Chapter 001 - A glorious new life.

Every story begins with the introduction of a character, does it not? Well, most of them, at least.

Sometimes those introductions are simple, sometimes they are not. Sometimes they are even sad. Just look at those Disney movies. Some of them begin with the brutal murder of a loved one. Poor Bambi, poor Simba, poor Elsa and Anna. Oh, the poor audience of little kids that have to watch that tragic loss on a cinema screen or at home on their parent's laptop... the sheer horror! Truly a disaster, is it not? One has to wonder if Disney will ever stop with that trend. Then again, it's by far preferable that those poor, poor kids use their parent's credit card for Netflix and Co. without their permission in comparison to using it to pump ungodly amounts of money into some crappy casino app that should have been banned a long time ago from the App Store.

Anyway, back to the important stuff. Introductions are in order, and, just like those movies that surely traumatized every child with the horrors of death, my own story begins just like that. With a horrific death that shall go down in the annals of horrific deaths as the most terrifying one to date. Nay, for all time! After all, it was my death, it deserved to be remembered as that and nothing less! Unlike those 'mundane' deaths, my death was... not exactly normal, in a sense. One could, in fact, say that even the best fringe scientists would never be able to explain it. Heck, I only remember flashes of what had happened that led to my own death and the machine that was responsible for my current predicament, it was that horrific. But I was getting slightly ahead of myself here, I should probably start with my name, shouldn't I? Every great protagonist has a glorious name befitting of their true magnificence, don't they? Just like me... surely... no doubt about it...

If only... if only I could answer that accurately. Everything of my past life was a bit hazy, broken even. Only because of what that machine did to me... to us. I remember... that there were other people with me as... someone... I don't know whether it was me or Tabetha or Tobias that was at fault for what happened, it was so very hard to even get a clear picture of who I previously was into my head. Anyway, that someone I can't exactly recall which one of us it was that strapped us into... some sort of machine that was supposed to make... I think it was our souls? It was supposed to visualize our souls on a computer. Something ridiculous along those lines, anyway.

What it did instead, though, was to rip us from our bodies and fling us through the multiverse to who knows where. To understand why I can't just introduce myself, I would also have to explain the other things that that machine did to us.

I never thought the existence of the soul was something that actually existed. I always assumed there was nothing to it because science couldn't prove its existence until that damn machine sucked mine right out of my body like a wet noodle. It didn't do that in a gentle fashion, either. No... it practically shredded our souls into hundreds of tiny little pieces barely hanging together by loose threads, and, if it hadn't been for that glowy light appearing out of nowhere, that machine might have ripped the metaphorical seams of our very beings completely apart.

Without that light saving us from utter annihilation, we might have ceased to exist entirely. Cease to exist as in 'soul gone forever, no refund allowed', as if they had never existed in the first place.

It truly was a horrific death, wasn't it?

Maybe... maybe that light came from a deity, willing to save us from being erased out of their own benevolent goodwill (as ridiculous as that thought sounded to me... I couldn't discount it entirely after what I had learned here in death).

Aside from the mystery of the light, there was another thing worth mentioning. And it had nothing to do with outside interference and everything with my own foolish fear.

I can't tell whether it was because of the nature of the soul or something else, but... something happened right there in the damn machine as we were dying. The part of the memories within each of our souls was... too damaged... I think. Each of our souls tried to get those missing parts from the others in order to repair the damage it had done to us and the resulting mess... it wasn't pretty.

My fear of death and... greed... was the very reason why I ended up with the majority of those broken memories, hence my current predicament. It was my own damn fault that I couldn't tell whether I was Tabetha, Tobias, or... I think it was something with an 'S'... Sarah? No... Samantha? No, that wasn't it, either... Damnit! I felt like I was so close with that one but it felt... wrong... for some reason.

It had to be something like that, though. Samuel, maybe? No, that sounded even more wrong... I wasn't even able to tell which gender it was supposed to be. For all I know, it could have simply been Sam and I wouldn't know for certain. It was incredibly frustrating and if I had a corporeal body, I'm sure I would have already vented my discontent at this lack of memory out on something. Anything, really.

While I did get most of those damaged memories, they weren't very helpful. Most of them were simply too fragmented, too blurry, and too disorganized to make any sense out of them, and, judging by how disgustingly greedy my soul was in getting those memories... I could guess I was neither Tabetha nor Tobias. All of those memories felt sort of foreign to me, like... it was like I was looking at them as if I would look at them in a photo album. None of them felt like... me.

I didn't even know who I was supposed to be anymore. That's perhaps just as tragic a start into the story as one of those movies, isn't it? Here I am with no idea of who I am beyond some sort of amalgamation of the people that went into that machine that ripped our souls to shreds. What was left of them, that is...

I was neither Tabetha, Tobias, or Tobias' child (...I think) whose name starts... started with an 'S'. I'm still trying to figure that part out and I had no idea where to even begin in order to find an answer to that. I don't even know whether I had been his daughter or his son for fuck's sake! Or, you know, whatever our actual fucking relationship to each other was. For all I know, I could have been his damn wife and I wouldn't even know!

But... considering I was currently a massless entity floating in a weird greyscale world, having gotten separated from the other two souls that went through this hell with me as soon as that light saved our metaphorical butts from total and utter annihilation... was gender even an important thing to me right now?

Who cares if I'm some genderless, sexless blob floating through a world that doesn't take notice of me? I'm sure someone could write a great story about a ghost with an identity crisis! Give all of those ghosts some love, too. They died, they need all the love they could get.

Me especially, I totally could use some love right now instead of this sad... lonely... depressing... dark... gloomy world I have been floating aimlessly around in. I had seen some weird blue angel-y thing ferrying lost souls away to who knows where and they didn't strike me as the gentle and loving type.

Maybe I had trust issues. Wouldn't surprise me, considering one-third of what I could remember of that machine told me that I hated the other two-thirds of the memories floating around in my 'head' that told me I was the one that created that damn thing. Or the one that I stole those memories from, same thing.

If I could travel back in time, I would tell my past self to run like Satan himself was chasing me so he could make me his breakfast snack. To run and never look back as those other two got shredded to pieces instead of all three of us. But that wasn't possible now, was it? I couldn't go back, ever. And, instead of confessing to my sins, I hid away from those blue ladies with wings and white robes like the coward that I truly was deep, deep down in my shriveled nonexistent heart.

I don't trust those beings. They looked... too good to be true. Too nice. Nothing... absolutely nothing... that looks this inviting and kind and approachable and 'friendly' was ever safe to trust. Nature was the perfect teacher in that regard. If it looked too beautiful to be true, then it was out to kill you. Thus, the blue angels (hah, a pun... how droll of me...) had to be some evil ploy to get me to lower my guard into trusting them.

Fat chance I would ever go within their eyesight. If they even had eyes under those eerie hoods. They would probably do unspeakable things to... my soul or something. Nothing is ever free and the supernatural just loves to get paid in souls, right? I'm pretty attached to mine since finding out that I actually have a soul, so I won't go anywhere near those dastardly things. I could smell a trap from a mile away and they smelled like 'It's a trap! Run you fool!'. I'm sure they had some sort of nefarious plan for all of those poor souls that they tricked into following them.

Wherever they actually led them to, I'm pretty sure it ain't Heaven. They took every soul that they came across, and I'm a hundred percent certain they didn't make the distinction between good and bad. They just grabbed a soul, left, and returned to repeat the process all over again.

I wasn't in the mood to ask them to 'Bring me to your leader!' and find out what they did with those souls that they ferried off to some sort of afterlife or something. For all I knew, I would end up in some kind of hell after committing the crime of... something that was appropriately 'crime-y' that would fit with what I did to the other two in my fear of trying to stay 'alive' (as much as one could stay alive while already past the point of dying, I suppose). I'm sure my little memory theft would land me a nice crispy cell in Hell or whatever they actually called Hell here.

All the more reason to stay the fuck away from those winged avatar rejects. I'll take my chances in this dark... gloomy... lonely... shadowy world and hope for the best. It was surprisingly empty in some parts, but I guess there weren't that many lost souls in the middle of nowhere that needed guiding, huh? Who in their right state of mind would willingly stay in an inky black forest?

...me, apparently.

I really need to give myself a name, these days. I can't just refer to myself as 'me' all the time. I was rather averse to the idea of taking on one of those three-ish names of my... past lives? Past life? Ugh, this was only causing me more headaches and I don't even have a head anymore! Was this what it must feel like to have multiple personalities? Well... as far as I could tell, I was pretty much alone in my 'head' (...I think), I just had... more memories... of different people. That's totally normal, right?

I wish I could actually get a headache, it would be a welcome distraction from this perplexing conundrum.

A new name it has to be. I'm pretty sure Tabetha was the one that built that machine, so that name was definitely out of the equation. I'm sure she meant well, but... she can kindly rot in Hell for killing all of us with her mad science schemes. As does Tobias, he just went along with it out of curiosity as far as I could tell. Sam... or Samuel? Samantha? Whoever I was, I was the only one that didn't want any of this to happen and I certainly didn't deserve to be in... whatever this place was actually called.

Ghostlands sounded really unimaginative, as did Shadowlands. Those are the only two descriptions that fit this weird environment I found myself in, though. I stayed as far away as I possibly could from those medieval-ish-looking cities since those were like a hot spot for the blue angel chicks. Wherever I was, I clearly wasn't on Earth anymore.

Or in my original home universe, I'm pretty sure. Not that I would ever be able to find out the answer to that particular question, for that matter. What with my current state of not exactly being alive in the conventional sense of the word. Clearly, I wasn't dead dead, as that would imply ceasing to exist entirely, but... who knows what was possible? I couldn't even begin to understand the true nature of death despite being... well... dead.

Anyways, sometimes I had a weird feeling of being in the vicinity of... something. Souls, I would say. That's the only thing I can actually still feel considering my... 'condition'. Those other presences also sometimes reacted to me. It was like... I could tell something was trying to look at me even though I never found anything that indicated as such. I would have assumed those were just animals, but... I wasn't so sure about that, feeling like I was being... shadowed from afar. There were a few animals in the forest that did react somewhat to my presence, fleeing as soon as they noticed something was right there with them that they couldn't see, but those that 'watched' me in a sense had an entirely different feeling to them.

It probably was just the curiosity of those that were still alive, now that I actually thought about it. That's basically what ghost stories were all about, right? People or... other creatures (I wasn't sure what those presences were, they could be all kinds of creatures I have never even heard of before on Earth)... sensing the lost souls wandering in this otherworldly plane. These Shadowlands, for a lack of a better term. I still felt like there had to be a better way to describe this shadowy world aside from my shitty attempts to come up with fitting names for it.

The Afterlife is the thing you end up in after being carted off by those blue ladies (are there also blue men? Hah, another one... I'm so funny lately, aren't I?), or so I assume. Which would make this place kinda the... waiting room? 'The Waiting Room of the Afterlife', sounds like some stupid book title, doesn't it? I could make a living selling my experience here... if I was actually a living being right now.

Who am I kidding? No one would buy a crappy retelling of my cowardly self as I hid away from those things that are in no way angels. If I somehow find my way back into life, I'd rather not tell anyone that I found out how to revive myself. It would cause chaos, of that much I was certain. Not that anyone would believe me in the first place, I suppose.

Who would believe a nutjob like me, someone who doesn't even know whether they are female or male? For all I care, I could be both and be perfectly happy with that. I mean... being both was better than only being one, so I didn't see any problem with that train of thought. Why limit yourself like that when all doors could be open to you?

My past self would probably cry in a corner, shouting 'Heathen! Filthy heathen!' to the heavens if it could hear my 'blasphemous' thoughts right now. But was it really that much of a blasphemous thing? I mean... the Bible says God created mankind in His image, so... it doesn't really make sense in the way that there are more genders than one. I haven't really thought about it too much, but shouldn't there be only a single gender, a single unified biological sex, in that case?

For all I know, the one true gender, or sex rather, combined the best of... well, everything. Male and female, man and woman, and... everything in between. Whatever that would end up looking like, I felt like it was the preferable option to choose from in contrast to 'choose one and live with it for the rest of your however long life, you won't get a second chance if you happen to choose wrong'. The thing is, I didn't want to be locked into something without 'a way out', so to speak. I want to be able to be myself (whoever that is going to be) and that means being able to be any of those 'roles' whenever I feel the desire for it. If it wasn't possible to have it, then I don't want to put up with the alternative, either. End of story.

That... sounded better in my head. Less... greedy and perverted, I guess. But who cares, I'm already dead and probably died a virgin, I'm allowed to be a bit greedy. After all, both female and male anatomy would mean double the fun, and who wouldn't say no to that? Besides, I wouldn't have to worry about any type of dysphoria if I didn't have to worry about being locked into one option, right?

I promise... I'm not a nymphomaniac. I think. Maybe? I mean... I'm not the type that would actually 'fuck myself' even if I could (at least, I believe so... probably... most likely... uh... definitely... yep), so I don't think it would be a bad thing to have both parts. It only... would allow me to have more options with what kind of partner I could choose from...

If I don't get run out of town for being a freak, I guess. But still... both or nothing, that's what I'm going to stick with. It's by far the superior option and no one could tell me otherwise.

So, back to the question of my new name in my 'sorta' afterlife waiting room party. Not that I had any intention to leave the safety of these woods that I took refuge in. While it was a little bit darker and gloomier in here than, say, those 'cities' in the distance, it was by far comfier in the way that I was perfectly hidden from those monsters posing as innocent angels.

I could call myself 'Scaredy Cat' because that was pretty much accurate, wasn't it? But that would be really degrading and not to mention self-depreciating. Perhaps I should just give up and call myself 'Me' for the next few years, as stupid as that sounded. Or for however long I will continue with this miserable existence, I guess. I didn't have to decide right now, after all. I could name myself whatever I wanted whenever I wanted... there was no rush. I could take all the time in the world to think of something, eventually. Something else than 'Me' (or any other anonymous bullshit like that), that is.

Besides... I was way too narcissistic to give myself anything but a glorious name that would tell everyone around me how great I am. Or... was.

Then again, I wasn't really all that 'great', was I? I wasn't exactly the nicest person... that much I could tell. Could it be that this was my own personal punishment for what I did? While in life and in death? I can't exactly recall what kind of person I was while I was alive, since I could barely remember anything of my previous life, and what I did after I died wasn't really something a good person would do.

It was... kinda scummy, actually.

That was a very humbling thought, wasn't it? I probably deserved whatever hell those angels would drag me off to, that much was clear to me. Considering the way I thought of others and myself up until this point, I wasn't... a good person. I wasn't kind. I wasn't generous. I wasn't anything but a narcissistic asshole that hurt those close to me in my last moments by ripping most of their memories away from them. What was left of them, I guess.

If I wasn't already dead, I would tell myself to take a jump off a bridge because of how... disgusting... I was. I was a despicable and vile being and I... I didn't like that. All I wanted was to be loved and here I am, stuck in a land filled with dark looming shadows... completely alone. Feeling miserable for myself.

Do I even deserve a second chance? Even if I tried to be a better... being. Whatever I would end up as, I guess. I was rather doubtful I would... reincarnate? That was what I was thinking of, wasn't it? Well... if I was lucky enough to get a second shot at life and reincarnate in this world, I doubt I would end up as a human.

I probably had a lot of bad karma, so I would most likely end up as some kind of rodent, wouldn't I? It was all I deserved, to end up as a bug and getting squished as soon as I even got close to civilization because of my bad karma. Maybe I should try my chances with the sparsely clothed angel ladies, despite how bad that idea sounded to me.

Every time I glanced up at one of those things leaving through some sort of swirly portal vortex thingy in the sky, I felt dread. Like my very existence would cease to exist if I would go with one of them. I'd rather stay here where I would stay as myself than let them erase 'me'. Whatever I wanted to call myself, I didn't want that freedom of deciding a name for myself to be taken away from me.

I wasn't a good person... but I could be. I could try and do better if only I had a second chance. If miracles were real, I would ask whoever granted me the chance to 'live on' to also give me the chance at a second life. A better life. Perhaps even a grander, more glorious one of doing something that was actually... worthwhile. Something that wouldn't lead to another pointless death. If I had to dedicate my new life to being of service to those around me for the betterment of their lives instead of mine, I would take that over lamenting my (admittedly obscure) past. Anything was better than drowning in depression and self-pity.

Someone had to have saved me from being completely destroyed by that machine, right? I don't know who it was that had helped me, but I beg you with my whole ghostly heart... give me that chance, please. I know I cannot really offer you anything in return, but... I will do my best to be a better version of myself, I promise. To be someone that people would be proud of to honestly call me their friend. To be someone that others could love without... without seeing the monster underneath.

That's all I ever wanted... to be loved. Tobias didn't seem like the loving kind, considering our murky relationship with one another, and Tabetha... she had lost her parents early on in her life, her aunt disappeared to who knows where, and her sister... died shortly after, leaving her as alone as I felt right now. I don't know what kind of life I specifically had, but I could tell that I craved to be loved just as much as Tabetha and Tobias had. I think... I think Tobias might have been my father? It was hard to say for certain since the memory was a little bit fuzzy, but I could tell that he wasn't really... there for me. From what I could tell from both his and my fragmented memories, things were kind of 'complicated'.

I knew Tobias felt some sort of... regret? I don't quite know whether that was the best word to describe this feeling I had, but it does fit the best in regards to how he viewed me. Tobias felt like he constantly wanted to confess something to me and... it was so very hard to focus on the thought, the memory... I wasn't entirely certain I even wanted to know what it was that he kept from me for so long. It felt like the part of me that was Tobias was actively hiding the information from me to avoid further heartache. The other part, probably the part of me that was Tabetha, felt immensely curious about what it was that would be so world-shattering, but I suppressed that curiosity out of fear. It was probably for the best that some things about our past stayed forgotten for the rest of my... existence, I suppose.

Maybe I should have paid more attention to where I was aimlessly floating, because, while I was contemplating how miserable my past life must have been like to never know love, I 'fell' through a gap in the ground. By 'fell' I meant 'floated slowly down' into some sort of underground cavern with a strangely glowing lake.

And, of course, there was no way out. This was just perfect. Absolutely. Perfect.

While I could kinda float, it didn't mean I could actually fly. That would have been great, wouldn't it? Being able to fly was something humanity had always dreamed of, but even in death, it seemed like it was an impossible dream. At least, soar under one's own power instead of using machines for that purpose.

Heck, reincarnating as a bird or even an insect didn't sound so bad if I was able to fly because of that. Soaring through the skies... it must be really relaxing, right? To be free, being able to go anywhere I wanted to go... it sounds so great and exciting! To have no limitations, no restrictions, no restraints... it would be a dream come true, wouldn't it?

Only now, I won't ever see the admittedly weird sky again. I should have gone with those angels because then I wouldn't have ended up here, trapped in a cavern halfway submerged in this pool of... whatever. Can't be healthy if it glows, but luckily... I'm already dead! What a joy...

Now I had all the time in the world to contemplate everything I ever did that was wrong. There was nothing else I could do, which was... even more depressing than being dead already was. The cavernous walls were too steep and far too high for me to try and climb out through the hole that I fell through (if I could escape this damn lake in the first place, that is).

It really didn't feel great to swim around in this liquid as a ghost. Maybe it was some sort of mineral in it that caused me that discomfort, I couldn't tell. Perhaps all of those crazy people saying salt keeps ghosts away were right, after all. Even though it makes absolutely no sense at all.

With nothing better to do, I started on the arduous task of organizing my broken memories as best as I could. I don't exactly know how long it took me to go through 'just' the disjointed childhood memories of three different people, but I would wager it took me probably longer than I cared to admit.

It was sort of easy to see which ones weren't mine and which of those memories belonged to Tabetha or even Tobias. Tabetha had a nice childhood with loving parents... until those parents were gone, that is. Both of them somehow fell into a coma at the same time, nobody could actually explain how and the government tried to cover it up as some sort of 'fringe event' (inexplicable, nature-defying events that only nutjobs found an explanation for). Tobias had been one of the few people that actually knew they weren't 'dead dead' whereas Tabetha was left in the dark for quite some time until she found out the truth behind the cover-up as she became an adult, working as a consultant for fringe science events for the very government that tried to keep the circumstances behind her parents' 'deaths' a secret in the first place.

Tobias... something about 'his' early childhood memories struck me as odd. They didn't feel like they belonged to a boy, to be honest. Even his younger brother, Tabetha's father, didn't feel like... something didn't feel right about both of them, it was like... like they were trying to fit into a mold that wasn't made to fit them. There probably was a name for that, but it eluded me the more I tried to think of it. A feeling of fear, shame, perhaps even terror welled up from within me. Or from the part of me that was Tobias, I suppose. Although... this time it didn't feel like it was something that Tobias tried to desperately hide from me but more like... from himself?

I don't know... the best I could come up with to accurately describe this would be that my 'father' (it sounded wrong, for some reason, but that was what Tobias was to me, I'm sure of it) tried to hide away from the one thing he wanted most. Constantly lying about who they wanted to be... at one point, differentiating between the mask and the face beneath would become a thing of impossibility, wouldn't it? A lie so deep-rooted was hardly ever unraveled. At one point, one even forgets that there ever was a mask in the first place, I thought while... pity... began to well up from within me for Tobias. What a strange feeling...

My own memories of my early years, on the other ethereal 'blob of a hand', were... they were lonely, there was no other word for it. My 'father' was pretty much always absent, trying to drown in their work... and, well... I never knew my mother. There weren't even any memories of her in Tobias' memories, which was... odd. Something like that should have been a major memory, right? So... why was it missing? Or... were there simply no memories of her, either because of what that machine did to us or because she never existed in the first place? But... that's ridiculous, isn't it?

I suppose Tabetha got to know what it felt like to not have any parents there for her just as much as I did as she grew older. She secluded herself in books and the internet, pretty much soaking up every little tidbit of knowledge she could get her hands on in her pursuit to understand the world. And, after she learned the truth behind her parents' deaths, she had been getting increasingly more convinced that someone... or something... had 'stolen' the souls of her parents, which kinda led her down a spiral to crazy, trying to get them back. That was what the machine was meant to do once she found out what had happened to them, find the souls of her parents and force them back into their respective bodies, no matter the cost.

She had proven the existence of the soul with her machine and it ultimately cost us our own lives in the process, only because she couldn't let go of her parents. I... I don't think I could really blame her, not after seeing how happy she had been with them and what that loss had caused. It was like the light in her life was suddenly gone, a light I never truly had, and, knowing what she had felt like from the sheer unconditional love that her parents had shown her... I felt so very jealous of her.

I wanted what she had for so long, to have my own parent be there for me, have them stop being so distant to me... but I also felt sympathy for her. Her pain was perhaps even worse than my own. She had to live with the nagging feeling that someone or something had taken her parents from her and later did so as well with her sister. She was convinced that the failed surgery of her sister wasn't the actual cause of her death and... I suppose she was right with that, wasn't she?

That light I saw, saving us from her machine... whatever it was, it was behind her parent's and sister's death, too, wasn't it? For some reason, it also came for us, but... why did it leave me here? Why did they get the chance to be reborn and not I? It couldn't be anything but some sort of force that guided them to their next life, I was convinced of it.

Why else would it take the souls of those that had once been my family with it?

Why... why didn't it take me with it?

Was I... could it be that I had been adopted? That I wasn't actually... the child of Tobias Baker? It... it would explain why he was never there for me, why I never knew my own mother... I was... I was a charity case, wasn't I?

I felt numb as I drifted aimlessly through that glowy water. Time just flew by and I didn't care. All my life I craved the love of a parent, of someone... anyone, really... that understood me. And now? Now I would never get to feel that. I had, in my own stupid carelessness, managed to trap myself for pretty much forever in an underground cavern within a lake that refused to let go of me and could do nothing but think.

I should have gone to those angels and let them do with me whatever they wanted. I didn't want to think about my so-called 'family' ever again, lest I be reminded that I never belonged with them... that I wasn't actually wanted.

Was it too much to ask for a second chance where I could have what Tabetha had? To have loving parents? Tobias couldn't have just... not loved me, right? I couldn't think like that... it would be too painful if it were actually true.

Sure, he was kind of married to his job, but... he did look after me whenever he actually could, right? That had to count for something... right? Looking through his memories... as difficult as it was to get a clear picture of them... I could tell he wasn't exactly a good person, either, but he tried to be there for me as much as he possibly could (which wasn't a lot, I practically raised myself with occasional adult 'supervision'). He had to have at least felt something for me or he wouldn't have bothered with me in the first place. I had to believe that that was the case, I just... had to.

Perhaps I was just reading too much into this. Maybe that light wasn't strong enough to take all three of us and left the one with the greatest 'weight' behind. That's what I got for being greedy, wasn't it? Lucky me.

That was all the more reason for me to try and be better than what I had been like in my previous life. It was my own folly that caused me to drift away and be forgotten, trapped in a place from which there was no escape. It was my own fault for trying to survive and being unable to keep ahold of my only lifeline.

At least Tabetha and Tobias could have a better life now, as much as it pains me to let go of my misgivings... they didn't deserve me faulting them for something that I did. Maybe it was even a good thing, taking their memories from them so they could both be saved by the mysterious light. With all three of us, it was possible we would have all been lost as the light couldn't ferry all of us to our next life.

I could live with that thought, even if it might not be the truth. It would mean I did something good, unwittingly as it was. Besides, without some of these memories (there were some truly horrific, nightmarish ones in here), they could start out their new lives without any kind of burden holding them down and live their lives to the fullest. They would get to relive all of that wonder and excitement, free to explore and discover all that life had to offer.

I wasn't all bad, right? I could be redeemed from my sins. At least, that's what I told myself as time just cruelly ticked away and no salvation came.

I resigned myself to my lonely existence in this ghostly world of shadows and... more shadows. I suppose it wasn't as empty within this cavern as I had first feared, seeing that I had at least a little bit of company. That company being the totally healthily glowing water, the odd few spiders crawling around on the ceiling, the poor... I think they were bees, it was kinda hard to tell without being able to see colors (or, you know... not seeing them from up close)... anyway, the maybe-bees were quite unfortunate as they didn't know any better than to fly right into the spider's webs, which usually led to a small war between them every once in a while when that happened. And then there was my new bestest of best friend, Mr. Hornhead the Dead, and... an acorn?

I watched in fascination as the very much alive squirrel threw that acorn away in disgust, right through the hole that I fell through. Goodbye, little squirrel. It was a nice distraction to have seen you for that one tiny little fragment of a moment. I hope you find better nuts in these woods, you totally deserve all the best nuts in the world. Not like me. You don't even know I'm here, unable to escape. But that's okay. Nuts are more important, anyway. Don't bother with little ol' me.

I still had my trusty skeleton friend to keep me company, after all, despite him being a really weird fellow. Mr. Hornhead had a horn, good for him. Whatever caused his death, I didn't want to know. Probably the fall through that hole in the ceiling into the shallow water below. If I didn't know any better, I would assume he was a unicorn once upon a time. Or a narwhal...

Nah. Definitely a unicorn, I could see the equine resemblance more.

It was an interesting thought, wasn't it? Being trapped in a world where mythological creatures were a thing. That was kinda exciting, not gonna lie. Besides, it would probably also explain the weird architecture I saw before I hid away in the forest. They certainly liked the depiction of horses, but I guess that would be normal if they were horses themselves.

Too bad I couldn't ask Mr. Hornhead, his soul was nowhere to be seen. I would wager he was taken by some of those blue angel ladies at some point. What would be the odds they would find me here as well? To be honest, I still don't think I would actually go with them.

I'd rather keep my bee and spider friends company. And Mr. Hornhead. As well as the acorn that... was gone. Typical. Even in death, all my loved ones leave me. We had such little time with each other, Miss Acorn. I hope you end up in acorn heaven, you deserve it...

I might be going crazy the longer I stay here, I mused. How long has it been already? A few years? Maybe a decade or two? A century? A thousand years? It did feel like it, to be honest. Maybe a little bit of sleep couldn't hurt in that case.

Could ghosts sleep? I... I don't know. I just kept floating around in this creepy underground lake, trying to somehow go to rest, but nothing really happened. Or... maybe something did happen?

I'm pretty sure that sapling wasn't there before. How that sapling even survived in this dark cave was a miracle to me. Out of curiosity, I kept watching the little tree grow as time went on. It was strangely fascinating, observing it become taller and taller over the years, sort of like a time-lapse movie. Only in real-time.

To be honest... it probably wasn't the greatest idea of the squirrel to throw that acorn in here. That tree... it kept getting bigger and its roots soon ensnared my dear old friend Mr. Hornhead.

Haah... our time together with each other was truly a good one, we really had a blast reminiscing about life and death and all that crap. You won't be forgotten, friend, I will make sure of it. Rest in peace.

If I could cry and sniffle, I would totally do so, but... yeah, no. We didn't know each other 'that' well for me to be all devastated and stuff. Sorry, buddy.

Anyway! It didn't take long after that for the tree to start blooming and for the true horror to show its face. Or 'leaves', rather. Those things were by no means actual tree leaves, they were little monsters, each and every one of them.

One by one, needle-like, salivating monstrosities spread their maws wide open, waiting for the unfortunate to stray into them and find themselves unable to escape, reminding me of those abominable flesh-eating plants I had been scared of as a kid...

Look, it was a totally reasonable fear, okay? Those things are very, very scary. Plants have no right to be all 'teeth-y' and monstrous.

And... they are eating my spider friends now, too. Great. That wasn't... nice. Spiders were misunderstood and innocent creatures, they didn't deserve to be eaten like flies in a fucking flytrap. Oh, and the weird bees were also eaten by those little monster leaves. It was sad seeing them get eaten as they tried to scout it out for a possible new location for a hive, but... it was either that or becoming food for my little spider friends. I'd rather they get along with each other, but such was the way of nature, as sad as it was.

Before I knew what happened, floating listlessly around in the lake lamenting life and... not life, one of the roots of that tree grabbed me. It fucking grabbed me as if it was completely normal! I struggled futilely as my soul was slowly absorbed into the tree and I swore at every possible deity in existence for abandoning me to a friggin' soul-eating tree!

I would take Hell over this. Anything but soul-eating trees, please! I didn't deserve to die after dying! I was too young for that! I had so much to look forward to! Like... 'living' another thousand years and finally getting a new name! I still needed to decide what to call myself, I didn't want to die being called 'Me'!

I didn't even get to write my book about the afterlife! It would have been a best-selling book and I would have become the most famous ghost in the Ghostlands or whatever this fucking shit place was called.

The tree showed no mercy.

While my world got even darker to the point of being pitch black, I... didn't cease to exist? Whatever that tree did to me... I was... was that? I think... I think I heard a heartbeat. That can't be, right?

Was I... was I alive? Just like that? But... I don't want to be a tree, damnit! I want to be something that could actually talk! Something that could feel love, for fuck's sake! Was this some cruel joke?

Wait... wait, wait, wait. Trees don't have heartbeats (at least, not any that I know of that are real). For that matter, they do not have legs they could move around, either. Or ears, you know. Ears that I could also move. As in, rotate them around and... they were on the top of my head... not on the side like I was used to. That was slightly weird, all things considered.

I want to see you not make weird observations like that after a friggin' tree devours your soul and stuffs it who knows where, I dare you. Moving ears on top of my head was the least abnormal part of this situation that it totally became something strange and fascinating, it's as simple as that!

And... I have a head, now that I think about it with a clear and calm head (hah hah, what a great joke that was... I really do deserve Hell for that one). Although that, too, felt incredibly different from what I had before. It felt like my face was somewhat... elongated, I suppose. My tongue felt nothing but sharp teeth in my... was it a muzzle now? I think I had fangs? I don't know... they felt kind of weird, actually. When I prodded them with my tongue, they felt like they could... extend? It was hard to describe, but for some reason, I knew I couldn't accidentally bite myself with them (at least, not if I wasn't doing something dumb, to begin with).

Aside from my sharp, pointy teeth, my tongue itself felt quite a lot thinner and rounder than what I was used to. Not to mention longer. A lot longer, at that. That... that might become a problem if I ever want to speak coherently, right? Damnit. I'll have to learn to speak all over again...

Just... what was I? My limbs felt strange and even my eyes were most certainly not in the right shape. And the position wasn't exactly what I would have expected, either. Horses had their eyes on the side of their heads for a wider range of vision, right? So why were mine positioned more like that of a predator's? Were horses in this world omnivorous?

Something told me that that wasn't quite as accurate as I had believed previously. Unbidden memories flashed through my mind of Tabetha, reading through a thick stack of textbooks while her laptop was open next to her, displaying the front page of Wikipedia and an open document of notes. No doubt that was a memory of a typical session of research à la Tabetha-style, looking up just about every topic one could possibly imagine. And, as was the case for this memory, Tabetha had also somewhat researched the nature of equines out of morbid curiosity. While horses were very much herbivorous in nature, there existed cases of them eating fish and other meats of easy prey like birds on Earth.

It left me a bit queasy as I remembered one of her memories where she saw a horse eat a little birdy without any kind of warning on the internet, thoroughly disturbed by the image of a horse mercilessly crunching through bones and flesh like it was nothing new to it. Tabetha never saw horses in the same light again for years afterward and only managed to get over it as she decided to sate her curiosity since her grandparents had decided to retire on a small farm with a few horses.

Still... it felt kinda wrong to me that I was some sort of predatory horse thing. Horses were majestic and innocent creatures, especially unicorns from what I remembered of equine mythology, I'd rather avoid going against that picture. But... the thought of food, whether it was meat or not, was an important aspect of my new life, I couldn't just subsist on air and love. I had to eat something at some point, right?

So... why did it make me feel nauseous, thinking about eating anything that I had been accustomed to as a human, regardless of what it was? Maybe... maybe there was something even more different to me than I first assumed...

I mean... if I was something similar to what Mr. Hornhead had been while he was alive, I couldn't just assume that everything would be exactly like what I had previously known in my past life as a human, right? Whether or not I was actually a unicorn or not (I couldn't tell for certain with these confusing similarities to horses on Earth), nothing about that mattered for as long as I was in need of more information.

Information like where I was and what the flying pig I was supposed to eat for survival. Even though survival was pretty high on the list, that didn't make knowing where I was and which creatures inhabited this place any less important. A completely different world could run on completely different rules and I wouldn't know the first thing about that! My only experience in this world was limited to what it looked like while dead and that was hardly helpful.

While I was about... eighty percent sure Mr. Hornhead had been a unicorn, he still could have been something completely different. He could have been some kind of soul-eating monster for all I know. I didn't want to be a soul-eating monster, for fuck's sake! I'd rather live off of air, sunlight, and love if at all possible. It's too bad none of those things were actually possible.

I mean... it wasn't possible on Earth and this was a different world, so I couldn't possibly know for certain. Regretfully, I was unable to ask Mr. Hornhead anything in regards to my new species, so I would have to learn everything by myself for now. The skeleton definitely looked equine-ish in nature, and, so far, that was the only thing that made sense to me in this world that refused to make sense. A world in which unicorns apparently existed... and trees that could snack on souls, for some reason.

Seriously, in which world do trees eat people?! That was absolutely ridiculous.

Maybe I should try to do something to actually get my answers instead of speculating like an idiot. In a sense, I was like a pioneer, wasn't I? I could explore the unknown and experience a whole new world, who else could claim to have done so? Only an explorer, that's who.

So, that's what I did. I decided to stop thinking so much about this and do something productive. The first thing I tried to do was to move around a little so I could actually feel my body structure a bit more accurately but everything was... I dunno, a bit stiffer, I guess? It wasn't like I couldn't move around at all, it was simply... too tight in here. Besides me having very little room to maneuver around in, I also had completely new limbs that I had never used before that I needed to get used to... so that might have also played a big part in the stiffness.

While I could remember Tobias having had a severe case of claustrophobia (it had been a miracle that he could even get into a car, to be honest), I was infinitely glad that I, myself, didn't have a fear of tight spaces or I would have been panicking a lot more than I currently was inclined to do.

You get eaten by a tree and not panic, seriously.

Aside from trying to touch myself (that sounded better in my head), I tried out another one of my 'new' senses. Smell. My nose... ugh, I have no idea whether the nose of a horse was called a nose since my brain was still like a badly pureed mush of incoherent memories of random facts and half-remembered knowledge, so I'll just say nostrils... My nostrils tried to breathe in the scent of wherever I was, but that quickly proved itself to be a very bad idea, indeed. While I did smell something, it smelled really foul to me.

It had a slightly wooden quality to its scent, but that's it. It smelled sort of like eggs that had gone bad which were then thrown into a mixer until they were unrecognizable. Then, the resulting mess was placed into the oven until it started to burn upon which it was doused with spoiled milk until the result looked like the unholy spawn of an eldritch horror. And then, to make matters even worse than the massive pile of wrong that it already was, someone threw that disgusting cocktail of death and despair up after forcing it down their throat because of a stupid drunken dare by teenagers to earn a few bucks. If I had anything in my new stomach, I'm sure I would have emptied it all over myself. As it was, I was trying to not breathe in through my nostrils. So much so even that I thought I was going to pass out from the lack of oxygen.

While I tried to stop my body from doing what it needed to do most (like the moron that I was), I felt something... strange on my back. Two sets of little somethings, I should say. In my agitation to find out what it was, I felt something twitch and... was that a chirp? Did I just do that?

How did I even do that? The only creatures that do that are insects, right? Was I... was I some kind of insect horse thing? As weird as it sounded, I... I didn't even have a problem with that. I could still think clearly, and once I was finally out of this damn soul-eating tree... I might even be able to fly!

Insects stridulate by rubbing their wings against their shell, right? That could only mean that I had wings of my own and that that was what caused me to... well... chirp. It sounded kind of cute, actually.

I really need to find out what my new sex was, too. If I was already thinking that chirping was a cute thing to do, that could mean all kinds of things. I could be a... mare or stallion, right? Well... only one way to find out, I thought with apprehension and a little bit of excitement.

I'm not a pervert, okay?! This was... vitally important. Totally.

I, uh... okay, maybe I was a little bit. From what can I tell, the memories I had of Tabetha were... really explicit in the things that she liked doing behind closed doors. Like... I don't know where she got that thing from, but holy fucking flying pigs! That was a very thick dildo hiding underneath her bed in a “secret” box. The thought alone made me blush heavily as blood rushed to my head and my erogenous zones.

And, oh boy... I liked what I felt. Very much so. For once, I did get my one wish granted and I couldn't have been happier about it. Superior sex hereby confirmed! It's both. Definitely both. Oh, fuck yes! I feel like I could do a giddy dance and the sweet smell of my own arousal only excited me more (at least it was powerful enough to drown out the foul smell of my soul-eating mother of a tree). Now then, if only I could get out of here so I could get a proper look at myself!

Well... I could relieve some stress while I was already 'standing at attention', couldn't I? It was a bit awkward moving my hoof (it definitely was a hoof and 'little me' didn't like it one bit), especially with how little room I had to maneuver here in my improvised 'tree-womb', but I made it work. Somehow.

This definitely wasn't degenerate in any way... at all...

Okay, maybe I was dry humping my dick in between my foreleg and my stomach, and maybe... just maybe... it was totally degenerate to do this as my very first act after getting a new lease on life, so sue me! I don't care, I needed it so fucking much. The stimulation was at least enough to make me bite my lip softly, suppressing a kind of very feminine moan with a grunt or two. My own voice sounded... quite a bit strange, vibrating in just the right way to create the illusion of two voices speaking at once, one a lighter one in contrast to the other, slightly deeper, one. I could probably make them work really well together in an alto singing voice if I wanted. If I knew how to sing, that is.

Just hearing it made my pussy even wetter than before and I felt like it almost helped things along with my needy rod. My panting breaths started to hasten as I tried my best to reach my peak with what little room I had available to me to move around in. Maybe that wasn't really a detriment, though. It just made this feel... tighter. Wasn't really what I imagined it would be like, but it didn't feel too bad.

I miss my hands, to be honest. Those would have made this a whole lot easier and more pleasurable. Alas, I had to live with these hooves now.

As I started to increase my pace in a desperate bid to get myself to orgasm as fast as I could, I felt the wings on my back buzz every once in a while, making vibrations run through my body in the most wondrous ways. I let out a squeaky moan as it stimulated my other sex at the same time and I was almost overwhelmed by the flood of sensations.

Honestly? If I had a way to fuck myself right now, I wouldn't have said no to that. I wanted to know what it felt like to have something stuffed into my brand-new pussy as well instead of only getting to learn how good my new dick felt like. I could have cared less whether that dick belonged to someone else or if it was my own (although I would prefer someone else's dick, fucking myself was still kind of a weird idea). Sadly, even if I could have stuffed my snatch full with my own cock, there was far too little room to fuck myself into a blissful state of happiness and contentment.

Perhaps I should have also thought this whole 'masturbating in tight confines' thing a bit more through while I was at it. As soon as my movements started to get more erratic, eager to finally relieve my centuries-old pent-up sexual frustration (I have been floating around as a ghost for far too long, it's no wonder the first thing I did with my new body was to satisfy my needs and I most definitely didn't care if it was depraved of me to do it in a 'tree-womb' or not... totally), I felt... a bit embarrassed as I shot a few sticky strands of my juices all over my lower half.

I really should have thought this more through, I berated myself as I tried to not let it bother me too much. It wasn't like it made me feel uncomfortable, no... it mainly bothered me because it turned me on even more than I had been before. My vagina was aching fiercely for some action and it almost felt like all of my blood tried to go solely to my clit, making me even more frustrated that I had not enough room to reach my hoof over to it.

As I unintentionally pressed my 'forehead' against the inside of the tree during my shuddering orgasm with perhaps a little bit too much force, I let out a pained gasp as I felt like I had just stabbed my own brain because, before my head could press itself against the edge of my confines, something else hit it first. A loud crack greeted my ears and I whimpered as all I knew after that was pure agony.

My previous activities were all but forgotten as I felt like I wanted to start sobbing heavily. Scratch that, I did start to sob as the throbbing wound only started to feel worse and worse as I tried to get my horn free from the blasted tree. It could only be a horn and I cursed my inability to get it free without hurting myself further.

It didn't feel like I had broken it off, though. That was at least something, right? Okay, I thought to myself as I took in an unsteady breath, trying to bite back another sob as I steeled myself for what I needed to do next. I could do this. It's... only going to h-hurt for a meager second, Me, y-you can do this.

I really need a better name for myself...

Another loud crack (...or two) greeted my ears and I shrieked out in agony, crying and whimpering profoundly. That was by far the stupidest idea I've ever had in my quite short new life. At least... at least I was free from the damn tree bark. As soon as I was out of here, I was going to set this damn thing on fire and cackle madly in glee (after figuring out how to set it on fire in the first place, I guess).

My heart was hammering erratically in my chest and it only managed to make the horn injury I inflicted upon myself throb even harder with torturous amounts of pain. My wings were also buzzing angrily on my back, putting my own distress of my suffering quite loudly on display.

I channeled that anger at the tree and did what I had seen horses do when they felt threatened. I bucked the damn tree a new one. If I still had hands and feet, I'm sure I would have earned myself even more bruises for that.

And I didn't stop with one angry buck, I went absolutely crazy trying to earn myself my freedom, snorting wildly as my pain only fueled my rage.

Soon enough, one hoof broke through the bark and I used that opening to create an even bigger one. I needed to get out of here and find a place where I could hopefully treat my horn. I most definitely did not want to cripple myself so early on in my new life and I felt like the horn on my head was even more important than my wings for reasons that I couldn't quite explain with my own words.

It was just a feeling that I had, but my instincts told me that my horn would be my greatest tool. Unicorns were said to be magical beings, right? The horn must serve some purpose beyond looking beautiful, even if it only serves as a pretty night light and shoots rainbow sparkles from the tip.

Once I had the opening large enough for me to fit through, I breathed in with deep gasps, the somewhat fresh air doing wonders on my body. It didn't soothe my pain, but everything was better than smelling the mix of disgusting tree rot or whatever it was and my drying arousal on myself.

The glowing pink water around the tree didn't strike me as 'safe to bathe in', so I would have to go on a little bit longer until I could wash myself off and get a good glimpse at just how badly mutilated my horn must have looked like right now.

I dragged myself completely out of my dear 'mother', cursing the damn tree all the while, almost slipping in my... hoofing? I almost slipped and fell right into the questionable liquid, cautiously dipping a hoof into the unhealthily glowing lake. Thankfully, whatever killed Mr. Hornhead, it wasn't the water.

Or he might have drunk from the water and died because of that if the fall from the hole wasn't the cause of death, who knows. Thankfully, it wasn't corrosive to the point of melting my limbs, it just felt like I was touching thick gelatinous liquid, trying to drag me further into the muddy ground beneath the surface of the lake.

Yeah... Mr. Hornhead might have slowly but surely drowned in this stuff, always being dragged down just enough below the surface to prolong his suffering as he struggled to escape the clutches of this lake. What a horrifying way to die, truly.

With a small grimace on my muzzle, I gave the transparent wings on my back a wary glance, debating whether or not I could trust myself to fly without immediately crashing afterward. I didn't even know how to move them beyond what it felt like when they showed my mood by buzzing and chirping in various ways.

Aside from that, I didn't have the necessary focus to keep flapping them fast enough to stay afloat in midair, my injury almost demanded all of my attention. Through the water it was, I decided with a frown and a pathetic moan, trying to ignore my shifting vision as best as I could.

I'm pretty sure I had a concussion right now. I should find a place where I could rest safely and have easy access to (drinkable) water. I probably should also not try to think too hard, so that meant no trying to organize my (admittedly slightly less) broken memories to repair... well... myself.

Thankfully, I don't think (almost) breaking one's own horn leads to a serious concussion. I wasn't feeling nearly drowsy enough for that and neither did I experience any kind of seizures. At most, the pain level felt like I had broken a bone and not my skull. I wasn't even sure if I had bones anymore, for that matter.

Considering I had chitin, the chances of that were pretty much non-existent. But... you never know. For all I know, some life forms had more than one type of skeleton.

Anyway, the 'shore' of this underground lake wasn't too far off from my dear 'mother', and if I was careful enough, I could probably avoid getting stuck in the muddy ground like poor Mr. Hornhead did with his fall. I'd rather not add drowning to my quickly growing list of 'dumb things I have done since reincarnating'. I was already off to a good start with that one, wasn't I?

For once, I was glad my wings kept showing off what I was feeling. It did help to keep me from sinking further than I would have liked, and, before long, I was walking on the smooth stone floor of the cavern, dragging some of the mud from the lakebed after me as I searched for anything, anything at all, that was helpful to my current situation.

My eyesight was a lot better in the dark than I expected, being able to see even further into the cavernous depths than I had been capable of as a ghost. Although, it wasn't that much of a help to me. The lake was the only thing in here, aside from all of the spider webs, the old abandoned beehive within a crack in the cave wall, and the hole up above that was currently letting in what little moonlight was able to make it through the canopy of the trees. And the mangled corpse of my mother, of course.

I bit my chitinous lip (something that felt a lot softer to me than I imagined it would feel like, to be honest), trying to come up with a plan to escape my prison. So far, it seemed like my wings were the only way out for me. My own freedom seemed so close, and yet, it was so far away from here.

I was gonna die again down here, wasn't I? There was no way that I would be able to learn how to fly within three days (if exhaustion wouldn't kill me first, that is). But I had to try, I told myself with determination, there was no way I would just give up and return to… that… place. Anything but that.

I could still feel its icy touch upon my soul... the loneliness, never to be noticed by another mortal soul in any meaningful way... the silence seemingly stretching on forever, imagining phantom sounds when there were none... the total lack of taste, creating an endless feeling of numbness, of despair... the incoherence of touch, creating a contradicting feeling of being stretched apart while at the same time tightening around my soul like a coil, viciously burrowing into me... and lastly, the things lurking within the shadows, watching at all times... laughing... sneering... whispering...

I was thrown out of my terror-induced thoughts as I saw a spider enter my fuzzy vision, hanging on to a thread of silk from the ceiling. I reached a hoof slowly out to it, smiling gently despite the pain trying to make me sob again. Fortunately, I didn't have any more tears to spend right now, so I didn't scare my little friend away from me. I was so very grateful for the well-timed interruption, I had been far too close from curling up into a shivering ball of fear.

I smiled in amusement as little Spidey crawled onto my hoof, skittering around all over my foreleg until it settled on my shoulder and I decided to ignore it in favor of looking back up at the ceiling. Insects like flies or spiders could quite easily crawl on walls but when it came to whatever I was, I didn't think I would be able to do so as well. I was pretty sure I was far too heavy to stick to any upright surface, much less so to an upside-down surface. Short of manipulating gravity in my favor, I doubt I could crawl my way out of here (as much as my inner Spider-Man fan wished for it to be possible).

I really do have to fly up there, don't I? Learning to fly could take me weeks, if not months, though. Time that I didn't have. Not without a clean source of water to avoid dehydration. Already I was feeling like I could use some water and I had at most three days to find myself a source that would provide enough for me so that I wouldn't die.

No licking the bark of a tree while it rains, I thought with a shudder. The thought was far too disgusting and I now had an aversion to trees in general. While a koala could get away with that, I would rather not debase myself like that. I'd sooner drink straight from a river like a proper... well, I wasn't a mammal anymore (I think... am I insect enough or still too horsey to count as a mammal?)... Anyway, I'd rather drink from a river, thank you very much!

First, I would have to find one after getting out of this cave, though.

Alrighty, then, Spidey... I hope you don't mind me crashing a lot as I try to figure out how to fly with a less-than-perfect sense of balance. Maybe I should give you a name at some point, too. Spidey sounds way too much like Spider-Man.

Ah, well... let's just say that the first hundred (or five hundred) attempts didn't count and act like I was a prodigy as I managed to actually lift off without immediately planting my face in the dirty (and very, very hard) ground.

And let's also pretend I didn't keep going in the wrong direction for what felt like days. Once I actually figured out how to lean myself in the correct way for me to go where I wanted to go, it was (somewhat) smooth sailing from there on out.

Mhn... okay, okay! Maybe I lied a little bit there. It was anything but smooth sailing and I didn't get anywhere near high enough to reach that fucking fuck of a fucking shit damn crap fuck of a hole in the fucking shit fucktard of a ceiling.

I was only mildly angry. Just the slightest teeniest tiniest bit. I was too exhausted after my failed attempts to reach freedom to vent my anger out on the world, so I really was only slightly angry. I'm being honest here, truly.

At least my little spider friend cheered me silently on as I failed time after time. I don't think I'm going to last the full three days without water, to be honest. Not with how bad I was at this flying thing. And definitely not with how much I kept exhausting myself as soon as I felt my strength returning to me after taking breaks that started to get longer and longer.

As the first day of my new life dawned in the sky up above, I decided that I had enough for now and let my eyes fall shut as my exhaustion caught up with me. Not the smartest idea, I'll admit that, but concussion or not, injured horn or not... I couldn't keep on going forever even with the threat of dehydration hanging over my head.

Although, one thing did surprise me as I 'awoke' right after I fell asleep. I never had lucid dreams before in my life (technically lives, but whatever), so I was admittedly hesitant to think it to be as such as I walked around in an empty city of skyscrapers.

“Peculiar,” I muttered, feeling strangely awake but at the same time like... I wasn't actually awake. It was a very strange feeling, I had to say. Whatever this was, it most assuredly was not an ordinary dream.

Not only did it feel remarkably real to my senses, but I could also actually talk without a second thought. My body just did it on auto-pilot as I felt like pointing out how unusual this dream was. Then, as my eyes wandered to the glassy surface of one of those skyscrapers, I had to marvel at how it was possible that I could take in my appearance. Something that shouldn't have been possible in the first place because I hadn't seen my own reflection yet (the underground lake had, at best, given me a fuzzy and quite muddy image).

I wasn't complaining about the oddity of being able to see what I looked like, though. I chalked those illogical things up to 'Weird dream logic that doesn't need to make any sense' and instead decided to study myself in the reflecting surface of the building in front of me. And what I saw was definitely not too bad.

A semi-long white silk-like mane and tail, smooth and soft (almost black) chitin covering (nearly) every inch of my body, the dark magenta wings that refused to do as I told them to, a shimmery dark magenta shell on my back, and a lighter segmented magenta abdominal shell. Not to forget, the startling bright magenta eyes staring back at me. They were almost glowing even.

My voice, of course, was the most memorable thing about me. The multilayered voice was even making my breathing sound like it was coming from two people (which might actually mean I had two different sets of vocal cords, now that I was thinking about it).

It did sound quite pleasing to my chitinous pony-like ears, I had to admit, though.

Idly, I began humming the melody of Summertime Sadness (I think) as I took in the 'mangled' form of my horn poking out from my magnificently (almost) snow-white mane. I could already tell that it wasn't supposed to look so... crooked? Twisted, maybe? It didn't look like the chitin was broken in any way, but whatever I did to it, it left it quite thoroughly disfigured. It looked almost cruelly jagged and sharp now, to be honest. Thankfully still in a symmetrical way, I would have hated it if it curved to the side, instead.

I mean... I liked my new body too much to let such a thing bother me, but I was glad that that wasn't the case. As it was, it only curved backward. Something I could actually (reluctantly) live with.

My chitin, from what I could make out with the better lighting of this place, looked more like skin if it was... more rigid, I suppose. Perhaps a little bit softer than what I vaguely remember my nails to have felt like. It was definitely bendy enough that I could move my limbs without any problems or discomfort. The four little nubs my wings were attached to, one set being rather tiny in comparison to the actual flight wings they 'hooked' into (probably there to help with the strength of the primary wings and steer in midflight, now that I was thinking about it, but I wasn't entirely certain about that), were a lot softer and way too sensitive for me to just try to touch them willy-nilly with the cheek of my muzzle (not that that stopped my curiosity).

The dark magenta shell on my back and the abdominal one were probably as hard as my hooves felt like, feeling almost like natural armor to me. I wouldn't want to test the protective properties with actual weaponry, though. I was sure arrows could still penetrate my shell with enough speed and force. And since I was in the dark about my anatomy right now, I'd like to avoid (further) injuring myself, especially my internal organs. Something like that would, no doubt, lead to my second death and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Out of curiosity, I looked down in between my legs, wanting to know what both of my sexes looked like. I was slightly surprised by what I found, though. Instead of a sheath, I found two chitinous plates in between my hindlegs that were completely flush with the rest of my body, covering little me protectively. They opened up after only a little bit of prodding from me, revealing quite proudly what was hidden beneath.

I really was hung like a horse now, I thought with a bright blush as the blood started to rush towards my dick. In contrast to my softish dark gray chitin, my dick was a mottled light grayish color, as was the flesh behind the chitinous plates that had previously hidden my penis from sight.

There were no visible testicles anywhere that I could make out, but that didn't have to mean anything in regards to my ability to, well... reproduce... with another of my kind. As far as I knew, insects didn't have external testes, so I wasn't worried in the slightest to not see any 'dangling' between my hind legs. Whether or not I did actually have internal ones remained to be seen, though.

The penis in itself looked almost like a sharp spear, being incredibly smooth in texture. It was hard to even spot the arteries and veins circulating the blood to and from it, blending in with the rest of the meaty flesh colorlessly (which kind of clued me in as to which color my blood now had). The tip took me a bit of time to get used to, unfamiliar with the shape. It pretty much looked like it was the long and narrow cap of a mushroom. The little hole on the very top of it looked almost... cute. All in all, my new dick looked very much alien to me but still kind of cute.

Next, I turned around and looked at the reflection in the glass as I raised my tail to the side (after a trial and error approach in order to get a feel for how to move it in the way that I wanted it to, that is). My marehood was the same mottled gray color which had, unlike my penis, no plates to protect it from unwanted attention and... actually didn't look too extravagant, to be honest. Kind of simple, really. Like my dick, I suppose. The flesh was of a smooth glistening quality, already seeping wet with my juices and 'quivering' with excitement while I could just barely make out where my clitoris hid away. Oddly enough, my vagina was the only thing that I could make out back there, leaving me thoroughly confused about how my digestive tract worked.

I shoved the multitude of questions popping up at the impossibility that was my body to the back of my mind as my eyes wandered back to my throbbing length and I began to fidget with my hind legs, biting my lip with desire. My first experience with my hoof wasn't the best kind of experience and seeing that this little dream world of mine was completely empty of anyone else, I was once more lamenting my loss of digits and thumbs to masturbate with.

“I could help with that,” a slightly raunchy voice next to me whispered sensually and I let out a shriek, whirling around in shock. Before me stood... well... me. Sort of. She (or was it he? ...they?) had darker purple colors instead of my dark magenta ones and was slightly less tall than me.

“Who are you?!” I asked, my heart hammering wildly in my... chest, I think? It was somewhere in that general area in between my forelegs or so.

“You?” my doppelganger replied with a raised eyebrow, coming uncomfortably close to me as, well... they studied me like a lab rat, licking their lips with a hungry expression in their eyes. “Only... not quite you. I think I'm the part of you that represents the majority of those memories we have of Tabetha. I still have some of 'your' memories, too, though. And a few of 'Tobias', now that I think about it. They don't quite feel like they are supposed to be in 'my' head...”

“What?” I mumbled, stumbling back from her, confused. That was... kind of like a split personality, right? Just... “How did that happen?!”

“When you... we? When you sorted your memories in categories based on which ones belonged to whom,” she replied matter-of-factly, tapping her chin thoughtfully. The change from hungry predator to... whatever that was... was quite jarring, to be honest. My doppelganger was kind of a handful to be around and I kept getting strange feelings around her. Almost like... no, that couldn't be it. There was no way, right? “I couldn't communicate with you before you went to sleep, but now we can! Isn't this the perfect opportunity to test some things out?”

“Right...” I muttered slowly, feeling like right now was the perfect time to get goosebumps if I could, slightly put off by her excitement to experiment. I didn't know what to make of her (she seems pretty feminine to me, but... I'd hate to assume...) telling me that she had some of my memories. Apparently, I might have sorted them wrongly, which... didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. According to her, she was still me in a sense and I felt like it didn't really matter all that much to me if I had them or she did.

“Did you know we have spinnerets in our hooves?” Tabetha-Me grinned, showing me the underside of her hooves, and, where the frog usually was (it was called a frog, right? I really need to refresh my memory and study horse anatomy again... this time more thoroughly... definitely more thoroughly~), there was instead an indent where I could see said spinnerets. I assumed somewhere within our hooves (or even possibly within our forelegs) were glands that would produce silk. How much, though, I couldn't tell.

“So... we are some sort of mix of different insects and a mythological horse?” I hummed, ignoring my erection for the moment in favor of satisfying my... well, more like our curiosity. One thing we had in common, I guess. “At least, so far we seem to have the wings of... I think those were from the bees the tree ate and then we also have the spinnerets from the spiders it ate as well...”

“Right,” she said and nodded in agreement. “And we obviously have a horn jutting out from our head, so that would make us into some sort of mix out of Mammalia of the family Equidae, specifically a member of the mythological species categorized as 'Unicorn-pony', for lack of a better term, Arachnida of the order Araneae, probably of the family Araneidae, and Insecta of the order Hymenoptera, specifically the family of Apidae, though one could argue those spiders and bees are entirely uncategorized species as well since we are not on Earth anymore! Eee! This is great! Don't you think so, too?”

“You like to hear your voice say sciency things, don't you?” I commented with a deadpan voice and saw her pout back at me. “Do you know how to use those, then?”

“Uh...” Tabetha-Me shrugged, looking at her own spinnerets thoughtfully. “I was a bit too preoccupied to actually test them out, you know? This is just... so new and interesting and fascinating and... and I need to study absolutely everything about us and this strange new world! Oh, this is so exciting!”

“It kind of is, isn't it?” I mused out loud in agreement, still thinking that this whole experience was quite out of the ordinary. In a good way. So far, that is. Then again, anything was better than the centuries I spent as a ghost. Aside from... you know... 'breaking' my horn multiple times within a few seconds, that wasn't quite as 'good' about our situation right now. Still a massive upgrade from not having a body, like... at all. “On another note, is there also a Tobias-Me running around in here?”

Tabetha-Me winced in front of me, biting her lip as she gave me a nod. “She... 'he' isn't really all that enthusiastic about this change...”

“Oh...” I sighed, shifting on my hooves awkwardly. “Where is... he, then?”

“Wandering around muttering to… well, 'himself', I guess... trying to deny everything?” she answered hesitantly. “...he was also blaming me for everything that has happened, so there is... that.”

“You did kinda cause this...” I muttered, making her wilt. “Although... I can't actually blame you specifically. You aren't actually her. The real Tabetha, I mean. It wasn't you, so don't you dare think otherwise, okay? Besides, you are me and... uh... I am you? If you did that then I kinda did that as well, didn't I? And we... I... did perhaps something even worse than causing our deaths...”

“The memory theft?” Tabetha-Me asked, and I nodded as I felt my ears splay back and a sad chirp escaping me. Great, even here my body decided to display my mood without any input on my part. “If it is any consolation, I don't fault you for that. I wouldn't be here without you doing that.”

“Thanks, I guess...” I smiled thinly, scuffing my hoof slightly over the paved ground. Maybe someday I could actually accept her forgiveness and forgive, truly forgive, the original Tabetha as well. I don't know whether it would mean all that much if Tabetha-Me forgave me since she's kinda me in the way that I am her.

I should probably stop with this before I confuse myself even further, shouldn't I?

“I think you are a good person, you know?” Tabetha-Me said, making me look up at her after my gaze had dropped to the ground, still feeling bad for what I did to her... I mean Tabetha... and Tobias, too, for that matter. I probably won't be able to get over that, ever, will I? “Both 'Tobias' and I remember you lamenting over this... I think it is admirable of you to try to be better than you were before.”

“You aren't as bad as I thought you were,” I said, another chirp escaping me as I felt more confused about having her here with me. She was me, right? And if she was me, shouldn't I hate her as much as I hate... myself, I guess? Or as much as I hated the one whose broken memories she currently possessed? That I gave to her because they were too much for me alone to handle and that I apparently didn't want?

Before I knew what happened, I had Tabetha-Me's arms wrapped around me and felt her awkwardly nuzzle me. My... heart, I think... gave a weird flutter at the show of... affection? It was affection, wasn't it? It felt weird to be on the receiving end of that, to be honest. Not only because she was sort of 'me' in the strictest sense, but also because... I never knew what it felt like to be loved by someone.

Was I... was I reading too much into this? This couldn't be what I thought it was, there was no way for it to be so. But... what if it was? What then?

She saw my confused and conflicted expression and let go of me, shuffling around on her hooves as she clearly didn't know what to say. She kind of looked like that typical nerdy girl that had no idea how to act around other people. Pretty much like me, if I were honest with myself. Not that I would ever admit to being an awkward nerdy girl around others. “I... you know, we never did these things with anyone after Mom and Dad... I mean Tabetha's parents... I... Was that too much?”

“No...” I whispered, grabbing her back into the embrace while giving her a (totally not) awkward nuzzle of my own, simply drifting in the moment. I didn't want it to end, it was addicting to be held and hold someone. The comfort of this heartfelt gesture felt like a balm on my soul, healing the worst of my scars with a soothing warmth. The feeling of loneliness... it had hurt me a lot. “It feels... kind of good. Really good. And you smell nice...”

“Thanks. Although... you do know that you still have that erection, right?” she whispered into my ear and I squeaked, blushing fiercely. I tried to move out of the embrace, but she kept me against herself, a totally 'evil' gleam in her eyes. “You know that I don't actually mind, right~?”

I actually did know that and she was very much aware of that fact, a mischievous little grin spreading on her muzzle. “Y-yeah...”

So much for not being into myself…

What does that actually say about me? My own damn split personality was hitting on me like there was no tomorrow and here I was, letting her do that. And, on top of that, I can't really say I was inclined to stop her, either. What the fuck was wrong with me? Was I… was I really that desperate for companionship?

“Did you know that we don't ejaculate sperm?” she asked me with a low hum, making me whimper against her. It was so close to my ear and I swear she made herself sound sultry on purpose with that heavenly voice of ours. “We ejaculate a clear fluid without any seeds...”

“W-why i-is that?” I asked back, slightly curious to know more about that particular oddity. My thirst for knowledge was rearing its ugly head and my clone smiled knowingly back at me.

“I think we are similar to a sexually mature virgin queen bee in that regard,” Tabetha-Me whispered, sounding thoughtful and so very sexy. “We haven't had our nuptial flight yet. We can't lay fertilized eggs with an empty spermatheca to make workers. We would only be able to lay regular unfertilized eggs for drones until then. Whether or not we could fertilize the eggs of other queens or workers by mating with them is still up for debate, though. It might be because we are a queen and simply can't because it isn't our purpose...”

“You mean like... what a new queen bee does? A mating flight to collect sperm to fill a sperm pouch? Do we have one of those? Or even more than one? D-Does this mean we will b-begin to lay eggs soon?” I asked, shuddering as she nipped my ear with a fang while letting out a somewhat confirming hum. “A-a-and w-why are y-you so bold right now?!”

“I was raised by a pervert,” she told me with a shrug, her tongue invading my ear with wet, slimy noises while I cringed inwardly as I was reminded of one particular memory of our... her... Tabetha's parents. One that was about her mother in particular. Tabetha was taught about the 'bees and the birds' at the same time as her older sister and their mother made it sound incredibly perverted because of how nervous she was.

"P-please, I-I-I..." I shuddered, desperately trying to keep my dick from throbbing needily and giving her more incentive to torture me like this. If this went on like this, I might just prostrate myself before her like a cat in heat, uncaring about the consequences of doing so. Already, I was tempted to do just that as my snatch cried out for attention while my dick felt like it was going to explode from all of the blood rushing towards it.

My doppelganger sucked her tongue back out of my ear, licking her lips with a small frown. “Do you not enjoy it? I mean... I could stop. I was just curious and you probably don't like me that way and I was probably a bit too forward and I probably...”

I interrupted her by placing a hoof over her muzzle, causing her to let out an embarrassed chirp with her wings. “Are you going to start rambling again if I remove my hoof?”

She shook her head, mumbling lowly against my hooves and I lifted my hoof away from her lips. Lips that looked strangely inviting for some reason. “I... uh... I... w-where were we?”

“Your lips...” I replied before my brain caught up with me and I let out a fake cough, trying to think of some believable lie that would explain why I just said that like an idiot.

“My lips?” she repeated, her cheek starting to lighten up in color, turning the almost black chitin into a grayish color. “I thought you weren't into yourself like that...”

“I'm not!” I said hastily, shaking my head in denial. “You're reading into... things...”

“Your little you is disagreeing~,” she teased me and I felt like my face was going to burn off any moment now. “Do you want help with that? You just have to... ask~.”

“I... I...” my voice failed me as I was left as a blubbering mess. Tabetha-Me grinned slightly, listening to my wings buzz furiously as my heart tried its best to grant me an early grave. I watched, unable to move in the slightest way, as she brought my head closer to hers, gulping in fearful anticipation as her muzzle approached mine.

Her lips brushed against my lips lightly and I was rigidly following her movements with my unblinking eyes, unsure what to do. Do I... do I kiss her back? I... I have never kissed anyone before! How... how do you move your mouth?! What... what do I do with my lips? Or how long is too long for a kiss? And what about my tongue? Do I use that?

I have no idea! For so long I craved exactly this... and now I didn't know what to do! The fact that I was technically kissing myself right now (more or less, I suppose) was almost forgotten entirely in my panic.

“Close your eyes,” she instructed me softly, cupping my cheek with a hoof and a kind smile. “Just follow what I do...”

I nodded stiffly and did what was asked of me. My eyelids fluttered closed and then I felt her hoof move over to my chin, guiding me slowly back to her lips. Once they touched, it felt like electricity ran through my body everywhere hers touched mine. Soon, I repeated her actions with my own and we picked up the pace from there.

Tabetha-Me hummed every once in a while and I opened my eyes slightly to take in the sight of my doppelganger. I don't know why, but... it didn't bother me at all that we were basically the same person. This was the weirdest moment in my life for like, probably... ever. This was selfcest, wasn't it? Or was it incest? Both? I'm so confused right now. I don't know, for some reason, it... it excited me, and, looking slightly down, I could tell that it excited my doppelganger as well.

But, at the same time, I knew that it was not because she was... Tabetha was my cousin in my previous life, I think... it wasn't because we had been family or because she was biologically 'me'. A remnant of my narcissistic old self that I tried to distance myself from couldn't help but enjoy it because she looked so much like me.

She was an aspect of me that I somehow gave Tabetha's old memories to so that I could make sense of which memories had originally been mine (as far as I could tell, that is). So, technically speaking, she wasn't even my cousin, to begin with. This mare before me was still very much me and could be classified as a separate personality based on another person's incomplete mess of memories. She was her own being... a clone of myself with slightly different memories, but her own being nonetheless.

A nagging voice in the back of my mind still said that this was technically incest (or selfcest, whatever). Sex with your clone wasn't 'masturbating', after all. I told that part of my brain to shut the hell up because, quite frankly, this was still a dream (even if the person in front of me was as real as I was). I wasn't going to let that stop me from enjoying this.

Tabetha-Me broke our kiss first, trailing a few down my chin as she gradually moved closer to my throbbing length. I watched her with nervous panting breaths as she got ever closer to the tip of my member and gulped thickly as she looked up to me, smiling lecherously.

She kissed my tip and I almost felt like I was going to ejaculate all over her from that alone. With a shaking hoof, I awkwardly grabbed the back of her head and she took that as her cue to open her lips to allow me entrance to the warm and wet depth of her muzzle. I shuddered as her thin tongue already began to assault my tip with a vigorous fervor.

Suffice to say, I didn't last for long. Alone the noises she made sucking on my dick had me at the edge of my orgasm in no time. And it felt absolutely heavenly shooting the sticky strings of my cum into her mouth, watching her gulp down the fluid eagerly.

Before long, my dick receded back from where it came from, leaving me feeling fuzzy all over. Tabetha-Me came back up to give me a little nuzzle and I leaned into it with a smile on my own muzzle.

“How was that?” she asked me, and, instead of answering, I decided to simply give her a kiss. My own hoof began to stroke her own member, causing her to let out a delighted gasp and I felt my mouth dry up in heavy anticipation at what I wanted to do. She had helped me with mine so it was only fair that I help her with hers, right? I... I don't care if it was degenerate, the only thing on my mind was taking that dick as far as I could.

“Uh... what are...” she began as I slowly trailed kisses all over her body like she had done to me not a minute ago, unsure whether to say something or to just watch me like I had watched her. I gave her a little wink before taking in the sight of her majestic tool, licking my lips nervously.

The only thought on my mind was to not screw this up somehow as I gave her length an experimental lick, not tasting anything in particular. Her arousal (and mine, I suppose) was apparently near tasteless despite smelling so incredibly good. I didn't know whether to be disappointed by that or not.

With a mental shrug, I decided to just go for it and opened my mouth, taking in only her tip at first. I was careful not to let my teeth touch her cock in any way, and, as I slowly started to bob my head up and down, going further down her rod with each successive movement (while being careful with my horn, duh), I noticed that I didn't have a gag reflex. Like... at all.

That only made things easier for me, I noted happily. I hummed and increased my pace, listening to her moan cutely and to the wings buzzing on my back. Unlike me, she lasted for a few minutes longer and once she was at her peak, she let me know. So, curious as I was, I returned to licking her tip furiously, eager to find out what that cum of ours would taste like.

After she started to let loose, shooting her thick load into my mouth, I could tell that it was as tasteless as her pre-cum had been. I reasoned with myself that that might change once we had our 'nuptial flight' and ignored my slight disappointment, letting her dick leave my mouth as it started to recede back to where it had come from.

She let out a happy little hum, clearly enjoying the little nuzzle that I gave her and she hugged me gratefully. “That was amazing, My Queen... Far better than when I did that with my hooves...”

“Your... Queen?” I asked, fidgeting slightly. It sounded... kind of arrogant. A warm flutter raced through my body, though. I did like it, to be honest. In the nickname kind of way... but... I don't want to revert back to my self-absorbed, narcissistic self without having put in an actual effort to better myself. Besides... I don't know whether I would still like it as an actual title and position. That thought seemed like a scary prospect.

“You haven't decided on a name yet and since we are the only one of our kind the tree gave birth to, we can thus only be the virgin queen of a new hive,” Tabetha-Me explained, giving me a smile. “We should find someone to mate with soon or we will only be able to lay drones, dooming our hive.”

“You are strangely eager for that,” I pointed out, raising my eyebrow at her. “Why is that?”

“I don't know...” she mumbled, tapping her chin thoughtfully with a hoof. “Instinct, I suppose? Don't you feel that need to start your own hive?”

“I... do,” I admitted, nodding slightly. It wasn't overwhelming (at least, not yet), but, now that she had pointed it out to me, I could feel a slight pull to find a suitable donor for... well... sperm. Preferably multiple donors. Like... a lot. The thought alone was making me hornier than I had been a few moments ago and I had to consciously put in an effort to not exclusively think with my snatch. “How do you think we should do this? We are still trapped in that cavern.”

“First, we should figure out how to fly,” she said. “Then we can still worry about that. What do you think about going to that settlement we had seen in the Realm of Death?”

“That... that is a way better name than what I came up with,” I muttered, feeling slightly pouty. My doppelganger smiled comfortingly, rubbing my shoulder with her hoof slowly.

The contact with her was a welcome one and I had to wonder why that was. I went from absolutely hating Tabetha's guts to guilty about stealing her memories to trying to make amends with the representation of her memory and now to slight infatuation with someone that was basically myself! Somehow, I found it within myself to forgive her for building that machine, but... that's the thing, wasn't it? The 'Tabetha' in front of me wasn't the one that had built it. She was me, slightly different, but still me in a way. A mix of me and the broken memories of Tabetha.

The mare that was in front of me was likable, loving, and actually tried to be helpful. She wasn't the Tabetha that had no regard for whether or not I wanted to go into that damn machine, she wasn't the Tabetha that did anything to get at the knowledge that she wanted. She wasn't the type that actually would build a doomsday device just because she could. My 'Tabetha' wasn't obsessed with getting her old family back but wanted to have a new one instead. With me as her Queen.

She was... loyal. That's something I could very much appreciate. “So... what do you think I should name myself? You have the better ideas, clearly.”

“You seemed pretty fond of the spiders and the bees in the cave,” she hummed, starting to pace back and forth in front of me. Another thing that I liked about her were her flanks... they were gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful. Perfectly shaped, strong, swaying ever so slightly... How could I not stare at them all day long? “How about Araneae Apidae then? It is a very... majestic~... name and has a nice meaning to it. We could make Apidae into our new family name as well, sort of like a completely new start without the worries of our past life.”

“You really do love your sciency words,” I quipped, smirking back at her pout. “I like it, though. The Arachnid Bee... I agree that Apidae fits us far better than Baker, that's for sure.”

“I'm glad that it pleases you, My Queen,” she responded, giving me a half-lidded gaze. I bit my lip, trying to ignore the aching need of my marehood. “What about me then?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, fidgeting as she sashayed over to me with a little gleam in her eyes.

“A name,” she said, poking my chest with a hoof slightly as she looked up at me with those gorgeous slit purple eyes. “I don't enjoy being reminded of her misdeeds every time you say my name, thinking about her and what that machine did to us.”

“Oh... o-okay,” I agreed, shuddering as I was losing the battle with my needy snatch. Not that I ever stood a chance in the first place. “H-how about... uh... I... d-damnit, you're too sexy, I can't think straight. M-maybe Arachne?”

“Hmm... I do like the name. It reminds me of you, and, in a sense, it is even fitting, isn't it? In Greek and Roman mythology, Arachne was punished for her transgressions and turned into a spider. Her arrogance led to her downfall like it did to 'me'. I think... I think I will choose to take on the name, then. Besides, it will also serve as a reminder to never become so arrogant as to temper with souls again. Very well, I shall be your faithful Arachne, My Queen,” she said with a smile, giving me a deep bow.

“N-no need to bow. P-please?” I stammered and gulped thickly as she gave me a lustful smile before invading my personal space again. “I-I... I... uh...”

“Do I have you flustered, My Queen?” she whispered softly, a sly smile on her muzzle as she slowly traced circles over my chitin with her hoof. “Should I... stop?”

“N-no,” I whispered, desperately trying to get my mouth to move despite the sudden numbness. <Continue...>

“I... how did you do that?” she asked me, her previous seductive behavior gone completely. Instead, her excitement to learn new things returned and I suppressed the slightly disappointed feeling welling up within me. “Was that a mental message?”

“I... think so?” I responded unsurely. “My mouth started to feel too numb for some reason, I couldn't answer but... but I wanted you to keep going so much, it was frustrating me to no end. Somehow I was still able to 'say' something, it was... weird. I don't know how I did it...”

“Interesting,” Arachne muttered while a million thoughts were no doubt racing through that pretty little head of hers. It was honestly endearing in its own way. Her dedication to figuring out everything about us was admirable and it made me only... was it love? I couldn't tell for certain, but it felt right to call this feeling I had for her 'love' despite having no idea what love was actually supposed to feel like. Since meeting her, I have felt nothing but affection and companionship for her, so maybe it wasn't even that far of a stretch to say that I've been falling in love with her. And this feeling only got stronger the more time I spent around her. Besides, I sucked her dick and enjoyed it like nothing else, I was way past the point of no return with her, wasn't I? <Can you hear me?>

Her message startled me out of my thoughts about my confused feelings for her and I nodded, causing her to dance giddily. If I wasn't so turned on right now, I would have called her 'artfully hopping around' cute. “How do we do that? Is it because of this dream?”

“I think I figured it out!” she said, ignoring my question as she rapidly started to ramble to herself. I was unable to make out a single coherent sentence, so I simply shoved my hoof in her muzzle. <Hey!>

“Explain,” I demanded, tired of being left out of her enlightenment. My command made her... did she actually just moan? Did she... Of course, she also had that kind of kink, why was I even surprised? I had her memories, I should have known that she really liked being both submissive and dominant.

What did that say about me?

<Of course, My Queen,> she nodded and I lifted my hoof away from her. “I think it has to do with mutual consent. I couldn't communicate with you earlier in the waking world because I hadn't gotten your permission to do so yet. You were unaware of my existence and thus, I couldn't talk with you over the mental connection we share.”

“So, if I don't want to speak with you, you are unable to send messages to me?” I clarified and got her to nod hesitantly.

“We would have to test this, of course,” she admitted, rubbing her hooves awkwardly together. “Maybe if you tried to ignore me?”

“Okay, then,” I said, giving her the go-ahead to send me another mental message. I waited for a few moments while concentrating on keeping her 'out', so to speak, and, as she said, nothing happened. “Well, that could prove useful knowledge...”

“Right,” Arachne agreed, nodding quickly. “And I also have a theory about this place.”

“And what would that be?” I inquired, raising a brow.

she replied, an adorable little grin on her muzzle. <This place is the mental representation of our very hive. It isn't a dream at all! Eee!>

<That would also explain why I'm able to see what I look like in here,> I responded thoughtfully. <And why we don't have any trouble speaking. Try moving your mouth to say something entirely different than what you actually want to say.>

“Like this?” she said, her muzzle moving bizarrely like she actually just tried to sing 'La la la!', instead. “This feels really weird.”

“It looks really weird,” I commented, shuddering as it started to creep me out. “It looks like you are a bad ventriloquist. Or a very good one, I suppose.”

“I guess we could train how to speak and how to fly here in the hive mind, then?” Arachne proposed and I nodded. Muscle memory should hopefully translate over to the waking world if this place was indeed more real than a dream.

“But first, you are going to satisfy your Queen,” I growled lightly, shoving my tongue into her mouth as she let out a startled squeak. Judging by the moan that followed, I wasn't doing too bad with my tongue and it only spurred me on further, exploring her mouth eagerly. <Do tell me if I'm being too rough with you, my little Arachne. I've never done this before.>

<You're doing fine, My Queen,> she responded, throwing her hooves around my neck. <How would you like to be pleased~?>

<Fuck me,> I commanded her and saw her shudder. <Your Queen wants you to fuck her like she is your little slut to be used.>

<For someone claiming to never have done this before, you certainly know how to talk to get me excited down there,> she replied with a trembling moan. <It is unbecoming of a Queen to submit herself to her inferiors, though...>

<Are you questioning my command?> I asked her, trying to sound threatening and failing miserably at it. It just made me sound incredibly petulant. Maybe I should add a growl or hiss to the threat? I should practice being commanding if for nothing else than roleplay purposes.

<No, My Queen,> she denied with a little bit of hesitation. <Your loyal subject shall do as asked of her.>

“Good,” I said, breaking the kiss. I kept an eye on Arachne as I slowly and teasingly turned around, delighting in the fact that her limbs were trembling in anticipation. A quick glance downwards told me that she was already rock-hard. Even more so as I briefly brushed her muzzle with my tail as I presented her with my weeping entrance. She stood still as a statue and I saw her pupils shrink even further than the narrow slits they had been before. <Are you just going to stand there?>

“N-no,” Arachne replied shakily. “I... Are you sure I should be the one rutting you?”

“Rutting?” I giggled. “You make it sound so animalistic, my Princess.”

“P-princess?” she asked, lighting up oh-so-beautifully.

“If I shall be the Queen of our hive, you shall be its Princess,” I said, a feeling of purpose filling me. “Your sole duty is to keep your Queen and hive happy and healthy. To bring about prosperity and amass any and all knowledge you can so that we may live in comfort, thus making our hive into the envy of everyone gazing upon it.”

“As you wish, My Queen,” she nodded, stepping lightly forward to nuzzle my vagina in an almost reverent fashion.

As I felt her tongue start licking me around where my clit was, I started to get... impatient. <Don't just use your tongue, Arachne... use what our dear 'mother' gifted us with.>

“O-okay,” she stuttered, shuffling around awkwardly.

“What is the matter? Where is that eager seductress?” I grumbled, giving her a small glare as she kept me waiting.

“I...” Arachne hesitated. “I don't feel nearly worthy enough of doing this with you... S-sex like this should be shared with the one that captures your heart...”

“Oh?” I muttered. “Was the 'we should mate with the next best source of sperm as soon as we can' just empty talk then?”

“N-no...” she winced.

“What is your real reason, then?” I asked back, huffing in annoyance. "Because to me, it feels like my heart couldn't have found a better person to share this bond with. I like you... a lot. Please, don't... don't prove my old selves' tendency to mistrust anyone and everyone to be right. I can't take that, Arachne."

“I... you're right, Araneae. I really like you a lot, too, but... if I do this... no, if we do this...” Arachne started and gulped, giving me an apprehensive and concerned look. If I didn't know better, I would have even thought she was pitying me. “I think you will lose the last remnant of what we previously were. I was... Tabetha was the only female one in that machine. I... Are you sure, My Queen?”

“I... I am,” I answered slowly while my gaze wandered down to the ground. Not because I felt like I was hesitating or doubting myself but because I realized I was absolutely truthful with my words. “I think that, deep down, I knew about that and tried to cling on to the misguided belief that I wasn't quite certain of whether or not I was male or female. It doesn't really matter anymore, does it? I'm not bound to which sex I previously had, I'm free of such constrictions. Whenever I look back at my old human self, I feel detached about... everything, really. My sex, my gender, my relationships with others... nothing about it actually matters anymore. And that's the thing, my Princess. We aren't humans anymore, we aren't Tabetha, we aren't Tobias... and we aren't Sam. Maybe we were never meant to be male or female in the first place. Maybe... maybe this is what we were supposed to be all along. I, for one, never felt particularly 'manly' to begin with and I suspect I'm not alone in feeling like this. I'm sure you saw what I saw when I sifted through some of Tobias' memories, so... I think it is time for us to move on and accept our new life. We can be whatever we want.”

“Move on, huh?” she mumbled, biting her lip. “We will have to find a suitable donor for sperm... it would be for the best if we aren't a complete virgin for that.”

“Yes,” I nodded, smiling gently. “Now, I know one head of yours is eager to get on with this... so are you going to make me wait even longer, my faithful Princess?”

“No, My Queen,” she answered, her eyes filled with determination. And her body followed suit, swiftly rearing up on her hind legs while placing her hooves on my flanks in order to not fall over. “Are you ready?”

“Arachne...” I warned her and she let out a sheepish laugh, moving forward. My wings buzzed happily as her dick started to pierce my depths steadily. It felt... a bit more different than what I had expected at first, but definitely not bad. Not bad at all. Most of my pleasure came from right at the entrance, but the movements of her sliding in further were nice as well.

Right as she hilted herself, I let out a satisfied murmur at the feeling of... closeness... with her. Out of everything, I drew the most pleasure out of that in comparison to my body's reactions to her touch (not that I wasn't absolutely loving the feeling of her dick buried within me). It was just so... fulfilling... to feel someone else so close to you. The intimacy of it all was just... intoxicating. Heavenly. Magnificent.

My Princess snickered quietly as I let out a heavy moan once she got the idea to buzz her wings as well, nearly overwhelming me with the vibrations running through her rod. It took me all of my concentration just to keep standing and even then, I almost lost the fight completely against my legs as they threatened to give out from underneath me. It was like they had just turned into jelly, my Princess was that good.

To be honest, the delightful sensation of her pulsing, vibrating dick was driving me absolutely crazy for her and was certainly enough to make me go cross-eyed on the spot. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before and I never wanted to go without this glorious feeling from this day onward.

I let out a whine as Arachne started to withdraw and I tried to move back against her so I could keep her in, to keep feeling this closeness to her. Alas, she put a quick stop to that, holding me back from following through with my desire to feel her in me by forcing her to stay.

My sweet Princess smirked back at me as I turned my head to give her a pleading look, and, before I could register her smirk widening, she quickly thrust back in with her full length, making my eyes go wide in surprise.

My gasp swiftly turned into shrieking moans as she did it again and again, pumping her member back in and out eagerly with groans of her own. The twitching shaft within me massaged my walls wonderfully, and, aside from our panting breaths and lusty moans and grunts, our wings displayed our pleasure quite loudly as well. My faithful Princess was hitting all the right spots, trying to satisfy her Queen thoroughly.

She didn't need to try too hard, I was a puddle of bliss almost immediately as she began to increase her pace to a more frantic one and I was very much impressed by her ministrations. She was doing her best to stimulate my needy sex everywhere where I was most sensitive and I'm not ashamed to say that she made me into an absolute nymphomaniac from that day onward. If sex was this great, I never wanted to go a day of my life without having it.

And the great thing about our hive mind? We couldn't physically exhaust ourselves for long in the mental representation of it, our recovery rate boosted to a ridiculously high degree. An orgasm wouldn't cause us to get tired to the point of not being able to continue, and, soon enough, she made me go through one after another by simultaneously stimulating my entrance each time she bucked herself against me, making my body literally quake at how powerful some of them felt.

My Princess was an absolute beast as she hammered her dick into me repeatedly, fucking me senseless. I swear, my pussy was raw by the time she shot her last load into me. That didn't bother me, though, as I grabbed my sweetheart into a hug while I was buzzing my wings happily in satisfaction.

Her cum continued to pool out of me for what felt like an hour. I didn't care that I continued to lie in my and Arachne's cum as I snuggled her lovingly, talking with her about unimportant things that popped into my head. To be honest, I just wanted to bask in the afterglow for as long as I could before I needed to get my little flying situation under control.

I didn't even want to think about the waking world at all, at the moment. I hoped I would wake up with my horn fully healed, but I had little hope for that. It was unlikely that it had miraculously healed completely, although I couldn't actually rule that possibility out before I knew how long it would take my body to heal wounds like that on average.

For all I know, I have regenerative powers like Spider-Man. I wasn't bitten by a genetically modified spider, but... considering I was part spider, did I even have to be? I had no idea how long I was in that tree before I regained consciousness, for all I know it could have only been a few days since the tree ate my soul and stuffed it into my new body. That would at least suggest accelerated growth to some degree. And with accelerated growth came accelerated healing.

I have no idea how long I would be able to enjoy this little starter handicap for this new life of mine. Insects like bees mature remarkably quickly from their larval stage and I kind of skipped that part of my new buggy life, didn't I? Or at least, I was unaware of going through it, only gaining consciousness as I was done with the metamorphosis process. I was quite thankful for that, I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed being aware during all of that.

“You really did... that?” a voice interrupted us from our peaceful relaxation and I opened my eyes to find the annoyed glare of another look-alike of myself. “You know how wrong this is, Tabetha. And you, I would have definitely expected you to be better than... than this.”

“So... you are the part of us that represents the memories we have of 'Tobias', then, huh?” I sighed, grumbling to myself as I got reluctantly back up on my hooves.

“It's Arachne now,” my Princess corrected the... you know, we should find a name for our species, too, while we were already at it... for now, I'll just say bug-horse. Yeah, we really need a better name, I'm so bad at this. “And that's our Queen you are talking to.”

“You gave yourself a new name?!” Tobias-Me sneered, snorting angrily while pushing 'his' long mane behind an ear in a kind of... haughty? In a kind of arrogantly disdainful way, I guess. “Have you lost your humanity altogether now?”

“I have decided to adapt to our new environment and change with it,” Arachne shot back indignantly. “If that isn't a 'human' thing, then I don't know what is.”

“It's... we...” Tobias-Me growled, stumbling over their words. “We are horses, damnit! Insect horses, at that! Don't you think we should try to find a way back?! Reverse this... this... this travesty?!”

“And how do you propose we do that?” I asked, raising a brow. Tobias-Me narrowed their pink eyes at me, about to say something, but I didn't give them the chance to do so. “We are in a completely different universe. Even if we find our way back to our Earth, a task so monumentally outrageously impossible in the damn fucking multiverse, we would still be a 'bug-horse'! How do you intend to change that?”

“I-I...” Tobias-Me stammered, nervously shuffling backward while shaking their head in denial as I stalked my way over to them. “T-there must be a way! We could... I... uh... We could...”

“We could do what?” I challenged Tobias-Me, my muzzle moving closer to theirs as I bared my fangs threateningly at them.

“W-w-we could...” Tobias-Me gulped, thinking desperately of something that would magically fix our situation. “We could rebuild that machine! If it worked one way, it must also...”

I didn't need to hear the rest of that sentence, snorting angrily as I shoved them hard against the wall I backed them up against, growling fiercely. “You would dare?! You remember as well as I do what that despicable thing did to us!”

“I-I...” Tobias-Me whimpered, but I was having none of it.

“Admit it,” I snarled, forcing them to look at me. “We are here for good and we have a purpose. Our humanity died with us on Earth, stop clinging on to the idea of ever retrieving it by going back.”

“But what should we do then?!” they cried out angrily, hitting my chest weakly with their hoof. Tears started forming in the corner of their eyes and I felt slightly guilty for... for falling back into being mean. But I had to open up their eyes somehow to the truth.

We would never return to Earth and we couldn't delude ourselves into thinking that we could. It would only drive us insane in a mad quest to search for a dust speck in the middle of infinitely similar dust specks in a sea of infinite other dust specks. Utterly impossible, that was what it was. If we even find a way to traverse the multiverse in the first place.

“First, we survive,” I answered, letting them go. “We adapt and survive, no matter what. It is imperative for our survival to change how we see the world. This isn't Earth and all of us saw the things in the Realm of Death! This world is inhabited by mythological creatures and we are one of them now, too!”

“What do we do once we have our survival secured, then?” Tobias-Me snorted. “This world is primitive in comparison to ours. You can't say you want to actually live in it. We are... we are a fucking insect, damnit!”

“So you would instead wither away?” I questioned them, causing them to wilt and deflate. “Because that sounds so much better.”

“I just...” Tobias-Me sighed, looking down to the ground dejectedly. “I want to go home... I don't know what to do here. I'm... I'm not... not this weird bug-horse thing and... I'm n-not a... not a girl, I-I... I can't be! I'm a scientist that develops weapons based on fringe sciences, for fuck's sake! What am I supposed to do..?”

“Move on, learn, and live. That is, if we manage to get out of that damn cave. Besides, look at what good those 'weapons' had done for humanity,” I growled, angry that my own doppelganger would dare to bring that up. Tobias kinda... was 'a bit' of a monster. I had hoped that the memory representation of my 'father' was... different. I still held out hope that my doppelganger was better than that, I knew they could be. Otherwise... I wasn't sure whether or not I deserved redemption if a part of me was already beyond it. Tobias-Me can be different just like Arachne was different from the actual Tabetha, I have to believe that with all of my heart. We weren't them and never would be and we shouldn't strive to act like them when we can become something new, and, more importantly, better. “Tabetha used to clean up the messes the company Tobias worked for caused. Massive Dynamic hurt a lot of people 'in the name of science and advancement', you can't tell me that you want to go back to that.”

My double bit their lip and sighed, ears drooping. “No... I don't...”

“Then I implore you, be better than that asshole you have the broken memories of,” I said and gave them a soft smile as I gently lifted their head up by the chin. “You are better than that. We are better than that. Arachne and I will start our own hive no matter what. You won't change our determination to thrive in this world, so please... work with us.”

“What would you have me do?” they asked, fidgeting. “I don't know one thing about how to start a hive.”

“But you do know how to create things to defend those you love,” I pointed out, making them perk up slightly. “You shall be the guardian to keep the hive safe from threats. You will be the... Prince... that shall take up arms and become the Protector of the Hive. What do you say?”

“I...” Tobias-Me looked from me over to Arachne and then back to me again, thinking for a few minutes before giving me a resolute nod. “I shall not disappoint you... My Queen.”

“Do you...” Arachne spoke up hesitantly, rubbing her hoof nervously over her other foreleg. “Do you also want to have a new name? I know I didn't like to keep calling myself by her name. He wasn't really a good person, you shouldn't cling to his name like that. We... we don't want you to become like him if you continue to try to be like him when you are not. You can be a girl if you want to?”

“I... Must I?” he... my Prince asked, warily. I could see tears appearing in the corner of their eyes and concern welled up within me for my doppelganger. Just what happened to make them so afraid? “I don't... I'm not a girl, okay? I'm not... I can't be, otherwise I-I..."—My doppelganger winced, a look of horror in their eyes, and I felt pity for them as they shook their head in denial—" I-I mean, you are kind of right, the thought of being him does bother me, but... I don't want to lose my humanity... my... m-my identity... I... I'm not a girl. I can't, I'm not allowed to... I-I... Please, I'll be a good boy, just... d-don't... don't hurt me, d-don't! Please!”

"Nobody is going to do anything to you," Arachne insisted, a horrified look in her eyes. I felt quite the same, sick to the stomach that our doppelganger would think we would try to do something so despicable. "You don't have to try living as someone you aren't."

"I..." they whimpered, squeezing their eyes shut to keep some kind of imaginary monster out. "I-I can't! I h-have to be a g-good boy, I..."

“Continue on clinging to that and you won't ever be able to live with yourself like this. Nobody here is going to judge you, dear,” I said, letting out a saddened sigh. I have never seen someone deny who they were deep down so vehemently, it hurt me to see my doppelganger like that, and not only because of the question about 'his' gender. Fucking hell, this was just... bad. I was genuinely at a loss for what to do here and it seriously bugged me. While I really wanted to crack that egg open forcefully, it would probably be for the best to let them come to that realization in their own time. No one was going to hurt her for wanting to be who they wanted to be. That would be... cruel. Everyone has the right to decide whatever they want to do with their own life as long as they don't hurt anybody else in the process. “You don't have to choose a buggy name if you don't want to. You don't even have to decide right now, but at some point, it would be for the best to leave Tobias behind and become your own being. You don't have to be a shadow of him, my... Prince.”

“I-I think that's fair,” he nodded while letting out a nervous shuddering breath, sending me a hesitant look afterward. “I... I do want to create a legacy of my own. W-with... with you and... and Arachne, now, I guess.”

“If you want my opinion,” I started, slowly embracing him. Despite his skittishness, I felt him slowly relax into my grasp with a little content sigh (even though he tried to hide it from me). “You will do great. You are as dedicated to protecting those you hold close to your heart as Arachne is dedicated to keeping this hive healthy and prosperous. I have no doubt that, with the knowledge that both of you have, we will thrive in no time. You don't have to worry about anything, dear.”

“Araneae is right,” Arachne smiled. “I know pretty much a lot about things that could help us grow and you know a lot about killing stuff. None shall threaten our hive. We're going to have the biggest family we could have ever wanted, a family so large that it would make the actual Tabetha and Tobias jealous of us. Ohh! This is so exciting, I can't wait!”

I rolled my eyes with a good-natured smile on my muzzle as she clapped her hooves together happily and I saw my Prince(ss) start to smile genuinely, too. They will make great advisors, no doubt about that.

“Did you have a name in mind?” he asked us while nervously playing around with his hair. I raised a brow and gave him a look, asking him if he truly had changed his mind so fast about that. I might have actually asked him over the mental hive link, now that I thought about it. He did look a bit startled as if he had just heard a disembodied voice. “I... was that you? How did you do that?”

Or he actually did hear my voice, after all. “Direct your thoughts at me.”

<You mean l-like this?> he asked in uncertainty and I nodded with a smile. “How does that even work?”

“Beats me,” I shrugged, keeping Arachne's mouth shut with a hoof as she was about to go off on a rant. “And I don't actually want to know.”

<You're being mean to me, My Queen,> she pouted and I giggled, booping her muzzle with my own.

“As for your question, my Prince,” I began, returning my attention to him. “I think I might have a name in mind.”

“What name would that be, My Queen?” he asked, a skeptical look in his eyes.

“There was a fictional character I remember vaguely from a video game,” I said, shifting awkwardly on my hooves as he gave me a deadpan look. “A wild god by the name of Shadra, the Venom Queen. She is depicted to be a cunning infiltrator, blending into the shadows and spinning a web around those in power, listening to their every dirty secret.”

“Queen?” he asked me, uneasily. I suppressed the sigh that wanted to force itself out of me and reminded myself that I should be patient. Even if it was painful seeing the sheer denial in my doppelganger. “Why the name of a... I... but...”

“You are as much a female as you are a male now, my Prince,” I told them. I could see it in their eyes, they truly wanted to accept it, but... something was holding them back from acknowledging it. Whatever it was, I really wanted to tell 'him' to just... “Get over it. You can present yourself however you want, but don't pretend to be something you are not. It will only lead to more heartache, dear.”

“Do I have to?” they whimpered. My heart quivered a bit at the sight of them being sad and a little part of me pointed out I was being cruel again by forcing them to accept their existence, but the majority of me was concerned for my doppelganger. Concerned because I feared that they would never leave this delusion of returning to 'his' old body behind them and continue to feel miserable for themself for the rest of their... our life.

“At some point, you will have to,” I said, sighing sadly. “I'm sorry that I push you so much, but I... I want us to embrace this new life and not dwell on the past. Besides... having both is far superior, it's scientifically proven.”

“By whom?” he asked, frowning slightly.

“By Arachne and myself,” I shot back, grinning lecherously. “You don't have to be ashamed about wanting to be a mare, dear. Embrace it and I will make you feel good, my Prince~...”

“At least you call me by Prince...” he sighed, fidgeting as he started to blush as I gave him bedroom eyes. “Could we... take this slowly? One step at a time? I... I mean, Shadra sounds kinda nice and doesn't sound like it is necessarily a female name. I actually like the name by itself... I... I don't... I just can't... be a girl...”

“I will stuff that snatch of yours with dick at one point, one way or another,” I promised him, whispering hotly into his ear and hearing him squeak back at me with that wonderful voice, and his wings let out a little chirp at the same time. “I will have you sing for me, my beautiful Princess.”

“This isn't r-right, t-though,” Shadra stuttered, blushing furiously as I extended my tongue out, running it over 'her' ear without actually touching them. I saw Shadra try to get me to actually lick her by moving even closer to me despite 'his' adamant refusal to deny me their body. “I-I mean... I... I r-remember being your f-father, t-this is w-w-wrong!”

“You remember it,” I said, running my hoof sensually over their jawline. That little whimper they let out was a delight to my ears, and I wished, truly wished, they would just accept their true self right now so that we could have some… fun~. Alas, I'd rather have them admit that out of their own free will. It wouldn't do to force their decision like that. What I could do, though, was to point out their little… misconception. “But the simple truth is that you aren't my father. You are, in the most simplest ways, an aspect of me I subconsciously gave life to, created with nothing but stolen memories. You do remember things from Tabetha's viewpoint, don't you? Or mine~? You. Are. Me.”

“That's still incest, though,” he pointed out and I rolled my eyes back at him.

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “But sex feels too good for me to care whether or not it would be incest, selfcest, or whatever one wants to call it to fuck yourself. Besides, Arachne pointed out that we are physically built to fertilize the eggs of other queens and workers. Why do you think we have both parts?”

“I... I-I don't know?” he squeaked, trying to avoid meeting my burning gaze of desire only to glance at what Arachne was currently playing with. My Princess most certainly enjoyed the show (and, from the looks of it, Arachne wasn't the only one that did so~). “But... wouldn't that mean... if we are t-the only Q-Queen, that... t-that other workers w-would be...”

“Shh... It is our duty to ensure the survival of this hive,” I whispered hotly, brushing my muzzle against his slightly. “I don't want it to be filled by mindless drones whose only purpose is to... what do drones actually do?”

“Mate with other virgin queens of different hives and die,” Arachne provided helpfully and I grimaced at the thought. “At least, the drones of honey bees do that, from what I can remember at the moment...”

“Okay, then,” I muttered. “We actually have no idea what our drones would be useful for once we have them. I refuse to believe they'll be mindless sex slaves for other queens.”

“They could always defend the hive if there is nothing else they could do? Besides, I hardly think they are going to be mindless, that would be... I don't know. There has to be more to this than what Arachne remembers from Earth,” Shadra proposed and I gave my Prince a tentative nod. I wasn't entirely convinced whether or not they would be all that useful for that if the whole purpose of a drone was to fuck and die as Arachne proposed, but Shadra was onto something there. We were a completely different species to bees (or any known insect, for that matter), we couldn't predict anything about us or our future swarm accurately. “You were the one that told me we couldn't entirely rely on our knowledge because this isn't our old universe, so I don't think that fertilizing the eggs of our workers is... can't at least the drones do that, instead? They would be our own kids, for fuck's sake!”

“Right... you might have a point there, Shadra. We will have to see about the purpose of our drones then, I suppose. Although... if we don't screw this up utterly, we should be the only one that needs to lay eggs to keep the hive from dying out, right?” I said, looking over to my Princess, noticing that she was nearing her peak and I suppressed an eager grin as I saw just where that dick of hers was pointing towards. Now that was going to result in some interesting... shenanigans.

"I mean, as far as I remember, the queen of a beehive was the only one laying eggs. Workers usually... Mhnn~... usually got rid of eggs that... t-that weren't laid by her but another w-worker," Arachne admitted while a few cute little grunts left her throat and I laughed silently as my Princess let out a spray of cum as she finally set herself off, making Shadra jump away from her in surprise. My little Prince(ss) grimaced as some of it landed right on... ugh, 'his'... chest and forelegs and pouted as soon as he saw my look.

“Aww, look at you. So cute with cum all over you~.”

“I hate you,” he grumbled weakly and both Arachne and I snickered at him. He tried to hide it, but I could tell he was turned on by it. His tail was notably raised and his wings were buzzing up a storm while his muzzle was lighting up considerably.

“Anyway, as fun and enlightening as this debate has been,” I began, stretching my limbs out in the process. I so did not want to do this, but I had to get it over with at some point. “I still need to learn how to fly. All of this talk of starting a hive won't matter if we can't get our flanks out of that damn hole.”

Arachne was at my side immediately, eagerly chirping with her wings. “I'm sure we can help you learn to fly in no time, My Queen!”

“I'm glad to have such a faithful Princess at my side, in that case,” I smiled, feeling slightly less apprehensive about this now, but still not looking forward to this at all. “Let's get this over with before I have to wake up.”

Suffice to say, face met road. A lot.

At least my chitin absorbed most of the impact. It frustrated me to no end that it took me hundreds of attempts, and, with each new thing I tried to incorporate with the helpful advice from my eager Princess, I learned all over again what the damn ground looked like from up close. As well as what it tasted like.

I might have taken my frustration out on Arachne by fucking her senseless just like she had done with me. Shadra looked on from the sidelines, trying to hide his erection (while at the same time subtly rubbing it between his forelegs, that naughty, naughty 'Prince'~) as I abused the tight snatch of my Princess thoroughly. I didn't notice it at the time, but at some point, that cum Arachne had left on him had mysteriously 'disappeared'. One has to wonder where it disappeared to, I mused silently in amusement.

One day... one day, Shadra would beg me to fuck them like that, too. I could see the resolve already faltering in their eyes and it wouldn't be too long until it crumbled away entirely. Until that day, I would do it with Arachne as much as possible right next to my beautiful 'Prince', slowly wearing away their determination to keep 'himself' pure until they would moan like the little girl that 'she' was as soon as they came to me asking to take care of their needs.

Mmhh~... I couldn't wait to have Shadra beg me to stuff their snatch full with my cock. I'm going to reduce them to a quivering mess, blubbering happily away as I leave them in a puddle of cum after I've fucked them so much and so thoroughly that they are going to be reduced to nothing more than a slut that's constantly hungry for cock. And then, as a simple and sweet reward for being such a good little fuck toy, I'm going to suck Shadra off until they are unable to utter a single sound after I'm done with them, leaving them in a state of utter bliss. Maybe then they will admit who they actually are deep down, unafraid to be who she wants to be. There was no reason for her to still present herself as a... stallion now, I suppose... when I could clearly see that she didn't want to do so.

I would find out what was keeping Shadra from acknowledging that part of herself. That good boy bullshit had to be some deep psychological trauma from her... Tobias' early childhood. Although... I had a feeling and I wasn't really sure if I wanted to find out. Still, it would be for the best to address that hurt at some point and work through it. Shadra deserved to be happy just as much as Arachne and I. It wouldn't do to burden our new life with such deep-running scars from our old one, after all.

And then... then I will create the greatest hive to have ever existed in this strange and unique world with Shadra and Arachne at my side. I am Queen Araneae and this... is the beginning of our story. It began with my tragic death but it will continue on with this glorious new life of mine.

Chapter 002 - A glorious revelation.

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My training did pay off, thankfully. Despite the slight headache after awakening in the cave, I was able to finally reach that damn hole in the ceiling. As soon as I did, I latched on to my freedom with an almost desperate intensity.

<My Queen?> Arachne asked, her voice full of worry. <Are you okay?>

<Tired...> I responded in exhaustion. Even with hours of training in the hive, it did take me over an hour and more than one (or two... or possibly more than, say... fifteen... twenty?) attempts to achieve my first goal. While it was great that we couldn’t exhaust ourselves for long in our mental headspace thingy, it left much to be desired trying to learn the limits of our new body.

Not being able to gauge for how long we could realistically go on was quite the detriment when you got used to being able to do anything for however long you wanted in your little dream world (well, almost anything, physics do still apply there). Not that I wasn’t grateful for having the hive mind, but... it was oh-so-easy to develop a god-complex in there. The feeling of invincibility... of not feeling any kind of crippling exhaustion... if one wasn’t careful, it could become addicting quite fast. My ego certainly wouldn’t survive the inevitable crash of something like that, that much I was certain of.

<How does your horn feel?> my Princess inquired, causing me to moan pathetically in distress. Another thing I definitely didn’t miss feeling in the hive mind was head-splitting amounts of pain. <That bad?>

<It doesn’t send piercing hot stabs of agony to my brain anymore,> I told her, wincing as I was immediately proven wrong, a gasp escaping my muzzle with a whimper. <N-not constantly anymore, I mean.>

<Well, it isn’t broken, so that is good?> she said unsurely, clearly at a loss as to what to do in order to help me. Not that she could from the backseat of my mind.

<We shouldn’t linger so long in the forest, My Queen,> Shadra commented, worried. <While we are a predator in nature, we don’t know what lurks in these woods at night. It's better to tread with caution and avoid confrontation at all costs.>

I sighed, reluctantly getting up on my hooves, ignoring the headache and the tears in the corner of my eyes. I could moan and bitch about it as long as I wanted, it wouldn’t get me anywhere, in the end. There was work to be done and precious little time to accomplish it. <Where should we go to find water?>

<We could go to the mountain city,> Arachne proposed.

<Survival first, please,> Shadra mumbled, embarrassed. <You two can do... that... once we aren’t going to die of dehydration. For that matter, we should find food as well before even thinking of mating with fucking horses of all things. It's disgusting and I bet they don't even know about hygiene and shit like that. It would be just our luck to end up with some kind of STD from their filthy... urgh, I don't even want to think about it.>

<They are a means to an end, Shadra> I said, cautiously moving through the underbrush of the dense forest. My ears kept swiveling in every direction, every noise causing me to jump nervously in fright. Even with the eyes of a predator, everything looked incredibly dark in here. I definitely wasn’t a fan of the dark, not after spending an eternity in it. <And it’s not like they aren’t at least somewhat intelligent if they can build a settlement with natural barriers in mind. It isn’t bestiality if they can give consent, idiot. And people washed themselves in the middle ages, too, you know?>

<Hmph,> my... 'Prince'... grunted and I had the distinct impression she... I mean 'he'... was pouting haughtily again. For all that he insisted on presenting ‘himself’ in a masculine way, Shadra sure wasn’t doing a good job at keeping that lie upright.

<Araneae is right, Shadra,> Arachne giggled. <If it is intelligent, it is fair game~.>

<You two are dirty perverts,> they grumbled petulantly. <A bunch of nymphomaniacs, I swear.>

<I’m not going to risk us only being able to lay drones, whether they are intelligent or not,> I growled silently to myself. The more I thought about it, the more fearful of such a future I became. My very being rebelled against the idea of only being able to produce drones, dooming the survival of our hive from the get-go. <This hive is everything we have and I won’t let it die out before we even had the chance to properly establish it. It is my responsibility as Queen to see our future secured and that means making sure I won’t be the first and last Queen to exist.>

The alternative... I don’t even want to consider it. Failure wasn’t even an option, that I swore to myself.

<Mmhh~... My Queen,> Arachne moaned, causing me to blush as I stealthily crouched through the uneven terrain while doing my best to not slip on the rocky leaf-covered ground or the exposed roots of the trees around me. <Your words make me all hot and bothered again. My dick is already so hard, mhnn~...>

<Try to make Shadra watch you jerk off, my faithful Princess,> I snickered, the image of her doing just that was making me wet already. I probably should concentrate more on where I was going instead of bullying my split personality by dangling a particularly juicy piece of meat in front of 'him', narrowly avoiding tripping over myself in the pitch-black forest, but the image refused to go away. It was sure to drive him mad with lust, leaving him unsatisfied because of his own reluctance to give in to his perverted desires. My 'Prince' was right, wasn’t he? We totally were dirty deviants and I absolutely loved it.

<As you wish, My Queen,> she replied, her voice shaking slightly with eager excitement. <Shadra~! Mmhh, you look so sexy with that cute blush on your muzzle, but... you would look even better sucking my cock. What do you think~?>

<Go away with that thing, you maniac!> Shadra screeched and that was the last thing I heard from them aside from the occasional giggle from Arachne.

Those two were quite interesting to have around, weren’t they? I’m glad to have them here with me. Without them, I don’t know if I would have even made it out of that cave in the first place. It was a happy little accident that I subconsciously created them while sorting through our memories.

If I had the choice... I think I wouldn’t change a thing about what happened on Earth. Or my desperate fight to grab the memories from the souls of Tabetha and Tobias. While it was incredibly selfish of me... okay, yeah, I couldn’t justify my greed and selfishness in any way, but I would still do it again if it meant having those two around.

They showed me what it was like to be loved. Arachne and Shadra, not Tabetha and Tobias. I could care less about what happened to their souls after they were taken away by that light, all I cared about were the parts of them that were here with me. The parts of my old self that were still intact and the parts I got from them created something even better.

We hadn’t been the best kind of people on Earth and we might struggle here and there in this new world, but I can at least say that we are willing to try. We try to be better, something I couldn’t say of our past selves.

Most importantly, we understand now. We understand that what we so desperately sought to have in our previous lives doesn’t matter anymore.

I do not need to search for the love of others anymore, I had Arachne and Shadra now. Arachne does not need to search for Tabetha’s lost family, she had us now. Shadra does not need to... do whatever it was that Tobias did with those damn weapons, he had us now. And, in time, he might even stop lying to himself and be the mare she wants to be. Shadra had a new purpose now that was by far better than being one of the lead scientists of a company that researched absolutely everything one could imagine (and what anyone sane couldn’t or wouldn’t dare to imagine, for that matter). A company that had no soul at all, only caring about pushing the limits of science for the sake of science (and money, of course).

The broken memories of all three of us forged us anew, hopefully for the better. I would like to think it was for the better, though. All three of us had a clear purpose now, something we sorely needed. I was going to make sure this hive keeps running smoothly, and, at some point in the future, prosper far beyond what I could imagine right now.

With Arachne’s knowledge, we will make sure this hive stays healthy and happy. She knows (mostly) everything that we could ever need, from physics to biology and even to psychology (at least a little bit). Any and all situations that could pop up, she would know how to deal with them in the most efficient way possible.

As would Shadra, I had no doubt about that. My Prince(ss) will be able to deal with anything that would threaten the existence of our hive.

Their expertise will become quite useful, indeed. Certainly with anticipating and dealing with those foolish enough to stand in our way.

Too bad my little Shadra was currently occupied running away from Arachne because I could have really used some advice right about now on how to defend myself. A shiver ran through me as I felt something wrong, my body freezing in motion.

I wasn’t alone. My body knew I was in danger and I desperately searched for the thing that was responsible for that. It was like an instinct, a primal fear for my existence and I wasn’t about to question that instinct. What I was about to question, though, was my body’s indecision to flee or fight.

The sound of a twig snapping too close for comfort had me almost screaming in fear and I started to hastily scan my surroundings more thoroughly, trying to listen for movements. My heart was hammering wildly in my chest and I tried my best to keep my breathing as silent as I possibly could, afraid I would give away my position.

I couldn’t make out anything with my eyes, the canopy of the trees above was simply too thick to let any moonlight through, but I could feel the presence of something searching for me. Something that was hungry and wouldn’t care if I actually tasted good.

My fangs were aching, I noticed. I was forcing my muzzle so tightly shut, my teeth felt like they were going to break into a thousand pieces. But the ache around my fangs was a different feeling altogether.

<Shadra?> I quietly whispered, afraid the thing stalking me could somehow hear my thoughts. Maybe I was being paranoid, but for all I knew, it actually could.

<F-fuck! Ugh, my heart... uh... y-yes, My Queen?> Shadra responded with a start, trying to rein in his nervousness. <For a moment there, I thought Arachne found me...>

I instructed him, cautiously moving forward to a more suitable hiding spot within the rocky terrain of the forest. The rustle of the leaves in the wind was enough to make me freeze up again, though. <P-preferably sooner rather than later!>

<Are you in danger, My Queen?> he asked, a seriousness in his voice that made me quite proud of my Prince(ss).

<Something is near me and I am unable to locate it,> I told him, hearing another twig snap in a completely different location. It was kind of hard to discern from which direction the noise came from due to the constant booming thunder of my heart in my ears and the deceptively harmless sounds of nature trying to lull me into a false sense of security. I knew better than to let my guard down, though. <It apparently hasn’t found me yet, either.>

<Try to distract it by throwing a rock or something,> Shadra said.

I sent back an affirmative and carefully searched the ground for anything remotely useful in that regard. Most of the rocks around me were either too big or too heavy that I couldn’t lift them up high enough for me to throw them very far (not that I was confident enough to figure out how to even pick them up with friggin’ hooves of all things) and I didn’t want to rustle through the fallen leaves around me to find smaller stones that were light enough to throw a good distance away, afraid I would alert my unbidden guest to my location by doing that.

My ears swiveled behind me as I heard a bush rustle and... was that clucking? Was I... was I afraid of a damn chicken?! What the actual fuck!

I was about to turn around when a thought stopped me. Why was there a chicken running around in the middle of the night in a spooky forest? It didn’t make any sense.

<Arachne?> I send a quick message, afraid to turn around all of a sudden.

<Mhh~? My Queen?> she asked, sounding very much like she was having the time of her life.

<That’s not important right now,> I muttered. <Tell me, is there a mythological beast that makes chicken noises?>

<There are some that fit that criteria, I think,> Arachne replied. <The basan, for example. A fire-breathing chicken from Japanese mythology. Although, I think it is larger than a regular chicken, so I don’t know if it makes chicken noises per se. It should be similar in size to an ostrich, if I remember correctly. Aside from the eastern myths of the basan, there is also the folktale of the cockatrice from the old myth of a serpent or dragon with the head of a chicken. It is said to be able to kill with its gaze alone.>

<Great,> I grumbled. <Either this is just a simple chicken that is nocturnal for some dumb reason, having no fear or regard for its life that it just so happens to traipse around a dark forest in the middle of the night or this is a fucking firebreathing monster! Or better yet, it is the fucking one that can simply kill me with its gaze! This is just perfect! Anything else I should be aware of?!>

<Uh...> Arachne gulped nervously. <While the basan shouldn’t actually be aggressive, I suppose? The fire of the basan shouldn’t be hot enough to burn you. Aside from that, if it is a cockatrice... in some stories, it could also... uh... kill with its breath?>

<You’ve got to be kidding me,> I growled. <How do I avoid that thing?!>

<If it is a basan, you shouldn’t worry too much,> Arachne said. <I can’t really remember the myth correctly, but I think it can’t fly and it supposedly disappears after someone looks at it. If you somehow still manage to anger it despite all of that, you could just... climb up on a tree?>

<And the cockatrice?> I asked, worried. I was barely able to walk and fly (somewhat at that), actually climbing up on an uneven surface with less than stellar balance almost guaranteed my chances of being caught. While spiders could do that quite easily, I doubted my little ‘heritage’ would help me in that regard. I mean, I could try and find out whether or not I could actually stick to any surface I so desire, but... I'd rather not risk it in case I do fall down in my panicked haste.

<Run?> she proposed and I rolled my eyes at that helpful piece of advice she provided me with. Running wasn’t an option in the dark. Not to mention, I didn’t know how to run yet. I would only make it easier for the damn chicken monster to catch me if I tried that.

<Like Medusa?> I inquired. <Didn’t Perseus avoid being turned to stone by looking at her through the reflection of his shield?>

Arachne answered hesitantly. <That’s one of my memories, isn’t it? I don’t remember the story yet. I’m sorry, My Queen.>

<Once we are out of this forest, I will look into finishing sorting through our memories. You have nothing to apologize for, my Princess,> I reassured her, closing my eyes reluctantly.

<My Queen?> Shadra interrupted me before I could turn around to face my doom.

<Oooh!> Arachne giggled. <Did my little Shadra bite himself?>

<Shut up,> he grumbled back.

<I’m still not finished with my dick, you know~?> Arachne snickered, delighted. <Tell me where you are~.>

<Are you seriously planning to jerk off next to my motionless body while our Queen is in a life and death situation?!> Shadra exclaimed. <What the fuck is wrong with you?!>

<Aww, I know you love it~,> Arachne replied. <Besides, I have faith in her to swiftly deal with this pest.>

<Your faith is appreciated,> I smiled, feeling more confident from her words alone. <Although, Shadra is right. We could still die, you should worry more.>

<Fine,> she said, giving me the impression that she was pouting. <Just kill the damn cockatrice so I can go back to teasing Shadra...>

Shadra stated, ignoring Arachne's antics in favor of helping me out. <You would have to surprise our foe, though. I don’t enjoy the thought of fighting up close with anything in this forest, please be careful.>

<Sound advice,> I nodded. <It would help if we knew how to use our web, too. I might be able to blind it with that as well... or slow it down, at least.>

<I’ll try to figure it out, My Queen!> Arachne assured me, and, after having heard her say that with a strange eagerness, I suspected that she wanted to figure the web thing out for another reason as well (I was reasonably sure it had something to do with subduing Shadra for not quite so innocent purposes). I had no idea whether I should have felt proud of her or not considering that I was currently in a rather dangerous situation. <A distraction might work long enough for you to get close to it, too...>

<Right,> I agreed with a little nod to myself even though she had added that in a rather absentminded fashion. <Shadra said that as well, any ideas? Anything other than throwing a rock, maybe? Because I can’t see shit and most of the rocks I have found so far weigh easily more than I do.>

<Did you search through the underbrush?> Shadra asked and I answered back with a rather snide tone how that has worked out for me so far. One would expect to find a friggin' pebble in a forest of all things, damnit! Especially one that had a rocky terrain like this one. <Okay, how about a twig, then? Anything heavier than a leaf, really. You could easily pick one up with your muzzle and throw it that way.>

I suppressed the sigh that was trying to force itself out of me while my eyelid twitched at the idea of sullying my muzzle with a friggin’ twig of all things and was about to go back to searching when I heard the damn chicken monster clucking again, close to my hiding spot. Scratch the distraction, I thought to myself with a nervous resolve, if that thing keeps coming closer, I can just surprise it that way.

Admittedly, that plan wasn’t the best one, but I couldn’t think of a better one. It wasn’t even too bad, considering that I was (thankfully) concealed enough behind the rocky outcropping that it wouldn’t spot me immediately. In the end, it was only a question of who would spot whom first.

If I couldn’t see shit in this forest, then that damn thing probably couldn’t either. Hopefully. I don’t think it has heat vision, at least. It would have already found me if it had an infra-red spectrum of vision, I was pretty sure of that. Although, then again... it could be that I just don’t emit enough heat. Insects were cold-blooded, right? I don’t know whether I was cold-blooded or not, though, seeing that I wasn’t only insectile in nature.

I heard another clucking sound, this time clearly to my right. For a moment, my heart stopped and I waited. Not yet, I told myself, shifting ever so slightly as I waited for the right moment.

<My Queen?> Arachne asked, but I shushed her immediately. Almost there. I could hear it come closer to me, rustling the leaves on the ground ever so slightly. <I...>

<Shh!> I angrily shushed her again, not in the mood for distractions. Just a bit more. Almost there...

I exhaled, preparing myself. Slowly, I started to count down from three. I knew it would be exactly in the position I wanted it to be by then if it continued at its pace.

I heard the twig right in front of me snap and I sprang into action. My hooves grabbed it around the torso and I clamped down hard on it, sinking my fangs into its neck. It struggled futilely against me for a little while, squawking angrily at me for daring to spring this trap on it. Thankfully, it gradually started to lose its strength to move as I felt the venom rush through my fangs in quick bursts.

I didn’t stop once it ceased with its movements, though. I kept it locked in a firm grip between my forelegs while making sure to pump it full with enough venom until I was absolutely certain that it would stay down for good.

There was only a little bit of remorse welling up within me for having to kill another living, breathing being, but it was either that or let the fucking monster kill me instead. It was a kill or be killed situation and I wasn’t about to die to a friggin’ mythological beast the first night I’m out of that damn cave. Dying once was enough for me, thank you very much.

And besides, it's an animal. I doubt it could have reasoned with me about being too young to die or having a little kid waiting at home for them to come back. People have done worse things to animals than killing in self-defense, so there's that.

<Are you okay, My Queen?> Arachne whispered, hesitant to speak up after I had shushed her rather harshly twice in a row.

<Yes, my faithful Princess. I’m sorry about how I responded to you just then, dear, but I was kind of... preoccupied... with pest control,> I reassured her, grimacing ever so slightly in regret as I let go of that disgusting creature. Its blood tasted absolutely rancid and foul on my tongue, making me feel positively nauseous. I tried to get rid of the taste by spitting the filthy substance out of my muzzle multiple times, but it continued to linger on my tongue even long after that.

<We should eat it,> Shadra commented, making me sick from the thought alone. <Food is food.>

<You don’t even know if it is edible, to begin with,> I grunted back, rolling the thing over while looking at it disdainfully, trying to make out what it actually looked like while avoiding the eyes out of fear that its dead gaze was still deadly. <Besides, judging from what little of its blood touched my tongue... I’m not going to bring my muzzle anywhere near close to its flesh. I don’t even want to know how horrid that would taste like.>

<What do you propose we eat then?> Shadra grumbled. <We have to find something to eat.>

I answered, feeling queasy at the thought of eating meat or... anything, really.

<What makes you think so?> Arachne asked, curious. <Spiders usually feast on other insects and can go without food for quite a while afterward. There are some spiders that sustain themselves on nectar, so maybe that sounds like a better alternative?>

<Nectar?> I repeated, blinking. <Like... there are actually veggie spiders?>

<Uh... not exactly,> she said. <Some web weavers supplement their diet with extrafloral nectar. I think there had only been one species of spider that lived off of plant matter alone, but I’m not too sure about that. It probably ate rivals, too, now that I think about it.>

<Are you seriously considering becoming a veggy... whatever we are?> Shadra asked, incredulous. <We wouldn’t be able to sustain a hive off of nectar alone!>

<Not just nectar,> I rolled my eyes. <Horses usually don’t eat meat, get used to it.>

<If you suggest eating hay, I’m outta here,> Shadra threatened and I snorted. I don’t know whether it was possible for a split personality to ‘walk out the door’, so to speak. I certainly didn’t want to entertain the thought of what would happen if it was actually possible.

I said, shuddering at the thought. <Whatever we are, we don’t eat the usual things. At least, I don’t think so.>

<Why?> Arachne asked.

<Try thinking of anything you... we ate as a human, my Princess,> I instructed her and immediately heard her whine in disgust. <See? Everything I know of makes me feel like I want to gag. And we don’t have a gag reflex anymore.>

<But...> Shadra muttered meekly, sounding petulant. <What are we supposed to eat then? We can’t just survive off of water and nectar. Not to mention, to gather that much nectar would be insane!>

I groused, annoyed that I didn’t know what to say to alleviate Shadra’s fear of starvation.

I wasn’t feeling any better, to be absolutely honest. It was downright terrifying, even. I don’t want to ever step a hoof in the Realm of Death again. Once was enough, in my opinion. If I had to spend another century there, I would go mad, of that, there was no doubt within me.

Death does... things... to someone. It was like an eternal reminder that my soul did not belong in the mortal realm anymore. I could still feel its touch upon my soul, reminding me at all times of the perpetual cold, something that was so akin to a feeling of... endless hopelessness. I much preferred the feeling of unending hunger over that, even though that definitely wasn't a pleasant feeling, either.

<We are going to find something to eat, Shadra. I promise,> I reassured her, hoping to be right about this. <I’m sure that, once we actually reach that settlement, the ponies living there will have an idea of what is edible for us and what is not. For all we know, it could be something that doesn’t even exist on Earth. Heck, we are a mythological being now, it could be anything. We don’t even have an anus anymore, so I doubt that it is going to be anything remotely solid.>

<How far away are we from that mountain, anyway?> my Prince(ss) asked, sighing moodily. <We should hurry up and get there, My Queen. Preferably sooner rather than later before another monster finds us out here. One monster was enough already.>

<From what I can remember from the Realm of Death, it should take us about six hours worth of walking at our current pace, more or less,> I answered, moving swiftly through the underbrush of the forest. Well, as swiftly as I could with the uneven ground and the trees that I was barely able to make out from the inky blackness around us. While my balance still needed major work for it to reach a point I would feel comfortable with it, I have yet to actually trip and fall flat on my muzzle. Small successes, I suppose. <The edge of the forest wasn’t too far away from that hole in the ground. The density of the trees should open up slightly in a couple of minutes from now.>

<Can we at least try to fly over to that mountain city once we are finally out of here?> Shadra requested impatiently.

<You are strangely eager to get to that city,> Arachne said, a teasing quality in her voice. <Are you eager for our Queen to go and collect sperm?>

<S-shut up,> Shadra grumbled, most likely blushing fiercely.

<Aww, you are eager!> she giggled. <You enjoy the thought of her getting fucked senseless!>

<N-n-no!> Shadra denied and I giggled silently. My Prince(ss) was so cute, trying to deny it. I knew, deep down, he was enjoying the picture of me stuffed full of cock. It was only a matter of time until Shadra acknowledged that 'he' had the same perverted side that we had already embraced, giving in to their own desires to be just as dirty-minded. Maybe even more so...

<My beautiful Prince, do you not wish to have a hive to call family?> I asked, faking a pout.

<N-no, My Queen!> he hastily denied, trying to cheer me up. I could tell he felt nervous to displease me and... well... I couldn’t really fault him for being so nervous, not after I had thoroughly chastised him about trying to return to Earth. <I... I can be good, I-I promise! I want to be useful and help the hive, keep it protected! I promise, I'll be good...>

<What if our diet is having sex like a succubus~?> I asked him, grinning lecherously to myself at that idea. It excited me immensely. <Would you keep being such a stick in the mud if that is the case?>

<Mhh~,> Arachne moaned, making Shadra stammer more.

<W-w-w-w-we a-a-a-aren’t a s-succubus!> Shadra complained with probably the worst stutter we managed to squeeze out of him yet. <T-those don’t e-e-exist!>

<How would you know that, my Prince?> I asked, biting back a moan myself as I started to enter a less dense area of the forest, able to see much better with the aid of the moonlight that managed to break through the canopy up above.

<Because it is ridiculous, feeding off of sexual energy!> he answered angrily, trying to sound as convincing as he possibly could. My 'Prince' knew better, though. As did I. Shadra, too, had the memories of Tobias Baker, a scientist who had created weirder things than something that fed off of things like sexual energy, after all.

<Like it is ridiculous being reincarnated? As a bug-horse?> I challenged him, getting a frustrated mumble back. <Admit it, my dear Prince. In the multiverse, many things are possible. Nothing is ever truly impossible. You should know that just as much as we do, don’t even try to deny the truth of it.>

<Mhmm, I’m hungry for your cum, My Queen~,> Arachne giggled.

<I’ll give you as much as you want, my faithful Princess,> I replied, letting out a delighted hum. <It is my sole duty to provide for my hive, after all. How about you ask Shadra in the meanwhile~?>

<P-please don’t,> Shadra whined. <I... I don’t... You...>

<What’s the matter, my Prince?> I asked, smirking. <Is the idea exciting you?>

<I...> Shadra hesitated and my smirk widened. <...no?>

<Aww, it is!> Arachne giggled. <Does my little Shadra want their cock sucked? Although... if you want, I could lick your cunt out, instead? I’ll do it if you ask nicely~.>

<No! Not... not there, I-I... n-not there, I can't. I-I'm not a-allowed to... uh... I c-can't. A-and what’s with the ‘they’ crap?> he muttered, sounding as angry as he seemed... ashamed? No, not ashamed, I realized. My little Prince(ss) was aroused by Arachne’s offer, after all. We might yet succeed in making that egg crack, I want Shadra to be happy and not this... bitter and afraid person. Afraid didn't even begin to describe the true extent of their terror-induced fear. <Besides, we are family! This is wrong!>

<Aww, you want it~,> Arachne sing-songed with glee in the tone of her double-layered voice. <Your denial sounds so false and your throbbing dick says otherwise. So? What’s it gonna be, your dick or your poor neglected cunt?>

<W-what?> he exclaimed. <How did you find me here, you maniac?!>

<You would like to know that, wouldn’t you?> she whispered back and I shivered as her voice did wonders to my marehood. I was already getting wet again. <Did you know we have pheromones that signal to others our willingness to mate~? Those glistening folds look so inviting, it's so hard to resist simply jumping on you and burying my muzzle as deeply as I could into your snatch. Mhh, you smell so good, Shadra...>

<We do?> I asked while Shadra was reduced to a stammering mess of unintelligible noises. I moaned with pure unadulterated need as I bit my lip, my own snatch painfully demanding of me to find a mate for the sole purpose of reproduction. <That’s good to know. Well done, my studious Princess.>

<Thank you, My Queen,> she responded dreamily.

<As do Shadra and I,> I commented with a gleeful smile on my muzzle. <Don’t you agree, Shadra?>

<I... I-I do, My Queen...> Shadra answered with a tiny, small voice. <As weird as it is, I really do feel like it is my whole purpose. To serve the will of the hive.>

<Because that is what a good hive should do~,> I said, licking my lips hungrily. I wanted to hear him say it again, the thought of doing everything I could for my hive excited me even more. <A good hive serves the will of the hive.>

<Yes...> he agreed as he ceased to struggle so much, starting to let go of his pesky morality. The sooner he embraced his buggy self... the better. <A good hive should... always... serve the will of the hive.>

<You’re such a good 'prince', my Prince,> I praised him, smiling cheerfully in satisfaction. One step in the right direction... how many more would it take, I have to wonder? <You... mhh~... you deserve a reward for your dedication to the hive. Don’t you think so, too, Arachne?>

I heard her laugh lecherously to herself.

<A-Arachne?!> Shadra exclaimed and I could guess what it was that she just did to fluster him even further. <I...>

<Shh, my Shadra...> she interrupted him, her voice a quiet seductive hum. <You want this just as much as I do, don’t you? You don’t have to lie to me~.>

<N-no,> he denied, gulping anxiously. <I... I-I...>

<S-Shadra..?> Arachne asked and I almost let out a loud moan at how... meek and kinky... she made it sound, saying his name like that. I swear, my legs started to feel like jelly from that alone. <Do you not... love me?>

<No, no, no!> Shadra shot back, hastily. <That’s not... that’s not what... I... I mean...>

she huffed, letting out a faux sniffle.

he blurted out and I snickered to myself. This was far too amusing, hearing Shadra struggling against ‘his’ own wants like that and messing it up, unable to decide what to do. It was almost cute in a way. <Uh...>

<Now you’re just saying it to cheer me up,> Arachne grumbled, letting out a humph, and I couldn’t help but be impressed at how good she was at acting (at least, I thought she was acting, but... now that I thought about it, she might actually be genuinely upset with Shadra).

Whether it was acting or not, Arachne was laying it on pretty thick there, wasn’t she? The guilt trip seemed to be what worked best with Shadra, she really was devious when she wanted to get something. As... manipulative... as it was, it did get Shadra to be honest with their feelings for once.

It almost made me feel bad, bullying them like that. Almost. As it was, it was for Shadra's own good... that's not bad, right? I, uh... damn. What were we doing, pressuring Shadra so much? There was no way my Prince would...

<I...> Shadra began, his voice full of reluctance and... was that regret I heard? I was kinda torn between stepping in and putting an end to this and seeing where this was going to go now. Despite my better judgment, I decided to stay silent and let this play out between them, for better or worse. <This is so fucking awkward...>

<Am I too hideous for you? Is that it?!> Arachne muttered angrily back and I started to believe that there was a bit... more to that. I don't quite remember if Tabetha had been self-conscious about her appearance (I mean, she had been the typical nerdy kind of girl and everyone knows that nerdy girls are cute as fuck), so I was a little bit uncertain about what caused Arachne to get so defensive all of a sudden. Perhaps there was a memory I haven't looked at yet that might explain her current behavior. <Am I not good enough?! Is that it? Just tell me.>

<You aren’t hideous!> Shadra insisted, only for Arachne to let out another humph. <You are... you are beautiful...>

<Right, I believe it when you stop being such a jerk,> she said and I distinctly got the impression that she turned her muzzle up and away from Shadra right now.

<I’m not the jerk!> our beautiful Prince(ss) argued back angrily. <You guys are trying to make me into a fucking pervert, damnit! You want me to be... something I’m not! I can’t!>

<Are you sure about that?> she asked with a giggle, her previous sour mood gone completely. Damn, either Arachne got even worse mood swings than I did, or she really was playing around with Shadra for her own sick amusement. I kinda believed it was a mix of the two, to be honest. <Your dick is still hard. I’m sure it got even harder when I found you~. It keeps throbbing needily while I talk to you. And that tail of yours clearly speaks for you more than words ever could, too. You can’t hide that away from me, my lovely Shadra. You love the attention, don’t you?>

<Y-y-you... you are...> Shadra sputtered, making me laugh silently as they kept broadcasting everything to me. This was better than television on Earth, I swear. It made me feel so guilty, but I can't just not keep listening in on them. <I... I can’t believe this. You... Yes, damnit! Yes, you fucking deviant, you fucking tease, you... you fucking nymphomaniac, I’m so aroused because of you and I can’t... I-I... I-I-I hate the d-damn feeling so much! I don’t want to crave your body like that, not like... not like that with my... it’s so fucking wrong! It’s wrong and... and I... I want it so much, but I can’t! Not... not with how wrong this is. We’re family and... a-and my body... I...>

<Mhh~,> Arachne moaned lustily. <And you care... why? How is it wrong? We’re the remnants of the people whose memory we stole, we aren’t them. We aren’t related to each other in that way, we are separate personalities of our Queen that took on a life of their own. Sure, biologically we are the same person, more or less, but why care about that little technicality? I can make you feel so much better, Shadra. Tell me why I shouldn’t... tell me why selfcest is so wrong...>

<I...> Shadra started, stopping as he fumbled for words. <Because... because... uh... A-Arachne... p-please... n-n-not... not t-there... Oh f-fuck...>

<Doesn’t that feel good?> she asked, her voice a low hum. <That flipping feeling in your stomach, as if you were falling? The lips touching yours? The hoof wandering ever so slowly over your body, closer and closer to where you want it to go? Don’t you want more? Be honest with me, please. I can stop at any time that you want me to, just say it without lying to me...>

<I...I like it,> he admitted, ashamed. <And... and I want more, Arachne. Please, I... I n-need more.>

<Do you want to be mine, Shadra?> Arachne whispered. <Do you want to be my Prince? Or do you want to be my... Princess?>

<A-Arachne... I-I...> Shadra whimpered, panic clearly evident in their voice at the choice of wording my Princess offered to use. Instead of answering, though, Shadra stayed quiet for at least a minute or two as they obviously struggled for words, driving me almost crazy with the suspense. <P-Prince! I want to be your... your..."—Shadra gulped audibly and I could practically feel the pain radiating off their words—" Prince. Please, just stop teasing me...>

Our Prince(ss) was clearly getting afraid again, I could tell. She was so close to saying 'Princess' instead of 'Prince', but... I sighed sadly as Shadra hid behind their insecurities, too scared to accept the mare desperately trying to claw her way out of the little prison created deep within ‘him’. Clearly, cracking the egg forcefully open wasn't the way to go...

Baby steps, Araneae. Baby steps.

<Shadra, my Prince? Do you want me to be yours then?> Arachne murmured questioningly, equally as frustrated about this as me, but she was thankfully inclined to give Shadra the time they needed to come to terms with themself. However long that might take. <I could be your Princess, your love with whom you could do anything, however you want. You could only use that rod of yours if that’s what you truly want. I’ll let you decide, okay? I’m yours to be used, Shadra.>

<I... you’re mine?> Shadra repeated unsurely, sounding more hopeful than afraid.

<You could... what, Shadra?> Arachne giggled.

<Have sex with you?> Shadra asked meekly. <...j-just like that?>

<Just like that...> Arachne agreed. <Do you love me?>

<I...> Shadra started, gulping heavily as I heard him stammer a bit before he calmed down enough to speak coherently.

<Shh, my Shadra,> Arachne consoled him as he started to question himself again. <Don’t think too hard about it. Just... accept my feelings for you, my love. Reach into your heart and tell me what you feel...>

<O-okay...> Shadra agreed while letting out a breathy and shaky sigh. <I... feel warmth, I guess? Whenever you guys do this... embarrassing stuff around me, I feel... I feel happiness despite how... how wrong this should be. I don’t know what I should do around you and it makes me nervous and... excited... for some reason. It’s... I suppose it doesn’t feel bad, so... I will accept your feelings because... b-because... I really do like you, perhaps more than I should... I trust you enough to not hurt my feelings.>

<See?> Arachne said, a satisfied purr in her voice. <That wasn’t so hard, was it? All you have to do is give in... You can do whatever you want, be as perverted as you want to be. There is nothing wrong about this, Shadra, trust me. Neither I nor our Queen are going to fault you for any of your desires. After all, we are a part of you just as much as you are a part of us. We won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do, I promise.>

<Okay...> Shadra said with a breathy shudder. <I’ll... I’ll be your P-Prince if you will be my Princess.>

<Good,> she murmured. <I’ll be yours as much as our Queen’s, then. What do you think? We belong to her as we belong to each other, don’t we?>

<Yes,> he whispered, sounding utterly convinced of what she just asked him.

<Alright, then. I’m glad to hear that from you, my little 'knight' in shining armor. Whenever you need me, I’ll be there for you and our Queen. I swear, I won’t ever leave you,> she said with a happy little chirp before a veritable purr entered her voice. <So... now that we have that out of the way... Shadra, my love? Do you... want me to suck your dick like a whore? I’ll do that and so much more, you only need to tell me so.>

I heard Shadra gulp as my Princess asked him that in the most raunchy way possible and I stumbled over a tree root as I lost control of my body completely, unable to keep my own lust contained. It was like I had lost the strength to stand all of a sudden, my marehood’s need simply too overwhelming. My clitoris felt like it was going to explode from all of the blood in my nethers.

Soon, I was thrashing around on the ground as I used my hoof to abuse my pussy, incapable of holding back from satisfying myself right then and there. Shadra’s reply was all but forgotten as I voiced out my lustful actions to the heavens, uncaring if anyone or anything heard me at that exact moment.

All I wanted was to reach my orgasm again and again. My hoof, sadly, couldn’t do what Arachne’s dick was capable of, but somehow, I made it work while moaning heavily in joy. My wings joined in with the concert of my lust-filled song, buzzing happily away.

While one hoof was paying attention to my needy snatch, my other hoof was helping out little me eagerly. I wished Arachne and Shadra could have joined me, but those two had their own thing going on at the moment. Perhaps as soon as I go to sleep I might convince my Prince(ss) to let me have my way with him (which probably won’t happen since Shadra was so skittish about his feminine side). For now, I had my fun satisfying myself thoroughly.

I didn’t care as I began to shoot cum all over myself, shuddering as pleasant tingles did their best to wreak havoc on my body. My hooves were lazily teasing my body into a prolonged orgasm for as long as I could, but my fun ended all too soon. No doubt Shadra and Arachne were still enjoying their own fun, but I still had other things to concentrate on rather than masturbating all night long. As enticing as that sounded, I couldn’t stay here forever. My little fun time was already risky enough as it was, knowing what lived further into the forest, staying in one spot for too long was just inviting trouble to find me.

Not to mention, I felt famished. And I needed to get my horn looked at soon, can’t forget about that lest it stayed crooked forever (even though it looked kinda neat like that).

Then again... that train might have long since departed if I was honest with myself. Judging by how it didn’t actually hurt to touch anymore, it might have already healed, looking like that. The headache was still there (slightly less annoying at the moment, but still ever-present), so I should at least get something for that. The satisfaction of orgasmic delight had helped a little bit, but I would still prefer to have some medicine to alleviate the worst of it. If there was anything resembling medicine in this world, that is.

For all I know, they still threw leeches at every problem around here and called it a day. If that was the case, I knew I would have to rely on Arachne’s knowledge to change that (something we couldn’t hope to achieve anytime soon, seeing that her knowledge might be spotty at best in regards to how to make medicine from scratch). A little bit of research should hopefully help her start things off, recreating all the good stuff from Earth.

Aside from medicine, I definitely was going to recreate the internet here as well somehow. I want my little drones and workers to know the wonders of the internet and have access to all the porn they could possibly want on it. Mhh, yes... now that is a dream I could work towards with the help of my faithful Princess and beautiful 'Prince'.

While adapting and changing to fit this world was all nice and good, improving it and changing it to something familiar was even better. I want my heir to have an actual civilized world with actual technology and medicine, with magnificent art and entertainment, and all of the marvelous living commodities I enjoyed so much back on Earth instead of inheriting... well... this.

I looked at the settlement nestled against the distant mountain range and snorted at how... basic... it looked. The castle itself was a mess of cobblestone with no actual thought behind it and the surrounding buildings were haphazardly strewn about everywhere where space was available.

It was like nothing at all had changed in all of the centuries I was trapped in the forest as a ghost. Sure, it did look like the ‘settlement’ had gotten bigger (a lot, even), but... definitely not more modern beyond the upgrade from wood and hay to more sturdy materials.

I suddenly had doubts I would find anything of worth there at all. By the looks of it, I doubted they even had clean water to drink from. The river running through the ‘city’ might actually be the only clean source... if they don’t throw their waste in it like morons, that is. Let’s hope they had enough brain cells to not do that or I’m going to throw a fit and burn their shitty kingdom down.

With one last apprehensive sigh, I gave my wings a wary glance and took a leap of faith. Flying was faster, even with the slight risk of crashing a few times. What can I say? The wind was a bitch and I didn’t have the greatest control over my wings. It might take me years until I am able to do this without any difficulties at all.

<My Queen,> Arachne spoke up, sounding satisfied and happy.

