in a similar manner to it, reaching out ot with the head and pulling the rest.
“Changelings stay in the form of larvae for five years,” Nymph continued. “During that time, they are being cared for and supervised at all time, all while their consciousness slowly forms and their bodies grow.” The image disappeared and was replaced with a bigger one, almost the size of an adult changeling. Soon, that one too disappeared, and a bigger, dark green blob bearing the same general shape appeared. “When they reach the age of five, they wrap themselves in cocoons. The metamorphosis takes a year; it takes that amount of time for the larvae to reform their body and mind. When they emerge as drones, they’re physical form is not different from an adult changeling.” The projection disappeared completely. ‘However, the drone has a mentality of a toddler. Its mind slowly develops its intelligence and personality while the drone is being trained in various functions changelings perform in the Hive or in the world that I’ll cover soon. Ten years after emerging from the cocoon, the drone reaches an imago state, meaning that it’s considered an adult changeling. The changeling then chooses their name based on their personality and the job they feel is best suited for them in the Swarm.”
“Wow, that’s just simply fascinating,” Twilight exclaimed. “You two were really once those larvaes?”
“Yes, though we don’t remember much from it, just like you can’t remember much from your early foalhood. Also…” Nymph added and briefly hesitated. “I actually once held Wind Reaver in my forehooves when he was a larva.”
“Really?!” everypony, Arthas included, asked in surprise.
Wind sighed. “Could you not walk around telling ponies about it? It’s sort of embarrassing. I can already hear Rainbow’s jibes...” he muttered.
“How did that happen?” Twilight asked Nymph.
“As I said, as drones we have to train in all the tasks Swarm members perform. That means working in the Nursery and Incubation Chambers. And as Mo- I mean, Queen Chrysalis’ heir, I often accompanied her during my free time. Taking care of eggs and larvae is one of her most important and favorite duties,” she added, seeing the confusion on ponies faces.
“Really?” Twilight asked, bewildered, but then she cleared her throat and tried more politely. “I don’t mean to offend your mother, Nymph, but she doesn’t really… well, looks like she likes taking care of babies.”
Wind Reaver snorted loudly with laughter. Nymph smirked as well. “As her heir, I might be her adopted daughter, but she is in truth mother to us all. Everyling you’d ever meet has been held by her both as egg and larvae, heard her singing, telling bedtime stories, or just played with her. I understand that it might be hard to picture, especially given how you met Mother, but if you’d ever see her with a larva you’d see another side of her.”
“I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t want us to see that other side of her,” Arthas mused, but kept that comment to himself.
Out loud, however, he asked: “So you’re Queen Chrysalis adopted daughter?”
“Yes,” she replied, nodding. “Her Majesty has never laid an egg. However, since the Swarm needs a Queen, soon after we formed our society Mother decided to ensure that there would be a changeling ready to take her place as a queen should something happen to her. She always has an heir, who becomes her daugher in everything but blood. Of course, since Mother is the only changeling with a seemingly endless lifespan, all her daughters sooner or later die. I’m her nineteenth heir.”
“Who were your real parents then?” Fluttershy asked.
That question seemed to surprise Nymph a bit, but she nevertheless answered: “My father, Ray Light, was a magister under Grand Magistrix Lucid command; he died when calibrating the wards around the Dread Wastes caused an avalanche. My mother, Mothra, the previous Voice of the Queen, died at the same time. I was still an egg then.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Fluttershy said compassionately.
“It’s alright; especially since based on what I heard of them, they weren’t… um, how do I put this,” Nymph trailed off, once again troubled. “The majority of changelings don’t have… a parental instinct.”
“They what?” Twilight asked, confused.
“Well… although we reproduce in the manner similar to you - and not like bees and ants, contrary to popular belief - we don’t actually form families. All the eggs are being cared for in Incubation Chambers and the larvae in the Nursery Chambers by nurses. Out of all changelings, only about five percent have paternal instinct, and about ten percent more develop it later during their life, and most of them choose to serve the Swarm as nurses. I understand that this might seem unnatural to you, but this strengthens the feeling of unity of the Swarm. Growing up together makes changelings feel like brothers and sisters. Of course,” she added, “some have actual siblings, and their relations are alike to a pony’s siblings.”
“Wow, that’s… weird,” Twilight said slowly. “So, most of changeling’s parents… don’t care about their offspring?”
“Of course not,” Nymph replied. “They take pride in their achievements, and are concerned if they come to harm. It also works in reverse; I’m really proud of my biological mother being the Voice of the Queen, and of my father being one of the best of Swarm’s magisters. Some parents also sometimes visit the larvae in the Nursery Chambers and spend some time with them.”
“But you all still feel more close to your Queen rather to your parents,” Angelic stated.
“Well, yes,” the changeling admitted. “Like I mentioned, Mother spends some time with all changelings when they are eggs and larvaes. She also possesses a telepathic link with everyling, though it’s not as strong as the one between lifemates.”
