CH 1 (or how I blacked out)

Patchwork

I yelped loudly at the buzzing sound coming from my back. My cellmate, lying on the lower bunk bed of our cell, lifted her head out of her hooves and looked at me with tired eyes.

“For the last time, those. Are! YOUR! WINGS!” She screamed at me before placing her head back between her beige hooves.

I calmed myself down somewhat, and sighed, “and I told you as well, I have a phobia.” The mare looked at me, flicked an ear twice in my direction, a gesture I didn’t understand, and went back to her… whatever she was doing. She pulled some of her bright orange mane over her blue eyes, likely trying to prevent herself from looking at me. I have been pestering her with questions for over an hour now… so that may have been annoying her as well.

I sighed deeply and looked down on my hooves. My black chitinous hooves. There were no holes on them, or in my wings and ears. My mane, tail and the midsection of my shell was turquoise, as well as my eyes. Not that I minded though, I was happy for the change, even though I missed my deep browns. There was also a streak of white in my mane and tail, which caused me some confusion, as I’ve never seen a changeling like that.

What surprised me tremendously is that I was covered in a layer of fuzz, especially on the parts that weren’t chitin. The chitin was slick, smooth and uniform, black all over, without any shine or lustre that I thought it would possess. Also confusing was the fact that I had something akin to claws on my forelegs and that instead of one pair of wings, I had two, one smaller and one larger pair.

The claws themselves weren’t long (roughly four centimetres), nor did they look sharp. There were four on each foreleg, and one was manoeuvrable like a thumb, which helped tremendously with grasping and examining stuff in this new world. Especially with the ring on my horn, preventing any sort of magic I could use. Not that I knew how to use it in the first place.

All in all, I looked strange for a changeling, and since I’ve yet to see another one in this world, I’m going to assume that I am an outlier. Which may not be a good thing.

“Hey, that’s me,” I whispered. “You are probably wondering how I got in this situation.” I leaned against the metal bars of the cell.

“Yes, I would very much like to know that young one.” Came a soft, soothing voice.

I yelped again, jumping back from the cell doors. The buzz of my wings caused my heart to hammer in my chest. I put a hoof on my thorax and took some deep breaths, trying to steady myself. I saw my cell mate rush over to the door and start babbling, but I paid zero attention to her.

There, on the other side of our cell door, was a large, white mare: Princess Celestia. I knew her, I recognized her instantly. Multihued mane and tail in soft rainbow colours, a horn and wings, and not to mention the golden regalia.

Her portrayal in the various media on Earth did not do this mare justice. Her mane and tail weren’t just multicoloured and billowing in a fake breeze, no; it looked like they were floating in vacuum while constantly shifting between several hues of colours. Her coat was pristine white and radiating a soft glow. Compared to the mare in front of her she wasn’t as massive as portrayed in the show. Yes, she was large, yes, she had visible muscle and yes, she looked slim and graceful as all get out, but she wasn’t towering over everything around her to the point where I could compare her to a horse in size.

Another thing that stood out was that, while looking at her, at moments between blinks, it looked like the area around her breathed and moved with her. Like some sort of power warped the space around her with every breath and I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it or not. It was overwhelming, and no amount of motherly kindness in her eyes helped.

‘Of all the multiverses, I ended up in one where alicorns are gods. Either that or I’m just exaggerating, again.’ Not that it mattered now.

After calming myself enough that I could think properly, I lifted my left forehoof and felt the ring on my horn. The mare in front of the door placed it on my head some time ago, and it was the only thing keeping me from huddling in a corner out of my damned mind. The fanbase was correct: changelings felt the emotions of others. What no one understood was just how overwhelming the experience is. So now not only could I not use magic, but I also couldn’t feel others’ emotions, couldn’t feed off of them (if that’s even an actual possibility, the show never specified in detail), couldn’t fly and had no way to defend myself… Comforting.

I looked around our cell before approaching the door, the other mare moved away, looking dejected. I really do not care for her right now.

The cell was surprisingly large with a bunk bed in the middle, a small table, a sink and a separate area where we could do our business with some level of privacy. The only way out was a wide cell door, with metal bars criss-crossing the entire length. The door itself was wide enough that three peo… ponies, could stand side by side. I should know, it’s how I was led in here. The cell door was also positioned in such a way that just by a glance one could nearly see the whole cell, minus the toilet and there were two guards stationed on left and right, looking directly at the cell itself. I could never tell if they were looking directly at me or if they were just zoning out.

I sat in front of the Princess, the doors being the only thing between us. Her magenta eyes boring into my blues. I had to crane my head to look at her, as I reached just barely above her torso. Considering I was nearly a head shorter than my cell mate it was concerning.

We sat there, or stood, in her case, for a minute. Then I got up slowly and took a step back and bowed. While getting myself to walk was easy, bowing still caused me to tilt slightly too far back, nearly tipping to the side.

“Princess Celestia.” I lifted myself from the awkward bow. She looked to her left and whispered something to one of the guards on the side.

Celestia fluffed her wings before turning towards me again.

“Mr. Patch,” she seemed to chew on the name for a second, “Mr Patchwork, Is the name I believe you gave us.”

“Yes, ma’am. Just Patchwork though. Mr makes me feel older than I actually am.”

She tilted her head to the left slightly, quirking an eyebrow, “And how old are you, precisely?”

I snorted, something I was rather excited to do, it always looked cool in the show, “Thirty-six in two months ma’am.”

She tittered, covering her mouth with her right forehoof and sat down.

“My, that isn’t exactly young, Mr Patchwork.”

“Are you calling me old?” I asked, rather annoyed at the consistent use of Mr.

“Not at all,” she said with a smirk. Celestia opened her mouth to say something, but my wings made themselves known again.

I didn’t jump, or yelp, or even move. I closed my eyes and let my nerves settle down slowly while I took some deep breaths. I needed to be present in the moment. I couldn’t let my own phobia fuck this up. Especially since I was now in front of Princess Celestia… THE Princess Celestia. Gotta keep up appearances.

“My apologies, your highness,” I opened my eyes and looked to the side. I was rather embarrassed by the whole wing situation to be honest. I looked to the princess again, “I’m still not entirely used to this body.”

Celestia waved off my protest with a light smile on her muzzle. “Nonsense little one,” she sighed. “Given the excitement you went through in the last six hours I would be rather worried if you weren’t nervous.”

“Six hours,” I whispered. That was rather worrying. I haven’t had anything to eat before landing in this world, and I certainly haven’t “eaten” anything since my arrival. I need to figure out how this body works. Hunger was not something I was able to deal with easily. Especially now. To further the issue, I don’t remember most of it, or if I did, it was a blur. I think they gave me something to eat…

“Yes, Mr Patchwork. Six hours of talking, discussing, examining and trying to understand you and your situation.”

I chuckled. “Heh. I didn’t know little ol’ me was that exciting.”

Now Celestia giggled before shaking her head, “You would be surprised at just how, exciting, you are to us.” She leaned her head down to my level, “Especially since a Changeling hasn’t been seen in several centuries.”

I started to feel sweat forming on my brow. Wait, sweat? I can sweat? Questions for later. The one and only thing I had to focus on right now was her knowledge of Changelings. This would mean that my little Hasbro comics were canon. The question was: how much?

Then she decided to throw another curve ball.

“Then again, human, at this point I’m surprised by quite many things. All things considered; this has been a day of surprises. Good and bad.”

I swallowed thickly. She knows about humans as well. And again, the question came up: how much? This time, however, I decided to give it voice.

I shook my head and looked at her: “How much do you know, exactly?”

There was a deep ‘hum’ coming from her for a few seconds. She then looked to the mare in the cell behind me before looking at me again.

“Enough to make some conclusions for myself. And plenty more that my scientists and mages could scrounge up together by observing you and studying your point of arrival.” There was steel in her voice this time. If she wanted to let me know that she had all the cards the only way she could be blunter would be by throwing a deck at me.

I took a deep breath and let it out in a powerful snort. I was amused when it came out in a puff of steam. I chuckled, which caused Celestia to raise an eyebrow at me, but I ignored it.

After schooling my features to a more thoughtful look. I turned my head towards the mare lying on one of the beds in the back. “She probably told you a few things as well, didn’t she?” I asked, rounding back to the princess.

“Yes, she did,” was the immediate reply. “I hope you understand that, given the situation, such information would be valuable.” She said, looking at the mare behind me.

“Well, then,” I started, “you have a powerful advantage, your highness.” I shuffled my front hooves slightly. “I guess now would be a good time to get back to your original inquiry?”

There was a small twitch in her ears, as they seemed to perk slightly and fully turn towards me. Like she just now acknowledged me. What started to get to me, though, was the fact that the longer I talked to her, the longer it felt like I was out of my depth. I cursed the fact that I let all those fan fictions affect my mind like this. All of us fans thought that chats with Celestia would be these battles of wits, jokes and barbs. But either I was the unluckiest bastard this side of multiverse or I need to get my head out of my ass, plot, whatever.

I dragged my clawed hooves down my muzzle in aggravation and took a deep steadying breath. I felt my wings this time trying to buzz but I managed to control them. I pointed my pony like ears at the Princess and readied myself. Time to take things seriously.

It seemed like my little psych up pleased her if the smirk was anything to go by.

I stood ramrod stiff, and gave her a quick nod, letting her know that I was ready.

She gave me a small nod back, before making herself a bit more comfortable.

“Very well then Mr Patch,” she started. “I’ve heard a statement from Miss Hoof behind you. I have questioned other eyewitnesses and heard their sides of the story. You are the only one left now,” she tilted her head slightly to the left. “What I’d like you to do now, is to give me your side of the story. How did you arrive here? What were you doing before your arrival? And what are your intentions?” Celestia turned her head back at me, looking me straight in the eyes. “And please, don’t try to lie, I will know if you do.”

I just sat there, in silence for a few seconds letting what she said, asked and threatened sink in. I felt my right eye twitch a few times in irritation; I hoped that the tick wouldn't stay a thing.

“First you say you want to hear my side of the story, then you ask me questions,” I whispered in a huff. “Indecisive much.” Another quirked eyebrow got me thinking that maybe her hearing is better than I gave her credit for. I gulped quietly when I remembered her arrival.

I cleared my throat. “I don’t know how I arrived here. I was getting ready to go to work before I came. And my intentions depend on yours.” That last sentence caused my mouth to close in an audible click and my breath to hitch.

There was a scowl on Celestia's face, and the guards on the left and right of the door were now tense and one of them had a spear half pointed at me.

“What did you mean with that last bit?”

I wanted to scream at myself for letting my snarky side get the better of me, but then again, I was surprised I managed to last this long without it surfacing… Oh well.

“I should have been a bit clearer on that last bit, your Highness,” I chuckled nervously before clearing my throat. “What I should have said: is that I have no negative intentions towards this realm, and, uh…” I trailed off watching as the guards slowly started relaxing their posture, the spear no longer pointed at me. I swallowed thickly. My wings buzzed again, loudly, like a furious hornet and I yelped, turning my head towards the offending appendages.

This has been going on and off depending on my mood and it has become very aggravating over the last several hours. I couldn’t fly with the ring on my horn, I tried it, but the blasted things reacted to my anxiety and nervousness by buzzing either loud enough to become deafening or softly enough that I had to question whether I heard it or not.

It’s how I discovered how to move them in the first place, and when I’m consciously moving them, the panic simply isn’t there due to my concentration. However, when I’m not paying attention, my old fear comes back. And that’s the annoying part. The buzzing sounds just enough like a bee or a bumblebee for me to freak out, which was the bad part, because if it sounded like a fly buzzing, I’d become angry, almost irrationally so, which I wasn’t sure if it would be better. Seriously, I nearly broke a window several times in my old studio just from my overreaction the moment I heard a fly trying to get in.

All things considered; I’m overjoyed to be a changeling, but I could have done without the buzzing… even though I wouldn’t be able to fly without the wings. A major upside of being a bug-pony: magic AND flight.

After that train of thought I briefly considered biting my own wings out of spite, but something told me that ponies already consider me unsafe as it is. That and having sharp teeth means plenty of pain. Adding fuel to the fire and making them see me as deranged on top of being a weird alien won’t help matters.

I briefly looked towards the mare in the back... Hoof-something, or something-Hoof, and continued my current observation of the rest of the ponies in front of me while I formulated a proper continuation of my thoughts.

My cellmate was sitting upright on the bed, ears pointed at me and nervously pawing at the bed sheets. I don’t know when she got on said bed, but it didn’t matter. Either case, she looked nervous and had tilted her head slightly downwards with a light blue corona covering her horn. She was ready to defend herself, I wondered whether she was overreacting or not like myself. It’s not like I directly proclaimed I would assault her… Then again, she did look nervous the whole time we were in here.

The two guards, on the left and right of Celestia, stood straight, with their spears pointed upwards, held in their blue magic, and I had a feeling that I wouldn’t take them a lot of effort to let the spears drop to my level and ready for offence. Their white coat and golden armour was spotless, proving to me that the fans might have been on to something with the whole illusion thing.

Celestia, on the other hand… hoof, just sat there. There was a scowl on her muzzle, and her ears twitched every few seconds like she was listening to something. Or at least, that’s how it seemed. While I managed to pick up a few things when it comes to pony body language, Celestia was hard to read. Other than her ears there was no ruffling of feathers, no swishing of tail, her pupils did not dilate or shrink, and her shoulders kept relaxed. She just sat there… waiting on me, like she knew I had something else to add to my previous faux pas. It was unnerving.

I cleared my throat again before continuing, noticing that her ears were again pointed at me.

“What I wanted to say, is that I have no evil, aggressive or negative intentions, your Highness…” I started. “But, depending on the way I am treated I won’t just sit down and allow others to bowl me over.” I said, with some conviction in my words.

The guards haven’t moved, but Celestia did remove the scowl. Small victories. I also heard shuffling of cloth behind me, and I assumed that my cell mate relaxed.

“I suppose that is understandable given your situation. But I assure you, nopony here means you any harm in any way, shape or form.”

“You say that, but I’m fairly certain that if I tried to do something, these two,” I pointed at the guards, “would happily skewer me.”

Celestia glanced at the guards before focusing back to me, “I can assure you that those spears are here merely as a deterrent.” She shrugged. “If it will make you feel safer, I can have them remove the spears. It will not hinder them from restraining you should it be required.”

I snorted. “You make it sound like I’m just itching to attack someone,” I felt my wings buzz in irritation, causing me to cringe. “I mean, if I wanted to attack people, I’d start with that mare behind me.” I pointed my claws in my cell-mate’s direction.

“Oh, I am not worried about her in the slightest.” Celestia smirked.

I blinked. I continued blinking.

“Excuse me what now?” I stammered out, confused. She put a, obviously scared, filly in here with me… and she isn’t worried about her? The shit?!

“Does it surprise you, human, that I do not worry about that filly behind you?” She pointed to the mare behind me with her right armoured forehoof. “Or are you surprised that I would, willingly, place somepony in a cell with an extra dimensional being that I knew nothing about?”

To be fair, I considered several reasons why another pony was placed in a cell with me. But to be also completely honest, I did not care enough to investigate it further than that. I had more important matters to deal with. New world, new body, new sensations, etc. I had plenty on my plate other than to worry about a scared filly that… Is… not… here?

Sometime during my thought process, I apparently turned my head around and found nothing behind me. More precisely, I found no ponies behind me. The bunk beds were there, and so was the toilet and the table. But that beige unicorn mare was gone.

I fully turned and examined the room looking for anything out of the ordinary. Flickers of air, movement or sounds of any kind knowing that magic is involved. I took a deep breath and focused on my hearing. Nothing.

Sufficiently spooked, I started to turn back to the cell door.

“All right, princess, what is going…”

Turning around, apparently, was a mistake, regardless of the direction. Because, as it turns out, the heavy metal door can pull a disappearing act as well. Namely, the cell door and the bars around them were missing and I was gawking at a wall of stone blocks. No door, no bars, no princesses and no guards… oh and the missing mare.

“Where did the door go,” I squeaked out, slowly backpedalling from the former entrance.

I was now genuinely panicking. My wings were buzzing as well, adding to the cacophony of noises I was producing, ranging from heavy breathing to my heartbeat drumming loudly in my ears.

I tried to calm myself down, but the more I tried the harder it got. The last thing I remembered was feeling the wall behind me, followed by the sound of porcelain cracking and a golden light before I fell into nothingness.

CH 2 (how he arrived)

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Celestia

I watched as the poor human/changeling collapsed in a heap after my knockout spell hit him while moving to the side and letting the doctor that followed me rush into the cell to check on the bug-pony.

He was not supposed to react like this to a little illusion trick. After all, he held himself quite commendable thus far considering that he has spent well over four hours with an illusion of Spark Hoof.

‘Maybe we missed something,’ I chewed on my cheek.

My ears were assaulted by my advisors arguing on the other end of a communication spell, and I decided to turn it off with a sigh. They were starting to wear at my hearing.

“Your Highness.” I heard the doctor's voice, trying to get my attention.

“Yes, doctor?” I stepped into the cell, approaching the pony and the downed changeling. He had his head lowered, horn glowing with white light and pointed at the prisoner, going through a deep scan spell.

Doctor White Light is an aged, snow-white unicorn, with an orange wavy mane and tail, both of which had streaks of yellow in them, and golden yellow eyes. He was on the chubby side, with long gangly legs, and a slightly pudgy body, owing to his recent slower lifestyle. His cutie mark is a red cross surrounded by a golden corona of light. He carried several pouches and pockets on his forelegs, and red half-moon glasses perched on his nose.

White Light is the foremost expert on xeno-anatomy in Equestria, providing medical services to minotaurs, Abyssinians, hippogriffs and even dragons among other species of this world. Even now, close to retirement, when offered this job yesterday he jumped at the offer with gusto, exclaiming that ‘studying changeling biology is Starswirl’s spellbook of Xeno study’. Given the fact that less than a hoof full of ponies knew that changelings still existed, I was quite surprised about that statement. Let alone that studying changelings was held in such high regard, given their secrecy.

I knew of Changelings and their insane queen Chrysalis, but the last time I saw them was centuries ago when I dropped them in a semi-active volcano. And while occasional reports by my spy network does prove that changelings still very much exist and are active, actually capturing one is nearly impossible. And while my capable spies have located an approximate location of their nest, I am still unable to do anything much about it. Cursed anti-magic field.

“Anything to report?” I asked him.

Doctor Light stopped the spell and gave the changeling an appraising look before turning towards me.

“Nothing of note.” He said, pulling his red half-moon glasses off his muzzle with magic and putting them in one of the pouches. “I don’t see or sense any damage… Although, for the sake of his mental health it would probably be better to keep such illusions and tricks to a minimum.”

I spotted the golden anti-magic ring on the floor next to changelings’ head, cracked down the middle, and picked it up with my magic for examination.

Normal ‘a-m rings’ would effectively stop any and all magic flow. Regardless of strength, a normal unicorn would be unable to use magic the moment the ring is set on the base of the horn. With me being an alicorn there are some benefits, namely, my earth pony strength would allow me to simply crush the ring with my hooves, and even my unicorn magic (in tandem with my connection to the sun) wouldn’t be completely sealed. I would be weaker, but only temporarily. I had dealt with anti-magic fields in the past, a simple ‘a-m ring’ would be a non-issue.

“It is rather fascinating that he was able to crack the ‘a-m ring’,” I held out the ring for the doctor, who grabbed it with his hooves. “Especially since he comes from a race that apparently never used magic in the first place.”

Doctor Light approached one of my guards at the entrance and gave him the cracked ring.

“That’s why I said that we need to give him a proper examination in the first place, Princess.” He complained, turning fully towards me. “If we did our research, as we should have done immediately, we would have known whether an ‘a-m ring’ would work or not.”

“That may be so, doctor,” I sighed, “but we all agreed that proper containment as well as necessary facilities needed to be prepared first.” I used my magic and lifted the poor human/changeling placing him on the lower bunk before turning to Doctor Light. “Besides, I believe your exact words were: ‘I’m just giddy enough to study the bloodwork, do what you want with him.’ Hmmm.” I giggled lightly at his pout.

“Well, yes.” He huffed. “Which is the only reason why I’m not as upset right now.”

I moved towards the door with White Light trailing behind me.

“I don’t think I need to tell you, your highness, just how dangerous of a game we are playing right now,” he continued. “Not only did we not know whether the translation spell will work properly, but we also didn’t know whether he will see through the illusion, attack, or, well, there are plenty of things that could have gone wrong.”

I sat down outside of the cell, watching the sleeping changeling. The cell door closed with a clang before a light bell sound signified the activation of its magic, locking the doors down.

Doctor Light went ahead down the hallway, and I followed after him. The two guards took their place on the left and right of the cell.

“That may be so, Doctor, but as we saw he was content to explore both his body and his surroundings without showing any signs of aggression.” I nodded to another set of guards that stood in front of the hallway entrance. They opened the door and let us pass into the next hallway. At its other end, sounds of chatter could be heard.

This cell was completely isolated from the rest of the cell block of Canterlot dungeons. And as much as it bothered me that we put an innocent soul inside the dungeons, this was, as of right now, the most isolated cell in Equestria. And until we learn as much as we could about our extra-dimensional visitor it will remain that way… At least until adequate facilities have been acquired and prepared.

“Maybe so, Princess. But for all we know, he could be lulling us into a false sense of security.” Doctor Light commented over his shoulder.

When we exited the hallway, we came to a large room full of well over a dozen ponies. From the highest of arch-mages to the Guard Captain and her advisors to experts of biology, science, and many more.

The room was abuzz with conversations and arguments. I even saw two ponies butting heads in the far corner of the room before some guards separated them. There were notes flying through the air, as well as pieces of equipment that exchanged hooves; ponies running to-and-fro and trying to grab the attention of their colleagues or superiors.

Overall, it was total bedlam, and I was worried that we might awaken Discord by accident. One massive event is enough for another century; thank you very much. I still don’t want to speak about the sugar collapse that happened last century.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted the captain of my guard approaching me while the good doctor left to join a group that looked over some data or another.

“Captain Shield Strike, anything to report?” I asked with a smile.

Shield Strike was an earth pony mare well into the prime of her life. Her deep red fur was crisscrossed in several places with pale scars that stood as proof of her ‘I’ll do it myself' attitude. The very same attitude that earned her the nickname ‘Red Menace’ in guard camp. Her massive body rippled with hard-earned muscle and her heavy hoof falls would cause everypony in her path to duck out of her way. Shield Strike did not have to crane her head much like other ponies to look me in the eyes. One of the things I was silently glad for. I love my little ponies, but it can get annoying and cramp inducing to look down at them all the time. Her cutie mark of a grey cracked tower shield with a hoof imprint was in the open for all to see since she was out of armour right now.

Her short tawny-orange mane and tail were complemented by her mint green eyes, and she had a vicious looking blue tattoo she spitefully decided to get on her left front shoulder, in the shape of a manticore claw swipe. I hated that tattoo with every fibre of my being, and I told her that every single day since she got it. And will continue to do so until her last breath.

I still loved my wife dearly, though, and will, again, continue to do so until her last breath.

“Nothing to report yet, Princess Celestia. Although, the Arch-mage did wish to speak to you.” She stopped in front of me and gave me a sharp salute. Right hoof striking her left breast. The strike was necessary because in her own words ‘it separates the wheat from the chaff'.

I rolled my eyes good-naturedly at my wife and greeted her as is my right: a kiss on her delectable lips.

She returned the kiss for a split second before I was playfully shoved back. “Celestia! Really?”

“Yes, really, Strike.” I nodded with zero shame that others could see us. I could just barely see the blush on her cheeks, but her other tell was plain as day. Namely, her ears were fully at attention and vibrating slightly, a clear sign that I got a good reaction out of her, and that she is merely flustered.

“I told you when I’m at work…” she started.

“Yes, yes, dear. When you are working then we must be professional.” I finished.

“That’s nots what I say, and you knows it.” She threw a playful pout my way as we moved to the side allowing the constant stream of ponies to move undisturbed.

I tittered. “I am well aware of what you usually say, my love. But I refuse to use such language in public.”

She gave a fake gasp, much to my amusement, and placed her hooves on her chest in mock hurt.

“How dare you… I’ll have you knows that ‘tonsil massage’ is not at all vulgar and or uncouth.” A snort and some sputtering could be heard from one of the nearby tables. “OI!” She shouted, and I pinned my ears to my head. “The fuck are you doing, eavesdropping on my talking with my wife?!”

“Incorrect…” I started with a giggle.

“Don’t care.” She waved me off half-heartedly, leaning her bulky frame on my left side.

We enjoyed our moment for a few precious seconds before she opened her mouth.

“Arch-mage said that we can’ts put any more rings on the bug.” She did not sound pleased.

“How so, my dear.” I was surprised to hear that, especially since it was the arch-mage that suggested the ring to stay on the changeling in the first place.

“Apparently he finished his observation of his body and magic.” Shield Shifted her weight before leaning back onto me. “By putting the ring on his horn, we has irreversibly caused his body to stop adapting to our world… At least that’s what I gots out of it.” She huffed.

I blinked a couple of times in confusion.

“I thought that when he was pulled to our world the spell made an immediate change.” I stretched my wings before using my left one to pull her closer to me. “At least, to my knowledge, which was what the original spell used on the mirror portal did.”

A soldier approached us and gave my wife a scroll. She gave it a quick read before, nodding and returning it to the guard with another firmer nod, sending the guard away with a quick salute.

“Dunno bout’ any of the magical mumbo-jumbo he threw at me. I’m just giving you the gist of it.” She sighed and made herself comfortable under my wing, causing a smile to sprout on my muzzle.

“Well then…” I started pulling my wing back and causing my wife to stumble slightly. This earned me a glare that softened after a quick peck on the lips. “Guess I have an arch-mage to find now, don’t I?”

We both stood up and she shooed me away with her hoof and a twitch of her tail. Making her look ‘weak’ in front of her comrades was a big ‘no-no’ button and I loved pushing it every once in a while.

“Ye, ye. Go and talk shop with the old geezer.” She turned around with a snort and started walking to one of the many tables in the room. “He can talks your ears off instead of mine. Tartarus knows, if I ‘ave to listen to him anymore, I’ll tear ‘em off myself.”

“Aw, why would you do that my love? Who will listen to MY complaints then?” I called after her. That got me an over the shoulder glare and a double hind hoof count.

I chuckled at my wife’s brazenness and remembered a time some unlucky noble gave me a double count in front of my, then, marefriend. Suffice to say it took weeks of magi-medical recovery before she could walk again, and my Shield got a stern talking to. While her chivalrous attitude in defending my honour from such a nasty gesture was romantic in a sense, there is a limit to what one can do to, well, defend one’s honour. And causing severe bodily harm was crossing the line… Even though in the olden days, giving the princess a double count was punishable by death. Provided I wasn’t able to stop such nonsense in time.

I sighed heavily, remembering my past, and started looking for the arch-mage Spell Scroll.

I found him, and a group of his mages at one of the furthest tables.

I could see most of them leaving, and by the time I arrived, I saw that poor Scroll looked about ready to pass out. Completely reasonable as this event caught him in the middle of his all-nighter, and he hasn’t slept since.

His graphite-coloured fur looked matted and unbrushed, as did his sky-blue mane and, of course, the beard. He always did say that any arch-mage worth his salt must have a beard. Or conjure one if one was a mare.

He looked towards me with his tired ice-blue eyes, before grunting and pulling a flask out of his velvet cloak that covered his body. And, naturally, the cloak had bells. His way of honouring my mentor, Starswirl.

“How many of those did you drink now, my friend?” I asked him as his body flashed with dim light.

He grimaced at the taste, before looking at me. Some vigour now returned with flasks’ effect.

“I’ll have you know, Princess,” he started, putting the flask away, “that is only the third gulp I got out of that reinvigoration potion.” He smacked his lips a few times before pulling the flask out again. He opened it and peered into its contents. “Although, I’ll have to toss this batch out. It’s starting to spoil.”

“Are you telling me, Arch-mage Spell Scroll, that you are drinking a spoiled batch of re-vigour potion?” I asked while raising my eyebrow. “That seems somewhat reckless given your age and status.”

He snorted before casting his magic into the flask. I couldn’t hear any liquid sloshing so I’m guessing he got rid of it.

“I’m barely fifty, Princess.” He said, putting away his, now empty, flask. I reminded myself that he is one of the youngest arch-mages in the last six centuries. “Besides,” he continued, “not all of us are like you. I need all the help I can get.”

This time I snorted. I sat down and fluffed my wings while I was looking around the room. I spotted my wife near the entrance of the room, probably giving some orders, or receiving reports. I should get back to my office soon as well. This little venture, while a fun distraction, can only last so long.

“I’m glad you dropped by though.” I turned to my arch-mage, prompting him to go on with my right wing, while I went back to my observation. “I said to that brute you call a wife, and I’ll say it to you now: we can’t put another ‘a-m ring’ on the poor bug.” He cleared his throat. “At least not until his body settles.”

I took a deep breath and fully turned towards Spell Scroll. “I know you and my wife don’t exactly see eye to eye, my friend, but must you call her a brute at every opportunity?” I wasn’t upset at my arch-mage. Both my wife and he respected one another, but it was begrudging respect at best. At least they were cordial with each other.