<Oh?> I let out a hum, intrigued.

<Yes,> she confirmed. <And I’ve had a lot of fun with Shadra~.>

<That’s nice,> I smiled, narrowly avoiding being thrown around by a wind current that took me by surprise. <How do we use these spinnerets, then?>

<Uh,> Arachne hesitated, thinking. <Using your silk glands feels kinda like what flexing a finger or your hand had felt like, I think? Maybe both, it’s hard to accurately describe the sensation and we have more than one kind of silk gland, as well. They more than likely produce different kinds of silk for various uses, like sticky strings and non-sticky ones for making spider webs. I’m sorry that I can’t be of more help to you, My Queen.>

I silently reassured her that it was more than enough for me to get a general idea of how to do this. It felt a little bit alien at first, but after a few tries, I did have a workable string of silk leaving my hoof (the non-sticky variant, at that).

I did wonder what other kinds of silk we might have. Arachne already mentioned the more common ones spiders had for catching prey and creating ‘walkways’ so that they didn’t get entangled in their own web, but we were in a completely different world now, probably even a wholly different universe, so it does stand to reason that there might be vastly different materials out there we have never seen before.

A bit of fiddling around with my spinnerets had me put a quick stop to my experimenting lest I entangle myself in my own sticky silk during the flight over to the poor caricature of a kingdom built in Minecraft. <This might come in handy, at least. Or in hoof? In hoofy?>

<That sounds really cute,> she giggled. I wasn’t entirely convinced of it, but it did sound kind of cute. A little bit. Maybe. If one squinted enough, that is. <The next time we run across trouble we have something to distract them with. We can actually shoot quite a large amount of silk from our glands if we want to. Try to clench your hoof like you would have your hand, My Queen.>

Arachne, I fucking love you. We were basically Spider-Man... Spider-Horse? No, that sounds really weird... Hmm... Spider-Queen? Now that was a great Spidersona, if I do say so myself. I’m the friendly (and quite pervy) neighborhood spider of this new world, how exciting was that?

My own excitement caused me to lose my concentration on my flight over to the ‘city’ in the mountain range and I cursed myself for letting my fantasies run away from me like that as I desperately tried to catch myself before I hit the rocky plains beneath me. Thankfully, I wasn’t flying too high above the ground for me to die from a fall at this height, but I was flying high enough that I might have injured myself if I... ahem, ‘landed’... wrongly at my pitiful speed.

At this rate, I might just develop a fear of heights, to be absolutely honest with myself here. Sitting comfortably in a plane was a completely different thing from flying with my own damn wings. My dream of flying under my own power was quickly crumbling to dust around me as I just got a reality check in the form of my abysmally bad flying skills. Sure, if I keep practicing, I might get better, but... I don’t know if I could ever find it in myself to go faster than my rather 'slow' pace (which was already faster than what I could have achieved with a canter going in a straight line on even ground, I feel like).

Not to mention, I don’t want to imagine how exhausting it must be to fly at higher altitudes and speeds. If I get tired, I can’t just lean back in a chair and sleep, I would plummet to my death.

You know what? I’m happy with the ground. No need for unnecessary risks. I like living. Living is nice. I was unsure whether I would get lucky enough to reincarnate again if I screwed up, so I think I’m going to play it safe. Besides... I don’t need to fly everywhere, right?

I totally sounded like a coward right now, didn't I?

<Araneae?> Arachne asked and I replied with a hum. <Is everything okay? You didn’t reply, My Queen.>

<What did you say?> I asked, embarrassed that I was so lost in my own thoughts to the point that I ignored her.

she repeated her question, concerned. <Are you sure everything is okay? You can tell me anything, I won’t judge. I don't understand this emotional thing beyond textbook psychology, but I’m here for you if you need it. Just as much as I would be for Shadra. You are the only two beings I really care for, you know?>

<Thank you, Arachne. That means a lot to me, hearing you say that. I can make some details out now, so we aren't too far away from it,> I told her, sighing. It felt nice, her reassuring me that I would never be truly alone anymore. Going through these rather uncertain times by myself would have been a lot harder than it has already been for me. If I had even managed to escape that cavern without them in the first place, that is. <I... I don’t know whether my dream of flying was all that great or simply foolish... I’m not really good at this.>

<Do you enjoy it?> she asked me and I blinked, unsure. That was a good question, wasn't it? <The feeling of the wind rushing through your mane? Having the freedom to go wherever you want?>

<A little bit?> I answered, somewhat truthful-ish. Without the threat of a gruesome and grotesque death, flying wasn't quite as bad as I made it out to be.

<You don’t have to be good at something to enjoy it, My Queen,> Arachne said, her voice sounding like a mix of kindness and pointing something out that should, by all means, be obvious. Though it was clear to me she didn't mean it in an insulting way, she just... seemed awkward with the whole comforting thing. <If you don’t enjoy soaring through the skies at high altitudes or speeds, then that’s okay. Keep to what you are comfortable with, Ari.>

<Ari?> I snorted, smiling. <Thanks, Arachne. I appreciate your words.>

<It’s the only nickname I could come up with,> she admitted. <Well, that one and Ara, I guess. Do you like it? I think it's cute, but if you really want me to, I could come up with something different eventually...>

<No, it’s perfect, my Princess,> I said, slowly landing on the dirt road as I felt like I was close enough to the settlement now that I could make the rest of the journey on hoof. Shadra was right to suggest flying instead of simply walking, it was a huge time saver even with my slow pace. At this rate, I should arrive at the front gates at dawn, at the latest. <Although, now I don’t have a nickname for you.>

she answered, thoughtfully.

<And what a faithful Princess you are to me,> I purred, enjoying the flutter in my heart. <You deserve a reward, my Princess. Tell me what it is that you desire and I shall try and fulfill your wish.>

<Could I...> Arachne began, hesitant to speak further.

<Anything you want,> I reassured her, hearing her gulp nervously. <Don’t be shy now.>

<My Queen...> she whispered meekly. <Could I... could I see what you can?>

<Like... look through my eyes?> I asked, confused. <Can we do that?>

Arachne said, almost too quiet for me to hear her properly.

<Hey,> I said, trying to sound as comforting as I could possibly be. <It’s okay, my Princess. There is nothing that could make me mad at you.>

<Do you actually mean that?> she mumbled.

<Neither do I, Arachne. I could say the same thing back to you, you know?> I told her, smiling warmly to myself, hoping she could feel my comforting mental embrace. I think it worked as I heard her sigh happily to herself. <How do I make you see what I see?>

<When I talk to you, I can feel a faint connection to you. If I had to put it into different words, I would say that it feels somewhat like a mental pull towards your presence,> Arachne answered.

<We might share senses?> I finished her thought, reaching out to that sensation she spoke of. And now that she mentioned it, I could feel it ever so slightly every time we talked with each other (or with Shadra, for that matter), focusing on it only made it more... real, I suppose. Like I could actually feel her right next to me.

I gave the connection an experimental tug, willing her presence closer to me in the hopes that that would do the trick, only for my body to stumble to the ground in the next moment as I completely lost control of my limbs. “Bwah. Oww...”

<Arachne?> I asked, apprehensive. Did we just... swap?

“My Qwen... Qwen... Queen?” she mumbled, using my own muzzle. Or ours, I should say. “Uh... I...”

<Shh,> I reassured her, trying to keep her panic to a minimum as her breathing started to significantly increase. <Hey, hey, hey! Everything is okay, Arachne. Breathe. There's no need to panic right now, it's alright. Just... breathe.>

“Ocheigh,” she... well, tried to say. I could tell she had been relying on the hive mind a bit too much, her speech was a bit sluggish. <My Queen, I... I’m sorry for stealing your body? Please, don't hate me!>

<It’s okay, my Princess,> I said, sighing. <We can figure this out. Besides, it is our body, you have as much a right to ‘use’ it as I do.>

<But...> she began, but I shushed her gently.

<Do not argue with me now, dear,> I told her, mind made up. It was basically the truth, anyway. She and Shadra were as much a part of me as, well... I was (Arachne’s words to Shadra were quite fitting in that regard, I had to admit). It would be cruel and selfish of me to just ‘lock them up’ in the hive mind. Besides, this ‘ability’ could become quite useful, why squander such a gift? <Now, then. Try speaking again, I have a theory on how we could get rid of our inability to speak normally.>

“Oh... Ocheigh, My Qwen,” Arachne tried again and I could tell it was frustrating her immensely. “Vhat shuuld I do?”

<Try to also speak over the hive mind and... let it guide you?> I instructed her, hoping it would help her get the hang of it. Her practice would also hopefully help me out since it was basically nothing more than muscle memory. <Take a few tries if you must. It is nothing to be ashamed of to not get it right the first time, my Princess. You’re already doing far better than I would have been able to do for my first attempt.>

<”Leigh zhat?”> she tried and had I not ‘mentally embraced’ her again, I think she would have taken her anger out on the ground. Her perfectionism was appreciated, but I didn’t care if she was less than perfect at anything she put her mind to. I suppose that was something we had in common, wanting to do everything correctly the first time we put our minds into it.

I liked her the way she was, she didn’t need to try to exceed my expectations of her whenever she could. I told her as much, even though I suspected she only listened with half an ear as she practiced. I... probably would have done the same thing, were our positions reversed.

Thankfully, she didn’t have any difficulties getting back up on our hooves, furthering my belief that our muscle memory must have been shared. I definitely didn't enjoy the thought of other travelers stumbling upon our limp body once the sun ushered in a new day, so it was a massive relief to see her prancing around almost immediately afterward.

While my little Arachne was trying to get our tongue working in the right way (that sounded deliciously perverted, I mused), I noted that she quickly taught our body that it was indeed capable of going faster than my slow pace of taking small and steady strides.

Arachne must have practiced a few things in the hive, she had a far greater control over our body than I had. She probably got that practice in as she searched for Shadra so that she could molest our Prince(ss) to her heart’s content.

Since Arachne was still occupied with her goal of learning how to talk coherently, I decided to find out the limits of our little experiment that landed me in the backseat of our body. I was curious whether or not I could return to the mindscape of our hive while Arachne continued on in the waking world.

Suffice to say, after one short explanation to a confused (and slightly panicking) Shadra over Arachne’s limp body, I had my answers. By essentially ‘moving’ further away from Arachne’s presence, I found out I could enter our own ‘private world’ as if I was going to sleep.

Of course, I teased Shadra about his little blowjob from Arachne, and, much to his chagrin, I pointed out a very interesting fact. Since I ‘woke up’ next to them, I could tell Arachne did that right next to my sleeping body and Shadra had let her do that. 'He' really was a naughty little Prince(ss), wasn’t he? I felt so proud of Shadra, getting in touch with his own perverted side.

I tried asking him if he wanted one from me as well but was sadly unsuccessful in convincing him to let me do that to him (for now). Maybe I should try Arachne’s tactic and intimidate him enough to let me do whatever I pleased to his body, but this wasn’t the time. Besides, I’d rather give Shadra what ‘she’ truly wants when they admit that she isn’t a he at all.

It was so painful for me and Arachne to watch. I wondered how Shadra could honestly live with herself like that. It was killing me on the inside to see her denying it so much, but... forcing her to admit it was proving to be a difficult endeavor. It was making her more skittish the more we brought it up, so... maybe leaving her be for now was the best course of action to take for Shadra to realize what she wanted.

From what I remember... my old family consisted of idiots, truly. Tobias’ early childhood memories indicated some sort of gender dysphoria, I just... couldn’t put my hoof on what happened for Shadra to be so fearful of coming out of her shell like that.

My faithful Princess was nearing the gates of the settlement that could generously be called a small city-kingdom as I returned to the backseat of our body. To be honest? Looking at the closed gates made me feel a little bit nervous again. I had no idea what would await us on the other side and... I might not have thought this through as much as I thought I did, I reluctantly admitted to myself.

<Arachne?> I whispered, afraid. Of what, I couldn’t exactly say, but it felt like we were standing right next to a hive full of giant hornets and the first wrong move would end with us getting stung. Repeatedly.

“My Queen?” Arachne asked, quite proud of not having needed the crutch of communicating over the hive mind at the same time. “I don’t see any guards, do you think they are still asleep?”

<Possibly, as foolish as that seems to me,> I responded while wondering why the settlement was so careless in guarding their only protection against the wilds and/or invaders from other kingdoms. Either they were extremely proud and full of themselves or they were the absolute dullest idiots that I have ever come across. <What do you think? Do they charge an entrance fee? We don’t have their currency to pay for access to the city. Or do we need an official permit as travelers?>

“We could just fly across while it is still dark?” Arachne proposed and I felt like slapping myself in the face with my hoof for overlooking the simple solution again. “From what I remember, merchants from the more well-known merchant houses were usually the only ones that bothered with trading luxury wares because those goods were the only ones worth the hassle to pay the taxes for in order to get access to foreign markets and so on. Unless you got a permit (or multiple ones) from the nobility, it wasn’t really worth trading with common goods you could easily get at the local market anyway. For common travelers like us, well... we might be considered to be an illegal traveler without proper documents. To leave one’s own hometown, someone oftentimes had to get permission to do so and we don’t have that.”

<So... breaking in it is,> I said, mentally shrugging. <Let’s hope they have a decent healer here, then. I would appreciate getting rid of this headache and possibly get our horn fixed.>

“I’m unsure whether they would be of any help,” she said, biting her lip. “We can’t pay a healer here by offering our body to them, can we?”

<Let’s worry about that once we have actually found a healer who doesn’t simply use leeches for everything and calls it a day,> I muttered, having little hope of finding someone that knows what they are doing. Arachne shrugged, buzzing her wings until she achieved liftoff.

Like me, my Princess wasn’t the best flier and it took her (only) three attempts to reach the top edge of the wall. The only things that we really had any trouble with so far were speed (due to no small fault of my own fear of ending up as a smear on the ground) and gaining altitude (I was tempted to blame our weight for that... and my newfound fear of lethal heights, as well). Landing, on the other hoof, wasn’t quite an issue anymore after we had gotten plenty of practice in (whether within the hive or outside of it). As long as we kept ourselves calm, balance wasn’t a problem, either.

Once Arachne dragged our body tiredly over the gap in between the battlements of the wall, we were quite surprised to find a snoring unicorn guard sleeping away on a rickety stool. His coat was decently clean, the only thing we really noticed was a slightly horsey smell that... actually smelled quite pleasant to our nostrils. I suppose a change in species also changed one’s perception of what type of body odors were ‘sexy’ in that primal urges sort of way. Or our sense of smell was just that different now, I guess.

I’m pretty sure the guards weren’t supposed to sleep their night shift away, but it helped us get into the city easier, so I wasn’t about to complain. The idiot didn’t even have any weapons with him (ranged or otherwise), which spoke quite highly of their idiocy to keep their city safe. It seems to me like they relied completely on their little wall to keep threats away if they were confident enough to sleep without anything to defend them (other than their armor that was pitifully lacking in protection from the looks of it).

Perhaps I was just a smidgen too hard on these guys. They did live in a mountain range, a place that provided them with quite a lot of protection against natural predators, and any invaders seeking out conquest had to traverse the rocky terrain first, leaving them with plenty of time to rally their (actual) warriors from inside the city proper. I suppose even an idiot would wake up if their gates were to be suddenly under siege.

To be honest, I doubted this particular idiot would wake up if he kept on blissfully snoring away as we flew right up the wall with wings that weren’t exactly the most silent thing in the world. A bomb could have gone off with him right next to it and I wondered whether or not that would have been enough to wake him up from his slumber. Probably. Maybe not.

He did look rather fit despite him being a bit on the lanky side. Not exactly in the nerdy type of way, just... if I had to make a comparison, he looked like he could do a marathon without too many problems. Like a mix of someone that plays basketball as a hobby and loves to go out running in the morning after sleeping the shift away on his job.

My eyes, or rather Arachne’s currently, were drawn to the... ahem, equipment... between his legs and I noticed my faithful Princess bite her lip softly. Even while (kinda) flaccid his cock was far larger than any human specimen I knew of, and, as I watched it twitch slightly, I could tell the pervy guard was having a wet dream. I wouldn’t want to be in his horseshoes if his commander ever found him like that.

<Arachne,> I cautioned, seeing her move subtly closer to him while our marehood throbbed beautifully in eagerness. <Not now.>

<Right...> she responded, giving the cute stallion a last forlorn glance before going over to the edge of the other side of the wall. Sunlight was already starting to lighten up the dark night sky, we had little time to get into the settlement unseen before the sun started to peek over the horizon. <Can we add him to the list?>

<You’re making a list?> I giggled, amused. <Sure. He seems to be a virile specimen of his kind. Athletic, too.>

“Thank you, My Queen,” she smiled, a giddy flutter running through our body. “How many stallions do you think we should seduce? To ensure a sufficient variety to make a healthy hive with? Most virgin queens mate with about fifteen drones of different hives to collect enough sperm.”

<Probably at least ten, then,> I mused. <More would be preferable. We should go for quality before quantity, though.>

“I agree,” Arachne nodded. “Okay, first things first. Get water, then get money for food and other necessities.”

<The river should hopefully be clean enough at the point where it enters the city,> I said, seeing her gaze wander over to the other end of the settlement. The castle partially obstructed our view from it, but I knew that there was a waterfall further up the mountain that fed more water to the river going through the small kingdom, supplying the fields with fresh water before entering the actual part of the settlement stuffed full with crude buildings and a little market area next to a bridge connecting the ‘poor’ area with the ‘less poor’ area (they were basically the same, just that the wealthier area had larger buildings). I couldn’t exactly tell if the kingdom was well off or not, but judging by the size of the castle, it had to be. Somewhat.

Look, the castle appeared like a mess of cobblestone, it was hard to properly judge how rich they truly were. It was basically indistinguishable from the rest of the noble district were it not for the obvious size difference. Someone was probably trying to compensate for something, in my opinion.

Lastly, close to the end of the settlement where the river left the city, packed completely full of crude shacks made of what appeared to be moldy wood, were the slums. I couldn't help but feel like it kind of ruined my picture of a fantasy world a little bit. But, to be honest, that was to be expected, wasn’t it? The rich got richer, the poor got poorer. Even in a whole new world, that rule didn’t seem to change.

Earth had its downsides and upsides, and I felt a little bit ashamed looking back at the times where I thought the downsides seemed to be overwhelmingly bad. Compared to this world, though? Earth seemed like a paradise. We had long since moved past the worst of what I witnessed here (at least, where I had lived).

Slavery.

As the first... I think they are actually ponies instead of horses... Anyway, as the first rays of sunshine bathed this world in the light of a new dawn, I (and Arachne) saw unicorns drag (seemingly) regular ponies after them. And the worst thing about it? They actually put heavy chains and collars around the necks of their slaves. Even. The. Foals.

It made me ill looking at the scene before us. The poor ponies looked so frail as they reluctantly followed their masters dutifully to where they were forced to do menial tasks for them. The less fortunate slaves had to go work on the fields and the less said about that, the better.

It was a good thing I wasn’t currently in control of our body or I would have done something quite bad in my rage. I never knew what actual hatred felt like, but now I knew. I knew with such a piercing hot intensity. An intensity that was unquenchable, demanding blood at the injustice committed in front of us.

It was a mistake, coming here. The biggest mistake we could have ever made. Burning this whole damn ‘community’ down to the ground felt like it was barely enough to quench this thirst for justice. I wanted to do so much worse, but... I swore to myself to be better than I had been in my previous life.

And that also meant not becoming an even worse monster. If I let my anger control me now, I could almost guarantee that I would commit the worst sin humanity could ever conceive. Genocide. Committing such an atrocious act was the very last thing I wanted to do. I don’t want my first act in society to be colored by so much hatred that I become the monster instead of them. There were other ways to make them pay than killing all of them ruthlessly in a fit of rage.

Besides... not all of them were at fault for this, were they? While a lot of them were just going along with it, few of them actually had the power to enforce the status quo. Those few... Well, there was one thing that came to mind that would create a better tomorrow for all of them (aside from the unfortunate idiots at fault for this, that is), wasn’t there?

Rebellion. Revolution. Down with the crown! Chop, chop, let the head roll and all that. Only then would true change be possible.

As we continued down the streets, I could tell that we were the only buggy horse in this settlement. The little ponies around us were staring quite blatantly at us, and, as I tried to listen more closely to what they were whispering so hushedly about, I knew they didn’t look too kindly on us by not being a ‘pure’ unicorn. In their eyes, we must be nothing better than a ‘monster bug pony hybrid’ (I had absolutely no doubts that that is what they thought of us, even though I understood not a damn word from their muttered words).

Then, the first guards arrived in order to deal with us, the big bad ‘threat’ to their perceived purity (or some other bullshit, I'm sure), and I was quickly corrected of my notion that these unicorns carried no weapons with them. No, they were anything but defenseless. The horns on their foreheads were their weapons. Not in the way like claws and fangs were, though.

They lit up with what could only be magic. This world had fucking magic. Genuine magic! As in, ‘a mystical force that could annihilate me at a moment’s notice’ magic and not ‘smoke and mirrors’ magic. Judging by how many guards appeared, they were quite willing to use it, too. On top of that, I was reasonably sure they weren’t here to pet the exotic ‘beast’ with their magic.

Death by aggressive petting... that’s one way to go out, huh? Too bad they weren’t into the type of petting that I was into.

And, like the stupid idiot that I was, the first thing I did in my new life was to mangle up my own magic stick on my noggin so much so that I probably couldn’t defend myself anymore. At least, as long as it wasn’t fully healed, I assumed. I lamented the fact that I (most likely) wouldn’t ever get to find out what using magic felt like. Not because of the state of my horn, but... well, angry mob out for our life and all that.

Not that it would have done us any good being able to use magic right now, anyway. I doubt we could have screwed up the necessary focus to do anything in that regard, not with these xenophobic fucktards shouting at us in a completely foreign language that I had next to no analog for. It sounded like it could have been English if you were heavily drunk and only had less than half of your teeth left. And had a sock stuffed into your muzzle, for good measure.

Arachne tried to turn around, only to be cut off by another group of guards. My faithful Princess was starting to panic, overwhelmed with trying to think of a solution to our plight as she tried to dodge the literal barrage of spellfire. Tried being the keyword here.

Our natural armor seemed resistant enough to avoid the worst of it, but it still stung quite nastily as more and more of those spells started to hit us. Arachne was like a caged animal, trying to find a way out only to hesitate every time another unicorn cut off her attempt to escape.

Nothing she did worked, so I did something. I didn't even need to nudge Arachne for me to gain back control of our body, and, being the fucking genius that I was, I did perhaps the stupidest thing that I could think of.

I charged.

It was a natural reaction to jump out of the way of an object approaching at fast speeds, even more so if that object was an angry bug horse. It was only a small gamble on my part, hoping they would react like any human would if something threatened to impact them like a mad bull intent to skewer them on their horns.

My gamble thankfully paid off, though. The guard’s eyes widened comically as he screamed like a little girl as I was about to ram horn first into him, desperately jumping away so that I could dash past him and the frightened civilians with their confused slaves.

I was lucky that I didn’t slip as I galloped through the narrow back-alleys in order to get as far away from the main path of this damn backwater town that deserved to be lit on fire for the despicable things they did to their poor fellow (hornless) ponies. I suppressed the pained yelps from the pursuing guard’s spellfire, running on adrenaline alone. I was in for a world of hurt once that pain-suppressant wore off, wasn’t I?

Fuck, I needed to hide somewhere where those fucktards won’t find me so easily. The roofs were an obvious choice... if I was confident enough to fly right now. Not to mention, I think some of those spells had hit my wings as well. I didn't 'feel' anything of the sort, but... considering everything was kinda fucked up at the moment and I didn't want to chance a look behind me for obvious reasons of me not wanting to get shot in the face, it probably was safe to assume they most certainly were not a pretty sight to behold right now.

<Arachne!> I shouted over the hive mind, hearing a whimper as I might have been a bit too loud. <We need to hide! What should I do?!>

<I-I... I don’t know, My Queen!> she responded, a sob leaving her. <I’m sorry I failed you! I don’t deserve...>

<Don’t you dare finish that thought, damnit!> I roared back, frantically trying to not trip as I crashed around a corner, surprising a unicorn as he was... well... desecrating a poor slave. <You’ve got to be fucking kidding me...>

The little mare let out a shriek as I pounced on them, fangs bared viciously. Not on my watch, I growled to myself, biting quite deeply and savagely into the neck of the fucking fucktard of a monster that dared to do that to a defenseless and unwilling 'servant'.

I flung the disgusting excuse for a living being back behind me against the first guard that rounded the corner and gave the girl a glance as she was a sniffling crying mess that would no doubt go right back to enslavement if I didn’t do something right now to stop that. I had to do something, anything, to put an end to this madness. I couldn’t just let this shit go on.

I nodded my head towards the only available escape route and raised a brow inquisitively, breathing quite heavily as I waited for a few precious seconds that I could just barely spare for her to decide whether to follow a total stranger clearly on the run from the 'law' or go back to her forced servitude. Which most likely meant going back to her master or another similar one to serve as nothing more than a hole to be fucked.

It was disgusting. Simply disgusting.

The decision was made for her as I went back on the run as the guards got their shit together earlier than I would have liked. I hissed as the one in charge shot my hind leg with a rather vicious-looking spell that almost made me tumble to the ground if I hadn’t been on such a big adrenalin high right now.

The mare, despite having just gone through a vicious fucking from her tormentor, was able to quickly catch up with me and I led us through this fucking maze of a hellhole without having a single clue as to where to go in order to hide.

Although, to be honest, it was rather easy to lose our pursuers due to the help of my little damsel in distress. She guided me to a secluded and hard-to-find spot that was easily missed if you didn’t know that it was there in the first place.

<My Queen?> Shadra asked, hesitantly. <What is going on? Arachne’s bawling her eyes out.>

Instead of answering, I decided to try something else I wanted to find out if it was possible for us to do. I focused on the connection I had with my Prince(ss), and, while thinking of the last couple of minutes, I pushed the memories of our hectic chase through this godforsaken place over to him and was promptly rewarded by a horrified gasp. I silently sent my apologies to Shadra for showing him... well... that. No one had to see something like that, ever. Least of all go through it.

The pony in front of me gave me a wary glance, watching me as I slumped against the crates and dirty rags in exhaustion and, even more worryingly, agony. Despite my best efforts, my wings kept buzzing every once in a while as I tried to keep my tears contained and breathing steady. A look back told me everything I needed to know: the damage was far worse than I initially assumed. There was a noticeable piece of my right wing missing almost like something had viciously torn it off halfway and they both looked tattered beyond belief. And, as I gave my hindlegs a glance, I whimpered at the burn marks all over my chitin. That wasn't the reason why I whimpered, though.

No, the true reason was the fucking hole in my leg. It looked like they almost melted a piece out of me, leaving me with a circular indent near my left hoof and one going fully through the whole limb a bit further up on my right hind leg. My forelegs were thankfully spared any horrific disfigurement, as was the rest of my body. My chitin looked blackened all over, though. More black than it already was naturally. Nothing a bath or two couldn’t fix, I’m sure. My mane was thankfully the only thing that was completely unscathed, still as silky and soft as ever.

My tail wasn’t quite so fortunate, on the other... hoof, I suppose. I have no idea how, but... it looked almost like moths had taken a few bites out of it, making it appear torn and slightly less voluminous. It was still silky, but not as much as my glorious mane anymore. It would (hopefully) grow back to its majestic appearance in no time. That didn't mean I was any less mad about it, though.

The mare I saved came slowly over to me, fidgeting uncomfortably as she had no idea what to make out of me. I kept the snarl away from my muzzle as my body was in no mood to be further injured. I knew she would (probably) not hurt her savior, so I simply watched her approach (while preparing myself to flee in my paranoid state).

Her mane was a dirty green and could definitely use a thorough bath (as could her muddy greyish-white coat, for that matter). Her hoof slowly reached out to me, giving me a glance as if asking for permission to touch me. Her brown eyes were seeking out my magenta ones and looked almost... was that kindness? I think it was...

How strange... it was almost like...

“Why save me?” she asked suddenly and I was a bit surprised that she spoke perfect English after not having understood one word from those fucktards with toothpicks on their heads. Her hoof, I noticed, was over my shoulder. Before I could answer, I felt her hoof slowly trace my chitin over to where my deep magenta shell began on my back. “And what are you? You... you probably don’t understand a word I’m saying, huh?”

“I do understand you,” I whispered back, fidgeting slightly as her hoof went over my abdominal shell next. It was starting to make my heart race, I noticed with a tiny blush. “I... I don’t know what I am. I-I think... I think I’m the only one of my kind around here.”

“Why did you save me, then?” she asked again and I bit back a hiss as her touch hurt a particularly sensitive spot of my injuries. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to...”

“It’s okay,” I grunted, panting through the pain with gritted teeth. “You’re just... curious...”

“Still...” she mumbled, looking guilty and... I could kind of sense it in a weird way. So, that meant that I hadn’t imagined having felt her kindness, after all. Her guilt... it tasted(?) incredibly bitter to my senses and I didn’t like it one bit. Not a single one. Her kindness had felt a lot better, to be honest (not that much of a surprise, duh).

“Really, it’s okay,” I reassured her. “You said you didn’t mean to and I... I believe you.”

It was... weird. I could tell she was honest with me just like I could tell she felt guilty. A part of me tried to make some sense out of it while the other was desperately trying to shut out these foreign emotions as they threatened to overwhelm me. It was almost like... her sadness was infectious, making me feel sad as well. Not as strongly as I suspected she must have felt like for making me hurt even more, but I wasn’t entirely unaffected by it.

A partially broken memory of Tobias came to mind, one of a particularly powerful cortexiphan child: Nick Lane. After the trials with the highly experimental drug, he had also been able to influence others with his emotions in a way that was not unlike a contagion. Was she like him? Did she know what she was doing? There was no way that she was not aware of it, was there?

I let out a sigh as I had no idea what to do with the guilt from the mare in front of me. I wasn't sure what it was that allowed me to sense these feelings from her, so.... maybe it was me and not her? Could it actually be an empathic ability of mine? Or could all these ponies feel this... whatever this was? If I had access to my lab at Massive Dynamic, I could have easily found out. I, uh... I mean, Tobias’ lab, damnit. It was still hard to figure out which memories were mine and which weren’t. Where one began, the other blurred into it, and, even more worryingly, most of those broken memories were so subtle, it was hard to differentiate to whom they even belonged to in the first place. It was an absolute mess to sort through and it was no wonder that, after having wasted centuries on this task, I wasn't anywhere near finished with it yet. I doubt I ever would be, to be honest.

<Shadra?> I said over the hive mind, wary. Broken memories aside, we still were in the middle of a hostile city-kingdom here and I needed to find a solution for that and my little empathy problem. Not that I couldn't already think of a dozen ways to take advantage of something like that, but... it could just as easily become a disadvantage to me if I couldn't keep those foreign emotions out. Nick Lane was the perfect example of what could happen to a person with absolutely no control over it. I was in no way going to commit suicide just because I got a little bit too close to a particularly depressed pony, damnit.

<What is it, My Queen?> my Prince(ss) asked, sounding as concerned as ever.

<Try to figure out how to... shut out emotions? From others, that is. And maybe how to do this magic thing with our horn,> I instructed. <We are in desperate need of something that could help us out right now in our current situation. We can’t just hide here forever in this little storage corner and I don’t think we can fight our way out of this damn shitshow of a kingdom.>

he replied confidently. <Although... might I suggest trying to escape at night?>

<I don’t think that will work out, Shadra. They will be on the lookout for us and be alert of anyone trying to leave, and with my wings in the state they are, flying over the wall again is not an option anymore,> I said. Even if we were to hide in a cart leaving the city, I was doubtful I would get lucky enough that they wouldn't immediately find me. Our only option was to either fight our way out or wait this out until they stopped searching for us and then try to escape. But for either of those options, we needed an ace up our metaphorical sleeves. <Having a weapon at our disposal to fight back would help us out in a pinch, but I would prefer going completely unseen.>

<If this is truly magic, m-maybe there is something that could help us do just that?> Arachne proposed meekly. I let out a hum in thought, momentarily scaring my friend(?) with the sudden sound, making her squeak cutely as she withdrew her hoof from inspecting my body further.

“What’s your name?” she asked and I blinked, shifting slightly to find a more comfortable position that wouldn’t make my wounds hurt so much. An endeavor that wasn't easy to achieve, seriously. “My name is Birch Leaf.”

“Q... Araneae,” I say, smiling ever so slightly. I was about to say ‘Queen’ but decided not to. I had admittedly gotten to enjoy hearing it from Arachne and Shadra despite all of my reservations. That didn’t mean I wanted her to... view me differently, I guess? I wasn’t very queenly right now, I suppose, barely able to keep myself from squirming around in pain. “It’s nice to meet you, Birch Leaf. I’m sorry about the... uh... circumstances that led to us meeting in the first place. You shouldn’t have to go through something like that.”

“Thank you?” she mumbled, her emotional taste (or scent, whatever... it’s weird to describe just what this actually was that I was ‘feeling’) was starting to be less bitter and more... velvety, I think. “I... I appreciate you standing up for me...”

“What happened that led to this?” I asked, trying to figure out just how something like this could have happened in the first place. I needed to know, to understand, what the fuck was going on here. This was pure evil and downright cruel, it was as simple as that. It needs to be stopped and if I was the one that had to do something, I would... hopefully find a way to (somehow) liberate these ponies. I didn’t exactly know what to do in order to achieve that just yet, or even what to do with all of these traumatized ponies once I have actually achieved that (and I will achieve that no matter what), but... I was going to find a way, one way or another, that I swear. All I really needed was a plan. A plan that was foolproof.

This could only go sideways, couldn’t it?

“Our village was extorted, and, like many others, we couldn’t pay the unicorns to raise and lower the suns and the moon,” Birch Leaf explained, heavy-hearted. My brow was significantly raised as she said suns, as in plural, and that they lowered and raised them like friggin’ toys. Either she was making this up or this world was seriously fucked up. More so than I was already inclined to believe. “So they enslaved us to pay our debt back to them. Only for them to keep piling up our debt with having to pay for the housing they so ‘generously’ provide for us and the food that we ourselves grow for them...”

“That’s...” I started, gritting my teeth angrily. Despicable couldn’t even do it justice in describing how utterly wrong this was. They were basically trapping them forever in enslavement because they were too fucking lazy to grow their own food. “That’s disgusting.”

“I guess...” she shrugged listlessly. “I’m glad to be away from my master for a little bit... but I have no doubt he will find me eventually. He always does...”

“I’m going to break those chains on you and your fellow ponies, Leaf,” I said, determination blazing brightly in my chest. “None of you should be treated this way.”

“Lord Amore has tried to rebel against King Gemstone before,” she said and her sadness almost overwhelmed me for a moment, causing me to cry softly. “He was sent to the dungeons for trying to defend ‘mud ponies’ and Princess Gold Bar is not allowed to leave her chambers anymore for deciding to support him. You will end up like that, too, if you 'dare' to defy him. Or worse... you won’t even get a cell in the dungeons...”

“Who is this Lord Amore?” I asked, trying to rein in the tears. This emotional thing was obviously something specific to me if Leaf was the one that was solely influencing me while I couldn’t influence her in turn. I wasn’t entirely certain yet, more research was needed to get a definite answer to that question. I wasn't about to go experimenting on innocent ponies in order to find out, though. “Maybe I could try to free him and...”

“Don’t you think ponies haven’t tried that, already?” Birch Leaf snorted, suffocating me with what could only be her despair. It tasted absolutely rancid and thick and horrible. Nothing but pure disgust to my ‘emotional tongue’. I suppose that would be the best way I could put it into words for now, even though I wasn't entirely happy with that, either. “Everypony that tries to rebel ends up either in the dungeons next to him or gets a chain around their neck themselves. Going against the King of Unicornia is a fool’s errand.”

“Then it's time to put an end to his reign, don’t you think?” I shot back, glaring at her. Birch Leaf gave me a disbelieving stare, shocked to see my sheer will to fight for them burning in my eyes like a blazing inferno. “In every story with a cruel oppressor, there is one commonality. The greedy, the selfish, the cruel... they always meet their end at the... uh... hooves of those they oppress. Whether through some... pony they least expect or through the sheer mass of a revolting populace, their reign never lasts forever... even if it might seem so. I have seen it happen before.”

Well, ‘seen’ was a bit of an exaggeration. Paintings of the French and the American Revolution counted, right? One doesn’t have to have been there personally to know how a revolution turned out, after all. History was a great teacher in that regard.

I’d better not tell her what happened in the Great War, in that case. While humanity did some great things... at times, we could also be the greatest monsters one could imagine. Just one more reason to do my best to better this world, I decided.

“Who... who are you?” she whispered and I could see a little spark of hope roaring to life in her eyes. Her hope... it felt so incredibly succulent, so light... so very juicy, invigorating even. Just ‘tasting’ it gave me back some of my lost strength, and, at that moment, I had the most glorious revelation in my new life.

I was a friggin’ emotional carnivore. I was a friggin’ predator feasting on the emotions of others. An emotional vampire, a genuine succubus. I knew why regular food made me feel queasy now. It was simply because it was inedible to me.

Oh, I’m going to have so much fun with this~. These unicorns won’t know what hit ‘em. It was a tempting thought to drain them completely dry for what they did to their ‘unwilling servants’. I will teach them a lesson for daring to resort to slavery.

“I am Queen Araneae,” I declared, stretching out my limbs satisfyingly as the ache was gone as if I had never been injured by those bastards in the first place. I gave the mare in front of me a wide smirk, brimming with confidence. If I have to play the ‘Queen’ card to inspire her, I will gladly do so. Hope is a powerful thing, after all. Able to unite even those that had lost everything, hope can turn the tide on those that think themselves safe on their throne of oppression and despair. “And I will have my hive become the greatest empire this world has ever seen. You are under my royal protection now, as are those you consider kin.”

<Well said, My Queen,> Arachne giggled. <Shadra and I have figured out how to use our magic, it wasn’t as hard as I had initially thought. It will become quite... useful~... to our cause.>

<Thank you, my Princess,> I said graciously.

“Q-Q-Queen?!” Birch Leaf stuttered, bowing deeply. So deeply, in fact, that her muzzle was just shy of touching the ground. I gave her a displeased gaze and placed a hoof under her chin, lifting her head up gently. “You are...”

“In name only,” I said, letting out a huff. “I have no kingdom to rule over. Yet.”

“What?” Leaf whispered, confused. “I don’t understand...”

“I’m a virgin queen of a new hive,” I told her with a shrug. “I haven’t started laying eggs yet, so I don’t have subjects to rule over.”

“Virgin queen?” she asked, blushing. “You mean... like... like... bees and ants and so on?”

“Sure, let’s go with that,” I shrugged, mildly impressed that she even knew that much. “I haven’t been fucked by drones or, well... other ponies, I suppose. But that isn’t important right now. What is important, though, is getting water before I die of thirst, and that requires us moving through this... Kingdom of Unicornia?”

Birch Leaf nodded and I snorted at how stupid of a name that was. It was like naming a country ‘Humanity Land’. Well, considering the names I have heard so far... they liked to keep things simple, didn’t they? Couldn’t really argue against that, sometimes keeping things simple was just as good. And it wasn’t like there hadn’t been similarly stupid examples on Earth, so I was just going to roll with it. Even if it was really, really stupid.

<So, how do we use this magic?> I asked and immediately got a reply from Shadra and Arachne in the form of their memories. Birch Leaf was understandably confused as I started to blush brightly as, of course, they used it for lewd things almost immediately. I was so proud of them, they were growing up so fast.

Basically, all I had to do was to focus on my emotions and then push my ‘mana’ into my horn from there, and, based on which combination of emotions I used, different things would happen. The desire to hide... well, let’s say Shadra and Arachne didn’t look buggy anymore while my 'Prince' pounded the tight pussy of my Princess with his horse cock. Shadra’s thick and veiny, juicy and meaty, throbbing horse cock...

It made my own pussy pulse needily, looking at the memory like a dirty voyeur. Fuck, I wish that was me in Arachne's position, hot damn.

“Birch Leaf,” I said, almost moaning. I really need to stop thinking about sex so much, it was distracting at the best of times. If this went on, I would definitely blow my cover as soon as I saw the first available stallion out on the streets. “Don’t be alarmed by what I’m going to do.”

“What do you mean, Your Majesty?” she asked nervously, gulping thickly. “And why... why do you smell so good?”

“Pheromones, ignore them,” I answered, picturing the poor excuse of a stallion in my mind as I desired to hide while pushing my mana into every part of my body. It was a... weird and foreign... feeling of having this mystic force do what I instructed it to do with a simple mental push.

The sensation of shape-shifting itself didn't feel bad, though. Far from it, even. It felt a bit constricting, but overall? Not bad at all.

The same couldn't be said of the actual disguise, though...

A flash of bright magenta fire later had me in the form of a pale yellow unicorn with a short lime-green mane and blue eyes, causing Leaf to squeak in panic. I let out a soothing hum, noticing that my voice was still my own. Would have to fix that, somehow.

“A-Araneae?” she asked hesitantly and I nodded. “Why... why would you...”

“To blend in, mostly,” I told her, fidgeting slightly as my package was needlessly exposed, unlike how it felt like in my natural form. That would take me some time to get used to it, wouldn’t it? Already I was hating how this disguise felt and not only because of the fact I deliberately chose that excuse of a living being. It kinda felt like he was a bit too bulky for his height (and from the looks of it, he wasn't that much taller than Birch Leaf, so there was that as well), I was honestly debating whether or not to drop this disguise and change it to that cute guard Arachne and I had seen on the wall, but... well... “It will be easier for us to go unnoticed if you are with... that asshole of a master. That way, the guards won’t question why you are with me. I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, but unless you have a better idea, we will have to suck it up until they stop searching for me.”

“R-right...” she said, her voice quivering slightly. “I can get behind that... Do you speak Unicornian?”

“Uh... no,” I admitted, rubbing my neck awkwardly. “Can’t be too hard to learn, right?”

“What do we do if somepony asks us about what happened in the alley? They will know you aren't who you are pretending to be," Leaf questioned, her eyebrow raised commandingly. I had to admit, she had a point there, but as long as we don't run into anyone that knows that this stallion should by no means be walking through the streets right now, everything should be fine. “Besides, you can’t just pretend to be mute, they will know something is up with you.”

“What would you have me do, huh?” I asked back, irritatedly. “I can’t just magically... learn... a new language...”

“Araneae?” Leaf said slowly as I started to grin like a loon. I don’t have to actually speak their language, now do I? I just have to make them believe that I can.

“Tell me, do you understand what I am saying?” I said, using my magic to influence Leaf’s sense of hearing. “Which language am I talking in right now?”

“Uhm...” Leaf hesitated. “You didn’t suddenly learn Unicornian just like that, did you?”

“No, I didn’t,” I replied giddily, cutting off the flow of mana to my horn. It was still the bright magenta aura, so that was another thing I would have to be careful of until I could find a workaround for that as well. I’m just glad I can still use it after what I had done to my horn. “I cast a spell to make you think that I spoke in Unicornian. Truly, this magic thing is way better than I could have ever imagined! It's so intuitive! Eee!”

“Right...” she said, uncomfortable. “I’m... glad you like it so much, I guess. But... uh... how many ponies could you affect like that?”

Fuck. I didn't even consider that possibility, already celebrating because I got a new exciting toy to play with that I completely disregarded the fact that it was rather unlikely that we would run into a single pony every time. Damn, that could become a problem. A major problem.

It wasn’t exactly easy to maintain the spell and keeping it active on one pony was already draining enough. All while having to maintain the shapeshifting spell as well. Not to mention, I wouldn’t understand a word they say to me and it would look a bit suspicious if I have to rely on Leaf to translate for me...

Then, there was another matter I had to take into consideration. As my tummy started to rumble needily, I got the sneaking suspicion that I converted the emotions I ate into mana, making it risky to spend too much on spells. It wasn’t so much a problem in a city, but out in the wilds? I couldn’t just find something to snack on, cut off from civilization.

Being a succubus sucks. Sometimes literally~.

Okay, first things first. Make a list, Araneae. Get water, fuck a lot of random unicorns (without raising suspicion), rescue this Amore, dispose of King Gemstone, liberate slaves. Easy.

I feel like I bit off more than I can chew. Ugh, what was I even doing? A revolution? Getting rid of royalty?! What the actual flying pig was I thinking?! There's no way this was going to work, I'm just... a newborn virgin queen bug horse, damnit! What do I have that would be remotely helpful in a (more than likely) bloody revolution?! I'm a friggin' coward most of the time, I'm not cut out for this crap! I should make a run for it as soon as I can, not... not get into this fucked up mess.

Was it too late to go back to the cave with my dead mother of a tree and hide for the rest of my pathetic life? No? Great!

One glance back into Leaf's eyes made me pause. Right, this was no time for doubts, Araneae. As much of a frightened mess I was, this was more important than crawling into the first hole I could find to whimper to myself in fear. Leaf depended on me and it wasn't like I had no tools at all at my disposal. I had friggin' magic, I was able to shapeshift into a perfect replica of a pony I have seen only briefly, and most importantly, I had fucking magic. Magic! A force of incomprehensible might that I barely understood and probably shouldn't play around with, but by the almighty flying pig, I was going to abuse the fuck out of it.

So what if? What if I was not cut out for this? What if I was nothing more than a frightened former human of the twenty-first century stuck in a world that was still in the middle ages? Fuck that shit! I was going to try even if it... uh... okay no, I'll probably throw in the towel before I was about to die again, but at least I would give it my best until then! Leaf deserved better, after all. I'll just have to ignore that little nagging voice in the back of my head asking me what the fuck I was doing. I'm an expert in ignoring my common sense, anyway.

So... fake it until I make it, it is. I was going to waltz right up to those dickheads and they were going to give me everything I desired simply because I was going to bat my pretty eyelashes at them and give them a wet hole to fuck to their racist little heart's content. Then I'm going to rob them blind while I'm at it because... why the fuck not?

And I did have another super effective weapon at my disposal, have I not? My pheromones clearly affected ponies as well (which shouldn't really come off as a surprise to me but it did), I could take advantage of that. This ability to shapeshift was my biggest advantage to move freely through this kingdom and together with my pheromones, it was almost too easy to seduce any... pony. That sounds kinda racist, saying anypony instead of anybody, doesn’t it?

So... might as well get used to it now before I blow my cover, right? My pheromones could only do so much and without proper deception, I wouldn’t last long in this fucked up kingdom. I couldn't allow myself to make too many mistakes until I got the ball rolling enough for the chain reaction to do the rest for me.

Then, and only then, could I go into hysterics. There was still time for me to panic like a headless chicken after everything was said and done. I was better than this, and, most importantly, I was not alone. I had Shadra and Arachne with me, as well as Birch Leaf and every... pony... else we were going to free.

But first, there was something I had to do before confronting King Dickhead for his crimes against ponykind, putting an end to this cruelty and misery. For this to work at all, I had to free this Lord Amore from his cruel fate in the dungeons and I couldn't do that if they got wind of my ability to hide within their ranks. It would be near impossible for me to enact my glorious plan of inciting a revolution without Amore. I'd rather not disappoint Leaf after I gave her my word to change all of their fates for the better, she deserved all the happiness in the world. They all did.

Besides, now that I think about it... Amore was kinda like the typical damsel in distress commonly seen in old fairy tales, wasn’t he? My very own Rapunzel to save... If this was a video game, I would be the lewd (sorta) female version of Mario fucking my way through the dungeons to rescue the princess (or rather, the prince) from doom.

I liked that idea. A proper start to my adventure, how exciting!

Chapter 003 - A glorious feast.

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I moaned. I sighed. I blinked in bliss. And I kept on drinking, happily taking what I wanted. The feeling of fur sticking to my body, the intoxicating fresh taste... Mhh~. I wanted so much more, until my belly bloated from the sheer volume, straining against my legs...

This was heaven. Utter ecstasy. Joy.

Birch Leaf gave me a glance and I grinned lewdly back at her, delighting in the bright red blush on her muzzle. I could see it in her eyes, the utterly confused mix of emotions as I drank and drank. I moaned again, relief flooding through my system like a drug.

“You are the weirdest being that I’ve ever come across,” she said, looking away as her blush got brighter, more intense. It was practically glowing as I made a show out of what I was doing. I knew that, secretly, she loved watching me do this and it made me smile even wider.

I gave the red as a tomato mare in front of me a half-lidded gaze, moaning exaggeratedly while watching her ear twitch madly to the heavenly sound that was my multi-layered voice. The two suns in the sky were reflected so very beautifully from her eyes as she stared at me while squirming cutely.

Another moan made her whimper and I laughed silently to myself, unable to contain my glee. Her glistening coat looked almost divine in the light of the midday suns like she was an angel sent from Heaven in pony form. On a basic level, I could understand why she had been degraded to a sex slave, as atrocious as it was to force her into such services to a lecherous slimeball of a stallion.

She was a beauty to behold, wasn’t she? Her slender legs, while sleek, hid powerful muscles underneath her perfect coat of white fur. Her hooves looked so very delicate as they slowly traced circles over her chest, almost begging me to worship the ground they walked on. And don’t even get me started on those flowing rivers of hair that she called her mane. Mhh~, the sheer volume of her mane was nothing short of divine, graceful, and majestic, begging to be revered and admired.

To think that this goddess of beauty was defiled like a mere toy to be used... I wanted to keep her safe from harm for the rest of her life and grant her every wish on her lips if it was within my ability to fulfill. She deserved that and so much more. I would give her all of my body if that's what she demanded of me without hesitating for a single second. If she told me that I was her slave now instead, I wouldn’t even hesitate for a single moment and throw myself at her hooves like an obedient pet. Oh, how I desired nothing more than to see her look at me with those glorious orbs of hers with pure primal need...

Although, the cute embarrassed kind of look suited her just as well, her muzzle burning a bright hot red color... She was nothing but temptation given form and I was too weak to resist her charm. I wanted her to do all kinds of things to me, however degrading it might have been. I was hers to do with as she pleased, she had me within her enchanted gaze like a moth drawn to a flame. Not that I would ever tell her that.

Birch Leaf stammered and squeaked as I did the most raunchiest things and her emotions reflected her embarrassment and arousal. Oh, how pleasant that feeling of degeneracy smelled, how absolutely delicious it tasted... it was ambrosia to my patchwork of a soul. A calming balm that could soothe any of my fears, my anxieties, and bring nothing but hope for a better tomorrow.

It was all that I wanted... nay, needed... to fulfill her every wish. That sweet succulent emotion filled heaven could only demand the best of me and I would build her that empire so that everyone could worship her absolute magnificence. There was no doubt within me that she could ever run out of these divine feelings, for she was a veritable goddess in pony form.

Simply tasting this ambrosia made me go wilder as I drank, the fire on my tongue being doused in delightfully refreshing wetness. And I absolutely loved the feeling, satisfaction being such a glorious reward.

Mhh, yes~... the most glorious reward.

Birch Leaf, while the very image of a pure goddess in a mortal’s body, was anything but innocent herself. She gave off an air of seduction and she knew it, using her gifts to reduce me to a thirsty pile of need, of want. Leaf knew how to push my buttons already and I absolutely loved it. I doubt she did it consciously, but damn... it was like she was doing it on purpose, edging me on like that. And I was too weak to quench that desire to utterly submit myself to her.

Being in her presence was like... being bathed in a bright alluring light. Even though my thirsty need felt like it was not even at the halfway point of being satisfied, I felt like I was going to burst from overindulging already. I needed... no, I desired to have all of what I could get and more. My companion was like a feast, her divine presence embracing me so thoroughly as I drank and drank, finding no end.

Alas... I could take no more. My throaty and seductive moans turned into happy hums as I licked my lips sensually, taking comfort in the feeling of utter fullness. But still... I felt like I could continue on forever, always needy for more. The fire in the deepest parts of me had merely been stoked, demanding more of that delicious fuel to keep it roaring brightly.

Leaf, on the other hoof, was dying of embarrassment or a lack of blood in the proper parts of her body, I wasn’t entirely certain of that as I heaved myself out of the river, having gotten my fill of water. Going without fluids was almost torturous, but it was well worth the wait to finally be able to satisfy the basic need of having to drink.

Birch Leaf followed me out of the water, giving me the stink eye as she tried to shake the water out of her coat and mane while I used my unique changeling magic to bring back my disguise after burning it away for a split second (something Arachne came up with, both the name for our species and the nifty little trick of using the transformative flames to our advantage).

“You are a deviant,” she accused me and all I did was giggle. I was, that I couldn’t deny. While she looked like a holy angel, cast out of Heaven for being too perfect, I most definitely was the complete opposite. A lewd succubus that crawled her way out of Hell because she couldn’t keep her hooves to herself most of the time, desiring nothing more than to gleefully feed off of the sinful feelings every mortal tried to hide. Preferably, I would feed off of hers exclusively~. “And flaunting your body like that even though it isn’t yours doesn’t help. Now I’m horny for dick...”

“Aww, you only need to ask, my dear Leaf,” I told her, smirking at her pout. It was so very tempting to simply give in to these naughty little desires of mine, what with her acting so... falsely innocent. But, as the case might be... "I imagine you wouldn’t want to do that with me looking like your captor. It's a good thing I'm a shapeshifter, then, no? I could look like whatever you want me to look like, or, if you prefer, I could return to my base form and we could have fun like that~.”

“Some... some other time...” she stammered, her blush returning full force. “...m-maybe. I’m not sure I’m ready for any intimacy anytime soon.”

“I... I understand,” I said, giving her a pitying look. Way to be a jerk, idiot. Why did I have to go and be all... flirty with her? I should have known better, ugh. Now she must think I’m no better than her captors. Stupid, stupid, stupid! “I’m... sorry for having been so insensitive about that. I wouldn’t be ready for that, either, if I went through something like that, too. That must have been hard for you, I really am sorry. Please, don’t think I’m trying to get into... uh... under your tail. I’m sorry for... assuming you were... sorry.”

“I...” she hesitated, rubbing a leg awkwardly against the back of her neck. “It’s not that. You’re not him, I get that, it’s just... if I do this kind of thing ever again, I want to do that with somepony I know and genuinely care about. Somepony that I can be around because I want to be around them, first and foremostly. A friend.”

“I see,” I hummed, feeling like I knew that there was a word for that. It was something similar, or at the very least connected to, asexuality. Clearly, she still had ‘needs’ if her comments were any indicators, but the way she spoke of wanting and needing somepony with whom she connects with before even considering doing it again was very indicative of a person that had specific requirements to being intimate with another pony. “I can’t say I can empathize with you on that, but if you ever need a shoulder to cry on or just someone that listens to you and is your friend... I’d like that. You deserve to be happy.”

“Thank you,” Leaf smiled, nuzzling me gratefully. “Please, don’t feel like you have to hide yourself around me. If anything, I don’t want to be lied to, even if it is only for the sake of making me feel more comfortable. I want to know the real you, not some mask you put up around me.”

“Is that what you truly want?” I asked, unsure. Leaf nodded back at me with a resolute determination. “You know... I don’t really know what to think about that...”

“Just... act like yourself around me, please,” she pleaded with me. “I don’t want this to hang over our friendship. I’d rather move past these reminders.”

“Okay...”

“Good,” Leaf said, letting out a relieved sigh. I don’t know whether or not I could keep this promise to her, but... I would try my best to... well... be myself, I guess. Not that that was going to be too hard for me since I still had no idea who I really wanted to be just yet.

A slut, clearly. But who cares? I like acting all shameless and blatantly open about my desires. If someone got a problem with that, well... they could suck my dick, it’s as simple as that.

“You know... I never asked, but... how should I address you while you’re like... that?” she asked and I blinked, looking at my current appearance. Right, I forgot I wasn’t quite myself like this. “Do I refer to you as male even though you’re...”

“I’m also male in my natural form,” I told her, shutting her up pretty quickly. “I mean, as male as I can be, I guess. I do have a vagina also, if you’re more into that~.”

“W-what? N-no! I-I’m not!” she stammered, blushing a bright red. I snickered to myself as she tried denying it and couldn’t help but think she looked cute like that. All flustered and angrily swishing her tail in a flustered way. “I... I mean, I... it’s...”

“No need to be ashamed around me, my friend,” I grinned, brushing myself lightly against her side as I walked past her on the way back to the city. “I’m literally made to have sex with whoever asks it of me, Leaf. I’m yours to abuse as you wish~. All your lewdest dreams... I could fulfill them for you. My only desire is to be of service, to make you feel good. If that means you taking your frustrations out on me, I’m all into that~.”

“I-I don’t, I...” Leaf tried to come up with an argument for why she didn’t want that, but I didn’t let her come up with anything because I felt like this was something she needed to hear. She needed to heal, not just bottle things up.

“Hit me.”

“What..?”

“Hit me,” I repeated, fully intent on taking a hit from her. “Hit me and pretend I’m the scumbag that mistreated you so. I can tell you need to get it out of your system. I promise, I can take it.”

“No! No, I won’t do that,” she insisted, shaking her head. “You’re not him and it would still be you I’d be hitting instead. It was satisfying enough for me to have seen him being thrown off of me by you. It’s really sweet that you want to offer yourself as my... my punching bag, I guess. But I don’t need that. What I need is some time and a good friend. And I thank you for being there for me, for being so understanding even if you don’t ‘get’ it. That’s enough for me, trust me.”

“Alright, then,” I nodded, kind of humbled in a sense. Perhaps I was taking this too far, trying to overcompensate for something I didn’t even do to her. I wanted her to feel better, that was all. “As for how you may refer to me while like this... I suppose it would be easier to just refer to me with the pronouns that correspond to my physical form at the time. Less confusion that way, don’t you think?”

“That makes sense, I guess,” she agreed. “You’re really something else, you know that?”

“Hm?”

“You being so open and nice,” she elaborated. “It’s unlike anything anypony else has ever shown towards me.”

“I imagine your captors wouldn’t show much of that,” I rolled my eyes, getting mad again. “They should choke on their own dicks in my opinion. After I fuck them dry, that is.”

Leaf sputtered, coughing for a moment after I made that comment. “Ugh, I still can’t believe you are going to be the one to set us free...” she blushed, staring blatantly ahead without trying to sneak glances at me. “At least you won’t treat us like the unicorns do...”

It truly was a sin what they did to you and your fellow hornless ponies, I thought grimly. Never could I subject any... pony to that. Those that were under my royal protection... I would guarantee to treat them with the utmost reverence because that is what they deserved after everything they had to go through here. That, I promised to myself.

“It’s a crime against everything I hold dear to my heart, Birch Leaf,” I said, sneering slightly to myself. A crime to such adorable ponies cannot go unpunished. To subject them to slavery... it was nothing short of heinous. Outrageous. Cruel. Atrocious. Monstrous. There were not enough words in my vocabulary to describe how gruesome it truly was. “Freedom is a basic right of any living being. I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to do.”

“But you are going to do that to the unicorns? Fuck them for their sperm?” she asked, scrunching up her muzzle. Aww, don’t look at me like that, dear. While it looked absolutely adorable, it didn’t feel right for you to look at me like that. After all, you were the one that told me to act natural, weren’t you? “Isn’t that like... rape?”

“Pfft. Nah!” I shot back, shaking my head. I wasn’t really going to rape them if they were the ones that were horny for me, right? With a little nudge here and there, they will be the ones wanting to force themselves on me rather than I on them. “I’m going to seduce them and they will fill me up out of their own free will. That’s different, Leaf. I’m going to be the one used by them as their little and very willing cumdump. Besides, both parties will get something out of this, so where is the harm?”

“You get the most out of it, so it is kind of like an unfair trade,” Leaf pointed out. “Heck, you are even thinking of robbing them while you do it, that’s far from nice.”

“And why wouldn’t I?” I giggled giddily. “They actually deserve it, so why are you against it? They deserve a far worse fate than that, to be honest.”

“Because...” she hesitated, fidgeting as she walked next to me as we entered the residential area while avoiding the patrolling guards. There were a lot of those going around, so we shouldn't linger too long in one place to avoid being caught. “Because I don’t want you to be like that. You are far too nice to go for revenge...”

I... was this revenge? Do I really... want to... but...

“You don’t know me,” I said, lowly. My gaze wandered gradually down as I looked back on my past life. My stupid narcissistic self. The old me that didn’t trust anyone, that selfishly took whatever they wanted, and that honestly believed was better than everyone else. The one that... never knew what love felt like. My cowardly self that used others to do my own bidding. “How do you know I’m not like that?”

“Because you helped me,” Leaf said, her eyes staring into mine as my stride slowed down. Her eyes looked into my vulnerable ones and all I saw... was kindness. A genuine want to see me at my best, to encourage me to be better. To put behind my past and look forward to the future as the best self I could possibly be. “You promised to help us. I know you want to be good, to do something that would make the ponies around you proud of you for your deeds of selflessness. Don’t let this want to enact vengeance on our behalf consume you, My Queen. I don’t want to lose you to this darkness...”

“I am not ‘your’ queen,” I told her, giving her a glare that probably didn’t convince her one bit. “I don’t even have a nation to rule. I am a Queen of No One.”

She smiled, poking my side with a hoof. “Don’t I get the choice to follow you out of my own free will? I want to follow somepony like you, somepony that so selflessly wants to free me and my fellow earthponies without asking for anything in return.”

“I...” I hesitated, biting my lip. I shook my head, trying to find one selfish reason to give to her that would dissuade her from that. I came up empty, though. I really did want to save her and her fellow ponies only because it was the right thing to do. Because they deserved better. Nothing I could say to convince her otherwise would be truthful. “I only want to start my own hive, have a family... live a peaceful, quiet life...”

“Then let me be a part of that if that makes you my queen, Your Majesty,” Birch Leaf said, bowing to me (while thankfully not drawing too much attention to us from the few ponies walking by, apparently used to slaves doing this sort of thing to their ‘masters’) and I couldn’t help admire the conviction in her eyes. It reminded me of the sheer dedication of Arachne to serve me and the hive. “And if it is love that you want... I have plenty to give. As long as you don’t force anything on us, we will dedicate our lives to you. You are the only hope we have left.”

“But...” I began, fidgeting. “Why? You aren’t a... well, changeling...”

“Do I have to be?” she asked with twinkling eyes and smiled happily back at me as I begrudgingly shook my head. “Whatever you want to call your nation, I want to be a part of it. Kingdom, Empire, Hive... Home.”

<Can we keep her?> Arachne asked me with a hopeful tone, throwing in her own two cents.

”If that is what you want,” I answered, trying to ignore the flippy feeling in my stomach and failing miserably at it. This time, the tears that threatened to spill were entirely my own fault, deeply touched by her words. ”Then I won’t say no to that.”

Leaf... she was right, wasn’t she? A hive was one big community, it didn’t necessarily have to mean that only changelings could be in it. I didn’t need to be so against it, it would only be racist of me to deny her that wish.

Besides, ponies and changelings are meant to live side by side, right? Changelings are like... symbiotic beings, requiring us to live in harmony with those living alongside us, as strange as it was to view myself like that.

Changelings could either form mutualistic beneficial relationships with ponies, something that was very much preferable in my opinion (not to mention, with us being able to shapeshift into any form that was desired of us, we are basically a wet dream come true for anypony), or... we could become parasites that live in the shadows, fearing to be discovered by one little misstep, preying on ponies. That’s something I couldn’t ever do. Definitely not to ponies like Leaf.

<Aww, thank you, My Queen!> Arachne replied giddily. <A new hive sister! Eee! I wish I had a body of my own so I could hug her, kiss her... fuck her~.>

“Thank you, Queen Araneae,” Birch Leaf said, smiling gratefully. “I promise to always serve you well, out of my own free will.”

“No,” I mumbled, shaking my head with a scowl. That was not how I wanted this to go. I didn’t want servants... I wanted friends, not puppets to command. “Birch Leaf... as my first decree, I shall declare that all shall be equal in my empire. It is I who shall serve the people, the ponies and changelings of my nation, dutifully and loyally. If I ever start being selfish, I do not deserve to be called Queen.”

“If... If that is what you want,” she said, giving me a look of... awe, I think. Her emotions tasted ‘airy’ and warm with a slightly delicate touch to them. “I have no doubt you will make a great queen with a resolve like that. I’m glad to have you looking out for the good of us.”

“Somepony has to, don’t they?” I smiled, beginning to walk again, my destination clear in mind. The first step of my plan to rescue Lord Amore was to deal with our little guard situation. Besides, it had the nice added effect of me receiving all of the sperm I could possibly want from some of the fittest specimens they had available around here for my grander plan of starting my hive in earnest. The barracks shouldn’t be too empty while the city was crawling with patrols, so hopefully, I might find some officers and such on their lonesome there. Maybe even that cute guard from earlier.

“You are thinking of sex again, aren’t you?” Leaf asked, exasperated. “You have that lecherous gleam in your eyes again.”

“Oh, come on!” I pouted. “I need it! Not only the sweet, sweet lust but also their hot creamy cum! How else am I going to start my own hive? Please, please, please, let me ride their dicks for all that they are worth?”

“Fine,” she grumbled, blushing brightly. She had a distinctly sour taste to her right now and I was reasonably sure that she was starting to get jealous of me doing it with... anypony else but her, I think. “Just... don’t steal their valuables, please...”

“Why not?” I muttered. “I could be like Robin Hood, stealing from the unworthy assholes in society and giving it to the poor. And get a snack or two, I suppose.”

“Sure...” she rolled her eyes. “Whoever that is, I’m sure they got hanged.”

“Dunno,” I said with a shrug. “He was a fictional character infamous for his morality and his abilities with the bow. One I’m not particularly familiar with, to be honest. He might have actually been real, who knows.”

“So, you just want to play pretend?” Leaf asked, snorting. She had a small grin on her muzzle. “You are a bit of a weird one, aren’t you?”

“Where is the fun in being serious all the time?” I replied, giggling lightly. “I feed off of emotions, so I decided I wanted to be a succubus and just have fun. If I want to be a hero, then I’ll be the vigilante this world needs. If I want to rob the rich assholes of this kingdom in order to help the poor, I’ll do just that. After all, why shouldn’t I?”

“Money won’t help the poor, though,” she shot back. “If you want to help, then steal food, fabrics, and so on. Those things are actually useful and nopony is going to ask questions why they have so much coin all of a sudden.”

“You might have a point,” I nodded thoughtfully. “Can’t steal the really good stuff for obvious reasons, but things that won’t be missed are fair game.”

<Don’t forget about extorting information from them,> Shadra commented, making their presence known to me in the way that Arachne and I had experimented with earlier. It was a bit surprising to see that my Prince(ss) hid themself so well up until right now, having perfectly concealed themself in the background of my thoughts. I had to admit, Shadra was pretty good with that, making ‘his’ namesake proud. <If we want to find out where to get the keys to the dungeon and the cells, we will have to use everything at our disposal.>

<What do you mean?> I asked, suspicious. My beautiful Prince(ss) couldn’t be thinking of torture, right? As much as some of them deserved it, that... I don't think I could do that.

<We have magic to transform, to levitate things... to influence minds,> Shadra said matter-of-factly. <It would be simple to extract the information we need... not only where to find these things... we could also simply compel them into revealing all of their knowledge on language, magic, state secrets... All the good stuff. Then we drain them dry until they are nothing more than lifeless husks and thus, not a threat to us and our hive anymore. They deserve to rot for what they have done and continue to do.>

<I...> I hesitated, fidgeting slightly. It was tempting, wasn’t it? I had to admit to myself that I had that very same thought, as well. I even entertained it for a brief moment in my hesitation of going through with this revolution and... it was so very easy, too, wasn't it? I had a strange affinity for things like mind magic, and while I didn’t exactly like entertaining the thought of using such methods to breach the sanctity of the mind for nefarious purposes... it would make everything infinitely easier than simply stumbling around in a gigantic castle and/or the barracks without knowing my way around, hoping to find all the important places. <I’ll think about it.>

<Don’t give these stick heads any mercy, My Queen,> Shadra muttered with a haughty sniff. <While Leaf is right about staying true to your resolve to be better, there are times where subterfuge is needed to stay ahead of our enemies. We can’t stay here forever, hidden in the shadows. Not to mention, inciting a rebellion will get bloody very fast. You said I should cast aside my notions of ever returning to Earth, now I tell you to cast aside your own notions of trying too hard to be good. Nothing good will come from that if you can’t do what is necessary to protect our hive. There are those that deserve your kindness, My Queen... and then there are those that you should show no mercy to, those that deserve a nice crispy cell in Hell.>

My Prince(ss) was... right... as much as it pained me to admit that to myself. Technically, I was in enemy territory and could fight as dirty as I wanted. It wasn’t like I would be needlessly cruel with getting what I needed by doing it this way instead of resorting to torture and cold-blooded murder. That I couldn’t do in good conscience.

Alright. Do what is necessary, but don’t be needlessly cruel about it. That’s a compromise I could live with. I think.

Then again, if I am going to do this, then... <Shadra?> I began, my voice allowing no argument. <You’re going to watch every minute of this, do you understand? If I have to resort to these methods, you’re going to suffer with me. Though, I suppose, you might just enjoy it just as much as I~...>

<W-what?> Shadra stammered, and I swear, if my Prince(ss) had been in control of our body at the moment, they would be blushing furiously right now. <I-I...>

<You. Are. Going. To. Watch,> I said, hammering the message in by mentally poking my Prince(ss) with each word. <You will watch your Queen get fucked and feel everything I feel. If we have to fucking mind-rape these assholes, then I want you to watch me take their dicks like a slut in heat. I’m not letting you become like him, Shadra. No... I'm not letting us become as bad as we were, that I swear. These are still ponies that have families and dreams of their own, after all. Some of them are only following orders, which doesn’t make it okay but neither does it make us justified, using these methods. And don’t even try to deny that it doesn’t make you feel excited, I know it does. It does me...>

<I...> Shadra whispered, gulping audibly as I felt a flicker of shame from them. Shame and... oh, how very interesting. They were getting aroused, after all! My sweet little Shadra wanted to watch me get fucked, like the little pervert that she truly was deep, deep down inside. <V-very well, My Queen. I... I will bear through this if that is what you wish. I-I won’t e-enjoy it, though!>

I said with a low sigh. Leaf was giving me a look after I stayed ‘silent’ for so long, so I smiled back at her in silent reassurance. Seeing the blush that appeared on her muzzle was so very delightful~. <I can... barely... understand your ruthlessness in this matter, dear, and it's not like they don't deserve a lot worse, but... we can't just fall back on being mean everytime something like this comes up. It's one thing to want to leave them as nothing more than living husks and another to actually go through with it. You know as much as I do where this path leads to and I don’t want you to rationalize following it as Tobias had done. I don’t want you to default to this type of thinking, Shadra. You don’t have to hide behind it, we accept you for who you are, do you understand?>

<I... I understand, My Queen,> Shadra muttered meekly, thoroughly chastised. <We will make a lot of enemies, though. We need to deal with them appropriately, as much as you don’t like using those methods... those are actually the tamest ones I could think of. Believe me, I don’t enjoy this, either, but... showing too much mercy isn’t an option we can entertain right now. Otherwise, our hive won’t survive for long and neither of us wants that.>

<Alright, Shadra. Provided that we don’t take any enjoyment out of this aside from the pleasure of sex, I can live with it being... 'necessary'. Please, promise me one thing, though. Promise me to not allow these types of thoughts to consume you, my Princess,> I responded with a sigh, begrudgingly seeing the wisdom in her words. It was despicable, but... in the end, it boiled down to who I was less guilty about hurting in the long run. Besides, these unicorns had it coming for them, hadn’t they? The least amount of kindness I could show them was to ‘steal’ their memories so that they were less likely to hunt down my hive later.

Depending on what type of memories I decide to steal from them, some would be less affected than others. I don’t want to know what’s going to happen to the poor unfortunate idiot that I steal the knowledge of their language from.

Nothing pretty, of that I was certain.

Shadra replied and I was thankful that she was completely truthful with her words. <Can we still drain them, though? We could use all the power we could get for the rebellion.>

I nodded, thinking about it. Leaf was staring at me again as I was seemingly ‘lost’ in my thoughts, it was kind of cute to feel her concern for me. We were nearing the city proper, so we needed to be a lot more careful with what we were doing. It would be a good idea to also come up with a sufficiently sexy disguise for my plan, as well. Maybe I could use Leaf as a base for that, making some changes here and there to get what I wanted. <It’s almost like you want me to be a nymphomaniac, Shadra. Are you by chance into succubi, hmm?>

<N-no?> my Princess answered, sounding unsure of her answer.

<Aww, you are~,> I giggled silently to myself.

<I... uh...> she stammered and I began to fantasize about what I would look like as a proper succubus. Definitely going with the devil’s tail and leathery wings, maybe cloven hooves and massive tits to smother my prey with. Oh, and horns, couldn’t forget those! Pretty ram horns would look absolutely sexy, wouldn’t they? Feeling a little bit mischievous, I sent the mental picture of me as an actual succubus over to her and I was immediately satisfied to hear Shadra moan like a little girl back at me. She totally was into them. <Not... not Princess, not... I’m a... I’m a good boy, I... P-please, don't h-hurt me...>

<Shh, hey,> I whispered, giving her a mental hug. <It’s okay, Shadra. I'm here for you. I'm here, everything is alright. You are allowed to be who you want to be, remember? Whoever told you differently... they aren’t important anymore. What matters is your own happiness. Do you understand?>

<I... My Queen, I...> Shadra hesitated, sounding like she was on the verge of crying. <I... N-not yet, I... I need time... I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I... I’m sorry.>

<Alright, my Prince,> I said, accepting ‘his’ wishes even though it pained me so much to do so. I wish I could take the hurt away, make her forget about this damn ‘Good boy’ indoctrination bullshit, and have her be the mare she wants to be. <You don’t have to watch, in that case. Take your time. It's okay, nobody is forcing you into anything.>

<Can I...> Shadra mumbled and I hummed softly in comfort, waiting patiently for my Prince(ss) to find their words. <Can I... maybe... still... uh... I mean...>

<Yes, Shadra,> I answered. It was a peculiar request I didn’t expect from him after... well, after that. <You are free to do what you want, remember? Indulge yourself as much as you want to. I won’t tell anyone.>

<You won't? Not even Arachne?> Shadra asked and I gave my 'Prince' a mental nod. <You really won’t judge? I can just... w-watch?>

<Well, you can do more than ‘just watch’,> I snickered to myself, finding it amusing that Shadra was acting like an immature perv wanting to watch naughty stuff without letting anyone know. <It’s all up to you. I won’t ever judge you, okay? I would be a hypocrite if I did, dear. We are, after all, in the same boat, you and I. You can like your feminine side just as much as your masculine side, it’s alright. Don’t fear being who you want to be. Think about that, hm?>

<A-alright,> Shadra agreed nervously. <I... I’ll think about it, My Queen.>

That’s as much as I could really ask of my Prince(ss), really. That egg was starting to show cracks, and hopefully, she will break out of it soon. She didn’t have to hide anymore, after all. No one on Earth was here that could hurt her anymore.

Well... no one besides Shadra herself, I suppose. I really don’t like referring to her as a he, it felt so wrong of me to do so. Not after finding out who I was deep down, myself. But... I would honor Shadra’s wishes for now. It’s going to work out, at some point. I have to believe that.

Once Leaf and I entered the busier area of this little shitshow of a kingdom, we tried to keep away from every patrol in search for us, clearly still on the lookout for us since nopony has left the kingdom’s walls yet that matched my glorious buggy description. It was kinda funny to just walk past them without them giving me a second glance, but then again, they weren’t entirely stupid.

We had one close call with a guard that recognized the stallion I was impersonating and knew that he shouldn't be, by any rights, walking around the streets like nothing was wrong (if he was even still alive after what I did to him, that is). Thankfully, a quick mental command was enough to get the suspicious guard to dismiss us as if we had never been there in the first place. Mind magic was turning out to be quite a lot more useful than I had previously thought, moral implications put aside.

If I really wanted to, I probably could have made him eat his own shit and have him smile happily at the same time while he did so. Not that I was actually going to make any of these ponies do that, it was far too disgusting. Even if they deserved it.

You know, maybe I’ll make the king do that before relieving him of his head.

“Where should I go while you are... preoccupied... with the guards?” Leaf asked me in a whisper and I hummed, reminded that I couldn’t just take her with me everywhere I went without it looking suspicious. Well, more suspicious than I already looked. I doubt the guards would be happy with Leaf accompanying me and I didn’t actually want her there with me as I had my fun with them.

That did give me an idea, though. Leaf could initiate the second phase of my plan ‘Rescue Princess Peach and conveniently topple the government at the same time’. “Go to the slums, find as many ponies that are capable of fighting and bring them to the barracks.”

“And then?” she asked, nervously rubbing her leg with a hoof.

“I’ll figure it out,” I shrugged. “They should have enough weapons there to make inciting a rebellion easy, though. Liberating the slaves and freeing Amore might get difficult in broad daylight, so try to make your move after nightfall.”

“Right,” Birch Leaf nodded. “Try to be careful?”

“I should tell you that,” I smiled, receiving a tiny one from her. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked, starting to look miffed (her emotions didn’t taste all that great, either, for that matter).

“I don’t want you to get hurt, my precious Leaf,” I told her as a tiny little frown started to form on my face, afraid for her. I didn't even have enough time to finish my sentence before I saw her start to open her muzzle (most likely to protest against me, I was well aware of how that must have sounded to her), but I cut her off before she could actually get mad at me. That was one thing I most certainly did not want to be on the receiving end of her, ever. She was just too pure to stain herself with such emotions. “It’s not that I think that you are too weak for this, dear. A revolution... it gets very bloody and seeing all of that... it changes peo... ponies.”

“I’m not leaving you to do this on your own,” Leaf whispered while an intense gleam entered her eyes. The sheer resolve I felt coming from her almost had my emotional senses completely overwhelmed and... I had to admit, I was actually impressed by her will and determination. You don't see such strength in just any person and... to be honest? It inspired me. “I’m stronger than you think, My Queen.”

“Maybe you are,” I said and my heart started to beat a bit faster again all of a sudden. Spotting an empty alley that was sufficiently concealed from the main road, I quickly entered it with Leaf in tow, shifting nervously on my hooves as I turned to regard her. I bit my lip, and, with a brief flash of fire, I returned to my natural form while giving her an admiring look. Leaf was special, I could tell, and if I were even half the pony she was, I knew I would be a better person for it. For once in my life, I had someone to look up to, someone I didn't want to disappoint, and that? It scared me more than anything else in this world could. It really did. “Take care, Leaf. And remember, at nightfall.”

“I will,” she reassured me, a smile spreading on her muzzle. “I’m glad that you are here, Araneae...”

“I...” I began, intending to say that I felt the same, but instead of words leaving my mouth, her lips sealed my muzzle shut as she stood up on her hindlegs to kiss me while holding onto my neck with her forehooves. My heart skipped a beat before it started to literally hammer away against my chest, trying to escape my body entirely.

This... it... it felt right. I didn’t even nibble from her emotions because it would have ruined this sacred moment between us. Instead, I closed my eyes with a soft flutter, enjoying the feel of her lips on mine for all that it was worth. I wish this moment could have lasted a bit longer, but it was over all too soon as she broke the kiss with a giggle.

“I like the real you a lot more,” Leaf teased me. “You’re really awkward, you know that? It’s cute.”

“I-I...” I stammered, totally lost for words as a bright gray blush appeared on my muzzle. My little angel was teasing me. Me! And here I was, too flustered to come up with a witty comeback line in order to flip the table on her and come out on top, like I was supposed to! That's not how I imagined things would go, ever! How was this fair, huh?! How could she have so much power over me already? Then again, though... I can’t say I minded it (too much). It felt... nice. Kind of warm and... fluttery, even. This... this was love, right? The genuine type of love that was directed at somepony else? It has to be, what else could it be? It felt slightly different from what I felt for Shadra and Arachne, but just as potent. It was like the ground underneath my hooves suddenly gave out and Birch Leaf was the only one keeping me afloat.

I wanted to feel like this each and every day, I noticed.

“Stay alive, will you?” she said and I nodded dumbly, trying to get my heart back under control. Obviously, I was failing miserably with that. “I’d be disappointed to lose my Queen after just finding her, after all.”

Before I could respond, she was already gone, walking around the corner in the alley with a spring in her step. And I'm not ashamed to admit that my eyes had followed her flanks 'til the very last second, completely mesmerized by the sway in them. She totally did that on purpose, didn't she?

What did I do to deserve her attention? Did I die again? Was this Heaven? She really is an angel...

I'm wholly unworthy of her...

Shadra brought me out of my stupor by clearing their throat a little bit too loudly, reminding me that I was standing around in my natural form like an idiot and that somepony could just stumble upon us at any moment.

A quick burst of fire remedied that, replacing my chitin with soft white fur and my mane and tail with golden hair that flowed just as beautifully as Leaf’s own magnificent hair. If I had done this right, I should have enchanting green eyes as well, giving off the illusion that they sparkled when somepony viewed them from just the right angle.

I debated whether or not to give myself a horn and decided to have it there simply because it would look odd for me to not have a ‘master’ with me had I gone without one. Not that it mattered that much since I was about to get used like a slave, anyway.

My father would probably kill me for this, wouldn’t he?

<Yep,> Shadra commented dryly and I let out a startled whinny, causing my Prince(ss) to giggle. I just let out a friggin’ whinny. A whinny! What the actual fuck?! <That’s... you know, that’s kinda cute. Almost makes me forget that morbid thought you had of our father strangling us as soon as he found us mid-coitus, getting stuffed by pony dick like a mare in heat, you know?>

<Shut up, Shadra,> I growled back, swearing to myself to never ever do that again. It was embarrassing and degrading and... it felt kinda primal. In that sort of animalistic remnant kind of way that evolution was too lazy to get rid of. Nothing I would do on purpose, that’s for certain. <Is listening to my every thought a thing now?!>

<Actually, you were projecting them over to both of us, My Queen,> Arachne pointed out oh-so-helpfully and I could swear by the tone of her voice, she was this close to laughing her flanks off at me, as well. <And I agree with Shadra, that whinny was cute. Sexy, too...>

<Not you, too, my faithful Princess,> I pouted indignantly. <You will regret this, I swear.>

she shot back and I felt my eyelid twitch as she sent me a mental picture of her with her tongue stuck out at me while she had a cheeky grin on her muzzle. <Can I watch you guys fuck your way through the barracks?>

<Fine,> I sighed and began to grumpily grumble to myself underneath my breath that my split personalities were being mean to me.

They will regret this, that I swear. I’ll... think of something sufficiently punishing. At some point, I dunno when. I won’t forget, though. Definitely not. And it shall be glorious revenge, indeed! They will think twice before teaming up on me again!

Anyway! Finding the barracks proved to be of no difficulty at all, these guards followed a pattern that was weirdly enough really easy to figure out. I just followed a patrol for a half an hour or so (staying inconspicuous all the while, acting like I was browsing through the stalls in the market and just going around ‘checking up’ on ponies, using my magic whenever ponies started to question why I was there in the first place), until, at last, I learned from where their replacements came from, relieving them from their shift.

I probably should have guessed that their base of operations was right by the castle, shouldn’t I? Ah, well... it’s not like it wasn’t helpful to know their movement patterns, anyway. Not that I wouldn’t have eventually figured out that they were basically circling inwards and outwards from the castle throughout the city.

Since the returning patrol was so kind to lead me here, I helped myself to their meaty sticks with an eager enthusiasm before they could report back that they hadn’t found anything. While I was at it, I also conveniently learned how to speak their language while gorging myself on their oh-so-succulent emotions.

To be honest, I had better. Not only emotion-wise, but their pitiful performance was passable at best. They didn’t even get me off as they finished one after the other within me. I left the two blithering idiots in the alley I lured them to, burying them under the trash of their neighbors just like they deserved. Maybe by the end of the day, I won’t feel so... unsatisfied.

The trash was too kind of a place for them, I mused darkly. They deserved worse after they gave a poor earthpony stallion a rather rough beating while on their patrol because he dropped his ‘oh-so-precious’ cargo after his strength finally left him (not really that much of a wonder, considering the cart was loaded full of stone).

My conviction to grant them the least amount of mercy possible was starting to waver and I entertained the thought of enacting vengeance on these pieces of garbage despite what I promised to myself (and Birch Leaf).

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, huh? If it is paved with good intentions, then vengeance is the motivator to travel it (well, one of them, I suppose). Vengeance is an insidious trap that one can’t easily escape from. Not on your own, at least.

It was a tempting road to travel, wasn’t it? I’d rather not become a hypocrite to myself and what I told Shadra, though. Besides, Leaf would hate me if I let it consume me and I swore to myself that I would only do what was absolutely necessary. I can be better. I have to believe that.

Still... this was by far worse than reading history books about this kind of stuff. I was actually here and it hurt so damn much not being able to instantly change things to be magically better.

Instead, I had to incite a revolution, which will more than likely lead to a very bloody civil war later down the line. As much as I wished I could go back to Earth and the sheltered life that I had back there right now to avoid all of this bullshit... I can’t. I can’t, in good conscience, leave these poor ponies in this type of state. I wanted to give them a better life, a life similar to the one I enjoyed on my old planet.

They deserve a life of no worries, a peaceful life. And I’m going to make that possible... somehow. I had no idea how I would do so just yet, but I was going to find a way to achieve that goal if it was the last thing I did.

The barracks next to the castle was surprisingly bustling with activity even with so many of their soldiers out and about. “Hello, boys. I don’t suppose any of you know where I can find some dick around here, hmm?”

“Lady, I don’t know where you came from, but mares have no place here,” one of the officers snapped at me, coming over to throw me out most likely. Too bad the poor fool stood next to no chance against the powerful pheromones I produced, the scent of my thick arousal changing the stallion's mind rather swiftly about wanting me gone. To be honest, though? I didn’t like the twisted gleam in his eyes as he looked down on me, a shudder going through me. “But I can show you mine if you want...”

“Oh, I’m sure you want to,” I whispered back raunchily, my voice sending lewd shivers down his spine. Disgusting pig. “How about you give me a good time while your friends there get out of their armor for me, huh?”

“With pleasure, my lady,” the stallion answered with a dumb grin, fidgeting with his legs as I suspected he’d rather jump me instead of doing as I ordered of him. But he was a very obedient stallion, urging his mates to get ready for the time of their lives. It was almost cute, watching him convince the others to gangbang the ‘slut’ since they deserved a little reward for their ‘hard’ work of searching for little ol’ me. If only they knew.

I watched with anticipation as each of the currently present stallions began to stroke their tools to get them hard enough to shove them into my eagerly waiting snatch. My marehood was already crying rivers and I was getting rather impatient as they took a little bit too long for my liking.

So, to help things along a little bit, I pushed the officer that fell to my charms first against the far desk, quickly capturing his twitching cock with my muzzle. The slurping noises as I started to suck on it had him rock hard in no time, and, as I felt a pair of strong legs roughly shove my rear up, I knew some of the other stallions were raring to go as well.

A moan forced itself out of my throat as the one behind me failed to insert his rod properly in me, prodding my labia with the flat tip of his thick horse cock, managing to arouse me far more than I would have thought at the thought of getting fucked by ponies of all things.

But, oh my gosh, it felt so great being the center of their lust-filled attention. And the taste, it was like a gourmet treat on my tongue. Lust was by far one of my favorite emotions to nibble on, I had to admit. It just had this... incredibly hearty taste, setting my core aflame with warmth not unlike what I remember alcohol to have felt like (thankfully without the added mind-numbing effect... so far). It didn’t stay with nibbling, though, as I bobbed my head up and down on the throbbing cock while I teased him mischievously with my tongue, saliva and droplets of pre-cum mixing within my mouth as I thoroughly lubricated that meaty tool of his. Sadly, my teasing motions were promptly cut short as my other fuck partner got his shit together, piercing my marehood open with jerky ramming motions, forcing me further against the stallion groaning happily from the unexpected development of getting to throat fuck me.

It was not quite as good as I had hoped it would be since the two were rather lackluster with returning the pleasure equally, but hey! At least they weren’t as bad as the first two I had left outside in the trash (which wasn't really that much of an accomplishment), that was something, right?

Alas, the officer currently abusing my muzzle shot his load faster than I expected him to, but thankfully, the stallion was quickly replaced by one of the more eager soldiers around me, shoving the spent stallion to the side and forcing his dick directly into my throat without any warning.

Not that I minded, I didn’t feel any discomfort due to the lack of having a gag reflex. What I did mind, though, was the pace he plunged his dick in and out of my throat. It was like he didn’t even care if I was able to breathe, valuing his own pleasure more than being courteous with me.

They... they treated me like a toy. A fucking fuck toy! No wonder all of them were so awkward with their movements, I doubt any mare would willingly put up with these assholes! I somehow managed to get through it, though, bored out of my mind after a while as they repeated the pattern of shoving their comrades to the side after they blew their load into me, whether down my throat or my love canal (or on me, wasting precious cum like the idiots that they were). Not that this had anything to do with love, it was actually starting to be less fun and more like a chore.

I quietly apologized to Shadra for making them go through this lackluster performance with me. I didn’t want my Prince(ss) to think that sex was this bad. If anything, the partners I had sex with were making the pleasure of sex that bad. Arachne was by far better with her dick than all of them combined. Nay, she surpassed them by miles, even.

But... to be honest? My expectations weren’t all that high, to begin with. Not after what I saw of the two dolts I lured into the alley, barely lasting for a minute each or so. These guards just saw a pretty mare waltz right into their little clubhouse, ask for dick, and... well, a ‘lowly prostitute’ doesn’t get to feel pleasure, huh?

At least I was getting a decent meal out of them. And a lot of cum, but I wasn’t too certain whether or not I was happy with the ‘quality’ of it. I definitely should find myself some stallions that weren’t this dense and so easily manipulated by my pheromones (even though that might make it harder to seduce them). Maybe my pheromones were just too powerful for anypony to resist me if I could just as easily seduce females, judging by how Leaf commented about me smelling good.

After the last one sprayed his cum where I actually wanted it to go, I dragged the highest-ranking officer up on the table, mockingly caressing his cheek with a hoof as I gave him a disdainful look for still being so out of it after cumming just once.

Not everyone could be a porn star, I suppose. Still, I had at least hoped these ponies had more stamina than that. How disappointing, truly. I didn’t even cum once during the pretty much underwhelming orgy (I was suspecting that the porn industry had lied to me in regards to that).

I mean, it was kinda hot watching men go at it without ever getting tired, so I can’t really blame all of my disappointment on people that had made it their profession to hold out for as long as they could. Still... one would have thought that ponies could match that endurance without too much trouble, especially those that were supposed to be the fittest of the fittest, soldiers of the highest caliber. Alas, this was reality, I realized.

They could have at least had the decency to get me to orgasm as well before they succumbed to their own euphoria. That wasn’t too much to ask for, was it? Bunch of assholes.

“Alrighty,” I sighed grumpily to myself in dissatisfaction and resigned myself to shred the commanding officer’s mind into tiny pieces to get at the information that I needed. “It’s nothing too personal, dear. You’re just in the way of a revolution. And your performance was utter shit, so...”

“Wha..?” the stallion mumbled, blearily opening his eyes only to see my glowing magenta ones as I sent a spike crashing into his mental defenses. I kept his mouth forcefully shut to prevent him from making too many noises as I directed his thoughts to where they kept the prisoners in the dungeon, dragging each of his memories out so that Arachne, Shadra, and I could sift through them.

The only thing I learned from him was that he wasn’t apparently important enough to know where exactly they kept Amore in the friggin’ maze underneath this city. I didn’t expect them to have such a convoluted system of holding cells, but these unicorns were kinda into suppressing those they didn’t want making noises. If I had to compare that maze to something, I would say that it was only surpassed by the Paris Catacombs in complexity and vastness (and those were by no means small).

Amore wasn’t the only noble that was kept away from the public eye for speaking out against the cruelty of the king, though. The bastards had a whole department down there that was dedicated to ‘enlightening’ those they merely suspected were against unicorn supremacy, doing truly unspeakable things to their fellow unicorns from what I gleaned from the officer’s memories.

And, on top of the absolute clusterfuck that these unicorns had proven themselves to be, the earthponies weren’t the only ones they have pulled the slavery schtick with, because why wouldn’t they?

There were pegasi in this world, as well. They didn’t get to see the light of day as often as the earthponies did, though. The ‘featherbrains’ were apparently too rowdy and only ‘helped’ with the weather when it was needed of them and thus, were locked up most of the time.

I swear, this kingdom...

How can it be that these unicorns feel entitled to everything just because they had the ability to use magic and made the heavenly objects into their bitches?! It’s utterly disgusting. I didn’t feel quite as bad about doing this anymore as when I started, but... I wish I didn’t even have to resort to these methods in the first place. I didn’t like doing it, as necessary as it was.

Since none of the stallions in the first group had anything worthwhile to add to the knowledge I got from the commanding officer manning the front desk, I left the little orgy behind in search of the actual big wig running this place. I did know the layout of the barracks now, thankfully, so it was less of a hassle to find the pony that I wanted.

And, oh boy, what a hunk of stallion he was. I momentarily doubted I could fit his monster of a dick in my snatch, but who knows? A bit of transformative magic could solve that problem for me if I needed to be a little bit taller, and more importantly, a little bit wider and stretchier.

“Can I help you?” the General asked, not looking up from the document he was currently studying.

“That depends,” I answered, silently locking the door behind me before anypony could come in to interrupt me. The stallion with the gruff brown-gray beard (something that looked quite ridiculous on a pony of all things) gave me a wary and suspicious glance, and I immediately recognized him as I saw that look in his eyes. He was the fucking pony that shot a hole through my leg! “Can you actually lift that dick off the ground or is that horn of yours the only thing that stays hard for you?”

“Who sent you?” the stallion grunted, and before he could reach out to the heavy greatsword with his magic, I sent one of those stunners at him that I ‘learned’ from one of the soldiers that were so generous with their donation of cum and emotions.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I spat, kicking his jaw for having disfigured my magnificently glorious body. “You will tell me what I want to know, whether you like it or not. If you give me a satisfactory answer, you’ll get to stick that monster of yours in me.”

“And if I refuse?” he grumbled, trying to shake me off of him as I straddled the asshole with my hindlegs, rubbing my pussy all over him. He really didn’t like that, judging by how disgusted he was by it. It only encouraged me more to sexually harass him after what he had done to me. He probably deserved even worse, to be honest.

“Aww, you’re almost cute,” I smiled, patting him condescendingly on his head before striking his horn viciously. “You believe you can refuse me?”

“You’ll pay for that, little mare!” he growled and I made a tut-tutting sound.

“I don’t think so, you naughty boy you,” I sneered down at him, a little bit impressed that he was resisting my pheromones for so long. “I want to know where Lord Amore is being kept, asshole. If you answer nicely, you won’t have to have your mind shredded to pieces. Trust me, it’s not pretty when you don’t cooperate.”

“Fuck you,” he spat and I wiped his disgusting gunk away from my cheek with disdain. “The King will have you executed and I’ll be there to chop your fucking head off, witch!”

“Don’t be so hasty with those words, dear,” I told him. You know, I don’t actually have to fuck every available stallion in this awful kingdom and this one was getting on my nerves remarkably well. I don’t want him harming my beautiful body any more than he already did, certainly not with that disgusting sausage of his (I was far too pretty for such an abhorrent fate, after all). Not to mention, there were better options for me to choose from than him, and, aside from that, it was no fun when they threatened to kill you. “Pretty soon, that ‘King’ of yours is going to be the one without a head. I don’t think he will be giving anypony any orders then.”

That managed to piss him off even more, much to my gleeful satisfaction. “Die, traitorous witch!” he roared, lighting up his horn to blast me with that damn spell again. I’d rather not have a hole in my head, thank you very much!

“Too bad you had to make this difficult,” I pouted, snapping his horn off with a swift strike of my hoof. It hurt a lot less than I thought it would have, to be honest. Not that the idiot could say the same thing about his own severed appendage. “Now, I ask again: Where is Amore being held in that little maze of yours?”

“Fuck you!” he howled, thrashing uselessly underneath me. I sighed, vexed. Let’s see how he likes this, then, I mused darkly while I got rid of my disguise. The bastard let out a startled cry as I used my changeling flames to leave burn marks all over him, giving him the order to answer my damn question with a vicious snarl on my muzzle. “What the fuck are you?! You’re that thing from the streets, aren’t you?! I won’t fucking tell you anything, you monster! Guards! Help!”

“Do cry louder,” I snarled while my magic pulsed angrily. It kept slipping off of him because he kept thrashing around so much while his horn continued to sputter weakly with reddish brown sparks. I was tempted to break his muzzle, too. After all, if he wasn’t going to tell me anything useful, why keep it intact? “Nopony is coming to your rescue, dear. Not anytime soon, that is.”

“What have you done to my soldiers, witch?!” he cried furiously and I chuckled, showing him a wickedly fanged grin. Smelling his fear so strongly was bringing my sadistic side out to play and I stopped caring whether or not anything would be left of him after I was done with him.

“They are alive,” I shrugged, licking my fangs before sinking them into his neck to sedate him enough that I could work my magic. And even if he stopped breathing altogether from the paralysis, it wouldn't be too much of a loss to me. Someone in this fucked up city would have the answers I sought, I was sure of it. Even if I have to beat it out of King 'Nuts-for-Brains'. “Now, last chance... tell me where Amore is.”

“You won’t get through with this, you abomination,” he growled, trying to weakly lift his legs. The best he could do right now was to flop uselessly around. It was kinda funny to watch, actually. “The King will...”

“Yeah, yeah, the King will yadda yadda yadda. I’ve already heard that one before and I don’t care what he will do without a head,” I hummed with disinterest. “Now, then... you really want to be a vegetable that badly, huh?”

I didn’t give him the time to answer as I used my mind magic to hammer away at his mental fortitude, all the while mixing up my approach in the hopes of finding a weakness in his defenses. He was holding steadfast against even that, though. I suppose he wasn’t the General of the Kingdom of Unicornia for nothing, as much as it was a pain in my flank to deal with his resistance against mental attacks.

<My Queen, may I?> Shadra asked and I gave a nod, letting go of my control over our body so that my beautiful Prince(ss) could switch places with me. “Now, I’m going to ask you one last time, and if you don’t answer, being a vegetable will be the least of your problems.”

“Fuck. You,” the General answered through gritted teeth, causing Shadra to smile wickedly.

“Tell me your name, please,” Shadra said, and to my wonder, the stallion underneath us began to struggle keeping his mouth shut. “No? Your name shall be Poop, then. You like your new name, don’t you?”

“N-n-n... Y-y-y... Ngh! Yes!” General ‘Poop’ answered, spouting out his reply against his will. I snickered with Arachne as Shadra smiled in satisfaction, patting the stallion’s head almost affectionately.

“Good,” Shadra nodded. “Whenever someone asks you for your name, you shall always answer with that one, do you understand? Instead of your rank, you shall say ‘I love’ followed by your new name. Will you do that for me? You want to be a good boy, don’t you? You aren't allowed to disappoint me... do you understand?”

“I-I... Argh! I-I... Ngh... Yes! I will answer with... Ngh! No! Stop! My head hurts! Please! I'll do it, I'll do it, just stop!” he replied, huffing in exertion through gritted teeth and Arachne’s and my laughter got even louder after that. It was totally despicable what Shadra was doing to him, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. The general was one of those ponies that was directly responsible for the slavery in this kingdom and this punishment was actually relatively tame in comparison to what we could have done to him, instead.

“That’s great,” Shadra smiled, increasing the flow of magic in order to pry his mind open. “Now, one last thing before we get back to my initial question. Who is your enemy?”

“You, you disgusting whore!” the humiliated General answered, foaming at the corners of his muzzle. Shadra let out a displeased hum, increasing the amount of magic again. The scream that followed was unlike anything I've ever heard and it brought back that little nagging voice in the back of my head that told me what we were doing right now was wrong. But... seeing the burning hatred in his eyes for anything not born as a unicorn made me shut out my conscience for a moment longer.

This was a necessary evil, I told that to myself without any conviction whatsoever. Instead of intervening like I probably should have, I let Shadra continue on... torturing... the poor guy. I... I couldn't allow myself to be merciful right now, they were monsters that deserved everything coming to them. It had to be done... right?

“Oh, you poor thing, you. So delusional,” Shadra told him and it almost sounded like my Prince(ss) felt pity for the General. “I'm not the enemy here, I'm trying to help you! You’re an earthpony, aren’t you? Don’t you want the king dead? Don’t you want to be a good boy for me? You wouldn't want to disappoint me now, would you?”

“Nrgh! No! Fuck you! You fucking whore, you witch! Die, you abomination! Die!” the stallion underneath us raged, trying to kick us off but Shadra was quick to bind him with our silk. It was mildly impressive to me that he was fighting against the venom that well, but it was hardly enough to save his hide.

Shadra knew no mercy.

“Tell me, who is your enemy?” Shadra tried again, a vicious snarl on her muzzle and a growl in her voice. I could see the eyes of General Poop start to glaze over, faintly glowing with the magenta color of our magic.

“T-the... t-the...'' he struggled, voice growing more distant and 'absent' by the second. That didn't stop him from biting at his own tongue, though. It was his last desperate bid to stop himself from succumbing to the mental suggestion.

“The what?” Shadra whispered almost impatiently, using our magic to stop the stallion from trying to bite his own tongue off. I could tell she wanted... no, needed... to hear him say it, to make him suffer like she had. Or like Tobias had suffered, at any rate.

“The... earthponies, you fucking whore...” the general growled, only to let out a gurgling gasp. “You... won’t... win. The Mage Order will... will...”

“Ah, well, that’s your opinion,” Shadra shrugged, brushing a strand of our mane behind our ear while giving the General a disdainful haughty glare (one only Shadra could pull off). “I had hoped you would be a good boy for me and do as I told you to, but I can see that you won’t break so easily. A pity, truly. Sadly, I don't have the time to make you cooperate 'willingly'. I guess I will have to find somepony else that could give me those answers while I leave you here, all alone and paralyzed. The revolution has just begun, my dear... and they won’t be as kind with you as I was when they find you. Ta ta.”

<That... was kinda scary, I have to admit,> I said as Shadra stole the keyring from where it hung, leaving the office with the general behind after disguising us as that non-existent unicorn mare again. <Don’t you think you were a little bit too harsh? And the ‘good boy’ thing? Shadra, what...>

<Don’t... don’t ask, please. I-I... I’m okay, My Queen. He deserves far worse than what I did, trust me on that. The things I saw in his memories... what he has done to the poor maids, barely adults at that... you really don't want to know. I did what I had to do since you weren’t getting the results we needed, so I resorted to... that,> Shadra replied, giving me back control of our body. <Amore isn’t being kept in the dungeons underneath the city.>

<Oh?> I hummed quietly, still trying to understand what just happened. To come to terms with Shadra's viciousness and the reason behind that.

my Prince(ss) answered, although there was something I felt like she wasn't telling me. Something I suspect has to do with what she saw in the General's memories.

<Are none of my thoughts private anymore?!> I pouted, hearing both Arachne and Shadra snicker merrily in response to that. <Let’s just clean up the rest of the guards here before Leaf arrives with the volunteers.>

<As if you’re going to do anything remotely close to ‘cleaning up’,> Shadra commented, making me raise a brow. Did... did my Princess just make a joke about sex? Aww, she was a pervert at heart, after all! <No, I am not!>

<You totally are,> Arachne giggled. <Your dick is so hard~...>

<Are you molesting my sleeping body?!> Shadra complained and I snorted, finding it funny that she thought that Arachne of all 'lings wouldn’t.

The change of topic from the previously somber mood was a much needed pick-me-up. Not just for me, I could tell...

<Well, you are a part of me,> I mused, giggling as I heard Shadra groan. <It stands to reason that we all share a few commonalities like a predisposition for... mhh... naughty thoughts~. Why do you even try to deny that from Arachne and myself, hmm?>

<Fine! I’m a fucking pervert, stop bugging me about it so much!> my beautiful Prince(ss) grumbled and I gave them, both of them, a mental hug. Shadra didn’t have to be so ashamed of herself to admit that. After all, none of us were going to judge her for anything. There was nothing that she had to fear, not from us.

It was so very heartwarming, watching them grow up, wasn’t it? I’m so proud of my Princesses, truly. To see Shadra become the pervert that she truly is deep down... it was such a great and momentous occasion! The only thing missing was for her to admit ‘who’ she was, as well. For now, though, I celebrated that small little victory with lots of sex with very willing soldiers returning from their patrol (also giving Arachne a turn with that cute guard from earlier on the wall), stuffing each one of them into an unused room so I could repeat the whole spiel all over again with my unsuspecting victims.

There was one stallion that almost managed to give me an orgasm, but he sadly gave out right as I was nearing my own peak. I suppose there was no way around it, was there? I had to satisfy myself with my own damn hoof, then.

One good thing came from this, I suppose. I wasn’t feeling nearly as hungry anymore after having gorged myself on their emotions (and cum~) so much. While I had my fill, I still could go for more. It was like my ‘stomach’ was like a black hole. Which, now that I think about it, wasn’t entirely surprising since I was still a growing changeling ‘virgin’ queen. My body was getting ready for starting to produce eggs to grow my hive, something that I imagine takes a lot of energy.

I can’t wait to have my own swarm. Eee! Although, that should wait until after I’m through with liberating the earthponies and the few pegasi from their captivity.

Before long, night arrived, and with it, Leaf with about-ish thirty willing fighters from the slums. She gave me a look as I was in the process of abusing my leaking pussy while resting my back against the latest guard that I had stripped of his armor after he fucked himself unconscious.

“With how many did you actually...” she asked, coughing as she tried to wave off the overwhelming smell of sex in the barracks front entrance.

I lifted my arm out of habit, intent to start counting off on my now very much non-existent fingers about how many had fun with my body, only to come up short in the finger department. Not that that stopped me from licking my hoof clean. “Mhh... at least twenty. I lost count two hours ago or so. If you want, I can show you the comatose pile of...”

“No, thanks,” Leaf muttered, giving me one of those miffed looks again.

<What did I do now?> I grumbled to myself, reluctantly getting up with a little stretch. <She knew I was going to do this, what’s her problem?>

<You wanting to show her your ‘accomplishment’, maybe?> Shadra commented snidely. <Or the fact that you played with your cunt in full view of everyone while looking like her long lost sister?>

“Fine, I’m sorry for being a friggin’ nymphomaniac,” I muttered, pouting to myself. “Anyway, we have more important matters to take care of right now. Let’s get this thing rolling, shall we? I'm so done with this place.”

“If you say so,” Leaf said, definitely still angry with me. “The next time you have an orgy, don’t do it in the entrance, dummy.”

“It was convenient! What more do you want to hear?” I complained, hearing her sigh back at me. “I literally survive on sex, do tell me what I should have done differently, Leaf.”

“That’s not it!” Leaf shot back, poking me in the chest. “I don’t like the thought of them... dirtying you with their filth. It’s... it’s all over you. Eww...”

“Oh...” I whispered, rubbing my neck awkwardly. A quick cast of a rather useless spell I had the fortune to 'learn' remedied my current state of being covered in drying cum. Not that it bothered me, in particular, but... Leaf was right, I should at least look presentable for this little shindig. “You don’t like me having sex with unicorns, then?”

“That’s not what I said and you know it,” Leaf pointed out and I blinked. Oh. Oh! She meant her captors and those that oppressed her... Wow, I really am stupid.

<Everyone of us has moments like these, My Queen,> Arachne said, trying to comfort me. <Heck, I... well, Tabetha had done a lot of stupid things and she was by no means slow in the head.>

<Thanks for the vote of confidence, my Princess,> I rolled my eyes. I really can't wait for this shit to be finally over with, seriously. Both the argument and the revolution. “Alright, I’m sorry for having had my fun with these assholes, can we please move on now?”

“Right,” Leaf sighed. “You really are a dolt, My Queen.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” I grumbled, hearing both her and Arachne snicker. “I’m debating whether or not I should just leave and start my hive somewhere else where I don’t have to listen to this crap. Somewhere where it is nice and quiet, has a nice view, and... I don’t know, maybe a warm beach of white sand and clear water, some palm trees, and lots of stallions...”

“Aww, you’re cute when you are mad at something,” Leaf giggled, giving me a nuzzle. It felt weirdly comforting. So much so, even, that I leaned into the show of affection with a content little sigh. I could definitely get used to this... “Alright, everypony! Listen up!”

The gathered crowd of impoverished ponies perked up, turning to us as they left the pile of armor (and the few weapons I found) alone for a moment. I doubt most of them would find anything in there that they could wear comfortably, the majority of them didn’t look like the healthiest sort.

I could make a guess about who got the most food around here...

“This is Araneae, and she's the one I told you about!” Leaf began, starting to pace back and forth in front of the mares and stallions that were here to help us usher in the revolution of their lifetime. “With her help, we’re going to liberate my kin and finally put an end to the mad reign of King Gemstone! Your families won’t have to starve another day, Araneae will make sure of that. We’re going to free your brothers and sisters from their unfair imprisonment and Lord Amore will right this great wrong that has been brought to all of us after Gemstone took to the throne after his brother's ‘mysterious’ death! We make our voices heard from this day forward! Down with the oppression!”

“Down with the oppression!” the crowd cheered loudly, stomping their forehooves in applause while a few already held their weapon up in a salute. It didn't take long until each one of the gathered ponies had grabbed a few pieces of armor that didn’t weigh too much for them and a weapon of their own, joining the salute. “For the revolution!”

“I must say,” I hummed, impressed. “You are good with inspiring ponies, Leaf.”

“Thank you, My Queen,” she blushed, smiling slightly. I returned her smile, turning back to watching our own little army get ready for what was to come.

The smile didn't stay for long on my muzzle, a deep ache making itself known in my chest for their fate. The quiet before the storm...

While I had taken care of the majority of the guards here, I doubt we would be so fortunate to encounter no resistance at all. Many of these ponies won’t live long enough to see the dawn of the next day, will they?

A heavy burden it is to bear, the crown. All of these ponies will start looking up to me for guidance, won’t they? All I have is my conviction, a full stomach, a bit of human ingenuity, and a whole heap of cum filling up my snatch.

Everything I need, I hummed. Everything I need, indeed.

Let the revolution begin, then.

Chapter 004 - A glorious revolution.

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A revolution starts not with the first strike or even the first voice speaking out in dissatisfaction. It starts with a faulty system, the very catalyst that makes those voices of dissatisfaction grow louder, even if someone might try to keep those silent.

It starts with one little instance of something going incredibly wrong. Something like a new king rising to power and using that power for selfish means. Something like racism, poverty, enslavement, or... simply fear. Fear for your safety, those of your loved ones, or those less fortunate than you.

At one point, someone will rally those voices, leading them against those that have caused their misfortune and kept their lives miserable. All so that they could live lavishly instead.

Sometimes, it takes just that. A voice that wants to be heard and someone giving them that chance. Birch Leaf was one such pony, making her voice be heard and causing one of the greatest types of change a civilization could go through. A revolution, changing the status quo, the very standard of living of everyone in that nation. Or everypony, in this case. I have to say, these pony-isms have kinda grown on me, even though some of them were a bit ridiculous.

I was merely the one that gave her that nudge, the right conditions so that she could help her kin regain their freedom. She would have made a better queen than I, I thought as I watched her direct the odd thirty-ish ponies into breaking the chains of her fellow earthponies, breaking down the doors of those that dared to call themselves 'nobles' while having endorsed this cruelty of keeping their fellow ponies collared and ‘docile’.

Nobility my ass, there was nothing noble about that. There was nothing 'just' and 'righteous' in their actions, nothing that was truly virtuous and ethical in their motivations, and, in my opinion, they deserved a far worse fate, but it wasn't my place to bestow upon them their due punishment for the heinous transgressions they committed against ponykind. No. That privilege belonged to those they had wronged.

And, in the end, there was not a single pony that cried for those that had abused them as sex slaves, dying ‘peacefully’ in their sleep as they finally got the chance to rid themselves of the monsters pretending to be ponies.

Leaf quickly learned what I meant by how bloody this would actually get. I think she had clung on to the belief that she could prove me wrong, that this didn’t have to end with the cold-blooded murder of ponies unable to defend themselves, but she clearly underestimated her fellow slaves’ will to rid themselves of their captors, their tormentors. This much hurt... there were only those rare few like Leaf that could grant ponies a second chance even if they didn’t truly deserve it.

I understood her sentiment, it felt wrong to see these cute cuddly little ponies kill each other so... viciously. Even here, hatred can turn the most innocent of beings into vengeful killers. It didn’t sit right with me, either, as much as I thought they had all the right in the world to do this. It was downright horrifying to me, even.

I could feel their hatred and joy almost overwhelm my own feelings and it made me feel disgusted with myself that I supported this much bloodshed in the first place. I didn't want to see them be like this ever again, it was just plain wrong. I knew they were capable of so much more compassion than that, Leaf was proof of that.

That gave me all the more a reason to find and give them a place where they could finally live in peace. A place of love and harmony, just like I dreamed of. That would be something, wouldn’t it? An empire where everyone can be themselves, love who they want to love, and not have to fear that some dickhead was going to ruin their lives.

The night on that fateful day was lit red by not only hatred but also by a blazing inferno of flickering flames lighting up houses and torches alike, held aloft by hundreds of earthponies and the odd few unicorns rebelling against this cruelty of oppression and slavery, clashing with the King’s guards and his supporters in a desperate bid to earn their freedom. Some of those supporters were doing this genuinely out of a want to keep things like they were, while others, I imagine, were trying to gain the favor of their ‘beloved’ King.

Despicable, wasn’t it? To have no conscience at all, taking up arms for a cause like this... I suppose those foolish enough to let their greed guide their hoof learned their lesson the hard way that standing against a revolution would lead to their own end even sooner than the guillotine could relieve them of their heads.

Leaf and I led the quite sizable group of the most skilled fighters among the earthponies we rescued against the seat of power that one could generously call a castle if they squinted enough, breaking down the barricades barring us from entering the courtyard relatively easily.

I had to throw up a barrier with my magic as soon as we did, though, being oh-so-kindly greeted with arrows and spellfire alike. It burned through my considerable reserves faster than I would have liked, to be honest.

I was gritting my teeth as sweat gathered on my forehead, all the while the ache in my horn started to return as I poured more and more power into the shield keeping us safe from harm. “I can’t... keep this up for... much... longer! Ngh! Somepony... do something!”

One of the earthpony stallions with us gave the massive log they used to break down the barricades a glance and gave a shrug, shouldering the thing by himself like it weighed no more than a feather before he threw the damn thing up and gave it a mighty kick, sending it shattering through the defenses of the King’s guard, most likely killing a few of them outright as they had absolutely no chance to dodge the airborne log. I gave the stallion with the quartz-like white fur a thankful nod as my shield broke down, receiving a stoic one in return from ‘Mr. Hulk’.

“Are you okay, Ari?” Leaf asked, placing a hoof on my shoulder once we were safe behind the previous barricade we broke down. I let out a shaky breath, smiling back at her for her concern. I wasn’t, but she didn’t need to know that right now. The ever-present hunger was back worse than before, gnawing at my stomach as well as on my mind, making me feel quite miserable.

The air of death around us was by far worse than that, though.

“I will be,” I told her, gratefully accepting a waterskin from one of the kind mares next to us. I wonder what those were actually made out of here considering, well... ponies. “We have to press the charge, we can’t allow them to recover or we’re going to be at this stalemate for days.”

“Alright,” Leaf nodded, turning to the few unicorns in our little group. “Do any of you know how to make shields?”

A young stallion that looked barely old enough to fight raised a hoof, being the only one out of the five unicorns that did so. “I-I can k-keep one up for a few s-seconds, Ma’am.”

“Wonderful, that’s not going to help a whole lot, is it?” Leaf grumbled, rubbing her eyes tiredly. “We will have to find another way, then...”

“Not necessarily,” I said, relaying Arachne’s words as she came up with an idea. “Tell me, can any of you lend your magic to somepony else?”

“That’s simple, anypony can do that,” one of the ‘mages’ answered while the others nodded along with what he said. “I suppose that would buy us some time for keeping up the shield. What’s your plan, then?”

“Rush and defeat,” Leaf said with a completely serious look on her muzzle, earning herself less than pleased looks at her ‘plan’. “Don’t say anything yet! It’s rather simple but effective if we do it right. We only need to get in there without getting hit. There are plenty of places to take cover in there while we don’t have a good defense out here. Once we are actually in there, we can engage in close-quarter combat, putting them at the disadvantage instead of us!”

I... don’t think that’s how castle sieges actually work. But it would negate the threat of their bows, and, to a degree, their magic. Considering that we had already breached the entrance... these unicorns were shit at building castles.

<A castle’s main purpose is to delay the enemy so that allies can arrive to turn the tide,> Arachne provided helpfully. <Since this is a city castle, it should be easier to breach since most of the defenses are more or less at the city’s walls instead of the King’s residence. Besides, these unicorns seem to rely far too much on their magic, a resource that is exhausted far faster than food, so we don’t even have to starve them out.>

<Sieges could actually last that long?> I asked, feeling queasy. To starve in your own damn home... what a cruel fate that must be. <Any idea about how to avoid this taking that long?>

<Leaf has the right type of idea, already,> Arachne stated, much to my surprise. <If an army was pressed for time for whatever reasons, most likely winter approaching or allies coming to fend them off, there were ways to brute force your way in through various means. Since the door is already broken down, it should prove to be a good distraction for us so that we can go and infiltrate it. We don’t actually need to breach all of their defenses forcefully, you know. If we can manage to get inside without being noticed, we can dismantle their protection from the inside out.>

<So, the rush tactic was actually a thing?> I inquired, raising a brow somewhat skeptically. <How did they breach the walls back then? I can’t imagine using ladders being that effective in rushing the enemy.>

<With a rather ingenious tactic called sapping,> Shadra replied matter-of-factly and Arachne gave a hum in agreement. <You should get ready, My Queen, it looks like they are ready to start. I’ll explain more about it when you’re in. Also, I’d suggest turning into a cat, those were usually one of the most commonly kept animals in castles for hunting down unwanted pests, and, well... cats are stealthier than dogs. As well as... c-cuter...>

<Very well,> I nodded, kind of curious now what this tactic actually was. I stretched out all of my limbs one last time before turning to the one that was actually giving the commands around here. “Leaf, try to distract them for a little while so that I can sneak in, okay? Both you and I know that that shield won’t last nearly long enough to breach all of their defenses.”

“You’ve got a plan, then?” she asked and I gave her a grin. “Don’t tell me you’re going to...”

“Yep,” I said with a little popping noise as my grin got wider. “I’m going to fuck them unconscious.”

“Seriously?” Leaf grumbled, giving me the stink eye.

“No, not really,” I snickered and she pouted back at me. “While I could use the energy, I don’t think that’s going to work even with a few hundred horny rabbits holding down the fort, so to speak. In a siege, your greatest enemy is someone working from within your own ranks against you, no?”

“You know, suddenly I’m glad you are on our side,” she said, turning paler than her white fur allowed. Which gave me more questions than I really cared to get answers for. I'll just chalk it up to magic and ignore the whole impossibility that was blushing and paling ponies. Madness lies down that road... “Alright, ponies! Listen up, we've got a new plan! We’re giving Araneae the distraction she needs to wreak havoc from within!”

“How’s that even going to work?” one of the unicorns asked with a skeptical frown. “She’s a unicorn and not even a noble at that, what could she do that we can’t?”

“You might be surprised,” I answered with a smirk on my muzzle, letting my changeling flames consume my form, hiding me from sight as I pictured a cute little black cat with white paws and the same shade of enchanting green eyes I gave to my unicorn disguise, praying that this would actually work.

A moment later, the flames receded and I looked up, letting out a meow as the gathered group gave me a surprised look. Immediately afterward I was, who could have guessed it, snatched up by Leaf, subjecting me to her torturous affections called ‘hugs’.

I struggled against her for a moment as her embrace was just a teeny tiny bit too tight but I gave up pretty soon after, resigning myself to my fate of being cuddled to death by a (now) gigantic mare. The affection(?) she was directing at me was quite filling, though. It tasted like sweet, sweet sugary goodness with a slightly alcoholic aftertaste which made this whole ordeal at least bearable enough for me to put up with it.

“Aww, you’re so cute like this, Ari!” Leaf squeed, shaking me a little bit in her grasp to which I let out a pitiful meow in protest. “I wish I was a changeling now, I’m so jealous!”

I directed a tired meow at her, feeling like we were wasting enough time as it was. If we get unlucky, they might just repair the damn door in the time that it takes for her to let go of me.

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Leaf pouted, setting me back down on the ground while her emotions got... watery, I suppose. And a little bit salty, too. Wow, sadness really sucks, I don’t even want to imagine what sorrow would taste like. “Everypony, let’s get Ari inside! They won’t see the cat coming!”

The cheer following her encouragement was a bit subdued, but nonetheless just as enthusiastic. I picked up the keys with my mouth, whining slightly at the idea that it was dirty and had probably been in all kinds of mouths before, and quickly scrambled to catch up with the charging herd of colorfully angry ponies.

The arrows and spells that greeted us were fewer in number than the initial greeting they gave us, allowing us to break through into the castle’s entrance chamber with relative ease. It was a lot more spacious in here than what I vaguely remember Earth’s castles to have looked like. It was almost more like a palace, to be honest.

Instead of finding ponies clad in heavy armor, we found ones garbed in flowy robes and ones in what looked like genuine leather armor (they can't actually be using leather, can they?), wielding bows that were rather unwieldy by human standards. I suppose when you don’t have to use your own muscles to draw the string back, you could design weapons a lot more differently than someone without magic could.

Not that those bows did them any good, taking far too long to get ready to shoot when a massive earthpony stallion was barreling towards you with murder in their eyes. I decidedly looked away before I could see Mr. Hulk smash, not wanting to see the end result of that. Instead, I quietly slunk away from my only allies in this world to sneak around in a far too pompously decorated castle to find something that I could use against the defenders of a tyrannical king with an absolutely massive ego.

Seriously, the paintings on the walls... I doubt he had that big of a dick, really. I’m not kidding here, it looked like it was thicker than his own hoof! I mean, props to the artist and whatnot, but holy bananas... that’s disgusting. It was even decorated in jewels as if his massive football-sized nuts weren’t enough.

Somepony was trying way too hard to compensate for something, it wasn’t even funny. Okay, maybe it was a little bit, I guess. I’m pretty sure Leaf would laugh her flanks off if I were to show her these ridiculous pictures. Or she would give me the stink eye, I’m not too sure.

<Definitely glare at you,> Shadra said, snickering as we studied the picture in front of us. <That crown must weigh a ton with that many gems on it.>

<What do you think, does he actually wear that many gemstones all over his body like that?> I asked, strangely curious to find out. <It would fit his name.>

<Right. And Princess Gold Bar wears gold bars,> Shadra commented snarkily. <Not all of their names are literally descriptions of their personalities and whatnot. Most of them have these strange tattoos that represent their names, but... I agree, King Gemstone does make his name justice if that’s how he actually dresses.>

<What’s up with those butt marks, anyway?> I giggled silently to myself.

<Maybe it is a rite of passage tradition?> Arachne proposed and I shrugged. <On Earth, there were cultures that marked their bodies as a coming of age thing, although I have no idea how they paint these so accurately on fur. Or why they would do so for their slaves, it doesn’t really make sense to me.>

<What if it is magic?> I asked and shrugged. <Judging by how strong Mr. Hulk is, earthponies must have some sort of form of their own magic. It would make more sense than constantly repainting their butt marks, wouldn’t it? Besides, there are pegasi in this world as well, right? I doubt they have hollow bones and massive wings to physically allow flight.>

<You might have a point there, My Queen,> Arachne hummed. <Ohh! This magic thing is getting more and more exciting! I want to know everything about how it works!>

<Don’t start dissecting ponies, please,> I said with a snort, shuddering at the thought of my Princess starting to get as bad as Tabetha was in her pursuit of knowledge. <Or yourself, for that matter.>

<Very funny, Ari,> Arachne grumbled. I gave her a mental head-pat as an apology. I had faith in her that she would know where to put boundaries on her own curiosity, I was merely teasing her, after all. Although... Tabetha was kinda notorious for experimenting on herself, so... there was that. <Do you actually know where you are going, My Queen?>

<Nopes!> I replied cheerfully, traipsing all over the dark red carpet with my muddy paws in delight. Take that, asshole! <Where do you think I can find that tower?>

<Further up ahead, there should be some stairs there,> Shadra told me, pushing a vague memory towards me that I suspect she stole from the General during her 'interrogation'.

<Nice. Thanks, Shadra,> I said, gleefully picking up my pace. <So... about that sapping thing...>

<Of course,> Shadra said, giving me a mental nod. <The tactic of sapping is basically like tunneling, only that you don’t go all the way under the wall, just enough so that you can use various means to weaken the ground underneath it to cause it to collapse. Then, your army can waltz right in and repeat the process until you are at the castle’s gates.>

<That actually works? Huh,> I replied, a little bit intrigued.

<Catapults weren’t that common, actually,> Arachne informed me. <The soldiers used trebuchets when the terrain allowed it, or siege towers. Castles and their walls were actually made with that kind of thing in mind, so you could throw rocks at them and all you would do would be to leave scratches behind. If you’re lucky, you might hit a defender, instead, instantly killing them. The most common tactic was starving the inhabitants until they gave up.>

<Right,> I nodded, still finding that kind of cruel. <What was the most efficient way, then?>

<What we’re doing right now,> Shadra answered with a snide tone. <A traitor or infiltrator trying their luck. If it worked, you could take a castle pretty much overnight.>

<You know, next time, I’m not even going to bother asking you, my Princess,> I grumbled. <Of course, an inside job is the most efficient thing for everything, idiot. What I meant was what an army could do that’s usually easier than breaking down the walls or waiting months for them to starve to death.>

<Well, the easiest way would be to ask them to surrender,> Arachne replied before Shadra could get out a retort. <Most would give them fair treatment if they didn’t put up a fight. If they didn’t, well... no survivors. The invading force wouldn’t put up with having to go to such great lengths to take over a castle only to have them surrender after killing their forces for being stubborn.>

<That makes sense,> I said, hopping up the quite steep steps after I found the stairs going up to the tower (one of them, at least). <Thanks, Arachne. And I’m sorry for snapping at you, Shadra.>

<It’s okay, My Queen,> Shadra sighed. <I understand that this whole thing is more than stressful for all of us. The stench of blood and smoke in the air isn’t helping, either. I have half a mind to just sit this one out in the hive mind, but I cannot in good conscience let you suffer through this on your own, Ara. We’ve got to stick together in order for us to come out of this in one piece.>

Our conversation ground to a halt after that, and, once I got closer to the top of the stairs, things went back to the tense atmosphere of finding myself in a location that I shouldn’t be in, in the first place.

And, as I looked over the edge of the final step, giving the tiny room in front of me a curious and cautious glance, I dryly thought that this definitely wasn’t the tower where Amore was being kept. I did find somepony here, though. Or rather, two ponies. “Princess? There’s... a cat with keys at the door.”

“What? Swirly Star, I’m not in the mood for any jests,” Princess Gold Bar replied, listlessly turning her head around in the golden cage she was locked up in, only to find my frozen, shocked self standing there in the open door frame. The princess moved weakly away from her little cot, giving me a once over in disbelief while the young unicorn mare chained to the wall gave her princess a look that told her ‘I told you so’. Both the white coat of the princess and the grey coat of... her friend, I suppose... were in dire need of a bath. Maybe more than one, if I was honest. “Where did you come from, little kitty cat?”

I gave the caged princess an unimpressed look while Swirly Star let out a snort, trying to beckon me over to her. From the looks of it, she was perhaps just as unimpressed with that question as I was. “You haven’t forgotten that cats can’t talk, right?”

“Shut up, Swirly Star,” Gold Bar pouted, giving her friend a glare. “I had a friend once that believed in innate abilities like being able to talk with animals, hmph.”

“I grew up, Gold,” Star replied with a huff. “Innate abilities are a myth... just like mares becoming archmages...”

“Or heroic knights saving the princess?” I asked, burning away my disguise, causing both of them to scream. “Oh, come on! I’m not that hideous, am I?”

They let out another scream after they ran out of breath and I rolled my eyes, waiting for them to get their shit together. Maybe I should have just gone back to my cat self and left them here, instead. They were a little bit too shrilly for my tastes.

“Who are you?!” one or both of them asked, I wasn’t too sure since, you know, my ears were ringing. They had one serious pair of lungs, damn. Or horse ears are way more sensitive than I thought. “How did you get here?”

“Uh,” I hesitated, giving a glance back to the way too steep stairs that I quite frankly had no idea how ponies of all beings were capable of using them. Seriously, I had to jump up every damn step in my little cat's body, it was exhausting. Whoever thought it was a good idea to design stairs like that deserved to be hanged. “Believe me, the answer to that question is either really simple or way too fucking complicated. You can call me Araneae or... if you want, you could call me your knight in shining armor, instead."—I coughed into my hoof while pointing out that it was technically chitin—"Take your pick, pretty lady.”

Both of them gave me an incredulous look, most likely wondering what the flying pig was going on. And maybe what I muttered under my breath, but who cares? “So, are you going to let us out or not?”

“Of course, Your Royal Poutiness,” I said, trying and failing miserably at hiding the smirk on my muzzle. “You wouldn’t know where I can find Amore, would you?”

“And why would I tell you that?” Gold Bar asked, watching me warily as I fiddled with the collar of her friend. “We don’t even know you.”

“Aww, and here I thought I was trustworthy because I’m setting you girls free from the cruel shackles that fate placed upon you so that I can be the hero I’m truly meant to be!” I said, letting out a dramatic sigh while holding a hoof to my head which... kinda unnerved the two more than my appearance did, apparently. Theatrics aside, that damn collar was putting up more of a fight than I expected. I had way too many keys to go through and it was showing on my muzzle as I, once again, tried another key because the last one rattled uselessly around in the lock. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to hurt you. Can’t say the same about that father of yours, that dickhead's head is gonna roll before the suns rise into the sky.”

“He. Is. Not. My. Father!” Princess Goldilocks seethed, glaring balefully at me. “That traitorous leech ruined our kingdom, killing my parents and locking me up like a bird because I refused to marry his ugly mug!”

“...what?” I mumbled, conveniently placing her friend in between me and her even though she was still stuck in that gaudy cage of hers. “I’m sorry, I... uh... I just assumed that... you know, king and princess...”

“You’re not from around here, are you?” she muttered, letting out a sigh. “Well, I suppose you can’t be too bad if you’re here to get rid of that... that...”

“Spawn of an ogre?” I offered, snickering to myself. Although... both Gold Bar and Swirly Star were giving me confused looks, so my amusement died a quick and sad death pretty soon after that. I really miss Earth now.

The collar on the gray unicorn finally snapped open, falling to the ground with a dull thump, thankfully breaking the awkward silence as it started to drag on a little bit too long. Judging by the marks around her throat... I could tell they had spent a long time in here. It smelled like it, too.

“Thanks,” she said while rubbing her neck gratefully. “Do you have the key for the suppression ring with you as well?”

“I don’t think any of these keys are small enough for that lock, sorry,” I apologized, pity welling up within me for her. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what that thing did and it looked like it was on rather tight, as well. I kinda felt bad for her, using magic has become an incredible convenience, I wouldn't want to go without it anymore. Let's hope that there are other ways to get rid of that thing (without hurting her in the process, that is). “Alright, let’s get that...”

Before I was able to finish saying my sentence, the archmage hopeful stumbled as she was about to come over with me to Gold Bar's cage so that we could get that totally degrading thing open next (seriously, why a cage made out of fucking gold of all things?). Fortunately, I caught Swirly Star just in time, helping her back on her hooves while giving her a concerned look. The embarrassed flush on her face made me feel... miserable... for her. And angry. Angry that they would treat these two so poorly because Gold Bar refused to marry that slimeball of a cockroach. It was high time that someone changed the status quo around here, wasn't it? A fate like that... it most assuredly wasn't pretty.

“Are you going to be okay?” I asked, receiving a weak nod from the quite tall and lanky mare which didn’t really fill me with confidence that she was truthful about that. Gold Bar was giving her an uncertain and concerned look while I began the whole spiel of inserting the wrong key after the wrong key into the lock again. “Seriously, how many different locks can this castle actually have that there are so many damn keys on this fucking thing!”

“Most of those belong to the holding cells underneath the castle, you uncouth brute,” Gold Bar pointed out, giving me an unimpressed look now. I suppose that did make sense, although now I wish I had a set of lock picks, instead. I’m sure I wouldn’t have had that much difficulty using those instead of trying to find the correct fucking fuck shit of a key, damnit!

Right as I was about to hit... something, the cage probably... the lock gave a click and the door swung open in an almost mocking way. My eyelid twitched. Okay, then... moving on!

“Anyway! Let's get the hell out of here, shall we?” I said and watched them tearfully embrace each other for probably the first time in years. "Or... you have your heartfelt moment for a little while longer, I guess. Don't mind me, I'll just... stay here at the stairs until you're ready. It's not like we're in the middle of a war zone, right?"

"Shut up, stupid bug," Gold Bar shot back, throwing me a tiny glare as she leaned her head against the chest of her 'friend'.

"Right, sorry," I muttered, deciding to ignore her half-hearted jab with a roll of my eyes. This 'being nice' thing was more difficult than I had thought it would be at first, but... it did feel good, to be honest. And it wasn't like I wasn't off to a good start, right? Already, I have saved one pair of ponies from the cruel shackles fate placed upon them and soon, Leaf and the rest of her fellow earthponies would be free to do whatever they want, as well. Speaking of... “It's probably for the best if you two stick with me, the ponies I’m with will know you are friendlies. We will have to be careful, though, when we move through the castle. I’m quite frankly surprised that there has been no guard standing watch over you two.”

“We’ve been left alone for the most part,” Gold Bar sighed, reluctantly parting from the hug she shared with her 'best friend'. “My uncle... that cretin tried to have his way with me, but he quickly learned I’m not the defenseless damsel that quietly takes the abuse, so he locked me up here with Swirly Star instead until I ‘broke’ and said yes to his slimy proposal. If Swirl hadn’t tried to defy him by coming to my aid, she probably would have found a way to rescue me from this tower a long time ago.”

“This is so fucked up...” I growled to myself, rage trying to drown me, threatening to throw a haze over my mind until the target of my anger breathed no more. “Let’s get this over with before I try turning into a dragon to raze this whole kingdom to the ground without leaving a single thing alive. First things first, I need one of you to guide me to Amore’s cell.”

“That won’t be too much of a problem,” Gold Bar nodded. “What is your plan with the knights, though?”

“That’s... a good question, I’ll think of the answer when I get around to it,” I said, giving the stairs a wary glance. I’m not going to enjoy going down, will I? <Shadra, what’s a good way to quickly get rid of that many ponies?>

<Normally I would say that you should poison their food and water, but considering we kinda need that food and water,> Shadra replied, muttering darkly under her... ugh... 'his' breath as he tried to think of something that wouldn’t immediately come back to bite us in our flanks. <And I don’t think showing them the severed head of their king will break their morale to the degree that they wouldn’t want to enact vengeance on us. We should try to not use our magic too frivolously, as well, so that dragon idea is out of the window, too.>

<Setting Amore free is our main priority for now, I would say,> Arachne mused while I tried my best not to slip on the stairs and flip over, tumbling down the tower's staircase face-first. You know, I’m definitely going to ban stairs in my empire, those things are evil. Evil, I say! <Hopefully, with his help, we can convince the soldiers to surrender. If not... maybe we could use our web to our advantage?>

<As good a plan as any,> I agreed, sighing in relief as I was finally back on even ground without having made a fool of myself. It was surprisingly easier than I would have expected to keep my balance.

I was still gonna ban them, though. It was an adventure going down friggin’ stairs and I had to repeat the whole spiel all over again with Amore’s tower. What a joy...

To be honest, I’d rather climb up the wall. Whether like Spider-Man or like Rapunzel with his own damn hair. Mane. Tail. Whatever.

I followed after the princess as she navigated the halls with an old familiarity, all the while trying to ignore her outraged comments about how much Gemstone had defiled her once ‘beautiful’ home. If this mess out of cobblestone could ever be called that of all things.

Naturally, the first tower we tried searching for Amore was not the correct place. We did find the ‘servants’, though. All of them fillies and young mares that had been treated no better than the princess and her friend.

I almost did turn into a raging dragon at that point had it not been for my new companions and the fact that I had no idea what one actually looked like.

Anyway, it took way longer than I would ever care to admit getting all of their chains and collars open as well, but eventually, our 'little' group was on the move again. A group that was decidedly less stealthy than I would have liked. The stench of fear wafting over from them wasn’t helping, either.

At least I was getting better at keeping their emotions from influencing my own, otherwise, this would have definitely taken far longer than it already did. That much fear wasn't easy to 'ignore', so to speak. It didn't help that I wasn't a particularly courageous person to begin with, either.

Thankfully, we had little to no problem moving through the hallways, seeing that they were pretty much empty of soldiers. They were no doubt sufficiently distracted with the little revolution Leaf and I had kicked off.

I hoped they were holding out alright, I’d hate it if something happened to her. To them, I mean. Okay, maybe I was mainly concerned for Leaf, give me a damn break.

We did have one run-in with a brown-ish unicorn stallion spotting us as we (hopefully) neared the right tower this time. It was funny to watch him flop over as I shot a stunner at him, swiftly biting his neck afterward so that my venom paralyzed him enough that he couldn’t even move his muzzle anymore to scream for help. I dragged the fool to an inconspicuous hiding place in order to make sure that absolutely nopony would stumble upon him, wrapping him up in a silk cocoon so that he wouldn't be following us once the venom began to wear off. I gave the stupid hornhead a good kick in the nuts just for good measure before turning back to my new friends.

I could tell the servants, and even Princess Gold Bar and Swirly Star, were a little bit frightened of me after I had done... that... but I could care less about them actually liking my methods when we were, for all intents and purposes, in a damn war zone.

Besides, I'm sure he deserved it. They all did. And no, I don't care that I was generalizing the shit out of this, anyone working for King Gemstone had it coming to them, it was as simple as that.

To be honest, though, I might have only done that because I needed somepony to vent my frustration out on. Both for the whole slavery thing and the abhorrent amount of keys on that damn fucking keyring. I just wanted this day to be over with and forget it ever happened.

“You know, I hope you won’t make me come back here after freeing all the earthponies from Gemstone’s clutches,” I muttered while giving Gold Bar a look that told her I was most certainly not in the mood to find out they went right back to their old ways after all the shit that has been going on here. “I’d hate to go through a rebellion like this twice.”

“Believe me, I’m going to change a lot about how things are done here,” she replied darkly, glaring ahead at nothing in particular. “Slavery was never endorsed by my father. I never thought I would get to know what being a prisoner felt like... I’m going to make sure that this doesn’t repeat itself, you have my word.”

“See that you do,” I spoke, keeping the harsh bite out of my tone as I started to move up the stairs to the next tower carefully. “You actually strike me as the fair and loving ruler your ponies truly need. A ruler is but a servant to the needs of their subjects, never forget that.”

“I... thank you,” Princess Gold Bar whispered. “I’ll remember that.”

“And maybe try to get rid of that gender restriction nonsense,” I said, smiling back at her and receiving one back with a nod. “Great. Now, take two (or three, actually).”— I cleared my throat, a bright smile on my muzzle—” Rapunzel, I have come to save thee! It is I, your knight in shining armor!”

“Do you always have to be so... bizarre?” Gold Bar asked with a raised brow directed at me. I ignored her nonsensical question in favor of... the sleeping stallion not having noticed my grandiose entrance, damnit. Oh, woe is me! My glorious plan of making him fall in love with me at first sight lay broken and shattered in front of my hooves, all of my dreams reduced to a thousand tiny little pieces! My life... forever ruined!

Alrighty, then... Sleeping Beauty it is! Eh heh heh~...

Too bad he actually woke up as I tried to get the damn fucking shit fuck of a damn fucking door open. Gah! Isn’t there an easier way to get that... Calm, deep breaths, Araneae, calm and deep breaths... There’s probably a spell for that, isn’t there? The first thing that I’m going to do once I’m done with this extremely frustrating situation is to learn magic the proper way.

Scratch that thought. The first thing that I’m going to do is ride that juicy rod of his, hot damn! I’m sure he has all the ladies fawning over him with that sweet, sweet body of his. Probably the stallions, as well. My, my...

“Who... what are you?” the bleary-eyed hunk of a stallion asked me, spotting not only my glorious self about to rescue him but also my sidekicks, Snooty Princess and Smart Goon. “Princess, is that you?”

“Yes, Lord Amore,” Gold Bar answered with a relieved smile as I kept struggling futilely like an idiot with the FUCKING LOCK, DAMNIT! Fuck this shit, I thought, turning around and kicking the damn fucking door in with all of my considerable, non-existent strength. Thankfully, the rusty hinges did most of the work for me. “I... Well, thanks for that, idiot. You could have hurt him, you know that, right?”

“Nonsense,” I huffed, turning around with a little wobble. “That... took a lot more out of me, though. Oh boy...”

“Are... you okay?” Amore asked, weakly sitting up from his ‘bed’. It was more like a dirty pile of hay, from the looks of it. “You don’t look too good.”

“I should be asking you that, shouldn’t I?” I shot back with an exhausted smile while I gave him an appraising glance (and for once, it wasn't the lewd kind). Standing up, he was even taller than me in my base form and that was saying a lot for his height. “I’ll be okay, I... I’m just running a bit low on positivity here, nothing too bad, right? It's not like I have had many opportunities to ‘fill up’, what with the revolution taking place downstairs.”

“Positivity?” he asked, giving me a confused look.

“I’m a changeling, dear,” I said, patting his head affectionately. “I suck dick and stuff snatch for free and get a meal out of it.”

“Wait, what?” the princess interjected, giving me an aghast look. “You’re a succubus?!”

“Well, if you want to put a label on what I am? Sure, might as well call myself a succubus,” I shrugged. “To be honest, though? Incubus would be just as accurate as succubus, but let's not jump to conclusions here. I’m not some kind of hell-spawn if that's what you're thinking. It would be kinda difficult to survive for long if I kill ponies left and right by draining them dry of their life force, after all. I'd rather have them enjoy it as much as I do~.”

“I don’t believe this,” Gold Bar whimpered in horror, shaking her head in denial. “Our savior is a damn pervert!”

“Eh, everypony has their kinks,” I shrugged, ignoring her antics in favor of inspecting my... Okay, yeah, no. This wasn’t really a fairy tale, I should probably stop trying to come up with comparisons, shouldn’t I?

“You’re supposed to be... honorable or something!” Gold Bar whined, leaning against her friend as she offered to comfort her.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, Ms. Kinkshy,” I muttered, staring darkly down at the signs of bruises showing through Amore’s beige coat. “Do they hurt?”

“I’ll live,” he reassured me and then tried to force a tiny smile on his muzzle. He wasn’t fooling anypony with that and I think he was well aware of that. I can’t tell why, but... him trying to pretend they were no big deal felt a lot worse than seeing those bruises on him in the first place. “Out of all the... ponies... I expected to appear here, you certainly weren’t one of them. You never answered my question, about who you are.”

“Q... Uh... Araneae,” I said and a blush appeared on my muzzle as I almost answered with 'Queen' on autopilot. “Yep. Just Araneae! Sweet, short, rolls almost off the tongue... Ponies love it.”

“Like the spider?” he asked and before I could do anything, I was suddenly in the backseat of our body.

“You know about the scientific classification?” Arachne asked giddily, letting out a girly squeak. Huh. Apparently, we could force ourselves to be in control. I doubt she did it with malicious intentions considering she was currently nerding out over Amore not being a ‘simpleton’. Comparatively speaking, that is. Most people on Earth couldn’t have held a candle to Tabetha’s intelligence, and, well... even with my split personality having most of the broken version of those memories, I don’t know whether anypony in this world could truly keep up with her. Heck, I couldn’t even keep up with her most of the time and she was (more or less) me! I should know the things she knows, but apparently, all of my intelligence went into creating her...

I’m not dumb, alright?! I just... have other strengths. Like... I don’t know. Being good at seducing ponies. And shredding their minds, apparently. And getting into dumb situations. Very. Dumb. Situations.

“I, uh...” Amore stammered, leaning his head back as he got a muzzle full of viciously sharp teeth grinning back at him. “My mother kept star spiders for their silk?”