“Mhm…” Angelic mused, looking through her notes. “Alright, I think that all that’s left is your lifespan, after that you can explain your society more.”
“Oh, of course. With the exception of Queen Chrysalis, changeling’s average lifespan, when counting the time spend in egg, larvae, cocoon, drone and imago stage, is about as long as average pony’s lifespan. Of course, there are…” Nymph hesitated, “some exceptions…”
Wind snorted. “More like exception. Singular.”
“You should speak of Commander Unsceathed with greater respect,” Nymph chastened him.
“I was under the impression yesterday that he was older than average changeling,” Arthas spoke up before Wind Reaver could reply. “How old is he exactly? It’s hard to gauge the age of changelings.”
“That’s right;” Nymph replied, “we don’t show signs of aging. It’s kinda hard to get wrinkles on chitin,” she added jokingly (and a bit sheepishly) as she tapped her cheek. “But as we grow older, our reactions slow down and senses grow dull, our bodies ache… Similar to ponies, except we are immune to diseases old ponies catch. But as for Commander Unsceathed…” Nymph hesitated, “he’s one hundred and thirty-four years old.”
“Wow, really?!” Angelic asked, excited, while everypony else stared at Nymph in shock. “How is it possible?”
“The popular opinion in the Swarm is that he is too stubborn to die,” Nymph replied. “Personally, I think his heart is more durable than other changelings, and he has been keeping himself alive by burning love, though that’s just a theory. He’s the longest living changeling ever, aside from Mother.”
“Interesting… I must remember to talk with him if I see him again,” Angelic muttered under her nose. “And, just for the record, how old are you two?”
“Wind Reaver is sixteen, and I’m twenty-seven.”
“You’re older than us?” Pinkie asked, looking at the changeling with surprise. “But you’re so… um, young in spirit?” she finished awkwardly.
Nymph giggled, amused. “I have a small build, that’s all.”
Angelic paid no attention to that exchange, focused on writing down what Nymph had told her. “Okay,” she suddenly said, “this wraps up the part I was interested in; Twilight, be a dear and do make notes of the rest,” she asked, and without waiting for reply, the Doctor resumed looking over her notes.
Arthas glanced at Twilight, but she just nodded and asked Nymph to resume. As the changeling first began with “the changeling census”, he wondered about Unsceathed. ‘He’s so old,’ he thought, ‘but he’s still the commander of Chrysalis’ guards… I wonder how dangerous he must have been in his prime.”
“That’s the total number of the gatherers,” Nymph continued. “They’re job is to gather love from ponies. They’re not all in Equestria at the same time, of course; their work in accordance with the schedule organized by the Queen and the Voice of the Queen. The Voice of the Queen is Mother’s chief advisor regarding the Swarm’s everyday life, and is left in charge of the Hive whenever the Queen would leave. Currently, this position is held by a changeling named Bloodraven. Mother is currently discussing with him the idea presented at yesterday’s council by your Princesses, about us paying for love.”
Nymph went on for a while about duties of the Voice of the Queen - “Not surprising,” Arthas thought, “seeing how her biological mother was the previous Voice,” - and how he is responsible for sorting out the training of drones, supervising them during their choosing of their names and their role in the Swarm upon reaching imago stage, and rationing love to changelings. About the only three groups of changelings that the Voice wasn’t directly responsible for were magisters, warriors, and spies.
“There are also amber-shapers,” Nymph added. “As the name suggest, they use magic to shape amber, crafting various objects. Furnitures, lights, armor, weapons… a changeling amber-shaper from six hundred years ago named Aquarella created beautiful stained amber, giving it more colors than just shades of green. Few amber-shapers can do that; she was inspired by the stained glass in Canterlot Castle. However, they also have more mundane tasks, like keeping the Hive clean, repairing every possible damage, building new buildings...”
Unlike Angelic, Arthas found this part to be quite interesting. Unlike their biology, which was pretty bizarre even by Equestria standards, their society seemed far more “down to earth”. Arthas began to wonder if it would be possible to visit the Hive himself; if the changelings were as good architects as nerubians, there would certainly be sights worth seeing there.
“Praetorians are the Queen’s elite guards. Only the Swarm’s most powerful warriors can become one of them. In order to be accepted, a changeling has to defeat a Praetorian in combat. The position of Commander is attained the same way; Commander Unscathed has claimed this post over one hundred years ago and since then kept defeating every combatant.”
“I hadn’t noticed any changeling bearing their armor during the Canterlot Invasion,” Arthas spoke up, reminded of something he had realized yesterday. “How come you attacked without your most elite warriors? Not to mention that your Queen was the one leading the assault?”
