Walter was a cosplaying as Volthoom when he saw a perfect replica of the Travel Lantern and the Phantom Ring for sale in a convention. The owner of the stall seemed to be cosplaying as the Merchant from Resident Evil 4. This is a displaced story.
Walter was in the convention cosplaying as Volthoom, The First Lanterns from DC comics, when he saw a perfect replica of the Travel Lantern and the Phantom Ring for sale in a convention. The owner of the stall seemed to be cosplaying as the Merchant from Resident Evil 4, little did Walter know that he was actually The Merchant, the Void Dweller and Displacer.
A story that I have been writing for a while, so I decided to see how well it would be received. This story is not my main focus so don’t expect regular updates. This will be a NSFW story. While I’ll probably be happy to have my character appear in your story if you request (PM for more details), I am trying to keep my story to my planned plot (Mostly anyway ). Thanks for your time and understanding.
Walter Pilgrim was bored since he was in decent shape he came to this convention as one of his favorite characters, Volthoom from DC comics.
He made his costume from a dark gray full body suit that covers everything except his face, which he painted gray, and he used optic fiber spread throughout the external surface of the suit in a nervous system like pattern coming out of the of a black circle on his chest, which hid a small battery and a set of LEDs connected to the fiber.
Walter walked around for awhile before he saw a stall that was selling many items of varying franchises, he approached the stall and he saw a merchant cosplaying as the Merchant from Resident Evil 4.
“Greetings, Volthoom the First Lantern,” said the Merchant.
“Hello,” said Walter as he looked around until he saw a box with two rings, not just any rings but the Phantom Lantern Ring and a Black Lantern Ring and beside them was a metallic gray railroad lantern, it was the Travel Lantern, the lantern that was the base for all Power Core of all Lantern Corps.
“How much for the pair of rings and the lantern?” asked Walter.
“How about 300 bucks?” asked the Merchant.
“Well, it’s really well made and it’s the best thing I could find so far, so why not?” said Walter as he paid the Merchant.
“Pleasure doing business with you,” said the Merchant while Walter was putting the Phantom Ring on his right middle finger and the Black Ring on the left middle finger.
After picking the Travel Lantern Walter was about to see if he could find something else to buy in this convention when he tripped and everything went blank.
Thousands of years later beneath Canterlot in the Crystal Caves
Inside a chamber carved from the crystal inside the mountain where the city of Canterlot was located was a box with many runes etched on its surface.
The walls of the chamber have the same runes carved on them, these runes existed to seal the power of a certain ring that was inside the box and inside the ring was Volthoom. This was actually the second time he was sealed, the first time was after the fight against the late King and Queen while this time was after the fight against their daughter.
Volthoom was bored, he managed to watch his memories, from his first memory to the moment he was Displaced, and the memories of the original Volthoom, from his first memory to the moment he died in “Wrath of the First Lantern”, including all of his 10 billion years chained in the Chamber of Shadows but at this point it was like reading a book or watching a movie and he knew it wasn't him so he wasn't affected by it, to be frank, it’s like watching a movie multiple times, a movie with a 10 billion years duration.
You must be thinking, how it was possible to scroll through 10 billion years of memories multiple times in just a few thousand years? It’s pretty easy to do this if you can think in the speed of light.
In fact, he had to keep series of mental blocks to be able to think at normal speed, a.k.a. the speed of most beings on this planet and he could remove these blocks if he wanted.
Regardless of the speed of his thoughts he was stuck inside the Phantom Ring and unable to get out without the help from someone from the outside, never mind the fact he was Displaced in the version of Equestria in which its inhabitants were of the anthro variety.
Yes, anthro as in ponies that walk on two hooves with hands and the general figure of a human just like in those fanfictions on the internet.
It started right after his encounter with the Merchant…
Thousands of years ago outside of the Equus atmosphere
Walter woke up falling, he panicked and started to freak out.
After a few minutes freaking out he started to calm down and after calming down he noticed that all around him looked like outer space.
Looking “up” he saw a rapidly approaching planet, he raised his arm in a futile attempt to protect himself and with the speed of a meteor he crashed on the ground creating a very wide crater.
Instead of being hurt he noticed he was fine and inside of a white sphere made of light. He looked at the sphere and noted that it was made of a hard white material, at least he was unharmed, now how he will get out?
Not a moment later the sphere slowly disappeared, then he looked at his right hand, more specifically at his ring and saw the ring glowing, if that was a hard light construct than that meant only one thing.
He pointed right hand forward in a fist before he concentrated and a group of floating swords made of white light appeared.
“Wow, awesome,” said Walter noticed a change while the swords dissipated.
“What happened to my voice,” said Walter in a deeper and older voice as he brought his left hand to his forehead.
Looking at his hand he saw glowing veins/nerves inside his arms, which was an almost see through gray in color, he looked at the rest of his body and he saw the same change and inside his chest was a black orb from which the veins/nerves come out.
He needed to find a mirror or something similar, then he started to float up but if he was right he could control this ability. He concentrated and he manages to control his position in the air. So he looked around the crater he eventually found the Travel Lantern.
Picking up the Lantern he contemplated how to transport it with him, but then he remembered the comics, so he lifted the lantern to his chest and phased the Lantern inside the black sphere inside his rib cage.
Slowly he flew out of the crater by going upward and stopped when he could see a fair amount of land, it was a forested area. When he spotted a lake not far from where he fell he flew over there and landed on its edge before leaning forward to see his reflection.
If there was doubt in his mind before, they were gone when he saw that he was in the body of Volthoom the First Lantern but unlike Volthoom he didn't have a face, his head was blank except for his glowing eyes, eyes that glowed the same colors as his veins/nerves in his body.
Hearing the sound of multiple people approaching he turned around and saw people, granted they weren't humans but considering that he just became Volthoom the fact that they weren't human was the least absurd. Their height ranged from 4ft to 6ft, they possessed sexual dimorphism, the females had breasts on her chests, wider hips and narrower waists while the males had broader shoulders and narrower hips and no breasts and they had a biped configuration with two arms, all in all, similar to humans.
But unlike humans their legs ended in hooves instead of feet, they had three fingers and a thumb, they had eyes with a variety of colors, while they are all covered in fur that also came in a variety of colors they wore clothes and all of them had either butterfly or dragonfly-like wings on their back and lastly their faces had equid features including muzzle and ears in a higher position than humans.
All of this was analyzed by Walter in a fraction of a second, it seems he can accelerate his thought to match the speed of light if he concentrated enough. He returned his thoughts to normal speed, then he saw one of them approach him while the others whispered to each other. The one that was approaching is a 5ft 6in tall female with butterfly-like wings, light blue fur, light pink flowing hair and tail and magenta eyes while wearing a simple red sundress.
“Greetings stranger, can you understand me?” asked the colorful female winged anthro equine.
“Yes I can understand you,” said Walter using his new deep and old voice, he noticed that it had a slight echo in it.
“By the gods, that's a relief, would you mind answering a few questions?” asked the female.
“I don’t mind, but I also have a few questions as well. How about we trade questions? Seems reasonable enough,” said Walter.
“That is agreeable, by the way, my name is Wind Drifter,” said Wind Drifter as she motioned that it was safe to get closer.
Wind Drifter sat on the grassy meadow at the margin of the lake, the others followed suit, sitting around Walter like a group that was about to hear a story.
Walter sat in the lotus position and just stared at the group, it was difficult for them to guess where he was looking because he didn’t have visible pupils, some of them probably thought he was blind.
“Would you mind telling us your name?” asked Wind Drifter.
In the second after she asked that question, he thought on many scenarios of how things might go and considering everything he managed to learn just by observing he made a decision.
“My name is Volthoom,” said Walter as he embraced his new name.
“Greetings Volthoom, my first question is why are you here?” asked Drifter.
“It wasn’t my intention to be here, wherever here is,” said Volthoom.
“You don’t know where you are?” asked Drifter and Volthoom nodded.
“You are in Flutter Valley the home of flutter ponies, just south of the newly formed nation of Equestria,” said Drifter.
The moment Wind Drifter said “Equestria” everything around Volthoom slowed down. He was in a world with anthropomorphic ponies in front of him and in the body of a fictional character, he concluded that he somehow ended up in the setting of MLP: FIM.
The Merchant could have sent Volthoom anywhere both on the world and on the timeline, at least he established that is south of Equestria, which is good but the only place south of Equestria in the “present” of the show that he knows of was the Badlands.
So he was either in the ancient past before whatever event made Flutter Valley into the Badlands or in a distant future where the Badlands became a lush green forest, for all he knew this flutter ponies might be the changelings’ descendants.
He relaxed and the world around him resumed its normal speed, he needed to confirm one of the two possibilities, his entire freak out episode happened too fast for Wind Drifter and the other to notice that something was wrong, to them he just moved slightly from his original position.
“Who rules this ‘Equestria’?” asked Volthoom feigning ignorance.
“That would be King Luminous Sky and Queen Lush Meadow,” said Drifter.
Volthoom pondered that fact still not knowing where he was on the timeline but at least he knew that this Equestria was vastly different than the one he saw in the show.
“My turn, where do you come from?” asked Drifter.
“I come from a faraway world called Earth or Terra, I was sent here against my will when I fell into your world,” said Volthoom unaware of the effect his words had on them as they started to talk among themselves.
“Do the rules of Equestria have any offspring?,” asked Volthoom hoping to confirm one of the two possibilities.
“Yes two fillies, Celestia and Luna who was born recently,” said Wind Drifter clearly nervous to be in his presence after he said that he fell from the sky.
Now Volthoom knew he was in the distant past if Luna was just born.
“Are you a god?” asked Drifter nervously, which surprised Volthoom. He had to answer this question very carefully because his answer can have far-reaching repercussion.
“It depends on your definition of god,” said Volthoom trying to not give a clear answer because with Volthoom's power he might as well be a god.
This seems to have the opposite effect on them as all of them immediately got on their knees and bowed before him, despite having a body made of mostly light he could feel a headache coming.
Present day
Volthoom, who perceived the world outside of the box in a manner similar to a sonar but with energies of the Spectrum instead of sound, was jolted out of his flashback by a very strong knock on the sealed door. This continued until the door was broken and a group of changelings entered the chamber followed by a changeling queen.
The changelings were about 5ft~6ft tall and had an androgynous figure as they didn't have a fixed gender, also they were on their “battle form” with thick black chitin covering their bodies almost completely, with the exception of their abdomen and lumbar, it was dark green instead of black, blue “lenses” over their eyes, which was in fact a second eyelid, shells on their backs like beetles to protect their wings and their tails were as long as they are tall, segmented with spiked thick rings of chitin and a blade on its end.
The Queen, on the other hand, was 9ft tall and has thinner and more flexible chitin that appearance-wise looked just like black skin, except on her abdomen and lumbar, the “skin” was dark green making her look as if she was wearing a corset made of bands or belts arranged horizontally.
The only additional cover she had were the layers of black silk that were around her breasts acting as a strapless bra and a long black skirt made of the same silk with a hole in the back just above her butt for her tail, which was without the rings of chitin showing smooth black “skin” before ending in a thin blade.
Both the Queen and the warriors not only had holes in their arms and legs, plus the exposed wings in the Queen's case, but there were also thinner than normal, the latter was more visible on the Queen who was without armor, clear signs of starvation and malnourishment.
“At last, we found you, my lord, soon we will release you of your prison, just wait a little longer,” said the changeling queen while she gently held and caressed the box Volthoom's ring was in.
Carefully she handed the box to one of the changeling warriors before giving the order, “Make sure this reaches the summit, while I keep my cover.”
“It will be done Lady Chrysalis,” said the warrior that received the box.
That was interesting, changelings normally say “my queen” to their leader, they only use “Lady” when addressing to the queen of another hive, this told him that this operation was the combined effort of at least two hives.
Before the warrior left, a green fire engulfed the Queen changing her appearance, now she was an alicorn mare with pink coat, magenta eyes and a mane and tail with hues of dark pink, purple and pale gold that ended in curls, she was also wearing a wedding dress and was a little over 6 and a half feet tall.
“This day is going to be perfect~~,” he heard the singing voice of the disguised Queen before being carried outside of the mountain for the first time in who knows how long.
As Volthoom was being carried out of Canterlot by the disguised changeling warrior he reflected on the bond he developed with the flutter ponies.
Thousands of years ago in Flutter Valley
After he tried and failed to convince them he wasn’t a god he just went with the flow, it was awkward when they made a feast for him only for him to tell them that he didn’t need to eat, drink or sleep but he ate all the same. That day he learned that at least he still could taste food and drink.
During the months that Volthoom spent in Flutter Valley he learned that flutter ponies rarely leave the Valley, they prefer to stay in the forest, which they had a very powerful and deep connection with. They also had the ability to sense emotions of those around them and that's how they knew it was safe to be near Volthoom, they didn’t feel any ill intent from him
During this time Volthoom also met another race that lived in the Valley, the breezies, which to Volthoom were simply miniature flutter ponies with slightly longer limbs, they were sometimes known as fairy ponies because of that. He used the White Light of Life to feel all living beings in the Valley and beyond the mountains surrounding it and he felt at peace.
But that piece was shattered by groups of mercenaries, poachers and slavers. Volthoom felt their emotions, their greed, lust and selfishness, he wasted no time in either killing or driving them off of the Valley. He was told that both the inhabitants of Flutter Valley were very sought after as pets and slaves, especially by the griffons and diamond dogs sometimes even by dragons and pony nobles. Then he asked why they didn’t fight or why there wasn’t some kind of protection or defense in place to keep the invaders away. They said that most flutter ponies and breezies were peaceful and didn’t like to fight.
Volthoom trained the few that wanted to protect the Valley and defended it from anyone that tried to harm its inhabitants and soon enough rumors of a “God of Light” protecting Flutter Valley spread throughout the continent and the land overseas at the east. The only ones to ever enter and leave the Valley alive were the ones who had no ill intentions towards its inhabitants or those that Volthoom let go to spread rumors, all others were either cast out or slain.
Almost a year after his arrival Volthoom received a visit from the rulers of Equestria. Apparently, Flutter Valley was not part of Equestria because flutter ponies followed the “Will of the Forest and the Land” instead of the law of any ruler, that was why they refuse to become part of Equestria. It was also the first time he saw the royal family of Equestria.
King Luminous Sky was a 10ft tall alicorn with a sky blue coat and a mane/tail with shades of red, orange and yellow wearing a golden greek battle armor with red cloth, his body was muscular like that of a Spartan warrior.
Queen Lush Meadow was a 9ft tall alicorn with a light green coat and earth brown colored mane/tail wearing a dark green greek dress, she had an athletic body that only made her voluptuous curve more appealing.
Princess Celestia was a child who had a pink mane and a white coat wearing a light yellow dress that was similar to her mother’s.
Princess Luna was a child who learned how to walk recently and was holding her older sister’s hand, she had a light blue mane/tail and a dark blue coat, she was wearing a lilac dress like her sister’s and her mother’s.
They came to visit the Valley when they heard of Volthoom, so they came to the temple that the flutter ponies built for the protector of the Valley.
Fun fact flutter ponies could make plants grown in the shape of a house using their magic, Volthoom suspected that they had a powerful connection to The Green and that was what allowed them to hear the “Voice of the Forest”.
The Royals entered Volthoom’s house and saw him floating in the lotus position meditating. He may never reach the same level of power as the original Volthoom but he will make sure to never become as emotionally unstable as the original.
“Greetings, what brings a King and Queen to my humble abode?” asked Volthoom.
“Greetings, we heard many rumors about you, ‘God of Light’,” said Meadow in a respectful tone.
“Indeed, we just came to see if the rumors are true,” said Luminous and by the tone of his voice, he was not impressed.
“So, I am what you expected?” asked Volthoom as remained floating in the lotus position.
Before any of them could answer Luna managed to get closer to Volthoom without their parents and sister noticing, but to Volthoom this was normal, foals tend to be curious about him because of the “pretty lights” on his body.
Luna managed to jump and use her wings to land on Volthoom shoulders and hold onto his head.
While the parents were wary of what Volthoom might do and Celestia was embarrassed for letting Luna get away from her because she was distracted Volthoom did nothing and let Luna have fun looking at his inner light. Eventually, she got bored and flew to her mother, who took her in her arms.
Over the course of that day, the King and Queen conversed with Volthoom and eventually left after seeing that he wasn't a threat to Equestria.
For years Volthoom continued to protect the Valley until one day that he felt an energy similar to the Emotional Spectrum coming from the north. He flew over Equestria and eventually reached the Crystal Empire, a place that like Flutter Valley tried to remain independent of Equestria, so they created the Crystal Heart to keep the blizzard at bay. When Volthoom arrived outside of the dome that was the magical shield he could tell that the barrier was powered mostly by Hope and Love.
As Volthoom was walking towards the barrier a group of crystal guards came out and surrounded him just before they pointed their spears at him, but that didn’t stop him. As he kept walking forward the spear of a guard started to sink into his body, the guard was so shocked that he didn’t even notice that there wasn’t any resistance as the spear pierced Volthoom’s body.
It was only when the hand of the shocked guard started to sink into Volthoom’s body that he concluded that the intruder wasn’t suicidal he was phasing through the guards, the advantage of having a body made of pure light.
Once Volthoom was behind the guard the group came back to their senses and tried to stop him, they tried to grab him, tackle him, harm him with swords and spears even magical shields and attacks, not a single attempt worked and Volthoom kept walking as if nothing was wrong. At some point, one of the guards left to inform the Queen of this development.
When Volthoom was near the center of the city and the source of not only the barrier keeping the blizzard at bay but also the source of the burst of emotional energy he felt a tall crystal unicorn mare got in his way.
The crystal unicorn mare was 9ft tall, just as tall as Queen Lush Meadow and Celestia after the latter reached adulthood, she had a light pink coat and red mane/tail with curls in the end while wearing a light blue high neck princess dress with a yellow heart on the belt. That was Queen Amore ruler of the Crystal Empire at the time.
“Who are you and why have you invaded my city, stranger?” asked the Queen with a cold tone while she prepared a spell to defend her people if needed.
“I was called here,” answered Volthoom.
“By who?” asked Amore.
Instead of answering with words, Volthoom simply pointed forward.
“I didn’t call you here, stranger,” said Amore.
Volthoom just resumed his walk toward the center of the empire.
“That is your last warning, stop right there!” ordered Amore as she charged her spell.
Volthoom didn’t stop so she fired the spell, which took the form of a beam of energy, he didn't want the ponies behind him to get hurt, so he raised his right hand, palm facing forward, and absorbed the spell.
Almost every form of energy was mutable and interchangeable so converting her magic into the energy of the Emotional Spectrum and absorbing this energy wasn’t easy but it was possible and thankfully he was able to do the conversion slowly, slow to him since he was thinking at the speed of light. He phased through the shocked Queen and stood in front of the spinning Crystal Heart in its pedestal.
“I heard your call,” said Volthoom to the Heart.
The Heart stopped spinning and Volthoom sat in lotus position floating on the same level as the Heart. He concentrated in the “colors” of Love and Hope, which caused his veins/nerves to become a mixture of light blue and light violet almost pink in color as tendrils of mist made of those colors came out of his body and touched the Heart, which caused the Heart to shatter.
Amore lost hope when she saw the Heart be destroyed before her eyes and was about to order the guard to start the evacuation. She hoped that Equestria’s rulers would accept them in their borders as refugees but stopped herself when she noticed two things, the first was that the barrier didn’t fall, the second was that the fragments of the Heart were floating.
Volthoom using his hands started the process of fixing each individual piece of the Heart before putting it in its proper place. It was almost hypnotic the way he would reach out and pick a piece in the air without looking and the moment he touched a fragment it would flash many colors before being put on the pedestal.
It took about two hours to reassemble the Heart and the moment the last piece was put in the right place the cracks disappeared and the Heart was whole again.
“Now you can fulfill your purpose without fear of breaking,” said Volthoom gently as he caressed the Heart with his right hand as one would a lover.
After that, it took the rest of the day to explain what happened to Queen Amore but in the end, Volthoom had to teach the crystal ponies how to properly use emotional energy. And it didn’t take long for the crystal ponies to see him the same way the flutter ponies did but he didn’t mind, to him what matters was their safety it had been his priority since he took upon himself to be their guardian. And It was only a few years later that his light faded for the first and hopefully last time.
A umbrum unicorn usurped the throne of the Crystal Empire and crowned himself King Sombra. And when Volthoom arrived there the King and Queen of Equestria were busy holding Sombra’s umbrum army while the princesses fought against Sombra himself. The battle attracted the attention of the windigos, the Queen and King were about to be overwhelmed when Volthoom did something stupid, he tried to used the White Light to repel the umbrums.
The White Light was made by all emotions both positive and negative, sensing the negative emotion both forces converged on Volthoom and because neither one of the three had a true physical form they ended up merging. Both the windigos and umbrums invaded Volthoom and feasted on his light until nothing remained and without the White Light of Life only the Black Darkness of Death remained in him, which not only ended up devouring the windigos and umbrums in return but also it took over Volthoom.
The veins/nerves and eyes of Volthoom became pitch black, visible through his gray skin. It was this moment that Luna and Celestia manage to banish Sombra into the ice, but not before Sombra banished the Empire with him. Lush Meadow and Luminous Sky sensed the presence of Death coming from Volthoom and knew that if they didn’t stop him all life on Equus would die.
Before Volthoom lost himself completely to The Black both alicorns created a rift in the fabric of reality and used their magic to attack Volthoom to push him through the rift.
But Volthoom managed to resist, so the King tackled him and got him at the edge of the rift but just been in contact with the Avatar of Death caused his body to rapidly age, had he been a normal pony not even dust would have remained by that point.
The Queen saw this and immediately did the same to help push the still unresponsive Volthoom over the edge, unseen by the royal couple his black ring broke into five pieces, one fell into the snow, one flew to the south, one went to the west, one remained with Volthoom and the last piece came in contact with an unsuspecting and unconscious Luna.
The rift closed just before Luminous fell on the ground just a dry corpse at that point and before Meadow could hit the ground, as her body aged too much and was too weak to support itself, she was caught by Celestia.
“Mother don’t worry we can fix this, somehow we will find a way,” said Celestia in desperation.
“No *cough* *cough* it’s too late for me just *cough* just promise me one thing,” asked the dying Queen and her daughter nodded as she tried to remain strong in her mother final moments.
“Be there for your sister, *cough* my only regret is that I won’t *cough* live long enough to meet my grandchildren, goodbye my little sun,” said Meadow before she closed her eyes.
Celestia held the body of her mother as she cried and for the first time in her life, she felt hatred and her eyes became red with a vertical slit, not unlike that of a dragon.
The Void
Without the whole black ring, Volthoom's connection to The Black was partially broken and he regained his senses, it couldn’t have happened at a worse time. He saw the void outside the universe and it broke him, whatever was left off when he was human had to be abandoned for him to evolve and survive in this place. His body made of light didn’t allow him to pass out or die in this place because death did not exist here, so he adapted simply because there was no other choice.
The fragment of the black ring dissolved into a goo-like substance and traveled up Volthoom's arm over his shoulders and down on his right arm and once it reached his right hand the goo covered the Phantom Ring and sank on its surface, which made the silver ring slightly darker. While this was happening his mind was putting itself back together to Understand the environment he was in, even his body of light and now shadow would eventually dissipate in this “place” and scattered in its “currents”. It was only the Travel Lantern inside his chest that was keeping him together since it was a “tool for infinite exploration”.
The Travel Lantern was made to explore time, space and beyond, thus allowing inter-universal travel through the Void but Volthoom never attempted to use it because he knew that without experience in navigating in the multiverse he would be forever lost in its infinity. The lantern kept its user alive until a destination is reached but in a journey without a destination, the lantern would keep him alive indefinitely.
While floating he saw the iron lich turned dragon in his quest to destroy the Cryx, he saw the CEO of Hyperion and a version of Faust in a mechanical body, he saw Pokemon among ponies, he saw users of the Omnitrix, saw monster born of deadly viruses, he saw a headless suit of armor with the power of alchemy, he saw a biomechanical monstrosity that wanted to rule all creation and so many other realities.
Once Volthoom was able to have coherent thoughts again he saw cream-colored wings covering him, looking behind him he saw a seemingly giant cream-colored alicorn with a red mane, not a biped alicorn like the ones in his universe but a quadruped, this was the SysAdmin Fausticorn.
“It seems you don’t need my help to survive here, but can you get back to your universe on your own?” asked Fausticorn.
Volthoom just shook his head in response as he was still unable to form word much less communicate them in the Void.
“Very well,” said Fausticorn as her horn glowed and Volthoom disappeared.
Volthoom’s version of Equus, unknown amount of time later
Volthoom landed on the same crater he fell all those years ago still weak from adapting to the massive infusion of Void energy. Not long after that, someone came to check on what was going on.
“Volthoom! Where have you been?!” said Wind Drifter as she came down to the center of the crater and landed beside Volthoom.
“For how long was I gone?” asked Volthoom noticing that Wind Drifter looked slightly older, but that wasn't helpful since the aging process of fairy ponies and flutter ponies was not consistent. It really depended on the strength of their connection to The Green.
“What? How can you not know? It has been 5 years,” said Drifter.
Before any of them could say anything another presence made itself known when they felt a great deal of hatred directed at them, more specifically at Volthoom.
“YOU!!” said Celestia after she landed not far from Volthoom with her eyes changed from magenta to red with a vertical slit.
“Hide Drifter, she wouldn’t listen to anyone in that state,” said Volthoom while he stood up and faced Celestia.
As soon as he said that, Celestia teleported in front of him and started to strangle him.
“It’s your fault! Because of you, my parents are dead! Because of you I had to banish my own sister!” said Celestia and as the venom in her voice made itself known, her multicolored mane was starting to become bright yellow, blue and white. In the end, her mane looked like the volatile plasma of a star ready to burst with too much energy.
Volthoom was too weak to do anything as he felt his throat be crushed while he laid on the ground with Celestia straddling him but he could deal with the pain since it was nothing compared to what he felt in the Void, besides he didn’t need to breathe.
“I felt it inside Luna, the same energy that killed my parents five years ago, your energy,” said Celestia.
Noticing that strangling him wasn’t working she used her magic on him, while she charged the spell she would punch him as hard as she could then unleash the spell. After doing that many times she was panting and the area around them became glass and the crater was bigger and deeper.
Celestia became so frustrated with Volthoom indifference that she poured every ounce of power she had left and unleashed everything on Volthoom. The result was something akin to a hydrogen bomb being detonated, Volthoom unable to keep his concentration as his mind was still recovering resulted in his body dissipated as his consciousness was moved to the Phantom Ring.
Celestia was the only one left on the charred and glassed soil of the ground zero, with her blind hatred and rage subsiding she finally looked around her, at the consequences of her actions and if she was standing she would have fallen to her knees. Where once was a fertile and peaceful valley was now a desert of sand, glass and rocks, some of which was still glowing with heat. She single-handedly destroyed Flutter Valley and its inhabitants.
Feeling an immeasurable guilty, Celestia cried maybe Luna’s change wasn’t Volthoom’s fault, seeing that she let herself be consumed by hatred and anger as well, a situation not so different from her sister. Maybe the sliver of Volthoom’s energy in Luna just brought out what was already there.
The alicorn came here to investigate a ripple of power she felt, but when she saw Volthoom all the negative feeling she bottle up resurfaced with a renewed intensity and she snapped.
Either way what is done is done and now Celestia will spend the rest of her possibly immortal life with the guilt of knowing that she was the one responsible for the extinction of an entire race and the murder of a being so unique and wise that had so much to share, that maybe he wasn’t himself when her parents died, that maybe, much like herself and her sister he lost control for a moment and because of that paid a heavy price.
The monarch only moved when she felt it was time to lower the sun and raise the moon but it was just her body going through the motions, her mind was too busy trying to process the events that transpired. With her tears wetting the glassed soil her attention was caught by a glint near her, on the ground not far from her she saw Volthoom’s ring as it reflected the last ray of the sun before setting.
This ring was his focus, Celestia never knew how old Volthoom was, he already had this look on him that it made it seem as if he had given up on returning to his home as if he was lost and didn’t know how to get back.
Volthoom came to Equus around the time Luna was born, but for all she knew he could be as old as an elder dragon or more before falling from the sky, he was wise and taught many things to not only her and Luna when they visited him in his temple but also to the crystal and flutter ponies and even to her parents.
That was one of the reasons why Volthoom's supposed betrayal hurt so much, Celestia didn't know what those moments meant to him but she cherished those moments, he was her teacher, her first crush and so much more. She picked the ring to put on her finger as a way to remember him but the moment the ring was on her finger she felt a surge of energy, her magic and something else flooded her body.
Celestia felt anger, love, hope, fear, greed, compassion and so many other emotions with such an intensity that she almost went mad while the ring flashed a myriad of colors, a color for each emotion, and tendrils of energy lashed out destroying her surroundings even further. Using all of her willpower she grabbed the ring and pulled, the ring flashed a strong green color before coming off of her finger.
The alicorn just laid on her back, heedless of the awkward position of her wings, she panted as she never felt this exhausted in all her life, she barely lasted few seconds with the ring, the fact that Volthoom wore it all the time spoke volumes of his power and discipline. Once recovered she got up before she looked at the ring, it was too dangerous to fall in the wrong hands, extending her wings she took off to the new capital of Equestria, the newly built city of Canterlot.
While flying the monarch saw the devastation she caused, she could even see the bones of few ponies holding their loved ones, she could only imagine their last words as they accepted their end and gave up trying to run. She could imagine the despair of the parents knowing that their children will die with them.
“Never again,” said Celestia to herself.
The only living alicorn on Equus vowed that from that day on she would make sure another tragedy like this one would never happen to her little ponies, it might take a thousand years but she promised to make sure that not only her little ponies were safe but also that her sister would have a place to return to, a place to call home.
Unknown to Celestia a few flutter ponies survived, horribly scarred physically and/or mentally, by hiding either underground or in Volthoom’s temple, their lives were saved by the crystals that were filled with energies that Volthoom taught them how to make and use.
The survivors knew that Volthoom was still alive, it might take more than a thousand years but they will free Volthoom from whatever prison the Sun Tyrant had put him in, but first, they need to recover, learn, grow and evolve. Once they were ready and their lord was freed he would lead them again.
On the next day, Celestia had a box crafted to contain the ring, to make sure it never fell into the wrong hands and unknowingly imprisoned Volthoom, whose mind was still recovering inside the ring.
Volthoom came back from his flashback when the changeling, no longer disguised, was flying over the Badlands, formally know as Flutter Valley, but almost nobody knew that.
Celestia in her guilt tried to erase Flutter Valley, her parents and her sister of the history of Equestria but she left enough information about those to be considered legends. Other nations have better historical records of those times, even if they were not 100% accurate.
As the warrior changeling landed one of the many canyons of the Badlands, he entered a hidden cave, navigated through what seemed miles of tunnels and emerged on a subterranean city in a very large chamber, the city was bigger than Canterlot.
The city had an almost alien architecture with a resin-like material harden to look like the stone as well as the stone itself making the walls of the building that covered the ground, the walls of the cave and even the ceiling and the pillars that hold the ceiling of the cave. Also, a see-through resin of many different colors and opacity made up the windows and door while subterranean rivers divided parts of the city on the ground.
The soldier went to the center of the changeling city where a castle built around the biggest pillar holding the cave.
Once inside he navigated through the hallways, opened a black double door and entered a circular room with seven thrones arranged in octagon pattern with the entrance being the eighth point. Six of the seven thrones were occupied by changeling queens, the one closest to the entrance on the right was empty, the only indication of their presence was their glowing eyes in the shadow of this dark room.
Fun fact, changelings had excellent vision and because of that, they adapted to live in dark places like this cave since they don’t need much light, despite the fact that they had many artificial lights on the ceiling that simulated the day and night cycle.
“Your Majesties,” said the changeling warrior as he knelt on the center of the room.
“Was Chrysalis successful on her mission?” asked the queen directly in front of him.
“Yes My Empress,” said the warrior as he offered the box to the changeling empress.
The Empress got up from her throne and walked to the near center of the room, where the warrior was kneeling and revealed herself.
Like Chrysalis, the empress had a smooth thin and flexible layer of black/dark gray chitin that acted as her skin, a band of black silk around her breasts and a long black slitted skirt but unlike Chrysalis she was 10ft tall, her “corset” was chocolate brown, her mane was also brown but with white streaks and her horn was slightly curved like a blade but had small “teeth” on the front and on the back, giving the look of a serrated and curved knife.
The changeling empress took the box in her hands, opened and saw the Phantom Ring.
“Leave us,” said the empress as her horn lighten up with a light brown aura.
The guard left and a small pedestal with a bowl shape carved on the top raised from the center of the room, the bowl made of stone was filled with clear water. The Empress carefully picked the ring and unceremoniously tossed the box aside. Then she carefully lowered the ring in the bowl of water and let it sank to the bottom and the water started to glow with many different colors.
“Now what, mother?” said one of the queens, the one that sat at 3 o’clock from the entrance, with only her blue slitted eyes visible.
“Now dear Iso, we wait for Chrysalis to arrive,” said the empress as she went back to her throne.
While all of this happened Volthoom listened from inside the ring but was unable to communicate with the outside world. He could possess whoever tried to use the ring so long he was awake because if he wasn't anyone who tried to use the ring would lose control like Celestia when she tried if they weren't trained to use the Emotional Spectrum. Also, he couldn't create constructs without a body.
The irony was that Volthoom's body from before was a construct constantly being remade and reinforced by the ring but the moment he lost his body he would need the help from someone from the outside to create a body for him to inhabit. His train of thought was interrupted by the door opening showing Chrysalis with cuts, bruises and probably a few broken bones by the way she walked.
“Wow, those equestrians really kicked your ass, big sis,” said the red queen, the one that sat directly in front of Iso, the blue queen.
“There is no need to speak with big sister like that Arachne, her mission was a success,” said the orange queen that sat at Arachne’s right.
“She is right Arachne, big sister Chrysalis did what was asked of her regardless of the events that transpired,” said the yellow queen that sat at the Arachne’s left.
“Vesp, why you always take Chrysalis’ side?” asked Arachne as she looked at the orange queen.
“It isn’t a matter of side it is a fact,” said Vesp simply.
“And why you always have to be the nice one and defend her Apis?” asked Arachne as she looked at the yellow queen.
“It wouldn’t be fair to let you bully her just because of what those equestrians did to her,” said Apis.
While this discussion was going on Chrysalis approached the throne of the Empress.
“Mother,” said Chrysalis as she stood before the Empress.
“You did well Chrysalis, soon we’ll be able to free Lord Volthoom from his prison,” said the empress as her horn glowed and she used a powerful healing spell on Chrysalis, it was all she could do at the moment.
“Thank you mother,” said Chrysalis as she got up still feeling the effects and pain of her injuries but they will pass soon enough, so she turned and went to her throne.
“At least you could have done something to make this defeat less humiliating,” said Arachne in an almost condescending tone.
“As if you would do any better,” said the purple queen, who sat at Iso’s right, to Arachne before she asked Chrysalis, “Are you sure you can continue Chrysalis?”
“I can deal with the lingering pain, the revival of Lord Volthoom is more important Mili,” said Chrysalis as she sat on her own throne at Iso’s left.
“If you say so,” said Mili because she knew how stubborn her older sister could be.
“Now we can finally free Lord Volthoom,” said the empress as she charged her horn while her six daughters did the same.
As their horns shined they revealed themselves and they look pretty similar to Chrysalis only with a different color, the shape of the horn and slight variation on the height and body frame, but then again all of them were shapeshifters. Also, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for the younger ones to model their current forms based on their mother and elder sister out of admiration.
They released the energy in the form a beam each and all of them directed at the ring. They poured all the available energy and while it was impressive it didn’t help that they were starving. All the royal changelings were left exhausted and were about to pass out when a burst of Emotional Spectrum Energy came from the ring. Contrary to what many believe changelings could feed on any emotion, love just happen to be the “tastiest” for most of them and the most nourishing.
The Emotional Spectrum Energy spread through the chamber, then the castle, then the city, passing through the many tunnels connecting to others cities beneath the surface, soon emotion flooded the empire and fed all changelings in its borders. On the surface unicorn mages and scientists only detected a small surge of magic but thought nothing of it and dismissed this phenomenon as a natural occurrence.
The queens, now completely recovered, felt relieved for the first time in years, they no longer felt the hunger clawing their minds, they no longer had holes in their limbs and their bodies no longer looked malnourished. The rays of light that were coming from the ring started to bend into a familiar shape, soon enough Volthoom was floating above the pedestal in the lotus position, extending his right hand the ring floated to his middle finger, he finally had a body again.
Volthoom moved in the air to float in front of the throne of the empress and stood up, still floating above the ground, and he looked her in the eyes.
“You have changed Wind Drifter,” said Volthoom.
“I haven’t used that name in more than a thousand years, I go by Phyllia since my rebirth,” said the changeling empress, now named Phyllia.
“It sounds like quite a story,” said Volthoom.
“Are you not surprised by my appearance?” asked Phyllia as she got up and got closer to Volthoom.
“No, I’m not, I learned about the changelings by hearing and observing the dreamscape and the mindscape while being in contact with The Elemental Forces of Life. I know what happened to you over this millennia, my only regret is that I couldn’t be there to help you or your people,” said Volthoom with sadness in his voice.
“All that matters now is that you came back,” said Phyllia as she hugged Volthoom and because of her bigger frame she let his head rest on her breasts while she rested her chin on his head.
She could feel her body being flooded with his energy, it was so invigorating but besides that, she was just happy to have her teacher and friend back. And the moment was ruined by Chrysalis clearing her throat.
“Mother, aren’t you gonna introduce us?” asked Chrysalis curious to meet the one she and her sisters heard stories about since they were nymphs.
“There's no need, I already know who all of you are and you already know who I am,” said Volthoom not even bothering to move, in times like this he missed having a living body, the way he perceived the world was so dull, if it wasn’t for his constant meditations he might have gone mad, it was very similar to a person going through sensory deprivation for a long period of time.
“I never felt so much emotional energy before,” said Vesp to herself while relaxing in the throne, to her it felt like the embrace of a lover in a warm bath with her favorite bath salts in the water.
“Considering that I’m literally made of that, it is only natural,” said Volthoom and the queens just sat there basking in the energy.
“It seems there are two things I need to do, one is to help your kind to become ‘lightsmiths’ so you no longer have to feed on others but you can still do it if you want,” said Volthoom as he returned his attention to Phyllia.
“And the second thing?” asked Mili trying not to get too comfortable, otherwise she might just fall asleep.
“I need to make a new body for me to inhabit, in order to ensure that what happened in the frozen north won’t happen again,” said Volthoom as he suppressed the output of emotional energy, much to the disappointment of those present.
“What happened there anyway? At the time we heard rumors that you killed the king and queen,” said Phyllia releasing Volthoom from the hug.
“That’s indeed what happened, I became an avatar of Death and if the King and Queen did not stop me I would have destroyed all life on this world, and in order to make sure that doesn’t happen again I will need a body, a living body of flesh and bone,” said Volthoom as he floated in front of Phyllia.
“And how are you going to get a body? While there are many that are willing to make a sacrifice for their ‘God of Light’, I would like to avoid losing one of my subjects,” said Phyllia as she worried about the implications.
“There will be a sacrifice but not a live one, I just need samples to create a template in order to make my new body,” explained Volthoom.
“So you can make a body of any species? If so, what race you want? My changelings can get any ‘sample’ you need,” said Phyllia.
“I need the scale of a dragon, the feather of a griffon, the blood of a changeling and a lock from the mane of a pony, but I can use substitutes,” said Volthoom.
“We have most of the ingredients in storage, they make quite useful potions after all,” said Phyllia.
“I have locks from Princess Cadence and Shining Armor’s mane, I was going to use them on a spell to get revenge but this is more important than a personal vendetta,” said Chrysalis as she interjected into the conversation.
“Good, after that I will be needing a room to conduct the ritual and another for me to sleep, with a new organic body comes all its pros and cons, like eating, sleeping and so on,” said Volthoom as he already knew they were going to ask about the second room.
“Don’t worry Lord Volthoom, me and my sisters will make sure to help in any way we can, you just saved our race after all,” said Apis and her sisters nodded.
“We can use one of the empty ritual chambers after picking the ingredients on the laboratory here on the castle, I’m sure the alchemists and mages wouldn’t mind if you took a few ingredients,” said Arachne.
“I need to make an announcement for the Changeling Empire,” said Phyllia as she left the meeting room.
“I’m going to pick the locks of mane from the newlyweds and meet you all in the ritual chamber,” said Chrysalis as she was about to leave the room.
“Before we go I need to take back something I lost more than a thousand years ago I can locate you with my powers, so wait for me at the at the lab it shouldn’t take long,” said Volthoom while a circular white portal appeared in front of him.
Volthoom went through the portal while keeping his energy suppressed to not be detected, so he stepped into the Castle of the Two Sisters, more specifically the chamber where the elements were once housed and the place where Nightmare Moon was purged from Luna.
The First Lantern looked around until he found what he was looking for, a pile of black fur, skin and blue armor, the remnants of Nightmare Moon. He extended his right hand and the remnants started to melt into a black goo that later coalesced into the fragment of his broken black ring. The goo jumped on his hand and entered the Phantom Ring and he felt the power of The Black starting to balance itself with the White Light and the Void Energy inside him.
Volthoom also felt the lingering connection to Nightmare Moon, or more specifically the Nightmare that corrupted Luna, he reached into the connection, he “grabbed” Nightmare and pulled her out of the edge of the dreamscape together with all the nightmares connected to her. They condensed into a single sphere the size of a bowling ball, now he could either let them go or devour them like he did the windigos and umbrums more than a thousand years ago.
Volthoom reasoned that they might be useful later, so he pushed the ball against his chest and let it sank into his body. He made sure that the nightmares joined the windigos and umbrums trapped inside him. And with his mission accomplished he reopened and entered the portal, then he appeared on a laboratory with the six queens and a group of changelings without armor working in the lab, the alchemists and mages he assumed.
“You came back. Did you get whatever you were looking for?” asked Iso ignoring the mages and alchemists that were on their knees bowing to Volthoom, which was to be expected since Volthoom is the main god of the changelings.
“Yes I did,” said Volthoom before he added, “I hope you don’t mind if I pick a few potion ingredients and reagents for a ritual?”
“Of course not Lord Volthoom, take anything you need. It’s the least we can do to thank you for everything you have done for us and our ancestors,” said one of the mages, a normal changeling without armor and the “lenses”, which showed his purple slitted eyes.
“Thanks,” said Volthoom looking at the many shelves with different plants, herbs, mushrooms, body parts, minerals and already made potions, with this he will be able to create a better body than he initially thought.
Tendrils of light came out of Volthoom's body and picked the necessary items, not only the scale of a dragon but also one of its bones and the feather not of a griffon but that of a phoenix. He was about to go out of the lab when he looked at a small black branch of a tree, but what mattered to him was the energy he felt from the branch.
“Where is the tree from which this branch came from?” asked Volthoom.
“It came from the tree in the sacred pools of the changelings,” said a mage, a diamond dog in blue robes.
Unlike what almost all ponies thought diamond dogs could be very intelligent, they just didn't have many opportunities when it came to education, so it was no surprise that many clans, or packs, that came in contact with this subterranean empire choose to live here together with the changelings. The result was that they had far better lives than the dogs outside of the Empire.
“I see,” said Volthoom before turning to the queens and said, “lead the way.”
The queens and a guard for each queen lead Volthoom through the castle, they went down until they were past the entrance at the ground level of the cave and walked a very long hallway. A hallway that was designed this way so if something went wrong on any type of ritual they could seal this place.
Before going down further Volthoom asked the guards to bring a block of stone at least 12ft tall, 6ft wide and 6ft deep, four of the guards went to get the stone and Mili asked why he needed such a thing.
“I need to make a mold,” answered Volthoom.
At the end of the hallway was a circular room with five doors made of stone, each door going to a different chamber. They choose a random door and enter in a wide domed room made of stone with many runes, sigils, and glyphs on the walls. It didn’t take long for the guards to come back carrying the block of stone using their combined magic and to lower it onto the ground.
Now with the block laying on the ground, Volthoom used the ring to cut the block horizontally, created a giant hand of light to grab and lift the upper half of the block. Two tendrils came out from the ring and started to carve the general shape of the body on the halves of the block of stone, once done he put the upper half over the lower half.
“Now we wait for Phyllia to arrive,” said Volthoom.
About an hour earlier on the upper levels of the castle
Phyllia walked out on the balcony with the emblems of the Changeling Empire’s two factions ruled by her.
The first faction was the one made by the six queens and their hives, they have been on this city, the capital of the empire, since the start of the changeling race more than a thousand years just half a decade after the banishment of Nightmare Moon.
The second faction came into existence when Phyllia had a disagreement with her oldest daughter and three of her sisters, all of them queens, and they decided to leave the Changeling Kingdom, as it was named at the time and took their hives with them. It was only centuries later that they reconciled with each other and joined their kingdoms, creating the current empire.
Phyllia was the first changeling, transformed when she and the other survivors of Flutter Valley found the sacred pools, pools filled with a strange black substance that had a similar energy to Volthoom but not quite the same. Even today she still remained the only empress in the Empire and on the world.
Phyllia not only became the first changeling but also the first queen, she watched over the descendants of her friends after they transformed, to all changelings regardless if it was of her brood or not, she was considered their mother, to the Empire she was their Empress, she was their All-Mother, Great Mother, Queen Mother or anything similar. Even to this day, there was no more the ten changeling queens in the whole world.
“Citizens of the Empire,” said Phyllia as her voice and image were projected not only all over this city but also in all other cities of the Empire as well.
All citizens regardless if they were changelings or not stopped to hear the announcement of their ruler. A portion of the population was composed by other species that somehow ended up here, for one reason or another, the non-changeling population was one of the reasons that helped the changelings not to starve or go mad with hunger, a symbiosis but the problem was that there were too many changelings.
“As all changelings can tell a burst of emotional energy flooded the empire and saved our race from a slow death by starvation. Had it not happened we would be forced to take desperate measures,” said Phyllia and the population listened to their ruler, curious as to what happened earlier that day.
“It’s with great pleasure that I tell you all that it was thanks to Lord Volthoom, who was freed from the prison he was unjustly placed by the Sun Tyrant more than millennia ago,” continued Phyllia and the people cheered, knowing that their once guardian was freed and with them once again.
Volthoom was the protector and teacher of the ancestors of the changelings, so it was no surprise that this admiration and respect turned into a religion over a thousand years. To them Volthoom was a wise and fair god, Celestia who was also worshiped by many both in and out of Equestria’s borders and the one that imprisoned Volthoom was an evil god that wanted to impose her “harmony” on others and they acknowledge but are mostly indifferent when it comes to beings like Luna and Discord.
Phyllia motions for them to calm down and they do so to hear what else she had to say.
“He is still recovering but after he is fully healed and used to his new body, he will help us guide our nation to a new golden age and we shall see what we will do about Equestria,” said Phyllia.
The citizens cheered again not even bothered by the fact that he was “getting used to his new body”, they knew he was not only a being of energy but also a god to a nation full of shapeshifters, so unusual facts about him were expected.
“Thank you for your time and consideration my beloved subjects,” said Phyllia as she ended the projections and went back to the castle to meet with her daughters and Volthoom.
Underground levels of the castle, present time
Phyllia arrived on the chamber and saw Volthoom and her daughters waiting for her.
“Waiting for me? It’s so sweet of you, you were always thoughtful,” said Phyllia with a cheerful tone.
“What about us?” asked Apis, pouting showing that she is the least mature of the group.
“I was referring to all of you,” said Phyllia before giggling, showing her good mood.
“Since you are all here we can start,” said Volthoom as his tentacles of energy prepared the potions and ingredients.
Volthoom lifted the upper half of the block, at this point it was just like a rectangular sarcophagus made of stone, after he put the ingredients inside he extended his right hand, palm up, above the lower half of the mold. He concentrated on the White Light of Life, the Black Darkness of Death, the Elemental Forces and unknowingly the Void Energy, a kaleidoscopic liquid starts to pour out of the ring into the mold until it was filled to the brim without spilling out and after that, he turned to face the queens.
“Now I need at least a drop of blood from one of you to complete the solution, one drop is enough but more will make this process easier and smoother,” said Volthoom.
Phyllia without hesitation approached the mold, once she was standing beside it she made a deep cut on the palm of her right hand using a small cutting spell and let her blood pour from her wound into the mold, the blood phased through the kaleidoscopic liquid energy as if it wasn’t there and mixed with the ingredients at the bottom.
Phyllia’s daughters were at first shocked but then they felt that Volthoom was giving energy to their mother, replenishing her blood in the process, and they wanted to help, so they did the same and soon the level of blood was just below the level of liquid energy.
“Now I need you to hold and gently lower the upper half after I dispel this construct acting as my body, my ring will fall on this solution and became part of my new body, it might take two or three days, after that the upper part of the mold will crack and explode so be prepared for that,” said Volthoom as he healed the cuts and after that the queens took a hold of the stone with their combined magic.
The queens just nodded and soon the light of Volthoom’s body started to disappear into the ring, once he was completely inside of the ring, it fell on the liquid with a wet *plop*.
The queens slowly lowered the stoned on top of its other half, the weight completely sealed the inside from outside.
“Now we wait,” said Phyllia as she looked at the mold.
Empress Phyllia sat on a cushion that was brought to her by the guards, she kept her ear pressed against the stone as she tried to hear Volthoom inside the mold, she would caress the stone and hum to herself.
“Mother you should get some rest you have been here for two days,” said Mili as she walked into the chamber.