“Eee!” Arachne clapped her hooves excitedly. “Tell me more about...”

I shook my head, shoving Arachne back before she could actually frighten the poor stallion more than she already did. “Uhm. Sorry. That was... yeah. Please, just ignore that and pretend that never happened.”

<But, but, but... taxonomy,> Arachne whined and I rolled my eyes mentally back at her. <You’re being mean to me, My Queen.>

<Arachne, now is not the time,> I insisted, pointing out to her that we were still very much in danger of getting discovered (which was already a miracle in and of itself that we weren’t) and that Amore was not in the condition for her to nerd over him when he needed to get back his strength from whatever that dickhead of a turd king had done to him.

“That was... a quick shift from, well... whatever that was back to...” Amore said, gesturing at me with a hoof and I let out a groan. “You’re interesting, that I have to give to you, ‘Just’ Araneae.”

“Can you not say it like that?” I groused, pouting at him. “Araneae is fine. If you have to use something else, use Ari or Ara.”

“Very well, ‘Just’ Araneae,” he said, smiling mirthfully. I facehoofed, almost hitting my horn as I did so, and let out a groan again, not at all amused. “Though, I am curious what that was about.”

“I’m a crazy succubus bug pony hybrid, what more do you want to hear?” I grumbled, feeling protective of Arachne. “Can we leave... that... alone? Please?”

“I don’t think you are nearly as crazy as you pretend you are,” he said with a small shrug. You would be the only one thinking that, I silently mused to myself. There was nothing sane about anything I have done so far, the least of which was kicking off this revolution without even having any idea of what I was doing. “You don’t have to answer my curiosity, dear. While I am interested in finding out the actual truth, I won’t press my savior for anything. I’m grateful that you came here to help me, Araneae.”

“Yeah, well... great. Let’s get out of here, then, shall we?” I muttered, pointedly avoiding looking into those damn adorable eyes of his that were full of understanding and crap. It was like they were made out of pure gold or... something more along the lines of a brilliant amber-like honey. I could just... lose myself in them, trying to figure out each and every secret hidden within them. They were that enchanting and I didn’t like it one bit. Nopony should have that much power over somepony else with their eyes alone (aside from me, that is). “There’s still a king with a head on his spine. Don’t you think we should remedy that?”

“You intend to kill him?” Amore asked and I shrugged, moving out of his cell towards the... fucking stairs. Ugh. I swear, if I can’t ban them from ever existing again, I’m going to travel by the means of portals everywhere I go (I’m sure Arachne and Shadra could come up with something along those lines, it can't be too hard if a mentally unstable madman could have figured it out, after all).

“Well, considering Gemstone is enslaving ponies left and right without a shred of remorse and the fact that I can't think of anything else that would be punishing enough...” I pointed out, curiously glancing back at him with a raised brow. “What would you do with him, instead?”

“I don’t know,” he answered, furrowing his brows thoughtfully. “I do not think that vengeance is the answer to everything, Araneae. He has done many wrongs, that much is true... I don’t think he would change his ways, either. Perhaps putting him out of his misery is kinder than locking him away for eternity. That won’t magically make everything right, though.”

“I know...” I whispered with mixed feelings, kicking my leg at nothing but empty air in frustration (and anger at myself, I guess). “The ponies of this kingdom deserve their freedom and that’s only going to be achieved with him gone. I don’t really care what you guys do with him, he isn’t really of my concern. I just want to find a nice quiet place with the ponies willing to follow me and give them a home where they can live in peace. Maybe ask Leaf if she wants to be with me if all of this works out and start my own hive.”

“An admirable goal,” he nodded, a smile gracing his lips. “You do make for a great queen, even if you try to deny it.”

I blushed and turned away from him before going down the stairs in order to avoid hearing him say any more of those embarrassing things. I should have known he would come to that conclusion after I futilely tried to hide it away from him. He wasn’t an idiot and he knew as soon as I said ‘start a hive’ that I was the queen of a new hive. Probably even earlier than that, to be honest. There are only so many possibilities one could come up with after that stupid blunder of mine, introducing myself.

As much as I liked to joke about saving my damsel in distress, I think I’ll stick with Leaf. She wasn’t nearly embarrassing me as much as he was willing to. Besides... stallions with pink manes aren’t my type of thing. Totally not.

Okay, maybe a little bit. It was kinda cute and it had that really nice transition into a blueish color near the end. Besides, that pink was more of a rose-ish color, leaning more towards red than pink. I can’t really tell without sunlight, though. Maybe I’ll just dye it pink and call it a day, I’m not the one that will have to live with that color, anyway.

Yep, as soon as I have some dye, I’ll do that and hypnotize him into believing that it is his actual mane color. He shall be called Mr. Pink henceforth until eternity!

That’s what he deserves for outing me as a queen to Miss Prissy Lady and Smart Goon. And the servants, I guess. The poor maids, I wonder what must be going through their heads right now. I wasn’t exactly the savior any of them expected and maybe that was a good thing, I’d rather not deal with the hero worship. The only pony allowed to simp for me is Leaf, I didn't need anypony else.

Or am I actually the one that’s simping for Leaf..? Nah, that’s ridiculous. Obviously, she would simp for my glorious buggy self, she pretty much admitted as such already, hadn’t she? Something something, real self better, yadda yadda, please be my succubus. Sounds about right.

I’m going to shut up now before I start thinking with my dick. Or snatch. Or both, to be honest. You know what? Maybe I really am the one that is simping for my angel. Who wouldn’t, honestly? Simp for Leaf, I should make that a law in the hive.

Right, back to... trying to figure out what to do to get this revolution over with.

“Say, do you know where the entrance to the dungeons is around here?” I asked because I only knew of the entrance in the barracks, turning to the prissy princess that should totally get that stick out of her butt. Seriously, sex ain’t the work of the devil, what’s her deal? It’s nothing to be ashamed of, acting a little bit like a... okay, wow, I really am a whore at heart. Free food, free sex, free money... Seriously, that’s like paradise come true. What more could I actually want?

“I... don’t think you want to go down there,” Gold Bar answered hesitantly, looking down sadly. “You will only find misery down there, after what my uncle openly endorsed... You said you feed off of emotions, right? Do you think you can stand all of that despair?”

“I’ll survive,” I muttered, knowing she was probably right about that. With how badly they treated her, her friend, the servants, and Lord Amore? I could barely stand the fear of the gathered ponies with me, I was going to absolutely hate going to the one place where the ‘King’ and his soldiers treated ponies even worse than the slaves that had the ‘fortune’ to see the light of the suns on a daily basis, wasn’t I? Not that I was going to have a choice in the matter, someone had to go down there and put a stop to all of it. Better me than somepony else.

Gold Bar nodded reluctantly, giving me a concerned look despite her misgivings about my ‘ethics’. She probably saw straight through my façade of trying to be stronger than I actually felt, wanting to give them the hope that everything would turn out alright. The other option wasn’t even up for debate, I won’t let any of them suffer Gemstone’s reign any longer.

And I know how I was going to tip the scale in favor of the revolution. It’s simple, really. I’ll just set all of the prisoners down below free and watch them wreak havoc, instead.

The only thing in between me and that goal were doors. With locks. And way too many keys than I could shake at them. And a fuckton of bad emotions from those that had lost all hope a long time ago. And... and the stench of decay on top of that.

Fuck my life.

The princess wasn’t kidding when she told me that it would be too much for me. I... I had naively thought that it wouldn’t be this bad, but... I should have expected this. Of course, the unicorns following Gemstone wouldn’t give a single fuck about what happened to those prisoners of theirs, would they? Why care if one or two of them die, they are easily replaced, right? They aren’t loyal to the fucking crown, right? Why care? Why care, why care, why the fuck care?

Seriously... why? Why?!

I never understood the lengths some people could take their cruelty to. Sure, I’ve been an asshole on far too many occasions in the past, I’ve been selfish so many times that I didn’t care what other people thought of me... I’ve hurt people far more often than I’d care to admit. Tabetha and Tobias the most.

But I would never do this. I would never be so cruel as to let people... ponies... die right next to each other, crammed into tiny little cells with barely enough room to turn around in.

The flames of my changeling magic licked at my frame as I moved past each cell, my own rage melting the locks completely away as I drew on those disgusting emotions of fear, despair, and hate to sustain me. I felt sick. Not only because of what I saw here but also because I didn’t care that, basically, these were ‘foul’ emotions that I shouldn’t be eating in the first place.

My stomach turned in protest, but I kept on going, deeper and deeper. Amore was glancing at me in concern as I dragged myself forward, tears falling from my eyes in heavy rivers. I ignored the sizzling sound of them hitting the floor, leaving ugly marks of my own grief behind, not unlike acid. They glowed a sickly greenish-black color, I absentmindedly noticed as I opened cell after cell despite the fact that some of them only contained decomposing corpses and nothing more.

Some of them started moving, shambling off to who knows where as the miasma of suffocating emotions surrounding me reawakened them from death like soulless puppets, most likely seeking those out that had caused their deaths. As soon as they left my range, though, they flopped back down like marionettes with their strings cut off, going back to being as dead as they actually were.

I suppose dark magic was a thing here then, huh? No wonder, tainting your magic with such foul emotions had to take its toll on the body. I felt strangely fine, though. If one could call sick to the stomach ‘fine’, that is. Fiction always made the dark arts out to be mind-warping, addicting... evil, even.

Perhaps it was.

It was hard to tell, everything felt like it was muted as I continued to stuff my stomach full with the rancid tasting emotions that I could only equate to first-rate trash. Fine cuisine for the palatable taste of the scummiest scum of the world. Those damn unicorns should be the ones feeling this miserable, not me. Damn them for their fucking racism. Damn their fucking supremacist ways. Damn them and their fucking torture of poor innocents because they dared to stand up to their damn fucking fuck of a fucktard king. Seriously, fuck all of them.

I hate them. I loathe them. I abhor them. All. Of. Them.

I will not allow a single one of them to continue doing this. Not one.

And I didn’t. Those that stood in my way, trying to stop us... me... from setting their prisoners free died a quick death. Whether it was through a hoof caving in their chest, a horn piercing their skull, fangs ripping out their throat, or... I dunno, I started getting creative as I fought my way through the underground maze, getting rid of the scum of the Earth... or whatever this world was actually called. I don’t care.

I hated these ponies, these unicorns whose sole job was to torture their fellow unicorns into compliance. They deserved no mercy. They deserved to be hated. To be loathed. To be abhorred. To be eradicated like pests.

Because they were pests. Pests that took advantage of a faulty system. Pests that had gleefully tortured and murdered their fellow ponies because their king was a spineless pig.

I ate. I ate every bad emotion I could get. I wanted to feel this bad because it would make me feel less guilty about my own emotions. I was... happy that they couldn’t continue to torture these poor ponies. I was... celebrating the end of these monsters... only to notice that, in the end, I became one in the process.

I was a monster. A monster-hunting monster. I became the apex predator of this damn fucked up world. None could stand against me as I brought retribution, nothing but pure retribution.

My eyes gazed down at the pale hoof holding me back gently and I gazed back at the charred pile of... something. I couldn’t tell, my vision was too blurry from the bubbling tears falling from my eyes. I felt like I was choking, a cloudy miasma surrounding my vision almost entirely.

The only thing I could make out clearly was that hoof. It was pale but not as pale as the one that belonged to my angel. Leaf... if she could see me right now... what would she think?

She would be disappointed in me, I knew that with absolute certainty. She didn’t want me tainting my soul with so much hatred. She had seen something in me, something that was worth salvation... and I had just proven to her that she was wrong about that.

I wasn’t worthy of that trust, that faith she was willing to show me of all beings. She saw a light that didn’t exist in a monster like me. It never existed in the first place, I was a monster. An abomination.

I didn’t deserve redemption, after all. Not after committing this disgusting, reproachable sin of mass murder. I didn’t deserve this second chance at life, I was bringing nothing but death. I should have gone with those blue angels and... and...

I let out a sob, crying tears that burned my eyes so viciously, I thought I would go blind. I didn’t want t-to... to... I n-never wanted a-any... any o-of... any of t-this! All I wanted was a family that l-loved me! Was that too much to ask for?!

Why?! Why do these fucking fuck shits do this?! To their fellow ponies?! Why?! Was it really that hard to get peacefully along with each other?! I hate this world. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!

“Shh...” the voice belonging to that pale beige... whatever the fuck the actual color was called... it hummed gently as the pain in my stomach felt like it was eating me from the inside out.

I just wanted to be loved, damnit.

To have a family of my own.

To be happy and...

I retched, whining pathetically while the wings on my back let out an angry buzz. All the while, the gentle caress of the pony next to me tried to comfort me. I heaved and whined, retching as my stomach churned in protest at what I had so carelessly subjected it to.

My stomach wanted it out, but the contents of it didn’t want to come out. It was like a war fought within me. On one side, me and my stomach, and on the other... well, it couldn’t be anything good, that’s for sure.

“It’s alright,” the voice of... it could only be Amore, couldn’t it? He hummed gently as I sobbed, heaving again and again as the contents staining my stomach with their foulness desperately tried to cling on to their snuggly warm place inside of me, happily causing me pain because I dared eat from a forbidden fruit. A forbidden rotten fruit that promised power unimaginable at the cost of me feeling like I was going to die any moment from now.

To be honest, I would have preferred death over this torture.

Finally, after what felt like never-ending agony, I was able to expel the putrid substance causing me such discomfort. I felt like the grimace on my face couldn't even do this feeling of absolute disgust enough justice.

The watery honey-like substance glowed ominously as it left my muzzle, lighting the dark tunnels of the underground caverns up in an evil haze. Out of all the places that ever existed, this was the only one that truly deserved to be called 'Hell'. I was shivering like I was having the worst case of a cold one could possibly get, a numb calmness settling over my mind like I had never experienced before.

I’m never, ever, absolutely never ever going to do that again. Absolutely. Never. Ever. Again.

“Are you okay?” Amore asked, rubbing my back just above my wings softly. “You aren’t... all cuckoo in the head, right? Please tell me that changelings are immune to the effects of dark magic.”

“If you mean that I’m going to take over the world?” I asked tiredly, heaving in the air of this rancid place greedily, feeling quite disappointed that it wasn’t fresh air that I was breathing in, instead. “Yeah, I’m totally gonna do that.”

“Oh, thank the twin suns,” Amore sighed in relief. “You aren’t a megalomaniac hell-bent on destroying the world.”

“I just told you I was gonna take over the world and that’s how you react?” I snorted, giving him a mirthful glare in the cold light of his blue unicorn magic. “I’m pretty sure that’s what someone would say under the influence of dark magic.”

“Then you have obviously never met somepony under the influence of dark magic,” Amore said, trying to crush my fragile self with a thing he dared to call a ‘hug’. This feels like déjà-vu, doesn’t it? Bigger pony, too forceful of an embrace... yep. Totally déjà-vu. “Don’t ever do that again, please.”

“Sure...” I muttered, guiltily enjoying the feeling of closeness right next to the puddle of... I can’t even call it ‘vomit’, can I? Vomit doesn’t make that kind of noise. It wasn’t supposed to make any sounds at all, damnit. It was like a low wailing kind of noise intermixed with screams and whispered nonsense, causing me to shiver everywhere with its sheer wrongness.

It’s like... negative emotions in the form of honey. Which, now that I thought about it, would be the actual description, wouldn’t it? I wonder if I could make honey from positive emotions as well. Hopefully, that wouldn’t feel like I was getting rid of my stomach in its entirety in the process.

I suppose I do have a gag reflex, after all. It’s just... in my stomach, instead. Which totally makes sense. Absolutely. Definitely. Somehow. I have next to no idea how that works and I really don’t want to find out. Ponies could be cows for all I care and I still wouldn't want to know the specifics.

Some things are better left undiscovered... aside from the knowledge of how to make honey with positive emotions, that is. The only thing I care about is not starving to death and having something like that is going to make travel infinitely easier on me (without me having to drag a willing pony everywhere I go, that is). That’s something good that came from this miserable experience at least, right?

“I can’t believe you just... did all of that,” Amore sighed, grumbling with his pleasantly deep voice. It wasn’t that deep, but it did rumble quite nicely. He had that sexy noble lord type of voice that... totally didn’t just give me a boner. Oh, well. It’s not like he wouldn’t have found out about that eventually, right? I mean, I can turn into literally anything if I put my mind into it (maybe even into inanimate objects, that still requires... testing~). I could have just as well turned into a stallion and it would have had pretty much the same effect. I think. “Is... uh... Okay, I have a pressing question here... what the hell is that?”

“What? I told you guys I suck dick and stuff snatch, what did you not get about that?” I huffed, fidgeting on my hindlegs as it got increasingly harder to ignore.

Fuck, that’s going to be a problem if I want to chop off the king’s head, won’t it? There’s no way I wasn’t going to do that after going through... all of this. Fuck being nice for once. I’ll start being nice after that dickhead doesn’t have a head on his body anymore for me to be able to call him a dickhead again.

“But...” Amore blinked, looking down at little me with an unusual amount of curiosity in his eyes. “Didn’t you say you wanted to start a hive? You are a queen in that regard, right?”

“If you mean that I’ll start laying eggs? Yep,” I answered, watching with increasing interest as his own ‘little him’ got most definitely larger. I dunno whether that was because of the egg thing or the dick thing. Maybe it was a combination of both? “Say... do you maybe wanna fuck?”

“That’s... forward...” Amore said, tomato red in the face and I watched with a little grin as his rod gave a twitch. Oh, he definitely was gay for dick, wasn’t he? That’s going to be... fun. “And quite... inappropriate. Maybe we should...”

“Oh, you’re not getting out of this that easily, lover boy,” I snickered, delighting in the fact he was the one trying to avoid my gaze now after having previously left me as an embarrassed pile of... something appropriately embarrassing. “What’s the matter, Amore? Afraid I’m going to bite~?”

“Quite frankly? Yes,” he gulped, trying to lean away from me after I turned the hug on him, not letting him escape. It was quite funny to rile him up, I have to say. Both Leaf and he tasted so very fulfilling when they were like this, I couldn’t help myself from nibbling a little bit, it was just too tempting for me to not do that. “This isn’t exactly accepted courtship behavior, I hope you’re aware of that? Besides, this type of relationship isn’t...”

“Oh, shut the fuck up,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Who cares? Are you really that much of a prude to reject the advances of a hot girl even if she has a dick?”

“That sounds so incredibly wrong and I hope you know that,” he pointed out and I shrugged. “I’m questioning life so much right now...”

“Only if you make it out to be wrong, dear. Besides, even if I were a stallion at heart, there would be nothing wrong about being gay, you know?” I whispered hotly, tracing circles with my... oh, wow. I really need a bath asap, that’s disgusting as fuck. Blood and gore on chitin, ugh. If I hadn't already emptied my stomach, I'm sure this would have made me throw up either way. At least this shit is going to wash off easier than all of the gunk in Amore’s coat. That's like... a major turn-off, holy flying pig. “Anyway! Let’s get out of here... after finding out where the exit actually is, that is.”

“You really are an odd one, aren’t you?” Amore grumbled, trying to rein in his thoroughly aroused body. He can’t ever deny that he was totally attracted to me, I knew all of his dirty secrets! I felt like cackling evilly, but that would have definitely made me look crazy. Still tempting, tho...

“I have been told the exact same thing by somepony else, this must be what people call fate,” I said, snickering slightly, feeling quite a lot better now. Negative emotions suck. Majorly. “So... you’re a lord, right? What do you think about, I don’t know... being a prince instead?”

“Are you... proposing to me?” Amore asked, staring at me like I had grown a second head. I probably could do that now, couldn’t I? That would be really weird, though. Like... I could talk to myself from two different perspectives! Which, I guess, was already kind of a thing only in the way that Arachne and Shadra had become their own entities, instead.

“What?” I asked, giving him an innocent look that (hopefully) didn’t look like I was totally trying to get into his metaphorical pants. Besides, that wasn’t actually what I meant, but if he was already bringing it up... “I mean... if you want to? I certainly wouldn’t say no to having a hunk of a stallion such as you as a husband on top of getting my waifu to simp for me. What I actually meant was leading all of the earthponies without a home into a brighter future. From what Leaf told me, you were quite adamant about helping them, so I thought that you might want to... maybe come with us?”

“Oh...” Amore said, coughing awkwardly to himself. “I... don’t know? Where would we even go?”

“Dunno,” I shrugged. “Somewhere without an angry mob of unicorns hell-bent on enslaving everything that walks without a stick on their noggin. Just say yes, damnit. I don’t know how to do all of that ruling stuff... please, do it for me?”

“You’re just lazy, aren’t you?” he smiled in mirth and I pouted back at him. Not that I attempted to refute his claim, he kinda had a point there, after all. “I suppose it can’t hurt to make sure they don’t starve to death because the only thing on your mind is sex.”

“I do not think only of sex,” I shot back, puffing out my cheeks angrily. “Who do you take me for? A nymphomaniac bimbo?”

“I don’t even know what that means,” Amore told me and I groaned, kicking a hoof in frustration. I hate not having people understand what I mean, damnit. “I can make a guess, though. You do know that one of the first things you did was talk about ‘sucking dick and stuffing snatch’, right? I find it hard to believe that you can go a day without a single thought about intercourse.”

“I totally can,” I argued, poking him defiantly. “I think about plenty of other things. Like... uh... like... eggs! Yep. There you have it, I think about... okay, yeah, maybe I do think a teeny tiny bit overly too much of sex, but can you fault me? I literally need it to survive!”

“Sure you do,” Amore snorted and I felt like he was being condescending with me... I couldn’t really tell with his weird mix of emotions, though. The prominent emotion that I could make out had to be embarrassment, I was pretty sure of that. It had that cottony aftertaste I’ve come to associate with it. As for the rest? There was a slightly smoky and spicy taste, one that was slightly fruity in a zesty way, and one that was quite rich and a little bit honey-like. I’m probably never going to figure those out, will I? Ah, well... as long as they don’t taste like the stuff I just disposed of, I’m happy.

“It’s the easiest way to get at a fulfilling meal for me, it feels nice most of the time, and I can get other stuff out of it as well, so... sex is the easiest way for me to survive,” I told him matter-of-factly. “I don’t see a problem with this.”

“I must say, you truly intrigue me, Araneae,” Amore said and that honey-like flavor was back a little bit stronger now. “I have never met somepony quite like you. Your behavior is so... unlike anything I have ever come across before.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” I asked, giving him a teasing grin. “Come on, admit it! I felt the lust back there, you can’t deny that~. You’re totally hungry for dick.”

“That’s another thing to get used to, I suppose,” he muttered, glaring at me. It didn’t really reach his eyes, though, and I could tell that he was still struggling with his arousal. “You have some wild ideas about what is and what isn’t appropriate.”

“Eh, I blame my upbringing,” I said with a snort, a wide smirk on my muzzle. “My mother was a tree, you see.”

“Right...” he mumbled, giving me a disbelieving look. I’m pretty sure that’s the one thing that nopony will ever believe me on even if it is a hundred percent true. “I’m starting to believe what you said about yourself being crazy...”

“Thanks,” I snarked, rolling my eyes. I didn’t actually want him to think I was crazy, but that’s what I get for being my usual self, don’t I? I really need to learn how to shut up. Well... in for a penny and all that... “I’m going to tell you a secret because, quite frankly, you already believe I escaped some madhouse, don’t you?”

“Wait...” Amore began but I shushed him. I was feeling in the mood to ruin my nonexistent relationship with him, and, having to push corpses out of the way so we could get back to where the action currently was... well, it wasn’t helping my mood in any way.

“I wasn’t always this buggy, you know?” I said, glancing back at him neutrally. Maybe if I came across as completely serious he would actually believe me. He was giving me that look again, asking me if I was okay and I looked away from him bashfully. It was a bit funny, wasn’t it? Amore... he and Leaf showed concern for me, something I’ve never experienced before. On my first day back in ‘civilization’, I’ve already been given more compassion than what other people showed to me my entire life back on Earth. “Due to some... circumstances beyond your imagination... I’ve been floating aimlessly around in the Realm of Death. I wasn’t alive, but neither truly dead? It was a bit confusing there, to be honest.”

“What happened?” he asked me quietly and I laughed hollowly.

“I wasn’t a good person,” I answered with an ashamed grimace, looking down as we continued our walk through the tunnels. Occasionally we found a pony or two that was barely hanging on to their life and... I suppose it was a kindness to end their suffering, wasn’t it? There were far more of those ponies that couldn’t join their brothers and sisters in their newfound freedom than I would have liked to admit. “My last life... I guess it’s not actually that important anymore who I was. I’m... trying to be better. Trying being the keyword here, you have seen... all of that. I’m quite frankly surprised you are still here with me instead of leaving me behind. I know I would...”

“Everypony goes through hardships,” Amore whispered. “I suppose you have had to go through some of the worst ones. How did you die, if I may ask?”

“That’s...” I said, breathing in shakily. “It’s really complicated. I could try to explain this to you, but... I doubt you would truly understand the intricacies of a contraption that malfunctioned so horribly that it practically shredded my soul and those of two others into tiny pieces.”

“Obviously your soul survived, didn’t it? However, I have no idea how such a miracle could have happened if it was as horrific as you say,” Amore said, a sad smile on his muzzle. “I’m glad that you are still here, though. What happened to the other two? You said there were others... who were they?”

“I don’t quite know what happened to them after I ended up here,” I sighed. His concern was appreciated, but I felt like I didn’t truly deserve it. Not after what I did to Tabetha and Tobias, greedily taking what wasn’t mine in the hopes of survival. I could have actually killed them for all I know... “They... they were family, and I... I’m not proud of what I did, Amore. Some of their memories... I thought that, if I could fix the broken parts of my soul with some of theirs I could... live again? Something along those lines, anyway. Things went a lot more different than I thought.”

“That...” Amore hummed, falling silent for a moment. My wings twitched nervously as I waited for him to talk again. To accuse me of being a monster. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. It must have been hard and so very frightening. I don’t know what I would have done had that happened to me. I doubt I would have been able to stay sane after all of that.”

He... wasn’t thinking I was crazy? That I wasn’t a monster for... for more than likely causing Tabetha and Tobias to cease to exist entirely? Was he... he can’t be that forgiving, can he?

Am I dreaming? This was turning into a damn fairy tale, he can’t be that chivalrous. That’s only a thing that ever happens in Disney movies, not in real life! If I hadn’t gone through the most painful experience of my life by throwing up that gunk, I would have thought this was a coma dream after mother dearest devoured my friggin’ soul.

He can’t be that... that sweet and kind and... and sympathetic, it’s ridiculous! People aren’t that friendly, they aren’t that thoughtful and forgiving, they aren’t! People are supposed to be mean to me and ignore me, be cruel to me and hate me... and... and not that loving. I’m not allowed to have good things after... what I did. I couldn’t possibly genuinely deserve this. Amore should hate me instead of being... understanding. Considerate. Compassionate.

I don’t believe that. He cannot just believe in me, think that I wasn’t beyond redemption, right? He and Leaf. They... they can’t be... that kind, right? Amore was... something, I don’t know. Maybe he was trying to trick me, that must be it.

But... what if he was actually honest? What if... what if he truly thought I wasn’t that bad? Maybe... maybe he could help me be the person... changeling... that I want to be. Help me redeem myself of my misdeeds, embrace the light of... I don’t know. Friendship, I guess.

What if he was that fairy tale prince? Was it possible that he could be... that knight in shining armor? Instead of finding myself a damsel in distress to save... did I find an angel in disguise? A real Prince Charming? Unfairly locked away because he was too good for this world?

<Maybe he is,> Shadra commented quietly.

<That honey-like flavor is back,> Arachne pointed out.

<Could it be?> we asked ourselves, not daring to voice out our thoughts completely.

My... our heart skipped a beat, a warm fuzzy feeling spreading throughout our body. My legs started to feel weak again as I allowed myself to... fantasize... a little bit. What would life be like with him and Leaf there to support me, to help me when I was losing myself in the darkness?

Could I... trust them with my heart? I... I never trusted anyone else before aside from myself. I went through life like a bitter person, envying all of the other people around me for having happy lives. Now that I was closer than ever to having such a life myself... I felt fearful. And excited. And nervous. Afraid. Terrified. Worried.

Shy and timid.

Anxious and scared.

Happy and joyful.

By everything holy about dicks and snatches, I can’t... I’m not nearly worthy enough of their love! It... it felt like I would be using them if I allowed myself that little bit of happiness. I didn’t even have anything that I could give them in return! I was a friggin’ emotional vampire, a succubus, a leech... what could they possibly gain from falling in love with me?

I can’t do that to them. I can’t lead them on and make them love me, it would be selfish of me! I can’t let them fall in love with me, they deserve better! I... I don’t want them to think I’m a greedy parasite. They will see me for what I truly am! I was nothing more than a selfish jerk.

<But... what if we give him a little bit of trust?> we asked ourselves, wondering guiltily about how happy we could be if we allowed ourselves that happiness. <Amore seems genuine... Leaf, too...>

<We shouldn’t,> we answered our own question glumly. <They will see us for the monster we are... and leave us, just like we deserve...>

<Our heart is too fragile for us to give it away,> we muttered, a feeling of numbness spreading in our body. A feeling of inevitability. Of a deep, cold resignation and acceptance. <The hive needs to protect it.>

“Is everything alright, Araneae?” Amore whispered, nudging us as we continued to stand still in our own turmoil. “Did I say something that upset you?”

“Did you truly mean those words to us, Amore?” we asked, thoughts racing as he gave us a genuine look of sympathy. Please, do not let it be a lie. Please...

“Of course,” he answered gently while his eyes were filled with nothing but compassion. Always compassion and understanding. There’s no way that he could actually fake it, nopony was that good of an actor. Not to an empath.

It was compassion, wasn’t it? That sweet nectary honey-like taste? It had to be, right? Or could it be something even... greater?

“You do not find us repulsive?” we asked uncertainly, fidgeting nervously on the spot. “This? Our appearance? Our behavior? The things we have done? You do not think us to be a monster?”

“No...” Amore said, cupping our cheek gently. “What is this about? Why the plural all of a sudden?”

“We... I... I am damaged, Amore,” I whispered back, gently pushing Arachne and Shadra back from our shared control. “Sam's... 'my' death caused us to develop split personalities. We are split into three, each having a part of the memories of those that died which... reforged us anew. I'm not the one that entered that machine anymore, that person died on that fateful day and I emerged with Shadra and Arachne.”

“The excitement in the tower... who of you was that?” Amore asked, tenderly brushing a loose strand of my mane back behind my ear. “I want to know who this mystery is before me, understand her so that I can help. You don’t have to hide behind those perverted thoughts, dear. While it takes a bit to get used to, I don’t find it repulsive. Your behavior makes you... you. And your appearance as well as your voice... I have to say, it is strangely alluring. You don’t have to fear me thinking ill of you, I promise.”

“You think so?” I mumbled, almost inaudible.

“I do,” he reassured me, drawing me into an embrace that was light and comforting. “You are truly a strange being. I’m glad that you are, it would have been boring otherwise, no?”

“Yes,” I smiled slightly, leaning my head against his chest. “I suppose it would have been boring...”

“About that question of mine?” Amore inquired mirthfully and I let out a tiny chuckle myself.

“That was Arachne,” I told him, glancing up at him. “She easily gets excited about knowledge, as you might have guessed already.”

“It was an interesting experience interacting with her,” he nodded, smiling. "I'd enjoy getting to spend more time with you and her."

“Oh, you have no idea how much she is rambling about you right now,” I giggled and heard my Princess protest weakly in the background as soon as I divulged that little tidbit of info to him. “She really likes you.”

“As in..?” Amore asked and I grinned back lecherously.

“All of us do think you would make for a great mate,” I pointed out, ignoring the slight protests of Shadra as she tried to deny that she wasn’t totally turned on by the mere sight of Amore. “Shadra is being a little bitch about it, though. We’ve been trying to get her... I mean 'him'... to accept being a changeling queen, but he feels more comfortable being called a prince. For now, at least.”

“Right... also male,” Amore nodded to himself, worrying his lip in a kind of cute way. “And you are the dominant part? The one in control of your body most of the time?”

“Well, we can switch anytime we want,” I said, mischievously shoving Shadra into the driver’s seat, so to speak. My Prince(ss) immediately began to squirm around in the embrace, embarrassed of being so close to the stallion holding us to himself. Ponies were a lot more open with their affection, I’ve noticed. Maybe it really wasn’t that much of a stretch that we found ourselves somepony that could accept us for who we are.

Amore gave us, or rather, Shadra a concerned look as they tried to avoid looking anywhere near their 'totally' secret crush. “What’s wrong, Araneae?”

“Shadra...” my beautiful Prince(ss) mumbled while she desperately tried to coax either me or Arachne back into control, but we kept her there with metaphorical grins on our muzzles. There was no more denying it, I could see the egg cracking~. All it took was for a cute stallion to come across our path to get Shadra to come out of her shell. It really was adorable, watching Shadra’s behavior around Amore.

“Oh,” Amore said awkwardly. “Is this too close? I have no idea how to treat... well, any of you. I can give you some space if that makes you feel more comfortable.”

“...no,” Shadra whispered, blushing furiously as she snuggled herself a little bit closer into his embrace. “I... do... kinda, maybe... enjoy it a little bit?”

<Oh, I’m totally going to stuff dick in you,> I snickered, hearing her grumble audibly which only managed to confuse Amore more.

“Araneae is being mean to me,” Shadra explained, stubbornly avoiding Amore’s gaze.

“What did she say to you?” Amore inquired, concerned. “Is she treating you well? She does seem a bit... egocentric.”

“She said she was going to lock me up,” Shadra lied while sniffling with fake tears in her eyes, and I let out a displeased growl, trying to wrestle control back from that treacherous bitch, but somehow... I kept failing at it. Oh, she’s gonna get it once we are all back in the hive mind. That dirty little lying snake! “Please, don’t let her! She and Arachne are out to get me!”

“Is she now?” Amore asked with a raised brow as he clearly heard the falsehood in Shadra’s voice as she tried to sound pathetic in order to... I don’t know what it was that she even tried to do with this. “I find it hard to believe that she would mistreat her own split personalities. Not when she clearly wants nothing more than a family of her own.”

“Fine,” Shadra grumbled, pouting. “They want to stuff their dick in me.”

“I... okay, now I’m confused,” Amore muttered, looking at Shadra with a raised brow. “Aren’t you the same... changeling? As in, you’re sharing the same body? That's what having split personalities means, right?”

“Well, yes,” Shadra answered, fidgeting slightly as Amore made us look up at him and those golden amber pools of his that reflected nothing but concern and confusion back at us. It obviously had an effect on Shadra and our body, something my little Princess desperately tried to hide away from Amore. Oh, this was just perfect~. “But we also have this mental space we can retreat back into that we have started calling the hive mind where we can... uh... interact with each other.”

“You’ve been using it to have sex with yourself, haven’t you,” Amore stated, matter-of-factly. Shadra gave Amore a nervous grin and fidgeted in the wrong way which resulted in the most delightful of situations. Amore gazed down at the tip of our penis as it had just poked him close to his own dick and gave Shadra a questioning look. “And you have the hots for me as well, I take it?”

“Damn it, Ara,” Shadra muttered under her breath, trying to cover her arousal with our hooves. “I... W-well... I cannot quite deny that the... uh... that the idea of, well... that... uh... that is...”

<Just say it,> I told her, tired of watching her blabbering around like a fool. <Tell him how much you want that cock of his, Shadra~.>

“Okay, fine!” Shadra exclaimed, screwing her eyes shut. “I have the fucking hots for your perfectly sculpted body and I want you to stuff your dick into me like I’m your little fuck hole!”

“Are all of you perverts?” Amore asked, smiling back at us as Shadra opened her eyes hesitantly after hearing a rumbling laugh escape the throat of the stallion who was still holding on to us.

“I hate all of you,” Shadra grumbled poutily. Curiously enough, my little Princess went back to eying the tip of his penis as her mouth began to water from the sight alone. She let out a shaky sigh, gulping thickly before forcing her gaze away. “And I hate your damn juicy dick, you ass.”

“I can see what Araneae meant with you being a little... well, that,” Amore chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Shadra sighed, frowning to herself. “I swear, they are making me like dick out of their own sick amusement. I never... well, I mean... uh... I’m not... that is, uh...”

Amore let out a hum, going back to his concerned self as he gazed at Shadra. “Can they make you feel anything you don’t want to?”

“Well... no...” she said, fidgeting as her scowl deepened. "I'm better than them at the whole mind magic thing, I would know if they were trying to manipulate me..."

“Okay, then. So... you’re not currently aroused by the thought of having sex with me?”

“I... well, that’s... uh...”

Amore chuckled, nuzzling Shadra’s cheek gently. “You’re adorable, you know that?”

“S-s-shut up,” Shadra shot back and did not totally lean into his affections with a happy sigh. She can’t hide it forever~, Shadra was totally into that dick of his. “We should get back to... you know...”

“You really do make for a great queen. All three of you,” Amore stated and Shadra looked shyly up at him, prompting Amore to elaborate as she let out a confused hum. “Your concern for the wellbeing of the ponies fighting for their freedom is admirable. They aren’t even of your hive and you still think of them first, wanting to put your own wellbeing after theirs.”

“I...” Shadra hesitated, moving reluctantly out of the embrace as Amore let go of us. “You’re... not wrong. My Queen... she feels like she needs to make up for something. We all do. If living a life of service gets us closer to that redemption we seek... we would gladly give everything to those that don’t deserve their misfortune. We can’t just stand idly by and do nothing while so many ponies are suffering here.”

“As I said,” Amore smiled. “You. All of you make for a great queen. Not just Araneae, Shadra.”

“Yeah, well... if it were up to me, I would have burned this whole city down already,” Shadra grumbled, turning her muzzle up slightly. “But we consider these ponies a part of our hive, so... bleeding heart and all that crap.”

“And here you feared being a monster,” Amore chuckled. “You care, admit it. You would rather dirty your own soul than see another pony do that to themselves. That’s not something a monster would do.”

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew what I... what the ones we stole those memories from did,” Shadra commented, hanging her head down dejectedly.

“Trust me,” Amore whispered, lifting Shadra’s head up softly. “After watching you, or Araneae rather, viciously melt somepony’s flesh until they were nothing more than an unrecognizable black chunk of a corpse... there’s nothing you could say or do that would change my opinion of you. As long as you strive to be better, I will never think ill of you.”

“You really are making me hungry for dick,” Shadra muttered, trying to hide behind our mane as our cheeks lit up brightly. “I wonder just which one of us is making the advances here...”

“Ehm,” Amore coughed awkwardly, rubbing his neck with a hoof. “Let’s not jump to conclusions here, I...”

“What?” Shadra asked, giving him a defiant glare. “You weren’t flirting with me by being all sweet and shit?”

“We really need to work on that vocabulary of yours,” Amore grunted, sighing. “You aren’t... I’m not... that is... ugh, this is quite a difficult situation to put into words, isn’t it?”

“Sure,” Shadra rolled her eyes, brushing past Amore with a huff. “Keep telling yourself that, asshole. Here I am, figuring myself out and all that mushy crap, and the one I like is... is an ass! Being a girl sucks. I never had to deal with any of this shit as a... stallion, I guess.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Amore called after us, trotting to catch up with Shadra as my Princess kept throwing insults at the idiot under her breath. “You’re difficult to talk with, you know that?”

“Fuck you, you... you jerk,” Shadra shot back, kicking her legs angrily. <Can one of you please fucking take over?! I've had enough of this shit.>

<And what do you expect me to say to him that wouldn’t make this worse?> I asked. <That stallion has obviously never talked with a mare before in his life.>

Shadra sneered. <We are... I don’t know. We are a Queen, we should be treated as such!>

<So you are,> I snickered. <What happened to ‘I’m a Prince, not a Princess’?>

<Yeah, well...> Shadra mumbled, stumbling slightly as she searched embarrassedly for words. <Technically we aren’t even... uh... I mean, we’re... both. Shut up, Ara. You’re just as bad as that jerk.>

<Aww, you love me~,> I sing-songed. <Right, Arachne?>

<Of course, My Queen!> Arachne giggled. <Our little Shadra can’t stay mad at us for long. Isn’t that correct, my cute little Princess?>

<Shut up,> Shadra shot back, blushing brightly despite her anger. <I’m also mad at you. And I’m not cute, damnit!>

<Why me?> Arachne pouted.

<You’re in cohorts with Ara,> Shadra said, mentally sticking her tongue out at Arachne.

<Now you’re just being petty,> Arachne pointed out, mentally crossing her arms back at Shadra.

<Yeah, well... you left me alone with Mister Jerk, my Princess,> Shadra frowned unhappily.

<You need to be able to talk with him if you want him to reciprocate our crush, dummy,> Arachne said and I hummed in agreement. <You kinda flipped out on him there.>

“Fine, I’m sorry,” Shadra exclaimed, startling not only us but Amore as well. “I was too harsh on you. And maybe I thought you felt the same way about me, so...”

“You don’t have to apologize to me, Shadra,” Amore answered gently. “I should be the one that’s apologizing to you. I’ve never had somepony be so blatantly interested in me. Everypony just thought I wouldn’t be interested in them because ‘I’m too good for them’. As if that ever mattered to me...”

“Wait,” Shadra said, giving him a confused look that reflected my own puzzled feelings. “The mares aren’t all over you?”

“I’m of noble birth, Shadra,” Amore sighed. “Ponies always assumed I was to be betrothed to the Princess because we’re such good friends... but that’s all we are and ever have been. Friends. Besides, she is twelve years older than me, she's like my big sister for suns' sake!”

“That’s... wow, no wonder you are so awkward,” Shadra commented, earning herself an offended snort from Amore. “You never... you know... tried to get rid of those rumors? Or even tried dating somepony by asking them out? Aren’t stallions supposed to be the ones that propose to the mares or is that different here?”

“No. It’s... complicated,” Amore answered, shaking his head slightly with a forlorn gaze in his eyes. He almost looked... sad. “I believe in true love, Shadra. I never even considered any of this until, well... you came along, to be honest. I don’t know what to feel, this is all so new to me and... I don’t even know what love is supposed to feel like, to begin with. Quite ironic with my name, isn't it?”

“I don’t know, either,” I commented, taking back control from Shadra as she gradually lost herself in her own thoughts. “And I’m supposed to be the one that eats those emotions for breakfast. Quite ironic, huh?”

“Araneae?” Amore asked, easily noticing the shift in our tones and the more 'regal' way I carried myself with. Not that I looked very regal right now, I suppose. “Where did Shadra go?”

“Lost in her thoughts,” I answered. “She isn’t really mad at you, you know? She got her hopes up and... well, she’s not the greatest at dealing with those kinds of emotions. None of us are, actually.”

“Apparently, me neither,” Amore sighed dejectedly. “My mother must have given me the wrong name at my birth. Suns know I’m a disappointment in the family for not having a Cutie Mark yet.”

“I don’t think so,” I said, giving him an encouraging smile. “You definitely have the body of a sex god, and, if you’re worried about those butt marks, I don’t have one of those, either. Seriously, I have no idea how nopony ever made any advances on you before I did. I mean... just that dick of yours... damn.”

“Thanks...”

“Don’t be so pouty, dear,” I snickered. “You knew I was gonna say something perverted, why be so mad about it?”

Amore rolled his eyes and went back to being sulky, so I kept thinking about what he said. True love, huh? I guess I’m not the only one into fairy tales, then. Whether it actually existed, though? I can’t tell. It would be nice if it did, but I don’t think I’ll ever come across ponies in true love, fated to be together by the very universe and whatnot. Those things only ever happened in stories and that’s it.

One can dream, though, can’t they? I know I always dreamt of that, finding someone, or perhaps somepony now, that would love me for who I am and whom I could love unconditionally in turn. Then again, I doubt I would ever find somepony that would put up with my particular brand of shenanigans.

Heck, I doubt I could ever settle for any one pony, I rather liked the idea of fucking everything that had legs. As long as it could think. And talk. And wasn’t a friggin’ child. Medieval times had really fucked up laws about the legal age at which one could marry, right? Ugh. That’s disgusting.

<You know, incest does fall under those same lines, right?> Shadra commented. <Weren’t you and Arachne talking about that dick between our legs having a purpose for the hive and whatnot just this morning or so?>

<...right, that discussion. You know, I’m curious,> I hummed, deep in thought. <...does it count as incest if the sperm isn’t ours? Or not having any at all? I’m still wondering about what this thing between us technically is. Would it still be selfcest if we could figure out how to separate ourselves?>

<I suppose it would technically be incest, in that case? Since we would most likely need to grow a new body for ourselves and the only way for that to be possible would be to 'reincarnate' inside of an egg that you might lay,> Arachne explained. <Then it would definitely be counted as incest instead of selfcest, since the definition of incest is having sex with your siblings or offspring. If we figure out how to actually do this, we would be your daughters, then.>

<That’s... accurate enough, I suppose,> I mused, beginning to wonder. Would it even be possible at all? The thought of having my Princesses here with me in the ‘waking’ world and not just in the hive did excite me quite a lot. I don’t know how I would feel about them being my daughters instead, though. That... might get weird, to be honest.

<But... doesn’t that thought bother you?> Shadra asked, queasy. <I mean, they will be siblings, for fuck’s sake! That’s wrong and don’t you dare come up with some bullshit argument again why it wouldn’t be, Arachne! This thing between us is... different, I can admit that much, but... not with our drones and workers. If they really want to have ‘sex for fun’, they can do so with ponies, damnit.>

<Who’s to say that our hive will have drones and workers, anyway?> I pointed out and Arachne let out a confused hum while Shadra let out a relieved sigh.

<Hmm, you might have a point there, My Queen,> Arachne agreed with a slow mental nod. <We are, after all, almost truly hermaphroditic in nature, so I’m going out on a limb here and assume that the same is true for our offspring. I guess there won’t be any self-fertilization going on and breeding could only occur in a one-directional way since a diploid changeling would have no sperm but could lay eggs while a haploid changeling would have sperm but couldn’t lay eggs! Oh! This is really fascinating! This definitely needs testing, we should find out if a haploid changeling could get a pony mare pregnant! Eee!>

<Oh, come on! Now you’re even thinking about breeding pony mares?!> Shadra grumbled exasperatedly. <You can’t actually agree with her on this, My Queen! This is absolute madness to even consider it! Are you two that afraid of dying out?!>

<Aww, you are one to talk about being afraid, Miss 'I wanna be human again',> Arachne teased and got an angry huff back from Shadra while I snickered quietly to myself. <Anyways, back to the question of which sex our brood might have... If you are correct, My Queen, and what we are isn’t a genetic anomaly, the survival of our hive would be pretty much secured. Any changeling could potentially produce royal jelly to create a new replacement virgin queen! Isn’t this exciting?!>

<Wait, what?> I asked, blinking stupidly. <What do you mean by ‘replacement’?!>

<Well... in a honey bee hive, once the mature queen gets too old, the workers... dispose... of her so the new queen can take over the duty of producing new workers and drones for the hive,> Arachne explained hesitantly, her excitement curbed for the moment. <I... uh... I don’t like the idea any more than you do, but that’s the cycle of life, right? We can’t just let the hive die out because we refuse to have an heir. We don’t really have a choice in the matter, anyway. The workers are the ones that decide whether or not a diploid larva becomes a queen. In our case, that might mean any changeling can make the larva develop into a queen.>

<That’s... a really morbid thought,> I thought queasily.

Shadra snarked and I started to grin. <No. No, don’t even think about it! Ara! For fuck’s sake, damnit!>

“Hey, Amore~,” I giggled, brushing myself against him suddenly, freaking the poor stallion quite thoroughly out. “You don’t think fate...”

<Hey!> I protested as I was suddenly wrenched away from controlling our body.

“Sorry about that,” Shadra said, grumbling angrily at me as our face lit up a bright grey. “Araneae is being stupid again.”

“Oh,” Amore nodded in a subdued way, a heavy blush on his muzzle as well. “What was that about fate?”

Shadra let out an explosive breath, eyes trailing every which way as she tried to think of a 'believable' lie that he wouldn’t immediately see through only to come up short in that department. “Arachne and Araneae are getting ridiculous ideas and now Ara is afraid that our own hive is going to supersede us eventually when we grow old.”

<It’s not ridiculous!> I shot back, trying to push myself back in control angrily. <It's a totally valid fear! I won't stand for it!>

<Shut up,> Shadra hissed back, mentally poking me with something exceptionally pointy, causing me to recoil and pout. <You do know that with the amount of cum sloshing around in our sperm pouch, we would probably die of old age before we run out, right?>

“She does know that you’re not mindless insects, doesn't she?” Amore pointed out and Shadra snorted.

“She’s an idiot,” Shadra answered, ignoring the indignant shout from me as I was significantly less freaking out now after that helpful reminder. “To be honest, I think all of the intelligence she had went into me and Arachne.”

<Fuck you, Shadra,> I muttered, only to be ignored by her again. Figures.

“That’s not nice of you to say about... well, yourself technically,” Amore chided Shadra and I let out a joyful shout in agreement... which got ignored once more. Damnit.

“She’s used to it,” she shrugged and I hissed angrily at my rebellious Princess.

<This is insubordination! Mutiny! Disobedience!> I spat, pouting to myself. <Obey your Queen!>

<Didn’t you say everyone was equal in this hive?> Arachne pointed out in confusion and I mentally directed my pout towards her instead.

<That was before Shadra started being mean to me!> I whined in protest. <Tell her to stop being mean, Arachne. I’ll suck your dick all the way to the base if you do that, pretty please.>

<Shadra, stop being mean to Ari,> Arachne did as I asked of her, only to receive a cheeky ‘No’ in response from Shadra. <I’m sorry, My Queen.>

<Don’t be, my faithful Princess,> I consoled her, coming up with a plan for revenge. <As soon as we go to sleep, let’s team up on Shadra in the form of her greatest weakness!>

<As succubi?> Arachne asked excitedly.

<No,> I denied, laughing wickedly. <As Amore! Amore in the form of a succubus! Or rather, incubus. Whatever.>

Arachne giggled lecherously, and before we could have planned our retaliation against Shadra any further, our little tsundere Princess finally spotted the exit to this damn maze.

“Finally,” Shadra groused, picking up the pace, eager to get out of this cursed place.

<That took way too damn long to find,> I commented snidely. <Maybe they should put up labels abound this place at some point.>

<Implying that they’ll ever use this place again,> Shadra muttered darkly.

Huh. She does have a point there, doesn’t she? I wouldn’t be surprised if Gold Bar sealed this place for the rest of time until, in a few hundred years or so, ponies will go on friggin’ school trips to see the scary place and be bored out of their friggin’ minds because there wasn’t really that much to friggin’ look at.

It puts a lot into perspective, doesn’t it? Something that looked by itself so innocuous, you would have no idea how truly horrific being in such a place actually was during times like these. How could you possibly ever imagine such horrors without having witnessed them right before your eyes? The sheer despair, the pain... those feelings cannot truly be ‘replicated’ by looking at them without actually seeing them.

Sometimes, sight blinds. It was all of the little things adding up that conveyed the true picture, and without ever having been there, there was no way to witness history in an accurate way. In a way... you couldn’t truly witness history from a book or by looking at places haunted by the ghosts of the past.

History is in the present and it’s ugly. It’s horrific. Messy. Dirty.

The world was a vicious place, whether it was Earth or this one. It was also incredibly beautiful if one gave it the chance to be the best that it could be. But for it to be beautiful, places like these had to change. This kingdom had to evolve past this dark stain on history and develop in the correct way for things to be better.

Things have to change and go differently. Everything that ever went wrong shouldn’t be repeated, that was a lesson history taught quite harshly. Don’t be a stupid fucktard and repeat the horrors of the past or find out just how horribly wrong things could truly go. All of that could simply be avoided by not being a megalomaniac asshole. Was it too much to ask for people to be decent beings?!

I’m confident Gold Bar will see to the redemption of Unicornia in time, but... this was just one place in this fucked up world, wasn’t it?

How badly did the rest of it look? Were there kingdoms of pegasi doing the same thing, only slightly different? How about the earthponies? I would hate to generalize based on what I’ve seen here, but... if one tribe thinks they are the supreme species of ponykind, what does the other races’ view on those different from them actually look like?

Could it be that I just poked one hornet’s nest and everything was going to spiral out of control from there? Already, ponies were thirsting for war to avenge those the unicorns had wronged, and I... I was that catalyst.

I introduced the thought of revolution to this world.

The idea of change.

And change rarely comes without a price attached to it. This one... this one was going to be a very bloody price, indeed.

Sometimes, it was necessary for life to change drastically on such a big scale. I just wish it didn’t have to be so cruel. So harsh, grim, and brutal. So heartless.

Everywhere in the halls of this damn joke of a castle, unicorns were lying in puddles of dark red as we moved towards the one place where all of this would finally find an end. The king’s life was the only thing standing in between the revolution and freedom.

And Leaf was the one dragging the bastard off his throne as he begged for his life, sniveling pathetically with gaudy jewelry falling carelessly from his body as she gave the spineless pig a disdainful glance, a cold look in her eyes.

Of all the ponies I had hoped would come out of this unchanged by the horrors of the battlefield, Leaf sadly proved to me that such a thing was but a hopeful thought. Not a single person of ours came out of this unchanged in some way. I have no doubt that many of them will suffer from nightmares for years to come after this.

“I am the king! How dare you stand up to me! Let go! I-I don’t want to die! Please!” King Gemstone cried, struggling against Leaf dragging him after her by the impossibly long cape of his. “I have money! I-I c-could grant you power! Anything you d-desire!”

“You should have thought of...” Leaf began and my eyes met hers for that brief moment as everything slowed to a crawl around me.

The happiness of seeing me return alive and well with Amore quickly turned to surprise, then shock. My body felt like it froze over as Shadra, Arachne, and I let out a wail as the life gradually drained out of her eyes, her gaze slowly drawn down to the dagger protruding from her chest.

I was at her side almost instantly, flames licking my body angrily from ripping a hole in space in the form of a... portal. That’s what it was, wasn’t it? I would have been elated were it not for... for this. I shakily reached out a hoof to Leaf, trying to get her to look at me with those glistening eyes that stared numbly ahead, struggling to focus on anything even as I was the only one filling her vision.

“A-Ari?” she whispered, grimacing with each breath that she took. “I...”

“Y-y-you’re o-okay, L-Leaf,” I shakily replied, chaos running rampant within my mind as I had absolutely no idea what I should do. “Y-you’re n-n-not g-g-gonna d-die! Y-you’ll be o-o-okay, I-I promise!”

“Ari...” Leaf smiled gently up at me as I cradled her body against mine, vision blurry as the cacophony of voices in the background grew more distant as I focused my attention solely on my angel, the one that has believed in me the very first. “It’s... okay...”

“No! No, no, no! Y-you’re gonna be okay! Y-you... y-you... y-you won’t d-die! You’re n-not a-allowed to die, damnit!” I cried, shaking my head in denial at her. “I-I-I... I-I’m ordering y-you as your Queen! Y-you’re not allowed to die!”

“Ari... l-look after my kin, okay?” she asked me and I blabbered out a shaky denial that it was us that would look after... after... “Please, Ari... I... I love you, Ari. Please... do that... for... me...”

I stared in utter disbelief as her eyes lost the spark of life in them that I had come to enjoy seeing so very much after only interacting with her for such a short time. They gazed lifelessly through me as if any and all emotions were gone from them. It was as if they had never been there in the first place. They were just... gone.

Slowly and carefully, I nudged her. “L-Leaf..?” I mumbled, desperately hoping she was... that she was... that she was sleeping, that was it. She must be sleeping, she’ll wake up! She has to wake up! “L-Leaf, please...”

I began shaking her, trying to wake her up from her brief slumber, heavy sobs leaving my throat as I kept calling out to her. Only her dead gaze greeted me back, her heavenly voice forever snuffed out. I would never see her smile back at me again, never feel a single emotion from her again... I...

She can’t be dead. She can’t. She cannot. Be. Dead.

It felt like I was falling down into a hole as everything around me got increasingly more dark and grey. Cold and hopeless. Leaf was an angel, right? Angels don’t die. They don’t, it’s impossible.

Amore slowly removed my tight grasp on her as I desperately tried to cling on to her, screeching at her to come back. It wasn’t fair. This damn world wasn’t fair! Leaf didn’t deserve this! Leaf was... Leaf was... she was dead.

She was dead and she wouldn’t be coming back. She was dead and... and that bastard was going to pay! I was going to rip out his testicles and feed them to him! And then, I'll snap off that tiny horn of his and shove it down his filthy..! “I’m sorry, Araneae. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Let me go!” I snarled, struggling against Amore as my eyes narrowed on the sniveling bastard that took my angel from me. “Let go of us! Let go so that we can...”

“I’m so sorry,” Amore whispered and my vision was tinted slightly blue as I got increasingly more drowsy. “We will give her the proper send-off she deserves, Ari...”

“A-Amore, I... we... need to...” I murmured, struggling to keep my eyes open. “Avenge... her...”

“I promise you, everything will be taken care of,” he said as I slumped against him in my futile struggle to escape his grasp to... to... “Rest peacefully, Ari. Everything... e-everything will be b-better once you awaken, I p-promise.”

“N-no~...” I mumbled weakly, succumbing to the urge to fall asleep.

Everything would most certainly not be better.

Nothing would ever be better again.

A revolution. It starts with a faulty system.

And ends with heartache.

The true price of freedom, of change... it is always too steep to pay. To earn your freedom is to lose everything you hold dear to your heart. A revolution is supposed to bring happiness, right? Right..?

Why do I only feel sadness, then? Why do I have to lose my angel, then? Why does it come hand in hand with death, then?

Change. History can never truly and accurately describe how horrifying it is to witness it in front of yourself. History cannot ever convey how truly devastating it feels. How hard it actually was to achieve. How mortifying and crushing and bitter it truly was to be a part of it.

Leaf... I love you. Forever and always.

I will not forget you. Never.

Rest in peace, my angel.

Rest in peace...

Chapter 005 - A not so glorious aftermath.

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We were a pile of nothing more than sad chirping sounds as we huddled together in the hive mind. The ‘end’ of the revolution had taken so much from us that none of us were in the mood to do anything but mourn the loss that we had to endure.

I wasn’t really angry at Amore for casting what could have only been a sleeping spell on us. What I was angry at him for, though... was taking my revenge away from me. I was an absolute wreck, as were Shadra and Arachne. Arachne... she was taking it even worse than Shadra. She had been just as infatuated with Leaf as I had been and the loss of our angel had hit her pretty hard. Perhaps just as hard as it had me, maybe even more so.

We had also found out that we could change the appearance of the hive mind, reflecting our mood with a dark and damp cave filled with dripstones, the occasional gemstone, and glowing mushrooms. There was even an underground lake next to us, glowing faintly in an ominously pale blue color. Our sadness given form, I suppose.

After hours of silence between us that was only broken by the sounds of our wings and the water dripping down from above, we began talking, reminiscing about all the little things we remembered of Leaf. It helped us deal with our grief, but it still left us with this hollowness and incredible sadness.

I would honor her last wish, it was the least I could do. I had already promised to myself that I would create the greatest empire this world has ever seen, and I would dedicate my efforts to Leaf. Any and all of those that fought for their freedom would be welcome to join me in that endeavor. I will see to it that it will be a place filled with love and peace, a place where harmony reigns.

I will protect each and every one of them from those that dare seek to harm them. They are my ponies, I will not allow anything to hurt a single hair on their bodies. I owe it to Leaf, I will not fail her. I am the Spiderbee Queen and I will guard those under my protection fiercely, that I swear.

It's going to be a daunting task, building up an empire from scratch, isn't it? Thankfully, I wasn’t entirely alone, I had Shadra and Arachne here with me and they were just as dedicated to this as I was. Besides, Amore would surely be there as well, he was the one that a lot of the former slaves looked up to for guidance.

I doubt Amore wouldn’t want to aid them in any way that he could. He had a massive bleeding heart, I can tell. It would be a huge help to have a lord native to this world on my side, he would know more about ruling than Shadra, Arachne, and I combined.

Heck, from what he had told me, he could have become the next king if he had ever screwed up the courage to ask Gold Bar out (and if it hadn’t been for Gemstone, I guess). ‘Just’ friends my flanks, he can’t tell me he never even once considered the possibility of asking her out. I mean, she wasn’t as hot as... as Leaf, but... she did look kind of sexy for apparently being ten years older than him, to be honest. In that haughty noble lady kind of way, but still pretty nice.

Maybe Gold Bar was actually into Swirly Star? I wouldn’t even be surprised if that was the case. No wonder Amore never thought of her as more than a friend and 'big sister' if he knew she had a crush on her ‘marefriend’ (wink, wink).

“It’s kind of a shame that we couldn’t rip Gemstone a new one,” Shadra grumbled dejectedly, scuffing her hoof over the somewhat smooth-ish ground. “I would have loved to stuff his head up his ass...”

I snorted, picturing that scene in my mind with vivid clarity. It didn't take much imagination to see the image of Shadra laughing madly before my mind’s eye while she was doing her best to stuff Gemstone’s head where the sun didn’t shine, as disturbing as it actually was to imagine this. “Perhaps it is for the best that Amore cast that sleeping spell on us. That would have been far too messy and way more disgusting than I would have wanted to get our hooves anywhere near close to that filth.”

“We could have used levitation for that,” Arachne murmured and I shrugged listlessly. Using our magic wouldn’t have made it any less disturbing to watch. “Although, I agree... that would have been really disgusting, even if he deserved such a fate.”

“He deserves a lot worse,” Shadra spat, snarling as her wings gave off an angry buzz. “But... I can’t even think of anything that would be punishing enough for his crimes against ponykind... against Leaf. Death is too kind of a fate for the likes of him...”

“Leaf wouldn’t want us to think like this,” I mumbled sadly. “She would say that we should move on, wouldn’t she?”

“Then she would tell you to stop fucking everything with legs,” Shadra pointed out and I began to smile weakly. “Probably tell you to always aspire to be better... Look at what that got us... fucking nothing, that’s what. Fuck this shit, seriously...”

“We should try, though,” Arachne argued glumly while she rolled a small pebble lazily around. “She believed in us... we can’t just go back on our word, Shadra.”

“I doubt she meant that we shouldn’t rip out the dick of her killer and force-feed it to him...” our beautiful Princess grumbled, chirping dejectedly. “I don’t think even she could forgive her own killer for... well... killing her.”

I hummed sadly in agreement, snatching Shadra up into an embrace against her weak protests. I could tell she was guiltily enjoying it, though. “Whatever we could have done, I believe the earthponies can do a lot worse with that dickhead.”

“M-maybe,” Shadra said, her chirps sounding a lot less sad. I gazed curiously down at her face and noticed it light up as I gave her a soft smile. “Can we... maybe... stop talking for a while and just enjoy... I mean...”

“It’s okay to act a little bit ‘girly’, you know. Heck, even men are allowed to show emotions, you dummy,” I said, giving her a nuzzle. Arachne rolled over, sandwiching Shadra in between us. “If you like to be the one that gets cuddled, there’s nothing wrong about that. Showing a little bit of emotion doesn’t make you any less of a tough girl, Shadra.”

“Our Queen is right, you know~,” Arachne whispered directly into her ear, making her blush even brighter. Both in embarrassment and arousal, that much was pretty obvious to me. I doubt her tail could raise itself any higher than it already was. “Being cuddled is just as nice as cuddling someling against you...”

“Someling?” Shadra asked, turning her head somewhat around to look at Arachne out of the corner of her pink eyes. “Are you starting changeling-isms now in addition to pony-isms? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I think it’s cute,” Arachne pouted back at her and I chuckled with a tiny amount of mirth welling up inside me, feeling the moody atmosphere lift ever so slightly at last.

“It’s dumb, that’s what it is,” Shadra shot back, sticking her tongue out at Arachne, only to get it licked in return. The look on her face was absolutely priceless. As was the blush that came next as Arachne pressed her lips against Shadra's cheek, making her squirm even more with a flushed pout herself.

“Hush now,” I told both of them, smiling as I closed my eyes to simply enjoy this closeness as Shadra had proposed. “Although... I do agree, it is cute.”

Shadra let out a groan, muttering something about being ‘sick’, but I ignored her protests. It was cute, she could keep pretending otherwise as much as she wanted, it wouldn’t make it any less true, though.

Someling, everyling, noling... it does have a certain ring to it, does it not? I’m looking forward to having the hive mind buzz with everyling’s voices once we begin to lay eggs for real. <Arachne?>

<Mhh... yes, My Queen?> she murmured back with a happy sigh leaving her body. <How can I be of service~?>

<Don’t tell me you’re actually in the mood for sex?> I inquired incredulously.

Arachne answered, pouty. <It feels too good, I can’t not think about it...>

<Right,> I hummed, agreeing with her on that, but after the events of... I can’t get myself in the mood, it would feel disrespectful to Leaf. <Anyway, I’m curious...>

<About what?> Arachne asked, going back to sounding happy to help, as subdued as that happiness was due to... well, you know. I doubt any of us will truly feel happy any time soon.

<When do you think will we lay our first egg?> I asked, nervous. I was very much looking forward to it, but... it couldn’t have come at a worse time, could it? I had hoped to share the joy of expanding the hive with Leaf, only to have that dream crushed cruelly.

I might have just started crying again, thinking of that. Thankfully, my Princesses were there for me, supporting me through these tough times. I was grateful for the soft nuzzle from Shadra, burying my muzzle in her long and silky mane with a little sigh. The contact with them, the closeness... it helped a lot.

<I’m not so sure,> Arachne eventually answered, an uncertain chirp leaving her. <I know queen bees start laying eggs pretty soon after their nuptial flight. We don’t have a swarm that could direct us to a suitable nesting site since we could actually be the first of our kind, it’s hard to tell with our ability to shapeshift and only having been to one kingdom so far... which is something that could mean any different number of things for us.

<While there might be other changelings out there, it was already quite a massive coincidence how we came to be in this world, so it does stand to reason that we might be the first changeling queen to exist. I can’t tell you for certain, though, not without being able to draw from facts instead of conjecture.

<Perhaps one day we might come across another of our kind? If not, we could eventually encounter problems with interspecies mixing, I don’t quite know what would happen if we mix with ponies too much. At one point changelings might just evolve to be regular ponies with only tiny similarities to their origin, like insect-like wings, for example.

<I... uh... I kinda went on a tangent there, didn’t I? I’m sorry, My Queen.>

<It’s okay, Arachne. Never be ashamed to voice your thoughts, dear. So... let us get back to the topic of laying eggs, shall we? Do you remember when the queens of honey bees usually begin to do that?>

<Well, usually cast swarms leaving with their virgin queen need to find a suitable location within three days or they starve,> Arachne explained, shifting nervously against Shadra, causing her to grumble cutely in protest. <In a sense, the ponies with us are our swarm that will lead us to our new home, so... maybe we will start laying eggs by that point? It would stand to reason that we would start to do so when we have a nursery with sufficiently enough brood cells available, after all.>

I said, giving her my thanks. I’m glad she knew at least something about this (even if it was based on nothing but assumptions), we would have been hopelessly lost in this world, otherwise. Not that it didn’t already feel like that considering we knew next to nothing about these ponies’ customs and such.

We should have enough food to sustain the ‘swarm’ of ponies for hopefully longer than three days, though. I was more worried about leaving the unicorns of Princess Gold Bar with barely enough to survive, instead of us not having enough. The earthponies had very much a right to take as much as they could carry with them, but that didn’t mean I wanted the nation we left in ruins to suffer because of that.

Not all of the unicorns in Unicornia deserved that fate, after all. I could care less about the majority of the nobles there, but the (mostly) innocent bystanders on the other hoof? I fear the consequences of my actions might just cause them to go to desperate lengths in order to survive.

I don’t regret setting everypony free, but... what I might regret, though? One revolution leads to a snowballing effect, doesn’t it? Pretty soon, that might cause more of what happened in Unicornia than I could have possibly predicted. I’d rather be far away from any kind of conflict by that point, as much as it pains me to leave the other nations of this world to fend for themselves because of what I did.

I hope it ends in a favorable way, I would hate it if I was the cause of something even worse than this... segregation between tribes. It would be by far preferable if they could simply put aside their differences and live side by side with each other, but I knew that something like that was a hard and arduous process that could take years if not decades upon decades.

It would be for the best, though. Each of these tribes obviously has their own strengths, but only together would they be able to truly shine. I’m almost certain of that.

I don’t know whether or not ponies are the only dominant species capable of thought and speech in this world since I haven’t come across anything that wasn’t at least pony shaped in that regard, but it stands to reason that there might be more than ‘just’ three pony tribes out there since... well... I exist.

We might not be truly as unique as we think we are, there could be other mythological 'horse-like' species out there. Stuff straight out of fiction like thestrals or myths like hippocampi, hippogriffs, or even centaurs (as weird as that would be).

The possibilities were pretty much endless with fictional beings alone. Let alone the potential of things existing here that I have never even heard of on Earth (as far as I can remember, that is). There could exist any number of pony hybrids in this world, and if things like cockatrices existed in this world... what else could there be out there? Manticores? Griffons? Hydras? Even dragons could exist here, and judging by how Gold Bar hadn’t asked me what the flying pig those were, there was a good chance for that, wasn’t there? There was no telling how many of those mythological beasts were actually intelligent enough for speech and so on.

Some of them... some of them might just take advantage of the fight between the three tribes that I carelessly started. It would be all my fault because I didn’t think things through enough.

I mean... I’m pretty sure it would have happened eventually, considering that the pot was already about to start boiling over before I arrived. That doesn’t mean I was entirely free of any guilt, though. I’m certain that at least one of those pegasi I set free was going to find their way back to their kingdom and then, things would spiral out of control from there. I will be at fault for one of the bloodiest wars these ponies have ever seen and go down in history as the one that started all of this crap. I was the one that pushed the first domino and everyone else would pay the price for that.

At least I won’t be forgotten, huh? What a joy.

Out of all the things ponies (and changelings) will remember me for, I hope it won’t only be that. People on Earth always talk about wanting to be remembered but conveniently forget that that was a double-edged sword going both ways, either in the good way or the bad way.

Obviously, no one ever wants to be branded as the big bad terrible monster for eternity. Maybe I should have thought of that before I started a revolution, huh?

I wonder what else ponies will remember me for in a few hundred years...

Well... now that I was actually thinking about it... they will most likely remember me as the one that spawned a whole race of sexually depraved insect pony hybrids, won’t they? I suppose that has a nice ring to it, though. The Progenitor of the Changeling Race. Mhh, yes... that definitely sounds appropriately glorious for my majestic buggy self.

I might just get remembered as the greatest changeling to have ever lived with all the things I have in mind in regards to... ahem, ‘borrowing’... technologies from Earth. The internet, first and foremostly. And pornos, lots and lots of pornos. The internet is made for porn, after all.

Oh! I totally need to reinvent the printing press, as well. Fuck living in a world without readily available books to sniff. Uh... I mean read, of course. I think I wasn’t... entirely... successful with separating all of the memories we had of Tabetha or the piece of her soul I stole was influencing me more than I thought.

If I was still my old self, I’d be freaking out about ‘losing’ myself right about now, wouldn’t I? To be honest, though... I think it was making me into a better person. Changeling. Whatever.

Technically speaking, I had already lost myself, or rather, my old self, the moment that I died in that machine. I can’t accurately tell how much of myself the machine had erased, so there was no sense in crying over what happened when it gave me the incentive to be a better version of myself in comparison to the one that I had been.

Besides... I’m a shape-shifting succubus insect horse, who cares what I lost by my death on Earth if I was literally able to be anything that I wanted to be.

It’s a shame that L-Leaf... t-that... damnit, Ara, g-get a grip on yourself for f-fuck’s sake... Leaf wouldn’t... she wouldn’t want to see me like this pathetic excuse of a living being, unable to function without her.

Still... it hurt to think that my angel couldn’t be there for everything that I had planned on introducing to ponykind. That I still plan on introducing, I should say. Leaf would have loved the internet, I’m sure. I... I-I regret not having stayed at her side instead of having gone to free Amore and taking my sweet fucking time with freeing the prisoners...

I could have been there for her a-and... I-I... I don’t know... I could have done something! Anything, really. Instead, I was too late, arriving just in time to watch her die in my arms...

What a great friend I was, wasn’t I? Pathetic.

I let out a sigh, thinking of her and those brown eyes of hers that contained the whole beauty of the universe in them. It felt like I wouldn’t ever be able to move on, constantly being reminded of her by things that weren’t even related to her. When I thought of the internet, I tried to imagine what she would have thought of it. When I thought of what history is going to say about that day... I thought of what they would say about Leaf.

When I thought of starting my hive, it felt like it wouldn’t ever be as glorious as it could have been. Without her it seemed so... I don’t know. It wouldn’t be the same, that much I was certain of. She was the first one that genuinely wanted to be a part of my hive, and now she was gone, leaving me to mourn her loss.

It had felt like we had gotten so close to each other in such a short amount of time, and yet... it felt like we hadn’t gotten to get to know each other all that well. Which, I suppose, we hadn’t. I barely knew anything about her, but that... it didn’t really matter, did it?

We would have gotten to know each other a lot better had it not been for... King Dickhead with the tiny...

Shadra murmured, nuzzling me comfortingly as my breath started to come out in a seething fashion. It felt like a vicious cycle that was so very hard to break out of, threatening to draw me back in every time I thought I would get a little bit of reprieve from feeling so... negative. But... with my Princesses here? It felt a lot easier to let go of my building anger. To be able to relax and quietly contemplate... life and how fucked up the universe was.

A long and drawn-out sigh escaped my nostrils and I drew Shadra in a little bit closer to me as tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. With the anger gone, the depression and sadness returned with a vengeance. It felt like my heart was contracting... nay, imploding, really... and grief threatened to overwhelm me once more.

Why?! Just... why?

My beautiful Princess let out a few consoling noises, and then... I felt her lips trail a few gentle kisses over my throat up to my jaw. My eyes fluttered open, giving her a confused and blurry glance at how... caring she was. Tender, even.

“You were thinking about... that... again, weren’t you?” she asked, pink eyes glistening with tears of her own. She didn’t try to hide them away from my sight, having apparently taken my words to heart. “It’s okay, Ara. I know how hard this is. Eventually, you will get over it, move on, and... try to live your life as best as you can with what you got. It’s going to get better, I... I promise. I’ll be there for you, always. And so will Arachne, as we should. We aren’t going to leave you alone.”

“Thank you, Shadra,” I whispered, breathing in and out a little bit shakily. It was nice, to see her smile back at me with nothing but care. Both of them.

“Of course, My Queen...” she hummed, her muzzle closing in on me again and I felt her nervous breaths on my chitin. My heartbeat was picking up as she finally placed a tiny little kiss against my lips, causing me to shut my eyelids with a little flutter, enjoying the simplicity of it immensely.

Their support was everything I needed to feel better and I started to believe that she was right with those words. With them at my side, I’ll... I’ll get over it eventually. I won’t ever forget Leaf, I couldn’t ever do that, but... at one point, I’m certain I could continue to live on without feeling guilty over her death.

“You were right, you know...”

“About what?” I breathed out, cracking my eyes open ever so slightly after the chaste kiss was over. It was a very simple one, devoid of any hints of lust, but... for some reason... I enjoyed it far more since it showed genuine care for my being and not just attraction to my body. It made me feel loved as a person, something that I couldn’t get enough of.

I suppose, as a shapeshifting being, that was all the more important to me now. To be seen as me and not some object of desire. As much as I enjoyed the idea of others viewing me like a slut (and let’s be real here for a moment, I totally am a slut), the thought of someone loving me for who I am was by far more enjoyable.

To be viewed as a mere object... well, I can’t say I was entirely against it because that would mean I hate being used like that (which I don’t, it has a certain... allure... to it). It’s just... being loved in a genuine way without any masks in between me and another... it felt more real, more natural and positive, more... enchanting, I guess.

Leaf had been one such pony... she didn’t care that I wasn’t a pony, that I wasn’t entirely a goody-two shoe. She encouraged me to be better and genuinely believed that I could be. Maybe... maybe true love did exist, after all. It was rare to come by such a person...

A person like her... I doubt I would ever find another that showed that kind of interest in me. Amore seemed hesitant, which was truly a shame. He had this ridiculous idea of true love with this ideal mare that he would probably wait forever for them to show up...

Meanwhile, I might try my best to win his affections only for him to be too embarrassed to stop caring about that ‘perfect’ mare, that true love that might just keep him from his own happiness for far too long until he finally realizes that love doesn’t have to be perfect.

I learned that a long time ago. I don’t care whether that love was selfish or not, I just wanted to feel it. To feel someone be there next to me desiring me, whether it was my body or my mind. Was it selfish of me to want that? Probably.

Besides... I have that kind of person that loves me now, don't I? Two, even. I have long since stopped caring that they were kinda a part of me, cobbled together from the dysfunctional memories of the beings we were before. It didn’t feel like I had to continue viewing them like that after they became their own changelings, with their own dreams and hopes separate from Sam, Tabetha, and Tobias.

Heck, would they see us now, they wouldn't even recognize us as their last remnants anymore, would they? Tabetha might see some hints of herself in us, as would Tobias, but that would be it. I knew for certain Sam wouldn't ever compare me to our past self simply because I was as far removed from it as I possibly could be.

Besides that, it wasn't like any of that actually mattered anymore. We had spent half an eternity in the Realm of Death, and now we were reborn, forged anew. We were the first changeling queen of this world, we have a new purpose here now. Earth might have been our origin, but this life? This world? It was our home now, for better or for worse. I’m glad to have my Princesses here with me, I never ever wanted to feel that loneliness again that we had been subjected to while we were a ghost.

They loved me as much as I did them and that was all that I truly cared for. And I loved them from the very bottom of my heart. There was no doubt whatsoever in me about that. Even if I might never find true love in the form of another pony... I knew that I had two very special changelings always there for me, as narcissistic as that sounded to me. Maybe that was true love, now that I was entertaining the thought of it being real.

“You were right about showing my emotions more openly, Ara...” Shadra answered, the tip of her muzzle touching mine for a brief moment, at the same time putting an end to my musings about whether or not this was true love that I felt for my Princesses. The display of affection from her felt... quite intimate, I had to say. Caring and loving. Exactly what I had longed for for so long. What we had longed for for so long, I should say. “And also about the female thing. I... I tried to cling on to the thought of having been a man, of us having been male, that I... that I kept myself in denial because I didn’t want to acknowledge it. You are right, we aren’t on Earth anymore and we aren’t human anymore, either. I’m glad you helped me realize that, that you helped me open up my eyes and get over my own fear of... of being shut out for not being a good boy... for being the girl I truly am. Well, almost girl 'cause I'm not gonna part with my dick.”

“Shadra... I...” I murmured, touched by her heartfelt words. They were so honest, so open, I didn’t know what I should have said in response to that. I wanted to return some encouraging words but came up short, unable to find the right ones to express myself correctly.

“I shouldn’t be so opposed to new things,” Shadra told me, a tiny smile forming on her muzzle as she said that. “Whether that means being... both, I guess... or being in love with you and Arachne. Split personality or not, I couldn’t imagine ever living without either of you. I’m glad to be here with you.”

“I am as well,” I whispered, pressing the tip of my muzzle against hers, breathing in deeply. I truly am. “So... does that mean you aren’t afraid of... you know?”

“Being hungry for dick?” she asked, her pink eyes sparkling in mirth. “I’m still a little bit apprehensive of anyone stuffing theirs in my snatch, but... after having gone through the barracks like that with you... I guess I’m not entirely opposed to the idea anymore? I’d probably want to try oral first, though.”

“Well, that experience wasn’t the best one, to be honest,” I said with a grimace. “I want to show you how good it can feel at some point, but I’ll let you set the pace, I promise. Arachne and I will also stop pestering you about it if that’s what you want.”

“Thanks, Ara... for being so understanding,” Shadra gave a tiny nod, her voice almost shy. “I know you wouldn’t ever do something that I’m not truly comfortable with. While your antics were a bit alienating at first, I... I did enjoy them...”

“Even that one time when Arachne sprayed her spunk on you?” I asked, smiling mischievously. I watched gleefully as the blush on Shadra’s muzzle returned in full force, noticing how she started squirming with her hind legs as I clearly smelled her arousal.

It really did smell good, irresistible even. Arachne was right about that, wasn't she? I had to fight all of my instincts to keep myself from jumping on her and burying my muzzle into her marehood as far as I could, her pheromones were that powerful.

“I...” Shadra mumbled for a moment, words unintelligible as she wrestled with her feelings while Arachne and I shared a knowing look as her body clearly answered the question, instead. Her wings were starting to buzz excitedly while her tail seemed to take on a mind of its own. Then, she did give us a tiny nod, much to our surprise. “...I did enjoy it a little bit? It was... weird... at first. It... wasn’t bad, though. K-kinda nice, actually...”

“Aww! Does my little Princess like being painted with cum?” Arachne giggled and ran her fangs in a slow and sensual manner over the back of Shadra’s neck while her purple eyes sparkled gleefully in the dim light of the cavern. “I know I liked you painting my walls with your goodness, Shadra~.”

Shadra shuddered against both of us from Arachne's teasing touches, a tiny petulant glare in her eyes. “You two are making this ‘emotion’ thing a lot harder than I f-feel it should be... F-fuck, right there..."—she mewled out, her wings chirping erratically as Arachne teased the little nubs they were connected to—"S-shit, that feels so good, mhh~. Damnit, A-Arachne, being around you two permanently aroused maniacs doesn’t help the m-matter, either.”

“You forgot to count yourself there, dear. We aren’t the only ones that can’t control their own libido when it matters most. Don’t even try to deny it, Shadra,” I giggled, taking delight in the fact that my beautiful little Princess tried to hide her squirming from us as I pointed out her behavior. “You’re like an open book to me and I don’t even need to take a glance at your tail to know how horny you truly are for the both of us... Mhh, that heavenly smell of yours does wonders for my mood~.”

“You’re the worst, Ara,” Shadra pouted. “You enjoy working me up, don’t you?”

“Of course, I do, dear. Who do you take me for?”

“A degenerate idiot,” Shadra shot back, glaring angrily at me. Although, where there should have been anger in her eyes, I could only make out happiness in them. If nothing else, she enjoyed the banter between us the most.

“We are slowly going to whittle away at that notion of yours that you have to be embarrassed about feeling like a perverted degenerate, dear,” I smiled gleefully while going in for the attack, roughly capturing her lips with mine as a possessive growl escaped my throat.

Shadra let out a squeak as I forced her mouth open so that I could subdue her tongue with my own. A squeak that gradually turned into little moans. Arachne silently went to work on trailing a few nicks down Shadra’s back, causing visible reactions from our beautiful little Princess as she began to squirm more and more in my embrace.

I didn’t let up on my assault, exploring that oh-so-delicious mouth of hers to my heart’s content, caressing each tooth of hers individually. The smell of Shadra’s arousal was beginning to overwhelm my sense of smell, but I didn’t let it control me as she quite clearly wanted me to take care of her baser needs, whining needily as Arachne reached her lower back, taking the base of her tail into her mouth while treating it like Shadra’s dick.

The sight of Arachne worshipping that tail caused a reaction in my lower region at the sheer hotness she displayed. While the dampness of my own arousal demanded of me to take care of it, I had enough willpower to deny it. This was merely teasing, I was in no mood to take it further than that at the moment. As tempting as it really was...

The hurt... the loss... the pain of Leaf’s death was just too recent that I couldn’t bring myself to feel true pleasure. In a way, it was my own way of grieving. Though, that didn’t mean I couldn’t... play... with Shadra a little bit.

As much as she had tried to deny it, she was by far the one that was acting the girliest among us three. At least, when it came to being naughty. It was almost cute how much she kept pleading with me with her adorably glistening eyes to go further than showering her in kisses, trying to rub her erection against mine like the disobedient little larva that she was.

I wasn’t giving her the pleasure of sexual gratification, though. I kept Shadra firmly pressed against me as I watched with sadistic glee as her frustration grew. Even her tail was beginning to twitch with dissatisfaction, making Arachne giggle as she began to groom it while meeting my eyes mirthfully.

“Such a horny little bitch you are,” I hummed, grinning as I had reduced our slutty little Princess into a panting mess. “All of that from a kiss?”

“Fuck... you...” she mumbled, biting her lips while eyeing mine almost completely transfixed. The desire in her eyes was almost enough to convince me to... indulge... myself a little bit. Almost. “Why do you always have to be such an ass?”

“Because you love it,” I whispered back, teasing her by going in for a kiss only to draw my head back just shy of actually connecting my lips to hers. She tried to follow me, only to come up short with her reach. “I can see it so clearly in your eyes, my beautiful little Princess. The arousal in them after not getting what you want... don’t tell me that’s just an act. You’re my submissive little slut, aren’t you?”

“You’re a meanie,” she pouted, faking a sniffle. “All of those hurtful words! Reducing me to a slut of all things! As if I would ever love it when you treat me as your plaything. Hmph.”

“And you say you aren’t the Queen of Deceit with how you blatantly try to manipulate me,” I snickered, receiving an unhappy frown from her as she was once more caught in the act (though it wasn't too hard to imagine that she had done that on purpose). “Your name fits you more than I could have possibly imagined, Shadra. You could just tell us clearly what you want, you know?”

“And I could show you how much of a ‘Venom’ Queen I truly am, Ara,” she shot back, licking one of her fangs eagerly. “A little bit of poison in your system and I could have my way with you... do whatever I want, however I want... and you would be powerless to stop me. You would probably even like it if I suffocate you with my snatch, don’t you?”

“You would force yourself on a poor defenseless paralyzed ‘ling?” I asked, faking shock in my usual dramatic flair while my dick clearly answered that question for her with an eager enthusiasm. “Shame on you, my Princess. Shame on you.”

“You would love it just as much as I, you pervert,” Shadra pointed out and I shrugged as a tiny little grin wormed its way back onto my muzzle. Oh, how much I wanted to see her actually try to do that. The thought alone had me almost give in to my baser needs right then and there. “I could just take over as Queen, instead, you know...”

“Oh?” I hummed with interest, enjoying the flutter that raced through my whole body as I saw the sheer determination in her eyes. It was driving me absolutely wild, but... as much as I wanted to, I had to remind myself that I wouldn’t fall for her temptation quite so easily. If anyone was going to initiate anything here, it would be her and not me. It was hard to not just give in, though, imagining her in my role instead. To think she had it in her, how very surprising. “You would really want to take over my duties, then? Getting fucked by stallion after stallion, used as nothing more than a brood mother? Laying egg after egg after egg for the rest of our life? Is that truly what you want your purpose to be in this hive?”

“I...” Shadra gulped while nervous fear and a little bit of excitement entered her eyes. “Maybe not quite like that... I mean... uh...”

“You do, don’t you?” I giggled, capturing her lips greedily. Shadra let out a lusty moan as she submitted herself to me pretty much immediately and I took full advantage of that, dominating her mouth utterly. My little Princess wasn’t giving up without a fight, though, one of her hooves slowly began to wander down my body until I had to put her into her place, stopping Shadra roughly with my magic once she reached my flanks, causing her to moan into my mouth again just before I broke the kiss. She had been getting closer to one of the places that I had silently forbidden her to reach out to, intent on touching my own shaft against my permission. “Does it excite you? The thought of our own swarm? Expanding the hive like a good queen?”

“...y-yes,” she whispered barely audible, nuzzling me with hitching breaths and a gaze that started to slowly glaze over. “I want it so badly... P-please... Ngh... I need it. Please...”

My faithful Princess caught my eyes, a question in her own as she subtly glanced at Shadra’s soaked rear before seeking my eyes back out. I bit my lip in uncertainty, regarding Shadra as she almost worked herself into a lustful frenzy. Her pheromones were quite thick in the air of the hive mind, no doubt due to her fantasies running wild on her.

I gave my faithful Princess a nod in trepidation. It seemed like our little Princess was truly starting to embrace being a changeling queen, signaling to us that she was a willing mate... now would definitely be the time for her to welcome the part she had tried to ignore the most about her body so far. Let’s see if she truly was okay with this, then.

I’m sorry, Leaf, but... this was more important. I doubt you would actually get mad at us for handling our own grief in a way that was more suitable for our species, anyway. As much as I tried to be respectful by trying to abstain from sexual intercourse entirely, my heart was telling me that this was right. Having Shadra get in touch with her true nature as a changeling queen... it was one of those things that she needed to get over with preferably sooner rather than later.

Besides... I wasn’t going to be doing anything else aside from giving her a target to kiss to her heart’s content. Arachne was the one among us that had the libido lacking an off switch.

Shadra let out a gasp, arching her back as Arachne slowly trailed her tongue over her labia, a shocked look replacing the previous one of practically begging us to have our way with her. That shock turned into a whole plethora of confused feelings as she sucked in her lower lip while pushing her head against my chest abruptly, a mewl of enjoyment escaping her throat as she clung to me with a fierce and nervous grasp.

I let out a few reassuring humming noises, stroking her head comfortingly as she got gradually used to the sensation of our faithful Princess licking her entrance gently. It must feel so confusing to her, actually feeling the pleasure that her pussy could evoke if properly stimulated, a stark contrast to the time I had forced her to watch me fuck the guards unconscious (or letting them fuck themselves unconscious, rather).

The steady pleasure was quite different to the one of getting penetrated by dicks (and the actual dick that each of them possessed, I guess). They had barely hit the right spots, and with Arachne working her tongue masterfully on our beautiful Princess, Shadra learned just how pleasurable this could truly get. It was a different kind of pleasure to the one she was used to from her penis, it was like a constant needy pulse around the vulva that demanded her full attention, and by now, I imagine she was starting to feel that desire for something to rub against her clit, as well. The fire spreading through her core was quite thoroughly put on display, her rod kept twitching happily as she wiggled around every which way.

I have to admit, it was kinda funny watching her be reduced to a state that wasn’t too dissimilar to a cat in heat. I placed Shadra’s head on my forelegs lovingly as she finally found a position that she was the most comfortable with, staring into her eyes as they rolled around pretty much everywhere, screwing them shut every once in a while with heavy and loud-ish moans leaving her throat.

Her hindlegs tried to futilely clamp themselves around Arachne’s head once she started to snake her tongue into that eager little pussy of hers, but since her movements were far too awkward, that little desire of hers was well outside of her reach for now.

It was quite adorable to see Shadra’s legs twitch in rhythm to the throbbing of her cock, though, something that I imagine Arachne prided herself quite a lot with, having accomplished her goal of making Shadra into a lust-addled mindless sex addict.

My beautiful Princess greedily returned the kiss that I offered her as I leaned my head down ever so slightly, eagerly wrestling my tongue with hers whenever she found the breath to do so. Something that got increasingly harder for her to do as Arachne showed absolutely no mercy with the movements of her tongue.

Those moans... they were quite different from the sounds she made when she had fucked Arachne silly with her dick. They weren’t quite as girly as the ones Arachne or even I myself let out, but they were definitely far removed from those ‘manly’ grunts she had seemed to favor before. If anything, the sounds she made were quite androgynous now.

And, as Shadra neared her peak, I could tell she was trying to glance at what Arachne was doing to her with nothing but curiosity. There wasn’t even a single hint of apprehension left in her pink eyes and I chuckled as her eyelids twitched sporadically as Arachne was finally successful in bringing her over the edge, a heavy orgasm rocking Shadra’s body oh-so-beautifully.

I delighted even more in the involuntary release from her own dick, spraying her own spunk all over herself. She didn’t really seem to mind it, though. Happy murmurs and chirps left her as she calmed down considerably from her lust-addled state, and, just as I was about to clean her up from her little ‘accident’, Shadra surprised me with the one thing that I wouldn’t have ever expected coming from her of all ‘lings...

My Princess began to lick her own ejaculate off of herself using one of her hooves to scoop up the sticky substance, a perverted gleam in her expression. I had to bite my own lips as she gave me a mischievous glance, my own body beginning to voice its desire for relief. Fuck, she totally was as degenerate as Arachne and I were, wasn’t she? My pervy little Princess, making me horny beyond belief, acting like that. I’m so very proud of her.

“You are so fucking sexy, Shadra~,” Arachne giggled, nuzzling Shadra’s hindlegs individually, trailing little kisses all over them. “You really enjoyed it that much to be willing to do that?”

“Shut up, Arachne,” she breathed out, not sounding the least bit angry at her. “Besides, you obviously don’t care if I like dicks or not, so I’m gonna lick my own cum from my body while pretending it belongs to Amore...”

“Someling can’t wait to seduce a certain somepony~,” Arachne sing-songed, bouncing on her hooves as she began to dance around us in glee. Her infectious mood had me smiling in fondness and the lake not too far away from us brightened up considerably in response to that. “Oh, I can’t wait to see Shadra try to win over Amore’s heart! The bashful glances, the embarrassed stammers, the blushes whenever Amore replies to her... all of the little attempts of trying to stare at his dick while pretending he doesn’t notice~.”

“You can’t tell me you don’t feel the same!” Shadra pouted, crossing her forelegs over her chest after she sat up. “Heck, you’d probably try to rape him in his sleep.”

“Only if he wants to~,” giggled Arachne.

I let out a good-natured sigh, smiling at their antics. They were like siblings that weren’t quite siblings but kinda were in the sense of... of... something, I lost the train of thought there as I watched Arachne jump Shadra, hugging her while slowly rubbing her dick against Shadra’s back.

“Mhh... are you hungry for my dick, too?” she asked, deliberately licking Shadra’s ear sensually.

“N-no...” Shadra answered, gulping as her blush intensified. She was shifting around on her hind legs while shuddering slightly from Arachne’s touch. Said 'ling was currently frowning back at her. “I... uh... I mean, uh... I-I want Amore’s dick! He’s a stallion, which actually makes it... uh... bisexual? Maybe. Would it be straight if both of us have a dick? Anyway, you’re... you. That's different."

“Aww, but I’m as much a stallion as he is~,” Arachne said, trying to make her voice sound deeper and rougher and failing miserably at it. “But I could just...”

Shadra turned her head with a start, blinking her eyes in disbelief after she felt the flames of Arachne’s changeling magic wash away her regular appearance, replacing it with said stallion she was so infatuated with. “N-n-no f-fair...”

“You want that cock, don’t you?” Arachne asked with the posh voice of Amore, grinning lustfully. “Does my little Princess...”

“N-no,” Shadra denied, shaking her head while trying to break out of Arachne’s grip. “I-I... I-I don’t w-want my first t-time to be with any... anyone else but him...”

“Okay...” Arachne relented, letting her go with a sad sigh before changing back. “I guess that’s your choice, then.”

“I... Arachne, my Princess, I...” Shadra mumbled, hesitating in uncertainty. “I’m sorry, I love you to bits, but... it just feels right with him, you know?”

“Can I be your second, then?” she asked, rubbing her legs shyly. Shadra gave me a brief glance as if asking me if that was okay and I raised a brow back at her. “I mean... if you want our Queen to be your second, I’d understand...”

“I...” Shadra said, breathing deeply in before giving her a nod, throwing a glance my way to see how I would react. I only gave my beautiful Princess a smile, not at all hurt by her decision. Besides, it was her own choice with whom she wanted to have sex with, I wouldn’t try to dictate that for her. I would, one way or another, have my way with her eventually, but only if she comes asking for it first.

Consent was important to me. That much Arachne got right when we had been talking about our duties. It didn’t really matter to me in which form someone gave me consent, I only needed to know that they wanted it and I’d be okay with it (as long as it was given to me while they weren't under the influence of alcohol or similar mind-altering substances, that is).

The only exception to that little 'rule' of mine were enemies to the hive. I could care less about their wants and needs. If they wanted me and my hive, my subjects, and my loved ones dead, then they are going to face the consequences of such a decision, it was as simple as that. Granted, seducing my enemies wasn't high on my priority list, but when in war... that's the least amount of mercy I was willing to show.

The survival of the hive takes priority over everything else. Always.

I had my limits as to what was okay and what wasn’t, though. For example, I would never ever accept the ‘consent’ of someone that was underage, even if they begged me to have sex with them (for whatever reason they actually would). There was no way around it. For me, sex meant having intercourse with someone that was mature enough to know what it was that they were getting into. I wouldn’t be taking advantage of any youth in any kind of way, that was a fundamental rule I would enforce in this hive in the harshest ways possible.

Along the same lines, rape was forbidden as well. Under no circumstances would I allow anything of the sort to happen in my hive. And that rule had only one exception, that being the express permission of the pony wanting to roleplay a fantasy out, and that's it. Anyling with the malicious intent to use somepony like that would be met with an equally harsh punishment as to the rule about having sex with somepony clearly underage, no exceptions.

Another absolute rule I would enforce quite heavily but not as harshly would be deception. I do not want my changelings to use a face of a loved one to have sex with somepony. Love was a sacred thing that should be protected and nurtured, not abused. I’m fine with using shapeshifting as long as it stays with using the face of a completely unrelated pony. If the partner was the one that was unfaithful, it wasn’t any of our responsibility and I could care less what happened to them afterward.

They should know better than to be unfaithful to the one they swore their heart to. Even the pheromones we could produce couldn’t break such a true bond like that, something I suspect must have been the reason why I couldn’t affect the General so easily. My pheromones had less of an effect on those that were happily in love, already.

I wonder what happened to that asshole. I doubt he got lucky enough to be overlooked by the revolution, I was certain at least one of those ponies Amore and I rescued from the dungeons must have gone after the bastard. If not... well, without a horn, I don’t think he’s going back to tormenting ponies any time soon.

That’s another thing I should make sure never happens in my hive. Kidnapping innocents to force them to feed us. War and slavery breed negativity, which was literally counterproductive for us. One of the prime reasons why I went to such great lengths to ensure the freedom of the earthponies in Unicornia was to end such suffering. It had the nice added effect of giving us a home, as well.

I left Shadra and Arachne to their own devices as I decided that enough time must have passed for the sleep spell to wear off on our body, intent on finding out what had transpired since the start of my slumber.

My eyes cracked open ever so slightly, taking in the sight of the bed made of straw I found myself laying on before they wandered over to the edge of the wooden cart. I could make out the Kingdom of Unicornia far back in the distance, smoke drifting away from it.

The twin suns were just peeking over the mountains, so it must have been the morning of the day after. My musings came to an end as the rocking of the cart hit a particularly bumpy part of the dirt road it moved along on, making me grumble unhappily as I sat up while rubbing the corner of my eyes groggily.

Somepony must have given me a bath as I slept, all of the blood and gore from the... well, it was all gone, making my chitin look as pristine as it could be without polishing it. The soft matte black was as clean as the magenta shell on my back, making it shimmer slightly in the light of the suns. Sadly, my mane wasn’t as silky as it could have been considering I slept on hay.

“Ah, lookie here who finally woke up!” the stallion pulling the wagon exclaimed, making me turn my head to regard him. It was the big lump of a lumbering behemoth I had lovingly nicknamed Mr. Hulk, looking quite a bit more chipper now that the fighting was over.

“Where..?” I asked with a tired yawn, looking at the herd of hundreds of multi-colored little ponies moving along the road while chatting with each other quietly, carts loaded with a multitude of different things behind almost each and every one of them. At least, those that were old enough to fit into the harness and weren’t too elderly, that is.

If I had to guess, there were at least a thousand ponies all moving to who knows where. Leaf would have been proud to see all of them free of their shackles.

“Your friend?” Mr. Hulk asked and I gave a tiny, sad nod. “That Amore noble fella you were with said he’d give her a proper send-off with you there. He’s further up ahead if you want to catch up with him. That horn of his has been acting up, too. Wonder what that’s about, can’t ever tell with those unicorns.”

“Thanks,” I said, stretching out my limbs. I hopped down from the back, giving him a nod as I passed him. The massive stallion returned the nod before he went back to the conversation he must have been in the middle of before he noticed me shift around in his cart. Judging by the smile of the light green mare next to him, that probably was his wife dragging a cart full of linen with her. Or his sister, she was kinda a bit of a monster in the height department herself.

To be honest, I kinda got the feeling like she was checking out my rear for a moment there, but when I turned my head just so, I only noticed her give that look to the gruff stallion with the grey-brown eyes, instead. Weird.

Anyway, it wasn’t all that hard to pass by the caravan of ponies at the pace that they were going and my legs helped in that regard more than I could have imagined. I was getting used to how they moved, even at faster paces now. I suppose relearning muscle memory wasn’t as bad when your body doesn’t remember bipedal movement at all.

A lot of those ponies I passed by gave me a wave and a bright smile, something that would have confused me a lot more had it not been for the cheers of their ‘savior’ being awake. I gave them a subdued smile back as I hid behind a mask of 'queenly indifference', feeling conflicted about how they applauded me for the majority of the work Leaf had put in with freeing them.

There were a few unicorns here and there, as well. Those looked at me slightly fearfully, most likely remembering the scenes from the dungeons where I... where I did things I’d rather forget entirely. They were nonetheless thankful, calling after me with nothing but praise in their words.

None of them expressed even the slightest hints of disgust at me for my natural appearance, which... I don’t know. It felt alien that they just accepted me like that. None of them hated me even with our differences.

Could ponies truly be that capable of goodness? After all that I have seen of them (or even humanity), it felt like it was such a foreign concept to my mind. I knew they were capable of so much atrociousness, to see them be the complete opposite? I had no idea how I should have felt about that.

It made sense, though. As much as slavery breeds negativity, it also creates a bond. A bond between fellow slaves that was... it was something beyond mere comradery of shared suffering. It was a bond of understanding between them, of compassion and sympathy. Or maybe it was empathy, being able to see past what made them different because they all went through the same thing.

Each and every one of them knew what it felt like to be treated as less worth than dirt. Each and every one of them knew the pain of forced servitude. Each and every one of those ponies has learned what blind hatred led to. They, those that had been suppressed and subjugated by their fellow ponies, wanted to move past their differences and just live peacefully together. And they didn’t care that I wasn’t entirely a pony myself.

They taught me a valuable lesson. Love and tolerance, accept those with differences for everyone has them, don’t discriminate against others for how they want to live their lives if they don’t make your life difficult in turn, show kindness and generosity to those that need it most or don’t expect to be treated as such in return when all you ever did was to exploit those around you. Be a decent person and you will be treated as one.

That’s something my empire could aspire to. Nay, I know it will.

“Finally awake?” Amore asked as I adjusted my pace to his as I caught up with the front of the quite large caravan. It was hard to tell without going for an aerial view, but there might even be more than a thousand ponies following after the stallion with the slightly pink hair. It actually looked kinda like a raspberry color, now that it was all cleaned up.

Still gonna dye it pink, though.

“Yes,” I answered, throwing a glare his way. “Thanks for that nap, by the way.”

“I’m sorry about that, Ara, but...” he started but I cut him off with a snort.

“You don’t get to call me that,” I muttered, stubbornly staring straight up ahead. “I don’t blame you for putting me to sleep, but I do blame you for getting in between me and my revenge.”

“I don’t want to see you like that, Araneae,” Amore said and I gave him a disbelieving look.

“Then what was that about down there in the dungeons? That was a lot worse than what I would have done to that... that...”

“It’s different,” he muttered, a bitter feeling mixing with that subdued honey-like flavor of his. I really have no idea what to make out of that, to be honest. “That... you had dark magic in you, you weren’t...”

“I was in full control, asshole,” I shot back, jabbing my hoof into his side before I realized what I was doing, letting my emotions control me out of grief. A long sigh escaped my muzzle as I glanced sadly back at the casket in his cart. Leaf was in there and here I was, blaming Amore for not letting me be the one to avenge her. That king was no more, I shouldn’t be so angry at him for wanting to see me be a better changeling. It was weird, it felt like I was failing Leaf by not having been the one to kill that bastard, and, at the same time, by feeling like I needed to be the one to enact revenge on her behalf. She would have hated seeing me crave it so much.

“I’m sorry, Araneae,” he sighed, looking down glumly. I glanced back at him in trepidation, the watery feel of his emotions unnerving me more than I was able to stay mad at him. I hated feeling how he felt. It felt wrong for him to be the sad one. “I...”

“I’m sorry as well,” I said, regret welling up within me like an ugly disease. I hated feeling that, too. It made my stomach turn and churn around. And, I guess, it made me feel miserable, as well. “You did the... right... thing, putting me to sleep like that. Leaf wouldn’t have wanted me to lust for death so much. It’s hard to be a better changeling when things like that happen.”

“Things are going to be better from now on, I promise you,” Amore said, a comforting smile back on his muzzle. I glanced at him with hesitation, nodding ever so slightly despite not really feeling like it ever would.

And then, there was that damn honey-like flavor wafting over from him again that I had no idea what to make out of. It was even stronger than before and I had to consciously restrain myself from draining the stallion completely dry, the taste of it being far too addicting for my likes.

Still, it made me wonder... was it love? Everything in me told me it had to be so, but... I knew better. He would have told me if he had feelings towards me, right? So... whatever it actually was, it definitely wasn't that. It cannot be. After all, why would he love someone like me? Besides, he even told me that he had never felt such emotions for anypony before, why would that change now? I was the last changeling he would start feeling something like that for. It must be... friendship. I don’t know.

“What are we going to do for Leaf?” I asked quietly, trying to ignore that damn sweet smell wafting over from him. It cannot be love, damnit. Leaf smelled a lot sweeter than that dolt, it has to be friendship.

“Lighting her mortal body aflame and letting the light of our magic guide her soul to the next life,” Amore answered and I nodded in a thoughtful fashion. That does sound nice, doesn’t it? “We will do that as soon as the suns set. It’s the perfect time to do this kind of ceremony since the day isn’t nearly cloudy enough.”

Right, can’t see magic wisps all that well in full daylight, that makes sense. We could go to that forest where I got reborn, instead, but... I’d rather not do that in a monster-infested forest. Not to mention, we would have to make quite the detour, something that was less than favorable with our numbers.

“Where are we going, anyway?” I inquired, glancing at the glowing horn on his noggin’. Mr. Hulk had said something about it acting up, hadn’t he? I kinda expected a bit more than for it to simply imitate a glowstick, to be honest.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged back at me, following my eyes up to his horn. “It keeps trying to point me to the north-west.”

“How often do the horns of you guys do that sort of thing for you to not question it?” I asked him with a raised brow. “It could lead you anywhere! Like... I don’t know, somewhere less habitable than this place. For all you know, that thing could lead you straight to a volcano, resulting in Pompeii two point oh.”

“Ara, it’s destiny magic, nopony knows how it works,” Amore said, giving me a look that basically told me he was weirded out by my lack of knowledge on magic. “Did you not have that type of magic where you came from?”

“Uh... no?” I answered, pretty certain there was no magic on Earth. I mean... the possibility existed that it did and I had simply forgotten about it, but... something like that would stand out like a big flashing neon sign, wouldn’t it? “As far as I remember, our world was completely devoid of magic. The closest thing we had to it were tricks, nothing more than smoke and mirrors.”

“Truly?” Amore asked, intrigued. “A world without magic... what a terrifying place.”

“You have no idea,” I rolled my eyes. “Imagine that, a world where people have to use their brains instead of the sticks protruding from their foreheads. What a nightmare.”

“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you, dear,” he teased and I bumped my flank against him, making him stumble slightly. “How did you raise your suns, then?”

“By praying to the flying spaghetti monster,” I replied, keeping my voice completely serious. For all I know, that thing might actually exist somewhere in the multiverse. After all, flying multi-colored horses exist here, why couldn’t sapient food?

Amore opened his muzzle to start arguing with me that there was no such thing as a monster made out of pasta but began to hesitate as I kept my expression perfectly rigid. “You are jesting, right?”

“Dear, I just told you we didn’t have magic,” I told him, looking at him like he was stupid. “Of course, there is no such thing. How would it even be alive?”

“I...” Amore began, but stopped, stumped. “So you don’t raise your suns and moon?”

“No,” I said, letting out a long and drawn-out sigh. “We didn’t even have two suns. Quite frankly, it still seems questionable to me that you ‘raise’ them. Do you know how much mass even one of them has?!”

“I don’t?” he asked, nervous.

<Arachne?> I reached out to my faithful Princess, waiting for a reply and immediately getting one in the form of a girlish moan.

<Mhh~, M-My Queen?> she inquired curiously and I tried to not let it get to me and make my body excited for some action. I was failing. Spectacularly. <I... Mhhmmm, yes~! R-right there! Fuck your tight horny Princess harder, Shadra! Aaahn~.>

<Am I interrupting?> I asked, mentally facehoofing. Both of them shot back a negative, so I just decided to ask for the exact numbers for the mass of the sun and be done with it before I fell into a lustful craze myself, shutting them out completely. Bunch of horny rabbits they are.

“Suffice to say, just one of them has approximately three-hundred and thirty-three thousand times the mass of this damn planet,” I explained to Amore, watching him stumble again with mirth. I was just noticing it now, but the way he walked was really dignified. Even the way he corrected himself to not fall over himself was like he had the motion down to a tee as if he had practiced it his whole life (which was probably the case now that I thought about it). “At least, that was the difference between the planet and the sun back... well, it wasn’t really home, to begin with, but you get what I mean.”

“By the twin suns...” Amore breathed out, stunned. “I had no idea...”

“Yep,” I said, popping the ‘P’. “Thus my skepticism about you guys raising and lowering three celestial objects with magic. Either those old farts are incredibly powerful, or they blatantly lie to you ponies.”

“They don’t lie, I know that much,” he muttered and I could see the sheer terror in his eyes as I felt his emotional turmoil overwhelm me. “I’ve seen them do it. When all ten of them are working their magic simultaneously, you feel like your entire existence is being crushed to the size of a dust speck just from standing near them. That much power... there is not a single mortal alive that could match it. Even an army of unicorns would stand no chance fighting against ten archmages, Ara.”

“They sound dangerous, wielding that much power,” I said, biting my lip in worry. “How come they weren’t there to defend the king?”

“Do you truly believe they cared for him?” Amore shot back and I shrugged. If I had that much power, I wouldn’t really pay an idiot like that any attention, either. It was like an ant throwing insults at a giant among giants. The words of the General had me worried, though. He had made it seem like they would actually join the fight. “They only want to study magic and never leave their studies aside for the ritual at dawn and dusk. As long as nopony disturbs them, they won’t even care the slightest bit about what happened to a traitor that took over the kingdom. Their loyalty lies solely with their colleagues and those that have managed to gain their respect.”

“So... they are all stallions, right?” I asked and began to pout as soon as he gave me one of those looks again. “Don’t give me that look, dear. I’m not trying to get into their bed, I’m just curious. Swirly Star mentioned something about her dream never being able to come true because they are sexist old farts. Their dicks probably wouldn’t even be able to get hard enough for me to try to potentially get at their sperm, as much as I like the idea of my brood being magically powerful far beyond my imagining.”

“Of course, that’s the first thing on your mind,” Amore sighed and I rolled my eyes back at him. I was actually honest with that and meant it when I said the trouble wouldn’t even be worth it. I’d rather not risk them getting a heart attack because I couldn’t keep my hooves to myself. Then I would have to worry about the other nine archmages out for my head and the end result wouldn’t be pretty for me if they were indeed as powerful as Amore made them out to be.

“Eh, I don’t have a problem with old coots sticking their sausage into me if I get something out of it, but that’s not what this is about,” I muttered, kicking a stone away from the ‘small-ish’ dirt path we were traveling on. “I actually feel for Swirly Star. She deserves to be able to pursue her dreams after all that they went through. Sexism has led to many hardships back in my old world, I’d rather not see any of that here.”

“With Gold Bar as the Queen now, I’m sure she will get her opportunity to prove them wrong,” Amore smiled, apparently proud of me for being so ‘progressive’. If only he knew how gruesome some of these things could get with things like sexism and elitism. Arrogance and feelings of superiority have never brought anything good with them, that I knew with perfect clarity now. “Suns know Swirl has already created far more spells than all of them combined. She has a very active imagination for her age.”

“If you say so,” I shrugged. I hadn’t really paid that much attention to the archmage hopeful, but she didn’t really strike me as the artist type of pony. I could tell she valued her magic very highly, though. Knowing how useful magic truly was, I didn’t even want to know how disturbing it must be for her to have it repressed with that little ring around her horn. “I never asked, but... how old are you? You ponies look kinda really youthful until you get all flabby and wrinkly.”

“How very kind of you,” Amore commented with a roll of his eyes to which I replied with a ‘You’re welcome’ just to rile him up a little bit more. “I’m thirty-five. How old were you before you died?”

I hummed with interest, curious to know myself. It wasn’t like I could just remember it off the top of my head, though. It was already quite a hassle to remember certain things accurately without Arachne’s help and that’s one of the questions I completely overlooked while piecing back my broken memories (more or less successfully at that). “To be honest, I don’t know. I wouldn’t even get close to my actual age if I accounted for all of the extra experience we got from the memories that formed Shadra, Arachne, and me. And that’s not even mentioning the years we spent floating around as a spirit.”

“So you are quite old, then?”

“Pfft, nah,” I smirked, feeling mischievous. “I was born three days ago after masturbating in the tree womb of my dear soul-eating tree of a tree mother and ejaculating all over myself~.”

“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” he asked me with another of 'those' looks and I cackled gleefully to myself. Amore tried to hide it, but a smile did appear briefly on his muzzle in that endearing way while his emotions started to become honey-like again. “Were you serious about that? The three days?”

“All of it, dear,” I answered, smiling genuinely after having had my fill of mad cackling. “Cracked my horn on the bark during my orgasm, so... yeah. Hindsight and all that.”

“I can’t believe you,” Amore snorted, shaking his head slightly. “And you just decided to enter a city full of unicorns without knowing what would happen? I have heard bits and pieces from the others about that chase, you know. You made quite the commotion, running around like that with a horde of guards on your tail.”

“Well... to be honest? I thought I could find help there,” I shrugged. “I had no idea what was edible and what wasn’t, after all. It worked out in the end, didn’t it?”

“It did,” he agreed with a tiny chuckle and a nod of his head. “If barely. Of all the things you could have come to the conclusion of after learning that you feed off of emotional energy, I wouldn’t have thought you would compare yourself to a sex demon of all things.”

“Why shouldn’t I?” I asked, giving him a curious glance. I could understand people thinking a lust demon would kill them with sex, but... that’s just silly. After all, you couldn’t feed off of a corpse’s sexual energy, at one point you wouldn’t have any food left if you left corpses in your wake left and right. Besides, killing your victims draws unwanted attention, something I think a succubus or incubus would be well aware of if they wanted to stay hidden. “A succubus is the closest thing to what I am and aside from that, they are sexy. Just the thought of them gets Shadra all hot and bothered, and believe me, there are only a few things that get her that riled up.”

“I can imagine what does,” he rolled his eyes, although the honey-like flavor started to sweeten up a little. I have absolutely no idea what to make of that, it was fluctuating so much. “Is he... she?"—he looked at me hesitantly and I nodded, smiling warmly—"Is she listening in?”

“Nah, she’s busy with Arachne,” I replied, taking a little peek and finding out that yes, Arachne was still screaming her lungs out from riding our beautiful Princess to bliss.

“Do I even want to ask what they are doing?” Amore glanced under my barrel and I returned his look with a raised brow. For someone that adamantly refused to give in to his baser needs, he apparently had no shame at all. Not that I really minded him taking a little peak, it kinda excited me even more. I... I was turning into an exhibitionist, wasn’t I? I can’t say I minded that, either. “Don’t you find it a little bit weird to do that with... well... yourself?”

“At first?” I hummed, thinking back to the first time I came across one of my split personalities. “A little bit. I stopped caring after Arachne sucked me off, though.”

“Of course she did...” he sighed.

“Oh, don’t be like that, you prissy prude,” I snickered, licking my lips seductively afterward. “I could suck you off if you want? Believe me, you won't find anypony else as good as me at taking it~.”

“No, thanks,” Amore grunted and his emotions started to get a bit spicy.

“Do you want to suck mine, instead?”

“No!”

“Eh, that’s your loss, then,” I shrugged, a little bit disappointed. It was worth a try, at least. “I’m all for searching for true love, dear, but... don’t let it keep you from every advance made on you. If all you do is keep waiting for that perfect mare, you will grow old without ever knowing love. Believe me, it’s not pretty, dying like that while feeling like you wasted your entire life away.”

“Those... are wise words. I didn’t expect them from you of all... changelings,” Amore said, respect in his eyes. There was a distinctly earthy taste in his emotions and I had no idea what to make of that, either. It wasn’t bad, though. I liked it, it wasn’t as overwhelmingly sweet as the fruity taste of happiness was. It was... refreshing, tasting something that was... ‘healthy’ in a sense. Something like fresh vegetables. It got boring pretty fast to only taste hearty or sweet things (apart from the garbage that was negative emotions).

“I have my moments,” I retorted, falling silent after that.

One thing that came to my mind as we traveled through the idyllic landscape of wide-open plains was the fact that the air was incredibly crisp and fresh. I never even paid attention to it all that much, but... being able to breathe was nice. It was one of those things that rubbed me the wrong way in the Realm of Death, being unable to truly breathe.

Even simply feeling the wind in my mane and tail was one of those things that made me feel glad to be alive again. It was like a relaxing and calming balm on my soul, something that I sorely needed after having gone without it for so long. It took my mind off of things, primarily the thought of Leaf... well...

I blinked as something, or rather, someone entered the corner of my vision and I turned my eyes ever so slightly to see my little spider companion hanging from a thread of silk connected to my ear. I had honestly thought I had lost him somewhere in the forest, it was a pleasant surprise to see him again.

“Where did you hide, you little rascal?” I asked quietly, watching him swing back and forth in the breeze. It didn’t really seem to bother him from what I could tell. He probably never went too far, though it astonished me that he found his way back to me at all. Spiders usually don’t form bonds with their ‘caretakers’ and their eyesight wasn’t the greatest, either.

Maybe he followed my pheromones? I suppose I’ll never know.

Amore, on the other hoof, seemed to not be that big of a fan of my little friend. The stallion kept giving the spider hanging from my ear an uncertain, fearful glance. It wasn’t really the spider that caused him that discomfort, though. His emotions didn’t speak of that fear one would have if they had a phobia of something (at least, I assumed that that was the case since he apparently grew up with his mother having kept those star spiders, whatever those were), it felt more like he was afraid for me.

I gave the yellow-ish spider a thoughtful glance, then hummed to myself. Maybe this was a particularly venomous spider? It would explain the strength of my own venom. Just a small bite had been enough for Shadra to paralyze herself and that cockatrice in the forest hadn’t even stood a chance with me deliberately pumping it full of poison.

<We should name it Chelicera,> Arachne told me and I resisted flicking my ear from her sudden proposal. Instead, I hummed questioningly in curiosity. <It’s clearly a venomous spider, so why not name it after the mouthpart it injects it with?>

<You really do like your sciency words, don't you?> I snickered.

<Well... it's a cute name, either way,> she shot back, a pout evident in her voice. Maybe I shouldn't tease her so much about what was clearly a passion of hers.

<Right, you might have a point there. It does sound cute, doesn't it?> I admitted, nodding to myself. Chelicera it is. <Maybe I should let you study him, just to get an idea of what kind of things he is capable of (and thus, maybe we as well).>

It would have been a great help to also have a specimen of those bees with us, but I suppose we just had to figure that part of ourselves out on our own. It certainly would have helped with this whole egg thing, though...

Now that I thought about it, how do spiders actually reproduce? The only thing about that that I can remember were fictional caves infested with giant spiders and I’m pretty sure spiders live solitary lives most of the time (not that I was all that confident with that assumption, we didn't have a lot of knowledge floating around in our head about spiders... aside from the odd few facts, I guess). Well, there was one other thing I could vaguely remember and that was kinda... morbid. Female spiders killed their mate, didn’t they?

That kinda lends itself to the whole ‘bad succubus’ thing. I wouldn’t ever kill somepony just because they decided to stick their stick in me. That’s just... needlessly cruel. I liked the image of succubi whipping you and being all into the pain play and not the image of ‘I’ll smother you to death with my titties’ succubi.

I wonder what succubi actually look like in the lore of this world since the inhabitants here are... you know... horsey. They probably wouldn’t look too far off from what a thestral would look like, wouldn’t they? Instead of the regular tail, they would have the devil’s tail with the heart tip and the horns. Maybe they even had cloven hooves instead, who knows. Although, I liked the idea of their front hooves still being the soft roundish ones because, for some reason, the mix of both seemed by far sexier than only going with one version. It makes the whole appearance of a succubus pony look more... infernal... that way. As if there was still a resemblance to a mortal pony in them.

Just for the funsies, I pushed the mental picture of that succubus pony over to Arachne, silently telling her to have her fun with Shadra while our Princess drools all over her like that. I imagine that will probably keep them preoccupied for the rest of the day. I’d rather she was able to distract herself from the pain of our loss that way until it was time to hold the ceremony for Leaf than see her... well, she wasn’t moping around at the moment due to Shadra keeping her company, so I don’t know what I was actually worried about here.

Still... Arachne would no doubt fall back into her depressed self after the ceremony, wouldn’t she? I had no idea what I should do to make that pain go away. Heck, I was just moving along, too, going through the motions and distracting myself with random thoughts here and there, trying to avoid thinking about her.

I was messing up this grief thing, wasn’t I? It still felt like the world was less bright, but... here I was, back to thinking the usual perverted thoughts. I felt guilty that I was basically thinking it wasn’t that bad of a thing. I was probably overthinking this way too much, wasn’t I?

I wish I could ask Leaf what she was thinking about my insatiable libido. I hated having to speculate what she would think, I didn’t know her well enough to make an accurate guess. She hadn’t seemed to mind it too much, only getting jealous and mad at me for doing it with racist assholes to further my own agenda.

Well... I wasn’t going to repeat that, was I? If I was going to do it with a unicorn, it would be Amore and he didn’t seem all too keen on the idea of letting me anywhere near his dick. Which was a shame, but then again... a massive herd of earthponies equals lots of dicks...

That... that was tempting... so very tempting...

I-I shouldn’t, though. Leaf... I... that was basically what was left of her family right here. I would... I would be... does it count as r-replacing her? Would it be... Ugh, of course, it would be disrespectful, you idiot. Although... she hadn’t seemed to be too upset with the idea of having to share me with the other earthpony stallions. She probably would have gotten jealous if I had looked at another mare like that, though. Or if I did a repeat of what I did with those guards, I guess.

This was different, right? They weren’t racist dickheads, they were... her kin. That’s... Okay, I can’t find an excuse that would make this right, like... ever.

But... I mean... more sperm means a full spermatheca and a full sperm pouch means a greater variety in genetic material to fertilize eggs with, and that means a healthy (and more importantly, large) hive. It was my sole duty to ensure that. I couldn't fail in my duty, my very purpose, now could I?

Not to mention, I could get all the lust I could ever want. I was getting increasingly more hungry and it would actually be a good idea to have a surplus of energy for when I lay eggs. I’m going to end up burning through a lot of energy doing that, won’t I? Leaf wouldn’t fault me for that, right? I had to do something for survival, after all.

Damnit, why does this have to be so difficult? Why can’t I just... be selfish? I was very much capable of selfishness, I knew that. I had been selfish all of my past life, so... why was I struggling with it now?

Because giving in to my own selfish desires would mean disappointing Leaf. She believed in me... and being selfish would throw all of that into the dirt.

Still... I had to find a compromise here, didn't I? If I wasn’t at least a little bit selfish, I would be going against the purpose of the hive. Not feeding off of the sexual energy of these ponies would mean being unable to serve the hive and that would make me unfit to rule as queen. A queen that doesn’t serve the will of the hive gets superseded. Replaced. Executed.

I... I-I didn’t want that. I was a good queen, I was doing everything I could... right? That... that means... I... I had to let go of Leaf and these ‘expectations’, these notions of her being disappointed with me if I performed my duties as queen. It was my nature, my... my purpose.

I can’t go against that. I can’t go against the hive. I just... can’t. It’s all that I have.

The hive and these ponies were all that I had left, I can’t lose that as well. And that meant thinking like a queen, fulfilling my purpose. There’s no way around it, Leaf, I’m sorry.

Please... don’t hate me. You would understand, wouldn’t you? If I told you everything about my purpose as the queen? You wouldn’t want me to not serve the hive, right? Serving the hive means taking care of my duties, keeping my ponies and changelings happy, and building a future for the next generation. A better future.

That meant feeding on those that were willing and having sex to ensure the hive won’t die out.

Although, for now, I should put a limit on how many eggs I was going to lay. Once the population starts increasing from our current number to one where it could support a decently sized swarm, then I could think about laying more than a hundred or so. It also depends on the life... span...

That’s going to be a wholly different and painful topic to get into, wasn’t it? Damn. I’m pretty sure the queen in the colony lives far longer than the brood she creates. If that was any indication for my own lifespan, I might just see the death of thousands of my own children...

That... that would devastate me more than Leaf’s death. But... but it was my purpose, I...

What am I supposed to do? I don’t want that loss to break me utterly.

There... there was just one answer to that question, wasn’t there? The solution to avoid that kind of heartbreak, it was... perhaps just as heartbreaking. It was cold and logical, ruthless even.

“Are you okay, Ara?” Amore asked quietly, apparently having gotten used to the idea that my pet wasn’t going to kill me on the spot. “You look pale.”

“Just having a revelation,” I muttered, staring numbly ahead. “Don’t worry, I-I’m okay.”

“If you say so,” he said, giving me an uncertain and concerned look. I’d rather not worry him with something that didn’t even concern him. I wasn’t even sure that my changelings would only live short lives. For all I know, they might live as long as these ponies. Whatever that might mean for me...

...I knew I couldn’t care for each and every one of them. My only purpose was to ensure the future of the hive, not... not bond with every changeling of my brood. I had to distance myself just the slightest bit from the lives of my... of my children so that I... so that I... s-so t-t-that...

I-I-I... I h-have to... t-to...

“Hey,” Amore whispered, having strapped himself out of his cart to crush my fragile self in that so-called ‘hug’ of his. “Something obviously isn’t okay, Ara. I’m here for you, you don’t have to pretend to be strong, nopony faults you for hurting... It’s going to be okay, dear.”

“I-I...” I hiccuped, unable to bring out any words while clinging on to him for dear life. It didn't take long until I was sobbing heavily into his coat, the tears kept coming without an end in sight. My sorrow was just too great, even Amore's embrace couldn't keep it at bay.

“It’s okay,” he hummed, gently rocking me back and forth. “It’s okay.”

“B-b-but...” I sniffled, breathing in erratically whenever I could between the sobs. “B-but... I-I...”

“Shh,” Amore shushed me, stroking my mane comfortingly. “It wasn’t your fault, dear. It’s okay to just let it all out, I’m here for you. Nopony blames you.”

That was the last straw that broke me utterly and I succumbed to the turmoil of my own feelings, crying into his coat unrelentingly. Not even the honey-like flavor of his emotions could soothe me, it was all just too much for me to deal with.

Leaf. My duties. The future.

We made camp at the spot we stopped at for the rest of the day and Amore never once left my side, letting me cry until no more tears came. It was hard, so very hard, seeing the herd of earthponies place dry branches all around the casket of the very first friend I made in this world, setting it on fire as the last light of the day started to wane.

Amore lit his horn, as did many other unicorns paying their respect with us, sending tiny little glimmering lights into the sky while the everypony else lit up torches and the few candles that we had. Nopony said anything, they didn’t really need to. It felt just as intimate, if not more so, to not sully this moment with words and simply let the light of the collective magic guide her to the next life.

It was a cute tradition, I had to say. Serene and tranquil.

I glanced down at the acorn I had been rolling around between my hooves for the past few hours after the majority of our 'little' herd had gone to sleep. I stayed underneath the lone tree standing vigil on the hill where we burned her body instead of joining them in one of the many tents, unable to leave while thinking of her. I doubt I could have retreated back into the hive mind even if I wanted to, far too restless to find a state of peace.

I guess there was something that I could start as our own tradition, wasn’t there? Something that would be specific to us and become a tradition for changelings to mourn those that we had gotten close to.

Arachne whispered, immediately agreeing to this idea that I had proposed to her and Shadra.

<An acorn as a sign of rebirth? Sign me up,> Shadra commented softly, sad chirps joining those of mine and Arachne.

As had been the case for me, the acorn will symbolize the return to life for Leaf. It wasn’t a birch sapling in honor of her name, but it was just as good in my opinion. I buried the small thing in the ground once the fire had settled down and nothing but ashes were left over.

I hope you didn’t go with those blue angel ladies, Leaf... I want to find you in your next life. Wherever you might go, I hope it will grant you a better life than the one you had here.

Before too long, the night found its end and our little camp started to get packed up neatly after everypony had their fill for breakfast. Earthponies were surprisingly good cooks, I noticed, awkwardly having watched them prepare the meals that I couldn’t really eat anymore. I mean... I could, but it would be very unpleasant on my tongue. And then on my stomach.

Which would, in turn, lead to me forcing it back up together with the changeling honey all mucked up with the ‘breakfast’ some of them offered me, wouldn’t it? That would be a waste of perfectly good honey. While it felt a little bit weird that I wouldn’t ever get to enjoy solid food anymore, I wasn’t too sad about the loss of getting to share a meal with somepony. Not in the way of sharing a homecooked meal, I mean. I don’t know about sharing changeling honey with anypony, it felt like a waste of food that my swarm would be depending on.

Still, I suppose a surplus of honey could hopefully be used for export, creating a reliable income for my empire. But only if we had more than what we knew what to do with.

It was fascinating to ponder, though. How do we make honey in the first place? I knew bees used the nectar and pollen of flowers to sustain themselves or even sweet sugar water that they could dip their tongue into, but how do we create that changeling honey? Emotions weren’t really... solid in the slightest way. They weren’t even supposed to be... physical, right? Aside from chemical reactions in the brain, that is. One wasn’t supposed to bottle happiness like some sort of potion, ready to grant the user a boon (like luck or something else equally ridiculous). It was so very perplexing, wasn’t it?

Not even Arachne could explain how we converted emotions into food (much less so for energy... or mana, whatever), but she at least had a theory about how we produced that honey. Aside from the emotions that we ‘harvest’ from ponies for a lack of a better term, water played a big role in how much we could make, honey-wise. While we didn’t really have a limit for how much we could eat (at least, as far as we have found out so far), there was a clear physical limit to how much of that honey we could make based on how much water we had available to convert into changeling honey.

I could tell that it wasn’t an instant process of guzzling water down our throat and spitting honey back out. So there was also a limit on how much we could make on a daily basis (something that would change as soon as I get my own brood going). It was a careful balancing act between how much we could feed to create honey and how much my brood would need that nutrition in order to grow, so we might not see a surplus for quite a while.

Thus the need to limit the growth of the hive for now until everything would be stable enough that I didn’t have to be too careful with how many eggs I lay. Something to look forward to in the future, I guess. Perhaps at some point I could just lay as many eggs as I wanted, but for now? Well... preparing was all I could really do.

And that meant creating a stockpile of honey.

Some of the cooks were so kind as to give us a few of those empty jars they had previously stored some of their ingredients in. They weren’t as big as I had hoped for, but they were still helpful nonetheless. One of the more adventurous ones even got interested in trying out how the changeling honey would taste after finding out that I could, in essence, ‘process’ collected emotions like that. Suffice to say, that stallion was a lot more affectionate with everypony after having had a taste of concentrated positive emotions in watery syrupy form.

I let Arachne experiment a little bit by giving her control of our body, interested in finding out what she could discover about our body. One of the things that she found out pretty easily was how to purify that honey into different ‘flavors’ with the help of our magic. It took her a few tries to get it right, but eventually, she had split the honey up into the pure form of the corresponding emotions we focused our magic on, at the same time also dehydrating it of most of its moisture to create the honey-like consistency (the ideal form for storage according to her). There was some excess of a mess of different 'flavors' left over by the end of it that we still had no idea which ones they represented emotion-wise, but I had faith in my Princess to figure that part out in due time.

I had to expressly forbid her from trying to trick some of the ponies into feeding on raw lust because she was curious what kind of effect it would have on them, not that that stopped her from having sex with about a dozen or so stallions before we went back on the move. She even had her way with one or two mares (and one very curious stallion, if you catch my drift), fucking them into a puddle of pure bliss. I had no idea how she even seduced them in the first place, but it was enough to distract her from the thought of Leaf so I wasn’t really complaining.

There was... a weird effect Arachne and I observed in the ponies she had sex with, though. It was like they were addicted to us feeding on them during the act of intercourse, leaving them a bit more exhausted than I would have expected. According to the ponies, though, it was a ‘good’ kind of exhaustion and made their orgasms a lot more powerful than what they were used to.

It was... I don’t know. One of the mares Arachne had sex with kept brushing herself against us as we traveled and I could tell Amore knew what that behavior meant, but he kept his lips sealed as he regarded us with a tiny frown on his muzzle. If I didn’t know better, he was actually jealous that Arachne wasn’t making any advances on him. He didn’t have that sour kind of taste or even a bitter one, so I don’t actually know what his problem was.

Another thing I noticed Arachne do unconsciously during the day as the temperature went up a bit more was the movements our wings made. It wasn’t a short, fast buzzing that we had come to associate with our own show of emotions, whether excited or angry, it was more... like a fanning kind of motion. Surprisingly enough, it did keep away the worst of the early summer heat (at the cost of causing us an entirely different kind of discomfort... shredded wings and all that). At least, the fanning kept the heat at bay long enough for when we didn’t travel underneath the shade of the odd few trees we came across.

Of course, that evening, Arachne had her fun with a few stallions again and the clingy mare that, as we found out, had been a former sex slave. Kinda hard to not figure that out when she kept asking us to fuck her harder while calling us her master. Arachne tried to withdraw from her entirely, thoroughly weirded out that this mare was going right back to what should have been the very last thing on her mind, but stopped when the poor girl begged her not to, afraid to lose being able to be of service to the first ‘master’ that treated her kindly.

I never even once thought that there could have been Stockholm syndrome involved in this damn slavery thing. The poor mare (I think her name was something along the lines of Innocent Flower, I'm not sure) had dedicated her whole life to pleasing master after master that it became the only thing she ever knew. It made my heart ache fiercely, knowing that this mare... she had actually loved her captor for treating her like nothing more than a toy to be abused.

Arachne had a long talk with her afterward, trying to figure out how to best help this mare with her psychological problem of wanting to please a master almost obsessively. It would be an arduous task to help her overcome that need to please and I feared she might never truly overcome it entirely.

She wasn’t even the only mare that didn’t know what to do with herself, now that they weren’t serving a master anymore. Heck, almost all of them that didn’t have a ‘mundane’ purpose as slaves had no idea what they wanted to do with their newfound freedom. All of them were (more or less) trying to find something that interested them, curiously wandering around the camp everypony set up while watching some of the other ponies that had been used for their skills in craftsponyship. Some even found their calling from what those ponies taught them, earning themselves one of those buttmarks they called Cutie Marks.

It was a little bit cute to see them flash into existence on their flanks and the subsequent happy dance of showing it off to their fellow ponies. It kinda made me jealous, actually. Humans never had anything like a destiny sticker on their butts, it must feel nice to actually know what you are the absolute best at. Knowing myself... I’d probably get something naughty on my flanks.

Not that I would have a problem with that...

Those that were hopelessly lost, though? Arachne proposed to them to have a session of group therapy where they could voice out their thoughts and find the support they needed in their fellow ponies. To my surprise, Arachne kept it completely professional, not even once making a lewd comment while she helped them vent out their worries and so on. It was quite heartwarming, to see how much she cared for them.

Although... I should have seen it coming that some of those ponies that had previously served their masters by... well... satisfying their sexual ‘needs’ came to the conclusion that... uh... damn. There really was no polite and correct way to say that they found their calling as ‘pleasure mares’, was there?

I don’t know what to feel about this. They basically admitted they wanted, out of their own free will, to be prostitutes for the rest of their lives because they liked it. I mean, sure, there were quite a few people willing to do that on Earth, but... that was different. It wasn’t... ugh... I don’t know. It wasn’t right, it felt wrong to me that they felt so fearful to let go of that past because it was the only thing they ever knew how to do.

Arachne was trying to come up with reasons why they shouldn’t make that decision so hastily, but... it got increasingly harder to get a word in as those mares started a make-out session with each other because they found their ‘passion’ in life. At one point she fled the scene entirely before she got dragged into the massive pile of wrong, nervously hiding with Amore because she had been this close to throwing caution out of the window.

Suffice to say, Amore figured out why Arachne fled to him after the little orgy involving mares ceased to be little and began to include stallions as well.

That night was... awkward. Very. Awkward.

It wasn’t helped by our stomach protesting at us that we should be eating a lot more than the ‘pitiful’ low amount of sexual energy we had harvested from about a dozen or so ponies before the whole group therapy session had even started. I don’t know whether that was because we were a queen and simply required more energy or if there was some other reason, but it was becoming increasingly more unpleasant, feeling like I was about to starve.

Still... I had to force myself through this, even the part where I had to let go of those harvested emotions to fill up jars with honey to feed my brood with. I don’t want my larvae to starve because I was too selfish with hoarding emotions to myself. We have already been cutting back on the magic usage since it was too much of a waste to convert emotions into mana. I could live with the bare minimum for now which equaled to about(-ish) the amount of having sex once per day, the rest would be reserved for the little ones. I might need a little bit more depending on how much energy I burn laying the eggs, though.

I hope we find a suitable spot to settle down soon. There was no telling how far that horn of Amore wanted us to go. We had enough food for about... three weeks, I think. We might need to scavenge the wilderness for more if we don’t end up where his horn wants us to be by then.

At least I wasn’t laying eggs yet, that would make this even harder on us. I don’t think I will start to in the next few days as I had feared I might, based on what Arachne told me about bees. That nuptial flight of ours might just last longer than we had initially thought since I was still in the ‘harvest sperm and emotions’ phase, which was easily satisfied with so many willing and pent-up stallions. It’s like they had never been allowed to have sex (a true atrocity, I know)... which might actually be the case, now that I think about it.

For now, though... rest sounded simply divine. We had been walking for the whole day and I could use the relaxation of secretly snuggling up to Amore as he slept. I blame the cold of the night, he was nice and warm. While the nights weren’t unbearably hot yet, I would milk this for all that it was worth and sleep right next to him on the little blanket he insisted was enough for him so that the foals could have his tent for themselves.

It was cute of him... but that changed nothing about me having to leech warmth from him, so I was still miffed at him. Amore could have at least kept the damn cushion, couldn’t he? He and his damn bleeding heart. Seriously? Damn him. He will serve as my cushion and comforter in that case.

And I was totally not reading into things as he started hugging me back, nuzzling his cheek against mine as he slept. Yep. Totally not.

Damnit, why must he be so... frustrating.

Stallions... I’ll never understand ‘em.

Chapter 006 - A glorious "thing"...

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I hate Amore. I truly, utterly, totally despise the guy. I hate his gentle smile, I hate his perfect gait, I hate his not-quite pink mane, I hate the tantalizing dick he won’t let me at, and I hate hating him for... being him. But above all else, I hate that damn fucking toothpick of a horn on his forehead. Fuck that thing, seriously.

I shivered again, snuggling myself deeper into the layers upon layers of linen I had wrapped myself up in. I hate it. I hate that horn. I hate the damn friggin’ freezing cold. I hate the fucking mountain. And I hate that damn cart connected to the asshole with the horn on his skull that had led us to this suns-forsaken place. My body was too numb and stiff to move properly so he just... dumped me in his cart and told me not to worry about the added weight that he had to pull, leaving me to watch the caravan behind us follow him single-file.

Asshole. Stickhead. Dick.

I hate him. I truly, utterly, totally despise him. He and his caring nature, the subtle insult about my weight, the forty or so jars full of honey keeping me company... that toothpick of a horn on his forehead. The fucking bumpy mountain path. I hate it all.

Why can’t we... I don’t know... go around the mountain instead? But no, we just had to go over the damn fucking mountain range because it was 'faster'. Faster my perfect buggy ass, I don’t care that ponies had it easier with the cold than me, I want to go around that damn mountain, dickhead. Fuck you and that damn charming smile that makes my heart flutter every time it was directed at me and only me, I hate you. I fucking hate you, hate you, hate you! Your damn perfect dick wasn't worth freezing to death over.

...okay, maybe it was, but still! Go make love to a bumpy cactus, Amore.

“You’re still mad, aren’t you?” I heard him call back and I hissed quietly back at him from underneath the fluffy covers. “I’m sorry, Ara. It’s only going to be like this for another day, after that we will be back in a nice, warm, wide and open plain again, I promise.”

I hissed back at him once more, not at all placated by his words. He had said the same thing yesterday (and the day before that), promising me we were going to make it past the mountain pass if we kept going at a good pace. Look how that turned out, dummy. Surprise, surprise, I’ll have to suffer through this wretched cold for another day (and probably another one after that... for the next week, most likely). Great! Perfect! I'm brimming with joy here, dickhead!

I swear, if he won’t make it up to me for this, I’ll... I don’t know, dye his hair a bright neon pink color. A neon pink that will glow in the dark. I’m sure Arachne and Shadra could figure out how to mix up a color like that.

At least I could feast my eyes on this delightful scenery... not that it got boring after a few hours of only being able to watch it pass by, I suppose. It was all crystal-y and blindingly white and... cold. So very cold. I wanted to do nothing more than go back to the camp and snuggle myself up to the nice big bonfire that would keep me warm and cozy and just stay there forever instead of this... miserable icy coldness. It would certainly keep me warmer than these blankets ever could, even though they shielded me from the biting wind quite nicely.

I can’t survive another day like this. I’m a bug, bugs don’t do cold. I wanna go back to where it was nice and warm and comfy. Back to where the mares weren’t giggling at how ‘cute’ I looked, buried underneath a pile of blankets. Back to where I could let stallion after stallion at my snatch and fuck a pretty little mare at the same time (or another stallion~). Back to where I didn’t have to worry about...

My musings were put to an abrupt end as I felt a pull towards the strongest and richest honey-like flavor I have ever tasted with my emotional senses. My wings buzzed eagerly as I crawled through the sea of blankets on top of me until I faced the direction where I felt that mesmerizing pulse come from. It was like it was calling out to me, promising me nirvana on... whatever this world was called, nopony could actually tell me without giving me vastly different names (almost all of them hastily made up on the spot, at that).

I had half a mind to declare it to be Dirt as a joke and call it a day. Thing is, ponies kinda have that nasty tendency to keep things like they are and I'd rather not end up becoming the idiot that named the planet 'Dirt'.

Earth could keep its dumb name, thank you very much.

Anyway, enough of that. There were far more important things to concentrate on in favor of the name of the planet. Like honey. And sex, but mainly honey!

I popped my head sluggishly out from my less than warm temporary home, squinting into the distance of the mountain half made of crystals. “You noticed that, too, right?”

“Yes,” Amore nodded, turning his head to give me a bright smile. His toothpick was glowing even brighter than ever before. “I know where I need to go, Ara! I feel it!”

“So... that means no nice, wide and open, warm plains by noon tomorrow, huh?” I grumbled, shivering from the frigid winds biting into my exposed chitin without mercy. “I swear... I’ll shave you bald for this.”

“What was that?” Amore asked, yelling over the wind and the sounds it made as it passed between the quite massive crystals surrounding us in every direction. If it wasn’t so effing cold, I could have appreciated the tinkling melody a lot more, to be honest. As it was, I was too distracted to actually care, diving back into my fluffy blanket fort to keep what little warmth I had to myself.

Whatever that pulse was, it wasn’t worth going out into the freezing cold for. Definitely a hundred percent not worth it. Let Amore go and follow that damn stick on his head to who knows where, I wasn’t in the mood to freeze to death to find out the answer behind this little mystery. I don’t care. Not a single fucking bit.

Okay, okay! Maybe, just maybe, I did care a teensy tiny little bit, but what can I say? Just a brief taste of it felt like it would sate me for a whole week. Two if I stretched it (or even three, maybe). It depends entirely on how active I am and how much honey I make, really.

Thankfully, I had minions that could do the job for me. Aka ‘Prince’ Amore. He didn’t like it when I called him like that, so I kept doing it. I even got the other ponies into doing it behind his back (for now), he can’t keep denying it for the rest of time! Mwahahaha!

I’m not going to do the paperwork, I swear.

Besides, it’s his just punishment for dragging me onto this damn mountain. We had been rationing our food for a week now and I’ve spent my time as an icicle grumbling about the cold, mourning the two jars of changeling honey I had to eat in favor of not starving to death because... cold mountain equals no sex for Araneae, Arachne, and (sometimes) Shadra.