“They were left behind defending the Hive. The forces required to take over Canterlot and occupy it had depleted the Hive of too many defenders. Also,” Nymph added, “Praetorians aren’t exactly known for espionage skills, so if they would protect Mother when she impersonated Princess Cadance they could have been revealed.”
There were only a few more details to discuss after that, and soon - much to Angelic’s joy - they had finished.
“Alright,” Twilight said, stacking her notes neatly on the table and standing up, “it’s all here. Thank you so much for your time,” she told the changelings. “You’re really fascinating people. I wish I could see the Hive for myself.”
“Really?” Nymph asked, surprised but pleased at the idea. “I’m sure something could be arranged soon.”
“Considering how recent this peace is, it might take a while,” Arthas objected, though he too wished to see their home. “I don’t think every changeling would be happy to have ponies in their home, am I correct?”
“I… I’m afraid you probably are,” Nymph replied, saddened.
“Still,” Arthas added, “give it some time, and who knows?”
They waved in goodbye as the chariot carrying Angelic back to Canterlot, with all the notes and recording gem, flew away. The Royal Physician was in a hurry, wanting to deliver everything to the Princesses quickly so that she could take care of… something that Arthas wasn’t certain that he wanted to know.
“As creepy as always,” Spike commented as soon as the chariot disappeared in the distance.
Instead of criticizing the dragon as Arthas had expected, Twilight sighed. “She’s not that bad Spike… she no longer wants to take blood samples without your knowledge, that’s an improvement. Right?” she added, glancing at Arthas, who shrugged.
“That sounds like an interesting story,” Pinkie Pie said, giggling. “Unfortunately, I need to watch the Cakes’ foals soon. And plan a party. And another one. So, see you!” she exclaimed loudly as she began to bounce away in the direction of Sugarcube Corner.
“I need to go back to my animals, too,” Fluttershy said. “Um… I might be too busy tomorrow to drop by,” she added apologetically.
“That’s alright, Fluttershy, I’ll probably be busy as well,” Twilight replied. “Princess Celestia will probably want me to resume studying.”
Fluttershy smiled. “It is important to study, isn’t it?” she asked, making Arthas glance at her, surprised by the statement. “Hope it goes well for you, Twilight. Bye,” she said as she turned to leave.
Arthas watched her for a while, wondering if he should ask her if something was wrong - “She is acting a bit odd…” - but ultimately decided that it was impossible for Fluttershy to wrap herself into something dangerous without anypony else being involved.
“What do you two plan on doing?” he asked the changelings instead.
“I’m going back to the Sweet Apple Acres,” Nymph replied. “I promised Big Mac I would come and help him on the farm as soon as we’re done.”
Wind muttered something under his nose that sounded strangely alike to “help on the farm, right,” before he cleared his throat and replied as well. “I’m off to the Abbey, see if Tucker maybe wants to have another sparring fight. Oh, and this reminds me,” he added, “Hivespeaker, you might want to go up to the barrack’s roof and talk with that bird of yours.”
“Al’ar?” Arthas asked, surprised. “Why?”
“You’ll see,” Wind replied, waving his hoof in goodbye before he took into the air.
Annoyed, Arthas turned to Nymph, but she seemed as surprised as him. “I… I was with Big Mac all day yesterday,” she explained. “I hadn’t seen Al’ar since the day before. Anyway, I need to go, bye,” she said to him, Twilight and Spike before teleporting away.
“What do you think Wind meant?” Twilight asked him.
“I have no idea,” Arthas admitted, very confused. “But two days ago Al’ar was acting a bit odd… I better go see what this is about. So, um…” he started, mindful that Spike was with them, “Twilight, could you come see me later? I wanted to return you that Daring Do book.”
“Oh, of course,” she replied, blushing.
He smiled and said his goodbyes to her and Spike. As Arthas began trotting towards the Everfree Abbey, he felt certain that whatever it was he’d have to deal with, he would nonetheless enjoy this day.
Nymph’s teleportation spell sent her to the Sweet Apple Acres’ orchard. Big Mac was nearby, bucking a tree. He smiled as he noticed her.
“Hi!” Nymph said happily and flew towards him. She kissed him and continued: “Everything went great, although the Royal Physician was a bit creepy… anywho, I’m all free now. Should I start helping you buck all those trees?” she asked, an idea in her mind.
Big Mac nodded and turned his attention back to the tree. Nymph trotted to another one, and started to buck it lightly. As the apples failed to fall, she turned around, raised on her hind legs and tried shaking the tree with her forehooves.
“Big Mac?” she called out, glancing over her shoulder. She hoped her voice sounded innocent. “Could you help me with this tree?”
As Big Mac turned to look at her, she raised her tail and smiled mischievously. The stallion blushed at the sight, but he quickly recovered and trotted to her.
“I know you didn’t know what nibbling on my tegula means,” she thought as he placed his forehooves on the tree. “But I know how you feel about me… and seeing how I didn’t react, I guess I feel the same way.”