“My Empress, Queen Mili is right, you have to sleep if you keep yourself awake any longer your health might deteriorate,” said a miniature changeling with blue mane and eyes floating near the empress with her squeaky and high-pitched voice.
This was an offshoot of the original breezies, after the Cataclysm that destroyed Flutter Valley the original breezies were divided into four groups.
The first group were the pollen breezies, very similar to the originals, they were the descendants of the breezies that moved to Equestria but the pollen there lacked the strong connection to The Green that existed in Flutter Valley. As a result, their power declined to the point that a leaf could prove fatal to them, Equestria was now the only place ‘safe’ enough for them to venture out because the weather was regulated by the ponies. Thus the name "breezie" became even more accurate than their lesser known name "fairy ponies".
The second group was the tooth breezies, while they still have a connection to The Green they also have a powerful connection to The Red that they use to draw power from bones, blood and flesh, but they preferred teeth and claws of living creatures, the more powerful the creature the more magic they could extract from the bones. Currently, they live only in two locations, here in the Changeling Empire and in the Everfree Forest, they have a more tribal and warrior-like society than the pollen breezies. Ironically they were known as "tooth fairies" but they were also known as "pixie ponies".
The third group was the mushroom breezies, they had a connection with The Green, just like the other breezies, and The Gray because they started to add fungi in their staches to compensate for the decline of the magically enhanced pollen, this caused them to change. They lived in a very rigid class system based on what type of plant and/or fungus they collect, they were masters of poison and potion making. They were known as "sprite ponies".
The fourth group was the changeling breezies or fairy changelings and like the flutter ponies, they let themselves be transformed by the sacred pools found on this caves, they were essentially miniature changelings. The third and fourth groups exist only in the Changeling Empire.
“I will sleep only when Volthoom is by my side,” said Phyllia to the breezie, which caused her to sigh at the stubbornness of her empress as she sat on Mili’s right shoulder.
“You really love him don’t you mother?” asked Mili.
“Yes I do, he is just so wise and caring, the fact the children loved him is a bonus,” said Phyllia.
“Why not act on those feelings back then?” asked Mili.
“He was immortal and had a body made of energy he had no need for food or drink, so he just spent his time defending us, teaching us or meditating, not count an occasional festival he attended, it was easy to tell that he didn’t need a mate,” said Phyllia with sadness and nostalgia in her voice.
“And now?” asked Mili as she conjured a cushion for her to sit beside her mother.
“Now he has a body, a body of flesh and bone, it’s my chance to finally be with him,” said Phyllia with a hopeful tone.
“Do you even know how he will look like, or if it’s even possible for you to have a relationship?” asked Mili.
“I can at least try. Now I have a chance, were before any chance was inexistent,” said Phyllia.
“You have a point, he at lea-” started Mili only to be interrupted by a loud crack coming from the stone.
Looking at the stone they saw the cracks with light coming from beneath the surface spread across the upper mold, so they got up, jumped a few steps back and created a shield. Not long after it exploded sending fragments of rock across the ritual chamber, followed by another burst of emotional energy but this one was much weaker and only covered the castle.
The empress without hesitation dispelled her shield, got closer, took Volthoom in her arms and while she carried the new body bridal style she teleported away. Mili immediately turned around and started to run while using the “higher” parts of the Hivemind to find her mother’s location, not long after she felt it, her mother was in her chambers.
“Firefly, warn my sisters of what happened here and tell them to go to mother’s room,” said Mili.
“On it,” said Firefly as she glowed and zipped forward at a great speed almost creating a line of light in the air.
Mili teleported and appeared in front of her mother’s room, not long after her sisters appeared as well.
“What's going on?” asked Arachne.
“Mother took Volthoom into her chambers,” said Firefly.
“You think they are… you know,” commented Apis.
“Not likely but mother haven’t slept in almost three days, I just want to make sure everything is alright,” said Mili before she opened the door.
They saw their mother on her bed while hugging a gray changeling against her breasts, both of them had a content smile on their faces.
“Well, she did say that she would only sleep when Volthoom was by her side,” said Mili.
“They are too close to each other and the cover is hiding most of their bodies, I can’t discern any detail on Lord Volthoom’s new body,” said Vesp as she tried to get a better look without entering the room.
“Ooh, I really wanted to see what Lord Volthoom’s new body would look like,” said Iso in disappointment.
“It seems we have to wait a little more, besides our mother is happier than ever in a thousand years, let her have this moment,” said Chrysalis as she dragged Iso and Mili with her green magic.
“Agreed,” said Arachne as she dragged Apis and Vesp by their ears, much to their protest, and closed the doors with her red magic.
“Volthoom,” said Phyllia quietly in her sleep as she hugged Volthoom.
Mindscape, Dreamscape
Volthoom, still looking similar to the original Volthoom, sat floating in lotus position in outer space when he felt another presence in his lucid dream.
“What is going on?” asked Phyllia as she appeared near Volthoom trying and failing to adjust herself using her wings.
“Hello Phyllia,” said Volthoom.
“Volthoom, where are we?” asked Phyllia as she managed to hold onto Volthoom's leg and righted herself.
“Physically or metaphorically?” asked Volthoom.
“Both, I guess,” said Phyllia a bit unsure.
“You are in my dream, this is outer space, the space between worlds inside the universe,” said Volthoom.
Looking around she was mesmerized by the stars, nebulas and comets.
“Is this how the outside of our world look like?” asked Phyllia.
“Not exactly,” said Volthoom as they started to ‘move’, or the scenario was moving it was impossible to tell, the scene stopped when a familiar moon was on her right and a blue, green sphere was on her left and the sun was behind her. Then he pointed to the green and blue sphere before saying, “that is your planet, the world where you were born and where you live.”
Phyllia felt tears on her eyes but stead of running down on her face they started to float around her and she thought, "Equus is so beautiful and seems so tiny from here."
“It changes one's perspective, doesn’t it? Seeing this tiny marble in the vastness of creation,” said Volthoom.
“Yes it does,” said Phyllia still very emotional.
“Even if this is a projection of my memory it still feels real, such is the beauty of the Mindscape,” said Volthoom.
“Mindscape?” asked Phyllia trying to wipe the tears.
The scenario changed again, Phyllia felt the effect of gravity again as well as the grass beneath her hooves. Looking around she saw Flutter Valley just like it was on the day Volthoom arrived and it filled her with nostalgia.
“Better?” asked Volthoom and she nodded before sitting in front of him, like the day she met him.
“Mindscape is a dimension made purely of thought and emotion, this place can be visited through astral projection, a special form of teleportation or going ‘outside’ of the dream,” said Volthoom.
“What does going ‘‘outside’ of the dream’ means?” asked Phyllia.
“Do you know the dreamscape?” asked Volthoom.
“Yes, it’s Luna’s domain a place of dreams and… emotions,” said Phyllia as she realized what he is trying to tell.
“Indeed, the dreamscape is a pocket inside the mindscape, that’s the reason why she doesn’t venture beyond Equestria, this place is just a layer away from where thought and emotions come from, the source of my power in this reality,” said Volthoom.
“This reality?” asked Phyllia.
“Each reality has its own Emotional Spectrum I’m merely a conduit for it, I have been since that day,” said Volthoom.
“That day?” asked Phyllia in curiosity, for the first time in millennia feeling like that young flutter pony eager for a lesson from her teacher.
“Since I know your story, it’s only fair that you know mine. My story begins on Volthoom’s homeworld as it started to die,” said Volthoom.
The scenario change to a mighty city of glass and metal that reached the sky, but her attention was caught by two beings running in a hallway of metal.
“Mother!” said a young looking biped being with furless pinkish skin and gray almost silver short mane wearing a silver and white space suit.
“We must hurry Volthoom, we need to use the Lantern,” said a female being similar to the first but with a brown mane, she was disconnecting the cables from the Travel Lantern.
“We mus-” started Volthoom but an explosion occurred.
“Mother!” called a young Volthoom only to find his mother beneath rubble holding the Travel Lantern.
“You must find help..” she trailed off in her final moments before Volthoom grabbed the Travel Lantern and disappeared in a flash of light.
Phyllia saw how Volthoom traveled through time and space, she saw many wonderful and terrible worlds, she saw his meeting with the Malthusians, she saw his madness, his imprisonment and death, billions of years flashed before her eyes.
“And after that in my new incarnation the Phantom Ring, the Black Ring and the Travel Lantern somehow made their way back to me and I was sent here to this world,” said Volthoom as he finished his tale.
Phyllia was shocked and took a long time to recover and process the story she heard.
“Why do you refer to yourself in the third person?” asked Phyllia after she noticed that he referred to himself by name.
“I don’t consider my previous incarnation to be the same person as me, even if I use his name as my own,” explained Volthoom.
Before Phyllia could say anything the world around them started to crumble.
“It seems we are waking up, I can’t wait to see my new body,” said Volthoom.
“Believe me when I say you will be very surprised,” said Phyllia trying not to giggle while Volthoom just raised an eyebrow.
Real World
Volthoom opened his eyes and saw the black pillows that his head was resting on. No, they were warm and he could feel a heartbeat, those were breasts, evident by the exposed brown nipples, and by the arms hugging him he could tell that the one holding him wanted his company, he lifted his head to look in Phyllia’s brown slitted eyes.
“Good morning,” said Phyllia as she smiled while she looked into Volthoom's eyes.
“Good morning,” said Volthoom in his new higher voice, it was quite androgynous and impossible to tell if it’s male or female.
Not caring about the voice change Volthoom kissed Phyllia, they both moaned in pleasure, how Volthoom missed this feeling of skin against skin. Their long prehensile forked tongues explored each other mouths in a way that would otherwise be impossible. After Volthoom pulled back and released Phyllia’s lips he tried to get up only for Phyllia to pull him back into her embrace, while it was comfortable Volthoom wanted to see his new body.
“Phyllia, could you let me go? I want to see my new body,” said Volthoom politely and reluctantly Phyllia let him get out of the bed.
“Do you have a mirror?” asked Volthoom as he sat up on the edge of the bed.
Phyllia pointed to her left, in the middle of the wall not too far from the bed is a great mirror that she uses after a bath.
Volthoom stumble in his walk, getting used to his new muscles and center of gravity, changelings had a slightly different way of walking compared to humans. It took a bit of concentration but he managed to stand in front of the mirror and Phyllia was trying not to laugh at his learning experience. He ignored Phyllia's enjoyment of his predicament and looked at the mirror to inspect his new body, which is easy considering that he was naked.
The acolyte of the Spectrum was as tall as the other queens but his body was still developing so he might get as tall as Phyllia, his “skin” was gray, his “corset” was dull silver, his eyes were slitted and silver, closing his second eyelid he saw that his eyes were now solid silver, his long mane reached his waist and was light gray, his shoulders were just as wide as in his previous form but seemed smaller with his new height that was two and a half feet taller, his hips were just as wide as his shoulders, his tail as long as he was tall coming out just at the end of his spine above his butt, which was rounder and bigger, with a curved blade in its end. He had a very androgynous figure, even if his silhouette was quite feminine, it was only his flat chest and genitalia that indicated the fact that he was male, he had apple sized testicles hanging beneath an animalistic sheath.
Lastly Volthoom inspected his horn, on its base was the Phantom Ring, the horn itself coming out of his forehead through and around the ring, with the ring being part of the horn itself, the length looked like a fusion of a key and a blade with the indents on the front and back edges creating a pattern similar to a double-sided or paracentric key, on the length of the blade were indentations in the shape of the different Lantern Corp logos, Black, White, Phantom, Violet(Star Sapphire), Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red in that order from the base to the tip of his horn.
The reborn changeling was so busy looking at the details that he didn’t notice Phyllia getting closer to him from behind, he only noticed her when she hugged him from behind, her arms going under his while her right hand resting on his chest while her left resting on his belly and because of their height difference Phyllia rested her chin on the top of his head while pressing her bare breasts on the back of his head, she was careful to not press too hard on his developing wings while her longer tail coiled around his.
“You look beautiful,” said Phyllia as she got comfortable.
“It will take about a week for this body to finishing its development,” said Volthoom as he got comfortable as well after he opened his second eyelids.
“I can’t wait to see how you will look...Volthoom, there something I need to tell you but I think you already know what I’m going to say,” said Phyllia.
The symbols of the Star Sapphire and the Phantom Corp, as well as the Phantom Ring itself, begin to give a faint pinkish violet glow and Phyllia felt pure love directed at her.
“I know, I can feel the emotions of those around me, even the changelings, so I knew about your feeling even back then. Changelings may not radiate emotional energy like most sentient living being but they feel emotions just like any other being, I know your feelings about me haven’t changed in a thousand years if anything they become stronger,” said Volthoom as he looked at Phyllia's eyes in the mirror.
“So you knew about my feelings for you?” asked Phyllia.
“Yes, but it would be your choice to act on them or not. If there’s anything I learned in my long life is to enjoy life while you can. If you asked me to be with you I would have stayed until the end of your life, just because I’m immortal doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy life,” said Volthoom as he stopped the flow of love energy.
Phyllia let go of Volthoom and laid on the bed looking at the ceiling.
“Are you ok? I can feel your disbelief and shock,” said Volthoom.
“I just found out that I had a chance to have a relationship with you if I acted on my feelings instead of assuming you didn’t want a relationship in the first place,” said Phyllia.
“I’m willing to try,” said Volthoom as he looked into Phyllia’s eyes, then he added, “are you willing to give us a chance?”
“Yes,” said Phyllia.
Volthoom laid beside Phyllia and hugged her not bothered by the fact that they were both naked and Phyllia hugged him back. They stayed like this, just enjoying the comfortable silence, until knocking was heard by both of them, at first they ignored but the one knocking persisted, so they let go of each other and sat up.
“Come in,” said Phyllia.
The door opened and three changelings came in, while the three were without armor, one was a male looking changeling wearing a doctor’s white jacket and white pants and other two are female looking changelings with nurse outfits. The doctor has solid blue eyes and no mane, only a head fin, everything else about him was covered by his clothes. One nurse has a short red mane and solid red eyes, while the other has a long green mane tied in a high ponytail and solid green eyes.
“My Empress, we came just as you asked,” said the doctor.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” said Phyllia before turning to Volthoom to say, “I hope you don’t mind but I asked for one of my physicians to do a check-up on your new body, I just want to be sure that everything is ok.”
“I see no problem in that,” said Volthoom before he asked, “do we do this here or we go somewhere else?”
“Well it would be better to do this using the proper facilities on the castle infirmary ward but we can do it here if you want Lord Volthoom,” said the doctor.
“If we are going to do this we better do this properly,” said Volthoom and after hearing this Phyllia’s horn started to glow with her multi-shaded brown aura.
“We better go then, I’m going to teleport us there,” said Phyllia and after they prepared they disappeared in a flash of light.
Infirmary ward, royal physician's office
They appeared in a flash of light, Phyllia, the nurses and the doctor was fine but Volthoom was so dizzy he almost fell if it wasn't for Phyllia holding him.
“Are you ok?” asked Phyllia.
“The inner ear of this body is not used to this kind of stress, it seems I will have to train this body after all,” said Volthoom.
“Just give him a moment Dr. Sciens,” said Phyllia.
After Volthoom recovered he saw Dr. Sciens motioning for him to sit on the examination table, he did so and looked around the clinic. The clinic was like any other on earth but the walls had runes on its corners, the equipment also had runes on them, to protect and sterilize them if he was not mistaken.
“Please lay down Lord Volthoom,” said the red nurse.
Volthoom did so and the doctor’s horn glowed blued as he scanned Volthoom's body.
“By the gods,” said Dr. Sciens in surprise.
“What? Is something wrong?” asked Phyllia with a worried tone.
“No nothing is wrong My Empress, it’s just that I have never seen anything like it before,” said Dr. Sciens.
“What you mean doctor?” asked Phyllia confused by the doctor's reaction.
“He is a healthy hermaphrodite changeling with all the organs functioning perfectly but he also has some extra organs, some of which I don’t recognize while others I can make an educated guess as to what they do, but my point is that his body is familiar yet alien,” explained the doctor.
“Indeed it’s alien, I recreated and integrated many biological components of many species that I had contact with through my travels, I did this to make sure that this body can survive very extreme conditions if needed,” said Volthoom as the nurses did more traditional exams on his body before collecting blood samples.
“It’s so fascinating, there is so much you could teach us,” said Dr Sciens to Volthoom before addressing to Phyllia by saying, “aside from that his body is similar to a nymph in development despite his size, at the current speed his body should be fully matured in six day,” said Dr Sciens.
“That’s more or less what he said to me, thank you Dr. Sciens,” said Phyllia.
“If you need anything else just ask Your Majesty,” said Dr. Sciens.
While Phyllia and Dr. Sciens were talking Volthoom sat up just as the nurses started to giggle and whisper to each other.
“What?” asked Volthoom curious about what the nurses were talking about.
“It’s nothing, we are just commenting that you would be a fine queen,” said the green nurse.
“That’s not surprising, The White Light of Life and The Elemental Forces of Life made sure that my body had as many attributes as possible, so the fact that I’m a fully functional and fertile hermaphrodite doesn’t surprise me, beats being made of energy,” said Volthoom.
“Was it that bad?” asked the red nurse.
“No, it was more dull than bad, it’s hard to explain, I was aware of my surroundings but didn’t feel them, instead of using my senses to perceive the world it was like seeing a picture or reading a book all the time. I knew of the warm breeze on my face but didn’t feel it, I knew of the soft grass beneath my feet but didn’t feel it,” said Volthoom.
“It sounds like a horrible way to live,” said the green nurse.
“Less like living and more like just existing,” said the red nurse.
“You have no idea how right you are,” Volthoom as he got up from the examining table just as Phyllia finished her talk with the doctor and approached Volthoom.
“Well, you are a very healthy queen in development, he recommends exercise for your body but he still curious about the extra organs and their function, so he wants to do another check-up after your body finishes developing,” said Phyllia.
“That is a wise decision,” said Volthoom.
“Ready to go back?” asked Phyllia while her horn started to glow and Volthoom nodded, so Phyllia teleported them back to her room.
Phyllia's room
As they reappeared in the room Volthoom wasn’t as affected as before, still a little dizzy though.
“Now we need to find you some clothes, do you have any preference?” asked Phyllia.
“No, but nothing too fancy since I promised to train a few of your warriors,” said Volthoom.
“That can wait, why not enjoy your new body?” asked Phyllia.
“Not only did I promise to train a few warriors to be lightsmiths but I also want to use this opportunity to train myself,” said Volthoom.
*Sigh* “When do you want to start?” asked Phyllia since knew that he would train anyway.
“Today after you have chosen how many warriors I will be training, we can do that after I get some clothes,” said Volthoom.
So Phyllia went into her closet to search for something for Volthoom to wear and while Phyllia was looking he thought about his current situation.
Changelings had an interesting biology and culture, unlike most species changelings could be anywhere between male and female and because of that their culture had no gender distinction when it comes to roles in their society and that’s only on their default form as they still have their shapeshifting powers to consider.
Changelings, unlike hive insects, were capable of producing offsprings, which they call nymph, with other changelings and even other species, they also could give birth to a baby from the species of the other parent.
The only exception was the changeling queens, they were always either female or hermaphrodite, that produced multiple changeling offsprings at once regardless of the father's species, but they can still father a baby of another species if they were hermaphrodites.
A changeling and a non-changeling with a healthy relationship could easily have a symbiotic existence, they didn't have to be a couple, the love and care of a friend were enough.
Because of that non-changelings were treated as equals in the Empire, the only reason they were starving was that the non-changelings were a small portion of the Empire’s population. The infiltrators, also known as collectors, that not only gathered emotional energy outside of the empire but also serve as spies on other nations managed to make things easier.
The official religion of the empire was one that worshipped Volthoom, that empowered him, which allowed him to increase the output of emotional energy and feed the empire. They do acknowledge and sometimes worshiped other gods but it was mostly with the non-changelings.
The two halves of the empire were ruled by a council of queens each and above them was the empress, but the empress only acted when there was an issue that affected the whole empire otherwise each queen could rule her hive as she pleased.
“Found it,” said Phyllia bringing Volthoom out his introspective analyses.
Phyllia was holding a simple white t-shirt and black capri pants that were just his size.
“Here you can use these while I commission a new wardrobe for you,” said Phyllia.
“Just remember that I’m a guy, mostly, so nothing too fancy,” said Volthoom as he put the clothes that Phyllia gave him.
“Ok,” said Phyllia but silently promised to herself to order a few fancy clothes for special occasions.
After he was dressed he looked himself in the mirror, he liked simple clothes and they were just perfect for training.
As Volthoom and Phyllia were seeing how his new clothes fit him the doors to her chambers were opened, the fact that whoever was on the other side didn’t knock means that it was one of the queens or a someone with an urgent message, it was the former, as Apis entered the room she saw Volthoom, which caused her to stop to take a good look at his new form and clothes.
“You look so cute,” said Apis as she hugged Volthoom, pressing his head against her chest while Phyllia just smiled at the scene.
“Thanks, I guess,” said Volthoom as he gently pushed himself away from Apis.
After getting out of the hug Volthoom did some katas to see how well he moved in these clothes and after a few punches and kicks that showed his incredible flexibility he nodded.
“Thanks for the clothes Phyllia,” said Volthoom.
“You are welcome,” said Phyllia.
“So what are your plans for the day?” asked Apis.
“Well, I need to check something before training. Do mind if I train in the courtyard afterward?” asked Volthoom.
“No I don’t mind, besides it will give me time to gather the warriors,” said Phyllia before she turned to face Apis and asked, “can you show him around?”
Apis nodded before motioning for Volthoom to follow.
“So, any particular place you want to visit first?” asked Apis as they left Phyllia’s room.
“Can you take me to the sacred pools?” asked Volthoom.
Apis guided Volthoom as they exited the city and headed south to the sacred pools.
When they arrived they saw a small lake filled with a black oil-like substance and in the middle of the lake was a small island with a single black tree with leaves of many colors.
“Here we are, those are the Sacred Pool of the South,” said Apis and Volthoom nodded while carefully looking that the tree.
“What do you know about that tree?” said Volthoom.
“Mother said that it was just a sapling when she found this place. The leaves of that tree produce emotional energy and is one of the factors that helped us survive this time of hardships,” said Apis.
“I see,” said Volthoom before he used his ring to fly near the tree when he got closer the tree glowed before a hole opened in its center. In there was a fragment of his former black ring.
Like the other fragments, it fused with the Phantom Ring in his horn and the Black Lantern symbol on his horn pulsed as the fragment darkened the ring and his skin. Once he had his fragment he flew back to the margin of the lake. Now there were only two pieces missing.
“Now we can go back,” said Volthoom to Apis.
“What was that all about?” asked Apis curious about what just happened.
“That tree is the source of that black substance and also it grew around the fragment of my Black Lantern Ring,” said Volthoom as they stopped when he saw a boulder.
“So you are saying that the pools come from the sacred tree and it grew because of the piece of your ring?” asked Apis just to make sure as she saw Volthoom pull back his arm before he punched the boulder.
“Pretty much,” said Volthoom as his fist broke the rock, cracks spread in all directions before it fell into pieces.
“Why did you punch that rock?” asked Apis.
“Just testing the muscles and bones. The bones are very durable since they took the properties of dragon bones, the muscles are not quite there yet and the skin still weak,” said Volthoom to both himself and to Apis while he lifted the hand he used to punch and it was bloody with the skin torn and bones exposed. Before Apis could panic the hand was engulfed in a chromatic flame, then it disappeared only to reveal that his hand was fine, so he added, “the phoenix regeneration seems to be functioning adequately.”
“You can regenerate like a phoenix?!” asked Apis alarmed after she came out of her panicked state.
“No, but I can heal almost any injury. Don't worry I won't suddenly burst into flames and become a pile of ashes,” said Volthoom in an almost teasing tone. That information was a relief, Apis really didn't want to be the one to explain to her mother why Volthoom turned into a pile of ashes.
“Out of curiosity, what are you capable of?” asked Apis as she and Volthoom resumed their walk toward the city.
“You mean this body or my powers in general?” asked Volthoom as he flexed his developing wings to get used to the new muscles.
“Both, I guess,” said Apis with a shrug.
“Ok, as you already know I have an energy/flame regeneration, that can if necessary recreate almost the entirety of this body barring completely destruction of all vital organs. My bones and muscles are as strong as that of a dragon and my reserves of magic can match an alicorn, unfortunately, I have yet to learn how to control it,” explained Volthoom.
“Wow, that's cool,” said Apis.
“And that's not even counting the extra organs that I incorporated into this design,” added Volthoom rather proudly and with a smile on his face, which showed his sharp fangs.
“Well, now I’m also curious,” commented Apis.
“Unfortunately most of these organs will only activate when this body is fully developed,” commented Volthoom before he continued the explanation of his power, “anyway, with this ring I can create hard light constructs, I just need to visualize them in my mind. The fuel is emotional energy and it gains different properties based on the emotions used, which is represented by different colors. It also provides life support and flight.”
“Is that why you glowed like a disco ball?” asked Apis while she tried not to laugh.
“Despite the way you described, yes that's why,” answered Volthoom disgruntled with the comparison, which caused Apis to giggle. After she had her fun he continued, “when you can use and combine all colors you can use white light that represents life, this gives the additional ability to control living matter –that's how I created this body by the way– and tap into the energy field that permeated all life, The Elemental Forces.”
“What's the difference between the Emotional Spectrum and The Elemental Forces?” asked Apis since she knew about the former since it was what fed all changelings, the metaphysical placed where emotions come from and was channelled through living beings, but she barely knew about the latter, all she knew was that it had great importance during the flutter ponies’ era.
“The E.S. permeate only life capable of feeling emotion, it’s more evident in sentient life capable of complex emotions and thoughts. The E.F. permeate all life and allows to connect and guide different types of life forms, a different elemental force for a type of life and ironically they also have colors as names. One example is The Green, the energy field that connects all plant life,” explained Volthoom and while he tried to shorten the explanation it still ended up a little lengthy.
“Like the flutter ponies and breezies’ connection to the Valley long ago,” said Apis with a look of realization and after she did some thinking she asked, “out of curiosity, what are The Elemental Forces? Aside from The Green, I mean.”
“Well, there is The Red connecting all of the animal life, The Blue connecting all aquatic life, The Gray connecting all fungal life, The Clear connecting all microbial life, The Metal connecting all inorganic life and The Black or The Rot that represents the lack of those force a.k.a. death. Some creatures may have a natural connection to multiple forces and all of those forces can be indifferent, hindered and/or helped by each other, which is represented by the interaction between living beings,” explained Volthoom but he saw that Apis was getting a little lost.
So Volthoom decided to finish his explanation just as they entered the city, “The Black and the Black Darkness of Death like The White –the combination of all elemental forces– and the White Light of Life are two opposites yet interconnected forces that have a place in both the Emotional Spectrum and The Elemental Forces.”
After Apis heard all of that information she started to think about the powers of the inhabitants of the Empire, most of their non-magical esoteric abilities could fall into one of these categories. So lost she was in her thoughts that she missed when they return to the palace.
Apis only came back to reality when she bumped into Volthoom and almost fell backward but Volthoom managed to catch her before she could hit the ground.
“Are you ok?” asked Volthoom as he held Apis in his arms and she just nodded while she looked into Volthoom's silver slitted eyes.
“Oh my,” said a voice not too far from them, they looked and saw Mili with Firefly on her right shoulder, Firefly was covering her mouth with her right hand and Mili was doing the same but with a look of mock surprise on her face.
“What mother would say if she saw one of her own daughters trying to seduce Lord Volthoom?” asked Mili overdramatically while Firefly fell from her shoulder as she laughed, but she instinctively used her wings to keep herself in the air.
“She would say to not hog him all to myself, to be nice and share,” said Apis as Volthoom helped her up, which caused Mili to pout at her younger sister's answer but otherwise didn't react.
“Anyway, mother sent us to tell you that the warriors are gathered in the courtyard,” said Mili to Volthoom, who nodded.
Mili and Apis motioned for Volthoom to follow and he took this opportunity to map the castle using his “sonar” after that was just a question of memory. They arrived in the courtyard after a few minutes and there were many warriors.
Volthoom could see changelings, ponies, diamond dogs, griffons, zebras, goats, minotaurs and even breezies in the group that was about to train.
“This is going to be fun,” said Volthoom.
Afternoon of the same day
Volthoom was panting, but he was much better than most recruits that were about to pass out. He was merciless both on the recruits and himself since he wouldn't make them do anything he wouldn't do. It was better this way, so he could weed out the weak ones.
Today it was just physical training with just two breaks for them to rest and eat, Volthoom had to make sure that their bodies could handle the stress of channeling huge loads of energy.
“Ok, that's enough for today. See you all tomorrow morning,” said Volthoom after he recovered his breath, he made sure to not use the Emotional Spectrum to refill his energy reserves since he wanted his body to adapt. The only response that Volthoom got was groans and moans of pain and exhaustion from the recruits. He was sure that by the end of the week the ones that haven't given up will be lightsmiths.
The courtyard was an area that was much like a park but it was closed off from the public and was between the castle and the barracks, also it was a place where the castle staff could come to relax and sometimes ogle the guards training. Seated on a bench was Phyllia as she waited for Volthoom, she was wearing a long, brown sleeveless dress with a floral pattern, when she saw that the training session was finished she offered a towel she brought with her and a bottle of water, which he accepted gladly.
“It reminds me of the days you trained the flutter ponies to be guardians of the Valley,” commented Phyllia since she saw most of the training.
“Yeah, but back then it was impossible for me to get tired. It might sound strange but I’m glad to be able to feel this soreness,” said Volthoom as he carefully flexed his right arm.
Phyllia smiled at his attitude, but then she looked at him more carefully, his body was slightly more muscular and he was a few inches taller.
“Did you just got taller?” asked Phyllia.
“Yeah, I going to be at least as tall as you by the end of the week,” said Volthoom confidently.
“Well then, I better enjoy being the taller one while I can,” said Phyllia before she leaned down and kissed Volthoom. After they explored each other's mouths a little bit they pulled back.
“Sorry about the dress,” said Volthoom as he noticed that his sweat was on the dress.
“Don't worry, besides it's the perfect excuse for us to take a bath together,” said Phyllia as she motioned for Volthoom to follow.
“I can't wait for that, it has been ages since I had a bath,” said Volthoom not bothered by how others could interpret this phrase out of context, which caused Phyllia to giggle.
“Bathhouse or my private bath?” asked Phyllia since changelings had no taboo when it comes to nudity, unlike most races on Equus who have at least some, so it wasn't uncommon for them to socialize in bathhouses.
“Might as well get to know the staff,” said Volthoom.
Phyllia then guided Volthoom through the castle until they reached the entrance of the bathhouse, once they entered the locker room between the entrance and the actual bath they took off their clothes and picked their bath towels.
The Empress teleported their clothes back to her –and now Volthoom's as well– room just they took a quick shower to remove most of the dirt and sweat before going to the areas where the baths were. Once he got there he was surprised to see most of the queens there, he saw Apis, Vesp, Arachne and Chrysalis.
However that wasn't all, with them were two other queens that he hadn't met personally yet, but he knew their names. Both had the familiar black skin of the changelings, one had a cream colored “corset”, eyes and neck length mane, she was slightly taller than the other queens, while the other had a pink colored “corset”, eyes and shoulder-length mane. It was Dana and Ophis respectively, two of the queens from the second council.
The bathhouse had pools of varying sizes to accommodate anything between a large group and a single individual. Around them were many other pools that were occupied by staff members on break, in a particularly big circular pool Apis, Vesp, Arachne, Chrysalis, Dana and Ophis were seated on that order clockwise.
As Volthoom and Phyllia got closer the queens were looking at Volthoom since it was the first time seeing him since his rebirth, except for Apis who saw him this morning.
“I didn't know you were a herm,” commented Apis.
Volthoom instead of answering slowly lowered himself into the water between Chrysalis and Dana, it was neither too hot or too cold it was just perfect.
*Sigh* “When was the last time I felt water against my skin?” asked Volthoom more to himself than the other.
“Don't worry dear, he just had a long day,” said Phyllia to Apis, who pouted at the fact she was ignored, as she sat between Chrysalis and Arachne before she turned to the two visitors and said, “Hello Dana, Ophis.”
“Hello mother,” said Dana.
“Hello grandmother,” said Ophis at the same time.
Dana was the oldest queen born from Phyllia and was intrigued by Volthoom since she was the only queen beside her mother that was a flutter pony at one point in time. Of course, she was just a filly back when she was converted but she met Volthoom once, his radiant form was among her oldest memories.
“Greetings Lord Volthoom,” said Dana, which caught Volthoom's attention because he felt a spike of nostalgia.
“Have we met before? Personally, I mean,” asked Volthoom as he looked at Dana.
“Yes we have, but I was just a filly back then. I was named Wind Rider,” said Dana.
When she said that name, memories of a green flutter pony filly accompanying Wind Drifter as she visited his temple few months before the fateful day he went to the north to confront Sombra.
Volthoom only knew about the queens because he observed the mindscape, but he refrained from searching memories unless it was truly necessary since he just had to wait for an opportunity to free himself he just kept himself informed about the goings of the world.
“You have grown little Rider,” said Volthoom as he placed his right hand on her cheek.
“It’s good to see you again Uncle Vol,” said Dana as she nuzzled his hand and called him by the nickname that most foals used when referring to him, then he let a little bit of love flow into Dana to show her he cared.
“Hey don't hog him all to yourself,” said Ophis from behind Dana.
“Sorry,” said Dana.
After that Ophis introduce herself, not that she needed, they spent time just talked and got to know each other better. They even asked for the servants to bring a tray of drinks for them to toast, but then Chrysalis requested a non-alcoholic drink.
“Why?” asked Vesp since Chrysalis was the type of person that liked a good glass of wine.
“I’m pregnant,” answered Chrysalis and soon after she was being congratulated by her sisters and niece while Phyllia requested non-alcoholic drinks for all of them. Because changelings were the type to have an open relationship it wasn't uncommon to have single parents but it was expected to at least to inform the other parent.
“You don't seem surprised,” said Chrysalis as she looked at Volthoom.
“White Light of Life remember. I can feel the life force of everything around me including the small sparks of the newly conceived brood inside you. I knew you were pregnant the day I was freed from my prison,” explained Volthoom.
“Oh yeah, sometimes I forget you can do that,” said Phyllia as she remembered a few times that foals tried to sneak up on Volthoom to surprise him. Then she remembered a fun fact so she turned to Dana and said, “incidentally he was the one that informed me I was pregnant with you.”
“Why you didn't say anything?” asked Ophis curiously while Dana didn't show much surprise at the information her mother shared.
“I only tell when I’m asked to,” answered Volthoom simply.
“Wait, you weren't pregnant when you went to your mission. Who is the father?” asked Arachne as she guessed that the father had to be an Equestrian.
“It's Shining Armor,” answered Chrysalis.
“That colt,” snorted Volthoom, which caught the attention of the others.
“Is something wrong?” asked Chrysalis a bit worried.
“No, it's just that he had so much potential but he didn't manage to live up to it, unlike his sister who is on the way to achieve said potential. It saddens me to see the bloodline of my friends waste its potential like this,” explained Volthoom.
“Who were your friends?” asked Chrysalis, she knew that Shining was powerful but to learn that he hadn't achieved his full potential was shocking. That meant that said potential was passed down to the brood she was carrying right now.
“Clover and Starswirl,” said Volthoom, much to the shock of the queens.
“I never knew that old Swirly had foals,” commented Phyllia since she remembered meeting the old unicorn and his apprentice when they accompanied the King and Queen in some visits to the Valley.
Moments later the drinks arrived, so they toasted to Chrysalis new brood. They spent the rest of the afternoon on the bathhouse, good thing that chitin didn't absorb water like skin, so they could stay for as long as they wanted without getting wrinkly. In fact, changelings could technically live underwater if they wanted.
“Do you wish to inform Shining Armor of this development?” asked Volthoom out of curiosity since Shining was an outsider and possible enemy.
“Only if the opportunity presents itself, otherwise don't waste time or resources. Besides he wasn't even that good, I don't know what that princess saw in him,” said Chrysalis as she remembered her time with Shining Armor. Despite being the Captain of the Royal Guard he could be such a nerd at times, she didn't know how Cadence put up with him.
Not long after most of them left the bath since they had other engagements today, that only left Volthoom, Phyllia, Dana and Ophis on the pool.
Phyllia just pulled Volthoom to her lap since she was bigger and hugged him from behind while she nuzzled his head with hers since she wanted to enjoy that for now. While Volthoom's right eyebrow twitched in annoyance at being handed like a child he let Phyllia have her fun, besides it was quite comfortable.
“So I hope you have been treating my mother well Uncle,” said Dana when she saw their interactions, she kinda expected that since she knew her mother really liked Volthoom, even back then.
“I’m kinda jealous that you found such a good mate grandmother,” said Ophis as she sat beside Phyllia, on the left side, while Dana approached her mother.
“Don't be jealous, you know that I don't mind sharing and I’m sure Volthoom won't mind either,” said Phyllia as she stopped nuzzling Volthoom to look at Ophis and Volthoom nodded.
After that, they relaxed for half an hour before they got out of the bath, dried themselves, said goodnight and teleported back to their rooms. When Volthoom arrived in the room that he now shared with Phyllia he just fell face first on the bed, feeling tired.
The bed shifted when Phyllia laid beside him and pulled him into a hug. Volthoom turned to face away from her and got comfortable while she hugged him from behind.
“Goodnight,” said Phyllia only to noticed that Volthoom was already asleep, so she closed her eyes as well.
Mindscape, Dreamscape
Phyllia opened her eyes and found herself looking at a beautiful city seemingly made of metal, stone and crystal that stretched as far as the eye could see.
She seemed to be on the top of a very tall tower as she looked at the pillars of green light that reached out into the skies.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” asked Volthoom behind Phyllia, while he may not have pleasant memories of Oa he had to admit it was still a sight to behold.
Phyllia just nodded without turning around as she continued to take these sight in.
“What is this place?” asked Phyllia as she turned to see Volthoom, who was in his changeling form, sitting on a green throne.
“This is Oa, home of the Green Lantern Corp,” said Volthoom.
When he saw the confused look on Phyllia's face he explained what the Green Lantern Corp was, which lead into a very lengthy explanation about the Lantern Corps in general, the Elemental Forces and many other aspects of the DC multiverse, all the while he changed the scenery to show her what he was explaining.
“Wow,” said Phyllia once again feeling like a filly in class.
“Ok enough of that, how about something more personal,” said Volthoom as he changed the scenery to a beach at night.
Volthoom laid in the sand and looked at the alien night sky while Phyllia did the same. They don't know for how long they laid there, but it didn't matter since time is relative in any Astral Realm/Plane, which included the Mindscape.
Eventually, Phyllia rolled over so she could straddle Volthoom and she placed her hands on his chest to keep him down.
“I'm so tempted to mate with you right here and now,” said Phyllia.
“If that's what you want, while I'm not against it I would like to wait until my body is fully developed and I want our first time to be in the Physical Realm/Plane,” said Volthoom.
Phyllia reluctantly nodded and laid her head on Volthoom's chest. In response, Volthoom just hugged her. After that Volthoom managed to convince Phyllia to get up and help him, so they spend their time perfecting his skills over magic, skills that were passable but lacking.
An unknown amount of time later their shared dream started to crumble.
Real World, next morning
Volthoom opened his eyes and saw the chocolate colored eyes, now he was facing Phyllia. Volthoom just gave a peck on the tip of her muzzle and she instinctively wiggled her nose and looked at its tip. It was cute, which caused Phyllia to just pout when she saw Volthoom's teasing smile. The Empress tried to keep a serious face but ended up just giggling.
“Good to see that some things stay the same,” said Volthoom as he remembered times in the Valley when he just felt like teasing Wind Drifter like these, she and Wind Rider would do the same face when he gently poked the tip of their noses. While Rider would just giggle, she was a foal, after all, Drifter would try and fail to keep a serious face and ended up giggling like her daughter.
Phyllia sighed but smiled, it was a silly habit but for some reason, it just made her happy. She held Volthoom's hand with hers and intertwined her fingers with his. She was about to relax when she noticed something strange, so she brought their hands into her field of vision.
Volthoom's hand kept his original number of fingers, while Phyllia had four fingers Volthoom had five. This caused her fingers to perfectly fit in-between his, although she liked the way their hands fitted like lock and key as well as the feeling of his hand enveloping hers, which reminded her of the days in the Valley.
After their introspection, they decided to get up and take a quick shower, while Volthoom went to the bathroom Phyllia went to the closet to pick a new set of clothes. When Volthoom returned after he dried himself with his towel and his long mane with a quick spell he saw a simple shirt and pants similar to the ones from yesterday.
“I assume you decided to postpone the request for my new wardrobe,” said Volthoom as he looked at the clothes that Phyllia left for him.
“Yeah, because you are going to grow and change over the week I thought it would be better to wait until then,” said Phyllia and Volthoom nodded before she went to the bathroom.
While Volthoom waited he decided to do something he should have done on the first day, he concentrated and not long after a familiar black sphere became visible in the center of his chest. Then he reached into it and pulled the Travel Lantern. After he saw that he could still access the Lantern without trouble he stored it back inside before the black sphere disappeared. Maybe he could try dimensional travel at a later date.
After that he decided to test another thing, he concentrated again and his body was engulfed by a chromatic flame before it disappeared showing his original human-like form. He stood before the mirror to inspect his form, he noted that shapeshifting was not that different from shaping constructs in his mind before the materialization, the principle was the same but applied to his own body.
Volthoom repeated the process to test his shapeshifting powers, he changed his form to that of a griffon, a zebra, a diamond dog, a horse and a pony of either gender. To push himself further he changed himself into many similar sized alien species from his memories, which were a lot. Then he decided to do one final test, so he returned to his changeling form before he assumed the form of a breezie, he noticed that the size difference impacted on his reserves of magic, so he went back to his changeling form.
“You are pretty good with shapeshifting. It normally takes years for changelings to reach this level of detail and very few have the concentration and magic to compensate for the size difference,” said Phyllia as she entered the room with a towel around her mane, she liked to take care of her mane in the traditional way.
“It's not that different from making constructs,” said Volthoom as he turned to face Phyllia, who sat on a chair in front of a vanity mirror.
“I see,” said Phyllia as she started to use a brush she took from one of the drawers on her mane. Volthoom then approached her after he put on his pants.
“Please allow me,” said Volthoom as he mentioned for her to give the brush. Phyllia gave him the brush and he started to brush her mane. Not long after he finished brushing her mane he gave back the brush to Phyllia and she put it in front of the mirror. Volthoom out of curiosity picked a few strands of Phyllia's mane and sniffed it.
“Oh, having naughty ideas?” asked Phyllia coyly while Volthoom noticed that Phyllia's mane was actually a combination of many shades of brown.
“Nothing like that. Your mane, eyes and chitin remind me of chocolate, even the different shades on your mane remind me of different types of chocolate and I like chocolate very much. At least I remember that I like chocolate,” said Volthoom, the last phrase more to himself than Phyllia.
“At least I know now that I look delicious to you,” said Phyllia as she looked into Volthoom's silver eyes that were reflected in the mirror. He leaned down, hugged her from behind while he rested his head on her right shoulder and nuzzled her a little bit.
“It’s ironic if you think about it,” said Volthoom with a thoughtful look.
“What?” asked Phyllia as she nuzzled Volthoom back.
“Almost universally, changelings are considered deceitful parasites, but with our empathic and telepathic abilities plus the hivemind it's almost impossible for changelings to deceive one another,” explained Volthoom.
“Yeah, it's quite a dichotomy isn't? Their ideas and the reality about us,” said Phyllia and Volthoom just nodded. They enjoyed the comfortable silence and each other's company.
The moment was interrupted by the sound of the double door opening followed by the sound of two pairs of hooves.
“Oh my,” said a voice that Volthoom didn't recognize.
Volthoom looked behind him and saw the closing door, in front of the door was Chrysalis holding a young nymph, she looked about 4 years old, she was very similar to Chrysalis but with a lighter shade of green. Beside the queen was a 5ft 6in young adult, it appeared to be male but much like Volthoom had an androgynous figure, but while Volthoom's figure leaned more toward the female end of the spectrum, his was more neutral, he had a very short dark green mane in the form of a buzz cut and green slitted eyes.
Volthoom didn't care about the compromise position he was in, actually, he quite liked the effect he was having on the blushing young adult since he had quite a round ass and wide hips, so he was giving quite a show to the visitors. While Chrysalis had a teasing smile the young nymph looked around confused.
“While I appreciate the show, we just came to wish good morning for my mother,” said Chrysalis just as Volthoom let go of Phyllia, who got up, smile and approached the trio.
“Hello Pupa,” said Phyllia to the young nymph, who reached out for Phyllia, so the Empress picked the nymph.
“Morning, granny,” said Pupa as she hugged Phyllia and looked at Volthoom curiously.
“Pupa, Thorax please introduce yourselves to Lord Volthoom,” said Chrysalis get the attention of the two changelings.
“It's an honor to meet you Lord Volthoom, I’m Prince Thorax,” said the young adult before he bowed to show respect.
“Hi! I’m Pupari… Pupar… Prince Pupa,” said Pupa, who tried to pronounce her full name.
“Her name is Puparium,” said Phyllia as she sat on the bed with Pupa on her lap.
“Yeah that, thanks, granny,” said Pupa.
“Hello my name is Volthoom,” said Volthoom as he sat beside Phyllia and looked at the little prince.
That was an interesting quirk of changeling culture because gender was optional for changelings many gender-specific words lost their purpose. One such example was “princess” and “prince” since the former came from the latter it was easier for them to just use the prince for every young royal.
The use of more female-oriented words such as “queen” and “empress” were remnants of the language of the flutter ponies, but these and their male counterparts were considered synonymous as far as the changelings were concerned. Aside from those two, every other rank below queen was the “male” form used as a unisex title.
Princes were the ones that would take the place of a queen if she died, the birth of a prince was a rare event, there was no more than two possible successors per hives. The only exception was the imperial hive that didn't have a clear successor since one of the queens would take the place of the Empress, besides any prince born on the imperial hive would eventually become a queen later and start their own hive –one of the reasons why Phyllia rarely had children nowadays–, but all royals are ageless.
A prince would become a queen regardless of its previous gender, a gender that had no bearing in the title, but such a succession to this day only happened once, when a dragon attacked a town on the edge of the Empire and Queen Thysania was killed defending her hive. Needless to say that Phyllia killed the severely injured dragon and demanded compensation from the Dragon Lord Torch. From that day onward dragons learned to never underestimate a changeling, especially a queen.
“You are pretty,” said Pupa as she looked at Volthoom silver hair and eyes while Chrysalis and Thorax sat on nearby chairs.
“Thank you little one, you can call me uncle Vol if you like,” said Volthoom as he placed his hand on her head and gave her a bit of energy after he ruffled her mane a bit, which cause Pupa to giggle because she tasted many positive emotions.
“I like him,” said Pupa as she looked at Phyllia, who instead of answering just learned on Volthoom's shoulder and also noted that now he was almost the same height as her. Pupa looked at the two when suddenly she had a look of realization and asked, “Is he your mate?”
“You're so cute,” said Volthoom while Phyllia just nodded to Pupa but also agreed with Volthoom.
“I’m not,” said Pupa as she pouted and tried to be serious, which made her look cuter. Volthoom just started to gently scratch behind her ear, eventually, she gave in and started to laugh. So she jumped on Volthoom's chest as he fell backward, “wrestling” –more like tickling– the little prince.
The others just looked at the scene and smiled, then Volthoom stopped when he felt a small wave of happiness and remembered of the other two visitors. So he sat up and made sure Pupa was comfortable on his lap.
“While I don't mind a visit, why did you come here this early?” said Volthoom as he gently scratched Pupa’s ears, who decided to just accept the gesture and relax.
“Well, if you don't mind, I have a request,” said Chrysalis and Volthoom nodded. So she got up, walked behind Thorax before she placed her hands on the shoulders of the prince and asked Volthoom, “I want you to train him.”
That surprised the prince in question and Phyllia while Volthoom just raised an eyebrow and silently asked to elaborate.
“He has always been rather shy and meek, even for a prince. I want him to be more assertive,” said Chrysalis as Thorax shifted uncomfortably because he was the center of attention, which caused Chrysalis to sigh.
Instead of answering Volthoom looked at Thorax, he made sure to observe the prince beyond just the physical realm. After a while, his horn glowed with a chromatic kaleidoscopic aura before a silver ring materialized near his horn and it shot toward Thorax, but stopped and floated in front of the prince.
“Put this ring on, I just want to confirm something,” said Volthoom while Thorax looked at the ring with a bit of apprehension but decided to trust him. When the ring was on his finger it shifted through many colors before it settled on a combination of indigo and violet, so Volthoom added, “Just as I suspected. He has a very powerful affinity with Compassion and Love. He would make a fine guardian and light smith, he can join the training but that's for him to decide.”
That actually surprised Chrysalis who didn't know about the hidden potential in her son while Pupa looked at her big brother with stars in her eyes, she didn't understand the specifics but she understood that her brother was going to do a super cool training.
Thorax looked at the ring for the first time in his life saw what he was capable and he thought about his duty as a prince. So with newfound determination, which causes a hint of green to appear on his ring, he said, “I would be honored to join the lightsmith training.”
“Does this means big bro get cool powers?” asked Pupa, which caused the others to smile at her innocence.
“By the way have you told Pupa she is going to be a big sister?” asked Phyllia as she remembered yesterday's events.
“I’m going to be a big sister?!” shouted Pupa excitedly almost jumping of Volthoom's lap.
“Oh dear,” said Chrysalis to herself.