Speaking of Shadra and Arachne, they were in their own ‘hibernation’ for most of the time. The cold just... drains a lot out of us. None of us stayed ‘awake’ for long, falling more or less into a type of stasis that was actually closer to sleeping than retreating back into the hive mind. It also served as a great way to skip time since we had absolutely nothing to do aside from freezing our flanks off. Even the hive mind was crazy cold at the moment, it was a total nightmare for us.

Amore took a team of about five ponies with him, one a pegasus mare that had decided to come with us instead of going back to her hometown (something about family problems if I remember correctly), two unicorns, and lastly, two earthponies. The pegasus mare, I think her name was Gentle Breeze, had been doing her best to scout ahead whenever the weather allowed it up here in the mountains, so it was putting my mind (somewhat) at ease that they wouldn’t suddenly get lost in a rogue snowstorm coming out of nowhere. And, let’s be honest here, the two earthponies that went with Amore were only there to be the muscle to clear out a path to wherever that horn of his was leading him towards.

I doubt anypony was willingly living out here in this nightmarishly beautiful landscape that was entirely too cold to be beautiful, so I was admittedly quite curious to find out what it was that had created that emotional energy. It couldn’t have been a wild animal, their emotions had a distinct quality to them that differentiated them from ponies enough that I could rule that possibility out from the get-go.

That pulse, though... it felt like an amplified version of that honey-like flavor from Amore, which was... kinda confusing, to be honest. It had the exact same rich flavor, only... richer, if that makes any sense. And it had exactly the same amount of perfectly balanced sweetness in it that I knew from Amore’s emotions towards me, only... it was more bountiful? Definitely more fulfilling, I have to say. This rich honey-like feeling was perhaps even better than pure lust if I was honest with myself... if only it didn't have that slightly addicting alcoholic feeling to it, I wasn't really a fan of that, preferring to be sober instead of being intoxicated beyond the ability to reason. I was in no hurry to find out where my tolerance limit for such things lay, almost certain I wouldn't like the answer to that.

Not to mention, I'd rather not embarrass myself needlessly with my drunken behavior. I was theatric enough as it is, I don't need to add on to that with moronic drunken slurs I would be unable to remember come the next morning.

Besides, I'm pretty sure nothing could ever top the sheer gloriousness that was lust, even this 'honey on crack'. If anything, I'd say it's a close second at best, perhaps a tie for first place if one really stretched it. To be honest, it's really difficult to judge. Lust is just the best, there's no arguing against that.

Anyway, the rest of the caravan was thankfully so kind to set up a few campfires here and there and a larger bonfire since we wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. We had made a little bit of progress today, but nowhere near enough what we could have achieved had the mystery pulse of mysteriousness not happened.

I gratefully accepted a hot mug of... well, water since everything else would be wasted on me... carefully sipping from it lest I burn myself as I sat as close as I possibly could to the only source of heat in this beautifully not beautiful place. It was kinda cute, listening in to the mothers as they told a few adventurous tales to their foals while others were carefully feeding the little ones that were born not that long ago now, and before I knew it, even I found myself slowly drifting off to sleep as I cocooned myself in my pile of blankets a ‘safe’ distance away from the open fire.

Instead of the hive mind or the black oblivion of hibernation, I found myself... I don’t really know if it was a dream, to be honest. It had the perfect clarity that I’ve come to associate with the hive mind, but the sort of surreality of dreams I could vaguely remember people talking about on Earth.

<“Shadra?”> I asked, uncertainly. <“Arachne? Are you two here?”>

No answer came, neither from the hive mind nor from... wherever here actually was. This place was actually quite similar to the snowy mountain I've gone to sleep on, just... more crystal-y and less mountain-y. And no snow, thankfully.

I guess this was a ‘Just-Me’ type of dream, then? It made me feel... kind of really lonely. I got so used to having my Princesses around me, it felt so incredibly alien to not feel their presence at all, even if they were just sleeping.

To be honest, it felt downright terrifying, even. It was like two-thirds of me were just... gone... and I wanted... no, I needed to have my Princesses there with me so that I could simply feel like me. With them absent like this, I felt hollow. Empty. Afraid. As if my soul wasn’t entirely there.

I suppose that was an accurate description, wasn’t it? Shadra and Arachne were literally pieces of our soul and without them, I wouldn’t be whole. We were all pieces of a greater whole, each one holding a part of the others that, when missing, wouldn’t be complete.

It was only a dream, right? No need to panic. There was no way this little fear... this nagging thought in the back of my mind... meant that the piece that mostly made up the ‘Araneae’ part of ourselves was currently ripped out of our body.

I had to believe that this was just a simple dream, the alternative... I didn’t even want to consider what that basically implied. I had to believe that this... anomaly... didn’t mean Arachne and Shadra had to continue on without me, without so much as an explanation as to what happened to me. I had to.

This was just... paranoia. Simple, plain, ordinary paranoia. My mind was conjuring up things that were in no way true, I told that to myself adamantly, even as the feeling of unease refused to go away completely.

This was a dream, I stubbornly clung to that belief, not some... whatever else this could be. My ‘being’ was still within my body and not ripped out of it like I feared. It’s just... a very normal dream. Yep. Totally...

Besides... it wasn’t like this ‘dream’ was all that unpleasant from the looks of it, so I tried to believe my own words and dismiss it as just that. A dream and nothing more.

It still felt like I was about to be devoured by a nightmare that was by no means ordinary, though. The feeling persisted with a subtle sense of terror hidden underneath a layer of invisible shadows if that made any sense.

I tried to ignore the unease and just focus on everything else. Like the... temperature, for example. It was a big enough distraction to keep my mind away from the sheer wrongness around me as I, for once, didn’t feel the icy chill of the mountain air bite into my chitin. It was a nice little reprieve from the harshness of the waking world and the half-frozen likeness of the hive mind, mercilessly threatening to freeze me solid any moment from now.

I could actually make the best of this little ‘dream’ of mine while it lasted... even if I hoped I would wake up as soon as possible, back in our body where I belonged. Until that happened, though, I could keep myself busy doing... something... anything, really.

...yeah, no. I had absolutely no friggin’ idea about what I could even do in a world made of crystals on my lonesome. How bothersome.

I mean... if all else failed me, I could always masturbate, right? Not that I particularly enjoyed the thought of masturbating all alone with no one to watch me, only having my hooves to tease my body with instead of having someling else molest me to their heart’s content (and mine, for that matter). And, to be honest, using magic for that purpose didn’t really feel quite as good as one might be tempted to believe. In my opinion, it simply lacked that... physical... aspect, something I needed to have in order to get myself anywhere near climax.

...I really wish Arachne and Shadra were here with me right now.

Sighing, I looked forlornly down to the ground underneath my hooves and began to contemplate what I could do to pass the time. The 'floor' I was standing on was made entirely out of one massive crystal that reflected my image back at me almost as clearly as a mirror would have done back on Earth. It kind of had a futuristic magical fantasy vibe going on and I could swear it had a soft inner glow coming from deep within, it was hard to put into words.

The answer to my boredom was the very thing I was staring at, I found out.

The crystal-y ground underneath me made the faintest tinkling sound every time I moved around on it, sort of like a xylophone. While it wasn’t as loud as the clopping sounds of my hooves, it was just loud enough to hear it every so often in addition to the sounds of my movements.

The sound was kind of nice, actually. So much so that I was fooling around for a while making 'music' with it (not that I would call it that, of all things) until I realized that this was going to be the only time I would really get to enjoy hearing it, souring my mood slightly in sadness. While the crystals on the mountain were of massive proportions, I don’t think we could recreate this type of flooring with them (without it looking like a cobbled-together mess, that is). It truly was a shame...

Alas, the dream didn't stay quite so peaceful for very long. Before I knew it, I felt the calm and still air around me stir, a light breeze running through my silky mane. At first, I didn't think much of it, but then another unexpected thing happened...

“Protect the heart,” a ‘genderless’ voice reminiscent of the sound the crystals made echoed all around me in whispered urgency, nearly causing my heart to leap straight out of my chest as I was thoroughly startled.

It was neither feminine nor masculine, that much was for certain. It wasn't even really androgynous like my own mixed voice was, simply lacking any 'mortal' characteristic, altogether. If anything, the crystal wind chime quality had an almost divine and unblemished quality to it. Simply hearing it was something my mortal mind struggled with 'understanding' as if it wasn't meant to be physically heard.

It was like their 'language' was a higher form of communication which they had to specifically adapt to a more baser form for me to even recognize the words they said.

And it was ominous as all heck, to boot. I felt like a small, insignificant ant in their presence and I had no doubt that's exactly what I was in comparison to them. Just what kind of being have I managed to gain the attention of? Were they a friend or a foe? Or something else entirely?

Just when I thought nothing could surprise me anymore in this weird, magic pony land, this shit had to happen. Nervously, I turned around in order to find out from where exactly that voice had come from. “H-hello?” I asked as I failed to find the one that had spoken up so suddenly and mysteriously (not that I expected to be able to perceive their presence as a simple, three-dimensional being, to begin with).

My wings began to buzz in agitation and fear as the terror from earlier returned in full force. I felt so very small and fragile at that moment, all I really wanted was for Arachne to hold me in her arms while Shadra kept all of the monsters away from me so that I could feel safe again.

Whatever that voice was, I had no idea what to make out of it, whether or not I could trust them and why they would seek me of all 'lings out and not somepony else. I didn’t even know what they meant by ‘protect the heart’, confusing me to no end. From how they worded that ‘request’ (it sounded more like a polite order than anything else, really), it seemed to me like they didn’t mean an ordinary heart or even the feelings of somepony else (though I was not entirely certain about that last part).

Instead of receiving an answer, I felt the wind begin to pick up and I shivered not only from the cool air but also because of the haunted chime coming from the crystals around me as the air currents cut through the gaps between most of them.

Nervous, I began to frantically canter forward as I desperately hoped I would escape this nightmare and wake up as soon as possible. I didn’t like this. Not one bit. I almost thought I had imagined that weird voice, were it not for the echo that strangely persisted even after it should have long since faded into nothingness. It was like someone was trying too hard to sound ominous, forgetting to add the fading effect of an echo. Which did kind of make it sound a lot more frightening if I was honest with myself. Sort of like the maddened whispers of an old god...

I really, really hoped that wasn't what I caught the attention of.

“Protect... chosen from... make the... their home, Weaver of Fate,” it returned, sounding like whoever it was that the voice belonged to stood directly behind me while they seemingly struggled with 'translating' their words. "The umbrum and their kin... be trusted, do not... fool you, Child of Fate. Be vigilant... not alone."

I whirled around with a startled whinny, finding no one there. My heart was pounding painfully fast in my chest, I noticed even as I had trouble thinking clearly with it hammering away in my ears. The wind wasn't making it any easier on me, trying to hear them clearly. The things I did catch, though, managed to make me feel even more lost than I already was. The umbrum? Weaver of Fate? The chosen? “W-what do you mean?! Which chosen? What... err... Where are you? And who are you..? Please, I have no idea what's going on! I don't know what to do, I'm not the kind of person you should be telling this!”

No answer came aside from the wailing sounds of the icy wind and the thunderous drum of rushing blood in my ears. What did happen, though, was the darkening of the crystals all around me and the bubbly tar-like substance springing forth from underneath me, ensnaring me in its grip.

Next up, a misty haze of shadows and fog began to form in the near distance, and out of this miasma came nightmarish silhouettes of ponies creeping out. And if that wasn't bad enough already, they didn't look quite... solid. These 'ponies'... or umbrum, I assumed... were entirely made out of smoke. It was almost like they were ghosts, even.

And, as I desperately tried to free myself out of the tar-like substance, whimpering in fear as each and every one of them turned their eerie empty white gaze on me in an almost coordinated move. As they stared at me like a fly trapped in a sticky trap, I could feel the sheer malevolence they exuded, bearing down on me like a crushing wave of murderous intent.

I shifted back and forth nervously, trying to find a way out of this precarious situation as they slowly began to stalk their way towards me, only to come up short for an escape. I let out a tiny sob, shrinking in on myself as I noticed how even the skies were roiling with nothing but evil intentions.

Up above, high in the sky, black stormy clouds churned with translucent blue apparitions whinnying eagerly with hatred and malice. And they were ready to unleash the frozen wrath contained within those clouds down upon my head.

All of my worst fears made manifest. The dark. The cold. No way to escape. And being exposed to nightmarish monsters all around me. Beings against which I was totally and utterly powerless against.

Above all else, I felt frightened. Afraid. Scared for my life. Utterly terrified. Sniffling with tears of despair.

And I hated feeling like this. Out in the waking world, I could hide behind a mask. Here, I had nothing, not even the strong regal image to inspire confidence in others and myself. Here? Here I was nothing more than a frightened shell of myself, missing vital pieces of myself that gave me the strength to topple even tyrants.

I was a nobody.

“Do not... Weaver,” the voice returned, a warmth in its distant tone that I was sorely in need of, in more ways than one. Whoever that was, it seemed that they were my only ally in this nightmarish vision. I just hoped they would get me out of here before these things decided to attack me for real. My limbs were already starting to go stiff again as the cold seeped back into them and the shadowy smoke monsters in pony form got ever closer to me while the ghosts up above whinnied impatiently. Any time now, I thought, swallowing thickly. Please, just let me wake up, I beg you! “Trust in... for you... not alone. The... awaits... and with it, salvation. Fill... hearts of... with love and... shall keep you... from... eternal cold. The forces of... shall not... I promise.”

“I-I-I don’t understand! These things can't be real, right?!” I cried out, breathing in shakily. My heart hammered against my chest in terror as these... things... were almost in pouncing range and I didn’t want to find out what would happen to me were they to attack me here in this weird 'semi-real' place. Nothing about this made any sense to me, least of all these weird creatures. There was no way that the voice could expect me... us... to fight these things, we didn’t even know how! I doubt even Shadra could come up with something to fight against beings that were, for all intents and purposes, bloody ghosts! “Please! Just return me to our body, I beg you! I-I don’t know what to do, p-please...”

“Protect... chosen, Weaver! Remember! You... not alone! Be vigilant and... against encroaching... Fill the hearts of... subjects with... and... dream of... become... bastion... hope... world needs,” the voice tried to warn me in an urgent rush, sounding even more distant with each word that got through to me over the stormy gale-force-like winds. I screwed my eyes shut in fear as the umbrum in front of me pounced, at last. After a moment of nothing happening to me, I hesitantly opened them back up again, only to find myself in a pile of cuddles with the usual mares and stallions.

I let out a shaky sigh, trying to get my breathing back under control from that massive scare of having something like... that... pounce towards me. It was the most terrifying thing I have ever seen and that’s saying a lot with Tobias’ memories floating around in our head. Tiredly, I glanced up at the embers floating away from the bonfire, still going strong even after the suns had long since dipped down below the horizon, giving way for the night.

It was only a dream, after all. Thank the twin suns, it was only a dream. A scary dream, sure, but a dream nonetheless. I was safe and sound. There were no monsters here that were out to get me tonight, just... a nightmare scaring me half to death.

Still, my heart was hammering away in my chest while my wings rapidly let out erratic chirps as if my life depended on it (thankfully quiet enough to not disturb anypony in their rest). Something told me that this was most certainly not a simple dream (or even a nightmare, for that matter) and the feeling of terror wouldn’t leave me alone even after I reassured myself that nothing was going to happen.

I feared I would wake up the sleeping mares and stallions around me any time now with how much I was shivering (and not only because of the cold wind). Never have I felt so vulnerable in my life, the terror of it keeping me wide awake and alert. Each and every little sound was enough to make me think one of those umbrum was about to jump at me from behind a crystal and attack me.

The presence of Arachne and Shadra in the back of my mind was a reassuring one, at least. Even if they were in hibernation, it gave me back some of my own strength. Slowly, my wings quieted down as I took comfort in the fact that my Princesses were still here with me. We were still whole, that's all that mattered.

Once I felt like I wouldn't immediately jump out of my chitin upon hearing so much as a snore, I noticed that some ponies were still awake at this late hour, tending to the fires, and, much to my relief, looking out for any predators that might have tried their luck. We have had a few close encounters with opportunistic ‘big cats’ in the past (Arachne wasn’t entirely sure what to classify them as seeing that they appeared like cheetahs only... made out of snow and ice), trying to snag themselves somepony sleeping on their lonesome. Had it not been for Mr. Hulk (or Quartzite Rock as he was actually called) and some of the other stallions that stayed awake to keep watch, I fear we would have already lost somepony to those.

Thankfully, the losses so far were limited to 'just' a few limbs, but it was better to be careful nonetheless. In comparison to those umbrum from my dream, though? ‘Regular’ corporeal predators seemed almost harmless, to be honest. Whoever that voice was, I had to trust its words because if that wasn’t ‘just a dream’... if those things were actually real... if they were actually out there somewhere... we might be in far worse danger than we could ever comprehend.

“Is Amore still not back yet?” I quietly asked Serene Orchard (or Mrs. Hulk, the wife of the aforementioned stallion), feeling concern rise in my chest. Since the nightmare was still fresh in my mind, I was afraid that they might have come across something of a more sinister nature than simple predators. While I had confidence in Amore to hold his own in a fight... I was afraid he and his team might not fare so well against incorporeal beings like the umbrum.

How does one fight against something that they couldn’t harm in a conventional way? A being that was as much darkness as it was smoke, probably highly resistant to magic to boot, a veritable ghost... I was at a loss about how we could ever defend ourselves against that. None of the magical combat knowledge I ‘acquired’ was effective against something that didn’t even have a body, so to speak. A shield might work (and that's already a far stretch to assume, let's be real here), but for how long would it last against them? We couldn’t keep one up indefinitely, we needed to find a way to deal with a threat like that, preferably sooner rather than later.

If I am right about this and I've connected the dots just right, the voice from my dream must have told me to fill the hearts of my subjects with love and protect the 'chosen ones' (as ridiculous as that sounded). They couldn’t be talking about the same thing, could they? But... in which way were these ponies the chosen ones and for what reason? What could they do that I couldn’t that would prove to be effective in keeping the umbrum at bay? And, for that matter, how could I even fill their hearts with love when I was currently freezing my flanks off?

The big earthpony mare turned towards me as I gained her attention and I saw her shake her head, silently telling me that the idiot was still out there in the middle of nowhere with his little team of explorers. That only managed to worsen my anxiety, making my wings buzz fearfully.

I don’t want to lose Amore... I... I don’t want to lose another friend like... I don’t want to lose him, I can’t.

“Not yet, Your Majesty,” she responded with a gentle motherly whisper. She and her husband had been the ones that had taken it upon themselves to tend to the bonfires each night despite Amore offering to do that so that they could get a good night’s rest, instead. Sometimes, Amore could be perhaps a bit too selfless at times, I thought in concern (and quite a lot of admiration).

It did manage to make me go weak around the knees every time I saw him act like that, though, and I aspired to be just like him in that regard (even if I might grumble here and there about having to sacrifice a bit of comfort so that others had it a little bit better).

Being nice, I noticed, was a lot harder than simply reverting to some of my meaner tendencies. I couldn't just take whatever I wanted and not care about what others thought of me, the thought alone made me feel queasy. In the end, it was well worth the effort, though. It definitely was worth every little smile I received from everypony around me for simply being nice to them.

And, I suppose, I wouldn’t say no to the resulting emotions my own actions evoked, either. I kinda needed those to survive, after all.

Which brought me back to Amore. That idiot would literally do anything to see somepony smile, even if it brought him discomfort. I don’t know if I could embarrass myself on purpose just to hear a foal laugh at my misery. Although... if it were my own, I suppose I wouldn’t be entirely opposed to the idea, now would I?

But... then again? I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t ever really get to know the answer to that question. My kind wasn’t exactly... well, I don’t actually know, but from what we know of honey bees (and most other insects that go through metamorphosis, for that matter), it wasn’t that far of a stretch to assume that the larvae of changelings would skip the ‘foalhood’ stage entirely as they pupate to maturity.

That made me all kinds of sad, just thinking about it. I would easily become the mother of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, and never really get to know what it would feel like to see them grow up from foalhood. That’s perhaps the only thing that actually made me jealous of other (regular) pony mares.

That also had me think about one other thing, too. I suppose I wouldn’t ever know for sure which specific stallion my larvae belonged to, who actually sired them. Not that I particularly cared to know about who the sperm came from, but... if I were to ever find that special somepony, I... I couldn’t tell them which one was ‘theirs’, so to speak.

I still held out hope Amore might feel something for me and... I didn’t want to hurt him like that if it ever became a reality. I... I cared way too much about him to do something like that to him. He was pretty big about true love and all that nonsense, he would no doubt want to become a father himself, one day. I couldn’t give him that, as much as I wanted to. Not if I didn’t find a way to make sure that it was his sperm that fertilized my eggs.

Damn it, now I was getting all depressed over a stallion I was certain didn’t see me like that. Again. I just... couldn’t stop thinking about him. After all, how could I? He was... perfect. If a bit dense. And prudish.

The thing, though, was that it hurt like hell, unrequited love. Shadra and Arachne... all three of us were so very infatuated with him and he never even once showed any romantic interest in us. Perhaps it was time that I let go of that little thought of finding a soul mate in him, it just... wasn’t going to happen. I wasn’t good enough for him, I should accept that and move on. Even if it was going to be the most difficult thing in the world.

That didn’t mean that I would stop seeing him as my best friend, though. That, I could never do. Already, I knew that this little ‘endeavor’ of mine wasn’t going to happen anytime soon (if ever). My heart simply... refused... to let go of that little chance that things might just change enough for him to actually start noticing me like that.

To be honest, it actually scared me more to let go of this love we held for him than not ever having him love me back. Perhaps that was just the angst in me speaking, though, who knows? I certainly couldn’t stand the thought of him hurting in any way, it was downright terrifying to me.

He was the strongest pony that I knew (after Shadra, I guess), but... something like that mattered little to beings like the umbrum. Even if he was able to fight against them with his magic, he wasn’t an archmage with nigh limitless power. Even if he could raise the suns himself, I would worry for his safety.

Alone, we would lose, together, we stand strong. I never thought I would think like that, but here I was. And I honestly and wholeheartedly believed those words with my entire being, now that I knew the sheer power of... love and friendship, as ridiculous as that sounded in my mind.

“I hope nothing has happened to them...” I sighed, fidgeting anxiously in the cuddly little pony pile. Even asleep they radiated contentment, something I was all too happy to nibble on. When I was nervous, I noticed, I tended to eat the emotion that was closest to me (even the negative ones if I was sufficiently distracted).

“You do not have to worry, Your Majesty,” Orchard said, a mischievous glint in her orange-red eyes. I could feel the sheer confidence in her words and I didn’t even need to ‘sense’ that to know she meant it. If only I could take her words to heart... “The pegasus mare that went with your prince requested some additional help moving some crystals away from the entrance to a cave they found higher up in the mountain range.”

“Please, none of that formality. I’d like to consider you one of my friends, Serene,” I said quietly, fidgeting awkwardly as one of the mares next to me nuzzled me in their sleep. “I take it that you guys have sent out a team to help, then?”

“Quartz went out with one of the unicorns and a pegasus, they should be back soon,” she answered with a forlorn hum, turning her eyes back on where they were probably going to return from. “You can rest some more if you want, dear. I know how much the cold gets to you and your... ahem... 'companions'. I do miss having some quality time with Arachne, she and Quartz are the only ones that manage to hit all the right spots. Oh, who am I telling this? I'm sure you know what I mean quite well yourself, not many ponies get as tall as we are, after all. Not to mention,"—she licked her lips hungrily while most certainly not looking me in the eyes as she did so, if you know what I mean—" that rod of yours is an absolute delight to feel~.”

“Sometimes I wonder how Quartzite puts up with you..." I muttered only to hear her giggle in return. I swear, that mare was perhaps a bit too friendly with my Princess at times.

"He is a very stoic stallion, isn't he? Not so much when he hammers that monster of his into me~," she said, an odd glint in her eyes. "You should take up my offer for a threesome sometime, My Queen. I do wonder whether or not you are as good as Arachne with that spear of yours~."

"M-maybe some other time," I gulped shakily, fidgeting slightly as I felt an entirely different kind of heat run through me, the flames of the bonfire and the body warmth of the ponies sleeping next to me unable to compare to it. "I just want to get off of this damn mountain first. The cold doesn't really make this comfortable on my... sensitive bits, you know?"

"A shame, truly," she nodded, not in the slightest saddened by my refusal. Orchard did make her first name proud in that regard, I haven't ever seen her not be the motherly matron around everypony (perverted comments notwithstanding). "Try to get your rest while you can, My Queen. I’ll hold vigil and wake you when they return, I promise."

"Right, that sounds like a good idea. Thank you, Orchard, for being such a good friend," I said in a low whisper, snuggling myself a little bit deeper into the warm cuddle pile. "I'm sure... "—a loud-ish yawn escaped my lips despite my best efforts to keep it at bay.—"I'm sure that you can... catch up... with Arachne soon."

I’m glad that nothing bad has happened, so far. That definitely would have had me even more on edge than I already was because of that damn dream. Vision. Premonition. Heck, it might actually be a prophecy, who knows. My paranoia was acting up enough as it was from the occasional attack on our herd by predators, I didn’t need more to worry about on top of that.

Something told me I wouldn’t be quite as fortunate as I hoped I would be. That vision of the smoky monsters in pony form was ominous as heck. Perhaps it was exactly that, a vision of what was to come. I certainly wasn’t going to simply dismiss it as nothing more than a bad dream, not while knowing that this world was absolutely drenched with magic that could do who-knows-what if it could raise and lower celestial bodies like it was nothing.

Maybe the voice was right, after all. Maybe love was the answer to all of our problems. What if it was actually able to fight back something that was so... wraith-like? Just because I didn’t know of a spell that could hurt a spirit, it doesn’t mean that there was nothing at all that could do so. After all, Disney sure made it look like love was the magical equivalent of a nuke, able to defeat even the worst villain. If a spiky-haired kid could defeat beings of pure darkness with an oversized key of all things, then I’m sure we could figure something out ourselves.

I’m not going to fail anypony else, that I swear. I couldn’t. Not after... n-not after...

“You don't have to worry, My Queen,” she said, smiling reassuringly as she no doubt noticed my pitiful attempts to go back to sleep. “Your prince will be back as soon as the suns grace the sky once more.”

"He isn't 'my' prince, Orchard," I sighed sadly as tears threatened to come to my eyes. “I don’t deserve your ‘reverence’. Much less so that of everypony else. Not after... not after I failed Leaf like that. I don’t even deserve to be friends with Amore. None of you should be calling me your Queen, I'm just a failure in every sense of the word and nothing more.”

“Stop that line of thought right there, Your Majesty. You did not fail anypony, least of all that poor girl of yours. Don’t you dare think like that ever again, dear,” she stated firmly and I wilted ever so slightly at the admonishing look she gave me. Somehow (and I don't even know how) it felt a lot worse than the taste of her disappointment in me. “If anything, we were the ones that failed you, so please, don’t put the blame solely on yourself like that. We all believe in you, there ain't nopony here that would think any differently. And, if there is just one pony here that ‘deserves’ Prince Amore, it’s you. Trust me, it’s plain to see how much you adore him, he would be a right fool to not notice that. You have your heart in the right place, My Queen. Otherwise, none of us would have followed you out of our own free will.”

“If you say so...” I mumbled, leaning my head back against the chest of the stallion next to me in order to go back to sleep for real (and this time, hopefully without prophetic nightmares). “I hope I’m worthy of that much trust...”

Serene Orchard didn’t respond to my little bout of self-doubt, probably having overheard me mutter that to myself. She did start to quietly sing a lullaby after noticing that I was (still) struggling with going back to sleep, soothing me perhaps just as much as the fruity taste of the emotions she directed my way.

It had been somewhat of a surprise to see everypony so willingly help feed me like that, I still couldn't wrap my head around it. I had been completely unprepared to find out that the emotions they 'gave' me grew progressively more bountiful the more our friendships continued to grow. I never thought the day would come where I actually had so many... friends. It was honestly a little bit weird to me to find so much acceptance here. Nopony thought I was trying to deceive them by simply wanting to be their friend (and/or their 'companion' for a night of lust-filled passion). Not to mention, I didn’t feel like I had to ‘steal’ emotions from them like some kind of leech. Instead, they voluntarily gave them to me and all I really had to do was to have my ‘mouth’ open, so to speak.

Although, as I sadly had to find out, 'passively feeding' wasn’t quite as fulfilling as feeding on stronger emotions that I had to actively evoke in another pony, but it did help. Without having everypony help me out so much, I probably would have had to open more than the two jars of honey during the time we've been on this damn mountain.

I have to say, though, lust was still my favorite emotion to consume, which was kinda a shame, all things considered. I didn't have many opportunities to feed on lust at the moment, only getting to indulge myself here and there when somepony had a rather... 'intense'... dream. In comparison to other emotions, lust just had the perfect mix of sweetness and heartiness. Happiness was all nice and good, but... I don’t think I was all that much of a sweet tooth, to be honest. Not to the degree that it would be the only thing I would ever want to eat, I mean. I liked it when it was just the right amount and lust was simply better in that regard. Besides, there’s no way I would ever miss out on the sex.

And, oh boy, ponies were a lot more open with that than humans had ever been. There were exceptions, of course... looking at you there, Amore... the majority were more than fine with sharing their partners in a herding type of style relationship (Orchard being a prime example of that mentality, I suppose).

Most herds consisted of about-ish three to four ponies and were predominantly in favor of one gender over the other. Not that that meant there was a lack of stallions or mares to go around. It was simply due to compatibility issues most of the time and some ponies simply preferred a more 'casual' style of relationship from what I have observed.

Those that do commit to a more lasting type of relationship usually consist of one stallion and three mares, a mare and multiple stallions (Orchard does continuously rope at least one other stallion into their nightly fun-time, trying to find 'the one' that clicks with her and Quartzite Rock), or all mares and no stallion. The opposite is also very much true, seeing that there were plenty of gay and bisexual stallions around. Although, to be fair, the 'exclusively' gay and lesbian herds were more of a rarity since not everypony in such a polyamorous relationship needed to be together with everypony else in the herd. Some were a mix of 'Vee-type' of relationships (a relationship where one pony is the so-called 'hinge' while their other partners weren't involved with each other romantically/sexually) while others were a full triad or quad. I think there was even a herd consisting of multiple vees, forming a complex web of relationships that somehow worked better than any other relationship in our little community.

I guess communication and trust really did work wonders. And the fact jealousy was next to nonexistent with ponies.

That was one thing that made herding a lot more 'open', really. The fact that everypony in it was (more or less) in an equal relationship with everypony else meant that there was next to no jealousy involved. Heck, some herds don't find compatible partners for years (even those that were trying to form a vee) from what Orchard has told me of them. It was honestly mind-boggling.

Those that do find the right ponies usually stay together for life, which was even more mind-boggling to me. While I do have my commitment issues, the thought of growing old next to my loved ones was a very enticing one, indeed. If only Amore wasn't so stubborn...

There were very few ponies that preferred a monogamous relationship, chief among them the unicorns (ironic, really, considering what being a 'unicorn' means in polyamory).

On that note, I would have thought homosexuality was less of a thing during times like these, but earthponies seemed to not have that much of a problem with it in comparison to the unicorns. Generally, unicorns were kinda the uptight idiots (and prudish to boot... looking at you there, Amore...). As far as I have noticed, it's more or less the norm with them, which really was a shame. Amore was still struggling with the idea that there was nothing wrong with being attracted to the same gender and I can’t even blame him that much, what with his upbringing.

You know, I think the nobles were actually the problem here, not the unicorns in general. Everypony just followed their example because they didn’t want to earn their ire. Doing so was incredibly dangerous, especially when they held so much power over the populace. Hopefully, that might change with Queen Gold Bar. I was pretty sure she was into Swirly Star (I could be wrong though... but so far, my gaydar hasn’t really disappointed me in that regard).

Anyway, Amore was still a dick for denying he liked dick. I can see it in his eyes, every once in a while. I even caught him taking a peek at some of the gay couples (the ones that were exclusively gay and not 'just' bisexual, I should say), he was totally curious about it. All of his life, he had only ever known the concept of ‘wife and husband’ and that's it. Now that we were mostly among earthponies, he realized that there was so much more to polyamory than monogamy.

There wasn’t a single stallion that was still single (in the sense that they don’t have casual sex with others, I guess), Amore was kinda the outlier in that regard. He was still holding out hope to find his fairy tale princess, something that I had given up on since... well... I wasn’t going to follow that depressing train of thought any further than I had to. I didn’t want to lose another pony like that so I was content with keeping it to ‘fuck everything that wants to fuck’ and stick with Arachne and Shadra as my romantic lovers. Way less heartache (and disappointment) that way.

Still... Amore kept giving me that frown whenever I used sex as a way to forget about Leaf. And that weird honey-like flavor never really went away, either, so I was pretty sure it was nothing more than friendship that he was feeling towards me. There was no jealousy or anything, so it could only be that. It was a little bit disappointing, for a while I had hoped it might mean something despite being pretty sure that it didn’t.

It could actually just be affection, now that I was thinking about it. I don’t think that pulse of pure honey was simply friendship, I doubt friendship could be that potent even in its purest form. It was incredibly confusing to figure out this conundrum and I basically had no guarantee that I was right with my assumptions other than learning from experience.

Well... I might as well try to help Amore find himself a nice stallion and/or a nice mare. Maybe he was actually open to the idea of a herd, as abysmally small as that chance seemed to be. I was (about) a hundred percent certain he was at least bisexual and was just denying it, perhaps even outright gay, so it’s probably going to end up being a stallion in the end. The question, though, was what type of stallion he would be into. I don’t think he would go for the bulky, brawny Mr. Hulk type of pony and most of the stallions here were probably still too muscular for him.

This was a difficult problem to find a solution for, wasn't it? He clearly showed an interest in the anatomical part that made a stallion 'male', but... he seemed set in his way of searching for a mare, instead. I don’t know what it was about me that he didn’t find interesting in that regard, he didn’t even show any reaction to my pheromones, it was... perplexing. Downright confusing. A mystery with no rational explanation.

One would think a mare with a dick would totally be his type since he seemed so enthralled by a penis and was clearly into somepony feminine, but here I was and he simply ignored me! It wasn’t because I was buggy, he assured me that he had no problems with that, so... what else could it be? Me sleeping around? I doubt it, he would have said something by now and he held absolutely no jealousy towards other mares and stallions having their way with me.

He can’t be asexual, can he? I mean, he definitely can’t be. The dolt was for sure at least bisexual since he was clearly affected by other stallions and mares, he just hid it quite well from everypony. Except for me, that is (he could never truly hide something like that from me, it was quite literally impossible for him to do so). I knew he felt lust, he just... never seemed to act on it for some inexplicable reason.

Was he aromantic, then? Did he simply lack a desire for a relationship? But that didn't make any sense, either. He was pretty insistent on finding the ideal special somepony that only existed in his own stupid, impossible fantasy. True love my ass, nopony was fated to be in love with one specific pony in the whole universe. If he wasn't aromantic, either... what was it then?

I rolled around grumpily in the pile of ponies, trying to find another position to sleep in because my damn mind wouldn’t slow down for a single minute. I want to know, damnit. Amore simply refused to make sense to me and it irked me to no end. He didn’t hate me, he didn’t love me, he can’t just have friend-zoned me, could he? But... why?

Was it the multiple personality thing? Does he think I’m already taken by... well, by Shadra and Arachne? No. No, that doesn’t make any sense, either. Or... hmm, maybe...

What if he was already in love with somepony? He doesn’t react to my pheromones, like... at all. There must be a reason for that, right? Was he actually secretly in love with his best friend and didn’t want to admit it?

Was I... simply not good enough? I... could understand that. I didn’t really make for great relationship material, that much was true. I guess I was right, after all. I didn’t deserve Amore and I never will. Orchard must be mistaken, it was as simple as that.

In the end, I couldn’t give him what he truly wanted. I wasn’t the pure maiden he fantasized so much over, I was... I was anything but that. I was the temptress that pretended to be good and selfishly took every emotion she could get, all the while pretending that she was in no way a parasite. Who could ever truly love someling like me aside from myself? I don’t blame Amore for not giving me that chance. I didn’t deserve it in the first place, anyway. I never deserved it. And I will never deserve it, despite everything I might try to earn it. Never.

I let out a saddened huff and yawned stiffly, giving up on sleep entirely. Might as well just wait for their return and find out what it was that created that pulse earlier today. No need to mull over something that would only inevitably make me cry.

Ugh. I hate snow, it's too damn cold. And I hate the fucking wind with its icy cold, biting chill. The damn mountain, too, for that matter. It makes me all depressed and stuff. I couldn’t even distract myself with copious amounts of sex. Not that that would do me any good, guilt-wise. These thoughts would always return, there was no escaping them. Alas, I was too much of a coward to talk with Arachne about my problems, let her help me through this. I didn’t want her poking at me like that, it would only serve to make things awkward between us, I was certain of that.

Besides, a little bit of guilt and self-doubt has never killed anyone, right? Right..? I-I... fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. <Arachne? A-are you awake?>

<Yes, My Queen,> she murmured back sleepily, clearly having lied her flanks off right then and there despite knowing how much I hated that. It made me feel marginally bad that I woke her from her slumber, but... I really needed a shoulder to cry on right now, lest I fall even deeper into this pit of depression. B-before I did something irreversibly stupid. <What is... are you crying? Hey...>

I whispered, wiping a tear away stiffly. I hate the damn cold. I hate feeling miserable. And above all else, I hate being in love with Amore. It brought naught but hurt to my heart and I fucking hate it that I still craved feeling it so much. Stupid Amore and his dumb, unreachable, totally not realistic ideals and shit.

Fuck him and his perfect, charming smile. He can go fuck himself, that dickhead. At least then he would have found his perfect match, asshole.

I wasn't really one to talk, considering... well... At least I was honest with my feelings. Not that that helped me a lot, pushing him further and further away from me. That was probably the reason why he didn't give me the time of day, wasn't it? I was too open and unashamed of my own feelings, it probably scared him off.

He was used to this stupid monogamous expectation of marrying the love of his life while I renounced everything that put a shackle on my freedom of choice. I was the last thing he wanted in a partner, too wild and depraved to make a 'perfect' wife, and yet... if it was for him? If he would, at last, recognize and reciprocate my feelings for him? I would shackle myself down and promise all of myself to him and only him.

As long as I could still have my precious Princesses be in on it, that is. There's no way I was giving up on that, they were literally a part of me as I was of them. I couldn't ever not love them with all of my heart (and body~).

<It's alright, Ari,> Arachne said, gently pulling me into the hive mind with her. “Whatever it is, I’m sure we can work through this. I’m here for you, always.”

That was the only thing I really needed to hear from her in order to just start blabbering, telling her everything I have been bottling up because I didn’t want to deal with it, and all the while, she listened patiently and told me what I needed to hear most.

Yes, I have been a bitch, and no, I wasn’t a bad pony. Changeling. Whatever.

All three of us haven’t exactly been dealing with our grief in the correct way, much less had we ever (properly) addressed our guilt over not having been there fast enough to save Leaf. Yes, we have unintentionally been hurting Amore with our behavior, not because we were sleeping around like a whore (I mean... probably that as well, I guess), but because we used it as a way to ignore our feelings to avoid hurting, not confiding in him and letting him help us like he seemed to want to do.

Perhaps the thing I needed to hear most was her telling me that I was being a stupid head when I admitted to her that I thought we didn’t deserve Amore. She was of the same opinion as Orchard (no wonder there), reassuring me that being ‘deserving’ of someone wasn’t a thing I should have to worry about.

“We aren’t irredeemable, Ari. All I can say to you is to always try to be better. That was what we told ourselves in the Realm of Death, wasn’t it?” Arachne said, brushing a hoof slowly and comfortingly through my mane. “It’s okay to take baby steps, Araneae. Noling expects you to be perfect the next day. Or the week after that, or the year after. We will struggle, quite a lot even, but what counts is that we make an effort. If we just give up and waste away, though? Then nothing we do and have done matters anymore and that's something neither of us can live with. Don't throw everything away because you're feeling down right now, my love.

“You fear that we aren’t good enough for Amore, but that’s the thing... you don’t have to be. There’s no such thing as being undeserving of someone's love, it’s their decision to give it to you, after all. Besides, love isn’t something that happens from one day to another. Heck, it even took us more than a few decades sifting through our memories to stop holding a grudge against Tabetha over what happened that day in the Harvard Laboratory. We can do better, we have proven that to ourselves already. We aren’t who we were back then, and that is a massive step forward. Not only for Shadra and I, but for you as well, Ari.

“And if there is just one single thing everypony else is right about, it's that it wasn’t only our fault that Leaf died. It wasn’t us that plunged that blade into her chest. I won’t deny that we aren’t at least a little bit at fault for letting Leaf take part in the revolution, we did let her help, even lead, despite what we told her about how bloody it would get. But... we didn’t fail her as much as we think we did. We did the best we could, there was nothing we could have done that would have saved her life, in the end. At least, nothing that we were aware of that we could have done. The only thing that matters is that we were there for her in her last moments, don't ever forget that.

“Look at the outcome and not the ‘What could have been’. We are still alive and as well as we could be at the moment. Had we done something differently... we don’t know just how much things could have changed in that case. After all, we can't predict the future, only make plans and hope for the best outcome. Things might have turned out even worse had we not gone and freed the ponies from the dungeon. All of these earthponies, unicorns, and the pegasi with us wouldn’t be here without us, without Amore, and without what Leaf had accomplished during the revolution.

“And trust me when I say this, Ari: I believe in you. You are doing admirably, don’t try to change yourself to be something you are not only because you want to impress someone else. If there is somepony out there that will love us, they will do so for who we are with all of our faults, not what we pretend to be. Nopony is truly perfect and I’m sure Amore will realize that at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later. And if he doesn’t like our habit of sleeping around? Well... I'm tempted to say fuck him, but that's the thing about compromises. He is free to address that once he comes around to the idea that there has been someling right underneath his muzzle that wanted nothing more than to be that special ‘ling for him.

“Relationships are all about making compromises and talking things out when there is something bothering you. A good relationship needs communication, Ari. Both ways. And I don't just mean making flirty comments and hope he gets the point, you have to make it obvious to him that you are being serious about this.

"And... if it does work out and he agrees to give this a try on the condition of wanting you solely to himself, then that will be something we can work on together. Whether he wants all of us or just a part of us, well... we will come to that question when it actually becomes relevant. The important thing is that you are both happy.”

“I’m not giving you up for him,” I muttered hoarsely, clinging on to her for dear life. I don’t care if it is degenerate, narcissistic, depraved, and whatever else one could describe this as... Shadra and Arachne are the only ‘lings that will ever truly understand me and love me for who I am, I’m not going to allow anypony to dictate if I could love them or not. Without them... I’m only a third of the Queen I could be. I wouldn’t be whole without them. The dream only further reinforced that belief in me.

“I’m glad to hear you say that, My Queen,” Arachne smiled down at me, planting her lips against mine softly for a short but sweet moment. “I wouldn’t ever want to give you or Shadra up, either. Who would I molest then?”

I rolled my eyes with a smile on my own muzzle before letting out a tiny yelp as she pushed me over backward, trapping me underneath her with a wide smirk on her muzzle. Her purple eyes stared mischievously down at me as I squirmed around, clearly smelling her pheromones thickly in the air, evoking a tingling sensation in my lower region.

“You’re cute when you aren’t in control, you know that?” Arachne whispered, a hoof of hers caressing the side of my head almost reverently. My muzzle brightened considerably at that, unable to utter a single word out in denial. “Seeing you squirm underneath me... it’s such a stark contrast to the strong regal image you hide behind most of the time. I love seeing this side of you, My Queen... I’m the only one that ever gets to see it and it turns me on so much...”

While it was all nice and such being in full control of the situation with any stallion (or mare) out in the waking world, there was a certain... allure... to being at the mercy of someling you love. To have them do with you whatever they wanted while you were completely powerless, helpless even, to fight back for control. I wanted her to ravish me right this instant, make me forget about all the bad things in the world, but... instead, she toyed with me, not giving me anything that I wanted. It was as frustrating as it was turning me on, driving me absolutely wild before she had even done anything to me.

“Does My Queen wish for relief?” Arachne giggled to herself and I could see an almost malicious glee enter her eyes as I silently begged her to stop teasing me. I felt one of her hind legs graze my flank ever so slightly and I let out a (totally not) pathetic whine, but sadly, my Princess wasn’t so easily swayed. If anything, it spurred her on even more to torture me like this. “It’s been a while since both of us have been awake while the hive hasn’t been completely covered in ice, huh? You must be feeling so pent up, you poor thing. All of this unrequited lust, unable to enjoy a proper ride~. It must drive you crazy...”

“Arachne, p-please,” I whimpered, unable to deny her words for what they were. Pure. Temptation. “I had a bad nightmare, won’t you make me feel better?”

“A nightmare?” she asked, giving me a confused glance. I let out a frustrated huff as her curiosity got the better of her, our little thing completely forgotten in favor of learning more. This 'ling, I swear. She has the libido of a nymphomaniac succubus but her thirst for knowledge was somehow more powerful? Utterly ridiculous. “Why didn’t you say something? Ari, this is important, we haven’t had a single dream since reincarnating! What was it about?”

“I don’t know, it happened after that pulse of pure honey-like emotions,” I answered, fidgeting restlessly. For some reason, her giddiness to learn more was turning me on even further, leaving me even more frustrated over not getting any kind of satisfaction anytime soon. It was nice to see her so concerned for my well-being, though. “There was a voice that... well, 'talked'... about protecting the chosen ones and it referred to us as the Weaver of Fate, if you can believe it. That's kinda presumptuous, isn’t it?”

“I don’t think it meant us, Ari,” Arachne said and I gave her a confused look. It clearly did, who else could it have been talking about? “I think it meant... you.”

“What?” I said, dumbfounded. “That makes absolutely no sense, whatsoever. It was telling us to keep the chosen ones safe and fill the hearts of our subjects with love. There was also something about not trusting the umbrum because they are pathological liars or something. Look, I don't know, okay? Everything was kinda happening a bit fast and I was surrounded by these damn scary things and I was terrified beyond belief and I couldn't really hear a lot of what the voice tried to tell me since they tried to 'dumb their language down' and the wind was howling in my ears while my heart kept hammering away in my chest because I was all alone in this scary fucking nightmare vision, trapped in this really disgusting goop coming out of everything, and... and..."—I let out a whimper, screwing my eyes shut—" I really don’t want to show you what they looked like! Trust me, these umbrum monsters look like they crawled straight out of hell.”

“Ari...” Arachne mumbled, stroking my head comfortingly while giving me a sad hum. Hesitantly, I opened my eyes back up only to find her looking at me with pity. “You are the one that gave all of these ponies their freedom back. It wasn’t me that instigated the revolution. It wasn’t Shadra that freed Gold Bar, Swirly Star, and Amore. It wasn’t us that liquified all of those locks in the dungeon beneath that city and brought down those despicable monsters for doing the bidding of a selfish mad king. That was all you. You changed the fate of so many ponies just by trying to do the right thing. Shadra and I were your moral support only, really. Making smart comments when needed and generally offering you some assistance and guidance when you needed to make a decision you were already going to make, anyway.”

“But...” I started, only for her to cut me off with a kiss. I tried to get a word in, but the flippy feeling in my stomach made it all but impossible to voice out anything that wasn’t a happy, content sigh.

“I told you...” Arachne smiled, breaking the kiss reluctantly. “Each and every one of those ponies wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. You are the most bravest being for going above and beyond to see those around you safe. That's all you. Not me, or Shadra, or anypony else you could shift the credit of your own actions off to. You constantly challenge your own fears time after time and inspire others to do so as well. Leaf would tell you the same thing, I’m certain of that. As would Amore and you know it. Being brave doesn’t mean being fearless, My Queen. I’m sure you know that, you silly bug, you.”

“It still feels like... like I could have done something more,” I mumbled, looking away from her in shame. My Princess wasn’t having any of that, though, turning my head back around so that I was forced to look up at her. The fire burning in her eyes... it was awe-inspiring, there was no better way to describe it.

“You never failed anypony by trying to do the right thing, Ari. Trust me when I say that, my love,” she insisted while squeezing my cheeks lightly in between her forelegs, her voice full of conviction. That, too, was simply awe-inspiring, I have to say. Her sheer devotion to me was something else, alright. “Circumstances beyond our abilities to influence might have caused some... pretty bad things... but that doesn’t mean everything was your fault. You can’t do everything perfectly, nopony can, so... you don’t have to feel so bad when something doesn’t work out exactly as you wanted it to. I think it’s about time for us to move on, don’t you think? We have been beating ourselves up about this far too much for far too long, Leaf wouldn’t like to see us like this... this pathetic pile of misery. Let’s just focus on what we can do instead of what we failed to do, okay? Always try your best, Ari.”

“Okay...” I nodded, a hesitant smile forming on my muzzle. I really do need to start listening, don't I? All of this guilt wasn’t healthy. Intellectually, I knew that, but... that's the thing, isn't it? I couldn't control my emotions, as much as I liked to pretend otherwise. I couldn't tell my heart to stop beating just like I couldn't turn off my own emotions. It was simply impossible.

What I could do, though, is to accept my feelings for what they are and work from there. They were irrational and I shouldn't cling on to them. I needed to let go and move on.

I could and should still grieve Leaf’s loss, that much was right and the correct thing to do, but... there was a limit to how far I should take it. I shouldn’t be grieving to the degree that I blame myself solely for everything that happened, I would only end up destroying myself in the process of doing so. My Princess was right. I can’t expect myself to be perfect, mistakes were all but guaranteed to happen, no matter what. I should always strive to be better than I was and do everything to the best of my ability. I owe it not only to Leaf but to myself as well...

I was a Queen now, not only to my hive but also to these ponies, whether I wanted it or not. I couldn’t let them down by destroying myself over something I had little to no influence over. And if that voice was right about what was to come... I couldn’t allow myself to fall to my own doubts, I need to be strong for my ponies.

I had to be stronger than ever. I couldn’t lock up in fear like I did in my vision. I wasn’t a nobody. I was better than that. I was Queen Araneae, and I would prove it to the world that I was worthy of that title. That I was worthy of the trust my subjects placed in me.

And I wouldn’t let some lowly apparitions dictate otherwise. That, I swear.

...even though they were really damn scary, to be honest. But now that I knew what was coming, I could hopefully prepare myself and my ponies for the day all of our lives would depend on.

“Great,” Arachne chirped happily. “I don’t quite remember if I’m doing this psychology thing correctly, but what I do know is that talking to someling is always a good thing to start off with. Don’t bottle your feelings and thoughts up, My Queen.”

“I’ll try to,” I said, looking ‘down’. I swallowed thickly as I was very much reminded that my Princess had me trapped underneath her and that I could (if I wanted to) reach out to the plate covering the object of my desires that occupied most of my thoughts about eighty percent of the time.

“Well, that’s really as much as I can ask of you,” she shrugged. “Now, what was that a-a-about... Ngh~... S-such a naughty ‘ling you are. Are you that desperate for...”

“Shut up, Arachne,” I breathed and licked my lips while slowly stroking the plate that hid her dick from me, trying to coax her little one out. “I’ll tell you all about that a-after... after I’ve had my fill...”

“Mhh,” Arachne let out a cute moan, but my efforts were interrupted before I could so much as touch her emerging penis with my hooves. Said hooves were now restrained above my head by a thick thread of her changeling silk. “Can’t have you be a grabby, misbehaving little slut now, can we?”

“Says the right one,” I muttered, only to realize too late that she was giving me that sadistic gleam again. I saw her lick her protruding fangs in preparation and blanched, struggling futilely in my bonds as I tried to free myself before she decided I didn’t need to be able to move. “I’m a good slut! I’m a good slut! Please! Don’t... don’t paralyze me...”

“Aww, you do have manners,” Arachne giggled with a wickedly fanged smile, rewarding me with a small head pat. I would have pouted at her for that demeaning display of affection, but I’d rather not test my luck with her when I was this close to having my brain fucked out. Her cock was certainly throbbing eagerly, I doubt she would be able to keep her hooves to herself for much longer only so that she could keep riling me up further. “I do love myself an obedient slut~.”

“Yes, I’m a very obedient slut!” I nodded eagerly, eying the tip of that tantalizing dick while I felt my own twitch impatiently to my erratic heartbeat. “And a slut gets fucked, right? Please, Arachne! I need it so damn much! I need to feel you inside me, please!”

“Hmm,” she hummed, pretending to think while clearly gleeful of my helplessness. “I don’t know~. Maybe I should wake Shadra up, let her eat me out while you are unable to do anything but watch...”

I felt my heart stop beating for a few moments as I detected absolutely no falsehoods in her words. She couldn’t... my faithful Princess wouldn’t be that cruel to me, right? She can’t just... “Please, Arachne, I’ll... I’ll do anything, just don’t leave me hanging like this. Please...”

“Anything~?” she smirked and I felt dread build up in my stomach as I saw that mad gleam in her eyes. I bit my lip, fearful of what she would ask of me if I were to nod my head. But one look at that spear of hers and I found myself reluctantly nodding, my desire... my need... overwhelming my decision-making in favor of satisfying my painfully throbbing arousal. My nethers were pulsing so much, it was hard to think of anything else but sex. “So... if I were to ask you to transform into an inanimate object, like... say, a dildo for example... you would let me do whatever I want with you?”

“A... dildo?” I asked, blinking stupefied. “That’s what you would ask of me for you to make love to me?”

“That’s all I would ask,” she replied while she grinned like the Cheshire Cat. “Do we have a deal, My Queen?”

“I...” I hesitated, trying to think of a downside of the request she made, only to come up short for an answer. Heck, I’d probably enjoy whatever she would do with me, there was literally nothing speaking against it for me. But I knew she had something degenerate in mind and I wanted to know what it was that had her so giddy over the prospect of using me like that. I would find out eventually, so... “Alright, Arachne. I’ll grant you that wish in return for your promise that you will stop teasing me so much and fuck me into the blissful state I’m craving so much right now. When do you want me to transform into that dildo?”

“Mhh, I’ll come back to you about that later,” Arachne answered, cutting my restraints away with a satisfied purr. A quick flash of fire later and I was suddenly the smaller one of the two of us, her appearance replaced by that of a similar likeness to Amore, only in the image of my Princess as a pony (and most certainly as a stallion nopony could compete with, if you catch my drift~). “Now, get those flanks up into the air like a good little slut, hm?”

“F-fuck, I love you so much, do you know that?” I moaned back, my heart doing eager flips at the thought of having a big strong stallion on top of me. I wiggled around underneath my now bigger-in-every-sense lover until I was back on my hooves and in the correct position to lift my backside up to give her... or him, rather~... easier access to my dripping wet snatch. I let out a shuddering breath as Arachne grabbed my shoulders a little bit forcefully and gave out a quiet moan as I felt that wonderfully thick, veiny pony dick of his brush against the underside of mine in a little teasing motion before he moved his rear back again, lining up his rod perfectly with the entrance of my pussy.

Arachne kept himself at my entrance for a moment, and, before I could say anything to my now faithful Prince, his muzzle captured one of my ears right as he plunged himself into me with an eager buzz from his still buggy wings. The swift motion almost caused my hind legs to give out as they felt incredibly weak after such a sudden spike of pleasure, but I held firm and forced myself to keep standing despite being stuffed full with his considerable girth, trying (and failing miserably) to get used to being stretched open so wide.

Oh, damn... I felt every little pulse of blood and twitch of his monster cock so vividly, I feared his dick would imprint on my walls for eternity. And I loved every moment of it. There truly was nothing that could ever compare to this, I thought dreamily. All I wanted was for him to stay there until I passed out in bliss. I wanted him to fill me up with his creamy white pony cum until my snatch burst in a veritable cascade of our sinful lust-filled love-making.

My moan could best be described as a cry of desperation as I lost myself in this little fantasy of mine, whining needily for my desired drug to be delivered to me like the crazy cum addict that I was.

Arachne’s muzzle quirked up into a cocky smirk as he clearly noticed the effect he just had on me. He tugged my head slightly back with him as he slowly retreated from the depths of my marehood, deliberately twitching that divine rod of his in me while giving my ear small little loving licks every time I made so much as a single sound.

Right as he neared the entrance of my pussy again, my faithful Prince buzzed his wings strongly once and had me moaning quite heavily, making him chuckle in amusement before he pushed his dick back into me while giving my ear another, slightly harsher tug.

Arachne held himself tightly against me, letting me breathe in and out while I acclimatized myself to the feeling of being spread open by his gloriously thick tool, the tip inside of me almost felt like it was expanding and deflating to the heartbeat of my faithful Prince, but I knew that was only due to him deliberately twitching his cock deep within me so as to make me sing even louder for him. My own wings were definitely showing their approval.

Like before, he retreated slowly back from my depths, twitching his dick beautifully at even intervals, almost sending stars through my vision once he was back at the entrance. Arachne was making that pony cock vibrate in the most wonderful ways by buzzing his wings fiercely for a short moment and nothing... nopony could ever compare to my faithful Prince and he knew it. Oh, he most definitely knew it...

Again, it only took him the blink of an eye to get back to the point where he hilted himself as deep within me as he could possibly get. I murmured back some happy noises as he moved his flanks a little bit so that the base of his thick rod stimulated the entrance of my marehood while also simultaneously twitching his tip inside of me, giving my ear some much-needed love as well. Then, he decided to switch things up a bit, withdrawing in one swift motion, making me feel like my insides were suddenly sucked up into the Void as all I knew was emptiness.

That feeling of hollowness was quickly forgotten, though. Arachne let out a groan as he vibrated his cock right at the entrance with the use of his wings, having me go cross-eyed in no time as I felt like I was going to orgasm any moment from now due to the buzzing alone. But my faithful Prince knew that it would take a bit more than that and he was in no mood to get this over with anytime soon.

Instead of trying to push me over the edge as soon as possible by pounding me into oblivion like a mad bull, Arachne gently moved his cock back into me at a slow pace, forgoing the rapid movements entirely for now. It felt a lot more intimate that way, in my opinion. It was less about focusing on the end goal of reaching an earth-shattering orgasm and more about the motions and feelings themselves. My faithful Prince gave me ample opportunity to feel every little twitch of happiness and love from him as he no doubt felt every part of me as he moved his pony cock back through my wet canal.

I don’t know what it was about this, but this was exactly what I needed right now. While I absolutely loved the lust-filled craze of needy wanton sex, this was something else entirely. It was more heartfelt and reassuring in its very nature. In the most straightforward of terms, it was a plain and simple gesture filled with nothing but care for my very being.

I felt loved by Arachne and I wanted to reciprocate that sentiment as much as I could, stuffed with dick as I was. So, I tugged my ear out of his grasp and turned my head just enough to give my faithful Prince an admittedly sloppy kiss, mewling out against him as he slowly began to rock us both back and forth, increasing the pace ever so slightly.

My eyes found his more pony-like purple ones, and, with one last push, I felt him press himself as deeply as he could into me while giving me a bright smile, softly pecking the side of my lips with his.

It was his own personal love letter of appreciation and care, putting every little bit of emotion into that small gesture that he could. That tiny kiss alone lit that spark of love into a veritable inferno within me, rekindling my feelings for him and Shadra all over again. They were the only beings that truly mattered to me, and without them, I could no longer exist. Truly, my own love for them was boundless in all the ways that mattered.

My love was my passion and they were the heart binding it all together. If this was a sin, I just found a new virtue. Everything I do shall reflect the blazing passion of our soul, this I swear.

Weaver of Fate or not, there was nothing that could dissuade me from this course. I am a being of lust and love at my core, nothing can change that. Not even my grief and self-doubt.

Before long, my faithful (and very handsome) Prince withdrew himself from me at a slow pace (for Arachne, that is) before he reversed the direction of his momentum and held himself against me again, his lips meeting mine for a brief kiss once more. He repeated the same process again and again like a pendulum swinging back and forth, slowly but surely wearing me down with each heavy thrust back in, with each little buzz of his wings, with every single time he twitched that glorious cock deep within my love canal, until, at last, my quivering body was wrecked thoroughly by heavy orgasmic shudders of pure bliss.

The orgasm took all of my remaining strength away from me as my hind legs gave out underneath me, dragging Arachne down with me. My faithful Prince was also shuddering with his own orgasm as his dick began to fill me up with shot after shot of hot, creamy white pony cum.

And as Arachne tried to retreat from my body with some small amount of clumsiness, the movements he made with the flared tip of his pony cock in my sensitive marehood almost sent me straight into unconsciousness, setting me off again and again because my snatch kept trying its best to keep him stuck within me (it was only semi-successful with that, sadly).

Once he was finally free from my clutches, Arachne rolled me gently onto my side, a hoof coming around to embrace me as he laid down beside me on the cold ground of the hive and I lazily gazed into those mischievous purple eyes of his, not even trying to calm my shuddering body down from the sheer orgasmic delight, content to ride out this heavenly feeling for all that it was worth. My faithful Prince was slowly trailing the tip of his hoof over my chitin while curiously studying me with those mystifying, innocent eyes, not saying a word as he let me enjoy this moment as much as I wanted. I didn’t see any of that gleeful evilness of teasing me in them anymore, but I was sure it would be back as soon as I had to make good on my promise.

I just knew Arachne was going to do something with me that would be unpleasant to go through, but I had next to no idea what that would be. I was a bit fearful of turning into something that was inanimate, afraid of how it would feel like. It would probably leave me numb all over and I was a bit terrified of being unable to do anything, but... I was also admittedly curious.

Would I become completely senseless? Would I even be able to survive such a transformation? The hive mind was a good indicator of what we could do in the waking world with our magic, so I could at least try and find out if it was at all possible to survive a transformation like that. We knew we could transform into vastly different life forms, the occasional experiment made sure of that, but... I had not yet attempted something on this scale.

I mean, I could test it out with a partial transformation, right? A limb was the perfect test object for this purpose, it wouldn’t actually cripple me out in the waking world if I were to do it in the hive mind.

'Death', as we had found out, was not permanent in the hive mind. It simply reset after about twelve hours of dreamless sleep (and I'd rather not explain how we found that out, thank you very much). It did leave us in a rather weakened state afterward, though. So much so, even, that every thought felt sluggish for another twelve hours, making us think twice before doing stupid shit (not that that ever stopped us from experimenting in order to satisfy our curiosity).

A bit apprehensive, I held a hoof up in front of me, drawing the attention of my faithful Prince at the same time. Here goes, I guess. This would either land on the list of ‘dumb things I’ve done since reincarnating’ or it would be a success and I wouldn’t have to fear this whole ‘transforming into inanimate objects’ thing so much.

I took a deep breath and screwed my eyes shut while letting my changeling flames consume my unfortunate limb, focusing on turning it into one of those old dial phones where you had to turn the little disk around in order to call someone. I felt Arachne shift against me as he no doubt watched with fascination as my hoof was replaced by a telephone of all things and any and all sensations I previously had in my hoof were suddenly muted. Not to the degree that I felt like I had just lost my limb entirely but... it was weird, to say the least. Majorly weird.

“That looks utterly ridiculous,” I muttered as I opened my eyes to take in the damage. It looked exactly as I wanted it to, but... well, it was attached to my leg (duh). It had the classic glossy red finish and the curly black cord connecting the main body and the handset with each other. I gave the thing a little shake and was a bit surprised that it was practically glued together, completely unfunctional.

I guess it was to be expected, wasn't it? I didn’t actually focus on making it be usable, something that would take me quite a while to figure out how to make it work exactly as it was intended to. There probably were some memories floating around somewhere in our collective self about how a telephone works in a purely technical way.

That's assuming we could shapeshift in such a way that we could actually make it work like that. Our little ability to transform into anything we desired wasn't as simple as we made it out to be, there was much more to it than met the eye at first glance. It wasn't just a physical transformation that we did, as my hoof currently served as 'living' proof.

On top of that, physically changing into something that was actually mechanically complex would require more focus than I think even Arachne could muster. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure it would burn through our reserves in no time. Keeping a transformation like that active for any length of time was not going to be feasible on so many levels, it's not even funny.

Alas, as it stands, unless we figure out a way to make it work without requiring a supercomputer as a secondary brain, it's going to be impossible.

As far as we understand it right now, the way how our transformations work is a matter of knowledge, energy, and concentration. Take one away and it changes just about everything. The simpler something was, for example, the less we needed to concentrate on keeping our disguise upright. The cost of energy got exponentially higher the more complex the knowledge of the desired form was, and thus, it became increasingly more difficult for us to concentrate on other things in addition to the transformation.

It was relatively easy to transform into a cat because I only needed to know about the basic shape of one and how I wanted the fur and eyes to look. My changeling magic would fill in the rest for me from memory alone, allowing me to keep the disguise up for as long as I wanted without impairing my ability to do other things at the same time (aside from the lack of unicorn magic to levitate things around with, that is).

As long as I have seen something up close before, I could turn into it. Granted, that only worked for surface-level transformations, but in most cases, that was everything we actually needed. It wouldn't hold up to the scrutiny of a veterinarian, just like my little phone-hoof wouldn't hold up to anyone that knew what it was supposed to be and how it should work.

Any transformation that was even the slightest bit more complex than 'I wanna be that', I needed to know everything. And I mean absolutely everything. In the case of my cute (and very disturbing) hoof-phone, I needed to be aware of the circuitry within it, every little part that could move, the speaker as well as the receiver, and... well, the housing, of course. I don’t even want to know what kind of nightmare it would be to change into something that was a lot more complex than an old dial phone, technology-wise.

I’m pretty sure we would never be able to transform into a computer that actually works, with the monitor and all included. And if that was already as good as impossible to accomplish, anything that had integrated microprocessors within them would be well out of reach, as well.

Speaking of difficult transformations, I doubt I would be able to transform into an actual dragon any time soon (one that was massive and could breathe fire and whatnot) since I had absolutely no grasp of the actual biology involved to make that type of thing work. Not only that, but I’m sure it would require just as much energy as transforming into a computer would if I want to make myself indistinguishable from a real fire-breathing dragon.

For that matter, any kind of mythological creature that had unique magic of their own would make shapeshifting into a perfect replica difficult. The only race I could perfectly imitate were unicorns, but... well... I was part unicorn, wasn’t I? I might figure out earthpony strength soon since the majority of the ponies I was staying with were earthponies. Pegasus magic was another thing entirely, I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that they could stand on friggin’ clouds and do all kinds of shenanigans with them.

Anyway, most of this was more or less conjecture for now until I had more information available, but... I think I was on the right track with this line of thought. It seemed logical in a weird magical kind of way. We were (quite possibly) the only race that was capable of imitating the ‘unique’ racial magic of other pony tribes with our changeling magic, something that I seriously doubt any other race could replicate. It was the ultimate cheat-like ability we ended up with, wasn’t it? Such versatile magic... I wonder where the limits of it were (if it had any, that is). Aside from the mana requirements, we could literally do anything we wanted as long as we put in the effort to learn how.

This type of magic... in the wrong hooves, it could spell doom for the rest of the world, couldn’t it? Already I knew of a dozen ways to cause a lot of chaos with it, it would be for the best to keep the exact capabilities of our race a secret. I’d rather not let anypony use us for nefarious purposes.

I was glad those unicorns had not captured me and imprisoned us like so many others, at one point they would have gotten wind of the ridiculous usefulness that was changeling magic. And they would have found out about it no matter what as soon as they got the idea that I could have ‘provided’ them with an army of ‘slaves’ that could infiltrate anyone they set their eyes upon.

Without Leaf... that might have become my reality. I... my hive would have... I should stop that train of thought before it led me further down a spiral to crazy, I’d rather not get stuck in possibilities and questions of ‘What could have been’ again. Only madness was to be found at the end of that road.

“It does look ridiculous on the end of your hoof, but... what did you expect, My Queen?” Arachne chuckled, putting an end to my musings, thankfully. I would rather not linger on such dark thoughts. “I’m curious why you did this, though.”

“Uh...” I responded oh-so-eloquently, reverting the ‘hoof’ back to normal after I got tired of him poking it. “To find out if we could transform into inanimate objects?”

“Of course, we can,” Arachne said, looking at me like I was dumb (I'm not, don't listen to anything my Princesses might say). “Otherwise I wouldn’t have requested it. I did some experimenting with... ahem, ‘clothing’... together with Shadra and found out we could go all the way if we wanted to. We had a bit of fun playing hide and seek changeling style.”

“Hide and seek... changeling style?” I asked, a little bit surprised. I wouldn’t have expected Shadra of all ‘lings to go along with that (or for Arachne to be that playful). I was kinda... sad I missed it. I’m sure it must have been fun trying to figure out what was out of place.

“Uh-huh!” Arachne nodded, smirking mischievously. “I rewarded Shadra with oral sex for finding me.”

“Of course you did,” I rolled my eyes with a smile, already having suspected that they turned a little children’s game into something lewd.

“So, what was it that you said about those smoke monsters and chosen ones?” Arachne asked and I grimaced as I buried myself deeper in his black fur. Even the mere mention of them made my heart thunder fearfully in my chest, remembering the image of one of these abominations pouncing towards me while I was surrounded by their brethren on all sides. “I’m worried, Ari. That pulse you talked about and this nightmare have to be connected, and if magic is involved? You know what that means, right?”

“I do,” I nodded while I took comfort in his deep, powerful voice, biting my lip nervously. “Things will get even worse, won’t they? I don’t know what to do, my faithful... uhm, Prince?"—I looked up at him, finding no objection to being referred to with male conforming words and pronouns while he was disguised like this, so I continued on without issue.—" Those umbrum... they were like smoke and shadows, I could feel the sheer malice suffocate me just by being close to them.”

“Maybe we should wake Shadra up, she might have an idea about what we could do in order to fight against them,” Arachne proposed, getting up from the cold ground (and taking my comfy pillow with it). It was as good an idea as any, I suppose. And besides, Shadra deserved to be involved in this just as much as any of us. A quick burst of flame returned Arachne to her glorious buggy form and I gave her a hesitant nod, stretching my limbs out while I was at it. I saw her smile back at me reassuringly and felt immediately better about doing this despite my reservations. “Let’s hope the little diva won’t cry like a little baby for being awoken from her beauty sleep, then.”

“She isn’t that bad,” I pointed out but was met with a deadpan look from my faithful Princess as she proved me wrong pretty much instantly. I sighed, listening to the multitudes of curses directed our way as my beautiful little Princess threw pebbles and whatever else she could get her hooves on against the shield I put up. Her wings were buzzing angrily as Shadra futilely searched for a dark and narrow place to hide away from the cold cavernous hive in order to go back to her ‘very’ important sleep.

I frowned as this immature spiel continued on for a few minutes too long for my liking before I got enough of it, fed up with her antics. I stalked towards Shadra and hissed at her with a glare, shutting her up pretty quickly as she tried to make herself smaller in an attempt to get me to be less irritated with her. She looked nervously up at me and saw the raised brow and scowl I directed towards her, reluctantly giving us an apology for how she had behaved, all the while grumpily muttering that it was totally unfair since she was the one who was wronged here, but I didn’t care. There were more important matters that needed to be discussed rather than her damn ‘beauty sleep’. She really wasn’t doing herself any favors about her ‘I’m not cute!’ attitude (Shadra totally is ridiculously cute, trying to deny it only made it cuter).

So, I explained rather lengthily what had happened in the little nightmare vision, trying to recall each and every word that mysterious entity had left me with. Shadra insisted on wanting to know what the umbrum looked like, so, reluctant as I was about sharing that image with my Princesses, I... asked them if they were absolutely certain that they wanted to know how nightmarish the umbrum truly looked like.

Their reactions were varied, but both of them were clearly spooked out by the eerie empty white gaze and the crooked teeth, the ‘wings’ that were seemingly never in the right place and the spindly legs stretching in weird ways, even blending together in a whirlwind of smoke from what I had briefly seen when they pounced towards me. Nothing we had ever seen truly compared to the wrongness of the umbrum (and we had some pretty bad memories from Tobias of things like scientific chimeras à la Porcupine Bat-man style and... other... experiments that had gone terribly wrong... or right, it entirely depends on how one wants to look at it, I suppose).

“You said the voice told you to not trust them, right?” Shadra whispered, horrified. “I can’t for the life of me fathom how they would ever be able to gain the trust of any living being if what you showed me is true. I’m sorry, My Queen, but I don’t know what we could do to fight these things. They are creatures of the Realm of Death, right? They must be, considering their nature. How do you even fight something that isn’t necessarily alive in the strictest sense? Unless... unless we had some kind of focus to..."–she tapped her chin in thought, clearly having an idea of some sort—"That might work... but only if everypony is going to be able to help. Hmm...”

“What is it?” I asked, fidgeting as my beautiful Princess began to pace back and forth, a mesmerizing sway in her gait. She really was embracing her feminine side more and more, wasn’t she? I’m glad we threw that ‘let her come to terms with it on her own time’ mindset out the window and helped her get over her fear of being who she wants to be, it definitely showed in her improved mood. She was less grumpy even though she did become quite a bit more bitchy when she wanted to be. Shadra had her 'moments' every now and then, but she was embracing her body wholeheartedly and wasn’t hiding from every little impulse or desire.

Funnily enough, she still insisted on having her first time with Amore but was happy to have Arachne eat her out whenever. I’m uncertain whether the Amore thing was going to happen anytime soon, if ever, but... I didn’t want to crush my beautiful Princess’s dream of riding Amore’s dick to nirvana.

“The voice said that we should fill the hearts of our subjects with love, right? That we would be safe from the umbrum if we did...” Shadra said and I nodded absentmindedly, letting out an 'Uh huh...' while trying to not blatantly stare at her rump and make it obvious that I was totally lusting for that hot body of hers. Seriously, she was like a supermodel, only in small and tiny (and absolutely adorable). Unfortunately, she most definitely knew what kind of effect she had on Arachne and me, the little deviant. She cleared her throat, giving me an unamused look and I focused back on her mouth instead of... well... the rest of her, really. If only that mouth was willing to suck my dick... “You guys had sex, didn’t you?”

“How did you get that idea?” I asked, feigning innocence while holding Arachne’s mouth shut with my magic, knowing all too well how easily she would give in and proudly declare that she had her way with me as a handsome stallion, having reduced me into a pile of bliss not even an hour ago.

“I'm not blind, you idiot. Who do you take me for? You are clearly in succubus mode, My Queen,” Shadra rolled her eyes and I pouted. Damnit, thwarted by my own lust! Was I really that much of an open book to my Princesses? I can’t say I was against it, to be honest. “Anyway, back to the topic at hand... or hoof, whatever. You said you felt a pulse of pure honey-like emotions, right? What if Amore’s horn led us here for the specific purpose of finding a focus, something like... let’s say, an artifact that could direct that love into something like a shield? An artifact that would work kind of like an amplifier?”

“That would explain why it felt like Amore’s emotions...” I mused, smiling in realization. My little stupidly sexy Princess was right, that must be what that pulse must have been. That pulse of pure honey, an emotion that I still doubted was love because Amore never seemed to show any kind of signs in that regard... could it be that it was an ‘amplifier’ like Shadra said? An artifact that our subjects could focus their emotions on to keep all of us safe? It was no wonder that the voice spoke of filling their hearts with love if we had something like that at our disposal! And if we are right about it being able to work as a shield, then maybe... it could also work as a weapon. “If we can harness that much power against the umbrum, it wouldn’t even matter that they aren’t physical beings. Emotions aren’t physical, either! Eee! You’re a genius, my Princess!”

“Right,” Shadra grinned in that proud superior (and kind of arrogant) way that only served to make her look cuter. I really shouldn’t be feeding that ego of hers, but I can't bring myself to care right now! Finally, after so much worrying, I wasn’t feeling like the apocalypse was right around the corner anymore! This definitely screamed for a reward for my amazing little Princess, didn’t it? “The light of love and all that cutesy crap should be able to hurt something that is purely made out of hate. I’m sure we can infuse our spells with pure love as well, allowing us to fight those monsters and keep our ponies safe!”

“That... does seem plausible,” Arachne stated with a thoughtful hum, an excited gleam entering her eyes, eager to experiment. “If our theory is true and that honey-flavored emotion truly is love... then if I focus my love for you into my magic, it should...”

My faithful Princess lit up her horn with an adorably focused look on her face, and, after a while of trying to evoke the right emotion, the purple light of her magic began to sparkle with bright blue wisps. My senses picked up the flavor immediately and there was absolutely no doubt about it anymore.

All this time... I had been an idiot.

An utter idiot, at that. I have been trying to rationalize Amore’s confusing feelings when there was nothing rational about it. Emotions were chaotic and they refused to make sense because... the heart decides all matters concerning love and it wants what it wants. His behavior didn’t match his emotions and I jumped to conclusions from there. All it would have taken to find out what he felt about me... us... was to ask the stallion himself. Find out what it was that kept him from acting upon those emotions (although I had an idea about that already).

Amore did love me. Well, not quite romantic love just yet, but the beginning was there. Love does not happen instantly, I was very much aware of that, but... it does have to start from somewhere. Amore had been fluctuating with his honey-flavored emotions for a while now. They were still there, that much I knew for certain, and, dare I say, they were starting to get stronger than the first time we met.

There was something that I did want to confirm, though. I brought up every little feeling of friendship and companionship I felt for the ponies under my care, intent on finding out just how much those emotions differed from the love Arachne infused in her magic.

As it turns out, they didn’t. As in, they didn’t differ in flavor all that much, but they did vary in the strength of the honey flavor. Friendship had a more flowery feel to it while companionship had a more nectary feel to it. Love, though? It combined the best of both worlds and felt far more intense to my emotional senses (and had that addicting quality to it, as well...).

Amore’s love for me wasn’t quite as intense as Arachne’s love was for me, but it was definitely a type of love I was familiar with. His love for me was... kind of like infatuation, the very basis for romantic love. And if it was allowed to grow? I think we might have just found ourselves our fairy tale prince, after all. That is, if I don’t screw it up more than I already have.

It’s a wonder Amore doesn’t hate my guts by now. On one hoof, it’s his own damn fault for not saying anything about his feelings, but... on the other? I should have realized this way sooner than us infusing our magic with the one emotion that could have solved this fucking mystery as soon as I came across it.

I can’t believe how... stupid... I was. Maybe I really did put all of my intelligence into creating Arachne and Shadra. It wouldn’t surprise me, I make dumb decisions all the time. Holy effing fuck, I really need to stop acting like an idiot and trust my instincts more instead of letting my brain come to dumb conclusions.

I had just... assumed... that love felt like what Leaf had felt like for me. I didn’t even think that there was far more to love than I could have ever realized. Love was like... a gradient, I would have to say. It could start out as strongly as Aranchne's, or it could start out small and fragile, like Amore’s. And each person had their own unique type of flavor to them, as well. I couldn’t just throw everypony into the same bucket and expect them to be fundamentally the same. Love doesn’t work like that.

Before I could ruminate even further over this, I was shaken out of my thoughts (and the hive mind, at that), finding myself muzzle to muzzle with said stallion who has been occupying my mind so heavily recently.

I blushed brightly as the clearly excited stallion picked me up in his patented ‘Crush Ara Hug’, shaking my freezing ass around like a rag doll. I mean... it felt nice, even though I had no fucking idea what got him so excited all of a sudden. Although... there was something weird about this situation, I couldn’t quite put my hoof on it.

“Ara, I got my Cutie Mark!” Amore grinned while I tried my best to stop the world from spinning around so much. An excited Amore certainly was a hoof full, wasn’t he? I never saw him so... passionate. Much less so about seeing him act without a care for how others could perceive his behavior (that was more my kind of thing).

My gaze wandered to his flanks and... I had no idea what to think of it. It looked like some sort of emblem with the typical paper-cutout snowflake symbol smack-dab in the middle of it and a few ornate pieces forming a frame around it. The color was a light blue, probably the same exact hue as his unicorn magic, now that I thought about it.

“Right,” I muttered, yawning stiffly while missing my mountain of blankets and warm, fluffy ponies already. No doubt did the sudden cold surprise Shadra and Arachne as well, I could just barely perceive their presence over the hive mind while sluggishly trying to find as many blankets as I possibly could in my vicinity. “You’re a special snowflake, we all knew that. Now let me get back to sleep in a warm pile of blankets. I’m not in the mood to freeze my ass off for this nonsense.”

“You’re still mad at me, aren’t you?” Amore asked, pouting in a way that he considered to be ‘manly’... or ‘stallion-y’, I guess. I sarcastically raised a brow, not even finding enough energy in me to hiss grumpily back at him after being exposed to the cold so rudely like this. Fuck the cold. “I really am sorry about the temperature, Ara. I promise, we’re not far away from the end of the mountain pass.”

“Sure...” I drawled out, not convinced in the slightest. Lying ass dickhead. “Seeing that you woke me up instead of stuffing me straight into the cart, I’m guessing you found something up on the mountain aside from your destiny butt mark?”

“I don’t even... it’s not a butt mark, Ara,” Amore rolled his eyes, smiling slightly and I grinned back at him teasingly.

“It’s on your butt and it is a mark for your special talent or destiny... or whatever you wanna call it,” I pointed out with a shrug, only for him to scoff back at me. Although, as he did so, I noticed that there was something... important... missing from him. I couldn't quite put my hoof on what it was, though. Everything seemed to be there. Pink mane and tail (they are pink, don't listen to whatever he might say), charming smile, perfect posture, prudish remarks about his butt, golden amber eyes I couldn't ever say no to, and his sexy posh noble lord type of voice. Although, now that I was paying closer attention to him and his behavior... it was almost like his emotions were... gone. “Who are you?!”

“What?” Amore asked, a puzzled look appearing on his face, but I wasn’t fooled so easily. Try that again, piece of shit. “Ara, what’s gotten into you?”

“You aren’t Amore, monster,” I snarled, escaping his grip while summoning as much magic as I could muster in my weakened state. I really shouldn’t have been so cautious with my changeling honey, only using as much as I absolutely needed. But, as they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty. I'll just have to distract him long enough for Rock to knock this imposter out, then we could figure out where the real Amore was being held. For that matter... “What did you do with him?!”

“Hey, it’s me, Ara,” Amore hummed softly, slowly reaching out a hoof towards me but I hit it away, hissing viciously at him. At the same time, the other ponies were starting to notice that something wrong was going on, never having seen me act so aggressively towards Amore. “I... I don’t understand. You know me, Ara.”

“I know Amore,” I corrected the quite obvious imposter in front of me and I started to prowl around them, hissing every time they dared to make so much as a single twitch in my direction. “I didn’t think you umbrum scum would be that good at deception, but it’s too bad for you that I’m an empath. You can act like him all you want, monster, it won’t fool me. Nopony can hide their emotions from me and the lack of them stands out like a bright flame. So, tell me what you did with Amore. Right. Now.”

“My Queen, is everything alright?” Gentle Breeze asked as she fluttered over, concern written all over her soft warm white muzzle. “Nopony has replaced Prince... I mean, 'Lord' Amore.”

“...what?” I asked, giving her a disbelieving look. “Are you sure? You weren’t with him for the whole night, how could you know that for certain? He... he could have been replaced as you went to get help! Don't let this thing fool you, Breeze.”

“Your Majesty, I wasn’t the only one that was there with him,” she gently pointed out, standing between me and the Amore-lookalike. Her pale yellow eyes were seeking my magenta ones out in a beseeching manner as she placed a caring hoof against my side. "Just take a look at him, My Queen. Does he truly look like a monster that's about to do whatever it is that you think is going to happen? He is still your Prince, isn't he?"

My glance went from her back to Amore in uncertainty, trying to figure out why I wasn’t able to pick up his feelings anymore. The two unicorns and earthponies that went with him before they requested assistance confirmed that they were with Amore at all times and their emotions were still as open as a book to me.

“I...” I hesitated, fidgeting in uncertainty while I gave 'Amore' a conflicted look. This... this doesn’t make a lick of sense to me. No one could just go from a happy, nice, and comforting person to an emotionless husk in the span of... however long they were gone. At least not to the degree that they were a complete emotional void. This umbrum thing must have tricked them somehow into believing it was the real Amore...

But... then again, he didn’t feel like he had the touch of death upon him. It was like his entire existence emotion-wise was... hidden from me... and it seriously unnerved me to no small degree. Nothing about this made sense to me and that... that frightened me so much. We always had at least an idea about what could be a potential answer to a question that we asked ourselves, but this? This left me stumped.

“Ara, I swear, it really is me,” Amore whispered softly as he moved cautiously over to my nervous and confused self. I took a small step back, fear still running rampant through my body, but all of that changed as he tenderly cupped my cheek with his hoof.

My breath stopped as a lone tear rolled down my cheek. It was such a familiar gesture filled with nothing but care and love, I doubt an imposter could fake it to an extent like this. No one could copy the exact way he did this to a degree that was this accurate, I was certain of it. Not if... not if they didn’t completely assimilate the role they were playing, knowing every mannerism, every muscle movement, and every little quirk of their target.

Not to mention, the umbrum were creatures of pure darkness, there’s no way they could hide their hatred that well from me. The hoof of the pony holding my cheek... Amore’s hoof felt warm and gentle upon my chitin, exactly like I knew him to be. Exactly how it felt right now. There was nothing that felt different about it from all the other times he had done so. But how was that possible?

Just... what was going on here? I couldn't be wrong about this, could I? Was I already falling for their trickery?

My mind screamed at me that this pony in front of me was, in fact, Amore in the flesh, not some sort of emotionless imposter. Everything about him, from the smallest thing to the littlest detail was... still him. His scent, his mannerisms, his... his damn caring nature. Everything was still the same, aside from... well, aside from the lack of his emotions. They were completely hidden from my senses for some unfathomable reason I couldn't even guess at.

I wanted to believe it so much, but... how? I wanted... no, I needed to know what had changed him so drastically. There was no doubt in me that it was indeed him and not some monster trying to deceive me, a changeling. A race that was practically made for espionage on a biological level. There was no way that there existed anything that was better at deception than a changeling, it sounded utterly ridiculous in my mind.

It was a scary thought, wasn’t it? That there existed something that could alter a pony on such a fundamental level to hide their feelings so thoroughly from an empath. If it had been anypony else, I... I would have been scared to death, fearing that they would use that ‘gift’ against my loved ones, my empire.

Something like that... it scared me more than the umbrum ever could. I was so very glad it was Amore and not some malicious being that sought the destruction of all that I hold dear to my heart. I couldn’t let anything harm my ponies, they have already gone through so much hardship. They deserved all the happiness I could possibly provide for them, in whatever way they desired it of me.

An odd two thousand-ish ponies wasn’t exactly an empire’s worth just yet, but... it doesn’t have to be. We are a close-knit community and that was a whole lot more worth to me than building up an empire where everypony was just ‘another’ face. I’m going to make Leaf proud, ensuring every last pony in my empire was considered to be special simply because they are. Each and every one of them.

Even Amore, the idiot. Whatever he did to himself to make him into... I can’t even tell what he was anymore, but it sure as hell wasn’t an ordinary unicorn anymore. His coat was a little bit... sparkly, I would have to say, now that the light of the morning suns was hitting it directly.

I hope he will forgive me for... for defaulting back to my old ways of distrusting anyone and everyone, scared that I had lost him to some imaginary monster. I felt really bad for hissing at him so... so hatefully. He definitely didn’t deserve that.

“Amore..?” I hiccuped, realizing how much I must have hurt him by acting like... by showing him... I-I... I can be better, I don’t have to mistrust anypony ever again. I have loved ones here, and I know I can be better. I’m not a bad changeling, I'm not! “W-what happened to you..?”

“We found something truly extraordinary, Ara,” he answered with a smile and soft voice, nuzzling me gently. “My horn, it was leading me straight to it like it was meant for me. My magic... it feels like I could lift an entire mountain, now! All thanks to this...”

Amore levitated a large crystal out of his discarded saddlebags, showing me the heart-shaped object with a happy smile. I took the... well... Crystal Heart, for a lack of a better term, into my own magic and was immediately bombarded with... they were Amore’s emotions!

“I-I... I don’t understand,” I breathed out in shock, almost dropping the thing as I was totally overwhelmed by the onslaught of his... his love for me. “How could this... I... but... this doesn’t make any sense...”

“What do you mean, Ara?” Amore whispered gently, lifting my head up by the chin as I gave that... that crystal a haunted, terrified look. It was like...

“Do you know what that is?” I asked quietly, meeting his confused eyes that clearly showed his care for me. I was almost afraid to reach out to that... the word eluded me for a moment, but I knew perfectly well what that thing was.

Shadra was right, it was an artifact of immense power. Of terrible power that could, if unleashed, be worse than any atom bomb the people on Earth had ever built. It could probably hold a million lifetimes’ worth of love in it and that much positive energy... it was a terrifying thought. Unleashing it all could most likely be felt all around the world and then some.

I knew that thing was dangerous far beyond imagining. If it could hold any type of emotion... we cannot ever let it fall into the wrong hooves. It dawned on me what that voice meant by protecting the chosen against the umbrum and their sheer hate. If even one of them managed to corrupt the Crystal Heart, it would... it would spell doom for this world, plunging it into eternal darkness.

A world full of hate... I cannot let that happen. Ever.

“I... Ara, do you seriously think I know what that is after having just found it?” Amore snorted and I fluttered my wings, embarrassed. A bit of fearful anger rushed through me, mad at the idiot that he was so careless with something so powerful that... it could honestly bring about the actual apocalypse. “Why are you so afraid of it? It’s not like it is a dark magic artifact. I thought you would be happy for me...”

“You really have no idea, do you? Amore, I... I need to tell you something. And you can’t ever take this lightly, each and every one of our lives might depend on it. This is serious, I mean it! Very serious, even. Something incredibly dark is coming and this thing might very well be at the center of all of that,” I whispered, so very much afraid for him. If his horn led him to that... that thing... what did that mean for his destiny? That Cutie Mark of his and the Crystal Heart were connected in some way and with my recent dream about the threat of the umbrum... we should have never followed that horn of his to this place. But... would that have changed anything?

The umbrum might have found the Crystal Heart before us, had we gone a different way and ignored Amore’s horn. And if that had happened, everything would have been lost. For better or for worse, Amore needed to be the caretaker of that... phylactery. That’s exactly what it was, wasn’t it? Maybe not for his soul, but his emotions. What are emotions but the expression of the soul?

I knew my purpose, that voice had made it glaringly obvious as to what I needed to do. Amore... the ponies here with us... my hive... we had to keep the light going to stave off the darkness threatening to swallow this world. They were the chosen and I was to be their guardian, no matter what. Keep their hearts filled with love, that’s all I had to do to keep the apocalypse away. Easy, right?

“What do you mean, Ara? How do you know that?” Amore asked, frowning at me in concern and I felt his own fear through the Crystal Heart in my grip. He was afraid. For me and us. For all of the earthponies, the unicorns, and the pegasi in our little community.

“I had a dream. A vision, rather,” I admitted with a heavy heart, gazing intently into his brilliant golden amber eyes. If this wasn’t so important, I could have just lost myself in them for eternity, they were that irresistible. So much so, even, that I wished I didn’t have to ruin this moment and tell him about that nightmare. “Amore, we need to get to safety and keep this”—I shook the glittering heart-shaped ‘doomsday device’ around a little bit—” away from those that would seek to abuse it. It amplifies emotions, Amore! It could literally coat the entire world with a protective light if it is filled with enough love and friendship. But imagine this: if the Crystal Heart is filled with nothing but hatred...”

“It could destroy the world as we know it...” he muttered, horrified. “And it is bound to me?”

“It’s not only bound to you,” I said, grimly poking him in the chest. “It is you. In your carelessness, you created what is known as a phylactery, a vessel for your soul. Or your emotions, at any rate. I don’t know what you did, but I feel you from this thing and not from... well, you. The price for the power of the Crystal Heart is your very existence, dear.”

“I didn’t know,” Amore whispered and the camp around us fell into an eerie silence. Everypony was just as horrified as I felt Amore was. Nopony even dared to make a single move, they were that frightened. It wasn’t an easy revelation to swallow, I was very much aware of that. But it had to be said. They deserved to know what we have gotten ourselves into, unknowingly as it was. “What do I do now?”

“I don’t think you could reverse this, even if you wanted to,” I told him, looking down into the reflection mirrored back at me in the Crystal Heart. As I saw my magenta slit eyes in them, I felt determination fill me. It was no coincidence that we found ourselves here after the revolution in Unicornia. Fate clearly wanted us here, whether that was a good thing or not. Whatever it takes, I’m going to make sure it would turn out to be a good thing, the alternative wasn’t even up for debate. “Besides, I don’t think it would be a good idea to leave this behind us and forget that it ever existed. We need to keep it safe, not only because this is quite literally you now, but also because of what I saw in my dream.”

“And what was that? You said that something was coming, right? What is coming, Ara?” he asked, his concern momentarily overwhelming my senses. I hated seeing him like that, the fearful paranoia was so unlike him, but... I had to make sure he knew how grave this situation truly was.

“I...” I muttered, hesitating. I could just... keep him in the dark, couldn’t I? I didn’t want to scare him like that, like I had scared Arachne and Shadra, but... I couldn’t be that selfish and do that to him. Not to Amore. I cared too much about him to betray his trust like that. He needed to know what was at stake here, there was no way around that. I couldn’t, in good conscience, keep the truth away from him to avoid making him worry.

Well... I was already past the point of making him worry, wasn’t I? Still, the umbrum were another thing entirely.

I probably should have foreseen this, but my little ‘escape’ from the Realm of Death had consequences. I had no doubt that the umbrum were there to hunt me down for daring to defy Death. For what other reason would the 'Forces of Death’ be here other than for me? And... why would I be the only one to get a vision like that? Why would that voice seek me out instead of Amore? It can’t actually think I was nearly worthy enough of that much trust, could it? Whatever the reason, I was going to make sure it didn’t misplace it in me. I was going to show those umbrum that you don’t mess with ponies.

“Ara, please tell me what you saw,” Amore begged. “If this thing is truly as dangerous as you make it out to be and it falls into the wrong hooves, then it is our obligation to destroy it before that could happen!”

“NO!” I shot back, terrified that he would even suggest that. He can’t seriously consider doing that, not to himself. I’ve made it very clear that the heart was his very being now, he can’t just... destroy that. T-that would mean... “We are not destroying the Crystal Heart! I’m... I’m not going to lose you, Amore... I’m not going to lose someone dear to my heart again. I can’t. N-not... not again. Please, don't do t-that to m-me...”

“Ara,” he began with an exasperated huff, probably about to argue that it was the lesser evil to sacrifice himself so that no one could ever use the Crystal Heart to bring about the end of the world, but I didn’t want to hear any of that bullshit. So I cut him off. By planting my lips against his, the Crystal Heart sandwiched between us. His shock quickly turned into that honey flavor I was so familiar with from him and it felt like my entire being was bathed in it. The Crystal Heart pulsed in a manner not unlike a heartbeat, and, after we broke the kiss, I noticed Amore seemed a bit more... sparkly, I suppose. My eyes were locked with his and I could see the conflict in them, the uncertainness that I knew kept him from finding love because he clung on to that silly belief of a perfect mare.

“I won’t lose you,” I said, pressing the Crystal Heart a little bit tighter against my chest, almost protectively. A little flicker of a heartbeat went through my chest in fear and excitement, ready to lay my heart bare to him. It was up to him to decide what to do with it and I hoped he wouldn't dismiss this as just another way to get into his ‘metaphorical pants’ like so many other times. “I love you, you idiot. Don’t make me break this, Amore. I can’t. Please.”

“Ara, I...” Amore mumbled, seemingly lost for words. And, as he looked down, fighting with himself over what he wanted to say, I feared he was going to reject me again. It wasn’t like I didn’t deserve it. “I don’t want a... a fuck-buddy, as you put it. I don’t want this to be something that’s only there to satisfy our ‘urges’. Do whatever you want with your body, if that makes you happy. But I can’t... not like that, Ara.”

“I know...” I admitted, feeling perhaps not as ashamed as I should be about that part of me, but... it still hurt. I thought... things would be different this time if I spoke directly from my heart. Maybe if I explained myself better to him, he might understand, if only slightly. Besides, I didn’t want him to ‘only’ be a fuck-buddy. That’s not what I wanted, either. At least, not with him. Never with him. “It’s just... it's who I am. I can’t live without it, I told you that, but... that’s not all that I want. I don’t want to be ‘just’ a fuck-buddy with you, you dolt. When I said I loved you... I meant it as ‘let’s live our lives together until we are old and wrinkly’, you idiot.”

“I...” Amore looked up, seeing the absolute honesty in my teary eyes, and the honey flavor increased to an intensity that I have never tasted before. Not even from Leaf, if I was to be honest with myself. This feeling, this... bond... I had with Amore... it felt nice. Warm. And most importantly, it felt right. On top of that, I've never felt this full in my new life, it was a welcome feeling. I know I’ve been joking about it a lot, but when I thought of spending my life with someone... or somepony, rather... I could only think of him being the one. Anypony else would only be a fling at best. “I’m so confused right now. I thought...”

“That I’m only into that hot body of yours?” I snickered ever so slightly, receiving an awkward chuckle from him in return. I smiled, a little bit ashamed as I looked up towards those golden pools of his. I’m not going to deny that that was one of the major reasons I was attracted to him, I would be lying if I did, but... it was his personality, his caring nature, that I fell in love with. He actually cared about me, despite all of my flaws and faults, and that... that was worth a lot more to me than his appearance ever could be. He truly was the perfect husband material one could wish for, I thought with a little flutter in my chest. The thought of actually marrying him sent even more flutters through me. One day... one day soon, hopefully, I might call him just that. My husband. “Do you really think I’m that shallow? That I would only love you for your body?”

“Says the changeling in a relationship with her split personalities,” he pointed out in a low whisper, a little grin spreading on his muzzle. “You’re taking this self-love thing a bit too far, don’t you think?”

“Well, to be honest, if you’ve got someone as hot as me, how could I possibly resist? I mean, just think about it... Arachne, Shadra, and me... you get all three of us in one hot as fuck package if you accept my feelings for you,” I whispered back raunchily, touching my muzzle to his in a featherlight motion. I smirked as I saw that little fidgety motion, knowing perfectly well he only ever did that when he was trying to stop his body from popping a boner (more often than not because of something I did~). “And believe me, we are all yours if that’s the only way you are going to be mine. I really do love you, dear. You held me together when I lost Leaf and you continue to be a great shoulder to lean on. You have no idea how much I have longed to have someone... somepony... care for me like that. Amore, I... I love you for that big heart of yours, so I will give you ours in its entirety. Body and mind, we are yours to do with as you please~.”

“You would limit yourself only to me?” Amore asked with a snort, baffled. “Who are you and what have you done with the real Araneae?”

“Shut up, you,” I smiled, breathing in his scent with a little dreamy sigh. “You are worth a million stallions, my Prince. I don’t need anypony else. As do Shadra and Arachne. We love you from the bottom of our heart and there is no changing that. We trust you to take care of it in whatever way you see fit.”

“Alright,” he said, bumping the tip of his muzzle against mine almost reverently. It was such a sweet gesture from him, I couldn’t help but smile even brighter at that. “I’m willing to give this a chance. You aren’t exactly the pony I envisioned in my dreams, but... that’s not really a bad thing, is it? Reality always manages to surprise us. Instead of the damsel in distress, I find myself falling for the knight in chitin armor.”

“Knight, huh?” I grinned, seeing him blush immediately. I silenced any and all retorts he might have had with a rough kiss, throwing a hoof around the back of his head in order to keep him against me and to stop him from coming up with excuses at the same time. Excuses that would have no doubt had the intention of making his comment sound less gay. Or whatever else one wanted to consider it as, considering I was more or less hermaphroditic in nature (not quite in the actual definition of the word but enough in all the ways it really mattered~).

“If you are that much into my dick, you can openly admit it. Nopony is going to judge you for that, dear,” I whispered with a seductive tone of voice once I broke the utterly dominating kiss. I could tell he was majorly turned on by it, watching in glee as he squirmed awkwardly in my embrace. My multilayered voice wasn’t doing him any favors, either. He most certainly was a dirty little sub, wasn’t he? I licked my lips hungrily as I indulged myself a little bit in that heavenly lust radiating from the Crystal Heart. “I, for one, am most certainly out for that majestic tool of yours. One way or another, I will get at it, my lovely Prince. My body gets all hot and bothered whenever I think of you~.”

“That’s n-not w-what I meant, A-Ara, and you know it!” Amore shot back, giving me a grumpy pout. His lust didn't diminish one bit, though~. “I swear, you can’t help yourself from making comments like that, can you? I really do need to teach you manners, don’t I?”

“Aww, how cute! You're welcome to try,” I retorted with a mischievous smile, giggling to myself as he rolled his eyes exasperatedly. It was adorable, him trying to be a good influence on me but never truly following up on those ‘threats’. I think, secretly, he enjoyed the raunchy banter just as much as I did. He always had that endearing smile on his muzzle when we had these conversations and his emotions usually tended to taste better, each and every time after it happened.

“Now, what was that about the dream you had? What is coming, Ara?”

“Shadows are gathering, Amore,” I warned him, a somber mood replacing the previously cheerful (if perverse) one. I guess there was no beating around the bush anymore, huh? “There are beings out there that are... wrong. Evil, I would even say. The voice in my dream warned me to not trust the umbrum and to keep everypony here safe. And I think I’m beginning to understand what it meant by ‘filling the hearts of my subjects with love’.”

Amore followed my gaze to the Crystal Heart and I felt it skip a beat, so to say. “You don’t mean...”

“Yes,” I nodded. “This is going to play a key part in keeping this world safe. We can’t destroy the Crystal Heart. Not only because it would mean... it would mean that you would have to sacrifice yourself, but also because otherwise... the umbrum would have already won. The Crystal Heart is our only means to defend ourselves, I’m certain of that.”

“Then we will have to find a place where those umbrum can’t hurt us,” Amore hummed, taking in the ponies all around us, whispering hushedly to themselves as they watched us. Most of the mares were fawning over the fact that I finally managed to win his heart, while some, stallions and mares alike, seemed resigned that their favorite fuck-buddy wasn’t available for fun time anymore. I’m sure they will get over it... eventually. I know I will~.

“I think,” I started, glancing at the heart with an idea forming in my head. “I think that, if that horn of yours could lead us to the Crystal Heart, then it might also be able to lead us to a suitable place. Where does this mountain pass lead to, anyway? You said that the end was in sight from where you found it.”

“A great valley,” he told me, an enthusiastic little grin on his muzzle. “Lush green grass as far and wide as the eye can see. You’re going to love it, I promise.”

“Anything is better than this damn cold,” I grumbled, throwing a mock-glare his way. The only thing the idiot did was chuckle back at me. Ass. I was so going to dye his hair, damnit.

I suppose one good thing did come from Amore’s lich-ification. The unending pit of hunger was gone for the very first time in my new life, a warmth filling me to the core of my soul. It was almost enough to make me forget the feeling the touch of death had upon me. All thanks to a crystal in the shape of a heart.

Eventually, that little heart in my grip is going to become a focus for our emotions, all of our emotions, to... I don’t know, hopefully shield us and the world from the Agents of Death (once we actually figure out how to... you know... use it).

Maybe... maybe at some point the Crystal Heart would even act as a spear against those with wicked intentions and we could make this world just a little bit safer to live in. I certainly didn’t believe that the umbrum would be the only threat we would ever have to face. Far from it, even.

No matter what, I was going to protect the... no, I wasn’t only going to make sure to protect the Crystal Heart, I was going to protect Amore and everypony else from the umbrum. It was my destiny, after all. I didn’t need a fancy butt mark to tell me that, or a vision to warn me of the future.

I was a queen. The Queen. Nothing was going to change that and I would shoulder that burden with my head held high. And I would squash those that would dare to stand in my way.

Let them come, then, I ruthlessly thought with grim determination, for I will be there to rid this world of their stain. If Death truly wants to reclaim my soul, I won’t give up without a fight. I have too much to lose, after all.

Whoever that voice was that spoke to me in my dreams... I won’t fail you. I won’t fail you, Amore, Breeze, Quartz and Orchard... all of my ponies in my hive... or Leaf. That, I hereby swear.

I am Araneae Apidae, First Queen of the Changeling Race, and I will stand tall in the face of uncertainty. Even if fear and hatred try to bring me down, I will stand steadfast against the coming tide. Even if it takes my life, I will make sure those looking up to me will live to see a brighter future.

I promised it to my wayward Leaf.

And I intend to keep that promise.

Chapter 007 - A glorious new home.

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Turns out, Amore didn’t lie about the mountain pass coming to an end not too far away from our last campsite. What he neglected to say, though, was the fact that the path was too steep and narrow for the majority of the carts in our caravan. Meaning, we had to arduously get them down a few at a time with the help of unicorn magic.

Thankfully, Amore seemed even stronger than he first assumed, bringing down multiple carts at once while the pegasi guided the effort from an aerial point of view. Meanwhile, I made sure everypony managed the climb down safely without falling to their deaths (or, if they were lucky, ending up with broken bones and the like).

It did help that the air was considerably warmer here than further up the mountain. My wings buzzed as strongly as ever, the stiffness completely gone by now. The only thing that really caused me any trouble was the strong wind, but a few strings of my changeling silk had me more or less tethered to the mountain so that I didn’t get blown away. I was glad my silk was just stretchy enough to avoid snapping outright when I got caught off-guard by a particularly strong gust of wind.

Ever since that day in Unicornia, I couldn't fly straight for the life of me (if I even managed to lift off in the first place, that is). The only way for me to fly reliably at all was to use my transformation magic to fix my damaged wings temporarily, and even then, I could feel the underlying injury get irritated the longer I kept flying. Thus, my heavy use of changeling silk instead of depending entirely on my wings.

It was also a great lifeline for my little ponies, giving them something to hold onto while they steadily progressed further and further down the mountain. I had to rescue one or two ponies that had stepped, in a brief moment of carelessness, a bit too close to the edge, almost falling down before I could use my web to pull them back. Thankfully, aside from a few scrapes here and there, there were no serious injuries inflicted upon any of them.

They gave me weird looks, though, as I dismissed their heartfelt thanks for saving their lives, not feeling like I deserved that much praise for it since it was the right thing to do. Besides, Amore and I had led them here, it was our responsibility to look after them the best we could. Making sure nopony sustained any lasting injuries when it was entirely avoidable was the least I could do, right?

After everypony was finally back on even ground and I could rest my protesting and aching wings, we continued our little journey further into the vast valley sporadically dotted by clusters of softly sparkling crystals of various colors, listening to the excited chatter of the little foals that had very much enjoyed the ride through the air in some of the carts. I could tell, though, that the majority of our caravan was getting a bit restless in finding a suitable place to settle down.

I couldn’t blame them, I was starting to feel that restlessness, myself. Still, we followed the Crystal Heart floating serenely through the air in front of us and Amore with it, not knowing where he would ultimately lead us to. Amore’s horn was shining with a brilliant light as he kept it afloat and he assured me that he could almost feel like we weren't far away from where we needed to be, according to his magical unicorn divining rod of destiny™.

The thing is... I started to recognize this valley the closer we got to the central point of it. The horizon began to look eerily familiar, almost exactly like the one I had seen in my vision (lacking the mirror-like ground of one big massive crystal, I suppose) and it was making me feel a little bit worried. Something told me that I... we... were being watched, a feeling that was quite similar to the one that I had felt while I was trapped in the Realm of Death. My eyes kept shifting every which way, only to find nothing out of the ordinary. The ‘tall’ grass wasn’t even high enough to hide a foal in it, least of all some sort of predator, only managing to further my confused paranoia.

Still, the feeling of wrongness persisted. It had an almost uncanny vibe to it and it was starting to frustrate me to no end. Something just wasn't right, making me more and more nervous.

While I was determined to let nothing touch the hairs of my subjects, that didn't mean I no longer had to overcome my own fears. If anything, having so many ponies rely on me... on us, rather... made me far more fearful that something might happen to them. Not that I would ever let that control me, though.

I couldn't allow myself to falter in the face of adversity, and that meant being cautious even when there was, for all intents and purposes, 'nothing' there to cause my paranoia.

Considering we were up against ghosts, no amount of paranoia could be enough. Every shadow could hide a foe, for all I know.

<Put up a shield, now!> Shadra screeched at me and I did exactly what she told me to, not once questioning her command even as my heart started to beat frantically in my chest from suddenly being startled. The entire caravan came to a halt, Amore turning to me with a questioning gaze as my horn practically burned with the sheer amount of mana I was forcing through it.

“Ara?” Amore whispered, giving me his patented concerned look as fearful whispers began to spread through the caravan behind us. I ignored him in favor of scanning our surroundings more carefully than before, the massive shield tinting our world magenta. “There is nothing there, why the shield?”

“Hush,” I hissed, narrowing my eyes while trying to calm my racing heart down. I was also feeling a little bit woozy from the gnawing hunger returning to me and it wasn't being helped by the fact that my reserves kept dwindling at a steady pace. It wasn’t like I was using them up too fast, but I did take notice of it. I was tempted to reach out to the Crystal Heart again to gorge myself on Amore’s emotions, but... I felt like that was the biggest mistake ever that I could make right about now. The heart needed to be stronger if it was to keep us safe, even if that meant going against my instincts to feed at all costs.

It was like an addiction, really. A veritable drug one could never come down from. Love... Amore’s love... it was like I had gotten a taste of the most perfectly served meal that my body screamed at me in fear of withdrawal. I could quite literally not live without it anymore, just a brief taste had been enough to make me utterly dependent on it. And the pit in my very existence called hunger would send me to the edge of madness the longer I went without it, even more so while burning through what I had gathered of it as another, perhaps more... primal... need began to awaken from its deep slumber within me.

Like a waking titan, a fierce need to protect those close to me reared its ugly head within me. I had felt this feeling in Unicornia before and this time, it felt even worse. I might have dismissed it as simple paranoia had it not been for the sheer terror Shadra felt right now.

A feeling of urgency settled over me. It was almost enough to make me hiss at nothing but empty air and I could tell that this wasn’t mere paranoia, as much as I wished for it to be so. We were most definitely not alone here, something... sinister... was gathering all around us and I bet the umbrum were at fault for that. This sense of foreboding danger, I had felt it before. In my vision. It felt eerily similar to when the umbrum appeared in it.

I shuddered involuntarily, my breaths coming out in slightly ragged puffs of air as my own fear began to run wild on me. The feeling of utter helplessness in the vision was returning to me and I wanted to do nothing more than to curl up into a tight little ball and shut out the world completely, forgetting its existence entirely in an attempt of regaining that sense of safety back, to be ignorant of the danger lurking just outside the shield somewhere where my eyes were unable to see the cause of this feeling.

I would have done exactly that had it not been for the almost untamed primal need to not back down. I couldn’t, not with everypony needing my protection. I needed to be strong for them, even if I didn’t feel like it. But... even if I felt weak, I knew I could stand in between our foe and my subjects, if for nothing else than to see them safe and sound. I would give my life for them if that’s what it takes to keep it that way.

I narrowed my eyes in confusion as I gazed beyond the shield, my tail whipping back and forth in a display of agitation and aggression. My teeth were aching for something to sink them into as I felt like... I don't know, something seemed off, I knew that much for certain, but I couldn’t exactly put my hoof on what that something was. It was frustrating, seriously.

Heart hammering in my chest, my eyes traveled to the border of the shield and I tried to find the error in the Matrix, somewhat like one of those ‘spot the difference’ games of a pair of identical pictures.

At first glance, everything was like it was supposed to be. The wind gently ruffled the grass around us while the light of the twin suns was reflected off of the crystals jutting out of the ground like a sea of stars. Everything seemed calm and peaceful, a perfect example of a nice sunny day.

But then, I remembered the words I had thought not a moment ago.

Every shadow could hide a foe.

It was like a switch had suddenly been flipped around, and, as if it stood out to me like a giant pink elephant, I saw what Shadra had noticed ahead of us.

The shadows cast by the crystal clusters, the odd few shrubs bearing fruit, and gently swaying flowers and so on were facing the wrong direction, completely static and unmoving. It was utterly surreal. Wrong, even.

I couldn’t believe it took me that long to find such a glaring flaw in their deception. It was so obvious, I felt like I wanted to hit myself over the head with something very hard and blunt. Seeing the shadows go counter to those of us with no discernible light source was weird and unnerving. No mere optical illusion could ever compare to this, I thought with an uneasy gut feeling. I perfectly understood how Shadra felt now, the unnaturalness of it all was just... creepy as fuck.

Carefully, I used my telekinesis to part the grass outside of the shield just to see what would happen. Only to find out that the shadows didn’t move from their spot. Like... at all. It was as if they had been painted on to the surface of reality.

A child-like giggle rang out around us as our surroundings began to gradually darken to a point that I thought it was already late evening. Slowly, I stepped back from the shield's edge and took on a protective stance in front of everypony. My wings were buzzing in agitation while I felt like letting out a whimper. This situation could have come straight out of a b-rated horror movie back on Earth, I swear (mind you, the setting wasn’t quite as scary, but the fucking giggle sure was).

“You found us!” the childish voice proclaimed happily and smoke began to waft up into the air. It had a sickly greenish matte color with a slight bluish tint to it, streaked with a purple gradient here and there. “You’re good at playing hide and seek! Let’s play some more!”

The filly-like appearance of the shadow creature revealing itself to us wasn’t really fooling anypony, nor was the false smile on the umbrum’s smoky muzzle. It did look disarming, so much so that I got momentary doubts whether they were the same type of creature that I had seen in my dreams, but the words of that mysterious voice clearly warned me to never... absolutely never ever... trust any of these things. And I had no intention to start doing so.

“Are we going to play some more?” it asked us and I hissed back at the thing daring to use such an innocent façade to lure us into a false sense of security. “Why won’t you let down that shield, it’s so... bright. I don’t like it.”

“That’s too bad now, isn’t it?” I snarled. The thing began to frown, eying the Crystal Heart wearily as it floated next to Amore behind me. “I know what you want, umbrum. You won’t get it.”

“I want to play,” it said, sounding so falsely sad, it felt almost like an insult. It didn’t even reach its smoky eyes. Perception-wise, they were abysmally bad at hiding their intentions from me. It was downright silly that I ever thought they could impersonate Amore just because I couldn’t feel his emotions coming from the correct source anymore. The umbrum were only good at hiding in the shadows, nothing more. The sheer malice radiating off of those monsters was like a particularly foul smell to my senses and I wasn’t going to allow any of them to get closer to us.

Let’s hope the shield will stand if they got it into their incorporeal heads to try their luck at breaking it. To be honest, at this rate, they don’t even need to try. A quick whisper to Arachne had her already calculating our time remaining with the shield I cast.

<Maybe fifteen to twenty minutes at our current capacity, if I had to guess. We are already at the seventy-eight percent mark of our shared pool, My Queen,> Arachne whispered and I grimaced at the approximation of how much of our reserves we had already used up. It was still more than we ever had in Unicornia, but I didn’t have Amore’s love for me filling me up to the brim back then. Nor did I have to cast such a large shield before... <We need to do something, there are way too many of them around us.>

I grunted back, seeing more and more of those umbrum stop hiding in the shadows. Already, it was well past a hundred individuals and it seemed like there was no end to be seen. It was starting to look like a sea of rancid cotton-candy vomit to me. 'Smelled' like it, too. <Shadra?>

<Working on it,> she responded, stress evident in her voice. <I don’t know how much it’s going to be of help, but the only thing that comes to mind to affect a large area like this is a quick flare of our shield. It should hopefully stun them for long enough to give us a chance to... get away from them. I’m sorry, My Queen, that’s... that’s all that I have. There are just too many of them out there. We should make peace with that, it's the only option we have. We can rebuild elsewhere...>

<That's out of the question,> I said, glancing back towards my... subjects. Each and every one of them were huddling together in the middle of the shield as more of the umbrum began to show their ugly faces. To make matters even worse, they were giggling and clapping their spindly hooves eagerly with a sick amount of joy, standing right there at the edge of the barrier. I have no doubt that they were just salivating at the opportunity to torment us, the foul fiends.

It was breaking my heart, seeing my friends... my family... like this. So afraid and hopeless. They knew that the umbrum were dangerous and that they couldn’t do the slightest thing against them. Only my shield stood in between them and their end. For that reason alone, I needed to be stronger than ever before, even as doubt started to cloud my mind in a fearful haze. A nervous flutter went through my heart at the thought of failing to protect them like I did with Leaf. I won’t allow anyone, absolutely no one, to ever take advantage of them again. I cannot fail them. I promised it to my wayward Leaf.

<Ara, there are... there are too many for that, it’s never going to work out!> Shadra whispered sharply and I sighed. I knew that, but it was the only option, wasn’t it? Short of draining the Crystal Heart dry and self-destructing, there was nothing that could work, I feared. We ran right into their ambush like fools and now, we would pay the price for such callousness.

I was an idiot. I should have known that, as soon as I had that vision, the umbrum weren’t far away from us. Perhaps they never were, I realized.

The Realm of Death, the odd few shivers here and there in the forest, the feeling of being watched at all times... the vision where they interfered with the message of that mysterious voice... they were always observing us, weren't they? Waiting for the perfect opportune time to strike when we least expected it. They must have waited long enough to figure out what we were up to, and now that we had the Crystal Heart with us, they were forced to act.

I had hoped we wouldn't ever have to worry about these things, but I don’t get to be that lucky, now do I?

“If you want to ‘play’ that badly,” Amore muttered, gulping anxiously as a noticeable shiver ran through his body. “Why are there so many of you? What type of game would require that many participants?”

“A fun game where everyone will enjoy themselves. We are a big family, after all, and we don’t like to play alone,” it answered ‘happily’. I could feel the malicious glee in its words, though. “Mother doesn’t tolerate souls that won’t play with us. So you are going to play with us or you won’t like what happens next.”

“And what, pray tell, is that going to be?” I growled, ignoring the update on our reserves from Arachne as I prepared to flare the shield, hoping that that would be enough to push them back long enough for us to come up with another plan. Or we are, against all odds, lucky and get ourselves rid of them, outright.

“You seem familiar,” it said and ignored my question as it narrowed their eyes on me. Disgust. Hate. More of that malicious glee. I had to wonder just how these abominations could continue to exist like that. Nothing but negativity, what a pitiful existence that must be. “Mother told me of you. You are that soul that escaped their fate, aren’t you? Mother will be pleased to present you to Zovaal. After all, no one escapes his grasp in the Maw. You might even be lucky and be of use to our master,”—the fiend clapped its hooves together giddily—” a soul like yours could prove to be just the piece he needs for his grand plan to remake reality anew.”

“Whatever ‘grand’ fate was planned for me, tell your ‘mother’ that I don’t intend to go meet your maker,” I snarled, drawing more mana to my horn. In the next moment, the love-infused shield flared, pushing outward with a bright shine of love-infused changeling magic. It shone brightly enough that we even had to shield our eyes as the world around us turned into a brilliant white.

<Thirty-five percent, My Queen,> Arachne said as my vision swam. That took a lot more out of me than I intended, I mused tiredly as my ears were assaulted from all sides by horrific screeching that honestly sounded like a banshee swallowed rusty chains. I squinted, trying to get my blurry eyesight to straighten out, only to yelp as an umbrum was about to pounce on me, a wild look in their glowing white eyes.

My shield already showed significant cracks everywhere I could see, barely holding on to loose threads after I repurposed it into something that it wasn’t meant to be used as: a weapon. And, where the previous umbrum had been, there now was a gaping hole ripped into my shield. The one that had sadly managed to avoid getting dazed by my little trick tried its best to bite my head off for daring to injure one of their filthy brethren.

Shadra wrestled control from me before that could happen, though, viciously spearing the pouncing umbrum upon our blazing horn and throwing it back towards where it came from, repairing the shield immediately afterward. “Tell this Zovaal that he can come and take me himself if he wants my soul that badly. I won’t be part of some megalomaniac’s plan to destroy reality as we know it!”

“Pesky worm,” the umbrum spat, eerie white eyes glaring balefully at us. “You won’t be able to hide behind that disgusting shield forever.”

“Maybe not,” Shadra admitted, sneering back at it with nothing but resentment for them in her voice. “But at least I won’t go down without a fight. I’m going to protect my ponies to the very last breath if that’s what it takes to keep them safe from the likes of you!”

My heart warmed at the conviction she put into those words and I couldn't have been any prouder of her, seeing her be so willing to fight to the end. It was a far stretch from her previous fear-induced need to run and hide. The Protector of the Hive, indeed.

“It matters not,” another of the umbrum spoke up, larger than the rest of them. It certainly looked more menacing, having a sort of storm-like appearance with a red glow coming from within their chest. “It is only a matter of time until I shall bathe this world in darkness and offer its core to my master. Give that silly little trinket you are so keen to protect over to us and we shall... spare you a most painful death. He will make you see, one way or another.”

“Never,” we proclaimed, gritting our teeth as the recovering umbrum began to bash against our shield. Amore was lending his mana to us, giving us a small smile that told us that he didn’t expect to get through this and that... that he wouldn’t trade our time together for anything in the world. I smiled sadly back, trying to repair the shield as soon as new cracks started to form in it, but even with the aid of Amore, it was a futile endeavor under their continuous assault.

One by one, even more magic got added to the struggling shield as the unicorns in our merry herd gave me their support. But, still... even at this rate we had (at best) a few more minutes under their continued assault before we had to drop the shield for good or risk starving to death.

I don’t know which option I preferred more, starving to death or fighting to the death. Either way, I didn’t look forward to what would come afterward in both cases.

The giantess of an umbrum gave an almost sad hum before mockingly patting our shield. We prepared ourselves for the impact as best as we could, but as who could only be this ‘Mother’ drew her hoof back for a vicious strike, we let out a pained shriek in agony from the sheer impact of her might. It was almost enough to shatter our combined defenses completely.

“I won’t ask again,” she said, malicious evil burning brightly in her hollow gaze. “Give us the Heart of the World or suffer the consequences.”

Heart of the World? Does she mean the Crystal Heart? That seems... strangely appropriate, I suppose. It could either bathe the world in love or drown it in hatred. No wonder the umbrum wanted it. They never were here for me in the first place, were they? Their goal had always been the Crystal Heart. One little soul was, in the grander scheme of things, unimportant. An entire world, though?

I don’t know what they could want with that many souls, offering them to their master on a silver platter... but I bet it had something to do with ‘recreating’ reality. Something like that surely takes a lot of energy and from what I knew during my time as a formless soul, there was a lot of it to be gained from them. I never figured out how to utilize it, but I knew it was there.

One had to wonder how powerful the soul of an entire world must be. It was a terrifying thought, indeed.

I snorted, wiping my muzzle with the back of my forehoof. About ten percent left, I would wager. I could use the rest of my reserves to strike a decisive blow against this Lieutenant of Death, this servant of ‘Zooval’, whoever that guy was. Someone that most definitely shouldn’t have the power to remake reality. Who knows what they were going to do after having achieved that goal. Nothing good, I bet.

I knew not trusting those blue angel ladies was the best decision I could have ever made. None of them could be trusted, least of all this ‘Master’ over the Realm of Death.

The question, though, was what could I do to avoid such a cruel fate? This was a fundamental force of the universe we were speaking of here, there was no defying death and getting away with it. Not as I had and... maybe this was always meant to happen. It was only a matter of time until something dragged me back to where I belonged, wasn’t it? But... if I had to go out like this, I sure as heck would attempt to make sure that it wasn’t a pointless death.

Not even once did I hesitate to make the decision of what I did next. All I did was mourn as I made it, aware of how much pain it would bring to those closest to me. But I had to do something... anything.

I was selfish. Always have been, always will be. I might pretend to have changed, but at my core, I was still that deeply selfish person. I just... I can’t lose another pony, not another loved one... not like this. I won't watch another single pony die while I could pay the price for their freedom, instead. Not again.

I conveniently ignored that I would lose everyone with this, anyway, but... someone had to do something. Better me than anypony else.

“Die, witch,” I spat, pouring every little bit of love I had left in me into my horn. Time slowed down to a crawl as I watched the shield around us wink out of existence as I sent a lance of pure love towards the specter of pure hatred. The following scream fell on deaf ears as my body began to collapse to the ground. There was, at best, only a little glimmer of love left in my body. Not enough to sustain me for long, I knew that with perfect clarity. Death would come and claim me once more, there was no way around it.

Leaf... I’m going to find you. You and Amore, in our next life. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. My subjects. Or even the Crystal Heart.

I had hoped that I would be able to stand a chance against them, but I failed even you, mysterious voice. Weaver of Fate, my ass. The only fate I wove was failure upon failure.

I brought naught but ruin to Unicornia. I started something that I shouldn’t have, but... that’s not going to matter anymore, is it? Death was coming for this world, anyway. Damn you umbrum. Little soulless monsters, all of them.

At least I knew what love felt like. The warmth, the flippy feeling in my stomach, the sweet smell of honey... I’m going to miss it. I’m not looking forward to the soul-rending cold of the Realm of Death, the sheer despair and numbness. The bleak and dark world bathed in shadows. The one that was most likely going to await me there (after dragging my soul to this ‘Maw’, I guess). I really wish I didn’t have to go back there, but there was no way around it, was there?

It was a good time that I had with all of my little ponies. I didn’t get to start my own hive, but... I kinda had a family, nonetheless. And it was by far bigger than the one Tabetha, Tobias, and... Sam... could have ever hoped to have.

I wonder what became of them. Tabetha and Tobias. Did they find themselves reborn in this world as well? I’m sorry if that was the case. I suppose I even failed you guys. You won’t ever know it, but... I forgive you. I forgive you for strapping me into that machine, Tabetha. I forgive you for never being the caring parent that I wanted, Tobias.

And... I’m sorry, Sam... I’m sorry that I squandered my chance at a new life like this. That I all but erased what made you, you. As sad as that was... I hope you might forgive me for that, even if you never can. After all, I made you into me. It would be impossible for you to forgive me, wouldn’t it? I would have to travel back in time in order to earn that forgiveness. Not that I would ever deserve it, I suppose.

A novel thought, wasn’t it? Time travel. Humanity might have achieved something like that, for all I know. Not anytime in the near future, I’m certain, but... perhaps at some point, we might have. Not before going entirely bald, I mused to myself.

Bald apes... in a way, humans were mythological creatures in their own right, weren’t they? After all, if bug horses can exist, then humans were equally as strange in nature. The only species on Earth to evolve past their basic animalistic behaviors, learn to walk upright on two legs, and adapt to almost any environment they set their eyes upon, building truly awe-inspiring things, from the tallest of buildings to the most complex of technologies. It was so very remarkable. Astonishing, really. If only we hadn’t squandered such a gift on playing with fire. Or with souls, in my particular case.

I hope they destroyed that machine Tabetha built. Such things were never meant to exist. Meddling with souls was perhaps the worst crime one could commit. For that alone, I probably deserved whatever awaited me in that ‘Maw’ the umbrum had alluded to. It must be a scary place indeed if they named it the Maw and not Hell. One could only wonder how horrific it must be there to be sent to a place like that.

As everything began to go dark on me, I watched in anticipation as my last attack struck ‘Mother’ and reduced her from the behemoth of a shadowy fiend to... n-no. No, no, no! That... t-that’s not possible! T-there was n-no way that... t-that...

Mother’s head slowly turned back around after my attack had twisted her body into a mangled mess, but... it didn’t stay like that for long. Her form seemingly bore nary a scratch as she rapidly healed her injuries with savage grunts and growls. Well, 'nary a scratch' aside from a glowing white scar on her face, that is. And, to make things even worse, she looked majorly pissed off. She most definitely wasn't in the mood to 'play games' anymore.

I just poked a slumbering beast, didn't I? Mother would, no doubt, bring everything she could bear down on me and those I've genuinely come to call family. There was no more holding back, I could see it clearly in her eyes. I had managed to scar her absolutely hideous face and earned her ire.

I was left stumped, horrified beyond measure. Just... how could this be? If not even a lance of pure love was enough to get rid of these abominations, what would it actually take to bring them down?! Nothing I could do has proven itself to be effective, how was I supposed to protect my ponies against something like that?

The last image I saw was a twisted skeletal grin on her face and I despaired. The umbrum won, just like that. How can anyone stand against them and hope to win? It was impossible. Utterly. Impossible. Was death inevitable for this world?

“Do not lose hope, Weaver. Your time has not yet come.”

An image appeared in front of me and I knew with perfect clarity who that voice belonged to. It was the voice from my vision reaching out to me. It... it belonged to the one whose heart we had found ourselves in the possession of; none other than the Soul of the World itself was reaching out to me.

“You are so close, Child of Fate. You only need to insert the key and open the door.”

I was completely and utterly stunned, barely even catching parts of that last sentence as I stared at her appearance. Or his... I wasn’t so certain, it was kinda hard to tell. They were so very beautiful and it felt like I was committing a sin by gazing upon them so brazenly. A being made entirely out of crystal, shining with an inner light that touched my very soul. I had no words for what happened next, but... it felt like I was being embraced while I returned to consciousness, the Crystal Heart floating high in the sky as it pulsed, faster and faster. A last echo-y whisper of ‘protect the chosen, open the door’ continued to linger in my ears.

I don’t even know what door they meant and where I was supposed to find it (much less what I would need it for). A problem for another time, I mused, feeling Amore’s crystalized coat against my chitin. I let out a soft murmur, watching as everypony around us lent their help to the artifact slowly expanding a shield so strong around us, the umbrum had no chance to even put a hairline crack in it. And they tried. Oh, they definitely tried, angry wails bashing against the impenetrable shield of pure love.

“Y-you’re... y-you’re such an idiot,” Amore scolded me. His voice was wobbling quite heavily as he let out a shaky sigh, hugging me tightly against himself while tears ran down from his golden eyes in heavy rivers. It made my heart clench with guilt at the sight of him being so distraught, never having seen him quite this emotional before. No wonder, after what I've just made him go through, seeing me collapse like that... I’d be no better off than him. “I have never met such an insufferable idiot that is so carelessly selfless. Do you have no regard for your own life?!”

“I’m sorry, ‘more,” I whispered, my voice growing even quieter as shame flooded my entire being. There were no words that could ever convey how much I regretted having had to do what I had to do, thinking it to be the only solution to our plight. We were lucky this time, our only saving grace having been the very thing keeping us safe right now. What a damn fucking Deus Ex Machina. “I’m so sorry... so very sorry...”

“You better be,” he said, crushing me even tighter, afraid he would lose me if he let go of me. I understood his fear perfectly, having felt it time after time in the short time since my reincarnation. I doubt this would be the last time, either. “You told me that you can’t lose me and go and do this. I can’t believe you, you... y-you damn moron. Y-you're a fucking hypocrite, Ara.”

“I had no idea what to do,” I murmured, sniffling. “They would have broken through, anyway... I-I... I couldn’t just have done nothing, ‘more...”

“We could have run, Ara! You could have done anything but throw your life away, for fuck’s sake!” he shouted, letting out trembling sobs as he buried his teary muzzle in my silky mane. Piercing hot stabs of anguish flared to life in my chest as I felt his distress and love, his concern and care, his fear and relief. It left me almost gasping at the intensity of his emotions, they were that strong. That I could even feel them from here was a true testament to that, the Crystal Heart was barely visible in the sky from our position were it not for its brilliant glow. And they were all directed towards me and nopony else. “By the light of the twin suns, don’t ever do that to me again. If you’re not allowed to lose me, then you’re not allowed to leave me, either! Do you hear me?!”

“Loud and clear,” I answered, leaning my head ever so slightly away from his chest in order to gaze into his frightened, tear-stained eyes. I gave him a tiny smile in reassurance, hoping he would believe my next words. I wasn’t certain whether I was truthful with them or not, but I swore to myself that I would always try to uphold them, no matter what. I owed at least that much to him. “I promise, Amore. I won’t leave you for as long as you don’t leave me, either.”

“Good,” he breathed out a shaky sigh, all of his tears spent. “I love you, you dumb bug. My heart almost broke into a million pieces as I saw you fall to the ground like that. Had it not been... had it not been for the Crystal Heart, I fear we would all be dead now.”

“What happened?” I asked, seeing everypony around us with the same type of crystalized coat. I wasn’t entirely unaffected either, I noticed. My wings sparkled and let out the faintest chime every time they so much as fluttered the slightest way. It was honestly the most beautiful thing aside from Amore’s eyes.

“The Crystal Heart reacted to... something... you did,” Amore began, gazing at everypony around us with me. “I think it was true love.”

“What do you mean?” I turned back to him, confused. True love? If that was the case, wouldn't it have gone nuclear as soon as I confessed my love to him on the mountain? Not that I would pretend to think that this was true love just yet. I kinda doubt I was his fated partner from another reality.

“For an empath, you really are clueless, aren’t you?” he chuckled, wiping his face clean with his fetlock, an almost imperceptible smile on his muzzle. I pouted up at him, wondering what I did to deserve that jab. Aside from almost dying again, I guess. That list of ‘dumb things I did since reincarnating’ got steadily longer, didn’t it? And that's without me having to give it a try (not that I wanted to make it into a habit, in the first place). “Love isn’t only something you hold for somepony else, it’s... more than that. It’s a connection, a gift freely given. And you? You love each and everypony here unconditionally and with such fierceness, you would do literally anything for them. If that isn’t true love, I don’t know what is.”

"Oh..."

His words resonated deep within me. They were true, weren’t they? Shadra, Arachne, and I... we would do everything in our power to keep our hive... our empire safe from harm. And what was our empire if not the ponies in it? They are our family.

I hummed, leaning my head against Amore’s chest again. It still felt like regular fur despite its crystalline appearance. And his comforting smell was still the same slightly musky scent that always made me feel... kinda horny for him, but also safe.

It was his love keeping us safe from the monsters at our doorstep now, so I guess he really was the only reason we were safe now. Without him finding the Crystal Heart and bonding with it, we might have never come so far as to defy the forces of Death like this.

My eyes went back to the crystal floating in the sky and I felt a smile worm itself upon my muzzle. Amore wasn’t quite the damsel in distress I first thought him to be, was he? Maybe he was also a knight in shining armor, after all. Or... a prince.

<Oh, for fuck’s sake... kiss him already. I swear, it's like listening to the most cheesy and mushy record stuck in a loop with you,> Shadra grumbled impatiently and I giggled to myself, doing just that. Amore's lips felt like a silent reassurance on mine. A promise to always be there for each other. And it brought that flutter I was so addicted to back. I hoped it would never ever leave me, it just felt so incredibly good, being in his presence like that.

Before long, we broke the kiss and were faced with a rather difficult question. What do we do now? We were surrounded on all sides by the umbrum seeking their way in, something that we can’t allow to let happen. That also meant we couldn’t exactly leave, which meant... no way to get materials to build with.

I suppose there were worse things than having to live in tents for the time being, but that wasn’t really my main concern. If we really need to, we could create a mine and get stone that way. No, what I was mainly worried about was water. We were nowhere near close enough to a river, let alone a stream. Our only option was to, once again, dig below the ground. I don’t think we would get lucky and find a network of underground caverns, and creating a well might have been a bit of a difficult task since the soil was so rich in crystals. Not like we had an alternative, I suppose. Sending out pegasi to collect clouds would be far too risky and dangerous with the umbrum prowling around. Not to forget, I have yet to see any of those icy horse-like spirits that I saw in the vision.

Whatever those were, I doubt they are going to stay hidden for long if we dare to leave our little slice of 'heaven'. I had kinda hoped we would find a place to settle down in that was a bit more... homey... but instead, we get a big ass shield with mad raving dogs on our front lawn. I really wish we had gone to the coast now, this was just depressing.

On top of that, our supplies were also starting to run out. Something that wasn’t quite as dire as I first thought it would be since the majority of the earthponies were quite well-versed with agriculture due to certain... circumstances. Setting up fields wouldn’t be that much of a problem, we had seeds aplenty. That is, if it weren’t for our little water predicament (and the soil being what it was: a pain to plough).

Luckily, we had Arachne to thank for a solution, one that was probably equally as risky and dangerous as just straight up leaving the shield in order to go scavenge. She modified our instant changeling-fire portal to be a bit more... stable, I guess... to keep it open for longer lengths of time, meaning we could temporarily sneak out with the umbrum none the wiser (leaving us with the only other problem of setting up a farm).

The pegasi volunteered for the dangerous mission of filling as many carts with snow and ice from the mountain as quickly as they could, helping us immensely in the survival department. It left me worrying each and every time they went out there, though, hoping beyond hope that nothing bad would happen to them.

While I wanted to help them to the best of my ability, keeping them safe out there and whatnot, I was... sadly unable to do anything from the confines of the shield projected by the ever pulsing Crystal Heart. My body simply couldn’t handle the climate further up the mountain and Amore couldn’t go with them due to having to keep that shield up. Without him here, I fear the Crystal Heart wouldn’t be able to safeguard all of us for long.

Thus, it didn’t take long until something did go wrong. The umbrum weren’t stupid, it was only a matter of time until they caught on that they couldn’t starve us out of the shield and went to go investigate what the cause behind that was. Gentle Breeze didn’t make it back through the portal in time before my concentration waned and I had to close it or risk the umbrum finding their way right in.

It took me a while to get over that loss. I was careless and it cost me another pony. Understandably, I let my emotions get the better of me as I raged and raged, kicking and smashing my hooves against the crystals jutting out of the ground repeatedly until they started to bleed from ugly cracks in my chitin. Amore had to restrain me before I could hurt myself further, holding me gently against his chest as I cried my heart out even as Serene Orchard bandaged my wounds with clean strips of cloth.

There was a rather somber atmosphere hanging over everypony afterward as we held the ceremony for Gentle Breeze, hammering in the reality of our situation even further into us that we were by no means ‘safe’ even with the shield protecting us.

Noling ever said building up an empire from scratch would be easy. It would take a lot of heartache and loss, something that I knew on an intellectual level but... not on an emotional one. In books, those things had always only ever been numbers and nothing more. Statistics. Quantities with no real connection to. Out here, trying to survive to the best of our abilities? Any and all losses felt like a particularly vicious stab to the heart. I was in no way prepared for that soul-wrenching hurt, even after having gone through everything the revolution in Unicornia could throw at me.

I have seen death, been to a place no mortal has ever laid their eyes upon... and yet, losing somepony else always hurt the most. It was a deep-running agony, knowing that someone was just... gone.

The burden of the crown is a heavy one. I never thought I would get to learn what exactly that phrase meant, but here I was, sending ponies to their potential deaths for the sole purpose of our continued survival. And I doubted it would stay with that one time only, as much as I wished for it to not be so. It would happen again and again, I knew that it was but an inevitability. Things could and would always go wrong to some degree, no matter what. All I could do was to try and keep that loss to a minimum.

I needed to be smarter, not fight harder. And that meant I needed to be a lot more cautious from that point onwards. I wasn’t just cautious, though. No... I was ridiculously cautious with where and when I decided to open that portal.

At first, I tried using the cover of the night to our advantage, only to find out that the damn abominations didn’t even need to sleep. At all. It shouldn't have come as a surprise to me, to be honest. After all, I had been in the Realm of Death for who knows how long and knew perfectly well that ghosts don’t sleep (duh).

After that, we came up with the idea of opening them at random times as well as using 'decoy' portals to keep it as unpredictable as we could manage and were... semi-successful with that. It gave us enough time to make a quick grab and run, but the umbrum were starting to patrol through the mountains twenty-four hours around the clock, making it increasingly harder to find new locations to open portals to.

It only took one meager week for things to go from bad to worse. The mine we created did lead to a vast cavernous system of natural tunnels filled with nothing but crystals, the odd few mushrooms, and... something... that lurked within them. We narrowly avoided losing the group of ponies exploring the underground world we 'stumbled' upon to the giant worm thing-y biting through the massive crystals like they were made out of butter. The risk of encountering more of those things just to find a clear water lake was most certainly not worth the potential losses, in my opinion.

I knew that there must be (drinkable) water down there somewhere, but... it was just too damn dangerous. I couldn’t in good conscience allow my ponies to venture forth into the darkness in order to try and secure our survival for good. We would have to find another way, somehow. Whether that was by finding another source of water or by finding a way to slay that monstrous beast and any others we might find (I doubted it was the only one down there). From what we learned of it, though, that seemed like an unlikely possibility. The thing’s hide was as strong or even stronger than the crystals that it ate, and, on top of that, it reflected every spell that was thrown against it. It would take a miracle for us to get rid of it anytime soon (if ever).

I was beginning to think that we had simply exchanged one prison for another, moving away from Unicornia to this suns-forsaken place. There was nothing here aside from monsters out to seek the end of our existence. And I doubt aid would find us anytime soon with nopony aware of our unfortunate predicament. We were quite literally in the middle of nowhere, far away from any other type of civilization.

I fear that, if we were to send out a missive asking for help, we would be sending not only the messenger but also our allies straight to their own doom. Unicornia might have come to our aid, if for no other reason than Amore being best friends with Queen Gold Bar, but I doubt even their magical old farts council could defeat the umbrum without risking their own deaths in the process, and, in turn, the rest of the world. Without the daylight cycle, the umbrum might have won just as well.

It was a wonder they were that fixated on the Crystal Heart that they completely disregarded that possibility. Maybe they weren’t aware of the actual workings behind that, as doubtful as I was of that, myself. Until I saw them raise the moon and suns, I would remain healthily skeptical of that.

It was a truly maddening idea, that this world’s inhabitants’ survival was entirely dependent on a group of about ten unicorns in charge of the heavens. Laughable, that’s what it was. Laughably easy to bring about the end of this world, in so many ways. This world was a damn house of cards, taking just one piece out of it would bring everything toppling down. It was honestly a wonder that the ponies of this world had survived for this long, pitted against odds like that. And what do they do with that miracle? Enslave their fellow ponies. Pathetic.

What the actual fuck was wrong with this world? I was seriously considering cutting off my soon-to-be city-empire from the rest of the world until they grew the fuck up (if we weren’t already caged in like animals, that is).

As it is, I had little hope to see the other kingdoms get the sticks out of their behinds during my lifetime. As much as I wanted to see that happen, see this world come even a little bit closer to what Earth had become... it would sadly remain a dream, I fear. At least I could make sure my empire became a shining beacon for the entire world to envy... eventually. If we survive for that long, that is, seeing as that wasn't exactly a guaranteed thing right now.

A little glimmer of hope did come to us eventually, though. And just as I was about to lose hope entirely, too. One of the earthponies managed to... crystalize... the berries they cultivated, increasing their yield and lowering the water requirements drastically.

Apparently, they also tasted pretty nice, as well. I couldn’t actually tell, they tasted like every other plant I tried to eat (despite me knowing what the outcome of that would be): like stale, bland cardboard... which totally didn’t make me jealous of Amore and our subjects. Definitely.

One of these days, I will find something I could nibble on without it tasting like utter crap. After all, why do I even have teeth to begin with if they are next to useless? Aside from phonetics and my fangs, I guess.

That doesn't mean I was desperate enough to try out anything that crossed my path, though. I'd never sully my muzzle with other insects or have a repeat performance of what I remembered the cockatrice's blood to have tasted like. Meat was off the table entirely and I wasn't much of a fan of seafood, either. I might try my luck with mushrooms next, I wasn't looking forward to those as much as I had been with the crystal berries, but who knows? It can't be worse than eating literal garbage could be, after all.

As it was, more and more of those ‘crystal crops’ began to pop up as time went on (sadly tasting no different to me, as well). I began to believe that something in the soil was responsible for that. That or the Crystal Heart. They were completely edible as far as we could tell. And quite nutritious, on top of that.

One thing we did notice, though, was the fact that our ponies started to ‘resemble’ crystals in a more physical way. Don't get me wrong here, they were still very much made out of flesh and bones and all those squishy bits in between, but... some sort of element was beginning to turn them into what we began to call ‘crystal elementals’, for lack of a better term. Beings that were nature given form, something that could have come straight out of mythology back on Earth. Or a Dungeons and Dragons book.

I wasn't quite as affected by this phenomenon as the 'crystal ponies' were aside from my wings, tail, and mane (although, if one looked closely enough, my chitin did give off a subtle 'mystical' shimmer now). Like my subjects, my eyes had adopted a more crystalline-like appearance, and, to be honest, they made me look really pretty (which was all I actually cared about).