“Maybe one day,” he said, sorting through a hoof full of parchment in front of him with his hooves. “After she apologises for wrecking my tower.”

I watched him roll and seal several parchments as I sighed.

I knew my wife… She would never apologise. Not out of spite mind you, but out of sheer bull-headed pride. She did help fix the tower with her own hooves though, and that’s the only reason Scroll is as amicable as he is.

“Back to the reason I came to you, Arch-mage,” I started while picking up some of the open scrolls scattered over the table with my magic. Spell formulae and old parchments detailing what little was known about changeling anatomy. “Why can’t we put another ring on the changeling?” I put the scrolls down. “If I recall the report, he was barely conscious before that. Overwhelmed by everypony's emotions I believe.”

The arch-mage moved a few scrolls around the table with magic before lifting three of them and presenting them to me. I opened them all and lined them in front of me while he talked.

“These scrolls are the collective scans, observations and diagrams of his transformation since his unfortunate arrival to our world.” I nodded as he continued. “As you are no doubt aware, the transformation upon using the mirror portal should be instantaneous. But it wasn’t and it confused many of my mages to no end as to why.”

“It still confounds me,” I mumbled.

“Quite,” he continued. “Now, poor miss Hoof had a whole team of ponies scanning from the very moment that human came through, and it’s what helped us finally figure this out.”

I raise my head from the scrolls in front of me and lift an expectant eyebrow while my arch-mage is sifting through the parchments on the table with his magic. With a victorious ‘Aha!’ he lifts a ragged looking scroll and presents it to me.

“This,” he said hoofing the scroll to my magic grip, “is the very first scan upon his arrival. Tell me, Princess Celestia, do you notice anything… strange?”

I open the scroll and look at its contents.

On the scroll itself is an image of several shadow looking beings of different shapes. I’ve gotten used to reading such images over the centuries as magic and medicine advanced. This image, in particular, was used by my mages in order to figure out the quality, quantity as well as flow of magic. While the black shapes represented the ponies in various positions, it’s the inside of the shapes that were the object of my attention.

In these magicked images several colours stood out. Namely blues and greens. Blues and their hues are the quality of magic; and greens, and its corresponding hues, being its flow. The quantity was usually found by both of these factors combined. It was the third colour that caught my undivided attention.

“SO easy to spot isn’t it,” Scroll chuckled. “But we still completely missed it.”

There, in the middle of the image, was a silhouette of a human, and in the very centre of his body’s shadow was a tiny red coloured sphere. It was barely branching, but it was there.

“Foreign magic,” I stammered. “Not just foreign but completely alien.”

“Eyup,” Spell got on his hind legs and slammed his front hooves on the table shaking it. “Direct proof of Starswirl’s ‘outer magic’ theory, right under our muzzles and we threw it to the side.” He ground out. “We were so dumbfounded that it took us a full minute before we ransacked the rest of the scrolls looking through them.” He lit up his horn and unrolled six scrolls in front of me. He placed them chronologically from left to right, with five-second interval timers to show time flow.

I stood up on my hind legs and leaned forward, using my front legs for balance.

The first scroll was the very first scan. Showing several ponies and one human. I found the human’s mana core with ease, now that I knew what I was looking for, and followed along the timeline. Spell Scroll was guiding me through it.

“As you can see, we have ponies and a human.” He stood on his hind legs on the other end of the, what I now noticed, round table and pointed at each image with a quill he acquired. “The ponies, we will ignore for obvious reasons, are the blue representing our own mana and its lighter hue tells us that they are of rather high quality (props to Miss Hoof, she knows how to find good help).” Then he used the quill to tap the human silhouette. “The human’s mana, however, is red; barely any branching and, on closer observation, its hue is garnet (spotted by one of my assistants). That tells us that his magic, based on our own system, is subpar. BUT that’s not the interesting part.”

He moved the quill to the second image and my eyes nearly bugged out. The second image had no change to the human's mana core.

From old, earlier tests with the mirror, we have figured out that a pony’s mana core would change temporarily into a darker hue upon entering/exiting the mirror portal. Even the sedated humans we brought through for testing over a decade ago, gained a mana core on transformation and got darker due to portals’ effect at smudging ponies magic on transformation with impurities.

This human had no change, well over ten seconds after entering our world. That meant that not only did the portal NOT use human’s magic to transform but that his magic is too stable to pick up impurities. Even I had some impurities in my core after using the portal, and I’m as close to a goddess as I could get without pulling on some higher magic.

“Is… Is that why there was no immediate transformation?” I asked my arch-mage.

“That is our current theory, yes.” He said tapping his beard with the quill still in his magic. “His magic is far too stable to be affected by mirror’s immediate effects. And the fact that he didn’t pick up any impurities is also of note.” He piped up, clearly deep in thought.

As he was thinking I took the time to find the precise point that the transformation started, finding it about thirty seconds after the human's entry. The very last of the six scrolls. Previously, his silhouette was standing upright, but now it was hunched over, parts of him looked different from the original shadow. His centre core was now…

“Green?” I questioned, looking up at Spell Scroll.

He ‘hm-ed’ once before looking down at the indicated scroll.

“Ah yes. The last thirty seconds.” He tapped the outline with his quill. “A massive outflow of mana from his core. It’s when his transformation certainly started. But it’s what’s happening later that should keep your attention.”

He rolled up the six scrolls I was examining and brought another set of six. This one caused me even more confusion as the colour of the human’s mana core was now purple.

“As you can see,” Scroll tapped each of the six scrolls, “during his transformation, his magic was mixing with ours. I was never under the impression that THAT is a possibility but here we are.” He shrugged. “As you can see on the outlines of our dear miss Hoof’s team, they were rather stunned.”

Indeed. As I looked at their outlines their ears were perked and fully trained on the human in the centre while their bodies leaned back.

“And this,” my arch-mage exclaimed, removed the second set of six and replaced it with a third, “is where the whole transformation went to Tartarus.”

I looked at the newly revealed scrolls and immediately saw the problem. In between the twentieth and twenty-fifth second, the ring was placed on the, now prone, changeling silhouette. At one minute and fifteen seconds, the changeling’s mana was turning a nice deep shade of blue with hints of red and purple intermixed. At one minute and twenty seconds the green showing that the mana flow is still present, and at one minute twenty-five seconds it's completely gone. At one minute and thirty seconds, the mana was coloured a deep, dark purple with hints of red.

Normally, in such a scenario a transformation spell would cancel out and the body would start reverting back to its original shape as the pony’s original mana signature would overpower the new one, simply speaking.

But in this case, the ring was on. The ring being on meant that the mana flow is stopped. The only theory I could come up with is that Patchwork’s mana was fully adaptable and accepted the transformation and was trying to settle in.

“But why did the mana go from blue to purple and red?” I whispered.

Spell Scroll chuckled excitedly, clopping his front hooves together in an imitation of a minotaur clap.

“That’s the thing,” he said in between giggles. “Don’t you see, his own magic is so aggressive it took our own and melded it to itself, even with such high saturation. It used our own magic as fuel to feed itself and I’m one hundred percent certain that he had no control of it whatsoever.” He skipped a few times on all fours. His re-vigour potion was finally kicking in properly. “My current working theory is that”, he pulled an empty scroll from a separate pile under the table and started madly writing with the quill in his magic, “his species relies purely on a passive magic system (a ’la earth ponies). It’s quite possible that they never knew they possessed magic in the first place and left pure, unfiltered instinct to guide it.” He giggled again. “A fully developed, instinctual mana core would be pure, condensed mana like in the very first image. A stable, passive mana would be hard to influence by outside sources.

In fact, I’m certain that by now his magic is fully red again, with higher volume and better flow. Actually, this current lashing out of his mana and absorption of ours was probably a passive reaction under stress.”

“Like the minotaurs!” I exclaimed.

“Exactly!” He yelled, shortly drawing attention from other tables. With a quiet ‘oops’ Spell Scroll composed himself and left the, now fully written, scroll on the side to dry the ink. He dragged one hoof over his beard in thought, “I think they call it… Oh what was it…” he hummed. “Ah yes, mana-adrenal surge. An instinctual magical strengthening buff that triggers in dire situations if my memory still serves me.” He looked me directly in the eye. “And if I also recall, Taurian magic is also quite aggressive and absorbs everything that can strengthen it. It's why Minotaurs are so adaptable.”

That would explain that then.

“So, I take it we now have a changeling-human hybrid at our hooves, using a magic specific to his human species,” I concluded.

“Possible, but a human-pony-changeling hybrid. At least that’s what I think he is now.

However,” he continued shaking his head, “I’d wager we would find more if we could get a deeper, more detailed scan of his biology… Maybe even another scan of his magic, to see what we are working with.” There was a quiet ‘pop’ sound and a projection orb appeared in front of the arch-mage, showing the still knocked out hybrid. “We could do some good research and scans now while he’s out of it.”

I opened my mouth to agree with him when I heard a sudden shout of excitement from my wife. I turned my head to the entrance of the observation room and spotted her turning in my direction and waving her hooves.

“OI, Sunshine!” She shouted. “My mooks are telling me that we have the room for the bug-colt ready!” I could see most of the ponies around her pin their ears in discomfort and I sympathised with them. My wife had an incredible set of lungs.

I nodded at her and summoned one of her guards to me with my wing. I really did not want to shout.

The guard gave me a crisp salute (without the smack) and awaited my orders.

I turned to Spell Scroll first.

“Arch-Mage, round up the mages and doctors.” I swept broadly at the whole room with my left wing and foreleg. “Set up a powerful sleep spell on our hybrid and get as many scans as possible and tests you can get with him asleep. And please remember, nothing invasive. We have done too much to him as it is.”

I got a grunt of acknowledgement from my arch-mage as he left to do as I asked. Then I turned to the guard.

“Relay to your Captain that I want the room to be ready to receive the hybrid as soon as the tests and scans are done. I want the transfer to be as smooth and discreet as possible. No ports and no gates.”

He nodded and galloped off through the, now even bigger, chaos carrying the message. I cringed again thinking about Discord and have decided not to worry. If the sugar crisis didn’t wake him up, this certainly won’t.

I decided to go and steal another kiss from my wife before I go back to my office.

‘I saw and spoke to an alien… I think I deserve some extra cake for today,’ I thought with a smile.

CH 3 (new problems)

View Online

Patchwork

I first became aware of something soft surrounding me, and that was the first clue that I wasn’t in the cell anymore. The beds there weren’t as soft.

‘Let’s see here,’ I thought, ‘My body feels stiff as all get out, I have a splitting headache, and I feel like I could eat a horse, heh… Just how long was I out?’

I shifted around in my new bed for a few seconds, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of the sheets rubbing against my chitin.

‘Ok…’ I came to a sudden realisation. ‘I don’t remember feeling things this vividly.’ Were my next thoughts.

And it was true.

While I was in that cell with illusion…

At once I jumped out of the bed and opened my eyes… Damned be the pain.

I blinked rapidly, with tears trickling down my muzzle at the discomforting light.

The new room I found myself in was bright, but not overly so. Just enough to see clearly without straining one’s eye. Too bad my eyes were closed for who knows how long.

The first thing I noted was the bed in front of me, pushed up against the wall. It was large, larger than the bunk bed I saw in the cell, with a wooden frame and with two plush pillows and a blanket. I propped myself up on my hind legs, measuring the new bed with a critical eye.

“I could fit five of me on this thing…” I whispered. “The fuck do I need such a large bed for?”

I got down on all fours and stepped back. The bed was elevated enough that if I wanted, I could squeeze my short frame underneath it. I ducked to get a good look and for a split second, I was overwhelmed by a need to dive under and stay there.

‘That instinct wasn’t there before. Where did it come from?’

I remembered the last sound before I passed out and reached with my left clawed hoof to my horn. I did not find the ring around it, and that worried me. But at the same time, I didn’t want to think too much about it… The implications weren’t comforting, especially given what I felt just now. Especially the hunger that was very much present and growing.

I continued to rub the base of my horn absentmindedly as I slowly turned around and checked the rest of the room.

At the base of the bed was a chest, a wooden chest to be precise, and a bit further away were two cabinets with four drawers each. All wooden as well. Everything from the bed to the chest and cabinets was painted light brown.

As I kept turning, I could feel my eyes widen in shock.

The room was massive.

In fact, the whole room was so large that it would take me at least a minute at walking speed to reach the door on the other side. And I was in the furthest left corner.

The walls, floor and ceiling were off white and looked completely untouched. Which gave me a sign of their ‘newness’.

I could not see where the light came from until I looked to my right. Immediately on my right was a large circular table on short legs with four, soft-looking, pink pillows tucked under it.

On the wall close to the table though was a large, nearly wall spanning window, showing me the whole countryside. I did not spot the mountain I was on though. And I knew I was in Canterlot from what that Hoof lady mumbled… I had to prod her a few times.

Just as I was about to approach the window the sound of a throat being cleared caused me to twitch, buzz my wings (which, surprisingly didn’t bother me this time) and turn my head towards the sound.

There, a few meters away on my left, sitting down like a cat, was Princess Celestia… She looked like a bad hologram. All static-y and twitchy.

She cleared her throat again before speaking as I approached her. She spoke in a surprisingly clear voice. I honestly expected some distortion.

“I would like to point out,” she started, “in order to prevent another episode, that the window you see on your right is an intricate illusion created for your benefit,” Celestia said with a light smile on her muzzle.

“My benefit?” I glanced at the window before focusing back on her, “I take it I am underground then, or something similar.”

“I wouldn’t say “underground”, exactly.” She said, rubbing her muzzle with her left forehoof. She opened her mouth to say something, but I decided to pre-empt it.

“Well, either I’m underground or in a mountain, in any case…” I swung my left foreleg broadly, gesturing at her with my claws. “What’s with the projection?”

Celestia looked over her body, shrugging with her wings and looking at me.

“I am a rather busy mare, Mr Patchwork. While I visited you personally two days ago…”

‘Two days!’ I thought in shock, before shaking my head and focusing back on the princess.

“… I have been rather busy since. Hence, the projection.” She gestured at herself with a hoof.

I narrowed my eyes, mulling over at how long I was asleep, but before I could say or ask anything she spoke again.

“However, the reason for my visit is twofold: firstly, I came to apologize.” She cleared her throat before continuing. “More specifically, I came to apologize for inadvertently causing you grief.” She bowed her head solemnly. “I am truly sorry for frightening you in such a manner and causing you so much fear,” she raised her head, her magenta eyes focused on me. “In truth, such simple illusions are a common party trick used by unicorns…” I cringed thinking that a party trick gave me a panic attack, “and I, unfortunately, did not even consider that it would scare you to such an extent. It was supposed to be a mild prank in order to test you and your reaction, but it was in poor taste at best. And for that, I am terribly sorry.” She lowered her head solemnly.

There was a brief silence as I mulled over her apology.

‘If that was such a simple party trick, then I don’t want to know what an actual illusion is.’ I thought bitterly. ‘Probably that mare then… She seemed to have her own weight and everything.’

“Wait, which part is the party trick if I may ask?” I buzzed my wings for good measure, still surprised that it didn’t bother me anymore… I need to look into that later.

“Hm? Oh, that. That would be the wall. My mages set up Ms Spark Hoof’s projection, while I did the wall illusion.” Celestia nodded, lifting her head.

“Similar type of projection you are using right now?”

“No, not at all.” She put her right forehoof on her peytral. “This projection is very different and quite simple, and it doesn't require much effort or concentration.” She put her hoof down and shifted her wings slightly. “The other was made by four of my high mages and is quite complex.”

That was a pretty hefty piece of info I digested with a slow nod. Apparently, a small group of mages can create a life-like projection… Hold on.

“When you say a projection, do you mean that Spark Hoof was the one doing all the motions and the mages just made the projection copy it?”

“Why yes, they did. Impressive deduction, considering your kind does not seem to be able to use magic.” She looked to the side and her projection fizzled for a moment before restabilising. I quirked an eyebrow at it while waiting for her to resume our conversation. I had a few more questions.

However, all I got was disappointment when the projection completely disappeared.

I just sat there waiting for a few minutes and mulling everything I learned recently. When Celestia’s projection returned, it was a bit farther away and it looked like she was reading something.

“My apologies for that. It would seem that I have less time than I would hope for. So, we will have to bring this conversation to an end, Mr Patchwork.”

“I understand, your Highness,” I nodded. She dropped what she was doing and fully turned and walked a few steps towards me before sitting down. If I extended my claw, I could about touch her. Craning my neck upwards I gave her an easy smile. “With that said, I accept your apology. You couldn’t have known, but in my world, such illusions are usually used as a trope in horror stories. And unfortunately,” I scratched the back of my head embarrassingly, “I had a nasty streak of nightmares when I was young, so such… changes still cause me to panic.”

“Ah, so that’s why,” she whispered just loudly enough that I could barely hear her.

I nodded and expected her to leave now, but she had a few more things to add.

“Now that THAT is cleared up,” she smiled, “on to the second reason for my arrival.”

I nodded, straightening my back.

She looked me up and down before shrugging.

“You may not know this, but normally your kind feeds on emotions. Particularly love if I remember correctly.”

‘I already knew that’ I thought, ‘but I’m still glad to have it confirmed.’

“What that means for you,” she continued, “is that we need to find you somepony that is, for now, willing to volunteer for such a task, until my mages and researchers manage to make a workable substitute.”

I narrowed my eyes at that. ‘That is quite a bit of effort for a changeling…’

“What’s the catch?” I asked, eyes still narrowed.

Celestia blinked a couple of times, shook her head, and smiled at me. “The ‘catch’ my little changeling, is that I have an offer for you.”

As it turns out, the offer is fantastic.

I get free love or other emotions depending on how things go; I get a place to stay and education to boot in order for me to integrate into pony society. Which told me that there is no way back to Earth for me. Not that I minded much. I was an only child, and my parents weren’t exactly in it for the love, and it showed.

Oh sure, I had family members that I cared about (my uncle and cousins for one as well as my grandparents) but I was here, and I truly doubted I would have stayed here if they could have sent me back already.

SOOOOO… I get to be a changeling (a weird one, but still awesome), and I get to learn and explore magic as well as this whole new world. The downside is that a) for now I get to stay in this room; b) I cannot leave this room (bummer), and c) they requested to do some tests on me.

They already did a sizable amount of scans and check-ups but that’s mostly on my magic. Celestia had a list of abilities that changelings can use, and they wanted in on it. So, for the next, who knows how long, I will get tested on, more specifically my abilities as a changeling as well as tests on my body’s strength, both magical and physical.

Overall, a win-win scenario for me as I get to learn regardless of what they do with me, and I get free stuff to boot… Now if only this hunger went away.

That’s one thing I noticed as I talked with Celestia. One, I couldn’t detect her emotions, which was good, and two, the longer I was awake the hungrier I got. And changeling hunger… is not like the regular hunger.

This hunger caused me a few alarming problems that I had to somehow tackle. First, and less problematic issue, is that I hid under the bed as soon as our conversation finished, with the only thing on my mind being the word ‘safe’. But it was more than a word, it was a need and a desperate one. I did NOT want to leave my new safe space and it took an enormous effort to do so.

Secondly, and this made me cringe badly, is that the hungrier I got, the worse my own emotional control got. Considering that Celestia said that I had some guests coming over soon meant that I would be at my absolute worst. I told Celestia as much before she left, and she assured me that everything was all right…

Newsflash, it wasn’t.

As minutes ticked by, I became increasingly aggravated. While I would normally get snappy while hungry, this was very quickly going out of control. And I could barely stop myself from arguing with my own thoughts, even hissing when I tried to exert some control over myself.

I was told that some ponies and Celestia’s captain would be arriving in about two hours. She also pointed out that the chest had some useful stuff in it… Like a nice clock… A nice, enchanted clock. Which I found out when in a fit of uncontrolled aggression I threw it at the wall. Neither the wall nor the clock suffered any damage, but it started to worry me.

When I woke up, I was already starving, but I could cope and the chat with the Princess kept me busy and entertained. After the first thirty minutes passed, I became ravenous. After the first hour I was angry (which is how the clock ended up hurled at the wall, along with a few pillows a few minutes after). Once the two hours nearly passed, I was at my wit's end and beyond control.

‘I need food… NOW!’ Were the only thoughts of which I could think. Normally with Humans after a certain time you don’t get hungry. But with this? Nope, it just got worse.

When the first, tantalising scent of emotions wafted my way I nearly hurled myself at the door. The last time I felt these emotions, it was far too much. So much so that I ended up just lying on the floor clutching my aching head until the ring was put on. And even then, for a few minutes afterwards, I could still feel those emotions. The whole experience felt like someone is tickling me while demanding I eat, drink, listen, feel, and watch a movie at the same time. There were my thoughts in there as well, but by the time the ring came on I could barely hear them.

NOW, however… I was almost giddy with excitement, and I had to reign myself in order to not just jump and claw at the door. It felt and smelt like the best damn meal of my life was just put in front of me after a day of hard work. I could practically taste it and started drooling heavily.

I swallowed my saliva and shook my head violently. I could barely form coherent thoughts but forcing my will upon these new instincts allowed me SOME level of control. So, I decided to try to do what I always did when something bothered me, and I couldn’t deal with it. I tried to shift my focus and learn about new things. In retrospect, I should have chosen something else.

I tried to focus and understand this new ability to sense emotions and made it into a challenge. Can I recognize and categorise the emotions of these ponies approaching me? Turns out, I can’t.

Not only did I barely recognize ANY of their emotions I got lost in them to the point that I had to slap myself in a last-ditch effort to stop my body from quivering and drooling. I think I got happiness right, but the problem was that these emotions did not feel like anything I was familiar with. Apparently getting a new body meant I got new stuff I don’t recognise… WHO KNEW!?

Just before I started ranting and raving at my own stupidity, while my own body kept screeching at me to eat, I heard a noise around the door. It wasn’t like a regular sound for doors being unlocked, but more akin to a bell tinkle along with a click sound.

‘Shit!’ I thought, with a smile splitting my muzzle.

Shield Strike

I had a feeling in my gut.

Not a ‘things are going to Tartarus’ feeling mind you, but an uneasy one. Celestia could probably explain it in her own dorky way, but for me, it was always a simple tell: something ain’t right.

The long corridor we were walking down to the ‘’cell’’ was just annoying though.

“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I actually get to see him in pony!” Torch Burst said giddily. He’s a fully brown unicorn and was by far the youngest, and chattiest of our group. He wore a lab coat, hiding his cutie mark, but I already knew it from his files: a burning torch with sparks shooting from it. He kept trying to start a conversation with the pegasus doctor that came with us, but she kept to herself mostly.

“Yea, yea Torch, you get to poke a freak we get it.” Came the voice on my left.

“Oi, Split. I won’ts be hearing you calling our bug-colt a freak ya’ hear?” I looked at Split Greaves. One of my soldier mooks that had an annoyingly bad habit of branding everything non-pony a freak. He’s a young earth pony, like me, covered under the standard guard illusion.

“Didn’t you call him a bug-colt captain?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

My second in command piped up from the front.

“‘Bug-colt' is a classification of the individual, lieutenant. If you read the report carefully you would see that changelings are considered ‘bug-ponies’.” Armoured Saddle looked annoyed. If his twitching tail was any sign. He’s a unicorn in his forties (close to fifty but he doesn’t like to be reminded about it) with his own golden armour. The armour also had an illusion on it. Pointless really, as he already was white with a blue mane and tail. He should be retiring in a few years if things don’t go pear-shaped, but he is one tough walnut, so I doubt it. His mark is his namesake: a golden armoured saddle.

“That’s a stupid classification, and I read the file.” Split snorted. They started arguing back and forth but I wasn’t paying attention to them. I was bored.

I saw the door in the distance. The door was carved out of stone, heavy and enchanted to be see-through by two circles, a yellow and a green circle, respectively. It was locked by a hoof indentation in the centre of the door.

A minute more and we will start this little excursion for real… I should have made the corridor shorter, but my wife wanted top secrecy, both for our and his sake. She did not believe that bug queen would sit still if she heard we have one of hers with us, regardless of if he’s an alien or not. Luckily though, this whole corridor and the room beyond it was enchanted to Tartarus and back. Spell Scroll himself went barrel by barrel enchanting every single brick… At least that’s what he claimed. The length of the corridor supplies plenty of room for various enchantments, spells, glyphs and what-not.

So, we made a long corridor and painted it white (for some damn reason), with five rooms before it for the equipment and Scroll’s mooks, as well as my own. Doctor White Light kept some of his own there as well, in a separate room going through some recently arrived testing gear. They are going to make that poor bug run like a hamster if they have their way. Not that I care much for the bug, but he IS the victim of circumstance.

I glanced at two other ponies that came with us. High mage Mana Impact and Doctor Gentle Heart. Doctor Heart is a blush-pink pegasus mare, with a clashing green mane (she was VERY tired of hearing comments about it). I couldn’t see her cutie mark from the coat, but the file I got said it’s a red heart held in two hooves.

High mage Mana Impact was an aged unicorn in his sixties, fully covered in a purple cloak and a hood. I could just barely see his sky-blue fur and his white muzzle from the hood. I knew his mane and tail is white as well, but that’s because I knew this stallion since I was a filly. His mark was a grey scorch mark in the shape of a star that I regularly liked to tease him about. Especially since he only noticed his mark after trying to ‘’wash it off" following a failed experiment, which I found out second hoof. He’s a fine mage though, and I asked for him personally from that stuck up arch-dork.

We finally arrived at the door, and I lifted my left hoof, shutting them all up.

I went to the front of the group and touched a yellow ring on the right of the door. There was a popping sound before the door and most of the wall became see-through.

The bug-colt was standing in the centre of the room, his head hunched over and, if my eyesight hadn't failed me, he looked like he was shaking. His table pillows were thrown about (and one looked opened up), and it looked like he moved the bed, but it was too far to confirm it.

‘Sunshine did say that he complained about hunger…’ I thought. ‘She didn’t mention the rest.’

I turned to my group.

“All right colts,” Impact grumbled at that, “check your equipment and sound off when ready. Now…” I started pacing in front of the door, giving them the deets. “We know that he is friendly and that he isn’t violent. That don’t means we has to harass the poor bug, gots it?” I sent a stern glare to my second, knowing that the only reason he opened his mouth was to correct me. Only my Sunshine gets to do that. “Princess Celestia has mentioned that he isn’t well though, as apparently, his hunger is making him antsy.” I sat down right in front of the door. “That means we will keeps this simple and quick; we go in, takes the data our stallions here need, and we are out.”

Torch opened his mouth, but Impact elbowed him to the side and shook his head, shutting him up. I owed that stallion a salt lick after today.

I turned to my own two mooks.

“The two of you will take a side on Patchworks left and right, and I’ll be directly in front of him. And keep alert.” I narrowed my eyes at them. “I don’t want to explain to my wife why I got three scuffed ponies.”

I looked at each of my team and waited until I got the sound off. They checked their equipment, swords for my mooks, scrolls, potions, magi-scanners, a shield in Armour’s case and two large saddlebags; one on Armour carrying some food we hope the hybrid could eat and three litres of water in a glass bottle as well as some scrolls in holders; the other on Split carrying some foal books that would help him learn to read. The translation spell cannot stay indefinitely, and he needs to learn how to read and write as well.

When we were all ready (I carried nothing other than a small pouch with my identifier around my neck), I turned off the view circle and unlocked the door opening it.

“Er, Captain” came Split’s nervous voice behind me, “I don’t remember seeing him all… twitchy like this.”

‘Sunshine did say that he is bad off, but I didn’t think it was this bad.’ I shook my head and approached the bug-pony.

When I saw Patchwork the first time it was as he was led to his first cell. Back then he looked confused but healthy. His chitin looked full and strong and had a strange shine to it (which I later found out was a thin layer of fuzz like fur).

What looked at us now, standing near the centre of the room, was a twitchy drooling mess. He stood in front of us, but every part of his body moved in a swift unnerving twitch that made him look like a spider. His chitin looked weak and dull, not even close to the way it looked three days ago. It also looked very form-fitting, less like an armoured plate and more like plated clothes. Where he looked like a mix between a pony and an insect before, now he looked like someone removed anything pony-related other than the shape.

His legs and body were thin, his claws looked sharp, and his wings were constantly buzzing in a steady hum. I was told he has a phobia, but right now he looked like the wings didn’t even phase him.

He was also drooling, licking his muzzle with a long thin tongue, swallowing every few seconds.

I was spooked, and I would bet that others were even more so. Regardless, we had a job to do.

I moved forward and motioned the rest to follow with a hoof, Armoured on my right.

“Hey, you must be the guy’s Princess Celestia said would come, right?” He asked and I was surprised at a dual-tone voice coming out of him. I’ve seen the projections and recordings when he spoke to Sunshine, and he sounded nothing like this.

“That’s us,” I nodded with an uneasy smile on my muzzle. “My name is Shield Strike. I’m the captain of U. E. R. G., or United Equestrian Royal Guard. Pleasure to meets ya.” I turned and pointed my hoof at other ponies, “and these are my associates: my second in command Armoured Saddle, Private Split Greaves, junior researcher Torch Burst, High mage Mana Impact and Doctor Gentle Heart.” I pointed my hoof at each of them, all looking either nervous, on alert or on edge.