Late afternoon of that day
Volthoom was going through the last exercise of today’s training, which wasn't as physically demanding as yesterday since they focused more on the mental aspects. Volthoom gave a training ring to each recruit to practice how to make and use constructs. Similar to the ring he gave Thorax this morning, a construct shaped ring with limited charge.
Much like Chrysalis, the other queens wanted the older princes to join as well, Volthoom didn't reject them but made it clear that it was their decision, not their mothers'. In the end, not all of them joined.
There were currently ten princes in the Empire, five of which were too young to train. From the five remaining four joined the training, Thorax included. The four princes that joined were in the front row while each recruit, princes included, had to use their ring as they tried to maintain simple 3D shapes orbiting around them while they were doing some katas. The goal of this exercise was to keep a clear visualization while fighting.
Ironically the most successful of the princes was Thorax, his introverted personality allowed him to develop his visualization skills further, but he was having more trouble with the physical aspect of the exercise.
Besides the oldest prince from Chrysalis’ hive, on his right, was the oldest prince of the Empire, currently, and the first prince of Dana’s hive, Prince Hedy. She was a bit taller than Thorax, being 6ft tall, had a modest figure but a very athletic physique, her light yellow mane was tied into a ponytail while her eyes of the same color were focused on the task at hand.
Hedy was the second most adept when it comes to keeping the shape and integrity of constructs, no surprise since she had more time to develop that particular set of skills compared to the other. Physically she was the second most gifted, again because of time and dedication.
Beside Hedy, on her right, was her brother and the second prince of Dana’s hive, Lyca. He was the same height as Hedy, had a slender and athletic physique, short mane and eyes that were a shade darker than his mother. He was the most physically gifted of the four princes in training, but he was the third when it came to visualization.
Beside Lyca was the last prince in training, Ambly the eldest prince of Arachne's hive, she was very similar to Thorax having androgynous but also somewhat tomboyish figure, having hair and eyes a shade lighter than her mother, so she was somewhere between magenta and deep red, she was the youngest of the four.
That, unfortunately, had the side effect of her having the least developed skill set, both physical and mental, but she was highly competitive and wouldn't let the fact she was younger stop her. She has a one-sided rivalry with Thorax, courtesy of her mother’s rivalry with Chrysalis.
As they finished the katas Volthoom's connection to the plants –the few that existed on the desert on the surface– through The Green told him that the sun was setting, so he looked up and saw the light on the cave’s ceiling that partially simulated the sky outside become dimmer. So he dispelled the training rings and ended the exercise.
“That will be all for today. If everything goes according to the schedule you will forge your own focus by the end of the week. See you all tomorrow,” said Volthoom as he projected his voice with the help of magic.
The recruits then left, some going to the barracks and some went to the city. The princes remained in the courtyard and went to the queens that were observing, today all royal were present –all the queens and princes plus Phyllia. Aside from the ones he already met personally Volthoom saw the two queens he had yet to meet.
Mantis was the shortest of the queens being 7ft tall, beside her familiar black skin she had teal colored eyes, “corset” and a somewhat messy long mohawk, but her most noticeable was the serrated scythe-like blade on the end of her tail. And Cepha was a normal looking queen, but her skin seemed shinier, her tail was smoother and it ended in two half-moon blades back to back, she had gray eyes, gray “corset” and gray mane that reached the base of her tail and was decorated with small rings made of coral, but the most noticeable thing about her was that wore a pair of glasses with a red frame giving her a more “cute nerdy girl” vibe. The fact that she was reading a book only helped that image.
Out of all the hives Cepha’s was one of the two that was located in the coast of the continent the other being Iso’s, so changelings that lived in these hives adapted to live partially on the water. Cepha's hive was located on the west coast while Iso’s was in the east. They even had contact with the two underwater kingdoms that existed on these oceans.
Not far from Queens were the younger princes, they were around Pupa’s age, so they were either playing or just watching the training. Much like Pupa, the others were younger versions of the queens but with different colors since their unique features would only appear when they reach adulthood.
Poly was Mili’s only child and she had an amethyst color. Remi was Cepha’s only child and he had a gray color a shade lighter than his mother. Thely was Arachne's second child, Amby’s younger sister and she had magenta color. Acan was Mantis’ second child and he had an indigo color.
Watching over the younger princes was Sibylla or Siby for short, the prince who declined to joy the training, she was older than Amby but wasn't as proactive as the younger prince, she still took her duty as prince seriously though. She had a cyan colored mane, eyes and “corset”, similar to Mantis, she also had a modest and elegant figure and also like her mother she had a scythe-like blade on her tail's end.
Today like most days all of them were wearing casual clothes since they didn't have any duties to attend to. Volthoom noted that a guard was informing Phyllia of something as he approached the group followed by the princes that were training.
As they approached the ground the younger siblings immediately went to speak with their older siblings/cousins. While they were having their fun Volthoom went to speak with Phyllia, who seemed to be troubled by something.
“What's wrong?” asked Volthoom when he noticed a worried looked not only on Phyllia but also on the other Queens as well.
“We just received information that something is affecting the changelings and the doctors can't explain it,” said Phyllia with a worried tone as she offered a bottle of water to Volthoom.
“Can you describe it?” asked Volthoom having his suspicions.
“Changelings all over the Empire are experiencing some changes on their bodies, but it's only apparent in their default form. Although these changes don't seem to present any health hazard, so the possibility of being a disease isn't very likely. Either way, we are unsure it means,” explained Cepha as she closed her book and looked at Volthoom before adjusting her glasses.
“Could you be more specific? I may have an idea of what is going on,” asked Volthoom hoping he was right while he opened the bottle.
“Um, the color of the chitin and sometimes the eyes are changing, their horns are either changing shape slightly and/or they have new ones growing and their wing seems to be changing shape as well. All these changes are occurring at a steady pace, but the speed seems to vary from individual to individual,” explained Cepha once again adjusting her glasses.
“Volthoom, do you know what's going on?” asked Chrysalis worried especially because of her condition.
“Yes I know, don't worry it’s nothing serious. Actually, I surprised that this didn't happen sooner,” said Volthoom before drinking some water from the bottle.
“Uncle, please tell us, we need to know what is going on. We need to calm the citizens down,” asked Dana.
“Very well, but I think it's better to explain this to a doctor as well, so he or she can be informed,” said Volthoom.
“We can speak of this in Dr. Sciens’ office,” suggested Arachne and the others nodded in agreement.
“Hedy! Lyca! We are going to visit Dr. Sciens, you two watch over your cousins while we are away!” shouted Dana to her children, who were playing with some of the younger ones and were a fair distance from the queens. But she and her fellow Queens thought it was better to let their children play and/or relax in this closed park for a while, besides they could teleport if needed.
“Ok!!” shouted Hedy and Lyca having heard their mother.
With that done all the Queens and Volthoom left the courtyard and went to Sciens’ office, it was a rare occasion, to have all ten Queens and the Empress in one place. They reached the office without trouble, so Phyllia knocked on the door. One of the nurses opened the door, she was startled when she saw the group, but she took a deep breath and managed to calm down.
“Your Majesties,” said the red nurse as she stepped aside and bowed.
“Hello Mary, there is no need to bow. By the way is Dr. Sciens in?” asked Phyllia as she and the other entered the waiting room of the private clinic of the castle.
“Yes but he is busy right now,” said Mary with an unsure look, she had a duty as a nurse but she didn't want to keep the royals waiting.
“Is he with a patient right now?” asked Chrysalis.
“Yes, I hope you understand,” said Mary nervously.
“Oh Mary, you know we don't mind waiting,” said Apis reassuring the nurse.
“Yeah, besides it's admirable that Sciens take his duty as a doctor seriously regardless of our status,” said Vesp agreeing with her younger sister.
“Where is Maya?” asked Arachne not seeing the other nurse.
Mary shifted and fidgeted nervously at the attention but she remained quiet.
“She is the patient with Dr. Sciens, isn't she?” asked Volthoom but it was more of a confirmation than a question since he could feel Maya’s life force on the clinic near the doctor. Not longer after Volthoom said that the door of the clinic opened, then the doctor and the nurse came out.
Maya was slightly different, her chitin was dark green instead of black, her eyes and mane were gaining hints of cherry, her horn was a light yellow –interestingly another possible color for cherries– and the blade on her tail now has an almost metallic green. Sciens on the other hand just had a hint of blue on his chitin while it was a shade lighter.
“Your Majesties,” said Sciens and Maya at the same time while before the doctor continued, “I apologize for the delay but a patient takes priority.”
“It's ok Doctor, we actually came here because Volthoom may know what’s going on,” said Phyllia much to the surprise of the doctor and the nurses.
“I just need to confirm a few things first, do you mind answering one question?” asked Volthoom and after a few moments later Sciens, Maya and Mary nodded. Then Volthoom asked, “Since my return, have any of you felt as hungry as before the wave of energy engulfed the Empire?”
All the changelings stop to think about the question, while they felt hunger it was never as bad as before Volthoom's return, some changelings even managed to stay the last two days without feeding. The doctor seemed realized first that the changes started when Volthoom was released.
“It seems you figured out. Those changes were meant to happen sooner or later,” said Volthoom with a smirk.
“I don't get,” said Ophis as she tilted her head slightly.
*Sigh* “He means that he is partially responsible for those changes,” said Dana as she too realized when the changes started.
“Not exactly, my return just triggered the metamorphosis,” clarified Volthoom.
“‘Metamorphosis’? What do you mean by that Lord Volthoom?” asked Cepha as she adjusted her glasses.
“When you and the flutter ponies became the changelings the transformation was incomplete. To complete the transition it was necessary for you to consume a great deal of energy not unlike a caterpillar before becoming a butterfly, the changelings as they are now are chrysalises. That was the reason for that ravenous hunger from before, it was just your bodies trying to get the energy they needed,” explained Volthoom and got the attention of Chrysalis. Both of them noted the irony of this analogy.
“So all changelings will go through these metamorphoses?” asked Mantis as she pondered how this might affect the Empire.
“Yes, but some changes might be just internal and/or almost unnoticeable. Once the metamorphosis is complete then the subsequent generations will be born already ‘complete’, so you don't have to worry about this happening again,” explained Volthoom.
The ones present felt relieved that it wasn't as serious as they suspected, after clarifying a few more details about the metamorphosis they Phyllia went with the doctor to announce what they learned to the rest of the Empire.
“Since we are all here, I need a favor,” said Volthoom since he figured that it was best to ask now since the queens of the second council were present.
“What do you need?” asked Apis, Vesp and Ophis at the same time before childishly glaring at each other, which caused the older ones to sigh at the antics of the three youngest queens.
“I need to go to the Sacred Pool of the West, so I think it would be better if I went with a queen of the second council,” said Volthoom, which caused Ophis to celebrate with a little dance while Apis and Vesp pouted.
“Well, we better get to our hives to make sure everything is ok,” said Dana as she Cepha, Mantis and Ophis got up and went back to the park to pick their children.
“Don't worry, tell Phyllia I will be back later tonight,” said Volthoom as he got up and follow the queens the exited the clinic.
“Well, we better get our kids as well,” said Arachne and the others agreed. Soon only the nurses were left on the clinic and since it was getting late and the doctor would be busy explaining the details he learned from Volthoom to the Empire the two decided to close for the day and go to their home.
After leaving the clinic the queens went back to the park to pick their children, except for Apis and Vesp who went to their homes while Iso just went to help Chrysalis with Pupa and Ophis went because she was just accompanying her aunts to get her cousins.
Once there everyone left the park to their respective homes, Dana and Cepha did a teleportation spell to teleport their group back to the Western Capital of the Empire. They appeared on the second biggest city of the Changeling Empire, it had a more modern look than the main Capital in the south.
The city was located beneath a small desert with a fortress on the surface acting as a military outpost, it was also where most species and kingdoms in the world think that the entirety of the “Changeling Kingdom” was located. That created the illusion of a far smaller and less powerful country on the outside.
“Ok, we better go home. See you later,” said Dana as she, Hedy and Lyca went to their home, their own section of the tallest tower, which was the place where all four of the queens lived.
“Yeah, we better go as well,” said Mantis as she, Siby and Acan went to the skyscraper palace as well.
“Ok, if anyone needs me I will be with a friend on the seaside,” said Cepha as she and Remi went in another direction, west to be exact toward the coast.
“See you tomorrow then. Bye!” shouted Ophis as she waved her right arm to Cepha and Remi, then Remi waved excitedly at his cousin.
After that only Ophis and Volthoom were left, so she motioned for him to follow her as she went in the opposite direction of Cepha, toward the continent and going deeper into the cave.
As the pink queen and Volthoom went past the edge of the city into a path similar to the one in the south and soon they reached a similar lake with a similar island with a similar tree.
“Beautiful, isn't it?” asked Ophis.
“Indeed,” said Volthoom as he looked at the tree that was similar yet different from the one in the south. While one in the south looked like a silk tree this one looked like an oak tree, but the difference was more than superficial since the energy flow was far different.
“Why do you need to come here anyway?” asked Ophis as she looked at the luminescent multi-colored leaves of the tree.
“I assume you were informed of the origin of the trees, both the one here and the one in the south,” said Volthoom and Ophis nodded.
Volthoom decided to test his wings so he flexed the muscles on his back, which caused his wings to beat rapidly making a distinct buzzing sound. With some effort he reached the island, then he touched the tree and like the other one from before it opened itself. There he saw the fragment of his ring, which was absorbed like the others and darken the Phantom Ring and his skin further.
“Four down, one to go,” said Volthoom to himself.
“What?! I can't hear you!” shouted Ophis when she thought she heard Volthoom.
Volthoom changed over the course of the last few days, his body had fully developed, his body technically was that of a queen but he preferred to be addressed as male, except when he felt like taking a female form –the advantages of being a shapeshifter– his skin was dark gray almost black now, a effect of absorbing almost all the pieces of his broken Black Ring, now only one piece remained.
The default form of the Spectrum's acolyte was that of a dark gray 10ft tall changeling with a female looking but still androgynous figure, flat chest and wide hips, he had a muscular yet slender body since he trained constantly, but he could assume a more female or male form if he wanted. Also, he had his mane in a ponytail and was wearing a light gray shirt and long blue workout pants.
But Volthoom also had many unique features. His “corset” and back had thin glowing lines that constantly shifted colors, but he could control its intensity and colors; thin elytrons over his longer and wider but foldable wings giving him a wingless look with a dull silver back; his tail was probably around one and a half times his height and ending in two small arrow-like blades with a slit in the middle separated by a small gap, the blades themselves seemed to be a strange combination of glass and metal that was silver in color, that same silver that was present on his hands and hooves before fading into the almost black halfway through his arms.
Volthoom was in the courtyard doing some katas, in front of him were many rows of warriors of many species that were chosen to train with him, all of them doing the same katas as Volthoom. Most of the changelings that trained to be lightsmiths underwent their metamorphoses quicker and were fully turned by now. Since the hunger was an attempted of their bodies to evolve, but they never manage to gather enough energy. However when Volthoom came back and flooded the Empire with more than enough energy to feed its population of changelings that changed.
Something noticeable about all those that were training was the fact that they had rings with the symbol of the Phantom Corp on them. These were modified replicas of the Phantom Ring since all of them are lightsmiths in training, capable of tapping on two or three colors at the same time, the difference was that these rings didn't have an additional charge and needed to be fuelled by the user channeling energy through their bodies.
Volthoom believed that they were ready for him to guide them through the process of creating their own focus/conduit of the Emotional Spectrum. They wouldn't be as powerful as Volthoom’s or even a Lantern from DC Universe, but they would still be very powerful and used by the elite of the Imperial Army. After a few more sequences they stopped.
“That will be all for today,” said Volthoom much to the surprise of his students as he dispelled the training rings before he announced, “today is the day you will forge your own focus, so here is what you will do: First, you will go to one of the Sacred Trees and pick one of its leaves, but you can only pick one and you can only do so with the tree you had a stronger connection, otherwise your focus will be weak; Second, once you have the leaf head to my personal workshop located on the southwest region of the Empire. You are dismissed!”
The lightsmiths in training bowed and left to accomplish their task, so Volthoom went to the bench were Phyllia sat every day. There she was with Apis, Vesp, Ophis and Iso, the other queens were probably spending time with their younger children since the ones training were old enough to be left alone. Then the Empress gave a bottle of water and a towel like she did every day since Volthoom started training, but unlike before she had a thoughtful look on her face.
“Are you sure that they are ready?” asked Iso as she saw her nieces and nephews leave with the other recruits to accomplish their task.
Looking at Iso it was possible to see the changes she underwent –and probably was still going through– since now her chitin was a deep blue; her horn didn't change color staying the same black, but it became longer and more jagged like a tree branch; two more horns were growing beside the original, one above each eyebrow and now they were about a third of her original horn's size; her ears were longer, blended well with her long shoulder length hair and were holding her mane in a ponytail; her wings were as long as she was tall –her height didn’t change so far– and her tail became slightly thicker.
“Not all of them, but the tree will not give up a leaf to those that are not ready,” said Volthoom as he opened the bottle of water and drank its contents before he teleported it to the nearest trash bin.
“Oooooh, so devious,” said Apis in a teasing tone as she got up and walked around Volthoom inspecting his fully developed body. Only to trip almost fall, but she was by Volthoom when he put his right arm around her waist.
Unlike Iso Apis already finished her metamorphosis, now she was taller being 8ft 6in and the second tallest queen –much to her delight since she was the youngest queen, even younger them her niece, Ophis– and one of the more unique; her horn didn't change just as her skin remained black; her ears, on the other hand, became longer like Iso’s, but hers were hanging in front of her much like the feelers of a bee.
But Apis was part of the group the underwent very drastic changes in a small amount of time. It was evident by the many yellow stripes all over her body in an almost floral pattern; the thin blade of her tail became like a needle, the tail itself became slightly thicker than her hips on its middle and had yellow rings around its length; around the base of her neck she had a very fluffy collar of black and yellow fur like plumose that was open on the front and equally fluffy "cuffs" on her wrists and ankles; all of that only made her semblance of a honeybee even stronger.
“Thanks for the save,” said Apis still not used to her proportions.
“No problem my little bee,” said Volthoom as he smiled while using the nickname he came up for her, which caused her to blush. The sweat on his skin giving it a shinier look and the towel around his neck just gave him a more athletic look in her eyes.
“Eeeeehh, that not fair. I want some attention too,” said Vesp as she got up and hugged Volthoom's left arm, pressing it against her breasts, which he noted had gotten bigger.
Even before the changes, Vesp was the closest to Apis and if wasn't for the fact he knew they were born four years apart –the smallest age gap between two queens by the way– he would have thought that they were twins. The fact that she underwent changes similar to Apis’ wasn't a surprise either.
Vesp was now 8ft 5in tall; like Apis her horn didn't change, but her skin became a dark gray similar to Volthoom's; her ears became longer like Apis and Iso’s, but she let them hang like Apis’; also like Apis she gained stripes, but hers were orange and more jagged; also like her younger sister her tail became thicker on its middle with a retractable stinger on its end, but unlike Apis she seemed to have interlock half rings on the length of her tail, which caused a zigzag pattern to form on its sides and she also had the same fur collar and cuffs, but orange and dark gray instead, all in all, she now resembled her namesake just like Apis resembled hers.
The only way the resemblance to their namesakes become even more apparent was if they closed their second eyelids, which became black and would stand out against the colored lines around their eyes. Both of them also had two pairs of wings that resembled their respective namesakes. Nowadays they were quite fond of showing off their colorful chitin, so they either use very short strapless tops or no top at all –today they were using the former to not distract the recruits too much, but they have to learn to ignore distractions anyway.
Whatever Volthoom was about to say was interrupted by the wave of “bittersweet” mixture of many feelings coming from Phyllia and Ophis. So far neither of them underwent any visible change, but that can change at a later date. The two colorful queens noted the seriousness on Volthoom's face when they looked at where he was looking and they saw their mother and niece looking at the distance without focusing on anything in particular.
Vesp let go of Volthoom, approached her niece while being careful not to trip and sat beside her on the bench. Apis instead knelt in front of her mother after Volthoom let go of her. And Iso, who was sitting beside her mother, hugged her.
“What's wrong?” asked Vesp to Ophis and Apis to Phyllia.
Ophis just looked at Vesp and just leaned on the shoulder of her aunt while Phyllia just sighed and just caressed the head of the youngest Queen being mindful of her sensitive feelers.
“Nothing is wrong my child. It's just that today is her anniversary,” said Phyllia and at first Apis was confused but then she remembered the previous years when her mother and niece would have their eyes full of longing.
Suddenly Apis and Vesp had a look of realization, they were so excited with Volthoom's return and the lightsmith training that they forgot that today was the anniversary of Thysania's death. It pained the sisters to see their mother and niece like this but they never knew Thysania since she died two centuries ago, almost a century before Vesp was born.
“Do you want me to accompany you two? Thysania's resting place is not too far from the tunnel that leads to my workshop,” asked Volthoom.
“There is no need to do that. You have to finish the training of the lightsmiths,” said Phyllia as she looked at Volthoom.
“I will be in my workshop then,” said Volthoom before his horn glowed with a teleportation spell and Phyllia nodded, so Volthoom left Phyllia and Ophis with Iso, Vesp and Apis.
Volthoom's workshop in the southwest region of the Empire
Volthoom appeared in a flash of light in one of the deepest parts of the Empire’s underground network, behind him was a tunnel that led the main network and back to the Empire, but in front of him was his workshop.
This wasn't a normal forge, this was a place where Volthoom forged many components for the inventions that he had been introducing to the Empire. It was easy since they already developed a degree of magitek. The magma had many magical properties that helped him shape the crystals charged with the energy of the Emotional Spectrum. Because of that, this place was ideal to forge a focus for a lightsmith. So he entered the ancient facility that was carved into the stone.
This place existed long before the Empire, actually longer than recorded history. Volthoom theorized that it belonged to a lost civilization, from what he could read from the rocks something happened that destroyed whatever advanced civilization and either made the current species of the world regress to the stone age or completely wiped them out and allowed the current species to flourish. He could only guess what happened during and before this "Great Cataclysm".
Anyway, while Volthoom was inside the facility he reached his forge, in here there was many anvils and tools for forging, the forge itself was open and near a cliff, it was possible to see the river of magma below and the natural ceiling of the cave. So he just pulled a chair, sat on it and waited for someone to arrive not bothered by the intense heat.
It didn't take more than half an hour for Volthoom to sense that presence of the first group of soon to be lightsmiths arrive at the entrance of the cave, probably via teleportation. He looked at the open and waited for them to find this place, being able to sense the energy in the environment and use that to find him and his forge was also part the test.
The first two to arrive about a minute later was Prince Thorax and Prince Ambly, no surprise since they were closer to the Sacred Tree of the South. Not far behind were a small group of warriors, among the ground one of the warriors approached Volthoom and bowed.
“I'm sorry master! I wasn't able to get a leaf, I failed you,” said the warrior, a normal male changeling without visible changes in light yellow training clothes with magenta eyes and mane in a short mohawk.
“There is nothing to apologize for. Acquiring a leaf was a test, it only means that you just need further training. Don't feel ashamed of yourself not everyone can reach their potential quickly, it will simply take more time and dedication,” said Volthoom to the changeling warrior.
“Hai! I won't disappoint you,” said the warrior with renewed confidence.
“You are dismissed, but you can stay to watch the forging process,” said Volthoom and the warrior nodded, so Volthoom motioned to a chair in the back. As the warrior sat Volthoom got up and approached the group while observing the princes’ changes.
Prince Thorax already underwent his metamorphosis, now he was taller being 6ft 6in, he kept his androgynous figure, his chitin became deep green, his “corset” became wine colored, elytrons of the same color as his corset grew over his new foldable wings covering his back giving a wingless look like Volthoom, his second eyelid became dark rose colored and the segments of his longer tail alternate between deep green and wine colored rings ending in an almost see through glass like blade with a hint of orange that was also present on his hands, hooves and longer smoother curved horn before fading into the deep green of his torso.
Prince Ambly, on the other hand, was still undergoing her changes, she was now 6ft tall, her chitin was gaining hints of red, her horn didn't change shape but near its tip four extension came out with two pointing upward and two pointing downward giving it the look similar to an axe and half of a stylized spider, the same happened to the blade at the end of her longer tail.
The changelings of the group now had many different colors, some remained black, others had two shades of a single color, others had multiple colors, some kept their jagged horns, some became more jagged, some became smoother, some grew additional ones, a few had elytra and/or had their tail become more glass-like. All in all, the default forms of the changelings now showed greater variety and diversity than before.
“Just pick a hammer and place the leaf on the anvil. Before you start hammering the leaf and shape it into your focus you must have a clear image of its form. You could make something small like the rings we used so far or some other form of jewelry. You could make your focus an item or a weapon, so you need to make it into a small component to embed on the chosen item,” explained Volthoom as he showed a small button-like object being affixed on the end of a staff as an example.
“Or you could have your focus embedded into your body making it almost impossible to lose it,” said Volthoom while he tapped at the ring embedded in the base of his horn before he added, “but be warned, the last option can be quite painful.”
All warriors nodded, Ambly being the eager one picked a hammer and brought down on the leaf placed on the anvil, but a shockwave of energy pushed her back and shredded her training clothes. The hammer she was holding was sent flying, but luckily Volthoom caught it.
“Let me finish! To reshape the leaf you must pour all your energy into the hammer before striking the leaf. If you don't do that the leaf will resist. If you falter and your resolve waver all progress will be lost and you might even die from either the feedback or exhaustion,” said Volthoom as he offered a blacksmith apron to Amby.
While there was a hint of fear in their eyes their resolve didn't waver, which was good since more often than not if the resolve of lightsmith waver it meant death. Volthoom wasn't being needlessly cruel, a lightsmith must stand even in the face of the inevitable. To get the leaf meant that their bodies were ready to channel the energy necessary to make the constructs, the Trees wouldn't give them the leaves otherwise and to reshape the leaf of the Sacred Tree meant to test their resolve.
“Before you start the process you must give some of your blood to the leaves to make sure that only you can use it,” said Volthoom as he picked a knife not far from where the hammers were and offered it to Ambly.
Ambly took the knife before approaching the anvil while the other members of the group also took a knife each. They looked at each other before nodding and cutting the palm of one of their hands. The multi-colored blood of the changelings and the red blood of the non-changelings fell on the leaves, only to be absorbed by it like a sponge.
With that done they used a healing spell or tied a piece of cloth around their hands for now. All of them with the hammer in hand poured their energy into it, which caused it to glow a multitude of colors before being brought down. The sounds of the hammer hitting the leaf were like bells accompanied by flashing color, each strike created a unique combination of colors and sounds, a truly synesthetic experience.
Many others arrived during the forging process, the first warrior that failed explained to the others what was going on, those that failed decided to watch while those that had a leaf joined into the cacophony of sounds and colors by starting to forge their own foci until all anvils were occupied. Even the really small blocks he set aside for the fairy ponies and changelings to use along with the smaller hammers were being used to shape the smaller leaves they brought.
Volthoom just watched, he could see the look of concentration on each one of them, to them, the flashing colors and sounds didn't matter, what mattered was only to bring the shape they were visualizing into reality. The scene reminded him of a fantasy setting where many blacksmiths worked in a mighty city that acted as a forge.
Soon enough Ambly dropped her hammer and looked at the bright chromatic fire burning above the anvil, without hesitation she reached into the fire, grabbed the object in its center and pulled, which caused the fire to dissipate. She opened her trembling hand and revealed a coin with the emblem of the Phantom Corp on both sides.
Ambly smiled and she turned around to walk away when her legs gave out, but before she could fall a hand shaped construct caught her and gently lowered her on one of the chairs, courtesy of Volthoom. He approached the prince to look at the first focus made in the Empire while another soon to lightsmith took her placed and poured his blood before bringing the hammer down.
“I assume you plan to embed it on something,” said Volthoom as he knelt before the exhausted prince and looked at the object she was holding. It looked like a coin or a button, so he speculated that it would be part of something else.
“Yeah, I chose the third option,” said Ambly as she breathed heavily.
“It could be very painful,” said Volthoom warning the prince but neither praising nor chastising her decision.
“I know, but I trust you,” said Ambly before passing out and drop the recently crafted focus.
Volthoom picked up the coin, but the moment he touched the focus it attacked, bolts of energy pierced his hand and shredded his skin. He ignored the pain and soon the focus stopped its attack when it noticed that Volthoom was only trying to return it to its wielder. Volthoom just placed the focus in the pocket of Ambly's pants before creating a glowing line on the floor that led through the forge’s exit.
“I need one of you to take her to the infirmary. Just follow the line and once you get there a medical automaton will be activated. Just place her on a bed and return here because many others will join her,” ordered Volthoom.
“But what about you, Lord Volthoom?” said a gryphoness with dark gray fur covering her lower torso and feline legs; grey feathers covering her chest, shoulders and arms; her forearms that ended in dark gray avian claws –technically talons– and point raptor’s beak, both of them yellow and green eyes. She was wearing long form-fitting orange pants and sports bra.
The worried gryphoness looked at Volthoom's hand just as it was engulfed in chromatic flames before they disappeared showing an unblemished hand.
“She is just exhausted and needs some rest since the process of forging a focus is quite draining. Can I count on you to take her to the infirmary?” asked Volthoom to the gray gryphoness, who nodded and carried the Ambly away.
This continued until the sunset and even when the moon was in the night sky –not that it was visible from here– and in the end, most of them were successful in crafting their foci. There were some failures that resulted in injury, but Volthoom managed to prevent any death from occurring.
In the end, there were two hundred forty-three successful foci, each one belonging to a lightsmith. Volthoom waited for an hour after they finished to call all of them outside of the facility, where they all stood before Volthoom.
“For those that succeeded, congratulations. For those that didn't, it just means that you need further training. For those that want to have your focus embed into either an item or your own body come here tomorrow with the item you wish to use, the rest is dismissed tomorrow. We shall meet again in two days on the new training camp for your assignments. Dismissed!” said Volthoom with his voice being amplified by magic for all of them to hear, it was also possible to hear and feel the pride in his voice.
After that, all of them left, either going through the tunnels or just teleporting with the help of a friend that didn't participate in the forging. Volthoom, the princes and some warriors went through the tunnels and emerged a fair distance from a city, but on the new training ground for lightsmiths. The training camp itself looked like the courtyard/park on the Imperial Palace, but with a big dormitory not far from the tunnel's entrance that would be used by future recruits and lightsmiths that wish to live here.
Once out the crystals on the ceiling that were emulating partially the night sky illuminated the group showing the new appearance of the two oldest princes and like Thorax they already finished their metamorphoses.
Hedy and Lyca became taller, now being around 6ft 10in and 6ft 9in respectively, both kept their slender and athletic physiques, their horns bacame smooth and slightly longer, but remained curved and point, their main wings became longer and wider like the wings of a butterfly as did the secondary smaller pair of wings, that made them look like the flutter ponies of yore, but that's where most of their similarities ended when their hands and feet became black that faded into their main color halfway through their forearms giving the impression that they were wearing gloves and boots.
Hedy’s chitin was light cream color while her corset became a mixture of shades of yellow and white; now she had feelers just slightly longer than her original ears with plumose on each side giving the appearance of a leaf; her second eyelids became red with hints of blue; her wings have a unique pattern of yellow and white section separated by black lines; the blade on her tail became a straight jian like blade seemingly made of glass with a similar pattern to the wings.
Lyca’s chitin, on the other hand, became dark cream in color while his corset became a mixture of shades of light blue and light red almost light brown, with the same occuring on his wings but with additional black lines; his feelers just slightly longer than his original ears with pectinate extensions on each side giving the appearance of a comb on both sides; his second eyelids became dark yellow with hints of purple while the blade on his tail became a slightly curved katana like blade seemingly made of glass with a similar pattern to the wings.
All in all quite a beautiful pair of princes, luckily their tail blades were dull and retractable, they could sharpen them by using either magic or by creating a very thin layer of resin to create edges on the blade, besides this ensures that the blade was only sharp when they wanted it to be.
They walked on the road illuminated by the floating crystals until they reached the edge of the city. The warrior said their farewells to the princes and their teacher before going into the city while Volthoom and the Royals went through another road that led to a park where he could see the queens gathered.
They were around Thysania's resting place.
8. The finishing touches on the focus of the light.
Volthoom and the four princes that recently became lightsmiths approached the rest of the royal family. All of them were near the statue of a changeling queen, she was in her “battle form” and looked just like the other queens before their metamorphoses. Because the statue was the natural color of the stone it wasn't possible to know her colors. Her mane was a single braid coming from her helmet, her armor was similar to a greek armor, she was with a sword in each hand and a spear strapped her on back.
On the base of the statue was a small shrine with a painting of Thysania in her default form, which showed her mane with light gray and dark gray stripes that reminded everyone of a zebra. Beneath the painting was a gray gemstone, the last remnant of Thysania. One of the oldest funeral rites of Empire was to cremate the body and turn the ashes into a gemstone, this was what happened to the fallen queen.
Phyllia and Ophis were kneeling before the shrine, to anyone outside of the Empire it might look like they were praying, but they were actually diving into the memories of the Hivemind. The astral network that connected the minds of the changelings, it also stored the memories of all changelings that ever lived since the birth of the changeling race. The closest comparison would be the Khala from StarCraft that connected the Protoss or the Infinte Circuit ftom the Warhammer thatt connected the Eldar, mental libraries that anyone could access, as long they had the necessary permission level and only the Royals could give the permission. Of course, as a precaution, most of the knowledge was transcribed into books and scrolls and made available to the non-changelings.
The Royals noticed Volthoom's arrival but stayed quiet as Phyllia and Ophis paid their respects to Thysania. While he was waiting he looked at the other queens.
Dana much like Hedy and Lyca also acquired butterfly like features, her chitin was now cream colored instead of black; her eyes, hair and corset became bronze in color; her hands and hooves were also bronze that faded into cream color at the elbow; her wings were now similar to her Hedy and Lyca’s, but hers were like a mosaic or stained glass that shifted ever so slightly, it had hues of red, blue and yellow separated by black lines; her ears also became leaf like feelers; like Apis and Vesp she now had a fluff collar, but hers was white; her tail became slightly longer and with a glass like blade in the shape of a butterfly sword, ironically.
Arachne’s original colors and wings remained, but she became slightly taller now being 8ft 4in, her tail became thicker on its middle much like Apis and Vesp’s, her horn became sickle shaped as did her tail blade with the interior and tip of her horn pointing back, however one of the most unusual features that came with the metamorphosis, she developed a secondary pair of arms just below the main ones, they were about ⅔ of the size of the originals and the hands only had three fingers.
But Arachne evolved one of the most useful abilities that she and few members of her hive had, the ability to produce silk infused with energy before she could produce it from either her tail, wrists and mouth. Now, however, she could produce it in greater quantities from the palm of her hands and wrists –all four of them–, the tips of her fingers –all sixteen of them–, her mouth and tail. Her and few other that developed similar mutations became a great help to the Empire's economy and military.
Interestingly Arachne developed the ability to weave a thin filament of ultra-resistant silk from the base to the tip of her tail blade that would act as a hot wire cutter.
Mantis was still going through her changes, her chitin now was dark teal, small spikes were growing on the sides of her forearms and the tip of her horn now had a V like tip not unlike a rhinoceros beetle. Cepha also was still going through her changes as well, she developed small blue rings on her black chitin, but her most drastic change was that her tail had a pair of crescent moons back to back and near its base was two ribbon-like extensions that were about half of her tail length.
Chrysalis also underwent some changes, however, her visible changes were not from her metamorphosis –so far– but from her pregnancy. If Volthoom had to compare to a human it looked like six months pregnant so far, but she was bigger than the average human so it was actually bigger than it seemed.
Changelings, unlike most beings, didn't have a set time for their gestation or the incubation of their eggs, it really depended on how much energy it was available for the mothers and if they needed they could halt the gestation process to conserve energy, essentially an extreme version of Diapause. The shortest pregnancy time that he knew so far was about a month, but after the metamorphosis, it might shorten and after that, it takes a week of incubation for the eggs, in which they would grow further before the nymph was hatched.
However normal changelings could keep the egg inside their bodies instead of laying it, this would cause their bodies to absorb the shell and at the end of the incubation period, they would give birth to a live young. The only natural exception was the queens because unlike normal changelings who more often than not had one offspring per gestation the queens could have anywhere between dozens and hundreds at once, so they lay their eggs when they became developed enough and then let them finish their growth in specially made nurseries. Aside from that, only artificial methods resulted in a clutch of eggs, such as artificial insemination or being a surrogate mother.
Anyway, the only queen left was Mili so far didn't show any signs of metamorphosis as well, not far from them was Siby, whose only visible change was her ears that became feelers like Iso’s, but she let them hang in front of her face as well and the younger princes. Some of the younger princes just underwent a color change since the unique features only show near adulthood.
“I take that the forging was mostly successful?” asked Cepha as she adjusted her glasses. She had her tail blades stabbed on the ground, which allowed her tails to act as an anchor for her to sit on in a manner similar to a chair, it is a very useful ability. All other queens were “sitting” while they waited for Phyllia and Ophis to finish.
“Indeed, two hundred and three successes to be exact,” said Volthoom as he anchored himself and “sat” beside Cepha. Then Remi who was sitting beside his mother looked at Volthoom, it was clear that the younger ones were bored, but they could feel it was not the appropriate moment to complain.
“I see,” said Cepha as she saw Thorax sit beside his mother and show both her and Pupa the ring on the base of his horn. Ambly also showed her focus to her mother before informing her what was going to happen tomorrow. Hedy and Lyca also sat beside their mother before showing a small marble each, their foci.
“Tomorrow we finish the forging process. After that it's just a matter of training those that failed and assigning the new lightsmiths their new duties,” said Volthoom as he thought about the assignments for the new lightsmiths.
“I suppose it's up to their Grand Master then,” said Cepha coyly.
“Must you call me that?” asked Volthoom.
“As far as everyone is concerned you are the head of the order of knights, which the lightsmiths are part of since you trained them. It will be your job to make sure they fulfill their duties and responsibilities,” said Cepha before she stopped to think about something. Then she asked, “By the way, what is the name of your order?”
“Um, I’m not sure yet,” said Volthoom before he noticed that Chrysalis and Thorax sat beside him, then he felt something pulling his pants, he looked down and saw Pupa and Remi, Remi remained the same color while Pupa chitin became dark green. Both of them stretched their arms up while looking at Volthoom.
Volthoom sighed before picking them up and let them sit on his lap where they got comfortable as they snuggle with him.
“Do they usually take this long?” asked Volthoom as he petted Pupa and Rime.
“Yeah, they should be finishing soon,” said Chrysalis as she rubbed her belly.
“They are growing nicely,” said Volthoom as he saw the small developing auras inside Chrysalis.
“Thank you, no matter how many times I do this I always find it to be enjoyable. By the way, can you tell how many I am carrying?” asked Chrysalis as she remembered Volthoom's abilities.
“Um, about thirty,” said Volthoom while looking at Chrysalis.
“Well, good thing I was restraining myself at the time otherwise there would be more. The only part that I don't like is being stuck in one place laying eggs,” commented Chrysalis.
“Really? I don't have problems with that part of the process,” commented Cepha.
After that they talked for a while before the others joined the conversation, eventually, Phyllia and Ophis finished. Cepha picked Remi and Chrysalis picked Pupa. Eventually, they all teleported to their homes, except for Ophis because she went with Phyllia and Volthoom not wanting to be alone tonight and Arachne that went with Chrysalis.
Next Morning
Volthoom woke first from the shared dream he had with Phyllia and Ophis. As he opened his eyes and saw both Phyllia and Ophis resting their heads on his chest, that was nothing out of the ordinary. No, what was out of the ordinary was the fact that they were using Volthoom's breasts as pillows.
Last night Volthoom assumed a more feminine form because he –more like she for now– felt like it. Frankly after been in a formless shape for so long she no longer her a concept of gender to bind herself to, that and the gender flexibility of the changelings made gender distinction pretty much useless. Besides, nothing wrong with doing something different for a change.
Val –as Volthoom preferred to be called when in female form– was brought out of her thoughts when she felt Ophis stir, Val looked down at her right and saw Ophis’ pink eyes looking at her. Before Ophis could awake completely Val kissed her, this caused her to awake in surprise before returning the kiss.
As their forked tongues were intertwining Phyllia woke as well and the first thing she saw was her granddaughter making out with her –currently female– consort. Feeling left out Phyllia gently pulled Val and as Val and Ophis lips separated it was possible to see their tongues coiled around each other. Once uncoiled Phyllia did the same thing.
“That's a great way to start a day,” said Ophis as she saw Phyllia make out with Val. Not getting an answer from them Ophis pouted childishly, then she smiled when she had an idea.
Val pulled back and moaned when she felt Ophis suddenly but gently bite her right nipple. Val looked down and saw the smug look on Ophis.
“That was for ignoring me,” said Ophis to Val.
“Sorry for ignoring you, but you didn't need to bite me,” said Val before she sighed and sat up. Phyllia and Ophis tried to coax Val back to the bed, but she said, “I too would like to just lay here with you two all day, but I have an appointment with Dr. Sciens and after that, I have to help finish the forging process of the rest of the lightsmiths.”
The two sigh and while Ophis just laid back down Phyllia also sat up before getting out of the bed, then together with Val they took a quick bath before putting on their clothes. Today Val was wearing a white sports bra and shorts while Phyllia wore just a casual dress a few shades lighter than her chocolate colored chitin.
“We will be going then,” said Val.
Ophis just covered herself, waved at them and then covered her head since she was feeling lazy today. Phyllia hugged Val and leaned her head on the taller changeling’s shoulder as they walked in a comfortable silence.
“Sorry about that, honestly I don't know how Ophis, Apis and Vesp can be that childish,” said Phyllia.
“It's fine, besides she pouts just like you did back when you were confused during my first few lessons,” teased Val as she remembered the first few lessons she taught to the flutter ponies, they were very expressive since they worn their hearts on their sleeves.
“I did not,” said Phyllia to Val, but by her tone, she didn't mind at all.
“Of course you didn't,” said Val before kissing Phyllia and after that they enjoyed the silence until they reached the office of Dr. Sciens.
The check-up didn't take long, it seemed that most of Val’s organs with similar functions ended up merging and the result was that now she possessed a biology similar to the changelings albeit far more efficient. Val had two set of nervous systems that worked on slightly different principles and chemical reaction, her brain had more complex and compressed networks of cells, it worked more similar to a computer than an actual organic brain. Interwoven on her chitin was cells capable of doing photosynthesis, essentially if you excluded her brain she had at least two of each internal organ and system working efficiently.
After her checkup, Val and Phyllia teleported to Val’s workshop. When the couple arrived there was already some lightsmiths waiting for Val and while they were surprised at the fact that Volthoom was in a female form they didn't say anything. Val also noticed the presence of many guests, probably here just to watch the final steps of the process, and among the guests was Chrysalis, Arachne and Thorax.
“Good morning, I hope those that wish to embed in an item didn't forget the said items. We will be doing those first and then the ones that wish to have the foci embedded in their bodies later. To the forge,” said Val as she projected her voice with magic.
All of them followed Val to the forge, before starting she stopped to talk with Chrysalis, Arachne and Thorax, she also offered chairs for the guests. She also noticed another changeling with them, he was slightly shorter than Thorax and even had a similar pattern; but where Thorax was orange he was amaranth colored, which was the glass like blade on the end of the tail and its segments, horn, wings, hands and hooves; deep violet where Thorax was wine colored, which was the corset, elytrons and the segments on the tail interlock with the amaranth ones; gray with a hint of purple on the torso where Thorax was deep green; lastly his second eyelids were blue violet.
“Hello Chrysalis and who is this cute fellow?” asked Val as Chrysalis sat on one of the chairs, Val noticed that she was slightly bigger than yesterday. Then Val also noticed that this mysterious changeling was also a lightsmith with a ring on the base of his horn just like Thorax.
“With all due respect ma'am, I’m not cute,” said the changeling as he stood behind and in-between Chrysalis’ and Thorax’s chairs with his back straighten like a soldier.
“Hello and thank you. This is Pharynx, one of my best warriors and also the eldest from his brood, which happens to be the same brood Thorax is from,” said Chrysalis as she rubbed her belly.
“Don't mind him, he takes his duties very seriously,” said Thorax from where he was sitting, which was at Chrysalis’ right.
“I actually found that quality quite endearing about him,” said Arachne from sitting at Chrysalis’ left.
“Agreed,” said Ambly licking her lips as she looked at Pharynx from her seat at Arachne's left.
“Well, I don't mind you visitors, but are you sure it's ok? The forge can be quite dangerous after all and what about Pupa?” asked Val.
“Oh Volthoom, you worry too much, Pupa is with Mili and I’m sure that Thorax and Pharynx can protect me if something happens, besides I came with Arachne since she is here to support Ambly,” explained Chrysalis.
“Dear, she just wants to make sure you and the nymphs are safe and there is nothing wrong with that,” said Phyllia to Chrysalis as she sat beside Thorax.
“I see. Well, I better get going and call me Val when I'm like this,” said Val and Chrysalis nodded before Val went to guide the recruits.
“Until later Val,” said Phyllia and she waved at Val.
Val went to the place where the anvils were and like yesterday she instructed them to pick a hammer. After the items were placed on the anvils with the foci above the item it was a simple question of hammering them together. The foci almost melted into the items and unlike yesterday the foci didn't resist, so it was far easier and faster them yesterday.
Hedy and Lyca were on the forefront of this stepped and after about an hour they were the first to finish their foci, both of them chose spears. Hedy finished few moments before Lyca and her spear was longer than she was tall and it looked like a Chinese spear, more specifically a Fangtian Ji with a straight dagger-like blade on one end of a pole of wood and on each side of the dagger was a crescent-shaped blade, the marble that was Hedy’s focus was embedded between the blade and the shaft. Lyca’s spear, on the other hand, looked more like a glaive, but like his sister the silver marble like focus that emitted a faint rainbow colored light was between the curved blade and the shaft of the spears.
As they were about to pick up the spears started to float on their own, at first the princes were alarmed but it didn't take long for them to notice that they could direct the movements of the floating spear.
“Impressive, isn't it?” asked Val.
“Master, what is this?” asked Lyca as he moved the spear on the air by moving his hands.
“The foci have your blood, so it's only natural that you can control it even if it isn't directly connected to your body. The foci are alive, they are not sentient but they are capable of making decisions in the name of the survival of their host,” explained Val.
After hearing about the symbiotic relationship between the focus and their host the princes thanked their teacher. It was almost afternoon when this group finished and in the end, there were many weapons like swords, daggers, maces, whips bows and more, but there was also armors or personal items like shields, vests, gauntlets, belt buckles, masks and more.
After that they took a break since it was time for lunch, nowadays changelings could survive just with food just as fine as they would just emotional energy before, eating food or absorbing energy were options. Naturally because of her strong connection to the Emotional Spectrum Val didn't need to eat, but she still did occasionally.
Naturally Val spent lunch with Chrysalis, Arachne and Phyllia, they took great pleasure in feeding off of Val’s love, Chrysalis was practically gorging herself in it, which was not unreasonable since she had thirty nymphs to feed, Thorax was practically blushing as he witnessed his mother make out with Val as she absorbed the love "flavored" energy. Phyllia, Arachne, Ambly, Thorax and Pharynx just needed to touch Val for a while and they had more than enough energy for the day, but now Val was radiating so much love that it was feeding the nearby changelings as well, but that ended when Phyllia cleared her throat, which caught Chrysalis’ attention.
At this point, Chrysalis was sitting sideways on Val's lap while she sat on the chair that Chrysalis was sitting on. Chrysalis didn't even bother to get up and just put her arms around Val's neck while leaned her head on Val's shoulder.
"Careful there, if you eat too much you might end up laying the eggs either later tonight or tomorrow morning," said Val after she managed to free herself from Chrysalis' lips.
"I don't care, you taste sooo gooood," said Chrysalis licking her lips while salivating, almost drooling.
"Thanks, I guess," said Val not sure if it was a good thing or not.
“Believe me I know how good it tastes and feels, but now is neither the place nor time for this Chrysalis,” said Phyllia as looked at her daughter in Val's arms.
“Sorry mother, I got carried away,” said Chrysalis, but instead of getting up she just made herself comfortable. Then she asked Val, “Can we stay like this until the break is over?”
Val just nodded, Chrysalis was facing Val's left and her head was resting on Val's right shoulder.
“I never understood why flutter ponies and changelings were so affectionate. If I remember correctly…” said Val before trailing off. Val’s right arm was around Chrysalis’ back and her right hand was resting on Chrysalis belly, which Val started to rub in circular motions, then Val used her left hand to gently scratch Chrysalis behind the ears.
This caused Chrysalis to tense at first but then she relaxed and started to make a clicking noise with her tongue –a sound that changelings make when they are happy and relaxed, kinda like a cat purring– and her wings started to tremble enough to produce a gentle hum. So Val said to Phyllia, “Oh, she is just like you when you were expecting Wind Rider.”
“No she isn't,” said Phyllia trying to deny it, but by the slight darkening of her cheeks, she wasn't being very convincing.
“I distinctly remember a certain flutter pony coming to my temple and asking for an ear scratch. Also, you were rather clingy during that time as well, always close to either me or your mate at the time,” said Val to the blushing Empress. Then Val sighed before saying, “While I don't mind it always confounded me how your species could be so open when it comes to affection.”
All the while Pharynx continued to stoically stand guard and Phyllia was trying to get her blush under control. No matter how long it had been Volthoom still made her feel like she was a young flutter pony near her crush, Thorax was also blushing but he was also curious to know what felt like to be in his mother's place and Arachne and Ambly were just chatting.