There was one common trait between everypony, though, and that was the fact that the change made everyone more 'sturdy' and resilient to blunt force. What would have broken a bone before (or my chitin, for that matter), only caused some minor swelling here and there, and I even saw some ponies completely shrug off things that would have previously led to a disastrous (if not lethal) wound.

That didn't mean we were completely invulnerable, though. The coat of my (very pretty) subjects could still be pierced by something that was sufficiently sharp enough to breach regular skin or hide (such as my fangs, for example). And no matter how much blunt force could be withstood by the crystallization, falling from high enough heights still ends up with you as a gory pancake on the ground (I'm not going to go into detail about how I knew that particular fact, but some pegasi were definitely better off living on the ground instead, seriously).

A few months after we had well and truly begun to settle down in our own little slice of ‘paradise’, having managed to build the first rudimentary houses made out of the crystals that were so commonly found around here, I started to get... urges. Not the sexual kind, mind out of the gutter, please. Okay, maybe those too, but I was constantly horny, anyway! It didn’t take long until Arachne, Shadra and I figured out why that was and what exactly we felt the need for.

We were about to lay our first egg, finally having moved past the virgin queen phase. Although... I didn’t feel nearly ready enough. Sure, we did kinda get a nursery ready (if one could call 'a hole in the ground' that), but... I had no fucking idea what to actually do. It was so very nerve-wracking and exciting and... and nerve-wrackingly exciting. I was, for all intents and purposes, crawling across walls (sometimes even literally, as we found out we were indeed capable of such things despite our initial assumptions that it wouldn't work due to our weight), I just wasn’t able to get my heart to slow down for a single minute as I was about to lay a freaking egg. Probably even multiple ones. Probably even a lot, for all I knew!

For the love of all that was sinfully sexy about Amore, I was about to lay eggs! Holy shit, I’m... I’m going to be a mother...

Shadra muttered, sighing exasperatedly as I ignored her in favor of, well... fidgeting anxiously around in the dark little cave we had ‘excavated’ ('liquified' would be a better word for it, to be honest).

I can't help but keep marveling at the multitude of things that our changeling flames were capable of (not that it was all that easy or pleasant going through the process of reforming the crystal-rich stone using the highly magical flame), I'll probably never find out every little thing they could do. I suppose the fires of change would be an appropriate moniker for them.

In the end, it was surprisingly warm down here after we were done with creating the room, making sure it was circulating fresh air to and from the surface world with the help of a few vents we dug out. It was also very pretty to look at, almost having an inner glow coming from it as it reflected the light of our magic beautifully back at us.

Arachne suspected that the crystals we had ‘melted’ to make the comb in the walls were able to retain heat more easily through something that she began to call the Crystal Emotional Resonance Theory. I didn’t quite follow the specifics of her mad ramblings when she began to spout off theories about magic suffusing our surroundings even more than we had initially assumed, but from what I gathered, the crystals could store different forms of energy.

Apparently, since the crystals were ‘resonating’ with the Crystal Heart, they could also store emotions. Something that wasn’t quite as useful as I had initially hoped, only able to hold a fraction of what we could store with our honey, but the passive suffusion of our surroundings had the nice added effect of making an ideal space to build a hive nursery with.

It wouldn’t be able to feed the brood, but it would keep it quite comfortable. That’s something I was very much glad for, even though I still struggled to find a comfortable spot to lie down on.

<If you keep fidgeting around like that, that little comfort blanket of yours will tear,> Shadra snarked, sending me a mental image of her sneering at me. <And then you'll start bawling your eyes out like the little crybaby you are and embarrass yourself further, dear. Where's that strong queen I fell in love with now, hmm?>

<Shut up, Shadra. I am calm,> I hissed back, lying through my teeth as I grumbled grumpily to myself in the middle of the ‘modestly’ large room with hexagon-shaped holes in the walls. There weren’t that many of them (yet), we hadn’t gotten around to creating more for the purpose of laying our eggs in them, but it wasn’t like I didn’t already intend to limit the growth of my hive, anyway. While we didn’t have a shortage of emotions, we still needed to find a reliable source of water that wasn’t a quick grab and run from the mountain. I still held out hope we might find an underground lake down in the Crystal Caverns without having to fight off the damn worm every time we decide to go traipsing around in there.

Yeah, we started to name things, too. It was the Crystal Mountains, the Crystal Empire, the Crystal Caverns... very imaginative, wasn’t it? Sometimes my ponies were as creative as me on a good day. Oh, how very proud I was of them...

Shadra grumbled with a huff, mentally poking me like she always did when she was annoyed with me. <If you’re not calm, you might cramp up and that definitely won’t be a good thing while trying to lay eggs. I'm sorry for the comment earlier, but... I'd rather not deal with an actual crybaby just because she was too inept to calm the fuck down.>

<Can that even happen? Crushing an egg before I lay it?> I asked, fearful.

<You shouldn’t worry too much about that,> Arachne commented, soothing my fears immensely. <An egg can withstand a lot before it is laid. I do agree with Shadra that you should calm down, though. While her words were a bit crass and disrespectful to you, My Queen, they have a certain amount of merit. It's going to be a far less painful affair when you aren't freaking out over it.>

<Why can’t Amore be here?> I pouted, rolling over so that I was lying sideways while holding the end of the blanket in between my forelegs, finally finding a semi-comfortable position on the big fluffy blanket.

Yes, it's a fucking comfort blanket, shut up. I don't care what anyone thinks, it's either that or sticking my butt into each chamber like an idiot. Besides, it's the only real piece of ‘luxury’ and comfort that I was comfortable with allowing myself to have at the moment, preferring to give up most of those things so that my subjects could have them instead.

And here I always kept on insisting that I was selfish. I suppose my unending hunger for love made up for that part, huh? I really wish Amore was here with me, I could have really used a warm, snuggly pillow right about now, trying to distract me from the feelings running through my body and the damn uncomfortable ground just not feeling nice to lay on even with a blanket underneath me.

<Because you keep hissing at him and every other pony as soon as they come even near the entrance of this place?> Shadra pointed out, mentally rolling her eyes at me and sending me a picture of her sticking her tongue out at me. I felt my eyelid twitch and I let out an irritated huff. I really am going to fuck her up that tight snatch of hers if she kept her attitude up like that. Amore still didn’t have sex with me even though my pheromones were starting to make him majorly horny for me. Stupid sexy Shadra keeping herself “pristine” for lover boy.

<It’s a defense mechanism,> I argued weakly, still not understanding why I kept doing that. It probably had something to do with our instincts as a changeling queen for all I knew. Arachne came up with the theory that it might have got something to do with how a hive of honey bees releases alarm pheromones when something that definitely shouldn’t be in it intrudes upon them, threatening the survival of the entire hive. I don’t think it was quite as bad as that in our case, but it did have some merit. We did smell a little bit funny whenever it happened (kinda similar to bananas, actually), but... I still think that it mostly happened because this place was only meant for queens and caretakers. Well, that and the brood, of course.

Before I could complain some more, I felt something... shift... and I let out a quiet pathetic moan as a 'weird' feeling spread itself throughout my lower region. A warmth of an entirely different kind began to circulate within me like a wildfire, making me screw my eyes shut in fearful anticipation. On one hoof, I was very apprehensive of what was going to happen mere moments from now, but on the other hoof? I felt... giddy. So very excited to finally get to act upon my purpose of being a queen. Already, daydreams were running wild on me of how my brood would look like and what it would be like to have them fill up the hive mind with their presence.

There were no words to describe how much joy welled up in my heart at this simple act of bringing new life into the hive. The uncomfortable 'squirming' feeling within me was almost entirely forgotten as my body practically went on auto-pilot.

Sensations I have never felt before in my life shot through me in a rush of heat, evoking the strangest feelings of something slowly moving from within me and I let out a heavy moan as I avoided biting my fetlock and instead stuffed the corner of the blanket into my mouth, panting through my nostrils. The warmth spreading through me reached an entirely new height and I felt like I was going to orgasm from that alone had it not been for the feeling of unused muscles awakening for the very first time.

Instinctively, my body gave the tiniest little twitchy contraction within my abdomen and I knew with perfect clarity that my body had just pushed the egg past the 'mixing chamber' connected to my sperm pouches, fertilizing it in the process with the sperm from one of the random stallions I had fucked senseless. Things were far from over, though.

The fertilized egg traveled further through me until I could actually feel it slightly stretch my vagina as it was about to leave my body any moment from now. I turned my heavily flushed face towards my back half as my breath came out in ragged puffs, letting go of my comfort blanket as I watched in morbid fascination as the egg was pushed out of me by my clenching vaginal walls.

A warm smile wormed itself onto my muzzle as my very first egg entered the world, gently rolling to a stop on the fluffy blanket. It was just the first of many yet to come and I feared we wouldn’t actually have enough space to put them all into their own chamber in the brood comb. Already, I could tell another was on its way before its sibling was even out of me, the 'weird' feeling being no doubt an indicator that my ovary was hard at work releasing a oocyte into the duct where it would gain its yolk and later be fertilized by one of my spermathecae releasing sperm into the 'mating chamber', 'mixing chamber', 'seeding chamber', or whatever else it was actually called (Arachne was quite thorough in her explanation, but... I might have slept through half of her lecture about insect mating habits and how eggs came to be... suffice to say, you don't wanna know the exact details of how spiders or bees mate).

The egg lying on the blanket, sticky from my slick tunnel’s fluids and other 'leftover liquids', was... shaped more like a long pill instead of the usual oval shape that came to mind when I thought of eggs. Aside from its unusual shape, it was also kinda really tiny and sort of a little bit see-through. I couldn’t actually make out anything definitive from within it just yet, but I imagine that was something that would change very quickly in the coming days. <Say, is it supposed to be that small? I could hold it with one hoof, really.>

<Don’t touch it!> Arachne admonished me before I could actually scoop the little thing tiredly up in wonderment. <It doesn’t have a hard shell from the looks of it.>

<Right, sorry,> I winced, withdrawing my hoof before letting out a labored breath. My body was pretty much aflame in exertion, burning through more energy than I thought I would need for this (not like it was that much of a wonder, I was giving birth, after all). All of that from a single egg and a second one was already almost out of me, as well. Just a little bit further, I could tell, and it would join its sibling in the outside world. I suppose I could understand our instincts a little bit better now, seeing how vulnerable they looked and how much energy it took out of us during the process of laying them. <What do I do with it..?>

<Place them very, very carefully within a chamber in the comb with your magic,> Arachne instructed me and I nodded, using up all of my focus to keep my hold on them as gentle as I possibly could. Thankfully, before the third one found its way out of me, I had deposited the other two in their designated spaces nearest to me, putting them in the back like Arachne told me to do. A proud feeling started to well up within me as I beheld my hard work so far. I couldn’t wait to see them leave the nursery as fully-fledged changelings... <They should hatch into larvae in about three days if my estimates are correct and we are indeed closer to bees than spiders in terms of reproduction cycle.>

<Mhmm,> I hummed, letting out a breathy moan as I felt another egg leave me. At this rate, I wouldn’t even know how many I was going to end up laying. With the assistance of Arachne, the three eggs that had piled up before I laid that one were carefully deposited in their new temporary homes. Without her help, I doubt I would have been able to screw up the necessary focus to use my magic in a sufficiently gentle manner. And yet, another egg was already almost out while the next one started its journey.

<You’re really in the zone right now, aren’t you?> Shadra commented, quietly snickering to herself. I let out a muted grunt, ignoring her as I lazily reached a hoof out to a jar filled with pure love, one of the few that I had set aside solely for myself in preparation for this very day. I was too impatient to care about getting the lid off neatly and used my fangs to simply rip it off in order to get at my price faster. Laying about ten eggs was already enough to make me go hungry, I might have to keep a more substantial amount of honey around for the next time this happens. <Breaking out the good stuff that quickly, huh?>

I growled lazily back, dipping my tongue back into the sweet glorious substance that was changeling honey. It didn’t diminish my hunger as much as I had hoped it would, but the worst pangs were thankfully abated. I definitely need to store more honey for the next time, I mused. A lot more.

<Don’t tease her, you idiot,> Arachne scolded our stupidly sexy bitchy little Princess and I heard Shadra yelp as if hit by something over the head. I chuckled quietly to myself as I tried to ignore one of the more painful shifts in my abdomen, getting the feeling like two eggs just decided to make the journey simultaneously. Or in short succession, I guess. That was probably the next best thing to actual twins, I would have to say. Can twins even happen with insects? A question for later, perhaps. <Laying eggs is an energy-intensive undertaking, Shadra. Ara needs all the food she can get right now. Usually, we would have a few caretakers here with us feeding us directly, but since this is our first clutch, we will have to make due.>

<Wait, what? Directly?> I asked, dumbfounded. <As in..?>

<Yes, from mouth to mouth,> Arachne explained, mentally rolling her eyes at me in the way that only she could pull off. <It’s by far faster that way and it doesn’t decrease the emotion’s potency like drying the honey would.>

I suppose that’s... yeah, no, it just seems weird. I don’t know whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages considering we’re talking about my brood feeding me here. It would be a different thing if Arachne and Shadra had their own bodies and could take on the task instead of... well... my kids.

<Ara, there’s nothing wrong about being fed by someling else,> Arachne pointed out, sounding like she was talking to an idiot again. We really need to get rid of that habit of hers, I thought with a pout.

<It’s not the getting fed thing itself,> I shot back before she could ramble on about why exactly it was better than using the changeling honey, instead.

<Our subjects,> Arachne corrected me, probably on autopilot. I let out a sigh as I levitated the latest batch of eggs to their place in the brood comb, knowing she didn't mean it exactly like she made it sound. I probably should start thinking along those lines, too, lest I became too attached to them (...fucking hell, it still sounded incredibly cold to me no matter how I tried to word it). I had absolutely no idea how Arachne did it, to be honest. <Besides, there’s nothing sexual about the act as long as you don’t make it into one, Ari. See it as... their profession instead of something personal. Newly hatched workers start out their life as attendants to the hive’s needs, making sure the brood and queen are well fed and that everything is kept clean.>

I muttered, opening another jar of honey in annoyance, almost breaking it as I ripped into it a bit too angrily. We probably should also get started on creating that storing chamber, not only was the comb a lot sturdier than the jars, we could also store a lot more honey in those and that's one thing we really needed to have. Once we have a stockpile going, we could also think about export in addition to making sure we wouldn't starve during rough times. Aside from that, I’d rather not re-use the comb meant for the brood to store honey in it, ‘efficiency’ be damned. <You’re trying to corrupt me with inappropriate behavior again, aren’t you? It’s like you don’t care about the fact that they are going to be our children, for fuck’s sake.>

<Says the one calling herself a succubus,> Shadra snickered and I felt my eyelid begin to twitch. <I seem to remember you entertaining the idea of wanting to ‘help out’ our subjects in the ‘fertilization of eggs’ department, or am I mistaken? Wasn’t it you that was oh-so-adamant about shedding our ‘pesky’ human morality so that we could embrace our new gloriously buggy life? Hmm? Was that just empty talk~?>

<One more word out of your little whore mouth and I’m going to switch with you, bitch,> I threatened, shutting her up pretty quickly. I huffed, rolling my eyes as my dear Princess was reduced to a stuttering mess of panic, and, to some small extent, arousal. Typical. It’s like she did this on purpose, the deviant. <That was before I realized they would be our friggin’ children, so I suggest you keep your snide comments to yourself, my bitchy little Princess. I'm not in the mood to deal with your shit on top of the sheer wrong Arachne keeps spouting out of her mouth.>

<Ari, I’m not trying to corrupt you,> Arachne denied while letting out an exasperated sigh. <I admit, I was perhaps a little bit too eager with... well... that (not that I think you’re overreacting a little bit here, to be honest), but the feeding thing is a completely normal part of life in a hive, there's nothing wrong about it. Since we don’t have any siblings and having other ponies down here to actively feed us is out of the question, that’s the only other alternative. Or would you rather waste precious resources by eating the less potent honey instead? Just think about it, royal jelly is the primary food source for a queen and the fact remains that only workers can produce it. You would be purposefully starving yourself (even more than you already do) because you can't look past a little technicality.>

I hated to admit it, but... Arachne had a point there, hadn't she? Drying the honey of moisture also caused it to be less potent, emotion-wise. It was still the best way to store emotions in the long term, but for the short term? It would be for the best to feed on something that was a bit less wasteful than our changeling honey and the Crystal Heart was out of the question in that regard, as well. I can’t default to draining it every time I had to lay eggs, after all. That would only serve to play right into the dirty smoky hooves of the umbrum and their ‘dear’ mother, something that I could under no circumstance ever let happen.

<Besides, royal jelly is not only the primary source of nourishment for a queen in the hive, it is also the equivalent to breast milk for our larvae,> Arachne explained, sounding almost giddy. She really could get happy about the strangest things sometimes. <Just think of how many eggs we could lay without having to go through a week’s worth of collecting honey in the span of a few minutes!>

<Keep in mind that we can’t support a population in the thousands, Arachne,> I admonished her, smiling ever so slightly at her enthusiasm (as much as her breast milk comment weirded me out, it does have its merits if we don't need as much honey that way). To be honest, though, she kinda had me there with the egg-laying part, the thought of being able to lay as many of them as I wanted excited me immensely. Still... <While I would absolutely love to see that happen someday, it’s sadly not going to happen any time soon. Right now, my worries lie with our ponies and we can’t start to outnumber them.>

<Fair enough,> Arachne nodded, sighing wistfully. <Although, one can dream, right? So many ‘lings... I can hardly wait!>

<Let us worry about the here and now first, okay?> I hummed, slowly getting used to the stab followed by the twitchy feeling in my abdomen each time my spermatheca was used to fertilize an egg. Not to mention, it felt kinda weird how my muscles gently pushed each egg out of my pussy... sort of like reverse sex, if that made any sense.

Initially, I had feared it to be much worse than this, but... I suppose mammals were fundamentally different from us in that regard, weren’t they? I really didn’t have that much in common with them anymore aside from my general shape (if the total lack of internal bones didn't already give that away, me laying eggs sure as fuck would have). It was almost... sad... actually. Not that I would ever want to go back to being a (pure) mammal, that seemed like it wasn’t glorious at all.

Being gloriously buggy was magnificent, after all, and I wouldn’t trade it for all of the love in the world.

Still, I had hoped that laying eggs would be a bit more... pleasant... than this, but I guess for the very first time doing this, it wasn’t so bad. It would start to become less and less cumbersome the more I did this, acclimatizing my body to the process in the long run. Already, it felt like it wasn’t quite as 'weird' as it was when I had laid my first egg and I did feel pleasure here and there, every once in a while. That was far better than what I knew of (natural) human childbirth (and probably pony foalbirth as well, judging by the screams I’ve had the 'pleasure' of hearing a few weeks ago around the camp blaming their herd mates for their ‘fortune’).

As it stands, I only had to deal with my hungry stomach, gentle labor contractions, and cramps.

<Ara?> Shadra mumbled, shyly. I let out a questioning hum, sighing as I felt an egg complete its journey. I took it into my telekinetic grip and regarded it fondly for a moment. It was such a fascinating thought to me, to think that such a little thing would become a pony-sized gloriously buggy changeling desiring nothing more than lots of cuddles, love, and a whole heap of naughty wish-fulfillment. <Can... could I... that is... uh... I mean, maybe? F-f-forget I asked...>

I smiled, carefully placing the egg where it belonged before taking a backseat in our body. A silent snicker escaped me as Shadra let out a squeak, biting her lip a bit too harshly as she felt exactly how I had felt when I experienced the activity of muscles we didn’t know we had in the first place. I gave my Princess a reassuring mental hug, telling her that it wouldn’t always feel this weird while helping her along with the process of pushing another egg out.

Only after the fact did we take notice of the fact that our body hadn’t used any of our stored sperm in the process of producing another egg (the lack of a twitch should have given that away immediately, but with Shadra moaning like a little bitch, it kinda escaped my notice). It wasn't hard to spot the difference between the other eggs and this one, seeing as it was noticeably bigger as we beheld it in the light of our magic.

<Drones usually come from these, don’t they?> I hummed, studying the egg with Shadra curiously. It wasn’t only bigger, though, it also had a mottled gray pattern on the slightly see-through shell. <What do you think, Arachne?>

<Judging by the difference in size,> Arachne muttered, her presence brushing against mine as Shadra let out a little gasp as another egg joined the one floating in front of us. We were thankfully quick enough to assert control over our horn to keep the first one from falling down to the ground, giving Shadra a much-needed break from concentrating on two things at once. <They might just grow to the same size as Quartzite Rock if our own height is presumably the average height of a changeling queen. After all, it wouldn't really work out in their favor if they couldn't do what comes naturally to them, and, considering how many stallions it took to fill up all of our spermathecae, they might end up on the more virile side, too.>

<An interesting theory, if anything,> I said, uncertain. <But do we even need drones? We don’t know if any other queens exist, do we?>

<Soldiers,> Shadra interjected weakly, pushing out another unfertilized egg as if she was doing it on purpose. Maybe she actually was, considering she took her purpose in the hive as seriously as Arachne and I did. <They’re going to be soldiers for the hive. Besides, you guys are working off of conjecture here that their sole purpose is to mate with other queens and die. That’s a bit of a bleak and heartless outlook to have, not to mention incredibly sexist.>

<It’s not sexist if it is a simple biological fact,> Arachne rolled her eyes, sounding like she was going to go off into lecture mode again.

<Be that as it may,> I said, stopping Arachne before my Princesses could get into a fight over this. Although... I do have to agree with Shadra on this one, it kinda was sexist, wasn't it? Not that declaring them all 'soldiers' in favor of 'drones' wasn't slightly sexist, either. If anything, forcing them into roles (or castes, whatever) seemed pretty shitty to me, but... it wasn't like I had a choice in the matter. After all, I was also being 'forced' into the role of Queen (willingly, granted, but still...). In the end, the will of the hive was perhaps just as strong, if not stronger, than our biological heritage. <We don’t even know whether they will be biologically ‘both’, so to speak, or not. It stands to reason that they will be, but just like us, they won’t be truly hermaphroditic in the sense that they can reproduce with both parts. We had this conversation before, hadn’t we? I’m sure we already came to the conclusion that drones are going to have the ability to fertilize eggs. After all, we have already proven that our ejaculate doesn’t bear any seed even with full sperm pouches, the same might just be true for our workers and drones.>

<Right,> Arachne sighed and muttered a quick apology to Shadra, thoroughly chastised. <I shouldn’t be so quick to write something off as fact just because my knowledge from Earth says so. After all, half of our knowledge isn't exactly in the most reliable state right now and then there's also the fact we’re only partially related to bees. And we don’t even know what kind, on top of that.

<Well, he was a megalomaniac thinking himself to be the god of a new age, what did you expect?> Shadra quietly commented, pushing one last egg out before yawning tiredly. <I'm not particularly proud of what... Tobias did, helping him create those monstrosities, as unwittingly as it was. Walter Bishop, too, for that matter. I'm glad the Fringe Division was there to stop that shit before it got out of hand.>

<That wasn't you, Shadra,> I sighed, pulling her with me into the hive mind as no new egg started its journey. My Princess squirmed for a moment within my embrace as I gave her a meaningful stare, knowing perfectly well she had been way too close to blaming herself before she corrected herself by saying Tobias’ name, instead. "You aren’t him, trust me. For one thing, that ass never stuttered around like a flustered little filly~."

“Hah hah,” Shadra grumbled, huffing as she stopped trying to escape my grasp. “I hate having these memories. We should have never stolen them. Or repaired them. Same thing, I guess.”

“Then I wouldn’t have you here with me, my love,” I whispered, planting a tiny kiss against one of her ears. “And that would have devastated me. I wouldn’t have known, sure, but... then I would have never made it out of that forsaken forest, either. I wouldn’t be here without you, Shadra. We owe our life to you.”

“I, uh...” Shadra blushed, averting her gaze from me with a bashful smile. She really was cute, there was no denying it. “T-thanks, I guess...”

I hummed, nuzzling her cheek lovingly. I couldn’t help but grin a little bit wider as she leaned herself more into my affections. “How about I make you feel good, hmm?”

The way her whole head exploded into a bright white blush made me giggle from the sheer adorableness in front of me. My Princess gave me a barely noticeable nod while also biting her lip in heavy anticipation. With a swift roll to the side, I had her trapped underneath me and saw her gulp nervously, her arousal practically assaulted my nostrils with the need for relief. Not that I needed to smell her to know how much she was already leaking, her snatch was already soaking wet, smearing its fluids against my hindleg as I brushed it over her excited vulva and I could tell that there was no end in sight to that anytime soon.

“My, my, how horny you already are...” I whispered seductively, brushing my muzzle against hers. “You really won’t reconsider having me or Arachne be your first, hm?”

“N-no...” Shadra stuttered back, glaring fiercely up at me. “I won’t let that choice be taken from me, My Queen. Not even by you.”

“A shame, truly,” I hummed, licking the side of her head slowly and sensually, not at all bothered by her decision to keep her vaginal virginity intact for our dear lover boy. It would only make that moment sweeter when I do finally take her and make her mine for eternity. Oh, how I couldn’t wait for that glorious moment where we become one in the most raunchiest way possible. Mhh... “How do you want me to please you, then~?”

“Just... kiss me. Put that tongue to use where it actually matters, My Queen. I want you to grind yourself against me and... and m-make love to me,” Shadra ordered me, blushing again from the sounds and movements my tongue made trailing over her chitin. I raised a brow at her 'request', intrigued, but did what was asked of me without a single moment of hesitation. I mean, if she wanted to command me around, I wouldn’t say no to that. I've got to admit, it was kinda kinky~.

Shadra’s gorgeous lips made way for my slender wet muscle and for a moment, we engaged in a skillful dance, neither losing ground to the other as we thoroughly explored each other’s muzzles. We hummed in contentment as nothing, absolutely nothing, could have ruined this moment between us. It was a moment captured for eternity, a single instance where no thoughts were needed to convey how much we cared for each other. It was a stark contrast to our very first meeting and I couldn’t have treasured this heavenly moment more. It was utterly perfect. Glorious, even.

Then, I felt Shadra move her hindleg just the slightest bit and I moaned out against her, briefly losing the battle we fought against each other with our slimy wet appendages for a second or two. That was all she needed to take advantage of the situation, though. And take advantage she did, smirking devilishly as I cried out against her as she held me in place with her forelegs.

Not to be outdone, I gave a single buck against her and was instantly rewarded with a little shriek, our panting breaths mingling with each other as we ravaged each other’s throat with our tongues. My Princess was relentless in her offensive, making me sing beautifully while my wings buzzed up a storm, which, in turn, caused her to sing back even louder with those gorgeous moans of hers.

We didn’t take our eyes away from each other as we made it into a competition of who would give in first, daring the other to surrender and admit defeat as we picked up the pace from there. Pretty soon, we were grinding against each other with reckless abandon, our dicks sandwiched between our stomachs, further increasing our pleasure each time they rubbed against the smooth shell of our abdomen.

“S-Shadra...” I moaned, gazing hotly down at my precious love, getting ever so closer to the finish. I could see it in her eyes, as well. My Princess was just seconds away from her own finish and it made my heart quicken in pure, unadulterated joy.

“Ara, I... I’m so close. P-please, I...” Shadra shot back breathily and I nodded, buzzing my wings fiercely. A few more frantic grinding motions and we both cried out against each other, our passion muffled as we captured the moment with a needy kiss while shudders wreaked absolute havoc on our bodies. The sticky feeling of our cum mixing together made me even hornier for my little Princess and I moaned in pure bliss.

“I love you,” I whispered, holding her close. “I love you so fucking much, my Princess. You. Not Tobias. I love you. You, dammit. Don’t ever forget that, my love.”

“I...” Shadra breathed out exhaustedly, a vulnerable look in her eyes. “You... you really love me that much?”

“Of course,” I smiled, capturing her lips greedily again while I caressed the side of her head with my hoof, trying to convey how much I actually meant it with my actions alone. Sadly, the lip-lock didn’t last for as long as I would have liked as we were forced to ultimately break it in order to come up for air again. “You, Arachne, and Amore. I belong to you and only you.”

“I love you, too, Ara,” she smiled back, closing her eyes in contentment. “As much as I loathe those memories of Tobias, I’m glad to have them if it means I can be here with you, My Queen.”

“We will learn to live with them, I promise,” I said, brushing a hoof through her mane lovingly. “As long as we never let them define us, we will be just fine. We are our own beings.”

“Wise words,” she mumbled, yawning ever so slightly. “How about we... take a little nap? I’m feeling kinda exhausted here.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” I whispered back, stifling a yawn of my own. “Laying eggs is far more draining than I thought...”

“Not helped by hot lesbian sex afterward,” Shadra commented tiredly, grinning back at me with that little sparkle in her half-lidded eyes as she watched me snuggle into her side with a content little hum. “Say, where’s Arachne, anyway?”

“Dunno,” I mumbled back sleepily, hugging her a bit tighter in a fit of possessiveness. “...don’t care. 'm gonna sleep now...”

Arachne let out a little hum as both her Queen and her Princess succumbed to some much-needed slumber. She gazed at the twenty-five-ish little eggs within the hexagon-shaped holes and smiled in satisfaction. The coming days would only get better, that much was almost a given. Already she couldn’t wait to see the little ones wriggle around for food as they grew to be the first of thousands to come. In the meantime, there was still work to be done.

A small little random thought entered her mind at that, and, after a brief moment of debate, a quick flash of fire replaced the typical magenta colors of her Queen with the purple ones of her own form before she slowly climbed out of the little nursery into the light of the mid-afternoon suns. Ponies were bustling around closer to the center of the shield while the Crystal Heart spun serenely up above, pulsing every so often.

"It's time for a little 'chit-chat' with Amore..." she hummed, and, with a little mischievous smile, Arachne hopped up into the air while her wings began to buzz in a steady rythm.

They were getting better at this whole flying thing even with the constant ache that act brought with it, she had to admit to herself. Still not anywhere near close to what she had observed the pegasi do with their wings, but it was a start. At least they weren’t crashing around every few minutes, anymore. Her Queen was still cautious about flying, especially after their wings got torn so badly, but that was something that would probably never change. It was endearing in its own way, her fear of flying at higher altitudes.

Quite ironic, too. The savior that fiercely brought justice to those standing in her way was afraid of plummeting to her own death from what amounted to the height of a tree sapling. Just the thought of what their brood would think of that made Arachne giggle silently to herself. It was cute. And a little bit pathetic, but who cares? She certainly didn’t, her Queen was her everything. Not even Amore could say that about himself and Arachne had to admit, the stallion was a fine specimen of his kind.

Speaking of said stallion, Amore was currently overseeing the construction of the very first road, or rather, the squabbling that had ensued between the dozen or so crystal ponies about where it should go.

“Eventful day?” Arachne asked, landing beside the tall lord. Or should she say prince, seeing that more and more ponies were starting to call him like that? It was a little bit mean of her Queen to go behind his back like that, but she had to admit, it did fit him pretty well. He certainly held himself like one, in her opinion.

“You could say that,” Amore grumbled as he dragged his hooves tiredly as he turned around to regard her giddy self. “Arachne?”

“Yep,” she smiled, popping the ‘P’ proudly. “Do you like what I did? I thought it would be easier to differentiate us like this.”

“Is that what you look like in your hive thing?” he asked, studying her curiously for a moment. “To be honest, I thought Shadra would be the one with the darker colors.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Arachne asked, narrowing her eyes on him.

“Nothing, nothing,” Amore chuckled nervously.

“That’s what I thought,” Arachne huffed, rolling her eyes in mischief. “After all, I’m the one that’s the sexy, tall, mysterious librarian kinda gal that deserves the dark seductive colors truly befitting of her magnificence.”

“You know, has anypony ever told you that you guys have a habit of being a little bit... narcissistic?” Amore smiled, nudging her side. Arachne pouted back at him, not at all insulted by what was essentially the truth, anyway. “It’s adorable, really.”

“That’s not quite the word I would use when talking to an obviously narcissistic person,” she shrugged. Then she grinned. “But thanks, I try.”

“I think we both know that it’s mainly for show, isn’t it?” he chuckled, rubbing his cheek against hers. “Are Araneae and Shadra busy?”

“If you categorize asleep as busy, then yes, they are very busy,” Arachne snorted. “You should have seen Shadra, all shy and meek as she asked our Queen if she could lay a few eggs. It was so cute~.”

“You three laid your first eggs?” Amore asked. “I suppose that’s the reason they are so tired, then? How many did you lay?”

“About two dozen or so,” Arachne shrugged. “They already filled about a quarter of the comb we had built so far. To be honest, we’re running on fumes right now, it took a lot out of us. All of us, I should say. I can still feel the after-effects from their... well, I can't really say labor since it was anything but taxing on our body. The worst they had to deal with was some abdominal pain and a minor fever. And being ravenously hungry...”

“Oh, dear,” Amore muttered, concerned. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine, love. I wasn't the one that laid the eggs, you should be asking our Queen that,” Arachne said, giving him a small, calculating look that belied her true thoughts. “Thanks for the concern, though. I appreciate it.”

“Always,” he whispered, placing a kiss against the side of her head. Arachne leaned herself against his side in contentment, turning back to watch the ponies move around every which way, changing the position of the little sticks jutting out of the ground every so often as they argued about the path going from the center out towards where they had planted the fields with the crystal berry bushes.

“Aren’t you going to tell them that the position doesn’t even matter?” Arachne asked, looking up at him.

Amore raised a brow back at her, silently asking her if she really thought he hadn’t already tried doing that. “Believe me, they will find arguments that completely negate everything I say to them. It’s not just this road they are trying to keep in mind, the problem lies with the roads that follow this one and it’s just a massive headache to get them to come to a compromise on.”

“That does seem like a difficult task,” Arachne muttered. “How long has this been going on?”

“Since you locked yourself away in that nursery of yours,” he grunted, rolling his eyes. “They won’t even listen to anything that I say. Trust me, if there’s one thing earthponies are known for, it’s their stubbornness.”

“Well, they haven’t come across human ingenuity yet, have they?” Arachne smirked, momentarily confusing Amore as she let out a loud whistle, silencing each and every pony as they turned towards her. “Alright, before anypony says anything, hear me out. You guys are all trying to come up with the perfect plan for the roads, right? I might have an idea that will shock the socks right off your... uh... hooves.”

Beside her, Amore dragged his hoof through his face at the weird phrase his marefriend just uttered (was that even the right word for her? Them? He was uncertain about that, their relationship certainly was a weird one), but to his surprise, everypony was currently hanging on to every word she said. It was like they were... looking up to her. As in Arachne, not just Araneae or even Shadra.

If anything, the reclusive Princess was like the older sister that practically knew the answer to every problem there ever was, which might have actually been the case, Amore mused silently to himself.

And she was seriously sexy like this, drawing the attention of the whole crowd with just a few sentences, a part in the far back of his mind couldn't help but point out.

The more embarrassed part of him tried to desperately stop the boner from happening.

“The simplest way to do this,” she began, grinning proudly in that sort of manic way only she could pull off. The thing she said next, though, didn’t bring quite the enthusiasm she had hoped for. “Is a straight line going from one end of the shield to the other.”

Before anypony could raise a protest that they thought otherwise, she grabbed Amore in a surprisingly strong grip and turned him around so that his Cutie Mark was visible to everypony around them, much to the dismay of said stallion. “Ah, ah, ah! Don’t say anything yet! This isn’t quite as simple as ‘just’ a straight line like I made it out to be, but do tell me what you guys see on His Royalness' butt here?”

“A snowflake?” a rather young stallion pointed out oh-so-helpfully, ignoring the grumble of the one whose Cutie Mark was currently on full display. Arachne suppressed the snicker of glee at making everypony stare at his butt like that, her inner exhibitionist loving the attention going his way.

“Correct!” she exclaimed in glee, clapping her hooves together. “Now, who here has wondered: Why a snowflake? Why not the Crystal Heart? Or suns forbid,”—she let a sneer of disdain show on her muzzle for the briefest moment—” Amor’s bow and arrow?”

“Ara, please,” Amore huffed, trying to shake her telekinetic grip off of him as he was getting ever closer to dying of embarrassment. The situation wasn't at all helped by his body wanting to display his arousal in its full glory. “Everypony is staring at me!”

“I know!” she giggled, grinning happily back at him before turning back towards the crowd she was currently addressing. She couldn't honestly remember a time where she has had this much fun and it was absolutely thrilling to know the effect she had on him. “No? Really? Not even one of you has an idea? Ugh, fine! Then let me tell you: Our special snowflake here has the very emblem of our Empire on his butt! Now, don’t let that fool you, an emblem is all nice and good, it’s very pretty even. Nay! It's the most prettiest of them all! This very emblem here represents our bond with each other! It is our very pride! And shouldn’t we pay tribute to it? Shouldn’t we wave it proudly on flags? Shouldn’t we design our very capital after it?!”

“You really have a ‘butt’ fixation, don’t you?” Amore commented snidely, but Arachne, to his dismay, simply ignored his remark. Not that he was wrong, his butt was a treat to stare at~.

“So, in the wise words of a man that I can’t remember the name of, don’t ignore what’s right in front of your eyes and build the streets to the likeness of his butt mark. Simple, right?”

“It’s not a butt mark, Ara,” Amore sighed, exasperated. “How many times do I need to tell you that?”

“Oh, I don’t know...” she hummed, smiling brighter as the crowd of ponies slowly came to an agreement, seeing the wisdom in her words as they were desperately in need of some national pride. After all, what better way was there to defy those that had suppressed them and the umbrum just waiting for the opportunity to strike against them than to show them they could never hope to bring down their morale? “But... maybe remind me one last time?”

Amore gulped nervously, watching her give him a come-hither look filled with nothing but primal lust and need. He shifted awkwardly on his hind legs as he placed his forehooves just a bit closer together to hide his body’s reaction to her pheromones. Already, his mind was losing the battle against his body and the devious seductress in pony form. He had to admit, Arachne was perhaps worse than Araneae in that regard.

“What’s the matter, Snowflake~?” she giggled, trailing a hoof along his side as she bit her lip softly. "Don't you want to take this sinfully sexy body and have your way with me? I would let you do anything to me..."

“Ara, p-please, n-not... not now,” Amore stuttered, a heavy red flush replacing his usual pale coloration around his muzzle. His eyes trailed everywhere but her general direction. Well, aside from the few glances going over to her tail, thoroughly displaying her arousal for everypony to see. Not that she particularly cared, he mused in frustration, knowing how much she was turned on by the mere thought of her sex being in full view for anypony bothering to look their way. Which was pretty much everypony, to be honest.

Arachne frowned, both in disappointment and displeasure. There was even the faintest hint of shame visible in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Snowflake. I suppose I’m a bit hungrier than I thought I was... which makes me think Ari might have it even worse...”

“It’s okay, I...” Amore began, but he was cut off by Arachne silencing him with her lips. His heart skipped a beat as he tasted the emotional residue from the honey Shadra and Araneae had used up. Even just the taste of it was enough to make his stomach do flips and shorten his breath considerably.

“Don’t,” Arachne muttered after she broke the kiss, a sneer coming to her lips as she looked away from him with a less than pleased scowl. Her hunger was already driving her crazy and she could tell Araneae might have actually drawn from their combined pool of emotions instead of only hers to fuel their body with the necessary energy to deal with the process of egg laying. It was pretty clear to her that she had to do something about it or it might not end so well for them in the long run. Especially with her Queen's habit to store most of what they gathered as honey for the larvae. “I know we’re... difficult... to deal with most of the time, and, to be honest, you’re not making it easy on us. I’m going to be brutally honest with you here because I know my Queen won’t be and Shadra is like a lost puppy around you. Without the Crystal Heart, we would have died the first week after we pledged our heart to you,”—she stopped him from opening his mouth as he gave her a horrified look, only a muffled cry of shock escaped his lips behind her chitinous hoof—” and as much as she keeps joking about things like these, Araneae wasn’t lying when she compared us to a succubus. We are, in the most simplest terms, a being entirely reliant on the goodwill of others.

"Without us constantly nibbling on everypony’s emotions and taking a bite or two out of the Crystal Heart whenever the situation allows us to do so safely, I fear we would have long since been forced to be unfaithful to you or, suns forbid, force ourselves upon you. And believe me, I have far fewer inhibitions about spreading my legs than my Queen does, whether you like it or not.

"Had Ari not stockpiled the love she had gathered over the last month, she would have had more likely than not starved herself laying those eggs or drained the Crystal Heart dry in desperation, and... you know what would have happened then.”

“I...” Amore whispered, falling down on his rump in disbelief. “Why? Why didn’t you say anything to me earlier? Ara, if you need to feed you should have come to me!”

“And force you to have sex with us?” Arachne asked, raising a brow challenging. “You know we couldn’t do that to you, as much as I want to. I’m only telling you this now because of how much energy my Queen drained laying those eggs. I’m sorry, but if there’s a choice between you and her, I would always choose her first.

"Don’t take it too personally, dear. She's just... more important to me. Not just to me, but to the whole hive. We have to protect her and if that means confronting you over this, then I will do so. Even if the end-result of this is us breaking up with each other. If I have to, I will do everything to ensure the survival of my Queen.”

“I’m sorry, Ara, I...”

“No, you are not,” she shot back, sending a tiny glare back at him. “You are not sorry for how much you romanticize the idea of ‘making love’, and... you shouldn’t be. Don’t you dare blame yourself for this, Amore. We like you. A lot. We’re not going to make you do anything you are not comfortable with or ready for yet. Believe me, Ari isn’t that different in that regard, she really does idolize you a lot. As silly as I think she is sometimes, comparing reality to fairy tales, I... I care for her more than anything. I don’t want her to get hurt, intentionally or not.”

“I understand, Arachne,” Amore apologized, drawing her in into his hug that was just a little bit too tight from time to time (not that she minded, it did give her plenty of opportunities to breathe in his scent... and subtly grope him). “I’m glad she has you looking out for her. I fear she wouldn’t have told me any of this in a misguided attempt to spare me from what troubles her. I just... I want it to be something special, you know?”

“You don’t need to tell me that,” Arachne smiled, kissing his cheek gently. “But hugs and kisses won’t keep us alive for very long if her hunger was any indication. And we can’t keep opening more than a few jars of honey at this rate or our brood will starve. I can’t allow that to happen.”

“Nor will it come to that,” Amore reassured her. “I really am a prude, aren’t I?”

“A little bit,” she giggled back. “Don’t worry, not everypony can be as sinfully sexy as I.”

“Not the message I was trying to convey,” Amore muttered, blushing ever so slightly again. “You really can’t help it, can you?”

“Where would I be if I did?” she asked, eyes half-lidded as she moved her muzzle dangerously close to his ear, breathing hotly into it. “I’m so very tempted to go behind my Queen’s back and have my way with you, dear. But I wouldn’t abuse her or your trust like that, as much as it... pains... me to admit as such. Mhh~, you smell so good, it truly is a torture to hold myself back like this. Just a taste of your lust for me is enough to get me going...”

“You aren’t the only one feeling like they are being tortured,” he said in a quivering whisper, breathing in a deep whiff of her pheromones in a brief moment of weakness. “Each and every day you tease me with your mere existence, but I can’t allow myself to give in so easily. It’s improper of a noble to desire such things...”

That managed to bring out an amused snicker from her. “You poor, poor thing, you! You have no idea, do you?” Arachne hummed, whispering raunchily into his ear and delighting in the twitches she observed run through his body. “Did your mother tell you that it is improper? That’s almost cute how sheltered you are~. Oh, how tempted I am to corrupt you right now...”

“I’m not sheltered, I know plenty of things,” Amore protested weakly, but he was fooling nopony. “I’ve read perhaps one too many romance novels, I know how a noble should conduct themself.”

“Aww, you really are sheltered~,” she giggled. “Don’t tell me you’re keeping yourself pure for your wedding? I’m so tempted to shatter your worldview of just what nobles got up to in my old world (and not just in the modern world~). Trust me, some nobles didn’t stop at the word ‘no’ and even took it as an invitation.”

“The more I learn of your world, the less I want to know...” Amore commented much to the amusement of the changeling clinging on to him. “Is it so wrong of me to want it to be reserved for that special moment?”

“No,” Arachne smiled. “I’m teasing you, dear. Although...”

“Please, don’t make another jab at my ‘prudishness’...”

“Aww, do you trust me so little?” she giggled, an evil glint in her eyes, making him frown. “Don’t worry, I'm not going to do anything. Yet. What I was about to say, though, was that you shouldn’t make my Queen wait for much longer. She’s already having hot, steamy lesbian sex with my precious Princess and that’s saying a lot of how much Shadra is faltering in her resolve to stay pure for you. Well, her vaginal virginity, at any rate. Who knows how long that will last for before she starts to contemplate stuffing, say... a dildo... into herself because she's getting impatient.”

“Shadra is keeping her virginity intact for... for me?” Amore asked, astonished. “I thought you guys were...”

“Fucking like horny rabbits?” Arachne smirked while she licked her lips seductively. “Oh, we most certainly are~. She really knows how to work her dick into all the right places, nhh...”

“Thanks for that image,” Amore grumbled, receiving a mischievous giggle from her in return.

“If it makes you feel better, we could always marry first,” she proposed, a faint blush appearing on her muzzle as he gave her a stare. A stare that was filled with as much surprise as it was with uncertainty. “My Queen has been thinking a lot about it lately and you are the only one we could see ourselves engaging in that kind of relationship. She meant it when she said our heart and body would be yours to do with as you wish. She truly does love you with all of her heart, she would do anything for you if it meant you were happy.”

“You aren’t lying,” Amore whispered, not even asking her to confirm it for him. He could see it in her eyes, the absolute honesty. “She would actually want to marry me?”

“Why wouldn’t she?” Arachne asked, blinking in confusion as his surprise utterly stumped her. “Is it really that much of a foreign idea to you?”

“No, I... I suppose I just never thought the day would actually come that I consider it to not be a mere dream,” Amore answered, looking to the ground in thought. “I had almost resigned myself to marry... f-forget it...”

Arachne touched his cheek with a hoof, turning his head gently back towards her, a look of realization in her purple eyes. “You really were sheltered, weren’t you?”

“I...” he gulped, a weird feeling blooming to life in his chest. The stone weighing his stomach down paled in comparison to the awe he felt at the sheer concern she showed towards him, never having thought he would find somepony that cared that deeply for the pony behind the noble title and not just the fame and riches his family possessed. Not that his legacy was all that important to him in the first place, he supposed. He was the rotten apple in the family... or rather, the lone apple that wasn't rotten, in all honesty.

“You’re cute, you know that?” Arachne smiled, bumping her muzzle against his ever so slightly. “I’m going to corrupt you yet, just you wait...”

“Please, don’t...”

A mischievous grin replaced her previously gentle one as she gazed deeply into his golden pools of amber, her eyes sparkling beautifully as she no doubt had some insidious plan concocting up in that pretty little head of hers. Amore wasn’t sure if he wanted to find out what it would entail, but... he was nonetheless looking forward to what would await him, despite his better judgment. It was never a boring day with the changeling queen around, he found out.

He had to admit, though... the thought of marrying for real was an enticing proposal. That it came from the mare he had come to care for very much only made it that much more exciting. Perhaps it wasn’t a bad idea, after all, allowing himself to dream once more of the day he had always dreamed of as a little colt...

This time... this time his family wouldn’t be breathing down his neck. There would be no expectations holding him down, no plot for the crown to poison his relationship with the one he truly... loved. He was free to make his own decisions and that... that scared him perhaps just as much as he was excited by it.

And all of that thanks to one overly perverted changeling.

Chapter 008 - Another glorious revelation.

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To say I blinked awake was perhaps a bit of an understatement. I let out a heavy moan, hindlegs twitching up in the air as I felt a very naughty ‘ling hold my backside in place as they snaked their tongue around every little inch of my pulsing, needy, arousal-soaked sex. Both of them, I blearily took notice, turning my head to watch Shadra grin back at me as she went from the base of my dick back to my aching clitoris, begging for more attention.

Before I could even say something, my Princess forced another moan out of me as she plunged her long and slender tongue into my entrance without warning, stimulating my nub with the tip of her muzzle at the same time. I screwed my eyes shut from the sudden explosion of pleasure, unable to keep them open for a second longer as a few twitches ran through my body.

She must have already been at it for a few minutes as I felt myself get ever closer to that point that would usher in those heavenly spasms I couldn’t get enough of. My heart began to pick up its pace as I very clearly heard her breathe in through her nostrils directly touching my nethers and I let out a lewd moan at the degeneracy. Shadra clearly did that on purpose, sniffing up my wetness to keep smelling me for hours to come and I absolutely loved it.

“Sha... Ahn~! Sha~dra~ah! F-fuck!” I shrieked, clamping my hindlegs around her head a little bit too forcefully as my body finally gave in to the assault of her tongue deep within my love canal. I squirmed around for what felt like half an hour as my orgasm seemed to find no end, my eyelids twitching just as much as the rest of my muscles while my eyes struggled to not roll around in my head.

My Princess let out a chuckle as her wings buzzed happily, drinking deeply from my snatch as my orgasm failed to peter out from her continuous stimulation. Just when I thought it would never stop, Shadra drew her tongue back from my folds while I lost the strength in my legs to keep her pinned against me, breathing heavily in an effort to calm my body down from the prolonged high that it had been forced through.

I watched lazily as my beautiful Princess lapped up the rest of the cum glistening on my chitin, both from my heavily abused snatch and my retreating dick. I had to admit, what Shadra put me through was one of the best wake-up calls I've ever had and the way my exhaustion lingered for a few moments longer than what I was used to in the hive mind was perhaps even better. It was a good kind of exhaustion, leaving me in a state of relaxation I wish could have lasted a bit longer. Alas, the hive mind was quick to correct my weakened state, revitalizing me despite my desire to enjoy my orgasmic bliss for a little while longer.

My disappointment didn’t last for long, though. Shadra captured my lips with hers, still smeared over with my arousal. I only lamented the fact that we couldn’t actually taste it for the briefest moment (something that was clearly the fault of our 'emotion-focused taste buds', I'm sure) before I gave it my all to subdue her slender muscle with my own in a bid to establish my dominance back over her. It was a close battle, but in the end, I... I actually lost, but who cares? I liked seeing my little Princess take charge for once and it was so very sexy to behold.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” I breathed out, glancing up at her through half-lidded eyes, taking in her appearance with a soft flutter running through my body. She was practically glowing and it made me fall in love with her even more. She truly was a beauty to behold when she was actually in a good mood instead of her usual snarky, bitchy behavior.

“Just showing my appreciation towards my glorious Queen,” Shadra whispered back, pressing her lips against mine once more while at the same time letting out a content little hum. “I couldn’t help but notice how... gorgeous... you looked, sleeping next to me.”

“Oh?” I smiled, rubbing my muzzle against hers lovingly. “Do tell me more...”

“The way you look so... innocent and pure, it’s... something else entirely,” Shadra mumbled reverently, an awe-struck look in her eyes. “To think someone like you could look like that while asleep... it makes me admire your natural beauty even more.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” I asked, a teasing grin spreading on my muzzle and I delighted in the little blush lighting up her face.

“You’re a deviant,” Shadra pouted, sniffling while fake tears came to her eyes. They didn’t last long, though, as her eyes crossed from the scent buried deep within her nostrils. “Oh, f-fuck me...”

I giggled, taking notice of how her tail began to stand painfully straight up while other parts of her body voiced out their desire for attention. “You can call me a succubus whenever you want, my dear. I would gladly take you up on that offer and I know what it is that you truly desire~...”

“A-Ara...” Shadra whimpered as I had her lying on her back in no time, her begging eyes seeking mine out. Already, my own body was beginning to heat up again and I couldn’t help but smile mischievously down on my Princess. While she wouldn’t let me take her snatch’s virginity, there were... other... ways I could still enjoy her body without earning her ire.

A flash of magenta fire replaced my chitinous features with leathery, almost burned, skin while a long slender whip-like tail came into view, a little black heart-shaped tip at the end of it. I grinned devilishly as the pink eyes of my Princess were drawn to the two cushiony, pillowy masses protruding from my chest, my fangs on full display.

I licked my lips hungrily as I saw her dick give a happy and excited twitch, a hand slowly wandering between my legs. My Princess watched me as I teased my glistening folds with a sharp nail, giving her just a tiny little glimpse of the painfully aroused nub while I stretched my leathery bat-like wings out in an impressive display of wingspan.

“F-fuck me...” Shadra gulped, a semi-clear grayish fluid leaking from her nostril in a nosebleed.

“Oh, I intend to,” I laughed with a perverted gleam in my eyes while my voice ‘crackled’ with a deep seductive growl. It gave off the illusion as if my throat had been set on fire, giving it a more ‘hellish’ quality. And Shadra couldn’t get to hear enough of it, judging by how she bit her lip and started to stroke her dick with a jittery hoof. “Now, now, did I allow you to play with yourself like that?”

“Please, Ara, I...” Shadra began, but I wasn’t having any of it. I interrupted her little fun time by kicking her foreleg away from her needy rod before I stepped harshly on it with my cloven hoof, making my precious little Princess flinch and shudder. “Ngh, s-sh~it...”

“My, my, how... interesting. Does my little pet like to be abused?” I purred, a sadistic grin replacing my perverted one. “Should I teach it... manners~?”

“P-please...” Shadra whimpered and I let out a delighted moan for show, feeling her dick twitch beneath my hoof. I twisted my leg ever so slightly and heard my Princess... nay, my pet... gasp, watching her squirm around while I slowly inched my tail closer to her wet entrance. “A-Ara! I-I... mhh...”

“You... what?” I grinned, brushing my tail against her marehood in a featherlight motion. “What does my misbehaving pet want, hm?”

“I...” Shadra moaned, leaning herself further against my tail. That is, she tried to lean herself further against my tail only to struggle against the hoof pressing down on her and her pulsing, needy, twitching stallionhood.

“Does my pet truly expect any sort of satisfaction from her mistress? Oh, how naïve you are...” I chuckled, bringing my tail back up, closer to my lips this time, and I licked the glistening fluids off of it with a shudder of excitement. “Mhh, maybe I really do need to discipline you if you think yourself nearly worthy enough of receiving such an honor.”

“No, please, Ara! I...” she began but stopped quickly after I put a little bit more weight on her stiff erection, the sharp, rough edges of my cloven hoof threatening to draw blood if she dared to make another wrong move.

“Ah, ah, ah!” I tsked, wiggling my finger disapprovingly. “To so brazenly address your better, you most certainly are a naughty, disrespectful little creature, aren’t you? Perhaps what you need is punishment and not discipline...”

“Mistress, I...” Shadra whispered, her ears splayed back in ‘shame’ while she gave me a fake sniffle and pout, probably hoping to make me reconsider and skip straight to the part where we fuck each other’s brains out. “I’m wholly undeserving of your attention, but...”

I raised a cautious brow as I noticed how her meek behavior did a complete one-eighty, a cocky smirk replacing her sad facial expression. I was about to deliver her punishment by flicking my tail harshly against her puffy vulva, only to be surprised as she fell through a portal underneath her. A moment later, I was pinned to the ground in a reversal of positions, a hoof pressing down on me in between my bat-like wings, uncomfortably squishing my breasts against the smooth stone floor of the hive.

“...I’m not so easily put into place,” she growled into my pointy ears, tugging my head back by pulling rather harshly on my grayish-white strands of hair a moment later. I let out a purring moan as her long slender tongue teased the horn on the side of my head, exploring every ridge of it as I felt her eager rod slowly travel down on my back further and further, getting ever closer to my voluptuous ass. “I hope you can take all of me or this will become quite unpleasant for you, my little succubus.”

“Ahn~, you dirty little mongrel, you~,” I moaned, an excited flutter racing through my heart. “To think you would force yourself on one of your betters, ngh~! Oh, how I love it when I get a competent summoner~!”

“I’ll show you competent, you horny bitch,” Shadra chuckled evilly and grabbed my horns on either side of my head, plunging her dick straight into the wrong hole with an almighty, titanic thrust. A sharp gasp escaped me, the sensation of something penetrating me in the one place where I had never felt anything enter me before in my previous life (as far as I could remember, that is)... it felt foreign and weird and... exotic~... making me lament the fact our natural form lacked such a feature. “Mhh, so hot, f-fuck.”

“You foul beast, you,” I grunted, goosebumps exploding all over my body as Shadra pressed even further in, already nearing the halfway point of her length despite what should have physically been possible. It was a good thing I didn’t quite focus on replicating anything aside from external features and making sure my holes were deep enough to fit her whole length in or I fear she would have already ruptured my internal organs with how rough she was in her approach to force herself on me. “That you would dare take me like this! I should throw you before the Demon Lord and let him have his way with you for this!”

Despite my outraged words, my tail gave an excited twitch, finding its way back to her crying snatch to pat her entrance lovingly. I was tempted to reciprocate in the exact same way she treated me, but I wouldn’t ever break her trust like that. This was, after all, only roleplay and it wasn’t like I disapproved of her little bit of roughness. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“How’s... that... for a beast?” Shadra asked, grinning down at me as she forced my head back far enough that I could look her in the eyes upside down while I felt her finally hilt herself fully within me. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say you planned this, you tight dirty little demon bitch, you. Why else would you be so well-lubricated down there, huh?”

“Mhhn, ahnn~,” I moaned, squeezing my ass a little bit in a mischievous display of cockiness. “All succubi are... always... ngh~... prepared to take their prey’s... impressive... mhhn~... l-length! F-fuck, this feels so good~! Fuck me, pet! Fuck your dirty little demon bitch right this instant! Plow my bouncy ass with that massive cock of yours like there’s no tomorrow! I need it... so... fucking... much! Ngh~! Ahh! Yes!”

Shadra chuckled darkly at that, letting go of my hair in favor of gripping me around the shoulders. “As you command, ‘Mistress’.”

Without further ado, she dragged her dick back out of me before shoving it right back in, making tingles run through my body everywhere her dick touched me. While it felt different at first, I quickly got used to the feeling of her pushing her cock in and out, slow at first then increasingly faster the more my ass got used to being stretched open like that. I had to admit, I preferred the regular style of sex over this, but the pleasant burn of her hammering her rod into me had something to it, as well.

My wings twitched every so often as she hit a particular spot within me shortly before withdrawing, forcing another raunchy moan out of my throat, my breasts bouncing freely as wet squelching sounds competed with my moans and her ragged grunts while I felt her breath brush through my hair in increasingly shorter pants. Not that I was any different in that department, my intake of air got breathier by the second, as well. Not so much from pleasure, I had to admit, but more from the fact she left me breathless more and more when she rammed her dick back into me like the horny beast that she was.

Without warning, I felt Shadra flip me around so that I was with my back on the ground, not even bothering to take her dick out of me first before doing so, evoking the most interesting sensations as I felt her cock twist within me, and, in the next moment, her muzzle pressed itself against my lips. A breathy moan later, I was also wrestling with her tongue as she continued on with her pace as if nothing happened.

I threw my arms around her, scratching the chitin on her back lightly with my sharp nails, helping her along as best as I could by spearing myself against her every time she thrust back into me. The ramming sensations had me go cross-eyed every time it forced those delightful shocks and shudders through my body and I could tell it was wearing her down even faster.

Before long, those rhythmic thrusts started to become sporadic and wobbly until she began to use her wings in short bursts to drive herself in when her legs lacked the power to do so in a reliable manner. It didn’t help her one bit that I was currently stroking the entrance of her marehood with my tail, smearing her fluids all over her backside when it gave off unexpected twitches here and there (not that either of us minded, to be honest).

Then, at long last, the frequency of her thrusts became slower and slower as she broke the kiss in anticipation while breathing heavily in the same rhythm as my own breaths. It was like we had synchronized ourselves as we both gazed into each other’s eyes before, with one last heavy thrust, she held herself deep within me as her length gave a few mighty spasms, shooting her sticky fluid into me.

Suddenly, I had to support her weight on top of me as well as she lost all strength in her limbs, burying her muzzle into the valley between my moderately large boobs, a dopey little grin on her face. I smiled gently and lovingly, stroking her mane with my hands in slow rhythmic motions, getting her to sigh in contentment. No words needed to be said to convey how much she appreciated this little moment of roleplay between us, we merely let our actions speak for themselves as we gave each other a small kiss, filled with nothing but love.

I continued to stroke her mane softly, scratching her behind the ears every now and then, causing her to hum (and, much to my surprise, purr not unlike a cat), her wings chirping in tune with the pleasant melody. She was a cute sight to behold, I had to say, looking like nothing in the world could take away her happiness.

My Princess was a remarkable ‘ling, wasn’t she? She overcame her fear of her female side without falling into a dysphoric, depressed mess because of her male side and she continued to be so very, very strong. It was truly inspiring to me. Shadra constantly challenged herself and her own insecurities, growing with each hurdle that she left behind her. Her strength was of an entirely different kind, a strength that left me proud of her whenever I thought of it.

Tobias should honestly be envious of how far my Princess had come, I mused, giving her a small peck before wiggling a little bit to dislodge her retreating dick out of me, at the same time letting my disguise fall as I couldn’t keep concentrating on it for much longer. While it was basically only a human shape I had been imitating, the way I rearranged my internal organs wasn’t exactly ‘human’ in the ordinary sense. Not to mention, bat wings of those proportions weren’t ‘easy’ to maintain, either. To be honest, the tail was the easiest part of the non-human features I added. The legs weren’t that hard to create, integrating them to work in a bipedal fashion, on the other hand, was.

I only mourned the loss of the pretty ram horns for a few seconds, happily stretching out my body like a cat as my beautiful Princess continued to snooze lazily away. I couldn’t really blame her, after a finish like that, I wouldn’t be able to care about the rest of the world, either. It was high time for me to find out what my other Princess was currently up to and I doubt Shadra would mind it that much if I left her to recuperate a bit longer. While I really wanted to snuggle with her a bit longer, I feared Arachne was getting up to something deliciously naughty and I wouldn’t want to miss out on that, now would I?

With one last glance at the half-comatose mare lying there cuddled up next to me, I closed my eyes and took a step back, so to speak. Or forward, as the case might have been. As I ‘opened’ my eyes, I noticed us being in the center of a veritable storm of ponies moving to and fro, placing little sticks as markers at even intervals as far as the eye could see.

“A little bit to the left,” Arachne shouted and the pony currently obeying her orders did what was asked of her, only... “To your left, Straw Basket. Yes, like that, there we go.”

<You seem to be quite busy, I see,> I quipped, startling my faithful Princess as she was about to call out to another pony to move the marker next to them. <Are we finally getting around to making streets? Perhaps sewers, too, while we are at it?>

<Yes, we are, My Queen,> Arachne replied happily. <Did you have fun with Shadra~?>

“Is Araneae awake?” Amore asked next to us, having noticed Arachne stop in her current task of overseeing the planning of the roads.

“Yes, she’s awake,” Arachne giggled, listening intently as I regaled her with everything that we got up to since we retreated into the hive mind after we had laid our eggs. I didn’t leave a single detail out and it certainly made my Princess more than ‘excited’, judging by how our body reacted. How she ever went a minute without a raging erection was beyond me, her libido was practically on a hair-trigger.

“Can I... can I talk to her?” Amore asked almost shyly, a rosy tint on his muzzle as he noticed Arachne’s tail move up and her ‘little her’ coming out to play. His question did make me a little bit nervous, though. It was unusual for him to behave so... I almost wanted to say shy and prudish, but one part of that would have definitely been a lie. Amore was like the textbook definition of prim and proper, bashful and ashamed of anything remotely sexual (not that that stopped his curiosity most of the time, it was downright cute how innocent he truly was). No, this was something different, I was sure of it.

My mind was already conjuring up all kinds of things that he might want to talk about and one bad idea after another was enough to send me spiraling down into a very dark place, indeed. He wasn’t about to... break up with me, was he?

<Don’t worry, it’s nothing like that,> Arachne reassured me, switching places. I let out a relieved sigh, shoving those thoughts into the back of my mind for the silly fears that they were. I really was quick to assume the worst, wasn’t I? <Also, you might want to switch out our colors. I came up with the idea on the fly, but I think it helps to better differentiate us. Do you like it?>

I answered, turning my head slightly in order to look at our back. It was kinda weird seeing myself with the purple wings and shell of my Princess, I had to admit. <That I hadn’t thought of it earlier stumps me a little bit, to be honest.>

Arachne mused while she leaned her mental presence against mine for a brief moment, blurring our thoughts together ever so slightly. It felt quite a bit more intimate than I could ever put into words, something that felt even better than sex, as unbelievable as that might sound at first. <At least not when you don’t have multiple personalities keeping you company. I suppose it’s kind of similar to wearing clothes, otherwise. You know, I had this idea of a really nice dress that could...>

I chuckled, letting my changeling flame wash over me for a brief moment, restoring my appearance to the usual magenta colors. I gave my Princess a slight nudge, ‘kissing’ her as I turned my attention back towards Amore while already missing her closeness. The only other time we had ever been this close... nay, even closer... was when our personalities merged during the short instances where all of us were in perfect sync with each other. <Though you will have to wait on that dress idea, I think Amore is getting a bit impatient with me. Shadra might indulge you, though~.>

<Alright,> she lamented, her voice getting a bit more ‘distant’ and I got the distinct impression that she was pouting back at me. <Hey Shadra, what do you think of... Shadra? Oh, wow... you really did a number on her, didn’t you? Aww, she’s even purring like a little kitten while snuggling you! That. Is. So. Cute!>

I rolled my eyes, ignoring the rest of her ramblings as I raised an eyebrow at Amore, curious about what he wanted to talk about with me. Amore fidgeted for a moment longer before he let out a long sigh, rubbing his neck awkwardly while his emotions got a little bit sour and... acidic, much to my surprise. That was new.

“Ara, I... I’m sorry,” he said softly, almost ashamed even. Then again... scratch the almost, he definitely was ashamed of himself, he even tried to appear smaller and... less threatening? No, that wasn't quite it, I couldn't put my hoof on what it was. I blinked, utterly baffled. That was definitely not the thing I had been expecting. I don’t even know what I was expecting after Arachne had assuaged my fears, but this certainly wasn’t it. “Look, I... I have been neglecting you and I didn’t even realize it and...”

“Okay, what the fuck are you talking about?” I huffed, slightly irritated that he was beating himself up over something that was probably a minor thing, at best. And here I thought it was going to be something serious and world-ending, not this... this dumb self-loathing. That’s what the acidic taste was, wasn’t it? “You haven’t been neglecting me whatsoever, where’s this coming from?”

“Uh, I... uh,” Amore stammered while he fidgeted, stunned. “I haven’t had sex with you and you need to feed more?”

“...what?” I blinked for what felt like the hundredth time within the span of a few seconds. “Please, don’t tell me Arachne told you that... Ugh, for fuck’s sake! I can't believe her! She's such a horndog...”

“I...” Amore gulped, avoiding my eyes while his ears splayed back. “I don’t understand. She made it sound like...”

“Dear, Arachne would say anything to get what she wants,” I rolled my eyes. “I ate two jars worth of honey out of... what? Sixty, maybe eighty? We aren’t going to starve, you dumbass.”

“But...” Amore bit his lip and he whispered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like he was disappointed. I wasn’t quite certain if I heard him correctly, but I think he was about to say something very important to me that might have changed... I don’t know... his prudishness, maybe. Not that I thought that was gonna change anytime soon, knowing the dolt. I certainly wasn’t going to have sex with him if he had to force himself to do so.

“Hey, whatever it is, don’t let it get to you, okay?” I said with a smile, bumping his side with a hoof. “Arachne worries too much, don’t you start listening to her when she’s like that, okay? Who knows what will come from that.”

“Yeah... who knows,” Amore muttered, still sounding kind of sad and... suspicious? I don't know, it was hard to tell with his emotions being all depressing and shit. I watched him a little bit with apprehension before I shrugged, turning back to the current project in the making. “Say, uh... you aren’t just saying this to make me feel better, right? You aren’t starving yourself? I couldn't live with myself if you were hurting and I did nothing to help...”

“Pfft. Nah, I'm totally fine,” I giggled, shaking my head. I mean, I kinda was walking a fine line here, but a little bit of hunger hasn’t killed anyone before, right? As long as my brood has enough, I could live on an empty stomach, no problem. “So, what did you guys come up with? This doesn’t look like the structure of roads I’m familiar with.”

“Arachne had this big moment of, uh... you know...” Amore began, a heavy blush spreading on his muzzle. I had to admit, that was interesting, as well. He rarely blushed that hard. It usually only happened when he thought of something naughty~. He does sometimes get more interested in my dick before going back to the whole 'I wanna marry my fairy tale princess and spoil her rotten' mindset. “She might have... uh...”

“What?”

“She held onto my flanks and showed off my Cutie Mark for everypony to see...” he whispered, his tomato-red blush spreading further down his neck. I blinked slowly, unsure if I had heard him say what I think he just said, before... bursting out in laughter. “Oh, come on, Ara! It's not funny!”

“Oh, it definitely is!” I cackled, tempted to roll around on the ground and make a scene, but thankfully, I could (barely) keep myself from embarrassing him even further. The line between teasing and bullying was sometimes a bit too close to each other and I didn't want him to think I was being mean to him. “What? Did she make inappropriate jokes? She did, didn’t she? Oh, damn... this is rich!”

“You really are the worst,” Amore grumbled with a pout, though he did grin very subtly to himself afterward. “She made it sound like my Cutie Mark would become the national emblem of our kingdom.”

“Empire,” I commented, cheekily sticking my tongue out at him.

Amore rolled his eyes with an exasperated huff. “Right, Crystal ‘Empire’. Which makes no sense, whatsoever. Ponies are calling me a prince (thanks for that, by the way) and you are a queen, which would make this a kingdom and not an empire.”

“Eh, technicalities,” I muttered, waving my hoof dismissively. “The Crystal Kingdom doesn’t sound nearly glorious enough, so... Crystal Empire it is. Besides, I could call myself the Queen Empress. Mhhn, that sounds really sexy... What do you think~?”

“That you’re incorrigible,” Amore sighed.

I giggled, nudging his shoulder with mine. “Why, thank you, my love.”

“I didn't mean it as a compliment, Ara.”

“I know,” I shrugged, not in the slightest hurt by his comment. “So... roads?”

“Well, she made the argument that we should build them to the image of my Cutie Mark and that we should take pride in it,” Amore explained, rubbing his neck awkwardly with a hoof. Seeing him all bashful and shy was seriously triggering something in me, wanting to tease him in order to make him blush more. Though, perhaps compliments might get me further with that...

“You should,” I said, smiling mischievously. Plan 'make Amore blush like a little filly' was a go. “It’s pretty.”

“Not the word I would use, but... t-thank you, nonetheless,” Amore mumbled bashfully and I couldn’t help the giddy squee from escaping my throat at how absolutely adorable he was. Today must be a good day, indeed, for me to fluster him so often.

Fuck, yes. I'm totally going to milk this for all that it was worth! Eh heh heh...

“So, anyone seeing our Empire from the mountain range or flying over it will see a snowflake, huh?” I mused with a teasing smile, idly shifting on my hooves back and forth in a playful manner. Amore let out a confirming (if embarrassed) hum, and now that I was thinking about it, I couldn't help but wonder... “Why a snowflake..?”

“What do you mean?” Amore asked, momentarily confused. “I told you, she thought it would be good for morale to make it look like...”

I interrupted him with a roll of my eyes, my hoof holding his muzzle shut (making him blush oh-so-delightfully again). Damn, I was on a roll! “No, not that. I meant, why is your Cutie Mark an emblem of a snowflake and not a depiction of the Crystal Heart? It doesn’t make any sense to me. What’s it even supposed to mean?”

“I...” Amore began after he nudged my hoof away but stopped pretty soon after, bewildered. “That is a good question, actually. Why is it a snowflake..?”

His head turned to stare at his own flanks with nothing but uncertainty and confusion. I suppose his own giddiness at finally getting his destiny butt mark had made him forget to question the very appearance it took on and what it meant, happy to finally have his ‘purpose’ being shown clearly on his butt for everypony to see. A purpose that was, for all intents and purposes, shrouded in mystery.

The thing is, Amore never put any thought behind it and Arachne came up with her own conclusions (not entirely surprising, she was kinda prone to doing just that). We quite literally had no answer as to why it took on the appearance that it did when it should have depicted the very thing that gave him his butt mark in the first place. I can’t by any means call myself an expert on all things Cutie Marks considering I wasn’t even an ‘actual’ pony (mentally, I mean), and thus, knew next to nothing about them aside from the fact that they just ‘appear’ when a pony realizes their talent (or something along those lines, anyway).

Clearly, even that assumption of mine has been wrong. Apparently, ponies could get their Cutie Marks even without a single clue as to what they did to earn them.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true for Amore, I guess. He actually knew what it was that he did, but not why he got it for the thing that he did. It was like a contradiction, really. Sort of like sucking dick and suddenly getting the Cutie Mark of being a friggin’ heart surgeon. The two were, plain and simple, not connected in any way.

So... why did he get a snowflake, instead? What was it that the snowflake represented aside from what Arachne read into it? To be honest, I actually thought it was a pretty good idea to make it into the symbol of our Empire, but that was by no means an answer to the predicament we suddenly had on our hooves.

It didn’t even make any sense in the way that most ponies get Cutie Marks that correspond with their names (and let’s just conveniently ignore the fact that they even get them in the first place considering it was kinda weird for nature to manifest like that since they are a social construct more than anything... it’s absolute madness to look at them from a biological point of view).

I mean... sure, there were plenty of exceptions that proved that ponies didn’t ‘have’ to get Cutie Marks that represent their names, but those were exemptions. They were outliers in a pretty weird magical system of ‘special talents’ displayed in the form of symbols on their butts (Amore can pout all that he wants, they are and always will be butt marks, end of story).

The rule of... hoof, I guess... was that (for some reason) ponies get Cutie Marks that represent their special talent and their names. Heck, even I as a changeling, and thus a species that (presumably) couldn’t get a Cutie Mark, thought that that made sense in a weird magical kind of way. Ponies get Cutie Marks that represent them and that was it.

So... why did Amore get a snowflake emblem instead of a heart-shaped doomsday device on his butt? It neither matched his name nor his accomplishment, leaving us with pretty much nothing to go on.

In short, we basically had no idea why it manifested aside from the event of him discovering the Crystal Heart in the mountains and we also had no clue as to what kind of 'special talent' it even represented. It was utterly perplexing to puzzle out.

His name literally meant love, so why was it that he got a mark that did not represent that? I mean, sure he was kinda prudish, but he had a pretty good grip on what it meant to be in love with somepony. I have to admit (and I don’t say this lightly), but... Amore had a better understanding of all things concerning love than me, and I’m supposed to be the succubus bug monster feasting on those emotions!

Gah! This was causing me nothing but headaches. The stupid thing refused to make sense and it was seriously starting to irk me. Well, as much sense as something of an obviously magical nature could make, I guess. Magic clearly had a weird sense of humor, manifesting in the strangest of ways, sometimes.

Sort of like my rebirth, now that I thought about it...

It was pretty strange, wasn’t it? Somehow, in some way... all of my wildest dreams and desires came true in the way of being reborn as a species that wasn’t shackled by the restrictions of sex, gender, identity, and what have you. The fact I could change into any pony and pretend to be them was telling enough. Then, there's also the fact that I could change into a different species altogether, the only thing that I really needed to know was the general basic appearance and no one would be the wiser (okay, maybe it was not quite as simple as that, but let’s pretend for a moment that it was). I spent centuries lamenting the fact that I did not want to be reborn as anything less than the perfect mix of both biological sexes (even though we did end up learning that we could only reproduce with one part instead of both... as far as we have discovered so far, that is).

Magic made no sense whatsoever.

And, on top of all of that nonsense, there was the whole destiny thing. Ponies clearly believed in a grander fate, a purpose to their existence, and I wasn’t inclined to disagree on that end considering, well... my purpose in the hive being the queen and all that. As much as I kept joking about the 'if I could get a Cutie Mark, it would end up being something lewd' thing, I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if it turned out to be something changeling-related. I’d probably shrug and say ‘Makes sense, I guess.’ and be done with it.

Amore’s mark, on the other hoof, did not make sense. I mean, yeah, he was my special snowflake and would remain my special snowflake for as long as neither of us screwed it up too badly, but... I doubt that had anything to do with it. As much as I liked the idea of it representing our love for each other, I don’t think that’s what it was. It clearly has to have a deeper meaning and it continues to elude me (and him, for that matter).

The only thing that I could vaguely make a connection to love with was the symbolism behind snowflakes being delicate and short-lived (and so very fragile). Something that fits quite well with how love was oftentimes depicted. It’s an emotion that has to be treasured, that could fall apart if not properly nurtured and maintained, and causes more heartache than you could shake a hoof at. But still... it felt like I was missing something here. There has to be more to it than a vague comparison between the symbolism of snowflakes and the mysterious nature of love.

“A snowflake never falls in the wrong place...” Amore muttered, throwing me for a loop as I turned my attention back to him, more than a little bit confused by what he just said.

“What do you mean?” I asked, watching his eyes take on a slightly stormy look. To be honest, it made him look kinda hot...

“It’s something my grandfather Astraeus used to say to me and my cousin,” he answered, his gaze wandering away from the mark on his flank over to me. “He was the only one that ever treated us kindly in our family...”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I whispered, leaning myself against him in a show of comfort. “He must have been a great stallion.”

“He isn’t dead yet,” he smiled sadly. “My mother got into a fight with her brother and since then, I haven’t seen my grandfather or my cousin. I really don’t want to talk about it...”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to,” I said, nuzzling my cheek against his. “So... what was that about a snowflake never falling in the wrong place?”

“It kind of reminds me of how we ended up here,” he responded, looking up at the Crystal Heart floating serenely in the sky. “A series of massive coincidences. You showing up in Unicornia and freeing everypony of their bonds, the journey we undertook as my horn kept insisting we go this way, the Crystal Heart calling out to us on the mountain, the dream you had as I went searching for it... the umbrum lying in wait for us and the Crystal Heart saving us from certain doom. It seems so... unreal. And yet, here we are, creating a home for ourselves despite all of these struggles.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled. “Unreal...”

That and the series of coincidences leading up to my rebirth. Combining both of them... it was more than unreal, in all actuality. If anything, it was downright impossible and utterly unbelievable on such a huge scale, it couldn’t have been a mere coincidence. And then, there was also the way the world itself kept calling me: The Weaver of Fate. Even Child of Fate, as if they actually meant it in a literal sense.

What was the meaning behind all of that? Was there even a meaning or was I reading too much into it? I mean... there had to be one, right? I was sure of it, but... what was it?

Was I merely a pawn in the grander scheme of things? Was I truly a ‘Weaver of Fate’ as the soul of this world implied? It clearly thought I was meant to be here despite the circumstances behind my death and reincarnation. And why did it say what it did? Why 'Weaver of Fate’?

I mean... Arachne was right when she said that it was I that set all of those ponies free, changing their fate for the better and so on, so I kinda get the ‘Weaver’ part. What sort of weird metaphor was ‘Child of Fate’ supposed to be, then? Was I literally the child of, well... the Goddess of Fate (or God, I'm not going to assume anything here)? That... sounded absolutely ridiculous in my mind, it could by no means be true. Alas, I doubt I would get a definite answer from either the Crystal Heart or the one it came from any time soon, so I would have to get my answers in a different way. Somehow. I'm not sure how (or if it will ever happen, for that matter).

The thing is, it started to sound kind of... plausible... the more I thought about it. After all, a massive series of coincidences that were as unlikely as actual flying pigs being a thing kinda gave me the impression that something must have meddled quite heavily with the variables to make sure this exact outcome would be the end result of their intervention. Was it that light that abandoned me? Or was it literally Fate setting the pieces into place for my eventual return to life?

Or... could it have been something else, entirely?

For a moment, I stepped back from all of my previous assumptions and considered the one thing that I would usually never do. I crossed myself out of the equation, taking on a new perspective without myself in it. What would have happened had I not been there? What would have been different? How would have things played out had I not interfered?

The answer to that came surprisingly easy to me. Amore would still be locked up in his cage, beaten up and bruised for daring to speak out against the so-called ‘King of Unicornia’, and so would Gold Bar and her friend Swirly Star. L-Leaf would still be alive and her ‘master’ would be free to continue abusing her to his rotten heart’s content like the slimy bastard that he was. The earthponies would all still be slaves to a mad king and his equally mad supporters. There would have been no revolution that would have given them back their freedom. At least... not anytime soon. The unicorns would still be torturing their fellow ponies beneath the city in the name of their misguided beliefs on unicorn supremacy. And they would have continued on like that unopposed... just like the umbrum would have been free to get what they wanted.

The Crystal Heart would have been defenseless.

I could see the answer to all of my questions so clearly now. I was the Weaver of Fate in the sense that I set everything back on its intended path, fixing what was broken. None of what would have happened had I not been there was ‘meant’ to be. I was the one that, without knowing it, repaired the torn 'Threads of Fate', ensuring everything played out how it needed to play out.

I was a pawn.

I was being used.

I was a damn character in a play I didn’t choose to partake in.

And... I was the only one that could make sure my subjects would be happy. I was the one standing in between the umbrum and eternal darkness. And, I had to admit, it didn’t bother me. It didn’t bother me one bit that I was nothing more than a mere pawn in the grander scheme of things for some God (or Goddess, who knows) that had who-knows-what planned for me. As long as I could make sure my subjects got to live their lives not in fear but in comfort, I was fine with it. They deserved to live in luxury and compassion, being able to love whomever they wanted, laugh and cheer whenever they desired to do so, and generally pursue their own dreams to their heart's content.

I was the one that gave them their freedom, even if Fate itself placed their shackles around my fetlocks, making me their pawn... I couldn’t even be mad at that. I got every little wish of mine fulfilled, I got to live as I was meant to be, and I had the most wonderful of ponies around me. I even had a stallion around which my heart couldn’t stop racing.

I was a pawn, and that was okay. It was a far better life than all of Tobias’, Tabetha’s, and Sam’s combined. Despite being made a pawn to forces unknown, I was happy. And I wouldn’t abandon my self-appointed mission of serving those that needed it most of me. It was my path to redemption, I knew that with perfect clarity. I did beg for a chance to better myself and if this was the only way to reach that goal, I would take it and embrace it wholeheartedly.

Which still left me with the mystery of what Amore’s Cutie Mark was supposed to represent. Ugh.

The thing is, what else could a snowflake represent? More and more, the thought Arachne had put forth (most likely as a joke) started to make sense, weirdly enough. When thinking about it, snowflakes not only portray delicateness, the short nature of life and its fragile quality, they also represent uniqueness. Each and every snowflake is different from the other and what is our Empire if not a show of that very thing? That despite the fact of everypony being unique, there can be unity and solidarity? That it can be a peaceful and harmonious place?

Isn’t that what Arachne is trying to prove by making the snowflake on Amore's flanks into our national symbol? To show our pride in our individuality? Our Empire is one of grace and beauty, a veritable beacon of hope. Our Empire represents the will to live and no one could take that away from us. Not even mad creatures of shadow and death.

And, as I thought back to the vision I had on the mountain, I was reminded of the crystal that paved the ground underneath my hooves. As I looked out towards where our ponies were setting the markers for the roads, I got a strange feeling that, if we were to make those roads out of crystals, they would end up looking exactly like what I had witnessed in my dream. And we actually had the means to make it into one single crystal, didn’t we? After all, we had already done so with our little experiment in creating a hive nursery.

The Crystal Emotional Resonance Theory. Crystals store magical energy. They store magic and emotions. Or rather, they conduct magic and emotions. My eyes widened and I turned them towards Amore’s flanks (this time without any inappropriate thoughts, whatsoever... totally) as a glorious realization dawned on me. I had thought about it all wrong, I was such a stupid idiot.

The Crystal Heart and the snowflake were connected. If I pictured it in my mind, the Crystal Heart would be floating smack dab in the middle of the snowflake and if I took it further and applied Arachne’s theory to it, it was almost obvious how much they truly were connected.

The snowflake would be the conductor for the emotions my ponies would direct towards the Crystal Heart and the heart would be the ‘battery’ storing that energy for later use. It wasn’t meant as a focus at all. What we were doing right now was horribly inefficient, even. Without a proper focus, the Crystal Heart could never achieve its full potential. It needed something to direct that energy in a controlled manner.

In my mind’s eye, a single object came into being. I knew what sort of thing was capable of directing power like that. After all, every unicorn I've come across has one and I, myself, had managed to cripple mine (somewhat). What we needed was a ‘horn’ to bundle all of that energy and form it, direct it, and... unleash it.

Amore was very confused as I started blabbering excitedly, bouncing giddily around with him in my embrace. Oh, this was going to be great! Glorious, even! Ah ha ha! I can’t believe my own genius! Yes! Oh, fuck yes! I’m so fucking sexy, it’s not even funny!

“A-Ara, please...” my stallion muttered weakly, turning slightly green from the overly excited dancing session I subjected him to. “What's the matter? Why are you so excited all of a sudden?”

I gave him a massive kiss, invading his mouth with my tongue (much to his embarrassed protests), before giggling again. I don’t care if Fate set me on this path, I will milk it for everything that it was worth! I was going to build the most epic monument to penetrate the damn sky and disguise it as a tribute to love like the pervert that I was! Mwahaha, I’m a friggin’ genius, nothing could stop me!

“O-okay, Ara, t-that’s enough!” Amore grunted, shoving me away from him, breathing heavily from a lack of oxygen. “Fuck, you’re a hoofful at times.”

“Language~,” I teased him, grinning wide and cheerfully. He sent a glare my way, but I didn’t care. I was gonna have so much fun with this! All the lewd comments I could make would make any respectful French lady blush like a tomato as I put the Paris Eiffel Tower to shame with what was, essentially, going to become the most glorious of palaces to have ever been built. This was going to be utterly brilliant, I can’t wait! Eee!

“I really hate you, Ara,” Amore muttered, getting his disheveled mane back under control after what I subjected it to. Though, seeing him with a ruffled mane was kinda seriously hot. Generally seeing him not be the perfect image of a noble stallion was making me all hot and bothered, I had to admit. It had that certain something that one only ever saw on a rare occasion, which made it that much more of a treat to see. “You constantly saying bad words has corrupted me!”

“Oh, don’t be such a wuss,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes. That was another thing, actually. Him not constantly acting all prim and proper was making him a bit more... relatable, I guess? It wasn’t like being around him and his politeness was making me ashamed of my own behavior. After all, I regularly put on a façade of regalness for the sake of our subjects and their sense of ease (all the while thinking the most naughtiest of things~, but let’s not focus on that right now). It’s just... him always being like that even while more or less in private was kinda... aggravating. It’s like he never allows himself to let his mane down, so to speak, and that kinda saddened me more than anything. “I didn’t corrupt you. Otherwise, you would be sucking my dick right now~.”

“What?!” Amore stammered out, another blush exploding all over his muzzle and I grinned. This day truly was a special day, I mused. “D-don’t say stuff like that! Ponies could hear you!”

“Oh, they definitely did,” I snickered, watching our subjects go about their task of setting the markers while trying not to let it show on their bodies that they clearly were imagining their prince doing just that to their glorious queen. I could tell some were even disappointed they wouldn’t get to watch it happen, those dirty little voyeurs~. Oh, how proud I was of them... it warms my heart to the core, truly. “What? Are you afraid they would judge you? Heck, more than a 'few' of them had sex with me. Trust me, you wouldn't even be the first one to give my dick that kind of treatment~. Not to mention, there are regular orgies happening around this place, I doubt they would look at you any differently if you were to engage in that kind of fun time with me. Nopony, and I mean not a single one, would give a fuck at that. If anything, some would be more than tempted to join in or watch~.”

“Y-you... you are a damn succubus,” Amore grumbled, shifting on his hind legs and I knew he was futilely trying to hide his body’s reaction to my teasing. This definitely was a day that I wouldn’t forget quite so soon. If ever~. “Talking like that... I can’t believe it...”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t enjoy it,” I smiled coquettishly, only for him to look away from me with a pouty frown. His emotions didn’t change from the honey-like flavor of his love for me, though. If anything, they pulsed even more strongly from where the Crystal Heart floated. Aww, he was just the cutest, wasn’t he?

My body practically screamed at me to not let this moment go to waste and my mouth was already salivating, demanding me to take just a nibble. It couldn’t hurt, right? I wouldn’t take much, so it would barely even affect the Crystal Heart (or Amore, for that matter). The temptation was just too big to resist, and, before I knew what I was doing, I was already taking a bite out of those deliciously succulent emotions.

One ‘little’ nibble became two large bites, then three, four, five... six... until I was actively pulling as much as I could take and then some. The distressed hum from the Crystal Heart went all but ignored as I feasted on Amore's love for me and the light of the shield in the distance started to gradually dim as a result of my insatiable hunger.

I... I have to admit, I might have been getting a teensy, tiny bit more hungry than I thought I was. It was no wonder my self-control dwindled to nothing in the face of a veritable feast floating right there in the sky, radiating emotions practically everywhere, leaving me a little bit... tipsy... from how powerful they actually were.

No, not tipsy, I thought a bit deliriously, bloated would be a better word for it. Downright drunk, even. My beautiful Snowflake gave me a concerned look as I struggled to breathe in as my stomach protested vehemently against me. The haze surrounding my mind was, while absolutely wonderful, making my vision swim from side to side and... up and down... back and forth... going loopy and woozy... and... ugh... swimmy and stuff...

F-fuck, which direction was s-straight, again? Was there even such a thing as straight in this universe? I feel like... like... throwing straight up...

Before Amore could say anything to me, a little dribble of watery honey escaped my muzzle and I quickly clamped my mouth shut with my hooves, desperately giving the wobbly figure in front of me an urgent look as I began to sway unsteadily around on my legs. Thankfully, my special somepony (yeah, no, that sounds kinda weird... coltfriend, maybe?) was quick to find a barrel full of dirty linen in need of washing, dumping it out in a careless rush to empty it of its content and setting it in front of me just as I couldn’t hold back anymore.

“What the..? Ara, what happened there?” Amore asked, rubbing my back as I moaned pathetically at the stomach cramp currently causing me most of my discomfort (the mind-splitting headache induced by my overfeeding was only a minor inconvenience, I swear). I didn’t even need to look into the barrel to know that it was already at least halfway full with the softly glowing watery syrup-like substance of mixed emotions. Mainly love, though. “How much did you draw from the Crystal Heart just then and there? Don’t tell me you lied to me about...”

“Nuh...” I mumbled, shaking my head slightly. That proved to be a big fucking mistake, though. My head felt like it was just moments away from exploding. F-fuck... I’m such a stupid dumbass. “Not... not starvin’. I... urgh... I‘m fine...”

“Ara, this does not look like ‘fine’ to me,” Amore admonished me and I moaned again, my stomach emptying even more out into the quickly filling barrel while I tried to get the world from spinning around so much. I was failing at that. Spectacularly so. “You spaced out there for a moment and then you go and do this. What am I going to do with you? Can’t you be honest with me for once?”

“I didn’t... didn’t lie,” I sighed, feeling like my stomach wasn’t straining against my chitin quite so much anymore. That’s something at least, right? Fucking hell, I'm lucky an overdose of love can't kill me. Not as far as I know, at least. “We still have plenty of honey jars left. There's nuthin’... Ngh... n-nothing to worry about...”

“And how many of those did you plan on feeding on instead of reserving them for your larvae?” he asked, gazing at me with a raised eyebrow as I dared to look up at him despite my shifting vision. I must look so pathetic to him right now, clutching the barrel for dear life like this. “Arachne didn’t lie, did she? She told me you haven’t been eating enough.”

“Arachne worries too much...” I stubbornly grumbled, heaving one last time as I filled the barrel up to three-quarters-ish with watery changeling honey. I still felt like I was full beyond capacity, but at least my stomach was calming down. How I even filled that much without equal amounts of water in my stomach was beyond me, but... I did feel kind of lightheaded, to be honest. Kind of like I was near dehydration, now that I thought about it. That would also explain the headache and nausea, I suppose. I’m just going to chalk it up to magic and be done with it, I couldn’t screw up the necessary focus to care right now.

Maybe I can actually die of an overdose, this sure doesn't look like a healthy reaction to me. That's one way to end up like a shriveled husk, I guess...

Amore accepted a pitcher of water from one of the ponies around us, making me sip from it slowly lest I started heaving again. The water did help a little bit, thankfully. Not nearly enough to make all of the aches go away, but it was a start. My vision wasn’t going merry-go-round anymore, at least.

Note to self: love sucks. Stick to lust, seriously. You can't go wrong with good ol' lust.

“Ara, please tell me the truth. I just want to help,” he whispered, concerned. “Why did you draw so much from the heart?”

“I...” I hesitated, looking away from him, a heavy feeling of reluctance settling over me. I can’t make him worry, I just... can’t. Fuck, I’m such a pathetic, stupid idiot. Here I feared taking what I needed from the heart would inevitably weaken the shield and then I go and do this. It just happened and I... “I got lost in the moment. I'm sorry, ‘more.”

“That didn’t look like ‘lost in the moment’ to me, Lovebug,” he sighed. I raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the ‘Lovebug’ part but had to admit that I kinda liked him calling me like that. Ara was fine in the nickname kind of way, but as a term of endearment, it lacked that certain ‘something’, if that makes any sense. “That looked like you lost control of yourself because you were starving yourself on purpose. And don’t you dare try to come up with another lie to explain that away, Ara. I know what I saw. Brightly glowing eyes and uncontrollable drooling do not count as ‘lost in the moment’.”

“I’m fine...” I grumbled, glaring at him defiantly. He returned my glare with an even fiercer one while everypony around us ‘conveniently’ ignored us in favor of... yeah, no, they were totally listening in on us and I couldn’t even really fault them for their curiosity. Before I could say anything else, I let out a startled cry as I rubbed the point where he bonked me over the head with his hoof. I was about to open my mouth to complain to him when he did it again. “Ow! Stop that, damnit!”

“No.”

“Gah!” I yelped again, huffing angrily as I went to retort, only to be hit again by him. “For fuck’s sake, stop that or I’m going to...”

“You’re going to do what?” he challenged me and I growled, momentarily ignoring the way his emotions got spicier by the minute in favor of slapping his hoof away before he could hit me again.

“Fuck you, I’m fine!”

“No, you are not fine, Ara!” he yelled and I hissed back, yelping once more as he used his magic this time to tug on my ear. “And if you continue to act like a damn foal, I’m going to treat you like a damn fucking foal!”

“I’m not a foal, you asshole!” I shouted back, about to hit him back only for him to restrain my legs against me. “Let go of me! Ow! This is fucking abuse! Stop it!”

“Ara, you are going to tell me what’s wrong right this instant or else..!” he warned me and I spat at him with a dark glower.

“Fuck. You.”

Amore’s eyelid gave a twitch at my continued stubbornness and he let out a frustrated snort of hot air as he wiped the slightly sticky spit away from his muzzle with a grimace. “Ara, please, be reasonable.”

“I am!” I grunted, squirming around in his tight grasp. Had this been any other type of situation, I might have been turned on by the display of roughness, but as it was, I was in no mood to comply with the dickhead right now. “I am the most reasonable person to have ever lived and I’m fine, so let me down already!”

“You aren’t being reasonable at all, Ara!” he shot back, stomping his hoof as his scowl darkened even further. “And you can’t honestly tell me you are fine while... while bickering with me like a stupid idiot! You are being an utter moron and don't you dare lie to me! You were starving yourself on purpose!”

“Fuck you, I am not lying! I was just... making sure I had enough honey to last us through winter. I have to make as much honey as I can for my brood, I can't let them starve...” I argued back while kicking my hind legs weakly against his magical grasp, knowing that I was more than likely causing a scene right now, but I didn’t care. At this point, I was pretty much arguing for the sake of arguing and I certainly wasn’t going to be the one to back down. Not when it meant having to admit that I was the one in the wrong here. Besides... “Now, let go of me, you’re the one that is marehandling me, asshole!”

“Then stop LYING TO ME!” he roared and I let out a shocked meep, shrinking in on myself as I, for the first time, saw him genuinely furious with me. Even his emotions felt ‘hot’ to me and burned me as soon as I tried to taste them. “You’re always deflecting the subject when you’re uncomfortable talking about something, for fuck's sake! Why won’t you trust me?! Am I really the bad guy here for wanting to know more about you? About how you feel?! Is it really that hard for you to approach me when you have problems?! Do you genuinely think I wouldn’t want to listen to you?! Tell me, Ara! Tell me what the flying fuck I did wrong that you don’t trust me!”

I gulped thickly, a horrified feeling coming over me as my ears splayed back against my head. He thought I didn’t trust him..? But... I didn’t want to make him worry, I... I was fine. For the most part, that is. It wasn’t like I was unused to the feeling of a little bit of hunger, I was far from starving myself ‘on purpose’, as he made it out to be. I needed the honey for later, that was basically like foresight, right?

...right?

Was I... was I wrong? I didn’t want to bother him with my ‘needs’ when it clearly made him uncomfortable thinking about anything remotely sexual. I mean... I could survive without lust, as much as the thought made me inwardly cry, but... I didn’t want to force him into anything. I wanted it to be something special between us if we ever actually came around to do, well... that. He deserved at least that much from me.

“Please,” he begged, his angry scowl replaced with a beseeching plea to confide in him as he set me back down on the ground with his usual gentleness and care. “I love you, you dumb bug. Please, just talk to me. I can’t go on like this, not knowing whether or not you would actually come to me when there’s something bothering you. You are the first being that I’ve ever considered marrying and... and I don’t want that to be taken away from me. I don’t care if I’m selfish right now, I want you to confide in me so that I can help you! Isn’t that what relationships are for? To be there for each other even when things get tough? Please, Ara... please, let me help you...”

“...you want to... marry me?” I asked in disbelief. Despite feeling like shit due to everything that happened earlier, I felt better than ever as he uttered those words. My heart couldn’t even decide whether it wanted to leap straight out of my chest or stop beating altogether. It was such a strange feeling, to be honest. “Actually marry me? As in... until death do us part? As in ‘marry’ marry, wedding and all of that? Being husband and, uh... sorta wife? I’m not dreaming, am I? Please tell me I am not dreaming.”

“No, you’re not, and... that’s kinda what marrying implies, doesn’t it?” Amore gulped and fidgeted, rubbing his leg in what seemed to be discomfort or... uncertainty? Or was it hesitation? It was hard to tell when his emotions were... all over the place, I guess. It was almost like he was... nervous... “To be honest, I never thought I would get this far.”

“What?” I mumbled, confused. “Why wouldn’t you..?”

“Ara, I’m a stallion,” he told me and looked at me like that would have been enough of an explanation. At my continued uncomprehending gaze, he dragged a hoof through his face and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Right, I’m an idiot, I’m talking to an alien here’ (which kinda tempted me to give him the stink-eye, but it was somewhat true despite the fact that I was technically born on this world, too). “Okay, let’s put it like this, then. How many mares do you see around us?”

“Amore, I’m not stupid, I can count,” I grumbled and answered anyway. Mares kinda outnumbered stallions a lot around here (not that there was a lack of stallions, to be honest). I could already guess where he was going with this and it didn’t sit right with me. Not one bit.

“Alright,” he said, rubbing his neck awkwardly. “Then there’s the fact I’m a noble. As in, a lord and... I can see you know where I’m going with this. Ara, I was prepared for the inevitability that I wouldn’t ever get to choose whom I wanted to marry. Not with my mother having arranged for... for Gold Bar and I...”

“You don’t have to say it,” I sighed, slowly embracing him as I leaned my head against his shoulder, my gaze wandering downwards in anxiety and... a feeling I couldn't quite describe in an accurate way. It felt light, if anything. Something similar to hope, maybe? “Did you mean it when you said you would..? To be fair, I got the feeling you were about to break up with me for being so... difficult and perverted and... and dumb about keeping my worries to myself. I wouldn’t even have blamed you for that, to be honest...”

Amore shifted his head gently so that it rested on top of mine, his breath tickling my ear and mane ever so slightly. “I would never,” he reassured me. “How often have I told you that? I love you. I know you know that, despite you being surprisingly oblivious to some things concerning love, what with being an empath and all that.”

“Just because I can smell and taste emotions doesn’t mean I have to understand them...” I chuckled weakly.

“Don’t I know it...” Amore muttered in mock agitation with his pleasant posh noble-y voice. “Since I met you, I couldn’t imagine a single day where I didn’t have you around making inappropriate comments and being generally shameless with the things that you do on a daily basis. It has honestly become a challenge keeping myself from doing anything unbecoming of my station, it’s driving me insane.”

“You keep pretending that it actually means something,” I hummed, smirking at him. “Everyone has needs, my love. Trust me, what you are doing to yourself is, in the most simplest of terms, torture. Why would you want to neglect your own body like that? Heck, I've never even seen you masturbate since I've gotten to know you. That's like... the most basic of basic reliefs you could give your body from all the stress that must have been building up for who knows how long. Do you not crave at least that much? Or do you not do it because you think it isn’t proper to do such things for whatever reason? What? Did your mother tell you you aren't allowed to play with yourself like that or what?”

“Ara...” he warned me and I huffed to myself. I bet he was going to say something along the lines of... “Let us worry about making this little ‘Empire’ of ours liveable first and then marry before thinking of... that. I am not quite... ready for that, yet. There are times I want nothing more than to give in to your demands, and then, there are times I'd rather hide away from that part of my body... I'd rather we take things slow, okay?”

...wait, what? He... he wasn’t outright saying no to me? I... this was definitely a first, I have to say. How surprising... “Wait, wait, wait! You were serious about marrying me?”

“I mean... yes. I wouldn't ever lie about something like this, Lovebug. I meant it when I said you were the first and only one so far that I have ever felt these kinds of feelings for. You make me happy, Ara. Genuinely happy, so I would like to, uh... consider it?” Amore said, coughing awkwardly. “When there’s nothing trying to, you know, kill us? And if you would have me... we can figure out everything else after that.”

“Yes!” I exclaimed, grabbing the back of his head and drawing him into a ravenous kiss. I felt my coltfriend (yeah, no, that didn’t sound right, either) deepen the kiss all by himself while everypony around us started stomping their hooves enthusiastically in congratulations.

“You are still going to give me an honest answer about why you would starve yourself like that to me,” he whispered softly after we broke the kiss, leaving me no choice but to look up into those damn eyes of his as he held me still. “You can rely on me, my wonderful Lovebug. I promised to always be there for you and I’m not about to break my vow to you because you can’t bring yourself to confide in me for whatever reason.”

“I... damnit, you and your damn adorable, lovable eyes,” I grumbled with a pout, unable to resist their charm. He really had far too much power over me with those pools of golden amber. “How can I not say anything when you call me your lovebug...”

“You call me your Snowflake, so fair play and all that,” he chuckled, bumping his muzzle against mine, a bright smile on his face. “Or Arachne did, anyway.”

“Well, you are my special Snowflake, after all,” I hummed, smiling widely myself. “I’ll have to start calling you like that, as well.”

“At least you’re willing to talk to me now,” he huffed good-naturedly. I rolled my eyes, giving him a quick peck as I resigned myself to ‘talk’ about my worries and difficulties with him. Or how I saw it: make him worry over something that wasn’t at all worth worrying over, in my opinion. It's not like I could eat his emotions willy-nilly whenever I wanted. Right?

Evidently, my opinion sucks and should not be trusted according to multiple, traitorous sources. So... talking it was.

And talk we did. Quite lengthily, even. The conversation soon shifted away from me ‘purposefully’ starving myself (and I had to admit, I... kinda was doing just that, if I was absolutely honest with myself) to my brood and when we could expect them to hatch or even mature into fully-fledged changelings.

One thing was for certain, though. Amore didn’t leave me to my own devices anymore after that day. As I had already predicted, he was massively worried for my health despite my reassuring him I wouldn’t drop dead as soon as he wasn’t within eyesight of me. I could take care of myself (apart from recent events making it exceptionally clear that I was perhaps a bit too overzealous in my own worry about not having enough food for my brood). It’s just... it was hard for me to confide in someone else that wasn't me (Arachne and Shadra didn’t count in that regard), feeling like I would be too selfish bringing up my own needs above those of everypony else. I was trying so hard, perhaps too hard, to distance myself from my old narcissistic tendencies that it made me afraid to reach out for fear of reprisal.

I really need to start listening more to Arachne and Amore. Their concern was entirely justified as I had proven by my ‘hungry craze’, as Shadra later called it. Apparently, it was not good to keep yourself at a minimum requirement of sustenance for a changeling queen (or any other creature, for that matter), who would have known? It was a lesson I had to learn the hard way and I vowed to never let it happen again. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, losing yourself to your own hunger that you became a mindless slave to your body as soon as the first source of food crossed your path. I mean, I was kinda asking for it, but still...

I had been a ticking time bomb, waiting to go off at any time. Had it happened just a bit earlier, the shield might have even faltered entirely. I need to be more careful from now on and trust in Amore.

His love for me was far more abundant than I had previously assumed. So much so, even, that the Crystal Heart was back to its usual bright shine after my stupid little stunt (or blunder, really), almost having recovered immediately from being drained so much. It does go to show how good of a pony he truly is. Not just him, for that matter. Everypony around us was willing to pitch in to help me out. I couldn’t even tell why I had been afraid of taking as much as I needed from the Crystal Heart in the first place.

Maybe I feared my own greed, I thought grimly. If I couldn’t control myself and accidentally hurt somepony, I would never be able to forgive myself.

It was clear to me that a good amount of the positive energy stored in the Crystal Heart was easily replaced in the short term. In the long run, something had to change, one way or another. Even if it was just a nibble here and there, if an entire hive starts to feed off of the Crystal Heart, I doubt it could recover quite so easily.

It would remain a last resort in cases of emergencies and otherwise only be allowed for those 'lings that couldn't find a special somepony to feed off of. That is, if we can't manage to build up a stockpile of changeling honey.

We do need to allow the Crystal Heart to build up enough energy for my little master plan (I still need to figure out the specifics for that, but I'm cautiously optimistic for now that it will work... hopefully). Until then, though? I have to think of my own survival first. Like I should have done from the very beginning.

Anyway, the way Amore kept ‘hovering’ over me almost caused me to paralyze him with my venom as I was about to go check on how the eggs were doing in the hive nursery. I apologized profusely to him as I quite literally couldn’t stop myself from hissing at him every time he came so much as a hoof length into the range of the entrance. That was the only place that Amore had to admit was a pony-free zone despite his concern and curiosity to see what it looked like.

Perhaps one day I will be able to suppress the primal urge to protect the hive at all costs so that he may step hoof into the nursery with me. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to have him in there, my body just insisted that he didn’t belong there and that’s it. If we ever find a way to make sure that it is his sperm that fertilizes my eggs, I would very much love to show him his kids before they emerge as fully-fledged changelings. I was already robbing him of making memories of his ‘foals’ during their foalhood, I wanted him to have at least that much.

But, alas, I was getting way ahead of myself here. We did get a bit more intimate with each other, much to my (and Shadra’s) happiness. While it wasn’t outright intimacy just yet (in the sense of getting very naughty with each other, that is), it was a step in the right direction. And we only ever did that type of stuff behind closed doors (and during the night when everything was too dark for even me to see every detail) because a certain idiot was too shy about his perfect body. I don’t know where he got it from, but being lean and tall is sexy and not whatever it was that he was insecure about. Not everyone has to be the broad and buff picture of 'peak' masculinity, seriously.

I actually preferred him being the slender, tall, and somewhat athletic kind of guy. He had plenty of defined muscles showing through his silky soft coat, so he had that going for him, as well. Sure, he was the slightest bit pudgy around his stomach, but that made him look kind of cute in a way, so who cares? Same thing with his mane, actually. The length was just right, in my opinion. Not too short like some other stallions (or most of them, really), and not too long that you would mistake him for a mare. Okay, maybe from the right angle, he would look like a (very) pretty mare, and my dick kinda approved of it... very much. He did have a slight femboy air around him, so... yeah.

I refrained from mentioning my body's opinion and instead reassured him that he was manly (or stallion-y) enough for me. Not that it mattered all that much to me, I loved Amore for his personality first and foremost.

Besides, I could imagine him looking all pretty and gay all I wanted in my head, right? It's not like anyone would ever know (aside from Shadra and Arachne). He was like the best of both worlds in one body while still being male. That’s entirely the fault of his prudish noble lord nature and the color of his mane and tail, though. Yep. Definitely.

Eh, even then, it made him way sexier in comparison to the other stallions, I have to say. What can I say? Cute and sexy works for him really well. And the fact that he had a feminine side to him made him that much more appealing to me. He was sort of similar to me in that regard.

What can I say? Fem is superior in all the right ways. It's a shame ponies don't have make-up yet. A touch of make-up makes everything look sexy, even the subtle kind. Even men. Stallions. Whatever.

Anyway, as much as he doubted my reassuring words, it did leave him in a far happier mood than the one before we had that little 'talk' (which just basically boiled down to 'Ara, why do you even like me?' and me telling him he was being a stupid head for his 'insecurities' and that I didn't give a single fuck as to what he looked like... or what was between his legs, for that matter). I loved him for his damn lovable personality, not just for that juicy dick and ass. But try telling that to him when he always finds new ways to be insecure about his body.

That kinda reminded me of Shadra before she got over her own internalized problems with her sex and gender. She was probably just as skittish about accepting her body and desires as Amore was about his.

Anyway, aside from our steamy make-out sessions behind ‘closed’ tent flaps (for some reason, those stupid things refused to stay closed for any length of time... not that I had much of a problem with that~), we were steadily making progress with those soon-to-be crystalline streets. Arachne kept checking them at least three times a day for the correct geometrical form even as ponies were digging out a groove next to her, connecting one marker with the next.

Only when she gave them the signal to go ahead did they start digging out the space where we would later fill in the crystals to make the path to and from the Crystal Heart and the Crystal Palace. It should (hopefully) be able to channel all of that energy (without collapsing after one discharge, that is) and focus it to do... something... that would surely make the umbrum wish they never stepped a smokey hoof in this world. I was certain it was going to work, it had to. Otherwise, I would be at a loss as to how to save this world from their influence and I’d rather not think about that possibility at all if I could avoid it.

While things were progressing rather smoothly, not everything was going as well as it could be. We had to ration our water supply for a week or two because the latest hit and run to the mountain yielded less than the usual amount of snow and ice due to an untimely intervention from our 'kind' neighbors. Thankfully, everypony made it back safe and sound into the shield, which didn’t make the voices become any less loud for us to find a (feasible) alternative. And I wish I could have given my ponies an answer to all of our problems, but so far, we have yet to come across an underground source of water that was safe to drink from.

Despite my wishes, the expedition team did go back down into the cavernous depths below to find a solution, only to come back missing two unicorns and an earthpony while the rest got off easy with scrapes and bruises (and a broken bone or two) from having to escape the ever-hungry worm monster living down there.

The ‘funeral’ was perhaps the worst one yet as I had to take the verbal abuse of a grieving mother who had just lost her significant other. While I kept my face devoid of emotions, I later cried myself to sleep in Amore’s arms, feeling like a monster. I could have stopped them from going, I could have put my hoof down and told them 'no' in no uncertain terms, but... I ultimately caved in when they argued that it was the only way to ensure our survival. That they would all come back, having found what we so desperately sought, and that we would celebrate their victory for what it was. A triumph in the face of adversity, spitting the umbrum in their faces.

Look at how that turned out to be. Instead of celebrating a win, we were left to mourn their loss for the thing that it truly was. A huge failure and a setback. There was no winning against these insurmountable odds, we had to face that truth. As much as it pained me to admit that, I had to be realistic here. Not everything could go our way, it was as simple as that.

And yet, for some unfathomable reason, they insisted on trying again. I don’t know why or how they even knew with such certainty that they could do it, they remained adamant and resolute in their conviction. The leader of the underground expedition force insisted that they were this close to finding an underground lake and... I wanted to believe them. I desperately wanted it to be true, but... what would it ultimately change? What would it cost us? Was the risk worth everything if we had to put ourselves in outright danger each and every time? Was it worth risking ourselves being eaten alive for a little bit of water? Water we didn’t even know was safe to consume?

As it turns out, it was. It was such a massive gamble, but it did pay off in the end, much to my surprise. I've got no idea who even came up with the harebrained scheme, but somehow they managed to collapse a part of the caverns right on top of that damn worm, trapping it underneath a massive crystal and tons of rubble, immobilizing it completely.

And, as we later found out, it was the only worm of such a gigantic size down there. The thing apparently preyed on its rivals until its competition ceased to be just that. I swore that we would keep the population of 'crystal earthworms’ in check from that day onward to make sure none of them could ever grow to the size of the behemoth we left down there to starve to death.

I wasn’t even remotely remorseful to watch it finally die after a full month of it hanging on to a tiny little thread of life. It had caused enough heartache to my ponies and I don’t care if I sounded cruel with this, but watching it suffer made me rest a little bit easier, knowing the deaths it had caused were, at last, avenged.

So much for trying to be better, I mused. I guess I would always have a little bit of vindictiveness in me. The thing that really mattered, though, was that I never turned my vengefulness on those I swore to protect. I’ll take any verbal abuse if I have to as long as I don’t become a monster to them, hurting them on purpose.

I didn’t have a massive bleeding heart like Amore had and... I think that was okay. I could be plenty of ‘good’ in other ways, really. And I didn’t have to extend that kindness to every creature out there, that was just not feasible (as much as I wished it could be). Certainly not that worm and most definitely not the umbrum. Some creatures were simply beyond my ability for compassion, that was more Amore's thing.

To be honest... he was far too good for this world (and, perhaps, also too good for me, but I was a selfish bug and could care less about whether or not I ‘deserved’ him). He might keep me on the rightful path, and I was very much grateful to him for that, but some things I felt I needed to be ‘cruel’ about, if only to make myself feel less shitty about not feeling shitty over the suffering of other creatures in the world.

I’m not a friggin’ saint. Far from it, even. Nor did I want to be. I'd rather not fall into that 'holier-than-thou' mindset if I could avoid it. Besides, I was a regular hypocrite on far too many occasions for me to count them all, I wasn't really anything better. I was happy the way I was right now, there was no need for me to get overzealous over not being 'good enough' and all that crap. Perfection does not come with being the pinnacle of virtue, in my opinion.

There’s only one pony in the world that could claim to be perfect the way he is (prudishness included) and he was all mine. If anypony else wants to have him, they could kindly take a hike and search for another pony like him. I'm not letting go of what is mine, only over my cold dead body. And even then, I would find a way to claw my way out of the grave once more if I have to.

Anyway, around the time the worm finally ceased being a nuisance was also the same time my first clutch of eggs began to hatch, the moderately large larvae slipping out of their rather thin and elastic 'eggshells' all around me (if anything, those were actually more like clear-ish organic plastic foil, to be honest). Which... kinda put me into a precarious situation with a problem I hadn’t even considered until now.

“How do I actually feed them?” I muttered, holding one jar of honey against my chest with a foreleg while I gazed at the twenty-five chambers each currently housing hungry stark white larvae in them. Almost stark white, I should say, seeing that they had little black spots where I guessed their hooves would later grow in when they pupate.

That’s another question for later, though, I thought with some minor apprehension. I was more worried about getting them to that stage in the first place without, you know, having to watch them starve to death because I was stupid enough to not think of this situation beforehoof. I couldn't just nurse them or stick a bottle into their mouths. The first one was literally impossible for me to do since I had no teats and the second one was also out of the question since they were far too fragile for that.

<You already know what I’m going to say, My Queen,> Arachne pointed out as I opened my muzzle to ask my faithful Princess for advice and immediately felt it scrunch up in distaste at the idea she kept insisting was completely ‘normal’. <But whether or not you will listen to me is another thing entirely, isn't it? I don’t even understand what it is that you think is so wrong about it, it’s a completely natural process.>

<Say, has it ever occurred to you that maybe your being so detached about it is the thing that’s wrong with it?> Shadra commented and I hummed in agreement. <I mean... letting them feed us is less... you know, ‘blargh’... because at least they are fully grown ‘lings, but this? That’s like french-kissing a baby. A wiggling, slimy, little insect baby. Ugh, that's so gross...>

<You’re an insect, too, idiot,> Arachne shot back, mentally rolling her eyes at both of us. <How is it that you’re the squeamish one? Don’t you have Tobias’ memories of raising us?>

<Fuck, no,> Shadra gagged. <I threw those into the darkest pit within our conscience and stopped thinking about it. Heck, most of those memories are of the time we had been a toddler and even those were disgusting as fuck. Ugh, now I’m thinking about it again... where's the brain bleach when you need it?>

<Mother of the year material right there,> I commented dryly.

Shadra snorted but refrained from making a witty comeback about me not being any better. I could tell she wanted to do so, though, her indignant emotions were somewhat bleeding into mine for a moment there. Not that she would have been that wrong about it, the thought did make me queasy for a moment there, too. Not for the same reasons, though. I just knew Arachne would make the argument that we should let them feed us later down the line since we already fed them during this stage of their life. Or were about to, same thing.

The joys of motherhood, I thought, and opened the jar without further ado, drinking its contents until it was completely empty. For good measure, I repeated the same process with a second one before moving toward the first chamber in the brood comb.

<Oh, fucking hell, you’re actually going to do it,> Shadra whined and I rolled my eyes as I followed Arachne’s instruction to essentially let them ‘swim’ in the regurgitated substance. I smiled pretty much instantly as I saw the first one start to greedily drink it up like a good little larva.

<Shut up, Shadra,> I shot back, leaning up to repeat the process with the larva above the one I just fed.

<Soldiers,> my beautiful Princess mumbled back petulantly.

<Feed them and I’ll call them ‘soldiers’, love,> I said, clinging on to the sturdy structure of the crystalline comb as I had to crawl up to reach the ones further up top. That was perhaps an oversight I hadn’t considered as we built this nursery. Even with my height, I couldn’t stick my head into the hexagon-shaped holes while standing on the ground.

<Mhhrgh,> Shadra grumbled, ringing with herself about whether or not it was worth feeding them for us to call them soldiers instead of drones. Not that I intended to humor her silly description to be the default name for them (besides, drone sounds way cuter than soldier, in my opinion). <Fine, you win. I’ll have you know, though, that I hate your guts for it.>

I chuckled to myself, nuzzling the little larva in front of me affectionately with the tip of my muzzle before giving them their portion of food. <Just look at them! How can you ever think they are disgusting when they wriggle around so cutely?>

<Whatever,> Shadra huffed, switching with me as we came upon one of the larger chambers with a slightly bigger larva in them. She let out another whine before screwing her eyes shut, leaning her head in. “Ugh, and I have to do that nine more times...”

<And whenever they are about to run out of food,> Arachne reminded her, making our bitchy little Princess moan pathetically. <It’s not that bad, stop pretending to be disgusted by it.>

Shadra shot back, switching back with me as I continued on with the worker larvae.

“Shadra, do me a favor and stop being such a whiny bitch,” I whispered and had to smile as the larva in the next chamber sensed my approach. I gave it a little nuzzle and got a wriggly one in return, making me giggle ever so slightly. Whoever dares to say they aren’t cute deserves a nice crispy cell in hell. “Mommy loves all of you, yes she does. Who’s a good widdle little grub? You are! Yes, you are!”

<Great, does being an embarrassment of yourself come with becoming a mother, too?> Shadra snorted derisively. <Because that was the most humiliating thing to watch in the history of ever.>

<Another word out of your little whore mouth and I’m going to make you choke on your own dick,> I threatened, making her shut up pretty quickly afterward. Figures, I thought with a sarcastic snort. “Let me have this until I inevitably have to think of them as my subjects not only because they will no doubt see me as their queen first before thinking of me as their mother, but also because... because...”

<Because of their lifespan?> Arachne asked, her words as quiet as they were gentle.

I let out a saddened huff and nodded almost imperceptibly. <I’ve had time to come to terms with it, but I fear I won’t ever truly be able to accept it. It’s just...>

Arachne whispered, her presence subtly embracing mine in a comforting hug. <Such is the nature of life in a hive. I can’t tell you how long our brood will live for, but... that’s one thing I know is true no matter what. A queen outlives their offspring so long as she isn’t being superseded.>

<How long would that be, though?> I muttered, switching with Shadra again as the next larvae were ‘hers’ to feed. I could tell even she was saddened by the fact that we would likely outlive them for years if not even decades. Perhaps even centuries, as ridiculous as that thought sounded, I... I felt like it was the likelier possibility considering what I have heard of the lifespan of the ponies around here. Fifty years was the minimum I could expect my ‘lings to live and that was already the equivalent of ponies living up to seventy years of age since my brood kinda skips straight to adulthood after pupating.

The simple truth was... we have absolutely no idea how old we would get and that scared me more than anything. I didn’t want to watch generation after generation of changelings come and go. Ponies, too, for that matter. And I didn’t want to watch Amore die in my arms as he grew older by the day and I wouldn’t be anywhere near my own end. Not for a very long time, that is.

That did make me think of something, though. Was Amore even mortal anymore? Well, obviously he could still die, I have seen him bleeding a few times from shallow cuts he inflicted upon himself because he wasn’t being careful, but... he had managed to turn himself into some kind of lich. What variant of lich he was isn’t important right now, the question that was, though... would he stay dead if his body was destroyed? Would he even age while the Crystal Heart was bound to him?

Clearly, destroying the Crystal Heart would kill him, there was no doubt about that in me, and I wasn’t going to allow anything to come close to that thing if I had a say in it, but what would happen should someone kill his gloriously sexy body? It’s not like I was going to let that happen, either, I liked the idiot too much to sate my morbid curiosity, but I had to wonder how far that lich-ification really went, how far it truly extended. Would the Crystal Heart actually act like a phylactery was said to work? Would he be able to revive himself as long as the ‘heart’ continued to beat, so to speak? What kind of consequences would that bring with itself?

I suppose I would never know and I preferred it that way. I could come up with crazy theories all day long, but in the end, it wouldn’t do me any good. I wouldn’t be able to predict something that I had next to no precedent for. Amore could revive in a flash of light like nothing happened or he could ‘stay dead’ while his essence was forever trapped in the Crystal Heart. Heck, he could revive as I did in some random tree and emerge... as... a... changeling queen. Which would be kinda really fucking hot, but Amore was too prudish to be a changeling, so the thought was downright ridiculous.

Still hot, though. Fuck, that would be amazing, wouldn't it? We could fuck each other in all kinds of kinky shapes... f-fuck.

Ahem! Now that I thought about it, it brought up another question of mine. Let’s assume here that he would revive like a proper lich (just without the, you know, undead parts ‘cause that’s disgusting as fuck), the question would be how he would return to life. I doubt the ‘flashing back to life’ was an option, so there had to be some ‘natural’ element to it. Would he literally have to start life anew? As in, being born again with a new family and all that shit? Fuck, that would be kind of hella weird. Weirder than it already was with me being not even a year old and being practically ancient because of what I had to endure in the Realm of Death. Mentally, I was no older than I was back on Earth considering the 'stitching my soul back together' part.

Anyway, then there was the question of whether or not Amore would still be Amore after reviving. Would he lose a little bit of himself every time he dies? What about being born in the wrong body? He seemed pretty progressive, so I was less worried about him ending up as anything other than a pony. Well, it depends on whether or not he ends up in a body that was considered to be sapient. Ponies would give me weird looks if I were to be in a relationship with a friggin’ bunny for example (not that it would matter much to me, I am a shapeshifter, after all).

No, what I was worried about was whether or not Amore would be able to live with himself were he to end up with the wrong sex. Something that wasn't really that much of a problem with changelings, but that’s something we couldn’t actually guarantee to be the case (short of some very complicated transformative magic I would literally need the power of a god for, that is).

For his sake, I had to protect him from everything that could potentially kill him. I didn’t want him to suffer because he ended up in the wrong body. It took Shadra quite a bit to admit she wanted to present herself in a feminine way and a lot more to accept her mare parts. I had no idea whether or not Amore would be able to do something like that, even if he still had a dick between his legs in addition to having a snatch.

It would honestly surprise me if he were to accept being reborn as anything but a changeling and not of his original sex. He seemed pretty comfortable as a stallion despite how much he hated the fact that he would have almost been forced into an arranged marriage because of his station and sex. At most, he would be curious about knowing what it would be like on the other side of the fence for a little while, but... that’s it, I think.

Unless he's kept his feelings hidden even from himself, I was reasonably sure that he wasn't secretly trans. About ninety percent sure, I would wager. Maybe eighty percent, who knows? Seventy-five percent?

To be honest... one can never be sure with an unhatched egg. Pun fully intended.

Anyway, as long as my future husband (now that sounds a lot better to me) stayed alive and well, everything was fine. There was no need for me to worry about anything if it didn’t even come to that in the first place.

I would love my Snowflake no matter what, and that’s a promise I could easily keep. Silly fears they may be, they were still fears that managed to make me the slightest bit uneasy. Confiding in him about them, though... Well, I did promise to do so, but that didn’t make it any easier to bring up the topic of mortality.

“Something is on your mind, Ara,” Amore hummed, lying next to me in the ‘modestly’ large tent.

I fidgeted a little bit on my haunches, an agitated buzz making me sigh in exasperation as my body betrayed me once more and I watched Amore’s brow wander up ever so slightly. “I, well...”

“Ara,” Amore said and I grumbled. I hate talking about this kinda stuff, it always made him worry more than I felt he needed to. But that's one thing I loved about him and I couldn't just keep it bottled up for eternity, anyway. At some point, it would have to come out, for better or for worse. “Something is clearly bothering you, I can tell. I don’t even need to hear your wings for that, the fact you haven’t so much as groped me once this evening is telling enough.”

“Fine,” I pouted, shifting around on the blanket until I was lying on my side while facing my soon-to-be husband (yeah, that sounds really nice, I have to admit) and I bit my lip in hesitation. At his continued nudging, I finally let loose, telling him about my worries concerning his mortality and my (presumed) longevity. And I continued on well into the night with that, hating how his emotions turned slightly watery when I was mostly done with it.

All the stupid idiot did for a while was to hold me close to him while telling me everything would turn out alright. He wasn’t dead yet (thankfully) and it would be a long time until that became an issue. Same thing with my children, he assured me with his stupidly sexy, noble-y voice. It was almost enough to put my worries to rest, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about... everything, really.

“And then... then there’s the fact I... I-I can’t...” I mumbled, tears coming back to my eyes as I had to bring up the one topic I didn’t want to talk about with him but needed to because it affected him more than anything. “I can’t give you f-foals, ‘more. Even if they would g-grow up from little i-infant to toddler, to little kid, t-teenager, young a-adult, whatever... We wouldn’t k-know if they are t-truly y-yours or not...”

“Hey,” he hummed, rubbing my shoulder comfortingly as I buried my muzzle in the soft fluffy fur of his chest, sobbing my heart out in anguish. I hated feeling like this so damn much and I hated his damn caring nature even more. He was comforting me when it should have been the other way around. He was the one that... that wouldn’t be able to get kids with me, for fuck's sake! “It’s alright, Lovebug. I don’t need a foal of my own with you as long as I am with you. And I’m not going to leave you because you can’t guarantee me an heir, that would be atrocious of me. We’ll figure something out if you truly want me to have a foal, trust me. They don’t have to be mine for me to love them, idiot.”

“B-but... b-but...” I hiccuped, looking at him through my blurry vision only for him to silence me with a soft, delicate kiss.

“I’m not letting you torture yourself over this, Ara,” he said, a sad smile on his muzzle. “There’s nothing that could change my mind on this. I don’t need a foal with you to know I love you and that we are meant to be together. I’ll always be here for you and not even death is going to come in between that. That, I promise you.”

“...why?” I sniffed, desperately clinging on to him for dear life. “Why are you so... so you? How can you stay so optimistic?”

“Because I am with you,” he said and it almost felt like he was stating an immutable fact. As if he truly believed nothing else could be the case. It was utterly baffling to me. He would do everything for me, wouldn’t he? Just like I would, I thought with a warm flutter racing through my chest down to my stomach, and, finally, towards my nethers.

I really just wanted him to... to love me and make my worries melt away. To feel his love not just through his emotions, but also through our actions towards each other. And I wasn’t satisfied with only kissing. I wanted him to feel me like I wanted to feel him. I wanted to breathe in his scent and have him smell mine. All I really wanted to do was to make love with him.

“To hell with this,” I muttered, staring hotly into his eyes. The golden orbs looked so beautiful in the flickering lamplight, almost mesmerizing even, I couldn’t wait any longer. I closed the gap between our muzzles with a short, nervous breath, and sealed my lips against his. I didn’t even deepen the kiss to include our tongues, I just played with his muzzle by playfully nipping it with my teeth.

“Ara, I...” Amore whispered, looking up at me as I rolled on top of him, my hooves running through his mane ever so slowly, sensually brushing his temples and running along his jaw until I touched his lips, tracing them reverently. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, ‘more,” I whispered back, closing the gap between our muzzles again as I snaked my forehooves around his neck. “I don’t deserve you, but I’m too selfish to care. I want you to be mine, forever.”

Slowly, I moved my body upwards against his, feeling his stiff erection grind against mine as I let out a shallow breath. “A-Ara, I...”

“Please...” I whispered, hoping he wouldn’t refuse me again. “Why won’t you make love with me like this? Is it because of the marriage thing?”

“I’m scared...” he admitted and I gave him a confused gaze. “I want it to be something special and I’m scared... I’m scared I won’t be able to satisfy you. I’m scared you will laugh at me for... for finishing too early or something... I’m scared I won’t be good enough for you... that you’ll leave me for somepony else... And, above all else, I’m afraid I won’t like it. I’m downright terrified of that possibility, Ara. I can't explain this, but something in my gut is telling me 'No, not now, not like this'.”

“And you don’t have to if that's really how you feel,” I said, smiling comfortingly despite feeling a little bit let down. I could understand 'more on some level, though. It was daunting and scary if you never thought to give it a try. “Heck, I was a virgin coming to this world (at least, I think so), I know how you feel. You don’t have to prove anything to me, I just... want to feel you. Have you love me in the most intimate way I know. The only way I know, to be honest with you. And I want to make you feel good in turn, ‘more. You’re my precious Snowflake, you wouldn’t ever be able to disappoint me. I love you for always being so caring, you dumb idiot. I love you because you are you and there is nopony out there that could say the same thing about themselves. I love you. I would never leave you for being bad in the act of doing the naughty, I’m not that shallow. Even if it turns out you are asexual or something else entirely, I would still love you.”

“I know,” Amore whispered, looking to the side while his emotions fluctuated a lot between the strongest honey flavor I have tasted up to this day and the sweet, but rancid, smell of his terror. “It’s irrational, I know that, but... I can’t help but feel like this. And it’s why I’ve been so ‘prudish’ despite wanting nothing more than to throw caution out the window. Ara, I want to do this so much, believe me, but... I’m not ready yet. I need to ease myself into this and get used to the idea first.”

“You need time to overcome your fears,” I said, not even framing that sentence as a question because I needed no confirmation from him. “I get it, Snowflake. Just know that I’m feeling nervous, too. The important thing is that you feel good doing it with me, I don't want to force you into this. If you want to wait until we’re married... I guess I’ll have to wait until then.”

“Thank you,” he murmured, nuzzling me gratefully. "I'm sorry you have to put up with me being like this."

“You don't have to be sorry for being who you are, 'more. It really is no problem,” I smiled, returning his nuzzle with a gentle kiss. “Don’t think that this means I’m going to stop teasing you, though. Or grope you. Kiss you. Lick you. Bite you~.”

“Of course,” he chuckled, a hesitant smile finally replacing his gloomy look. There was still some apprehension in his eyes, but that's something we could work on over the next few months. Together.

“And I’m going to make you suck my dick no matter what,” I grinned wickedly, seeing his face explode into a bright red flush immediately afterward as he gulped heavily. “Mhh~, and don’t you dare pretend that you don’t want to, I felt your dick twitch when I said that, lover boy.”

“You’re a degenerate,” he huffed with a pout and I chuckled. “A damn succubus.”

“Aww, you love it,” I teased, not hearing any denials from him. Oh, I can’t wait for the day to finally arrive. A day I have dreamed about since I was small and it was going to be glorious~!

He will be all mine~.

Chapter 009 - Glorious impressionable minds and how to corrupt them.

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It has been a few months since the larvae hatched after I laid their eggs and since Amore and I had that little ‘talk’ laying bare our hearts to each other. A lot has happened since then, I have to say. Time really does fly by when you’re having fun, doesn’t it? Well, as much fun as digging around in the dirt can be, to be absolutely honest here.

And there was a lot of digging involved, creating the space where the road would find its place. Not only the road (because we just love the additional work on top of everything else, don’t we?), but also the little project we had started in making a sewer for all of the waste we currently had to dump into a deep, deep hole.

It was surprisingly easy to convince our subjects that we needed a sewer system that wasn’t total crap (pun not intended, I swear). Most of them were painfully familiar with the way things were... less than pleasant in Unicornia, so they were very happy to ensure that our Empire wouldn’t end up with shit all over the streets and/or in our water supply.

While our current efforts focused more on the roads, that didn’t mean we weren’t making any progress in the housing department. Quite the opposite, even. The ‘crystal shapers’, as they insisted to call their newfound craft, were by far faster in carving and hollowing out the crystals to make houses than the ponies digging out the roads were. That was more the fault of us having to move way too many crystals out of the ground to make way for the road and the sewers rather than them simply being that good in their craft (some of the houses were comically blocky in a way that made them look kinda cute, to be honest).

We had also started making plans for the Eiffel... I, uh, mean the Crystal Palace, of course. While we were only in the planning stage so far, Arachne was hard at work figuring out the properties of the Crystal Heart so that we could make the whole thing function like a focus for the massive energies we currently predicted it might need to withstand. It wouldn’t do for our glorious tool... I mean, ‘home’... to split in half because it couldn’t handle the output of the little heart-shaped doomsday device.

The basic form of the Eiffel Tower was actually a pretty good base to work off of, according to Arachne. It was stable enough that the forces involved wouldn’t immediately make it collapse in on itself, and, with some very clever interior design, it would make the power transferred over from the Crystal Heart go up instead of back down into the ground. The question was how to aim that energy anywhere else aside from into the atmosphere of this planet.

Although, I have to say, that might not be an entirely bad thing. If we really thought about it, our primary target wasn’t the umbrum by themselves. No, they were merely a symptom of something much larger we had to ‘fight’. If we really have to, we could deal with them in another way, the much more important thing was preventing more of their kind from coming to our world ever again.

It was the weird swirly vortex portal thing I had seen in the sky within the Realm of Death that, to me, seemed like the primary entry point from where those blue angel ladies abducted the recently deceased souls of this world and took them to who knows where. If we could close that portal for good, or at least stop anything with malicious intentions from ever using it again, we would essentially be safe from whomever the umbrum served. Then we could still worry about ridding ourselves of any unwanted pests hiding in our closets.

But first, we have to get that far in the first place. While the clock of our imminent doom wasn’t ticking quite so fast over our heads anymore, our world still had an expiration date if we don’t do anything to prevent it from happening. I’d rather not let all of our efforts go to waste because some mad god snapped their fingers and erased existence as we know it.

Surprisingly, we haven’t heard one single angry banshee-like wail from the umbrum since we found a solution to our water problem, and thus, we didn’t need to needlessly risk ourselves by going out of our safe haven. It was putting me mildly on edge because I just knew they were concocting up a nefarious plan to get on our nerves again, but I didn’t want to overly worry my ponies with my concerns. They were finally starting to enjoy themselves, tending to the fields with an eager enthusiasm (I am so not jealous of them and the ‘scrumptious’ crystal berries that I could not taste... nope, definitely not).

Even the foals were laughing brightly as they played around with each other and the little herd of sheep a family of shepherds had taken with them from Unicornia.

And despite the looming threat of the umbrum on the horizon, the future of the Crystal Empire was all but secured at this rate. There were more than enough mares with 'baby-fever' that I had next to no worries my hive would outgrow the pony population anytime soon.

Everything was looking up, wasn’t it? Everypony was so carefree and happy, frolicking around as if we had already weathered the worst storm to come. So... why was I worrying so much over this? Even Amore was pretty upbeat despite me confiding in him that I felt like the umbrum were up to no good. His argument that the Crystal Heart would protect us was only somewhat comforting to me. The warmth of the twin suns in the sky wasn’t even enough to placate my nervousness and basking in their light usually helped relax me more than anything.

Well, almost anything. Nothing beats Amore’s snuggles. Nothing.

Heck, even the anticipation of the day of our wedding wasn’t helping me relax one bit. If anything, it was making me feel even worse. My feelings were all over the place and I couldn’t focus on anything going on around me (one of the reasons why Arachne and Shadra were the ones mainly in control of our body at the moment). I couldn’t think straight for the life of me and it was frustrating me to no end.

Marrying Amore... it was like a dream come true, truly. Shadra was as excited about it as I was and for some reason, I was the one half-paralyzed by fear and not her. I wanted this exact thing since I can remember (from what I can glean from our less-than-stellar memory, I guess). So... while I was happy beyond measure, I was worried something might go wrong. Something that would ruin a most special day, at that.

I was letting my own fears guide my hooves again, wasn’t I? I haven’t done anything irrevocable just yet, but... no. That's enough, Ara. You’re not going to do something stupid, so stop thinking like that already, seriously. Everything is going to be fine, just like Amore said. There’s absolutely no reason to be so concerned, you dumb bug. Your wedding is going to be the most glorious event of all time, just you wait and see. Nothing is going to go wrong, the umbrum can’t get into the shield and there’s still time until the day finally arrives.

I couldn’t wait for Amore to be my husband, my significant other. He was perfect in every way, a veritable gentleman. Or would it be gentlestallion? Ah, what does it actually matter? What matters most is that you are happy, Ara. Nothing is going to ruin your wedding. Just... stay calm and buzz on.

“I think she’s finally done with moping around all the time,” Shadra muttered to 'herself'. “Seriously, there’s pre-wedding jitters and then there’s Araneae.”

<Stop being so mean to her, Snugglebug,> Arachne shot back, a frown evident in her voice. <She’s having a hard time coming to grips with everything. This is the first time where we could genuinely relax without having to worry about somepony dying because of the decisions she has to make on a daily basis.>

“I get it,” Shadra grunted as she levitated the cup of ‘tea’ back to her lips. The pleasant taste of lust hitting our tongue was lifting my mood immensely and our ‘Snugglebug’ clearly noticed it, her lips curling up into a haughty smirk. “She’s still dumb, though. Amore isn’t going to say no to her at the altar, what is she so worried about?”

<I’m not dumb,> I huffed, pouting to myself.

“Could have fooled me,” Shadra giggled, humming with delight as she took another sip out of her cup. The warmth of the water and the flavor of lust were enough to offset the slightly chilly air and it showed in the happy chirp her wings let out. The Crystal Heart kept the climate within the shield to a spring-like temperature even in the winter, a perk we were very much grateful for. The weather outside the barrier was starting to get worse from the looks of it, too... not that it bothered the umbrum as they prowled around looking for any weaknesses in the shield.

I was honestly impressed that they could keep themselves on task so vigilantly. While it was a pain in the ass knowing that they refused to give up, I had to give it to them. They were relentless and unyielding, never once giving up. Quite fitting for the little nightmarish monsters that they truly were.

Like real nightmares, they keep coming back, always there to haunt you and remind you of your own weaknesses, until you finally confront them head-on and deal with them appropriately. Granted, nightmares are a construct of your psyche tormenting you for things you feel consciously or subconsciously bad about or throw your fears into your face like a fucking asshole. I liked to think that the shadows prowling outside day in and day out weren’t too different from night terrors in that regard.

They are assholes and they like to cause fear. And, until we deal with them, they would always be there, at the edge of our vision, mocking us. Not for much longer, though. They aren’t going to ruin our wedding, not if I can help it. This feeling that I had was just that, a fear. I’m going to give Amore the best wedding he could ever hope for, I swear that on my mismatched soul. He deserves that and so much more.

“Shadra, what a surprise to see you in control,” Orchard said as she arrived at the little establishment we were currently relaxing at, taking her place next to us. “I was expecting to speak with Arachne, instead. It’s nice ta see you, dear.”

Shadra smiled back in greeting as the gargantuan mare gave her order for a crystal berry tea (seriously, they can’t be that good that everypony is going gaga for them, damnit), puffing her chest out in that arrogantly proud way only my little Princess could pull off. Serene Orchard placed her saddlebags down next to her, shifting slightly on the cushion as she smiled at us with that perpetual motherly smile on her muzzle.

I knew better than to trust that smile. A pervert hid behind them, one that wasn't afraid to make our life difficult for her own amusement. I don't know why we still put up with her antics. She was even worse than we were at times, and I swear, her exhibitionistic tendencies were starting to get to me. Perhaps that was the reason why we got along so well, now that I thought about it...

“The hive mind has been a bit too depressing as of late,” Shadra explained, taking a sip while making a jab at me over the link we shared. I hate you, too, my bitchy Princess. “And Arachne is kind of preoccupied running calculations through that pretty head of hers. She says ‘hi’, by the way. You know how she gets when she has a mystery to solve.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Serene hummed, gratefully accepting the crystal teacup from Tea Leaf (not in any way related to... to my w-wayward Leaf despite the slight resemblance to her). She was the only one running an actual ‘shop’ at the moment, what with her wife and husband being among the few crystal shapers in our budding nation which pretty much gave them the opportunity to build their own home however they wanted (meaning: they went all out on it). “How's Araneae doing?”

“Better,” Shadra shrugged and I felt like rolling my eyes. “She still feels like the world is going to end for whatever reason because she can’t have nice things, but all in all? Nervous about our wedding doesn’t even do it justice.”

“I imagine you can’t be feeling much better than her,” Orchard said, giving us a look. Shadra fidgeted on her haunches, and, before her gaze could droop down to gaze forlornly into the teacup she was holding, Serene Orchard rubbed our back. “But that’s what I’m here for, My Queen. The tailor Ah spoke to agreed to entertain Arachne’s idea for your wedding dress, despite it being slightly... unconventional. Not that that’s a bad thing. That ‘tulle’ fabric sure is fancy.”

“What can I say? White just doesn’t work for us. Or any other color variation, for that matter,” Shadra said, scrunching up her muzzle. “Now, seeing Amore in a white tux... eh heh heh~.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake... I switched with my horny little Princess, a quick flash of changeling fire replacing her pink colors with my magenta ones. “I’m sorry for that, Orchard,” I sighed, rubbing my temples with a hoof. "She's usually pretty composed, but when it comes to 'more being dressed up in fancy clothes, she gets... weird."

“Don’t be, Your Majesty,” she smiled, sipping from her steaming cup without batting an eyelash. Her emotions practically radiated contentment and happiness, it made my eyelid twitch as she, intentionally or not, rubbed the fact under my muzzle that I wouldn’t ever know how crystal berries taste like. “I can’t fault her for thinking the way she does. Prince Amore would look very handsome in white, that much is true. Very... innocent~, I reckon.”

“It’s not so much about what he is going to wear to the wedding itself that makes her excited, trust me,” I grumbled, knowing perfectly well what kind of imagery my other self entertained. It’s one of those few things that brings out her masculine side and... I can’t say I didn’t approve of the image, either. Reducing our beautiful Snowflake to our submissive bottom was a very enticing thought, indeed. Haah... seeing him underneath us as we bring him to orgasm after orgasm... I can’t wait. “So... how are you and Quartzite doing?”

“Quite well, I have to say,” she replied, humming gently. It would have looked ‘lovely’ and ‘innocent’ like she wanted it to had she not had that hungry look in her eyes, telling me quite well what she was thinking about. Damn perverted milf. “My husband is back in his element, through and through. Rock farming has been a tradition in his family since... well, his family can remember. It’s always so... nice~... to see him work out with such enthusiasm. It truly makes him happy, talking about his talent... and it shows in the hay~. Mhh, that tower of pure, unadulterated, throbbing...”

“I get it, Orchard,” I rolled my eyes, making her frown ever so slightly back at me in sulkiness. “I swear, you are worse than me and I’m supposed to be the degenerate succubus bug pony hybrid.”

“Aww, thank ya kindly, Yer Majesty. I’ll take that as a compliment~,” she giggled and I sighed slightly, smiling in an amicable fashion. Never change, Orchard. Never change. “Anyway, I’m glad he has something to do. Suns know he’s restless enough since... ya know...”

