1 - A simple question

Where do you want to be?

I had to squint. Hours spent on my computer did not prepare me well for having this… text, appear mid air and just out of my normal focal range. "What, for real? Where do I want to be?"

Yes. Where do you want to be?

A touch of bitterness grew, born of loneliness. "Sure, ask me that now. Well, I lost a friend, one of the closest I have ever had. More brother than friend, if you can count someone I have never met in person a brother." The memories of loss, of sending him messages online, of emailing him, even poking people he knew in real life. All I got was confusion. Refocusing my thoughts, avoiding the pain that was a daily issue, I looked up at the text. "My friend, I lost track of him. I think I would want to be where he is."

Even if he is dead?

A tightness came over me that was not entirely emotion based. "No, not if he is dead..."

That is lucky then. You may bring one thing, anything.

The first words cut through the pain and I smiled a little. "So he is alive? Good… uh, one thing? I guess… my phone charger?" The weight of the phone in my pocket, along with my keys, told me that would do. "Hey, that is a nice font." I reached out, gently, not sure if it was appropriate. They almost felt warm when I was close to them.

You like it?

I gave a nod. "I love words, I adore when they are used with cleverness and, particularly, multiple meanings. I did see what I thought I saw didn't I?"

You may have. I will not give direct answers.

More information, some directly, some less so. I smiled more.

You have chosen something seemingly small, but possibly less so. You will not be close to your destination.

I felt the world start to shift around me. "Wait, but I will be able to find him?"

That is an open path.

Knocked forward, bumped more to the point. "I say, another human?" The words had an odd twist to them, stereotypical 'upper-class'.

I rolled to the side. As you get older, getting up from a fall is harder. Pain lanced through my gut and I winced. It was a pain I knew well. "Sorry I-" Words were lost. I looked up at… a pony. No, not just a pony. Fancy Pants.

"At least you have manners and, as it would happen, I have some little experience with your kind. You should announce yourself, to the princesses." He smiled to me as I gave a mute nod. "Did you just arrive?"

Words returned. "I… I did. I… Celestia and Luna?" My head was swimming, the day had been a bad one for pain, and on top of the normal meds I had indulged in a little rum.

"Just the ones. Come on, my good chap." I felt a force lifting me, seemingly effortlessly, to my feet. "Now, you see the castle there," I nodded, his magic even having straightened my glasses, "well just trot yourself up to that, find somepony wearing gold armor and announce yourself."

It was just like the show. Not a little. Not almost.

I grinned and took a deep breath. "Thank you, sir, you have been a wonderful help!" The words seemed to not only brighten his mood, but mine as well. There was magic, there was ponies. If I wasn't on the far side of mid thirties, I would have giggled.

As it was Fancy seemed quite delighted to be addressed as per his station and gave a nod, turning and trotting off. "Such a polite human." His final words, not meant for me, were heard regardless.

I knew I wouldn't get such a reaction from most people. Looking down at myself was a sobering experience. Shorts, check. Undercut long hair shaved to the skin, check. Silly nerd-science shirt, also check. Exploring my pockets I found my keys, my phone that now refused to get any signal, and my little white droid-charging cable.

It hit me after a few steps. The pain, my constant companion for nearly ten years now. "Oh glob, my drugs…"

The mood soured a little, even as I forced a smile. Even half a life spent working in retail meant I could not only make a smile at will, but make it look real. "New to the place, human?" The guard didn't sound threatening, but for someone unused to being challenged by those with obvious weapons and authority, it made me shrink a touch.

"Uh," I didn't know if humans were tolerated, accepted or welcomed. "Yes. I confess I am not-" the pain hit and I winced. The imposing figure stepped forward, clearly able to identify pain, no matter if I was neither pony nor soldier.

A soft orange glow wrapped my arm and I leaned on it while the pain rolled on. I neither tried to move nor said anything, gritting my teeth until it passed. "Sorry, not… not a good day. I was told I should present myself to the princesses?"

Seeing me recovered, the pony looked a little sad at my previous condition. "It comes and goes?" I nodded, standing straighter, not leaning on him now. "Then if it is gone let’s get you to court."

How could anyone… anypony, understand that fast. I mentally kicked myself, as he led me to a huge room. Of course he would pick up on it, even in a perfect pony world, pain and injury were not absent.

A big earth pony, replete with a cutie mark of a staff and a megaphone, nodded to the guard. But they didn't leave. "He suffers an injury." No boredom. No pity. I couldn't stop an actual smile from coming.

"Very well. Who should I present?" I blinked once or twice, my mind ticking a few seconds before the measure of his words fell through.

"Uh By… Barny." My real name it was not, but it was what friends call me and I thought, with ponies all around, trying to make friends would be good.

It wasn't a long wait, but many eyes turned to me, again and again. Some writing me off with obvious scorn, some showing more curiosity. One pair captured and held me. Luna.

Caught, deer in headlights. Her eyes were a lot different from the show. Well, no, they weren't. Her PRESENCE was different. She wasn't a calm mare, looking over the ponies she loves. She was looking at an alien and I felt like she was boring into my being.

"Barny? Please remain until after court." Celestia's voice was strong, it carried the weight of a ruler behind it, wrapped in a soft pillow. My mute nod was all that she needed. I wished a smile would tug at her mouth, but this was her court and she just had an odd alien dumped in it.

I waited, but I listened. Most of the court was about petty problems. 'My cart was damaged by someone'. 'I need help with my farm', 'why are import taxes so high'. The last was interesting at least, the petitioner was a much more exotic pony, larger by far than most and closer to being what I would call a horse. I kept my trap shut though, I had no idea what was really going on and no authority to ask.

At last, however, it was announced that the day court was at an end. I did wonder about something until then. Luna had said nothing, not a word. It was day court, duh, she would handle a night court?

The petitioners and assorted nobles filed out. My guard was still beside me and shook his head when I looked to the door. "Barny?" My attention was grabbed, Celestia's voice would brook no interruptions and disallow distraction.

"Y-Yes Princess Celestia!" My words tumbled out, sounding at least half an octave high. Just my luck, after replying the pain flared again and worse as I felt the worst possible part of my affliction hit. My bowels loosened a little.

"This human is sick, will it catch?" Luna asked, not of me. I shook my head in embarrassment and self-recrimination. I couldn't look either in the eye. The guard beside me tried to support me, but even he knew something was quite wrong. "Do you require medicines? Some others who came before us, here, mentioned requiring such."

"I do… they don't help much, but… they keep some of the pain away, keep it from getting worse faster." I still couldn't look, which was the worse thing. They were perfect, royalty, important. A bright golden glow seemed to radiate around my face and I felt my chin tilted upwards.

Celestia's horn was glowing. "Tell us, human. How is it your world's medicine couldn't help you? Others have told us stories of near miracles performed with your technology."

"Not… your highness. Not for this. No cure, no understanding. My body is trying to eat itself, the best they can do is blunt its teeth." I gave a soft whine then, my body reduced the pain a moment, but I lost more dignity.

"How long have thou suffered under this yoke?" Luna's demand was filled with an emotion I had heard before. Pity. I could handle most others, but that was a bad one and I could feel my eyes well with tears.

The grip on my chin was released. I dropped my gaze down, wetness dripping down my nose. "How long? Tell us. Be truthful."

"Ten… a third or so of my life." I sagged almost to the floor, the guard trying to shore me up as best he could but I must have been like a sack of grain to him.

Her next words weren't directed at me, but rather her sister. "A human doth not deserve this. Nor any creature." The words flew over my head, I heard them before, I lived them. "Human," Luna was turned back to me now, "if you could give this to another, for them to carry thy burden."

"No, no please don't do that!" It was the one thing that would cut through my pain, my self-anger. I wasn't religious, even before having two 'deities' before me, but I had a standard I tried to hold myself to. They had magics. They could probably transfer it. I long ago said I would never wish this upon my worst enemy. That didn't change now.

Darkness washed over me, not true darkness, but Luna's magic. The pain was eased a little and she gave me back some dignity. "Sist-" Her words were cut off.
"Luna, no. Those are last resorts." Celestia's words carried, even to my ears, a slight sadness of errors made. "I will call on my protege, she might have some insight, in the meantime, let us see if our own physicians have a better understanding of this."

More of the pain left and I lost my focus. It was the best I had felt in years and all it took was a magical pony.

I woke, however, to the pain returned. "Ugh, wha..." Someone was poking me in the belly, agony was what had brought me from Luna's spell.

"Oh, you're awake! This will make things much easier!" A smiling unicorn, no. The pain was still there but my smile returned. My real smile. Twilight Sparkle, in the very excited pony-flesh. Her wings partially blocked the lights above me but, as she seemed to calm down they lowered and ruffled adorably back to her side.

How did the fans ever think her being an alicorn would be bad? She was much more expressive with wings. "Easier, p-please don't push there, that… hurts a lot." The mare lifted her hoof off.

"Oh, sorry. But this is good. Why is it sore, do you know?" I felt her magic probing around, it wasn't any sense of movement, or touch, just…

My brain raced, despite the odd sensation and pain. "You know… you know how there are tiny things, that can hurt you?" Her surprised look and nod told me she at least understood a bit of what I was talking about. "A human body… pony too probably, has tiny little soldiers inside that fight them, stop them from being a problem in a healthy body."

Her head tilted, but I knew one thing about this little mare. She was wicked smart. "Oh, so those aren't working right? You need to have the bad things burnt out? I can do that with mag-" I wanted to let her go, but she had it backwards.

"No, princess, the other way. My soldiers are… easily excitable. They pick fights with other parts of me." I pointed to my lower belly. "They think those parts, inside me, are the enemy."

Her wings flew up at this. "But, the enemies… oh, that doesn't sound good at all. Should we feed them, make them happy?"

"Our science, they used medicines to, to quieten them down, make them less excitable." I tried to keep the metaphor going, it was a good one.

She shook her head. "Not a solution at all, it would be like pulling the teeth of timber wolves. They aren't going to bite you anymore, but they cannot protect the forest from worse things, either." My smile told her all she needed to know. "So your science couldn't calm them… or had to balance the calming them. What happened if you got bad things in you?"

My raised eyebrow was all she needed to make the quick connection.

"You got more sick, of course. Well, what about retraining them?" Her magic, only observing so far, seemed to tense at one place and I felt some relief from pain. A page and quill floated over to her, summoned in her magic.

Oh boy, I warranted a list.

"That, what did you do?" I couldn't believe it, morphine hadn't worked this well. Had she cured me that easily?

"I told your nerves to stop, so I could work. It normally wouldn't work, but there are only a few there." I lay back. I could feel tugging. I could feel the sensation that there would be a lot of pain, if not for her magic.

I let Twilight do her thing because, after being poked and prodded in a regular hospital what was this indignity. It was then I noticed my shirt was off and amazingly, carefully folded to the side.

Twilight's voice sounded strained. "That is all very odd. You are certainly right about that army, but they are attacking everything. I gave them a little boost at first..." I shuddered a little at what that would mean for me. "I stopped them quickly, fixed what they broke. But this isn't going to be a simple task."

2 - Searching for answers

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Two days had passed. Twilight was looking more and more frantic and disheveled. She was doing her science just right, I was helping her as much as I could, but nothing worked.

A unicorn knocked once on the door and just barged in. His horn was aglow already, a short carved stick that he kept bracing against one leg with each step. I almost lost it when he turned blue eyes on me from a badly tended face. Brown fur with a dark mop of mane, he hobbled over to me and I felt his own magic wash over me.

"Nope, can’t do it. Next!" He turned around immediately and made to leave only to find the door slam shut in purple-pink magic.

"But Doctor Horse, you need to, he is suffering and all I have been able to do is tempora-" The stallion spun on Twilight’s tired demands. He looked nothing like the Doctor Horse from Ponyville, maybe he was a relative in Canterlot?

"No, what this pony needs is..." His retort was rough and it was clear he was quite used to getting his own way. What show was this again? My tongue was tugged at, mouth pulled open. Bits were poked but, amazingly, not where it was actually sore. "Give him five of these." A little tin floated out of the pocket on his normal-looking shirt, it opened to show a lot of pills.

"They are pain relievers, aren’t they?" I knew it was so and the stallion looked to Twilight and then stepped up between her and myself. "Immune suppressors and pain drugs, that was all I got. Slow it down, make it hurt less." My mood dropped further still.

"I don’t know what immune sup… they stop your body’s defense?" The stallion was sharper, at his particular field, than even Twilight. I nodded. "Then yes, that is the best we could do. Maybe miss alicorn here could do the same as your fancy medicine, but you aren’t getting better." He left the whole can of meds there, sitting on the bed as he turned and hobbled out with a soft clunking every second step.

"And I can’t even do that." Twilight’s surrender was even worse than having the doctor do the same. "Wait, this mess in your etheric net, it isn’t the cause of the problem, it would heal if your body could." I blinked a few times, not quite following her. She had explained, with glee at having a fresh student, what etheric nets were. "But what if your body wasn’t doing this, would your net heal itself? It should!"

Her wings flung out triumphantly and I looked up in confusion. "Twilight, you, you have an idea?"

Her mane and tail had lost their untidiness and I could practically see her glow with the very insight that was about to burst. "You wouldn’t be sick like this if you had a new body!" I blinked, a lot. She had been waiting for me to praise her, I guess, but I couldn’t have a new body. "What?" She sagged a touch. "Luna and Celestia have done it before, I heard they have changed a few humans."

The look on my face clearly made her slight wilting fade. She saw confusion, not challenge to her plan. "Come on, Luna is in night court, but I think she will make an exception for this. She really hates having to sit at court anyway."

Twilight grabbed me with her magic and lifted me clear of the bed, leaving me a scant moment to reach for my shirt before the world shuddered and I was blinking up at Luna from the floor of her court.

"Twilight Sparkle, what is the meaning of this?" The guardian of dreams slammed a hoof down, getting a good thud from the floor.

"It was so easy, and you can fix this!" Her wings were up again in excitement, even as the petitioner scrambled from the limelight of their audience with Luna. "If you turn Barny into a pony then that will cure them."

To say Luna didn’t share Twilight’s enthusiasm was a drastic understatement. "You interrupt our court to tell me this?" There was fury in her words but I felt something press at my mind and then.

~ relax, both of you. I want to hear this and my temper is a good excuse to clear the court~

I tried to look chastised, Twilight too, but she was failing terribly in her excitement. As soon as the last guard closed the door behind the petitioners Luna smiled. "Thank you both for that. We find our court tedious indeed sometimes."

There was a hint of warmth a a sensation of light before Celestia was there too. "Come, my sister, lets hear the report." Luna nodded and returned to the loose pile of cushions at the head of the room.

"I tried everything, including shutting down his defenses and letting them grow back completely. Oh of course I helped," she added at a raised eyebrow from Luna, "but nothing worked. The doctor you sent in was what really helped though, he confirmed what I had found. There is no way to cure a body of this, only make it easier to die slowly." The words cut me to the quick and I could see that they pulled a response from Luna and Celestia. Wait, was Twilight manipulating them? Or… "So, throwing away all the solutions that don’t work, gave me one that would. He needs a new body!"

I blinked up at her, then over to the other two princesses. "We hardly think a few pokes is en-" Luna began, starting to argue for more time.

"Luna, you can use the spells, both of them. But not so far this time just… a little ways back." Celestia's words were soft but even Luna would stop and listen to the least of them.

Twilight beamed.

A familiar sickness poured through me as the world tore for a moment, dark magic flaring around me. Twilight's support was gone, as was the guard. And Celestia. And the huge room.

"You have some choices, human." Luna's voice was back with it's cool strength, tugging at my mind and making me look up to her. We were in a dark room, the walls and ceiling looking like a field of stars in a dark, cloudless night. So did her mane. "Earth ponies. Strong, dependable. Unicorn, frail of body but not of will. Pegasi, free as the wind and just as capricious sometimes."

Small images, like holograms but… real, danced around. The forms of the ponies changed with each phrase she had spoke. One came to my mind though, one of the fine bat-winged pegasi that had been Nightmare Moon's minions. It's image instantly warped the little pony in front of me, showing me something much different and yet still adorably cute.

"Lunar pegasi?"

I was nodding until something came to me and I looked to my hands.

"But you will miss those. We have heard that unicorn magic can replicate them." The little dark winged pony changed. The wings pulled in and, from their forehead, a horn rose. My eyes were wider. "No flight, but we think you would like this better and, with one boon, we can grant it."

I turned to her, wondering what the boon might be. My nod was sure, though. Her and her sister's implication was… well, I would have put up with anything.

"And we will take some years from you, as my sister has allowed." Her words confused me a little but as her horn glowed and darkness surrounded me I didn't care.

"WAIT!" Celestia was there, standing over us, her brightness fighting a stalemate with the darkness of the room. Luna's magic still wrapped me, I had a sense that if she actually stopped I would be in a worse state than I am now. "This one, a human stallion." I nodded. "Your etheric energy is twisted. You are neither… explain!"

Her words tested me, I couldn't figure some of them but the implication the few I understood made me nod. "I… I never really felt anything, toward either. They are just bits and make no real sense to me." Puffed a little with Luna's magic, I felt a touch bold. "I could try… the other?"

~she cannot hear this, but yes, you could. It would change the boon we ask~

I felt the same pressure as before as the words just came into my head, the pressure eased after a moment, like there was some kind of bubble to pop at their first entry and now the way was clear.

Celestia nodded. "But know this, once chosen, the change will not be undone. For better or worse you would be-" her mouth curled into a deeper smile as she saw the little lunar unicorn standing there, now subtle hints betraying tells of a feminine gender. Softer features, slightly longer lashes and, likely, a million other little things that I am sure I was not pony-enough to notice. "You would be her. Are you sure."

The tears that flowed now weren't fear, they weren't self-loathing. I nodded and the world went quiet and numb.

"Lulu, I really was just trying to make sure she was going to be-" Celestia was trying to calm a fury of darkness above me.

"You peeked, you had to, she didn’t take any persuading for this form, she pushed US!" Luna felt like a force of nature above me with her anger. Then I saw there was something else odd. Between my eyes, just toward the bottom.

"Uh, hello?" My words were hesitant but got an immediate reaction from both alicorns.

"You’re awake." Luna smiled as she spoke, revealing care and. I blinked up at her with not a shred of fear from her and laughed.

"Now you have unhinged her." Celestia said simply. "She is your problem." The darkness of the room returned as my tears smeared the dots of start into lines.

"You mock us?" Luna asked, sounding more inquisitive than hurt. I was shaking my head, the giggles and laughter unable to be stopped. "Then what?!"

It was the first time I heard the Royal Canterlot Voice. It stunned me from my laughter long enough to lean over and nuzzle the dark hoof before me and say a few words. "There’s no pain." My laughter started again but was suppressed enough when a smiling Luna rubbed an ear with a hoof. "Thank you!"

Luna’s smile half faded as she suddenly had a very clingy young mare wrapped around her leg in a hug. "This is unseemly and…" The hoof rubbed my ear again and it twitched. It was then some more things started to inform my once human mind that this body was odd.

I looked at one leg as I managed to pull it up in front of myself. "I am a pony? A real live pony?" I giggled more but didn’t laugh. Not only was there no pain, but I wanted… I needed…

I didn’t think, I jumped off Luna and started to race around the room. I WAS A PONY! The fifth step was my problem. The first few had worked because I didn’t think about them but as soon as I felt new muscles work, felt for them and tried to make them work how I wanted, I was sunk.

Luna had her turn to chuckle as I face-planted right into a big pile of cushions. "Celestia wouldn’t let us wind your clock back as far as… others. But we went further than she told me. You are a young mare barely past her growing times. Your life, the life you missed, is ahead of you and, our boon lies there somewhere."

I looked up at her with wide eyes and realised something else. No glasses! My clothes were in a heap where I had been changed. I suddenly felt very, very naked. "Eep!" I burrowed under the stack and hid. "I… ponies aren’t naked are they?"

Luna laughed a little more and stepped carefully over on long legs. "No, we are never naked so long as we have fur, mane and tail. But in some places, a little decorum is suggested." Luna’s magic picked up one pillow after another, hefting them away from me and finally leaving me exposed. A mirror appeared, hovering around and I felt my ears swivel and perk as I was suddenly interested in the mare in it.

Dark body-fur, a little thicker in places than what other ponies had, parted here and there to reveal a deep purple under it. Her mane, I thought, was black but as Luna turned the mirror it flashed deep blue and her ears twitched, the little tufts of fur at the tips looking adorable. I smiled and she smiled, revealing teeth that were… "It is not considered polite for a lunar pony to show off their teeth, unless something displeases them." I looked up and nodded to Luna. The mare’s mouth closed a little to just an obvious smile. The mirror panned around and down and I could help but frown. No cutie mark? But ponies got them when they were young.

Luna was quick to divine my confusion. "You have not found your special talent, yet. Do not try and force that, it will come." The reassurance was so nice that I returned to watching, the cute little horn on the mare’s head, with no magic-colour to it. "But we think that will need some work. We cannot have an adult unicorn not knowing how to use her horn." I nodded. The last thing I noticed of her, were the sky-blue eyes, I almost got lost in them.

Something started to swirl in the back of my mind. Something strange. It wasn’t pain, it wasn’t shock. It was sensations, a myriad of them. They felt odd, not wrong and, when they insisted I try and make sense of them and they washed over me something tilted in the world and I was looking in a mirror at my own reflection.

The mare was me.

3 - Music in you

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I walked a little, the floor feeling odd to walk on, well, with four legs. I tried not to think about the soft clops, or how my legs moved. It just felt right. "You have started off well, the last we did this for had more accidents." Luna sounded approving.

Reaching my sad little pile of clothing, the remnants of my old life, I leaned down and reached to the pockets.

And fell over.

"Oh bother." My voice was higher than it used to be and there was a hint of a smile in it, and how could there not be? "Luna, you said I could use magic, like hands?" I worked to just sit down on my rear and push through my things with hoof and nose.

Her presence moved, shifting across the room to be beside me. "Of course. There was an ideal teacher for thee, but she has, unfortunately, had to take her leave of Canterlot. No matter, one will be found and I will send them to you." I managed to dig out my charger and the phone, the latter being dead after a few days without power.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to make electricity, but the little charger, I knew, was a lot more flexible in nature than what the phone needed and if I took care of it, it would take care of my phone. I stood up with them in my mouth and Luna chuckled. "What?" I blinked as I said it, how did I talk while my mouth was so full?

"We will get you saddlebags for your things. Do you have a plan on what you will do?" Her question came just before a neat little pair of bags floated over and sat over my back. I squirmed a bit but they felt comfortable.

"I was good at selling things, and making things. I am sure I can find someone who can use me." Luna nodded to this and her door opened, spilling in the early rays of dawn.

"Then go, find your place in Equestria." I hugged her leg again without thinking about it too much and couldn’t help but blush. I surely hadn’t been this hands… hooves, on when I was human. As I turned I felt something drape over my croup. I looked back to see my old shirt, the logo was turned down so it was just black, blending with my fur. She tucked the sleeves and neck under my saddle bags and gave my withers a little pat with that glowing darkness.

The sun gained some height before I realized something, Celestia was moving that. I stopped, turning my wonder to the bright orb in the sky. Closing my eyes for a moment and just soaking in the warmth I managed to affix a smile on my snout. Best, day, ever.

As I turned back, my mouth opened. "The dark is gone, the day has dawned and I have just begunnnn!" The song bubbled up and I was too astounded to stop myself. "Light of heart, free of spirit, I want to run run run!" It had me and I wouldn’t stop it, it felt so right.