After a few minutes, Chrysalis eeped when she was jolted out of her sleep, which happened when she felt herself being lifted by Val, with one of her arms right beneath Chrysalis's wings and the other under Chrysalis' knees.
“Ok, those that want to leave don't forget to come back here the day after tomorrow for your assignments. The second group, please follow me to the infirmary,” said Val before leaving the forge while carrying Chrysalis bridal style in his arms.
Phyllia just shook her head before following Val and not long after the others followed as well.
Chrysalis was covering her face with her hands in a futile attempt to hide, it was the first time in her long life that she was being handled like this. She was the first to admit that she like most changelings tended to be rather “clingy” –as Val put it– especially during pregnancy, so it was normal for her to have two or three lovers –more often than not with the father of the brood among them– during those times. However, because of her status and her size none of her previous lovers ever treated her like Val, the closest would be her sisters when they had a roll in the hay.
“You don't have to carry me, I can walk just fine,” said the still blushing Chrysalis trying to sound firm.
“Nah, I don't mind the extra weight, besides I can tell you are enjoying,” said Val in a teasing tone.
“Are you calling me fat?” asked Chrysalis in a low and dangerous tone when she heard “extra weight” from Val.
“Perish the thought!” said Val in an overdramatic tone before pulling Chrysalis closer and say, “Besides it just means more of you to hug and pamper.”
However Chrysalis didn't have much time to process what she heard as she was gently lowered on a chair, she looked around and saw that they arrived on the infirmary. She saw many beds on both sides of a long room and she also noticed that beside each bed on the wall was a square outline, probably a door to a cupboard or something similar.
“I hope you don't mind waiting a little bit longer. After this we can spend the rest of the day together since I will have free time today and tomorrow,” said Val.
“I would like that,” said Chrysalis as the others arrived.
From there the ones that wanted to have a focus embedded in their bodies were instructed to lay on a bed and Val opened a control panel on the wall near the entrance before pressing a few buttons. Then after that all the square panels beside the beds lifted revealing a space inside the was occupied by an automaton.
The automata also known as golems had a featureless humanoid shape and were about the size of an average changeling, they had a transparent skin, which allowed their insides to be seen, their insides were filled with cords, gears and rods of metal, but the most discernable characteristic of their bodies was a glowing sphere in the center of their chest and it was also possible to see cords imitating muscles on the limbs. These were the intelligent golems made by Volthoom using a combination of magic and machinery powered by a core of emotional energy for the purpose of acting as medics.
From there on it was just a simple question of telling the golems where the recruits wanted the focus to be implanted and wait for the procedure, in Val's opinion it was quite a spectacle to see their hands morph into surgical tools after administering anesthesia. Like always a prince was the first to volunteer, Ambly had her coin like focus on the center of her horn where the blades of the axe like extension came out of, but in the end many lightsmiths had a focus in places like the chest, horn, back or palm of the hand, back of the neck, shoulder and more.
After making sure everyone was ok Val dismissed them and allowed them to return to their homes, many had to leave with the help of a friend since they were under the effect of anesthesia. That ended the forging process for this batch of lightsmiths, Val hoped to train at least another one, but they will be the first and the last line of defense against what would threaten the Empire.
Val spent her day with Chrysalis, Thorax, Pharynx and Phyllia since Hedy and Lyca went home to rest while Arachne took Ambly home to rest as well, but in her case was because she was still feeling the effects of the anesthetics. The remaining group went to a park and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon and only went back home when the crystals on the cave’s ceiling started to darken after becoming orange in color, signaling the sunset on the surface.
One event of note was when Val pulled Thorax to her lap and teased him for being jealous of his mother and the prince blushed, even more, when Val said that he was only missing a brood in his belly to be like his mother. After recovering the prince asked Val how she knew about that and her answer was that she felt a spark of both curiosity and envy directed at Chrysalis. Thorax was so cute blushing that Val just kissed him and kept hugging him until they left, much to the prince enjoyment and embarrassment.
Chrysalis chose to leave because as Val said earlier that day she consumed a lot of emotional energy and it was most likely that she would be laying her eggs either tonight or tomorrow. So the queen left when she felt that the nymphs started to grow and absorb the energy that her body had refined, the same energy that she acquired during lunch from Val. Thorax and Pharynx left with their mother and not long after that Val and Phyllia went back to their room in the Imperial Palace.
As soon as they appeared Phyllia hugged Val and kissed her on the lips, then Phyllia pulled back before looking into Val’s silver eyes.
“I hope you remember your promise,” said Phyllia while Val at first seemed confused at what Phyllia was referring to she remembered the promise she made a week ago.
“Of course I do,” said Val and Phyllia just grinned before starting to take off her dress, but Val motioned for her to stop and turn around. Then Val slowly unzipped Phyllia's dress allowing the empress to slid her wings out of the opening before she let the dress fall on the ground, now she stood before Val with only her bra and panties, which were cream colored.
Val just hugged Phyllia from behind pressing her own breasts against the empress’ back just above her wings and the only material keeping Phyllia from feeling Val’s breasts against her skin was Val's white sports bra. Then the lightsmith used her long forked tongue to lick Phyllia’s right shoulder and up to her neck before going to her throat and chin, all the while emitting small pulses of lust.
Phyllia shivered and moaned as she felt not only Val’s lust but also Val's tongue encircling her throat, so she leaned her head to the left allowing Val to tease her further.
“I can taste your lust and eagerness,” whispered Val in Phyllia's ear after she pulled her tongue back.
“I hope my taste is to your liking,” said Phyllia as she turned around and placed her hands on the hem of Val’s sports bra.
“Delicious,” said Val as her arms encircled Phyllia and her hands grasped the snaps of the empress’ bra and unfastened them. Then Val lifted her arms and let Phyllia pull up her sports bra, then the empress threw it near her own discarded dress before doing the same with her own bra and after they were both topless Val said, “I hope I get to taste something else from you.”
Phyllia response came in the form of another kiss, both of them hugged each other tightly to deepen the kiss, which had the effect of mashing their breasts together. As their long forked tongues intertwined and coiled around each other inside their mouths like snakes inside a wet and warm cave Val took the initiative by slowly moving her right hand down Phyllia's back until it rested on the base of the empress' tail.
Once there Val's index finger traced a circle around Phyllia's tail right where it met her torso just above her butt, her round and soft butt. Then Phyllia pulled back from the kiss, as she did so it was possible to see their tongues coiled around each other as they slid against each other and back into the mouths of their respective owners.
“My my, one of us is eager, aren't we?” asked Phyllia in a sultry tone as she looked at Val's eyes.
“If I remember correctly, you are the one that started,” said Val in an equally sultry tone using her lower but feminine voice.
“If that's the case, then allow me to start our –hopefully– first round of activities,” said Phyllia as she used her hands to pull Val's arms away, before motioning for her to sit on the bed. As Val sat Phyllia unceremoniously took off her panties, showing her smooth skin free of fur along with her pussy, after that her horn glowed briefly as she teleported Val’s shorts away from her body and just above the place where their clothes were.
Phyllia approached the lightsmith and knelt down in front of her, Val's member was almost coming out of its sheath, so the empress wasted no time in inhaling Val’s musk scent but she also caught another scent as well. Then she reached out with her right hand and started to fondle Val's impressive set of family jewels, more than twice the size of the average of her previous lovers, which were more often than not pretty endowed by most standards.
Val moaned at the stimulation that she almost forgot what felt like, so she leaned back and placed her hands on the mattress. Val’s arms almost gave out when the lightsmith felt Phyllia’s tongue against her sheath’s edge and interior brushing against the tip of her member that was slowly coming out while Phyllia's right-hand brush against a part of her anatomy that went relatively unexplored since the creation of this new body.
Phyllia's right hand moved from Val’s balls to the outer lips of Val's folds before inserting her index and middle fingers into Val's pussy while using her thumb to stimulate the clit. By Val’s moans, she was really sensitive or just unused to the sensation, probably a bit of both but more of the latter than the former. Because of the stimuli, it didn't take long for the member to come out of its sheath, at first Phyllia planned in giving Val a blowjob, but then she noticed something unusual with her tongue, so she pulled back to take a look at Val’s penis.
“Well, it's… different,” said Phyllia as she looked at Val's erect member. It was a 2ft in long, 5in thick, black in color with small silver patches, the size didn't surprise her since their proportions were more in line with the horses from Saddle Arabia than ponies, even if they were above average but still in what they considered normal, nor the color since the metamorphoses.
No, what surprised the empress more was its shape, since changelings started as flutter ponies their genitals remained the same on the outside and most of the changes were internal, so they changed their shape mostly to match other species such as diamond dogs, gryphons and the like. However Val’s was very different from those, its proportions were definitely equine, however the head of Val's member was more mushroom-like instead of flat disc-like, it had small round bumps forming rings around the length of the shaft but also giving it a scale like pattern as well as a somewhat segmented and ringed looks with smooth edges while becoming slightly thicker near the sheath.
“You are staring,” pointed out Val, which made Phyllia come out of her daze.
“Well, it’s very… um… unique,” said Phyllia.
"Yeah, probably a side effect of messing with this body's biology," commented Val.
Out of curiosity Phyllia used her left hand to carefully trace the rings and resumed her work with the right one. She saw Val's member twitch as it leaked a bit of pre, then Phyllia pulled back her right hand showed that her fingers were dripping with Val's female arousal. To anyone else the liquid was clear but to a changeling it looked multicolored, the result of their “second sight” that allowed them to see emotional energy —both the one that floats in the air as well as the one that clung to objects and substances— and the aura of living beings.
Phyllia licked her fingers and moaned at the taste of the emotions that Val felt just moments ago, that combined with the emotions Val was giving off was actually exciting the empress, mating among changelings had another layer of interactions because of the emotions they could taste from each other.
Val saw Phyllia sensually lick her own fingers until they were clean, then the empress licked the pre from the member's round tip before sucking it and trying to coax more out of it, all the while moaning at the taste of the energy saturated fluids. Then Phyllia opened her mouth and engulfed the tip of Val's dick before slowly going down its length until it hit the back of her mouth before pushing further without problems, which showed her experience.
The lightsmith moaned as she felt more of her member being swallowed by Phyllia's mouth until the empress was halfway, then she started to move up and down on Val's meat rod, that lewd image was only complemented by Phyllia blushing, looking up into Val's eyes with a look of ecstasy while using her two hands to squeeze the part that wasn't in her mouth.
Val's right hand was placed on Phyllia's head and every time the empress moved down a bit further. This went for almost half an hour, only Val's immense willpower allowed the lightsmith to push back her climax, but that was only delaying the inevitable. When Phyllia had only a few inches of Val's dick left the lightsmith used a bit more force than intended pushing Phyllia until the empress' lips touched Val's sheath, that show of force surprised Phyllia causing her mouth, throat and esophagus to squeeze Val’s member destroying any resistance that the lightsmith had left before being pushed over the edge.
Good thing that changelings were able to swallow and breathe at the same time because Val kept pushing Phyllia's head against her crotch and the empress just took in Val's musky scent before feeling Val's cock swell from the base all the way to the tip, then Val's energy-rich cum blasted from the lightsmith's cock and into Phyllia's stomach. It didn't take long for the constant stream of cum to completely fill her stomach, Phyllia tried to pull away but Val kept the empress head in place forcing her to take this flood.
By the time Val's grip loosened Phyllia pulled back and a few spurts landed on the empress' face and breasts before Val fell back onto the bed panting. It took some effort but Phyllia managed to keep Val's seed down when the Empress looked down after wiping Val's cum from her face her eyes widen at the sight before her. Her belly looked halfway through a pregnancy, as she got up with some difficulty she felt and heard the cum sloshing noisily inside her stomach, luckily she had her tail to help balance herself as she walked, besides it wasn't her first time with a belly this size, so she went to the bed and sat just beside Val.
“I have never been filled like this before,” said Phyllia as she too panted from this experience, she could feel her body already absorbing the energy in the cum.
“Yeah… *pant* probably… *pant* because… *pant* of my… *pant* regeneration…” said Val as she laid there recovering while Phyllia licked her own hand clean before collecting the cum on her breasts and swallowing until they were clean as well and the only proof of their state was the fact that they were still slightly moist, no matter how stuffed the empress was she couldn't get enough of that deliciously energy-rich fluid.
Phyllia's horn glowed as she used her telekinesis to open the closet then the bottom drawer and taking out a crystal ball about 13in in diameter, once the empress was holding the ball with both hands it started to fill with a multicolored mist like substance that was seemingly coming out of her hands. Once the ball was completely filled it looked almost like a snow globe but filled with multicolored ink without the colors mixing, then Phyllia placed the sphere near the pile of clothes before taking out another sphere, this process was repeated about six times and each time her belly would shrink. In the end, Phyllia was almost back to normal, she still had a barely noticeable paunch like she had just overindulged on her favorite food, which was not far from the truth.
“The last time I was filled with this much energy was after a rather large orgy with some pony nobles on a private party while disguised, even so, it was mostly just lust,” said Phyllia as she floated the last sphere near the others also taking notice of the rather large wet spot on the bed, just where Val was sitting. No surprises there since Val probably climaxed both as male and female, herms tend to have longer climaxes because of the feedback of both of their sexes being stimulated at the same time.
“Pony nobles, really?” asked Val having recovered her breath.
“You would be surprised with what happens under Celestia's nose,” said Phyllia as she laid beside Val, who moved back so she was laying completely on the bed. Then Val rolled and positioned herself over Phyllia, who could feel Val's still hard dick against her belly while Val's sack brushed against her wet lips.
“I don't care about the decadence of other nations. What Celestia allows or not doesn't matter to me. Only the flutter ponies, now changelings, and the crystal ponies are what matters to me,” said Val as she lowered herself until she was just inches away from Phyllia and their breasts were once again being pressed together.
“Aw, I knew you cared,” said Phyllia before she pulled Val into another kiss.
However before the situation became another make-out session Val pulled back and said teasingly, “Now now, if I remember correctly you promised me a taste of ‘something else from you’ before your surprise feast.”
“It was you who pushed my head down,” said Phyllia accusingly but without malice.
“Details details,” said Val dismissingly before slowly moving down along Phyllia's body until she was just above Phyllia's plump and wet pussy lips, they were very human-like except for the color with the outer lips being the same color as her skin while the inner lips and clit were a lighter shade of brown.
On her way down Val got a rather devious idea, so she inserted her tongue to explore Phyllia's tunnel causing the empress to moan while Val explored and tried to find which spots affect Phyllia the most. Then Phyllia's hands moved to fondle her own breasts, however, Val chose this moment to implement her idea, her ring glowed before creating a few constructs.
Five shackles appeared on the air, one for each limb –including Phyllia's tail– before clamping around the empress' wrists, ankles and tail just before the base of the blade, then chains came out of these shackles before securing themselves on the corners of the bed while the chain from the tail secured itself on the base between the lower corners. Phyllia started to struggle as the chains pulled her limbs, but it was futile and in the end, she was chained to her bed with her arms and legs spread.
“Now now, you have been a very naughty girl. As punishment you will just sit there and enjoy the ride at my own pace,” said Val after pulling back her tongue. Then she went back to her task when Phyllia stopped struggling, Val could taste the spike in arousal along with surprise, but once the surprise died down it was replaced with trust and Val knew Phyllia was ok with this because Val would never force Phyllia to do something she didn't want to do, besides they might try again with the roles reversed at a later date.
Phyllia just squirmed as much as she could, at first she tried to free herself, just because she trusted Val that didn't mean that she would just accept the lightsmith's dominance without a fight, so she tried to concentrate on a spell to help her escape, but before she could come up with anything Val materialized an inhibitor ring around the empress' horn without pausing on her task. Eventually, Phyllia stopped trying to escape and was now trying to get Val to go deeper and/or faster.
“I'm… almost… there,” said Phyllia as she was on the edge of an orgasm, only for Val to slow down. Phyllia lost count of how many times this repeated itself, it was the first time in her long life that this happened to her, never before she was brought this close to a climax and kept there for this long, it was actually enlightening to be on the receiving end of this situation.
“If I remember correctly, I said ‘just sit there and enjoy the ride at my own pace’. It seems you need to be disciplined,” said Val after she pulled back her tongue and look at the pleading eyes of the empress while brushing the tip of her right index finger on Phyllia's outer lips, then Val created more constructs in the form of nipple pumps that started to suck on Phyllia's nipples very hard.
Then Val resumed her “tasting session” enjoying the sweet taste enriched by Phyllia's emotions, mainly lust, trust and love. Val then pulled the nipple pumps from Phyllia and Val just savored the spike of arousal from Phyllia, Val was about to dispel the pumps when she noticed something, so she made a glass and poured the liquid inside.
“Oh, it seems your body already converted the excess energy. Your body must be pretty used to doing this,” said Val before drinking the energy-rich milk, then she said, “Delicious, I almost envy your nymphs, almost.”
Immediately Val went back to Phyllia's pussy before the empress could answer, not that she would be able to answer if the look she had on her face was any indication. Seeing the look of frustration on the Empress, Val thought Phyllia had enough, so she picked up the pace and hit all the right spots.
Almost immediately Phyllia came and Val just drank the result of the empress’ climax, the tang and sweet taste of her climax enriched by their lust and love. Some of it was dripping down Val's chin as she drank and by the time it ended Val pulled back showing that her lower face was practically drenched as it dripped and slid down her neck and onto her breasts.
“Well, that was intense, wasn't it?” asked Val only to have no answer. Then Val looked at Phyllia and asked, “Phyllia?”
Phyllia passed out from the last climax, her breath was slowly coming back to normal but she was definitely unconscious.
“Maybe I got a little carried away,” said Val as she looked at Phyllia. Then she looked down at her own arousal and said, “Damn, I’m still hard.”
*Sigh*
Val sighed before dispelling the shackles/chains and after that Phyllia rolled to lay on her left side. Then Val laid on her left side behind Phyllia before hugging the empress and she unconsciously got closer. As Val laid there spooning with Phyllia she coiled her tail around Phyllia's.
“You better make up to me for leaving me hanging,” said Val as her right arm was just below Phyllia's breasts and Val's own breasts were pressing on Phyllia's back just above her wings.
Then Val closed her eyes and fell asleep as she rested her head on the pillow.
Phyllia opened her eyes, she woke from a very pleasant dream she had, this time she wasn't in a shared dreamscape with Val, so she dreamed normally. She was feeling really comfortable, it took a while to realize where she was and remember last night, so when she tried to move an arm around her waist kept her on the bed and when she tried to look behind her she was surprised by a kiss on the lips. She returned the kiss to the familiar lips without hesitation, felt emotional energy flood her and she reveled in the sensation.
“If you keep pampering me like this you are going to spoil me,” said Phyllia after pulling back from the kiss. Then she sat up and look at herself noticing that she still had the belly from yesterday, actually it was a bit bigger after that breakfast, “Look, I might get fat if you keep feeding me like this.”
Val just moved and placed her head on Phyllia's belly before saying, “I really don't mind seeing you like this.”
Phyllia just placed her hands on Val's head as she nuzzled the Empress’ belly and this image made her want to have a brood with Val. Then Phyllia used her telekinesis to take another storage orb and she filled it with the excessive energy that was in her body causing her to go back to normal, which caused Val to pout.
“Maybe you would like to see me carrying your brood?” said Phyllia teasingly.
Val just grabbed Phyllia's shoulders and pushed her back down while positioning herself over the empress who noticed that Val was still hard.
“Don't tease me like this especially after you left me hanging last night,” said Val as she was clearly struggling to not just ram her dick inside Phyllia.
The Empress feeling Val's frustration moved the lightsmith arms from her shoulders before rolling the two of them so she was on the top. Then she lowered her head and gently kissed Val on the cheek.
“Poor thing, let me make up to you,” said Phyllia as she lined her entrance with Val's member before slowly lowering herself.
The Empress felt her pussy lips being spread followed by her birth canal as she lowered herself on Val, but this wasn't the first time she was doing this, so she used her amazing muscle control to squeeze Val's member as she lowered herself. Val felt the tight, warm and wet tunnel slowly crawl down the length of her member like a snake devouring its prey, but Phyllia made sure to do so slowly, just enough for Val to not cum just yet and to be sure that Val wouldn't just buck her hips Phyllia used her telekinesis to keep the lightsmith in place.
Eventually Phyllia's hips met Val's and the Empress just revelled in the feeling of being full and being stretched like this, something that only occurred when she had sex with another queen or a stallion from Saddle Arabia, but now she had a consort and she was going to enjoy doing this when they could, maybe even reverse the roles once in a while. She also noticed that Val was a perfect fit, just the right size to completely fill Phyllia and with the round tip of Val's dick just shy of “kissing” the entrance of her womb.
Phyllia release Val from her telekinesis and almost immediately after that the lightsmith placed her hands on Phyllia's hips and ass before squeezing it and feeling its softness, which caused Phyllia to smile, glad that her mate was appreciating her body, besides she kinda liked the way Val was gently kneading the soft flesh of her behind and it felt like a good massage. Then she placed her hands on Val's muscular abdomen before lifting herself until she was about halfway Val's member before coming down, she repeated this with Val's help lifting her until they found a comfortable rhythm.
“Yes! That's it, fuck me as much as you want! Breed me as much as you want!” screamed Phyllia as she bounced on Val's dick feeling it come in and out of her fleshy tunnel while the scale like bumps in its surface scratching her walls wasn't helping her volume.
Phyllia was the first to cum and Val almost came as well but the lightsmith wanted to prolong the experience as much as possible, so she held back as much as she could and didn't stop, Phyllia had another orgasm before Val came harder than last night. It was a side effect of holding back her climax plus an entire night of pent-up lust, the fact that Val could still feel that lust in her lucid dreams didn't help either.
As Val came she pushed Phyllia down hard and this time her member actually “kissed” Phyllia's cervix as the empress felt Val's dick swell from the base to the tip before flooding her womb with white cream and like yesterday Val let loose a torrent of emotional energy that just prolonged Phyllia's orgasm.
Phyllia's mind stopped working as she felt her womb being filled with both Val's energy-rich seed, saturated with even more energy than yesterday, plus extra energy that the lightsmith's body was emitting during the climax. Because of that, the Empress didn't see her belly slowly swell just like yesterday and then further, until it looked like she was overdue with triplets.
“Damn, if you keep filling me like this I'm going to run out of storage units,” said Phyllia as she looked at her belly after she recovered, still breathing heavily though.
“It's not my fault that I'm a conduit for a literally endless reservoir of energy, an energy that so happens to be what the changelings feed on,” said Val as she coiled her tail around Phyllia's.
Phyllia then closed her eyes and reached into the hive mind, once there she requested a changeling to deliver some empty storage units to her room. After the message was given she came back to reality, as she did she felt Val's tail around hers and the twitching cock inside her tunnel ready for another round.
“Can't you wait a bit?” asked Phyllia.
“That's going to be hard,” said Val as she appreciated her handiwork by gently caressing Phyllia's new dome, the taut but still smooth chocolate brown skin was more sensitive than normal because it was being stretched, which caused Phyllia to moan at the feeling and before long her hands joined Val's, they might as well start another round regardless of her current predicament. Then as if Phyllia's prayers had been answered she heard the door of her bedroom opened, but it wasn't a changeling bringing the storage units she asked for.
“Hey, mom w–” started Apis only for her and Vesp, who was accompanying her sister, to shake their heads when they felt the emotions, mainly lust, in the air plus the familiar smell of sex.
“What's up wi–" started Vesp but stopped herself when she saw Phyllia and Val. Then she concluded, "Oh, that's why.”
“Perfect timing dears. I'm kinda full at the moment and in need of some assistance,” said Phyllia as she gently patted for her round belly with both hands.
“She managed to fill you with this much energy in a single night?” asked Apis in disbelief.
“Don't be ridiculous,” said Val as she looked at the sisters, who sighed in relief, and said before pointing at the storage units on the corner, “This is from just this morning, the ones from last night are over there.”
That caused the sisters to gulp nervously, the amount of energy wasn't the problem, the problem was how fast Val could fill them and Val had to admit that she was kinda proud to know that she was more than enough for the three of them. Val came out of her introspection when she felt Phyllia slide off of her member showing it to the sisters, the two queens looked at the big and unusual rod of flesh that was just inside their mother still dripping with the combination of their mother and Val's juices.
Phyllia managed to hold everything inside without spilling a single drop, not that surprising since all adult royals and infiltrators were capable of storing great amounts of energy, a skill normally used for them to gather energy outside of the Empire before bringing it back. She got off of the bed and motioned for the sisters to come closer.
“Could you two entertain Val here while I take care of this?” asked Phyllia as she rubbed her belly and the sisters nodded both in apprehension and eagerness.
Vesp was the first to react as she laid beside Val and kissed the lightsmith, while the two were making out Apis laid on the other side before placing her mouth around Val's left nipple and was rewarded an energy-rich honey tasting milk that changelings only produced when holding excess energy.
After Vesp started to make out with Val Phyllia took the rest of the storage units she had, there were another six storage units and by the time she filled them her belly shrunk about halfway before she ran out of units, good thing she kept those containers from her late night snacks. Then she sat in a nearby armchair and just appreciated the show that was happening between two of her daughters and her mate.
Phyllia kept rubbing her belly with her hands while she moved her tail to be over her wet snatch, from the tail just before the blunt blade’s base was a well-concealed vertical slit that was revealed when some of the soft skin like chitin was pulled aside by a tube of flesh coming out, this was Phyllia's ovipositor. The shape and size were similar to a penis but more flexible and instead of having a small opening on the tip it had a hole that was about half of the circumference of the tube of flesh, also looking inside it was possible to see a canal almost identical to a vagina but a bit smaller.
Phyllia rammed her own ovipositor inside her own pussy and she reveled in the feeling of penetrating and being penetrated at the same time while also enjoying the feeling of having her belly and pussy stretched, of being full. She enjoyed sex and being pregnant far too much compared when she was a flutter pony, but she supposed it was her instincts as a changeling queen, the urge to expand the hive, however, that urge was manageable.
As Phyllia was masturbating/self-fucking while enjoying the show Vesp heard her sister moan, so she pulled back and saw what she was doing, but before she could join her Vesp heard her mother moan and when she looked at her mother she got an idea. Looking at Val's stiff member exposed to the cold air she placed her tail over it and slowly let her own ovipositor come out and envelop Val's rod of flesh. When Vesp felt the tip of her ovipositor engulf the tip of Val's member she joined her sister.
Val just placed her left hand on Apis head as she felt the young queen drink the energy that she was constantly converting into milk, unlike other changelings lightsmiths didn't need to store energy since they had a connection to its source and could act as conduits, it just so happened that Val had the strongest connection with said source. So distracted she was by Apis' actions that she almost missed something wet and warm enveloping her cock just as another mouth closed around her right nipple.
Val just enjoyed the feeling of breastfeeding as well as the feeling of having her cock massaged by a warm, wet and tight passage until she couldn't take it anymore, then she climaxed. Vesp also came from the feeling of having her ovipositor penetrated, which wasn't too dissimilar to vaginal penetration, as she felt Val pump her warm thick spunk almost like a firehose and the Queen was treated to the feeling of that warm nectar filling and climbing her tail until it reached her lower belly, right where her womb was.
When Val's baby batter reached the young Queen's inner chamber of flesh Vesp clenched two sets of muscles, one to hold as much seed as she could hold and another to hold back her eggs from being released. Unfortunately she wasn't fast enough and some of Val's cum escaped from around her ovipositor and from her vagina, which left her panting as she laid on the bed while her ovipositor slid off of Val's member drooling globs of the cum that was filling the young queen beyond her limit mixing with Val's female orgasm on the bed.
Despite this being her third orgasm in a row Val was still hard and ready to go again and Apis eyes widen in surprise at this fact. It was one thing to be told how much energy and seed Val could produce, it was another to see the results of her orgasm and yet to see it happened before her eyes was just surreal in Apis' opinion.
The only other beings on the planet that could produce this much energy and/or seed were the dragons, the only time they managed to capture and cocoon him —something they do to prisoners— he produce and emanated emotional energy like a furnace —a fitting comparison in Apis' opinion— and because of the dreams the dragon experienced he climaxed once in awhile and was enough to fill a swimming pool, at least when he was in his beast form and not in his anthro form. The dragon was an outcast so his imprisonment didn't draw the ire of Dragon Lord Torch, however, Apis never saw him personally since all this happened before she was born.
Anyway, Apis didn't want to disappoint either her mother or Val, so she sat up and crawled until she was straddling Val’s stomach before she lowered her head and kissed the lightsmith, after making out a for a bit and letting Val feel the honey like taste of her own milk in the Queen's mouth Apis pulled back and lifted herself before lining her wet snatch with Val's tool, she even spread her lips with the index and middle finger of her right hand. Much like her mother before her she felt it stretch and fill her tunnel with the small scale like bumps only enhancing the experience as they rubbed against her walls, however unlike her mother she was a bit smaller and thus she managed to fit almost the entirety of Val's member inside her before it pressed against her cervix.
Phyllia, who was watching her mate fill her own daughter, already came at least two times before pulling out her ovipositor and just relaxed, for now. As she was relaxing she heard another knock on the door, so she got up and opened the door and saw a male changeling with a butler outfit followed by an earth pony maid. The poor delivery changeling was immediately taken aback by the sight of his empress naked and with enough seed to look pregnant, the wave of lust and the smell of sex that came soon after didn't help either, the maid also looked uncomfortable but only because the unmistakable smell of sex was also stimulating her nose end drawing out her own lust.
“Yes?” asked Phyllia as if nothing was wrong.
”W… we… brou… brought the un… units you asked for…my Empress,” the butler managed to say and motioned to two carts that looked like laundry carts but filled with crystal orbs instead of clothes.
“Thank you, you two can take the day off,” said Phyllia to the squirming changeling before using her magic to push the carts inside, which let him and the maid see Apis and Val in action momentarily before the door closed. Then he teleported himself and the maid to his room for some alone time, needless to say, they thoroughly enjoyed their day off.
As Phyllia went to see who was at the door Apis managed to almost hilt Val’s cock and as the queen was still getting used to it Val got an idea. The lightsmith let her own ovipositor come out before brushing it against the slit on Apis tail, the youngest queen let out a cute “eep” sound that expressed her surprise before she looked behind herself and saw what it was. Then she let out her own ovipositor in response, but before she could do anything Val rammed her own ovipositor into Apis'.
Apis came right then and there when she felt herself being penetrated again and as she was climaxing Val grabbed Apis by her soft and round backside and lifted her before bringing her down just as Val pulled her ovipositor until only the tip was left inside Apis', from there Val proceed to fuck Apis with this particular form of double penetration.
The youngest queen was not used to that and was almost climaxing constantly, that caused a constant constriction on both of Val's tools, which sent the lightsmith over the edge and like Vesp before her Apis was on the receiving end of a flood of energy-rich and fertile seed, however unlike her sister both exits were blocked. When Val slammed Apis during their climaxes the lightsmith's cock’s head went past the queen's cervix and the crown-like part where the head met the shaft managed to plug this exit and when Apis ovipositor contracted Val's expanded, which resulted in another plugged exit, all that plus the fact that a secondary reproductive system in Val's body activated and proceeded to pump even more cum through her ovipositor as well didn't help either.
After Phyllia finished filling another six units she was treated to the result of Val's latest climax, which was Apis' abdomen swelling just over the size Phyllia was when her daughters came in, she went to the bed to join them but noticed that Apis passed out. Good thing she was already sitting on the edge of the bed, so she caught Apis before she could fall.
“You really wore them out,” said Phyllia as she let Apis lean on her chest as she sat beside Val.
“Again it's not my fault that I'm a conduit for a literally endless reservoir of energy.” said Val before she removed her ovipositor from Apis’ which caused Val's cum to gush out from Val and Apis’ ovipositors, but when Val tried to pull out her cock she noticed something, so she said embarrassedly, “Um, I'm stuck.”
Phyllia looked at Val oddly before she tried and failed to not giggle, then she stopped trying to hide her amusement and just laughed. When her laughter subsided she took a deep breath to calm down, it was actually ludicrous if you think about it, she found the fact that her mate had her dick stuck in her daughter funny for some reason.
“Just use your shapeshifting powers,” said Phyllia and Val did just that, the only evidence of that was a quick flash of light coming from where Apis and Val's bodies met, just when that happened Val pulled out, showing her still hard cock as her own cum poured out of Apis' pussy. Then Phyllia laid Apis beside her sister to rest.
“Oh boy, I might need another cart,” said Phyllia as she looked at Val and the carts.
Needless to say that the four of them didn't come out of the room that day and Val produced enough energy to power an entire city for a month, also Phyllia mattress was completely drenched and ruined by the end of their session.
8.3. The Master, the soldier and the prince, first act. (CLOP)
Chrysalis was on her back with her eyes closed in both concentration and discomfort as she took deep breaths and centered her mind on her task. Her expression barely changed when another wave of discomfort was felt with another contraction.
“That's it, breathe. You're doing it just fine, Your Highness,” said one of the nurses, this one a pony with a very light blue coat and bright pink mane with the typical white uniform of a nurse.
Chrysalis resisted the urge to roll her eyes, this was far from the first time she was doing this and certainly, it wouldn't be the last. However, she decided against it since the nurse was just doing her job.
Indeed, it was just in time for the nurse to carefully lift her arms and show the queen the egg that she just laid, it was the size of ostrich egg with a green semi-hard shell and wrapped in a white towel. The queen just nodded and the nurse handed the egg to another nurse that was nearby, a dark purple and brown changeling from Arachne's hive if the four arms in her default form were any indication, who placed the egg in a special container made of glass, an incubator.
“Just one more Chrissy,” said Volthoom quietly as he stood beside Chrysalis on the delivery bed offering his love, both literally and metaphorically, while holding her left hand. Then he leaned down and kissed her temple before whispering, “Just one more.”
Chrysalis didn't even comment on the use of her nickname as she timed when the next contraction would come. Well, she indulged a bit too much on Volthoom's energy so it wasn't that surprising that she would be laying her eggs this soon, however, she opted to deliver them normally instead of using her ovipositor, it was less comfortable but it was quicker and she never liked to spend more than a day laying eggs if she could help it.
*grunt*
Chrysalis let her discomfort be known as she felt her womb starting to push the last egg out of her body. This caused the pony nurse to resume her previous position to catch the egg just as the changeling nurse opened the mobile incubator and it didn't take long for the last egg to come out of the queen’s body.
The nurse carefully cleaned the egg before presenting it to her Queen and later give it to the changeling nurse for her to carefully place it in the incubator. Chrysalis just lifted her legs from the supports on the delivery/birthing bed before sitting and getting up while holding Volthoom's arm.
“My queen, you shouldn't get up so soon,” said the pony nurse.
“There's no need to worry Tender Care, this isn't the first time I do this. Also, I just want to lay in my own bed, I trust you can take care of my clutch, besides I have Volthoom here to help me if I need,” said Chrysalis as she stood with a little bit of difficulty, still feeling a bit sore from the experience.
“Of course my queen,” said Tender Care before turning to the changeling nurse and say, “C’mon Lily.”
Lily nodded and placed her main hands on the handle and started to push the mobile unit while her secondary pair activated the runes and adjusted the settings of the equipment to ensure that the egg would develop at the right speed. She and Tender Care exited the infirmary and headed to the nursery.
“C’mon, let's get you to your room,” said Volthoom as he guided Chrysalis out of the room as well. After exiting the room they headed through the many hallways and to Chrysalis’ room, it was pretty convenient that all Queens have a small infirmary and medical staff in their residences, not that surprising considering that they could have hundreds of nymphs at once. In fact, their residences were, in fact, a combination of a nursery, daycare and school with dormitories for when the nymphs grow up plus the accommodations for the staff that elected to be available 24/7 in case of emergencies.
It was during Volthoom's introspection that they arrived at the master bedroom and Chrysalis motioned for the bathroom. After a quick but relaxing warm bath, Volthoom just did a quick spell to dry Chrysalis before guiding her to her bed, where she lay down and said, “Thank you for been here.”
“There is no need to thank me, we are family and family always support each other,” said Volthoom as he sat on the edge of the bed before he leaned down and kissed her, just a chaste kiss filled with love to help her recover faster. Then he said with a mischievous smile after pulling back, “That and I left my paperwork to Hedy and Lyca as revenge for their little pranking war.”
That caused Chrysalis to giggle in response, then Volthoom said, “Just rest, me and Mili can take care of Pupa.”
Chrysalis just nodded before closing her eye, she could feel the warmth of Volthoom’s love in her body and as she rested she could feel it helping her body heal, hopefully, she would be back to normal in a few hours minimum.
Volthoom stayed until he was sure Chrysalis was asleep before getting up and silently close the door as he exited. Once outside of the room he expanded his senses, inside his “sphere” he could feel the tiny sparks that were Chrysalis’ brood, small flame-like presences that were the nurses on the nursery and the staff all over the mansion as well as the visitors that were heading to the nursery.
Once Volthoom was sure he opened his eyes and proceeded to navigate through the hallways of Chrysalis’ mansion until he reached the same wing where the infirmary was located and from there he just went a bit further to reach the nursery. Once there he noticed the head nurse, a Labrador-like female diamond dog with light brown fur coat with a slender figure, the only feature that would seem out of place at first would be her bigger hand but that was common among diamond dogs.
The head nurse was wearing the typical white nurse uniform with a cap and pinafores apron with the symbol of a stylized tree sewed into the left side of the chest, that symbol was the one that the flutter ponies of old associated with healing and nurturing, thus the symbol used by those that practice medicine within the Empire, similar to the Red Cross and the Caduceus on Earth. She was holding a clipboard and carefully taking notes with a great deal of care and dexterity while she carefully and quietly as possible directed the other nurses in the room.
Volthoom stood outside of the room observing through the glass window from the corridor, very similar to an actual hospital and it didn’t take long for a maid to arrive with Mili, Poly and Pupa. Poly and Pupa used their wings to fly in order to see the nursery while Mili was keeping an eye on the two princes that were floating about 7ft off the ground and pressing against the glass to get a better look. The maid, a cute thestral mare —at this point, most people count as cute since they are usually half of his usual size— with dark blue coat and bright yellow eyes, bowed to the group before returning to her duties.
“So, what’re you thinking?” asked a familiar high-pitch voice from Volthoom’s right. He looked away from the too excited princes and at the source of the voice, Firefly. The mini-changeling just sat on his shoulder and crossed her legs while she looked at him. Then she did a fake gasp as she looked into the nursery, “Unless, you are planning on seducing the head nurse. You insatiable beast, and on the day Chrysalis was in labor, shame on you.”
Volthoom just rolled his eyes at the Firefly’s attitude and said, “I don’t need to seduce her, she is an adult and if she wants to sleep with me all she has to do is ask, or I could just ask her if she is up for a one night stand. However, this is not the best time to ask and she takes her job very seriously.”
“Yeah, aunt Greta can be very scary, but she is a great teacher!” said Pupa excitedly as she flew near Volthoom and remembered all the time she was scolded by Greta while growing up. Volthoom just let the little prince land in his arms as the two of them looked at the nursery.
“How about we let the nurses do their job?” asked Volthoom and Mili nodded, now with Poly in her arms, so the group left the nursery and decided to spend the day doing something else while the nurses finished organizing everything.
Night of the same day
The rest of the day was rather uneventful as, Firefly was about to call her sisters but decided against it and was willing to wait a day or two for Chrysalis to recover, so she left an hour before sunset to meet with her sister. The only event of note was when Thorax and Pharynx came back after their shift was over, Thorax came barreling through the front door, grabbed a nearby maid and started to shake her while asking questions after question while Pharynx just facepalmed in the background, Pupa and Poly found that to be funny though.
After calming Thorax down and letting the poor thestral mare recover her balance, Volthoom informed him that Chrysalis was fine, she was just tired and was resting in her room. Apparently, this was the second time Thorax and Pharynx deal with this situation, the first being the small brood that Pupa belonged to, and it was just as nerve-wracking for Thorax, Pharynx on the other hand just accepted that was nothing he could do so he just let things play out.
*sigh* “I’m so relieved,” said Thorax as he stood in front of the nursery with Volthoom and Pharynx while placing one hand on his chest to calm his racing heart.
“You really need a way to not stress yourself about this whole thing, it's not like we can help much,” said Pharynx as he too looked at the eggs in the nursery.
“Don’t be so hard on him Pharynx, this empathy shows he will make a great leader,” said Volthoom as he hugged the prince from behind and letting Thorax leaned on Volthoom’s muscular abs, it was rather easy considering that the prince was a bit over half of Volthoom’s height. Then, Volthoom looked down at Thorax’s dark green eyes with hints dark rose colored streaks and added, “But he has a point, we can’t have you panicking every time something similar happens.”
Thorax just chuckled nervously before closing his eyes as he basked in the protective presence of his mentor while letting his “Lantern Sight” see the world as a black and gray background with the only colors being the people around him. Behind him he could sense a sun of all possible colors gently envelop him, however, that wasn’t his focus and he didn’t let the warmth distract him too much as he looked forward and saw the small white sparks inside each egg, his new siblings, and as he gazed at the pure light of life he just thought, “They were beautiful.”
Thorax was so distracted that he almost didn’t see the green, blue and yellow flames with a hint of orange that he recognized as his brother approach him, he lost his concentration as he saw the flame lean up and touch his lips. As he felt Pharynx’s lips touch his own he opened his eyes met the Pharynx’s bluish purple eyes and after the chaste kiss Pharynx pulled back and placed his head beneath Thorax’s as the prince place his chin on the top of his older yet smaller brother, of course, both being mindful of their horns.
“You two look so cute together,” said Volthoom as he placed a hand on Pharynx smooth head and the other on his back, effectively hugging the two smaller changelings.
"Not that I mind the kiss but why now?" asked Thorax to Pharynx.
"You just looked so relaxed and had such a peaceful expression that I couldn't help myself," said Pharynx as breathed in the Thorax's scent.
After making sure that Thorax wouldn’t panic again Mili went to the guest room she was staying, it wasn’t far from Pupa’s room where she and Poly were planning on having a sleepover, so the queen left Volthoom with the two changelings as they looked at their new siblings to tuck in the two little princes.
Pharynx pulled back and looked into Thorax’s eyes before leaning for another kiss, this time when their lips met it wasn’t a chaste kiss but a deeper and more lustful one. As their forked tongues intertwined Pharynx pushed Thorax against Volthoom, who used his magic to anchor himself and just watched the show. In their passion, they seemed to forget that Volthoom was there because the moment he placed his hands on Thorax’s shoulders he yelped a rather cute “eep”.
“Really?” asked Volthoom and his only response was Thorax using his hands to hide his face in embarrassment since he was sandwiched between his mentor and his brother, while he liked the set up it left him no escape route and that only added to his embarrassment. Seeing Thorax like this Volthoom couldn’t help but think he was just precious, so he knelt down and once he was at eye level with the prince Volthoom gently removed Thorax’s hands from his blushing face and kissed the prince.
Thorax’s eyes widen in surprise at first but when he felt his mentor’s long tongue dominate his, he moaned and tried to reciprocate the kiss, however, Volthoom with a tongue almost twice as long as the prince’s manage to easily subside the smaller changeling while its forked extremities explored the warm and wet cave that was Thorax’s mouth. Thorax just stopped trying to resist and let his mentor do everything he wanted. By the time he pulled back Thorax was in a daze, then Volthoom said to Pharynx, “Remind me to train his spatial awareness.”
Pharynx, who observed the whole exchange, looked at the two of them with surprise at first, then he felt a sudden pang of envy, if it was directed at Thorax or Volthoom he couldn’t discern at the moment, however, he just blinked in surprise when Volthoom spoke to him. Acting on the childish need to be noticed by the two of them Pharynx moved to Thorax’s side and pulled Volthoom into another kiss.
At first, Volthoom didn’t react because of the surprise, however, that changed when he felt Pharynx trying to explore his mouth and he wasted no time in subsiding the soldier in a manner even more ruthless than he did with Thorax just a few moments prior. It didn't take long for Pharynx to become a moaning mess and his legs lost their strength, but before he could fall Volthoom caught him and deepen the kiss even further as he held the Pharynx.
By the time Thorax recovered from the kiss, he saw his brother being carried by his mentor bridal style with an expression of being lost in pleasure with a dreamy look on his face not even noticing a trail of drool running down his chin while he stared at into the air with a dopey smile.
“Wow,” said Thorax seeing his brother reaction.
“Ready for the second act?” asked Volthoom coyly as he licked the outside of his lips showing off his long forked tongue to the world and his only answer was a nod from Thorax, who was too embarrassed and hypnotized by the sight before him to give a verbal answer.
Volthoom just smirked before his horn glowed and in a flash of light later he and his students disappeared in a flash characteristic of teleportation. As they left a thestral mare nurse and a female changeling maid peeked from around the corner.
“Damn, that was hot,” said the maid.
“Uh-huh,” said the nurse as she nodded.
Thorax’s room
The two royals and the soldier appeared in flash of chromatic light, the teleportation was enough for Pharynx to recover his senses and despite that he just snuggled against his mentor’s muscular chest. The soldier didn’t bother to move as he felt Volthoom sat on the bed that was big enough to comfortably fit the bigger changeling and a few more people and Pharynx was placed sideways on his mentor’s lap, he just leaned on the Lightsmith-turned-Queen with his right side.
Without saying a word Thorax approached the two and leaned forward and kissed Pharynx after removing his shirt. While that was happening Volthoom teleported his own shirt near the corner where Thorax threw his own shirt, not long after Pharynx got up and did the same. As the two kissed passionately Volthoom took off his pants exposing his hardening member as it was halfway out of its sheath.
As Thorax and Pharynx pulled back and looking at each other with half-lidded eyes while a small thread of saliva connected their lips the two felt another surge of magic followed by the chilly air of the room on their legs. When they looked down they were met by their own hardening members, thanks to the lack of pants, and when they looked at the source of the surge, they saw the last flickers of light from Volthoom’s horn while the smiling Lantern looked at the two smaller changelings with lust in his silver eyes.
A shiver run down the spines of the prince and soldier as at the lust directed at them while their mentor shamelessly used his hand to please himself by moving it up and down the length of his tool. Thorax gulped at the sight of his mentor naked form, he was the biggest changeling Thorax knew in his default form and his member reflected that fact, nevermind its alien shape. In a trance, the two approached their mentor after Volthoom motioned for them to come closer with his free hand and without the need for words, Pharynx used both hands to hold the alien tool, making sure to commit all its rings, ridges and bumps to his memory while taking its mushroom-like tip into his mouth. As Pharynx tasted Voltoom’s tool Thorax stood on his knees beside his mentor and as Thorax was on his knees by Volthoom's right the male looking Queen leaned down to kiss the smaller changeling.
This exchange lasted for a while, then the corners of Volthoom’s mouth moved up as he got an idea, so without breaking the kiss he slowly laid back bring Thorax with him. Just as his back was on the bed he grabbed Thorax’s shoulders and pushed him away, which caused Thorax to look at him with a confused and cute doe-like expression as he knelt by Volthoom’s right on the bed.
“Wanna you help your brother?” asked Volthoom coyly as he pointed at Pharynx who was opening his mouth as wide and pushing his head against Volthoom’s unyielding pillar of flesh and barely getting a third of his foot long member inside. Then he made a twirling motion with his index and said to the prince, “Or you can let me have a taste.”
Thorax thought about what to do for a moment before nodding to himself —it was rather cute— and turned around before lifting his left leg and placing it Volthoom’s left. Now with Volthoom’s head between his legs, Thorax was about to sit on his mentors face when he yelped at the feeling something long and wet fondled his balls before moving to the space behind his sack and insert itself on his female sex.
Volthoom knew from the beginning that Thorax was a hermaphrodite like himself by smell alone, the advantage of having enhanced senses, so he was quite eager to taste the light green folds of the prince and to show that he grabbed Thorax‘s shapely behind and pulled the smaller changeling down while letting his long tongue explore the prince’s passage of wine colored flesh, the colors actually reminded Volthoom of both a flower and a fruit, which made him all the more eager to taste such delicacy.
Thorax moaned as he felt his mentor invade his female sex and he almost came as Volthoom drove muzzle deep into Thorax’s folds and eagerly drank its juice, the lust emanating from his teacher was not helping either. The prince tried to move but his mentor held firmly while expertly kneading the padded flesh of his butt and reaching the well-developed and trained glutei. The prince couldn’t do anything but take the pleasure from the combination of the intrusion and the massage.
Pharynx looked up and saw Thorax place his hands on Volthoom’s muscular chest as he struggled to stay upright and by the vacant expression and the droll running down his chin, Thorax was almost over the edge. Sometimes Pharynx would sense and see the frustration on his brother as he tried to push himself further down, evidently, his teacher was making sure Thorax wouldn’t climax too soon and that only made Pharynx own lust burn brighter. So he used his shapeshifting and when the brief flash of purple colored fire disappeared Pharynx new form was revealed, he didn’t change much but he just enhanced the female attributes on his androgynous form, however, the only big change was on his chest, a pair of breasts as big as his head.
The soldier, unlike his prince and his mentor, was biologically a simple male but he had experience as an infiltrator and he wasn’t above of shapeshifting into a female form to get the job done, however, he was practical and because of that he only made the changes that he felt he needed at the moment, in other words, he changed just his upper half. So he used his new orbs of soft flesh by placing the virile pillar of his mentor in-between them before using his arms to hug his breasts and press the member with their softness while he took the tip into his mouth once again. Not long after that, he started to lewdly and hungrily suck the tip of Volthoom’s tool, so focused was on his task that he either didn’t notice or didn’t care about the spike of lust from Thorax.
