> Nymphetamine: The Heart's Price
>  by Architect Ironturtle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: When You're in a Hole, Stop Digging.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alexander Fleming, as he called himself, could not be happier right now. Well, that wasn't completely true. If his marefriend would just hurry up and get here already, then he'd be perfectly happy. Still, not much could beat an evening picnic on a hill with a view of the coast and the upcoming sunset, the golden sphere of light slowly sinking beneath the waves. Vanhoover was beautiful in the spring, and the faint scent of flowers permeated the air as the sunlight warmed his skin. Around him ponies talked, and played, and just unwound after a long day of work, much like he was. No one glanced twice in his direction except for a few tourists. Why would they? He wasn't exactly new here.

Alex sighed in contentment, turned his back to the evening sun, and scanned the horizon, a gentle breeze ruffling his tunic. She should be here any minute now. The thought send tingles of anticipation dancing over his nerves and across his heart. The flight from Canterlot was always a lengthy one, but she refused to teleport due to 'inexperience' and the hints he'd dropped about her moving hadn't been noticed. At least, he thought they hadn't been noticed. Hard to tell with a Princess.

Hold up. Alex turned and glared at the eyepatch-wearing stallion who kept glancing at him, dropping his hand to his waist suggestively. The stallion wisely decided to walk away, and Alex sighed as he went back to scanning the skies. Working security for a major shipping company had its drawbacks, especially when the local mobs kept trying to smuggle cargo through his port. He was pretty sure the only reason he didn't have more scars was that most ponies, er, creatu-beings on this planet didn't know how to fight a human. He was smaller and faster than a minotuar, and much more nimble than any quadruped he'd ever met. Between that and a combat style nothing he encountered would be familiar with, he'd managed to avoid getting seriously hurt on the job. He rubbed his right forearm. Except that one time...

"Hold still, you big baby," Cadance chided through a mouthful of bandages as she wrapped his forearm in gauze, "I can't do this right if you keep squirming." 

"Well, excuse me, Princess," Alex replied with a delirious giggle, "I didn't ask for that hippocampus to throw his sword at my face. I mean honestly, who does that? It's a stupid idea, and a good way to get yourself killed." Alex smirked, "Like it did to him two seconds later. I need to thank Sharp Tail for that, by the way."

Cadance tugged sharply on the bandage, causing Alex to let out a gasp of pain, "Hey, what was that for?" he asked.

"That was for being callous," Cadance said snippily, "you shouldn't be so, so..."

"Apathetic?"

"Yes, that. You shouldn't be like that when you kill somepony! Everypony has loved ones, and... I can feel when their ties get cut. It's not pleasant."

She finished tying the bandage off just before he drew her into a hug, cradling her against his chest, "Relax, Caddy, I'm safe. I didn't die, and I'm not going to. I've tasted actual combat and survived a whole bunch of times by now, so my chances have gone way up."

Cadance sighed and leaned into him as he started on her ears. Cadance loved her ear scratches. Just like True Stri- nope, not thinking about her.

The thud on hooves on the grass approaching him drew him out of his thoughts, and he lowered his gaze to find the love of his life, Cadance, walking up to him. His heart skipped a beat as his eyes drank in her presence, from the from the glinting of her coat in the sun to the way her perfectly styled mane outlined her face. The attraction wasn't just physical, either. Cadance was gentle, beautiful, considerate, soft, gorgeous, had a wonderful laugh along with a wit that could cut steel, was just all around the best pony Alex had ever met, and of course good looking enough to cause traffic accidents. End of story.

A worried frown crossed his face as she drew close enough for him to read her facial expressions. The smile Cadance was wearing was clearly fake, and the bags under her puffy eyes told Alex she'd been crying. Also, she always flew to meet him, a habit left over from her time as a pegasus, and the only reason she would walk somewhere would be for the benefit of others. Then his gaze drifted to the right and he saw she was standing next to a white and blue stallion Alex didn't know.

Alex sized him up as the pair walked into speaking range before stopping and an awkward silence fell. He was built, but not overly so, and moved with the balanced gait of a well trained fighter. His eyes scanned their surroundings in a pattern that only came from experience, which meant he'd seen combat, probably more than once. He seemed too uptight to be a merc, and too wealthy to be a mere security guard like Alex was, so that meant military, active more likely than ex. That conclusion brought Alex back to his current big question: who was this stallion, and did his presence have anything to do with Cadance's distress? If it did, Alex wasn't about to let him get away with it, soldier or not. Anyone who touched Cadance answered to Alex, no ifs, ands, or buts.

"Caddy," Alex said evenly, focusing his tension into his hand and preparing to act, "Is this man bothering you?"

To Alex's surprise, Cadance's smile faded, replaced by a look of utter misery. Her head drooped, causing her mane to hide her face as Alex stepped forward in alarm. She muttered that sounded like, "My fault," causing the stallion to pat her gently on the back. Alex hissed between his teeth. That was his job! Why was this intruder doing it?

Cadance's horn glowed before Alex could move close enough to intervene.  A small white sphere floated out of it, circling lazily around her head before making a beeline straight for Alex. He stiffened in surprise, Cadance never used her magic on him, and the orb sank into his chest. For a moment Alex didn't move, then he staggered backwards, tripped over a stray root, and sat down hard on the blanket he'd set out, before wrapping his arms around his legs and planting his face in his knees.

The world stilled. Or at least, that's how it seemed to the three occupants of that hilltop. Then wearily, Alex looked up, his expression totally blank. "Cadance," he said slowly, seeming to have trouble finding the words, "What did you do to me?"

Cadance broke down crying as she collapsed where she stood.

"I'm sorry," she gasped between sobs, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know-"

"I had another marefriend," Alex said slowly, "I was happy with her. When you came to proposition me I turned you down. But then..."

"It was an accident!" Cadance said desperately, "I didn't even know I could do that by accident! When you came back later that night I should have realized, but I was so happy you'd changed your mind that-"

"You slept with me," Alex said, looking like what he was saying hadn't sunk in yet, "You do realize I was saving myself right?"

"Not until afterwards," Cadance sniffled, "I just thought you'd decided not to anymore. It wasn't until you wanted to stay together that I began to suspect..."

"But why?" Alex interrupted as she trailed off, a hint of anger starting to creep into his voice, "If you knew what had happened so quickly, why didn't you stop it right away?"

"Ah," The stallion spoke up when Cadance choked on the words, "That's where I come in. I'm sorry we have to meet under these circumstances, Mr. Fleming. Captain Shining Armor, of the Royal Guard. I was Princess Cadenza's fiance, but," here he glared at her, causing her to flinch, "After hearing about how she treated you I'm beginning to have second thoughts. In any case, I kept wondering where she was disappearing off to, and when I found out she was seeing you in secret I confronted her about it."

He sighed, and drooped slightly, hinting that he was far more tired than he appeared, "That's why we're here. It appears her highness," his tone sharpened as he spoke her title, causing another flinch, "Was so torn up about what she'd done to you that she couldn't face it, forcing herself to play along and hope something else would make it go away. I, I am truly sorry for what happened to you, Mr. Fleming. It's not something I would wish on anypony."

"Cadance's fiance." Alex paused, then, addressing Cadance, "So you didn't have the strength to own up to it yourself?" He let go of his legs, letting them slide across the blanket with a faint scritching sound. "I should have guessed a Princess wouldn't have the spine for that."

Cadance winced, and Captain Armor said, "Sir, I know you're mad about this, but you have to understand that Cadance would never do this of own free will. She's better than that!"

"BETTER THAN THAT!?" Alex roared, causing a few nearby heads to turn as he leapt jerkily to his feet and strode forward until he loomed over the prone alicorn and her 'coltfriend,' "SHE DATE RAPED ME! You can't just ask for forgiveness and make it all better! It's been three months, Cadance. Three. Months. True Strike found someone else last week. I can't just go back to my old life like nothing happened. There's isn't a life left to return to!"

"Please!" Cadance begged, "You have to believe I didn't do it on purpose!"

Alex let out a laugh, a sharp bark of sound devoid of all humor, "You do realize that makes it worse, right?" he said dryly. His hand moved towards the knife holstered on his belt before he clenched his fist and forced it away. "Captain, get her out of here before I do something I'll regret."

"But-" Cadance's jaw snapped shut as Alex's hand twitched again, and she turned and walked away. That walk broke into a canter, then a gallop, then her wings spread as she took flight, soaring away blindly with her tail between her legs. Shining and Alex watched her go, before the stallion turned and patted the human's knee gently. He opened his mouth, but Alex spoke up before he speak.

"Let me guess. Since she's a princess she's not going to trial for this, is she?" Captain Armor opened his mouth, closed, then shook his head.

"Of course. For a moment I forgot this country was an autocracy. This kind of shit is the reason my people don't have nobles anymore, you know?"

Alex spun on his heel and headed towards the city, his stance and expression causing ponies to scramble out of his way.

"Mr. Fleming!" Captain Armor shouted after him, "I'm sorry. When you calm down, I'm here if you need to talk."

Alex paused, then looked over his shoulder. "Does anything you'll say involve me getting justice?" he asked, his voice as hard and sharp as volcanic glass. When the guardspony didn't reply, Alex said, "That's what I thought," and kept going, leaving the picnic dinner unopened and uneaten behind him. After he'd long since vanished into the city, Shining Armor had gone home, and the sun had sunk below the horizon, the grass Alex had walked over began to glow green, beating in tune with the fighter's damaged heart.


88888888


Alex stalked through the streets of Vanhoover, ponies of all shapes and sizes stepping aside as he passed. He may only ever carry his knife while not 'on duty,' but the towering thunderhead of his presence was more than enough incentive to make them move. He'd been a fool, a complete and utter fool to think that a Princess would ever fall for him. Heh, The Princess of Love. What a joke. The moment she didn't get what she wanted she cast a spell that enthralled him to her every whim, as if she was entitled to everything he had, willingly given or not. This betrayal hurt, of course, but nowhere nearly as much as losing True Strike did now that Alex was free. False love lost didn't cut like real love did, something he could only appreciate after the fact. Of course, that didn't stop his chest from feeling like it was caving in on itself.

True Strike was cream coated pegasus with an eye patch and a sickly sweet disposition. She was fiercely loyal, ruthless beyond all compare, and loved sweet-talking her opponents even as her hoof-blades flayed them open. Off duty, that skill with a weapon became skill with her tongue, shooting carefully worded barbs that made everyone within hearing range burst out laughing save her victims. Beautiful, smart, and deadly. A dangerous combination.

She was also he one who'd hired him as a guard in the first place. When Alex had showed up in Equestria after getting lost on the way to an SCA* event out in the scrub lands of Mississippi, he hadn't known what to do at first. One moment he was driving along a back road, trying to make sense of the site directions and kicking himself for not buying a car adapter for his phone, and the next he was going down a dirt path headed straight for Vanhoover. Sure, he'd been packed for a week of what was basically camping in a medieval war, but once he was certain that no, he wasn't hallucinating, and no, wherever he'd ended up was not a fairy grove or a pocket dimension or some crap like that, it didn't stop him from needing to get a job before his supplies ran out. He'd set up his tent (a collapsible Marquee pavilion mounted on a trailer bed he'd been pulling) in a secluded park on the nice side of town, then gone looking for work.

He quickly determined that his day job as a chemical tester was worth jack shit in an early industrial society without any of his credentials, so after working the problem over for five minutes according to a clock, he'd sucked it up, strapped on a sword and some armor, and wandered into the seedier side of town looking for a bar that catered to mercenaries. He'd gotten a lot of strange looks, but no more than the odd minotuar or gorilla he'd seen walking around, so it wasn't much of an issue.

Normally, doing something like this rated very high on Alex's list of 'dumb ideas.' However, firearms didn't seem to exist here, wherever 'here' was, and anyone who wanted to bother him had to guess whether the unknown, large, and heavily armed and armored creature was worth pissing off. In most cases, the answer to that was no. Also, he didn't have any of the local currency on him, so anyone trying to rob him was wasting their time.

Eventually his luck paid off, and Alex tailed a group of armored pegasi back to a smoke covered tavern named The Demon's Roost. He'd gone in, asked for a water (ordering a hard drink when he couldn't pay was just begging for more trouble) and when the barkeep asked why he didn't want something stronger, mentioned his employment status. True Strike had overheard, and offered him a job, provided he could prove his skill. He'd responded by suggesting they go out back and spar, to which she'd agreed. Ten minutes and much raised dust and scuffling later, he had a job guarding the southernmost ports from hippocampi raiders as they loaded and unloaded cargo from the far east.

In reality, working security was much like being a lifeguard: a lot of intense training for extreme scenarios, but mostly Alex just stood around looking intimating. A ship the looked secure was most of the way towards being secure, and the hippos tended to strike on the open ocean anyway. Only the desperate clans ever roamed close enough to shore to be a threat.

This meant Alex spent a lot of time standing around, bored out of his mind, with nothing to do except talk to the other guards. Friendships quickly blossomed, and something more with the mare who'd recruited him in the first place. It had taken him a while to admit his feelings for anything that wasn't a human, and longer still to work out how to approach her without getting kicked in the groin, but he'd managed it somehow. His life had been pretty sweet for a while. Then Cadance had shown up and shot it all to hell.

A shadow blocked his path, and with a start Alex realized he'd started walking on autopilot, moving not towards his home, but the docks. The Demon's Roost stood before him, and it occurred to Alex that his feet must know him better than he did, because he sorely needed a drink. He pushed the doors open and entered. The bar was just like it always was, smoky, stinky, and completely grunge free. Alex had never been able to pry the secret of how they kept the place clean from the owners, but he suspected magic of some sort. It was always magic on this f'ed up planet.

"Hey, Al," said Hops, the brown unicorn who manned the bar, as Alex pulled up a stool, "What'll it be?"

"I don't care," Alex grumbled, "Just give me something strong."

Hops raised an eyebrow but didn't pry, instead turning and starting to fill a shotglass.

As he waited, another pony, this one an indigo pegasus, pulled up a stool next to him, "You haven't been in here for a while," said True Strike's coltfriend (the name had slipped Alex's mind), "Bit of a surprise, to be honest. Thought you were gone for good."

While the pain Alex had caused True Strike did affect their relationship somewhat, his interactions with her new coltfriend had always been cordial. As another guard in a different section of the company, they mostly kept to their own business, and tried not to talk about True Strike the few times when they did interact.

"I needed a drink," Alex said simply, taking the glass that had been placed before him and downing in one go, "Another." He said flatly, and Hops went about refilling his glass.

Sure Hoof (Ah, that was his name) raised an eyebrow, "Got mare troubles?" he asked, a hint of a smirk creeping into his voice.

"Try the biggest mare trouble ever," Alex snarled, "Turns out the Princess never wanted to date me in the first place. She just wanted a lay, and when I told her no she took it by force, cast a love spell on me and everything. She undid the spell and dumped me this afternoon, and only because her fiance made her do it. Bitch."

Sure Hoof stared at him in shock, "...You really expect me to believe you were mind controlled?" he said incredulously.

"I don't care whether you believe me or not," Alex ground out, taking the glass he was offered and knocking it back, "That's what happened, and nothing either of us believes," he snorted, "Will do anything to change it."

Sure Hoof glared at him, then furrowed his brow for a moment, seemingly thinking it over, before reaching out and patting Alex on the shoulder. Alex flinched at the first one, but relaxed a bit for the followups. "That must be rough, bud," Sure Hoof said finally.

"Tell me about it." Alex let out a sharp burst of air as he reached into his pocket and started paying his bill, "I mean, that bitch ruined my life, and it's not like she's getting arrested or anything for it. Noooo, she's a Princess. They're above the law." That last sentence was so bitter even Sure Hoof's ears went flat.

Alex slapped the money on the counter and leaned back with a sigh, "So yeah, that was my shit for today. What about you?"

"Just the usual," Sure Hoof said, gamely latching onto the topic change, "My boss is dating another boss after breaking up with a third boss, and the sniping between them has gotten so bad they're messing with the shipments to get back at each other. One of them tried to drop a box of anvils on the other today. She missed, but it made a big hole in the pier. Almost got my tail too."

Alex's lips twitched. Normally a story like this would get a chuckle out of him, but he wasn't feeling it tonight. The hole in his heart was getting in the way, and it twisted again as his attention returned to it.

Alex nodded, then stood up abruptly and headed for the back of the building. "I need to hurt something," he muttered.

Sure Hoof nodded back and stayed where he was. He'd seen this enough times before.


88888888


Slash-slash-slash-slash. Alex worked a steady rhythm with his knife on the practice dummy, going for the legs, the neck, the back, the face, then back to the legs. Stupid nobility and their stupid laws. Back home if someone pulled something like this they be in prison for life if they weren't straight up executed. And she gets off with what, a warning? Well, a warning, a boatload of guilt, and the distrust of everyone in the know, but still. Fucking Monarchies.

Alex struck at the neck again, working his knife harder and deeper before following up with a roundhouse kick that knocked the dummy's head clean off and sent it skittering across the training ground. He knew that would come out of his tab, but he didn't care. He needed to break something, but he still had just enough self control to avoid committing murder. Barely. There was probably a solution here, one involving copious amounts of blackmail and media exposure, but Alex was too angry, frustrated, and depressed to work out the details. Instead, he settled for ripping the practice dummy apart with his bare hands.

A hiss of air behind him both made him start and look around just as he finished breaking the dummy's artificial spine, a picture of Cadance in his head overlayed with the dummy's torn foam innards and shredded cloth skin. True Strike was standing in the doorway to the bar, glaring at Alex with enough intensity to set his hair on fire. Even after their breakup, she still caught his eye, the faint lines under her eyes that made her whole face light up when she smiled only barely visible. Alex never really stopped loving anyone he started a relationship with, something he considered both a blessing and a curse. The curse side was definitely showing itself now. He stared at her for a moment, opened his mouth, then realized he had nothing to say, nothing he could say that undo everything that had happened between them, and closed it. The stallion still inside the bar was proof enough of that.

The memory of their breakup was fuzzy, but Alex did recall quite a bit of physical pain on his part. True Strike had been both a close friend and his marefriend, and while he might be able to get the friend part back, assuming he could get her to sit still and listen long enough that he could explain what happened (already unlikely in the extreme, assuming she didn't just skewer him), there was no way she'd ever trust him like that again. That door was closed, permanently.

That thought throbbed painfully, wracking his body with twitches before settling into his heart. It lodged neatly next to the guilt and and slowly building anger, just above the Pits of Despair and a hair to the right of the Regretful Forests. Alex tried not to make a habit of blaming anyone but himself, because the only actions that would change were his own, but there really wasn't any way he could have prevented this.

What small trace of magic he had (a slight boost to his coordination that made his fingers more swift and sure) were no match for spells from a unicorn of any caliber, let alone an alicorn working directly with her special talent. He couldn't have known that denying Princess Cadance the chance to sample, "Every kind of love in Equestria," and she had put it, would have backfired like this. However much he tried not to think it, he did anyway: Princess Cadance was solely responsible, and only she should be blamed. There was nothing he could change by blaming himself, short of never trusting anypony with a horn ever again, and that was just stupid.

He sighed, a long, soft, tired sound, all his fury draining out of him like someone had stuck a vacuum cleaner up his ass. He just wanted to sleep. To forget this ever happened. His bones ached, ached in a way that only a day spent fighting should be able to cause, though the alcohol's numbing effect was starting to sink in. "I'm sorry," he told True strike, making her blink in surprise. It occurred to him that he'd never apologized for his actions over the last few months, and that that needed fixing, "For everything. I'd tell you what happened, but just can't deal with this right now. Your colt has the rest of the story, you can ask him." He shoved the remains of his target into the corner and walked through the door, no longer caring enough to stay out of True Strike's range. Her special talent was finding weak points, and-ooh, yeah, there it was. Forehoof right in the stomach. He deserved that.

He almost vomited from the force of the blow, but True Strike knew just how hard to hit to prevent that from happening. After all, she was downrange, and if he spewed chunks it would be all over her.


88888888


Much later, when the sun had set and the stars were out in full, Alex finally made it home, stomping across the plot of land he rented that was bare save for his truck (now out of gas), a scattering of archery butts and practice dummies, and the tent that was his home. He ripped the tarp that served as the door to his tent out of the way, and stumbled over to the couch, the trailer bed the tent was mounted on wobbling slightly under his feet. He sprawled on the furniture with a groan, quickly running a hand over his face. He felt like crap. Nothing else to say on the matter.

Honestly, what else could be said? That Cadance had ruined a perfectly good relationship through her own spinelessness and lack of impulse control? That his circle of friends had decayed into nonexistence because all he cared about was her, so the only person he had to share his woes with was almost an enemy? That just last week, True Strike had finally laid him off and he hadn't even noticed? Or maybe the only thing left to say was that the realization that Cadance didn't love him, had never loved him, and that he'd never really loved her either had torn his heart into so many pieces he couldn't actually tell what he was feeling anymore?

His heart throbbed again, much more strongly this time, and the room started to tilt over Alex's head. Huh. Unless Alex had completely missed a very important kind of book over the years, he was pretty sure being heartbroken didn't cover this, even when drunk. He tried to sit up, only to realize his muscles weren't responding, before the aching hole in his chest grew a third time and he was unable to focus on anything else. Also, if whoever was screaming could cut it out, he would greatly appreciate it.


88888888


In a cavern far below the Badlands, down a pit so dark you literally couldn't see your hoof in front of your face, a spark of green traced the edges of a black pod melded to the wall. That spark became two, then five, then a curving line that turned into an oval and began to steam. The outer shell of the pod fell away, revealing a green membrane pulsing softly in the darkness. The membrane bulged, tore, and finally burst open, spilling green slime and a large equine form across the ground. Slowly, the changeling climbed to her hooves, fluttering her wings and shaking her limbs to remove the last traces of stasis goo. Her horn pulsed once, and the cavern lit up, small orbs lining the upper walls shining a sickly green for the first time in centuries. Hundreds of smaller pods surrounded the first, and each started sparking much like hers had as their Queen took her first breath of air in 300 years. 

Her respite didn't last long, though, and soon she had dried enough to spread her wings and buzz into the sky, taking the appearance of a griffon in order to avoid attention. Something had awoken her, a pulse of magic she had only felt a few times before, and she needed to investigate. A glimmer of hope blossomed in her chest before she stamped it down again. It was probably nothing. It hadn't been anything the last five times, and she didn't want to get her hopes up. She'd go confirm it wasn't worth bothering with, gather enough love energy to go back to sleep, and wait. Wait for the Crystal Empire to return, so that she may exact vengeance on the pony who had turned her into a monster.
> 1: Help! There's a Bug in My Room!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chrysalis's wings ached as she soared through the chilly pre-dawn air, an empty forest spread out beneath her. Honestly, why did the signal have to come from the far end of Equestria? No really, why? Wasn't her life hard enough as it was? It could have been from that frontier town just a few hours north of the hive, but noooo, it had to be Vanhoover, Equestria's north-western point. Considering the badlands were to the south-east, this meant she had to traverse the entire country. What a pain.

Well, at least she was more than halfway there, according to the fact she'd passed Canterlot over half an hour ago. At this rate she'd arrive at noon, roughly, at which point she could grab a disguise, scope out the area, and confirm once and for all that nothing was happening what-so-ever and go back to sleep. By Sleipnir, she was tired.