I turned back to the bug pony finding him just a few hoof lengths away from me. I didn’t jump back, but I was startled, I didn’t even hear him move.

‘That’s not creepy at all.’ I thought. There was a snuffling sound coming from him. ‘Is he sniffing me?!’

I just then noticed that his eyes didn’t look pony-like like they did before. They looked fully blue with no iris and no whites. I couldn’t tell whether he was looking at me or somepony else.

“So, yea, we are here to gives you a few quick tests and I can answer any question you mays ‘ave.”

He kept looking at me for a few seconds without moving before sitting down, hard. If I sat down that hard my dock would be bruised but he looked like he didn’t even notice it.

“Sure, if you want to do tests, then do them, but, um…” he trailed off, rubbing his claws together nervously, “I’m not exactly in a good state of mind right now, so be careful ok. I’m not sure it’ll be a good idea though.”

I nodded my head motioning the other ponies with my right hoof to approach. My mooks kept a respectable distance while the rest did their work as swiftly as they were comfortable, poking and prodding the bug-pony with some instruments Burst brought with us. I noticed that Torch did not look as enthusiastic as he did a few minutes ago.

“I’m sure we will manage,” I said reassuringly. “Now, why don’ts you and I talk while they are working, hm?” I motioned to Saddle to bring over the bag with food and water for the changeling. “You are probably hungry as it is, so we’s thought we would brings you something to help ya’ for now while everything is set up.” Armoured gave me the large saddlebag and pulled back to his position on Patchwork’s left. I opened the bag up and put it in front of the bug-pony. “There should be a few stuffs here to tide ya’ over until we get a volunteer.”

It didn’t take him long to rummage through the bag and grab a large glass bottle of water that was stored inside. I watched in amazement as he opened and guzzled all three litres down without stopping for breath. After that, he shook his head (I noticed, with some relief, that his eyes looked normal again, and that he was less twitchy) and hissed at the doctor that tried to approach him with a vial of some sort.

“What do you mean ‘set up’?” He asked, focusing back on me. “I thought this room was it.”

I shook my head and snorted before answering. “Nah, this room wus supposed to have more than just a bed and some furniture. There was an issue during the transport and some delay with equipment delivery, so the room is bare right now. Everything’s came about an hour ago, so we are still unpacking. Gives us six hours and you will have a decently sized apartment for ‘ya to use here, and plenty of other equipment outside for exercise, study and research.”

Yeah, Sunshine poured quite a bit of bits into this whole project. But considering that our current information about changelings is centuries outdated and was the result of a mad pony going murder crazy on a changeling, we were hoping that he would help us learn more.

We were also hoping that the information we got from him would help us find the other ponies that changelings have been replacing or capturing over the years. Those ponies HAVE been returned eventually, but their state was less than acceptable. In fact, several of those ponies have died either due to exhaustion, malnutrition or worse when they returned. Suffice to say, we weren’t happy about how changelings treated them but getting to their hive was another matter altogether.

I scratched behind my ears in annoyance and refocused on the human/changeling in front of me.

He eyed Dr Gentle Heart with undisguised hunger, drooling lightly all the while. His eyes were back to pure blue, and I cleared my throat loudly, getting his attention.

“So, I take it youse are curious how you got to our world to begin with, right?” That question seemed to spark some reason into him as a third eyelid moved to the side revealing his real eyes.

He nodded rapidly. “Yes, I’m very curious about that.” He shrugged, lifting both his forehooves up imitating what I saw minotaurs do while shrugging. “I mean, I know I fell through a portal but that’s about it. The how and why are a bit beyond me, and I’d really like that cleared up.” He added with a twitch of his hind legs.

I slowly nodded and motioned to Armoured with my hoof. He grabbed three scrolls from the scroll holder on his side and magicked them over to me. I didn’t need the scrolls. But they were there to look official and just in case.

“Right,” I started, “you didn’t exactly ‘fall’ through a portal, but rather dragged due to a faulty spells cast.”

I saw him mouth the word ‘faulty’ before shaking his head and motioning for me to continue.

“I can't gives you all the details, but I can gives ya’ the general gist of things.” I shifted a bit on my hooves before sitting down. I still kept a constant focus on the twitchy hybrid in front of me just in case. He hissed and twitched in Split’s direction and then looked back at me. “The simple fact of the matter is that Miss Spark Hoof opened an unregistered, illegal portal in an attempt to either impress or get into Princesses' good graces.” I decided to open one of the scrolls depicting an image of an ornate mirror and show it to him. His eyes narrowed and I swear I could hear him growl, but I chalked it up to the situation and the memory making him even more irritable. “Spark opened an unstable portal, without prior knowledge on what it does using this mirror. The portal, unstable as it was, started taking things from, well, everywhere. We have well over fifty unidentified items, a puppy, a cat, two squirrels and two beings that were swiftly sent back to their own world.” ‘One even claiming to be a hero of some kind… Weirdo.’

I opened up the second scroll with images of various objects and showed it to him. He pointed a claw at a few of them.

“I recognise these. It’s my phone and my laptop.” He shrugged. “They are useless in this realm as they are lacking a few things to work.”

“Things?” I prompted him to continue.

Suddenly his wings buzzed loudly, and he kept clicking with his mouth for a few seconds, standing back on all fours. I heard a sword being unsheathed and glanced at Armoured whose magic was active. I shook my head and that got him to stop and re-sheathe it.

Patchwork turned to Armoured and clicked a few times in his direction. By that point, all except me pulled back some distance away from the changeling.

‘We need to feed this bug-colt. As soon as possible.’ I slowly dropped the left-over scroll in my hoof and widened my stance slightly.

He drooled, clicked, and twitched, with his wings buzzing loudly for a few more seconds, putting us all even more on edge. I was about to call a retreat when he shook his head and stopped altogether. He looked at all of us before refocusing on me. He was sweating and panting as well.

“Sorry about that,” he said between huff’s, “my hunger has been getting the best of me.”

I nodded my head in understanding and signalled Armoured and Split with my ears to gather up the rest and pull back. Patchwork may not wish to cause harm, but his body’s instinct obviously did not agree with him.

“I understand, and I promise that we will do what we can ta’ help.” I did not move from my place, and I still kept a slightly wider stance. But he still deserved to know how he got here.

He sat down again and picked up where he left off.

“By things,” he acted as if the last minute didn’t happen, “I mean the electric grid that was used to charge the devices and a connection to ‘World Wide Web’ that you simply do not possess or even recognise.”

‘Electric grid? We have that… probably a bit different than what he’s used to, but we have it. But what is this World Wide Web? The name makes no sense.’

“What I’m curious though, Captain is if any other human ended up here…?” He suddenly stood up again and started clicking while pacing back and forth. The hackles at the back of my neck stood up and for a brief second, I worried about our safety. I noticed that Armoured was on my right, with his head raised to my ear.

“Captain,” he whispered, “we are packed up and ready to leave. If we stay, I don’t think we will like it.” Armoured used to hunt manticores as a member of the ‘Hunt Core’ of Royal Guard, so he was hard to spook. But now it was obvious that he was just as unnerved as I was by now.

I nodded my head and whispered back: “If he doesn’t get himself under control, we are making a run for it, for now just go slowly, and try to school your emotions, it may be the trigger.”

He nodded sharply and pulled back. I took a deep breath and decided to continue to talk, hoping to keep him focused on me. I kept my voice measured and emotionless.

“Other than you I know of no other humans that have arrived here. We had a few injuries shortly after your arrival, but it has nothing to do with you personally.”

“What do you mean?” Was a quick and shaky question.

I dared a glance behind me trying to gauge how close to the exit the rest of them were before looking back at Patchwork.

“The portal was unstable, as I mentioned previously, and a few minutes after your arrival it started collapsing. The problem with that is that the portal sucked everything around your point of entry and threw up all over the room you ended up in.” I heard some noises behind me, and I noticed that the hybrid got more agitated. Whatever they were doing they better knock it off or we’ll all get it. “You’ll be happy to know that other than a few bruises and cuts nopony got seriously smushed.”

That got a loud snicker behind me, and my eyes turned to pin-pricks when I saw the look of absolute hunger in Patchwork’s eyes.

The loud buzz of his wings was the only indicator of movement and I barely had time to move, ramming myself into him as he tried to pass me. If it were any other pony, me ramming them would at best break something and at worst break a lot, but this bug was made of sterner stuff somehow. He landed a few barrels away, cracking the marble tiles and quickly jumping back on his hooves and dashing to the, now screaming Torch and his comrades.

I saw Armoured jump in front of them with his shield only to be bowled over and folded like a wet rag, his sword broken in half. Split stood in front of the civvies with his sword in his mouth while others huddled at the door trying to open it.

‘How is a half-starved changeling so Celestia damned fast!?’ I invoked my wife’s name while trying to catch up.

Mana Impact put up a spell shield that lasted all of two seconds before collapsing under the weight of the changeling. Mana dropped like a brick looking twenty years older, and the rest were now crowding at the door.

Doctor Gentle and Split were looking very weak on their hooves and for a split-second, I saw a trail of green energy going from them to the, now slowly advancing, and heavily drooling changeling.

Patchwork was only looking more like an insectoid monster and less and less like a pony the more he fed off.

I saw Armour running towards the door as well after getting up and I nodded in his direction just as I reached Patchwork.

The bug-colt turned towards me, but it was too late. I jumped on his back, pinning his wings, and grabbed him by the barrel with my forehooves. I squeezed as tight as I could hearing something crack, lifting him, and propping myself on my hind legs. I then exhaled and with a shout threw him as hard as I could on the marble floor under me, hoping to knock him out or daze him. The floor cracked and spider-webbed under the hybrid's weight but that did not seem to stop him. He started thrashing and screeching trying to get back on his claws.

I pinned him with my forehooves and shouted at the others to get out as fast as they could.

“Captain!” I heard Split shout weakly.

I nodded my head and was about to move when I suddenly felt pain explode on my left foreleg. I looked down and saw him holding my foreleg in his jaws.

‘This bucker just bit me!’ I shouted in my head while gritting my teeth. I remembered that there was some type of poison in his mouth, but right now it didn’t matter.

I shook him off and jumped back, trailing a few drops of blood through the air. Patchwork got up and shook his head before hissing loudly at me. I was caught for a moment looking at his eyes. They were pony like and wide as saucers. He was still drooling, but he seemed to be in control for a moment.

I saw him open his mouth to speak, but my vision started to get blurry, and I fell to my knees.

I heard the tell-tale sound of a magic discharge, pushing the changeling back some distance before I was dragged through the door and into the darkness.

Armoured Saddle

I dropped the captain a bit away and sealed the door behind us, locking the changeling inside. A loud crack and some shaking broke the silence, but things went quiet after that.

Doctor Gentle heart breathed heavily but she was instantly hovering and checking over our injuries and making sure everypony was here. I could also hear the pounding of hooves in the distance.

“I told you, that freak ain’t a pony.” I heard Split wheeze out before lying on his side next to unconscious Mana Impact. Torch and Gentle were both looking over the high mage.

“Stow it, Split,” I growled. “WE put him in this situation in the first place!”

Split lifted his head and looked up at me with a scowl before deciding it isn’t worth it and dropping his head down with a thud.

“Saddle, sir!” I heard Gentle Heart call me and I trotted over to the weakened mare. She was leaning on the wall breathing heavily like she ran a marathon. Her colours were also very pale and sickly looking.

“How is everypony?” I asked while trying to get her to lie down.

“Impact needs medical attention as soon as possible; he isn’t responding to any stimuli, and I’m worried he might be comatose.” She said between laboured breaths. “The captain is fine though.” She pointed a hoof towards Shield Strike. “The poison in Patchwork’s fangs is mostly there to put the victim to sleep and not much else. She will wake up soon. Split is just drained… I think... Torch seems to be fine.”

“Good. That’s good.” I said with a humourless chuckle. “I don’t wish to be the one to tell the princess that we got her wife killed.”

That got a weak giggle out of the mare before she finally lied down and put her head between her hooves.

“No pony wishes that, sir. If you don’t mind though,” she was interrupted by a yawn, “I’m gonna take a nap.”

She was out before I even nodded. The pounding of hooves and shouts came closer now and I felt relieved at the news.

‘Now what to do with the changeling.’ I thought. ‘We can’t leave him like this, or it’ll get worse.’ I also need to make a report for the captain and Princess Celestia.
Split and I were startled by a loud banging coming from the door. Split lifted his head and sighed. He then spat at the door and closed his eyes while lying back down. I was going to have a long talk about his behaviour later.

The banging continued and I decided to approach the door.

I put my right hoof on the yellow circle and my left hoof on the green. There was a popping sound, and the wall became see-through but both ways this time.

Patchwork stood there on his hind legs supporting his weight on the wall with his forelegs. He was panting and sweating up a storm, but his eyes were turquoise and clear. There were also tears streaming down his muzzle.

I sat in front of him and waited, noticing that the wall section, where his forehooves were, was darkened, meaning that he probably slammed into it when we escaped and cracked it in the process.

I saw that his chitin had cracked and chipped in several places, and I hoped that the damage is superficial.

He hopped down on all fours and looked me in the eye, panting.

“I just…” He started before hissing in my direction. I wish I didn’t flinch.

Patchwork shook his head and tried again.

“I want to apologise. I wasn’t in control; I don’t know what…” He started rambling and I lifted my hoof stopping his rant. I could hear ponies finally reaching us and moving others around.

“I understand, human.” I nodded to him. I turned my head back to check on others before looking at him again. “Princess Celestia did warn us, but we should have been more cautious.”

I got up on all fours, and he took a few steps back.

I put up a hopeful smile before giving him some parting words. “We will get you back on your hooves and fed as soon as we can. Eat what’s in the saddlebags and hold tight. No pony is seriously injured so that should put your heart at ease. Stay with us, ok?”

I saw him exhale heavily and lower his head. He nodded grimly but I saw his shoulders and wings sag in, what I could assume was, relief. He then turned around and walked towards the bags.

I turned off the two-way view and joined the other guards that were sorting the rest of my team.

‘This will be one shitty report.’

CH 4 (progress)

View Online

Celestia

I was walking slowly down the long hallway leading to the room that housed Patchwork. In front of me, held in my magic, was a sizable stack of reports, going over what has happened in the last week of our attempts at feeding him. Suffice to say it did not go very well.

I kept my ears trained constantly on my rambling wife following slightly behind me since we left my office. I would twitch them occasionally, whenever she reached a point that I had to agree with her or acknowledge her.

I have tuned her out at this point, but that’s mostly because by now she was repeating her disagreements over this idea of mine. Namely, I would be feeding the changeling personally. Given the reports, I understood my wife’s grievances.

The first few reports were written down by the original team that tried the first study of the changeling, on the first day he woke up in the new room.

I… Wish I could say I foresaw what would happen. However, my estimate of the situation was grossly misplaced.

High mage Mana Impact woke just yesterday from his comatose state, and Miss Gentle Heart took three days to recover. Split Greaves recovered in mere hours and poor Torch Burst, while unharmed, is still jumping at shadows.

The attempts that followed haven’t ended well either.

Any attempt at feeding the changeling from the other side of the door proved fruitless. He simply couldn’t feed with a massive wall between him and his ‘food’. Actually, he COULD feed, but it was such an agonizingly lengthy process that he wasted more energy attempting to feed himself as opposed to the energy he got from it.

Hence the third attempt, led by my wife after her prompt recovery.

‘I cannot forget the injuries poor bug-pony sustained in between all of this…’ I thought, shaking my head morosely.

My wife threw her hooves up in the air muttering obscenities all the while. It would seem she finally tired herself out.

I giggled at her antics and her attempts to dissuade me. Pulling her close to me with my magic and wings I continued re-reading the reports.

The third attempt at feeding ended up being a significant effort, with ten guards of various pony races involved. And we managed to learn something in the process.

While direct magic blasts proved effective against changeling chitinous plates (magic impact, elemental blasts, arcano-kinetic strikes, shoves, etc.), any and all attempts at holding him down proved nearly impossible to all but the most trained of my unicorns. Actually, the closest analogy given was a comparison with oil and water.

Such a discovery was quite surprising given that there were no signs of such before, as when he was unconscious under the effect of a knockout spell, there was no resistance whatsoever. Some of my researchers are convinced that this was simply the survival instinct of the conscious mind.

So, in order to bypass all the ‘mumbo-jumbo’, my wife simply decided that brute force needs to be applied.

So, the fourth attempt.

Ten guards, armed with ropes, shields, and restraining hooks against a starved changeling colt (rough estimates of his physical age set him at seventeen. Result? An already injured changeling with worsened injuries, a comatose volunteer doctor, and four injured and heavily drained guards.

And the situation hasn’t improved much since.

The only reason things haven’t escalated beyond salvation is that Patchwork seems to have gained some measure of control as the days went by. And that control has been steadily improving, to the point where feedings these last two days have gone without incident.

And that was the only good news. His control over his newly found instinct has improved to such an extent that he can resist fully draining a pony into a weeklong coma, as well as resist assaulting anypony in between him and his target. Of course, he isn’t merely attacking ponies left and right, but anypony that used to try to come between him and his ‘prey’ was knocked aside.

The worst part of the report is his own declining health though.

It seems that the damage he has sustained over the course of earlier feedings (large cracks and chips in natural armor, bruises, and cuts) have become the main source of the problem. Namely, all the energy he has received from feeding has gone into repairing said damage… and not, annoyingly, into actually feeding him.

As such, we still have a starved changeling. A starved, injured changeling that simply couldn’t receive enough nourishment from our earlier attempts due to his body prioritizing healing rather than sustenance. Doctor White Light has, along with four of his colleagues, theorized that we are missing something about his massive intake of energy, and it has something to do with his outwards changes that have been steadily showing.

His theory stems from the fact that, over the course of the last four days, Patchwork has bloated in size and mass. Originally, he was a head shorter than the average, but now he was half a hoof shorter than my wife. He still had the look of an insect more than a pony, but the good doctor assumed that is more as a phase rather than something permanent.

So, with that, here I was. Looking at the last report and Dr. White Light’s ‘caterpillar’ theory. The theory being that the starvation period (started by us) triggered a caterpillar phase. Patchwork will simply feed until his body is ready for a change, or an evolution, hopefully fixing the issues with damage and sustenance. Of course, we are casually going to ignore what butterflies do for the majority of their life as they usually aren’t this size, nor are they a changeling… or a pony… or a hybrid of both…

“Sunshine,” spoke my wife, startling me from my thoughts. We were now in front of the door and the changeling it guarded. Shield Strike looked at the door with trepidation.

“Yes, my dear?” I smiled at her. She is always so protective of me. Despite the fact that I lived for hundreds of her lifetimes and have fought and won many wars and conflicts.

She took a deep breath and sighed. “I don’t think I needs to repeat myself at how dangerous I think this idea of yours is.” She threw her forelegs up in the air. “I have perfectly good volunteers that can feed him until ‘e’s sick of it, we don’t needs to risk you.” She dropped them and scowled at me, “and I’m ain’t saying this just as your Captain. I’m your wife Sunshine, I should…” I interrupted her with a peck on her lips. She continued scowling at me as I tittered in delight.

“Honey, I know you worry,” I started, “but I’ll be fine.” I sorted the stack of reports in my magic before teleporting them to my office. “If my own little theory is correct at the worst, I’ll suffer slight exhaustion and nothing else.” My theory is that my larger mana pool will supply an adequate level of sustenance for Patchwork without risking my health.

“And if you’re wrong?” She asks, disapproval clear in her voice.

“Then,” I nodded sagely, “I shall have my wonderful wife by my side that will help me.”

She opened her mouth, but any further complaint she had was interrupted by twelve guards that had arrived. While I was fully confident in my ability to resolve this situation, I am not so blind that I would refuse some added help. I have however decided that the guards shall be waiting for my wife’s signal outside the room. If for no other reason than to put less pressure on the poor changeling.

My Shield shook her head at me, squared up her shoulders and nodded at the guards.

I took that as my cue to settle this issue. I unlocked and opened the door after fluffing my wings.

Patchwork

‘So hungry… The water helps though.’

I closed the, now empty, bottle of water and pushed it out of my dark ‘cave’, watching it roll until it hit a stop next to the other five empty ones.

The ‘cave’ was a raised bed frame that I lifted and placed to stand on the chest, as well as covered with sheets in order to create my bug-cave. I gave up fighting my newfound instincts and just gave in. Not that this particular instinct bothered me in the first place, I love homemade forts, it's like being a kid again.

I crossed my foreleg in front of me and rested my head on them, making sure that I didn’t damage the chitin cover anymore than it already is.

I noticed over the course of the week that I looked more like the Changelings from the cartoon, with two key differences.

Firstly, I did not have holes like Swiss cheese, as my flesh was clearly visible underneath; and secondly, I wasn’t anywhere nearly as aggressive as them… Not anymore at least. It took a while, but I managed to get a decent level of control over my feeding instincts, and this blasted hunger.

And that’s where the problems were when it came to my new body.

It seems that my little ring that was around my horn way back kept parts of my body and mind separated when it came to my new transformation (what I was able to understand from the captain in between my lunacy fits). Or at least, it kept the magic from fully melding it. The separation kept my changeling instincts from taking over and that kept my faculties in check.

From what I was able to gather, the mirror I came out of should have given me simple instincts in order to better blend in with the locals. The mind was ‘supposed to’ get just enough not to be completely unfamiliar with its new components, but not enough to, say, use magic competently… a major flaw if you ask me since magic surges are VERY much a thing here.

What ended up happening is that my own magic (‘still giddy about that piece of info’) as well as the mirrors' magic combined themselves with ambient magic and took a copy of something familiar nearby (since the mirror was designed by a pony, and I was most assuredly not one… ‘Magic is as magic does’ was the captain's quote). As it turns out, there was a changeling spy in the midst of Ms. Hoof’s experiment. The ‘ling was nearly caught afterward but they lost it in the Everfree. Just my luck. I’m honestly surprised Chrissy didn’t come knocking yet, and I’m hoping it stays that way… for my own safety. At least that’s what I was able to pry out of Captain Strike after pestering her about it.

I lifted my left foreleg and waved it in front of my muzzle slowly, while I studied one of the holes.

I learned early that I have to keep an eye on these cracks for safety reasons. If my shell cracked and chipped there was always a good chance that a piece of it would either lodge itself or get stuck poking at the exposed flesh. Both the cracking/chipping and the wedging hurt but I have gotten used to my pain by now. Which is why now, when I spotted a loosely hanging piece in one of my shell holes, I grabbed it gingerly with my right claws and pulled it off. I examined the piece I pulled off before throwing it out of my bug-cave. Someone would clean it, as I had no means to do so yet.

I snorted and continued to look over my holes, now determined to make sure I can at least move without them getting in the way.

Taking care of my shell like this became the only pastime I could count on, outside of the feedings and exercise (those haven’t ended well in the first few days), and given what I can look forward to if I don’t, I had all the motivation I needed.

A few days ago, while I was lucid during the feeding, myself and one of the doctors (that had the courage to come) brainstormed over why my shell was chipping like porcelain.

The doctor assumed it was due to me being a hybrid.

We could only make guesses at this point, but we guessed that my body simply did not function as a normal changeling would. What little scans they could get in between feeding proved that instead of actually feeding me, the emotions I ‘ate’ went into healing my injuries (several cuts, bruises, a painful twist in the left hind leg, and a cracked right hoof, along with the cracks in the shell). However, since I apparently couldn't get enough emotions from the ponies (our assumption is I’m not ‘eating’ properly), there wasn’t enough energy to heal me, so there isn’t enough to feed me, so my body suffers for it. Especially my shell.

I told the doctor, and he agreed (White Light I think was his name) that my shell was much more pliable before but still strong. And, after a few tests he ran on some of my chipped pieces, we concluded a few things.

The first and most important thing is that, while brittle, my shell is still just as strong (or durable) as before. And the ‘holes’ I acquired were merely the result of weaker sections giving out first due to either injuries or simple wear and tear. However, because it was brittle now, it meant that when a piece cracked it spiderwebbed and caused weaknesses in surrounding structures. The fact that it looks like circular holes was because the inside of my shell had circular sections that looked like a turtle shell when they showed me the projection. And since my mane and tail suffered as well as my shell, it gave me the appearance of the cartoon changeling.

So, I was hungry, I was constantly in pain because of both my hunger (I felt the pain more in my brain than my stomach) and my shell injuries were continuously throbbing, alongside the other ones, and I was angry at myself and the ponies for ending up in this situation.

But I was getting ‘better’ in a sense. The feedings certainly helped (me most of all… I’m still livid for putting those poor ponies in a coma before), and the water helped me for a good while with the worst of the hunger symptoms (even got it enriched with vitamins and minerals which helped tremendously) so I was able to, after the first few days of this madness, practice a few things with my new body. Namely flying, magic and movement. Nothing too strenuous, but just enough that I didn’t trip like a foal every few seconds.

Flying was… terrifying, and exhilarating. I never had a fear of heights until I found myself five meters above ground with nothing to hold me but my weakened wings (I had a few small holes in them as well, but it’s mostly magic that powered them), and I never felt such elation as when I was able to not only land softly without crashing but lifting myself again just for the fun of it.

Magic was utterly terrifying, and I am NOT touching it again until my situation is settled. Even in my weakened state, I was able to compress the table in my room until nothing, but powder remained, and I was so exhausted that I didn’t even feel the headache that came afterward. I collapsed and I was shaken awake a few hours later by the captain and a high mage that told me some more wonderful news.

Obviously, I decided that my grave wasn’t deep enough so I took the offered shovel and proved to the world that I CAN dig myself deeper. Not only did my incompetence obliterate a nice piece of furniture, but I also burned several particularly important nerves in my horn, suffered a severe mana backlash from a surge (hence the powder), and nearly gave myself an aneurysm.

Some of it was due to my hunger and weakened body, but a large part of it was definitely my own fault. A quick exam told me that the nerves will either repair or replace themselves over time (it happens to unicorn foals if their parents aren’t careful when they surge), but I was ordered and forbidden to use magic until I wasn’t falling apart at the very least.

So, yeah, not touching that anytime soon.

Practicing my body was the easiest part. I always liked exercising and combat sports (kickboxing to be specific and boxing after my knee injury), so getting my body under a higher level of competence wasn’t nearly as difficult.

Oh sure, I fell, tripped, crashed, and rolled like a ball on multiple occasions (three of my shell cracks came during my jumping practice) but I enjoyed it thoroughly, despite the heavy hunger and exhaustion I felt afterwards.

Overall, after a few days of constant practice (nothing much to do after my shell has been taken care off), I was able to do just about anything an average teenage foal was. I was proud of myself, especially since I wasn’t a quadruped before this.

I chucked the last piece of chitin out of my bug-cave and rolled myself on my side with a heavy sigh.

My eyes fell on a bottle full of glowing pink liquid near to me. Artificial love… or that’s what they told me.

Safely extracted, filtered, cleaned, and stored in a bottle. Their first attempt at feeding me without me putting them at risk. We were all so happy about it that I just opened and chugged the first bottle they gave me without any restraint. It was the equivalent of drinking vinegar. It was bitter, it hasn’t helped my hunger at all (only making me hungrier actually) and to top it all, it didn’t even smell like love (‘normal love smelled like sweet strawberries and watermelon to me, I wish I had another ‘ling to compare notes’). It was a rousing failure and the only reason I kept the bottle was its soft pink glow. I love pink, sue me.

I inhaled deeply, remembering that sweet, tasty scent.

“Hey now…” I lifted my head and tilted it up, eyeing the door on the other side of the room. There was a scent in the air. It was very faint, but I knew it wasn’t from my memory.

“Good,” I grunted getting up and crawling out of my cave, “hopefully they brought some more water as well.”

I gingerly stretched, making sure that no further cracks or chips appeared, and lazily limped my way to the center of the room, grumbling about hunger all the way.

When the door opened, I didn’t see the red fur of Captain Shield Strike, but the pristine, snow-white fur of Princess Celestia. I was fully lucid now, and my mind at once raced trying to produce a reason why exactly she showed up. And when I settled on one possibility I sighed before cursing under my breath.

Celestia

“Not happening, Princess.” A hoarse but sharp voice came from the changeling. He was sitting, hunched over, ears and wings hanging loosely on his sides. His head was lowered down as well, giving him an utterly exhausted look.

I could hear my wife’s quiet ‘well buck’ behind me.

I shushed her before silently continuing my approach. I kept a gentle smile on my muzzle, but inside my heart was heavy with regret and pity. Patchwork raised his head and looked me in the eyes.

He probably sensed my emotions because he shook his head, buzzed his wings, and with a scowl ground out through clenched teeth, “don’t pity me! And I refuse to feed off of you. Volunteers I can stomach, but I am NOT grinding an entire country to a stop because I put their leader in a coma!”

I actually giggled at that, while my Shield had a nice guffaw at his proclamation. He started growling at us, only making my wife laugh harder.

I schooled my emotions and layed down on my stomach two barrels away from him.

“While I appreciate your worry for my country, mister Patchwork, I can assure you that it will not be crippled if I end up in a coma for a week by some miracle.” I giggled again, covering my muzzle with my armored hoof. “Actually,” I lowered the hoof, but a smile was still visible on my face, “my doctor would probably say that I finally got a break for a change.”