“Master!!” screamed Thorax as he climaxed when Volthoom hit and the right spots, ropes of cum came out of his cock painting Volthoom’s chest and abs white as well as some of it ending on Pharynx’s breasts, which helped the soldier by acting as a lubricant for his task. Thorax’s climax was only prolonged as Volthoom kept hitting those spots while he greedily drank the pussy juice that came into his mouth, good thing his lung capacity allowed him to hold his breath for a long time. Thankfully, most rooms in the mansion were soundproof otherwise Thorax would have wakened up his mother and that would be both embarrassing and rude, infinitely more embarrassing than rude in his opinion.
After Thorax came down from the high that was his climax he fell to his right, luckily they were in the middle of the bed so there were no worries about him falling on the floor. He was panting as he hit the mattress while his cock was drolling the last bits of his orgasm on the bed and he felt the bed shift as he was regaining his breath.
Volthoom sat up and looked down at the cum dripping on his front, using his magic he scooped every single drop on his person into a bubble that floated above his right hand, the white bubble was the size of a softball in his hands, however, he had to constantly remind himself that he was twice his original size. So he placed his left hand on the back Pharynx’s smooth head and Volthoom’s cock twitched as he saw Pharynx look up without taking out the cock from his mouth, it was such a deliciously lewd image for the normally professional soldier that if Volthoom had any less self-control he would have climaxed.
“You have no idea how delicious you look right now, or maybe you do,” Volthoom mused aloud as he gently caressed the smaller changeling. Then he said to Pharynx, “Open up.”
Pharynx did as he was told and opened his mouth, thus releasing Volthoom’s tool but he didn’t stop his the tit fuck he was giving his mentor, in fact, the saliva and pre that was running down its length only made the member slicker and would be able to move like a well-oiled piston between the two soft orbs if Volthoom decided to be a little rougher. The soldier just gave a look of anticipation as he saw his master position his right hand above him and he eagerly let his brother’s cum fall into his mouth as his master tilted his hand and the cum dripped as if it was being poured from a cup.
“Don’t swallow it,” said Volthoom firmly as he rightened his right hand and stopped the rest of the cum from pouring out, Pharynx was about to close his mouth when he heard the order and stopped himself, the Volthoom gave another order, “Play with it for a bit.”
Pharynx did as he was ordered and made sure to show what he was doing by keeping his mouth open as his forked tongue moved through the cum in his mouth and by the spike of lust he felt his mentor Volthoom was pleased by his little display, then he heard Volthoom say, “You can swallow it now.”
Not needing to be told twice Pharynx closed his mouth and a few drops escaped as he sealed his lips and he gulped thrice, his own cock twitching and drolling globs of pre on the floor as he felt the lust directed at him and the eyes of his master paying attention to his neck as he followed the cum going down throat, then he saw Volthoom once again tilt his right hand and pour the cum into Pharynx’s mouth while he kept pleasing the bigger changeling with his breasts, however, this time Volthoom kept pouring the cum. Out of reflex Pharynx tried to swallow it but more kept coming down and it came faster than he could swallow, so a great deal of the white cream drenched the lower half of his face and breasts, thankfully he couldn’t choke unless it fell on his nose.
“Good boy,” said Volthoom as he felt the joy from the soldier as he was prized, evidently Pharynx felt comfortable following order, then Volthoom placed a hand on each cheek and looked into Pharynx’s bluish purple eyes before asking in a sultry tone as he licked his lips with the tips of his forked tongue, “Ready for the final act?”
Pharynx just nodded eagerly in anticipation and Volthoom smiled, however, his smile widen when he heard a groan coming from behind him.
“Um.. what did I miss?” asked Thorax as sat up and looked at the other two.
8.4. The Master, the soldier and the prince, final act. (CLOP)
Thorax just blinked at the sight before him, his brother using a more female-looking form and covered in his own seed while being caressed by their mentor it was like a picture of a loving couple and in sense they were. However, the smirk on his mentor’s face was making him apprehensive but that only added to the arousal he was feeling.
A flash of chromatic flames later Volthoom assumed his female form before moving further into the bed and motion for both Thorax and Pharynx to come closer. Val just placed her hands on the sides Pharynx’s of head before licking the cum that was left on his face while making sure to insert her long snake-like tongue in Pharynx's mouth to the point where he was deepthroating it, then Val slid it back before gripping the female-looking soldier by his shapely and round butt to lift him so she could clean the rest of Thorax’s cum from his breasts, of course, she made sure that his hard and pulsating member was squished between her own breasts.
Thorax’s own member twitched at the sight of his mentor pleasing his brother, Pharynx was hugging Val’s head against his chest before he extend his own tongue to give a few licks on Val's blade-like horn while the bigger changeling used her tongue to coil and tug his sensitive nipples one at the time while he bucked his hips against the softness that was Val’s breasts being pressed against him as she, essentially, hugged his pelvis against her chest. The look of pleasure as Pharynx breathed heavily with a visible blush on his cheeks only made that picture even more arousing to Thorax and he was feeling kinda left out, but that soon changed.
Pharynx came and like Thorax he coated Val’s cleavage and neck with his seed, as the white cream dripped down Val’s breasts Thorax leaned up and started to lick the drops of warm cream. Val didn’t stop her ministration and that only prolonged Pharynx climax, however, after he came down from his high Val slowly let him slide down before placing him on the bed and let him lean on her left side.
Thorax used this opportunity to get up and use his tongue to clean Pharynx’s cum from Val’s breasts, as he finished he kept licking his mentor orbs of soft flesh he felt another flare of magic but he didn’t spot any change in his mentor’s form from his current angle, which was pretty difficult since most of his vision was occupied by Val's breast. However he almost jumped when he felt something fondling his balls before inserting itself into his female sex as well as another appendage that he identified as a hand on his butt and looking a bit to his right he saw that Val had three left arms, two of which were caressing Pharynx and slowly giving him some energy while the third was moving up and down her member with a wet sound, the additional arms were just beneath the original ones in a vertical arrangement.
All of that was almost forgotten the moment Thorax felt in his mouth the pure liquid emotional energy that was Val's honeyed milk, from there he just drank greedily from Val’s infinite reservoir of energy that was channeled through her body. He felt his mentor use one hand to softly press his head against her breast and he only moaned as he felt her insert two fingers in his back door, even as he drank he could taste lust in the milk and that only made his body hotter. He barely noticed when his brother joined him by occupying the other nipple.
Val’s just cooed as she let the two smaller changeling feed off of her and the lust she was supplying them would keep them going for longer, sometimes she cursed the stamina and instincts that came with this body. The stamina was expected since a Queen could spend days mating to as many males —and sometimes females— as it could to expand the hive as much as possible, however, it was proving to be an annoyance to keep the urge to nurse and lay eggs at bay, but at least that was manageable, plus it made the “bedroom activities” more enjoyable for her and hopefully her partner(s).
“Now, which one of you boys are going to help me ‘scratch that itch’?” asked Val in as she gently pulled the two back and away from her breasts, the tugging of her nipples as they tried to get more milk and the wet popping sound that came as their lips were separated from the source of sweet nectar only made her shiver in pleasure. However, Thorax seemed to not have given up yet as he kept his forked tongue wrapped around the nipple he was sucking on and he kept pulling to get it back into his mouth.
*Smack*
With a yelp, Thorax let go of his mentor’s nipple as he felt the hand that was previously fingering his pucker was now firmly pressed against his left butt cheek after the sound of it slapping said soft and round cheek.
“Tsk tsk Thorax, don’t be such a glutton you can have more of it later,” said Val in a disapproving yet teasing tone as she used her the hand that was previously caressing Thorax head to lift his chin so he could look in her eyes. The Prince just gulped at the sight of those silver eyes as they looked deeply into his dark green ones.
Val let herself fall on the bed as spread her legs and motioned for Pharynx to go there with her left hands while she let Thorax straddle her abs. The Prince gulped again when his tail covered the pulsating two feet long member that as just shy of touching his back door but the three pairs of hands that started moving gently over his body helped him relax while Pharynx positioned himself between Val’s legs and guided the flared tip of his member to Val’s wet lips.
Pharynx’s member slid forward without much resistance and as he entered the slick, warm and wet tunnel he felt it contract and grip his tool almost at painful levels, courtesy of Val using her impressive muscle control plus it only made the experience more intense for him and more enjoyable for her.
“Do you want to change?” asked Val and Thorax thought for a bit, then a flash of green and wine colored flames covered him for a moment before revealing his form. Now Thorax was in a female-looking form much like Val, her new appearance was a few inches shorter, had wider hips and a modestly sized pair of boobs.
Val just moved her top pair of hands to feel Thorax’s new breasts and considering that Val was almost twice the size of the smaller changeling she could easily cover her whole chest. Thorax just relaxed as she felt the pair hands gently massaging her chest and another pair on her hips while the last pair went around and behind her where she felt one hand lift her tail, which caused her to lean forward and expose her pussy while the other grabbed the two feet long tool. Then Thorax lifted herself a bit after lining her pussy with Val’s member before slowly lowering herself on it and she almost stopped when she felt the mushroom-like head spread her lips but she took a deep breath before proceeding.
Val moaned loudly as she felt Pharynx hilt himself in her pussy just as Thorax’s tight tunnel started to squeeze the tip of her own member and with her own hands she gently yet steadily lowered Thorax until she was less than halfway into the smaller changeling, however, by that point she already hit the entrance of the Prince’s womb.
Thorax was panting as she was getting used to being stretched this much as well as being stimulated further by all the bumps and ridges scratching all the right places and as her breathing was almost back to normal she felt a pair or smaller arm hug her from behind as she felt a muscular chest against her lumbar as a head nuzzling the middle of her back. She looked at the arms around her waist before looking behind her and see that her brother was back to his default form.
The Prince just smiled as she basked in the love that was coming from both her mentor and her brother, however, her daze was interrupted by Val’s pushing her down further. Her mind went blank as she managed to reach the halfway mark, which was accomplished by the member forcing itself into her womb before hitting its roof, thus causing her tunnel and cervix to tighten around Val’s tool.
Val almost came as well if the way she squeezed Pharynx was any indication but she bit her lip with her fangs and focused on the pain to hold back her climax for just a little bit longer. It proved to be difficult as she felt Pharynx warm seed fill the remainder of her vagina and womb but the tight grip she had over his member didn’t allow the cum to escape, that resulted in her womb expanding a bit to accommodate the substance, however, by the time he finished it barely had a visible effect on the outside.
While Pharynx was filling Val’s chamber she used her ring to create a condom like construct around Thorax’s member and by the time the two of them finished Val floated the cream-filled balloon off of Thorax. While she let the two smaller changelings recover she looked at the bubble of cum, might as well not waste it, so she just reshaped it into four softball-sized bubbles before popping one into her mouth and gulping it down. As she licked her lips she felt Pharynx’s cock twitch inside her pussy just as Thorax’s tunnel quivered a bit, especially as she seductively looked at the two as she licked her lips, then she smiled as she placed another one in her mouth but she made sure to visibly lick it before popping it, then she did the same with the two remaining bubbles.
Thorax was so distracted that by the show that her mentor put that when she felt Val push her further down she almost yelped in surprise. She felt the pressure build inside her belly so she used her shapeshifting to change her insides to better accommodate her mentor’s tool, then she felt the upward pressure dissipated as she felt the head hit the top of her newly reshaped birth canal just before the upside-down U curve that led to her womb.
Thorax was pushed against Pharynx just as Val hilted herself into the Prince, the moment she was leaning against her brother he placed his head on her left shoulder to see what was going on and when both of them looked down their eyes widen. Thorax’s belly was bulging out and it was possible to see the tubular shape of her teacher’s tool all the way from her pussy to the topmost part of her abdomen, although it became less noticeable as it went up since Thorax angled her new birth canal to point toward the center of her body, good thing she was a changeling.
“Oh, you have experience,” said Val as Thorax got used to the member inside her newly reshaped reproductive system.
“Yeah,” said Thorax with a more feminine voice after she nuzzled Pharynx for a bit, then she looked at her mentor as her brother gently nibbled on her neck as he placed his hands over the pair of Val’s hands that were on Thorax’s breasts. Then she said, “Ophis can be pretty rough and I learn to adapt quickly.”
“I wish you showed the same adaptability in combat,” said Val before focusing her attention on Pharynx who seemed to be focusing only on Thorax, so Val wrapped her strong and muscular legs around the smaller changeling to get his attention, then she said when he looked at her, “C’mon lover boy, don’t leave me waiting.”
Without the need to be told twice Pharynx released Thorax from the hug and placed his hands on Val’s wide hips before he started to pull back but the cum from his previous orgasm didn’t leak thanks to the flared head of his cock, then he proceeded to move back before entering once again.
Val released Thorax’s tail, which caused it to instinctively wrap around Pharynx torso, to lift herself so she could be at Thorax’s eye level by placing the hands that were previously holding Thorax's tail as well as the hand she used to guide her cock slightly to the side to support the weight of her upper torso, then Val moved the hands that were on Thorax’s chest to her own chest to fondle her own breasts and each squeeze caused droplets of milk to come out. Thorax herself started to move up and down by placing her hooves on the bed and applying the result of her physical training, showing that despite the soft exterior she liked to display there were solid muscles underneath that layer of softness.
Eventually, the trio found a comfortable rhythm where Thorax would move up just as Pharynx would move in allowing Val’s pleasure to alternate between her female and male sexes.
Thorax came twice, thus covering Val’s milk dripping breasts in her cum, and the Queen just scooped the mixture of milk and cum with the top right hand that was previously fondling her breasts before bringing to her mouth to drinking it while sensually smearing the fluids with her top left, the display plus the lust Val’s was emanating kept Thorax’s cock hard and ready despite the multiple ejaculations. Meanwhile, Pharynx came thrice and the amount of cum being stored in Val’s womb was showing on the outside and at this point, it looked like a pregnancy five months along but that didn’t stop the two and Thorax was careful to not put too much pressure on Val’s belly.
Eventually, Val came, the tightening of her vagina caused Pharynx to climax for the fourth time and the surge of lust caused Thorax to climax for the third time, and her cum rich energy moved through her tool causing it to swell along its length until said cream reached the end before firing like a high-pressure hose. The cum easily slid around the curve at the end of Thorax tunnel before making a U-turn and fall into her womb, because of the new configuration it was like placing a balloon beneath a tap with its opening facing the stream.
Thorax’s body stiffened as she felt all the energy-rich fluid flow into her womb, the three were so enthralled by their own peaks of pleasure that it made them radiate more emotional energy and that prolonged their climax further. By the time they all came back from their high Val had to use her magic to hold the two smaller changelings in place and avoid their fall. Thorax belly was filled to the point that she looked like she was with a brood much like her mother before laying her eggs and while sizable for a normal changeling it was still small for a Queen, however, on Thorax’s smaller body it looked even bigger, plus its weight against Val’s own cum filled womb was getting uncomfortable.
Val’s unwrapped her legs from Pharynx before pulling him out and gently float him to the bed with her telekinesis/magic while also using it to push every drop of his cum into her womb before clenching her cervix to keep all the cum inside. Then she carefully used her telekinesis to turn Thorax around so she was sitting sideways on her lap before sitting up and lift Thorax just enough for her to pull out her cock, thankfully Thorax’s reshaped reproductive system was quite good at holding a great deal of fluid since its entrance was on the top, so it didn’t take much strength or concentration to hold everything in since gravity did most of the work, again like a balloon under a tap. If Thorax made this design out of ingenuity or experience it was up for debate, however, it only worked if Thorax was either sitting or standing, so Val just placed Thorax on her lap and let the smaller changeling recover as she leaned on her right and used Val’s breasts as pillows.
Out of curiosity, Val used her two lower left hands to rub her own belly, it was quite an interesting sensation to feel the warm and thick liquid moved inside her womb, maybe pregnancy won’t be such a problem either, however, she decided to postpone such event to a later date. Then she placed the lower and middle of right hands on Thorax’s taut belly, of course being careful to not apply pressure, and waited for the Prince to recover while using her middle and top left arms to cradle the smaller changeling and the top right to gently hug her head.
Thorax was the first to recover, she could hear Val’s gentle humming plus the strong yet relaxing beat of Val's heart, she felt the softness of her teacher’s breasts on the right side of her head and a pair of hands rubbed her taut belly, she was tempted to just sleep in the warm embrace of her teacher but she knew that Queens had massive amounts of stamina and she was still aroused from all the lust she consumed. When she opened her eyes she happened to be looking at the full-length mirror in her room and she had to admit that she liked the sight of herself being cradled by the bigger changeling, plus the fact that she looked ready to drop a sizable brood/clutch only added to the image of a loving mate caring for her.
“Tired?” asked Val.
“A little, but I’m still good for a few rounds though,” said Thorax as she snuggled against Val’s breast. Then she felt Val’s left nipple against her cheek and said, “Maybe a little drink will help.”
“Maybe later but before that, do you want to ‘empty the tank’ or not?” asked Val as she used her top right hand to point at Thorax’s belly.
The smaller royal looked at down and noticed for the first time how big her belly was, just shy of reaching her knee, and she also noticed that her breasts were bigger as well, probably all the excess energy that her body metabolized. Her belly was so big that she couldn’t even reach around it with her arms and if she didn’t know anything she would say that she was carrying around eight to ten fully developed eggs, which were big enough to hold a nymph ready to hatch.
“Wow, normally it takes a few rounds with a Queen for me to get this big or an entire night with Pharynx and a few of his men,” said Thorax as she moved his arms to rub her belly, however, she noticed for the first time the softness her body was leaning against. She looked at her right and saw that Val’s belly was starting to show as well, so she said as she gently poked Val’s belly with a finger, “Well, by the end I might not be the only one.”
“Do you want help?” asked Pharynx as he stood in front of the duo of royals, evidently having recovered during their conversation.
“Yeah, help me get up,” said Thorax as she extended her left arm, completely ignoring the twitching cock she felt pressing against her ass from below, and with difficulty she managed to get on her hooves. She almost fell forward if it wasn’t for Pharynx support and her tail helping as a counter-weight, then she frowned before placing one hand on her lumbar and the other beneath the wine colored dome stuck on her midriff.
“You could just let some of it flow in your tail to help with your balance,” suggested Val as her cock twitched at the sight of Thorax’s stuffed womb. Then she thought, “Dammit, either I have pregnancy fetish or its the urge to breed coming from this body, knowing my luck it's probably both.”
“Nah, the flaw in this design is that it cuts off my womb from the secondary egg chamber in my tail,” said Thorax as she walked to the closet before using her magic to open the door and float what appeared to be a cylinder made of glass with a handle on each end with a ninety degree of difference. Then she placed a hand on each handle before twisting both until they were perfectly parallel to each other and when that happened a hissing sound was heard before the glass started to fill with a multicolored liquid just as Thorax’s belly started to shrink.
“Oh, are you normally this well-prepared?” asked Val with a teasing tone, then she added, “I mean, Phyllia had to order some empty energy containers after our first round and she did keep some empty containers in her room. So did you always keep a high-end high-capacity energy container in your closet?”
“Yeah, I always keep at least an empty one and a full one for emergencies,” said Thorax bushing a bit at the question but luckily she was not facing her teacher and by the time she was back to normal the container was a quarter full. Then she turned around and after twisting the handles back into their original positions she offered the container to Val and asked, “Do you want to convert your extra weight or do you want to keep going as you are now?”
“Nah, I’m good,” said Val dismissively as Thorax placed the container beside the bed. Then she looked at Pharynx and motioned for him to come closer. When he got closer Val suddenly pulled him onto the bed and placed him face down on the mattress before getting on all fours over his body using her top pair of arms and knees to support her weight while using the middle and lower pairs to keep Pharynx down.
“Now it's your turn to receive some of my seed, so do you want to receive as you are now or do you want to shapeshift?” whispered Val in a teasing tone on Pharynx left ear after she lowered her head and let her breasts rest on the back of the smaller changeling.
Pharynx shivered in anticipation so instead of answering he just closed his eyes and basked in the presence of his teacher as he felt some of her weight her on his back pinning him on the bed and keeping him from escaping, not that he wanted to escape. Then a small flash of wine colored and deep purple flames cover him for a moment before showing that he was once again back in his female form.
“So, front door or back door?” asked Val as she lifted herself from Pharynx and used her four free hands to explored the now female soldier noticing the appearance of a familiar set of lips as one of her hands moved between the legs of the smaller changeling.
*moan*“Can y-*moan* you do both?” asked Pharynx with a somewhat flustered look, evident by the rich purple blush present on her cheeks, while trying to remain composed —and falling— but also trying to avoid eye contact yet occasionally glancing at Val.
“My my, aren't you adventurous one?” asked Val as she lowered her head again and licked the cheek of the female soldier, which caused her blush to deepen further and Val had to resist the urge to just coo.
“You should see her with her squad,” said Thorax with a more masculine voice and when Val looked back she saw that he was back to his default form.
“Thorax!” said Pharynx rather loudly in her embarrassment.
“C’mon Phi, it’s not like you are trying to hide it,” said Thorax before noticing the raised eyebrow look that Val was was giving him, so he answered, “Oh sorry, It's a habit for one of us to assume a female form and switch the role later.”
Val nodded before using her own shapeshifting to fulfill Pharynx's —or Phi as she apparently preferred in her female form— request and a brief flash of chromatic fire focused on her crotch later she was supporting two alien two feet long cocks instead of just one.
“Oh, I almost forgot. Thorax do you want the front door?” asked Val in a coy tone as she moved her lower right hand over her front to spread her plump and wet pussy lips with her middle and ring finger, thus exposing her wet and quivering tunnel that seemed to be begging Thorax to just ram his cock in there. Then she lifted her tail while moving her left lower hand and middle right hand over her sides and spread her soft and round butt cheeks, revealing her rosebud, then she used her middle left hand and in an arousing display managed to insert her whole hand into her pussy before pulling out and smear all the natural lube on the exposed sphincter and slowly yet teasingly insert each finger individually to make sure it was well lubed. Then she asked in an equally coy tone after inserting another finger and use them to spread the ring of muscles, “Or the back door? Or perhaps both?
In a daze, Thorax just climbed on the bed while a green and wine colored fire passed over his pelvis, then he stood behind his mentor and showed the twin rods of meat that he shapeshifted just now before ramming them in the holes that were offered and painstakingly presented to him.
“My my, aren't you eager?” said Val as she curled her tail around Thorax eventually with the base of her tail-blade near his face Val let her ovipositor come out and without pausing Thorax took in the member into his mouth and deepthroat it without interrupting his thrusting.
Val just smiled before she let go of her butt cheeks and pussy, then she used her middle left hand to smear what was left of her own lube on Phi’s anus while using her middle right and lower left hands to grab the smaller changeling’s by the waist and lifting her so she was on all fours as well. While only her breasts were lightly touching the back of Phi’s head she used her lower right hand to guide her two rods to their respective entrances before thrusting.
Phi opened her mouth in a silent scream on the edge of her climax as she felt her insides being stretched by the two intruders, both tunnels squeezing as much as they could one trying to push its intruder out and the other trying to its intruder further in. She almost whimpered as her mentor pulled back from the insides that were reshaped solely to take in those two magnificent rods but screamed in joy as they came back in. And everything was only made better when she felt her mentor’s hands —she didn’t know which ones— groping and squeezing her breasts and another pair doing the same with her soft ass.
Val just finished licking her middle left hand clean before using it and her middle right to grope and squeeze the soldier’s breasts while using the lower pair to do the same with the soldier’s butt cheeks, all three of them moving out of sync but eventually they found a comfortable rhythm. The Queen would thrust just as Thorax would start to pull out and she would pull when he started to thrust, that allowed the Prince to met her own pace and to focus on Phi below her without a problem. On a side note, she placed a spell on Phi to keep her from climaxing and when asked why in a pleading but equally accepting tone Val just said, “You have been such a naughty girl, almost cumming on the first thrust.”
At some point Thorax tail wrapped around Val’s left thigh while Phi wrapped around Val’s waist, the message was clear, neither one of them wanted to stop and they felt safe with Val. Said Queen just basked in the dedication of her lovers and reciprocated their efforts, the way she squeezed the breasts of the soldier below her, and occasionally slapped the soft behind with the hands that were kneading the soft flesh of said behind, only seemed to spur the smaller changeling into trying harder to get off and please her teacher. The way Thorax was massaging her ovipositor with the muscle of his throat, plus the visible pulsating bulge on his throat from said ovipositor’s intrusion, only spurred Val to try harder as well.
They kept that position for a while and eventually Val climaxed again, Thorax felt his mentor’s pussy and ass squeeze his members almost painfully, but at this point pain and pleasure were a blur, and this caused his fifth orgasm since they started in this position. Phi, on the other hand, had a “fucked silly” expression on her face as her eyes rolled up and her tongue hanging out like a panting bitch in heat, all thanks to that spell placed on her by Val, then she felt a strange warmth around her cock but she was too far gone to care.
Just as Val felt her climax coming she created a pair of rings with her Ring before bending the space inside the rings’ perimeter she placed one in front of her mouth as she opened said mouth, with the ring just shy of entering said mouth, then the second ring aligned itself with Phi’s cock and the moment it traveled down its length said cock seemed to disappear only for it to come out of the ring near Val’s mouth. Because of her greater size she easily took the whole cock without even hitting the back of her mouth, then she coiled her long forked tongue around its length even reaching outside of the lips that were around the base of said cock into the small portal and around Phi’s sack, the tip even managing to touch her own cock, the same cock that was fucking Phi’s pussy, thus tasting the male and female fluids from both herself and Phi.
Three came at the same time again and at that moment Val gripped Phi’s butt cheeks and breasts as well as the bed sheets as she once again felt her cum travel through her cocks, it was a rather interesting having more than one, before blasting into Phi’s holes as she hilted herself on the smaller changeling just as she felt Thorax hilt himself inside her and fill both of her holes again, thus adding to the ever growing reserve of emotion rich cum stored inside her body and she almost forgot about the ovipositor that said Prince was deepthroating if wasn’t for the same feeling she just felt in her cocks traveling the length of her tail until it blasted its content down Thorax’s throat and directly into his stomach.
Thorax’s was the first to recover from the rush of adrenaline and endorphin, he could still feel the ovipositor pumping more cum into his full stomach, so in an effort to taste his teacher's seed he pulled until only the tip remained, thus he kept swallowing it until Val’s orgasm subsided and made sure to savor the last spur of cream before swallowing it before sucking on the tip of the ovipositor to drink every last drop, he also notice that Val’s elytra opened and her wings buzzed with the excitment since they were unobstructed.
Val recovered not long after, so she used her mind to carefully move the ring around the base of Phi’s cock away from said cock, thus causing it to slowly retreat from her mouth just as she pulled back her tongue, which she used to lick the few drops of cum that escaped her mouth and were running down her chin before it retreated back into her mouth.
As Val moved a little she noticed four things, the first was that Thorax was eagerly trying to get more of her cum, the second was that Thorax was still hilted in her but since she was tightly holding him with her tail it wasn’t like he was going anywhere without teleporting, the third was that her belly was pressing against Phi’s back and the fourth was that Phi’s was unresponsive. When Val looked down she saw that Phi was not even supporting her own weight and she was hanging in there by Val’s hands that were not being used to support her weight. Very carefully Val used her middle pair, the ones that were on Phi’s chest to gently lower her to the bed, which allowed Val to see Phi’s face and notice that her eyes were closed, however, the moment Val started to lower the lower half of the passed out soldier’s body on the mattress she notice a few problems.
Despite being unconscious Phi was fiercely gripping both of Val’s cocks and her tail was around Val’s waist keeping her hanging from Val’s bigger frame, her belly was also big enough to almost reach the mattress but was not as big as Thorax was after Val’s first climax, in sum, Phi was clinging to Val’s body rather stubbornly by her tail, pussy and ass.
*sigh*
Val just sighed before carefully spread her knees a bit more, just enough for Phi’s knees to rest on the mattress but considering that Val was twice the size of the smaller changeling she almost sitting on her legs, as she lowered herself she let go of Thorax, however, she looped her tail around his waist and pulled him out before bringing him up and in front of her. Of course, she immediately clenched her muscles to keep his cum from escaping and she smirked as he gulped nervously but she didn’t pay attention to that, instead she brought him high enough so that his cocks were at eye level, then she proceeded to engulf both of them and expertly use her tongue to clean both of them while sucking vigorously, that plus the fact that they were quite sensitive after so much use caused Thorax to climax again.
Val drank greedily from both cocks and to make sure a single drop wouldn't be wasted she lifted Thorax even further as she tilted her head to look up allowing gravity to help her guzzle down the creamy substance coming from Thorax. Said Prince, of course, held onto Val’s horn out of reflex, if it was to keep his balance or to get a better leverage point it was up for debate, and proceeded to face fuck his teacher as he stuffed her already full stomach. When he finished he was panting and he felt Val pull him away from her, the lewd noises of her mouth still sucking on his cocks plus the wet pop that came after sent shiver down his spine and tail, before gently placing him on the bed beside her at her right as she let out a pleased sigh.
*BURP*“Excuse me” said Val politely as she placed her top right hand on her mouth after she burped rather loudly while she moved her middle pair to pat and rub her belly and it was then that she noticed how big it was.
Val looked down and resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her now bigger breasts, really it was like changelings were made almost entirely with seduction in mind, however, her attention was on the silver dome that was beneath her gray breasts. Her belly looked overdue with triplets and it was almost blocking Phi’s prone, and still attached to Val by the hip, form from her view. She came out of her introspection when she heard giggling coming from her right and she looked down at Thorax with his hands over his mouth trying and failing not to laugh.
Ignoring the giggling Prince she used her Ring to creat to condom-like constructs around her cocks before expanding it a few millimeters, then she pulled out but kept the shape of the constructs before slowly shrinking a section near the base of the condom —more like hollow dildos now— that was plugging Phi's anus and allowing the ring of muscle to slowly recover its tightness, essentially Val turned it into a buttplug. Then she connected the buttplug and dildo with a string before creating another string from the plug with a loop at the end that went around Phi’s tail as well as two more strings from the based of the dildo that went around Phi’s hips by the front before connecting to the loop at the base of Phi’s tail, then she added some area around the strings until it looked like a normal pair of multicolored panties on the on the outside.
Val looked at Thorax and just shook her head at the laughing Prince before gently lowering Phi on the bed so she was laying on her left using the lower pair of hands that were still holding onto the smaller changeling. Val had to resist the urge to just coo and cuddle the smaller changeling as she attempted to curl as much as she could while hugging her own belly with a content smile on her face, however, Val let Phi rest for now. So she got up and walked in front of the mirror, her bigger and more muscular fame having a far easier time moving the extra weight despite being around the same amount that Thorax was packing in his —her at the time— womb.
The Queen had to admit that she looked sexy even now as placed her lower pair of hand on her wide child-bearing hips; her middle pair on the silver dome that was her belly where she could still feel her overstuffed intestines and stomach fighting for space with her even more overstuffed womb; and the top pair beneath her heavy milk laden breasts that were currently bigger than her head. They were so full of milk that she barely squeezed her right breast before a stream of milk came out in an arc before hitting the mirror after this Val just shrugged before bringing the right nipple to her own mouth to taste the milk that everyone that tasted seemed to crave.
Needless to say that Val wasn't disappointed that the honeyed substance was one of the best or even the best drink she had tasted so far and if wasn't for the fact that her stomach was already full she might indulge into some of her own milk. Releasing her breast from her mouth and letting it fall back with a wet slap she just turned to her side to see her profile.
Thorax stopped laughing a little bit after Val got up, he admired her figure for a bit as she posed in front of the mirror before turning his attention to Phi and he just smiled at the peaceful look his brother in female form had.
“She wears that look well,” said Val looking at the two from the mirror as she wore a red and pink nightgown with a low cut and puffy shoulders top that was the red part as well as a puffy skirt that ended just halfway to her knees that was the pink part.
“Yeah, sometimes I wonder if she wants to be the one to bear a nymph but that’s impossible without external help and she is too prideful to admit it,” said Thorax with a thoughtful look.
Val just dissipated her fake clothes created using her shapeshifting before using her tail to lift the container from before and placing an hands on each end. A minute or two later she was back to normal and the container was almost halfway filled, so she climbed on the bed and kissed Thorax before asking, “Ready for a round or two while she recovers?”
Thorax gulped as he looked at the two twitching cocks ready to be used yet again, this was going to be a long night.
A few hours later, morning
Phi fell on her mentor’s yet again stuffed belly from exhaustion as she was completely spent and no longer being aware of the number of climaxes she endured, she couldn’t even muster enough strength to move from where she fell, which was actually very comfortable and it felt like a water bed.
Val just used her lower pair of hands gently caress the head of the smaller changeling, congratulation her for the job well done and the response she got was Phi just nuzzling her taut belly. She looked to her right where Thorax in her female form was also panting and laying on her right as she used Val’s arms as a pillow and she too had an overstuffed belly as her left leg was being held up by Val’s magic with two familiar rings of light at between her legs.
The Queen used her magic to pull Phi off of her and place the soldier beside her while she unconsciously clenched her muscles to keep the precious seed she collected inside. She laid Phi on the empty spot on her left but the moment the smaller changeling touched the mattress and before Val could move her toward the pillows Phi used her left arm to hug Val just beneath her breasts and where the curvature of her belly started, then Phi hooked her left leg on Val’s thick thigh before pressing herself on Val's side and snuggle against the bigger changeling.
Seeing that Phi wouldn’t let go of Val anytime soon the Queen just grabbed a pillow with her top left hand and carefully used her middle and lower left hands to carefully move Phi’s head up before placing the pillow for Phi to rest her head on. Once that Phi was sleeping comfortably Val moved the two familiar rings of light on her crotch up, which caused her two cocks to leave Thorax’s holes and the moment they left she lowered the leg she was holding before letting her transformation dissipate, she stayed in her female form though just without the extra arms and cock.
Thorax hissed as she felt Val’s cocks rub against her sensitive and overused —more like abused but she wasn’t complaining— holes before she too clenched her muscles unconsciously to keep her mentor’s seed from leaking, however, her tired body couldn't contain everything and some leaked from her holes but she was too tired to care. Then she felt Val return to her usual form before placing the right hand on her belly, in response she just moved back a bit and pressed her back against her mentor’s right side before relaxing in the protective presence of her teacher.
Val just laid on the bad as she felt the two smaller get comfortable against her body, she yawned as she placed a spell on Thorax and Phi’s horns so that they wouldn’t stab the mattress, the pillows or her during their sleep, then she placed one on her own horn before closing her eyes.
“Thorax have you seen V-” started a voice as its owner opened the door of the bedroom, which they evidently forgot to lock, and the ones that were still awake —Val and Thorax— recognized as Chrysalis, then she said, “There you are.”
“Hi, mom,” Thorax before falling asleep and too tired to care that her mother just walked in on her, her brother in female form and her teacher also in female form after the three had a sex marathon.
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow and Val shrugged as much as she could before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
Volthoom was in his default form and was currently in his office reading some documents, today he was wearing capri pants and a plain gray shirt. In the last month he managed to train another two batches of lightsmiths himself, currently, there were almost ten thousand lightsmiths made up of the batches he trained himself and the batches trained either partially or entirely by those that graduated under his tutelage.
Taking inspiration from the Romans as well as many other fictional armies, which included the Green Lantern Corp, he made it so that lightsmiths were divided into two Legions of five thousand. Volthoom also divided the Empire into three thousand sectors with three lightsmiths in each sector to patrol and enforce the law, even if the criminality on the Empire, in general, was rather low, while the remaining one thousand were on reserve and doing additional duties, they were commonly called the Honor Guard since they were placed in important locations throughout the Empire including the Palaces.
There were two types of lightsmiths the ones that used mainly the Emotional Spectrum and the ones that used mainly the Elemental Forces, which led them to have many roles besides those of the law enforcement variety and with the primary alignment telling the most likely legion that they will be placed in, either the Legion of Light or the Legion of Elements.
Depending on what Light of Emotion or Elemental Force the lightsmith had the most affinity for helped determine what he or she could contribute with. The ones that had affinity for The Green and The Grey helped farms grow food –being subterranean farms it was easier to grow mushrooms– while those with affinity for The Red and The Blue helped with livestock, even those with affinity for The Clear and The Metal helped to advance in the fields of biology and technology respectively. The ones with an affinity for the Lights of Emotions helped produce energy, different emotions were used as different types of fuel throughout the Empire.
Volthoom also made sure to train the normal military as well and that had the purpose of choosing a new lightsmith among the potential candidates in case a lightsmith retired or fell in the line of duty. Besides he didn't do much aside from organizing his newly named Order of the Elemental Light, a name he chose based on the source of the power of its knights/lightsmiths, and coordinating their activities throughout the Empire. Right now he was signing some documents concerning the finishing touches of the training facilities and the barracks, actually, there were houses around the facility and enough for the place to be considered a town, the inhabitants were the lightsmiths’ families.
The three lightsmiths on each sector would rotate, so barring emergencies and the lightsmith that were assigned to the edges or beyond the edges of the Empire in remote outposts, at least half to two-thirds of the Order remained here on the training ground. It felt good to know Volthoom was contributing to the Empire's development.
On another note, all changelings finished their metamorphoses, which meant that the entire population of changelings no longer was afflicted by that almost crippling hunger and that allowed for the energy that would otherwise be used to feed them be better utilized elsewhere. If Volthoom had to compare the technology of the changelings to anything he ever saw previously than it would be a mixture of Oa from the DC universe as well as the Protoss from StarCraft, but their application was more like Atlantis from Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the Sheikah from Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Energy could be stored into small crystals to power their technology, their vehicles and weapons as well as many other forms of machinery. Also through these advancements and the Elemental Force of The Metal, they managed to develop artificial intelligence, granted they were not created using computer coding like you would expect, they were forged by infusing a core with The Metal’s energy before being placed in a body.
To avoid the A.I. rebellion scenario Phyllia immediately awarded the same privileges and rights to them after being convinced by Volthoom instead of just letting them be seen as smart golems or tools, he did so by showing many different civilizations that dealt with A.I. and how they ended when it came to how they treated their creations. The stories that had the most effect on her decision were the ones about the Manhunters and the Men of Iron, but even if they avoided rebellion Volthoom also warned against laziness and complacency with the Fall of the Eldar and the Destruction of Krypton. In the end, Phyllia accepted that they were in a sense their children as well and it was their responsibility to guide them.
In fact, a portion of both Legions was made up of synthetics, or synths as they become more well known since they were capable of feeling emotions and were alive in a sense, thus they were compatible with the White Light of Life. Also the use of mechanical prosthetics and artificially grown limbs plus the ability to replace organs with both organic and synthetic variants made the differences between those that were born from flesh or metal become even more blurred, the sociological structure of the Empire became more akin to the world of Megaman ZX.
At this point, they were probably the most advanced civilization on the planet, but Volthoom was not arrogant enough to assume that they were invincible, limitations to what they could achieve existed. Besides all of their magitek was based on the use of the Emotional Spectrum and the Elemental Forces, they had alternative sources of energy and technology but they weren't nearly as advanced. However all that development led to the two greatest achievements of the Empire so far, they managed to create an implant that allowed non-changelings to access the Hive Mind and the creation of a secondary artificial Hive Mind that connected information devices, basically they reinvented the Internet, but the implant allowed them to access it Matrix style.
*Sigh*
Volthoom sighed before closing his eyes and concentrate, not long after his skin became see-through showing his chromatic glowing veins/nerves and the black sphere in its chest. Then he reached into the black sphere and pulled out the Travel Lantern before placing it on the table.
“Activate Travel Lantern,” said Volthoom using his shapeshifting power to mimic his original voice.
“Travel Lantern online. Voiceprint Recognized. Greetings Volthoom it has been approximately 14 billion years since your last jump, also your biology seems to have been altered. Would you like me to update your personal profile?” asked a voice coming from the Lantern, it was clearly artificial in nature.
“Yes, use energies signatures and password to identify the user. New password: Light of Lights,” said Volthoom still using his original voice.
“Updated,” said TL.
“Update navigational data based on current location,” ordered Volthoom now using his natural more androgynous voice.
“Updating… Error error. Unable to update. Current location in spacetime continuum unknown,” said TL.
“Possible causes for such an error?” inquired Volthoom.
“Possible causes include: corruption of database, massive change in multiversal structure and/or current location being outside of the known Multiverse within the boundaries of the Source Wall,” said TL as it listed all possible reasons for the previous error and running diagnostics on its own system, then it noticed something, so it asked, “Query: there are several objects of unknown origin and of unknown signature in storage inside this unit. What are they?”
“Bring out some of these objects,” said Volthoom and TL projected from its opening a small portal similar to a Boom Tube. Not long after it dropped six objects, the first was a jagged green gem with a drawing of a skull with an eye patch on it, the second was a perfectly cut black diamond, the third was a marble with a white bottom and purple top with two shallow reddish-purple bulges and a white ‘M’ above the release button in its middle, the fourth was a square stone talisman with a small organic heart inside and 3 stone arches over the hole with the heart compressed close like a cage, the fifth was a brown medallion with a three comma like marking on both sides and the sixth was a comic book featuring Doctor Doom from Marvel and an anthro version of the Power Ponies.
Volthoom looked at the tokens on his desk, he knew about the Displaced but he never bothered to actually touch a token before and instead, he just left them in the Travel Lantern. Out of curiosity he reached out and touched the green gem, the moment his fingers touched the gem he heard in his mind, "I am Asphyxious. The Iron Lich. If you need my aid just take this token and call my name."
Then Volthoom pulled his hand back and touched the black diamond, once again he heard in his mind, “I am the protector of the innocent, warrior of the weak, call upon me for assistance and I shall come. Call for the Gravity Shifter and I will make those who harm others beg for mercy as they are crushed at my feet. Hold this gem close to thine heart and I shall be at your side as a fellow warrior!”
Then Volthoom did the same with the miniaturized Master Ball, “I stand alone. But if you would seek to challenge your destiny, or just yourself, then I shall come. If your need is dire, then I shall aid you. However, if you seek to subjugate, you shall not live to regret it. Call upon me if you would behold my power.”
Then Volthoom pulled back his hand before touching the miniature fountain that he remembered seen before somewhere and heard once again in his mind, "I am Rin the Dungeon Keeper. If you are a hero fear not my darkness for I am immune to its taint. If you need my aid in battle or my expertise in dark magic call me and I'll come if I can."
After realizing that it was a Dungeon Heart from dungeon keeper 2 Volthoom proceeded to the medallion, “I am the warrior, the master of weapons, the seeker of battle and adventure. To those who would require my strength to defeat thy foes, to crush opposing forces, put on these Genji Gloves/hold out this amulet and call out my name with the intent to summon me. If ye be without true malice in thy hearts, know that the mighty Gilgamesh will come to thy aid!”
Releasing the medallion Volthoom touched the comic book, “To those who are worthy of Doom's aid, I care not if you are good or evil. Your morality means nothing to me as only my own will always take precedent, that does not mean I will betray you if indeed you have summoned me. I have my own honor code to battle, I may be visiting your world but just remember I am only just that, a VISITOR seeking payment or knowledge that is of use.”
“Those are tokens, anchors as well as calling cards for other individuals throughout this Multiverse. Keep an inventory of them at all times and warn me if a new one appears or if an old one disappears or lose its energy signature(s) as well as any changes on the items themselves,” ordered Volthoom after his explanation.
“Affirmative,” said TL and not long after Volthoom had an idea.
“Can you use those items to create a map of the Local Multiverse?” asked Volthoom.
“It's possible,” answered the TL after opening another small portal and collecting the tokens on the table.
“Do it and warn me when it's ready,” said Volthoom.
“Affirmative. Initiate mapping,” said the TL and after that there was only silence as Volthoom thought about creating a token for himself, but he decided to do so after recovering the last fragment of his former Black Ring, somehow he knew that whatever resulted from the union of the Phantom Ring and the Black Ring was the original form of Original Volthoom's power.
Volthoom was brought out of his introspection when he heard a knock on the door of his office, he used his telekinesis to open the door and let whoever was knocking in. He looked from the last document of the pile, it seemed that bureaucracy was inevitable no matter the civilization, at least the Changeling Empire was quick and efficient about it. Anyway, he looked at the new arrival and saw Chrysalis entering accompanied by Pupa, who immediately run to Volthoom. Chrysalis remained mostly the same and the only visible change after her metamorphosis was her wings that grew longer similar to a dragonfly but with a glass-like look and foldable under her new deep green elytra, also both her and Pupa were wearing simple yellow dresses.
“Grandpa!!” shouted Pupa, that was another thing that changed, when Volthoom and Phyllia's relationship became official all the younger princes started to see him as a grandparent, it wasn't unusual since royals were immortal and their dynamics could easily shift, besides he was old enough to play the part anyway.
“Hello Pupa, how was your morning?” asked Volthoom as he pulled his chair away from his desk before picking Pupa and placing her on his lap while Chrysalis kissed him before sitting on the right side of the sofa on the side of the office against the wall.
“It was awesome!” shouted Pupa as she looked up at Volthoom before noticing the lantern on his desk but dismissing it as a decoration despite feeling the emotional energy emanating from it.
“Really?” asked Volthoom as he looked at Chrysalis.
“Yeah, she was excited about visiting this place. You and your Order became quite famous, you all are heroes to the citizens of the Empire and an inspiration for the younger generation," said Chrysalis before saying in a teasing tone, "In fact Pupa was just telling me she will become a lightsmith.”
“Mom! It was supposed to be a secret,” said Pupa as she pouted.
“Ah, don't be like this, I bet you will be a great lightsmith,” said Volthoom to Pupa.
“Really?” asked Pupa with hope in her voice and Volthoom nodded.
“So, how are your new siblings?” asked Volthoom.
“Oh! They hatched a few days ago, they were so cute and I wanted to play with them, I even promise to be a good big sister,” said Pupa excitedly, it was clear that this was the first time she had younger siblings.
“Yeah, all of them have bigger than average reserves of magic and were quite active. I must say that I'm impressed with Shining Armor's potential, they are quite a handful bunch and I actually had to double the number of nurses in the nursery to let them have enough rest,” said Chrysalis to Volthoom.
From there the three of them spend the time talking and occasionally playing with Pupa since Volthoom finished his paperwork. Then they were interrupted by another knock on the door and Pupa was on Chrysalis’ lap when Volthoom opened the door personally, he was greeted by Phyllia being accompanied by Ophis, Apis and Vesp, all of whom went through metamorphoses with the only visible changes being that Ophis and Phyllia had was that now they have elytra covering their wings. The only other visible change on Phyllia was the fact that she was pregnant, the result of his and Phyllia's mating a month ago, along with Apis and Vesp also being pregnant from the same occasion, if Volthoom had to compare to anything he saw previously he would say they looked overdue with twins.
“Hello dear,” said Phyllia before placing her arms around Volthoom's neck and pull him closer for a kiss. Then he pulled back and looked at the pouting Apis, so he also kissed her before doing the same with Vesp and Ophis. Then he motioned for them to come in and sit down.
The three pregnant queens sat on the couch while Ophis sat on one of the chairs in front of his desk. Pupa reached out to Apis, who sat beside Chrysalis on the couch for four people, and when Apis picked up her niece the prince immediately started to nuzzle the queen's fluffy fur collar.
“So fluffy,” said Pupa and Apis childishly send a smug look at Chrysalis, who rolled her eyes at her younger sister’s attitude.
“Not that I mind, but why are you three here?” asked Volthoom as he sat back in his chair.
“This is my Empire, besides I don't need an excuse to visit my mate,” said Phyllia.
“Also we were bored,” said Apis as she held Pupa with her right arm as the little prince rested her head on the queen's fluffy fur collar coming out of her blouse.
“Yeah, and hungry,” said Vesp as she rubbed her distended belly and Volthoom raised an eyebrow at the comment.
“Really?” asked Volthoom before continuing, “As far as I know there isn't a shortage of energy anymore and there is a stockpile of energy available. If it's food, then I'm sure the royal chefs would be honored to make something.”
“But we want some energy directly from the source, besides it's only fair that you give us energy since it's your brood as well,” said Apis as she pointed to her midsection with her left hand.
“And you are not saying that just because I happen to be able to naturally refine said energy better than anyone else,” said Volthoom as he raised an eyebrow.
Changelings could refine energy in a similar way that bees make honey, the better trained a changeling was the purer was the energy that they feed both themselves or others. Lightsmiths could produce this energy themselves instead of collecting from others and aside from them or non-changelings it was mostly only the collectors that normally shared energy directly.
*Sigh*
Volthoom sighed before creating six apple constructs, the shape was entirely optional and what mattered was that he filled them with energy. The one he gave Phyllia was pink and made almost entirely of love, as was the one he gave to Pupa who was currently sitting on her mother's lap holding her treat with both hands, the ones he gave to Apis and Vesp had hints of anger to give a more “spicy” taste that they liked, the one he gave Ophis had a hint of greed and fear giving it a more acidic taste similar to a grapefruit and the one he gave to Chrysalis had a hint of hope and compassion giving it a “colder” taste kinda like mint.
They enjoyed their meal in silent and Volthoom just contemplated the idea of being a father, it didn't make much of a difference to him now because he already felt like a father or grandfather to most changelings and even non-changelings.
“Local Multiverse mapped,” said TL catching the attention of the six visitors as well as Volthoom's.
“Status,” ordered Volthoom.
“All trans-universal routes to the owners of the tokens traced and destinations mapped. Locations with copies of the tokens and without a known owner were partially mapped based on cross-referencing known destinations,” said the TL.
“I see, that will be all,” said Volthoom.
“Travel Lantern offline,” said TL.
“What is that talking lamp?” asked Pupa after finishing absorbing her meal.
“It's a lantern, dear, not a lamp,” said Chrysalis after she too finished her meal and her daughter just made an "ooh" sound before nodding.
“What's that talking lantern?” asked Pupa correcting herself.
“The Travel Lantern,” said Phyllia after she finished her meal.