“You don’t have to tell me that twice,” I muttered morosely, levitating the cup of honey-flavored water back up to my lips only to notice with a frown that Shadra had drained the damn thing completely dry of its oh-so-delicious contents. Ugh. What a bummer. “I have to admit, though, it’s an interesting tradition, rock farming. I can say with absolute confidence that that wasn’t a thing that existed where I came from, at least not in the way you guys think of 'cultivating' precious rocks. Then again, we didn’t have magic back on Earth as far as I can remember. I’m still trying to wrap my head around... ‘everything’, to be honest. To think you can manipulate the very properties of stone by tending to the earth with simple care and dedication... it boggles the mind.”

My friend raised a brow in response to that, unable to conceive how such a thing could be so remarkable. “Don’t take this the wrong way, dear, but... whenever one of ya brings up that there ‘Earth’ place, it only serves ta make it sound stranger and stranger to my ears,” Orchard remarked, her accent showing through more thickly for a moment before she caught herself with a blush. I don't quite understand why she tried to hide it so much. “I’m glad you came to Unicornia and freed us from slavery, Your Majesty. As amazing and wondrous as some of the things you talk about sound, it doesn’t compare to our little 'Empire' here, does it? No amount of... technology, was it? It can’t hold a lick of salt to this wonderful place.”

“I guess so,” I sighed, unsure. I do miss Earth from time to time, if only for the modern commodities humanity has become so dependent on. “The same thing could be said about Unicornia, though. To be honest, I don’t think any place is quite like this. It is truly unique, even in a world brimming with all sorts of wonders and magic.”

“And it’s only going to become more so, My Queen,” she nodded, a knowing glint in her eyes. I suppose that was pretty much a given, considering everything that has happened so far. Like the adaptation to a more crystalline form of life that we have yet to understand fully. And, you know... we were well on the way of establishing basic toiletries as well as running water and a sewer system. You don’t know what you’re missing until you have no easily accessible soap on hoof, seriously. “Say, how are your larvae doing? Everypony is curious about them.”

“Wriggling around for food like they always do,” I smiled as genuine happiness entered my voice. Speaking of crystallization, they also showed signs of it. “A month or two at most and they should begin pupating according to Arachne’s predictions. They have been getting bigger quite a lot, it really is a sight to behold. Shadra’s still squeamish about feeding them, but she’s getting there.”

“And when do they emerge?” Orchard asked, perking a curious brow at me. “I don’t know much about how changelings mature. You might be the first one to approach ponykind so freely. Or at all, really.”

“I wouldn’t know, either,” I shrugged. “My ‘birth’ wasn’t exactly normal, Serene. As far as I know, I’m the only queen in existence and I can only make guesses based on assumptions at best. But... to be honest? I think it’s going to take at least another six months.”

“That would make it about a full year from when you first laid their eggs, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose it does,” I said, nodding. Which also gave me more reasons to believe that it must be due to some small part of our pony heritage, taking twelve months from the moment of 'reception' to 'birth', even though some things remain different between me and the average pony mother.

For one thing, I don’t have to waddle around like a pregnant balloon. Small miracles, that. I can’t imagine how that must feel like, constantly being in a cranky mood because my body was in a state of growing life within my ‘oven’ for a year straight. I dodged a bullet with my ancestry in that regard. Things could have been considerably worse had I the reproductive traits of an ant queen, for example. The term ‘brood queen’ would have taken on an entirely different meaning, in that case.

Alas, I was glad about the way things were. Being a spider bee pony hybrid was by far preferable to every other alternative. This way, I could enjoy myself for most of the year and then fulfill my purpose in relative peace. Not just growing the hive but also generally being around ponies (what can I say? I revel in the attention thrown my way).

Haah... they really were something else, weren't they? Always up to something, whether it was parties (ponies like those a lot, don't they?) or simply helping out the community with this and that. I have to say, I've come to enjoy being a part of something that was this incredible. I could just lend a hoof wherever it was needed and at the same time soak in the atmosphere (and emotions) of those around me.

“Time really does fly when you are having fun...”

<Or are depressed because of an imaginary feeling,> Shadra teased and I shoved her presence roughly away from mine. She really can be a bitch sometimes, I thought with an aggravated huff. <Aww, you love me, Lovebug~.>

I shot back with a smirk. My bitchy little Princess let out a haughty sniff at my own teasing, but I could tell that she enjoyed the friendly banter just as much as I did. She did tend to chirp a lot when she was happy. <Though I have my doubts about it being ‘imaginary’, dear. This world has the uncanny habit of throwing us for a loop when we least expect it. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad... and sometimes for the worst.>

<Story of our life...> Shadra snorted and I couldn’t agree more with that sentiment. Not everything could be sunshine and rainbows, as much as I wanted that to be the case. Even with life throwing challenge after challenge after us, we would make the best of it until, hopefully, some normalcy would return to it. While drinking tea on a rare day off from responsibility was nice, it was far from the picture of simply enjoying life for the sake of it. Not to mention, I doubt I would get the opportunity to do so again in the near future. Things were pretty hectic around here with the constant drone of construction being an ever-present background noise.

Even my brief stint of depression could only last for so long before I had to take up responsibility again. Sometimes it really does suck to be the queen (and not in the fun way, I assure you). Being one of the only two ponies with a say in how things get done around here, ponies tend to complain a lot to you.

Sometimes I really do wish I would have just gone and found myself a nice, cozy, and warm beach instead and enjoyed a quiet, and most importantly, lazy life. Alas, if there was just one thing I couldn’t in good conscience do, it was standing idly by while others suffered. That was the old me and I wouldn’t fall into the same trap of thinking like that again. I made a promise to my wayward Leaf and I would keep it. Besides, these ponies have become my family and I would never let them down.

“So,” I said after I noticed Orchard take her last sip of tea from her cup. “What did you want to talk with Arachne about?”

“Your wedding dress, of course,” she smiled back, giving Tea Leaf a brief nuzzle as she came by to take our empty cups away. “And who you want to escort you to the altar, My Queen. Ponies are already fighting over who gets to sit in the front row, I don’t imagine you want them to fight over that as well, do you?”

“Fuck, no,” I shuddered, a horrified look entering my eyes as I thought of that possibility. Orchard’s smile didn’t disappear, but it did get a bit more strained as I slipped in my regal mask by blurting that swear word out. I shifted awkwardly on my haunches as her smile turned mischievous and I just knew she was about to berate me for that again. “Don’t even start on it, Orchard. Seriously, I’m not in the mood for that false schtick of yours about being all prim and proper. Don’t think I didn’t hear you moan out your husband’s name last night, you totally did that on purpose to rile me up.”

“Guilty as charged,” she tittered, her motherly air never leaving for a second. It was all just a façade to hide the devious sex demon in pony’s clothing from sight, I swear it. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you keep looking at me, My Queen. If you weren’t so insistent on keeping yourself 'pure' and 'innocent'"—she snickered ever so slightly at that—"for Prince Amore, I’d do so many delightful things to you~.”

“You are the worst kind of milf,” I grumbled, getting horny from the picture she painted in my mind. The thing is, I knew her husband would be involved in some manner as well, it was only making it worse on me. While ‘more and I haven’t had outright sex with each other, we have been teasing our bodies a lot lately. I had to admit, him touching my wings with such featherlight motions was a really good feeling. Or the way our horns felt when they touched, it was like setting our minds aswirl with magic.

He especially liked it when I teased the outline of his Cutie Mark with the edge of my hooves, it always made his dick twitch needily. The best part about it was the fact that it gave him an instant boner when he was just starting to get aroused~. He hated it whenever I did that to him, not that he protested a lot against it. Heck, it even made him moan girlishly and I absolutely loved hearing him like that.

“You say the most wonderful things to me, My Queen,” she remarked like the mischievous minx that she truly was deep down. Only she could enjoy being called a milf like that, I swear. “You bring out the best in ponies, how could I not admire you?”

“I think your definition of ‘the best in ponies’ and mine are vastly different,” I muttered. I didn’t even hear an attempt of denying my words from her, so there was that. I’m pretty sure Arachne was mostly at fault for that, she kinda had the tendency to bring out the worst in somepony. And I’m also pretty sure she was at fault for Orchard liking hot wild (and very much loud) sex just to annoy me. Not that she wasn’t already into kinky shit like that before we even met her, I suppose.

“Do you not encourage freedom of self?” she whispered, her muzzle dangerously close to my ear, her hot breath making a shiver run down my back. Oh, she definitely abused the fact that her voice was akin to that of a Hollywood actress, didn't she? A sexy Hollywood actress in a raunchy noir film, at that, working in a fancy bar as a performer on stage, scantily clad in a pretty dress t-that shimmered with e-every movement... Damnit! Why must she tempt me so?! For that matter, why must my own imagination tempt me so..? Ugh, I fucking hate being sexually frustrated. “Mhh... are you not the one that encourages love of all kinds? That encourages sin at every opportunity? That presents her body free of all shame for everypony to see at any given time? The sensual teasing with the way you walk? My, my... do I have you flustered, My Queen? You poor thing, you...”

“Orchard, s-seriously...” I muttered, short on air as my breath came out in shallow pants of arousal. I desperately squeezed my genital plates shut while my wings buzzed in agitation, desperately hoping beyond hope that she would take mercy on my poor self. Or on my frantically beating heart, for that matter. I swear, it was this close to just giving up on me, outright. “I really don’t want to disappoint Amore because I couldn’t control myself around you. You're fucking torturing me here with a friggin' coy smile on your face and I'm... fuck, I'm so pent up, I really want to but I can't! I really can't! I don't want to lose my Snowflake's trust, he's the only one I've ever really loved and this is coming from a person with some pretty bad narcissistic tendencies half of the time. Please, have some mercy on me here...”

“Oh, I’m just teasing you, my dear,” she giggled, her previous behavior completely gone. Her emotions were perhaps the airiest I have ever witnessed them be right now. She really was the worst friend one could ask for. Fiercely loyal, though. If only she wouldn't constantly dial up her teasing antics around me specifically... or flaunt her perfect curves right in my face... I could finally let my guard down around her. Alas, as it stands right now, I just want to sink my fangs into those damn juicy cheeks of hers and bury my muzzle as deep as I could underneath her tail. Damn these stupid nymphomaniac urges. “I wouldn’t want to get in between you and your love, dear. It's a good sign that you are able ta resist falling ta temptation like this, I reckon. It means you are more than worthy enough of his heart. If that is not true love, then I don't know what is. Besides, Rock would scold me if I ever did something to threaten such a sweet bond, as much as I want to have another go at that... mhh, scrumptious~... body of yours.”

“At least he’s the reasonable one,” I said, shooting a glare her way as I fidgeted uncomfortably on my now arousal-soaked pillow. The only thing she did was titter mirthfully back at me again.

I honestly had to wonder how those two came to be a thing, it was ridiculous how much their personalities differed from each other. Quartzite was a decent stallion that was more or less the definition of stoic calmness whenever I've seen him. Orchard, on the other hoof? The less said about her, the better. She could give Arachne a run for her money, seriously.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say it like that,” Orchard hummed, a small grin spreading on her muzzle. I could smell the mischief from a mile away and was already preparing myself for some sort of anecdote along the lines of how her husband wasn’t as innocent as he seemed to be most of the time. “Quartz can be pretty laid back when he wants to be~. He ain't boring all the time, you know?”

“I... don’t know what I expected, but that sure wasn’t it,” I muttered, dragging a hoof tiredly through my face. That mare will be the death of me, won't she? “Can we please get back to the topic at hoof? Preferably before you start regaling me about the stuff you two did last night?”

“My, my, has your Prince infected you with his prudishness, My Queen?” she asked and I banged my head against the surface of the crystalline tea table with a groan. Of course, she just had to tease me more. I hate having friends... “What’s the matter, dear? I thought you were taking ‘that’ step in your relationship?”

“By ‘that’ step, I meant petting and other foreplay stuff like roleplay,” I mumbled a little bit muffled, dying inwardly as I heard her giggle back at me. “You know, generally making out without getting sexual... well, too sexual... about it.”

“Aww, that’s almost cute,” she snorted. “The Prince tamed the untamable beast, how pathetic~.”

“Fuck you, too, Orchard,” I hissed, wearily glancing at her out of the corner of my eyes, only to see her take delight in my suffering. By the twin suns, she's evil. She has to be, there's no other explanation for her gleeful teasing. Why do I even keep her around anymore? She really is a pain in the flank. “I’m being respectful of his... of his damn prudish wishes, okay?! Fucking hell, fuck this shit, seriously! Love is fine, but I need lust, dammit! I haven't had a good, fulfilling meal in like... forever!”

“There, there,” Orchard giggled, patting my back. “It seems like the wedding can’t come soon enough, you two really need it. You more than he does, judging by how tense you are.”

“I haven’t had sex in months, Orchard. In months!” I whined, blowing my mane out of my eyes with a tired, depressed huff. “Outside of the hive, that is. You have no idea how bland it gets only feeding on love. Sure, it tastes great and it's pretty filling all by itself, but it gets so boring. There's no spice to it, no real heartiness, just... a rich honey flavor that tempts you to take as much as you can and then some. It doesn't feel like a proper meal, you know? It’s more like a greasy sugar rush, if anything.”

“There, there. You are free to come by anytime, My Queen,” Serene offered, looking kindly down on me with those falsely innocent orange-red eyes that hid nothing but a pervert behind them. The invitation was really tempting, too, but I couldn’t get weak now. Especially if it meant breaking Amore’s trust. I have to stand my ground, I just... have to. Damn stupid sexy friend flaunting her sex life at me... “You don’t have to join in on the action, dear. Don’t you start giving me that look now, Missy. What I meant was simply to watch and nibble all you want~. It would be such a shame for it all to go to waste, don'tcha think?”

“I’m not a voyeur, Orchard,” I grumbled, a little bit miffed. “Not like Arachne and Shadra, anyway. I have standards, and I don’t want ‘more to think I don’t like him anymore. My Princesses could stand to share some of that lust, though...”

“Well, the offer still stands,” she shrugged, turning towards her bags to rummage through them. “As I was saying, I’ve been talking with Proper Stitch and we came up with... this!”

My gaze wandered toward the sketch she held up in front of her with a proud smile and I heard both of my Princesses gasp. It goes without saying that it was an absolute masterpiece that she presented us with if it managed to drag Arachne of all ‘lings out of her rapid musings about her beloved theories and calculations. And it truly was a piece of art that I was honestly rendered utterly speechless. Shadra gently nudged me out of the way as she took control of our body, levitating the drawing out of Orchard’s hooves with a carefulness comparable only to how we handled our eggs.

It was black, just like we had asked for. But not ‘just’ black. Oh, no, no, it was much more than that. Deep magenta accents were to be added as well, despite what the sketch portrayed at first glance. Proper Stitch really outdid himself with this one, I have to say. The tulle was like gossamer from what the copious amounts of notes on the side described and there were several thin layers of it that, in theory, would create an effect reminiscent of mist. There would barely even be a hint of our legs visible through it if what Stitch promised was true. It was all but guaranteed to be as elegant as it would be alluring and it excited me immensely.

Then, there was the decoration of said tulle. Fine diamonds and lace created what looked like spider webs shimmering through to the top layer from the one underneath and the tiny gems would ensure that it would glitter like morning dew.

The eye-catcher wasn’t the meters-long train, though. No, that privilege belonged to the corset and the long-sleeved arms giving the whole dress an elven-like look that could have honestly come straight out of a fantasy novel. The arms were simple, yet elegant, framing my legs perfectly and widening out the closer they got to my hooves until they dragged on the ground ever so slightly.

The corset complimented the rest of the outfit perfectly with fine stitching and three-dimensional lace in the form of small flower petals that gave the dress a more youthful, almost eternal, look (which, in turn, also completed the whole theme of a fae-like appearance with the morning dew aesthetics). The centerpiece of it all was a little heart shape in between my front legs, subtle enough to not distract from the overall look but prominent enough to bring it all together.

Lastly, there was the small upturned collar giving the dress a truly majestic feeling. It was just high enough to accentuate my neck and the jewelry I would wear around it. Naturally, the dress wasn’t the only thing Proper Stitch took into consideration, he also thought of how my mane would look, put up into an updo with even more gemstones in it. Not so many as to overwhelm the overall look or distract from the wedding dress, but just enough to stand out on their own.

It was a dress befitting a queen, there was no doubt about it. No other dress after it could ever compare to the true masterpiece Proper Stitch created, I was almost certain of that. And, from what I could glean, the train could be removed at a later date to make it into a formal dress for other occasions, meaning it would be displayed not only at my wedding, but for decades, if not centuries, to come.

The amount of thought put into this was simply staggering. So much so, even, that Shadra was openly weeping at the sight of it. It left me wondering how Amore’s clothing would turn out, there was no way that it could be anything less than perfection after what we saw here.

I couldn't wait to see the real deal with my own eyes. It felt almost unreal that this was going to be our wedding dress. It really did hammer in the fact that this was going to happen in the (hopefully) near future. We were getting married to Amore... holy shit. Holy fucking shit.

We were getting married! Eee!

“Serene, I-I...” Shadra said, voice wobbling heavily as she turned to look at the mare sitting next to us, slowly rubbing our back comfortingly up and down. “T-thank you...”

“Of course, dear,” she replied softly, gently kissing our temple with affection. “You are like family to me, and... I would love to see you wear that dress, someday. You are making us all so proud, Your Majesty. It’s... it’s honestly an inspiration being in your presence. You give us hope for a better tomorrow, you know? All of those plans you have for this place... it shows how much you care for us. It’s the least we could do in return for your dedication.”

“O-Orchard, I...” Shadra stuttered, only to come up at a loss for words. “I don’t know what to say. It’s... perfect in every way. How could I ever repay you?”

“I wouldn’t say no to officiating for you, you know,” Serene teased, smiling softly with a twinkle in her orange-red eyes. “I won’t ever be able to see my own foal in a position like yours, so... I would be honored to at least be there for you, dear.”

“No,” Shadra smiled, embracing Orchard gratefully. “I would be honored to have you there, Orchard. Just... don’t make it weird, please.”

“Alright,” she chuckled, cupping our cheek softly. “Amore is a very lucky stallion to have you, My Queen. Stitch and I are going to make sure it’s going to be the best day of your life. Both yours and Amore's life, I promise.”

“I can’t thank you enough,” Shadra replied, changing my magenta colors with her pink ones while also losing a few inches in height. She really liked being smaller, didn't she? “I will forever cherish it.”

“I hope so. It’s going to take a long time to make that dress, you know?” Serene Orchard said, poking our side as Shadra lost herself in that absolutely magnificent view depicted in the drawing again. “And you will come to hate Stitch not only for the fitting but also for the plans he has about the material for the dress.”

“What do you mean?” Shadra asked, giving the mare a careful and cautious look.

“Trust me, no ordinary silk will do for that dress,” she answered, giving our hooves a pointed look and I felt dread begin to build up within me.

“Fuck,” Shadra muttered, groaning in despair. Yep. Exactly my sentiment, Shadra. Exactly my sentiment. Fuck, indeed.

It’s going to be a pain in the ass to provide that much changeling silk to make even one layer of that tulle, it’s going to be even more of a pain to make sure it was thin enough to work with. Which meant painfully dragging our silk out of our forelegs over hours upon hours, hoping it won’t tear in the process.

At worst, it would take years just to make that dress. But it would be well worth it, in my opinion. Not only because it would be a product of our combined labor, but also because it would be made out of changeling silk, meaning it could change with us without getting destroyed when we use our shapeshifting ability.

While a lot of progress has been made over the past few months (in more ways than one, I might add), I could tell that it was going to take a very long time indeed until we had the streets and sewers built. Not to mention, the Crystal Palace was going to take even longer to construct, even with the aid of magic, wings, and super strength. We were looking at a minimum time of at least half a decade or so, time that we could barely spare with certain doom hanging over our heads.

Working on that dress on top of all of that? I fear it might take a much longer timespan to get everything ready for the wedding than half a decade. We only had so much free time during the day, we couldn’t oversee everything around us while at the same time also extracting our silk in a sufficiently (and suffocatingly) careful manner.

I hate to say it, but... I think the wedding won't be taking place anytime soon.

And how right I was with that prediction, I had to painfully find out. At most, we could spare an hour per day helping Proper Stitch and Orchard out in the process of making that dress. All the while, Arachne’s calculations got more and more complex by the second, and the design for the palace started to become far more intricate than we first assumed. I honestly thought it was going to be impossible to build. At least, not with Arachne being the only one knowing the blueprint for it by heart, that is.

The thing is, from what she told me, we had to not only keep the physical structure in mind, but also the way it would interact with magic, and more importantly, the interaction with other planes of existence. Mainly, we had to keep in mind how it would affect the Realm of Death. And all we had to work off of was pure conjecture and hypothetical theories.

We were utterly screwed, I could tell. There was no way we could ever build something so... incredibly impossible to build.

“Well, if anything, it looks kind of really cool,” Shadra commented, sitting on her haunches next to me as we gazed up at the construct Arachne turned the hive mind into.

“We are never going to get that thing finished,” I whined in despair and felt like outright giving up right then and there. “Just look at it! It’s like the Eiffel Tower on crack! Nay, worse, even! It’s like McEscher was put in charge of designing a building made entirely out of crystals!”

“Now you are just exaggerating,” Arachne huffed, pouting grumpily. “It’s not impossible. It’s just... highly unlikely we are going to finish building it within the next decade.”

“More like the next century,” Shadra pointed out snarkily. “You do know that most of our subjects don’t have any wings whatsoever, right?”

“Well...” Arachne grimaced, rubbing her neck. “I’m sure we can work something out, right? If humans can build skyscrapers without wings and magic, there's no way we can't.”

“Don’t worry, Mommy. We are going to be there to help!” a voice spoke out behind us and I whirled around with a startled yelp. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest as I felt Shadra jump on my back like a frightened cat. “What?”

I blinked, staring at the little... changeling... before us. “Who are you?!”

“Hmm, I don’t know,” they answered, tilting their head cutely. “I like the name Polly. Can I be called Polly, Mommy?”

“What?” I mumbled, confused. “I... uh... I mean, I guess? But...”

“What Araneae meant was where did you come from?” Arachne asked, walking curiously around me while Shadra finally got down from me, equally as bewildered as I was.

“Oh, that’s easy,” Polly answered, making a dismissive gesture with her(?) little hoof. “I hatched from your egg, Mommy.”

“Right,” I drawled out, glancing down on the... foal, I guess. “But why did you only appear in the hive mind now? I mean, you hatched six months or so ago.”

“Well, after I started pupating and you sealed my chamber with that sticky stuff out of your... hoof? Those things are called hooves, right? I’m still trying to figure all of this stuff out, there are so many things floating around in here”—she gestured to her head with her hoof—” it’s really fascinating. For example, what’s a Dyson sphere?”

“Something that doesn’t exist... right now, that is,” Arachne answered, a thoughtful look on her face. “Say, what else do you know? How do you even know that in the first place?”

“I know lots of stuff, but I don’t know what it all means,” Polly shrugged, tilting her head. “It’s like a library up here. Is that the right word? I guess it’s the best description I have for it, at the moment. Most of the ‘books’ are copies of stuff Mommy knows. Are you my Mommy, too? You look like her.”

“I...” Arachne glanced towards me, shifting awkwardly on her hooves. “Well, it’s a bit hard to explain, really.”

“How?”

“Uh...” Arachne grimaced as she rubbed her neck unsurely. “Imagine it like this: There was a very bad thing that ripped us apart and we tried fixing it but us attempting to do so ended up even worse and then we were three instead of just one?”

“Oh, like split personalities,” Polly nodded, rubbing her chin. “Kinda. Does it still count as split personalities when your psyche fails to repair itself correctly and instead grows into three separate minds?”

“I swear, a child shouldn’t be saying those words,” Shadra muttered next to me, thoroughly weirded out by the behavior of... our child. Oh, fucking hell, our child! Eee!

I snatched Polly up into my embrace, squeezing the living daylights out of them as I couldn’t help my motherly instincts of just wanting to hold my child in my arms.

“Urghs!” Polly squeaked, squirming futilely around. “Too... tight... Mom..!”

“Sorry, but... you are just so cute!” I giggled, nuzzling the top of Polly’s head with enthusiasm.

“Maybe you should refrain from strangling our kid, My Queen?” Shadra snickered next to me, receiving a tiny glare from me and a hopeful look from the little changeling currently in my death grip. “So, you want to be called Polly, huh? Anything else?”

“Hmm,” Polly mused, grateful as I loosened my grip on her. “I like those female pronoun things, can I use them? They feel right.”

“Anything you want, my precious,” I hummed, squeezing her against my chest again. “Aww, this is just the best day ever!”

“Mom~,” Polly whined, struggling against me again. “Please, I’m a fragile being!”

“Right,” I pouted, setting her reluctantly down in front of me. “I’m sorry, little one.”

“If you are here,” Arachne started, giving Polly a thoughtful glance in curiosity. “Then, where are your siblings?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged back at us. “I think my consciousness developed a lot earlier since I was the first to pupate.”

“That makes sense, I guess,” Arachne nodded somewhat unsurely. It was pretty much a given that this would have had to happen, was it not? After all, if they were to emerge as adults (like we thought they would after they were done pupating), then they would have to mature in mind as well, somehow.

“You are the one that always knew when I was about to feed you, aren’t you?” I asked, starting to realize which one of my larvae was currently in front of us. “We just sealed your chamber yesterday!”

“I don’t quite remember a lot before I started pupating,” Polly shrugged. “But I felt like I was safe, maybe that helps?”

“I’m glad to hear that, dear,” I smiled, nuzzling the top of her head.

“So...” Shadra began, pacing around the little worker ‘ling, studying her features with an odd amount of curiosity. “That means your siblings will also ‘learn’ things from Araneae, right?”

“From you, too, Mommy,” Polly chirped back happily. “I like the ‘books’ about tinkering I have from you! Do you know what a BSCD is supposed to be?”

"I'm sorry, a what?" Shadra asked, giving me a thoroughly confused look. I shrugged back at my Princess, equally at a loss for what our daughter asked of us. "Where did you get that from?"

"From you, I told you so," Polly answered, rolling her eyes. "I just know the acronym and that it is connected to some of those bioscience 'books' about genes and copying stuff... I can't really tell what it is supposed to be, so I asked."

"I'm assuming it is some sort of cloning device if it is connected to genes like you say," Arachne said, furrowing her brows. "But why can't we remember what it is? Cloning organs or even animals wasn't exactly unheard of."

"Considering whose memories those originally were," Shadra muttered, glaring at the ground in discomfort. "I'd say it's connected to one of Tobias' nastier memories, and that's saying a lot here."

"Who is Tobias?" Polly asked, tilting her head. "I don't have any 'books' about a 'Tobias'."

"Don't worry about it," Shadra answered as she went back to pacing around our daughter. "It's better you don't know anything about Tobias, trust me."

“How do you know from which one of us you have these 'books' from, anyway?” Arachne inquired, raising a brow.

Polly tilted her head for a moment, buzzing her little white-ish wings in what appeared to be agitation. They were more like an incredibly soft pink on closer inspection, though. To be honest, it was kinda hard to make out. “I just... know? When I think of the stuff I know, I get this feeling towards you, Mommy.”

“How curious...” Arachne hummed, giving Shadra a look as she lifted Polly’s tail to the side in morbid curiosity. “What are you doing..?”

Polly blushed a bright white while my Princess examined... well, ‘that’ part of our daughter. “Figuring out their sex...”

“But I t-told you what I am, d-didn’t I?” Polly stammered, escaping my Princess’s grasp with a little squeak, running in between my forelegs. “Why does my body feel funny now, Mommy?”

“Oh, boy,” I muttered, giving Shadra the stink eye as my daughter clung to me with nervously buzzing wings. Her softly glowing pink-white eyes were gazing up at me and I could tell there was a part of it that might vaguely indicate where pupils would have otherwise been had she developed in a different way. I guess only queens actually had pupils in our race, which... was kinda weird, to be honest. “It’s something that happens when you get... excited, I suppose.”

“Oh,” Polly blushed even brighter. “Like as in 'attracted to someling else'?”

“Yes, and that’s as far as I’m willing to explain it right now,” I huffed, throwing another glare Shadra’s way.

“What?” Shadra asked, raising a brow back at me. “You guys were the ones curious about it, why am I the villain now?”

“She’s our daughter, you idiot,” I grunted, rubbing Polly’s back comfortingly, and I immediately heard her purr back at me like a content cat while happy chirps left her wings. “But... now that you’ve already done that, what did you find?”

“A vagina and a hidden dick, duh,” she rolled her eyes. “So, yeah... there you have it. You are the mother of a healthy hermaphrodite, My Queen. Congratulations.”

“Almost hermaphroditic,” Arachne corrected, glancing at Polly with the same morbid curiosity Shadra had displayed earlier. “Though that requires further testing~.”

“You aren’t going to experiment on our daughter, either, Arachne,” I threatened, baring my fangs at her while hugging Polly a little bit tighter with my foreleg. My faithful (and insensitive) Princess shrank away from me, a thoroughly chastised look on her muzzle. “Certainly not while she’s still... a foal? Nah, that sounds wrong for some reason. Do any of you have an idea of what we should call a changeling juvenile?”

“Why not a nymph?” Polly proposed, smiling up at me. “It sounds cute, I think.”

“But you aren’t really a nymph,” Arachne pointed out, scrunching up her muzzle in distaste. Figures she would be the one to get uppity about something that doesn’t even really matter all that much. “A nymph is a development stage in insect species that don’t go through a complete metamorphosis like you do.”

“You know, for once I agree with the cute option,” Shadra commented, brushing up against our Princess with a mischievous smile. “Nymph has a far nicer ring to it than foal. Besides, aren’t you guys always the ones that want things to sound buggy?”

Arachne shuddered as Shadra trailed a few kisses up her throat, getting her to whine needily as Shadra licked the back of her ear. “W-well, that is... t-that is... mhh~...”

“That is... what?” Shadra whispered huskily and I felt Polly curiously poke her little muzzle through the gap in between my forelegs. I desperately tried to not breathe in through my nostrils as their pheromones got decidedly thicker in the air of the hive mind. That was one thing I didn't need having an effect on my body right now, seriously. “Aren’t you the one to stretch the meaning of words when it suits your needs, my degenerate horny bug succubus?”

“I.... ahn~... I am...” Arachne stammered before throwing herself at Shadra with a ravenous need for sex, hungrily capturing her lips with a growl.

Before Polly could get too curious about the two horny 'lings rolling around on the floor, I snatched her up and went for a little walk far enough away from them for us to not hear their wanton screams and moans of lust.

Talking about sex for the purpose of teaching Polly the birds and the bees and having her watch both of them go at it like sex-starved bug-pony hybrids were two very different things, altogether. She was a child (a curious one with understanding far beyond her years, but still a child... or a nymph, whatever), I'd rather not let her watch these kinda things before she was old enough for me to trust her not to do stupid shit all the time. Like wandering around a dark, monster-infested forest at night. Or inciting a bloody revolution. Or waging a war against shadow ghost monsters from hell.

Haah, I'm such a great role model, aren't I? Fuck me...

“Isn’t a succubus a demon?” Polly asked me while giving me a fearful, hesitant look with those adorable eyes of hers.

“You are definitely too young to know that, little missy,” I sighed with clear exasperation. “Okay, how do I put this...”

“Why would I be too young to know what a demon is, Mommy?” she asked, instead. This time, I couldn't stop myself from letting out a groan in despair, a hoof rushing to my face to alleviate the incoming headache. For fuck's sake, I wasn't at all prepared to deal with this shit right now. “Are we demons? Is that why they were biting and sucking on each other’s muzzles a lot?”

“Yes,” I simply stated, not in the mood to put up with this shit. Being a mother was the most difficult job in the world, I noticed. And I was failing spectacularly at it.

Have I already mentioned what a great role model I am? Ugh, kill me now...

It's no wonder why Arachne always insisted on calling them our subjects, instead. We were definitely not cut out for the whole ‘caring for newborn minds’ thing. Certainly not for newborns that are already friggin' twelve years old or so. Probably closer to fourteen, considering she was already asking way too adult stuff.

“Are we... bad, Mommy?” Polly asked me and I blinked back at her, shocked. “Demons are bad, aren’t they?”

“No, we aren’t bad, dear,” I whispered back with a gentle smile, giving her a reassuring nuzzle. Might as well do damage control while I was already at it. “Some demons are... innocent."—I couldn't help but snort at that—" We help other ponies and get food in return, there’s nothing bad about that.”

“Oh,” she hummed, tilting her head. “So we do the sucking thing to get food?”

“That sounds so incredibly wrong,” I muttered to myself before I gave the little nymph riding on my back a strained smile. “Yes... yes, we suck on... fuck, I can’t do this. You see, we sometimes kiss each other when we like each other a lot and... uh... do other stuff. You’ll understand when you emerge. I hope.”

“Alright, Mommy,” she nodded, a sage look in her eyes that belied her true age. I kinda had the feeling that I’ve just done the worst thing a parent could ever do, but I ignored it in favor of... trying to explain the birds and the bees to my daughter. Ugh. How does one explain the differences between sex and gender (and all the delightfully naughty stuff that usually accompanies all of that) to a nymph in a hopefully child-appropriate way? Without dying of embarrassment on top of everything?!

“Okay, let’s just get this over with,” I sighed to myself and set her down before me. Polly looked at me in concern as I tiredly rubbed my hoof against my forehead again. I had a feeling that I was going to be doing that a lot over the next few months (if not years). “You see, what you have down there between your hindlegs is what’s called your genitals. That's like a trait of your biological sex and, well... changelings, at least our kind of changelings, have both female and male genitals, called a vagina for the female sex, which is around the area below your tail, and a penis for your male sex, which is hidden by those plates there”—I pointed towards the general area while not trying to gag that I even had to show that part to her—” and it comes out when you get ‘aroused’, meaning when you get in the mood for... well... uh...”

“For naughty stuff, right?” Polly asked innocently and I instantly facehoofed. Why do I even try to keep this child-appropriate? She clearly knows more than she lets on. I take it back. Orchard won’t be the death of me, my own children will be. “Why do you keep hitting your face?”

“You’ll understand when you are older, dear,” I explained with a twitching eyelid. “Anyway, as I was saying... when two ponies (or changelings, I guess) get aroused and like each other very much... they... ugh, I can’t believe I’m explaining this... they make love to each other.”

“You can say sex, Mom,” Polly said and my eyelid twitched even more erratically than before. “That’s what naughty stuff means, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” I sighed defeatedly. “That’s what ‘naughty stuff’ means.”

“You have a lot of naughty stuff books,” Polly stated, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “Does that mean I can do naughty stuff too?”

“Eventually,” I nodded tiredly with a reluctant sigh, trying to keep my composure while also trying to ignore the two naughty Princesses tumbling around the ground in the distance, no doubt trying to assert dominance over each other. “It’s one of the main ways of getting food for us. Ponies not only feel love for each other when they like each other very much and do this sort of thing, but they also feel something that’s called ‘lust’. Lust is an emotion that is... usually accompanied by the act of sex and... uh... well, I would say it tastes just as good as love does, perhaps a smidgen better, in my opinion. Ah, what am I saying? It's the best thing in the world.”

“That’s what you fed me, right? This 'love' thing?” Polly asked. “While I was just a larva?”

“Yes,” I nodded, smiling ever so slightly. “Love is very nourishing, as is lust. Too much love gives your tummy a very bad ache, though, so you must always be careful about how much you feed on, alright?”

“Okay,” she smiled. “I can get as much lust as I want, though, right?”

“I...” I hesitated, glancing at Shadra and Arachne. “...right. As long as you always have the consent of the pony you engage in... that... kinda stuff with, you can eat the lust you receive from them as much as you want. Just keep in mind, some ponies get very exhausted after... well... that. They can't keep going indefinitely.”

“Oh,” she hummed, pouting slightly. “So I have to be careful with that, too? How long can a pony last during sex?”

“Uh... It depends, really. You don't have to be as careful about it as you have to with love, though,” I explained, hoping my suffering would end soon. “Love is... addicting... at best, you can easily overfeed on somepony if you are not careful with your hunger. Lust, on the other hoof, has a clear limit you can draw from at any one point. You have to actively evoke it in somepony for them to feel it towards you.”

“Right, doing naughty stuff with them,” she nodded and I sighed once more. This really wasn’t turning out like I had thought it would. I mean, in pony age, she was already about twelve years old at minimum, which would mean that a changeling would emerge at an age that was roughly the equivalent of a twenty-five-year-old pony and... well... I wasn’t entirely surprised to find out that she was taking after her mother(s) like this already. Stupid 'books'...

“Okay, so...” I drew in a steadying breath for hopefully the last time. “That’s basically what ‘having sex’ means. Then, there is also the word ‘sex’ by itself, referring to not just the act, but also the biological distinction between female and male, as I've told you before. That’s all nice and good, but there’s a bit more to it than that.

"For one thing, your sex doesn’t necessarily have to mean your gender, meaning that, just because you have both and are a worker ‘ling, you don’t ‘have’ to be a mare if you don’t want to be. Just like you don't have to be a stallion, either. Those are, simply put, social expectations based on how you present yourself to others. You can mix it up however you want, really.

"Some would say there isn't really much of a choice, that you are cursed with the body Mother Nature gave you and born with the gender you have, but for us changelings, we quite literally have the choice to be what we want to be since we can become anything we put our minds into. That includes inanimate objects, though I wouldn't recommend it. It gets itchy being in a form foreign to that of an organic body after a while. You also have the option of living out both parts of your... uh... gender and sex, I suppose. Or you could abolish the concept in its entirety, as well. Now that's something you could actually do that other beings will be hard pressed to imitate.”

“That’s also connected to the pronouns thing, right?” she asked and I gave her a so-and-so nod in cautious confirmation. It was basically the gist of it, anyway, I didn't need to confuse her even more with all the non-conforming gender pronouns that existed on top of that. Heck, most of that stuff confused even me when it wasn't just limited to 'they/them'. There are way too many neopronouns to keep track of them all and trying to understand what each one meant was a tough endeavor without constantly looking up an explanation on the internet.

In the end, I settled for the simplest and easiest explanation that I knew. Be what you want to be because that's what you are and no one could tell you otherwise.

“There are many genders you could be, or you could even be fluid among them and have other factors decide your gender, like your mood for example,” I tried to explain, hopefully in a sufficient enough manner for her to get what I meant by that. To be honest, I myself wasn’t quite so certain what to classify myself as. While I primarily thought of myself as a mare and had no problem with the dick between my legs, I felt like I would actually prefer to go by the pronouns that reflected the disguise I was using in the most accurate way. That way, I would have far fewer headaches trying to keep everything straight in my head, whether or not it was a pony-like disguise or something entirely different.

And, well... I do feel more stallion-y from time to time, so there was that. Especially around Amore, I felt comfortable to just be. Whether my future husband would have a problem with me showing him affection as a stallion remained to be seen, though. It would be friggin’ hot if we did that, though, in my opinion. Me with my roguish charm and he with his caring nature... damn.

“So... I could be a stallion if I really wanted to and use he/him pronouns?” she asked and I nodded, proud of her. “Hmm. Maybe later. I like the current me.”

“A wise decision, dear,” I smiled and heard her giggle in delight as I snatched her up again. I didn't hear, nor see, any 'questionable' acts, so I estimated it to be safe enough to return back to where we came from. “I guess that would be everything then in regards to sex, gender, and naughty stuff. Unless you are curious about something else?”

“You said worker changeling before,” Polly pointed out, tilting her head again. She seemed to be doing that a lot, I noticed. It was cute, in a way. Innocent. “What does that mean?”

“It... mhh... it means you came from a fertilized egg,” Arachne answered slightly out of breath as she brushed a shaky hoof through her disheveled mane, coming over to meet us halfway after they finally got it out of their system. It was... no, it would have been endearing had it not been for the fact that our daughter heard their 'naughty stuff'. Even if it was just 'sucking' on each other's muzzles like there was no tomorrow. “Or more specifically, you are a diploid changeling whose main job is looking after the hive and gathering emotions, and thus, keep everything in working order. Unlike us, though, you are going to develop into a ‘worker’, so to speak, and not a queen, whose primary role is to birth more workers and drones for the hive.”

“What does a drone do, then?” Polly asked as she hopped down from my back (momentarily giving me a heart attack in the process). Before Arachne could even so much as dare to think of answering that question based on facts she knew of honey bees, I silenced her with a dark glare.

“They are going to protect you and us,” Shadra smiled, lowering herself to Polly’s eye level. “You see, they will have to brave dangers that only they could handle. They will become the best-trained soldiers this world has ever seen, I’m going to make sure of that. You won’t have to fear any monsters coming near the hive, do you understand? We will make sure you are always safe.”

“So they are going to be like our military? Do they have to be soldiers?”

“In a sense, it is entirely up to them what they want to do. Just like it is entirely up to you what you want your purpose to be in the hive,” Shadra answered, booping Polly's muzzle with a hoof. It was so very adorable to watch her scrunch up her muzzle in response, it almost gave me (another) heart attack. “Those that do want to protect the hive as soldiers will be a force to be reckoned with, that I promise you. I'm going to make sure to teach them everything they need to know, and, unlike any other military of this world, ours will be nigh undetectable. We are changelings, dear, and our greatest strength lies in stealth. After all, we are shapeshifters and can look like almost anything we desire. Unless we are going to war with another hive, no one will be able to tell that we were even there until it is far too late.”

“So it’s our job to make sure they come back home, right? I’ll make sure to look out for my brothers and sisters, Mommy!”

“I’m sure you will,” Shadra smiled and nuzzled Polly’s head affectionately. The little nymph leaned herself into Shadra's affections with a happy chirp from her wings and Arachne and I d’awwed in response.

I already dread the day when she’s going to stop calling us ‘Mommy’ and instead begin to call me her queen. As much as I wanted to avoid that, I knew it had to be so. Maybe not so much for her sake, but certainly for my own. At least I will get to enjoy their childhood instead of just seeing them grow up from larvae to adults while skipping the in-between, so... that was at least something, right?

If only I hadn’t spoken so soon. The following month after the rest of them started pupating turned out to be one of the worst ones yet. Everything was going so well, I was even starting to simply forget about the daily worries I had of the umbrum finding their way in through some impossible means. It took me honestly by surprise to see Apini, one of the worker nymphs, grow weaker by the day despite the hive’s best efforts to keep them at their best.

Arachne was trying her best to find out the reason why that was but sadly came up empty-hoofed. There was nothing we could have done for them but watch and be there for them as they gradually lost their strength to even keep standing.

Shadra was the one that was mainly in control of our body during that time because she couldn’t stand watching Apini’s condition worsen. All the while, Polly played the little nurse for our sick child, fulfilling every little wish asked of her (one of them being a particularly perverted one that I felt like I couldn’t even forbid since the two of them grew rather close with each other over such a short period).

It was a somber day indeed as Apini’s body stopped breathing and slowly faded out of the hive mind like dust in the wind. I held Polly close as she cried her eyes out, the little nymph having grown to the size of a young adult by now. Softly at first, we started to hear a deep-ish voice sing a lullaby in honor of their deceased sibling that we barely noticed over the sound of the sad chirping all around us. The voice of one of our sons slowly began to overtake the background noise until it was the only sound in the hive besides the crying sounds of my firstborn daughter.

Sting’s voice was laden with grief and sorrow as he sang about loss and how not a single day would go by where that death would ever be forgotten. Apini would be remembered and I intended to make sure it would happen. That, I promised to myself.

“T-thank you, My Queen,” Polly whispered with a hollow voice, leaving my embrace with a sunken gaze. My heart gave a little quiver as I saw her dull eyes, the joy of life clearly muted in them. “I... appreciate it. You, too, Sting. It was a wonderful song.”

“Anytime, sister,” Sting nodded, shifting on his hooves with a deep sigh, his grey eyes gazing forlornly to the side. “We all loved Apini, it was only right to honor their last moments like this.”

Polly barely even reacted to the condolences Sting gave her, slowly trudging away with her head held low. I wanted to go after her, comfort her a bit longer and tell her everything would be alright, but... my legs felt like they were rooted to the place and so I just sighed, my gaze wandering back to the spot where Apini breathed their last breath.

Arachne came to sit by my side, a gentle but mournful smile on her muzzle and I quietly leaned my head against hers. There need not be any words said to convey how much she wished that this hadn’t happened, but that was the sad reality of life. She, of all 'lings, knew that the best. I wish I could be a bit more like her, taking it with a rational understanding that things like these happened and there was nothing that could be done to prevent it. Alas, I felt like I failed Apini, somehow. Like it was my fault, despite me knowing that it was not so.

There was nothing that could have truly prepared me for such a somber day (or any other day where it might happen again, for that matter). I knew the day would eventually come where I had to watch my children die, but... I hadn’t thought it would come quite so early. Nor did I ever think it would happen while they had yet to see the light of day outside of the hive mind. It was... hard... to describe how I felt, witnessing it right in front of my eyes. Unreal didn’t do it justice and numb was putting it too lightly. In a way, it hurt worse to see my daughter so distraught than watching my own child die.

I don’t know. I did shed tears, a lot even, but... a part of me just refused to acknowledge it happened. As if it was but a nightmare I would wake up from. My heart just... wasn’t in it. It was simply easier to deny it in my mind than to admit it in my heart. And I felt like a monster for doing that, feeling like I was a failure of a queen. Nay, not just as a queen but also as a mother (more so than I already felt like I was).

That day, the first of many crystalline trees to come marked the death of a beloved child, standing tall in the open-air hive mind. Like the last time, the little lake we decided to keep from the old hive design displayed our mood in a sad glowing blue color and I spent the rest of the day in a quietly depressed cuddly pile with my children and my Princesses.

Even Amore's and our subjects' crystalline coats were slightly duller in their usual shine, offering us their condolences as soon as they heard the news of Apini's passing.

It became the first official day of mourning for changeling kind, paying respect to not only my little Apini, but also to Leaf, Gentle Breeze, the fallen crystal ponies in the mines, and any other deaths that would inevitably happen.

Alas, the month was far from over and things would indeed get worse than I initially thought with Apini's death. A lot worse.

"What do you mean Secure Guard has gone missing?" Shadra hissed, stomping her hoof angrily as she glared at the cowering stallion before us.

"H-he w-went to get water with us, Y-Your Majesty," Straw Basket answered (almost forgot his name there...). "When Daisy Bloom looked for him, h-he wasn't there anymore."

"What? Did you not search for him?!" Shadra growled, only for Amore to hold her back before she could do something she would come to regret later.

"It's alright, love," Amore hummed comfortingly, nuzzling my Princess with a gentle care. "You may go now, Basket. We're going to investigate this, rest assured."

"O-of course, Prince Amore," he nodded, scampering away nervously.

"Don't always take your anger out on others, Shadra," Amore scolded her lightly. "It wasn't his fault."

"...I know," Shadra sighed, kicking her hoof in frustration as she glanced away from him, chastised. "It's just... can't we catch a fucking break, for once? This month has gone to shit since... ugh..."

"That doesn't mean you can lose your composure every time something happens, dear," Amore said, rubbing her back softly. "Let's find Quartzite and go look for clues as to what happened, okay?"

<Despite how I feel about this, I think Snowflake has a point,> I agreed, letting out a (somewhat) reluctant sigh in the process. <Let's do something about it instead of... you know... wasting more time.>

While Shadra kinda tended to lash out in one form or another when stressed or seriously pissed off, I tended to blame myself for everything that went wrong. I knew perfectly well that I couldn't be there for everything and some things just happen despite my best efforts to prevent them. It's just... frustrating, being unable to do something, sometimes. No, I guess it was more frustrating to know I could have done something had I been personally there or... or arrived in time to prevent a catastrophe like with Leaf.

Arachne, on the other hoof, was the only one of us that didn't react in an unconstructive way, blaming herself or lashing out at others. She simply looked at a problem, assessed her part in it, and tried to figure out solutions to solve either the problem in front of her or come to terms with having failed in one way or another.

If she wasn't the one with the insatiable libido, I would have thought her to be the most mature one among us. Alas, even she had her flaws, as few in number as they might seem at first glance. The thing about them, though, was the fact that they were pretty bad flaws to have.

On more than one occasion, I've caught my misbehaving Princess teaching our nymphs about sexual kinks and even encouraged them to try them out on each other. It's like she had absolutely no inhibitions in regard to what teenagers (and siblings at that) should do with each other. At this point, I was beginning to think it was a lost cause trying to rein her in. Or my children, for that matter.

Obviously, she thought there was nothing wrong with it as long as consent was given, and... a small part of me couldn't even fault her for thinking like that. In her mind, we probably were already setting a bad example with our love for... well... ourselves.

It wasn't even just her setting a bad example to our nymphs, Shadra and I were just as much at fault for that as she was. My stupidly sexy Princess was pretty much unable to control herself around either of us in the form of a succubus (or the few times where Arachne and I transformed ourselves into a very handsome version of an incubus to tease her about her love for anal sex).

And I? I was more than sexually frustrated enough to beg my two wonderful Princesses to abuse my body whenever they so desired.

It was no wonder to see our nymphs take an interest in that kind of stuff, witnessing their parents being reduced to lustful sex-addicts whenever a tail was raised high enough to give each other a teasing glance of what was hidden underneath, promising a very good time for us that we threw caution out of the window pretty much immediately.

I'm only slightly... Okay, no, that would be a lie. I'm not even one bit ashamed of myself to say I was the main perpetrator behind that tactic of getting my Princesses to have sex with me. What can I say? I really am a whore at heart and the fact that I haven't been able to get at my desired 'drug' within the waking world was driving me up walls.

Achieving orgasm after orgasm, while a dream come true, wasn't really the same without being able to feed on every little 'drop' of lust I could squeeze out of somepony. And feeding on Amore's lust while we didn't really have sex with each other wasn't even comparable to the quality of lust that it had during the act of actual properly exhausting sex (not to mention, during a mind-blowing orgasm). The feeling of a satisfactory meal just wasn't there otherwise.

I haven't even had the opportunity to swallow his cum yet. The simple act of drinking somepony's ejaculate usually spiced up their lust for me in the most wonderful ways. It was a downright crime to be so... prudish, damnit. But Amore has sadly been unable to overcome his stupid little fear of not being good enough for me. At this rate, I was seriously tempted to sick Arachne on him and pretend it was her idea (which wouldn't really be that far of a stretch, anyway). I honestly started to think it would simply be for the best if he were to just take the plunge and get over it.

As much as I want to suck on that juicy dick of his, I do want our first 'proper' sexual interactions to be something special and monumental for our relationship. And, to be honest, the thought of reserving that special occasion for our first night as a married couple (or quintett, actually) was really enticing. I could wait a couple of years (very long and painful years, at that), in the end, it would only serve to make that night more... well, not quite glorious, but definitely grander.

It's going to suck no matter how much I'm trying to rationalize the long wait to myself. Well, it's going to suck in more ways than one, I'm sure~.

<Ara, please,> Shadra groaned, throwing me out of my musings. <If you keep giving me more pictures of us sucking his cock like a lollipop, I swear I'm going to switch with Arachne and fuck you unconscious.>

<Oh, fuck, yes!> I shot back eagerly, feeling excited already. Just to make sure she would follow up on that promise, I thought exclusively of Amore in very compromising positions. Just to rile her up even further, most of those positions included him giving us a come hither look while his tail was raised enticingly. And it had the desired effect~. Eh heh heh...

"You fucking witch," Shadra growled in a low whisper, making Amore look questioningly over at us out of the corner of his eye while Quartzite's ear twitched in a curious fashion as he led us carefully down the steep decline towards the caverns below. "I warned you, Araneae."

<You did~,> I giggled mischievously. I let out a little shriek in delight as Shadra shoved our faithful Princess into the driver's seat of our body, sending us rolling around on the crystalline floor of the hive mind's representation of the 'finished' Crystal Empire. I was quick to capture her lips as I won the little struggle of who was going to be on top, grinning with a perverted enthusiasm.

"You shameless bug, you~," Shadra laughed herself while she let her hooves wander over my figure. My wings let out a happy chirp as they went lower and lower, tracing my soft curves and the segmented abdominal shell with a gentle reverence. "Your snatch is already so wet, holy shit..."

"Mhh~, Shadra~," I moaned, feeling her softly stroke my dick while I squirmed restlessly around with my haunches, smearing more of my fluids over her. My entrance was like a veritable waterfall and I could tell the smell of it was not only driving my beautiful Princess insane. The fanning sounds of my subject's wings outside of the palace had my pheromones spreading over the entirety of the hive mind in no time, no doubt sending them into a lustful frenzy themselves.

I wasn't really concerned about them doing anything, they were growing 'lings and had needs of their own. It was up to them to decide what was right and what was wrong as long as they kept everything purely consensual. That was one of the harsher lessons we taught them and we made it painfully clear that there was going to be no disobeying that rule whatsoever.

While I would pretty soon find myself in the position where my voice would be the smallest in the hive, I have to make sure that this first generation of changelings would follow those rules to the letter and then teach them to each new generation following theirs. I needed to make certain that when the time came and my only real purpose in the hive was to provide it with more workers and drones (and eventually, my replacement), they would have at least a 'somewhat' good moral compass to guide them.

Heck, even my Princesses are probably going to have more of a say about how things will be done in the hive than I do. It was a humbling thought, wasn't it? Shadra was already more or less the general of the Crystal Empire Hive and Arachne, well... head of research was putting it mildly. My only 'real' power would come from the fact that I was the co-ruler of the Crystal Empire, something that my Princesses were far too happy to leave entirely up to me and Amore.

I can't really say I minded it that much. Even though I was less than enthused about being forced to be a politician, I at least could do my everything to make sure the future was going to be a place perhaps as grand as Earth's present had been. Most of it, that is. Let's just leave all the bad things to the side and take a little bit of pride in humanity's greatest accomplishments. Like computers, the internet, telecommunication, cars and trains, aircraft, robots... and porn, of course.

Speaking of naughty stuff...

I grinned eagerly down on my lovely Shadra, licking my lips in a seductive way. Already, my heart was quivering wildly in anticipation as I slid my slick entrance all the way up her needily twitching length, coating her spear-like dick in a glistening layer of my arousal. I felt her buck slightly underneath me as I reached the tip of that delicious penis of hers and let out a happy and mischievous giggle as it slipped momentarily into my more than ready vagina.

Shadra let out a whiny little grunt as her dick slipped back out due to a lack of reach, her hindlegs squirming around unhappily as she tried to push it back in to feel my tight tunnel around her. I couldn't help but giggle at the look she gave me, her eyes reflecting impatience back at me as the light of the artificial suns in the 'sky' of the hive mind made the empty throne room sparkle beautifully around us.

My Princess gulped heavily as she took notice of the shiny little droplet of pre-cum slipping down from the tip of my own dick and I could tell she wanted to do nothing more than to reach over to it and have a taste of it (despite it being entirely tasteless to our slender tongues).

I slapped her hoof away before she could do so, looking down at her with a challenging look.

"Ara, please..." she begged, making her eyes water like the manipulative snake that she truly was.

Feeling a little bit sadistic, I shook my head while a trembling breath escaped me. "Kiss it."

"...what?" Shadra whispered, disbelief in her eyes.

"If you want it so badly," I said, shuddering all over as a rush of power coursed through me, knowing how mean I was right now but still going through with it. "Then kiss it."

"But..." Shadra whined, squirming underneath me as I watched a war of conflicting emotions within her beautiful eyes. "But A-Amore and... My Queen, please! I-I... I just want to..."

"Kiss. It. Shadra," I threatened, poking her muzzle with a hoof. "If you really want it, then that is how it is going to happen. Besides, you don't really have to worry about 'keeping yourself' for Amore with this, now do you? I'm not going to go anywhere near your snatch with my cock, what are you so afraid of?"

Shadra bit her lip and I saw the desire to try oral sex with me begin to triumph over her last reservations about her old fears of it being 'wrong' and keeping her first time exploring that side of herself with Amore. That mindset has persisted for far too long and I could tell she knew just as much as I did that it would lead to her having a less-than-nice time with Amore if she allowed it to linger for much longer.

I did say I would make her suck my dick one way or another, didn't I? I smiled in satisfaction and perverted glee as I turned my bitchy little Princess into a cock-hungry whore. Oh, how I just loved that nervous gulp as she gazed at my tip, transfixed. It made my aching pussy weep even more and my glee found no bounds.

It was totally degenerate of me, but I couldn't bring myself to care right now. My sadistic side won out over my resolve to stay 'virtuous' and all that crap, feeling the overwhelming need to be selfish. No, not selfish, per se, but my own lust was definitely making all the important decisions right now. I might just allow myself some leeway every now and then when having sex with my Princesses if it always felt this good to cut loose and simply stop giving a fuck. Well, as long as I wasn't deliberately hurting them, that is. Being rough and playing dirty was all nice and so on as long as it didn't end up in literal murder.

Slowly, my Princess leaned up while licking her lips with as much nervousness as she was looking forward to the experience. My heart gave a little spasm of excitement, causing my dick to twitch right as Shadra went in for that kiss, making her jolt slightly underneath me in surprise. Her eyes found mine while a brow of hers hiked up ever so slightly, about to say something when her ticklish breath instead caused me to twitch it again, this time interrupting her as it brushed lightly against her open lips which in turn made a delightful shudder run through my body all the way to the tip of my needy sex.

I bit my lip as Shadra finally gave it a lick, placing a delicate peck on the very tip of my cock afterward with a reverent stare directed up my way. That alone made me hornier than before and I inched my way slightly closer to her, silently telling her to do a bit more than that to satisfy me. It wasn't my intention to humiliate her in any way, but... I had to admit, the thought made me even harder for her and those perfect lips of hers. It was like a forgotten beast had been reawakened from its slumber as the power I had over her got to my head.

It felt good to be in the dominant role, squeezing out demanding begs from my Princess. It felt nice to make her submit to me, forcing her to go through with her own wants that she tried to deny for so long. And it felt great to know I could just play with her, tease her, and deny her the pleasure she so desperately sought whenever she started to rebel against me.

While I couldn’t deny that I was a major sucker for, well... sucking cock and all that good stuff, taking it like a slut in heat... I also quite liked it that I wasn’t the one in that position for once, seeing my bitchy little Princess slowly open her mouth hesitantly while leaning forward. The tongue teasing my sensitive flesh was just an absolute delight and I savored every little moment of it. It was like a wet heaven inside her mouth and the slow licks soon got more and more enthusiastic as she twirled her tongue around the tip of my dick while a few slurping noises escaped from the corners of her mouth.

A moan or two joined the cacophony of my Princess sucking on my cock like the little whore that she was, humming in tune with her happily chirping wings as she took my length further into her mouth as she twisted her body around underneath me while I teased her own spear with my puffy lower lips.

Just... a little bit... more, I thought with a foggy mind while I voiced out my pleasure in the lustful haze both of us found ourselves in. It wasn’t just my pheromones getting to Shadra’s head, her own were driving me more and more crazy for that hot body of hers.

Before long, I actually started to struggle to keep myself from giving in to my orgasm. Shadra really went all out, starting to deepthroat me the more confidence she gained. It was somewhat like a little awakening for her, wasn’t it? Everything that she had feared so much about sucking dick was turned on its head and she, at last, acknowledged that she took enjoyment out of the simple act of pleasuring another in that way. The walls she had put up around herself such a long time ago were finally crumbling to dust in their entirety, freeing the pervert locked inside of her from the last shackles of repression.

And so, I let loose. I couldn’t hold myself back anymore, shuddering with pleasant shivers as I shot my sticky cum down her throat with a heavy moan. My beautiful Princess returned to suckling on the tip of my proud spear, twirling her tongue around while teasing the urethra with a mischievous grin as she looked up at me with that lustful perverted gleam mirrored in my own eyes. That alone caused me to shoot out another two shots before I pushed her down on the ground roughly, my dick plopping out of her mouth with a tiny spring and a popping sound.

“Such dedication is deserving of a reward,” I hummed, my voice vibrating with a seductive twirl. “Mhh~, Your Queen is most certainly pleased with your performance, my beautiful Princess. Let me take care of your needs now, hmm?”

“Oh, fuck, yes,” Shadra breathed, letting out a sharp gasp as I speared myself on her painfully hard length without warning. It didn’t take me any effort at all to fit her in right to the base of her cock and my wings buzzed fiercely with wanton need as I gyrated upon her dick before leveraging myself up the slightest bit before letting myself fall back down on her with a wet smack. “Ara~... Ahn~, fu-ucking shit! Ngh~!”

I laughed with mirth, repeating the same maneuver over and over again but this time with a bit more force to my movements. My lovely Princess let out another gasp followed by expletives as I squeezed her cock expertly by clenching my legs rhythmically and by vibrating my inner walls in the most interesting ways with a quick buzz of my wings. It was like a luxury massage solely for her glorious tool and it had her crying out with a volume that I had previously never heard from my love before.

My own voice got louder and louder, as well. It took me a lot of strength to continue that cycle of lifting myself up from her and ramming myself back down on her faster than the last time, increasing my pace steadily despite the exhaustion setting in as the hive mind failed to keep up with our frantic lovemaking.

And I absolutely fucked my Princess raw. Even long after she began to orgasm, I kept up my pace to prolong the bliss I put her through. I fucked her until she had nothing more to give and even then I didn’t let up on my pace. Only after she signaled to me that she couldn’t take any more did I remove myself from her abused cock, letting her lick me out until it was I that had to tell her that I had enough, lest it started to become too painful to walk in the aftermath of what we just did.

We were nothing more than a panting, out-of-breath mess by the end of it, leaning against each other as our bodies felt like mush. That was one of the most intense sessions we've ever had so far and I had no doubt we would somehow find a way to top even that. Granted, the only thing I could think of that would be able to top that was fucking each other unconscious outright, but who knows? I was always up for surprises, especially with my wonderful Princesses.

Speaking of my other Princess...

<My Queen, I think you might want to see this...> Arachne said, throwing both Shadra and me out of our orgasmic bliss. I let out a groan, tiredly dragging myself out of the hive mind into the backseat of our body and what I saw was definitely not a good sight.

It was nothing but carnage that greeted my eyes. Not so much in the way of ‘there were mutilated bodies everywhere’ type of carnage, but... there was a lot of blood glistening around us in the dim light of Arachne’s magic.

<Just... what happened here?> I asked, horrified. Our previous activities were all but forgotten as we beheld the literal bloodbath around us, struggling to come up with the right words to properly describe this situation in front of us. From the looks of it, there were quite a few signs of struggle within the narrow tunnel leading away from the underground lake, most likely caused by our missing pony in an attempt to get away from their assailant.

“Unless the umbrum have found a way to gain a corporeal form...” Arachne muttered with a frown, looking down on a hoofprint smudging the drag marks of the blood slightly before letting out a grim sigh. “We have a murderer on our hooves, My Queen.”

<In our community?!> Shadra hissed, anger bubbling over to not only me but also to Arachne.

<Calm yourself,> I reprimanded my Princess, struggling through the angry haze that threatened to swallow me up in rage, myself. We couldn’t make rash decisions right now, especially with a cold-blooded murderer on the loose. <Let’s try to go at this rationally, without immediately jumping to conclusions.>

<Right,> Shadra acquiesced, letting out a shuddering breath.

<...as you wish,> I agreed, reluctant as it was. There was no doubt within me that my Princess would get more than just a bit creative with that and I really did not want to know how that would turn out in the end.

I can’t believe we already have our first violent death caused by the... well, hooves... of one of our subjects. A murderer. Somepony that went actively out of their way to bring about the end of one of their fellow ponies and I couldn’t even begin to guess at why they would want to do something like that. Everyone got along so well with each other...

“First things first,” Arachne muttered, catching not only my attention, but that of Amore and Quartzite as well. “We need to question every single pony that went down with... what’s his name? The dead pony, whatever. We need to catch the culprit before this thing can happen again.”

“It was Secure Guard, Ara,” Amore said, frowning slightly. While I understood his feelings about Arachne 'forgetting' the victim’s name, I knew she didn’t mean it like that. There were already a thousand questions shooting through that wondrous mind of hers. To her, it was a puzzle to solve, as cold and uncaring as that seemed, she was looking at this in an entirely different way than Amore or even I would. To her, caring about Secure Guard wouldn’t help in the matter of preventing any further deaths by the hooves of our quite vicious killer. She was focused on finding the clues that would ultimately lead to the least amount of loss. There was still time to mourn afterward, it was as simple as that.

“Right,” Arachne said, sighing in slight aggravation. “We need to figure out a motive for why somepony would have wanted Secure Guard dead. Not just dead, I suppose. Someone clearly wanted him to suffer judging by the amount of blood he lost in the struggle against his assailant.”

“I can’t think of anypony that would want to hurt Guard,” Quartz muttered. “He was an upstanding stallion, getting along with everypony.”

“That doesn’t have to mean anything,” Arachne scowled to herself, picking up a bloodied feather from the ground. “Even the most kind-hearted of ponies can become a blood-thirsty monster hell-bent on revenge. I have seen more than my fair share of these kind of people, trust me. Every person is capable of it, whether they admit it to themselves or not.”

“You know everypony, Ara,” Amore said, gently placing a hoof on our shoulder. “Do you really think any of them could have done this?”

“I wish it wouldn’t be so,” Arachne sighed, biting her lip as she looked away from those golden pools of pure empathy. Quite ironic, coming from an empath. In some ways, Amore would make for a better changeling than we would, wouldn't he? “But I know hate can take on many forms. I will look for the body and any other clues I can find here while you two should go up and figure out who might have wanted to see Secure Guard gone. I have a bad feeling about this, so try to be careful, okay?”

“You think somepony did this because he was a pegasus, don’t you?” Amore stated, eying the feather Arachne continued to inspect with a frown.

“It might be possible,” she nodded, her frown darkening considerably. “It’s the only thing that makes sense to me. Promise me you will be careful, please.”

“I will,” he smiled in a subdued way, nuzzling our cheek comfortingly.

“Try to look for someone small-ish, probably a mare,” Arachne told him, nuzzling him back. “Most likely still in their twenties, though I doubt they were alone. That print is more than a little bit confusing to be honest. Someone that small wouldn’t have been able to take down a stallion of Guard’s size so easily while also effortlessly dragging him away as he struggled at the same time.”

“I... okay, Ara,” Amore said, frowning in confusion. “I have to ask, though... are you sure about this? This is already a very unlikely occurrence we have stumbled upon, I don’t think there is anypony that matches that kind of description in the group that went down here for water. What if somepony stumbled upon these tracks and was too scared to say something?”

“Do you really think they wouldn’t have said anything? Someone that is that scared of something like this would have more than likely screamed at discovering the carnage left behind rather than stay silent about it, certainly not when they knew we were going to investigate this,” she stated, looking challengingly back at him. “The culprit might have not even been with the group making the supply run for water. Trust me, either we have a murderer and accomplice on our hooves or this is something far beyond what we first thought.”

"And what would that be? You don't think that..?" Amore asked, fidgeting nervously.

"I'm afraid it is the most likely case, 'more. We might not be as alone here as we thought we were," she answered, a heavy and oppressive feeling settling over all of us.

"In that case," Quartz grunted, giving us a look that left no room for argument. "I'm going to stay here with you to protect you, My Queen."

"Rock, I really don't need a..."

"I agree with him, Ara," Amore interrupted my faithful Princess, a pleading undertone in his voice. "I'd feel better knowing there is somepony else that got your back in case whatever did this is still here."

Arachne rolled her eyes exasperatedly before sighing in frustration. In the end, though, a tiny smile appeared on her muzzle as she gave him a look of reassurance. "I'm gonna be fine, love. But! Just to be safe and give the worrywart in you a sense of ease, I'll allow Rock to keep me company."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, my love," he warned us with a mischievous glint in his golden amber eyes.

"Fine," Arachne pouted, giggling as our stallion gave us a small chaste kiss. "You're such a stupid head, you know that? Worrying over nothing, seriously. Who do you take me for? If anything, it's going to be me that has to protect this big lump of... mhh~... rippling muscles."

"Arachne..." he grumbled despite knowing that there was no correcting her but he still kept trying, anyway. It was kind of cute in that 'it's almost pathetic how optimistic he is' kinda way. Our precious Snowflake was just too good for this world, wasn't he?

"Don't get your panties in a twist, dear," my Princess mocked him with a good-natured smile, silently telling the idiot that she was only teasing him. If he knew what panties were, he might have even started to blush in a delightfully deep red. Alas, all he did was give us a confused look while I went and imagined him stammering like an embarrassed schoolgirl in a Japanese anime. One day... one day we will teach him all about human culture and he will get our references. I cannot wait for that day to arrive... "I meant it, though. I don't really need protection. After all, anything that comes even close to us will learn not to mess with a changeling queen."

"I know," he said, a sour expression on his face. "That doesn't mean you won't do something stupid, though. Keep her out of trouble, will you, Rock?"

"Of course, my Prince," Quartz nodded, a resolute look in his stoic eyes.

With one last glance, our Snowflake disappeared into the tunnels leading back up to the surface, a pale blue glow lingering for a short while until only the light of our own magic remained. Arachne gave a nod to our silent guardian, one Rock returned with a steely one himself, before we faced the dark unknown path leading to who knows where, covered in splashes of blood, discarded feathers, and drag marks that got fainter and fainter the further we traveled onward.

Before long, the path started to get steeper and steeper until we had to actively climb up while helping Quartz out with our changeling silk.

More and more, that theory of Secure Guard falling victim to a hate crime started to lose its weight as I couldn't think of anypony that would have been able to drag a body up what was essentially a seventy to eighty-degree angle. Even a pegasus would have struggled to accomplish such a feat. A pegasus stallion, at that. One that worked out nonstop for nine hours a day like a madpony.

Whoever... or whatever... we were tracking had to be something different entirely. The one responsible for this crime was clearly stronger than even a crystal earthpony, by the looks of it. Suddenly, I wasn't quite so surprised at the print we had found, feeling like we were knowingly entering the lair of a pony-shaped monster with super strength and the ability to fly.

A blood-thirsty monster with strength beyond measure and the freedom of flight, I felt like adding. And Arachne was about to deliver another warm-blooded pony to it, I realized with mounting terror.

Shadra took over our body as we reached the top of the steep slope, dodging a whistling strike by a hair's length before rolling to the side while yanking the safety line connected to Quartz over to us, making said stallion yell out in surprise as he was about to climb over the ledge, too.

Shadra gasped again as she barely dodged another strike, steeling herself for the next blow we had no way of evading in time. Blood-red eyes greeted us as the hoof of our assailant connected with our chest, throwing us over the edge. Our breath left us in an explosive burst of air as we started to fall, the feral expression of the pony that attacked us etched into our mind all while we tried to right our body with frantically buzzing wings. Alas, our useless, damaged wings were unable to catch the still and stale air of the underground tunnel.

Thus, we were unable to turn our body and were forced to watch as Quartz was ripped away from the crystal-covered wall due to our silk rope still connecting us to each other.

So... that's how it is going to all end, huh? We were going to die, thrown over the edge of a steep cliff with nothing but the cold, hard ground underneath us. Haah... what a pathetic way to go out like this.

And here I thought I would eventually grow old together with my Snowflake, having had a fulfilling and lust-filled life. Instead, I get this. No grandchildren whatsoever, no heir for that matter, no sex at all with 'more, and an Empire that is still under the threat of the umbrum.

Was it too much to ask for another miracle? I... I don't want to die. Not again. Please...

Sadly, no deity answered my prayers. Not the golden light from back when I first died, nor the disembodied voice of this world. I was literally helpless to do anything.

I'm sorry, 'more. We should have been more careful. We should have gone back and sealed this tunnel. We should have laid a trap and ambushed our foe. We should have made sure to engage on an even playing field, but no... instead, we went and did the dumb thing. We rushed head first into danger like an idiot, blinded by righteous anger, intent on delivering vengeance upon the monster that dared to kill an innocent pony. We could have done something different, anything really.

I'm sorry, Quartz. I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have come here with us. We should have insisted that you go back with Amore. Instead, we dragged you right to your own doom with us. I'm so, so sorry.

And I'm sorry, Orchard... I hope you won't blame us for this. This never was what we wanted. You already lost your child and n-now... because of me, you're going to lose Quartz, too. I'm so very sorry. Please, forgive me...

Polly, Silk, Bee Sting, Florea, Chirp, Honeydew, Apis, Wax... all of you, I'm sorry. M-Mommy l-loves you so much. I wish I could have been a better Queen to you, I... I'm so sorry. Please, don't hate me.

Shadra, my lovely Princess...

<D-don't...> she whispered, voice clear despite the air rushing past our ears.

...I love you. You and Arachne. Forever. Always.

The last thing we saw were the glowing red eyes peering over the ledge up above before they disappeared, replaced by golden cat-like eyes right in front of us.

"I'm sorry, My Queen."

Chapter 009.5 - Born in Light, Forged in Darkness.

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A few months prior to the events in the Crystal Caverns, somewhere in the icy wastes on top of the Crystal Mountain Range, nighttime...

She was being hunted again, she could feel it on the back of her neck. That sensation of being stared at, being toyed with. But each time she looked back, there was nothing there aside from the looming crystals and the freezing snow. Only an echo of a childish giggle could be heard over the ghastly wail of the ice-cold wind. If she hadn't been born a pegasus, she feared she would have long since frozen to death.

Not that that would have changed much, she mused with a frightened shiver. The umbrum were going to get to her, no matter what she tried to do. There was no way out of this for her, she knew that with perfect clarity. The portal was closed, she had been too late to return to her Queen and now she was going to pay the bitter price of failure.

Her only hope was trying to make it back to Unicornia and beg Queen Gold Bar for aid, but... even if she tried to flee now, the umbrum had her surrounded on all sides already. Alas, even her wings wouldn't be of much help anymore, stiff as they were from the relentless cold. While the rest of her limbs still carried her onward, she feared even that wouldn't last much longer. The cold, icy grip of death was coming for her and slowly but surely, she started to understand the crippling fear her Queen had of the inky black darkness and the unending cold that seemingly stretched on forever. She could feel her end approaching and she dared not think what the umbrum would do with her soul.

It would not be a pretty fate, of that, she was certain. If only there was a way to get rid of the umbrum and return home safely, Gentle Breeze mourned. She knew her Queen would blame herself for 'abandoning' her like she was so wanton to do with things that were in no way her own fault. She only hoped Orchard and Prince Amore could give her the support she needed, she didn't want her Queen to shut herself away because of a stupid mistake she made, trying to gather the ice underneath the snow further up the mountain.

She knew now that the risk was not worth it. The yield would have been only slightly better had she just filled up her cart with snow like her Queen insisted they do. In the time she could have gotten her cart full, she would have barely managed to free one block of ice with her tools. Tools she had to discard as well as the cart because of the imminent sense of danger lurking around the corner.

Breeze let out a pained gasp as something tore into her side and felt her wing go entirely limp. One of her legs, too, for that matter. Her pale yellow eyes met the gaze of empty blue glowing eye sockets, the saber-like teeth in the form of icicles bared threateningly at her while the snowy paws and claws of the great snowcat were painted red with her lifeblood.

Just her luck, Breeze thought weakly. Instead of the umbrum getting to her first, she would end up the meal of Mother Nature's gift to the world. If one could call an ice elemental hungry for the flesh of ponies a 'gift' to the world, that is.

Before the predator could pounce on her and tear into her again with its razor-sharp claws (or suns forbid, those vicious teeth), the world seemingly... stopped, time crawling to a complete standstill.

"Now, then," a deep voice whispered while at the same time sounding like it came from all around her. "Look at what we have here. The cat got the itsy bitsy mouse. Or should I say 'little pony'? How droll this cold irony can be."

“...what the..?” she whispered weakly, trying to find the one speaking to her, only for two ominously glowing yellow eyes to greet her. There was only one thing worse on this damn mountain other than the ice cats. And they were right there, regarding her with an odd glee. An umbrum.

The being made out of smoke and shadows walked around the frozen scene, unconcerned by the hungry cat that had been so close to ripping into her flesh. "That's not how I would prefer to go out and I suspect you wouldn't want that either, now do you?"

"Who... who are you?" Breeze asked, her breathing shallow and strained. The tears in her eyes stung fiercely, but that didn't stop her from glaring balefully at the monster in front of her. A true monster, at that, not one born of nature's primal forces like the snowcat. The animal that attacked her only did what it did for the sole reason of survival... the umbrum in front of her, on the other hoof? She could only hope that, whatever they had in mind for her, it wouldn't turn out to be worse than death and eternal torment.

"Ah. Such a good question that is, isn't it? Mhh, yes... who am I, indeed," the odd being nodded almost absentmindedly. They seemed to be more interested in the snowcat if anything. Or rather the blood it took from her, she realized. "Some have called me a monster, some a savior, a few even knew my name before... forget it. Let's just say that I like to consider myself to be a trader of sorts."

"A trader?" she asked, confused. What was all of that about, she wondered. Certainly, ‘monster’ fit the umbrum to a tee, but who in their right mind would consider one of them as their savior? Ridiculous, that's what it was.

"Oh, you know, for favors and all that good stuff," they replied, grinning a twisted grin. "For you see, I don't like how things are run downstairs, if you catch my drift. Such nasty business, you see. Mother is a fanatic that would do anything to please Zovaal like the good little pet dog that she is. A true shame, if you ask me. She could have been so much more than that, but alas, she wastes her potential playing lapdog to a mad tyrant. I’d rather not get involved with their version of a ‘better’ universe. Which brings me to you..."

"...what are you going to do with me?" Breeze asked, afraid. There was no way that there were 'benevolent' umbrum, it was such a ludicrous idea to even consider.

"Now, don't give me that look, my little pony~," they laughed in gleeful amusement. "I'm not here to hurt you, I promise. I'm a trader, like I said."

"I'm not giving you my soul," Breeze sneered, trying to wiggle away from the abomination in front of her.

The being in front of her snorted before they burst out in laughter. "Oh... Oh, damn. That's good. Hah! A classic, really! But also wrong. I don't want your soul, you pathetic, dimwitted mortal. What would I want with one tiny, useless soul like yours, anyway? There are plenty of those where I came from and I don't fancy going back. No, I want something far more useful than that..."

"What..?" she muttered, blinking in incomprehension. "But... what do you want, then? I don't have anything else you could possibly want."

"Oh, you naïve little pony, you," they said with a gleeful, skeletal grin as they approached her. Uncomfortably close, at that. The umbrum in front of her hovered one of its spindly legs over her injury and some droplets of blood began to float up into the air. "Oh, how much I crave to know the feeling of pain and suffering. The primal rage and unbridled fury you mortals are far more capable of than even we are. No, I don't want your soul... I want that body of yours!"

"Never!" Breeze grunted and spat it in the face, only for the umbrum to be unaffected by it.

"I'm afraid you don't have much choice," they said mockingly. "I will grant you safe passage to an afterlife of your choice in exchange for that body of yours. The offer only stands for as long as your heart continues to beat within that soft, fluffy chest of yours. Tik tok, my little pony~. Tik. Tok."

"And what if I die?" she shot back challengingly. "What then?"

"Then I take your soul and drain it of all energy before the kyrian can even think to look for it here," the umbrum giggled with a mad gleam in their eerie eyes. "It's only a minor inconvenience to me, really. I'll figure something out with that sack of flesh you inhabit. Hmm. It can't be too hard to reanimate it. After all, if those brutish, idiotic necromancers can make rotting corpses walk, I can do one better and bring it back to life, right?"

She was stuck between a rock and a hard place, Gentle Breeze realized. There was no way out of this for her, was there? Still, even thinking of so much as accepting that horrendous offer was out of the question. There was no way that these monsters would ever honor their word and this one she doubted would actually grant her a 'nice' afterlife out of spite for being such an inconvenience to them. Definitely not with their siblings prowling around searching for her.

"Now then, what is it going to be, my little pony?" the monster posing as a 'friend' asked while leaning uncomfortably close to her face with an eager smile on their skeletal face. "I won't be able to prolong this moment for much longer and I'd rather prefer my new body to stay in one piece. I am by no means a vain creature, but chew marks are so last season..."

If accepting was most certainly not an option and letting them get her soul was equally as bad an option, what could she actually do? Running wasn't going to work, even if she somehow managed to lose both her pursuers and the frozen snowcat. In the end, she would without a doubt succumb to her wounds and then either this monster would find her in the afterlife or one of their many siblings would.

There was no winning against them, was there? That was the simple truth of the matter and she hated having to admit that to herself. She could only pray her Queen would find a way to defeat these abominations and prevent more from coming to their world. At what cost that would come, she couldn't tell, but anything was better than constantly having to live in fear of those monsters attacking them.

Not winning against them wasn't the same thing as getting beaten by them, though. No, Gentle Breeze realized, there always was some choice to be made even when one was literally on the doorstep to death. And she was very much willing to fight to the bitter end. She couldn't be out of options, she simply refused to believe that. There must be a way out, she knew that, she just had to find one... somehow.

Thinking about it... really thinking about it... the umbrum were weak to love magic, right? Maybe she could use that nugget of information to her own advantage. Question was, how was she going to do that? She doubted that 'hugging' the umbrum to death was a viable option to choose from (not that she would do that, even if it was possible).

If only she had a horn so that she could channel... well... anything through it, really. The only thing she had were her feathers and the last hopes that her Queen would come to her rescue and make everything magically better, as unlikely as that possibility was.

Well, she was a crystal pegasus, a being remade by the Crystal Heart, wasn't she? Ever since they beat back the umbrum on that fateful day, every crystal pony has felt a connection to it. It was still there, she could feel it. If only there was a way to use that connection...

Slowly, she noticed time begin to resume its proper path as the snow falling from the sky crawled through the air. The predatory great cat was using its 'muscles' to spring into action as it began to pounce and the umbrum frowned at her as she refused to give... him(?)... them an answer. She had little time left to come up with an answer that would save her not only from the umbrum but also the hungry cat.

Something inside of Gentle Breeze snapped at that moment and her body went completely on autopilot, instincts taking over as if possessed by a ghost. She had no idea what she was going to do, but if she was going to go down anyway, she would make damn sure to drag the umbrum down with her. Even if it was only a giant 'fuck you' to the face, anything was better than nothing, really.

Sometimes, in one's greatest adrenalin-fueled need, miracles do happen. Her desperate cry as she threw herself at the smoky monster was answered not by a supreme god or a benevolent benefactor (or even her Queen), but by her own will.

The blood rushing through her veins and arteries caught on fire, her muscles aflame with exertion, while her mind was alight with the sheer need to survive.

Her pegasus magic answered her wish, granting her the freedom she so desperately craved. The crystal magic that slumbered in each one of her fellow crystal ponies heard her call, fortifying her body and her mind against the intruder that suddenly found themself trapped in a pony-shaped cage, unable to escape or even curse the one responsible for such a humiliating fate. And her newfound magic repaired the damage done to her as if she had never been wounded in the first place (not that she took note of that).

Suffice to say, the predatory great cat was reduced to a pile of snow as its prey suddenly proved itself too much for its fragile body.

Although, to say that Gentle Breeze came out of this encounter completely unharmed was quite an understatement. Before she could celebrate the unexpected turn of events, a loud and cavernous crack sounded out underneath her hooves before the snow-covered ground gave out with a mighty rumble.

Crystals and mountains of snow alike fell through the hole left behind in the unstable ground, making her fall limply head over tail before she even realized what had happened all of a sudden. Unfortunately for her, she hit the bottom of a huge chamber with a resounding thud before she was quickly buried along with the rest of the falling debris.

Time passed on unhindered, leaving no sign of life behind, and, eventually, the umbrum gave up the search for their latest prey, instead prioritizing the disruption of a certain Queen's effort to open portals to the mountain at random times and places for the purpose of gathering enough snow and ice for water.

But forgotten Gentle Breeze never was. Her death was just the first of many to come, but... what everypony thought to be the first loss turned out to be something far more... sinister than that. For it was not the end of Gentle Breeze, but the rebirth of a being born in light and forged in darkness.

A shadow of an entirely different kind reawakened on a seemingly unassuming day, finding herself changed in ways she could not yet fully comprehend. Her mind struggled to understand her new situation as she dragged herself out of the snow in the cave, hissing in pain at the glare of the twin suns as they peeked through the opening far above her.

Not only was her vision blurry, but her eyes burned at the brightness around her, more so than usual. She had to squint harshly against the sharp glare in the hopes of finding a place to hide away from it. Preferably one where no light could pierce the veil of shadows.

With weak stumbles, the newly resurrected pony trudged further into the caverns until the throbbing pulse within her skull ceased enough for her to formulate (somewhat) clear thoughts again.

Horrified eyes gazed at the damage wrought to her recently brought back-to-life body, and with gritted teeth, she pulled a sharp and long crystal shard out of her side.

No blood oozed from the gaping hole, much to her surprise. And, where she once had feathery wings and a crystalized coat, only membranous wings remained with dull, dark grey fur covering the rest of her body. Even her mane and tail had turned much darker, changed from a sky blue color to that of a two-toned sensual deep violet and purple.

Far more important to her, though, was the burning sensation within her throat and the fact she could feel a set of very sharp fangs poking her lips as she breathed in heavy exhaustion. Freeing herself from her impromptu tomb had taken a lot more out of her than she thought, letting herself sag to the ground while a thousand questions raced through her head.

Just... what happened to her? And why was her throat so... raw? How did she even survive a fall from a height like that, in the first place?

<You foolish pony,> a voice muttered, spooking her out of her confused thoughts. <Be glad you are still able to breathe. By all rights, you shouldn't even be capable of that anymore.>

"W-what do you mean?" she asked, recognizing that voice. For some reason, though, she knew the malicious specter couldn't harm her anymore. That still begged the question of where their voice had come from.

<Don't tell me you actually thought you came out of that little mishap alive and unchanged?> the umbrum trapped within her snickered, delighted. <Oh, this is rich. You don't know, do you? What a fucking joke...>

"Tell me what you did to me, you monster!" she growled, sitting up despite the fact that her vision spun around her. "Show yourself!"

<Aww, are you scared?> they teased and a shiver ran down her spine.

"I..." she said while her ears kept flicking toward every sound around her. It felt like everything was of an almost deafening volume, making it hard for her to focus on anything in particular. "W-what happened? What did I do that makes you so resentful towards me? I should be the one blaming you for everything! You had no right to make those demands of me!"

<Hmph. Perhaps that is the case,> the umbrum relented. <Still, you trapped me within yourself and now you have to live with the consequences. I do so hope that that 'Queen' of yours is going to skewer us upon her horn once she figures out your true nature~. The sooner I am released from this damnable prison, the better.>

"W-what do you mean?" she shuddered, her gaze landing on the crystal next to her as a drop of water fell down on it, making her ears wilt at the booming thunder echoing through the cave. For that matter, not only was her sense of hearing heightened to a ridiculous degree but so was her sight. Her vision was remarkably good, considering the only source of light came from the tunnel going back to the place where she woke up. Or rather, where she was turned into this horrific caricature of a pegasus. "Why is everything so... ugh!"

<Bright?> they asked, the humor in their voice evident. <Loud?>

She just nodded her head, a whimper escaping her. It hurt, listening to so many sounds at once that had no right to be so... noisy. Loud. Deafening.

<It's a rather annoying perk of what you are now. You will just have to learn how to live with it,> the umbrum answered and she got the distinct impression that they shrugged uncaringly back at her. <Or you will slowly go mad. My tip is on the latter option, you are a weak and pathetic mortal, after all.>

"I'm not weak!" she snorted, glaring at nothing in particular but hoping the damn thing within her would feel her indignation.

<You keep on telling yourself that,> they replied with a sneer. <Let's hope you starve yourself to death quickly, then. I'd rather get on with it and go back to what I do best: trading for favors.>

"And what makes you so sure you won't cease to exist once I die, huh?" she asked them, raising a brow challengingly. "The way I see it, you are bound to me like a very annoying personal demon."

<Ugh, don't compare me to those infernal slimeballs,> the umbrum sharing her body gagged. <No sense of beauty, no appreciation for life... all they do is cause wanton destruction. Abominations, the lot of 'em.>

"You didn't answer my question," she stated, slowly smiling to herself. To think a monster like the umbrum would belittle others for being the monster. What a sad irony that was. "Could it be that you are afraid~?"

<In your dreams,> they scoffed back. Although, listening to them mutter under their 'breath'... she got the slightest impression that she had just hit a nerve. How interesting. Very interesting, indeed.

"Whatever that's supposed to mean, you aren't scaring me," she lied, subconsciously rubbing her leg in discomfort. Secretly, she had to admit to herself that her appearance... it was unlike her, the total opposite. It was unsettling and monstrous and... and it scared her so very much. But she had to be strong right now, she couldn't let that... thing... in her get to her.

And, as her 'roommate' had oh-so-kindly promised to her, she did find out in which ways they were similar to each other now. She really wished she didn't have to, but... alas, it was but an inevitability.

As it turned out, she was now a creature of darkness, through and through. Any strong source of light felt like it burned straight through her coat, cooking her flesh while searing her eyes even while closed.

Her wings took some getting used to, as well. Same thing for her ears, for that matter. It was like she had been turned into a hybrid between a bat and a pony while throwing in some cat for good measure. While her coat had lost its shiny crystal luster, it was quite a lot fluffier now than it was before. It was honestly a mystery to her how this transformation happened in the first place, considering the umbrum weren't quite the... ahem, 'prettiest'... bunch out there.

As it stands, all of that paled in comparison to the thing that made her into a true monster. While she had been wandering the caverns for who knows how long, avoiding the surface world out of fear that the light of the twin suns would burn her to ash if given the chance, she stumbled upon what looked like the aftermath of a great battle. If a great battle was raged between a huge monster and a few ponies, that is.

Her silent steps led her towards a smell so enticing, she almost lost all control of her body as the alluring smell beckoned her over, promising her a feast unlike any other.

Although, as she found the source of that heavenly scent, she flinched back in horror while her constant shadow laughed their flanks off in the background of her thoughts.

The back half of a half-devoured body greeted her eyes, the blood oozing from it kept her gaze transfixed on it while she wanted to do nothing more than puke her guts out.

But... the longer she stared at the poor crystal pony that had lost their life not too long ago, another thing made itself known. The fire in her throat returned with a vengeance, demanding of her to quench it with the readily available lifeblood in front of her. Unbidden, her hooves crept forward, bringing her ever closer to the... the delicious morsel that...

Before she knew what was going on, she drank greedily from the corpse, smearing blood all over herself as she moaned in pure delight at the taste that hit her tongue.

The copper-like taste was akin to a five-course meal, and with a feral frenzy, she tore through the drained flesh to find more of it. Only for her mind to finally reassert itself as no more blood continued to pour down her throat.

It took her weeks to come out of the depressed haze that she found herself in after she realized what she had done. The crime against ponykind she had committed was nothing short of barbaric. She had seen the remains of one of her fellow ponies as nothing more than a bag of blood, waiting to be drained dry. And she knew the craving would come back, eventually. It was inevitable.

Her hunger was sated for quite a while, though, much to her appalled relief. She didn't need to 'eat' too often, either. A minor blessing at best in the face of the terrifying ramifications. She was a predator now, one of the worst kind. She fed off of her own species like a damn cannibal. She would have been less bothered by this had the corpse been an animal incapable of speech or even an unrecognizable mess, but... no, she desecrated a fellow pony, a being capable of complex emotions and thought, able to speak their own mind (while they were still alive, that is).

Unlike her Queen, though, she actually hurts those she feeds on (assuming she ever does so again since she very much intended to starve herself from that point onward). She was a monster, there was no denying it. She had desecrated the memory of... whoever that actually was... tearing into their body with... w-with a fucking moan of all things! She deserved whatever fate her Queen would see fit for her, such an act was... reprehensible! Monstrous! Evil!

...it tasted so good, though. A small part of her in the deepest corners of her mind wondered what it would be like to drink straight from the source while they were still alive, to tear into their throat to get as much of it into her stomach as possible, as fast as possible. To rip the heart out of their chest and squeeze every last drop of blood out of it. To feel the warmth of life again.

She never acknowledged those thoughts of hers, those dark desires that threatened to make her squirm in pleasure as her unholy blood rushed to her wet nethers. She knew with perfect clarity that, if she were to attack a fellow pony and drink from them, she wouldn't be able to stop herself in time before she drained them completely dry. She wouldn’t be able to keep herself from moaning in delight, getting excited by the mere act of consuming her involuntary chosen drug.

And so, she stayed away from not only the gigantic worm living in these caverns but also from the few times when she knew her Queen sent ponies down here in the hopes of finding water. She wanted to help them out and give them a hint as to where to find that lake she occasionally took a bath in, she honestly did, but... she didn't trust herself to not lose her control around them. To not drag an inattentive pony away by their throat... letting them struggle futilely all while she gorged herself on their life-giving liquid. That delicious, warm liquid...

It was a battle she fought valiantly with herself and her constant companion. But... in the end, it was all for naught. The hunger returned, and this time, it was even worse than before. It gnawed on her, driving her into a maddened haze as she desperately did everything to hide away from the ponies exploring the caverns with unicorn magic and torchlight.

She could faintly remember during that time that she felt proud of them as they dealt with the threat of the worm in a surprising turn of events, collapsing half a tunnel down on it, but... the struggle got harder and harder as time continued on. She had been this close to decimating a group of ponies making a supply run for water, so she kept herself isolated in her makeshift 'home' within the tunnel that led to a seemingly dead end.

It wasn't until the scent of blood reached her nostrils once more that she left the confines of her safe haven, flitting down the steep cliff with frantic haste to reach her food before it decided to leave and never return.

Her eyes were locked on the pegasus-shaped food washing off a scrape in the lake and a plan quickly began to form in her mind as to how to lure it into an ambush where it couldn't fight back against her.

Her plan worked, almost perfectly even when one ignored the sounds of struggle and the way she had to tear into her food to make it stop doing that. It was one of the best meals she ever had, taking large gulps from her food as her strength slowly but surely returned to her in even greater quantities. She felt almost invincible.

Only when nothing came forth anymore did she even register that her 'food' was a pony and that that pony was now most assuredly dead, drained of all life and warmth.

"W-what have I done?!" she cried in despair, the dead gaze of the pegasus pony staring accusingly back at her.

<What every predator does,> Shadow answered simply (the umbrum refused to give her a name, so she gave them one, instead). <Survive, my little Breeze.>

"D-don't... don't call me that," she said, shivering in fright and horror as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. "I don't deserve that name anymore, I'm... I'm a monster. A murderer. I... I should turn myself in, I-I don't deserve to live anymore."

<Now, now, don't you get ahead of yourself there. I wouldn't put it quite as harshly as you did,> Shadow shrugged back, indifferent. <To me, it seems like you did everything you possibly could to survive. Isn't that what you mortals always cling to, even if you have long lost it? Your life?>

"Don't talk to me like it is normal! Like it is completely natural! It's not!" she snarled while angrily wiping her tears away with the back of her bloodied fetlock. "This is your fault! You did this to me! I'm not a fucking predator! A cannibal! I'm a... I'm a pony, I..."

<Ahh, blaming me again for your own wrongdoings, what a typically mortal thing of you to do,> Shadow sneered, a mental glare directed back at her from within their prison. <You are as much at fault for this as I am. You should have taken my offer while you still had the chance. Maybe then none of this would have happened. What you did there was of your own doing.>

"Fuck you, Shadow," she spat. "I hate you."

<The feeling is mutual, I assure you,> they responded and she got the feeling they were grinning happily back at her. <Although, I could offer you a bit of assistance...>

"What could you do that would be of any help?!" she growled. "He's... he's dead! Because of me! Because of you."

<He doesn't have to stay dead, you know,> Shadow commented and she blinked, utterly confused. <You could raise him into servitude. Your own little thrall, how exciting!>

"W-what..?" she stammered, bewildered. "As in... undead? Are you mad?!"

<Not quite,> Shadow answered, humming in glee. <I assure you, it is quite possible to do so. All you will have to do is tear their soul out of the Shadowlands and stuff it right back into their very much dead sack of meat and bones and then turn them by feeding them your essence, bringing them back to life~.>

"That's what undead means, doesn't it?" she pointed out, raising a brow as some crazy, idiotic part of her started to consider the stupid scheme just so that she could feel better about... you know... not being a murderer. Does it still count if the murdered victim is resurrected?

<Raising the dead and bringing some poor schmuck back to life are two very different things, my dear,> Shadow mentioned in a patronizing tone of voice. <If you care to bring the soul back, you resurrect them. If you don't and just want an undead minion, you raise them with varying degrees of intellect. Some might remember their life, especially the more powerful they are, but they will still be a soulless husk. Then, there is the turn undead variant where you basically do both and bring the soul back to an undead body, subjecting them to a life of undeath. Of course, everything I just told you is a very dumbed-down version so that your simple mind can understand it, so don't go playing around with the power of life and death unless I am there to supervise you.>

"I'm not dumb, Shadow," she scowled, pouting slightly. "And for that matter, you are always there making snide comments, I'd be glad to have you gone."

<Exactly,> Shadow nodded sagely in her head, making her a little bit woozy from the weird mental interaction. She would never get used to that, would she? <Now, do as I tell you and be a good little pony for me, won't you? You're pretty much set on your path to conquering the world in my name already. That's really nice, isn't it? My, my, I would laugh evilly right now, but that's a bit too cliché for me.>

"I'm not going to conquer the world, Shadow," she reprimanded the nuisance that was her constant mental companion. "And I don't even know your name, idiot."

<You're an idiot,> came the witty response with a certain childish undertone. <Besides, might as well call us Shadow, right my Gentle Shadow? You are like my apprentice in all things dark and gloomy. I think I could tolerate that.>

"You're incorrigible," she muttered. "And now you're just trying to corrupt me again."

<Is it working?> they asked mischievously. <Besides, don't tell me you have never thought of it. You know what that means, right? Ruling the world gives you access to all the blood you could ever want~. Every stallion and mare would serve you with a smile on their face, letting you drink from them straight from the source, whatever liquid you might desire of them~.>

That... t-that was a good point, she had to reluctantly admit. Tempting, too. She could no longer deny it, the pull towards the life-giving substance was simply too strong for her to resist it for any length of time. The poor pony she killed in her frenzy to not starve was proof enough. She'd rather have some semblance of control over her hunger rather than let it control her.

That still didn't mean she would try to conquer the world, though. Or keep innocent ponies as her pets to sate her desires! While Shadow had a good point, it was far from a perfect solution to her plight. But... as she thought about it, an idea did come to her. And the solution was quite simple, too. Much like her Queen, she could build up her own community with like-minded ponies willing to help her out. They would have the choice of whether or not they wanted to donate some of their blood to her, she wasn’t about to take their rights of freedom away like Shadow clearly wanted.

Well, unless... criminals were fair game, right? Those that deserved it, not petty thieves and such. She would have no qualms preying on the wicked since they would rather do the same with her. A queen has to keep her subjects safe from those that would harm them, after all.

Hmm. Yes. She could create her own kingdom, living in harmony with... well, so far only her and her annoying 'roommate', but that wouldn’t have to stay like that for long. Shadow wasn't all bad, as reluctant as she was to admit that to herself. They just took some... getting used to. At best, Shadow was like a wolf with no teeth and a lot of bark, not really threatening at all. Aside from a few snide comments here and there, they were even willing to help her out despite her trapping them within herself, somehow (...she still had no idea how she had managed that feat).

Together with Shadow, she could accomplish many great things, couldn't she? She could be like Araneae and create a better future for ponykind. Maybe she really was a Gentle Shadow, after all.

Born in light and forged in darkness, indeed.

"Very well, then," she said, steeling herself. "What do I need to do, my Shadow?"

<Now, that's more like what I want to see from you,> Shadow chuckled darkly. <If you want them to return to life, you have to use death magic to summon their soul back into their body and restart their heart. That's the hard part, the easy part is infusing their body with your essence~.>

"Okay, easy peasy," she sighed, biting her lip softly. "And what do you mean by essence, exactly?"

<Your cum,> Shadow teased and she squeaked in embarrassment, causing the specter to laugh. <That, or your blood. Take your pick~.>

"My b-b-blood," she stammered out. "Definitely my blood."

<You're such a boring individual, you know that?> they pouted, making her roll her eyes. <Here I am, trapped in a body made of flesh and 'blood' and my prisoner is a prude. What a true shame that is. I can't even enjoy life to the fullest...>

"Shut up," she grumbled back. "It's already awkward enough to not have any privacy at all, do you actually think I would let you watch?!"

<Oh, come on,> Shadow whined in mock sadness, huffing silently to themself. <We're partners now, whether you like it or not. Better get used to it because we don't have a choice in the matter due to a certain somepony making stupid and rash decisions.>

"I'm not letting you watch," she threatened. "And that's final."

<Eh, that's your loss, then,> they shot back with a mental shrug.

"W-w-what?!" Gentle stammered while Shadow laughed their flanks off. "What do you mean 'vampiric' estrus?!"

<You really are stupid, aren't you, my little Gentle Shadow?> they giggled, delighted. <Oh, the irony. The idiotic nobles in Revendreth would throw a fit at that, I just know it. You, my dear, are a vampire. Not just any vampire, either. A pureblood, a most ancient and powerful breed that is blessed with eternal life. Or undeath, as the case might be.>

"My heart is still beating, though," she protested weakly. "And you still haven't answered my question, you know."

<You mortals and your lack of patience,> they commented with a tired sigh. <As I said, eternal life. Yes, your heart is still beating and yes, you could still die if you aren't careful enough should you ever fight against an opponent half as smart as I am, but that doesn't mean you are just going to die due to silly things like a snapped neck or old age. Your blood is your source of power, so don't you go around wasting it willy-nilly. You won't get any more of it, I warn you. You are very much not ‘alive’ in the conventional sense.>

"O-oh," she gulped as realization began to set in. "So, I..?"

<Use your cum, idiot,> Shadow spelled it out for her, sighing in exasperation. <You aren't a little filly anymore and I have tortured souls long before your soul entered its current cycle of existence. What's the matter, hm? We’re both adults here.>

"Ugh," she groaned, blushing fiercely as she ringed with herself. "For the record, I hate you."

<Yes, yes, I hate you, too,> Shadow shot back almost... was it actually in a loving tone? What the actual fuck?!

For some reason... that made sense, weirdly enough. For a creature born of hate and misery, they would express their... ugh... 'love' for each other in different ways than she would, wouldn't they? Oh, for the love of the moon, she didn't need to know that!

Suffice to say, the following few minutes were... awkward. Very awkward. The constant teasing words from Shadow didn't help in any way, either. Although... she had to admit that... their voice was kind of... hot as fuck, sounding so ominous and seductive that it was hard to admit to herself that she started to really like it.

It took her more than a bit of convincing to go through with it, struggling not to whine in disgust (both at herself and at what she was about to do), but... in the end, Shadow talked her into it. It was the only way to right this terrible wrong she had caused in her moment of carelessness. That was what she told herself, at least. It didn't make this any less repulsive, though.

She would have preferred to have used her blood for this purpose, but what Shadow had told her scared her immensely.

With each drop of blood that she gave away, she would become permanently weaker. And she knew that that was only ever an option for dire situations. If she became too weak, it would be easy for somepony to just overpower her and drain her of all blood for their nefarious plans to do... something that was surely pure evil. Not to mention, she was certain that, for whatever purposes they would use it for, the end result of that wouldn't be pretty.

There was no doubt in her mind that her blood was perhaps one of the most valuable resources in this world now. Clearly, she couldn't let it fall into the wrong hooves, ever. Nothing good would come from it, neither for her, the world, nor the one that decided to steal her lifeblood.

So, she did what she had to do with a heavily flushed face. She fluttered her eyelids closed while listening to the ever-present sound of Shadow in the background of her mind, slowly reaching out a hoof to stroke her labia. It took a few whispered reassurances from her companion until it actually started to become wet. Not enough that she could use that, instead, but just enough to help her along in her quest to reach perhaps the most forbidden orgasm she would ever have in the entirety of her however long life.

A soft moan escaped her lips as she imagined her hoof belonging to somepony else. Somepony like her, with yellow cat-like eyes and thin membranous wings, wild and fluffy fur, a soft mane and tail, ears that heard even the slightest rustle, a-and... and sharp fangs t-that... that sank without resistance into the neck of their prey. And, while she listened to Shadow, another image appeared entirely.

Glowing golden eyes appeared in front of her eyes, hiding nothing of their wickedness from the world. And, where there had only been dark smoke and shadows in their form before, an almost pure black coat of fur replaced their previous appearance, a curved needle-like horn jutting out of their forehead in an impressive length while skeletal wings sat at their side, torn tendons and flayed flesh holding them together, if barely. And their mane billowed like roiling storm clouds, the same for their tail. And behind those bewitching lips, there laid hidden a maw full of sharp teeth, waiting to tear their foe apart at the smallest perceived slight against them.

Shadow was a being of death, and it made her feel so very... warm... inside. They were worlds apart, and yet, they had found each other in the unlikeliest of circumstances. The ever-present cold that seeped into her being from housing such a damned soul in her was replaced by the reassurance that even a monster could learn to love.

To the umbrum, hatred was a twisted version of that very emotion that kept her going. What should have been an antithesis to each other balanced itself out in a fascinating way.

For the very first time, she learned to appreciate her new happenstance. Yes, she was a monster, perhaps just as bad as the umbrum could be. But that didn't have to mean she was bad. It was her nature now to not fall prey to those like her, it was her turn now to hunt the prey for their delicious blood.

She could decide the fate of not only the living but also those of the dead for Death was now on her side.

<You are one remarkable pony, I have to give it to you,> her companion whispered and that delightful voice sent renewed shivers through her body as she thrashed around on the ground with wild abandon, moaning heavily in lust. <You once asked me for my name and I refused to answer. Not because I didn't want to tell you but because I couldn't. My kind doesn't put much value into them for Mother is the only one with that privilege. We are but pawns to a pawn, my dear Gentle Shadow.>

"Mhh~," she moaned, eyes twisting around beneath tightly shut eyelids. "Sha... Shadow, what... Ngh~... What is this about? Hah..."

they admitted, almost bashful. Shy, even. <Whether our encounter was meant to be. While you are insufferable at times, I do... enjoy what has happened to us. I have never before known what warmth felt like until you showed it to me. It is such a foreign feeling that it honestly made me question a lot of things and my part in all of it.>

“S-such as?” Gentle asked, thrashing around on the ground as strange feelings coursed through her body, mainly around her stomach and where she was currently abusing her marehood with reckless abandon. She could actually empathize with Shadow on that one, their time together had taught her many things. Even if those things were not things she ever wanted to be confronted with. Neither were they of a pure and innocent nature, for that matter.

<Life is... beautiful,> Shadow answered, their words small and tiny. It seemed like they had 'corrupted' each other, she mused. Shadow was by far less of a monster than they were before they met and she... she wasn't the Gentle Breeze she once was. She had lost her innocence while Shadow gained some of it. <I never truly understood the way things were done in the Shadowlands, and I never really questioned them. We collect the energy of souls like it is nothing special. We forgot what our part meant to the larger whole, going about our ‘duty’ without truly understanding it, never appreciating it for what it is. And my brethren and I played a hideous part in it, destroying the sanctity of something that should never be broken. I knew things had to change at some point, but the way Mother and that so-called ‘Master’ of ours are going is not how we need to go about it. Perhaps they were right to imprison him in the Maw, taking his core from him.>

“Mmph~!” Gentle lost against her body's desire, at last, succumbing to the orgasmic shudders spreading through her body while everything felt so fuzzy and warm for the first time in, like... forever. “Shadow, I... Ngh, I need a moment...”

<Take your time, my Gentle Shadow,> they replied softly. <I’m here to walk you through the process, I promise.>

“Right,” she breathed out, weakly getting back on her legs while only mildly embarrassed about what she had just done with a friggin’ corpse lying not too far away from her. Or the umbrum living in her head, for that matter. “So... what was all that about?”

<I...> Shadow hesitated, struggling with their own words for a moment. <I trust you, I think. Despite everything, I... I find myself feeling safe with you. I don’t know why, but... I genuinely trust you over every other creature I have ever come across in the Shadowlands. From damned souls to those that shine with a sickening amount of light... I find you to be the only trustworthy soul in existence. I have done many terrible things, one of them being the damnation of innocent souls, and yet, you inspire me to be... better. To not trade with the brokers for information and favors, to not force mortals to do my bidding in exchange for more of those favors, and... to not cause misery simply because it is ‘ingrained’ into my being like Mother tries to make us believe.>

“That’s... really sweet of you to say,” she mumbled faintly, blushing fiercely. “I’m glad you’re here with me, too, Shadow. Without you, I would have gone crazy a long time ago when all of this started.”

<My name from before Mother and the Maw took it from me was... Tenebrous,> they said, pausing for a moment. The very word radiated with power and weight. <I’d like it if you would keep calling me your Shadow, though. It is a good reminder that I can be something better, that there is a light in the darkness of my soul, somewhere. That I am free of my shackles binding me to... that... place. That I don't have to live up to their expectations anymore.>

“Of course, Shadow,” she smiled before the smell of her naughty deed reminded her that there was a reason why she did... well... that, in the first place. “Anyway, back to... this. What do I do?”

<Coat their tongue in your essence, my dear~,> Shadow said, completely serious. Gentle was about to retort in indignation at the tone her companion used but thought better of it. She would have to get used to that part of Shadow at some point, too, for that matter. Ever since they had gotten a taste of being ‘alive’, they took... pleasure... from watching her squirm in embarrassment and any moment of arousal she felt, however small that might have been.

She squirmed only a little bit as she pried open the muzzle of the dead pegasus, gagging while shoving her slickened hoof into their mouth. It took her far more willpower than she cared to admit to not immediately rip her hoof out of there, making sure to thoroughly cover that limp muscle all while unconsciously holding her breath until she felt faint from a lack of air.

There definitely had to be a better way to go about this, but right now, she couldn’t think of anything but how disgusting this act was. If anything, she would have preferred not having to do this at all, but that would mean letting the corpse keep being a corpse instead of reviving them in the hopes of correcting her mistake.

<That should be enough,> Shadow whispered, startling her out of her thoughts. She had just been thinking of something she rather wouldn’t, but it kept nagging her in the back of her mind. What if this wasn’t going to be the last time something like this happened? What would she do then? <The next part is going to be tricky and we have to make sure to not grab the wrong soul. It would have been a lot easier had we done this part immediately after they died, but what can you do? What's done is done. Now then, are you ready?>

“I... I hope so,” Gentle muttered, shuddering as she wiped her hoof on the soon-to-be ‘not-corpse’. That probably wasn’t the smartest thing for her to do, but she could have cared less about the feelings of... whoever that was, anyway.

They should be glad to get a second chance, anyway (even though it was kinda her fault they needed it in the first place). The stupid pegasus had the gall to bleed in the first place, so she couldn't really help herself. It was almost like they wanted her to bite them, advertising their wound like that.

Gentle shook her head and put an end to that line of thought. It wouldn't do to start rationalizing her own wrongdoings now so that she could live with herself (and get over the embarrassment of having to give a dead pony her 'essence' like a degenerate necrophiliac). Pretty soon, it wouldn't even matter anymore and she could go on living a life free of having to murder unsuspecting food... ahem, ponies, she corrected herself hastily.

Already, she got a bad feeling about this. Shadow might have rubbed off on her perhaps a bit too much.

Anyway! To say that the process was complicated was understating the true severity of her ‘actions’. They were, more or less, guided by Shadow, but still her own efforts. It felt like her soul was being stretched into a thin line as it took her a while to get it ‘just right’, fishing around in the dark for something that she had no idea how to look for.

Eventually, that line gave a tug and she did the only thing her frazzled mind could think of, rapidly tugging back with a startled whinny. Shadow laughed at her for a few minutes but hearing the ‘dead’ stallion let out a desperate gasp kind of made her forget about that. Despite Shadow having a change of heart, they still could be a massive bitch when they wanted to be. Or dick. She still wasn’t sure what gender Shadow preferred.

The gasp of shock from the stallion soon turned into pained growls as the previously cerulean eyes began to turn red, a glowing red at that. Their coat turned an ashen gray while their mane and tail changed to a dirty dark brown, every sign of age gone from them as they looked as youthful as they must have looked in their prime.

Next up were their wings as they lost the last feathers they had, ending up looking not too dissimilar to her own. They appeared to be just as agile and strong (if a bit bulkier), no doubt able to go faster than any regular wings their size would be able to go.

Lastly, their ears changed in a subtle way while their fangs poked imperceptibly out behind their lips. All of this happened while the wounds she had inflicted upon them began to heal rapidly.

Alas, things didn’t go quite as planned as the pony looked back at her in confusion and... the unending hunger she herself felt most of the time. “What the..? Who..?”

“It’s okay,” Gentle replied, slowly lifting a hoof to calm them down. They were clearly frightened, no doubt because of what she had done to them, but she hoped nonetheless that she could give them at least some form of comfort. “I’m sorry about what I did, I didn’t mean to. Please, you have to believe me.”

The stallion in front of her looked themself over, eyes widening at the things they saw. “I... I’m a horse.”

“Uh...” Gentle blinked, confused. “Shadow..? I think something went wrong...”

<Clearly,> Shadow snorted, amused. <Well, you tried. That counts for something, right? Next time, try to do it right after they are dead, instead.>

“I’m a damn animal! A filthy male horse, at that!” the thestral in front of her snarled, having noticed the obviously different genitals between their legs. “What did you do to me?!”

“‘Pony’, actually,” she corrected, flinching back at the scathing glare directed her way. “I... I was trying to resurrect you? Well, the one that I accidentally... uh...”

“Oh, right... I’m a male 'pony', instead,” the probably-not-a-stallion grumbled, sneering at her. “Because that makes it so much better now, does it? That's just bloody brilliant! You disgusting little animal will return me to my old body at once, or else...”

“I...” Gentle mumbled, biting her lip anxiously. Great, now what? This day couldn’t get any worse than it already was, could it? She should have just... lived with her mistake, learned from it, and moved on. But no, she just had to mess things up even further.

This is what ponies called karma, isn't it?

<Let me talk to... well, not exactly ‘him’, since that isn’t quite the case for them... seriously, you mortals and your silly little gender thing. Where I come from, we didn't even have a physical sex,> Shadow said, rolling their eyes in exasperation. <At this rate, I wonder why I ever wanted to subject myself to this headache...>

“How am I going to do that, then?” Gentle asked, intrigued and confused at the same time by Shadow's inane rambling. She mainly intended to address her friend with that, but judging by the outraged snarl on their lips, the thestral in front of her took her question as a personal insult.

“Do I need to tell you how to do your freaky voodoo magic, as well?!” they hissed, baring their fangs at her as they stalked their way forward on unsteady legs. Not that that stopped them from doing so, quickly getting used to their unfamiliar body due to the muscle memory of their unfortunate predecessor. “Just... undo this! Send me back right this instant!”

<Don’t worry, they can’t hurt you,> Shadow told her, not inspiring a lot of confidence in her. Those teeth sure looked threatening from her point of view. <A thrall is unable to hurt their master. Or rather, the one that turned them and their bloodline.>

“A-alright,” Gentle gulped, her voice so faint, she hoped only Shadow heard her. She didn’t want to give the recently resurrected pony false hopes, even though they were quickly becoming more than a nuisance to deal with. Perhaps ending their misery would be a better option? “I... um... what do I tell... her? Them?”

<Tell them this,> Shadow began and Gentle began to relay her companion’s words. “There is no way for me to return you to your old body, the simple matter of the truth is that you died and your soul was well on its way to the Arbiter to be judged for the Afterlife that is befitting of your wretched soul. Judging by the foul stench of sin, I can guarantee you that it would have been no pretty place, so be glad you got a second chance, instead.”

“You really think I’m going to believe some... some weird bat pony thing?!” the pony in front of her growled. “Do you even know with whom you are messing?! I'll have you executed for this... this insult!”

“I don’t need to know, neither do I care. What I do know is that your soul would have been damned to an eternity of repentance in the realm of Revendreth. That is, if you are so lucky to not be beyond redemption.”

“Your fancy words won’t save you from my wrath!” they screeched back, winding up their right hoof for a vicious strike. Gentle squeaked, shutting her eyes while falling back on her haunches in fear, waiting for the pain that was sure to come.

<Open your eyes, Gentle,> Shadow huffed in exasperation. <You are embarrassing us.>

Hesitantly, she did what her companion told her to do, only to see the hoof of the thestral in front of her approaching her face. Before it could connect, though, it slowed down, and the huff of frustration from her ‘opponent’ managed to make confusion well up within her. Again, the hoof tried to strike her, barely coming within reach of her like the last time they tried to do so. Not that that stopped them from trying again. And again.

And again.

“Are we quite done yet?” Gentle asked, trying not to smile too much in relief as she began to relay Shadow’s words again. “You can either accept this ‘gift’ or you can accept your ‘fate’ in the Afterlife. Either way, you won’t be getting back to your old body, so I suggest you come to terms with that sooner rather than later. I’m sorry about... well, the change in species and... uh... sex, I guess, but... you get eternal youth?”

“Eternal... youth?” they asked, eyes changing to that of a brooding nature. “What else? Where’s the catch?”

“Well,” Gentle grimaced, still not entirely having come to grips with that herself. “You need to drink blood or you will go into a frenzy. That’s what led me into this mess, in the first place.”

“So, let me get this straight,” they grimaced, frowning. “I’m not going to die of natural causes but I’m a vampire?! A male pony vampire, at that. Eternal life doesn’t even begin to compensate for this slight against my person. And, on top of all this, I cannot even avenge myself!”

“Who... who were you, if I might ask?” Gentle asked as her ear suddenly started twitching towards the edge of her little hideout. Judging by how the eyes of the pony in front of her narrowed into thin slits, they heard it, too. “Don’t. Focus on my voice. You must resist this temptation before you do something stupid. Now, answer my question!”

“I... ugh...” they grunted and Gentle knew, the burning in their throat was this close to turning them into a slave to their own hunger. “My name was... was... ngh! What’s that damn noise?! It sounds... it sounds like a... a heart beating. Ngh, I... I-I need it. Mmh, the smell, it's... so... good...”

“No! Stop! Listen to my voice, please! You have to control yourself! Snap out of it!” Gentle tried to stop them, but they surprised her with their unnatural speed. One moment, they stood right in front of her, salivating at the mere scent of prey, and the next, they were at the edge, fighting... fighting her Queen! “Oh, no, no, no, no!”

Her own heart gave a fearful skip as she saw her... well, her thrall, for all intents and purposes... punch her Queen over the edge with a mighty blow. She knew they inherited that strength from her, there was no other way for that to be possible because a pony simply wasn’t that strong to throw around somepony as large as Queen Araneae.

If that was the case, though, then surely she could do something to help defuse this precarious situation. A silent whisper from Shadow told her exactly the thing she needed right now, slowing the perception of time down to a fraction of what it was while at the same time cranking up her own reaction time by a thousand. Her mortal body strained against the physics in play but her newfound magic rose up to the challenge and told physics where to shove it as her body dissolved into a mist of dark red blood, essentially allowing her the freedom to move as she pleased.

<It won’t last long,> Shadow grunted, lending her the magic of death despite the fact that one of those ponies that appeared to have found their little ‘sanctuary’ was the one that has continued to defy death on numerous occasions. It was one of those abilities that was heavily dependent on how close somepony was to dying and the closer that moment got, the harder the power got to control, so there was not much time for her to accomplish the thing she needed to get done.

It was enough time for her to save at least one of them. The question was, could she live with herself for choosing Araneae over Quartzite Rock?

“I’m sorry, My Queen,” she said as her body reformed, quickly taking hold of her former Queen. Her wings strained against the weight of Araneae, slowing down their fall enough to make sure neither of them would end up as a smear on the ground.

The same couldn’t be said about Quartz, though. The sharp sound of something hitting the ground at a speed that was beyond survivable reverberated through the caverns, lingering in her ears for much longer than that. The sickening crunch wasn’t the only thing that echoed through the cave, though. It was joined by the wailing sounds of a distraught changeling queen, disorienting her for a few moments longer than what she would have needed to recover from their not-so-gentle impact.

Viciously glowing pink eyes turned to regard her hatefully, bubbling with hissing tears of a sickly greenish-purple color as a mist of rage and hatred flared up around her Queen’s eyes. “You.”

Gentle gulped, fear replacing every thought in her mind while her muscles locked up. Even Shadow could feel the imminent danger to their very existence, feeling like a small foal in the presence of a fully-fledged changeling queen at her strongest. A changeling queen that was very much willing to take her grief and anguish out on those that had wronged her. And she was very much capable of destroying their soul utterly, even if she did not know it yet.

Before anypony could act, the ‘pony’ she had resurrected tried to fight for the right to the corpse and the heavenly scent of blood coming from Rock’s deceased body, only to find themself choking on the cruel vice-like grip around their throat, bubbling with dark magic. “You killed him.”

“I, argh!” they cried out, futilely reaching out to their throat in the hopes of loosening the grip Araneae had on them. “I... am... Queen... Ma-rghrglhh...”

“You fancy yourself a queen?” Araneae asked, tilting her head. Gentle could tell there was something different about her, though, and not only because of the dark magic. It was like she was... more harsh and vengeful... and she got a feeling that there was no stopping her from enacting retribution on her target of ire. It was so unlike the changeling Gentle had gotten to know prior to the events leading up to her resurrection that it was downright wrong, seeing her like that. This wasn't her Queen, that much was abundantly clear to her. This was an apex predator toying with their prey. “You... smell of a rancidness even worse than that of Gemstone. I would do my Queen and Empire a favor by ending your wretched existence right here and now.”

“Rghrghlmhhph,” the so-called ‘Queen’ gurgled while Gentle stood there, frozen still as a statue. This wasn’t how she thought things would go, definitely not with her botched attempt of bringing the poor, unfortunate soul she had caused the death of back to life. Instead, she got somepony that proclaimed herself to be a queen who was, apparently, a monster from where she came from.

“My Queen, I...” she started, surprising herself and the tall changeling mare. Those eyes full of hatred turned to her, daring her to say the wrong word and live with the consequences. “If you kill them, then... then you are no better than her. Please, don’t do this.”

“You assume I am a good pony, to begin with,” ‘Araneae’ spat back, although the bubbling dark magic lessened somewhat. There was yet time to change the outcome of this... this mistake. She could bring back Rock, she... she knew it. She just had to try. She would even use her blood on the off chance that it would make a difference. She owed at least that much to her Queen. A last, final apology in the hopes of earning her forgiveness. “What makes you think I’m going to forgive this rat for t-taking Q-Quartz away f-from... f-from...”

Slowly, Gentle stepped forward, offering her Queen a hug. The tears that threatened to spill from her eyes finally broke free and she collapsed against her, sobbing into her mane as she ensnared her in a tight grip, snot running freely from her nostrils as much as her burning tears did. Gentle bore the pain of them falling down on her, intent on comforting her Queen to the best of her ability.

“I... I could try to bring him back if that helps?” she proposed, feeling her Queen stiffen up.

“...how?” she asked, tense. She could feel how afraid her Queen was, how nervous and heartbroken. She was an absolute wreck, but that was something Gentle knew was pretty much a characteristic of her. Araneae didn’t deal well with loss. She could only imagine how hard it must have been for her when she didn’t come back through the portal.

“I... I can turn him, make him more like me,” she whispered, timid and afraid her Queen would react badly to that. “He would need to... to feed on blood and avoid direct sunlight as much as he can. I don’t know how the Crystal Heart would react to him, if it would see him as a threat to the safety of... of 'your' subjects, but... I could bring him back to life, heal him and make him stronger as long as he is well-fed.”

“There’s something you aren’t telling me,” Araneae stated, her magic grabbing her harshly. “Do not mistake me for a fool, mare. I know it when somepony is trying to deceive me.”

Gentle gulped, the grip her Queen had on her squishing her cheeks painfully. She should have known she would see straight through her. There was no way she could hide something so important from an empath, not that she intended to keep... ‘that’... a secret. “There’s a chance I might grab the wrong soul... again. And the pony I turn cannot hurt me since they would be my thrall. There’s also the... uh... the feeding frenzy, that... might cause him to attack an innocent pony if he tries to keep himself from feeding.”

“That’s how Secure Guard ended up like... that,” Araneae said, realization sparking to life in her magenta eyes. It confused Gentle mildly, seeing the change in color so suddenly. “I’ll have to tell her, Shadra. We can’t just lie to her, Orchard doesn’t deserve that.”

Her Queen’s eyes regarded the pony she had choked half to death, muttering darkly underneath her breath for a moment, not that that was enough to hide her words from Gentle’s sharp hearing. Before she could even attempt to stop her from doing something to the recently 'revived' pony, Araneae strode over to the barely conscious form on the ground, a vicious snarl on her muzzle. “Let’s see if you are able to handle this then, rat.”

Magic flared to life, lighting up their surroundings in a sharp glare of pink light, picking the abused ‘stallion’ off the ground. Gentle’s ears folded back as the lady trapped in a pony’s body began to screech in pain as if being burned. She had to squint against the stark glare, but she could make out blue-ish wisps of something... different... leaving her magic. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew it was the prime reason why her Queen’s magic was suddenly so bright to look at.

“Just as I thought,” Araneae muttered to herself, her voice cold and uncaring. “Well, that answers that then, My Queen. We can’t bring him back like that. He would be an outcast from the Empire. The heart would burn him to ash.”

Glowing purple eyes suddenly turned back to her and Gentle stumbled back, shivering as they regarded her with a cruelty she had never seen in them before. “M-My Queen?”

“Who are you? Truly?” ‘Araneae’ asked, holding her in place. Her grip was a lot harsher this time, the same wisps from before wafting away from her magical grasp. Curiously, though, they only stung against her coat, feeling uncomfortably hot. “You don’t burn... how curious. This requires further experimentation.”

“I-I...” Gentle squeaked out, trying to get her muzzle working properly against the iron-like grip of her Queen. “B-Breeze, My Queen! I-I was Breeze. I’m only a Shadow of what I once was, though. I don't deserve to go by that name, anymore.”

“Gentle Breeze?” Araneae asked, letting go of her with a startled gasp, scrambling away from her, a haunted look on her face. “No. No, no, no! You died, I... I closed the portal. You died, I... I wasn’t t-there for you, you died because of me! You can’t be her! You c-can’t. You died! You died...”

“It’s okay, My Queen,” Gentle whispered, a pang going through her at the sight of her former Queen being so distraught over her loss. “I... I found a friend, they helped me survive.”

“A... friend?” she asked, blinking. Purple eyes gazed curiously back at her again instead of the magenta ones from before. “Who?”

“They... well, they weren’t a friend at first, per se,” she admitted, grimacing ever so slightly. “But we learned to live with each other, I guess? They are always here with me, we... we share a body now.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” Araneae narrowed her eyes at her, suspicious. “Who are they? 'What' are they? And where did they come from?”

“They are my friend,” Gentle said, trying to avoid answering the question entirely. She knew how much hatred her Queen held for Shadow’s kind. She didn’t want to also end up on the receiving end of her ire, unlike Queen ‘What’s-her-name’. “Please, they are trying to be better. That’s all that matters, doesn’t it?”

“I... I suppose so,” Araneae backed down, looking... ashamed, almost. “Did your transformation into a vampire thestral come to be because of this ‘friend’ of yours?”

Gentle merely nodded, watching her Queen in apprehension. She could see the curiosity in her only grow stronger, but she really couldn’t give her more answers without risking her complete ire. Gentle knew that this was likely the last time she would ever interact with Araneae as her Queen, even without telling her who Shadow truly was and what had caused her transformation in the first place. She just wasn’t welcome in the Empire anymore, she had to face that truth eventually. Even if it wouldn’t hurt her, the Crystal Heart would cause her pain because of its nature. She still housed a damned soul in her body.

“If you turn Quartz into a vampire, will you take care of him?” Araneae asked, an odd glint in her purple eyes. “And any others that might find themselves being turned in a similar manner? Will you guide them? Show them the right way?”

“I will,” Gentle nodded.

“Good,” she said, giving a small nod to her while stepping away from Quartzite Rock's body. Before Gentle could move, though, a harsh pink glare stopped her. "If you ever step out of line, though... I will hunt you down like the pathetic rodent that you are, Breeze. Remember this warning well for I won't forget it."

"O-of course," she gulped, eyeing her Queen fearfully. She knew she had the power to back up a threat like that. Leaving a mark on an umbrum, one such as Mother no less, took a lot of energy. Shadow made it abundantly clear to her that Araneae was not to be trifled with.

"Go and do your thing, Breeze," Araneae told her, her eyes back to the gentle magenta ones she was familiar with. "I'll... I'll have to tell Orchard about this. I can't keep this from her. She doesn't deserve to be kept in the dark about this."

The sad gaze her Queen directed towards one of her best friend's remains sent a piercing hot stab of guilt through her heart, rendering her silent as she passed her Queen somberly by. And, the closer she got to Quartz, the worse the feeling of primal hunger in her became. She fought against it, though, having just recently had a 'meal' that did little to dissuade her body from thinking with her stomach, instead.

A shudder went through her at the thought of giving her own blood away, but she promised she would do everything in her power to guarantee that Quartz would return back to life. It still hurt her soul more than anything else as she bit down on her own fetlock, carefully coating his tongue in the substance that was trickling out of her in what seemed to be like slow motion.

Like before, her little ritual caught on to a soul lost in the darkness of the Shadowlands, slowly bringing it back to its rightful body. A body that began to crack and snap with horrifying sounds as the vampiric magic poured into it, reforming organs and bones while purging any and all effects the Crystal Heart had on it. Cold white fur turned ashen as every hint of grey in Quartz's mane and tail were gone, replaced by an almost black brownish red color. While all signs of age were seemingly gone, the previously brown eyes that snapped open with a screeching yell of pain leaving his muzzle were now a rust-red color.

Like a newborn foal, Quartz struggled to stand on his hooves, his eyes looking around wildly for the assailant that had taken his life. As they found Araneae, though, his posture began to gradually relax. That didn't last for long, though, as his eyes took in his surroundings, and much more importantly, his changed appearance.

Horror welled up within the stallion at the sight of his own body, still bloodied all over from his untimely demise. "What happened?!"

"I... I'm sorry, I only had the time to save one of you," Gentle whispered, ashamed. The big stallion didn't even recognize her and yet, she could see that he was eternally bound to her as an unwitting and very much unwilling 'servant', forced to obey her simply because she was the reason for his newfound vampirism. "I brought you back to life and... I'm sorry, but... you, uh..."

"You are a thestral earthpony, Rock," Araneae said, her mournful gaze turning sorrowful. "A genuine vampire, if I am not mistaken."

"W-what... What does that mean?" he asked, ears splaying back against his head in dread. "There's n-no s-such thing as v-vampires, right? Right?! Please, My Queen. Please tell me I am not what you said I am. I can't be, I... I..."—he let out a frantic breath, his breathing starting to pick up in an oncoming panic attack as his composure slowly but surely started to break down entirely, his eyes wildly searching for an escape from the inevitable truth, only to realize that there was no way to hide away from what he now was—" I'm a monster, aren't I? An abomination... a damn blood-sucking demon... there ain't no denying that, is there..? My life is over..."

"I... I cannot tell you 'what' you are without lying, my dear friend," she sighed, her own ears moving back in regret. "What I can tell you, though, is 'who' you are. You are still the big hunky Mr. Hulk I've come to genuinely consider a friend. You are still the valiant and strong stallion that Serene fell in love with. You..."

"...stop," Quartz muttered, the usually composed stallion shrinking in on himself while a lone tear slipped free from the corner of his eye. "Don't remind me of what I have lost, My Queen, I... I am a monster, there is nothing you could say that would change that fact."

"You are a monster as much as we are, then," she snarled back, her eyes glowing in a vicious hue of pink, magenta, and purple. "We leech of the emotions of others, breaking minds whenever we so wish, and loosen the inhibitions of the ponies around us with mere pheromones. If you think yourself lost, unworthy of those you love, what... w-what does that m-make us, then?!"

"My Queen, I..." Quartz started, intent on assuaging her doubts and insecurities, but no words followed. He couldn't say anything along those lines for he feared they would ring hollow like an empty promise. He knew with absolute certainty that he was a freak, a monster, an abomination... he couldn't lie to her because then he would have to lie to himself, too, and that? That he could not do. It would be easier to ignore the truth than to admit it by building a web of lies around it.

Gentle, too, tried to speak up, but... it was like a suffocating cloud of misery surrounded their Queen. Even if she told her that she wasn't a 'leech' like she insinuated, she feared the changeling queen would not listen to her words. Not after everything that happened.

"I don't want to hear it, Quartz," Araneae muttered, beginning to turn away from them. "I... I failed you as your Queen, like... like so many others before you. I'll send Orchard your way. Do what you wish, but... don't return. I thought we were friends...”

“My Queen...” Rock tried, but she was having none of it. She was clearly hurt by his silence. By his refusal to support her.

Araneae let out a shaky breath. “Don’t come back, Rock. The heart will cause you discomfort, at best. At worst... its light will burn you to ash. Not like I care. You are no friend of mine..."

"How do you know that?" Quartz asked, causing Araneae to stop mid-stride.

"Ask your 'new' Queen and her pet demon," she shot back harshly. She didn't turn her head around, but both of them could hear the tears hitting the ground. Clearly, the betrayal of trust hurt her the most.

<She's weak and yet, she inspires fear even among my so-called 'siblings',> Shadow commented quietly as the tall changeling mare started to disappear back into the crystalline tunnels. They were too stunned by her last sentence to even attempt to follow her and... it stung, Gentle had to admit, seeing her Queen so... defeated. So lost and hurt.

Gentle wanted to reply and tell her companion that that wasn't the case, but... clearly, she didn't know her Queen... no, not her Queen anymore, it was just Araneae now. Gentle didn’t know her as well as she thought she did. Maybe she really was unstable, the quick shifts in behavior and fluctuation of emotion did cause her quite a bit of concern, but... she knew that Prince Amore would be there for the changeling to keep her true to herself.

Even if Shadow was right about her being weak, she still possessed the means to end all of their existences. It would be in her best interest to keep the changeling queen from becoming a mad tyrant. And only Prince Amore possessed the key to her heart.

Emotions were the expression of the soul... and if she so desired, if she changed her mind about Gentle and Quartzite Rock...

"We should go," Miss 'Queen-What's-Her-Name' croaked out, rubbing at their neck weakly. "She will come back with more than that oaf's wife, I can guarantee it."

"Shut the fuck up, you moron," Gentle hissed, a glare sent towards the mare trapped in a stallion's body, not in the mood to listen to more of their 'smart' comments. Nothing but trouble, that one, she thought darkly in aggravation. At least they threw her out of her troubled thoughts.

After she was done putting the idiot in their place, Gentle turned back to Quartz, an apology on her lips, only to see him trotting away. "Quartz! I... Where are you going?"

"As far away from here as my hooves can take me," he growled back while directing a glare her way. "I don't want my flower to see me like this. I don't... I don't want to hurt her. Not like Ah hurt mah Queen."

"But running away won't?!" she challenged him. "What do you think that will do to her?"

"It's for the best," he grumbled, snorting derisively to himself. "I don't want her to end up like this, too. And it will happen if she were to stay near me, don't you try to convince me, otherwise. I know the truth. Ain't nothing I can do against it, so... let's just leave this place behind before I do somethin' even more stupid. She's better off stayin' with our cuddlebug and her Queen."

"Quartz, I..."

"It's okay," he said, smiling hollowly. "Where do you plan to go? Might as well make sure that one is kept outta trouble."

"Hey!" they exclaimed, only for their protest to fall on deaf ears. "I'll have you know that I am a queen!"

"Didn't I tell you to shut the fuck up?" Gentle grumbled, shooting the irritating thestral a glare.

"Y-yes, M-Mistress," they squeaked back, shrinking in on themself. "I-I'm sorry, Mistress."

Gentle Shadow groaned, a feeling of begrudging acceptance coming over her. This is just going to prove itself to become a major pain in the flank for her later, won't it? Ugh. At least they might prove useful for her ‘vampiric’ estrus. Not that she particularly enjoyed the idea of letting them anywhere near her body. Quartz, on the other hoof? His personality was at least bearable.

"I think it's time for me to finally return home," Gentle said, answering Quartz's question with a tiny fanged smile. "Are you sure you don't want to wait for your wife? You don't necessarily have to turn her if you start feeding from her, you know?"

The stoic stallion merely grunted and she let out a small, quiet sigh. She really hoped he was aware of what he was doing, abandoning his family like that. On some small level, she could understand him. If she ever has a lover, she wouldn't want to hurt them, either.

"Alright. Onward to Nighthaven, then."

After all, there was somepony there with whom she still had an open score to settle. And this time, her mother wasn't going to be able to sell her into slavery like she did last time...

For she was the first Dark Lady of the Night now, not the weak pegasus that couldn't fight back against the true monsters in sheep's clothing. She wasn't Gentle Breeze anymore and that's something she was going to make damn sure her so-called 'mother' would remember for eternity...

Shadow laughed with malicious glee in the background of her thoughts, very much looking forward to their reunion. And for once, Gentle didn't give them any reprimands whatsoever for their behavior. For better or worse, they would change the whole world.

The days of slavery would soon come to an end, beginning with the ones that wronged her and her little brother.

She wasn't one for vengeance, but if it meant avenging the only real family she ever had, then she would gladly do so. And there were so many ways to go about it, too...

Her mother wouldn't know what hit her until it was too late to fight back against her fate. Just like it had been too late for her and Lightning Speed. It would all come crashing down on her, that much Gentle Shadow promised to herself.

First, her mother. Then the slimeball that had her brother's life on their conscience. And then... then she would build her own nation on the backs of those that dared to treat their fellow ponies as their property.

What was it her companion had said about sinners and repentance in the Afterlife? Something about an eternity in the realm of Revendreth? It was going to take her half that time to absolve those that can be saved from themselves while making the world a safer place to live in by making sure that those that can't, won't be able to hurt anypony else ever again.

For those that have been forsaken by the light, her dark embrace will ensure that they can rest safely away from the true monsters in sheep's clothing. Her curse will become a gift to those that can't fight for themselves. It will lend them the strength to break these shackles fate has cruelly placed upon them and free themselves of the tyranny of their fellow ponies. And then, perhaps then they will be free to dream their own dreams again. Free of oppression and slavery. Free to make their own choices again.

But until then... Gentle would bleed those vile ponies dry of their dirty fortune and their life-giving essence.

Born in light, forged in darkness, indeed. A lot has changed, hasn't it? All of it thanks to one umbrum breaking the mold. Her Shadow.

A dark chuckle echoed in her mind and the crystalline tunnels at the same time. Yes... her Shadow. As was she.

Without either her or her companions noticing, purple void-like eyes disappeared deeper into the caverns below the Crystal Mountains, intent on watching these events unfold in due time. A little nudge here and there would ensure their little gamble would pay off in their favor. The worm has served its purpose as the lure for now. The time to set up the real bait was rapidly approaching... and preparations still need to be made.

Death has no claim on this world for their true master has yet to rise again. A grin full of needle-like teeth stretched their wolfish face open in glee while they rubbed their paws together. The Diamond Dog Empire shall stretch the whole world again under their guidance, just like it did before ponykind came along. And it shall be glorious! All will serve their true master!

No one heard the laughter akin to that of a hyena aside from a few irritated bats and insects making the caverns their home. And later, when a distraught changeling queen searched with their best friend for the whereabouts of a former friend and partner, there was no sign left of the mad dog's presence in the caverns.

Events have been set in motion that shall challenge every pony in the newly developing city empire. That, and the country that shall replace the previous pony nations with a land of harmony between all tribes. Even the one that would soon begin to bloom under the gentle light of the moon.

Chapter 010 - A glorious Palace for a glorious Empire.

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It was... a strange time, the following months after the events down in the caverns transpired. Orchard was rather reserved afterward as if having resigned herself to being left behind by Quartzite Rock, and... out of all the ponies I would have expected to let her anger show, she didn't so much as yell at me. No, she just hugged me as I threw a fit once I realized that not only had Gentle Breeze gone missing but so did Quartz (and that weird pegasus ‘stallion’, but I could care less about that one after they threw us over the edge of the ledge).

No, Serene was pretty much fine from the looks of it. She didn't go on a grand quest to find her husband and follow him wherever his hooves would take him. She didn't feel angry, nor did she blame him or anypony else, for that matter. Not even me or she, herself. She just went on being herself, making flirty comments every once in a while about how good Arachne was in the hay and the usual work she did in her orchard of sprouting apple trees.

All the while, I could taste her sadness and loneliness from half the Empire away. And it hurt me so damn much to see her like this, ignoring her feelings as if they weren't there. I just wanted to see her smile reach her eyes again, but nothing I did cheered her back up. I was powerless to help her and I hated it.

It was of no surprise to me that I was the one that couldn’t stop herself from raging at the unfairness of it all, instead. I was mad because I had been careless and allowed it to come that far, in the first place. I could have waited for backup or even insisted that Quartz accompany my future husband back to the surface to 'investigate'. Fat load of good that has done us. Instead of finding a cold-blooded murderer, I found a budding necromancer vampire bat with the stench of death on them.

How could it have come to this? It was painful seeing a once noble mare reduced to such a—... Ugh, I really should stop with this before I riled myself up even further than I already am.

Breeze was gone and in her place only remained a Shadow. I could guess what kind of 'friend' she made while she was fighting for survival out there. The only possibility was the umbrum and it disgusted me to no end that she would fall for one of their schemes.

I should have done what was necessary and gotten myself rid of her and that thrall she had turned, but... not only could I not do something so... ruthless... to a pony that I once knew and considered a friend (even more so in the case of Quartzite Rock), there was also something in her that... spoke out to me. She wasn't too far gone, I knew it in my heart with absolute certainty, and she proved that by her willingness to correct her mistake. Or rather, the mistake that followed the mistake of her bringing the first 'pony' back to life. Something clearly went wrong with that one, there’s no doubt about that.

I would have to keep an eye on them, just to make sure they didn't stray too far from the light of friendship and love. The Breeze I knew would never hurt a pony, but... seeing her do all of these horrible things and stare at Quartz with nothing but predatory hunger before she brought him back to life? It concerned me greatly.

If necessary, I would have to act. Vampires were bad news and I wasn't about to let such a grave problem grow out of hoof. I knew perfectly well what a mass outbreak of vampirism could do to society as a whole.

Sometimes, fiction does become all too real when faced with magic and mythology. Everything I knew from my previous life was now a warning of what could be. Everything that might have seemed to be wondrous and impossible could become reality, and with that, the stuff made of nightmares and horror stories. The umbrum are proof enough of that, but actual vampires and necromancy? Holy fucking flying pigs, that's terrifying.

Rebirth is one thing, but actual undead ponies craving the flesh of the living? I was sorely tempted to stock up on holy water and all that useless shit I assumed served no real purpose on Earth aside from superstitious bullshit.

Maybe I should have realized this sooner, but I'm in fucking magic pony land. I'm a fucking magic pony horse bug! A friggin’ succubus! Are there real demons from hell out there? What about angels? Is that a thing?! Actual capital-G God?

Forget the zombie apocalypse, I don't want to deal with a biblical apocalypse! That stuff can stay in a fucking fancy book full of inconsistent shit for all I care, fuck off and leave my cute, cuddly ponies alone! Ponies with magic living in an admittedly screwed-up world, but still! I didn't need to worry about warmongering demons and angels on Earth and I sure as hell don't need it here! A potential zombie vampire apocalypse is enough for me, damnit.

I hate this world. It's so damn dangerous here. Anything can turn out to be a deadly foe, even fluffy bunnies for all I know! Ugh, I really need to get better at this whole magic combat thing, don't I?

Such is the price of magic, I guess. It's as great as it could be terrible, and I have to be all the more vigilant because of it. I just hope our new 'vampire queen' won't do something stupid like befriending even more umbrum.

Haah... it really is a strange time to be alive, isn't it? Not only did the world see the rise of multiple new pony tribes, but the thestrals made by ‘Breeze’ were also clearly no natural pony race, much like the crystal ponies are (or the changeling race, for that matter). Then, there was also something fairly... interesting... we found down in the caverns (thankfully no demon or the fucking Vashta Nerada). Something I didn’t ever expect to find in this world, to be honest.

At first, I thought it was a genuine yeti akin to Bigfoot or that cave monster in Star Wars, but as it turns out, it was a rather harmless and curious creature, unlike anything I have ever seen before. It was only by pure coincidence that our ponies stumbled upon it, but... well... I don't know what else to say than it being a ball of pure adorable fluff addicted to bedtime stories. It couldn't get enough of them, seriously.