I danced through the street, singing, exclaiming at how good it was to simply be. Ponies would stop, sing a verse with me and return to their day. I practically bubbled with how good it felt. Panting, I snagged a post with one fore-hoof and twirled around it to stop at a sad little building. Looking at it I felt a click. "And so I will!" I nodded as the last words came from me.

~~~

It was a whirlwind. I slept in the little run down shop, using hoof and mouth to fix basic things. A week passed by, a week of discovery and excitement. "Ho there, Penny!" It was Mr Loaf, the earth pony baker from the shop next door. They were so happy to have someone move into the ramshackle building and start restoring it that they lent me a hammer, nails and even some spare wood!

"Good morning, Mr. Loaf!" I set the hammer down and trotted over to where he was opening his shop. "Need some help today?" I asked it every day, of course. Bakeries did most of their work in the morning and with Mrs Loaf at home with their newborn twins, well, a young mare needing a few bits. But of course it wasn’t for bits I was working. I was paid in bread.

"Always Penny. Say, could you get those ovens stoked, how goes the work?" The cream-coloured stallion trotted back out to his cart to fetch a bag of grain. I stepped into the dark store and reached first for the lights.

"Oh wonderful, thank you. I had a bit of trouble with that back door, but I think I finally have the place sound enough to think about what I want to do with it." I moved through to the back of the bakery, where the two huge ovens took up most of the room. Leaning down I grabbed some firewood carefully in my mouth and started moving it to the firebox. "I… I might make some more of my little trinkets. You said the foals love them?"

The big stallion set the first bag, maze, down at the door. "Oh they adore them. How do you get those cute little gems so shiny? No," he raised his forehooves to ward off my answer, "don’t tell me, you keep those secrets to yourself, make some bits from them."

He retreated to the wagon again for more bags while I carefully moved an ember from the banked fireplace, on a little shovel, into the first of the big ovens. No sooner did I have the second one primed and the doors closed than the flames caught on heat started to waft from the doors. "All going!" I trotted out the front to the sales area, clearing away the floor with a broom while Mr Loaf started working on the dough he had prepared the previous day. With that in the ovens and things mostly settled, he shooed me out of the shop.

"Come on now, can’t have you slaving away for somepony-else’s shop." As he pushed me out of course, with giggles from me, he set a little bag down beside the front door that I grabbed. "That should tide you over."

Trotting back to my little shop, I opened the front door. Working with the big ovens was always hot work and the day was shaping up to be warm. Settling inside for a break, I pulled out the latest little trinket I had been working on. The stones were trash, I had found just the right places to look, however, to get ones that could be salvaged. Wind chimes, bangles, with some polish and work I could make what others threw away into cute jewelry! I began to work the little fold of metal around it with my hoof and got out the coarse bag Mr Loaf had let me have.

I felt another song about to start. I loved them, they were good and I was finding myself keeping an ear out in case other ponies were in the middle of one. Stepping out at just the right moment and being their ‘background pony’ was a good pick-me-up.

"Excuse me darling, but may I have a look at what you have there?" The song I was hoping would start faded, oh drat. Looking up at the exquisite feminine voice who halted it I almost died of shock. Rarity!

"Oh! Uh… I am not open yet…" The excuse tumbled out but Rarity knew two things extremely well. She knew business and she knew gems. "But, uh, here!" I fished the gem out of the holder, showing the half-polished side of the ‘ruined’ stone, then the other.

"My dear, this looks ghastly but…" She turned it over in her blue magic. "You have others?" I opened the little drawer beside us, fishing out some of the gems I was hoping I might be able to make back some bits on as well as a few little trinkets.

Rarity’s eyes narrowed and she examined each one. "I’ll take this. Can you get me another… oh ten ought to do. Just like this blue opal cluster?" My attempt at a stammer, particularly when the not-too-light bag of bits floated from her saddle bag, settling where the gems were. "I am sure you can, you send a note to Carousal Boutique when you have them. You of course speak to the proprietor."

I dumbly nodded and eventually got my voice to work. "Yes Miss Rarity, ma’am!"

I got the words out at last and she shook her head. "Oh no no no. This won’t do. Bring them instead, I am sure you have enough there for a little train ride. We simply must do something with that mane." With that, she gave a nod and that little 'hrumph' exclamation I remembered so well, turning and leaving.

I was still standing there, the drawer open, bag of bits starting to spill loose inside, when Mrs Loaf poked her head in. "Did I just see one of the," she put a lot of emphasis on ‘the’, "most exclusive fashion designers in all Equestria just leave and… pick your jaw up dear…"

She trotted in and waved a hoof in front of my snout that finally broke the spell. "She just paid me… I need to work!" I rushed around in a circle three times, trying to work out where the damaged gems were before realizing they are in my saddle pack. Lifting them out I sighed.

"And not a single one the right color." A slight sigh emerged, but all this meant was that I might get a song today after all. It always seemed like big events that kicked them off. "She wants me to polish more stones up, she needs… I need to get going sorry!"

I simply rushed out, not even realizing that I left Mrs Loaf with not only all those bits but to close my shop. Of course she did it for me, that is what ponies did.

By the time I was trotting home it was nearly mid afternoon, my packs were heavy with badly prepared stones, but not a single one of them was cloudy or had a crack. My snout was a little sore, sticking it into piles of sharp gems was not wise, but I had to do it.

"Penny!" A deep voice called. Mr Loaf. "Penny Farthing! You had some letters!"

"Be with you in a moment sir," I hadn’t gotten out of the habit of using such an honorific, it always paid dividends to treat somepony… I stopped in my musing and giggled, I was even starting to think with ‘pony’, "just need to drop this load off in the shop!"

When I reached Mr Loaf, he had a bit of a blush still about him. He only had eyes for his wife and foals, but having a young mare call him sir always put a blush about him. Mrs Loaf had seen it too and given me a talk. I talked back and she was satisfied. "Oh, that one has a royal seal!" I picked up the midnight-sealed letter and with a flick had it open.

Penny, we are to understand you are settled. This is just as we hoped. A tutor has been arranged, they will contact you to organize where and when you can be trained. It is our sincere hope that you will enjoy and grow into the shadow of your horn. As for that… other issue, we will seek you tonight in your dreams.

- Luna

“Oh, I am finally going to learn to use my horn!” My exclamation got a happy nod from Mr Loaf. “I… you know I grew up a fair way from here. I never had anyone around to teach me.” The happiness bubbled up inside. "This is going to be great, I wonder who it is?"

The other letter, hopefully from my new tutor, had no wax seal but was neatly folded. I wondered who it would be from.

4 - A lesson in fate

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Unfolding that second letter I smiled. The penponyship was absolutely wonderful.

Penny Farthing, her highness Luna has informed me that you need to be taught the basics of horn magic. Please see me at your earliest convenience at the Canterlot Library.

- Moon Dancer

I tilted my head in thought and then smiled. Were the episodes real here, was this before or after…

"Well, good news?" Mr Loaf had let the big ovens burn down so they weren't so hot and was preparing dough to rise for tomorrow's baking.

I straightened up and nodded. "I am finally going to learn magic!" I did a happy dance and almost felt for a song but it slipped away. Aww. A hoof ruffled the top of my mane and I giggled.

Mr Loaf kept rubbing a bit more and my enthusiasm continued unabated. "That's good, it's not right to ignore your talents. You got a horn, best be using it!"

My giggles stopped suddenly. "Wait, earliest convenience… I should go now!" Near-panic set back in and I scurried out of the bakery at a run. Reaching my store I opened the door and darted in. Packs… oh no, they are full of damaged gemstones. It took a short while to find places for all the stones and get my packs back in order but, tucking the letters back into the packs, a few bits and slinging it and my shawl over my back I was off.

My heart was full of plans and ideas, so much so that when I reached the end of the street and looked around I was aware I had no idea where the library was. "You look lost, ma'am." A deep voice came from the side and I turned to see one of the city guard, a unicorn stallion in armor, what luck!

"I need to find the library." I beamed at him, getting a wider smile back. "Oh, where are my manners. How is your day? Oh, and I am Penny!"

His smile parted a bit more to show a grin. "Well Miss Penny, my day is going well. The library is just down from the palace, big unicorn statues out the front, you can't miss it. And I hope your day goes well too." I laughed happily and practically bounced away.

I could practically feel a song coming but, alas again it didn't. I pouted for a moment until I realized I was in front of the huge library. I closed my eyes a moment, tried to picture Moon Dancer from the show and, with that image solid I opened them again and trotted inside.

"Wow this is huge..." My words were softened in reverence. The human-me had been a bibliomaniac of the highest order and this. "Heaven!"

"Shhh!" A chorus of sound came. I had been a bit louder it was sure.

A look around revealed nearly a dozen unicorns and even a few others around, but I spotted my new mentor. Moon Dancer looked just like she had in that show, except one thing. She was frowning. Wait, had she made friends with Twilight yet or not?

With my target in my sights, I stepped over confidently, moving just behind her and to the side. "Miss Moon Dancer?" I kept my voice soft but it got her attention.

"I am a little busy." Her reply was a bit curt and my smile wilted a touch. She turned to face me and I realized that it definitely was pre 'fences' Her eyes through those lenses, though, were amazing, the perfect shade of purple.

I gave a bob of my head. "Ma'am, I am Penny Farthing. You sent me this letter, you are to be my tutor." My smile reclaimed my snout as her head turned a little to the side. "Uh, Luna said you were a wonderful teacher and-"

My words were cut off by her exclamation. "How does a mare not know how to use her horn?!?"

I was already wincing and the expected came. "Shhhh!" The chorus was almost louder than her words and she winced.

Closing her book and setting her things in her pack, she returned to a whisper. "Well, come along, we are going to need to get to the bottom of this."

She led the way to one of the private study rooms that ringed the library and once the door was closed she took a deep breath and found one of the chairs in the room. "Okay, start from the start. I don't want to miss anything."

I explained my story. From human getting dumped on the street in Canterlot. I left out the more personal bits but she seemed to give a little nod when I did, as if she knew there were more but didn't want to pry.

"Well, that is quite the reason. So you need to start at the start." Her horn lit and a few books came from her bag, one in particular sitting on top.

Your Horn And You.

I grinned and reached for it with a hoof to have her magic wrap gently around my foreleg and stop it. "Not yet, books always assume knowledge. This one assumes you can make light and channel." At her words I sat back, but she noticed my eyes straying not only to that book but also another that was revealed in her open pack. "You like books?"

Understatement plus plus! I breathed in, the smile gathering on my lips as air tickled through my nose. "I love books. Where I lived I had more books than any other possession. I read like a shark eats. My best friend wrote books, I helped him with editing them which meant I typically got to read them before anyone else." As I explained, I almost forgot I was meant to be doing more listening than talking and when I focused back on Moon she had as big and goofy grin as I did.

"I wish I could meet your friend, I lost a good friend too once..." I almost cried then, knowing just who that would be. "On our way out I will arrange you a library card but first. I want you to think of magic. Of power in you and swirling around just below your horn." As she spoke I went a little cross-eyed trying to focus up and on my horn. "No, you can't see it, only feel. Here."

A glow above and between my eyes made me giggle a little as Moon's magic touched my horn gently. It felt sensitive, but nice. "Here, now just down a bit more..." it pushed down a little, into my horn and down and I felt a place in there, almost like, it was like breathing but I knew it would only work outwards.

I relaxed that part of me, not even knowing I was clenching it. A light blue glow replaced her purple one. I had a moment to giggle at it before white-blue sparks started to spin and zip off it. "Whoa, calm down, slow it and focus on only letting a little out at a time." Her words worked, calming me as the glow returned to just a glow and then sputtered out!

"Good, a good first try!" She smiled at me, her first smile, a flash of white teeth that I accidentally returned. Her smile didn't stop when she saw mine, the hint of 'too many teeth'. I saw the flash of almost-recoil but then a nod. "You will practice that, we will meet back in a week, here again."

Rising, her book floated from her bag and into mine, tags still marking important places. "Let's get you a card so you can borrow this, I will find one of their other copies." I realized that books were her 'out'. Twilight had almost broken through to her with them, and how could 'book-pony' not?

"Any knowledge needed for it?" I got up, hefting my bags to my back and working on holding my light steady again. It felt oddly nice to just channel like that, but it was also tiring.

"For that one? The only knowledge is that you can read and have a brain behind your horn. Stop for now, it will look a little odd for you to be doing foal horn exercises as a mare. Lets grab some food, you are hungry."

My blink at the not-question made her chuckle a little. "Magic uses energy, energy comes from food. Come on, there is a nice place it… only serves normal food."

"Uh, normal food?" My belly rumbled then, telling me what Moon already knew.

She paused our conversation, softly asking the librarian for a new card for me. Floating it over she led the way outside before replying. "Normal food, like, not meat. You b-" She stopped talking and flushed red, seeming to shrink away from something. "Sorry, I didn't mean… lunar ponies..." I got the feeling she was just really awkward around ponies.

I leaned up and gave her side a rub with my shoulder, a gentle one. "It's okay! I only just became one. You don't see many like me?" She shook her head.

"None, I haven't seen a lunar unicorn before… at all." We arrived at the sandwich bar and found some stools to sit on. Orders were placed and seated our conversation resumed.

"Well, at least I am something different. So we can eat meat? I don't think I really need to though, I have been helping out at Mr Loaf's bakery and get most of the things I need in trade for work."

Moon nodded and while we chatted I saw something that, had I wings, would have shot them up. Twilight was out on the street, trotting up to a house with Spike and knocking on it. "You might want to ask Luna about that, I am sure she could… why are you staring out there?"

Moon was starting to turn. If I didn't get her home the princess might not run into her and the show would be ruined. Minuette stepped out of her house and was chatting with the alicorn.

I was saved. "Did you say Loaf's bakery? This is their bread!" The pegasi serving us set our plates down with a wing. I noticed from the corner of my eye a flash go off as pictures were taken and, thankfully, the princess and her old friend wandered away. "Anyway, I hope the food is good!"

While we ate, we kept silence but Moon did sneak a glance outside, not seeing what had caught my attention. Glee!

The bread was, of course, delicious and the salad of carrot shoots, daisy petals and rhubarb made for an oddly spicy and tasty meal. "Oh, did you hear, the pegasi are going to have to bring in some clouds this afternoon, yup, I will be lucky to be able to make it home before it begins raining!"

Moon looked startled and, much as I hated lying to her, I had to ensure she returned home and not to the library. "I best head home then, I was going to anyway." Her admission took some of the wind from my sails.

We parted ways and I couldn't help but do a happy little skipping dance on the way home. I had helped an 'episode'!

No song took my voice and hooves, but then this wasn't a turning point or such, that seemed to be when they happened.

5 - Distracted for a bit

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My bed was a simple one, a nice mattress and a few pillows. It was in the loft of my shop and as I curled up on it, no sooner did my head hit softness than I was out. It took time for my dream to start, darkened faces that no amount of peering or chasing could reveal, it wasn't fun and I bopped a hoof down. A darker shape rose in my dream, tall, dangerous, it lashed out with hoof and magic and destroyed the things that were such a consternation.

"Your dreams are vivid." Luna's voice came from that darkness and, looking up I realized my brain had used the form of Nightmare Moon as its hammer to smash what it didn't like. I grinned up at her and leaned sideways against a leg.

But I didn't want darkness now and a huge full moon appeared, stars lighting up the scene as we found ourselves on top of a hill. "Much more pleasant, we approve." Luna's form shifted to her true one and she settled down. "About my boon."

Looking around to ensure everything was just nice, I trotted up and settled down across from the princess. I really didn't mind her holding it over me, but then, she had done so much. She and her sister had given me a new life and I planned to live it without looking back!

"When you are established, when your little shop is doing well, we will ask of you a foal." The way she said the words, I knew she thought she was just letting me off the hook, after all, isn't that what mares do, settle down, find somepony and have a foal?

Ice, shock. I was looking up at the pitched roof of my loft, blinking and awake. "I… but..."

A sense of force swelled beside the bed and suddenly the night princess was there, having to crouch a little and lay down in the cramped place. "Does finding a special somepony frighten you that much?"

I nodded mutely.

"It shouldn't, everyone finds-"

"No, no I don't want to." The words were out of my snout and I knew I couldn't pull them back. I had promised her a boon, of her choice. "I don't…"

"You won't?"

Now my little head was shaking in the dim light coming through the one small window. "Can't."

Luna's head rose a little in surprise and her horn poked at an exposed beam. "We don't understand, we made your body perfect."

"It isn't that either, you really did make it perfect, but I don't, I don't like ponies in that way." The words tumbled out. "No, not just ponies, I mean, I don't like… I don't like that."

The princess looked at me with confusion a moment. "We will think on this." And just like that she was gone. It was not easy trying to get back to sleep that night, or the next. What did she think of me?

Of course, the fabric I was polishing the stones with would wear out a lot, but that was okay, Mr Loaf gave me a new one whenever I needed it. After two days I was about halfway through and, over that time I had gotten much better at just making light. Relaxing in my little shop, I was curled up on a cushion with the little clamp assembly in front of me. My light flickered from dim to bright as I bade it, showing me where more work was needed.

"That looks cool."

I was shocked and looked up from the work to see a young earth pony mare looking down at me, her interest piqued. "Oh they do, they look better and better when I get them finished." She turned to look where I gestured with a hoof, leaving my work for the moment. As she turned I noticed something a little odd, the mare had a cutie mark that looked exactly like a changeling!

She spotted my focus. "We all have to wear that, when we are in a different shape." I blinked at her reason and it took a bit for my brain to wrap around it.

"You're a changeling? Cool! Did you want to buy something?" My eyes took a moment to really start to refocus, narrowed down as they were to the gems I was cleaning up. "I was trying to build up stock when I got a huge order."

The mare shook her head. "I was actually looking for… employment." That piqued my interest more and when I raised an eyebrow she continued. "Well, try as the hive does to make sure we are all fed, everypony is on half rations until enough food is harvested. I wouldn't need much, just… well, you were radiating and I didn't mean to..." Suddenly I had a bawling changeling, her form having flashed in green fire.

I had heard about all this. Apparently somepony rescued a whole mess of changelings from Chrysalis, then another pony had shape-shifted into a changeling queen. They were allowed to eat only when given permission. Which was why she was so upset. "Hey now, it's okay. I didn't even feel anything."

"You'll tell the guard!"

Sighing I settled down beside her. My own proclivities didn't lean in her direction, but that didn't stop me from leaning against the oddly-firm pony's side and giving their mane a nuzzle. "How about, you do a day's work for me and I don't tell them that you had a nibble."

I knew it would be a bad idea to just 'let her off', she wouldn't have believed it. But making her work for it? "I… I can? Oh, I WILL!" Suddenly there were dark black legs wrapped around my neck and a very relieved changeling nuzzled against me. "Wait, you don't taste quite… normal?"

It was my own turn to lower my head. "Yeah, sorry, mares aren't my-" I was halfway through explaining when the dark form snuggled against me was suddenly a stallion. Their mood rose a moment before they blinked in surprise. "Yeah, not stallions either."

The green fire wasn't hot. I had been close to her for two changes now but she was back to her carapaced-self. "If not mares or stallions, what… does it?" Curiosity was better than confusion at least and I tried to explain.

"Neither really. I like getting wrapped up in work, or a really good book." As I explained I was aware she was still cuddled close and I blushed a touch. "I am happy for you to work here, but I don't think I can offer you anything to eat in that way."

She was quiet a while and just leaned in against me. I guess it was then I just let go and relaxed against her. "I can live on friendship… a little." Her words were soft as we lay there, simply enjoying having met someone new and friendly. "Oh, I am Stick!"

My face must have registered how confused at this admission I was.

"My name, I am named Stick!" She clarified but it still took a bit to sort out.

"Well Stick. I am Penny, Penny Farthing." I gave a nod and hugged her back some more.

"Hay, you want to see how to polish stones?" I leaned back a little, and she relaxed her grip to let me.

"Sure would!" We disentangled ourselves and climbed up and it occurred to me that she, well, they, in their changeling form, didn't strike any alarms as male or female… kinda.

I spent the afternoon showing her and letting her practice. Settling down in the pillows, our flanks touched a little as we both polished the stones up to great result. "So you live at the hive?"

She nodded, lifting her rig toward my horn and getting a brighter light from me as I noticed it. "We don't have to go back, they said, if we find somewhere nice to live. But Queen Fast said we can't live anywhere but there until she has checked it out."

Twilight, the time not the pony, started to settle in around the city and Stick announced she had to return to the hive. "You coming back tomorrow? I would hate to lose such a great worker!" She nodded enthusiastically.

"And I will petition Queen Fast to come and inspect your home..." She trailed off, realizing she had inferred that she would sleep here. "If, if that is okay?"

Heartless I was not, and could resist nopony that looked as adorable as Stick did. I remembered well how good it was to move away from home. "Of course it is, you will go back for meals though, right?"

She nodded. "You are nice, but if I fed on you exclusively it would be bad. You would get sick."

"Settled then. Tomorrow you come back and we try and finish these stones. If we can get them done I could take them to Rarity before..." Stick had frozen and looked in shock.

"One… one of the Elements?"

My hoof was over her withers and I had her close in an instant. "Yes, I guess you would know her as that. She is a nice mare, she was just protecting her friends. We are friends now, though, and if she is friends with you she will defend you, too!" It was a lot for her to take in but her terror seemed to fade to uncertainty.

"Then I will make sure to be her friend!" She raised a forehoof into the air with the conviction of her words and I hugged her more before ultimately letting go.

"Until tomorrow!" We both said the words together and it was cute. Maybe we could stir up a song?

No Luna this night, my dreams were the usual, shadowy figures. Nightmare Moon dashed in again, sparing none from her wrath and, until I woke, I was tucked at her feet.

A baby dragon was wandering up to my shop the next morning. My chores with Mr Loaf were done bright and early and I welcomed my first visitor for the day. "Hi there, after a snack?" It wasn't Spike, their pattern seemed to be a fiery red set of dorsal spines along an orange body.

"Always!" His enthusiasm was welcome. "Name's Quickwing." He was looking keenly at the little place and seemed to sniff the air a moment. It was odd, I knew the wind wasn't blowing the smell of baked goods over.

"Well, I have a few here that had cracks in them, after I started polishing them up. Don't suppose you have any old cracked diamonds you would like to trade for them?" My question seemed to catch him off guard but he shook his head. "Well, you can have them anyway!" The failures were scooped up in short order as I turned to make sure I hadn't gotten the wrong ones.

On the wall beside me, despite it being a bright day, green flame's light danced. I spun back to see a quartet of legs. I looked up and up to find a huge changeling in the dragon's place. "Generous, helpful… and I heard you let my little mite off without calling the guard. She can stay here."

"Excuse me, uh Quickwing?"

"Fast, Queen Fast lately." While my mind tried to scrub the pseudonym and replace it with her real name I made the link to what Stick had said, about someone coming to inspect. "Oh don't look like that, Stick will be over soon. I had her buy some things." And with that the queen turned and walked off.

"Well that was odd. Guess she really cares for them." I pondered a moment and smiled, of course she did, that is what you do, take care of ponies who need it!

When Stick finally arrived she offered me a bag. "Queen Fast said you needed this?" Light came to my horn and I looked in the little sack. Diamonds. They were cracked, some badly faceted, but they were the real thing.

"This is awesome, I will be able to cut proper stones with these!" I did a little dance, clopping my hooves on the floor. I must have pushed too much because my horn sparked a little and I had to clamp back on the channeling. "But not today. Today we work more opals to a shine!"

"What's this?" Stick asked, her hoof raised to a badly written sign by the door. I just grinned wide.

A changeling works here. By entering you agree to be civil to them and, if you have a good time, to help with their care.

"You need permission to sip from ponies, right? Well, that gives you permission but… please be careful not to hurt anyone."

I was bowled over by a blur of black and green. Words weren't needed, but what was needed was more stone polishing.

And we did. Life was shooting forward in fits and bursts. It was like my human life had been a dream, barely even a step that had led to me, a pony.

"I got the power on. Wouldn't you know it, one of my little gadgets even can work with it." My eyes and light were focused on the stone in front of me, but Stick and I shared words while we worked. "It, well, it was meant to be able to talk to ponies no matter where they are, but that part needs a lot of other things. For now it can do this…"

Reaching back with my mouth, I pulled my phone out. It played a little tune as it started up and I had to be really careful not to break it with my fangs or hooves but, eventually I got it playing. I didn't want to scare my friend with some of the heavier things I liked, but some rock was an easy choice.

"That sounds amazing!" Stick had abandoned her own work to come closer and look at what I was doing. "How does it fit a record in there?"

"It uses other tricks, sort of like magic."

Her eyes were wide but she could accept 'magic' as an answer easily enough. With a few albums on repeat, and with my phone charger bent a little to fit the socket, it helped pass the time.

With the work of the day behind, and my horn doused of magic and light, I grabbed a little hunk of bread, cheese, and some celery and sat on the front porch to watch the sunset. Luna would be working her magic soon, pushing the moon into the sky. Along with all the rest of my humanity it was easy to just push any challenge to that, based on science, away.

Stick was beside me, taking in the view as well. "We should be finished with them tomorrow." Her words drew a nod from me. "You need to take them to Ponyville." Another nod. "To one of the Elements…"

I shuffled a little, leaning over and so that our flanks touched, giving her some measure of support with simple contact. "You will see. Bringing her the best gems will make her happy. You could be the most popular changeling in Ponyville!"

She didn't reply to that and we sat until the world got dark around us. At last, with a nod, I lit my horn and getting up gestured to the loft. "You can sleep up there." I noticed as we walked to the little ladder something I had just now realized. "You don't have any holes." I looked to her hooves.

"I did have them, when we were under the bad queen. Queen Fast, she wouldn't let us feed on people who didn't give their love freely." There was puppy-love there, Stick certainly looked quite enamored of her leader. I couldn't find fault in it, from what I heard about them she certainly seems to be keeping them on the right track.

"Well, lets make sure you never have to get them again…" My voice trailed off as I realized our error. I had completely forgotten about getting a second bed for Stick!

I was pushed a bit higher by her hard body as she poked her head up beside me and giggled, seeing the problem. "Do you mind being a little cozy?"

It was an odd question, at least for me. I hauled myself up with my forehooves. "Uh, I guess I don't mind." A deep breath and a smile were called for and I summoned their particular kind of magic. "I will be okay." Unhitching my little saddlebags and shawl I started to climb onto the bed before getting a soft brush of what almost felt like silk across my blank flank.

The wing's touch was so very gentle I almost missed it. "You don't have a cutie mark? Well, we need to fix that!" Shock, surprise and a giggle were my reactions. If nothing else, the kind of hijinks a unicorn and a changeling could get into, crusading for a cutie mark, boosted my mood and erased those lesser emotions.

"Goodnight, Stick." I curled up on the bed, feeling the shape-changing pony-insect behind me cuddle a whole lot closer than I was used to anyone being. It would have put me on edge, I should have been raising alarm bells but I really couldn't find fault in how she had treated me. The important part was she just accepted and didn't push.

"Goodnight, snack-pony." I got a good-natured poke in my side with it, but her tone took any and all sting from the comment.

6 - A boon

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There was more of those faceless things now, in my dreams. They came at me relentlessly. I was on the verge of panic at the night terrors when Luna herself stepped in. With a spray of dark magic she blasted the things away and I sighed. "Those are not healthy things for a pony to have within her." The pronouncement was completely true, I thought. "We will keep your dreams as clear as we can…"

The implication I got from her was that I should be trying to deal with the cause for them. I had a suspicion that it was my easy acceptance of becoming a pony. It was a hard thing to fight, I knew I was embracing it all the more to try and live up to what Luna and Celestia had given me. "But you are here about your boon."

I got a nod. "We will admit, we did not contemplate your situation. At worst we believed a stud would be needed." Luna practically folded beside me, working her legs under her. Of course she still dwarfed me. "You act and look just like a pony, a good little mare, it is sobering when we remember how you were at first."

I shook a little, trying to banish the bad feelings of the dream and tackle this problem. "So you want a foal from me." I lowered my nose down to a hoof, rubbing a little in thought. "Magic helped with-"

"It cannot." A very final statement.

"Okay, well there is only one other way to make a foal then, I know it… I could maybe put up with it." One of my ears got a rub and I looked up to see the tuft of it in Luna's dark magic. I smiled. "I… I don't think I would do this for anypony else. You gave me my life and I am grateful, I shouldn't look a," I stopped the saying before it came out as an insult, "I shouldn't take the gift lightly, and I won't take your boon lightly either. I have time to settle in more."

The thought of having an unknown stallion come and, do things, then leave. It was better than trying to go on dates, that was for sure. Still not something I would want to do myself. "Luna, there are not many like me, are there?"

"There are not. Lunar pegasi have been their own species for some time. It was our hope to have a foal or two from each mare of this new line. We didn't really work out so well for you, but we were trying to make it a simple thing, something a mare would want."

With Luna herself looking a little down about it I made my choice. "Give me time to, fully accept this. But Luna, I will do what I can and," I gulped, the words likely would have been much mangled and stuttered in the real world, "I won't count it as your boon."

It was like a slow rush, a warmth over me. Once a burden was accepted, claimed, it was easier to bear. Luna didn't reply, not with words. She leaned over and kissed the bridge of my nose and was gone from my dream.

I stretched, the light of dawn filtering through the lone window. The memory of Luna's visit in my dream was strong. Why had I said I would?

Stick's chittery voice, a little thick with sleep exclaims a bit before she giggles. "It's odd not being in the hive." She wriggled a little and I realized just how close we had ended up snuggling. The odd part was it didn't feel bad, just different.

"Stick, I… thank you for helping." Of course I wasn't thanking the changeling for what she thought I was. Companionship was never something I thought to have, if even for a night. "If we can get those trinkets finished, we can take the train down to Ponyville today and see Miss Rarity."

Her limbs seemed to tighten a moment, beyond what I was now comfortable with. She felt my tension too but seemed unable to let go. "She will hate me, I bet."

My forehoof reached up and rested gently on her own where it gripped tight. My mind had a brief flash that technically she was a predator of ponies, but it was a silly thought and I let it go. "We will find out then. If she hates you, Stick, then I don't want to do business with her."

The tight grip she held on me weakened a touch, but the nature of it was no longer that of needing support, she had gotten that. "You would do that?" At her incredulous question I turned in her grip and booped her on the nose with a hoof.

"Of course. Friendship is sometimes not easy, sometimes a pony has to give up the memories of a lot of bad things that happened to them. If she can't do that then her friendship isn't worth having."

I climbed up, stretching and flicking my tail back and up a bit, back legs almost straight as I closed my eyes. As I rocked backwards, forcing my forelegs to stretch I heard Stick giggle.

Stick helped open my shop while I helped Mr Loaf with his morning tasks.

"Well hello there Penny, I didn't think you would be in from now on?" His words brought me up short and he chuckled at my clearly perplexed expression. "Because of all the bits you are making? Not that you aren't welcome to keep helping."

I trotted to him with as neutral expression as I could muster. "As long as you need the help. I would hate to think I was overstaying my welcome."

His hoof came up and ruffled my mane, which banished my flat expression in favor of a smile. "Of course not, you have been a great help." And with that we were back to our routine, getting the ovens firing, preparing the shop. The little bag that normally had enough baked things to get me through the day was heavier and when I nosed into it Mr Loaf chuckled. "A unicorn practicing her magic needs a little more. There are some baked nut bars in there that should do the trick!"

I pounced and gave him a hug.

"Ahem," the deep throat clearing behind was feminine, "any other mare, hugging my husband, would get a talking to!" Of course Mrs Loaf had heard our whole conversation, her words carried only mock hurt.

"Aw, don't you think I could sway such a dashing stallion?" I released the hug though, letting her deposit their two foals in my place. "How are little Pip and Short doing?"

The topic change pleased Mrs Loaf; what mare wouldn't be proud of her foals.

Her reply actually blew right past me, shock impacting my focus, scattering all thoughts. I was going to be a mother, would I be like this?

How long I was distracted I couldn't remember, but both parents and foals were looking at me. "Hello? Penny? Wow you were so far gone that Luna could have visited." Mrs Loaf's words almost pushed me back to that shock. But I managed a smile.

"Oh, sorry. Got a lot of work today and will probably be spending the night in Ponyville. I might not be able to make it in tomorrow."

Mrs Loaf was all smiles, seeing I was okay. "Oh you don't panic, I can come in for a day or so." I had a sense that it wasn't the best of news for her, but that she would manage.

I said my goodbyes and, grabbing my bag of goodies dashed out to twirl on a hoof. I am not sure how but I caught the bag in a hoof and my voice rose up. Oh boy yes! "A trip, a trip," the music took me had hold and I relaxed into it's grip, "I feel like I could skip. Me and my friend, our world did flip. A trip!"

"A shop, a shop, this mare could never flop. She worked so hard, brings a gem from a shard. A shop!" Mrs Loaf's slightly deeper voice added and the music was joined. It was a short one, only five verses, but even Stick got in with one, rhyming wonderfully and with a strangely chitter-free voice.

"A trip, a trip, but first to finish work. If we get this done, we'll be having fun!" I somehow danced in and spun around, landing on the cushion I worked from and the music seemed to stop. "A trip!" A final note rang out. I giggled fiercely, that was so much fun but nopony else seemed to realize what had happened, ever.

Stick and I worked through the morning, only breaking from our work to grab out one of the little bars to nibble. As usual, I had my horn lit, trying to keep it even and at the point just before it would spark. Stick was folding the metal around the last of the clusters and, when she had it just right I wordlessly lifted a hoof into the air for her and there was a cute 'clop' as her own collided with it.

"Penny?" She sounded both exultant and inquisitive. This meant there was likely going to be the most fun trouble ever. "Earlier, when you came in you… you shone with energy and it was delicious!"

My brain took a moment to draw the facts and I grinned. "You ever see ponies just, well, breaking into song?" I got a blank stare and a head shake as reply. "Well, I have noticed it. I think… maybe only humans can see it happening. But when I left the Loaf's shop, I was singing, there was music, you even sang a verse!"

Now I had her complete attention, complete confused attention. "But…"

"Look, something happened, right?" She nodded to it. "Well, that is what happened and it is fun, it makes me feel more alive, more… pony."

She still didn't look completely convinced but she seemed to be thinking about it. "Maybe I should ask Queen Fast about it." The matter seemed settled and we started carefully loading the trinkets into a bag carefully, wrapping each one.

"Okay, lets go!" The moment I said it Stick looked ready to panic. I set the bag down that was I starting to lift and moved toward her, sitting on my rear and pulling her into a hug that she didn't fight. "Come on, not still worried? Look, I will protect you, your queen wouldn't have let you stay here if she didn't think I would." She slowly started to hug back, the contact drawing the tension from her more and more.

"I know but, she and her friends defeated Chrysalis, they will think I am a bad changeling!"

"Then I will have to fight them, if they do." This caused her to pull back and look at me. I must have had a determined look because she actually smiled. "I will! I will fight them with words and, if they try something nasty, I will give them such a clop!" I raised a hoof menacingly. Of course how menacing can a single unicorn, barely a mare and still not trained to do more than make a little light, do?

"Silly!" She grabbed up the bag for me, I tucked some bits in my pack and we closed the shop with a little sign that read.

Back in a day!

The station wasn't far, I didn't want to be a greedy mare but a song would have been nice. Instead we had some odd looks, a changeling on the streets, well away from their hive?

"Two tickets to Ponyville!" I told the old stallion working the ticket counter. He took some bits and gave us our tickets.

"There you go miss, you just take the second car from the front." I nodded to that but could see his vision flicking once or twice to Stick. "She-"

I cut in, his voice had dropped and I could almost taste something very unpony-like about to leave his mouth. "Isn't she wonderful? It is wonderful what was done for them, I couldn't believe they were forced to work by a cruel queen."

He nodded and I got the impression that he wasn't actually going to say something nasty, just badly informed. "Oh, that it was. It would be terrible." He nodded and I almost sagged. After hearing how lunar ponies were sometimes treated I felt extra defensive about Stick.

7 - Making tracks

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Heads up! There was a chapter between the last and this, over here

Trains are trains, but one thing I couldn't get over with this one was how much room there was. Instead of wall-to-wall sardines we were the only ponies in the whole carriage and each spot was effectively a wide pillow for us to sit on. Despite that we sat close, real close. I knew she was drinking from me, just little sips constantly, but I really couldn't even tell she was doing it.

"When you snuggle, you taste better." She couldn't have been reading my mind. Can you?

The thought went without comment and I giggled and leaned a little more. It certainly didn't hurt and I was getting more and more comfortable just enjoying her company. What was the word… oh, squish, like a crush but less. "What is it like, I mean?"

She closed her eyes. "Back in the old hive, it was bad. There were a few ponies who wandered too close to us, they were stuck in pods. Oh, Chrysalis wasn't a complete monster, she would let them out before they died but a few ponies was never enough to feed everyone. I was, I looked after the breeders, the big… males, that help make more changelings. It meant I got more food than others but the queen made sure we never got too much." Her head turned and lay across my back. "She didn't like even a hint of competition, even if little drones like me couldn't be queens."

I took a deep breath and leaned up, my own tufted ears giving a little twitch as I nibbled gently at one of her own curved ones. "How was she raised? Who looked after her?" I didn't think she had heard me, maybe fallen asleep, but she gave a sigh.

"No one really knows but, I guess I see your point. If someone raised her to be queen and to mistreat… could that really make her such a monster?" The questioning in her tone, I could tell she was surprised at her own words.

"Problem could be, she eats love, devours it. You dehumanize… deponyize, food. You call it less than you because otherwise you would admit to yourself you are a monster. Doing just that, it can make you one every bit as bad." I had to adjust a human word, to get it to fit. Hadn't done that in a while, they normally just flow. "The first step, even if you have gone all that far, become such a bad pony, is to admit it, if only to yourself."

I squeezed Stick, my mouth finding her mane to work at gently. Her head shot up and she blinked, looking accusingly at me. "You, you lied!"

Drawing back, scared and worried, I tried to ask what but she talked over me. "You told me you don't like stallions or mares!"

I leaned forward and butted her with the bridge of my nose, pushing her off balance on the big cushion. "Silly, I don't. What's between somepony's legs could never make me love them. But, you," I braced myself, mentally, "you I like." I flopped forward on the changeling, laying over her and giggling.

She struggled a moment more from shock at the lie then, with a giggle, rolled so we were just laying beside each other again. "So, friends?"

I nodded. We both knew there was a little more than friends involved but were comfortable just naming it such.

"So you knew Silver Lining before he came here. Was he such an adventurous pony even then?" Stick's question about my lost-then-found friend made me smile.

"I knew him well, though we had never met. He wasn't quite as… well I guess he did travel around a bit, going to conventions… big meetings, to sell his things."

"You like him too?" The changeling's simple question made me blush and look down. "You do!"

Deciding to end this line of inquiry before I made any more slips, I reached out for Stick and tried to tackle her to the cushions. "That's not an answer!" Stick's chitter was all but gone from the words, but there was a lot of giggling.

"Ponyville. Ponyville next stop!" The conductor's voice jolted me back awake. Stick beside me seemed to twitch like she had awoken too. Why couldn't they have had trains this comfortable back when I was human? I pushed the question away and stretched.

"You look like a cat when you do that." Stick's words made me giggle, but I kept stretching until I felt free enough to walk easily.

The train was obviously slowing, giving a little shudder every now and again as brakes applied down the length. The last little jolt saw us queuing up at the door to leave. Our possessions all gathered, we stepped off the train in the much smaller town. "Should I choose a form to blend in better?" I turned to Stick as she asked, but shook my head.

"No, probably a lot of ponies here that don't even know about the changeling cutiemark thing, best to be open with yourself, it will also let us know who are not nice ponies."

We were interrupted then by a pegasi mare who was approaching the train's baggage car. She had a slightly oversized pack on and I recognized her immediately as a particular postal worker. Her grey fur and blonde mane/tail combo was the clincher but she wasn't looking at me, she was staring at Stick and looking more than a little worried.

"Hi there!" I waved to her and she seemed shaken from her shock by the casual greeting. She turned back to get a small bundle of letters from the train and secure them in her packs before she wandered over.

"Are you a changeling?" Her naked curiosity told me that her initial reaction was not outright fear, but interest. A good thing.

Stick blushed a little but nodded, keeping quiet out of embarrassment.

"Oh! Can you do me?" This got a blush from me now. Why did all ponies ask this of the first non-hostile changeling they saw. Stick replied with a giggle and a nod and in a flash of green fire there was a second Muffins. "Oh, oh!" She clopped her hooves in delight but squinted, which with her eyes was a whole new kind of adorable. "Your cutie mark is not right!"

Stick-Muffins gave a nod. "We keep it that way, that is how you can recognize a nice changeling pretending to be a pony, from a not nice one." Muffins seemed to contemplate this and nodded. My own thoughts soared at this. It was perfect, making a good impression on a pony who visits so many others during a day would be a great start to letting them know there is a changeling, a nice changeling, in town.

Stick turned, showing off her tail and form, getting more giggles from Muffins. "Oh, I need to deliver the mail, but would you like to have a bite to eat later?" Her question actually shocked me. My mind had settled her firmly into 'background pony' status and I had almost discounted her as a pony in her own right. Basically I was being a terrible pony!

I looked to Stick and we both nodded together. "Lets, but I have to warn you… where are my manners?" Stick blushed furiously then with a flash of fire was herself again. "I am Stick."

"Muffins!" Muffins' reply was so enthusiastic and, apparently the two very different ponies with similarly odd names happily accepted each others.

"Muffins. I will warn you that being so far from my hive, if you are willing, would you mind me sharing your happiness just a bit?" Stick's words reminded me about her odd need. This would certainly be a good way to help her along, if a few ponies were willing.

"Share… you need love and happiness?" Muffins grasped easily the meaning but looking a touch pensive. "Does it hurt?"

I broke into their little chat. "Nope, can't really notice it at all, except you end up a little hungrier than normal." Muffins broke into a smile and she nodded.

"I really gotta go now, dinner at the hayburger?" We both nodded to the mare and she headed off, wings spreading and flapping. It occurred to me that although she might not be the fastest of pegasi, Muffins would certainly be one of the steadier fliers, considering she was always flying so much and with cargo.

"See?" I made to walk off the platform, Stick keeping up beside me. "You already have a friend in town and you only just got off the train."

Stick blinked a few times at this but nodded. "I have, do you really think the Elements will be so nice? What we did to them was… it was terrible!"

There was a gasp from some fillies as we left the station but since they had dashed away before we even did more than see a flash of a silver tail we couldn't do much about it. "Ignore that. Come on!" I tried to keep my tone and Stick's spirit light.

A few other ponies in town seemed to stop and stare, only to get smiles and waves back from us, but as we neared our target there were less and less overt looks. Stick was trembling like a leaf when we were finally in front of Carousel Boutique. Lifting a hoof I gently knocked.

The door opened even as my hoof was about to tap it one last time and a small figure looked up at us, eeped and it closed again! "Who is it dear?" Rarity's voice called inside.

"Ch-ch-ch…" Sweetie Belle's voice stammered back and, before she could actually get out her word the door opened again and Rarity herself looked in shock at my friend, only noticing me after a moment. Shock passed to poise quickly as the mare turned her attention to me. "Well, I knew you were going to be interesting, darling, but not quite to this extent. I hate to ask, but should I call on assistance or are we not under attack by changelings?"

I looked to Stick and discovered what it was that had turned Rarity from 'ahh a changeling' to 'what is going on', the girl at my side was trembling in fear.

Rarity's question went unanswered for a little moment while I leaned over and put one foreleg around Stick's withers and pulled her into a hug. "She isn't here to fight, she helped make your delivery." Thankfully Stick hadn't dropped the bag, her fangs the likely reason.

"Well, come in then, lets get your friend some tea to calm her and see what you two have." I wondered briefly if Stick could even drink tea, but followed Rarity into her shop. It was as glorious as the show, she had the most amazing outfits around, some in a state of assembly, others finished and clearly ready for delivery. "Sweetie Belle, dear, please bring some tea."

We were led to a little pair of couches that had a table between them, not unlike a typical living-room. Stick hesitantly set the bag on the table and Rarity smiled when the first trinket tumbled out, revealing the care we had taken in wrapping them individually. "Very nice work." Rarity levitated the package up and was unwrapping it as she went, turning the little cluster of opals over to investigate. "Yes, these will be perfect."

The rattling of china was heard as Sweetie Belle nervously carried the tea set in her own magic. "I am glad to hear, we have worked hard on them." Rarity was already lifting more free, giving each her full attention while a nervous filly started pouring the tea. Despite how worried Sweetie was, she didn't spill a drop. I smiled when she offered me a cup in her magic, clearly expecting me to grasp it with my own. "Oh, uh… I am still learning to use my horn," I said quickly as she reacted with shock, "I grew up a long way from the city, we didn't have a school to learn horn magic at."

The words appeased her and I could see that she had stopped trembling. The next cup was for Stick and, like me, she let it drift to the table. It was then I pondered on the fact that I hadn't seen her use her horn at all. I filed that question away to ask when we were more relaxed. Leaning in and sipping my tea, I was pleasantly surprised by the fine dark tea flavor. "Oh this is delicious!"

Sweetie Belle seemed to brighten further, praise bringing out the same pride as her big sister had in great measure. Stick sampled her own and I saw her relax a little further. "Well, I am satisfied with these. I will make sure to mention to any admirers their source." Rarity had set all the trinkets together. "Now, it is a little late to trouble the girls for their time, you simply must stay until tomorrow, we can have some time to relax and discuss future business."

I had an inkling of what Rarity intended. "Sure, we had planned to stay, I need to go and thank the princess for… for something she did." Stick was just taking a drink of her tea then and if not for the need to not inhale the beverage she would have jumped. Rarity took this in stride.

"There is a little place to stay, if you head left outside you can't miss it. Run by some wonderful mares, do let them know I sent you." I tried to remember what buildings we had seen outside but I was distracted at the time, I mean, I was actually IN Ponyville!

"Thank you." Stick's words were tainted by a lot of chittering, as happened when she was tense about things, or so I had discovered.

Rarity smiled back and replied in her typical high-born style voice. "Darling, you have shown nothing but manners and displayed a most wonderful talent in your work. Mind, others in town may be slower to drop any, prejudices," the word dripped with scorn, the way she said it, "but know I will have only good to say of you."

I nudged Stick with a hoof. "Toldya." Rarity beamed at the obvious claim that she was as nice a pony as her reputation.

Stick looked to the mare with a growing smile and held out her hoof. "My name is Stick, I am very glad to have met you!"

Rarity reached over and bumped the hoof. "Rarity. It has been a pleasure."

I could not be prouder of Stick, the formerly trembling changeling was sitting straight now, pride in her work and that it had been praised by others. "We really must dash, it would be good to secure somewhere to stay the night and get something to eat." I finished my tea and started to rise, Stick doing the same.

"Do drop in, in the morning." Rarity reminded us, as we made our way to the door. We said our goodbyes and the door was closed behind us.

"Just wait until the girls hear I met a changeling!" An excited filly's voice came clear through the door and even Stick giggled as we turned left. A little sign on one building revealed it to be a Day Spa, while another said B&B.

"Guess this is the place." Stick gestured with a hoof at the building and I nodded.

Stepping up to the front door my friend gave a little clop at it. It took almost a minute to open, revealing a very pink earth pony mare with blue tail and mane. "The spa is closed for the day, may I help you?" Her accent was certainly new but not hard on the ears.

"We were looking for a place to stay the night. Miss Rarity told us that you might be able to help?" I had been about to ask but Stick, infused with confidence by one of the masters, took the initiative.

The mare blinked twice, it was all the surprise she displayed before replying. "Of course, be welcomed to our home, we have two spare bedrooms that we offer to ponies needing short-term accommodation. My name is Aloe." Implied was a question as to if we needed separate rooms.

"Oh, one room will be perfectly fine." Stick's reply had me blush. The spa pony didn't even bat an eyelid. "And my name's Stick!"

"Wonderful. Would you like it now or will you return later?" Her question reminded me about Muffins' offer, but Stick was on top of things.

"We will be back later, we wanted to see a little of your lovely town before settling in for the evening." Stick's voice was bright, nearly completely devoid of chitter.

The mare just gave a wide smile, a happy little squeak seeming to come from her. "Well, just knock when you are back, we might not be open but we are always prepared in case of an emergency."

My head spun as to what kind of emergency could require a day spa keep watch for, then I remembered where I was. Damn it was nearly impossible to not smile here.

8 - Learning

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Turning away from the spa we had the warning of strong wing-beats before a smiling gray pegasus mare was with us. "Ready for that dinner?" Muffins sounded excited and the mood was contagious, I hadn't had 'junk food' in Equestria yet.

"Sure are!" Both Stick and myself chorused, sending all of us to giggles. Apparently most things were reasonably close by in the middle of Ponyville, so we began the slow walk to the hayburgers.

"So, you get to know every pony who comes to town like this or are we special?" Stick was about as blunt as her namesake frequently is.

Muffins' eyes seemed to swivel in place as she looked back to my friend. "Oh, both!" Her giggle sounded completely innocent but then her face seemed to drain of mirth. "Since Tirek, I don't take chances with strangers in town. I tend to be all over the place, a little literally, but if I see a new pony I offer them dinner." Her direct tone had me blinking again, startling me out of the apparently careful image the mare had crafted around herself.

A memory sprang to mind, of those episodes where Tirek was fighting and draining ponies. "You fought with the Wonderbolts…" I said it before I realized and Muffins gave a nod.

"You think I was always a mail mare? Princess Twilight and her friends are strong, stronger than most ponies, but their friendship with each other sometimes makes them a little blind to ponies that seek to take advantage." She gesture to the castle on the edge of town.

I would never have done it as a human, but I was so far from that life now it felt like a bad dream. I moved closer to Muffins and put a leg over her shoulder. Strong muscles tensed in the pegasus until she felt me squeeze gently. "Friendship indeed." I felt a tight squeeze back but saw a slightly confused expression.

"What brought this on?" Muffins was clearly okay with the sentiment, just unsure the source.

"The princess and her friends defend Ponyville and Equestria, I am just glad she has more good friends that protect her." I pulled my leg back and gestured to the hayburger right in front of us. "We're here!"

With a toss of her blonde mane, Muffins tried to hide her little blush as she led the way inside. I was in a state of wonder, it was almost entirely like a regular fast food place, but there was that feeling of welcome that seemed to be a veneer over every action ponies did.

"Hayburger, how can I help you?" A bored looking young earth pony stallion behind the counter asked, his eyes slightly turned to the air, dark mane hanging down to partly hide one eye. The stereotype almost made me giggle.

"Three quarter pound oatburgers with large fries." Muffins was looking over the menu while she spoke. "Make them a meal, apple juice will be fine for the drinks."

The stallion poked his hoof at what looked like a piece of wood that suddenly glowed with a gentle magic. Clever. "Eat in or would you like it bagged?"

"Eat in." The reply by Muffins revealed how draining these kinds of mindless conversations can be and I couldn't fight my urges.

Leaning to Stick I muttered loud enough for the stallion to hear but clearly pretending to try and keep it a whisper. "Such a hot stallion…"

The change was quick, the formerly distracted worker stood straighter and his eyes perked up. It cost me nothing to say and even if his self esteem boost lasted just five minutes it would be worth it.

Stick looked a little confused but nosed me, actually talking quiet enough not to be overheard. "What? You… what do you mean?"

My whisper back, while pointing slightly toward the stallion likely just enhanced the little deception. "He looked so down, now he thinks two mares are talking about how cute he is, look at him standing straighter, but only make it a glance."

The changeling did just that, looking to him then back to me quickly. I was watching his reaction in the window's reflection. Worth it.

"Uh, here's your order." A wooden tray of meals floated over to us and to my surprise, Stick grasped it in a glowing green bit of magic.

Muffins gave the stallion a nod and turned, leading the way to a booth. "Okay, what game was that?"

Stick and I both giggled, but my friend replied first. "The game was 'make a stallion feel less bored'."

The mail pony lifted a hoof to her face, only making me giggle more at the clear 'face-hoof'.

"Either you two are the most amazingly careful infiltrators of all time, or the most adorable pair of strange ponies. What brought you to Ponyville? Also, I know Stick, but what is your name?" She unfolded one of the burgers, leaning down to take a nibble of it while looking directly at me.

"Penny Farthing, we were here to deliver some stones to Rarity." My reply got a nod from Muffins as she ate. At my side, Stick made sure her flank was pressed to mine while she leaned in and sniffed a burger before taking a bite herself. With both eating I was clearly going to have to keep up the conversation for now. "She had asked me to deliver these in pony, I think she has something planned for tomorrow, for us."

This got another nod from Muffins, but she had finished her bite. "Well, of course. You are just about the most unique pony around. Had a few lunar pegasi through, mostly on official business, but you are the first unicorn." She had been very careful enunciating my species, I was a little lost as to why, was I really that odd? "At least, you would have been, you mention yourself in that invitation, she didn't know about Stick?"

I shook my mane and took a bite of my burger and was surprised. It was a patty made of oats pressed together and cooked, with some quite delicious greenery in among it. Even pony fast food was better than human stuff.

"Well then, I am sure her delight at having such a unique pony to fuss over will double at being the first in Ponyville to welcome a changeling. The princess and her friends should have no love for you, Stick, but your people have had a bit of an impact on them." Muffins' words looked to sadden my friend, but the problem was it was all truth.

"Then," the changeling felt my forehoof move against her own to rub a little, it seemed to make her sit a little straighter, "I will have to make the best impression!"

Muffins grinned and nodded. "Good attitude."

"I wasn't even part of the swarm that attacked Canterlot, well, I was part of the hive, but I took care of the breeders. Was it really that awful? We missed a lot of drones after that…"

"It wasn't good, from what I heard they had infiltrated a fair number into the city before the main attack, a lot of ponies had their new friends suddenly revealed as enemies." The blonde pegasus looked a little sad, had she suffered just that fate? "There is a new hive, in Canterlot, or so I hear?"

Stick nodded and smiled. "We have a new queen and everything, she used to be a pony, Queen Fast is her name." Muffins looked to ponder this, but no recognition showed. "We are not allowed to mimic any pony directly, when we do look like a random pony, we have to keep a changeling cutie mark, but I prefer not to, I like being me. When I was in the hive I never had to disguise myself."

This was apparently interesting to both myself and Muffins and we listened while eating.

"So when somepony came up with the idea for us to work and get paid in food, I dived on it." She hoovered up some fries, but easily talked around them. "We didn't bring any breeders with us, when we left Chrysalis, it was amazing, one minute I was cleaning one and doing my duty, the next a clear voice shattered the fog the nasty queen kept me in, telling me there was something better."

Her voice betrayed her feelings about the two queens she had lived under. "Then I found someone who needed me as much as those breeders, but who was a whole lot nicer than them." I was wrapped in her forelegs suddenly and blood rushed to my face. It really wasn't fair, dark fur should totally hide a blush better than it actually does.

Finished with her burger, Muffins smiled at us and my blush got worse because of it. "You are a cute couple, if you don't mind me saying."

I didn't think I could blush more but clearly I could. Were we a couple? Was that an okay thing in Equestria? Was it okay between our species? Was it… Both Muffins and Stick were looking at me.

"Psst, you spaced out on us?" Stick poked me in the shoulder and I blinked.

"Uh, sorry, must have been thinking about tomorrow…" It was just about the lamest reply, considering my thoughts.

Muffins repeated what she had obviously asked. "When did you get into making gemstones?"

My relief that the question wasn't further down the previous line of conversation was almost covering my worry of how far the conversation had gone, between Muffins and Stick, while I had been out of it. "Oh, uh, about a week ago, I had moved to Canterlot from a fair way out, needed something to do to make bits and some new friends I was helping complained that the stones in their foal's mobile were marred. I polished them up with some rough cloth and they were delighted."

I shrugged at it but Stick replied. "Apparently nopony was doing things like that, they would just throw away broken gems." She shrugged.

Muffins gave a nod. "It is a good pony indeed that can make a living helping their fellow ponies."

My mind was still a little distracted. Were female pairings, or male even, discriminated against? The show had a few cases of mares living together, but it was hardly a fit medium to explore such things. Then it hit me about my uniqueness and the implication of what human nature had been toward such things. "Is… does…" I halted with the asking, rallying my nerve. "I am new to Equestria and regular society. Is two mares together odd?"

Stick looked unsure but Muffins shook her head. "Hardly, we outnumber the stallions after all. But… you may get a little heat about being a lunar, forgive the phrase but 'bat pony' is the most common, and worst, thing to call you." If I had wings they would flare up in surprise. "Probably not as noticeable, not with a changeling walking beside you. Ponies tend to rally against the unknown and while you are different, you are still a regular pony."

It made sense in a horrible way. Was Stick really a foil against racism pointed to me? Would I get more ponies railing over my association with her than me being different?

The mare at my side, however, needed a hug and I did just that, leaning in and daring a nibble at one ear. It felt right to do and I had embraced 'right' as much as I could of late. "Let 'em think what they want, we are ponies just as much as they."

Muffins gave a nod, grabbing up the last of her fries and chewing on them.
"Thanks." The word was soft but the emotion Stick put behind it was not. She hugged back every bit as tight. In a louder voice she announced our need for sleep. "We should go settle in, don't want to keep Miss Aloe up too late waiting for us to return."

"For what it is worth, I trust you." Muffins declaration was heart-warming. "But be aware the ponies of Ponyville are a little less cosmopolitan than those from Canterlot. Where there might have been hidden dislike for either lunar ponies or changelings, here it will be out in the open."

"We will do our best to make a good impression and let people judge us on our actions, not our fur." I meant every word of it as we stood up. "Hay, Stick, you can use your horn, why don't you do it more often?"

She finished taking our tray back, in her mouth, before replying. "Uses more energy. More energy out means I need more in. I don't want to stress my friends."

Muffins nodded and looked to me. "Sound reason, what about you?" It was blunt as all get-out, but she clearly wanted to know and my cover was sound, if only a half-truth.

"Not learned that yet. When I said I was from far away, I meant it. My family couldn't teach me to use horn… oh dammit." My curse brought a surprised movement from Muffins' eyes. "Look, I am not sure if you know about humans…" A nod from both ponies surprised me. "Well, I used to be one. I was sick… dying really. Celestia and Luna agreed after some checking, that making me a pony was probably the best way to make me healthy."

Stick just grinned, having heard about all this already. Muffins tilted her head a moment. "You didn't lie, really. You are a long way from home. You are a good pony, I must admit."

We said our goodbyes and parted ways. "Why don't you tell others?" Stick asked, away from Muffins' hearing now we were alone.

"I didn't want to stick out so much, be a, you know, a freak." My shoulders seemed to hunch up a little as we walked.

"Silly pony," she kissed my nose, shattering any hope I had of continuing to feel sullen, "just be yourself with me."

I leaned against her, so our flanks and shoulders kept brushing as we walked, quietly, back to find where we could sleep.

9 - A misunderstanding

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It had been a short walk and finding a bed waiting for us back at the spa was a welcome thing. But the moment my dreams began I knew something had changed.

"You left us!" One of the shadow-things exclaimed, it's form resolving into my mother.

More seemed to fade into color. "We are looking for you!" My father, looking more frail than I remembered seeing him last.

"We hate you!" My brother. We hadn't really gotten along, but we had reached a truce for our mother's sake. All that peace was lost in his face now as he looked really angry.

"You are the reason I screwed up my life!" Estranged adopted sister, the dark sheep of the family. She stood beside the others as they all called out the bad things in their lives as being my fault. I had run away from that life.

"STOP!" It wasn't Luna, she hadn't come yet. It was Nightmare Moon.

Memories of her, the rising power from the early episodes, the triumphant and malevolent queen from that season five finale. But she didn't seem so terrible right now as she moved to stand over me. Her horn lowered and dark magic tore up each of those phantoms until there was just us.

"We don't know why you think of her when you want a protector." The real princess' voice. Luna had come. She walked around the terrible leader she had almost become. "You see protectiveness, dominance tempered by a desire to defend what she owns."

I looked up at the pair, from the frozen nightmare queen to Luna. "I do. When… would she have been like that?"

Luna sat down, a soft cushion appearing just before the royal flank hit the floor of the dreamscape. "In reality? Maybe." She seemed to really think on it. "If you had put yourself in her care, we think she would have done… a lot worse than that," she raised a hoof to point to the nightmare-family, "but then she would have given you no freedom in your life. You would have been her puppet, her toy."

"Maybe my darker side would have liked that. I don't know really. I guess you don't know what those sorts of things are really like until they are gone." Was I really sitting here talking philosophy with Luna? "Oh, I met someone today, an old friend who claims to be an ambassador."

Luna's attention focused right in on me. "Silver." She spoke the word with certainty. What had David done here to be on the tip of Luna's tongue like that?

"Yeah, Silver. We were good friends back when we were humans, he was always so… full of ideas and energy." This just got a laugh from the princess. "I take it he has been displaying it here too?"

"He is a good pony, but gets into the most amazing troubles. Sister has nearly torn out her mane over his escapades. He… he can be vexing at times." There seemed to be more she wasn't saying, a lot more.

I tilted my head back, looking up at the Nightmare Moon still standing over me. She poofed out of being and I got up and trotted to Luna. "I am in Ponyville now, I met some nice ponies so far but, when I am done, I was thinking of going to the Crystal Empire, so Silver and I can chat a little more."

Luna frowned a little. "Your lessons with Moon Dancer?" My shoulders fell and I lay down just before the big cushion the princess was on. "Well, Silver could take over on that, although it might cut into his time working for Cadance."

Sudden inspiration, about just how it could be under Nightmare Moon's rule. Luna seemed to be set to make decisions for my life. A little shudder ran over me, she was a good ruler, shouldn't she be able to?

"Very well. we will contact Moon Dancer. No doubt she will be glad to be able to sink back into her books." Luna looked down to notice my smile at this. "There is a joke?"

"Moon Dancer is probably wanting friends a little more, now." Memories of that episode came back, of how happy she had been at the end.

"You look like you know more than we do on this. Was it from the 'play' back in your world?"

It took a moment for me to realize she meant the tv show. I nodded. "I was present for a bit of it, she almost messed up some part of what happened but I made sure it happened just as it was meant to." Luna seemed to perk up at this, giving a nod.

"We will see you when you return to Canterlot, preparations will be made for your longer journey."

With that Luna was gone from the dream and I felt peace in my dreams until the end of the night.

"Morning sleepy-head!" The happy chittering roused me from the more pleasant dreams, Stick giving me a boop on the nose. "You slept in, good dreams?"

"Interesting ones. Luna has agreed that a visit to the Crystal Empire would be possible." I gave one of her cheeks a nuzzle before trying to untangle our legs. "But I think Rarity has plans for us today."

Stick nodded, helping me get my fur, mane and tail brushed while I did the same for her, well her mane and tail at least. With my little saddle bags on and a shawl over my back end we were ready for whatever our first customer had in store.

Opening the door with a hoof led us out into the hallway of the day spa and both Stick and I knew the way. Heading left took us to the front entry where I stopped short and poor Stick let out a soft chitter of shock. It wasn't just Rarity waiting there. The whole mane six, including Spike, turned and spotted us!

Rarity lifted a hoof and gestured to us. "There are the darlings now." But her voice was drowned out by Twilight and the others, clearly readying for battle!

"A changeling!" The alicorn quickly had a sphere of force up, one wrapped around Stick before another looped around me for good measure. Stick trembled and fell to her belly in shock. "Stand back girls, I have them!"

"Twilight calm down!" Rarity's 'uncouth' loud voice bellowed out over the room. Thankfully with attention gained she could reduce the intensity. "I invited them to join us at the spa, please don't hurt my guests."

Twilight blinked but the force bubbles didn't fade. "Excuse me, please, Princess Twilight, can you let me reassure my friend, she was so nervous to meet you and…" I tried to push against the wall to reach to Stick but it wasn't until Rarity used her own magic to turn Twilight's attention to herself that they both snapped out.

"Both these girls came here willingly, openly. They did some work for my boutique and it would be frightful to have you cause any more fuss about them." Rarity's words had an effect on Twilight but the others were still complaining. I ignored them moving to Stick and gently rubbing her withers, giving one cheek a bump with my nose.

"Rarity, it's a changeling, they probably both are, you can't trust them!" Rainbow seemed vehement about it.

It was, amazingly, Fluttershy that approached us. I am sure normally we would have been intimidating to her but the sight of Stick must have appealed to her caring ways. "Are you alright?" Her softest of voices, barely a whisper unless your ears were turned toward her, had Stick look up.

"Idon'twanttohurtanyone!" Stick's exclamation, full of chitter and forced out with nary a pause between the words, had the pegasus reach down and rub her other shoulder.

The rest were silent in shock as the adorable yellow mare reassured the changeling. "If we are a problem, we will just leave." I leaned down to nose at Stick, helping her get up with my support and we got two steps before soft blue magic gripped the door that led outside closed.

"I won't allow this." Rarity practically pranced over, reaching a hoof to the still shaken changeling. "This is not how friendship works." She turned back and I could see a dare flick from her eyes to Twilight and, despite her earlier misgivings, the princess accepted it.

"Rarity's right, but, tell us, were you one of the changelings who attacked Canterlot?" The princess of friendship stepped up to Stick, the girl now caught between myself and Rarity and looking up to Twilight.

"No, my job was to care for others, in the hive." Her voice trembled and chittered so much it might have been hard to follow, but Twilight had.

"Then there is nothing to ask to be forgiven." Looking to Rainbow Dash, Twilight seemed to have offered the pegasus the same challenge as she had taken up.

Applejack, having kept out of most of the kerfuffle so far, walked boldly up to Stick. "Twilight's got the right'o it, near's I can figger." She held out a bold hoof and I felt the trembling lessen. The legends of this mare's strength abounded, even to those that didn't personally know her. If she offered a hoof in friendship, how could you possibly say 'no'?

"Stick!" Introductions were to start. "My name is Stick. I promise not to mimic anyone without making it easily known I am, and to never drink without asking." She looked up to AJ, hoof reaching and getting a firm shake.

"Well howdy there, Stick." Applejack's grin spread not just from one side of her snout to the other, but also made it to the changeling.

Pinkie bounced up. "DO ME!" Stick giggled and was about to change but I put a hoof on her withers.

"Stick, this takes energy…" The girl looked up to me and nodded. "Okay, how about, if you want her to look like you, you offer to be harmlessly nibbled at for a day? I really can't keep her going on my own, nor would it be healthy to try."

Pinkie, of course, was not dissuaded and began a chant. "Do me, do me, do me, do me, do me-"

Thankfully, when Stick became a Pinkie-Stick, the chant stopped. To be replaced with a squee. "Oh look, she has my eyes, my ears, my mane, my cutie… wait a moment!" Attention was drawn by the assembled, all looking to Stick's flanks.

"I promised not to steal forms. This is how you would know I am not Pinkie." Stick gestured back with a perfect pink hoof to it.

It was hard to focus with two Pinkie Pies around, of course one lacked the amazing energy of the other, but that was beside the point. "Can I have my cute friend back?" Pinkie-Stick looked to me and gave a nod. A rush of energy flowed over her, manifested as green flames and the changeling was back to herself. "Much better." I leaned in and hugged her tight.

"The spa won't get cold, but girls, we simply must begin." Rarity's voice pulled attention so easily and everypony seemed to turn and follow the patiently waiting Aloe into the spa.

We were delayed, however, by a loitering Rainbow Dash. "Twi's all distracted by her new castle, but if either of you two pipsqueaks do something to hurt her or anyone else around here…" One of the pegasus' hooves crashed into another with a very final thud, before she turned and headed in. We were last to advance.

"She really loves her friends." Stick's voice was low and it immediately made me worry.

I leaned closer. "Stick, please don't drink from-" A hoof had landed on my snout, the age-old and apparently cross-reality gesture to be quiet.

"I am perceptive, I learn to read ponies."

10 - Sparing

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As we entered the main area of the spa two mares dashed in and shooed us toward lounges. "Lets get you settled and get those hooves looked at."

It was just as I was turned around to get up on the lounge that I felt a slight draft. Divested of saddlebags and shawl in short order there was a collective gasp. "You don't have your cutie mark yet!" Rarity had been the first to find voice and the scandal in her voice made me shrink a little.

It was Aloe that gave the white unicorn a tempering look as she eased me back and to lay down. "Guess you want the story?" It took a few deep breaths to get to it but finally I was ready to begin, eager faces, some already covered with an exfoliating pack, gazed on. "Well, it all started when a good friend of mine went missing. We had been, well, not close as many would think it, but we were practically brot… sisters." I managed the save without too much trouble.

"Life became a whole lot less without my friend to share it with and I found myself barely half a pony." There were some nods to this, friendship these ponies knew. "When at last I was about as low as I thought I could get, a strange thing came to me, asking where I wanted to go."

"What was it?" Twilight, ever curious, couldn't keep quiet, getting a few 'shhhs'.

I lifted a hoof to ward back the sounds. "I did exactly what I wanted, I told it I wanted to be with my friend again." The mares were eating this up, a story about friendship lost? It was bread and butter to them. "I was also asked if I wanted to bring something with me and, like a filly, I asked for a simple thing. Apparently it was because of that I wasn't immediately rushed to my friend."

Twilight's wings ruffled in excitement, thankfully one of the spa ponies had just put a face-pack on her and she couldn't talk for fear of wearing it in places other than her face. She knew though, I could tell, maybe she had done work with other ponies… humans, affected?

"There was a complication, you see I was not well and two great and clever ponies came to see me, to work out how to help me feel better. Both eventually understood the problem but only one could see a way to help me." Twilight was practically vibrating like an excited Pinkie now. She knew.

"It was Princesses Celestia and Luna who were able to help me, in the end."

"Byron!?!" Facial mask and two circles of zucchini went flying, thankfully landing clear of anypony. I flashed a grin to the alicorn. "Oh, that explains your flank!" Any hope the spa ponies had of keeping Twilight Sparkle from rushing over to me were lost as, wings flared, she teleported right beside me. "How are you? Does it still hurt? Did it work? Who was your friend?" A notebook and pencil appeared from somewhere, blinking much like the princess had.

"If I promise to answer the other questions later, can I just give you the last one for now?" My offering got an eager nod as it seemed like the cutest earth ponies you ever saw guided Twilight, sans notebook, back to her couch. "Okay, so. Here I was, lost in Canterlot, not even sure if my friend was there or if something strange had happened… well, something strange had happened, but that is part and parcel of things."

Stick reached a hoof over, while another was getting a gentle filing, rubbing my shoulder with it and smiling. "So, I didn't want to just survive, I needed to really live. I owed it to Celestia and Luna at least." This got a nod from everypony there. "So I started repairing an old shop, doing some work on the side to get food. I made some little trinkets from broken stones only to have an amazing mare walk in," Rarity knew this was her part, grinning and fluffing herself a little, "and offered me a job, she needed a whole lot of those little trinkets."

"I thought it would take you a month, darling."

I nodded. "Me too! But then a pony came to me, asking if they could work for food too." My leg reached out so that Stick and I were just brushing hooves. "The similarity to my earlier position was not lost and so I took a chance, I gained a new friend."

There was a chorus of 'awws', which I let play out almost to their end before continuing.

"Now, picture us, standing on the train platform, waiting nervously to begin our trip to here when a young-looking unicorn stallion and a lunar pegasus introduced themselves."

"Was she fast?" Rainbow Dash's question got a round of giggles, they all knew their friend well.

"She was fast." I nodded only to get one of my back-hooves lifted and a scratchy file start to work around the edge. "But I don't think I know anypony as fast as you, Rainbow Dash." That got a laugh and a pose from the pegasus in question. "So, we chatted and it turned out this little unicorn was just the stallion that Celestia herself had put in charge of taking care of humans."

"Like Jake?" Dash cut in again, the only human she knew much about coming to mind.

"I think ah know where this is goin'," Applejack said under her breath.

I nodded to her. "Yeah, I was a human before. I really do owe Celestia and Luna my life. But I digress. That little unicorn turned out to be my friend, also once a human!"

"I knew it!" Dash and Pinkie exclaimed together, giving a cute hoof-clop.

It was Fluttershy that tilted her head, one wing spread wide to her side with a mare carefully picking through it. "But you said you were sisters, wasn't he was a stallion?"

"Yeah I was… I was trying to make it easier to think about but-" I was trying to explain it as easily as I could but Twilight cut in.

"She was a male human." Her wings flew up in the air, the special tail-wash she had just gotten soaked in suddenly flew in a high arc. "It makes sense but, why did Princess Celestia and Princess Luna make you into a mare?"

This was another question and although I had told her I would answer questions later, I wanted to. "My… aura thingy-"

"Aetheric Net." Twilight cut in helpfully.

"Yeah, that. I am a little different to most ponies. Some like stallions, some mares. Some feel they are stallions, others mares." I gave a sigh as I relaxed, telling one of my deepest secrets to these mares felt a little liberating. "I just don't. It isn't that I don't like ponies, but I like them for being who they are, not what they are."

A few confused looks changed as I explained, most of the ponies looking thoughtful by the end. Stick's hoof left mine as the mare had to surrender it to be worked on. Myself, I got a smiling mare that looked almost the twin of Aloe smearing green goop onto my face! "Hold still." Her words were soft but I followed them as a command. Something had caught my nose, however. The mask smelled great!

While she turned to fetch some zucchini circles I darted my tongue up. It was delicious!

"No no, no eating that dear, it isn't done." The mare was smiling as she applied a little more and gave a gesture. A flick of her hooves had the circles landing over my eyes and I swear, at the same time, something new was pressed to my lips. I opened them, letting somepony feed me the most divinely tasting little crackers I have ever tasted.

"Mmmmsgood." My murmur got a giggle from somepony.

"Well." Rarity had taken stock of the story and clearly had more plans. "With our new friends in good care, I think we need to discuss something. The way we acted, when poor Stick came out, is likely to be repeated if not in the open then behind closed doors. This won't do."

There were murmurs from other ponies. I couldn't see and it was maddening, although my ears were swiveling like mad trying to pick up what was going on.

"We could throw them a party!" I am not sure how I sensed the confetti, but it certainly was raining down somewhere in the room.

"What about if'n we have a shin-dig, get awl the nearby Apples together, invite tha whole town."

"Or a race!"

"We could hold a tea party. In the castle." The softest voice was hard to focus on and I almost lost Fluttershy among the others.

"Actually, Fluttershy, that sounds like an excellent idea." Twilight's voice faded up and down and I had a sense she was probably getting a massage.

"I was thinking a grander plan that that darling. You know I now have a boutique in Canterlot." There were a few noises of assent from the mares present. "Well, with needing to make so many dresses, for so many different ponies, Stick has given me a great idea."

I tried to cut in and say something, but every time my mouth opened a gentle hoof would press another delightful cracker in and I was stuck chewing. A blush rose under the mask, that no one would see.

"Well it would be wonderful if I could have the pony who needs the dress made to stand around, letting me get the fit just perfect." I tried to keep track of Rarity's plan. "But nopony would pay me to then stand around and do that. So maybe I need to pay them?"

Something was happening, there were giggles from the mares.

"Imagine it, making a dress for Pinky, or Rainbow Dash. Or even making a suit for that darling little unicorn from the station." Rarity's voice was rising through most of the wind up but now it was quiet. "Or even a night-gown for Luna."

There was only gasps from the other ponies present. I had had enough and reached up to lift one of the circles with a hoof. There was a flash of green fire consuming Luna as she sat just to my side. Stick was grinning as she carefully lifted another little cracker, popping it in my open mouth.

"Yes, I think I might need to employ a changeling or two." Rarity's last comment sparked more conversation between the six, but I was lost with a happy giggle as, no sooner was my mouth empty than another treat came up.

A pony tried to nudge the circle of zucchini back over my eye but I smiled and shook my head.

"Having some changelings here would mean you need to feed them, find ponies willing to let themselves be fed." Stick had gained some new resolve, explaining to Rarity the needs of her kind. "Wouldn't need to be many, three to four ponies per changeling, maybe a fifth if you are pushing them to change often. Then there would be no harm to anypony involved."

Rarity beamed at this. "Well, if I start with one new employee, would you girls be willing to help?" She gazed around the room at the other Elements.

Rainbow Dash looked a little sullen about it, Fluttershy too. "Oh, oh! That sounds like fun… wait, have you been eating me?" How is it one pink pony could always say things that sounded so… dirty.

Stick blushed and nodded.

"Well I didn't feel a thing, how do I… err, taste?"

The blush increased. "Sweet, really sweet. You love your friends a lot, or everypony, I can't tell which." Stick shuffled a hoof. "If I was stuck with only Penny and you, Pinkie, I could probably survive without shifting or using my horn."

"Well y'all count me in, ah don't see a problem with it, if'n it don't hurt nopony."

"Purely in the interests of science, I would love to investigate this and, if we had a changeling living here, could they spot other changelings?" Twilight was engaged, throwing her not inconsiderable intellect to the idea.

"Well, maybe. Most drones can tell when the pony they are feeding on is being fed on by others. I am sorry if I am not as learned on this as you would think. Penny was the first actual pony I fed on, while I was part of Chrysalis' hive we only used pods to feed, and you don't get a good taste from those."

It was then Aloe seemed to appear by magic. "You will excuse me, mares and gentledragon, it is time to soak those muscles." Her hoof gestured to big hot tub.

"Oh this will be wonderful darlings, you will see." Rarity rose and led the way to the big tub.

Slipping into the water, the feeling of weightlessness, was so very soothing. It was warm to the upper edge of comfortable and there were definitely minerals that were soaking our pores.

"Soo good." Stick's eyes closed as she buzzed her wings a little in the water.

"Hold a sec, Stick." My brain was spinning with the words she had used. "You said I was the first you fed from, did you notice someone else feeding from me?" Stick shook her head.

"Just a thing. Since I have been careful in feeding, Queen Fast let me drink lightly of ponies that came in to pay for work done, she seems to prefer that to using the pods." Stick blushed a little, leaning back and pressing into my side. The other ponies in the room were listening with much interest. "If another would feed from them at the same time, I needed to slow down. The last thing the Queen needs is a pony getting injured at the hive."

Laying there, Stick pressed to me, I could feel the stress of recent encounters fading.

"What, huh?" I splashed a little as I roused.

Stick was just in front of me a wide grin on her snout. Apparently I had dozed off.

"The others had to leave a little early, something about an emergency or… I don't know. Does this place really actually get exciting?"

"Oh, you have no idea Stick." I floated down a little, dunking my whole mane underwater and blowing bubbles out of my mouth.

11 - Just a light meal

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Left alone, at least by the mane six, Stick and I relaxed together and said little. At last though, with a rumble from my belly, the changeling nestled her head down, pressing one ear to my underside. "What is this? You need something?" She sat back in astonishment looking at my belly. "Penny, quick, there's a hungry mare stuck inside you, we must get her something to eat!"

I couldn't help giggling at her antics, turning and climbing up from the big pool. Aloe approached and swung a hoof to point to the side with an expansive gesture. Dripping wet, I felt almost twice as heavy as normal. "Thank you." Following her direction, a glossy Stick behind me, there was a moment of shock as a warm breeze flowed over my wet self. "Oh, now this is nice…"

It was hard to remain standing, the earth pony working a brush through my fur as it dried. Stick had turned with me to face the warm air. "My shell feels all tingly." Her wings buzzed a little, shedding minute droplets of water to evaporate before they could strike something.

With my fur brushed, my mane and tail styled until they were silky and flowing, I stepped out of the spa after thanking the ponies who worked there. "Where to now?" Stick sounded relaxed, really relaxed. Without the fear of her meeting with the Elements to worry she only had happy things to plan for.

"Well-" I was about to put thoughts to words when my belly rumbled again. "Guess that is as good an answer. Try the hayburger again?" Stick gave a giggle and a nod. "Done."

It wasn't until we were walking through the center of Ponyville, the little market there bustling with ponies of all kinds, that I realized two things. Stick was getting stares and I had left my shawl behind.

"Are you really a blank flank?" A small pegasi filly had run up, familiar unicorn and earth pony galloping in her wake. "We haven't got our cutie marks yet either, maybe we could help each other!"

The earth pony nodded. "You would be the biggest member!"

The third, Sweetie Belle, instead looked surprised at it, keeping silent.

Pondering how to continue talking to the infamous, at least among bronies, cutie mark crusaders it was Stick who broke up the interrogation. "Now now, you can't have Penny without me. I don't have a cutie mark either." All but Sweetie Belle looked at the changeling with surprise, having been focused on the mare with a blank flank.

"Told you!" Sweetie Belle posed a moment.

Stick reached out a foreleg and rubbed the mane of the vindicated unicorn. "I don't mind the stares but at least let me have your names before you ask."

Apple Bloom blinked. "Ask what?" Her drawl was just developing, but was just as cute as I remembered.

"'Do me!'" I tried to make the best impression of everypony who had asked but made sure a smile took any heat out of the observation. Scootaloo grinned wide.

"Me first! Uh, Scootaloo!" She held out a hoof toward Stick and, no sooner did their hooves touch than there were two Scootaloos, one with a changeling cutie mark. "This is awesome!" Her wings fluttered so fast a hummingbird would be jealous.

"Apple Bloom. Me next!" The earth pony filly reached a hoof out and, repeating the previous gesture Stick was a copy of her. She clopped her hooves together and did a little dance.

Sweetie Belle looked up. "It's okay, I know-" but was cut off as Scootaloo reached under and lifted the unicorn's hoof up to bump against Stick.

"She is Sweetie Belle!" The pegasus was so full of energy and excitement, particularly when a second unicorn appeared with a gush of green fire. The real Sweetie blushed a little and looked away, not seeing as Stick became herself again.

"Oh, do my sister!" Apple Bloom exclaimed but I cut in.

Lifting a hoof to I gently nudged Stick back. "It takes her a lot of energy to do this, she only has a few ponies here she can restock from." Sweetie Belle looked proud a moment.

"I knew that, Rarity told me!" The unicorn filly tilted her head. "Wait, because you copied us, will you… eat us?" Obviously Rarity had told her more than I thought she would have.

Stick acted like she was pondering it, her mouth opening slowly to show the fangs of her kind, brilliant, white, and sharp. "Maybe just a leg!" She gave the best hiss she could as the three fillies squealed and danced around in mock-fear. Laughing along with them, Stick shook her head. "Not from fillies, only ponies fully grown. My name is Stick."

The changeling held out a hoof to each filly in turn, getting smiles and giggles all around.

"Just what are you blank flanks up to now?" The sound of Diamond Tiara's voice, dripping with scorn and not-so-hidden barbs, came from around the corner. She had obviously seen the fillies excited about something, but hadn't seen Stick or myself. "Let me guess, you found another lose...er…"

She had spotted us, Silver Spoon still acting the flunky at her side. I leaned to Stick and whispered softly, making sure only my friend could hear. "Name is Diamond Tiara, uppity. Think you could swing another Luna? I don't think she can see your flank at this angle." Stick grinned, showing off her teeth as green flame enveloped her.

The dark alicorn was standing there suddenly, glaring at the two interlopers who, breath catching in their throats, bolted.

Stick-Luna flickered again and was herself. I felt a strange sensation, of… weakness flowing over me. "Oh man!" Scootaloo was whooping with delight. "That was awesome but… you don't look too hot…"

She was right, Stick looked awful all of a sudden. "Too much shifting." My explanation had Apple Bloom bolting off. Her friends were too distracted to notice. "You going to be alright?" I pushed my own body in and under her, scooping her leg up and over my shoulder.

"Just… tired…" Her voice was thick with chittering and I knew she had pushed too far.

The cavalry arrived, literally. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were hot on the earth pony filly's hooves and came to a stop before us. "What'n tarnation is goin' on here?"

"We were asking her to do us, she ran out of energy!" Scootaloo was quick to fess up.

"Well shucks, I guessin' she didn't drink from y'all?" There were a round of head-shakes from the fillies.

I piped up. "But she is drinking pretty hard from me right… right now." I had never felt this before, it was like every thought, every action, was a fight.

It was Rainbow Dash that stepped up. "Can't have you Canterlot ponies showing up Ponyville." She moved in on Stick's other side and leaned in to whisper to her.

The drain I felt reduced and I could see Dash stiffen a little. "Got th' right o' that. Come awn, drink up sugarcube." Stick lifted her head up and gazed at Applejack. I swear the changeling had gone a little gray around the face but with the three of us there she perked right back up.

"Thanks." Her chitter was still thick, but much less than before.

"Hay, nothing the great Rainbow Dash couldn't help with!" The pegasus had taken the brunt of the drain when Stick had shifted from me to her, but damn did she look like she could take a hit and keep going. "Hay, you two looking to get some lunch?"

Stick tried a half-grin. "I already ate."

Dash had a confused expression for half a second before she cracked up laughing.

"What she's tryin' ta ask is, we'r fixen ta have lunch at mah ranch, y'all invited."

With the three fillies trailing, we were led in a slow walk to the edge of town and further, toward the Apple Ranch. "Thanks." My voice was strong, thanks to the pair of mares' assistance. "It was my fault, we were having some fun when Diamond Tiara came to rib your sister and her friends. I got Stick to become something appropriate to scare them off."

"Aww, 'tweren't nothin'." Applejack's voice was relaxed, betraying no strain. "S'what friends'r fer, right?"

I had never seen Stick look so proud as then.

"'Sides, that filly needs a good shock to 'er system every now'n again." My own thoughts turned to what I knew of season five. She would get one, at really good time too. "Now, lets see what Big Mac has got brewin'."

"Guests?" The deep voice of a stallion called as we were walking up the path toward the house. It was a few heartbeats before I realized it was Big Mac himself.

"Darn tootin'. This here's Penny and Stick." Applejack introduced us. "Don't go mindin' their appearance, they's good friends."

I blushed and waved to the huge-seeming stallion. He only seemed to get bigger as we walked closer.

"Hope you made plenty, we are all super hungry!" Dash cut a loop in emphasis.

"Ay'yup." The big earth pony turned and led the way into the Apple family house.

Granny Smith seemed missing but as the fillies sped past us Big Mac pointed to the kitchen sink. "I can't believe we have a changeling visiting!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, washing her forehooves and mouth under the faucet.

I followed them, mindful of having to use my own hooves to serve food while I had been walking around on them half the day. "I know, she is so awesome!" Scootaloo piped in, her voice partly mimicking her idol's speech patterns.

After a few minutes of small talk we were all washed up and seated. AJ was at the head of the table and it suddenly struck me. While watching the show I had always been impressed by Rarity's ability to run her own business and succeed. Wasn't Applejack doing the same, but also managing her family?

"Mmm, this'ere's good Big Mac!" Applejack had taken to her meal first, not one to stand on tradition.

"Ay'yup!" The stallion was only moments behind and for a while only the sounds of gastronomical delight were heard.

She wasn't half wrong either, the vegetable stew was thick and chunky, instead of gravy it had a cheese-sauce mixed in. For a simple meal it was delicious.

I was just getting into my meal when a second spoon reached over, laden with vegetables. "Open up." Stick's words made me blush, but closing my eyes I obediently opened my mouth and was fed by her. "Mmm, you taste even nicer when you blush." This made me blush more, likely her intention.

"What's it like?" Sweetie Belle had gotten a seat right beside Stick. "Eating love, I mean."

Stick was chasing some stew around with her now empty spoon. "Think of how much Scootaloo, your friend, likes to just move." She hadn't seen the show, of course, but Stick was certainly not blind. "Think of the joy she gets when she almost flies along, of her smile. How that makes you feel is sort of how love tastes."

Sweetie Belle blinked, her face lighting up. "That must be great!"

Another spoonful was deposited in my mouth and I didn't struggle against Stick's ministrations.

"It is quite nice, when you have someone willing to be that friend for you." Stick's leg, under the table, brushed mine. My blush returned but just as I was going to say something I had another mouthful of stew to worry about. "When you don't, it can be the worst thing. For a long time I didn't have a friend, but," she bonked me on the nose almost causing me to lose the mouthful I was savoring, "now I do."

12 - Something heavier

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Stick had finished feeding me all her stew, only having claimed a few mouthfuls herself, and was starting to feed me my own bowl as well when she seemed to freeze. I wasn't the only pony who noticed it.

"What's the-" Rainbow Dash began but at a shake of the changeling's head she stopped. Leaning over to me, so her nose brushed my ear she whispered. "Somepony else is here, they just tried a little drink from Applejack, I pulled back quickly." I nodded slowly to the news, trying to keep shock off my face.

Leaning to Dash on my other side, I tapped her shoulder. "Think you can fly and get Twilight as fast as you can. Changelings are about." No sooner were my words in her ear than I almost fell over. She had started to move. And move fast. She was out a window before I even heard the glass break leaving us with only the sound and the colors trailing off her tail to know she was even there. "Fillies, under the table." My words were harsh but those around looked quickly to AJ who nodded.

Stepping to the bench I grabbed up a knife there in my mouth and turned to face the door. "You going to show yourselves or-" I didn't get to say more, three dark shapes rushed in and with green fire two became copies of Big Mac, each of them intimidatingly big. A green burst flowed around the knife and yanked it from my grip.

"Lay down or we will put you down!" The changeling at the back had a lot of hiss and chitter.

I didn't glance under the table, but to AJ. "Alright, no need to hurt anypony." I stepped forward, Stick at my back looking more angry than nervous.

"You hurt them and I will tell Queen Fast!" There was so little chitter in her voice I was proud, she was delaying, making them stop to think.

Applejack was next to not show any fear. Bumping the table forward as she got up, I saw she had cleverly made it even harder to see under. "If'n yah jus' let us go, ah'll make sure y'all ain't followed."

The changeling at the back laughed. "Let you go? You will be the first to go into our new pods!" It strode up, lowering it's horn toward Stick. "And you, traitor, you we will drain." A green lance leaped out at my friend and she was felled, flopping to the floor. "Carry them. If you don't follow us we will do worse to you and her." I worked to get my head under Stick, lifting her up and trying to sling her on my shoulders. Big Mac, looking furious, helped me with her and together we carried the mare outside.

How they were moving around, and yet keeping their own 'hive', was obvious. Three carts sat out the front, two with ponies moving them still. The changeling 'leader' from inside smiled with glee. "Get these three into the pods!"

"What about the one that flew away?" One of the ponies that had been moving a cart stepped closer, their pony-guise dropping to reveal another changeling. A very small changeling.

"What do you mean? We get them packed in and move fast. No chance anypony will catch us." I leaned a little into Big Mac and got his ear sweep down where I could whisper to it.

"Fillies are safe in there. Lets try and slow em down. Can you kick a wheel off their cart?" I kept my voice low, head turned so that any sound that does carry from it wouldn't be toward the attackers.

"Ay'yup."

I grinned and shifted, getting all my weight under Stick and freeing the stallion for whatever he wanted. Still touching his side I felt his whole body tense, those huge muscles he used to work the fields with, suddenly impossible to slow down. He charged the first cart and with a mighty buck knocked a wheel clean off and thumping one of the fake Big Mac's in the head with it. The changeling was down and there was yelling.

"Stop that NOW!" The leader lowered their horn to the raging earth pony and a blinding burn of green slashed across my vision and the distance to Big Mac. It seemed a moment like he would ignore it but he got two more steps before he fell, face first. "Get the other two into pods now, leave the injured."

I was grabbed up in changeling magic, pulled toward one of the serviceable wagons and the back cloth was slung aside. It was dark and black inside, but as I was pushed up into the wagon a dull green glow could be seen. I thrashed and kicked, trying to fight free but their magic was sure, it pushed me so that the first part of me to touch the goopey pod was my flank. It was cool at first, flowing up and seemingly greedy to suck me in. It crept up my flank and even as I fought all the more it gathered up my legs, my belly and without further ado, all the rest of me.

There was a little light at first, my thoughts grew heavier and heavier as the changeling that had stuck me in could be seen through a blurry green fog, fiddling with the thing. They seemed to poke one part and it was like the fog leaked inwards, filling my mind. Images started to float through my thoughts, Stick, David, David-as-Silver. I smiled, all I could think about were the ponies I liked the most, about how good it was to have them smiling with me. A coolness seemed to sink in on those thoughts, picking at them, making me have to fight to keep hold of them.

It was like sleeping, waking, running a marathon. It was uplifting, draining and… painful. I could hear nothing the pod didn't want me to, I could see nothing it did not think would make me spill my emotions for the changelings.

I felt them, it was almost like when Stick drank from me too hard, but with my emotions constantly locked 'on' I could do nothing but feel the teeth of their minds. Changelings drank from the pod, from me. It was like the bubble that contained me held me out and naked, forcing me to give my neck to them again and again.

Weakness and tiredness was my life, I don't know how long I was in there before I saw the little face through the goop. The changeling wanted me to watch. "You can hear me?"

It took effort to focus, to look at them through the images the pod forced me to gaze at. I managed a nod.

"Good. I have you all to myself, we split from your friend, the orange pony." Applejack's image now joined the ones in my vision, was it my fault this had even happened. "I need to drink from you now." The sharp mind-teeth of the changeling dug and tore, pain lanced right to the core of my emotional self.

Weakness and weariness was my new closest companion. It wrapped me like a cloak. The pod… it fed me, somehow. It kept me alive but even as it did it stole a whole lot more. "Your friends are gaining, close. I am going to drink extra deep today. You will learn to like this."

I saw in those eyes, there was pain, even as they dug around in my neck. The ice that formed in my emotional center was an ache of loss, but I couldn't stop, the pod wouldn't let me.

Time passed, I don't know how much or little, but something certainly changed as my world shook, then again and again. It was the fourth time when the established feedback loop of the pod was shattered and my own thoughts came back. Where was Stick?

"Penny! Penny! Can you hear me?" Twilight stood above me, her magic wrapped around my form as she looked down. "Where is Applejack?" The fog cleared more and more by the second and it came to me.

"They split?" My voice was rough, the goop that had held me had started to work down my throat and it felt scratchy. "She… fillies okay?"

The alicorn nodded. "I left them taking care of Stick and Big Mac. Can you get up?"

I nodded to her, my world spinning a little as I did. Working one hoof after the other I managed to work my limbs. "How long?" I was getting the hang of walking again as she told me.

"One of them chased Dash, but she was too fast. She followed the other fork." The words built a picture I didn't like. Still maybe five of them.

"How long?"

Twilight looked down, I could see lines where tears had formed. "One day, only one day."

"Four… maybe five left… one here?" Twilight nodded to my assessment. "Then only three or four. Can you blink to Rainbow Dash?"

The princess of friendship knew her friends well and nodded with a smile. "Of course, hop on!" I blinked at the offer and she turned. Working myself onto her back was neither graceful nor comfortable, but she spread her wings and the world wrenched.

We were in the air, a streak of rainbow patterns below us dodging changeling-green magic bolts. "Get me to the wagon, help Dash." I had to shout, flying like this was not the best way to be heard.

Twilight tucked her wings and for a moment I thought she had lost her mind. We were in a dive, almost straight down. At the last moment she pulled up and gave a little buck. I rolled along the ground and bumped up on the hidden side of the wagon from where the changelings were fighting Rainbow.

A look around revealed I was not alone, however. A pony flashed with green and was once more the small changeling. Their eyes narrowed and they gave a nod, laying down on the spot. I wasn't going to look even a gift-changeling in the mouth right then and ran around behind the wagon and up into it. AJ was still curled up in the pod, clearly visible from the outside.

I turned and, with a glance behind me to aim lashed out with both rear hooves. The pod trembled where I hit it, just to the side of the mare's head. Another kick and it was leaking goop. The third and my hooves were stuck in it, pulling at me.

"Not now!" I snarled and kicked again and again, getting one hoof out and using it to smash the whole front of the messy thing. The goop gave up its grip and AJ flopped out, whimpering. "Applejack!" Her eyes opened and were instantly focused on mine. I should have known an Element would be able to deal with this better than me.

Throwing back the wagon flap I saw Twilight was standing over Rainbow Dash, green magic boiling around the pegasus. The changelings were focused, one was down and two up. AJ looked me in the eyes and we nodded.

Our hooves weren't silent, but they were fast and even though AJ was faster than me I still got a good speed up just as we both slammed into the remaining changelings, the blow driving them and us to the ground.

I saw the sphere of force form, it wasn't around me this time though. With the two cut off they slumped and I noticed the magic around RD fade.

Twilight was all kinds of power, radiating it, washing the path in it. Clearly doing something bad to the princess of friendship's friends was not smart. "Are there any more?" Her question sailed over my head.

"One more ah think."

I was just getting my hooves under me, fighting the pain of crashing into one of the dark creatures, when the small one came out from behind the wagon. "Wait, Twilight, they helped me!" The mare had her horn aimed but didn't discharge.

There was a flash. Brilliant gold magic boiled in the air for seconds as Princess Celestia unfolded her wings. All magic in the area seemed to falter and stop, save Twilight's. But the princess was not alone. Spike was with her, as was Queen Fast.

"They are not mine, look at the holes." Fast spoke, glancing at the small one and then to me. "What is happening here?"

All eyes came to me and I realized, with a sinking feeling, that I was probably the pony who knew the most of this whole mess, and was willing to talk.

"Can… can we go back to the Apples' Ranch. I want to see Stick is okay." My weariness, of having had Stick feed on me too much, then getting thrown into a pod, it was catching up and gaining strength from the crazy charge.

I did notice Fast's eyebrow raise at my words, a faint smile curling her lips. But it was Celestia that spoke. "Very well."

The flare of gold came again and I was almost as badly shaken by that as to Twilight doing the same. Stick was laying on her side, looking poorly, but she was alive. I ran to her, leaning down to nose and nuzzle her. "Enough, you have two monarchs behind you glaring at your back and you choose to delay them?" The soft chitter in her voice was the best sound I ever heard.

"It's been too long, and they will wait." My whisper back had her smile and I felt, just then, it was worth almost anything to have gotten.

"We will wait, Penny Farthing, as long as it takes to reassure your friend, but not a moment longer." Celestia's voice held no scorn in it.

I sighed, kissed Stick's nose and turned. "Well, I guess it all started when we woke up…" Thinking back, I called up the conversations, gave them as short and succinct as I could. "And Stick explained how she could sense when another changeling was drinking from somepony at the same time as she. Sorry to go to such a length, but that fact is important." Celestia nodded to this, accepting it. "While indulging these fillies in town, Stick drained herself a little much and if it wasn't for Applejack and Rainbow Dash, well, it might have been bad."

They listened patiently, even the changelings. The black and be-holed creatures looked sullen and broken, Fast standing over them and clearly doing something to keep them from so much as squeaking.

"We had been invited to lunch, both of us." I emphasized the words, so that the meaning of things got across that AJ and RD had fed Stick. "Which we were just finished when she warned me, quietly, that there were other changelings around and that they had tried to feed on some of us. I passed this on to Rainbow Dash who left them in her dust to get Twilight." Celestia nodded.

She turned to Twilight. "I told Spike to send a message to you and went after them, Rainbow right beside me. When the path split I went one way and Dash the other."

"Big Mac had crippled one of their carts, they had to move fast and light. Stuffed me…" I shuddered, remembering the pod. Fast herself stepped forward, dark-but-whole hoof reaching out.

"It was a pod, wasn't it?"

I nodded.

"Horrible things, at least without careful attention." She seemed to want to spit in distaste at the even thought of someone in a pod.

"They stuffed me in a pod and… next thing I knew Twilight happened." I smiled over to the alicorn who had freed me. Damn it but I owed her big now, she had saved me twice. "Together we zapped over to where Rainbow Dash was fighting and while the princess helped keep them busy I got Applejack free. Things were close in the end, we had to charge the last two while they weren't looking."

Celestia nodded. "Mostly satisfying account. But it doesn't account for the last changeling." Noticing the shape beside Fast, I nodded. "They could have jumped you before you got Applejack free. Twilight and Rainbow Dash would have been subdued and I might not have been able to sense her to come here." The implications of this action really sunk in. The changelings would have had not only three strong mares to be in pods, but an alicorn.

"Come here little one. We need your account." The smaller than normal changeling looked up at Fast, who nodded down to them and nuzzled their neck.

"I don't like living out here!" They sounded, well, quite vehement. "They make us steal happiness from ponies, it makes me feel bad, even pods taste better than this." The little changeling glared at the two conscious changeling outlaws. "I was too slow to keep up when Queen Fast split the hive from Chrysalis, I didn't want to stay behind but I couldn't keep up. I had only barely hatched."

There was movement beside me, Stick crawling her way up to all fours and walking slowly over, bowing low to Fast Change. "Queen, can I ask a boon?"

The queen looked a little surprised but, a glance to Celestia reveled a half smile.

"My queen, I will be spending some time, it seems, from the hive. Would you accept this drone in my stead?" For the first time I heard not a bit of chitter from Stick. She looked up to Fast's startled expression with a determined smile.

"Stick… I must accept." A hoof bumped my side and I looked but didn't see any movement, there was only one pony close enough to have done it. Celestia. "Let it be known, changeling Stick is no longer a drone she is… a journey-pony." I blinked at this. "And as one leaves the hive, another shall enter. Your name?"

The little changeling, eyes wide, looked up at the queen. "Grub!" Fast's snout pulled into a giggle.

"Grub, you are now a drone of my hive and, your first task will be to feed well enough to lose those holes."

"Now, less glad matters. All other changelings involved in this incident will work. They will work supervised by other changelings and they will work for the betterment of Equestria. They will work and they will get fed. I ask that they be given another chance." Fast glared around, even at Celestia, who nodded just once.

Stick managed to almost crawl back to me and we both barely got into the Apples' barn before passing out. Forget Celestia. Forget other changelings and, in fact, ponies too. I needed to rest.

I stiffened as Stick's magic touched me. Her mind-snout questing and finding my abused neck. Trembling, I almost started to pull away before I felt her lips kiss that part that had been abused. Mentally and physically I pressed against Stick, at that moment nothing would get between us. In her embrace, with her body and her power so close to me, I felt a part of myself start to heal.

13 - Twisted and changed

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The nightmare came but this time there was something else in there. It was a predator, an eater of ponies and whenever I caught a glimpse of it, it wore a human face.

"You are a terrible person."

"You gave up your family."

"You gave up your species."

"Why do you hate everyth-"

The last cut off as a dark shape appeared, I thought it was Nightmare Moon, or Luna. It was huge and it was… Stick?

She ravaged the demon plaguing my night and I found myself curling up against her when she was done with them, letting her drink me away. It wouldn't be so bad.

I woke, with light coming into the barn. Stick was nuzzled up to my neck, her fangs resting so gently on my throat. I breathed once, twice. "You awake?" Her voice had almost no chitter. I pressed myself against her teeth a little more, then more. She closed her lips around my neck but wouldn't let me hurt myself on them. "They did bad things to you."

Pressed close, I nodded.

"Then we need to find Princess Twilight." Her assurance in that had me surprised, and she knew it. "What, you think I can't recognize a clever pony when I see one?" I laughed and started to pull back, only to have her grip at my throat keep me in place. "I made a mistake. I didn't feed for fear of hurting ponies. I need to be strong, to take care of those who I love."

She let go at that and I stared at her. "L-Love?" It felt all kinds of odd. I had always thought myself removed from that feeling, from experiencing something like that. But I had been wrong or, maybe that was the old me's thoughts about the old me. "I…" I held back, did I really want to say it, could I not? "I love you too, Stick."

Our embrace was tight, I could feel her hard shell against my soft dark fur. I was fairly sure she was the only pony I would feel this way for. "If you keep snuggling like this we wont ever see her." Loving and clever?

I sighed and nibbled her neck, my own fangs barely touching her. Rising to my hooves I still felt a little wobbly but it was better standing than laying down. Stick got up with me and together we did as best we could to straighten manes, tails, fur and shell. Opening the door of the barn I found it an oddly normal sight, ponies working in the fields, but none of them Apples.

Calling to one, moving to the fence, I asked where I could find the Apple family and was told to go to Twilight's castle. "Don't know, got the call to come help out my cousin's farm. They told me, when you woke, to point you to the castle." The stallion just shrugged.

Across town, it was a long walk but we decided that we had to do it. There was no sign of those other changelings, of anypony from the incident in fact.

"I was hurt," my voice didn't lift, this was the wrong song for that, "hurt so bad. They took from me, nearly all I had." It was slow, a lament.

Beside me, Stick brought her own voice up, with not a bit of chitter in it. "They hurt my love, took her fire. If I see 'em again they'll have my ire!"

I lifted my head at her ferocity. "They hurt my love," my voice was the next part, "they hurt me too. But when I hurt, it burnt right through."

Stick turned me around and, to my shock, bent me over backwards, singing down to me. "I was hurt, they hurt her too. If I lost her, I'd lose me too."

She leaned down and kissed me. I melted a little and kissed back, it was raw emotion, I loved her but this was mostly the song's doing and for once, I resisted it.

Stick blinked at me, helping me back up. "What… sorry, I got carried away."

Pushing back up against her side, I nibbled on one ear. "We both did. I shouldn't wallow in such emotions, it makes sad songs."

The one thing it did do, though, was to make the trip a quick one. Stepping forward, Stick raised a hoof and knocked at the big double doors. There was the sound of scuffing feet and then Spike had the door open. "Oh." He turned his head. "TWILIGHT, PENNY AND STICK ARE HERE!" He was a dragon, so that accounted for his amazingly loud voice. "Come on in, she was expecting you." He promptly turned and walked back into the castle.

We followed, I closed the door we had entered by. There was an odd shimmer of magic as Stick walked in. She blinked. "That was a ward against changelings, she must have made me an exception."

I nodded, and we moved in further. "There you are!" She was alone in the huge main room of the castle. The map hadn't manifest yet so… was this pre season five? But Moon Dancer had been… Apparently times could be confusing. "We have so much to do. Princess Celestia wants me to examine you both, then I am to give you your next magic lesson. My plan was," a notepad appeared, a list already on it, "to combine the two. I can feel something odd, but it isn't in your aetheric net."

Stick nodded. "Something changed. I had just the slightest nibble and instead of a little flow of emotional energy, I got a torrent. I had to stop so I didn't hurt her." The notebook of Twilight's flipped over and a quill appeared, scribbling quickly.

"Very well, so, you can make light steadily?" I nodded to her. A little scribble. "Lets see it then."

I relaxed that muscle, just like I always would. Only the smallest trickle of light came to my horn, but it was steady.

"Uh… whoa…" Stick's eyes were wide open. "Could you… oh…" She was chittering a lot and would have fallen over if it wasn't for Twilight wrapping her in energy. "Please… stop her."

A pinch was felt at my horn and it blew my concentration completely. Stick, however, looked… drunk? "Stick, are you alright? Explain what happened." Twilight had quill and paper ready.

"When she ch-channeled, so much-ch-ch energy…" Stick was very drunk, if I had any estimation.

I looked to Twilight. "I feel a bit drained but, not too much." I sort of shrugged my shoulders and lifted a hoof to make a throwaway gesture. "I should have been making more light than that and… well I am hungry."

The quill was going crazy, the pad flipped over a piece of paper and it kept going. "Stick, do you know how the pods function? Do they do anything to the pony inside?" Twilight was in full-investigation mode and even a changeling drunk on energy wasn't going to be stopping her.

"I don't know, they normally just make the pony… easier to drink from, like imagine you had a pond, use some magic, now you have a fountain." Stick giggled and made a fountain of green magic float in the air a moment before she seemed to blink and go cross-eyed. "Whoa, okay, that is all gone."

Twilight's quill broke and another instantly appeared. "Now then, lets look at your 'net." I felt her start to channel and stop. "No, need more focus. Downstairs!" She led the way to a door and stairs going down. When I didn't move fast enough she plucked me up from the floor, Stick too, levitating us down.

"Hey, Twilight, slow down. We aren't going anywhere!" I tried to run to get out of her bubble and she seemed to notice me again, really notice me.

"Oh, sorry. Could you climb up on the table?" She pointed with a hoof toward what looked just like the worst kind of mad scientist setup. I took a deep breath. I knew she wouldn't do anything terrible, but she does get carried away sometimes.

Climbing up, I lay back on the table, on my back. A colander-like device was plonked on my head, a little hole in it in just the right place for my horns. Unfortunately it wasn't built for lunar pony ears. A buzzing started and the machine I was, apparently, hooked to started to spew papers.

"Right, lets do that again." Her magic flowed, much stronger this time.

"Wait, Twilight, what are you… oh…" Her magic had bored into me, spreading out and making me feel… tingly.

"I have found something but… it isn't your 'net. It is like your magic just splits, right here…" Her poke at my horn felt odd.

"Twilight, can you… draw it?" She spun, eyes blinking away from that magic-view.

She blinked more and I could practically see her brain spinning a million miles an hour. "That… that would be amazing. Lets see if we can." She was over at the machine, magic and hooves working at different parts. The constant slew of pages stopped and, with a buzz, it deployed one sheet. Twilight tore it free and brought it over to me.

To say the view was abstract would be an understatement. It was like it had zoomed in on the heart, head and horn, but the rest of my body was a small foal. "It focuses on where my magic is?" I got a grinning nod from the alicorn. "Okay, so if this looks right, to make magic work normally there are, two? Yes, two. Two paths from the base of the horn, one into the middle, one to the outer."

"You were just about to learn that, as your magic class…" Twilight looked shocked. At least there was something, at last, an electronics design course would help me with.

"So, we can see a good chunk of each part of that section of my magic, it fans out in parallel, pushing down through my head to my heart. Emotional centers?" My question got a nod from both Twilight and Stick. "So, near as I can tell, whenever I channel, most of the magic I should be working through my horn ends up… radiating through my emotions."

Twilight gave a nod. "The question is, can we fix it. You might just naturally heal over time. Or you might be able to gain some control over it."

I pondered this and smiled. Leaning sideways off the table, I looked at Stick and pursed my lips. She grinned, still a little high from the magic burst earlier. She leaned in and I channeled just the smallest amount, barely a whisper of magic. The changeling's eyes first widened, then her kiss deepened. I let go and she softened back down, eventually pulling back.

"You remember what my shirt said, Twilight, when I first saw you?" I reached out one leg to wrap it around Stick and keep her close.

"Stand back, I'm going to try science?" The alicorn was so clueless. I had no idea why Dav- Silver, didn't want to come here and meet her. "Is there a room we can sleep in, I suddenly feel very tired. Maybe we could have that lesson tomorrow?"

"Oh, yes, yes of course." There was disappointment in Twilight's voice.

"I promise you, you get your questions and a whole day. But for now I need to relax and…" I was soothing the princess just as Spike arrived with a plate loaded with honey and nut cakes. "Perfect…" Green magic lifted the plate from the little dragon's hand and Stick led me back up the stairs.

"Up the stairs, fourth door on the right!" Twilight's voice echoed up the stairs behind us.

My horn flickered a little again. "Was that weaker, or stronger?" My question to the distracted changeling in front of me seemed to only gain her focus. A cake came toward my mouth and I caught it.

"Mmm, stronger."

I felt around that spot, where my magic split. Trying to get a sense of it, I tried to imagine another valve on it, pinching. "Now?"

"Much-ch-ch stronger!"

I giggled, opening that valve and trying again.

"A little less."

Science indeed. I could only limit how much magic I used on my horn, it seems that new 'circuit' took the rest and it flowed to Stick.

14 - Science to do

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"A changeling now?" Luna's voice sounded confused, but not surprised.

I was cuddled up to the legs of the Stick-protector in my dream. My attention was on Luna, however. "They are my… well, marefriend." I looked up at Stick, the fierce changeling was scanning my dream, looking for threats. "Something happened."

"We heard. Changelings attacked, everyone is free now." My nod revealed that something wasn't completely right. "What else?"

"They put me in a pod, it was… " Ghostly teeth started to appear, darting in to tear at me and hurt me. Stick snarled but it was Luna's hoof rising and coming down that banished them. The protector above me lowered herself a little, hunching over me to better protect. "Yeah, that. It hurt my magic too. When I channel it leaks, leaks in a way changelings really like."

This news had the night princess pondering. "Other ponies we have rescued from their pods, they were never quite the same again, but we don't believe there is any record of this." I brought up a memory of the 'magic' picture Twilight made, Luna seemed impressed and gestured to the split in where my magic focused through my horn. "You should be able to control this."

I smiled at that and nodded. "I have been testing just that. Right now it takes a lot of effort to focus on opening and closing, but I think I can practice it, get better control. I still need to learn basic magic." This got a firm nod from Luna and she was gone.

My dream from then on was safe, Stick guarding my mind and, when I woke I discovered, my body.

"She isn't coming out until she wakes!" Stick was at the door to my room, the thing slightly ajar.

I lifted one ear to listen while I started getting up. "I am awake, today we have science to do." Stick turned her head and grinned. I could sense a whole lot 'right' with her today and it was something that made me feel good. Was I really in love? It had to be, what else but love or drugs could make a pony feel this good?

"She is getting up now." Stick said through the door and closed it. "No princess is going to steal my pony before breakfast." She trotted right over to me and kissed my cheek.

I turned my head and kissed her's in reply. "Mmm, fighting in my dreams was cool, now you defend me here?" My observation spoken, she raised an eyebrow.

"I was in your dreams?" She was closer, suddenly, nuzzling along my neck and up to my jaw. I didn't hesitate, I channeled just a little, gripping that new place tight so not a drop of magic lit my horn.

The changeling mare trembled and gave a happy sigh.

"Now, at least one of us has had breakfast." She laughed outright at that and helped me straighten my mane and tail. "Do you think Twilight would begrudge a bath before science?" It was a few days now since my time at the spa and I could tell.

With my saddlebags in place, Stick and I made our way from the room and downstairs to the main dining area. It was deserted but my friend found herself a door to the kitchen and slipped in. "Hay, where you going?" Following found me some food and a changeling ready to help. We worked wordlessly, making some little flat-breads and filling them with some fruit. Into a grill and we waited for it all to get nicely toasted.

Yawning, Spike walked in in a half-daze and then halted, spotting us. "Good morning!" Our perfectly, if serendipitously, timed greeting surprised him enough that his eyes fully opened.

"Didn't mean to interrupt." The young dragon was lifting down a little box of breakfast cereal marked 'gem-e-oohs'.

"You didn't interrupt. You know if Twilight has eaten yet?" Stick was checking the grill as she talked.

"Twilight? She will be lucky if she remembers to eat at all today. You said the S word before lunch time." I couldn't help but giggle at Spike's choice of words.

"No fear of that, we can make extra." I began to prepare another flatbread as I talked. Pouring milk onto his slightly shiny breakfast, Spike began to scoop the wheat and shards of gems into his mouth.

I nuzzled Stick aside as I added the second flatbread to the grill and we waited quietly. It wasn't quite as fast as an electric grill, but still it was pretty awesome. Lifting out the two, stick floated two plates over and with a grin I pushed a grilled sandwich onto each.

Pushing the door to the dining room open, we entered with the two plates floating along behind us. Twilight had notes in front of her already and worst, a list. "Good morning!" Her greeting was full of excitement but she found her notes gently pushing to the side to make room for a plate. "What's this?"

"Food." I said, sitting opposite and having Stick slide in beside me.

"You eat it." Her chitter was absent.

Twilight levitated the 'food' up and examined it. "You heated breakfast? Odd…" She took a bite and I saw delight on her face. "This is wonderful!" The quill at her side started to scribble on a pad. "What is in it?"

Stick had lifted my own with her magic and held it just before my snout. I quickly took a bite and agreed, it was pretty good.

"Just some things that were lying around." Stick's reply covered for the fact that I was greedily eating my own. She then read out all the things that were in the mix, along with the cheese we had spread over them.

"Well, now that I have that down I will be having this more often!" She took another bite and closed her eyes in delight. If I were still human, this surely would have been enough cuteness to give me a sugar overload.

I waited until she was done before mentioning science. "So, food aside, what are we testing today?" If the tasty food had gotten Twilight's attention, the mention of testing awoke a new hunger.

"Well, if not everything, as much as we can both think to test. We are going to do a small lesson in the more physical aspects of horn magic, then see if channeling that is also affected by your changes." I nodded, seeing the sense in this. "If you are still up to it then, we can try bigger things. What if I channel energy into you? What if Stick does?"

Mention of her name got a smile from the changeling. "Magic uses energy." Her statement made Twilight tilt her head a little at its simplicity. "I will make sure you both have plenty to eat."

"That would be a help." It was clear from Twilight's tone that she hadn't really thought of that aspect and it being a problem.

"Princess, you will forgive a changeling for her silliness. But you both get quite distracted when you get focused. I won't have Penny getting hurt for being pushed too far and, as someone I consider a friend, I won't have you feeling bad for having pushed too far." We both looked a little guilty at Stick's words. "Silly ponies, that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, but I will bring snacks."

I got a good bite at the last piece of the sandwich and turned to kiss Stick before finishing it completely. The slightest of channels, with my emotions as they are, had her kissing back. Parting from her touch was getting harder and harder, but it was Stick who pulled back first. "Now, both of you, go and science and tell me in shorter words, when you are done, what happened." A magical thump on my rump had me jump and give an already softened scowl at the changeling.

"Right!" Twilight had no clue what just happened, but she knew that she got to do experiments today and, list, notes and a whole mess of quills floating at her side, we made for the door. "You remember how your horn had two channels for magic?" I nodded, walking along easily. "The inner one is your power, raw and strong. The outer one is fine control, it lets you perform physical actions and form spell-patterns."

It hit me then, spell patterns, power. I was actually going to learn real magic!

We crossed the main hall and started to descend down to the lower areas. "Today you are going to learn first how to focus magic into that outer part, then use it to manipulate things." Stick trotted along behind us, her horn glowing a soft green. I was about to say something but then I remembered, she had to burn energy or she would end up drunk with it again.

"On the table?" I was already working up onto it; I knew the drill.

Twilight looked like a kid in a candy shop. "Okay, first…" I felt and saw her magic, mainly because she was probing at my horn with it. "Can you feel this part?" It was exactly where I pushed my magic, where it flowed easily, to make light. "That is where you have been channeling. Now I want you to try this part instead." Her power shifted, moving from the center of my horn to the edges, tracing the spiral to the tip.

It felt very different to the other way and I blushed, nodding. The princess removed her touch and I tried. I brought my magic, I started with it at the center while I raised a hoof to forestall Twilight. Behind me, the soft green glow intensified. Then I started to work it, it took a lot of work and my horn started to spark, but I could feel it work through that other passage.

"Good, now try and push it all to there." Twilight guided me with words alone and I diverted more and more of my flow to that outer edge. It felt different, less a torrent and more like jets. Precise. A ball was set before me, then another and, at last, five in all. "Now lift one."

I blinked, almost losing focus on that new part. I reached out carefully, trying to will my magic into a familiar form. A hand was the simplest and I picked the ball up with a grunt. It felt really heavy. The dull red-brown glow around it surprised me enough that I lost all control and it fell, bouncing softly and revealing how light it really was.

"Excellent!" Twilight was happy with the effort. "You looked strained. Stick," the princess turned to look at the changeling, "more or less than when she makes light?"

"More, lot more." Stick was nodding, juggling some heavier objects but slowing down her burning of my energy.

"Even better. This is going to mean more things to test!" Her enthusiasm was infectious, at least to me.

As I worked, under Twilight's supervision and testing, I managed to at last be able to lift two of the balls without strain. Stick left the room at some point, neither of us noticing. When she returned banging the door behind herself, halfway through Twilight fitting me with sensors to try to measure that new radiation, we were surprised. "What's goi-" I started to ask her what her deal was, but then my belly rumbled, the smell of the soup she carried hitting me like a brick and I was about to get up and try and intercept a bowl before Twilight exclaimed.

"Wait, I am almost done hooking you up!"

Green magic sailed two bowls over, one resting beside me, the other hovering just before Twilight. Her own magic grasped it and neither of us said a word as the thick tomato soup was slurped and drunk down. "I put something extra in there, it is sweet?" We both nodded wordlessly to Stick. "Extra sugar, messes the taste a little but I think you both need it." Of course, this was a good test for my new magic control and I was keeping the bowl well steadied. Weight was less of an issue, Twilight had worked with me to try and reduce the leakage, but of course it was still there.

"Delicious!" I managed to get a word out, moments before finishing the bowl. My belly gurgled once in contentment, apparently mirroring my evaluation. I could see and smell that Stick had a little pot with her, lid on it.

"More?"

I nodded and sent my bowl over to her where it was refilled.

Twilight wasn't being tested and didn't need a second helping. "I'll keep going while you eat." I nodded as my bowl returned. Soon enough my bowl was empty again and I was covered in little sensors, wires trailing off to Twilight's diagnostic machine.

"Alright, small burst, lets see if we can measure this now." I didn't worry about the fine control, not when all I was doing was spitting out the energy. My horn didn't so much as glow as I clamped down on that but released a little magic. Lights flared on the machine, meters moved and there was a very excited alicorn reading over everything. "Perfect, again, but as strong as you can!"

Stick gave a worried chitter and I felt myself lifted just a touch from the table. I did as asked and sealed the path to my horn as best I could while opening my magic fully. The glow of green around me grew more intense and my horn did light up just a bit.

"That as much as you can?" Twilight's words were lost as I strained. She turned and saw the effort it was taking and didn't ask again. "Okay, now slowly reduce and close off your magic." My focus was on that inner opening, trying to work myself to close it, slowly. I knew I was sweating as it finally started to seal down and, by the time it closed, I was panting.

"That's the last." Stick had refilled my bowl and was floating it just under my nose. I managed to secure it in my own grip and started drinking. "Not even hitting the sides on the way down." She didn't sound put out by it, much the opposite. "I will make some more things. You will keep pushing?"

Twilight nodded to Stick. "If we can get the machine fully calibrated then the real tests will begin." The changeling collected my suddenly empty bowl and ducked out again.

15 - Science, much science

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"Okay, now try to get angry." Twilight was adjusting the sensitivity of the machine as she spoke. I nodded and tried to focus into how I felt about the changelings that had attacked me. Fear prickled first, then a bit of anger.

"Uh, hold on…" I reached out to my pack and pulled out my poor phone. The thing was turned off at the moment but I had charged it to full before we had left Canterlot. Manipulating it with magic was surprisingly easy and I had it on and suddenly everypony's ears swiveled first to it then tucked back.

"What on Equestria is that sound, they… what are they singing?" Twilight's wings had gone up in alarm and Stick didn't seem to be into thrash metal either.

"Give me a moment…" I turned the volume down but brought it closer to my own ears. The anger I had from the foalnapping was stoked quickly, the music playing to just the right harmony to bring it to full potential. Just then I opened up to the middle of my horn and let loose.

Stick shied a little. "I can't eat that."

"It worked!" Twilight was tearing off paper and bringing it to me. "See, here, it is a slightly different vibration." I nodded, particularly when she brought out one of the less negatively-focused emotion graphs. "The reason you seem to be feeding Stick so much is that you keep thinking of her." Twilight nodded at this, poking a hoof at her notes. "This spike in the vibration, that was when you looked back to her, just now. See how it drops back to almost the same as the baseline?"

Deep interest was of course my main emotion now and I moved the two graphs, lining the start up just so. "It ramps up faster too, the anger." I jabbed at the amplitude overlay.

"That could be the introduction of that… can you please stop it?" Twilight's ears were folded back hard and I giggled and stopped the player. "Is that what all human music was like?"

"Not really. I liked music that focused on all emotions. This was music to have when anger was felt but couldn't be expressed. It works me up, but burns it out at the same time." My explanation seemed to not be taken at face value.

"Maybe later then. For now I need another emotion…" Twilight was not to be distracted and so I turned the phone back off, folded it in the protective cover and put it back in my bag. Moving things was still a bit of strain, but the more I did it the better I got.

Without windows down here, it was hard to work out what the time was, and with science keeping us both focused it was full steam ahead. Naps were had, sometimes with me still hooked up to the machine.

At last though even Princess Twilight Sparkle could think of nothing more to test and we, on legs a little wobbly, made our way upstairs. It was her belly that grumbled first, then mine and we both blushed. "When was the last time we ate?" My question got a shrug and mutually we made for the dining room.

"There you are!" Stick was standing, a pot hovering beside her with a spoon stirring it. "Both of you sit down, dinner is done." Plates hovered and made their way out, each laden with roasted vegetables and accompanied by what I thought was a chicken schnitzel. It had me confused until I was seated, cutlery and food at the ready. I cut it carefully and noted it wasn't the right color inside. Biting down I had a blush of delight run through me. Eggplant.

Chewing it and swallowing, it felt like the food seemed to dissolve right into magic potential. Was I that drained? "Like it?"

I gulped down the second just in time to join Twilight in praise. "This is amazing!" I looked at Twilight, she at me. We giggled and kept eating.

"Good. Now don't get greedy for seconds, I have a dessert to come." I didn't need to channel any magic for Stick to know what her cooking for me meant to me. She stepped over, still stirring the pot she had started with. A nibble at one ear-tuft was quite welcomed, even as I kept eating.

"There is a book you are going to need." Twilight said between mouthfulls and, with a flick of her magic it appeared before me.

You are a unicorn!

The title of it was clearly meant for foals. "I know it looks childish, but that is mostly because it is a good companion book to start a foal on when they are just learning to use their magic, right through to teaching the basics of spells." I blinked with a little bit more assurance.

As she flicked the book open with her magic I noticed something. There was scribble in the borders of most pages, notes. Even a list. I looked to Twilight. "This was yours?" I blushed a bit. "Well, it still is, but you learned from this?" She gave a nod and a grin.

"It was a special gift." Pages flicked and I read the note at the front, it was a gift from her mother. "Your parents aren't here to give you your first magic book."

My food was almost forgotten as I got some tears in my eyes and Stick was just there. She moved from the first feel of the longing and emotions that swelled up in me. "I do miss them…" The admission, my first, made me feel at once terrible and more alive. I had been bottling this all up from the moment I had been changed. Stick didn't move and by the time I returned to my meal it was cooler, Twilight had finished hers.

"Better?" Stick's voice sounded just like any other pony's. I nodded and ran my cheek by her own. She knew my feelings possibly better than I did. "Good, finish that plate and lets get you some ice cream."

Somepony's magic rubbed the tear streaks from my cheeks as I turned back to the plate. Finishing the vegetables just in time to have Stick bring out three big bowls of ice cream, topped with sprinkles and some thick-looking topping. My mouth watered and my belly, full as it was, expressed it's own opinion that this was something that needed to be inside me.

One bowl was set before Twilight, one at an empty seat, moments before Spike charged in and the last was set at the place beside me. I tried to levitate it and the spoon over but green magic wrapped forcefully around my own and held it all steady. "I like feeding you." Stick said, sitting down beside me. She worked the spoon around in the bowl a little before the first load was brought up and to my lips.

I looked at it and her, expressing a desire for defiance before opening my mouth. Willpower can only take a pony so far. The flavor of the ice-cream, the chocolate-molasses topping and the little sparks of taste of the sprinkles lit up in my mouth and I almost melted sideways against Stick. "Silly mare, can't even sit up straight without my help." She didn't move though, nor move me. The second spoon had to wait not a moment before I opened my mouth.

Curled up with Stick, the rest of the evening was almost as much fun. I was reading the book, starting and working through the stuff I already knew, I finally got to the tricks with juggling items, check, and then the next step was to keep practicing that while memorizing patterns?

I poked one with a hoof. "Stick, what are these, really?" She had been distracted, lost in her own world. "Oh, unicorns use those to cast spells. See, what me." Her horn lit and for a moment I could see the pattern, lit in green.

"Wait, unicorns use them. What do you use?" I tilted my head to her.

"Silly, we use mostly the same stuff, it takes some work to learn. But we also have our changeling magic." I was curled up with Twilight, then Rainbow Dash, then the flames came once more and Stick was herself once more.

"Wait, do that again…" Stick tilted her head as I asked but was Twilight again, staring into my eyes. "Your horn doesn't channel when you do that!" She nuzzled me and I drew back a little. "Sorry, I only snuggle Stick." There was a flash of green fire and I accepted the snuggle.

"So it is magic without a horn, natural magic?" My thoughts were interrupted as I yawned. As I felt my faculties winding down for sleep but turned my gaze to Stick's neck and made a little light. She had done some shifting for me and would need a pick-me-up.

My dreams were calm, no demon-changeling to haunt them, but there was Stick, still big and imposing. I wasn't going to complain.

"We need to leave." Stick murmured in my ear, probably not for the first time. As my eyes opened I looked up at her and kissed her on the nose. "Come on sleepy-head. We have missed the first train through, if we don't hurry we will miss the next."
My pack I found easily, but when I looked for my shawl I found not the one I had originally, but five! "Rarity?" Stick nodded to my guess. Most were in pinks and purple, one dark blue I grabbed, settling it across my croup and tucking it in to my saddlebags. "Okay, check." The remaining clothes floated over and into my bags.

Stick drew a brush from the other pack and set to work on my mane, I found another and did hers. Even though we could both safely do magic and take care of our own, it felt better to look after each other. I had as much energy as I could devoted to moving the brush, but I knew that I was likely supplying energy for the both of us. "Right, lets go grab some food and be off." Stick had finished with my tail and even gave my ear-tufts a flick each.

"Right." I gave her a nuzzle as we left the room and ambled down the stairs. No one was around, it was quiet. What was going on? Spike walked through from the kitchen. "Where is everypony?"

He looked around like he was, himself, unsure and shrugged. "I bet they are around. Maybe fighting off a monster or saving breezies…" The young dragon set a bowl of his crystal cereal down and started eating it.

In the kitchen was a cake and a note.

Sorry I couldn't be here to see you off, had to go with the girls to take care of something. There is a letter for Cadance, make sure Stick gives it to her herself.

- Twilight

"Aww." I lifted the cake with my magic and carried it out with two plates. Dishing up a slice each we had breakfast cake and, despite her efforts to feed me all of her plate, I fed Stick back my own.

"I don't need to eat that, you should-" My revenge was so sweet, as sweet as the cake I popped in her mouth to quieten her. She glared but chewed the cake. Of course it was one of Pinkie's, no doubt, I hoped ponies don't get cavities.

"Nope, I'm out of here." Spike wasn't done with his food but we had made him uncomfortable it seems. I knew calling him back wouldn't help so let him leave.

"Okay, now for a proper snuggle." Stick stuffed a big hunk of cake in my mouth and kissed me. My eyes closed and I channeled a little magic. We were distracted, quite well so.

"Train leaves soon!" Spike called from outside, clearing his throat after it. We both giggled and I had to lick a smear of the cake topping from Stick's cheek.

"Lets go." I nodded to Stick's sentiment and we put the cake back in the kitchen, what was left of it, cleaned our plates and trotted out. This time I could see the shimmer of the protection spell much better and, as Stick walked through it she giggled. "That is ticklish, but I doubt it is for other changelings."

"At least it is a start. I don't think Rarity would have had a chance to talk to Queen Fast while she was here, you should talk to her on our way through." Stick gave a nod of agreement.

It was lucky Spike had broken our moment, the train was just starting to build up more steam to leave when we arrived. "Two for Canterlot, please." The pony in the ticket booth smiled brightly and gave us two tickets.

"Heard you helped protect the Apples from that nasty business." The ticket clerk, an older-looking pegasus mare, seemed focused on Stick. Who nodded. "Good to hear. Some folks around here had bad words for you, but you can't judge everypony by just a few bad eggs." Stick nodded more and smiled.

"Thank you!" She practically bubbled with happiness at this. Progress.

16 - The Penny express!

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The train had more ponies on it for the trip back, it was a coming through from Los Pegasus and, of course, there was a larger contingent of the winged folk aboard. Stick and I found a nice comfortable seat and leaned together, quietly watching the countryside speed past.

"Is that makeup?" Somepony had finally gotten the nerve to come over but, rather than focusing on Stick they were looking right at me!

Another voice piped up, across the carriage. "It has to be, everyone knows the only bat ponies are winged."

I was stunned, I knew I had to react, it would only make all lunar look bad if I let it ride. "That's disgusting!" The first pony, a pegasus stallion, stepped right up to the first pony and glared at her. "Tell this mare you are sorry this instant. By Celestia, how could anypony be so insensitive!"

A LOT of heads turned and looked at the potentially racist mare, a unicorn.

"Well? She is waiting." I suddenly really liked the stallion.

"I never." Her voice made her sound even worse than Fancy Pants, but then, that stallion had helped up a human who he had every right to step around. "Oh, alright. I apologize." There was no measurable sincerity behind it, but I nodded anyway and she turned around.

"Sorry about that, ma'am. I take it that really isn't makeup then, you are a lunar unicorn?" I nodded up to him. "Capture, Stunning Capture." He turned so his camera cutie mark could be seen.

It was then, cuddled to my side, Stick roused from a doze and looked.

"Well, aren't we just blessed by amazing ponies here today?" He was smooth, smooth as silk.

"Stick." My companion said with a smile that showed teeth. "She's Penny Farthing." I smiled too, taking Stick's lead and giving just a hint of fang to him which, it could be said, made the white pegasus pale just a little.

He got the hint but sat down anyway. "And here I thought I had the chance of getting a date with the most stunning pony I have seen in years." He was very, very smooth, smooth enough to make me blush a little under my fur.

"Got all she needs." Stick said, nuzzling into my neck in an obvious show of affection that should have given him the hint.

His wings ruffled and he gave a sigh. "Don't suppose I could at least get a picture, while you are in Canterlot?"

Thankfully Canterlot was coming up soon to forestall any requests to model in the train. "Sorry to say, I have business with the Day Court and my friend here needs to visit her Queen. For that matter, I might too." I looked to Stick and she shrugged.

He looked suddenly so dejected I almost offered to let him take a shot anyway and, at last, I did. "If you want to take a photo of us, on the train, you may." And with that I leaned back to Stick and rubbed noses with her. There was just one flash of light. I blushed a little.

"He was nice, if nothing else." Stick said.

"Canterlot. Canterlot station next and final stop!" The conductor called down the train.

Everypony started to get up and get ready to move. A lot of them had been on the train since early morning and were stiff to rise. Avoiding the path of mare from earlier, we made it from the train and back into the city.

I waited, tilting my head.

Stick stood a moment, paused, listening and finally turning to me. "A song?"

"Nope, nothing." I sighed and we made the choice to see Princess Celestia first. I remembered the way but asked a guard at the entrance before we went in. He smiled and gestured the way with an extended hoof.

We had to wait some time, apparently there was a lot of business that seemed to be a heck of a lot of talk about land borders between farms and such.

"Penny Farthing and Changeling Journeypony Stick." A bailiff's loud voice was heard and we stood.

Celestia beamed at us. "This is a welcome surprise. Penny, Stick, your travel was well?" Celestia was warm with her words but I noticed she said not one hint about the event.

"It was, the rail is quite an amazing thing." Stick chittered a little. "We wondered if we could have some time in private, after court?"

There was a muttering in the crowd but it seemed the done thing to pay attention to the Princess, rather than gossiping nobles. "This would be most welcome. In an hour we will be free, have one of the guard direct you." She nodded and the next pony was already being announced.

Walking quickly we clearly heard one voice, "… they should stay in their part of the city."

I wanted to growl, if I could. Stick had heard it too and lifted her chin, choosing to ignore it.

"Now, lets see to your Queen… uh, should I not channel in the hive?"

Stick looked most alarmed. "No, don't, please!" I nudged her jaw with my own.

"Didn't think it would be good. I assume no changelings would drink from me but with that much energy they might get tempted." She nodded in reply and, just for her, I flashed some magic. My horn didn't glow at all but Stick, she always reacted when I did it.

Like that we were walking flank-to-flank even to the hive. There were drones at the entrance to the large building the main part of the hive was in. "Name and rank?"

"Stick, Journeypony." The drone looked confused at Stick's reply and ducked inside. Muttering could be heard before a gasp and the drone was back out.

"Journeypony Stick and her guest are welcomed to the hive!" Their reply and slight tremble had me wondering what had been said, or gossiped, about our excitement.

Walking through the door, I let Stick go first as she had all the rank here. It was initially a small hallway but after a few turns, twists, and not a few stairs, big doors opened out into a huge, softly glowing room. The green light flowed in from everywhere and, at the back and laying out on her throne, was Queen Fast.

She sat up when she saw us. "Hey, welcome!" She got up and stepped out and before I knew it I was wrapped in a hug by the mare and I don't know why but I suddenly felt a little, well, too close. "You two got quite the reputation, to hear those new drones you beat them up single hoofed." She was looking at me and something about the look felt, naughty.

"I helped an alicorn get the edge over them, not much else." I shrugged a little.

Stick, however, looked around the room and satisfied, leaned forward to hug Fast herself. "Something else to report, actually. Penny was put in a pod, a badly made pod, for almost a day."

"Heard about that, how are you recovering?" The Queen's question got a grin from me.

"Well, my 'net is fine, but there is something odd… drink gently." I said it softly, waiting for Stick to nod before I channeled.

The Queen's eyes flew open, her wings buzzed and she almost trembled in place. "What was THAT?"

Stick was getting more used to it by now, thankfully, and was also finding new and creative ways to burn off excess energy. "That was what the pod did. Any time Penny channels her energy a lot leaks and… if it is focused through love, it is really good." My friend drawled out the Ls and Os of those last two words, getting a nod from Fast.

"First rule, never do that in the hive again." I nodded. "Second rule, if you want me to visit, just say!"

We all giggled at this and Fast led the way to a low table to one side, slipping down onto a low cushion behind it. "Anything else to report?"

"Going to the Crystal Empire." Stick's news got one of Fast's hooves to bop her own face.

"I can't stop you, of course, just tread gently there. Princess Cadance is not welcoming to changelings and, honestly, I couldn't blame her one bit." We both nodded to that.

"Regardless, I am going." I poked Stick in the side with the letter Twilight had left for her. "What's this?"

"Twilight said it was a letter to be delivered, only by you, direct to Cadance's hoof." I shrugged as, without thinking, I hovered it over.

"Please, first rule!" Fast looked around. "I wasn't even tasting ya and I felt that."

I looked to Stick and then to her queen. "Queen Fast, if you ever find you really need to, you can drink from me." Stick perked her ears to that but gave a little nod. Fast, on the other hoof, looked a little taken aback.

"Not many ponies offer that. Know this, Changeling-friend Penny, you are welcome to rest at my hive." It was formal, as formal as I had known the Queen to be. "But you really should go now, I could maybe explain away the bursts so far as a lewd pleasure binge, but any more and changelings will talk."

"Next time." Stick got up, I followed her lead and we made for the door. "Next time, we invite you somewhere." Stick blushed a little in the offer, but not as much as I. There were rumors about Queen Fast and her… well, feeding.

We left the hive and returned to the castle, a little early but otherwise without incident.

"Come." The voice had me looking around until I spotted a lunar pegasus, looking far more dangerous than even Silver's wife had, turning and walking away. Stick and I looked at each other but followed.

As we walked I nudged Stick's shoulder and channeled just a touch. There was not even a flinch from the other pony. Stick grinned at me and nodded, having followed my focused look and realized I had worked out a quite interesting little way to spot one of her kind.

In silence we were led to a pair of doors I recognized. Luna's suite. I stood a little taller as we were led past two more lunar guards and into the darker lighting of the room. My slitted eyes seemed to come alive in the dark, irises parting as I could suddenly see nearly as well as day and certainly better than most ponies. The guide was gone, the doors behind us closed. "Welcome, Penny. Stick."

The Princess of the Night was sitting at a set of drawn curtains, her back to the window that obviously would get thrown open at night time. I bowed low, bending my front legs to lower my head. Rising up, I smiled. "I owe you thanks, still. Have you worked out a proper boon for me yet?"