88888888


Alex groaned softly as an incessant beeping noise filled his ears. What happened? He remembered pain, then a lot more pain, but then... nothing. He must have passed out at some at point, but other than that he had no idea. He shifted around groggily, and realized with a start that he wasn't on his bed. Or his couch, for that matter. In fact, none of the furniture he owned had a mattress this thin. So where-

He blinked his eyes open. A stark white ceiling greeted them, one streaked with the light of early morning coming in through a window on the far side of the room. The sharp tang of disinfectant filled his nostrils as he took a deep breath, causing him to burst out coughing. Huh, he must be in the hospital. Still, that begged the question of who had brought him in and why he was here in the first place. A memory from the previous night clicked into place as the prompt cycled through his cerebrum. Oh, right, the person that had been screaming was him. He guessed that would attract some attention.

He shifted again and tried to sit up, only to feel a pressure on his wrists and ankles keeping him horizontal. Wait, why would they restrain him? He had a record here. It was only common sense that he give the doctors a baseline of human vitals in case he ever got injured enough to need their help, so they knew he wasn't a threat. They shouldn't need to restrain him.

Alex noticed that he was very, very confused, and started scanning his surroundings more thoroughly. He quickly noted the bars on the window, the heart monitor synced up to a patch on the inside of his wrist, the reinforced steel door, and what sounded like a couple of ponies standing around on the other side. Whoever wanted to keep him contained was pulling out all the stops. He idly scratched at an itch on his butt, contorting himself just enough to reach, and froze. Something had pulled on his back when he moved, and he knew for a fact that he didn't have claws. Didn't used to have claws, rather.

His brain came fully awake, and the beeping spiked in response to the surge of adrenaline in his veins as he fought to control his panic. He needed to get out of here now, and panicking, while cathartic, would render him helpless for quite some time. Whatever had happened to him, he needed to deal with it immediately. A quick test confirmed that his claws were sharp enough to cut his skin, and he twisted his wrist around to get at the strap on his arm restraints, his mind buzzing over his options even as his fingers got to work.

He'd planned, well, not really planned, but expected, to spend the day moping about his problems. The thought brought the hole his chest back to his attention, along with making his stomach growl painfully, but he shoved the sensations aside and focused on getting free. If he had a meltdown here, he wasn't going anywhere, end of story. Therefore, his priorities were 1. Get out of this room, 2. Find a mirror, 3. Determine what had happened, how, and why, and 4. Track down the responsible party and make them fix it. Then he could handle the clusterfuck that was his life.

He had just finished cutting through the first restraint and was busily untying his other arm (revealing a black clawed limb covered in circular pits that made him shudder) when the door clicked open and a pair of ponies in scrubs walked in. Alex stared at them in silence. They stared back. The possibility of not subduing the ponies and instead just calmly asking them what they knew passed through his mind, and he latched onto the idea, fluffed it out a bit, and went for it. After all, they were doctors, their job was helping people.

"Hey, Doc," Alex said wheezily, the stopped and lifted a hand to his throat. His voice had this crazy buzzing undertone to it now, and the disconnect between what he'd heard and what he thought he should sound like stopped him cold. His voice had the opposite effect on the doctors.

"It's escaping!" The orange mare shouted, and turned to run.

"Hold up!" Alex sort-of shouted, "I'm not going anywhere." This wasn't strictly true, but the truth would only make her panic worse at this point.

She stopped in mid-step, then looked over her shoulder, "You aren't?" She asked, clearly baffled.

"Of course not," Alex replied gamely, reaching down towards his legs and freeing whatever object/body part had been pinned against the bed, "I'm still tied down, remember?" The pony had the sense to look sheepish at his response.

The other doctor, a pitch black mare with a snow white mane, coughed and shot her colleague a glare the made the younger mare cower, "I apologize for my intern, sir, she's," she waved a hoof, "easily startled when not in the operating room. Now, if you don't mind, I have a few questions-"

"Only if you'll answer my questions too," Alex shot back, kicking his left leg free and noting that one of his toes had a hole drilled straight through it. That sent shivers down his spine, especially the part where it didn't hurt, "Starting with a mirror. Please," he added as an afterthought.

The mare frowned, but nodded, and stuck her head out the door to say something to one of the ponies standing outside. Two sets of hooves walked away, making Alex wonder what the second pony was doing as the doctor levitated in a cushion and sat on it, clipboard at the ready. She told her assistant to wait outside, something Alex was grateful for. This would be difficult enough without staring down two people at once. Eventually, he finished untying his other foot and scooted forward on the bed, feeling something flutter through the air behind him.

Curious, he reached out, grasped something smooth and silky, and pulled it forward into his field of vision. He stared in surprise: a wing, an insect's wing that shone a bright green with just enough blue in it to maybe pass for teal and big enough to fit his frame met his gaze, and a gentle tug confirmed that it was indeed affixed to his back. "That's disturbing," he said out loud, turning the wing over in his fingers. He was pretty sure he was in shock at this point, and that that was the only reason he hadn't had a nervous breakdown from having this... this, whatever, piled on top of everything he'd gone through yesterday.

"Ahem," the older mare, causing Alex to jerk his attention back to her, his expression to complex to pin down,  "Name?" she asked.

Alex raise an eyebrow at her question. He must have looked really different if they couldn't even tell it was him by his photograph. "Alexander Fleming the 2nd," he said, rattling off the Scadian* pseudonym that had become his given name in this crazy world. His 'true name' had never passed his lips here, as the first thing he thought of when he saw actual magic existed was "names have power." As far as Equestria was concerned, his name was Alex, and the only ones who would know otherwise were those who tried to use that knowledge against him.

"Species?" the mare said, scribbling down his response.

"Human," Alex replied, then stuck the claw on his index finger through one of the holes in his right hand and wiggled it, trying to process the sensations the action brought, "At least, that's what I used to be. No clue now."

That got her to look at him, even if her expression was still blank. "And what can you tell me about last night?"

Alex winced. This was the part he hadn't been looking forward too. "Not much," he said, as evenly as he could, "After my marefriend broke up with me, I went to a bar to let off some steam. Then I walked home and passed out before waking up here, like this. I don't know why or how, if that's what your asking."

If Alex was going to pin Cadance to the wall, he needed to do it right. As a Princess, she would be able to wriggle out of anything less than his best effort. For a criminal charge of this severity she would be more slippery than an eel-pig hybrid covered in soap and oil. That meant saving the wonderfully juicy expose for when he got to the press, not blabbing the entire thing to the first pony he met. The second part was, once again, only partially true. Alex had a hunch that Cadance's magic had something to do with his transformation. The only thing he could think of that could do this was magic, and he hadn't been subjected to any other spells over the course of the past week that he was aware of (although the fact he hadn't been aware of Cadance's spell either was a cause for concern). If so, that meant she had even more hell to pay, but the idea was untested, the only hypothesis rather than the best. He wasn't certain enough to stake anything on it yet, and throwing a doctor a false lead never ended well.

The doctor looked at him sharply, one eyebrow raised in challenge. Alex just shrugged.

"...Age?"

"26," Alex replied without thinking. If he'd celebrated his last birthday a few months ago, and he'd gotten lost when he was 24, that meant this... was his second year in Equestria. Well, that was a sobering thought.

"Occupation?"

"Currently unemployed, but I normally work security at the docks. Come on, you guys have a file on me, you shouldn't need to ask this."

"I'll tell the nurse to check when he gets here with the mirror," The doctor stated flatly, "Blood type?"

Alex opened his mouth, then paused, thought it over, and sliced the back of his right ring finger. A drop of green blood oozed out, and he said, his voice cracking, "Unknown."

The mare blinked in surprise, but before she comment a knock at the door interrupted their little interview. Alex was happy to to have something to focus on other than his oncoming meltdown, if even for a moment. The doctor got up and opened it, allowing a pony carrying a large handheld mirror inside. She took the mirror in her magic, then whispered something in the stallion's ear. He nodded and trotted off again, this time in a different direction than whence he came.

Alex asked, "What's your name?" as the doctor returned to her seat, prompting a short sigh before her bedside manner returned.

"False Positive," she said, instilling Alex with the exact opposite of confidence, "I know, it's a terrible name for a professional. I'll live." She hesitated, then floated the mirror over to him. He took it in shaking hands, and looked in.

A horn was the first thing to grab his attention, short and stumpy yet sharpened towards the tip, with a hole drilled right through the base. The second was his eyes, now containing two irises and a slit pupil surrounded by a light green 'eye white.' The third was the fangs peeking out from behind his lips, just long enough that they didn't quite fit inside his mouth. His skin was now a green so dark it was almost black, and pointed ears were nestled in the short, tousled mess of wing-like membranes that seemed to be his hair. His bone structure was unchanged, but he might as well be another species when you added up everything else. He felt something inside his head snap, and his vision went hazy as the room wobbled on its axis.

"I-If you'll excuse me," he said faintly, almost dropping the mirror from nerveless fingers as he laid it on the bed, "I think I need to lie down now."

Dr. Positive nodded, a look of sympathy passing across her muzzle, and left as quietly as she could. Alex, meanwhile, curled up on the bed and proceeded to have a much deserved nervous breakdown.


88888888


"How is he?" Stopwatch asked, falling into step behind her mentor.

"Stressed," Dr. Positive replied, "Times a hundred. Honestly I'm surprised he's still conscious. If what he's saying is true a pony would have fainted by now."

"Will he be ok?" Stopwatch asked as they cycled out of the high security wards.

Dr. Positive only sighed and shook her head, "Physically: if we can figure what did this, yes I think so. Even if we can't undo it his condition seems to have stabilized. Mentally: well, that's up to him. Him and whatever psychiatrist gets lucky/unlucky enough to have him as a client. Now, go tell Captain Armor that the patient needs some time to process this. We'll let him know when he's ready to talk."

"Y-yes Ma'am!"


88888888


Chrysalis gagged as she landed in a clump of bushed on the outskirts of Vanhoover. This city stank. Greed, distrust, and apathy mixed together in the air to form an emotional miasma even the world's most masochistic changeling wouldn't touch. She would liken it to eating sulfur mixed with rotting fish if she'd ever been unlucky enough to sample such a concoction, and resolved to spend even less time here than she'd planned on previously. She'd have to find a nice, small village on her way back to fill up on. Those generally tasted sweet.

After a quick look around to make sure no-one was watching, her entire form flashed green, and a teal coated unicorn with a matching mane and tail walked into the city. The smell was even stronger here, but Chrysalis could also pick out the subtle communal ties and love of friends and family the overarching stench covered up at a distance, making the experience bearable. Still, she would have done the empathic equivalent of holding her nose if she hadn't needed that sense to know where she was going.

The love pulse still hadn't dissipated entirely, although it had weakened since it first appeared, allowing Chrysalis to follow it with relative ease. She quickly tracked it to the south western edge of town, using a simple misdirection spell to turn away the few crooks who were bold enough to be out during the day, and soon found herself staring at something both exhilarating and alarming: a crime scene perimeter.

Ponies walked in and out of a tent surrounded by carefully painted wooden blocks sitting next to a weird-looking cart covered in a metallic finish, going up and down the front steps whenever they went inside. Chrysalis briefly wondered why you would need stairs to enter a tent, but dismissed the question as unimportant. Whatever had happened here, it was big, but at the same time it meant that the scene had been tampered with. Chrysalis couldn't do her investigations now without putting some effort into staying hidden, and the stuff she was looking for might already be long gone.

Hmm. Maybe not entirely gone. Chrysalis started walking again so she wouldn't attract the suspicion of the guards on duty, and softly lit her horn. Objects with strong emotions tied to them left traces of energy in their wake: the bigger the attachment and the more recently the item had been used, the stronger the trail was and the longer it would last. Anything capable of making a pulse strong enough to echo across the continent would leave such a trail. Chrysalis could not conceive of a world where that wasn't the case, which was why the fact that she wasn't finding anything was making her left eye twitch.

When a full minute of scanning provided no leads, she sighed, swallowed her pride, and went to pump a bystander for information. "Excuse me," she said to a nearby stallion, a pegasus with a tan coat and blonde mane who was watching the cops work, "Do you have any idea what happened here?" She widened her eyes in a display of fear mixed with curiosity to appeal to his protective instincts and continued, "I've never seen the guard out in force like this before. I hope nopony's in trouble."

"Well," the stallion said with a dry chuckle, "You sure picked the right guy to ask. I'm the one who called this in. You see, my neighbor, the guy who lives in that tent," he nodded towards the pavilion, "Bit aggressive, but real friendly once you break through his shell. Anyway, last night he started screaming loud enough to wake the entire street. I rushed over, of course, and found him passed out on the floor while twitching under the influence of some magic I couldn't make heads or tails of. I called an ambulance, and they whisked him off to the hospital. Haven't seen him since."

The stallion sighed wearily, "They still haven't told me if he's ok. Right now the guard is combing through his stuff to figure out what could have cursed him. They haven't found anything magical, but..." The stallion lowered his voice a bit, "I think they're going to have quite a few questions for him once they're done." An earth pony holding an evidence bag as far away from his person as possible that contained what appeared to be the severed tail of a griffon walked out of the tent a moment later, seemingly driving home the point.

"Ah. Thank you," Chrysalis forced out around the sudden lump in her throat. Could it be? "Do you where the ambulance took him?"

He did, and Chrysalis thanked him (always keep up appearances) and walked away as quickly as she could without raising suspicion, then swapped disguises once she was out of sight. The hope in her chest couldn't be suppressed anymore, and was whizzing around her head so strongly it was making her dizzy. The scene the stallion had told her about sounded way too familiar to be a coincidence, and it was all she could do to keep her hooves moving in a steady pattern and pointed in the right direction. Stumbling around like a drunkard would draw far too much attention here.

The stallion's directions proved true, and Chrysalis quietly snuck up on an orderly taking a smoking break outside a rear entrance, jumped her, subdued her, hid her away behind a few dumpsters, then took her form and jacket and slipped inside. A large portion of going unnoticed was acting like you had every right to be where you were. Move with the gait of somepony who has somewhere important to be and something equally important to do once they get there and most ponies won't give you a second glance. This was how Chrysalis was able to fake her way into searching the hospital from top to bottom, with no success.

She was just about to go back outside and grill the pony she'd caught for information when a stray conversation made it's way to her ears.

"You're kidding, right? That thing can't be him, they look nothing alike!"

"That's what he claims. Also, all the identity confirmation questions check out. If it's not him, whatever replaced him is doing a magnificent job."

"Eh, I'm just glad it's in the high security wards. I don't want that thing anywhere near the other patients if I can avoid it."

Chrysalis smiled, making a mental note to thank, and then kill, those two ponies later, and headed to the bottom floor. While the guards at the door to the correct wing provided a temporary obstacle, all that took was a minor mind trick to make them think she was authorized, and in she went. Only two of the cells/wards were occupied, and the first contained a minotuar that had lost both his horns in combat and clearly looked like he didn't want to be there. That left the other room.

Chrysalis gulped as she stood before the slab of steel separating her from her answer. Would she find what she was searching for, a companion to keep the darkness away and a sign that the crystal royalty had returned, or just another disappointment, like all that had come before? She lifted a hoof and placed it against the metal, then hesitated. She considered leaving, going back to sleep and pretending this whole thing had never happened. Her curiosity and hope responded by ganging up on her timidity and beating it into submission. She was going to see what lay on the other side, even if it killed her.

She took a deep breath, steadied herself as best she could, and pushed. The door clicked open. Her heart stopped. Gossamer wings attached to a black, hardened back. A horn, short but sharp. Membranes of hair covering his head. And a claw, riddled with holes, scratching at the tip of one of his ears in thought. Chrysalis's initial touch of disappointment that he wasn't a pony was run over by her other emotions. The mere sight of him took her breath away, and set off a series of sensations she hadn't felt in centuries. Extremely pleasant sensations.

Chrysalis couldn't help herself. She stumbled forward, into the room, letting the door close behind her, then started skip-trotting in place right then and there while muttering, "Yes, yes yes!"

"Ahem," Chrysalis froze, blushing heavily as she turned to face her the new changeling, who was staring at her with open suspicion, "Just who, and what, are you?"


88888888


Alex stared at the fake nurse in confusion. He knew she was fake. Even though nothing in her appearance gave her away as a copy, Alex could see that it was just a disguise. In fact, if he looked closely, he could see the outline of another pony under the shell. A much larger pony.

He was up and running before he realized he had moved at all, and the pony slammed flat against the wall and his hands around her throat, pinning her there.

"What are you!?" He shouted, "Show yourself!"

The pony coughed, then flashed green, and Alex almost dropped her in stunned confusion as the light faded from his eyes. Green eyes with slit pupils, a twisted horn, teal/green membranes sprouting from her head and cascading down her back, and gently fluttering wings, all topped off by a fanged muzzle that had stretched into a tired smile. The pony-bug didn't even seem to care that she was being strangled, and instead was gazing at him in... joy? What the hell?

Alex, naturally, made the connection. "What did you do to me?" he hissed in her face, the buzz in his vocal chords giving the expression a whole new threatening undertone.

Her expression changed to one of confusion and mild concern, "Nothing?" she told him, phrasing it almost like a question.

"Bullshit," Alex snapped back, squeezing harder, "I wake up as some kind of bug monster and the very same day another bug monster shows up looking for me? There's no way you're not involved in this."

"It. Wasn't. Me," The bug gasped out, her smile gone and her cheeks starting to turn green, "Love. Spell. Gone. Wrong. Could. Feel It. Came. To. See."

Alex snorted, but relaxed his grip enough to let her speak. She coughed a few times, then glared at him, "Put me down and I'll explain."

Alex raised an eyebrow, but complied, though he didn't move far enough away that he couldn't pin her again if he needed to. "Start talking," he growled, "I've got a boatload of issues and the powerful urge to smash something."

"Give me a moment," Chrysalis shot back, shaking herself all over, "I fly clean across the country looking for you and this is the thanks I get? Some welcome."

Alex's fists clenched, but he managed to keep himself from lashing out. Just barely. "I won't ask again. Start. Talking."

"All right, all right, fine, stow your wings already," she replied, then took a deep breath, "What I meant is I don't have the power to do this to you. It takes a certain spell cast by a certain bloodline corrupted in a certain way. You are not the first to fall victim to it, although hopefully you will be the last." She paused thoughtfully, "Tell me, have you been under a love spell recently? Perhaps one cast by a pony with a special shimmer in his or her coat?"

Alex nodded slightly, not liking where this was going.

"Then it's as I thought. My name is Queen Chrysalis. I'm a greater changeling. The last greater changeling," she bowed, just a small dip of her head, "Until you."
> 2: I'm a What Now?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The new changeling stared at Chrysalis for a long moment, then reached up and started rubbing his brow between his fingers, "Ok, start from the beginning. You're not making any sense right now."

"Well, I'd love to stick around and tell you the history of our kind, but," she smiled coyly, "As you may have guessed from my disguise I'm not really supposed to be here. It's only a matter of time before the unconscious body of the mare whose form I stole is discovered and this entire hospital gets locked down. I can give you a quick summary, but the details will have to wait unless you're willing to come with me." She lowered her eyelids and gave him her best smolder for further incentive. A second too late it occurred to her that maybe trying the seduction route wouldn't be the best idea here, but the damage was already done.

Alexander's (she'd read his name off the clipboard attached to his bed while she was talking) face had turned stony, and he was glaring at her with an intensity that actually made her shrink back a touch. She wasn't sure whether he was doing it consciously, but his presence filled the entire room, squishing her up against the wall and leaving her weak in the knees. He felt predatory without needing any of the training she had put herself through back when she was first turned. She'd been hoping for and dreading a companion for quite some time now, but she'd never dreamed of somepony like this.

He blinked, and rubbed his head in confusion as the presence retreated, leaving Chrysalis scrambling to maintain her composure. "I think I'll start by asking what the hell that was," he said sharply.

"Right. That," Chrysalis waited until she was certain her voice was steady, then explained, "Changelings are empathic. We can sense the emotions of others and and use them to our advantage. The thing is, that little trick goes both ways. You projected your anger out onto the world at large just now, and I wouldn't be surprised if everypony in the building felt it." Her tone grew slightly nervous as she continued, "I need to leave now, before the guards I saw in the lobby come looking for you, and you probably should too. Last chance to come with me." She turned and started heading for the door. While she wouldn't just abandon him, not without making multiple attempts first, the pulse was real and she really needed to go.

For a moment she was worried she'd really have to walk away, but then-

"Swear on Tartarus you mean me no harm," Alex snapped just as she started to push the releasing latch on the outside of the room.

Chrysalis froze in place. Oaths sworn on that unholy place had unpleasant consequences if broken. One time, an oath breaker had climbed a bell tower to try to avoid the oncoming stampede. He'd promptly been over run by a herd of flying pigs that had been created by accident in the next town over. It might seem like coincidence, but stuff like that happened to oath breakers all the time, which really messed with everypony's sense of disbelief. In other words, if Chrysalis went back on her word she might not live to regret it.

"I swear," she said solemnly. Fortunately for her she was being honest, perhaps for the first time in her entire life.

"Say the entire thing," Alex told her, and Chrysalis bit back a curse that he knew how the ancients rites worked.

"I swear on the bowels of Tartarus that I mean you no harm," Chrysalis recited back to him with an exasperated sigh. A faint grinding of stone on stone told her that the oath had been witnessed, and Alex nodded in satisfaction, "Now move your fat flank, time is not on our side."

He stood up with a grumble, then stumbled woozily, leaning on the wall for support. Chrysalis rolled her eyes and sauntered over to him, feeding him a trace of love energy as she did so (the fruit of a quick snack she'd taken in Appleloosa to stock up for the journey), and said, "Silly changeling, our abilities take energy to use. You can't just throw a wall of anger out like that without something to power it, and you haven't had the chance to feed yet. Your stores are completely dry right now. Come on big guy, I'll get you some food once we're out of here."

She shoved herself between him and the wall and started guiding him towards the door, letting him lean against her as he rested some of his weight on her shoulders. The touch of his claws along her neck sent shivers down her spine, and she let herself have a moment to gloat over her prize. Yes, he'd make a fine king, once she'd whipped him into shape and gotten him over the pony that had done this to him. A shadow passed over her face at this, and she silently vowed to find that pony and make his or her demise as painful as possible. It wasn't like that wasn't already her plan in the first place, after all.

"Wait," Alex said, "I'm not wearing pants."

Chrysalis shot him a blank look, "Why do you care?" she asked.

"Culture thing," Alex replied, "Can we make," he grunted, "finding me some clothes a priority?"

"...I'll see what I can do," Chrysalis said noncommittally. She liked him without clothes, thank you very much, but if that was what it took to get on his good side, she'd consider it.


88888888


Celestia stalked through the corridors of her palace, a faint frown plastered across her muzzle. Captain Armor's latest report had been troubling in the extreme, and Celestia was faced with a situation she wasn't very comfortable with: acting on incomplete information because time was critical. She couldn't take the luxury of sitting back and waiting until she had all the facts before moving. A P.R. disaster was bearing down on her niece's head, and unless Celestia did something to ward it off a single broken life would be the least of her worries.