“Travel…” started Apis before placing the last piece of her meal in her mouth and feeling it melt inside her mouth as it lost its structural integrity.
”…Lantern?” finished Vesp after she swallowed the last bit of the former constructs.
Then Phyllia proceeded to explain what the Travel Lantern was and needless to say that they were very impressed.
“Wait! Timeout,” said Ophis as she made a “T” with her hands after finishing her meal as well before asking, “You can travel through time?”
“Yes,” answered Volthoom as he read some documents after storing the Travel Lantern back into his chest during Phyllia's explanation.
“Then that means you could save Flutter Valley,” said Vesp.
“At the cost of the changeling race and the Empire itself. It means to erase the lives of every changeling ever born,” said Volthoom and the price of such action downing on the younger queens, while Phyllia missed the Valley she made peace with what happened and Chrysalis already lived a long life and despite everything, she wouldn't have it any other way.
The heavy atmosphere was broken when someone barged in scaring Volthoom's visitors in the process, the intruder was a gryphoness with dark green feathers and dark brown almost black fur, she was panting and by the ring near the tip of her tail, she was a lightsmith.
“My Lord! *Pant* *pant* An urgent message from our spies on the north. 'The Crystal Empire has returned’,” said the gryphoness.
“Sorry, but we have to cut our reunion short,” said Volthoom to the queens before getting up and getting out of his office accompanied by the gryphoness. Then he broadcasted his voice throughout both the facility and the Hive Mind, “All lightsmiths on reserve prepare to move out! We are going to the edge of the world!”
Finally the chance to recover the last fragment of the Black Ring.
Volthoom was standing on a cliff overlooking the recently returned Crystal Empire, or more specifically the capital of the Crystal Empire, beside him was Hedy and Lyca and all three of them were on their battle forms. The siblings had armor plating that resembled knights armors and on their back between their wings were their respective spears. Volthoom armor resembles a biomechanical design that replicated muscles and bones over his torso, limbs and neck. The three of them were without their helmet as they looked at the city that was radiating fear and hatred.
It was quite fortunate that the equestrian soldier that was assigned to the northern outpost was a changeling in disguise and because of that, the information about the Crystal Empire's return didn't reach Celestia. It might take a while before she could notice that something was wrong, but hopefully Volthoom and the Changeling Empire would have dealt with Sombra by then, however, the worst case scenario would be that they wouldn't be able to defeat Sombra by then and a war would be waged between the three nations, maybe even drag other nations into this war.
“I can feel the fear and hatred from here,” said Hedy as her spear pulsed yellow and red for a moment.
“How can a queen rule like this?” asked Lyca.
“The correct term for a male ruler is 'king’ or ‘emperor’,” said Volthoom correcting Lyca.
“Sorry, I kinda forgot,” said Lyca as he observed the once beautiful city made of colorful crystals now covered in black crystals protruding from all structures, especially the central tower that acted as the palace that had a design similar to the Eiffel Tower, being patrolled by black armored ponies supervising rows of ponies in chains. Then she asked, “What will be our course of action, Grandmaster?”
Volthoom used his ring to project a map that corresponded to the entire territory of the Empire, the placement of the cities resembled a crystalline structure with forest and plains covered in snow in-between said cities that were located. The Empire grew since Volthoom taught them how properly use the energy of the Emotional Spectrum and thus it went from a single city-state to many settlements of varying size and population around the original city that became the capital and was renamed Diamond City, the other cities were named after gemstones as well.
“We wait for our scouts,” said Volthoom before looking behind himself, behind the cliff was a small army made up of lightsmiths that were mostly on reserve as well as some volunteers that were off duty.
“I see,” said Hedy as the three continued to observe the capital city. They managed to stealthily move around the surrounding settlements since they didn't know what kind of forces Sombra had placed on them or even if they were there willingly.
A few minutes later the static-like sound of teleportation was heard, so Volthoom, Hedy and Lyca turned to face the new arrivals and there stood three lightsmiths Thorax, Pharynx and a synth named Jet Stream. Thorax and Pharynx had a knight like armor with plates covering their bodies with the same color scheme of their chitin, however the most noticeable feature of their armors were their helmets, or more specifically the two long curved mandible-like horns coming from the side and pointing upward as well as having the same color scheme of their default horn.
Jet was a panther-like automaton covered with black plates and a long and thick cable acting as a tail. However the plates started to shift and change until he assumed a more humanoid shape that had the same plates covering cables that acted as muscles, his head was similar to that of a changeling, however the circular lenses could still be seen in his eyes, he lacked a horn and instead of ears he had two small antennas in the shape of ears.
“What have you discovered?” asked Volthoom.
“It's horrible Grandmaster, stallions, mares and foals in chains being led to places were they are forced to work,” said Thorax in a distressed tone.
“Calm yourself Thorax,” said Pharynx before addressing to Volthoom, “There are soldiers supervising the prisoners, patrolling the streets as well as the city's limits, their mind doesn't feel right. Some seemed to be there willingly, albeit reluctantly, while others don't feel emotions at all or are almost insane.”
“They seemed to have prepared for an invasion, I believe Sombra expected a swift response from the Royal Sisters,” added Jet.
“I see,” said Volthoom noticing that Thorax looked a little nauseous. So he asked, “Are you alright?”
“All that negativity was starting to affect me,” answered Thorax.
“Then go to the medics, you and few others will remain here while the rest attacks the city,” said Volthoom to Thorax before projecting his orders through the Hive Mind, “Prepare to move out and make sure to avoid lethal force as much as possible, Sombra probably tempered with their minds somehow.”
Not long after the order was given all lightsmiths that would participate in the attack flew to the city and when the guards noticed the enemy coming they immediately went on alert and sounded the alarm. However, three groups used their foci to become invisible and stealthily reach the locations they were ordered to go in order to accomplish their tasks.
The first was a group of twenty lightsmiths that would position themselves around the city and create a dome around it to cut off access from the outside. The second was a group that would enter the city and free the prisoners and the third was a group that would invade the palace and take-out Sombra.
Volthoom, Hedy and Lyca were in the group that would take out Sombra since they were the oldests lightsmith and the ones with more combat experience. The three of them flew directly at the window behind the throne room, when he broke through the first thing they saw was the familiar –only to Volthoom– black unicorn with silver armor and a red cape sitting on his throne with eyes widen in surprise as he looked at the three lightsmiths.
The throne room was spacious and semicircular in shape with 20ft in radius and 10ft in height, the throne of black crystals was on directly in front of the entrance on the halfway point of the half circle, the three lightsmiths could see ponies chained to the pillars and the chains were made of black crystal. Near his throne, few mares were chained and huddled together in fear as Sombra was using his telekinesis to hold a red mare with a green mane, all in all, the stereotypical dark lord/conqueror.
Volthoom shot a beam of energy from his right hand at the king, forcing him to release the mare he was holding up and put up a shield to defend himself. At the same time, Hedy and Lyca threw their spears and expertly manipulated their path to break the chains holding the ponies captive.
“Run!” shouted Hedy as she shot a beam of energy from her right hand at Sombra after taking a hold of her spear with her left. She like Volthoom channeled emotional energy through her body before concentrating releasing using her left hand. Lyca then did the same and so Sombra was keeping a barrier to defend himself from three beams of energy.
Sombra raised three spikes of black crystals, each one in front and thus blocking a beam, then he teleported behind the group and shot a beam of dark magic at Hedy, she was pushed and hit the wall, where she was encased in black crystals. Before she hit the wall Sombra shot another beam at Lyca, he tried to dodge but the beam managed to hit her spear and the left arm, encasing them in black crystal.
“Who are you creatures?” asked Sombra in a rather calm tone as he looked at the attacker that remained. However they remained quiet, so Sombra said, “I wished to know whose names I should carve into your corpses as an example to all those who defied me. No matter you will fail all the same.”
Lyca shot a beam of magic from his horn, but Sombra dodged and immediately shot another beam of dark magic, this time hitting Lyca’s horn encasing it in crystals. Noticing that the princes were in danger Volthoom immediately teleported beside Sombra before shooting another beam at the king and that sent him flying through the window.
“Open a hole in the barrier!” ordered Volthoom through the Hive Mind before taking off into the same direction that Sombra was launched and just in time the king passed through an opening and Volthoom followed him before ordering, “Close it!”
Sombra landed on the snow-covered ground and without pausing Volthoom created many bladed constructs like swords, spears, axes before launching them at Sombra. The king saw the rain of blades and his eyes widen before trying to raise a shield, he wasn't fast enough. Blades pierced and cut him mercilessly, leaving a bleeding and dying unicorn.
“This is the end Sombra, and also retribution for what you did,” said Volthoom as he looked at the defeated and dying king.
”Not so fas–*cough**cought* so fast 'God of Light’, have you forgotten what I am? I really didn't want to do this but yo–*cought* you left me no choice.” said Sombra before closing his eyes but instead of dying crack started to form from his injuries and soon enough his form shattered. In his place was a biped pony like being made of smoke with dark gray skin and black mane, he looked emaciated, actually it looked downright skeletal and covered by skin, especially considering the exposed teeth and his newly acquired wings made of bones.
The umbrum roared but it sounds more like a shrill, Volthoom could say it was like the scream of a banshee, however, the worst part was the coldness not from the ice and snow but the otherworldly cold present in the umbrum's voice. Volthoom felt his constructs weaken before been broken, behind him the constructs of his lightsmiths also weaken but held strong thankfully. Unseen by Volthoom a doorway made of red crystal hidden beneath the palace in the workshop of the dark sorcerer broke and many eyes looked from the darkness.
Umbrums poured out of their broken prison and swarmed the palace, once they broke through the gate everyone stopped at the wave of shadow, but the umbrums ignored them all and instead shot themselves at the dome breaking before making a beeline for Sombra.
Like Volthoom so long ago, they merged and even if Sombra's appearance didn't change Volthoom could sense that his opponent became far more dangerous. Among all these beings right in the center of Sombra's chest Volthoom felt a familiar power, the last fragment of the Black Ring was inside Sombra and was probably the reason he managed to recreate his shell.
Volthoom shot forward and dived while charging energy on his right fist, Sombra did the same and when their fists met a shock wave similar to an explosion was felt. Volthoom kept attacking relentlessly despite the fact he was being hit by the monstrosity before him, but he simply regenerated and kept attacking because he couldn't let this avatar of death go.
Volthoom then took a gamble, he immediately suppressed all forms of light and the next time he punched Sombra his arm sunk into the umbrum’s ribcage. Then he grasped the fragment, like all other it became a liquid before seeking the other pieces of itself, however that dragged all other umbrums with it. The moment the fragment joined the whole Sombra and all the umbrums within him joined the other umbrums, nightmares and windigos inside Volthoom.
On the outside it looked as it Sombra was slowly being absorbed by Volthoom and once it was done the lightsmith fell on his knees as he held his chest trying to hold the darkness in. Then his ring cracked and a light shined through the crack, the crack grown before pieces fell off and revealed a new ring. The ring was a simple and featureless ring that constantly shifted colors, a new power flooded Volthoom and he pushed back the darkness and returned to normal.
Black crystals around the Empire cracked before shattering and become dust. The crystal embedded into the buildings, embedded into the furniture, the chains of the captive ponies and everything else was destroyed, this caused the fighting to stop and all soldiers from Sombra's army surrendered before being restrained by the lightsmiths and the former prisoners.
However, none of this was noticed by Volthoom because he was in some kind of trance and in his trance he collected the pieces of the shell of his ring in his right hand. Then he crushed them and he poured energy into his fist and when he opened his fist a brand new Phantom Ring was revealed.
“I’m Volthoom the Acolyte of the Emotional Spectrum, Avatar of the Elemental Forces, the Emperor of Light and First of the Lanterns, if you seek to protect the treasure that is life itself, then I shall fight beside you. However, If I don't agree with you I shall either leave, fight you or not answer the call at all, you are free to call me at your own peril,” announced Volthoom having recovered in the middle of his speech.
Volthoom then looked at the newly made Phantom Ring able to act as a communicator between himself and his possible summoner and resize itself to fit its wielder, but not give the ability to create constructs unless Volthoom authorized. Through the reflection on the surface of the Phantom Ring, he managed to glimpse his new ring at the base of his horn and he recognized as the First Ring of Power. He created a portal to The Void in front of him using the said ring to and then he threw the Phantom Ring through said portal.
Then Volthoom turned around and with difficulty walked towards the now beautiful city the was the capital of the Crystal Empire until he reached the altar beneath the palace. On his way he saw the crystal ponies looking at him apprehensively, it was understandable since to them he just came in and forcibly usurped the previous usurper, he might have freed them but they didn't know if he was any better.
Volthoom, however, ignored them and assumed his Light Form, the moment his skin became see through with his glowing veins/nerves with the blackhole-like sphere in the center of his chest where his heart should be the crystal ponies recognized him, their guardian and teacher.
“Lord Volthoom?” asked some of the ponies, however, Volthoom ignored them before he started to float and his nerve/veins became pinkish violet and light blue. Then he flew up and with a construct reached into the tallest tower and pulled the Crystal Heart before placing it on the altar while he landed on the balcony of the palace.
“Citizens of the Crystal Empire, I have come to ease your fears as well as apologise,” said Volthoom still in his Light Form, his voice being amplified by a spell on the balcony and allowing the entire city to hear him, he noticed the spell but did do anything about it since it was just for announcements and also it was embedded into the crystal that made the balcony, so it was clearly as old as the palace and older than Sombra's rule. The palace worked as a transmission tower and as a result, all cities within the Empire could hear him as well as see a projection of him coming from the central tower on each city on the Empire.
Volthoom's speech caught the attention of everyone on every city of the Crystal Empire because when Sombra died all the spells he placed on either ponies or on objects disappeared with few exceptions and that left all of them confused. When Volthoom appeared his statement confused everyone further, especially because they recognized him and thus they paid attention to his next words.
“I want to apologize for my failure to protect you millennia ago, I wish to take this empire and you all into a new age of strength and prosperity, I wish for this Empire to flourish again. I intend to guide you all until a suitable ruler is found to lead you all and I once again wish to take my place as your protector. That's if you all accept this failure of a guardian back?” announced Volthoom not really expecting an answer since his quest to free the Crystal Empire was more an atonement for his failure as a protector than anything else.
However, the crystal ponies saw Volthoom fight against the umbrums and windigos to reach them in time and they remember all the times he helped them. So all crystal ponies of all the cities knelt down and lowered their head in respect for their teacher and protector. The Heart floated in place before it started to spin rapidly, the positive emotions charging it before it released a beam of magic upward that was channeled through the palace. When the magic reached the tip of the central tower it shot toward the sky and open like an umbrella before creating a dome around the capital.
When the dome reached the ground the surrounding towers glowed with the same magic before each one of them shot a beam outward. Those beams headed toward other cities and once it reached a tower in the borders of said cities it transmitted the magic to that city's central tower and a dome covered that city before shooting more beams outward to the neighboring cities.
That process repeated itself every time a beam hit a tower and in the end if you were to look at the Empire from above or in a map that showed the lines of magic connecting the cities in the entirety of the territory corresponding to the Crystal Empire it resembled a crystalline structure even more than before with forest and plains covered in snow in-between cities that were located on intersections of lines of magic.
Volthoom looked at the crowd below as they hugged each other, families were reunited as their memories came back and the air became lighter and free of the heavy atmosphere that shrouded the city previously. He ordered his lightsmiths to question the soldiers about their actions under Sombra's rule and by the end of the day when the magic of the Crystal Empire lightened the sky like the northern lights all those that joined Sombra because they had no choice were released and those that joined willingly were either incarcerated or executed.
On the next day, communications and trade were opened between the Changeling Empire and the Crystal Empire. With the help of the Changeling Empire the Crystal Empire restocked all the essential resources that it needed and for the first time in millennia, the entire nation celebrated in the form of the first Crystal Faire after Sombra's defeat. Even the Changeling Empire celebrated the return of their sister nation from ancient times, they could even see the memories of those times in the Hive Mind.
For now, all was well, but Volthoom still had one more pony to save.
Volthoom was currently reading the books Sombra left in his workshop, he absorbed the memories of the umbrum when he devoured the dark king and there were significant differences from the backstory he knew. Despite Princess Amore's existence, there was no Radiant Hope and as a result of that Sombra never had that one true friend, which turned him into more of a monster than his canon –the comics version anyway– counterpart.
However, like his canon counterpart, Sombra turned Princess Amore into a statue and shattered her before scattering her pieces to the four winds. Fortunately, the dark king kept a single piece as a memento of his conquest and it was possible for the lightsmiths to track the pieces by founding matches to the energy that the crystal was radiating faintly.
Another fortunate event was that the spy on Equestria’s military managed to keep the news of the Crystal Empire’s return from reaching Celestia so far and that bought Volthoom at least another week or two. He was standing near the complete statue of Princess Amore and ironically the only pieces missing were her horn and a heart-shaped piece on her chest.
Volthoom sighed before moving upstairs into the throne room, thankfully he didn't need as much sleep as a normal changeling but that didn't stop him from feeling tired after an entire week of not sleeping soon after a life-threatening battle. He sat on the throne that was temporarily his and was about to start the court when he heard a voice.
“Lord Volthoom, you look terrible. When was the last time you slept?” asked the crystal unicorn mare with a red coat and green mane that he saved from Sombra when he broke into the throne room a week ago. Currently, she was wearing a simple white victorian button-up shirt and dark brown pants.
“A week, but there is still much to be done Ruby Scroll. I can rest after the damage done by Sombra is fixed,” said Volthoom to his advisor and Royal Scribe.
“Stop being stubborn, your body needs rest,” said Ruby with a worried tone. Then she added, “Besides you already did everything you could. The shields are up, the military has been restored, all of Sombra's allies have been either incarcerated or executed, the fields are once again producing food while the technology and trade have advanced tremendously to compensate for our millennia of absence, especially with our new allies, the Changeling Empire.”
“I still think it's not enough,” said Volthoom as he got up after much insistence from Ruby.
“You came back for us and saved us when we needed the most. It wasn't your fault that we were banished if anything it was the Royal Sisters for interfering recklessly like they did,” said Ruby as she guided Volthoom to the master bedroom and without much resistance he laid on the soft bed.
“But I–” started Volthoom.
“No ‘buts’ my lord, we can handle a day or two without your guidance,” said Ruby as she pushed Volthoom back down and he offered little resistance before closing his eyes.
After making sure Volthoom was asleep Ruby was about to leave, but he managed to grab her arm and pull her to the bed, where he hugged her from behind. Ruby tried to remove herself from his arms but he wouldn't let her go and eventually she just sighed.
“At least he sleeping,” thought Ruby as she laid in the arms of her emperor dozing off, however, the sound of the door opening caught her attention.
“Volthoom we nee–” started Dana as she walked into the master bedroom, but she stopped when she saw that he was already sleeping and Ruby “shhh” the queen despite being embarrassed, in Ruby’s opinion a little embarrassment was a price she was willing to pay for her liege. Dana giggled at the crystal mare’s predicament as she approached the bed before kneeling down beside the bed and removed a strand of Volthoom's silver mane from his face, then she said, “At least he is resting now, mother was getting worried and she could feel his refusal to rest all the way to her palace.”
“Um, can you help me, Lady Dana?” asked Ruby quietly.
“Why? You two look cute together,” said Dana in an equally quiet tone.
“What’s up with you changelings and open relationships? If I found my stallion holding another mare I would throw a fit. Seriously, you guys are worst than the flutter ponies,” said Ruby with an angry face, which was cute in Dana’s opinion.
“Well, we are the flutter ponies after millennia as shapeshifters and were are very flexible,” said Dana wiggling her eyebrows at Ruby, who groaned.
“Will you help me or not?” asked Ruby.
“Ok, but I get to ask a favor from you on a later date,” said Dana and Ruby sighed.
“So long it's reasonable,” said Ruby and Dana's horn started to glow as she used her shapeshifting to create elytra to cover her wings before teleporting, or more accurately swap places with Ruby. The mare shook her head a bit before looking at the queen snuggling against Volthoom and nodded to her before leaving.
Many hours later, afternoon
Volthoom woke up from his dreamless sleep and yawned before noticing a familiar warm sensation of another body close to his own. He opened his eyes and saw Dana sleeping peacefully, which caused him to smile before kissing her cheek and hug her closer. It was at times like this he just felt like staying on the bed and after resting he realized that he was being foolish, the Crystal Empire would be fine.
Carefully Volthoom used one of his hands to trace Dana's horn and she shivered in her sleep. Good thing that the Cushion spell was something they were used to apply on their horns before sleeping, that particular spell could be used on a pointy and/or sharp object to make it feel like a pillow. It became popular among changelings and unicorns after many accidents where they stabbed their pillows in their sleep and it was especially useful to the ones that had a pointier or sharper horn than normal like the queens and Volthoom. It was also quite efficient in keeping younglings safe anywhere in the house, some overprotective parents apply it to all the walls, floor, and ceiling, every edge and corner really.
Volthoom came out of his introspection when he heard knocking coming from the door, so he used his telekinesis to open it and on the other side was a mare with a blue coat and pinkish-orange mane, she was wearing a green shirt and a long maroon skirt. Volthoom placed a finger to his lips and the mare nodded before approaching.
“The last two lightsmiths have returned my lord,” said the mare and Volthoom nodded before silently and carefully getting up without waking Dana, then he covered her before accompanying the mare out of the room.
“Thank you, Azure, you didn't have to come here personally,” said Volthoom to the mare, Azure Book the Royal Treasurer.
“Nonsense my lord, besides I need to see you anyway,” said Azure as she walked beside Volthoom toward his study room. Then she said after giving Volthoom a list, “It’s about all the constructions that have been requested to finished the recovery of the Crystal Empire’s infrastructure.”
“Yes you can proceed with all of them,” said Volthoom as he entered his study room where the two lightsmiths were waiting.
“Grandmaster!” said the lightsmiths the moment Volthoom entered the study room and they saluted him by placing a fist over their hearts.
“At ease,” said Volthoom before sitting on his chair and open the drawer from his desk, then he took out a stamp and used it on the documents. Then he gave it back to Azure and said, “Here, with this, the infrastructure is completely recovered from Sombra’s reign.”
Azure thanked Volthoom, took the documents and left.
“So, what you two have to report?” asked Volthoom as he looked at the two lightsmiths, one was a minotaur while the other was the same gryphoness that informed him of the Crystal Empire's return. There was nothing remarkable about the minotaur, he was 7ft 6in tall with bovine horns and brown fur coat.
“We found it, sir, the last two pieces,” reported the gryphoness before carefully placing a long shard of black crystal on the table and soon after the minotaur did the same with another shard, this one heart-shaped.
“I see,” said Volthoom before scanning the shards just to be sure.
“Anything else, sir?” asked the minotaur.
“How are the crystal pony recruits doing?” asked Volthoom.
“The recruits are doing well, the most advanced ones should craft their foci either tomorrow or the day after,” said the gryphoness.
“And with the new additions to our legions we will be able to cover the territory of the Crystal Empire as well,” said the minotaur.
“Good,” said Volthoom, however, he noticed that they still wanted to say something else, so he said, “speak freely.”
“Are you sure it's wise to extend our resources to the Crystal Empire? I mean, I know that this nation had an important connection to Flutter Valley, but it was millennia ago,” said the minotaur.
“You are right, however, I won't let the Crystal Empire and the Changeling Empire become enemies for as long as I can,” said Volthoom.
*Sigh* “I know it's not our place to question your decisions Grandmaster, but it might not be that easy especially since you intend to relinquish the throne,” said the gryphoness.
“On the contrary, that is actually a good sign, questioning me shows that you can think for yourselves,” said Volthoom.
“I assume you have chosen your successor,” said the minotaur.
“Yes I have,” said Volthoom as he looked at the shards of black crystal.
“Then we shall take our leave,” said the gryphoness.
“Yes, you are dismissed,” said Volthoom and the two saluted before leaving.
Volthoom looked through some documents and signed those the needed. Just after he finished looking through the paperwork the door opened and Dana walked in followed by Phyllia, the most noticeable difference about Phyllia was that she was no longer pregnant.
“I was under the impression that you would keep the eggs for a while longer,” said Volthoom to Phyllia, who just approached the lightsmith before kissing him.
“Well, I did intend to keep them but they were already developed enough to be laid, while I like the feeling of a clutch growing in my belly they were also kinda distracting and pregnancy is no excuse to miss my duties as a ruler,” said Phyllia as she sat on Volthoom's lap and got comfortable.
“Apis and Vesp are still carrying their clutches though,” said Dana as she sat on one of the sofas. Then she added, "They are expecting a very big brood and are no longer able to move."
"Indeed, while they complained about being stuck on Apis' mansion –Vesp decided to spend the end of their pregnancies together– they are enjoying their conditions a bit too much," said Phyllia.
“Really? I have to pay a visit to them later and also go see my nymphs as well as visiting Chrysalis most recent brood,” said Volthoom.
“We can always make more,” whispered Phyllia in Volthoom's ear before gently nibbling it. Then she added, “I think now it's your turn to carry a clutch.”
“Maybe later, besides were you not worried about overpopulation before?” asked Volthoom.
“Now that we have enough food available, not so much,” said Phyllia before nuzzling Volthoom.
“How many?” asked Volthoom as he hugged Phyllia closer.
“I thought you knew,” said Phyllia.
“I didn't bother to count,” said Volthoom then he felt a sense of mischievousness from Phyllia.
“Well, I laid around three hundred eggs,” said Phyllia coyly, then she saw lack of surprise on Volthoom's face.
“How come you're not surprised?” asked Dana when she sensed what her mother was doing and she too was expecting some reaction from Volthoom.
“Three hundred offsprings in about a month is not that impressive compared to some sentient species I know,” said Volthoom in a matter of fact tone. Then he asked, “All that matters is that they are healthy.”
Phyllia nodded in agreement and she was glad that all of them were healthy and strong, but considering who their sire was it wasn't that surprising.
“So, how was the trip through the new Warp Gates?” asked Volthoom.
“Quite smooth actually, almost no side effects,” said Phyllia.
“And with this network of interconnected portals all cities of the Changeling Empire are now connected,” said Dana.
“As well as all cities in the Crystal Empire,” added Phyllia.
While Phyllia was curious about those species that Volthoom mentioned she opted for asking later, then she noticed the shards and asked, “Are you truly bringing her back?”
“Yes, she didn't deserve what Sombra did to her,” said Volthoom before he motioned for Phyllia to get up.
“Indeed she didn't, she saw Dana only once before that tragedy happened,” said Phyllia with a distant expression on her face.
Volthoom got up and took the shards before heading out. Phyllia and Dana followed him until he reached the infirmary, once there he spoke with an available physician and once that was done the four of them went to Volthoom's workshop. The physician was informed that Volthoom would attempt to undo the curse that Sombra placed on Queen Amore and he wanted Healing Light with them to monitor the queen.
Eventually, they reached the workshop and they met Shield Warden on the way. Warden was a unicorn stallion with some scars on his exposed skin wearing a more decorated silver armor, he was 6ft 6in and quite muscular for his age and he had been the Captain of the Royal Guard and General of the Crystal Army since before Queen Amore's reign. He was an unfortunate and unwilling ally of Sombra thanks to a curse placed upon him that left the old soldier unable to disobey the dark king.
Interestingly that curse was the precursor or prototype of the spell that would eventually be placed on most soldiers under Sombra's command and they were only freed when Sombra died. Most of them retired from the military after what they were forced to do in the name of King Sombra, however, Warden was among those that remained in the military for the sake of the citizens.
Now that peace was restored many might either retire or assume less demanding positions in the new regime and Volthoom was willing to let them have their rest after what they suffered. Good thing he already had a successor, his second in command Aquamarine or Aqua for short, she had a blue coat and green mane and she wore the same silver armor of the Royal Guard.
Anyway, once the group entered the workshop, the three breathless and speechless crystal ponies, as well as the two hopeful queens, saw the almost complete statue of Queen Amore.
“We are truly undeserving of your compassion, Lord Volthoom? You had no obligation of restoring our former queen,” said Dr. Light as she bowed and she was followed by the old unicorn.
Volthoom could feel the hope radiating from them when they saw the statue, so he placed the shards in their rightful places and a wave of magic came from the statue. Then the cracks started to glow and soon the black crystal starts to flake off revealing a pink coat and raspberry colored mane as well as her light blue dress underneath the black crystal.
Once Queen Amore's legs were freed she fell but Volthoom caught her before she could hit the ground. At first, she tried to escape thinking the insect-like creature was a servant of Sombra but stopped when she saw Healing Light.
“Please, calm down Lady Amore, you are safe,” said Light trying to reassure the panicking mare.
“Light, is that you?” asked Amore.
“Yes, it’s me, Lady Amore,” said Light. Then she turned to Volthoom, “Thank you Lord Volthoom.”
“Volthoom?” asked Amore and Volthoom just shifted into his light form before nodding. She saw the familiar glowing veins under that see-through gray skin and despite having a different shape she recognized them, so she expressed her relief by saying, “Volthoom!”
Volthoom hugged the crying mare and told what happened to the Crystal Empire and to Flutter Valley after she was imprisoned. Amore turned to look at Phyllia and saw how the changeling empress looked at her with relief as well, like someone that just saw her longtime friend returning safe and sound to her home after a long time.
“Drifter?” asked Amore as she extended her hand toward the Empress.
“Yes Amore, it's me,” said Phyllia as she placed Amore's hand over hers. Then she looked at Dana before saying to Amore, “I'm sure you remember little Wind Rider.”
Amore looked at the beautiful queen beside the empress, she was mesmerized by the crystal-like wings that reminded her of a Monarch Butterfly. Then it dawned on her that this beauty was the same flutter pony foal she met when Volthoom brought Wind Drifter to visit the Crystal Empire long ago.
“You have grown…” said Amore before trailing off as her eyes closed, probably exhausted from the whole ordeal.
“Aqua help me take her to the infirmary,” said Light when she noticed that Amore passed out. However, before they did anything Volthoom created a stretcher and carefully placed Amore on it. Then they all headed to the infirmary and hopefully where they would not receive any bad news regarding the recently freed monarch.
Next morning, infirmary
“So, it has been thousands of years,” said Amore to herself after she heard what happened to the Crystal Empire and the world at large from Volthoom and Phyllia. Then she looked at Dana, “However I'm happy to see that you have grown healthy, strong and not to mention beautiful.”
“Thank you, Queen Amore,” said Dana politely to her fellow ruler.
“No no no my dear, auntie Amore or just Amore is fine,” said Amore amicably and Dana nodded. They might be strangers now but Dana was eager to spend time with her godmother, that was the closest word to describe their relationship.
“So, about my resignation…” started Volthoom only to be interrupted by Amore.
“No Lord Volthoom, I couldn't accept it,” said Amore before Volthoom could continue, then she proceeded, “You were the one that defeated Sombra and you have done so much for the Empire already, the people wouldn't have a problem with you as their King or Emperor.”
“It's not about them having a problem, I know I'm not cut out to be a ruler, leader and advisor yes but not a ruler,” said Volthoom soberly. Then seeing Amore and the others were listening he continued, “I started as a researcher and I still am to some extent but in the end, I'm a guardian, protector and teacher, not a ruler.”
“Ok,” said Amore breaking the awkward silence that remained after Volthoom's speech. Then she continued, “But on one condition.”
“Anything to make up for my weakness that led to all this and for my failure as a guardian,” said Volthoom solemnly.
“Oh Volthoom, you more than made up for what happened and besides it wasn't your fault, at least not entirely,” said Amore as she looked at Volthoom as he sat beside her bed. Then she continued, “I want you to stay by my side as an advisor and to remain a guardian of our nation.”
“As you wish,” said Volthoom before getting up and bowing.
“Good,” said Amore as she sat up before getting out of the bed, she stumbled but Dana caught her before she could fall, then she said before closing her eyes and concentrate, “Thank you little Rider.”
“You should be resting, aunty,” said Dana and then light blue light covered Amore for a moment before fading, which revealed the newly (re)crowned queen in the familiar blue dress with yellow hearts she was known for.
“I wish to see how much the Empire has changed,” said Amore.
“But…” started Dana as the nurses heard the commotion and felt a pulse of magic came to help Dana, however they stopped when all of them heard the door of the infirmary being opened rather noisily. Standing beside the door were Volthoom and Phyllia, both of them knowing how stubborn Amore could be if she decided to.
“Give up, it's better for her to see it now than her trying to go by herself later when no one is looking,” said Phyllia.
“Besides, that way we can be present if something goes wrong,” said Volthoom and Healing Light begrudgingly accepted as she too remembered how stubborn Amore could be. So Dana conceded and let Amore stand on her own two hooves as she walked out of the room and despite the fact that she was still feeling the after-effects of Sombra's curse she walked with a confidence and regal demeanor that betrayed her actual condition.
Volthoom, Dana and Phyllia accompanied Amore as she walked through the hallways and stairs until she reached the entrance of the palace. From there she exited the palace and found herself on the town square of Diamond City, she saw the same structures made of crystal, but she also saw some new ones made of metal or some unknown materials, all in all, it looked like a prosperous city that grew in her absence.
“Queen Amore?” asked a Warden as he was returning to the palace to give Volthoom the report of this morning.
“Warden?” asked Amore as she smiled and soon more citizens started to notice her presence.
Canterlot Castle, late afternoon
Today was uncharacteristically slow and without many petitioners, so Celestia used her time to catch up on some of the books she intended to read, in fact, she even had time to reread some of Twilight's old reports. Everything was perfect, a day to just relax and appreciate her tea, she even spent some time with Cadence after she and Shining Armor returned from their honeymoon, her sister even woke up “earlier” than usual.
Celestia learned from her mistakes in the past, so she paid more attention to the ponies that were closer to her and that led to her noticing that Luna was frustrated. Luckily she set aside some time every week to spend with her sister and after some coaxing, she managed to discover what was the source of her sister's frustration, the differences in the modern world was one but that was manageable the second, however, was from lack of appreciation.
Celestia and Luna talked, which led them to discover the little things that both did to make not only each other's lives more enjoyable but also those that lived and/or worked in the castle as well. They argued for a bit until they realized that it was starting to happen all over again, so they calmed down before telling what was bothering them to each other and afterward they felt a lot better, so they promised to always tell each other what was bothering them.
With guilty Celestia made that promise, there was one thing she neglected to tell Luna, what truly happened to Flutter Valley and Volthoom's death. At first, she told herself that she wanted Luna to recover from her banishment before telling her the bad news, then Celestia told herself it was better to wait until after Luna (re)assumed her duties. In the end, Celestia kept delaying the inevitable and she knew it would only get worse the longer it took.
Currently, Celestia was on the balcony of her room lowering the sun beyond the horizon and as she looked at the darkening sky she smiled appreciating the stars and the rising moon. However her eyes drifted to the north, despite her day being unusually slow –something she was thankful for– she somehow felt an uneasiness she couldn't place it.
“Is something wrong sister?” asked Luna as she landed on the balcony, she was ready for her duties wearing an elegant blue dress while Celestia was wearing a light blue PJ with smiling little suns ready to retire for the night. It was early but it was rare for Celestia to have an opportunity to be lazy and she intended to just enjoy some reading before going to sleep.
“Nothing, just lost in thought,” said Celestia and Luna nodded before looking at the north as well, she assumed it was the death of their parents that was bothering her sister. She felt Celestia had something to say but Luna decided to be patient and wait for her sister to summon the courage to tell her, she knew it was bad but considering that Celestia had to keep to herself whatever she wanted to tell Luna for millennia, it couldn't have been easy for Celestia to just tell her.
“I see,” said Luna before spreading her wings. Then she said, “Goodnight sister, whenever you need someone to talk to I will be waiting.”
Celestia didn't even comment as Luna took off, then she sighed as she entered her room. While she was glad that her little sister was being thoughtful and patient with her it didn't make things any easier, so as she laid on her bed she summoned a book for her to read. About an hour and a half later Celestia closed the book after marking the page she was on, then she placed a simple Cushion spell on her horn, one of the most brilliant innovations of the last millennium in her opinion, especially after her many accidental "murder" of many pillows.
As Celestia closed her eyes her mind drifted to her foalhood, more specifically the times she spent with her teacher, Volthoom. She will always be grateful to Starswirl for everything he thought her and Luna, but he would never replace the inspiration that was Volthoom. Even now the image of herself looking up at him as he floated and illuminated those around him with his light was a memory she dreaded and cherished. She cherished it because it reminded her of a happier time and she dreaded it because it reminded her of the blood on her hands, the innocents she burned and the teacher she murdered.
“Volthoom…” whispered Celestia in her sleep as she felt both happy and sad for seeing those memories.
Two days later, Southern Capital of the Changeling Empire
Amore the soon to be (re)crowned Queen of the Crystal Empire was using a casual light blue dress while accompanying Volthoom, Phyllia and Dana on a visit to the heart of the Changeling Empire while she left the Council of Nobles to take care of Diamond City in her absence, to both familiarize herself with her new allies and to have a little bit of fun before retaking the crown. Originally the group came because Volthoom expressed the desire to visit Chrysalis, her newest brood, Apis and Vesp, however, Amore decided to use this opportunity to see what became of the Valley.
Amore was in awe as she took in the image of the Imperial City, noticing the resemblance between the architecture that was used here and some of the new structures in the rebuilding of the Crystal Empire, and she also expressed the desire to meet Phyllia's family.
“I'm going to visit Chrysalis first, do you want to go on a tour now or we can do that together afterward?” asked Volthoom.
“I don't mind doing it later, and I wanted to meet the rest of the family anyway, especially considering we part of the herd,” answered Amore amicably.
“I still can't believe how quick you were to enter into a relationship with Volthoom,” commented Dana since most ponies tend to take the relationship a bit slow for her taste.
“Why wouldn't I? Volthoom was among the most desired stall– I mean, males of my time, besides I already knew him for a while,” said the crystal pony nonchalantly to Volthoom, who rolled his eyes but smiled. Then Amore added excitedly, “And and when the fact that he had a real living body finally sank in I couldn't help myself, besides I always wanted a big family with many herd-mates and foals.”
“At least she will fit like glove in our group,” Dana whispered to her mother as both of them observed the dreamy look that Amore had.
“Indeed, if Volthoom hadn't disappeared and Sombra hadn’t attacked Amore and I would have probably ended up in a herd together and she would have been an aunt or second mother to you,” said Phyllia to her daughter as Amore hugged Volthoom's left arm and leaned on his shoulder after coming back to reality and out of her daydream.
From there the group moved through the city appreciating the architecture and after a while, they managed to reach Apis’ residence. The Queen's residence was a mansion, every Queen had one, a place that functioned as both a residence, a nursery, a daycare and a boarding school. That was a necessity considering that a queen could have a brood with up to hundreds or more nymphs and if they really push their bodies to the limit thousands.
After talking to the guards on the front gate and identifying themselves the group entered the mansion. From there it was a simple question of navigating through the hallways and I didn't take long for the group or arrive in a special room that acted as both a birthing chamber for when a queen was supposed to be immobile for long periods of time.
Entering the chamber the group saw both Apis and Vesp sitting on an elevated portion of the floor that was cushioned and were surrounded by many pillows as they sat cross-legged in front of each other talking amicably while wearing comfortable and loose clothes. They seemed comfortable despite their current condition, the skin of the midriff was quite stretched and it was actually possible to see the outline of the eggs inside the wombs and their bellies looked big enough to fit an adult inside, granted, one of average size since it was half of the size of a queen.
However, the most noticeable change was their tails, the length of both have grown considerably, it practically doubled, but it was their width that was the most noticeable change. The skeletal structure of their tails was very similar to the skeleton of a snake, which allowed the underside of their tails to stretch considerably and allowed its internal chamber to act as a secondary womb, a form of Physogastrism similar to the growth experience by eusocial arthropods queens, or more specifically, a termite queen. Their tails at this point were living egg sacs that were attached to their bodies, like a xenomorph queen.
Being his first time in such a place Volthoom looked around the chambers, the walls were decorated with art painted directly on the walls and ceiling, aside from the queens there were nurses and attendants to take care, monitor and bring anything the immobile queens requested. Despite the architecture and decoration being undoubtedly characteristic of changeling culture with its almost alien feel the place reminded Volthoom of those rooms associated with harems in many depictions of Middle Eastern culture.
Fun fact, the word harem originally meant “a sacred/inviolable place” and it was used to refer to the rooms where the women of the house would stay and men were forbidden inside if they didn’t have a close familial relationship with the women in question. While the word was also used to refer to the group of wives and/or concubines in a polygamous household nowadays the word was more associate a group of girls after one guy, or at least it was when Volthoom left Earth.
“And this is why you need to practice your self-control. I mean, you could have become this big only if you let yourself go and kept mating for days without restraining or in this case, if you had a partner that is extremely fertile and you didn't even try to stop your body from releasing egg cells,” Phyllia lectured her daughters, interrupting Volthoom's analysis. He couldn't help himself since it was his first time seeing a queen this big, even with what he glimpsed in the mindscape throughout the years.
The two youngest Queens didn't seem to pay much attention to the scolding they were receiving from their mother and were instead enjoying the constant care they were receiving from the nurses and attendants that were monitoring them, especially the breezies that were grooming their manes and wings. That caused Phyllia to facepalm and mutter to herself, "Honestly, I'm surprised that something like this didn't happen sooner."
While the former and soon to be ruler of the Crystal Empire was standing there and just looking at the pair of queens in surprise Volthoom just approached the pair and once he was beside Vesp just gave her a kiss before gently rubbed her egg-filled belly. Vesp moaned at the touch and love she was receiving from her mate, so much so that she just closed her eyes to enjoy the sensations for a bit longer after Volthoom pulled back and missed the pout that her sister was making.
Of course, as soon as he pulled back Volthoom did the same with Apis, while the youngest queen of us receiving attention from her mate the Empress and the oldest Queen just facepalmed at the dismissive attitude of the pair. After the brief exchange Volthoom sat between the queens on his knees, with his back facing the entrance and Amore couldn’t help but let her eye roam and take in Volthoom’s rather feminine profile, especially his shapely behind resting on his legs, which was very visible because of his casual pants was just right to show off his figure and this caused Amore to giggle.
“Hello!” said Amore excitedly catching the attention of everyone in the room along with a small spike of lust and joy that caught the attention of the changelings.
“Hello, may I ask to who am I addressing?” asked Vesp politely as she noticed the pony for the first time, the way she carried herself and the way she was dressed was indicative of a royalty, but Vesp never saw a pony with a very glossy and bright coat of fur that resembled glass or crystal like the one in front of her.
“Oh, that's right I almost forgot,” since Phyllia quietly to herself and noticing that Apis was not paying attention to Amore the empress decided to introduce her guest, “She is Queen Amore from the Crystal Empire a very old friend of mine. She came to the capital to visit and to meet the rest of the family since she is both an ally, a fellow ruler in the most recent addition to our little ‘group’ if you know what I mean.”
“Really?” asked Apis before looking at her mate, who was beside her, and she lightly punched him in the arm before saying, “You had to add another one didn't you? You are incorrigible, I don't particularly mind but you have to learn how to control yourself, especially with that charm of yours.”
That comment caused everyone present, except Amore and Apis to roll their eyes and give a deadpan expression while looking at the youngest Queen. Ironic that she would comment about self-control especially considering her and Vesp's current condition, that however didn't detract from the amusement they were feeling from all this.
"How come you two don't know who she is? Haven't you two keeping up with the news using the hive mind?" asked Dana and by the rather nervous and embarrassed look they had when they didn't look her in the eye she didn't need an answer, so she just commented, "You mean to tell me that the two of you have not contacted the hive mind in more than a week."
"Well..." started Apis before trailing off. Then Vesp continued for her, "In our defense, we decided to not bother with the news unless it was an emergency or a message directed at us."
"Unbelievable," said Dana and Phyllia at the same time to themselves.
From there the group made in itself comfortable and they spend the rest of the afternoon just talking about silly things and inconsequential things. They chose to spend the night in Apis’ mansion and after breakfast, they would continue their tour throughout the capital.
“By the way, I just remembered something,” said Volthoom catching the attention of those present. Seeing that they were paying attention he continued, “I had some ideas to let both of you have some form of mobility despite your condition.”
“And what would that idea be?” asked Vesp.
“Yeah, because both mother and our other sisters I had some ideas to help gain some form of mobility, except for Chrysalis who hates being stuck in one place for too long,” said Apis.
“Oh, I remember that. Normally for this occasion, we use either a centaur-like or a serpentine-like design, but considering their size I don't think this is going to work,” said Dana.
“Besides it cost too much magic to keep such a transformation for long periods of time,” commented Phyllia.
“Well, that was indeed my first plan, however, unlike all of you I know a myriad of alien species to use as a basis for a new form and I know just what type of species I'm going to use in this case,” said Volthoom as he got up from his position and backed away from the group enough space, then a flicker of chromatic rainbow colored flame erupted around him in the form of a ring.
Volthoom assumed his female form, however, the currently female Changeling made sure to lengthen her tail too much Vesp and Apis’. From there Val used her ring to create egg-shaped constructs inside her tail, from the outsiders’ perspective it looked like her tail was slowly inflating as they saw the membranous chitin stretched until matched Vesp and Apis’. All changelings present blushed at the display, to them it was a display of everything they associated with fertility and it affected all the changeling royals that were present greatly, the mere thought that Val would be this big and carrying a brood that might as well be theirs almost sent them over the edge.
Even the non-changelings who normally wouldn't be affected that much by this were affected by the sheer amount of lust radiating from all the changelings present. Amore just giggled at the situations, she could feel the lust in the air and she couldn't help but think how interesting things are going to be from now on with her new family.
“Wow,” said Val as she shivering at the feeling of the “eggs” inside her, she could hear the clicking of the shells as they bumped against each other as she moved as well as the same shells rubbing against her flesh and it was actually possible to see the outlines of said “eggs” through her stretched skin. Good thing she turned herself into a complete female changeling for this demonstration instead of her usual hermaphrodite form, otherwise, she would be supporting a very painfully obvious erection, however, that didn't stop her female anatomy from producing its natural lubricant as a sign of arousal and she couldn't help but add, “No wonder you two just want to sit there and revel in this feeling.”
Val’s only response was silence —apart from the giggle from Amore— and when she looked around she was hit by a wave of lust and desire, that didn't help. However, she used her ring to absorb most of the lust in the air until it was more or less back to normal. Then she proceeded to give an annoyed look as she crossed her arms beneath her breasts that were straining the fabric of her shirt, which caused almost everyone to look away from Val in a vain attempted to not look at her out of embarrassment only to steal glances at her and repeat the process.
The Changeling Royals, however, were shameless ogling Val and the Lightsmith turned Queen just gave them a deadpan look. Then Amore just stopped trying to hold back her laughter at the absurdity of the situation and the sounds of other non-changelings laughter slowly joined her.
“Are you done?” asked Volthoom after everyone calmed down, despite all the delicious sensations she was feeling right now it was starting to get uncomfortable to just stand. Then she asked, “Do you want to see my idea or not?”
“Sorry sorry, but you have to admit that you transforming like this would have a very noticeable effect on everyone present,” said Phyllia, which caused Apis, Dana and Vesp to snort at the understatement of their mother’s words.
Ignoring the little banter Val proceeded with her demonstration, which caused her lower half to be engulfed by the same flames from before, however, she made sure that the transformation was slower so the other could see the changes, luckily her whole wardrobe was made of special material that allowed her to transform without destroying them.
On the top of Val’s tail, eight plates started to grow until it covered roughly a third of the oversized appendage, from four spots along the ends of the plates four curved spikes started to grow until they reached the ground and her original legs started to disappear as the spikes stated to support her body.
Three points of articulating appeared on the length of the spikes and three small extensions grew from its tip, not long after those present realized that the “spikes” where actually insect-like legs and the extension on its ends where feet that resembled a mixture of a bird’s talon and a spider’s claw with three fingers points outward.
Then a web-like membrane connecting the legs grew and stretched without hampering Val’s movements while rib-like structures protruded from the space between the plates and grew around the egg-sac to better protect it. Lastly, the tip of her tail extended further until it could easily reach her front and the blade increased in size until it was more or less half of the size of her humanoid torso.
As the transformation ended Val carefully moved her legs and walked slowly, more because of the sensation of the “eggs” shifting with her movements than the new body structure. It was distracting but she managed to move without problems, then she made a few poses to show off her secondary torso.
“So, what do you think?” asked Val but her answer was only silence as the group looked at her new body. She walked toward the group and stopped before lowering her front and lean forward to snap her fingers in front of Amore.
“WHAT?!” shouted Dana after coming back to reality and the shout also breaking the bewilderment of the rest.
Seeing that everyone was back to normal Val just straightened her posture and asked, “So, what do you think?”
“How?” asked Phyllia as she studied Val’s new body, despite its scorpion-like appearance she could tell that it wasn't based on a scorpion, mostly, from the position of the legs alternating between plates she would at first assume that it was inspired by a centipede but with the number of legs reduced.
“Why the membrane and blade?” asked Vesp as Phyllia continued her introspection.
“Oh, it's because this form was originally made for battlefield applications and I had to do little to no alterations. This form is actually among some of my designs to be used in the army if necessary,” said Val.
“How? That form isn't exactly practical,” asked Apis with curiosity in her voice as she wondered what other “designs” Val had.
“Yeah, not to mention that the cost of keeping that form must be pretty high,” interjected Amore since she spent the day prior learning the basics about her new allies and family. And even if that wasn't the case she knew that form changing spells were very costly, at least the more complex ones.
“You forget that unlike before we have an additional energy source that helps reduce the cost of a transformation like this one,” said Val as she lowered herself on the ground. Out of reflex, the nurses tried to stop her, it took a while to remember that she wasn't truly carrying eggs, besides she lifted the membrane on one side to show them the “rib cage” that acted as an additional protection. Then Val motioned for a group of breezies to come closer.