“Finally,” Angelic murmured to herself as she jumped down from the chariot that just landed on the castle grounds. “Maybe I should have teleported instead… oh, but then I couldn’t read everything again,” she added as she lifted with her magic the notes she and Twilight made and placed most of them in her saddlebags.
The unicorn began trotting towards the castle, curious about the Princesses reaction to what Nymph told them regarding their race. "They will probably be more interested in their social life,” she thought, levitating the file with that topic before her eyes and skimming it over. “It’s probably more important for establishing peaceful relations with them… ugh, some ponies just can’t appreciate the importance of-”
Her train of thought was interrupted as she collided with somepony. The force of the collision made her fall on the floor and drop the files. Angelic shook her head, dizzy, and was about look around for where her notes fell…
“Oh my, I’m so sorry.”
She blinked in surprise hearing the voice and looked up.
Above her stood a handsome ebony unicorn stallion. His orange eyes locked with hers as he offered her a hoof to help her stand up. “Are you alright?” he asked.
“Um… yes, I’m fine, thank you,” Angelic replied after a heartbeat, accepting his help.
“I’m glad to hear that,” the ebony pony replied. “Forgive me, but are you Doctor Angelic Touch, the Royal Physician?”
“Yes,” she answered, a bit surprised; she was sure she hadn’t met this stallion before. “I don’t believe I had the pleasure-”
“I’m Lord Victorious Blackhorn,” the stallion introduced himself. “I heard a lot about you from my uncle,” he added, explaining how he recognized her.
“I.. see,” Angelic said; she recalled hearing Princesses Luna mention that half of the castle’s female workers was enamoured with this young noble, and she could see why. He was certainly… captivating… “It’s an honor to make your acquaintance, Lord Blackhorn.”
“I wish it wouldn’t have been in such… colliding circumstance,” he said. His horn began to glow as he picked up her notes for her. “Would you like to join me for lunch in my uncle's mansion here in Canterlot? At your closest possible convenience, of course.”
“I would be honored, Lord Blackhorn,” Angelic replied; though she wasn’t a very social pony, it was hard to decline an offer from such stallion. Especially seeing how he was now the head of one of the ancient unicorn houses. “I will let you know when my schedule will be open.”
“Splendid,” he said. Once again, he took her forehoof into his and lifted it to his muzzle. Angelic blushed as he kissed it. “I’ll be looking forward to it,” Lord Blackhorn said as he let go of her hoof. He smiled. “I believe we will have very much to talk about.”
“What. In the name of Light. Is this?” Arthas asked slowly, trying to remain calm.
Al’ar cawed at him from the nest he had built, as if not understanding the question.
“Al’ar,” Arthas tried again, beginning to lose his patience, “I know you don’t like me, and that you didn’t want to end up in my company. I understand that this situation is tough for you, and I tried to leave you to your own devices. However, I’d appreciate if you, in response, notify me of anything that I should know. In advance, if possible.”
The moment he said the last sentence, the giant phenix cawed again.
“I was gone only for two days!” Arthas snapped. “Where did those eggs come from!?”
Al’ar narrowed his eyes and lowered himself protectively over the eggs. There were seven of them, almost as big as a pony’s head, and each was of a different color. “Red, yellow, orange, green, blue, dark blue and violet,” Arthas noted. “All colors of the rainbow.”
“Stop glaring at me like that, I’m not going to hurt them,” he growled in annoyance, trying to regain his composure. “Alright… seeing how you are brooding over them and are about to burn me for shouting, I’m going to assume you’re the parent of whatever creatures are inside them, right?” When Al’ar nodded, Arthas continued. “And since I am pretty sure you’re a male, that means you’re their father, right?” The Phoenix God nodded again. “So, what I would like to know is: who’s the mother, what is she, where is she, and why did she leave the eggs with you?!”
Al’ar replied by cooing uninterested, as if saying “I don’t know and don’t care.” Arthas growled and facehoofed, annoyed. “Judging by how big they are, she must be about the same size as he,” he thought, looking at the eggs again. “Great, that means that there’s a ten foot high cuckoo flying around.”
“Look…” he started, trying to think calmly. “Unlike me, you are still a being from Azeroth. Well, from Azeroth’s Elemental Plane. Meaning that you and the mama bird just created hybrids of completely different species.” He paused as a thought hit him. “I mean, we don’t even know if your would-be hatchlings are alive. I’m going to ask Fluttershy and somepony else to come tomorrow and make sure if they are alright, okay?”
“And if they are going to be dangerous,” he added in his thoughts. Though he was truly concerned if the eggs had life in them, he wanted to make sure if those new lifeforms won’t burn down half of Equestria.
To his relief, Al’ar cawed in agreement, then laid back on the nest. Arthas sighed and left him and his progeny.