The doors to Cadance's room slammed open, allowing Celestia to enter without knocking. Cadance didn't deserve that courtesy at the moment, and it might be a long time before she would again. The room was, of course, empty. Celestia had been fairly certain Cadance wouldn't be in here, but she'd needed to check regardless. A cursory inspection revealed a wastebasket full of tissues, a couple of black stains on her blue bedsheets that seemed to be equal parts mascara and salt water, a thick, fluffy rug with a ring on it where all the threads were pointed in the same direction, and an open window looking out on the palace gardens.

Celestia spread her wings and soared out across the grounds, taking a moment to revel in the sensation of wind caressing her feathers and the midday sun warming her back. Celestia never got to fly as often as she liked, so she had to enjoy what opportunities arose. She gave herself a little shake and focused, letting her eyes scan the shadows under the trees for a certain flash of pink. Cadance had selected a few choice moping spots for herself over the years, so it was only a matter of finding the right-there she is.

Celestia tucked her wings against her sides and rolled into a dive, pulling out of it at the last second and blasting a curtain of air in Cadance's face as she landed. Cadance looked like she was about to bolt, and Celestia had to resist the urge to just reach down and hug her as tightly as possible. While that may be what both she and Cadance wanted, it wasn't what Cadance needed, so Celestia steeled herself and stood firm.

Celestia sighed internally, then spoke the words she dreaded more than any others, "Cadance, I am very disappointed in you."

Cadance withered on the spot, seemingly regressing from the fine young mare Celestia thought she had become back into the scared little filly that had first walked through the palace doors, all those years ago. That filly had bloomed under Celestia's care and patient teachings, or so she had thought. Now Celestia was trying to figure just where she had gone so wrong. Cadance, meanwhile, hadn't said a word, only looked down at her hooves in sullen silence.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Celestia asked, a hint worry creeping into the back of her mind even as she kept it out of her voice.

Cadance shook her head. When Celestia didn't respond, Cadance said, "No. I don't."

Celestia blinked. Whenever she'd asked that question in the past, Cadance had always let loose a torrent of excuses, ranging from the almost believable to the downright absurd. To see her not even trying to defend herself was alarming, to say the least.

"I screwed up," Cadance continued, ears drooping and sounding so miserable she was almost apathetic, "I screwed up, and Alex paid the price."

Celestia had nothing to say to that at first. It was merely a confirmation of what she had already read, and it told her nothing of the why. As the ruler of a country for an entire millennium, she had seen more trysts, adulteries, and awkward situations than she could shake a sunbeam at, not that she wanted to. Currently, her instincts were telling her something was off, just a little. Shining's story didn't quite make sense in a way Celestia couldn't put her hoof on, other than that Cadance wasn't telling her something. Something important.

"Cadance," Celestia rebuked gently, "That's not everything, is it? I know you, you're stronger than that. You wouldn't have let something like this happen, not the mare I taught."

"Maybe you don't know me as well as you thought you did, "Cadance said bitterly, "you wouldn't be the only one."

"As if I hadn't heard that line before," Celestia said with a slight smirk. When Cadance didn't rise to the bait, instead choosing to examine a nearby flower, Celestia went on, "Come on, you can tell me the rest of it. I'm here to help you, but you have to let me."

"What if I don't want your help?" Cadance snapped, causing Celestia to smile. There was the filly she'd raised, proud and headstrong and so certain she was in the right, "This is my mess, isn't it? I should be the one to fix it!"

"That doesn't mean you have to do it alone," Celestia riposted, "It may be your fault, but it's not just your responsibility. When one foal starts a house fire, the entire village helps to put it out. I took you on as a student and fellow Princess: that also means I took on the responsibility for helping you fix your mistakes, but I can't do that if you shut me out. Please," Celestia sat down across from her, brushing a lock of hair away from Cadance's face so she look her in the eye, "Don't do that to me."

"I liked him, all right?" Cadance shouted, knocking Celestia's hoof away as her ears laid flat against her skull, "I did it because I liked him! That first night, when he came to visit me, he had me in stitches the entire evening. By the time I figured out what I'd done he'd already wormed his way into my heart just by being him! He was funny, and charming, and just put me at ease. Shining: his time in the guard weighs on him, you can see it in the way he walks, the way he just stares off into space sometimes, like he's looking at a horror only he can see. There's nothing I can do to ease that burden.

"Alex... Alex isn't like that. He looks death in the face and laughs at it while smacking his flank. He cracks jokes about the battles he's been in and tells these crazy stories about his job that I would never believe for a second if he didn't keep trophies and scars as proof, but he isn't a monster. He still cares about those close to him. At least," Her head lowered as she let a out a sniffle, "He used too. I knew the moment I let that spell lift he would hate me forever, and would have every right, so I would tell myself 'Just one more day, then I'll free him.'"

Cadance let out a humorless chuckle that turned into a sob halfway through, "You can see how well that turned out."

Celestia frowned, but nodded. The sad truth was she did understand, but that didn't make Cadance's actions any more excusable. If anything, it only made her look worse.

"Cadance," Celestia said tiredly, "as much as I may want to, I can't make this go away. Sooner or later word is going to get out, and then it'll be all over Equestria in the blink of an eye. Tell me Cadance, what are you going to do when that happens?"

"I don't know!" Cadance warbled, looking up at her, her eyes red and puffy from all the tears she'd shed, "It's too awful to think about."

"That won't stop it from happening," Celestia told her. This lesson had always been one of the hardest for Cadance to accept, and today was no exception.

"Then please, Princess, tell me. What should I do?"

"There's only one thing you can do at this point," Celestia stated, the words weighing heavily on her soul, "Right your wrongs as best you can. Tell the world the truth, and try to mend what you broke. If you try to bury this, I can tell you, speaking from personal experience, that it will return at the worst possible moment."

Cadance's expression was pleading, begging Celestia with her eyes to tell her that there was any other way. When Celestia didn't budge, Cadance sighed, wiped her cheeks, and drew from the deep pool of strength Celestia had always known she possessed, even if Cadance herself hadn't.

"You're right," she said quietly, half to herself, "That is the right thing to do. Celestia?"

Celestia lips turned upward just the tiniest bit, "Yes, Cadance? What is it?"

"Will I go to prison for this?" Cadance asked, her lower lip trembling.

Celestia thought for a moment, then said, "Is there anything involved in a prison sentence that is worse than what you've already put yourself through and the challenges you're about to face?" Cadance shook her head, "Then I think it would be quite pointless. However," Celestia's gaze grew steely as her mane billowed out behind her like it was caught in a storm wind, "If I ever hear about something like this involving you again I will no longer be so lenient. Understood, young lady?" Cadance looked like she was about to wet herself, but still had the sense to nod so eagerly her head almost fell off. "Good." Celestia nodded to herself, her usual serene smile back in place as she stood and turned to leave. "I'll arrange the press conference. I look forward to hearing what you have to say."


88888888


Chrysalis froze halfway down the hall on their way out of the high security ward, causing Alex to stumble into her, "We've got company," she said slowly, "Stick close to me and whatever you do, don't let go." Her horn lit up and she got to work, casting one of the most challenging illusions she knew, second only to making a pony disguise without using a template of any kind. The pair shimmered, wavered, then faded from sight as the light-bending spell took hold, rendering them all but invisible. Chrysalis scooted over to the wall, pulling Alex along after her, and walked straight up it and onto the ceiling just as the main door burst open and a full platoon of guards charged in, horns glowing and spears at the ready.

Alex took a sharp breath, but the sound was drowned out by the clatter of steel hooves on tile as the guards systematically checked each room from top to bottom. Somepony cursed loudly when they saw Alex's room was empty, and a pair of guards left immediately through the front door, leaving it open just long enough for Chrysalis and Alex (who was staring at her in open wonder) to slip through.

They overheard the guards outside the door mentioning a 'Nurse White Cross' going inside but not coming back out while trying to explain why a simple sweet talking was enough to get her unsupervised access. This made Chrysalis smirk while Alex gave her a raised eyebrow. She mouthed "later," and started walking again, forcing Alex to follow unless he wanted to fall off the ceiling. Alex had another close call when he spotted Shining Armor stomping towards them with a glare that made the tiles in front of him start smoking. The sight almost made him lose his footing, but a sharp tug from Chrysalis's horn kept him place before disaster could strike.

Getting outside was a challenge all on it's own, as it required Chrysalis to slide herself and Alex through a swinging door and out into the city at large during the brief seconds a guard passed through them, as a door opening all by itself would attract far too much unwanted attention. If she'd had time to teach Alex how to disguise himself (which had taken at least a week for her to learn) it would have been as simple as jumping two guards and walking out the door. But no, they had to start on the stealthy times within fifteen minutes of meeting each other. Chrysalis knew they were getting lucky here, and she didn't like it one bit. She'd found out the hard way that the moment you started relying on luck was the moment it abandoned you. 

In fact, at that exact instant their luck ran out, and the door closed on Chrysalis's tail. Her sharp hiss of pain was loud enough to attract the closest guard's attention, and he swung wildly, clocked her upside the head with his spear even as Alex freed her tail from the door. The invisibility spell shattered as Chrysalis stumbled backwards, leaving the pair with their backs to the wall and no less than five royal guards blocking their escape route.

For a single tense moment neither side moved. Then the guards lowered their spears and spread out, making sure the two changelings had nowhere to go except back into the hospital.

"What the buck are those!?"

"How should I know!? I've never seen them before."

"Freeze!"

The changelings had almost identical reactions. Chrysalis hissed as her wings flared out and she rooted herself, making her look much larger then she was. Alex didn't hiss, but his wings did spread as he dropped into a fighting stance, swaying slightly in the air as they helped keep him balanced. Chrysalis noticed with a start that he looked exactly like one of those eastern martial arts practitioners that had sometimes wandered into the Crystal Empire during her youth, and that their style fit his frame far better than a pony's. However, this wasn't the time to ponder such things, and she forced herself back into the present.

The two sides stared each other down, occasionally making a slight movement to test their opponents' reaction. The standoff ended when the leftmost guard, who was already looking twitchy, lunged, his spear aimed for Alex's heart. Alex smacked the spear aside with his leading arm, stepped away from the weapon and forward, and twisted, channeling all the energy of his movement into a reverse punch that slammed into the pony's jaw, nailing the soft spot between his helmet's nose plate and cheek plate. The pony went down like a sack of potatoes, but Alex was still moving, turning with his momentum as he brought his leg up and kicked the next guard under the chest guard, knocking him off his hooves, and planting his weight on the now extended limb as it came down.

The next guard managed to get his spear ready fast enough to block Alex's next punch, only for Alex's fist to turn into a claw as he pulled his arm back, leaving four sharp cuts down the guard's cheek and gouging chunks of wood from the spear shaft. As the maimed guard whinnied and reared back in pain the fifth guard stabbed at Alex's exposed back, only to receive a duck and a back kick to the snout for his trouble. Alex then followed up on the fourth guard with an uppercut to the chin. The third guard screamed for help just as Alex smacked him in the face with a tiger palm, sending him spluttering to the ground.

Chrysalis blinked. The whole fight had taken maybe five seconds, tops, leaving no opportunity for her to join in. Oh well, there was always next time.

"Huh," Alex said, as he started to wobble, "That was easier than I, expected..." His eyelids fluttered as his balance faltered, and he tumbled forward, unconscious. Chrysalis only barely managed to catch him before he hit the ground face first, and quickly slung him onto her back. With a quick glance around for bystanders, she slipped behind the nearest bush, shifted into an overweight stallion to account for the extra bulk, and walked off as quickly as she could without looking hurried. She didn't care that he'd saved their hides: he still hadn't recovered from that anger wave he'd emitted back in his cell, and the battle had forced him to expend even more energy. She'd just gotten a companion after what felt like an eternity spent alone. She wasn't about to let him go this easily.


88888888


"Re-port," droned Sergeant Shifter, sitting behind a lump of stone that had once been a desk. His wings buzzed in irritation. This particular surveying party should have been back hours ago. He was just about to send out a search party when they stumbled back out of the tunnels, so they better have a very good explanation for what had taken them so long.

While he may have only been a sergeant, in truth he led the entire changeling swarm while the queen was away. At one point, he'd asked why she never appointed any officers. She told him that if the changelings ever grew large enough to need officers, they would get them. Since birthing new changelings required both a king and a queen, and Chrysalis was obviously single, this had never happened. The hive had corporals, and sergeants, and that was it. Frankly, that was all they needed too, but it still irked Shifter that he couldn't at least become a lieutenant. 

"The primary hatchery and storage facilities have caved in, sergeant," stated corporal Long Horn, greeting the sergeant with a sloppy salute, "We had to map a few new paths through the tunnels in order to complete our inspection. Fortunately the backups are still usable. Private Hindsight's pod is empty, but he seems to have made it to the surface safely, Sleipnir protect him. Also, we found a few ponies poking around the main entrance and decided to have some fun with them. That's what took us so long sir. On the plus side we have a fresh serving of fear magic for anyone who's hungry enough."

Sergeant Sifter nodded stiffly, "Acceptable. Next time send a runner back to inform us if you're behind schedule. For now, go distribute your spoils among the stasis technicians." Long Horn saluted again, and Shifter returned it before the changeling headed off. 

Shifter sighed and slumped a little now that he was alone. It was always the same dance whenever they got woken up. Her Majesty would fly off to investigate the latest disturbance, and he would stay behind and catalog everything that had broken since the last incident. Chrysalis would come back, tell them it was a false alarm, and they'd repair the essential systems, recharge the stasis goo, and go back to sleep. The pods weren't perfect, but they had been designed to awaken and forcibly eject their contents if damaged, so, when combined with a distinct lack of changeling corpses lying around, everypony assumed the changelings that went missing had woken up, realized their predicament, and gone out to live in Equestria at large. Given that one of those changelings had actually come back last time with enough magic to recharge the pods all by herself, this wasn't as far fetched as it might appear.

"Shifter, my son," hissed a soft voice in his ear. Shifter instantly straightened and perked up his ears. Chrysalis, in order to save energy, only ever contacted one changeling directly while away from the hive, who would then relay he message to the others. Activating even this simplified 'hive mind' took a considerable amount of effort that increased with distance, and nopony ever used it without good reason.  Also, since she preferred to relay her findings in person, something important must have happened, "Tell the hive that an event both wonderful and tragic has come to pass. A changeling King has been born."

Shifter's jaw dropped. Chrysalis wouldn't lie, but this was more than many of them had ever hoped for. The thought of having new brothers and sisters again... it took his breath away.

"Right away, mother," he sent back, "Should I tell the others not to bother with the stasis pods?"

"That would be advisable," The queen purred, "Please do."

Shifter grinned as he stood up, marching neither quickly nor slowly towards the the speaking ledge at the center of the main cavern junction. Standing next to the speakers rock, he began to strike it with his hoof, sending out a summons across the hive. Soon enough, all the others had gathered below him, looking up in confusion at what he might need to say.

When everypony was present, Shifter stopped kicking the stone, and spoke. "Brothers! sisters!" Shifter said, projecting his voice out across the multitude, "I bear the best of all possible news! The wait. Is. OVER!"

For a split second, silence reigned. Then the cheering started. "That's right, my siblings!" Shifter continued, letting his own elation creep into his voice, "Not only is our beloved queen no longer alone, but she now has a King!" the cheers and stomping grew louder, "You all know what this means! Our patience, our sacrifices, and the sacrifices of those that came before have paid off! The blood of the Crystal Empire has resurfaced, and this time," his voice lowered, though it still carried all the way to the back row, "Our Queen will have her vengeance, and we. Shall. Have. JUSTICE!" The roar the followed knocked a stalactite off the ceiling, not that anypony noticed.
> 3: Tastes Like Chicken
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chrysalis stopped to catch her breath as she dropped Alex on the cobblestone of a back alley. Without her empathy, she'd be totally lost by now. The only really big structure that had ever been in her life was the crystal palace, and it was nothing like the monoliths of glass, brick, steel, and stone that lined the streets of this city. The inside of each one would have been a complete mystery to her if she was still a normal pony, and she wouldn't have any idea that she'd just stopped outside the purest (to her senses) brothel in town. Most of those places had a strong flavoring of misery and fear, with no love or other positive emotions in sight. This one, however was clean lust with a touch of love and playful laughter. While the former could become fine cuisine if properly aged, it was an acquired taste in addition to not making a changeling's best first meal.

Speaking of which... She glanced down at her companion, lying slumped against the wall. She needed to wake him up so she could teach him to feed. However, that required a kick start, a large dose of magic delivered all at once. She sighed wistfully as she leaned over him. He wasn't going to be happy when he woke up, so she had to savor it as best she could.


88888888


The first thing Alex felt when he woke was a surge of heat. It raced along his nerves, waking up tired muscles and making his heart beat erratically against his rib cage. The feeling petered out at the tips of his toes, and slowly got stronger as it traveled up his chest, reaching its peak around... his mouth? Alex suddenly realized something warm and soft was pressed against his face, and he shoved it away as his eyes shot open and he shouted, "Chrysalis, what the hell?"

Chrysalis stumbled back a pace, her wistful expression quickly being replaced with a distinct, "Sorry, not sorry," air. "I had to give you a large dose of love magic to wake you up, Alex, and Changelings can only do that a few different ways. If you'd rather I had used one of your other holes..."

Alex growled as he stood up shakily, "What do you mean love magic?" he hissed, his lips parting to reveal his fangs. If this 'changeling' thought she could enthrall him again-

"I don't mean a love spell, if that's what you're asking," Chrysalis told him, causing his anger to hiccup. She began to pace across the alley cobblestones, and said, "But the answer is part of a much larger explanation, so you'll just have to be patient until I get to it. Also, you better sit down for now, that fight almost drained you dry."

Alex sat, although that was more because his legs gave out than because he wanted to. "I'm listening, but I'm not happy you did that," he told her, reminding himself that he'd made sure she wasn't out to get him, "Though it's not like I can go anywhere like this. Where are we anyway?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Chrysalis replied, poking her nose out of the alleyway to look around, "I think we're on the eastern side of town, but all these modern buildings are getting in the way. Anyway, that's not important. What is important is why we're here, and we're here to feed."

A shiver went down Alex's spine at the way Chrysalis said that word, "Feed?" he asked.

"It's a bit complicated, so bear with me here," Chrysalis stated as she walked over and sat down against the opposite wall, "First of all, how much do you know about magic?"

"Not much," Alex replied warily, "I know unicorns can cast spells, and I know love spells are the most horrible monstrosity ever invented, but that's about it."

"I see," for a moment Chrysalis was silent, then she said, "I'll just have to explain as best I can then. The short version is, well, magic is more than just spell casting. Much more. Magic is literally the breath of life, the energy that separates a living from a nonliving creature. Every plant and animal in the entire world generates magic, even if no more than a single drop. For sapient species, it also acts as the glue between the soul and the body. Without it, your soul drifts away, and you... cease. We changelings, however, can't generate our own magic. We have to gather it from our surroundings."

Alex's jaw dropped, "You're kidding," he stated, "You mean I'll die if I run out of magic? That's messed up."

"So would anypony else," Chrysalis said, cocking her head to one side, "The only difference is they make their own magic stores."

"Well," Alex retorted, "where I come from there's no magic at all, and it doesn't seem to be much of an obstacle to life over there."

Chrysalis gave him a odd look, "That's not possible," she told him, her voice wavering slightly, "Magic is life, and life is magic. You can't have one without the other. If you didn't have magic we wouldn't be having this conversation. Period."

"In this world, maybe," Alex grumbled, his arms crossed. After a few moments of silence while Chrysalis tried to process that statement, Alex spoke up again. "Well," he admitted, "I do have a little magic. I wouldn't even have known it was there if the doctors hadn't pointed it out, but it does give me a plus two on all dexterity checks."

Chrysalis stared at him blankly, "Right, you wouldn't know what that means. I forgot. Basically, I'm a little bit better at anything that requires a good sense of balance, quick reflexes, or fine motor control. It's nothing like the ponies have, not by a long shot. At least," he looked down at his hands, "That's what it used to be like."

Chrysalis decided that, as curious as figuring out where exactly Alex came from was, they were wasting valuable time, mentally shelved it, and said, "In any case, like I said we can't produce our own magic. We consume it, use the magic of others to fill that gap in our bodies.* Dragons do much the same thing when they consume gems, which are essentially magic in physical form. And no," she added, running over Alex's protest, "That doesn't make us soulless monsters preying on the general populace. Consuming magic, if done carefully, will not harm the target. That's more than most predators can say about their feeding habits. Changelings do still need to eat normal food, by the way. Just nowhere near as much as before. We generally only need one meal a day unless we're recovering from a serious injury."

Alex's frown relaxed a bit, and he nodded thoughtfully, prompting a smile from Chrysalis. Even after all these years, she still loved to teach, and relished the chance to dust off her old toolbox, so to speak. In fact, it was during one of her lectures that, that...

She shut down that line of thought before it could reach its painful conclusion and started talking again. "While we can eat raw magic, it's completely bland on top of being hazardous to gather, so we tend to avoid it if possible. Instead, our preferred food is emotional magic, or magic charged with emotions. Sapient creatures radiate magic whenever they experience strong feelings of love, hate, fear, joy, etc., and changelings can soak that magic up and use it for our own ends. The stronger the emotion, the more magic they put out. Every combination of emotions possible makes a slightly different flavor, but love is the sweetest. Anything combined with it tastes better than it would otherwise."

"Like snow cones?" Alex asked. When Chrysalis didn't reply, he continued, "They're a dessert from back home. You take a scoop of crushed ice and soak it in sweet syrup flavored with some kind of fruit. So the magic is the ice, and the emotion the syrup?"

Chrysalis smiled and nodded, "Yes, very much so," she told him. Alex's face flickered for a brief moment, a proud smile combined with a sense of elation at figuring out a problem before it was quickly buried under a mound of apathy and a neutral expression. Curious.

"That's what I meant when I said I gave you love magic," she continued, making Alex perk up and focus on her intently, "I didn't cast a spell to induce love, I transferred a packet of magic infused with love. Between your transformation, that accidental anger wave, and what I now realize was your natural magical talent boosting your abilities in combat, you basically had nothing left. There's a big difference."

"Ah," Alex said, his eyes lighting up in comprehension and giving Chrysalis a strong dose of satisfaction. His voice trailed off after a few seconds and he fell silent, clearly lost in thought. Chrysalis was about to tap her hoof a few times to get his attention when he said, "Thanks. For saving my life, I mean."

"You are quite welcome," Chrysalis said, and meant it. It had been a long time since she'd been on the receiving end of a genuine thank you, and it brought a warm feeling to her chest. "It's also why we're outside this building it particular," she added, pointing at the one Alex was sitting next to with a hoof, "This storefront contains the purest tasting pleasure house I have ever had the pleasure of dining at. Once I teach you how to open your magic to feed, this place will be your first meal."

"Pleasure house?" Alex asked, "You mean a prostitution business?" his face hardened when Chrysalis nodded, "I've never paid for a mare of the evening and I don't plan on starting now. Can we go somewhere else?"

Chrysalis burst out laughing, her voice echoing off the brick walls, "Y-you don't need to do it in person," she said once she had herself under control again, "I did say radiate energy. Being nearby is usually enough, although if you want to drain a lot of magic all at once direct contact is required. Just open your magic, reach out, and drink. Besides," She continued, more to herself than to him, "This is an unusually nice pleasure house. Normally these places have a nasty crust of sorrow and a pinch of fear covering the the lust. This one is not only clean, but it even has traces of joy and actual love in it. I'll have to mark this place for later, I don't want to forget it's here."