Stick looked shocked I would speak quite so familiarly with one of the princesses.

"We have not. We did wish to welcome you back and congratulate you on your work catching those rogue changelings. You were put in a bad situation and, despite taking hurt, you helped resolve it with nopony lost." It really warmed me to get praise from her. "But we would know what is the extent of your injury. Princess Twilight Sparkle has forwarded a significant amount of medical and scientific notes that we are sure somepony will be able to make sense of in the next thousand years."

Stick lost her control, giggling at the lighthearted jab. Grinning myself, I nodded. "I helped create those reports. Twilight's methods are… not quite the same as human ones, but close enough that with her explaining things I could keep up." Luna's ears jerked fully upright at this and I realized I had surprised her just a little. "When I channel energy, either to the central or edge parts of my horn, some portion of what I channel leaks, it leaks through the emotion I am feeling at the time."

"If she uses love, it is tasty!" Stick giggled and put a hoof over her mouth, thinking herself being too familiar suddenly.

"Yes, changelings can feed from that energy much more directly than their usual drinking. The difference between sipping at a pond and a water spout." The description had Luna nodding.

"This makes the two of you a rather good pairing." The question hung there and I knew she wanted to know exactly how good a pairing.

I leaned sideways and gave Stick a nuzzle, looking to the princess, who nodded and sighed. "We must ponder on this. My consideration will reach you sometime after you reach the Crystal Empire. Go, our sister will be seeking your company shortly."

Stick rose, gave a little bow. I didn't. I ran up to a surprised princess and gave her a hug. "Thank you." I turned and ran before she could see the blush on my cheeks. Stick met me outside giggling.

"She made you…" I nodded to my friend's question. "Explains it. Okay, I don't think I can be jealous of her then." I raised my head in surprise but any question was forestalled by a guard in gleaming gold and silver armor.

"Her highness, Princess Celestia awaits your company."

So much royalty in one day. I wondered if Silver ever had this much trouble. Of course not, he was a mighty diplomancer! I giggled as we followed the guard.

17 - Binding string

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Note: Added Sex and Gore tags. This is still teen, but I believe that since there is more than occasional fighting and more than a little sexually-charged situations, by the FAQ, I will use them.

"Can you believe them," my ears swiveled around, focusing on the speaker, "walking into court and practically demanding a private audience. Some ponies need to learn their station."

I frowned as the guard led us out of earshot of them. "What's wrong?" Stick pressed a little closer, shoulders and flanks rubbing gently as we walked. I leaned against her.

"Nothing, love." I nosed at her cheek.

I got a kiss back. "About time. I wasn't going to say it first this time. If we weren't about to see Celestia I would pin you down and kiss your nose raw. I love you Penny." I was shocked by her intense emotion and was blushing furiously.

"You may go in, she is expecting you." The guard was standing to the side now, a door open beside him with two guards standing with spears held high.

Stick didn't move from my side as we walked and I knew I was still blushing up a storm when the door closed behind us.

"Now, to welcome you properly. Thank you Penny, Stick, for proving that ponies are ponies no matter their shape. You have news for us?" Celestia's voice was warm, it flowed through the room like water.

"A few things. First," I was feeling a little nervous, but I knew she should be told about my odd… trick, "you got Twilight's report on my condition." Celestia nodded and I realized I had worded myself into a corner. I couldn't infer that Princess Celestia couldn't understand the techno-babble. "Uh, I am sure you are, um…"

"I understand a little of it. I fear my former student has, in this field, outshone even the sun." Her words were careful but had a little humor to them that made me smile. Or was it melancholy?

"Right, so I leak, a lot. I can't seem to stop the leak, only make it bigger. Stick," I channeled a little, pushing about half to light my horn and letting the rest flow through me as I looked to my… marefriend, "can drink it down as if it were emotion. Queen Fast also attested that she could too. But it only works when I focus on love."

Celestia would have to be blind to see the way I looked at Stick when I explained it, or see the way the changeling gave a silly grin at being fed by me. "That is a most interesting talent, what did Fast Change think of it?"

I was confused a moment until I made the connection. "Queen Fast was most insistent I avoid using it in her hive, I think she was worried it might tempt her changelings to do things…" Celestia nodded.

"My Queen also was worried about me visiting the Crystal Empire." Stick looked down a little. "She fears what was done cannot be remedied."

Celestia pondered this, her look not inviting us to speak for the moment. "Very well, I will draft my niece a letter. You," she gestured at Stick with a wing, "will deliver it."

What was with princesses giving Stick letters to deliver? Was she now a royal mailmare? My grin caught Celestia's eye and an eyebrow twitched. "Sorry, princess. You will forgive a pony her silly thoughts, but Twilight has already penned such a letter, with the same instructions. I know neither of you would lean on my friend for simple delivery of letters, but even when I was human, my friends called me a silly pony."

The princess shook her head. "Humans, even when become ponies, have many flavors of spirit, all of them are strong and spicy. It is quite the relief to have found one more soothing to the palate."

Celestia was a ruler, a diplomat and a caring 'mother' to her ponies, to have her twist words into such an interesting pattern made me giggle all the more. To one side, a quill became wrapped in golden magic, starting to write.

"This is all you have to report?" It was as Celestia asked that I realized just how well ponies tended to multi-task. She was talking with us, clearly following a conversation, but at the same time she was writing a letter, likely with exquisite lettering and even more-so wordage.

"Well, after my Queen's reaction, and mine." Stick blushed a little herself, remembering the way her queen had 'reacted' to my leaking. "Penny has come up with a rather good way, at least while her… issue, remains a secret, to detect a changeling nearby."

"Let me guess, put out a burst of love and see if anypony suddenly reacts?" Stick gave a chitter of surprise. "It is a valid method, but will only work a few times unless you find and restrain the changelings each time it really works. It also makes you a target."

I gulped at this and nodded.

"Very well, I think, despite you not being a practiced unicorn, you could be of some use to my niece, maybe a good lesson for her too. You will go to the Crystal Empire and, there, report to my diplomat. He looks to be a young unicorn, but is wise beyond his station. His name is-"

"Silver Lining." I giggled, not intending to cut the princess off, but I could see she wasn't upset about it. Or at least she was very, very good about not showing it. "I knew him as a human, we were good friends." To say this raised the royal eyebrow would be an understatement. "We were reunited at the station, each of us going in different directions. He is the reason we are going."

Celestia nodded. "I should have known. Silver seems to leave ripples around him, some pull ponies closer, others are pushed away."

I had no reply for this, apparently 'Silver' had changed a bit from the human I knew. I grinned, I would have to learn about my friend all over again, not a terrible thing. The scratching of the quill ceased and the letter folded, a dollop of wax and Celestia's magic forming a seal into it later and it floated over to Stick.

"I am left wondering who will have the greatest impression on whome." Celestia smiled, taking any heat from the double-edged comment. "Go, introduce yourselves to my niece and be the best ponies you can." The encouraging words got a prideful smile from both of us as we gave her a bow.

As we left the castle a little colt with a changeling cutie mark trotted up to us. "Queen Fast said you were coming here!"

We stopped and blinked, it took a few moments for me to make the connection. "Don't hide yourself." Stick spoke first though, reaching out with a hoof and booping him on the nose.

A flash of green fire and he was revealed. The small changeling that had been involved with the foalnapping. I thought the wounds had healed over, but they hadn't, they had just scabbed. A shudder went through me and Stick was just as suddenly pressed in, I could even feel a gentle push of her magic under my belly and barrel. Damn she was an awesome mare.

I did notice, when I really looked, that their left foreleg had lost a hole. I focused on that, they weren't really at fault, they just needed food. "Grub?" At their nod I smiled, they looked surprised I remembered it. "Grub, how is life in your new hive?"

They chittered and grinned. "Queen Fast is teaching me how to drink carefully and has found a job for me to do, I am her page!" Their enthusiasm at their new start in life was well received by Stick, I had a little trouble dealing with past demons at first, but a foal's happiness is quite something to behold. It wasn't Grub's fault that he ended up in the company he had.

"That's great to hear, I see you are healing up those holes?" Stick poked me in the side when I observed this, the little changeling in front of me blushing. "Right, silly unicorn, they are not spoken about so much, are they?" I got a nod from Grub. "Then let me keep being blunt-pony. I am glad you are looking better." The blush deepened but I could see the colt was pleased by it.

"I gotta go, Queen Fast will probably need me!" Their words mashed together with a lot of chitter and they turned and bolted.

"You really need to learn decorum." Stick nuzzled me around my neck. "But don't, you are the best blunt-pony."

"We should go, changelings seem to be less of a scene than they used to be, but I am still new, it seems." There were a few ponies looking curiously at us and Stick nodded. Lifting our flanks we made a trot for my shop.

"Well now, here is a pair of faces I haven't seen for a while." Mrs Loaf was out the front of their shop, two foals running around and generally loving life in the way young are wont to do. "Your trip was eventful I take it?"

The earth pony mare's smile was warm. "Oh you wouldn't believe! We met a warrior, I was foalnapped, escaped and learned the secrets of magic from an alicorn princess!" The two foals stopped their headlong dash and were gazing up at me. A little young to really grasp the meaning of my exaggeration, they nonetheless recognized something exciting was being talked about.

Stick nodded to every point I made. "I made new friends." I leaned over and nuzzled her. I knew how much work and bravery it had taken for her to do that.

"My my, it sounds like quite the tale." Mrs Loaf grinned and looked between us. "I also think there is another story here, a much more wonderful one."

I blushed as hard as ever but Stick leaned in and nipped at one of my ear tufts. "Yup, she is my mare!" Well, I thought I was blushing before, now my face felt on fire.

"Oh and look at her, you two have a date picked?" I looked between Stick and Mrs Loaf, over and over, what was going on here, what were they planning.

One of my back hooves lifted and I was almost ready to take a step back when Stick's voice whispered in my ear. "Don't worry, we move at your pace… or maybe a touch faster." This didn't help my blush at all but my hoof came back down. I leaned against her, needing her support for the moment. "We haven't a date yet, and I think one of my new friends would be most upset if we planned a party without her."

"Don't leave it until too late. Best thing I ever did was roping my stallion." The mare practically glowed. "You don't look to be settling back, leaving again?"

Nodding, I looked to my little shop. "Yeah, Crystal Empire this time. An old friend ran into me at the station on our way to Ponyville, he was headed up north and I promised to find him again."

"Important to keep friends like that. But what of your shop?" The two foals had bounced over to Stick and were making a game of weaving around her legs.

I sighed deeply. "I just don't know. It would be nice to know it is there to come back to, but at the same time if somepony else needs it… Can you look after it for me? If somepony is looking for a place to stay or to set up a nice shop, let them have it." Mrs Loaf smiled. "But first I will grab my things. I didn't leave much… well, maybe some bits and the grinding dust, but I might need it. Oh!"

Stick and Mrs Loaf both looked at me, waiting for my exclamation to be explained.

"Crystal Empire… there might be work for me, polishing stones."

"She only now thinks of this. Silly pony." Stick kissed me on the cheek and I gave a happy sigh. "Come on then, no time like the present and it would be good to get moving sooner rather than later."

I pressed forward, leaning in and giving Mrs Loaf a hug. "Thank you for letting a mare earn her keep."

"Oh you, he really did need the help, still does. Maybe another pony will come and work for crumbs?" Crumbs, really.

I laughed at this. "I will be back some day, I don't plan to spend forever in the Crystal Empire."

"You go, show that mare of yours a good time and don't do anything I wouldn't." I blushed at her suggestion. "Go!"

We laughed and dashed to the closed shop. Inside I grabbed just what I said I would, leaving a few bits behind. "Not all of it?"

I shook my head to Stick. "If someone needs a shop this far from the market, it will help them." She nuzzled my cheek.

"That everything?" I had popped the old cushions into a cupboard and nodded to stick.

"Yeah, come on, race you to the station!"

18 - Stick in the mud

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What had been a slow amble from the station earlier was now a gallop! Our hooves flew as we wove and darted around people. Stick cheated, flying over some ponies but winning really didn't matter. What was the best thing about it, nopony cursed at us, some laughed and pointed with hooves, most tried to get out of our way but everypony saw it for the good-natured fun it was.

Panting hard as I reached the station, I saw a Rainbow Dash-looking mare, leaning against the ticket booth. The changeling cutie mark on her flank gave Stick away and she flickered her shape back to normal and I bounded over. "You win, so you get a kiss!" I leaned in and got her cheek.

"Need to get you learning some spells, I hear some ponies can work actual shape changes on themselves." Stick accepted her prize and chittered softly. "Two tickets to the Crystal Empire please!" She addressed the ticket pony who looked a little surprised to see us.

"Two tickets. Back of train. You two have a good trip!"

I took mine from him and Stick moved in to walk side by side. "Train is boarding now, I checked. Doesn't leave for a little bit yet, lets grab you something to eat." I wondered if she could tell when I was hungry then it hit me. She always walked so close, touching, She probably felt my belly rumble.

"Alright, but only if my marefriend feeds it to me." I raised my snout and looked sideways at her from the bottom of one eye.

It was the darnedest thing. A hotdog vendor, selling boiled carrot-dogs, with a choice of extras. "Two please!" Stick bounced over and I was astounded at how happy she got to just take care of me. It made me blush a little. "What do you want on them?" I blinked, having gotten distracted.

"Uh, hayfries, onion and sour cream?" My eyes had caught his sign and the unicorn-vendor nodded, applying the requested condiments. The toppings were familiar but the carrot would be different.

"Here we are, little fillies." Stick and I both blushed and clopped a hoof each on the platform at the compliment given with the food.

"Thank you!" We said together, the two dogs in Stick's green magic, hovering to the side.

"Now, lets get our seats and I will see how messy I can make your face with these things."

We found the train and, moving down it found the last carriage mostly empty. Getting comfortable and even lifting free my bags, I knew that Stick was eager to play a little and, I couldn't help it, I wanted to as well.

"Now, open up." One of the dogs approached me and I obediently opened my mouth up, but not quite enough to fit the bun and the toppings. Some of the cream pressed to the dark fur at my nose and Stick tsked with a little chitter. Leaning in, she kissed and licked the little spot of white away. "There, now can you not be a messy little filly with the next bite?"

I blushed and tried to open my mouth as wide as I could. Stick, however, was adamant about making sure each mouthful made a little mess she had to 'clean'. The hot flush wasn't embarrassment, to be certain I barely noticed anypony else was there. It was just being this close, emotionally, to Stick or anyone, was a very new experience.

"Now that is an odd expression for you to have after I have filled your belly." Stick had, of course, noticed my introspection.

"You're my first." I blushed even worse at my poor choice of words. "Marefriend, I mean, I…" She giggled and kissed my nose.

Staring with wide eyes at her, at how she seemed to look at me with every intention of making me as happy as she possibly could, I knew there was one not so altruistic side to it. She was a changeling, if I wasn't happy she wasn't fed. But that was horribly superficial. I closed my eyes, I pictured an empty world, with nothing. "What are you…" Stick began to ask, sensing my sudden shift in emotion. Then I added Stick to the void. "Ohhh…" I leaned up, to where I remembered her lips were.

"Love you, Stick." I kissed my marefriend, keeping just that image in my head, even as one of her legs curled around my shoulder and held me close, letting us kiss more surely.

"Uh, ahem. Tickets." A blushing stallion was looking at us. The train was moving and we hadn't even noticed.

Stick produced her own out of what seemed to be thin air, I had to root around in my bag before I had mine out.

"Thanks." I said as he used a stamp to snip the corner off mine and hoof it back to me.

The gesture made the stallion grin. "Not a problem." He moved off down the car.

"You said it again. Keep saying it and I think I could possibly swoon for you." Stick had tucked her own stub away and turned back.

I didn't blush but the thought that her words inspired made me feel light as a feather. We both leaned a little, toward the window. With quiet nips and nuzzles we watched Canterlot fade along with the warm weather as green was replaced by some cliffs, mountains and rock faces.

The whistle of the train blew, startling not only us but the two other ponies in the carriage. At the front-end, the two earth ponies got up and moved on through to the next car in the train, leaving us alone. "What do you think is-" Stick started to ask as the train jolted, spilling us over to land sprawled on the floor.

We could hear something on the roof of the train and I knew something was up.

The howl of some creature tipped us off to them being canines of some sort, but in this magical realm that wasn't quite as useful as I would have hoped. There was another jolt and a sense of slowing down.

"They separated us from the train!" Stick had dashed to the front of the carriage just as one of the big diamond dogs came in the back.

"Arro, look what we 'ave 'ere!" His face fell as he squinted his eyes around. "Only two, w'ats dis?"

His club was swinging down for my head and even as I started to duck I knew I wouldn't be able to dodge it. My eyes fixed on Stick as she bared her fangs. My reaction was to flash as much magic as I could, clamping down so not a jot reached my horn.

Pain exploded and my vision flashed with stars. I staggered and started to fall down once more. The fight in front of me played out almost as jerky as stop motion animation. Stick's mouth opened and I think she called my name, but soon it grit back closed, fangs on display as green flame roared over her.

Talons extended from her hooves, her wings grew blades on each edge and her horn a jagged leading edge. I cried a moment, to see what she had done to herself as she charged the big canine. The club was dodged, barely, but claws and fangs descended on Stick only to find little purchase on her shell.

She was practically a moving ball of sharpness, fur and blood soon coated her but, though the beast had tried to bleed her in response I could see no ichor at all.

Stick was as suddenly at my side, the diamond dog hadn't even hit the floor than she was trying to lift me, her form leaving me with small scratches and cuts too. She chittered something most un-Stick-like and instead hefted me up with magic.

I smiled at her drunkenly.

"Oi, one of 'em killed da boss!" I found myself floating back down to a soft cushion as Stick moved for the open door. I saw more fire spread over her, spines growing around her back hooves and from the green lengths of her tail.

I tried to channel more energy for her but this out of it my magic felt like I was trying to squeeze honey through the eye of a needle. There were yelps, snarls and a few loud thumps as the battle was joined outside. The hissing and chittering was just as loud and, as sounds of struggle lessened, were thankfully more prevalent.

Stick staggered back in, there were some patches of green on her dark shell now, something had penetrated her shell.

We must have laid there for a few minutes, although it wasn't quite that easy to work out the passage of time. Stick had managed to flicker herself back to her less deadly-to-hug self and I managed to sit up and pull myself along the floor to her. "You… you okay?" My words slurred a little still and Stick leaned up and nosed me.

There was blood on her fangs.

The sound of hooves hitting the roof of the carriage startled us both and we looked up. "Only four of them?" A stallion's voice demanded.

"Four, all dead, torn up." Another replied. "Check in the car."

It wasn't Princess Celestia's wonderbolts, of course, but it was a group of militant-looking pegasi. "Two in here, both look injured." Hooves approached and a mare leaned down, inspecting Stick first. "One is a changeling, looks like they did most of the fighting. Other," they turned to me and peered in my eyes a moment, using their hoof in an odd way to pin my eyelids open, "concussion, head wound."

"Help Stick…" I turned to look at her, she was breathing but seemed out of it completely.

Another two pegasi came in, unfolding what looked like a stretcher. "That little thing did all that?" One stopped in shock, having obviously seen the three dogs outside and now witnessing the 'leader's wounds.

"She. She saved me." I winced and managed to get my hooves under me with sheer force of will alone. Walking over, one hoof in front of the other, I leaned down and ended up flopping beside her.

"Sorry to say, we don't know what to do for her. Never had any changelings that needed… a doctor." One of the ponies, a mark of a bandaged hoof on their flank, sounded upset at this deficiency.

"Can you stop this headache?" The leaned over me and nodded. "Do it then, I think I can help her." Nothing mattered, nothing in all Equestria. Nothing but Stick.

Rooting around in their oversized saddlebags, the doctor shrugged. "Normally another engine comes along and pushes any decoupled cars. Maybe a few hours?" He pulled out a needle and brought it to my flank. The prick helped me focus a little and after a warm flush there I started feeling much clearer of mind. "Safe to do magic?"

The medic rolled a hoof and I shrugged. Closing off that valve to my horn, I slowly started to feed magic out. But I quickly knew the problem. Fear was my primary emotion. I sat back, keeping the small flow going. I pushed the few aches still in my body away, pushed away the other ponies asking me what I was doing. Pushed out everything and then, at last, pulled Stick in. She smiled up at me, in my mind. She was whole and safe and perfect. My magic leaked, now, through the love I held for my marefriend. Of being fed by her, of relaxing in the spa with her cuddled close. Of the look in her eyes when I did just what I was doing now.

I felt a slight tug, then a pull. It was only on my magic right now but hooves grabbed me and I was in a tight grip. Fangs rubbed my throat and there was a guttural hiss.

She didn't bite, not at my neck, but the out-of-her-mind-with-hunger changeling bit at the core of me. Tears came from my eyes but this was Stick. My Stick. She didn't rip and tear like the other changeling had, she was very certainly in control of me as she fed though. She fed on my love of her, on how gentle she could be right up to how strong she was now. It was a heady mix and I smiled.

I kept slowly letting my magic flow, it wasn't as draining as having a changeling really feed, since it was supported by my magic, but as it went on and on I was aware of a lethargy that was setting in. "Stick… Stick please." When I tried to draw back from her she did press her fangs against my flesh. "Stick?"

The first prick of her fang breaking skin, of a trickle of blood that, when it touched her mouth, snapped her from the instinctive state. "Penny?" Her grip wasn't tight and controlling, it was supportive now and I smiled. My Stick was back.

"Are you… what…" the medic was quite confused, not really understanding what had happened. I grinned, not stopping my channeling. It was just like making light, really, but instead of light in my horn I made light in Stick. I giggled a little drunkenly. Maybe I should stop? I did.

"ToldyaI'dgetherback." My words fell together and I closed my eyes, just for a moment.

19 - Aftermath

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There was no dream, not from this sleep. One moment I closed my eyes, having fed Stick, the next I was missing time and then awake. I was in a hospital bed.

"Interesting medical history, you see." The voice was familiar and I tried opening my eyes more to get a better look but the light of the room was too intense. "It took contacting two princesses and a queen to understand all this. I can tell you are awake."

"Doctor Horse?" My own voice was too loud for me and it was then I realized he had been whispering.

"The very one. So, it looks like your… other physician was right, a little alicorn magic and you were cured of quite a string of problems. Of course if you weren't so keen on getting new ones you wouldn't be here. Lets see if I follow." He set his cane on the bed and sat down on the comfortable looking couch. "Captured by changelings, your magic got twisted in defense to their pods leading to an overall weakening but the energy shunts to other places. Then you get beaten about the head, force a medic to give you… wow, not my first choice, okay then you nearly burn out your magic pouring it all into another changeling to save their life?"

My head swam a little, but it sounded right. I gave the slightest nod before some of the words tickled another part of me. "Stick…" I winced at my own voice, quieting down, "Stick is okay?"

"She is fine, carapace has some interesting scars, but her queen assures me that her own people have checked her over. As for you, you overreached your power level, not by much, but you are learning." The cane was levitating up and bopped me on the nose. "Don't do that again. You are on the road to recovery from that, the changes to your magic are, as others have likely told you, irreparable."

The news about my marefriend was all I really cared about, the rest got stored away for 'later-me' to deal with. "Can I see Stick?"

There was silence for a few moments. "You can come in now."

A nose, wiggling against my neck. A gentle brush of fangs there made me shudder a little. "You tremble, you felt me… you felt me do the worst a changeling could." With her nose up closer to my ear now I turned, eyes closed, kissing a cheek.

"You felt me when you did that. You drank and I kept feeding." She nodded against my ear and I felt a droplet of liquid touch the side of my head, then another. "I have seen you, Stick, seen how you are at your best, worst and now I want to see all the bits in between." The liquid fell more and I reached a hoof up, fighting dizziness to pull her close. "You weren't the worst. You bit, you drank. You didn't savage me."

"I should go…" The doctor had no trace of apology in his voice and it broke the moment, I couldn't not giggle as his cane made a few sounds bumping out.

"Silly Stick, I fell in love with you, not what is between your legs, nor what is in your mouth." My hoof reached up and mussed up the girl's green mane. "Now, do I get something to eat?"

She giggled, sniffed, chittered and it seemed her lips were on the menu as we kissed. We kissed and kissed. I relaxed, let my emotions flow. How proud I was, how safe I felt with her, how much I loved her. I really hoped it was all rooted in love, so she could taste it all. I had to break the kiss in the end, Stick having climbed up, precariously, beside me at some point. "I wasn't joking, love." My belly rumbled and she snorted. Her magic triggered the nurse call.

We didn't have to wait long before a nurse arrived, eyebrow raised at our both being on the bed. "None of that now." She fussed, the earth pony coming in and adjusting the bed but, I noticed, she adjusted it so Stick was comfortable as well.

"She's hungry." Stick's voice was steady but a hoof curled under me and I sank into her grip.

The nurse smiled. "Good sign. Lets get you something tasty." She checked the chart at the foot of the bed and nodded, leaving.

"I got somepony sorted to visit Ponyville. Queen Fast already got Rarity's message, I vouched and when she heard Rarity is one of the Elements… A clever drone is heading out, he is amazing, can mimic anypony with just a glance." I watched her talk, watched how her mouth moved, how her teeth helped form the words. I smiled a lot because she stopped talking about something I hadn't been following. "What are you looking at?"

In answer I leaned up and kissed her, my tongue seeking out and curling around one fang. As I drew back I grinned. "Learning all the parts of you."

"Ahem!" The exclamation from the stealthy nurse had me blush as I turned. "Now, this is just basic fare, but I want her eating it all." Was she addressing Stick instead of me.

"Don't worry, if she knows what's good for her, she will eat every bite." Her emphasis on the last word had me blush more. The nurse hadn't noticed and left the plate of vegetables boiled to within an inch of their lives with us. "I mean it… why do you get so spicy when I talk like that?"

I shrugged, trying to reach with my mouth to the plate, only to have it tugged away by green magic. "Oh no, I got this. Open up." A soft wooden fork brandished some food from the plate toward my mouth and I obediently opened it. It was as bland as it looked but having Stick feed it to me made it so much better.

I wasn't even aware, this time, of falling asleep. Waking up I felt a warm and hard body beside me. Stick. I channeled, it was not easy but I got a little magic flowing and directed it all, carefully, to her. I almost froze when, still asleep, Stick flung a leg over me. It almost startled me to stop but I didn't, holding the thread of channel going, even weakly. She was just so cute.

"Is there something," her voice startled me from a half-doze, "that makes you taste better every day? Is there a spice you are bathing in?" I laughed and held her close.

"There is something that I keep with me, rub all over me, each and every day." I tilted my eyes a little and glanced at her with my nose pointed down. "Mmm, you." I did just that, I rubbed my cheek against her neck and mane, I nibbled her ears and traced back down for a kiss. "Can we get out of here soon?"

"Oh, don't mind me." Doctor Horse's voice was the picture of innocence, even as he strolled over to the window and flung it open. He turned back with an accusing look but grumbled when he saw the bright light had stopped affecting me. "Alright. And here I thought I would get the whole show." He stomped from the room and neither of us could hold back giggles.

Stick rolled off the bed, landing with four little clops of her hooves and I felt her magic curl around me, lifting and bringing me off the bed too. She lowered me down slowly, easing my weight onto my hooves. Moving each leg, I was stiff but not overly so. It took a little convincing to get them to let me out, the doctor eventually came up and just signed the form they were not wanting to let me have. "We don't keep healthy ponies."

Stick giggled at this as we turned, making our way outside. "Where were we?" I turned to Stick and she held up a hoof.

"As soon as you were out I am to deliver you to Celestia." I sighed. "I know we just came from there but that is beside the point." I sighed louder and tried to make puppy eyes but she bopped me on the nose with the raised hoof. "No, lets go." She was giggling as she used her magic to push me.

"Meanie." I nipped her shoulder but followed.

"You like my teeth?" Her question, out of context, had me blink.

"I like to feel them-" She shook her head and I stopped.

"I mean these teeth." Her feeding-self was at me, I could feel as she touched my emotional centers, stroking them with her fangs but not biting. I trembled a little but it wasn't in fear. I nodded to her. "Tell me why."

Shaking off that feeling, I leaned against her. "I was honest, I don't like, well…" She nodded. "But I do like, well… that."

"Finally!" I blinked and moved apart from her loud exclamation. "Finally I have found it, something that does more than make your ears twitch!" I blushed so hard I was worried I wouldn't stop before our visit. "Come here you." Stick moved, though, stepping close again and just rubbing flank and shoulder. "If nothing else, your changeling stalker can catch her pretty little filly and eat her all up." Nope, that blush wouldn't be stopping, particularly since the castle guard were almost right in front of us. "Hi! Princess Celestia is expecting us."

"This way." One of the guards stepped, turned and led us not to the court but to a private room.

We entered to find the princess eating cake, carefully, from some ornate china. I couldn't help a smile. Despite everything, every turn and reveal that this was a real world, something would come up and show me how close things were to the show sometimes.

She sat patiently, finishing her mouthful. "I wondered if you were as much of a magnet to these things as Silver and you have proved, partially, to be. You lack only scale. You ran into a small group of changelings and brought them back to Canterlot. Silver brought the better part of a hive." I blinked at the new information, was he really responsible for Stick being here?

"They were both good things!" Stick exclaimed, clopping a cute hoof down.

"I never said they were not good things, I was referring to the fact that where humans go, things happen. Why didn't you settle down, find a nice stallion, run your business?" Celestia hooked another fork of cake and took it, sighing as she chewed.

"You are right. But also, because I am not wired like that." I stepped up and challenged her to stop me from laying down on a comfy-looking cushion. "You and Luna saved my life, you gave me back what I had lost and… you can trust me when I tell you I am really grateful. I would do anything you asked, princess, but I can't go against who I am." Stick got the hint and walked up, laying down beside me and nibbling on one ear as a distraction I welcomed then. "Take me or leave me, I am your pony now."

She slowly chewed her cake, then another mouthful. "You are terrible at this, Penny Farthing, absolutely terrible. My sister makes you promise her a boon to be made one of her newest breed of pony. She asks that boon of you and you not only accept something you would never otherwise do, but you offer her another boon." She scooped more cake and took her time. I could see she was on a roll and the cake looked really good, so I didn't interrupt. "And now, you come to me, offering your service with no compensation?" Her hoof struck down to the floor.

"I won't have it." Princess Celestia nodded.

It was about then I realized what exactly I had offered and, more, I saw that it was probably why she turned me down. "Come back in a year, if you feel that way, I will find a task for you. For now you will get better, you will learn to use that horn and you will go to the Crystal Empire." She scooped more cake and pointed to the now open door with a hoof.

"Did you follow that?" Stick waved a hoof to the guards as we walked out.

I waved too. "Not really, I… I guess I should tell you about my boon to Luna.

"Save it for the train, lets get tickets for the front this time." I nodded to her suggestion. I really didn't want to have to think about getting in another situation for a while.

20 - Let's try that again

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I noticed them, as we trotted along. Stick wore her scars, a deep green set of lines and one big splotch, well. "Noticed em now we are out of the dark room?" I nodded to her question. "At least you can pick me out of a crowd of us now."

"Stick, I could pick you out of a crowd before. You are the changeling that would trot over and snuggle." I blushed as I spoke, but I think I have worked all that out. I used to blush, feel embarrassed and close down.

I leaned in and nuzzled one trace of three green lines that trailed over her shoulder. Yup, just keep going. "You like them?" She nosed one of my ears while I licked and examined them.

"You took them protecting me. I love them because… because they remind me of just how amazing you are." I looked up from the slashes to her eyes. She booped me on the nose.

"Lets get on the train."

"Two for… two for the Crystal Empire. Can we get a seat in the front carriage?" Stick had approached the ticket booth.

It was a different pony today, thankfully, so no odd questions. "All private cabins up there, a few are still free-"

"We'll take one." I moved up beside Stick, pressing to her side and handing over what the sign said was the cost for that. It was more bits than just a normal seat, but there was no way we were going to be jumping every time the train gave a jolt. "Thanks!" I took the ticket and we made for the train.

"How is your magic feeling?" Stick pointed with a hoof at the carrot-dog vendor and I shook my head.

"Not this time and a little weak, just need to keep practicing. I don't think I want to strain like that again…" My slight downer was interrupted by fang-filled mouth nibbling on an ear tuft. I giggled.

No real luggage, except my now battered pair of saddlebags, we climbed into the carriage with an odd sense of deja-vu.

This time our ticket not only was for a particular car but also had a cabin number and upon locating it, we climbed in. To find two ponies already in there.

"How dare you, this is our cabin!" One of the two stallions had stood up, standing protectively in front of the other. "I will get the conductor this instant if you don't leave!"

I looked at the ticket in my soft reddish magic, then up to the number by the door. Something wasn't right here. "Maybe you should do that." Stick stepped to stand in front of me, her own horn starting to glow.

The second stallion started to sob, breaking the mood rather quickly. The brave one seemed to deflate and flop down. "Alright, we are going…"

Stick shuffled to the side but I stood at the door. "Nope, not happening, not until we hear this story."

"Please, we don't want trouble we just need to get away."

"No, sit down. You are running from something, why?" My words brokered no actions except what I had told them and they both just flopped on one of the two couches. I was almost amazed at myself, where had all this confidence come from? I turned to Stick and it hit me. She was amazing, she had stood up against the diamond dogs, she was ready to throw herself at two stallions... I had to be strong to be worthy of her.

Her horn snuffed out and we both climbed in on the couch opposite the two stallions. When they looked to each other I got a vibe, a distinct vibe. I smiled. They were cute when they looked at each other like that.

"You love each other." It wasn't a question, I could see it plain as day, the pair blushed and looked so glum I took it for assent. I remembered the talk with Muffins. "Not really the done thing here, for all ponies talk about acceptance and love, they deny two stallions that because…" I fished for a word to describe how undeniably stupid such a thing was.

Stick cut in for me, saving me from hanging. "We are going as far as the Crystal Empire, you are welcome to share our cab."

Two heads shot up and stared. "Why would you do that? Why aren't you calling us colt-cuddlers and throwing us out?"

I counted to three. The amount of anger I felt toward this aspect of pony culture was boiling my blood. As I got past two Stick beat me to a reply. "Because she is not a pony." I blinked, her confession shocked all the anger right away and I immediately wanted to know what angle she was playing here. "She was a human, a sick human, before she came here."

They were both intrigued by this enough to forget their own situation, although they were still pressed close. "There was more, Stick." I cut in, wanting to really shake them. In for a Penny, in for a… pound. "I was a stallion human."

Stick giggled at this, leaning in and nipping my shoulder.

"Can I continue the story?" Stick didn't wait for me to agree. "She doesn't think quite like other ponies. Oh, she thinks she does, but I watched as she looked horrified when a nice mare explained the social view of partnerships such as yours." She gestured to the pair with a hoof.

Their jaws were both open as the thoughts slowly tried to percolate down through their minds. "So… it isn't a bad thing in your world?" The one on the left, with the lighter yellow mane on white fur, recovered first.

I shook my head and grinned. "It isn't a bad thing in any world. You love each other right?" The second pony, brown mane and tail over green fur, looked to his partner. "Right?"

"Oh, yes!" The lighter stallion had turned to his mate and there was clear distraction there.

"Love isn't wrong." Stick cut in on me and I nipped her ear this time.

"She's right. It's society that has it wrong. My world wasn't perfect, not by a long shot, but we were changing perception. Can you believe it was just as 'wrong'," I made air quotes with just my front hooves, "for two mares to be together?"

I had their attention back. "So, where you two headed?" Stick cut in on me again and I just sighed as she turned half sideways and lay back against me, I used my magic to help brace her and distract her right back. "As we said, Penny and I are only on 'till the Crystal Empire."

The change of subject, though, seemed the right choice and I decided not to bite her ears.

Mr Light gave a smile. "Heard the griffons tend to get a little grumpy about all newcomers, figured it was as good a place as any and at least we can do something about that kind of bullying." I pondered, it was a good idea.

"We will miss being with ponies but, we will also not have to deal with ponies." Darker's reply was with a melancholy tone. "What about you two, a pair of unique beauties aren't likely to be running from the social scene, just after a new view?"

"A friend, an old friend. We had lost our way but met again briefly in Canterlot station, each headed to different corners of Equestria. Well, now I am done with my business in Ponyville and plan to meet up with him." Stick had rolled and uncurled, acting very feline-like in the way she was claiming our couch. It was adorable though, and I reached down to trace more of the marks on her shell. I noticed the stallion's eyes flick to Stick, a flash of jealousy quickly fading to a slight embarrassment. "You snuck into our cabin, you get to deal with a pair of mares who are overly affectionate. But I make a deal with you?"

The pair blushed but nodded slowly.

"You don't complain about us, we won't complain about you." I winked and leaned over, pressing my mouth down against Stick's and giving a happy sigh.

The train gave a jolt and we could hear a loud whistle come from the locomotive. We were moving and pulling from the station as the tracks slowly turned toward the north. "Hey, what is that?" Darker was gesturing out the window.

Stick and I sat up straight and looked from the window. Toward the end of town where Stick's hive was, a flash of green erupted, then another. "I don't know." I put a leg around Stick. "I want to know but get my mare out of the city at the same time. If it is good, yay, if it is something bad, they don't need a wounded unicorn and her marefriend to gawk at it."

Stick nodded in my grip but it wasn't convincing. I nuzzled her ears, sans nibble. "Come on, relax, two princesses and a queen in the city, what could go wrong?"

She sighed and turned. "Just an odd feeling. Where was I?" I blinked as she leaned in, mouth opening to close around my neck. No mental teeth, but I can't say this wasn't a close second for the 'scary-awesome things Stick does' award. As I turned to lay down and let her have her chew-toy, I noticed Mr Light nudge his friend, who was watching us, getting his attention and attentions.

This trip was with significantly less excitement, although I was a little hesitant to try our 'new thing' with Stick. We had told the pair that they could do what they wanted, too, but I think we were all just a little nervous about going too far in the one room. Neck biting was one thing, as were cuddles, but I didn't want to get caught, well, moaning.

The spot where we were attacked last time came and went. One of the stallions reported there was a buffet in the car and Stick lit her horn and dove into my bag where she pulled out some bits and trotted off.

"She likes taking charge?" I was the center of attention by both stallions.

"Does she shift for… well…"

My ears stood straight up and I blushed crimson, I am sure it was quite visible through my fur. "Well, that… none of your business." I looked up at them, daring them to try and keep going. I reached around my memories for a good reply. "Then who's the mare?"

Target hit! Both blushed.

"Turn about is fair play. Yes, we are holding back our attentions, no matter what I said before. And I know you two are." They lowered their heads and Mr Light nodded.

"We can't get past it either. Hiding so long, trying to avoid attention. It is hard to even relax and kiss with other ponies around." Stick came in at the end of his confession, a big plate with an oats burger and some hay fries.

Like always, she fed me, my horn remained unlit as first the burger, then the fries were consumed. Having watched in silence as Stick told me when to open my mouth and filled it, I found the stallions both looking a little perplexed. "Out with it." I burped a little, damn burgers.

"Your friend isn't hungry?" Darker pointed to Stick, who laughed.

"I am a changeling, I can nibble off her happiness any time I like."

Their jaws dropped a moment and pulled back closed. We sat in silence the rest of the trip, the green fading to browns and grays, then to white and brilliant flickers from hidden crystals in the snow.

As the train pulled into the station, we got up and Stick helped get my bags back on me and my shawl straightened, the least she could do of course since she had been the one to mess it up.

I was suddenly trapped in not one but two hugs as both stallions we suddenly close around me. It wasn't anything more than the simple happiness of understanding. "Bright Dancer." The lighter stallion gave one cheek a kiss.

"Star Leaper." The other repeated the gesture and they pulled back, grinning and getting back on the couch.

"You two are adorable. Star, Bright, I hope you both have the most wonderful lives." Stick leaned in and kissed each on the nose with a grin, finally trotting out with me as I waved a hoof. "They were nice, I hope they do find somewhere that just accepts them."

As we climbed off the station I saw the conductor waiting beside the car. "Two stowaways, weren't they?"

I sighed an nodded. Stick, however, gave him a wink. "All covered, right?"

The conductor pony nodded again and it was done. "When did you sort that out?" I kissed her cheek to express how happy I was she had.

"When I got some food. I figured they could use at least a little break and some alone time."

21 - Deliverance

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The city was beautiful. Everywhere you looked there were bright, light-patterns refracting through crystals and spreading over everything. "Wow, this is so pretty!" Stick's wonder matched my own as we made a slow approach to the castle that was quite easily the most dominating structure around.

"Silver will be in there." I gestured with a hoof to the castle and Stick nodded.

"Well duh. We still have one challenge." She shook herself a little, her wings buzzing nervously. "Okay, how do we do this. Go to her court, ask for a private meeting?"

We were clearly, from the guards' point of view, approaching them and the entrance to the castle.

"Public court, you have two letters to deliver, she can choose to take them in private once she has them."

Stick nodded to this and produced the letters from… Celestia knows where. I pondered how my thinking was just a little more 'pony' and shrugged it off. "We are here to deliver missives to Princess Cadance from Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight Sparkle." Stick sounded proud and looked it.

The guards stood back from the entrance and another approached from inside. "Princess' court is about to begin. I will escort you there."

If the city had been a lovely, random riot of color, the castle was a perfectly planned one. Each crystal that caught the sun fed its light to another, and another, fanning patterns and rainbows everywhere. "This castle is amazing." My soft words to Stick were, of course, overheard by the guard and I saw him stand a little straighter. I didn't consider it to be 'buttering him up', since it was true.

We were led to a large room with rows of benches. At one end a low couch was empty but clearly meant for the monarch. "Supply your names to the herald of arms." The guard gestured to a pony at a small desk, their deep red crystal body making even more oddly pleasing patterns around them.

Stepping over and letting the guard retreat, we approached them. "Names and titles?"

"Penny Farthing and Stick, of Canterlot." The mare's quill scribbled some things.

"Official titles or just city of origin?"

"City of origin. We have letters for the princess." Stick did all the talking, I almost felt cowed by all the formality. I guess now I know why the other ponies at Celestia's court got so upset with us for just… barging in.

"Very good, you are not first to be called, so please be seated and silent until you are." A small slip of paper floated up and Stick gently plucked it from the air and the unicorn's grip.

"Thanks!" The changeling, somehow, made doing their job seem like a friendly thing and the pony actually smiled a little back.

Our hooves made the softest of clopping sounds on the floor as we found some room to settled down and wait.

There were some mutterings from other ponies present, apparently things seemed to be running a little late. How terrible, I thought, that the princess might have something else she needs to get finished with before organizing their little quarrels into order.

"All rise! All rise! Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, savior of crystal ponies!" The herald called loudly and, along with everypony else, Stick and I rose up to our hooves and I couldn't help giving an excited little clop with mine as I did.

Cadance looked amazing. Slightly different features meant she was exotic, even among the princesses. She seemed distracted as she made her way to the couch and, as she sat down, everypony else did but a moment in delay.

"Announcing…" The herald's words trailed off, I wasn't really listening and for a fraction neither, it seemed, was Cadance. Her attention finally refocused as the aggrieved ponies started their own little argument with another.

"Calm down gentleponies, please. Now, first-" her voice cut off and I saw her eyes narrow slightly.

"Guards…" My heart thumped, she was looking right at us. No.

Right at Stick.

"Seize that changeling! There are probably more!"

The ponies she had been addressing retreated, turning to look at who she was referring to.

"Stick, stay seated, got your letters?" A bubble of force, more powerful than anything I had felt before, even from Celestia, was suddenly wrapped around Stick and forced me away.

I knew who it had to be and with all his magic focused down, instead of protecting a whole city, Shining Armor could likely keep nearly anything enclosed in it.

The two letters fluttered down, cut off from Stick's magic by the barrier.

Cadance and Shining strode down toward us, the former looking furious, the latter, somehow, a little apologetic. "Princess, please, she comes in peace!" I tried to throw myself to the leader's hooves but a guard insinuated themselves between us with practiced efficiency.

"After what she did to me, trying to steal my husband, my life! There will be more about, like last time." Cadance sounded furious. I knew right then this could go very, very badly. I looked up to Shining who now stood beside her.

"Please, she isn't Chrysalis, she hates her as much as you do!" The name of the changeling queen finally got the princess' attention away from Stick and to myself.

The guard was pushed from Cadance's way as she leaned down. "What do you know of a changeling's feelings? They are born to lie and steal and lie."

I trembled too now, this was almost too much to handle. Knowing this mare could have us ordered to execution if she wished, no matter the furor afterward, was a fear I couldn't suppress.

"Cadie?" A male voice asks, softly.

"You are probably a changeling as well! Shining, imprison this one too!"

"Cadance…"

"What are you waiting for?!?"

"Princess.."

Cadance's shock at hearing Shining use her title instead of her name finally snapped her attention to something other than her fury. "Shiny?" I sensed that the anger had been covering something more, fear.

"Look at them, both of them. Do they look like Chrysalis did? Did they even come in a disguise?" The fear inside, at possibly being torn away from Stick was the worst. I couldn't feel the slight tension inside, that I had finally realized was her.

I didn't even see the fury leave Cadance, but I heard it. "They look like ponies scared of what an angry princess would do." The alicorn's words finally got me to look back up at her.

A deeply frightened mare, but one who stood up to her fears.

"P-Please, we, we came to see a friend. He is staying in your castle. Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight S-Sparkle gave us letters to deliver." The two missives were crumpled a little, the force-shield around Stick having pressed them into the floor slightly.

Shining Armor's magic faded then as he spotted them, the papers lifted in soft blue magic and carried to Cadance.

"Court is adjourned for the day!" The herald's voice came, the mare clearly seeing that no further business was likely to happen until this was resolved fully. Nopony said anything until they reached just outside the door where, thanks to the silence, their sudden excitement could be heard as gossip was hatched and embraced.

Cadance had cracked the first letter, the one with Celestia's seal on it. Reading it, her own pink magic now supporting the letter, she looked between Stick and I. Her eyes seemed to unfocus a moment and shock flowed over her features.

I felt legs wrap around me, a trembling mare now stuck so fast that I could do nothing but reach back and try to offer protection and support.

There was a deep sigh from Cadance. "Hey, this one is from Twily." Shining's voice seemed huge in the room now empty of all the supplicants.

The next letter was examined and read by Cadance and I saw her lips threaten a smile at a few places.

"Two of my peers speak well of you, Stick?" Cadance was addressing Stick and my marefriend looked up out of my embrace. "But there is more. My sister speaks of you as a friend and-" Cadance cut off, shaking her head. "I have seen ponies in love, it is my special gift to be able to see the depth of it. Nopony this wrapped up in another could hide a thing from them."

Cadance's attention changed to me. "How do you speak, then."

I drew a deep breath, I had to say the right thing. I didn't want to accidentally incriminate Stick, or otherwise make the princess hate her.

"I love her. I… she has been nothing but a friend and the greatest thing in my life." I deflated after getting the words out, I wouldn't be able to say another thing now. Strong legs caught me and I was wrapped a little tighter.

"Cadie, Stick here didn't do those things to us." Shining Armor, speaking up for two ponies he doesn't even know, how many ponies would I end up owing my life to? "Anger, hate. They aren't your emotions. I love you Cadie, let it go."

"There is a story here, a long one." Cadance looked at Stick and I. Oh boy.

I began with my own story. Starting with losing my friend. Cadance had settled down on a cushion, Shining remained standing.

When I got to the part of meeting Stick I nosed at the mare. "You are probably best giving your story, leading up to now."

Cadance nodded at this and my marefriend began her own. "I grew up in the hive. It was Chrysalis' hive." The princess gave a little nod, even as I am sure she could hear the same disgust for the queen that she had. "My task as a little drone was to keep the breeders, her consorts, comfortable. I wasn't allowed any time for myself, I was given rations that kept me alive."

"I noticed there was increased activity, the breeders were," she blushed, "more active. There were more drones than ever before and food got shorter and shorter. The ponies she kept…" Stick's cheeks had tears in them now and I hugged her tightly, feeding just a trickle of magic to try to help her continue. "They did get let out of the pods, to recover, but Chrysalis only treated them as food, like a crop of wheat. Then… there was plenty of food. Chrysalis was gone, nearly all the drones."

Cadance seemed to know where this had gone and nodded. "Our wedding."

Stick smiled, a mean smile I don't think I have ever seen her have before. "I am not a theater pony, but one day, if you want me to, I will try to recall exactly the rant she had, when she had her flank kicked all the way back to the hive." Cadance grinned at this; I couldn't help it myself.

"I think we would all like that, very, very much. But continue for now."

"Food was as bad again. The leaders, under Chrysalis, were pushed to try to find more ponies, to even attack small settlements." The changeling's disgust was obvious and, I think, helped her cause even more.

"Then she came. Our drones had captured some ponies wandering in the Badlands, I am not sure exactly what the deal was, but one of our leaders made a deal with them. Word was passed from a very few, to those they trusted. I wasn't either. But when Chrysalis ordered us to chase down the ponies… a queen's command is impossible to refuse, I didn't. We chased and then, just as we were about to fall on them in a wave, another queen revealed herself.

"Another changeling queen? The one from Canterlot?"

Stick nodded. "Queen Fast. She told us, at first, we didn't need to fight, that she could give us better. It didn't really work, though, until she commanded us. For the first time in my life I had a choice. I had two queens giving me opposing orders. Chrysalis… something is really wrong with her. I followed Queen Fast."

22 - Gaining Trust

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Oh noes, it is happening again!
This is part of an integrated crossover/collab over with David Silver over here

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"And if I am required to…"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Oh, I saw a sign or twenty."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

23 - A guiding hoof

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You should stop and read this story first, another collab with David.

"So… a herd?" Stick looked at me as we walked back down the hall, it really had all happened so fast, like everything in this world seemed to.

"You think we are moving too fast with this? I mean everything, Stick?" I worried my lower lip a little. "I mean, it all just… fits. Luna's boon, Silver's dream, but-"

There was a nip, right on my flank. "My queen is Fast, remember? Silly pony, we all take life as it comes, you shouldn't worry about things you can't change. Now, we need to see Cadance again, there is something important to ask and report."

I wasn't quite sure what Stick meant by that, but she seemed to be as on the ball with these developments as I was, if not more so.

"So a foal. Bit sooner than you planned, right? You really trust Silver that much?"

Fears returned, worries, how would it all work… well, I knew HOW it worked, just not…

"Penny? You there? You stopped." Stick was in front of me, waving a hoof before my eyes.

"Sorry, yeah, I do trust him. I don't know about Night, but Silver seems to trust her and that is good enough for me, for now. If this all goes ahead, it will be once Night Watch has proven herself to the both of us." I reached up with my magic and ruffled the changeling's mane a little, the wasted magic easily gobbled up by her.

"Then I will treat them both in that regard." She held up a hoof to my trying to reply. "Not that I don't want to trust them, but Penny, I am your protector, remember?" She brought the hoof back to herself, gesturing to the marks on her carapace.

I sighed and nodded. "Yes miss Stick." She brightened at my silly gesture and moved around to my side.

"Good, now, come on, chin up, lift those hooves." Her little nips of encouragement lifted my mood and together we went looking for a guard.

It didn't take long and, best of all, it was Shining Armor. "Hey there, you two need any help with anything?"

The way the stallion spoke, his easy offers of help, made him very easy to like. "If there is a chance, could I speak to Cadance again?" Stick smiled, her chitter practically gone while addressing the second most important pony in the empire.

"Lets go ask." He turned and made his way not to the court room, but up some stairs and to what is obviously one of their more private sitting rooms. "You two been talking with Silver? Is Night Watch keeping him in his room?"

We both giggled and nodded. "He is railing a little, but I don't think it is that terrible a fate. There are surely worse mares to be locked up with." My easy tone got him to smile too.

"And how is my little sis doing? She still getting into all sorts of adventures with her friends?"

It struck me then, as odd, how Twilight and Shining had completely different accents. But then she had been quite the shut-in, while Shining would have seen much of the kingdom in his profession. "She had to leave a note, when we were leaving. Something that needed rainbows, I think it was. All of them were off somewhere." He smiled widely at my reply, lifting a hoof to knock once.

"Hey, Cadie, Stick and Penny here wanted to ask you a thing or two?"

The door opened and the princess had a curious expression. "I hate to impose, but are they quick ones? Skipping court was a bad idea it seems…"

Stick nodded. "Just one thing, really. About the mission, I will explain it to Penny in a moment, but can you bring Silver and Night in on what I will be doing, it seems they are working on this already from their own angle, sort of."

Cadance laughed at this. "He was the one who brought it to my attention. His dreams seem powerful, doubly so if aunt Luna had her hoof in them too. I will not treat them lightly."

I was startled by this. Cadance seemed to put this much weight into Silver's prophetic dreams as well? "He… he seems sure of them."

Cadance looked at me and then seemed to smile extra wide. "Prophecy is not my domain, but I will not hesitate to take heed of it. Did he tell you something about a dream?" If a princess put so much stock in his dreams, who was I to rail against it. Prophecy. Destiny. Magic ponies?

The question did kind of skip my thoughts at first, I nodded.

"Well, I trust it has nothing to do with the Crystal Empire, but yourself?" How did princesses seem to cut to the quick so fast? She was the princess of love, though, which meant that the personal situation we were in was firmly in her domain.

"He foresaw… in his dream, he was a lunar unicorn and he laid with a regular unicorn. They had a foal." Cadance nodded at this.

"His dream was quite extensive…" Stick's moment of levity helped me continue, her presence against me even more so.

"Apparently it happened here, in this very castle. Now he is a unicorn and he finds a lunar unicorn." I lifted my hoof to gesture to myself. "He grieves for his foal, for their chance at life." A sadness welled in me, too. Nopony should suffer the threat of never existing.

"This is a very deep matter and one that should never be rushed. Do you love him?" Cadance's question seemed odd, there was something about the way she said it that made me think, for her, it was rhetorical.

"I…"

"She does." Stick cut in, getting a sigh from Cadance.

The alicorn looked back to me. "That she does, but I wanted her to say it. Will you? In what ways?"

This startled me a little, making me reflect more on Silver than on the foal. "I love him, more like a friend. When I knew him before, we were both men… stallions, he didn't bend that way and I didn't seem to bend any ways."

"But now?"

"Now I am a mare, my feelings still aren't for what a pony has between their legs, but it will matter to him and, well, somepony has shown me I am capable of that kind of love." I leaned in and nuzzled Stick's cheek. "So I think, there is a chance."

"And of the foal?"

My eyes caught tears at that. Cadance was asking the big ones. "Everypony deserves a chance at life."

Stick returned my reassurance now, making me smile through the tears.

"Then I think you have your path laid out, at your own hooves." Cadance reached out a hoof and tilted my head up to look right in my eyes. "Will you walk it?"

I was stuck as for what to say but she didn't seem to need an answer and I knew my answer would be to Silver and Night, not to Cadance. The princess turned and entered the room again, tugging her stallion along too, closing the door behind her.

"Princesses are clever." Stick's words made me giggle and get my hooves under me.

Turning and following at Stick's side, I was surprised when she led me down and out of the castle. Words weren't needed, I trusted my marefriend implicitly. We seemed headed to one of the inns in the city, one of the rather rich-looking inns.

"Okay, hold up. What is going on?" I had stopped and turned to look at Stick.

The changeling gave a chitter, but it wasn't nerves. "Why, Penny Farthing, we are wealthy merchants from Canterlot, we were called in by the princesses to help negotiate and steer the Crystal Empire onto a path of economic growth. This," she gestured around at the city with a hoof, "is begging to be brought to order and what better way to do it than bring in such a successful and neutral business pair as ourselves?"

I blinked, then a few more times. "Who came up with this?" I started walking again.

"Oh, I did, but it works, right? Who would anypony go to if they wished to check our credentials? Cadance? Celestia's ambassador?"

I sighed now, any hope I had of this being anything other than what my marefriend had planned going out the window. "Alright Stick. And I assume we are progressive ponies? Since we are not quite fitting to the high-society types." She nodded again. "And we are going to need to lean on Silver for a stipend, or even Cadance. Maybe both." More nods.

Opening the inn's door, Stick walked in and looked around. Her haughty look of both disinterest and superiority was amazing to see. Where did she learn this?

"Innkeep?" She stepped close to the little bench in the common room where a crystal pony sat, watching the pair of us with interest. Not being answered immediately, Stick continued. "Penny, take note, accept nothing over ninety percent cost for a room here." I rushed, pulling out what I hoped looked like a credible notepaper, my magic grabbing a quill as well, although not inking it. I began to scratch on the page.

"Sorry ma'am." The pony who clearly was meant to be managing things quickly moved. "Welcome to the Soft Bed inn. Was there something I could help you with?"

Stick played her part well. "Two rooms for sleeping and I need an office."

The crystal pony looked a little startled but nodded. "Three bits per night per room, five for an office."

Stick turned her head to me. "Pay them eighteen bits for a the three days."

I nodded and was lifting out the coins, getting the most expensive denominations I could.

"I said-" The innkeep had no grasp on this conversation, Stick rode roughshod all over them.

"Then we are leaving, come on Penny." With that Stick turned to leave and, with a shiny fifteen bit piece out, I turned too and started to tuck it back.

"I am sorry ma'am, of course eighteen is fine!"

Stick paused and grinned, fangs showing. "Acceptable."

I had the bits out again, setting them on the little bench. The earth pony pulled three chits from somewhere and offered them up. Stick ignored it all completely and left me to complete the transaction. "Our luggage will follow. We have much to do, so far as I have seen."

She started for the hall that would lead to our rooms, not even waiting to find out what ones we had. Well, she was right of one thing, our spectacle in court earlier would make us the talk of the town, the fact we had ended up on our hooves spoke that there was indeed support by Cadance. Damn her but she might just pull this off. "Come along Penny, don't lollygag." I trotted along quickly.

24 - Chairpony Stick

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We contacted the first name on Night Watch's list. We didn't go to them though, we drafted a letter inviting them be part of a new turn of the season.

Crystal Diver, greetings and salutations. I have been brought in as an adviser to see that your business not only grows, but flourishes. Ambassador Silver Lining of Princess Celestia's court has invited me from my regular holding management to investigate the recent loss of production of fine crystals and I believe you may be able to assist me with my inquiry, one business owner to another, so to speak.

Stick

"You really think this will work?" I looked to Stick, my magic reaching out to ruffle one of her ears. "How do you know they will take this up?"

"Joking right? From what Night told me of this mare her mine has dropped in production by nearly seventy percent, and that's only because she lacks a reliable means to get her product out of it. Logistics is their problem and though they have tried employing many ponies to assist, all they did was used them to carry the crystals out."

I blinked, seeing the problem immediately. "Logistics indeed. Economy of scale is their problem then." The phrase confused Stick a moment. "I mean, one pony doing manual labor can only do one pony of work. If that pony was running a small locomotive they could do many ponies of work."

Stick grinned. "I like that phrase." She obviously took it into her lexicon.

The letter written, or hook baited as it were, we asked the innkeeper to have a pony courier it for us.

We decided to keep the charade up as much as possible and so, after having a fine lunch, well, it ended up being two, we awaited our first client in our office room.

"Why am I eating so much? I'm not pregnant yet!" My joke got a giggle from Stick.

"But you are eating for two. Your magic sucks away a whole other person worth of food. Me."

I blinked and tilted my head. "True enough I guess. Still, it is a bit disconcerting."

The loud clops of heavy hooves gave away the mine owner's approach to our room such that I had a chance to get in my 'secretarial position' just as there was a loud clop at the door.

"Do come in." Stick's voice had a decided lilt to it, of indifference. The miner opened the door, and came in. "Crystal Diver, is it?" Stick lifted a little page from her desk.

"Yeah, that's me. What is all this? The princess asked me if my mine was havin' troubles and…" I could see the reluctance of a pony who has always 'done things this way' fighting with themselves to admit 'that way' wasn't working. "Well, we can mine enough, down at the face. But the deeper we mine the more work it takes to haul out. Then there is also that we are a fair trot from the city…"

Her pelt, what should have been a lovely pink crystal, was stained with dirt. She was not the kind of business owner who just counted their bits.

"Then you are in the right place. You have detailed plans and measurements, I trust?" Stick was probing for information and the mare nodded in reply. "If you would forward my assistant a copy when she comes out to inspect the situation, that would be most appreciated. One question, how much wealth do you have right this moment?"

The mare blushed at first, then the blush turned her features into a scowl. "Now why you gotta know that for?"

It was an answer all in itself. "I am given to understand I am to make your business grow, for that you are going to need to spend bits. If you do not have them we may be able to help, but you understand this will mean we have a partial stake in your mine."

"You'd spend your own bits to save my mine?" She was surprised by this, apparently the help offered by other business ponies had all come with a price tag.

"If it comes to that, we will of course investigate, I will not spend time or bits on a failing business, but I think any pony that works as hard as you clearly do, deserves my attention." Stick smiled up at her, I saw it was a genuine smile and it made all the difference.

"I'll have the plans copied for you by tomorrow. My sis- accountant will prepare a statement as well." She had lost the confrontational attitude, Stick had twisted it from her with supporting words and the hint that we would become invested in her mine. Damn her though, we were not that well off, where were these bits going to come from?

"Very well, Penny will be along in the morning." Stick gestured to me with a hoof. It was a dismissal, even Crystal recognized it and got to her feet. I showed her the door.

"She can really help me?" The mare spoke softly just before I was going to close the door.

Damn this, she was such an honest mare, I didn't like playing this silly game but… "Miss Stick? I have never known her to fail at something she set her hoof at."

I closed the door before I said more.

Stick sat there, wearing a happy smile that I couldn't help step over and lean into. My lips touched hers and I channeled just a little. The kiss ended up lasting a little longer than either of us expected, but we slowly wound down from the outpouring of emotion. "Think you can sort out something to get them out of the hole they're in?"

"Won't know until I see what they got already. First thought is getting them some tracks down and some carts to get the crystals out. Maybe continue the tracks to a depot at the city. Depending on where they are located a small branch line from the railway could be a better idea.

Stick's eyes widened. "How… carry their stock out on a train? But they would need…"

"Locomotives the railway has, already. A few cars for hauling shouldn't be that bad. Lets wait until tomorrow and I can work this out." I nuzzled Stick and got a nibble at my neck, in more ways than one.

I wasn't even sure I had made a sound but Stick seemed very focused, fangs rubbing my throat while she did the same, with her changeling hunger. She didn't need to bite me to get the energy from me, but when I felt her gently bite into that emotional part of me… I found out exactly what the word 'swoon' really meant.

"Penny, hey Penny, come on, snap out of that." Stick's voice was close, really close. Her snout tickled my ear-tufts as she spoke. "Come on, we need to go do some shopping."

It was hard to come back, like swimming through a molasses pool. "Stick?" I leaned into her, easy to do with her practically wrapped around me. I nuzzled her slowly as my head cleared. "Wow…"

"Stallions, nope. Mares, nope." Stick was making a list. "But when I bite you, just like that, Penny you really have a kink in your tail for that." I just nodded and nuzzled in, again and again. "I mean it. You know, if you do let Silver…"

"When."

Stick chuckled. "Okay, when. When you let Silver get that close, I could help distract you."

That was something I was dreading. I liked Silver… well, loved maybe. But could I let a stallion… Damn my blush.

"Right, that. So I could drink you and get you so distracted from the real world that it certainly wont be a bad thing." Stick nuzzled me back but was also pushing me to rise.

"It could work. What… did you do anything, while I was…" My brain quickly ran a 'check' of things. Nope, didn't feel much more than the after-effect of nibbles and a few fanged bites.

Stick nipped my ear. "Of course not. If you wish though, next time, I could. Test the waters so to speak?" Even the nip seemed nice and I giggled.

"I trust you, even when I am… well, drunk like that. Next time try some things, see how I respond."

It took a lot from me to say the words, but they were said and I could see the changeling's features, she knew what it had taken… or at least understood that it had taken effort.

"Good then, now, we need to find something fashionable. I will spend the morning in court while you are off having a good time." Stick grinned and I could see her planning something.

"You are liking that too much. All those ponies trying to backstab and gain political clout by being close to the princess." I huffed, lifting my saddlebags up and settling them on my back.

Stick flickered, her flames flowing over her but not changing her. "Hey, you overfed me, this is a good way to burn it off. But yeah, I can see what is going on. Half of the ponies there are trying to get an ear with the princess so they can make bits off the association, the other half are doing it just for the prestige."

"Then what are you doing it for, Stick?"

She laughed at this, her hoof rising up and booping my nose, getting me to fall back with a happy blush. "I am doing it because I owe Cadance and because she is a nice pony. She needs friends in her court, not just hungry dogs."

"And?"

"And with our ruse, I need to be shown to have power… and I need to see if she can lend us some bits to help this mare out. Her mine IS going to need things, and I sincerely doubt she will have the bits to pay for it."

"Stick, I confess I do not know how business works here, in Equestria, well this world at large. Could we form a company, with you as the nominated 'leader'," my hooves rose to add quotes, "and have that invest in the mine and maybe others? Of course it would mean your company holds all these stakes, but we then get Cadance, maybe Celestia, possibly others, to buy stakes in that company?"

Stick's face went neutral as she followed my logic and smiled at the end. "I don't know that well either. Queen Fast was doing some things with bits, reinvesting or something. I will hire us a pony with some better knowledge of laws, or maybe I will ask Cadance." She grinned and practically bounced in place.

"What?"

"I could even lend you some bits to open your little store!"

A thick cushion from the bed went hurling at Stick's head.

"As part owner, I would like to have more say in the running of your-"

Two more sailed at her and she laughed and sent one back.

By the time we were done tossing bedding around, and getting our manes and tails straight, it was mid afternoon. "Come, Penny, we need to acquire some things. I will need a neat outfit for court, you will need something to wear for tomorrow."

"What's wrong with my shawls?" I felt a little hurt by it. I liked them.

"For one, they will fly off in a strong breeze. For two, I want you to be intimidating with how smart you look. This will not take too much work, but I want you showing your fangs a little more." I blinked at her.

"Stick, I don't really do these ruses well…"

"It wont be a ruse. You are a lunar pony, there is something dark and all kinds of strong, just hidden, barely out of sight. We need to make it so all ponies see that it IS only barely out of sight."

25 - Taking care of business

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It had been decided that we continue with Stick's ploy, if only so that if various ponies started comparing notes there wouldn't be any discrepancies.

"Ms. Stick!" My voice was tight, I really wanted to snuggle and hug her, but she had been a big meanie about it and told me no. Of course, she didn't just use the stick, when she had told me no she had lightly grazed me with those ever-hungry fangs of hers. It made not showing affection all the worse. "I believe these will be suitable protection."

A dark black hoof rose up and circled in my general direction. "Supply what she needs." She had already turned from the crystal pony who was running the shop.

They bustled around, gathering the things I had found and quickly tallying them up. I was about to pay when a dark head leaned past me. "Atrocious the price of things here. Somepony really needs to organize deliveries from Canterlot, they could make a killing," Stick flashed her fangs right by my cheek as she said it, "selling them at a lower rate."

The vendor looked a little worried but then her eyes narrowed and I saw her rubbing her hooves together. How did Stick even know things were cheaper in Canterlot? "Of course Ms. Stick, where do you think we should open a new store?"

"There was a shop just across the way, that looked derelict. I am sure we could bring fine, cheap goods in and sell below the market prices."

Hoof-rubbing halted quickly, a little shock and worry passing over the mare's features. "Or we could find an already established merchant, import the goods and offload them quick. I am positive I, and they, could make faster and safer bits like that." Stick was talking to me but I just knew who she was really talking to.

"I couldn't help but overhear…" The mare was wearing a fake smile but the one Stick turned on her then was very real.

"Oh? You know of just such a merchant here in the Crystal Empire?" The fangs that Stick flashed didn't scare the mare one jot, she saw the bait and hook, accepted there was a hook, and bit.

"Well, I happen to be on very good terms with the owner of one and if such goods work one way, what is to stop the latest empire fashions trotting back to Canterlot?" I had to give her credit, she played back against Stick's plan and pushed.

"Then I believe I will be becoming more acquainted with you. Perhaps tomorrow? I am at the Soft Bed, we can talk business if you bring a ledger for the stock you wish to move."

The agreement was made and with Stick leading the way we left the shop. "Okay, I just want to know, how did you learn so much about fashion and costs?" I stopped and was about to nuzzle when she rubbed her mental fangs against me, causing me to wobble a little and not lean in.

"You slept half the morning away at the spa. I talked with Rarity." Stick gave another rub of her fangs and it made my legs wobble quite a bit. "Oh, maybe too much… lets get these back to our rooms and I can show you how sharp my bite is." I couldn't believe how she had just acted, in public and all! I shook myself to get some measure of control back, only to find Stick already walking off, clearly expecting me to follow.

For the first time, in my whole life, I watched a rump and followed eagerly, all but hypnotized. She led me halfway across the city, then up through the inn and finally into a room. The sound of the door locking behind me, in Stick's magic, broke the spell her attentions had cast. "Mmm might just work…" My voice was deep, distracted by the mare in the room with me. On a sudden whim I dashed, teeth flashing and my snout closed at her neck.

She was not a weak filly, to suffer my bite and swoon. Two bites came at once, one sinking into my shoulder, the other my very core. We danced a little, moving, pushing, struggling. Stick had the upper hoof, I had no way to match her emotional grip on me except one.

I channeled.

Hoping to have stunned her to letting go, it seemed my marefriend was a little beyond the drunkenness she showed not too long ago at being fed such. She drank. She drank deep.

As her gift drank the emotion from me I struggled to keep the channel going and, as I thought she was just about full my horn fizzed and spat sparks. My magic failed and she drank a little of something deeper, what most ponies had to offer.

"Mine." Stick's statement was full of chitter, the vibration of her word shaking through my neck.

"Mine." My reply was accompanied by the tightening of my own grip on her.

It was love making. There was never a doubt it was otherwise. We had curled up together and brought nothing but our fangs and our own magics. But to call it anything but 'making love' would be a crime.

We panted, we both made hungry sounds, soft, in our throats. Being with somepony, this close, had never felt like such a good thing before.

And it drained us both. I felt my belly gurgle as I lounged on the bed, pressed to Stick. "We are going to need to fix that." I lifted my nose and nibbled one of her ears.

"I will miss you tomorrow." My whisper was directly into her ear, Stick twitching it a little and turning her head to kiss me on the nose.

"And I you, but we made promises to do this for the Crystal Empire."

Nodding, I leaned up and nipped my lost prize again. "And you are certainly not having fun, are you?"

Stick tilted her head so the ear was easier to access again, I rewarded her with more nibbles.

"No" Her voice was smooth on that word, it would be impossible to tell if she even was a changeling from just the sound of it.

It was then I realized how well Stick could lie.

"No fun at all, nope." She made her lie so obvious by nibbling up and down my throat with her teeth and lips. A sound from my belly got her attention there and she gave the offending sound a bump with her snout and rolled off the bed. "Come on, Penny, we simply must maintain our energies."

Her plan, as it turned out, was a simple meal from the inn's kitchen, well, two meals. She had me well trained by now, I obediently let her feed me each morsel from her plate, mainly because I had discovered how fun it was to simply be pampered.

Safe and snug, fed and relaxed, we curled up together in the one bed, my nose curled in to her jaw as sleep overcame our weary bodies.

I yawned and reached out to Penny. My lips carefully working along one of her ear-tips, the fuzzy little end so adorably perfect to be chewed on. "Mmm s'okay, I'm awake…" I swapped ears, making her twitch them furiously before giving a firm bite with one pointed tooth, pitting a hole through the soft flesh. "Hey, what was that for?" Her hoof came up to rub the now-tender spot. I had learned planning; Penny would feel that little pain all day, she would remember my fangs.

Sitting back, I was the picture of innocence. As much as a changeling could ever appear so. "We both have big days ahead of us. I have a business deal to secure, maybe others to line up. You have some planning." I reached in, gently drawing on her energy and was rewarded as Penny started to channel.

A changeling could describe love, all the flavors of it from simple brotherly, right to what two ponies can only share by sharing all of themselves.

But this was indescribable. She made me want to bare my teeth, to scream and chitter, to track down every pony I could find and tell them to back off from her. She felt the little shudder I gave and opened up more. "Mmm…" But she did stop, she backed off slowly, like a thirsty pony taking a drink, letting the last bits of energy just splash from her. "Delicious." I kissed her nose and got a giggle back for it.

"However will Ms. Stick manage without her secretary with her to take notes?" Penny was lifting up her bags, adjusting the things within. She didn't need all her shawls, but the new clothes, too, had to come out so she could wear them.

We made quick work of a bath, the inn having a large tub that fit both of us just fine. Although I had the inclination to do naughty things to her there, it was a room without a lock and as such would have our little game ruined if discovered.

Dressed in her simple work clothes, Penny looked adorable and I complemented her as much. "Forget their mine, you could start your own and a fashion statement, all at once."

The words got the blush I desired and I nuzzled one of her cheeks to feel the warmth. "Go on now, pretty filly, before your changeling boss ravages you."

Penny laughed and trotted to the door but, just before opening it, she turned back and looked over one shoulder. "Maybe this filly wants to be ravaged?" She gave me a wink that made me think very naughty things of her before she even got her flanks out the door.

My plan had been reversed, now I couldn't stop thinking of her. Curse that delicious mare.

But our recent advance in intimacy really was a step forward, and I was going to introduce something more for her, maybe next time. I crinkled my nose. "Not her time yet, so we can play without any complications." It was odd, being with Penny meant I hadn't really given that aspect of a relationship any thought. It just wasn't something we did.

Did I want to?

A flash of green flame wrapped me and I was now a stallion. I hadn't focused too much on things and was just a brown fur and mane. I sniffed deeply. Penny's scent was wrapped with my own, all through the room.

Yes, yes I did want to.

The flames returned and I shivered, it was so different like that, the thought that it hadn't really bothered my marefriend either way was a little amazing. "Start off slow, then."

I nodded and smiled, no, wrong mindset. Turning to the mirror, I slit my eyes a little more, flicking all my green web-like mane to one side. There.

I trotted from the room, locking the door behind me and taking the key. The shopkeep was a simple task in the end, all she wanted initially was to trade, expensive clothing for cheap. Of course she drove her bargaining hard but understanding a situation and fitting to it perfectly was a changeling's very being. We clopped our hooves together in agreement and both made notes about quantities.

The next and final thing for the day was court. I had heard from a guard that today was going to be an extra long one, to accommodate the lost time from the princess' reaction to myself. This would be fun.

I strode alone to the castle guards and they both tilted their heads. "Here for Ambassador Silver?"

"No, he will be in enough troubles all on his own, I am here for the princess' court."

The guards clearly found a joke in there somewhere but they hid any tell to their reaction behind a gruff exterior a fraction later. "Will you need an escort?" I shook my head to this and leaned in to talk a little quietly to the guards.

"Anypony coming in today that you think is more after coin than care?" This got an odd look from the guard and he shook his head.

"Always those times, but it would be wrong of me to point them out." He looked the picture of honesty and I couldn't help but admire it.

"Well, it was worth a try, guess this mare needs to dive in the deep end and hope she can paddle."

26 - What's mine is mine

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With the door closed I gave a shiver. Her presence when she was worked up put my fur on end in a way I couldn't completely describe but I love it. I twitched my ear and lifted my hooves, today was going to be a challenge and I was going to rise to it.

Down in the commons room a young-looking zebra mare stood. She had a bright green pair of eyes and the most amazing stripes. As they got toward her flanks I could swear there was a pinkish sheen to them. "I'm Book Smarts." She grinned up to me. "You are Stick's assistant?"

"Penny Farthing." I nodded and she started to turn.

"We gotta get moving, I'll lead the way down to the mine, it is out of the city a fair ways." Her tail was a riot, it had a lot more of the shimmer to it than her flank and, in contrast to her strict black and white mane, almost glittered in the sun.

My ear kept twitching, the piercing bite Stick had given it making me keep twitch it again and again. I was going to have to do something even better to repay the debt. "Oh, it is out along the train line?" We had gotten to the station and the young mare gave a nod.

"Sorta, the path beside the rail is the easiest to travel, but it is a bit north of that once we get out a ways." I brought up my pace so I could trot beside her, now I knew where we would be going, at least for a ways.

"A deal?" I asked, having noticed her eyes stray to me a few times. She looked a little confused at my words. "I mean, a deal in that we each get five questions about the other."

She tilted her head first then smiled. "You and Stick?"

Damn her, hardball… okay. "An item. We don't really keep it secret, but we don't let it get in the way of business. You, related to Crystal Diver? Foal?"

She grinned back, smile showing she was enjoying a little banter. "Sister. Longer questions and answers okay?" I nodded. "Lunar unicorn?"

I nodded to her once more. "Created by Luna's own magic." This got a shock from her but she accepted it. "In your opinion, what is the mine's biggest problem?"

"Hey, that isn't about me!"

I tossed my mane to the opposite side from her. "It is your opinion, there are probably others."

The mare grumbled at me and kicked some rocks as she moved. "Okay. Buyers. Most of them want lower grade crystals and aren't willing to buy higher quality at a higher price. Does it hurt when she eats your love?"

I filed away this very interesting information. Maybe the Crystal Empire wasn't the ideal target for the mines goods. "Very much no." I gave a blush, I probably could have held it in, but I wanted to reward her for telling me the truth. "Many friends out here?"

She looked even more confused with this question than ever. "Uh, sort of. There are a lot of other young ponies living with families near the mine, I prefer books though." She gazed back and grinned the most evil-looking grin such an adorable pony could make. "What's wrong with your ear."

My blush returned in force. "Stick bit my ear, pierced it right through." Book looked startled but kept her pace up. "Why don't you take your crystals to other cities to sell?"

"Not about me."

I grumbled. "Have you thought about taking your crystals to somewhere else to sell?"

She nodded. "Thought about it but there is the problem of getting them there."

This confused me. They were having issues getting the crystals to a nearby city, surely from there it was simply a train ride to Canterlot or any of the other cities along the rail.

"Your name, what does it mean?"

I grinned, this was an easy one. "It is nonsense mostly. I chose it myself to not clash with anypony else, but because it also sounds fun to say. Your name?"

"My mom didn't really expect me. She didn't think a tryst with my father would be able to produce." She kicked a hoof at a big stone near the track and started turning away from the railway. "When I came she didn't have anything handy to dry me, except the ledger of the mine."

Even from a long way off I could see the town, it wasn't anywhere near the size of Ponyville, but it was still a town. A revelation hit me. "Your sister, she pays for this?" My hoof gestured to the town.

The zebra nodded to me, her mane bobbing slightly delayed. "It is where all our profits go. We have a school, a store and a restaurant." She pointed with a hoof at three buildings in the far distance.

Okay, this was more complicated than I thought. I put a hoof to my face as we trotted, how had I been so silly as to think things could be fixed so easily?

"What's the matter?" Book sounded a little worried.

"Hubris." I replied and then giggled. "Race you!" I kicked into a bolt and she called out from behind me, then laughed as she set her own legs to a gallop.

Book beat me to the first building of the town, clopping a hoof against it a good four lengths ahead of me. Damn earth-pony types. "You win." I said, slowing to a trot. "Okay, books first. I take it you are who is taking care of them for Crystal?" Book nodded.

"This way then, we have our own house near the mine." Beside the town, as Book had lead me, there was some huge stacks of crystals, all covered by lean-to sheds and, sure enough, there was the mine and a few more buildings clustered around it.

A big metal frame stood above the mine and I could see a winch that led down into it. "The vein deep?" Book nodded as she approached one of the structures. Opening the door it was obvious that no one else was here. Duh, working the mine. "Considered opening up a shaft leading on an angle to the railway and getting a small station built there?"

Book froze and turned to me. "That…" The mare shook herself and trotted to grab some ledgers from a desk. "That is a great idea, but we would need to find out if the train can haul cargo like that, or if they would even let us build a station… what kind of station would be best for heavy cargo…"

I could see I had sparked an idea in her and even as I took the ledgers she had another book out and was writing furiously in it.

Shuffling the books, I got the store first. Running at a loss. It sold things for the same price it purchased them for, covered transport and wages only with bits from the mine.

The school was a complete write-off, no parents paid for their foals to go there.

When I got to the eatery I was surprised, it was not only in the black but doing well. "Who runs your restaurant?"

Book looked startled from her writing. "Huh? Oh, Seng handles that."

"You thought about getting them to help with the shop?" I settled down on a nearby couch to read and think.

"He says we should raise our prices, that it isn't right how we run it."

"He is right. But, what about buying further away? I really don't think you are seeing how connected everything is. You don't have to buy in the city, what about buying it from farmers directly?" Book tilted her head and gave a bit of a nod.

"Decrease purchasing instead of increase income…" More scribbling accompanied her musing.

"She is a good miner, a very nice pony, but I think your sister needs a mare who can be a bit more aggressive business wise."

Book Smarts sighed. "I don't want to take over, she really does love all the ponies here but… but she doesn't see the big picture. The way things are going everything will be gone in ten years. Mine's Heart will die as a town, without the mine or its bits."

"So, first step, we sell all that crystal you got stored." My words shocked Book who looked about to say something. "Then we see to getting the shop making bits. With income established the mine and the town can grow." Book was bobbing her head, in time to a beat. I grinned wide. Best day ever.

The song had started to bite and I watched as the mare opened her mouth and started to sing about how working together we could see this through. I raised my own voice in time, the rush of the song making everything feel effortless. It was a challenge and answer type, her voicing the problems of the mine and town, me replying with ideas that even I hadn't come up with yet. As we sang I took over the notebook, my magic practically writing the lyrics.

We burst out the front door together, I thought the music was done. I was very wrong!

There were dusty ponies everywhere, in overalls, singing the chorus now and we were trotting past the mine, singing how we would heal this town so its ponies could shine bright. I swear, every time we sang that there was a dozen lens-flares from the crystal ponies.

It seemed like the whole town would be involved, even the foals from the school got a chorus about how great it was to live in Mine's Heart. The song made sure that even as the other ponies loved their town, I fell in love with it too.

When at last the huge number had let go everypony looked very happy, trotting around. It was as if a spark of hope, pure and powerful, had ignited here. "Wow, songs are powerful stuff…" I noted out loud, Book looking at the pages my magic had written.

"Songs? Huh, these are all great ideas. But we are going to need bits and a pony in Canterlot to help with the big things." Book was flicking pages with her nose.

I thought back, to somepony I knew was not only a gentlecolt but also had his head on very straight. "Fancy…"

"Huh?" Book lifted her head from where she had been reading, nose smeared with some ink.

"I am going to need to draft a letter, but that will be later with Miss Stick. For now, can I keep those ledgers?"

Book closed her namesake and nodded. "Sis had me copy them for you, took a bit, shame we don't have anypony out here with magic."

After what I had seen I just had to counter. "Nonsense, I mean, you don't have unicorn magic, but look at the faces around, look how happy everypony is. There is magic here, lots of it."

Book blinked at me and shook her head. "You are an odd mare."

I secured the books and realized it was about time for lunch. I wondered, twitching my ear, how Stick was doing. "Lets grab something to eat. I may have missed breakfast."

We both, mutually, headed for the eatery. "Why would you skip breakfast?"

I blushed a little, Book noticed.

"Forget that, I am saving that one for the next five-question game." Book nudged me in the shoulder and took off running at a gallop.

I laughed my blush away and tried to catch up.

27 - Making a promise

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There were actually a whole lot more ponies in the court seeking rulings on matters, than I thought there would be. But, of course, rumor had run wild about my presence here and I drank up the soft whispering as ponies stole glances. It also helped me spot the 'intriguers'.

"The court recognizes Merchant Stick of Canterlot." I flicked my wings and rose to my hooves, making my way to the front of the room with careful steps.

"Stick, it is good to see you again." Cadance meant the words. "What is it that brings you here today?"

"Firstly, Princess Cadance, I need to apologize to everypony present. I didn't mean to disrupt court yesterday," I half turned, making sure I was still mostly facing Cadance, "it was regrettable that I didn't send word of my arrival earlier but it is done."

Soft murmurings followed my words.

"Agreed, what is done is done. There is more on your agenda today?"

I beamed, she clearly was leading me to my points, but I wanted that. "Oh of course. After meeting with Ambassador Silver yesterday," a few soft gasps met my 'pause-for-effect', perfect, "it appears my business here is expanded. Celestia herself charged him with bringing aid to the ponies of the Crystal Empire and, as a third party with no agenda, he has charged me with assisting in bringing it. I would ask if I may have a meeting room within the castle to manage this business?"

Cadance nodded. "If it is for the betterment of my ponies then of course, would a suite of rooms suit? This castle sometimes seems too huge and empty, I am sure we can find somewhere for you."

Thanking all the stars that she hadn't mentioned Penny as my marefriend, I bowed deeply to her. "Then as a servant to the empire, to Equestria and all ponies, I would also delight in it being known that we are seeking investors to assist with this. We seek to find where bits can be spent best, to build the businesses of the Crystal Empire." This time I did glance among the ponies present. Most looked horrified I would ask them for bits. A few clearly calculating.

"Of course the Empire itself will assist with this, although I will have somepony watch my investment." Cadance narrowed her eyes a bit, I couldn't read exactly what her problem was with this but I accepted that she had been a little surprised.

"Oh of course, every investor of sufficient standing will have direct access to the decision process. Buying in need not be with actual bits, either. If you can offer goods or services to help achieve our ends that will be counted." I smiled and turning, gave Cadance a wink that the assembled would not see. "It has been a pleasure, princess."

The rest of the day in court was slow, mostly ponies bringing up their business they had planned to put forth the previous day. I kept my eyes and ears open, of course. Like the pony who had protested that she hadn't been able to contact Ambassador Silver. The glare they gave me was obvious and overt. At last, however, court was done.

As the ponies present filed out, Cadance rose and looked at me. I got up and made my way up to the front, slowly, so the last petitioner was gone just as I reached her.

"Your game, Stick. What are you playing?"

"Mostly what I said. We… mostly me, we are setting up a review and expenditure project. We are inviting ponies to invest and, when we find businesses that need something to help them grow, we give it in return for future profits." Penny had explained some of this to me, but most of it I had come up with. "Penny calls it Investment Capital. She is a clever pony but her knowledge is so broad that it is shallow in places."

Cadance smiled. "Okay, I had feared you were doing something much less… charitable. I shouldn't have."

"Understandable, you do realize some of the ponies here were having such thoughts? The pegasus from Manehatten… she just wants to get a share of your clothing market for as cheap as possible."

"I have discerned this, which is why I keep fending her requests off to the least cooperative merchants in the city. Eventually her costs of living here will exceed what she hopes to gain." Cadance waved a hoof toward where I imagined the station was. "Then she will go."

"I have had a plan toward something like that, but more of a trade, so to speak. You have a link on the railway here, Penny tells me you should be moving much more freight with it. You have wonderful clothing, amazing crystal-work, there is no reason you couldn't have a train each week run, with just box cars full of goods to sell in Canterlot, Manehatten, Los Pegasus, Baltimare…"

Cadance did look intrigued with this.

"Goods out, bits in. Hard working ponies follow the bits, you would gain a bigger workforce." I did like the idea, it would also swell the Empire.

"Well, you certainly have my support in this. What about the other matter?"

I shook my mane. "Not even a hint, I have only contacted two merchants so far. One is a mine owner, Crystal Diver." Cadance's eyes flared open.

"I didn't think her mine was in trouble? Mine's Heart is practically supported by her family." I didn't follow this. "There is another?"

"Penny is out there today, inspecting the mine, the other was a clothing merchant, she only has one store at present, but I think I can push her to expand and grow. We are going to see about getting her a larger supply of simple clothing she can sell here, while exporting some of the more intricate things. We won't need a whole train for that, but I think it would be a good step."

"So the reason you brought up the mare from Manehatten was just to show that you succeeded in a day where she has failed for close to a week now?" I had to give Cadance credit, she was perceptive.

"Partly, the main reason I brought her up was to ask, if you needed a friend here, in your court. You are a good ruler, princess, but there are those present in this room who would want for nothing better than to draw your standing over them like a shroud."

Cadance ruffled her wings a little. "And you don't? No, I am too harsh on you. I can see you are working for the good of all the ponies of my empire, but Stick, what is it you could do for me here?"

"I could be a friend, loyal and willing to ask questions you want to answer, or take a fall you need taken." I wasn't even sure why I added that second bit, maybe she really was that noble that I wanted her to be perfect?

A wing reached out and lay across my body, her touch was so soft with the feathers that I was distracted a moment by it. "Stick, thank you. I hope to not need to use such tricks on the ponies of my court, but I am glad to know that I have a good friend here."

I blushed as surely as I had seen Penny do so many times. "Oh, she will be home soon, I will have to get her to arrange my things to be moved here."

"She is your assistant now?" A royal eyebrow raised.

My giggle was easy and relaxed. "It is a ruse, business ponies believe their savior much more readily if they think her to be somepony important. And what pony with an assistant is ever unimportant?" My feet itched, now.

"Then go and make sure your servant is well cared for." The wing retreated as stealthily as it reached out and rising I bowed to Cadance.

"Goodbye Princess Cadance, just leave a note with the guardsponies if you wish anything of me. I will be at court tomorrow." She inclined her head to me and I was off. Using my wings I glided down any steps, as well as my wings would glide of course. But soon I was almost to the front gate and slowed, it wouldn't do to be seen rushing back to my mare.

Each step of my casual trot was agony, I wanted to be with her so bad, to explain everything I had done and hear her own day. With the inn within sight, I redoubled my efforts to keep my movement steady.

No sooner had I reached our rooms, however, checking both, did I find no trace of Penny. Then I heard a ding from the 'office' room we rented too. In there I found Penny working away at a two-keyed typewriter, her hooves clacking away on the keys.

"There you are!" I was in, door closed and against her before she even managed to turn from her work. I pressed in tight and felt that gentle wave of warmth coming from her, her love for me revealed in a very obvious manner.

"Stick, how was your day? I had so much fun, they really had more problems than I thought but then a song came and now I have to write letters!" She leaned in and nuzzled my cheek all the way up to my ear. That she bit.

It stung, she had pierced it with a fang. Payback I guess.

Tilting back a little, she looked very proud of herself. "Well, we have secured the support of Cadance and I hope we will see a few other letters from ponies tomorrow."

She sighed and pulled the paper free of the typewriter and balling it up. "Darn, that changes the whole tone. Need to start over."

I unfolded the rejected letter and grinned. "Fancy Pants? You know he will expect much of us." She nodded. "Well, if you think it wise. We have a more stable accommodation arranged, Cadance has offered us a small suite of rooms in the castle."

This close, I couldn't help gently nibbling at her happiness. "Stop that, not until after my letter is done." Penny rebuffed me, prodding my nose with a hoof.

"Yes Miss. Penny." The best petulant look on my snout, I trudged off.

Of course she only laughed. "Silly mare, later."

This of course perked me back up. "I will go arrange our things for moving." I trotted off, flicking tail to hopefully catch her eye. A glance over my shoulder revealed I had. Interesting.

Going to the room we shared, it didn't take long to pack our things and make ready to move and, by the time I was almost done, Penny entered with the letter folded up. "We ready to go?"

I nodded. "Pretty much, you got your missive set to post?"

With a happy nod she helped finish packing, her magic tasting delicious as she hummed an odd little tune while she worked. Our shopping had expanded the size of our personal belongings quite a bit and with three little cases of clothing and goods now, I used my own magic to lift them.

"Here, let me help." I fully expected her to lift one, instead, she created a tiny bit of light and fed me with love. It was intoxicating every time she did it, it made parts inside me rub together in glee. It was as if it completed a part of me that had always felt wrong.

I must have chittered a little, she giggled and nibbled gently on one of my wings. That made me chitter more, they were very sensitive. "Glad I can get you to make that noise, Stick. I will have you making it a lot more later." Her voice drove right to a part of me I never thought I would feel with Penny. I suddenly ached to have this all moved and done, to find out just what she meant by her promise. Drat it, I must have made it again. "A lot more." Oh drat her.

The guards at the gate showed us to our rooms. It was a small suite with just what we needed, a few rooms for us and a sitting room we could use for an office.

"And if'n you need anythin', just give one o' us a call." The guard had a twang to his voice that I had heard before and I was suddenly thinking of Applejack. It was true their family did stretch wide and far.

"Thank you." We both spoke together, getting a grin from the stallion before he closed the door and left us be.

"Stick, this is so co-" I was about to start telling her more of my day when there was a sudden grip on my emotional self that made my legs wobble.

"You have been teasing me all day, I think it is time you show me what you got." Her magic was working, flowing and gripping around me, stripping the simple clothes away. "There we are." She had gotten the last of the overalls free and I stepped out. I felt so self conscious of her, of me. She looked hungry, but she wasn't drinking a drop from me.

"Stick?" My words didn't break her focus, she stepped up to me as green fire enveloped her. A dark brown unicorn stallion stood there now, looking at me with eyes that made me feel very odd.

"You wanted me to-" Her words shook me from the fear little, but she stopped dead. "No, this isn't going to work at all, is it?"

She didn't touch me until the fire had washed away 'him'. She felt so much more right now and I pressed against her.

28 - An intriguing offer

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Fancy Pants was quite intrigued. He had to read the letter again to be very certain he understood it. If it was as he thought, it would mean he had a very good business opportunity, if a little risky.

Fancy Pants, I am not sure if you would remember a human you once helped up in the street, but I can assure you your kindness has never been forgotten.

I bring a business proposal to you, that you might consider it. While working with one of Princess Celestia's ambassadors in the Crystal Empire, I have found there are many businesses that are waning if but for investments in the right places. I have already set my own funds toward a joint venture to supply these funds, but I am not in a position to fulfill all such contracts.

My partner and I are in the process of setting up a business whose sole aim will be to fund other businesses, for a share of their future profits. As you will no doubt surmise this will be a risk-assessment situation, with much knowledge needed from each potential client and a final choice needing to be made.

Princess Cadance has already offered to be a starting partner in this venture and we are hoping to add yourself as another. Building the Crystal Empire into a great neighbor to Equestria is the first and important step. As our investments grow, we will grow.

Penny Farthing

It was certainly a very interesting idea. Buying into already established businesses, using the funds returned on those investments to keep the bits rolling…

Fancy Pants folded the letter back up and tucked it into a folding case and pondered how the legalities of this would work. Lending bits you didn't have, or promissory notes, had been floated as an idea among the greedier merchants of Canterlot. Celestia had shut down the idea, with Fancy's full support. But this was different, he would need to see her highness to have her full blessing, of course.

As he trotted out of the door to the office in his summer house his wife loved so much, the mare in question called out to him. "Darling, business calls?"

His eyes lit up and even his gait lifted as he trotted the short distance to where she stood. "Fleur, my flower," the nickname made her perk up as much as his gentle nuzzle did, "I have a most odd but fascinating business venture." Her slightly wilted look made him chuckle and adjust his monocle. "But that is not important, not right now. How goes your lovely garden?"

She beamed at him. "Oh, they are doing simply wonderfully, those dandy-lions, I hear I have the only private garden of them in all Equestria now. Their future is in my hooves." The mare moved to lay one leg over his back, turning so that it was her shoulder and most of her side pressed against him.

Her talent with plants was a special one and Fancy was always astounded at how a unicorn could have such a green-hoof. "We simply must have another party, to celebrate their continued survival, at your lovely hoof." Fancy was laying it on thick but he knew she adored that when she was in the mood, and she was. Using his magic to very carefully lift one of her hooves, the stallion kissed it. "Were my business not with Princess Celestia herself I would never leave your company today…"

He let it hang, in the privacy of their home the pair were a little less formal and Fleur Dis Lee was his lovely wife. "Shall we make it an evening, then?" Fleur's voice was a little playful.

"Indeed, flower, I believe once my business is sorted I will be finding us a nice quiet table in Trots Garden and we can plan our party, together."

She kissed him on the cheek and immediately fanned her eyes to him and there was a spark of indecision in the stallion's eyes that made Fleur laugh. "That I can distract you from business with a princess tells me how much you mean your words. Go, see Celestia, but come home after…"

The mare's eyes spoke of things that made Fancy think very ungentlepony-like thoughts but he shook his head and raised her hoof again, this time from his shoulder, to kiss it. "I say, it would take all four princesses together to keep me away."

Her happy giggle was just before a shove to his rump.

Fancy straightened his suit and tie, stepping from his house and quickly making his way back to his office.

"I say, Perfect? Are you here?" His voice echoed around the office a little, but his secretary quickly trotted out.

An earth-pony mare, she had her green mane fixed up in a neat braided bun behind her head, tail likewise-colored, always braided. "Ah, Perfect Poise, I wanted you to look at this with me." He opened the folder he carried and laid out the letter and accompanying ledger. Although the projected outputs and values were just that, the actual books of the mine and the proposed ledger for the new company were quite extensive.

She was silent, standing straight and, as her name, perfectly posed. But the mare was not just a pretty pony. "I project at least a sixty five percent greater growth period in the futures of this venture, with eventual growth possibly rivaling a small nation. Who is this, Penny?" Fancy had a head for business, but this was almost something out of fantasy.

"That is precisely what I wish to find out, either she is or knows the most brilliant projected business thinker of our time, or she is a better charlatan than I am stallion." He closed the folder. "Care for a walk, I would speak to Princess Celestia about this. At the very least she will want to know if it is fraud, if it is real, we may need to send a representative to uphold our interests in this new initiative."

Perfect lifted up the letter, simple language for complex ideas. "They mention a partner, a princess… they are trying to get a pony in on the ground floor."

Fancy nodded and folded the letter back into the business case. "Then let us make haste."

The pair secured what they would each need, Fancy already carrying his documents but Perfect selected a ledger, a notepad and a short quill.

Trotting out, they were only a block from the castle entrance, there was some privilege for the offices of the most well-to-do ponies in Canterlot.

The guards smiled as they approached and one gave a slight tilt of his head that Fancy returned. "Court is done for the day, would you like me to see if the princesses are free to speak to you?"

It was a high responsibility, of course. And an honor. Court was where ponies were meant to bring things to the royal attention. Power had privilege.

The guard was gone only a few moments and when he returned he gave another nod. "Princess Celestia will see you in her sun room." Of course Fancy Pants knew where that was, he had met with Celestia many times there, but it wasn't done to just walk oneself in and so, Perfect and Fancy were led by the guard.

Celestia, when they entered, was sitting in full sunshine on a balcony. "Fancy Pants, Perfect Poise." Her acknowledgment of them by name was not rare, she seemed to just know everypony's name. "It is always a pleasure when two such level-headed ponies seek audience. What can be the purpose of your visit?"

Fancy smiled, gave a deep bow that Celestia had stopped, many centuries ago, trying to dissuade ponies from doing. "We have a missive from a pony who claims to be working with your envoy in the Crystal Empire, we wished, first of all, to ensure that Penny Farthing is who he says he is."

"She, and yes, Penny Farthing is an associate of Silver Lining's." This led to a slight raising of the stallion's un-monocled eyebrow. "She has sent a rather interesting missive to myself as well. I would have you explain your thoughts on it."

Fancy found a comfortable cushion to perch on, doing so carefully. Perfect remained standing at his side. A letter was lifted out and held up by the mare and Celestia gently took it and brought it close to read. There was companionable silence for a while she read and reread the letter.

"Penny seems to completely take after her friend in such matters." Celestia didn't look like it was a bad thing, oddly. "Very well, I will verify that she is likely working with Silver Lining, I have not known her to make a bad decision so far and she has run a small business… in a limited capacity. More likely than not she will need a friend with a much more hooves-on history with Equestrian economics."

He tried to think as to who he might know in the Crystal Empire that would fit the bill but none came up. He was just about to turn to Perfect when the mare sighed. "I need a train ticket, don't I?" It was a resigned sigh but when Perfect Poise made a sigh, she was making it for a reason. "How much should I take with me?"

It was a good question and Fancy ran some calculations in his head and told her an amount that had an eyebrow rise. "Too much, I know. But if you find their model sufficient then I want to invest in this."

"If it would please you, then, I would match that." Princess Celestia cut into their little chat, reminding them they were before the most powerful pony on the continent. "And I would deputize you, Perfect Poise, to manage the funds for me."

Perfect's namesake slipped and she looked shocked. "That is a… great honor." She managed to get the words out though, bowing low to Celestia. "I will not let either of you down."

"That isn't to say you should guard each bit with your life, if Penny has a worthy cause, it must be used." The princess looked pleased at the mare's response but clearly wanted to impress upon her that the reason she would have all this is that it was to be spent.

Perfect Poise shook her head, her bun of a mane barely shifting. "I understand, and of course as this foundation of hers builds, so does the Empire and our holdings within it."

The unicorn stallion smiled up to Celestia, giving her a little nod. Oh yes, this was going to be an exciting time to be in the Crystal Empire. "There are further notes, things I will be looking into. Apparently she has the notion of making a new type of car for the railway." The princess looked a little unsure on this subject. "One that will be dedicated to cargo. She also wishes me to investigate getting the railway extended, or added to." He quickly dug those from his folio.

"That is not something I have had too much focus on, unfortunately. Maybe it is time to change that." Celestia looked a little taken back by this. "I will have the master engineer contact you to discuss it. When will you be leaving, Miss. Poise."

Perfect gave that slight smile that meant she already had plans. "I will contact our bank and arrange an escort, but I can leave anytime from tomorrow onwards." Fancy doubted she could do it, but it wouldn't be the first time her planning had caught him out. "As soon as your own contribution is established."

Celestia beamed at this. "Wonderful, then let us adjourn and make ready."

The bits, it turned out, were all in large values and Perfect had two big ponies to accompany her. One was an earth pony with a blue, extremely well-trimmed beard. The other was a unicorn that almost matched him for mass as well as color. Both bore white fur but where the unicorn had a light blue mane and tail, the earth pony had no mane at all but a dark blue, severely trimmed tail, that matched his beard.

"I say, it is quite a lot, when you get a good look at it." Fancy was looking at the four big bags of bits. Was it all really his?

Just before Perfect was about to reply there was a heavy knocking at the door and, even as the unicorn guard stepped over the bits, the big earth pony moved to the door and opened it. The royal guard were outside with just a single bag.

Fancy blinked at this, giving the guard plenty of time to march in, past his hireling. "We are here from Princess Celestia with the agreed amount?" Fancy nodded and when a piece of paper was offered, Perfect Poise took the initiative and saw to it being signed. The guards just offered her a note before leaving.

"It says, these are a newly minted denomination, their value accounted for by heavy enchantment to ensure only those allowed by the owner may carry them." She read aloud, sounding a little surprised as she surmised it.

Fancy Pants undid the bag and reached in with his magic but the coins wouldn't budge. Not seeing the magic at work, Perfect reached in as well and lifted one. It came out easily and both the other unicorns present gasped at the glow around them. "Celestia herself must have enchanted them, they would be worth-" Fancy's words died off.

"One hundred bits each… she has matched your offer quite simply." The mare grinned and tossed the coin back. "Now, lets make a move, I don't want to sit around on all these bits, they must be set to work immediately."

29 - Night School

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"It's probably for the best, but I really hated seeing him hurt like that." I took a deep sigh, walking along with Night Watch.

The mare opened her mouth to reply but we heard from the open door of the court the call to please rise for the princess.

Stepping in, we barely found a seat before Cadance found hers and ended up sitting down just in time. "Seventy five percent chance nothing of consequence to us, happens today."

The first plaintiff was called and court was begun. It was a simple matter of one shop-owner complaining that another had purchased all of their stock, covertly, to sell it for a higher price.

It wasn't an overly common thing, but not working together seemed to be the trend among merchants here. "Oh, I think we might get a fish to bite, if only a private missive. The point of being here is to be here." I kept my whisper low, making sure only the lunar pegasus would be able to pick up on it.

Her eyes narrowed at me. "You are enjoying this?" She kept her tone neutral enough, but her distaste for court activities seemed quite apparent.

"Someone has to, it appeals to… my nature." It didn't offend me, not in the least. Everypony has their calling.

There was a gentle snort from the mare. She didn't make to leave however.

The day wore on, Cadance making rulings that mostly attempted to bring ponies together and resolve their differences without overtly supporting either side.

A letter dropped to my side and, looking around, I didn't spot who dropped it. Night raised an eyebrow until I shook my head at her. "It floated from the fourth bench, sixth pony in." She, living up to her name, had seen who had delivered it.

Opening the letter I unfolded it.

We cannot supply you with coin, but labor can be arranged for half the usual cost per hour. Please wait after court for us to talk.

I gave a half smile to Night. "Twenty five percent was good enough odds for me to bet a few hours of my time."

"You play risky odds with small bets, what would it take for you to bet large?"

I shrugged, my wings ruffling and buzzing a touch. "A sure thing, obviously. Like these ponies expecting me to give in to whatever demands they make, simply because they are likely the biggest supplier of worker ponies in the city."

Night looked like she knew but continued. "Then what would you bet me in this?"

"Nothing. You are a friend, or as close as both of us being partnered to good friends gets, and I will not take from friends."

"You would take from other ponies?" She had likely already run the numbers in her head, I was a changeling after all, our records were not clean.

"Nope, not unless it is freely given." Our verbal sparring made me smile, she was clever, observant and ruthlessly honest. "I am not Chrysalis, I hate what she did, not only to ponies but to any hope that changelings could come to ponies on equal standing."

Night was quiet a moment, we sat and listened to Cadance resolving another minor issue.

"So what will you do about that letter?"

I grinned and looked at it again. "Simple, I will accept their offer, any amount less than the going market rate will be credited to them as shares in our partnership. They will likely rail at that and get unhappy. If they take it far enough I will bid them a good day and do business around them. The bits we spend will not be aimed to line the pockets of the already wealthy."

There, a smile. She didn't make it easy to make friends, but then what simple task was ever rewarding?

The fireworks rained around me again and I giggled. I had managed to work it out, at last. Channeling through the outer edges of my horn was different than the middle, I could actually almost completely stop the leakage.

Adding the new understanding of how the symbols fit together as words had also made it easier for me to visualize the patterns themselves but I ruminated that it likely wouldn't change my learning rate, not with throwing this new channeling into the mix too.

I tried for speed this time, forming the symbols as fast as I could, trying to squeeze the pauses down to shorter lengths too. The spell didn't work the first try or the next few, but on my fifth it happened and I giggled as it rained sparkles and fireworks.

It was oh so tempting to look ahead in the book but I had promised Silver I wouldn't and I didn't want to let him down. This thinking brought up memories of what had happened when I told him. "Damn it, why did I have to freeze up like that. I am a mare, he is a stallion…" It returned, just thinking of the act caused an odd revulsion in me. I needed air.

Trotting to the door I reached and opened it with my magic. The action caused my belly to gurgle and I sighed. Too much magic without food. I started to wander down into the lower part of the castle when a scent caught my nose. I couldn't help it, it was delicious and I followed it to it's source. Suddenly there were big tough ponies all around me, I blinked in worry until I realized I had landed in the guard's mess room.

"Miss?" The guard who had met Stick and I at the gate the previous day came toward me. "Can I help you with-"

My belly gurgle interrupted him.

"Too much magic?" It was practically an accusation, but his smile ruled out any possibility of it being in a bad way. "Come on, silly unicorn. Really, you should take better care of yourself."

The others didn't stare, a few gave a nod to the stallion as he saw to me getting a plate and an extra helping of the heavier mashed vegetables. "T-Thanks." I managed as he settled the food on the table, opposite him.

"That is not a problem but you have to promise me, you'll take better care of yourself, particularly when casting spells."

It was then I wondered how he knew. But something had the attention of my slightly addled mind and before I knew it I had a mouthful of the most delicious carrots ever. At some point I was noticing the food fading from the plate and then another bowl of the pea soup appeared, levitated by blue magic. I barely slowed.

At last it felt like the hollowness inside was filled and I started to use my horn to operate my fork. "How did you know?"

"You looked distracted, it was either this or need, and you didn't smell of that." He froze and realized he had spoken way out of turn.

I was blushing up a storm myself and coughed, shoveling another mouthful of mash in.

"Sorry I didn't…"

Deep breath and food swallowed, I shook my head. "No offense taken. I was the silly filly here." He nodded a little to my reply and it seemed like that was that. Would that really happen to me? I blushed again at the thought that, in all likelihood, it would.

"Where is your other half? You two seemed attached at the flank." His question brought me back to the 'now' and I grinned.

"She is in Princess Cadance's court today, and likely most days it seems, moving and shaking, seeing where the Empire needs us the most."

He finished fishing out a troublesome carrot that had been avoiding his fork's tines. "That so? Well, she isn't looking in the right place. If you want, I could get you in touch with some ponies who won't try and rob you as quick as you talk to them."

"That would be most appreciated." I really looked it, as 'Miss. Stick's assistant' I could likely talk to ponies in a lot lower places than Stick could afford to be seen. "When could you organize such a meeting?"

He was done with his food, I realized he had eaten slowly so as not to finish too much before me. I grabbed the last mouthful of mash I was sure I could handle.

"I am off shift now, actually. If you don't mind the walk we could visit one or two right now."

I am not sure why but I trusted him to his word, after all, he was one of Cadance's guards!

He led the way out of the castle and we headed past the huge Crystal Heart. It was amazing, I sat down and looked at the facets and the dazzling colors. "Didn't get the tour before getting right down to business?" I shook my head, spellbound by the crystal. "Well, there won't be many other sights on the way, but this is probably the best. The Crystal Heart is the focus of all our hope and love, it is the single most powerful defense we have against the shadow and… him."

I knew who he meant. The thought of that stallion and what he had done to these ponies was terrifying.

"But enough of bad thoughts, come along and I will show you what I meant." He trotted off and I followed.

The target, as we approached, seemed to be something I should have known about. An orphanage.

I stopped and drew a deep breath, this could be hard on me. "You coming?" The stallion was at the door, hoof raised to clop on it. I nodded and moved up. After a few solid knocks the door opened and a mare's smile greeted us. She was a very wonderful example of her kind, a bright orange 'fur' with an almost silver-glistening mane and tail, her book and ruler cutie mark was displayed with pride.

"Well, little mister Pike, how is one of my naughtiest students of all time?" Her voice carried only affection and the guard stepped in, the pair embracing. "And who is your friend?"

"This is Penny, ma'am." He blushed immediately, having fallen into addressing the mare as a student would a teacher very easily.

"Penny? Well, much as I would like to think bad things of Sharp's friends, I simply must assume you are a good influence on this colt."

I couldn't stop my giggle as I nodded. "Well, we are only recently friends, so time will tell as to who influences whom."

Suitably joined in wordplay, the mare's smile grew somehow wider. "Come in, both of you. We were just breaking for lunch."

Sharp shook his head. "Oh no, we have already eaten." He sounded more than a little sad about it. "But Penny here wanted to look around and… oh you two are better with words than I will ever be. She is an investor and is working for," he turned to me, "how many princesses was it?"

"Not only has he never had tact, but I think he is losing some. My name is Spirit Soaring." I lifted a hoof to gently clop against her own. "Now, while this sounds like a nice visit, I think you will be looking for something more… substantial, to spend bits on, yes?"

"Yes and no. Your foals are well fed, the house looks bright." I gestured around. "So it makes me wonder why Sharp brought me here."

The mare's eyes narrowed and she called out. "Hope?" Two little ponies poked their heads around the corner to where they were obviously eating. "Hope Eternal, come out here for a moment." Two non-horned heads ducked back and the third trotted out, flank blank and trying to catch glances back to where she had been eating. "Tell the nice mare what you would like to do."

She blinked up, owlishly, the filly clearly a little overwhelmed at having to speak to a stranger without her friends. "Uh, I want to be a wizard!" Youthful enthusiasm quickly overcame her nerves and it came out as the most adorable exclamation.

"Good girl, now you go on back, if Patience took some of your food just tell cook, okay?" The foal nodded, looking back and forth between us and scampering off. "The problem, is thus. There is simply no testing out here, nor is it cheap to send a young foal to Canterlot, with a guardian, to have them tested there. We don't get a lot of unicorns, but I think it a shame that either they are stifled or don't get their training until much older."

I wasn't sure how the systems work, maybe it was a good time to find out. "You will forgive a mare who was herself not trained as a foal, but I am not aware of how the scholar system works, if you could explain that."

The mare looked surprised. "When foals are of an age to be finding out just what their particular special talent may be, the magic colleges send testers out to find and promote students to what they are best at… in Canterlot. While we really don't think it possible to be seen to every year by every college, we really would like it if we could have a local teacher who could send gifted students to Canterlot, or even train those with a little gift right here."

It was a tall order, the present system really discriminated against… most of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, could we change that?

30 - Admission

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I had a book hovering before me when Stick came in. A glance up at her revealed the changeling to look drained but her attention was soon on me, channeling as I was.

Soft fangs brushed my awareness and bit gently, they sank in and the mare drank as she approached. Sensing her mood I increased my channel and let more energy flow. Real fangs joined the metaphysical ones and I sighed happily.

"What you reading?" Her words were lazy, relaxed, home.

I lifted the book, the thing wobbling a little as the mare snuggling against me drew more of my attention. "History…" It was getting harder to focus, in a very nice way.

Stick's stronger magic lifted the book from my grip, carefully placing the ribbon I had used for a bookmark before she started scanning. "I thought you were joking, this really is history."

The changeling's mood wilted a little and, sated it seemed, she left me alone to regather my thoughts. "Oh don't be like that. I had a lesson today in why I need this and to study more." Stick made a soft, inquisitive sound. "One of the guards showed me an orphanage. Oh it was a happy place, where foals could not only find a new family to support them, but learn. But they do have some missing pieces."

Much more interested in hearing my tale now, Stick snuggled herself against me. "Go on."

"The higher education systems here are woefully ill-equipped to deal with ponies at a distance. We will need to spend funds on this. The Crystal Empire lacks much unicorn magic already, it is a terrible waste if those that do grow a desire for more cannot pursue it." Stick nodded to this.

"Problem is, my delicious morsel," it was the first time Stick had used a nickname for me and I blushed deeply, "oh never stop doing that… but as I was saying, the problem is, the return on that investment is so… ephemeral."

I tilted my head at the word, Stick's growing vocabulary was making her even more attractive, in a very mental sense. "Right, so we need to talk to Cadance about some way to get a break for funding it." Something hit me. "How do taxes work here?"

Stick giggled and nuzzled me into another blush. "You really do jump topics, maybe that should have been your name, Topic Dasher?"

"I mean it. Will our new… company, will they be paying a tax?" Stick nodded. "Okay, then we ask Cadance to grant us exceptions for spending funds on such things."

Stick's eyes went wide and she nodded, almost dumbfounded. "How do you come up with these ideas? Former life?"

I nodded. "Although these systems were… well, ponies… humans, tended to abuse them horribly."

"Well, we won't let that happen, so I have some things to bring up at court tomorrow." I sighed. I really wanted to have my Stick for a day, just to snuggle and relax with. "Why the long face?"

The question almost broke the mood, almost. "I miss having you around so much. I actually forgot to catch up on food for all my lesson and practice."

Stick refocused on me, looking a little upset. "Then I will spend the morning, until just before Cadance begins court, making sure to remind a mare how much her delicious self means to me."

Those fangs brushed my awareness, it was like a switch when she did it, bringing her completely into my focus as I leaned forward and clamped my fangs down on Stick's throat. She froze, her mental touch fading. I let go a moment. "Sugar Plum."

She looked up at me quizzically. "Sugar Plum?" It was obvious that my rougher attention hadn't been a bad thing from her point of view, she was very much still in the mood.

I nodded. "Sugar Plum. If either of us say it, we stop." She blinked those big eyes at me and giggled. I wanted her in ways I didn't quite understand and latched to her throat again, getting a soft sigh of delight from her as she relaxed.

I wasn't quite sure of what had happened, it had been a blur. Stick had worked me to the point where I was quivering with a need to tell her the safe word but dared not.

She had done something, then, with her tongue. It wasn't a bad thing, but it had surprised me enough that she had to work to distract me from it.

"So?" Stick asked, lazing against me, our sides touching from flank to shoulder.

I searched my feelings. It hadn't hurt, it hadn't felt bad… at all. It just hadn't been as amazing as I was sure it was to others. "It was okay. I was a little…" I trailed off.

Stick waited a few moments. "Not your thing?"

"Not… really. It was right to tell Silver. Stick I would let you do things I couldn't… well, imagine even thinking about letting others do. It wasn't as terrible as I feared, but it was sort of, well, just okay I guess. It felt okay." I let out a deep sigh and slumped a little, rubbing my cheek into her neck, one ear-tuft brushing her chin.

The changeling tilted her head a little and captured my ear tuft. I expected her to reestablish the bite mark in it but she just nibbled gently. "Not your thing though."

"No." I sighed and just relaxed again. "Relationships are complicated." Then something occurred to me. "Stick, do… do you want to do more?" It terrified and thrilled me all at once.

Stick sat quietly, just working her smaller teeth slowly at my ear. It would be relaxing if it weren't for the fact there was her pending answer hovering over me. "I do. But I am patient and-"

"No, Stick, patience may not be enough." I nosed in stuffing my snout tighter against her.

"Silly pony, you told me yourself, life is change. Today you might not be up to more down that path, tomorrow you might. Consider it yourself, did you ever think you might let somepony do what we did?"

It did surprise me. I thought on it in the pending silence, my ear still under her ministrations. Eventually I found my answer. "No, Stick. As a sick and, well, dying human, I had no thought at all that an amazing changeling mare would steal my heart and do such naughty things."

"Then how do you know, with more of me in your life, that you won't seek more?" Her words made me rail a little, I was what I was.

It hit me then, like a hammer. That was the thing wasn't it, I was what I was, the formal tag of asexual was itself just as bad as gay, straight. "Okay, it might have been a little fun. But lets not jump head-first into these things. Foal steps."

Stick giggled and nuzzled at my ear, rubbing her fangs against the base of it in the best scratching that a pony could manage. My eyes drooped a little and I lost a little track of things. She stopped eventually, the attention having disarmed me almost completely. "And yet here my mare is, preferring a good ear-nibble to all the carnal offerings I could provide."

I tried to fight her off then, giggling and attempting to roll her over to her back. But the scratching started at my other ear and took all the struggle out of me. She was right, dammit.

Having made the announcer aware I had business today, I made my way to where I usually sat, curling up my hooves beneath me. They had my attention a moment, it was only a month ago there had been holes in them, the involuntarily given love that had sustained me had eaten away at my very body. After Queen Fast, Penny was the best thing that has ever happened.

I was torn from my ruminations by the call to stand and I did so, head held high. Cadance looked every bit the princess she was and I suddenly realized how good it made me feel that I worked to help her and her ponies.

My name was called and I cursed my ill luck. I really would have rather had some petty squabbles to have been before me. I kept that from my smile of course.

"Ah, Stick. More business? It seems like every other day you bring odd requests to my court. Whatever will we have today?" The princess was smiling at her words, a warmth in them that made me warm too.

"Princess, while we work to establish more and more proposals for businesses, my assistant has discovered a great lack in one part of your wonderful empire, and it might even pertain to other cities in Equestria too." This baited the hook, not for Cadance, I knew the princess of love would be unable to resist Penny's plans. This was to make sure the others present thought the same way.

Cadance could see my game. "Well then, don't keep us all waiting." There was a touch of emphasis on 'all' that had me smile inwardly.

"She visited a school, well more to the point an orphanage. Oh no, it was run most wonderfully, but the mare lamented that some of her students who wanted to seek a higher learning would have to miss out on their chance as the academies for unicorns simply didn't stretch out far or often enough to find these little miracles."

The princess gave a little sigh and a nod.

"Our thought was to approach one, or even several. To establish a smaller version of their own great teaching places. After all, it is but a train trip between us." This had the alicorn's absolute attention. "My assistant makes plans already to bring some knowledgeable ponies in to consult, former alumni of those organizations."

"But?" Cadance knew it was coming, after all, if we had come up with a way to just do this we would already be doing it.

"But, as you astutely put, it costs bits. The investment in the future, through teaching colts and fillies is priceless beyond measure so we were hoping we could push some of our profits to keeping such projects viable. In short, we would ask a reduction in our tax tithe for funds spent to such ends."

It wasn't a huge thing, after playing up how important it was that we do these things. Cadance, and hence the empire, would already be gaining income from us just from their buy in. "Oh of course, I will have Articulate Equations meet with you at your earliest opportunity, to discuss the terms of it." She shrewdly looked around at the rest of the assembled. "And of course if others wish to follow this example, they will be able to claim similar rights."

I bowed my head to Cadance. "Thank you, Princess Cadance." I returned to my seat, passing ponies chattering softly about what ways they could think to make a few bits from this. Penny was right, if just these few in the court were already trying to find an angle to make bits, there would be ten times as many who would try it more covertly.

Court seemed to be winding down for the day, after all the usual supplicants had begged their cases, but it was when a mare with a severely styled mane and tail came in and spoke quietly to the bailiff that I perked up.

"Announcing Perfect Poise of Canterlot." It was a simple announcement, no title, no mission.

The mare strode right up to the front of the court and offered Cadance a pair of letters. I blinked a little as she seemed a pony of few words.

Cadance's response to the first letter was a general excitement and perking up. She looked more than a little happy. The second had both her eyebrows and wings shoot up. It wasn't alarm though, good news?

"I have come from Canterlot directly. Princess Celestia and Businesspony Fancy Pants dispatched me equally to bring their shares of the bits for a business proposal." I trembled at hearing it. Celestia herself had decided to put in bits… wait, equally?

The princess beamed at this. "You will wish to speak to Stick." She pointed a hoof in my direction and I tried to sit straight as I could when Perfect looked at me. "I am sure the two of you have much to talk about and even more to plan."

31 - A day on the town

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Another letter, this one to Moon Dancer. I sighed, it almost would be easier to travel to Canterlot and get it done myself. If it didn't take so long to ride there and back I would.

After drafting it once, I typed it up. The typewriters were… amazing. Just two keys and yet somehow, as long as I focused on what I wanted my hooves just seemed to work it. With a crisp copy produced I folded it up and melted a little wax on the thing. A careful bit of writing with a quill later and the letter was prepared.

I looked through our things for one of my shawls, picking out one of the deep purple ones that would match my coat nicely. Pulling it on and settling it just right didn't take much, I put my saddlebag over the top and cinched that under my belly. Perfect.

Humming as I trotted along, one of Pinkie Pie's tunes stuck in my head, I nodded to each guard. Sharp couldn't be seen today, but he was likely on other tasks. Soon I was out in the town, a smile on my face and a tune in my head.

I had a few bits and today, after my letter was sent, I planned to spend them on gifts. It was a short trip to the station and I managed to find a mailmare there. "Hi, I have another letter to send."

She beamed back at me, clearly enjoying her work. The crystal pegasi had the most amazing wings and I really wished I could see them unfurled but, as yet, she kept them folded. Her deep lavender coloring seemed to lighten toward the tips of the crystal-tinted feathers. Her golden mane and tail, always seemingly curly and springy, gave her quite an exotic look.

"Oh, another? Penny are you making excuses to see more of me?" It was a jest of hers, and I knew it. It didn't stop my blush. "Silly pony, lets have it. Ah, Canterlot?" I nodded still trying to keep my blush down. "I will ensure it reaches her."

"Thank you, Long Glider." I remembered the mare's name, thankfully, and it got another big grin from her.

"Oh, and there was a mare asking about you earlier, two big stallions with her. Odd thing, they seemed more intent on the bags they carried than her." She tapped a hoof to her chin. "I told them the castle would be the best place, I heard that you and your friend had moved up there."

Then it hit me, I had found the absolute epicenter of Crystal Empire gossip. "Thanks again Long, I will head back there when I am done with my errands."

She spread a wing to wave at me and I was almost spellbound by the effect of the sun shining through. It was an absolute glory. I had a moment before I realized she was now waving the wing in front of my eyes directly. "You okay dear?"

I had to shake my head. "Sorry, you just… your wings are very pretty, when they catch the sun." Honestly, it might make me blush to say but I got a blush back from the mare.

"Oh, well! Uh, thank you!" She looked a little flustered and, realizing the offending wing was still spread, tucked it down and ruffled both.

I grinned, keeping my fangs from view. "Goodbye, I hope you have a wonderful day!"

Something seemed to tingle at my awareness as I reached the main trading square and I strained, my ears turning. Of course I was looking the wrong way just as a stallion bumped into my side, grabbing my hooves and twirling me around.

My movements were smooth, easy, he gazed into my eyes and sang of the love he had for a mare. I blushed deeply but danced back. Mine was not a singing part it seemed, but despite the awkwardness of it I couldn't help but feel even better. He danced on, leaving me spinning in place a moment.

I don't know why, but even the slightest touch of song magic just made me feel great and I had a slight skip to my steps as I went about my shopping. A new saddlebag for myself and a much bigger, but no less cutely decorated, one for Muffins. There was an adorable deep green cloak that I got for Stick. At a book stall I found two copies of a book about crystal unicorn magic, definitely for Twilight and Moon Dancer.

After stopping and buying some sticky buns to nibble on, I was relaxing when a glint caught my eyes. I turned and saw one of the ponies from the mine I had visited, in a little ramshackle stall. They had an assortment of crystals of all patterns and shapes. There were two, however, that caught my eyes. Deep pink, they were both hearts but one fit into the other perfectly.

I trotted over.

"Hello there, how much for this set?"

They recognized me with a squint. "You were that mare trotting around with Book Smarts. Well, we ain't seen none of the miracles that little filly has suddenly gotten into her head, but she says you are going to do well by us. Twenty bits for both."

I reached into my saddle bag and felt a hoof on my leg.

"Oh no, this is not going to happen to a friend. That was a fake price. You are meant to try to talk me down." I blinked, a sudden overlay with something that I remembered from a movie making me giggle.

"Fifteen?"

"Eighteen if it is worth my time at all."

"Seventeen!"

The older mare's eyes twinkled and she handed them over, waiting for the bits. I giggled and handed them to her. "I have probably made a few ponies very happy, does everyone here expect buyers to haggle?"

She nodded and I sighed. "Well, I got my things, I am happy, they are too. It is too nice a day to feel down."

My exclamation was louder than I'd thought and not only was the vendor sitting a bit straighter and smiling, but I could almost feel moods lift around me. Moods were contagious, I had been told, but it seemed they spread even faster here.

"Excuse me for asking, I am a little new around these parts. But do ponies here wear jewelry in their ears?" I asked it of the mare softly.

She looked surprised. "I don't think anypony has done such things… it wouldn't work up high, they would feel odd when you twitch your ears." I may have blushed a little, remembering how Stick had ensured I remembered her for the whole day, my ear twitched a little at the thought. "Here, try these. They are meant to be used as cufflinks for formal wear, but should serve. Free for you, since you bought something already and have given me a good idea, so long as you wear them and come back to let me know how it goes."

I took them proudly, smiling at the mare. "Thank you, I planned to give one to my special somepony and wear one myself. She spends some time in court." I winked and the mare almost danced in her stall with delight at the news.

"Doubly wonderful. When you return, I will have something a little more… designed for the ear, what colors does your friend prefer?"

"Green, deep green, for myself I would love something in a pink." I thought about it and couldn't help a giggle, two months ago I would never have believed I would be buying jewelry for me and somepony I loved. Even thinking that word sent a tingle down me.

"Bring some bits, I am sure the price on these little things is going to rise." She winked at me and I bid her a good day.

Getting my ear pierced again would likely not be a problem, Stick seemed to love nibbling them, and of course I could return the favor. I trotted through a few more stalls, picked up some new shawls for myself and with high spirits trotted back to the castle.

"Penny! Good to see you again." Sharp was at the gate again today and I trotted up and blushed as I stopped myself from leaning it to give him a nuzzle. He was on duty and it probably wasn't a good idea to be quite so intimate with him. This sparked a whole new thought in me. I didn't have that problem with mares, was I a touch homophobic? It was a silly thing, since my gender was all backwards now, but I couldn't help but poke at it.

"Uh, you there Penny? You seemed a little distant." The stallion was waving a hoof in front of my face.

I shook my head. "Oh, just thinking on silly things. I am glad to say I have invited a friend from Canterlot to help in the problem you showed me."

His ears perked. "Already? How… I shouldn't be surprised, I had heard you moved fast." It was a little cryptic, but then, it was also right. "Well it is good news, done some shopping I see?"

"Just some things for friends and special ponies." I realized I hadn't gotten him anything, but at the same time it probably wouldn't be appropriate. "Guess I am going to need more bits if I keep making friends so quickly."

This got a smile from him and the other stallion on guard. It hit me then, the guards were mostly male, that was a little odd. With a wave I trotted into the huge, colorful castle.

I reached our rooms to find a big stallion, pure white and sporting the most amazing mane and tail work, guarding the door. "I am Penny Farthing, Stick's friend?" I had a feeling like trying to get into a night-club or something. The stallion nodded.

"Go on in, they have been expecting you." He was curt but I could see he was 'on duty' as much as the guards were.

I smiled up to him and bobbed my head. "Thank you." The words were heartfelt and I saw surprise in his expression before it was schooled back to neutral.

Entering our little suite I found Stick with a mare and stallion, sitting and chatting. To one side another big pony, standing guard over five big bags in the corner.

"Here she is. Perfect Poise," Stick gestured to the mare across from her, "Articulate Equations," she gestured to the stallion who seemed to be writing furiously, "this is my partner, Penny Farthing."

Perfect's eyes narrowed and a half smile broke on her snout. Articulate, his white body refracting light in all kinds of odd ways, had his horn aglow still scribbling on paper. It was the mare that spoke first. "I finally get to meet the mare who has the elite of Canterlot buzzing with questions of finance. Fancy Pants and Princess Celestia both send their greetings, and a whole lot more. They have parted ways with some bits, and if your plans impress me, I am charged with metering them out."

She raised an eye and looked to the stallion still writing. It took a moment, with all three of us looking at him, for him to realize that the conversation had turned to include him. "Oh, uh, Penny was it?" I nodded. "Princess Cadance told me you had some ideas on how to encourage spending on charities. She wants this investigated."

Oh, so this was a think tank type thing. I set my gifts down in a small pile and moved over to the table where Stick had presented drinks to the other ponies. "Firstly," I closed my eyes, trying to run over everything I could remember about the topics at hoof, "I warn you that if we mess this up, a lot of other ponies could do bad things. So lets not. Perfect, I will admit I know only the tip of the iceberg, but I hope it will be enough to let you build on. You see, I wasn't always a pony…"

It was going to be a long story.

32 - Weaving fate anew

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"I would show absolute skepticism here, but Princess Celestia herself told me you were to be trusted at your word." Perfect closed her eyes a moment, seemingly sorting the things Penny had told her into order.

"It is best you have told us this. Now we understand your position." Articulate was a softly spoken pony, but I had noticed every time he spoke it was for good reason. "You were not directly tied with any of these things you are describing, but you also are not completely ignorant nor stupid. They work, and can work well here. We are going to need to build in safeguards, I already had a list of laws to restrict abuse. For example, all such investment deals will require the oversight of a representative of the ruling court."

I pondered this, it would slow us down with our deals, of course assuming we ourselves did not count as such representatives. "That would be grand, Articulate, I gather you will be assuming that position within our little enterprise?" His name tasted exotic, I had to work it around my fangs a little to get it out without any chittering.

The stallion gave a nod to this.

"Perhaps a fee would be payable to the crown to cover the hiring of such a representative." Penny always did have a way with ideas and this one made everyone present grin. "That in itself would limit many, it would be a buy-in cost, a requirement that for such ventures to work, they would need to be profitable and monitored."

Leaning in against her I drank very gently. It had to be a repetitive thing, for no other I had drunk from had felt such a light touch, but when she channeled a touch for me it was appreciated.

"The same should be true of the charity donations." Perfect added. "If they are themselves a charity, the court could waive the fee, but it would make it a much smaller problem." The stallion was writing nearly constantly.

I sipped at my drink and Penny both, the latter having a much nicer taste. "So we have the basics of how the Crystal Empire will defend against unlawful uses of these tactics and laws. Now we have to establish how WE are going to manage under those laws." I looked between each of the ponies present. "Articulate, with Princess Cadance not only endorsing but supporting our venture, and with these laws requiring you to at least be present, I would be quite happy with having you involved with the decision process."

He looked a little stunned at this, glancing at the other two mares present. Each gave him a nod of support. "Well, we need to establish a time-line. There is no point spending most of our funds on a project that will not mature before we live to see it." He started on a new piece of paper. "So we have time scales, immediate payback, short term, long term and never."

The last one confused me and I voiced it. "Never?"

Articulate nodded. "Charities, the schooling issue Penny brought up." This made sense now and I nodded such. "We will want our projected returns within that period, balanced with continued returns past them." He was adding more to the chart. Beside me, Penny muttered something.

We turned to look at her, getting a guilty look from the mare. I nudged her. "Well, we had things… computers… you could build charts on them, use formula to automatically manage some parts, all very easily."

Articulate looked intrigued at this but shook his head. "It sounds like a delight, and something we may want to look at prompting a few ponies to work on, but for now we use paper and quills."

In the end we had nearly half a dozen charts, three times that many equations and enough lists that I knew for sure of a Princess who would be in heaven right here. Articulate collated the whole lot together, writing on a side page instructions for filling them all out. "I will have these copied, each investment we consider will require all the relevant paperwork." Well this was less fun. "Some of these will become required documents for the court appointed pony to maintain."

"So, we can start?" We were all looking a little rough around the edges, even Articulate, and this really was his special talent.

"Oh of course not, but there will be minor discretionary funds available for each of us, a forward on our own pay, that we can use to get our projects started. If the project is approved, all such will be reimbursed." Perfect seemed to think this was the best way. She turned and rose up gracefully, trotting over to the bags. "Articulate, please note the forwarding of two hundred bits each."

The amount shocked each of us, getting a gasp from the stallion as well.

"Having spoken with you all, even argued with you a little, I can see you each have your heart in the right place and I don't expect this to be frittered away. But we do want to be taking steps, right now, before others take notice." She carried back a small pile of very high-value bit coins, setting a few in front of each of us.

Penny levitated hers up and into her pack, as did Articulate. I had no pack and wondered where I should put them, looking around the room.

"Silly mare." Penny's words pulled me from my contemplation and I looked to her. I felt the saddlebag settle over my back a moment later. "For you, since you are a much more important pony now."

I looked back at the bag, it seemed specially made to avoid wings, obviously for a pegasus, but it would work equally well for a changeling. I set my coins in a pouch in the side of it and leaned up to give a single nuzzle to my marefriend.

"That should do for our first meeting. I will schedule the next one for the end of the week. The appropriate documents will be ready by then and I think we may start doing formal business." Articulate smiled and lifted up a hoof. We each raised our own and clopped the four together. "To giving every pony a chance to be successful." Penny surprised us by putting words to our mission. It seemed to fit well. And got a chorus of assent from us.

The stallion packed up all his things and took his leave. There was a gentle knock at the door after he had left. Perfect raised an eyebrow toward the pony guarding…

It hit me then, those five big bags were filled with bits.

"Only me, may I come in?" Cadance's voice from the partially opened door was a surprise but not a bad one, at least it shook me from my revelation.

"Of course, princess." Penny was on her hooves first, followed quickly by Perfect.

The ruler of the empire strode in, looking happy but troubled. "We need to discuss a few things that would not need court." She looked right at me and I got up, offering her a spot at the table.

"What is the matter?" Penny's easy way with the princess had Perfect Poise a little startled, myself as well. It did occur to me that in her world everypony was equal, but that simply wasn't how it worked here.

Not showing any hint that she disapproved, Cadance began. "With things the way they are, the best I can offer you in direct support is amnesty from taxes, at least for a little while." It was a blow, but if those bags were each filled with the same denomination bits as what we had been given, it shouldn't be too big a problem. "Secondly, it seems Ambassador Silver himself is going to be distracted by other tasks." I could guess that it had something to do with what she had discussed with me, but Perfect Poise didn't need to hear that.

"Thankfully," Penny smiled and levitated a drink over to the princess, "we have some ponies very well equipped to assist with this task." She had gestured toward Perfect, who bowed deeply.

Cadance brightened at this. "And I see you have support of auntie and some other ponies from Canterlot?"

"It is a start." Perfect was, without a doubt, the best actor I had ever met. She just called the largest single source of wealth I had even heard about, as a 'start', and looked like she meant it.

The startled expression I suddenly had, when I realized she may mean it, showed on my face.

"It is a start, we will accrue much more wealth than this, and pay more to the crown of both the Crystal Empire and Equestria, mark my words." There were three ponies in the room, completely in awe of her pronouncement.