“How may we help, my Lady?” asked a breezie with the typical nurse uniform with the symbol of a stylized tree on her chest —the symbol that the flutter ponies of old associated with healing and nurturing, thus medicine— and without a cap, she had a light blue coat, green mane and tail plus the typical clear wings, but by the red tribal markings on her coat and the small bones tying her mane she was of the pixie variety.
“Could you bring me two Type-B Polymorphic Amulets?” asked Val politely.
“It might take a while but it will be done,” said the pixie pony before she and the other breezie flew out of the room.
“Polymorphic Amulets?” asked Amore as she tilted her head a bit to the side.
“It's an amulet that allows anyone to change to a specific form that was imprinted in the amulet and it can even ‘lock’ the current form of a being, very useful for infiltration,” explained Dana.
“And the ‘Type’ part?” asked Amore.
“Type-A ‘locks’ the form but adds a constant drain in one’s reserves of mana and if your mana ever gets below what’s needed to maintain the alternative form will cause it to fade while the Type-B has a power source that doesn't drain the user but the Amulet must be kept on the person at all times otherwise the form fades, however, that is countered by the fact that the gems can meld with the user and only the user, someone who was keyed to he stone or with specialized tools can remove it,” explained Val.
“One of Val’s most impressive inventions,” said Vesp.
“Yeah, plus there are other amulets with different effects and many civilian changelings place up to three of them just below the neck, it's quite stylish,” said Apis and Amore that some changelings on the way had gemstone-like objects on their chests and at first she thought it was natural.
“However, they can be placed anywhere on the body and anyone, not just changelings, can use them, plus the amulets come in many shapes and sizes, it’s actually a form of art that’s becoming popular recently,” said Dana.
“Out of curiosity, what is the purpose of this form? And on what you based it?” asked Phyllia with a serious tone.
“Well, this form was designed to act as a... ‘mobile platform’ I suppose is the best description, to carry supplies and wounded across and from the battlefield as well as being able to defend itself of attacks,” explained Val. Then she added, “As for what I based. I based them on two different species one is an insectoid and highly adaptable psychic that is part of a collective whole called Zerg Swarm and its purpose is simply to consume biomass and evolve, so much so they can strip whole worlds of resources before moving to the next, like grasshoppers.”
Ignoring the looks of horror Val continued her explanation but kept the hologram she created using her ring, “The second is a highly volatile interdimensional life-form that mutated in a hostile environment. The dimension it came from was composed purely of digital information and it was essentially a virus that became sentient, its called Armagemon.”
After finishing her explanation Val let them observe the two creatures and compare them to her current form and after their curiosity was satisfied she dissipated the holograms. From there the kept chatting trying to get the dark thoughts about the two monsters that Val just mentioned to them until the breezies came back with two Amulets, both of them looked like elliptical gems with the front being a dull silver color and the back being a clear crystal. The front was actually a gem capable of memorizing a form and the clear part was a gem capable of holding emotional and magical energies to power the first gem. They were grown and shaped in such a way that it looked like a single gem.
“Here lady Valthane,” said one of the breezies using the alternative name that Val chose for her female form, so Val nodded before taking an amulet in each hand before placing them just below her collarbone and when they touched her skin they melded with it leaving the two gems fused on her skin. Then she carefully concentrated on her form and used her magic to imprint it on the stones before dissipation the constructs inside her and store their energy on the other facet of the gem.
Then Val transformed back into her normal form and did a quick spell to swap her current clothes for her PJ since it was late and they would spend the night here, otherwise, she could have just teleported back to either the HQ or the Palace, her used clothes appearing back in her room on HQ, she stayed as a female for now though.
“So, want to try that form?” asked Val as she rejoined the group on the mattress.
“Maybe tomorrow, it's getting late after all,” said Vesp and not long after Apis yawned.
“Yeah,” said Apis in an agreement as she rubbed her eyes, the added, “Oh, you should sleep here with us, I insist.”
Val just laid on the mattress among the many pillows and it didn’t take long for Vesp and Apis to lay beside their mate and used her chest as a pillow after placing a Cushion Spell on their horns. Of course, the pair was careful to not bump on the crystals just below the collarbone of their mate and they smiled as they felt Val’s arm pull them closer before placing a hand on their bellies.
“Aww, they look so cute together,“ said Amore as fawned over the trio, then she pouted and said, “Um, I kinda feel left out now.”
Amore was answered in the form of a hug from behind and a kiss on each cheek from Dana and Phyllia, then the Empress said, “You still got us.”
Amore just giggled and like Val, she switched her dress for her favorite nightgown and she was not even fazed by the fact that she did that in front of many strangers. She always thought that it was fine to show off one’s body to the world since it was a gift and blessing of the gods, she always thought that her own subjects were a bit too prudish for her taste.
Dana and Phyllia did the same and snuggled with their new addition to the family, they were just glad that they were able to enjoy the little thing in life and the two were glad to be able to just hug Amore after thousands of years of guilt and regret weighing in their shoulders. They spend many nights lost in the memories they had together, Phyllia more so than Dana.
Phyllia always thought that she should have done more to help Volthoom and Amore when Sombra’s Coup d'État took place and Dana always felt like something was missing from her life and this feeling was always accompanied by the distant memory of tall regal crystal pony mare holding her as a foal.
The nurses and attendants smiled as they felt the happiness radiating from the Royals and returned to their tasks.
Next day, morning
The group had a rather uneventful morning, when they woke up Val gave the amulets to Apis and Vesp and they tested their new forms after breakfast, naturally they fed off of Val’s energy and later ate a few snacks… ok a lot of snacks, cravings were not easy to deal with. They chose to transform sparely since they didn’t mind staying in one place that much and the only indication of their newfound freedom of movement was the oval gemstone located just below their necks.
Dana and Phylia opted to stay with Apis and Vesp, both to be present when they start laying their eggs and to have a serious talk about their self-control. Amore left with Val to explore the rest of the city. Amore took every opportunity to just lean on the shoulder of the taller changeling while enjoying her visit and Val reciprocated the affection by just placing her arm around the mare's waist.
After some sight-seeing, the couple decided to visit Chrysalis since Val wanted to spend some time with her and her new brood, besides it was almost time for lunch anyway. They arrived on another mansion and Amore looked in awe at the architecture and the way it blended with the artificial environment of the underground cave but also stood out with looking out of place as they passed through the gate and reached the door, which Val knocked.
It didn’t take long for someone answer it, surprisingly it was Pharynx and he was wearing just gray sweatpants and was topless with a towel around his neck. Judging by the sweat running down his body he was working out, however, immediately after identifying the visitor he straightened his posture and saluted.
“Good morning grandmaster!” said Pharynx out of reflex.
“At ease, we just came for a visit,” said Val and Pharynx before noticing Amore, so he added a little more relaxed, “Good morning Queen Amore.”
“I’m not a queen yet, not for a few more days,” said Amore amicably and Pharynx nodded before motioning them to come in.
“We’re not interrupting anything important are we?” asked Val.
“Not at all ma’am, I just finished my exercises and was about to take a bath with some of my brothers and sisters,” answered Pharynx.
“Well, don’t let us keep you from enjoying your free time we just came to visit Chrysalis,” said Val.
“She and Lady Mili are in the nursery with Prince Pupa and Prince Poly,” said Pharynx.
“Thank you Pharynx I know the way,” said Val and Pharynx nodded before leaving the two visitors and head for the communal bathhouse. Then Val tuned to Amore and asked, “Shall we?”
Amore just nodded before following Volthoom through the hallways deeper into the mansion and eventually they reached a door with some childish drawings in a small plate that read “playroom”. Volthoom gently knocked on the door and waited, then the door was open by a labrador-like Diamond dog nurse with a slender figure and a brown fur coat that he recognized as the head nurse.
“Greetings my lady,” said the head nurse will likely as she opened the door.
“Hello Greta,” said Val as she entered the room. Most of the floor what's covered by a colorful mattress while the nymphs were divided into groups and she could already see that the characteristic white skin that they were born with was slowly acquiring some color. The babies were playing with various toys that were scattered around the room. There was a group of nurses monitoring the children and it was possible to see both Pupa and Poly playing with the younger changelings.
The two little princes were just placing their hands in front of their eyes before removing them and show a look of surprise, a childish game but one that was able to occupy and amuse the younger audience. During Val's observation, a nearby group stopped what they were doing and just look at the new arrivals and they instinctively recognized the lightsmith as both a protector in a source of food and just like babies normally do they held up their hands expecting to be carried from behind the pen that separated the entrance and a small area from the rest of the room, an area without the cushioned floor and with small round tables.
“Aww, aren't they the cutest little things ever?” said Amore as she looked at Greta and the nurse nodded, so she carefully picked the nymph that was closest to her, she couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl but the nymph had pink chitin and baby blue eyes. Those baby blue eyes looked at Amore with curiosity before squealing in happiness as the nymph felt the joy radiating from the crystal pony. Then she turned to the head nurse and asked, “Colt or filly?”
“So far a colt,” said the nurse as she picked another nymph and looked confused for a moment as she couldn't see the rest of the group, thankfully her confusion and rising worry was erased when she looked at Val. At some point, the lightsmith shapeshifted two pairs of additional arms and process to hold and play with the four remaining nymphs. Amore had a confused look at the nurse answer and Greta noticed the pony's confusion, then she remembered that Amore wasn't raised on the Changeling Empire, so she clarified what she meant, "He is a hermaphrodite but so far his energy is leaning more toward the male end of the spectrum."
Amore just nodded before her attention was caught by the nymph gently tugging her mane and seeing that he had her attention back he proceeded to just smiled and make baby noises. Amore just nuzzled the little one and she wished she had more arms like Val to give more hugs to this source of cuteness. She was so distracted that she didn't even protest when Val used one of her free hands to guide her until they reached the table that Chrysalis and Mili were sitting not too far from the door in the area where the nurses and the two queens were just chatting and observing the children, essentially the area where they could take a break without leaving the nymphs alone.
“Hello Chrysalis,” said Val as she sat on an empty chair beside the Chrysalis and Amore sat in front of Val.
“Hello Val,” said Chrysalis and Mili before the latter looked at Amore. Chrysalis attention was on the four that Val brought with her, more specifically the two that were reaching out to their mother, so she shapeshifted an additional pair of arms and carefully lifted the two, shapeshifting was a blessing when it came to taking care of multiple children, a gift that the changeling had no problem in using.
“Hello, I'm Amore the soon to be Queen of the Crystal Empire,” said Amore to Mili.
“Wouldn't be Empress instead of Queen?” asked Chrysalis as she gently released her mane from the little hand of one of her nymphs before tying it in a ponytail.
“Nah, Queen is just fine,” said Amore before she lifted the little one and booped his nose with her own and cooed, “don't you agree?”
Amore's answered came in the form of another squeal of happiness, then Chrysalis said, “Um, he seems to like you a lot.”
“Oh, I forget to ask, what's his name?” asked Amore as she let the little one rest on her shoulder.
“He doesn't have one yet,” answered Mili as she distracted the two little ones in Val's as she tied her own mane in a ponytail to keep it away from the nymphs.
“Huh?” was Amore immediate response before asking, “Why?”
“Normally, we wait for the nymphs to lose their ‘newborn's color’ before naming them,” answered Chrysalis.
“Can I name him?” asked Amore shyly.
“I see no problem with that, besides with how many children we queens tend to have names are more often than not chosen by the nurses and/or surrogates that took care of them,” answered Chrysalis and Amore expression brightened as she looked into the eyes of the little one and he tilted his head in confusion.
“Rondo,” said Amore and the little one seemed to like it if the smile was any indication.
From there they just chatted about their plans for the future and at some point the princes joining them and proceed to greet Val excitedly, it's not every day they can spend time with their grandfather —currently grandmother— but they didn't mind since they knew she was busy. They, however, stopped when most of the nymphs started to cry at the same time, at first Amore tried to calm him down but nothing seemed to work and it wasn't until she noticed that the head nurse was trying to get Amore’s attention that she realized what was going on.
The nurse was with her top undone and was breastfeeding a nymph carefully being held in one of her big hand-like paws while she motioned to Rondo and Amore reluctantly handed him to the nurse who expertly guided Rondo to her free breast, cleary she had a lot of experience nursing, however, if it was as a mother or as a wet nurse it was up to debate.
“Well, its almost time for lunch, we can eat something after the nymphs are asleep, ok?” said Chrysalis as she too was nursing two nymphs while she talked to Phyllia and Poly who nodded in agreement.
Val opted to help Chrysalis by feeding the two she was holding and Amore had to admit that she liked the motherly aura that her mate was giving off. It didn’t take long for all the nymphs to be fed and burped, so the nurses took them all to another room to take a nap and while they were sleeping the Royals left the playroom and went to the kitchen were the chefs prepared a simple but delicious meal. After that Val just spend some time with her (grand)daughters and Mili while Chrysalis asked for some time alone with Amore, so they could talk.
“Do you want to adopt him?” asked Chrysalis after the servants cleaned the table.
“What?” asked Amore.
“Do you want to adopt Rondo?” asked Chrysalis again, this time being more specific.
“Just like that?” asked Amore in disbelief and confusion, the thought of a mother giving away a foal —nymph in this case— was almost unthinkable.
*Sigh* “It might seem strange for a pony,” said Chrysalis as she felt the crystal pony’s emotions, she never had that problem since she was born a changeling but Dana and Phyllia had a hard time managing their time and attention when they each had their first brood, Phyllia more so than Dana since she was a pony for most of her life at that point. Chrysalis learned about that struggle when she asked for advice from her mother when she had her first brood herself.
“And it isn't for a changeling?” asked Amore still in disbelief.
“Not for queens at least, you saw how many nymphs we can have at once, can you honestly say that the way ponies, or even most mammals in general, raise their youngs is suitable for the situation?” asked Chrysalis as she felt the conflicting emotions from Amore, the pony knew it wasn't her place to judge a different culture and species, however, her instincts told her that it was wrong and despite all that the logical part of her mind knew it was just impractical for a single person or even a couple to raise so many children, with a herd it might be possible, but only if the brood wasn't too big.
*sigh* “Not it isn't,” Amore answered begrudgingly. Then she asked, “How you do it then?”
“In the past we would just place the nymphs in a chamber with a source of energy to let them feed on it, then they would be taught what they need to know, however, over the years we let them be adopted by their caretakers or families that desired to have a child and that became standard when the Empire started to accept non-changelings in our midst since the love of an adopted family would be more than enough to feed them,” explanation Chrysalis.
“I see,” said Amore simply.
“So?” asked Chrysalis.
“Just… give some time to think,” said Amore as she got up.
“Of course, adopting a child is not an easy decision. Regardless, I wish only for a good future for my children,” said Chrysalis as she too got up and the pair went to meet with Val.
Soon enough it was time for the little princes to take a nap as well and after everything, she thanked Chrysalis for the hospitality and left with Amore to visit the last two places to complete their tour. The couple moved through the city until they reached the train station and after Val showing her pass the two of them boarded the train.
The train itself was a marvel of technology using a combination of magic and scientific principles, they were able to create tracks with runes capable of conducting energy and another set of runes on the bottom of the train itself allowed the vehicle to float above the tracks, essentially they recreated a Maglev bullet train.
“The wonders of Magitek,” thought Val as she saw Amore sit by the window of the VIP car while she sat at Amore's left, however, Val asked when she the notice the thoughtful look on Amore's face, “Is something wrong?”
“Wha- what? No no nothing is wrong, it's just that Chrysalis asked if I wanted to adopt Rondo,” said Amore.
“I see, take your time and I'm willing to support whatever you decide,” said Val as she hugged Amore, a hug that was emphasized by the fact that currently, the Changeling Queen had three pairs of arms.
Amore just leaned on Val’s shoulder as she felt one arm behind her shoulders with a hand rest on her right arm, another behind her back and with a hand resting on her waist while the last with its hand on her hips. Amore just closed her eyes and basked in the warmth and love of her guardian, teacher and mate before saying quietly, “Thank you.”
“You are welcome,” said Val tenderly and they stayed like this until the conductor announced that the train would be departing soon. When the train started to move Val dissipated her transformation and Amore looked at the window. The crystal pony saw the train slowly moving and accelerating before leaving the city behind. Soon after it left the urban area and her expression brightened.
Val just smiled at the childish awe in Amore's eyes as she took in the scenery of the underground ecosystem. Contradictory to the belief of the inhabitants on the surface underground wasn't just a bunch of interconnected tunnels with some empty areas, actually, it was to a point but when you venture further down you find a whole new world that was both familiar and alien, and that was before the placement of crystals that mimicked the day-night cycle on the more urban areas.
However the “countryside” still had many of its original appeal, from the giant fluorescent mushrooms and rivers filled with glowing algae that looked like a piece of the night sky to the other insectoid non-sentient creatures that were mutated from the pools that birthed the changeling race, these creatures were bred as cattle. Even the fields with rows of leafless tree bearing fruits that didn't need sunlight and looked more like something you would see in the bottom of the ocean as well as the pulsing disc like mushrooms that grew on some of the walls that held the nest of bird-like creatures that seemed to have mirror-like feathers.
All in all, it was an enjoyable and relaxing trip as Amore asked about the various creatures that inhabited the rural and wild areas of the underground. About an hour later they arrived on another city, it was smaller than the capital but it was more colorful and there were more crystals on the ceiling that replicate the sky almost perfectly, where she could see the blurry image of the sun and clouds on the ceiling. The light of the afternoon sun was shining on the shore of a huge lake where the city was located and stretching out from its sides were beaches of white sand that ended when they met the stone walls of the cave.
“This is the second biggest coastal city in the Empire and the biggest one in this side of the continent, it's also where Iso’s hive is located,” explained Val.
“Wow, how is it called?” asked Amore.
“The Hub,” said Val.
“Hub?” asked Amore.
“Not ‘Hub’, it is 'The Hub’. The city got its name from being the center of trade in the eastern half of the Empire, both with the inhabitants of the continent at the east as well as the city from the lands further south. The city actually has two levels, the visible one you see at first and an underwater level with a sizeable community of sea ponies,” explained Val.
“Sea ponies?!” shouted Amore excitedly, which caught the attention of passers-by, but they opted to just continue what they were doing figuring that Amore was just an over-enthusiastic tourist. Her enthusiasm was to be expected since she never met a sea pony before and she was looking forward to meeting one.
“Indeed, that lake is actually connected to the ocean by many underwater tunnels,” said Val.
As the couple left the station Val felt her ring pulse, they stopped and Val lifted her left hand with her palm facing up, then she channeled the pulses of energy into her hand and a small hologram of Ambly appeared on Val’s hand.
“Yes?” asked Val.
“I'm deeply sorry for interrupting you break Grandmaster, but we have a situation here in the north,” said Ambly hesitantly.
“What situation?” asked Val with a serious tone.
“The spy on the Northern Equestrian Outpost was compromised,” said Ambly.
“Damnit,” thought Val figuring that they had another week or two before Celestia uncovered the return of the Crystal Empire, even Amore wasn't eager to deal with the Royal Sisters so soon, specifically after the whole fiasco where her nation and subject where they were frozen and gone for millennia.
“That's not all ma’am, we caught a group of Equestrians inside the Empire's borders,” said Ambly.
“Great,” said Val sarcastically as she pinched the bridge of her nose before she added, “This couldn't be any worse.”
“Well…” started Ambly and by the look on her face, Val knew that she just tempted fate. Val cursed Murphy's Law and Amore’s eyes widen when they heard Ambly say, “There is an alicorn on the group.”
Val and Amore moved to the city square where Iso was waiting, in front of the Warp Gate, her dark blue chitin, tree branch-like horn with two small horns were beside the original, one above each eyebrow and about a third of the original’s size; her long tendrils with a leaf-shaped end that acted as ears and were coiled around her shoulder-length mane in a ponytail, lastly, her dragonfly-like wings as long as she was tall. She was wearing a pretty simple and casual sundress since she planned to meet Val and Amore on the beach but that plan was ruined thanks to Celestia’s action.
“I’m sorry our day had to be cut short like this,” said Val to Amore and Iso as they stood on the city square. Then he focused on Amore and said, “Normally I wouldn't oppose to you coming with me because I know that you want to help but you are still recovering, so I’m asking you to please stay here.”
“Had it been anyone else I wouldn’t listen but I trust you,” said Amore and Val nodded.
“Iso will stay with you, I’m not going to ask you enjoy the rest of the day without me but I promise you I will be back by the end of the day,” said Val before leaning down and kissing the pink unicorn mare, then she turned to face Iso and asked, “Can you keep her informed using the Hive Mind?”
“Of course,” said Iso and Val just leaned down and kissed her as well before turning around and press the gem on the pedestal-shaped computer terminal that had a gemstone, which then projected a map as well as a keyboard made of hard light and Val just tapped Diamond City on the map. One of the four stone arches located near the center of the plaza, located in the cardinal points around the fountain with a beautiful statue of Iso and a sea pony swimming on opposite sides of a whirlpool. Val activated the south gate and as she looked at the stone arch the image started to distort and change until it showed the Royal Palace in Diamond City from the perspective of the north gate in the Diamond City’s plaza.
“Be careful,” said Amore and Val just nodded before crossing the Warp Gate and once he was on the other side he waved at the pair before closing the Warp Gate with the dial on the other side.
“Come, Amore, we can wait in the mansion, I’ll have some of the servants prepare tea for us,” said Iso and Amore just nodded before following Iso.
Diamond City
Once the Warp Gate was closed Val teleported herself to the master bedroom in the palace, she could do that because she was keyed in the protective ward that existed around the palace, anyone not keyed would be teleported either to the dungeon or the entrance depending on their intention and/or magic. Once inside she used the Hive Mind, both of them, to inform that she arrived and would be heading to the throne room soon.
Val stood in front of the wardrobe and used her shapeshifting powers, she might not like it but she had to represent both herself and the Empire very carefully since a mistake could mean a war with Equestria and she really liked to avoid one if she could help. She assumed her battle form and her entire body minus her head was covered by the biological looking suit of armor she used on the siege of the Crystal Empire when it was under Sombra’s control before tying her hair into a ponytail. Once she was done Val exited her room and met Hedy and Lyca before the trio of lightsmiths headed for the throne room, the two princes flanking their leader.
“What happened?” asked Val as she walked through the hallway.
“Well…” started Hedy.
Border of the Crystal Empire beyond the Equestrian Northern Outpost, an hour ago
“Shining come on, we have to make it to the Crystal Empire as soon as possible!” said a pink alicorn wearing a rather thick light blue winter dress to a group soldiers wearing leather armor covered by thick cloaks of fur —the leather and fur were artificial, of course— in addition to the thick paddling of their gambesons.
“Calm down Cadence, we still need to pass through the Northern Wastes and even if we didn’t have a blizzard to deal with rushing will only get you lost here,” said the stallion with a white fur coat and two-shaded blue mane walking in front of the group and beside the Princess of Love.
Shining Armour just trudged through the snow after Cadence along with seven Royal Guard, four pegasi and three unicorns, he wanted to bring some earth ponies as well but they had to depart immediately and there wasn't time to prepare their gear, pegasi had a natural resistance to cold because they were used to high altitudes and unicorns could use their magic to keep themselves warm, they were all assigned to accompany the Captain/Prince and his wife in this expedition. The Equestrians were sent this far north in hopes of freeing the recently returned Crystal Empire from the tyrant and usurper, the self-crowned King Sombra. The Royal Sisters hoped to recover the last remaining sister nation of Equestria, especially after the mysterious cataclysm that destroyed Flutter Valley.
They departed yesterday when Celestia noticed that the reports of the Northern Outpost were suspiciously uneventful, especially after the three alicorns felt a surge of magic coming from the North. When they arrived on the Outpost after a train ride one of the two guards stationed there was revealed to be a changeling and the other was under that bug mind control. The guards wasted no time in trying to capture that parasite but unfortunately, it managed to escape even after it was placed in an anti-magic bubble, from there they proceeded to free the remaining guard. After such a discovery Cadence seemed to be filled with dread at the thought of the changelings getting to the Crystal Empire where the crystal ponies might get caught in the crossfire between Chrysalis and Sombra, or worst, the thought that Chrysalis and Sombra might have met and allied with one another in making the life of the poor crystal ponies miserable.
“SHINING!” shouted Cadence and Shining stooped when he heard his wife’s voice ringing out from the front, piercing through the noise of the blizzard that seemed to suddenly stop as well. He lifted his head cloaked under a dull brown hood that protected his head from the cold winds and spotted Cadence looking at him sternly from under her own pink hood before saying in a stern and commanding tone, “We have to hurry up, with our chariot grounded Sombra and Chrysalis could have already arrived enslaved the crystal ponies, who knows what horrors they could be subjecting the poor crystal ponies to!”
Cadence, Shining Armour and the six guards —one pegasus stayed behind to help the remaining guard in the outpost and to sent a message back to Equestria— looked behind them and saw that the blizzard was still going but in front of them was a snow dune with the light of the sun was being reflected. Cadence ignored all that in favor of climbing the snowbank while the guards and Shining placed their hands over their eyes to shield them from the glare.
“But… how?” questioned Cadence from the top of the snowbank just as the caught catch up to her. They looked at where she was looking and saw the city made of crystal and other unknown materials, but some of the organic looking materials were almost alien.
The sunny and colorful city was under a transparent dome, also because of the angle they couldn’t see the beam of light that hitting the top of the central tower, all that was unexpected to the pink alicorn and she expressed her surprise by asking, “Why would Sombra activate the Crystal Heart?”
Shining was confused too, however, he had been told very little about the city by Celestia and Cadence and only knowing that Sombra usurped the throne, hid the Crystal Heart and enslaved the population before being banished by the Princesses and taking the Empire with him. Although he was very cautious about this whole thing since what little he had been told didn’t add up to what they were seeing and that was the first indication that something was going on.
“Princess Cadence, wait!” shouted one of the guards and Shining Armor came out of his introspection. When he looked at the source of the sound he saw a guard reaching out for Cadence who was flying full speed towards the dome and in the direction of the city.
“Great, welcome to married life Shining Armor,” the Prince Consort muttered under his breath as he facepalmed, Cadence could be such a stubborn mare.
“Should we go after her Captain?” asked an orange coated blue maned pegasus guard, looking at the pink blur rapidly speeding toward the city.
“No, stay on the ground, Cadence should be able to take care of any trouble she finds herself into, or at least for long enough for us to catch up,” said Shining to the the orange pegasus guard and the guards nodded, then Shining Armor used his magic to unstrap the shield that was on his back before placing it on the ground and use it as an impromptu snowboard. The unicorns did the same while the pegasi jumped and glide near the unicorns in formation.
While her husband and their escorts were catching up Cadence landed in the midst of a busy market on the edge of the Crystal Empire’s capital, however, in her hurry she ignored the obvious discrepancies between what she knew of the Capital and this city and just as she landed the crystal ponies stared at the pink alicorn in puzzlement while said alicorn also looked around in puzzlement as she thought, “Why were all of these ponies walking about happily as if nothing was wrong? Where was King Sombra? And where were Chrysalis and her changelings?”
“Excuse me,” said Cadence catching a nearby light blue crystal pony mare, she almost smiled and cooed at the sight of a adorable a young teal colored filly standing behind the mare trying to hide from the Princess while staring at the said Princess in awe, more specifically at her wings, but Cadence had to focus, so she asked the mare, “Where is King Sombra?”
“He was destwoyed and eaten by Empewor Volthoom!” the filly happily answered
“‘Destroyed and eaten," said Cadence with a tone of disbelief before shaking her head and ask, "This unicorn, Emperor Volthoom, how did he accomplish that?”
“He’s not a unicown, he’s ouw Guawdian and he didn’t use magic,” said the filly as she came out of her hiding spot and her mother didn’t seem to mind the questions.
“Then how did he defeat Sombra?” asked Cadence trying to gauge how much worst this Volthoom was.
“Well,” the mare began uncomfortably as she looked at the Equestrian before continuing, “I’m not sure of the details but I heard one of the guards say that he ‘punched a hole through his chest’ at the end of the battle.”
“This Emperor must be truly evil, possibly worse than Sombra for him to brutally kill with his own hands! This brute is probably in league with Chrysalis and she must be using her mind to keep these ponies happy and docile,” thought Cadence as she paled after hearing how Sombra was defeated, so she just took off to the center of the city where she would hopefully save these ponies.
On her way to the palace Cadence spotted a mare on the roof on one of the buildings, she was sitting in front of a canvas facing the palace, and by her movements, she was painting, however, Cadence spotted a familiar figure of a changeling approaching the mare from behind. Hoping to save that mare from being kidnapped and being fed on by those parasites Cadence dived toward the mare to save her.
On the roof, a few moments before
Copper Flower, a simple pegasus mare with a blue coat as well as teal and orange mane wearing plain white clothes as she painted the Central Tower of Sapphire. She was a painter and while she loved the sights of Equestria when she traveled to the surface as well as the vibrant underground ecosystem she wanted to experience something new. In the end, she and her family decided to visit the Crystal Empire for a few days.
“Flower!” a voice called out and when she turned she saw her husband, a black colored changeling from Cepha’s Hive with a head crest/fin and dark blue corset. Nico Gryl was an artist like her, however, he was a musician and dancer while Flower was a painter and sculpturist. They came with their young filly and teenager son because they wanted their children to experience the world beyond the underground.
Copper Flower just smiled as her husband brought some snacks for her, however, she saw his eyes widen as he glanced to his left and he dropped everything before jumping in her direction. When she glanced to the side she saw a pink blur coming toward her at great speed, she thought she heard a whistling noise similar to the wings of a pegasus when “cutting” the air, out of reflex she placed her arms in front of her.
Gryl was almost reaching his wife when the blur changed direction and tackled him out of the building roof. Whatever tackled him did so with enough force to crack his chitin and he was barely conscious when the blur landed beside him.
“Guards!” screamed Copper Flower and Cadence nodded thinking that maybe whatever hold Chrysalis had on them was not that strong and she was about fly to the roof to see if that mare was ok. She extended her wings when she saw the guards approach the scene, however, she was taken by surprise when crystal ponies guards surrounded her.
“Stand down, Equestrian, you're under arrest for assaulting a citizen of the Empire,” said one of the guards.
“What you mean ‘citizen of the Empire’? I, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the rightful heir to the Crystal Empire came to save you from the tyrant that sits on the throne as well as free you from this parasites and place this nation under the protection of the Royal Sisters,” announced Cadence and she expected the ponies to be inspired to rebel against their conqueror, however, that seemed to have the opposite effect if the hardening of the guards eyes and the horrified looks of the crowd were any indication.
Without hesitation the guards reached for a cylinder on their belts before pointing the open end of said cylinder toward Cadence, then suddenly a rope came out and coiled around her arms and wings.
“Cadence!!” shouted Shining as he came from behind followed by his squad, he saw a crowd gathering and a group of guards, the moment his group was spotted the crowd run to the security of their homes of behind the Crystal Guards.
Four guards were using some whip made of energy to bind and subside Cadence while seven other guards stood in front of the Equestrian before reaching behind their backs and take out an axe, they twisted the blade and a spear-like tip came out from the top before the handle extended turning their weapons into a strange combination of spear and axe that the Equestrian haven’t seen before. Any hesitation that Shining Armor left his mind when he looked at the fear in the eyes of his wife as she was bound by the guards. He and his guards took out their swords and shields before standing ready to fight. It was a tense standoff and they had yet to see who would do the first move.
As the Equestrians were preparing to fight when suddenly they were captured by glowings ropes that appeared out of nowhere and Shining tried to use a spell to escape but his magic didn’t react, when he looked at his squad he saw a glowing ring in the base of their horn and when he looked at Cadence he noticed that he and his squad were surrounded by a barrier. It didn’t take long for him to find the source of the barrier, he saw a black and red changeling floating above the street wearing a skin-tight suit with plates and said changeling had a glowing multi-colored aura similar to the barrier holding them captive.
“Equestrians, you are all under arrest for trespassing into our borders and attacking our citizens,” said Ambly as she floated down and undid the barrier for the guards to escort the prisoners. Ambly resisted the urge to groan, this whole thing could start a war, and she thought that she could have an uneventful shift. She concentrated on the focus embedded into her horn and channeled the energy into her hand, then a hologram of Val appeared above her palm.
“Yes?” asked Val.
Crystal Palace, Diamond City, present time
Val groaned at the situation, it seemed that Chrysalis’ invasion caused more damage to Princess Cadence and Shining Armor’s view of the changelings than she thought. That was to be expected since one was under imprisoned in a cave while the other was under Mind Control and Chrysalis did cause a great deal of panic to cover her infiltration and exploration of the tunnels beneath Canterlot.
“So, apparently Cadence reaction to changelings is the most extreme out of the two. Do you think Shining Armor can be reason with?” asked Val after processing what was said.
“Well, she spent a few days locked in a dark cave with little to no interaction and considering that love is closely tied to hatred her reaction kinda makes sense, even though we expected her to be a bit more diplomatic,” said Lyca expressing his opinion.
“Shining Armor has military training and should be able to keep a calm and reasonable mindset if needed, I mean, he wouldn't do anything to purposefully endanger either his wife or his country,” said Hedy and Val nodded. It wasn’t long before the trio arrived on the throne room where the eight Equestrians had their wings and horns bound as they knelt before the throne, behind each one of them was a guard with the same energy whip that was wrapped around their arms, wings and/or horns.
The prisoners’ attention was drawn to the clopping sound from the hallway where Val, Hedy and Lyca came. Their eyes widen at the three changelings that arrived and it was already surprising for them to see the variety in color and types on the species that they assumed it was just black and blue. But, the beauty of those three was just otherworldly, the ones on the side carrying spears that glowed with energy while wearing a colorful yet hypnotic armored suit similar to the one that restrained them, that combined with their butterfly wings gave them a beauty that the Equestrians have never seen before and to some it reminded them of the old tales of the flutter ponies.
However, even as the unblinking solid eyes of the two butterfly-like changelings stared at the prisoners their eyes were fixed on the figure in the middle, a tall female changeling wearing an almost organic looking armor that didn’t hide her voluptuous body. The changeling with a figure and presence that they could only be compared to Princess Celestia's, but were their Princess had a warm and motherly aura this one seemed aloof and cold as her silver eyes briefly glanced at the prisoners as she walked toward the throne, that plus long silver hair trailing behind her seemed to be made of the finest silver as they reflected the light of the sun.
Val just climbed the small set of stairs that led to the throne before sitting on it while Hedy took his place on Val’s right while his sister stood by Val’s left and Val just crossed her legs before resting her right arm on the armrest of the throne.
“Now, what to do with you?” asked Val as she rested her head on her right arm giving off a powerful and alluring disposition after all presentation was important for a ruler.
Val looked at the bound unicorns, pegasi and alicorn, all six of them looking at the lightsmiths with varying degree of apprehension and awe while Val herself also glanced around the room. At the right of the throne, Ruby Scroll was sitting on her desk recording this event and transcribing what was said using her magitech terminal, which was essentially a magic computer. At each pillar a Royal Guard in front of it, all of them being crystal ponies since the duty to safeguard the palace was still with the veterans while the recruits patrolled the city, some of these new guards being present as the ones that were restraining the prisoners, who were stripped of their winter gear and weapons. Not far from these guards to the left was Ambly standing with the discipline expected of an officer.
“You six are accused of invading our border with the explicit intent of usurping the throne of the Crystal Empire before handing the said throne to the pink alicorn who is accused of attacking one of the citizens of the Empire. What's your excuse?” asked Val as she looked at the Equestrians.
“I was just trying to save that poor mare from parasites like you!” shouted Cadence and the guards had to restrain themselves to not show their displeasure.
“And why would her or another citizens need ‘saving’ in the first place?” asked Val not showing any reaction to Cadence's statement, she knew that Chrysalis’ mission during the Royal Wedding Incident colored most of Equestria's view of the changelings, but honestly Val didn't care for their opinion so long they left the changelings in general alone, however, interactions with Equestria were a certainty and she just hoped to have enough time to make preparations, but as they used to say on Earth “no plan survives contact with the enemy”.
“Obliviously you are in league with Chrysalis and is somehow brainwashing all these poor ponies,” said Cadence as she glared at Val while struggling against the ropes restraining her.
An awkward silence followed and was only broken by Ambly trying and failing to not to laugh before saying, “You *laugh* you think aunty Chrysalis *laugh* is controlling the *laugh* the crystal ponies, it shows how much you know.” *laugh*
*sigh* “Ambly, concentrate,” said Val and it took a while for the Ambly to recover her composure, then Val asked, “Ambly, silence her.”
Ambly just shrugged as a muzzle materialized over Cadence's muzzle to stop her from ranting and she was glad that the guards and Shining Armor at least had the common sense to only speak when they were spoken to, she supposed that their training had something to do with that and just ranting angrily wouldn't have helped anyway.
“Who's the victim?” asked Val and Ambly’s face changed to a neutral expression as she projected a hologram of the changeling that Cadence attacked.
“His name is Nico Gryl, he is a dancer and musician from Star Haven. He was born from Iso’s hive, the mare that hothead here was trying to ‘save’ is his wife, Copper Flower, and they were in Sapphire City on vacations with their two children. Currently, he is in the hospital with many broken bones, his chitin is also broken and internal bleeding. Thankfully, his condition is stable and his life is no longer in danger,” reported Ambly and while Cadence started to show signs of guilt she shook her head before returning to just glaring at Ambly, Shining Armor, on the other hand, kept a neutral expression as he heard the report while the other six tried to do the same they showed signs of being conflicted.
“And the family of the victim?” asked Val.
“In the hospital with the victim,” said Ambly and Val nodded before gesturing for Ambly that it was enough, for now. Then she looked directly at Shining Armor and said, “That's more than enough for me to convict the little princess here for ‘aggravated assault’ at best and 'attempt of murder’ at worse, either case would result in around a year in the dungeon plus an amercement. And before you complain these are laws set before Sombra's rule, that damn umbrum didn't even bother to change or even follow these laws,” explained Val even if it devolved into a small rant at the end.
“That would be enough for a war to happen since any other nation could interpret this as you taking a Dignitary/Emissary as a hostage,” argued Shining Armor.
“I doubt Celestia or Luna would go to war without first trying to negotiate with us first, however, I could execute her on the ground of her 'plotting to usurp the throne’ and ‘inciting rebellion’, which could simply be considered terrorism,” said Val before leaning forward and look directly at the Equestria’s Captain of the Royal Guard before asking, “So, tell me, Prince Consort Shining Armor, should I uphold the laws of this nation and have her executed or just imprison her and wait for the Royal Sisters to came and negotiate her release?”
“She is the rightful heir to the throne,” argued Shining Armor since Val seemed to be following all the laws of the Crystal Empire he was betting on these same laws to win and if Val chose to not follow them she would expose herself a hypocrite, which wouldn't be good for her image.
“And how can you prove that? Just because Celestia said so isn't enough proof that she is from the rightful bloodline,” said Val and that caused Shining Armor to sweat since he didn't have any proof of Cadence's claim to the throne. However, he was filled with relief when he heard what Val said next, “But that problem can easily be solved, Hedy.”
The butterfly-like changeling at Val’s right responded by walking down the steps before standing in front of Cadence and pointing her spear at the pink alicorn. Said alicorn struggled when she saw the blade pointing at her but the energy ropes held her in place, as did the other prisoners who also assumed the worst, so she just closed her eyes and expected the worse but she only heard a somewhat musical voice speak, “Scan subject.”
Cadence opened her eyes and saw two wide beams of light, one was moving up and down her form slowly while the other was moving from one side to the other, said beams were coming from the tip of the changeling’s spear. After a tense silence, the beams disappeared and the changeling backed away until she was near the steps of the dais before pointing the spear at the ground between the prisoners and herself while saying, “Initiate genealogical test, subjects: Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Queen Amore; establish a familial connection.”
From the tip of the spear two images were projected, the first was the image of a snowflake inside a frame of three pieces that were similar to a horseshoe while the second was a heart made of crystal above to stylized pieces that were parallel with the straight part of the heart, immediately Shining and Cadence recognized the second image, after all, it was Cadence's Cutie Mark. The image of the first Mark moved a bit to the side as Cadence's Mark dissolved into two other Marks that neither of them recognized, then it dawned on them that these two Mark’s were from her parents and to an orphan like Cadence to see a real link with her biological parents was almost heartbreaking. However, Shining Armor also noticed a counter that went from zero to one beside the new pair of Marks, just as suddenly the Mark in the middle vanished before the Mark on the edge dissolved into other Marks and the counter changed to two, they were tracing Cadence's lineage. That thought filled Shining Armor with dread, not because there was a possibility of his statement be proven wrong but because Val accepted that possibility too easily as if even if he was right, to begin with, it wouldn't matter either way.
The Equestrians watched with anticipation as the counter went up, a great number of generations was expected since the Crystal Empire was gone for thousands of years, then two unknown Cutie Marks appeared and two line from the pair connecting to Amore’s Mark and Cadence's ancestor’s Mark. From there the image just zoomed out to show a long line of Marks from one of Amore's parents to Cadence and after seeing that Val said, “Oh, I'm impressed, she is Amore’s first cousin fiftieth something once removed.”
That caused Shining to sigh in relief and Cadence to sent Val a smug look as if to say “I win”, however, those notions were crushed when Val said, “That still doesn't prove that she is the rightful heir, only that she is distantly related to the last true ruler of the Crystal Empire and that the lineage of Amore's sister, who lived in Equestria at the time, survived.”
“That's proof that she is eligible for the throne without a closer relative to inherit it,” said Shining Armor trying to understand what was going one and his mind reached the only logical conclusion it could with the information he had before saying, “There is a closer relative amongst the population of the Crystal Empire.”
Val just offered a confident smile neither confirming nor denying Shining Armor's statement and instead just said, “In which case, we are back at square one. Removed her muzzle.”
“Even you admitted there was a rightful heir to the throne and yet you title yourself Emperor, which is strange considering your gender and willingness to uphold the law, yet it's you who sits on the throne,” said Cadence in an effort to fish for some information and to point out Val's hypocrisy.
“I don't remember ever declaring myself the Emperor of the Crystal Empire, that title was given to me by the people. If anything, I'm more of regent that took up the throne to clean Sombra’s mess while the intended ruler is recovering from her time in Sombra's… care, a mess that Celestia and Luna are partially responsible in the first place. Also, changelings don't bother with gender-specific titles because of our… flexible nature,” said Val as she looked at Cadence.
“How dare you accuse my aunties like that?! When they hear of what happened here they will do everything they can to liberate the crystal pony of your control, you love sucking parasite!” shouted Cadence and the guard behind her tightened the alicorn's ropes while Hedy and Lyca pointed their spears at the pink pony while building up energy.
“You will show respect for Lady Valthane, Equestrian,” said the guards restraining Cadence and she was about to say something despite Shining Armor shaking his head and silently begging her not to, however, whatever she was about to say was silenced by Amby rematerializing a muzzle on Cadence.
“I was hoping that you would show at least some regret, so much for the peace and tolerance you Equestrians love to preach about. *sigh* As of now you, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, is sentenced to the dungeon until the rulers of your country negotiate for your release or you serve your sentence, which is one year in the dungeon. Guard take her away,” announced Val and the guard dragged the struggling alicorn out of the throne room despite the vocal protests of the other prisoners and it reached the point where Ambly had to muzzled them as well. With order reestablished Val looked at the other prisoners and said, “Release Shining Armor, Ambly.”
“Please, Your Majesty, I ask for mercy. My wife recently had a bad experience with changelings and I'm sure she didn't mean what she said,” begged Shining Armor.
“I have already shown mercy, considering everything, not only I gave her the lightest possible sentence but also the opportunity to negotiate her release, now the rest is up to Celestia and Luna,” said Val and Shining Armor gritted his teeth before lowering his head in defeat, he was in a foreign country where his and his wife's position meant nothing, he also took note of the familiarity in Val’s voice when she mentioned the Royal Sisters by name, all he could do was return to Equestria and inform Princess Celestia after serving whatever sentence Val had in store for him and his men. The unicorn came out of his introspection when Val asked, “Where are their gear?”
“It's here, Your Majesty,” said another guard as he pushed a table with wheels that had the Equestrians winter gear and weapons and Val had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at how predictable it was, simple swords and shields, granted there was some enchantments on them but still, the fact that they haven't try to improve the designs by incorporating their advancements on both magic and technology or a combination of both was just sad, they even lacked a standard long range weapon.
“Released them,” ordered Val and the guards did as ordered and Ambly released the muzzles, then Val said as the prisoners looked confused, “Aside from being present at the site of the commotion and carrying weapons without authorization you did nothing wrong while preparing to defend yourselves, plus I didn't close the Crystal Empire’s border, so by all intents and purposes you didn't commit any crime because I'm taking into consideration your profession as part of Equestria’s military. You are free to go, I will be expecting Celestia and/or Luna in at least three days from now. Also, congratulations on being a father, Captain Armor, Chrysalis sent her regards, bye bye.”
Val waved her right hand after she finished speaking, the prisoners reluctantly got up and put on their gear while they were hearing Val’s sentence, however, once she finished a portal opened beneath the hooves of each of them and they fell before the portal closed, plus the expression of deer caught in the highlights on Shining Armor's face before he fell was just priceless. On a side note, Val was unsure if she should use that particular expression since she didn't know if the deer would feel offended or not, something to consider in the future.
“Are you that it was a good idea, Grandmaster?” asked Hedy from the base of the dais.
“Only time will tell,” said Val as she leaned back on the throne, it would take at least a day for them to get back to Equestria and at least another for Celestia and Luna to make their preparation to leave, which was yet another reason for them to arrive here at the time mentioned if they didn't decide to just teleport, however, considering the distance they wouldn't be able to bring anyone else. Three days was more than enough for Amore to retake her duties but that unfortunately would cut her vacations, Val just sighed before getting up and headed to her room.
Border of the Crystal Empire, South of Sapphire City and North of the Northern Wastes
A group of portals opened just above the snowbank that was used by the Equestrians to overlook Sapphire city when they arrived earlier this morning and now the seven ponies found themselves rolling down said snowbank before being buried by the snow that was dislodged by their fall. They managed to dig themselves out of the snow pile and were faced with the perpetual storm that existed between beyond the Northern Wastes and used to reach the Crystal Mountains at the north of the Crystal Empire.
“We better pick up the pace if we want to catch the last train heading south today,” said Shining Armor, which earned a groan from the other stallions but they all nodded anyway before pulling up their hoods and masks.
“Sir, about what was said in the end are you-” started one of the unicorns but Shining Armor motioned for him to stop.
“Just drop it, questioning it now wouldn't make a difference and I need time to think,” said Shining Armor and the stallion nodded before placing a hand on his captain's shoulder. A moment later they started yet another arduous journey through the blizzard and all Shining Armor could think about was, “Cadence is not gonna be happy when she finds out.” and “I'm a father.” as he marched forward.
The Hub
The beach and the city itself were bathed by the orange light of the late afternoon sun as Amore and Iso waited for Val, they came as soon as Iso was informed through the Hive Mind that Val was returning and she was also informed that the alicorn that was currently in the dungeon back at the palace was Amore's distant relative. Amore herself felt conflicted at the last bit of information, she placed a lot of importance on family but her cousin was so distant from her —both in familial relation as well as time— that they were essentially strangers and blood wasn't all when it came to family. Amore's thoughts were interrupted by the activation of the Gate, the space beneath the arc shimmering until the image of the Diamond City’s plaza and the Crystal Palace became visible, walking through the Gate was Val and she was back into her casual clothes.
Amore just hugged her mate when she approached, for now, the unicorn felt her worries melt away as she felt Val’s arm hold here and all she did was look into Val's silver eyes while asking, “Is it true?”
“Yes,” answered Val just before sighing, she knew Amore just wanted confirmation of what happened and Iso informed Val of what Amore knew.
“Do you think Tia and Lulu would start a war over this?” asked Amore.
“No, but regardless of that it won't take long for the other nations to notice the Crystal Empire and when news get out we cannot be presented as a weak country that would gladly accept aid from the first country that offers it, in this case, Equestria,” said Val as she accompanied both of her mates back to Iso’s place. Seeing the somber look on Amore's face Val added, “Don't worry about it, for now, we can still enjoy the beautiful beaches and we can visit the sea ponies tonight.”
The three got dressed in more formal clothing when they arrived at Iso’s place before going out and head for the port, which was very similar to the train station. Amore just looked at the few sea ponies that lived on the surface and near the water with childish awe, at first they looked just like land ponies —as all pony tribes are collectively known to the sea ponies— but with scales instead of fur and fins or tentacles instead of manes in some cases, however, she was astonished by the sheer variety. That feeling only increased when they arrived at the port/station where plenty of sea ponies worked, they bought their tickets and boarded a special train that would go underwater and toward the part of the city that was submerged beneath the waves, which could be considered a city on its own.
Through the window they saw the coral reef and all the marine life that lived in it, the underwater train was significantly slower than its surface counterpart since it was more like a submarine on rails but that was fine since it allowed the tourists the time to appreciate the marine life, despite the fact it was getting darker. At the center of the lake was complex structures that took the form of either giant bubbles or domes made of unknown material, inside these structures were colorful buildings illuminated by artificial light, an underwater city.
Soon they arrived at another station not too far the barrier keeping the water out, the station was colorful just like the rest of the city and upon closer inspection, the surface of the building actually looked similar to coral. Amore's looked around with awe, it was so different from both the crystal structures she knew her whole life and the organic looking aesthetics of the changelings, and the sea ponies made it like a totally different world. Now the soon to be queen could see far more sea ponies and she noticed some defining features, regardless of scales, tentacles and fins, they all had the basic shape of a pony, even if some of them had a single fishtail for they bottom half in some cases and seemed to use float like object that floated above the ground, but all of them seemed to have the features of a single creature of the sea as their main theme.