“Just who laid those eggs?” he thought as he walked down the stairs from the roof and headed for his office. “I’m sure there are no birds so big around here… maybe there could be in the Everfree Forest, but somepony would have noticed such a bird at some point, wouldn’t they?”
He continued his musing until he reached his office. When he entered it, he made a mental note to send somepony with a message to Fluttershy, as well as ask the Princesses if they could send Doctor Angelic again. “She is the best bet when it comes to examining a new species, probably.”
Arthas needed to hurry; Twilight was going to come later, and he wanted to be done with all his duties before that. “I should make us something to eat,” he thought, smiling at the thought. “It would be nice to eat again, just the two of us… I wonder if we have anything good in the pantry...”
His musing was interrupted by the sound of meowing. Arthas looked at the entrance to his bedroom and saw Spottedleaf. “Hi, how have you b-” the trailed off as his brain registered what he was seeing.
Spottedleaf eyes shone with silver glow.
Arthas opened his mouth… and after a few heartbeats of silence he closed it. “You know,” he finally said, “I don’t even want to know.”
The cat turned around. “Yes, I thought you wouldn’t.”
His eyes snapped wide as Spottedleaf left. “Did… did she just… ugh,” he exclaimed, facehoofing. “I’ll never get used to this world…”
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Alright I've been away at bootcamp for the past three months and I missed out on a lot of random internet shit, include this.
So I'm sorry but...is "biology of love" like the new inside joke or something? I feel a bit lost here.
I laughed so hard at this, and around all of the chapter. This story is great!
Another great chapter.
Blade
great chapter
I loved this chapter, especially Arthas talking with Twilight and his reaction to Al'Ar being a father. Also, the Changeling lesson course was entertaining to read.
So... Is Lord
Victor NefariusVictorious Blackhorn about to introduce the poor doctor to Ma, Pa, and little Sis?Not sure of the timing, but Arthas arrived about the same time DW started the Cataclysm...
So has the timeline moved to the post Dragon Soul / Pre-Mists time period? Is it still the Firelands arc?
It's Nefarian that much we know, but is this one existing simultaneously as the dracolich in BWD?
One is the body, one is the soul?
Come on Borsuq, throw us a time lost bone here!
6447579 I suppose I can answer this much... as of now, Rise of the Zandalari (4.1) is happening, and the adventures had already cleared Blackwing Descend (I believe it was mentioned in chapter 80)
6447411 but the blame is always cursed!!
6447602
Trying to puzzle out two interacting timelines that may or may not be in sync can lead to a wide variety of theories.
Now the question is how Neffy has a lifetime here...
... and there... hmmm...
... do Azerothian dragons actually have summer homes?
This will confound my theories here for chapters to come!
Waiting for the next chapter good sir.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!
Keep it up
I just want to know how Al'ar managed this. He's technically a fire elemental, he's made of fire.
Good worldbuilding with the changelings, but OOOH boy Nefarian's getting his groove on!
One thing I don't really understand is that the changelings apparently don't have any filtration-oriented organs, and their only method of excretion appears to be breathing.
Wouldn't that be fundamentally dangerous (or potentially hilarious)? I mean, for example, if someone wanted to interrogate a changeling, couldn't they just force them to become drunk, thus leaving the changeling in question in a pliable, nigh-permanent drunken stupor until another changeling fixed the problem?
Just throwing an idea out there. I could be mistaken in how I've read into this, and I'm certainly no biologist. Still, it's quite an amusing thought.
Ingvar should make a triumphant return. Poor guy can't catch a break
I'LL PAINT MY FACE WITH YOUR BLOOD!
Well, looks like Al,ar had one heck of a hot date.
Wonder just what is going to come out of those eggs. Reprojenitor minotaur, griffon, ponies, etc?
6447310 Nymph explains changelings' biology, so that's the joke ;p
6448278 I dunno, how did those two made a baby?
hydra-media.cursecdn.com/wow.gamepedia.com/d/d4/Malorne_TCG.jpg?version=cd40d6a2e7a84a5c08a56f0e1854a47f
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And that's probably not her actual image, she hasn't appeared in any form in all WoW. Heck, the closest to what she is is Velen's suggestion that she's one of the naaru
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(which would have made baby making even weirder), and it was already mentioned by Blizzard to be false.
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If they would eat or drink anything in their true form, they would throw it up, as they bodies don't have gastrointestinal tract. More possible would be getting high, but their regeneration would automatically burn love to cure them.
6448657
Out of Phoenix God and Eagle Demigoddess?
ok then, that shit happened........ don't now how i feel about that
wow has it really been two real life years since you wrote the chapter where serenity went back to the empire?
The only thing i found that felt off was.
But other than that. A good world building/filler chapter
Just when Arthas was thinking he was getting to know everything, ZASCA!, another surprise
GOD YES!!!
I am seriously addicted to your story... everyday i check this site 3 or more times for updates... do i need help?