"Hmm," Alex said, slipping back inside his mind. Chrysalis rolled her eyes and started to reach over to tap him, but before she got close his eyes focused on hers and he said, "Is there a chain of barbers across the street?"

Chrysalis blinked, then looked and said, "Yes, but why-?"

Alex relaxed a bit, "We must be outside Barley Bee's Home For Wayward Mares. I've been here a few times, even if I never tried their full services, but everyone in the city knows this joint. The owner is obsessed with matchmaking, and cares more about his mares's happiness than he does maximizing his profits. In fact, I even asked him for help with getting..." he trailed off, and Chrysalis felt a spike of sorrow directed towards an unseen mare, "Nevermind. It's not important."

Chrysalis gave him a hard look, but let the subject drop, "If you say so," She purred, "Does that mean you're ready to feed?"

Alex's stomach growled. "...I guess so," he said, sounding cautious, but quickly rallied, "What exactly am I supposed to do?"

"Just open your magic, seek out the sweet tasting emotions inside, and pull them towards you," Chrysalis told him.

Alex stared at her blankly, "What was that first part again?" he asked, confusion clear in his voice.

"Open your magic?" Chrysalis repeated, growing slightly annoyed. Feeding wasn't that hard, it only took her a few tries to pick it up.

"Yes, that," Alex confirmed, "I have no idea how to do that."

At that precise moment Chrysalis realized her new 'king' knew less about performing magic than a unicorn foal. Her hoof met her forehead and she groaned internally. This was not something she had signed up for.


88888888


"Let me guess," Captain Armor said heavily, "There's no trace of them."

"We're sweeping the city now, sir," said Sergeant Backplate, frowning deeply, "but no. If they're still near the hospital, we can't find them. I do have the statements from the guards they defeated, though, and I will be having harsh words with Private Scapegoat for attacking first."

The Sergeant shoved the paperwork onto Shining's commandeered desk, saluted sharply, and left. Shining sighed as he picked up the files and start to look them over. Guards that worked in the cities and guards from Canterlot or the army proper had a friendly rivalry at best and a not-so-friendly one the rest of the time. Only Shining's personal reputation was keeping the locals from using passive aggressive tactics on him, and it still wasn't quite enough to keep the resentment out of their body language. Still, Shining could deal with that as long as they kept it in check.

He carefully read through the reports, then skimmed them a second time to make he'd gotten everything and set them aside to think. Well, to start with, this confirmed Alexander's identity. One time a while back Alex had ended up helping to make an arrest, and the smuggler, when asked to describe him, had called him, "A monster with the force of a minotaur, the speed of a griffon, and the temperament of a sleep-deprived dragon." That matched with what the guards had described, and the paramedics, when shown a picture of Alex as he used to look, had confirmed that it was Mr. Fleming that went into that room. The main thing the guards added was that the same person had come back out again, or at least something that could use his body as well as he could.

This led Shining's thoughts to the transformation itself. He had no idea what had caused it, and everything he'd tried so far had come up negative. Sweeping Mr. Fleming's home had uncovered a variety of interesting, unusual, and sometimes disturbing artifacts, but not a single thing he owned had been magical except for a lone reinforcement rune carved into the back of his shield. 

The doctors, meanwhile, were too busy trying to make sense of Mr. Fleming's results to be able to tell Shining what had happened, let alone identify the source. Apparently Mr. Fleming did not generate magic, which was so utterly impossible that the doctors had scrapped an entire regimen of tests, at least until the patient had vanished and that was all they had to work with. The only thing they agreed on at this point was that the transformation's source was external, not something Alexander had done to himself, either by accident or on purpose.

This, in turn, led Shining to the day's most unexpected development: the appearance of a pony that seemed to share Alex's condition, and their subsequent escape. Somehow, the pony had managed to enter the hospital without attracting any attention, gotten into Alex's room, and convinced him to come with her. The pair had also slipped past a platoon of guards on full alert and only been exposed after a stroke of bad luck on their part. If not for that, they would have vanished without a trace, and Shining had an inkling of an idea of how they'd done it.

According to the guards on duty at the time of the breako-incident, Alex was not a prisoner, so he wasn't breaking out, a lone nurse had walked up to them, said a few choice words, and they'd let her inside. The thing was, neither of the guards could remember what she'd told them, and the mare they'd described had turned up outside, unconscious after a blow to the head and completely ignorant of the whole affair. This was all pointing in one direction, but Shining needed more information before he could be certain.

With a sigh, he opened a draw with magic and lifted out a few pieces of paper and a quill. He thoroughly didn't want to do this, not after last time, but he had no choice. Not if he wanted to find Alex before it was too late, although too late for what he didn't know. With a strong sense of resignation, he dipped the quill in the inkwell and began to write.

Dear Twily,

If you've got a moment to spare for your BBBFF, I need you to look something up for me...


88888888


"Ok, Alex, keep the picture of the egg clear in your mind," Chrysalis intoned, working her (hopeful) future-king through a basic magic training exercise, "feel the chick inside, alive, shifting, ready to break free. All it needs is a little push."

Alex's eyes were closed, his face screwed up concentration. For a creature who had never consciously used magic in his entire life, he was picking it up surprisingly quickly, though she couldn't tell whether that was due to natural talent or because he didn't give up after a few seconds like the protagonists in plays sometimes did. She always hated those brats, couldn't they see that all they needed was a smidgen of patience? Their lack of self control always led to their downfall, regardless of their supposed 'hero' status. Idiots, the lot of them.

"Do you feel it?" she asked, and Alex nodded slowly, "Then push. Hard and fast, all at once. You're busting that eggshell open, not carefully tearing a piece of paper."

Alex tensed, and Chrysalis felt his mental barriers crumble as energy seeped out. His eyes snapped open and locked with hers, accompanied by a surge of wonder so strong she almost could have fed off of it. "Wow," he said finally, anything more complex seemingly beyond him, "This city stinks." 

...Or not.

"That it does," Chrysalis replied with a grimace, "Emotions don't disperse right away after being released. They tend to hang around, with the more intense ones lasting longer. Every settlement gets a distinct flavor, depending on which emotions are felt most often. This one just happens to be terrible. If the city changed, though, eventually its taste would change as well."

"Cool," Alex said, in a tone that told Chrysalis he was only half-listening, "Can you show me how to eat now? Something smells really good."

Chrysalis pouted for an instant, then rallied, "Of course," she said, "Just look at me, and do what I do."

Alex looked, and Chrysalis drank, reaching out and pulling on the sweet, savory concoction hidden within the dull stone structure. After a few seconds of careful scrutiny, Alex sent out a single, wavering thread (Chrysalis released with a start that it came from his fingertips, not his horn) and began to feed as well. His eyes lit up as his entire demeanor changed.

"Filet mignon!" He squealed, clearly delighted, and began to drink more deeply, "I haven't had a good piece of beef since the Christmas before I got here!"

"Beef?" Chrysalis asked, "What's that?"

"Cow meat," Alex replied, a dopey smile on his face, "Don't worry, our cows aren't like yours, they're nothing more than animals. Since they're sapient here consuming beef is both illegal and immoral, but that hasn't stopped me from missing it. Besides, pigs and chickens are fair game, so it's not a total loss."

Chrysalis blinked in surprise, latching onto the only part of that statement which wasn't confusing and/or disturbing. 

"You're a carnivore then," she said, fitting this piece of information into her mental picture of Alex. She'd never tasted anything quite like lust before her turning, although most of the other emotions she'd sampled were familiar, but it made a twisted sort of sense. And Alex being carnivorous fit so well she that see really should have seen it earlier.

"Omnivore, actually, but close enough," Alex replied, "Good lord, this is delicious."

He started swaying from side to side while bouncing in place, and Chrysalis had to fight the impulse to burst into giggles. Alex was doing a happy dance! It'd been ages since she'd run into somepony who did that. He was even humming this little tune as he ate, a meandering ditty that didn't seem to be any song in particular. Frankly, in Chrysalis's opinion, it was adorable, the thought sending tingles across her skin.

A little while later Alex drifted out of his carnal bliss enough to focus on her again, and abruptly stopped moving and humming. He flushed, just a hair, and continued to eat in total silence, a mask of professionalism Chrysalis only saw through because she knew it was there sliding over his face and mind. Chrysalis frowned slightly, but didn't press the issue. Fresh greater changelings were always defensive, it came with the territory, but she'd get him back to normal soon enough. That moment of true expression was just way too cute to let slide.

Chrysalis finished feeding long before Alex did, as her stores were already about half full. While she could supercharge herself with a constant food source, anything above a certain threshold tended to bleed away without her using it. All changelings had this kind of limit, which varied from pony to pony, though the greater changelings always had a much larger one than the normal or lesser ones did. However, as Alex continued to eat and eat, longer than Chrysalis had at her first feeding, longer than any greater changeling she'd ever known (not that that number was larger than ten), worry began to creep into her mind. Was this healthy? How much power could he store, anyway?

Finally, after such a long time the light had changed, shifting to a slightly darker palette as the night inched closer, his tendrils retreated and he leaned back against the wall with a contented sigh, "Much better," he hummed, "I must have been starving."

"You were," Chrysalis said cautiously, "but... you feel fine, right?"

"Should I not?" Alex asked, shooting her a raised eyebrow, " I stopped when I thought I had enough. I mean, I could probably keep going if I wanted too, but this seemed sufficient. By the way, why can I tell you're worried about me? It's surprisingly bitter."

Chrysalis jumped on the subject change, using it to squish her nervousness out of sight as she explained, "It's just your empathy. Some ponies have made the assumption that because changeling feed on emotions, which itself isn't accurate, we can't feel them ourselves. That is obviously a load of horse-apples. Changelings can feel, we just don't generate emotional magic the way everything else does."

"I see," Alex said evenly, although Chrysalis could tell he wasn't pleased with her explanation, "I guess I can kiss my privacy good bye then. While were on the subject, though, can you tell me why whenever you look at me you taste like chicken?"

Chrysalis blushed as Alex laughed bitterly, "I suppose I'd be flattered if I wasn't dead to romance at the moment," he said as he stood up, brushing the backs of his legs off and swinging his arms around to loosen them up, "Now come on. You still owe me quite a few answers, and I wouldn't call this place secure. Can you cast that concealment spell again please?"

Chrysalis nodded as she stood as well, quashing a touch of disappointment at his (at this point natural) rejection. Alex had just placed his hand on her shoulder as her horn lit up and made them both fade from sight when a question popped into her head.

"If I may ask," she began, "Where are we going?"

"The one place no one would ever think to look for us," Alex said with a grin, "My home."


88888888


Twilight darted through the Canterlot library as quickly as she could without getting in trouble, her BBBFF's request dancing in the forefront of her mind. Nothing. She'd been looking for three straight hours and come up with nothing. She was Twilight Sparkle, personal student of the Solar Princess and the best up-and-coming scholar in all of Canterlot! Tracking down a few tomes about bug-ponies who might be able to shapeshift should be effortless for her! So. Why. Couldn't. She. FIND ANYTHING!?

Twilight paused at an intersection before turning towards her last hope of textual salvation: the history section. History in Equestria wasn't taught in primary school, and anypony who wanted to study it needed to pass a mental aptitude test (which only really filtered out the ponies who couldn't take the strain and ponies who shouldn't be given any ideas) first or have the Princess's express permission, like herself. The moment Twilight had cracked open her first text it been obvious why this was the case. Equestria's history was sickening to any modern pony, filled with sorrows, death, and destruction the likes of which just didn't exist in the modern world. In Twilight's opinion, the Princess was extremely wise in only allowing access to those ponies who were strong (or sane) enough to bear it.

Twilight thought she was strong enough, but that didn't stop her legs from trembling as she set off down the darkened bookshelves. This place always gave her the creeps. Normally she loved books, no matter what the subject matter, but these books held nothing but pain. She could feel their presence pressing down on her, telling her to leave and never come back, lest she be subjected to the horrors between their pages. This had never stopped her before though, and it didn't now. She pressed onward, and soon enough, she found it, the lone reference in the entire library. Normally she'd spend another hour or so compiling everything she'd gathered before sending Shining a stack of paper as thick as her hoof, but in this case all she had to do was copy the text for him. It wasn't even a full page of material, just a single paragraph in a book about the last days of the Crystal Empire.

Dear Shining,

I could only find one reference, I know, that's crazy, but I hope this helps.



...and so the Empire fell to shadow, consumed from within by the darkness in their leader's heart. Only the Royal Sisters prevented Equestria from falling as well, thanks to the swift wings of a crystalline pony. She brought the Sisters word of the Empire's fall, and begged them to help on her people's behalf. It was only after Sombra sealed the empire away that the truth was revealed. The pony was not a pony at all, but a bug in pony form. She wept for the loss of her home, inconsolable, before dying quietly in her bed. She is buried in the royal gardens, beneath a sculpture in her pony image named only "Sacrifice."



I'd love to bury you in paper again, but that's all I have. Sorry to disappoint. I have to ask though, how in Celestia's name did you manage to learn about something I had to spend an entire afternoon to find?

Love,
Twily
> 4: Blah Blah Blah Backstory
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am a magic user. Alex knew that his life would never be the same, even if he somehow managed to get his old body and life back, I can use magic. Me, not a pony, not a dragon, me personally. Before, even after he'd been told about his innate magic, he'd always lumped himself into the same category as eastern apes, donkeys, and griffons. A non-magical creature, incapable of casting spells directly or otherwise. Now, though...

Now he could smell the emotional rot in the air of Vanhoover. Now he could sense the magic flowing through his veins, pulsing slowly outward from a pool in his stomach and intestines. Now he could reach out, and, if he just knew how, make the laws of physics his bitch. Something inside him had shifted, and would never shift back. It could never shift back, not after he'd gotten a taste of what magic was truly like and, as terrifying as an entirely new way to see the world was, he didn't want it to. This was Power with a capital P, and it was euphoric. It almost made up for all the crap he'd had to go through to get it. Almost.

"Hang a left at the next intersection," Alex whispered to Chrysalis, whose shoulders tensed slightly under his fingers, "We're almost there."

Chrysalis nodded, staying silent to help avoid the attention of the other pedestrians, and started to step out into traffic before Alex sharply yanked her to safety.

"Are you nuts!?" he hissed, "You almost got run over!"

"Well, you must pardon me for having never been in a city this large before," Chrysalis snapped.

Alex stared at her in disbelief. What was she, some back-country bumpkin who'd never seen a metropolis in her life? That, actually made a lot of sense. "Ok, fine then, I'll explain it. First rule of modern cities: look both ways before crossing a street to make sure nothing's coming, otherwise you might get hit by something that's going too fast to stop. Quick hint, if a pedestrian and a vehicle run into each other, the vehicle wins. Painfully."

"Noted," Chrysalis meeped as a cargo laden carriage rolled past at a fast canter, "It is safe yet?"

Alex glanced left, then right, said, "I think so," and guided Chrysalis across the street.

They ducked under the swinging arms of a dragon, hugged the nearest wall for a bit to avoid a herd of teenage goth ponies, and turned down a side street that led into a surprisingly quiet neighborhood park. Chrysalis pushed forward, her previously unsure steps being replaced by a confident strut in the correct direction.

"Do you know where I live?" Alex asked her cuttingly.

"Of course," Chrysalis replied nonchalantly, not bothering to look at him while tasting faintly of raspberry and much more strongly of fresh bread, though Alex could tell that she was trying not to smirk, "The energy from your transformation originated there. It's where I first ended up when I came looking for you. Just so you know, tracking you down in that healer's den was a royal pain. I had to actually talk to somepony to find you."

"I so feel your pain," Alex said snidely. He still thought it was suspicious, but her answer made sense so he let it slide. In any case, they walked more quickly now that they both knew the destination, and soon the pair found themselves back where this crazy nightmare/adventure had started. The space Alex's home occupied was a medium sized yard to the right of a modest two story house painted in cheerful pastels. While the grass looked like it needed mowing, the property was otherwise well cared for and seemed to be aging gracefully.

Alex's home itself, on the other hand, was a fairly new looking blue and red striped rectangular tent hovering about a foot and a half off the ground, with a series of brown stained wooden panels covering the gap. A small set of stairs, painted white with black friction tape on top but otherwise undecorated, led up to the main entrance, which was cordoned off by police tape. A couple of panels on the right of the tent from the street had been removed and were lying on the ground next to it, revealing a dark space between the tent and the ground. Alex's truck, an old Toyota model he'd purchased for its reliability, was parked next to it, metallic silver paint glinting in the late afternoon sun. The truck's doors were all closed, but one of them wasn't properly sealed, suggesting someone had opened the vehicle up and hadn't known how to shut it correctly. Two practice dummies were planted next to the vehicle, both looking like they had seen heavy use.

Alex rolled his eyes at the sight. He wasn't surprised his home had been searched, but he had been hoping the guard would leave his privacy intact. Oh well, so much for that. A pair of guards were keeping an eye on the place, but they weren't paying super close attention, which allowed Alex and Chrysalis to slip inside unnoticed.

Alex felt something in his chest unclench as he breathed in the scent of wood smoke and spiced meat that always permeated his chosen dwellings. Strangely, he couldn't detect anything with his new senses, making him wonder just how long it took to for an emotional field to build up, but dismissed it as unimportant at the moment. Letting the entrance tarp fall back into place before removing his hand from Chrysalis's back, resulting in a chalky tinge of... disappointment? Yeah, probably. Alex looked around.

His home was small, a single room apartment a mere 18X18 feet sitting atop a trailer bed that had formerly been used for hauling hay. The floorboards were worn, but smooth, with the only gaps being the twin holes the trailer's wheels peeked through marking the transition between the 'entrance hall' and rest the of the dwelling. The center of the room held a picnic table supporting a camping lantern, the wood varnished a dark brown to make it look less modern, with a sink sitting on a pair of water jugs, a pantry, a cabinet, and a Franklin wood stove all standing flush against the far wall. To his immediate left was an armor stand, holding all of his gear except his shield, which was missing from its usual spot, along with a chest that held his clothes and an empty space that normally contained the toolbox he used to organize his armor repair kit. A small wooden workbench with matching chair sat next to the chest, which in turn was flanked by a small, waist high bookshelf about a quarter filled with books. The remaining space on that shelf would normally be taken up by a variety of souvenirs and trophies acquired in the line of duty, but they were gone as well, along with a good chunk of the books he'd first brought with him, which brought a frown to Alex's face.

His right, meanwhile, held a hybrid coat and shoe rack, followed by a wooden couch (that was only comfortable to sit on thanks to a thick, wide cushion) with its back to the right wall and a chair facing the couch next to the main table, making a sort of living room area. All the furniture was coated in the same brown varnish as the table, making it look much older than it actually was. His futon, covered in a lovingly crafted heraldic spread that had been a prize at one of the events he'd attended for "valor in combat," was wedged into the far left corner, while the far right held a small area that had been curtained off to use as an indoor bathroom. Since indoor plumbing was still a luxury the cheapest apartments couldn't afford and he used his landlord's outhouse whenever he could, the private area was usually reserved for late-night emergencies.

Alex had put a lot of effort into getting the layout just right, and he was quite proud of the result. It had taken multiple tries to find the exact right configuration, since the entire rig had to be able fold up for transportation, and he'd only succeeded shortly before making his little detour into Equestria. However, that wasn't the first thing on his mind at the time. No, instead he made a beeline for the chest, popped it open, and started digging.

"Finally," he grunted in satisfaction, pulling out and starting to put on a pair of black and yellow striped tights,* "I will never understand how you ponies can be so casual about going around nude."

Chrysalis just raised an eyebrow at him, watching steadily as his new toe claws ripped a hole in the tights, causing Alex to let out a curse and go looking for something sturdier, "I wouldn't claim to be fully aware of the latest trends," she stated calmly, "but have clothes become more important than they used to be?"

"Not really," Alex replied absently, tugging on a pair of tan pants with faded rainbow trim as he recited that explanation he'd created for all the ponies who'd questioned his clothing habits, "It's more of a cultural thing from back home. You see, my people are hairless, tropical apes, and we'd freeze to death in any climate that isn't hot, hot, hot, all year 'round. If we wanted to move away from the heat of what are basically the Zebrican plains, we needed artificial coats, i.e. clothes, and fire."

Chrysalis blinked, letting off a pulse of sugary frosting, then said, "Your people are hairless?"

"Yep," Alex replied, switching from his left pantleg to his right, "Then, once everyone had moved across the planet and wearing clothes all the time became the standard instead of the exception, being naked became associated with actions that could only be performed while naked, namely sex and peeing, and both became considered unclean, private actions. In fact, being naked in public was assumed to be an open statement that you were about to perform one or the other, and was a good way to get yourself arrested."

"How bizarre," Chrysalis said, still tasting like frosting, earning her a snort from Alex.

"If you saw the rest of my people you'd say that a lot," he muttered, "We're all total nutjobs as far as I can tell. Also, while everyone does wear basic clothing around their more sensitive areas and some kind of foot protection, any cultures that stayed in or moved back to the tropics are much more lax about the subject in general than those closer to the northern and southern poles."

Alex managed to get dressed without tearing his clothes this time, and went digging for a tunic to finish the job, "I've gotten jaded to nudity out of necessity, since it's unavoidable around here, but I still feel uncomfortable walking around exposed. It just doesn't feel right, even when there aren't any social taboos looming over me. You feel me?"

"I, believe so," Chrysalis stated, shifting in place a little and giving him a strange look, "It's something your people had to do to survive, then turned into something you had to do to fit in?"

"Pretty much," Alex said, pulling a light blue tunic over his head, "You don't have to just stand there, by the way. Go ahead and have a seat."

He gestured, and Chrysalis, still wearing a confused expression, walked into the living room. She settled into the padded couch cushion after a quick hop off the ground, taking up almost the entire length as she stretched contentedly. Alex, meanwhile, ambled over to his kitchen and started looking through the pantry. The vehement string of curse words he let out was enough to make Chrysalis jump slightly, and she glanced over at him, her whipped cream replaced by a vegetable broth spiced with ginger. Alex thought that meant she was concerned and curious, but frankly he didn't know for certain. It wasn't like emotional flavors came with labels after all.

"They took my rations," Alex explained, stomping over and slumping in the camping chair across from her with a huff, "The last of the food I brought with me is gone. It figures, I could really use some comfort food right about now."

Chrysalis couldn't stand it any longer, "Where are you from!?" she exclaimed, quickly casting a silence barrier to keep anypony from overhearing, "Nothing about you makes any sense! First, you claim your homeland has no magic. That is an utterly ridiculous statement! Second, your house, is a tent. You aren't a nomad, not that I can see, so why do you live in this," she gestured with a hoof, "Instead of a  proper dwelling? Finally, I know apes. All of you have hair, so unless some entirely new species sprang into existence while I wasn't looking, you don't exist. Speaking of which, what century is this?"

The wave of raw baking soda that could only be frustration or anger she released made Alex lean back in his seat. He studied her carefully for a moment, his mind flitting from possibility to possibility before he spoke, "It's 1310 A.D., that's After Discord, in case you were wondering," he said finally, "and it's a long story, but for now, I think you owe me an explanation. Who are you, where did you come from, and what does that have to do with me? If you answer those to my satisfaction, I'll tell you a bit about where I came from and how I got here. Remember, you're the reason we're wanted by the law right now. You owe me."