“The variety of sea ponies is just astonishing,” commented Amore and Val nodded as the crystal pony hugged her mate’s right arm.
“They are not that different from land ponies once you get to know them,” commented Iso as she hugged Val's left arm.
“Really?” asked Amore as the trio walked toward the city.
“Yeah, for example, the ones born with two legs are called Undines and the ones born with a single tail instead of legs are called Merponies, the former gains the ability to fuse their legs into a tail to swim fast later in life while the latter gains the ability to split their legs,” explained Iso as she discreetly gestured for examples in the crowd, which included children in a nearby playground.
“Kinda like Equestrians and crystal ponies,” interjected Val giving an example that Amore would be more familiar with.
“Oh,” said Amore in response as they walked through the colorful city illuminated by artificial light, the underwater city getting darker sooner since it quite a way down.
“These two groups can be divided into few groups, like the hippocampi who are similar to the earth ponies but their connection is to the sea and they can not only read its currents but also cultivate algae and help the growth of coral, the ceffylau who are similar to the pegasi and they are not only the fastest in the water but they can even the ability to fly, and lastly, the kelpies are capable of channeling mana like unicorns,” explained Iso and Amore just nodded at the explanation. Then Iso added, “There are other tribes but these are the main ones, additionally sea ponies have a physical and magical affinity with a particular species that live in the water.”
“Oh, that's why they look so different,” commented Amore and Iso nodded, then Amore looked around the city appreciating the architecture and seeing the crystal pony observing their surroundings
“Did you know I helped plan and build this city centuries ago?” added Iso seeing Amore's expression.
“Really?” asked Amore and Val just smiled at their interaction.
“Yep, it was soon after I became a queen and established a new city port here that would eventually become The Hub. My hive created an outpost beneath the lake and when we explored the tunnels we emerged in the Celestial Sea, there we came in contact with a community of sea ponies that were being attacked. Me and the changelings accompanying me defended them and drove back their attackers before offering them a place to stay. This place started as a refugee camp but they quickly built houses with the coral and started to farm algae, some of my children moved to this underwater community and when magic and technology became advanced enough we built the barrier around the underwater districts.”
“However, even if the barriers did allow other land dwellers to visit the place they have to be periodically turned off, so only those that can breath underwater can live here,” added Val and Iso nodded.
“Oh, I was hoping I could buy a house here,” said Amore with disappointment in her tone evident.
“But you can, besides there are spells and implants that allow you to breathe underwater,” said Iso and that left Amore with a thoughtful look.
“We arrived,” said Val as they stopped in front of a large building with a sign written in a strange language that Amore didn't recognize, but she did recognize the image of a plate with a fork and knife beside it, a restaurant. They entered the building and were greeted by a male sea pony, more specifically a male merpony ceffyl, he was quite small being around 2ft tall but his tail was like a beautiful fan of blue hues, he was wearing a suit over his torso and around his waist was one of those float like devices that allowed to greet the newcomers at eye level, he actually reminded the trio of a betta and Amore had to resist the urge to hug this cute little thing.
“Greetings, Your Majesties, it’s a great honor that you choose our humble establishment,” said the receptionist as he bowed before asking, “How may be of service?”
“Um, a table for three, please,” said Iso and the receptionist nodded before his small horn started to glow, then the same glow appeared and a clipboard and a pen float to him where he wrote something before placing them back on the counter.
“This way, please,” said the receptionist as he floated toward a free table for the trio. Once the trio was settled he said, “A waiter will come shortly.”
“He’s cute,” said Amore as the chibi merpony floated away.
“Yeah, the smaller ones usually are,” commented Iso and before long an undine hippocampus, also wearing a suit, by the androgynous figure it would be difficult to tell the gender but the nameplate was color-coded, so they could tell that the sea pony was female. She was taller than average but she had unnaturally long arms that reached past her knees that were not only long and sinuous but also seemed to lack elbows, all six of them came from her shoulders and ended in normal hands, it was clear by the pinkish sink that she had the aspect of an octopus.
The trio just ordered their food and just enjoyed their night.
Canterlot Castle, next morning
Shining Armor walked through the hallways of Canterlot Castle as he made his way toward the throne room, he was tired and sore from having to walk through a blizzard twice, plus their impromptu journey back wasn't exactly comfortable. However, he had a duty to uphold and he needed to report this to Princess Celestia as soon as possible.
“Captain Armor?” asked a voice he recognized, which caused him to return from his introspection and see the speaker, Princess Luna.
“Your Highness,” said Shining Armor as he knelt down.
“What are you doing here? And where is Cadence?” asked Luna in a worried tone.
“Unexpected events forced me to come back and I need to report what happened to both you and Princess Celestia,” said Shining Armor and Luna knew it was serious so she motioned for him to follow as she opened the door to the throne room, where the Diarch of the Sun was talking to his sister.
“…I'm certain you will pass,” said Celestia and whatever Twilight was about to say was interrupted as both mares looked at the door.
“Shining?” asked Twilight and she was about to hug him when she noticed the serious expression on his face.
“Captain Armor, I was under the impression that you and Princess Cadence where at the Crystal Empire keeping Sombra at bay, what happened?” asked Celestia as her nephew-in-law knelt down.
“Well…” started Shining Armor and he reported everything that happened since his departure two days ago, even if Celestia probably already received the report about the situation in the Northern Outpost he reiterated those events before leading to their arrival at Sapphire City. The three mares present showed shock and horror when they heard that changelings managed to infiltrate into the Crystal Empire, at first they assumed that Chrysalis would be working with Sombra but after hearing that the crystal ponies were safe and happy they just thought that it was just a facade to help the changelings feed better.
Twilight just nodded in silent agreement when she heard Candace “saving” an innocent mare from a changeling while the Royal Sisters just looked at each other with uncertainty, but their expressions changed when they heard of their captured and Cadence's sentence.
“We have to save Cadence!” shouted Twilight and she was about to go out and meet with her friends when Celestia motioned for her to stop.
“We are currently dealing with an unknown and we don't even know if these changelings are commanded by Chrysalis despite one of them having a familial relationship with her,” said Luna as with a thoughtful expression.
“Indeed,” said Celestia before she noticed something about Shining's report and asked, “What was the name of these ‘Emperor’?”
“She had two names, the first was Valthane,” said Shining Armor and that caused the princesses to stiffen, albeit for different reasons, but they quickly dismissed that as a coincidence, however, that changed when he said, “And the other was Volthoom.”
The eyes of the princesses widen in surprise as they froze, that reaction confused the unicorns and Twilight asked nervously, “Princess?”
Never in their lives, they have ever seen the look of dread like the that was present on Princess Celestia.
Crystal Palace, the afternoon of the next day
Cadence laid on her bed inside the cell she was imprisoned, an inhibitor ring on her horn and the cell itself had a spell work that also suppressed her pegasus and earth pony magic. She just looked at the ceiling unsure of what do and feeling conflicted about how she felt about the changelings in the Crystal Empire. She was starting to wonder if she let her experience with Chrysalis affect her more than it should.
“Well well well, what we have here?” asked a voice Cadence knew all too well and brought unpleasant memories with it. She sat up on the mattress and looked at the hallway, standing on the other side of the bars was the changeling she was just thinking about, Queen Chrysalis. Seeing that Cadence was paying attention Chrysalis commented, “I never thought we see each other again like this.”
“Why are you here? Came to gloat?” asked Cadence in a condescending tone.
“No, at least, not like the mask that I used when faking that attack in your wedding,” said Chrysalis.
“What do you mean 'faking’?” asked Cadence as she glared at the Royal Changeling.
“Sister?” asked Luna as she looked at the expression of utter disbelief, shock and fear on Celestia’s face, all of that hid the minuscule spark of hope in her eyes.
Without hesitation, Celestia turned around and flew toward the throne, more specifically behind the throne, as soon as the other three got over the surprise they run toward Celestia and when they move around the throne they saw her push the last brick of a sequence. Like many stereotypical secret passages in medieval castles the wall itself receded a few inches before parting in the middle along the bricks, which revealed a set of the spiral staircase leading down, however, Celestia just jumped down the middle of the vertical tunnel instead of using the stairs.
Luna looked at the unicorn siblings and grabbed them with her telekinesis before jumping after her sister. That caused Twilight to yelp in surprise but otherwise didn't protest while Shining remained silent, a few seconds later Luna unfurled her wings and slowed her descent along with the pair of unicorns, who were placed on the ground. The trio landed in the crystal caves beneath the city, Twilight shivered at the memory of Chrysalis sending her down here while using Cadence’s face. Shining just took in his surroundings like he was trained to do, he saw about three openings that led somewhere deeper into the mountain, however, the fourth passage was wider and had some engravings along the edges. Luna without hesitation went into this passage and the unicorn siblings followed her, from there it was more or less a straight line until they reached a circular chamber where Celestia was standing.
“It's not here,” said Celestia but if it was to herself or those behind her it was anybody's guess.
The trio walked around the shocked princess and say that she was standing before an altar, clearly mean to have something placed on it but it was empty and they questioned how this altar was related to Shining's report.
“It's not here,” repeated Celestia, clearly in disbelief.
“What's not here, sister?” asked Luna worried for her sister and some small part of her believed that maybe this was also related to the secret her sister struggle to tell her in the recent months.
“His ring,” said Celestia but the reference was lost to the trio of confused ponies.
“Who’s ring, Tia?” asked Luna as she placed her left hand on Celestia's right shoulder.
“Volthoom's,” said Celestia and when she said that name it dawned on Shining that the changeling that was ruling the Crystal Empire knew Princess Celestia and that could potentially mean that said changeling thousands of years old. Twilight on the other hand just gained a thoughtful expression and she was sure she heard that name before but she couldn't remember where.
“Sister, why would Volthoom's ring be here in the first place? And what all of this has to do with the changeling that shares his name?” asked Luna with a serious tone.
Instead of answering Luna Celestia sighed before facing the unicorn siblings and say, “There is nothing we can do for now. Captain Armor, get some rest because you and a few other guards will be accompanying me and/or Luna back to the Crystal Empire in a day or two. Twilight, I need you to go back and gather the rest of the Elements as soon as possible and meet us in the throne room where I will explain what is going on.”
Both unicorns nodded and went back to the cave where they landed before climbing the staircase. Celestia kept an eye on their magical signature and once she was sure they were back at the throne room she turned to her sister, who was looking at her with a serious and impatient expression, clearly demanding answers silently.
Luna just crossed her arms and kept giving her sister a knowing look, she had been yearning for answers since she came back, she wanted to know what happened to Flutter Valley and the widely accepted account of “it was destroyed in a cataclysmic event” wasn't enough for her. She knew that an event of the magnitude need to destroy the Valley didn't happen by chance, no, someone triggered the destruction of the Valley and she had no doubt that whoever did that was also tied to Volthoom's disappearance. The fact that her sister had their former mentor's ring down here made that perfectly clear and she wasn't willing to wait for Celestia to build up the courage to talk anymore, she wanted answers now, however, she wasn't prepared for what happened next.
Celestia fell on her knees and gripped her little sister's blue dress, tear flowing from her eyes and running down her beautiful face as she repeated over and over again, “I'm sorry.”
Luna just looked at her sister, the white alicorn clinging to her and she didn’t know what to do, she never saw her older sister like this before, so fragile, so broke. She just placed her hand on Celestia's head and run her finger over her light green, blue and pink mane while waiting for her sister to calm down and talk to her.
Canterlot Castle, Throne room, about an hour later
The Royals Sisters stood beside each in the throne room overlooking the city of Canterlot, Luna glanced at her sister and wondered she was ok. The Diarch of the Sun recovered enough to look presentable and she told that the reason she broke like that was the secret she kept all this time, it was time to reveal it. It didn’t take long for Twilight and her brother to return with the rest of the Elements of Harmony, so Celestia and Luna turned to face their subjects before approaching them.
“We’re here, princess?” said Twilight after the door of the throne room was closed and the guards left before that, leaving the Royal Sister alone with the Elements and the Captain.
“Tell me, Twilight, what do you know of the ‘The Falling Star and the Flutter Ponies’?” asked Celestia and Twilight’s tilted her head in confusion, not understanding what a fairy tale had to do with the situation.
“Oh, it’s one of my favorite fairy tales,” said Fluttershy excitedly, for her, which caused everyone to look at her and she tried to hide behind her mane.
“Mine too!” said Pinkie.
“I remember that story, mother used to tell me and Twily when we were little,” commented Shining Armor.
“Man, I haven’t heard that one in a while,” commented Rainbow, then she asked confusedly, “But what a fairy tale has to do with any of this?”
“I don’t remember that tale, it must have come up after my banishment,” commented Luna to herself, then she turned to Celestia and asked, “Still, you never told me what happened to the flutter ponies.”
“Wait, flutter ponies are real!” said Twilight excitedly and already imagining how this revolutionary information would affect academic work, the existence of Flutter Valley was always speculated but never proven.
“Yes, they are, Flutter Valley used to be their home but by the time I went there was only a desert and there was no sign of either the flutter ponies or fairy ponies. Later I found that the Valley was renamed Badlands and that the fairy ponies moved but no sign of the flutter ponies, why is that sister?” asked Luna as she crossed her arms and looked at Celestia.
“Fairy ponies?” asked AJ and Rainbow.
“Oh, that’s another name for breezies,” commented Fluttershy before Twilight, which made her the center of attention again.
“Are all of you aware of the situation with the Crystal Empire?” asked Celestia as she looked at the rest of the Elements and one by one they nodded at the serious tone of the Princess, then she started, “Well, the ‘The Falling Star and the Flutter Ponies’ is not just a fairy tale its based on a real story, that was how the ‘God of Light’ arrived on Equus, it was around that time that Luna was born.”
That piece of information shocked the one present, except for Luna who already knew all of this, they heard legends of the “God of Light” and it was a shock to them at not only was he real but also that Flutter Valley was real since its existence was debated by scholars to this day.
“It was just a year later that Luna and I along with our parents visited the Valley where the ‘Fallen Star’ fell, it was there that we met the so-called ‘God of Light’, a being made of pure energy that came from beyond the stars, his name was Volthoom,” said Celestia which caused Shining Armor and Twilight to recognize the name, even if the person that Shining met in the north was just a changeling using the God of Light’s name it meant that he/she at the very least knew the truth about this story. Without pausing Celestia continued, “For many years he was mine and Luna’s teacher, he became the guardian of both Flutter Valley and the Crystal Empire, and for a long time everything was fine. However, that changed when a group of crystal ponies came from the north asking for help, telling stories of how Sombra, an advisor at the time, betrayed Queen Amore and usurped the throne. So, in order to help the King and Queen of Equestria led an army to liberate the Crystal Empire from Sombra’s rule.”
Twilight saw as her teacher’s hands tightened into a fist and started to tremble, never in her life had she ever saw Princess Celestia like that, the same could be said for the other Elements and Shining Armor.
“Luna and I plus our elite guard went into the Crystal Palace to deal with Sombra personally, we expected a unicorn that dabbled in dark magic and not a fully powered umbrum with his power boosted by all the fear and suffering of the crystal ponies. He unleashed his army of umbrums and our guards were the first to fall, it was a long and arduous battle and we won but in his defeat, Sombra took the Empire with him,” explained Celestia and Twilight nodded, it was more or less what was explained to her before but with more details. Luna paid attention but rolled her eyes not understanding where all of this was going but she remained silent as her sister continued, “However, while Luna and I were fighting Sombra our parents were keeping the umbrums at bay, the army we brought with us stood no chance and was forced to retreat. Unfortunately, the battle attracted the attention of the windigos further north beyond the Crystal Mountains, however, the battle also caught Volthoom’s attention. I don’t know the details but the armies of umbrum and windigos possessed Volthoom and the issuing battle cost the life of our parents.”
“After this, the council of nobles was ready to crown Celestia as the new Queen but she declared there would be no King or Queen from then on, thus we ruled as Princesses. A few years later the whole event involving Nightmare Moon happened,” commented Luna to both skip the unimportant parts as well as to give time for his sister to get her thoughts in order.
“A few years after Nightmare Moon was banished, Volthoom returned and I blamed him for the death of our parents as well as Luna’s emotional turmoil, so I attacked him,” explained Celestia with guilty evident in her voice.
“Sister, you didn’t,” gasped Luna when she heard what her sister said and already she was putting the pieces together.
“That fighting devastated the Valley and Volthoom was destroyed. The only thing left was his ring and I almost died when I put it on,” said Celestia, with deep sadness evident in her tone, however, she managed to keep herself from crying in front of her subject since she already did so with Luna. Then she looked up to the ceiling and said, “It never truly dawned on me how old or knowledgeable Volthoom truly was, sometimes I would hear him mumble about things that didn’t make sense at the time but as technology advanced I found myself reflecting back on his words.”
“You kept his ring? After all this time,” asked Luna as he hands trembled, she just found out that her sister might be responsible for the death of their teacher, however, with Shining Armor’s report she wasn’t so sure about that. So she turned to face the stallion and asked, “Captain Armor, did this Emperor/Regent ever displayed the ability to create hard-light constructs of an unknown type of energy?”
“Yes, several changelings displayed such abilities during my visit,” answered Shining Armor and that left two possibilities, the changelings either reversed engineered Volthoom’s ring or they were taught how to do it. Either way, it was clear that the changelings were responsible for stealing the ring and this matter needed to be addressed with haste.
“We must prepare for this journey, immediately,” said Luna her voice filled his determination, anger and hope.
Present Day, Crystal Palace’s Dungeon
Chrysalis just looked at the pink alicorn glaring at her and said, “That anger does not suit your beautiful face, Princess Cadence.”
“And why would you care?” scoffed Cadence not really believing the changeling.
Chrysalis moved her hands beyond the bars and held Cadence by her chin, the Queen could feel and see the anger flowing out of the pink alicorn like flames.
“I happen to find you to be a very beautiful mare, plus it's not like I did all of that in the wedding to specifically hurt you,” commented Chrysalis and Cadence just moved her face away from Chrysalis. The Queen just sighed and said, “I just attacked during your wedding because it proved to be the perfect distraction for our real goal as well as an opportunity to gather a great deal of love to feed my children, even if I almost broke my back with that stunt you and Shining Armor pulled at the end.”
“And why should I believe in anything you say?” asked Cadence with disdain.
“You know? You shouldn’t judge all changelings solely based on one experience, If I did the same with Equestrians I would have argued with my mother and older sister to raze Equestria to the ground for what they did to me,” commented Chrysalis with a shrug.
“It just proves how evil you are,” said Cadence and Chrysalis frowned.
“Was I evil when I was but a nymph wanting to make new friends, was that why I was chased out of the villages I visited nine hundred years ago? Or it was simply because I looked different and that was why they feared me?” asked Chrysalis but her voice had more disappointment than anger, then she added, “You Equestrian preach about love and acceptance but are among the most xenophobic inhabitants of Equus, at least it’s not as bad today as it was back then, especially along the borders. Still, that pales in comparison with what Celestia did to our people, yet my mother chose to not seek retribution from either her or her people.”
“And what did Aunty Celestia did that would be so horrible?” asked Cadence, her previous doubts coming back to her as she heard Chrysalis’ story.
“Genocide,” said Chrysalis.
“Impossible! Aunty would never to that!” shouted Cadence as she tried to reach for Chrysalis, who just took a step back, and it was this moment that two guards on either side of the cell made themselves know by pointing their spears at Cadence, who’s hand was inches from reaching the Queen.
“Just like it was impossible for Luna to bring eternal night,” commented Chrysalis.
“Aunty Luna wasn’t herself when she did that!” said Cadence to Chrysalis.
“And apparently, neither was Celestia,” said Chrysalis and for the first time Cadence understood what she was implying, however, that realization didn’t stop Chrysalis from asking, “Have you ever wondered how changelings came to be?”
“Why would I wonder about that?” asked Candace as she retreated to the interior of her cell and sat on her bed.
“Because we’re the result of the genocide I just mentioned. Tell me, have you ever heard the tale of the flutter ponies?” asked Chrysalis but she didn’t expect an answer and the look of realization on the face of the alicorn was all she needed, so she left the dungeon and ignored the attempts of the alicorn of asking further questions.
Afternoon
Cadence just laid on her cell looking at the ceiling reflecting on the words that were spoken by Chrysalis, she didn’t believe them, nor did she want to believe them at first, but the more she thought about it the more it made sense, that plus the reaction of Celestia to little things or events that were mentioned that were related to certain time periods were slowing fitting together in a rather grim picture.
The introspection of the pink alicorn was interrupted by the noise of the door being open, the dungeon entrance and not the cell, so she sat up and waited for her visitor(s). She was already anticipating another visit from Chrysalis and she was already thinking about the questions she would ask, and the snarky remarks she would make.
“Greetings, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,” said a unfamiliar voice that wasn’t Chrysalis, instead she saw a rather tall changeling with a familiar silver mane but instead of a beautiful mare she saw what appeared to be a rather effeminate and androgyny male looking changeling, however, that didn’t make him any less beautiful or alluring. Following him was an almost equally tall female changeling with chitin and mane made of many shades of brown, her brown slitted eyes exuding wisdom, which made her just as alluring as the first one but in a different way. Cadence was distracted by their beauty that she missed the question asked by the silver one and she only realized that when she heard, “You know its rude to stare, right?”
“W-what?” asked Cadence as she realized she was staring.
“At the risk of sounding narcissistic: don’t worry, we know we have that effect on others,” said Phyllia as she looked at the alicorn, then she asked, “Either way, my mate asked how are you feeling today?”
“I-I’m fine, thank you for asking, Miss,” said Cadence a little embarrassed.
“What a polite little pony. I’m Empress Phyllia, Ruler of the Changelings,” said Phyllia introduced herself to the shocked alicorn before motioning to Volthoom and say, “I’m sure you already met my mate, Emperor-Regent of the Crystal Empire Volthoom the First Lightsmith. Although he might have been in his female form when you met him.”
“You’re the one that put me in here!” shouted Cadence it clicked in her mind who was standing before her.
“You’re the one that attacked an innocent civilian,” commented Volthoom as he crossed his arms.
“I sure they were being controlled in some way, just like Chrysalis did before,” snorted Cadence and that caused Volthoom and Phyllia to sigh.
“Is that difficult to accept that we are not using some form of mind control on the crystal ponies?” asked Phyllia and she saw that Cadence wasn’t convinced, so she asked, “Ok then, name one pony that was brainwashed by my daughter aside from the bridesmaids and Shining Armor.”
Cadence tried to think about who else was brainwashed and she couldn’t find an answer to the question, she also made a mental note about this one being Chrysalis’ mother… or father for all she knew.
“Unlike what you think we prefer genuine emotions and you can rest your pretty little mind since we found an alternative source, so we don’t need to ‘kidnap ponies and drain them until they are empty husks’,” said Phyllia and the last part was said in a mocking tone.
“Either way, we came to see how you were doing,” commented Volthoom.
“And why would you care?” asked Cadence.
“I don’t, but Celestia would not hesitate in waging war against both Changeling and Crystal Empire if we give her enough reason to,” commented Volthoom with a shrug before adding while leaving the dungeon, “I never really cared what occurred in Equestria so long they stayed out of the Crystal Empire and Flutter Valley’s affairs.”
After saying his piece, Volthoom left the dungeon and Phyllia just glanced at her retreating mate while saying, “Don’t worry, he’s just upset with himself for letting one of the citizens under his protection get hurt like that.”
“Whatever,” said Cadence before returning to her bed and just ignore the Empress, who just sighed at the fact that the princess wasn’t being cooperative.
Volthoom’s office
Volthoom sighed as he sat on his chair, he was unsure of how to confront Celestia and Luna, after all, it had been thousands of years.
*ping*
However, Volthoom’s introspection was interrupted ping sound in his mind, so his skin became see-through showing his chromatic glowing veins/nerves and the black sphere in its chest and like before he pulled the Travel Lantern and placed it on the table before saying the password, “Password: Light of Lights.”
“Travel Lantern online. Voiceprint Recognized. Greetings Volthoom,” said the Travel Lantern as it came online.
“What’s it TL?” asked Volthoom as he looked at the sentient device.
“Update: A new token has been added to this unit’s inventory,” informed TL in is plain artificial tone before asking, “Query: Would you like to exam it?”
“Sure,” said Volthoom and TL projected a small portal in front of it before dropping a scroll on the table, which Volthoom proceeded to pick up.
“To the one that is hearing my voice, I am Ōtsutsuki Kazuki and if you are in need of my services sign this contract and summon me. We can negotiate the conditions of our contract after my summoning, I don’t care about morals and so long our contract is upheld you have my loyalty. Call out my full name in order to summon me,” said a voice in Volthoom’s mind as he held the token before opening the scroll and see the complex fractal images that were too small and complex to be made by a brush yet it seemed to be made by a brush. The level of coordination and prescription to make those would be unimaginable, nothing short of a computer and able to generate such partners.
“Ōtsutsuki, why that name sounds familiar?” wondered Volthoom before looking at TL and ask, “Do you know anything about the ‘Ōtsutsuki’?”
“Searching… searching… answer found. Answer: an ancient clan of horned celestial beings that can devour the life-force of entire worlds. Addendum: Closest equivalent from former local multiverse being the New Gods,” answered TL.
“So, they are a mix of the New Gods and Galactus. The name sounds Japanese so they may be from an anime,” thought Volthoom as he pondered on the information he received. Volthoom preferred comics and he occasionally watched anime before his displacement. Maybe he heard or read a bit about them in a passing, either way, it was an option to consider, so he thought, “Maybe I should call him to help me with Celestia and Luna.”
After spending a few minutes thinking Volthoom placed the scroll back inside TL before saying, “Thanks for the update TL, keep me informed.”
“Answer: Certainly, it was a pleasure to help, Volthoom. Travel Lantern offline,” answered TL before Volthoom placed the sentient device back inside himself.
Night, Master Bedroom
Volthoom entered the bedroom after a long day of work and he was greeted by Amore nursing her new child, Rondo, as she leaned on Phyllia’s shoulder. He just smiled as he sat beside Amore on the bed before hugging the mare and ask after a kiss, “So, how it feels to be back on the throne, Empress Amore?”
“I still prefer ‘Queen’ though,” commented Amore before leaning on Volthoom’s shoulder as she sat between the two taller changelings. Then she said as she looked at the nymph as he finished his meal, “But I really don’t mind.”
After feeding her child, which was a new experience to Amore, she got up and gently placed him against her shoulder.
“So, any luck with Cadence?” asked Volthoom as he laid on the bed before relaxing.
“A little, she was polite enough to answer my questions but didn’t talk much otherwise. All we can do is wait for Celestia and Luna to see how the situation plays out,” explained Phyllia as she laid beside her mate while Amore placed the sleeping Rondo in a crib that was not too far from the spacious bed before joining her herd-mates.
“Well, we better get some rest since tomorrow is going to be a very important day,” said Amore as she laid beside Volthoom, opposite to Phyllia.
“Yeah,” said Volthoom as his mind returned to the token he received earlier today.
Middle of the night
*crying*
Amore sat up with a startled expression as she heard Rondo cry and she immediately got up to check on the nymph while Volthoom and Phyllia just groaned loud enough for Amore to hear, “Welcome to parenthood.”
Amore herself just sighed in relief as she held Rondo, there was nothing wrong and he was just hungry. So, she just thought as she fed her child, “Well, I’m in for the whole package.”
This would be the first of many nights of sleep being interrupted to come, at least she had her herd to help her.
Next day, noon
Celestia and Luna arrived with the Elements of Harmony and a group of guards led by Shining Armor, the two alicorns managed to easily make a barrier around the group to shield them from the blizzard, so the group arrived at Sapphire City like before.
“It has been a thousand years since I last saw Sapphire City,” commented Luna after she lowered her scarf and hood of her winter gear, which was followed by the other since they were no longer facing a blizzard.
“I thought that the Crystal Empire was a single city-state and its surrounding territories,” commented Twilight as she looked at the city.
“And it was for most of its history, I wasn’t sure if the surrounding cities would have survived Sombra brief rule,” explained Celestia as she saw multiple glowing dots flying from the city toward them. Luna and the others also noticed the five objects approaching and tensed, when they were close enough they revealed themselves to be four changelings, two were the same butterfly-like changelings that Shining Armor and the previous group of guards encountered before, following them were two smaller changelings with horns that were reminiscent of a beetle’s horn/mandible, however, it was the fifth member that caught them off guard, it looked like a channeling but its doll-like face and exposed cables clearly showed that it was artificial in nature.
“Greetings, Sun Tyrant, we’re expecting you,” said Hedy coldly as she floated not far from the Equestrians that were standing on the cliff overlooking the city.
“Oi! Don’t talk to the princess like that!” shouted Rainbow before speeding toward Hedy.
“Rainbow!” shouted multiple ponies, AJ, Twilight and Rarity failed to grab the pegasus, however, before either Celestia or Luna could grab the pegasus Jet extended his right hand toward Rainbow and a ray of light was projected before it took the form of a bubble around the blue pegasus. As soon as Rainbow hit the surface it stretched like rubber before rebounding and leaving a disorientated pegasus trapped in the sphere of light.
“Attacking a Royal Changeling and lightsmith is a serious crime, Bearer of Loyalty, which would be more than enough reason for us to throw you in the dungeon and leave you there,” said Hedy as she approached the group, who tensed were ready to fight. Instead, she just faced Celestia and said, “I trust you'll keep your little attack dog here on a tight leash, let's not start a war unnecessarily.”
Jet just undid the bubble and let Rainbow fall on the snowbank face first, the pegasus mare just pulled herself out of the snow and glared at the one who did this but otherwise refrained from attacking again.
“We were instructed to escort your group to the Crystal Palace,” said Jet as he extended his left arm and projected a platform of light before saying, “Come, we better not keep the Empress and the Grandmaster waiting.”
“Isn't there any other way to reach the palace?” asked Luna as she looked at the platform with uncertainty.
“We could take the train but flying would be faster, it would be faster with Warp Gate though,” commented Thorax absently, which earned a glare from Pharynx, and he just looked at his brother while his cousins just facepalmed at his helping nature, which caused him to just ask, “What?”
*sigh* “Fine, we can go into the city and take the train or the portal to Diamond City,” said Hedy to herself before she motioned for the city while saying to the group, “Come with us to the city, from there we can go to Diamond City.”
Celestia and Luna looked at each other before nodding and motioning for the group to follow.
Celestia and Luna looked at the snow-covered landscape through the window on the train they were in and thought about the past. They along with the group accompanying them chose to take a train to the capital mostly to have time to prepare themselves before possibly facing their old teacher and/or a possible enemy, although, some were a bit paranoid about the portal network connecting all the cities of the Crystal Empire —plus the Changeling Empire but they didn’t know that yet— and thought it was safer to just use the train, which was the scenic route and was mostly used to transport goods from one city to another.
“If I’m not mistaken, they called it Warp Gates,” thought Luna before looking at the two entrances/exits of the car they were in, two guards were placed on either side of the sliding door, two of those warriors capable of creating hard-light were in the train with them. The two beetle-like changelings were without their helmets, Thorax was having a somewhat friendly conversation with Twilight as she asked many questions while Pharynx just kept to himself and observed the group.
“Sister, do you think it’s him?” asked Celestia after she saw one of the butterfly-like changelings flying outside near the train, he or she —Celestia wasn’t sure of the gender yet— remained her so much of the flutter ponies.
“I’m not sure,” answered Luna with a somewhat indifferent tone, she hadn't completely forgiven Celestia for keeping something like this from her but there was nothing she could do. Either way, she added, “Still, whoever is currently ruling the Crystal Empire is not someone we can afford to have as an enemy. Their technology and magic are very advanced, they have the changelings as their allies and both are more numerous than we previously thought. How in Equus did they manage to accomplish all that without either you or the other nations noticing?”
“I don’t know, Luna. I really don’t,” answered Celestia as she thought about the first few times Equestria encountered the changelings, it was around two hundred years after Luna’s banishment or around eight hundred years ago and it was only a century later that they discovered about their shapeshifting abilities. Most sightings occurred near the southeast border, so Celestia always assumed they came from either the Badlands or beyond. Either way, she thought, “While difficult, it is not impossible to detect them. So, how did they managed to move up north in such numbers without us noticing?”
As Celestia was left with her thoughts Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie were asking questions about the Empire, Rarity and Pinkie more than Twilight at the beginning since Twilight wasn’t that eager to speak with a changeling after the Royal Wedding Incident. But as Thorax, thanks to his helping nature, not only answered Pinkie and Rarity’s questions, which were mostly about pastry/confectionery and fashion respectively but also started a friendly conversation with the two Equestrians Twilight slowly took over the “question and answers” part of the conversation.
“What about this train, how did you make it float and run so smoothly on the tracks?” asked Twilight excitedly and by this point their previous opinion about changelings were either forgotten or ignored in favor of acquiring new knowledge.
“Um… I’m not sure, you should talk with an engineer or artificer for more details, but we call it Lev Train. All I know is that there are runes both on the tracks and the bottom of the cars that makes them float,” explained Thorax to the best of his ability and it was plain for everyone to see that he was uncomfortable with Twilight eagerness and proximity, the annoyance and rage slowly building in Shining Armor who was not too far was not helping the situation. So, Thorax sent a telepathic plea to Pharynx, “Help me here.”
*snort* “That’s what you get for being too nice, plus you’re kind of a wimp,” answered Pharynx with a somewhat vindictive smile on his face.
“Hey, you seem to be a little too happy with your buddy’s predicament," Rainbow pointed out.
"Maybe that will teach him to not be so friendly with a possible enemy," said Pharynx not even bothered by the clear distrust in the rainbow pegasus' voice. Then he looked at Twilight and said, "That unicorn seems to have as much trouble as my little brother over there in that area, just with less uncertainty."
AJ, who was near Rainbow, made note of the fact that Pharynx referred to Thorax as "little brother" but otherwise just paid attention to his words and so far he seemed to be telling the truth, however, she could never be sure when it came to changelings. She and Rainbow were the ones that were the most distrustful of the changelings, Rarity and Fluttershy were pretty neutral everything considered, in Rarity’s case her opinion improved once she saw the Crystal Empire and how the changelings were taking good care of it. On the other hand, Twilight and Pinkie were just too curious and Spike seemed to agree since he joined Thorax in a friendly conversation after Twilight was done asking questions.
The atmosphere was completely changed when a wave of something washed over everyone sending a chill down their spines, which seemed to affect the changelings more so than the ponies as they felt something they couldn't even describe into words but that feeling soon disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. However, the Royal Sisters didn’t have the chance to wonder what just happened as they felt something watching them from a distance, in their minds they saw three eyes, two lilac eyes with a red eye in between them. After a while, the feeling disappeared and the sisters looked at each other and wondered if whoever they felt was an ally of Volthoom.
Crystal Palace, empty room, a few minutes earlier
Volthoom stood inside a room along with Phylia, in his right hand was a scroll that he received through the TL recently and he was debating if he should summon the owner of this token. From what Volthoom managed to gather this ‘Ōtsutsuki Kazuki’ was, at the very least, on the level of a New God and would help immensely if a fight were to break out between Equestria and the Empire. However, that tone and attitude reminded Volthoom too much of Metron as the enigmatic New God was portrayed in most comic interactions and meant that this Kazuki might simply betray Volthoom the first time a better opportunity presented itself, Volthoom hoped that this Kazuki didn’t share Metron’s thirst for knowledge. On the other hand, the entity’s mannerisms seemed to be rooted in Japanese culture and if he was anything like a shinobi or samurai Volthoom could expect a great deal of professionalism and/or loyalty so long the contract was in effect.
“Volthoom?” asked Phylia as she placed her hand on Volthoom’s shoulder, this brings him back to reality.
“I’m debating if I should summon the owner of this token or not,” said Volthoom answering the unasked question before elaborating, “The problem is that I don’t know how he will react, from his introduction he seems to be quite neutral and amoral.”
“He must be quite powerful if you are this hesitant,” commented Phylia as she looked at the scroll that Volthoom was holding.
“That’s not even half of it,” said Volthoom with a sigh before making his decision, he knelt and placed the scroll on the floor a little to the right before unrolling it, which showed the complex fractal images that hummed with exoteric and alien power as the scroll gently rolled to the left. Then he explained as he placed a hand on one of the more elaborated fractals, which changed to fit around his hand, “Whatever he is, he is comparable to a true god, not a demigod like Celestia, Luna and their parents. And he seems to be on the higher end of the hierarchy. Normally to oppose such a force, an entire platoon of lightsmiths of multiple colors is required to match it, and that's just the average estimate.”
“Oh,” was all Phylia could say as it dawned on her how dangerous would be if the one they intended to summon decided to betray them.
“Yeah,” said Volthoom in agreement.
“Then, why run the risk in the first place?” asked Phylia as she saw some of the alien glyphs crawl up Volthoom’s arm until his hand and wrist was completely covered, even after that they kept moving in seemingly random patterns.
“His cooperation would help us have the least amount of casualties in case of hostilities,” said Volthoom ready to summon his fellow displaced but not without Phylia’s permission, after all, such action would place her children/subjects in danger and that wasn’t something either him or her should do recklessly.
“I trust you,” said Phylia honestly and that was all the acknowledgment that Volthoom needed.
“Ōtsutsuki Kazuki,” whispered Volthoom and as soon as he uttered he name the glyphs stopped their movements before rushing down his hand and along with the ones that were still on the surface of the scroll moved forward in a line before forming a circle with the same alien runes. When the circle was complete “branches” started to spread while the edges “bled” ink inward and as soon as the inside of the circle was completely black.
Volthoom felt the “ink” pull a bit of his energy as well as something else, it was quick and it felt almost like ripping a bandaid, which made him recoil but the sting soon faded. However, he paid no mind to the small discomfort as he observed the ink morph into a summoning circle, the event occurring in less than a second. Then white smoke exploded from the floor as the ink seemed to turn itself into said smoke despite its opposite color, however, such observation eluded the two changelings as their unique senses were bombarded with a wave of feelings that they never felt before, cold and ruthless logic that seemed to freeze their souls combined and contrasting with an all-encompassing serenity.
“Oh, it seems the changelings of this world are more sensitive to aura… no, not Aura, but pure emotion. So, something like Mantra then,” said a cold yet elegant and noble voice from where the smoke originated from, the cold logic was still there but it was “tinted” with amusement and curiosity, even if it felt malevolent —for lack of a better word— to their senses like a cold blade near their skin read to dissect/vivisection them. It was only when these feelings suddenly disappeared followed by that same voice speaking that the two royal changelings returned to reality, “Excuse my rudeness, curiosity is no excuse for being a poor guest and make my gracious host feel uncomfortable.”
Both Volthoom and Phylia almost fell to their knees when the wave of alien emotions suddenly disappeared, it was such an abrupt change that they almost lost their balance, Phylia more so than Volthoom and both of them couldn’t help but think, “How can someone have so much control over their own emotions?”
As the two royals recovered they saw the one they summoned, he consisted of a traditional white Japanese garb of some kind with a row of coma-like symbols running down the center, around the collar and near the edges of the sleeves that were adorned with intricate gold and purple lines, white baggy pants with a vertical row the same symbols on each side, a pair of black tall Japanese wooden clogs with a bar beneath each sole, which raised the shorter than average individual about four inches above the ground and showed that he had a good posture and balance, a pair of white socks, and a pair of black gloves on each hand for clothes. He looked like a human but his skin and hair was completely white, which blended with his outfit, and his eyes were very light lilac, lastly, he had a pair of horns that came out near the back of his head before curving up and forward.
“Greetings, I’m Ōtsutsuki Kazuki,” said the being that was summoned as he bowed while placing his hands, which were covered by the sleeves his Japanese garb, in a traditional Japanese greeting, the shimmer around him revealed that his horns were holding a veil of some kind that covered him, thus giving an air of otherworldliness.
Volthoom just kept looking at the godly being in front of him, Kazuki did not move and just remained in that position. It took a few seconds for his dazed mind to recall what little he knew of Japanese etiquette before mirroring the visitor and say, “I’m Volthoom, it’s an honor to meet you.”
“What’s the purpose of summoning me? Keep in mind, this is a trade, you need to offer something for my services,” said Kazuki as he opened his eyes and stood up before walking toward Volthoom, each step echoing with the distinction clank of wood against the floor. Then he stopped before looking at something in the distance, “Oh, the Crystal Empire has yet to reappear in my universe. Let’s see… 2,140,526 people in this city… oh, it seems the surrounding territories survived the brats little tantrum, 12,213,364 people in the surrounding region.”
The two dots that were his eyebrows were raised slightly as the pale white being seemed to notice something in the distance, then veins around his eyes slowly became more noticeable as did his pupils and a red eye in the center, which along with his horn showed that he was not a human or even close to it in anything but shape.
“Oh, Seri-chan and Ru-chan are coming,” said Kazuki before deactivation his ocular power and look at Volthoom, then he asked, “I assume that their visit is related to my summoning.”
“Who?” asked both Volthoom and Phylia.
“Celestia and Luna,” clarified Kazuki before adding in his mind, “Strangely enough, they seem to be weaker than their counterparts in my universe. Then again, they might be better at concealing their power, assuming their power and inner workings are identical that is.”
“Yes, I need your… services in case my meeting with the Royal Sisters take a turn for the worse,” explained Volthoom and Kazuki simply nodded.
“Just to be clear, am I speaking to the owner of that body or the being wearing it like a suit?” asked Volthoom before glancing at Phylia, who just opted for standing beside Volthoom as he dealt with the being he summoned.
“Both, actually. I made this empty body to be my vessel,” explained Volthoom.
“I see. As for my price,” started Kazuki before focusing on Phylia with what could almost be described as a serene smile, however they knew it was anything but that, and say with a casual tone, “I’m quite eager to compare the physiology of the changelings of this universe to the ones from my universe, a specimen of every caste would be ideal, plus it’s been a while since I saw a royal changeling.”
Volthoom immediately placed himself in-between Phylia and Kazuki as his eyes glowed with a myriad of colors.
*thud*
It was this moment a group of guards barged in through the door, all they saw was a stranger in front of Volthoom and their leader/guardian ready to confront said stranger. However, before they could act a wave of power akin to a shockwave hit them as it was emanated from the stranger and didn’t allow them to get closer. The same pressure started to crack the floor and walls as well as making the palace shake.
“Oh, very few beings can withstand the pressure of my chakra this close to me,” commented Kazuki and his almost malicious amusement was clear to everyone present, despite his human face his mind and emotions were simply alien. Then the pressure disappeared his Kazuki stopped releasing his chakra and said with a smile, "I'm sure we will be able to reach an agreement concerning my payment."
"Sure," said Volthoom with an uncertain tone before asking, "Do you mind if we finish this discussion in my study room?"
"Not at all," replied Kazuki and the Displaced turned changeling just motioned for him to follow as he and the other royal left the room after making sure the guards were alright. Kazuki simply followed and just before he exited the room he waved his hand while releasing a bit of his chakra, however, instead of creating another wave of pressure the crack in the floor and walls disappeared.
Throne room, almost an hour later
Volthoom stood beside the throne where Amore was sitting, she was using a blue dress with yellow hearts just like the one she was using when they first met, and at the base of the dais stood Phylia holding Rondo in her arms. Both her and Volthoom advised against bringing the young nymph for this meeting, however, not only was Amore confident that everything would be fine but she also seemed to be the type of mother that didn't want to let her kids out from her sight for any reason. Stationed around the throne were the Royal Guards, made up mostly of veterans that survived Sombra’s rule as well as some changelings that were handpicked by Phylia and Volthoom from the Royal Guard from the various Hives.
Standing beside the Changeling Empress was Kazuki with an amused smile and while a changeling was uncomfortable being this close to him, at the very least he remained civil and didn't try to do anything that might endanger the little one. The fact that he was even here in the first place was an indication that he accepted the job, it took some negotiation from Volthoom's part but in the end, they settled for a reasonable price, a canister filled with raw emotional energy. Kazuki kept referring to it as "Mantra" and asked why by Volthoom, the alien explained the concept and while there were major differences it was somewhat fitting, plus it wasn't like Volthoom was going to argue over what name his fellow Displaced used to refer to which energy.
"Still, 'Asura's Wrath' sounds like an interesting game," commented Volthoom as he observed the humanoid horror in disguise play with Rondo. Then he stopped as he looked at the entrance, more specific beyond it, and stopped playing with the nymph before gracefully walking to the nearby wall, leaning his back against it and crossed his arms. Not long after moving to his new position the doors of the throne room were opened and their guests entered while being escorted by five lightsmiths, with the automaton immediately sparkling Kazuki's curiosity.
The Equestrians entered the throne room as they were escorted inside by Hedy, Lyca, Thorax, Pharynx and Jet. The five approached the throne before kneeling while ignoring the look of surprise on Luna and Celestia's faces, the Jet said, "We brought the Equestrians as ordered, Your Majesty, Grandmaster. We apologize for the delay but they were skeptical about coming here using either portals or constructs, so we ended up using the train."
“It's alright, Lightsmith Stream, you and the others may return to your usual duties,” said Amore with a kind tone that both Royal Sisters remembered so well. The five Lightsmith bowed before getting up, Hedy and Lyca walked forward and stood on each side of the dais while Thorax, Pharynx and Jet left the throne room. Once they left the room Amore focused on the two alicorns that came for this meeting, “Long time no see, Celestia, Luna.”
“Aunty?” asked Celestia and Luna.
"Hello there, Celestia, Luna. It has been a while since we have met," said Amore with a smile.
Celestia and Luna shook their heads, they dared not to hope that the one they saw was really Amore, that their aunt was back. They saw the remains of the statue that Sombra turned her into and there was no way to simply fix it and turn her back, at least, not without all the pieces. They saw the statue being shattered and having all pieces scattered, Sombra did so just to taunt the sisters.
"How do we know you're not a changeling in disguise?" asked Celestia with serious expression, right now focusing on the mission of getting back her niece and avoid a war.
"I can help with that," said Kazuki catching everyone's attention.
"What the heck are you?" asked Rainbow out of reflex seeing a strange creature.
Before anyone could apologize for Rainbow’s rudeness —this was a diplomatic meeting after all— Kazuki suddenly appeared before her with a bored expression. The guards escorting the princesses and the Elements went for their swords but stopped just short of unsheathing them as they remembered where they were. It was simply startling, one moment Kazuki was near the wall and the next he was in front of Rainbow, his kimono fluttering behind him giving the impression of a pure white butterfly. The moment Rainbow realized what just happened she stumbled back and tripped, her mind trying to understand what just happened.
"Now now, that's very rude, Bearer of Loyalty, but to answer your question: I'm simply a hired help to make sure this meeting continues without too much trouble," said Kazuki with his amusement evident, his tone was almost mocking and cruel but just shy of being outwardly so.
"Still, how can we be sure you'll do as you say?" asked Luna as looked at Kazuki suspiciously, he was similar to Volthoom in shape and she was wondering if they were the same species or not, the implications of such fact were simply frightening.
"Well, I suppose you only have my word," said Kazuki before stomping on the floor with his left geta.
*clank*
The sound of his geta hitting the floor echoed around the throne room, then black lines spread from that point in all directions, then more lines appeared connecting the lines together as they climbed the walls and met on the ceiling forming a spider web like shape.
The Crystal Ponies and Equestrians that were acting as guards immediately noticed the difference as their armor got heavier, the unicorns tried to scan their armor to see what was wrong with the enchantment but nothing happened. Even the changelings in general and the pegasi felt "heavier" somehow despite not having changed at all, even the invisible wind that seemed to blow the alicorns' manes and tails seemed to stop as their ethereal look disappeared.
"There, I just placed a anti-magic ward in this room, meaning, unicorns can't do magic, earth ponies got weaker, pegasi are grounded, crystal pony won't glow as much, and changelings can't change," explained Kazuki, much to the horror of Rainbow, before looking at the princesses and asked, "Will this suffice?"
Rainbow kept flapping her wings but all that accomplished was making a small breeze. The princesses also tried along with trying to do a simple Illumination Spell but nothing happened. They knew that the changeling ability to disguise was magical in nature and that a anti-magic ward was one of the ways to catch them, so they simply nodded before looking at the throne.
"Thank you, Kazuki," said Amore from her throne before looking at the princesses of Equestria and say, "As much as I'm happy to see you two we both have important matters to discuss."
"Yes, we certainly do, Auntie Amore," said Celestia with a sigh.
"Princess Celestia, we're here not as friends but in our official capacity as rulers. You'll address me as Queen Amore for the duration of this negotiations," said Amore with an authoritarian tone instead of her usual motherly tone.
"Our apologies, Queen Amore, it has been far too long since we last saw you," said Luna as while Celestia looked at the Elements behind them, silently telling the group to not do anything reckless and impulsive, more specifically to Rainbow Dash.
"What are your terms for Princess Cadence's release?" asked Celestia trying thinking of what Amore might ask.
"Well, reparations to the victim of Cadence's assault and his family along with the normal fee for her release," said Amore and both princesses had to resist the urge to flinch at the message of what Cadence did, it was something they never thought she would be capable of doing, even if it was most likely a misguided attempt of protection an innocent. Still, they thought that what was asked was reasonable enough, however, these were simply the first demands. While they didn't object they also knew that these negotiations could turn sour pretty quickly, so they just listened expecting more demands.
"That's it?" asked Luna after a few moments of silence.
"For Princess Cadence's release, yes. I’m willing to let this… unfortunate misunderstanding behind us," said Amore simply, she knew that she could ask for more but she wasn't greedy and was willing to let bygones be bygones for a better international relationship with her Southerners neighbors, so she continued, “However, how our nations will interact from here on out still yet to be determined.”
). Thanks for your time and understanding. 