6451044 no, I do the same, unless we both need help... do we?
6454695
maybe... the addicted never knows when he is addicted to something, else they could do something against it, this is why i question myself wehter i am addicted or not
Lord Victorious Blackhorn: AKA Nefarian! What is he plotting, I wonder?
Nice chapter, good work.
No.
NO. Loaded phrase.
That damn phrase causes feels and fears. No.
6463617 Thanks for giving Rebirth a second chance
I hope you'll like the newer chapters.
Yeah, I know the grammar is... bad. But I've got myself proofreaders and second editor since those days. Sadly, it was around chapter 106, so you'll have to wait a bit to see if the grammar had improved.
And as for Rainbow Dash, this is one of the things that looking back on the story I wish I hadn't written. But it's no use crying over spilled milk; rewriting those chapters would take too much work, and would create too much of a confusion.
As for Arthas... yeah, I do realize I overdid it. I even thought about rewritting the fights with Chrysalis and King Sombra to make him seem more like a vanilla paladin (been playing on a private vanilla server as of late as a paladin), but again, it could cause some confusion.
Personally, I like the chapters I had written since that arc far more than, and I consider them better (however, I did notice a few mistakes here and there), so hopefully you will like them too^^
6463646
Well, almost to chapter 100, and now I just don't want Arthas and Twilight to end up together. The thought of them being a couple disgusts me. I wanted them to be together so badly at the beginning, but the decision t Altomare and everything that's come from it has just destroyed that.
I'll admit, I wasn't happy with their decision to just be "friends". It was dumb, but it fit their characters well enough that I let it go. After all, it could have been a good chance for some drama, or to explore parts of their personalities that wouldn't ordinarily be shown.
But that's not what happened.
All that happened was that the romance sub-plot got completely sidelined for--based on the upcoming chapter titles--roughly seventy chapters. It honestly feels like the only reason it happened was so that you could have Arthas sleep with a bunch of other mares before he got tied to twilight and not have to feel guilty about it. The only other thing that's come from that decision is that now Arthas just kind of comes across as a hypocritical jackass (though if that was your purpose, then you succeeded perfectly).
Ever since that moment at the shrine, except for the one or two scenes where they were caught in compromising positions together, it doesn't feel like they have feelings for each other at all. Like, not even a little bit. Hell, Rainbow Dash is showing more emotion towards Arthas than Twilight is.
Arthas is right, Twilight deserves someone better than him. At this point, I'm rooting for Tucker more than I am for Arthas.
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I'm looking forward to hearing more from you
Almost at 100th chapter, huh? If I remember correctly, by then the entire story's length was about 300k words... and currently it's over 600k words... so yeah, there's still plenty of the story left for you
Alright, time for some actio--- what the hell is this? A romance arc?! NOW?!! But... What about....
I.... I
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6466594
We'll see. I wasn't kidding about hating Arthas. Everything he's done since the Altomare arc has been hypocritical in one way or another, and I can't read a story where I hate the main character this much.
He knocked Tucker out for screwing the Pinkie clones during a crisis situation, right after he did the exact same thing with Rainbow in the Crystal Empire. He constantly punishes Tucker for being vulgar, and then he turns around and walks off to screw one of his fuck buddies in the back room of the abbey. He constantly tells the initiates not to let anger and vengeance drive them, but every single one of his miraculous recoveries in the Crystal Empire was fueled by either rage or vengeance. He tells Twilight he won't do anything with her because she's just a friend, and then turns around and screws AJ and Rainbow guilt free because they're just friends.
I just... I absolutely hate the way he's being portrayed right now. It's like you've taken all of the traits he had at the beginning of the story, thrown them in a blender, skimmed all the good ones off the top, and used all the garbage that was left to remake him.
And I wasn't kidding about Twilight being basically emotionless either. This whole situation was the perfect opportunity to develop her character, and instead she's become a two-dimensional cut out of her former self. She's shown no emotional investment whatsoever in Arthas or anything that's happening to him. Love is not that weak of an emotion that it can be just turned off like that. And even if we just weren't seeing it because of the character perspectives we're being shown, her friends would have noticed it and taken action.
Maybe once I have time to forget some of the details I'll hate this situation less and be back to see what happens.
6470065 Ugh, you're totally right.
I had some reason for making Arthas... do all that he had done (can't say now, because spoilers), but I admittedly overdid it. Also, I put too much of the focus on comedy part of the story, which was a mistake.
So yeah, no hard feelings for disliking the story for now
6451044 I do pretty much the same. I'm like "omg i hope Borsuq updated RotD, but then i realise he is working on other stories so this one is on a "hiatus"... And thats sad
6471522
I did kind of cheat and skip ahead to the most recent chapters real quick just to make sure that my worst fears hadn't happened. If he had ended up getting with Twilight because he saw her with someone else and got jealous I was going to seriously consider working out the problem of how to punch things through the internet.