He could see Chrysalis struggling with his statement, obviously wanting to press him farther (he couldn't resist feeling a touch of smug satisfaction over it), but in the end she sighed, and nodded.

"As you wish," she said finally. She sighed, then took a deep breath, her voice switching from its usual purr to a slightly more rhythmic cadence as Alex settled back in his seat, "I will tell you our history as it was told to me. Long ago in the frozen north, a group of ponies who had escaped from the reign of the mad god Discord stumbled across a most unusual gem. It hummed with power, and the leader of the those ponies, a unicorn mare named Shining Path, couldn't resist the urge to touch it. The moment she did, the crystal changed her, giving her an innate understanding of itself and its power, as well as the ability to use that power. That gem was the Crystal Heart, and Shining Path became the founder of the Crystal Empire."

Alex considered asking her about the Crystal Heart, but Chrysalis seemed to be on a roll and it would have been a shame to interrupt her, so he saved it for the end of her tale.

Chrysalis's head rocked slowly from side to side, seemingly without realizing it, the movement timed to the patterns of her speech, "Years passed. The Empire grew wealthy and strong, shielded from attack by the frozen north and united by the power of the Heart. Shining Path was lonely, and aging, and beginning to think about passing on her legacy, so she sought out the affections of a well-known explorer named Compass Rose. Compass Rose, however, loved the freedom being an explorer granted him, and at first refused, though he did find her quite comely." A mild frown spread across her face, and she stopped rocking, "However, a mere two days after he set out on his latest adventure, he came back, stating that he had changed his mind and wanted to court her. Shining Path, while somewhat confused at his actions, was for the most part overjoyed, and they soon married."

Alex sat up a bit straighter. This was starting to sound suspiciously familiar, and the spiciness Chrysalis was emitting seemed to agree, "Compass Rose's turnaround had raised a few eyebrows from those who knew him, but when they saw how happy he had become with Shining Path, they dismissed their concerns with a shrug. Compass, for the most part, enjoyed his new life, though he never stopped longing for the freedom to travel.

"That changed when Shining Path passed away during her fourth foaling, leaving Compass in charge of the Empire as a whole." The spice grew stronger, and became tinged with a sprinkling of salt, "He found, to his shock, that while he cared for his wife deeply, and did love their four foals and the life they'd built together, he didn't love her after she had died. It was like a fog had lifted from his eyes. That realization came only moments before he found himself wracked with pains and collapsed in his bedchambers. When he awakened, it was to the taste of pure love infused magic radiating from the crystal heart."

It's been a problem right from the start? Alex thought, stunned, that's... I can't even put what I think of that into words.

Chrysalis's head lowered, draping itself over the couch's wooden arm as the pickles grew stronger and the hot sauce faded, "Shocked and horrified at what he had become, he hid himself away for days on end, praying that it was all just a nightmare. Finally, his family could stand it no longer, and they forced entry into his chambers. They found him, seemingly in perfect health, and expressed their concerns over his behavior. Their love for him revitalized him, reminded him what was most important in the world, and he returned to normal life soon afterward, nopony the wiser that he was no longer truly a pony."

Chrysalis's emotions faded almost completely, and she started to rock again, "For a time, all was good in the Empire. His children flourished under his care, which was no less tender despite his new form, and he even got the chance to roam Equestria again once his eldest son was ready to begin shouldering the burden of ruling. He didn't know what had turned him into a Changeling, a name he picked for himself out of a book of old fairy tales, at the time he didn't care. He was the only one, so it didn't matter, right?"

Alex frowned. They hadn't known what caused it at first then. He supposed that fit, even if he found it disturbing, "That changed soon enough. Silver Shod, his eldest son and the only pony who seemed to have inherited his mother's talent for controlling the crystal heart broke up with his fiance, a messy affair that had the entire Empire buzzing with gossip. Compass, however, was more interested the bloom of twisted love magic that appeared soon afterward. Tracking it back to its source, he discovered to his horror that his son's ex-lover had been turned as well, making her a near mirror image of himself."

Chrysalis's anger spiked, and Alex flagged transforming as a touchy subject, "When she first woke up and took in her new appearance, she didn't react well. If Compass hadn't been there to help her through it, to show her that she wasn't alone, she might very well have taken her own life. Still, Compass didn't understand what had caused this. He went to his son and confronted him, demanding to know what had happened between him and his fiance. Silver Shod told him that he had found a spell of his making on her, one he didn't remember casting, and dispelled, only for her to reject him mere minutes later.

"Compass asked to see this spell, and his son showed it to him." Chrysalis looked at Alex, skewered him with a blazing rage that she'd never showed before, even when facing off against multiple guards, "Only then did Compass finally understand. The Crystal Heart's blessing, the same one that marked the ruler's of the Crystal Empire, gave them a terrible power: they could make any pony fall in love with any other pony, including themselves! Even worse, if they forced a pony to love them and sleep with them, then later undid that spell at any time, even through their own death, it would turn the pony whose love they had stolen into a Changeling. That then, is what happened to you. It is making love under the influence of false love that, that..." Chrysalis paused, searching for the right word, "makes? causes..."

"Catalyzes?" Alex suggested.

"Yes, catalyzes, it catalyzes the transformation. If you manage to undo the spell before then it won't turn the victim. Fortunately, most of the time the spell is discovered before it's too late."

Alex nodded, trying to process what he was hearing. Ancient power gems? Love inflicted curses? It sounded like something out of a fairy tale, but- Equestria. As absurd as it might have seemed back home, on this planet it fit far too well. He'd read about and seen enough crazy shit here to know that for certain.

Chrysalis, it seemed could no longer keep still, and her hooves twitched while her tail lashed as she continued, "Compass, horrified at this revelation, considered destroying all he had built to prevent anypony else from falling victim to the curse, but stayed his hoof in the end. The spells had been cast out of ignorance, not malice, he reasoned, with neither guilty party aware of the damage they had done. The solution, to him, was not destruction, but knowledge. If he could teach his descendants how to use their power wisely, no other ponies would suffer his fate." This last sentence was tinged with coffee so bitter it made Alex want to wash his mouth out.

Chrysalis growled, then sighed, and had to take a few calming breaths before she said, "With this is mind, and because he was beginning to notice he wasn't aging as he should be, he faked his own death and, as his final decree, created the role of crystaler, a special caretaker for all Crystal royalty during their youths. The first crystaler was named Good Advice, but in truth it was Compass in a new form, ready and willing to watch over his lineage and make sure none went astray.

Alex raised his eyebrows. That, was actually a pretty good idea. It didn't seem to have worked, of course, not with Chrysalis sitting right in front of him, but it was solid on paper, at least, "As his old life was gone and his new one merely a disguise, he decided to take a new name for himself, which later turned into a tradition for all newborn Changelings. He became King Shifter, the first greater changeling, and the one who discovered our talent for disguising ourselves and our ability to sense emotions. His son's fiance became Queen Mimic, the discover of our birthing habits, and never spoke her true name again.

Alex marked 'birthing habits' as something to ask about later, although it would have to approached with caution if Chrysalis's salty bitterness was any indication what she thought of it, "Centuries passed. Shifter and Mimic took turns in the role of Crystaler, teaching the Crystal royals how to properly control their powers. It quickly became apparent that only the first-born of each generation possessed the gift, and if a pony did not have it themselves they couldn't pass it onto their foals." Chrysalis let out another flash of spicy anger, making Alex raise his eyebrows, "If the first born died, the talent moved to the second born, and so on down the line. The role of Crystaler shifted accordingly, becoming a honor dedicated only to the crown prince or princess. Then..." Chrysalis trailed off, then sighed heavily, a whole storm of emotions fighting inside her for dominance, "That is where our history ends, and my story begins. This isn't easy to talk about, even after all this time, so please humor me if I... hesitate."

Chrysalis breathed in deeply, and Alex could taste the iron in her as she prepared to speak, "Before me and my sisters, only five Changelings had ever been created, including King Shifter and Queen Mimic. Once every few generations an unusually stubborn heir would refuse to listen and get somepony injured, but for the most part they did a good job. The royal secret was safe and contained. Contained, that is, until Prince Sombra was born."


88888888


"We'll be touching down in a few minutes, your highness." 

The guard's words startled Cadance out of a fitful sleep, and she looked towards the front of the chariot she was riding in. After blinking the spots from her eyes since the sunset was full display at the moment, she could make out the skyline of Vanhoover in the distance. At Cadance's request, Celestia had moved the press conference from Canterlot to Vanhoover. Cadance had done her damage there, and they deserved her apology in person, not passed on by newspapers and word of mouth from the capital. Besides, she still needed to make what amends she could, both with Alex and those he'd hurt while under her control. She wasn't under any delusions that everything could go back to the way it was, but she still had to try. She owed them that much.

"Go ahead and get us a hotel room," she told the guard, unfolding her wings and flapping them a few times to get the blood flowing, "I need to make a few stops tonight. I won't miss the conference tomorrow, but I will be back late."

The guard nodded once, and Cadance slid off the back of the chariot, letting gravity pull her into a steep dive. For a brief instant it crossed her mind to not bother pulling up, but she quickly dismissed the thought as cowardly. Shirking responsibility was what had gotten her into this mess, and doing it again, even through her own demise wouldn't help anypony.

Instead, she turned her dive into a shallow glide, letting the speed she'd built up shove her towards the city. For birds, height equaled distance., and while pegasi might use magic to bolster their flight most of the time, on the few occasions when gliding was a better option that rule worked for them as well. She couldn't glide the entire distance, instead having to flap for the last half mile or so, but she still reached the city well ahead of her guards, who were tired from the long journey on top of pulling a heavy vehicle behind them.

Cadance turned right and started walking. She wanted to go to Alex's place first. She didn't know what she would say to him, or even if she could say anything at all at this point, but she still needed to see his home, make sure he was coping. False romance or not, you don't spend several hours  with a pony every week over the course of several months without coming to care about him, not unless you were a sociopath of some sort.

The sun had just slipped beneath the waves when she turned onto his street, and the pair of guards outside his home entered her line of sight. As she drew nearer, she also took in the other details, the cordoned off front door, the misaligned carriage entrance, and picked up her pace. A quick word with the guards had her winging her way downtown, her growing panic only somewhat controlled by the exercise.

Cadance burst into the lobby of the Vanhoover West Hospital, and drew up short. Shining was talking to the receptionist, his back to her. She hadn't a chance to talk to him just yet, not without having it devolve into a shouting match. Should she move? Go talk to somepony else? Or ask him what had happened and hope he was cordial enough to tell her?

Shining took the decision out of her hooves a moment later. He looked over her his shoulder, his stern commander's visage being replaced for a moment by genuine anger before he sighed and trotted over.

"Haven't you done enough?" he asked testily, "I've got too much on my plate as it is here. I can't handle you on top of all this."

"I-" Cadance stuttered, "I came back to help. Aunty Celestia got me straightened out. I made this mess, I should help clean it up."

Shining scrutinized her, then snorted and rolled his eyes, "Well, that's fine and dandy, but you're a few hours too late. Alex is gone."

"Gone!?" Cadance shouted, "What you mean he's gone?"

"Exactly what I said," Shining replied, "Alex disappeared early this afternoon, and what's worse, he seems to have a new ally. How up to speed are you on the situation?"

"Um," Cadance said, "The last I heard Alex was going home. I haven't been intercepting your reports, if that's what you're asking."

Shining rubbed his forehead with a hoof, "Right. Of course you haven't. I'll give you a quick rundown, but first, what do you know about shapeshifters?"
> 5: G-G-G-Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Intentions.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sombra?" Alex asked, leaning forward, "Wasn't he that crazy dictator from way back in early Equestria?"

"He was," Chrysalis replied, her buzzing wings undermining her mask of calm, "But he wasn't always as history remembers him. Sombra was born the youngest of five to the Crystal royal line. Even when he was a foal, everypony could tell that he was... off. He seemed kind and compassionate whenever he spoke with somepony, but the palace animals never liked him, and he didn't like them either. In addition, any caretaker assigned to him would soon find themselves in the middle of a disaster of their own making, one that would get them fired from the palace. It was never anything that could be traced back to Sombra, but it made the palace staff wary of him all the same."

"He was a smooth talker then?" Alex asked, one eyebrow quirked. That description sounded familiar, but he wanted more evidence to be sure.

"The most charming you would ever meet," Chrysalis replied, then buzzed her wings in agitation, "This is where I enter the tale. I was a tutor, once, before I became this," she gestured at herself, then sighed, tasting strongly of salt and spice, "The palace hired me to teach the young royal rune carving during his early adult years. I was 24, he was 16, and..."

Chrysalis's horn flared, and Alex was momentarily blinded by a flash of green light. When the spots finally faded from his eyes, Alex's jaw dropped. A luminous unicorn mare had taken Chrysalis's place, one with a pearlescent cream coat, expertly brushed silver mane and tail, and striking sea blue eyes that glinted like gemstones. "Given that I used to look like this," Chrysalis said with a bitter chuckle that sounded far too painful to come from such a melodious voice, "I'm not surprised that he developed feelings for me. Any young stallion in his place would have been hard pressed to avoid them. For most ponies, it would have ended there. Just another crush on their tutor. Not him," She frowned, "He had the Heart's power. I don't know how he got it. He could have been born with it, struck a bargain of some sort, or managed to extract it directly from the heart itself." She shrugged, "I never knew for certain. That he managed to keep it hidden for so long is, in truth, a miracle. One that had horrible consequences."

Another flash, and Chrysalis was back to normal, with the spice returning in full force, "One rotten member of the royal family was all it took to bring us down. I tried to warn King Shifter, but he flattened his ears against me! He insisted that all Sombra need was a little guidance."

She snorted, then said, "You can see how well that turned out."

"Hey, we've all turned a blind eye towards our family's flaws," Alex interjected, "It doesn't excuse him, of course."

"Of course," Chrysalis replied, standing up sharply so she could pace a bit in the confines of the tent, "But it showed me that the entire concept of trying to tame the Heart's power was flawed. You don't have to be a bad pony to abuse it, merely a careless one, and everypony screws up at least once. King's Shifter's guidance wasn't enough to prevent that."

"I take it you have something else in mind then?" Alex probed.

"Eliminate them," Chrysalis stated, " End their line, every last branch, and then destroy the Heart for good measure. It's the only way to be sure. I don't care what it takes, as long as this" she bared her fangs as she gestured to herself, "Never happens to anypony else ever again!"


88888888


"...So that's the story," Shining said as he walked into his temporary office, his seat squeaking sharply as he relaxed behind an unassuming wooden desk, "It's only been a few hours since Alex and our 'mystery mare' disappeared. I've got a hunch they're still in the city, but at this point it's impossible to tell."

Cadance sniffed and nodded, remaining on her hooves as she shut the door behind them with her magic. The office was tiny, barely enough room for the desk and three chairs, including the one Shining now occupied, and painted a dull, unassuming gray. This was a place of labor, not leisure, they said, a sentiment that seemed to permeate the entire building.

Cadance glanced out the only window, grabbing a quick glimpse of the hospital next door as she did so, her expression weary. "I was too late, then," she mumbled, the words only barely escaping her mouth, "If I'd just been a little stronger, a little faster, I could have prevented this."

"Yes," Shining said, looking over some paperwork on his desk, "You could have." Normally he wouldn't say stuff like that, he wasn't cruel, but he just couldn't muster the willpower to be respectful at the moment. Also, Cadance truly was responsible, so he couldn't assure her it wasn't her fault like the good coltfriend he should be. Her... actions, didn't hurt quite as much when he focused on his anger.

For a moment silence fell, allowing the faint background noises of the street to bleed into the room. Cadance opened her mouth once, then twice, before finally saying, "So, now what?"

"Now what?" Shining echoed, still not looking at her, "Now I get to work organizing the search, and you go off and do... whatever." He waved a hoof in general direction, "Frankly, you've done enough here."

Cadance winced, then rallied, "This is my mess, Shining," she said softly, "I should help fix it."

Shining looked up at that, his expression hardening, "Oh, so you're finally owning up to it? Where was this yesterday, or better yet, three months ago when this whole clusterbuck," Cadance gaped, Shining never swore, "Got started!?"

Cadance opened her mouth to reply but Shining cut her off, getting out of his desk to start pacing in the confines of the office, "I mean, I was sort-of ok with you're whole, 'I need to sleep with every sapient species on the planet to fully understand what love is,' idea. I didn't like it, but I could understand where you were coming from. It made sense, in a twisted-romantic sort of way. This," he jabbed a hoof at his desk, indicating a photo of Alex that had been included with the files, "Doesn't! Honestly, Cadance, what the Tartarus were you thinking!?"

Cadance's mouth moved soundlessly as Shining fought to get his temper under control, before grasping at the only thing she thought might help him understand. "Hairless," she said, giving him her best pleading look.

Shining stared at her, clearly unimpressed, "Dragons don't have hair," he said simply, "Besides, you did that race already."

"This is different," Cadance snapped back, "Dragons have scales, griffons have feathers, more creatures than I can name have fur, but Alex just has skin. It makes for a unique experience. And his package," she smiled a little despite herself, which got her an incredulous look from Shining.

"Really?" He asked, "That's what you're going with this time?"

Cadance didn't respond out loud, instead holding her hooves just under six inches apart for scale. Shining's jaw dropped. "You're joking," he spat. Cadance only smiled wider. "Seriously?" Shining continued, his voice rising with his temper, "That's twice as big as mine!*"

"And according to Alex, among his own kind he's quite average," Cadance sighed wistfully, "Human mares are so lucky."

Shining's face had turned beet red, and he stomped away from her for a few seconds as he tried to bring himself under control. "Honestly, Cadance," he growled, "You've done enough damage as is. Just, please," When he turned to look at her the utter exhaustion on his face made her heart wrench, "Don't make it any worse."

Cadance wobbled for a moment, unbalanced by Shining's outburst, then stepped forward to hug him, to try to take a portion of his burden onto her withers as she had in the past. Shining leaned backwards, seemingly without thinking about it, and Cadance froze, then wilted, before turning and leaving the office without a word. It wasn't until she was halfway down the street that she finally allowed the tears to fall.


88888888


"Wait, wait, wait!" Alex exclaimed, holding his hands up, "You want to kill them!?"

Chrysalis's words were as hard as ice, "The power of the Heart managed to survive the banishment of the Empire. Simple curse removal rituals will not be sufficient, assuming one powerful enough even exists, and as I already told you, simply killing the wielder will only result in the gift being passed on to one of her siblings. It's the only way." Alex was twitching in a way that couldn't possibly be comfortable, causing Chrysalis to give him a queer look. "Are you quite all right?"

"Just give me a moment, will you? I can't... that... that..." The situation washed over him like a splash of arctic seawater. Kill off an entire family just to contain a curse, even if it was a curse that struck on a regular basis despite their best efforts to contain it? It had no easy answer, one way or the other, and the pressure to respond was crushing him. He had to get rid of it before he could think straight, let alone make a sound decision.

"Could you give me a minute please?" He asked, holding up a finger, "I need to process this."

Chrysalis huffed, but nodded, returning to her spot on the couch.

Alex closed his eyes, and split himself into three. Persuasion generally came in three forms: logical, emotional, and moral. He'd first heard of this trick in a fictional story about Socrates fighting corruption in ancient Greece, but that didn't hamper its ability to simplify complex issues in the slightest.

"Cadance hurt us!" Pathos shouted, opening the debate, "She hurt us, and True Strike, and a bunch of other people! If Sombra hurt Chrysalis even half as badly, we should support her in every way! Besides, he sounds like an actual, diagnosable psychopath! There's no cure for that."

"Following this path would mean killing innocents," Ethos countered, "Sure, Cadance may have hurt us, but what about her parents? Her brothers and sisters? We've never even met them, and to condemn them to death based on her actions would be sick and wrong. On top of that, one thousand years was enough time for the English royal line to become distantly related to every single person on the European Continent. No doubt the Crystals will be just as pervasive. How can we justify killing some random family who just happened to be the many-greats grandchild of a Crystal Royal? The Hippocampi know what they're getting into when they attack our ships. They made a choice. Cadance's family didn't."

"Also," Logos began, "Since attempting regicide will have consequences far beyond simply containing a curse, the obvious best solution is to remove said curse. If that's not possible then some way to restrict its spread is optimal. Actually, now that I think about it we're missing a bit of data."

"Chrysalis," Alex asked, "Why didn't you kill them when the Empire first fell? It would have been much easier, wouldn't it?"

"It's not that simple," Chrysalis snapped, then composed herself, "One of the first things Sombra did when he took power was kill all his competition. At first I wasn't even aware that any of them had survived. After that, well... the last living heir was Mothwing's son, and her dying wish was for me to take care of him. You see, our connection to the heart was severed when the Empire vanished. Queen Mimic, my sisters, my mentors, all of them just curled up and waited for the end after that."

Chrysalis bared her fangs in a smile of cold triumph, letting off a strong waft of dark chocolate as her posture straightened, "Not me," she spat out, "I wanted to live. I learned how to drain emotions from other ponies. I figured out how to store them, and share them with other Changelings. And I, not Mimic, not Shifter, ME! I rallied our children, the 630 Changelings who weren't content to pass away alongside the Empire, and I led them to safety."

She leaned back with a smirk, still tasting of chocolate, and sighed happily.

"Wait wait wait," Alex cut in, narrowing his eyes at her, "What do you mean 630 Changelings!? I thought you said they were only nine or so?"

"Nine Greater Changelings, and that's not important right now," Chrysalis said dismissively, "I shall tell you more when it's time to meet them. In any case, I couldn't act directly against the sole surviving heir or any of his offspring until he had passed away. My oath prevented it. In any case, by the time I could have acted, I had learned that the Crystal empire would return at some point in the future."

Alex blinked, then shrugged mentally as Chrysalis added, "I searched for a way to determine when, but found only the royals themselves. When they were restored to full power, the empire would come back, and Sombra and the Heart with them."

"And since the job wouldn't be finished until Sombra was dead, attacking before then would simply leave you blind," Alex concluded, "So you've been stuck waiting ever since."

"Essentially, yes," Chrysalis confirmed, "Furthermore, I had no way of knowing how long that wait would be. I needed a way to preserve my followers and myself, so that when Sombra returned we would be ready to face him. That was when I learned how to use the goo we make from excess emotional magic to act as a stasis pod, and sealed the changeling race away. We've woken up a few times since then, in response to various incidents involving misfiring love spells, but for the most part we slept."

She smiled, a fierce, proud grin fueled by anger and what Alex guessed was anticipation, "If your attacker isn't the one we've been waiting for, it most certainly will be her child. The Empire is almost back, and when it is I will finally be free to act. My only regret is that I wasn't able to help you until it was already too late. For that, I am truly sorry."

Alex was silent for a long moment. While outwardly calm, he was in fact busily squashing the indignation that Chrysalis hadn't woken up sooner and saved him from turning into a Changeling, despite knowing the resentment had no basis in reality. Only once he'd gotten his emotions under control again did he dare to speak. "Thank you, Chrysalis. I think I know what I need to now."

"So you will help us then?" Chrysalis asked, her eyes sparkling in anticipation as she leaned forward.

"Give me a few minutes," Alex said evasively, "This isn't exactly like deciding what to have for dinner."