Cadance recovered first. "I am glad to call you an ally in this. Much as I hate to do it, I am going to have to take my leave of you. It seems every day there is another problem, on top of all the others, that requires my own hoof to solve."

"We will work to try and make those problems less so." Penny moved up and snuggled against my side, prompting me to lean in and nibble gently at one of her ears.

It was a quick transformation, the tired-looking princess seemed to suddenly be revived, her eyes bright as if she had seen something amazing.

"Yes, I will leave you to your work. Perfect, I have arranged a suite for you and your guards. A number of the royal guard will be at your disposal until you can arrange proper accommodation, to ensure the safety of your cargo." Cadance rose up to her hooves, finishing the drink and made to leave. "If you will follow me?"

Perfect began to follow, gesturing to the unicorn guarding the bits. The bags lifted smoothly and, without fanfare, they were all gone.

I had barely a moment to think when I heard the door lock click and there was suddenly a very excited Penny bouncing around me. "Holy crap we did it! It is all coming together and we are going to get this all going!"

She froze, her eyes wide as she turned and pulled her shawl up. I was not sure her game until we both saw the book, with two horseshoes, one inside the other. "My cutie mark!" The bouncing resumed for almost ten whole seconds before she stopped and looked again. "What does it mean?"

Stepping up to her, leaning down to her flank, I nuzzled it. "A book, learning? One large hoof and a smaller one." I poked each part as I described it.

"Teaching? That simple?" She looked quite amazed.

"What, you don't think you have been teaching two very intelligent ponies here, today?" I stepped up so we were side by side and, reaching, I kissed her horn. Her magic grip on her shawl winked out and she leaned against me.

"But I… oh darn, I guess I do have a lot to teach." Before I knew what she was about there was a sharp nip on my ear, Penny having poked an eye tooth all the way through it. I was opening my snout to complain at her when something with a little weight to it was clipped, pressed through the hole.

"What is-" I was interrupted by Penny running her fangs along my neck, the motion perfect to align her own ear near my mouth. I didn't hesitate.

Being very careful, I pressed my tooth to her ear, just near the base where she had done mine, and bit down. She trembled a moment, but I could see on the table where she had left the other pin. It was beautiful, a crystal that reflected brightly, even the little light that was coming in from the slowly declining sun. The wire clip behind it was simple to fasten and I soon had it in.

"There." I nuzzled her neatly pierced ear, stepping back so she could see mine too.

I knew what my own face looked like then, because I could see the love on Penny's and knew I was showing her the same. Remembering the full-length mirror in the bedroom, I trotted toward it with a quiet mare at my side.

When I stepped before it, seeing Penny move in beside me, I lost some tears.

"What's wrong?" Penny was immediately worried, leaning to nuzzle at my leaking eyes.

"Nothing."

33 - Aftermath II: The aftermathening

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I sprawled, satisfied. It normally wasn't my style to have a dalliance with a business partner, but the stallion snoozing at my side was no simple pony. Memories of our time earlier in the night came back. It was hard not to smile.

"Here I am, seduced by the most wily of mares I have ever met, and I wake up to see her gazing possessively at me?" Articulate's voice was drowsy, but he sounded satisfied in a way that would always make a mare feel proud.

"Not quite possessively, no. More like a cat that has just had a very good bowl of milk." My mane and tail were messy, it bugged me, but when his gentle magic started to comb at least the hair from my head into smooth lines, it quelled the bad feeling.

"Would the cat like some more?"

My eyes danced and the memories from earlier washed up, I couldn't say no. Moments later, I couldn't say anything at all.

Stick gave a little chitter as I roused, my gentle movements bringing her from whatever dream she had. Just as her eyes opened and I knew she was about to speak, I kissed her. My plan worked and we both closed our eyes for some time.

Much as I hated to admit it, the kiss couldn't last forever and at last she drew back. Our bed was a mess, the covers tossed around and scattered a testament to our activities the previous night. She had gotten me very worked up and, in the middle of our fun, become a male version of herself. She had savaged me in all the ways I found delicious, but hadn't pushed the matter more than just being male.

It made me a little uncomfortable now, but I think with more… sessions, I might get used to it.

"You are smiling just like a changeling after a meal." Stick's observation only made me smile more as I considered it. I drew a little magic for light but pushed it all toward her, getting a mental nibble for my effort.

"I distinctly remember doing a lot of nibbling last night." I showed her what I meant, working over her ear and gently worrying the earring.

Stick actually blushed for a moment and I knew she had thought of something.

"Out with it." I poked at her ear now, with my snout.

"Nope, this is a plan for the future and only changelings and princesses are allowed to hear it." Her giggle turned to a gasp as I climbed out of bed, flicking my messy mane around and looking at her over one shoulder.

"Then I will be in the bath." I trotted, tail swishing side to side in a way I knew would get Stick worked up. It suddenly hit me how much I had grown in this relationship. Stick wanted me, I knew she did, but she was playing her cards smart, she was taking her time and I had an almost certain feeling she would eventually get me how she wanted me.

I blinked at the realization. "That is what you meant by changelings and princesses."

"Mean by what?" She sounded so innocent as she helped get the big tub ready.

My teeth practically itched to nip her ear but she managed to keep them away from my mouth.

I was trying to jump and snag one when Stick slid down, pushing her head and withers under me and lifting. I tumbled backwards, landing in the tub of water and splashing it with a giggle.

Stick slipped in with me, the water rising to more useful levels as she took up my tail in her magic. "Hay, careful with that!" I reached and started returning the favor, working some soft shampoo-like stuff into the green mass. She was still sipping at my magic, but I wasn't making any effort to focus it for her. "So, court again today?"

"Of course. Cadance may be required in there, but that doesn't mean she has to be there without an ally. Speaking of the princess, you really should show her more respect, I know you didn't have princesses and magic-"

I cut her rant a little short. "We actually did have princesses."

Stick's mouth dropped open. Then she got the giggles. "I saw a human… in Canterlot… you are telling me there are those with wings and horns?"

It was impossible not to giggle too, the thought of any of the stuffy royal types my old world, with cute pink wings and a unicorn horn… it was priceless. "No… no not those. It was a title given to the children of particular rulers." My explanation came with more giggles at the picture Stick had painted in my head.

"Regardless, you should be a little more formal with her, when there are others around." She smooshed a big pile of the shampoo onto my back and started working it in with myriad tiny, finger-like pokes of her magic.

My eyes half-crossed, I folded down completely into the water and let her work. Magic stilled within my horn, I just couldn't focus on it. "On your side." I followed her commands, turning and shifting for her. I giggled more when she let up. "What is it?"

"Oh nothing, Queen Stick." I grinned up at her, rolling to offer my belly again.

Her eyes were wide a moment until she worked out I was in such a mood and suddenly I couldn't stop laughing, my marefriend apparently knowing instinctively just where a pony is ticklish.

"Noooo, please stop!" I gasped and splashed in the water, but she didn't let up a moment.

She finally paused when I was gasping for breath as much as laughing. "Do you give up?"

I whined and nodded. The tickling came again for a good ten seconds.

"Do you surrender to your queen?"

The tickling didn't need to start for me to giggle at her playful tone. This earned more tickling.

"Please…" I panted and giggled. "Please…"

The furious onslaught paused again. "Please 'who'?"

I squirmed in the tub, her magic still holding still. "Please, Queen Stick…"

It all started again and I squealed until she brought her attention up and just to one ear while she leaned down to give me a kiss on the cheek. "And don't forget it, my little snack."

The warm love I had for her coiled tighter, our silly play time having made me feel all the closer to her. "Please, my queen, would you let this little morsel clean you?"

She half stood, lifting up into a sitting position. "I will permit this. Do a good job, snack." The mock threat was left unfinished.

I kept low, my belly to the bottom of the tub in part to protect against more tickling and in part to play my role. I reached out with magic to start cleaning her but got a bop on my horn. "No, clean me properly."

Scanning around, I found one of the soft scrubbing brushes and plucked it up in my mouth. I set to work on her tail again, taking my time, making sure to work the shampoo in before dunking her green tail back into the water to rinse it. Her carapace was much different to clean than fur, but I took the time to scrub and scrub. Her wings were far too delicate for the brush and I set it aside.

Taking up one green wing in my mouth, I gently worked at it, taking utmost care not to pierce it with my sharp teeth. I worked down one edge, around the jagged tip, then up the other. Each of her insectile wings took the same work, but at last I considered them well tended.

Working up her body, I scrubbed her shoulders and barrel, taking special care with the scars she had gotten while defending me. With every inch of the changeling that I cleaned, I was reminded of the whirlwind relationship we had built. Finally I was working at her neck and mane, brushing and cleaning, getting the long green tresses well soaked.

Gesturing for her to dunk her mane she came up on her back, legs up, half-folded. I took to her limbs, making sure each was as perfect as the rest of her. "Ahem…" Stick wriggled her hind-end. "All of me."

I blushed a deep crimson. It was a game, though, and I threw up the shield of 'just a servant girl' at all the odd feelings that threatened to overwhelm me as I took extra care of her. Stick played her part too, or I would have broken and run.

"Good little snack. I think might need to be your job in future. There is a lot of prestige to be gained, being the bathpony for a queen." Stick leaned down and nuzzled me. "Thank you, Penny."

The spell broke between us, I squealed again and tackled Stick in the bath. "I didn't think I could do it and then I did it and I didn't even shake that much!" Words fell from me, the game had been fun, even the bits that made me nervous.

"If you shook it still would have been fun, just in other ways." Stick nuzzled me and helped lift me up from the tub with her magic.

We used soft towels on ourselves, drying off fur and shell, tail and mane. Stick took to my mane with a brush, before I managed to do anything with it myself. "Don't know why, Penny, but I have a feeling big things will happen soon. Maybe today, maybe next week. But I want my mare looking perfect for it."

Getting my hair brushed, even as a human, had been a special thing for me. Being called 'her mare' hadn't hurt the mood either. "I sort of feel it too. Like there is a pressure growing, a balloon, and when it pops there is going to be something huge inside it." With my mane and tail long and smooth she turned to let me do hers.

At first I just made a big brush from my magic, feeling like running fingers through hair. It got the worst tangles from her mane. Then I started with the brush. Taking it up in my mouth, rather than horn, I stroked the length of bright green, our little game having taught me a new delight.

"We need to be ready, lets keep a good portion of those bits aside, but we also need to get our projects started. You think those miners could make us some of these new cars for the train?" Stick had the most adorable habit of leaning up into each stroke of the brush I made, it was almost cat-like.

"I figure we buy the basic parts from the ponies who run the train, and get the cars built up around them. We will only need one to start with, but a station out there, or even getting track laid to the town itself, is another priority. My letter to Fancy Pants included a request for him to get the train workers to contact us here." It never ceased to amaze me how easy it was to talk with something in my mouth, even working on Stick's mane and tail didn't stop me.

"They will make their own, eventually." Stick flicked her now glossy and straight mane to her other side so she could look back at me.

I blushed a little under the close scrutiny, it suddenly felt silly to be insisting on using my mouth to brush her. I continued, but only because I was almost done. "They will, but by then we will have started the trend and, who knows, maybe they will need some bits to push their new plans forward?"

Stick laughed as I finished and she turned around to kiss my cheek. "This will be a most fun time." She kissed me again. I saw something in her eyes, as she looked at me with the brush still in my mouth.

I didn't feel so silly about it now, in fact, I think this will need to be a common thing.

34 - A boring day in court

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Stick led the way to court, we passed a few ponies in the halls. Some of the guards I recognized and gave smiles and nods to, most of the others I didn't. "You sure you want to sit through this with me today?" I leaned up and pecked her cheek with a kiss.

"I want to be close to you." My whisper had the effect I wanted, Stick pressing against me gently.

The call to enter came and we filed in, side by side, along with all the other courtiers. "All rise for Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!"

I stood and waited for her to find her seat. She looked tired, more tired and worn than the previous night. Something didn't seem well with her but I assumed it had to be something other than us. As we sat I leaned in against Stick.

Morning business was first. Stick brought up her business with the mare, the business we had that was public at least, and all seemed agreeable. I did notice some not-so-kind glances from others in the room. "Ignore them, they are all trying to get concessions from Princess Cadance as well, although they are trying to get them without offering anything." Stick pecked me on the cheek again and I smiled.

Ugh, so boring. I swear I closed my eyes for just a moment. I was relaxed and I was walking through an empty human city. I was a pony but it just seemed right to be one, even in dreams. I felt a tug at my side and looked, there was a hungry beast there, biting at me and tearing, I could see rot setting into my side where they had bitten.

In my dream I screamed and ran, but the thing kept up with me, moving on from it's first spot and tearing the flesh from my flank. It didn't hurt like it should, it felt… nice, but a glance revealed it swallowing my cutie mark.

As dreams will, it ended suddenly and I looked quickly to my flank. My shawl was covering the flesh there but I could see my side was okay. It didn't feel okay though. It felt cold there, icy. It had felt nice to have bits of me torn away in the dream but in the waking world it didn't.

I felt it then, the slight coolness inside. I shuddered as the sensation of having a part of me torn away, of all the agony it would entail, was suddenly born as Stick drank. She stopped as suddenly, of course, my emotions running from love to fear and agony. "Penny?" She sounded worried, but I knew what she was, changelings could lie to your face and it wouldn't phase them.

My hooves clattered a little as I scrambled to get away from Stick, fighting down the panic to run and scream. I ran and ran. The guards were surprised first by me galloping out and then by the monster that was chasing me.

Terror beat in my heart and I worked my hooves faster and faster, leaping down the stairs and out the front gate. I had almost trampled the guards at the gate, their exclamations were heard dimly behind me. I knew the beast still chased me.

I had no clue what startled her, or why Penny had felt terror but I knew what it was at seeing one thing.

Me.

Tears stung my eyes as I ran after her, my magic helping to right one of the guards knocked over by her headlong charge. "Sorry about this…" I took to my wings, the buzzing getting me off the ground easily and letting me see the trail of destruction behind Penny.

It could fly, of course it could fly. I pumped my legs harder and harder, trying to get out of the city and into the cold hills.

My efforts finally paid off as I turned out of an alley and had open ground to a forested, crystal-dotted tundra. With no thought as to using my magic, I could almost feel as something was eating at my flank. Pain exploded there and I screamed.

Penny was running for the forest and I knew I had to do something. My wings were not built for tucking and diving, but I got above and just in front of her and dropped.

She was getting closer really fast and I reached out with a hoof and my mental faculties. "Penny!"

The Master was right. There was a pony coming right for us. He had promised new slaves for our mines and Master was always right. Lifting a claw wreathed in darkness, I gestured to my sister to wait.

My hooves failed me, I tumbled in the snow as Stick… the beast, had pinned me down.

"Penny? What is wrong? What happened?" Her words were lies, she didn't care for me any further than as a convenient food source. I tried to buck and fight my way clear but even as I did I saw a flash of green over the beast and she seemed, somehow, bigger.

My heart raced as I stared up in terror. "Penny! Damaged! Byron!" The words, spoken together, seemed to break into some part of me. I looked up, stunned. "I am your Queen!"

I panted, falling to what she had called me, what she had named me when she wanted somepony to be stronger and in control. She went limp under me, her body trembling not just from the cold.

They had stopped just short and one of them seemed to have overpowered the other. "Now."

I gazed up at Penny, feeling a tightness that had been around me seem to lift. "What…" I began to try and make sense of what I had felt, seen.

Neither of us, wrapped in our own little hell, had seen the shadow creatures break from cover, race across the terrain. But when they both landed on Stick and pushed her off me I knew something bad was happening.

Stick looked dazed, enough so that both the creatures, seeming to be a cross between a wolf and a cat all wreathed in dark smoke, were leaving her and turning to me, between me and Stick, heck, between me and the city.

"You look strong, pony, you will see, we fit big collar to you, you work in dark places." I shuddered as one of the creatures spoke, it's voice sounding like what you would expect a snake would, if it talked. "Lay down and cower now, we will only make it hurt a little."

My eyes flashed between Stick and the creatures. They didn't sound like they were likely to be friendly, so I ruled out that. I had one spell I knew and the weakest horn-push of anypony I knew…

"Wait, is my friend okay?" They paused in their advance, one glancing back for the barest moment.

"They will live, maybe. Their kind are less useful in mines."

"Then leave her, take me instead." I was frantically trying to call up my memory of the spell, the one unfamiliar symbol would be the sticking point. "I will go peacefully if you let her go."

They laughed. "Stupid pony, we will take you and kill her anyway, we don't care if you come peacefully. We will take you."

I stepped back a pace or two, realizing they were backing me toward the forest. I searched my mind, trying to get a clear image of that missing symbol. The memory of those pages reminded me of another, seen earlier. I fought at it and dredged it up. The timing pattern was all over the place, the symbols I could remember of the strange spell were all new, but for some reason they stuck with me.

I tried it first, nothing happened.

They stepped closer and, to focus, I had to keep my ground.

I tried the spell again and felt a pinch at my nose from the effect not working.

I stumbled back a few steps and my rump hit a tree. "No more running pony. Come with us now."

My mind raced over the pattern, my horn must be strobing with patterns, at the speed I tried to cast. But I felt it work. My horn felt on fire, my magic tearing from me in a torrent. It wasn't enough.

Heat welled up, focused and was suddenly everywhere. There was screaming and this time it wasn't mine.

When the creatures had pounced on me it had knocked me into the ground hard and I lost focus. I got back some wits just as I saw the shadow things back Penny up against a tree.

The burning flames just exploded right in front of her.

I screamed as I saw it and was instantly shaken from my confusion. The flames didn't seem to stop and I put up a sphere around me as I charged in. It was taking every ounce of my magic to keep the flames from burning me to a crisp but I searched and searched. The tree stump, burning still, was just in front of me and so was Penny.

Oddly, there seemed some kind of protective ward around her, but the tip of her horn had been scorched. I tried to move into the bubble with her, or pull her out into my own but the spell seemed to be strong and I had to move back out.

The fire still raged there, burning the snow away to steam and still licking across the permafrost under it. I cried in the snow, praying to Celestia, Luna or anypony I could think of that Penny would be safe.

"What happened here?" It was Sharp and some other guards. I didn't register for a few seconds that one wore quite the elaborate armor.

"Penny just… she got really scared and freaked out, ran out here. Shadow things were waiting for her!" I pointed with a hoof at what was left of the two creatures, about half of one of them, singed and black.

Shining Armor stepped up. "Where is she?"

"She tried some kind of spell I think, or something, the fire just burst everywhere. She is in there, wrapped in some kind of force." I waved a hoof at the still-burning flames.

I fell to the snow, all the strength gone from me as tears half-hid what he did. The sphere of power he built not only wrapped the flames but a good chunk of the ground too. Shining glared at the fire and the ball squeezed down. Icy ground met flames and slowly forced them to fail and, suddenly, a pop at the side of the ball was Penny coming out of the mess.

My energy was all spent, or so I thought, but I was still first over to the unconscious mare's form. "Penny!"

She seemed to rouse a little, her eyes not focusing. One trembling hoof reached up to bump my leg. "Queen…" She was out again.

I didn't think I would survive.

My horn ached when I woke, the constant throbbing of it told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was alive. "Penny?"

The voice sounded broken, but I knew it was her.

Not the monster, not the beast.

"Stick? What happened?"

"You tried to cast something you shouldn't have. Best guess was you messed it up pretty badly." Too many words came at me, each pestering my thoughts to try and make themselves known.

"I killed them?" I dared open my eyes now, the dim room revealing a darker pattern just to my side. I knew it was her. "My Queen…" I reached a hoof out to Stick who held it in both her front legs, nibbling on my fetlock.

"My little snack." She sounded amused. "The doctor wants you in overnight, I have convinced him to let you go so long as you don't channel through your horn."

My ear twitched, I felt the crystal still there and smiled. "Get me out of here, please. But I need to talk to Silver. I need to learn faster…"

I saw a slightly worried look on Stick's features as she helped me sit up.

A crystal pony came in, shaking her head. "I want to keep you here but I will admit I need the bed. There have been a lot of ponies acting quite odd of late. Thankfully none are trying to cast spells they shouldn't. Equally thankful is that you didn't burn out, but you will be a little strained." There was no mention of the beasts, was it they who had made me so afraid of my marefriend?

"I… promise I won't cast that, or try to, again. Oh damn my teacher is going to give me such a lashing for this…" My little line got the desired result, the doctor giving a nod and making to shoo us from the room.

We walked out in silence, but I kept my flank against Stick's. I couldn't channel to feed her, but I hoped she was okay. "What did you mean by that in there?"

"Stick, sometimes ponies want to hear something, it can help you get what you want to say it. It wasn't a lie, I am not going to try that again and I bet Silver is going to yell at me."

35 - Another bad joke about aftermath

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We made our way back to the palace, quiet and in our own worlds. I almost said something when Penny pressed herself a little closer, so our shoulders and flanks touched. That one action told me what I needed to know. She still loved me.

I didn't dare reach out to feed from her, she wasn't allowed to channel so if I drank it would be directly from her essence. Weakened as my reserves were from the incident, I was actually surprised I wasn't ravenous.

"Guess good eating has helped…"

Penny's ears twitched around to me and she turned her head. "What's the matter?"

The dark black burn on the tip of her horn kept catching my eyes and Penny tilted her head forward, catching where I was looking. "What were you trying to cast?" My self-examination was halted by my interest in her horn. It looked quite spectacular actually. It was always a dark color, but with the deeper black tip it really stood out. "When you… well, burned."

She tilted her head back. "I don't even know, I was going to try for fireworks to distract them, maybe shoot them up under the things… I couldn't remember one of the runes. And then I remembered a whole spell from Silver's book, it was complicated and long, but I needed to do something."

I leaned in and nuzzled her cheek. "It was something, that is for sure." She nodded and we reached the castle gates.

"How you feeling?" A guard was clearly addressing Penny and she smiled up to him.

"Like I miscast a crazy spell, burnt my horn and passed out in the snow." Penny delivered the line as dry as any joke I had heard before and it had both guards and me giggling.

The guards recovered their composure first. "Well, I would suggest not doing that in future." His reply was perfect and had us chuckling all the more. "We were told to not make a big deal of it." He looked unsure at this, clearly preferring honesty and openness.

Penny reached up a hoof to poke his heavy armor. "It's okay, it wouldn't be good to let everypony know that… well, that something like that could happen. I just hope it doesn't happen again."

My wings were not the same as a pegasus', lunar or solar, but I could rest them on Penny's back and, moving forward, she got the hint.

"You take care of her!" He mock scowled at me as we walked off and I knew that I needed to do more. Maybe I shouldn't be leaving Penny to learn her magic alone. I could do basic things, but I had heard a few rumors about Silver, about some of his magic.

I got a poke in the side. "You look deep in thought."

"Oh, just thinking. You know if Silver might be up for an extra student?"

Penny actually looked shocked. "But, you should learn changeling spells." I nosed her and kissed her cheek as we neared our rooms.

"I will learn whatever spells I need to to keep what I care about safe." A firm nod accompanied my statement.

We entered our rooms and closed and locked the door behind us. "Okay, now, what really happened, I want to hear all of it." I was guiding her to the tub. The day had been mostly a wash and, if nothing else, I would have Penny calmed and in bed early.

She didn't start telling me until I had the tub filled with both water and ponies. "The court is so boring… I guess I drifted off."

Working a brush into my mouth, I started at her tail and was working over her gently. My aim wasn't to clean, but to relax her.

"There was something… then I was walking in a big city." She leaned into my attention. "I dreamed you were there, like I usually do in my dreams. But you were eating me, really eating me. I had bits missing, it didn't hurt then."

I wanted to cut in, to ask her about 'then', but the story needed to be told in order.

"I ran and ran, but you kept eating and tearing flesh off me, I was rotting and falling apart."

As Penny told her story, I was suddenly so very glad she was looking at the mirror, inspecting her new horn. My tears were hidden.

"Then I woke up and was beside you but… you just had a little sip and all the agony that I didn't feel in the dream was real. I… even when you bite, even what those changelings did to me, it didn't hurt that bad."

Her flank trembled a little as she told this part, of the pain. I really wished I could find the creature who did this. My thoughts were very unponylike right then, my changeling nature giving me all the ways I could drink such a creature to death, all I needed was to get them to feel love.

"I needed to get away from you, from the pain. I was so afraid, I was all alone and had nowhere to run to. So I ran away."

I knew this part, my brush moving from her tail to her flanks now, getting the raven-dark fur just right.

"Everything was strange, just objects in my way…" She took a deep breath and settled herself. "Then you were on top of me. You said my names. You called me, each part of me. Then you called another part." She was smiling a little, her reflection in the mirror turning as she did to look back at me. "You called the part you helped grow inside me, my Queen."

Was it wrong to be giddy and a little turned on whenever she said that? I worked the brush up and over her body, getting her shoulders and withers done with not a word spoken between us. When I began on her mane she spoke again.

"Then you were hit by… them. What were they?" There were knots in her lovely mane, though thankfully no singed hair.

"I only know of them because they were used to try and scare little changelings into being good. 'Do what you are told or the shadows will get you!' The descriptions of them don't do the real things justice. At least I know what I am going to use when I really want to get in a fight next time."

"They knocked you down and I couldn't see you moving. I was trying to buy time to think up a spell, or for guards to come." She got really quiet when I worked on the hair at the base of her mane, Penny's eyes closing, I could even see some tension just leave her. Huh, I would remember this.

We just sat there, me brushing her mane more and more until she eventually sighed. "Please stop, I need to finish telling you and I can't even think straight when you do that." Well well, a find indeed. "So as I told you, I was backing up, trying to talk and delay them. Then two things happened. My rump hit a tree and reminded me the forest was behind me. If I had gone in there they would have gotten me without anypony seeing. But the second thing that happened was I remembered one of Silver's spells. He had flicked past it so fast that all I could remember was the timing and the patterns."

My next target was obvious. I returned back to brushing her mane.

"Stick…" The word was the worst attempt at a protest anypony had ever tried, I could hear her voice mellow and melt as she got to the end of my name.

"I know the rest. My little snack needs to relax now." I kept up the brushing, smiling as I saw her eyes close again. Penny's breathing got slower and slower and I finally judged her asleep.

My bed was warm, I could feel Stick beside me. I inhaled deeply, smelling the unique scent of my changeling marefriend. It wasn't strong, but when your nose is pressed to somepony's neck it is there.

I searched my feelings, there was no trace of the fear and pain that had hit me when… well when whatever it was had hit me. "You awake?" My words were soft but they found no reply. Perfect.

Stick had been there, even when I cut my love for her, even when I ran and left her alone. She had come for me, her love, and battered me back to my senses. I trembled a little as I reached for her. To touch her. I paused and closed my eyes. I thought about her protecting me from the diamond dogs, of her constant little lovely things she did for me. She fed me when I was hungry, she hugged me when I needed a hug and, lately, she had been my queen. I giggled as I reached further, not shaking anymore.

My dreams were parted, slowly, by something I hadn't felt before. My eyes opened as I groaned. Penny was there, in beside me, the most deliciously confused and determined look on her features.

"But-" My question was cut off with a kiss, one I returned as I melted into her attentions.

"That was a step."

I still couldn't believe I had done that. Done that. But I had.

"It was a gallop down the street." Stick was pressed so very close against me, we touched from tail to chest. It was nice. And frightening. Something can be both.

"A run can do a pony good sometimes. Maybe we need to run again sometime." It had felt good, but not in the way I thought it would. It was good because it was with Stick.

Stick kissed my nose, getting a little snort from me. "You mean that?" I nodded, realizing I did.

"I mean it, Stick. I guess maybe I was more mixed up than I thought. Mares just seem… right. Ugh, I thought I was over silly sexual labels but apparently old habits are the hardest to shake." She kissed my nose again and I realized I liked it when she did it. "If you don't stop that-" I baited her and it worked, I got another and giggled happily for it.

Stick tilted her head and I felt a brush of her senses within me. It didn't hurt, there was no pain. No, it was almost the exact opposite of pain. "Oh, I see how it is." She kissed my nose again and I couldn't help giggling, feeling her own laugh directly through our contact. "Penny, I love you to bits."

I didn't think, I didn't hesitate. "I love you too Stick."

Our day had been quite the rough one, ups, downs and all arounds, but after having spent the last parts of it learning new things about my feelings, my body and more importantly, Stick's body, I couldn't count it as a complete waste.

It hit me then. "Sombra…" I murmured the name softly, lest the speaking of it got his attention. "We are going to need to talk to Cadance tomorrow."

"Mmmm." Was all I got back from Stick.

As sleep came, I focused on my marefriend… my lover. I focused on all my love for her and hers for me. I couldn't feel it the way she could, not in another, but I saw it in every action she did.

My dreams were a repeat of my earlier ones. The shapes of my past now wore blazing red and green eyes. Their accusations didn't hurt as much and when a changeling queen leaped in and started smashing them I giggled. Stick was magnificent, she was bucking and stomping, zapping and headbutting the bad dreams away.

She was my Queen.

36 - A shifted gear

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The idea of freight trains intrigued the stallion and so, with his main assistant out of town on business, there was nothing else for Fancy Pants to do but to investigate this himself.

Rifling through Perfect's drawers, he found the contact list file she had made. While his enterprises hadn't intersected theirs before it didn't mean she wouldn't keep track of them.

"Ah, here we are." The unicorn pulled out the slim file on the ponies who ran the railway. It was quite thin indeed.

A company in contract to supply the railways for the crown, it had been hurting a little bits wise since having to run the line all the way out to the griffon lands and worse still, the attempt at finding anything to the south. "Very interesting. Too big to take over… without planning and time, but still large enough that we can lean a touch."

Slipping the information back into the filing cabinet as well as his mind, Fancy got up from his assistant's desk with a grin. It had been far too long since he had gotten quite so personal with a job.

Trotting out of his office, he made his way across town to where that ghastly queen had been. The ground still had marks on it where the fight had happened and Fancy remembered back to when he first met Fast in her official and current capacity. He and Fleur had volunteered, it hadn't hurt one bit to let the poor things share a little of their love and the looks when the holed and hurt creatures had realized it was given, it was worth it. The pair had visited a few more times, simply to offer assistance. It was the done thing to help a pony in need, after all.

"Is Queen Fast in?" The two changelings at the entrance to the hive were all smiles, it was well known he came and gave, rather than paid.

But they shook their heads. "She is in the castle at present. We have no knowledge of when she will return." Fancy read ponies, it was part of his business. Changelings were not completely the same, but he had also been visiting regularly enough to identify that they weren't worried about their Queen being out of the hive, either.

"I must say, it was awfully wonderful, what she did." No sooner were the words past his lips than both changelings were almost bouncing with excitement.

"She is the best queen ever!"

Fancy smiled at their enthusiasm. "Quite so. Well, give all the hive my regards. If I am unable to meet up with your queen at the castle, would you do me the favor of letting her know I was trying to arrange some business?"

Both changelings seemed to restore their more stoic 'guard-like' personae and nodded. "We will do that."

As the stallion turned to make his way back toward the castle, he thought he heard one of the changelings behind him murmur something, then louder. "Thank you!" He grinned, if doing one's civic duty meant you got to make new friends and potential business partners, well, all the better.

It was a light step that carried him not too far away to the railway works. Sitting back from the station down its own special line of track, the big warehouse-like buildings that housed the trains sat huge on the edge of town.

Some bellowed smoke, others steam as well. "Can ah help ya?"

The unicorn that addressed him clearly hadn't recognized him, so of course Fancy sought education for the mare. "Fancy Pants. I was wanting to see Layin Line?" The mare perked up, recognizing the name if not the face.

"You're that there stallion who owns a lot of things." Her eyes squinted. "Well, you ah talkin' ta Layin herself." She was the picture of a hooves-on type. Grease and oil stained not only the overalls the mare wore but also her mane and tail, both looking like they were trimmed short not by carefull scissors, but rather by some machinery doing something it shouldn't. Her coloring was nearly impossible to figure out.

Fancy's eyes didn't betray, not for a fraction of a second, his surprise. "Miss Line, it is a pleasure to meet you. I think we might need to find somewhere a little more, private, to discuss some business."

"Come ahn then." She turned and clearly intended for him to follow. It wasn't an office she led Fancy to, however. It was one of the smoke and steam billowing sheds!

"Ain't nopony can hear us over ol' Lighting here." She clopped a hoof against the side of the larger than normal locomotive, scooping up a clipboard from the side of it. "Now, why is a pony of your stature down here?" Her voice had lost a lot of drawl and Fancy had to mentally adjust himself.

"Simply put, I represent some ponies who will be wanting to invest in you. You move ponies around fine enough, they want to move more. Much more." He fit bait to hook, he didn't treat her as anything but an equal. It was always the best place to start with anypony.

She reached over and adjusted something on the huge boiler, steam leaping out and seeming to pool around the pair and hide them most perfectly but not actually encroach on them at all. "You speak things that aren't all that new. Pa tried to do more with the rail but nopony saw a use for it at the time. What do you need to move and where?"

Fancy almost danced. Well, not really, but it certainly was good when the pony you were talking to not only understood what you meant but understood what you wanted from them. He reached for his business folder, opening it and withdrawing a rough map of the Crystal Empire. "There is a village located here. We want a short line extended to them, a special station designed to load and unload cargo, crystals in this case. And we of course want matching facilities here in Canterlot."

Layin shook her head. "Lot of bits in that, figger you are good for it. How is the best way to move these crystals?" She had already taken the map, scrawling notes on it. "This accurate for distance?"

Fancy nodded, that much at least was good. "I would say that how to pack them is something we are going to need to talk to the miners about. Jostling might be an issue." She was already tallying up values, three of them.

"Okay, you are going to need a lot of wood for the sleepers, cars and the stations. A whole mess of steel for the rails. Lightning here will finally get to strut her stuff… don't think I won't charge you for her, though. And of course this is only a quote, but we can do this."

Fancy lifted his hoof. Grease and all, Layin gave his a clop and met not a bit of hesitation.

"If you would have your engineers travel to the Crystal Empire, I believe the funds are already there. Of course if we pay for these things, we have the right to charge others to use them." It was a statement, and a sign that he wasn't going to let her get away with anything.

"My lines are mine, you…" Layin froze. Her normal tactics wouldn't work here.

"I say, not really what we were after. What about if we pay for the lines, pay for the cars and the stations. The costs of them buy us a share of your business."

She looked shocked, then thought about it and grabbing chalk in her horn scribbled some stuff on the boiler of her engine. "You get a share based off how much you spend countered by how much we're already worth."

'Perfect,' thought Fancy.

Since it simply wasn't done to visit the castle with grease on your hooves and your hair all sagging from moisture, Fancy made his way home instead.

"Darling?" Fleur's voice came from deeper in the house the moment he had come in. She was practically flying toward him, her hooves so graceful. But she stopped short. "Fancy, what have you been doing?"

She sounded both amused and a little worried.

"My dear Fleur, my sweet flower." Fancy relaxed into the more intimate name he had for his mare. "I need a hug!" He advanced on her, getting a squeal of panic as Fleur spun around and dashed for the bathing room.

By the time he made it in there too she had already started pouring in some cleaning agents to the water, grabbing others. "In you get my darling street urchin, lets see what you are hiding under all that grime!"

He wasn't that dirty, but his heart lifted to see her so. He shucked off his jacket and shirt, vest and concealed saddlebag. His monocle was the last to go as he trotted over and sank into the deep pool-like bath. The brushes attacked him, little glass vials of substances that smelled like flowers would if flowers were a hundred feet tall and built only to make smell. He put up with it until the grease was out of his tail, where he had brushed 'Lightning', and worse than that was out of his hooves and fetlocks.

"Well, look at this, there is a pony under all that." Fleur was against him now, deeming her husband clean enough to be near. "But the question is, is there a stallion?"

Fleur trembled in delight. There had been a stallion under the grease she had cleaned off, she knew because Fancy had shown her.

She was still under him now, the pair laying together in the water and just sharing closeness rather than anything more. "I heard Perfect was out of town?"

"What's that dear? Oh, yes. Needed a pony with a good head on her shoulders and sent her up to the Crystal Empire." He nibbled gently down her mane, getting a slight shiver from Fleur.

"Tell me then dear, who is keeping up the office?" She had wanted this for a while and it was finally her chance.

Fancy was distracted with Fleur's neck, rubbing his cheek along it.

"Fancy!" She arched her neck more though, letting him continue but wanting an answer.

"Nopony right now. Could you believe I had to check into Perfect's files? I may have messed them up a touch."

Perfect… not the mare, Fleur's chance. "Oh, well I am sure she would be upset with that, what about if I pop around and neaten them up."

The stallion's ears perked up suddenly, realizing there was a game ahoof and he wasn't even keeping track of the score. "Oh, well of course darling, if you think… if you think your flowers can spare you."

"Good boy." Fleur approved of Fancy's save. She would show him.

Fancy thought further into this. "In fact, I was needing to head up to the castle later. Maybe we could arrange to have dinner with Queen Fast." This got Fleur's full attention.

"Oh, that would be nice, but… isn't she a changeling? What will the dear eat…" Fleur trailed off, lifting a hoof up and bopping her own forehead in a very not-upperclass way.

Lifting himself from Fleur, Fancy nuzzled all the way down her back, tracing her mane as far as he could before working along spine until he found her tail. It wasn't her time, as she would well know. Was it him?

"You look so sad. Come on my clever stallion, we go to meet two princesses and a queen."

It was hard for anypony to pull him from that particular mood, but Fleur was the mare for the job. Lifting herself free from the bathing pool and heading to the magic-powered drying pad, Fancy was treated to a rare chance to just watch her.

Those long, arching legs, her high tail and delightful features, he got lost in her eyes, when she turned to gaze at him. He even missed what she said for the twin pools that stole his attention. "I said, Fancy, come on or Celestia will be abed and we might miss Fast."

He didn't shake his head, he didn't distract himself in the slightest from her, instead, stepping over and pressing his wet self against the length of Fleur. It got a squeal from her but she used her magic to draw him in and over the pad so they could snuggle while it worked.

37 - Another quiet day in the Crystal Empire

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I didn't stretch the way I normally would have at waking. There was a mare curled up so very close to me that I didn't dare flinch for fear of waking her up. Memories of the previous night stirred my thoughts in a particular direction and even though I hadn't become a stallion, that part of me was, however, quite sated with what we had done.

She roused slowly, my precious mare. "Mmm, Stick?"

I kissed her nose, remembering how delightful she tasted last night when I had done it. She giggled. "We have a lot more to do today, not only do we need to start making moves to get our projects advancing further, but we need to meet with Cadance to tell her about yesterday."

Penny looked confused for a bit and muttered something under her breath.

"Huh?" I disentangled my legs with hers, the two of us pulling apart and, as one, blushing.

"I said, 'I need coffee' but I don't think that is going to happen. What about a bath?"

As she climbed out, I noticed a spring to Penny's steps. She might be having a hard time waking up fully, but something had her body perked up. And I knew just what it was. I reached out with my magic for the water and felt a little weaker than I should. "You feeling up to some channeling?"

My answer came tentatively first, then with a greater rush as her magic poured out. She let her horn spark a little before she clamped down and sent it all to me. Oh damn but I would have to find her something special for breakfast.

The flow reduced as I climbed into the bath with her. I remembered her efforts and lifted the brush in my own mouth today, starting to clean each other. "I see why you wanted to do this, yesterday. It is nice to do something so… so personal, with just my mouth."

Penny blushed to the tips of her dark ears at the words and I sat clueless for a second before I figured out what I had said. "Oh you naughty mare!" I splashed her with some water. Our bathing continued with little silly games, but nothing too untoward, we had business today, very important business.

Fitting Penny with the most adorable pink shawl I could find in the things Rarity had given her, I was accosted by clothes myself, the special dress I had gotten from the merchant, the dark black color set off my own green wings, mane and tail quite nicely. "Need to get you something more than just those shawls. Maybe a whole dress. Do you think I should contact Rarity, I bet she knows your exact dimensions."

"I am so not wearing a dress." Penny, wearing the cute pink shawl over her no-longer blank flank, seemed quite hypocritical.

"They are for fillies?" I had hit the nail right on the head with it. Penny blushed and looked completely defeated. "Don't worry, you are a mare now, a very pretty one, who will fit a dress just perfectly. I doubt Rarity could possibly make an ugly dress."

"One dress!" Penny seemed adamant.

However, she was not pitching her argument against a mare who hadn't dived in the deep end of court politics and taken off swimming. "Three. I will order them, you are required to wear one each day for three days, after that you can wear whichever you like."

"Two." She was learning, well, to be fair she had taught me some things. But I was better at this game.

I sighed. "Five then."

"What! You said three!"

"Six!"

"Damn you Stick, okay, just stop!"

"Six dresses and you get to pick a seventh after you have worn them all at least once." I didn't need to push that, but I wanted to. If she really didn't want this then she wouldn't have tried to haggle. "And you will be the most pretty mare wherever I take you."

I saw the blush and tasted her gently, it was a complicated taste, still very much love in there but she was conflicted. "Okay, but you will wear dresses too, the whole week."

This made me smile, she had accepted the deal. "Done, lets get to court early, we might be able to speak to Cadance before it starts."

We needn't have hurried, it seemed. There were annoyed ponies in the halls. Court had, apparently, been delayed.

Working our way up to the door to the court, we found it blocked by two very business-like guards. "Is this a bad day to ask for a private audience before court?"

They looked at me as if I had spoken madness. "The princess is not seeing anypony."

Penny, however, cut to the quick. "We were charged, directly by her, with a special task. We think she will want to hear what we have to say about it."

I nodded along.

"Wait here." The other guard turned and entered the court and soon returned giving a nod. "Go in then, but please don't trouble her too much."

The words sounded more like a plea of a caring brother than demands of a guard. What had happened?

Cadance was in the court, but not on her usual podium. She was on one of the petitioner couches. "Princess?" To say she looked terrible was an understatement. The worst of it was, though, she didn't even try to look the part of princess.

"Stick, Penny. Come closer, my guard says you speak of your… mission." She almost spoke in a monotone and Penny pressed in against me and I felt a wave of love radiate from her. Cadance looked up from where her eyes had lost track of us.

"You first." I said it as I sat neatly in front of her. This was about as informal as princesses get and she really looked like she needed somepony to talk to.

Her eyes seemed to lose focus. "Yesterday, Silver found me… distracted, well, more I was being controlled-"

"Sombra." Penny said the word, cutting in and surprising the princess. "He did something to me too, remember how I ran from court? Sorry, go on."

Cadance gave a half smile at being given permission to continue. "He made me do bad things, things I would never do… he made them seem so right." Tears formed at her eyes and to my shock Penny rose up and stepped forward, lifting her relatively smaller legs up and giving the leader of the Crystal Empire a hug. "I almost killed foals…" It was just a whisper from her, but to my amazement Penny didn't so much as flinch.

"He almost killed foals, you mean." Penny's words were just as quiet, it was obvious it didn't really sink in to Cadance. "There is more?"

I moved up when Cadance nodded, laying at her side and pressing close. She seemed scared to say more and if something scared her more than what had happened, well, I was a little scared too.

"Last evening, my Shiny… Shining Armor, got a note asking him to meet with Silver Lining on the parapet. Silver got a similar letter but it was only by luck that he was late. Shining was… attacked."

Penny was hugging all the tighter and I found myself chittering a little. If the crown prince of the empire could be attacked, the princess subverted…

"Sombra did something to me, he made me scared of Stick." Penny was crying against the princess. "I ran and ran, I couldn't stop, she wouldn't leave me." The lunar unicorn gave me a smile. "He had two shadow things waiting for us. I… I got rid of them. I wasn't even sure it was him, I mean I guessed as much but-"

"It was him." Cadance drew one wing around to hug Penny back, the other spreading and resting over my own back. Feather wings were so soft. "Night Watch believes this latest wasn't his work, that there might be friction within our enemy."

"You believe her?" I said it, I had to, everypony would dance around this elephant.

Cadance just sighed.

It was Penny who spoke first. "Night is a very clever pony, very. But sharp as her mind is in these matters, do we… do you, dare to rest the lives of so many ponies on it? What odds did she give?"

"Where is he." I knew the distraction that was eating at Cadance, it was clearly part of the intended result. Not only was Shining Armor a great asset of himself, but with him injured Cadance was in pieces. "Tell us and we will go. We cannot heal him, but I think changeling minds work just oddly enough that he isn't going to be subverting me." I looked at Cadance and she nodded.

We left her moments later, and we were nearing the room where Shining was being cared for when something dawned on Penny. Something enough that she froze and called. "Go in and guard him, I need to tell Cadance something else!"

I left Stick there, she was what was really needed guarding him. I really hoped what I guessed wasn't true.

My hooves pounded, I wished there was music or anything that would speed me up but as I wove through the ponies waiting for court the guards stopped me again. One look at me, however, had them letting me back in.

"Cadance." She was up on her podium now, using her magic to try and set her fur, mane and tail to rights. "I… how long did they think it would take for him to recover?"

"What do you mean?" She looked confused.

I shook my head, trying to work out how best to explain it. "Princess, if you had a spy in an enemy court, enough to be able to leak fake messages. If you tried to kill the consort of the leader to distract them from what they needed to do. If you failed and only wounded them instead…"

She caught on quickly and nodded.

"It may sound silly, princess, but when I was a human, I… I played a lot of strategy… games. I studied a lot of humanity's conflicts. If you need advice, just ask. They might have been games, but strategy is strategy. I am going to make sure your stallion is safe."

She nodded again, not having given any words to voice her own thoughts at this. I left at an equally fast run, on my way back to where my mare was waiting for me.

The guards for the room were inside the outer door. Looking more like veterans, they held their spears at the ready. They both glared at me but let me pass. "Penny?" Stick's voice beckoned me in.

Inside, the big stallion, Shining Armor, was bandaged up and being tended to by a few ponies that seemed dedicated to the medical sciences.

"Why did you run?" Stick nosed me as I sat down beside her to watch over Shining.

"A revelation I would rather not mention now." I leaned against Stick, wishing she had telepathy as well as this odd emotional sense. I decided there was something completely different between playing a real time strategy game and being in a city you are fairly sure is going to be attacked by an army.

38 - Guarding

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"I hate waiting." Stick didn't sound too impressed with all this. I had shared my thoughts on things with her. She had been a little tense ever since.

"I am going to go get some breakfast, want me to grab you anything?" I got my legs under me. Stick had promised she wouldn't leave here, but that didn't mean I couldn't go get us something to help keep the time from crawling.

She tilted her head up, watching me rise. A happy little shudder ran up my spine at how possessive she looked. "Can you find Cadance, see if she can find me a book with… with fighting spells." The look on Stick's face spoke volumes. "And something heavy for you to eat." I nodded to this and made for the door. The two big ponies there looked like they wanted to ask something too.

"Food?" I guessed at their motives and both seemed to relax a fraction, nodding. "Got it and, oh." I looked back to Stick and focused my magic. The changeling's eyes widened and her tongue snaked out licking her lips. She drank. I closed my eyes and let myself relax, working the magic and making sure my marefriend had all she could take of me.

"Enough, Penny. Go." Her words made me open my eyes and close down my magic. I felt a little wobbly on my hooves but otherwise I was fine. I opened the door to find two more guards outside now as well, and trotting past them headed first to find Cadance.

Court was now in session and as I neared I saw Silver leaving, talking closely with Night. Much as I wanted to talk with them, I was on a mission. I ducked into the court and arranged to be announced.

"Announcing Penny Farthing." I blinked, having just found my seat. I got back up and trotted quickly to the front of the room, facing Cadance.

"Welcome to my court again Penny, how are you and what do you bring before us today?" Her eyes had a different question in them.

"Everyone is fine." I spoke the words looking directly into her eyes. I could see some tension fade at the careful statement. "But Stick, my dear acquaintance, would like access to the royal library, she had some spell research she wished to do. I was wondering if I may be able to fetch a few things for her study?"

"Shared knowledge is always a good thing." Cadance nodded but I wondered if she realized what we were really asking for. "What could it be she is looking for? I may be able to assist her by directing you to particular volumes."

Damn it, Stick was better at this wordplay than I was. "She, uh, she wants spells to help keep precious things safe from damage and harm."

Cadance frowned a touch, she knew what I was asking for sure enough. "Very well, I am positive I know what you require and I know there are scant few volumes that will have that topic. You may borrow what you find, but please be careful to bring them back." A slip of paper and a quill floated up in her magic, scratches on the paper drying quickly, she folded it and floated it over to me. I didn't look at it, I surely didn't want anypony else here to see what it said.

"Of course, the greatest care will be taken and I am sure this will benefit all." I tucked the paper away and bowed to her. I wished I could give her another hug, I think we both needed one. But it wasn't done in court. Damn formalities.

"If that is all, I wish you the best of luck, Penny."

"And I you, Princess Cadance, and your Empire."

Excused, I trotted from the court, hearing the next pony being called up. "Penny." It was Sharp, the guard. "Need a hoof with anything?"

"I need to visit the royal library, I have a note and need to find some books there. Then I need to get some breakfast for Stick and myself." I thought I was missing something and it came back to me. "And two guards who are…"

"Guarding somepony important. Very well." He led the way. It was a fair few twisting halls before we found the nondescript doors of the special library and when Sharp opened them there was an old-looking unicorn inside. The mare not only wore her age well but her eyes were sharp and narrowing at our arrival. "This is Penny Farthing, Princess Cadance has vouched for her to your care, she has a letter."

I nodded and lifted the note free, sending it over to the unicorn who caught it and read the missive. "Very well, I would not normally let anypony have access to these volumes, let alone release them. Guard, you are to keep these books in your sight at all times." Sharp straightened, apparently he was going to be coming with us back to Shining's room.

Behind the desk, on a shelf that looked quite innocuous, two tomes floated up and over to us. The first was 'Less Civilized Spells for Unharmonious Times'. There was not a spot of dust on them, but it was obvious they were not oft opened. The second, when the mare shifted the first to the side, was simply titled, 'Spells for War'. Both had locked covers.

"These are the keys for them, and these are the dummy keys." The librarian held out two sets of keys. "If anypony steals these books, make sure they are locked. If they demand keys, give them the dummy ones." The level of restriction on these books seemed astounding. I nodded to her, tucking the proper keys in my right-side bag, the wrong ones in my left. She hefted the volumes over to me one at a time and I ensured they were packed safely before I gave a sigh.

"I really wish I never had a need to ask for these, I promise you that we would not ask for them for trivial ends."

The librarian scoffed. "The Princess would not release them unless she had good reason. Go, but bring them back when you are done."

"Of course." We took our leave then, Sharp looking a lot more alert now. "On duty now, I take it?"

He nodded. "There is a difference between escorting a friend around the castle and being ordered to escort a pony carrying… those books."

"Then let's run the rest of my errands quickly and return."

It was always an easy task, to find your way to the kitchen part of the castle. It seemed to be more central than any official rooms that guests would see. Four meals were packed, carefully. They had neat little wooden boxes that stacked. At my surprise at the neatness of it Sharp explained. "Sometimes a pony is out on the parapets, or on the other side of the city. Meals need to be able to travel."

With the four stacked, I pulled a cloth up around them and struggled with my magic to lift the lot.

"Allow me." Sharp grasped the knot on the end of the cloth in his mouth and hefted them up.

"Alright, lets head up."

Sharp led the way, it wasn't far to the royal apartments. The guards at the door saluted Sharp and allowed us inside, the two guards inside scrutinized me and looked to Stick, getting a nod from her.

Breakfast was served to them, to their delight and I settled down beside Stick at the center of the big room in which Shining was abed. "Cadance is letting you borrow two books. Stick, be careful with them. Sharp must stay with them at all times."

Stick looked to the guard and nodded gravely, but I could almost feel her desire to read and study these tomes. "Of course I will be careful, the whole point of this is I don't want to see anypony get hurt, not my marefriend, not princes or princesses. Leave them aside for now, though, it is past time you had breakfast, I hope you brought extra."

She inspected the boxes and lifted out the first plate, stacked with leftover mash from the previous night's meal and some oat-cakes. One of the cakes lifted up in green magic and floated toward my mouth. I obediently took the cake and bit off some to chew on.

The door opened and one of the doctors came in. I recognized their cutie mark and coat from earlier and was focused instead on eating the next bite of breakfast.

It never came. "Hold." One of the guards had stepped in front of the doctor.

Stick stood up, looking confused as they approached. "I can't feel any love in you. The other doctors all had things they loved, even you did earlier."

Her words made the guards tense up further and there was suddenly a very business-looking pike aimed directly at the doctor. "What… what do you mean? I came to check on the patient…"

"It isn't him, the doctor earlier felt kinship and love for Shining, he has none."

The moment she said it a wave of darkness seemed to flow around the figure and it tried to rush into the room, toward the recovering prince.

Both guard thrust with their weapons a moment late as the smoke-wrapped form evaded them and raced for the bed. They saw Stick as a small pony in the way, but as green flame wrapped my friend she became anything but a small pony. Spikes and teeth were the most prominent addition, Stick putting herself between the shadow and Shining.

The assassin quickly realized that Stick was a real problem and made to pounce on her. A dagger seemed to coalesce from the shadows as she and my marefriend met. It was a nasty fight. Claws were bared on both fronts but every time that knife flashed I saw it batter uselessly on Stick's chitinous shell.

The changeling's own attacks seemed to catch smokey darkness most of the time, but it was a loud chitter from Stick that accompanied her first solid hit as her hoof-claws grabbed something solid and she shifted her weight to lean in on the shadow-creature.

At almost the same moment two things happened. The dagger swung up in a clawed fist, coming right for Stick's face, but moments before it did a pike came down, just beside where Stick had hold of the form within the smoke.

It screamed and thrashed, losing its weapon and writhing around the spear-like tip. Stick drew back, kicking the knife to the side as she seemed to breathe deeply, puffing. I abandoned breakfast, time catching up with me as I moved to her side and a little behind but not, as I would normally do, right against her. I channeled, feeding Stick even as I felt the little bit of the meal I had eaten seem to fade from inside me.

The guards both were alert, one keeping his weapon planted in the shadow creature while the other had moved to block the door completely. Sharp had moved to the door too, his own weapon at the ready now.

Nopony spoke, not a word, until the thing stopped writhing. "I see now why the Princess sent you."

The words from the guard seemed to make Stick puff up a little more. I was the first to reply. "She didn't send us, we came here so she wouldn't have to worry. Damn it all now you are going to have to report this and she will."

The rough word startled all present and Stick gave me a dirty look. "You are right, but let it be one of the outer guard to tell her. I don't want to be here without backup, in case more come."

This got a nod from the guard who pulled his weapon free of the creature. Stick, however, didn't lose her form yet. If it wasn't for being almost completely drained I wouldn't have been able to go back to my food. Stick stood in the middle of the room and I could sense her touch within me. I realized then what she had done. "You tasted him, didn't you?"

She nodded. "Princess Cadance told me I was never to do so to a pony without their permission, unless the fate of the Empire depended on it. It does."

I hated that she would have to use something so special as a weapon, but she was right.

My belly grumbling pulled me back to the present and I couldn't stop from piling in on the carb-rich breakfast. I didn't taste a bit of it, though I was sure it would be delicious.

39 - Cleaning house

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I didn't want to shift back. These big, spikey changes I made to myself took more than the usual amount of energy to shift. So I stood.

Well, it was more of a case I couldn't lay down, darn spines.

"Stick, you're bleeding." Penny advanced on me with a cloth. I sighed and dropped the changes reverting to my much more approachable self. "Here, let me clean you up. How much of this is yours?"

Penny was fussing, cleaning up my carapace and finding all sorts of little spots that were sore and at least two slight punctures.

Looking down at two new scars I gave a little whine. My marefriend was quick to respond, however. "Don't be like that. Each mark you have taken, Stick, is one protecting ponies you care about." The wave of love that thrummed from her made me giggle and I kissed her nose in reward.

"It's all silly. Changelings weren't meant to be tough fighters, we are supposed to be sneaky and clever, not brawlers. It was old bossy-pants Chrysalis that goaded us to outright combat with ponies."

"For what it's worth, I am glad you can fight like that." One of the big stern guards said, standing a good ways away from the body of the shadow creature. "If you weren't… I don't want to think about it."

He was right, Penny too. "You are in just as much danger as I am right now, I… Oh…" It hit me, why they would have attacked and taken Penny. Would they have known I could sense their un-pony-ness? Their lack of love? Without Penny I would need to be drinking from a lot of other ponies just to stay here.

Penny was pressed against me her cheek against my neck. I really, really wanted to do very nasty things to any shadow that wanted to hurt us. Any of us.

The door opened again and both guards, along with Sharp, were all at the ready to defend Shining. I reached out and found Cadance. There was so much love there that I pulled back sharply to avoid being overwhelmed. "Princess."

The guards visibly relaxed.

"What is this?" She was startled by the cooling body of the shadow on the floor of the room.

"A creature posed as one of the doctors, tried to sneak through." Sharp reported and stepped over to the thing. "We weren't sure what to do with it."

She looked startled then over to us, eyes narrowing. "You detected them?"

I nodded and realized I should elaborate. "They don't have much love in them, and what they do have is a little twisted. Ponies are brimming with it, I judged this as being a time I should be more free with my talent."

There was a touch of disgust on Cadance's face but it was tempered quickly with acceptance. "Very well but, from what I know of your kind, there will be consequences."

Penny was looking a little worried about this. "She really is doing it to protect, I don't-"

I nipped at her jaw gently. "She means, if I drink from ponies against their will, I will gain holes again."

The adorable lunar unicorn at my side pressed tighter. "Don't care if you fill with holes, this is a good thing and I will love you no matter what."

The declaration melted more than my heart, Cadance was actually smiling at us. She waited a moment before going on. "How is my Shiny?" Stepping by, she was looking down at the big stallion on the bed. He was bandaged up still, of course.

"His color seems to be improving." Penny walked over beside the alicorn, looking at Shining while he recovered. "If that shadow was the one who made the wounds initially… at least it had a relatively small knife."

Two more ponies came into the room then, looking to be a doctor and a nurse from earlier. I reached out and found love within each. I had only the slightest taste and withdrew. "They're okay." The three ponies guarding the door now let them through and they started to fuss around Shining, the mare righting a pillow under his head while the doctor carefully unwrapped the bandages.

I looked to the wounds, they looked nasty but were visibly closing.

"You can't just heal them with magic?" Penny looked at the doctor who shook his head.

"Doesn't work like that." He tilted his head at her, as if she had asked something crazy. "Well, there are rare ponies who can heal with magic, but I don't think any are at all close by."

Cadance jerked at that, a big grin suddenly appearing on her snout. The room seemed to brighten, the cloudy fear that was on the edge of everypony's thoughts clearing. "No, but there might soon be one." Leaning in to kiss Shining Armor's forehead, she whispered something nopony heard and turned.

Looking directly at me, Cadance dipped her head a little. "Please, Stick, keep your vigilance." I nodded right back.

She trotted out, head held high again. Almost as an afterthought she picked up the dead shadow with her magic and left with it.

She always seemed to brighten the room, when her mood was high. I watched the revitalized alicorn trot from the room, clearing that nasty creature.

Turning my attention to Stick I saw them. "Already?" I trotted to her and leaned down to nose at one of the holes in her leg. "Well, you got rid of them last time, we can get rid of them again right?"

Stick looked down in surprise to spot the holes herself. "It was a little different last time, but yeah, I am sure we can get rid of them once things calm down."

Our noses touched and we nuzzled. "You have some study to do, too." I gestured with a hoof toward the books that lay almost forgotten. I reached into my right-side pouch and took out the keys, levitating them toward Stick. "Open one and give me those back, I have strict orders about them."

Stick unlocked the more bluntly titled of the two books, sending the keys back to me whereupon I tucked them away again. With the books out in the open, as it were, Sharp stepped over and stood beside Stick.

Although Cadance had liberated the shadow creature from the room, there was still a nasty stain on the flagstone floor. "I'll be back." I headed for the door, opening it and looking to one of the two guards there. "Where would I find a mop and a bucket?" They looked surprised and one gestured down the hall in the opposite of the direction I had come from initially.

"There is a maid cupboard down there a little ways, should be some things in there." I nodded and was about to close the door behind me when one of the guards from inside stepped out to look around.

"You, Bright, escort her."

One of the pair saluted sharply and made to trot off at my side.

Out of earshot of their partner at the door, the pony guard, Bright, whispered something. "Pardon?"

"Is he going to be alright?" He sounded scared.

"Of course he will be, he has the best doctors and even the best guards making sure of it." It made him stand a little straighter to realize he was counted in that 'best guards'.

"The changeling, what is she doing in there?"

"Stick? She is my marefriend and she is… well, you know how changelings feed?" He shook his head. "Oh, well, they can drink from the love another pony feels. Love for their work, love for another pony… apparently we are full of love."

He looked shocked at this. "Has she been eating me?"

I pondered how to reply. "Well, she would normally only drink from me, we are marefriends you know. But with all this mess she has been sipping just a taste of everypony who goes in to visit Shining Armor."

This confirmed that he had probably been drunk from and he looked a little shocked before his training kicked in and he thought some more. "Shadows not as nice as ponies?" I nodded. "Then I guess it is alright. That thing the princess took away…"

"The doctor who came in earlier, alone?" He tilted his head. "That was it. Apparently it wanted to finish the job it had started. Stick saw through it and even fought it off from his bed until one of the guards could pin it with his weapon."

He went a little green around the gills, so to speak. But his weapon never dipped an inch. "If she protects him, then she is alright by me. I really like Shining, he is a great captain."

"He is more, he is a great pony. He stood up for Stick, you see. But that isn't the only reason she is defending him now." I left it there, there was more to Stick's motivations than this guard really needed to know.

"Here it is." He opened the door to a small room that had a myriad of cleaning supplies.

I selected a mop and bucket, a scrubbing brush and a little glass jar of what was labeled cleaning soap. Tucking everything into the bucket, I lifted it up with my magic, it was a bit of a strain so I leaned in and grabbed the bucket's wooden handle in my mouth.

"Okay, lets head back." The stallion nodded and poked his head out first, looking down the hall each way before letting me move out too. I appreciated his dedication.

"You said you and… Stick was it?" I nodded to him. "You said you were together?"

"We have been for a while it… it's a bit complicated, but yeah, she is everything to me." I was distracted by my feelings for a bit and almost missed him asking something more.

"Need a stallion?" I almost dropped the bucket, my blush probably easily visible in the light of the hallway. "I mean, as a stud. I… I know things have changed a bit, since He was banished and we were gone, but is it right for a stallion to ask a pair of mares if they need his services anymore?"

So many questions raced through my head, I didn't know if it was socially a thing back then or now. "I… it's nice of you to offer. I don't think we have actually thought about that and…"

"It's okay, really. You seem like a nice mare and your special somepony certainly seems like a very upstanding pony. Oh I have made a mess of this." He seemed to have lost all the confidence he must have built up to ask.

I stopped short of the last turn to be within sight of the door. "I am going to be really blunt and honest, you deserve that." I took a deep breath. "I am just not really into stallions, like, at all. I am a little unique in being a lunar unicorn, and the princess who watches over us, lunar ponies that is, she would really like me to have a foal. You are on a short list." The last bit I said quietly, not wanting to even admit there was a short list, or that I would think of a short list.

Why did life have to be so complicated?

He surprised me with a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Thank you. We should get back."

I nodded to him and found myself trotting with a little extra spring. Was it bad that I liked the idea that a stallion might find me attractive?

Stick was still buried up to her nose in one of the books. She looked up to me with a smile as I entered. I put down the mop and brush, taking the bucket into the facilities to fill it with clean water.

And I thought being a pony would be rainbows and sunshine all day long...

40 - The night comes

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We sat side by side, each with their own book. Mine was a foal's first guide to magic, Stick's had a warning on every page as to how dangerous not only each spell was to cast, but the potential problems with miscasting.

As it was, I kept getting distracted as I saw my marefriend's green magic light her horn and a glance revealed that it wasn't quite the same symbols that were on the page. "You form those differently." I leaned down and nosed at the one she was obviously working through.

"Of course I am, that is why it takes so long to learn them. My magic… changeling magic, works a little different to unicorn, but with some changes we can get a spell to function okay."

I read the description of the spell. A 'force spike', it said.

This spell projects spears of solid force that fly unerringly toward a target of your choosing. It works particularly well against physical-blocking shields and less so against magical ones.

"This would work well against the shadows." Stick was working through the runes, slowly. "That one, it seemed every time I poked at it or bit at it there was nothing but smoke. If that smoke is part of them, this should still harm it."

I looked quickly back to my book, the simple runes there a comfort. "I will leave that to you, at least until I can put a spell more complicated than fireworks together."

Stick nuzzled my horn, startling me from my attempt at a new rune and making me giggle. "Learn faster, I want my talented little nibble standing at my side." It now made sense, all those times I had overheard people using pet names for their partners, it made even the most mundane and silly things a shared experience. Of course, with Stick working on magic and me making on runes as well, I was starting to feel a little hungry and just as my belly rumbled a guard opened the door with his magic, bringing in more of those neat meal boxes.

I glanced first to Stick. "They're fine." I nibbled at her ear and felt her nibble at my emotions in return. She was hungry too.

The unicorn passed out meals, laying one beside each of our books. Stick had flicked a marker into hers and closed it before the unicorn got close. "Here we are. I am sorry, there are no meat dishes here." He was looking at me like I expected one.

"Oh, uh, that's fine, I don't have to eat meat…" My reply got a smile of relief from the pony and he trotted back from the room. "Do lunar ponies really eat meat? I just… don't really feel I have to."

"You got the teeth for it." Stick was already raising a neat little mound of food up and I took it from her, chewing happily. Grilled carrots and… I looked down into the plate in delight, scalloped potato! "See something you like?"

"I used to love those back… are they potato slices in a creamy sauce?" Stick swirled a wooden spoon around in it and nodded. "Oh boy, is this normal food for guards? Where do I sign up?"

Sharp laughed at this. "We are fed well, it is true. What best to keep a big pony from complaining than to ensure his belly is well filled?"

There was a stomp of agreement from the other two, both nodding but with their mouths full.

Stick reopened her book, leaving the page she was on bookmarked while she leafed ahead. She didn't pause in her work with me and to return the favor I started to channel, making a little light. To my surprise, she even tried some of the food and brightened up for it. "This really is good, you used to have something like this at home?"

I nodded but didn't reply, I knew the moment my mouth would open it would be filled again. Leaning a little closer to Stick, pressing our shoulders tight, I rubbed my cheek against her neck.

The runes seemed easier to work through, the more of them I mastered. I had six now, that I would need to show to Silver. Lunch turned to afternoon and that toward night time. Ponies brought main meals for us all. I stood up to stretch before Stick managed to start unwrapping the food. "Wow, I feel every bit as cramped as I used to when I read a book… before." One back leg twitched and I stretched it more to get it feeling right again.

The door flew open with a dramatic thud against the wall. Stick was all focus and action, before recoiling. "It's okay!" She managed to say as Luna entered, two of her night guard waiting by the door.

"We felt that, you would dare to assault a princess?" Stick stood her ground, well, a little. She certainly didn't bring out her spikes or show any overt hostility but I could see my mare wasn't going to take quite as much guff as she used to.

"Princess Luna-" I began to try and explain but Stick lifted a hoof to push me behind and to the side of her.

"Yes, I do. I promised Cadance I wouldn't let any further harm come to Shining Armor, I will test any who come in."

Luna seemed to quickly reevaluate her tack. "We see she chose well for a defender, then."

Stick just nodded and moved to the side to let Luna pass. I felt pride in her doing that, she was letting Luna by, not simply moving as was expected. I moved up a little to nuzzle Stick and heft a hoof up and over her withers, hugging her to me. "He is safe with Luna here, you can rest a little bit."

One of Luna's ears twitched a moment to my words but her focus was back to Shining. "The night will guard you, bright prince." I wasn't completely sure, but it sure didn't sound like Luna was in a mood to 'protect' right now, seeing her niece's husband laid low.

She turned and nodded to her guard. "You are rested. Take over the inner door, dispatch any Stick tells you to." It was a shocking command to give and proof that she recognized Stick's authority in this. "I go now to find Night Watch. She too has had a run-in with the shadows. Penny, could you make sure to give Silver the good news that his wife has returned from her foalnapping?"

We got a glance back from the princess of the moon and Penny nodded to them. I was really glad I wasn't a shadow right then. Then it hit me about Night, I really hoped she was okay.

Dinner was finished after the princess left, I still felt a little jittery from having to stand up to her but it had been right. For all I knew they could look like anypony.

"It will be a long night, too." I shook my wings out and buzzed them a little. "At least the company is good."

Penny kept glancing at the two lunar pegasi. She was dying to ask questions, I could tell.

"Excuse me," I lifted my voice to address them and one looked over, "I was wondering if we could ask a few questions it… well, I will be honest. My marefriend here was once a human." Sharp looked shocked at this, the two night guards didn't. "She now shares a tie to the moon and I think she will explode if she doesn't ask at least a few questions."

This got the attention of both of them but one quickly turned back to the door, a grin showing a little fang.

"We had heard of a new sister to the lunar tribe. We heard she dealt with two shadow creatures on her own, in an albeit odd manner. But it is good to know that she has the fight within her to defend her mate." They stepped slowly over to where we sat, between the door and Shining's bed.

Penny was blushing and pointed to her book. "I am working to fix the problem with my spells. It is slow going but I want to do it right." The pegasi nodded, then noticed the book beside that one.

"Those spells are a little more advanced, you are not learning those?"

"Stick is studying them, she didn't like needing to be protected." I felt her lips on my cheek, taking the heat out of the observation. "And further, we don't want anypony to be hurt."

The guard smiled, not afraid of showing fangs to other ponies that have them. "So what is it you need to know?"

"For one, meat. Everywhere I go everypony seems to expect me to want to eat meat but I just don't… well, I haven't actually tried it, as a pony."

The lunar guard nodded to this. "Next time you are in Canterlot, there is a nice little place, down on the west side of the city, does fish and little shell things. Started out as a niche griffon eatery, the food is so good it is often patronized by lunar pegasi now. You should try it once to see what you think."

Penny looked surprised. "I hadn't thought of seafood, I love oysters and crayfish… salmon too. Or I used to, I wonder if it will taste different?"

"It's a date." I leaned in and nibbled her ear, whispering my plan to her.

She perked right up and leaned into the attention. "Oh, what is up with some ponies? I had one call me a wingless batpony…"

Both the other lunar ponies stiffened and angry looks flashed over the one nearby. "How did you respond to that?"

Penny looked a little worried. "I was shocked, before I could say anything a nice unicorn berated the pony into an apology."

"Not the best of solutions, but better than most. It is good to know that there are ponies out there who are willing to show some moral fortitude."

I shook my head. "You will excuse Penny, she was and is a little clueless in some things. I am fairly sure the reason the stallion stood up for her was he wanted to 'get to know her'." I air-quoted with my hooves to emphasize the point.

Penny blushed and pushed me without any heart. "Really? I thought he only wanted to take some photos?"

One of my hooves lifted and plonked into my forehead, just below my horn. So very clueless indeed. I noticed more holes in my hoof, as did the guard.

"You have my permission to drink from me, if you need to." Their words were formal, something seemed to be implied in the way they offered. I was more confused than grateful.

"And mine." The other lunar pegasi followed suit and, not one to be left out, so did Sharp.

"What… why? I will only need to do it in emergencies or to verify who you are." I tried to explain it away as being nothing huge but their faces were adamant.

"We are aware of that. After what your princess did, a lot of ponies have pledged such to her and her changelings." My confusion was evident, what had happened? "And I think we have some explaining. How long have you been away from Canterlot?"

I tried to figure out the days but they cut in again.

"Okay. Chrysalis returned." The words were like being stabbed with a blade. A sharp blade, forged of fear and horror. "If I ever thought to question your loyalty, that look would be my answer. She challenged Princess Fast Change-"

"Princess?" Both Penny and myself were caught by surprise. A raised hoof from the pegasi was enough to halt our questions.

"I will get to that, but I would not give that mare anything but her full title." The pegasi's words were full of pride and respect. "One of her changelings tried to fight off the rogue, losing but surviving. Then the two met."

It was nearly impossible not to ask more questions, but I realized that this pegasi might not have all the answers. I needed to visit Canterlot soon.

"Princess Fast, well fed and strong, weathered every attack Chrysalis threw, but the tyrant had a trick. She drained the changelings, fed from them as only a queen, apparently, can. It went bad for Princess Fast, until, in desperation, she reached out to the ponies of Canterlot. She took only a sip from each, but there are a lot of ponies in the city."

I was staring in rapt attention, there was no sign of negative emotions on the lunar pony's features, so I knew it had to have at least a neutral ending.

"She fought back, finding shapes of creatures even we have not heard of. But it seemed a stalemate. With little training, Princess Fast was the match for a queen born to the role." No, no negative emotions, but there was a good helping of pride there. "Then the changelings rose, with their new leader a match for Chrysalis, they were ready to tip the scales. She was driven off."

My hooves clopped together excitedly. "And she is a princess and queen now?"

That dark-maned head shook. "No, just princess. Accepted by Celestia and welcomed by not just the changelings, but everypony in the city. She bore holes, however. While she only fed a little, it was not with the full consent of everypony." They gestured to my hooves and then up to my horn. Damn it I had gotten more holes. "And we see these, too, as badges of honor. So we offer ourselves, as is right for anypony, so that you don't need to suffer."

Penny was already putting a leg over me, hugging me, crying in happiness. Then it hit me.

"Fast Change has holes? But she was a unicorn…"

"Not any longer, it seems." The guard got up, walking back to the door and leaving us to our moment.

"I should go, Silver will probably be out of his mind with worry and I doubt Luna will be done with Night until she knows every little thing that happened." Penny got up to her hooves and made for the door.

41 - On books

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Moon Dancer was more than a little disheartened. She had visited all the magical colleges and not a single one had taken her seriously. Her former student, of just one lesson, would not be happy about this.

"What to do?" She tapped at a book on teaching she had found, there were now almost a dozen bookmarks in it, one of which was the letter Penny had sent. She flicked back to that page to reread it.

How could one little mare, not even fully trained herself, build such a grand plan for ponies to learn? She almost spoke like she wanted every unicorn to be taught spells.

Moon Dancer tilted her head. "And why not at least give them the chance?" The Crystal empire would be first. A new school, one that accepts not just foals, but anypony who wants to learn. "I am definitely going to need more books…"

Rising to her hooves and closing the book carefully, Moon Dancer clopped her way as quietly as she could to where the head librarian sat at their desk.

The bookish unicorn had been reading but some vague sense got their attention to the approaching Moon Dancer. "Can I help you, dear?"

"I need to borrow some books."

The librarian nodded. "What book do you need?"

"Ones to teach unicorns how to use their horn, how to form runes and how to cast basic spells. I need… well, I think about fifty should do it."

The librarian's jaw dropped open, the world spinning for them a moment. "I, err, the library doesn't have that many…"

"Then where can I get them? I assume somepony makes them?"

"Indeed they do. Here, this is the address of one of the publishers we get most of our reprints from." The stallion started scrawling a note. "They will be able to get you all fixed up with what you need… may I ask, why do you need so many?"

"I'm opening a new school. One that anypony with a horn can learn at." Moon Dancer smiled and bid the librarian goodbye.

It was a bright day outside and despite her eyes narrowing initially, she soon felt the warmth of Celestia's namesake warming her up. Thoughts of the princess were a touch soured by her inability to even secure support from the school Twilight and herself had attended.

Moon trotted to the publisher, trying to distract herself from that flat response and she greeted a few ponies she knew, and even some she didn't who just seemed to be enjoying the wonderful day.

Equestria Fine Books

Moon Dancer smiled, some of her favorites had been printed here. She opened the door to the shop and stepped inside. There was some noise, the back half of the store taken up by a large machine with a big crank handle on it. Four ponies were there, turning the crank and driving the huge printing press. Beside it, two unicorns worked with fine thread and glue, binding the pages together and assembling the books.

"Can I help you?"

A stallion with so many ink splatters on him it was almost impossible to tell that he had a yellow coat with light blue mane and tail, was waiting at the counter. She did, however, spot a book splattered with ink on his flank and had the sudden urge to want to wash him just to find out if the ink splatter was part of his cutie mark or just his trade.

"I need some books printed. My name is Moon Dancer." She gave her newly-reflexive flick of her head. Getting used to letting her fringe down was getting to be a problem, maybe she should get it trimmed. She did have at least four friends in Ponyville now, and they had one of the best day spas in all Equestria.

"Well, just what book did you want, you know that one-off runs are expensive?" The stallion reached over and lifted down a hugely thick book, setting it on the table and opening it. It was a directory, it listed so many books that Moon Dancer was temporarily overcome with the desire to ask him to print them all.

Flicking through it, she realized it was actually the same list three times, first by name, then by author, and lastly by subject. It was this that she flicked to, heading right to educational. It was a large section, books in Equestria were mainly used to teach and, thankfully, there were sublists.

She spotted one she remembered. "Okay, I want… fifty of this book."

"'I did a spell'? Fifty? That is an introductory book for foals learning to work magic…" He sounded a little surprised and not a bit confused.

"Indeed." Moon adjusted her glasses. "I am starting a school and need teaching material… is there any chance of a sample? It might be an idea to break it up into more than one actual book, so tempted foals don't read ahead."

The stallion lifted a hoof that, despite having ink stains on it, proved to not smudge the page. "Ah, sure, give me a moment." He stepped out into a side room and came back with a different book, but along the same lines. "This is the closest I have in stock, I would need to send out for the plates to do that other one anyway, I can do a cheaper rate on this one."

Moon Dancer took the book from him and started flicking through it. "This will be perfect, could I get each book printed in three parts?"

"I follow you, I think. So break it at the major topics. What kind of binding, they will be a bit thin for regular stitching."

"What is the cheapest?"

The stallion shook his head. "I can gather you don't have a lot of funds for this?" He had hit his mark, noticing Moon Dancer looking a little defeated at the accusation. Her nod cemented his opinion. "Well, how about this. We have the plates, we have some spare paper. We can run off thirty of these without any problem, and since it is for little'uns to learn, we will do that for free. When you need to get more books made, and if you are running a school you will, you come back here and we will do them as cheap as we can."

His offer stunned Moon Dancer, that a pony would just… She smiled. "Thank you, uh…"

"Ink Blot." He raised a hoof over the counter and she met it with a clop.

"Thank you Ink Blot, I will send you a picture of the school once I have something going." The good mood really blasted out all the down feelings of the rejections by the big schools.

Ink perked up at this thought. "That'd be great." He certainly sounded happy about the idea and started scrawling something down on a pad. "We'll have 'em done in about three days."

Moon pondered, that would be perfect, she could visit Ponyville, spend a day or two there, and come back to pick them up. Then she would be off to the Crystal Empire. It seemed so shocking, she was leaving her home, her books… well, she would bring her books. But she was leaving Canterlot!

She pranced, it felt great to be doing all this, her heart was racing with the strong feelings as she ended up back at her house. Moon was a whirlwind of packing, she tucked four books away in a case, just to have something to read. A fifth joined them, a book she had already given her friend but wanted to do so again. Principles of Magic.

With two cases packed, she was back out of her house, her poor old house, and trotting toward the train station. Twilight had flipped her world around, since that visit she had been spending more time with her old friends, making new ones and just exploring more of the world around her. Which was why she wanted to go and find that mare and tell her how good a friend she was.

In her focus she saw one of the odd humans that seemed to be dotting the city more and more. They were staring at her in surprise. Moon was too caught up in her journey to really think about it too much.

She was a little embarrassed at using Penny's bits for the trip, but it had been a payment for doing the research into the schools. This reminded her that she would need to write a letter back, explaining what happened and the new plan. It seemed like nothing could or would stop her buying her ticket and getting on the train, but once seated a sense of newness wrapped around Moon. For once the mare didn't pull out a book and sink her snout into it, she watched Equestria fly by outside the train and focused on the future.

She got off the train, her two cases beside her. Moon Dancer was suddenly worried about where she would be staying. Was there even somewhere to stay here?

"Well hi there!" A pegasi with gray fur and blonde mane and tail approached. "You look a little lost, can I help you?"

She had the mailmare pouches on and Moon could see she was in the process of getting some things off the train. "A bit lost. I was looking to find some old friends of mine."

"Well, I can help you with that, I know everyone who lives in Ponyville! My name is Muffins."

The infectiously happy tone the mare had bolstered Moon and she smiled back. "Moon Dancer. I am trying to find Lyra Heartstrings, Pinkie Pie, Spike and Twilight… uh, Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Muffins nodded. "First two are easy-peasy, Lyra lives with her special somepony at her store, Sweetie Drops Candies. Pinkie Pie works at the Cake's store in town. Spike and Twilight live in their castle." She raised a hoof, pointing to the horizon and the lofty towers of a castle outside of town.

Moon's jaw dropped a moment before she got her wits back. A castle, she lived in a castle? Of course she did, she was a princess, where was she going to live, a library?

"Wow, well I guess I can meet up with my friends living actually in Ponyville first, then. Besides, if Twilight and I get distracted in books I won't have any time left for anypony else." The mailmare looked happy at having helped. "Thank you Muffins, I hope you have a great day!"

The wall-eyed mare nodded. "You too, it is hard to not have a good day in Ponyville!"

With her legs in an easy trot, Moon made her way toward the first place that Muffins had told her. It was easy to find the sweets shop, it had a big sign out the front and, entering the door a little bell chimed. "Coming!" A sweet voice called from the back. There was a giggle too and a slight surprised sound before a mare with beige fur was standing behind the counter. "Welcome to Sweetie Drops Candies, what can I help you with?"

She looked like she was having the best day ever. "I was looking for Lyra Heartstrings, actually."

A head poked out from the back room. "Moon Dancer?" The mint mare in question didn't wait for confirmation and dashed out and over the counter. "Hey Moon Dancer, it is great to see you! Twilight and the girls were telling me all about you!" She beamed with happiness, eyes closing and teeth on display.

"I wanted to say hello. A new friend has me heading off to the Crystal Empire and didn't want to leave before catching back up." Moon Dancer felt the two other mare's happiness rubbing off on her. It certainly wasn't a bad feeling.

"Oh, wow, I heard they were needing help with some things. I was in Canterlot until recently, working in one of the schools there." Lyra's words had Moon's attention. Fate seemed an odd thing and full of 'coincidence' once it had you in motion.

Moon pondered asking the mare if she would come with her but discarded that, it was obvious she had a thing going with her special somepony here.

The doorbell rang again and a bright pink pony bounced in. "Hey Sweetie, do you have any spare sugar I can-" Pinkie Pie was suddenly distracted. "Moon Dancer!"

The bookish mare was trapped in the almost legendary 'Pinkie Hug'. "How are you doing?"

Bereft of air, the pink party pony suddenly noticed the unicorn couldn't breathe from the hug and released Moon. Of course, it was impossible to be mad at Pinkie Pie, Moon had only met her once, at her party, but the mare had proved herself a good friend then. "I am doing well, thanks Pinkie." Moon magically adjusted her glasses again, not raising them, but tilting them down a bit so she could see a bit better. "Was going to be coming around to see you next actually, but you have saved me the trouble."

"Oh? It's always great to see friends!" Moon wondered why the mare would need sugar when she practically leaked sweetness. "You will need to excuse me, I need to plan a party!" She was just in time for Sweetie Drops to lug over a big bag of sugar to her. "Thanks, bye bye now!"

Moon was left blinking at the encounter. "Is she always like that?" The looks she got back from Lyra and Sweetie confirmed it. "So much energy…"

42 - The Circle of Luminaries

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"We should all totally go to see Twilight tonight!" Lyra was looking at Moon. But the other unicorn noticed something.

"All of us." Moon Dancer looked to Sweetie, giving her a smile. "The only thing better than meeting up with old friends is finding new ones." It was a step for her like no other, she didn't even know why she said it. No, she did, it felt right.

"But," Sweetie Drops was trying to pull back from this, "I wouldn't want to get in the way, besides, I need to run my… store…" She trailed off as Lyra directed her magic to turn the open sign in the window to 'closed'. Defeated, she stepped over to Lyra and gave her a nuzzle at her cheek. "That is for being the best special somepony ever."

The kindled and open affection from the pair proved Moon was right in her invitation and, in the short time it took for Sweetie and Lyra to clean up and grab a big batch of sweets in a bag, they were off.

Stopping in at the Cake's shop, they found not even a hint of Pinkie Pie. "Well, she did say she had a party to prepare for." Lyra reminded them. "Oh hey, you see any more humans around in Canterlot?"

Moon nodded. "Seem to be more than ever. One who had been given the chance to be a pony is the reason I am going to the Crystal Empire."

"Oh, David… Silver I mean."

"No, Penny Farthing. Has that happened a lot?" Moon pondered this, thinking back to what Penny had told her of herself.

"It didn't seem to. The only other one I know of was Silver Lining, he had been…" Lyra blushed. "Well, there had been an accident with some magic and it was basically either become a pony or be in a very unbalanced state."

"Penny seemed to be a bit evasive about it, but I gathered she was not very well before becoming a pony. A shame I didn't have time to examine her, before she became a pony, I could have written a book about it." There was some wistfulness there, much as she loved exploring books it had always been a dream of Moon's to write one.

Sweetie Drops was trotting along at Lyra's side, the bag of sweets in her mouth. But she wasn't contributing to the conversation, Moon had already decided she wanted to be friends with the mare and that meant talking. "So, any humans around here?" She asked, looking to the beige mare.

She almost seemed to drop the bag but got out a nod and kept hold of it with one corner of her mouth. "Jake, nice enough guy, liked my chocolates a little too much. Still does, but doesn't buy as many anymore."

The change in Sweetie as she started talking, particularly about her special talent, was astounding. "Oh, I have yet to try one."

"Time will stop." Lyra seemingly verbally leaped into a prepared speech. "You will think the whole of Equestria has faded away, there will just be you." She gestured at Moon. "And the chocolate."

Her spiel worked, Moon's mouth was watering now. "Now I really want o-" Sweetie Drops had opened her bag and Lyra had grabbed one with her magic and it was in Moon's mouth. "Mmmmm."

"Told you." Lyra leaned over and gave her special somepony a kiss on the cheek again. "Every time."

"You gave her a sticky-taffy, she isn't going to be talking for a while." Sweetie leaned against her marefriend while the three made their way with more sounds of chewing coming from Moon Dancer.

They were almost to the castle when she finally got the last of the sticky-cored chocolate done and gave a sigh. "You were right, that is the best I have ever had." It was an easy compliment to give, since it really was the best.

"If I wasn't a unicorn, I would be such a big pony." Lyra lifted a hoof and knocked on the door only to have it push inwards. "Oh, maybe Twilight's not home?"

The three poked their heads in and took a few steps inside. "Twilight?" Lyra walked ahead, her horn lighting to reveal cake, a big banner and Pinkie Pie throwing on the lights.

"Happy best friends reunion," the pink mare had to take a deep breath to keep going, "and new friends who make the best chocolates in all Equestria," Pinkie had to breathe again, "party!"

Cannons blasted, confetti raining all over those present. Twilight was grinning to one side, with Spike. They already had party hats. "Stopping Pinkie Pie from having a party is beyond even princesses." She certainly didn't sound like stopping Pinkie had ever been a thing she had tried.

'The Princess of Friendship, in her native element.' Moon grinned and stepped over to Twilight and gave her a hug. "Thanks for coming and digging me from that hole I was in." The words were quite sincere and she got a tight squeeze back from the alicorn.

"Thanks for letting me." Twilight let go of Moon after a few moments and turned to Lyra and Sweetie. "Now that we are all together, I think Pinkie may have baked a cake."

"But, I only got here an hour ago, how could she ha-" Moon was a little stymied by the three-tier cake, with piles of icing and even perfect little miniatures of Twilight, Pinkie, Moon, Lyra, Spike, and Sweetie.

"Oh no, don't ask." Twilight laid a wing over Moon's back. "I am not completely sure, but I think Pinkie has cakes already cooked, ready to be deployed for such emergencies."

"But the figures?"

"I tried to study her once, science failed me that day." Twilight closed her eyes and lowered her head, in apparent mourning for any hope of science to explain Pinkie. "But, why complain when there is cake?"

"But…"

Pinkie somehow got between the two and guided Moon over toward where she had started cutting the cake up into abnormally large slices. "No buts, cake time!"

Somehow, each pony and even the little dragon got slices of cake with their own fur and mane pattern of icing, Spike's being his scales and fins. Moon gave a long suffering sigh and held up some cake to take a bite. It started a fight in her mind, which had been more delicious, the chocolates of Sweetie's or Pinkie's cake. "This is amazing."

Lyra was holding up some of her cake for Sweetie Drops to try, and after getting a mouthful returned the favor. There was a sense of calmness, acceptance of friendship within the group.

"Say, 'hay'!" Spike told them, holding up a camera. The mares all piled together, Pinkie somehow grabbing a shoulder at each end of the line and pulling them closer still.

"Hay!" The chorus was accompanied by a flash.

Twilight looked on top of the world. "You are in your element." Moon's observation was flat enough that the alicorn almost thought it wasn't a pun. But then she knew Moon's sense of humor.

"Of course, if the Princess of Friendship wasn't relaxed with friends, when would she be?" Twilight's reply got a smile from Moon back.

In the end, with Sweetie and Pinkie talking confections and deserts, Lyra, Twilight, and Moon moved the little party to the library. A lot of the alicorn's books had been lost when her treehouse had been destroyed. But there was one thing librarians did when such a disaster happens, they sent new ones.

"What has you going to the Crystal Empire?" Twilight had heard of her trip there during their chatting, each of the three horned ponies had a book before them.

"Oh, a former student of mine is there, sent me a letter inviting me to help her research what schools might want to have a presence there. Well…" Twilight turned the page on her book backwards, her horn carefully lifting a small quill to mark off 'ask about trip' on the small strip of paper there with a list on it. She added 'ask about former student' to it with a satisfied grin. "To be honest, the schools all seemed a little snooty. After I visited the first three the rest wouldn't even see me. I was told 'only the best can be trained, and that training must be done in Canterlot."

Twilight and Lyra looked dismayed at that.

"So why are you going?" Lyra reached to the plate of chocolates in the middle of them, popping one in her mouth.

"We will start our own school." Moon had wondered how the 'Element of Magic' would take the idea but she needn't have worried.

Twilight was bringing over an epically huge scroll of paper, setting it beside her as a quill reached it. 'check over new school list' was added to the top, a check box appearing beside it. "Sensible, but you have a lot of work. How many unicorns, do you think, will be wanting training?"

Moon was now lost. She had an idea what she wanted to do, but no real numbers. The books she had ordered were a rough guess as to what she might have. "I am not sure, actually, but surely there must be a few. I hear the crystal ponies even have some special magics, I am going to need to study those."

Lyra's book was actually one Twilight had written and illustrated herself. 'Humans' was the title and the mare was constantly getting distracted from the school conversation by the topic. "Lyra?" Twilight and Moon were staring at her.

"Oh, uh, sorry? This book is really good…"

The two other bibliomaniacs laughed and Lyra couldn't stop herself from joining in.

"You were a teacher, right? At one of the big unicorn colleges?" Twilight managed to get over her giggles first.

Lyra nodded back. "I was. Introductory schooling for the Academy of Transcendent Flesh." She grabbed another chocolate and started chewing on it. "Silver Lining was one of my students!"

"Who?" Twilight seemed mystified, Moon did seem a little excited.

"That was the foal who… well, he had an accident, or something?" Moon didn't go for the chocolates, she had an experiment she was doing. A piece of Pinkie's cake was soon in her mouth.

Twilight had her own agenda, adding things to both lists she was managing, even ticking some things off the little list, with much glee.

"That was the one. It was… an accident." Lyra didn't sound convincing about that but more than a little determined that it was not something to press on. "He is a good pony!"

"Wait, wasn't he the human you were talking about, the one who became a pony?"

"Penny?" Twilight was snapped out of her lists and realized she had stopped the conversation. "Penny Farthing. She was a human and…" Twilight lifted Lyra's book carefully, placing a bookmark in and flipping deep into it before giving it back.

"Oh…" Lyra was reading, tears coming to her eyes as she read. "This your mare?" She tilted the book to show an illustration of a lunar unicorn mare to Moon, who nodded. "No wonder she kept her past a secret, that is way more than a young… wait, it says here she was a stallion?"

Twilight nodded, taking a chocolate for herself.

Moon Dancer was quite intrigued now, it seemed between the three of them they had links to once-humans and they might be able to piece together the two.

"Silver Lining was definitely a stallion before." Lyra had floated the book over to Moon to read next.

While Moon Dancer tried to follow the astoundingly detailed medical notes both Twilight and this Doctor Horse from Canterlot had made, Lyra continued. "He had such an adorable herd of mares, and… you know about the changelings, right?"

"Oh, yes!" Twilight grinned. "We met one when Penny visited. Stick was her name and… I think the pair are rather taken with each other."

This made Lyra grin for a moment and then look thoughtful. "Wait, so if Penny was formerly a stallion, then became a mare…"

"Don't, you will get a headache. They are two ponies and they both seem very special to each other." Twilight started back on her lists, quills working ten-to-the-dozen.

"Her… his, body was eating itself? That is horrible." Moon had finished the heavy medical and biological notes. "She certainly looked happy, when I saw her."

"Certainly did." Twilight lifted down another book from the shelf, this one was only half filled with writing but the title was 'On Changelings'. "Her special somepony gave me most of the information I used to write this, the rest I have gained from Slow Perfection."

Her words got some blinks, but Moon passed the human book to Lyra and took the new one. "Slow Perfection?"

"The changeling working for Rarity. He is not as quick as some I have seen, but the precision in his changes means he uses a lot less energy doing it." Twilight lifted a corner of a page, about a third into the book Moon had. "For a little… feed, he answers questions and lets me study him." She blushed a little, remembering the odd sensation of the changeling feeding on her. Twilight had barely noticed it at first, but repeated exposure had prompted her to study the effect.

"How long has he been here?" Moon was flicking through, studying the first few lines of each page to get a quick layout and scope of the book, until she reached the designs of a male changeling.

"Oh, about a week. Rarity has been off her hooves with work and has been making good use of him as a model. I hear he is also learning to sew from her, too." Twilight was still chewing on the last chocolate, the thing seeming to have devolved down to the thickest of sugary taffy.

"I asked if he could do humans, but Slow said he couldn't, although he did say Fast Change might be able to." Lyra name dropped the queen of the changelings easily, she had known the mare back at school.

"You mean Princess Fast Change?" Moon asked. Twilight and Lyra both freezing. "You didn't hear? Oh wow the news has been buzzing in Canterlot. Chrysalis came back and tried to fight her for the hive. Fast fought her off, after drinking a little from everypony in the city." The news had managed to filter down even to Moon, who normally didn't notice such things. "Celestia crowned her a princess and everything!"

43 - Preparations

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Lyra grinned wide. "That is so awesome!"

Twilight was still a little shocked. "Another princess this… this… needs a new list!" A third scroll floated over and the alicorn's will was stretching to handle operating three quills at once.

Moon Dancer caught a look at the new list. "You going to visit her? Oh, don't forget a welcome gift, and take Pinkie too, I am sure a party will be needed."

The pink party pony was suddenly present. "Someone say party?"

Laughter all around wound down the gathering, Twilight including a Pinkie Party on the list. "Spike! Take a letter!" The princess was quite excited.

"Okay!" The little dragon was suddenly right beside her, quill and scroll in his clever little claws.

"Dear Princess Celestia, it is great news that there is a new princess in Equestria and I would like to visit her and make her welcome. Would you please extend my invitation to Princess Fast Change to spend a day getting to know each other, culminating in a party."

Pinkie squealed at such a high pitch that most of the ponies present could barely hear it, but Spike clamped a hand to his ear.

"Your faithful student, Princess Twilight Sparkle." The little dragon scrambled to get his quill working again and finished the letter off. "If you could send it please Spike?"

Rolling the scroll up, Spike tossed it up before his head and blew a green flame over it, combusting the scroll in magical fire.

"There, I am sure we will get along perfectly!" The pronouncement got closed-eye grins from all present.

"I think Fast would love to make a new friend." Lyra seemed to be keeping something back, her eyes sparkling with a hidden motive that soon had her giggling.

Twilight and Moon both missed this, each thinking of the future.

"Well girls," Twilight stood up, "it has been wonderful but it is long past Spike's bedtime."

Moon Dancer frowned a little, suddenly remembering her sleeping arrangement problem. "Uh, Twilight, I hate to intrude but, would I be able to sleep here tonight?" She adjusted her glasses again, looking up hopefully at the alicorn and getting a warm smile back.

"Of course you can Moon Dancer, that is what friends are for!" A tight hug was shared by the two mares, their bonds of friendship having grown even closer.

"I need to go, can't sleep tonight, I have a party for two princesses to plan!" Pinkie was dashing for the door when Lyra called back.

"But Pinkie, what if Celestia and Luna come too?" The former teacher tilted her head and winked to Twilight, Sweetie, Moon, and Spike.

"Ohmygosh!" Pinkie seemed to bounce in place a moment and then, as far as anypony could notice, she vanished.

Moon was left blinking, her mouth opening to ask something when Twilight cut in. "Really, don't. The world just works a little differently around Pinkie."

Moon yawned as she woke up, the mare having slept amazingly well in one of the spare bedrooms in the castle. She was on the verge of contemplating a whole day without reading a single book when it hit her. Twilight's library would be a good place to start.

Getting out of her bed and quickly working a brush through her mane to take care of bed-frizz, she retrieved the gift-book for Twilight from her case and decided it was time to explore.

Leaving her room, adjusting her glasses, she picked a wall and started following it. As luck would have it that wall did indeed lead the way to the library and Moon had to bop herself on the head. Of course it would be simple to find a library in Twilight's home.

Slipping in, she found the alicorn already present, a small pile of books beside her as she was working on one of the lists. "Oh, Twilight, already hard at work?"

Moon Dancer walked over to her, reading the section of the list, spotting it talking about Fast Change.

"Of course, I got a message back from Princess Celestia that she would be delighted to host such an event." Moon could see some nerves showing in the way the mare was almost frantically writing her list. "I can't believe it, it's going to be a big event in the main ballroom of the castle in Canterlot." Even just mentioning it out loud had the mare's wings flare up in panic.

Moon reached a hoof over Twilight's withers in a hug. "Calm down Twilight, Pinkie will help with the planning. Today I was hoping we could go to the day spa. I need to look my best for the Crystal Empire and I bet you will too for this party."

Day spa, mane, tail, wing feathers...

The list grew.

"Come on then, I bet they would be able to get us a little something for breakfast too, we can get all done up and then see about some dresses. I need some new ones, and I am sure you will want to wear something wonderful for the party."

"Rarity! She can help with that!" Twilight added more to her list, quill seeming to work faster and faster as more ideas came. "Okay, that should take care of today, when were you going to head back, Moon?"

"Was thinking about tomorrow."

"Perfect!" Twilight rolled her list up, put a wing over Moon's back and there was a poof of purple magic.

"What the…" Moon Dancer was standing in front of the day spa, having arrived in another flash of magic.

"No time to explain!" Twilight was trying to herd her into the place, opening the door with her magic. "Aloe! Please, we have an emergency!"

The earth pony behind the counter lifted both hooves and clopped them twice. Almost half a dozen ponies appeared as if by magic, lifting Moon's pack off, taking away Twilight's list to the alicorn's shock and all-but carrying them through to the main area of the spa.

Aloe followed, bringing the list and examining it. "Oh yes, you were right to come, mares and gentle colts, we have a mission!"

Moon was handled, gently but firmly, onto a comfortable bed where a facial mask was applied in short order. Her vision was blocked suddenly by zucchini slices on her eyes but she could feel as one hoof was taken in a gentle grip and a hooficure file applied. The pampering began for the pair and it was so easy for each to just melt into the attention.

"My list…" Twilight made one attempt at rebellion.

"I have your list, princess, do not fear, I am following it to the letter." Aloe's words were an instant comfort and broke any further arguments Twilight had.

The pair were well cared for, their hooves getting first treatment, then while a mare carefully cleaned and oiled Twilight's feathers, a unicorn stallion moved up beside Moon Dancer. "Your mane needs some attention." It wasn't a question, even Moon knew it was a little out of control. "With the length, I can either style it to keep it from dropping to your eyes, or I can trim it."

"Mmm," Moon was too relaxed, she had to fight to pay enough attention to the disembodied voice, "cut it, please." She turned, rolling back onto her belly and tucking hooves under her while her mane was gripped gently in the unicorn's magic. A fine comb began to run through it.

"You keep it quite natural, would you like it cut to a style? I hear an angled fringe is very 'in' at the moment."

Moon Dancer was too relaxed to do much more than agree with the stallion as he worked. His scissors clipped very carefully and even as one of the circles of zucchini fell, she saw that he was quite young looking. A slight blush entered her cheeks before his magic returned the slice back into place.

"It is short notice, but I am sure Rarity will have something she can do for us." Twilight was on her belly too, left wing spread out, each of her primary feathers getting individual attention by a pegasi mare with amazingly deft hooves and mouth.

"Two dresses in half a day?" Moon was shocked. "Could that really be done?"

"Rarity is the pony to do it, if it can. All we need to do is tell her what the event is and she will conjure up fabulous things. Just you see!"

Moon's mane to her tail was worked on and styled, then finally her horn was given a gentle cleaning first, then a polishing that left it shining. Her facial mask was removed and she was sent to the bath to relax while Twilight was still being attended to. The young stallion with a pair of scissors cutting a strand of mane on his flank, was hard at work making sure the princess' mane and tail were just perfect.

Moon Dancer had drifted off a little, but woke as Twilight entered the water beside her. The alicorn's mane was pinned up, rollers in some places and flat paper in others.

"This place really lives up to its reputation." Moon reached out with her magic, plucking a little sandwich from a plate set nearby.

"I wonder if my brother and Cadance will be there?" Twilight seemed distracted now, but happily so. "Oh it would be amazing if all the princesses were together for this."

The warm, mineral-rich water soothed muscles and left each mare feeling much better for their time in it.

"Okay fillies." Aloe was advancing on the bath with Twilight's list firmly under control. "You will be received by Rarity shortly. She has been informed of the gravity of your event."

Her list followed, Twilight felt quite at ease.

It was easy to loose time in the warm waters but Rarity's voice called out. "Are the darlings through here?" She was escorted through by Aloe herself. "Oh my, Aloe dear, you have outdone yourself, all your ponies are to be congratulated and I simply must have these two so I can start on their dresses."

The conspiracy against Twilight and Moon was carried out with the most tender of care and adhered to the list so well that neither could really fight it. They were escorted from the pool, carefully dried off and passed off to Rarity.

"I have Slow already preparing material, such a darling stallion. It will be such a shame to have you leave." Twilight missed the verbal cue, but Moon didn't. "Come now girls, to the boutique!"

Led by the white-coated unicorn, Twilight and Moon grinned to each other. Twilight had her list back and Moon Dancer her pack.

It was a short trot to Rarity's Carousel Boutique and they were ushered inside. "Twilight, I have your measurements already, this lovely mare, however, we lack."

There was a changeling present, Slow Perfection of course. He had a tape measure around his neck and brightened at the new arrivals. "Miss Rarity, are these the mares we are creating for today?"

At Rarity's nod his form melted into a duplicate of Moon Dancer, although everypony could see that their cutie mark was that of a cute changeling.

"That's amazing… wait, what do you mean 'leave'?" Moon was distracted by merely his ability to perfectly recreate… well, her.

"My dear," the changeling-Moon-Dancer quickly whipped the tape measure out and started measuring himself, "this is just part of the full service we have to offer."

Rarity was grinning from ear to ear as she examined the real Moon Dancer. "Simply put darling, we cannot provide enough food for the dear here in Ponyville. Now, I am thinking we are going to need to match your colors, but not too perfectly. I love what you have done with your mane darling, was that Neat Cut's work?"

Moon was still caught by surprise at having a double of herself present and just nodded.

"He really does simply amazing work." Rarity sighed deeply and held up a hoof between her and Moon, tilting her head and giving a nod. "Okay, I have it. Now for you Twilight."

Slow Perfection, as Moon Dancer, had finished taking measurements and caught the notes that Rarity lofted over to him, setting the notes down and gathering some prominent and expensive-looking fabric.

"I think white, pure white. I have some amazing pearls that will add hints of color and really bring out your own striking shades. A princess simply must look her best at such an occasion."

Rarity kept on, more notes going down on a clean pad as she checked over Twilight's measurements anyway.

Twilight suddenly grinned. "You are, of course, invited." She looked to Rarity, the white unicorn lighting up, somehow displaying even more excitement than performing her work already did. "Slow, you are invited as well of course, I am sure you would both want to show off your creations."

Rarity seemed to float over to Twilight and hug her. "Darling, I would be delighted, but that means we need to make four dresses now!"

Somehow, despite knowing that Slow was a stallion, neither of the two customers thought to question that.

44 - An eventful night

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The two night guards were keeping their place. Word had filtered through that the shadow creatures had pledged they wouldn't attack anymore. Penny, Stick and the guards had all spared Cadance the need to worry and sent a reply that they were all quite comfortable and would spend the night at Shining's side.

Penny was more than a little shaken. Something inside had finally let go and the mare was remembering all of what happened during her ordeal near the woods. The faces of the creatures as the flames started to boil and roll over them. She trembled. "I killed them."

"You did…" The words came not from her special somepony, they came from behind and had a masculine, if strained, tone.

"Shining?" Penny rose up and turned, stepping over to the bedside.

"I was going to tell Cadance that night. You need to face this." He was looking right at the mare, no accusation in his tone or look, merely a statement of fact.

Penny almost fell in on herself, her legs wobbled and she stared at the floor. "I did it to-" A big white hoof pressed against her snout.

"Not the time for… that. Cadie isn't going to be too hard on you, I hope. I like having new ponies around…" His eyes closed and he seemed to settle into a deep sleep again.

Penny was left alone for almost two heartbeats. One of the night guards had walked over on apparently dead-silent hooves. "Someone needs to tell Cadance."

The implication was, of course, that both things would need to be discussed.

"I will do it." Penny straightened up, she would have to accept any punishment. She had never even heard of a pony trial on the show, let alone one for ponyslaughter.

She stepped over to the door, opening it before turning back. "If I don't return, let Stick know where I am going." She smiled at that, hoping to be back before the changeling woke.

"Where would the princess be now?" Penny looked between the two crystal ponies guarding the outer doors.

One looked a little confused. "She would be abed at this hour. We really shouldn't-"

"Shining woke up for a moment." Penny cut in on his reply only to get the most amazing smiles from both guards.

"That is great, she will want to know of this. I will show you the way." The talkative guard practically pranced while Penny's hooves felt heavier than lead.

It wasn't far to the master bedroom suite of the castle. Shining had been put into the nearest other bedroom without a window, it seemed. Raising his hoof and clopping at the door, the guard looked so happy. Penny steeled herself and shook, trying to get rid of the dread. She was here to tell Cadance her husband had woken, she wouldn't want a dejected mare to do that.

There was a thump inside and hoof-clops approached the door. "Yes?"

Cadance's mane was all kinds of messy, her tail too. Her features were a bit smudged too and her eyes were puffy.

"We bring news, Shining Armor woke for a few moments and was coherent." Penny smiled at the change these simple words brought and she was wrapped in a tight hug by the suddenly relieved princess.

The guard was all smiles too, happy that not only was his prince fine, but his princess seemed so very happy. "How is he? Does he want me to visit?"

Penny got a slightly dour look but nodded. "He is sleeping again now. There is another matter I need to put before you. Shining himself was going to do it but… things happened." Cadance tilted her head at this, picking up that something might be amiss. "Those shadows, I didn't just get rid of them… I… I killed them."

Cadance's wings flared at her shock and I trembled.

"There seems much we need to get to the bottom of, in all this. Penny, you are to not to leave the Crystal Empire until this matter has been seen to in court."

Penny fell to her belly, the weight of the world itself seeming to crush her down.

"Are you alright?" Cadance leaned down to the suddenly very small-seeming pony.

"Theyweregoingtodobadthings… I didn't want to… I just couldn't…" Penny was unable to put proper sentences together.

A hoof reached and rubbed her withers. "Calm down, please. This will be talked about later but, from what you said, you were quite out of sorts at the time. I have never punished a pony beyond their ability to endure and I never intend to."

The words were phrased in a way that had Penny thinking before she looked up at Cadance. "I just… I don't want to be like that again…"

Cadance's hoof reached up and tapped Penny's horn. "You have a reminder of the incident, I take it?"

This left the mare a touch cross-eyed to look at her horn. She nodded.

"Then from that you can remember not to do such things again, when any other option is available to you. Have no doubts, there will be a court to decide this, but you will not be the only pony to answer hard questions that day." Penny was a little confused at the words but gave a nod. Who else had done something bad?

"Come now, I wish to see my Shiny, even if he sleeps." The princess used her magic to set her mane into some semblance of order and led the way back to the suite where her husband was being cared for.

The guards opened the door and Penny spotted Stick rousing at the sound. The slightest touch was felt, then a firmer one as the changeling checked and pranced over to nuzzle her marefriend. Their bond got a smile from Cadance to be replaced by a slightly chagrined look.

"You would test even me? Your dedication will be remembered, Stick." Cadance reached out and brushed a wing over the changeling as she walked past toward where Shining was sleeping. "He looks to be sleeping, not just… out."

Her wings were brushing and gently rubbing the stallion's cheek and to all their surprise he roused again. "Cadie."

The princess all-but fell on him, her wings reaching around Shining's form on the bed.

"I am glad to see you too." He nuzzled his wife and kissed her on the snout. "But we should both be asleep." Shining could easily see past the quick efforts of the mare to neaten herself up. He could tell she had literally rushed here from being roused.

"Nopony tells me when I can and can't be with my Shiny, not even my Shiny." The sentiment was a silly one, but such is the effect love has, that everypony present didn't even question the logic.

"Old queen bitch was an idiot." Stick shook her head, getting a quizzical glance from Penny. The royal couple were far too distracted with each other, with shared little whispers, to notice. "Their love defeated her, she should never have come between them. Between anypony."

Penny was suddenly pressed so close to Stick that the changeling was a little worried. "What's wrong little snack?"

"Was it wrong to kill those shadows? Out in the snow I mean." The words Penny spoke were soft, intended only for her marefriend.

"I don't think so, why has this come up, what happened?"

Penny took a deep breath. "I am to answer for my actions, in court."

The party was just absolutely fabulous, at least as Rarity would describe it. All the cream of the Canterlot elite were there.

But the two mares that were the reason for the event had finally managed to get some time to talk, away from prying ears.

"I can't believe all this, it is almost like… I don't even know!" Princess Fast was gesturing back toward the hall where all the ponies, including a few changelings, were living up the high-life.

Twilight, who had been having a lot of fun herself what with her list almost reaching completion, nodded back. "It was a bit different for me. When I ascended it… it felt so very magical. Then I came out of it and got back to earth, literally. Still working out how to operate these things." The alicorn raised her wings a little, then ruffled them back down.

Fast Change's eyes danced. "The trick is to keep your primaries even and try to make slow movements." There was a flash of green as she neared Twilight, becoming a duplicate of the alicorn. Stretching her own wings, Fast Laid one across the mare's back while pushing the other forward to show Twilight. "See, like this."

Having had a changeling copy her before, both with and without permission, Twilight wasn't shocked by the newest princess' actions, but she was intrigued to investigate 'her own' wings without needing to twist them into uncomfortable positions.

"Oh, so that is how they sit. This is very interesting…" Her magic probed around, trying to locate a spare scrap of paper to start writing her observations down. "Oh, I can use the back of this list."

Fast was trapped, morally. Should she really be putting her moves on another princess? On the other hoof, had Twilight ever been with a mare before? The trap was an easy one to escape for Princess Fast Change. She closed her wing around Twilight a little firmer. "Uh, Princess-"

"Call me Twilight."

Fast grinned. "Twilight, have you ever been with a pony before?"

"What?" She had been startled from her examination of Fast's 'Twilight' wing. "Of course, I have all my friends, and Spike and we are at a party!"

The changeling hadn't considered this problem. Could anypony be this naive? "I mean, a… special somepony, a special friend for just a night… or more."

Twilight still looked unsure until she brightened. "Oh, wait…" The blush was quick, it flooded the alicorn's face, neck and ears. "I… err… well…"

Realizing she had 'broken' the princess of friendship, Fast gave a sigh. This would certainly be a challenge for her.

Stick was shocked by the words. "But you were defending me, yourself too, they were going to-" The changeling was interrupted by a kiss on the nose.

"You don't have to tell me, I am already worried enough for both of us. But what will come will come, I would rather face the future with a clear conscience than to pretend I had done nothing wrong."

Cadance had left her husband to sleep and cut in on the conversation. "Well put, Penny. If Shining Armor wakes again, come and get me."

The two nodded up to her. The alicorn looked much better, to Penny's eyes, than before she had come.

Penny woke slowly, Stick was already roused but stayed close to her on the little cot they had been sleeping on. A kiss landed on the lunar unicorn's nose and she giggled sleepily. "It's a new day, the new guards are here and, apparently, we have been told we can return to our quarters. Some interesting things happened."

The sleepy mare looked at the changeling with an implied question that she soon put to words. "Must have been pretty big. Bigger than Shining Armor waking?"

"The shadows, shadow ponies, have stood down their attacks and will be meeting with the princesses." Stick's words got Penny awake rather quickly, only for her belly to rumble. "But first, before the empire can find peace again, my mare needs her breakfast."

Penny nuzzled back at the observation but didn't fight it. "Where?"

"There is a nice little place in the city, so I am told. A lot of guards go there when off duty." Stick got up and stretched, soon having Penny follow suit. "Ugh and we both need a good bath. What order would you think?"

"Bath first, then food, then snuggles." Penny ticked off the three things on one hoof, not even questioning the logic about such things anymore.

"I love a mare who has her priorities sorted out." The changeling nuzzled and nipped at Penny, getting a happy little shudder from her and a nuzzle back.

45 - Exploration

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Note: This is the "teen" version of this chapter. If you would like to find out what really happens, where all the lines are, you might want to read the mature version over here Warning: Link contains sex and gender-changing.

The pair of enamored mares left the guards to their job and wandered the castle halls back to their own rooms. "No more of these, you need to work on getting rid of them again." Penny nosed at one of Stick's hooves as it lifted into the bath. "I like my mare whole and snuggly."

The statement of preference had Stick giggling as her horn lit up, lifting Penny into the tub with her. "Well, we can start right now." Stick's mental touch reached for Penny and found the mare, getting a shudder from her.

"Mmm, well, what would my queen be wanting of her servant today?" Penny turned to Stick, lowering her eyes with modesty.

Ever prepared for some play, Stick sat a little straighter and gestured to her own tail. "Start on my tail, work forward, little snack." She exerted more force in the mental bite, feeling as Penny relaxed.

The lunar pony trembled a touch as she reached for the brush, holding it between teeth that trembled in anticipation. Using her magic sparingly, she brought over some products and started to work on Stick's tail.

With the changeling sitting as she was, it meant Penny had to lay down in the shallow water, her snout moving along that green hair again and again. 'If I keep this up,' she thought, 'I will start to get turned on whenever I smell shampoo.'

Stick sat impassive, at least physically. She adjusted her focus along Penny's emotions, it was felt not unlike teeth working at a chew toy. Penny gave a little whine. The sound got Stick's attention and she looked back at the mare but there wasn't even the slightest hint that her partner would go for the safe word.

"You know, my little mouthful, I wonder if this side of me is more 'changeling' than 'me'?"

Penny lifted her head from her task, suds having gathered around her snout. "You are a changeling, my queen, if this is 'changeling' then it is also 'you'." She looked up to her marefriend, the fun little role-play they shared not broken by the conversation. Penny reached to the mare's wings and started gently working them in her mouth, careful of sharp teeth.

The changeling lifted each wing obligingly, unable to stop from giving a happy sound at the continued pampering. "You are a clever little mare, nibble, I think it is time you had some cleaning done too." Stick, keeping in character, used her magic to lift another brush over and started scrubbing Penny.

Working together, Penny squirming every now and again in her tight mental grip, they slowly began to get clean. It wasn't until Stick had the unicorn on her back, with a brush working over more tender parts than the changeling abruptly let go of both brush and metaphysical throat. "Penny…" She inhaled deeply, a little smile curling her lips.

This confused the distracted Penny, her friend breaking the rules. "What's the matter Stick, do you need to use the safe word?"

Stick shook her head but leaned down, inhaling more to verify. The grin widened. "No wonder you were taking to that attention so much. Penny, you are in estrus."

With her back legs parted, Penny had such a silly look on her face. Her emotions and thoughts were thrown to turmoil. Heat? She was in heat? It didn't feel like it, she wanted to snuggle a little more than usual but not… well, maybe? "I… what does that mean, for us…"

The changeling flopped down into the tub beside Penny, nuzzling the other mare's belly, working up to her chest, neck and finally her mouth. "It means, we do whatever you want."

Penny looked up into Stick's eyes. "Should I want to… well, breed? I just want to snuggle more."

"Do you want to? You seem more adventurous of late, particularly when I work you right up, but I won't do anything with you, distracted and in my grip, that you don't agree to right now. So tell me, my snack, do you want to?"

Penny nuzzled and kissed Stick's searching lips. She let her thoughts explore her feelings, it was certainly a turmoil. "One of the guard asked if we needed a stud…" Penny blushed hotly. "I guess this is why he asked."

"Evasion gets you two kisses." With the words, Stick kissed Penny on the nose twice, the second making the mare sneeze adorably.

"Not fair I… I don't know what I want. I promised Luna…"

"Forget Luna, her will doesn't enter into this. It is your body, she gave it as a gift." Stick kissed that nose again and got a more violent sneeze from the mare. She really must play with Penny on her back more often. "This is you, me and some bath water here, princesses be damned if they want to tell my mare what she does and doesn't do in our bedroom."

Penny blinked up at the changeling, smiling. "If the mood is right, if I don't freak out and yell our safe word at the top of my lungs…"

Stick waited for the mare to finish.

"Go for it. It would be silly not to try something new, at least once. Especially once."

Moon and Slow had been chatting, discussing the state of affairs in Canterlot of late, when each seemed to notice the absence of both Fast Change and Twilight Sparkle.

"I haven't seen Twilight around for a while…" Moon brought up the topic, having another scan of the brightly lit ballroom.

"Nor Princess Fast." Slow raised an eyebrow and Moon nodded. "Then lets see if we can find them, without startling the pair."

Together they slipped off. Moon was wearing the amazing creation that Rarity had designed, it had slightly muted versions of her own colors worked into it, ensuring that while the dress captured attention, the wearer was the eventual target of any stares. Slow, on the other hoof, had gone for a more formal yellow dress, with small green gems on it that seemed to make his tail and mane shine all the more brightly. Nopony had commented on his choice of attire, but then they were still getting used to having changelings actually around, social norms as to what they wore were yet to be established.

Moon Dancer was using her magic to good effect, opening doors carefully and taking just a peek. Slow, being anything but his namesake, was ensuring there were no guards or other wandering guests to deal with. "What's that sound?" His voice was low, low enough that Moon could hear the giggling coming from the next room, too.

Advancing on it, they heard a squeal and a laugh, both sounding very much like Twilight. "Calm down, princess, I am not going to hurt you." That voice was different, certainly not either Princess's.

Moon crept up to the door, Slow looking over her shoulder as she used her magic to open it just a hint.

Penny was past the gasping, breathlessness. Stick had held her tight through that, keeping her safe and snuggled close.

"That… wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be." Penny rubbed her cheek against the changeling, now once more a mare. "I was so scared, I thought it was meant to hurt, the first time?"

Stick laughed at this and shook her head. "I don't know what you heard, or did, as a human, but here there should never be pain."

Penny blushed a little. "Did as a human?" She booped Stick on the nose playfully. "Silly changeling, you were my first."

Stick looked absolutely shocked. "First… but, I thought you meant first here… like 'first' first? Ever?" Penny nodded and kissed her partner. "Well, how was I?"

Penny shook her head. "Best I have had so far."

This earned a kiss on the nose that had the lunar unicorn laughing happily before something occurred to her. "I might have a foal, from this." She didn't sound sad, to Stick's delight.

"We might."

One little word earned the changeling a whole lot more snuggling and a repeat performance.

"You were smaller that time." Penny nosed at Stick, who blushed. "You were I… what is so funny?"

Stick had broken to giggles, falling to her side in the bed and then onto her back to roll a little in place.

"What? What's gotten into you?" Penny poked at Stick's side, getting a laugh and a return poke from one of the changeling's hooves. "Okay, that was a bad question, and I am sure you have a terrible reply, so lets just assume all is said and done and go get food."

This was very agreeable to Stick, who, with one last squirm on the bed, jumped up and to her hooves but, when Penny made to get dressed, she quickly led her partner off to the bath. "New to being a mare, my mare, does not exempt you from cleanliness."

Penny blushed all the way as she was shown, for a second time since coming to Equestria, how to take care of her body's needs.

Clean, dressed in a shawl, Penny made to lift her bags on to her back but Stick lifted them back. "Not today, today is relaxation, just my mare and me."

This earned the changeling a kiss on the cheek and with high moods they made their way from their room and the castle.

"Penny, Stick. Good to see you." It was Sharp, the stallion having found some rest the previous night, now back at work in less magic-focused things. "Going out for a walk?"

Stick nosed at Penny's jaw and nodded. "My mare needs some food, as do I."

The phrase, as it was spoken, got a nod from Sharp but an odd look from the other guard. "I thought changelings fed off ponies?" He had spoken without meaning to, the relaxed chatter from the more experienced Sharp having derailed his normally stoic demeanor.

"I do. When Penny eats a meal, I eat from her." Stick's reply seemed satisfactory to the stallion, but now that they were talking, more questions tumbled out.

"Does it hurt?"

Sharp laughed and shook his head. "I am told she fed lightly from me, with permission." He was quick to defend Stick's action. "Didn't feel a thing. Might be different if she really drank though…"

Penny remembered what the rogue changelings had done, suddenly wondering if Stick would have even tried her own mental fangs if she hadn't had that happen. "It can hurt, if they are mean about it. Stick would never do anything to hurt me, or anypony."

This got a happy nod from the younger guard, but a raised eyebrow from Sharp. The stallion had of course seen Stick defend Shining.

"Oh." Stick quickly turned the conversation back to their present mission. "Either of you know where two mares could find somewhere to eat that is nice? Bonus points if they serve fish."

"Nowhere serves meat." Sharp shook his head, as if that were a silly idea anyway. "But the Crystal Cabin does a great spread for lunch, you should be right on time for that if you don't hurry too much."

Penny grinned, the name of the place springing back up as where she had been told to go by another guard. Just as she was about to thank him, Stick replied. "Then my mare will soon be there. You off duty soon?"

Sharp nodded and gestured to the other stallion. "After Cadance took your books back, I don't really have anything pressing, after lunch we are both off."

This reminded Stick of the books and her cut-short learning from them. She had worked out two spells, but adapting unicorn spells to changeling magic was annoying and a slow process.

"We may linger there, if you want to drop by and chat. I need ideas for a few things to buy my mare." Stick's words got a little jolt from Penny. Before the unicorn could complain Sharp nodded.

"Of course, being around you two is certainly a full time job for one guard, and never boring." The words seemed of interest to Stick, but she was clever enough to hide her thoughts and instead lifted one hoof, bearing a single hole, to clop it against the guard's.

"See you after I have stuffed Penny's belly!" Stick grinned and turned.

"Sometimes," Penny began, as they were walking off, "I really hate you… damn that was terrible."

46 - The way wings work

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The sight before them was, if not explicit, then at least surprising.

Princess Twilight had just fallen from a couch and was laying on her back while Princess Fast Change held a pair of tweezers, a tiny paint brush and a little pot of paint in her magic.

Moon tried to pull the door back but Slow still held it in his grip, the changeling's mouth open and staring at the situation inside.

"Honestly, I am not trying to just paint your wings, this was how a pegasus taught me how to understand what happens." Fast reached a hoof down to Twilight who got back up on the couch.

Finally Moon's magic got the upper hoof and the door closed silently.

Inside, the changeling princess, having restored the other mare to her seat, gently teased at one of her wings, stretching it slowly until it was fully spread. Each primary feather was painted with alternating colors, gold then silver.

"It feels strange to have somepony touching them like that." Twilight tried to twitch her wing again as Fast resumed her work. "Like that!"

Fast was not a silly mare. While it was true she had learned advanced flight in this way, there was an ulterior motive. Wings were sensitive, feathers more so. She could barely contain her grin as another blush overwhelmed Twilight while she moved on to the next feather.

And this was just the first wing, too!

Penny had some time to think, walking side by side with Stick. Her marefriend was mostly quiet, having managed to stop laughing at Penny's expense.

Inward searching was the order of the day, her and Stick's time earlier had been fun, really fun. She pondered and squirmed a little getting a nuzzle from the changeling. "How does… how does this, estrus, change me?" She asked it softly, hoping nopony but her wife would overhear.

"Normally? Not really much at all. A mare feels a little better about things, as does a stallion who smells it." Stick explained it in a way a book likely had and Penny knew right away that Stick likely didn't know much about it either. "In your world, what happened when a pony had it?"

"Moodiness, well, in humans. In others… animals, they get really worked up. Lots of chemicals… oh-" Penny sighed and smiled, shaking her head. Was it as simple as that, just a dump of estrogen into her system and things felt… better?

"Are you having regrets?" Stick sounded lost, worried and more than a little scared at the prospect until she felt a wave of emotion, pure love, from the unicorn. "Oh!"

"Oh indeed. I don't think I would like this to go on all the time, but right now, it is okay. This is a part of me now, there isn't much I can do about it."

Penny felt the rhythm of her hooves catch into a new beat, her tail swaying behind her. "Oh goodie…" She had begun to talk, but then her voice lifted into song instead.

She sang of loneliness at first, but that was just the first verse. The tune started to pick up in tempo and emotion, Stick joining her for a duet about their early love, growing closer. As their verse ended a chorus around them started, singing about the beauty of love.

In her present condition, just having decided she understood things a little better, this was quite a boost and her heart soared. Then their second duet began, Penny and Stick singing of getting closer and closer but, halfway through the verse Stick stopped and it felt to Penny like there was a spotlight on herself. She sang of how amazing it was to be with her marefriend, of how great it was… to have her foal.

The song ended with Penny standing dead still, surprise on her face as each hoof just refused to move.

"What's up Penny?" Stick nosed at her shoulder, giving her flank a gentle swat with her green magic.

"A song…" The unicorn felt shell-shocked. "Did you hear it?" Stick tilted her head and shook it. "It just, it felt so good to sing, to have you sing with me. I sang of how great I felt and how wonderful it was to be pregnant. How can the song know before we do?"

Penny poked Stick with a hoof, but it was the grin that spread right across the changeling's features, that broke Penny from her worry. "A foal! But how… oh, right!" She looked drunk.

The two, lost in their own little world, had managed to stop right in the doorway of their destination and it wasn't until a mare behind them asked if they were going in that they quickly made to enter.

It wasn't a formal restaurant, they were apparently meant to find their own table and did so, slipping into a booth to one side of the entrance. As Penny scooted up onto the couch-seat, her hoof lifted to her belly and rubbed it, only hours after the event and the world itself had told her she was pregnant. "There are a million things we need to do, I just wish I could think of what they are."

Penny hadn't even noticed the waitress was already talking to Stick. "And that cheese bread to start." The changeling was poking her hoof at an item on the menu and looked quite full of energy, despite her admitting earlier she needed to 'feed'.

"Don't suppose you have any fish?" Penny found herself asking into a lull in Stick's ordering. The waitpony shook her head.

"We keep getting asked about that, mainly from griffons who are passing through. Do b-" She barely got the first letter out but stopped herself. "Do lunar ponies eat it as well?" Penny nodded. "Huh, well, we might have to see about getting some in, I wonder where would be the best place to buy it… Oh forget that for now, was that all?"

Penny brightened up, glad she didn't have to say anything about the mare's almost-slip. "Some cider would be nice, two glasses please."

"Oh we have a wonderful berry cider, made right here in the Empire!"

The prospect sounded good to Penny and she nodded to that. "Thank you."

Left alone again, Penny felt something rest on her hoof, on the table. It was Stick's own, of course. The changeling looked to her eyes and Penny almost blushed at the way it felt to just be looked at like that. Luckily for her, somepony came in that they had both been needing to see.

"And here I thought the guards wouldn't know where you two would be, but I asked anyway. Imagine my surprise when it turns out they knew exactly where you are. Penny, Stick." It was Perfect Poise, the mare looking and sounding a touch more relaxed than her usual strict self.

"Perfect! It is good to see you, we have, unfortunately, not been able to work on our projects these last few days." Stick made some room as she spoke, lifting a hoof to get the attention of the serving mare again.

"Understandable, it is not every day that such events as these happen. I took the liberty of keeping things moving. Your little clothing store got a delivery of bulk working clothes and shipped out some of the most amazing dresses that will sell for a good profit in Canterlot."

A new order was quickly placed, Perfect apparently knowing just what she wanted, as always.

"And the railway?" Penny asked as the waitress set three big glasses of cider on the table. "Any news there?"

Perfect nodded and took out a notepad. "Two engineers arrived from Canterlot, Fancy Pants has been quite busy getting them in our pocket. They are already taking measurements and readings for what they called a spur-line. What was more, they already were talking of ways to move cargo, one examining the crystals at the mine to see how they would travel." She give the slightest shrug. "Not really my forte, I normally like to keep myself on top of these matters, but they seem to speak a whole new language."

Penny sipped at her cool cider, the tang of the berries tasting wonderful. "How much is it costing?"

The earth pony mare grinned in a predatory way that would have most lunar ponies looking twice. "Absolutely nothing… on paper. We are paying for the line, for the station and any cars to be built… as well as a damn locomotive. But Fancy negotiated that all funds spent in that way will be buying a share of the railway company itself."

Stick clopped her hooves together. "I need to meet this pony, they sound quite clever."

"You have no idea. Fancy Pants is not just the smartest stallion I have ever met, he is also one of the kindest." Perfect sounded quite a staunch supporter of her boss.

Penny nodded to this. "When I arrived in Equestria, I kind of landed a little rough. Despite having a human drop in front of him, from thin air, he helped me up, got me orientated. He is more than just a smart pony, he is a nice one."

Perfect nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with this and Stick took them both at their word. "He sounds awesome. I want to meet him." It was settled, it seemed.

The lunar unicorn was about to add some more to the conversation but right then their plates were served. No sooner was food on the table than a small bite-worth rose up to her lips, wrapped in green magic. Penny was all set to grumble about not being able to talk but couldn't find it in herself. She really did love the mare to bits.

It wasn't until one plate was empty that Stick started feeding Penny from the other and Perfect raised a brow. "Okay, you have my curiosity. Adorable as it is to see you feeding your special somepony, why are you feeding her both plates?"

Stick grinned at this, making sure Penny had no hope of replying, not with such a full mouth. "Well, we were already feeding her extra, she keeps me fed all on her own and I guess, no matter how you wrap it, she needs to eat for the two of us." Perfect nodded at this, the sentiment making sense. "But now…" Penny's eyes went wide, she knew what Stick was going to say and looked utterly defeated as she chewed. "She is eating for another."

The earth pony grinned wide, reaching a hoof over and patting one of Penny's. "Congratulations!"

Penny blushed at this, still trying to finish her mouthful and explore how it all made her feel. Finally getting the food down, she smiled to Perfect. "Thanks, we just found out today and… well, it was an interesting way. But enough of that, we have business to attend to."

Even Perfect was prepared to dispel such a notion with a hoof. "Nonesense, if you only found out today you need to start planning. How far along are you?"

Penny blushed again. "Well, a day."

Perfect laughed at this. "Well, okay, I concede, business might be fine for today."

The two marefriends looked at each other, something seemed a little different with their normally more contained business partner. Penny guessed first, her eyes narrowing. "Who is he?"

It was Perfect's turn to blush, but it faded quickly as the mare slipped into her namesake. "What?"

"Your new friend." Two hooves accompanied the word 'friend' to emphasize what Penny meant. This of course clued Stick into things.

"Oh, you have a special somepony?"

The blush returned and Perfect seemed to have given up on her attempt to hide it. "It was only meant to be a little relief. A dalliance." She gave a sigh and both could see she her eyes were not focused on the table or them. "He is so smart, but does this adorable thing with his hoof when he is thinking of me."

She was so in love that Penny and Stick both beamed at each other. "But who?" They both said it together. Giggling a little at their synchronization, they looked on at Perfect to wait for the identity.

"Articulate."

The name was what they had both been thinking, each lifting a hoof up and clopping them together. "Knew it." Penny got the words out first this time, sticking her tongue out at Stick only to get a mouthful of food sent her way, aimed right at her snout.

Stick turned to Perfect. "Not surprising." The earth pony looked a little surprised at that. "Well, who asked him to join our little group? Who knew that Penny and I are already a thing and that there was only one mare in our clique that would be receptive to a brightly intelligent and handsome stallion?"

Perfect looked surprised but not unhappy. It really did an ego a bit of good to know that the princess of love personally took an interest in your life.

47 - The chapter where all the innuendo happens

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"So what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Perfect really felt at ease with these mares, almost amazingly so. It was refreshing for the mare, normally used to working closely with the most shrewd businesspony in Canterlot, to have trusting and trusted peers to work with.

"I bet, if Stick had her way, we would be back to our room to celebrate, or worse, she would rush and tell Cadance." Penny looked over to Stick, seeing that she was trying to look innocent and one of those things, or both, had been her plan. "No, today I am told, she is going to buy some dresses for me, and I need to pick out something for her, too."

This had the changeling's attention instantly and she looked very happy indeed. Her hoof reached and bumped mine on the table.

"Well that sounds lovely. Would you care to spend a little time looking over locations for our offices?" Perfect smiled more at every single little thing the pair did to encourage each other. It all reminded her of Articulate.

"Of course." Stick's attention was back on the conversation and away from Penny, but not for long. "We could do that first, if you like."

Penny nodded, getting another mouthful of food from her partner.

"Settled then. At your convenience." Perfect settled back a bit in her chair, watching as Penny was slowly fed the remainder of the plate of food. It was cute how the pair had turned such a simple ritual as eating into something that bound them closer.

At last, with the final bite swallowed and Stick content her mate wasn't going to fade away on her, at least until dinner, they all started to shuffle and look around for the waitmare. Spotting their table apparently ready to leave, she trotted over and accepted their bits with a smile. "You have a wonderful day now!"

The sentiment was returned by each of the three and they made their way outside. "Did you have some locations in mind?" Penny stretched herself a little, her back legs especially, as they returned to the warm sun.

"One really good one. It is close to the castle, has a good solid construction." Perfect was already leading the way, Penny and Stick moving to catch up.

The two walked pressed slightly together as they kept up with the earth pony. "We, uh, we'll be storing the bits there, I take it?" Penny sounded a little unsure about asking.

"Definitely. To say the money markets in the empire are a thousand years out of date is, unfortunately, accurate. It is a shame nopony has… oh…"

Penny knew that look, she had gotten it herself when thinking of things that humanity had that ponies lacked.

"Well, I guess that works too. We are doing everything but managing other ponies funds." Perfect was clearly focused on her new idea and was grinning. "No reason we can't run as a bank as well, we are already on good standing with Canterlot's main financial bases, we can put those funds to work faster in that case."

They had sneaked away, of course. Fast and Twilight stood on the edge of Canterlot's cliff, facing the wind. "And see," the changeling was quite comfortable up here, they could both fly after all, "you can study what your wings are doing, in the air, without having to focus on flying."

It was also a lovely, moon-lit night and Fast had to say a quick mental thank-you to Luna for that.

Twilight was quite excited by this, a scroll appearing beside her complete with quill that was already writing. "This is amazing!" She lifted her wings up and then down slowly, examining the way they cupped the air, the way her primary feathers, so fragile-looking, were doing most of the work. "Thank you, Princess Fast-"

"Just Fast, we are both princesses." Fast was smooth to cut in, leaning in and nosing at one of Twilight's wings, getting the mare to blush at the sensitive touch. "So, does this give you any ideas?"

It was a double entendre of epic proportions.

That Twilight completely missed. "Oh it does!" Fast's heart beat a little faster at Twilight's quick reply. "I need to get Rainbow Dash to do this too, but she would be much easier to examine, all I would need is to make some kind of wind spell and have her fly in place…"

The changeling princess would have lifted a hoof to her forehead if she thought Twilight would miss the gesture. This would certainly take more work, but what good things in life were easy to obtain?

The building was an old one, but looked quite well established. "It is owned by the crown at the moment, we will need to talk to Cadance about purchasing it… unless she was willing to lease it to us as part of her buy-in." Perfect pulled a notepad out from somewhere, holding it with a hoof somehow while she jotted down her thoughts.

Penny was wandering around the old, vibrant building in awe. It was made of the same crystal that most others were, but this one had used it to excess. Everything glittered as the sun shone through, painting the floor with an amazing kaleidoscope of color.