Both my wife and Patchwork snorted at the same time at that. I heard a whispered ‘jinx’ from Patchwork before he looked at my wife.

I turned my head to her as well, she frowned and looked very displeased at my levity. It seems she will continue to worry until I finally prove it to her.

I turned back to Patchwork and cleared my throat, grabbing his attention.

“I am afraid that I must insist, Mr. Patch. And no, before you begin,” I lifted my right hoof forestalling anything he might say, “this is non-negotiable. I will not be leaving, until either you succumb to your hunger, or you willingly feed off me.” I said resolutely.

Patchwork opened and closed his mouth wordlessly, and then he grit his teeth in a silent snarl. Something I was told he did every time before he fed lucidly

He started pacing in front of us, “and what happens if you DO end up comatose?” He looked like a caged animal. I spotted a string of drool trailing behind him, and I felt slight discomfort, but that discomfort was drowned by sadness at his situation.

“If I do end up in a weeklong coma, I can assure you that nothing will happen to you, and I will get some rest.” I opened myself to my dearest memories and emotions of love. “You will feed, and I will continue to feed you until your body finally settles and you aren’t wracked by hunger and pain.” I saw him stumble as a smile graced my lips at some of my fondest memories, and my fur tinted pink at some of the more risqué ones.

He was now drooling heavily. There was hunger in his eyes and his insect-looking body began to twitch. Like he was feeling invisible currents of air that I couldn’t perceive. His spirit must be of the fiercest metal because he showed no sign of even trying to feed.

I opened my mouth to speak again, but he suddenly shouted and turned towards me.

“Fine, FINE!” I was frightened for a moment by his dual-toned voice, but I kept my flow of memories and emotions as steady as I could. “I’ll feed. I’ll take my fill until I’m satisfied then, do NOT come crying when you wake up!”

A sudden twinge of pain from my chest was the only indication he started. It apparently showed on my face because my wife immediately moved to stop the feeding. I raised my wing to stop her and shook my head when she turned to me.

The feeding itself felt like I was diving in a strong river current and trying to break it.

My magic was slowly drained, and I felt my mind slow down while my emotions dulled. The whole experience came in waves, where I went through the dive and then resurfacing for air. It was both terrifying and euphoric and he held nothing back. He would have his fill, as he said.

He fed off of me for what felt like hours, and while I did start to feel sleepy it was nowhere near the level I was described. It would seem my little gamble paid off. Especially after I heard a strong hiccup and the drain completely stopped.

Patchwork looked ready to burst.

He was swaying on his hooves left to right, and he was trying to stay stable, shuffling after every move. His eyes looked heavy, his ears and wings droopy and there was a thin, pink trail of saliva going down his chin. I heard him hiccup twice more before mumbling something. He nodded like he tried to keep himself awake before focusing on me with tired eyes.

“’Nuff,” he mumbled, shaking his head slowly. “Is, enough… Can’t, gods…” He burped, before giving a shaky nod in our direction and turning around, slowly plodding to the ‘cave’ in the back. “Need… Sle… Sleep. Can’t… Thank you.” He crawled in the ‘cave’ and all I heard was loud snoring shortly after.

“Wow,” my wife quipped. “Can’t believe tha’ worked.”

“Told you,” I said in a monotone. It was hard to focus, and I felt like I needed a good rest for a day or two.

My Shield shook her head before trotting up to me.

“How are you feeling Sunshine? You don’t look like yer goin’ ta collapse on me.”

I laughed weakly, only now noticing how weak I actually felt. It was within my expectations, but still surprising. My laugh sounded hollow, but that was understandable.

“I will not be collapsing anytime soon…” I twitched my wings, noting that they felt like weights. “I might, however, need your help with getting to my bed though.”

CH 5 (new start)

View Online

White Light

Almost three weeks of feeding that changeling… I’m sure glad I’m not Princesses’ physician.

I was currently deep in thought about the last two days and the new development that promised a brighter future for our ‘guest’.

I was accompanied by two colleagues: Hued Pigment, a light blue pegasus filly with a short teal mane and a long straight tail, sea-blue eyes, and a colorful butterfly wing as a mark; and Heavy Band-Aid, a massive pink unicorn stallion with a two-toned red and white buzzed short mane and a short, cropped tail, sharp, vivid, lime eyes, and two red band-aids laid out in a cross as a mark.

“Where do you think he got the resources to build this cocoon in the first place?” I asked, for the tenth time. We didn’t offer him anything solid to eat after the first time, as Patchwork said it didn’t do anything for him hunger-wise. Which is why we were now looking over the room itself, as we have spent the last day and a half studying the cocoon, and hybrid within.

“From this of all things…” Doctor Heavy Band-Aid used his magic to lift the bed and the sheets of the makeshift cave revealing a large pony-sized hole. “And this… Seriously?” Another shove exposed the backside of the chest, now with a large section missing. He dropped the bed behind him with a loud crack.

“Fascinating,” Hued Pigment, our chief biologist approached the hole and the chest grabbing a swab from her leg pouch with a wing. She gently took some samples of what I believe was dried saliva. It was tinted pink. “Do you think he used magic to soften the material, or did he just go to town on it?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, my dear.” I reached for one of my left leg pouches with my hoof and offered her a tube for the samples. I nodded at her thank you and then looked at the source of this ‘desecration of solid foods’. “I don’t think our friend was even conscious when he did it.”

Patchwork was ‘floating’ in a large cocoon near the upper right corner of the room. The only thing keeping him out of sight was the dresser he somehow dragged there and shoved between himself and the rest of the room.

The cocoon itself was olive green and brimming with some sort of viscous liquid. We couldn’t get a direct sample, as any attempt at penetrating its outer layer failed, and we didn’t want to use anything stronger than a needle that could cause issues for Patch and prevent him from going through his metamorphosis/healing.

There were also two guards on the left and right of the mass, but they had to be rotated regularly because, and this annoyed Shield Strike the most, the cocoon was absorbing local emotions. Other than some light sleepiness after three hours, the guards suffered no further issues, and a good nap fixed it all.

On the other hoof, when we removed the guards, the cocoon started darkening rapidly. Which is why, when Doctor Band-Aid saw this, and after a short debate and guess game, we placed four guards for a good hour. The liquid inside returned to its original color shortly after, and I convinced Shied Strike to keep the guards. She wasn’t pleased, but we couldn’t risk anything happening to the hybrid now that Princess Celestia put so much of herself into this. Literally.

Apparently during the last feeding Patchwork managed to graze ‘something important’… The Princess never said what that ‘important’ thing was, and the matter was quickly dropped. I am still curious, but something tells me that I won’t be getting an answer any time soon.

“What makes you think he wasn’t conscious?” Band-Aid approached me from behind.

I turned my head and regarded his youthful features for a moment before answering.

“Because he kept telling me that half the time, he had no idea what his instincts wanted, and he just let it go on… what did he call it… auto-pilot I believe…”

“That doesn’t sound like he was ‘unconscious’ for the whole thing,” he said, making quotation marks with his forelegs.

“Sco~ore” came a melodic shout from our biologist. In her forehooves, she held long tweezers, and she had something small in them.

We both turned towards her, curious about the find.

“Watch ‘a got there Pigmy?”

Pigment flew over to a set of saddlebags we left nearby when we entered, giggling all the way. She opened them up and pulled out another tube, putting whatever she found inside.

“It seems my second question was correct.” She giggled again and tossed the closed tube my way. I caught it in my magic before pulling it close to my eyes. I took out my glasses from one of the pouches and put them on my nose with a gentle tinkle of magic.

Heavy Band-Aid approached me, eyeing the tube for a few seconds before bursting out laughing, throwing his head back and rearing on his hind legs.

“The bucker actually went to town on the Celestia-damned marble. What a ‘tal!”

As he was laughing, I was incredulously studying the tooth. I noticed Hued approaching me from the corner of my eye, but I ignored her in favor of the fang in my grip.

The tooth was milky white, cracked, and chipped in several places, even missing the very tip and the root of the fang. There was dried changeling blood (their blood is green, due to high saturation of his magic, which is emerald in color) in between cracks and, looking at the tooth from the front, I noticed a small, hollow hole in the center, probably to deliver the poison.

“It must have hurt like Tartarus when it broke…” She whispered, and I nodded numbly.

“Makes you wonder…” I looked behind me at the cocoon, still housing our hybrid. “I just hope we are correct, and he comes out healed.”

Celestia

It has been a full week since I last saw Patchwork. After he cocooned himself I all but threw myself at the piled-up work that was waiting for me. The three weeks of feeding him were exhausting, and I did the bare minimum that was needed, opting to let most of my trusted advisors and my wife handle what I couldn’t during my recovery.

I did hear it from my physician, she wasn’t pleased with me, and I had to listen to an hour-long tirade about how I should take better care of myself… It was adorable.

It was all worth it in the end.

I received a missive two days ago, informing me that Patchwork emerged from his cocoon and that I should give him a day or two before visiting, should I wish to do so… And I did. Especially after my Shield told me he went through some ‘changes’. She wasn’t specific, and my curiosity could only wait for two days.

So, I was now on my way there, passing the final guard checkpoint and entering the long hallway before his room.

I was told that he was relaxing today, as they put him through simple, but numerous, tests and examinations in order to verify his health and his state of mind, as well as examine the leftover cocoon. I tried to read some of the reports, but my wife did all she could to keep me in suspense. Successfully might I add. She was very tenacious about it too.

My fur tinted pink for a moment as some of the more risqué situations she put me through in order to keep me from reading the reports… Needless to say, we took regular showers to keep the smell off of us.

Anyway…

I shook off my thoughts and fluffed my wings before entering the room.

I opened the door with my golden-yellow magic, briefly enjoying how smoothly it opened now after it was fixed… It was during the third, no, fourth feeding that he smashed into the door while trying to chase down a volunteer…

‘I truly hope we are done with all that nonsense.’ I sighed before looking through the room trying to find him, keeping my ears perked for any sounds.

I spotted him sitting at a table directly next to the faux window.

I slowly approached him, using this time to study his new look with my sharper pegasus eyesight.

The first noticeable thing was that he wasn’t nearly as bulky as he was upon arrival. Back then, he looked like he wore a heavy set of armor plates over a gangly frame. That ‘ganglyness’ was even more accentuated during his starvation when his plates were form-fitting, making him look more like a mantis, rather than a pony.

Now he looked almost entirely like a pony his age. Much more toned and slimmer, with his plates and segments making him look much more muscular than plated. So much so that I had a hard time calling him insectoid in the first place. He was still black, but with a much lighter pigment though, with his mane and tail still keeping their turquoise coloration with a white stripe on their side. His midsection was also greenish blue, but a bit darker than the mane.

He had no visible elytra like before, so his two pairs of dragonfly wings were fully in the open and shimmering in the fake lighting of the room producing a soft, soothing buzz.

His body was covered in a short, fuzzy fur-like growth on its plates, and bare black skin in between them. His mane was cut very short, and his tail was barely longer than a long crop, just touching his hock. There was a much thicker patch of fuzz on a plate between his neck and barrel, connecting to his mane giving him a bit more of a savage look.

The horn on his head had an elegant curve, with lightning-like grooves on its sides. It wasn’t overly long, or thin, but rather short and stubby. It looked much cuter than the rest of his body would be led to believe. There was also a growth near the horn that I couldn’t at a glance identify.

He turned towards me for a moment, his turquoise eyes showing more life than they ever did in the last three weeks I saw him. I now saw that there was a symmetric growth on the other side as well, both looking like small antennae.

He gave me a large, toothy smile and grabbed a pillow under the table with his claws, and offered it to me.

I took the pillow in my magic with a smile of my own and sat next to him within wings reach.

“One moment, Princess.” He said. I noticed that he had a quill in his claws and was writing something down on a piece of parchment, in the strange language we saw on some of the alien items that arrived from the portal after him. “I’m almost done, and I’d like to finish this while my thoughts are still fresh.”

I nodded my head and kept watching his writing. It was impossible to read, both from the strangeness of it, and the occasional ink splotches from his, rather poor, quillwork. The writing did remind me of Minotian runic language, but without the rigidness of the letters.

“Right.” He put the quill down, shaking me out of my musings.

“I have to say, Mr. Patch, you are looking much better than I could have foreseen. But I have to ask first, how you are feeling. Have there been any other issues cropping up?”

He scratched his chin with a claw for a few seconds, looking somewhere above me. He ‘hummed’ and then turned to me. The buzzing also stopped. I looked towards his wings, spotting them slowly retract into a shell plate on his back that was pushed to the side. When the plate slid in place, it looked like he merely had more bulk on his back, and not like an elytra, hiding his wings.

“Nothing that I can think of…” He shrugged his shoulders, ducking his head, blowing on the still drying ink before lifting the parchment and examining it. “It took a bit getting used to this, changed, body, and its additions, but otherwise I’m feeling fantastic.” He said with a chuckle.

I nodded with a smile on my muzzle. He seemed to be much more animated and in control of his body (‘those twitches looked very disturbing’), and in greater spirits as well.

“I am glad to hear that. To be quite frank with you…”

“I thought you were Celestia, not Frank?” He blurted out, interrupting me. I raised an eyebrow at his foalish behavior, and he slammed both his claws on his muzzle trying to stifle immature giggling coming out of him.

I felt a slight twitch on my muzzle, which grew into a full grin watching him shake with mirth. I did not understand his current behavior, but I did not care either. He was happy and that’s what finally mattered. Happy enough to be utterly silly, but that was a fine change compared to before.

I let him calm himself down, letting out a few giggles of my own before we continued.

“I apologize for that…” He started and I shook my head, letting him know that no offense was taken. “But apparently my body is much younger, and I keep getting these bouts of immaturity these last two days.” Clearing his throat, he let off a weak chuckle before continuing. “To be honest it feels really good to let loose like that, but it’s also a bit scary.”

“I remember you mentioning that you were in your thirties,” I stated, tilting my head slightly to the right. “And if my little ponies are correct, you should be much younger now.”

“Way younger… Something like seventeen if they got it right.” He narrowed his eyes, looking at the faux window. He was quiet for a few seconds, studying the landscape. “To be fair, I expected my mind to be a mess, Princess.” He turned towards me, looking nervous. “Or at least, more of a mess. I am still waiting for the other… horseshoe? to drop. My kind had theorized that becoming younger like this meant that you lose your mind and your memories… Or something similar to that effect.”

He quieted down after that, head, and ears both drooping with worry.

“Something tells me, you have nothing to worry about,” I stated confidently. His ears perked up slightly. “After all, if there were any long-term issues with the state of your mind, it would have shown itself by now.” He narrowed his eyes at me, and I rolled mine good-naturedly. “I have a feeling, Mr. Patch, that you will be just fine, but some adjustment will be required though.”

He looked a bit more upbeat after that little pep talk, so I decided to turn the chat towards another issue I was curious about.

“Now that THAT is sorted out, to a degree mind you, I would like to ask… How is your hunger holding out?” I teleported a tea set, and a plate of cookies and started brewing jasmine tea for the two of us.

Patchwork eyed the set for a few seconds before shaking his head. He pushed the parchment and the quill to the side before twisting his forelegs in a strange and painful way, putting his knees on the table close together, and holding his head in his claws… It looked very disturbing, for a pony-like body, and I must have been showing it because he smirked at me.

“Ball joints and sockets… Makes me much more flexible than a pony.” He then frowned while I was shaking my head at his tone. “As far as my hunger is concerned it’s… strange.” He extended one of his forelimbs and grabbed a cookie from the tray, and threw the whole thing in his mouth, humming appreciatively.

“We have tried a few other foods since I came out of the cocoon,” he started. “At my urging, at that. I have less need of love now, and my hunger has started to feel closer to what normal hunger pains SHOULD feel.” He grabbed another cookie, rolling it over in his claw. “I have been craving solid foods…” he waved the cookie at me before taking a bite out of it, “sweets in particular. Can’t have enough of the stuff.

Feeding on love has also been easier, and less discomforting for others.”

“I see. Any reason why such a change would come by?” I asked, grabbing a cookie myself, and taking a dainty bite. A princess must have some decorum after all.

“No idea,” Patchwork shrugged with one… I’m calling it ‘arm’, he seems to treat it as such. “Those guys of yours want to do some more experiments with my body in order to figure it out, but I managed to talk them out of it… for now.” He visibly shivered in discomfort. “One of them mentioned about inducing my hunger again… A hard pass on that one.”

A frown touched my forehead for a split second before I decided to check up on that. While I would happily help should the need arise, again, I would rather it not come to that in the first place.

“Well,” I started while pouring a cup of tea for myself. I offered to pour some for him as well, but he declined with a shake of his head, opting to grab one more cookie, “it would seem that, at the very least, you have it a bit easier now.” I added some honey to my tea, spotting Patchwork watching the spoon float with rapt attention. I offered a spoon full to him and he grabbed it with glee, happily licking the substance off.

His tongue was almost serpentine, without the split, and before I knew it, he finished with the spoon and looked for more honey, which I gladly provided with a giggle.

I drank my tea, and we enjoyed a companionable silence until I finished with my cup, and he grabbed another spoonful of honey.

“Now, if you don’t mind… I would like to start with the actual reason for my arrival.” I said after he slurped up the last of the honey from the spoon.

The change was immediate.

He straightened up, almost snapping in military attention. His gleeful look changed into a blank expression that was entirely unreadable. His ears were trained on me, and he fluttered his wings a few times. I had his undivided attention, and it was almost funny how ‘professional’ he tried to look.

His complete lack of movement was a tad unnerving, though.

“Now, do you remember what we talked about a month ago?”

“Yes, I do. You wish to study me in exchange for food and safety?” He asked in a monotone.

“Indeed. But I would like to go into more detail today.” For a moment I wished to assume a similar, more relaxed, position as he did before, but I had to keep appearances. “If you would allow us to study you, in as much detail as possible without being invasive, I would offer you more than just a place to stay… for now anyway.”

“For now?” He frowned. “Are you saying you will let me leave eventually?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” I asked, pouring some more tea for myself. “Despite how it may seem, you aren’t a prisoner here.” Blowing at the hot liquid I peered at him from the rim of the cup. “Mind you, there is a good reason you are here, but it is not because of your situation.”

He seemed to mull that over for a few seconds, chewing thoughtfully at his lower lip, and looking somewhere behind me. I was quietly observing him, sipping on my jasmine tea. He seemed to have concluded his thoughts, as he slowly turned towards me.

“This may sound both cliché and rude, but what’s in it for me, Princess. Something being non-invasive does not mean it’s not painful.”

“I wish to assure you first, that we do not wish to cause you pain…”

“Assurances like that matter little.” He interrupted me with a low growl. He caught himself though, as he gave a quiet apology, before shaking his head and focusing on me, once again.

“Yes, well,” I poured myself some more tea, as well as some for him after he gingerly pulled a second teacup closer to him. He thanked me with a nod and went ahead to cool his cup down with gentle blows. It looked humorous, as he still sat just as rigidly. “I can promise you that we will try to avoid any discomfort you may feel should it be necessary. And if needed, you are fully allowed to deny something if it's too much for you. There is something in it for you though.” He stopped the teacup midway to his mouth. “Not only will you be learning alongside us about your new body, but I will also make sure you are prepared for our world. Which means you will learn our language, learn about our society, immerse yourself in magic (should you wish to do so), and in the end, once we both learn as much as we could, you will be released into our society, ready to do whatever it is you wish. I will even provide you a decent sum of bits so you can have a head start.”

He took a long sip of his tea and smacked his lips before speaking.

“So, all that if I let you essentially ‘experiment’ on me? What if I would also like to speak to you on occasion as well? I’m certain you have quite a few stories to share. Or what if I wish to learn how to fight in this body; what then?”

“So as long as your requests are within reason, I don’t see why I should deny you anything. And I am certain I can fit you in my schedule from time to time.” I added with a wink.

He sat still for about a minute before chugging the rest of his tea (‘what a waste’). “You got yourself a deal, Princess Celestia,” Patch exclaimed with a grin.

After shaking hooves (very strange with a hoof-looking claw) we chatted for another hour. Funny how much I learned about his technology in those sixty minutes.

CH 6 (some learning)

View Online

Patchwork

‘I’m not normal.’ I think that while in a body that’s a hybrid of a changeling and pony, with a human mind.

The reason for that is the information that has been given to me by one of the researchers I have been dealing with.

To summarise what is known about changelings and how it pertains to me.

Several centuries ago, a pony named Ruinous Mind (‘there is a name only ponies can ignore’) ran into a changeling and managed to ‘subdue’ it. After that, he’s done some extensive studies on the body and magic of the poor bug-pony.

What was found out is that changelings are quasi-golems. Golems are beings created by magic and given agency by their creator. Changelings are beings created by magic but given agency by themselves. They are fully functional ‘flesh golems’ with malleable bodies, which allows them to change shapes at will. If there are limits to it, we have yet to discover them.

They are essentially their own beings, creating a race produced by magic. I knew their origin from the comic, but whether it was correct or not is up to debate.

What was noted is that changelings possessed no recognizable organs, such as the brain and a heart, but they did have them. Their purpose is only clear now with ponies studying me. But while I do have some of those ‘strange’ organs, I have recognizable pony organs as well.

What was, however, recognized in changelings is a set of four cores. Three for magic and one, large, heart-shaped core in the very center of the body. The same core I possessed.

Some pony scientists and biologists practically creamed themselves when they found that same set of cores inside me, and it took me an hour of questioning until I got the answer for it.

Golems, by design, need a core. That core consists of all the nuances and spell matrices required to not only power the artificial consciousness but to also keep it functional, and reactive to its masters orders. Without that core, all you have is a pony-shaped lump of whatever you made the golem out of (I was told that there was even a metal golem at some point, but it did not last long).

With changelings, however, not only can they be recognized as organic golems, but their core is so advanced and so complex, that most of the ponies just about had an aneurism.

Celestia was called, as was Arch-mage Spell Scroll, and I was given an extensive list of questions that bordered on lunacy.

Such as: how did I come to life, who is my master, and, best of all, are my morals just.

It’s like they completely forgot that I have appeared in Equestria less than three months ago. Seriously, what is with ponies… they can jump from one emotion and state of mind to another in the span of seconds… it’s dizzying.

At the end of the day, both Celestia and Scroll apologized, with Celestia even admitting that she got swept into all the nonsense by accident and the other ponies got a stern talking to for starting all of this in the first place.

The examinations afterward were done with White Light and/or Scroll present for most of the day in order to prevent the flighty species from starting another panic. It was later found out that the pony that started this all was a young newbie mage that was studying golemancy; he did not know I was from another dimension.

So, all that being said, the conclusion is I’m not normal. I’m a quasi-bio-golem that is a combination of a pony, changeling, and carrying a human brain (I know what a human brain looks like, I have seen their scans, pony have a different brain structure).

Also, on top of extra organs (to process resin, magic, and emotions) I have extra bones in several locations, not counting my claws which were different compared to usually segmented hooves ponies and other ‘lings have (pony hooves are split into four, digit-like segments, which was something I found very surprising), and lastly my teeth are sharper, and my eyes slit.

My magic also received attention.

I have learned over the course of five days that pony magic relies on micro-vibrations generated by the unicorn horn that reacted to surrounding energies. After four explanations I got the gist of it.

How it works is as follows, and I was so immensely giddy when I managed to use magic myself, even though I suck at it for now.

First comes the intent. A pony must have a clear focus of mind to know what his spell needs to do. Be it intent to lift, attack, burn, or any other intention.

After that comes the micro-vibrations. Unicorns have a name for those vibrations, but the translation spell laced into the walls of the room had difficulties translating it… as well as some other words (ponies have several different terms for ‘friend’: blood friend, old friend, new friend, family friend, etc.). Anyway, those vibrations serve two purposes, to gather the local magical energies to the horn and to draw on the inner energies of the unicorn.

Once the necessary level of energy has been reached (a ten-to-one ratio of outside to inner magic) a spell is then introduced via the conscious effort by the caster using one’s thoughts. The spell can be a simple as levitation (or arcano-kinesis) to more complex as teleportation. I was told that there were formulae, but I opted out of that conversation. I am not ready to face the math of magic. Fuck math, and the professors that had no patience to explain it.

Anyways…

After all the three steps have been achieved, the spell is then cast; and because some spells were so simple, an explanation such as ‘focus on the object and the intent’ was all that was necessary.

Changeling magic was no different, apparently.

I can levitate light objects with no problem (the buzz of my horn was barely noticeable even when I focused on it), but anything more complex was utterly impossible for me. For now.

Changing shapes was also a challenge, and though I was familiar with the show itself as well as its fandom, shapeshifting was never explained. So, I had to learn on my own from the ground up… At least the mages offered to help.

Celestia

I heard the door open and close.

I raised my head from the scrying orb in front of me and spotted my wife coming in my office with an easy smile on her muzzle. She approached me with a skip in her step.

“Wat’cha gots there Sunshine?” She said, giving me a gentle kiss. One I savored for all its worth.

I pulled her towards me with a wing and gave the top of her head a nuzzle.

“Just keeping an eye on our little changeling.”

“Pfft…” My shield shook her head. “You knows this colt is almost as old as me, right?”

“I know my dear,” I looked at the orb again, he was practicing his flying right now. “But with the way he behaves, one tends to forget such information. It’s what makes it so easy to like him.” I said with a giggle. It is true; he doesn’t act his age, and he’s also eager to help, kind, modest, and protective. It pains me that such an individual was robbed of his home by somepony like Spark Hoof.

A sharp, but gentle poke on my side stopped those thoughts, and I looked down on my wife.

“Tha’ bug-colt’s gonna be fine, Sunshine. Ya gots’ ta’ stop being such a mother hen, ta’ him. It ain’t yer fault that he ended up where he did.” She gently caressed my jaw with her hoof. “Ya ain’t the guilty one, love,” my Shield added with a whisper.

“I may not be the guilty one, my love, but I feel guilty nonetheless.” I sighed. “While it’s not my fault that he’s here, it’s still my fault in part. That mirror is mine, those records Spark Hoof used, are mine… I may not be the reason he’s here, but he is still here because of me.” I looked down. Shield was looking at the scrying orb, smirking at Patchworks’ attempts at flight. He has gotten decent with his wings, but still, there was much to be learned.

“Does it bother you, my Shield, that I wish to make his stay as comforting as possible? That I’m trying so hard to make it as pleasant as I can?

After all, we have put in this prison, and have kept him here for months now.”

“Maybe, Sunshine.” I saw her looking up at me, from the corner of my eye. I saw that horrendous tattoo as well but have chosen not to mention it for now. “But if ya keep an eye on ‘im any more than tha’ im gonna starts tha’ think youse will try to adopt ‘im.”

I snorted at that, shaking my head with a smile. She was pulling my wing, of course, she did.

The thought of adoption did not cross my mind… Not yet anyway. And even if it did, he’s old enough to make his own decision. During our regular meetups, he hinted at nothing but friendship. And I am very much ok with it. While I have adopted in the past, and will in the future, it does not mean I have to adopt anypony that comes up… Even if they can be as adorable as this one.

We watched as the hybrid tumbled and tripped while trying to fly. He kept getting up every single time, determined to succeed.

Patchwork

I flipped the phone in my claws, trying to figure out how I can use it, without damaging it with my claws.

We came up to the point where their curiosity over my, and other, devices became too much. They did what they could to figure it out, but now they came to the only expert they knew.

The first thing I told them is to charge both devices. My laptop wasn’t fully charged yet, but my phone was. I don’t know how they did it, but they did. I will not question providence.

There were five ponies with me, watching my every move with barely constrained excitement. I did not bother with their names, I knew too many ponies to begin with, and my memory would ensure that I would remember them anyway. All of these ponies rotated on a regular basis, and I’ve yet to see some of them more than twice, maybe.

Anyways… I finally decided to try it.

My fingerprint scanner wouldn’t work (‘no fingerprints, duh’) but my code will. I turned on my phone and typed in the passcode as gently as I could. It seems that luck is on my side, as I managed not to scratch the screen.

I was surprised that my phone was undamaged when they gave it to me. I expected that my arrival and the portals’ collapse would at least crack the screen, but there we go.

“Look at that,” a grey-furred mare spoke behind my back.

“Astounding.” Came from my right.

“If you guys are surprised by this simple showing you will have a heart attack by the end.” That got a chuckle out of them.

Still holding my phone, I walked over to some of the small tables that were set not far from us. Putting the phone down, I waited until they were all ready.

There have been quite a few changes to my room these days. The construction of my ‘apartment’ has started as well as setting up of all the equipment they wanted to use on me. I even saw a giant hamster wheel, but I was told that it has its purpose. I did not like it one bit.

With all the construction and setup going on, there were tables EVERYWHERE. So, we took some of them and have been using them for the past couple of days.

“Right,” I started when everyone settled down (‘I refuse to use everypony, even at others insistence’) “Who wants to start?”

“UH! Me, me, me! What does this device do exactly?” A dark-pink mare asked.

It was one of the first questions asked, and I already had a headache. How do you describe something like a smartphone to someone that has never seen or heard about it? To us humans it’s a mundane, everyday object with use so wide it replaced just about every piece of tech we possessed.

“That is such a broad question for a device such as this.” Was my response. It became very obvious that it did nothing to them as they have all looked confused.