Were it not for its extremely skittish nature, I would have expected it to start living with us up above in the Crystal Empire. Heck, it even started trying to read the books we had... ahem, appropriated... from the former nobles of Unicornia and it even attempted to steal some of them on more than one occasion. Well, not quite 'stealing' as it was more like 'borrowing for an indefinite amount of time' in this case, but the sentiment was more or less the same. It's not like it refused to give them back when the need for them arose (which wasn't very often since the only ponies that actively read them were Arachne and the kind librarian looking after our considerable collection until a more permanent place could be built for them...).

It was a somewhat amusing sight to see it try and read them, though. It keeps naively holding the book upside down as it grunted and grumbled to itself, spinning entirely new tales that had nothing to do with the original book it held in its fragile arms.

How do I know this when the poor thing wasn't even able to speak coherently? Well, let's just say seeing it pretend that the cooking book was a grand tale of an adventure in a far-off land was enough of a telling sign. It was the cutest thing ever and Orchard couldn't agree more on that.

The little yeti ('little' being a slight exaggeration here considering it was almost as tall as I was) was somehow successful in cheering up my best friend, giving her someone to look after. It was almost like she adopted the young yeti (and it was most definitely still a juvenile), teaching it everything from reading to how to actually cook.

The yeti we found was the only one of its kind that we ever came across, though. It begged the question of where it came from and where its parents were, but that was sadly a mystery we won't find an answer to any time soon (if ever). So far, we only knew one thing for sure about it and that was the fact that it possessed no signs of having physical sex characteristics (trust me, Arachne checked very thoroughly and went subsequently mad, trying to figure out how it existed in the first place).

Aside from our lucky find, the day of my brood finally emerging came and went by without much fanfare. Oh, sure, their birthday was quite heavily celebrated by my subjects, but I didn't get to witness much of that as I was rather... preoccupied.

<T-that's the last one,> I mused tiredly, pushing a fertilized egg out of me onto the fluffy blanket I was laying on. My breath had left me about a couple of hours into this and has since been reduced to heavily exhausted panting. <H-how many, Arachne..?>

<If I'm not mistaken, that should have been the fifty-sixth one, My Queen,> she replied. <I'm honestly surprised that the amount more than doubled in comparison to the last time.>

<It's not going to be too much, right?> Shadra asked, her little bout of worry ebbing over to me. <Honey-wise, we are still good for now, but... who knows if it will be enough?>

<There's no need to worry, My Queen, we are here to assist in any way we can,> Florea chirped in, gently taking the last batch of eggs with her to the brood comb, a cheerful spring in her step. <Polly and Silk have already found a partner, a full-blown herd in Polly's case even, there should be no shortage of emotions anytime soon.>

<That's relieving to hear,> I responded, yawning tiredly.

<Silk lost a bet against her, My Queen,> Florea giggled. <You should have seen her face when Polly swaggered past Silk, the smell of sex on her and a pile of exhausted ponies behind her, kissing her on the cheek in her usual taunting way.>

<As long as nopony gets hurt by their antics, I guess it is fine,> I hummed with a drawn-out sigh, having long since given up on trying to be a responsible parent to my little 'lings. It was a futile endeavor, especially when they have, like... half of our knowledge before they even left the hive nursery.

<You should rest now, My Queen,> Florea said, a gentle smile on her muzzle as she saw my drooping eyes. <I'll have Honeydew waiting here for you until you awaken.>

<Why... why Honeydew?> I asked, yawning before pouting grumpily at Florea.

My attendant rolled her eyes, the soft glow of her 'pupils' taking on a more exasperated quality. <Princess Arachne never has any problems with your attendants, Your Majesty. To be honest, if you weren't our Mother, I would think you were the baby here.>

<Arachne doesn't know where to draw the line, nor does she think to do so in the first place,> I huffed back, curling up on my comfort blanket to take a well-deserved nap. Suns know I've been going at it since... probably more than a few hours after dawn graced the world for a new day.

my Princess commented offhandedly. <I'm being practical about it. And, you know... feeding on royal jelly is just about the best thing ever, so I don't care if you think it's inappropriate.>

<It's not that, and you know it, my Princess,> I shot back, giving her an unimpressed look as soon as I opened my eyes in the throne room of our hive. She was, of course, sitting on the throne in a rather lewd position. Oh, and Shadra was sucking her off which, uh... yeah. I gulped thickly, feeling a pleasant tingle in my lower region as I saw Shadra give me a come-hither look out of the corner of her eye. "You planned this, didn't you?"

"Whatever do you mean, My Queen?" Arachne asked, grinning back at me while biting her lip. Shadra was really starting to become good at that, taking it slow but working her mouth in ways I doubt Arachne or I could emulate.

"Don't try to be coy with me, my faithful Princess," I glared at her, my voice wavering as my breath started to become more shallow while my heart danced in a nervous and excited rhythm. "Fucking h-hell, you're going to be the end of me."

Shadra snorted, stopping with her ministrations, letting Arachne plop free (much to her annoyance) while giving her tip a small loving lick and nuzzle, sniffing in her scent with a deep whiff. She really liked to do that a lot, doesn't she? No doubt because our pheromones drive us nuts for each other. "You're one to talk, Ara. Need I remind you who it is that has a massive exhibitionism fetish? Sure, Arachne is probably worse than you in that regard, but you definitely don't care who might see you doing kinky shit."

"S-shut up," I muttered, shifting on my legs awkwardly. My eyes were pretty much glued to the erection my faithful Princess sported and the saliva that coated it, glistening in the sunlight coming in through the massive windows of the hive mind's throne room. Arachne really outdid herself with designing this place, I still kept marveling at it. We've already started with the preliminary preparations to construct it in the outside world, piling up enough crystals with the highest quality we could find. Nothing less would be able to serve the purpose the palace was designed for, according to Arachne. "I'm not the one that... t-that just..."

My tail was standing painfully straight up and it was starting to become increasingly more difficult to think in a coherent manner, the smell of my Princesses making me whimper in need.

"We both know you would lift your tail for just about anypony if it weren't for Amore, My Queen," Arachne whispered hotly into my ear and I blinked. I hadn't even noticed her approach due to the fog of lust clouding my mind. A changeling queen's pheromones were truly a scary thing, I have to admit. The closer we were to laying our eggs, the more powerful they get.

It was no wonder the workers in our hive banned the drones from staying in the brood chamber as soon as they noticed we were about to go through our next cycle. Even then, our workers struggled to keep their own hooves to themselves which was probably the prime reason why I didn't want Honeydew attending to me. At all.

While Honeydew probably has a libido that’s just as bad as ours (even rivaling that of Arachne's), I didn't fear them taking care of our dietary needs. Or them forcing themself on us. No, what I feared were the inevitable 'accidents' of being a bit too touchy and me growing used to them. Not in the sense of them groping me but... well... licking me 'clean' after being a 'slob' with my food.

Honeydew never did that with Arachne because, unlike myself, Arachne has no problems with them 'bathing' us like a friggin' kitten and their mother. Shadra was another matter entirely, though. I don't know whether it was schadenfreude or something else, but my bitchy little Princess was all too happy to throw me under the bus while baiting Honeydew into attending to us.

Honeydew was one of the 'lings that would have been better at gathering emotions, but no... they just had to insist on becoming an attendant. All things considered, it could have been a lot worse. Like... I don't know, allowing a drone (whatever Shadra may say, 'soldier' sounds stupid) to attend to our needs. There would have been more than one occasion of rape, otherwise. I could very much guarantee that. It was simply in their nature to do that to a queen. Even if my little drones were able to resist the pheromones declaring myself a ‘willing’ target for cum and dicks (not necessarily in that order), I wouldn’t take any chances. They can have as much fun with ponies as they want (or with each other, as the case might be), I'm not going to risk any 'unlucky happenstance' just because my body went into pheromone overdrive once a year from the looks of it.

There's only going to be one stallion that's going to be allowed to have his way with my snatch during this time of the year and that is my (future) husband. Even if I have to beat every other stallion away with a stick (regretfully, I might add), I promised to my Snowflake that he would be the only one our heart belongs to. It's up to him whether he wants to share me with anypony else, it's as simple as that (which doesn't make Arachne's words any less true, though).

"A-Arachne, I..." I whispered, only for it to come out in a begging whine. The disadvantage of being split in three was a real pain in the flank considering just what type of changeling we were. During that moment, that sweet, damnable, succulent moment, both of my Princesses seemed so much... larger. Bigger. Sexier.

"What does my horny..."

Before she could even finish that sentence, I smashed my lips against hers in a needy rush to silence her. "Princess! Don't call me your Queen, Arachne. For once, just once... I wanna be the one serving you, My Queen. Please."

"M-m-me?!" Arachne exclaimed, utterly shocked. Shadra smirked opposite of me, giving our Queen a nip on her flank. The shudder that ran through her made her wings chirp in excitement and both my clitoris and dick ached in painful need. "B-but my..."

"Please..." I sniffled, shedding a few crocodile tears. I could see the lust in her eyes, equally as befuddled from Shadra's and my pheromones as we were by hers. I didn't even need to wear her down much, she kinda does idolize me perhaps a bit too much. But that was also a double-edged sword, in this case. The conflict was quite clear in her posture.

Arachne was one of those types of people that needed to have someone they could look up to. In our previous life, it was her father (or rather, Tabetha's father), Walter Bishop, the rest of the Fringe Division, her favorite authors, and just about every researcher there is (or any scientist worth their weight in gold, really). She felt incredibly awkward when she had no one to look up to, and since my other two halves pretty much thrust me into the position of de facto Queen, her mind practically ground to a halt at the mere possibility of filling that role for even a second.

Oh, she could act quite dominant whenever she wanted to (and she was very much willing to do so ninety-nine percent of the time), it was something reserved for naughty time only in her mind.

She has all the qualities of a good changeling queen by herself, as much as I thought some of her weirder aspects wouldn't quite be so befitting of a queen. But to be honest? We were neither on Earth anymore, nor were we still human. At least, everywhere where it still mattered. Arachne was perhaps the only part of ourselves that adapted entirely to her new species, flourishing and thriving as a changeling. I have to give it to her, she is utterly perfect in that regard.

Changelings were made to be the most adaptive pony race out there, able to change to fit any and all environments and thrive in them. Well, maybe not freezing mountain tops, we clearly had some disadvantages (few as they might be)... unless we mess around with our base genetic makeup, I guess. There probably exists some means to change ourselves in ways where we could even withstand temperature extremes like that.

In a way, we were everything humans ever were and then so much more. Our only real glaring weakness was our dependency on foreign emotions. While yes, we could work around that, it still means we couldn't leave pony society entirely behind to live on our own. Every other race (that we knew of) could get by on regular food, meaning they could settle anywhere with fertile soil.

Out of every pony (or changeling, rather), Arachne was the only one that is willing to do everything for the hive. If she had been the sole queen of our hive, I doubt she would have ever put up with Amore. If things had gone exactly as they did in Unicornia and it was ‘only’ Arachne there? Leaf's loss would have driven her away from what was good for everypony and towards what would have been good solely for the hive. In that regard, she would have made for a very terrifying queen, indeed.

In a way, Shadra and I were the total opposite of her. Shadra would have withered away had she been the only one to come out 'alive' after the ordeal of that diabolic machine. Me, on the other hoof? I would have probably been driven mad a long time ago had it not been for these two. We all completed each other and it made me love them even more for it.

And I wanted to show Arachne how much I appreciated her by treating her like the queen she truly was. After all, turnabout is fair play, isn't it? It's my turn to treat her like my submissive little fuck toy for once and Shadra would be all too happy to assist me, I’m sure of it.

"Mhh, Shadra?" I hummed, a gleefully evil glint in my eyes and a veritable malevolent smile on my lips as I regarded Arachne. "Remind me again what the purpose of a queen is in the hive~?"

"To provide more workers and soldiers for the hive?" she responded, licking her fangs eagerly.

"Right..." I hummed, nodding along. "But for that to happen, what has to come first..?"

Shadra chuckled as she saw the look of pure desire and need in our Queen's eyes. "She has to be stuffed full of so much cum, she would constantly leak spunk with every step she takes because of how gloriously full she would be~."

Arachne let out a squeaky moan, not once resisting against Shadra as she bit down on her tail, dragging her off of that fluffy cushion on the crystal throne. Not that she had many opportunities to protest against us as it only helped my goal of stuffing my cock down her throat.

Our good slutty Queen took to her task with an enthusiastic fervor, taking even more of me while positioning her legs in the correct way to receive Shadra without buckling under her weight. Her wings began to sing with a low buzz before it increased in pitch as she tried to bob her head up and down on my shaft, only for Shadra's hard thrusts into her vagina to do the job for her.

My breaths came out in shallow gasps, and with each thrust, Shadra managed to drive Arachne even further down on my dick. So much so even that I could feel Shadra's ragged grunts and panting breaths blow against my own muzzle. If she went even further than that, she would be able to ravage my mouth with her tongue.

I moaned from that thought alone, hearing a muffled and lewd cry of pure delight and ecstasy below me as well. A gasp and quivering twitch followed my moan as I felt her fangs lightly graze me near my base and the swallowing movements of her throat contorting around my penis in the most wondrous ways. I felt like the tip of my dick was on fire with pleasure.

"How about... w-we..."—Shadra shuddered, her movements starting to become jerky—" s-switch this... up... a bit?" she asked, pecking me on the lips with a grin as she thrust into our Queen one last time, holding her (and Arachne in turn) against me.

I was about to protest, feeling like I was getting ever closer to my peek (only a couple of seconds were all that it would have taken if she had kept up her pace, I'd wager), but I didn't get the chance as the little bitch ripped Arachne away from her current position, and with her, my snug and wet hole hugging my dick, making me shiver from the sudden cold feeling around it.

"Hey!" Arachne exclaimed, scrambling to get back to sucking me off. "I almost had My Qu—"

Before she could even utter the full word, I hit her softly on the tip of her muzzle in a reprimand. I really didn't want the queen worship right now, seriously.

"Right... that," she winced, rubbing the side of her muzzle while blatantly staring at my throbbing length with hunger. "I was so close to my prize, though..."

Shadra rolled her eyes as Arachne's pout didn't affect her in the slightest way. "You can complain longer, or you could turn around and let her pound you for a while longer instead, My Queen~."

Arachne gulped thickly, her mouth opening and closing, at a loss for words. It took her no convincing at all to do just that, her tail moving to the side so fast, it almost hit me on the muzzle.

Hmm. I could do what both Shadra and our Queen clearly wanted me to do... or I could toy around with them. Oh, the choice was most certainly a difficult one, it was all but impossible for me to make. Woe is me!

I snickered quietly to myself as I feigned trying to mount our oh-so-faithful Queen, instead 'slipping up' on the smooth crystal floor and burying my muzzle as deep as I could into her marehood, causing her to gasp. I was far from done, though.

Next, I turned my rear just so as to give Shadra a full view of my own needy sex, twitching my dick deliberately as I gave her my patented mischievous glance out of the corner of my eye. Arachne moaned loudly as I snaked my tongue into her, extending it to the absolute maximum within her. And to top it all off, I reached out with a hoof underneath our Queen, slowly and sensually stroking her shaft as gently as I could.

A needy moan forced itself out of my own throat as I felt a wandering hoof trail its way up my own length, letting out a whimper against Arachne's snatch after feeling it stop just shy of my tip. The glans of my dick ached fiercely from Shadra's teasing touches, feeling like it was going to explode any moment from now because of all of the blood rushing to my nethers. My clitoris wasn't any better off, to be honest. My poor marehood, neglected and forgotten for the simple purpose of playing around with my lovers. Woe is me, indeed.

I will have to change that, then. This is going to be the first time we tried doing this, isn't it? Up until now, we have been taking turns with each other. Then again, we have been busy a lot over the past few months, haven't we? Usually, one of us was overseeing things in the waking world or busy with running complex equations through our head (mainly Arachne but Shadra also let her own inner scientist show through from time to time, as well).

Mhh. This is going to be a very interesting experience for all of us, I can tell. It's going to take some coordination, but... if anything, that's one thing we had in abundance.

I lightly nudged Shadra away from teasing my dick further before I reared up properly, getting Arachne to buzz her wings in excitement. Before I actually took the plunge, so to speak, I shook my own rear while glancing meaningfully back at Shadra. My beautiful, little Princess fluttered her wings and no words needed to be said between us as we all knew that this moment is going to be something very special and will be most memorable for us.

It took me some careful balancing to not fall over to the side as I felt Shadra's weight settle against my back. A second or so later, I felt the tip of her dick brush against my glistening folds and my vagina already felt like it had been sucked up into the Void due to how glaringly empty I felt at that moment. It was like a stark reminder that I needed something to fill me or that feeling would never pass.

Honestly? I have no idea how Shadra was able to stand that feeling. It was seriously unbearable to go any length of time without feeling something stretch my walls out. Maybe that’s the nymphomaniac within me talking or some sort of 'queen instinct', but I never got that feeling with my penis. Most of the time, I didn't even notice it was there until it came out to play, snuggly tucked away when it wasn't needed.

Perhaps that was the general difference between a haploid and diploid changeling, now that I think about it. One sex would always feel like it was constantly being neglected, which does kind of explain one major part of the nymphomania afflicting our race (the other part was obviously due to us being natural perverts, duh).

Anyway, the feeling of pressing into something wet and tight while at the same time feeling something push itself deeper into me was... something else entirely, alright. It was like a... like a literal explosion of pleasure, the stimuli of my dick being hugged like a vice while at the same time squeezing down on Shadra's dick appreciatively sent me down a spiral of lust and desire, passion drowning out my mind further and further until all that remained was a sex-crazed lunatic.

Each time Shadra managed to drive her long, juicy cock into me (deeper than ever before, at that), I was forced up against our glorious Queen, my own spear spreading her open while stars danced through my vision in a shower of pure bliss. I couldn't take much more abuse before one sex of mine would give in to the sweet call of an earth-shattering orgasm, but I persevered for the sake of lasting as long as I possibly could. It was my duty to please our Queen to the best of my ability, after all.

One wet slap after another echoed around us as we gradually lost ourselves to this quite intimate act of lovemaking. I might even call this the best sex we have ever had up to this date, and I wasn't just saying this because I was stuck in the middle of it (though it does help). No, the challenge of holding back was actually the most exciting thing about this. It was like a game, really. A game against my own body and a game against Shadra trying to fuck me senseless (and by proxy, Arachne).

It was becoming more and more challenging, though. The sensation was very much akin to falling, only limited to my dick, snatch, and stomach. A part of me relished this feeling while another simply wanted to give in to the throes of passion, succumbing to the ever-coveted orgasm of bliss and ecstasy. It took me more willpower than I was able to spare in order to not give in to this need. Perhaps more than I had available to spare, actually, but that didn't stop me from doing what I could to distract myself from that part of my body. I focused on those gorgeous purple eyes of my Queen as she gazed at me out of the corner of her half-lidded eyes while she sang the most captivating sounds of lust and joy.

The moment of defeat came all too soon, though. Right as her tight snatch began to clamp down on me as she began to quiver and shudder underneath me, my own marehood began to do the same to Shadra. All the while, one cum shot after another started to fill me as I filled Arachne, coating her inner sanctum with my sticky fluids.

We stayed like that for what felt like hours, simply enjoying the closeness to each other as we lay there in a heap on the ground. It really was the best sex we've ever had up until that point. I let out a massive tired yawn, snuggling up to my wonderful Princesses. I might have to do this whole 'not being the Queen' thing more often.

It was a role neither of my Princesses wanted and I could understand why. Both of them have dreams far grander than my own and I wouldn't want to take that away from them. I was happy with what I had, despite being challenged time after time with things like... well... Quartz abandoning his wife and the Empire out of some stupid sense of shame at what he has become.

Sure, I... I did tell them they were not welcome in the Empire anymore due to their 'nature', but... he could have at least said something to Orchard. Heck, he could have fucking taken her with them instead of running away like the damn fucking coward that he was. He... he could have... f-fuck. I just... I hate it! I hate it so damn much, it was so... so unfair! Why did he have to insist on coming with me? Why did Breeze have to fucking save me instead of him?! Why did I feel so... so useless all of the damn time?

Quartzite Rock. The giant worm monstrosity. The umbrum. The Crystal Heart. The Kingdom of motherfucking Unicornia. L-Leaf. Tobias, Tabetha, and Sam. It was all just a massive string of failure upon failure upon fucking failure. A quick succession of me struggling to keep standing against a tide that threatened to rip everything away from me. I couldn't keep everyone safe and sound, as much as I craved to be able to do so. Some things would just slip past right underneath my muzzle, as much as I tried to avoid it. I would have to come to terms with it all over again when the next thing inevitably came around to challenge me, my ponies, and my changelings, as much as I hate to admit it to myself.

Yes, building up an Empire from scratch was indeed going to be a difficult endeavor. A lot of blood and innocence would be lost along the way, but... it would be well worth it in the end, I am sure of it. If there was just one thing that both humans and crystal ponies had in common, it was the perseverance to see things through to the very end. Once we have the Empire in a state where it isn't constantly being threatened by monsters and what have you, things would finally start to look up. We could begin trading for goods we can't get our hooves on so easily, and most importantly, we could grow. Not only my ponies but also my hive.

Speaking of my hive...

"Your Majesty, I can't feed you if you keep moving your head around like that!" Honeydew pouted, trying to hold my head still after they crawled on top of me once I woke up from my 'power nap' (more like a mini hibernation, as I later found out, having slept away two days in a row).

"I'm... not... hungry," I muttered, trying to shake my overly touchy worker off of me. "Now, get off of me right now or I will have you thrown in the dungeons for harassing your Queen!"

"We don't have any dungeons yet, Your Majesty," Honeydew giggled with glee, forcing my head still with their magic. "Now, say 'Ahh'~!"

"Fuck... you..."

"Aww, with pleasure, My Queen!" they responded with a perverted gleam in their eyes. "But first, you will eat your breakfast like a good Queen, am I understood?"

"Ugh," I grumbled, giving Honeydew the stink eye as they smiled at me upside down. "Fine, just get it over with. I swear, you are worse than Arachne."

my Princess commented while Honeydew worked their jaw as if they were chewing on something. Already my stomach was churning in hunger and I was this close to just ripping Honeydew's muzzle open to get at that royal jelly.

Alas, I screwed my eyes shut because I definitely didn't need the image of what followed next in my mind. Neither did I want to know what it felt like to be fed like this, but that wasn't really an option with my changelings. I suspect Arachne had a hoof in this but they refused to produce more royal jelly than what was strictly needed (something about it taking a lot of energy to produce or some other nonsense). Even worse than that, they refused to put it in a cup for me to drink out of instead.

Royal jelly 'spoils too fast', my flanks. They just like to molest me every opportunity they get, for fuck’s sake. It wasn't in any way, shape, or form too time sensitive for me to eat it out of a cup, seriously. And even if it was, it sure as hell wouldn't spoil that fast.

I mean... maybe it reacts with oxygen? Was that a thing with royal jelly? Or were my 'lings merely trying to gaslight me with their nefarious schemes? Ugh. They might actually have a point if it does react to stuff like magic crystals, becoming toxic to consume or something. Arachne would know, having extensively studied the substance, but... would she tell me the truth if I asked her? For all I know, she would launch into an elaborate explanation where I would hardly be able to keep up with her use of science-y words. Words I was half sure she herself made up to explain magic in a semi-rational way.

Maybe I really do need to stop fighting this so much, don't I? It was clear to me that they won't change how I‘m going to get my 'meals' anytime soon (if ever). And it really was only thanks to their help that I got through laying so many eggs at once. Even now my body feels sluggish and low on energy, I didn't want to know what would have happened otherwise.

I mean, I could imagine. It wasn't that hard to assume I would have gone through a majority of our supplies of changeling honey to honor my promise to Amore to not 'purposefully' starve myself. The following fallout would have been disastrous for my brood (and myself), most likely.

Even if I had a pony volunteer to actively feed me during the process of laying my eggs, I fear I might have drained them completely dry of all emotions because of how... ravenous I could get during some parts of it. Even Amore wouldn't have stood a chance against my hunger, and draining the Crystal Heart like last time would have been out of the question, as well. Yes, it can withstand a lot, I'll give it to that heart-shaped doomsday device, but if I did that every year with a presumably worse hunger than the last... I might get close to breaking it. Fuck, I might start to lay as many as a few thousand eggs per year eventually. That would definitely put a major strain on it.

Let's just conveniently ignore that a beehive could easily number in the high thousands at any one given time. That road definitely leads toward madness. As much as the image of laying that many eggs excites me, it also manages to strike quite a bit of fear into my heart. Just thinking of it was enough to completely distract me from what Honeydew was doing, to be honest.

If I was already ravenous as fuck after laying barely more than half a hundred eggs, how much worse would it get with half a thousand? What about more than a thousand? Or suns forbid, close to ten thousand eggs?

I need to be careful, that much was abundantly clear to me. Obviously, our current population couldn't support more than a thousand, maybe two-thousand changelings if we play it cleverly. There’s only one solution to this mess I inadvertently found myself in. The hive's growth has to be limited, and if my body couldn't be persuaded to stop at a reasonable number each year, I need to take drastic measures into my own hooves for the good of the Empire.

Either I crush eggs deliberately or I find ways to cut down on energy requirements by a lot. It is going to take a lot of time until pony foals grow up to an appropriate age for my changelings to even start considering relationships with them. Unless we experience a massive boom in birth rate, that is. Ponies do get kind of easily pregnant from what I have observed so far.

But that was a worry for another time, I suppose. If I was indeed right in assuming that changelings emerge at the approximate age of twenty-five or so, it wouldn't even become an issue when my hive grows large enough for it to pose a problem. If anything, we were going to run out of space if my subjects continued the trend of three-ish foals per mare. My hive would eventually even out simply because I was the only one able to lay so many eggs at once.

Then again... if my changelings grow too large in number, they might start a similar process as to what Arachne told me bees would do. Not every new queen in a hive means that the old one has to be superseded, after all. While I very much hoped that day may never come, my instinct to serve the hive was more powerful than even my own survival instinct. The survival of the hive has the utmost priority, it is as simple as that.

Anyway! As long as my hive does not grow too large in number, my workers might not be tempted to create a new queen and start a process Arachne told me was called swarming (which typically meant the old queen would break off with a large number of her swarm in search of a new location to settle, but it also meant any new queen might leave the old hive with her own part of the swarm after emerging). If that does indeed happen sometime in the future, I'm pretty sure the Crystal Empire is going to be large enough to support a decently sized hive. Until then, I could only speculate and make guesses at best.

While the soul of this world called me the Weaver of Fate, I doubt I have any kind of future clairvoyance ability or some other, similar bullshit power. I mean, it would be kinda nice to have some forewarning about the next big thing trying to drive me insane and into depression, but that could just as easily backfire on me.

Knowing the future makes for very bad paranoia, I knew that much. The warning tales of people going completely bonkers with that kind of power didn't exist for nothing, after all. Usually, it was one story or another about learning your own fate, and when said fate involved your own death? Yeah, you better believe it's going to end up being your own fault for being a paranoid git. I'd rather live in blissful ignorance if that is the case.

As it stands, destiny has a rather strange way of manifesting itself sometimes. Sort of like finding out one of your drones managed to get a pony mare pregnant. You know... like actually finding out they managed to do just that after joking about it. Yay.

"They look almost like a changeling..." I hummed, staring at the two little bundles of joy between Silk and her mate Emerald Shine (some ponies have decided to take on a new name, either because of... well... their upbringing in captivity or because they never got a name due to... ahem, 'other'... circumstances). Said mare was currently leaning her head against Silk's chest in exhaustion while smiling tiredly down on her foals.

Said foals were a mix between crystal pony and changeling in the way that they already had tiny fangs poking out of their gums and translucent insect wings on their back. The wings looked a lot softer and roundish compared to regular changeling wings, though. Whether that was because of the dominant pony genes or not, neither I nor Arachne could tell and Shadra refused to even think of the word genetics ever since she recovered one particular memory buried deep beneath the ocean of our unwanted memories from Tabetha, Tobias, and Sam.

Apparently, we were a genetic experiment concocted up by Tobias Baker to create human clones (the less said about the reasons for that, the better). In the hands of Massive Dynamic, I could already tell they weren't even a stone's throw away from re-enacting order sixty-six in real life, seriously. I'm glad we left that shitshow of a world behind us, I don't want to know how long it would have taken until an invasion of clones took over Earth and enslaved humanity to their will.

Knowing the Fringe Division... that’s exactly the kind of crap that would happen to them, wouldn’t it?

"To be honest, they look more like breezies to me," Amore commented next to me, leaning in close with a soft smile on his muzzle.

"The fuck are those now?" I asked, thoroughly confused. I was thankful for the distraction, at least. I really didn't need to delve deeper into the sheer wrongness that was Massive Dynamic and Tobias' less-than-ethical experiments. Going down that rabbit hole was a prime way to get lost in depression while ending up with waking nightmares every living moment.

And that was another reminder I didn't need, for fuck's sake. We really need to clean up in here at some point, I'm sure there are mental spells made for the specific purpose of forgetting things. I'd rather not try to create one by myself lest I end up brain-dead.

That was one of those memories from Tabetha that had managed to make even her afraid of going to sleep despite knowing she was perfectly safe while secluded in the Harvard laboratory with her mentor, Walter Bishop.

The scientist behind that Fringe incident had a truly sick mind, abusing the trust of innocent people just because he got addicted to a rather twisted rush induced by 'stealing' dreams. Depending on when the 'alter ego' of said scientist tried to steal them, those people the 'good' doctor tried to help with a chip implant in their brain died a rather gruesome death caused by fright, even during the day. Hence the waking nightmares.

It was no wonder we really, really, really don't want to have anything to do with those memories anymore. That’s one of the more tame ones, but the implications were seriously horrifying. I’m glad we don't experience dreams anymore. If we did, I'm sure we would have our fair share of nightmares each and every night. There’s no way it would be different, what with all the other things floating around in our head.

I shudder to think what that kind of power could do in the hooves of the wrong pony. Being able to cause nightmares even while somepony is still awake... it’s eerily close to my own affinity for mind magic, isn't it? I could just as easily rip apart a pony's mind without even laying a single hoof on them. But... dream magic could just as well utterly ruin somepony if it exists.

Anyway! That train of thought was better left alone and forgotten. Even if Lord Morpheus does exist, I doubt the ruler of the sleeping realm would torment the waking world for no reason. Or innocent ponies, for that matter.

But that’s enough of that. More important for now was the little explanation Amore gave to me about these 'breezies'. Those were apparently tiny fae-like ponies with a mischievous streak a mile wide and basically useless at everything they do except gathering pollen. Those weren't quite his words as he described them, but... come on, that's basically what they were and you know it. Useless annoying fairies that even Peter Pan wouldn't know what to do with, and that's putting it mildly.

I'm glad I didn't end up as a breezy. That would have sucked majorly (and not in a fun way). Still, there is one thing we had very much in common and that is our insect slash fae-like nature. With this new pony race being born between changelings and ponies, I have to wonder... what other races were out there that could be, for lack of a better description, ‘fae’?

Were there nature spirit-like ponies out there? Something like dryads and elven ponies? What about merfolk? Was there an equivalent to that here? Hmm. We have already come across spirits taking on physical form, haven't we? After all, that's pretty much what those snow elementals in the form of cats were. The elements given form. Those were like a part of this world's magic, which is basically the definition of fae, isn't it? A supernatural, magical being. Along those lines, this world was practically fae in all the ways it matters. There’s nothing that was truly magic-less, here. At least not as far as we have noticed so far. Everything was, by its very nature, magical.

Though I wouldn't go so far as to call ponies ‘fae’ simply because they have magic in them. I think that, in this case, it was more appropriate to call every creature 'fae' that is unnatural or changed in one way or another. Or more accurately: every tribe that has come to be through means not intended by natural evolution and those born from a mix between those races. Which in turn left us with a conundrum, really. Just what do we call the offspring between a changeling drone and a pony mare?

<Changeling is out for obvious reasons,> Arachne commented and I hummed in agreement. It would be rather strange to call them that only with the fae meaning in mind, wouldn't it? <And so is anything Ara can come up with.>

"Hey!" I pouted while I was sitting down on my rump with my forelegs crossed in indignation. Emerald gave me a tired and confused glance while Silk only snorted in mirth. Amore merely raised his brow at me and I huffed, knowing my Princess was probably right in saying that. "We're debating what to call their race since they aren't quite changelings. At least, not in the way Silk or I am. I don't even know whether they would be able to connect to the hive mind, so... there's that, too."

"I am not going to abandon my own foals just because they aren't a part of the hive, My Queen," Silk admonished me, a frown on her muzzle as she held the twins protectively closer to her and their mother. "They are too precious to me. As are you, my precious Emerald."

Said pony mare smiled as she gazed lovingly into Silk's eyes. "I know, love. Although, maybe we should come up with their names first?" I winced at the tiny, motherly glare she sent my way and laughed nervously. Right, that. I've kinda gotten used to my brood naming themselves, to be honest.

"How about... Sapphic—” Silk began before stopping herself. “Eh... I mean, Sapphire Love for this adorable little filly?" she asked and I rolled my eyes at that slip of the tongue. My daughter clearly has a sense of humor...

"And her brother?" Emerald Shine hummed, interested. I was mildly surprised that she didn't admonish her wife, but I guess she wouldn't really know what that meant.

"I don't know," Silk sighed, ear flicking in irritation. "For some reason, I can only think of girly names. I'm sorry, my love."

"It's alright, dear," Emerald smiled and closed her eyes in thought. I have to admit, though, naming ponies was one of those things I had massive respect for the parents of the foals. It has a certain sense of finality, a feeling of destiny that I wish I could make sense of. Alas, even as 'Weaver of Fate', my eyes were blind to the truth hidden in the tapestry of the world. "Say... is Midnight Shimmer the name you thought of?"

"I..." Silk mumbled, stunned, and I watched my daughter look at her in surprise and awe. "...yes. How did you..?"

Indeed. How did she know the name my little drone was thinking about? My gaze wandered over to Amore questioningly as he smiled in a knowing way and I raised a brow at him, confused.

"Don't try to question it, Ara," he whispered, nodding towards the door to give the two and their newborn foals their rest. I sent a silent ping over to Silk letting her know we were leaving before following my stallion out into the 'hospital' ward. It was more of a small hotel at the moment, to be honest. The actual hospital was still under construction, like so many other public buildings. Things were progressing a lot faster than we expected, though.

Already, the streets were nearing the point where they would be finished and most ponies had at least one form of communal housing with the houses currently available. At this rate, we might even start on the Crystal Palace before the end of the year.

I wonder how Orchard is doing. With Quartz gone, she’s the only one living in that empty house of hers. Granted, most of the time she is tending to the fields, but still...

"Is everything alright?" Amore asked me and I blinked.

"Come again?"

"You seem a bit distracted lately," he said, giving me a concerned look. "Is everything alright? You aren't starving yourself again, are you?"

"What? No!" I snorted, frowning back at him. "I'm fine, 'more. I promise."

"Then what is on your mind that you keep walking around with your head in the clouds?" he asked, holding the door open for me as we exited the building out into the bright light of the twin suns. And not for the first time, I looked at the mildly reflecting surface underneath me with a sense of foreboding.

"It's Orchard," I sighed. Well, Orchard was only one thing on my mind right now, but definitely the one I kept worrying about the most. Not even the thought of the umbrum being up to no good was bothering me as much as the thought of my best friend being, well... not quite her usual self. "How can she be so... nonchalant about Quartz? She didn't even cry when he wasn't there. She just smiled sadly and forgave him for hightailing it out of there! I'm worried she's bottling this up, but... I don't know what I could do to help her. She isn't even feeling sad anymore." Just numb. Which honestly scared me more.

"Ara... it's been a year now since Quartzite left," Amore sighed, brushing himself against me with a comforting nuzzle. Damn. He looked so pretty doing that. Being all nice and shit. What did I ever do to deserve him? Even when he frowned, he looked so gorgeous. "I think she has just given up hope, waiting for him to return. She knows he can't stay here. And what you told us of how he felt... bothered... by his change, I can make a good guess why he didn't want her to see him like that. Not to mention, he would be a constant danger to not only her but also everypony else here. Yes, she loves him unlike any other pony, but I think she has let him go out of a sense of love. She can't bear the thought of him agonizing over the fact that, if he ever hurt her, he would most likely take his own life. As much as it pains me to say this, it is probably for the best."

I hummed dejectedly, leaning against him as we neared the little crystal block of a home we have been staying in until we have our own permanent 'house'. It wasn't far off from the entrance to the hive actually, standing next to a 'young' oak tree whose growth has been considerably accelerated since we planted it. It's probably going to end up becoming our home away from home once our palace is built.

"She's a big mare, Ara. Just be there for her as much as you can and everything will be alright, okay?" he reminded me (not that that was enough to make my thoughtful frown vanish into nothingness). "You know, as much as you complain about my bleeding heart, you show more than your fair share of it yourself when those you care about make you worry for their health."

I looked up a bit at his loving smile, huffing out a frustrated breath before returning his smile with a somewhat hesitant one. "I guess so. I just wish she would... I don't know, talk about it or something. Am I the only one that blames the idiot for leaving without so much as a goodbye to her?"

"No, you are not," he replied, interlocking his horn with mine, causing my tail to rise up a little bit from the sudden flash of pleasure. For being such a prude, he sure knew how to get me aroused. "Now, how about we forget this for the rest of the day and cuddle?"

"That does sound nice," I admitted, feeling my heart skip a beat with a delightful quiver and I followed him into our darkened bedroom, a spring in my step. Both my Princesses were suspiciously absent, giving us a little bit of space. I suppose they thought I needed it more, which was kind of sweet of them, but it made me feel kind of guilty for leaving them out like this. "Say, Amore... do you ever think about what life would have been had I not been there?"

He hummed, drawing me a bit closer to himself as we got comfortable on the fluffy bed. Crystal sheep wool was seriously amazingly soft, I have to admit. "I do, and... I'm glad you were there.” He stayed silent for a moment before looking at me curiously. “Why this sudden interest?”

"I keep thinking about it, whether I deserve this, and how Quartz would still be here, a-and L-Leaf..." I mumbled dejectedly, shifting against him. My ears drooped as I listened to the steady beat of his heart, his breathing tickling the top of my head. I wish I could start over and do everything right, but I knew that wasn’t possible. And yet... "Everypony is so nice about it that it makes me feel even worse for constantly failing everyone."

"You aren't failing anypony," he scoffed and I felt him frown from his body language alone. And from the tone he spoke with, I guess, but mainly how he held me against himself. Almost possessive and afraid. "I know you know that, you silly dumb bug. Are you fishing for compliments from me to make you feel better?"

"What..?" I asked, feigning innocence. "No, never. Definitely not, nuh uh. Whyever would I do something so underhoofed like that?"

"I can hear you trying to hide that smile~," Amore teased and poked me in the side, making me giggle. "You are incorrigible."

"I could use some comforting words, though," I told him, snuggling myself deeper into his fur. That's one thing I have to admit isn't quite so nice about being buggy. Pony fur is a whole lot more pleasing to the feel than chitin, but 'more didn't seem to mind. If anything, he liked my buggy features quite a lot. Especially my wing nubs.

Amore chuckled, nuzzling my ear before giving it a lick. And mainly because of that, I guess. The smooth-ish quality of my chitin felt a lot better on the tongue than fur ever could. Not that that ever stopped me from returning the favor. "I suppose I could entertain my cute, narcissistic marefriend..."

"Hey!"

"Those were your own words to describe yourself, were they not?" he pointed out before grabbing my ear in his mouth and sucking noisily on it. He really did have a thing for my chitin, didn't he? Well, then... two can play at the same time, I thought in mischief while my tail swished around in happiness behind me. I took my revenge on him by nibbling on his chest while my hooves trailed slow circles over his chest, steadily going lower and lower towards the 'sword' that was starting to peek out of its sheath. "Ara..."

"Hmm?"

"You are not going to touch my penis, are you?"

"No, never~," I replied, grinning giddily to myself. I didn't even lie, an evil feeling welling up from deep within me. This was going to rile him up like nothing else could, I thought with glee.

The best revenge is a dish served cold. I'm so gonna blue ball him and leave him begging for release. It was the perfect evil master plan. Eh heh heh.

"Ara, I..." he started only to let out a 'squeaky grunt' as I brushed my hoof through the fur of his inner thigh, tracing his firm muscles towards the hock of his legs before going back very slowly to his Cutie Mark on his flanks.

"You... what?" I smiled, gazing up at him as he squirmed next to me. His hind legs were twitching as he puffed out a snort of frustration.

"Please, don't do this to me. Have mercy on this poor unicorn..."

I rolled my eyes, not one bit convinced to stop my wandering hooves from doing what I wanted as he made no move whatsoever to put an end to my teasing touches. "Hmm... I don't think so, 'more. You did start this, after all. You need to learn the consequences of your actions, dear~."

"I..." he started but I cut him off. Not by planting my lips against his, but by forcing him to squeak once more in frustration as my hoof found the most wonderful places while completely avoiding his stallionhood. I knew humans had some pretty sensitive skin on their inner thighs, but Amore? He stood no chance against his body as I simply hovered my hoof the slightest bit over the soft flesh covered in his creamy beige coat.

Suffice it to say, his raspberry tail wasn't the only thing that was twitching for attention. I suppressed the cackle of pure delight as I pretty much did the same thing again with his other leg, getting dangerously close to his sheath and the balls nestled a little bit further back. Those two orbs were, by human standards, quite huge but not overly so. Heck, for a pony (especially one of his size), they were nothing to write home about, more or less 'average' in size. They were cute and I rather liked them like that, able to easily fit them in my hooves. If they weren't already trying to bury themselves in their inguinal canals because of how cold my hooves were, that is.

I grinned a fanged smile as I lightly touched them, carefully shifting them this way and that in a gentle massage. Amore's heart was starting to hammer away in his chest in an erratic rhythm, something that was quite clearly put on display by the throbbing of his thick and juicy cock. I really wanted to suck on that rod for all that it was worth, but I had better ideas than that in mind. Evil ideas.

What can I say? I have the demonic succubus and mischievous fae part down pat. My glee found no bounds! Mwahahaha!

Next, I trailed the tip of my hoof sharply up next to his dick, making him inhale with a quick gasp and a shudder. I couldn't help but giggle as his dick bobbed up for a moment before flopping back down on his lower stomach a moment later. I felt him shiver all over his body from want alone which just made this so much more exciting. I had him completely ensnared in my web of lust and I savored it like the perverted pervert that I was.

Lust was just the best and that's one hundred percent true. There's no arguing against that. I mean... love is pretty nice and all but lust takes the cake. Although... if lust takes the cake, royal jelly is the icing on top. Now, if only I could have royal jelly every day without my workers insisting to feed it to me through 'personal contact', the world would be just perfect. It's almost like they took the bee thing entirely too seriously...

Haah... embrace the bug in you, Ara. The sexy, demonic, fae bug. It's your destiny~. All shall bow down before your magnificence!

Amore let out a gasp as my fangs pierced his hide with next to no resistance as I bit him directly in his pretty snowflake Cutie Mark, injecting him with enough venom that he would be unable to move a limb for a few hours. I smiled deviously as I crawled on top of his chest, looking him into his slightly panicked and thoroughly aroused eyes.

He looked so cute, utterly helpless and completely at my mercy. It was almost like a rush for the both of us, I could tell. He truly was one very, very submissive pony, wasn't he? My, my, his dick got even harder from my treacherous actions~. Not to mention, his lust-filled emotions practically exploded all over the Empire just because I did that to his Cutie Mark instead of somewhere else.

Those butt marks truly are something else, aren't they?

"Mhh, my dear Snowflake... whatever shall I do with you?" I asked, touching my chin with a hoof in a pondering way. "Do I or do I not tie you to the bed? Hmm..."

Amore tried to work his mouth but I might have given him just enough venom to hinder him from protesting against me. Oops, my bad~.

"Maybe I will leave you all alone and aroused for a few hours? Or I might just tease you to the edge of orgasm over and over and over again?" I grinned, my evil master plan coming to fruition at last. The look in his eyes spoke of crushing despair and it made me even more giddy. He clearly didn't want that, it would be nothing but pure torture. "I'm not feeling particularly merciful right now, so you have to speak up, my dear. Otherwise, I won't know what you do and do not want~."

I was this close to cackling as all he did was give me an exasperated, unimpressed huff. "What is that? You want me to feed you honey made from lust? Aww, with pleasure, dear!"

I couldn't suppress the snicker this time as I faintly felt his muscles twitch underneath me. Lust really did a number on ponies and he knew that. It was basically like inducing a mini-estrus in ponies and depending on the potency and/or amount, they would practically beg anything with legs to mount them and have their way with them. Even some of the more submissive stallions, I thought with a mischievous giggle.

Oh, it would be so fun to find out how my Snowflake would react to that...

Amore's panic spiked as I brought my muzzle close to his and I gave him... a peck. Now I really did start to cackle as his feelings turned into a confused mess of relief, fear, and anger.

"Relax, you idiot," I said, poking him with a roll of my eyes. "I'm not going to make you go gaga in the head. Do you really trust me so little? I haven't once forced you into anything you didn't want me to do, and that's something that has taken me some considerable willpower to accomplish, seriously. You, my dear Snowflake, are the walking definition of temptation.

"So, no. I am not going to drug you (aside from the venom, that is), and neither am I going to rape you. I have standards, believe it or not. Sex is reserved for when we are married, and as much as I resent having to wait, I will be patient and content myself with naughty teasing and petting. Maybe oral if you're okay with that.

"Now, after we are married, though? All bets are off. I am going to have your dick shoved so far up my snatch, it's going to be stuck in there for weeks. You aren't going to weasel your prissy, prudish ass out of making love to me, I swear.

"Every day I go without is one more day of agony. I don't think you really get this, Amore. I feel empty. So fucking empty! It's driving me nuts, downright insane even. I'm actively fighting against my instincts to get laid here, damnit. And it's getting so much harder to keep myself from doing something you don't want me to do, it's not even funny!

"Do you know what that is like? It's like giving a starving pony a breadcrumb while a full-course meal is just outside of their reach. Except I could reach out to it and it's not a feast but your wonderfully perfect dick!

"I'm a queen, dear. I need this as much as you and I need to breathe. Changelings are fundamentally different from ponies, even if we share a common trait as simple as our shape and form. A drone going without sex is like having their penis lit on fire while a worker or queen... well... I already told you that. But a queen has it worse, 'more. So much worse.

"I am meant to be bred, Snowflake. It's my very nature, my purpose in the hive. I fucking need to get fucked until I start leaking cum! I will have you scratch my itch until you pass out from exhaustion when we are married. That's not a promise, 'more, it's a damn fact. I love you to bits, but... that doesn't mean I'm happy with you right now about any of this."

Far from it, even. It was so very hard to control myself around him and he really wasn't making it easy on me. I'm already close to the breaking point, I can feel it. I don't want to disappoint him, but... with everything that has been happening, the things weighing me down... it is a wonder I'm not frothing at my mouth right now, jumping the first pony in sight to get at their seed.

A changeling queen, as we found out, is always having their nuptial flight. It doesn't end and never will. Which kind of made sense if we were right about our theory in regard to our lifespan. And that's even more true for a queen running out on sperm, I suspect. I don't think I'm going to run out anytime soon, but still. I want Amore's seed in the mix, so to speak.

Preferably only his~.

Sadly, we can't empty our stores as far as I know (and we definitely tried finding out if it was actually possible, trust me). Not that I would want them empty right now, but... eventually, I would like to freshen up the quality simply to make sure no problems arise because the seed got too old to do its job correctly.

Arachne did tell me it should be no problem since a queen produces a fluid specifically made for storing sperm in the long term, but she couldn't give me a better estimate for how long that would last than 'Probably seven years, give or take a few'.

Usually, those seven years meant the queen served her hive long enough and needed to be replaced. Let's just hope I'll last a bit longer than that.

Indefinite nuptial flight or not, I do have to think about having an heir at one point or another. Not just because the hive will eventually outgrow the population of the Crystal Empire (that much is pretty much a given, I fear) but also because... I kinda want one. With Amore.

Said stallion was looking at me with embarrassment, fear, regret, compassion, and a whole mix of other emotions that I either haven't identified yet flavor-wise or were gone from one moment to the next, replaced by different but similar emotions.

"I'm not going to leave you, you silly stallion," I smiled gently, planting my lips against his with a reassuring hum. "I would be a fool to let you go. You are my heart, dear. I did promise it to you in its entirety, didn't I?"

Relief. That was the single most prominent emotion I felt following that statement. I guess he, too, didn't feel worthy of our love for each other. It was an eye-opener, really. I wasn't the only one that felt these things, of not nearly being worthy enough of Amore's love and that of our subjects. I guess one never truly is, but that's the thing about love. It is a freely given gift granted to those you deemed fit to receive it, worthy or not.

As much as I hate the things that have happened due to my own mistakes, I'm glad I ended up here, in the end. Together with Amore. And my ponies. As well as my hive.

This, and only this place... I could genuinely call it my home from the bottom of my heart. Mistakes be damned, I love it here. It's pretty here, I have the prettiest stallion in the world as my fiancé, and... well... I am pretty, too. I'm the prettiest bug of all bugs to have ever bugged. Definitely. Without a doubt.

"Amore... I am pretty, right?" I asked and glanced down at him with a 'vulnerable' expression. I felt... I don't know, not really insecure but also not a hundred percent certain. Heck, I don't really put a lot of emphasis on my looks, I pretty much comb my mane and tail and call it a day. Maybe I should start wearing make-up... or I could use changeling flames since I'm pretty sure we don't have any. That's something we should definitely fix in the near future. That and hair dye. For no reason, whatsoever. Yep. Eh heh heh...

Amore blinked up at me, and I didn't even need to taste his confusion to know how he felt. The usual reassuring and comforting feelings were nice to taste, though.

"Yeah, dumb question, I know," I nodded, feeling dumb for asking it, in the first place. "After all, I am the prettiest changeling to have ever existed, how could I forget?"

Amore rolled his eyes, amusement replacing his confusion.

"Well, yes, you are pretty, too," I stated, matter-of-factly. "The prettiest stallion. Pony, actually. I kinda got you beat in the stallion category, too, sorry. Probably the nonbinary category, as well."

Amore snorted and I let out a giggle myself. This was just silly, but kind of fun, wasn't it? I wish every day could be so... carefree and without worries. Well, almost without worries. I do tend to blow things out of proportion, don't I?

"Say... if I am pretty and you aren't just lying to me (which I doubt you could do, even if I wasn't able to smell your emotions)... why aren't we married yet?" I asked with a pout. We have spent a lot of time together, pretty much knew what the other liked the most, and generally got along like we were the bestest friends ever. Did we really have to wait any longer?

I watched as Amore's ears drooped slowly as he looked away from me. His nervousness and hesitation were palpable in the air around us and I shifted anxiously on top of him. What could Amore really be afraid of for him to act so... unlike him? To hesitate this much?

"Awra, Eigh..." he mumbled numbly, his tongue lolling about in his mouth this and that way as he tried to fight against the venom running through his system. I rolled my eyes with a huff, regurgitating some honey up and feeding him about a small cup's worth to 'fix' my mistake. Not that I particularly felt like it was one, to be honest. A 'shot' of mixed emotions was the only effective antidote we have come across so far, one that didn't work instantly but would definitely speed up the recovery period by a significant amount. I wasn't sure I actually wanted to hear his excuses this time but I felt like he at least deserved a chance to explain himself.

I waited a couple of minutes, snuggling myself against him in the meantime. His body heat felt really nice and comforting even as I started to feel a little bit saddened. Oh, who am I kidding? I was silently starting to cry as the only thing on my mind was his silence as his legs slowly embraced me and the damn empty feeling of my marehood, constantly reminding me that there was a nice dick attached to a handsome stallion just within reach.

It really was torture, this temptation. I wasn't quite sure if my riling him up under the influence of venom served its purpose of teasing him or if I was just teasing myself with that. My goal was so close, and yet, I wasn't allowed to reach out and take my price for myself (not yet, at least).

Sometimes, I wished I could be more selfish and do the unthinkable, meddling with his mind so that he wouldn't be so prudish and just fuck me already. But that was something I cannot do. Not to him and not to myself. It wouldn't even be the same thing, really. It would be forever tainted by the knowledge that I made him do it, a pony I loved even more than I loved myself.

He really is the perfect husband material. He is nice, caring, and he doesn't succumb to my pheromones enough to rape me. What more could a girl want? A wedding, I suppose. And sex. Lots of sex.

"Ara, you know I love you, right?" Amore hummed and I nodded weakly. My eyes were still fixated on that yummy dick of his and the little droplet of pre cum leaving the slightly glistening tip. "And I know you love me, it's not really hard to miss that. It's just—... ugh. Do you know what a royal wedding usually means?"

"A lot of kinky sex?" I asked, gulping thickly as that droplet finally slid down that meaty rod of his, begging me to take it, all of it. I licked my lips dryly. "Can I..?"

"Ara, please," he mumbled, slowly shifting my head up so that I was looking up into his eyes. His golden, adorable, innocent eyes. Full of hesitation and insecurity. "Can you take this seriously for a moment? That's all that I ask of you."

"Alright," I sighed, shutting out the complaints of my needy snatch. It wasn't easy. It never was.

"As a noble, certain things are expected of you," he began and I was tempted to shatter his worldview, but I guess things were a bit different in this world, after all. If a pony as virtuous as Amore could exist here, then there has to be some truth to it, right? Although he is kinda the exception to the rule, I’m pretty sure of that. "And among those things are purity and chastity. I can't just throw that away on a whim, even if I want to. It would not only look bad for me but also the whole Empire if it became known I had... s-sex before marriage."

"So?" I asked, my wings chirping in slight irritation. "Your point is kinda mood, I already had sex with a lot more ponies than I care to count."

Amore grumbled, trying to rub his eyes tiredly with a floppy hoof. I stopped him before he could hit himself, as funny as that scene would have been. "You are... you. I...”—he let out a hmph, frustrated—” Okay, let’s just forget the chastity part for now. What I'm trying to say is... a royal wedding comes with a lot of attention. It is meant to be a big flashy event, showing off to the world that we are a powerful nation and not to be messed with. It's a show of military might, wealth, power, and fortune. Other nations might look to us and see a weakness if we make this a 'just us' thing. Trust me, I really want to marry you as soon as it is possible, but with the umbrum right on our doorstep..."

"You fear we are painting an even larger target on our backs," I realized. It made sense, too. Every other nation would see us as a laughing stock for being 'so weak' that we couldn't even deal with a pest right on our doorstep. The fact that the umbrum weren't so easily dealt with didn't matter since that's all they would see. A nation hiding behind a shield because they were weak.

"Besides," Amore said, nudging me with a smile. "What about that dress of yours? Don't you want to wear that instead of rags?"

"It's about halfway done, thanks to my changelings," I said, smiling like the proud mother that I was. They were so productive, it was downright astonishing. "We might even finish it sooner once the next workers and drones start emerging."

"When are you going to lay again?" he asked and I hummed. That was a good question. I haven't started feeling the urge yet, but I knew it couldn't be that long now until I would.

"The last time, I think I started to lay the next batch about a week after my first workers and drones emerged," I answered. "Why?"

"I'm just curious," he answered and I raised a questioning brow at that, nudging him inquisitively to prompt him to explain himself further. "Can't I be interested in it? It's unlike anything I have ever seen and I'd like to be a part of it, someday."

Huh. He looked downright jealous that he couldn’t be a part of it. And for some reason, he looked so sad he couldn’t have the same thing I did. Fuck. It broke my heart to see him like that and having to tell him that I was practically a walking ‘Rape me!’ sign during that time of the year.

"I don't think you could resist my pheromones when I get ready to lay," I warned him despite my vagina protesting against me, trying to convince me that it was just about the best idea ever. Too bad that the queen's instincts in me to keep anything away from the hive that wasn't a changeling were a lot stronger than that. The hive is a sacred place and it would take a lot of convincing to let an outsider near it. And that’s not just me but also my workers. I just know they would throw a fit if I even suggested it. They definitely would get uppity with me the closer he comes to the nursery. "Heck, my drones are banned from going too deep into the hive for a good reason, Amore. Trust me, it wouldn't be me raping you down there."

"Are your pheromones really that bad when you... you know..?"

"They are bad enough that even my workers are having a hard time keeping their hooves to themselves instead of fucking each other's brains out," I told him and I wasn’t even joking about it. "I'm doing you a favor here, Amore. Stay. Out. Of. The. Hive."

While Amore didn't look like he was entirely convinced by my warning words, he did promise me he wouldn't do something stupid if he could help it. Which left us with our original topic.

"All I'm saying is that we don't really need to impress anyone," I huffed. "It's stupid. I mean, I'm all for a big flashy wedding and all that, but... weren't you the one insisting on doing this out of love instead of what others expect from you? What happened to that?"

"I..." Amore hesitated, fidgeting. "Well.. yes. But... I don't want you to be disappointed in me. I want you to have the best day of your life, and be the center of attention like you deserve. I don't want you to think I'm not putting an effort into this... and, uh..." He bit his lip, too ashamed to continue.

"What?" I asked, nudging him as he started to clam up on me. "Come on, you can tell me. It's really sweet of you to want to make our wedding the most exciting day in our lives, but I don't really need that. As narcissistic as I can be sometimes, all I want is to be with you. In every sense of the word."

Amore sighed. "...I kind of want to show you off to the world and make every other nation jealous that I got you instead of them," he muttered, blushing brightly and I blinked. What?

That’s... wow. "I think I must have misheard you there..." I said, giving him a disbelieving look. "Surely you didn't just say you wanted to brag about your marefriend like a little colt on the playground."

"I... damnit, Ara. Yes, I want to show you off because I feel so incredibly lucky to have you," Amore grumbled, holding me possessively to himself. "You are the only one that ever saw me for me and not some rich noble that could have whomever he wanted. You are so incredibly genuine and you don't care what others think of you because your very presence demands them to respect you. You constantly put me on a pedestal, but... I do, too. You make me want to stay with you simply because... you are you. You, Arachne, and Shadra. There's nopony else I'd rather be with and I want to let the world know that. I want them to envy me for having the perfect wife, for having the most beautiful Queen to myself."

I stared into his eyes, losing myself in them like every other time, and simply returned his passionate words with a passionate kiss. A kiss so passionate, I felt him grow hard against me as my own erection joined his.

I smiled into the kiss, my wings chirping up a storm while I did my best to breathe in. It was difficult to do so, though. Amore definitely was playing dirty, his arms hugging me fiercely as he teased me with the tip of his dick. He was an ass but I loved it. It felt nice, him rubbing it against my own.

His fear and hesitation about embracing his gay desires were long since gone and I really wanted to go one step further with him. A small step, but a step nonetheless.

"Can I..?" I asked, glancing down meaningfully. Amore gulped visibly but did give me a hesitant nod, his dick giving a few small twitches. I smiled reassuringly, leaning in for a kiss.

Slowly, I started to grind myself against him as I threw my forelegs around his neck, feeling his breath begin to quicken against mine.

"Just... just so that you... mhn~... know," I panted, starting to smirk as his embarrassment of being naughty began to show on his face, clearly liking it despite his prudish upbringing. "Once we are married... I... ahn~... I'm so gonna fuck you up your ass, Snowflake."

"W-w-what..?" Amore stammered, his face exploding in an even deeper red blush than it already was. "Ara, I-I-I... I, uh..."

I chuckled, feeling his dick harden even further, sandwiched between our stomachs. "Mhh, we're going to fuck all night long like wild animals, you won't be able to feel anything for a month straight. And then... then I'm going to smear our mixed fluids all over my dick and ram it into your plot so hard, you're going to cry out like a subservient cock slut and start begging me to take you until you are mine. Just like I will plead with you to fill me up to the brim~."

Amore, much to my surprise, started to bleed from his left nostril, his emotions a total and utter mess. Even more surprising was the sudden orgasm as he shuddered against me, pressing his forehead against the side of my muzzle while shooting his spunk against us with heavy twitches from his dick.

I smiled softly, stroking his mane gently as he began to calm down from his high, bringing my muzzle to his own in a chaste kiss. "You're something else, you know that?"

"You're a deviant," he muttered back, grabbing me tightly as he forced his tongue into my mouth in a needy display of pure want. "Did you really mean that? The... t-the fucking me in m-my p-plot?" he asked me shyly.

I blinked. "Uh," I hummed hesitantly, trying to get my breathing back under control after the... it wasn't a kiss, that's for sure. It was much more than that. "I mean, after a reaction like that? Wow. I'm gonna do everything you want me to do and then some."

"Even if... e-even if I ask you to, uh... I mean, ehm..." he stammered, fidgeting around unsurely.

I tilted my head, trying to figure out what it was he was so embarrassed about. His blush was still there, more of a light tint now, but... wait a moment. He only ever got that flustered when talking about sex and...

My eyes widened as I felt him rub his tip against mine (on purpose, I might add) and I realized exactly what it was that he wanted to experience.

A flash of fire later, I heard my Snowflake squeak before sputtering around like a little colt. I grinned roguishly as I leaned my head in closer, brushing my muzzle against his ear in a feather-light touch. "Is this what you wanted?" I asked in a deep and dark voice.

Amore gulped thickly, his breath shakier than I have ever felt it against my chitin (or fur currently). His voice failed spectacularly as he tried to answer me and it made me chuckle deeply.

"Why are you so embarrassed, my cute stallion?" I asked, pressing my muzzle roughly against the side of his head, biting down on a strand of his mane and tugging at it softly. Then I kissed the side of his ear with a smirk. "Does this turn you on?"

I knew the answer before I even asked, but I wanted to hear him say it. I wanted him to admit it, embrace his feelings like he should have done oh-so-long ago now. He was a tough piece of work, wasn't he? His family's teachings were holding him down so much, he couldn't even embrace his own heart and desires out of fear of reprisal.

A story I was quite familiar with, Shadra even more so. The best realization we have ever come to is that we don't need to meet anyone's expectations but our own. Live your own life, not that which others want you to live. Listen and take advice into consideration, but don't let anyone dictate what you can or cannot do.

The gist of it? Be gay as fuck if that is what you want. Chase tail and let yours be chased, fuck stallions and mares, take it while giving it, and... just be you. Whether you are gay, bisexual, polyamorous, or whatever. Express your love in whatever way as long as it makes you and your partner(s) happy. Don't try to appease others, and more importantly, don't force upon others what you 'think' is right.

<Laying it on pretty thick there, aren't we?> Shadra commented from the background and I snorted, bringing Snowflake in for a kiss as he was rendered speechless. Oh, he definitely was turned on by this.

<Shut up, stupid bitch,> I shot back, wrestling with Amore's tongue while hearing him sigh happily. <Once we've had our wedding night, I'm so gonna fuck you up your snatch, too.>

<Is that a promise~?> she asked me, voice filled with lust as she sent me a picture of her bedroom eyes practically begging me to fuck her silly. <Are you going to be the big, strong stallion, My Queen?>

<Oh, I don't need to be, but if that is what it takes? Count me in~,> I answered, smirking again.

"I love you."

"Hmm?" I hummed, quirking a brow at that sudden statement.

"I. Love. You," Amore repeated, giving me a peck after each word. "I can't say it enough. I love you. You, not whatever disguise you put on whenever you feel like it. You are beautiful, loving, and kind. Everything I ever wanted in, well... the special somepony stealing my heart. You are the perfect... uh... stallion and mare, I guess. Everything a pony could want."

I smiled. "Now, was that so hard to admit?" I asked, nipping his lip with my teeth.

"That I love you..?"

I snorted, amused. He’s so dense, sometimes. "No, you dummy," I told him, shifting slightly on top of him. "Being gay for dick."

"I, uh..."

I sighed, hitting him on the top of his head (although I was mildly tempted to hit his horn, instead).

He winced. "Ow! What the fuck, Ara?!" he snorted, glaring up at me as he rubbed the aching spot. "What was that for?!"

"For being stupid," I answered with a shrug, hearing Shadra snicker quietly to herself in the background. She probably deserved a hit over the noggin', too. Just ‘cause.

Amore pouted. "You're stupid," he grumbled back and I snorted. No argument there, but that's another topic entirely.

"Okay," I sighed, licking my lips as a bit of mischievousness reared its ugly head in me. "Repeat after me, dear."

Amore narrowed his eyes in suspicion and I merely stared back at him until he relented. I had to suppress the snickers from escaping my muzzle.

"I..." I began, prompting him to repeat my words after me and he did so reluctantly.

"...am stupid for the following reasons," he said and I had to nudge him more than once to keep up the good work. You know... embarrassing my Snowflake should be my special talent. It comes really easily to me. "I am gay for... Ara, seriously, I... Ow! Dammit, fine! I am gay for dick and would like to stuff my future wife’s snatch full with mine but I am a prudish idiot that... I'm not going to repeat that, Ara! My family is total and utter garbage, I get it. No need to rub it in. You really can't help yourself, can you?"

"Aww, you love it," I teased him with a bright smile. "You can keep pretending otherwise, but you won't fool me! Mwahaha!"

"Yeah, no... that villain laugh doesn't work with that voice," Amore pointed out, his own smile growing on his muzzle as mine turned into a pout. I perked back up as he gave me a nuzzle, though. "I suppose you are right, Araneae. I really should get over this dumb fear of being judged by some arbitrary standards my family tried to force on me. In the end, we're all ponies deep down. So... yes, I love you. I love you both as a stallion and as a mare. Whatever form you take on, I love you."

"Aww, that's so sweet of you to say, dear," I said, touching the tip of my muzzle against his appreciatively. "I love you, too. Even if you do get old and wrinkly while I stay forever beautiful until the end of time."

"Getting a bit full of yourself there, aren't you?" he smiled and I sniffed haughtily in an imitation of Shadra (I obviously didn't do it nearly enough justice, but it was good enough for me). "Maybe we should go take a bath now. It's getting mildly uncomfortable with, uh..."

"Your own cum staining your fur?" I asked, grinning. "What a waste of perfectly good sperm..."

"Shut up and I'll let you touch me a while longer."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Suffice it to say, things got steamy~. Two sexy stallions touching each other while wet... fuck. That's going to serve as pretty good masturbation material. Not that Arachne, Shadra, and I needed it, but... hot damn! I wish I had a camera to make porn with.

We should get around to that at some point, seriously. Crafting lenses wasn't going to be that much of a problem, actually. Creating everything else, on the other hoof, is going to be a pain in the flank, I just know it. There was a remarkable lack of precious metals around these parts, it was quite surprising, to be honest.

Although now that I was thinking about it... how would ponies even use cameras? Changelings kinda have the advantage in that regard, but we are a minority in the Empire at best. We have to keep accessibility in mind, which further complicates the endeavor to... uh... 'borrow' Earth's technologies.

A camera was relatively simple to use, actually. The very basic ones would only need a trigger, and going one step further, adjustable lenses and a flash. Making the film is going to be an entirely different matter, though. We just don't have the tools and machines to get something so flimsy and thin made. It would probably be easier to skip the analog cameras entirely and try to make digital ones, instead.

Which would also be quite the challenge, to be honest. But... maybe it won't be as difficult as I thought it might be.

I was thinking about this the wrong way, I realized. I shouldn't be asking myself what materials I would need in order to recreate modern technology from scratch. What I should be asking myself instead is what this world has to offer in terms of materials that could 'emulate' modern technology, for lack of a better word.

The simple answer to my goal of bringing porn... ahem, I mean the internet... to my Empire was not to 'copy' but to 'invent' new ways to do pretty much the same thing. I need to think outside the box while figuratively cheating my ass off looking at what the thing inside the box looks like and is able to do.

The solution to inventing something that was already invented without using any of the components the original is made out of was (insert dramatic drum roll here)... magic! A force so unknown and prone to do whatever it wants to was going to replace good old physics, and by Amore's perfect testicles, I swear I won't go mad trying to make it work!

No guarantees for Arachne and Shadra, though. I'm no scientist, after all. I just come up with the brilliant ideas. Besides, both of my Princesses would no doubt go insane if I so much as tried to help them do science.

I know my limitations and would very much prefer it if someone else blew up their face instead of me. And it's not like Arachne and Shadra weren't used to it by now, anyway, since they always like to 'experiment' with each other so much.

Anyway! As it turns out, Arachne already had an answer to the very thing I thought of doing. The only problem with that was creating a way for us to store a lot more energy in them than what we previously assumed they were capable of. Mana gems. Or as was the case: mana crystals.

It took her a lot of fiddling around, but eventually, she started to get the hang of it. While the purity of a crystal played a big role in how much it could store (and oftentimes, bigger did not mean better), the real trick was the shape. The rougher the cut was, the less energy the crystal could (safely) hold. And let's not go into any further detail as to what happens if you (somehow) manage to overload a crystal.

Suffice it to say, an overloaded crystal makes the thing crumble to pieces in a somewhat explosive fashion upon release of the energy stored within, completely ruining a perfectly good crystal (and all the effort put into creating it, in the first place).

With the matter of supplying energy out of the way, the actual tricky part could begin. Making a circuit (and more importantly, a processing unit).

Magic, by its very nature, is wild. Uncontrolled. Willful. It isn't easily bound, contained, and controlled, but it is easily nudged in the right direction (otherwise, unicorns would never be able to shape it with their horns). The issue with this is the problem that we have no idea how to shield any potential device from outside interference, pretty much guaranteeing a short circuit by default since this world is chock-full of magic.

First things first, we need something to 'conduct' magic and ground it. The thing is, the smaller we try to carve crystals into a circuit board, the likelier the mana was to just 'stay put', so to speak. We needed to give it the incentive to interact with the circuit as a current instead of staying stuck in the crystal.

It was a sluggish process, to be honest, trying to figure this conundrum out. The magic just liked to chill out and do nothing as soon as we tried building the most basic of basic things like a light switch. The light being another crystal more commonly found deeper down in the caverns, reacting to the mere presence of channeled magic (there apparently was a difference between regular mana and mana that was being used, Arachne tried explaining it with convoluted flow charts and slides, but I was still left scratching my head at the end of that lecture).

The saving idea came not from Arachne or Shadra (or me, for that matter), but from Amore. He did tell us about how his mother kept highly dangerous spiders around for her own sick amusement (and their silk, I suppose), telling us about how most wizard's garb was made out of magic-enhancing cloth.

Cloth made from silk. Silk that they got from spiders. Magic spiders.

It really was stupidly convenient to be part spider, it turns out. Not only was I basically Spider Bee Queen, I was magic Spider Bee Queen.

Yeah, in hindsight, we should have thought of that ages ago, but hindsight is twenty-twenty. Oh, well. It's not like our silk production shot through the roof ever since my first brood emerged.

Speaking of brood...

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered, staring at Polly. Or rather the egg she was protecting by hiding it behind her, her fellow worker's wings buzzing in agitation.

"I'm not giving it up," she said, glaring up at me and I sighed. I should have known this was going to happen eventually. Oh, wait... I did. What a fucking surprise. Not.

"I'm not telling you to get rid of it," I told her, moving past the nervous bunch of workers giving her (and the egg) a weary look.

Changelings, it seems, were very instinct-driven creatures. On a baser, more animalistic, and primal level, my workers were uneasy about the egg that, in their eyes, didn't belong here in the hive. Well... not really in their eyes, more like 'my very being is telling me to get rid of the thing that might not even share half of my genetic material if it hatches'.

Out of all the instincts, I think sharing the majority with honey bees was perhaps the worst thing about our kind of changeling. I dearly hope I won't have to deal with a rival hive vying for power anytime soon (preferably never, for that matter).

My concerns didn't lie with another changeling hive sharing the majority of their instincts with honey bees, though. What I fear are their more aggressive cousins.

A changeling race with the DNA of hornets...

Those things are nasty little buggers, there’s no arguing that fact. Basically, bees are nice, wasps are dicks, and hornets... they're like psychotic mass murderers on a good day.

I fear a fight against that kind of changeling will only end with nothing but carnage. One side would no doubt perish in its entirety, and depending on how 'productive' a changeling queen of the hornet variety would be, chances are my hive won't end up on top of the other in a fight.

And it wouldn't even end there. Hornets take everything from the hives they conquer. They steal and pillage, and they feed their young with the flesh of their enemies. Even my own larva wouldn't be spared, I knew that much.

As much as I hated the thought... if I ever come across one such hive, however unlikely it may seem... the only thing I could count on was human ingenuity, craftiness, and a whole truckload of fire. A. Lot. Of. Fire.

Basically, I would have to cheat my pretty flanks off, throw Shadra at the problem, and watch the ensuing fireworks. Whatever we end up doing, I hope we won't sacrifice our soul in its entirety trying to keep our hive safe.

I sighed as I slumped down gratefully in my little 'comfort zone', snuggling my blanket and the little pillow with more than one bite mark on it, glancing back at where the little stand-off was happening.

<They won't let Polly place it in the drone comb,> Arachne whispered over to me, brushing her presence against mine with a warm hum. <You know they will treat her nymph like an outsider in the hive as soon as it starts making a connection.>

<What do you propose we do, then?> I grumbled back, feeling more than a little bit uneasy about this situation (and not just because that egg wasn't mine, either). <The egg is innocent, as is Polly. She couldn't help herself, it was her body pushing this on her.>

<Workers are unable to lay fertilized eggs, are they not?> she said, making me furrow my brow. <Yes, yes, I know. We don't know for certain, but from what little glimpses we got of that egg, it certainly isn't going to develop into a worker larva.>

<Get to the point, Arachne,> I chided her, not in the mood for any sort of games on her part. Nor was I particularly patient right now. Her beating around the bush was annoying at the best of times.

It's not like it isn't endearing in its own way, but... sometimes, the only way to get her to focus on other things than her own thoughts was to remind her that not everyone had a friggin' supercomputer for a brain (even if we technically share it).

<Our workers won't tolerate the egg or any others that might follow,> Arachne began, silently telling me to let her explain herself without being interrupted again. I rolled my eyes but did what she asked of me. No need to be extra bitchy right before our body goes into overdrive again. I could already feel the need in my body like an unrelenting heat. <As it stands, only Shadra's partition of the hive mind could offer the drone a new home. A home where it would be safe and not treated as an outcast.

<None of our drones would raise a fuss at getting a new brother or sister in arms, which just leaves us with the ‘where’. Where is Polly going to take care of the larva? We would need to build an entirely new brood chamber away from the primary hive.

<The thing is, workers should be prohibited from entering the secondary hive simply to prevent any sabotage from happening. I doubt Polly is going to be the only one this is going to happen to, leaving us with a rather difficult conundrum.

<We won't be banishing anyling,> I growled. I couldn't believe how my faithful Princess could even suggest it, it was basically the death sentence for whoever laid the egg and the larva. <Only traitors to the hive shall ever befall that fate.>

I let out a mournful sigh and nodded ever so slightly. It was either that or...

<Wow, you are actually listening to her?> Shadra commented, sounding slightly scratchy and tired. <Whatever she talked you into, I'm sure that... hrmh... that there's... another way. I... fuck. I'm too tired for this shit...>

<Had fun playing around, Miss 'Soldier'?> I asked mirthfully, not even receiving a grumble from her, only another yawn. She really must have exhausted herself far beyond her limits to not bother responding to my jab with a snide comment.

<So... what's this about, anyway?>

<Right,> I pouted, kind of sad that I wasn't going to get to enjoy some banter with her. <Polly laid an egg.>

Shadra groaned. <Ugh. Let me guess,> she began, clearing her throat before continuing on with a poor imitation of Arachne's tone of voice. <I'm too fucking stupid to notice the obvious, I'mma convince Araneae she has to tell Polly that she can't keep her own egg, blah blah blah. Did I hit the mark?>

Arachne protested and Shadra laughed with a snort while teasing her a bit more.

<Are you both done?> I grumbled, my mood taking a nosedive into 'I'll rip your tongue out if you continue this' territory. <If you could enlighten us as to what the 'obvious' answer would be, Shadra?>

<Let her raise the 'ling with her herd, dumbass,> Shadra pointed out and I blinked.

<That is pretty obvious,> Arachne commented bashfully and I buried my head in between our forelegs. <I'm sorry, My Queen, I...>

<Save it,> I snarled, wings buzzing angrily for a second.

<I...>

<You know, her EQ is almost as bad as yours, but come on! You're supposed to come up with answers to help the hive!> I ranted, working myself up for no good reason.

<Exactly!> she shot back indignantly and I flinched back as if struck. I heard genuine anger in her voice, and... I have never been on the wrong end of that before with my faithful Princess. It was almost like a slap to the face, actually. <I'm supposed to help the hive in whatever way I can and make sure you idiots don't burn the Empire down, not help some fucking larva that isn't even ours!>

My head snapped towards the sound of scrambling hooves and felt my ears wilt. Polly was gone, and so was the egg.

<Great. Look at what the 'genius' has wrought,> Shadra hissed harshly, throwing me into the backseat as she sprang forth into action. <Fuck you, too, Ara. Seriously.>

<Just... find her,> I sighed, retreating back into the hive mind in depression. <I'm sorry, Polly. I'm sure she didn't mean it like that.>

No reply came from my distraught firstborn, and Arachne flinched back under my withering glare, looking like a lost puppy that knew it did something wrong. At least she was remorseful. Otherwise, I would have been a lot harsher with her.

"Ara, I..."

I brushed past her briskly, not sparing her a single glance as I made my way out of the tall structure that would become our home and palace when it was finally finished. We already had the base laid out, and construction is going into full swing as soon as we are capable of overseeing the efforts.

I moved out towards the outskirts where our current home stood in the waking world, coming to a halt next to a crystalline tree.

"I thought I might find you here," I whispered, looking down at the sleeping form of my daughter. "Shadra is on her way to you..."

With a sigh, I lowered myself down so that I was curled up against her protectively, my gaze wandering back to the tree. She still misses her sibling...

"I promise, you won't have to let go of your little one."

The little ‘ling next to me shifted. "Thank you... Mom."

A smile came to my muzzle as she leaned herself further into me, and I started licking the tears away from her puffy eyes with gentle care. I hated seeing my children so distraught. It hurt my very soul.

"Did Shadra find you?" I asked and felt her nod imperceptibly against my side. "Did she tell you about..?"

"Yeah..." she sighed, burying her head underneath my chin with another sniffle. "Why would Mother say something like that?"

"Arachne—” I started before cutting myself off with a shake of my head. “No, not just Arachne. I can be pretty stupid as well, sometimes," I explained. "While I got the majority of our empathy, my other two halves were gifted with the majority of our intellect. Shadra is somewhere in between me and Arachne, which doesn't mean any one of us can't make mistakes. Intellect does not equal wisdom, nor does it tell you how good one is at social interactions.

"We are all awkward in our own ways, dear. I rely too much on Arachne and Shadra to help me out when my own capabilities fail me. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm nowhere near as brilliant as my Princesses, but... sometimes, that brilliance can blind someling to what is right in front of them. Arachne isn't very 'good' with emotions. To her, everything is an experiment, a thesis to be proven as a fact or disproven as false.

"And that also sadly means she sees certain things as absolute, irrefutable facts once she comes to a conclusion. She tries, mind you, but she won't easily change her mind if there is no good reason for it. To her, we are so similar to honey bees in our behavior, we might as well be bees."

I couldn't help the snort that escaped me as I said that sentence, and judging by how Polly shook for a moment there, she was as amused as I was about it.

My daughter sniffed. "It hurt, hearing her say that," she mumbled and I hummed in agreement. It hurt not only her, for that matter.

"I know, dear," I muttered, stroking her head softly. "I know."

We stayed quiet after that, me comforting her and her listening to my heartbeat until she fell properly asleep.

This was just going to be one of many instances where we would have to adjust our way of thinking, I was almost certain of that. Arachne needs to learn how to actually interact with other ponies and changelings, not just 'pretend' to be polite and understanding.

The cost of great intellect... I doubt the sacrifice to empathy was worth the gain of being a genius. All it gets you is a world full of people that couldn't dare to hope and keep up with you while you yourself were left behind in other areas.

What good was the throne on top of the mountain if you were the only one sitting on it? What good was intellect if you lacked the wisdom to truly understand? What good was knowledge if you had no idea what to do with it? No one to share it with?

Arachne already has the advantage of being able to sense emotions, but she tried to put rational rules to something that didn't need those rules but an understanding of how those feelings affect others.

She really was a clueless bug about psychology. Oh, she could analyze others pretty well, scarily so even, but that's just it. She's 'analyzing' somepony based on her textbook definition of psychology. She is still trying to apply rules to everything and anything, trying to fit molds that could not always be made to fit.

While Shadra is nowhere near as bad as her in that regard, my bitchy little Princess could be... well... pretty bitchy. Her go-to response was snideness and anger. Or embarrassment, it depends on the situation, really. Things like showing a little bit of weakness is just one thing that makes her deeply uncomfortable, and along the same lines, being a caring person made her vulnerable to being abused in her eyes. Hence her general hesitation about... anything, really. It took her a lot of trust to let her walls down, and trust was one of those things we didn't have much in abundance.

Even I had my reservations about that. Heck, I probably was the least trusting out of the three of us. I was already suspicious of other potential changeling hives based purely on speculation that they 'may' share their DNA with everybody's mortal enemy: evil, murderous hornets.

One thing we need to get rid of is the idea that, just because we share 'some' of our genetic makeup with 'some' kind of honey bee and my pet spider's kind of spider, we are by no means comparable to mindless insects.

Simply put: we don't abandon family. We are civilized beings that are a bit instinct-driven here and there, sure, but civilized beings nonetheless. There's no reason to let our instincts dictate what is right and what is wrong (except sex... sex is always good... as long as it is consensual and not with minors).

We, as a civilized, social species, are above petty survival instincts that dictate that only our offspring should survive. Besides, bees are stupid. Just because your queen shares most of your genetics with you doesn't mean your niece or nephew (or grandchild, in my case) would share none with you. Granted, drones are born from unfertilized eggs, meaning they are haploid and a product of asexual reproduction, which... is pretty weird, to say the least.

The whole thing gets even more complicated from a biological point of view. The thing is a drone shares half their chromosomes with their mother (usually me). Taking that into account, it's no wonder why the other workers get so upset about drones that didn't come from either me or themselves.

A drone from an egg laid by a worker shares half of their chromosomes with their mother. So far, so good. Now, if that drone was born from an egg laid by a worker, it doesn't share a lot in common with the other workers in the hive anymore. Said worker who laid that egg has half of my chromosomes and whatever gene juice was contributed to the cocktail with the sperm used to fertilize 'their' egg, meaning the drone doesn't even have to share 'my' half, and thus, we have the problem of workers not wanting other workers to lay eggs.

Of course, this was a gross oversimplification and by no means the only explanation for that behavior. It is just the most likely one. The animal kingdom does exhibit that kind of behavior plenty of times by new suitors getting rid of the old one's progeny.

That was such a sad outlook to have, really. A life snuffed out just because they weren't 'theirs'. That kind of behavior has no place whatsoever in my hive and Arachne would do well to remember that fact. And so would the rest of my workers, too. There are only so many things I could tolerate, and if it concerns the life and death of an unborn life, I knew no ifs, ands, or buts. Only the one responsible for carrying that life to their birth gets to have a say in the matter, and only if they have a damn good reason for not doing so would I grant them the freedom to end the growth of an unborn child prematurely.

It was one thing to stop life from developing far enough along to be considered a proper being and another to end it at a stage where it would be considered murder. A life already born has the right to exist. It is as simple as that, end of story. If you aren’t going to care for them, find someone that would instead of neglecting them. That’s the bare minimum you could do.

And above all else, you cannot tell others they shouldn’t get to be a parent if they want to be. That’s just cruel.

Clearly, my eldest daughter intended to see things through to the end and I would be remiss to not respect her decision to become a mother herself. She had the right to make that decision and nopony would get to dictate it for her. Not even I.

After all, that privilege did not belong solely to me in the hive. Or to the drones that have found a mate outside of the hive. I won't stand that kind of behavior from my own children (or their children, for that matter).

This hive was built upon the foundation of being able to love whomever you want and that does not only mean romantic love. Those that want to become a parent are free to do so. After all, the love of a parent is a very beautiful thing if one allows it to become a reality.

Thus, another absolute rule was added to the will of the hive that day. If one desires it, they are permitted to raise their own young regardless of their origins. That also entails the condition that they are shown the care and love they deserve. Those that do not heed this requirement will earn the ire of the hive in its entirety and be punished for their transgressions accordingly. I will not tolerate anyling that neglects their duty as a parent, it’s as simple as that.

Granted, there are going to be those that couldn't properly take care of their offspring due to one reason or another, but we already had a solution for that in mind, don't we? A separate hive nursery would be needed, not just for the larva that couldn't be looked after by their parent twenty-four-seven, but also for those that would undergo pupation at one point or another.

Thankfully, Polly's egg found a loving place in her herd, being cared for twenty-four-seven with the kindness it deserved. It truly warmed my heart to see it treated like a part of their family already.

And as it turned out, Polly wasn't the only 'ling that laid an egg around that time (aside from myself, that is). Two more workers ended up laying an egg each and Shadra followed up on the promise we had given to Polly that they would get to keep them, building a secondary hive on the other side of the Crystal Empire in preparation for the time when they would start to pupate.

The new hive was a simple, small chamber with barely enough space for a hundred eggs and would be mainly guarded by our 'soldiers' (that still sounds absolutely ridiculous, by the way). Only the drones that emerge from there, the workers that were responsible for laying them, and my own drones would have access to the new brood chamber. Not even I myself was allowed to enter it for the purpose of depositing my own eggs there.

Of course, as soon as they start to pupate, those workers would lose their 'visiting' rights to ensure nothing untoward would happen to the other eggs and larvae. Shadra preferred to be thorough and that meant being careful above all else. Rightly so, too.

Once I was able to leave the brood chamber without causing half of the Empire to rape me (sometimes I really hate my pheromones... if only I hadn't given my promise to Amore, I could have been in heaven right now), we finally began with the construction of the giant crystal di—uh... I mean, doom laser. Yep.

While my attendants and caretakers busied themselves with taking care of the eighty-ish eggs I laid during this cycle (a bit less than I thought it was going to be if the trend had kept up, to be honest), the rest of my workers assisted us in our efforts to get the scaffolding set up in a secure way with the help of a bit of changeling silk here and there.

Those that felt like they could spare a little extra helped out Orchard and Proper Stitch with crafting enough fabric for my dress (and then some).

According to Serene, they were thinking of tailoring the suit for Amore with the same fabric... while strictly sticking to the design Shadra gave them under the threat of shaving them bald if they even thought of deviating from it.

What can I say? Shadra really wanted to see him in a white dre—Uh... suit. Yeah... suit. He was definitely going to wear a suit. There’s no particular reason why Shadra fantasized about our Snowflake wearing a gorgeous dress. Nope. Amore doesn’t act effeminate from time to time at all. Nope. Never. And I’m definitely not bleeding from my nostril at the mere thought of him being all subby for me.

Anyway! On to more pressing matters. I watched with fascinated eyes as Arachne sent a spark of magic into the little contraption she had built (kick-starting the 'engine', so to speak), and heard her cheer as the light turned on with a low hum.

She actually did it, I mused, very much impressed. <So... how does this work?>

"It's pretty simple, actually," she responded, shifting giddily back and forth on her hooves. Judging by how Amore's ears perked up, he was also curious to find out how this was able to function. "The basic power is provided by the mana crystal which siphons its energy from the crystal network, aka the streets, but to get it flowing properly, the spell matrix needs a sense of 'intent'. I simply gave it a nudge and the ball went rolling from there. Now, if it weren't for the changeling silk acting as organic pathways (or as the cables, rather), we would still be stuck on getting the circuit to work in the first place! Isn't this great? Eee!"

Amore hummed, intrigued. "And this is supposed to be able to hold entire libraries’ worth of knowledge?" he asked us and my Princess snorted in a way that told me she thought she just heard the greatest joke in the history of jokes.

Before Arachne could say something (probably something insensitive), I nudged her away from the driver's seat and took control of our body, at the same time changing the colors of our shell, eyes, and wings to those of my own while I was at it. "It's a proof of concept, Snowflake. This thing working basically tells us we can replicate computers from our world, and with that, the internet."

Arachne grumbled in the background. <Just because I was an insensitive idiot once doesn't mean I always am,> she pouted at me and I sighed.

<...>

I whispered back, slightly disappointed in my faithful Princess. <I know you don't mean it like that, I would be surprised if you of all 'lings did, but... when those hurtful comments slip through your brain-to-mouth filter, it hurts. It hurts not only those you are talking to, and I know you know this very well, but it also hurts me. You are a good 'ling, my love. You helped me like no one else could and you continue to stand by my side even though I am no doubt driving you and Shadra insane. You two are the reason I keep on going, and... I don’t want to see you, either one of you, be like that. I know you are better than that, my faithful Princess.>

<I’m sorry, My Queen,> she responded meekly.

I snorted out a giggle and rolled my eyes, smiling in amusement. She didn't need to tell me that twice. After all... <Shadra and I aren’t better in that regard, to be honest. People (and ponies, I guess) are frustrating to deal with, but that doesn’t mean we have to be a dick to them, you know? Shadra is bitchy enough for the three of us, we don’t need to add on to that.>

<You’re probably correct with that,> she giggled. <I’ll try to keep the ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude to a bare minimum. And I’ll try to make it up to Polly, too. I don’t like the thought of chaos in the hive, having no control over who lays eggs doesn’t sit right with me, but... I should also see this for what it truly is: the hive growing larger, and more importantly, stronger.>

<That it does,> I nodded. <That it does...>

And not only in the way of our larva being far more healthy with the proper nutrition of royal jelly during the first few weeks after they hatch from their eggs but also because of the effort Shadra put into training her ‘soldiers’. They were shaping up very nicely, I have to admit. Already they were proving themselves quite capable in all things combat-related.

Where they truly excelled, though, was stealth. On more than one occasion, I had been completely unaware that I was being watched until they revealed themselves to me. They could even pose as water cups with actual fluid in them that was, for all intents and purposes, actual water. Because that’s what it was. It was a rather ingenious shapeshifting trick, using the water in the body to fill the glass, bottle, bowl, or what-have-you with liquid. To the casual observer, there was nothing wrong with the water or the container, but to those that knew better, the water tasted ‘stale’, for lack of a better word.

The thing about disguising yourself as a cup of porcelain or glass was the rather uncomfortable possibility of hitting the ground if someone wasn’t careful while holding you up or just plain clumsy. It is one of the prime ways of forcing a changeling to drop their disguise, especially with objects that ‘should’ be fragile. Those that could keep their disguise upright were few and far between, but those that are able to keep their form even with the possibility of shattering into pieces were true masters of shapeshifting magic.

Theoretically, that is. So far, none of our changelings were able to do something like that. It might be possible, for all we know. But testing it was rather... difficult. Keeping the disguise up while shattered like that was also a prime way to sustain lasting injuries upon returning to one’s base form. Even with masterful control, I’d rather prefer for my changelings to drop their disguise before they could impact the ground in such a fragile form.

Of course, there was a way to circumvent the issue by substituting one characteristic with another. Something like... I don't know... breakable and unbreakable. Obviously, doing so had its own disadvantages that could just as easily lead to being discovered and it wasn't like it didn't come with other drawbacks as well. Changing the physical properties of materials that should not possess them drains more energy than it would if you did not meddle around with such things in the first place.

But... to be honest? It was kinda funny to watch a glass bounce around like rubber.

One field of magic that is apparently exclusive to queens is mind magic. Our drones and workers were totally incapable of manipulating others to their advantage, which was perhaps for the best. Such an ability is dangerous at the best of times, I don’t need to worry about potential rival hives brainwashing my ponies or turning my own hive against me.

Another thing we found out along those lines was the way our drones and workers were... well, not quite immune but pretty resistant against active mind magic. It took us considerable willpower to breach the first layer of defense, trying to read surface thoughts. And it was basically impossible to do so with another queen. The running theory Arachne had to explain that phenomenon was that we were basically the center of the hive mind, and thus, had an entire ‘fortress’ protecting our mind, and to an extent, that of our children.

Slowly but surely, things started to take on shape over the following couple of years. The city was an actual city now instead of a messy bunch of half-done houses, empty streets, massive farmlands, and gigantic piles of crystals of all shapes and sizes. On top of that, the hive was starting to number more than five hundred individual changelings and we probably had more foals than I cared to count running about where their curious muzzles weren’t supposed to be.

I had to tell Silver Locket (a pretty crafty filly that quickly made a name for herself in the Empire, and not always for good reasons) that no, the hive is not an epic, adventure-filled tomb with countless ancient treasures to appropriate and that it is very easy to get lost in the tunnels if you don’t know your way around them (or had someone come find you with a quick ping for assistance). Her herd mothers were incredibly relieved to learn she didn’t wander off outside the barrier into the actual monster-infested wilds and her father could only roll his eyes as his daughter apparently took after him in more ways than one.

I guess even in this world, the thought of hunting for ancient treasures guarded by traps and supernatural monsters was more enticing than staying the fuck alive. Seriously, there are some tunnels in the hive that had a pretty steep drop that could have ended very poorly, very quickly for the little filly. And for some reason, she somehow managed to get her butt mark for daring to brave dangers no five-year-old should. How she even managed to give her parents and herd siblings the slip was beyond me (and those keeping an eye on her, for that matter). It was like one moment she was still there and in the next, she was already in deep, playing tomb raider without a care in the world.

She will grow up to accomplish great things, I can tell. Or die a quick and painful death, chances are fifty-fifty. Whatever she ends up doing, I hope she won’t drag anypony else into it. And let’s just hope she won’t get into any shenanigans with actual dangerous artifacts. One doomsday device was enough for this Empire, I swear.

Speaking of said heart-shaped doomsday device...

"We are going to have to move it," I said, standing on the platform on top of the Crystal Palace together with Amore. The Crystal Heart was floating in the center of it like it always did and... it looked so innocuous, spinning lazily around like that. Almost like the fate of the entire world didn't depend on it staying in one piece.

"Yes, we will have to do that," he said matter-of-factly before he gave me a comforting nuzzle on the side of my head with a serene smile. To be honest, Amore practically was born to be a Prince (technically Emperor soon, but that title sounds kind of menacing in my ears, so Prince it is). He had that air of 'trust in me' around him. It was hard to find a mean bone in him, really. If there even is a shred of darkness in him, in the first place. That's probably the prime reason the Crystal Heart bonded to him, isn't it? His pure heart. "In a month or two, when the Palace is finally finished. Have a bit of patience, dear."

"Patience, my ass," I grumbled, pouting at him. "I've been plenty patient already, let's send these fuckers back to where they came from and regain our freedom."

"Language, dear," he admonished me, although there clearly was an endearing smile threatening to spread on his muzzle as his eyes twinkled with mirth.

"I'm allowed to swear as much as I fucking want while in private," I said, cheekily sticking my tongue out at him. "And the umbrum actually deserve it. That and so much more."

"They are going to attack, as soon as they notice us get ready to move the Heart," he pointed out. I followed his gaze out towards where the barrier stood strong. They were there, waiting. Always waiting. Watching. Scheming.

"It's going to drop," I stated grimly, glancing towards him with a frown on my muzzle, scared. "Isn't it?"

"...yes, I'm afraid so," Amore nodded, looking down at me with a frown of his own. I could tell he was nervous, but he didn’t let it show in his posture. "As long as it keeps floating here, powering the shield, it won't move. This is where it chose to project its power, the highest point it could reach without leaving my range."

"And you are sure you can't just tell it to go down?" I asked, unsure.

As if to prove his point, Amore gave the thing a nudge, only for it to bounce back into place a moment later while the shield dimmed the slightest bit until regaining its vibrant glow almost instantaneously. The Crystal Heart pulsed for a moment, almost like it was panicking at having left its designated spot.

Of course, the damn thing just had to have a mind of its own, damnit. Why can't things be easy for once? Was it too much to ask for it to blow the umbrum to smithereens? Ugh. What a bother.

Ah, well... one way or another, we are going to rid ourselves of that damnable pest. We will just have to risk dying painfully and being eternally enslaved in the deepest pits of hell. No biggy! There’s no reason to panic just yet. Everything’s going to be just fine.

Haah... I hope Shadra and our soldiers are ready for this. Oh, boy.

This is our Empire and we will defend it to the last light burning in our hearts. I trust in our subjects and in my Princesses. We will come through this, there is no other option available to us. Not if we don't want to live forever as prisoners in our own city, that is.

The time of the final showdown is neigh. I just hope nopony gets hurt...

Chapter 011 - Open the Door, Weaver.

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"And then, you lean in close, place it as deep down as you can, give each other a loving kiss, and pull away," Orchard said, grinning with a perverted gleam as she practically pranced around us, tail raised high. "It really is as simple as that, my dear."

"Is she always like that..?" Amore asked me with a mildly disturbed look and I snorted.

What a loaded question that was. Was she always like that around me and other stallions? Yes. Yes, she was. Then again... "She's worse. Ever since Quartz left, she has been laying it on pretty thick, and with all the foals running around, I think she's got it pretty bad. There's empty nest syndrome, and then there's Orchard."

"She isn't going to do something, right?" Amore asked me nervously and jumped with a startled squeak as Orchard appeared in the middle of our hushed conversation.

"Mhh, worried, my Prince?" she giggled, a Cheshire cat-like grin on her muzzle. "What is it that you think I would do~?"

"Orchard, please," I let out a suffering sigh. We've been trying to get through the wedding preparations all morning and she wasn't making it any easier by being her usual overly flirty self. "I'm all for flustering 'more,"—I dodged a swat from my fiancé, sticking my tongue out at him with a little grin before turning back to speak to my (still) best friend—" but I'd rather get this over with so that I can finally get some water. I'm parched. We've rehearsed our vows for like, what? The twentieth time already?"

<We have been at this thirty-one times, actually,> Arachne added in, sounding as distracted as ever. To be honest, I'd rather switch with her and lose my mind trying to figure out how to adapt typewriters to be more pony-friendly than deal with this shit any longer. Can't we just—I don't know, improvise? That's way more romantic than what we are currently doing, seriously.

This is starting to feel like we are putting on a play with everything rigidly planned out. It’s starting to wear on my nerves. Not to mention my vocal cords.

At least everypony was having fun. The streets were decorated with—who could have guessed it—a wide variety of colorful crystals. My changelings and the little flutter pony foals (ugh, why that name?) went a step further and hung up 'streamers' made of silk intertwined with—again, who could have guessed it—even more crystals between the crystal street lamps, creating fairy lights in the process of doing so.

At this point, I was getting the teeniest, tiniest suspicion that my subjects might be a little bit obsessed with crystals. Just a tiny bit. Truly, they made their names and appearances proud. To be honest, I couldn't blame them since pretty much everything was made out of crystals around here. Even the friggin' food (we had long since adapted every fruit and vegetable to the glorious state of crystallization—all hail to our crystally overlord, the Crystal Heart).

For all their crystally faults (seriously, this obsession was starting to go too far), I was proud of them, nonetheless. They took to the idea of magitech like fish to water and they treated us (mainly Arachne) like some kind of patron goddess of progress and change (and some other, less child-appropriate stuff, but mainly that). We were the single most advanced civilization on this damn planet, ahead of every other country by several centuries. Pfft, who was I kidding? By at least a millennium, that’s how backwater this poor world truly was.

Even the simple idea of a water purification facility and a sewer system has been absolutely mind-blowing to my subjects. Despite the few failings we had here and there setting all of this up, they were all too happy to look past the bad times we initially faced and simply enjoy the commodities of a modern world. Like flushing toilets. And showers. And light at night (without fire, that is).

And here I thought that (from what Amore told me, at least) ponies would be against all kinds of progress and change. Apparently, the majority of them were uncomfortable with things they didn’t know and ‘didn’t need’, which was just ridiculous. Arachne almost went into hysterics after hearing that and I wasn’t too far behind, to be honest. The thought of shunning technology was downright crazy in my mind. I mean... if you’re happy without it, it’s your loss. I, for one, won’t stand living like that, I need my artificial goodness of having readily available knowledge be accessible with minimal mouse clicks. And porn, of course.

There’s only so much fun to be had listening to other ponies go at it in their own homes like horny rabbits about to die if they slowed down even the slightest bit. Stupid Amore. Stupid Arachne, being too busy with science all the time. Heck, even Shadra was too busy training with her soldiers. Stupid horny Orchard making me horny.

Alas, things couldn’t always revolve around me (a shame, I know). Besides, I could (sadly) survive without having sex all the time, we actually had a surplus of emotion. So much so, even, that we needed to expand the storage chambers in the hive... multiple times. Thank the twin suns that our honey doesn’t spoil, it would have been a literal nightmare to make sure everything was kept fresh, otherwise.

“My Queen?”

I jumped in fright, thrown out of my distracted thoughts while coughing and sputtering due to my body momentarily confusing my windpipe for the one that my much-needed drink should travel through. Amore rubbed my back in concern while I gave the drone that startled me the stink eye.

“What?!” I snapped, slightly irritated. Trust Shadra to turn all of them into friggin’ ninjas, damnit. “You better have a good reason for interrupting me or I swear, I’ll tell Shadra that she should make you all run a hundred laps around the Empire... while wearing saddlebags full of crystals.”

The drone in front of me gulped and let out a nervous breath, steadying themselves for what they had to say that couldn't wait even one fucking minute. “My Queen, your presence has been urgently requested at the outer edges. Swarm Commander Sting is already waiting for you, Ma’am. Sir.”

“Did he tell you what this was about?” Amore asked, a kind smile on his muzzle while I reluctantly let go of my heavenly water pitcher. Goodbye, my sweet, glorious friend. You will be missed dearly.

At least I was getting out of wedding rehearsals for a few minutes, that was something, right? Serene was a slave driver, seriously. As was Amore (and not in a kinky way, at that).

“No, Sir. All he said was to get the Queen and the General,” they answered and I raised an inquisitive brow at that, curious what this was about. This must be more important than I thought if our Swarm Commander wanted Shadra to be there in person. “It would be for the best if you were to come along as well, Sir. Something really spooked the Commander, so much so that he has gone silent over the hive mind.”

That was indeed very concerning. Sting was one of the most level-headed drones to come out of basic training and an exemplary fighter to boot. Knowing that something managed to make even Sting afraid to the point of going 'radio silent' wasn’t exactly putting me at ease. Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure that this sudden little interruption was actually better than going through wedding preparations for who knows how much longer. Orchard really wasn’t as forgiving of a mare as one might think at first glance; she was brutal when she set her mind on something.

A trait many crystal ponies held onto from their earthpony days, I suppose. All of them were stubborn to a fault. To be honest, I couldn’t fathom why the unicorns ever thought it a good idea to enslave them. It took just one of them being a bit too stubborn for everypony else to regain their fighting spirit and rally into an angry mob. Suns forbid one of them ever lets hatred blind their sight; I knew quite well what that kind of thing could ‘accomplish’. Humanity had perhaps one too many monsters abusing their popularity with their fellow citizens, causing untold damage to the world and its people.

The Bloody Empress, the Greedy Baron, the Ice Queen of Europe, the Warlord of the South... the world never truly recovered from what happened in the Great War. Oh, sure, peace eventually returned and the bloody signs staining the world were washed away, but... for all intents and purposes? The scars remained.

Entire countries, wiped out. Languages, forgotten. Priceless art, erased. Cultures and traditions, forever left with the reminder that pride is an insidious disease. A despicable tool used by those that should have never gained enough power to bring humanity to its knees and even lower.

Pride, as so many great thinkers mused over, is just about the first step one can make that's going to lead to one’s own downfall. Never has it ever led to something good, and as some countries have proven more than others, taking pride in one’s own nation easily gave way to xenophobia and the easy manipulation of minds in a direction more akin to slavery. All it took were a few cleverly placed phrases and poorly disguised words to sway the masses to do their bidding.

It truly was a horrible thing. Such thoughts, as dark as they were, also opened my eyes to the creeping trap it could be. I was prideful. Heck, my own love for myself and my Princesses was proof enough of that. I was a vain being, but then again, I was also thoroughly humbled. Not only because of my previous life—of which I still cannot remember everything, nor did I actually want to—but also because of my failures in this life. I was by no means perfect (as much as I liked to pretend to be, from time to time), and... that's the thing: I don’t have to be (nor do I want to be).

Being perfect was overrated, anyway.

That didn't mean I couldn't fall like so many others, though. It takes just one instance of rationalizing to myself that it would be for the 'greater good' and I might take a step in a direction that should never be taken. I firmly decided I would never take away the free will of another being, even if they are under the impression that I only have their best interests in mind. I wouldn't become a dictator, no matter what (heck, even if I tried, I'm pretty sure none of my 'lings would hesitate in getting rid of a tyrant, even if that tyrant turns out to be their mother).

No, I would never under any circumstances ever resort to something like that. I might be a prideful fool thinking our 'little' city nation was the best in the whole world (...it kind of actually is, but that's only because of its very nature representing a literal beacon of hope... you can't really beat that kind of thing, in my opinion), that doesn't mean I would ever endorse xenophobia and all that crap.

Except for hornets. Hornets are evil, it's as simple as that, and this is in no way the paranoia in me speaking. Nope. They are all evil little buggers. Evil, I say!

Ahem, anyways... the Crystal Empire would always be a welcome home to anyone with good intentions (much like hornets, the umbrum can fuck right off). There shall be no discrimination and hatred of any kind against anyone in this nation (aside from... you know... evil monsters trying to destroy the world) and I’m very glad my subjects thought along those lines as well. I'm pretty sure they are even more determined in that regard than me, and that's saying a lot.

I'm certain most of that came from Amore being such a pure-hearted role model. No one wanted to disappoint him; a fear I understood quite well.

One might think that already bordered on manipulating the populace out of sheer want to live up to his expectations, but then again, everything could be considered 'manipulation', really. After all, millions upon millions of people on Earth had cats manipulating them into being their willing servants and none of them ever craved world domination (aside from the odd few pets being voted to be the mayor of a city, that is... there was no reason for concern as far as I was aware, definitely none).

Not that we have to be dictators, anyway. Ponies—at least those living in our little Empire—were quite capable of being sensible beings with a working common sense (most of the time, that is), they didn't really need any guidance... aside from the occasional lesson in modern sciences by Arachne, but that's a completely different thing.

The only thing they really needed was a nice hug and a pat on the head and they would be pretty much set, happy and cheerful as nothing else could be. There weren't a lot of things they craved aside from having a good time with their fellow ponies (yes, I mean sex, obviously). I’m not particularly worried about them getting any kind of world-dominating ideas, anyway.

If anything, they were the ones who needed protection from all the bad things lurking out there in the world. Like the umbrum, or the numerous monsters prowling the wild... or hornets. Those are the worst monsters there are.

...yeah, I might be a tad bit overprotective of my subjects, aren’t I? Or, you know, maybe—just maybe—I was obsessively protective of them because of all the things that have happened so far. Slavery, near starvation, torture, more starvation, a gigantic murderous worm hungry for their flesh, literal walking shadows hell-bent on plunging this world into darkness, and fucking blood-thirsty vampires, of all things. It really was no wonder I was so paranoid to the point of being overly protective of them.

I suppose it was a good thing, though. This way, I would always stay vigilant and don't lull myself into a false sense of security. Being the most powerful and advanced civilization did not also automatically mean we were invincible. Far from it, even.

Underestimating a foe, especially one from the Realm of Death, was a stupendously foolish thing to do. I already did that once and it cost us not only Quartzite Rock, but so much more. Every loss that has occurred since our 'imprisonment' is the result of my lack of foresight. Not actual foresight as in 'seeing the future' but rather the handy trait that made humans into such extraordinary beings in the first place: the ability to plan out one's own steps far in advance.

We were by no means 'stupid' (...most of the time, that is), we should have put two and two together and figured out we were about to head right into an ambush after that vision. We should have just grabbed the damn heart and made a run for it, but—to be honest? I don't know if it would have changed much. Fate seemed pretty insistent that we find ourselves in this situation. And not to forget, the world itself took notice of us and pleaded with us to not abandon it, so there was that.

Everything else was more or less still our fault, though. Alas, I was starting to blame myself again, and this was neither the time nor the place for it. Speaking of that...

"Finally, there you are," Sting grumbled, pacing back and forth with visible nervous twitches. He gave me a glare, blaming me for whatever it was that I apparently did. Probably wasting so much time on my wedding preparations, now that I was thinking about it. It’s not like I wanted to spend so much time on that, but try telling him that. "Took your fucking sweet time, didn't you? I swear, I'm the only one here taking this shit seriously."

"That's no way to talk to your Queen, Commander," I frowned icily, put off by his behavior. It was certainly a strange sight to see him act like this when he usually was the total opposite with a bit of snark thrown in. I guess nervousness really could bring out the worst in some people.

Swarm Commander Bee Sting gave me an unimpressed look. "Look at all the fucks I give about you being the Queen. Right... you can't see any because there are none."

"We are still your mother, Bee," Shadra responded as she took control from me, giving the drone in front of us a disappointed look. "What has managed to make you so agitated that you would be so crass with us?"

Bee Sting wilted slightly at the reminder and the displeased gaze we sent his way, but he said nothing in his defense. Instead, he gestured with his head to follow him further out towards the outskirts of the Empire until we neared the edge of the shield projected by the Crystal Heart. What met our eyes was not exactly comforting to see.

"I dismissed this at first, thinking it to be nothing more than a discoloration until this started happening," Sting muttered, wings buzzing anxiously. Shadra frowned at the dry, yellow grass bordering the shield while we could see dark gray crystals growing out of it.

"Have they cracked the shield anywhere yet?" Amore asked, concerned and a little pale.

Shadra gave our stallion a small, little nuzzle to comfort not only him but also ourselves. "Do you think they could?"

"I... I don't know, Snugglebug," he responded, smiling down on us when Shadra gave him a surprised look. We hadn't exchanged our colors as we switched, and yet, he knew it was her instead of me. "Your eyes, dear. They change even when you don't do it consciously."

"They... do?" she asked, stumped. "Since when?"

"Hmm," Amore hummed thoughtfully, thinking for a moment. "It started happening around the time you all began to make it more obvious as to which one of you is in control of your body. Mind you, it didn't happen often since you three rarely forgot to change your colors, but it started happening more often after...”—he frowned while one of his ears gave a flick—” after Quartz left."

"Oh..." we responded, simultaneously. Our conversation drew the mild interest of our faithful Princess, although not to the degree that she abandoned the rapid-fire thoughts that kept her busy for most days. She really was a living computer, seriously. "What happens when we temporarily merge, then?"

"Like now?" Amore raised a brow, bringing us in close for a hug. His muzzle was close enough to our ears for us to feel his hot breath on them. "One is lighter, almost to the degree of Shadra's pink, while the other one is darker, not quite the magenta color of Araneae's usual colors, but close. Did I really surprise you that much that you struggle to keep yourselves separate?"

All we did was hum, snuggling a bit closer to him for more warmth while warily eyeing the crystals growing by the barrier in the dying grass. "What are we going to do about that?"

"I'll keep an eye on how this develops while you get that giant 'monument' operating," Sting responded, sounding still just as agitated as before he showed us this new problem to worry about. However, his composure was more or less back to normal now instead of the nervous twitches that gave away his mood. "You better hurry up with that wedding so that we can focus on what's actually important. We have wasted enough time building that ridiculous thing as it is."

"Wow, someling is sour," I commented, a mischievous smile spreading on my muzzle. "When was the last time you got laid, hm?"

"Ugh, Mother!" Sting grumbled, appalled while his chitin exploded into a bright white blush. "You're the worst Queen ever! Fuck you, seriously. Go back to your crappy wedding shit, you're an embarrassment to this Empire! Stupid whore..."

"Aww, my wittle little grub is embarrassed, how cute~," I said, grabbing him in a rather tight hug. He tried to wriggle out of my grasp. Oh, he very much tried, but he had nothing on my height (nor on my superior strength). I think I kinda got the hang of imitating earthpony magic by now, so that helped out a lot, too. I glanced down at the struggling bug in my web and grinned wickedly. "Do try to keep the insults to a minimum, won't you? It would be such a shame if someling were to tip off that stallion you fancy so much about the things you get up to in the hive mind. Turning into their female counterpart, whatever would he think of that if he were to find out, hmm?"

"You w-wouldn't!" Sting gulped, paling rapidly while his wings let out fearful chirps. "Mom, please, I—"

"You what..?" I asked, barely suppressing an amused snort. If someone told me I would become the mother of hundreds of adorable bugs before I reincarnated, I... I don't know how I would have reacted, to be honest. But I definitely would have loved the thought of bullying my own children as only a mother could. This was fun. And a little bit mean, but—eh, who actually gives a fuck? I have to put up with the annoyance that are my overly affectionate attendants on a regular basis, I can have at least that much, can't I? Besides, teasing one's own offspring is kind of in the job description of being a parent, isn't it?

"I... I'm sorry for—ugh..." Sting started, only to fall silent with a grumble and a pout.

"Yes?"

"...fuck you, I'm not gonna—"

"Sting..." I warned, my gaze turning icy. Such a misbehaving little grub, tch! Whatever shall I do to punish him for his transgressions?

"Fine, you insufferable wench," he hissed, grumbling grumpily to himself. "I'm sorry for being an ass. Now, let go of me, for fuck's sake! I have other things to do than to put up with your crazy shenanigans. Unlike some 'lings, I've got an actual job to do."

"Hmm. Good enough, I suppose," I sighed, setting him free with only a little bit of reluctance. "I won't tell Silver Flame about your little fantasies... for now."

"Mom!"

"Alright, alright," I giggled, turning to leave with Amore, who—up to this point—had been silently watching our conversation with an exasperated fondness. "Don't you get your panties in a twist, dear. I'm sure he wouldn't mind, though~."

"Argh! You're the worst Queen and mother one could possibly have! Grah!"

"And don't you forget it," I shot back mischievously, my wings chirping and tail twitching happily in glee.

He really needs to learn to loosen up at some point, seriously. Otherwise, he won't ever get laid by that admittedly handsome unicorn he has set his eyes on. Maybe I really should nudge things along, this was starting to become pathetic. For how long has he been silent about his feelings for Silver Flame now? Way too long, truly.

"Don't you think you went a bit too far there?" Amore asked me and my ear flicked. Did I?

<Just a bit,> Shadra commented and I bit my lip, uncertain. <I mean, yeah, it has been three years without Bee confessing his feelings for that stick in the landscape (seriously, that guy needs to eat more), but... that thing about telling his secrets to his crush was a bit much.>

This time, my ears did wilt. "I did, didn't I? I guess I let myself get carried away, 'more. It's just... his attitude was a bit...” I trailed off, wings buzzing in agitation. “I don't like it when someone insults me. And then, there's the whole dying grass thing with those crystals making me feel more anxious on top of all of this."

"It's alright, Ara," he reassured me, brushing against my side while his tail flicked against mine. He smiled kindly and I allowed myself to relax against him. "You both weren't feeling quite like your usual selves, it's to be expected for some sparks to fly between the two of you. Families get into spats every once in a while, it's completely normal. Just... don't hit too close to home like that again, please. I don't like it when ponies start holding grudges, it reminds me way too much of my own family..."

"Hey," I whispered and nudged his chin with my muzzle, making him look at me instead of gazing off emptily to the side. "I won't actually follow through on my words. Everyling pretty much knows when I am making empty threats like that. They are my children, you know? I’ve got to tease at least some of my ‘lings to get back at them for what they put me through.

"Heck, that attitude of Sting's is pretty tame in comparison to the crazy shenanigans some of my changelings get up to on a regular basis. Trust me, I love each and every one of them even though some of them get on my nerves remarkably fast sometimes. We are all one big family here, nothing is ever going to change that. Arachne did something far worse than I did and she was forgiven for it after a pretty short amount of time.

"You don't have to worry about us ending up like your family did, 'more. I don't know what it was that happened to make you feel so afraid of that, but I can assure you that the hive will always be our number one priority, nothing can tear it apart. Not for long, at least."

"Right," he sighed, breathing in deeply through his nostrils as he buried his muzzle in my mane, making me giggle at the ticklish feeling. "Sometimes I forget you have such a deep connection to each other aside from Shadra and Arachne."

"Mhmm," I hummed, placing a soft kiss against his jaw, gazing up into his golden pools of amber with a small smile. "They are literally a part of us, it would be like ripping out one of our own limbs if we were to purposefully hurt any one of them."

"You never really explained it all that well to me," he said, giving me a curious frown. "What exactly do you mean by that? How are they 'literally' a part of you?"

I bit my lip softly while rubbing one leg over the other awkwardly as I came to a halt, unsure whether or not I should explain it to him—and how. He's going to feel really weirded out by this, won't he?

I mean, how do you tell someone that your children basically had access to all of your memories, as horrendous and horrific as some of them were? Or how do you explain that they basically were like copies of fragments of your own personality that developed from there? Or suns forbid, how do you explain why every single one of them was into some of the same kinks and fetishes you have? That's a tough pill to swallow, really, and that’s barely even the tip of the iceberg.

I better leave out the stuff they get up to within the hive mind or I fear he won't ever let us go back to 'sleep' if he can help it. There's only so much I think he can take, he definitely won't be able to comprehend why I gave up on reigning in my drones and workers in there. It was, plain and simple, impossible to tell them to stop being naughty in—well, not the 'right' ways, but not the worst ones, either.

Things could always be worse than them being naughty with each other. For example, they could always have their way with us and there would be next to nothing we could do to stop them. Were it not for Arachne and Shadra already having claimed me, I fear things would be vastly different by now.

That did make me think, though. What if there were other Queens out there? How would they handle their brood? Would they give in to that depravity or would they rule over their hives with an iron hoof, inspiring a deep fear into their own brood for even daring to lay a hoof on them?

Obviously, I very much hoped it wasn't the latter case as that would be in no way a healthy hive, but neither did I wish for the first option to be true, either. Perhaps that was the last shred of humanity in me talking, but I just couldn't imagine a fully grown adult having that kind of relationship with someone vastly their junior, much less so a parent and their child engaging in that kinda nasty shit.

I have grown more or less indifferent to what was essentially incest between siblings in our hive since nothing would come from it (not that some of them didn't try their best to prove me wrong in that regard, anyway).

As far as we know, workers simply lacked the ability to fertilize their eggs completely, even if they tried having sex while they were about to lay an egg (apparently, there's something in a changeling worker's anatomy that outright keeps it from happening, for some unfathomable reason). And none of the drones could lay eggs, either, so... there was that.

The only thing we have been mildly worried about that came true was a drone and a pony mare producing offspring, but thankfully, it worked out in the most wonderful and astonishing ways possible.

At first glance, the flutter pony foals weren't in any way different from their crystal pony counterparts, the only real differences were their short fangs, spinnerets, and the insect wings (duh). Where they did differ quite heavily from not just the crystal ponies but also us changelings was their magic. They each showed very promising signs of a sort of 'healing touch' ability. That, and their pain-relieving venom (quite ironic considering they have to bite another pony to inject it).

Both of those traits are going to make them into genuine wonder healers once they grow up, a major boon to the Empire simply by virtue of us not having to rely on drugs we might not even be able to replicate for another few decades.

"You know..." I began, wings fluttering ever so slightly as my heart quivered in my chest for a brief moment. I guess there was no better way to explain this than being honest, was there? I really am not looking forward to his reaction when he finds out just where my changelings got their... ahem, 'unusual'... traits from. "Think of it as a library of knowledge. Everything I know, they should (in theory) be able to... ehm... 'read', so to speak."

"Ara," Amore said with a raised brow, his expression unreadable. If I couldn't have read his emotions through the Crystal Heart, I might have even started stalling in earnest.

"Okay, fine," I huffed, crossing my arms. "Each new 'ling starts out as a 'nymph' of sorts in the hive mind once they start pupating in the nursery and they get more or less a package of random knowledge to start off with and they learn everything they need to know until they emerge as fully-fledged adults. Thing is, there is... uh... no restriction whatsoever on what they can learn from our memories."

"Oh," Amore mumbled and I laughed bitterly, nodding. Oh, indeed. "So they..? And we, uh..."

"Whatever you are thinking right now, I assure you that is not the case," I interjected, shuffling on my hooves nervously. "For the most part, that is. No, they aren't an 'extension' of me, they are their own beings... just with a little bit of me thrown in. They have their own wants and dreams, but... uh... they kinda... uh..."

"I see," Amore sighed, rubbing his temples tiredly. "You can just tell me that they are fucking each other's brains out. There's no need to beat around the bush, Ara."

I blinked, completely stunned as the most prudish pony in this damn Empire bluntly talked about the forbidden fruit like it was the most ordinary thing. "...what?"

"That's what they are doing in there, isn't it?" Amore asked, though it didn't sound like he expected me to deny it. More like stating a fact and you were asking for confirmation and nothing else. "To be honest, I should be surprised by this, but I'm not. At least that explains their overly eager behavior around you."

"Wait, what?! No!" I shook my head, my whole body feeling kind of 'spongy' right now. "Eww, fuck no! How dare you insinuate—Eww, just... eww."

"I... don't understand," Amore mumbled, recoiling back from me as I desperately tried to be sick to forget... that. Twin suns be damned, Snowflake. Arachne was bad enough in that regard, but you, too? Fucking hell. "Then why—"

"I swear, I'm going to kill Arachne for this," I glowered back at him. For fuck's sake, he honestly thought I would—How little faith did he have in me?! "They are my children, Amore! My children! As in, each and every one of them! I would never! Never!"

<Yep...> Shadra commented sarcastically. <Need I remind you about that one time you were thinking about—>

That shut her up pretty quickly, not that it managed to ease my turbulent feelings in any way. To whatever god is listening, I beg you, smite me right now. This is too fucking much, damnit.

"I'm sorry, Ara, I... I didn't mean to upset you," Snowflake whispered, embracing me carefully as I tensed up warily. "I really am sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to that conclusion, it's just—I'm sorry, but you have to admit that one might easily draw such a conclusion from observation alone. Besides, I thought your attendants were... uh..."

"I'm not making out with my own swarm, dickhead," I snarled, sneering at him. "They are feeding me, dummy. You have no idea how bad this damnable hunger can get sometimes; it's like a constant pit growing in my stomach and it is getting worse with each year that goes by. Without their aid, I would have drained our honey stockpile several times over and left the Crystal Heart an empty husk. It's the only reliable way to sustain a royal changeling, as far as we have found out."

"I..." I heard him mumble, listening to his frantic heart beating wildly in his chest. He was left utterly stunned, sitting there stock still while I kept him upright as his limbs went limp.

"Hey," I mumbled, cupping his cheek gently with a hoof, a subdued and rueful smile on my muzzle. "It's okay. It isn't even your fault or that of anypony else but mine. Turns out, all that time, we went about it the wrong way. Like bees, we do not solely consume honey to stay alive. In the case of queens, we figured out that honey doesn't even sate us nearly enough due to our body constantly producing enough energy for laying eggs until we go through another one of our cycles.

"The closer we get to that, the hungrier we become. The royal jelly our workers produce contains some sort of protein-like substance that... I guess 'quells' our hunger. We don't quite know what's in it yet, but we do know that there are no discernible emotions infused in it. It's really perplexing, to be honest. Arachne would know a lot more about it than I do, so you would have to ask her. I'm not the best at retaining information from one of her lectures, you know that."

Amore took in a deep breath as I finished my explanation to him. We probably should have brought this up with him ages ago, but... hindsight is twenty-twenty and all that. He exhaled slowly as he calmed down considerably. "Okay, yeah, I guess that makes more sense than—Ugh, I can't believe how stupid I was. You promised me you wouldn't ever consider anypony else but me as your partner and here I go, thinking dumb things."

"Pfft, don't worry," I giggled, seeing the humor in the situation. "We are both dumb, we can make a club out of it."

"Right," he snorted, nuzzling me with a gentle bump of his muzzle against mine. "Though I might have an idea about that royal jelly of yours."

"Oh?"

"Didn't you once tell me that honeybee queens are on an exclusive royal jelly diet?"

"Yeah, I guess so," I shrugged. "At least one of us must have."

"So, doesn't it stand to reason that it must be connected to you laying eggs? You said you started laying more than you first expected once you started eating that stuff, didn't you?"

“That... does make sense,” I hummed and recalled the numbers of our first batch of eggs, the second time was already double that amount, not to mention the third time putting a whole bunch on top of even that. The second batch I could excuse as me getting more used to doing it since I already went through it once, but the third? It had to be connected to the royal jelly, there was no other way to explain it.

One reason for that was the fact I didn't eat nearly enough emotions that time around and still almost ended up laying double the amount of eggs compared to the time before that. The fourth time pretty much followed that trend with a whopping one hundred and forty eggs. Granted, the time after that was 'only' about two hundred, but by Amore’s juicy ass, I don't foresee the trend balancing out anytime soon.

As long as we don't run out of space, I don't see a reason to be concerned just yet. Clearly, we had no trouble keeping everyling fed since we were producing more honey than we knew what to do with, but who knows?

I think part of that growing abundance of honey was the fault of 'regular' changelings not needing a lot to feel full, and the fact that recently hatched larvae were fed royal jelly for the first month or so also helped our stockpile situation.

Granted, we couldn't feed our larvae royal jelly indefinitely (that would be a stupendously stupid idea), but it does reduce health risks like what happened to my poor Apini (sadly, there was nothing I could have done in regards to that, as we found out). Their body basically cannibalized themselves due to a lack of energy required during the metamorphosis.

Apini was one of the few ones who didn't take well to an exclusive diet of emotions only. A diet that wasn't as balanced as I could have made it. It was just one of my many mistakes, bumbling around motherhood with a smattering of knowledge on what to do at best.

My workers clearly know what they are doing better than I ever could, so it was up to them to decide everyling's diet and to let them do their thing with our recently hatched larvae, feeding them early on with royal jelly before switching to a more appropriate diet of honey made out of compassion and happiness (with a mix of various other emotions thrown in to round things out).

The more intense emotions like joy, surprise (that one is a whammy), and all things related to pleasure (not only lust but also satisfaction and so on) were reserved for until after they emerged as fully-fledged adult changelings since those were a bit... too much. Nothing that would be majorly bad to young larvae, but still not ideal. I trust the caretakers to know what is right in regards to that, having more of a feeling for how to properly take care of the young than I apparently did.

Yeah... never feed larvae undiluted love or 'lings like Honeydew might be the result of that action. To be honest, all twenty-four of my first clutch were a bit weird in one way or another. Polly, for example, was perhaps the best harvester in the entire hive for... ahem, 'reasons'... let's put it that way and leave it at that.

Then, there was Sting with his obvious 'cross-dressing' shenanigans in the hive mind, quickly becoming the most popular drone to the majority of the workers while still inspiring the fear of death in most other drones should they ever perform to subpar standards.

The only one that didn't have any weird quirks was Silk... but then again, the rate at which she and Emerald kept pumping out foal after foal wasn't entirely normal, either. I think my daughter might be the slightest bit jealous for not having been born a worker, instead.

Alas, there were some things even a changeling could not change, try as one might. Perhaps one day we might find a solution to that problem, giving drones a way to become mothers by giving birth to an egg and workers a way to become fathers by impregnating a pony mare. However, I don't foresee us coming up with an answer anytime soon. Changing biology on such a deep level was no easy feat and making it permanent was another thing entirely.

Cerana was perhaps another example of unrequited desires of such a nature, as well. I would have to ask my daughter what her view on that was, being unable to get a child with the one she loved. She might just be content with her task as a caretaker, though, so who knows?

Not every one of my children might even desire to become a parent themselves. It was entirely possible I was reading too much into things and everything was fine. Such things were difficult to tell from an outsider's perspective, but I could imagine that there will exist cases where a drone or worker felt out of place, one way or another.

I guess even changelings couldn't have everything. Granted, we have a lot more than any other creature in existence and have the freedom to express ourselves to our fullest, but there are still limitations even we cannot overcome.

Anyway, getting back to the topic on hoof, there does exist an upside to feeding larvae with pure, undiluted love. One major argument for doing so despite the rather 'interesting' side effects was the fact that each changeling developed extraordinary skills with magic at the cost of a higher-than-average appetite.

That does leave one to wonder, doesn't it? What would happen if we were to feed some of our larvae other undiluted emotions exclusively? I wasn't about to go and experiment on our own brood, not only would that be highly unethical of me to do so, but neither do I want to risk finding out what consequences would come from that decision. It did leave Arachne somewhat pouty, though, unable to sate her curiosity for the sake of acquiring 'vital' knowledge.

Vital knowledge, my flanks. It was nothing but morbid curiosity and I knew she knew that. That didn't stop her from coming up with countless theories, though; one more ridiculous than the other. One such theory went so far as to hypothesize that exclusively feeding larvae undiluted joy would lead to reality-defying powers the likes of which no mortal mind could comprehend. Obviously, that was utter nonsense, but... just in case, I put a ban on feeding larvae with that emotion, however small the dosage was.

I think that's one of the things all three of us could unanimously agree on; no amount of pride could possibly tempt us into creating something that was more than likely going to cause the end of the world by accident. Even against the umbrum and their megalomaniacal master, something like that would simply be too much of a risk.

Which brought me back to the topic of pride. Arachne was right to give herself that name, we really needed more than just one reminder to never let such a thing control us, it very much was an insidious and deceptive trap to fall into.

No experimenting with life. That's something we need to enforce quite heavily, even if it was only on ourselves as my faithful Princess was sometimes wantonly willing to do. Her experiments turning herself into inanimate objects had already been risky enough, I prefer we do not keep adding to that list of 'dumb things we did since reincarnating' if we could avoid it.

Thankfully, both of my Princesses understood my fear quite well and promised me under an oath that none of us would do something potentially very dumb and risky without first thinking it thoroughly through. And tell the others of our plans to do something monumentally stupid before committing to them, for that matter (looking at you there, Arachne).

I should do that as much as they, I realized. I know how prone to such things I am, as well. After all, it was my own foolish mistake feeding my larvae with honey made out of love, not knowing I shouldn't have done so due to how addicting it was and how easily one could suffer from an overdose. Even lust would have been better than that one, I mused, knowing how scarce that emotion was to get by. Well, 'scarce' as in 'active actions were needed to bring them forth', but still scarce, nonetheless.

Not that I would have ever fed what was for all intents and purposes infants an emotion like that. Twin suns forbid how my first 'lings would have turned out if that happened. They were depraved enough as it is, thank you very much.

Ah, well... thankfully, I didn't have to worry about any of that anymore, and neither was it my job to look after the larvae in the hive. I'm pretty sure the caretakers would throw a fit if I so much as tried feeding them again, and... I guess it was for the best that way. I was already far too attached to my children as it is. That was doubly the case for the ones of my first clutch.

It's just—I can't. It's impossible to not get attached to them from the first moment they start wiggling around after they hatch, to the moment when they start to explore the hive mind and learn everything that they can, to the moment when they finally emerge from the brood comb and go out to make friends and lovers with the rest of my subjects. There simply was no saying no to them and their cute, buggy features. The joy they experience on a daily basis is simply too precious. I know I will regret this once the day comes when they begin to grow old, but... until then... I will cherish every moment I have with them.

My eyes wandered over to Amore and the luster of his coat, the firm muscles subtly hidden by his fur, and the sparkle in his eyes. It was subtle, almost too subtle to make out with a single glance, but it was there. I don't know whether it was because of the crystallization or his bond with the Crystal Heart, it simply seemed like he had a... presence... unlike that of any other pony in this little Empire of ours.

It was something completely different from the usual awe and inspiration I felt being around him. And it wasn't in any way connected to the 'disconnection' between him and his emotions.

If anything, it was a similar feeling to that of the regular crystal ponies, only... stronger. And that impression only got more powerful by how content my subjects were. Amore, on the other hoof, was slightly different in that regard.

Where the presence of the crystal ponies changed based on how happy they were with their lives, generally seeming more sparklier in appearance and so full of life that nothing could bring their mood down, Amore's presence was... sparkly by default. It almost seemed like his presence got 'stronger' the more crystal ponies were sparkling their shiniest. I've yet to figure out what it all means (if it actually means something, that is), but I'm not giving up until I know what it is.

One thing both of us have noticed about it, though, was that he actually got more powerful over time, both physically and magically. He went so far as to even claim he could project the shield around the Empire by himself (not that he needed to). A feat of that magnitude... I was unsure if he was actually speaking the truth or if he was merely exaggerating, but by now, I knew he was no petty braggart. If he said he could do something, I was inclined to believe him; as unbelievable as such a claim seemed to me.

I was hard-pressed to project a shield even a fraction of the size the Crystal Heart was able to put out, and mine was in no way nearly strong enough to hold a full-on assault from the umbrum indefinitely. But... I do have to say, just feeling ‘more cast a simple spell next to me was enough to make my chitin tingle from the sheer power contained in his magic. Maybe he really could substitute for the Crystal Heart in a pinch, it certainly would be seriously helpful once we have to move that heart-shaped chunk of love glitter.

That day, both of us ended up falling utterly exhausted into our fluffy (and quite comfy) bed in the palace, having long since moved out of our little humble abode to this... empty monument standing vigil over our subjects day in and day out. Orchard made us rehearse our lines like... a million times, making sure that we could recite our vows to each other in our sleep. Then, she made us practice kissing so much, I couldn’t even move my muzzle by the time we put an end to this.

I swear, she only did that so that she had something to masturbate to tonight. At this rate, I really should find her someone to molest so that she wouldn't be so damn... Orchard-y.

Amore and I didn’t even kiss each other goodnight that day, falling asleep as soon as we snuggled ourselves underneath the blankets, holding each other close. All we really did was nuzzle and sigh in relief at finally getting to relax our aching bodies.

That night, I had another ‘proper’ nightmare. Arachne and Shadra were absent like last time, making me incredibly nervous as I walked through the eerie empty streets of our Empire, the street lights flickering in an unsettling way as a thick fog rolled in.

I gulped, looking up at the beacon of hope that symbolized our new home, only to find it stretching impossibly high into the sky like an oppressive dark monolith, the swirly vortex of the Realm of Death hanging over it with a creeping sense of foreboding.

The sound my hooves made on the streets was anything but comforting this time. If anything, it reminded me more of the overbearing silence around me with each step I took. It was too silent, I mused as my imagination ran wild on me. This felt eerily like a horror game where at any moment, some kind of monster would jump out at you and you would end up dead from the shock alone.

Nothing jumped out at me, though; which only served to make me feel even more uneasy. Being alone... it was one of my worst fears, I have to say. Not quite a crippling fear, but close. I was shaking anxiously while my wings buzzed frantically in short bursts every now and then.

Even my breath was trembling with every intake of air as my heart quivered in my chest, telling me to start running and not look back. Despite knowing better, I did turn my head around. My fearful paranoia proved to be just that, though; paranoia. I did not find anything behind me that could have explained this feeling of utter existential terror.

I was completely alone, all by myself, with no one else here aside from myself. Not even the crystal avatar thing of this world’s soul was here. Thankfully, neither were the umbrum or those ghostly blue apparitions from last time.

I was alone. Totally, fully, and quite thoroughly... alone.

As I neared the center of the Empire, my hooves began to slow down until they stopped entirely before the Crystal Heart, hovering there in the middle between two crude pillars, one coming out of the ground while the other came out from the ceiling. It wasn’t even spinning around like it usually did, simply hanging there with a certain sense of dread and urgency.

I could guess as to what it tried to warn me about, what with the little discovery we made out on the outskirts of our Empire. Our time was running out, we have to act, now.

I narrowed my eyes as I glimpsed something in the reflection within it, leaning in closer as my heart droned on in my ears. There was something else there in the reflection aside from my own. Feeling fearful again, I turned my head just so that I could look out of the corner of my eyes at what was behind me.

Nothing. Again. Absolutely nothing.

I let out a shaky breath, turning back to the Crystal Heart. Whatever was in that reflection, it wasn’t a person... or a pony. Or one of the umbrum... or any other creature I knew of, really. And it clearly did not show me my actual reflection as it was right now, either. Otherwise, I would have been able to see what caused the anomaly in the first place, right? So... what else could it be? Clearly, it wasn't a brown bear standing completely still behind me...

My muzzle almost touched the bright object in the middle of a dark and foggy world, trying to see a bit more clearly what it was. It almost looked like... a door. A door that was seemingly made out of completely ordinary wood, if I had to guess. Well, that made a lot more sense, I mused, somewhat relieved that it wasn't a monster like I feared (unless it opens up to some eldritch abomination hiding in the Void Between Worlds...).

The thing wasn’t even anything special. Rather plain actually, like a typical door, to be honest. Well, a door that fits more into this world than it did on modern Earth, but an ordinary door, nonetheless.

It had one of those large ring handles, probably to make it easier for ponies to grab in their hooves (or in their mouths as most of them seem to prefer). Beyond that, it didn’t have anything else going for it, aside from the slightly aged look. It really was just a door.

I shifted awkwardly on my hooves as I got the nagging feeling like that should be more important, for some reason. Something in the back of my mind was tingling, like I knew it was something familiar. A door...

“Open the door,” I muttered, my eyes widening. “Open the door, open the door. Why is that ringing a bell?!”

Why was the Crystal Heart showing me this thing? For what reason would I need to open it? It had to be something I had heard before at some point. But... where? And when?

Well, there was only one possibility, wasn't there? Whenever something mysterious happened, especially such a vision out of nowhere, there was only one being that could be the cause of that. Open the door... that was what the Soul of the World said to me, wasn’t it?

I couldn't exactly remember the specifics, but I was pretty sure that those were the exact words. How this door would come into play, though, I’ve got no fucking idea.

Still, there were a couple of things I wasn't entirely sure of. Like... what was it supposed to mean? I didn't even know if it was a real thing or some cryptic metaphor with who knows what behind its message. Surely there has to be more to it than that, it was just... too simple. And why do I need to open a seemingly ordinary door, in the first place? For that matter, there were plenty of doors to open, where would I even find this specific one? It looked like any other door in the Kingdom of Unicornia and I was pretty sure there were even more of those in the Earthen Kingdoms. Perhaps even some in the floating cloud cities of the pegasi, though I doubt it.

It was just a door like any other, so... what made this one so special that I have to open it? Does it lead to another reality, or what? Was this some Narnia bullshit I have to find? There's no way I’m just going to stumble upon it, is there? What the fuck am I supposed to do?

I snorted. “Open the door, obviously,” I answered my own question sarcastically, despite not knowing how I should go about doing so. But... I guess I don’t really need to know, do I? Not necessarily, per se. My gaze shifted uncertainly over the surface of the Crystal Heart before a small smile crept onto my face, knowing one thing for certain. “I need to trust in myself and ‘more. I know we can prevent this. That’s what you’re trying to tell me, isn’t it? You wouldn’t have chosen us out of all the other ponies to do the job for you, otherwise.”

The heart pulsed as if answering me. A light breeze brushed against me and I blinked, pushing a strand of hair out of my eyes in irritation. Long hair sucks, sometimes. Not that I would ever part with my glorious mane, such a fate was simply too abhorrent to even consider.

Sighing, my gaze met that of my reflection again and my breath got stuck in my throat. It wasn’t me who was looking back, I realized.

The crystalline pony god/goddess/whatever-they-are whose heart floated in front of me gazed back, mouthing the familiar words back at me before they vanished from sight, just as the first flakes of snow began to fall from the sky. A ghostly whinny of maliciousness was all I heard before I found myself shaken awake in the middle of the night.

“I—” I shuddered, breathing unevenly while Amore looked at me in concern. Tired concern, but concern nonetheless.

“You were shivering and muttering to yourself,” he told me, brushing my tangled mane out of my face. I jolted slightly in disgust as he pulled a few strands out of my mouth. That’s another thing I hate about having long hair, I suppose. It gets way too easily into my mouth during the night and trying to comb it back to its silky-smooth state was a pain in the flank. His eyes were soft and full of concern. “Did you have a nightmare? Usually, you sleep like a rock.”

I rolled my eyes at that little jab, knowing he didn’t really mean it as an insult. Even if he did, it was practically true, anyway. As long as all three of us were in the hive mind, our body in the physical world was pretty much unresponsive and would flop around uselessly like a living, breathing rag doll until one of us surfaced enough to take over control of our muscles and so on.

“What did I say?” I asked, feeling like I knew the answer to that question already. Sure enough, ‘more told me that I kept repeating the words ‘open’ and ‘door’ over and over again while he tried to get me to snap out of it.

He frowned delicately. “Ara, why does this make you so afraid?” Snowflake whispered, the tip of his muzzle touching mine in concern. His behavior felt almost motherly to my jumbled mind. “What does that even mean? Which door needs to be opened?”

I groaned, closing my eyes while biting my lip softly. “I don’t know. Not yet, anyway,” I replied. There’s one thing I do know for certain, though. “We need to activate the heart underneath the palace, ‘more. Preferably now before it is too late. You saw what they did, our time is running out to prepare.”

“The spire isn’t completed yet, though,” he reminded me and I grimaced. I gazed back into his eyes, noticing the reflection of my own fear in them. “Are you sure it is going to work unfinished like that? A week or two and we will have it done if we put in some extra time, can’t it wait that long?”

“I’d rather not risk them breaking through the shield and doing suns knows what when they reach the heart, dear,” I told him, placing my head against his chest, nervous and afraid. Amore hugged me gently. “That was no mere nightmare, Snowflake. It was a vision. Again.”

“So... that’s it, huh?” he hummed, nuzzling the top of my head while giving my horn a small, affectionate lick. “I find it kind of unfair that you get all these visions while I get stuck with the boring parts of the Crystal Heart deciding to become my phylactery.”

“I don’t know if it is all that exciting to have nightmares, ‘more,” I shot back, smiling in amusement. “Neither would I call it boring to be bonded to such a powerful artifact that is the literal heart of this world, you dummy.”

“Well, when you put it that way...” he genuinely giggled, breathing in deeply with his muzzle buried in my mane. I snorted. He really does love doing that, doesn't he? “Mhh... have I ever told you you smell nice?”

“A few times,” I said, running a hoof through his majestic coat. “Have I ever told you that your fur feels nice?”

“A few times,” he teased and I grinned to myself. Fair enough, I guess. “I love you, you know that?”

“I do,” I hummed, wings fluttering gently underneath our shared blanket. It always warmed my heart, hearing him say those three little fantastic words. I couldn’t get enough of them. Saying those words back was just as satisfying as hearing them, though. There was just something magical about it.

Our little late-night conversation slowly petered out from there, as much as I wanted to exchange more little nothings with him, he did need his sleep after such an exhausting day and I wasn’t doing him any favors by keeping him up. It was nice to feel reassured by his mere presence, though. Especially after the nightmare vision. The terror of being alone was no easy thing to shake off.

Not all nightmares have to be about monsters, after all. I was glad ‘more woke me up before it could get to those. I had a feeling it was about to get worse than the first vision I had if the snow was any indication.

I really, really hate snow. That probably was my second greatest fear of this life, I have to admit: being stuck in a blizzard freezing to death all by myself.

Speaking of being all alone, I probably should find out what my Princesses were up to, they must have been worried sick after I didn’t wake up in the hive mind. Shadra didn’t outwardly show it a lot, but she was a real worrywart sometimes. No doubt was she fretting about something having happened to me while pacing back and forth nervously in the throne room.

The thing is, I didn’t expect the sight that greeted me as I sat up straight on the throne with a little stretch.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I asked, blinking stupidly down at Shadra as she was currently in the process of... trying to suck herself off, I guess.

My stupidly beautiful Princess let out a startled squeak, slipping with her hoof before tumbling down the stairs while Arachne was suspiciously absent. She probably was still locked up in her ‘little’ laboratory, doing who knows what. She must really want to figure this whole computer thing out to make them usable to everypony without relying on the manipulation of a keyboard by unicorn magic.

“Shit! Fucking hell, Ara! Why did you startle me?!” Shadra shouted from the base of the stairs, both her sexes on full display glistening with arousal as she glared poutily up at me on her back. “I was in the middle of something there, you ass!”

“I saw that,” I commented dryly, grabbing her in my magic and setting her back on her hooves. The white blush on her face was a real sight to behold, quickly spreading all the way over to her neck. It didn’t happen often that that happened; it was always such a treat to see. She really was cute, no amount of protesting on her part could change that fact.