But that didn't happen, and there was at least some logic behind the things he did (at least to him), but I'm still not happy about it. I'll get over it soon, since knowing that, as well as the fact that it doesn't take him too terribly long (in story time, at least) to realise that he dun goofed, takes some of the edge off it.
Really the one that's still bugging me is Twilight at this point. But who knows, maybe she'll get some good moments leading up to that point. After all, it has only been two weeks or so since Altomare as of chapter 100. Though I am hoping that that princess line Arthas said was a "lol, foreshadowing" thing instead of a genuine comment about something that she passed up in this version of Equestria.
6471522
And now that I have a bit more time since I'm not rushing off to work, I can address one last thing from your response: the comedy aspect.
Having a few comedic moments or characters in a fairly serious story like this one isn't necessarily a bad thing. In a lot of cases, it can help keep the story from becoming too heavy, or help the particularly serious moments really stand out by providing contrast. In the case of Tucker, the problem was Arthas' response to him rather than anything Tucker did.
Characters with strong moral or ethical codees can be tough to write sometimes, simply because they're much harder to force to do things. Just because you, as the author, want the story to go a particular way doesn't mean that such a character will necessarily play along. Particularly with someone like Arthas, who has to be both a religious and secular authority, he very much has to lead by example as much as by word. In the story, we see him fill that role by trying to be friendly and approachable, someone who his paladins follow out of respect and camaraderie rather than simply because he has a royal mandate.
In that sense, a lot of his reactions to Tucker were perfectly fine, and fit Tucker's comedic role in the story well. The eye rolls, facehoofs, and snarky comebacks were perfect, and even a harsh reprimand or two when his harassment crossed the line (such as when he was first unfrozen and talked to the princesses) wasn't unwarranted. It didn't cross the line into hypocrisy until he started actually punishing Tucker for things that he was doing himself.
In all honesty, it probably would have been better to have Tucker play off of Shield rather than Arthas, since at this point in the story Shield is literally a blank slate with no defining character traits beyond a reluctance to make friends, but even having him play off Arhtas would have been fine if it hadn't been for that one thing.
Arthas was never officially crowned, he just one day decided that his minions should address him as "king" when he was a death knight. As for him beeing the Lich King, he was, well, dethroned, in a manner of speaking. Either way, he is still a prince. The whole "King of the Fallen Lordaeron" was to mean that he has resposibility for the nation he had betrayed, to uphold their memories and ideals; being fresh out of his fight with Sombra, where he remembered his father telling him that he would be king one day, made him correct Luna then. He wanted to remind himself about his duties.
You are correct about the forms of address, however, in works of fiction sometimes they don't use that. For example, in Game of Thrones, the King is often address as "Your Grace" (dunno if that's just in the serial, as I had read the books after they were translated to my language and different). And Celestia had been addressed as "Your Majesty" on at least one occasion. So I assumed that with Celestia and Luna being the top lieges (and Cadance and Shining Armor in Crystal Empire), they would be addressed by both "Your Majesty" and "You Highness".
It's been a while since I played Burning Crusade content, so I don't recall if Kael'thas, who similarly was the leader of his people and still a Prince (I actually based Celestia and Luna's decision to be crowned as Princesses and let their grandparents be the last King and Queen of Equestria on how Kael'thas decided to honor his father memory in that way), had been addresses by both titles, I would have to look it up.
6477608
The prince/king thing for Arthas was mostly because that's the only time in the story up to that point where he makes a particular point of being referred to by a particular title in any kind of serious situation. Other than that it's just him trying to get people to not refer to him by any formal title.
And if we want to get technical, does he really even have the title of prince anymore, since his kingdom was destroyed, all of his subjects are dead, and they're under new management?
As for how the titles are used in other works of fiction, I can't really comment there. I know that in most cases they follow common British forms of address, but as with any fictional setting, there's plenty of room for creative licence. So I suppose the same could be said here. I can let that one go as long as it stays internally consistent.
6477644
An excellent question! To answer that, I will refer you to the last king of Greece, Constantine II and his family. The monarchy in Greece had been deposed and replaced with republic, and the royal family had to leave the country. However, while Constantine is no longer called king, his children retained titles of princes and princesses (with his oldest son still having the title of Crown Prince of Greece, even if that's just courtesy title), and their family doesn't have a surname.
So based on that story, I assumed that Arthas still has the title of prince. And some of his people are still alive - until recently, there were still people in Hillsbrad, which was a part of Lordaeron (most of those who survived are now worgen). Aside from them, many people from Lordaeron joined Argent Dawn and Scarlet Crusade.
6477736
Seems legit. It's been so long since I played, I forgot there were still technically people living there that weren't Forsaken. With how many times I blew up Southshore, you'd think I would have remembered them.