Chrysalis frowned, but backed up a bit.

"Ok," Ethos said, resuming their internal debate, "It seems Mrs. Bug Queen here has a sense of honor. That's a point in her favor, even if genocide is still unfeasible."

"That's hyperbole," Pathos shot back, "We don't actually know that's what it will take."

"I maintain," Logos said, cutting off the argument before it could devolve into insult slinging, "That killing the bearers of the curse is ineffective. They are likely too numerous to permanently remove, in addition to public relations issues and retaliation from the Crown. However, we will require her services to help master our new self, and getting revenge on Cadance is still a top priority."

"I believe you meant justice," Ethos corrected, "But the answer is obvious either way. We should offer to help Chrysalis to keep an eye on her while pursuing other alternatives. Hmm, ways to remove or suppress the curse... Maybe something tying into a form of birth control? It'll be better than killing them all, that's for sure."

Pathos projected a mental image of Chrysalis teaching Alex how to feed, and nodded his approval.

"That will require research," Logos said, "But we can do that later. All in favor?"

Alex opened his eyes. The result was a forgone conclusion by that point. "I'll help," he said, "If you teach me how to handle this," he gestured to himself, "And drag Cadance's crimes into the light. Also, I'd prefer that we hold off on direct action until the Empire returns. That way we can strike all at once and keep the element of surprise," In addition to buying me enough time to come with an alternative to mass murder, he didn't say aloud.

"It would be my pleasure," Chrysalis said with a knowing smile, and stuck out her hoof. Alex reached out and shook it, noting the thick skin that felt so similar to his own before they separated.

"Thank you," Alex said. The silence stretched. "So," he said, "Now what?"

"Now, Chrysalis replied with a smirk, "I believe you owe me a story."

"Fair enough," Alex replied, and cast his thoughts back, "As you have probably guessed by now, I am not native to Equestria. In fact, I am from another world entirely. Don't bother asking me how I got here, I don't know and all my efforts to find out have proven fruitless. It was a freak magical accident and I doubt it will happen a second time."

Chrysalis paused with her mouth open, the question poised on her tongue already answered, "In any case, my world, as I mentioned before, doesn't have magic in any noticeable amount. We have no immortals guiding our societies, or if we do they keep themselves out of sight. No Royal Sisters, no Dragon Lords, nothing. You would call our world... chaotic, and you would not be wrong."

"As for me personally," Alex sighed, "I was raised by a modest family living in northern Texas, a 'region,' of my home country. By the way, when I say modest, I mean, 'As wealthy as you would call a minor lord, but because everyone is that rich it doesn't stand out.' It's one of the perks of runaway technology. I had two little brothers, Raymond the bookworm and Colson the gearhead, who I loved to pieces when they weren't breaking my stuff into pieces."

He let out a wistful chuckle, "Mom loved fighting, couldn't get enough of it. Martial arts, medieval combat, paintball, target practice, you name it, she did it. The only things that came close to that passion were her love for Dad and the effort she put into teaching my brothers and I what she'd learned."

"Dad, by contrast, was anything but a fighter. His passion was building things, all sorts of things. Metalworking, woodworking, construction, mechanical tinkering, electronics, he dabbled in all of it at one point or another in his life. One of the constants was armor though. He built most of Mom's gear, and helped me make my first set. That's how they met actually: Mom's helmet got stuck on her head in one of her battles, and she had to hire Dad to pound it out enough for her to escape."

He laughed softly, and Chrysalis joined in, "Everything I know about armor, I learned from him. He even helped me draft the plans for this place," Alex gestured at the tent around him, "What kind of trailer to mount it on, how to make it fold up just so so I could pull it from event to event, all sorts of fine tuning. I doubt it would work half as well as it does if he hadn't contributed."

Alex stretched a bit and shifted his weight, "They were always pushing us to excel, my brothers and I, and eventually it paid off. We got accepted at some fancy colleges, and parted ways for a bit. I became a chemist, and made sure new products were safe before they hit the market. Last I heard Raymond had gotten an intern position at a law firm and Colson was working at a startup company designing some kind of robot after graduating early. I never did really understand him when he started talking about his work," He added to himself.

"That brings us to how I ended up here."  It never got any easier, telling his story, though at least he didn't stumble over himself as much anymore, "Every year my family gets back together at a big SCA event, that's a club we're all a part of, and we just have fun together. I was on my way there two years ago when I got horribly lost on a bunch of back roads. I don't know what the hell was up with that forest, but it was the last time I ever saw my homeworld."

Alex leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, "I came out in the woods just north of town, and I've been living here ever since. I've probably been declared dead by this point, since that's what happens when people vanish without a trace and take a good chunk of their stuff with them. Even if I somehow manage to make it back someday, the life I had has long since vanished. But yeah, that's how I got to Equestria. Now, what would you like to know about my homeworld?"

Everything, as it turned out, and Alex was kept busy answering her questions until long after the sun had set.


88888888


Sergeant Shifter was brooding, and given the state of the hive it would be hard to blame him. You know things are bad when 'falling apart at the seams' can be used to phrase something mildly. As much as he hated to admit it, the truth couldn't be denied: the hive was toast. Kaput. Utterly and irrevocably beyond repair. The Changelings couldn't stay there anymore, not without risking life and limb on a daily basis, and that meant one thing: moving.

With a groan of frustration, Sergeant Shifter slammed his head against his desk, accidentally spearing one of the reports detailing yet another collapsed tunnel on the tip of his horn. Rather than using his hooves or magic to brush it off, he just let it sit there for a while as he tried to come up with any way he could to avoid the logistical nightmare that was pulling up stake. None of his subordinates would have dared to comment, even if any had seen him like this. Most of them were too respectful, and the few that weren't had been given punishment assignments for similar transgressions in the past. They'd caught on quickly enough.

When no better options miraculously revealed themselves, the Changeling in Charge sucked it up, and used a good chunk of his remaining magic to open a Hivelink to his queen. "Your majesty," he began, shaking his head a little and causing the report to brush against his fin, "I'm afraid I bear ill news. We can't stay here anymore," He winced as a small chunk of stone fell from the ceiling, bouncing off his head and rolling along his spine, "This place isn't safe."

Instead of the incredulity or annoyance he had expected, only a weary resignation greeted his words, "I had a feeling you might say that," Queen Chrysalis told him, "We would have had to move regardless, though. The Badlands are hardly the best place to stage operations in the far north. Pack up everything that still works, and come find me. Cities these days are much larger than they used to be. I believe we can make a new home easily enough here," Shifter sensed a touch of distaste, "Or in one of the neighboring villages."

"As you wish, my Queen," Shifter answered, bowing his head even though Chrysalis wasn't actually present. Her Majesty nodded, and cut the link, allowing Shifter to go out to issue the orders. After he brushed off the papers stuck to his horn, of course.


88888888


"Here," Alex said, tossing Chrysalis an apple, "I try to save apples that weren't grown locally for special occasions since they're so expensive, but I think this qualifies." The pair were sitting at the picnic table with the lamp turned down low so as not to alert the lone guard standing outside. The shift had changed while they were talking, and the moon was now busying climbing the ladder of the heavens. Chrysalis bit into it, nodding appreciatively, and watched with baited breath as Alex took a bite of his, then snickered to herself when he almost spat it out in surprise.

"It's bland!" He exclaimed, staring at the fruit in confusion, "I know Sweet Apple Acres only makes the best, so what the hell?"

"It's another side effect," Chrysalis told him, "Our sense of taste is muffled when it comes to normal food. We usually mix up emotion gels to use as sauce to compensate."

"Oh," Alex said, before taking another bite, "That sucks. At least I can still feel the texture."

Chrysalis nodded, then asked, "Is there anything you need to do before we can get started on our arrangement?"

Alex chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed and said, "I need my stuff back. The guard took a good chunk of it as evidence, including books from home and my shield. I can't replace either of those, and if we're really going up against an ancient dictator we're going to need every advantage we can get."

Chrysalis smiled, keeping her lips closed against a mouthful of food, "I guess we'll have to take them back then," she said slyly.
> 6: Missed Him by THAT Much!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance fidgeted, stewing in her own fear and indecision as she stared at the door to the small house in front of her before glancing around nervously. She didn't want to do this. One of the three ponies she had hurt on a scale she dared not imagine lived on the other side of that door, and... Blue, no, True Strike, that was her name, would not be pleased to see her. It was like that time she'd swiped a bunch of sweets before dinner and Celestia had walked right outside her bedroom, only a googol* times more intense.

Cadance wracked her brain one last time for other things she might not have done yet, anything that allowed her to just turn around and walk away, if even for a few fleeting minutes. Nothing came to mind. Alex was still missing, the press-conference wasn't until tomorrow, and Shining wasn't talking to her at the moment (which still stung). She could go get something to eat, or take a walk around town and enjoy the sunset, but that would just be stalling. Cadance had had issues with procrastination in the past, and Celestia had been almost disturbingly thorough when it came to removing them. She'd mentioned something about putting off paperwork being a dangerous habit to get into, then proceed to weave a tale of how one delayed acquisition form almost toppled the Equestrian government. Babysitting Twilight hadn't hurt either, in this case.

Cadance realized her internal monologue was yet another way to put off the inevitable, braced herself, and, with a sensation not unlike stepping off a cliff, knocked lightly on the door.

She heard movement inside the house, two voices muttering to each other at too low a volume to understand from outside, and a few seconds later the door slot open, revealing a pair of glaring pale yellow eyes ringed with white fur. Cadance blinked, then put on a wary smile. She hadn't thought this neighborhood was that bad, but maybe all the muggers had made themselves scarce when a Princess showed up out of nowhere.

The eyes narrowed, and a begrudging mare's voice hissed, "Can I help you, your highness?"

Somepony just out of sight (he sounded male) mumbled a something Cadance didn't catch, and the eyes turned to look at him skeptically. The mumbles continued, causing the mare to sigh, roll her eyes, and shut the slot with a bang. A few clicks later, the door opened, revealing an off-white pegasus with a matted coat that looked like it needed a good brushing. An indigo pegasus stallion in a similar state stood just behind her to her right, regarding her with a sense of wary respect. The mare just looked annoyed. The smell of sweat both fresh and dried mixed with mild body odor slapped Cadance in the face, and it took all her self control to not wrinkle her nose is disgust.

"I," Cadance swallowed, then pressed onward, "I have something very important to tell the both of you. May I come in?"

The two ponies shared a glance, and the mare's hoof on the door tensed, like she was about to slam shut, but then heaved another sigh and opened it wider, allowing the Princess entry. Cadance stepped inside, carefully wiping her hooves on the welcome mat, and looked around. The first two words to cross her mind were "simple" and "neat." The walls were not heavily decorated, painted a plain white with the odd picture hanging up in highly visible spots, but as far as she could see they bore no stains or cracks. It was the same for the furniture, as many of the pieces seemed worn, yet each had been scrubbed clean enough to pass even a drill sergeant's inspections. The floor was hardwood, unpolished but worn smooth. All in all, it was a perfectly normal, well kept, lower-middle class home. This did not help Cadance's nerves.

She followed her hosts into the living room, where they sat side by side on the only couch. The mare made no sign of welcome, but the stallion gestured towards a chair sitting next to the fireplace, which was as bare as expected on an early summer day. Cadance climbed into it, and turned to face them. Well, no backing out now.

Cadance took a deep breath, and told them. Not everything, not quite, but everything that was relevant. A stifling silence fell across the room when she finished, and for a single moment the stillness was total. Then True Strike rolled off the couch and walked a few paces away, standing with her back to Cadance.

"You know," she said finally, her voice surprisingly calm, "I didn't believe it when I first heard that story from Sure Hoof. I thought Alex was just making excuses, 'Oh, I didn't really mean to cheat on you, I was being mind controlled,' you know, the usual whorseshit. To hear that he wasn't lying..." True Strike went completely still. Too still.

Cadance barely had time to duck before True Strike's hoof slammed into the back of her chair, sending it toppling over and dumping Cadance onto the floor. True Strike made to rush her again, only for Sure Hoof to tackle her, doing his best to pin her despite her struggles.

"Are you crazy!?" He shouted, "That's a Princess you just tried to kill!"

"She made me hurt my Alexy," True Strike yelled back, hooves scrabbling for purchase, "Nopony makes me hurt my Alexy!"

Cadance, meanwhile, had frozen in place, staring in horror at the scene unraveling before her. Sure Hoof glanced up at her, his grip starting to slip, and mouthed 'run.' Cadance turned and bolted, soaring out the door and into the warm night air. A thunderous crash sounded behind her, and Cadance risked looking back. True Strike was gaining on her, her eyes filled with what could only be described as murderous intent.

Cadance yelped and flew faster.


88888888


Chrysalis was busy being creepy. After she and Alex had talked about breaking into the guard station to retrieve his stuff and agreed that she would be responsible for the recon before the act itself, Chrysalis had then asked for another apple, despite mentioning earlier that she was full. Her emotions had turned sour and frizzy, which Alex thought meant a combination of fear and anticipation, and in the end, curious to see what she would do, he'd handed it over. Chrysalis promptly knelt, the apple held lightly in her hooves, and was now chanting, the words too low and fast for Alex to make out. Her voice slowly grew louder, and as she raised the apple skyward he heard the words, "Accept this offering,  great Bellum, if you wish me harm."

For a long tense moment, Chrysalis paused, as if waiting for something. When about ten seconds had passed and nothing had happened, she let out a sigh of relief, and placed the apple back on the table, the fizz she was emitting turning to fresh cream.

"Good," she said breathily, "We're safe. For now."

"Ok," Alex said, confusion written plain across his face, "What the fuck was that?"

"A prayer for Bellum, the god of war and death," Chrysalis replied softly, "I take it you've not heard of him?"

"To be honest, I was under the impression that this world didn't really have religion," Alex told her, "Maybe it died out while you were sleeping?"

"Perhaps," said Chrysalis, frowning slightly, before telling him about He With Three Faces. One to play the pipes of scrimshaw bone, one to shout commands and battle cries, and one that never opened its mouth, for if it did it would vomit a waterfall of blood and bile. He was depicted as an alicorn with far too many arms holding every weapon imaginable, some clasped in prayer or plea, some thrown up as if to ward off an unseen foe, and one that was always held in a crisp salute.**

"Bellum was never a popular god," Chrysalis continued, "Even in my time. Most ponies don't like to think about death, or violence, so a god devoted to both was never going to get a large following. That said, every single crystal guard prayed to him zealously, and they always kept their ears pricked whenever they had to go into danger, for it is said that those who hear his pipes are destined to fall in battle."

"And the apple?" Alex prodded.

"Yes, the apple," Chrysalis echoed, tapping her hooves nervously,  "Most prayers to Bellum are not pleas for help or songs of praise. They are requests for him to leave you be, or to stay his hoof if he cannot ignore you. If you give him a piece of food and are fated to die, he will... well, eat, it. There's no better way to describe it. Nothing happening is actually the good outcome, because it means you weren't in danger in the first place."

Alex was still skeptical at this point, but he had to ask, "And what happens if he rejects your offering?"

"...Something else," Chrysalis shook her head, the relief from before having been replaced by something that almost tasted like fear, but had some extra salty undertones, "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Right. Right," Alex said, promptly shoving the conversation out of his mind, "Just let me armor up, and then we can go."

Alex stepped over to his armor stand and did his best to put his partner's beliefs out of his mind. Most of his gear, a mix of homemade padding, chainmail, and splinted leather, went on quickly enough, though without a squire to help him he'd had to modify some of the buckles, but he paused when he got to his helmet. He gazed at the hunk of metal, a round-faced bassinet lined with chainmail that was arguably the most important piece of protection he wore, then crossed his eyes as he stared at the horn now jutting from his forehead.

Alex sighed and flipped the helmet upside down, quickly pulling out the inner lining of padded cloth, duct tape, and blue foam, before jamming the thing down over his head, his horn ripping a neat hole for itself. Chrysalis let out a bark of laughter at the sight, her previous fear forgotten.

"Yes, yes, I look ridiculous," Alex said bluntly, "But I'm not going into a potential fight without something on my head."

Chrysalis just rolled her eyes at that and sidled up next to him as he strapped on his sword belt. "Shall we go?" she purred, bumping lightly against him, and Alex rolled his eyes as he placed a hand on her shoulder and they shimmered out of sight.

"Sounds good to me," he said on reflex, "Hopefully we'll get my stuff back before someone gets a chance to rummage through it."


88888888


Shining Armor leaned back in his chair and wiped the sweat from his brow as he tried to process what he was looking at. The book sat there, in all it's damning beauty, mocking him with the impossibilities it contained. The title, Atlas of The World, was simple enough, but that made the contents all the more perplexing. The book contained maps. Dozens of maps. Dozens of the most detailed, beautifully crafted maps Captain Armor had ever seen. Even the maps the guard used, which were required to be the most up to date available paled in comparison. 

If that had been all, it wouldn't have been that strange. However, for some reason the Captain couldn't fathom, somepony had charted and drawn awe inspiring maps of an entire world that nopony had ever seen. Sure, he'd drawn a couple of dungeons during his O&O days, but nothing like this. On top of that, the book itself was of some of the highest quality Captain Armor had ever seen, using glossy, flawless paper, a binding so well crafted he couldn't spot any variations in it, and every page cut to the exact same size and shape, so the edges didn't fluctuate.

Every single book Mr. Fleming owned was like this. If they weren't depicting lands nopony had ever heard of, then they showed inventions that didn't exist, societal theories that shouldn't work, or columns of symbols that meant nothing at all. At this point, Captain Armor had two theories: either Alexander Fleming was completely insane, or he was from far farther away than he had ever felt like letting on. Captain Armor honestly didn't know which one was worse, until he realized it might be both. Both was definitely worse.

Captain Armor sighed, and got up for another cup of coffee. Normally he wouldn't be working so hard on a case like this, but this one involved hi- Cadance, on top of being flat out weird enough to warrant his full attention. It was as he was stepping out of his office that he heard the shouting, and headed off to investigate. Seriously, what was going on now?


88888888


"Are you sure this is the place?" asked Alex, frowning thoughtfully at the nondescript office flat in front of them, "This city is big enough to have more than one guard station."

"I did the recon, did I not?" Chrysalis shot back, letting out a strong waft of indignation (which smelled like farts), " Your case is all anypony will speak of right now. Tracking down the building holding the evidence was a simple affair. I will admit that I expected it to look more... imposing."

"An office is an office," Alex quipped, shifting his weight forward to prompt Chrysalis to walk with him, "No matter who happens to work there. What's our way in?"

"The roof access door," Chrysalis replied, gesturing towards the top of the building and weaving a muffling barrier and wall-walking cantrip into their invisibility shields, "It is sealed, of course, but the anti-lockpicking charms are old and should break with a little applied effort. The evidence is kept on the third floor, as far away from the holding cells as possible. Unless somepony is actively looking at everything in your case file, which is possible, that is where we will find your possessions."

Alex peered indoors as they walked up the side of the office flat. The place was mostly quiet, as it was now late evening and the day shift had gone home by now, but about half of lights were still on and he could sense roughly two dozen emotion blobs moving around inside. The last time Alex checked, security cameras weren't a thing yet, but he still kept an eye out just in case they'd been invented while he wasn't looking. Some might call it paranoia, but they weren't the ones breaking into a police station in the middle of the night.

It took a few minutes for Chrysalis to jiggle the lock open, but Alex tapped her on the shoulder before she could pull it open. "Shouldn't you check for triggers?" he asked, "Where I come from most secure buildings have an alarm primed to go off if you open the wrong door."

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, "Fine. I'll check." Her horn flared slightly, "There, see? Nothing is here. Now come." With that, she yanked the door open and stepped inside. Alex followed, closing the door behind them, his nerves still dancing on a razor's edge. By the time they'd made it to the evidence lockers Alex had managed to calm himself somewhat, but his hand still rested on the hilt of his blade. Just in case.

The door to the evidence lockers was unlocked, though Chrysalis told him that normally it had extensive security wards active, and they slipped through. Alex's eyes scanned the room, and he grinned as he marched to the far wall and hefted his shield, breaking the invisibility in the process. The shield was a basic kite design, large enough to cover Alex's body from shoulder to knee, and made of two layers of plywood glued together. More importantly, it was almost solely responsible for Alex's continued survival.

Ponies, and in fact quadrupeds in general, didn't use shields. For them, it's a choice: they can hold a shield, or a weapon, but not both without losing most of their mobility. Even among unicorns, who can wield more than one object at a time, something as simple as a buckler was rare. Only the bipedal species bothered with them at all, which gave Alex an enormous defensive edge against most opponents.

In addition, even among the bipeds, Alex's shield stood out. The Monkeys and Lemurs fought with circle shields or bucklers matched with multiple short swords and daggers, needing little more to cover their bodies and mostly relying on not getting hit in the first place. The Gorillas, on the other hand, used massive tower shields with reinforced bases that that allowed them to hold the wielder's weight (making their charges shake the ground under their hands), combined with a hooked mace, ax, or spear to pull the enemy's shield out of the way, while the Minotaurs preferred heavy Phalanx style equipment. Alex's shield was large and light, far lighter than any other shield its size could be without being too fragile to block anything. This was thanks to the superior materials Alex had used, since plywood, for all its ugliness, was still impressively strong. If it was destroyed or lost, he wouldn't be able to replace it, which was why he'd splurged on the rune in the first place.

"Much better," He said with a grin, slipping his arm through the straps and getting it settled just so, "I felt practically naked without this thing."

Chrysalis emitted a wave of sugar cookies that Alex guessed was wry amusement, but didn't comment further. She helped him gather up the rest of the his items, but it wasn't long before Alex was growling to himself as he stared at the pile.  "Well that's just peachy," he grumbled, "We're missing some of the books."

"Which ones?" Chrysalis asked.

"The important ones," Alex stated, "You see, right after I finished making my trailer-tent and was looking around for another big project to work on, it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to make a survival bunker of sorts. My country may have one of the longest lasting governments on the planet, but it never looks particularly stable at any given moment, and that year was the worst in decades, so I thought, 'Just in case,' and started packing. I grabbed a bunch of texts that I'd never bother to get rid of after college, along with some other useful books I had lying around the house and stuffed them in there, then I went off to the war, thinking I'd finish the job when I got back."

He snorted, "And of course, I ended up needing the damn thing long before I was expecting too."

"So," Chrysalis said slowly, her wings twitching ever so slightly, "When you say 'important'..."

"...I mean that they were picked out with the specific goal of resurrecting human civilization and industry from nothing," Alex concluded, "and that they hold the information that would be needed to do so. Furthermore, it would be disastrous if they ended up in the wrong hands, so leaving them behind, even if makes it more likely we'll get caught, is not an option."

Chrysalis was grinning in a somewhat disturbing fashion, made all the more so by the aura of cotton candy and tomatoes that Alex suspected was malicious glee. "What are we waiting for, then?" She asked sweetly, neatly bundling up Alex's things and slipping them into whatever pockets unicorns use to carry their stuff around, then trotting towards the door, "I want to see these for myself."


88888888


The shouting was coming from a mare. A pale pegasus mare pinned down by no less than four guards despite having wing binders and hoof-cuffs on. Cadance was standing a good distance away from the scene, looking on with a mixture of shock and sadness. The Captain sighed and lit his horn, lifting the Pegasus into the air and giving the other guards a much needed break.