“What do you mean by that? Surely a device like this has some function that distinguishes it from others.” Indicated Wiped Calculation. I liked his name, so I ‘remembered it’.

“Maybe in the original creation, sir.” I turned towards the stallion. “Originally this device was made only for long-range communication. But over time its components and utility advanced to such a degree, that this,” I poked my smartphone with a claw, “has over ten functions in it.”

“Ten!” was a unanimous gasp.

“I find it hard to believe such a small device can do so much.” Scoffed a strawberry-colored stallion.

“Find it hard all you like, but just to prove it. I will show you.”

Picking my phone up I blew their collective mind. Videos, games, pictures, texts, calls, calculator (that got them really excited for some reason), music, voice recording, notes, and lastly my small personal library (which got them even more excited). One after another, the more I showed the more their eyes glazed over with possibilities. By the end, most of them haven’t even moved and I had a victorious, toothy smirk, on my muzzle.

The rest of the day proceeded in the same manner once my laptop was fully charged.

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I stepped into my new home… of sorts.

The apartment was the first construction to be finished and I got to bask in its ‘glory’

Immediately upon opening it, I gasped at its size. It wasn’t massive by any means, but It wasn’t small either. I saw five different doorways straight from the entrance, which opened up into a spacious living room.

I turned my head to see other ponies setting up some last pieces of equipment, noting that none of them have been paying attention to me.

I wiped my claws/hooves on the welcome mat and entered the apartment, closing the door behind me.

The walls of the living room were nice leaf green, giving the room a bit of a darker feel like one was in a shade of a tree, and I loved it – my, still new, instincts going wild. It contained one large sofa, a couch, a coffee table, and a large bookcase that was currently empty all in nice light brown color.

There were also some plants strewn about, hanging off the wall by a fixture… despite me saying I do not need them, nor want them.

Absorbing the room for a moment I decided to head left, to the closest doorway.

The doorway ended up leading into a darkened kitchen (‘oh sweet, sweet horror game memories’). I turned on the light next to the doorway and gave the kitchen a wide overview.

A table, four very low chairs with cushions on top, a fridge (‘I think’), an oven, sink, some drawers, and cupboards along with a decent free area I could use between the fridge and the sink. The floor and walls were tiled with light green tiles on the walls and white (‘is that marble from the outside’) marble on the floor. The furniture was brown except for the olive-green fridge.

Turning off the light and leaving the kitchen I trotted over to the second room, spotting the light in the bathroom and a separate toilet (‘why?’).

The second room I entered was the bedroom, with a massive four-poster bed, two nightstands, and two chest drawers (‘hopefully not the one I nibbled on’). The thrice-cursed alarm clock was on the farthest nightstand, and I had half a mind to toss the darned thing out… I barely held myself in check. The room was also in greens and browns, and I was noticing a trend. I did not like it.

Don’t get me wrong, brown, and green are nice colors, but they aren’t blue and pink. Oh well, at least it felt homey.

The toilet and the bathroom were next, and while sparse they held all the necessities I required, such as a toothbrush, soap, and towels. I immediately jumped into the shower and sighed gratefully at the water cascading down my body.

I had fun watching the water bounce off of my various plates and drop like waterfalls. It was relaxing and for a moment I forgot where I was. I desperately needed this, and I felt all my troubles temporarily wash away along with the grime and sweat of the day.

After the shower, I looked at the last door confirming it to be a small broom closet along with the said broom and a few other things I needed to keep this place clean.

A loud knock startled me, as I was passing by the main door. I took a deep breath to settle my heart and opened the door.

“Heya bug-colt. How you likin’ the new crib?” Captain Strike asked, entering the apartment without an invitation. I guess she is partly responsible for it in a way, but it’s the principle that mattered.

“I like the ‘crib’,” I said closing the door behind her after checking for any other guests.

I heard her rummage through the kitchen, and upon inspection saw her drink some water from a tall glass, holding it in her hooves. I noticed that her forelegs were bare of any pouches and pockets others usually wore. I never saw her wear anything other than a small pouch around her neck.

“Sorry ta’ barge in like that. But I’ve been thirsty for an hour now,” she said, pouring another glass full. “Also wanted to talk to ya’.”

“What about?” I walked over and sat at the table, dropping my head in my left claw. I turned to Shield who sat next to me, glass in tow.

“There is this filly… mare, called Little Zap that wants to meet ya’. And we need to introduce ya’ to two other ponies as well. Circlet Ball and Quill Swift.” She gulped down the last of water like a shot of alcohol.

“Why?”

“Little Zap is our foremost expert on tech, and she and her team want you to explain as much as you can about the… wat’chu call them… ‘gadgets’…” she shrugged, “yea, gadgets. Anyway. She is about a month away from Canterlot, so we have ta’ wait a bit.

Circlet Ball and Quill Swift will be your teachers.” Strike got up from the table and poured another glass of water, talking all the while.

“Circlet Ball will teach about your body a bit more… social stuff and tha like. What tha do with yer’ ears and tail. It’s the stuff you need to learn since you weren’t born as… ya know.” Sitting back down she took sips of her water this time. She didn’t speak for a few moments, like she was lost in thought.

I cleared my throat and she jumped slightly like I startled her. ‘I think she needs a break’

“Right, sorry, Patch. Got lost in the ol’ noggin.” She laughed.

“What about Quill Swift? I’m guessing language teacher.”

“Right on the bit, bug-colt. Quill will be teaching ya Equish since the translation spell cannot be kept on the wall indefinitely. Also, eventually, ya will want ta’ leave this place, ye?” She pointed the, now empty, glass at me before nodding and standing up.

Yeah, I wanted to leave this place eventually. I told Celestia as much when we talked a few days ago during our regular meetups. She also confirmed that, as soon as they have all the info they need, that they will let me out into the wild outdoors.

“So, when do I meet these ponies?” I asked watching as Shield Strike started to leave, exiting the kitchen. I decided to follow after her.

“Soon-ish. I’d say give it a day or so till we organize it.” Strike opened the door and turned around towards me. There was a glint in her eyes.

“Enjoy the quiet days bug-colt. It’s only gonna get busier from now.”

CH 7 (further learning)

View Online

Patchwork

Today I get to meet my teachers, Circlet Ball and Quill Swift.

I don’t care much for learning body language (‘to be honest, I can learn that with a book or two’), but verbal language? That I do need.

I have noticed recently that the translation spell has been glitching from time to time. Nothing too interfering, thankfully, but enough where some of the ponies' own language is seeping through. Luckily, my memory has significantly improved, so learning their language should be a breeze. Provided I actually apply myself.

I took a shower and took the time afterward to oil myself up.

Everyone has noticed that, over time, some parts of me seem to lose their luster as well as that some parts gather sweat and grime more easily, such as between my plates and my elytra (shouldn’t even call it that, as those plates are too small and my wings fold in a very ticklish way). So, I need more showers to get rid of the grime, and more showers mean some of my natural oils get washed away.

I try not to shower as often, and only when necessary, but for some parts of my body, oil is necessary. Thankfully, I don’t have to put it on myself often. They didn’t tell me which oil they gave me, but it works, so I don’t care much where it comes from. I should ask them about it though before I leave this place.

After putting oil between my elytra (being careful with my wings) and some movable plates around it, I decided to grab some breakfast.

Using my magic, I slathered some honey on toast, picking a glass of water at the same time, practicing my multitasking.

While some of the more difficult aspects of magic escape me, higher application of easier spells seems to be easy. Sometimes I even surprised my teachers, such as when I used the simple fireball spell to heat up my tea. Apparently, I should not have been able to do that, as it took months of practice for most ponies to learn such a thing. Provided a pony even wants to learn such a thing in the first place. Most ponies tend to not chase after the knowledge that doesn’t correspond to their cutie marks, such as a pony with a special talent in fire spells will probably never look into water spells, thinking that they might never be able to use them in the first place. Oh sure, some of the ponies have a hunger for knowledge, but they won’t actively chase it. Or if they do chase it, they have almost no interest in using it. Very few seem to do so.

So, while some higher aspects of magic give me some difficulties, applying what I already know to other areas is something I actively try to do.

I have also been spending a lot of time trying to figure out shape-changing. We have tried some alternate methods but with almost no success. I swear White Light needs more sleep. I don’t, I have barely been tired over the last few days… I think I slept only once this week.

A knock on my door startled me out of my thoughts, and I finally noticed that I have finished my meal and had just been sitting, contemplating about my ability to change. Maybe I’ll try meditation again, it seems to work with magic. Maybe if I focus on my core I’ll get something out of it…

Another knock made me jump. I got distracted again.

“Coming!” I shouted pushing my magic to quickly clean up the mess on the table.

Opening the door, I was greeted by White Light, and an olive-green earth pony stallion, with a white braided mane and tail, and a turquoise lightning bolt running through them, standing next to him.

“Sorry, doc, I got lost in my thoughts again.” I sheepishly scratched behind my head, looking down.

I heard some muttering coming from the new stallion, but he said nothing. Instead, he opted to clear his throat in White Lights' direction.

“Well, at least we managed to shake you out of them. Truthfully, son, you get distracted way too easily.” There was another cleared throat, and White Light sighed heavily. “Yes, yes, Circlet.”

I lifted my head up and studied the stallion for a moment before his introduction. Tilting my head to the side, I managed to spot the edge of his flank. I was surprised that I spotted no Cutie Mark.

A very loud snort and a throat being cleared for the third time, made me focus on the earth pony.

“Zat iz not ze proper ‘ehaviour for a pony your age.” He said sternly.

I wanted to acknowledge the scolding for what it is, but his accent made me just look in astonishment.

“Vell?” He clearly expected an apology, but all I could was stare.

“Doc,” I started, “what’s with the accent?” I asked, keeping my eyes on Circlet the whole time.

Doctor Light just shook his head, but there was a smirk on his muzzle, reducing any sting from his stern look.

“The translation spell… it’s not perfect,” He scratched his chin with one hoof. I still kept my eyes on the, now squinting, earth pony. “What you hear is an attempt at translating a dialect of Equish.”

“That’s… no!” I now fully turned to Doctor Light. “That has to be fake. Tartarus, even Shield has an accent, but at least it’s fake.”

“Fake! How darez you. I am uzing one of ze ol’est know dialects of our fair Equish.” Circlet said hotly, raising his snout with a proud look on his face. I even sensed some anger coming from him.

“Yes, while our dear captain does ‘fake’ her accent, it is actually a rather young earth pony dialect.” White Light nodded and I looked at him stunned.

’Dialects? Since when do ponies have that?’

I heard a ‘hmm’ on my left and turning my head, I found Circlet studying me intently.

“Oh, no, no, my young friend, you continue your little chat. Pay no attention to me.”

I decided to listen to him. Turning to White Light I got my unasked question answered.

“Circlet Ball is our foremost master when it comes to social and body language of us ponies,” he explained while jotting something down in a notebook he held in his magic. How he got it didn’t matter. “He runs a very successful ballet class here in Canterlot.”

“You are like a newborn babe, ar’ you not? Zey told me, you are new to this body, but I did not zhink it was zis dire.” Ball was scratching his chin in thought. Sensing his emotion I got a whole mess of things, but curiosity was the most prominent one.

Keeping eye contact I opened my mouth slightly and inhaled, taking a small sample. There was a fizzy taste on my tongue, and I tried subtly to swallow the shimmering greenish mist. It seemed neither party noticed my small indulgence, but I was wrong.

“You are about az subtle as a brick, my little bug. But worry not, I shall perzonally ensure zat you are ready for ze world.” He stated with a dramatic flourish.

Both I and I assumed White Light were just watching this, overly dramatic stallion. Then I heard a ‘tsk’ from the doctor.

“Well, I’m done here. Good luck Patch.”

“Wait, what?!” turning around I spotted the retreating White Light, and I knew I was doomed. I ran after him.

“You can’t just leave me with him… he has an accent!” I whisper-shouted, raising my claws to stop him.

White Light looked at me like I have grown a second head. “So do you.”

I refused to believe that, and I kept looking pleadingly at him. For a moment I was hoping the unicorn would turn around and return inside so that I have at least one familiar face, but I was again proven wrong.

“Listen, Patch. Accent or not, you need to learn how to use your body like us, or you will have more issues than you might want, and believe me, you don’t need it.” He suddenly sighed, and raised his hoof looking, for all intents and purposes, like he was pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, kid, treat this as a practice for when you learn how to shape-shift. You will need this in more ways than one, so at least try it. But the Princess really wants you to do this.”

And there it was. The right words. Ever since she saved me from starvation I would have done anything Celestia asked… And Light knew this.

“Fine,” I relented, plodding slowly back to my apartment, “but don’t complain if something happens.”
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“So, let us start this shall ve.” Ball started.

We were sitting in the living room, me on the couch and him on the sofa.

“Why can’t I see your mark?” Was my immediate question. I simply HAD to know.

“You will see my mark when you ar’ ready. No sooner zan zat.” He squinted at me, clearly displeased with my question.

“I’m sorry, but I'm just really, really, curious. I haven’t seen a single pony so far without one, and it’s just stuck in my head.”

He sighed and massaged his temples with both hooves. Even without my sense, I would have known he was annoyed, his tail kept twitching.

“Zere is a cover placed over my mark zat cannot be seen unless you know where to look. But we can start zere, as well.” He shifted a little to hide his flanks completely. Then, he squared his shoulders, puffed his chest, and leveled his eyes with mine. “It iz VERY rude to stare at anozer pony’s flank. Ar’ we clear, little bug?”

I nodded rapidly, unwilling to provoke him further. I did have another question on my mind though.

“But what if they present their flank for me to see the mark.”

“Zat iz different. Zen you ‘ave an invitation to examine ze cutie mark. Otherwize, you may as well look under their tailz, for the faux pas you ar’ making.” Suddenly I realized why it was so bad to just stare… and I felt really stupid I didn’t get to that conclusion myself.

"But it seemz we will be stuck on zis topic for a moment, so let us go over do an’ don’ts of cutie marks.”

The stallion shifted a bit on his seat before looking focusing on me.

“Ze first thing you should know is vat I ‘ave already told you. Do not stare at other pony’s flank. Unless ze pony is your special somepony. Zen do vat you will. And ze second reason is zat you should never try to guess, out loud at least, vat zeir cutie mark iz.”

I suddenly had an idea and rushed over to the kitchen, grabbing two glasses of water and a tray of cookies in my magic. I brought them over and placed the tray of cookies in front of him as well as a glass of water. I got a cheerful ‘thank you’ and I sat down while he emptied the glass and munched on a cookie.

“Ah, zat vas needed. Thank you, again.

Now to continue. For ze first rule ze explanation iz simple: our marks are in a, rather, sensitive area, and openly staring iz rude. You will give ze otherz some questionable motivez. Zere is also ze fact zat some ponies ar’ very self-conscious about zeir mark, and zey will try to draw attention avay from it. Simple, no?”

Ze second rule iz a bit more complicated.”

You see, our marks ‘ave az many meanings az there ar’ ponies. No two markz ar’ ze same. All zat beings said, you guessing ze mark will make a pony uncomfortable at best, and at worst it will be insulting. Many have acquired zeir mark in painful or questionable ways, and zey would rather not ‘ave otherz remind zem more zan it iz needed.”

A friend of mine, for example, acquired ‘er mark by trying to revive ‘er father afzer a fatal accident. She now works in a morgue, and while she iz fantastic at ‘er job, she doez not like to be reminded how she got ‘er mark.”

“I… see…” That last story ground my mind to a halt. The ramifications of what he said, and that last story proving me that not everything is happy and cheerful in this world. Even more so than what I already knew.

“We ‘ave a good life ‘ere. Our land iz rich, our culture iz rich, but all zat light does not hide ze shadows zat come from it. Never forget zat. Some ponies live zeir life in misery because it iz part of who zey ar’.”

The silence lasted for a good few minutes, me processing what he said and him eating cookies with a smile on his face. Just as I was about to break it, he spoke up.

“All zat doom and gloom… It iz not ze reason I am ‘ere. Let us learn how to be ponies, yes?”
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Two sharp knocks shook me out of my task of sorting out the books that Circlet gave me. Not that I could read them, yet, but, in his own words, it’s good to have them when I’m finally able to read.

“Coming!” I shouted down, putting the last book onto the shelf I was provided in the living room.

Opening the front door, I was greeted by an ice blue pegasus mare with a tangerine-colored mane, tied to a bun, and a long flowing tail of the same color. Both had a lighter orange line going through them in a zig-zag pattern, interspaced with streaks of grey showing her age. She wore red-rimmed, half-moon glasses that framed her deep orange eyes (‘I thought they were brown at first’). She is also wearing a black, see-through blouse for some reason. Given the propensity for ponies to go around naked for the most part, this made little sense to me. Anyway.

She looked at me with wide eyes, and I could sense apprehension, curiosity, and a bit of fear. It took only a second, but after a shake of her head only curiosity remained, the rest were gone. I was glad that I was getting better with my empathic senses.

“Mr. Patchwork I presume.” She stated.

“And given that I was told about only two teachers, I would guess Mrs. Quill Swift?” I questioned.

She nodded. “Indeed. I would guess you have already met Circlet?” After my nod, she gave me a tiny smile. “Good, that means we have the rest of the day to go through as much as we can on Equestrian standard.”

I nodded again, studying her all the while. As long as she kept her eyes on me she was fine, but as soon as she looked to the apartment she was tense. Something to ask about later.

“Now as much as I would like to begin; would it be ok with you if we do it here, rather than… indoors?” she questioned apprehensively.

“But we are indoors.” I was starting to see where this might be going. “I don’t mind, though. We can use one of the tables out here.” I moved past her and trotted over to one of the nearest tables.

She released a relieved sigh and with a ‘thank you’ followed after me.

The moment we sat down I decided to sate my curiosity.

“So, are all pegasi claustrophobic or just uncomfortable with closed spaces?” I started.

She hummed thoughtfully while pulling books and notes out of the saddlebags I only now noticed she carried.

“We pegasi prefer open skies and its freedom rather than closed-off spaces. But yes, many are claustrophobic or, like myself, get particularly anxious. And while there are plenty of pegasi that can live in cramped spaces, eventually, after some time, they would get what we call sky-sick.” Quill elaborated.

“I’m guessing sky-sick means they get a need to be in the open skies.”

“Precisely, Mr. Patch.” She confirmed and sat down next to me opening what looked like a coloring book.

“But how do you live in a home, even a cloud home I'm guessing if closed of space makes you anxious?” I continued the questioning. There was always something going on with the research team I work with, and I rarely get time to just fire off questions. Right now, I’m in a questioning mood, and my curiosity would not be so easily sated.

Quill Swift sighed heavily and looked at me over her glasses in a look that brokered no further questions. “We have plenty of space in our homes and plenty of windows. Now,” she pushed the book in front of me with a strange squiggly letter and a picture of a pony, “let us begin with your studies.”

She took out a green-colored cube, placed it on the table, and pressed a small button on its top. I couldn’t understand a single word she said afterward, and I was slightly scared. Until I figured out what she was doing.

I must have zoned out for a second because she looked at me sternly, and I suddenly got the feeling that this won’t be so easy.
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I was sitting in the middle of the living room. Lights were out, and everything was cleared for the day.

Two days ago, we started on the shapeshifting aspect of changelings, and Dr. Light and I have been trying everything possible in ponies repertoire in order to help me. Nothing worked. Now I’m back to basics.

I am slowly using my magic and my inner senses I have acquired with my original transformation (which came naturally with this body) in order to test out the area around my body’s core. I have been at this for over an hour now. It is tedious, but I have so far managed to find several sections I would like to look into… I may be able to modify this body further in order to strengthen it. Kind of like flesh-sculpting.

Anyway, I had no luck so far. But I feel like I am on the right track.

Dr. White Light thinks that it has to do with magic, and we have tried various magic methods to do so, but I think it has a more biological component. Something to do with my changeling core. I have been twisting and pulling the area around it while trying to think of certain ponies. My memory has been extremely helpful, so much so that it's scary how good it is now.

I have been pulling on a particular “string” near my core for almost ten minutes now, getting a strange feeling welling up. But every time I think I pulled it correctly it dissipates.

I was getting sick of not making any progress, and I was tired to boot after spending almost three days without sleep (‘seriously what is up with that'). I decided to try one last thing, and instead of pulling I decided to pluck on the “string”, like an instrument. I thought of a mare researcher I saw once the whole way through.

Nothing happened, but the ‘feeling’ got stronger.

‘I think I may be on to something.’

I plucked the string harder with my magic and something started to swell from within me. This time, I think I got it.

Letting the string relax I took a deep, steadying breath. I thought of White Light, who has been spending so much time these last three days with me practicing this stuff. With him in mind, I took my magic in my metaphorical claw and pluck on that “string” hard, like I strummed on a guitar.

There was an immediate flash of greenish fire, and for the first time since I became a changeling, I transformed on my own.

CH 8 (Changes)

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Patchwork

‘I hate this SO much,’ I sighed for the umpteenth time today, trying to use my meagre knowledge of human technology to help these ponies understand it.

Celestia insisted that by stealing, learning about my tech, ponies would finally be pushed out of the rut of they dug themselves in with stagnation. I should never have shown them how my phone works.

I actually thought that I would have to explain how… technologically stagnant they have gotten, but I was apparently beaten to the punch. And Little Miss Sunbutt was quite smug about the whole thing.

Whatever the case, I, along with several ponies, have decided to take both my laptop and two surviving cell phones apart, put them back together (‘magic is awesome’), and take them apart -again- for study. They wanted to see how these devices fully come together in detail. Detail I simply couldn’t help with.

‘God damn it, Celestia! I’m a nurse, not a mechanic…engineer, whatever’

“I still refuse to believe that you have barely ANY comprehension about these devices.” Little Zap complained. She held a small diode (I think) in strange-looking tweezers in front of her. She was tiny for an earth pony and a monochrome banana-yellow from mane to tail. The only differences were her rich blue eyes, and her blue cutie mark in the shape of a lightning bolt made of… well… bolts.

The rest of the team groaned loudly in protest. Zap and I have been arguing about it for a week now, going back and forth. With her constantly belittling me about my lack of knowledge, and me telling her off while trying to explain that I had other pressing matters other than learning about every piece of technology.

It's not that these ponies were ungrateful for my information, they were pleased with what I was able to give. But there were ones like Little Zap that refused to see reason… or at least, MY reason.

“And I can’t believe we have to go over this again!” I heard a silent prayer to Celestia for ‘both of them to shut up’ but I ignored it. “I am a nurse. I know about the human body, this- “I waved both my claws at disassembled pieces, “-is not in my portfolio.”

Zap scowled and lifted her head to tell me off again, but I had a question for her this time.

“Do you even know everything about earth pony magic?” Several ponies lifted their heads from their work and shook them in my direction with trepidation. I did not take the hint.

“AS a matter of fact, human,” she gave me a haughty look, “I do!” She picked up the keyboard mesh and looked through it. “Before coming to Canterlot I spent the better part of two decades studying every single aspect of earth pony magic… From golemancy, to runology, geomancy, and arobormancy. I farmed and trained until I was certain I knew everything I could before I decided to pour my life into technology rather than magic.”

She put the mesh down and picked a different piece to examine while I pretended that I wasn’t impressed.

When it became obvious that she said her peace, I stood up and walked away from the piles of scrap and the ponies studying it. I told them everything I knew anyways, and I was rather of the opinion that I should take my losses like a man… stallion. Besides, I can’t top her.

Human life is so vastly different that they cannot fathom why I wouldn’t try to learn as much as I could about an object like a cell phone. Considering how most of them treat knowledge I’d call them hypocritical.

Their lives are slow, much slower than ours, when I tried to explain to them how much I could (and sometimes do) cram into a day they were stupefied. Even Celestia said that doing so much in a day sounds like an exhausting venture.

When I asked a few of them what their days are like, it came down to: wake up, go to work/do a hobby, relax/go to work, settle groceries, relax, go to sleep. That’s it… That’s most of their day, provided their mark didn’t make their day busier. Meeting with friends counted as relaxation. They obviously never drunk-argued with their bestie on a Friday night.

My day, on the other claw, was: wake up, go to work, exercise, write/draw, play games, go out with mates, and only then I’ll probably go to sleep at a reasonable time… maybe… my doctor isn’t impressed.

…Meh.

We were studying near my apartment, so I didn’t have to go far to relax.

It has been over a month since I woke up from my nap and the room has gotten a significant upgrade.

Aside from my apartment, the entire room got a boost. New machines, new furniture as well as proper sectioning of the, well, sections and the tests… by the stars, the tests are never-ending. Speed (barely as fast as a pegasus), endurance (higher than a pegasus, lower than an earth pony), strength (pegasus level), magic (unimpressive by unicorn standards), weight (one hundred kg, (same unit, go figure) I am considered heavy), height, one-twenty cm), breathing, MORE blood tests, etc, etc, etc.

The practicing is fun though.

Yesterday we did some magic practice in an area close to the exit (on the right once entered) and it was quite fun if exhausting. Even when I managed to master the fireball spell by now, they are still relatively unimpressed by my abilities.

The practice was simple: lift an object, throw something, squeeze some beach balls (got one to burst near Shield Strike, the punishment of fifty push-ups was worth it), and generally use my changeling magic as much as possible outside of transformations.

But honestly, I have an unfair advantage when it comes to learning.

Photographic memory!

With specific attention being given to outward senses.

I kept thinking that my memory is merely enhanced, but after talking to some ponies, and two tests later confirmed their suspicion.

I never knew just how much of a chore having it would be, especially since I was able to remember stuff I did during my starvation period with ease (so many apologies given). Everything after my arrival to Equestria was easy to remember, and terrifyingly so. Stuff before that was a little fuzzy. I remembered things from my human life, as a human. Meaning there were natural gaps in my memory. This is why my first order of business was to write down EVERYTHING I knew canonically about MLP.

No one knows I know about this world. Celestia may be able to guess I know a few things, but she will never guess the sheer extent of the future I knew. And if she did, I doubt I’d have the freedom I have now. Needless to say, Celestia did not know anything (I hope), and I intended to keep it that way. As long as possible at least.

Pony series aside, the photographic memory makes sense in hindsight…

‘I should grab something to eat…’ I thought, entering my domicile.

I mean, changelings should be able to change shape into just about anything (I’m certain there are limits); so, it makes sense that there must be a way for a changeling to be able to, well, change into something that he/she saw years or even decades ago.

There must be more to it than that, but for now, I’m content with the level of knowledge I had. We will be looking into transformations more next week with doctor White Light.

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“All right Mr. Patch, try changing into myself,” White Light requested. He held a quill and a small stack of parchment in his magic and was writing into it. To make my transformation easier he had no clothing or pouches on himself.

We were in the ‘magic’ corner of the massive room, surrounded by several ponies that were taking notes much like Dr. White. Horns were alight and there were several pieces of equipment pointed at me.

Ever since I finally learned how to transform it has been surprisingly going like a charm after the first three days of struggle.

Those first three days were headache after headache (both literal and metaphorical), and our attempts were met with failure after failure.

I need little sleep as a changeling (especially after my cocooning), and I spent most of those three days doing nothing but trying to change.

The good doctor though spent two days awake, helped by some concoction he kept vigorously drinking every few hours. Other than creating some nice-looking sparks to ‘shoot out’ of his fur it didn’t look like it worked… He disagrees, but I like to think that his willpower is something else.

During the first two days we tried several methods to achieve a transformation: unicorn type casting, meditation, inner focus, arcane release (something like what Twilight did with the hydra but controlled (‘it can be also released instinctually under duress’)), a transformation spell (‘messed it up so badly I had a splitting headache for an hour’), and lastly a pegasus type cloud illusion (‘that one threw me for a spin’).

Anyway… All of those attempts were for naught, as we got nowhere. The third day though… I had a personal breakthrough.

I looked at White Light and found the metaphorical string in my core. I plucked it with my inner magic muscles while keeping what makes White Light ‘White Light’ at the forefront of my mind… His fur, his height, and his breadth, as well as the little bits (eyes, ears, mouth, horn, wrinkles, and hooves).

With my newly appreciated memory, I was able to recall everything I needed, and with my changeling mind (‘natural multitaskers I’m guessing’) I was able to keep it all together.

The moment my string was ‘plucked’ (it feels like plucking a string, but it’s actually closer to tensing a muscle that’s flooded by mana), I felt my body heat up, shift, and morph, and in a flash of fire two White Lights were now in the room. I was about a head shorter (my size) but that’s mostly because I haven’t eaten today.

“Hmmm…” Light raised his head examining me. “As expected, you are roughly twenty percent shorter on an empty stomach.” Said stomach growled loudly.

Now-” he pointed a quill at the nearby table full of various foods, “eat up, and we will repeat again.”

“Finally!” I cried out, throwing my claws into the air, which was followed by several giggles from the other scientists. They wanted me to be good and hungry for this first test, so I did not eat anything this morning. Just hungry, not starved.

The reason for this new test was that we noticed how, when I transform my magic draws from the resin in my stomach. Especially if it’s something that is larger than I am.

Everything I eat would be broken down into two things: liquid and resin.

The liquid is mostly colorful urine (depending on what I drink and eat); the resin, however, is where it’s at.