"I like the patterns." Stick wandered around the floor, even lifting a hoof up to the patterned light, giggling as it left a slightly different pattern on the floor, complete with a tiny hole of brightness. "A good omen, a bright future ahead." She smiled at Penny and had the unicorn soon at her side and kissing her.

Perfect was done with her examination of the main area and was investigating other rooms. Which left the couple to their own devices.

"So, want to play around some more?" Stick sounded quite taken with the idea, bringing a hot blush to Penny's cheeks.

"I am already pregnant!" She poked Stick back on the nose. "But yes, dammit, I guess these hormones of this heat thing has stirred me up."

"Hormones?" Stick sounded intrigued, as she did when hearing all new words for the first time. "What is that?"

The lunar pony had a safer topic. "Hormones are what your brain makes to encourage your body to do things. There are some a stallion's brain makes, that makes them want a special somepony, and others for mares."

"So your… preference, was probably that?"

Penny shook her head. "Maybe, when I was human. But now I doubt Luna would have messed me up in that way. Habit, more than likely, one I might never break without the urgings of a body to find a special somepony."

Stick's kiss on her nose was entirely welcome, as was the second that landed on her lips, that Penny returned.

"A pony might ask you to get a room, but we have plenty here. This place will be precisely what we need." Perfect returned, smiling at seeing the two so distracted by each other. Would that happen with her and Articulate? A warm shiver of anticipation dispelled any and all attempts by her rational mind at finding problems with it.

It was an interruption to the pair, but one they didn't begrudge. "Well, I for one intend to follow that advice, lets go to court and make this official." Stick pressed in tight to Penny's side, flanks and shoulders touching.

Penny laughed at this. "Remember last time? Don't let me nod off." She nuzzled Stick before they made it out to the street again and turned toward the big crystal castle.

The changeling returned the attention, giving a happy little giggle as Penny fed her some energy. "So I guess I won't be getting those books back, it's okay, I got two spells from them, something to protect and something to poke." The words flew over Perfect's understanding. "Oh, Sharp took them back, but he forgot the keys, we should take those."

Penny nodded at this. "After court?"

Stick nodded. "It would be best, I think. I can't believe I have missed a full day, I must catch up on what is happening."

Her heart pounding, Fast couldn't believe she had agreed to this but, in the interests of the science Twilight held so dear, she had acquiesced.

At her side, panting and puffing just as much as she was, Princess Twilight Sparkle looked absolutely delighted.

Neither had finished first, each making it right at the same time. The party was still going, thankfully, and with shaky hooves they made their way back among the guests.

Moon found them first. "What… no, I don't even want to know anymore." The sight of the pair had completely thrown any hope she might have that the party would be a normal one.

"What's the matter here?" Celestia found the trio, looking Fast and Twilight up and down. "You two look like you have been running, is something amiss?"

The two newest princesses looked at each other with wide grins. "No, Princess Celestia." Their chorus was hint enough that something very much was amiss, but not in a bad way.

"Princess Fast Change was teaching me about wings and flying." Twilight beamed with delight, they had done science together!

"And Princess Twilight Sparkle reminded me how fun it is to just relax and be yourself." Fast lifted a hoof and Twilight met it with a clop.

It was like a little burr in Celestia's mind, wondering what they had gotten up to that would leave them a little disheveled and more than a little out of breath. But it wasn't something she could actually pry into. "Well, I am glad everypony has learned something." She put on her best benevolent smile. "But I fear you kept your presences from a lot of guests, we will have to have another ball in a month, to make up for that."

A pink pony, on the other side of the room, let off a confetti cannon and cried out. "Woo!"

Twilight knew just who it was but poked Fast with a hoof. "Don't ask how she knows she will need to plan another party, just accept it."

Fast chuckled at this. "I need to meet more of your friends, I think." Her eyes spoke volumes. "If organizing a party is her thing, then I bet I can think of a party or two for her to help with."

Celestia replied to this. "I don't think you would be able to keep Pinkie Pie from helping to organize a party, I don't think even I could."

Everypony within earshot had a laugh at this.

As it turned out, court was still in recess and the three had decided to take the keys back first. "So these books need keys to open? What was in them?" Perfect was keeping with the pair, if for no other reason than to make sure the building was secured and in their hooves by the end of the day.

"They have… not nice spells in them." Stick kept to Penny's side, her plans of dragging the mare back to their rooms during the recess dashed with Perfect's presence. She didn't begrudge the earth pony this though, besides, there would be plenty of time for fun, later. They had dropped by their rooms, to grab Penny's bags with the keys in them.

Penny nodded to the simple description. "Ponies really don't need those kinds of things… well, not every pony. But I think they shouldn't be locked up like this, I am sure there are interesting things that could be learned from them."

"But if they are bad spells, wouldn't only bad ponies want them? Oh, or ponies that want to defend themselves or others." Perfect opened the library door with a hoof and the three stepped inside.

The mare was still on duty, running the library from her central position. "Ah, you have something for me?" Penny could see the two books, their spines pressed by the metal bars of the locks on them, on a shelf behind her.

Penny produced the keys from her right pack first, levitating them over to the librarian. "The right ones." She told her, getting a nod as they were tucked away. The second keys were produced now. "The other ones." This, too, got a nod as they were filed. "Thank you for this, I promise you we will not misuse this gift."

The librarian smiled to them. "It was not my gift to give. It is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, to whom you must give your thanks."

48 - Reversal

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It had ended up being a big night and Moon was getting ready to retire to her home. She stifled a yawn with a hoof.

"I know you have a house here in Canterlot, but it would be remiss of me to not offer you a room for the evening." Princess Celestia was beside Moon Dancer, shocking her a little with the close attention.

"Well, uh, Your Highness, that is okay oh…" Moon yawned again and the princess gave a chuckle. "Come on, lets get you somewhere to rest."

It was impossible to struggle out from under the softest of wings, Moon Dancer was trapped by a gentle and well-meaning jailor. She tried to shake her head, to dispel the silly thought but all it did was remind her how tired she was. "Maybe, okay…"

Moon kept telling herself it was just for convenience, even as she was led to a warm and soft bed that claimed her consciousness the moment she laid down in it.

Lifting her head up from the pillow, the silvery rays of the moon filtering in the window, she sat up in bed but found herself not-alone. Luna was sitting, patiently, not two feet from the bed.

"Is… is this a dream?" Moon Dancer looked around, things felt a little fuzzy, she decided it must be.

The alicorn nodded. "It is indeed, we are presently in the Crystal Empire, but thought to check in on all our ponies. While you do not have a nightmare for me to chase away, I was intrigued. You walk in powerful circles of late, Moon Dancer."

Moon tilted her head a little at this, the princess had spoken her name with an odd little smile. Then it hit her. She was literally named after the moon, of course Luna would be interested in that. "I… well I was friends with Twilight when we were at school together. She moved away to Ponyville and we lost touch." She took a deep breath that she really didn't need to in this realm. "I guess it kind of broke something in me, I was always a little subdued, but having my best friend leave without a word…"

"She left on very important business. You know to which we refer?"

The unicorn shook her head. It hadn't been a particularly fun time for her and she had sunk deep into her books to compensate for the loss.

"She left to fight for u… me." Luna had dropped the royal plural, making Moon take even more notice of her words. "She and her new friends united and fought off Nightmare Moon, freeing me."

Moon's eyes were wide, so that was why she had left… it wasn't anything she had thought, back then, or even any of the reasons she had thought up lately. One of the single biggest events in Equestria's recent history had cost their friendship. Moon thought she had shed all the tears for that, but more came unbidden. Luna moved and was on the bed, one wing tucking around the unicorn.

"I thought you would want to know the reason. The full truth often has a tendency to hide and slip from our minds."

Moon nodded against that soft wing, letting the wetness flow and even stain those feathers.

"Now, on to the real reason for this visit. We wish to know the full meaning of your name. Why are you named Moon Dancer?" Luna kept that wing around the little mare, it meant much to be her protector and likely meant much to Moon to have that comfort.

The unicorn shook her head. "I honestly don't even know why they called me Moon. Dancer is a family name."

Luna pondered this and lifted her wing and gestured out to the balcony. "We wish to see something, come with us." The alicorn princess rose up and started to walk out into the moonlight.

Moon looked a little worried, was something strange going to happen? Nothing odd had ever befallen her at night before… but then she wasn't at the side of the princess of the moon.

Walking out there herself, she gave a soft sigh of relief when nothing did happen. "Well." Luna was looking down at the mare. "Nothing there, we believe there is much in a pony's name. We also understand you will be coming to the Crystal Empire soon?"

"Tomorrow." Moon Dancer had felt nothing strange happen, but it was relaxing sitting out in the moon, with Luna beside her.

"Good. Until then."

The dream world faded and Moon was awake. Predawn light was filtering through the window. Celestia would be already taking the world into her hooves by preparing to raise the sun. Moon was conflicted with that. Science said that such things should be far too heavy to lift, but yet it couldn't be chicanery, the few times Celestia had been waylaid the sun had, indeed, failed to rise properly.

There were sounds outside her door and Moon climbed out of bed. Her mane and tail had some frizz in them, so she spent a few moments with a brush to correct that. Opening her door she found nopony around and decided breakfast might be a good idea. "Excuse me?" Moon finally had found a cleaningpony and got their attention. "Is there somewhere to get breakfast in the castle?"

The young mare with a cleaning trolly stopped. "Sure is, if you are a guest, the main kitchen is down this hall," she gestured with a hoof, "then right and down the stairs. Can't miss it!"

"Thanks!" Moon felt much more chipper than usual. The party had been good, she had met some new friends there and even gotten to know Princess Celestia over a chat. Even when at school, she had only had casual encounters with the ruler of Equestria. Now Moon even knew what kind of cake she preferred!

She followed the given directions to the letter and soon was entering a big room that had some glass-protected food trays at one end. A look around showed her Princess Twilight and Princess Fast chatting with each other. Moon headed over and got a bowl of thick porridge and some apple juice. Floating her breakfast along beside her, she decided to settle down on her own.

Of course it was not to last. "Hay there!" Twilight moved up beside her, reminding Moon of how persistent she had been in the library.

Fast Change slid into place opposite and just grinned.

"Morning, Princess Twilight, Princess Fast." Moon Dancer gave them both their full titles. "How can a lowly unicorn help you?"

The obvious joking tone in her voice had both the royal ponies laughing at her. "Moon! We are friends, just Twilight is fine." The alicorn beside her was eating the same as her, but Fast Change had some chunks of apple in her oats.

Noticing her glance at her breakfast, Fast shrugged. "I know, I know, I don't really need to eat it, but it tastes really good and I can't kick the habit."

Twilight looked intrigued with the concept. "So you don't need to eat at all?"

The changeling snorted. "I still need to feed, just not like this." The alicorn blushed back. "Oh it isn't always like that. Any happiness is good, I can just take a sip here and there, from ponies that have given me permission."

It seemed odd to Moon Dancer and the science-nerd part of her really wanted to investigate more. "Twilight, I don't suppose you could get me a copy of your notes on changeling biology so far?"

Twilight beamed. One of her books… or at least part of a book, was already popular enough that another pony wanted a copy! "Of course I can, should I send it on to the Crystal Empire?"

Moon nodded to this, starting in on her food.

"You have notes? I would like a copy of this myself." Fast looked intrigued, she knew Twilight well enough now to know she would not leave a single stone unturned. "And I should offer, if you would do my hive the honor of a few more copies, I will ensure you can continue your research, here in Canterlot of course. Poor Slow Perfection was so upset he couldn't stay…"

Twilight's ears flicked back as she realized her closest research subject was gone. But the prospect of being able to continue was a good one. "I hope he finds something else to do. He is such a nice pony."

Hearing Twlight call a changeling a pony with no hesitation made Fast smile more, a little fang showing. "He is. Don't you worry, he was only with Rarity for a few days, but already he is speaking of fashion as if he is a master. Maybe I could employ her to come to Canterlot and tutor him further."

As each spoke, the others ate their meals and, soon enough, Fast was done with hers and stood up. "Sorry girls, but I need to go and check on my hive. Twilight, until next week."

The reminder of her offer to coach further on flying had the alicorn blushing. It had been nice and Fast Change really seemed interested in helping her learn. "Of course, my castle or yours?"

"Mine. I think it would be best not to worry your little town about changeling queens dropping in. There is a very large difference between a drone or two and... myself." Fast stood, flexing her insectile wings and flicking her bright green mane.

Twilight gulped a touch, reminded of Chrysalis and how powerful she had been. Then it hit her, Fast Change had fought off that nasty queen. But she was a nice pony. "Thank you." Twilight settled on courteous as a good way to not get any further mixed up in thoughts of Fast or how odd the touches to her wings had made her feel.

"Until then." Fast sounded, despite having had a good sized breakfast, hungry.

"She is intense." Moon was watching the newest princess leave and shook her head. "But nice, I feel a little safer knowing she is here to protect Canterlot."

Twilight twitched her ears in thought. "I think I am too. So, when are you heading out?"

Perfect had finally worked out what was going on. Clearly they had indeed only found out of Penny's condition prior to meeting her and Stick looked almost ready to try 'celebrating' with her mare right in the hallway. "Oh you two don't have to come with me, I can settle all this with the princess. You should maybe have a lay down, in your condition I understand mares frequently require some time in bed."

Stick perked up at this, her attention managing to break from Penny for a moment as her grin widened. Perfect Poise had all but battered her over the carapace with hints and it was a perfect setup. "Oh, oh sure! I should make sure you are comfortable, Penny."

The mare in question was at a loss. She hadn't heard all of what Perfect had said, but got enough of it to make her confused. "But I'm not tha-"

"Yes you are dear, come on, let me get you to BED." Stick was all but clubbing Penny with hints now, her green magic giving the pregnant mare a little bump to get her moving.

Perfect smiled, her thoughts drifting and circling back to Articulate, wondering if he was free in the evening to get dinner.

"What is going on? I don't need rest ye-" Penny had been ushered out of the busy hall and into their shared room, but her little rant was cut off as soon as the door closed by a pair of pony lips.

Stick closed her eyes, focusing on her very special somepony who seemed to be melting into the kiss too and pressing against the changeling just as eagerly as Stick was.

"Oh…" Penny had finally gotten the hints, they had finally filtered through. She liked the plan.

"Yes, 'oh' indeed. Now lets get back to things…" Stick was stripping Penny's pack and shawl off. "And after I have shown you how much you mean to me, we are going shopping for dress ideas."

49 - Stopping the rainbow train

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Penny was left panting. Sprawled on the bed the mare felt like she hadn't before. Ever. "I love you, Stick." The words didn't seem enough anymore and she nuzzled and kissed her partner.

"I love you too," Stick managed to say between snuggles. She returned Penny's affections in kind and the pair slowly mellowed out from their high into a continuing run of gentle cuddling.

All the shifting the changeling had done, during their fun times, had left her a little drained and she made it known to Penny with insistent nibbles. "Oh, feeling a bit tired are we?" Penny teased Stick letting off tiny bursts of her magic and getting a little grumble from her special somepony before she channeled deeply.

The happy sounds she stirred from Stick made her giggle and kiss her on the nose. There were no teeth, no dominance in this, it was something they simply shared. "I feel bad for leaving Perfect to handle everything." Penny murmured to the changeling who now brought her mouth to Penny's neck and just gently sucked there. "Hey, that tickles…"

Stick's feeding went on and on, the drone soon all-but glowing with energy. She ended up giving a sigh and pulling back from her lover's neck. "You can stop now, I don't think I could drink more if I tried. You look a little pale though, should we go get something to eat?"

Penny sighed, she was indeed hungry. "I swear, if this is how I am now what is it going to be like when I really am eating for three?"

"Adorable, that is what." Stick poked Penny's nose with a hoof. "Boop."

The unicorn was cross-eyed a moment and shook her head. "Hay!" This led into a minor tussle on the bed until Stick was pushed off.

"Hay yourself. I can't feed you unless you come too."

Penny grumbled something about overeating and reached out a hoof to Stick, who gripped it with her magic and helped the lunar pony up. "Come on, forget our packs and things, lets just get some food and come right back to things."

This sentiment agreed with Penny greatly. Food and a show? The two did a quick clean up, avoiding engaging in any further deeds and soon were wandering out of their rooms, still sharing kisses and nuzzles. As they approached more traveled paths things seemed to penetrate their little bubble of a world. The ponies of the castle seemed to all be rushing around and as one guard galloped past them the pair turned to watch him. "This is odd."

Stick and Penny turned back and froze. Luna, accompanied by Twilight and her friends, were running right toward them!

"What the…" Penny exclaimed and was about to fold back against the wall to let them past.

Stick, however, stood her ground. "Okay, I need to know, just what is going on?"

Luna looked ready to just run by but Twilight slowed before them. "Cadance and Shining are facing Sombra and his umbrum!"

"Uh, I thought that was the plan? I mean, I don't like him, he did some bad things, but isn't Princess Cadance," Stick leaned on the title with her words, "doing what she said and meeting with him?"

This not only slowed Luna down but stopped her. She still wore a scowl. "We must support her, that stallion is nothing but a monster."

The aggressive tones Luna used, her voice reverting to the Royal Canterlot Voice as she found her way blocked, cowed Penny.

"Isn't storming in, with Equestria's mightiest, a little much?" Stick gestured to the adorable mares arrayed around Twilight. "If Sombra came to talk peace, and brought an army with him, what would you call that?"

Luna stomped a hoof. "That would be a declaration of war!"

"And this isn't?" Stick waved that hoof more, indicating the princess of the night and her assembled force.

Both alicorns looked thoughtful now. "We aren't going up to clobber him?" Rainbow Dash asked into the silence.

It was the softest of voices that replied to that. "He has been naughty, but so was Discord, and he is a nice pony now." Fluttershy stepped up, the dark alicorn's attention making her cower a touch before Dash, Twilight and the rest of her friends surrounded her. "We should give Sombra the same chance." She gave the most adorable nod. It was enough to get Penny to enter the conversation.

"He… he's not a nice pony… but he might have reasons for doing things." Penny's words were soft but the acoustics of the hall seemed to help them carry. "I did some bad things too, but I hope that I won't be treated as a monster…"

Stick was quick to move to her mate, hugging the unicorn tight and ignoring the formerly rampaging princesses and their followers. "We have talked about this, you only did what you had to."

"And if Sombra only did what he thought he had to?" Penny's reply was a thoughtful one.

"Enough. We recognize that heading in may not be the wisest choice." Luna looked annoyed that she couldn't just dive in and save everypony. "You, be our messenger." Her hoof was raised to Stick, making the changeling 'eep' softly.

"I… I could go. Where are they?" Stick was still cuddling Penny.

"They are in the old tower." Luna gestured vaguely down the hall. "If you are not back soon, we will assume the worst."

Stick gulped at this, knowing this was something important. A single changeling wouldn't be considered too much, surely?

Nodding to Luna, Stick looked to Twilight. "Please, take care of my wife, and our foal." She rubbed Penny's belly for luck.

Twilight's wings shot up in surprise and she could see Pinkie Pie practically fighting not to explode with some inner turmoil. A lavender wing reached out and covered Penny in soft feathers. Stick kissed her on the nose and set off, her hooves clopping on the floor as she galloped.

Penny was well distracted. "Wife?" Her soft word was lost to the hallway.

Moon smiled at her somewhat clueless friend. She was the princess of friendship, how did she miss Fast's advances? Each time she thought to bring up the changeling princess it just didn't seem right.

Just as they were finishing their breakfast a dark-furred guard of the night watch galloped in and looked around before approaching their table.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, a message from Luna." They bowed down to one knee and passed a letter to the alicorn with one bat-like wing. "She said it was urgent."

This got both their attention but Twilight, being the intended recipient, opened the letter so only she could read it. "Oh! I need to go!" Moon was shocked when, instead of making her farewells, Twilight dashed to a window and was out, soaring on her wings.

Moon Dancer looked to the guard who shook their head. "Sorry, ma'am, that was news for only the princess."

"You are right. Oh well, I guess that is breakfast over. Oh drat, and I never did give her that book!" Moon got up and collected the left over plates with good spirit and made sure they were cleaned.

Back to her rooms, she collected her things and boxed back up her dress. It had been fantastic, she had looked just like any other pony there. Today, her tail and mane had the odd frizz to it, but that was reasonably normal for Moon Dancer.

She trotted back to her home in good spirits. "I can't believe the day has come, will it be only a short visit or will I be leaving forever?" Moon nosed around all her belongings, eventually lifting the important ones and tucking them into her cases. One good dress, a few clothes and books, she would only need to go to the printer and pick up the teaching aids and she was ready to go.

"What do you mean delayed?" She sagged in front of Ink.

"Sorry ma'am, but we had to print off a whole lot of ledgers for some other customer. Your order will be complete in the evening." The stallion gestured to the big boxes of notebooks that were being filled more and more.

Moon collected herself, it would be another day then. "Quite alright. I can't really complain, since you are printing them for free." Her easy acceptance got a smile from Ink Blot.

"Thanks, until then." The stallion turned and got back to his work.

On her way home, Moon Dancer ran into Minuette and they started talking. "Did you hear about the big ball on up at the castle last night? Almost all the princesses were there!"

Moon blushed at this. She wanted to lie but her friend deserved to hear all of it. "Let me drop these things off at home and we can get a smoothie. I will tell you all about it."

The light blue mare's jaw dropped. "You were there?"

"There? I might have given a few ponies the idea for it. Now hold on…" Moon trotted the two blocks remaining to her house and just dropped her things inside. "There, now, where-"

Minuette was like a whirlwind of focus, Moon Dancer was grabbed up in the mare's magic and rushed to the little cafe they normally met up at. "Now," Minuette had Moon on a seat and spinning around to face her, "tell, me, everything!"

Moon giggled and started with her trip to Ponyville to catch up with Twilight and some other friends there. "And apparently nopony had thought to tell her about Princess Fast Change's appointment!"

The blue mare gasped at this, sipping at a strawberry and banana milkshake. "So she swept in, demanding a party?"

"Hardly, she had Spike send a letter to Princess Celestia, who thought it a wonderful idea. Then we had to get our manes and tails done, new dresses… I met a whole lot of changelings there. They seem really nice, I guess they would, when you liking them is what they need to live."

Minuette seemed a bit lost in some of the talk. "What do you… oh, did you let one feed on you?" She sounded almost scandalized, even though such had become a very 'modern' thing for ponies to do in Canterlot. "Well, technically, everypony has… sort of. When Princess Fast defended Canterlot against Chrysalis, she had to drink just a little from everypony."

"I didn't even feel that!" Minuette sounded cheated. A chance at something new and she hadn't really noticed it at all when it happened.

Moon grinned. "Well, you could go down to the hive and offer? I hear if you are just willing to be fed on it is free."

The blue mare's face turned crimson for a moment, then she tilted her eyes to the side and giggled. "I could."

"So, we had the party and it was amazing, I danced!" Moon had enjoyed that, truly. Likely something passed down in the 'Dancer' line. "It was great fun and I even slept in the castle last night." She left out a lot, particularly Twilight and Fast's little 'dance'.

"You danced? Who was the hunk?" Minuette drained the last of her shake and, wordlessly, a new one was levitated over and the old removed.

Moon blushed this time. "Blue Blood was there, he is so… handsome. Fancy Pants and his partner, Fleur, they are so adorable when they don't think anypony is watching."

"I wish I had been there…" Her friend sounded down and Moon looked up for the pony running the place, gesturing to a plate of donuts on a shelf. They were whisked out and on the table before Minuette even managed to pout properly. "Oh, yum!"

Feeling a little melancholy, Moon nibbled one as well. Would she be back? Her mind kept focusing on that but she suddenly realized, of course she would, it was only a train ride away!

Stick was charging along and, ahead, she heard voices. They sounded full of emotion, but she couldn't hear any indication they had come to blows. She really hoped things would turn out okay.

50 - Things Happen

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"Is that Silver?" Penny tried to poke her head around the group of ponies in the hall to see her friend but by the time she got in a position to see, his tail was heading up the stairs. A moment later Stick came down them at a trot.

Luna stepped forward. "Are we needed?"

Stick shook her head, grinning. "They are talking, like, really talking. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor are both there, and a strange crystal unicorn I never met. There is one of those shadow ponies and another odd-looking unicorn, I assume he is Sombra?"

Twilight began describing him. "Tall, angry-looking eyes, curved horn, all dark and broody…"

The changeling nodded to this. "That's the one. I didn't want to interrupt them." She had moved into the group of colorful mares, carefully trying to get through them to Penny.

Stick's target, too, was trying to shimmy her way through until everypony realized what they were doing and parted for them. It was only a kiss, but it meant everything to the pair.

"Aw come on guys…" Rainbow Dash sounded both bored and put out by the show of affection.

Rarity and Fluttershy, however, were both grinning at the pair.

"We need to have a talk." It was Luna, however, that cut in on them. But far from the serious face she had shown everything so far, this was a smile.

Penny looked up at the alicorn, a silly smile on her own snout. "Maybe when this is all over?"

Luna gave her a nod.

There was a sudden drawing of air, up that passage. It was like the whole universe drew a deep breath. Then there were suddenly other ponies pouring down. Luna began channeling her magic, preparing for the battle she believed was starting. "Behind me!"

The ponies of Ponyville did just that, drawing in tightly behind the princess of the night.

Penny and Stick were both still in front of Luna, however, and even as Penny froze in fright, Stick stepped in front of her and stood her ground.

It was like a wave, a torrent of the creatures that Stick had seen with Cadance. The changeling's magic began to rush and with all her heart, Stick wove the symbols on her horn and a green shimmering ball of force formed around her and Penny. Unlike a normal shield this one seemed mostly opaque, like a flashing wall of jade.

"That… that is amazing, will it last?" Penny's resolve grew as she discovered the creatures had not the motivations of the last of their kind she had met.

"It drains me, and the more they push the more it drains." Stick was working as hard as she could to keep the barrier in place.

Penny nodded and started to channel herself, feeding Stick more energy. The problem for the unicorn, however, was that she was a little drained still. Why did everything have to happen on the way to getting food?

Stick held her place for what felt like minutes, the two sitting in relative silence. "Do you think Luna and her friends are okay?" Penny's words came just as Stick grunted, the bubble flickering now.

"I need to drop this, if I keep it up I will just pass out here and then I really can't defend you."

The Unicorn got up to her hooves, steeling herself and the green wall was gone just as two umbrum were trying to batter it. They were as surprised as Penny and Stick were at the drop and although the two aborted their attack, they still made contact with the pair and all four fell to the floor in a heap.

To the side, Luna, Twilight and her friends were seething. They had fought as much as they could, but even the might of two alicorns was not enough, tempered as it was with their instinct not to kill. Surrounded in a cage of dark bars of shadow, Luna noticed the pair come from their protective bubble. "Stay yourselves, we beg. That mare is pregnant." The words sounded like they cost Luna some pride.

Another umbrum, not the ones who had crashed into Stick and Penny, looked from Luna to the pair. "Into the cage with the others!"

Penny was a little dazed but regained her hooves. "Please, we won't hurt you."

Stick got up next, moving quickly to be between Penny and any of the umbrum. "I will, though, if you hurt her or our foal." There was a lot of chitter in her voice, Penny was shocked at it, it had been quite a while since her marefriend had slipped that much.

The leader of the group of umbrum that still surrounded them seemed to soften a bit. "It is true? I am sorry, you must go in the cage but… but I will make sure your foal takes no harm."

Pacified a little by the words, Stick urged Penny toward the cage. An opening just barely large enough for the two mares opened and they squeezed in.

"What's up with all this crazy magic? Twilight, can't you do anything about this?" Rainbow Dash was still full of vim, it seemed.

Twilight looked quite vexed. "I don't understand it, what they are doing with magic shouldn't be possible…"

"It is their own magic, it twists what we see, what we feel." Luna sounded like she spoke from experience. "I can fight them, but I have been informed," the alicorn looked down to Stick and smiled softly, "that things might not be as they seem here. I will await proof that this is not a misunderstanding before my justice will be loosed."

Penny's attention was grabbed by Luna, pressing in tight against her. She had learned, during her times in Equestria, that she wasn't a fighter, by any stretch of the word. Stick moved in on her other flank and Penny felt herself relax a little. Surely nothing bad could happen, not with Luna and Stick here?

Perfect Poise was waiting. This didn't sit right with the mare, waiting meant time was wasted. Time was bits and she quite disliked wasted bits and waste in general. "When will court be out of recess?"
The guard at the door shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry ma'am, we can't continue until the princess is ready."

Turning to look at the larger grumbling mass of ponies with business for the court she made a quick decision. Stepping away, she made for a room down the hall and around a less-traveled staircase. Knocking with a hoof there was a quick reply. "Come in."

She mouthed open the door and entered Articulate's office. The stallion was at a typewriter, hooves working on that while his horn was making more notes on a page beside him. All this action halted, though, when Perfect entered.

"Art?" Perfect made her way over to his desk and sat down.

"Perfect." He put confusion and more than a little desire into her name. "You vex me, you really do. When you enter the same room as me I lose all ability to focus on anything else."

She had to take it as more of a statement of fact than a silly thing a stallion would say to woo a mare. Perfect knew many such stallions, but Art was not one of them. "Some mares would take that as a compliment. I am one of them."

He blushed at the twisting of his words, it wasn't what he intended them to mean and that was all the worse for him. He liked numbers, they didn't change. Nor did legal documents. All were rigid and well defined. So why was it every time he tried to talk about Perfect all his careful designs failed him and he reacted like a colt? "Well… I have the forms ready, for the business." He floated some over, little tags of paper in each folder showing where ponies would need to sign.

"Very good." She was tapping a hoof. It was mildly distracting to him. "There will be more, there are forms for the formation of a bank and lending organization?"

Articulate found those and started adding them to the pile. "Any others?" That tapping kept breaking his lines of thought in an odd way and he fought to not be distracted by it.

"This should be it." Perfect kept up her tapping, knowing fairly well now how to trap this smart stallion.

Tap, tap, tap-tap.

"Could you please sto-" Art had been halfway through losing his cool at her when he finally spared his thoughts toward the pattern.

Tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap-tap-tap…

"Fiboneighcci…" He looked at her eyes in shock and saw recognition there.

"There is the stallion I know." Perfect loved maths too, it had been one thing that had cemented her firmly in economics. She didn't stop her tapping, even as he joined in and caught the next number in the sequence.

"What about this one…"

Tap-tap, tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap-tap-tap…" Art had started his own and Perfect tilted her head, listening as seven taps sounded next.

"Easy one, Prime numbers."

It became a game and the pair worked through the basics and some more advanced series. Perfect left her more physical passions aside as they shared in their love for the immutable. Art had climbed down from his chair and they ended up leaning against each other in the corner, the tapping now needing more focus because each was tapping it out on the other's shoulder.

"Art, this is moving fast." Perfect tried to still his hoof as it beat out a more odd pattern.

The stallion, still caught up in their shared game lifted his head. "Oh, sorry, I will go slower." He began the sequence again.

"No, I meant us." Perfect felt the tapping slow and stop. "I don't feel trapped but… I want to make sure we do this right." She spoke from her heart.

"You distract me to pieces, even without tapping. Every time I had to type your name on those documents I paused and thought of you." The unicorn took a deep breath. "It feels so right though. The feeling I get is that a part of me that was missing is there, right before me."

Perfect nodded to this, it was a fair assessment of her own feelings. Love at first sight couldn't be a thing, not between two such logical ponies. "It almost scares me how good it feels, to be beside you, talking with you, thinking about you."

Both sighed at once, their feelings bared to each other. "Slow." The word came from both at once and they smiled.

"You first." Perfect nosed at his hoof, where it was resting on her shoulder and not tapping.

"Slow. It is how we should proceed, how society would want us to proceed." Art got a nod for his assessment. "My heart says to gallop."

Perfect stared into his eyes, felt the tapping start again and her own words trapped in her throat. She could either focus on the tapping or her emotions, to do both would be to deny either had real importance. She chose the numbers. The pattern this time was strange. One. Four. Six. Eight. Nine...

"Non primes?"

She got a kiss on the lips in reply, Art drawing back quickly to let her continue.

But the unicorn had started a kiss and one was never truly over until the mare deemed it so. Leaning in as he pulled back, Perfect closed her eyes and relaxed more against him.

51 - Friendship prisoners

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"Are you okay?"

The words startled Penny out of her funk. Looking up, the mare saw that she was being addressed by the umbrum who had led those who captured them. "I am, but a little hungry. We were on our way to get some food so I could feed my marefriend."

"Such a simple request? Not 'let my friends go' or 'you will not get away with this'?" It was definitely a mare they were speaking to and she smiled then, in a way that would horrify most happy little ponies.

Penny was not just a pony and smiled back, showing off a little fang. "The first? You aren't going to do that. The second? Please, I am not that melodramatic. The decisions will be made by those further up the chain and we simple ponies will live with it, either way. If you find me some food, I will be your friend forever."

It got a laugh from the umbrum who gave the order to others. "You don't have to just lay there, you can stand up and stretch your legs."

Stick looked to wobble a little and Penny was instantly on her hooves and supporting her friend. "Here, not too much though, I don't want to pass out too." Penny channeled a little magic, directing it all internally to that odd place within her. Stick moved almost on instinct, her teeth bared and rubbing the mare's neck. "Whoa girl, calm down, we don't want to give them a show."

"What are you doing?" The words were from another umbrum, it's eyes wide at the display before them.

Penny couldn't speak then, as fangs slid gently into her neck.

"She is feeding her. Stick, there, is a changeling. They feed on love." Twilight, to the rescue, distracted from the Luna-statue. "Mostly they tend to be aggressive about it, although from what I understand Stick is only this way when she is drained."

Penny tried to nod to this but the changeling's fangs were quite insistent she hold very still. An umbrum returned with some bread rolls. "Will these do?"

"Stick, please, I will eat and you can have what you want from me." The fangs in Penny's neck released and her neck was kissed, then licked.

"Sorry, it… I don't like being this hungry…" Stick sounded tiny, like she was really scared.

"Thank you. My name is Penny Farthing. This is Stick." Penny introduced herself to the umbrum who brought the food.

"I am called Shadow Whisper." They gave a little bow. "Help your friend, she did really well to protect you."

Penny nodded to the reply and started scoffing the food, feeling it practically dissolve in her belly as the molecules were quickly broken down into energy. Energy Penny channeled. Stick was suddenly close again, but not bitey this time.

"You really feed her like this? All the time?" The leader looked fascinated with the act. "Oh, I am Dreams Caress."

Penny grinned around the food and nodded, but it was Stick who spoke. "She does, although I try not to drain myself like this. Needing to feed is pretty instinctual, but it doesn't have to be all fangs and nasty all the time. I could show you if you want?"

The implication that the changeling feed off her had Dreams a touch intrigued but she had to shake her head. "I need to remain impartial here. I don't know what tricks you could do, for instance, could you drain me? Enslave me?"

"A stronger changeling might do the latter, the most I can do is drink you to a dangerous point. All you would need to do is focus on emotions other than love." Stick shrugged and leaned in against Penny, kissing some crumbs away from one cheek. "My marefriend here is stuck, silly filly can only ever seem to think of love when I am around."

Penny paused long enough to kiss Stick's nose, getting a sneeze from the changeling who was now standing much more easily.

"Enough, my little snack, eat for yourself and our future." Stick drew back a little so she could nuzzle Penny's belly.

"You didn't lie, she is with foal?" Dreams blinked a few times now. "Your foal?"

Stick nodded with a silly grin. "I hope they are mine, or Penny has a lot of explaining to do!"

This confused the umbrum. "But you are both mares? This is… odd?"

"Here, have some more energy, show her." Penny radiated more love to the changeling and, in a moment, there was a duplicate of Shining Armor standing there. The green flame that brought about the change faded.

"Hi!" Stick flicked her more voluminous mane and stood tall. "Whoa, calm down." She quickly shifted back to her normal shape as the umbrum seemed startled at.

Shadow had moved in front of Dreams and Penny suddenly had the realization that they were possibly a couple, or destined to be. "Please, it was just a display, she won't do it again." Penny stepped between the umbrum and Stick and this seemed to make even Shadow back down a little, unwilling to attack a pregnant mare.

"Quite a trick." Dreams stepped around the stallion, her form brushing his just slightly in a way that made Penny giggle. "I bet it would make sneaking among regular ponies quite the thing."

"I don't like sneaking, not when I can be open about who and what I am." Stick stepped up to Penny's side and lifted a hoof toward Dreams. "Sorry about startling you, friends?"

The umbrum mare looked shocked worse now than when Stick had shifted her form. "What… what do you mean? We are enemies. We are monsters!"

Stick was left hanging a moment before Shadow lifted his hoof and clopped it against the changeling's. "Don't be so old-school, Sombra said they could be let out, they didn't fight us." He emphasized the word 'fight' and sent a glare toward the statue of Luna standing beside the other cage and it's occupants. "And she is as much a monster as we are. Dreamy, even her friend has fangs!"

Dreams was defeated on so many fronts. Her sometimes-special-friend was speaking a lot of truth and could she not stand where he dared? "Damn you for being so nice." Nopony would be able to tell if she directed it at Shadow or the other ponies, but she finally clopped her hoof to Stick's.

"There, now we need to plan. If all this goes belly up, what do you think should happen?"

Penny surprised everypony present. "What do you mean? King Sombra… your pink princess… they will decide…" Dreams looked a little lost.

"You really want to put your lives in the hooves of those ponies? Don't get me wrong, Sombra is wicked-awesome, so much power it sends chills up my spine. And I love Cadance in a way that defies words. But I don't want either running my life."

Shadow shook his head. "King Sombra got us out of that forever-damned place. We owe it to him to stand by his word."

Contemplating that answer, Penny gave a sigh and nodded. "Okay then, I can understand that. I was dying, when I first came to this world. That pony," she gestured to the Luna-statue, "saved my life and gave me a new beginning to live. If she were harmed I… I don't know what I wouldn't do. So let's sit here, then, and wait."

Stick lay down with Penny, at her side.

"What's that sound?" Articulate Equation perked an ear, the one not trapped in the gentle teeth of a mare.

"Hrmm? Oh, probably some fool thing. Lets leave princesses and elements to fight it." Perfect was snuggled against Art, each of them with a pad of paper out, idly writing down ideas and thoughts.

"I guess you are right, if it is something crazy, neither of us are equipped to deal with it. Oh, what is that?" The stallion gestured to some equations that Perfect had been reworking.

"This? Just working out how we are to lend bits. I think we base the amount that needs to be paid back off two things. If we can get a partial share in a running business and secondly, how soon they intend to pay us."

Art liked this in her, she made her mathematics apply into the real world. He enjoyed seeing real uses for the functions he loved. "Did you ever see what those railway ponies were writing down?"

The words surprised Perfect, she wasn't aware he had any interest in that project at all. "No?"

"So much mathematics is involved in their trade. Even the design of those wheels the trains run on are strictly calculated." She raised an eyebrow at his description.

"Did you want to look at them? I could probably get a copy." Perfect lifted a hoof and swapped pads with Art, startling him but getting a giggle as his diagrams of trains was suddenly replaced with financial mathematics, that he continued on with, not a single pause taken.

Perfect began something that soon had his attention; she was drawing trains now. "What are… smaller? A train that small couldn't carry anything!" It had his attention, she added details, to it that he was astounded somepony who didn't spend every other waking moment watching the things would pick up on.

"You like these monsters of locomotion, what if we made a small one, just the right size for a pony to play with?" Perfect held up her pad to him and they swapped again. "Oh, you solved this?" His short work of the function she had been wrestling with earned him a kiss that soon distracted the stallion even from his trains.

"You are terrible at inciting rebellion." Stick nipped at Penny's shoulder. "Why even suggest it?"

Penny sighed. "Because this is all silly. Sombra can take his ponies and find a nice place to live. Cadance can restore Luna and whatever other pony it was that was shattered. There could even be rainbows, just not destructive ones." She turned to look at the sullen 'mane six'. "This is all just formality and Luna almost died because of it, it's stupid."

Stick nodded and lay her head on Penny's back, resting her neck over the mare's soft-furred spine. "She can be un-stoned?"

"Remember what Cadance and Silver were asking us about, shards? They are of another pony who was stoned like that, then shattered. If they think they can restore from that much, a statue is easier, right?"

Stick nodded a little, Penny not needing to see it to know she agreed.

"Right, so we wait and waste time that could be spent planning doing nothing."

Shadow lay down near them. "Okay, now that I can agree on. So we could plan for both ways this could swing."

Dreams gave up her efforts to deny her attraction to Shadow and lay beside him. "So, which do we start with?"

"You go first. If Sombra stands defiant, wants this to be a fight, what do we all do?" Penny turned to look at the pair.

"Well, the first step would be to secure the city. Everypony needs to be captured." Shadow had that answer.

"And food? Ponies need to eat, I am not sure of your kind, excuse my lack, but if you don't have a good food supply there is going to be a whole lot of useless ponies." Penny turned further and nuzzled Stick's cheek.

Dreams nodded. "You are right there. So we move in advance, we can get ponies to their crops and get food moving now. Supervised of course."

"That is sensible either way, ponies need to eat…" Stick trailed off and implied the question again.

This had the pair of umbrum looking quite surprised. "Wait, what do you mean we…" Shadow looked perplexed.

"Have been locked away… I don't even remember if we do eat…" Dreams looked just as lost. "Maybe we should try?"

There was still a few loaves in the basket Shadow had gotten for Penny, the lunar unicorn offering one up. "Strange…" Dreams looked surprised and distracted by the odd sensation that was eating.

52 - Coming down and Getting Caught

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"… I mean, it's not terrible." Dreams heaved a sigh. "Okay, we will release the ponies responsible for food." The umbrum mare did just that, nosing at Shadow until he complained.

"Alright, alright…" Shadow Whisper got up and set off to start organizing.

"Now, what would be next on the umbrum-take-over scenario?" Penny looked to Dreams for ideas but, just as she did there was a trembling and Luna was suddenly free and looking so very angry.

It was like darkness flowed around her, swirling up and over her body. Penny could tell it was her magic but Stick moved first. "Don't hurt them." She was firm, stepping before Dreams. "Sombra went back into the castle, but remember, Princess Luna, he didn't use magic that would harm you."

The princess' nostrils flared as she recognized the truth and with huge wings that seemed to blot out the light, she was winging her way up to the crystal castle.

Dreams got up, her wings unfurling and lifting her to float around before Stick. Her hoof lifted. "Thank you… there is something to be said for a princess that can put fear into even us. Or the cute monster who could divert her."

Stick met the hoof with a clop. "Things seem to be progressing at least."

"Either he has agreed to terms and released her or… I don't want to think of the other reason for his magic failing." Dreams looked, even as a nightmare-inducing monster, like a scared pony.

Penny got up and moved to the umbrum's side, Stick taking the other. "Calm down, I really doubt Cadance would do that, for a start she," Penny gestured at Stick, "is the same race as a creature that locked the princess away and seduced her husband. A monster in her eyes. She saw reason then, she is a nice princess."

Dreams Caress closed her eyes and took a deep breath to center herself. "Okay, but I think your side has it, for better or worse." She turned to look at the ponies a short distance away in the cage. "Sorry, but I can't let you go until word trickles down. Are any of you hungry?"

Pinkie Pie was seen slipping a cupcake to an umbrum she had been chatting with through the bars. "Oh, no, I have plenty mores for everypony." She did, of course, they were being hoofed out as quick as she produced them.

"How does she-" Dreams looked baffled, her wings starting to lift her up.

"I wouldn't think too hard, it is… how she works." Penny couldn't stop her grin at finding yet another pony trying to understand how Pinkie worked.

She floated closer to the cage and got a cupcake from the pink mare. "You look awesome. We are so going to need to throw a welcome-free party for you."

Shadow returned a few moments later, floating along on those amazing wings, to find his commander nibbling a cream-topped chocolate muffin. "What did I miss?" His wings flicked once as he lowered down among the three.

"Luna got free, looked like the spell that changed her just failed." Penny surmised for him, nibbling on a muffin that had been offered to her.

"Stick," Dreams gestured to Penny's partner, "diverted her from attacking me."

Shadow looked surprised and floated over to Stick. It was like darkness itself flowed over the changeling's back and she was given a squeeze by the umbrum's magic. "Thank you… I can't believe how this has gone. We were meant to break free, to take over and rise up under King Sombra's rule. He was meant to immediately destroy that… heart."

"Does it hurt?" Stick reached out with her own magic, Penny's eyes showing it up as green on the dark black umbrum magic. "The heart, I mean. I guess there isn't really anything like that that really hurts changelings. Although I did hear that Princess Cadance's love did a good number on most of our hive."

"When it is active, it not only hurt, it shoved us into a prison." Shadow seemed to realize he was now cuddled with another mare and tried to draw back from Stick.

Dreams and Penny both chuckled at the reaction, Stick looking a touch hurt as her returned hug was rebuffed but she quickly worked out what happened. "Oh no, one pony is enough for me. Come get your stallion, Dreams, before he snuggles too many mares."

"We still waiting for them to come down?" Shadow worked quickly to try and change the direction of the conversation. "I mean, your princess might have broken loose on her own…"

It was something to ponder, for the ponies. "Pretty sure I saw the spell actually ended, but shadow magic is new to me." Penny booped Stick on the nose as she came close and the two lay down again to wait.

"Come on Sally, they pay you real good." The woman, barely recognizable as such thanks to the fatigues she was almost done putting on, was tightening straps around her left leg. Her knee had taken a bit of shrapnel a few years ago and now needed a little more support than a knee bandage would give.

"Hey, merc, you ready to work for your pay?" Her sergeant poked his head in her tent. There was no privacy in this line of work.

She was reaching for her gun when there was a bleep from the sat phone beside it. "Oh damn it, what now." Her hand reached for the comms device instead. "Who the hell sends a text to these things? Costs 'em a fortune, might as well just ring me." She turned it back off without even reading it.

She picked up her gun and was reaching for a magazine for it when the thing bleeped again. "You might as well read it now."

"Shut it Perkins." Sal was upset. Nothing worse than getting upset before a job. Picking the phone back up, she sat her gun down in it's place. "The hell…" She read the message.

'Where do you want to go?'

It was an unknown number, but there was a number. On a lark she typed back. 'Anywhere but here.' She made to set the phone back down when it beeped again.

'Perfect, is there anything you want to bring with you? It must be something you own and I warn, the more useful the item the less desirable your destination.'

"Like I would go anywhere without my gun-" Sally had been about to continue when she felt the presence of her gun, familiar and weighty. It was like night had fallen suddenly, there was darkness all around her.

She reached for where she had set down the mag for her gun and couldn't feel the table. "Okay, very funny, what is going on here?" She fell forward, and with instinct born of training, she rolled and was on a knee, her gun raised. It felt light, though. "Damn damn damn." Sally reached for where her combat tack would normally have her spares but she remembered, she was about to go to their ammo dump to grab them.

"What's this?" The voice she heard in that dark place had an odd sound to it, like an undertone of what a cricket sounds like.

Slinging her gun around to her back, she reached for her blade instead, the old bayonet coming free into her hand. "Whoever you are, keep back." She wove the blade in front of her.

"Silly pony." The voice chittered to her. "What makes you think I am not at your back, already?"

The words floated and she turned to follow them until she was looking behind herself. "Damn it, you touch me and I am going to make your world hurt."

A flash of green flame just out of reach highlighted the speaker. If only for a moment. Sally was off guard suddenly. "The hell, a pony?"

There was a deeper green glow and the shape was outlined again. This time the glow came from the pony's horn, a curved and black thing. Sally started to feel light headed, her world seemed to spin and for a moment before she started to fold in on herself, she swore her vision started to turn green.

Sally was dreaming, she had to be. Her family, she knew they were dead, but in this dream they weren't, they were all near her, they hugged her and told her everything would be alright. It was hard not to want it to be real and she let herself relax into the dream. It couldn't hurt after all.

It seemed like days in her dream, just in a gloriously happy, relaxed state. But it wouldn't last, it never could. Nothing so nice could. Coughing and spluttering, Sally spat out the green goop that had filled her mouth.

"Come on, out you get." More chittering words.

Her vision slowly cleared, faster when she wiped the goop from her face. It was another of those dark black… ponies. They had blue bug-like, multifaceted eyes, green insectile wings and a horn.

"New food are always the worst." Her hand was gripped in a green glow as the creature's horn had a glowing leash trailing to it. The leash jumped to secure at her neck. "You can't stay in the pod, it will hurt you, get out, food."

She felt drained, her legs were weak and… naked. Thoughts, horrible thoughts, filled her head. But she steeled herself against them, if they intended that, they would do it regardless of if she tried to hide herself or not. A tug at that leash told her all she needed to know. She was a captive. "Food?"

"Yes, you are."

She crawled from the dark pod-like thing she had been in, the inside was full of green goop and she could see another pony, this one yellow with a green mane, being led toward the pod by another of the black-creatures.

"No, I mean I am hungry." She lifted her head and sniffed. The green stuff smelled vaguely sweet, but she couldn't pick up much of anything from the insect-pony.

"Yes, you get fed. You eat food, we eat you."

Sally stiffened. "You… eat me?" The creature turned back and looked at her and the mercenary suddenly felt something inside her head, it was like there was teeth, sharp and long. They bit into a part of her, deep inside.

"Ugh, no taste good. Better in your pod." The fangs left her awareness.

"You don't mean to actually eat me, do you? What do you eat?" She trembled a little as she got up to follow the pony, her legs moving automatically. When it was inside her, doing whatever it tried, she could barely move.

"Love, happiness." The insect-pony flashed it's fangs as it chittered to her. "You tasted really good in there. Queen herself sampled."

Sally thought this over. She was weak but they seemed inclined to take care of their 'food'. "If I stay in too long, it hurts me?" The pony nodded. She looked back to see the new occupant being sealed in and many more of the insect-ponies coming out and standing around the pod, some licking their lips and fangs. "You treat your food well?"

"Of course, if food dies, we have no food."

"What's your name?" She tried to make a little more contact with the creature, walking faster so the leash shortened.

"Food not need to know names. Food just be happy and think happy." She felt a petting on the top of her head. Indignity started to flare and, if she wasn't quite as naked as she was, she might have tried to fight.

Struggling to calm her temper, she quickly decided to try and work on the facts. She was trapped here. They had some kind of… well, magic. There seemed to be a lot of them. They had a ruler.

As she worked, she was led to a chamber in the caves they had been walking through, there was a fence at the entrance but it wasn't anything actually secure. "Stay here or be hunted, I take it?"

The insect-pony nodded. "And no food for a day. Be good, we give extra food and let you relax in pod, rather than eat every time."

Sally had to bide her time. She had nothing to even try and fight back with, except her mind.

The contents of the cave was a mixed bag. She was the only human, it seemed, but there were more of those non-insect ponies, as well as what looked like a big dog made from sticks and a small swarm of bunnies. "Uh, hi?"

One of the ponies lifted a head, tilting it to the side. "Hi." Their reply lacked any real conviction. Sally had to assume it just meant, to them, that someone else was trapped.

53 - Weight

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Sally crouched down. She needed information. "Where are we?"

The pony who replied to her greeting looked at her with some interest now. "We were all just farmers. If you get out, head north, and keep heading north. That will help you better than any description I can give you, I think. I'm Apple Stew." The pony stepped closer and lifted a hoof.

Not sure what to do about the obvious greeting, Sally ended up lifting a hand, balling it up and bopping the end of the hoof. "Sally Gailor." It was hard not to give a little smile, the creature was quite adorable. "Guess I'm not in Kansas no more?"

"I don't know where that is, but we are quite a ways south of Equestria, are you cold?"

Sally had started to shiver a little, her smooth flesh not as resistant to the chill of the caves as the pony's coat of fur.

"Clear Skies, can you come over here?" Apple gestured to one of the other ponies, one with wings.

Sally looked startled. "Pegasus? I really am a long way from home, or I took a good thump to the head." The other pony looked a little lost. "Is… he, is he okay?"

Apple Stew shook her head. "He has been here a long time. He was the reason the changelings started pulling us out and giving us rest times. His taste soured and he can't think very well anymore. Clear, can you wrap your wing around Sally?"

The stallion looked at Apple a few moments but stepped closer to Sally and in a moment it felt like she was wrapped in feathers, because she was. There was warmth there too, and Sally decided that be damned if it was odd and leaned into the pony. She reached up and rubbed one of his ears, getting a surprised gasp from the stallion before he leaned into it.

"He likes you." Apple grinned at this. "Are you the type who is going to try and run?"

Sally sighed and nodded. "I gotta try, this isn't the life for me."

"Thought as much. If you need help, we can give it so far as not leaving our pen."

There was the sensation of something building, of a rising of pressure around them. "What is that?" Stick looked a touch confused, but not nearly as much as when Dreams and Shadow giggled together and kissed. The kiss seemed to fold a black mist over the pair and, when it receded, there were two little tiny, perfectly shaped ponies.

"Our disguises? I wasn't trying to hide…" Dreams looked confused. The tiny pony still had the same proportions, but their wings were much more evident. "What is going on?"

All around them, the umbrum had started talking together, smiling with their nightmarish faces and one by one turning into the tiny and adorable fairies.

"You look like a breezie… well, sized anyway. You said this was a disguise?" Penny looked more intrigued than surprised.

Shadow explained. "When we would hide, we would change to this. Much easier being sneaky when you are small."

"How long ago was that? You are shape changers then? Like Stick?" Penny got a nip on the ear from her mate for the comparison. "Hay, stop that, they might be."

Stick stopped tormenting her mare and threw her own two bits in. "If they are shape changers, what if they eat the same?"

Penny focused and looked up. Stick looked delighted at the happiness and love she was channeling, the umbrum seemed not interested at all. "Not feeling anything?"

"Feeling what?" Shadow confirmed her thought.

"What if it is just not love and happiness." Stick gave Penny a nuzzle at that sore ear now.

Dreams was looking confused, which was amazingly adorable combined with her new form. "Love is what trapped us."

"What is the opposite? Hate? Anger?" Penny tried to dredge up feelings like that but it wasn't enough. "Hay, could anypony get my saddle bag from my room?"

Dreams looked confused at this but nodded. "Guess the fighting is all a bust now, go on. Oh, and might as well let their friends out." The order given, a few of the little fairy-ponies were off toward the castle while others dismantled the cage, banishing the dark metal.

Rainbow Dash leaped up and suddenly started flying in tight circles, most of the others kept huddled close, except Pinkie Pie. She pronked over. "What'cha doin'?"

Penny couldn't hold back a smile, not from this pony. "Trying to work out what our new friends here really eat. Awesome as your cupcakes are, Pinkie, I don't think they are doing the trick."

"Would a cake help?" She reached into her mane and produced a two-tiered chocolate cake.

Stick lifted a hoof. "It couldn't hurt?"

By the time Penny's pack was produced, there was cake being hoofed around to everypony, although the small umbrum were only getting appropriately-sized pieces.

"Ah, thank you!" Penny plucked up her bag with her magic and in a moment produced her old phone. "Poor thing, no cell towers here for you to talk with, not even some wifi."

Turning the phone on, the mare sighed when it beeped to say it was almost flat. "Going to need to visit Canterlot and give you a good jolt again huh." Using the edge of a hoof, she tapped at the music player and looked thoughtful. "What you want to try first, anger? I can probably do that better than fear."

The umbrum around them looked mildly interested. The problem was they were eating genuine Pinkie Pie chocolate cake and while it might not be meeting their dietary needs, it was still some of the best cake in the known universes.

Sound started issuing from the phone, it was guitar and drums and then a very, very angry sounding man. The words were of violence and anger directed at him, of how much people hated him, and how he reveled in it.

Penny closed her eyes, not seeing some ponies backing away, unsure how to take Henry Rollins. Focusing on the feelings inside, that responded so well to the music, she started to breathe faster, harder. The pony nature that was growing within her shrunk away from this. All the recent negative events came to the fore. Being attacked by those strange umbrum outside the city, finding out Shining Armor had been attacked by others. As the music hit the final chorus, she channeled.

The feel of wings against her, of little umbrum suddenly very close, broke through the sensation. She gasped and opened her eyes. "More cake…" She channeled harder, broadcasting rage and anger.

"It isn't perfect, but that is delicious…" Shadow sounded half-drunk on it already.

Penny ran out of steam, her magic flickering before she cut off. Then the rage inside, the lens she had been channeling through, was stolen. The umbrum literally drank it away, leaving her feeling none of the anger she had been. "Oh wow…" Penny felt numb, it was like her emotion had been stolen. More solid hooves wrapped around her, hugging her. Stick.

The emptiness was filled again, this time with love and contentment. Mr Rollins now sang about lying and cheating, but it had no impact on her. The phone suddenly gave a loud bleat, a cry of hunger itself and stopped. "You really listened to such things?" The changeling was nuzzling Penny's ear.

The lunar unicorn let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Yeah, it helped me keep a mood I wanted, or just let off steam."

"Could you do that again, please…" Dreams was pleading but it wasn't for herself. Dozens and dozens of the little umbrum were clustered around now, quite a few had been fed by her magic alone, some others by the anger she had inside. But there were many more.

"More cake, lots of cake." Stick's reply superseded Penny's, since the changeling was stuffing some cake into the former human's mouth.

Penny just nodded and, between mouthfuls, managed to get out a few words. "Oh, and try not to drink me dry again, I lost all that anger and I don't know if my phone can help any more."

Shadow stood as tall as a tiny pony could. "I can help there, never been a pony born that I couldn't scare into a good fright!" Penny lifted a hoof over and offered it to the stallion to sit on.

"Okay, Shadow, how will you frighten me? Explain it before you do it."

He puffed out his chest and fluttered the oversized wings on his back. "I will slip into your thoughts. What do you fear most?"

Penny thought well on this. "I would have said losing Stick, but I want you to promise not to use that." He gave a little nod to this. "How about high places, in my last-"

It was all she managed to get out before she was suddenly on a cliff. Looking down. The old terror welled up, and beside her, hovering just over the edge, Shadow smiled. "Come on little pony, little unicorn. Surely looking down doesn't cause… oh wow…"

Penny's terror attracted the umbrum in a much bigger way than her anger. Stick kept stuffing food in her mouth and she chewed it instinctively, but all she could see was how far down that cliff dropped. She began to channel.

As each umbrum came to her, they brought more food, realizing that the pony feeding them needed food herself. Penny was terrified, of course. It was one of the few fears she had held her whole life and now it was being exploited like never before.

Her mouth worked, finding berries, bread, cake or any one of a dozen other foods. It was hard sometimes to swallow, but even in her fear her body demanded more food to maintain the energy.

Shadow was with her the whole time, his own presence in her mind supported by her magic. "It's okay now, little pony." His voice cut through her terror and the cliff seemed to fade. "My friends have lost the edge of their hunger… for now. Stop your magic and let me take all this away."

Penny nodded to him, relaxing and ceasing her channel. The fear was still there but, opening her eyes, she saw the tiny stallion floating before her nose. He kissed it and the last of the fear suddenly rushed out of her.

The food brought to her was simple stuff. A thin porridge made from water and oats, some berries and a small pile of apples.

"Thank you." Sally looked up to the changeling who had brought it. It never hurt to say that, not even now. The oats were warm and the heavy food settled well in her. "This the normal fare?"

Clear Skies nodded, sinking his snout into one of the wooden bowls to eat like an animal.

Sally moved over to him. "Hold up there, come on." She reached down and lifted the bowl up from where he was getting it all over his snout. She tilted it so he could eat the oats without wearing them. "There you are. You help me, I help you." She plucked up an apple and offered it to him. He smiled and started munching on it.

"More of a pony than the last who tried to get free." Apple wandered over, claiming a bowl for herself. Sally watched as the mare held it, impossibly, in one flat hoof. "She was a unicorn, all high and mighty. Changelings never told us what happened, I almost hope she didn't get free."

"Don't say that. If they got free best of luck to them. No one deserves to live like this. You said they changed their habits after Clear got… hurt?"

Apple nodded.

"Then they aren't stupid, maybe they can be reasoned with more?"

Apple looked astonished at this. "Reason with them? They… they own us!"

"Right, and they have a vested interest in not only our survival, but our state of mind."

54 - To rule

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It took a lot of comfort to draw Penny back to herself. Stick held her marefriend close and murmured soft words in her ears. "You took a lot out of her." The changeling addressed a now worried-looking Shadow.

"I… she kept doing it…" The umbrum was hovering close to the pair when Dreams returned from something.

"He… he put it back. King Sombra restored the crystal heart… it doesn't burn us…" Dreams sounded almost lost. "How… but it is meant to banish bad things…"

Penny finally found herself back in her right mind and smiled up, lifting a hoof to poke Dreams right in the chest. "You aren't bad. It was all a misunderstanding." Her nose followed her hoof and she kissed the confused umbrum on her nose. "Lets find out what the full word is, I am hungry and I think I can smell food from that way." She pointed toward the castle.

This got the tightest hug yet from Stick and a hint of her fangs inside the lunar mare. "Hunger is good. I am hungry too, for you and for information."

Rising to shaky hooves, Penny found another presence at her other side as Twilight came up beside her. "Come on girls, lets get to the bottom of this!" None of the ponies present had a reason to argue with the alicorn and so the group made their way to the castle.

The umbrum all around the castle seemed to smile when they saw Penny, some dashing over to give a little hug to her or Stick.

"Not that I don't appreciate it, but what is all this for?" Penny started returning the hugs to them, getting happier by the moment. It was tough for a brony, or pony, to get this much affection and not feel better.

"You worked out what we need to eat, now Princess Luna is going to help us!"

Stick giggled and hugged two of the little umbrum who came to her next.

It was slow going, there was a sense of relief and excitement in the air that brightened the moods of everypony who felt it. Eventually they got to the main hall to find it mostly empty, except for Cadance and Shining, at the head of the table.

Twilight burst free of the group of ponies and rushed forward to get a hug with Cadance, the two alicorns not needing words but, as they broke apart Penny knew just what was coming. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

Penny was led to a seat at the table by Stick. The changeling made sure the mare was seated. "Now, lets get started. Something sweet first." Some delicious-looking crystal berries were dancing in front of them, queuing up to leap into Penny's mouth as soon as she opened it. Chewing, she kissed Stick on the nose.

"I don't mean to be a bother, Cadance, but can you fix this?" Twilight lifted her hoof to her horn, the crystals there buzzing and making it impossible to channel any magic at all.

Cadance inspected the horn and nodded. "Oh, these things? Here, I can get rid of this." There was a wash of pink magic, Penny watching while she chewed. The crystals seemed to tremble a little before simply falling off Twilight's horn.

Flaring her wings wide, Twilight was hugging Cadance again. "Thanks Cadance!"

There was a clearing of a throat and Shining raised an eyebrow to the two mares that were suddenly looking at him. "No hugs for your brother, Twili??"

Cadance lost her hug but not her smile as the siblings hugged.

"They look so happy." Stick sighed, sounding like Penny imagined someone reading a sappy love-story would sound.

"Of course they do, they are." Penny was free from the berries for a moment until an apple pie presented itself, a slice coming off it and onto a plate before the mare. She could see the green magic neatly cut the pie and it never ceased to surprise her how clever Stick could be when it came to little things. "Oh, not the whole slice I-" Penny had been about to say she was feeling quite full, but her belly growled. "Betrayed…"

Stick could taste her marefriend, taste the happiness and love. She knew the mare was relaxed once more after the ordeal they had been through.

A pony settled down beside them. "What happened?" Perfect Poise was looking around, even as she scooped up a newly cut slice of the pie onto a plate.

Where to begin?

The changelings came regularly, mostly for the rabbit things. The poor little creatures didn't seem all that smart, the rabbits, not the changelings.

Clear kept close to her and Sally appreciated it. Her knee was starting to get sore and she huddled into the gentle wing of the stallion.

"You, you next." The changeling gestured to the human with a hoof.

She got up to a wobbly leg, hobbling forwards. "Alright, alright. Hold your…" She sighed, there were going to be a lot of things she wouldn't be able to say here. "Don't use your collar thing, I'll be good."

The changeling shrugged and turned.

"When I get out, can you get me an audience with the… Queen?" Sally had phrased it casually, but it certainly got a reaction from the changeling.

"You want to talk to Queen Fangs?" They blinked their big blue, faceted eyes.

Sally nodded. "Sure. Right now good or should I wa-" The collar was back, the magic of the changeling tight and gripping her.

"We go now. You can be happy for her? It will make her like you more."

The human pondered this, she felt an odd chill and realized the changeling beside her was doing something in her head. She tried to think of her family, in a good way, but the violence of their shared lives intruded. A stray thought came, of the nice and gentle stallion in the cage.

"There, that tastes nice. Keep doing that." She felt that touch inside her seem to thicken, but gripped tight to the thoughts of the nice pegasi.

"What is this? That new thing that was found?" The voice Sally heard was full of power. "You feed on my morsel, cease this!" The sensation in her head of the changeling that had been leading her was suddenly gone, but was soon replaced.

Sally's eyes drooped a little as the Queen herself leaned in. "Oh, now here we have something nice. A new friendship? Pure and simple love." Sally dropped to a knee as the world seemed to go a shade of green. "Yes, a delight. You have earned yourself a moment of my time, state your desire."

She had seen right through Sally, the woman was on her knees in front of a much larger changeling, one that practically radiated power.

"Well, you bring us food but… it is not the best. Our bodies get little work while you… drink." The human's thoughts were in disarray, the changeling's handling of her had shown a casual lack of caring for her will, it hurt to know that not only were you a prisoner, but were considered little more than cattle.

"We take what we want from you, you are ours to do with, after all." The Queen's eyes dared her to challenge it, to challenge her.

It took a lot of Sally's will to not rise to that, to not try and drive a fist up into that carapace and beat the bug pony senseless. "Why not have us farm, raise our own food."

A change passed over the Queen's features. She went from what Sally had to assume was 'bored play' to 'interest'. "Keep talking, food."

Sally gulped. "I mean, you take food from somewhere already, the grain?" There was a nod of the royal pony's head. "So, why not capture that place, set up some pods there, have the ponies raise food for themselves and your other… guests…"

Fangs, real fangs, were suddenly in Sally's face. "You think you could do this, and make it easier to get free?"

Terror passed through the woman, terror like none other she had felt, short of her first time on a battlefield. She shrank back then, and did so now.

"I will think on it. But I think you and I need more meetings. You don't think like a pony, or a changeling. If I break you, it might harm that thinking." The creature drew back from her and smiled, those fangs, the hole-filled horn, it was an image she would not forget. "I think I will wear you down instead, rebuild you into a good little snack."

Sally tried to marshal the strength she used in her profession, but a part of her refused, told her it was impossible to fight this foe. The presence of the Queen, in her head again, turned the world around her green.

Sally passed out.

Articulate appeared a little later, looking as calm and collected as ever, despite the odd scenes playing out around the castle.

Penny, having just finished catching Perfect up on the goings on, threw her hooves up and grabbed another slice of pie. "Your turn, Stick!" She carefully lifted up a large mouthful of the pastry, filled with crystal apples, and plunged it in her mouth.

Stick giggled, Perfect had to cover her snout with a hoof. Art just shrugged. "I imagine there is going to be paperwork, but apart from that is this going to cause any problems?"

"I hope not." Cadance was right behind the little group, making everypony jump a little. "Articulate, Perfect." The alicorn grinned wide, already knowing her little game, there, had paid off. "Penny, we have a matter to deliberate on."

Penny seemed to shrink a little, gulping down the delicious mouthful of pie and nodding. "We do." Her voice was tiny, sounding lost.

It was enough of a change in her marefriend that Stick had the lunar pony in a tight hug.

"Approach the main table, this needs to be something everypony can see and hear, so that none will consider justice not be done.

Penny nodded and started to get up. Walking to the middle, she didn't raise her head enough to see Cadance reach the head table. Nor Luna enter the room, Dark Pass at her side.

"Ponies." Cadance raised her voice, able to be clearly heard all through the big room. There were many umbrum present now, and more than a few crystal ponies. "We find ourselves at the conclusion of what has been, for some, a very dark time." Soft murmurs of agreement were heard.

"Much was done, on both sides, that needs to be aired. Secrets should not remain so." The princess had captured Penny's attention. "Before me stands one among many. She had perhaps the greatest crime, however. Penny Farthing, in your own words, please describe the event."

Penny drew a deep breath. The words she spoke were heavy, she had harbored them far too long. As she spoke of the terror and fear, of running from the phantom Sombra had made of Stick, she began to cry. She told of her terror at the two umbrum, of them driving her back into the woods, speaking of the things they could tell she feared most.

The umbrum around nodded at this, knowing that the two were just following their imperative to feed.

"I tried to recall the one spell I knew, that would make fireworks." Penny slumped a little. "I couldn't think of it, but I remembered another spell, in a book." She gulped at this. "I tried to cast it anyway, not even knowing what it does."

Luna dipped her head a little, disappointment in the first of her new line of lunar ponies evident.

"On the third try I thought it was working, then it all went bad."

"What happened, Penny?" Princess Cadance coaxed.

"The spell miscast. I blanked out, it drew everything from me. They… I was told afterward, the two umbrum burned…"

A collective gasp went up from those present who didn't know this story.

"What did you learn from this?" Cadance's voice was neutral.

"I… learned… I learned I need to be much more careful with magic. That the umbrum might have just been hungry, that…"

"Enough." Cadance took a deep breath. "Your actions cost two umbrum their lives. This cannot be changed. You have, yourself, fed quite a few of them, at great personal cost." She had apparently heard quite well of Penny's work earlier.

The lunar unicorn nodded, a lot of other ponies in the room nodded too. All of them umbrum.

"Until the umbrum have their own food source secured, you will continue to feed them, as you can." Cadance pronounced the words, Penny lifting her head in surprise. "And further, the crown of the Crystal Empire demands you become better trained with your magic."

"Princess Cadance." The words were formal, as the mood required, but it wasn't common to hear them from Luna. "We believe our sister has a school that might be able to handle one more pony."

Penny's head whipped around to look at Luna. There was a sly grin on the alicorn's snout. She would get a well-trained lunar unicorn out of this, and keep Penny close enough to watch.

"This was not the only transgression, only the worst." Cadance continued. "My own husband was attacked, twice. The envoy from Canterlot too. But no serious harm came from this. Is this just?"

Her voice radiated, the question falling to all present.

Dark stepped up. "None are without some guilt in this, nopony can say justice was not served." Hooves clopped the floor in support of this.

Cadance smiled. "Then let the matter be done."

55 - Rumination

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Penny retreated back to the table where Stick and the six friends sat. "You really killed two ponies?" Twilight sounded saddened but shook herself. "I almost forget how new you are to Equestria. That kind of thing… isn't common."

Stick only had spread hooves that engulfed the mare when she came close. "All good now, right? You help a whole race get on it's hooves, then you learn what to do properly with magic."

Snuggled there, Penny nodded. "Yeah, help them, get training." She looked up at Twilight. "I did, I was so scared and the spell just…" With no more words Penny gripped the changeling back and cried a little more, wanting the tears to just be gone.

Shadow and Dreams were both close, but it was the stallion of the pair that spoke up. "These two scared you so much you went against everything you believe in, everything we have seen you strive for. They were powerful umbrum then, without even knowing what you feared they drove you to do something bad. That was their fault, not yours."

Penny's tear-stained eyes lifted to the umbrum stallion. He looked adorable but his eyes held hers, showing her the truth of his words. She took a deep breath and sighed.

"There is something else I wanted to do." Penny took a few more deep breaths, leaving everypony hanging on her words. Turning her head to Stick, she squirmed from the mare's grip, having to lift a hoof to tap the changeling's mouth to stop her from asking a question.

Penny sat back and looked at Stick, taking in the sight of the changeling.

She looked at her hooves to start, a few holes in them but mostly solid. Those holes were gained defending ponies.

The changeling's tail and body were next. There were scars there, hurts Stick had taken while defending her. Penny was not sure if she would cry more from the memories they brought up.

Those wings. They looked so fragile but the times Penny had tended to them, for her 'queen', had proven how tough they were.

The next was Stick's neck and head. Penny loved to nibble at the former, but she knew that biting it, at least between them, had more than a little significance. She focused on Stick's face. The changeling looked a little concerned now, her mouth curved a little down in worry. There was a hint of a fang poking free from one corner of her mouth and Penny had to fight her urge to move close again and kiss her until she smiled.

"Stick. I need to ask you something."

"Penny I-" Stick made to move but Penny lifted her hoof again.

"Stick, you are so special to me." More tears came but these were not like the others. "I don't really know how this is meant to go, either here or back where I came from. Stick, do you want to be my special somepony?"

The frown on Stick's snout was banished, her mouth opened in a shocked little 'o'.

"Tell her yes, darling." Rarity was leaning on the table, her hooves crossed, resting her head on them.

"If she says yes we get to have a party!"

There was a moment, a brief one, where Penny's front legs started to shake.

"Of course I do." Stick had gotten her faculties back under control and the two met again, forelegs wrapped around each other tightly.

The sound of an explosion almost broke the moment, but the rain of confetti and the sudden appearance of party hats reminded the pair that there were other ponies present.

Penny just wanted to hug Stick forever. To never leave her… her special somepony. Even the thought that she had taken this step made her blush. "Took you long enough to ask." Stick's soft words were spoken right by the unicorn's ear.

"What?" Penny pulled back her head, not giving up the cuddle though. "Why didn't you ask me if you were…"

"Yes, silly. I was waiting for you to be ready." Stick booped her on the nose with a hoof. "And now you are, and we are." The hoof lowered to rub Penny's belly from the side. "Now, we need to get these ponies settled with some way to feed themselves… I think Princess Luna is going to help with that. Then we can settle down in Canterlot for a while while you learn magic and grow."

The last bit confused Penny for a moment. "Grow… oh!" She blushed again and nuzzled Stick, suddenly a little overwhelmed by all that had happened.

"Yes my special somepony. You have my foal in there." Stick kissed her on the nose and there was a round of 'awws' from most present.

Shadow cut in a little. "I hate to say this, but while Luna has some of us out and testing some things, the rest of us are…"

"Hungry." Penny kissed Stick on the nose. "Work to do."

Stick sighed and looked to Shadow. "You don't hurt my mare now, scare her a little, but no bruises."

Dreams shook her head and bopped Shadow on the head with a little hoof. "He was heavy hoofed before. I think we might be able to do this a little better, fear isn't the only emotion that can exist. Do you ever get scared and have fun?"

The question had Penny thinking. "I know some ponies like that sort of thing but… I can never just lose myself like that… or at least I haven't in the past."

She got up then and beckoned the two umbrum to lead. "Lets go and see what we can do."

Stick and Penny were cuddled in bed. "How long did Luna say she was going to be?" Penny nuzzled Stick's cheek until the changeling giggled and nuzzled back.

"Princess Luna," Stick always put emphasis on titles, "said, 'when it was done', or something like that."

Penny sighed. "It is a bit of a trial, each time they need to feed. I wish I could get scared easier, or with less intensity. Paying for what I did shouldn't be easy, though."

"That's my mare." Stick seemed a little worked up and Penny rose to the challenge she soon posed.

A gentle knock brought them both from their relaxation. "Penny…" The voice sounded just like Shadow.

"Time to work again." Penny kissed Stick, barely noticing the changeling was still a stallion. There was the briefest moment of 'ugh' from her past. It was easier to crush now, so much easier. This was still Stick. Her Stick. Penny leaned in and kissed the changeling again. "Love you."

"I know." Stick certainly didn't know why Penny started laughing, but she giggled too. "What?"

"I'll explain later, something to relax me after I feed them."

Stick nodded and leaned up, showing that although she was presently a stallion, and looking quite a bit like a lunar pony, she still had feminine lines. "Do that, and I might even need a bath…"

Penny gulped. Baths, she had decided, were a lot more fun with Stick involved.

With the pair gone, Stick sat up in bed and shook herself. "I fell so hard…" She flopped back on the bed, her wings spread and legs wiggling in the air, expressing her delight with the situation. "I don't think life could ever be better!"

She laughed out loud, feeling the object of her love slowly walking out. She could feel Penny at quite the range now, not as good as she knew her queen could drink, apparently… "Wait, princess… I must not forget that."

Flopping out of bed and onto her hooves, Stick flashed her form, settling back into her carapace and feeling so very good about it. "Now, what do I have for today, maybe court, maybe. I need to say an official goodbye there and make sure Princess Cadance is introduced to Perfect Poise."

The feel of Penny's mind flicked from love and relaxation to a mix, the love never left now, which made Stick feel particularly good, but there were other emotions that the changeling couldn't nibble.

Penny felt as the last of the fear was drained, Shadow himself leaving her with barely a hint that any emotion had been felt at all. It was better than drinking it completely, and she made sure he knew it. "Thanks." She kissed the little stallion on the nose. "It is definitely better to feel a little, at the end."

The blushing umbrum shrank back a little but was smiling too. "You are getting used to it?" He was intrigued. This mare was somehow able to really push her magic into emotions and it surprised him.

"A pony can get used to nearly anything. Smiling faces while I do it helps a lot." Penny certainly had a lot of those. The umbrum around the pair, who remained after their little meal, were all certainly happy.

Shadow blinked at this and looked around. "When we are… when you are channeling, I am too focused on keeping you at just the right amount of afraid. I don't want to hurt you, or make this all for naught."

Penny looked serious a moment and then sighed. "If I wasn't spoken for you would totally get another kiss on the nose right now. Dreams is a lucky mare."

Shadow blushed hotly at the compliment and turned his head to look back in the direction of the castle. "We should go."

Liking this new-found power she had discovered, Penny didn't challenge him at first. She started walking back, the little umbrum fluttering beside her. "Your wings get tired?"

"Wasn't so bad when we were in the… trap. We never got tired, never really felt anything."

"Hop on then." Penny moved a little sideways, giving Shadow the idea.

"It… I shouldn't." But the umbrum felt the mare's magic lift him from the air and settle him down on her back. He could have fought against it, but that would have not been polite.

"There. Now, lets get some food. I am betting Stick is going to be hungry as well and I know I am, even after eating… all that." Penny referenced, of course, the amount of food she had eaten while the umbrum fed.

Stick was already waiting for Penny in the kitchen, she had felt the mare stop with her… feeding, and head back toward the castle. "Found you! Come on, sit right here."

Penny's mood brightened at seeing Stick and she galloped right across the room, nearly upturning the plates of others eating on the way.

The unicorn didn't land on the chair as instructed, instead she caught up Stick in a tight hug. The moment their embrace started a surprised Shadow fluttered across the room and decided to silently excuse himself.

"Missed me did you?" Stick landed a kiss on the other mare's nose.

Penny giggled at the feeling. "Whenever I am not with you, I miss you."

"Well, thankfully that doesn't happen often." The first bite of food floated up and popped in Penny's mouth, the unicorn used to Stick's ways by now. "Oh, and we are going for a ride soon, Princess Luna has invited the umbrum to the town of the lunar pegasi."

Penny chewed obediently, pulling the second chair over with her magic so she could sit close to Stick. "Mmm, what is that? Oh, wait, is there a train to this town?"

Stick filled her mouth again. "Of course there is, I don't think there is a single place in Equestria that doesn't have iron tracks running to it. Oh, and it is creamed cauliflower."

Leaning in close to the changeling, Penny thought on this information while she chewed, now getting no chance to talk thanks to her marefriend… her special somepony.

"Oh…" Stick paused in her feeding. Penny had begun to channel and caught her off guard with the intensity of the love radiated. "You do know other changelings are going to be so distracted whenever you do that?"

Penny grinned and kissed Stick.

56 - Real fear

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Stick took a careful jump out of the tub, using her wings to land safely on the floor just outside it. "Coming to court today?" She reached in with her magic, to support Penny and help her safely from the big bath.

"Sure!" The unicorn mare reached for a brush even as Stick grabbed a towel and together they soon were dry, neat and still adorably snuggly.

The walk to the court was a short one but they spent it as closely pressed as they could be. Stick fed Penny a little bunch of crystal berries they had snagged the night before.

"Sorry, court is not to restart until tomorrow." The guardpony at the door looked a little annoyed but it was obvious that it was more a case of the amount of times he had had to say that.

"Well drat, what will be the-" Penny was about to ask Stick what the backup plan would be when she cut off, Cadance had walked up behind the stallion guarding the courtroom.

"It is alright, Flash, they can come in." Her voice sounded free of a lot of the burden Penny remembered it having before everything got resolved.

Flash Sentry stood a little straighter. "Of course, Princess."

Penny had a moment to realize who the stallion was before she was past him and walking into the familiar room. Shining Armor was present as well and he trotted over. "I believe I have you to thank for protecting me." The words seemed hard for the big pony to say, but he said them and lifted a hoof to Stick.

Returning the clop gave the prince a chance to inspect her hoof. "You got these defending me." It wasn't a question. Apparently Cadance had shared everything with him. He took a deep gulp. "If you need to drink from me, and I can't tell you in advance, you can."

Penny moved up to him. She knew what that would have cost the stallion to say. Before Stick could say anything she lowered her head. "Thank you. She means so much to me and I don't like the idea of returning to Canterlot with false signs she was doing bad things…"

"She is fine by me!" Shining stood proud, no sign that he had just fought an inner demon betrayed on his face.

Cadance intruded on the small event and lifted one leg up to hug Shining close. "You know, Shiny, she even drank from Luna, preferring to face the wrath of my auntie than let you come to harm."

The stallion looked even more surprised and Penny spotted her mare blushing at the words.

"I just didn't want anyone to get hurt!" It was an emotion right from the changeling's heart and Penny wrapped both legs around her and hugged her tight.

"A wonderful sentiment." Cadance was beaming with happiness. She had dipped a moment, into her special sight, and the strong ribbons of love that she saw that linked both these ponies lifted her heart. "And I want a promise from you." The words were full of import, getting Penny and Stick to both pay close attention.

"What is it, Princess?" Penny was less respectful of princesses, than Stick, and so cut in. But it was perfect for what Cadance wanted.

"It is a grave matter. When the time comes, you must call on me. I simply would not be able to live with myself if I didn't preside over your wedding." Cadance beamed, quite literally in her element here.

The smaller mares both blushed deeply and looked at each other at the same time. Words weren't needed, a simple nod to each other confirmed that such an event was going to happen, eventually.

Penny let her partner reply. "It would be an honor, Your Highness." Somehow the changeling executed the most perfect of curtseys, dipping low and lowering her head.

"Perfect. Even auntie won't snatch this away from me." Cadance sounded like it was an old, but friendly, feud.

"This reminds me." Penny looked directly at Cadance. "Did you have anything to do with Perfect Poise and Articulate Equation?"

It was like the princess had bitten into the most delicious of chocolate cakes, and been caught. "They are… perfect!" She giggled.

Stick started to look a little worried.

Penny missed the first cue from her mate. "They are going to be in charge of the new… business. I have informed Perfect that she need only come here to find an ally."

Cadance nodded, her wings giving a little flutter. "She is a good mare, gentle and with just the thing poor Art had been needing."

Stick now looked more troubled but it was Shining that noticed first. "Stick?"

Penny felt her partner slump down and roll to her side. "I can't help it…" The changeling didn't sound hurt, far from it.

Cadance leaned down. "Can't help what?"

Squirming around on her back, Penny realized what she looked like, and giggled.

"She is drunk." Reaching down and poking at the changeling's side, only giggles came back. "And it is our own faults."

Cadance looked to Shining to try and work out what had happened. He caught on before the princess. "Well, I am thinking it is one mare in particular who is at fault."

Shining Armor mock-glared at Cadance. There was no animosity in anypony and so the ruler of the Crystal Empire saw no reason to give up her position. "If somepony doesn't explain this…"

Stick was rolling and squirming on the floor, tilting her head back and poking at one of Cadance's hooves with her snout.

"You. Your pure element, love." Penny lifted a hoof and poked herself in the forehead. "It was tempered before, first by the stress of having a changeling around, then all these events… I think Stick just can't handle being near you."

"One little… eetsy bitsy nibble. I couldn't hellllllp it!" Stick was giggling and talking quite strangely now, her wings buzzing every now and again.

It finally all clicked home for Cadance and she started to giggle. "To think, all I might have needed to defeat old queen green-butt was to let her drink me?" She lay down and lifted a hoof to Stick, giving the changeling's jaw a little tilt so she could see those big blue eyes, half closed as they were now.

"Probably not that simple, but isn't that what you did? You gave her enough love to choke her and kicked her out?" Penny was grinning now, knowing that Cadance wouldn't hurt Stick.

Cadance was moving her hoof around now, the intoxicated changeling trying to pounce on it like a kitten. "I guess that is probably a good description of it. It warms my heart to hear news that the newest princess, Fast Change, beat her down in a more direct manner."

Penny could bet it did.

"What should we do about her?" Shining moved around to Cadance, carefully avoiding stray changeling limbs.

"For now, I think my special somepony has probably had enough love to last her a while."

Stick and Penny watched as ponies rode through the haunted house. "Look like fun?" Stick nibbled the mare's ear, the one still holding the gem earring that they both shared.

"Not really. Jump scares aren't… oh, I mean things leaping out at you and being more surprise than scare, don't really do it for me." Penny tilted her head, making sure that Stick had more access to the appendage she favored at the moment.

The sounds of the umbrum, excited and well fed, made Penny grin like a foal. Shadow darted over to the pair. "This is great, their fear is even better than yours!"

"Good to hear, is everypony getting a nice feed?" Penny let the tiny insult slide, every umbrum present seemed so very excited that she knew there was no ill intent behind it.

The little stallion nodded vigorously, earning a giggle from Stick.

Luna herself wandered over to where they were watching. It was easy to see how much pride the princess had in her new charges. "Would thou like a ride through… the haunted mansion?" She delivered it with perfect timing and Penny couldn't help it, she would not let Luna down.

"It is haunted!" Penny moved close to Stick, playing up her role. The changeling leaned one leg over Penny's shoulder.

"Don't you worry now, I will protect you!"

Luna almost danced in place she was so taken with the simple fun at hoof. "Then prepare thy selves!"

The little cart was built to fit only a few ponies, Stick and Penny found themselves together on it. It was everything Penny expected, but more. There was not an inch of false terror here, the umbrum worked perfectly and both mare's hearts were racing as they clung together and squealed or giggled alternately.

Things jumped out, but they carried a sense of focus with them that made the mares react in just the right way. Penny couldn't even think straight before things started to calm down at the end. With the fear fading, it was something else that kept them hugging together.

As they rolled out into the open it was just in time for everypony to catch them caught in a deep kiss, their legs tangled around each other.

A dark-colored hoof raised to try and cover the eyes of some foals waiting for their turn.

Realizing they were out and in the open again the blushing pair drew apart and managed to scramble from the ride, laughing and giggling.

The couple were waiting on the platform. Luna had sent them a message that everypony would be returning today and they were expected to travel to Hollow Shades with her and the umbrum. "Where is that again?" Penny had another piece of paper out, it was a little map that showed the train lines.

Stick poked at a spot with a hoof. "Somewhere around there. Did you see?" She next gestured to a gleaming new pair of rails that left the station and ran beside the main tracks until it reached the workers who were obviously laying more.

"Wow, they move fast!" Penny was surprised a little, it was certainly faster than she had thought. She saw the work ponies laying a new track, a single unicorn lifting the huge steel beam into place. "Oh, that explains it."

Their attention was grabbed in the opposite direction as a train started pulling in. It smoothly came into the station and Penny recognized that the back two carriages looked much different than the rest, extra work having been spent to make them look very special.

Ponies started departing the train and Penny's attention was grabbed by the big locomotive detaching from the carriages. At the other end, another was backing up to carry the train back in the other direction.

"Penny?" The voice that drew Penny's attention sounded familiar. "Penny Farthing, how did you know I would be on that train?"

Penny jumped up to her hooves and almost bounced on her way over to Moon Dancer. "Moon! It is good to see you. What is all this?" Blinking, Penny saw there were nearly a dozen boxes stacked around the other unicorn.

"The book publisher had some extras of some good schooling books." Moon sounded a little weary, but at the same time relieved. She had finally made it.

"Wow, that is awesome. Did you find someone to teach here?" Penny carefully opened one box, lifting out the magic primer within.

The yellow-coated mare blushed a little. "You are looking at her. It is time I finally got out from under all those books."

Surprised, Penny reached out and gave Moon Dancer a hug that had the solar unicorn pause a moment before she returned it.

Penny let the slightly flustered mare go. "To finding where we belong." She lifted a hoof and got a grin from Moon. The clop of their hooves sounded just as Princess Luna arrived.

57 - Moving forward

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"Train party!" Pinkie's exclamation cut through the noise of the train and all the ponies around them.

"Good luck, if you need anything, you talk to Perfect Poise, or go and see Cadance." Penny was still talking with Moon.

"You aren't staying?" The solar unicorn looked confused.

Stick was at Penny's side. "We are under orders."

Moon looked shocked at this. "You mean I need to organize all this, this school, myself?"

"I know you can do it, I wouldn't have asked you if I thought you were anything but the best mare for the job." Penny wrapped one leg around Stick. "Hay, at least there is no umbrum invasion to worry about!"

"Invasion?" Moon Dancer looked shocked and confused but quickly pushed it all down. "Who are all these little ponies anyway? I haven't-"

Princess Luna strode up, gesturing to the train. "Alight, children of darkness!" She raised her hoof high and it was like a flood as the umbrum boarded the cars. The princess was caught in a moment of levity and clopped her hooves together in glee. "This is so much fun…"

Penny watched with an open mouth as the princess of the night boarded the train. "We gotta go. You will do great!"

Stick urged her partner forward, the conductor of the train was giving them a stern look. "Come on come on!" There was some chitter in her voice but the changeling managed to get the emotional mare to board.

As they entered the train it was clear Pinkie had worked fast, at least in the carriage she was on. There were streamers everywhere and a huge cake rocked dangerously on one table as the train began to move. "Here they are!"

There was a blur of pink, then both Penny and Stick were suddenly wearing party hats. Stick even had a party horn in her mouth and blew into it, the paper unrolling and it making a silly 'fweeep' sound.

Penny barely had a chance to think when a slice of cake was offered on a plate. "Eat up, I baked this myself!" Pinkie was so full of energy it was impossible to resist. Stick didn't get a piece of cake but the pink mare leaned in and whispered something to Penny's partner that Penny didn't overhear.

Stick's cheeks blushed and the party horn sounded again.

A little confused, but not worried, Penny sampled some of the cake and wobbled on her hooves.

"I know, right, it is always that good." Twilight Sparkle had approached the pair while Pinkie had distracted them.

Stick, still blushing, echoed the alicorn's sentiments. "Sweet and good…"

Penny got an inkling of what the whispered words had been and felt good for her marefriend. "Any chance you would be able to help me with some study?" Twilight's words cut through Penny's musing.

"Of course, Twilight." Penny felt a kind of puppy love for the mare, mixed with a generous helping of respect, it added together into something that felt like friendship. Twilight didn't have much to work with, but she was a scientist, and Penny really enjoyed that aspect of life too. "What was it you wanted?"

"You were amazing, feeding all those poor ponies."

"I… think this is something we will need to discuss later. I will be in Canterlot once the umbrum are settled. I am sure there will be plenty of time for science." Penny had spotted Silver advancing and knew he had an outstanding issue with Twilight, one that seemed entirely one sided.

Twilight looked a little confused but happy at the idea. It wasn't often she met ponies that actually thought science was fun in the same way she did. Of course, this had the alicorn remembering her next meeting with Princess Fast Change.

Stick watched as Silver brushed off Twilight a little inexpertly and then sequestered himself with her mare. She smiled, nice as Silver had been, or the thought of being in a little hive, she loved Penny a whole lot more.

"What is up with Silver Lining?" Twilight's words caught in Stick's twitching ear.

"We could have a wacky adventure trying to find out?" Stick stepped up to the mare, the taste of the over-sweet love Pinkie had for everypony still tingling in her.

The alicorn princess laughed. "We could, but I get the feeling it is something he needs to work through himself. A scroll and quill appeared with a pop and Twilight was turning further toward Stick. "But, there are some things I wanted to ask."

It was true, Twilight had spent some time examining Stick already. The changeling didn't mind of course, she found it cute that the mare took such an interest. "Great princess of friendship and magic," Stick put on airs with the words, making them flow in a most courtly way, her voice dropped to normal for what followed, "ask away!"

"First," a little group of cards appeared in Twilight's hooves, obviously with the questions on them, "you are…" Twilight blushed suddenly. "You are… well, you managed to make a foal with Penny?"

Stick giggled at Twilight's adorable manner. She was embarrassed to ask such a thing, but she had to for her curiosity. "Yup. She was in the right time for a mare and I just…" A wave of green flame had Stick as the stallion form she had used. She was now much more pony than changeling, still with most of the features of a mare, except the important ones. What was obvious was the ear tufts and unicorn horn, it almost made the bright green tail and mane harder to be surprised at.

"Oh, you chose something like a lunar unicorn?" Twilight's quill was already working as she examined Stick, a tape measure appearing and starting to work at quantifying the changeling's shape.

"Sure did, even though this was something we did, based on our love, I had no qualm with making a tiny concession to the mare who made our love possible." Stick's answer seemed to confuse Twilight a moment. "Princess Luna."

"Oh!" Twilight seemed to see the reasoning.

"Our name was spoken?" The immortal alicorn in question was right behind Stick then and the changeling jumped a few inches off the floor in surprise. "We see an odd creature before us. She carries the blood of my children but something else…"

Stick blushed but didn't change, not with Twilight still measuring her. "Oh, uh, oh drat I forgot the mark…"

"Wait, don't change!" Princess Twilight ordered and Stick froze.

Luna, however, grinned. "The pieces come together now. The little stallion responsible for my child's swelling belly. I approve, Stick." The princess of the moon had slipped into a much more comfortable speech pattern, the royal plural dropping.

Stick sighed in relief, worried that Luna might be upset. "Sorry, but Princess Twilight-"

"Just Twilight." Twilight replied, measuring the barrel of the 'stallion'.

"Pri-… Twilight wanted to see what uh… how I… she wanted to see this. I didn't think right, I did exactly what she asked and took the exact form." Stick felt bad, she had broken a rule her tribe had agreed to.

One alicorn was too busy taking notes and measurements, the other chuckled. "I think the orders of a princess can countermand a little rule like that. But just this time." Luna examined Stick somewhat herself, trying to hide her giggle when Twilight, blushing furiously, measured something that had Stick eep and lift a back leg in surprise. "She is thorough. I will want a copy of these notes, Princess Twilight."

Twilight's flushed features appeared on the other side of Stick. "Oh, of course Princess Luna!"

Some more measurements were taken and Stick had to stand still and pose for a few images Twilight quickly embossed onto the scroll with magic. "It is still odd, I thought changelings had different biology…"

Luna had the answer, easily enough for any pony who had lived as long as she. "Love is more important than that. If a mare and a stallion lack love, they will never have a foal. There was even talk, many many years ago, that two mares, with enough love, could quicken a foal, each from the other."

This seemed to confuse Twilight a little until something made her smile. "Oh, I think I just worked something out!" Another scroll appeared and the quill she summoned with it was scribbling furiously. "I need to test this but… oh, that might work.

Elsewhere, deep in the heart of Equestria, Princess Fast Change jolted out of the slight doze she had been having, feeling an itch down her spine that just wouldn't quit.

The train pulled slowly into the station at Canterlot. There were some ponies to disembark but none were getting on. This train had been specially planned at Princess Luna's request and would continue on.

Penny and Stick were relaxing together, pressed close. "Why are you still wearing that?" Penny asked, gesturing to Stick who had, at least, added a changeling cutie mark to her form.

"Princess Luna likes it. I think it reminded her of your promise and your fulfillment of it." The changeling rubbed Penny's belly for emphasis. There was no swelling yet of course, but Stick still loved reminding her special somepony.

"I still don't understand all this, but there is one thing I do." Penny leaned over and kissed Stick, pressing her lips against the willing mouth of her lover.

Stick melted, green fire rushing over her and bringing her back to her changeling self as she settled and continued the embrace.

"I almost envy you." Dreams was sitting on the couch opposite the pair, cutting in a little, or so Penny thought. Then she realized the train was moving again. How long had they been kissing?

The two love-ponies drew apart. "What do you mean?" Stick turned to the umbrum.

"Love, it seems so much nicer to drink, fear is delicious, don't get me wrong, but ponies naturally swing toward love." There was melancholy in the umbrum's words.

"I think you would like where I came from better." Penny's words surprised both Stick and Dreams. "Fear was just about the one thing everypony… everyone, felt. The world was practically built on it, nations had not only used it offensively in fighting, but had used it to quell their own citizens." The words made Penny cry a little, thinking of the terrible place, compared to Equestria, that she had left.

Stick was hugging her tightly, squeezing the unicorn. "That doesn't sound wonderful."

"Horrible." Dreams had floated over to make conversing a little more cozy. "Fear is nice, Princess Luna has taught us new ways to have ponies feel it without them even truly being afraid. But to be in fear all the time…" The umbrum shuddered.

"There were moments when you could escape it, I don't think people, humans, would survive otherwise. But apart from anger, fear is what defines the age I lived in." Penny slumped into her mare's legs.

"Past tense?" Stick's question made Penny grin. She had noticed.

"Definitely past tense. I am a pony now, I have a mare who loves me and I am going to have her foal. Life doesn't get much better than this."

The umbrum got no food from either pony, but she smiled regardless, it was hard not to smile around these two.

Twilight presented herself to the hive, a basket levitating beside her. "And you are here to see Queen Fast?"

"Princess Fast Change, yes." Twilight told the guard for the second time.

The second changeling guard nodded and set off into the hive, returning a moment later. "Queen Fast is coming!"

"Princess Fast Change." The changeling queen herself, wearing her former unicorn shape, strode out, correcting her drone. A hoof reached up to rub the errant changeling behind the ears. "Please call me Princess and not Queen."

"Yes Queen Fast!" The reply was quick and the changeling clearly didn't see why their queen was giggling. But hay, if the queen thought something was funny, it must be! They laughed too.

"Is this a date, Princess Sparkle?" Fast spotted the basket and grinned.

Twilight wasn't flustered at all, which surprised Fast. "Yes and no. I have a theory and I am going to test it… we are going to test it!" A list appeared and a quill ticked off 'greet mare', Twilight glanced to the next item. "And you can come as you are, if you like. I am not unused to the form of changelings."

Fast blushed, this was all wrong, how did Twilight have HER off balance? The flames encompassed her, draining away the form she had lived in for much of her life. Before Twilight stood a changeling queen, in the full sense of the word, though her holes numbered very few. She also stood taller than Twilight.

"Much better." The alicorn brightened and double checked the contents of the basket. "Ready?"

Fast reflected briefly on the fact that she may never be ready for Twilight Sparkle, but she nodded.

58 - Settling

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"Whoa." Penny was with Stick, Shadow and Dreams, looking out the window at the dark forest that the train was now speeding through.

"You can say that again." Stick huddled a little closer to the mare. The two umbrum were drawn to the pair. "What's up?"

"Just hungry I guess." Dreams paused and realized that she had been focused on the pair. "I… hate to ask."

Penny reached out a hoof to the two, pulling them in for a hug. "Shadow, you know my fears the best, think you can work with this?" The lunar pony gestured at the dark and brooding forest.

His response was swift and terrifying. Penny's heart beat faster and she channeled as the big dark trees seemed to close in on her.

"Not too much." Dreams whispered in her ear, the umbrum's voice not breaking the sense of dread settling around the unicorn.

"I am… I am good for… for a bit more." Penny's breath caught in her throat and suddenly the fear was fading. There was a kiss on her cheek, from Stick, and it dispelled the last of the fear from her. "You are getting very good at that." She reached out a hoof to Shadow, getting a little clop from his in return.

Dreams sighed. "It would be harder to live with knowing my stallion held the heart of another mare in his hoof, if it wasn't for being able to taste just how much fear he can bring you to."

Penny and Shadow both blushed at this. "Penny is mine. But you can have the scared parts." Stick nibbled at Penny's neck. "I only want her love."

The train began to slow down, everypony feeling the slight shift forward as one.

"We must be nearly there." Penny spoke into the silence, not completely comfortable with where the conversation had been heading. Despite her willingness to have gone along with Silver's aborted plot, she really only wanted one pony in that part of her life.

"We are slowing down?" Shadow looked out the window to confirm. "Oh, there is the town!"

Sure enough a town that seemed to grip gloom and shadow close to its heart was coming into view. The big canopy trees loomed in over the town, keeping much of it in shadow despite the daylight hours.

The buildings themselves completed the dark theme. Gothic arches were the norm it seemed, but the oddest thing was that doors seemed much less so. Penny put it together first.

"What's up with the houses?" Stick was wide eyed as she took in the town.

Penny nipped her special somepony. "They are a whole town of pegasi. Ground level is subjective." She gestured at one building. "See, most of them have an ornate entry up off the ground."

The train jerked and there was a thud from each car as they came to a stop. "Welcome to your new home." Penny looked to the two umbrum. "Now lets see how Luna wants to do all this. I wonder how long it will take to get you settled and onto some regular meals?"

Shadow blushed at this and Penny couldn't fight the sensation that he had feelings for her. More reason she needed to be away from here, so Dreams could capture his attentions more singularly.

Penny's belly gurgled and there were giggles. "We are eating you away to skin and bones." Stick got up from the couch they had been on with a big stretch that had Penny's eyes glued to the changeling, wonder at her new-found desires evident to at least one pair of eyes. "Later, girl, first we need food."

Blushing, the unicorn nodded. Out on the platform, Princess Luna stood, her flowing night-sky mane and tail glittering in the gloom of the town. "We have returned, my ponies, and we bring new children of the night!"

There was a cheer from the lunar pegasi who had assembled to greet their princess. Penny could really see that Luna was everything to these ponies. She certainly couldn't fault them. Stepping out a little more, there was a gasp from one winged lunar pony. "Princess Luna's horn…" The exclamation was directed at Penny and the mare stopped dead still.

The princess in question stepped over. "We almost forgot, we brought two new families here."

This got many surprised cheers as Penny was presented.

"Behold, the tribe of lunar unicorns is born and will," Luna's hoof lowered significantly to Penny's side, "continue."

The roar of cheering made Penny blush and try to avoid the crowd. But with Luna there, there was no getting away. "We hunger, my ponies." The mix of pronouns didn't feel confusing to Penny at all anymore.

The crowd parted at her words, Luna directing Penny and Stick, some of the umbrum following too. Their destination was, apparently, dinner. The place had the same feel as an up-market fast-food shop, but Penny smelled something that had her mouth watering. "What is that… is that-"

"Meat." Luna grinned down to the excited mare. "You are among other lunar ponies, meat is regular diet here."

Penny found herself realizing that something had been missing from her diet that she hadn't even noticed. She all but snatched up a menu to start looking through it.

Most of the meat was fish, with some fowl in the mix. Penny pondered asking about red meat but then thought better of it. Most creatures here that would be 'red meat' were also able to talk. She pointed at one entry with her hoof. "Grilled fish with lemon-grass and a bed of daisies."

Stick cut in. "Can I have the squid salad?" A hoof that Penny knew had a hole or two in it brushed against hers.

The mare taking their orders nodded and turned to the rest of the table. Luna had Dark Pass and his family at the table. They looked a little confused at what to order. Shadow, sitting on the other side of Dreams from Penny, lifted a hoof. "Excuse me." The waitress turned to him a little overwhelmed at having not only her princess but these new creatures too. "Please, for each of us," he gestured to himself with a hoof, then Shadow and the other umbrum, "bring an extra dish that you think a lunar pony would like."

Penny drew in a deep breath. This was going to be a long meal, apparently.

This all seemed agreeable to the other umbrum, Luna looking down to the lunar unicorn with a smile. "Our niece has you working hard, we promise to reduce the time you need to keep this up."

Stick kissed Penny's cheek. "That would be appreciated. She still has her other duty to perform." Luna nodded to this. The meals started to arrive and, in clear deference, Stick got her meal first. Penny had no trouble at all feeding the changeling, all she had to do was focus on her mare and the love flowed. She channeled slowly, letting her partner feed her while she did so.

The first two plates were emptied in short order but Penny knew things were far from complete. "Dreams, would you like to try this time?" Penny didn't lean over, but she offered a hoof to the umbrum mare.

Shadow looked a little put out by not being the one to bring Penny's fears, but let it go easily, particularly since he was going to get a meal served up by his marefriend.

Dreams had a much gentler touch than Shadow. The mare felt for Penny's fears, felt them grow at her touch. "What would you want to fear tonight?" Penny's heart was already racing but she felt a smile.

"There is no fear…"

The umbrum's eyes widened and she smiled. "… but fear itself."

Penny's terror rose, she trembled a moment until Stick wrapped a leg behind her back. The food was great, it filled something in Penny she hadn't known she was missing but the stark fear of being afraid tainted each mouthful. She channeled her magic through that fear, the power tainted by the emotion as it radiated out from her. It was almost like the umbrum at the table grew in stature, at least to the unicorn.

Under Rock, the little umbrum foal of Dark Pass and Pale Whisper was the strangest. The little foal half climbed on the table in her excitement. Penny watched her and the fear wavered. "No, you can't let that go yet." Dreams' voice intruded on the adorable scene and Penny felt swamped by more fear.

Stick was quite insistent she feed Penny, when Shadow attempted to, the changeling gave him a glare that Penny, in her terrified state, managed to pick up on. Luna was chatting happily with the umbrum, discussing her plans and machinations that would see to their regular feeding.

"You can stop now." Dreams' words filtered into Penny's mind through the haze. No matter how terrified she had been, the umbrum controlling that fear had always been heard. A hoof bumped her black-tipped horn and her magic stopped suddenly.

"Penny, you can relax." It was Stick on her other side. The umbrum had all stopped their feeding when the magic ceased. But one.

Penny looked up as Under kept nibbling at her fear, taking it away slowly. "Can… can you please stop?"

The foal looked like she had been caught doing something naughty and tried to hide.

"Wait, no it's okay. You need to stop feeding when I am not channeling, not spraying it out." Under scooted along past a few ponies until she ended up managing to part Penny and Stick.

Looking entirely too adorable, the little foal looked up at Penny. "You tasted so nice!"

Penny blushed at this, the terror had been a very primal and deep one. Who wasn't afraid of fear? "I am glad you liked it, it takes a lot out of me to do that."

The foal giggled and gestured to the stack of plates before Penny, all empty. "Looks like it took a lot IN to do it too!"

"It does!" Penny couldn't help grinning, the fear she had felt all gone now.

"What's it taste like?" Stick sounded genuinely interested.

The umbrum filly lifted a hoof to her chin and rocked a little in place. "Oh, it is like those sweets the pink pony gave me. Like those but more… more solid."

Stick nodded. "Love is much the same for me." The changeling noticed the parents of the foal, at the other end of the table, looked quite distracted in each other, with their little one in friendly hooves for a short time. "Have you tried to eat other things?"

Under tilted her head. "I had one of the daisies from that plate." She pointed one cute hoof at the pile of plates. "But it tasted small."

Stick giggled at this, glancing up at Penny who had been a little shocked at the tiny pony. "No, I mean other emotions. Have you tried to eat others?"

The filly shook her head. "Okay," Penny cut in, raising one hoof up to ruffle the foal's mane, "we can try that out later if you like?"

Nodding, Under looked up just in time to see her mother and father share a kiss. She was about to try and head down to distract them from what the filly thought of as 'yucky' things, when Penny got her attention. "Hay, want to play a game?"

She was getting a small pile of bits from her bag, setting twelve of them on the table.

The filly's eyes danced. "Sure!"

"Okay, the goal of the game is to get the last bit." Penny held it up in her magic and danced it around a little. "Each turn, you can take one, two or three bits." She held up the amounts as she said them. "Then I get to do the same and back and forth."

The foal nodded at this. Stick looked a little intrigued.

"Okay, you go first!" Penny watched the filly try and sort it all out. She picked up one bit.

"Ohh, good choice." Penny took the next three.

The foal looked at the eight remaining bits, selecting two this time.

Penny plucked up two more.

"You won." Under looked up.

"You catch on quickly, so you learned how to beat me?" Penny was relaxed and calm.

Under nodded. "It is easy to win, just don't go first."

Penny laughed and pulled out two more bits. "The trick is, as you said, don't go first, but if the person insists, try and tell them that you will make it more difficult and add two more bits. Then you take those two first."

"Making them go first!" Under clopped her adorable little hooves together in excitement.

Twilight looked at her list.

Becoming better than best friends

She grinned at the title. Surely this would work. If love was a stronger version of friendship, as she hypothesized, this would be the perfect experiment.

Spreading out the blanket, Twilight had it on the little grassy hill in a moment.

"You are really going all out, I must ask, what are you up to?" Princess Fast Change was her first test subject. She knew changelings fed on love, so this would absolutely be the most definitive test. But Twilight couldn't let her know about it, that would ruin impartiality.

"What do you mean? I just thought a nice picnic would be good." Twilight started unpacking the sandwiches and cakes she had brought. She ticked off small talk from her list. Her ears suddenly dropped. "I didn't bring anything for you to eat!" Twilight's wings flared up in worry and she started consulting her list.

Fast sighed as she watched the manic mare desperately trying to find something for the situation. "Twilight, relax." She reached out a hoof to steady the alicorn. "If you think a nice, happy thought, then I can easily have a light snack."

Twilight had a quill and was adding to the list. She could still save this. "Oh, uh…" As she worked, she felt an odd tingle inside.

"There, just think about your list, are you sure you have everything on it? Tell me to stop and I will…" Fast drank sparingly, slowly. With the other princess focused on her science, Fast had more than enough love to drink from.

"Oh, that feels all…"

"Nice?" Fast's voice was smooth and Twilight nodded. "Not too much though, I only know one pony in all Equestria who can feed even a single changeling for a day."

"Penny?" Twilight perked up at this, getting a nod from Fast.

"Penny. And a most clever young unicorn too. My little drone has had her heart stolen by the mare." Fast ruminated on the thought. She remembered just having the pair in the hive had left her smiling for a day.

Twilight ticked off some more things from her list. "Did you hear the news about them? They are expecting."

The little cake Fast was nibbling on went flying as her wings buzzed in surprise. "A foal?"

59 - A new leg

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The next day there were a few less umbrum than usual for Penny to feed and, faster and faster, the number dwindled. The mare didn't waste the time, she was focused on her study, wanting to know as many of the horn-alphabet as she could before reaching school.

"You can do it, I know you can." Stick found her partner curled up on their bed. "Many to feed today?" The changeling climbed up beside Penny and snuggled in against her.

"Luna is teaching them well, you notice how much happier they seem? I don't think my fear was feeding them too well." Penny let herself be distracted by Stick, leaning and giving her cheek a kiss.

"Mmm, you in the mood still?" Stick returned the kiss, this one striking Penny right on the lips and the pair were distracted, Penny proving to her special somepony just how in the mood she was.

After a very satisfying, for both, bout of intense snuggling, Stick was running a hoof in lazy circles on Penny's belly. "You aren't in your cycle anymore." The changeling looked almost as happy-drunk as when Cadance had fed her, but she had a whole mare to herself to keep her focus.

Penny thought on this and shrugged. "I feel how I feel. Estrus, pregnancy, whatever." She rolled to her back, depriving Stick of the side-belly to rub but giving her the whole of her deep black belly-fur to work on. "Are you going to complain?"

"No ma'am." Stick took the bait and shuffled closer, leaning her head down and laying it on the unicorn's midsection, turning so she could gaze up at Penny. "You know, before we met, I wasn't… experienced, much, either?"

Levitating a pillow under her neck, Penny propped herself so she could look down at Stick. "In some ways I gathered that. In others… you are my first, you know?"

Stick nodded, a silly-happy smile on the changeling's snout revealing the tips of her fangs. "I wish you had been mine, but I am not going to complain about that, I have you now." Lifting a hoof up, Stick met one of Penny's with a quiet clop.

"You do. Question is, what is the brutish changeling going to do to their unicorn captive?" Penny rubbed that hoof against Stick's.

"Your changeling queen is going to rest a little more, for a start." Stick drew her hoof away and leaned up to kiss the playful hoof. "Then she is going to have her way with the unicorn."

The next morning Penny looked around the usual meeting spot, there was not a single umbrum waiting for her. "The princess of the night has taken your charges. They roam dreams, finding just the right ones that shouldn't be stomped away, they feed as the dreams teach the pony within them." Dreams had flown up from behind her, landing neatly on Penny's back.

Penny grinned at how much more forward the mare was now. Being able to feed themselves, she realized, had given the umbrum much of themselves back. "Sad or happy?"

The umbrum rocked a little as Penny laid down in the soft grass. "About it? Very happy, Shadow is twice the stallion he was when he only had you to scare."

"I am sorry, I didn't realize how… distracted, he got." There was a nip to Penny's shoulder at that comment, she took it with grace.

"It's okay, and it really is better. I saw a side of him I hadn't, in over a thousand years." Dreams tucked herself down, using Penny's dark mane to partly hide in. "I confronted him about it, he really didn't realize what he was doing."

"Stallions." Penny put her feelings into the word, more about everypony than particularly the minority that is male.

"Stallions." Dreams seemed to agree. "So when are you leaving?"

Penny lifted her head a little in a jerk. "Almost forgot about all that. You are really all back on your hooves?" She felt Dreams sift through her thoughts a little, finding her fears for the future and gently nibble at them.

"We are, most of us help Princess Luna with dreams. Others are working on building a fun house like we made in the Crystal Empire. Yet others have found themselves leaving to find other ways our gifts can help ponies." Dreams didn't eat all the fear, she had discovered Penny liked to keep a little around, but she did take the edges off it for her friend.

Penny gave a sigh, even as the fear of her future had arisen, her friend reduced it. "There is an old saying, where I am from. 'A problem shared is a problem halved'." Penny channeled a little, thinking on that fear.

Dreams was able to feed more fully on this. "I could eat that all away if you wanted?" She drank in the energy, slowly wafting off Penny. It tasted better, even though it was muddied with other emotions. The umbrum had gained insight into such, fears born of the pony themselves were much tastier than ones induced by umbrum magic.

"Leave me something to worry about, but eat some more if you like. It is nice to just relax and not worry so much." Penny did just that, letting her magic flow slowly. One by one more umbrum appeared. One by one they lay down in the little field. None but Dreams drank from her, though. Penny finally came from her little daze to realize every umbrum in the town was there.

"Thank you." Dark was right in front of her, his voice warm.

"Thank you." Under piped up in her adorable voice.

It continued, each of the little ponies saying the words. Penny started to cry and the ritual paused. "She isn't sad, I can't drink from her at all anymore…" Dreams was looking around Penny's mane.

"I am so happy you are all okay…" The unicorn managed to get the words out between sobs. Dreams leaned in with her small hooves and hugged Penny. The umbrum moved together and each winged fairy-pony added themselves to the hug and, continued their thanks.

The tears couldn't last forever, Penny's eyes dried up and one by one the umbrum moved back and left. Soon only Dreams was there.

"Is this goodbye?" Penny felt the weight of her responsibility reduce, but part of her wanted to keep that yoke.

"No, this is 'see you in your dreams you delicious mare.'" Dreams hugged her tight and Penny reached up a hoof to gather the smaller pony in as well.

Penny felt the jerk of as the locomotive pulled the train into motion. She had cried more, both alone and with Stick at her side. "Don't you dare cry more. I don't care how delicious such happiness is, I hate seeing you cry, for any reason." Stick was holding an accusing hoof out and waving it at Penny.

The unicorn sniffed. "I guess I was just a little attached to them." Stick moved over and was pressed to her side. The touch of her marefriend always made Penny's emotions lift.

"You were, and it is adorable to see you having been so motherly about it." Stick nuzzled Penny's neck.

It hit the lunar pony. She had been. How had she missed this? "Motherly…"

"Yes, silly little snack, you helped bring them out into the light, you fed them until they could feed themselves."

Penny reeled at this. "I… I guess that is sort of right." She tilted her head, trying to work out how she felt about it and it came to her. Nothing bad had happened, the umbrum were on their hooves and running. "Was I a good 'mother'?"

"The best." Stick, ever the biased opinion, nibbled at Penny's neck.

"Stick! It isn't that long a trip to Canterlot." Penny's exclamation didn't echo, not in the private room they had.

The changeling pushed Penny over onto her side. "Your queen demands attention." A brush floated from Penny's saddle bags, the end stuffing into the mare's mouth just as she was going to say something. Stick watched as Penny's expression shifted gears and she slowly drew back up, leaning in and brushing at the changeling's tail. "Good filly."

Twilight had felt the changeling drink. She had spent enough time with Slow and Stick to have learned to sense that touch. "You are more gentle than the rest." Her observation had made Fast look suddenly guilty and the sensation stopped. "Oh keep on, it feels sort of nice and I told you you could."

"Okay, what is going on here princess? I am laying all my cards out right now." Fast looked flustered and more than a touch confused. "I put the moves on you, you seem to be all coy about it. Then when I had all-but given up on riding your flank you do this?"

The princess of friendship's wings flared as Fast's hoof circled and indicated the picnic. "I… I was just trying to prove something." Fast Change didn't reply, she just raised an eyebrow. "I was talking with Stick, she made me think the secret to becoming special someponies was friendship. It is my domain, I should know about this!"

Fast took a deep breath. She had given up, lost, surrendered all her schemes. "Well, of course it is. The best love is built on friendship first. Why was all this…" Fast's eyes went wide.

Twilight seemed to catch on that the changeling thought something very significant was going on.

"But… does that mean you… you want to be my special somepony?" Fast sounded as shocked as Twilight suddenly was. Both were blushing furiously as a gentle breeze caught their manes.

By the time the train pulled into Canterlot Station the pair had been up to their usual antics and their tails and manes were pristine and well cared for.

"So where do we go to sort all this school stuff out?" Stick looked around the station as they disembarked, not noticing anypony who might be expecting them.

"Maybe asking for a meeting with Celestia would be a good idea. I am sure she will want to know where her bits are going, at the very least. If not get another perspective on events." Penny looked up to the castle, remembering that this was where her new life had all begun.

"After, we need to visit the hive." Stick started following Penny, keeping more or less at her side as they wandered off the platform.

The slow amble through the city proved to the pair just how much bigger Canterlot was than their recent homes. Ponies everywhere, even a griffon or two were on the streets. Penny shifted her pace to press in against Stick.

"We are here to beg an audience with Princess Celestia." Penny stepped up to the guard at the main entrance to the castle.

"Names?" The stallion seemed partly bored but not in a way that detracted from his duty. It was just a slow day apparently.

"Penny Farthing and Stick." Stick supplied their names and the guard didn't look impressed, but it wasn't his job to judge supplicants.

"Please wait here." He turned and left them with just one guard watching them. His return had him looking a little surprised. "The princess will see you shortly."

Penny beamed at the news and followed as another guard came to take them to a room. "If you will follow me." The two mares did just that.

Their guard offered no conversation to them, the pair still excited about their recent adventures. "You said some of the umbrum left? You know what they are doing?" Stick decided that if the guard wouldn't talk, she might as well.

"One I heard about seems to want to be a sort of psychologist." Penny noticed Stick looked stumped on the word. "Someone who talks with ponies, helping them understand their feelings."

"That is neat. I guess they could help reduce a pony's fears, at the very least." Stick's observation got a nod from Penny.

They were at the room before their chat got any further and the guard gestured for them to wait inside. The room was spectacular, at least to Penny. Every inch of wall and ceiling was a mural, of the sun and happiness. It was like it was the very focus of Celestia's desires for her ponies.

"They are already inside, your highness." The words of the guard filtered in and the pair turned just as the alabaster princess made her entry.

Celestia had a smile for the pair. "It is good to have two of my ponies return." The presence of the mare almost overwhelmed Penny. Before when she had met with the ruler, she had felt a sense of being removed, of not quite being the target of her words. Not anymore.

Penny and Stick, both, lowered themselves to a knee.

"Now stop that, I am not that sort of princess and there is no one here to impress." Celestia found a small pile of pillows and set herself down on them. "I already have news of the Crystal Empire, but from two ponies of such regard I would wish to hear it again."

Getting their hooves under them and likewise finding some seating, Penny and Stick looked to each other. "Want it from the beginning, or the best news first?"

"Lets try, from the beginning." Princess Celestia's request was heralded by the sudden existence of a little cart, covered in cupcakes and deserts. "Would you like one?" A pair of plates, laden with cheesecake was already floating to the pair.

Stick, not needing to actually eat, decided to start. "I guess it started, then, with a flash of green over Canterlot..."

60 - You were all waiting for this, I know

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"She was smiling? She said 'I'?" Princess Celestia cut in on Penny, the white-furred alicorn looking quite pleased.

Penny nodded. "She did. She is showing the umbrum how to walk dreams and help ponies deal with the more teachable side of nightmares." Though Penny said it slowly, herself, since she wasn't quite sure how it worked.

"And now here you are. Word was sent from Luna, she has leaned on her right as a serving board member of my school, to put you forward as a student." Celestia looked quite happy still, although there was some humor the mare kept back. "Are you sure you wish to go ahead with this? I understand Ambassador Silver Lining was serving as your teacher."

"He was, but he has a wife to dote on, and two foals to see into the world. Besides, Cadance ordered me to do this." Penny blushed a little. It was one thing to leave off the 'princess' honorific when talking among friends, another when talking to… to Princess Celestia.

If it was an insult, Celestia didn't acknowledge it as one. "Very well. The school doesn't normally take in students without full knowledge of their alphabet. Although from what I understand, you can channel quite well."

Penny had blushed a little but nodded. "I can hold a channel, even through a fair bit of distraction. I guess my… change, had a little hoof in that." Penny pulled Stick a little closer to her side, hugging the mare with one leg.

"The important question, my ponies, is when will you be marrying?" Celestia gave the biggest smile Penny had ever seen on her. The insight hit her in a glorious way, Celestia lived to see her ponies happy, Penny was considered to be 'one of her ponies'.

"Before our foal is born." Stick booped Penny on the nose to keep her quiet a bit. "I want to wrap this mare up in my love and make sure everypony sees it."

Though her future was being tied up, Penny didn't feel restricted. If anypony was going to claim the rest of her life, Stick would be it.

"Wonderful. May I offer to preside over the event?" Celestia looked like the cat that ate the canary.

Stick kissed the unicorn at her side, before turning back to the ruler. "You will forgive us, but we must decline that." Celestia's smile faltered. "Princess Cadance already offered and it would have been impolite to refuse the princess of love the honor to marry us."

Celestia's mask of happiness was up before the mares could see her frown. She wasn't really upset, but she did enjoy wedding ponies, Cadance seemed to take to it as well. "Then you would do me the honor, should your foal be a unicorn and gifted as I believe they will be, to extending an invitation to my school, to them?"

Penny managed to intercept Stick's hoof this time. "Princess Celestia, it would be silly of me to refuse such an offer. I would still love to have you at the wedding, if you can find time-"

The alicorn gave her no time to finish her words. "For a wedding that bonds two tribes together, two wonderful ponies? Discord himself could not keep me away from such an event."

"You called?" The male voice coming just to the side drew all eyes.

"I did not, Discord, and you know it." Celestia was firm, but not unkind.

Penny was surprised at the chaos being, but not scared. "Hi!" She smiled but it faltered as suddenly she was picked up and wearing baby-clothes?

"She is adorable! Another human-turned-pony? Celestia, you simply must teach me this spell." Discord had Penny in a baby carriage.

Stick looked surprised, but not worried either, she had to lift up on buzzing wings to see where Penny was, but she started giggling at seeing the mare coddled in the pram.

Penny knew her dignity was lost, stripped away by Discord's magic as surely as he stripped that of princesses just as easily. She snuggled in the soft wrappings, at least it was comfortable. The pacifier in her mouth, when she tried to talk, did strike her as a step too far and she tried to spit it out.

"Discord, put that mare back right now." The princess sounded stern and Penny realized she would challenge Discord over her.

"Mare is it? But she is so small." Discord took defeat easily, gesturing and dispelling his magic.

The pram, and baby clothes were all gone. Penny had to fight with the pacifier though.

"She was so cute in there." Stick was grinning widely. Trust her to think Discord's games were fun, Penny thought.

Turning to the changeling, Discord didn't let his mood sour a moment. "She did didn't she? And what do we have here? A changeling at ease in Canterlot, surely there is some mistake."

"She is my special somepony." Stick replied, gesturing to Penny as the unicorn was now bracing the pacifier with both front hooves trying to get it out of her mouth. "We were just discussing our wedding."

Suddenly Discord was dressed in the finest, and strangely well-fitting tuxedo. Stick, likewise, was in a flowing, pure white wedding dress with train trailing down over her tail. Of course it fouled her wings and the changeling was dropping until she was caught on one of Discord's mismatched arms. "Oh, is there room for a groom at this party?" Discord's eyes flashed with glee.

A loud pop heralded Penny's victory over the dummy. "You are invited, if you behave." She looked up to him. He hadn't done anything bad to her, and Penny knew he was reforming.

A sudden tension all around the lunar pony heralded the materialization of her own wedding dress and Discord lifted her up, seeming to be larger than normal and holding her and Stick close. "Now kiss…"

The absurdity of it made both the mares in his grip giggle, but they kissed. "Alright, I now declare you-"

"STOP!" Princess Celestia was glowing with golden fire, it was like the sun itself was inside her radiating out. "You will not take this moment from them. Put them down, Discord."

The princess took all the wind out of him. "Spoilsport."

Penny and Stick, however, were both focused on each other. "You look amazing…" Penny was gazing right into the changeling's eyes, Stick doing likewise.

"You too." Stick looked a mix between drunk on happiness and giddy. "Discord."

His name invoked always drew the mismatched being's attention. "Yes?" He drew out the S, his whole body twisting to look at the mare.

"Can we keep the dresses? You do excellent work."

The 'god' of chaos reached a cat-paw forward to boop each mare on the nose.

"You can, consider them gifts." Discord looked up to Celestia, sticking his tongue out before vanishing.

"That went better than usual." Celestia slumped a little, floating a new slice of cake over, only to find it was now chocolate cake. She shrugged and had some anyway.

"So what do we do, then?" Twilight looked at her list in mourning, it had been going so well.

Princess Fast looked at the unticked entries. "Two things." She took a deep breath and reached out to the list, her green magic gripping the forsaken quill and adding to the bottom.

Return the changeling's kiss and compliment her on it

Twilight tilted her head, puzzling it out. She looked up to Fast just in time to have the changeling queen meet her mouth with her own. It was a moment before the blush really started, a moment more before Twilight pulled back and looked around. "Oh, uh, um…"

Fast had her eyes closed still, her mind focused on the memory so she could recall it as clearly as possible later. "You have an entry to tick off."

Twilight looked between Fast and the list, back and forth a few times before she picked up the quill in a shaky magic-grip and ticked it off. "It was…"

The other princess' ears twitched and seemed to focus. Twilight gulped and was sure she could say the words so long as the changeling didn't open her eyes.

Fast opened her eyes.

"It was nice!" The words ran together and Twilight's voice broke as she said them.

"Okay, now you have a whole mess more items to tick off there, how about we just relax and have a nice picnic?" Fast figured either she had lost the mare completely or maybe, just maybe, there was a seed of interest planted.

"The list? Yes! The list!" Twilight was scanning it, finding the options for food. "Okay, sandwiches, check. Do you eat?"

Fast scooped up one of the salad-filled parcels and proved she did. Twilight relaxed visibly, she ticked off another item.

They had a scroll with them now, Stick carrying it along in her magic. It had Celestia's own seal on it. "Those dresses were gorgeous." The changeling gave a happy sigh, memories of her special somepony in the dress welling up.

"It is meant to be bad luck, for a groom to see their bride in their dress before the event." Penny leaned in and kissed Stick's cheek. "Lucky there is no groom." They shared a giggle. "Unless… unless you want to be?"

Stick almost dropped the letter. It hadn't occurred to her, at all, that such a thing could be done. "No, I am your mare."

"Our foal might argue that." Penny gave her another kiss to make sure the first wasn't lonely.

"Our foal will have two loving mares to care for them." Stick pressed in against Penny, denying the mare room to do more such kisses, but making their walk a little more intimate.

Penny looked up, as if from a daze. "Here it is." She gestured to the huge building with a hoof. Statues of prancing unicorns were out front. "Lets go in and get this done."

"It certainly is big…" Stick kept at her side, although she did part so they weren't quite as tightly pressed.

"Can I help you?" The voice came from a mare just inside the entrance arch they had passed through.

Penny brightened at the friendly tone. "I have been admitted here, I am to learn magic…"

The mare looked at the lunar unicorn with a bit of scrunch in her snout. "You have not been admitted yet, you will need to apply at-"

Stick offered up the scroll, making sure the seal was forward.

Snapping the seal herself, the mare unfurled the short scroll and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, you have been admitted." It seemed to cost her some face to say the words but she recovered. "If two princesses, both senior staff here, recommend you I can hardly turn you down." Her eyes slipped to Stick. "Your partner?"

Penny nodded but abstained from showing overt affection.

"You can both share a room then should you need one, we will not split a mare from her partner, you may even attend classes at your marefriend's side." Her attention slipped from Penny to Stick, the unicorn mare not showing a hint of discrimination at either of them based on their species.

"Penny Farthing." Penny smiled to the mare, introducing herself.

"Stick." The changeling looked bright and excited.

"I am Gingersnap." The unicorn mare with the brilliant orange coat sporting a brown mane and tail, replied to them, gesturing with a hoof behind her. "Welcome to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns."

Penny brightened at the good cheer of the mare.

"Now, first thing, we need to divine your aptitude, Stick's too if you wish to attend?" It was an offer the changeling hadn't expected and wouldn't turn down. Stick nodded to this. "Excellent, as luck would have it my replacement is arriving in a moment and I can take you aside for that immediately. Do you have quarters in Canterlot or would you like to stay on campus?"

Penny nodded. "I think it would be best to immerse myself in this. I really want to learn as much as I can."

Gingersnap practically glowed with delight, her eyes closing she smiled so much. "It is wonderful to hear a student say that."

A stallion was approaching with dark gray mane and tail and a yellow-brown coat. "Ah, here he is now. Cherry Fizzy, meet Stick and Penny. Penny is our newest student!"

"Oh my, one I didn't find?" The stallion sounded not one bit upset by this. "A pleasure to meet you."
Penny raised her hoof, without thinking, for the stallion to take it and kiss. She pondered this reaction before he did the same to Stick.

"Normally, this flirtatious stallion is out and about scouting for new unicorns for our school." Gingersnap resisted his attentions herself, apparently the rebuff being nothing new to the pair, nor taken badly.

"Enough." Cherry smiled warmly at the pair. He knew what it meant when two ponies were admitted together like this, but flirting with a mare was never a bad way to introduce yourself. "Take them away, shatter my heart with their loss." His grin told Penny and Stick it was all in good fun.

It didn't stop both their hearts from beating a little faster. Penny mused that, for the first time in her existence, she felt a little thrill at knowing somepony simply found her attractive. Stick moved between Penny and the stallion. "Mine." She glared at him a moment before giggling and turning.

Cherry grinned all the more. A changeling and a lunar unicorn? He wished suddenly he could hang around and see what havoc such a pair would cause.

61 - Schooled

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"Okay, lets start simple." Gingersnap gestured with a hoof toward the barbells on a heavy mat. "Start with the first, let me know when you are struggling. There is no failing with this, only working out what you can and can't lift and how much work to put in to improve."

The unicorn sounded very friendly and Penny braced herself. She reached out to the first weight and smiled as she lifted it.

A clipboard floated over and the teacher made a note. "Next one."

Sally put the first down and reached for the second one. To say it felt like a rock was an understatement.

"You can lift it when… you are having trouble?" Gingersnap sounded surprised. Her own magic reached out and brushed Penny's from the weight, lifting it up. "No, there is nopony playing a trick…"

Stick had a hoof over Penny's shoulders, comforting the mare. "We need to explain something, do you have a diagram of how a unicorn's magic flows?"

The orange mare reached over and pulled down a chart that was spring loaded. "This do?" It had a picture of a unicorn on it, showing an overlay and descriptions of the major magic points and a zoom-in on their horn.

"Can you see magic directly, or do I need a prop?" Stick was already looking for a prop and grinned when she found some twine.

Gingersnap looked between the two, unsure what the changeling was about but interested if it meant an explanation for the lunar unicorn's abysmal lack of strength.

Stick nodded and her green tongue poked out the edge of her mouth as she started working her magic. She highlighted a green area in the picture's chest as 'emotional center' and then ran two lengths of twine down from their horn to that, splitting off from the paths and flowing down to there. "This was the result of an injury. She can weaken the flow of magic to her horn, but these paths siphon off her strength and channel it-"

"Through her emotional centers, where it radiates?" A lot of things clicked in Gingersnap's head. She gave a stern look at the changeling then a softer one to Penny. "Is this changeling taking advantage of this?"

Penny's eyes went wide. "No, I love her…"

There was a much greater force of magic swelling, Penny could see primarily cerulean swirls of power wrapping around and flowing over her.

The whole display, the mare realized, was not a show of raw power but of carefully built spells that Gingersnap was weaving and, just as suddenly, were gone.

"Okay, I wanted that settled." The teacher looked over to Stick. "I am sorry for the accusation, but you understand why I would do that?"

Stick sighed. "Changelings aren't as well thought of, I know. We did some bad things, there are still plenty that are doing bad things."

Penny was at her marefriend's side, hugging Stick as tight as she could. She glared up at the teacher but didn't put much heat in her words. It was more anger at the social norms that would have the conclusion Gingersnap reached be the most believable. "We are to be married, Cadance herself will be performing the ceremony…" She trailed off, unsure why she was getting so worked up.

Gingersnap gave a small smile. "Okay, so I understand a lot more of you two than I did when we started. That doesn't fully excuse your strength, a section of your raw power is lost, so we must build more raw power." Making notes, the teacher tugged the cord and the little poster zipped back up into it's holder. "So, does this affect your spell casting? You know all the alphabet?"

Penny smiled again, her emotions swinging in the breeze. "I know some of it. Silver… Ambassador Silver Lining has been teaching me the basics."

The name got a raised eyebrow from Gingersnap. "Silver Lining? I would have hoped for a pony a little more… relaxed, to be teaching you. Regardless, lets see what you know."

Penny started with the runes she knew well, forming them much more easily now, but about halfway through the alphabet she faltered.

"Stop, there is room for improvement on most of those, and you have much to learn." Gingersnap reached out a hoof to tilt Penny's down-cast snout up. "Lucky you are in the perfect place for that, school! Now, I am not sure if we can really test everything you can do, but Stick, if you would try and lift those bars?"

The first was wrapped in green magic and lifted easily. Then at the teacher's nod the changeling put that down and lifted the second. "Can I try the third?"

Gingersnap beamed at Stick. "Please do, there are no baselines for this, how would you rate yourself among other changeling… drones?" Stick nodded to her use of title, more notes were made.

The third bar lifted smoothly and lowered. "That was more work, I want to try the fourth." Lowered back down, the third bar rolled a touch before the next one started to wobble. "Oh wow, that is…"

"Much heavier. The bars increase in weight exponentially." Penny's ears twitched as Gingersnap said the familiar, yet uncommon word. "Each grows at a rate ten times the previous. So, firmly a three, but you could make that four twitch, very good."

Stick was panting and nodding. Penny, however, had an idea. "Hay, when I channel, Stick seems more… capable. Should we try that?"

Both the other mares looked surprised, the changeling replied first. "I hadn't really noticed, am I really?" Penny nodded to her. "Well then, give me what you can and lets see if I can get that four in the air."

Penny closed her eyes and thought about her love for her partner. Her horn didn't glow, she had mastered the art of shunting her magic completely out now, with the practice born of much use.

"Okay, now that IS interesting. So a feeding changeling can perform beyond their normal levels." Gingersnap's quill was working furiously and she had to flip the paper on the pad to keep going.

Opening her eyes, Penny saw the fourth bar in the air, wrapped in green magic. Stick was giggling and set it down. "Wait, don't stop, I want to try… oh." Penny saw Stick's magic wrap the five but it didn't so much as twitch. "Aww…"

Gingersnap wasn't as disappointed. "I would have honestly been amazed if you had lifted that. There are few unicorns alive who could."

Stick bounced back from her funk with the reassuring words. "So is a four good?"

"Four is acceptable." Gingersnap was very excited at this. She could totally get a book published with just the information she had so far. "Now, alphabet. Do changelings have such?"

Penny settled in to lay down to the side, letting her special somepony have the spotlight. Stick nodded to the mare. "We mostly just use our tricks, but there are some spells I have learned."

Stick started with an easy one, fireworks. "Hay, Silver taught that to me!" Penny's indignation was met with a raspberry from the changeling. "You left your book laying around."

Gingersnap grinned, repeating the spell herself. "That one was actually created by a mare who attended here for her final project. She spent a lot of time researching and getting it just right."

"Trixie Lulamoon?" Penny smiled, remembering the mare from the show.

The teacher nodded, looking a touch perplexed. "Just the one, you have met her?"

"No, but I have heard good things about her." Penny was about to try and duplicate their efforts with the spell but stopped.

"You can cast it if you wish, you know the runes for it." Gingersnap cycled the pattern on her own horn, giving Penny a cheat-sheet, as it were.

She focused on the runes, the timing, the pattern. Letting her magic flow, Penny played the spell out and heard the popping as the motes of fireworks started going off around her. The pull on her magic still felt a little odd, new.

"There you are. Now I don't want you casting anything without supervision, but if you want to practice, just come find me."

Penny smiled wide, the teacher's reassurance working well on her, despite her knowing the tricks being used. "Okay, so alphabet, I was already working on that."

Gingersnap nodded. "And strength, I will assign a trainer to help there. Our goal is to get you lifting at three-" Penny looked about to cut in but the mare glared at her. "No, no 'if's 'but's or 'maybe's. You are going to get stronger, you are going to learn."

Stick turned to look at her special somepony. "She is your teacher, you have to do what she says."

Penny took a few deep breaths. She had promised Cadance, Luna and even Celestia she would do this. She knew if she pulled out of the school or misbehaved it would reflect badly on all three. "I do." Penny put her all behind it.

"Now, there were some other notes the princess left. Your history lessons are lacking." Penny jerked when Gingersnap said this, blinking. "I am not going to question how a mare comes to me not knowing her alphabet or the history of her homeland." The mare grinned. "I am a teacher, I love my job. Finding somepony lacking in knowledge, but willing to learn? Come on, lets get started."

The speech lifted Penny, the mare unable to feel down about her lack of knowledge in the face of such inspiration. She was a student, and now she was in a school, with a teacher. Penny's smile echoed Gingersnap's own.

Stick was thoughtful on this too, she seemed invited to learn as well and her own mind tingled with the delight of new knowledge to come.

Twilight looked at her list, it was complete. A small sigh, the finest of satisfactions settled over her.

"I would ask what happened to put such a smile on your face, but Twilight, I can only assume it was something to do with planning?" Princess Fast Change was watching the sunset, Twilight at her side.

The alicorn barely noticed the closeness, the fact their flanks were just barely touching. "Completing things, particularly a list so involved." Twilight spun the scroll again, ensuring every little box was checked or ruled out. "You have something that brings you a level of closure and relief, I am sure."

Fast nodded. "My hive. Every day I learn at least a hundred new things about what changelings are, that nopony would ever think to write down. To learn about how we like to relax, for example."