Lol tucker.... reminds me of Red vs Blue XD
Props for a great story! I love a long story. Lets me stay immersed for a while.
Ok, now that I've gotten to the end I can do an overall review. So here goes.
After you got all the editors, there was a very noticeable improvement in overall story quality, so that was nice. There were far fewer grammar and spelling errors, there were fewer moments of bland exposition, and overall it felt like things were better detailed and better explained. On top of that, the characters felt more complete (more like they did prior to the Altomare arc) than they did during that whole middle phase of the story. Not only that, these last twenty chapters or so finally cleared up a lot of the awful traits the characters picked up in the middle of the story.
That said, there are still some things that need work.
Guard Shield is still pretty much a blank slate with no real personality. There was that one moment with Zahara where we saw a bit of personality from him, but that was about it. And be careful with their interactions. It's really close to forced shipping right now; the characters just immediately like each other for no apparent reason and with little to no interaction.
Along those same lines, the shipping with Tucker and Serenity was something that I wasn't fond of. Not to say that I don't like the idea of them being together, because I think they would go very well together, but the way it was brought up left a lot to be desired. We've never really seen the two of them together in any meaningful capacity so far in the story, and the few times they have interacted have just been Serenity either completely ignoring him or actively being angry at him. If there had been any kind of foreshadowing leading up to Nymph's conversation with Serenity it would have been perfect, but as it is it just feels like forced shipping out of nowhere.
Your knowledge of Azeroth's history is impressive, just be careful throwing it out there in big blocks like you did during the conference scene. The ponies know nothing about Azeroth, so a lot of the people, places, and groups he was describing would mean pretty much nothing to them. In this case I thought it was fine, since it helped really show the depth and scale of the conflict he was describing, but be careful of it in the future, just in case.
I have no idea why Arthas is so convinced that there's some kind of connection between the changelings' claws and Tucker's blades. They're absolutely nothing alike besides the fact that they both are formed on the characters' legs. The changeling blades are physical, made by solidifying resin into a hardened amber-like substance, and Tuckers are made of pure energy drawn from his life force. I really don't see what the connection is there.
And lastly, grammar. While a lot of the problems have been fixed, there are still two that show up frequently. You leave off articles a lot. Especially 'the' when it comes before a title or name. You also mess up verb forms and tenses a LOT. To use this most recent chapter as an example:
The bolded part should just be 'had'.
Should be 'haven't'.
The 'had' should be removed.
Should be 'were'.
The other error that I see show up a lot, even after you got all the editors, is the use of 'Pegasi Armada'. It should be Pegasus Armada. In cases where you have a noun functioning as an adjective (in this case, the word 'pegasus'), it should almost never be plural unless the noun being used as an adjective is usually plural or if the singular form would imply a different meaning. It's a bit of a grammatical grey area, but in this case, the singular form is the one that is least awkward.
ah spottedleaf...
The amber-shapers make me think of the bonesingers in Warhammer 40k in some ways.
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I saw this browsing r/wow and it immediately reminded me of your story. I anxiously await the next update
I have begun reading this story from the beggining to the end last month, I honestly taught that I would give up on so many chapters, and now im done reading all of those, looking forward to the next one
After spending an extended amount of time reading this - while keeping up with some other stories updated - I have come to really enjoy this story despite the early chapters grammar. I will say that it has gotten far better by now, though I still tend to read this more comfortably if I read in the past tense rather than present, but that's my weird reading habit.
Also, YAY! Twi and Arthas are finally a couple! I want to see what awkwardness and romance blossoms between them now!
I'm switching this story over to my tracking shelf rather than keep it in my read later shelf. I want to keep up with your story.
I didn't even know this got updated until I was browsing through my Favored stories to re-read one of them. Still awesome and looking forward to more!
Right I just finished all this after give or take week of reading. And I can that it's good but it have a few faults.
It so big that after some point i just skipped sometimes most of the chapter.
Ther are just to many characters to remember or even care. You are trying to create something in lines of Buddenbrooks Thomas Mann or La Comédie humaine Honore de Balzac.
When this is all wordbuilding and trying to mend both relities is good this small undertone that MLP pasrt is far more powerful then Warcraft is a bit fuuny. SInce in truth it other way araound. Warcaft is in this strange spoot wher Games are saying one thing but Lore enetirely difrent (Simmilar to Elder Scrolls)
Story is just to slow. Seriously 2 days had taken neraly 100k worlds and year to finish. Toy your info it's more then HP or Hobbit.
I will not bother with gramatics or any other things since as not native speaker it's minor thing to me.
So overall will I read next chapters? Yes. Even if I hope that we will not need next 600 worlds to go beyond patch 4.2.
6620651 I can't remember which chapter I posted that comment on.
6565734 He was the only being truly loyal to Arthas too. His only friend during Arthas time as 'The First Champion of Ner'Zhul'