Not only can resin be used for construction and to bind someone down (‘that was fun when we tested it’) it’s also used during transformations. What resin does when transformed is that the body uses it subconsciously in order to add mass, height, and weight. It all depends on what the transformation lacks in scope. The ratio of its usage was baffling, to the point where I was able to use a single small meal for well over twenty transformations taller than me during practice. Speaking of height.

If I wanted to make a transformation that is taller than I, then the body would use some amount of resin in order to ‘add’ height to it. I was told that it’s essentially using resin and mana as a bricks and mortar, but I swear there is more to it… too bad I’ve yet to care enough to look deeper into it.

The fire flash isn’t just for effect. It’s a way for a changeling to hide the intricacies of the change. I managed to change without fire, but not only was it hard, I felt very, very WRONG for an hour afterward. I’m glad there was no one around to see it.

Anyways… Food!

After eating my fill and chatting with some of the ponies (‘surprising how friendly they get once you win them over’), we started again.

This time, however, I changed twice. Once in order to perfectly mimic White Light, the second time to remove some weight off his frame.

White Light peered at me over the rim of his glasses, clearly not amused even with the laughter in the background.

“If you are going to make a fool of yourself Mr. Patchwork, I would suggest you at least not look anorexic, or like you are missing organs.” He lifted the glasses back and wrote down a few lines of notes while I sheepishly reverted back to my old self. I did notice where I made the mistake, though, and was making a mental note to study up my equine anatomy better.

We went through several other transformations, including non-ponies (with some help from an anatomy book), before we finished for the day. My language and social studies were up tomorrow, and I wasn’t exactly overjoyed.

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‘God, it’s me, again. Please bring over Little Zap, I’d rather talk with her.’

“OUCH!” I yelped covering my head with my claws, looking over at the offending wing of my teacher.

“Mr. Patchwork, if you are so insistent on ‘zoning out’ during my lecture; neither I, nor our dear Princess, will be pleased.” Ms. Quill Swift said sternly.

I guess I have been lost in my thoughts a bit too much today. Especially since I figured out how to transform. I have spent every day now thinking about the possibilities.

Anyway.

While grammatically Equish was similar to English (there were a few differences, such as extended tenses as well as extra ones), it was a bit more complicated, requiring me to learn completely unfamiliar words for, say, magic, that English simply did not have. Like ‘njuuhau’ which could be translated as ‘core’, but it relates to pony magic core which is nowhere near as simple as just ‘a core’.

“I'm sorry ma’am, I had something on my mind.”

“Well, whatever it was, I hope it was worthwhile.” She lifted a stack of parchment with her hooves while holding another two parchments with her primaries. Something that always amazed me. Pegasus wings are extremely dexterous. “Because we are done today.” She continued sternly.

“We are?” I questioned.

“Yes we are,” she narrowed her eyes at me. “Which you would notice if you paid attention. Regardless,” she straightened her parchments and started packing up, “you would be happy to know that, even with your ‘interruptions’ I am quite satisfied with your progress.”

I raised a questioning eyebrow. I never got the feeling that I progressed beyond memorizing words. Not to mention I have only studied for a month.

“Now, given your magnificent memory; I would wager we have another few sessions before I can simply give you a dictionary and leave you to it. Your writing, however, is basic at best and beyond practice, I cannot help you with that.” She gave a haughty sniff, packed the rest of her stuff into saddlebags, and left without a word of goodbye.

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“Noooooo!” wailed my next tormentor.

Circlet Ball was next on the docket.

Today on the itinerary is ears. I was given cue cards that required me to read the emotion/action and I was to move my ears in the necessary position. And me not having such manoeuvrable appendages before meant my control was lacking, even after the recent two weeks of practice. In a world with no fingers, and where ears can be moved every which way, their use in communication becomes paramount, if simple.

Keeping the ears focused forward and fully perked, means you are attentive to the conversation or the situation. Different degrees of placement means you are either upset (forty-five-degree angle), angry (ninety degrees and with light shaking) or scared (fully pinned to your head). There are also variations to this depending on how the ear is turned, whether it's twitching or shaking, or if either one is raised while the other is lowered.

There is also an entire sign language invented by pegasi and used primarily by them and by earth ponies. Unicorns simply use their magic to write out what they want to say… provided their magic worked of course.

All stuff that was INCREDIBLY fun to learn in the first few days of my study. In practice, I was having issues. Such as now.

The reason for my teacher’s wailing is because my tail was swishing lazily left to right (lazy l-r swish means contentment, happiness) while I was twitching my ears in agitation. I was supposed to twitch my tail at the same time in tune with the ears. Why I need to learn things that come instinctually I don’t know, but I was told it was important, so here I am.

“I ‘ave told you thrice already you muss not move the tush wif ze earz!” He continued wailing, in his heavy accent.

I sighed heavily and nodded my head, making sure my ears were pinned in embarrassment.

“Good, good… You ‘ave remembered zat ze ears muss be pinned. At least we are making some progress.” He motioned me to continue with his hoof, and I took the cue cards, continuing my practice.

This wasn’t as fun as reading about it was.

I was hoping it ends soon.

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My progress with Equish was much better than I originally hoped. Case in point, I was reading a history book. I honestly thought it would take me longer, but here we go. I was lounging in my bed, lying on the side.

Equestrian history is… interesting.

Before Equestria was founded there was nothing but wars and conflicts between the tribes. Mostly between pegasi and unicorns, but earth-ponies were far from innocent. They had their fair share of aggressors.

Anyway, it was reading through its history that I ran into some interesting tidbits.

Number one, I need to get a calendar and learn how to use it.

Number two, following the show, the sirens came first, and they were one of the major reasons for the escalations that followed (Tirek, Discord, and Sombra in that order). Some historians even speculated that wendigos were the by-product of the siren influence, but that would mean that those three were alive longer than Celestia was. Either that or there were more sirens before. But other than Adagio, Aria, and Sonata no other siren was mentioned.

Number three is where I am stuck now, rethinking the whole thirty minutes and all the history I’ve read thus far, trying to find where I missed this before.

There, right next to the founding of Equestria, a name stood out: Luna, sister of Princess Celestia, bringer of Night and Dreams, and The Sleeping Princess.

“The Sleeping Princess?” I whispered to myself, thoroughly confused.

No one in the show, sans Twilight and Celestia to our knowledge, knew about her or Nightmare Moon, yet here it was.

I opened the index of the book and searched for Princess Luna, hoping to find more about her. Lucky me, there was.

Apparently, Celestia did not want her sister to be forgotten, or what happened to her. Long story short, according to the book, Luna got corrupted by an outside influence, fought Equestria at large for almost a year AS Nightmare Moon, got blasted by the rainbow cannon as Celestias’ last-ditch effort, and her spirit and soul were now trapped on the moon due to the evil nightmare. The actual body is in stasis, somewhere. The book isn’t specific about where stating that only Celestia and a hoof-full of thestrals know her real location.

The entire thing is romanticized to Tartarus and back (‘only the chosen pony will save her at the thousand-year mark’), but for me, the whole thing gave me a head full of questions and a headache to boot.

And there was no mention of the prophecy, of any kind. Maybe in a different book, like that prophecy book Twilight read in episode one, but all in all, The Sleeping Princess is an actual thing. Ponies pray to her for good dreams and Thestrals have a whole holiday specifically FOR her.

Worst even, the Elements of Harmony aren’t even mentioned by name in any way other than ‘a mysterious artifact’ that Celestia used to defeat Nightmare Moon.

So, ponies know about Luna, there is no prophecy I can find, the Elements are a mystery and Nightmare Moon will return in about thirty-something years…

I threw the book to the side and decided to go to sleep before I start panicking.

Suddenly, my future did not seem so bright.

CH 9 (meeting the shadow)

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Patchwork

Another book joined the ever-growing pile that was taking over one of my bedroom corners. Another book with nothing about the Elements of Harmony. Nothing worthwhile at least.

Oh sure, the Elements are mentioned, but only as ‘unknown’ artifacts Celestia and Luna used to battle Discord and later to banish Nightmare Moon. Oh sure, there were theories and ideas aplenty, but nothing conclusive. It was obvious Celestia kept a tight lid on this.

I sighed, putting ‘Magus’s Miraculous Magical Artifacts’ onto the pile. I lied down on my back, shifting a little to get comfortable in the bed without pressing on my elytra.

I can’t just go to Celestia and ask her, not without revealing both the future of this world or how much I know about it. I simply couldn’t risk my own future… Not yet anyway. Maybe I could go and find the Tree once I'm out. Maybe.

I got up and jumped off the bed, trotting over to the large bookcase in the living room. I picked out a book on general equestrian magic and trotted back to the bedroom.

I passed by the newly hung calendar and noted that I have been looking for the Elements for almost two weeks now. With little success.

Oh sure, I learned just how much damage Discord has done, causing such chaos that even centuries after ponies are still discovering pieces of their past, either in the form of lost magic or artifacts and even buried villages and statues. From what I managed to dig up, Discord has cost the world an entire century at best.

What I also learned is that Discord was the main reason why ponies started to stagnate, embracing peace and harmony as their main creed, pushing everything that doesn’t conform to the wayside out of fear. The wars and conflicts that followed after, between the other races that tried to pick up the leftover pieces, did not help matters either.

Which is why I started looking into something that had my attention for a while now. Magic.

More specifically, magic that is not related to unicorns.

Before I laid down with the book I changed my mind and went to the kitchen for a snack. I have been eating a lot more recently, and I have been steadily gaining a bit of height and bulk, telling me that I am in for another growth spurt. I should let the others know before it happens.

Opening the book and reading through it showed me just how little I knew about magic in general.

Unicorns, I learned early on, had no limitations when it comes to how their magic affects the world around them. But they are limited by their imagination as well as their ability to apply it. They are fully aware of the magic around them and little of it is based on pure instincts. This is why all their spells are written down, stored, and cataloged. Which is also why they suffered the most during Discord’s era. So many spells have been lost to that madman.

Earth ponies are the complete opposite of unicorns in that regard.

Their magic is based on pure instinct, and if it weren’t for the studious unicorn chroniclers ponies wouldn’t even know about it. Which is quite fascinating really.

Ancient earth ponies taught their magic through the word of mouth. And they learned about it only when necessary. The most fascinating thing, however, is that even if the written knowledge about earth pony magic was lost the earth ponies would still manage.

The book even gave an example: in a brutal experiment, centuries ago, a young earth pony who was separated from his parents by the unicorns, was locked away in a deep underground prison for study. The unicorns made sure that the poor colt was completely separated from anything that would allow him to learn about magic in any way, shape, or form. After months of study and monitoring via scrying orbs, it was learned that he had started to develop a deep connection to the natural magic of the earth. In the end, he got so capable with it that he managed to escape, ripping the entire facility asunder with tremendous strength and self-taught ability to manipulate the plants and tree roots around him. They never found the colt afterward, and there was barely anything left to salvage of the site.

What’s even more incredible, is that EVERY earth pony is capable of such feats, but unless they are like Little Zap they simply have no wish or will to learn most of it. They will simply develop higher forms of nature magic on their own through simple instinct should it be required, but otherwise they have no need for it beyond farming. Which is why earth ponies are also the most content of the three races, as they need little to be happy.

Pegasi, on the other claw, are in-between. They are both aware and active when it comes to their magic, but they also rely on instincts to guide it.

Their weather magic aside, it seems pegasi of old could manipulate elements of nature to some degree. A good example of this is what was written down in the book.

The Buccaneer Blaze is a single part of a three-part ‘trick’ that if performed correctly allows the pegasus to create a temporary fire field around them, which can then be used in other ‘tricks’ to, say, summon a tornado wreathed in fire. The full ‘’trick’’ is called The Flaming Loop, and it hasn’t been performed in centuries.

And that’s only one ’trick’ of hundreds that have been banned by Celestia outside of war situations, as pegasi ‘tricks’ made them too dangerous and devastating to perform.

This is why pegasi today, unknowingly, practice those same tricks either in segments or without the devastating fields they could create.

Fascinating really.

Makes me feel weak in comparison, as I cannot bring any of these awesome powers to bear. But, if I master my ability to shift, maybe I could find a way to protect myself better, or others for that matter when the situation calls for it.

I decided to read for another few hours before I go to bed. Tomorrow we are looking deeply into my ability to fly.

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I have spent most of the morning thinking about what I want to be when I leave this room, and I think I managed to finally settle on something. The royal guard. The pay is good, the training would only make me stronger, and most of all, I will be able to protect others and myself when the whole changeling thing comes to a head. Which I hope it doesn’t for a while yet. Chrysalis will probably lose her mind when she finds out that I helped the ponies learn about Changelings.

I stepped out of the shower, dried myself up, and oiled the parts of me that needed it, and then happily exited the apartment.

Stepping out I spotted two new arrivals.

A large and powerful-looking griffon and a unicorn stallion, standing near the entrance and talking to Shield Strike.

The griffon had a rich brown coat that spilled into his plumage, making the tips of his feathers a nice, dark brown. I couldn’t see much in the details, but it was obvious that he was taking care of himself.

The unicorn’s coat was steel-grey and his mane and tail a nice cherry-red, with his mane cut short.

I was taking my time, slowly approaching them when a sudden wave of nausea hit me. At first, I couldn’t identify it, and it caused me to stagger slightly. I stopped fully and sat trying to figure out why I suddenly felt so sick.

Sniffing the air got me my answer: hatred. Deep, powerful hatred, mixed with loathing. It made me feel like I was trying to quaff poison, making me curl into myself in pain.

Looking around the room through tears in my eyes, I tried to spot the individual this was coming from. By the time I managed to find the source of it, I was approached by its cause.

“So, you are the little insect we are meant to keep an eye on, hmm.”

I raised my head, only now noticing that I had spectators.

Shield Strike was quickly approaching me with worry etched on her face. The griffon was cautiously studying me, with barely anything from negative emotions coming out of him.

The offending unicorn, however, looked at me with barely restrained disgust. His nose was turned up and he had a sneer on his muzzle making him look like he just spotted something lesser than shit.

“Oi, bug-colt, you doing ok there.” Strike was rubbing my back while I tried to keep my breakfast inside.

“This, is who you wanted me to teach, Shield Strike?” He asked, venom dripping from his voice, “When you told me you had a capable individual THIS is who you meant!”

“Not now Impulse!” Strike snapped at him.

“Is he going to be ok?” Asked the griffon. I could barely see him from my periphery as I was intensely focused on the stallion in front of me.

I tried to pull away from him, but Shield stepped in front of me, holding me in place with her hooves. I started to hear some shouting from the side, but I was too focused on the threat in front of me to pay attention to it.

“Oi, Patch, breathe colt, breathe. Flush it out of your system, as we practiced. C’mon, you can do it.”

It was a trick we learned when they were studying my ability to sense emotions. Changelings have two stomachs, one for raisin and the other to process emotions. We have learned that if an emotion doesn’t sit well with me, that I can purge it from my secondary stomach should I get too much of it in me. Especially if it's negative emotions. If I’m careless and if my concentration wavers I can absorb some of it and it tends to wreak havoc on my insides. It is unfortunate that my control isn’t perfect, and I tend to always absorb some outside emotions. Sometimes ponies have a bad day and, well, anyway.

I closed my eyes, shutting out my empathic abilities, and tried to breathe, getting my body to calm down enough till I can get to the toilet and empty this vile emotion. I could hear my heart beating in my ears and my whole body was convulsing from the poison I carelessly absorbed.

“Honestly, you expect me to waste my time on this pathetic creature, how dare you, Captain, I held you to a higher standard than this.” Came some more venom, and my insides churned again. I felt the bile rising and tried to move away from him. I felt strong hooves turn me around and guide me back to my apartment.

“Shut it, Impulse, I’ll deal with you in a minute.” Came a response through Shield’s grit teeth.

“You are actually protecting it!? How low will you fall, Captain?”

This time I managed to raise my head and look at him. I opened my mouth to tell him to fuck off when I felt a weight fall over my head.

“Be quiet, insect, your betters are talking.” Came the immediate response.

I had barely a moment to spot a muzzle over my mouth before a fresh wave of nausea and pain hit me and I threw up all over the floor.

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My head was placed on top of the kitchen table in my apartment. I held a bucket close to my chest, half full of black, tar-like goop. My ear occasionally twitched as the other occupant of the kitchen rummaged for stuff.

I didn’t hear much of the shouting after I threw up. The muzzle that was placed on my face was quickly ripped off and I was swiftly removed from the testing room and into my apartment. I was too dazed to care much about the in-between.

An unknown talon suddenly entered my vision, as well as a tall glass of water it held. I raised my head and regarded the griffon offering it to me.

“Thank you.” I rasped. Using my shaky hooves to pick up the glass and gulped down the refreshing, cool water. There was a sudden gurgling noise, and I threw up again, filling the bucket with some more goop.

“Does this happen often?” Was the question. His voice was surprisingly gentle, with nary any roughness to it.

“Which part?” I lifted my head from the bucket after another heave. I looked at him waiting for the answer when he just waved his claw in my direction. I took the glass off the table and pushed it in his direction before I began explaining.

“Changelings rely on the emotions of others for sustenance. Me not so much anymore, but I still nibble every now and again. And while most emotions are edible, hatred is like poison to me. What’s worse it spoils any other emotions I may have stored inside.” He gave me the refilled glass and I gratefully took it with a quiet thank you. Gulping it down and feeling no compulsion to throw up further I put my head back on the table.

“It won’t kill me immediately,” I continued, “but it hurts like Tartarus, causes painful convulsions and I need to purge it out of my system before it causes actual damage to my body.”

“I see.” It was quiet for a moment, then he continued, “So his hatred effectively felt like feeding you rotten food?”

“In a way. I can block it, but when it’s too much it feels like being thrown into a pool of water. Even if you don’t want to do it, you will swallow some of it down.” I said quietly, staring at the empty wall. I looked to my right at the griffon.

His fur was light brown while his feathers were much darker, almost chocolate in colour, as were his wings. His eyes and beak were golden-yellow and the plumage on his head gave him a wind-swept look. He just sat there, looking at the ground deep in thought. The only indication of his emotions was his tail, which was angrily swishing and twitching left to right.

“I never got your name.” I suddenly asked, having enough of silence.

He twitched, raising his head to look at me. He regarded me for a moment, moving his head like a bird before shrugging. “Name’s Gabriel. I was supposed to go over your flight tests and instructions.”

“They got a griffon to cover that? No offense, but I kind of expected a pegasus.” I questioned. Another gurgle told me that more was to be thrown out, but it was barely enough to be called spit. My stomach settled after that though.

Gabriel shrugged again before answering, “No offense taken. I’m kind of surprised myself; with how hush-hush this whole situation is I expected them to pick somegrif higher on the food chain.” He scratched his chin before continuing, “But I was told that an instructor with more experience with non-ponies would be better. And since I was told that I am one of the best non-pony flight instructors, here I am.”

I nodded silently and we lapsed into more silence.

I don’t know what Gabriel was thinking, or why he was here. I was more focused on today's events.

I have never felt so much raw hatred and disgust radiate out of a pony of all people. My empathic abilities were one of the first things we tested and examined, and during those times I was subjected to many different emotions. But nothing like this. Tartarus, most of the ponies I practiced with had difficulties even focusing on anger, to begin with, let alone hatred. I had to ask Celestia for help with some more negative emotions since most ponies seemed to be outright incapable of producing them.

“So why would someone hate another like that,” I whispered sadly. “Even to such a degree.” I sniffed, turning my head to the bucket under me. Its content being unnervingly still.

“That’s just the way some ponies are.” Gabriel suddenly said with a despondent sigh.

“Huh?” I raised my head surprised. ‘How did he even hear me?’

“That’s just the way some of them are.” He said with more conviction, anger tinting some of his emotions. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, most of their kind are the nicest, kindest, and friendliest creatures on the planet,” he put his head in his left talon, “but some of them are still clinging to old pony superiority idea.” He regarded me from the side. “Oh they won't hurt you physically, they think themselves above that, but degrading you? Muzzling you, as he did? Making your life as miserable as possible? They will gladly do that, and more just to prove that they are better. And while you will rarely find these kinds of ponies outside of Canterlot, they fester here like an old wound that Princess Celestia has issues stamping out.” He was silent for a few more seconds before shrugging, “Thankfully most of that old pile of feather bags are gone now. You just met one of the unfortunate few that are leftover.” He was looking at me intently now and I couldn’t hold his gaze for long.

Before we drowned in our own thoughts the front door of the apartment opened up with significant force, banging the wall next to it. Shield Strike came in looking pissed, her features rigid and her eyes were blazing with magic in a way I never saw before in a pony. When she spotted me her face relaxed, and her eyes stopped glowing.

She regarded the griffon for a moment before she approached me, “Go home for today Gabriel, we will do the rest of the stuff tomorrow morning, okay?”

Gabriel shrugged his wings and got up to leave, “Sure thing, ma’am. I’ll see you tomorrow then Patchwork.” He offered me his right talon and I shook hands with him. “Sorry you had to go through this today, hopefully, tomorrow will get better.” He closed the door behind him, and I was left with Shield Strike. She still looked like she would much rather turn someone to mulch.

Strike suddenly took a deep breath and sat down hard next to me, putting her head in her hooves. She looked years older. From what I have found out she was in her forties, still a bit young for an earth pony but easily at her prime. Now however she looked like she put on at least thirty more years. The shadows of the hanging light dancing on her features making her battle-worn scars stand out even more.

I raised my claw and placed it on her shoulder, making her raise her head to look at me.

“You okay, Captain?” I asked softly.

She looked at me incredulously for a moment before snorting loudly. She stood up, grabbed herself a glass of water, and downed it in an instant. She kept looking at the wall in front of her.

I pulled the bucked full of sludge away from me and put it to the side, waiting for her to speak. She obviously had a lot on her mind, I could be patient.

“That was my cousin you just met today. Impulse Strike. Knew him since I was a filly. Sweetest colt I knew, never a bad word out of his muzzle.” She took a deep, shaky breath before continuing. “He just told me that I put too much care into insignificant pet projects and that I should consider my behavior if I intend to spend my time around things like you.”

My ears pinned themselves to my head at that. Apparently, I was a thing now. Funny how one being can make you feel so low.

She suddenly laughed and turned to face me, “Anyway I made my choice and broke his nose. He’s lucky he can teleport else I would have broken his legs as well. Bucking clod-horn.”

She approached me and pulled me into a surprisingly gentle hug. She held me for a moment before pulling back. I tried to look away, but her hoof sprang up and gently turned my head to face her.

“You are not a thing or it, Patchwork. Ya hear?” She started off softly, but with conviction, “There are plenty of buckers like him out there that would gladly trot all over you just to prove their point. Don’t let them. Most of them are worth less as ponies than the dirt they walk on. We were hoping you won't get to see something like this until much, much later, but unfortunately, today happened.” Her eyes landed on the half-full bucket next to me before looking at me again. “How are you holding up?”

I was halfway to nodding my head when I decided to be honest. Shaking my head, I noted that my body was still cramping painfully, but it was manageable now compared to thirty minutes ago.

“I can imagine.” She shook her head ruefully. Suddenly she leaned forwards and gave me a peck under my horn, my eyes bugging out in surprise before she raised her hoof and started messing up my mane.

I chuckled and was about to tell her off only to notice that she was halfway out of the kitchen.

“I’ll send somepony over to keep you company till you get better.” She told me over her shoulder. “You are cleared for today, so rest up and get this crap out of your system ok bug-colt?” She was about to leave when her head sprang up like she had a sudden idea, “I’ll get Sunshine to visit you so you can talk it out, she is better at this than I am, I promise. And don’t worry about anything, ya hear? NONE of today was your fault.” With that, the door closed.

I was left alone with my thoughts, but not for long. The door opened and a very tired-looking White Light came in.

“Heard you had a banger of a day, son. Care to talk about it?”

CH 10 (making a decision)

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Patchwork

Four days, plenty of ponies, and plenty of love until I finally got the achy feeling out of my gut. Celestia visiting yesterday was the icing on the cake.

I had a good cry in front of her, covered with her wings and held in her forehooves. Somehow, it felt easy to talk to her about it, like we had a connection. But I dared not broach it. I did tell her I want to be a guard. She warned me that there will be ponies like Impulse that would go against me. Too bad for them, I’m more stubborn than they are.

Flight practice was, fine. Gabriel is a good grif, and we had our share of talks in between the tests. His being a griffon made it easy to talk to him. Ponies are a chatty bunch, but you can easily notice a difference when talking to a predator. He didn’t immediately blanch at my dark humor.

Right now, I was sitting in front of a new full-body mirror in my bedroom. I held that blasted muzzle in my claws and studied myself intently for the first time since I landed in Equestria.

The first thing anyone would notice is that I am black… or close to it. More of a very dark blue, being able to see the blue of my shell when the light hits it just right. My midsection, eyes, and mane were turquoise blue, except a white stripe in both my mane and tail. I closed my third eyelid, noticing how dimmer everything is, and covered in a blue tint. Opening my eyelid, I studied my pony-like eyes. I wondered if other changelings had it the same as me.

I had two antennae sticking from my head facing forward, with my stubby, curved horn in between them. I really liked the grooves of the horn, which looked like a cartoonish lightning bolt.

I lifted my claws and scratched the fluff on my chest, which was the tail-end of my mane. It made me look a bit like a bee if I was honest, but there wasn’t enough there, so it only gave me a savage look.

I dropped the muzzle to the floor and looked at my claws, studying every groove and bump. Moving them, I could form a quasi-fist and tightening the ‘fingers’ pulled on the muscle of the claws making them look much sharper than they normally are. I put my claws on the carpeted floor and pulled, leaving long, but shallow scratches on the marble.

I stood up and gave myself a bit of show, twirling and posing.

I was still shorter than average. Not by much, but still noticeable. I still barely reached Celestia’s neck. Normally. Lately, I have been eating and gaining in height rapidly, which told me that I would have to go through a molt soon. Hopefully, I’ll get to keep some of the height.

I still kept my lithe frame though. I had more bulk in my lower legs, but that was mostly due to the plating of my chitin. The same plates covered most of my body, leaving only bits of exposed flesh here and there between joints. Those same plates made me look like I wore segmented armor, instead of the usual single, full-body chitin other changelings have. I know what they look like, there was a sketch to go with the old notes.

I stopped posing and grabbed the muzzle I discarded.

Running my claws through its straps I remembered how worried everyone was at my decision to keep it. And I made sure I told them why: it’s a reminder that there are others that this was used on and that the world is more than just this room.

In whole honesty though, I kept the muzzle to motivate me to better myself. To improve my senses, my body, and my abilities so that this doesn’t happen again, not to me or anyone. I told Celestia as such and I got a nod of approval and a promise to help me improve.

My stomach gurgled loudly, and I tossed the muzzle on the nightstand. Eat first, contemplate my future second.

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My wings buzzed loudly as I was chasing after Gabriel.

“That all ya got bug-colt!? C’mon!” I almost tagged him as he dipped under me.

We were playing tag today, as a form of practice. I had several pieces of equipment and horns pointed at me at all times and I was buzzing my wings for all they were worth.

I have yet to figure how to cover myself in fire while flying, but today was mostly for fun, so I didn’t care enough to try it.

I dipped my head and made a quick one-eighty, changing my direction faster than any pegasus could ever do without any aid. Gabriel may have the speed, but he is no-where-near as maneuverable as me.

“C’mon buddy, it’s been almost five minutes, this is just sad.” Came some more friendly taunting, and I buzzed my wings harder, forcing more magic into them. I was panting and sweating up a storm trying to catch him, while Gabriel looked like he wasn’t even trying. Which was infuriating because flying was something that I practiced on the regular, even more than my shapeshifting.

I was chasing him upwards now, and I almost had him for a split-second, but he used the ceiling to bounce out of my way, causing me to nearly face-plant.

“TIME!” Came a loud announcement that caused my chest to reverberate.

I looked down spotting the source of the announcement: Shield’s second in command Armoured Saddle. He was asked to cover for that bastard, Impulse, and help me improve my body further. Everyone noticed that I have been trying to exercise, so they wanted someone to help me, lest I injure myself.

I lazily dropped down from the ceiling and joined Gabriel at the refreshment table, grabbing the biggest bottle of water they had and guzzling it down without pausing for breath.

“By the stars, can you pack it.” Was Gabriel’s stunned response.

“Buzz off.” I flipped him off still panting, a gesture he didn’t understand, “Chasing you is the worst form of ‘fun’ you could ever conceive. How are you that nimble!”

“Years of practice, my friend. I have been flying for decades. You, barely half a year.” He quipped, rolling his wings, and stretching them.

I huffed in response and grabbed some cookies.

It was quiet for the two of us, but the other ponies were in some heated discussions. I kept an eye on them the whole time, tasting their emotions and giving myself some further practice by shutting off and ‘turning on’ my empathic sense.

“I heard you decided to keep that Celestia forsaken muzzle.” Came a gruff voice on my left.

I looked at Gabriel first, noticing that he moved to talk to other ponies, and I was alone at the table (‘I should be paying more attention to my surroundings’).

Turning my head, I saw that Armoured Saddle joined me, munching on an apple. Not a big fan of the fruit, most of them are not sweet enough for my tastes.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Decided I needed a reminder that not everyone is as nice as you guys.” I tossed another cookie in my maw, chewing on it slowly.