"'We'?" Twilight smiled. "You have embraced your new friends."

The changeling found herself grinning at the thought. The little things all her drones did, especially when they made mistakes. How Stand In put on such a stern face, but softened at the first hint somepony needed comfort. "They are more than friends. They are my family." Fast looked to Twilight, seeing the mare's smile in profile.

"Family are the best friends." Twilight sensed the changeling moving closer before she actually felt it. She found it impossible, in the lovely evening, to get flustered at Fast's now obvious, to her, advances. Twilight lifted a hoof to the side. "Friends?"

Fast blinked, she had been getting mixed signals for a little bit. Twilight seemed to have relaxed her guard but the hoof lifting confused her. Then she realized what the mare was about. Raising her own hoof and clopping it against the other princess', Fast nodded. "Friends."

There was silence a while as the two sat watching their peers' work, the sun sinking down and the moon rising. Fast gained some insight that maybe, just maybe, this wasn't a friend whose flank she needed to climb.

"Just friends?" Twilight breathed deeply as she asked. It wasn't what she really intended, but something in her liked the attention Fast had been giving her, even if she was not sure about the intended result of them.

Fast blinked, her eyes widening a moment before she caught on. "There is never 'just friends', friendship is magic and magic is all about change." Fast found her heart beating faster at the thought of what Twilight had implied. Was there still a chance?

62 - New boundaries

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"Gingey tells me you have a little problem up in your horn that reduces your output?" The bright yellow mare with Penny was gesturing to the lunar unicorn's black-tipped horn.

Penny nodded to Giddilee. "Long story but yeah, it amounts to that." She looked at the five weight set in the corner.

"Ignore those, I don't take well to using them to measure but it is the standard, so once a week we will see how you do. Factors of ten… they should make a proper scale that climbs-" The mare was off on what appeared to be one of her favorite topics.

Trying not to zone out, Penny interrupted. "So, uh, what will I be doing, Giddilee?"

"Call me Giddy, and today you will be holding energy."

Penny tilted her head. "Holding? How does that help?"

Giddy seemed to brighten all the more. "First, excellent question. Second, by holding your magic, even as you channel it, it expands your capacity. You stretch all the pathways that carry magic from within you, as well as enhancing that source by simply using it. Your magic is a muscle, work it hard, regularly, and it grows stronger."

This made sense, at least as a metaphor. Penny nodded. "So if I keep practicing this it will help me lift more?"

"Only do this when supervised, until you know your limits, also, keep asking questions. It is the best way to learn!" Giddy looked just like her nickname. "Right then, ready to try? I will reach into you, guide you to start."

Penny's nod was indeed the start. The mare's eyes drifting to the small pile of oat-cakes on the bench to the side. She had a feeling it would be a long day.

A touch brought her from her external examinations, feeling as Giddilee did just as she had said, she was reaching into Penny's horn with her own magic, shunting the flow from outer and keeping it inner-focused. "Right, start to channel and try to get all you can into… oh!"

Penny had started, Giddy feeling the extra paths magic took in her horn.

"Right, those are the problem I take it, they make you leak which means you have to push harder." Penny's teacher… or trainer as she now thought of her, was directing her and the mare focused and pushed. "Good, keep it steady and constant. Now we want it to stay inside you, but not all down those paths."

It took more than a little concentration and Giddy reaching and helping to direct her, but Penny finally got the loop sorted, panting a little at the almost purely mental effort required. She felt warm, growing hotter by the minute.

"Good, keep that up." Giddy pulled a little stand over and pressed it against Penny. Not willing to give up her focus to find out what it is, she doubled her efforts and started channeling more. "Better, keep this going, you can eat and not lose your focus?"

Penny gave a slight nod and felt one of the little cakes press against her snout. She almost lost her focus at it, Stick was usually much more gentle with her feeding. Penny blushed and suddenly lost her concentration as her marefriend's antics had her grinning.

"A great first try, come on, eat that up and lets get you hotter this time." Giddy's enthusiasm was horribly contagious and Penny started again, chomping on the carbohydrate-rich snack.

Stick was marveling at the buildings around her. She had asked one of the guards at the castle and been directed to this particular office. Lifting a hoof, she clopped gently at the door.

A mare answered, a unicorn that looked, at least to Stick, every bit as graceful as an alicorn. She had a moment where she had to pick her jaw up.

"A changeling? Oh dear, were we late for our appointment this week?" Her voice was rich and vibrant but there was not a hint of the 'upper classness' Stick had gotten used to hearing in her time in Princess Cadance's court.

"Uh, I am not from the local hive… well I am, but not really…" Stick was tongue-tied a moment. "Okay, can I start again?" The mare smiled and gave a little nod, her eyes closing as the delight at her visitor. "Right. My name is Stick. I was hoping to have a meeting with Fancy Pants."

"Fleur." The mare introduced herself. "Fancy is out at the moment, would you like to wait?"

"Thank you, I would." Stick followed as the graceful mare backed inside and made room for Stick to walk in. It was a normal office, a little desk to one side where Fleur now headed while there was a door that likely led to Fancy Pants' own study. "I would have loved to have brought my mare… my partner here, Penny Farthing, but she has duties to the crown to take care of."

Fleur's ears came instantly to attention. "Oh, you are THAT Stick? Well, we have much to talk about. That mare has stirred up my husband to no end with her ideas. Would you believe he's sunk nearly a third of our savings into that little scheme in the Crystal Empire?"

Stick brightened up when she realized she was speaking to Fancy Pants' wife. "Oh! Wow, he must… he really has that much faith in her?"

A cup of tea for each of them were pouring themselves to one side. "Of course not. Fancy might trust some ponies, but he trusts sound planning and a clever mind a whole lot more. He and Perfect, his assistant, took your mare's letter apart bit by bit, they picked all the holes they could in it and of course that is why Perfect herself was sent, she knew all the flaws in the venture and already knew ways to keep them from marring the business."

The changeling realized how very, very out of her depth she suddenly was. "So… uh…" The tea chose then to float over, Stick catching it from Fleur's grip.

"Do not get me wrong, Fancy is delighted to find that his trust in a human-turned-pony so well placed, but he didn't rise to where he is by making bad decisions. I do wish Perfect were able to return, however…" Fleur's words confused Stick, the changeling was quite sure the mare was lying through her perfect teeth with that last statement. Then it hit her. Perfect had been Fancy's personal assistant, a role his wife now filled.

"Oh, it is. Did she mention a unicorn?" Stick grinned, the tea soothing her throat and mind. This was every bit as much of a battle of words as she had fought in Princess Cadance's court, but the mare in front of her seemed a cut above the courtiers there for guile.

Fleur batted her lashes after she took a sip from the tea. The changeling had seemed just another fine representative of her kind at first, but the mare was starting to realize more. She was playing The Game. The unicorn had only recently learned she enjoyed this new sport. It was much like gossip but there were real repercussions for winning and losing. Repercussions her husband had started to take advantage of.

"A unicorn? Perfect's letter had been strictly business. The only pony she mentioned apart from Penny and yourself was a court-appointed accountant, Articulate I think was his name?"

Stick nodded. "You may want to send a reply, inquiring into her well-being and asking if she has found a unicorn who could match her."

Fleur laughed, the sound genuine and full. "Oh lets stop this. We are on the same side here and I really want to hear about any stallion that could get Perfect's attention for longer than it takes him to open his mouth."

Relaxing further, realizing the intriguing would take a back seat to real gossip, Stick sipped her tea. "He is a stallion fixated on law and numbers," Fleur nodded to Stick's description so far, "apart from an invasion of the Crystal Empire… near invasion, he is the only thing I have seen her really drop her mask for."

The unicorn giggled and clopped her hooves together. "And here I thought my time with my husband might be reduced again. I take it, if he was court appointed, that there was another hoof guiding this?"

"Of course, how could the princess of love keep herself from pairing up two ponies so... perfect for each other." Stick grinned at her pun and got a groan from Fleur.

The door opened and a very well dressed Fancy Pants entered. "Back, dear, how is-" He froze his greeting of Fleur when he noticed the visitor. "A changeling visiting my business, with holes in her hooves and looking for all intents and purposes like a drone. Welcome, partner Stick, to my office."

Stick nearly coughed her tea at how astute the stallion had just proved. "Thank you, I was just discussing some facts about the events in the Crystal Empire with your assistant."

Fleur cut in on the end of the changeling's introduction. "She was just telling me Perfect has found herself trapped, by the love of a stallion!" The way the unicorn phrased it she clearly meant there to be some tension while she spoke, but she was too excited to let it build properly.

Fancy lifted his brows, monocle dropping out into his waiting magic. "Well, that is good news. Unfortunately for her the only stallion in Canterlot was already quite taken with his wife." He had taken the cue from Fleur as to treating Stick as more friend than acquaintance, stepping up to the mare and giving her a rare moment in their public persona, an intimate kiss.

Blushing, Stick turned to look at something else so the pair could have a touch of privacy.

Drawing back, flushed herself at the intensity of Fancy's advance, Fleur seemed to perk up. "Oh, her arrival reminded me, we are late with our donation."

Fancy looked appalled. "This wont do. I say, Stick, would you mind escorting us to your princess' hive?"

Stick brightened at this, even just mentioning there was a princess of changelings made her feel special. "It would be my pleasure… well, yours too I guess." Stick blushed, not knowing what sort of thing the pair would be in for.

Fleur's laugh was more restrained but her eyes danced. "We go every week, to make sure Queen… Princess Fast Change has a good handle on things. We mostly discuss business and let them drink a little. They are the newest ponies in the empire and deserve to be welcomed."

Her speech, of course, ignored the fact that Stick was herself a changeling.

"Not completely true now. The umbrum are the newest ponies, they were the ones invading the Crystal Empire. Turns out they were just lost and needed somepony to give them a hug… or something like that." Stick explained, in the most shorthoofed of ways, the recent events.

"Really?" Fancy's mind began to file away information, finding this oddly well-traveled changeling visitor to be a font of interesting facts. "My dear," he turned to Fleur Dis Lee, "let us be off."

Stick trotted to the door and held it open for both of them, she wasn't quite sure why, but just the way Fancy acted, it made her think of him, well, as a noble. It wasn't a history of richness. It wasn't a family heritage. He just was a fine example of everything a 'good pony' should be.

The couple smiled and let the changeling lead them out to the street and toward the hive.

"You came to Canterlot with the others." Fancy wasn't asking, Stick could tell. "But tell me, what did you do before you came?"

It wasn't always something Stick wanted to remember but this stallion was worth it, she thought. "I tended to the breeders… the males that the queen would uh… need… to make eggs… new changelings." She blushed delightfully. "They weren't the brightest, Chrysalis was… really, the worst queen ever. But then I only know two and one is Princess Fast." Saying their names left Stick feeling sick and relaxed, in that order.

"Interesting. So these breeders, along with Chrysalis, are your parents?"

The ill-feeling was returned again. "Not… not as I would think them." She breathed a few times, to try and take a more objective view of it. "Parents are the ponies that care for a larva… foal. They guide them, help them grow. Chrysalis and the breeders were just present. They were not my parents."

Fancy realized he had hit a sensitive topic. Sensitive but intriguing. "Well, all in the past now, your new princess has shown herself to be quite the pony by comparison."

Stick looked up to the tall stallion and nodded, her melancholy mood lifting just by thinking about Princess Fast Change. She took a deep breath, even being away from the hive so much, just talking about her new queen… princess, raised her spirits.

Twilight was a little nervous. It was one thing to talk with a changeling, even getting a surprising kiss from their princess. But it was quite another to have a whole hive around her. It helped that they were friendly, waving hooves and buzzing wings at her in greeting.

"And this contraption measures magic?" Princess Fast was stepping around one of the machines Twilight had gotten some of the hive's drones to install.

"It takes images of magical auras." Twilight reached up to the panel and turned the unit on. It began to hum and some bulbs lit up green. "I want to try and trigger it to take various pictures while you change shape."

Fast blinked and tried to make sense of it. "The college I attended had some fancy equipment, but nothing like this." She walked around it again, avoiding the hefty power cable that fit into a standard socket on the wall of the hive. "Does this count as our next date?"

Twilight colored immediately and looked back at the changeling princess, getting an almost-coy look from the queen of the hive, looking back over her shoulder at Twilight. "I… it's not a date, we are just… seeing how things… I like you, Fast." Twilight gave a sigh, her ears tucking back as she gave up trying to dance around the subject. "I don't know if I am ready to like-like somepony, but it is nice to be with another mare who doesn't look at me as if I will solve all of Equestria's problems with one hoof. You are a friend, first. Something else may happen, and if it does, it happens. But I wont force it."

Fast smiled and turned, keeping her eyes on the mare who just bared her heart. "Twilight." The princess moved closer to her peer. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

The changeling didn't try to steal a kiss this time, Twilight had expected her to. Did she want her to? "Does this mean you will let me take pictures of you shifting?"

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, I would not deny you pictures of myself, under any circumstances." Fast's look could melt ice right then.

Twilight blushed at the tone, and held up a copy of the half-finished book on changelings, along with more notes besides.

63 - Family

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The drones at the hive looked surprised at the arrival. Their usual weekly guests were well known and expected. The changeling drone with them was a surprise.

"I will fetch the queen!" One of the guards exclaimed and darted off into the hive, leaving its partner to keep Stick, Fancy Pants and Fleur Dis Lee company.

Stick noticed how nervous the other changeling looked and instead of trying to engage the poor drone, turned to Fancy and Fleur. "I am so glad there are good ponies helping to support the hive, I feel a little selfish keeping Penny all to myself, but she keeps me too so I guess I don't really have a choice."

Fancy looked at Fleur and smiled, his monocle chain jostling a touch. "Isn't it always the way?" The look he got back from the unicorn would have had Cadance squeeing in delight.

The sound of hooves inside got all their attention and Princess Fast Change opened the door and, in all her changeling glory, all-but pounced on Stick. Reaching out and hugging the drone tightly, she barely noticed her other guests. "My most well-traveled drone returning after saving an empire!"

It was overstatement, but that didn't stop Stick from feeling so very good at getting praise from her queen. "And my queen has become a princess, we both have changed." She shot Fast a look that the bigger changeling deciphered as needing privacy to talk more. "And I escorted two delightful guests."

Fast had long since gotten the measure of Fancy and Fleur, at least so she thought. They both did keep surprising her with their business acumen. "And welcome guests they are. Fancy Pants," she dipped her head, "Fleur Dis Lee," and again for the mare, "as always, you are welcome in my hive."

All the changelings present had to struggle not to feed from the couple, Fast had noticed of late their love for each other had grown more and more.

"Please, come in, I will have some tea brewed." Fast turned and led the way into the structure reserved for her hive. "You aren't looking for any investors still, Fancy?" Fast had to try, she had been wanting a little action for the funds she had been slowly accruing with her business in love and labor.

"Oh dear me, can we leave the business talk until after tea?" Fleur countered Fast's attempt at cornering her husband easily. "I do so wish to talk about the upcoming fancy dress ball, I was hoping, if your highness would allow, to attend disguised as a changeling from your hive?"

All thoughts of business were pushed aside as Fast Change brightened at the idea. "Oh that would be so devious, are you sure you aren't really a changeling? I wouldn't tell anypony…" The compliment to Fleur's intelligence was taken as it was intended, and she gave a happy laugh.

Stick was washed along in the conversation, lost in this odd sea that apparently high-society ponies managed to sail with little trouble. Fancy noticed the lost-looking drone's lack. "Oh you really should just let them go, I do, Fleur makes the decisions when it comes to what I wear to such things."

The drone giggled and nodded. "I think I still need to order some things for Penny, I had gotten her to agree to me buying her some dresses, but that was before the debacle in the Crystal Empire. I haven't had the chance to get to them."

It was a leader that delivered the tea, one Stick knew well from her time in Chrysalis' hive. "Stand!" The drone couldn't stop herself rushing to the other changeling and giving them a hug. It was like meeting lost family and, to Stick's delight, she realized it was because they were.

Stand In hugged the drone back. "And look at you, you have some holes, care to explain?" Their tone was only a touch disapproving. It was hard for Stand to challenge a drone on the matter when they themselves had only recently shed that aspect.

Stick stood back a little and dipped her horn, showing the small hole in it. "These are badges of honor!" She clopped a hoof on the floor of the room. Stick was so focused on her defense she didn't notice Fast and the unicorn couple had paused their conversation to listen. "When Shining Armor was hurt, I promised Princess Cadance I wouldn't let any umbrum sneak past me. I had to drink a little from everypony who came to his room, in case the shapeshifter who hurt him returned. They did."

The leader looked surprised and smiled, discovering one of the hive's drones had carried out such a special task. "I take it the prince was not harmed further?"

Stick nodded, conviction in her eyes. "I wouldn't let the princess down."

It was only then Stick realized how quiet it was in the room and she turned around, blushing, to her queen.

Fast smiled warmly to Stick. "You really have been quite the ambassador of my hive, haven't you?" She held out a leg and the drone didn't hesitate to rush over and hug the center of her hive's existence. "I believe I will need to draft a letter to Princess Cadance, inquiring if my drone was sufficiently useful. I may even let you have the reply."

Stick blushed at this and settled easily against the mare. Fast's reputation was celebrated by the changelings of her hive, but still, Stick had just one mare she ever wanted to be with in those ways. The hug was much more than that, anyway, it was like she was with her mother.

"I think you broke her." Fleur gestured with a hoof to Stick's startled expression.

Fast tilted her head down and nosed at Stick's mane. "You okay?"

Stick looked up, nuzzling under Fast Change's jaw in a way that had the princess quite surprised. "Yes… mom…"

To say Fast was startled at the use of the maternal honorific was an understatement, but the surprise faded. Was that really how Stick felt, she wondered, was it how she felt as well? She didn't let go of the drone.

Penny had had to take a bath on her own, which saddened her a little. Stick had been out most of the day visiting her hive. When the changeling returned and found the unicorn relaxed on their bed with a book in front of her she beamed. "Such a good little student, how was class?"

The book folded closed. "It was good, I spent the morning on getting stronger, wow that is a strange way of training. But it all makes sense I guess. In the afternoon I was sent to a foal school, to pick up some books." Penny blushed furiously. "I thought they would be silly things, but this history is amazing!"

Stick trotted over the small room to the bed and climbed up beside Penny. "You have an different taste, when you study. It is like you… oh no, you love reading that much?" She lifted a hoof to her forehead in a way Fleur would be proud of. "I am lost, my mare stolen by something with a weaker spine than I…"

Penny shook her head and booped Stick on the nose. "Very funny. Yes, I love reading, but I love you only a tiny bit less." Stick giggled and kissed Penny, apparently trying to outdo her page-filled rivals. "Okay, maybe the same." Penny conceded.

It wasn't long before the pair were doing things that had Penny, at last, admitting that maybe Stick was more fun than books.

Laying together, Stick nuzzled the unicorn's ear. "Your cycle should be well over, but I notice you not objecting… even enjoying, 'that kind of thing' still." The drone certainly didn't mind, no-sir-ee.

"Loosening up to it? Hormones from pregnancy? Love for my mate? A body less wired to dislike it? All of the above?" Penny tilted her head, her horn rotating to Stick's muzzle now. The changeling gave it a kiss and a lick, leaving the unicorn very distracted.

"Oh ho, I have found your off switch!" Stick sounded triumphant.

Penny got her senses back and tried to tilt her head up to Stick. "What do you me-eeeeeaaaaan…" Her world melted as Stick's mouth worked over her horn, the combination of mood and her lover's touch making the normally sensitive organ even more so.

"Gotcha…" Stick settled herself, lips working, teasing and playing with her special somepony's horn. Penny tried weakly to get her to stop, but it just felt so relaxing and good.

Fast noticed the extra cables and boxes around the machine. "You improved it?"

Twilight beamed in the way she always did when not only was her geeky side revealed, but appreciated. "Of course, it can now take images much faster and I can set up a trigger for it that relies on magic levels." She gestured with a hoof to different boxes as she spoke.

The changeling princess was impressed. "Okay, so you want to test it on me shifting?" Twilight's nod would melt Fast's heart, it was so adorable to see her geeking out like this. "Okay, so I stand in the usual spot, here." Fast turned and did so, her black body feeling much more her own now. "Tell me when you are ready."

Her horn glowing as she adjusted the machine, Twilight looked over to Fast, slipping her goggles on. "Go for it!"

As soon as the changeling began to shift the machine began to rumble. The flames of transformation flowed over Fast Change, her hide revealed to be alabaster white behind it. Fast grinned as the flames finished their task, leaving her standing as a tall, alicorn stallion. On her flank was a picture of a changeling's head sticking out their tongue.

"How is this?" Fast's voice was deeper, coming from the larger barrel of a stallion. She spread her wings up, the feathers revealing a tint of blue to them. Her mane of yellow hair was tossed to one side.

Twilight gulped, looking up at the larger pony before her. "You, uh… oh!" She spun back to her machine and started retrieving paper cards from it. "Yes! It worked perfectly. Look, you can see how your magic flows down through your body, feeding the flames as they rush over you!"

Fast Change had an excited alicorn mare at her side, showing her the pictures. She was excited for the pictures, though. The changeling realized just how distracted the princess could get when science was involved. "Want me to go the other way?"

Twilight seemed to snap her attention from the pictures, realizing she was pressed in against a very handsome stallion. The blush was immediate but she had a problem, Fast had one of those big wings draped over her back. Twilight realized she was at least a little trapped by Fast.

"I can't do this…" The wing lifted and Fast stepped away. "Tell me when you want me to shift back."

The thudding of her heart slowed in Twilight's chest. Had Fast given up so easily? "Okay." She made her way over to the machine, setting it up to trigger again.

There was an elephant in the room now, and boy it was a big one. Twilight retrieved the cards from the machine again. Trotting over to Fast Change, she consciously leaned in now, relaxing a little from her first shocked experience with the queen changeling's shape-changing ability.

Fast blinked, unable to focus on what the mare was talking about. "Fast, are you listening?" The signals were not quite mixed. Fast had accepted that Twilight wasn't ready for quite that push, but the closeness spoke of a comfort with her presence now.

"For once, I wish I had been named Slow." The changeling gave a little sigh and looked down at her pictures, the odd pony-silhouette with a riot of colors playing over it. "Now, what was that, you said something about natural magic?"

Fast knew her chasing of Twilight was almost an infatuation now, but darn it if the mare didn't prove, every time they met, how worth it she was.

64 - A nemesis rises

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"Okay, not missing a single thing today." Stick checked the little set of saddle bags while Penny did the same for her own. Ready for schooling the two mares set off.

"You read the sections from the book that I highlighted?" Penny leaned over and kissed the changeling. The kiss was returned with gusto and the pair ended up breaking apart again with giggles.

Stick booped her marefriend on the nose. "Of course I did, so we are starting with recent history, then?"

Shrugging, Penny grabbed her phone off the charger. The cord was starting to look like it had seen better days, so she didn't like leaving it plugged in unless she was around. "Apparently, although we might have other classes for those things."

The pair wandered the hall in search of breakfast, first. There was a large kitchen area where students and faculty alike were already eating. As the two entered, a high pitched shriek sounded and they were stopped dead by a magical wall of force. "A changeling! Get it out, they are not unicorns!" It was a young mare from the student table.

She was babbling almost incoherently now, Penny could see the wall that had blocked them was circling around to seal around her and Stick.

"Miss Cart, you will stop that immediately. Using spells in the dining hall is forbidden!" A stallion with a set of notes on his flank, at the faculty table, had risen.

"But, it's a changeling! They are horrible and-" The rambling was cut off by the stallion.

"No 'buts', SHE is the special somepony of the school's latest student." As he spoke, the stallion's horn cycled quickly through a series of patterns and the bubble around Penny and Stick popped. He trotted over to the pair, smiling. "Penny, Stick, I am vice-headmaster Arpeggio." He lifted a hoof to each of them, the startled pair clopping their own in reply. "I apologize for my student's behavior, it seems she will be spending the day studying the recent events regarding changelings and in particular Princess Fast Change's hive." The mare in question shrank at the words but glared at Stick.

"Oh, it's okay," Stick beamed apparently unable to be really fazed by nearly anything today, "her technique with that force bubble was quite good though."

The mare looked surprised by this, blinking a little in shock at getting complimented.

"It was at that, tell me, what would your reply have been had this been a duel?" It was clear Arpeggio had a motive here. Stick picked up on it, but was unwilling to be the 'scary monster' she thought he was setting her up to be. She wondered if he knew what special spells she had learned.

"Since she is a student, and not an enemy," Stick looked to the mare with a smile, getting an oddly curious look back, "I would have put up my own force wall, surrounding myself and Penny."

"A superb answer, so long as you are sure your own reserves can outlast your opponent." Stick couldn't help but feel he was a touch annoyed by her lack of wanting to use something offensive. "Well, I am sure during your own time with Gingersnap today you might be able to practice this." He looked to the mare who had caused all the trouble. "Since Hay Cart will be joining you for your lessons."

Penny was still a touch lost. This situation was a little more complicated than she was normally used to. She had thought pony schools would be fonts of learning and happiness. It almost hurt to find out there were still petty ponies who would make it less fun.

Breakfast was served to them and even as they were looking for somewhere to sit the mare from earlier called out. "Hay, new ponies, if you want to sit over here…" She sounded a little hesitant to the pair. "I am sorry. I just... my parents keep telling me how terrible changelings are and how they are going to destroy Canterlot."

Looking like she had already faced the fact that her parents were a touch deluded, Hay Cart slouched a little.

"It's okay, when I was little everypony told me that ponies were just dumb and food, that the only one to fear was Celestia." Stick set her plate down, her magic sitting it just before her where she sat. She was right beside Hay.

The formerly aggressive mare looked surprised at this and giggled. "Oh, I bet, you are from that pony wannabe-" Hay halted, shaking her head. Stick reached out to her and comforted her with a hoof. "It is hard, they talk about you and your princess so much, saying not nice things. In a way I am glad the school requires all students to live on campus. What I meant to say was, Princess Fast Change, you are from her hive?"

Stick nodded. "One and only. If you find changelings who claim they are from another, you would be best to contact the city guard, or any of the princesses." A piece of mashed potato floated up from Stick's plate toward Penny's mouth. Closing her eyes and opening up, Penny got her first bite to eat for the day.

Hay looked confused now. "You aren't going to eat your breakfast?" A light seemed to go off, figuratively, in the mare's head. "Oh, that's right, changelings don't eat food, do you eat her?"

Penny was trying to get a word in to refute the statement, or at least correct it, but her mouth was too full.

"Kinda, I eat her love. She is tasty!" Stick was absolutely without any shame in that regard, for some reason Penny found herself blushing a little.

"How do you do it?" Hay scooped up some food and almost choked when her brain caught up and she spluttered and almost choked getting it down. "I mean do THAT… I mean how do you eat her love?" She looked more than a little flustered.

"Penny? If you would." Stick turned to her marefriend and could already feel a faint swell of love start to flow off her in all directions. She leaned in and began to drink the sweetest of love from the mare, the taste always so good simply because it was aimed right at the changeling.

The unicorn in question could see as a few ponies, particularly faculty, broke the earlier stated rule and cast spells that had their own eyes glowing a touch. She figured it was something to help them see magic.

"So it is happening?" Hay looked confused, either she didn't know the sight spell or she was unwilling to risk using it and tempt the vice principal again. "I don't see anything."

Penny nodded, with Stick distracted by feeding off her, her mouth was free. "There is a trick I can do, where I channel magic through my emotions. Apparently it is just the thing to feed a ravenous changeling." She leaned over and booped Stick on the nose cutely.

"It is pretty cool. So you can feed her from your magic? Is that why she feeds you extra?" Hay was asking most of the right questions, Penny could all but hear quills scratching paper as Gingersnap was watching.

"Yup, that and I am eating… well, technically for three."

"Three?" Hay looked a touch confused.

Another mare on the other side, proving that their conversation was being overheard quite effectively, cut in. "She has a foal on the way, duh."

Hay blushed more, looking between the dreamily distracted changeling and the lunar unicorn. Her mouth moved a few times as her brain tried to process first what this all meant and then what would be appropriate to ask. She stopped, shook her head and gave a smile. "Congratulations."

Penny found herself liking the mare, realizing her initial reaction was likely the result of… inaccurate knowledge on Hay's part. "Thank you. So what kind of magic do you do?"

Neither of the pair were ready for the sudden deluge of words to come from Hay Cart. "Well…"

"You really do get very intense." Fast was chuckling as she lay in the sun, watching the day slowly wind down. Beside her, Twilight was sitting contentedly with a book laid out, quill and ink beside it.

"I get focused." Twilight defended her behavior, adding notes to the pictures of Fast's aura changing in the book. "It may not be how everypony does it, but I take my science very seriously."

Fast laughed outright. "Did Slow help you with that information you were after?" She knew the stallion had, of course, it was odd how easy it came to her to know every little detail of her hive.

"She did." Twilight paused in her writing, reflecting on the slightly different pony that was Slow Perfection. The stallion had finally made it known to the alicorn that she preferred 'she' as a reference. It had felt odd, but Twilight banished that sensation. It wasn't odd at all, it was just different and different wasn't bad. "Her shifting is different to yours. You seem to break out in flames of change everywhere at once. Hers is more a gradual shift, and she always starts at her hooves."

This was news to Fast and she looked over at the notes Twilight was making in the book. "It is interesting, I wonder what that says about our mindsets, how we think about using our magics?"

If ever there was a right thing to do, with Princess Twilight Sparkle, to perk her up, it was to talk science.

"You both likely learned the ability in different ways. Yours was your cutie mark, your special talent." Twilight seemed to go off on a tangent. "What happened to your cutie mark?"

The words were out and Twilight, usually lacking in empathy when in 'science mode', picked up that this was a poor subject to raise. Fast looked down. "I lost it. My flank is blank." A hoof slipping over her withers had Fast look to Twilight.

"Part of being a changeling?" Twilight kept her tone low, for all the excitement she felt at learning, she really didn't want to hurt her friend. "I wonder if there is a way to change back, to being a pony again?"

"No."

"No?" Twilight was surprised at Fast Change's vehemence. "There isn't a way or-"

"I won't abandon my hive. They love me just as I am, as they need me to be." Fast gazed off, watching the warming sun dragged down to the horizon by alicorn magic. "And they are there for me. Did you know, a little drone called me 'mom' yesterday?"

Twilight was shocked at how much happier Fast suddenly looked, like a switch had been thrown.

"She was feeling down, she bolted into my embrace for a hug, reassurance. I don't know if I am ready to be that…"

The alicorn squeezed with the leg over her friend's shoulders. "I think you are. You already are mother to the hive… now there is a question I need to ask."

Fast blinked at Twilight, it was almost impossible to keep up with her mind.

"How do changelings reproduce?" Twilight looked into the eyes of the changeling queen cuddled against her.

Almost cursing out loud, Fast had a moment of shock when she realized she didn't know that herself. Maybe it would be fun?

The morning flowed easily. Penny, Stick and Hay were being tutored by Gingersnap, learning about the recent history and drifting into events Penny knew from the show. It confused her a little, the show had the big stuff, but it missed out on a lot of the reasons and purposes behind some of the actions.

"Now, the vice principal…" Gingersnap hesitated on the word, she sounded a little unsure of what she was about to say, "has asked if Stick and Hay could test out what Stick had said, about defending herself with a shield. I… have reasons to think he has motives that aren't really clear here, but if you both promise to not take this any further and you will both stop your magic when I say, got it?"

Hay and Stick, who had been sitting at adjoining desks, grinned. "Daddy said my force bubble was as strong as Shining Armor's!"

Stick gave a counter. "It isn't, trust me there." She got up and moved to the front of the little class.

Hay stuck her tongue out. "How would you know?" She followed the changeling up and faced off with her.

"Because I had the complete displeasure of finding myself in it." Stick waited, watching the surprise register on Hay's features. "Now, are you going to do as well as he did?"

The unicorn tossed her mane and her horn lit. The ball appeared quickly and solidly around Stick. "This it?" Her voice was a little muffled.

"Yup, now try… gently, to use your own bubble to stretch-" Gingersnap was explaining to Stick how it would work when that ball of jade-green force wrapped the changeling and pushed outwards.
Hay looked surprised and tried to hold her own bubble but the green one stretched it past the breaking point.

The jade-colored bubble popped a moment later and Stick was standing with a grin on her face. The look on Gingersnap made her tilt her head though. "What's wrong, did I cast that wrong?"

The teacher shook her head. "I have never seen that spell before… where did you learn it? Is it a changeling spell?"

Stick was caught and looked it. Penny could see the changeling was about to try and do the thing her species were famed for, and stepped in. "She can't tell you." Sighing, Penny stepped over to her mate and nuzzled the drone's cheek. "Suffice to say, it was okayed by a princess."

Gingersnap didn't look happy about the puzzle but she couldn't really fight that kind of authority.

"I had that…" Stick whispered to Penny.

The unicorn returned the whisper. "I know, but you shouldn't have to lie to defend her, she wouldn't want that."

65 - Wrapping up and starting over

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Life settled down for Stick and Penny. Classes for the pair were both interesting and stimulating. Penny finding anew her love for learning and everypony finding out just how quick Stick could devour knowledge. Toward the end of their first full week in school they were relaxing in their room, each with a book in front of them, when there was a knock on their door.

Stick was first to react, lifting her head from the treatise on pony-griffon relations. "Come in?" She set her bookmark in the tome and closed it gently and quite lovingly.

The rush of white fur and blond mane and tail that was Hay Cart came dashing in. "It's not fair!"

Penny had likewise closed her book with a marker to her page. "What isn't fair, apart from how hard the vice principal is on you?"

"My parents found out about Stick being here, they demanded Stick be removed from the school since she isn't a unicorn. It is stupid! They told me they don't want me in the same school as a 'vampire' and that they are pulling me out!"

Stick moved to put a leg over the mare's withers. "Your parents…"

Hay looked up and sighed. "They are being poopy."

The changeling nodded. "So lets ask them why." Her statement shocked the mare at her side, Hay looking a mix between scandalized and gleeful. "What? You don't think I could get them to say why?"

"They wouldn't talk to you." Hay slumped, her rump hitting the floor. "Even when all the other ponies went to the hive, in the first few weeks, they wouldn't. Claimed it was unsanitary and poisoned the mind. I doubt they would even want to be in the same room as you."

"If I could get them to talk to me, would you be strong and stand up to them too?" Stick gave the distraught mare a little hug.

"What do you mean I… how could you… I… if you were there?" Hay's emotions played out over her features. Penny climbed off her bed and joined the two, securing Hay's other side and looping her leg over with Stick's.

"There is one thing I have learned about my special somepony, and that is that she gets her way." Penny gestured to the dress stand to one side. "Next week is the week I promised I would wear dresses every day for her."

"Pfft, you love them." Stick ran with the conversation derailment, getting a giggle from Hay. "Oh drat it all, lets get you into one today, start the week early."

Penny sensed the exact moment when the conversation went against her, she pulled her leg back from Hay Cart and Stick, both the other two mares looking at her with wild grins. "Oh no, not…" She was dog-piled by two giggling mares, Stick keeping her held down, despite weak struggles, while Hay fetched a dress. "You don't need to tackle me. Stick, this isn't fair! Two against one!"

There was no way to avoid her fate, Penny didn't really fight too much beyond a token squirm every now and again. The dress chosen was one Rarity had put a lot of work into. Penny eeped when it squeezed at her shoulders but, around her midsection it was soft and much looser. The flowing outfit was a deep red that complimented her blue highlights well.

"Well?" Penny turned, feeling heavier and with so much fabric. But she couldn't deny, it felt nice to have something special like this.

Stick was silent, but her expression was enough for Penny. Stepping carefully over to the changeling she kissed her on the nose.

"You look great!" Hay was more open with her praise. "That color really suits you, who was the dressmaker?"

Penny turned back from her mate and grinned over her shoulder. "Well, you know Canterlot Carousel?" Hay's eyes widened at the mention of the up-market fashion shop. "Well, the mare who owns it is a good friend, she did a rush order on them."

"You know… oh my goodness! You know Rarity? The Element Rarity? As in the best up and coming fashion designer in all Equestria?" Hay had pounced at Penny, hooves raised, demanding answers.

"Yeah…" The lunar unicorn's answer, oddly, seemed enough and Hay flopped onto the bed.

"She makes the most amazing things!" Hay squirmed a bit then her head shot up. "Do you think you could get her to make something for me?"

Stick poked her head just before the over-excited unicorn's nose, smiling. "If I get you a dress, will you stand up to your parents with me?"

Shock and surprise warred on Hay's face, the mare really wanted a dress, it was a tasty 'carrot'. "But they will pull me out of school…"

The clop of the changeling's holed hoof on the floor made Hay Cart jump a little. "You are a mare, grown, you are not a filly. They cannot pull you out of school!"

"They can stop paying for me to be here…" Hay slumped, one hoof reaching out to Penny's dress and gently, reverently, rubbing the soft fabric.

"I'll pay." Penny's voice was lost when Stick started an indignant speech, however.

"This is utter hooey, they can't force you not to go to the school you love… you love being here right?" Stick hadn't noticed Penny's offer.

Hay began to react to the changeling's speech, her ears perking up. She gave a nod. "I do."

"I'll pay…" Penny sighed as soon as she said it, Stick was on her high-hor… Penny let out a giggle at the saying.

"We'll go to Princess Celestia! She is a good princess and this is her school, I bet she wouldn't want anypony who likes it here to be kicked out!" Stick continued her tirade.

"Stick!" Penny cut in, both Hay and Stick turning to look at her. "I'll pay, if it comes to that. We have those bits. I will have to pay them back but I am sure Perfect wouldn't be too upset. Oh!" Penny grinned as an idea caught her. "Hay, you study physical manipulation via magic, right?" There was a nod from the suddenly mute unicorn. "Well, I am sure I know where you could be employed, if you agreed to work after graduation, you could pay back the loan yourself."

Penny realized she had just explained what could be a very bad thing. and blushed, remembering where that little idea carried humans. "Wait, no, darn it, that is not what I meant, I will pay for it myself and work it off myself." Penny sounded determined and soon had two mares giving her a hug.

Stick leaned into one ear. "You will have to explain this later."

The words in the other ear had much more emotion than the simple curiosity of the changeling. "Thank you." Hay whispered, tears dripping onto all three cheeks from the crying unicorn.

Twilight was about as happy as a bibliomaniac could be. Not only did she have a new book for her library, but she had written it! "This is the finished copy?" Celestia lifted up one of the five copies Twilight had brought with her. The information the white alicorn found on her quick inspection made her smile. Her former student was nothing if not attentive to detail. "This is marvelous. You have more copies?" Twilight nodded. "Excellent, they will, first and foremost, be going to the hospitals around the city."

"I hope they help, I am so excited!" Twilight was all-but bouncing in place.

Fast Change lifted up her own copy and offered it to Twilight, with a quill. "If you will, mighty scientist and author."

The excitement in the purple alicorn nearly imploded. Her magic carefully lifted the book and took hold of the quill.

To my friend, Princess Fast Change.

Twilight looked about to write more but blushed.

"And here we… are?" Princess Cadance was walking into the room but stopped in shock when she spotted a changeling queen among them. It took a moment and three deep breaths. She chanted in her mind, 'this is not Chrysalis' over and over again. Then, without thinking, her vision shifted to her own special talent. Her gasp drew the attention of the other princesses more surely than that her initial entrance.

"Ah, Cadance." Celestia's wings ruffled, she sounded more than happy to see her 'niece'. "You noticed too?"

Cadance nodded, unable to take her eyes off Twilight and Fast. The two mares, the focus of her attention, both slumped.

"I didn't do anything, I just… I really like Twilight…" Fast was the first of the pair to confess. A touch to her nose had her looking back up.

Twilight had booped her. "I can't deny I have feelings for you, Fast Change, but I don't think I am ready for where they would lead… not yet." Twilight felt oddly… well, mature. Was it mature to admit you weren't mature? The idea reminded her of a saying but she couldn't bring it up.

Fast didn't deflate, in fact the changeling puffed herself up a little. "I thought you were trying to play a game with me, I thought… oh drat, I really like you, you are a fine mare, Twilight Sparkle, and an amazing princess." She kissed the surprised alicorn, a brief kiss. "But if you want some space I must give it. I am not a monster."

Cadance's worry that she couldn't see past the terror within, at the sight of a changeling queen in their midst was suddenly dashed. The pair were close, they loved each other, but they were both mares enough to understand what the other needed and wanted. She fell back from that sight and saw Princess Fast Change for what she was. A good pony.

Twilight looked down at the still-open book. She blushed hotly and, with a daring motion, leaned down and pressed her lips just under the phrase she had written. "For you."

Fast almost giggled with glee, realizing how very fun it had been to 'chase' Princess Twilight Sparkle. Twilight knew full well the extent of Fast's life, now. She knew how the queen needed to feed, but she still accepted Fast as just another pony. No, not just another pony, Fast had never seen Twilight be quite so… playful, before. "I will cherish it. Don't be a stranger to my hive, Princess Twilight, I promise you my door is ever open."

Cadance, fighting to keep her emotions from running away and pouncing on the couple to hug them, lifted up one of the books in question. The Habits and Powers of Changelings, by Princess Twilight Sparkle She flicked through, noting the earlier pictures and the art style that looked so very stylized. The sections were clearly ordered, there was a helpful glossary and table of contents. "This is very good." Cadance stepped over and, without any planning, she and Twilight did their little dance.

The changeling's reaction was to giggle adorably at the pair.

Together, the four princesses settled down, discussing the book and their realms. Cadance was surprised at herself, she really needed to thank Stick, that drone had born the brunt of her wrath, and had even offered her service despite the treatment.

"And I hear, niece, that you are going to be officiating at a wedding in the not too distant future?" Celestia's baited question almost caught the Princess of Love daydreaming.

"Oh aunt, you know how much I adore cementing the love of two ponies into a family." Cadance's smile gave away nothing to Celestia but, at the same time, both broke into gales of laughter. "You offered, didn't you?" Cadance managed to get her voice under control enough to accuse Celestia.

Celestia made a plate of cake appear and hover before her. "Of course I did, anypony can see how much those two love each other. We were almost both beaten, Discord appeared and was a word or two from declaring them married."

No sooner was his name mentioned but the spirit of chaos himself appeared, with a dress, fake wings and a comically long horn adorning his head. "A princess party! I dressed accordingly!"

"Discord…" Four voices chorused at once, getting a delighted laugh from the being in question.

66 - Confrontation

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"You promised you would." Stick gave Hay a scowl. They, along with Penny, had been given leave for the morning to attend court.

"I know but… they are going to be there and…" Hay looked really downtrodden, her ears swung back. "They are my parents, I don't want them to hate me or anything."

Penny slung a leg over the depressed mare's shoulder. "I am not going to lie, they might say some things in the heat of the moment, but are you sure they wouldn't respect you for standing by your morals?"

Hay looked to Penny and a smile broke shyly through her mood. "They… yeah, standing up for what is right is important." She took a deep breath and puffed up, seeming to grow a little in stature. "Okay, before I lose my nerve, lets go!"

Penny lifted her leg away from the now much more confident unicorn and the three made their way in and to the day court.

They slipped in the entrance, a few ponies present noted their presence but, for the most part, they were ignored. "… and furthermore, you must help each other farm the middle-ground."

Celestia was in fine form, resolving a land dispute by getting all the ponies to work together on it.

Stick recognized what she was about immediately, Cadance used similar tricks. Her hoof came up and bopped herself on the forehead.

"What's wrong?" Penny kept her voice low while addressing Stick.

"Just remembered why Princess Cadance's justice sounded so much like Princess Celestia's." Stick pressed a little closer to Penny, one of her hooves slipping between them to rub her marefriend's belly.

"Mares and gentlecolts, we have an interesting case next." Celestia had everypony's attention, as was fitting. "It involves the school that bears my name, as well as some ponies within it. The plaintiffs are the Carts." Celestia extended her wing, inviting Hay's parents to the fore.

They looked well dressed, not quite on Penny's level of wearing a full dress, but still Pretty Cart was wearing some lovely jewelry and her stallion, Dray Cart, was wearing clothes in a similar style to what Fancy Pants would wear, but lacking that stallion's panache.

"Your highness." Pretty gave Celestia her due title and bowed her head. "I come today to bring dire warning!" There was a collective gasp from the ponies present as the mare's words seemed much more important than even she likely believed them. "You can imagine my shock when my little filly, attending the very prestigious Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," it was clear she used that full title a lot by the way she was so practiced at saying it, "told me something dire. There is a changeling infesting the school!"

Princess Celestia looked shocked. "This will be investigated, I will contact Princess Fast Change at once, if one of Chrysalis' infiltrators has gotten into the school there are surely others."

Stick was in shock, she saw the princess' game right away, she was building a trap the likes of which any changeling would be proud of.

Pretty looked vindicated for a moment, the princess sounded very distressed at the news, it took a few seconds for the full meaning of her words to sink in. "I… wait, it is one of that abomination's drones. Why would you talk to them about it?" The horrible word she used to describe Fast Change slipped out, she used it every day, she was so used to it.

"Talk to Chrysalis?" Now it was Celestia who looked confused. "I confess there is some confusion here. Are you sure it was one of Chrysalis' changelings? I do know I sent one of my most trusted mares and her special somepony to the school recently. Oh, she is present! Stick, Penny, could you please come to the front?"

Celestia's beckoning had Stick's features turn from glee to careful happiness. Penny rose beside her, her magic reaching here and there to ensure her dress was just perfect. "Coming Princess Celestia." Penny's use of the princess' full title made Stick a little more at ease, she really must talk to the mare about her familiarity with royalty.

The court watched as the lunar unicorn, wearing a very stylish dress, and her changeling marefriend made their way up to the front of the room.

"It's one of them!" Pretty Cart looked shocked, jerking back and pointing a hoof at Stick.

There was a collective gasp, everypony present finally working out what the issue was. Celestia was very happy, most of her ponies seemed to be varying levels of upset or disgusted by Pretty's casual racism.

"Stick, Penny, I am glad to see you are both doing well. Can either of you shed any light on this? Have you found a rogue changeling in the school?" Princess Celestia gave each of them her best smile, she really regretted not making the offer to marry the adorable couple earlier.

"Princess." Penny dipped her head low, having practiced just such a thing with Stick. "I can honestly say none of the ponies I have met at the school are changelings. My… I have a way that can cause them to give themselves away, none have-"

Penny was cut off. "Of course there is one, it is right beside you now!" Pretty seemed to be the primary aggressor of Hay's parents, her father more passively supporting his mare.

Stick knew this had all been arranged to show to the court how the mare was behaving, but she didn't like what it was doing to her friend. At the back of the court, Stick could see Hay was huddled and looking lost and embarrassed. "Please stop it, this isn't nice, this isn't what a good pony does." Stick found herself walking toward the plaintiffs. "What do you have against changelings?"

"You aren't ponies, you are bugs, horrible and-"

"I think this would be better served with less of an audience. Court is adjourned for an hour." Celestia excused everypony, but held those at the front of the room with her stare. In the back, Hay hadn't moved and sat alone in the audience pews. "Now then, I trusted Stick with a great task, and I trust her more now that she has completed it. She worked tirelessly for Princess Cadance, she protected my nephew, and she plans to marry a mare who I also hold in high esteem." Celestia was trying to get through to Pretty that, at least this changeling, she could trust. "So tell us, Pretty Cart, what would you say against her kind?"

Pretty shook, her world was a little broken right now. Princess Celestia was saying that this changeling could be trusted but she KNEW no changeling could. "I know… I knew a changeling. I grew up in Dodge City and fell in love with what I thought was a pony." She blushed hotly. "I almost married them, that horrible creature, but one day I found them without their disguise." Fury rattled through the unicorn mare.

"Did you ask them why?" Stick approached Pretty, the mare recoiling at first but holding her ground as the changeling seemed to not be attacking.

"Of course not, they were a bug! We lived on the borders of the Badlands, the rest of Equestria might have forgotten the hives of bugs to our south, but we were raised being told to be careful." Pretty lifted her head. Dray reached over and put a leg over her shoulder, pulling her close.

"My sweet…" The stallion's words were lost after the two as he nuzzled and whispered into one of his mare's ears. She seemed to relax a little.

"I blasted him… them. I might have been young but I was an excellent unicorn even then. I chased that bug out of the city!" Pretty sounded triumphant and looked it. "It wasn't fair, they must have wanted to drag me off to their hive, to feed on."

Stick blinked her eyes at this. "If they wanted to drag you off… I would think it would be Chrysalis' hive, they would have done it and not gotten close." She sounded a touch confused at the character. "Likewise, if they were infiltrating for information they hardly would have chosen a young mare as their target…"

"Are you accusing me of lying?" Pretty's rage returned, her horn lighting.

A soft white glow flowed out, Penny noticed, from Celestia's horn, subduing any spell Pretty might try.

Stick shook her head. "No, you were wronged. But I think there is more to this. How long were you with this changeling?"

When her spells didn't seem to obey her, Pretty seemed to grow more angry until she saw the princess' face. She calmed at the expression, so soft in it's worry. "I… we were together for nearly two years."

This got even Penny's attention. "You didn't feel sick, or that something was wrong? This drone sounds like somepony who didn't want to hurt you, or those around you. It takes very careful drinking for a drone to go even a few days without causing harm."

Celestia and Stick both nodded to this, each having intimate knowledge of such. Celestia secretly thanked her former student again for the book she had gifted her. "Quite so. It also doesn't sound like the efforts of a changeling trying to get information. Talking to some of Princess Fast Change's hive, Chrysalis doesn't seem like the kind of mare who would play a long-game."

Stick nodded to the princess' assessment. "If she couldn't have something, if she couldn't take it quickly, she would be in such a rage…"

Penny had a little inside insight to this, having been an avid watcher of the show, she knew of course that the real thing often was much more complicated, though. "So if this changeling wasn't after information and wasn't trying to steal ponies…" Inspiration, it came to her and she focused her magic.

Perking her head up and turning to look right at Penny, Stick smiled. Her mental touch with the mare deepened and she gently began to sip. "What…" She stopped dead and looked around. "Somepony is… Princess, there is another changeling drinking-"

"Dray?" Pretty's question caught them all off-guard. She was looking to her husband.

Dray Cart was looking very odd, he was wobbling on his hooves and, to Penny at least, looking as drunk as a changeling feeding from her magic for the first time.

Stick, too, picked up on it and lifted her hoof. A sphere of golden force surrounded Dray. "You don't work for Chrysalis at all, do you Dray Cart?" Celestia stepped forward, past a vindicated Penny and a shocked Stick. She walked until she was beside a trembling Pretty. "You would do well, changeling, to talk quickly and truthfully."

There was a tremble in the trapped stallion and a wave of green flame poured over him, revealing a larger than normal drone. "Very well-" He began to say something but was cut off.

"Why? Dray why?" Pretty was in tears, dropping to the floor as if all her bones had turned to jelly. The trapped changeling tried to move to her but the bubble stopped him. The bubble popped quickly and he rushed to Pretty's side, reaching out to her. "You look the same… but a little bigger?"

"How could I not grow? I have a mare who loves me, a foal who is the smartest little thing in all Equestria…" Dray's form was full of holes, legs, horn, even his green mane and tail had some gaps.

Hay had walked to the front of the room, staring at her parents. "Mom? Dad?" She looked surprised, to say the least.

"I don't think you do work for her." Stick had regained her faculties after the shock. "You left the hive long ago?"

Dray nodded. "She did send me out, to find ponies to bring back for her pods. I… I couldn't." That struggle, the fight against his queen's will, had obviously not been an easy one. "If it wasn't for the pure love of a mare, I would have done bad things." He looked down to Pretty, reaching a hoof to her.

Pretty's world had not only been rocked, it had shattered. "I… Rock Star?" Dray nodded sheepishly, getting a half-smile from his mare. "I did wonder about the name."

Dray shrugged. "I needed something, I had taken the form of an earth pony, it seemed… appropriate. Of course the second time I learned my lesson. Can you forgive me?"

Pretty trembled a moment, her eyes closing as she searched within. It wasn't hard to find her love for Dray, it was the center of of her world. They had grown close, they had married and raised a fine foal. The memories of all the horrid things she said about changelings, all the barbs, vitriol, and poison she had spoke. "No, Dray. Can you forgive me? I was a silly filly, I didn't see what you were going through."

Celestia would pump a hoof in the air, if she hadn't learned to master some measure of control a thousand years ago. Her smile, she could let free.

"Dad?" Hay was looking at the changeling before her, his green mane and tail, softly glowing eyes. Two weeks ago she would have screamed in fear and possibly cursed his name. But she had found a friend who looked almost the same, almost exactly like her father. She rushed forward into the hug her parents held out, Hay feeling an odd sense of completeness.

The other ponies present seemed to not exist for the family, the three exploring their love and finding it easily overcoming their reservations and fears.

Celestia, however, managed to find her voice. "So, Pretty Cart, would you like to withdraw your complaint?"

67 - See my dress

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"So your parents…" Penny sipped at the milkshake that accompanied her breakfast. It had been a full day since their visit to Celestia's court.

Hay smiled. "They are exploring their love in a whole new way. Oh, dad asked if you could, uh, escort him to meet Princess Fast Change."

"Of course I can, I am kind of like him in a way. I couldn't even dream of being stuck in a hive again, without Penny." Stick leaned and gave the mare in question a kiss on the cheek.

"So, half changeling? It doesn't show on the outside. Anything feel odd?" Penny turned and returned the kiss with her mare.

"Like what? I feel the same I always have. Should I feel different now?" Hay lifted a hoof and examined it.

Penny pondered this and grinned. "I have an idea…" She began to channel, only a little. "Feel anything?" She looked between Stick and Hay.

Hay watched as the drone seemed to melt into Penny's side, a dreamy expression on her features. She searched around, trying to work out if something felt different. A sip of her own milkshake did have her blink. "I think I can feel… something. Like an itch in my throat."

"It is different, when she pushes it out like this. If you have some…" Stick waved a hoof in the air, searching for a word.

"Latent. Suppressed?" Penny kept up her light channel, supplying words for her lover to use.

"… suppressed? Reduced? Okay, if you have some kind of feeding like a changeling, she might be able to stimulate it more than normal. You don't seem to need feeding though, I would think before you embrace this. What if triggering it makes other things change too? What if you start to NEED to feed?" Stick floated a little bit of the pancake on her plate up and popped it in Penny's waiting mouth.

"I should ask-" Hay got cut short in her reply.

"No." Penny had managed to gulp down the food and cut in. "This is your decision. You can ask for advice, but nopony should tell you what you should or shouldn't do. If you do start this, and need to feed, I can help you while we are here at school. But know that you might have to move into the hive, or at least near it, if it comes to that."

Stick nodded, thankful for once that she hadn't kept Penny quiet with more food.

"You… you would do that?" Hay Cart sounded surprised, blinking her big eyes at the other unicorn.

"Of course, helping a friend is something everypony does!" Penny smiled wide enough that her eyes closed in the effort.

"When is your dad going to the hive?" Stick had to struggle with herself not to want to do more with Penny. With the soft channeling the mare was keeping up she was making the changeling ache to do more than just drink from her.

"Tomorrow. Is that too soon for you?" Hay ate her own pancakes bite by bite.

Stick shook her head. "Nope, will be perfect, I think Penny has another session with Giddilee." Penny nodded. "There. Will you be coming too?"

Hay seemed to shrink a little and nod.

"Then I will have two new friends to show off to our princess." Stick looked down and realized she had emptied her plate.

The half changeling perked up at the statement and a light seemed to come on over her head, her features pulling back into a smile. "I guess she is my princess too now, oh and I get to meet her? I am going to need a dress!"

Rarity sneezed, looking at the dress that had been ordered by one of her friends as a gift. For some reason she suddenly thought it might be best to finish it that day and get it delivered to Canterlot.

All three mares, having gathered in the larger room of Penny and Stick to study, heard a knock at the door. They were all winding down for the day, having been studying together again. It seemed the vice principal had left them bundled together as 'troublemakers'. Hay was a little ahead of the two special someponies, but it helped the two no end. Hay could have likely complained, but she liked spending time with her friends.

"Come in." Penny sat up on the bed, folding her book closed.

"Do I have the right room? Oh, darlings, I do!" Rarity trotted in, making the room feel a little smaller, particularly with the dress that floated in behind her. "Is this the lovely mare I made this for?" She was looking at Hay.

"Hi Rarity! It is! This is Hay Cart. Hay, this is Rarity-" Stick was introducing them when Hay seemed to squeal in excitement.

Bounding up to her hooves and bouncing around, she was trying to inspect the dress even through the protective cover Rarity had over it. "Oh! Oh! I am so excited! Everypony will just faint with jealousy when they see me wearing an original Rarity creation!"

If there was ever a way to get Rarity to excuse bad manners, it was complimenting her creations and herself. "Oh well I wouldn't go too far, it was just something I put together for a friend of a friend…" The white unicorn mare was blushing a little at the praise.

"Rarity." Penny got her attention with a half-serious tone. "Nothing you do is simply 'put together', your most simple creations are a study in excellence." Penny was, of course, bedecked in a fine sun-dress the designer had produced along with the more formal ones she had made for Penny. It flowed with simple, light fabric and best of all she could run and dance in it. "You know my history, you know it won't come easy to say, but I like wearing your dresses." Penny blushed furiously as she admitted it, she saw Stick lift a hoof and pump it in the air.

"Darling, I simply must make you more. I almost forgot how stunning that fur of yours is, you need more bright things to surround yourself with." The fashionista batted those long lashes and Penny almost swooned at them. She definitely had a bent for mares, she decided, and Rarity was an amazing example of such. Getting compliments from her made Penny tingle nicely.

"Rarity, you must let her try it on immediately, I don't think Hay could survive another minute without seeing it." Stick pointed her hoof at Hay, the mare trying to peek under the cover at the dress.

Rarity turned and shooed the other white-furred unicorn back. "Stand back now, you will appreciate it more." Slowly, as the cover lifted, the most amazing pure white dress was revealed.

Hay bounced on all fours. "That is amazing! Oh this will be perfect for something else too. But tomorrow I am visiting the hive with my dad and I want to look my best beside him!"

This seemed to confuse Rarity a touch. "Your father is visiting the hive? I thought when ponies went there they…" Rarity flushed just a touch.

The half changeling's mood wasn't decreased in the slightest. "No, it was all a big mess and complicated, but I found out my dad is a changeling!" She pointed to Stick. "We are going together, tomorrow, to visit and meet Princess Fast."

Rarity nodded to this. "Meeting your 'new' family is important. I think you will be the most beautiful mare there. Oh, are you, well, half changeling?"

Hay nodded, looking proud as punch.

"Darling, I must say, you certainly don't look it." Rarity looked from Hay to Stick, as if needing to be sure what a changeling looks like.

"They say that if I… find that side of me, it might change." Hay sat down, paying more focus to the conversation now than the dress. "I know what it is like being a unicorn, but I have never been a changeling, how could I understand what the difference is?"

Penny and Stick both giggled, the latter trotting over and putting a hoof over the mare's withers. "Then you really need to go tomorrow. There will be a pony there who knows exactly what you are feeling and could feel." Penny nodded to her mate's words.

"What do you mean? There are other half changelings?" Hay sounded both confused but intrigued.

Stick gave her a little squeeze through the shoulders. "No, I am talking of Princess Fast. She was a unicorn and-"

Hay bopped herself on the forehead. "And became a changeling. Of course!"

"I would love to stay, but I simply must return to Ponyville. I have a million and one things I need to get ready." Rarity realized when it was time to part. "Oh, but I almost forgot. Stick." She opened her pack and lifted out a new-looking book. "Twilight sent this."

"She finished her book!" Stick was over to Rarity, accepting the book and grinning happily.

"Oh, that reminds me." Penny unfolded and unpacked two books. "This first one was Twilight's, I needed to return it. The other is a gift to her, I am sure her library has room for a new book on crystal pony magic."

Rarity rolled her eyes as she accepted them. "Heavens forbid Princess Twilight Sparkle not have room for more books." She took the two and folded her bag closed over them.

Their goodbyes were said and the ponyvillian left the three. Penny noticed something about Hay, the mare was shaking a little. "Stick…" At her word, they both moved over and leaned in from each side to flank the mare. "You will see, being different isn't wrong, it is just… different."

Hay took a deep breath, her trembling stopped, after a few more such breaths. "Would you like company? We have a spare cot you could sleep on?" Stick's offer surprised Penny, but certainly didn't displease her.

"I couldn't…"

"You can and will." Penny was already reaching out with her magic, trying to pull the cot out from under their bed unsuccessfully.

Hay Cart giggled, seeing the cot tremble as it tried to move. Bringing her own magic to life, she helped pull it free.

"This isn't a completely open invitation, mind you." Stick sounded half business, half playful. "She is my mare and she stays on the bed. You understand?"

Penny's hot blush got a full laugh from Hay. "I promise, no foalnapping."

Despite their jokes and banter, Penny did feel a little odd with her friend in the room. She found herself, a few times, moving to become a little more intimate with Stick but having to restrain herself. She realized with a slight start that it WAS her trying to initiate things. Was this really her?

Stick rolled so that they were facing each other. The changeling leaned out and kissed Penny's nose. It got a giggle from the lunar unicorn but she held herself from taking it further.

Over on the cot, Hay was already asleep. She knew her friends were holding back from what a couple would normally do when alone in their bedroom. It made her appreciate them all the more that they would go this far for her. There was not a single nightmare in her dreams that night, none could fit now that she had good friends around her and a surprising new family.

Pretty Cart lay in the moonlight, her husband… her real husband, behind her. She still had to get used to his dark black hide, but the way his hooves worked over her back she could barely focus on words. "Just… right there yes… where did you learn how to do this?"

His hooves found knotted tension in her back and worked at it. "Relax with my loving wife, or massage?"

"Both." Pretty closed her eyes. She didn't do it to ignore his form, she did it so she could focus on all the things she loved about him.

"Massaging I learned by spending many years with a loving mare who works herself too hard to make her stallion feel at home." His wings chirped a little on his back. "Relaxing with my most wonderful and forgiving of mates? That I had trained into me by my first love."

Pretty decided she really liked knowing everything, particularly when it meant Dray could be so honest about himself. "Tomorrow you are visiting the hive?"

The massage stopped, Dray simply didn't know what answer he could give that wouldn't upset his mate.

"Visit them, but make sure you come back to me. I just found you, all of you, and don't want to have to break the law to get you back." Pretty reached her hoof back and rested it against one of the stationary ones that had been rubbing her side.

"Of course, I left one hive to be with you, another is a simple matter. But I must talk with Que-, with Princess Fast." Leaving one of his holed hooves resting on hers, Dray continued massaging his wife.

68 - Dawn

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Dray woke to the new day. He felt so very naked. Looking down at his black hide, his tattered wings, he barely recognized the changeling he was.

"Dray?" Pretty leaned in and nuzzled against his jaw. His hoof came up, filled with holes, to rub her cheek.

"Sorry dear-heart, didn't mean to wake you." He kissed his wife on her perfect lips. "I… would you rather I…" His voice halted enough to get Pretty to open her eyes and look at him, her sleepy mind forgetting for a moment who the changeling in her bed was. Dray saw the reaction and the flames encompassed him, remaking him into the unicorn he really felt he was.

"No, you don't have to, I just…" Pretty sighed and closed her eyes. "Do you want to stay as Dray-the-unicorn?"

"I just want to be at your side." Dray wrapped his hooves around Pretty and pulled closer. "I don't even know what I want anymore, apart from you."

There was a chuckle from the mare. "Silly stallion, just like my Dray to focus down to one thing. What about your company? Your workers?"

He trembled a moment. "I just can't face them. They will all know by now, surely…"

"The princess closed the court, remember?"

He realized that was true, that only half a dozen ponies knew. "I need to tell them, but not today."

"No." His wife nuzzled his neck up to his chin. "Today you need to go and greet a new princess. How were you surviving?"

The question came from right field, Dray couldn't lie anymore, though. With the biggest lie of his life revealed there was just no deception left in him. "I fed lightly. I was so careful of you, but my workers love their jobs, there are enough of them that I could feed and never do harm…"

"You will need to pay them a little more." Pretty chuckled. "For services rendered."

He blinked his eyes at that, wondering how many good workers he would lose. "I will, the company is doing well enough for it."

He was delaying, but he had set a time schedule that would let him delay and procrastinate a little. "Does it use more energy, keeping your disguise up?" Pretty was poking him gently all over now, examining what she knew was a facade.

"Keeping it up? No. It is the changing that uses energy, unless I were silly enough to try a form larger or smaller than I am." Dray let the flames come and became a changeling again. Looking at Pretty he saw no horror in her eyes now. The look on her face was like throwing great logs on the fire of his love and he wrapped her in his forelegs, squeezing her tightly. "I love you, my Pretty mare. I would do anything to keep you smiling."

"Silly stallion, I thought those were flashy words before, but now I see how much truth there is behind them. You gave up your life, for me… I can't help but feel amazed at that."

Dray pressed his snout in against her neck. She felt the fangs that pressed so gently, that didn't even hint at breaking the skin.

The knock at their front door was loud and the pair both blushed as they pulled apart. Dray, however, got a last kiss on his wife's nose. "That is probably Hay. She said her friend would come with us to the hive."

Sure enough a changeling drone was standing at the front door with their daughter at their side. "Hi Mr Cart." Stick lifted a hoof in greeting. Dray lifted his own and clopped it against hers. He did find it curious that she had some holes in her own.

"Just need to get some things." He told the pair, leaving the door open as he retreated inside to get his bags. He contemplated changing his form back to Dray-the-unicorn but shook his head at that.

"You have a good day, and be nice to the princess, she is new." Pretty kissed him one last time, the mare making him shiver a moment.

"How did I get so lucky?" He kissed her back, smiling as their lips touched.

As they pulled back Pretty had his answer. "You got so lucky because you worked at it. Go now, before I change my mind and keep you for the day. I best go to the factory and tell On Time that you won't be in today."

He smiled and turned. His eyes were closed a moment, wanting to plant the memory of Pretty firmly in his thoughts for the day. As he opened them it was to see Hay and her friend at the door. The filly he had raised was everything he could have hoped she would be. Smart. Pretty. Compassionate.

"Lets go." He walked up to the pair and, together, they left his house.

"You don't chitter, at all." Stick looked up to him.

He puffed his chest. "Required as an infiltrator, but more, I hadn't seen another changeling out of disguise since I left the hive, then Princess Fast turns up with tons of them. I was scared I would be discovered, but if there is one thing spending my life as a pony has taught me, and that is how not to be recognized."

"I tended to the breeders, back in the hive." Stick walked easily with the other changelings. It felt good to talk with Dray, he was nice. "It was such a shock when old Queen-Stupid-Butt demanded we all give chase to the ponies. I couldn't fight her demands until Fast stood against her."

"You love Fast?" Hay cut in and got a laugh from Stick.

"Of course I do, she saved me, looked after me. She is… I called her mom last time I visited." The drone blushed hotly.

Dray was changing his opinion of this new queen more and more by the second. "How did she react?"

Stick's blush faded into a dreamy look of happiness. "She hugged me."

They neared the hive and Stick could sense the trepidation in both father and daughter.

"I say, is that one of my business partners escorting the daughter of Dray Cart to the changeling hive? Does your mother know you are here young lady?" Fancy Pants and Fleur Dis Lee were just leaving the hive, it seemed.

Hay blushed brightly but nodded. "Yes sir. She…" Looking to her father for support, Hay found it.

"Her mother and her father," green flame enveloped Dray as he became his normal unicorn self, "are behind her."

Fancy's monocle popped out in shock. "From where I stand either you are the boldest changeling I have met today, which is unlikely given your company, or I need to sit down and have a chat with you."

Dray colored, realizing that his canny sometimes-partner sometimes-enemy saw through him. "The latter, would be good." He felt at a disadvantage but the hoof that reached out and clopped against his side had him widen his eyes.

"Buck up old chap. Not the end of the world being outed. Just means I might have a better chance of guessing your motives now." Fancy levitated his monocle back in and grinned. "You seem to have business with a princess first. Maybe after lunch?"

Nodding, Dray was flabbergasted. He hadn't realized Fancy was quite as well acquainted with the hive as this. "Sure thing." He replied automatically, but almost bopped himself on the forehead because of it. Fancy had the upper hoof, again, Dray would probably be distracted by his meeting with Fast.

The meeting settled, Fancy and Fleur turned. Dray only just realizing the mare had been talking with Stick and his daughter.

"See daddy? Even your friends are taking it well." Hay beamed with the innocence of a pony who didn't understand the power-game that had just played out.

It did occur to Dray that Fancy did, indeed, take it very well. He barely noticed as Stick swept them back into motion.

"Journeydrone Stick, Hay Cart and Dray Cart, to see Princess Fast Change!" Stick loved using her title.

"I will get the queen!" One of the drones was about to run off but got a bop on the head from the other.

"Princess, and just let them in, they are expected." The other, it seemed, was a touch brighter than his fellow.

They wandered in and Dray shifted back to his changeling form, once inside. "This is different. This hive is all above ground?"

"Not all." Stick pointed down side passages. "Some of the drones just can't seem to sleep above ground, something about noises and echoes. Princess Fast will likely be in her throne room."

There were huge doors that Stick knocked on. "Enter!" Came a voice from inside.

The drone had to push her magic into opening the door but inside she beamed at the figure lounging, in a manner that was a mix between casual and flaunting. "Hi princess!" Stick waved a hoof and gestured to Dray and Hay to enter. "I present a lost stallion, hiveless but wanting to at least make good ties to yours. Dray Cart. His daughter, half bred of a changeling and a unicorn of the finest stock, Hay Cart."

Stick's introduction had both Dray and Hay bow to the queen of the hive. "Don't bow." Fast's words carried weight.

"No, stay bowing." Stick whispered.

Both ponies looked confused but after a moment of further bowing Fast clopped her hooves together with delight. "A leader and a daughter who can ignore a queen's demands. Be welcome to my hive."

Dray was in shock, he hadn't even realized what the little test was about. "Leader? I am a drone…"

"Were." Fast dropped off her throne and trotted over to the trio. Her first attention was on Stick, pulling the changeling into a tight hug. "How has my little daughter been?"

Stick blushed with delight at the attention. "I found some lost friends of your hive, my mate's belly grows with our foal. Times are good!"

This surprised Dray, who hadn't known about the details of Stick or her marefriend. "She would have a half-bred foal as well?"

Stick nodded enthusiastically. "Like you, I took a form that we hope will ensure they lean more toward pony than changeling. I don't think Penny would care, even if she ended up laying an egg."

Fast seemed to blush hotly for no apparent reason. She recovered though. "Let us start with you, Dray. Your options are many but, important matters must be stated first. To live in the city as a changeling, there are rules." The princess disengaged from her hug with Stick. "First rule, no eating unless either the reasons are grave or you have permission. And you best believe the former will be investigated. When taking the form of anything but a changeling, you must wear a cutie mark of a changeling."

Stick demonstrated, flickering into a copy of Hay, with a stylized changeling on her rump, drawn mostly with sharp angles.

"Like so." Fast gestured at the picture. "You may make it whatever you like, but it must be recognizable as a changeling. Finally, you are beholden to the laws of this realm." Fast looked to deflate. "Ugh, okay, the not-fun bit's out of the way. So, what are your plans?"

Dray was left blinking, looking first to his daughter, then to Stick and finally to the princess. "To live my life, love my wife and daughter. I need to tell my workers what has happened, of course, and my business partners will find out and possibly drop ties with me." He sighed. "My wife did suggest that I pay my workers a little more, as compensation for drinking from them."

Fast Change nodded. "Clever mare your wife. That sorts out most of the issues. What of you, Hay?"

Hay gave a little 'eep' as the attention of her father, best friend and a princess descended on her. "I… I am not a changeling, but I… I need to know if I do get into this," she waved a hoof around, indicating the hive at large, "what it will be like." She looked up to Fast, unable to ask a princess all the personal things she needs to.

"Sounds like we need to chat." Fast lifted her voice. "Bring drinks!"

There was a flurry of activity, drones rushing in, bringing a table, soft pillows and finally a tea set. They looked absolutely excited to be serving their queen and her guests, even if those guests seemed so odd.

Fast settled at the head of the table, taking Stick on one side and Hay on the other, she left Dray to find a spot on the far side of his daughter.

"Now, the big changes." Fast sipped her tea. The mare got no sustenance from it but had learned, mainly from Fancy and Fleur, to enjoy the taste. "Becoming a changeling, really becoming one, was scary. My special talent as a unicorn was shapeshifting, but I could always assume my normal self."

For emphasis, Fast did that now, becoming the red mare she was born as, crippled legs and all.

Of those present, only Stick had seen her like this before, and there were little gasps from Hay and Dray.

"But on that day, when I stood against Chrysalis, everything changed." Her lips curled at her pun. "Now, when I focus on 'me', on the pony I am, I become this." Green fire flickered barely a moment, Stick was quite impressed with just how easily her queen could change. "This is me now." Fast poked at one of the few holes in her hooves. "With my talent, I had walked the streets…" Fast faltered, she had almost slipped and added 'and sheets', "in many forms, gryphon, dragon, I had even taken this." She flickered again and ended up an odd cross between griffon and pony, a hippogriff.

Stick was marveling at the shape. It looked to encompass all the awesome traits of both species.

"But none made me fear being out, being seen, so much as my dark shelled self." Fast noticed the intense scrutiny of her daughter, deciding to wear it a little longer for her. "What I did, while wearing it however, has swung general opinion of changelings a lot. Princess Celestia is truly a great mare, she…" Fast almost lost it, she almost cried.

A warm hug came from both sides. Stick and Hay both moving without thinking, hearing how hard it was for Fast to tell her story, to explore her respect for Celestia.

Dray smiled. "I couldn't believe it. She seemed so calm. When I revealed myself, all she did was demand I tell the truth…"

"So being a changeling. If I get this right. Hunger for food that is hard to get-" Hay was trying to tick off the points but got interrupted.

"Not hard to get, just a little tricky. Remember Penny's promise." Stick booped Hay on the nose to the other mare's giggle.

"Okay, so food is tricky, and anywhere but here there might be a little prejudice. I might get to fly… I might even get to shapechange…"

"Might." Fast rubbed the mare's ears. The princess wasn't sure when, but she had found herself to be a little bigger than other ponies.

"Okay, might. I could be left with the downsides but no upside." Hay pondered this and looked to her father. "I think it would be worth it, if only to know a little more of my dad, and how amazing he is."

69 - Hunger

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Dray looked at his daughter, his jaw hanging open. "But I… you…"

The young mare leaned over and hugged the changeling, snuggling him tight. "You are an inspiration to me. I thought you were amazing before, but now I find out how determined you were, are, to be with mother. You fought all of society to stay at her side, you even fought her!"

Stick reached over and nudged Fast. "So how do we do this? She could barely feel Penny's energy, I doubt she could really focus on somepony."

The princess pondered, reaching out her still-transformed talon to give Stick's ears a good scratching. "I think it would be best to approach some ponies who are already feeding another, offer them a free session if they let us sit in."

"Ponies are really paying now?" Stick looked amazed.

"Some do, enough. It can be nice to be told, by the pony you most admire, that you are a good pony." Fast looked down at her form, smiling. "I actually like this one, but it won't do to be seen as anything but the changeling princess."

The flash of fire came all too late, Stick had already seen enough of that form for her own experiment, later.

"When you are ready, lets get Dray a nice meal and see if we can coax Hay to be able to drink." Fast got up and stretched, showing off every inch of her queen body.

Father and daughter both nodded and drew apart from their hug. Stick simply stood, intending to still accompany the two within the hive.

"Had the most astounding thing happen earlier today." Fast began to explain as they left the main chamber. "Discord is apparently foalsitting a changeling filly." The news in itself wasn't amazing, Discord did what Discord always does. "But that wasn't the truly interesting bit. The foal wasn't one of Chrysalis'."

This news did have the others surprised. "Another hive." Dray looked the least surprised.

"You knew there were more?" Fast led them down some smaller halls.

Dray nodded. "Before my time, but drones talk, and the talk of some of the older ones, of the queen before Chrysalis, were that her hive was driven north by stiff competition. She would, probably, claim it was to make it easier to invade the pony lands."

"Curious, I think we might have to schedule another little chat, sometime." Princess Fast smiled wide, but showed no aggression to the recently revealed changeling. "Of course you will be compensated for your time, I am sure a nice meal would suffice?"

"For a queen… princess, who actually cares for her hive, I would be glad to." Dray smiled up at this strange queen. It almost made him want to be part of the hive. But Pretty was his life.

"Please wait here." Fast slipped into a room for a few minutes and eventually came back out. "This will be perfect, come on in."

Inside was a pair of stallions, lounging on a couch, with a changeling completely unchanged, sitting before them. Dray and Hay had the biggest reaction, but Stick waved to the two happy looking males. They waved back a little nervously.

"So these are the new friends who are going to be feeding today, if you don't mind." Fast gestured to Dray and Hay.

Dray seemed to accept the situation quicker than his daughter. "Thank you for this I… have not had an easy time in Canterlot, without a hive." His throat itched, the pair were clearly quite in love and he could easily sense it just by seeing them. Practiced prejudices shed, Dray stepped over and offered a hoof, getting a clop from each of the 'colt cuddlers'.

The drone who had been with them scanned the newcomers and urged Hay to come up. "You have a problem with the idea of two ponies loving each other?" It wasn't really a question, he knew she did.

Hay gave a little nod.

"It seems silly, doesn't it? When I say it like that. And it is silly, ponies have some of the oddest notions, they should be more friendly." It drove home the point, to the young mare, that it was a changeling preaching that ponies should show more friendship. She braced herself and marched over to the pair.

"I am sorry for my reaction, I just…" Hay trailed off, her raised hoof faltering before it got two clops from the stallions.

"It's okay, we know how you feel, it wasn't like we didn't grow up feeling it too, but there was something else." He looked to his partner and kissed him.

Hay saw beyond the initial, society-instilled dislike for the act. She saw the love between them. Turning to the changelings in the room, she smiled. "Okay, so how does this work?"

Princess Fast looked to the drone, who smiled. "It is not often I get to guide a new changeling to drink for the first time, not in this hive." He looked pointedly at a suddenly blushing Fast. "But it was my task back under the bad queen."

He got up and stepped in beside Hay, closer than normally would be acceptable. Hay was too excited to really feel distracted by it.

"Can you feel their love? Close your eyes."

Hay did as instructed, closing her eyes and trying to feel.

"Now focus on your throat, on your tongue. Open your mouth and reach out."

She almost felt silly at doing this, she was standing there, beside the two stallion, eyes closed with her tongue stuck out. But she felt that twitch in her throat again. "I fweel shomting."

"Reach for it, gently. Imagine your mouth reaching forward for it."

Hay did, she leaned out, but not with her body. A taste, a very new taste, flowed over her senses and she gave a squeak and pulled back.

"She got some." One of the stallions giggled. "She was so gentle!"

The drone at Hay's side was resolute. "These two have so much love to give between them, go on, try again."

Hay did, she remembered the sequence and the sense just before her was a bit stronger now. She leaned in and bathed her senses, eyes closed. She trembled in delight at the taste and feel of it as she gulped down. A fire grew inside her, fueled by the energy she drank.

"Enough now, you did very well for a first try, but you are going to need to learn moderation." The drone lifted a hoof and rubbed her shoulders. Hay opened her eyes and was looking at the stallions. It was impossible for her to deny how right their love was. She had tasted it.

"And then I drank and it was amazing!" Hay and Stick had caught up with Penny, the lunar mare all sticky and hot from her morning spent training. "They were so cute together…"

Penny raised an eyebrow at the deep crimson blush on Hay's cheek. "'They'?"

Stick moved in but stopped before snuggling against her marefriend. "Ugh, you smell, come on, to the bath!" The changeling managed to steal a kiss anyway.

Hay trotted along with the pair. "I didn't realize colt cu- that stallions that liked stallions, had it so hard."

"Society can suck for those who don't fit the right shapes for it. Where I am from, even two mares being together is seen as unhealthy." Penny turned down toward their rooms but Stick blocked the hall.

"Nope, we are going to the public bath. There is a nice one just a block from here." The drone began to lead.

The three made their way from the school, turning and heading first to the public bathhouse and spa a few blocks down. "How did your father do?" Penny finally got their conversation rolling again.

Hay brightened. "I think he was in awe of Princess Fast, she is pretty amazing. She was so quick to be able to shapeshift. I have seen some spells to do those, but I couldn't even see her cast…"

"Silly, it was changeling magic, we don't use spells so much, it is…" Stick looked to Penny, clearly fishing for a word.

"Innate?" Penny offered the word and Stick brightened.

"Even a foal, barely shed the form they had in their egg, could change their shape. It requires just thought and a good meal." Stick noticed Hay blush. "She had her first nibble, it was so awesome. You should have seen how tentative she was at first but when she got a taste for love…"

Hay blushed but reached over and pushed the changeling, the pair giggling. "It did taste good." She seemed to be fishing for something.

"After the bath, I need some food before I should do any magic." Penny had a feeling that she was going to be eating even more soon, what with how Hay was looking at her. "Oh darn you two, look, grab me something solid to eat before we go in and I will give you something back."

Stick leaned in to Hay and whispered something in the mare's ear. Hay giggled loudly, nodded, and bolted off. "It's your own fault." The changeling was alone with her mate, relatively, the street was not completely empty. "You keep attracting cute changelings to your side."

Penny blushed hotly. "She isn't! I mean I don't…" The kiss on her nose halted Penny's defense. She had been played.

"I know you don't. She is a cute mare though, and will need somepony who understands her." They entered the bath. "Three please, for the bath. Our third will be back soon. Unicorn, white fur, about this big…"

The pony behind the ticket window nodded and pointed them in.

"Stick, are you saying…" Penny was still blushing. Was it really something they should even be talking about?

"I am saying don't close options. We both like her, if she shows interest, I wouldn't be against a little fun. Besides, that is a huge 'if'!"

The baths were mixed gender, but there were three. One was a cool bath, one warm, one hot.

"What do you think, hot and steamy? I bet all sorts of things could be hidden by the steam." Stick was now pressed against Penny, thoughts as to getting dirty lost now that they were actually at the bath.

"Warm." Penny gulped down. She couldn't deny that Hay was a beautiful mare, but they were friends, friends don't think… that way, about each other. It didn't help that the former human, in that previous form, hadn't had a terrible lot of social interaction at the 'more than friends' level.

The pair advanced in, finding the bath was deserted. "Guess it isn't really the right time for most ponies to want to freshen up." Stick clopped to the deep water and jumped in, wings buzzing in delight.

Penny, a little more cautious, stepped down the little ramp into the water, her eyes half closing as warmth and near weightlessness surrounded her. "Oh drat this was a good idea…"

A brush, animated in green magic, quickly advanced on Penny and set to work. Stick was swimming around in the water, making more splashes than real progress.

"Oh, here you are!" Hay poked her head and, eventually, body in. "I got the ones you said." She stripped off the little saddlebags she had been wearing, lifting free two of the most amazing-looking chocolate-coated honey oat bars ever designed.

Penny, mouth watering at the thought of food, had one approach and shove right in her mouth. It wasn't until she noticed the color of the magic that she realized it was Hay feeding her. She blushed and tried to say something, only to get another bite of the bar for her trouble. Surely the mare couldn't realize what it meant, between Stick and her, to do this. But Hay was relentless.

"How's it taste?" Stick had worked out an actual swimming stroke at last, paddling around with her hooves splashing.

Penny glared at the mare. The contents of the whispering obviously had been a setup by her marefriend. She was just about to give the changeling a piece of her mind when the second bar was being fed to her. Stick's grin was so wide Penny thought her special somepony's cheeks would implode. "Mfmfrrmff."

Hay and Stick both giggled at this. Penny had to chew the sticky and filling food, gulping it down and, finally, she got through the second. Of course she realized she couldn't say anything now, bringing up how personal the act felt would only embarrass her friend. "They were delicious." The point conceded, Penny tried to relax only to remember why she had been fed the bars.

She focused her magic and slowly started to channel. Stick was instantly at her side, pressing close and nosing at her neck. Hay, meanwhile, looked stunned. "That is... wow! Can I…"

The hesitancy in her words brought a smile to Penny's lips. "Go on, drink up."

It was easy to tell when Hay began to drink. She trembled a moment in the more shallow water, closing her eyes completely. Penny felt the second embrace on her feelings, suddenly unsure about this. A second body was pressing in against her, a softer pair of lips nibbling at the other side of her throat. It startled her so much that she stopped channeling.

Hay came to, still feeling a touch intoxicated by the overabundance of 'food', she nonetheless realized what she had been doing in her inebriated and less inhibited state. "Oh, oh! Penny I am sorry I wouldn't-"

A black hoof pressed to Hay's lips, it had some holes in it.

Stick smiled to her. "Do you regret the feelings?"

Hay blinked, her eyes wide. She suddenly wanted to look anywhere but at the pair of mares.

Penny reached up and put a hoof on the half-changeling's withers. "I don't even know how I feel. If you want to just leave now, I won't hold it against you. But my promise stands, I will keep you fed."

Hay looked so very confused. But she didn't want to run away, that wouldn't resolve anything. "Could you try again I… I…"

A warm wave of flavor washed over Hay, she could feel that delightful energy radiating from the mare at her side. It was true she had had close friends before, but nothing like this. She couldn't hold back her urge anymore, she reached out and started to feed just as the drone had showed her.

Penny hugged the second mare in against herself, one leg over each of Stick and Hay's shoulders. She really wasn't sure where things were going, or if it would be where she wanted to go, but not letting it play out, not trying, would be the worst thing she could do.

70 - Gossip

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Whoa there! Penny and Stick really seem to get up to something naughty here, would you like to know what? Head on over here to find out. Warning: Link contains sex between a pony and a hippogriff (changeling), contains roleplay.

Penny woke, warm and snuggled. The sensation of a third pony in her bed was a mild surprise, until her mind worked properly and she remembered. She was pressed between the pair, her changeling mate on one side and her best friend on the other. It had been shaky at first, trying to work out who or what might happen, but in the end they had just cuddled and curled up together.

She had time before the pair woke, it seemed. She wouldn't move and disturb them, either of them. But she got an idea. Starting with the smallest trickle, Penny began to channel. She had to focus her thoughts, she didn't want to exclude her feelings for either in this. Her devotion and love for Stick, everything about the changeling made the joy inside the lunar mare just burst and fizz. She looked over to Hay. It was a new experience this love for her. It was young, untempered by the experiences she had been through with Stick.

Slowly, she fed her magic through the emotions, letting it bait the hook. Stick stirred first and Penny felt her, still wrapped in whatever dream her lover was experiencing, reach out with her mental bite and latch on. Penny loved it when she was a little rough, like this, she wasn't really sure why, but it just felt good to her.

Hay took more, she wasn't experienced in feeding, and it hadn't become a full instinct for her. But after a little more energy was expelled Penny felt a matching grip from the other mare, although hers felt completely different. There was no sharp fangs, no grip, Hay just fed like a filly would suck a milkshake through a straw.

Penny closed her eyes, feeling absolutely serene in the moment, letting her two closest friends, one of them her lover, enjoy her gift.

She hadn't felt when Stick woke but she did when Hay did. The mare opened her eyes wide, jerked a little and almost let go of Penny. There was a little instinct there, the lunar mare noted. "Good morning." Penny didn't open her eyes still, knowing that both the other mares were awake.

"You." Stick leaned in and set her physical mouth to work with kisses. It took a few before she came up for air. "Really know how to wake a changeling up."

Hay nodded, pressing her head down on Penny's back. There was some whispering going on and Penny felt her ears swing around and try and focus on it.

"I might just duck out, I want to visit mom today. She must be in quite a state." Hay stretched, her grip on Penny's emotions softening and finally, with a deep sigh from the mare, releasing.

Penny tried to get up, to wish the mare well on her trip when a voice behind her, deeper than usual, gave a little growl. Penny turned to see the oddest thing, it looked like a mix between a gryphon and a lunar pony. Big bat wings and a beak the first features the unicorn noticed. "Rrrr, come 'ere my filly." Penny giggled as Stick-the-hippogriff pinned her down.

Hay Cart trotted to her own room, grabbing her saddlebags and pulling her new dress on. In all the excitement the previous day she had completely forgotten to wear it. Today, to visit her mother, it would be perfect. Her horn lit and she was tugging it into place, pulling it around herself and squeezing in. It fit perfectly!

It took some work to get the little bags sitting just right but, by the time Hay was done, she looked not only amazing but practical. The new hunger she had taken on was sated, Penny having shared so much with her that Hay found herself giggling. A deep breath stopped the emotions from boiling over. The mare looked into the mirror and smiled. She couldn't believe what had happened with them. She had actually spent the night curled up with the pair and it felt… it felt.

"Good." Hay spoke to an empty room, her eyes closed. A warm tingle flowed all over her. "Okay, enough with this."

She trotted out and made her way through the city for her parent's house.

Everything felt so good, she could almost sing to everypony she passed. She could feel the potential for love in almost everypony around her and, if she weren't so well fed, she would have been sorely tempted to feed on them. The mare stopped and shook her head. That really wasn't a good thing to think. "A whole new set of social graces I need to learn." Hay sighed and continued on her way.

"Hay?"

Hay spun around and her face lit up. "Mother!" She galloped and, in two steps, fell over the hem of her dress. Magic gripped her and set her back on her hooves.

"Just like my little foal." Pretty Cart trotted up and inspected her 'little foal'. "We are looking very pretty today, off to find yourself a pretty colt?"

Blushing at her mother's comment, Hay shook her head. But she couldn't get the images of her two friends from her mind. It just made the blush worse.

"I think you are, surely you wouldn't dress up to visit your mother." Pretty pinched Hay's blushing cheek. "But in case you did, would you like to go out for breakfast?"

Hay wasn't feeling hungry in the least, but she nodded, smiling brightly. "Of course I would come to see you wearing my new dress. Do you like it?" She flicked her flanks one way then the other, the dress spilling out and turning with her.

"It is gorgeous, wherever did you get it? And how much for me to get one too?" Pretty gestured to a nearby ice-cream parlor.

Hay moved in beside her mother. "My friends got it for me, actually. From Rarity in Ponyville."

Her mother stopped dead. "THE Rarity?" She hadn't even registered who the 'friends' might be. "Oh that explains so much! To think, my daughter wearing THE fashion line that is sure to be a hit during this year's ball season." Pretty was lost in her own little world, imagining her daughter being the pony to emulate among high society.

"Mother! Calm down. It is just one dress, she doesn't even have a shop in Canterlot." Hay tried to slow her mother down as they entered the ice-cream shop. "Oh it's been ages since we came in here last. Do they still have that mint swirl?" She was over by the glass, gazing in at the labeled tubs.

"We sure do ma'am!" The unicorn working behind the counter was rake thin, a stallion who likely burnt up the produce he ate working. "Would you like a little to try?"

It was a question that didn't need an answer, he was already getting a little of the ice-cream in question out, on a little wooden spoon. Hay took it from him when offered and her feet clopped on the floor quickly as the taste of it washed over her. It was good. As good as ice-cream got. "Can I have a large shake, berries and mango, with a good dollop of that in too?"

The stallion dipped his head and was already preparing it.

"Make that two please dear." Pretty Cart was moving up beside her daughter, her manners never wasted.

"If you want a table I can bring these over?" The sound of the little machine behind him whirring away brought back memories for Hay that had her mouth watering. It then hit her, would this food do her any good?

"That would be most agreeable." Pretty turned, leading her distracted daughter to a table. "Now tell me dear, your blush was a little too quick earlier. Who is he?"

Hay froze, blinking. "Uh… well…"

"She?" Pretty didn't seem at all upset, after all, it was perfectly normal for two mares to find love.

Hay, unfortunately, blushed, suddenly wishing she hadn't come to see her mother. Her dam knew her far too well.

"You are at least learning how to keep quiet at that school, but they seem horrible at teaching a mare to lie to her mother. What is the story?"

Defeat, utter defeat. "Penny… Stick…"

It was reflex for Pretty, shock hit her. "My daughter with one of the-" She cut off, lowering her head and sharing part of her daughter's blush. "You must forgive me." A hoof reached across to the older mare.

"Mom, of course. It was all a misunderstanding with dad." Hay pressed her hoof against her mother's own.

"A misunderstanding that I need to get over. Practical mares do not dally on their failures, they learn from them." It had shaken Pretty, how easy it was to feel that disgust rise inside her. She could easily look past it with Dray, their bodies knew each others foibles so well that forgetting he was a changeling was easy. "So, the two mares at school? How serious are things?"

Hay could see it was costing her mother to fight her misplaced prejudices. "We started as friends, it got… more. We slept in the same bed last night." The blush was back, but Hay didn't care. Her mother, however, raised an eyebrow.

"Just shared?" Pretty got a nod from her daughter. "How close are they? Mare… herds, are not common, not now and not in older times."

"They are to be wed soon. Penny has a foal on the way." It hit Hay how close the pair was, how tight they are and how whenever she thought of one the other popped up.

"So you are a newer addition to their pairing, and a foal? Do they already have a stallion hidden somewhere then?" Pretty pondered the problem. Sure it was a bit odd, but the incident had shown that both the mares had Princess Celestia's favor, that counted for much in the higher families.

"Mom!" Hay was blushing just thinking about what Stick had told her just before she had left. The reason why she had left in fact. "Stick is a changeling, she can… well, she can change her shape."

Hay's mother suddenly looked very thoughtful, a sly smile growing.

"I don't know if it will, if I can… well, I visited the hive with dad yesterday." Hay felt all her soul seeming to be baring itself to her mother. It felt very good to get it out. "We talked with the princess there. I asked them to teach me how to drink…"

Pretty's eyes narrowed and she had to stop and breathe deep again. "Drink? As in, like a changeling?" Hay nodded. "I really picked the wrong family if I wanted to stay bigoted, didn't I?"

Hay smiled at her mother, the lopsided grin the older mare wore was a symptom of her ongoing fight within. "It is nice, I just want to know that side of me. Of dad too. How was he last night?"

Now it was time for Pretty to smile fully, her features lighting up. "I haven't seen my stallion looking that satisfied for a long time. I know it wasn't another mare's doing, he drank well I take it?"

Hay remembered and tried to take a leaf from her mother's book, fighting the slight disgust that still lingered, given the source of her 'first meal'. "He did, Fast was most generous. She seems like a nice mare."

"Princess, dear. She is a princess and please, never forget that." Pretty looked at her daughter with all the earnestness she could muster. "It is not often a mare rises to that rank, and when it does happen it is a signal that they are not only already quite something, but have more to grow into."

Hay nodded, taking her mother's words as fact. "Still, she was a nice princess." Her repeated phrase with the right word made her mother nod. Just then a pair of milk-shakes floated to their table, straws leaning out and to the side. "Thank you!" Hay turned and called, momentarily sensing just how much the stallion loved his job, loved making ponies happy.

It made Hay smile a little more.

71 - Love

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Dray's hooves felt heavy, ironic since to look at them there was a fair bit of them that was just air. The little factory he ran, where ponies assembled parts for foal toys, was usually just the thing to cheer him up. He had founded his company when he found out about Hay, then just a reason to love his mare more.

What would his workers… his friends, think. He had known some of them for many years, had given many of them official leave when their own foals were coming into the world. With deep thoughts he opened the door to the office. It was empty. "Must have all left. Can't blame 'em."

The changeling looked around, finding most of the papers to be in order, almost as if the two mares who worked in here had just gotten up and left. He spied the red form then, the one that would mean an accident had happened in the factory. He didn't read it, picking it up with his horn and heading through the door to the factory floor.

The stallion had been in such a fugue that he hadn't even sensed them.

"SURPRISE!" There were ponies everywhere. Not just his workers but their families; their foals.

"What in…" Dray was stunned, the changeling even dropping the incident report.

It fluttered half a foot before an earth pony mare, one of his office workers, grabbed it and tossed it into a waste-basket. "Couldn't have our boss feeling down!" She leaned in and gave him a chaste peck on the cheek.

"But you… I am… why are you doing this?" Dray flopped down to his belly in shock.

"Because you are the best boss in Canterlot, silly." It was Wood Turner, one of the stallions who had worked for him for years. "Come on, we have cake."

The changeling couldn't fight them, they gathered him up and directed him, with happy greetings and encouragement, toward where they had a huge cake set up.

'The best boss in Canterlot'

The writing on the cake had a stylized picture of a happy changeling on it. Beside the cake was a stack of scrolls. He reached for one, the top one. It was of course from Wood.

'To the best boss and "uncle" to my foals. If you ever need a pick-me-up, you don't need to ask. The family you have built here will last forever. No matter if you are a unicorn, a changeling or just a great pony, you are still Dray Cart, never forget it. - Wood Turner'

Dray was crying as he read it, there was a huge pile of them.

"Now now Dray, don't you get all sentimental on us. There is plenty of time to read those later, after you have had some cake and…" Wood sounded a little confused but shrugged and laughed. "Guess what I am trying to say is, do you need a changeling meal?"

The wording of the note had been vague, but now that the changeling knew what it meant he wondered how many of them had made the same offer.

"Hay, you can't leave us out." Another worker, a unicorn mare named Fresh Coat, trotted up and beamed at her boss. "My sister has been visiting the hive every other week, been doing the old mare some good, can't see as I will be hurt any worse by it."

Every one of them left it unsaid, however much they knew it had likely been happening, that Dray had already been feeding from them.

Finally beaten into a party mood by his workers and friends, Dray did have some cake and, for the first time ever, he could just be himself.

"So where is dad?" Hay slurped up her drink. It really was worth it, even if she felt like she wasn't hungry, it was just so delicious.

Pretty Cart broke into a wide grin. "He is in a meeting at the factory." At Hay's confused expression the older mare couldn't help but confess. "Not a single one of his workers would miss the surprise party, he has doted on them so much, been such a part of their lives."

Hay caught on and her mother's smile was infectious. "Well, of course. Remember when I was just a little thing, Wood's daughters foalsat for me pretty much every week." Fond memories of a much simpler time washed through Hay.

"How could I not? It wasn't easy in the early days, we lived one month to the next. There were some weeks when we ate meals with the Turners because neither family could really afford it on their own…" Pretty seemed lost for a time, her thoughts turning to just how much of an extended family the factory had become.

A hoof reached over the table and into Pretty Cart's own. She looked up into her daughter's eyes and the spell of history was broken. "Thanks, mom." Hay's words surprised Pretty.

"Whatever for dear?" Pretty was a little lost, not sure what her daughter was talking about, had she been talking while daydreaming?

"For everything, for being the best and for…" Hay lost control of her voice and stumbled from her stool, around and into her mothers embrace. They hugged, Hay shedding happy tears.

"Hay, my little miracle, don't cry when you are happy…" Pretty was on the verge of tears and, in a moment, the flood gate opened for her too and they each relied on the other for support as the emotions of the last few days poured out.

"No!" Penny was adamant, and sore.

"But it was really fun! It feels so cool to be one of those things!" Stick was practically bouncing around the other mare.

"Stick, they feel… I love you, you know that." Penny's resolve was already crumbling. Stick knew she would give in to the changelings whims.

Stick did stop her prancing, turning to look at Penny. "Did it hurt?" She sounded every bit as concerned as she should.

Penny grumbled. "No, and you know it." She reached back with a forehoof and rubbed her flank. "But lets not do it that way too often. I am going to be walking funny all day!"

The changeling laughed and leaned in to nuzzle her mate. "I love it when you walk funny." Her words were heated, Penny able to practically feel the desire and longing in them. It made her heart beat a little faster.

"You would." Penny sighed and wriggled her hips again. "But not now, I have a class in an hour and still need breakfast."

"Silly filly, breakfast is easy, all I have to do is reach out and…" Stick did just that and Penny melted into the sensation of fangs sinking in.

"Hay, stop that, I… oh darn you…" Penny's protest was very short lived and she soon was nuzzling and kissing Stick.

"And that is how I get breakfast, as for you, lets get you something nice and big." Stick teased her, drawing the mare's attention back to the world. "So lets go."

Penny felt very strange a moment, realizing she had been worked up again by her mate, but left wanting. It was an odd feeling for a self-labeled asexual. She wasn't sure what she was anymore, but after over twenty years of being confused, and now being a pony, Penny just shrugged and followed Stick to get a quick clean up.

It took exactly half the walk to the dining room, down wide and comfortable hallways, for Penny to realize why Stick was walking behind her. A furious blush enveloped the mare and she spun on her mate. "You are enjoying it! Damn you Stick!" She clopped a hoof down.

But the changeling's look was enough to break Penny's fury. Love, adoration, pride and desire all warred across the dark drone's face. "I was telling the truth. Now turn around little bite, keep wriggling."

Penny blushed harder, if it were possible. Turning, she started walking, fighting with her body to keep her stride normal. It wasn't until she reached the dining room that she realized how oddly good it made her feel, to know Stick loved looking at her so much. "Vanity…"

"What?" Stick, her favorite show over, stepped up beside her and they startled ambling past the empty tables.

"You will be the end of me." Penny kissed Stick's cheek and the pair fetched a plate each of food. Stick had kept piling both plates higher and higher, confusing Penny no end as to why. It wasn't until they got to their table that it finally dawned on the unicorn.

"Oh, right, now I have another belly to eat for." She flopped on the chair, a mouthful of food, courtesy of Stick, already incoming.

"That's right little nibble, you have two full grown ponies other than yourself and our little bundle, to worry about." The changeling had no trouble feeding her marefriend, Penny seemed ravenous.

"Look at her pack it away? I never saw a fat unicorn before but I think I will soon…"

The words came from the one table in the room, apart from their own, that was occupied. Penny didn't feel any hurt at all from it, the words were a touch petty, but their barbs were lost on her. "Ignore them." Stick had heard them too. "They are just jealous they don't have the best changeling in Canterlot as their betrothed."

Reminded of their unscheduled wedding, Penny squirmed a little to get some words out. "We should set a date." The last word barely left her before another pancake was shoved between her lips.

"Ready are we?" Stick's smile was wider than ever. It was hard for Penny to believe that anypony could think the changeling was ever a threat. She nodded to Stick, swallowing the berry-topped breakfast. "How about a month, then? Give everypony time to get ready."

Penny thought on this. A month was a good bit of time, at least when 'things' were 'happening', but right now it seemed about right to prepare. She nodded and opened her mouth. Stick didn't leave her waiting.

"Just ignore them." A stallion flopped down in a chair opposite them. "Sablee." He introduced himself as males are wont to, in a very casual manner.

"Stick. This is Penny."

"Hay." He started on his own breakfast. "You two are pretty new here, settling in okay?"

Penny tried to get a word in but all hope was crushed by her mate. "Yeah, some friends, some not-so-friends, the usual." Stick tried a little of the pancake herself. "You?"

"Been here for two years now, working on my major project." Sablee didn't mention anything about what the project was. "What are you studying? Just newbie stuff?"

"Mainly here for my marefriend." Stick had read something in the conversation that had blown right over Penny's head, the last word she spoke carried extra emphasis.

"Oh…" The wilted expression on the stallion clued Penny in and she blushed a little, wondering which of them had gotten his eye.

"Penny isn't from around here… I guess neither am I. Princess Celestia got us in here." Stick was playing things up and the stallion's interest grew with the name-drop.

"You are friends with Hay?" Sablee's motive now became clear. It wasn't either of the two odd-looking ponies that he was chasing.

Penny blushed but Stick had them covered. "Yeah, she is so nice, you friends with her as well?"

The unicorn stallion blushed and shook his head, lowering his nose nearly to the table.

"Well, she is out for the morning, visiting family. She will be back in the evening, would you like to get some ice-cream or something, with us?"

His head shot up and he looked stunned. "Uh, with you?" Confusion reigned supreme. "I… that is… I have to work on my project tonight…" He got up and took his breakfast with him, quickly turning and finding another table.

Penny managed to block the next silencing mouthful. "Stick! You should have told him Hay would be there too, he thought you were asking him out!"

Stick looked crestfallen. Leaning into Penny she gave a deep sigh. "Life is tricky."

72 - Lyrical

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It had been a long afternoon of strain for Penny, the focus on building her magical strength causing a whole new kind of work-out-strain to be the norm for her. She had ducked into a quick bath after the class and, upon returning to her room, pinned her ears back the moment the door was open.

"Stick…" Penny sounded defeated already. Her mate was sitting up on their bed, with Penny's phone in front of her, listening to music no pony should really want to.

'Hold the S because I am an aint'

Stick's own ears were half folded, the changeling tilting her head down at the phone. "You listened to all of this?"

Penny sighed and nodded. "Here, let me find something you might like." She paused Mr Manson while she searched.

"I remembered how you used it, I was just trying to find pony-sounding names." Stick's ears perked up as a new, much more melodious song began, with a stallion singing about somepony named 'cupid' shooting arrows. "Oh, this is much nicer… smashing?"

The unicorn grinned. "Not all musicians choose names that match their theme, some go quite counter to it." She settled down beside Stick and nuzzled her.

It was easy music to relax and just listen to, some of the song themes were beyond the changeling but most of them seemed to be about just living. "Okay, I definitely like this, is there more of theirs?" Penny grinned and tapped back on the phone, revealing a whole slew of albums. "Awesome."

"There really isn't right and wrong with music. Each song can build up the most mighty of high emotions, no matter what the actual emotion is. That other pony… his songs were more a commentary on life, on growing up in an imperfect world." Penny now flicked through, wondering briefly what Stick would think of some of the stuff and, in the end, deciding that was for her to worry about.

"Your world was imperfect?"

Penny nipped Stick's shoulder. "Isn't every world? This one seems perfect to me right now, but other ponies might not think so."

Stick caught her drift and nuzzled. "How perfect is it?"

"Temptress." Penny accused Stick, kissing the mare soundly.

Mid-kiss, of course, Hay came in. She blushed at seeing her friends caught in the private moment, she blushed further when she realized they weren't going to stop on her account. Then she noticed the music. "Oh, what is that?" She looked intently at the phone, reaching her magic out to it.

Penny broke her kiss quickly. "Careful with it, very fragile and impossible to replace. That is like… well it is sort of the closest thing our world comes to magic." Penny clicked the button to wake the phone up and show it to Hay. "Most of the functions of it can't work without the magic back home… oh…"

"Back home?" Hay set the device down, realizing there was more to this story than she knew.

"Back home, my old home. My new one is beside this mare." Penny kissed Stick's cheek, getting a giggle from her. "If you wish, I will tell you a little about it."

Hay set down her things and started to squirm and work out of her dress. "Give me a moment to get settled!"

Penny found herself watching, her mind playing over how naughty it felt to watch Hay strip her dress off, even if not wearing anything was acceptable, the act of removing clothing was still interesting.

"Okay." Hay bounded onto the bed and landed beside Stick, giving the drone a nuzzle. Stick was a little surprised by the affection at first, but returned the pressure with some of her own.

"Well, Earth, what human-" Penny started to give some background but a raised hoof got her attention. "Hay?"

"Humans? Like the two legged things that seem to keep appearing?" Penny nodded. "Wait, are you saying you were one of them? I heard some of them were being made into ponies, but it was sort of only used in emergencies, right?"

"I will get to that." Penny sighed but her friend looked more inquisitive than ever. "Right, so humans, on the whole, are pretty normal. They fall in love, they have friends." Penny paused again, Hay had her hoof up.

"Are you a human?"

Penny shook her head. "Am I? No, I don't think I am human much at all anymore."

"But you were?" Hay's question got a nod from Penny. "That is pretty cool!"

"So, you have humans, they have a balanced gender system, roughly the same amount of mares and stallions. Unlike here, they tend to prefer male-female pairings to the point where it is seen as unhealthy to not. Then you had me." Penny traced through the bands on her phone, picking out an unlikely choice.

'Such a lonely day, and it's mine'

The tune was soft, the volume kept low. "I didn't have any real feelings either way. I liked ponies," Penny didn't even blink at her mind now tainting all her words with pony-isms, "but never really felt strongly towards getting into a relationship. I had some good friends, one in particular who went missing." Penny felt back, remembering the emotion she had felt when she thought her friend either dead or, worse, just ignoring her. "He wrote things, lots of things. His stories were a part of my day and I like to think the stories I wrote were the same."

"You wrote books?" Hay didn't raise her hoof this time.

"We wrote stories that were… magically, able to be read by anyone who wished to." Penny thought back to the Internet, finding magic to be the best way to describe it. "I lost it, all of it, for a whole year. I wasn't a healthy pony, a combination of things bringing me to some low places…" The song had finished and she paused it lest the next one break the mood. "Then I got asked if I wanted to find him. It was some kind of being, I later found out. Once offered there wasn't much that would have stopped me saying yes."

Hay's eyes were wide, this was certainly not the history she had thought when she pondered the lunar unicorn's past.

"Of course, at the time, I had a whole hand… hoof… I had to take a pile of things every day, to stop pain and stop me from getting worse quickly. I didn't have those with me." Tears were in Penny's eyes, she had trouble finding the song she was looking for. "The princesses, Twilight, Celestia… Luna. They took pity on me, they tried to cure me at first, but it was decided my body was just broken. It was not easy for them to tell me, I know, but it was something I knew for a long time, the fact that even magic couldn't fix me was just another small blow."

Penny had found the song, but waited for the time to play it. "They remade me, Luna primarily." Penny gestured to her dark fur. "She had a deal, I could be exactly what I wanted if I agreed to carry a foal for her. She tried to rescind it, when she found out my feelings, but I maintained I would. Then I met a changeling."

Their eyes met, Penny gazing into the multifaceted lenses of her mate, falling into the blue. Stick too saw so much more than the red-irised eyes looking back.

'I've become, impossible.'

Penny smiled and left the tune playing softly. Stick, however, perked her ears at it. "Who is this?"

"This is a pony who went through some very tough times in his life, not only in creating his music that he loves, but the fame that resulted from it. The song isn't actually about two ponies, he is referring to himself." Penny explained the song, noticing Stick's back hoof was tapping to the beat.

"Are all his songs like this? There is a lot to take in with this one." Hay was listening to it closely too, blinking at the odd sounds.

"This is… well I would say one of the lighter tunes." Penny confessed to the pair. Stick immediately folded her ears.

"When Penny says a tune with this much feeling in it is 'softer' she means that we really don't want to listen to the other ones." Stick booped Hay on the nose.

"Okay, the rest of our story is fairly commonplace, two mares falling in love and finding the world impossible to survive apart." Penny continued for Hay, and it was true she realized, the rest was pretty tame.

"You didn't tell her the most interesting bit." Stick tapped next on the phone.

"Oh, right." Penny blushed a little. "Well, you know how I said I was a little odd with romance and stuff?" Hay nodded. "Well I was apparently a little more odd. Even though at the time I was a stallion, I wasn't really-"

"You were a stallion?" Hay stood up, jostling the oddly thoughtful changeling and the phone around.

"Was. It was a bit complicated but it never really seemed important. Celestia found my ethernet…"

"Etheric Net you mean?" Hay offered.

"Yeah, that. It was sort of floating in that regard, I mean I wasn't really attached to my gender. When she asked I figured I would give the other side a try." Penny blushed.

Stick, however, was almost in tears. She had been listening to the song and looked up to Penny and rushed over and hugged her tight.

"Okay Stick, no more Nine Inch Nails for you today." Penny snuggled her mate and kissed her.

Hay reached out and, having seen how to operate the device a little, managed to get it to stop making sounds. "And now? How do you feel about… it?"

Penny nuzzled Stick more, slathering the changeling in reassurances. "It? I guess I am slowly changing how I feel about it. One theory, in humans, is my… perception, is made because my body lacks something inside it that makes it want to have somepony close. This body doesn't seem to have that issue. My mind is just taking it's own time to catch up."

Hay blinked at this but seemed to accept it. "And mares?"

"I like mares. Stallions are… they are okay, but I think I really love how a pretty mare looks. Particularly if they are happy about something." Penny blushed as she talked with Hay about her preferences.

Hay's blush grew as Penny explained her personal tastes. "So if Stick got you with foal…" Penny nodded to her out-loud thinking. "So you don't object to stallions in that way?"

Penny laughed at this but it was Stick who answered. "Penny loves me. She keeps astounding me again and again with how much she does. I know she is not attracted to stallions, but when I take a male form, her look doesn't change in the least." Hay could sense something, a building tension in the room.

Sighing, Hay slumped down on the bed. This got the attention of both Penny and Stick. "What's wrong?" Penny was at her side first, pressing in a little closer than usual.

"I have been with other ponies before, I am not that young, but it never… I never felt a special connection, it was all… just relief." Stick crowded her other side and Hay blushed at the closeness.

"Would you like to try?" Penny couldn't believe she had asked it, but the moment the words were out she didn't regret them. Hay looked at her with wide eyes, feeling not only the emotions suddenly racing through her own heart, but she could sense a tingle coming from the mare.

"She likes it if you are a little bit rough." Stick whispered the words in Hay's closest ear, the mare seeming to jolt upright. She reached out to Penny, figuring that if the mare was offering food it would be a shame to say no.

Penny felt the touch, deep inside. Hay felt different to Stick, certainly not a bad-different. "Now bite." Stick told the girl. As the mental fangs that Hay had never used before sank in, Penny trembled at her side, pressing closer to the mare. "Just like that, it really is a shame you cannot shift yet."

Hay, right then, surprised herself by how much she was enjoying this. It certainly already eclipsed her clumsy times with other ponies and, so far, nothing had really even happened.

73 - Desire

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The three mares took a break from their fun when both Stick and Hay heard Penny's belly rumble. They had been feeding off the mare, on and off, during their play, and the growl was a good sign it was time for a break. For Penny, with two changelings, it was like coming up for air. Her head wasn't fuzzy at all, but she certainly felt like she had been working hard at something. Panting, the color in her cheeks strong, she brought a hoof to boop the other two on the nose. "You heard my alarm, I need something to eat."

Stick giggled and climbed off the bed, giving herself a little shake. Hay nibbled on Penny's ear a little more with blunt teeth, the two unicorns knowing they needed to get up but sharing a little extra closeness.

"Come on you two, there isn't any room service at this hotel." Stick, being well fed indeed, lifted a squirming Hay off the bed, repeating the procedure with Penny. "A quick wash up now, I think we have missed the school's meal time."

Both interrupted mares squealed like fillies and moved into the tiny bathroom of the suite to take turns cleaning. With only a few distractions, all three were neat and ready to head out. "With a little more notice we could have all dressed up." Penny looked at the wardrobe that contained her dresses wistfully.

Stick caught the look and wrapped a leg over the lunar unicorn's shoulder. "Not a month ago you were fighting every time I mentioned the word dress!" She squeezed Penny and made for the door.

"Well, you are persuasive!" Penny laughed and got a kiss from Hay, a surprising but welcome one.

Right then Stick opened the door and, one hoof raised to knock, a young stallion suddenly had a look of shock, pain and betrayal. "Sablee?" Hay barely noticed it but called to the stallion. "Sablee? What's wrong?" But he was already gone, racing down the hall and out of sight.

"Maybe we could have picked a better time for this but-" Penny started to explain their meeting with the stallion earlier in the day but got cut off.

"He likes me, I know." Hay gave a long sigh. "I would need to be blind not to have seen it." She stepped back in the room, pulling the door closed for a little privacy.

"So?" Stick smiled. "What's the deal then?"

Hay flopped on her side on the bed. "I just don't like stallions, they just…" She wiggled her hooves trying to explain.

"You like mares. I think it is fairly well known my own proclivities. Stick always seems to take any dominant role, when I am feeling in that sort of mood." Penny stepped over and kissed Hay on the cheek as a reward for being open. "So we need to find him and tell him."

"Would that help?" Hay looked serious, so Penny gave her another kiss.

Stick sighed and pulled Penny away from Hay with her magic. "It would help him more than us, it is what good ponies do. Also, you two, try and keep yourselves apart for five minutes?"

Penny and Hay both blushed, looked at each other and grinned.

"Whoa, what are you…" Stick looked a little off-balance as the two mares pounced on her, tickling the changeling with magic, hooves and kisses. "Ugh, stop it! Not there!" Stick squirmed on her back, the changeling's wings buzzing furiously as Penny stroked along the sensitive place just between them. "Okay! Okay! I give up!"

"We are going somewhere they serve fish!" Penny threatened to tickle her again.

Stick slumped. "Okay."

"And we are going out tomorrow night, in our dresses," Hay put in, something more than just victory dancing in her eyes.

The restrained changeling seemed more inquisitive in the second request but agreed. "I guess…"

"Right, lets go then." Penny reached over to help Hay up, the pair trotting together to the door, leaving Stick to play catch-up.

There were two routes for Penny to focus on. Her mind told her she should be careful, that she and Stick were only a month from cementing their union before all their friends and a princess. The other voice, her heart, didn't speak at all. It made her feel. Her heart always sped up in her chest at the sight of Hay, the mare was inquisitive and playful, knew when to leave Penny be and when to boop her nose.

Weighing the two, Penny kept drifting back to one thing. Whenever she really thought about Hay, even her head agreed with her heart. "Hay?" Penny looked up from her inner contemplation, finding them to be just out the front of a nice little restaurant.

The mare she was so focused on smiled at her. "What's the matter Penny?" And there it was. All Penny had done was say her name and Hay immediately focused on her. It felt nice.

"I think my little snack has something heavy. Lets head in and find a nice quiet booth to relax in." Stick distracted both for the moment.

Inside, a pegasi mare approached them. "Welcome to the Fishing Gryphon." She introduced the name of the establishment to the trio. "Here for a table?"

Stick nodded. "Treating my mares. A booth for three if you have one?"

The pegasi looked tickled pink at serving such a diverse group. "Just over here." She pointed with a wing to one that was well away from everypony else.

Filing in, Penny sat across from stick and Hay, scooting around and settling in. Menus were hoofed out and they all got into reading theirs. The half-changeling, however, looked a little embarrassed. "I'm… well I could eat, but I don't really…"

Stick giggled at this. "Then just order something tasty and give it to Penny, but try some yourself." The drone found just what she was after and grinned. "Now, Penny, you had something that seemed important."

"Hay." Penny reached for the feelings she had for the mare, they came easily. "This is a little fast, I know, but we are doing so-"

Hay reached over and booped Penny on the nose. The two unicorns looked at each other. "Give me a chance, I really like both of you. You are fun, you make me feel good just to see you and, importantly, I feel amazing when you are paying attention to me. Just the look of your eyes, gazing back at me with confusion and worry, it makes me want to scoot over to your side of the table and hug you."

Penny closed her mouth and her eyes. "Hay, that isn't an answer. I think the liking part is mutual, but there are three hearts on the line here. Do you love us?" It took a lot for her to be able to say it, the once-human never would have thought, before, to be in this kind of relationship.

"Of course I do." Penny felt her world tremble and when Hay continued, she lost her focus completely. "I love you Penny, Stick."

"She fainted." Stick looked over the table, trying to make sure her mate had landed okay. "Lets blame it on a pregnancy thing."

Hay leaned into Stick and quieted the changeling by kissing her quite soundly on the lips. The two seemed so very into the kiss that the waitress, spotting the little group as distracted, left them alone for a bit longer.

Penny came to slowly, her brain still not quite working right. She looked at the kissing mares and a silly grin covered her snout. "She said yes." As Penny opened her mouth to say something else her voice raised and she could think of no better time for a song. It began as a solo, the first verse Penny sang of how worried she was, how scared of messing up the best thing to have happened to her life.

The chorus was a happy one, Penny singing lead with Stick and Hay backing her up. Hay's voice was adorable and Penny ardently wished she had her phone so she could record it.

The second verse had Penny and Stick both dancing around, other patrons not minding in the least as the two dark-toned mares sang of their love, the bond they shared and the foal that grew of it.

For the third and final verse, Hay joined in, and the three sang back and forth, the new voice bringing the story of a life spent in study with few chances to seek out love. The final chorus was modified, the words twisting so that instead of singular pronouns, all three sang 'we'.

Of course it finished with the three back in the booth, but with Hay and Stick flanking Penny.

"Can I take your order?"

Penny giggled, then laughed and wrapped legs around each of the two mares, hugging them extra tight.

Stick was blinking at the distracted lunar mare but Hay was already ready to order. "I'll have the fresh salad, with… calamari?"

The waitress raised an eyebrow. "Forgive me if this offends, but that is squid."

Hay looked to Penny, who nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, that will be fine." Hay didn't sound quite as sure of it, she had decided to taste a little of everything she fed to Penny.

"I'll have the seafood platter." Penny poked the menu item that had a warning about the high protein content. "And a side of steamed root vegetables."

"And you, miss?" The waitress looked to Stick and Hay. "I'll have the fish omelet and the special sauce. A salad on the side will be fine."

The mare nodded happily and trotted off. "Okay, new rule." Penny looked between both mares. "You have to eat a little of everything on your own plates too."

Hay looked fine with this, forgetting for a moment what she had ordered.

"Aww, but I ordered something heavy. You need plenty to eat Penny, you can have mine." Stick had turned to Penny, hope radiating from the changeling that the mare would fall for her ruse.

She sounded so sincere. Penny bopped the changeling on the nose. "You will try it."

Stick looked a little sullen at her shattered plan but got over it quickly. "So what does this mean?" She asked it, more wanting to hear what the other two mares thought. She had her own ideas on where this little group would go.

Hay replied first. She pressed in against Penny and nuzzled the other unicorn's jaw. "Right now? I am happy with both of you as you are. I want to grow into this love, I want it to become the first thing I think about each day, I want to be there with Penny when she has her foal, I want you both to want me there too."

Penny managed to hold back from kissing Hay's cheek through her speech, but with it done she gave in to her urge and snuggled back. "I want you there, Hay. I want both of you to share everything with me, your lives, my life. I want it to be our life."

"I want you both. Hay, we have only been friends for two months, but it feels like half my life. Penny, you are my other half." The changeling drone closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "So how far do we go? We, as you know Hay, were planning to get married soon, a month soon."

Hay did look surprised by this. "Well, what about if you both delay that wedding for an extra month, so two from today. I know my heart says dive in, but there is a tiny voice that says to be careful and that it is a huge jump."

Penny nodded to this. "I was thinking the same thing. My heart wants this so much it almost hurts, my head tells me I have one amazing mare, that trying to dive in with a second could hurt."

Stick's magic washed over all three of them, hugging tight. "So, two months I can wait, if you will join us." She looked at Hay.

"Aren't there supposed to be rings and things?" Penny looked between the two mares, suddenly remembering that rings needed fingers.

"What, like your earrings?" Hay reached up with a hoof and tapped at Penny's small stud. "I think that would be better than shoes, those things always make my hooves itch."

"Is that a yes?" Stick looked across Penny to Hay.

Hay smiled, her grin so wide her eyes closed. "Of course it is yes. Just be careful with my heart, it is new to this…"

"Are you kidding?" Penny hugged the mare tight. "We are all new to this, Stick was the first pony I was ever with. Which makes you my second." She kissed Hay, getting a gentle response from her new marefriend's lips.

There was a slight clearing of a throat as the waitress arrived. "Here we are!" She started setting down plates of food. "Hope you are all hungry, we don't serve small portions!"

Penny gave a little 'eep' as she saw just how big the meals were.

"Perfect." Hay and Stick said together, their heads snapping to look at each other past Penny, breaking into a shared giggle.

74 - Another quiet day

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It was tough for Hay to focus in school for the next few days. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Stick and Penny. Not for the first time she had to take a deep breath and get back to her work. She wasn't a junior at the school, but she also wasn't in her final year, which meant she had a mix of required classes and electives.

Her back hoof jiggled as she wrote, getting through the advanced mathematics work as quick as she could. Her chosen field hadn't changed, she still wanted to build things, and for that she needed all the numbers she could pack into her head. "It isn't a race, slow down Miss Cart."

Hay looked up at the old mare. "Yes, Miss Inkwell." She tried to do as instructed, the kindly old teacher knew the topic inside and out and, by the end of the year, so would Hay. But there were so many things she wanted to think about right then.

"Daydreaming, rushing through your work. Miss Cart, do you have somepony on your mind?" The words were soft enough that Hay hoped the other ponies didn't hear, some of them could be downright hurtful in the way they made up rumors from the slightest thing.

But she was caught. She nodded to the teacher and got a chuckle from her. "Two actually… we… they are impossible to get out of my head."

"Then don't. They like maths too?"

The question hit Hay as odd, she actually hadn't asked either about any school subjects bar the ones they shared. "I… don't know."

"Well, how about you work through today's work as best you can, and ask them. Maybe there is room in your head for friends and school?"

Hay nodded to this advice. "I will ask them." It seemed to make the class suddenly easier, to have something planned. Her quill flowed over the page and her thoughts circled back and forth, whenever the problems mentioned ponies of course her two marefriends were the ones she pictured.
"Papers to the front please." Inkwell's voice interrupted Hay, she looked down and realized not only had she finished the work, but she had ended up daydreaming a little as well. It made her smile as she gathered up the work and headed to the front of the room with it.

"Thank you, Professor. The trick worked." Hay beamed to the teacher, the old mare was strict as could be, but fair and caring.

"Knew it would. These friends are waiting for you I suppose?" Inkwell took the mare's notes and set them together in the pile to be graded. This got a nod from Hay. "Then go, find them and ask them if numbers can dance in their heads too."

The beaming smile the two shared brightened the day for each and, with a light heart, Hay pranced from the room and down the hall.

"Didn't you hear? She is totally herding with that horned bat and the changeling." The words drifted to Hay's ears and it made her pause and strain to hear more, but the gossipers, likely in a side-hall, had left earshot.

Hay wasn't sure whether to be angry, upset or just… she really didn't know what. It was technically right, they were becoming a herd, although normally a herd had a stallion. She slowly trotted back to the library, where she had agreed to meet Penny and Stick after morning class.

"There she is, what's the matter Hay?" Stick was approaching her even as she stepped into the big library, although the changeling drone kept her voice low to keep from offending anypony studying.

"Nothing really. Overheard some not-nice things said about us… well, Penny mostly. Somepony called her a 'horned bat'." The explanation got a surprised gasp from the lunar unicorn.

"True though, she is a horny-" Stick was silenced by Hay's hoof bopping her on the nose.

Penny grinned. "Thanks, she is the worst when she starts using dirty puns." She walked right up to Hay and gave her a little hug. "So, apart from ponies talking about things they have no business in, how was your class?"

Hay bubbled and danced from hoof to hoof. "It was maths, but I needed to ask you, both of you, do you like math?"

There was a round of "sshhhh" from the ponies in the library. Hay had gotten a touch excited and been a bit too loud.

Penny shook her head. "Not this again, lets go somewhere else, the garden?" Hay and Stick both saw no problem with this and nodded. It was a relaxed trot down the halls, each relaxing into the comfort of each others presence. "Okay, nopony to shush us out here. And yes Hay, I was quite the number nerd."

This had Hay interested. "What sort were you focused on?" They all sat down.

"Everything, nothing. I studied at a… well it would be the equivalent of this school, I did simple and advanced calculus. But it wasn't until I was older that I learned to love all the little strange bits to maths. I like particularly when you can do odd things with it." Penny leaned against Hay, bracketing the mare with Stick.

Hay beamed at this, delight at finding things in common making her love for Penny deepen. "And you, Stick?"

Penny scoffed. "Stick likes numbers, though she probably won't admit it. Bits are her numbers, she will tally them up and balance them."

Stick looked a little surprised by this but sighed and nodded. "All true. I have already gotten Fancy Pants to agree, at the end of the year, to take me on as an apprentice. I am not sure either of us have worked out what I will be apprenticing, but I want to make sure my mares are both settling into their schooling and married life, before I start shaking up Equestria."

"You never cease to amaze me, Stick." Hay rubbed her cheek against the drone's. "Professor Inkwell was right."

"Inkwell?" Penny blinked and looked a little confused.

"My math teacher. She saw right through me in class, assuming it was a mare or stallion that had distracted me. She told me to ask you both about math." Hay grinned and changed her target to Penny for a nuzzle. "I am glad she did. Have you been tested for your math skills?"

Penny nodded. "Gingersnap gave me a basic test, but I am not really here for that, I am here to learn to use my magic responsibly and learn the history of the world."

"Did you get a letter back from Princess Cadance yet?" Stick looked past Hay, to Penny.

"I did!" Penny pulled a pink scroll from her bags, unrolling it with her magic. "She says that of course she would be happy to add an extra to the wedding, but she demands to meet all three of us beforehoof, we are going to need to get leave for a few days, to visit the Crystal Empire."

Stick grinned and nodded. Hay, however, looked stunned. "Wait, THE Princess Cadance?"

Penny looked at Hay. "Well, yeah. She did make us promise to let her officiate at our wedding." Hay opened and closed her mouth a few times and, pressed between the two mares, she fainted clean away.

"You broke her." Stick's accusation toward Penny held no heat. The changeling did take advantage of the situation and nuzzled the unconscious Hay. "Yup, out like a light."

"You brought it up!" Penny scanned the scroll again. "She says something about a surprise."

Hay gave a little gasp as she woke back up, eyes looking glassy, she blinked a few times to clear them. "What… you said something about a princess?"

Penny nodded and opened her mouth to repeat her news. Stick reached over and pressed a black hoof directly into Penny's maw. "Yes she did. Are you prepared to hear it this time?" Hay didn't look it, but she nodded anyway. "Okay, well, we were in the Crystal Empire, just before coming here. Princess Celestia had asked us to go and help a friend with getting ponies organized. There was the whole umbrum thing, you know about them?" Hay nodded, tilting her head. "Okay, so we were there during that and, while helping, we got to know the Princess and she wouldn't let us leave without having us agree that she could marry us together. So I guess she wants to meet you, to know who else she will be adding to the ceremony."

Hay trembled and closed her eyes. "Okay Hay, calm down, they didn't mean to shock you by saying that the Princess of Love would not only be at your wedding, but officiating it. Your mother totally won't spend weeks in a whirlwind of planning to make the wedding perfect. You won't be under any stress at all…"

Penny and Stick waited for the mare they loved to finish her little mantra, before both kissed her on opposite cheeks.

"Nope, I am going to panic later, maybe after the wedding. Sweet Celestia, I am getting married to the best mares I know and the Princess of Love will be there!" Hay was breathing hard again.

Penny opened her mouth. "You know there will be othe-" The black hoof returned, but Hay had already rounded on the other unicorn.

"What? What were you saying? Stick, I am fine, just let her give it all to me now. Surely nothing could be as immense as the Princess of Love at my wedding." Hay looked between the two. "Right? Why are you looking like that?"

"Celestia, Twilight and Fast will probably be there too. I hoped to ask Luna but she hasn't been around much lately…" Penny looked thoughtful.

Hay looked broken. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay, I need more story here. How could two ponies end up with all the royalty of Equestria and the Crystal Empire as friends at their wedding?"

"The whole story? That is a lot. Oh, we are going to need to ask Discord for another dress." Penny looked a little worried a moment.

"Another dress? Oh please, you know I can make hundreds of these things right?" Discord was suddenly there, and wearing a dress on each limb. He leaned in close to the three. "You know I have a small army of seamstresses, working day and night."

Behind him, there were rows and rows of Discords, working away at sewing machines.

Penny lifted a hoof in offering. "You got us covered though, right?"

"Of course I do." He brought a paw down against Penny's hoof. "You sure I can't officiate? I could marry you together right now if you like?"

All three mares were suddenly in dresses. "No, Discord please, we promised Cadance."

It was like all the wind was blown out of the chaos spirit's sails. The dresses were gone and he slumped on the ground. "She will be the lucky pony to marry you three?" It was like the princess' name was his kryptonite. "Oh very well. She would probably send another letter to Fluttershy if I deprived her of this."

Penny wasn't sure why she did it, she walked forward and put her forelegs around Discord. "Thanks for the dresses, though. You are still coming?"

He looked shocked at first, but his expression softened. "Of course I am. I wouldn't miss it for a tea party with a princess."

"But one with Fluttershy?" Penny's little jab put Discord off-balance, she liked being able to do it, but liked him too much to leave him so. "It's okay, I wouldn't ask you to choose between those."

"A matching dress will be in your rooms. Just don't go growing anymore foals, I don't want to have to let out any seams." Discord admonished the three, looking particularly at Stick before disappearing again.

"You invited him too?" Hay was over feeling shocked at the invitation list. "Wait, I have a wedding dress? Can we try them on?"

"We just did." Penny walked over to Hay and kissed her. "Still need to get some lunch, too."

Stick was looking thoughtful, her gaze on Penny. The mare smiled and nodded. "Sure do, lets see what they are serving today."

75 - Trip

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"So?" Penny was relaxing on the bed, the sound of Smashing Pumpkins, tinny and soft, drifting from her phone. There was a book before the mare.

Stick was laying down beside her but, unlike Penny, was lying on her back. "So what?" Stick wriggled her legs at hearing one of the heavily distorted guitars.

"You like them then?"

Stick nodded, her head at the perfect angle and position for Penny to lean over and kiss. "They don't sing so much of anger, humans seem like they get angry a lot."

"Yup, anger is one of the bigger emotions humans feel." Penny flipped the page over, smiling as she read through the descriptions for each of the unicorn runes.

"You don't seem to feel it much?" Stick nibbled at Penny's ear and the unicorn dipped her head a little, making it easier for Stick to continue.

"Not anymore. When I was human, I felt most anger inside, at myself. I used anger to avoid grief, I used it to motivate myself." The song changed and Penny closed her eyes, focusing on the lyrics that swelled her spirits.

"So your emotions changed, your gender changed, your 'preferences' changed…" Stick made air quotes with her hooves.

"They did." Penny kept her eyes closed, letting the song and the closeness of Stick fill her with happiness.

"Do you feel it was too much?"

Penny opened her eyes and looked to the changeling. "Stick, I was given a new chance at life. All the problems, all the issues I had, gone. It cost me some things, I just can't get as angry as I used to, the change to my… needs, is interesting and sometimes confusing. Was it too much?"

Stick waited, looking into the upside down features of the mare she was so in love with.

"Of course not. I am a pony now, if I still had all those human things it would be… well, I wouldn't be a pony, I would just be a human stuck into a new body. I didn't consciously give up those things, but then, I gained so much for them I think, now, I would still agree." Penny kissed Stick again, waiting nearly a whole song before breaking from the embrace. "Especially now."

"Because of me?" Stick smiled.

"Because of you. And because of Hay." Penny kissed Stick again, her eyes closing at the feel of being pressed against the changeling, of such a sensitive part of her as her lips being against Stick's. It was about as good as Penny could imagine life.

The door burst open. Hay stood there, looking shocked. "Penny, Stick!" She sounded worried.

Then Penny noticed the magical grip on the door. It wasn't Hay's normal soft yellow. It was green.

"What's wrong?" Stick rolled to her belly and climbed up.

The unicorn trotted in and closed the door behind her. Penny saw more of the green, even saw as Hay's horn was softly glowing green with the work. "I was getting assessed and Gingersnap noticed something off with my magic."

"It is now that of a changelings." Penny looked up at Hay, meeting the frantic eyes of the mare.

Hay froze and stopped, looking at Penny. "How did you know? It took a spell to let Gingersnap…"

This did surprise Penny. "Wait, you can't see it?"

"See what?" Stick asked a moment before Hay shook her head.

"When anypony uses their magic, their horn glows and what they are working with gets a glowing pattern around it. Yours used to be a soft yellow, like your mane. But now it is the same green a changeling has." Both the other mares were staring at Penny. "What? Can't everypony see that?"

Hay shook her head. "Might have something to do with Penny having been a human…"

"Anyhoof," Penny smiled and got to her hooves, approaching her distraught marefriend. "This wasn't unexpected, was it? There was the thought that you might change. This is the first we have noticed."

Stick found Hay's other side. "Right, you can probably use changeling tricks now." The drone grinned. "Not even Penny can learn those, they are only for changelings."

"Like what?" Hay was a student, learning things was practically a career for the mare at the moment.

"Penny, over into the tub if you would." Stick gestured to the little attached bathroom.

It was obvious she was going to be the target of something, and being the bathroom it was probably going to be something messy. Regardless of that revelation, Penny trotted into the bathroom and climbed into the two-pony tub.

Stick was talking to Hay, softly so Penny couldn't hear. Hay lifted her head, horn starting to glow with that green light. Suddenly there was green goop all over Penny, the mare feeling practically glued into the tub with the stuff. Worse still, when she tested it, she found she really was glued to the tub! "Hay!"

The mare in question looked proud of herself. "Yes?" She replied, stepping a little closer to inspect her hoofy-work.

"No I mean… just get me out of this!" Penny was giggling though, Hay appeared to have lost that panic she had moments ago, the fear shed with the learning of new magic.

The two laughed some and moved in, their magic making quick work of the goop and, with some water, getting Penny clean too. "So I'm a changeling?"

Penny laughed. "One trick and sharp fangs, does not a changeling make. You are still Hay, you still look like a unicorn." The two nuzzled and Stick, having cleaned the tub, came and joined in too.

"I have some news too." Stick looked proud.

Hay looked interested. "What is it?"

Stick shook her head and pointed to the bed. "Penny, up on the bed please." The unicorn nodded and climbed up. "Now lay on your side." She wondered what the changeling was up to, but kept following the commands. "Okay, now Hay…" Stick's hoof guided Hay's in, bringing it to Penny's belly and rubbing ever so gently.

Penny relaxed oddly at the touches of the two, innocent as they were.

"I can feel… Oh!" Hay almost bounced in place, Penny had no clue what was going on.

"I noticed it last night, when I finally wore her out." Stick kept rubbing and soon Hay's hoof returned too. "Penny, you have a slight bump."

It was like a giddy rush of happiness. Penny couldn't think straight, she looked up at the two mares, a silly smile on her snout.

"Yoo hoo… Penny?" Hay waved her hoof in front of Penny's face, getting her attention after a bit.

"Huh? I am showing? Really?" Penny seemed excited and tried contortions to get her hoof to the side. In the end, she propped her back against the headboard and gently pressed at her belly. It felt strange, like a small thing was inside her. A tremble ran through Penny. It was a small thing inside her. A small foal.

"Three… two… one…" Stick had one hoof raised, as if it had a watch on it. No sooner did she count one but Penny started to cry. "Gotcha." The two changelings were there suddenly, on each side of Penny, cuddling her. It made the tears come faster.

It was a relaxed evening for the three. Penny was fed in her room after both her marefriends snuck food back for her. It was all fine until, just drifting off, Penny noticed something. She seemed to be back, waking up in her bed back on earth. It was surreal for the mare, she was still a mare but this was.

Awake?

The rhetorical question made Penny laugh, but she nodded. "I am, what is this, a dream?"

No, this is real. You are back to see what became of your empty life. Normally, I would offer the former human the chance to stay.

Penny got up and looked around. "Don't bother, we both know the answer. So how long do I get?"

You get as long as you need I-

The text was flowing slowly, Penny watched it hover but cut in. "Then take me home, I am done with this life. I am not that pony… person, anymore."

That fast? You gave up everything you were?

Penny laughed again, not a hint of the barb finding purchase. "I didn't give up everything, I didn't give up anything. It is gone now, sure, and if I knew what I know now, back then, it still wouldn't change my decision."

Not even a little? Is there not something you wanted to do, someone you wanted to see?

"No, please take me home. I can never hold anything against somepony who helped me as much as you have, but don't push me to try." Penny leaned forward and tried to kiss the nearest 'o' of text, but it all faded before she could.

She woke in her bed, the bed she wanted to be in. Two mares snuggled up beside her. There was the oddest sense, for the mare, that something was unfinished. She couldn't lay a hoof on it.

Penny closed her mouth, she had just spent most of the early hours of the morning explaining to both her mates what had happened, which had meant filling in Hay and Stick, fully, on The Text. "You didn't even want to look? I mean, if you opened your door would your friend have still been there?" Stick was rubbing Penny's foreleg with a hoof.