"Sir!" one of the guards saluted him, "This mare was trying to kill Princess Cadance, and went through half a dozen of us trying to get to her." Cadance flinched slightly, but didn't raise her head or speak up.

The mare, meanwhile, had stopped struggling, and was glaring at Cadance with such fury Shining almost expected the Princess to burst into flames. What could Cadance have possibly done to...

"Ms. True Strike I presume?" Shining said wearily. The mare grunted, and Shining sighed, "Will you try to attack again if I put you down?"

The mare didn't reply, so Shining just turned around and carried her away into the guardhouse.

"You're lucky Cadance is a nice pony, Ms. Strike," Shining said casually, "If you play along she might decide to drop the charges against. Or at least lighten your sentence. What's the punishment for attempted regicide these days, banishment? I don't know, honestly, nopony's ever been stupid enough to try."

True Strike didn't reply, instead staring off into space, her rage slowly draining away and being replaced by something Shining couldn't parse. She stayed like that for the entire trip through the complex, with only the occasional ear twitch to tell him that she was listening to him at all as he chattered.

It wasn't until she'd already been placed her cell, a clean, if stark concrete block with a toilet, sink, and bed that she spoke. "You know what she did, right?" True Strike said suddenly, causing Shining to blink.

"...Yes," He said after a pause, "I do."

"Then how can you defend her?" True Strike snapped, locking her eyes to his for the first time that evening, "Princess Cadance destroyed my former clotfriend's life with his own hooves! When I fought with him was hitting the wrong target. How you stand there and not be sympathetic!?"

"I never said I wasn't," Shining said coldly, "But the law exists for a reason, and she is trying to atone for her actions, however horrendous they may be. That's why she went to talk you."

True Strike snorted, her flaring angrily as she and stalked away, the tip of her tail snapping at the bars.

"I don't like this anymore than you do," Shining said after a while, deciding to switch tactics, "But attacking her isn't going to solve this. She's had a long talk with Princess Celestia, and now she's paying for her actions the right way, the way that lets her be a better pony in the future. You putting her in the hospital is only going to get in the way of that."

When True Strike didn't reply, Shining let out a small puff of air and turned to leave.

"Are you sure she'll improve?" True Strike asked skeptically, causing Shining to stop short and look back over his shoulder, "I've dealt with a lot of scum in my life, Captain, and it never matters how sorry they are. Sooner or later they'll screw up again and end up right back where they started."

Shining felt a slight touch of unease and forced it down. Stay professional, he told himself, don't let her get to you.

"Of course I'm sure," Shining said steadily, "I've known her for most of my life."

"And yet this caught you off guard?" True Strike asked, her voice deceptively mild. When Shining didn't answer right away she continued, "Tell, me Captain. If you know her so well, are you sure she hasn't done this before? For that matter, are you sure she hasn't cast anything on you personally? You do seem awfully quick to defend her."  Shining didn't answer. He walked out, leaving a grinning True Strike alone while shutting the door and locking it on reflex, his mind churning. He didn't snap out of it until he returned to his office and realized all the evidence had gone missing.


88888888


Sergeant Shifter stared up at the 'throne.' The formation was entirely natural, but since looked a bit like a chair and Chrysalis sometimes sat there some private had taken to calling it a throne and the name had stuck.

Shifter sucked in a breath, and carefully broke off a few pieces, slipping them into a special box that he then strapped to his back. While the anti magic field generated by those shards wouldn't be anywhere nearly as strong as that of the throne itself, they couldn't take it with them and being able to block somepony's magic was entirely too useful to do without. The box already contained three anti-magic rings, but Shifter felt it would be wise to bring extra crafting material. It was ideas like that that were the reason he was in charge, after all.

He pulled out a checklist written on the last of their good paper, ran through it one more time, then nodded. "That's everything," he said to himself, and turned to leave. He paused, then turned back to stare at the throne. "Thank you for protecting us," he told it, "We may not have spent much time awake here, but you kept us safe through our long centuries of sleep. I never really thought of this place as home, but I believe I could have built a nice life here, if fate allowed it. Until we meet again."

Shifter strode into the tunnels and headed for the surface, reveling in the breeze through his wings and the sight of the moon for the first time in a millennia, even with that strange dark pattern marring its surface. He'd considered waiting until dawn to make the journey, but nopony was interested in going back to sleep just yet, so they'd packed up early.

"Our wait is over," he shouted, taking flight as he addressed the swarm, "Changelings, move out!" And the air filled with the buzzing of six hundred pairs of wings.
> 7: A Gang, a Bug, and a Mutant Walk Into a Warehouse
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shining Armor galloped through the streets of Vanhoover, a silent fury powering his steps. Alex had gone too far. Running away after a disastrous transformation was one thing, anypony would panic if thrust into that position, but stealing evidence from an active case file? Especially his case file? That crossed the line, then turned around and stepped over it a second time for good measure. But didn't that place him back where he...? Shining shook his head to dislodge the faulty metaphor and kept running.

The scrying records had screamed Alex's guilt, as they plainly showed him, along with the strange mare from the hospital, plundering the storage lockers. Whoever she was, she was an extremely skilled mage, since even Twilight would have found an invisibility spell a challenge, and the footage showed her casting something just before they became untraceable. That was why Shining was in such a rush. If Alex was erasing his tracks he only had one other place he needed to visit, and if Shining waited until tomorrow it might already be too late. He had to move now, while the lead was still fresh.

Shining turned onto Alex's street and slowed to a brisk trot. Galloping hooves made a lot of noise, and he didn't want to scare Alex away if he was nearby. It was just a little farther...


88888888


"Ok, here's the plan," Alex whispered as he and Chrysalis eyed the lone remaining guard watching his home from deep in Alex's backyard, "I'll slip behind him, and when I give the signal, you yank his helmet off. I can take him down once he's vulnerable."

Chrysalis nodded, emitting nothing but a slight undercurrent of tension, and Alex adjusted his armor a little to make it quieter before creeping forward, slowly but surely making his way into striking range while staying out of the guard's widened line of sight. Once he had gotten about two feet away, he raised his fist into the air and chopped his hand forward. Chrysalis grabbed the helmet in her telekinesis and wrenched it away from its owner (taking the neck plates with it*) while Alex lunged, wrapping his arms around the guard's neck and slapping a hand over his mouth. The guard jerked and bucked, sending both of them to the ground, but was unable to dislodge his attacker before Chrysalis got close enough to him to light her horn and whisper, "Sleep."

Once he was certain the spell had taken effect, Alex carefully released his hold and dragged the guard out of sight of the street. "There," he said, and started to dust his hands off, only to stop short when his claws slashed through the tips of his gloves and almost stabbed into his skin.

"Bleh," he muttered, stripping the gloves off his fingers and sticking them into his belt before slipping his shield back onto his arm, "I don't think anyone else'll come by until morning. We should have until then to pack up and get somewhere quiet."

He started moving, but Chrysalis didn't follow.  "Hold on," She said, holding a hoof out towards Alex's shield, her expression carefully neutral, "May I see that?"

Alex raised an eyebrow, then shrugged and handed it over. Chrysalis caught it in her magic and turned the back to face her, then let out a hiss of disapproval mixed with a surge of sweet-and-sour indignation, "This rune is absolute filth!" She exclaimed, and cut an extra line through the center of the carving, "Look, with just one stroke I've doubled both the strength and the durability. What variety of dizzy-eyed nut-hook sold you this?"

"Uh," Alex stammered, "The only one in town?" When Chrysalis glared at him, he added, "Hey, runes are really hard to find these days. I had to spend an entire week tracking that guy down, and he might have gone out of business since then. It just isn't a thing around here," He concluded, stuffing his claw tips into his belt.

"What do you mean?" Chrysalis asked, her surprise starting to turn to anger, "The Crystal Empire was built on runes. It was our greatest skill and the source of our might. How could the trade have fallen into such a..." she trailed off, her eyes widening in horror.

Alex coughed, "I take it all the best Rune Masters lived in the Empire? And possibly the best gems to work with?" Chrysalis nodded, slowly.

"I am the last," Chrysalis whispered, tasting so strongly of salt Alex started to worry that someone other than him might pick up on it, "but I had just finished my training!" She protested, "I'm not a master, I never had the time to practice. I can't be all that's left!"

"You aren't," Alex stated, "But if we don't succeed you might be, so we should get moving. You can mourn your craft and/or start a new guild once we're out of sight."

Chrysalis nodded jerkily and composed herself, slipping on a mask of calm so smoothly it sent a shiver down Alex's spine. If he wasn't able to read her emotions there would be no way he'd ever know if she was lying to him, not with acting skills like that.

"Ok," Alex said, taking a breath for focus, "Chrysalis, please go dump everything we got from the guard station in the truck. We can sort it out later. I'll start packing up inside."

Chrysalis was already moving, and Alex scrambled to follow her. Once inside his home, he grabbed everything that wasn't nailed down and stuffed it into something that was. Normally he'd have a place for every single knickknack, but the last time he'd put down stakes he wasn't expecting to move again, and as such now had a bunch of stuff that didn't fit. It took him a solid 15 minutes to make his final sweep, allowing him to start moving furniture.

"I've been wondering," Chrysalis said as she lifted a chair off the floor, the spikes on the bottom of its feet sliding out of their locking holes with a faint rasp, "Why do you live here? Why not a proper house?"

Alex put down the couch with a grunt, then said, "Eh, no reason, why do you ask?"

"I was curious," Chrysalis replied, "Although you don't seem like the kind who does anything without a reason." Her lips twitched, then smoothed into a mild frown as she tried to lock the chair she was holding into place.

Alex chuckled, "You got me there," he said, "It's just-" He paused mid step, then made a vague motion with his hands,  "Hard to put into words. I guess... it feels like this is my last piece of home?" Chrysalis's curiosity, a interesting semi-sweet spiciness, spiked, and he continued, "I mean, I built this place myself. It's got part of me in it, and my father, and my mother, and my siblings. I, couldn't leave them behind. I'm lost enough as it is, I don't want to drift even further."

"You miss them," Chrysalis stated, then tried to shove the chair into place again.

"Yeah," Alex confirmed, "A lot. As far as they know I'm dead, and I might as well be when it comes to seeing them again." He turned to look at Chrysalis, then hurried over to the chair, "Hey, there's no need to be so rough with that!"

"It won't fit," Chrysalis snorted, her frustration with the piece of furniture starting to flare, "I know it can, but it won't."

"Here," Alex took the chair from her and rotated it 90 degrees, "Like my father always said: if you have to force it," He put the chair down, and it clicked neatly into place, "You're not doing it right."

Chrysalis examined the chair, her face screwed up in thought while Alex stretched and looked around. "That should be everything in here," he told her with a nod of satisfaction, "Let's get the paneling taken up."


88888888


Shining watched Alex freeze in place as stuck his through the tent flap, the human's(?) eyes widening in surprise.

"Come on out," Shining commanded, "You're not running away this time, bucker."

Alex stepped out, coming fully into view, and Shining had to resist the urge to back away from him. The guy was wearing so much armor Shining wasn't sure how he could move, let alone fight. It was entirely possible Alex could take a double buck to the chest and walk away while dressed like that, and he acted like it didn't bother him at all. It was too bad the pile of blue and tan scraps on his head completely ruined the image.

"You need to come with me," Shining continued, more gently this time, "I'm not arresting you," Not yet, he added mentally, "But you need help. We're still investigating your transformation. We don't know what happened to you yet, and there could be side effects."

"Side effects?" Alex asked, causally rubbing two of his claws together, "Oh, yeah, there were side effects. You're looking at the side effects, Captain. As for the cause, well, go ask your fiance. Assuming you haven't dumped her already, that is."

"Wait, Cadance?" Shining blurted out, "You think Cadance is responsible for this!? Why? How?"

"Take a wild guess," Alex said cheekily, then snarled, "It's not like it's, oh, I don't know, staring you right in the face."

Shining leaned away from that mouthful of fangs, then cursed himself for showing any weakness. "You still need help, Alexander," he said, carefully keeping his gentle tone, "Come back to the hospital with me. We can run some more tests, maybe find a cure for your-"

"And put myself right where Celestia would be able to make me 'disappear?'" Alex shot back, "No thank you. I've got something much better in mind."

"Oh?" Shining asked, gathering as much of his magic as he could without lighting his horn. Just in case.

"Isn't it obvious?" Alex placed a clawed hand over his chest and swooned, "Boohoo, my heart is broken, I will be an evil bug now."** Shining's brain started to take off into rising horror, only for the actual wording to sink in and cause it to crash land squarely in the Swamps of Confusion at the same time Alex burst out laughing.

"You didn't honestly think I could say that with a straight face, did you?" He chortled, then sobered instantly, "The sentiment is roughly accurate though. Fuck you, fuck Cadance, and fuck Equestria. I'm out!"

He snapped his fingers, and Shining felt his helmet being yanked off his head followed a sharp pain on the back of his skull. His last conscious thought was that he really should have spotted Alex's partner by now.


88888888


"Nice plan," Alex said, admiration showing in his voice as Chrysalis dropped her invisibility and stealth charms, "Although that telepathy trick caught me off guard. Is that common for changelings?"

"Thank you," Chrysalis said smugly, tossing Shining's helmet aside with a casual flick of her horn, "I've gotten quite adept at it over the years. As for your 'telepathy,' we call it the hivemind, and the answer is both yes and no. Everypony in the hive can link with everypony else, but it takes far too much magic to channel constantly. We keep it streamlined through the chain of command and only use it during emergencies." 

"Huh," Alex grunted, "Sensible."

Chrysalis must have picked on his unspoken approval, because her smile widened slightly as she leaned down to touch her horn to Shining's.

"Wait," Alex asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm erasing his memories of us," Chrysalis replied calmly as she lit her horn, "We can't have him trying to find us later, after all."

"What!?" Alex shouted, a surge of outrage and alarm overriding his caution, "No! You can't do that!"

"Why not?" Chrysalis replied, a bit of fluffy, starchy surprise and a trace of bland confusion drifting off of her, "He's a threat to our safety."

"Mind magic is what got us into this mess in the first place!" Alex reminded her, "Do you really think casting more of it ourselves will do anything but make it worse? Tell me, if someone tampered with your memories how would you feel about it when you found out?" Chrysalis's wave of spicy anger told Alex everything he needed to know.

"But he's an enemy!" Chrysalis continued, straightening up to face him more directly, "We can't just let him walk free!"

"So you're allowed to do anything to your enemies then," Alex countered, "Even if you wouldn't like it if they turned the tables on you?"

Chrysalis nodded emphatically. Alex sighed and tried to rub the bridge of his nose, only to stop short when his claws got in the way, "Look," Alex said, doing his best to keep his anger in check, "I don't know how you ponies went about it in the Crystal Empire, but times have changed. You aren't allowed to treat your enemies any way you please without consequences anymore. You'll get backlash from anyone you try to ally with who isn't as old as you are. Besides," he added, "I sincerely doubt that Shining Armor didn't tell anyone what he was doing or where he was going. He's the Captain of the Royal Guard, for God's sake! If someone found out we messed with his mind, and they would check, it would kick off a countrywide manhunt for us. Do you want the Princesses kicking down our door!?"

Chrysalis growled, but her pungent frustration was telling. "Fine," she said after a bit, "But I'm still putting him to sleep. Furthermore, if this comes back to haunt us I get to hold it over you for the rest of your life."

"Done," Alex agreed readily, "Now let's finish packing up."


88888888


Please work, please work, please work, Alex prayed as he stuck his key in the truck's ignition slot for the first time in over a year. He didn't have enough gas to drive even across the city, but since trying to hitch the trailer (now collapsed into its road worthy form) using just pony power would be a massive headache, he was going to give starting the engine one last try. He turned the key over, and was greeted with a sound he had come to dread.

click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-

"Ugh," He muttered, "Dead battery."

He hopped out to face Chrysalis, who was staring at the vehicle with barely restrained curiosity, "No go," he told her, "It doesn't have enough electrical charge to get the engine turning."

"Can you fix it?" Chrysalis asked, running a hoof along the edges of the doorframe.

"Not without some kind of jump start," Alex replied, "If I had a way of tapping into the local power lines maybe, but even then I wouldn't know how to get it into the battery without overloading the circuits." He sighed, "I guess we might as well start pushing it."

Alex trudged off towards the trailer, but Chrysalis stayed behind, a thoughtful frown on her face. "You said electricity was like tame, super weak lightning right?" she asked after a moment, causing Alex to stop and look over his shoulder.

"Yes, but I don't see how-"

"Would a shock spell work?" Chrysalis asked, and her horn sparked,  "I can cast a decently powerful one."

Alex stared at her. "Maybe," he answered, a grin slowly spreading over his face, "I'll have to do some research though. One sec."

He ran over to the pile of books Chrysalis had dumped in the bed of the truck and started rummaging through them. "Gotcha," He said with a grin, pulling out a large paperback titled Giancoli Physics. "Let's see," he muttered as he brought the book under better lighting before flipping to the index and scanning through it carefully, "Batteries, batteries, where's the section on batteries..."

He flipped to about halfway through the text and started skimming, then more in depth reading as he found the right passage. "Ok," he said, closing the book with a snap, "Does your spell gather electrons or remove them?"

Chrysalis gave him a blank look. "Right," Alex said to himself, "Guess we'll have to check then." He went digging through the back of his truck and came out with a bar magnet a minute or so later, "Charge the spell up but don't release it," he told her, grinning wide enough to swallow the moon, "I want to see which end of this is attracted to it."

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, but went along with it. She could feel the enthusiasm rolling off of him in waves, and couldn't quite bring herself to quash it. It was too cute.

"Gathers electrons it is," he said after waving both ends of it near her horn, "I probably could have predicted that, based on how static charges work, but I still needed to check. Come on."

Alex all but dragged her over to the truck and popped the hood open. "You see this?" he asked, pointing to a small black box with some red and yellow stickers on it, "This is the battery. When I give the signal, send your shock spell into the anode, that's this metal nub with the negative sign next to it," he tapped it lightly, "That should give me enough juice to get the engine to turn over. You got that?"

Chrysalis nodded and started charging her horn as Alex headed for the driver's seat "Ok, now!" He called, and Chrysalis shoved the energy into the node. The engine clicked, then buzzed, then roared, causing Chrysalis to squeak and jump away as Alex shouted, "Boo-yeah!"

Chrysalis wanted to be mad that Alex had managed to break her regal image like that, but his flood of delight at their success kept her from feeling more than mildly annoyed. Then the elation was washed away by a surge of guilt, shame, and heartbreak that sent her galloping over to the passenger's side and into the truck. By the time she got there, Alex's emotional slate had gone blank, and he was turning the steering wheel with smooth, mechanical motions while looking over his shoulder.

"What?" He asked her in a tone of mild annoyance, focusing intently on lining the truck up with the trailer.

"Who were you thinking about?" Chrysalis asked. One of the few things King Shifter had taught her was how to help other Greater Changelings get past the emotional clusterbucks that always surrounded their creation, and she'd gotten a heap of practice helping her sisters recover from Sombra's manipulations. Stomping on his emotions before they manifested was the last thing Alex needed.

Alex slammed on the brakes, bringing the truck to a halt as the wall around his emotions cracked, and he stared out the windshield for a long moment. "True Strike," he said finally, "I wanted to show her what we'd done."

"She was a friend?" Chrysalis prodded gently.

"More," Alex said simply, "Before Cadance, at least." He didn't elaborate, and Chrysalis didn't ask. His aura said it all. Instead, she leaned over and hugged him as best she could, their positions notwithstanding. Alex stiffened at first, but tentatively hugged her back, his armor uncomfortably scraping against her skin.

Chrysalis didn't know how long they stayed there, but it must have been at least five minutes before Alex finally let go. "Thanks," he said shakily, "Didn't know I needed that."

"Anytime," Chrysalis replied, smiling softly. Alex would heal. Eventually. Chrysalis would make sure of it.


88888888


"...in Armor! Can yo... ...re me?"

Shining Armor groaned and raised a hoof to his head, then, vision swimming, looked around. Gone. Of course they were gone. And, judging by the throbbing in his head, he probably had a concussion. Wonderful. Shining nodded to the local guard, whose helmet was also missing and had some nasty bruising around his throat, then activated his personal distress beacon with a shaky tap of his hoof and laid back to wait for the ambulance.

He didn't know when they would cross paths again, but Alex was going to pay for this.


88888888


"This is the place?" Chrysalis asked, frowning skeptically at the wooden warehouse surrounded by a rotting plank fence in front of them. The engine had died roughly 3/4 of the way across the city, forcing Alex and Chrysalis to get out and tow it the rest of the way. Alex had put in most of the effort, though, as Chrysalis had been focused on maintaining the invisibility and muffling spells that kept the guard from descending on them en mass. They'd still had a few close calls despite that, simply because the truck-trailer combo was so big. Chrysalis would have preferred to leave it behind, but between Alex's books, tools, and other items it just wasn't worth it. Her pockets could only hold so much!

"Yep," Alex said with a grunt, taking another few steps forward to bring them closer to the gate, whose padlock would have been a minor obstacle if the chain hadn't been rusted through. And the gates themselves hadn't been blown off their hinges. 

"This place used to belong to the East Equestria company," Alex pointed up at the remains of a sign, white on some other color Chyrsalis couldn't pick out in the darkness, "But they got shut down a few years before I showed up because of, quote, 'Questionable Business Practices,' unquote. A few smaller shipping companies tried moving in here, but each went out of business almost immediately and the place got a reputation for being cursed. Even the local gangs usually steer clear, so we shouldn't have any trouble."

"Are you not worried about falling victim to the curse as well?" Chrysalis asked, bracing herself to keep the truck from moving as Alex slipped out of the harness to move a piece of the gate out of the way.

"Not particularly," Alex replied with a waft of mild bemusement, "Even if some vengeful unicorn did cast a spell on this place we're not planning on opening a shipping company here, so I doubt it'll target us." He picked up the rope tied to the truck's frame and pulled hard, scuffing his shoes against the paving stones. "Come on, I think there's a loading door to the left."

The next few yards were tricky, as the ground slopped down towards the coast, but eventually Alex and Chrysalis managed to get the truck just outside the door. The faint murmur of voices from inside the building made them pull up short though.

"I thought you said this place was empty!?" Chrysalis hissed, her wings fluttering in agitation.

"It is," Alex replied, "Or it should be anyway. Can you hold on by yourself for a bit?"

When Chrysalis nodded Alex let go of his harness and slipped back to put on the brakes, leaving her to stew for a moment. When he returned she let her own harness go with a relieved sigh. "Let me guess," she told him, "You want me to go scouting, don't you?"

"Close," Alex replied, "We're both scouting this time. Unless I know who's in there I won't know how to deal with them."

"As you wish," Chrysalis said with a shrug, her bland indifference mixed with a slight tinge of pepper.

Alex's heavy armor made climbing to the warehouse's upper balcony difficult, especially without making any noise, and Chrysalis didn't help matters by flying up and smirking down at him as he struggled upward. Alex, for his part, just frowned at her as he worked, which only made Chrysalis smile wider. The door was locked, but so thoroughly rusted that the bolt crumbled at the first experimental tug, allowing the pair to make their way inside thanks to Chrysalis muffling their steps and wrapping them in a veil of darkness that, while not as effective as true invisibility, took less effort.