“I doubt that’s the only reason, but I will not pry.” He said, sounding more like he’s talking to himself rather than me.

I was going to call him out when Gabriel joined us, looking like something was on his mind. “You game for another tag?” He asked.

Looking over him I noticed that the researchers were resetting their equipment. I turned my head to Saddle, but he just lazily shrugged his shoulders.

“Um, sure,” I confirmed, wiping my claws on my chest fluff, not caring about the crumbs. I was sticky from sweat anyway. “You seemed a bit, lost in thought though.”

“Yea,” He started scratching his chin, “They want you to use your abilities this time. I have never seen shapeshifting before, so I’m kind of worried.”

“Don’t be, it’s completely harmless,” I assured him, flashing quickly between Armoured, myself, and then Gabriel before changing back into me. I took great satisfaction at his stunned expression.

We got back into our original starting points, me at the ground and Gabriel a few meters away in the air.

Armoured got in between us, with a whistle in his mouth. I was focused on Gabriel and didn’t pay much attention other than acknowledging Saddle’s presence. There was silence for a moment, then the shrill whistle sounded off.

I felt and heard my wings buzz loudly at my command and I was off after Gabriel, who looked far more focused this time around. He still wanted to taunt me, obviously, as he let himself nearly get caught twice before moving out of my way.

“Okay Patch, whenever you are ready!” Came the shout from one of the ponies.

I grinned as fire consumed my body, replacing my changeling self with that of a griffon. Gabriel’s eyes bugged out for a split second before he dived away from my near grab.

I flashed again changing into an eagle, diving after him, and slowly getting closer to him.

Just as we got close to the ground I transformed back into my changeling self, giving me higher mobility, which allowed me to immediately bank right and lightly shove Gabriel before he managed to get away from me.

He squawked in surprise and nearly crashed into the onlookers. Turned to me mid-air, flying up to avoid hitting anyone, he had a shocked look on his beak. I did the sensible thing and gloated in my first victory today and transformed into a giraffe, sticking my long tongue out at him.

“Okay, buster, now you’re gonna get it!” He shouted down, before puffing out his chest in anger and dive-bombing me.

“Oh shit!” I swiftly transformed into a housecat and ducked down with him missing me by a hair. I didn’t wait to see what he was doing and, transforming back into a changeling I jumped up and started climbing to the ceiling.

Turning around I had a split second to transform again into a Colibri bird and buzzing out of Gabriel’s way as he quickly banked around and started chasing me for real.

Transforming back into myself I used my higher mobility to keep away from him, but that only lasted for a minute or so before he managed to tag me, gloating all the while.

This game of tag was actually fun, compared to the first one.

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I have gained enough understanding of their language that I didn’t need the translation spell anymore, and I had decent enough control over my new equine-like body that Circlet saw no need to teach me further. In his words, I am at the level necessary for my age (which was eighteen now, ‘celebrating’ my birthday about a month ago, which would be august on earth… ponies call it ‘Celast’, in honor of their Princess).

My understanding and ability with magic is becoming competent for my age as well, while my ability to transform reached new heights, being able to transform into a teenage dragon with ease, if I have eaten enough. In fact, my transformation ability is the one aspect of magic I have never had issues with once I figured it out.

Right now, I was in my bathroom studying my halfway done cocoon through bleary eyes. I woke up mid-way through regurgitating a glob of resin mixed with water and love into its inner folds. Normally I can molt without the cocoon, but this feels better, and it doesn’t make me itch for hours while my chitin hardens.

I had help today as well. Dr. Light said that he would be present to make sure everything is safely set up and covered, and some of his associates would be keeping an eye on me from the beginning to the end. I was also told that some guards would be placed in front of it later as well in order to keep the cocoon from draining its reserves too fast. They will also notify the ponies when it's time for me to emerge, unlike last time.

The last time I emerged from my cocoon it was a mess, with me looking for a safe space, trailing ooze and who-knows-what-else along the floor then cleaning myself for over an hour... With my tongue. It was, traumatic to be honest.

Dr. Light and Princess Celestia wanted to make sure that the process is smoothed out as much as possible, with Celestia stating that she will be present as well to provide a stable source of love and comfort. Considering that she became a welcome presence in my life here, and after everything she has done for me, I could hardly say no to her request. She had to be present, and I would have begged her to be, should she have said no. It never came to that though.

I had something good to look forward to once I left the cocoon.

Shield Strike agreed to train me further once I’m out, getting me ready to be a member of the Royal Equestrian Guard. Armoured Saddle would pitch in from time to time as well, apparently.

My future in Equestria was something I and the Princess have discussed several times now. I wanted to protect ponies, especially now that I had considerable abilities as a changeling in transformation. Not to mention, I seemed to be bulking up easily due to training Saddle put me through over the last month.

One more reason I wanted to be a guard, and Celestia did not know this one, is other changelings.

Chrysalis was sure to find out about me eventually, and I wanted to be able to protect not just myself, but others that she would threaten. Not to mention, that I hoped to eventually ‘fix’ the changeling race. With or without Chrysalis’ consent, it was happening. I wasn’t growing into those rainbow moose-bugs, but I was changing into something that was closer to them in function. I looked less like an insect and more like a solid combination of both ponies and ‘lings… just a tad bulkier from the exercise. And also, I did not have garish colors all over my armor.

I was at least hoping to meet Thorax and Pharynx, but we will see how things go. I did not know the exact point in the timeline when I joined Equestria, but I did know that Twilight wasn’t born yet.

Anyways… It was time.

I sluggishly left my apartment and called White Light over, his pure white fur and gold mane a good indication to my tired eyes. I then went inside, marked the sixth month on my calendar, and then entered the cocoon, covering my eyes with my third eyelid. For a moment I saw Celestia entering the bathroom before I closed my eyes and gave myself to the darkness.

CH 11 (beginnings of a solution)

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Shield Strike

We watched as Patchwork did his advanced magic practice today. Sunshine was sitting next to me, sipping on her leaf water, her wing over my back. I was drafting up some orders with my hoof (‘love that little trick’).

Normally we would be in the office, writing this up, but Sunshine said that she is interested in bug-colt’s progress.

I have to say, since his last ‘molt’ two months ago the bug-colt has been galloping on full tilt. Going through all of my training and tests without a hitch, learning how to change into impressive stuff (‘I saw him change into a teenage dragon a few days ago, looked very cool’), and trying to learn new moves with his changeling magic.

He’s a bit taller now, almost adult size, with a good physique. His muscles could use some more work, but I’ve already put him through the wringer yesterday. No point in burning him out when he’s got so much on his plate already.

I hear a soft clink. I turned my ear to Sunshine and twitched it to let her know I was listening.

“You know, my dear…”

“No, I don’ts.” That got me a gentle tap with her wing.

I could see her shaking her head from the corner of my eye. I stretched my neck and gave her a soft peck on her cheek, receiving a happy hum and a nuzzle as a reward.

“I am reconsidering his request to be accepted into the guard.”

I shook my own head and dropped the quill I was holding. “I don’t see why ya’ can’t just accepting him…”

“Accept, dear.”

“Whatever…” I rolled up the finished report and wrapped it with a golden-yellow strip.

“And I cannot just accept him simply due to both his situation and him being a changeling…”

“Hybrid, and that’s all a load of horse apples. I have everything from Minotaurs to Abyssinians in my guard, one changeling ain’t gonna makes things worse or different in any way.”

“Maybe not for us, my dear, but some of the nobles would certainly raise a fuss over it.” She sighed.

We both raised our heads to look at the hybrid. He was animatedly talking to Armoured Saddle pointing at his mouth with one of his claws. I remember him saying something about an ability he was sure would work, but I wasn’t paying attention at the time.

My eyebrows shot up when I saw him belch out a gout of blue flame that sparked. My second was silent for a moment and then two of them started practically vibrating with excitement.

I shook my head at the two foals.

“He’s guard material, I tells ya.” Looking at my wife, I saw her sipping her tea again with a thoughtful look on her muzzle. “Oh sure, he ain’t as fast, strong or as good with magic, but he’s got a good ‘ead on him. I swears Sunshine, he’ll do fine.”

I can feel her eyes on me as I focus back on the paperwork in front of me.

As I told her, he may not be as fast, as strong, or as magical as a pony, but he has a good average on all three. He’s more durable than a unicorn, he can fly, and he can do magic, so he’s got a huge advantage. As an added bonus, he can change and shift to other forms, and I’ve seen him wrestle during sparring practice two days ago. He shifted and changed so fast the earth pony he was up against was down on the ground before he even knew what happened.

“You seem to be developing quite an interest in his progress,” I heard her say in between sips. “You have been spending so much time here I’m starting to wonder, my dear.”

“Hah! You’re one to speak. Needs I remind you, honey, that youse come here twice a week ta’ talk with ’im.” I stood up, shaking myself from head to tail. Hunching over the papers made me feel stiff every time.

“I have not, nor will ever deny that I have vested interest in him.”

“Tha’s one way of puttings it.”

I lifted my head to see Patchwork blast out two more impressive fireballs, each one creating stronger sparks. I couldn’t hear what Armoured and he were talking about, but I about jumped out of my fur when he suddenly shot a bolt of lightning out of his mouth, hitting the nearby wall, causing an impressive crack to appear. Celestia did a spit take, which I would normally find funny, but I was too busy staring in awe at Patchwork’s new trick.

“Sun above, he’s turning himself into a weapon.” I heard my wife mutter with distaste. She used her magic to clean the spilled tea as well as to dab her fur with a napkin.

“Tha’s tha real problem, ‘innit? Not that ‘es a Changeling, but tha’ them nobles will flip when they sees him. A powerful individual tha’ ain’t a pony, becoming a guard or something more.”

I saw her mutter something under her breath before she turned to me, “It’s not that simple, honey…”

“It’s plenty simple, Celestia.” I saw Patch pant heavily as Saddle offered him water. I turned to my wife and puffed out my chest. “The colt wants ta’ be a guards, he gets ta’ be a guard. I’ve mades it clear ta’ them years ago tha’ it’s MY guard, and MY decision and youse agreed.” She opened her mouth, but I cut her off. “Iffn’ ya don’t wants to see the bug-colt hurt, I gets ya, I’m OK with tha’. But don’t go making me a liar in front of ‘im.”

She looked ready to protest, but Celestia kept her muzzle shut, a deep frown looking at me.

I knew what the real problem was. I knew that she was worried about a host of things when the hybrid leaves this room. He’s endeared himself to her, and she, the mother hen that she is, ate it up.

I have to say, the bug-colt is everything I want in a guard, loyal, protective, kind, and capable. Spending time with him got me to care for him as well. Especially since he keeps acting like a teenager instead of an adult he’s supposed to be… Makes it extremely easy to like him.

There is also the threat of the other of his kind that keeps looming over our heads. There is little doubt in my mind that the moment changelings find out about him that they will try to either ‘free’ him or worse. In either case, none of us wanted that… But Celestia needed to remember that this IS an adult and that this adult is becoming very capable with his abilities.

Celestia gave off a loud ‘hmm’ which shook me from my thoughts. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow, scratching my tattoo with my right hoof.

“Maybe not a changeling then…” She rubbed her chin thoughtfully with her primary feathers.

“They are going to find out eventually,” I stated, dropping my fake accent.

“Yes they are, but it will give us time to organize a few things around, surround him with ponies all of us can trust.”

“Pulling a lot of strings for ‘im, ain’t ya?” I snickered.

“You can consider it payment rendered for all the information provided. He has helped us tremendously; I may as well reward him.”

Yes, he helped indeed. Three ponies were recently found and saved from the changelings, by using this newfound knowledge. It means less food for them, but I try not to think about it too much. My job is to protect the ponies and other creatures that rely on us to keep them safe. The Changelings are… were an enemy. Now though, they are a problem. A problem we can manage better, but the side effects may be… troublesome.

I heard from Sunshine that she may have a solution in the works, but so far I haven’t looked too deep into it. Hopefully, it can help everycreature.

We kept watching as Patchwork continued his practice and development. I had plans for the bug-colt, but for now, they will stay as plans only.

—----------------------------------

Celestia

I have been going over the recent reports my spymaster brought me regarding the search for changelings in Equestria.

We have had success after success at locating them and returning the ponies they have captured. In return, we left them a couple of bottles of pure love I got from Patchwork. He doesn’t know why I asked him to keep making them, but then again, he did not ask why either. I think he may have an idea, though.

Chrysalis has not been making any moves to change this as of yet, which is worrying. She should be getting an idea that not everything is going according to her plans, whichever those are. Which makes her lack of movement all the more concerning.

But I may be jumping to conclusions too soon. The Badlands aren’t nearly as close as one would think, and our successes have been fairly recent.

I wrote down a note for my spymaster to keep an eye on the changelings leaving Equestria, and I will hope for the best, whilst preparing for the worst. If Chrysalis finds out about Patchwork, it will put him in great jeopardy. And I can’t have that. He does not deserve the trouble this situation could bring upon his head.

Putting the changeling reports to the side I picked up a stack of reports regarding the recent noble activities pertaining to our secret little operation.

So far, other than Shields’ cousin Impulse no other nobles caught a whiff of my project, and Impulse wisely decided to keep his muzzle shut. My Shield probably had something to do with it, but I will not question good providence.

There have been a few curious prods into it by some overly nosy small noble houses, but my contingencies have held thus far. I will have to ask my wife to go through her ‘darker’ connections, as I have no wish to use them myself… yet.

Three sharp knocks on my office door snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Come in,” I raised my voice slightly, cleaning up my desk to some level of decency.

My spymaster entered with a toothy grin. “We found one that would fit all your needs, your Highness.”

Shaded Wing is an old thestral war pony, now just a year away from his retirement as the captain of Night Guard. His indigo-colored fur and his pitch-black mane and tail were stripped with greys. His golden-slitted eyes were still bright and filled with life, carrying over a century’s worth of experience in them. It would be painful to see him leave my service, but his successor, Shadow Step, is proving to be quite the mare herself.

“That was impressively fast, my friend. Who did you find?” I asked, crossing my forehooves in front of me. Thankfully, my desk was just the right height for it not to be uncomfortable.

“Just a member of a small noble house. He recently applied at a recruiter to join the Guard.” Shaded reported, approaching the desk with a skip in his step. “He is everything you need: a stellar family record, curious, kind, and studious. The Night family has regularly stood for protecting non-ponies and were your staunch supporters over the years.” He stated, dropping the rolled parchment with the pony’s information in front of me.

I unrolled it, reading the name written down: Night Light.

—----------------------------------

I was looking through the scrying orb at Patchwork. I had a brief break from my usual duties and wanted to check up on him during a small break. I was chewing on a simple, but delectable meal, giggling at his antics all the while.

Patchwork, a now nearly fully adult stallion, a fairly capable changeling shapeshifter, is currently playing with a ball. It must have been enchanted as it hasn’t been punctured by his horn the few times he hit the ball with it.

He was kicking, shuffling, pushing, throwing, and even pouncing and playfully biting on it. It was such an adorable spectacle that I caught myself ‘aww-ing’ at it a few times. I even requested a small extension to my break so that I can marvel at his foalishness.

“Hun, have ya’ seen ma’ pills anywhere?” I head coughing behind me.

Looking over my shoulder I spotted my wife exiting the bathroom of my private bedroom, coughing a blue sparkly mist all the while. A frown touched my face as I quickly magicked her pills in front of her, causing her to stumble into them.

“Ah, thanks.” Was a quick reply before she went back into the bathroom.

I shook my head morosely, dispelling the scrying orb and getting up from my comfortable pillow, ignoring the few leftover morsels of my brunch.

I knocked on the bathroom door and entered without waiting for a reply. My beautiful wife was hunched over in the shower, breathing heavily as the water cascaded down her powerful form. I shamelessly admired her beauty before I entered the shower, regalia, and all. I nuzzled then kissed the top of her head sighing worriedly.

“Honey…”

“Oi, none of that, you hear!” Was her immediate reaction. She raised her head up along with mine and gave me a kiss on my lower jaw. “I got at least a decade left in me. Plenty of time to get sick of me.” She laughed.

“I can never get sick of you, my dearest.” I sighed again, hugging her tightly with both my hooves and wings. She squirmed in protest but stopped after I used my magic to remove my regalia. “But if you remove that tattoo of yours I will be inclined to keep you a tad longer.”

“HA! Not happening.” She laughed, coughing stopping her halfway.

I held her tightly until her cough’s stopped, the mist slowly dissipating until nothing came out. She then relaxed, and I began the slow, but enjoyable process of washing her.

“Ya keep spoiling me like this Sunshine and I’ll never leave your room, ya hear me.” She lazily threatened.

“You protest and threaten me with such wonderful promises, darling, but you never go through with them. It is quite unladylike to tempt me like this, you know?” I kissed one of her hooves after I washed it.

“So long as it tempts ya…”

A sharp knocking on the door interrupted our moment, “Your highness, I am really sorry, but Lord Beak is getting rather unamused.” Came the meek voice of my assistant, Parchment.

I sighed before looking at my wife, who surprised me with a nice kiss on the lips.

“Go, my Sunshine. The worst of it done with, I can handle it from here,” Was her assurance.

“Okay then.” I kissed her one more time before I removed myself from the water. With a quick burst of magic, I dried myself and donned my regalia again before looking at Shield over my shoulder. “Just remember to wait a few minutes before going outside. Remember what happened last time you coughed near one of my plants.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She waved me off with a hoof a twitch of her tail.

—----------------------------------

Armoured Saddle

I entered Patchwork’s small apartment, dropping the saddlebags I carried on the coffee table for easy reach.

“Give me one moment, sir, I’ll be right there.” I heard from the toilet before the sound of heaving reached my ears.

“Take your time.” I sat down on the sofa and started removing the books from the saddlebag.

Patchwork came out of the toilet, carrying four bottles filled to the brim with a pink glowing liquid. He put them on the coffee table, near the bags, and promptly sat down on the couch.

“So, what is all this about, sir? And what’s with the books?”

I pulled the, now empty, saddlebags towards me and put the glowing bottles of love into them. Turning to him, I pushed the five books in his direction on the table.

“These five books will be your study material for the next couple of months.” He looked at them with concern and I shared his pain. The books were fairly large, and it took me months of study just to barely pass the exam. “I know how you feel, but if you wish to pass the written exam for the Guard, you will have to go through them.”

“Written exam?” He asked, using his magic to put the books on the bookshelf.

“Yes,” I nodded, “the entry to the Guard goes through three exams: first the written one, then the physical, and lastly a sparring match.” I shifted a bit on the sofa making myself comfortable. “The exams are more of a test to see where the individual needs improvement during the course, but you are expected to pass at least the first two.”

“That is a rather strange way to test ponies, sir.” He pursed his lips.

“It may seem that way to you, yes, but we prefer to separate the good from the bad during the course, rather than before it.” He raised a shaky eyebrow looking very suspiciously at me. “I understand how you may feel about it. But some ponies do not perform as well during such stressful exams but improve and even excel over the course of the training program.”

“Okay… But wouldn’t that prove that said ponies cannot work in a stressful situation in the first place?”

I laughed at his worrying expression. “You needn’t worry, Patch,” I shook my head, “There is a minimum requirement for the exams in the first place, and secondly you will be put through plenty of ‘stressful’ situations during the training phase.”

That seemed to mollify him as he relaxed a bit, but still carrying an air of suspicion about him. We never asked about the military of his world. We should rectify that before the course starts.

“In either case, Patch, you have months before this whole thing begins and the recruiting is done year-round. You just focus on the books for now and training as they come.”

“Sounds to me like I’ll have quite a bit of pull entering the Guard training. I'm not sure how I feel about it.” He rubbed his forelegs anxiously. I understood his feelings, I felt the same first time my father practically rigged the tests in my favor. It took years before I felt worthy of the armor I wore, but that’s in the past.

“You may feel that way, Patch. But keep in mind that you are a complete unknown in the Equestria and its legality. Even if the other changelings found you, you would not be recognized.” He shifted uncomfortably but didn’t contradict me. “Right now, Princess Celestia is working not only on creating you a good cover-up but also a birth certificate, creating a cover story for your past, etc, etc. Trust me, you will need all the help you can get when entering the Guard.” He nodded his head dejectedly and I got up from the sofa.

I put the saddlebags with the bottles on my withers and walked closer to him, putting my hoof on his shoulder.

“Hey, don’t let this get you down. You will be tested plenty when you DO enter. For now, just focus on the stuff that comes along, the rest will come after.” I saw him give a sheepish smile and I nodded my head with a smile of my own. After that, I took my leave after a bit of small talk.

CH 12 (first year, done)

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Patchwork

I woke up with a start, my eyes still stinging from last night. I rubbed at them gently with my claws before a powerful yawn interrupted me.

Yesterday was one year of my stay in Equestria as a changeling hybrid. And while I had a blast, enjoying myself immensely with learning about magic and shapeshifting, my life on Earth would always creep up on me, to remind me of what I lost.

Now, I’m a very adaptable person, able to take any event in stride, but it’s… it’s too much now. I couldn’t ignore this anymore.

I miss my people. I miss my parents, even my mother (‘though she often barely tried to be one’), I miss my family, my friends. I miss my pc and the stupidly small studio I lived in. I missed playing games till the dead of night with Jessie and Mark and the laughs that came from it. I missed it all. So, I gave myself time off yesterday. I think everyone knew what was up because they just gave me some nicely decorated cake (supposedly, Celestia helped make it) and they left me alone. No tests, exercises, studies, or anything. Just me, my miserable memories, and tears.

I got up, gave myself a quick wash, brushed myself down to a more presentable state, and made plans for today.

It was the day that Celestia and I got our usual meetups. We would chat about anything that came to our minds, and she would sometimes quiz me on what I’ve learned, as well as make sure that I’m comfortable.

Today though, I intend to breach about my arrival. There were a few things I’d like to know, and I doubt she would keep them from me.

—----------------------------------

I choked on my drink trying to process her last sentence. I immediately started coughing and hacking my lungs out.

Celestia watched me with a small smirk, using her magic to gently pat my back. She was careful not to touch my hidden wing plates. They weren’t fragile by all means, but they were sensitive to touch.

“Punishment,” I croaked out between coughs, “that was a punishment?” I took a large lungful of air and then exhaled it softly, trying not to trigger another coughing fit.

“Yes it was,” she said smugly, slathering some jam onto her, now fourth, toast slice. “And it was rather brilliant at that.”

After all,” she continued taking a dainty bite, “what better way to punish such reckless behavior but to make her stay with the very being whose life she inadvertently ruined, hm?”

I shook my head at her taking slower sips of my cinnamon, apple, and honey juice.

We were in the kitchen of my apartment (may as well be a house with its size), enjoying breakfast and talking about my arrival. While I got most of the information about my arrival from Captain Strike, there were some things about the whole ordeal that I was curious about. One of them being Spark Hoof and her presence in the cell.

“So, what, it was supposed to be a test for me, and a punishment for her? Doesn’t sound like much considering what she did to me.” I took a bite out of my own chocolate-covered toast, smearing the creamy chocolate all over my muzzle. Before I could even blink, there was a napkin dabbing at my mouth, surrounded by a golden glow. Honestly, this mare.

“A test for you, absolutely. But that wasn’t her only punishment.” There was another tinkle of her magic and a freshly toasted slice of bread found itself on my plate, covered in a red jam. Seriously, she is like a mother sometimes. “Suffice to say, Patch, she was punished severely, and the mirror she used is locked up out of any pony’s reach.”

I was mollified with that, knowing that Spark Hoof at least got her punishment for it. I could have asked what the actual punishment was, but I didn’t wish to indulge my inner demon. Celestia did so much to make me comfortable and safe, I had no right to question her and her methods so harshly. Justice was served and that was that.

We ate in silence, enjoying each other’s company before I remembered something.

“What about the changeling that was there? How did he get there in the first place, and where is he now?”

Celestia took a sip of coffee, regarding me with a neutral expression before putting the cup down.

“We don’t know how it got there, or what its plan was,” she took another sip of coffee and used her magic to summon a plate full of assorted pastries. She picked a star-shaped pastry and took a bite with a satisfied hum. “The only thing we know is that it ran away in the commotion and that we lost it in the Everfree forest. It...” I cleared my throat loudly at that, “’they’ are probably lost in the forest or worse, or they have probably already given their report to Chrysalis. Either case, they are out of our mane, and their Queen has made no moves that we know of. And believe me, my dear, I would know if she did.”

After that statement we fell into silence, only interrupted by chewing and ‘humms’ of delight, especially after I tried one of the pastries. Whoever made these is not getting enough bits.

Suddenly there was a quiet gasp, and a small, pink glowing pill was in front of my eyes.

“I was enjoying your company so much I nearly forgot.” Celestia had at some point leaned forward with her head in her hooves. “Spell Scroll and White Light may have stumbled upon something, and I would like to see if it works.”

I eyed the pill with some trepidation; but only because I sensed a fair bit of love concentrated in front of me.

Now, ever since my first cocooning I had little need for love, and I was able to easily sustain myself with normal food while nibbling on residual emotions of others from time to time. But as I grew and developed I had even less need for emotions.

Nowadays I only needed to be next to a pony and that would be enough to ‘feed’ me without any issues, and if I were near a group my wings would start to sparkle out of sheer overabundance. Even my active feeding has become so gentle that most ponies don’t even notice when I’m trying to feed, especially when they radiate some powerful love emotions (the antennae on my head help me detect it better).

All that being said, the pill in front of me radiated a massive amount of concentrated love. How they managed to make a pill of it, had no idea, but it smelled wonderful, and I actually started buzzing my wings out of sheer excitement.

However, instead of chomping down on it, I turned towards Celestia.

“What is this? I mean, I know what it is, but how did you make it?” I asked, plucking the pill out of her magic with my claw.

“Neither Dr. Light nor my Archmage told me HOW they made it, only that they believe it will help when it comes to feeding changelings. And I truly hope it works.” She languidly laid down on her hooves, pushing the pillow she was sitting on to the side. Her tail was also gently swishing from side to side.

I watched her relax, before what she said finally reached my brain.

“Feed changelings? As in, other than me?”

“Yes…” She stretched it out like it was a question rather than a confirmation, I was even more confused.

“Did you find some other changelings that wish to join Equestria?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. I still held the pill in my claws, and it was starting to tempt me.

“No, we did not.”

I looked at her with a deadpan stare and she only smiled a large, toothy smile. She twitched her wing at me in a shooing motion while I started to develop a twitch in my eye.

Eventually, I shrugged and popped the pill in my maw, swallowing it dry. By this point, I was drooling enough that I needed no water, and I did not know whether I was disgusted with myself, or proud of my self-control.

The moment the pill hit my tongue I was assaulted with sweet strawberry flavor and watermelon, and I about cried for joy as delightful warmth started spreading along my body reaching my changeling core.

Suddenly I felt invigorated, so much so that for a moment I thought I could lift the very mountain of Canterhorn. It lasted for about a second and after that, my body decided that I would never be hungry again.

For a brief moment I thought I was poisoned, it felt too good, but… Celestia gave this to me. This mare has gone so much out of her way to help me, to make me feel safe that I worried I would never be able to repay her. Hell, after my second cocooning she laid next to me and cleaned my carapace for over an hour, making sure I was safe and content. I have nothing but the highest respect towards her.

“Well, it seems to have worked.” She shook me out of the molasses that became my mind. I looked at her, drowsy-eyed, trying to speak but she just giggled at my attempts and magicked our left-over breakfast away. “Light and Scroll will be happy to hear that. It’s not easy to make these pills, but they will help changelings should they ever wish to join us in peace.”

I shook my head violently, dislodging the rest of the torpor from my mind once my body started processing the love pill.

I remember her laugh, giving me a peck on the base of my horn and then leaving, saying that she had work that she needed to start on.

Me on the other claw, I sat there for another hour planning on how I could save the rest of the changeling race from Chrysalis.

—----------------------------------

With the night of tears a few days ago still on my mind, I decided to forgo sleeping for a week. Not that I needed much sleep in the first place.

What I was doing right now, after a horrendous day of trying to break my bones and muscles courtesy of Shield Strike, is meditating, and trying to discover more of my body.

Months ago, while I was trying to discover how to shapeshift I found out that there is much more to changeling core than I imagined. The core was connected to my body in various strands and strings, all of them malleable and interactable with my changeling magic… to a degree.

I plucked on a few with my magic, feeling my carapace and my horn tingle for a second.

Opening my eyes, I noted down which ones did which on parchment, making sure that it was in English, rather than Equish. Closing my eyes again, I refocused on the strings.

…

It took six hours, but I got about three-quarters of them down.

Opening and blinking my watery eyes I lifted the parchment in my magic and started checking and crossing out the pathways I either wasn’t interested in or pathways that were too dangerous to tamper with for now.

Needless to say, what I was doing was stupid and dangerous beyond measure, but if I succeeded I would be able to permanently modify my body. Of course, I had to keep this a secret; White Light would burn my head off if he found out.

I walked over to my bookshelf and took the pony anatomy book, looking over a few things before I doomed myself.

‘Honestly wish I could save my game at this time.’ Were my thoughts as I went through the book.

Putting the book back on the shelf I returned to the bedroom, making sure that my door was locked beforehand. It wouldn’t be the first time that one of the ponies came barging in because they had an idea that HAD to be tested. Fuckers are lucky I like them, otherwise, they would be out on their plots so fast their heads would spin.