"My bed was… it wasn't set up how I had it. My friend could afford rent on his own, it was just easier having us both there and… I don't want that life." Penny took a deep breath, counting out ten seconds and letting it back out. It actually felt good having made that choice.

"No 'what if's or 'maybe's?" Hay reached up and rubbed Penny's cheek, the two doting on her making Penny blush.

"No, no regrets, not a one. Back there was the last remnants of an empty life, with loneliness and pain. You think it took me more than a heartbeat to throw that away and come back to my mares?" Penny leaned forward, kissing the hooves of both her marefriends. "The person I was back there, he is gone. He is still a little here, but even he prefers this world to that. For a start off, this one has ponies."

Penny was wrapped in snuggles by the two. She could feel them gripping tight to her and she realized what it was. "You are worried I would have stayed?"

"I didn't even know you had gone." Stick tried to look innocent of the charge, but failed. "What if it comes back, wants you to go back and stay there?"

"I doubt it thinks that badly of me." Penny was honest. "Besides, lets not worry about 'what if's and 'maybe's, I love you, both of you, and there is no spot I would rather be than here."

Their hug was broken, however, at the grumble of Penny's belly. "Ugh, really? Oh come on you two, you have a pony to feed." Penny gave each a kiss as she started to untangle herself, getting to wobbly legs.

"I… well, I am going to try normal food for a little bit." Hay blushed. "It's not that I don't want to be a changeling, really, but I think I would like a mid-ground."

Stick smiled. "I understand, that just means I get to feed both of you." If there was a happier changeling, right then, they would surrender the title to Stick upon seeing the mare's smile.

"How is the alphabet going?" Hay moved so Stick could get up, kissing her and nuzzling up the changeling's horn. It left the drone blushing hotly.

"Oh, I saw that." Penny grinned, her prey in sight. "So somepony found something that makes my little queen blush." She leaned in, Stick frozen like a deer in headlights. Penny's tongue found Stick's horn first, the unicorn feeling a slight tremble as she worked up to the tip of it.

"Damn that looks fun." Hay was grinning widely, watching as Penny kissed Stick's horn, again and again. She had to catch the drone, however, when Stick's legs gave way.

"Okay, off to breakfast!" Penny cackled and turned, making to leave. Hay set Stick down gently, turned, and followed the lunar pony.

Stick had to struggle, to fight her way back onto her hooves. "Drat those mares…"

76 - Nerves of steel

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Hay and Penny were both nervous. Both dressed up in very stylish outfits, they couldn't stop fidgeting.

"Would you two relax?" Stick moved between them, forcing both to make a little room for the dressed up drone. "So we are having dinner with everypony's parents, it's no big deal."

Hay and Penny both glared at Stick, but Hay got control of her voice first. "'No big deal'? NO BIG DEAL?" It wasn't the first time she rushed back to the mirror, straightening her mane. "For one, your mother is a queen changeling, a princess and one of my mentors. Second, why is Princess Cadance coming as Penny's stand in? Couldn't we have… oh I don't know, maybe Princess Celestia!"

Stick moved over to comfort the distraught mare, using her own magic to ward combs and brushes from making it to Hay's mane. "They are just ponies, relax, this is a night for us."

Penny was not quite as badly off as Hay, she had all the same ponies to deal with as her marefriend, but for her at least two of them were good friends. She tried to take a few deep breaths but the dress was a little less forgiving than she would have liked and it almost had her hyperventilate. "Hay, relax. You know the best thing, I have found, with being three ponies in love?" She moved over to the other side of Hay, leaning in to gently kiss the mare on the cheek.

The blonde unicorn looked to Penny, the tender kiss distracting her from her panic. "What?"

"Well, apart from the awesome snuggles, it is that if any one of us is down, there are two ponies to pick her up." Penny, presented with Hay's full face, kissed the mare on the lips.

"Downside is, when the other two are kissing, all you get to do is watch." Stick managed to make the complaint sound plausible enough that the two broke apart with a giggle, each making sure to kiss the drone.

Penny watched as Hay's now soft-green magic set the brushes back in their places. Stick broke from her kiss with Hay. "Okay, but I don't think I will ever be ready for this night." The half-changeling looking between both her marefriends.

"Even with us beside you?" Penny made it sound every bit as sappy as it was. She liked getting into 'cuddly' moods more and more of late.

"Especially with you two beside me!" Hay booped each mare on the nose and turned to the door. Opening it revealed an empty hall, but she was briefly reminded of Sablee, she hadn't seen much of the stallion lately. It wasn't that either were avoiding the other, they just didn't make efforts to meet.

The two other mares moved up to flank Hay and together they left the room and made their way out into the evening.

"Eating tonight?" Penny looked to Hay.

"A little. I think it is good to mix both diets. So if you don't mind I-" Hay was replying but got caught off-guard by a nuzzle.

"Of course I don't mind. I love seeing your face when you feed from me, it… it feels nice too." Penny still managed to blush.

Hay was well distracted, now, from her panic and leaned in to gently nip repeatedly at Penny with that changeling sense. Penny's hooves faltered and she wobbled a little. Hay grinned. "Still got it."

Penny was supported in Stick's magic, her world having just been rocked. She looked to Hay with a dreamy look. "You really should warn a mare before doing that… or don't…" Her smile turned more naughty than dreamy.

"Come on, my little snack, surely you aren't going to let a half-changeling sway you that much?" Stick tried to help Penny stand up and walk properly again, it was a bit of a fight for both of them.

Hay flashed her blunt teeth in a grin. "I can sway, I can shake and, if Penny isn't careful, I can pull the rug right out from under her."

Penny trembled at the tone in her mate's voice. "Maybe we can call tonight off to do… other… things?"

"Temptress!" Stick faked a swoon. "Begone from our sight lest we lose all hope of even reaching our destination." It was quite melodramatic, but ultimately a joke. They had already reached the restaurant.

Stepping inside, the smell of delicious food hit all three and even Stick's mouth was watering. Then they saw their table. Cadance and Shining sat together, with Fast Change seated beside the pink mare and, on the other side of the table from them, sat two ponies. The two ponies were both looking like unicorns, Dray obviously using his pony-shape.

"Oh Celestia…" Hay lost all the bravado she had worked up during their walk and suddenly had two mares flanking her. It boosted her spirits, to an extent. As Penny and Stick took steps forward, so did Hay, she wouldn't let her friends down.

"Oh hey, they are here." Shining spotted the three first, gesturing with a hoof. Two princesses, a prince and two normal-looking ponies waved to them. All five looked turned out in finery. It was the first time, outside of the show, Penny had seen Cadance in a dress.

Hay shook a little between the two but had no choice but to step along. A chorus of greetings welcomed them and between Stick and Penny, Hay got seated first. Then Stick turned to Penny and helped her onto a chair before gaining her own perch last. Cadance was the first to speak of more immediate things. "You must be Hay. You look radiant."

Hay was suddenly the center of attention and despite the focus of two princesses on her, she seemed to swell out a little. "Thank you, princess."

"Please, call me Cadance."

"C-Cadance, thank you." Hay blushed a little.

Cadance, of course, slipped her vision across to her own talent and her smile deepened. Three strong bonds claimed and bound the three mares together, further, there was a fourth form almost eclipsed by Penny, with no weaker bonds from them all toward it. She flicked across to glance at Dray and Pretty, both had equally powerful bonds, strengthened with years of closeness.

Fast looked different, more self contained. But there was a strong bond running from her to Stick, not the same kind of bond as the others, this was a maternal bond. There was another, trailing off into the distance. Cadance had heard of the changeling princess' escapades with Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Love had half-hoped that they would unite.

The last thing Cadance did, in the moments it took her to glance around, was to look to her Shiny. She was almost blinded. The link between her and him was immense and firm. Just looking at it made her heart soar. She blinked away the vision and instead was looking into the eyes of Shining. Her Shining.

"Cadie?" Shining nudged his mare.

"I think the princess of love is a little overwhelmed." Penny giggled and reached over to poke one of Cadance's hooves. "You okay, 'mum'?"

There was a laugh from everypony at the table. Cadance grinned sheepishly. "I believe there is some tradition to this." She gestured at the table.

Stick nodded to this, reaching behind her back and pulling out two little bouquets of flowers. She presented them to both Pretty and Cadance. Penny was a little bemused by it but Hay was outright giggling.

Fast was the first to react vocally. "Well, now we see whose foal it is swelling in Penny."

Everypony blushed at this, especially the three mares seeking approval. Penny looked across to Stick. She smiled to the other mare and realized she was okay with this. Hay looked between them, then leaned in to Stick and whispered to her. The changeling looked proud as punch.

Pretty leaned across to Penny. "Don't you wish you knew what they said?" It was a joke, or so Penny hoped.

"With these two mares I dare not, but at the same time, I can just bet whatever it was will come back to haunt me." Penny had lifted a hoof to shield their speech, not that it did any good.

Dray's attention was firmly on Stick. The stallion had dealt with many ponies, but he found himself liking the drone right off the bat. "I hear you are in business?" Stick nodded to him. "Fancy had only good things to say about you, told me I had missed my chance to apprentice you."

"He offered and I couldn't say no. If he could only teach me half of what he knows I will be the third best business-pony in Canterlot." Stick grinned, knowing full well that Dray understood the joke in her words.

The changeling stallion liked the mare his daughter had chosen for a stallion more and more. So he turned his attention to Penny. "And if half the things are to believed about you, Penny, that ponies are saying, then I would be amazed. Helping to capture a rogue band of changelings near Ponyville, establishing a whole new business model… I hear you even assisted in the integration of the umbrum ponies." At mention of the last Cadance gave a little nod and smiled more.

Penny felt the weight of attention on her, but at the same time a pressure from her side. Hay was making sure she returned the help she herself had been given. "Those are… not quite all true." Penny looked among those present. "Most of you know I came to Equestria, as a human. A very sick human. Luna herself remade me as a pony to save my life. I didn't invent capital investment, it just… well, it seemed like the best way to help ponies."

"Well said. I hear tell of the railway expanding, of trade between Canterlot and the Crystal Empire increasing." Dray nodded to Cadance as he mentioned her realm. "And further. Smaller businesses are growing and expanding, you almost single-hoofedly created a growing boom in the economy of not just Equestria, but the whole continent." Dray realized just what he was saying, that he was practically singing the mare's praises. "And you did it to help ponies?" Penny nodded with a little pride.

Their waitress came out then, bringing menus and explaining the specials. The place was a little more upmarket than the three mares normally attended, but they really did have a good variety. "I will have the cheese salad." Penny poked a hoof at the dish on the menu. "Extra greens in it, if you could."

Each of the ponies ordered their meal and soon enough conversation turned to food. Cadance glanced around. "We are almost even on numbers here. Hay is the lynchpin." The words confused most present, but Fast figured out her meaning.

"Four who must eat solid foods. Three who live off love and one who could go either way." Fast looked to Hay.

It was Pretty who replied, though. "My daughter, it seems, wants to have her cake and eat it too. Are you still continuing to eat both ways, dear?"

Hay nodded and got a pat on her hooves from both directions, Penny and Stick supporting her. "I am half changeling, half unicorn. I don't want to be one or the other, I like being both. Besides, food tastes too good to not eat."

Both Fast and Dray chuckled at this, the two looking at each other across the table. One had spent their whole life pretending to be a pony, the other had only recently become a full changeling. Both still enjoyed the taste of real food but got nothing from it.

Stick looked to Penny. "I hope you are hungry." The changeling's eyes danced. Penny realized then that with so many changelings she would probably be eating extra.

Cadance laughed, however, looking right at Stick. "Don't think I don't remember the last time we met. Somepony just couldn't resist having a nibble." Cadance looked to Shining Armor, even Penny could see the palpable love radiating from the pair.

Sitting right beside Cadance, Fast took the hit first, and well. "If you keep doing that I will feed…"

Cadance looked away from her mate, toward the changeling queen she had come to accept not only as a peer, but as a friend. "You wouldn't dare." It was a mock threat. Fast suddenly looked a little overwhelmed, leaning away from Cadance. "Or maybe you would, oh dear, I think she had a little more than a mouthful."

Fast looked around the table, almost seeing double. It felt like the times she had had 'hard' cider but she fought back at the sensation. She hadn't really even tried to drink, it was like Cadance had radiated love at her in a fine beam. It hit the mare, as she thought of it, that it was likely a weaker version of what was used on Chrysalis. Silly old queen, she thought, doesn't know a good thing when it is pointed at her.

"Fast? Princess?" Penny leaned up and waved a hoof before Fast Change, the queen barely able to track it and, on her fifth try, managing to touch the waving limb. "Yup, done for. Well that is one parent down, four to go." She looked between Cadance and Shining, then to Pretty and Dray.

The mock seriousness of Penny's mummery had everypony giggling.

77 - Agreement

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Cadance couldn't complain about the snuggling changeling queen at her side. Under normal circumstances she would be up in legs about it, but this was partly her fault so she let Fast lean in against her.

Stick patted at her love-drunk mother. "I know that feeling, just relax and ride it out." It had cost Fast a little of her fierce reputation, but had helped everypony relax more.

"Stick mentioned you were in business, might I ask what you do?" Penny was leaving sleeping changelings to lie and turned her attention to Dray.

With a bemused glance at the changeling queen, laid low at her own hoof by another princess, Dray turned his full focus on Penny. "I have a small factory, we make toys."

Stick scoffed. "He makes toys, and manages three other businesses that all were losing bits until he turned them around."

"Really?" Penny was interested, despite herself.

"Well, I wouldn't put myself on a scale with Fancy Pants, but I have a few small operations I oversee, their owners are quite happy at their new-found efficiency." Dray was blushing and he knew it. He was too relaxed here, these ponies knew all the deep secrets he had, it was all he could do to try and keep the few he had left.

Penny looked quite impressed with this and Dray had to fight more of that blush. "We were in the Crystal Empire recently, there are more than a few businesses there that seem in a similar problem." It was a hint, a blunt one, but Penny wasn't anywhere near as smooth as her changeling mate at being subtle.

Dray looked a little shocked at this idea, looking to his wife. "Oh! Now don't you bring me into business, the only thing I want is a nice dress occasionally and a loving husband." Pretty was oversimplifying to the point of nearly outright lie, and both knew it.

"Pretty eyes, you own my heart, I couldn't move without bringing you with me, or losing the best part of me." The words placated his mare and Dray turned his gaze back to his potential daughter-in-law. "You clearly aren't stupid, so I wonder what game you play with those words?"

Penny grinned. "Merely that you wouldn't need to move. The train is getting better and better, I hear tell that they will be using a new locomotive soon that could make two trips a day."

The talk of her empire had Cadance's interest as well, leaving the now snoozing changeling queen to just snuggle. "Penny is right, I have talked to the engineers myself, their goal is to be able to travel to the Crystal Empire in the early morning, spend several hours there, then travel back in the evening."

Dray's eyes shot up. He knew full well that once running well, no business needed a business manager to be on site all the time. "You have a list of some businesses that could use such oversight?"

Penny had her bite and nodded. "I know of at least one, a mine that cuts the raw crystal from the ground. They are in the process of getting their own train linkup and will shortly have to worry about selling their produce all over Equestria." The stallion looked quite surprised but, at the same time, it was very clear his mind was working.

Food arrived then, the waitress bringing it out and setting each dish before it's owner. The waitress blinked in surprise. "Is… uh, does the princess still want her meal?"

"Just leave it for her." Stick cut in before anypony else could react. "We will try and wake her slowly."

The waitress looked relieved at not having to take a meal back. "Enjoy!"

There was silence at first, as ponies ate their exquisitely prepared meals. Tails flicked in delight and even Stick ate a fair bit of her meal before offering a bite to Penny. Fast finally roused from the stupor the blast of love had left her in and she looked delighted at having her meal waiting.

"Remind me not to dare you to do anything, ever again." Fast used her magic to manage utensils, eating her food daintily. "Or maybe not, I must admit I don't think I have ever felt this sated before."

Cadance and Shining were lost to her comments though, absorbed with each other, eating their food and sharing the odd morsel between them.

Fast looked to Penny instead. "You might think you have a free pass from me, here, but don't think you are completely off the hook. You plan to bond yourself with one of the smartest drones in my hive, and certainly the most autonomous. You are clever, loving and so far as I have seen have the most amazing quality of being willing to learn. Despite this, I need to ask you, why do you think you should be allowed to marry my daughter?"

There was a loud thump under the table and Fast jumped a little. Beside Penny, Stick was looking daggers at the princess. "Too much."

"Oh I was just trying to be as serious as the others." Fast flopped back a little. "It's not easy being a princess. Everypony seems to want me to be something I am not. Only ponies that don't are the drones. They just love me however I act." Fast Change sounded genuinely down about it and soon she had two hugs to contend with.

"Mom, it's not that I want you to be something you aren't, I love you just the way you are, however you are." Stick was smaller than the queen changeling, but she fit well against Fast.

On the newest princess' other side, Cadance was giving her a more 'friendly' and less 'cuddle' hug. "Oh you wouldn't believe how some of my citizens act. Between some wanting me to go to war with anything that even has the gall to offend them, others thinking that we should become some kind of commune, and yet more who think we should break ties with Equestria completely… you aren't alone, Princess Fast Change. Given that I had a harsh introduction to changelings, I am finding more and more that they are wonderful ponies."

The scene had Penny's heartstrings tugged in all the right ways and, without thinking, she channeled a little, thinking of her respect and love for the savior and mother of her mate. All three changelings at the table perked up, Hay too grinned and leaned a little into Penny.

"I just… you are right, everypony is different, I shouldn't try and be what they want of me, I should be me, Fast Change." Fast grinned and looked over to Penny. "I am sorry if the words hurt I-" her words cut off as she felt the love wash from the unicorn, tempting her to drink it so much.

"I see a mare who wants to protect her daughter so much that she will even go against her nature to do it. Don't apologize, Fast." Penny smiled, realizing just then how pony-like she had become. It was quite the feeling to know she had changed so much, one that Penny accepted positively, rather than how she would have if she were a human. Was even that part of becoming a pony?

Fast drank from the mare, she didn't need to feed, she didn't have to. She wanted to make sure that Penny knew she welcomed the gift. The energy from it was more palatable this time, than when she had first tried. She focused on not getting overwhelmed by the love directed at her. Still, Fast could only drink a little and left the other changelings at the table to drink more from it. "Lets just agree to be nice. I can't help it." Fast suddenly shook her head. "You taste delicious, that love is nearly overwhelming and intoxicating, you feel that for me?"

Penny nodded to her. "Of course. Without you my life would be only half complete, I wouldn't have Stick at my side and, worse, wouldn't have found Hay either. You gave yourself to your hive, you saved them from Chrysalis, but you also saved me." She reached a hoof out toward Fast, getting a little bump back from the changeling. "Thank you."

Hay looked happy as a clam with the bonding going on but looked over to Princess Cadance.

"You don't need to prove yourselves to me or Shining, I can see the love between you." Cadance had noticed the mare's worried look. "Both you and Stick have my blessing to wed."

"And mine." Dray gave a nod and looked from Stick to Penny. "Both of you are fine mares, with good heads on your shoulders."

Beside him Pretty nodded to that. "And they look gorgeous in those dresses. My daughter loves you both, and I see that reflected. You have my blessing."

Fast looked down at Stick, still pressed in against her in a hug. "My daughter is her own mistress, but I see a mare who is clever as can be with her magic and no slouch to look at. I see another who has a heart so big it could feed a whole hive. I see her loving mates and I consent to this too."

Penny felt a weight leave her, the mare suddenly hugged from each side by Stick and Hay. She couldn't stop herself from kissing each of the mares, a feeling of acceptance settling in. It might have been a formality, really, but there was something about having the approval of their 'parents' that strengthened the commitment. "Thank you, all of you. I will take the best of care of your fillies. Oh darn…" Penny started crying. The worst part was she couldn't stop and each time she looked at Stick or Hay it made her cry more and harder. Each of the two nuzzled away the tears on their side of her face.

Somepony blew their nose and all heads turned to Fast who was trying to fight tears of her own. "What? Can't the Changeling Princess get so happy she cries, too?"

They had a date, it was exactly a month and a half. Penny had to breathe deeply, a month and a half and she would get to tell the whole of Equestria how she feels about Hay and Stick.

"You would make Chrysalis drunk with how much love you are radiating." Stick nuzzled Penny's cheek. The three were walking back to the school, taking their time.

Penny kissed the mare back for the words. "I wouldn't want her anywhere near me. She doesn't seem like a nice pony…"

There was a glimmer of blackness, dark magic tingling in the night air before a human was plopped down in the road ahead of them.

"Whoa, what happened and… are you ponies?" The young woman, wearing a Rainbow Dash '20% cooler' shirt, was getting her feet under her. "Oh wow, you are! It asked where I wanted to be and I said-"

"Equestria." Penny finished for them. "What did you ask to bring?"

They blinked. "Oh, I said if I was in Canterlot, that it wouldn't matter."

Penny lifted her hoof and bopped herself on the head. The human gave a laugh.

"What are we going to do with her?" Stick gestured to the human who was not dressed for the evening, nor prepared in any way to deal with their new life.

"We should take her up to the palace, Luna will know what to do." Hay reached out a hoof to the suddenly surprised human. "I am Hay Cart, nice to meet you… uh…"

The human leaned down, trying to whisper without being overheard. "You know they are a changeling, right?" When Hay nodded the woman looked a little more confused, but she shrugged and stood straight again. "My name is Jenny, well, Genevieve, but everyone calls me Jen or Jenny."

Penny raised her hoof and offered a shake.

"Where are you all going, tonight?" Jenny looked around the city. "Doesn't seem like there is much to do during the night here."

"We just had dinner." Stick tried to ignore the faux pas. "We're on our way home now. We can take you to the night court, if you like, you really should announce yourself there."

"Night court? Oh, Luna?" Jenny seemed to bounce in a place a little.

Penny lifted a hoof to try and calm her down. "I should warn you. This world is not like the show. On that, they were just characters, living made-up stories. Here it is all very real. If you get overexcited, make a bad impression… well, Princess Luna is one of the leaders of Equestria."

Genevieve squinted a little at Penny. "You speaking from experience?"

Penny nodded. "I came here about the same way you did, American?" Jen nodded. "Okay, treat Princesses as you would a judge." This advice sobered the woman a bit and she nodded.

"Okay, I guess you never think, watching it, just how much power they have."

"Oh they have plenty of power, but they are kind and nice." Penny started moving, the way to the castle always easy, what with it towering over the rest of the city. "What you do for a crust?"

Jenny stepped along with them. "Artist, you can probably guess what I do." She held her arms away from her torso, showing off the shirt. "Wonder if I can keep doing that here?"

"Probably, you study art? Learn to make inks and things?" Jen nodded to Penny's question. "That will help a ton. There aren't any computers here, no internet, no telephones. Magic can take up some of the slack for the things we don't have, but you don't have the equipment to be able to use that."

"Wait, magic! Oh oh oh!" Jen seemed excited a moment but then slumped. "But I don't have a horn…"

A deep red glow surrounded the human's fingers, gripping them gently. "You have hands. You sort of get to pick one or the other." Penny waved her forehoof in the air. "You probably guessed, but I was a human, a sick one."

Jen was quiet a moment, looking at her glowing fingers be played with in the mare's magic. "Bad huh?" Penny nodded. "Well, I don't want to have to relearn all my tricks again. Hands will have to win out for now." She squeezed down on the magic, holding it like she were holding a hand.

Penny beamed, leading the way to the castle.

78 - Meeting the night

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If you would prefer, you could read the "mature" version of this instead. It has everything here, with a bit more at the end. Caution: Link contains sex between a pony and a human.

Jenny was in her element, even if she felt the chill of the night. The 'hand' she was holding was a big reassurance. "So how long you been here?"

Penny waved a hoof to the guards they were approaching at the castle. "Honestly? A good few months now, I think. It is a little hard to tell, things just flow so much more when you don't have a whole world at your fingertips…" Penny paused on the word, grinning wryly at the fact that it felt uncomfortable to say. "Landed much the same way you did, although I lucked out a bit and it happened during the day."

"A human, just arrived." Stick had moved forward to talk to the guard.

The unicorn stallion in golden armor nodded. "Taking her to see the court?" At Stick's nod he stood to the side and gestured. "You know the way, go on through and have yourselves announced."

"Thank you!" Stick's overly bubbly mood spilled out on the guard, getting him to smile in response.
The little group advanced. "You 'know the way'?" Jen looked vaguely impressed.

"I spend more than a little time at court. I don't always have business here, but it is good to get to know ponies, particularly those who run most of the city." Stick's reply made the human look thoughtful.

"Alright, I need to ask, it's burning away at me. In the show, changelings aren't really…"

"Well liked? Nice? Tolerated?" Stick beamed up to the human, destroying all those notions.

"Well, yeah. Chrysalis was all nasty and all the drones that came with her seemed so as well." Jenny was working on trying to remember the episodes that had them.

"That all happened, close enough to how you describe it. But all was not well in her hive, Chrysalis was mean and petty. One of Penny's friends had their parents foalnapped by her, when he went to save the day he found the hive almost in revolution. One of his friends, Princess Fast Change-" Stick was explaining as they walked, but Jen cut her off.

"A new princess? Oh, what is her element?"

Stick snorted. "Her element is her hive. Princess Fast wasn't a princess back then, just a unicorn really good at shapechanging. So good that when Chrysalis tried to regain control of us, Princess Fast stood proud and became a changeling, commanding us to leave." The drone looked besotted. Penny and Hay would have been jealous if they hadn't seen how their mate treated the changeling queen. "She fought so much for us, for everypony, that Princess Celestia announced that she was not a queen, but a princess."

Genevieve had let go of the 'hand' in her own. "Oh wow, that sounds amazing, I wonder if that will be in season six?"

Penny snorted. "Still not out? I was trying to avoid all the spoilers for it. Just be aware, the events in the shows do happen, just try to not be in shot. I think having a human appear suddenly might cause issues for the show."

The human was almost bouncing again, new questions bubbling up. "But then how-"

"We're here, we need to be quiet until called." Stick gestured at a room with a hoof. Inside, Princess Luna was holding court, a guard of lunar pegasi in the room. The four slipped in and Stick moved to the bailiff to discuss their business.

It was a wonder. Jen was actually quiet. But she had reached into the little backpack she wore and pulled out a pad and some charcoal. She was sketching the princess of the night.

"Stick Farthing, Penny Farthing, Hay Cart and Genevieve." The crier announced and the little group stood up and made their way to the front.

Penny looked immediately to a grinning changeling. It wasn't the time to talk about such things but she certainly would grill her lover later.

Luna looked quite pleased at the visit, her eyes drawn straight to Penny. "We see our mare doing well. School progresses for you, Penny Farthing. How agreeable is your time spent there?"

The unicorn in question brightened up. "It is great, I only have the last few symbols left to do and, Giddilee says I will be rising to a rank two on the weights any day now."

The princess looked pleased at this, smiling. "And our foal?"

Penny stepped forward, her dress doing a good job of hiding any bump. She stood just before Luna, standing sideways. A dark-colored hoof reached out and pressed into the fabric of her dress. Penny felt as the princess felt at the small bump she had. Her foal. The idea of the life growing inside her always made Penny smile, it was impossible to feel down when you knew that somepony's life was about to begin all because of you.

"I can feel them." Luna dropped her royal plural in delight.

Penny was relaxed, secure in her belief the Luna would do nothing to harm her or her foal. "She is pregnant?" Jen's voice cut into the experience a little, but Penny didn't begrudge her.

"She is. Who is this human you have brought before us, Penny?" Luna drew her hoof back, but Penny felt the touch continue, the alicorn's horn alight proving who's touch it was.

"This is Genevieve. She arrived here not moments ago. We were on our way home from dinner and she appeared in the street."

"Genevieve Shardon, ma'am." Jen bowed to Luna, proving that she had taken Penny's warning to heart.

"Welcome to Equestria, Genevieve." Luna lifted a hoof, making the greeting a royal welcome. "Have you any plan for what you would wish to do while here?"

"I do. Penny clued me in about a few things, but I think I would like to try my hand at art."

"Art? Do you have an example of your work?" Luna seemed quite relaxed and happy, probably not having to deal with petitioners for a little bit helped Jen's case.

The woman blushed and flipped her art-book around. A blue glow enveloped it and Luna lifted it closer. A sudden blush had Luna flicking to the next page quickly. Penny wondered what it was, she had seen what the human had done with her charcoal and it wasn't risque at all. There was a fervent hope that Jen hadn't done any clop-art.

"These are quite excellent, uh, most of them." Luna folded the book closed but Jen tore out the latest one and handed the page back to the alicorn.

"Please, keep this. As a… thanks, for looking over my work." It was Jenny's turn to blush now, the woman realizing just what it would mean to see some of her more adventurous commissions, here in Equestria.

"We would suggest preparing a more, professional, folio if you wish to do further business." Luna accepted the charcoal piece, both delighted and a little concerned at the human's talents. The alicorn turned her attention to Hay. "We hear Penny's family has a new member."

To say the half-changeling looked terrified at the attention was an understatement. Stick moved quickly to press in against Hay. "We do, isn't she the best?" Stick gave Hay's cheek a kiss.

Penny wanted to go and 'save' Hay as well, but Luna was still gently rubbing her side, the mare trembling a moment in indecision before she breathed out and stepped down, away from Luna and to Hay's other side. "We have decided on when the wedding will be. A month and a half from today. You are invited… we still have to organize that part of things."

Hay, with the physical presence of both her marefriends, seemed to grow in confidence, looking up at Luna and smiling. "They mean everything to me."

The princess of the night couldn't hold running to protect her mate from distress against Penny, the three looking very much like a wonderful little herd. To the side, though, Jenny looked a little stunned. "Wedding? Married? But you are all mares…" The mix of odd emotions that washed over the human's face was lost on most of the ponies, but Penny giggled at it.

Luna was the first to react. "While a herd of mares establishing themselves is not common, there is certainly nothing against it. A changeling in the herd apparently relieves everypony involved of needing to seek outside assistance for… things…" Luna blushed a little at her implications, realizing that she may have gone a bit far in explaining things to the human.

"Wait, so you three are getting married?" Jenny looked at Hay, Stick and Penny, getting nods from all three. "And you are pregnant?" Penny nodded happily. "Then who was the stallion?"

The flash of green caught the woman off-balance, Stick's form burning away and leaving a dark, half-changeling lunar unicorn stallion in her place. Which was odd considering the stallion was wearing a dress now. "You over-complicate things, Penny did the same when I first met her… she still does sometimes. Just relax, between magic and friendship, there is nothing that can't be solved." Stick nuzzled a bemused Hay and a suddenly cuddly Penny.

When the changeling looked back at the human, however, she had to look down. Jenny had passed out, cradled almost on the floor in Luna's magic. "We assume that seeing little magics is one thing, but having a changeling transform right before your eyes is another. Does she have somewhere to sleep for the night?"

Hay shrugged. "If she really needs to, I am not using my room at the college. We could help her find somewhere more permanent tomorrow."

Luna found this agreeable. "We will notify the school, please see she gets some rest."

Penny knew the human would be beyond what she could lift, but she radiated a little, feeding energy to Stick and Hay and between the two, the dead-weight of the unconscious human was carried.

Back at the school, with the human settled into a bed and a blanket pulled up around them, Penny turned from the sleeping form. "Quite the night." Penny was last to leave the room, closing the door herself. "Now, tell me my pretty ponies, what is it we plan to do tonight?"

Of course, the classic joke was lost on the pair, but although stallion-Stick looked interested, Hay seemed quite drained. Stick noticed the state of her marefriend and nuzzled and guided the half-changeling back to their shared room and into bed. Penny took care to get their dresses neatly put away, turning back to find both her mates fast asleep and snuggled together. Moments later, she was too.

Jenny slept soundly, despite how the beginning of her rest began. Her dreams were filled with ponies as usual, but there was a figure that seemed to watch from the side, every now and again.

"Hay?"

The voice brought the girl out of her sleep and she found herself in a comfortable bed. But the room wasn't empty.

"Hay I… I need to tell you I really like you… but I hear you are getting married to those mares." The male voice sounded a touch bitter and Jen pondered lifting her head. The touch of a hoof to her side, through the covers, did startle the human enough to poke her head up from the bed. "You're not Hay!"

"Who are you?" Jen was shocked. There was a strange stallion in the room who, it seemed, was turning and bolting for the door. The door he had forgotten he had closed!

He hit it so hard that Sablee was out cold.

"You love her that much huh?" Jen reached down and tried to pick up the injured pony. It was a struggle but she managed to manhandle him onto the bed. "Guys are the same no matter where you are, I guess. Chasing what they can't have."

For want of something better to do, Genevieve wrapped herself in a blanket and curled up beside the stallion to sleep.

79 - Remaking Friends

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Penny, Hay and Stick were up bright and early, the three having breakfast together in the common dining room. Things seemed more intimate now, more relaxed, for all three since the dinner. Penny reflected that it almost felt like that was a wedding in and of itself. She was now bound not only to her mares, but also to their families. It was a warm feeling.

"Penny, hello?" Stick had been feeding the mare when she just seemed to zone out completely. "Okay, time to get serious…"

The lunar unicorn jumped, blushing furiously. "Stick!" She sounded upset, but there was a smile on her snout still.

"Gotcha, okay, so we need to find Jenny and get her somewhere sorted to live." The changeling bumped the next mouthful of breakfast against Penny's lips, the mare opening her mouth and eating it, but needing a kiss from the changeling to clean away the little mess there.

"Oh, there she is now." Hay lifted a hoof and gestured to the human, looking rumpled, confused but at the same time a little distracted. "Jen!"

The woman's head turned at her name and she waved before walking over. "I have you to thank for getting me a nice bed for the night?"

Hay beamed and nodded. "Hope you didn't mind, it was mine before, well, moving in with my marefriends… I guess I should move my things."

Jen sat down beside the three and seemed to shift a little in place, oddly. "Oh, best night I have ever had. Raised a few things though." The human was desperately trying to keep wraps on a giggle that threatened to drown out her words. "Uh, first is, Sablee. Not a boyfriend, I take it?"

This had Hay blink in surprise. Penny cleared her throat. "Coltfriend, Jen, just talk like you were in full cosplay at a brony convention."

The human lost her control and did giggle at that. "But yeah, coltfriend?"

Hay shook her head. "No, we were friends, and he wanted… more. I just don't swing that way…" Penny had a hoof around the mare's withers, supporting her.

"Figured. He came into your room, seemed a little confused there was a human there. Think he figured things out by the end of it though." Jen had that giggle back under wraps. Penny was getting a little suspicious.

"There you are!" Sablee had come into the dining area, his mane looking all kinds of mussed up. Trotting to the table he climbed up in a seat beside Jenny and blushed, right up until his brain registered who else was at the table. "I… what happened…"

Stick froze in her feeding of Penny, the food trembling in the air. Penny had to lean forward to catch it. "Did they… would it…" She seemed shocked, amazed and suddenly giggly. Penny had to wonder if what Jen had was catching.

"Was damn fun and lets leave it at that." Jen booped the stallion on the nose, making him blush more. "But I think at least two ponies here need to apologize to each other. Hay, Sablee?"

Both looked to her, Hay was first to react. "What do you mean?"

Jen stole an apple from the bowl in the middle of the table. "You should have told him no, that you weren't into him as anything more than friend; stallions can be a little slow working those kinds of things out." She turned back to Sablee. "And you, she wasn't completely open about it, but you knew that she wasn't into it; you lied to yourself in the hope that you could get her to be more than friends."

The whole group stared at Jenny.

Hay looked past the human, to Sablee. "Sablee, I… I am sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, or lead you on. I just prefer mares…"

This news hit the stallion, Sablee finding at least closure and in some way encouragement. "I am a blind stallion. I never should have pushed like that but you were so beautiful, I just wanted to be closer…" He lifted a hoof across to Hay. "Still friends?"

"Of course." Hay smiled and lifted her own hoof, clopping against the one offered.

"And here I thought there would be weeks of silly escapades and shenanigans until they made up." Penny couldn't help but smile as the two friends made up.

"What?" Jen had been chewing the apple. "You think this is a tv show?"

If the universe had a laugh track, it would have played then. Thankfully it didn't and Discord was far too occupied to be able to assist.

"So." Stick leaned back from her empty plate. "You two a thing now?" The changeling was looking past Hay, to Sablee and Jenny.

"He is good fun, might see where he takes me. A girl can't tie herself down to the first stallion she meets in a new town, though." Jen was relaxed, this was banter and it would test how Sablee thought of her.

Sablee, for his part, blushed a touch. "It was fun, and you are a good pony." He reached out and rubbed Jen's shoulder with a hoof.

The human didn't quite lean into it, but she certainly didn't pull away. "Right, lets play it by ear and see where things go. Besides, I need to get somewhere to live, a job…"

"That is the plan for today. Princess Luna herself asked it of us." Hay was excited, she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her heart, and she had Jenny to thank for it.

"Well, I'll just get my backpack and we can head out?" Jen ran her fingers through her hair, not for the first time. It was clear to the mares present at least, that the human lacked some things.

"No, first we need to clean up, there is a nice public bath just down the road. You game?" Stick was stacking their plates together, leaning in to kiss Penny's cheek and, under the table, rub the mare's belly.

A look of relief flooded Genevieve's features and she smiled thankfully at the changeling. "That would be good." She finished eating the apple down to the core and set it on an empty plate. "Shall we go?"

Everypony nodded to her. Rising as a group, Jen noticed that Sablee moved a little closer to Hay.

"So, I was wondering, would you like to work on our projects, like we used to?" Sablee blushed a little.

Hay Cart nodded. "Of course, I kinda missed that." Her reply emboldened the stallion and he reached behind him, pulling out some notes. "Oh, you got this far already? Here, let me see what I might be able to help with…"

Jen walked closer to Penny, the mare starting their conversation. "Thank you." At the bemused look from the human the unicorn continued. "We were all too close to the problem, all of us staring past the elephant in the room. Did you… uh…"

"A girl doesn't kiss and tell, but maybe we did." Jenny reached down, almost instinctively, rubbing the ears and mane of the pregnant mare.

Penny was a bit startled at the touch, to begin with. After a moment she had to pull back from the human. "Sorry but I need to ask you not to do that…" She was blushing hard, really hard. The sensation started again but this time Jen's hands were well away and a telltale glow was surrounding Stick's horn. "I just… even when I was human, brushing or playing with my hair was always a turn-on."

It was Jenny's turn to blush, realizing her faux pas. "Uh, sorry I probably should have asked. Why is your horn two different colors? I never saw anything like that… well, like you, in the show."

Penny's blush had died down, it was an entirely different thing when your mate does something that turns you on. "Luna made me, you know the… well, bat-winged ponies? Please, don't ever call them that, they are 'lunar pegasi'. Well, she made me as a unicorn version of one of them. She made the lunar ponies a long time ago and, well, she is continuing such. We are continuing such." She looked to Stick and the two shared a little kiss that was more of a peck.

"I… see." Jen walked along easily, everything felt so much more amazing when you were seeing it from the inside. She recognized some parts of the city, from the show, but actually being IN Canterlot was way different. "But your horn?"

"That was an accident, a horrible one. I burnt it with magic, part of the reason I have to study and learn things properly." Penny walked so her flank and shoulder touched Stick's. "Okay, I gotta ask, how was it?"

Jen almost bounced as she walked. "Amazing! So big and when he-" She stopped, realizing that all four ponies were now listening. "Okay, I can't help it, I am a pegasister and proud of it. I draw naughty pictures of ponies and now, getting to experience life here? Totally worth not having a computer."

Penny lifted a hoof, offering it to the human. Jenny didn't hesitate, she balled up a fist and bopped it against the hoof. "And I bet you have been dying to do that?" The giggle and nod from the human was more than enough to make her smile.

Poor Sablee, however, was left blushing hotly. His brain was fighting a war with itself. Part of it was giddy with happiness at having his best friend back. Another part, most of it what he would call 'stallion', was proud and played back all the words Jen had used so far, as well as pulling up reference pictures of the previous night. The main part, what Sablee thought was 'himself' in it's purest form, was just happy. "So, what about your project?" He turned back to Hay, trying to ignore what 'stallion-Sablee' was hinting at, but he was prancing a little despite himself.

Stick noticed the prance and couldn't help but grin. She knew that feeling all too well and silently wished the stallion luck in his endeavors. "Humans. If you still had those hand things we would totally not be getting married."

Penny looked at her mate, consternation giving way to mirth, Stick's sense of humor was almost as twisted as her own. "What about if I had two extra arms, with hands, then I could return ear-rubs much easier." Penny did return the affection, her magic reaching to rub at Stick's ear in return.

"That… might be acceptable. But anything hands can do, a horn can do better." Stick adjusted her position and Penny started stepping a little bit more carefully herself. "See?"

"Stick!" Penny was blushing and trying to fight the sensation of a light stroking down the insides of her thighs. "Stop that!"

"Make me!" Stick was feeling her oats, puffing her chest a little. The changeling suddenly looked mellow again, her eyes widening and then she grunted. "Okay… okay you… oh you win…" Stick all but melted against Penny.

"Just what I thought. When we get some private time, though, I think we will do some play with magic." Penny kissed the cheek of the suddenly cuddly changeling. She had channeled a strong burst of magic, using the new reserves her training had given her.

"Okay, as an interested party, I have to ask, what did you do to her?" Genevieve tilted her head, trying to work out what was going on between the pair.

"Little bit of a mix up in my horn. When I channel magic, it leaks into my emotions." Penny was still channeling, she felt a second grip on her heart and sighed a little as Hay started to feed on her too. "Basically, I am about the best thing a changeling mare could have, food wise."

"Cadance is yummy too." Stick was so distracted and besotted, she left off the princess' title. "But her love wasn't directed at me… not as sweet as Penny…"

"What's it feel like when she feeds off you?" Jen sounded intrigued.

Stick looked up at her, a grin on her snout. "Why? You want a try?" The human blushed hotly but nodded. "Okay then, relax, think about something you love." The human closed her eyes, focusing on her art and, in particular, the piece she had drawn of Sablee earlier in the morning, while the stallion was still asleep. She opened her eyes again. "There, did you feel it?"

Jen blinked and shook her head. Penny grinned and reached out her magic to grasp the woman's hand. "Don't sweat it, Stick is subtle at first, unless she is being overt, you won't feel much at all."

"Oh…" Jenny looked a little saddened. "Uh, can you… well, be overt?"

The feeling of tension within Jenny grew explosively, a feeling she didn't even know she was feeling revealing itself to be fangs, teeth, a bite into some part deep inside her. It stopped quickly and left her panting in shock. Stick helped to steady her other arm with her glowing green magic. "The easiest way to avoid feeding a changeling is to focus on something other than love. Was that fear?"

Jen shook her head. "Just shock, you came on fast!"

"No, Fast comes on fast." Stick grinned at the confused human, getting a laugh from Penny.

80 - The origin of blush

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Jenny wasn't sure what she was expecting, but the bathhouse seemed just right. Resembling an oversized house with an entryway, she walked up with the others.

"Five please, for the warm bath." Penny floated the right amount of bits out and to the mare at the little ticket window.

"Go right in, you know the way?" The earth pony beamed at them, looking a touch puzzled at Jenny but just giving a little shrug.

In they walked and it was as they entered the big walled off pool area that Jenny suddenly realized what this meant. "Wait, this is a mixed bath?"

Penny lifted her hoof and bopped herself on the forehead. "I guess I really should have thought about this more uh…"

Jen looked around, there were a few ponies in the bath already, two mares and a stallion, all keeping to themselves. "Okay, focus, three mares who are your friends, a stallion who knows your body pretty good already and three strangers… not a big deal."

"What's the problem?" Stick nosed at Penny, levitating the mare's saddle bags off and into a little nook.

"Humans… well, they like to keep covered all the time." Penny told her mate, giving a happy shiver and walking over to Jen. Looking up at the human, Penny reached for her hand with her magic. "If you want you can sit out here and just chat."

"No!" Jen had replied too fast, her hand jerking a moment at the touch but she clasped the deep red magic in her hand. "No, I need to get used to being with ponies. This is a good start."

Jenny was sure she was attempting to convince herself more than any of the ponies. With a deep breath she reached up, letting go of Penny's magic hand, and slipped her shirt up.

"Are you alright dear? I heard yelling, oh, would you like those washed while you bathe?" The mare from the front door startled Jen so much she jumped two inches.

Penny saved her having to turn around. A glance had revealed to the former human that Jen certainly had nothing to be ashamed of. "That would be great, I can bring them out once she is fully disrobed."

Jen reached behind her back, her fingers trembling like a male's when she tried to slip the clasp of her bra. A deep breath and a snick of the fastener and she felt the constant hugging support of the garment let go. Leaning forward she let her 'girls' out and looked around. No one was even looking at her.

It was both a kick at her ego and a boost to her at the same time. "I am being silly."

"No you aren't." Penny levitated the bra over and grabbed the girl's top too. "How old are you?"

"Twenty six." The human looked down, unbuckling her jeans.

"Twenty six years you spent, being trained that your body was something to be hidden from view, that you mustn't feel good about showing it off."

"Penny, you know that, I know that. Try telling my brain that." She got the fly undone and shimmied the tight pants down her hips. A glance revealed that Penny was at her side, gathering up her things carefully. "Thank you, though." Without thinking Jenny's hand reached out and she petted Penny, rubbing the mare's ears. She jerked and froze, realizing she had done it again.

"No, keep rubbing if it helps you. I can put up with feeling a little worked up, I guess." Penny actually was aching to just lean into the nimble fingers, and with the formality of the excuse out of the way she did just that.

"I owe you big." Jen's fingers worked along the unicorn's scalp, feeling how the folicles of mane grew in a different manner to the mare's regular coat.

"You do." Penny said it simply. "You can keep those on if you want, but then you are going to be commando for the rest of the day." Penny angled her horn to bump the girl's hip, where her panties still clung. "This is a place for cleaning, seeing parts of a body normally not put on display is not uncommon."

"Yeah, working up to it… oh, here goes." Jen couldn't stop the blush as she let go of Penny, reaching down to work her thumbs under her panty-hem on each hip. Taking a deep breath she pulled them down and tossed them, marching right down into the water.

"There you go. Be back in a sec." Penny caught the panties out of the air and trotted out of view.

No sooner was Jenny in the water but there was a familiar stallion waiting. "I can do your back if you do mine?" His grin was hopeful and Jen really wanted to tell him no and curl up in a corner and hide.

"Yeah, okay." There was a blush permanently on her cheeks now. Watching as washing implements floated toward the bath from little racks around the side, Jen had a moment to gaze in wonder and ponder how useful it would actually be to have a horn.

"Jealous?" Sablee paddled around in the deeper water, getting behind her and giving Jen a moment to get comfortable.

"Of your horns? A little. I might have to have a chat with you later about it." She pressed her front to the side of the bath, laying her arms down flat on the stonework and relaxing. The first touch of a brush on her back was gentle, barely felt, but it soon started to work and she could feel soap suds working up as Sablee went to work. "Okay, a girl could maybe get used to this."

Penny returned from dropping the human's clothes off. "She promised to take extra care with them, I told her they are impossible to replace. Quite true really. Oh, maybe we could see if Rarity would be up to the challenge of making some new things for you?"

This had Jen's attention. "Rarity? Make clothes for me?" Deep down inside, in the 'little princess' within Jenny jumped up and down in excitement, suddenly giddy at the thought of getting a Rarity-dress.

"Well, it is her job. Tell you what, we could go and see if we can get her to make something for you, and you pay me back when you can?" Penny walked up to the side of the pool and stepped forward, sinking down but breaking the surface again with a giggle.

There was an overly excited human lifting her head and kissing her on the nose. "Penny you are the best!"

Penny blushed, from her vantage she had a perfect view of Jen's assets and she was still enough of a 'mare's mare' to appreciate things. It was odd though, she knew if she had been a human still, the sight would have done nothing for her. "You are worth it Jenny. You really are. It is not hard to find good ponies here, but good friends are a treasure." Penny leaned forward and kissed the human on the nose.

"Your turn." Sablee floated the brush around for Jen to see and she grinned as she turned back. The 'princess' was back in control and Genevieve had to fight not to squee. She was getting her own pretty pony to brush.

Sablee moved to a shallower area and stood patiently as Jen began. He reflected that he owed the mare for helping him sort out his feelings for Hay. If nothing else he liked to feel her…

"You're blushing, remembering things?" Jen worked the brush with some suds and started on his coat.

"No… yes. That was fun…" Sablee sounded both happy and down. Jen had a thought as to why. "Would you like to-"

"Not now, but yes." She worked at his mane slowly, taking her time.

The pair went quiet as the human worked and, soon enough, Jen almost managed to forget that she was completely naked in a pool of some of the clearest water she had ever seen... almost.

"Your things are clean to go whenever you are done!" The mare from the gate had her clothes all neatly folded and placed in a nook with her bag.

"Thank you." Penny and Jen both said at the same time, then broke into a giggle.

"You want to get out first, or last?" Penny paddled over, the unicorn looking sparkling clean. "First means you are sort of something to look at though."

Jen stretched and, looking to Penny, she realized that she had become friends with the mare so fast. She had never just clicked with someone before, it made her wish she had known them before they were a pony. "Same time, I think. We will all be busy then."

"And I can help dry you." Sablee was paddling to Jen's side, having spent some extra time washing his mane and tail while the human washed her own shorter hair.

"Well, come on then." Penny paddled to the ramp and started climbing out, almost cursing at the weight of wet fur.

They were all getting out and Genevieve braced her sensibilities and climbed from the bath too, her body sheeting water faster than the damp ponies. A warmth suddenly started at her legs and she looked down to see a glow of magic that she recognized as Sablee's. It sent a shiver through her for reasons that made her blush, but he worked upwards, drying every inch of the girl and finally giving a light warm brush through her hair.

"Thank you." She turned to him without thinking, her body fully on display.

"You're welcome." Sablee smiled, looking only into Jen's eyes and confusing her a moment. Then, still blushing, she realized that he really wasn't 'just like a guy'. It made her heart skip a beat but she had to get herself dressed.

Working fast, she pulled on the dry clothing, wondering at first how it got washed and dried so fast. Then she remembered how Sablee had dried her off. Magic really was amazing.

"You look as good putting them on as taking them off." It was like her thoughts had summoned the stallion and Jen found herself blushing. She looked over her shoulder at him.

"Trust a stallion to say that." Jenny grinned to take the heat from the words and she wriggled her butt a little more than strictly needed to get the jeans back on but, it wasn't long before she was in clean clothes and felt good.

Penny had been caught by both her mates stealing glances. "You know," Stick nipped her ear, "you aren't helping her adjust if she catches you looking."

The busted unicorn looked back. "Is it wrong to look?" She had heard her friends, back when she was human, make jokes that 'looking was fine'.

"Not if it warms you up for later." Stick nipped at her flank and made Penny jump a little, until Hay did the same from the other side.

"You two are both terrible!" Penny threw her towel at Hay but the half-changeling caught it easily with her magic. "Ugh, worst!"

Kisses came at each of Penny's cheeks, assuaging the mock anger and making her smile at each of them. "Still going to be a later, sorry." Stick kissed her again and was chased from the bathhouse by a laughing pair of mares.

81 - Changes and discoveries

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The first place they checked was the little shop Penny had started in. But even after a warm greeting with the Loafs they found the place was now home to a little juice bar.

"So where are we going to find that might take in an artist?" Jen sipped at the boysenberry drink her friends had bought for her.

"There is one option." Penny swapped her drink with Stick's. "We could go to a publisher, see if they need an artist, then see if they might have somewhere for you to live."

Genevieve blushed at this. She had made a living selling her art, sure, but actually getting it published in books, in PONY books? "That would be so awesome!"

Penny smiled widely, flashing her fangs. "Okay, now where to find one. I guess we ask at a library." She of course knew where one such was, where she had met Moon Dancer.

Hay and Sablee were finally done geeking out together about their projects but while they seemed friends, Hay was glad to feel that he really did just seem like a friend again.

"So, Hay, have you tried changing yet?" Stick slurped up the last of the juice from her drink, tasting not only the deliciously sweet berry flavor, but getting a hint of Penny from the straw.

"Changing?" Sablee cut in, looking a little confused.

Hay shook her head to Stick but turned to include her friend. "Yeah, it was a bit of a shock but we found out that my dad is a changeling. It was strange, a little scary, but I think I am okay with it."

The stallion wasn't stupid, but finding this out was a shock to him. "So you are half changeling?" Hay nodded. "That would have been really strange, if Chrysalis hadn't attacked then, you would have gone your whole life and never known… I wonder if there are other ponies who are part changeling and don't know it?"

This was quite a bit of insight but Stick shook her head. "Your dad really is something, though. I doubt there are many other drones… leaders, like him." Stick altered her classification, remembering Fast's little test.

Hay puffed a little with pride, it was nice when another pony saw your dad as being as special as you felt he was. "How would you even test for that? I am half changeling, and it took a lot of effort and focus for me to be able to feed."

"You can feed? Like a changeling I mean." Sablee sounded surprised, not scared. Which pleased Hay.

"So, have you tried changing?" Stick brought the conversation back to her first question.

"I wouldn't know how, I mean, I have seen changelings change, do those flames hurt?" Hay finished the last of her juice too and looked sadly down into the wax-lined paper cup, it had been delicious.

"Nope, the flames don't hurt, but it does take a lot out of you each time. Only a well-fed changeling can afford to slip their shape often." Stick glanced over to Penny, eyes clearly coveting and a little hungry.

"Okay, so what do I do? Think of what I want to look like?" Hay did a mental 'feel around', trying to sense if there was something else she could push with that changeling energy inside her.

Stick drew her attention back. "Well, yeah, but you need to fill in all the details you want, your magic will take care of keeping the bits you really need in the right place. So, think of a pony, about your size, that you would want to look like and then…" Stick stopped, suddenly at a loss for how to describe how she changed.

Hay focused on the figure in her mind, grinning a little and waited for her 'mentor' to continue.

"Okay, so you know your energy?" Stick got a nod from Hay. "Okay, so pull it out and over you in a blanket, think of the pony you want to be inside that the blanket and then pull it away."

Hay stopped moving and closed her eyes. Jen and Penny halted and turned to watch as well. There was a slight flicker of green flames, then more. Then a roar of fire flowed over Hay, it was pure green, not a hint of her unicorn magic involved. When it retreated, a changeling stood. A pure changeling looking identical to Stick, right down to the scars on her carapace.

"I did it!" Hay bounced in place, looking quite happy with herself.

Stick trembled a moment and then rushed forward to hug her twin. "We are so cute!" The pair hugged and kissed. Stick was totally not enjoying it, nope, not one bit.

"Okay, now both of you break it up. Real Stick, over here. Hay, can you change back or do you need more energy?" Penny stepped in to take charge of things. Hay looked down at herself, buzzing her wings excitedly at her back.

"Can I have a drink, I want to try another shape!" Hay was quite excited but Penny booped her on the nose.

"No, back to Hay now," Penny admonished her but the unicorn leaned in close to her adventurous mate, whispering softly, "we will play later, I promise."

Hay perked right up at this, flashing a grin full of fangs. "I might need a little more, I haven't been eating a lot of you lately." Penny nodded and started channeling, thinking of how wonderfully talented her mate was and all the fun and naughty things they would do together.

The half-changeling blushed at how good her mate tasted today, leaning in and biting gently down on Penny's neck as she fed. "Okay, let me give it a shot now." She inhaled Penny's scent deeply, it felt to be sharper as a changeling, was their sense of smell stronger?

"Blank shape, you want to have nothing under the blanket, your magic will fill in your real form." Stick provided some instructions and Hay turned from her embrace of Penny to nod to the other changeling.

Bringing the flame up was easier this time, she thought of nothing under the blanket and whisked it. The blanket took up the shape she had thought of, nothing, and filled in the blanks of her own features, then it spread over her in flames and wrought those changes. The fire was gentle, it was her magic after all, it felt good to let it remake her and she trembled a little, even after it left her looking just as she had been all her life.

"You… uh, could have gone with your own teeth, you know?" Penny noticed the two changeling-like fangs.

Stick, thankfully, had a little more tact than their other mate. She leaned in and kissed Hay on the nose. "Changes. Being a changeling is full of them. I think your first outward change has revealed itself."

Hay tried to look down, she could feel the odd… but familiar, expanded cutlery in her mouth. She opened her jaw and ran her tongue over them, feeling sharp points. "I… they are strange. Are they ugly?"

Penny moved in, realizing at last that this wasn't intended. She pressed her lips to Hay's, practice with Stick had taught her well how to kiss a fanged mare and not get an injury. "They are perfect. Like my mares."

Hay blushed at the compliment, but liked how easy it had been for Penny to say. The change hadn't taken as much energy to do as the first time, but it still ate heavily into her reserves. "Will more changing make more changes, or will this be it?" She looked over to Stick.

The other changeling shrugged. "You are amazingly unique, even in the hives we never bred with ponies, Chrysalis would have gone crazy… er."

"So no instruction manual." Penny kissed the cheek of each of her talented mares. "Just know, either of you, I love you no matter how you look. Stick knows it more than you do, Hay, but up until recently I was not very… interested, in sex." The little group were off to the side of a less-walked area of the city, with Jenny and Sablee providing a little bit of a foil it meant nopony was close enough to hear their talk, or even take much umbrage at their intimate actions. "She knows that I loved her as her, first. You can learn it too, it is what is in here," Penny reached up and tapped Hay's head, "that I love. Physical looks are nice, fun as well, but it is a shadow of the wonderful pony I see when I look at you."

Hay blushed hard, looking at her mate with a new light. It was easy to be told you were a beautiful mare, when you were, but to be told you were beautiful despite how you look… her heart fluttered a little.

"Oh darn, look at that, we have used up all the love in this area. We really should move on." Stick wrapped a foreleg around the withers of each of her betrothed, pulling them into a walk so they might have a hope of getting something done for the day.

Penny and Hay laughed at Stick's attempt to get them moving again, but they didn't resist.

"So, hook up again tonight?" Jen looked to the stallion at her side, reaching a hand out to ruffle his mane a bit.

Sablee blushed at the question, the touch, but also the fact that he really wanted to. "How about something to eat? We could have dinner."

The human beamed at this. "Why, you smooth stallion, of course I will go on a date with you." Jenny felt really good about how her life had changed.

It was a surprise for Genevieve then, when a voice called out. "Hi there! Not often we see a woman here." She turned to see another human, a guy.

Lifting a hand she offered it for a shake. "Jenny. Not many 'girls' here, huh?"

"Bradly." He seemed friendly enough, but Jen had a repeating history with 'nice guys' who really weren't. "Yeah, seems like a lot of bronies who end up here and not a lot of pegasisters."

Jen was definitely getting a vibe from Brad. "So what you do here, Bradly?" She reached down on her other side, walking along and tangling her fingers in Sablee's mane.

"Massages. Could you believe it, my profession translates mostly, although pony anatomy is a little different, but my hands are in high demand." Bradly looked proud. The vibe got stronger for Jen. "So, doing anything tonight?"

Bam. Jenny felt Sablee stiffen under her hand. She worked her fingers through his soft hair. "Oh, uh, sorry Brad, but I have plans for tonight." Genevieve put as much of her 'no' into the reply as she could without telling him that he isn't really her type.

"Maybe later in the week?"

"Hi there!" Stick seemed to appear from nowhere and Jenny made a note to give the mare a hug later. "Oh, you are another human, do you taste nice?" Stick flashed her teeth, giving her best 'I bet you physically taste nice too' predatory looks.

"A… uh…" Brad was off balance suddenly, this approach wasn't going well at all for him. "I was just talking to Jenny…"

"Oh she is a stick in the mud. Never goes out, never meets anypony… she hasn't even let me feed on her!" Stick was between them now, talking up to and flashing her fangs at the human male every chance she got. "You look tasty though. Bradly, have you ever seen the inside of a changeling pod?"

It was too much for him. Brad shook his head and stopped, leaving the little mixed group to keep walking. "Oh, uh, look at the time, I need to get back to work!" Some girls were totally not worth getting to know their friends for. This was certainly one of them.

"I owe you so much…" Jenny leaned down and gave the changeling the hug she had promised herself she would. "Ugh some guys are such creeps."

"Don't sweat it, you looked like a little bunny before a timberwolf, no way I was going to let you stand alone." Stick returned the friendly hug.

Sablee was dumbfounded. The whole conversation seemed like one he was bound to lose something over, only the human mare's hand on his neck had kept him from slinking off. To hear that she had really not liked the other stallion at all was reassuring though. "Our date then…"

"Is still on, silly stallion." Jenny's hand was back in his mane, Sablee deciding that he liked the feel of her fingers there. She was a nice mare and just being close made him feel good. He would have to make sure their date went well!

82 - Work work work

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The librarian looked delighted and a little perplexed at the oddly mixed group entering her library. "Can I help you?" Her voice was soft, keeping below what would be a normal voice level.

Hay stepped up. "We were looking for book publishers."

"Oh! You know, I had a mare in just the other day asking for the same thing. One of our regulars-"

"Moon Dancer." Penny cut the librarian off. The mare looked a little upset but that changed to interest.

"Yes, you know her?" The librarian got a few looks from those present in the library, the conversation was getting a little lively.

"I do. She is, sort of, working for me. I asked if she would help me start a school in the Crystal Empire." Penny got warm fuzzy feelings from the thought that she had helped the mare come further out of her shell and start to really make a difference in the world. "When I am done with my own studies here I plan to visit and see how she is doing."

Hay was staring in surprise at the conversation. "You know Moon Dancer? That is amazing!"

"Shhhh!" The chorus came from everypony in the library, or so it seemed.

"Ahem, well, I will point you to the same place I sent her." The librarian quickly scrawled an address on a piece of paper. "Here you are. You are of course welcome back any time." Implied was that while they were welcome, disturbance and noise was not.

"Thank you." Penny bowed her head a little, smiling as she turned back with her departing friends.

"Okay, so we have a place to try?" Jenny leaned in and looked at the note.

It didn't take long to reach and when the door opened at the business, Penny escorted Jenny into the small office area, leaving her friends outside.

Stick looked up at the sign.

Equestria Fine Books

Inside, a stallion sporting stains of ink greeted the pair. "Hi there and welcome. What can I help you with?"

"My friend here recently arrived in the city and was looking for work." Penny started the introduction, gesturing to Jen with a hoof. "She is an excellent artist and good with her hands besides."

"Hands huh? I have heard a few other places hiring humans to do fine work that only unicorns could otherwise do. And you draw? I could use an extra artist…" The stallion dipped his head down and lifted up a page. The text was smeared with ink, but there was an open area about a third of the way down. "Pegasus." The publisher set a little bottle of dark blue ink down and a quill. "Go." He grinned up at Jenny.

"Line art?" Jen took up the quill, then shook her head and reached to her backpack. Fumbling a moment she drew out what she was after. A fountain pen. Penny watched as a steady hand quickly worked a form of a pony out of blank paper and dark ink. Jenny left room and after a moment sketched in wings rampant.

"Not bad at all. More detail?" The stallion watched as she worked, admiring not just her skill but the implement she was using.

Jen smiled and kept working, now detailing the pony's eyes, a cutie mark of a book. Penny suddenly had a little shock as she added tufted ears, realizing the woman had done a pegasus version of herself.

"Okay, if you can make something that quickly from scratch, I want to see some of what you do given more time. My name is Ink Blot, by the way."

"Genevieve… just Jen is fine though." Reaching back she pulled her pack open and drew out her folio. "Now… uh, it is a little empty, I took out the ones that used technology I can't get in Equestria."

"Like that quill?" Ink gestured to her pen.

"Oh no, all this needs is a top-up of ink every now and again. Where I am from, we have extremely complicated machines that let artists work in ways you wouldn't believe… but I don't have that with me."

Penny moved a little, pressing her shoulder against the girl's legs. A hand reached down and just rested on her withers.

"Oh wow, you really can capture a lot of detail with this… is this charcoal?" Ink rubbed the very corner of one picture, getting his already stained hoof a little bit of black dust on it.

"Yup, I can work with nearly anything that leaves a mark. If you gave me a burnt twig and a flattish rock, I would have a pony on it in a few minutes." Jenny sounded proud of her work, but her hand gently worked at Penny's neck.

"Okay, you're hired. Can you start right now?" Ink looked up at her, challenge in his eyes.

Penny laughed as the hand stopped and her friend looked completely stunned. "I… err, um, sure. I do need a place to stay, I kinda got here without much of anything to my name."

"Tell you what, start now, I will have somewhere for you to bunk in for a few days, then you can spend your first pay finding a nicer place."

"Alright!" Jenny leaned down and gave Penny a tight hug. "Tell Sablee tonight is still on… when do I get off work?"

"Mid afternoon, pretty much if you can get the illustrations done I need then you are done for the day." Ink was delighted, his normal artist was a little more… creative in their work ethic. This new mare would be perfect if she could create art of the quality shown AND was willing to work regular hours for it.

"Then the sooner I start the sooner I am done." Jen hugged Penny again. "Okay, I will see you later?"

Penny's front legs lifted to return the hug, the girl having given up on trying to work out how a pony can lift half their legs up and not fall over. "Of course. And you will need to let me know when we can take a day and visit Ponyville."

Jen's eyes lit up and she nodded.

Penny left the place on her own.

"Where is Jenny?" Sablee looked confused.

Penny gestured to the publishing house. "You are now looking at her new employer. They are so stuck for a good artist they hired her on the spot."

The stallion looked happy, to his credit, clopping his hooves together excitedly.

"And don't you worry about tonight, she was most insistent that your date is still on." Penny reached over and rubbed Sablee's shoulder. "She likes you, but I don't think she wants to dive too fast into the pool, if you catch my drift. She seems to be getting over something."

She got a nod back from Sablee, but it was impossible for the happy stallion to look completely serious right then. "If we hurry we could make it back for afternoon classes."

Penny beamed and nodded. "Yup, lets go!" She gestured down the road with a hoof, the perfect pose for leading a party of brave ponies on adventure.

Sablee opened his mouth and sang, "I met a filly, a fur-less mare…" The lunar unicorn almost squeed but relaxed and let her voice join Hay and Stick for the refrain of his song.

The stallion expressed so much, how lonely, how introverted he knew he had become. But then the chorus came along and everypony sang of his planned date with Jenny. Penny never knew where the words came from, or how they all just knew them, but it always felt so good to her to just let it ride through her, to let the world express itself through her voice and body. Magic.

Back to trotting along, their spirits soaring, they reached the school again just in time to hear a voice complaining. "But you gotta help me, I need something to help me with this new sound!"

"Sorry V, the only ponies who might be able to help you with that are our two star engineers." Gingersnap was heard from just inside, replying.

"That's…" Penny knew the voice, although it was obscure. She wracked her brain to think of who it might be when their little group entered and she realized. "Vinyl."

The unicorn with her big glasses turned. "Oh, hay there."

"Oh, and here they both are now. V, this is Hay and Sablee, both amazing designers and excellent at both magical and non-magical design." Gingersnap pointed a hoof. "Their friends there are Penny and Stick."

"Oh yeah, seen you two around Ponyville. How's it goin'?" The white unicorn with amazing blue mane and tail lifted a hoof to them, getting a pair of clops back.

"Good, you needed something from my friends?" Penny reached a hoof out and over Hay's shoulders.

"Oh, yes!" Vinyl swayed a little to some unheard beat. "I totally need a bigger bass speaker, I need something that can go even lower than what my stack does now. Can you help me?" She looked imploringly at Hay and Sablee.

Looking between each other, the two ponies glanced up to Gingersnap. "Would this count as credits?" Hay's eyes danced, challenging the mare to refuse.

"If it works as V needs it to, sure." The orange teacher nodded her head. "Anyhoof, I will leave you to these two, surely together they can build just what you need."

It was Penny that asked the first important question. "How low do you need the frequency to go?"

Vinyl looked brightly at the dark unicorn. "She gets it! Yeah so about ten should do it. If you can make a stack that blows that low I can get this new beat really pumping." A pony-version high-five came Penny's way from the musician and she lifted a hoof to meet it.

A giggle started in Stick's throat, the mare poking Penny's side. "What?" Penny turned to her apparently playful mate.

"You should give her a listen to some of your music." Stick giggled more.

Vinyl froze as she was turning to the two engineering students. "Wait, you make music?"

"No, no I don't make it, but I love it. I am not… from around here."

"Like Jake? The human guy who keeps bugging RD?" Vinyl apparently did notice what went on around town, a little.

"Yeah, same place in fact. Anyway I have some music if you want to listen to it later." No sooner were the words out of her mouth than Vinyl was almost squeeing with delight.

"Do I? DO I?" The mare from Ponyville trembled and had to shake her head to regain control. "Hear music from another world, hear what ponies make that had no experience with Equestria at all. Of course I do!"

Penny felt excited as well, she was suddenly surrounded by such creative ponies and life couldn't be better. "Oh, another thing. I don't suppose you would be interested in performing for a wedding?"

Vinyl started to faint, the hardcore, awesome DJ actually almost 'pulled a Rarity', but she coughed at the last minute and nodded. "My friend is doing one soon, I was going to be doing backup music for her, kinda one reason I wanted the new stack. But you want me, my music, as the main tunes for your wedding?"

Stick laughed. "If you heard some of the music from her world, you would understand."

"So who are you marrying?" Vinyl asked, half turning back to Hay and Sablee, scribbling down on some paper the requirements she has and at the bottom, how many bits she had to pay with.

"Me." Hay grinned, taking the order.

"And me." Stick stepped up beside Penny, hugging her close with one leg.

"Way cool, a mare party and I get to listen to some awesome music? Best. Day. EVER." Vinyl gave a hoof pump that reminded Penny of Rainbow Dash a little. "Lead the way, enchantress of mares and bearer of exotic tunes."

83 - Familiar beat

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Vinyl stood stock still. The sounds she heard were echoing not just in the room, but in her soul. She closed her eyes and listened to the electronic-like lyrics, the voices themselves distorting and blending in with the amazing beats. "Who… who is this?" She barely breathed, she didn't even want to speak and disrupt the flow of the tune. The tiny device Penny was using to play the songs was terrible, truly terrible, but Vinyl could really feel this music.

"Daft Punk." Penny knew exactly what to play to have gotten the mare hooked. "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. It is one of their most popular songs back where I came from."

"This is amazing, how do they get their voice to do that?" Vinyl reached for the amazing little device, easily working out how to brush the little slider back to the point where the lyrics blend into the rest of the music completely. It sent a shiver down her spine.

"It's… uh, autotune it is called. You can adjust it so that it changes the pitch of a recorded voice and shifts it to the note or scale you want. It can be used by terrible singers to sound good, or by a talented artist to create something amazing." Penny took back the device from the spellbound unicorn. "Now, are you ready for more emotions and some really crazy stuff?"

Vinyl trembled. "That was just the beginning?"

Penny laughed. "I wasn't huge into mixing, but there are enough days worth of electronica and dubstep on here that I think you will find something to listen to."

"D… days?"

"Yup, days. I love music, I adore it. It lifts my mood, it pushes me to think in odd new ways, it even helps me relax." A few taps later brought up a total. "Uh, if you started listening, and told it to play everything, it would take you thirty days… without sleep."

The unicorn wobbled and flopped down on the bed beside Penny. "Okay, I wish I could sit here and listen to all of it, but I am going to need you to filter it. I love Daft Punk, whoever they are, so is there other stuff like them?"

Penny started some more obscure stuff, watching Vinyl for a reaction to each. Stick sat beside her, silently, almost seeming to be napping except Penny saw her ears twitch to the music occasionally.

They spent some time in industrial music, Vinyl's hoof tapping along to it. "Great mixing, but their lyrics are a bit…"

"Dark. The pony who made this had a constant fight, struggling each and every day against problems that I hope to never see here." Penny tried to explain, Vinyl seeming to understand, giving a nod.

"Music expresses what you feel, how you feel it. It can be an outlet for the good things, or it can ease you of the dark. I hope he is doing better than when he wrote this." Vinyl reached down and gently stroked the side of the phone, as if she could somehow connect with the artist.

"From what I remember, before I came here, he was." Penny reached over and patted the hoof with her own. "So, you ready for dubstep?"

The DJ looked a little perplexed. "What is dub… step? Something to do with-"

She froze as Penny began to play some for her. There was a moment of shock, as the whole world seemed to twist and focus down to the raw essence of the music. Vinyl was hooked.

Penny ended up playing all she had of the genre for her new friend, which wasn't much. "That is awesome, I really hope I can get that kind of sound from my new setup. How do they do that, repeating thing, so fast?"

"Sampling, it is called. Basically you record all your bits of music you want to use and-" Penny got cut off.

"And play them back as needed, oh, they can play them back over and over really fast?"

Penny nodded. "Really really fast. They use a box with a whole mess of buttons on it, each is a different sample. It lets them program it on the fly, changing how it sounds, how they repeat and play back. Fairly advanced stuff."

"What do you mean, I could do that with a little magic." Vinyl gestured to her flank. "All in the cutie mark, after all." This made the unicorn look at Penny's and she clopped a hoof to her forehead. "A teacher, I should have known."

Stick replied, eyes still closed. "Don't worry, she does this to princesses too. If she weren't so adorable and snuggly, tasty too, I wouldn't be marrying her." Penny felt a tender touch to her emotions as Stick tried something new. Rather than reaching in to drink, it was like the changeling brushed her senses instead. It was, in short, a very intimate kiss.

Penny radiated just a little magic, tempting the touch inside to continue. It did.

"Hay there, Penny? You with me? She eating you up or something?" Vinyl looked a little perplexed, but when Penny managed to focus on the white mare she realized she had started browsing through music. Some heavily mixed stuff was playing.

"Yeah, sorry. Changelings. Can't live with them, can't get them out of your head when you are head over hooves in love with them." Penny kept her channel going, loving the feel of Stick not actually drinking, but nuzzling and kissing inside her.

Vinyl blushed a little at this. "Uh, yeah, all ponies are like that." She confessed it and Penny managed to pick up that there was more she wanted to say. "You managed to get two mares, what about that juicy-looking stallion? Sablee was it?"

Penny laughed. "Not guilty. I prefer mares, not really a choice I have there. He is dating another friend of ours."

"You seem to have a really relaxed relationship going, it is pretty awesome to see. I… uh that is…" Vinyl blushed and Penny was suddenly worried there would be an awkward question coming. "Well, I am going to say it. How do I tell a mare I really like that I love her, without scaring her away?"

Light dawned, Penny felt her breath that she didn't know she was holding, let go. "I am going to say I can take a guess at who it is, but I won't. First, you want to make a perfect day for her. You want to do, say and act just how she wants you to. This might take a few days to get right, you will learn a lot about your special somepony that way."

Vinyl nodded. It seemed like a good idea. "And?"

"And then, when the day is as perfect for her as you can make it, you tell her how you feel, don't leave a single bit out. Honesty is important and if she is the friend you want to become more than friends with, she will understand even if she doesn't feel the same back. If you are really lucky, she will tell you first." Penny leaned over and kissed Stick on her nose. The changeling never opened her eyes.

Vinyl's thoughts were on her 'accidental roommate', Octavia. The plan Penny told her was simple, she would need to make a few concessions, maybe even lay off the loud music for a little bit. It was a good plan and felt right. "Okay, this seems like it would work. Thank you." Vinyl reached out a hoof and got a little clop back from Penny.

"'s what friends are for." Penny looked up when the door opened. It was Sablee and Hay. "Well, how did it go?"

Sablee wore a big smile. "We got the designs done, ordered the parts and we can start making up the cabinet tomorrow." His voice betrayed how much fun he had had, doing what he did best with his best friend.

"Will it be able to play this?" Vinyl played back some music titled Windowlicker. Penny really was thankful that she hadn't gotten any video clips, or that the unicorn hadn't listened all the way through the long track. The amazing mix was really something though.

Both the engineering students looked perplexed. "Uh, it will play whatever you plug into it… what do you use to make your music?" Sablee looked down at the little phone, this was the first he had seen it and he couldn't help but reach out with his magic, inspecting all the flickering pulses of energy in the tiny thing.

Vinyl, however, was now focused. "I am going to need a new mix board too, and a… what did you say? Midi?"

Penny lifted her hooves, shaking them. "You are not going to be able to get that, but I think if you can store music with magic, you could probably handle sampling it."

Vinyl nodded. "What she said, this will be so amazing!"

Sablee had left Hay and her friends to focus on the musician's needs for a 'deck', as she called it. He had plans to make. Trotting out into the city, he made his way for a restaurant he knew was expensive. He thought up how many bits he had and was sure he could cover it. Best yet, he had done a little research and discovered humans like meat, which this place did serve. "Excuse me, I would like to make a reservation."

The maitre d' beamed. "For two?" He knew all too well what it meant when a lone stallion came to his establishment and looked at menus as this one did. Sablee blushed and nodded. "Perfect, we have a special for dates, if that is your plan?" Another nod, more blushing. "Then I will put you down for that, tonight?"

"Please." Sablee couldn't believe how smooth this pony was, seemingly able to pick up what he was thinking about. The earth pony had to be using magic.

Trotting back to the school, Sablee breathed easily, it was all planned. "And there he is." Jenny's voice caught his attention as she was explaining to Gingersnap why she was at the school. "Sablee!"

A hand was on his neck the moment they were closer and he almost squirmed in delight as her fingers dug into his mane. "How was your afternoon?" She sounded relaxed, almost relieved.

"I got a little job to do that will make me some bits. How was work?" Sablee decided small talk was always safe, besides, he wanted to know how she had handled it.

"Are you kidding? I got to draw adorable ponies for a foal's book, this is the best job ever!" Jen seemed in fine spirits. "And they showed me the flat I can live in until I find a house, Ink even said I could stay there more permanently, but would need to pay rent if I did."

"Ink?" Sablee sounded more surprised than he thought he was.

Jen, however, picked up on it. It made her smile and crouch down so she could look directly into his eyes, well, look up into his eyes. "My boss and a stallion." She saw the flicker. "He has a mare already, and a foal on the way. Don't you worry, you are the only stallion in my life right now." She kissed him on the lips.

Both of them lost it a little then. Sablee kissing her back and Jen not realizing how good it would feel to kiss a pony, particularly one she liked. The fur of his snout tickled a little, but in a nice way.

"Only stallion?" Sablee finally came up for air, asking what had pinged around in his head.

Jen laughed. "And don't worry about that, girls… mares, don't really do it for me." As she said it she blushed though. She took a deep breath and leaned in. "Okay, a tiny lie. If Luna came up and offered, I doubt I would have the willpower to say no."

Sablee looked a touch perplexed, then he couldn't stop the giggle that came. Jen joined the laugh as they both broke down and hugged their way through the mirth. "Well, I am a stallion, you think it would be any easier for me?" Jen kissed him again and shook her head. "I got a reservation at a nice place. We can head there as soon as you are hungry."

"I want to say hi to Stick, Hay, and Penny first." Jenny reached to his shoulders, using his strength to help lift herself back to her feet. It felt good to Sablee, that she was relaxed enough with him to rely on him like that. Together they made their way back to the three mares' room.

84 - A very important date

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Whoa there mares and gentlestallions. There is a mature-only version of this very chapter over here Caution: Link contains human and pony sex and some very odd things. Proceed at your own risk (to your sanity)

Jen sat on the mildly comfortable chair feeling a little out of sorts. This was a fancy place that Sablee had brought her to and here she was in jeans and a shirt. She gave a sigh, she was lucky at least that her things were clean. That brought a slight blush as to how she had gotten them clean.

"Something wrong?" The stallion sitting across from Jenny had heard her sigh.

"No, it's not, it really isn't. I just need to get adjusted here and sort some things out." Smiling, the woman picked up the menu. "Oh, these salads sound wonderful."

"You don't want the… meat?" Sablee sounded a bit confused, he had done some research into this and was sure humans ate meat.

"Vegetarian." Jen's mouth watered at the descriptions of the meals. "Oh but this vegetable stew sounds perfect. I will have that."

"What… but…" Sablee didn't understand the word, adding to his confusion. "I thought all humans ate meat?"

Genevieve folded the menu up. "Most do, mine is more of a choice thing, I just prefer that things don't get harmed for my benefit."

A waiter, dressed in formal attire, arrived at their table. "Have we made our choices?" The mare was smooth with her words, smoother still since she had heard that the human had made her choice.

Jen nodded to her and Sablee quickly looked through the menu and gave up. "Two of the fine vegetable medleys please."

"Of course, and we have an excellent gift for special someponies, on their first date." Her horn lit and a bottle of cider floated over, displaying itself to each of the table's occupants. Before either could say anything it uncorked and poured itself into their glasses. The waiter left the bottle on the table.

Jenny lifted her glass and sipped at it. A smooth hard cider met her taste buds, bringing hints of wild berries along with the apple base. "This is really good!" She sipped some more and sighed happily.

Sablee looked at his glass. "Never had hard cider before." He sampled some and his eyes widened. "That is good, strong, but good."

"So tell me about you. I like you, Sablee, but I want to know more about you." Jenny sipped some more of the cider, her taste buds telling her brain that she might want to slow down before her meal arrived.

Sablee blushed a little. "Only colt, my parents live in Baltimare. Dad buys and sells produce in the city and mom helps out. When my cutie mark showed up," he looked to the side of his flank to where the grid design with a pencil beside it was, "they figured it was something magic related. Close but not really. Magic helps me make things though, so I am still happy I got into the school here."

"Your parents pay for the school?" Jen got a nod at the question. "Well, I hope you are doing them proud." She smiled wide. "And what is it you do? I figured something designing things?"

"Designing and making. It is how I met Hay and became friends, we both sort of work at the same problems."

Jenny noticed how saying his friend's name didn't cause that hurt look he had worn when she first brought up the topic with him. "Not really my thing, but you know what is my thing?"

Sablee couldn't stop a grin from curling his lips. "Ponies."

Stopped short, Jen laughed at his reply to her question. "Okay, you got me there. Ponies are really my thing, I even dream about ponies…"

The mare blushed so hard that Sablee thought he had said something wrong. It took him a fraction of a second to make the connection. "Princess Luna." The blush increased, he had guessed right. "Not the only pony there, I bet she has to watch quite a few dreams that she would rather not."

Jen couldn't believe how hot her cheeks felt, surely she couldn't be blushing this hard. And worse, he was still sitting there, admitting that Luna was probably a common target of desire. "Wait a second, how would you know that?" Jenny's grin returned, spreading wide. "I think someone else has a crush on a princess…" Score, he blushed too. "Well, it's okay, your secret is safe with me."

"Your meals." The waiter set the plates before them, proving that she had likely overheard at least part of the conversation but was far too professional to let on.

"Thank you." Jen closed her eyes and inhaled. It was a relief to be able to get a meal and not have to poke the staff about it being vegetarian.

"Yes, thank you." Sablee sounded more relieved than thankful, but the mare serving them didn't mind.

Picking up her fork in one hand, Genevieve selected her first mouthful and made her start on the meal. The tastes that hit her tongue surpassed anything she had eaten before.

Sablee watched the expression wash over the mare's features and grinned. He used his magic to start on his own meal and soon wore similar expressions of delight, modified for pony features of course. From one mouthful to the next, he managed to ask. "So, you know more about me, what about you?"

"Mmmm, oh." The woman spent a moment to clear her mouth. "Born in DC… a big city. Dad died when I was really little, I barely even remember him. Mom did good though, had me thinking straight and acting right. She worked two jobs to pay me through school and into art college. Then she… she passed on too. I almost left, almost threw it all away." Jenny always had a little trouble with thinking on it. Her dad she had never known, her mom had been everything to her. "Told myself she wouldn't want me to drop out. Had to swap to part time, working a job to pay my way."

Sablee was heartbroken at the story, he couldn't imagine not having his parents, both of them, around.

"So I started watching this silly show about cute little ponies that had magic and friendship. A friend thought it would help, and it did. I drew some pictures and things, found there was a whole lot more people like me doing the same. Then one day, while I was sketching out a design, I see words appear over my work, asking me where I would rather be."

"And you told it Equestria?" Sablee was spellbound by her descriptions, his world was a play where she lived, apparently.

"Yup, next thing I know there is a pair of cute unicorns and a changeling helping me up and taking me to see a princess."

Sablee realized now he had a whole lot more to be thankful to those mares for. "And here I thought I was sneaking in to bare my heart to Hay, to tell her how I really felt and ask if she wanted to be with me or I would leave forever…" He chuckled at how melodramatic it all sounded. "I found a mare I didn't even know I desired and made two friends."

Jenny's thoughts slid back to the previous night. It had been something they both wanted and needed at the time. A little part of her wanted and needed it still. "The show was all about making friends, I guess I can't fault your world for its accuracy so far." Her free hand reached across the table and found a hoof.

"No." Penny was most adamant about it.

"But if we don't follow them we can't find out what happens!" Stick and Hay were both against her but it was the full-blooded changeling protesting right then. Even Vinyl was throwing in a nod of support. "We have to follow and find out how their date goes!"

"You can go if you want, but I am going to relax here and read a book." Penny pulled out the latest magic book she had to study. Now that she had her full alphabet sorted she was starting on proper spells.

"It wouldn't work if we don't all go." Hay slumped to the bed too, her head landing so her jaw was against Penny's tucked foreleg, her nose bumping the lunar unicorn's chest.

"I should probably go find somewhere for the night." Vinyl got up and stretched, sparing a longing look at the phone that was sitting, charging, on the bedside table.

"When did you stop wanting to be involved in hijinks?" Stick waved to Vinyl as the white unicorn fled the room. "I swear, the Penny I remember would be doing everything she could to spy on her friends."

Penny booped Stick on the nose. "She would not, you are making this all up!" With her eyes off Hay, Penny didn't see the rush of green flames, but she did sense something happening.

"What was the point of this shape?" Hay was now an odd-looking hippogriff. She was mostly right, but had a mix of both her own features and a changelings mixed into it. The tail was completely green, the wings were feathered but the head was completely pony instead of a beaked griffon.

"A good try for your first non-pony shift." Stick settled down to inspect her mate. "Good wings, but they are pegasi wings, not griffon ones. Talons look serviceable, but you should have gone with a beak and your own tail." Her critique had Hay investigating, finding the little faults. The mare looked a little down about it.

Penny, however, leaned in and kissed the half-changeling. "Practice makes perfect, and I think you look adorable." The kiss and compliment had Hay preening a little, puffing up with pride.

A wash of green fire worked over Stick and in a moment there was that half pony half griffon form that Penny still winced when she thought about. "Maybe we should fight over ownership of this pretty pony here?" The changeling gestured to Penny with one claw, her beak parting in a grin.

Hay walked around Stick, studying the form closely. "Oh, I just wasn't focused enough." Fire rolled over her and there were suddenly two identical hippogriffs standing there. "Oh… oh wow…"

Penny watched the blush pour over the avian features of Hay's new form. "First time as a stallion, I take it?" The half-changeling gave a sheepish nod. Despite her memories of what that form could do, or perhaps because of them, Penny's snout formed into a wide smile.

Jenny walked back to her place, the little flat she had been offered. Beside her Sablee walked. Her hand rested in his mane. It had been an enchanting evening. Memories of walking, hand in hand, with any one of a slew of guys couldn't stand up to this and she had a real fight on her hands. Her heart wanted to dive into love again, it wanted relaxing nights, hot nights, it wanted to do all the things ever with Sablee at her side. She had always listened to her heart in the last, always dived into the shallow water. Tonight felt like just the right time to do it again.

"I had a lovely evening." Her voice betrayed the ache inside.

The stallion looked up at Genevieve, a hopeful smile on his face that almost shattered the girl's new-found resolve. She looked into those eyes, finding them so easy to get lost in her heart almost forgot to beat.

"But lets not go too fast here. I really like you Sablee, really…" Jen's words faltered, she wasn't sure how this was meant to go. In the past she would have invited him in, or followed him to his home.

"What's wrong?" Sablee stopped beside her. Real worry took him. Had he done something wrong, something that scared her?

"In the past I have made… mistakes, with guys… stallions. I like you too much to make a mistake here, so lets take things slow, so we can grow on each other." Her voice shook from strain, she really wanted to crouch down and promise him anything if he would stay beside her.

"Slow is good." Sablee smiled shyly back up to her. "I like you too, Genevieve."

Her resolve shattered as he used her full name. His acceptance of 'taking it slow' made it easier for her love to rush up and overwhelm her. Leaning in, her lips found his and the pair kissed. It wasn't a fast kiss, neither would give up the simple expression of love until the other was ready. Jenny closed her eyes and let her heart have it's head. But she demanded just one concession from her rampant emotions, not to get too physically involved too fast.

The kiss stretched on long past where Sablee would ever thought one could. It was just nice to stand there, with Jenny, letting the fine muscles of his lips express the feelings he had for her. At last, though, they both drew apart. "See you tomorrow?"

It was exactly what Jen wanted to hear from him. If he had asked to come in, she would have said yes. If he had asked her to come back with him, she would have likewise agreed. She cursed her heart as she smiled at the most handsome stallion she had ever seen. "Of course. Your place?"

Sablee beamed and nodded and got another kiss on his nose before he watched the mare walk into the little flat. His legs almost gave out with how good he felt.

85 - Numbers

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Penny wove the spell just how she had been trained, the pattern playing easily over her horn. It felt a little odd for her, not to have her magic leak, but spellcasting seemed to be the one time when her horn did what it was supposed to.

"Good, very good." Gingersnap clopped her hooves together, seeing the apple turn into an orange.

"I will be the bane of zebra everywhere." Penny couldn't stop a giggle, lifting the orange up and inspecting it. "Not a bit of apple left outside…" Her magic peeled back the fruit, exposing the juicy segments inside. "Yes!"

"Yup, with the shakiness gone from that third symbol, you have it down perfect. Now, repetition, repetition, repetition!" Gingersnap had a box of apples beside her. "Oh, you will want to eat that, going to need your energy."

The fruit split in half and one part offered itself to the teacher while Penny started breaking off segments for herself. A new target sat on the pedestal and Penny was winding through the patterns when she noticed Gingersnap's eyes go wide. Halting her spell immediately, gulping down her mouthful, Penny turned. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing… uh, keep going…"

Penny shrugged and did, casting the spell again as she ate, her horn cycling through the patterns. She was leaking magic of course, but it was from her levitation, not the spellcasting.

"Okay, now you did it, I am going to tell you what surprised me." Gingersnap peeled the new orange for her. "Casting while distracted is hard, there is so much you have to do to focus magic and perform it just right, that doing other things leaves a lot of mages unable to act."

Penny kept eating, not really sure where the mare was going with this.

"You, were eating, levitating an object and still got the spell just as right as when performing it alone." Gingersnap looked impressed. "This is a good thing, but it is still no replacement for the three Rs of magic."

Penny sighed, taking some of the second orange from the orange unicorn. "Repetition, repetition, repetition!" The lunar unicorn started on the new apple, even as she finished off the oranges she already had.

"Really like history, don't you?" Giddilee read over Penny's report, liking what she read. "And you write excellently." The mare worked her way through the report, making a few notes on the pages and then giving a happy nod. "Right, I can now confirm that you know everything there is to know about near-history in and around Canterlot." There was an A at the top of the page. "Ready for your next catch-up class?"

"Oh, what next? Geography?" Penny almost bounced in place, she had always loved learning and school was learning in its purest form.

"Mathematics. I hope you have your thinking cap on." Giddilee levitated a page over with a whole mess of problems on it. "Let's see what you can do, just skip anything you are unsure of."

Penny had to reign-in her excitement. Numbers were something she really liked. Taking the page, she trotted to the table she had been working at, in a classroom devoid of others.

2 + 2 =

Snorting, the mare began.

2 x 4 =

It was simple stuff, but she could see the sense in it, for all they knew she was a barbarian monkey before she came.

21 / 7 =

25 ^ 2 =

2x + 5, x = 2

Penny grinned, at last things were getting interesting. Algebra.

3x^2 + 2x - 5, solve for x

She had this, she so had this. She started getting her head really into it and before she knew it she was getting up with her answers page.

"You are done?" Giddilee lifted her head, looking surprised as the mare was passing her the question sheet and a few sheets of answers. "Have much trouble?"

"The notation is a little different to what I am used to, also complex numbers still aren't my thing." Penny screwed her nose up a little at the thought of complex numbers. "But most of it I remembered."

"Full working out, very good." Giddilee marked down the page, surprised at just how neatly the mare had worked through the problems. "You were a trained mathematician?"

Penny shook her head. "If I were, I would have told you. I just really like numbers." She pointed with a hoof toward the last one. "And I loved having to work in base four, so different to the normal things we did."

"You mean you have done work in other base-values?" Giddilee looked surprised in a very good way. "Okay, we need to get you to see Professor Cups." Giggilee looked quite excited as she stood up. "You aren't in trouble, far from it. It would be great if half our students ended up with your aptitude for numbers."

Penny was quiet as she was led from the class down a few halls. "Are different base-numbers really that odd?"

"Going to be honest with you, I put that on there because I was instructed to make that as hard a test as I could. It is something the professor has been working on and just released his first notes to faculty about. By all rights, you shouldn't even know about it, but you solved the problem with minimal working out." Penny blushed so hard that the teacher noticed and stopped. "Out with it."

"I did it in my head, I only went back and did the working out because I knew you would want to see it…"

Giddilee tossed the papers in the air with her magic. "Impudent foal!" She leaned over and hugged Penny to show she didn't really mean it.

"Sorry, I guess?" Penny hugged back.

"You will be once he is done grilling you." Giddilee collected the pages she had tossed and knocked at a nearby office. "Butter, you in?"

A earth pony stallion poked his head out. Pink fur covering him, he had a bright white mane that made him look vaguely like some kind of candy Penny could almost remember. "Ah, Giddy, who do you have there?"

His voice was bright and welcoming, completely going against the normal stereotypes for a 'math nerd'.

"This is Penny Farthing, she is a newish student sent to us by the princesses." The bright yellow unicorn reached out with the test paper, showing the questions to the professor first. "I was asked to administer a test to find her level of knowledge on mathematics."

"You were told to be mean and make it impossible?" Butter Cups looked down the page, chuckling at a few of the problems. The first page of answers was offered. "Oh, very good, she certainly has had a good grounding somewhere." Penny looked between the two, keeping silent as the second of her three pages of answers was added. "Oh my, we have quite a clever mare."

"Professor, the last two questions are answered here." Giddilee sent the last page and Butter dropped the first ones. "Thought that would have you."

"You are playing a trick on your teacher, aren't you Giddy?" The stallion settled back in his chair, batting at the page with a hoof. "You are telling me you had a mare that not only understood the problem, but answered it this easily?"

"It is no trick, but she didn't answer it like that. Penny, twenty two times three. Base four." Giddilee had a big grin.

Penny blinked, working through the calculation. "Uh, one hundred and thirty two?"

"We need to talk, where did you learn about this?" Butter sounded more intrigued than upset and Penny got a sense of suppressed excitement from them.

Stick and Pretty Cart were writing down names. This was the first step, the changeling had been told. "What about Penny?" Pretty looked over to see the list size of her future daughter-in-law.

"Penny is from… well, I know everypony she knows here." Stick tapped her jaw, pondering more names.

"Your list is mostly princesses…" Pretty frowned at it.

"Right, they wouldn't want to miss our wedding, besides, you said invite our friends." Stick almost jumped and quickly wrote down 'Discord'.

"You can't invite him, he will… well, it just isn't done." Pretty was sure this was going to need a firm hoof to be brought down. "Who next, will you invite all the Elements of Harmony?"

"Oh, good idea, and Muffins too." Stick started to scrawl down more names. "Do you think they would all be able to make it… what's wrong?" The changeling blinked a few times. She knew the other mare had meant it as a joke, but it was still a good idea.

Pretty was about to say something she knew she would regret and took a deep breath. "Okay, let's look at it logically. You know them, not just of them?" Stick nodded. "Okay, new rule, you can only invite a pony if you have known them for more than a month."

"But that leaves out Genevieve." Stick didn't like this rule, it was clear. "I thought we were going to have the same amount of guests from each bride's family?" She pointed a hoof that still had some holes in it at Pretty's huge list.

"Dear, this is just the first pass, I don't actually want all these ponies there." Pretty grinned.

Then it hit Stick. This was The Game. She could play this. "Oh, that reminds me, we should offer Dreams and Shadow." Stick added more names from their adventure in the Crystal Empire.

"Who are they? They are odd pony names…" Pretty was glad Stick was adding more names now, it meant she could have more to balance.

"They are the two umbrum ponies that captured us in the Crystal Empire." Stick seemed happy about it all now, after all, everything had worked out alright in the end.

"They captured you? Physically?"

"Well, we gave ourselves up, I didn't want anypony hurting Penny or her foal." Stick sounded, even to Pretty, as quite adamant in this. It was admirable coming from the future mate of her daughter.

"All settled now, I take it?" Pretty started working on crossing off a few names, ponies only vaguely attached to her family.

"Oh yes. Penny made sure they were all well fed until they could look after themselves."

The change in tone, the pitch Stick used when she talked about Penny softened something inside Pretty. This was a mare, a changeling mare, who loved with all her heart. "You two have had quite the adventures together, makes a mother wonder how you two got involved with my little filly."

Stick brightened further and Pretty was glad to see the same lift to her when she was focused on Hay. "She insulted us. We were present during a meal at school and she was mean and unthinking." Pretty blushed. She knew her daughter had taken a habit or two from her, but to hear that the most regrettable personal viewpoint she ever had was imitated by her foal, it stung. "We made up quickly, she mostly said the things without thinking. She is quick to use her heart to solve a problem, I think that is partly what snared me."

Pretty beamed, hearing her daughter had faced the same demon she herself had, and won.

"One of the teachers had her help Penny and me in classes and we grew into close friends. I guess the first time I really felt something more for her was when I watched as she and Penny were playing a game, testing each others history knowledge. It was so cute and I realized, looking from one to the other, it was a blurry line that my heart had trouble finding." Stick was smiling, her eyes looking wistful. "Penny is a little funny. She was just as in-love with Hay as I was, but her head wasn't even acknowledging that your daughter was 'there'."

"You pushed?" Pretty was enamored with the story, it was hard not to enjoy hearing how your daughter had found love.

"Of course. Penny was a little resistant at first, but I think the first night, when Hay curled up on the bed and we just all snuggled, chastely, she broke. One thing I will say for her, when Penny finally works out she loves somepony, she goes head over hooves."

Pretty beamed at this, they really had found each other in a perfect way. "You need to add more, dear." She pointed to the page and both of them found the task of making a guest list a whole lot easier after the story.

86 - Boring stuff

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"Okay, one month. This is where I was a month ago, I can do this." Penny was trying to read through the list of preparations Stick had forwarded to her. It was a small pile of scrolls.

"Do what?" The voice right by Penny's ear, masculine and playful, had her almost jump off the bed.

"Discord, I hope you are having a more relaxing time than I am." Penny breathed easy, she could honestly use the distraction.

"Relaxation? Of course!" Suddenly they were both laying on massage tables, heads poking down through holes. Penny melted into the table as a pair of mismatched limbs pressed to her back and started going to work.

"If you stop this suddenly, I don't know how, but I will find and kill you. Thank you, Discord." The mare closed her eyes, relaxing as a paw and a talon seemed to find all the spots where her muscles had been tight.

On the other table, getting a massage from his own small Discord-clone, the real Discord smiled. "And here I thought ponies hated my visits. You humans are quite the challenge, is there anything that I could do that would shock and surprise you?" It was a rhetorical question, of course Discord knew he could do things to shock, but the trick was keeping in character.

"Hrmm, ice cream would be surprising, for shock I would have to say adding chocolate chips?"

"Nice try, Celestia used that one already, I had a whole buffet cart of deserts made before I realized she was only using me for my sweet nature." Discord glanced at the mare, hoping for the usual groan at a pun. He frowned, was she smiling?

"That was a good one. Would you say you desert-ed her after that?" Penny looked aside to meet the astonished face of chaos incarnate.

Stick opened the door to their room and came up short. A puff of steam flowed out of the room and the heat inside was intense. As a mist of thick white cloud parted the changeling saw Penny and Discord, reclining with tall glasses beside them. "What is going on in here?"

The steam, the fire pit, the smaller Discord about to tip a little pitcher of herb-water onto the hot rocks, it all disappeared. "I really should be going anyhow." Discord picked up his drink and downed the remainder. "Same time next week?"

Penny grinned, clearly liking the idea. "You better believe it."

Stick was flabbergasted, she had left Penny alone for one morning and she ended up making best friends with the Element of Chaos? Discord had the courtesy to use the door but disappeared just before it closed behind him. "What… what was that?" Stick demanded, lifting a hoof to gesture at the departed spirit.

"That was about the most fun I have had without you or Hay for quite a long time, I am including my life before I came here." Penny got up off the bench that seemed a new feature of the room. She sipped the dark-colored drink. "And I really needed it."

"Did you get to look at any of the notes I left?" Stick trotted over, finding a pile of somehow pristine scrolls, despite how moist the air had just been.

"Not a one, sorry." Penny made her way over and nuzzled in and nipped at Stick's neck playfully. "But now I have the writer to help catch me up."

Hay came into the room then, holding a little piece of wood with a rope attached to it. "Why was this on the door?"

She showed it to the pair. It had a picture of what was clearly, to a pony anyway, a stallion, with a red circle and line through it.

Penny giggled and took it. "I can take a guess at who put it there."

"And you are going to make this a weekly thing?" Stick flopped sideways onto the bed, scattering and crushing the scrolls.

"Well, he does give a great massage." Penny shrugged and finished the drink, a slight blush running to her cheeks.

"What was in that drink?" Hay took control and tilted the glass, tasting the last few drops. "Eww…"

"Carbonated cola." Penny giggled. "So what was in the scrolls that was important?" She leaned in and nibbled on Hay's neck now. "You know I was worried at first, with two mares to take care of, that I would play favorites. But I can't. Both of you are wonderful in your own ways... Hay, I love you." She brought her snout up to the other unicorn's and kissed her.

Hay smiled at the words and pressed into the kiss, closing her eyes and reaching for her changeling talent. She did just what Stick had described, they had practiced together.

Penny felt the half-changeling extend into her, finding the core, and Penny trembled as the gentlest of kisses was felt within.

Stick was watching. "You got it just right I would say. Look at her melt."

Neither of the two mares kissing needed to hear that, to know. The kiss drew on as long as was needed for them to each push all of their expression into it. Even as they drew apart, Hay didn't withdraw her talent from Penny. If anything, she increased it.

"Hay… if you keep… you know I… mmm." Penny swayed a little on her hooves and, as she felt the grip of one of her lovers settle around her, she gave in and flopped.

"I love you too, Penny." Hay looked down into the swooning mare's eyes, unsure how to continue with the embrace, but knowing that they really shouldn't, they both had other things to accomplish.

"She really will find any way to get out of this. Penny, come on, lets get through these things." Stick was unrolling the first scroll, the guest list.

"Mmm don't wanna." Penny leaned up and nuzzled along Hay's jaw. "Why doesn't Hay have to do it too?"

Hay lifted Penny a little more firmly and carried her over to the bed. "Because I have already done it, we are waiting for you, the whole wedding is." Hay kissed her on the nose and drew back her talents, leaving Penny flushed and clearly in the mood for things other than bookwork.

"Besides, you do want to marry us, right?" Stick, now with Penny between her and Hay, took her turn to kiss the lunar unicorn on the nose. Penny nodded, looking a little guilty. "Okay, then we need to do this."

"I swear, it is like marching into Russia in the winter." Penny sighed and flopped around onto her belly.

"What?" Hay sounded intrigued with the comment.

"Nothing, just… okay, lets do this. So what do I need to do with the guest list?" Penny brought the scroll closer.

"You need to make sure all the ponies you want are on it." Stick pointed at the section marked 'Penny Farthing Guests'. "And yes, I put Discord on, I can't really be angry at him, he sure put you in a good mood today and he did give us the dresses."

"Oh, don't forget Sharp Pike, he was the nice stallion in Cadance's guard that helped us." Penny brought a quill over and started adding names.

Stick was pleased her marefriend added more, truth be told Stick had left a few out on purpose, to try and get Penny more into it. "Okay, I will take that to Pretty. Next we have the dresses."

"But we have those, Discord-" Penny was sounding a little confused.

"No," Hay cut in, pointing at the scroll, "every mare and filly in the bridal party needs dresses, they all need to match." Penny looked completely lost here and admitted it.

"You two don't realize how little I actually know about fashion." Penny looked a little depressed. "Okay, I like dresses, you both have convinced me of it and I can now say it with a straight face, but color matching? Complementing colors? Nope, really not what I am good at."

"Well then, the wedding is off, I can't marry a mare with not a hint of fashion sense." Hay kissed Penny's neck as she said it. "So either you learn or we simply can't be friends anymore."

Penny pouted.

"You better start learning, because I am marrying her, and it would suck if we had a three-way marriage but you two weren't marrying. Awkward too." Stick booped Penny on the nose and grinned.

"Okay, you win, right, so start with me, what goes well with black?" Penny looked to her newest teacher.

"Okay, firstly, your fur isn't black." Hay lifted a hoof and ran it along the dark pelt of her mate, revealing the deep blues and grays within. "Second, nearly everything goes with black, but you aren't black."

"Huh… but that-" Penny tried to get some traction in the conversation but Hay's hoof came up and pressed to her snout.

"Now, with this in mind, you have some choices. You can use other lighter blue shades to bring out the darkness in it, or switch it right around and go with autumn colors and contrast it." Hay looked around the room and then, with a challenging expression, started a spell. Colored streamers shot into the air and she quickly grabbed a few. "Okay, see this here, you wouldn't want a whole dress with it, but if you had just a few little bits of it, on a nice light blue dress, it would really highlight how deep your coat and mane are."

Penny looked surprised, it was making sense, sort of. "Okay, so I am stormy and deep colors, so lighter ones and some brighter ones compliment. What about you?" Penny gestured at Hay.

"Well, most would call my fur white, but it is a little dusty in places, so more of a cream. My mane and tail are yellow. These are both light colors that blend well with a lot of things, not just oranges and lighter greens, but also dark colors, blues, violets. With my cream coat, nearly anything can work, but muted dark colors are best." Hay gave her lecture, using her spell a few more times, catching the colored streamers she wanted each time to use to show off what colors worked.

"Then we come to our adorable third. Stick's black is easiest of all, anything goes with it, anything. The green of her tail and mane are something else though, reds, orange, they fit nicely, as well as a cooler aqua." It got harder for her to find some of the more obscure shades in the burst of colors from the streamers but she found some to suit. "So, given all this, what color dresses are best for the wedding?"

"Is this a test?" Penny sounded suspicious.

Hay grinned. "Of course it is."

"White for the brides, it goes with anything. As for other dresses, matching them all together into a consistent color scheme, with ponies, is impossible. But you did seem to lean toward muted dark colors as being suitable for us, so maybe deep violets?" Penny was ticking things off on her hoof. It was a little strange with no fingers, but served the purpose of getting her brain to think of bullet points just fine.

"Good, but weddings are more a happy thing, so…"

"Light blues, maybe with some orange and a touch of violet trim?" Penny tried to work around what she had heard.

"Right, which is what mother has already suggested." Hay floated a scroll over, with illustrations of dresses on it. Penny sighed. "Don't sound down, you worked it out, now you get a prize."

"What is the prize?" Penny and Stick both said together, giggling at their chorus.

Hay fluttered her eyes at them. "You get to marry me."

Penny leaned in and nuzzled Hay. Stick had to half-climb over the lunar pony to add her snuggles.

"Best prize ever!" Penny exclaimed, ending her part in the conversation with a kiss.

87 - Treachery

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With her remedial classes out of the way, Penny was free to explore more advanced training. Although her days did get quite full with continued magic lessons, endurance work and now with a mathematics professor who practically mined her for what she knew of numbers.

"Electrics?" Hay looked at the book Penny was reading. "Out of all the amazing and wonderful things you could study, you choose simple electrics?"

Penny shook her head. "No, not simple electrics, but I need to make sure I am not missing anything that might be different. I know how electricity works, why it works. But if either of those things," she gestured to her phone and charger, "breaks, we lose out on all that music."

Hay nuzzled Penny's neck in a distracting way. "So you want to be able to fix them?"

"The charger, maybe, but if the phone itself breaks, the best we can do is try and pester other humans into selling us theirs." Penny closed her book and looked to Hay. "What has you in this mood?"

It was right then, right as Hay was replying to the mare, that she felt it.

"What's wrong?" Hay saw Penny's features change to shock, the lunar pony not even acknowledging her naughty offer.

"I felt… I felt a kick…" Penny sounded shocked still, but her features broke into the happiest smile Hay had ever seen on her. Hay turned to one side and brought a hoof down, feeling Penny's magic grip it and guide it to just the right spot. It took a moment. "Right… right there… THERE!"

Hay almost bounced in place, she had felt the little buck of the foal inside Penny. "I felt it too, oh Penny!" Wrapping her forelegs around the other unicorn, Hay squeezed her shoulder and neck in a tight hug.

Silence was the order of the day, Penny laying to one side, Hay resting a hoof gently on her swollen belly. They spent a lot of the time simply looking at each other, sometimes leaning in to share a kiss, but it was some time spent simply enjoying each others company and the miracle of reproduction.

A soft knock at the door broke their little tableau, however. "I got it." Hay kissed Penny again and trotted to the door. She waited for the pregnant mare to preserve her dignity and opened up.

"Ma'am, I am to deliver an invitation to a Penny Farthing, to visit Princess Luna at her first convenience." A night guard stood, looking proud right up until the moment he spotted Penny on the bed. His features broke into a smile, the stoic look that all of Luna's guards bore breaking as he saw that one of Luna's new children of the night was with foal. He gave a bob of his head and turned, trotting away.

Hay closed the door. "That is princess-speak for now." Hay reached with her magic, knowing Penny could see it, offering a rigid bar of it to help the mare pull herself out of bed.

"I don't need that much help yet…" Penny muttered, but she reached to the magic with her mouth and gripped tight, lifting her heavier-than-usual self from the soft bed. "I wonder what Luna wants?"

"Who knows, lets go." Hay floated a pair of light dresses over, the one for Penny having been altered a little to allow for her extra mass.

Penny watched as Hay slipped hers on, fastening it up around her belly and turning. Her mate knew she was being watched and had put on a show. "Nope, totally not in the mood for royalty now." She advanced on Hay only to have her own dress, in the other unicorn's grip, tugged over her. "Hay! Not fair!"

"No, what is not fair is leaving a princess waiting." Hay fastened the dress up for Penny, dressing her almost like a mother would their foal. "You always this… well, distractable?" Hay opened the door so they could leave.

"I… well…" Penny actually had to think about it. She gave her dress a little swish as she walked, liking how it felt to have it on. "No, not normal."

The admission got a kiss on her cheek. "It is cute. But lets not dive into getting you a second foal too quick, okay? I want to get to know you a lot more before I have to deal with a pregnant you again." The sentiment was shared by Penny.

"Oh, don't worry, this is not going to be a regular state, much as Stick and Luna would wish otherwise." Penny thought on the idea though, she really was a bit out of sorts when it came to focusing of late.

"Princess Luna? Why would she… oh…" Hay put things together. "Of course she wants plenty of lunar unicorn foals." She bopped herself on the forehead with a hoof.

"Not that I don't want more foals, just… yeah, I might wait a little while until I have my next." It was a comfortable decision, but something nagged at Penny. Then it hit her. "Wait, if you can change too, that means-"

"Any of us could have a foal and it would be ours." Hay finished the thought, giving a giggle. "Slow on the uptake with that one, I think Stick has been trying to get me to change into a stallion for the last week."

"She wants her own foal?" Penny sounded surprised. The changeling had seemed, a little, to be like Penny in regards to her thoughts on sex… at first. Then another revelation hit the mare. "She has been holding back, matching herself to my needs…" It was overwhelming and shocking, had Stick really been doing that?

"Huh?" Hay wasn't following the new thought. "What are you talking about? Stick?"

Penny nodded. "I… wasn't really into, fun times," Penny censored her words as they found themselves in the open street with other ponies, "I thought she was the same, but now I think she was just hiding it, keeping all her needs and wants suppressed. What would she have done if I hadn't opened up?"

Hay struggled to follow this. "Well, she might have confronted you eventually, I don't think she would have kept it hidden… forever…"

"Yes she would, she is a changeling, being something they aren't, sorry, you aren't, is almost second nature to them… you… oh darn." Penny wobbled a little with her stereotypes. "What if there is something she is still keeping hidden, should I ask?"

"Asking would be the last step. Making her feel like she can answer honestly is the first." Hay leaned over to Penny and pecked her cheek. "Perhaps we need to have dinner? Or even spend a night with her in the hive?"

This last one got a quick look from Penny. "In the hive? Is this for Stick or you?"

"Both, all three of us really. I want to get to know Princess Fast a little better, she is a princess after all and I don't know her as well as you do-" Hay was cut off by a chuckle from Penny.

"I don't really know her either, okay, lets sort something out." Penny had a touch of blush, she had heard rumors about the changeling princess, about her… feeding habits.

"Business?" A solar unicorn guard prompted them as they approached the castle.

"Here by invitation of Princess Luna." Penny smiled up at the imposingly big stallion. Her nervousness around male ponies had died right down, thankfully.

"Very well." The stallion stepped to the side just as the lunar pegasi from earlier, the night guard, poked his head out from inside.

"Ah, you came right away, perfect. Follow me." His voice had regained the hard edge it had first had. He turned and, expecting to be followed, started trotting away.

Hay and Penny caught up and dropped into the easy pace he set. "Where are we going?" Penny hadn't seen this part of the castle before.

"To meet Princess Luna, of course." His voice was calm again, clearly the hardness was for show. "She was very specific about where you would meet."

They rounded a corner and Luna was standing right in front of the entrance to the castle infirmary. "Welcome, Penny Farthing, Hay Cart. We are to believe you have not been for a checkup yet."

It wasn't a question and Penny knew it. "Check up?"

A nurse bustled past the princess, quickly working in that way nurses could, to herd the two mares into the medical area. "Come on now, it only takes a few minutes and we can make sure everything is progressing normally. This is your first I gather?" The nurse was chatty, it seemed.

"Yeah and… yeah." Penny was about to say more but kept her snout closed. Luna sent her a wink. This was a setup.

"Okie dokie then, lets get you up on here." A low hospital bed was indicated and Penny managed to get herself up on it easily. It jerked a moment and then lifted her up, bringing her to an easier to inspect height. "Are you family?" The nurse was giving Hay an appraising look.

"Yes." Penny was most adamant about it. "She is here to keep me company."

The nurse's look changed to acceptance and she gave a nod. "Could you pull that curtain closed, we need to take a look at some things that don't need to be public."

Luna, it seemed, was not to be included in this. "Um, excuse me, L… Princess Luna, would you like to feel my foal? They are kicking again."

Luna's expression changed to shock and delight, in equal measure. "We… I…" She stepped closer, looking at Penny's belly, as the nurse was unfastening the dress.

"Here, lift your hoof." Penny coaxed the princess, mute at the honor and surprise of what was happening. With the hoof raised, Penny gently gripped it with her magic, guiding it in and resting it right where she could feel her little one's activity.

The expression on Luna's face flashed quickly. Inquisitiveness gave way to shock, surprise, delight, and excitement. "I can feel them!" She had lost any hope of keeping her royal plural.

"Them?" The nurse raised an eyebrow.

"We don't know their gender yet." Penny explained. She watched as the nurse brought a little machine closer and held out what looked like a little microphone. "What is this?"

"It uses magic to let us see, roughly, what is happening inside of you." The nurse turned it on and pressed the device where Luna's hoof was still touching. The alicorn quickly pulled her hoof away, a slightly embarrassed look on her face.

There was a little click and Penny could sense an odd touch to her magical senses. The device spat out a little picture. It was comically perfect, it showed Penny's belly, distended, and mysterious organs in the background but, right in the front of the cut-away, a little foal was curled up, one back leg extended and kicking right as it was taken.

Penny couldn't stop herself, tears welled up and she was weeping, having trouble looking at the picture. That was her, and her foal… her little…

"Filly, by the looks of it." The nurse brightened, reaching over and tapping the machine, making it spit out extra copies, one for each present.

"An extra please, for the father." Hay prompted the nurse and got a second one.

"The next bits are not so nice, princess, if you would like to stay, and the mother has no objections…" The nurse looked to Penny, who was still rapt in her study of the picture.

"If she wants to, Luna can stay. Luna…" Penny looked away from the picture, up at the alicorn. "I need to ask you something important."

Luna's expression sobered from the unbridled enjoyment she was experiencing. There was something very different between knowing a mare is pregnant and feeling their foal kick. "What may we do for you, Penny Farthing?" She sank her speech into well-trod territory.

"On the world I came from, there is a tradition." Penny's snout curled into a wry expression. "Called god-parents, it is more a sign of trust and a promise. If anything happens, if neither Stick or Hay are able to look after my daughter, if I am gone… will you please ensure she has the chance to grow and learn, safe and happy?"

The dark alicorn's shock was plain again, Penny seemed to have learned a knack for disarming Luna in a way that the mare couldn't hide her emotions easily, or was it just the situation?

"Penny, this is a grave matter, but we sense it is one you have given much thought to. An alicorn's life is not one of leisure and ease, that raising a foal would be a simple task. We would be delighted to serve this role, but I fear I cannot promise it." Luna looked defeated. "I would have a suggestion on who would be a better fit."

Closing her eyes, Penny knew the answer, she would have to find her friend again. "Silver and Night."

Luna nodded, then realizing Penny wouldn't see it she added, "Yes."

88 - Petulance

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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.

89 - Smash and break

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Penny rapped gently at the door. She hoped this was the right place, she had followed the directions a guard had given her.

The door swung open, revealing a stallion that was greyish towards the front and brownish as one went back. His ears were pricked at the guest. "Hello?"

“Oh, uh, sorry, I think I have the wrong room. I was after Silver Lining?” Penny blinked a few times, she knew she was getting more distracted by things, but had she really messed up the simple directions?

He shook his head at the mare. "Oh, no, that's my fr--son!" He offered a hoof to the mare. "Rough Draft, nice to meet you. He just stepped out a moment to get a bite with his wife. Do you want to wait for him or pass a message?"

The mare lifted her hoof to return the gesture, her light blue dress ruffling a little. “Oh drat, I had wanted to catch them both actually, you don’t happen to know where they went?” The mare quickly blushed. “Oh, where are my manners. Penny Farthing… wait, son?”

The stallion touched hooves lightly. "Pleased to meetcha." An ear lifted. "He didn't mention? I'm his father."

"Adopted," came a feminine voice from within the room before Trixie poked her head out. "Oh, hello there. He's gone off to this predator's haven of an eatery. She seems to like it."

Penny perked up a little at the news. “Oh, wow, okay yeah, I was wondering, seeing as he was, well, not a pony.” It was a hard urge to fight, for Penny, but she managed to not say the mare’s name before she spoke it. “Thank you, I will try and track them down, I am pretty sure I know the one he will be at.” She gave a wave of a hoof to Trixie and turned, swishing fabric as she made to gallop off.

Any explanations died in their throats as the mare broke and ran before it could be spoken. Trixie shrugged softly as she looked at Rough. "We've done our part, now get back in here and remind me just how Great your partner is while we have some time to ourselves."

The door shut quietly.

Penny was aware she probably shouldn’t gallop in her condition, but she just felt like she needed to. It was a lovely day outside, the pegasi had made sure of it, and she was free of her obligations. She did start to slow as she spotted the place she was sure Silver would be at. Stepping inside, she tried to look around but couldn’t spot her friend. “Excuse me,” she found a waitress, “I was looking for my friend, Silver… oh, young stallion unicorn, about this tall, here with his marefriend, a lunar pegasus?”

The griffon looked over the exotic lunar pony. Who was she to judge? "He's right over there." She leveled a claw with a booth towards the back. "Hard to miss a couple like that."

The lunar unicorn smiled brightly to the griffon. “Thank you so much.” She trotted over to her friends’ table. “Don’t suppose there is room for another at this table?”

"So basically what I'm say--" He trailed off as a new pony arrived. "Penny, hello there."

Night perked her ears. "I called something coming up about then." She slid a bit to the left, making room. "Come on. Being on leave only works so far."

Silver shook his head quickly. "Penny's my friend. This isn't work."

The unicorn mare blushed as she fit herself down beside Night. “No, definitely not work, if it is a problem, I can always catch up later… although it is something I need to get done soon.” Penny looked down to her own side, the bulge there not easily visible past her dress.

Silver failed to spot the subtle glance, but Night's sharp eyes didn't, and earned her extra staring from the rotund mare.

He smiled, pushing over his own glass of water, untouched yet. "We were just about to order. Why does everything in Equestria seem to have timing down pat?"

“Magic?” Penny chuckled but stopped and sobered a little at Night’s stare. “Anyway, I had something important to ask you, both of you.” She looked from Silver to Night, settling on the mare as the more important of the two to convince. “I am, well, with foal. A filly as I found out yesterday.”

Night flashed a smile. Whatever she had been imagining was apparently worse than what she was told. "Who's the father?"

"Congratulations!" exclaimed Silver before any answer could be given. "I thought you were… kind of avoiding that sort of thing?"

“My cycle started and… I made a few decisions about how I want my life to be. They are good ones.” Penny couldn’t stop a smile, damn her emotions for swinging around so much of late. “Stick is the father, it doesn’t seem possible but I guess love finds a way, here.”

Silver perked an ear. "I don't know much about how… changelings work that way, but if you two are happy, fuck everything else."

"Language." Night reached across the table and gave the consenting Silver a swat on the head. "His sentiment's right. Congratulations to you both."

Penny beamed at the pair. “Thank you. But that is exactly what brings me to being here. I want to be a good mother, and a responsible one. But I am not perfect, none of us are. If something ever happens to me, and Stick… and Hay, I want to know if you two would protect her?” Her hoof reached down and rubbed her side.

Night's ears lifted, tufted edges dancing. Her mouth opened to speak, but no words came out.

Silver filled in the void easily. "Of course, though I'd hope that wouldn't ever be needed." He slid a menu towards Penny. "Have you been here before? They have every kind of meat Celestia allows here."

Penny reached her hooves, one to each of the two ponies. “Thank you I… where I came from, we called it being ‘god-parents’.” She smiled and looked between them. “It warms my heart to know she will be safe.”

Silver's ears pricked up. "Oh? Is that what it means? I thought it was something else entirely." He accepted the offered hoof and gently squeezed it between two of his own. "I think this worked out."

"Worked out?" Night seemed more stunned, looking between the two rapidly. "How do you mean?"

"I almost did something stupid and hurtful to Penny. I'm glad we veered away from that, but we still get to be family."

Penny blushed a little and nodded. “Those things are in the past now, when are you due?” She looks to Night. “If it isn’t too personal.” She hastily adds, taking up a menu and browsing through it.

Night let out a slow breath. "I was going to mention, over dinner…" She rolled her ears back. "But fate conspires, as it always does." She put a hoof to her chest. "Please, forgive me. I'm… a little wound up today. Ignore me if I get too crabby." She forced a smile. "No one likes a crab."

Silver thrust a hoof suddenly, poking her right in the chest. "It takes one to know one, and you're sitting on your feelings like a nervous bird. Please, we're friends here. If you're mad, be mad, it's alright."

“I like crab… in fact…” Penny poked at the menu. “I might just order some, haven’t had some shellfish for a long time.”

Silver clopped his forehooves. "Crab for everyone then, if that's alright with you?" His eyes were on Night.

She took a little breath before she nodded. "That sounds pretty good. I keep forgetting you've probably tried this all, just… not as a pony, either of you, I guess?"

“Not crab, but I have tried fish.” Penny put down the menu. “This is a bit of a treat actually, normally I have a hungry changeling to feed while I eat.” She feigned looking around, as if one would appear out of nowhere.

Silver tilted his head. "Where is Stick, speaking of which?"

Night waved at Silver. "Stop that. Now you're just taunting it."

“She is with Hay, they were visiting the hive today.” Penny giggled at Night’s apparent resignation that the universe will complicate things.

"Hay?" Silver waved at the same griffon waittress that Stick had approached. "Hey, full round of crab please."

"Anything to drink?"

"We'll stick to water." Silver smiled. "We have two expectant mares."

"Busy boy." She wandered off without giving him much chance to defend himself.

Penny lifted a hoof and bopped herself on the forehead. “Now there is a rumor we don’t need. But yes, Hay.” Penny’s expression changed, as if she had just bitten into the sweetest of pastries. “Hasn’t been long, I know, but we became good friends, all three of us.” There was some implication there.

Silver's attention zoomed in on Penny. "Oh no, you're following in my hoofsteps, and those are not good steps to go tracing."

“They aren’t?” Penny looked a little confused, her head turning to Night. “Why, what happened? You didn’t mention anything… well…” She blushed.

Night picked up her glass with a deft wing, taking a sip before she nodded. "This oaf's first visit to a city? He has not one but two mares he wants to get with, and maybe take his now-adoptive-father right along with them. Shame? He had none."

Penny laughed. “It’s not quite like that, Hay is very special to Stick and me, it feels so natural to be with her. My heart leads, I can’t help but follow it, particularly when Stick urged me to.”

Silver squirmed, his face darkened with shame. "At the time it felt natural for me." His eyes darted up to meet Penny's. "It was Lyra and Bon Bon."

“And you did it anyway, right? It felt good at the time?” Penny inhaled deeply, seeing where this had likely gone, or so she thought.

Silver shook his head. "Not if you're thinking that. We just talked a lot, then things happened… And behold, I became a pony, and got caretakers who would become my adoptive parents." He smiled. "It worked out in the end, because it led to Night." He gazed at her fondly, making her squirm.

“I am not you, Silver. Stick is not Night and Hay is not… okay, this isn’t working, but the point is, I have to try and have this work. It feels right and for us, it seems to be right.” Penny grinned. “Besides, you seem to be happy together, does following your heart seem like such a bad idea?”

Silver shook his head quickly. "Oh, crud, no. I wasn't trying to discourage you. I was just amazed at how you were following the same crazy path I started on." He lifted an ear. "I hope it leads to happiness."

“It already is. I also had this I needed to give you.” Penny reached to her dress and fiddled with it, producing a letter and passing it to Night. She smiled to the mare, “I hope you can both make it.”

Night glanced at Silver before she held up the letter with her hooves and tore it open with her wings. Her eyes scanned back and forth rapidly. "Oh, now you have to make a choice."

"A choice?" Silver lifted an ear.

Night rolled a hoof. "She's getting married on the same day as somepony else." She flashed her teeth. "You went and taunted it, and here's your punishment." With a flick, the latter landed before Silver.

Silver leaned forward to peer at it, then tapped his chin. "Are you sure you have the date right?"

Night looked as if she had been accused of murder. "When's the last time I got a date wrong?!"

“Please, there is no stress, whose wedding is around the same time? I know there will be one in Ponyville around then, but I made sure to pick the day before that.” Penny smiled.

Night stiffened. "The day before?"

Silver reached across the table. "It's an easy mistake to make. Nopony here's upset."

"What if I'm upset!?" She brought her hooves down in a clop before she caught herself and slowly lowered her hooves to her sides. "Sorry…"

Penny reached a hoof over to Night. “Hay, don’t get mad, it is fine to be upset. I mean, it isn’t like somepony would mess up their invitations or anything.”

Night trembled faintly. "That'd only happen if they put a fat, slow, stupid mare in charge of that…"

"Night." Silver crossed his forehooves. "I will not have anyone besmirching the most wonderful mare I know, even herself."

Penny paused, took a deep breath and looked expectant. She opened her mouth wide… then closed it. “Darn, I really hoped a song would start, those always cheer me up, maybe it would help you too, Night?”

Night looked baffled at the suggestion. Silver smiled at Penny. "Ponies don't notice when they're in song magic. Night." He focused on her, his silvery magic wrapping around her and gently lifting her from her seat. "You're hurting right now, and I'm going to take care of you."

“But they do react to it.” Penny conceded, smiling at the two and suddenly feeling like a third wheel. “Uh, maybe I should get mine to go…”

Silver held out a hoof. "You came for crab, we're having crab." His magic gently lowered Night beside himself. In his firm grip, she had begun to weep almost silently, and he gently nuzzled into her messy cheek. "We'll get through this, as friends and family." He glanced across as he licked away a tear. "One day you may fall apart too, and I won't run away."

Penny sat silent a moment, wondering just what roller-coaster she had signed up for. Thankfully, she was saved as their food was brought out. “Oh wow, that smells amazing.”

Silver bobbed his head. "They make everything here pretty well." Without Night to support, he used his clever magic to grab a fork and a set of pliers. With a loud snap, the meat of the crab was freed and he stuck the fork into it, just to bring it to his distraught wife. "Say ahhhh."

"I'm not a foal…"

"You're better than that, you're my everything."

Penny giggled at the sight. “Stick does the same thing to me, Night. I gave up and just let her have her way.” She shrugged and started on her own meal, getting a loud crack as she broke the shell with the most hefty eating tool ever.

Silver eyed the crab a moment, an idea brewing in his head.

Despite her state, Night spotted it quickly. "Whatever you're thinking, don't do it."

"Aww." Silver crossed his forehooves. "It'd be so cool."

"I can only imagine it'd make a huge mess and I don't even know what you were thinking."

“Would it be an awesome mess?” Penny nibbled some of the revealed meat from her crab. “Because if it is, it isn’t like we can’t clean it up.”

Silver clopped his hooves. "One of my shields makes anything that tries to pass through it be violently torn apart. If we erected a shield around the crab to keep it contained, then I gave it a brohoof…"

Penny stopped in her enthusiasm. “But then you would end up with crab meat and a whole lot of shell shredded through it, I don’t know as it would be edible then.”

Night prodded Silver. "Listen to your friend. Don't do that."

Silver's mind was still scheming. "If we isolated the meat… and just sent the shell flying everywhere, then we'd have lots of tasty crab without any shell in the way."

“If you are going to isolate the meat, couldn’t you just turn the shell into something else? Or even teleport it?” Penny’s magic wobbled a crab-leg in the air. “Then you could just make a neat pile of empty crab shells and piles of delicious meats.”

Silver's expression turned into a manic grin. "Teleport!" All eyes in the place turned towards him and he had the sense to blush and go quiet a moment before conversation resumed. "Of course, right, teleporting…"

“I can do apples to oranges, but I haven’t learned teleporting yet. Tough?” Penny mused, bringing the leg up to her snout and sucking the meat from inside it.

Silver nodded. "Not a trick I'd suggest doing without serious tutoring, unless you like the idea of transporter malfunctions."

Night suddenly threw herself at Silver, knocking him over sideways. Even as he opened his mouth to squawk, she found it with her own snout. His magic experiment, aborted with a kiss.

Penny nodded. “Yup, Stick tends to use that same trick on me when I try to do something silly. Works every time.” The lunar unicorn mare returned to trying to exfiltrate the delicious meat from the crab on her plate.

Night drew back from a quieted Silver. "Please."

Silver sat up, his ears back and an unsure expression on his face. "If it's that important, then alright." He leaned in and they nuzzled, peace had.

“So, will you be coming then?” Penny set down the last of her crab shell, not a sliver of meat remaining in it. “To the wedding I mean… my wedding.”

Night nodded to Penny. "Of course." She reached with a wing to claim some herself, seeming to be recovering from her episode. "We wouldn't miss it."

Silver bobbed in agreement even as his magic worked to extract a bit for himself. "I'll have to think up something appropriate for a gift. What do your herdmates like?"

“Herdmates?” Penny blinked at the expression. “I never really thought of it like that but… well Hay loves working with… oh, I know what they would both love. Dresses.” Penny grinned widely, considering this payback.

Night tilted her head. "Neither of us are seamstresses, or know their size. That's a tall order for us to fill."

Silver leaned against her as he nodded. "We'll try, sure… Nothing a little less… customized?"

“Well, Stick loves music, but I don’t think she has ever tried making some herself. Hay… I think that girl would go nuts if you could find her something to build, like some kind of model or such.” Penny’s idea of ultimate revenge on the pair was sunk.

Silver clopped his hooves excitedly. "Now that I can work with. As for you, oh yes, I know what to get you…"

Night raised a brow. "Is it something I will have to be upset about?"

Penny looked between the pair, her eyes suddenly dancing. “What about you two? Planning on a big day too?”

Silver sat up suddenly. "That reminds me. Night, didn't you say you were going to tell me something?"

"Oh!" She brushed at her eyes with her wings. "Yes! Yes… Samantha, the doctor. She said everything was ready to go. I mean… I could burst any moment."

“Burst? Oh, have your foal?” Penny clopped her hooves together at the good news.

Silver recoiled a bit. "That's fantastic news… and it's going to happen at Penny's wedding."

Night wrinkled her snout. "I'd put bits down on it."

Penny nodded too. “I will invite a doctor, don’t worry.”

Night raised a hoof. "If Samantha wasn't there when it happened, she would cry herself hysterical for a week at my estimation. Is it alright if I just invite her to the wedding?"

“She is your doctor? Of course it is okay.” Penny levitated her plate up to the griffon when they swung by to collect dishes.

Silver flashed a sudden smile. "Hopefully we're being too paranoid and we won't try to steal your limelight. You and your herd deserve to have your day to yourself."

“The day wouldn't have any ‘limelight’ if my friends weren’t there. But this is Equestria, and you can be sure that if something crazy can get crazier, it will. Is there a Murphy’s Law here?”

Night shook herself suddenly. "I am going to enjoy this crab." She proved her sincerity by attacking the poor defenseless animal, tearing into its succulent meats with artful prying with her deadly fangs.

Silver leaned away a little even as he laughed at the brutal attack. "Did I mention I love her? I'm pretty sure if it wasn't mutual, she would have killed me by now."

Even Penny was a little surprised by the vicious attack. “Well, if she was trying I doubt she would fail, I would really not want to be on the wrong side of you, Mrs Lining.” Penny tested the effect of her probe, having not missed the artful avoidance of the question earlier.

Silver leaned forward towards Penny. "Let's let her enjoy her dinner now that she's thinking about it instead of other things. I'll be there. We'll be there, so be sure about that, alright?" He smiled at his friend. "It's nice having a friend from back 'then' around."

“Yeah, I have kinda tried to put a lot of that ‘then’ behind me, there wasn’t a whole lot of good from back then, I am just glad most of it is here now.” Penny smiled and settled back a little. “Well, what will I do with myself, I got a whole day off. No school. No planning for the wedding. I don’t even have to feed my marefriends today.”

Silver hiked a brow. "You feed both of them?" Click. "Wait, are they both changelings?!"

“Well, Stick is. Hay… is complicated. To put it simply, her father was meant to be an undercover agent from Chrysalis’ hive to try and lure ponies, from Dodge. Love happened.” Penny shrugged, as if love was a cosmic force that couldn’t be challenged. “She only found out recently, Stick has been helping her explore that side of herself, Princess Fast too.”

Silver shook his head. "Humans. I swear we're a magnet for the loose pieces of Equestria, picking up the iron filings from between the cracks without fail."

“Maybe we are needed here, we surely didn’t cause this, but are we helping?” Penny turned philosophical too. “Is the Text, was that what you called it? Is it trying to help the world as a whole?”

Silver raised a brow. "I don't rightly know. It seems to enjoy happy endings, but loathe happy worlds, or at least happy 'stars'." He put a hoof to his chest. "Lucky me, I'm one of those, so I'm not allowed to just be happy."

“You aren’t happy?” Penny frowned, looking at her friend, then to Night. “You really could have fooled me.”

Silver grinned. "I've adapted, but I'm also on the watchout. Like we talked today. We're waiting for something to explode. Maybe it won't, but chances aren't good."

Penny giggled. “There is two things here that are going to explode, but only one of them soon.” She looked to Night.

Night coughed at the joke, aborting her feast as she sat up. "That was terrible." She licked over her lips. "Even if technically true."

“Hopeful too. If that is the big event you are sensing, then at least it is a wonderfully happy one.” Penny couldn’t help but grin wide, showing off a little fang as she did.

Night turned an ear. "You know what? Let's just go with that." She slid from her seat. "I choose to assume the arrival of our foals is an event significant enough to keep whatever it is happy. Thank you."

Penny followed suit, working herself up and out of her chair. Checking her dress, she makes sure it is sitting properly. “We should catch up more often, or even work on something. I must confess I haven’t been writing nearly what I used to.”

Silver tapped a chin. "You mentioned you were in school?" He hopped down with everyone else. "Trixie's been taking me for task for making up too much as I went along. She's no formal teacher, but she knows her way around magic, and it's helping I think. You could join?"

“Learn magic from The Great and Powerful Trixie? Are you kidding? That would be awesome.” Penny beamed. “Well, I best leave you two.” The lunar unicorn put down some bits on the counter where the griffon was waiting for them to pay.

Silver looked guilty when Penny rushed to pay, though how to phrase it escaped him. "Oh, if you call her that without being sarcastic, that will get you points with her right away."

Night waved a wing at Penny. "Good evening. We'll be seeing each other soon."

Penny looked around, then back to Night. “If you are expecting a big event, I would avoid ominous phrases.” She giggled and got her change from the waitress. “See you both around.”

90 - Dress to impress

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Pretty was delighted. Being so close to the planning of her daughter's wedding, she knew full well what any of the three mares had planned for most days, so she knew that Penny had indeed just dropped in, without a single obligation. "Come, sit down, how do you take your tea?"

Penny smiled, it meant a lot to her that Pretty be not just her mother-in-law, but her friend. "A little sugar and if you have it, a drop of honey." The lunar unicorn let herself be guided and found a comfortable chair in the Cart's sun room.

The ritual, shared on at least two worlds that Penny knew of, was under way. "So what brings my future daughter to visit?" Pretty looked relaxed but Penny could detect a hint of something more in the question.

"Two vitally important things." Penny lifted her tea and sipped it, the taste of the dark brew complimenting the warmth of the drink. "Firstly, I wanted to spend more time with you. I love her to bits, I want to be a part of her life for as long as she will have me, and I can see she is close to her mother." Pretty tilted her cup in acknowledgment. "So I want to, at the very least, be friends."

"Admirable. Not all ponies would think such a thing, let alone want it. What was the second reason?"

"I am, without a doubt, hopelessly inept with fashion." Penny let out a held breath. "Hay showed me enough for me to realize there is a lot more to understanding this than she can teach me in an hour and, as well, that fashion is important to her. And I am fairly sure I know where she gets that. So here I am, a humble student approaching a professor and begging to be taught."

To say Pretty was surprised would be an understatement. To hint the mare was a little proud would be sarcasm. But the main thing that Pretty felt right then, was delight. "Then tell me what you know, so I can learn what I must undo before I can train you."

Penny started relating what Hay had taught her of colors and also what she found she herself liked. The older mare nodded. "But what about when you were growing up, when you were just a filly?"

"I… oh I am marrying your daughter, I really should tell you regardless." Penny began on her tale, relating right from when she arrived in Canterlot.

"So you were a human? A human stallion?" Pretty interrupted her and got a nod from Penny. "This explains so much, okay so you will have little knowledge of why things look good, but have some feel. I see you are wearing a nice light blue sun dress, did my daughter pick this for you?"

Penny shook her head. "No, a friend made it for me, I asked her for some lighter dresses I could wear for less formal matters."

The older unicorn smiled widely. "Your friend has great taste and knows fashion, I must meet her but first, lets discuss why it looks good." Pretty got up and directed Penny to do likewise. "See how the fabric falls over your flank, the few folds almost impossible to see but allow much easier movement than a more formal dress. I bet you could gallop in this."

The words got a blush from Penny that told Pretty all she needed to know. "So you can, point proven. Now a good dress will conceal a mare in such a way that everypony can see her, but much more is left to their imagination than normal. It draws eyes because the pony clearly is keeping something hidden that must be worth looking at."

Penny nodded to this. "I will be honest, I love the way my marefriends look at me in them." She blushed hotly, realizing the implication to the dam of one of those mares.

"Just so. Now the color, as my daughter has explained, helps bring out the darker blues in your own fur. You seem quite focused on dresses, but have you explored jewelry?" Pretty's focus had been on the little stud Penny wore in her ear.

"I… a little. When I was a human I had-"

"You aren't human now, are you." Pretty cut to the core quite easily. "You have thrown yourself at being a pony, being a mare. Everything you weren't. So lets focus on now."

Penny blinked and nodded mutely.

"Good, so a nice necklace with some highlights for your mane to fall over, would enhance that lovely tone, as well…"