“A-anyway, I, uh...” Shadra stammered before stopping, giving me a weird look. “Wait a moment. You went to bed hours ago and you only woke up here now? Did you have trouble falling asleep, or what?”

“You could say that,” I muttered grumpily, slumping down on the throne with a tired sigh. Shadra gave me a confused and concerned look and I did the whole ‘explaining what I saw’ thing again. Of course, Shadra wanted to know what door I meant and I tried to keep the snide tone out of my voice as I told her that I literally had no idea whatsoever. The Crystal Heart wasn’t exactly forthcoming with answers, in that regard. Neither was the Soul of the World, for that matter. Cryptic bastard.

Was it really too much to ask for some precise answers? I was getting tired of constantly trying to puzzle out what to do. Just once, I want to know exactly what I need to do. Instead, I’m left with a lack of crucial knowledge and half-baked assumptions, trying to get through life without screwing it up too badly. Ugh. Story of my fucking life, nothing new there.

Shadra nestled herself up against me, looking up at me with a small, subdued smile in the hopes of cheering me up. “It’s going to be fine, Ara. We’re going to work overtime to finish the palace, you will see.”

“Hmm,” I hummed, snatching her up in my arms with a mischievous smirk on my muzzle. My bitchy little Princess protested against me for a fraction of a second before letting out a needy whimper as I fondled her still erect cock with a wandering hoof. “I don’t doubt that, my love.”

“A-Ara, I...” she began, breathing out a quiet moan as she humped her dick against my hoof. I allowed myself a tiny laugh at her behavior, letting my fangs extend past my lips as I brought my muzzle closer to her ears while I kept moving my hoof sensually all over her shaft.

“Mhh,” I sighed, feeling my own penis twitch needily. I slowly licked my beautiful Princess on the back of her ear. "I missed you..."

"Oh?" she asked, breathing with nervous and excited energy. "I wasn't really gone, though?"

"Felt like it," I told her with a gentle hum. I nipped her ear with a fang and felt her shudder against me, bringing a lustful smile to my lips. "You and Arachne have been so busy as of late... I need relief."

"We aren't the only ones with a lot on our plate," My Princess pointed out and I felt her tail twitch insistingly against my crotch. For a moment, I felt like laughing as she turned to putty underneath my expert touch.

It was one of my favorite pastimes, molesting her to my heart's content like this (and no doubt hers, as well). It could have only been more fun with Arachne here with us, as well. We could have teamed up together and made our beautiful Princess beg us for more. Oh, all the things I could do with my love...

“Tell me, Shadra..." I began without once letting up on my ministrations, rubbing my hooves over her length ever so slowly, riling her up further into a lustful haze. "What were you doing all by yourself here? Were you honestly trying to suck your own dick like a cock-hungry whore? Is that what you crave? A dick to suck~?”

Mhm, the temptation was there, it always was. One bite was all that it would take and I could have my way with her however I desired. Oh, how I just wanted to deflower her right here and now, but... seeing her squirm around like that was a wholly different pleasure in its own right. It felt almost dirtier like this, fondling her while holding my own urges back.

“Arachne’s b-busy, so I-I...” Shadra responded before I cut her off by running my tongue noisily over her horn, saliva dripping freely from it. She whined against me, shuddering in disgust as well as arousal, the lewd sounds making her rod twitch in my grasp while her tail swished against my groin once more, begging me to take it and force her rear up to gain access to her dripping wet snatch.

I bet she wouldn't even fight against me were I to force myself on her right now. Not that I would ever break her trust like that. My Princess was a walking conundrum, truly. Such a tease...

“Mhh, you didn’t think to play with my body~?” I asked, voice barely above a whisper while my hoof went lower and lower, approaching her puffy lower lips. The only answer I got from her this time was a thick gulp and a heavy moan. “How disappointing...”

“A-Ara, I—” she tried to speak up, but I didn’t let her, shoving my hoof into her muzzle, covered with her own arousal.

“Shh...” I whispered, bringing my muzzle up next to hers with a possessive nuzzle. I smiled in satisfaction as she eagerly licked her own juices up, giving her a small peck as a reward for her dedication. “I know what this is all about, my beautiful Princess. It seems to me like someling has a small fixation. Not that there's anything ‘small’ about that royal spear of yours~.”

Shadra gave me a pouty glare out of the corner of her eyes and I decided to give her cheek a small parting lick before pushing her away from me, making her fall down from the throne and onto the red carpet leading up to it from the grand double doors on the other end of the throne room.

I gave a wicked smile as I stepped down after her, my dick swinging tantalizingly in full view for her. I could already see her drooling from where she lay sprawled out on the ground and my own gaze wandered over to her beautifully throbbing length as she displayed it to me, rolling onto her back in a suggestive pose.

Now, this is going to be fun~.

Stepping over her, I positioned myself just right before giving a glance back to her. I didn’t even need to say anything, she was already leaning up to catch the tip of my spear in her muzzle so I decided to just go through with it.

Slowly, I guided her own tip down my throat while shoving my dick further into her mouth as I lowered myself into a more comfortable position until we both had each other’s crotch shoved right into our faces.

It definitely was an interesting position, considering our quadrupedal nature made this act more than awkward. Still, we managed it with no difficulties whatsoever, being rather flexible when we wanted to be.

Seeing that Shadra currently had a rather limited range of movement underneath me, I started to rock us both back and forth, pulling her away from me with my front legs and then thrusting back into her with my hips as she used her own hooves to pull herself back against me. It was a more physically demanding task, all in all, but I had to admit, it was something else entirely.

Sucking dick while someone was sucking you off was great, there was no arguing that. The only thing missing now was someling else stuffing my snatch full with cock at the same time.

In terms of degeneracy, this was practically tame in comparison to what we usually got up to (more so in Shadra's and Arachne's case). That didn't mean this wasn't in any way, shape, or form less lewd. If anything, us constantly choking on each other's dicks was kinda hot as fuck. It scratched a special itch for me.

As usual, I began to buzz my wings each time Shadra hilted herself in me, vibrating not only my cock, but hers as well, deep within me. It wasn't doing me any favors endurance-wise, but it definitely edged my orgasm ever closer. To be honest, holding myself back at that point was a futile endeavor, although I still managed to do so against all odds.

Things changed once I felt my bitchy little Princess start to cheat her sexy flanks off. At first, I thought she was going to use her tongue to merely swirl it around my tip, but then, once my dick was buried as deep as it could go within her, she extended her slimy appendage far beyond my genital plates and the sensitive flesh that was laid bare there before attacking my aching clitoris with no mercy whatsoever. That alone managed to make me go cross-eyed, threatening to send me over the edge any moment from now.

Of course, I couldn't let that go on unpunished, now could I? Quickly changing strategy, I stopped moving my hips altogether, using my hooves to viciously attack her puffy lower lips while using my tongue to tease the sensitive flesh at the base of her dick. While I was at that, I used my swallowing motions to massage her shaft to my utmost ability, all the while buzzing my wings without stop.

If Shadra wanted war, she was gonna get a war and then some.

All too soon, I could feel her moan heavily on my dick. She went even so far as to hump my face with jerky needy motions and I grinned, gulping down her ejaculate as she kept her tip lodged right there at the entrance to my throat.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen, reduced to mindless addicts craving nothing but pleasure. Not that I was any better in that regard. I was the Queen of 'Hungry for Dick', after all~.

Without warning, I lost all motor functions of my body before I could even reach my own orgasm, a piercing stab of pain blindsiding me. I was unable to protest against my Princess as she quickly escaped my limp grasp, giving the tip of my spear a last nibble before flipping me over onto my back.

"Aww, you didn't see that one coming, did you?" Shadra grinned, patting my cheek condescendingly. I huffed uselessly back at her only for her to cackle back gleefully. "Oh, how I fucking love this! Ah hah ha ha! That look on your face is just priceless! My only regret is not having a camera on hoof. Arachne won't believe having missed out on this! Ha!"

<Shadra...> I grumbled, a warning tone in my mental voice. My Princess continued on unhindered, though, too happy to care. I let out a sigh with some difficulty and resigned myself to my rather interesting fate.

Despite the unexpected turn of events, I found myself more excited than I have ever been to find out what would come next. Maybe she would have her way with me while I couldn't fight back? Mhh, that does sound nice~.

"To think it would be that easy to put you into such a position... you really are an idiot," she sneered, her head (and thus, her fangs dripping with venom) coming dangerously close to my face. "Manipulating you is foal's play, My Queen. You really thought I would play around with myself like that by my lonesome?"

<Yes,> I deadpanned, watching her as she went back to gloat some more, most likely.

Shadra halted for a moment, blinking as her lips pursed. Then she shrugged. "Eh, fair enough, I guess."

<So... what are you going to do now? You have me completely at your mercy, woe is me.>

"Aww, no need to get all pouty on me, Ara," she said, talking down to me like I was a damn foal. Just get over with it and fuck me already, I thought in exasperation. "You see, I was getting to that. While Arachne is busy and you were still—well, I guess you weren't awake, per se, but—anyway! Since I was all alone and nowhere near as degenerate as you guys, I thought: What would be the perfect way to get at dick without having to molest my unaware, sleeping beauty of a Queen? And then it came to me, you know? I don't have to suck any of you off since I have one of my own! Eh heh heh..."

I rolled my eyes, feeling like pointing out that that wasn't in any way less degenerate than helping herself to my unconscious body. Alas... <You really do have a fixation,> I stated exasperatedly. <Your own dick? Really?>

"S-shut up!" she grumbled, embarrassed. "I can do whatever I want with my own body, it's not weird!"

<Whatever you say~,> I giggled slightly, delighting in her sour expression.

"You really are asking me to punish you for your impudence, aren't you?" Shadra glared at me haughtily, a devilish smirk returning to her muzzle. "Mhh, all the things I could do with you~. How exciting!"

<Please,> I moaned back exaggeratedly, very much looking forward to what she could come up with. <Punish this naughty 'ling to your heart's content!>

"Oh, I intend to," she laughed, licking her lips eagerly. The thing is, she didn’t go for the attack right away. Oh, no... she took her sweet, sweet time torturing me into a frustrated mess all because she could. Her plan was truly insidious, too.

Instead of teasing my body, or any other, similar strategy, she bound me tightly to the throne so that I couldn’t move a single inch even if I wanted to (and if I hadn't been paralyzed from ear to tail, that is). She went so far as to gag me with her silk only because she found it hilarious to see me in such a state. I can’t blame her, I really must have been a sight to behold because it gave our Swarm Commander pause as he entered the throne room, nostril bleeding openly.

Aww, what a little pervert~.

“I, uh...” Sting muttered, rubbing awkwardly at his muzzle, a bright white blush spreading over his chitin. “I, umm... I need to talk to you, General. Fucking hell, I didn’t need to see that...”

Shadra grumbled, displeased. “Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something here?”

Sting frowned. “It’s important.”

My Princess gave me one last pouty glance before stepping away from her evil machinations of leaving me without any relief whatsoever for hours on end. And just as things were getting interesting, I thought sadly. What a damn cock block.

I silently watched as Sting whispered something nervously to Shadra and I got increasingly more curious as she stole a glance back toward me. She bit her lip before nodding reluctantly to our drone. She then left the room, leaving me all alone. Paralyzed. Gagged and bound. Horny as fuck.

Twin suns be damned. Fuck.

This definitely was a punishment of a special kind. The boring kind, at that. I couldn’t even satisfy myself by masturbating, for fuck’s sake! I’m sorry, poor, neglected dick of mine. I truly am. I was this close to some extraordinary roleplay of slowly getting teased to climax, but no..! Damn Shadra and her stupid ninja drones. At least I got to suck dick for a few minutes before this whole thing turned to shit.

I’ll repay her in kind, just you wait. Just. You. Wait. My revenge shall be glorious, indeed. There won’t be a single corner in the hive that you will be safe from my wrath, my precious Princess. Mark my words, for my revenge shall go down in the annals of... all things vengeance and so on. Whatever.

Leaving me here all high and dry, what a bother. A true shame.

After the first hour was over, I slowly started losing hope that Shadra would return anytime soon to finish what she had begun. Not even Arachne came by to laugh her flanks off at my misfortune.

That didn’t mean noling came by, though. Oh, no. No, the true horror came much later in the form of my naughtiest child giggling their ass off as they found me sitting there on the throne, struggling to free myself from Shadra’s thoroughly restricting bondage.

Honeydew grinned back at me, and I swear, I started sweating bullets (not that I could, but still). “Mhh, what do we have here~? It appears to me like the spider has been caught in her own web~.”

“Mmph!” I glared back, struggling even more strongly to no avail. I shuddered in abject horror as my attendant stroked my mane and patted my head with a coo, trying desperately to move away. Alas, Honeydew made sure that my bonds were still as secure as they were when Shadra applied them to me. Which also meant... I wasn’t getting out of here anytime soon, stuck to the throne as I was. “Mmhmph! Mhmph...”

“What was that?” Honeydew asked, a malevolent giggle escaping their lips. “You want me to clean your ears first? Aww, how thoughtful of you, My Queen!”

“Mhrmph...” I sighed, resigning myself to my fate. Damn you, Honeydew. And you, too, Shadra.

I whimpered into my silky gag as I felt a slimy tongue invade my ear with an evil glee, lapping up every perceived imperfection to get them as ‘clean’ as they could possibly be. Not that they weren’t perfectly clean to begin with, but tell that to Honeydew. I swear, that ‘ling practically searched for the slightest excuse to have a reason to molest me to their heart’s content. Every time. Every. Single. Damn. Time.

One might have started to believe that this was Shadra’s plan all along. After all, this cannot be mere coincidence, I refused to believe that that was the case! No, the conveniently placed interruption must have been a clever ruse of my Princess to leave me here all alone and helpless, completely at the mercy of my overly eager worker.

The worst thing about this was, Honeydew was excited in more ways than one if you catch my drift here and they were crawling all over me. I tried to tune out the happy humming as they went to work on my other ear, but... it was all but impossible for me to do so. Especially when they were abusing my poor ears for far longer than what was ‘reasonably’ necessary. Or appropriate, for that matter.

Nothing about this was necessary, but that wasn’t the point I was trying to make. Honeydew simply had no sense whatsoever of when to stop and it was a futile endeavor indeed to make them see reason. Alas, first and foremostly, I was their Queen and not their mother and that apparently made me fair game in Honeydew’s eyes.

It didn’t stop there with my ears, either. No, far from it. Next up, they started running their fangs through my mane and... I honestly had to admit, it kind of... felt good? What can I say, combing my mane was an incredibly relaxing task I couldn’t get enough of (as long as there were no serious tangles, that is). Getting it combed by someling else was even more relaxing, in my opinion. So much so, even, that I started purring in delight, leaning my head into their ministrations with a happy sigh.

I almost forgot it was Honeydew being the perverted attendant that they were and not Shadra or Arachne, to be honest. Almost. As it was, Honeydew moved on to way worse places after they were done with my ears and mane. I desperately tried to keep the moan from leaving my throat, but the battle was sadly lost as I felt them nibble and lick my wing nubs. I was an absolute mess by the time they began to polish my shell with a little bit of changeling wax, my wings buzzing in short sporadic bursts after I was rendered into a puddle of pure bliss.

I have to admit, Honeydew knew what they were doing, as much as I hated being forced into this. I suppose there was a reason why I kept them around despite their rather... troublesome... behavior around me. They grew on your heart even with all of their flaws and... well, they were my child despite all of my misgivings. One of the first twenty-five, at that. I just... couldn’t stay mad at any of them, ever. Perhaps I was playing favorites with my first clutch, but... I don’t care.

They were precious to me, each and every one of them. Perhaps that was the proud mother in me speaking, but I didn’t regret a single moment of this. Even if it was inappropriate as hell, to be honest. Grabby, perverted attendant aside, I was just glad to have them.

I would cherish every moment with them, that I swore to myself, and I wasn’t about to go back on that promise. At least with those first twenty-four workers and drones. It was I that raised them, that... that kinda gave us a special bond among all of my brood. None of the clutches after that one could say this about themselves since I wasn’t allowed to take care of their infantile needs; neither had I the desire to do that again. Sure, I did love each and every one of my children, but... more like I would my subjects, to be honest.

It’s just... something different with my first clutch. All of the others, well... I can’t allow myself to grow too attached to any of them, it simply wasn’t my duty. Heartless as that might be, it would be for the best. My attendants knew that as much as I did, keeping my interaction with the larvae to a bare minimum. Not out of malice or consideration, but out of pure necessity.

A heartbroken queen is a faulty queen, after all, and a faulty queen does not perform to the best of her abilities. I have to fulfill my duty to the hive as is expected of me, no exceptions. Even if it might turn out that I won’t outlive my own brood, it was still by far the most preferable option. At some point, there will be just too many of them in the hive for me to care about all of them. That was already starting to be the case, more and more, I have to admit. Currently, there were more than half a thousand changelings in our quickly expanding hive, and sadly, there was no way for me to know all of them by heart (nor could I remember that many names).

Being the mother of the hive did not also mean I could be the parent they deserved. That job went to my caretakers and attendants. They were the ones who looked after the brood as soon as I laid their eggs. They were the ones who taught the new nymphs in the hive mind how to make sense of the collective hive memory. And with each new clutch, that memory got more expansive. While it would always be predominantly our knowledge being imparted upon them, experiences from our workers and drones would also join in on how to teach them to be a changeling.

After all, not everything was about science and porn (regretfully). A hive only works for as long as the workers know what to do to keep it running smoothly, and that also means looking after me and the brood’s health and comfort.

Speaking of looking after my comfort...

“I see someone is having fun,” Shadra grinned from ear to ear as she returned hours later, although it was somewhat subdued in its intensity. “I'm proud of you, ‘dew. Well done.”

“Mhh, I live to please~,” Honeydew giggled back, flashing me a coquettish wink as they licked their lips in a sensual way. I gave the misbehaving attendant a half-hearted glare as they gave me a peck and pranced past my Princess while rubbing their white, crystalline fur against her. “Whenever you have need of my assistance, do call for me, My Queen~.”

Of course, it wouldn't be Honeydew if they didn't do something incredibly naughty as a parting gift, giggling like a lunatic as they flicked their long, sky-blue tail to the side for the briefest of moments. I blinked, quickly averting my eyes while ignoring my own body’s reaction to that horrifying view.

They just couldn’t resist the temptation of embarrassing me even further, could they? Fucking gender experimenting bug, leaving me with a picture I wish I could erase from my memory in its entirety.

The worst part about this wasn’t the sight of a clearly excited and willing crystal pony mare, though, but the golden amber eyes similar to Amore’s staring back at me with nothing but devotion and dedication, almost to the degree of fanaticism, even.

Ugh. Why must they always torture me so? My own child, nonetheless! By the twin suns, where's the brain bleach?! I need to forget everything that happened in the last couple of hours. Nay, better make it the last couple of days!

For fuck's sake, the torture wouldn't even end as soon as the next day begins, would it? I just knew that Orchard was already salivating at the chance to tease me and 'more under the guise of 'wedding preparations'. I swear, everyone was out to get me. Even my own subjects, my brood of all things! Did I have a sticker plastered on my forehead that read 'Tease me, I need it!' or what?! It sure feels like it.

Luckily, this time I had a readily available 'ling to blame for all of my misfortunes. Shadra.

I turned my icy glare toward the aforementioned, misbehaving Princess and tried my best to kill her with my gaze alone. “You did that on purpose, didn't you?” I accused her, having long since chewed through the gag despite the heavy difficulty of trying to keep the moans to a bare minimum. My body still felt like jelly from what Honeydew did to me.

“Aww, don’t pretend like you didn’t enjoy the attention,” she snickered back, seeing how much of an ordeal it was for me to even sit up without flopping back down onto the throne (Honeydew eventually got rid of my bindings to get at every nook and cranny of my body). “Perhaps I need to have her give you massages on a regular basis if it leaves you in a state like that~.”

“Fuck you, too,” I grumbled despite very much hoping for her to go through with that ‘threat’. There was no use in denying it, getting pampered like that (even by Honeydew of all ‘lings) was the best thing that ever happened to me, relieving me of all of my stress. I really needed that, especially after that vision. Honeydew was a great masseuse despite their tendency to lick every inch of my body that they could get away with.

It was very thoughtful of them, really. That Shadra came up with this scheme in the span of a few minutes was kind of impressive, to be honest. I wouldn’t even say no to making this a regular thing... minus the deception, that is. I could do without that part. And the next time, I might just have to ask for one out in the waking world, too... without the bondage or the so-called ‘bath’.

“Haah, not even a thank you,” Shadra complained, seating herself next to me on the throne with a fake sniff of sadness. If I had the strength to do so right now, I definitely would have hit her over the head. Instead, I was powerless to resist her as she hugged me against her like a damn life-sized plushy. “Perhaps I shall reassign Honeydew to my retinue...”

I growled. “Don't you fucking dare...” I hissed at her, very much possessive of what was mine. Even if it was Honeydew we were talking about here.

“It certainly would make laying eggs so much easier if I could relax like that at the same time,” she hummed back and I weakly tried to hit her. My Princess merely smirked back at me as I couldn’t even lift my hoof high enough to put any force behind it. Not that the hit would have connected in the first place, either, it was pretty easy for her to render my attempt ineffective. “Now, now, don’t be like that. We do need more soldiers and infiltrators for what we have planned after all...”

I shivered ever so slightly against her as she nipped my ear with a self-righteous smirk on her muzzle. Oh, how the tables have turned.

Anyway, said plans still left me slightly uneasy, even if Shadra had a good point about why expanding our military was a good idea. Not just because of the umbrum, as much as I wanted all of these thoughts of violence put behind me as soon as possible. We do need to be able to defend ourselves from other threats when everything is said and done.

This world is wild, and that’s putting it mildly. Downright terrifying even, if one were to believe the tall tales some of our subjects have told us about monsters as tall as mountains. The umbrum were the least of our problems despite the fact that they were the most dangerous one to our continued survival right now. We knew of at least one other major threat living close by.

During some of the more stormy winter days, a large shadow could be seen within the clouds, keeping its distance for now. There was next to no doubt in me that that shadow could only be a dragon, probably one of ancient proportions. As of yet, it hasn’t become an actual problem. It was still keeping its distance from our home while making the distant mountains its territory, but that might change as soon as the umbrum didn’t stand between us anymore.

I couldn’t actually imagine there being much tasty food out there in the crystalline wilderness aside from the occasional small rodent surviving against all odds in such a hostile environment. And while dragons were apparently mainly geovores (something that was a quite fascinating dietary habit, that's for sure), they definitely did not shy away from tearing into living prey. There was a good reason as to why ponies were so afraid of such fearsome beasts, after all.

As much as I didn’t enjoy the thought, ponies (and changelings) were all on the menu of these huge, fire-breathing lizards and I don’t think a dragon would content itself with the meager, tiny crystal sheep we kept for their wool and milk (and because they were cute, that's enough reason by itself). If anything, being a geovore and all that, it would probably rip into the homes of my subjects and eat them at the same time, knowingly or not. Not that I think it would care all that much if it ate something sentient or not.

None of our subjects would stand a chance against a predator of those proportions, and I'm loath to admit it, but... even Shadra’s soldiers couldn’t hope to defeat a foe of that size without major sacrifices. The scales of a dragon were incredibly hardy against blunt force and due to their primary diet of crunching through gemstones like they were nothing, they were no doubt resistant to magic as well.

To make matters worse, almost all dragons my subjects told me of had one thing in common: they were known to spew fire that had the nasty habit of sticking to anything it touched, not unlike napalm. On top of that, those fires burn with such an intensity that rivals the temperatures of burning thermite. So... yeah. Our only real chance to defeat one would be a lucky shot, and that's assuming we won't face multiple at once considering dragons mate for life.

That dragon out in the mountains was the biggest threat to our continued survival after we got ourselves rid of the umbrum and I don’t like it one bit. Without something to keep it from getting bold, I feared it would inevitably set its sights on us (especially with such a yummy, crystall-y, heart-shaped doomsday device within easy reach).

That’s not the only concern on my mind, though. Aside from the numerous monsters surrounding us, there were still other dangers to our Empire out there. Some overt, others... not so much. One such thing were other nations. While I could very much reason with my own consciousness the necessity to get rid of monsters out for our blood, such was not the case for potential foes of the pony variety.

We have to be careful, Shadra couldn’t stress that point enough, but... I don’t like how easily we let paranoia guide our hooves in regard to these unknown pieces on the chessboard, for a lack of a better analogy.

Yes, we need to be prepared and gauge possible motivations others might have for our nation, but that doesn’t have to mean it has to sit right with me. Shadra was effectively planning to infiltrate other nations (or what counts as nations, anyway) only because she wanted to prevent them from doing something stupid. Not just that, though. If push comes to shove? Shadra fully intends to dismantle them from the inside out before they can even think of making a move against us.

Her motivations weren’t quite as righteous as they appeared to be at first glance. No, she mainly planned to do this for one reason alone: vengeance.

My Princess could care less about the Earthen Kingdoms or the Empires of the Pegasi and the Unicorn Kingdoms. She had her sight firmly set on a former subject of ours and I reluctantly have to admit that we have to be wary of her. Gentle Breeze—or Gentle Shadow as she called herself now, I guess—was not to be taken lightly. Especially her little pet demon.

Wherever she went, we were all but certain she would spread her curse around to others, intentionally or not. Not just her, either. Rock might get weak at some point, something I fear was a certainty rather than a possibility with his staunch refusal to accept his change. If anything, his firm belief in being a monster will cause him to go down a path that will spiral further and further down into self-hatred. When he does, he might do something that pushes him over the edge that he so desperately tried to avoid, only to become an actual monster in the process.

Let us not forget about that pegasus she turned, either. Whoever ended up in that stallion's horseshoes was most certainly not the original owner of the body, which begged the question... what kind of horrors could Gentle and her 'subjects' set loose upon this world? Clearly, whoever controlled that body was willing to use their own supernatural abilities to get what they wanted. We need to be prepared in case a power-hungry thestral went—well... crazy.

I really am not in the mood for a vampire zombie apocalypse, seriously.

It was paranoid of us, but it was pretty much a necessity for us to keep tabs on them. Shadra—as misguided as her fear was—wasn't the only one with concerns regarding them and their nature. I'd rather make sure they get along peacefully with the rest of the world, and if that meant full-on spying on them, then I would support my Princess in that decision. It was better to be prepared than to watch everything burn due to inaction.

First, we have to stop the umbrum, though...

"It has already reached the edge of the city?!" I asked, aghast as Sting showed us what he had found on his early morning patrol. It was barely larger than a rice corn, but it was unmistakably a corrupted crystal, almost pitch black and devoid of any magical resonance as far as we could tell.

Not even a week after the first discovery, it has already spread this far. At this rate, there was no point in hiding it anymore. Ponies were noticing something was going on and the farmers were already raising a fuss that they had been barred from working on the fields by our Swarm Commander.

I felt a hoof touch my shoulder and forced myself to keep my breathing calm while barely keeping my wings from buzzing up a nervous storm of erratic chirps and angry buzzes. Amore gave me a pointed look. "We're going to figure this out, Ara. Whatever is causing this, it's not going to make the shield falter."

I snarled. "You know as well as I do what is causing this, Amore," I hissed, glaring at him. "It's that scum outside our Empire, there's no doubt about that."

"If that is the case," he began, speaking slowly and skeptically, a frown starting to mar his calm composure. "Then why does the heart not affect those crystals?"

"I—" I opened my mouth only to close it immediately afterward. Why didn't it? It should, for all intents and purposes, defend us against this... incursion, for lack of a better word. If this really was the fault of the umbrum, then why did it continue to spread without resistance from the Crystal Heart? Why didn't it purge these crystals? They were clearly not meant to be here.

<That is a good question, indeed,> Arachne hummed, examining the contamination with us. She had given up on ponyfying keyboards since she couldn't think of a single method that didn't require at least a little bit of precision. Precision that hooves severely lacked, despite their remarkable ability to manipulate things in their grasp. Alas, even magic hooves were incapable of applying pressure on a small point. Something like—you know—a specific key on a keyboard. At this rate, it would be easier to just use a pencil to press the keys down instead of designing a pony-friendly keyboard. <As far as I can tell, those darkened crystals seem entirely harmless, so maybe the Heart doesn't register them as a threat?>

<'Seem' harmless, being the keyword here,> Shadra pointed out with a dark mutter. <Nothing of their design could ever be harmless. You saw what they did to Gentle, this is just another attempt to find a weakness in our defense.>

<You're being too hard on Gentle, Snugglebug,> Arachne pointed out. <She has been dealt the same cards we've been dealt and she made the best out of her situation, trying to do the right thing. You can't fault her for what happened to Quartz, she didn't know.>

<Yeah, right,> Shadra snorted derisively, and before she could bring the full might of her bitchiness to bear, I stopped their petty squabbling before it could turn into an actual all-out fight.

"That's quite enough, both of you," I hissed quietly under my breath and my Princesses let out a yelp as I mentally hit them over their heads, using my presence alone to shut them up. While I do have to admit that my Princesses outclassed me everywhere where it counts, I did have an advantage over them that I was happy to abuse. All of the memories I stole left us with a considerable 'weight' (I'm not fat, don't even think about saying it to my face), and the majority of that ended up with me.

To be honest, while my heavy presence was pretty much akin to a mental battering ram, lending itself to cause some very blunt trauma to a pony's psyche, sometimes a more accurate and precise method was needed. In that way, my Princesses and I complimented each other nicely (as Shadra had already proven with General 'Poop'... I wonder what happened to him).

That does not mean my method wasn't any less effective, though. Far from it, even. While we couldn't cast actual spells of that nature at each other thanks to our natural immunity against mind magic, I could still very much use my weight to my advantage against them (damnit, I'm not fat, don't listen to anything Shadra says!).

In the end, it really was only a matter of being on top and it didn't help that the majority of the hive's partition was run through me. That's one rather important discovery we made over the years and we still have much to learn about it.

The main thing we discovered about how it worked, was that the hive wasn't just one big 'something' that all of us could retreat to. It was, more or less, a symbol of our very power. The more it grew, the more minds it could accommodate. And since we technically had three queen changelings running the whole thing, each one of us had their own 'space', a partition as Arachne liked to keep calling them.

My faithful Princess mainly used her own part of the hive to do her research and experiments without any interruptions. There were only a few handful of our children who called her partition their home, and... well... it shows, let's leave it at that.

Shadra's little 'slice of life' was very pretty... on the surface. It does go to show how seriously she took the training of her drones (and a sizable number of workers that found their passion with a more 'wilder' style of life), but... a monster-infested tropical island? Seriously?

One couldn't argue the effectiveness of it, but still... it’s a bit too much. Were it not for the hive mind being able to revive someling after a few hours of dreamless sleep, I would have actually gone through with my threat of tearing Shadra's chitin off her body. It was a downright cruel method she chose for the training of her soldiers and infiltrators, though it did teach them everything they needed to know and then some.

I very much preferred that they learn how to survive anything in a 'safe-ish' environment rather than die out in the waking world for good because they got careless. In that regard, I let Shadra do what Shadra does best and kept my complaining to a minimum. Excessively dangerous training regiment or not.

It was downright surreal, wasn't it? You go through one door in the hive palace (huh, that's actually a pretty good name for it to distinguish it from the one in the waking world) and you end up in a crazy scientist's lab (that suspiciously looks like the one where Tabetha and Walter Bishop had sequestered themselves off to in our previous life), or, if you go through the one directly opposite of Arachne's door, it brings you to a beautiful but downright terrifying death trap.

Meanwhile, my throne room sits right in the middle of it and seems comparatively bland were it not for the secret door leading to my evil lair.

Actually, it's not really an evil lair and the secret door is anything but a secret. It's not even really a door, to be honest, it’s more like a crude hole in the ground leading to a staircase going down to a magic door that opens to either a perfectly normal study or another staircase going to the top of the hive palace. Said hole was expertly hidden by an illusion that can only be lifted through the use of emotionally charged mana on our throne (I was quite proud of coming up with the spellcraft for that one).

It was one of my favorite places to be, to be honest. It wasn't windy up there at all and the sight over the Empire was simply... out of this world.

Despite the fact that the palace was mostly empty with no decoration at all for the moment, it didn't feel like there was no life in it. If anything, the opposite was the case, seeing how the majority of my changelings used it as a place to do their work, hang out, and relax.

A palace that was all but finished within the waking world, as well, which brought us to the question of how to do this. Moving the Crystal Heart to its new designated position, that is. And the entire population of the Crystal Empire, for that matter.

There’s no doubt in my mind that, as soon as we move the heart away from the top of the tower, the umbrum will see it as their chance to strike a blow against us. And I got a very bad feeling that those dark crystals were going to play a big role in their plan to snatch the Crystal Heart away from us and plunge this world into darkness.

The problem is, ponies were already starting to get afraid, what with Sting interfering in the farmers’ business and generally keeping everypony away out of fear they would panic over the corrupted crystals. It’s not like our Swarm Commander was wrong about that assumption, either. Ponies do tend to flee rather than fight. Only when they were rallied together would they stand against their opponent.

In the end, the only thing we could do was to be as careful as we could be while also trying to get the job done as fast as possible. This was the endgame we have been working towards for the past few years and we couldn’t afford to put this off any longer than we already did.

I took a step back and let Shadra take control of our body, my nervousness overwhelming me for a moment. All this time... all this damn time, I looked forward to this very moment, longing for the moment to pay the umbrum back for what they did, to pay Mother back, but now that this moment was finally upon us... I felt nothing but worry, fear, and dread. Something was going to go wrong, I just knew it. And I couldn’t stand to watch it. I couldn’t watch as everything went to shit because we forgot something. Something we couldn’t have predicted and prepared against.

For some reason, though... I couldn’t not watch as Shadra commanded Sting to prepare for the next stage of our plan ‘Liberate the ponies, take two’. It was basically just an order to make sure there was nopony out in the fields or near the outskirts (or suns forbid, near the shield), while also moving everyling out of the hive, sealing it behind them in the hopes the umbrum would ignore it.

The problem with that wasn’t the ponies protesting against it or bringing everyling into the city proper. No, the actual problem was what we had to leave behind in the hive. Everyling drank as much honey as they could muster, barely putting a dent into our storage by the time every drone and worker had deserted the hive, leaving still more than half of our stored honey behind.

That wasn’t everything, though. Far from it, even. The main reason Shadra ordered the hive sealed was our brood. It was all but impossible for us to move the larvae out of their comb and bring them into the palace, nor was it possible for us to move the pupating ‘lings out of the brood chamber. In the end, it was a question of what we needed to protect the most and we had to admit... changelings were a lot more disposable than ponies were. It hurt my heart, it truly did, but we had no other option but to hope that everything would turn out to be alright.

Despite what Amore said, his powers could erect a shield as vast as the one the Crystal Heart could project, but it wouldn’t stand a chance against the umbrum for long if he were to do that. That meant he had to make it as big as we needed, not as big as he could possibly make it. The smaller it was, the stronger it would be and that meant leaving out the outskirts, and with those, the hive. The shield was limited to the total range of the inner city and no further.

Sometimes, sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. All we could do was to fight on and keep the umbrum’s attention on us instead of what might lay hidden underneath their shadowy hooves. If they never look towards where the hive was concealed, then there won’t be anything to worry about. The possibility was there, though, and it scared me shitless.

Knowing my luck? I couldn’t help but fret and agonize over what might happen. Alas, my concern for my subjects was greater. They already went through one civil war (or what counts for one, seeing that it was more or less a one-sided slaughter), they shouldn’t have to go through another potentially bloody encounter.

My nervousness rose as Amore and Shadra ascended the stairs towards the top of the Crystal Palace and I could barely pay enough attention to what my Princess was talking about with our Swarm Commander over the hive link. Status and progress reports whizzed by me as I felt like chewing on my lip, actually infecting my Princess with my nervous energy until she did start to worry our lips in unease. It only lasted for a second, though. Amore took notice of our distress and gave us a gentle nuzzle as we came upon the last stretch of the spiraling staircase (as much as I wished to ban stairs, these were actually easy to traverse so I 'tolerated' them).

“You okay?” Amore asked and Shadra rolled her eyes, huffing. “Not, then. I can’t say I’m feeling much better, myself. To be honest, I had hoped we could just... ignore this forever and not worry about what awaits us beyond the shield.”

“You knew this day would have had to come, one way or another,” Shadra reprimanded him half-heartedly. “We can’t just stay passive and do nothing, that’s like playing right into their hooves. The longer we do nothing, the more opportunities they find to fuck up this world.”

“Language,” Amore admonished her, equally as unenergetic about it as Shadra was. “Remind me what I need to do?”

“Just concentrate on that shield, love,” she smiled, cresting the last step. My Princess looked out towards the bustling changelings coming out of the closest hive tunnel. Others were already hard at work sealing up the rest of the entrances with silk webs, changeling wax, crystals, and a final layer of dirt. Some ponies were noticing that something was going on since there were rarely that many ‘lings up on the surface at the same time (doubly so for the caretakers, not that I think anypony can see the difference). “Sting is moving everyling into position, then we are going to evac everypony to the palace. That’s the point where you put up the shield and I bring down the Crystal Heart. Once I’m down there and put it into place, we should be safe and have enough time to activate the doom laser.”

Amore snorted. “It’s not a doom laser,” he said, mirroring Arachne’s own irritated words. Not that Shadra cared in particular.

“After we are done with that and somehow figure out that riddle with the door from Araneae’s dream vision, you and I are going to marry the fuck out of each other,” Shadra proclaimed, tail twitching excitedly. “Invite as many extras and bystanders and foreign dipshits as you want for a pompous wedding, I’ll drag you before Serene for a private wedding this damn day and you will say ‘Yes, I do’ with a fucking smile on your face. I can’t wait anymore, Snowflake. My Queen is barely holding it together, she needs this. We need this.”

“A... private wedding? And a large, openly shared one?” Amore asked, tilting his head in what appeared to be confusion. It almost seemed like the concept was entirely foreign to him. I suppose it shouldn’t really come as a surprise to me, that type of wedding shenanigans was typically more common in a modern world with things like the registry office acknowledging your marital status and the church or a similar institute doing a ceremony and whatnot. Especially since Amore was (more or less) royalty now, which opened a whole other can of worms.

Suffice it to say, Amore was more than a little bit overwhelmed by the idea that you could marry in more ways than one. Okay, maybe I should phrase it more like ‘there are even more ways to marry than a commoner’s or noble’s wedding’ (or a royal wedding, as the case might be).

Religion, too, was an entirely new concept to him since there was no common god ponies worshipped (aside from the twin suns, but those were neither gods nor were they actual living, breathing beings). The closest thing to that was the Soul of the World and I don’t think he was about to go and prostrate himself before them since—you know—the whole ‘turning you into a lich’ thing.

It was a compromise he didn’t particularly enjoy, but he did have to admit that it would be a lot less stressful that way since we wouldn’t have to worry too much about making the most important day of our lives perfect. We could actually enjoy our wedding instead of it being ruined by us having to ‘play our parts’.

I mean... we kinda still have to put on a performance for the ‘big pompous wedding’ as Shadra put it, but at least we will have one day to truly enjoy and remember it by, untainted by the rigid standards of a royal wedding. That has to count for something, right?

And, well... I kinda want to give every other nation the middle finger and say ‘Fuck you, it’s my wedding, assholes’ since everypony is expecting a big spectacle.

Amore did bring up his biggest concern about others looking down upon us for defying tradition, but I could care less about what they thought. Heck, I’m pretty sure everypony and their dog would see me for what I truly am: a slut and whore at heart. They wouldn’t be wrong, but... well, image and all that. The only real reason that I wasn't sleeping around anymore since I got together with Amore was a simple one: I didn’t want others to think less of my Snowflake (nor did I want to break his trust).

Sure, some idiots might still try and come up with reasons to tarnish his reputation, but I already had the perfect argument against their stupid schemes. Who else could claim to have tamed the real-life equivalent of a genuine sex demon? Despite my best efforts, I failed to utterly corrupt him with naughty behavior. The only thing missing now was a leash connected to a collar around my throat coupled with a little doggy tag of my name hanging down from it (now there’s a kink I didn’t think I would ever have... although, while I am more of a cat enthusiast, myself, I wouldn’t say no to being treated like a pet~).

<We are about to initiate phase two, General,> Sting said, throwing me out of my musings. Shadra was diligently scanning the streets below, letting out a confirming hum. I could almost taste the uncertainty in the air as our subjects were told to meet in an orderly fashion further into the city. My heart filled with pride for my own subjects as they didn’t begin to panic like I feared they would. If anything, they actively helped out in the evacuation effort as some of them realized that something big was about to go down.

It really goes to show how efficiently the streets were designed, offering enough space to guide everypony through them without it immediately ending up in chaos. One thing we definitely didn't need right now was a stampede of frightened, candy-colored ponies.

Seeing everything from above also made me realize how much this Empire of mine had grown. It was almost like watching a river of sparkling rainbows flowing through the streets. If this hadn’t been for the reason of bringing everypony to safety, it would have been a downright memorable sight.

“You ready?” Shadra asked, glancing at Amore out of the corner of her eyes. Instead of answering, he merely nodded, chewing on his lips faintly. “Alright... on my mark, then.”

It took only a few minutes until Sting sent the signal that nopony was hiding in their homes and were well on their way to the center of the city, going for one last sweep to make sure there were no stragglers. Once he was certain that everypony and 'ling were within the range of the shield Amore would cast, Shadra began to count down from three out loud. With each number, my anxiety spiked more and more until I heard Amore suck in a deep breath. I felt like curling up on the spot right then and there, a brief flash of a memory flitting through my mind of a twisted skeletal grin staring back at me with malicious glee, unaffected by the attack I sent her way.

Mother would be there again, wouldn't she? She and a whole bunch of umbrum, bashing against Amore's shield like a horde of mindless zombies. Suddenly, I didn't feel so confident in my abilities anymore. We were going to fail and there was nothing we could do, it was inevitable, I was going to die again, and this time—

It wasn't until I felt the mental embrace of both of my Princesses that I calmed back down, recognizing the oncoming panic attack for what it was: unconstructive.

Get a grip on yourself, Araneae. You are better than this. There's nothing to fear. Nothing.

And why would I cower before that bitch like a defenseless puppy? I was stronger now, I could harm her now instead of barely leaving behind a scratch. I have to be. I just... have to.

<Don't worry, lovebug. We ARE going to kick her non-existent butt back to the dump she came from,> Shadra said and the sheer confidence in her words gave me some of my strength back. Enough to go through with this, I hoped. <Trust in me and in yourself. We got this.>

Right. Right! We got this! Together. Amore, Shadra, Arachne, and I.

Let's show them the true power of unity and harmony, of love and friendship, of hope! Never again shall we let their presence befoul this world! That, I swear.

A light blue shield shimmered into existence, a bright flare of light illuminating the day even further than what I thought was possible. Then, the corona around Amore’s horn grew even larger as the barrier expanded rapidly out to encompass more than half of the city down below before I felt my Princess return Amore’s nod, turning towards the floating Crystal Heart behind us.

Shadra let out a shuddering sigh before glaring ahead with nothing but pure determination. “Well... ready or not, here we go.”

The Crystal Heart resisted Shadra’s attempt to remove it from its proper place, desperately trying to stay in place with a distressed humming sound, until, at last, the barrier that has kept us safe for the past few years sputtered out of existence and the Crystal Heart lost its radiant shine, appearing as it did when Amore had first found it.

“Good luck, Snowflake,” Shadra whispered, taking a leap over the edge of the large platform we were standing on. Immediately afterward, our wings buzzed loudly to slow our fall down to a controlled descent, and the ache of the underlying injury returned with a vengeance.

Halfway down, a loud shrieking sound rend the air in a deafening wail of hatred. My Princess only gave a startled twitch, eyes drawn to the horizon as it visibly darkened as the overwhelming mass of umbrum made a break for the only thing standing between us and utter annihilation. And in the lead was a vicious red streak of smoke.

Mother.

A snarl came to Shadra’s lips and I felt her emotions bubble over to me and the rest of the hive, they were that powerful. Indignant, unadulterated rage drowned out all but one of our senses: sight. It was like our body went on autopilot as a sense of urgency filled us.

Now or never. Either we win... or Mother ushers in the apocalypse like the megalomaniac lapdog bitch that she was.

To speed things up, Shadra turned our relatively fast descent into a downright nosedive to get to the ground as fast as possible. Each thundering boom of our heart in our ears felt like a countdown, a race against the clock. Amore wouldn’t be able to keep that shield up for a longer length of time, even less so once the umbrum reached it and bashed themselves against it in a frenzied bid to break through. We needed to hurry up or risk casualties in the high hundreds before we could activate the Crystal Heart. A number we could never recover from, I fear.

The hive would continue on, I knew that much. For as long as this body continues to breathe, the hive will recover from everything anyone could throw at it. The question, though, was at what price that would come. I knew it would drive me mad, downright crazy even, were I to lose everypony around me and my changelings. And I couldn’t guarantee what I would do then, going to desperate lengths to never endure such a loss ever again.

Thankfully, those were (still) only hypotheticals and we did not intend to see it become a reality. Shadra would fight to her last breath to make sure it would not come to that. As would I, for that matter. I would fight through my doubts and fears, even if that meant standing face-to-face against Mother again. Even if everything I could throw at her would prove to be ineffective, I would not let my fear paralyze me! I could not allow myself to succumb to my own terror against that... that fucking bitch. She might be nigh indestructible, but unlike her, I actually have something worth fighting for!

I am Queen Araneae and I was better than some two-bit umbrum thinking she could take away my Empire! My ponies! My changelings! My love! This is my domain and none with wicked intent shall be welcome here.

We crashed into the ground with a mighty thud, and had we not increased the buzzing of our wings to an almost agonizingly fast pace, we might have not been able to move away from our rather harsh impact. As it stands, the most we sustained from the fall was some cracked chitin, but we fought through the pain together with a synchronized hiss, snorting out a puff of air just as we looked up to see Mother crash against Snowflake’s shield with her full might.

It withstood the strike. Barely, at that. She let out an angry wail.

We smirked, sure of ourselves that we could finally deal the deciding blow against her and her ilk. One glance back told us enough that our subjects were beyond terrified while even our own soldiers, pony and changeling alike, were trembling in their crystal armor. Despite that, all of them had determined scowls on their muzzles as they readied their spears, love-infused crystals at the tip of each one. They wouldn’t be enough to actually deal any lethal damage to the umbrum, but they sure as heck would annoy them enough to buy us time. Hopefully.

“Get ready!” we cried out, the Crystal Heart zooming underneath the palace in our telekinetic hold. Before it could reach the center, though, a massive boom echoed all around us, followed by a splintering sound. Our heart skipped a fearful beat as the magical feedback caused us to lose our grip on the heart-shaped doomsday device. All around us, we saw the dissolving shards of Amore’s barrier fall from the sky in glittering particles of mana before everything seemingly started to slow down.

No... Amore, we thought with growing panic, knowing the backlash of a violently disrupted spell would have no doubt sent him straight into unconsciousness. Even more so with the scope of the magic involved in creating such a massive shield.

After the one thing standing between us and the umbrum broke down, the world literally sunk into darkness and the umbrum came at us from every direction, blackened crystals shooting out of the ground in lethal spikes, skewering anyone caught unaware by them.

No, no, no, no! No! NO! Not like this! Not. Like. This!

We screeched out in agonized pain as one such crystal stabbed into our side, draining a whole chunk of energy right out of us in one hit before we could manage to dislodge it with a heavy grunt. Fucking hell, what were those?!

More and more of those darkened crystals made their way out of the ground, thankfully far slower this time as if they lacked the same momentum of the initial attack. That did not mean they were any less effective at what they were doing, infecting the streets with a dullness devoid of life, hope, and love.

They were corrupting the entire Empire with their foul touch. The only hope we had left was the Crystal Heart or our home would be forever lost to us. All the hard work we put into making this place liveable would be for naught. My hive... it probably looked a lot worse in there considering I could see the towering crystal formations on the outskirts of our Empire from here.

I have to do something. Anything.

With a bit of difficulty, I seared the wound I received from the initial attack shut to the best of my ability to stop the bleeding, telling those within reach to make a stand around the center underneath the palace. We need to hold back the spread of the infection before it could reach the heart of the city. I feared that, if the umbrum managed to corrupt the palace, even the Crystal Heart couldn't salvage our situation.

Sometimes, I really do hate this damn house of cards we've entrusted our lives to. Fuck this world, seriously.

A sinister laugh behind me, scratchy in quality, made my body lock up for a moment. “At last, the day has come for me to take my side by my master once more. Do you surrender now?”

I frowned as I turned my head and saw her standing over the Crystal Heart with a victorious look on her ugly mug. My eyes were fixated on the Crystal Heart and Mother’s cruel, lifeless gaze. Despite the fear I felt being this close to her again, I answered defiantly with the only word that came to my mind. “Never.”

“So be it, then...” she responded and reared up with a twisted skeletal grin of glee on her grotesque muzzle, intent on shoving all of her malice into the heart-shaped doomsday device, no doubt. Before she could do so, I snatched it up in my telekinesis. Sadly, she wasn't so easily outdone by my attempt to stop her, a dark red aura immediately settled over my own as we started to struggle for control over the Crystal Heart.

In a last desperate bid, I focused everything I had to give into the heart, hoping it would be enough to activate it like last time.

Alas, nothing happened. The only thing I heard from her was a dark chuckle as I was left stumped. How could this be? It... it should have worked! Why isn’t it working?! Our erratic thoughts were cut short as we tumbled away from where we stood, our breath leaving us in an explosive burst as pain pierced our body before everything turned numb on us, vision blurry.

“How pathetic,” Mother snorted while we struggled to get back on our hooves. “To think a filthy mortal like you could have been strong enough to mar my perfect body so. I’ll take great pleasure beating the life out of you, you pathetic insect. Your torment in the Maw will be eternal.”

“I’ll give you pathetic insect, bitch,” we growled back, sending a lance of love-infused magic right back at her. Our aim was true had it not been for the fact that the damn smoke monster split her body down in the middle to avoid the blast.

“I won’t be taken off-guard so easily like last time,” Mother sneered at us, the roiling smoke of her body flashed with a malignant red light as her appearance started to appear more like a tempestuous storm.

Before we could move so much as a limb, she was back on us and drove us back into the ground, kicking us against a pillar of our own palace with equally swift movements. The fearful shrieks of my subjects felt muted in my ears as clear blood trickled out of a nasty crack in my abdominal shell as my wounds reopened. I winced with every breath I took, trying not to lose consciousness as I started to become lightheaded.

It was all for naught. I didn’t stand a single chance. Not in a million years. And yet, despite all of that, Shadra, Arachne, and I forced our abused body back onto our hooves defiantly. Once more, we shot a lance of pure love towards Mother as she reached a spindly leg out towards the Crystal Heart. Like before, it didn’t connect, but that wasn’t our goal.

As long as we kept her from taking the Crystal Heart, we could buy Amore enough time to get his shit together and—I don’t know—activate the heart-shaped doomsday device against all odds. Chances are, it won’t happen anytime soon, but I don’t care. All I cared about was annoying Mother enough that she wouldn’t focus on her goal and instead keep her one-track mind on squashing the bug that dared stand in her way: me.

I knew with perfect clarity that I wouldn’t come out of this encounter alive, Mother wouldn’t stand for it. At this point, I have already made peace with that possibility. I just—if I went down, I wanted to make sure to piss her off enough that she might make a mistake so that somepony, anypony, might turn this around and save the day instead of me. I was the bait and distraction and perhaps that would be all we would need in order to save this world from utter annihilation.

And yet... I didn’t want to die. I wanted to smack that bitch around like she did me so effortlessly, but... even if I could, even if we were evenly matched, I doubt I would walk away from this fight without some lasting injuries. None of the flutter ponies could even begin to hope to fix this up after the fight was over, so... what was the point, anyway?

A hoof connected with my cheek and I felt my head whip to the side. Or rather, my whole body flipped through the air until I landed in a heap, unmoving. I couldn’t even groan as everything hurt like hell. All I could do was lay there in pain and look up with my blurry eyesight. The Crystal Heart was right there in front of me, still very much inactive. Gray and dull. Just like everything else around me. The color of the world, drained and lifeless.

I failed to stop them. The umbrum had won... hadn't they? I was back in the Realm of the Dead. I was dead.

I heard a huff near me. “Are you really going to give up so easily?” a rough voice admonished me, their voice echoing unnaturally. It was deep; too deep. Almost like the vocal cords were inhuman. Or whatever the equivalent of inhuman actually was for ponies.

Another voice, this one feminine, let out a hum. “Aww, don’t be so hard on them, you big lug,” she said and I fought the urge to close my eyes tiredly and succumb to our exhaustion. “They are clearly doing their best to stand against a foe they have no hope of defeating. I think that's admirable, Invincible.”

“Clearly their best is not enough,” the rough voice from before shot back. “This world cannot fall to the likes of Zovaal, Celeste. It would give him everything he would need to unravel reality as we know it. Azeroth is not the only titan capable of providing him what he needs.”

“Have a bit more faith in them,” the second one countered, and... I blinked as the ‘creature’ entered my vision at last. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, and then some.

She was beautiful, there were no other words to describe her otherworldly appearance. She was made out of light and stars if I had to take a guess. Or what appeared to be like tiny stars, anyway. They were connected with little beams of light similar to what people would so often depict constellations as.

“She’s pretty badly wounded,” Celeste commented, looking me over with gentle eyes. Or what counted for eyes, seeing that they were made out of light like the rest of her stunning body. “At this rate, Equis will fall. We have to help her.”

“You know we are not allowed to interfere in the business of mortals, Celeste. Certainly not with mortals on the verge of dying. There is a reason why we reap them when they are already dead and not a moment earlier,” the stallion she called ‘Invincible’ responded sternly, coming into my view next. Again, I blinked, this time horrified beyond measure.

What stood before me was for all intents and purposes, a zombie. A genuine undead pony. Like Celeste, Invincible’s wings were bat-like, but that was where all the similarities ended. His wings were torn and rotten, bones showing through his flesh on multiple joints, and his hooves were entirely bare. Where there was still fur, it was all a sickly gray-blue color while his tail was a dirty gray and black, unkempt and brittle. He wore a helmet of ornate faded gold and barding that I would have expected to see on a warhorse back on Earth during the Middle Ages.

The most disturbing thing were the empty sockets where his eyes were supposed to be. Instead, two ghostly orbs were floating in the middle of them, staring back at me with cold uncaringness.

Celeste jumped on his back, hugging him from behind as she gave him a loving nuzzle. The zombie pony before me shifted awkwardly on his legs while his wings twitched in irritation and—My, my, was that embarrassment? “Nothing forbids us from giving them a hint, now does it~?”

“What good will that do? They are already as good as dead, anyway,” Invincible grunted back and Celeste pouted. “I have to do my job and bring them to their afterlife, you know that. No exceptions.”

“Well... they are clearly not dead yet,” she pointed out, looking back at us while sliding off his back before skipping over to us with a cheerful spring in her step. “And you know as well as I do what will happen if we let her die. Fate has plans for her, does she not? She would not have hidden her from our sight the first time around if that weren’t the case. She's important.”

“Hmph,” Invincible snorted and I forced enough ‘air’ into my lungs to... pathetically moan in pain. Fuck dying, seriously. It hurts way too much. Why would anyone do that? “I don’t like this. Not one bit.”

“I'm just saying. Fate has her plans with this one, whether you like it or not. If you take her champion, she will rip the Afterlife apart to get her back,” Celeste shrugged, laying a hoof on the ugly crack in my shell. I didn’t even feel her touch and I feared they were right. One more hit from Mother and I would have been outright dead. There was only so much punishment our body could take and our foolish defiance wasn’t helping us any. “It’s okay, dear. Take your time, you are safe here. This moment will last for as long as you need it. The umbrum wouldn't dare to cross over as long as Invincible is here. He’s kinda a big deal, even among the denizens of the Maw.”

“Why...”—I hissed in pain—”...why are you two helping me? Who are you?” I breathed out with difficulty, probably looking as pathetic as I felt right now. My vision was swimming around from side to side. That’s probably not good. “What could you tell me that would—ngh—that would help my situation? I failed. There’s nothing I—fuck—there’s nothing we can do against that bitch.”

“Hmph," Invincible grunted. "You say that like you stood a chance against Mother in the first place. That you even managed to land a hit on her and mark her face is remarkable in its own right. I’ve got to give it to you, you've got fire. Facing off against a foe of her magnitude not only once but twice... not many are willing to do something like that. Or quite so foolish, for that matter. I don’t see many mortals like you around, and I have seen my fair share of them. I suppose there is a reason Fate claimed you as her champion.”

“And yet, I couldn’t even land a single blow on her this time around,” I grumbled, hissing in a breath as I felt a sharp pain in my sides from talking too much.

Celeste tutted. “Savor your strength, dear,” she reminded me kindly. “You will need it. As for who we are and why we are here? Well, I am the Celestial Steed, a titan-construct of hope, victory, and order. Or... I was, at any rate. Now I am merely a self-aware automaton defying the purpose I was built for!” I gave her a look at how cheerful she made that sound. She’s a weird one, isn’t she? “All I really do nowadays is keep this doofus here company and serve as his conscience. He’s got a bit of brain rot, you see.”

“Celeste...”

The mare let out a giggle, unperturbed by his ire. "And as you might have guessed, he is called Invincible, once upon a time the steed of the ruthless Lich King and now the Horse of Death, ferrycolt of lost souls, big grumpy lug, and loveable doofus. It’s his job to guide every sapient equine to the Eternal Fields.

"A while ago, the Arbiter sent us to guide you to the Shadowlands, but we were unable to find your soul anywhere. How you escaped your fate is beyond us, but... I can’t say it’s a bad thing. Clearly, the Grand Weaver places a lot of trust in you and I can't say it is misplaced. You have done a lot of good in your time here on this planet, dear.”

“I don’t understand,” I muttered almost silently. "You said you guide equines to their afterlife, and yet, you were sent to help me when I wasn't even a pony at the time. That doesn't make any sense to me."

She smiled. "Your mortal form doesn't always reflect the shape of your soul, you know? Nor does it stay like it is for the rest of time. Just like we grow and change as a person with knowledge and understanding, so, too, does our soul. I imagine Fate has had her interest in you long before you were chosen as her champion in this world."

"So, I really am her pawn, then?" I mumbled, closing my eyes with a long and weak sigh. It's not like I didn't know that already, but... damn, it hits way closer to home knowing it for certain. I just hope Fate had the best interest for me in their heart.

"That's not exactly the word I would use to describe your relation to her," I heard Celeste answer and I forced my eyes open for a moment to see her frown thoughtfully. "Child, maybe? The concept of time and destiny doesn't exactly reproduce with each other in the conventional sense if you get what I mean. I'm not entirely certain, to be honest here."

"Right..." I muttered to myself, trying to keep myself conscious (it was a losing battle, I'm afraid). “Why are you trying to help me if you are here to collect my soul, instead?”

“Sometimes the right thing to do is to not follow your orders,” she answered and I opened my eyes again ever so slightly to peek at her. “One more soul in the Shadowlands won’t change much, you know? Your presence in this world, on the other hoof, though? Fate might very well depend on it. I wasn’t joking when I said she would rip the Afterlife apart to get you back.”

“Right...” I snorted mirthlessly. “I’m her willing pawn, after all. That doesn’t change a thing about my situation, though. I’m—ugh, fucking shit, ngh..."—I gritted my teeth while screwing my eyes as tightly shut as I could while my stomach felt like a pincushion for red hot glowing knives—" I'm no closer to defeating the umbrum than I was before, and the damn fucking Crystal Heart won’t react to my prodding, either. I gambled everything on this and I’m about to lose all that I hold dear to my heart. What can I really do? I can't even stand, anymore; much less breathe without pain.”

Invincible grunted. “You really are dumb,” he stated and I wilted from the eerie, cold stare he gave me. “Giving up when you are so close, what a truly mortal thing of you to do. I cannot fathom why Great Equis and Fate herself chose to trust you of all ponies if that’s how easily you break under pressure.”

"Yeah, well... fuck you, too," I spat back at him with a snarl on my lips. "I'm a weak little mortal with mortal fucking pain, asshole. You try fighting Mother like this, I dare you."

Invincible let out a seething growl. "You arrogant little—" he began, stalking towards me with flared-out wings and an ugly scowl on his muzzle.

"Now, now, there's no need for that," Celeste admonished us both while holding her partner back from murdering me for good. "I'd rather you do not kill Great Equis' last hope, okay? She's barely holding on to her life as it is. Have some compassion for once, you big, dumb lug."

"Always taking the mortal's side," he grunted to himself poutily, pacing around the plaza while kicking his legs childishly. I decided to ignore him in favor of asking Celeste about something they've been bringing up multiple times now

“This Equis...” I whispered, curious. “Is that who I think it is?”

“Why, yes, indeed,” Celeste nodded, smiling again. It was like she was almost proud of me for figuring that one out. I kinda got the impression she was easy to impress, really. “Not many have the honor to be able to speak to the voice of the world. Not even the alicorns of old were bestowed with that privilege, but let’s not worry about those stupid stallions. They have done enough damage as it is.”

“Alicorns?” I asked, confused.

Invincible huffed. “Not important right now,” he said before Celeste could explain, causing her to pout. “What is important is your remaining time. You are lucky you are drifting between life and death right now or we would have not been able to talk with you right now.”

“Yay,” I deadpanned, not feeling very ‘lucky’ right now. If anything, the pain I was in was not at all enjoyable, seriously. “What can I even do that would change anything? You already pointed out that I was as good as dead, anyway. Just let me die in misery and anguish like the failure that I am.”

“Aww, no need to be such a depressed pile of sorrow,” Celeste tried to cheer me on, only to cause the opposite effect. There was nothing to be happy about. We made a massive mistake because we were fucking paranoid. The palace was obviously not done ‘enough’ to be put into operation or we made a mistake somewhere else. Perhaps the corruption has already spread too far, who knows? We should have triple-checked everything before going through with this hare-brained scheme. “While we can’t help you out directly, all is not lost. Not yet, anyway. We are allowed to... ahem, remind you about things you already know the answer to!”

“I don’t see how that’s going to be of much help,” I grumbled. So much for reassurance, I thought sarcastically.

“Don’t be so hasty to dismiss her words, mortal,” Invincible scolded me, a frown on his skinny muzzle. I kinda got the impression the stallion didn’t like me a whole lot (not that he seemed to be like the overly caring type, anyway). “If it were up to me, I would reap your soul right now and be done with it, Fate be damned.”

“Now, now,” his companion began, laying a calming and comforting hoof on his shoulder while she had an admonishing look of her own on her muzzle. “The poor child is just scared. We went over this a thousand times already, didn’t we? You really need to work on those social skills of yours.”

“Hmph,” the stallion huffed, rolling his wisp-like eyes in their sockets around.

I’ve got to say, their interaction with each other was really confusing, at times. I’ve got no idea what their relationship with each other was like, sometimes it was more like what one would expect with siblings or close friends, then at times, they acted like a cute but weird couple. Though not like a married couple, from the looks of it. Best friends couple?

“And as for you,” she started, turning her head around to look at me, instead. “For someone in the grace of Great Equis, you certainly take your sweet time to actually listen to their words. How many more times does it take for the point to get across to you?”

“I—what?” I asked, wincing from pain as I drew my head back as she got a bit too close for comfort. “I’ve been doing my best to keep everyone safe!”

“Not that!” Celeste groaned, dragging a hoof through her face. “The door, you dummy! How is it that you haven’t been able to open it?!”

“I don’t even know where it is!” I shot back, glaring at her (much to the displeasure of her companion). “You know, I’m sick of these fucking shitty cryptic riddles, can’t anyone of you fucking asshat gods speak plainly for once?!”

“I need to correct myself,” Invincible sneered. “You don’t just have a lot of fire in you, you’re outright suicidal! I’ll give you ‘asshat god’, you little—”

“Stop!” Celeste said, holding the angry warhorse back with seemingly no effort at all. “They are just frustrated, don’t take it out on them. They are already damaged enough as it is, you don’t need to tear their soul into a thousand more pieces on top of that.”

“You are too forgiving, Celeste,” he growled, glaring hotly at me. “Back in the day, none would have dared to oppose me!”

“Back in the day, you were a slave, you idiot!” she shot back, glaring equally as hotly back. “A slave to a servant of his design! Stop acting like you are still under his influence, he doesn’t hold any sway over you anymore!”

Instead of continuing the argument with her, Invincible turned his head away in shame and began to sulk in earnest this time. While he was distracted with letting his anger out on nothing in particular, stomping his hooves around like he was throwing a temper tantrum, Celeste gave me an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry about him. It has been a long time since we had to talk to a pony on the brink of death, he usually collects souls when they can’t talk back at him anymore.”

“It’s fine, I... I should also apologize,” I smiled faintly. “We don’t have the best social skills, either.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me, my dear,” she said and shook her head softly. Her left hoof reached out to me to brush a stray strand of hair back behind my ear with motherly care. “You are right to be so upset with—well, with ‘our’ not-so-stellar way of helping mortals out. I can’t speak for Great Equis, but I know it is not always easy to find the right words and we can’t always give you all of the answers. Sometimes, we forget that you mortals think in different ways than we do, so... maybe we really do need to be more precise with our words.”

“Right...” I hummed, almost having forgotten that there were fundamental differences between us like that. It was pretty easy to assume that she and her companion were more mortal-like than ‘Great’ Equis after watching them interact with each other so... casually. It was easy to forget that they didn’t think like we do since they seemed so—well, not quite normal, but not entirely alien, either. They were relatable and easy to empathize with. Like any other person you might come across, I guess. They had their own difficulties to deal with, one of them apparently being me. Or how to help me without outright interfering in mortal business. Now, that does make me question something... “Say, if you’re not allowed to meddle with the mortal world... why do the umbrum do so without anyone stopping them?”

“Because they are crazy sycophants of an imprisoned madman intent on unraveling everything you know,” Invincible answered before Celeste could so much as open her mouth. His facial expression was stormy at best and downright furious at worst as he glared towards me. “They do not care about the order of the Shadowlands, nor do they care about actually fulfilling their sacred duty to punish the evil of those that are irredeemable. They only care about breaking the seal on Zovaal’s prison, bringing nothing but despair to every world in the multiverse. Do they really strike you as beings that care about what they were supposed to do?”

Celeste let out a saddened sigh and nodded in agreement to Invincible’s words, her ears folding back in depression. “There was a time when things were different, a time where death didn’t come to those before it was their time, but that’s long in the past now. As for why no one is stepping in... let’s just say there are some difficult conflicts brewing throughout the Shadowlands. I fear war is coming, dear. It is important that we do our best to prevent it, but we can only do so much by ourselves. You do your part while we do ours, okay?”

“I... think I understand,” I sighed, feeling reminded of my inability to be in the right place at the right time. “What do I need to do, then? How do I find this door?”

“You already know where it is, dear,” she said, tapping my chest lightly. “Follow your heart and it will show you the way. There are so many ponies relying on you and I know you can do this. Have a bit more faith in your abilities.”

“Easy for you to say...” I muttered dejectedly. “I don’t even...”

Invincible groaned in exasperation. “By the Arbiter, shut the fuck up,” he sneered at me. “Stop pitying yourself, you moron. I’ve seen the things you’re capable of. Both Celeste and I have kept an eye on you since you brought the Heart of the World here and you know what I’ve seen? Someone willing to stand between those who seek to destroy all those they love and nigh insurmountable odds. Mare up and send that bitch to where she belongs. You are a Child of Fate, act like it.”

I stared wide-eyed at the irate stallion as he gave me a challenging look and... I felt a chill run through my body. It wasn’t one out of fear or despair, but one that made me afraid of disappointing his expectations in me. I couldn’t for the life of me fathom how he could be so confident in me—in us—it was almost surreal to see him smirk back at me. And somehow, in some way, I knew he wasn’t just saying this to inspire me. He was merely stating the facts as he saw them.

Invincible knew I could do this and so I believed him. Celeste, too, for that matter. They believed in me and didn’t even think failure was an option. It was as simple as that.

And as I thought of everypony cowering in fear, hoping beyond hope that their Queen would protect them and make the big bad shadows go away, a fire lit itself in my chest. A fire that banished all my doubts and fears. A fire that gave me the confidence I needed to go on, to do what was right, to do what was necessary, and... the will to live on under any and all circumstances.

My subjects needed me. Amore needed me. My hive needed me. My Empire needed me. Nay, the whole world needed me to be strong right now.

As I opened my eyes again, the two guardians were gone and the world had gained its color back. Or what little color was able to make it through the darkness of the storm brewing, at any rate.

Dark black crystals were surrounding the city from all sides, jutting out of the ground high into the sky like oppressive monoliths. And among all of that, the umbrum were gleefully ‘playing’ with those ponies that tried to run for their lives in blind panic while others were futilely trying to hide from their malicious gaze.

In the middle of all of that was Mother, maw wide open as she sucked all love and hope out of the Crystal Heart. Hate and rage spilled from my eyes in bubbling tears and I wanted to do nothing more than to sink my fangs into her ugly as sin neck.

This ends now.

I took a deep breath of air and readied myself, Shadra and Arachne at my side as pure power gathered into our very being. We tapped into all our reserves and strengthened our resolve with a determined glare.

This time... this time for sure.

<For Amore,> I whispered over the hive mind.

<For our subjects,> Shadra added in.

<For the world,> Arachne finished.

Everything turned white for a moment as we unleashed the energy in our horn and sent it hurtling straight at where Mother was distracted with the Crystal Heart. Unlike last time, though, we didn’t actually aim towards her.

Mother cackled as she reformed back into her semi-corporeal form of storm-like smoke. “You really are incapable of learning from your mistakes, are you not?” she taunted us as she turned around to regard us. “All you are doing is wasting your energy trying to fight back against the inevitable. You—”

Before she could continue to mock us, she saw our fanged smile of satisfaction and we took immeasurable pleasure in her shock as her ghastly eyes widened in realization.

“Fuck you, bitch,” we spat right as the wave of unadulterated love washed over everything in its path before the shockwave imploded upon itself, bundling itself in the Crystal Heart. Even more energy went into it than what was initially released from it as everypony joined in, bowing deeply to the ground as every street lit up throughout the Empire and something truly magical happened.

The corruption of the umbrum was cleansed and fatal wounds healed in a matter of seconds. But that was not everything yet. Not by a long shot. A loud hum joined in with the cacophony as a pillar sprung forth from underneath the Crystal Heart while another came out of the ceiling of the Crystal Palace, sending all that accumulated energy up into the tower towards the spire and up into the sky.

“No!” Mother shouted, seemingly in pain as she desperately tried to reach a smoky, sizzling hoof out towards the cause of her distress.

She was far too late in doing so, though.

Right as the energy went up into the atmosphere of our planet, spreading an aurora of positive emotional energy over the whole world, I heard a click not unlike that of a lock being opened. Gale-like currents whipped my mane and tail around as an unseen force dragged every single umbrum toward the center of the plaza underneath the palace.

I knew right then and there what they had meant with me knowing where the door was located. And to be absolutely honest, I felt like hitting myself over the head for not seeing the obvious signs before this moment. The door never was on this side of existence, it was in between the Realm of the Living and the Realm of the Dead. It was a door to a separate reality by itself. A door that led to the perfect place to keep the umbrum away from causing harm to this world, whether here or in the ‘Shadowlands’.

We were, at long last, free. After more than half a decade of cowering behind a shield, living in uncertainty and constant fear... it was finally over.

“Curse you!” Mother screeched as she did everything in her power to hang on for dear life against the pull that would send her to her new ‘home’. “You know not what you have done, fool! You... raghhr! You will suffer the wrath of—ngh! The wrath of those restless souls destined to an eternity of torment! The cold icy chill of death awaits you!”

“You don’t scare me anymore,” I snorted as I looked down at her. My body felt light for the first time in so long, despite what its crystalline appearance suggested. All of my mortal wounds were gone, my confidence as good as fully restored. “And even if that were the case, we will stand valiantly over this world and protect it from horrors like you! I will make sure of that!”

Mother’s eyes grew more desperate as her grip got steadily weaker as the pull increased. Unlike her, though, I was completely fine, unaffected by the force trying to suck her in. Right as I stomped my hooves down on her legs, she let out one last wail. “Not when I damn you and your 'children' in turn!”

An icy cold feeling ran through me as her spindly leg transformed into an impossibly long spear, shooting toward me as she let go. A breathless gasp escaped my lips as I felt a sharp pain in my lower abdomen. Then, everything was replaced by an unnatural calmness, not a sound reaching my ears as everything returned to normal.

All of the dark crystals were gone, but I felt no reassurance from that. My eyes wandered to my stomach and saw a faintly glowing white scar where Mother left me with her last parting gift.

A wound that throbbed with unnatural coldness. A feeling of uneasiness settled over me despite not feeling anything physically hurt anymore. The only thing that proved to be the opposite case was a tumultuous sensation in my gut, sort of like stomach cramps. Only... not quite like stomach cramps. It was a weird, foreboding sense of wrongness that permeated my body. It made me worry about what Mother had said.

Clearly, she did not mean any of my children who have already seen the light of day. No, she obviously did something that would influence the brood I have yet to give birth to. All on top of the loss of our beloved hive nursery...

<Hey,> Shadra commented, snapping me out of my troubled musings. <Worry about that later, okay? We’ve got to get back to 'more, remember?>

“O-okay,” I breathed out while my heartbeat jumped nervously around all over the place. “Amore first, then... everything else.”

<We’ll have the caretakers look us over when everything has calmed down,> Arachne reassured me as I flew with some difficulty up towards the observation platform on top of the palace. The ache from the torn wings was all but a memory now, and yet, it was still a heavy strain on us to fly without transforming the holes away. Despite that, though, the fully crystalline appearance the shockwave had caused turned them almost glass-like, giving us far better lift than what we could've achieved before. On top of that, it seemed like all of the nerves connected to them were simply ‘gone’, for lack of a better description.

While my wounds have disappeared from the rather vicious beating I received from Mother, the blood I lost did make me feel more than a bit lightheaded as I arrived at my destination a few minutes later. Out of breath, I dragged my tired self onto the platform, only to find Amore missing.

“Ugh...” I moaned, shuffling back onto my hooves after I felt like I wouldn't immediately lose my strength to stand. Naturally, I felt stupid for assuming he would stay around waiting to be rescued like a damsel in distress (even though it would have been fun to do so). He was probably already on the way down as I finished up with Mother, having awoken from the boost in power the Crystal Heart sent spiraling directly up towards the spire with him caught right in the middle of it.

Whelps. There was no use in bitching around like a little nymph right now, I'd better go and find the idiot before he starts worrying too much. I’d rather not end up being squeezed to death, thank you very much. He and his damn ‘hugs’, I swear. It’s like he sometimes forgets I’m a squishy bug and haven't got any internal bones whatsoever. All I have is my chitin, which is considerably easier to bend than a bony skeleton.

Ah, well... it’s not like I don’t enjoy the overzealous show of affection. Now, if only I could turn that into pure, unadulterated lust for my hot as fuck body, everything would be just perfect~.

The thing is, as I searched through the usual spots in the palace we frequented on a regular basis (aka the throne room and our bedroom), I couldn’t find the beige stallion with the rosy mane and tail anywhere. As was the case for the city and our little home away from home on the edge of the Empire. Or the fields, the restaurant slash café, the school (he did like to spend some time teaching the little ones how to read and do math), Orchard’s place, the caverns below... heck, even our not-so-little-anymore book-obsessed yeti friend hasn’t seen him. It was like he was suddenly gone from the face of... well, Equis, apparently.

His absence totally didn’t cause me to panic and order a thorough search of the surrounding area. And I totally didn’t go into hysteric Queen-Empress mode, yelling at my subjects to find my Snowflake even if it cost them a night of no sleep at all. I could barely sit still on my throne as I went over one unlikely scenario after another, all the while trying to keep the tears at bay as I was completely lost on what to do without Amore by my side.

Not even my caretakers and attendants could keep me distracted long enough as they examined my body quite thoroughly to find out what Mother had done to me in her last desperate act to get back at me.

The news wasn’t quite what I expected to hear from their findings as they finally figured out what was wrong with me. “What do you mean, the sperm pouch is gone?!” I screeched, shaking Florea around by her shoulders.

“My Que-e-e-en, I-I...” Florea tried to speak up, only to moan pathetically from the vertigo I ‘might’ have inflicted on her. I let my attendant go with an embarrassed flush, trying to compose myself to the best of my ability while the guards tried (and failed) to keep their expressions neutral.

Perhaps I need to have a word with Guard Captain Crystal Wall about them, now that I thought about it. Their discipline appears to be severely lacking in some aspects. Honestly, sticking their fuzzy little ears into business they didn’t belong in. One more snicker out of their muzzles and I swear, I’ll... do something terribly inconvenient for them! Like... putting them on sewer duty. That will show ‘em.

I'm evil, I know. No need to pat me on my back, thank you.

“What Florea tried to explain to you,” Melipona said, rolling their eyes while holding a ‘fluid’ sample in their magenta field of magic, studying it intently. “Is that the main sperm pouch has been rendered almost completely inert. Thankfully, it seems only that one has been affected by the umbrum’s curse and the others are still functioning as they should.”

“And what does that mean? Do I... do I have to be replaced?” I asked, terrified beyond measure. This couldn’t be happening! Not now. Not when I was this close to finally fucking ‘more and his juicy dick! Provided they find him anytime soon, that is.

Useless. Everyone was just fucking useless. How can it be that hard to find one fucking stallion that stood out of a crowd like a damn fucking giant?! Equis fucking damnit!

<Deep breaths, Ara,> Arachne told me and I tried to follow through with her instructions as best as I could at the moment. <That’s it. In. And out. In. And out.>

“You won’t have to be replaced, My Queen,” Florea whispered, patting my shoulder comfortingly while I got my breathing back under control. This was all just too much. First the umbrum, then Amore, and now this bullshit. Can’t I ever catch a break? Was the universe really out to get me? “It just means you will have to fill up on sperm more regularly. And you won’t be quite able to reach your full potential laying eggs, but that might work out to our advantage.”

“R-right,” I nodded, gulping in one last deep breath and holding it for a moment before slowly letting it back out. “Less likelihood of causing swarming behavior, that’s... probably a good thing.”

“It’s only going to delay it, at best,” Melipona mentioned offhoofedly, narrowing their eyes on the sample currently in their hold. It’s better to leave it unmentioned how they got that sample; I’d rather not get into the details anytime soon. Preferably never if I could help it. “We don’t know the exact number at which the hive would grow too large for one queen alone to support it. For all we know, we could already be close to surpassing that number. We still have a large enough surplus of honey despite—you know—the hive being in the state that it is.”

<An overabundance of honey does not indicate whether a hive will go into swarming behavior or not, Melipona,> Arachne commented, though she did not outright deny our caretaker’s words. <It just indicates we are more than ready to do so. That, or we have a lot more room to grow before we actually need to swarm.>

“The more important question is,” I began, giving both Florea and Melipona a hesitant and slightly anxious look, nervously rubbing a hoof over the other foreleg. “How long do I have? Until I run out?”

“That’s, um... hard to tell, My Queen,” Florea answered, glancing over to Melipona, seeking help. “You haven’t been inseminated in more than half a decade, and, uh... even with the stasis your body automatically puts the sperm under, it’s hard to tell for how long they remain viable and we don’t know how much goes to waste during the process of laying eggs. Much less so how many eggs you’re going to lay next time since the number hasn’t been stabilizing itself yet.”

“Just shove our Prince’s penis in you and everything should be fine, anyway,” Melipona snorted, disinterestedly. “I don’t see what the problem is. We have bigger things to worry about. You know... like our hive. Rebuilding it is going to take years if not longer.”

“How you decided to become a caretaker is beyond me,” I sighed, dragging a hoof through my face. “Oh, wait! I know. You like teaching the nymphs all about naughty time. How silly of me to forget! I am well aware of our situation with the hive but none of that is going to matter as long as I can't fulfill my duty.”

“No need to say that in such a snide tone, My Queen,” Melipona shot back, looking at me for a second before going back to studying the vial like it held all of the mysteries in the world. “Besides, they like the practical demonstrations and Honeydew is more than happy to help me out when I ask her. Or him. It really depends on their mood and I’m not going to say no to being pinned to the floor every now and then. I have to admit, I prefer worker dick over drone dick...”

“Please, spare me the details,” I grumbled, not intent on finding out what the difference was between being fucked by either of them. Nor did I want to hear about my children’s naughty time with each other. It was already hard enough to go around the hive mind without falling into a lustful haze at the constant moans and grunts permeating the air like a friggin’ city-wide mass orgy. Changelings really do lack an off-switch for their libido, seriously. “Anyway, what is it that you are scanning that vial so intently for? Haven’t we already figured out what the curse did to me?”

“No,” Melipona said, shaking their head with a frown. “I cannot put my hoof on it, My Queen, but there seems to be some kind of foreign element in each of the samples I took from your spermathecae. It’s more prevalent in the sample we took from the main sperm pouch, though.”

“Meaning?”

“That the curse did much more than just render the main sperm pouch inert. There’s no telling what this is going to do to you or the eggs you are going to lay,” they answered almost clinically, going back to squinting at the sample. “I’ll have to run more tests on this in the laboratory later. We should also examine you in the Hive Palace to see if there are any differences between your physical body and the hive representation of it.”

“Ugh, must we do that?” I complained, grimacing in distaste at the idea of doing the examination all over again. “You just want to poke around my snatch some more, don’t you?”

“Guilty as charged,” Melipona said with an overly sarcastic tone of voice. “Because that’s all we ever care about, now is it? Fondling our Queen to our own sick pleasure. I can't wait to do it again, woohoo and all that.”

“Do not play coy with me, my child,” I shot back, glaring at them. “I’ve known you for more than five years and there hasn’t been a single one of you that hasn’t taken their pleasure out of that. I’m like the forbidden fruit none of you are allowed to touch, and yet, you try to do so anyway.”

Melipona merely snorted in response to that, although she didn’t attempt to deny any of my words this time. Even Florea looked sheepish, a faint blush on her muzzle as she avoided my gaze. She was by far the least ‘weird’ one of my first twenty-five children, but... well, she clearly had a thing for excessively mothering everyling. Me included. Especially me.

Serene Orchard and Florea would get along famously, wouldn’t they? Thankfully, my attendant didn’t leave the hive all too often (this being an exception since... well... the hive was pretty much in ruins right now, as were the rest of the outskirts of our Empire). I just knew they would be a bad match-up. I’d rather not deal with their particular brand of affection from both of them at once.

Speaking of Orchard, though...

As the day finally neared its end without Amore in sight, both Sting and my (still) best friend delivered the bad news that my fiancé has yet to return and was nowhere to be found even in the surrounding area around the Empire. He was simply gone as if he vanished completely from the face of Equis.

Even the palace, as vast as it was, has been searched through quite thoroughly multiple times by now without any results whatsoever. Which led to me sitting forlornly at the edge of the platform on the top of the palace, gazing out to the distant moon in worry and longing.

“He’ll be back soon, you’ll see,” Orchard whispered, resting her head against mine softly. “He would never abandon you, My Queen. Neither would I and I'm still here, am I not?”

“Orchard, please,” I sighed, trying to ignore the weightless, detached feeling as everything felt so... distant. Meaningless. “I told you to stop calling me like that how many times now?”

“Oh, let this foolish mare have her will,” she rolled her eyes. “You deserve more than some flattering words after all you have done for us, especially recently. There’s only one way I will stop doing that, and unless you are going to change your mind about that, that’s not going to happen, will it?”

I glanced at her from the corner of my eye and frowned ever so slightly. “No, I guess it won’t.”

After all, Amore had no inclination to open up to a polyamorous relationship, and I sure as hell wouldn’t break up with him in a million years. As much as I entertained the idea from time to time, Orchard and I were simply friends, nothing more. A relationship with her wouldn’t even last a full year and most of that time would be spent trying to forget about our past loves.

Not that I think Amore was gone for good. He must be out there, somewhere. I was more worried about what that kind of relationship would do to Orchard, to be honest. She needs somepony that would take good care of her, not make her even more miserable.

She needs a steady relationship above all else, not a distraction. And I fear somepony like that was rare to find, considering Orchard’s usual behavior of being a massive flirt with no restraints, whatsoever. Somepony like Quartz, to be honest. He was hardly affected by her stranger quirks. Or someling... someling like Melipona or Florea.

Nah. That’s a bad idea, isn’t it? Matching one of my children up with my best friend, that’s... kind of really weird. While Melipona was reliable to a fault, they certainly wouldn’t keep Orchard from indulging in her more... wilder fantasies. And let’s not forget that it would be a disastrous idea for Orchard to have a changeling for a lover.

A changeling that could take on any form Orchard desired. Like her husband. Or any other pony, for that matter. Worse yet, anything that could come to her mind, including things that no sane pony would entertain the idea of.

I would know because she has been getting increasingly more interested in our shapeshifting abilities. And the knowledge we possessed from Earth. Knowledge that included the internet.

I should have never mentioned porn to her.

Oh, Amore... where are you? I won’t survive for long without you. Not with ponies like Orchard and Honeydew around me. I’m barely keeping myself together without you here. There’s only so much comfort my best friend could provide me, and the less said about Arachne and Shadra, the better. Angry sex doesn’t even begin to describe their own frustration right now.

Please, come back to me. I fear I might start snapping at ponies before too long, and I really don’t want to do that, ‘more. I really don’t.

Dealing with nervousness is not my strong suit. The longer he's gone without a single sign of life... the worse my mood will become, I just know it. And I don't even want to entertain the possibility of 'more being gone for good. I couldn't t-take that.

Just... please, come back. I need you. Please...

Chapter 011.5 - Rise, Child of Love.

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Amore turned his head, taking in the glimmering lights all around him as he tried to ignore the uneasy feeling in his gut due to the fact that the floor was pretty much non-existent despite him clearly standing on ‘something’. Right now, he never empathized with Araneae’s fear of heights more than he did at that moment in time.

It was scary, having nothing but an unending abyss of nothingness underneath him. Well, not quite nothingness, there were the odd glowing lights, after all. Not that they helped with his current predicament.

“Where am I..?” he muttered to himself, turning once more on the spot while trying not to listen to his bladder’s protests about doing that. He was a unicorn, he wasn’t meant to stand on thin air. Nor was he supposed to be in this starry void, in the first place.

Instead of getting an answer to his question, Amore was left to wander this strange realm on his lonesome, not knowing where his hooves would ultimately lead him. The last thing he could remember was passing out from the sudden shock of having his shield blown to pieces; no doubt the work of Mother.

“I hope Ara is alright...” he sighed, deciding to pick a direction and just go with it. He doubted rescue would come for him anytime soon (if ever). Araneae certainly wouldn’t know where to begin searching for him and it made his heart ache with pain. She was going to be so worried once she noticed him not being where she left him.

Not that he wasn’t worried for her, as well. There was no doubt in him that Shadra, Araneae, and Arachne were fighting against the umbrum right now. It’s still somewhat of a novelty to him, being together with the changeling queen. Three ponies in one body... it was such a fascinating relationship they had with each other.

Each one of them has their own little quirks and he loved them dearly. It was hard to imagine his life without the three of them there anymore.

Arachne was so full of life and her insatiable curiosity was endearing in its own way. While she wasn’t in control of their body all that often, every time that she was was always a memorable sight to behold.

He has yet to understand all of the advanced theories she constantly threw around like it was nothing to her. All the wondrous things they kept speaking about... their old world must have been a paradise in comparison to this one, he mused. He couldn't quite fathom why they sometimes spoke of it with such disdain, but every time he tried to get them to open up about it, they either deflected his questions or clearly downplayed their explanation for reasons he couldn't even begin to fathom.

For such a proud being, his love held more than her fair share of shame for their old life. He found it very admirable of her to strive to be a better pony. Or changeling, rather. Living with so many pony tribes in one big community was also something he never thought would happen. Certainly not in the way they did now.

Sure, he had hoped to one day achieve what Araneae made look so easy, but he was under no illusion that it would have taken decades, if not centuries, without Araneae's intervention.

It was one of the reasons why he fell so in love with her. All three of them. They were something else entirely, weren't they? Their view on life and society was unlike anything he had ever known and it made him want to live up to their expectations, to not disappoint them.

Although, if what he heard from them was indeed true, he was well on the way to do just that. Shadra was already getting desperate and very much impatient to... well... have sex with him. She was even determined to reserve her virginity with her, uh... 'mare parts'... because she wanted him to be her first. That was something very special, wasn't it? So... why did it feel like he was forcing her to keep herself pure for him? Why did it feel so bad, knowing she must be torturing herself so much if what Araneae said about their female genitals was right?

Maybe Arachne was right, after all. His dream of a perfect romance was slowly driving a wedge between them, he could see it in their eyes sometimes. The maddening need and the resentment for not getting what they wanted. And yet, they were still perfectly respectful of his wishes. A small part of him argued that he was being selfish and that he should move past his irrational fear of disappointing them with his 'amateurish' performance he was sure they would rate it as.

He truly was a prude, wasn't he? Too afraid to become intimate with the love of his life... it was kind of pathetic, he has to admit that to himself.

Then again, how could he not be afraid of disappointing her? His wife-to-be? She was utterly perfect and so... so open about her wants and needs. To a shameless degree, even. For once in his life, Amore wished he wasn't born into a noble family not because his relatives were indisputable monsters with their sight set on the throne that they constantly came up with schemes to ensure it would belong to them one day, but because... if he were a commoner instead, he might not be such a disappointment in Ara's eyes. He would be free of the expectations that came with being born of noble descent. He would be free to be himself.

"And what is it that stands in my way of doing just that?" Amore asked himself while his pace slowed down to a crawl. He kicked his leg in frustration, frowning in thought. "Why can't I just be more like Ara?"

He sighed and moved out of the way as a glowing orb of golden light floated past his head. If he wasn't trapped in this place and didn't have to avoid looking down, this place would have been beautiful. Peaceful. Serene, even.

Alas... he was worried and scared that he might never see his love again. Or anything else but this starry void of life, nopony there to talk to. He really could have used somepony willing to lend their ear to him right now.

"Ara would know what to do," he mumbled to himself, dragging his hooves listlessly. "She always does..."

Another little orb of light almost bumped into his distracted self, startling him out of his somber thoughts. He cupped the wisp in his hooves as he sat down, staring into it as if he expected it to answer all of his questions. If only it could make his worries disappear and show him the way out of this strange plane of existence; everything would be better then.

"Am I even worthy of her?" he asked the orb, doubt welling up inside of him.

It was an endless circle of uncertainness, wasn't it? That's one thing both he and Ara had plenty in common. They both constantly had to second-guess themselves, always full of doubt whether or not they were good enough for the other.

Although... Ara had way fewer of those than he had since they started talking about their worries instead of bottling them up. It was hard to let go of these fears, though. After all, how could he? His love made it all look so easy, being carefree and so… confident. In herself and the way she held herself. Only when they were alone did she let those masks drop, showing him her vulnerable side so openly.

He knew better than most that being worthy of love wasn’t a question of being good enough. Love is a powerful thing and it does not care about such trivial questions as to whom is worthy of whom. And yet, he couldn’t help but feel like she was too good for him.

“She feels much the same way,” a gentle voice said, making the poor stallion jump, startled.

Amore turned around and saw... “Orchard..?” he asked, aghast. “You’re here, too? Oh, no, no, no. Please, tell me Ara isn’t all alone by herself. She’s going to be so devastated.”

“She is going to be fine, Child of Love,” Orchard smiled, an air of mysteriousness around her. “Come, dear. There is something very special waiting for you here.”

Amore frowned, confused. “I—you’re not Orchard, are you?” he observed, hesitantly stepping away from the other pony. Despite his paranoia, he knew this Orchard meant him no harm, but… maybe Araneae’s tendency to show distrust to those she didn't know was finally starting to rub off on him.

“No,” the Not-Orchard pony admitted, a proud motherly smile on her muzzle. A smile that caused her eyes to sparkle with an inner light.

"Who are you, then?" Amore asked, uneasy. He didn't notice it before, but now that he paid closer attention to her and the feeling her presence had, he could tell that she took meticulous care in suppressing her 'weight' as Ara would say so that she would not crush him utterly. Even the small amount that got through felt like a hundred times more powerful than how just one of the archmages of the Mage Order felt. "And where are we? What kind of place is this?"

The pony currently posing as Orchard gave a small laugh at his curious questions, beckoning him to follow her with a tilt of the head. Amore did so, his steps slow at first until they picked up speed to match her gait. He wasn't fond of the idea of being left alone in this weird landscape decidedly lacking in the 'land' aspect.

"This is a most special place, young one," Not-Orchard explained, gesturing around herself with a sweep of her leg. At her gesture, the lights rearranged themselves to show various windows of moving pictures Ara had once mentioned these 'com-puh-ters' to be capable of (and the multitude of naughty ways those had been used for). "It is a place that shows your true character to those walking these hallowed halls. Should you be found unworthy of the feat that brought you here, we will be able to see so."

"I don't even know how I ended up here," Amore admitted, his ears splaying back as a fearful flutter raced through his body. "What happens if I am found unworthy?"

"Nothing dramatic like you think, dear," she told him, putting his fears to rest. Not that it helped all that much in combating his nervousness. He couldn’t quite put his hoof on it, but walking next to her made him feel small. Not in an unimportant, insignificant way. No, it was more like he stood next to something incredibly pure and his mere presence threatened to taint that purity with his own mortal imperfection.

He was standing next to what could only be a god, he realized. A genuine being of unimaginable power... and they were escorting him through a place that was apparently used to judge ponies of ‘being worthy’. For what, he didn’t quite know, but with everything that has been happening to him and Araneae, he was sure that it was going to be something big. Just what has he gotten himself into this time?

Most of the panels floating next to the path they traveled on depicted different memories throughout the entirety of his life. Even his time as a newborn foal, neglected by his parents as they left him in his crib because they couldn’t bother to watch him as he cried for the comfort of the ones that brought him into this world.

And as he grew older, he was painfully reminded that he was never looked after by his parents. The only times they really bothered having him in their presence was to serve their ultimate goal of teaching him how to ‘seize the throne’ in the hopes of gaining it through him. It was a despicable thing, merely seeing him as a tool rather than a living, breathing being.

The ones that actually raised him were the servants of House Luna, taking pity on the poor colt, teaching him every value he held dear to his heart even to this day. They and his grandfather, Astraeus the Second, were his real family in his eyes, showing him what it meant to be loved and appreciated.

The only good memories he had of his foalhood were of the few playdates with his cousin where he could genuinely act like a foal of his own age. Those only ever occurred during the few times when his parents left him with his only remaining grandparent, though.

Amore knew now that they only did that so that they could go on their important ‘business trips’. Trips that were, in all actuality, attempts at overthrowing the monarchy through various means he’d rather not know the particulars of. Not that any of them ever bore fruit, the latest of their hare-brained schemes thwarted by none other than Araneae herself.

He doubted they would ever give up, probably already plotting their next attempt to get an heir upon the throne. They weren't even above trying something with one of the many minor family branches if it got them closer to their goal. Although he was certain his family wouldn't involve themselves with the more 'illegitimate' members of their vast family background, he wasn't quite so sure about that anymore. Certainly not after the culling of many major noble houses in Unicornia.

He wondered what happened to his cousin after the revolution. Amore dearly hoped he was in good health, it would be a downright shame should something have happened to him. Much like him, the phthalo-blue-furred unicorn despised their family for everything that they did to him. He could see it sometimes in his eyes, the sadness and resentment for what their family had in store for him.

It goes to show how much Amore’s family expected the inevitable disappointment he would become by not marrying Princess Gold Bar. No doubt did they think they had a better chance at the throne with his cousin, training him to become nothing more than a weapon to be used and discarded at the earliest convenience. All at the age of ten years. It was a wonder his cousin never broke in the face of adversity, holding on to the hope that someday, he would be free of the machinations of their rotten family.

Much like him, his cousin sought a life without the burdens of nobility. A life free to love whomever he wanted, far away from any conflict and intrigue around the throne of Unicornia. The best thing that happened to Amore was Araneae sweeping him off his hooves, so he hoped that his cousin would find somepony similar to her in that regard. A pony that could look past the title and love him for who he was, not what his title proclaimed him to be.

More memories went by, most of them similar to each other in one way or another, but some stood out to him and the pony that still hasn’t given him an answer to his question as to who they actually were.

One such memory was of him stumbling upon Gold Bar and Swirly Star in the midst of a very passionate night with each other. That was the last time he ever went into another pony’s room without knocking on their door first. The sight of the two older ponies ravishing each other had left him more confused than anything and was probably one of the reasons why he never made any advances on another pony.

He looked up to the mare that was like an older sister to him, and if she could find a pony that she could love with her whole heart, then Amore was determined to have something like that for himself, too. Luckily, it seemed like the right kind of pony found him instead of the other way around. Or changeling, rather.

The memory of Araneae’s flamboyant behavior in the tower he had been locked away in was still fresh in his mind. It wasn’t in any way, shape, or form off-putting to him, watching her over-the-top theatrics replay in one of those moving pictures. If anything, it managed to bring a smile to his muzzle, knowing she only ever acted like that when she was either nervous or had sex on her mind. Which was around ninety percent of the time, to be fair.

Then, there was the memory of what happened down in that cursed place underneath the city. He had to admit, seeing Araneae like that... it made his heart quiver in his chest, at the same time horrified and full of worry.

It had been the lowest he had seen the changeling queen, stalking through those tunnels like a prowling predator, acting purely on instinct and nothing more. Instinct that brought with it the foulest kinds of magics he had ever witnessed to that date. And yet... he couldn't help but admire her. Even in such a state, Araneae, Shadra, and Arachne were mindful enough to gently guide the victims of Gemstone's reign out of their cells. Those that could still stand and walk, that is. But still... even at their darkest, they had the well-being of others above all else on their mind.

The subsequent breakdown spoke more of her character than anything she could have ever told him verbally. She had a heart of gold, even if she was unable (or rather, unwilling) to see it for herself. Her need to better herself of some perceived notion of having 'been bad' was honestly puzzling to him. She was far from a selfish monster that only thought of herself.

There was plenty of evidence that proved the opposite to be true, in fact. Ara did her best to protect everypony whenever she could and always lent an ear to those in need of one. And even when somepony was rightfully mad at her, she silently took the abuse and never hit back. If anything, her constantly blaming herself for things she had no control over was the cause of most of her distress (as well as her self-inflicted injuries due to her raging outbursts).

No, Araneae was far from a monster. She was compassionate in her own ways (and not just in the naughty sense). Her dedication to the hive and their Empire was admirable in its own right. And while she proclaimed herself to be too lazy for the paperwork her position entailed, she was more than willing to work herself down to the bone. Or chitin, rather.

Her empathy made her an excellent ruler, there was no doubt about that in him. Amore knew how much of herself she put into creating a better tomorrow for their subjects, and sometimes, he had to actively stop her from doing more than what was strictly necessary. Not that she would ever admit that. She always went above and beyond to do everything she could.

In that regard, he suspected her behavior was very similar to a bee, something she kept bringing up about her genetics. Whether or not she was merely jesting about it, Amore could admit she had a point. Changelings do tend to keep themselves busy, even in the hive mind if her words were true.

And while Shadra, Arachne, and Araneae were by far some of the most virtuous ponies in the Empire, Amore has to admit that... she might have a point about their past. Sometimes, there were those rare few occasions where they let their cruelty show.

But to be honest? Amore wasn't concerned about that part of her. Not anymore, at least. He knew she would never let that darkness hurt those she cared about, it wasn't even up to question for him. After all, the events down in the dungeons of Unicornia were proof enough of that.

To think Araneae could walk away from using dark magic like that, completely unaffected by its sweet, insidious whispers, tempting the user with the promise of easily obtained power in exchange for falling to its addictiveness, unable to see reason while every waking moment became tainted with paranoia... it truly was astonishing. Never in the history of ponykind has there been a pony capable of such a feat before her and he doubted there would come another that was capable of similar feats.

Not that Araneae wasn't inherently paranoid of those she had little reason to trust. Perhaps her previous life gave her the edge to resist the trap that was dark magic, Amore thought. He couldn't be entirely certain of that, though. Perhaps one has to have had experience with the darker side of one's own psyche and overcome it through personal revelations and epiphanies to recognize the false lull of dark magic in order to not be affected by it. After all, one has to have seen the horrors of life, to have been on the wrong side of it and have overcome that part of your self, to recognize how bad such temptations truly were.

Shadra, Arachne, and Araneae knew those things better than most, he suspected. They never talked about the specifics, but Amore could tell that they had seen things... done things... that no mortal should have to ever go through. Prime among those things the reason for why they were who they were, split into three broken and mended pieces.

He didn't want to know what that must have been like. Your own soul, torn beyond repair and burdened with additional fragments of other souls bearing disorganized, damaged memories... it was a wonder Araneae had been able to piece herself back together at all. Flawed as that initial attempt turned out to be, the result was more than awe-inspiring. The mind was a truly wondrous thing if it could cope with such trauma without falling into madness. Maybe she was lucky, maybe she wasn’t, but he was glad she came out of it sane.

Amore suspected that the only reason Araneae could have held on to her sanity was the way they ended up with three different personalities, altogether. Shadra, the part of their existence that represented their cunning, guile, and deceptive nature... Arachne, the essence of their being that portrayed their reason, curiosity, and thirst for knowledge... and Araneae, the heart and core that symbolized their empathy. Each one of them held a part that strengthened the others, that gave them the ability to overcome any challenge that lay before them.

Each and every characteristic of them only managed to make him love her more. Them. All of them. Shadra, Arachne, and Araneae. They were his Snugglebug, Cuddlebug, and Lovebug. Always.

They were capable of so much good... and of horrible, horrendous acts if the situation truly demanded it of them. And yet, even at their worst, they always did it for the benefit of those they considered to be a part of their hive. Their family.

"You hold a great deal of admiration for her," his escort said with fondness, making him turn his head away from the picture of Araneae blatantly hitting on him in the dungeons of Unicornia. Another depicted the scene where they first shared a kiss on the path over the cold and harsh Crystalline Mountains. That one always brought a tiny blush and smile to his face, thinking back on it. It was such a pure show of love, so genuine and earnest. It really was one of his favorite memories he had of her.

"I do," Amore said, watching the memory of his first proper kiss with the one he fell in love with play out. The declaration of wanting to be forever together with him was the most romantic thing a pony has ever told him (...even with Ara's usual perverted comments corrupting it, he has to admit). “She’s the best thing that has ever happened to me, how could I not feel like the luckiest pony in the world?”

Not-Orchard laughed politely with mirth as she nodded in what looked like understanding. "It warms my heart, seeing such young love bloom. It reminds me of a better time... of things long lost in the past now."

"You must have seen a lot," Amore said, though his companion didn't seem intent on elaborating, a deep pain in her eyes he was sure he was not meant to see.

"I can also see why she fancies you so," Not-Orchard said, the sadness gone in her eyes as if it had never been there in the first place as she glanced at yet another frame that appeared next to them. Amore turned his head to the scene that brought perhaps even more concern for the well-being of the one he loved the most to mind. Seeing Araneae so frail and weak, afraid... it was a common theme in most of his dreams. Nightmares of losing her and watching her get hurt repeatedly. It was agonizing in its own way. "The hope you inspire in her... it is a welcome sight, indeed. Keep holding on to her, Child of Love, for you won't come across another like her."

The sight of his love hunching over that barrel... it scared him perhaps even worse than their first encounter with Mother. To be honest, it was downright terrifying to him that she would even consider doing something like that to herself. "Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one holding her together," he admitted, ears splaying back against his head.

That was also the time they finally started opening up about each other, and yet, it didn't help with his own insecurities. If anything, Ara put up with him and his stupid fears out of the goodness of her heart.

"Perhaps," his companion agreed, coming to a stop next to a scene that depicted Amore as he held on to the weakened changeling queen right after she made the decision for the ultimate sacrifice in the hopes of seeing him and their subjects safe. To ensure they would still have a future to look forward to. "But I imagine that that is also the case for you as much as it is for her. Why is it that you feel so ashamed of your desires around her?"

"I—" Amore started, only to be cut off as the scene changed to the one he gave his love as an excuse to wait for the 'right' time. Oh, how he hated himself for hurting her like that.

"I know that you feel burdened by your heritage, but that's not it, is it?"

"No..." he sighed. "While I am a noble and know my responsibilities to my subjects, I... I could care less how others would think of me if I had s-sex before marriage."

"And..?"

He winced. "...I'm scared," Amore admitted, squeezing his eyes shut as he turned his head away in shame. "Of not being good enough for her. Arachne certainly seems to think so."

"She is scared, too, you know," Not-Orchard told him, gently bringing his head back around with a hoof underneath his chin. "Terrified, even."

"Why?" Amore asked, bewildered. "I know she told me there was no reason for me to be scared and ashamed of myself, but what reason would she have to be scared of the same thing?"

"It's not so much the same reason as it is of you not enjoying it enough to be together with her like that, afterward," she explained to him, prompting him to walk next to her again as they continued on the path to their final destination. Wherever that might be, Amore wasn't sure. "And she would respect your decision, much to the dismay of those who need her to keep the hive going. I cannot tell you how that would affect Shadra or Arachne, though I feel like you might have an idea in regards to that."

Amore sighed and nodded. The conversation he had with Arachne was quite clear about what she would do if her Queen was under the threat of being superseded. Thing is... "Araneae won't allow Arachne to be unfaithful and neither would she be happy if she were to force herself on me. I fear it would result in a power struggle between them and it won't end well for either of them."

"You understand what that means then, do you not?"

"I know," he muttered, shooting his escort an unamused glare out of the corner of his eyes as he hung his head. Just another reminder that he wasn't good enough for Ara. She deserved better than him. So much better. "I know I have to confront these silly feelings and...”—he gagged—” stallion-up. Besides, we have already thought of a workaround solution to the wedding expectations, I'll just have to... live with the reality should I... should I..."

"It's okay, dear," his escort whispered, offering him a hug. An embrace that Amore had to admit filled him with warmth, not unlike what he imagined it would have been like between a mother and their foal. A comfort he never got to experience with his own family. "I know a thing or two about not being comfortable in the body that you are given."

"It's not that," Amore answered weakly, wiping a lone tear away with the back of his hoof. "At least, not really. Ara makes it all sound so perfect, and the teasing touches do feel nice, but... I just keep wondering..."

"That you won't feel the same desire to do that with her nearly as much as she does?"

"...yes," he confessed, breathing shakily. That was exactly what he feared would happen. That Araneae wouldn't be happy about him not being in the mood. She and Arachne, as well as Shadra, had an insatiable libido, practically doing it the entirety of the day (and night) with each other. How could he ever hope to keep up with that?

"I see," Not-Orchard said, letting out a faint motherly laugh. "Do you know what I think?"

"No?"

"I think you are more than worthy of what awaits you at the end of that path," she proclaimed, letting go of the embrace to show Amore the proud smile on their muzzle. "Go now, Child of Love. This is as far as I can take you. What lies beyond this point is for your eyes only. Don't worry"—she winked—" you may share it with your love. I know it helped me cope with the things I've seen in there..."

That didn't sound quite so reassuring, Amore thought uneasily, gulping thickly. What would he see? Is it going to be frightening or why did Not-Orchard's words sound so... ominous?

Right. Confidence. He was sure it couldn't be quite so bad. After all, they didn't strike him as somepony that wanted to scare him on purpose, so he decided to place some trust in her and go forth without worrying over it.

Before he decided to do so, there was still something he wanted to know. "Can you answer me one last question, please?" Amore asked, shifting on his legs awkwardly.

"Of course," she inclined her head, giving him permission to continue.

"You never answered my question about who you are. Or what this place is called, for that matter," he began, trying not to come across as too ungrateful for the support she has given him. "Can you tell me?"

The pony in front of him gave him one last appraising look before smiling sadly, the pain of untold eons behind her gaze. "Once upon a time, I was like you. Lost in this realm, wandering its halls until I stumbled upon my siblings and we found out the truth about this place. You can call me Hope, or if you want, Empathy. I'm not too particular about either of those. Now, then... go on up ahead. Don’t be scared of what you might see."

As Hope turned to walk away, the lights making up the pathway began to blur, and for just a single moment, Amore thought he could see a pair of big feathery wings and a horn attached to her.

"Wait!" Amore called out to them, intent on following the being that proclaimed themself to be Hope Incarnate, only to stumble back as the path back began to disappear after them, his hooves finding no 'ground' to stand on. "You didn't answer my other question..."

The confused unicorn let out a disappointed sigh before deciding to go forth in the only direction available to him. A path that was gradually surrounded by floating crystal shards, reminding him of his original goal of finding a way back home.

"I don't even know what I am supposed to do here," Amore muttered to himself, being careful to not touch the sharp shards.

More and more of those crystals with an inner, mystic glow began to surround him, and further up ahead, the path began to transition over to the familiar ground Arachne, Shadra, and Araneae had come up with to pave the streets of their Empire with.

He picked up his pace slightly, intent on finding out where he was and how to get home. That Hope couldn’t accompany him here for some reason managed to confuse him greatly, but he decided to stop questioning it and try to figure out what he was here for. He had no intention of staying any longer than he has to and all he really wanted to do was to get back to Ara before she could worry too much about his whereabouts. Not that he ever intended to end up here in this place, to begin with (or even leave the Crystal Empire behind altogether, for that matter).

A large platform reminiscent of the upper spire of their palace awaited him as he neared the end, reflecting the light of the glimmering orbs and crystal shards like a perfectly clear mirror. And he was completely alone with nopony else around here but him. At least, that's what he thought...

Suddenly, and without any warning, the world around him shifted and he felt a presence unlike any other observing his tiny mortal form. "The torn threads of fate have been rewoven," a voice spoke up with no discernible source whatsoever, echoing all around him without going quiet or becoming more distant. The voice in itself offered no clues as to the identity of the speaker, sounding neither female nor male in quality. "The threat of the Otherworld has been negated, and yet, the tapestry continues to be unraveled by forces unknown. Your destiny has been forevermore altered, Child of Love. The Weaver of Fate suffered a great wound in her latest confrontation with the umbrum, she and her brood will suffer the consequences for many centuries to come."

"Who—are you the one Araneae described to be the Soul of the World?" Amore asked. Despite being startled, he felt safe. Safer than he has ever felt before in his life, to be honest. "What do you mean, the threads of fate have been rewoven? Is Ara alright?!"

"Something has damaged the flow of time, destinies yet meant to be cannot be fulfilled," the Soul of the World answered. "A festering wound has to be brought to its end or it shall devour the entirety of all that is. New guardians have been chosen to bear the burden of day and night. Their coming shall be heralded by the great winter. The Bastion of Love needs to stand strong, Child of Love. All life depends on it."

"What about Araneae? What happened to her? Please, tell me she is alright! Please..." Amore pleaded, afraid that his love was in pain.

"The Weaver of Fate opened the door," they answered, the voice coming directly from behind him this time.

Amore whirled around, heart hammering in his chest. What stood before him was nothing short of absolute perfection. There were no words to describe the being before him adequately enough without doing it an injustice, but there were some features he was very familiar with. They had a crystalline body not unlike his own, only... more akin to actual carved crystal instead of a vague similarity at best. The eyes, though, were something else entirely, holding an inner glow to them like molten glass. It was almost like they could see everything, not just the things that lay before them. "What do you mean?"

"The umbrum have been sealed in the Crack Between Worlds, the Dream That Never Was," they clarified, slightly tilting their head. The strange thing about that, though, was the fact that the words they spoke did not come directly from their mouth, seemingly coming from everywhere at once. And yet, they still gave off an impression of direction toward their physical body before him. At least, that’s what it felt like to him, it was hard to put into words how truly strange it was. "The machinations of the umbrum will threaten you no more for as long as the Heart is kept in its place, my chosen child. The light of my heart shall hide you from the sight of their master and those that dwell in the Hidden Realm."

"And Araneae? Is she alright?"

"Your love shall heal that which has been broken," the Soul of the World answered, touching his chest gently with a hoof. The mere touch of it managed to put him at ease. Not that it lasted for all that long, though, considering what came out of their 'mouth' next. "Her actions have altered your destiny. You have become a vessel."

"A vessel?" Amore asked, feeling slightly disturbed. "What do you mean? A vessel for what?"

"Divinity," they said, stating it like a fact that was obvious. The way in which the Soul of the World spoke the word 'divinity' carried with itself a sense of incomprehensible power that even dwarfed that of Hope. "Your broken fate would have eventually led to your own unmaking, lost to time for centuries to come only to return as a broken soul, unable to remember your current life. The actions of the Weaver have brought you here instead, mending your fate and changing that of countless others."

"I..." Amore began, though the sudden lightheadedness that overcame him made it hard to focus on what he wanted to say. "...d-divinity?"

"Your full potential unlocked," the World Soul said, nodding in confirmation. "A symbol of ponykind, representing all that is and will be. Nigh indestructible, holding domain over the aspect of love, you shall become its guardian, a mortal god. Reject this and your fate will remain that of a unicorn bound to the Crystal Heart, for good or bad."

"O-okay," he gulped, feeling like the entirety of the world was literally placed on his back. What does one even say to something like that? How does one process information so... severe and overwhelming?

"Keep that in mind for your trials are far from over, my chosen child. The days up ahead will test your strength and compassion. Beware she who is born of twilight," they continued, unperturbed by Amore's apparent distress. It wasn't like they ignored it, though, Amore could tell. It was more like the Soul of the World trusted him with being able to handle the coming challenges wholeheartedly. "It is of utmost importance that she let go of the past. Teach her how to see past her grudges or she shall be the end of all you hold dear. The Weaver must not fall."

"That's all a bit much..." Amore said, causing the World Soul to step back from him, tilting their head again in what looked to him like confusion or incomprehension. "I... I don't know what to do. I'm not like Ara..."

The Soul of the World stared at him for a moment. "I cannot grant you that wish, Child of Love," they said, slowly shaking their head at him, almost like it was an afterthought of having to be more expressive with their physical body. "Doing so would require remaking your existence in its entirety, erasing what makes you you in the process. It would leave me severely weakened, unable to defend myself against the fiends that dwell in the Beyond."

"...what?" Amore mumbled before he realized what it was that they insinuated. While the thing about the Beyond confused and terrified him quite a lot, that was perhaps a question for another time. Right now, he'd rather make sure he wasn't about to be erased in his entirety. "I'm fine being me, that's not what I meant. Ugh, I can see why Ara was so frustrated with you. This is ridiculous."

The being in front of him merely tilted their head before nodding in understanding. "I apologize if I offended you, my chosen child. It does not happen often that I am talking to mortals capable of perceiving my voice. Interfacing with your tiny minds is quite challenging. You have been of much help so far, yet I do not fully understand how your fragile, mortal bodies work."

"Right," Amore said with a drawn-out sigh. He didn't even think they meant it as an insult to him (as much as it felt like one, to be honest). If anything, it was kind of similar to how his interactions with Arachne went. Her way of thinking was leagues different to ponies like him and he imagined it must be doubly so for the Soul of the World. "Can I think about this? I don't feel like making rash decisions."

"You can call out to me when you have come to a decision, my chosen child. But be warned, standing for too long in my presence has consequences," they answered, their voice soft and warm before vanishing from sight to give him his 'privacy'. Not that he was under the impression that he was truly alone, considering the way they had communicated with him before taking on a more corporeal form. Neither was the 'feeling' of their presence truly gone (or the weird effect it had on their surroundings).

After a few seconds of deafening silence, Amore began to pace around the circular platform, wondering about what he should do and the subsequent consequences of his choice. The Soul of the World had given him a lot to think about, and not everything was so easy to grasp the implications of.

What did they mean, 'standing for too long in their presence has consequences'? And the way they spoke, it was almost like they insinuated that they had learned how to communicate with mortals due to the connection they shared with him through the Crystal Heart.

More unnerving than that, though, was the news about fate having become undone. It was startling and very concerning, indeed. He didn't even want to know what was capable of such feats in the first place. He wouldn't even dare to think about standing in the way of a being with that kind of power, it was practically suicide to do so.

While the Crystal Heart had given him a significant boost in his magical capabilities, it was merely a dust speck in comparison to what he had felt from Hope and the Soul of the World, even less so with the constant persistent thrum of powerful magic in the background that suffused this... realm, for a lack of a better word.

Would accepting the offer of divinity change anything? What kind of responsibility was even attached to that? What would it do to him, should he accept it?

Hope was on an entirely different level of existence, clearly borrowing the appearance of a dear friend since they apparently lacked one of their own. Would such a fate befall him, too? Forever cursed to wander the world with a face not his own?

Amore shook his head. That was just ridiculous and even if it was true, he was sure Araneae wouldn't mind it too much (if at all). He could learn to live with that, reluctant as that might be. After all, Ara made it look easy, becoming different ponies with the flicker of a flame. Even objects if her words were to be believed. He has yet to notice her hiding in plain sight like that (or any other changeling, for that matter), not that he thought he would ever be able to discover her when she didn't want to be found. She was a master of disguises, after all (as much as she avoided using them when she didn't have to).

Then, there were the warnings the World Soul had given him about things that have yet to happen. Or would have happened, had Araneae not intervened. Destinies have already been altered through no small fault of Ara, or the Weaver of Fate as the Soul of the World called her.

The only warning he could really do something about was the one about 'she who is born of twilight', which he was reasonably sure meant either an umbrum or one of the vampires Gentle Breeze has or will create. Failing to deal with that one would come with a hefty price, one he was very much unwilling to pay.

Was that enough reason to go through with this, though? For all he knew, taking on the mantle of a 'mortal god' could lead to the very thing he wanted to prevent! He couldn't lose Ara, not like that.

Another thing he didn't quite grasp the meaning of was the statement about becoming a symbol of ponykind in all that it was, is, and will be. Or something along those lines, anyway. The exact words were kind of hard to remember, what with everything he had been told in such a short amount of time.

Would he still be himself if he decides to go through with it? Or would a different pony walk away from this place and he would become all but a memory left to be forgotten?

At least he knew one thing for certain and that was that the world wouldn't suddenly cease to exist like Ara feared it would, had the umbrum won. And on top of that, it seemed like their triumph over the umbrum came with a heavy price attached to it, as well.

His love would heal that which has been broken. That's what the Soul of the World said, right? What if that means he has to accept this offer or it won't happen? He couldn't live with himself if he was the cause of Ara's continued suffering.

Then, there was also the thing about the new guardians for the moon and suns and the winter that would follow their appearance. Or announce it. Something like that, anyway.

What would that mean for the world and their Empire? He knew the Mage Order would not stand idly by as their hold on the heavenly objects would be relinquished to what basically amounts to little foals (if he is correct with that assumption).

Already, he didn't look forward to the day he would have to deal with foreign nations that were more than likely already at each other's throats (the pegasi were kind of infamous for picking fights with every other winged race, but even tensions between the earthponies and pegasi have been running high long before Unicornia started extorting everypony else). The appearance of new deities might just be the thing that provides the tipping point for them, and trying to keep the peace would become all but an impossibility after that point.

He was under no illusion that Shadra wasn't going to try and manipulate everything in their favor, moving her infiltrators into place to strike a preemptive attack against those who might turn their eyes on them next. Would his accepting this offer change the outcome of that? Could he dissuade her from taking the aggressive path and instead consider diplomacy first? He knew she knew fear and anger would lead to even more of the same and neither of them were a fan of that.

And what even would this divinity entail, exactly? Holding domain over the aspect of love, what does that mean? One couldn't just 'control' love, right? Not without delving into some truly dark magic, that is. Something he would never do, even if it meant a good outcome in the end. There were better ways than resorting to dark magic, after all.

Another thing he has to wonder about... would he age? If he didn't take the offer of divinity and went with a 'relatively' normal life as an ordinary unicorn... he would grow old next to Araneae, wouldn't he? Well, as normal of a life as he could get, considering he was practically a lich. There was nothing normal about that, being bound to a phylactery in the form of a crystal shaped like a heart.

Ara wouldn't age. At least, not anytime soon if her own assumptions were correct. Aside from that, the Soul of the World just confirmed it for him, too, didn’t they? The wound she apparently must have suffered in the final battle against the umbrum would affect her for centuries to come.

If he became a 'mortal god', he could stay with her. He wouldn't have to leave her and she would be spared the pain of trying to find him in his next life. That alone would speak for accepting the burden of godhood, wouldn't it?

"What would you do, Ara?" Amore asked himself, gazing up at the star-like wisps in the 'sky', their light bending and twisting as if he was looking at them from inside a bubble of soap. A tired, wistful sigh escaped his lips. He was no closer to figuring this conundrum out than he was a few minutes ago. How much time has passed, anyway? It certainly felt like he was well in the process of dragging a rut into the ground with his thoughtful, worried pacing. Not even the tinkling sound his hooves made on the ground was a comfort to him now.

He has to admit, Ara was right about modeling their streets after what he saw here. Well, more like what she saw in her vision, but still. The thought of his fiancée was enough to bring a small smile back on his lips, even if it only lasted for a couple of seconds at best. The more time he spent here, the more time she would spend worrying about his whereabouts. Already, he was worried she was at her wit's end trying to find him.

And here he was, contemplating whether or not to take this step into the unknown. If it hadn't been for Araneae, Shadra, and Arachne teaching him and their subjects all about modern sciences, he might have been reduced to a shivering mess, curled up on the ground while nervously stroking his tail for a minor piece of comfort. Ponies weren't meant to confront the unknown, as much as his subjects continuously surprised him with the opposite being the case.

Even he was more bold in the face of uncertainty nowadays, he admitted to himself. All thanks to Arachne's efforts to shine light into the dark. Knowledge was indeed power, as he has learned from her.

So... what did he know? He understood quite well that this choice would be life-altering, but... in what way? He wished Hope was still here with him, capable of explaining things in a far more comprehensive way than the Soul of the World was apparently capable of doing. Not that he was ungrateful for all of this information, but sometimes, he really wished they wouldn't speak so cryptically.

Vague. That was what all of this information was. There were vital details missing in order for him to be able to make heads or tails of this knowledge. In essence, he was lacking the necessary understanding required for this. It was like he was given a few puzzle pieces and was then expected to see the bigger picture. Puzzle pieces belonging to different pictures, at that.

Where would his fate, his destiny, lead him were he to reject the offer of divinity? The Soul of the World wasn't exactly forthcoming with such information, to be honest. Was his fate going to unravel again? Or would his fate be that of his original one?

He assumed that it would eventually lead him back here, with the same question of whether or not he wanted to accept this 'burden' of being the guardian of love. Instead of his current self, he knew that that wouldn't be him but somepony else, somepony completely different. The pony that would find themselves back here would be like Amore, but not Amore himself, and that... that would definitely hurt Ara more than anything he could ever do to her.

The decision he made next came pretty easily to him. Amore needed to stop second-guessing himself and be strong, not just for Araneae, Shadra, and Arachne, but also for himself. For everypony that depends on him. For the crystal ponies, the flutter ponies, the changelings, and any other race that would come to depend on him and his future wife.

"I am ready," he said and the last thing he saw was a blindingly bright light engulfing him.

Flashes of images passed him by as he struggled to look anywhere that wouldn't immediately leave him sightless, but it was a futile endeavor on his part.

Most of the things he saw were gone too fast for him to make out any details of what they were, but the occasional thing did manage to burn itself into his mind with lingering afterimages. Things that depicted a world utterly devoid of love as icy spirits consumed any and all emotions that were even the slightest bit positive. Others showed him scenes of raving eyes, frothing teeth, and twitching tentacles as eldritch horrors from the Beyond threatened to corrupt the universe as madness reigned supreme, reducing mortals to mere playthings for their own sick amusement. Even more showed nations at war, compassion completely sacrificed for hatred as they tried their utmost to annihilate their enemies, leaving nothing standing once they were done. All while his Empire lay broken and shattered into pieces, withering away as nature slowly reclaimed what was theirs.

But there were also pictures that showed him a ray of hope. A world in harmony, where love reigned with compassion and kindness. A world where death didn't come to those not seeking it for themselves, a place where there was no unnecessary pain, no hurt, and no despair. And it was his mission to ensure it would come to be. He was Love Incarnate and he knew that a world without it was going to spell the end of all life. A world lacking in love would be a dead world, indeed.

There was also a different side to the same coin, though. Under no circumstances ever should he let the darker side of love take root in the hearts of his subjects for it would pervert everything life stood for. The sanctity of life was to be treasured, not to be taken advantage of. If anything, a healthy balance should be what he needs to strive for.

Pure of heart, but accepting of selfish desires. Desires that were not used to hurt others but to learn from each other and find passion in. After all, everypony was allowed their fantasies, as long as they wouldn’t lead to crimes of a sinister nature.

Before long, the blinding light was gone, and with it, the warnings to never ever abuse his gift for selfish reasons. For he knew what kind of fate would await him should he fall to madness. Not that he (or Araneae) would let that happen.

Speaking of Ara...

The first thing Amore heard was the fast, sort of dull-sounding buzz of big insect wings before a pair of hooves shook him lightly on the shoulders as if to test if he was conscious.

Amore let out a pitiful moan, trying to shut out the world as everything kept spinning around him from the ordeal he just went through. His body protested quite vehemently in the form of a headache and queasiness, his stomach churning from a lack of sustenance and nausea. On top of that (and the worried buzzing from the changeling trying to get him to respond), his body felt different. Well, more different than when he had found the Crystal Heart and accidentally bonded with it.

The way his magic had gotten stronger paled in comparison to what he felt right now. While he had certainly not been lazy, Amore was aware that he could have kept himself in far better shape if he had done more than the rare few morning exercises and occasional carefree games of tag as well as hide and seek to entertain the foals in the Empire. What he now felt confused him greatly, as it wasn't just his magic that felt different now.

Amore sucked in a deep breath as another changeling joined the first one, this one being fast to apply a salve-covered bandage over his face in order to alleviate the worst symptoms of his irritated eyes, shrouding his world in a calming darkness.

"Have someling deliver him some pureed fruits mixed with clear water and a small dose of affection, preferably from the Queen's own stock to make it easier on him," they said and he recognized the almost clinical way they spoke to be the voice of Melipona, one of the caretakers in the Crystal Empire Hive. "I suggest you don't make any sudden movements for some time, Your Highness. Queen Araneae will be with you shortly, you don't have to worry. She should wake up from her sedatives soon."

"Sedatives..?" he asked, his voice hoarse and dry. Despite feeling so full of energy he feared he was going to burst, Amore felt more tired than he had ever felt like before in his life. And yet, he couldn't allow himself to fall asleep without first having seen Ara to make sure that she was alright. Nothing else mattered more to him than her wellbeing.

"We had to sedate her due to the stress she put herself under after you didn't return for the past month. An emergency council has been set up to make sure the Empire keeps running smoothly," Melipona explained, sounding like they were rustling through a bag of sorts. "Now, don't be startled, I have to draw some blood to run a few tests."

"Wait, I—" Amore began, only to let out a tiny yelp, wincing from the prick against his fetlock. The numbing sensation that followed clued him in enough to know that Melipona had just bit him.

"Hmm..." Amore heard them mutter and prod him some more before letting out a simple 'curious'. What happened next confirmed his suspicions about how his body must have changed after his... ascension to godhood. Not that he felt particularly 'godly' right now, suffering severely from what could only be hypersensitivity.

There was another sharp prick somewhere else. "Ow!" he exclaimed, jerking slightly away from his newest tormentor (he has to agree with Ara, Orchard really could be a slavedriver when she wants to be). The offended appendage gave a mighty push from the surprise reaction, standing proudly at attention for the whole world to see. Not that Amore was quite aware of his current location, but the multitude of hushed whispers was a pretty telling indicator that his appearance had started to draw a crowd of onlookers.

"Most curious, indeed," they muttered distractedly, starting to pace next to him from the sounds of it.

Amore frowned angrily. “What was that for?!”

“Your magic is suffused with a thousand different trace elements, Your Highness,” Melipona said, sounding as fascinated as their voice was a bored monotone. If one could call the shifting, double-layered voice of a changeling ‘monotone’, that is. “It’s actually radiating from your mane and tail slightly, it’s glowing visibly in broad daylight.”

Before he could ask Melipona to elaborate on that, Amore heard hasty hooffalls come rapidly closer to his location. A moment later, he had an overly affectionate bug clinging on to him, chirping up a storm. “Oh, thank your perfect ass, ‘more, you’re back!”

He smiled ever so slightly at the exclamation. “I’m sorry, Ara. I didn’t mean to disappear on you,” he whispered, taking in a deep sniff of her scent through his nostrils. The sweet scent of her mane greeted his senses stronger than ever before and he couldn’t help but want to give her ear a small, loving lick.

“A whole month, asshole,” she responded, hitting him over the chest (much to the protest of his new personal doctor). “I waited a month, 'more! Thirty fucking days, damnit! All of them spent on thinking that I vaporized you, you dick. Don’t you dare do that to me again!”

Amore winced. “I’m sorry!” he apologized again, tightening his hold on her as he pried the bandage over his eyes away with a hoof to give her an apologetic look. Looking at her like this, he realized his eyesight had become a lot sharper than it used to be, but considering the big feathery wings connected to him now? His eyes must be as good as (if not better than) those of a pegasus pony.

“And what the flying piggy fuck is this?!” Araneae asked, grabbing one of the aforementioned wings rather roughly, causing him to wince ever so slightly in pain. He probably deserved that (and then some). “What weird kind of lich necromancy bullshit did you perform to turn yourself into this unicorn duck swan thing?!”

He snorted with amusement. “Really, Ara?” he asked. “A unicorn duck swan?”

Araneae pouted back at him with an unhappy glower. “It’s the first thing that popped into my mind, so shut the fuck up,” she said, her cheeks lighting visibly up with an embarrassed flush. Then she started to feel him up even more. “Holy flying pigs, what’s up with those, hot damn!”

“What do you mean?” Amore said, bewildered. And flustered. Very. Flustered. Leave it to Ara to feel him up immediately after he returned. He still has no idea how a full month could have passed in the span of a few minutes, but he was relieved to be back in one piece (more or less). Well, actually... “I didn’t grow any more extra appendages, did I?”

Araneae snorted. “I meant your muscles, you idiot,” she clarified, her tail notably raised while another part of her was already standing at attention, rock hard. He had to avert his eyes from her with a thick gulp, lest his body decide to show his own reaction to her majestic length. Never more in his life did he wish he hadn't learned of his body’s desires to find out what it would be like to give that rod a taste, to find himself underneath his lover as they could do whatever they wanted with him. And he really couldn’t deny this want any longer, could he? As much as he tried to do so, he couldn't deny that he was attracted to every part of Araneae’s body, not just her lively personality. “You weren’t secretly replaced by a changeling after you were born, right?”

“I feel like you don’t mean your species,” he pointed out, fidgeting awkwardly on his hind legs as she gave him a half-lidded gaze.

“No, I meant your obviously ripped fae parents abandoning you with a foster family because they were too lazy to raise you themselves,” she sneered. A look that, despite its obviously ugly nature, looked no less beautiful than her 'impassive indifference' and ‘regal smiles’ she kept wearing in public. A mask that kept slipping from time to time despite her best efforts, to be honest. “And now, you finally awakened to your true nature and… I don’t know… became a mix of crystal earthpony, pegasus, and unicorn from what I can tell. Unicorn swan.”

“There’s much more to it than that,” Melipona cut in, offering him a glass of water mixed with crystal berry juice and a shot of positive emotions after somepony finally came by and delivered it to them. “But that requires further testing than what we’re currently capable of. Not to mention, things are more than hectic enough at the moment. I don't have the time to crack the genetics involved that make something like this possible (as much as I want to, regrettably)." Before Melipona could begin lamenting the unfairness of it all, they turned back to Amore, holding a filled cup for him to take. "Now, drink this, Your Highness. Slowly. You’ll feel better once you do. As for the tiredness, I'm afraid there's no better solution than getting some rest.”

“Thank you,” Amore nodded, reaching out with his magic only for it to completely crush the unsuspecting container upon doing so. It wasn’t just him that blinked in stunned silence, Araneae was openly gaping at the mush floating in his magic. There weren’t even any shards of glass left to piece the cup back together.

“Okay, that’s it,” Ara muttered, eyelid twitching. “Explanation. Now.”

“I...” Amore stammered, rubbing a hoof over his leg awkwardly before accepting a replacement cup from Melipona as they poured him a new one (this time taking it with his hooves instead of his magic). He gave the caretaker slash doctor slash mad scientist a grateful smile as they took the mushy mess from his magical grasp, intent on throwing it into the nearest available trash can they could find. Amore took a small, steadying sip from his ‘medicine’ while letting out a nervous sigh. Ara is going to flip her lid, isn’t she? “I don’t suppose the Soul of the World told you anything about a weird, floaty magic space?”

“No...” she said, a questioning look in her magenta eyes. Well, mostly magenta, that is. He could see some pink and purple shift into them from time to time, no doubt an indicator that Shadra and Arachne were listening in quite intently (while also holding a rapid-fire discussion between themselves, Amore was sure). “Then again, I did have a rather interesting encounter with... Agents of Death, I suppose. Well, more like reapers, I’ll tell you everything about them after you feel better. But first, I wanna know what you mean by that. Did you see the Great Equis?”

“Great Equis?” he asked, raising a curious brow. “I’m guessing that’s their name, then?”

“According to those two weirdos, yeah,” she shrugged back and he felt like reprimanding her about being disrespectful to what were clearly some very powerful beings. Not that that would help with her attitude, he mused.

Araneae could be a bit crass at times (or a lot, really), not mincing her words even if it would ultimately save her life if it depended on it. Though Shadra was perhaps even worse than her in that regard. The only one in their... collective, for lack of a better term that didn’t have this problem was Arachne, and that’s only due to her being so analytical most of the time. She tends to clam up instead and seethe silently to herself rather than letting her anger out. When she does, though, it usually results in her exploding at the pony that managed to set her off. It didn’t happen often, but he had heard from his love that it had caused some rather heated friction in their hive before.

"So?" she asked, tapping his side with an insisting prod. "Spit it out already."

Amore rolled his eyes, ignoring the mild discomfort that gave him, and shifted into a more comfortable position. “It’s hard to explain,” he began, putting his thoughts about his love’s quirks aside for now. “After I lost consciousness from the backlash of the shield breaking, I... I don’t know. I woke up in this strange place that had no visible ground to walk on. It wasn’t completely empty, though. If anything, it felt like magic was positively everywhere. It was unlike anything I have ever felt like before in the entirety of my life, Ara. Even the amount of magic the archmages are capable of wielding paled in comparison to what I felt and encountered in that place.”

“Okay...” Araneae nodded, clearly taking his words at face value since she had never met one of the archmages before. Aside from Swirly Star, that is. The archmage-hopeful was already one of, if not ‘the’ most powerful unicorns of her generation. A decade or more and Amore had no doubt she would surpass even the oldest archmage. Which would make her the most powerful unicorn up to this date, period. “And what did you find there? Aside from Great Equis, apparently.”

“Somepony who's like me, I guess,” he answered, gesturing to his extra feathery limbs with a tilt of his head and an awkward twitch of the aforementioned wings. That’s going to take some time getting used to, won’t it? Amore took a quick sip of his juice before clearing his throat in order to continue, dreading the coming days of frustration. He guessed that he could somewhat empathize with Ara now. She also had to learn to live as a changeling instead of one of these ‘hoo-mans’ (something he was still unsure of how they looked aside from her brief description of bipedal, furless people without muzzles or digitigrade legs). “They called themselves Hope, or Empathy, I guess. It’s like they talked as if they were the actual ponification of that concept. At least, that’s the impression I got and they kept calling me the ‘Child of Love’, as well. They—or she, I’m not too sure about that—guided me along this path of wisp-like lights while looking through my past in those big moving picture frames. Then, we talked about how that place existed for the purpose of judging somepony of being worthy. I didn't know what she meant until we came to the end of the path and I had to go on alone. To be honest, I'm still left reeling from everything that happened afterward, Ara. For some unfathomable reason, I was found worthy of ascension, of becoming a 'mortal god'.”

“Hmm,” she hummed, leaning her head against his chest again. She really liked doing that, didn’t she? That, and cuddling up to him as close as she could. While he could chalk that up to her insectile nature, he was well aware of the fact that this was only a small part of her fondness for cuddling. If anything, he suspected she must have a similar reason to his own need for genuine companionship. “A mortal god, huh? That’s a bit crazy were it to come out of anypony else but you.”

He sighed. “I honestly only agreed to this because I want to stay with you,” Amore whispered, thinking back on the words Great Equis had told him. How many lives would he have gone through before reuniting with her again? His being unmade, forgotten to time... only to return completely changed, unable to remember his life as it was now. Ara would have never been able to find him. Not in a million years.

“What do you mean?” Ara asked, tilting her head up so that she could look him into his eyes. “You were turned into a lich, weren’t you? Doesn’t that make you immortal, anyway?”

“That’s what you assumed it turned me into,” Amore pointed out, smiling sadly. “It didn’t. At least, not in the way we think it might have. I would have lived my life and continued on to my next, eventually. And the one after that. And the one after that. So on and so forth. It wouldn't have been me, anymore.”

She frowned. “Right,” she nodded absentmindedly, looking away into the distance to something only she could see. “It’s not like we couldn’t have worked through something like that together, right? Like a diary or something? To help you remember? I mean... I don’t even know if I’m going to live for as long as I think I might, it... uh...”

“Hey,” he said gently, making her focus back on him with a soft smile and a hoof against her cheek. “It’s okay, Ara. We’re going to stay together and nothing is going to get in between us, I promise. Certainly nothing as silly as death.”

“Yeah, about that...” Araneae snorted faintly, fidgeting against him while her expression turned guilty. “I might have been... uh... close to dying a few times fighting against Mother.”

“And yet, you’re still here,” he pointed out with a small sigh, trying to focus on that fact instead of falling to pieces again. It already happened once, and it might happen again, but he would rather concentrate on the here and now and simply enjoy the moment lest he starts to get angry at her for that.

“That I am,” she agreed, though the smile on her muzzle didn’t quite reach her eyes. There was a familiar, haunted quality in them. “Barely, at that. Mother... she was just so strong and I... I couldn’t even hit her once, ‘more. Were it not for those two in the Realm of Death, I might have never had the idea of targeting the Crystal Heart instead of her when I did.”

“Ara...” Amore muttered, giving her a stern look. “How exactly did you meet these ‘reapers’?”

“I, uh...” she grinned nervously, averting her eyes from him as her ears began to wilt. “Might have been, uh... slapped around a bunch of times by Mother?”

Calm, Amore had to remind himself. You have to keep yourself calm, for your own and Araneae’s sake. The alternative was probably going to look like him accidentally crushing her due to his newfound earthpony strength, and that? That he most certainly didn’t want to do.

Besides, staying mad at Ara when she looked like a chastised little filly that knew exactly what she did wrong was all but an impossibility. He just couldn’t stay mad at her, ever. He chalked it up to her totally adorable eyes that usually hid some sort of naughty thought behind their pretty glow.

“So... what else was there?” Ara prodded him and he let out a thoughtful hum. What else, indeed.

“A lot,” Amore admitted, a stormy look on his muzzle. Could he even tell her about the warning Great Equis gave him about ‘she who is born of twilight’? “We have a lot to prepare for, not just for the wedding.”

“Right, that,” she huffed, reluctantly parting from him so that she could walk a bit closer to the Crystal Heart rotating gently in between two pillars underneath their palace. The shine it held was wholly different from the one it previously had, and if one looked closely enough, one could even catch a glimpse of their own future in it. At least, that’s what Amore assumed it to be, considering he saw himself next to Araneae while they held a little foal in between them, obscured by a bundle of linen while only their purple mane was visible.

He had no idea how this change came to be, but if what it showed him was true, he really couldn't wait to find out how it would happen.

Araneae looked up towards the sky next and the aurora borealis that spread forth from the Crystal Palace in every direction possible towards the horizon. “You know, that’s going to draw a lot of attention our way pretty soon. It’s like a giant sign pointing straight towards us, telling everyone ‘Hey, we’re here! Come and invade us!’. We should prepare, get ready to face the rest of the world.”

“Nopony is going to invade us, Lovebug,” he said, following her to where she stood. “Ponies don’t wage war with each other.”

“Uh-huh,” she rolled her eyes, frowning. “Like they don’t keep slaves of other tribes? Trust me, they are going to seek retribution and they are going to accuse each other of crimes they have committed as well. It will inevitably boil over to us, and if we are not careful and play our cards right, we’ll get swallowed up in their conflict, as well.”

“Then perhaps a wedding is just the thing they need to remind themselves that we are, in the end, all ponies,” he smiled, making her look at him with doubt and a small smidgen of hope that he was right. “So? How about it? Do you want to marry me?”

“Didn’t I already say yes to that?” Araneae asked, a confused smile spreading on her lips. “Of course I do, you silly pony.”

“What about... right now?” Amore proposed, all while trying to ignore the jittery mess that was his heart.

Araneae blinked. “I’m sorry, what was that? I must have misheard you because, to me, it sounded like you said ‘right now’.”

He nodded his head. “That's what I said,” he confirmed. Amore was sure he must have looked as nervous as his love looked at that moment because his legs definitely felt like giving out on him if they were given the chance. He certainly felt like throwing up, and not just because of his nausea.

“But, I... I’m not nearly prepared enough for this!” Araneae said, her breathing shallow and fast. “I—We don’t even have our dress ready! And what about our mane?! We look like we just fell out of bed! Because that’s literally what we just did! We—”

Before any more words could spew out of her muzzle, Amore had it sealed with his lips. The changeling queen in front of him froze up stiffly, a stunned look appearing in her panic-ridden eyes. Then, she closed her eyelids, leaning into the kiss with a small moan while her wings chirped happily. Although, Amore stopped the kiss before she could force her tongue into his mouth and down his throat (much to her dismay).

“It’s okay, my love,” he told her, bumping the tip of his muzzle against hers with gentle appreciation. “We don’t need anything fancy for our private wedding. Just you, me, a beautiful sunset, and our love for each other.”

“O-okay,” she nodded, taking a few calming breaths. “That’s... a good idea, actually. Just us and our family and friends. Which is... pretty much everypony considering I fucked most of them at least once... and, uh... I’ll shut up now.”

Amore snorted, not in the least bit jealous. He cared more about the three wonderful mares behind those stunning eyes, not with whom she had shared her bed with. Though he did take a great deal of pleasure from the fact that nopony but him would get to enjoy having her all to himself from this day onward. Not that he was a petty pony to hold that over everypony else, but... he did feel like shoving it into their muzzles a little bit. ‘Just’ a little.

The setting for their small wedding was easily arranged and quickly decorated with the usual festive look the crystal ponies and changelings favored with the minor addition of crystal rose petals scattered everywhere (something about tradition, Amore didn't quite catch her excited explanation in full). Araneae did insist on at least combing her mane into a presentable loose hanging form, forsaking the complex updo hairstyle for the big, public royal wedding (an event that they would need to set up well in advance and send out invites before too long). And instead of instrumental music, they ended up having to contend themselves with a simple choir on such short notice.

Orchard was happy to officiate for them and the ceremony was exactly like they had practiced for more than a thousand times. That’s not to say that the magic of their union was any less special. If anything, the spontaneous nature of it and the familiarity of those they treasured most gave it its own unique and memorable touch. It was heartwarming in Amore’s opinion and that was what mattered the most to him. Their declaration of love came from the heart instead of being acted out for the sake of appearance.

And if he was absolutely honest, seeing Araneae in all her natural beauty with a genuine smile on her muzzle... it was more than just perfect. That day, they finally became husband and wife.

It was even better than he had imagined and dreamed of as a little foal. He had, at last, found his special somepony and he would spend eternity with her.

That’s a promise.

Twin Suns: Heart of the Empire

by Feynna

Chapter 001 - A glorious new life.

Chapter 002 - A glorious revelation.

Chapter 003 - A glorious feast.

Chapter 004 - A glorious revolution.

Chapter 005 - A not so glorious aftermath.

Chapter 006 - A glorious "thing"...

Chapter 007 - A glorious new home.

Chapter 008 - Another glorious revelation.

Chapter 009 - Glorious impressionable minds and how to corrupt them.

Chapter 009.5 - Born in Light, Forged in Darkness.

Chapter 010 - A glorious Palace for a glorious Empire.

Chapter 011 - Open the Door, Weaver.

Chapter 011.5 - Rise, Child of Love.