The balcony didn't stretch out over the main floor but mostly stuck to the walls, save for a wider walled off area that must have held the building's offices. The warehouse itself was empty, save for the odd piece of trash or broken table, which gave them a clear view of the two clusters of sapients who were standing a ways apart in the center of the concrete floor while eyeing each other warily. One group consisted mostly of apes, and had a gorilla wielding a mace standing at their fore, while the other was a mixed bag of griffons and ponies with a unicorn levitating a trio of handleless daggers as their apparent leader.

"Looks like a gang fight," Alex said, keeping his voice low despite the muffling charm, "The local mafia and such don't want to attract royal attention with large scale battles, so they tend to use one on one duels to settle disputes. If we stay quiet they'll leave on their own, but that'll take most of the night and they might come back later. Your thoughts?"

"We should scare them off," Chrysalis replied, her caution starting to burn away as anticipation settled in, "No witnesses. Also, I can teach you how to harvest emotion directly."

"I take it you have a plan?" Alex asked. Chrysalis smiled and started whispering, and soon Alex had a grin wide enough to match his partner's. "Let's do it."
> Omake: Why Don't Changelings Have Unrestricted Shapeshifting?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So let me get this straight," Alex asked slowly, "Changelings can turn into literally anything?"

"As long as they have enough magic to power it, yes," Chrysalis replied. She paused. "Why are you grinning like that?"


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"What are you?" Chrysalis asked, poking at the side of the machine that Alex had turned himself into.

"A nanobot factory," said Alex's synthesized voice, coming from a speaker at about Chrysalis's eye level, "It's like a forge, only much better. I'm going to pump out enough weapons and suits of armor for everyone, then start making vehicles."

The machine pulsed and Alex grunted, then a pile of metal fell out of the far end.

"All done," Alex proclaimed, turning back into himself, "Now to dig out a new sublevel and reinforce it."

One transformation into a mining drill later the only sign of his presence was a vibrating hole in the floor. Chrysalis just stared at it, completely at a loss for words.


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"And, done," Alex said, closing the book with a snap and setting it back on the shelf, "Library of Vanhoover, check."

Around him, hundreds of disguised clones were finished putting their own books away as well. Chrysalis had stopped looking surprised by this point, and instead was gleefully halfway through the shelves herself.

"Next stop," Alex said to himself, "Canterlot."


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"All favor of making Equestria into a constitutional monarchy, say aye."

A chorus of ayes went up from around the Royal Court. Celestia was busy playing tug of war with 500+ copies of Chrysalis over the sun, and as such wasn't present to intervene in Alex's coup. Not that she would have had much luck, since Alex had gone and replaced every single noble and wealthy pony in the city. Which was most of them.

"With that settled," Alex proclaimed, "Our first order of business is straightening out the legal system."


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Sombra peaked out of the ice cave he had spent the last millennia in, took one look at the metal golem taller than the crystal palace doing a kata next to the city, and promptly went back underground. Unicorn king or not, he was not going to mess with that thing.

The Jeager, meanwhile, was humming happily to itself, with only a quick pause to mutter, "God I love shapeshifting."
> 8: Dupes and Barfs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Previously, on Nymphetamine: The Heart's Price

"Boo Hoo, my heart is broken, I will be an evil bug now." Alexander Fleming the 2nd has fallen under a terrible enchantment cast by the Royal Princess Cadance. This spell forced him to love her for months on end to the dismissal of all else, and when lifted cursed him with the appearance of a changeling. Now Queen Chrysalis, the last living pony who shares his affliction, has joined forces with him in an attempt to prevent what happened to them from befalling anyone or pony else.

Having made good on their escape from the law, Alex and Chrysalis have decided to set up shop in a haunted warehouse to prepare for the arrival of the remaining changeling swarm. However, before that can happen they must chase away the gangs using it as an arena...


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Dancing Lights shifted her blades into a defensive formation and lowered herself into a balanced stance. Her hoof scrapped up a small cloud of dust when she tapped it against the floor, making her light grey coat even grayer than it already was. Her opponent, Big Thoughts, growled and slammed his shield into the ground in response, the crack of steel on concrete echoing around the empty warehouse. She couldn't see her crew like this, not without taking her eyes off her opponent, but Dancing could feel them slowly backing away behind her, leaving her and Mr. Big to their battle.

"To first blood, knockout, or death?" Big Thoughts asked her. He wasn't shouting, but his voice filled the building all the same, a deep rumble that was almost too low to understand.

"Knockout," Dancing replied, and received a nod of respect in return, the great ape's smile wrinkling his face and putting his scars in sharper relief. That choice put the battle in her opponent's favor, but also gained her honor she could use to bargain with them down the line. The city block this duel was contesting wasn't particularly valuable to her, but it was still her territory. Nobody stole from her without a fight.

"On three," she told him, and set her daggers spinning. One by one, they stopped moving, and when the third dagger swung back into position all three darted forward, hoping to end the fight before it even began.

It worked, sort of. Big Thoughts ducked behind his shield as he charged, but just as she prepared to loop the daggers around to strike at him from behind, the building flickered. Not the walls, or the floor, but everything at once. Reality itself stuttered like a bad illusion, with parts of it vanishing entirely for a moment, leaving only empty voids behind them. Other sections turned into patches of black and white fuzz that crackled with electrical white noise. Finally, though it was so faint Dancing barely felt it, gravity tilted off center towards the bay.

Dancing Lights pulled her daggers back to her, looked around quickly, then glared at her opponent, "Ok, what the buck you stupid ape?" she shouted, "What are you trying to pull?"

"I'm not doing this," Big Thoughts protested, then pointed at her with his mace, "If anything, it's your work. You're the unicorn here."

Dancing opened her mouth to retort, but cut herself off when a black mist seeped out of the ground and coiled into a lump up against the wall, the flickering and crackle getting worse the more the darkness solidified. The thing twitched, and the entire upper floor of the warehouse jumped sideways. It didn't move, and the roof stayed in place, but in the space between blinks most of the walkways had shifted 20 feet inland, leaving more gaping voids in the holes between them and the rest of the building. A shriek made her spin around, just in time to see one of her followers swallowed up by a patch of the fuzz. One moment there, the next gone, like he'd never existed. The others skittered away nervously, bunching up and trying to keep an eye on every distortion at once.

Finally, at the top of that shadowy pile, a pony's face materialized out of the smoke, if it could be called that at all. Too pale, furless, with cracks running up and down the skin and the right half partially melted, along with a horn that seemed cleaved down the middle. The thing grinned, the cracks widening around the stretched skin, then laughed, a distorted, chittering mockery of what laughter was supposed to be that set Dancing Lights' teeth on edge.

Frankly, she'd had enough. She snarled, sending her daggers soaring towards the intruder, intent on snuffing out its life before it could interfere any further. They struck home, each sinking into the thing's chest, but it didn't even flinch. The monster ate them, just swallowed up her most prized possessions without even noticing they were there. It laughed again, and this time Dancing would have sworn it was mocking her, and the flickering got worse, with entire chunks of the floor, previously untouched, just disappearing into the pockets of black and chaos.

"Enough of this," Big Thoughts roared, slamming a fist against his chest, "I will end you!"

He leapt onto the creature, bringing his mace down on its head in a blow that would have turned Dancing Lights into paste. The monster dissolved, and Dancing almost allowed herself to believe Big Thoughts had gotten it, until it reformed a half step to the left of where the mace had come down. It didn't seem any more phased than her attack had made it, and this time, it retaliated. The shadows that made up its lump of a body suddenly lashed out, turning into a spear that ran him through. Big Thoughts let out a choked gurgle and tried to strike the abomination again, but the mace flew through its body like it wasn't even there. All he got was another puncture wound, more cracks in the world, and insane, distorted laughter for his trouble.

"Run for it!" Dancing Lights didn't know which member of her crew had said that, and she didn't care. She wheeled about and burst into a gallop, following her fleeing crew around the growing chasms in the floor, out the nearest door that hadn't vanished completely, and into the night. When she dared to look behind her, all she could she was darkness, a black so deep it looked like Celestia had cut out that piece of the world with a pair of scissors. Whatever happened next, she didn't envy Big Thoughts, though she cursed the entity for stealing her best set of daggers.

Meanwhile, in a distant corner of the warehouse, a transparent unicorn took in the madness and realized she needed to step up her game.


88888888


Chrysalis sighed, and released the illusion Alex had asked her to conjure. While she was the one who thought to use the story of the ghost to scare them off, Alex had come up with the execution. That had been one of the most complex images she'd ever tried to maintain, but she couldn't argue with the results. It was just not right, in a way she didn't even have the words for.

"Trust me," Alex had said with a incessant grin, "By the time I'm done they'll think reality itself is coming apart at the seams."

How in Tartarus had he even come up with this? Was it a common thing back home for him? If so, then how were his people still alive!?

Looking down from her perch on the uppermost balcony, she watched Alex pull his sword out of the Gorilla's torso, then take his head off with one clean swipe. He cleaned the blade in the ape's fur, his form shaking slightly in the gloom, then sheathed it, before turning his shield around and pulling out the daggers embedded in its face. She watched him pocket the weapons after looking them over, took one last look around to make sure they were alone, then dropped down to join him. 

As she got closer, she realized he was laughing, a low chuckle that got steadily louder until it filled the entire building and sent shivers down her spine. The taste of lightly spoiled fruit he was emitting didn't help either, causing to Chrysalis realize something extremely important. Alex was not fully stable, probably even before Cadance and she had shown up. No one who hadn't broken something inside them liked fighting that much, and again she wondered whether teaming up with him was the best idea. 

"Whoo!" Alex said, releasing some of his energy with a gust of expelled air, "That was perfect! I don't think anyone's coming back here anytime soon. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting you to do such a good job when you'd never seen static or computer glitches before, but that," He laughed again, a much lighter sound that removed the spoiled overtures from his emotions, "That was something else."

Then he turned around and smiled at her, a wild, happy grin that contrasted sharply with his usual wry smirk, and reached out to ruffle her mane. He'd never initiated physical contact with her before, and she had to admit, his fingers felt heavenly where they rubbed against her scalp, and she let out a small trill of contentment before she could stop herself. All of a sudden she understood why ponies would take primate lovers, and agreed wholeheartedly. A steady rumble emanated from her chest, and with a start she realized she was purring. Alex let out a surprised laugh, scratched behind her ears a little (her legs almost buckled from the sensation), and withdrew his hand.

"Right," he said while was Chrysalis shaking her head clear, "I'll go find somewhere quiet to stash this guy. Shouldn't be that hard to track down a stray corner or patch of dirt no one ever looks at. Can you get the trailer inside without me?"

Chrysalis nodded, then replied, "Of course. It should not be a problem. Please finish your work quickly though. We must prepare for tomorrow morning."

Alex's brow furrowed as he let out a faint taste of airy butter, "Why? What happens tomorrow?"

"My subjects arrive," Chryalis told him, "Did you forget that quickly?"

"No," Alex countered, shoving his shield under the body as a makeshift stretcher, "I just don't see why we'd need to prepare for them."

Chrysalis's eye twitched. "They will have spent the better part of a day traveling under their own power, Alex," she bit out, "They will be hungry and exhausted. We must provide shelter, rest, and nourishment. Furthermore, their provisions are sparse. We will have to gather most of what they need before they arrive, lest somelings go to bed hungry or on the floor. More importantly, us greater Changelings have far more stamina then they do, and unlike myself they won't have the strength needed to scrounge after making such a journey."

Alex stopped short. "Oh," he said, "I see." He adjusted the gorilla's weight, then asked, "And when was the last time you rested?"

"Since I woke from stasis two days ago?" Chrysalis told him, "Not at all." She let out a jaw cracking yawn, and continued, "But my subjects come first. I will rest when all is made ready for them."

"Huh." Alex didn't reply beyond that, just nodded thoughtfully as he dragged the corpse into the shadows. He returned a while later dusting his hands as Chrysalis finished closing one of the loading doors, his trailer already inside and unhitched.

"Thank you Chrysalis, " he told, then took a breath, "I'll handle getting the supplies out there. I know this city better than you do, and you could use the rest. I've got more left in the tank."

Chrysalis started. From how he acted, she'd been expecting him to put his hooves up the moment he got back, so this took her somewhat off guard. "But what if you need my magic?" She countered, "You can't cast anything by yourself yet."

"It's after midnight," Alex said with a dismissive hand wave, "Even Equestria's biggest cities are pretty quiet by now, and we've already given the cops the slip. Besides, you look like you're about to fall over, especially after that last spell."

Chrysalis's vision went blurry, and when she came to she discovered she was now sitting down. "Perhaps you are right," she admitted, "I shall take a quick nap and see about turning this place into a halfway decent hive. Are you sure you will be all right out there?"

"Sure enough," Alex said with a grin,  "I've got my gear, and we're right next to restaurant row. I'll be able to drag anything I find back here without too much trouble, though I might need your help with hauling the water in after your nap. But before you pass out, watch this."

His grin turned mischievous as he moved over to the trailer hitch and started messing with it. After carefully leveling the trailer and checking for damage, he firmly grasped the winch he'd used to fold the contraption up, and pushed a button. With a series of clicks and clanks the entire tent unfolded itself before her eyes, going from fully packed to fully open in the span of about 10 seconds.

Chrysalis blinked, then used some of her remaining faculties to smile and stomp her hooves in applause. Alex bowed, gestured towards the entrance in invitation, then spun on his heel and marched straight for the nearest exit, "Get some sleep your majesty," he called over his shoulder with the tang of an anticipated thrill in his voice, "I've got this."

Chrysalis, with a wobble that almost put her on the floor, nodded in thanks, then staggered up the stairs, into the tent, onto the nearest soft surface, and passed out.


88888888


Alex was doing what he did best at night, which was lurking in a dark alley and glaring at a problem he was trying to solve. Usually said problem was the alleviation of the utter boredom of guard duty, but in this case the issue was a bit more concrete. You see, Equestrian Restaurants had a policy with no earthly counterpart called The Beggar's Table. The idea was, every evening after closing, any food left over or expired, instead of being thrown out right away, was placed on a table outside at the back of the building. All the food on that table was free and up for grabs, although if you got sick from it the restaurant was legally not at fault. Whatever was left over the following morning would go into the trash before opening.

The initial post dinner rush of the homeless, stingy, and desperate had come and gone hours ago, leaving behind only the least appealing of foods. This wasn't a big problem, since the changeling's lack of taste meant that they'd happily eat anything that wasn't rotten, but Alex was beginning to realize he'd overlooked something important: he didn't actually have a way to haul all this food back to base. Anyone he tried to hire would run screaming at the sight of him, not even a professional weight lifter was strong enough to pick up enough food to feed hundreds of people, let alone carry it for miles at any reasonable speed, and he hadn't brought a cart with him (not that he owned one).

Alex panned his eyes over the street while his mind worked, slowly but steadily coming to a conclusion: he needed a cart, and a disguise. The latter could be found back at his trailer, but the former would be a bit more tricky. Unless... Alex stepped out of the alley and moved east at a steady walk, sticking to the shadows where he could and keeping an eye out for any passerby to avoid. If he remembered correctly, he might be able to find something a few blocks down the road and-Ahhah!

Picking up the pace to a light jog for the last few hundred feet, Alex came to a stop in front of the first, and currently only, modern grocery supermarket in the city. Feast Gryphon was the name plastered over the entrance, right next to a green silhouette of the creature in the question, beneath which were the currently closed and locked front doors. It mostly sold to the upper crust who didn't want to rub knees in the local farmers' markets, but it was doing good business and viable to expand over the coming years. If Alex was a bit faster and more daring, he might have been willing to brave the state of the art magic security to raid the place for enough food to last even the coming small army for days, but he didn't want to push his luck.

Instead, he wandered into the parking lot (small by human standards, since most of the shopping traffic carried their stuff home on hoof, save for a few valets), looking for the inevitable. Because even if most ponies were better people than most humans, you could always find a lazy outlier who wouldn't even bother to-Alex smiled and quickened his pace as he spotted the prize he was after-return their shopping cart. It was slung low to the ground and made entirely of wood and steel with nary a hint of plastic, with a handle meant more for biting than grasping, and about half the size of a cart Alex might have found in a grocery store back home, but it was still pretty much exactly what he needed.

After quickly checking to make sure it would still function if he took it off the grounds, Alex turned around and headed back to base, leaving the cart in a slightly harder to find nearby alley. Between the local homeless population being a lot sparser here and shopping carts not having yet caught on for convenient storage of possessions, Alex being bipedal and pushing one of those things around in the dead of night would be far too conspicuous. No, if he wanted to pull this off, he was going to have to get creative.


88888888


The next thing Chrysalis felt was a mix of strong emotions. Determination, frustration, annoyance, satisfaction. What in Bellum's name was Alex doing out there? She rolled off the sofa and landed on her hooves, stretching like a cat and cracking her neck before it could settle into a crick and bug her for the rest of the day. After fluttering her wings a bit to keep them from getting stiff, she trotted over to the tent's door flap and stuck her head out.

Alex was... dressed in enough toilet paper to look like a shambling ghost and pushing a cart loaded to the brim with random bits of food. It had gotten stuck on a crack in the floor and he was quietly cursing to himself as he nudged it this way and that, trying to knock it loose without knocking it over. Chrysalis rolled her eyes and lit her horn, pulling the cart up just enough for Alex to get it moving again.

Alex started and whipped around to face her with a tang of alarm, but the tension bled out of him a second later as he recognized her. "Hey Chrysalis," he told her as he pushed the cart back into motion, "Did you have a good nap?"

Chrysalis nodded slowly, and asked, "What in the name of crystal's donkey are you wearing?"

"A disguise," Alex snorted, and gave the cart a final shove that sent it gliding neatly to a stop next to the table-no, that's a desk- he must have found somewhere in the building and dragged next to their trailer, "Obviously."

"As what, a suicidal ghost?" Chrysalis shot back lightly, letting a hint of of a smile into her voice.

Alex stopped and stared off into the middle distance, "You know, you're the second person who's called me that tonight, and given the first was high on Shattered Dreams that's saying something. How about you help me make a costume next time?"

"If it means you'll stop wearing that eyesore, with pleasure," Chrysalis laughed lightly and walked down the stairs, then reared up onto her hind legs to inspect the food. It was, in a word, disgusting. Bruised and/or moldy fruit, half eaten hay burgers, overcooked pasta, and more created a medley of failed and discarded mealtimes that would have had Chrysalis gagging if her sense of smell wasn't drowned out by Alex's amusement.

"No, your majesty," Alex said with a mock bow, stinking of fresh baked bread, "There wasn't anything better out there, and frankly I'm shocked I managed to get as much as I did. It still probably isn't enough, not for hundreds, but it's edible, mostly. Plus, we can't taste how bad it is."

"Very true," Chrysalis replied as she struggled to keep her nose unscrunched, "If this were all we were serving our subjects. Could you please bring out your largest cauldrons?"

Alex blinked in confusion, but did as she asked, disappearing into the trailer and returning a few seconds later with a big stewpot and a stack of nested bowls. Chrysalis smiled at him in thanks, then laid them out in a row and stuck her head into the smaller bowl on the far left. She gagged once, twice, then vomited a stream of hot pink liquid that smelled like fresh meat and quickly filled the bowl and it's neighbor almost to the brim.

Chrysalis straightened up, wiped her mouth, waited for the spots to fade from her eyes, then turned to grin at Alex, who was staring at her in horrified fascination and already halfway to turning around and running for his life. Introducing a fresh changeling to this particular aspect of their biology had always been entertaining, at least that's what her teachers had told her. Now, she had proof their heads weren't full of snow. She stepped back, gestured to the bowls with a hoof still dripping with fresh lust honey, and said, "Your turn," with as much smug as she could possibly pack into just two words.

"Uuuuuuuuhhhh..." Alex retorted eloquently, "What the fuck?"

"'The fuck,' as you put it," Chrysalis stated primly, wiping her hoof on the concrete, "Is how we're going to feed everyone. Gag yourself like you normally would to expel bile and concentrated emotional nectar comes out instead. Don't worry, It's perfectly safe to eat."

Alex stared at her for a few more seconds, then slowly rubbed the bridge of his nose, wincing as his claws poked his left eye. "...We're like goddamned honeybees, aren't we?" Alex muttered, shifting his weight back to face her fully while letting off a waft of stale resignation, "Ok, how do I do this?"

"It's simple," Chrysalis explained, raising one hoof in a lecturing pose, "Simpler than feeding, in fact. Focus on the emotion you want to share, and gag. You'll cough it up until you're out. Next comes a mix of everything else in your stomach until you either choose to stop or pick another emotion."

Alex sighed before trudging over to the line of bowls and bending over. "Right, let's get this over with," He grumbled, then made one of the most horrendous dry gargle noises Chrysalis had ever encountered, before it was swiftly cut off by a series of choked grunts. The stream of nectar he unleashed filled not only the bowl he was aiming at, but the other empty bowls in line as well as the stewpot on the end before it cut off. Alex straightened, then staggered, leaning against the side of trailer while he regained his balance. "Ugh, it's like getting a coffee crash and blood loss at the same time. Who came up with this?"

"I did," Chrysalis's ears drooped, releasing a wave of something faintly salty,  "Not all of us were lucky or skilled enough to get a chance to feed in those early days. In the end, I had to figure out how to share my spoils without losing it as ambient magic. It's not pleasant, yet it works. Which reminds me," Her horn lit and her gaze unfocused, staring off into the middle distance, "Sergeant, how goes the flight?"

Alex winced when her voice resonated inside his skull in addition to his ears, then jumped as a voice he'd never heard before answered her from the same spot in his brain.

"It goes well, your majesty. We should arrive a few hours after sunrise." The voice was a low tenor, with crisp, clear diction and a tone that didn't so much imply seriousness as swagger into the room and proclaim to all who would listen that this dude would take no shit from nobody without a damn good reason.

"Excellent, Sergeant Shifter, well done," Chrysalis's tone was cool and collected, though buoyed by an underlying sense of warm affection, "I-excuse me, we- have successfully found a new hive to shelter in and enough food to fill everypony's belllies, if only once. Before we relax and wait for your landing, is there anything else you need? Any supplies that didn't survive the ages?"

"Just one thing, your majesty," Shifter replied, "A couple of our blankets and sleeping mats must have gotten wet a century or two back, they turned the dust the moment we picked them up. We need as many replacements as you can gather."

"I'll see it done Sergeant. Silent travels," Chrysalis told him with a smile.

"And unseen feasts," He replied, before Chrysalis's horn went dead and the connection dropped. She blinked, and shook herself, before glancing up at the increasing light coming through the half broken windows lining the ceiling. "Well then. What say you we go get some fabric?"

Alex blinked as well,  then yawned, stretched, and noisily blew air through his lips while shaking his arms and legs and making his wings twitch under his armor. "Honestly, I'd love nothing more than to pass out right now, but I can keep going for a few more hours until we're done. If we check around the shipping companies I bet there'll be a stack of moving blankets we could lift. They're crap, but they're everywhere. Can we go feed again while we're at it, I'm still feeling the drain."

"I was about to suggest the same thing," Chrysalis told him with a whiff of fresh bread, then spun around and faced the doorway with a wide smile, "Onward, to victory and spoils!"