Penny nodded and nodded, her mind working to soak up the knowledge that Pretty was imparting. It was grueling and at times made little sense, but Hay's mother was patient and found her future daughter-in-law to be a veritable sponge for information.

Hay and Stick clopped into the house. "Mom? Dad? Anypony home?" Hay poked her nose into the usual rooms her mother was wont to be.

"In the sun room dear." Pretty's voice called and the two changeling mares could hear the slightest peal of two giggles.

"Thought we would drop by on our way… home?" Hay's words died in her throat. Penny and her mother were sitting there, both done up in full makeup, wearing the most amazing jewelry and each in voluminous dresses that would suit any high-society occasion.

Stick was the first to manage to get her voice in order. "What are you two-"

Pretty beamed. "I win, I knew my daughter would be lost for words the longest."

"Stick, you just cost me a whole day." Penny didn't sound too upset, she was still smiling and looking, at least to the two mares who just entered, amazing. "Well, more words? How do I look?"

The dress didn't hide her bulge like the other had, it was trim around her middle, but not tight. Hay and Stick were both lost for words again as their marefriend got up, turned this way and that.

"It was one of mine, from when I was with you, dear." Pretty smiled to her daughter. The white dress on Penny moved easily with her, it was a little out of style, but both Pretty and Penny were delighted at the way it stole Stick and Hay's faculties. "It seems Penny is almost exactly the shape I was back then."

"You look amazing…" Hay was overcome, but had gotten her voice back in order. She moved over to Penny and carefully reached around her mate's neck to hug her with her forelegs.

"Uh, you will forgive me for not hugging back… it isn't really possible in this…" Penny used her magic, instead, giving a snuggle to the half-changeling.

Not to be outdone, Stick moved up and pulled both into a tight hug. "Is this dress edible?" Her question was whispered. "Because I want to eat you out of it."

Penny suddenly blushed through the makeup.

"Okay, okay, give her some room. That getup isn't the most comfortable to wear, trust me I know, but she wanted you to see her in it." Pretty secured the pregnant mare some room.

"You spent your day off here?" Hay looked surprised, in a good way. "Has someone caught the fashion bug?" Everypony could see how tickled Hay was that Penny was exploring her interest.

As Pretty began to remove the jewelry, Penny nodded. "I wanted to learn more, so I came to the best teacher I could find in Canterlot, to teach me."

There was a pause in the removal of shiny metal. "In Canterlot?" Pretty poked Penny in the shoulder, one of the few places she could and not risk damage to dress or mare. "There is a limit on that comment that I am now quite intrigued at."

The words weren't cold, the pair had built up a warm friendship over the day, but clearly Pretty wanted an answer from Penny. "Sorry, but you remember the friend I said who made my sun dress?" Pretty nodded to Penny. "Well, she lives in Ponyville an-"

"Rarity?" Pretty looked not the least offended now. "Oh I am sure of it. Of course with that design and cut, I really must meet her."

"You know she just opened a boutique in Canterlot?" Stick poked her way into the conversation. "She needed a prime location for the shop and Fancy had just the place for her. He was too nice, gave her a discount and everything."

"If I know Rarity, she would have fought him tooth and hoof for any concessions she could think of." Penny giggled. Then it hit her, the season must be really underway now. What with Moon Dancer becoming friends with Twilight again, and now this.

"We simply must go, it would be delightful to see all the amazing one-of-a-kind things that talented mare creates." Pretty sounded quite worked up over the idea. Then Penny had a flashback to that episode, remembering how it soured.

"Maybe we should give her a little time to get settled, let all the silly ponies rush in and cause a ruckus." Penny worked valiantly to keep her motive hidden, but both Stick and Pretty looked at her with slight squints. They knew she knew more.

Stick just smiled, knowing she could pry the information from her mate in other ways, later, but Pretty had no such reservation. "I think my new daughter knows something and isn't sharing."

Penny slumped, she could never keep a secret from Stick and now that Pretty proved to be just as canny as her changeling mate she would have no hope. "Well-"

"I am sure it is nothing that needs to be explained, mother." Hay stepped in beside Penny and kissed her on the cheek. "Let Penny have a few secrets, but I think we really must visit, at least before the wedding."

Pretty gave the shortest hint of a glare and then tossed her head. "Of course dear, of course. Perhaps we could visit next week, Penny, for our next little lesson?" It was a trap. Penny knew it, Pretty knew it and the other two mares present certainly knew it.

"I would love to." Penny stepped into the trap with a smile, letting the velvet jaws latch on. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"What game are you playing with mother?" Hay's eyes were glued to Penny as the lunar mare slowly stripped off the sun dress.

"It isn't a game at all. I really enjoy her company and she is downright devious with her tips on fashion." Penny tilted slightly to one side, knowing Hay was following every move she made. "She expected me to try and squirm out of the next lesson-"

"Lesson?" Stick cut in. "What exactly is she teaching you?"

"Fashion, dress sense. I was a stallion, remember, I don't know a lot of things I really really need to know and…" Penny trailed off.

"What?" Stick was squirming on her back, kicking her legs in the air.

"I want to know, okay? There, I said it. I want to learn how to look good, how to dress nicely." Penny grumbled a moment until she felt the lips of Hay on her cheek. It shattered the embarrassment that caused her sudden downward mood.

Hay helped her remove the last of the dress, drawing it free and setting it in the washing basket to be dealt with. "Well I love that you are liking it, we will be able to talk fashion together."

"What about me? I can talk fashion!" Stick gestured with a hoof at the pair.

"Stick, you are about as fashion immune as Penny was. You are such a stallion sometimes I want to peek under your belly to make sure." Hay leaped at the bed, getting a surprised 'eep' from the changeling drone as she landed atop Stick, standing over her. "But that doesn't stop me loving you for it."

91 - Four letter words

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"How is the work for that baking guide coming?" Ink stepped over to where the human was sitting, a pile of papers on each side of her desk.

Jenny looked up at her boss. "Got them all inked up." She gestured to the trays hanging off the side of the desk with the pages in them. "Just letting the ink have some air before I pass them on."

Ink couldn't stop the smile that crept over his snout, she really was the best artist he had ever employed and she had been a walk-in. "You can take the rest of today off then, if you want, we needed those by tomorrow."

Jen cleared her work area and lifted the prints up and laid them out. "First, does anything need changing?"

The printer pony pulled out the descriptions, he knew them by heart but it still paid to look like he was seriously going over them. Her art was perfect however, flawless. "No, out of here now, before I change my mind and have you redo them all."

Genevieve laughed and grabbed her bag. "Tomorrow?"

"No, you did tomorrow's work today, take that stallion out and have a good time." Ink tried to swat at her with the pages in a playful way that told Jen that her boss was indeed quite happy with her work.

Then something occurred to her and she looked up where Ink had been pointing. "Sablee!" She trotted over, and as he tried to reply to her greeting, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

Sablee managed to rear up a little, lifting his forelegs to hug the human back. It was the closest he could come to match her style hugging and it seemed to work for both of them.

"Thought I would see if my mare was off work yet?" He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Ink just told me I could take the rest of the day off, and tomorrow." Jen let go of Sablee, letting him sink back to all fours, her hand taking up position in his mane, gently massaging his neck.

"Great news, oh, I heard the supply shop has some new inks in." Sablee had picked up on what his marefriend liked and made a point of getting to like it too.

"Oh, then lets go take a look, I really hoped I could get a nice red… hay, what do you mean 'your mare'?" Jen bopped him on the nose.

"You are, aren't you?" Sablee looked up at her and Jen's heart melted, any hope she had of being upset drained by his gaze. "Yup, you can't deny it."

That stung her pride even more but there was a happy fluttering in her chest that pushed the sting aside. "Damn you…" Her hand worked at his neck as they walked.

"Want to have some fun tonight?" His casual question, was so relaxed that Jen just knew he didn't mean the innuendo.

"Like what?" Jen kept the giggle out of her voice. Maybe if they had some 'fun' she would let him have some 'fun'.

Sablee beamed. "There is a new movie out."

"Oh no, what kind of movie would ponies watch?" Jenny was teasing him and Sablee knew it. "Let me guess, is it about friendship?"

"It's about a mare who grows up without a cutie mark." Sablee leads the way for the pair, directing Jen toward the art supply shop she wanted to visit. "I don't get what the deal is, some ponies really get worked up over it."

"Didn't go to a regular school?" Jen made the guess and got a shake of Sablee's head in reply.

"Mom taught me everything I needed to learn, we moved around a lot and regular schools just didn't fit me so good. Was just plain lucky that she knew somepony who knew somepony who could get me tested for Celestia's school." Sablee used his horn to open the door for Jen, the girl blushing a little at the very gentlemanly custom. Sablee liked seeing her blush. "Did I tell you about what we worked on, me and Hay that is?"

It was a minor struggle for Genevieve to not feel any jealousy for Hay. The mare wasn't just out of Sablee's reach, in regards to an intimate relationship, she was leagues out of it. "Some sort of sound thing, I think you mentioned." Jen was drawn immediately to the new inks in stock and rushed over to examine them.

"It's a whole speaker set and what Penny called a 'mix board'," Sablee trotted along with the human, explaining as he went, "anyway, we got it finished at last and then Vinyl came up with more we needed to add to it, apparently she heard a new music type and she just must have the machine needed to perform it."

The words snapped Jen from her focus on the inks. "Wait, Vinyl Scratch?" Sablee nodded. "Oh, that is awesome, what kind of music is it?"

"Uh, dump trot, or something." Sablee lifted a hoof to his chin, trying to recall. "Or dub trot?"

"Dubstep, I am assuming Penny had something to do with that?" Jen reached her free hand down and rubbed one of the stallion's ears.

Sablee's body almost trembled at the touch, leaning in to Jen's flank he half closed his eyes. "Yeah, she has a little box that has all sorts of music in it." Sablee could certainly get used to ear rubs.

"Oh, now does she? I wonder if she could get me a charge…" Jen thought to her poor discharged phone. "What time is the movie?" She waited for a reply and when one didn't come she stopped rubbing his ear. "Sablee? Hay there, you alright?"

With the rubbing stopped he could at least think again. Sablee tilted his head up and looked at Jenny, mouth curved into a silly-happy grin. "I love you."

The three words startled Jen. She drew her hand back from the stallion. Her head told her to run. Her heart told her to stay. She trembled with indecision. "I… I…"

Sablee wasn't sure what was wrong but right then, slowly shaking the effects of the relaxing ear rub, he repeated himself. "I do, I love you…"

"I love you too…" Jen's mouth betrayed her. Her heart sang, her brain almost seized up completely. Why did she say that?

"Thank you." Sablee started looking over the inks too, noticing that the shop-owner had left pieces of paper with that particular ink stained onto it, to show the dried color.

"'Thank you'?" Jen was confused now too, on top of embarrassment, shock, and a betraying sense of desire for the stallion.

"Thank you. I couldn't keep that in any longer. I needed to say it, to let it out. It is out now, and your reply makes me happier than I have ever been before." Sablee looked up at her.

"So what does this mean?" Jen reached out, hesitantly, sinking her fingers into his mane. Damn it, but it really did help her relax.

"It means we keep dating, we keep having fun with each other." Sablee looked up into the human's eyes. "It means we can stop dancing around the subject and just relax."

"Relax? Most men… stallions, when they finally use those three words, want a whole lot more than relaxation." Jen tried to distract herself with the inks, but her eyes kept drifting back to Sablee. Damn him for being so… nice. "I love you." She said it on her own this time, unprompted. "Okay, yeah, it feels okay."

"Good. I love you too." Sablee found one deeper red, levitating it and the paper swatch to Jen to inspect.

Penny was reading when the door to her room flew open. "Sablee?"

"Somepony took her and I don't know where they went and I…" The stallion looked, and sounded, distraught.

"Who took who?" Penny was up on her hooves quickly, her belly feeling weightless with the sudden adrenaline rush.

"Jenny! We were leaving the theater and something thumped me in the head. When I woke up Jenny was gone!" Sablee looked all to pieces and Penny climbed from her bed and walked over. "Okay, lets get the guard."

He looked suddenly shocked and then nodded. "Yes, I can't believe I didn't think to get them earlier. Please Penny, you have to help find her I…" Penny's hoof rubbed his withers. "I can't take the thought of somepony doing bad things to her!"

Penny focused on the anger and rage the incident inspired. It flooded her and crowded out the love within. The touch of her changeling mate, Stick, faded from her awareness and she knew the mare would get the hint that something was wrong. "Okay, so where did this happen?"

"The theater on the other side of Canterlot. Who would want to do such a thing?" The sound of hooves could be heard in the hall, at a full gallop.

"That is something we need to figure out, has anypony said anything or done anything that you think might be related to this? Maybe somepony upset with her?" Penny tried to think if Jen had mentioned any incidents or things. Then it hit her. "Jealousy."

"What?" Sablee was all over the place but what Penny said sounded important. "What do you mean 'jealousy'?"

"Just a guess but-"

"What's wrong?" Stick and Hay were in the hallway, both crowding behind Sablee. "Penny, are you okay?"

"I am but somepony foalnapped Genevieve." As she said it Penny thought more and more that she knew who it was. "The only pony I can think who would want to go after her isn't a pony at all. That human who was all over her, when we were getting Jen her job, can you remember where he worked?"

Stick blinked a few times at this, trying to remember. Thankfully Hay seemed to remember. "Yeah, some massage place, I bet it is close to where we met him."

"Come on then, we need to head over there and try and find somepony who might know where to find him." Penny looked at Sablee. "Come on, when we find her she is going to want to see you."

"Yeah… yeah!" Sablee's mood switched from despondent to inspired in a moment. "Will they be open?"

"Don't care." Stick reached with her green magic, urging Penny and Sablee into the hall. "If they are sleeping, we wake them up. Hay, I need you to do two things." Stick smiled at her marefriend grimly. "Can you go to the castle and find a guard, tell them everything. Then go to the hive and do the same."

"The hive?" Sablee looked a little bewildered.

"Stick knows what she is doing." Penny gave Sablee a little hug as they started to move. "Trust her, she saved a prince."

"A prince?" Sablee's mind was still a little shocked but the big talk from Penny was starting to sink in. "Which prince?"

"Shining Armor." Penny worked up through her paces, reaching a gallop beside her mate, pulling Sablee along with them between their magic. "She is unstoppable once she has a target."

Stick grinned and they moved quickly across the city, the night emptying the streets for the most part, the few ponies that did see the trio bolt past giving them little mind.

They reached the cinema first and Stick slowed to a stop. "Where did it happen?"

Sablee lifted a hoof and pointed to one side of the road. "Over there." He followed along with Penny, on Stick's hooves. "Right here, yeah. I woke up and have the worst headache since I tried to lift a five."

Stick's horn lit, a bright green glow lighting the area as the changeling built up illumination. She was looking intently at the ground and then pointed. "Jen's feet, she wore shoes right, ones that covered her feet?" Sablee nodded. "Good, okay there are two sets of those kinds of shoes here." She pointed with a hoof to the dirt.

"Then we are on the right track." Penny smiled to Sablee, who looked more worried than ever.

92 - Action

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While being rated as 'Teen' leaves me with a lot of leeway, I still must warn sensitive readers that there will be some bad language in this chapter. If you are sensitive to such you may want to avoid it

Jenny tested the bonds, the ropes were tight but thankfully not cutting off her circulation. She kept her eyes closed, the thump on her head had left her with a migraine. But she had seen enough to know it wasn't a pony kidnapping her. Trust her luck to come to Equestria and end up being grabbed by some stalker.

Slowly, with much squinting, she opened her eyes. Thankfully it was dark but she could see light coming in around the painted-up window. The coolness of the ground led her to think it was a basement of some kind. Feet were pacing.

"Get it together Bradly." The guys voice was too loud for Jen, but she had to focus and listen anyway. "Okay her friends are after her, I need to get out of the city."

It was good news for Genevieve. In a way. Her friends were trying to find her but what then?

"'s let me go…" Jen managed to slur a little, her brain still recovering from sleep, although adrenalin was doing a good job of waking her. "Untie me and just leave."

Brad turned and focused on the woman. "Then what is the point of it all? Damn it, I screwed it all up, screwed up everything because I couldn't stand to see you."

"What? The hell, just let me go dammit, this is fuckin' stupid. Call yourself a brony?" Jen spat the words out, anger was better than fear, anything was better than fear.

"A brony? Ha. I watched the show with my niece, that was all. I didn't even ask to come here, I wanted to go to the Bahamas." Brad took a step toward her. "Besides, what was wrong? I was trying to be nice, I just wanted a date, you didn't have to sic your changeling on me."

"I didn't need to 'sic' her on you. She is my friend, she stepped in when she saw you were making me uncomfortable. You are still doing that, just F Y I." Jen tested the ropes again, hiding the more vigorous attempts with her speech.

"And why would being asked for a date make you uncomfortable, you are a cute girl, you should get guys asking you all the time." Brad sounded like he had rehearsed this. "Even when you went to that chick-flick you took one of your pony friends."

"Pony friend?" Jenny laughed. "Fucking idiot, you were asking to take me out on a date while I was standing there with my…" Jen hesitated a moment, she hesitated not due to indecision, but with realization, "boyfriend."

Brad was silent a moment, then the kick came. Jen wasn't ready for it, she barely had a chance to tense her gut when his foot struck. "You think you can lie? God damn it! Why would you even think such bullshit would work? He is a pony…"

Jen curled up as much as the bonds would let her, she brought her legs up to protect her belly and ducked her head down against her knees.

"Wait a second…" Brad stopped his assault. "You mean you are a horse fucker?"

It was an accusation that, true as it might be, hurt Jen. "I love him…" She let the admission slip out and heard Brad choke in disgust and stomp away. Her ribs hurt where he had landed a few hits, her shins took the brunt of his assault better.

"Please, we have to find her…" Sablee was begging the guard who, to his credit, looked as upset with his powerlessness as Sablee was.

"We can't find him. We searched the place he was living and found nopony. We even searched his work. Do you have any idea where he might have taken her?" He had asked the question already and Sablee felt the uselessness of it.

"I just want my Genevieve back…" There were ponies flanking Sablee, magic holding him from slumping down. Penny was on one side and Hay the other.

They were standing at the site where the pair had been assaulted, a few night guard inspecting the scene, when a changeling trotted up, right to Stick. They stepped up to the other changeling and leaned in to whisper to them. "Thank you." She kissed the unknown changeling drone on the cheek and turned to the assembled. "We might have a place to check."

The guard glared at the changeling a moment. "Very well, but I hope your… friends, aren't doing anything compromising." It was as much warning as Stick would get from him but she didn't care if they did, there was somepony who could be hurt and she didn't like that.

Their hooves all moved, following the changeling. "We will find her, you think there is a single pony in this city that a changeling couldn't find?" Penny tried to encourage Sablee, but in doing so was buoying up her own spirits.

It wasn't all that far, as distance went in Canterlot. Stick led them to a warehouse that looked very much in use for regular purposes. "There is a caretaker's house behind this. A few hivemates work here, claimed there was a light in the old place early in the morning. We would have heard sooner but they didn't find out about the incident until they were off-shift."

A trio of changeling drones met them as they approached the industrial building. "Stick!" One called out to them, waving a hoof.

Penny and Hay's mate looked shocked and trotted forward to give the drone a hug. "We need to catch up some time, but right now can you lead us to where the light was?"

The drone she was hugging nodded. "It is around back. These all your 'friends'?"

Penny and Hay blushed, but then so did Sablee at the implication.

"Later, this is important." Stick tried to wheel the familiar pony back to the task. "Sablee's marefriend got foalnapped."

"Yeah, I heard. Didn't think anything of the light at the time, but when Stand In told us all about it, it seemed suspicious." They were walking while talking, bringing the group to the corner of the big warehouse, only a small gap between it and the city wall that it was beside. Behind it was a small house, looking a little run-down but otherwise serviceable. "That's the place."

Stick changed, green fire flowing over her and leaving her as Penny thought, in her 'fighting form'. It was really just the same snuggly changeling as normal, but her carapace was thicker, her fangs a little longer and she had spines protecting the more sensitive places on her body.

The three other changelings gasped. "What… where did you learn that?" Stick's friend was looking with wide eyes.

Stick started stepping toward the house. "Necessity. Hay, please keep back with Penny and keep her safe." The changeling looked at the guard, getting a wary look from the pony. "I don't want to hurt him, but if he turns nasty get behind me, okay?"

The guard was torn, it was his duty, sworn to the princesses themselves, to protect ponies and put himself between them and danger. But this changeling looked like 'danger' herself and more, looked like she had dealt with it before.

Stick continued. "Okay, we try talking first, or just stomp in?"

"If he… if he does mean her harm, we should go right in. He has already hurt somepony." The guard had to gulp a little, this kind of thing was not in the training manual, but it seemed logical to him.

Nodding and moving along the city wall, Stick worked her way around until it was unlikely anypony looking from the windows would see her. She galloped, charging at the building and halting dead at the wall. The guard, in his armor, was not so quick but was not far behind her.

Stick reached out with her talent, she felt one target inside that she couldn't get even a wisp of taste from. The second seemed to have some love within them, but it was being crowded out by other emotions. "Two inside." Stick whispered softly, getting a nod from the unicorn stallion. Slinking along the wall, lowering herself under the big windows, Stick made her way to the front door and reached to it with her magic. The handle turned slowly.

A creak sounded from the old hinges and Stick cursed whoever didn't live in this house anymore. "What… hello?" The voice inside sounded familiar, Stick knew it was Brad now. She had already pondered just drinking him senseless, but that would be beyond her without him feeling love. The changeling mare cursed silently that she didn't have the eye-trick that some changelings had.

"Hi there, heard something out here and figured somepony was using my old house, you want to come out and chat?" The guard looked blankly at Stick as the changeling had sounded just like him when she outright lied to whoever was inside.

Brad relaxed a fraction. Just some nosy pony, he could deal with this. "Sure hold on a second." He grabbed some bits, figuring he could just bribe his way out of this. "Okay I really like the place and…"

Stick was smiling up at Bradly. "Hi there, sorry to have to lie, but you did something really naughty and now you need to give up." She smiled, fangs quite prominent.

"Oh fuck this." Brad turned and tried to slam the door closed but it was like there was a wall there. He started to run for the back of the house.

"That is really not nice language…" Stick wrapped Brad in a ball of green force, the magic blocking not only the human's vision but anypony trying to see in. "Best thing about capturing a human, they don't have any-" Stick was proud of herself until the thunder-crack sounded. Her force ball gained a long crack in one side.

"What is that?" The guard looked shocked and formed a ball of protection around himself and the changeling. This did two things. It cut off Stick's magic and prevented the changeling from being able to charge the human.

The man was standing, holding both hands out in front of him with a little black device held white-knuckle tight in them. "Just get the hell back and don't do anymore magic!" From behind them, Stick heard Penny call out something.

It was obvious to the changeling that what he was holding was a weapon, there was a way a pony acted when they had something that could hurt somepony, and Brad was acting that way in spades. "Or what? You foalnapped my friend, you beat her special somepony up." Stick had moved herself in front of the guard, she hadn't consciously decided to do it, protecting just came naturally to the mare.

"I mean it! Come any closer and I will shoot!"

Stick looked at what the stallion was holding. It looked hard, metal. It looked like it was a serious piece of equipment and, if it was what put a crack in her shield, it was. "How many ponies will that let you stop?" She looked up at the half-crazed human. "You think you can get away with it? You think Princess Celestia will like the idea of you hurting her ponies?"

Brad's hands shook, it was hard to hold the heavy weapon up. He had five more rounds in the snub-nosed revolver. "Enough that I can get away from here. You can't stop me."

Stick didn't see the guard working magic, but she did see the gun tilt and lift to aim over her shoulder. She threw a sphere up around the stallion almost at the same time his spell was going off. The crack of thunder sounded and Stick started running forward. The guard's barrier had dropped while he cast a second spell, letting the changeling free.

Behind Stick, wrapped in green, the guard was staring at a crack that was right in front of his eyes.

The spell the guard had tried to cast fizzled with the tight shield around him, it had been a simple one most foals are taught early. He had simply tried to turn the thing into an orange.

Stick ran, watching as Brad's finger tensed again. She knew now what triggered the weapon and as she saw it closing down on the trigger she wrapped a force bubble around herself until she heard the thunder, then again and again. Stick was suddenly terrified, her shield was cracking and breaking and she had no idea how many times the weapon would be able to work. She counted the fifth time as she could see light outside her bubble and the sixth seemed to ricochet off her barrier.

Brad wasn't doing so well. The last round his gun held was sent speeding back after hitting the collapsing shield and his shoulder exploded in pain.

Seeing the weapon dropped, Stick bounded over and knocked it further away from the downed human. There was blood leaking from his shoulder. "Can you teleport?" Stick asked the guard who was approaching.

"No, but I can carry him. You sure he was the only threat here?" The guard was looking around and Stick had to admire him for thinking of their safety first.

"Yeah, him and Jen." Stick looked around and saw where Brad had been running for, there was a basement to the building. "I don't want to look at him anymore…" She gestured to the downed man.

"Understandable, what was that thing he had?" The guard picked the human up in a bubble, wincing at the cries from him.

"Human thing, don't know, but I will have it sent to the palace to be taken care of."

The guard wasn't sure why he trusted the changeling. A little voice inside corrected him, reminding him that she had likely saved his life with her bubble. "Thanks…" He would have given her a hug, but a spiky changeling was not worth the wounds to hug.

"Thank you too, you are a brave pony." Stick gave him a smile, a wave of flame banishing the defenses on her body. She stepped down into the basement. "Jen, you down here?"

Jenny heard a voice cut through the pain. She groaned a little, fearing it was Bradly coming back to finish the job he had started.

"Oh chitin, Jen!" Stick rushed to where she saw the injured woman, curled in a ball that looked for all the world like a wounded creature trying to protect itself. "Jen it's okay, we got Brad."

Genevieve's mind cleared enough that she recognized the voice and the message. "Stick?" She curved her lips into a smile. "How many times are you going to save me from that creep?"

93 - Recovery

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"Did he-" Penny was with Jen, trying to help the girl get cleaned up.

"No, I… I was unconscious a while though, I think…" Jen looked suddenly shocked, then down at her body.

"I hate to say it, but don't clean up yet." Penny sighed and reached a hoof up to Jenny. The mare was suddenly pulled into a tight hug and had a sobbing woman in her arms. It was beyond what the mare had any experience with, but she relied on one thing to pull them both through. She hugged back and held Jen.

The door behind them opened and the four hooves clopping on the floor meant that Jen didn't jump too much. "I am told you need a doctor to examine the uh, human?" It was not a pony either of them knew, which was part reassuring and part not. Somepony had been clear-headed enough to make sure it was a mare who saw Genevieve.

"Yeah, please, come in." Penny didn't leave Jen's arms. "Jen doesn't think he did anything but she was unconscious a while…" The words, the same Jenny had used, made the human tremble a little.

"Okay then, please, lay back and let me… check." The mare was clearly not liking this, it wasn't what she had signed on for. She was meant to help ponies, not give bad news.

Penny let go only so much as to help Jen lay back on the floor. She lay down at Jen's side. Penny felt every time the mare had to touch the woman, Jen would squeeze tighter but in the end they heard the best news. "There is no sign he… did anything. No bruising there. As for these other wounds…" The mare fished around in her little pack of supplies and drew out some pills. "These will help relax and get your body focused on healing."

"Thank you." Penny gave the doctor as much smile as she could muster under the circumstances. The mare left without any further discussion. "Can you get into the bath on your own?"

"I… I can." Jen felt relief. Bruises were the worst of her physical wounds, but she still felt… betrayed. She came to Equestria and felt safe, she had found a little love for herself and was working doing what she loved. Then another human did this. "Penny," the mare perked up, rising with Jen as the woman climbed slowly into the bath, "is it wrong that humans are here? I can't help but… but feel that this world will be tainted by us."

Penny stepped into the bath of warm water with Jen, relaxing a little as the water took some of the weight of her pregnancy from her muscles. "You really think it is that direction?"

The words startled Jen out of her fugue. "What do you mean?"

"Look at me, I was human, about as human as they come. I had little problems, and big ones. This world seeped into every part of me, it has crowded out not only the little things that I cropped up, but it has changed me in a way that I can't consider myself human-in-a-pony-body, I am a pony." Penny smiled at Jen.

"Well, for you…"

"Not just me. Look at what you have going on. You have an adorable stallion who would follow you anywhere. You have a job illustrating for pony books. You have friends and a whole life that could be lived without a single human intruding on it. But one did." Penny levitated a brush over, a soft one, and started working on cleaning her friend. Jen was still mostly clothed, the human things she had been over-wearing now torn and ruined in places. She began to remove them, most of her self-consciousness lost, particularly when just around 'ponies'.

"Yeah, he did." Jen thought on that. Was she becoming more and more pony, at least in her head?

"And think on him. You have been here what, a few weeks, you have a life, a love and friends. He had… barely found the same job he did back on Earth, likely living the same way he had. He brought humanity with him rather than setting it aside." Penny frowned a little at the bruises she found, working carefully around them. "Take one of those pills, pony medicine is… odd, but effective."

They sat in silence for a while, Penny working to clean up her friend. The ruined clothing made her frown though. "We need to get you some clothes." There was none of her embarrassment at seeing Jenny naked, the human had fitted firmly into 'friend' territory for Penny and, although she could admit the woman looked good, she wasn't going to think about a human like 'that'.

Genevieve nodded and looked around when a soft knock came from the bathroom door. Hay poked her head in. "Something wrong?" She looked to Penny.

"Just we need some clothes for Jen, anything warm will do, even just a few soft blankets." Penny looked to Jen and got a nod from her.

"Okay." Hay closed the door again.

"Thank you, Penny." Jen reached a hand out and rubbed at the mare's ears, without thinking about it too much.

Penny did blush at that, fingers were something she definitely saw an advantage in having and Jen's were quite good at finding the sensitive spots around ears. A little too good. But it was worth it, to put up with feeling a touch uncomfortable if it helped Jenny relax.

"These do?" Hay slipped in, closing the door behind her. She had a stack of assorted blankets floating beside her. She spotted Penny, struggling to not relax into the gentle rubbing at her ears and gave a giggle.

"What's funny?" Jenny sounded more confused than upset.

"Look at her." Hay raised a hoof and pointed at Penny.

Jen giggled too.

"What?" Penny blushed at the attention, and worse, the fingers working double-time now. "Ugh I swear, never tell anyone what gets you hot and bothered." She huffed a little, but this only got more teasing from those fingers.

"Enough, now you have worked the poor filly up and I just bet you won't be the one to calm her back down." Hay started to lift Jenny, with a visible… to the human, grip of magic.

Jen clung to the yellow-green force and let it lift her up. Hay held her there while a warm wave flowed down the human, making her shiver as it brushed not only the sore bruises, but other places. "Okay, that is the oddest way to dry off I have ever felt. Would Sablee know that trick?"

Penny giggled at this. "It is a basic spell, I highly suggest you invite him to a private bath and ask him to dry you… a lot."

Jenny blushed, liking that the talk was distracting her from the soreness and memory of what had happened. "What happened?"

The words fell on the two mares, neither had actually seen everything, but the little they had heard was not something to share yet. "Uh, lets let Stick explain it, she was right in the middle of it." Penny looked a little upset about something.

"Stick?" Jenny wrapped a thick, soft blanket around herself and shook a little in it. "This is nice, okay, where is she?"

"Just outside, last I saw." Hay pointed to the door with a hoof. "You ready to go out?"

Genevieve looked down, closed her eyes and ran through a physical checklist first. Sore bruises, check. Rope burns on her wrist and ankles, quadruple check. Headache from being kicked… check. Mental checklist. She was alive, yay and check. Her friends saved her and were safe, more yay and also check. Sablee wasn't hurt apart from a minor head injury, very yay. "Okay, yeah I think I am ready."

Hay opened the door and left first, leaving it open. Penny moved beside Genevieve, feeling a hand press down at her withers. Penny moved with Jen, the pair leaving the safety of the bathroom.

Sablee was the first thing Jen saw, and it broke her heart to see him looking so sad and worried. She almost dropped the blanket as she ran over to him and wrapped her arms around the stallion. No words were said, none were needed.

Celestia was standing in the guest room of the castle they had been settled in to get things under control. "This both worries and reassures me." The princess was looking at the human and pony embracing. "I am given witness to the less desirable traits of humanity, and their best, at the same time." A pure white wing reached out and pressed to Penny's side, providing stark contrast to the lunar unicorn and comfort at the same time.

Penny saw as another reached out to Stick, Celestia drawing them together, to Hay's sides. Stick looked spellbound, her eyes wide as she gazed up at Celestia.

"My ponies, you are such a mix of tribes that your wedding gives me more hope than ever that everypony can live together in peace and friendship. But we have a problem, Penny, I need you to come with me, to make sure Brad has no more tricks like that… pistol?" Celestia sounded a little unsure of the last word, saying it seemed to leave a distasteful feeling in her mouth.

Penny nodded. "I doubt he would have another, but you are right, better to be safe than sorry."

"Might it be a good idea to check all new arrivals for those kinds of things?" Hay's question was a serious one but Penny frowned a little.

"Some would see that as trying to take away their right to defend themselves." The lunar pony gave a deep sigh. "It would provoke some to using any such weapons more surely than actually attacking them."

"Your world is truly that violent?" Celestia drew her wings back slowly, but not before trailing the tips of one over Penny's belly. She wasn't wearing a dress today and the bump in her midsection was obvious. "If Silver Watch wasn't off duty, he would be asked to do this check for me, I dislike asking a pregnant mare to visit a prisoner." Celestia wasn't sure whether the thought of having to ask Penny was what put the unhappy curl to the corner of her mouth, or that she had a prisoner.

"Stick's shield could stop those bullets-" Penny looked to her mate, leaning over to nuzzle the brave changeling, but was cut off.

"My shield will be just as good, I hope?" Celestia had her smile back, it spoke well of Penny that the mare could so easily turn her mood for the better.

"Oh! Sorry, yes of course, I didn't mea-" Penny blushed hard, the brightness showing up through her dark fur.

"Boop." Celestia used a hoof to poke the mare on the nose. "Come on, lets handle that and leave these two to their reunion." She trailed a wing over Hay and Stick, marveling that one changeling had spent so long in her city without her notice and that another was acting so well in the defense of her ponies. Her decision to let the changeling hive grow in Canterlot was, she reflected, a very good one.

Penny was shocked a little, wondering if Princess Celestia really had booped her on the nose. "Oh, coming!" She followed after the princess.

"Did the princess really just boop Penny?" Hay turned to Stick, getting her own boop from the changeling and a giggle.

Penny looked at the human… at Bradly. She had a whole mess of questions, but something really shocked her. The first thing she felt was sadness, for him. "Really not a human anymore…"

"You?" Celestia looked down to Penny. "You just worked that out?"

The candid talk from the princess and co-ruler of the realm was reassuring to Penny. "No, I mean inside. I… if I was a human, when I was a human, I would have gotten angry at this, angry at Brad FOR Genevieve."

"And now? What do you feel as a pony?" A wing brushed Penny's back. Celestia was quite surprised in this little mare, she certainly proved that maybe allowing more humans to become ponies might not be so terrible.

"I feel sorry for him. He has done something wrong, he needs to learn why what he did was wrong so he won't do it again, but I guess some part of me wants to know if there is a reason he did it, not to punish him and rub his nose in it, but to help him get past it." Penny could see the shimmering shield that Princess Celestia had put around them, likely keeping their conversation from reaching Brad.

Celestia smiled and drew her wing back from Penny. "You were right." She stepped forward, the cell-door opening.

"Right about?" Penny quickly moved to follow, although Celestia's shield easily stretched to accommodate her.

"You are thinking like a pony."

94 - Rewards

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Penny watched as the guards stripped Brad. After finding him with a gun his dignity would have to suffer a little. He looked very small and sad, naked and alone. It was a fight to not want to go and give him a hug. It was another hit to Penny's formerly human self, one that she wasn't sure what to do about.

"He has nothing on him, please check his things." Celestia had to harden her heart. She watched as Penny levitated the human's things over and she let them into the bubble with them. She trusted the mare would know how to handle anything that could be dangerous.

Flicking open his wallet, Penny had to go through it, she knew things could be kept in such. And there was something. The unicorn pulled out the wafer-thin sheet of metal. "This can be dangerous, but isn't really on its own." She set that aside and kept going. There was cash in his wallet, credit cards, his license. She looked at the happy smiling face on the license and couldn't stop a pull at the corner of her lips, he would have gotten in trouble for smiling for that.

"That is everything." Penny had found a pocket knife on his belt too and set that with the credit-card sized 'survival kit'. It was a little sad to have to do this, to strip away some of the things that this man likely clutched to to keep him as he wanted to be, but she had to do it, he had given up his right to keep dangerous things when he proved he would mishandle them. "I don't want to be here anymore…"

Celestia reached a wing down and there was a burst of golden light. They were back outside the door to the room where Penny's friends and family were. "You are a credit to yourself and all ponies, Penny. This was not a fun task, but I thank you for performing it." Celestia reached a wing to brush a single tear from Penny's cheek. "Your wedding is soon, I hear there is going to be quite the celebration."

The change in topic helped to break Penny of the emotions that seeing Brad had brought on. She managed to smile. "Yeah, Pretty Cart is going all out, she is such a great mare." The tear was banished by Celestia's feathers, Penny had to wonder how many those wings had cleared from pony faces.

"It will be quite the busy time, there is a wedding in Ponyville just the day before." Celestia smiled, she really liked having her ponies find their special somepony.

"I wasn't invited to that one, but I did send the couple well-wishes." It was an odd time, Penny wasn't sure if it was an episode or not, she hadn't seen all of the season when she came to Canterlot.

"You ready?" Celestia's question had Penny puff herself up and nod. The princess opened the door and let Penny precede her inside.

Four pairs of eyes turned to the mare and Penny smiled and nodded. "That was less fun than I expected." The words were not meant to be a joke, nor even imply that she thought doing it would be fun.

Two forms rushed for her and Penny was flanked by her two loves. "Come on, lets go back home and have a good cry about this." Hay was planning out their day while Stick leaned in, pressing her cheek to Penny's.

"You two can stay here as long as you wish, please come and see me when you are leaving." Celestia was looking toward Jenny and it got a gulp and a nod from her. It was only a heartbeat or three, but suddenly she was all alone with Sablee.

"Okay, now they are out of earshot, what happened? I heard gunshots and feared the worst…" Jen was pressed against the stallion's chest, Sablee nearly sitting up straight with Jen snuggled in.

"She… Stick is not a normal pony. When she thought there might be danger, she changed herself, grew spikes and thicker bits, she told me to stay back…" It was clear that Sablee wasn't okay with that and Jen turned toward him, putting them belly-to-belly.

"And you did what she said because, apparently, she is amazing." The woman kissed the unicorn on the lips. "She kept you safe, she got me out of there. I need to do something to show her how much I appreciate her."

"Penny explained what the gun does. How it works." Sablee was looking a little pale. "Why do humans have such things?"

Jenny pressed in close, the stallion feeling the slight swell of her chest even through the blanket. "Human history is full of humans fighting each other for things. Guns are one of the more personal-level ways for humans to do that."

"'Personal'?" Sablee didn't like the sound of that. "Your people were busy with this fighting, then." Hearing all this didn't stop him hugging his mare close to him. "There was also a guard. You didn't see him because he took Brad away before Stick got you out. I think we might need to have a little celebration and invite him and Stick."

"A celebration?" Jenny raised an eyebrow and leaned up to kiss along Sablee's jawline.

"For me, to have you back and safe, is a reason to celebrate." Sablee tilted his head, caught her lips on his and the pair enjoyed the closeness.

Hay, Penny and Stick had Princess Celestia direct them to another room after they left Jenny and Sablee. "I understand what the knife is, but that other object, what is it?"

Penny saw the little piece of metal with the breakable tabs. "It is used by humans to help them survive if they are lost or away from safe places." She held it up in her horn and started breaking the little sharp pieces off. "This can be added to a long stick of wood, to make a small spear. These are all fish-hooks to catch fish." She continued to break little bits off the metal. "This is for removing scales from a fish…"

"Quite ingenious, but why would he have one?" Celestia tested each of the little items, finding them not only strong but sharp. Every single one could be used as a weapon in some way, but not nearly as much as what she laid on the table last. The revolver.

"That is something else entirely." Penny's nose screwed up with distaste. "Where I came from, such things were not allowed to be owned, but there is not much use for them apart from trying to kill somepony. Whether as an attack or in self defense."

"I assumed as much, is it still dangerous?" Celestia was keeping the weapon in the strongest magical field she could make, just in case.

"May I?" Penny looked to Celestia and, after a slight moment, got a nod. Penny was very careful in picking the pistol up. She found the safety on it and flicked it over to safe. She gave a sigh of relief when she rotated the chambers and found it empty. "These hold six bullets."

"He used it six times." Stick injected and got a nod from Penny.

"Honestly, I was too scared to count. Plus you need to be very careful, there are weapons similar to this that will hold a lot more." Penny fumbled with the gun and finally got the chambers to come out to the side, dumping the spent shells on the table. "Fresh bullets can be put in here. It is quite inert now, but just know that somepony coming over, from Earth, could have some."

Celestia smiled and wrapped the weapon in her magic again, taking it gently from Penny's relatively weak grip. Penny watched as the ball of force slowly squeezed down more and more, until she knew the gun couldn't be intact within it. "There, I take it that has left it useless?" Celestia offered the now mangled weapon back to Penny to inspect and the unicorn smiled and nodded. "Wonderful."

"Celestia." Penny looked up at the alicorn, taking in the serene expression. "I am sorry, Princess Celestia."

"You don't need to call me that if you are not comfortable with it." Celestia hit on the exact reason Penny didn't use the honorific as often as she should.

The knowledge didn't stop the mare from blushing. "Princess Celestia." She looked up the white alicorn with a determined look. "It's not that I don't want to help, I really do, but I am not the best pony to be doing this. I know… bits of information, but you might want to find a human who has a much more extensive knowledge of these things, to help you."

"There is something much more important than knowledge in this regard." Celestia reached a hoof up and pointed at Penny. "You are a pony I trust, who knows enough of these things to accomplish what is needed. Until ambassador Silver Watch has returned from leave I would ask you to be ready, in case more such… devices, are found."

Penny gave a sigh, but it was nice to be told by a princess that she trusts you. Then it hit Penny how she had mentioned only that she was a 'trusted pony'. It made her blush and remember their conversation earlier.

"We have some other matters to discuss. Stick, I heard you are to be taken on by Fancy Pants as an apprentice." Celestia was giving the changeling drone her full attention, and it had Stick blushing a little.

"I am, Princess…" Stick trailed off.

"Go on, ask it." Celestia verbally poked the changeling.

"How did you know? We were keeping it relatively secret. It won't be for a while, he plans to take me on 'after you have spent a year getting your family settled'." It was clear from how Stick said it that she really wanted to start immediately.

"So you will be busy, a shame…" Celestia started to turn her attention to Hay when Stick sat up straight.

"No-no! I want to keep busy, much as my lovely mares take up as much of my time as they can, I… I like the game." Stick sighed, the poor mare hadn't really had enough to do, even her mother had only found a few scraps of work for her.

"The game?" Celestia raised an eyebrow at this. "You talk of intrigue and business?" Stick nodded. "Perfect. I have need of an adviser. The way my ponies handle funds is changing, they speak of things I have trouble working my head around. So long as Hay and Penny are willing to give you up from time to time, I would be delighted if you could assist me in keeping abreast of matters."

Stick's eyes were wide and Penny reached over to poke her in the shoulder. Hay did likewise and the pair giggled at the shocked changeling. "I think she is trying to say 'yes'." Hay leaned in, her ear tilting to Stick's snout. "Yup, you broke her." The half changeling looked up at Celestia with a mock scowl, getting a laugh from the monarch.

"That is two of your family in my employ, it would probably be a good idea to find a place for you as well. You already attend my school, what more can I offer you, Hay Cart?" Celestia smiled at the mare.

Hay blushed and looked down. "Well, I always wanted to work with trains…" The confession got a giggle from Penny. "What? I love mechanical things!"

"No, I get that. But I just thought of you working on dirty, grubby trains all day and then going to visit your mother." Penny was almost breaking apart at the seams with laughter.

Even Celestia joined in when Hay herself started to titter and laugh, the little group apparently having needed to let off a little steam.

"Very well though, I will talk with them, I am sure they would welcome a talented designer and graduate. You will need to graduate first." Celestia was most firm in that, but got an enthusiastic nod from Hay. Sometimes it was really good to be princess.

95 - Decision - pt1

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"He's what? But he kidnapped me!" Jenny was not impressed with the news. "The hell is up with the justice here?"

"Well, it is a little light, but this is Equestria, not Earth." Penny was trying to placate the woman who was acting in a very unpony-like way. "I am sure Princess Celestia didn't want you to hug and make up, but at least you don't really have to work near him or anything."

"Still don't like it." Jen reached up to Penny's mane and the former human gave a resigned sigh and let the woman massage her scalp. "Oh, almost forgot, you are invited to a dinner tomorrow night, your whole family that is."

Penny looked up at Jenny. "Celebration?"

"Nah, a thank you. Invited the guard and his marefriend as well. Sablee's idea." Jen blushed a little when she realized she had started to massage Penny's mane like she did her stallion's. She didn't stop though, it was… relaxing.

"Well that sounds like fun. He was really brave, I don't think there are many ponies that would follow Stick into that kind of situation." The mare tilted her head a little without thinking, the fingers guiding up to an ear. "Okay, we should stop this." She gave a little huff and carefully lifted Jen's fingers clear with her magic, a blush in her cheeks.

"Too much?" Jen got a nod back from Penny. "Fair enough. I guess I should find Sablee, but I think he had a late class tonight. How is your little gear-head pony doing?"

It felt easy to relax with the woman, Penny had resolved most of her feelings… so long as she wasn't getting ear rubs. She wasn't attracted to Jen in any way but as a friend. "You heard about the offer from Princess Celestia?" Jen shook her head. "Well, my little mare was asked, flat out, what she would like to do with her days. It came out that she wants to work on trains and locomotives. She likes trains."

Genevieve couldn't hold back her giggle. "So, where does that lead?"

"The princess," it hit Penny as she said it, she was using Celestia's title a lot more now, "Now she has the promise, if she wants to take it, of a job at the railway when she graduates." It pleased Penny more than she would have thought to have this in place for her marefriend.

"Okay, that is awesome news but… I need to ask you some things." Jenny looked down at her hands. "These may get a little personal."

Penny leaned in against her friend. "I take it you are asking about either getting pregnant here, or horns versus hands?"

Jen blushed hotly. "I didn't even think of the first one… wait, can that happen? How would that happen? We are different species!" One of her contemplated hands pressed in at her belly as the woman thought of the times spent with Sablee.

"Well, I did a little research on it, as you could imagine it had me confused as all heck, Stick is technically part insect, it didn't seem possible that she would be fertile with me. You wouldn't believe the titles I had to look up, but in the end I gave up and found a doctor to ask. Reproduction," Penny giggled at the memory of how much she blushed in asking and how lewdly the doctor had replied, "is about one tenth biology and nine tenths magic, we are talking Cadance-magic, not Twilight-magic. Basically, if you love your stallion enough it really isn't going to matter that you are human."

Jenny blanched at this. "I am too young to… but we aren't even…"

Penny grabbed the woman in a hug, only to realize too late that her growing belly was another reminder of what could happen. "If it happens it happens. You have a job, he has a promising career ahead of him too, is it the commitment?"

"Kinda… yeah…" Jen just hugged her friend. "I haven't exactly had a good run of stable relationships, Sablee is the first stallion… guy… that I have really felt this way about. But I-"

There was a hoof stuffed in Genevieve's mouth and she couldn't say anything more. "A mare with a foal and no stallion is not such a big deal here. Life is celebrated a lot more than on Earth. Your job paying well?" Jen nodded, spitting the hoof out. "Well, would it be terrible to have a foal? A little life to gift the world to?"

Jenny's hand strayed down and pressed gently at Penny's side. On cue the filly within gave a tiny buck. "Wait, a foal? What would a half-breed even look like?"

"I think the word would be 'adorable'." Penny giggled. "So think on that, but what did you really want to ask about?"

"The horn thing. I am thinking of asking… well…" Jen blushed and looked down.

Penny lifted a hoof under the woman's jaw. "Don't be embarrassed, you are looking at a human-turned-pony after all. Some things will depend on how it goes. You can actually do a heck of a lot with just your mouth, and these aren't quite so bad." Penny held up a hoof, grabbing Jen's hand with it as an example. "Whether that would be enough to draw with-"

"Could you try?" Jen was pulling her backpack over, grabbing out her pen and paper.

"If you ever saw me draw ponies before, you would not be asking this. I can try to write, however, I wasn't terrible at that." Penny got a nod as the pad was settled before her. Lifting the pen, she moved it around in her magic a little, brought it to the top of the page and did a little practice.

Penny started to write. She knew her friend had a bit of a kink for ponies, and with a flowing script relearned recently thanks to her schooling, she started in on a steamy scene with Twilight and an unknown stallion.

"Okay you can… wait, what does she do?" Jen was blushing hotly but was almost compelled to read more. She was rewarded as Penny finished off just after Twilight did. "Okay, so you have pretty good control of that. What about with just a hoof?"

"You would want to talk to an earth pony about that, since I learned how to grab and lift with this thing I have been using it." Penny giggled and almost felt compelled to continue writing. "Been so long since I have written porn," she looked at the flustered woman, "glad I still have it."

Jen took the pen from her friend, vowing to herself to try and get somepony to make her another so she could gift it to the mare. "So I am fairly sure I could still draw, then."

"So you going to go for it?" Penny felt her little one kicking up a storm now, it was at the same time wonderful and uncomfortable.

"Would you, if you had the choice and weren't… well, if you were fine?" Jen's hand wandered again, but it lowered to Penny's boxing-bag of a belly, rather than her mane.

Penny hesitated. She really thought on it. "In a heartbeat. It wouldn't be a decision. I am a pony now, I even think like one."

Jenny wrapped the mare in a hug, she wasn't sure why but there were some tears on her cheek. "I just realized, I was thinking with 'everypony' myself, now." She gave a giggle that choked with her tears.

"You are scared?" Penny's question got a nod. "It is your choice, Jen, just remember that."

"I… I want to be a pony. I didn't even think before, how much I would want to fit in, but being 'one of the few' in this city…"

Penny didn't reply, she kept hugging.

It had been a fun morning. Jenny and Sablee had spent most of it abed, but at last the two were sated enough to realize they were hungry for other things. "Lunch?" Jenny asked, shifting her hips and getting a groan from her stallion.

"Lunch." Sablee leaned in and kissed her, Jen finding it easy to kiss back. "There is more, something I need to talk to you about, honestly." Jen's arms tightened around Sablee, making sure they wouldn't be parted quite yet.

"You have a captive audience, I wouldn't leave even if you let me." Sablee took his turn to adjust his back-end, watching as Jenny's features melted into a deeper smile. "So tell me, my tender mare, what do you have on your mind?"

"Would you still… no, the wrong way… okay." Jen fumbled with her words, she had rehearsed this, but their morning activities blew all her planning out of her mind. "I was talking with Penny, and I was thinking, about asking Celestia to change me into a pony."

Sablee tilted his head. "This was your idea, or somepony else's?"

"Mine. I have had a love for ponies for a long time, the one in my arms a little shorter, but I was thinking about that, too. I guess I wasn't really sure about… well about how some things worked here, and if I am going to end up with a foal anyway, I should probably raise them as a mare, not an odd human."

"That isn't a selfish reason." Sablee looked across into Jenny's eyes. "I want to hear a selfish reason, you should do this for you."

"I don't want to stand out, I don't want to be 'that human', I want to fit in and have ponies willing to just walk up and make friends, without them having to think 'how will the human react?'" Jen explored this, replaying some memories and giving a little nod. "I want this not only for you, for a foal. I want this for me."

"There. That is exactly what I wanted to hear." Sablee nipped at Genevieve's ear, shifting his body again. Neither were up to saying more for a while and lunch stretched into early afternoon.

"This is not a request we would normally take, for the average human." Princess Celestia had a plate of cheesecake out, she had shared with Genevieve and Penny. "This is a process that cannot be undone, you understand this?"

Jenny nodded. "I understand."

"You are an artist. I have read some of the books that contain your work. It would be a shame to lose such wonderful hands. Genevieve, you are one of the few humans I have seen integrate so well without becoming a pony themselves. Why now?" Celestia took a mouthful of cake, chewing it slowly and savoring the taste.

"The recent… event. I… I think I like how Penny reacted, better than how I reacted." Jenny looked down into her cake, deftly securing some on her fork. "But it is more than that. I have been… active, with Sablee." She blushed hotly. "I didn't realize there was a chance of pregnancy between humans and ponies. I thought… well, what I thought was wrong. If there is a chance I am going to have a foal, I would do so as a mare."

"Is that all?" Celestia gave the woman time to eat her own bit of cake.

"No, I want to… to be a pony. Your sister…" It had been an embarrassing day after the first time she actually saw Luna, as Luna, in her dream. Jenny had been in quite a compromising position, with Chrysalis of all ponies. "Your sister knows I dream more now as a pony than as a human."

"And what pony do you see yourself as? Your talent is your hands, your livelihood, I assume you would want to be a unicorn because of that?" Celestia was calm, which was a facade. It was both a delight and a worry that a creature would so give up it's nature to become a pony.

"A unicorn would be nice but, I have spoken to another artist, an earth pony. She handles a quill amazingly." Jen looked at her hands, she had thought they were so astoundingly unique here, but it turned out that even a hoof could perform most of the same tasks.

"Penny, what are your thoughts?" Penny blinked and looked to the princess.

"Princess Celestia," the unicorn smiled as she said it, it was much more natural to her now, "Jenny is well balanced, but she is slipping more and more into thinking and acting like a pony, like I did. But Celestia, she is doing it while still human."

The words did weigh heavily, Celestia thought it astounding that even without being a pony, this human was becoming one. "I have my answer."

96 - Decision - pt2

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"No." Celestia's word shocked Penny, she thought for sure the alicorn would agree but, as the lunar pony raised a hoof and opened her mouth Celestia cut her off. "Let me continue. No, for now. Genevieve, you are a wonderful pony, already. Your shape is never going to limit who you are. But let's not jump into this. You are to think about this for a year and a day, if you are still of this mind then I will make you anew."

Penny thought about it and could certainly see the logic in it, a year wasn't much time anyway, excluding cataclysmic events, but like those happened often…

The fairness of the decision, of the choice being out of her hands for now, reassured Genevieve. "I should have known, Celestia, the great and fair. Thank you." She smiled up at the alicorn and got a smile back. "But if I become pregnant in the meantime…"

"Then I will step in and you can have your choice early. I do not like the idea of a human having to birth a foal." Celestia looked a little uncomfortable at the thought. Her magic built as a brief flash of golden light revealed a simple necklace, a tiny, teardrop-shaped pearl its only decoration. "Take this, wear it always. When the gem shines, you are to come to me."

"This… this will tell me when I am pregnant?" Jenny took the offered necklace and put it on with shaking hands. The gem did not light up.

"It will, the pony that made this, sadly, never made any notes about the construction of it." Celestia gave a sigh at the idea that the knowledge of the creation of a useful thing was lost.

"I will take the best of care of it." Jenny looked down at it. A brief idea, a bad idea, floated through her head, what if she made a point of getting pregnant, what if she waited for her next cycle, when she would be most fertile, and spent all that time with Sablee? The idea was a horrible one and she crushed it. It was neither a befitting thought for pony or human, and certainly wouldn't befit a mother. "Oh, I guess we can test it though…"

Penny giggled when Jenny lifted the necklace off and put it around her own neck, it lit up with a pink glow. "A filly, as you already know." Celestia stepped up and brushed Penny's baby-bump with a wing. "You are growing with her, Penny Farthing, have you considered a name?"

The unicorn had not, and blinked in confusion. It got a laugh from both the other mares.

"Darling, this look… it won't do!" Rarity's store wasn't as packed as Penny remembered from the show, but it was a relief that Rarity herself was there and not slaving away making duplicate outfits for the social wannabes.

The unicorn's magic reached for the blanket wrapped around Jenny and pulled.

Bathhouses were one thing, a high-class store in Canterlot was a whole different place to be naked in. "I… err…" Jenny, however, was the only one making a fuss about her nakedness.

"Well, lets get you measured!" Rarity produced a tape and a pad and pencil.

"Just relax," Penny whispered to Jen, "nopony cares."

Genevieve did manage to relax enough to let Rarity take her measurements. Although the white unicorn had made a lot of clothes, human attire was not something she had produced, she certainly seemed to understand where key measurements needed to be taken.

"Walk for me dear, I need to see your body move." Rarity was studying Jen closely, which didn't help with the girl's near-panic. Jenny took a step, then another. "No, relax and walk."

"You try doing that naked…" Genevieve's words surprised Rarity and the unicorn looked at a loss for how to handle this.

"Nopony but those here can see you, I am the closest thing to a male of any species here and I am about as far from that as I could get." Penny reached a hoof up to rub the woman's shoulders, the act reminding her of what Jen did to relax. Giving an ever-suffering sigh, Penny used her magic to grasp Genevieve's hand and set it down in her mane, it immediately started to move. "Okay, I will walk beside you, you have to keep up, okay?"

Jen nodded and moved when Penny did, her steps unsure at first but her friend being with her helped.

"You need support, those will chafe, right?" Rarity gestured to Jen's chest, getting a blush and a nod. "I will come up with something, probably need magic in that. Dresses will be easiest to have you in, you don't mind wearing dresses? Most humans I see are in tighter clothing."

"Pants are… well, easier to wear, but dresses will be fine." Genevieve was gaining confidence. "Also some… panties… uh, tight little things to go around here. I don't have a tail to keep private things private."

Rarity blushed, realizing suddenly why the woman was so embarrassed. "Oh darling, I am so sorry, I get so carried away with fashion sometimes… lets get something quick made for you."

The fashionista was true to her word, the simple panties and long-shirt were just the things to help Jenny get covered and be able to relax. Rarity didn't look super pleased with the garments but her time not focusing on Jen had meant the woman had relaxed enough that Rarity got to see her move properly, notes had been taken. "There now, I think I have the things I need. You will be in town for a while, yes?"

"I live here… oh, I need to tell my boss…" Jenny looked startled and almost panicked until her hand was shoved into a soft mane again. She looked to Penny. "I know how much that bugs you, I appreciate the effort." Instead of rubbing her digits through the soft dark mane, Genevieve leaned down and hugged Penny tightly.

"For a friend? Worth it." Penny meant it, wrapping her forelegs tight around Jenny and squeezing. "What about a belt? Cinch the shirt in and it would look reasonably fine." Penny was only barely learning fashion. Rarity, was a master.

"No no no, that won't do at all, I will have something for you to wear for today at least." Though the white unicorn was talking to them, her magic was sewing and stitching, slicing some fabric with scissors and, in general, doing amazing things.

The moment Rarity was caught up in the hug her work stopped though and she hugged the two back. "Thank you, Rarity. You are the best." Jen beamed at the mare.

Pretty Cart heard the door and trotted along to answer it. "Coming!" She half sang the greeting, her mood was high. Her little filly was getting married to two lovely mares who, to her delight, turned out to be ponies worth counting as friends. She opened the door and her heart stopped. The white unicorn standing there, wearing the most wonderfully fashion-forward dress and hat, with purple mane and tail that looked positively gorgeous, was well known to her.

Rarity watched as the mare who answered the door began to faint clear away. "Oh dear!" Her time spent on adventures with Twilight had taught Rarity nothing if not how to react quickly. She caught the unicorn in her magic and lifted her into the house.

Pausing a moment, the seamstress took in the very tastefully decorated home. Things were perfectly placed, and more they were real quality items. Rarity deposited the mare, gently, on a beautiful fainting couch that she herself would adore to own. "I completely didn't think to bring smelling salts, oh it would have to be the one time I didn't…" As the unicorn was talking she spotted movement and beamed. "Are you alright darling? You seemed to have an attack of the vapors."

Pretty's eyes slowly opened. She must have been having a delusion, Rarity, the rising star fashion designer and Element of Harmony, surely wasn't at her front door. Her eyes spotted who was leaning over her and she started to feel her eyelashes flutter.

"Please relax, are you fine dear? Do you need a doctor?"

She had to fight the darkness welling up. With pure willpower Pretty managed to shift and gain her hooves. It was okay, she would be fine. No she wouldn't. Rarity was right here in her sitting room! "Excuse me, I don't normally do that."

"Water under the bridge, I find a good faint clears the mind wonderfully." Rarity was looking around the room but her eyes came back to the fainting couch. "This is simply stunning, where did you find this little thing?"

Pretty blushed. "My… my husband made it for me, for our tenth anniversary."

"Oh well that ruins that plan." Rarity wilted a touch. "I was all set to make an offer or try and track down another one, it would be crass of me to inquire now."

It was an urge, Pretty felt the desire to just offer it to the mare, but she couldn't. For one, it was something so very special to her she wouldn't give it to Princess Celestia herself if she asked for it. And for two she swore she could feel her husband's hooves in every line, every curve. "Thank you, I could never part with it." The idea did brew, however, to cajole her mate into making a second one.

"I don't suppose you have any tea? I spent all morning working on a fashion emergency." Rarity batted her eyelashes in a hopeful manner.

"Where are my manners? I am sorry, of course there will be some tea. Would you like to take it in the sun room?" Pretty was completely off balance, not only had she fainted and missed their proper introductions, but now it seemed she had forgotten all propriety and had failed to act the good host. "My name is Pretty, Pretty Cart."

"Rarity." They both raised dainty hooves and gave them the slightest of clops. "I had recognized you from your daughter, she is such a delight. It was a blow I couldn't be the one to make her dress for the wedding, but I understand they were already sourced." Rarity knew just who to blame that little thing on, she would have words with Discord, if she could ever get some time alone with him, not that she really wanted such.

Pretty led the way through to the sun room. It was more than just a title, it was a theme. Pretty had modeled the décor on one of Celestia's own sitting rooms, she hadn't been able to get quite the same furniture, but it was as close as a mare without a few thousand years of time on her hooves could get.

"This… this is fabulous." Rarity was stunned, her hoof lifted to run carefully over each and every surface, almost in reverence. "My dear, how… no, I cannot even express it, I am speechless."

It was impossible not to blush at the praise, although for being 'speechless', Pretty noted that Rarity said a lot. The tea set that glided in gently set down on the table. As the two mares sat down in comfortable and well-polished chairs, they heard the front door open and close.

"Pretty, you home, love?" The changeling drone that stepped into the room still wore his business attire; a fine vest and jacket. "Company?"

Rarity managed a moment of surprise at the familiarity of the changeling. He was acting like the mare's husband, but by all that she had seen, they would have been together for many years… over ten if the fainting couch was brand new… it wasn't.

"Dray, allow me the pleasure of introducing Rarity, she is visiting to…" Pretty stumbled in her introduction, realizing that that part of the conversation hadn't come up yet.

"Apologize, for myself and my friends. We simply can't make it to your daughter's wedding." Rarity was filled with curiosity, there was a story here and she wanted it.

Pretty's face fell at the words, so much so that the stallion moved up and gave her a hug, the kind of hug that a stallion gives to support his wife through a problem. "It will be okay dear, I am sure they can come up with at least a bridesmaid each." Dray comforted his wife and Rarity almost trembled with the need to ask what all this was.

"Is something wrong?" Pretty had noticed her guest seemed a little off-balance.

Rarity knew what was coming. She took a deep breath. "Please forgive me the horrible crassness of it, but I simply have to ask-"

Dray chuckled and cut the mare off. "It is a good story, there is a happy ending to it so I see no reason not to tell it, right dear?" Pretty nodded, more than happy to share their history. "It started with two very lonely ponies..."

97 - Hatching a plan

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Whoa there partner! This chapter has an extra naughty bit that you could find over here. Caution: Link contains lactation and snuggles.

Penny's thoughts were melting, her mind had struggled briefly to break free of the prison now imposed on it, but the master who had put her in this position would not let her recover. She let out a low whine. "Oh Hay, this massage is so good." It was almost hard to speak but she had to compliment her mate, she just had to.

"Glad you like it, had to get my clever mare something special and I remember you saying how your muscles were starting to feel sore. Did I pick good?" The half changeling knew full well just how out of it Penny was, she had grown fully accustomed to just leaving her 'mental mouth' resting within the unicorn. It was just so nice to know how the mare felt, particularly when she felt so much love.

Their bedroom door opened and closed, Penny barely noticed.

"Hay my lover." Stick could never resist using that pun now that she had noticed how common 'hay' was to say. "What are you doing to this poor mare?"

Hay leaned over to smooch the drone. "Oh, I am practicing a new form of mind control, you like?" Her horn was aglow, she was focusing on nearly every tense part of the pregnant mare at once, to Penny's delight.

Stick stepped around the little table and looked into Penny's eyes, seeing them closed with a happy smile on her snout. The changeling leaned in and kissed the pony she loved on the nose. "Penny, you in there?"

One eye opened half way, the smile grew wider as Stick watched. "Wassup?"

"The sun." Stick giggled and settled in to watch. "Although with how you are right now, my libido as well."

Hay found enough places that Penny's eye closed again and the half changeling actually felt some of the tension spots work out completely. "Stick, your libido is always up, among other things. How did your first meeting go?"

Stick was suddenly distracted from her mates as she reached back into her bags with her green magic. "Oh, I got a whole mess of homework. Each city might be looking after itself at the street level, but you wouldn't believe how much goes on at the top. Princess Celestia has me studying up Canterlot-Cloudsdale relations and information. All of it." The drone hefted out first a few big tomes, then a small pile of scrolls. "I need to sort through this and be familiar with it in two days."

Hay could easily tell the drone, though she tried to put up a front of being overwhelmed, was quite excited. "You going to tell Fancy you can't work for him?"

The drone, her wings buzzing every now and again with her interest in the things she was looking through, looked up at Hay. "Well, no. I want to see if this suits me. If it does, spending some time working for him would not hurt."

"Makes me wonder what your cutie mark would be." Hay worked another knot of tension loose and saw that Penny's mouth was ajar, a little drool leaking from it. The half-cast pony knew full well a massage alone wouldn't have set her marefriend into quite this state, the gentle scalp massage and brushing she was also giving, that was a whole other story.

The shift in topic got Stick's attention from her research for a moment. "It would be something awesome, like a dragon fighting a monster!"

"You are joking, right? Stick, you poke your nose into business like it is nopony's business, you brush shoulders with princesses and the most elite of entrepreneurs. I really don't think it would be a dragon fighting a monster." Hay shook her head.

"They could be fighting with words? Maybe the monster wants to build a mine in the dragon's domain and the dragon is agreeable but wants a percentage of the gems removed?" Stick had a hoof to her jaw and was staring up at the ceiling. She felt a boop on her nose and with only one pony in the room actively using telekinesis other than her, she knew her target. "Hay!"

Hay dodged the pillow that was sent her way. "Stick?" Her grin gave her away and it was returned by a matching grin from the other changeling. "You deserved it."

"I did." Stick sounded smug at the conclusion to their hostilities. "And what about you? How many credits you got to go before you can graduate?"

"I have three projects to complete, as well as one more block of remedial language to cover. Ugh, why do they even have that, it isn't like I am going to need to know why we have the words we do…" The unicorn put weight on 'why', her tone clearly indicating how much she disliked the class.

"Mmm words are fun." Penny had roused a little from her daze, joining the conversation.

"You would say anything is fun, though. I saw you now have an extended study class with professor Butter, how did you get out of needing to do maths?" Hay gave the mare's shoulder a poke in frustration.

"Mmm, solution for quadratics?" Penny tilted her head back to see Hay think for a moment. "B squared plus or minus-" A brush shoved into the pregnant mare's mouth.

"Fair enough. I forget you have technically been through this before. How many years were you at school, before?" Hay gave one of Penny's ears a rub, getting the mare to lean into the attention, but not before spitting out the brush.

"Hrmm? Well, from when I was a filly… boy, thirteen years there, then at college another four." Penny had slipped, the thought of her memories and language tainted by her new gender was more something amusing for her, however.

"Wait, you spent seventeen years at school?" Hay's horn blinked out in her shock and Penny was sure if she had wings they would have flared up. "How do… how is it humans even manage to get things done? Most of their lives are spent training!"

Penny pulled her limbs in and slowly got herself up and on her hooves. "Well, yeah, but that was helped by our medicine letting everypony live longer and longer. You know, I didn't even think to ask what the average age was for a pony…"

Hay was not to be distracted. "Makes sense now, okay I will give you this, you must really love school if you are willing to go back, after all that time learning, and learn more here." Hay leaned up to nuzzle Penny's cheek. "And while I would ask for your help with the language class, I know your sources of words is likely different to ours."

Penny nodded, only then realizing that Stick was completely lost, her nose stuck in a book. "We are such nerds." She stepped from the table onto their bed and moved up beside Stick, curling against her mate and the father of her filly. "We need a name."

Hay climbed up on the bed too and settled beside Penny. "No, she needs a name. We need to think."

"Hope…" Stick murmured the word, apparently following the conversation. Penny didn't begrudge the mare her study, turnabout was fair play.

"Everypony calls their foals 'hope', particularly in the Crystal Empire." Hay reminded them both of where the foal was conceived.

"She is a unicorn, so something relating to magic?" Penny tried to think of words that would work.

"Two words or one?" Hay rolled to her side, letting her bring a hoof to Penny's side and gently work circles over the now more pronounced bump.

"One would be easier, but more restrictive, and we also have to think of what she will be nicknamed." Penny's eyes closed again, this was almost as good for her mood as the massage had been.

"She will be part changeling, remember. Maybe something that reinforces her dual heritage?" Penny looked at Stick after the changeling said that.

Kissing Stick on the nose, Penny grinned. "You are very right there. But at the same time it shouldn't flaunt it too much.

"Ensorcell? Ensorcellee?" Hay said the words, clearly fishing for thoughts and more.

"That works, what would be a good nickname to use with her?" Penny felt a slight kick and her eyes widened. "I think…"

"We all felt that?" Stick looked across at Hay and got a nod.

"She likes it then, Ensorcellee… Sorlie?" Penny's lips curled into a big smile, her foal had chosen her own name and it sent a tingle of delight through her.

"I don't think I have ever heard of a foal choosing their own name." Hay kept rubbing, feeling little pokes against her hoof.

"You heard Silver call me Damaged?" Penny looked to her mates, getting a blank stare from Hay but a nod from Stick. "You could say I chose my own names. Back then, you would often choose the name to be known by in different places, I even was known more by my nickname among my friends than my real name."

"Our worlds are very different, but that is good, it would suck if everywhere was the same." Stick closed her book and leaned in, feeling the soft pokes and kicks from little Sorlie.

Twilight Sparkle looked at the letter.

Princess Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville

She recognized the writing style. It was most certainly from Fast. The loud music blasting in from outside jangled the alicorn's nerves enough that she opened the letter before she thought about it too much more.

Dear Princess Twilight, Twi.

Twilight giggled at the nickname.

I send you the warmest of greetings and invite you to my hive for a night of relaxed celebration. Please know that I think of you often, still. Princess Fast Change.

It was short and for some reason Twilight wanted to hug it to herself and just smell it. What would the event be? She checked the date on the little card included and realized it would be tonight!

Teleportation was out. It was a little too far and she didn't like going further than she could safely see. Stepping out to her balcony Twilight could hear the blaring music from the concert and groaned. She spread her wings and set about getting away from Ponyville.

With her time spent with Rainbow Dash, Twilight had grown confident enough with her wings that she could fly and think on other things. Things like Fast Change. Her blush lasted all the way to Canterlot.

She set down near the hive and looked around. Then surprise hit her. "Stick, Penny… Penny?" Twilight trotted over and looked at the pregnant mare. "You have grown." She felt dizzy-happy, her friends looked to be glowing with health.

"Thanks, Twilight. Oh, this is Hay!" Penny lifted a foreleg up over her half-changeling love. "This is Twil-"

"I know who Princess Twilight Sparkle is, Penny." Hay booped Penny on the nose. "Pleased to meet you, your highness." Hay executed a perfect bow.

Twilight blushed at the formality. "Please, just Twilight is fine. Here for Fast's little party?"

The three nodded but Stick replied. "Yup, the hatching is the talk of the city!"

"Hatching?" Twilight looked shocked and surprised.

"Yeah, mom laid some eggs and, thanks to how much food she has been getting, they are about to hatch!" Stick was practically bouncing and hadn't noticed the shock on Twilight's features. The alicorn looked ready to bolt but Penny stepped forward and put a leg over the mare's withers with some effort.

"What's wrong?" Penny was usually clueless to social cues, but Twilight was telegraphing her emotions enough that if Stick weren't so giddy she would almost have felt it.

"I thought… well, that we…" Twilight looked about to cry.

"Whoa, slow down." Stick finally got a fix on the situation. "You and Fast got pretty close, didn't you?"

Twilight nodded, but her brain was rushing through what-ifs. "I thought… well…"

"She is the queen of the hive, if she doesn't lay eggs, the hive won't reproduce, it would slowly shrink and die." Stick snuggled against the alicorn's other side. "Even if she took a pony mate, she would still need to do this."

The logic of it was sound, it made sense to Twilight. But it still hurt. "I should go…"

"Nope, not going to happen." Penny pulled on Twilight, trying to guide the alicorn toward the hive. "And don't try to teleport away, that would be rude."

Twilight blushed, she had to stop herself from building the energy to teleport. "You are right. I should talk to her. We are friends and friends don't just leave." The alicorn didn't notice, walking beside her friend, that Penny's back legs had the slightest of odd gaits.

98 - Joy and tragedy

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The guards at the hive were jovial that night, it was a time of celebration and every changeling, down to the lowliest drone, was in the best of moods. "Go right in!" If Penny didn't know any better she would say they were drunk, well, a little. Somepony was handing out love, she was sure, and these two had taken a big bite.

"Stick, tell me it's okay they are like this?" Penny looked across Twilight to the drone.

Shrugging, Stick just smiled. "You think they are actually guarding against-" She didn't get any further as Penny stepped right up to the drones and gave each a peck on the cheek. The two changeling's eyes went wide and they started giggling.

Hay laughed outright at the antics. She had felt Penny channel and knew the pair wouldn't have had a hope of resisting when the mare started radiating love. "Oh they are going to be so out of it for a while, lets take them inside."

Between Hay and Stick, the two giggling guards were lifted and floated along behind them.

"Why did you do that?" Twilight was looking at Penny with a touch of confusion.

"Everypony deserves to celebrate, plus they weren't really guarding, it was just the look of it, and being out there and half drunk on happiness is not really the image I think Fast wants." Penny's logic was sound to Twilight, but the manner of her execution still seemed a little strange. "Wait, you fed them, didn't you? Oh! I thought you did some kind of spell with your kiss…"

"As a mage, I am very new to things. But when there is a changeling nearby I have all the subtlety of a strong hard cider." Penny grinned and gestured with a hoof. "Lets go in and join the fun."

Twilight didn't feel like this would be fun at all. She didn't have a list, a guide book or anything to help her deal with the emotional mine that had hit her and, she knew, was waiting ahead.

It was easy enough to follow the sounds and, reaching a huge vaulted hall, the group of ponies found the party.

"Twilight! Stick, Penny, Hay… why are you carrying our door guards?" Slow greeted them and was looking puzzled at the pair of love-drunk drones.

"They were half out of it with love already, Penny zotted them so they wouldn't resist. Not like they were guarding much as they were." Stick set the pair down in the room and they were immediately greeted by a pony stallion who was wearing a curious uniform.

It took Penny a moment to realize the stallion was a 'hired snack'. It made her curious as to what would happen if she just opened up and channeled as hard as she could.

"I know that face. Penny Farthing, whatever it is, I want you to wait until we are in private…" Princess Fast Change had sneaked up beside the group though everypony wondered how with the size of her. Fast was now larger than any other pony in the room. Her green mane and tail were thick and she lacked a single hole.

Penny blushed at the admonishment, it was mainly because she was actually thinking of doing something naughty. "Aww, you don't want to see what happens when a whole hive full of changelings gets drunk on love at the same time?" She gestured to the two guards with a hoof.

"You wouldn't!" Twilight's wings fluttered a little in shock, she looked between Penny and Fast, wondering if the other princess might return the dare.

"She would, if she thought it wouldn't cause any trouble." Stick trotted over to Fast and pressed in tight against the almost queen-sized changeling. "How was it, mom?"

This did get Twilight's wings to flare and she looked ready to burst with a thousand questions.

"It was something I would have said I never wanted to do but, being bigger has made that… a little easier. It was uncomfortable, but I don't regret it. The hive is able to grow and it should, the ponies of Canterlot have so much love in them and they nearly all are perfectly happy sharing it." Fast's eyes kept darting to Twilight.

Stick gave the princess another squeeze. "Well, we might go mingle." She looked at Penny and Hay, then stared at Slow Perfection.

"Oh, yes!" Hay swung a leg over Penny's withers, pulling her out into the crowd and away from the royal mares.

Twilight and Fast weren't really alone, there was still a lot of changelings around, but nopony else was paying attention. "Eggs?" Twilight managed the question, a blush starting in her cheeks. "How… how does it work?"

Fast saw a flash of something, Twilight's insatiable need for knowledge eating away at her anxiety. The changeling princess herself felt a little odd. Her recent times with Slow had been, well, there was a theme that the queen was stuck on. "It was odd, they tried to explain it to me but they didn't really know it themselves. They knew how Chrysalis was doing it… I don't want to do what she did."

A scroll and quill appeared and the pair made for a comfortable set of couches nearby.

Penny stole a glance over her shoulder, seeing Fast and Twilight settle together to chat. "So they are an item?"

"Yes and no and it's complicated." Stick brought up the other flank of Penny.

"You wouldn't believe how complicated, things are… well, Fast is infatuated, I think. I am trying to help distract her, but so far she is keeping us as strictly 'for eggs' purposes." Slow Perfection sounded a little upset at this.

"Is Twilight stringing her along? What is happening?" Penny sounded a little indignant. She reached a hoof out to try and give Slow a hug but was rebuffed. She also noticed that Slow was bigger than they were the last time they had met. Something more was going on and Penny felt out of her depth.

The lunar mare got a hug from Hay, feeling the half changeling cuddle her. She completely missed the upset stare leveled at Slow by Hay.

"Okay, what is it Slow." Stick clopped a hoof down. "You know more than us in this and I want it all."

Slow drew up to their full height. "This is none of your business, drone-"

The breeder had a brief moment when he had to stop, the hoof of Stick's had moved so fast he had barely seen it until he felt the sting in his cheek. "None of my business? You don't have the right to tell me that. She is queen of this hive well before you are her breeder, remember that. If you want to be more, to have that power, then tell her damn you."

Revelry had died down, the changelings around the kerfuffle having turned and focused on the arguing pair.

"What is going on?" Fast stepped in, the change in mood having gotten her attention. Finding two changelings closest to her a hair's breadth from a full fight was not helping her mood. "Stick, did you hit Slow?"

"Yes, my queen, and if he doesn't speak plainly in your hive I will strike him again." Stick's formal tone, using the more changeling-like title for Fast, shocked not only Fast Change but also a lot of other changelings. "What is the matter, Slow, won't even say it before your queen?"

Slow didn't look furious, the former drone didn't have that kind of emotion in him. But he did look angry. "Okay, since you bring this out. I love my queen, I want to be her breeder in all ways and not just to serve the hive." Slow felt like a passenger, along for the ride as his emotions carried him away and led the attack with his voice. "I want to be at her side, I want her to smile when she sees me, I want… I want to be her mate!"

Everypony was silent, they could hear the panting breath of the breeder after his frenzied announcement.

Stick smiled, her eyes were going back and forth between Fast and Slow. "Well? My queen, your breeder has made his desires known. Is he just a tool to improve the hive, a great duty in itself, or does Slow mean more to you?" The changeling drone's words were both trap and key. She was sick of seeing these two dance around this.

"I… I… didn't know…" Fast looked a little shocked, her blinking face showing surprise and a mix of other emotions that were indiscernible on their own. "Slow…" Memories came back to Fast, of how much the breeder had been at her side lately, of how willing he was in bed, to please her. Her heart broke. She saw a stallion ready to devote everything to her, and yet she still had feelings for a mare who couldn't decide if she was ready for love.

Slow Perfection lowered his head. "I understand, my queen, I will await when you next need to swell the hive." He lifted a hoof and started to turn, only to be grabbed in a tight embrace by a mare larger than he.

"You don't understand." Fast hugged the stallion tightly, clinging to him with a fierceness that she realized stems from how good it feels when he is close. "You are more than a breeder. More than just another changeling."

There was a pause as they were looking at each other, two changelings, two ponies.

"Say it." Stick whispered it under her breath, but Penny heard and nipped the drone on the shoulder.

"Fast, I love you." Slow closed his eyes, unable to see the reaction, he expected her to let him go, she always seemed, at least where love was concerned… so fast, so mercurial.

"I...I love you too."

The cheer drowned out anything more that might be said, changelings cheering for the love of their queen and her breeder. They milled around, congratulating the pair who could see, hear or feel nothing except for the other.

Penny hugged Stick closer. "You and that voice of yours are going to get in trouble one day… but don't stop." Hay joined them with a giggle.

There was one, however, who slipped from the party. Twilight wasn't sure she was truly in love with Fast, or if she had ever been, but she suddenly felt hurt. She bolted for the exit only for a pegasus mare to block her way. "Forgive me, Princess." The pony was wearing the uniform of the 'hired snacks'.

Twilight stopped and blinked, she didn't want to stop. She began to work the spell of teleportation, a big one, one that would pull her all the way home.

The mare looked about to say something else but there was a pop of purple smoke and Twilight was gone.

The party seemed to kick up a gear and the two, their love professed, were now the focus rather than the impending hatching of the eggs. "Penny!" Fast reached a leg out and managed to snatch up the unicorn in question from the embrace of her fiances. "Penny, it is required that, when the eggs hatch, a meal is ready for the new drones, to be the first of a long life. Would you do my hive the honor?" There was a twinkle in Fast's eyes.

Penny managed a partial bow to the princess of changelings. "Of course I would, it would be a delight."

Fast noticed as Penny reached back to her own flank. The gesture reminded the changeling of something. "There was another matter. Penny, changeling-friend, your filly will be at least half-blood changeling. Know that she will have a place at my hive, a place of honor and respect."

The lunar mare blushed hotly but took another bow, accepting the gift. She opened her mouth to reply with something equally flowery but a cry started. "They're hatching!"

Fast drove a wedge through the crowd, the changelings parting for her, Slow and Penny's family. Reaching the pile of eggs, Fast suddenly had no idea what she was meant to do. "Uh, Penny?"

The unicorn moved up and settled down on her belly just before the eggs. Each glowed softly with a green light. Something tickled in Penny's throat and she almost ruined everything by giggling as the first verse of a song started. Her voice was lighter than she had ever known it. Penny closed her eyes as she sang of love, of family and friends. The verse ended as one of the leathery eggs tore open and a small grub-like thing squirmed free. With the forelegs and head of a pony, it looked unfinished. Penny continued to sing as the little changeling larva crawled toward her. Her horn lit as she sang and her magic spilled out.

Penny had never had this much control of her power, nor this much raw energy. She let it spill down and the little larva crawled right up to her and snuggled against her body. She sang down to the little changeling, her voice welcoming it to the world, a world that would be better than any before it had known.

Fast joined her, laying down beside the smaller mare and lifting her voice for the third verse. It was a duet, a promise from changeling to pony, and vice versa, dedicating themselves to friendship and making Equestria better for the newborns.

Penny was surrounded by snuggling larvae by then, the eggs spilled all the newborn changelings and the whole hive sang the final chorus, letting it slowly fade as the grubs settled and slept.

Penny couldn't stop the tears, there was so much love within her, so much peace and perfection in the world just then that she leaned sideways against Fast Change and settled in to sleep.

99 - Love and Teaching

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"One week, oh my it is only one week…" Penny was pacing.

"The wedding? Why are you stressing over that now? Everything is planned, all set in stone." Stick looked up from where she had been studying on the bed. "All we could possibly do at this point is call it off and Penny?" Stick waited for the unicorn to look at her. "That is not happening."

It was exactly what Penny needed to hear. She walked over to the bed and lay down on it with a little wince while her belly settled. "It's all Night's fault, she infected me with a feeling of dread!" Leaning into Stick, Penny lay her head on the other mare's exposed belly. She wasn't quite sure why the drone liked to lay on her back but it made for great opportunities to snuggle.

Stick set her scroll down, letting her magic release it. She watched Penny, feeling waves of love from the mare. "How was your day?" Stick lowered one of her front legs down and rubbed Penny's cheek with it.

"Well…" Penny had her eyes closed, her jaw moving against Stick's carapace as she talked.

Penny walked into the classroom. She looked down at her notes and nodded. There were almost a dozen ponies, most just into adulthood, already inside and a few more followed her in. "I am taking over Professor Butter's class today, he is giving a lecture at a conference in Manehatten."

There were a few groans. While this certainly wasn't remedial mathematics, it also wasn't the most advanced either. "When will he be back… wait, aren't you a student?" A mare on one side made it sound almost like an accusation.

"I am, my name is Penny Farthing and although the professor has a whole mess of things he would like me to go over, I don't think we need to." Penny almost struggled with the pile of pages, all proper mathematics notes, but fake as a changeling's mane. She lifted them up and dumped them in a rubbish basket by the desk at the front of the lecture hall. A little cheer ran through the ponies. "So, what do we want to do, oh, how about we look at numbers, nothing clever or fancy…"

The students watched as she scrawled down the classic Fiboneighcci set, starting with two ones. "We did that." One pony called from behind Penny.

"Oh? You know all about it? Great, so we can forget these then." Penny brought out some shells and a few bits of greenery. "Since you know everything about it, can you tell me what it has to do with these?"

The ponies looked blankly at the items that were presented.

"Then you haven't done Fiboneighcci!" Penny laughed and turned back to the board. "Lets start simple, anypony want to come down and help me?"

A unicorn mare trotted up onto the stage, apparently she was the only pony wanting to be involved in it. At Penny's look they brightened a little. "Swirly Sundae, miss."

"Swirly, an apt name for this. I want you to draw me a small square please." Penny watched as the mare drew an exacting square on the board. "Okay, wonderful, another below it." Another was added. "Now, using the sides of those, I want a square exactly twice as large."

Penny saw confusion in not only Swirly's look but in the ponies watching.

"Now using the top of that big square, and one of the smaller ones, a three by three square, then beside those a five by five square. Can anypony tell me the relevance of these numbers?" A few hooves raised, Penny pointed at one.

"Their dimensions are the Fiboneighcci set?" Penny clopped her hooves together at the answer.

"Indeed, now lets add something interesting." Penny took up some chalk in her magic and started the spiral. The position she had placed the shell was intentional, most of the ponies in the class could see that the spiral she was tracing was the exact one on the shell. "Now, can anypony tell me what this apparently useless set of numbers has any purpose doing being part of how sea creatures make their shells?"

There was silence, the ponies looking dumbfounded.

"Isn't nature interesting?" Penny beamed and saw she had gotten the attention of quite a few ponies. "Now, lets move on to this?" She levitated the fern frond over and made sure all the class could see it. "Swirly, dear, you can sit-" Penny stopped, seeing the mare had been scrawling functions on the board and, had built the connection between the number set and the golden ratio. "Ah, we will be getting there soon, this is all one of the most fundamental building blocks of design in all types of life."

The mare beamed and trotted back to the audience.

"Okay, so we have our Fiboneighcci spiral, but where could that be?" Penny started the spell she had looked up precisely for this class. The frond started to shrink, the age of the plant rolling back. The spell was mostly used by florists but it was perfect for this. As the fern curled up there was a lot more surprised gasps from the ponies. "I take it we have all seen this now?" There were a lot of heads nodding, quills working in notebooks.

"What if I told you that plants, every plant, relies on these numbers? What if I said they are a fundamental building block of not just everything in this world, but other worlds? These numbers are a constant that solidifies life." Penny lifted out the drawing she had gotten Jenny to make of a tree for her. Setting it up on the little magical projector, it was suddenly huge on the wall behind her. "Please, somepony, come down and count as the branches split in this tree?"

There were, of course, a few who already saw it. They were scribbling furiously. A stallion walked down and looked up at the board. "You work your way from the bottom and tell me, at each split in the branches, how many there are just after that split." Penny prepared some chalk, moving it to just above the second one in the set she had already written.

"One." Penny beamed and wrote one.

"Uh, two." She added a two.

"Three…" Realization dawned and he looked from the rest of the numbers to the picture. "This is a drawing though."

"It is a drawing, I had a friend who does such drawings for textbooks make it for me. The tree is one in the school gardens just outside." Penny gestured out with a hoof to where it was obvious the tree she had gotten the picture of, stood.

"So why do plants do it?" The stallion pointed to the number series. "What is so special about it?"

"Because it is perfect. It is not just an interesting number series on its own, but it is effective in these instances because it is efficient. This branch, which if any of the groundskeepers ask I didn't take from that tree," Penny waited for the laugh from the ponies, "Lets look at it from the top down." Tilting the branch she revealed the spiral pattern to the placement of the leaves.

It didn't take her prompting, there were hooves in the air and quills scribbling already.

"You taught them about maths and plants?" Stick sounded surprised. "What was so cool about it, I mean, those things, you picked them because they match the numbers right?"

"Nope, that is why it is cool, all plants do that." Penny tilted her head. "Nature finds patterns, it uses them over and over so much that it finds the good ones. This is a very good pattern."

"Nerd." Stick said the word that she knew anypony else would take as an insult.

"Changeling." Penny kissed Stick's hoof when it came near her mouth again. "Thank you."

"What'd I do… I mean, uh, no problems!" Stick rubbed that hoof around her mate's snout, getting the mare to lick it after a few insisting pokes.

"You broke my bad mood and got me to relax." Penny closed her eyes, licking the hoof more, squirming her tongue into one of the little holes and getting a laugh from Stick. "Oh, ticklish are we?"

Stick was afraid, really afraid. "N-n-no!" But it was too late, Penny had found a weakness and before the drone could do anything, she exploited it, moving her bulk up and over Stick, pinning the changeling down and grabbing one hoof. "Please!"

But Penny wasn't going to stop, not when her lover's pleading sounded for all the world like she wanted to be tickled. Penny licked again and got a snorting giggle from the mare under her.

By the time Hay came in the pair were tickling each other, laughter and happy abandon run away with the pair. "I thought you were both studying?" The solar unicorn set her saddle bag down on the ground by the door.

"She started it!" Stick pointed a hoof at Penny who looked the very picture of innocence, right up until she licked the hoof again and Stick squealed with laughter.

"Oh Penny! I heard about your class today." Hay made her way over to the bed and climbed up beside the two giggling mares. "I heard you blew a few minds and have inspired more than one final project."

Penny was laughing thanks to Stick using her own mouth to lick the back of her rear-leg's knee. "Wait, what?" She turned and looked to Hay but couldn't stop the laughter bubbling up. "Stick! Stop!"

"Promise me again." The threat was not a real one for Penny, after all she couldn't say the last time she had made the deal with her lover had been bad. "Promise it or I tickle you until the morning of our wedding!"

"I… okay I promise!" Penny flopped and fell to the soft bed as the drone ceased the tickling. "Now, what was that, Hay? Sorry…"

"Your talk on mathematics stirred up a few minds. No less than three ponies immediately filed the plans for their senior projects after it." Hay leaned in and licked Penny's knee in just the spot Stick had. "What did you talk about?"

Penny's laughter stopped her from being able to reply, but she did manage to groan out between peals of giggles. "I… Fiboneighcci numbers… golden ratio…"

Hay stopped and leaned up to kiss the pregnant unicorn. "And what was so special about them?"

"Well, for one…" Penny was panting and had to pause a moment, "they are the design around which most plants grow. But there are other examples in nature where creatures use it."

The half changeling looked surprised. "You can prove that?"

Penny leaned up and kissed her. "I don't need to, I know it. Now it is up to a whole class of clever ponies to prove it for me."

Twilight lay on her bed, she had pilfered a tub of ice-cream that she knew Rarity used for this same reason and was sitting there gulping it down. But oddly, she didn't cry. "Why didn't I agree to date more? Why didn't I see she would move on?"

"Because love is blind?" Twilight's eyes flew up and she saw Rarity herself in the doorway. "Mind if I join you? I brought more." The unicorn was already advancing, three more tubs of ice-cream following her in. "Tell me what happened?"

Twilight did. She started with the naughty little playdates with Fast, their growing friendship and the realization that it could lead to more than just friendship.

"She sounds like a nice mare, so what happened to make you want cream, fudge, and caramel?" Rarity scooped out a big spoon of the cold delight and popped it in her mouth.

"I… I wasn't ready." Twilight's wings dipped down, her whole body-language spelling out her emotional drain. "I asked her if we could be friends only for a bit, while I get more… get more experience with 'more than friends'."

"Good choice, from what I understand the newest princess has a bit of a reputation." Rarity reached down and scraped another helping of the treat out. "But that wouldn't have you in this condition, what happened next dear?"

"She… she found another pony." Twilight gulped down another big scoop of ice-cream. "Slow Perfection. Penny said it was just a union to breed more drones for the hive, but then…"

Rarity reached a hoof up to rub Twilight's back a little.

"But then, Slow got in an argument with Stick-" Twilight was explaining how she had seen the hatching event but Rarity cut in.

"That darling? Oh I was speaking to her mother-in-law just the other day…" Rarity slowed down her segue as she saw Twilight had more to continue with.

"They were arguing over how much power Slow has, since he was 'just a breeder', Stick got him to admit he loves Fast… it was really…" Twilight rolled her hoof, fishing for a word.

"Cute? Delightful? Adorable?" Rarity tried to help.

Twilight shook her head. "He sounded in love, really in love. Fast went to him and told him she loved him too it… I left."

"First, darling, have some more of this heavenly stuff. Then you need to think of what you want to do." Rarity was fairly straightforward.

"What do you mean?" Twilight was already fulfilling the first part of Rarity's plan.

"Would a herd interest you? Do you like Slow Perfection and Fast Change…" Rarity stopped for a little giggle at the names. "Do you like them both enough that you would want to make this work?"

The aspect that her friend revealed shocked Twilight, she hadn't thought for a second that that was even an option.

"I think I have given you some food for thought… but please, don't take my ice-cream again. Come and ask me and we can eat it together." Rarity beamed at her friend and Twilight couldn't stop herself from smiling back.

"Yes, Rarity."

100 - Slice of life

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"Are we ready? Is everypony here? Do I look alright? What if-" Penny was shaking like a leaf.

"Penny, calm down." Jenny reached and began to rub the mare's mane; it hadn't been done up yet so it wasn't going to mess up anything. The reaction was fast, the unicorn taking a few deep breaths and calming. "There you go, I swear, you have told those mares of yours how much you like this, right?"

The unicorn giggled. "I didn't need to, Stick saw how much it affected me and now I have trouble keeping her from melting my thoughts with her magic." She didn't struggle from the relaxing and slightly arousing, for her, massage. "When will Rarity be here?"

"She is just finishing with Hay. Then she will be here to get your dress on and ready. Aloe and Lotus will be here in a minute or two, they will be working on your coat, tail and hooves, they have a stallion with them who is working on your mane." Genevieve was crossing things off on her fingers. Penny turned to look when she felt the massage stop.

"What about the guests? Is everypony waiting?" Penny felt her jitters rise but the hand was quickly back.

"The guests will take care of themselves. You have to focus on being the prettiest unicorn mare you can be." Jenny leaned in and kissed her friend on the cheek. She had a moment to reflect on how different she felt now, as opposed to her almost introverted lifestyle before. She liked this a lot better.

"She won't need to focus much on that, not with expert help." Making a grand entrance, Penny didn't recognize Neat Cut, but she thought he looked a little familiar. "Here, let Neat Cut take everything in hoof."

Penny was guided to her belly and watched as the stallion removed bottles of products, a comb, and a neat pair of scissors.

"Let's start with your tail, I took a peek at your dress, so I think I have a style in mind. Lets work on neatness first, then move on to style." His comb worked through her tail and Penny almost instantly relaxed again. She hadn't realized how much she missed having her hair worked at with such a comb and careful work, but she really had.

"Penny? Penny you okay? Wow, guess tail is the same?" Jen was crouched before the table Penny was on, the relaxed mare barely getting her eyes half open to look at the human.

"Yeah… don't get ideas…" Penny's words were sluggish, even in her estimation. She closed her eyes.

"ALL DONE!" The stallion had to shout it in her ears. Penny startled awake and looked around. "Neat Cut has never seen a mare get quite that relaxed on her wedding day. He thought you woke when he asked you about things but it seemed you were back off again. Your friend told him he should just continue."

Penny just smiled at Neat Cut, looking in the offered mirror. Her mane looked amazing, it was done up with staged braids that hung down from it every inch so that she looked like she had about four times the mane than she thought she did.

"Tell him how much of a master Neat Cut is." The speech patterns of the stallion made Penny smile more, she guessed any pony with enough opinion of their talents had the chance of going for the third-person.

"Neat is truly a master of his profession." Penny tried to stop herself from following his example but it was a hard fight and she could see the stylist grinning back, knowing just what he had done to her. "Oh drat you, you have done a wonderful job, thank you. You have done Hay and Stick already?" Penny got a nod. "Do I look half as beautiful as them?"

"My dear, if Neat Cut didn't make every mare the most desirable pony in all Equestria, he would not be the pinnacle of his art." Neat struck a pose and had both Penny and Jenny giggling.

"Hello? Do we have the right room? Ah, here she is!" Aloe and Lotus came in, bringing a little trolly of bottles, brushes and odder devices. "Lets get started, Aloe, would you like to take her tail?"

"Of course!" Aloe started selecting brushes and bottles. The moment the first brush reached her tail, Penny was down again, her eyes closing in bliss.

Penny was aware of the mares chatting away. They seemed to notice her distracted nature and laughed it off. Her fur was tugged and scented and rinsed and scented some more. She was primped to within an inch of her hide and, when the two were done, Penny heard the door close again. Lifting her head she was relieved to see it was Rarity.

"Darlings, you have excelled. Three mares, three completely different styles and even species. I feel honored to be the mare to fit dresses to them." Rarity stepped in and had some sewing equipment with her. "I will assume the dress doesn't fit around you, why on earth don't you use some magic to keep yourself trim?"

Penny stared blankly at the white unicorn. "Magic? What?"

Rarity waved a hoof. "The spell, every mare gets taught during their… oh…" It was like all the wind was out of her sail.

"Rarity, I wouldn't trade my time like this for all the sweets in Sugarcube Corner. I feel her growing, moving… I am perfectly fine without keeping my foal so… hidden." Penny beamed, her eyes closing as the biggest smile ever was plastered all over her face.

The fashionista was left blinking as she thought of it, then she smiled back. "You might just be right. Maybe convenience has stolen something from mares. Regardless, you have quite the swell there now and we need to get you into a dress that was not sized for that."

Rarity was on the case, and after taking some careful measurements of Penny, fell upon the dress. She picked at seams and added in new fabric. "I must revise my opinion of Discord, if this dress is anything to go by."

Penny watched Rarity rebuild the dress that, when all was said and done, looked the same as when she had started. "What… that looks the same…" Penny said it before she really thought, she immediately hoped Rarity wouldn't take offense.

It had the opposite effect, if anything. "I know! I am a genius, the art of alteration IS exactly that, to remake an outfit to a new shape, without changing it one bit. Hop down dear, lets get you dressed."

Penny carefully made her way off the table, her mane feeling a little stiff with all the tiny braids. "Where do you want me?"

"In this dress dear, hold still." Rarity lifted the creation on, guiding Penny to step where needed. The lunar pony's tail was carefully worked through the dress and finally it was drawn tight in the places it should be tight.

Penny looked to Rarity, getting a little nod. She turned around, the volume of fabric moving with her, feeling at once both huge and light. It gripped her body but was gentle around her belly. She couldn't stop herself, she bounced up and hugged Rarity. "Thank you so much."

"Darling! You will mess yourself up, down, down!" Rarity urged Penny back to all fours. "There are only two mares who are allowed to mess you up at all today, and they are already waiting for you."

Stick squirmed in her dress. It clung as it should, as it had when she had tried it on every time, but something was just very different when wearing it for real.

"How are you so calm?" Fast Change, princess of changelings, was using her green magic to make sure the drone's dress hung just right. "I haven't really been to a lot of these, but normally the bride is almost buzzing with anxiety and excitement."

"Simple, mom, I am not the bride here. I am the groom." Stick grinned up at Fast, showing a lot of her white teeth.

Fast wanted to bop Stick on the head but was immediately worried it might mess something up. "You are incorrigible. Come on. They buffed your chitin right up didn't they? Might have to see about getting that kind of treatment myself…"

The world was likely falling apart, plans and ideas crashing and becoming lost forever. Hay was stressed. "But mom, I need to look perfect!" She danced on her hooves as the mare who had shaped a lot of her life was using pins to hook the dress into just the right shape.

"Don't fret so much, I have no doubt your mares will have nothing else they will want to look at." Pretty hummed, quite happy at the day finally coming. Her daughter's mates had courted her almost as surely as they had her filly, Pretty had found this a most acceptable attitude and approved of both Penny and Stick greatly.

"It's time, the music is just starting." Dray, looking every bit his changeling self and almost free of holes, had poked his head in the room to let the mares know. "I have our route worked out, we stick with it and this will be perfect!

Rarity walked at Penny's side, having been the lone member of the 'mane six' who could make it for the wedding and, if nothing else, Rarity took her job as bridesmaid very seriously.

The tones of Vinyl's song were muted, almost stately. Penny loved how the beat seemed to make the gardens tremble every now and again. Hay did such good work.

Leading through the royal gardens, they approached a central area that had been prepared as the wedding location.

Three pairs of eyes spotted each other. Time stopped for the mares as each looked between the two others, eyes wide, hearts pounding.

Penny couldn't stop staring, Stick looked astounding, the white dress a monochrome contrast to her black carapace. Hay was nearly the opposite, soft colors bringing the white garment out in a way that was entirely different but just as perfect.

Hay looked between the two dark-toned mares. Her heart swelled with love, more and more, as she couldn't stop herself from almost melting. "Hold steady dear." Her mother's words helped to keep her standing, somehow.

Stick was struck dumb, she froze in place and looked from one to the other, the mares who had given her their hearts. She had given no less and had to fight to keep her tears of joy back.

The music picked up, the signal to bring the three together at the little raised platform. Cadance was, without a doubt, within the very core of her element. She had almost been overwhelmed with the bonds among ponies present. Her vision had revealed the reason everypony was here. Strong, fierce bonds wrapped the three mares, an extra circling Penny. It was hard to fight the silly smile that wanted to break across Cadance's face, she didn't even try.

"Mares, gentlestallions, we are gathered here today for a very special reason. We have come to be witness to three ponies' dedication, love, and promise to each other. To put themselves into the hearts of those they love, and to let the others into theirs. We are here to watch as Hay Cart, Stick Cart, and Penny Cart bind themselves with a dedication that takes their already strong friendship and seals it forever." Cadance had written and rewritten her speech, but that was thrown out the window, the words she had carefully crafted were not sufficient for the love that she witnessed.

"Hay, will you take Penny and Stick, to be always by your side, to keep them in your heart?"

Hay broke her gaze from her two mares to try and focus on the question. "I do."

"Penny, will you take Stick and Hay, to be always by your side, to keep them in your heart?"

"I do." Penny had no hesitation, not an ounce. She already had tears at the corners of her eyes.

"Stick, will you take Hay and Penny, to be always by your side, to keep them in your heart?"

Stick closed her eyes. She thought of everything the two mares meant, of her dedication to them. "Of course I do." The changeling heard a giggle from Hay, she looked to the other two mares and lost all track of what Cadance said next.

"Family and friends. You have seen the dedication these three share, the love they bear and the promise they have made. Will you support them in their journey together?" Cadance almost danced in place, the vows, to include the gathered ponies, had been such an awesome idea, and she adored how it implied that marriage bound communities as well as hearts.

"We do." The chorus, from a score of voices, wasn't perfectly synched, but it was heartfelt.

Cadance trembled a little, she got to say it. She spared a little glance to Celestia, in the crowd of ponies gathered. The immortal alicorn gave her a smile back and a wink.

"I pronounce you now, a herd. You may now kiss."

The three mares leaned in and, with reasonable chasteness, kissed.

Penny trembled, this was the last of her human life, her loneliness, her solitude, thrown away. She felt naked and weak before her loves. She would have it no other way.

Hay was so full-to-bursting with love she could barely keep the kiss just a kiss. She wanted to pounce on the two mares and show them her love.

Stick had all her self-control shattered when she saw tears in the eyes of both her… her wives. "I love you both so much…" Her own eyes grew heavy with dampness.

They turned together, facing their friends and family. Moving with the same hoof forward, all three started to walk slowly back down the path. They passed the princesses first, Luna and Celestia both looking quite astoundingly at peace together. "We each got you something." Celestia spared a smile to her sister that the three brides completely missed the meaning of. Fast looked at Stick, then to Penny and Hay. "My daughters." It was all she said, but all three could see the emotion behind the words. They walked on.

Hay had to struggle not to break and run to her mother and father, both looking so very proud. "You look after your wives, Hay. I have the feeling that it will take every ounce of your mother's stubbornness to keep those two in check." Dray was grinning at his daughter, who blushed and leaned a little more against her mates.

"Go on dear, this is your day." Pretty was fighting hard at the tears that she knew would ruin her makeup. She shared a nod with her daughter.

"Silver! I am glad you could make it. Night." Penny greeted the only friend she still had from before Equestria, it was brutally ironic to her, right then, that he was a pony too. The ponies with them were his adopted parents and a new mare Penny had never seen before, though her cutie mark seemed familiar.

Penny almost jumped as a force wrapped around her, under her dress, hugging her. She beamed when she saw it was Silver's horn alight. She tried to give a return hug but with her lack of strength and without the control born of so much time as he had spent here, she barely gave him a light hug.

Silver went a little red and giggled. "We shouldn't forget how blessed we are. Even in the hard moments." His horn stopped glowing even as his family wondered what went through his head.

With close family out of the way, the small contingent of friends were greeted, words exchanged and the three were soon at the end of the aisle. "I am so going to bite your dresses off you two when we get somewhere private." Penny leveled a smoldering gaze at both her wives.

"You will not, these dresses were amazing." Hay clopped a hoof down on the soft grass. As if summoned, Discord blinked into being beside them, a female-dressed Discord beside him and two little Discord children.

"I do hope we aren't late!" The essence of chaos looked around and then down, seeing the three mares in the dresses of his own creation.

"Looking sharp Discord, how's the family?" Stick grinned up and got an astonished laugh from the being.

"Oh you know how it is, all work and no time at home." Discord suddenly had a suitcase in one hand and was checking his watch.

"It is so lonely, being married to a salarystallion." The wife Discord lamented her 'husband's dedication to his career.

All three newlyweds couldn't keep back giggles. "Discord, I have something very important to ask you." Penny looked up at him, trying to sound as solemn and serious as she could.

Blinking away his family and props, Discord leaned down to the human-turned-pony. "Oh no, what is it, pray-tell?"

Without warning, Penny jumped up and hugged Discord, giving him a kiss on his scaly neck. "Don't stop changing." The twist on the classic saying got a fanged grin from him before he blipped out and was gone. "Still got it." Penny gave a nod and turned back to her family.

101 - Settling down

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"No more griffons." Penny glared at Stick as they were getting ready to get off the train back at Canterlot. Their honeymoon had been mostly relaxation and exploration. Except for the last night.

"But you said I could do anything I wanted!" Stick nuzzled her wife, the protests more a game than a real argument.

"And I did anything you wanted. Now I am telling you, in future, anything you want excludes griffons." Penny nipped Stick's shoulder. "And you deprived poor Hay of some fun."

Hay lifted a hoof, trying to keep out of their verbal sparring.

"Why?" Stick tried to look innocent but even she had almost balked at what she had turned into. It warmed her that, despite the… shape, Penny had agreed to try it.

"Because there is no sex for a week." Penny looked between the pair, Hay looked a bit sad but stepped over to Penny and nuzzled her.

"You would do anything she asked at least once, wouldn't you?" The half-bred mare distracted Penny from what was turning into their first married argument. The lunar mare nodded. "Stick, it is up to you to limit yourself. Penny would fly to the moon if you wished it."

Stick seemed to deflate. "Yeah…"

Penny couldn't stand to see the drone suddenly without the vim that she usually maintained. She reached with her magic and both pulled Stick toward her, weakly, and started letting her emotions spill. The kiss the two shared was a seal and a promise. "I will do anything you ask, once." Penny looked into Stick's eyes, seeing only the wife she now knew. Her love swelled and she kissed Stick again.

By the time the pair broke apart from their make-up kiss Hay had their bags already stacked and ready, her magic wrapped around most of them. "Oh, run out of air did we?" The unicorn laughed at the two, kissing the cheek of each. "It is probably about time we get our own place, too. That room at the school is starting to feel… cramped."

"Oh, I am glad I wasn't the only one." Stick beamed at this, her own revitalized magic hefting her half of the bags. "Well, we still have a few days before we are officially 'back', why not spend tomorrow looking for a place?"

"But, what are we going to do today?" Penny liked their train of thought and, with the little bit of bits coming from her teaching, the good-sized portion from their investments, and the stipend that Celestia seemed to keep paying them, they could afford something nice and cozy.

"I hurt you, Penny." Stick leaned her snout in to nuzzle Penny's neck as they left the train. "Which means I need to kiss you all better."

Penny blushed and squirmed a little. "Okay, that might be nice." It sounded really good, actually, and Penny was more than happy to spend the rest of the day being seen to by the changeling.

The houses around the school were mostly taken up by staff, so the trio decided to start there. While Penny headed to the staff area to ask around, Hay and Stick took care of a few things they needed to get done. Hay in particular was almost done with her final project and was eager to have it hoofed in.

"Excuse me?" Penny knocked on the door to the big staff room where the various ponies who had a hoof in classes and running the school spent most of their time when not actively with the students.

"Penny? Come in, come in!" Gingersnap beckoned Penny in and to a couch in an open area. "Didn't think you were rostered on today?"

"Nope, not today. I was actually wanting to ask you about anywhere that I might be able to buy or move to, nearby." A cup of tea levitated over to Penny and she caught it with her own magic. Light things were her forte, it seemed.

"Oh! Well, I have seen a few. It can be hard to tell if somepony has truly moved out or if they are just on a long holiday, but I think," the orange unicorn was scrawling on a piece of paper, "these are all free. If I remember rightly, this area of the city is owned by the crown. You could probably either rent somewhere or buy it. I would normally advise against trying the latter, but that wife of yours could argue a dog out of its teeth." A special thrill ran through Penny when she heard Stick referred to as her wife. It was true!

"Thanks so much. The dorm room was just… it is small, really small." Penny took the paper.

"And the walls are thin. Would you believe the school had to make sure there were no ponies in the rooms to each side of you?" Gingersnap gave Penny a conspiratorial grin. "And I guess you have an addition to your family on the way, too."

Penny was blushing from the knowledge that the walls were apparently thin. She took a deep breath, it was something Hay had taught her. "We do." Penny looked down at her belly, she was nowhere near as big as Night was, but then, a nurse had assured her that with a single foal she would never get that big.

"Have you picked a name yet?" Gingersnap was happy with the shift in conversation. Who wouldn't be happy talking about foals!

"Ensorcellee." Penny had never, in her life, been excited about babies, they were those… things, that in twenty years or so would become interesting. Now, however, her maternal instincts had full control and she couldn't stop herself. "A little filly unicorn."

The orange mare's hooves clopped together excitedly. "Oh, taking after her dam then?" Penny reached to her bags and pulled out the picture. One of the pictures. She carried it with her everywhere. She showed it to her friend. "Oh wow, she looks amazing! No wonder you picked that name, she will ensorcell anypony!"

Penny was smiling and giggling along, even the most inane things seemed perfect when her foal was involved. "This is a few weeks old now, but you can see her little horn, tail and mane." She was pointing out the obvious, but it seemed the thing to do.

"Well, you make sure you find the right home, and make sure it is close, I have a feeling your little one will be here soon enough." It was natural to hug Gingersnap as they both got up. Penny had her hopes high and her spirits higher as she left the school. Trotting through the city, there was the sense of everything being just right. She wandered out and found the first of the places on the list. It was after looking at the third of them that she thought she probably should have brought one of her wives, if not both.

After deciding that a few of them would fit the bill, Penny trotted along to the castle, with luck she would be there in time for the end of court. She was trotting through the big halls of the castle, the guards having just let her through, when a presence seemed to make itself known not too far away.

"Hello there, Penny Farthing, now, isn't it?" When Penny turned and looked at where the voice was coming from she saw what she thought at first was a human in cosplay.

"Uh, hello? No, I just got married. Penny Cart now." She stopped her trot and turned to the odd, canine-featured woman. The cosplay thought was way off. Penny could see that this was certainly no costume, she really was talking to some kind of wolf woman.

"Congratulations to your stallion. I am Nefertari, and I was wondering if we could have a chat?" Penny finally picked the features of the canine parts, jackal.

"Uh, two mares, actually." Penny smiled, she never disliked being reminded of her wives. "And I was going to try and catch an audience with the princess, but I guess I can wait until tomorrow. Lunch?" The unicorn made a point of showing a little more fang, so the woman would be able to make a choice based on a mutually omnivorous diet.

Nefer pondered this little information. She had done some research on the mare, but apparently she should have done more. "Lunch would be perfect. I have been trying to keep in touch with Silver but I believe his wife has been keeping him from appointments."

"Oh? Needed to discuss something with him? I have been doing a little work, trying to help any humans in the city land on their hooves, maybe I could help?" Penny had turned and was walking for the exit, the strangely dangerous-feeling woman walking at her side.

"That would be perfect, there were just some things I had wanted to ask him." Nefer was practically in love. This mare was walking just the way she wanted her to, conversation wise. Now, she had to think quick to get her questions prioritized. "The biggest one being, what it is like to be human?"

Penny laughed and turned them down the street toward the nice fish-serving restaurant. "Well, I can tell you what it was like being human, but not what it is like to be one now." She gestured at herself with a hoof. "Not much of one left, but the memories."

Which was what the jackal was after. "Well, anything you could remember would be one less thing I have to bug Silver about."

Their slow walk took them to their target and they both slipped in and got a booth.

"So, firstly, weapons." Nefertari tried to keep it as off-handed as she could. "Your people seem pretty… weak, I haven't seen much in how they defend themselves but maybe you could help enlighten me there?"

Penny realized something might not be completely on the level. "To be honest? Our brains." Nefer looked at her with a droll stare. "I am not joking. In a human over half the food they eat goes to fueling the thing."

"Over half… how do you know where the food goes?" Knowing a side-track when she saw it, Nefertari had to go with it. This could be a long-game.

"That is a whole other weapon, but it uses the brain. Science." Penny saw that she had actually stumbled the woman, so continued. "I mean, we started off banging rocks at things we didn't like, then moved on to attaching rocks to sticks so you don't have to be so close. Pretty soon, with a few thousand years of science, you end up with sticks so sharp they can kill millions and an arm strong enough to throw it across the world."

Nefer was being drowned in useless information. This wasn't a new weapon design, this wasn't even courtly sidestepping. Penny was artfully telling her everything, about everything.

"So lets go with a knife. Started off as a sharpish piece of rock, became sharpened piece of obsidian. Then metal-forging took over, gave us copper, bronze, iron, and steel." Penny was off, her teacher-mode engaged. She had already seen steel forging at work here so this talk was not dangerous at all. And Nefer felt dangerous enough without explaining to her about explosives, guns, and flame weapons.

By the time their meals arrived Nefertari had about as much knowledge about making knives and swords as she was likely to ever have without spending years making them herself. "But surely humans used weapons better than knives?"

Penny had decided she actually liked Nefertari. She came off blunt in some ways and sneaky in others. She knew the jackaless had tried to manipulate her but, still, she seemed to really care for her ponies. "Well, of course, but you understand if I explained how to make a weapon that was big enough to level Canterlot, I would be responsible for everypony hurt by it."

"You aren't as stupid as I hoped." Nefer finally conceded and lifted up the still-steaming fish from her plate, biting into it.

"And you definitely aren't here with Silver's blessing for me to explain how to make explosives, too." Penny opted for a fork with some squid on it, popping it in her mouth and sighing happily.

The two sat in silence a while, enjoying their meals.

"So you won't tell me anything?" Nefer didn't like it, out of necessity she wanted the brighter of the former humans, since they would likely know more.

"Didn't say that. You aren't asking the right questions or making the right offers." Penny had a whole fish left on her plate. When she was human, the thought of all those bones and bits would have put her off. But her teeth were built for this, her body made for handling them.

"What weapons would you be willing to teach me about?" Nefer watched the mare shake her head. "What weapons are you... enough of this game." She got up to leave.

"The question you should ask, is what weapons will be useful to your people, and the offer you make is that you will see they will never be used on ponies during your lifetime." Penny made room for the woman to get past her bulky self, but the jackal just sat back down.

"That promise is a big one." Nefertari was pondering what other humans she could get this kind of angle on, maybe ones who would tell her what she wanted without a political deal.

"Would you doing your best to see they are never used be better wording?" Penny's offer met a shake of the canine woman's head. "Well, I don't know about you, but this food is delicious and the company has been interesting, same again tomorrow?"

Nefer's eyes narrowed a moment before she realized the mare was not only serious but being truly genuine. "I think so, I will need to talk to the spirits about this."

102 - An unexpected surprise

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Penny's class had gone well, she had finally gotten the hang of planning out a few lessons in advance and was settling into being a teacher. But something bugged her. Two new mares to the mathematics class caught her eye. One she recognized as being with Silver at her wedding but the other… it couldn't be, surely somepony would have noticed.

"And there we are, if you could all get your homework submitted at the start of next class that would be great." Penny spared her focus to look out across all the ponies she was teaching. After the first two lessons she had taught she had been surprised to have a few new faces appear. Her class had been dubbed the 'fun maths class' and she liked to keep it that way. "Class is dismissed." No sooner were the words out of her mouth than ponies were hurtling for the doors.

"Uh, if our two newest students could stay behind, please?" She looked right at the white and dark unicorns alternately. She waited at the front of the lecture hall and, when everypony else was gone leveled a stare at them. "I can't even guess why you are here, those disguises are-"

"These are not disguises, we are using these to-" The small, wingless Luna was starting to explain when Celestia cut in.

"We are experiencing life as simple ponies, we are still ourselves, in our full capacity, but we can also explore the world and life like this." Totally-not-Celestia smiled at Penny.

"Okay, I of all ponies can understand wanting to do that. Why my class?" Penny gestured to the empty hall. "I mean, I know I am not teaching exactly what is on the syllabus, but I am making sure these ponies are well grounded in mathematics and hopefully teach them numbers aren't just a tool to-"

"You just explained why we are here. Learning something entirely new," Totally-not-Celestia gestured at the explanation Penny had given on the blackboard behind her, for complex numbers, "a new way to use numbers and new ways to understand it."

Penny smiled at this, she knew her ego was being stroked but it didn't stop it from feeling good to have the princess do it. "Okay, okay, I get it. You could have just asked me for some private lessons. No need to go to this kind of trouble," Penny gestured to their unicorn forms. The lunar mare shifted a little, feeling a touch odd.

"Are you alright?" Really-not-Luna had a look of concern that worried Penny, since it was aimed at her.

"I am fine, just feeling the weight of my filly. So you are both going to be staying then?" Penny looked between them, raising an eyebrow.

Really-not-Luna nodded and Totally-not-Celestia followed suit.

"Okay, then have your homework done by next lesson and you can stay." Penny grinned wide, loving being able to hold a little something over the pair. "Since you are here, should I put your names on the official roll?"

Totally-not-Celestia smiled and gave a nod. "Sunny Days.

"Celine." Really-not-Luna added.

Penny brought her quill over and made some notes. "Okay, then I guess you can go." She had the urge to thank them, to hug them both and gush over how much she loved being a pony, but that wasn't how to handle a student.

Penny sat in the comfortable chair that she had managed to get brought into the lecture hall. She watched as two regular-sized avatars of the two most powerful ponies in Equestria left her room. She felt a little tremble run through her. She wasn't due for at least another week or so. Something was wrong, though. She looked up to the door, both the mares had already left. "Well shit." Working herself back onto her hooves, Penny made her way slowly for the exit.

One hoof in front of the other, she was panting a little by the time she reached the door and pushed it open. A student was walking past and turned to look, seeing obvious distress. "Are you alright Miss Cart?" Penny shook her head. "Oh gosh, uh…" Penny was surprised when the unicorn blinked out of being. "She is down here!" The voice of the student was reassuring, Penny felt like she just wanted to slump and, as her belly seemed to want to tense up, she started to.

"Oh no, I got you." Gingersnap's voice buoyed Penny's spirits and she felt a strong grip under her suddenly take her weight. "Your little one coming? Well, lets get you somewhere better suited for it." The orange mare supported Penny and started making her way along to the little nurse's office.

"I… I just felt a little strange and then…" Penny was about as distracted as a pony could get. One minute everything had been fine and now she was panting, feeling like her belly wanted to shove down through her back legs.

Two blurs practically beat the door down and were in the room. One darkest black, the other almost gold. Penny sighed and relaxed as much as she was able.

"Is she okay?" Stick was looking worried. "Ensorcellee isn't due for another week at least."

Hay nuzzled Penny's neck while Stick grilled Gingersnap. Penny noticed something a little odd and giggled. She reached out a hoof to rub at Hay's wings. "They look nice."

The world seemed to fade a little as that tight feeling built and built, making Penny tremble with effort. She missed what the others said, although she was sure Stick at least would be talking up a storm.

"Who told you to go into labor? You are early." The door had been knocked open by a unicorn's cane as a familiar stallion hobbled in. His features softened a little, his blue eyes focusing on Penny. "Well nothing for it now, but next time, stick to your schedule." Penny wasn't sure why, but even as her next contraction stole her attention, she could still focus on the stallion's voice. "Breathe Penny, breathe, don't push yet, let her do some of the work."

The pattern settled in. Resting, sudden contraction and being guided through by the doctor's voice, then back to resting. Penny had decided that she was done with pregnancy, she told the doctor as much and he told her to deal with it.

"Okay Penny, next contraction, you push." Penny looked up at the doctor, giving a nod. Things were speeding up, there wasn't any pain, for which she likely had to thank her pony body, but it still was a lot of work. Then the next contraction came on her and Penny pushed, she pushed and pushed and suddenly there was nothing to push! "Got her."

A shrill little squeal filled the room of the impromptu maternity room. The doctor did something out of Penny's sight but a moment later, wrapped in some white towels, Ensorcellee was hoofed to her.

The whole world seemed to fade. All Penny could think of was her two wives nearby and their little, perfect foal. "Oh… she is…" Penny hugged the filly to her, the intelligent little eyes looking up and then closing to nuzzle back.

Ensorcellee was very much a lunar unicorn, but her little body showed some other hints. Her mane and tail both had bright green highlights through them and when she smiled it was easy to see that she had not just the lunar penchant for teeth, but prominent changeling fangs as well.

"Our foal is perfect, isn't she?" Stick had a hoof reaching over, playing with the little foal. Sorlie's little horn seemed to have a slight curve to it too, a slight reminder of her changeling heritage and a hint, Penny thought, as to what she had been feeling lately.

"She is, she takes after her parents in every way, I think." Penny channeled the smallest sliver and saw the filly's eyes light up and an adorable giggle came from her. The unicorn mother couldn't even feel the drink she knew her foal was taking, but she knew she could definitely do it.

"Are you feeding her like that?" Hay was blinking, watching the odd interaction. "That is so cool, will she want milk?"

Penny was halfway to blushing when a bottle was passed over from the doctor. "We can find out." It seemed Sorlie really did, her eyes closing in contentment as she began to nurse from the bottle and her mother's love.

"She is premature, but that just means she has a bit more growing to do to catch up." Doctor Horse clopped over to the family, his cane making a distinctive not-pony-clop sound. "I want to see her tomorrow, this isn't my specialty but when my patients need a doctor I will not let them have any but the best." He tapped the side of the bed. "Tomorrow, make sure she makes it." He glared at Hay and Stick before leaving.

"Please tell me you two decided on a house today?" Penny sounded tired, she was tired. But the foal at her side was worth being tired for. "I swear, if you use this as an excuse-"

"Whoa, relax, we have." Hay tried to make a placating gesture. Penny was in a mood to be relaxed and rested her snout just above her filly's nursing head. "The nice green house, on Trotting Street? That will be good." Stick just nodded, the drone having become a little quieter than usual since seeing her foal.

Penny looked up at Stick, trying to catch her gaze. "Stick?" The changeling looked at her. "I love you."

Stick's features seemed to melt into a smile. "I love you too… just can't get over this, she is so amazingly perfect." Stick hesitantly lifted a hoof up to feel Sorlie's mane. "So soft…"

"We are going to the doctor tomorrow, then the hive." Penny yawned suddenly, tiredness flooding her. "Ugh, it's not even evening yet."

"You just had a foal, relax, you can have a day off." Hay kissed Penny's nose. "But why the hive?"

"I want to introduce her to the pupae. I don't know why, but I have a feeling it is a good idea. She is a daughter of the hive, I owe Princess Fast a lot." Penny's hoof reached to rub Stick's cheek then she yawned widely, her fangs showing off. "Ugh, no sleep I just want to relax…" Penny's fight was a losing one, she closed her eyes. "Mmm, just a little nap then."

"She is looking more healthy than an early-foal should, but that is certainly nothing to be upset about." Doctor Horse wasn't the one talking, he was sitting in a chair to the side, looking every bit the grump. The lovely mare who was talking was a pediatrics nurse at the Canterlot Hospital. "Now, her horn and teeth…"

"Are a sign of her heritage, I think we have that under control." Penny smiled, trying not to frighten the nice pony with her full array of teeth. "So she is doing okay?"

The doctor chose then to get up and shooed the nurse out with his cane, making scary noises at her. "Go! You got to confirm I am not incompetent!" The mare made a disgruntled noise but left. "She clearly is blind as well as terminally stupid. Half breed ponies are not that common but I am thinking half breed changelings are going to be more so." He looked to Stick, apparently not having picked up that Hay was exactly what he was talking about. "Is there anything I should be looking for? I have a book on your kind that is strangely lacking in details on your young."

Stick looked surprised to be the focus of the stallion. "Uh, normally only the queen has foals in a hive, and then she lays eggs, not foals."

"I see, so this will follow more pony-centric themes, probably for the best. But you tell me the minute you become pregnant, if you do." He leveled his cane at Stick and the tip didn't wobble a bit. "Come back in a week, sooner if anything odd happens." Doctor Horse suddenly turned and stalked from the room, producing a pill from his pocket and gulping it down dry.

"He is a strange pony…" Hay was watching the door a moment before a little cooing sound snatched her attention. She reached a hoof to Sorlie, the filly trying to catch it with her own.

Penny smiled at the two, loving how easily Hay seemed to just accept the filly as hers but not hers. "He is, but he is smart enough that I am willing to put up with his antics, as I think the nurse was."

"Lets get out of here, I want to see the hive and show off." Stick's wings buzzed a little, her excitement clearly evident. Hay helped Penny up and snuggled Sorlie against her, "I got her, you take a break."

Penny kissed the mare enough that she was sure Hay realized how much it meant. "Thank you, you are the best."

"What? Why?" Stick cut in on their warm little moment. "I can be the best too!"

"You are both the best, you know that." Penny had never seen real jealousy in either of her lovers, and she didn't see it now. Stick was baiting her and all three of them knew it. "Here, let me show you." Penny began to channel, watching as both mares wobbled a little, Sorlie, experiencing her first 'big meal' presented to her, didn't hesitate and Penny wobbled along with her mates, feeling her foal feed. "Dang girl... She can really drink."

The walk was slow, but direct. Penny felt for sure a song would snatch them up but her hopes were dashed as they reached the hive. Both drones at the front door looked up at her with surprise, then shock, delight, and then adoration, in that order. "Oh…" One managed to wobble a little and park his black flank on the ground.

"Penny, cut back on the channeling…" Stick nudged the lunar mare but got a laugh from her.

"How about no, it is about time the hive felt exactly how I feel about them." Penny looked down at the two practically melting changelings who were just doing their jobs. She leaned in and kissed each on the cheek. "Thank you for being the best."

Both of them flared their eyes open, the love pouring from the mare was not just for her mates but was suddenly, at least in part, for them too. One just folded, the other looked up with a silly grin. "You're welcome…" They too joined the other changeling, flopped on the ground and smiling like a loon.

103 - Together

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Fast Change lifted her head. She had been in talks with a unicorn industrialist mare about expanding her hive when she felt the wave of love. It slammed into her like a solid force. The most astounding thing was, it was aimed at least in part, at her.

"Excuse me, Princess Fast, are you okay?" Amethyst Moon looked a little confused at the changeling, their meeting had been going well up until now.

"I am… I am sorry Amethyst, I must… I will need to reschedule. Is tomorrow okay?" Fast had to struggle against the urge to just zone out and drink at that flow of love.

The unicorn smiled and gathered her papers. "Oh that is perfectly fine. Royal duties and all that." She turned and saw an odd little group of ponies walking into the throne room unannounced. Two unicorns and a changeling drone, the latter supporting a little foal at her side, walked in.

"Oops, sorry to, uh, distract the princess." Penny apologized to the mare. "I just… I wanted to introduce her to her granddaughter."

Any hope of Amethyst feeling any annoyance was shattered by that announcement and she trotted over and looked down at the little filly. "Oh, is this her? She is just adorable!"

Fast was still having trouble swimming through the wave of love that just didn't seem to stop. She fought her way to her hooves and made her way forward, giving up any attempt at royal aloofness, between the barrage and what Penny had just said she had no wish to be 'princess' and every desire to be 'friend'. "Penny, please stop, you will have all my hive drunk for a week if you keep that up."

The flood of love subsided to a whisper, a faint trickle that, after the constant blasting, was quite welcome. "Is that better? I guess I really have gotten stronger. I couldn't help it, I wanted to thank you and every changeling in your hive." Penny beamed up at the much bigger mare.

Fast had lost the fight before she even started. Her body still was glutted on the love this mare had offered her, now she was being told it was all a gift to the hive. "You are impossible, my daughter." She put a leg over Penny's shoulder and pulled the lunar unicorn into a hug. "I am sure when my hive recovers every drone, leader and breeder will thank you for your delicious meal."

Amethyst, still partially distracted by the adorably exotic foal, only barely picked up on this but her ears did twitch in the direction of Fast and Penny. "Her daughter? Wait, she fed the whole hive?"

Stick was beside the confused unicorn but explained things, a little. "She kinda can, it takes a lot out of her though and much as it is great having her as an emergency resource for the hive, normal love is better for them. And yes, Penny is my wife, I am the princess' daughter."

This made a certain amount of sense to Amethyst and she nodded along to it. "I best be going, you take good care of her." She kissed the little filly on the nose and trotted out.

"Nice mare." Hay stepped up with Stick, approaching Fast and Penny. "We came to introduce your grandfilly to her aunts and uncles." Hay grinned, not outright saying Fast was a grandmother now, but it was an implied and well-meant jab.

"Let's have a look at her, oh!" Fast looked surprised and delighted as Stick unbundled the filly from her wrappings. "She has a changeling horn… and streaks…" The princess reached a gentle hoof out to stroke the foal's mane. "Did you pick a name?"

"Ensorcellee." Penny beamed at the big changeling cooing down at her foal… her foal. A wave of motherly love flooded Penny and she grinned. "And she has a little more changeling in her than that. She has been drinking from me… I think for a while."

"Clever little one, and the name will surely suit a changeling." Fast was cooing down and waving one of her huge hooves for the foal to grab and bite on. That is when the changeling queen discovered all those fangs, changeling and lunar, that graced the filly's mouth. "Such a set of teeth, she is quite the fierce little heart-stealer."

But rather than actually bite, Sorlie began to suck on a corner of the hoof and it was clear Fast Change, who defeated Chrysalis, who led a hive full of changelings to freedom, was completely ensnared by the filly.

"Hungry again?" Penny smiled, it was an accusation that carried not a jot of malice and she wrapped the filly in her magic and lifted her gently from Fast Change's own grip. "Uh, you don't mind…" She looked up at Fast who looked a little confused.

Stick leaned up to the princess and whispered something that had the big changeling's expression switch to surprise. "Oh, uh, sure, there are some cushions over here." She trotted quickly to show where Penny could feed the foal.

The moment Penny lay down she had to unwrap her little bundle and let her wobble in on trembling hooves. Fast quickly turned away when Penny lifted her back leg to give the filly access to her.

"Uh… um…" Fast lifted a hoof and bopped herself on the head. "I am being silly, aren't I?" Hay and Stick looked at each other then back at the princess, nodding.

"Sure." Hay agreed.

"A little." Stick shrugged up at Fast.

"Well, lets get my little ones. I was amazed that there were drones not only willing but who claimed looking after larvae was their job in Chrysalis' hive. It was like I didn't even need to ask them." Fast led the way out and to a nearby room where a few drones were looking a little groggy while a whole mess of little changelings were bouncing around excitedly. "Here's my darlings."

Hay watched the change come over Fast. She had gone from 'aloof changeling queen' to 'mother' at the sight of the little ones. "Wow, they are growing fast."

Stick snorted. "Are you kidding? Between Penny and wonderful ponies of Canterlot these little ones are fed to bursting." She trotted up and leaned in to nuzzle some of the little swarm. "I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't start pupating soon."

"I know, I know. Then there will be a whole lot more drones to feed." Fast lifted her head, two of the little half-pony half-bug offspring clinging to her mane with their little forehooves. "Well, come my swarm, you need to meet your delicious big sister and your niece."

It was like the legend of the Pie Piper, leading the parasprites out of Ponyville, but this was nearly twenty tiny adorable changelings. Stick and Hay giggled and followed along, the former dropping to her belly and squirming along just like the larvae, getting mobbed by them as she went.

Penny just lay back, closing her eyes. This was a very different sensation to her mates doing this. This was a special connection between a mother and her foal. She was amazed, however, that little Sorlie managed to not nip her once. It showed that despite all the cutlery she had, she already knew how to use it.

Fast was first to return, coming in just as Ensorcellee pulled back and burped, her eyes crossing adorably. "Oh, I think you have visitors." She reached a hoof down and rubbed Sorlie's cheek. Sure enough, behind the changeling queen came her own brood, including one that was far too big to be squirming around with a bunch of larvae.

Sorlie gave the most adorable squeal and bounded on her wobbly legs, over to the swarm. The sounds of giggles and delight came from all the changelings as they instantly broke into doing that thing that all foals knew how, by instinct, to do. Play.

Penny stayed on her side but was joined by Hay and Fast. Stick, it seemed, was quite content to be a foal and play with the little ones. "Every time I think of what would have happened with my life if I hadn't come here, I felt sad." Penny looked to the queen and half-changeling. "I haven't had that fear since she was born, I just don't have much human left to care."

Teacups floated over, held aloft in Fast's magic. "We have, all four of us, been through some big changes in our life." Fast watched the foals playing. "I gave up a family, a herd. Penny gave up her humanness. Hay gave up her fears, embraced what she was brought up believing was a monster, and Stick… Stick gave up being alone."

The words felt right to Penny, she looked to Fast and then to Hay.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Stick had clearly heard and flopped over on her belly, only using her front-hooves to move. "I… okay, yeah I was lonely before. I thought it was the best way to live, if I was alone Chrysalis couldn't take anypony away from me."

"I guess we are all part of this hive." Penny looked between the three mares around her, all of them carrying changeling blood but her. "I know I am not a cha-"

Fast's hoof lifted up and stopped Penny from talking. "You are my daughter. You have given to my hive, you helped make us strong and you keep my other daughters happy. That makes you part of my hive." She pulled the hoof back and was quickly embraced by Penny, the unicorn sobbing tears that wouldn't take a changeling's talent to tell were of joy.

The four relaxed and settled down, watching as the foals wore themselves out with play. "So, why didn't you hide your belly when pregnant, I never did get to ask that." Fast had turned to Penny.

"You too? It seems everypony expected me to know that spell. Well, it's all over now and I didn't need it. Truth be told, I think I would be happier not using it. It was good to feel her grow every day, feel as it impacted my life and made her a part of it before she was even born." Penny beamed as the larvae made their way over, she almost frowned when her daughter was doing the same belly-flow thing Stick was doing earlier.

"Don't frown like that, the wind will change and it will stick." Hay booped Penny on the nose and got a laugh from her as the foals all got in close and started to curl up with them.

"You are always welcome here, Penny, forget that you aren't a changeling, as far as I am concerned you are, the best kind in fact." Fast was oddly at ease and wondered why. Then it hit her. Here was a family, a family she was part of, that she had no attraction to at all. It was strange for her, but it was truth. She couldn't stop from giggling, remembering when she had made a pass at Penny, when the mare had first visited her hive.

"What's funny?" Penny looked at Fast.

"Just remembering when you were first here. Oh! Don't worry, I am not feeling that way anymore, it was just… well, you let me taste you…" Fast actually blushed and got a snuggle from the mare in question. "What?"

"Nothing, mum." Penny kissed Fast's jaw and leaned into her, accepting her friend as close family in a way she wouldn't have believed when she had first arrived.

Genevieve looked at the thing. She tilted her head to the side. "It looks like a keyboard, this is your big project?" Sablee nodded and gestured more. "Oh no, I can't play!"

The stallion wilted a touch but rather than let it show he leaned in and kissed the woman. His project was complete, it was a masterpiece of magical circuits. He had built it not just to Vinyl's specs, but beyond it. "After the big speaker stack I built, I just had to get something to drive it for her."

"You like her?" Jen grinned mischievously. "Because you know I could totally get some glasses and some blue dye."

Sablee gawked at the human. "What… I… wait… uh now I am confused." He petted the machine, at least it wouldn't confuse him with strange ideas. "Okay, lets try this again. What are you talking about?"

"Well duh, if you like how a mare looks, I am not going to hold that against you. Damn even I had a phase where I would have hit on Vinyl. That look is pretty cool. I will get some things tomorrow, we can see how well it goes." She leaned in and kissed the stallion, their lips playing together with practiced perfection.

"So… uh, is there a pony that you have fantasized that I could look like?" Sablee blushed hotly, looking down at the floor until Jen's fingers captured his chin and tilted his snout up so he had to look at her.

"You just asked the right question. And yes, I think with some blue and black dye…" Jenny's mind raced and she suddenly pictured some fake wings.

"Wait, Penny?" Sablee tried to pull back and Jen let him. But he froze again at her laughter. "What?"

"Silly stallion, c'mere." Jen reached a hand out, a hand that the unicorn lifted his hoof to take and be pulled back close to her. "I will give you one hint, it is nopony you saw today."

This was a bit of a tip, Sablee and Jen had seen Penny and her family in the morning. "Uh, stallion or mare?" His mind raced, trying to connect things up.

"Definitely mare. And I can bet you have had thoughts about her too." Jenny grinned, leaning in and resting herself against his back. "Heck, I am thinking a lot of p-"

"Princess Luna?" Sablee's mouth was hanging open, eyes wide with surprise.

"So you have had dreams about her, excellent." Jen was already planning how to make the best cosplay for them.