Anyway.

All said and done, I sat down in the far corner, in total darkness, my eyes closed and my breathing steady. I focused on the strings I was most interested in: improving my oxygenation and blood flow, which would, in theory, help with my physical training.

I took a deep breath, letting out in a snort, and lightly pressed on the cluster of strings I noted down. At first, I felt a shiver down my spine, and I felt slightly short of breath. Suddenly I was very worried about how I got my oxygen into the apartment. I did not know how these ponies did it, but right now it felt like a life and death decision.

I shook my head from these thoughts and focused on keeping a light, but consistent pressure on the strings. I could practically feel my body vibrate with more air, making my breathing longer and deeper.

I just wish I were a bit brighter as I completely failed to notice the darkness closing in my consciousness.

‘Note to self, don’t panic next time.’

—----------------------------------

My head pounded, my breathing was shallow and a very, very angry-looking White Light was looking down on me.

“Shit…” came my coarse voice.

“That’s one way of putting it, colt.” Was a very terse reply from him.

We were looking at each other for a few moments, some rustling of paper and an argument reached my ears. Looking to the side, I spotted my scratched-up parchment with notes and two ponies arguing over it.

“You know…” I tried getting up, only to be pushed back down to the floor.

“Lie still you twit,” Growled an irate doctor, “Do you have any conceivable idea what you nearly did to yourself?”

“I… had?” came my questioning response. Only now did I feel a tube going up my nose, feeding me oxygen.

“Had? HAD?! You nearly killed yourself.” White Light practically shouted at me; the others have gotten awfully quiet. “I have no idea how you survived your suffocation attempt, but by some miracle, Needle Point found you before you asphyxiated.” He ground out, pointing at a pale violet earth pony stallion, holding my notes in his hooves.

“I… miscalculated.” Was my sheepish response. By the murderous look in his eyes, and his head going red I figured I made a mistake.

White Light looked about ready to finish what I have started and rearrange my head when he suddenly snorted loudly. “You two, get out,” He pointed at the stallion and, what I now noticed was a mare. “And leave the note here.”

They nodded their heads hurriedly and ran out.

“As for you…” He turned to me, and I wished to be anywhere but here, “You are going to explain to me EXACTLY what you did, why you did it, and what you wrote down. Are we clear?”

I slowly nodded my head, my eyes not leaving his.

“Good.” He levitated the parchment and moved it to hover in front of me. “Start.

White Light

After the colt explained his reasoning and his idea I just about had a fit. My head was pounding, and I had to take some extra pills to keep my blood pressure from going too high.

Needless to say, his idea is utterly moronic, but there is a hint of truth in there. He can already shapeshift, and he’s in part a golem, who is to say that he cannot modify himself with magic. Ponies have done so before, with surprising results in some cases, so why not him.

After I explained to him just how irresponsible it was to do so on his own, I put him on the bed, with the tube still in his nose, and left to write up a report to Celestia.

“I’m sorry.” Came a meek apology from the bedroom. I was in the living room writing on the coffee table.

I sighed heavily before I put the quill down and walked back to the bedroom.

I found him with his head in his claws. I heard quiet sniffling coming from him and I shook my head.

“You ought to be. Look, son…” I started, checking the oxygen tank, making sure it was working correctly, “What you did is stupid, but it doesn’t mean that the idea is bad.”

“I wanted to do something on my own. You know, prove to everyone that I am finally capable after everything you taught me.” He dragged his claws down his muzzle, nearly disconnecting the tube.

“And that’s all fine and dandy, but did you honestly think that doing this alone was a good idea?” I asked, trying to keep myself as calm and collected as possible. I was still furious at him for nearly throwing his life away, but I didn’t have to berate him more than necessary. “My dear colt, ponies are a social species, and I can tell you right now that there are plenty of graves out there filled with ponies that tried something alone and paid the ultimate price.” I put my hoof on his withers, making him look at me from the corner of his eyes. “I think far too highly of you to just accept this. You are smarter than this. I know you like your secrecy but something like this is…”

“Yeah, I know.” He interrupted me dejectedly. I think the message finally settled in.

“Why do you even want to keep this a secret in the first place?” I asked, now curious about his reasoning.

He was quiet for a few moments before speaking.

“I guess I just wanted something for myself.” He started sounding depressed. “My life has been closely monitored for the last year to such a degree that I’m pretty sure you even watch me shower.” We didn’t, but I kept quiet for now. “You ponies may not chase knowledge or power, but I’m not a pony. I need some level of privacy to myself, I need to grow, I need to see how far I can push this, and most of you aren’t exactly comfortable with everything here.” He finished, and I sat down chewing through his words.

“You’re right,“ I started off, “We aren’t exactly comfortable with the level of independence you show us, or with how you approach the world around you. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try. We tend to forget some things and settle down into a routine, and that is something you showed isn’t for you.”

“I don’t mind the routine, doc, but I need something for myself.” He shot back; I could honestly understand that.

“I’ll talk to the ponies in charge, see if something can be done. We are… were done with most of the things here and I was considering packing it up and calling it done. But I can’t do that now,” I approached the head of the bed, looking him in the eyes, “I am afraid you would hurt yourself or worse with this new idea of yours, and for that, and no other reason will I extend our stay… That is until you are comfortable with your knowledge.”

He raised his head with a surprised look on his muzzle. I laughed at his expression.

“Don’t get me wrong, colt. I have made myself clear about what I think about doing this solo, but I did not say that your idea is stupid. There may be something there and we will explore it, but we will do it together.” I nodded my head, before igniting my horn and incinerating the report I started to write.

“Tell you what, we do this, and I will only write in the report what you are comfortable with.” His mouth dropped in astonishment. “Consider it my way of thanking and apologizing to you for the way we treated you for the last year. How’s that?”

He was quiet for a few seconds, his deep breathing the only noise. Suddenly he lifted his claws and balled them into a fist, which I eagerly hoof bumped.

“Apology accepted, doc.”

CH 13 (closer to freedom)

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Patchwork

Thicker chitin, stronger lungs and oxygenation, slightly improved reaction time and reflexes, stronger mana core, and improved shapeshifting.

All the upgrades we were able to do in the span of two, hellish, horrible months. If it weren’t self-inflicted I would have thought that these ponies were torturing me. But no, I wanted this, wanted it so hard and White Light made absolutely sure that I was not only able to do it but that was also equipped to do it again should I need to.

Thorough knowledge of various anatomy books as well as a medical book or two certainly helped matters. And of course, it was only reported within my purview. Not that I believed it fully, but it was the thought that counted.

I was now sitting in the living room, going over my shapeshifting flame and trying to upgrade it.

Normally the transformation starts from the bottom up, but that way is way too slow in my book and slightly impractical. I needed to shift in a flash or as close to that as I can get. In whole honesty, there is a reason why it takes a second or so to transform, normally, but I was a human; making something more efficient is part and parcel of our species.

Incidentally, I also figured out how to cover myself in flames when I'm flying to improve my speed… and I also made a mess of the living room when I smashed my head on the ceiling.

Note to self, learn to fly in tight spaces.

Plucking and stringing my inner strings I made notes on which is which, again in English, rather than Equish. I still did not feel safe with others knowing stuff like this in detail.

In either case, I noticed that a fairly large cluster is responsible for the ignition of the transformations. It would take me a bit longer than an hour to do this, but I did not have the time today.

Shield Strike wanted me to go through a few mock tests to gauge my current level of knowledge and readiness for the actual test. They will hold it here, keeping the secrecy for as long as possible. I wasn’t looking forward to the written part, even with my memory, but I was really looking forward to the physical.

—----------------------------------

“What exactly am I looking at?” I held what looked like a brick in my claws. And while I had a faint idea of what this is, it still confounded me that ponies managed to make it.

“What does it look like, changeling? It’s a long-range communication device… We still don’t have a name for it, but we will figure something out.” Was Little Zap’s response as she was digging through her saddlebags.

“I guessed that much,” I mumbled turning the device around in my claws.

For all intents and purposes, the device looked like a bright pink brick, reminding me of the old-fashioned radio devices I used when I was a kid. It was made from a material I did not recognize but it felt like plastic and was light enough not to be immediately felt.

On the front was a blue crystal-like screen, with six buttons underneath it (one green, one red, and four directional buttons), and an antenna protruding from the top.

I raised my head to ask Zap why she brought this to me, when I spotted her on the other side of the room, with a similar-looking device in her hooves.

Suddenly an awfully familiar ringtone came from the device. It wasn’t overly loud, but it was still loud enough that my ears pinned themselves against my head.

Lifting the device, I noticed some text in Equish on the ‘screen’ saying ‘incoming call’. I let the device ring for a few seconds, mulling over the implications of what they created before I pressed the green button.

I expected a voice to come out, but I did not expect Little Zap’s muzzle to show up on the screen. They jumped straight from a telephone to a video call.

“Well,” came her smug voice from the device, “What do you think?”

I had half a mind to chuck the damn thing at her head, but instead, I had to settle for being a jerk.

“Considering you practically stole the idea; I’d say you did great,” I stated with a shit-eating grin. The sour look on her muzzle was the trumpet of victory far as I was concerned. “But in all honesty, Zap,” she put on a more neutral look now, “considering how complex the little thing is to make, you did great.” Now she wore a proud smile, showing off a row of pearly whites.

“Thank you.” She giggled, “You have no idea how hard it was to jump from radio waves to this.”

That kind of made me pause for a moment.

‘Radios? They have radios!?’, was my upset thought. “Hold on,” I gripped the phone copy tightly, “Why didn’t anyone tell me you guys have radios? I could have listened to some music by now!” I always enjoyed music, and I, perhaps rightfully, assumed that they had nothing close to even a gramophone. Let’s be honest, the show makes the portrayal of equestrian technology go all over the place.

“Why wouldn’t we?” She asked, still looking through the communicator. “Just because we are technologically stunted unlike you humans, does not mean we are some backwater race of hillbillies. Even if some earth ponies act like it.” She muttered that last part, but this device has an amazing microphone as it was able to pick up her quiet ramble.

I turned off the device and flew over to her. Landing and giving her back the device, I scratched behind my head thinking something over.

“So, when do you guys plan on making this widespread? Cause you guys just jumped several decades of technological advancements. You don’t even have satellites.”

Little Zap put the devices In a pair of saddlebags she was carrying before turning back to me with a thoughtful look on her face.

“I’m not sure.” She started, scratching her chin with a hoof. “To be fair, right now we can only connect two devices like this directly.” She sat down, biting her bottom lip worryingly. “As we stand, right now I have three pairs of these devices: one for the Princess and her Captain, one is back in the lab, and the other is here, as a thank you demonstration.”

“Aw, thank you.” Was my quick intermission.

“And while we don’t have satellites, I do have an idea on how we might be able to expand this. But right now, I’m thinking…” She lifted her hooves up, clacking and counting on the segmented parts of her hoof, “Another year, maybe two, before we can even consider mass production. Magiplast is easy to come by, so that’s not stopping us.”

“Magiplast?” was my question, but I had an idea of what she was talking about.

“The material the communicator is made out of. A by-product of unicorns working on gems. It’s very easy to make, and in decent quantities.” She said, matter-of-factly.

“Huh.” Was my only reply. The fact that ponies were able to make something like this, and fairly easily, made me wonder why they haven’t done so before. They really dug themselves into a rut when it comes to technological stagnation it seems, but with magic involved it could be that I just couldn’t understand it correctly yet. After all, my current level of magical understanding is rather limited at the moment.

“Anyway, I just came to demonstrate and, honestly, brag a little.” Zap got up and started walking away. Before she left however she turned around, “Thank you for your help, Patch. You have no idea what you did for ponykind. I talked to the Princess and the moment things go into production, you will get a portion of the sales and stocks. Consider it my thank you for helping me feel like my cutie mark means more than just fixing meager electronics.” The somber tone in her voice surprised me, as she rarely talked to me like an equal. I was even more surprised, as I thought that she was a technology expert. But then again in a place where radios are, to my current knowledge, the pinnacle of technology, it makes sense.

“Hold on a second, what was that last part?!” I suddenly shouted. Little Zap however already left, and I was only just realizing my predicament.

“I’m gonna be rich…” I whispered. “How the fuck did that happen?!”

—----------------------------------

I took a deep breath as I exited the cocoon for the third time since my arrival. Turning my head I saw my molted carapace swimming in the gel-like substance. Hooking my claws to the side I pulled myself free and into a wall of feathers. My safe/home.

Some shadows approached and I hissed at them, provoking a hushing sound from the feathers. I gave the feathers a gentle chitter/click and a nuzzle, feeling myself more in control than last time.

I felt the wall of feathers giggle while I tried to push myself as deep into its soft cover as I possibly could. I know who the feathers belonged to, and I was rather surprised that she is here in the first place, especially since I have told nobody about my third molt. Whatever the reason for it, she was here, and she was ready, with a nice towel that was gently cleaning me down.

The reason I needed the cocooning was due to the changes I forced on my body. Or at least I am assuming that is the reason. Usually my molt/cocooning coincided with my growth spurts every six months, but this was one was unusually early, and I already felt much better physically than I did a week ago. I had a feeling in my gut that whatever changes I made were now properly settled down and taken care of.

I was about to nap in my safe feathery fort when a flash of light interrupted it. I opened my eyes, spotting Torch Burst with a camera. I hacked a wad of resin at him gluing his hooves to the camera and his face. No one should disturb a nap after molting, it’s a stressful ordeal.

Celestia giggled again and I settled down for a nap. It’s been a year and a half since I came to Equestria. In a few months, I will get my guard exam, and hopefully, by next year, I’ll be a guard.

If nothing else, Celestia assured me that I will be able to leave this place. It is a home, but I want to see the world.

Chrysalis

Another piece of furniture was flying through the air as a result of my rage. It nearly hit one of the cretins that scuttled away as to not be the next target of my anger.

Out of the corner of my eyes I spotted the messenger that brought me the latest report from Equestria.

Growling and snarling, I picked her up with my powerful magic and dragged her on the floor until she was under my hooves. She attempted a resigned look on his face, but I could see her body quivering in fear. Good, perhaps she will remember not to fail me again.

“Do tell, dear Mosca, why did you think it was a good idea to come back to my kingdom empty hooved?”

“I didn’t, your highness.” She said between her chattering teeth. “The ponies gave us another six bottles of pure love. I thought…” She had a harder time finishing the sentence as I pressed her down with my magic, demonstrating my displeasure.

“Six bottles of pure love is it, my dear?” I lifted her up until she was at eye level with me. “And how, exactly, do you intend to feed us all with measly six bottles of love, hmm?”

Mosca was quiet for a second, but that was enough for me. I let go of my magic dropping her on the ground where she tried to scramble into a bow.

“I’m sorry for my failure your Majesty…” she started, but I cut her off.

“You may be sorry, but for all we know ponies poisoned this batch of love and are just waiting for us to keel over.” Dropping my head down to her level I raised her head slightly with my magic to look me in the eye. “You are lucky enough, my child that they have not, and that we are desperate for food in the first place, but such failure will not be tolerated in the future, are we clear?”

I got a jerky nod as a response, and I let her go. Mosca gave a quick bow and immediately ran out of the throne room.

“This is what they are doing to us, my children!” I raised my head so that all in the throne room could hear me. “The Equestrians are toying with us, forcing one of our own to do their bidding, while they send us scraps. What happens when they finally have us where they want us? At what point do we take this abuse? They are using our own lings, our own family to supposedly ‘help’ us.” Walking up and down the throne room, I could hear the mutterings of the swaying tide. “You need to remember, my children. The ponies are not our allies, they do not wish to help us. They want to do what they did to the other nations of this world: to weaken us until we have only but one option, to be their SLAVES! Or worse.” I whispered that last part, but only loud enough for others to hear. By the sound of other voices, I got their attention.

Sitting back down on my throne I looked around the room, surrounded by my changeling supplicants. Time for the next part.

“We have to stand strong against this test of our might.” Turning around I pointed my hoof at my commander. “Spine! I want you to organize my infiltrators, find your brothers that equestrians took. And bring us more ponies. We have more tricks up our sleeve than they think. The ponies will not out-maneuver us yet.”

Carrion!” My vizir immediately jumped into a bow, “Take these bottles and give them to be tested and filtered. We will use this ‘generosity’ against the ponies.”

Everyling else,” the rest of the changelings snapped at attention, “prepare yourselves. The ponies are issuing us a challenge and we will rise above it. We will not let them dictate the tempo of this battle. Dismissed!”

...

Sitting alone in the throne room, I have been rubbing at my temples for the last ten minutes, trying to alleviate this terrible headache.

“These blasted idiots will be the death of me.” Celestia’s ability to find my lings and her offer of love may have fooled some of them, but I still had a firm hoof over these fools. I am still their queen, and I would not be denied.

Rising up from the throne, I checked it over for cracks of any kind. The obsidian throne was enchanted to only let changeling magic be used in a large radius around my castle, and any cracks and imperfections are a threat to that enchantment. The ponies may think it’s an anti-magic field, but their stupidity is my success.

Not spotting anything wrong with my throne I nodded to myself and walked out the room and towards my private bedroom.

The ever-shifting walls of my castle were my only company aside from the occasional guard patrol that bowed low at the sight of me, giving reverence to their queen and mother, as they should.

Occasional sobbing also reached my ears, but I have since grown deaf to it.

Using my magic, I made a brief entrance to my room and entered the sparsely decorated area.

The room only needed three things, a bed, a mirror, and a chest with my belongings. A giant, obsidian greatsword, with heavy enchantments, is leaned on the wall next to the bed, but I rarely used it. I preferred the personal touch of my magic. Plus, there wasn’t anything in the Badlands that could stand up to me and my might.

Standing in front of the mirror I looked at my visage.

What looked at was nothing short of a powerful being that proudly carried the title of Queen. And while my body carried the occasional scar from the few holes I had due to lack of food, my teal mane and tail were still untouched. The black chitin still shone with power and polish, and the blue-green midsection sparkled due to the efforts of early morning attention from the hoof-fillies.

My dark green eyes occasionally sparked with power, as did my gnarled horn. A mark of just how powerful I have become over the centuries. I grabbed a brush from the nearby chest and started my evening brushing routine before bed.

“They may be the death of me, but at least they are bringing something. I’ll need all the power I can get.” Putting the brush down, I admired myself in the mirror before going to bed.

“After all, the time is drawing near. My sister will be coming soon, and I will join her when that blasted Princess of the Sun is finally defeated.” I laughed to myself letting the sleep finally take over. The sobbing at the back of my mind continued.

CH 14 (passing the test)

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Patchwork

I circled around Shield Strike, her smirk following me, provoking me to make a move.

Today was exam day.

The written portion could have gone better. Even with my photographic memory, I was so nervous that I began doubting myself, over and over again. The questions weren’t even all that complicated in the first place: where Equestria is located geographically (northern middle of Hoofland continent), what is its government (‘temporary’ monarchy), who are Equestrian’s primary citizens (ponies, earth, pegasus, and unicorn ponies), name at least one large ethnic group (thestrals, and donkeys), et cetera.

The physical portion was laughably easy. Just do a number of exercises on a time limit and that’s it. Armoured Saddle made sure I could pass this part with my eyes closed and my wings tied behind my back.

Now was time to spar, against Shield Strike of all ponies.

She made it abundantly clear that this is for the keeps, and I certainly expected no favors, but I still expected someone else to be my opponent. This was an honor, to be sure, but I think she is playing at something.

Right now, I am looking for an opening. Everything and anything was scoured, from the way she sat, to her slightly hunched head, and even her annoying smirk.

I made another full circle around her, her eyes not leaving mine for even a moment. I started to draw magic to my body, pulling my core and magic strings taut and getting ready for a transformation.

Just when I decided to jump at her she blinked, and I suddenly had an opening.

Over the course of the last year and seven months (‘gods I’ve been here a while now’) I have perfected my changing and shifting, even making some alterations when I figured out how. The change I was relying now on was my cover flame. Normally it starts from hooves to head, but I have modified it to start from head backward, allowing me to shift while moving and allowing the flames to easily wash over me far faster than normal.

By the time Shield got to her hooves, I was already upon her in the form of a hippo. She surprised me with a full-body left hook, knocking me to the side just enough to gain some distance.

I hit the ground in a roll immediately shifting into a large Colibri bird and zipping up and away from a charging Captain. When I got high enough that she couldn’t reach me I changed into myself and used my wings to drop at her, covering myself in a wreath of blue fire.

I thought she would dodge, but she surprised me by grabbing me out of the air and pushing me down to the ground. The sudden grounding stunned me long enough to barely notice her hop and throw a hind leg in my direction. I managed to block it with a mana shield, but she still pushed me two meters away cracking my shield but not breaking it.

I shook myself from the magic drain, and I managed to catch her mid-jump. I hopped to the side dodging her drop (which cracked the marble tiles underneath her) and shifted into a rhinoceros. I tried to catch her on my horn, not to gore her but to throw her away, but she ducked and jumped back.

I gave chase transforming into a long-bodied, teenage dragon and taking a deep breath. Before I was able to unleash a fire breath she jumped to the side and tried to grab me. I again shifted into a Colibri and did my hardest to dodge her flailing hooves. When I got enough distance I changed back into myself, panting heavily. She took to her hooves at once, capitalizing on my weariness and shoulder checking me.

I exhaled, trying to absorb the blow using my claws to grab her neck and twisting myself to land on her side. I pushed at my low reserves to change into an actual horse and used my hind legs to buck her. I nearly missed, but I have managed to clip something because I heard her gasp and felt the recoil of a connected kick.

I changed into myself, turning around only to catch a hoof to the face. I blacked out for a second, hitting the ground hard, feeling something crack on my muzzle.

“All right, bug-colt. You did well.” I heard her through the ringing in my ears. I gingerly lifted my claw and felt along my muzzle, finding a small crack on my left cheek. I pushed a small amount of my magic fixing the crack and setting my chitin back into place (a trick I picked up after regular spars with normal guards, doesn’t work over large cracks though). I will let my body fix the rest of it up, no point in wasting energy on it.

I slowly got back on my claws. I saw Captain Strike and Celestia talking to the examiner pony (off white earth pony, purple mane and tail cut short, couldn’t see the ‘mark’, saved to my memory for practice later). I didn’t know his name, but I was told it didn’t matter if I did.

Sensing their emotions (something that still gave me trouble every now and again) Strike was proud, Celestia was… worried, and upset, and the examiner pony was ‘fascinated’… I think? Anyways!

I walked over to a table set up on the side of the ring and grabbed a bottle of water I left there before we started. I put it on my cheek and sighed and the pleasant tingle of cold on the sore spot.

I wasn’t happy with my performance. Usually, in my spars with other soldiers, I can dominate with my shapeshifting. Without it I lose, fast. To be fair, those spars are against soldiers with a minimum of three years’ worth of training, so it’s not like I was against novices. But still, this loss today hurt. In more ways than one. I knew Shield Strike was a monster of an earth pony but knocking me out in a single punch? And I doubt she was even trying to do it. Other ponies tried the same but were unable to knock me out. The closest anyone got was a stallion named Split Grieves. He was relentless and I was dizzy for a solid hour, but he couldn’t do it.

I was knocked out of my thoughts by a hoof prodding me in the back, between my wings.

“Gah!” I buzzed my wings loudly, trying to get the ticklish feeling to go away. I turned around with a scowl, ready to tear open a new one to whoever thought this was funny. My wings weren’t so delicate that touching will cause damage but messing with the nerve cluster in between them can screw up the mana pathways temporarily, as well as oil secretions used to keep the wings functional.

Just as I was about to unleash a torrent of expletives I saw Celestia and Shield Strike, both sitting there with shit-eating grins on their muzzle.

“You passed.” Said Celestia, holding two scrolls in her magic right in front of my muzzle. The grin never left her face.

“Seriously!” I grumbled, grabbing the scrolls from her magic, “You both know how annoying it gets when you mess with THAT spot?” I put the scrolls on the ground and reached with my forelegs behind me. I gently scratched around my wings plates, finally getting the strange feeling to go away.

Celestia rolled her eyes good-naturedly at me, picking up the scrolls with her magic again. Captain Strike approached me, spun me around, and used her hoof to scratch my back while talking.

“You needs to learn how to deals wif’ this better, bug-colt. In battle, this wills cause you problems if you don’t gets it together on time.”

I shook myself off when she stopped and turned around. Celestia approached me, scrolls still in her magic, but there was a slight sadness in her eyes. I also felt and tasted it (tasted… “sour”, but not the good kind, like in candy) being one of the few emotions I could accurately tell.

“Normally I would like to celebrate such an occasion, but there is a reason why your tests were done in a hodgepodge manner, my dear.”

Before I asked her to clarify, she presented one of the scrolls to me.

“This scroll is your confirmation of passing; if anypony gives you any trouble this will serve as proof that you successfully passed the tests. And this one,” she gave me the second scroll, “is your mission and requirements before you go there.”

I tried to open the second scroll, but Shield Strike stopped me with a hoof.

“Listen bug-colt, Patchwork…” she started dropping that stupid accent she liked to use, “There is a lot that we asked from you during your stay here as a “prisoner” of sort, and with this scroll, we will have to ask more from you.” I have known this mare for almost two years now, and I have rarely seen her this serious. “I just want you to know, that this “, she pointed at the scroll, “isn’t permanent. Give us some time and we, Sunshine and I will make sure that you don’t have to hide anymore, or ever again.” There was a strange look in her eyes, and I struggled to look into them.

Suddenly she reached out and pulled my head close to her, forcing me to look her in the eyes.

“You do this last thing for us, Patchwork, and I will personally make sure you want for nothing for the rest of your life. Anything you want, any favor, or request, and I snap my hooves and make it happen… Got it?”

“Same goes for me, my dear changeling.” I looked at Celestia, Shield releasing my head from her grip. “You do this last request from us, and I will grant you whatever boon you wish… within reason of course.”

These two mares.

For the past two years, they have been acting like I have been kept in the worst cage imaginable. But I had fun, I enjoyed learning new things and growing that came with it. I met some wonderful ponies and found my place in this world… or WILL find my place. Regardless, they were there every step of the way, Celestia even risking her own health so I can get better and push through to evolve as a changeling.

“Consider it done!” I shouted with glee, saluting to both of them (with a smack as well, like Strike taught me). Both gave me beaming smiles and we spent the next hour just talking, the scrolls were lying there on the side. Temporarily forgotten.

In two months, I will officially start my training as a royal guard of U. E. R. G. I was looking forward to it.

—----------------------------------

The scroll that Celestia gave me, the one with mission requirements, had several points I had to read.

The first point being: I cannot go outside of trusted areas without a cover form. The areas of trust were aside from sections of Canterlot castle, my own barracks room, and in the Canterlot primary hospital, under the codename ‘shifter’.

The cover form is already chosen for me, as is the cover alias. I briefly skimmed over them, trying to find what the cover story is.

From what I was given, I belong to an old branch of the Night family. About two centuries ago a part of the family split and one part crossed the continent. Barely anyone remembers they exist, or what their numbers are, but that plays to our advantage. The documents were forged, along with a borrowed Night family seal and all the proper documentation has been set up.

I was to play the part of a distant family cousin, a pegasus by the name of Night Front, a northern pegasus breed (bigger, stronger, but slightly slower omnivores, with a preference for weather magic). I also got a whole bunch of information that would help me with blending in, and with my memory, I should have no issues.

The second point is: I am to report monthly for a check-up in order to make sure that I am adapting well to proper equestrian society, and not this ramshackle we had for almost two years.

I would also receive some additional vaccine boosters two weeks before I leave to make sure I am up to date.

And lastly, the final point: I was to report any located changeling activity I could find, should I find one in the first place.

I also noticed that there was one more point but that was the general stuff I would get upon leaving.

I would get an open bank account, to both my name and the cover name and one thousand bits (enough for two months without any income, and I would get some bits from the guard, it’s not volunteering but it’s not lavish living either).

I would also get two identifier gems, and I am supposed to keep mine safe and secure somewhere where ponies cannot find it. The Night Front one I am to keep with me at all times.

And lastly, I would be given a slew of documentation both for myself and for my cover alter, making me a legal citizen of Equestria. Yay me.

Last of note, was that all the stuff I have accrued during my stay here would be kept safe in a vault until such a time where I could pick them up and put them in a house of my own, should I ever own one. Which I hopefully will, eventually. I never owned a house before so I’m looking forward to it.

CH 15 (leaving the cage)

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Patchwork

I stood in front of the large door that led outside of my ‘room’. At the moment I was in the shape of a pegasus stallion named Night Front.

The door was open, but I was hesitant to leave. After all, I spent over a year in this place, with food, water, and just about anything else I could need was being provided to me on a daily basis.

Now though…

I turned my head around and looked over the, now empty, room. All the equipment, markers, tables, chairs, and pillows have been moved. Even my apartment is being stripped bare. All part of the new chapter of my new life here.

I made the step; a stallion guard was waiting for me on the other side of the door. Captain Shield’s second in command, Armoured Saddle.

“You ready, Patch?” was the question, and I wasn’t sure of the answer.

“Not sure, sir.” Was my shaky admittance. A part of me didn’t wish to leave my ‘safe space’.

“Think of it like this, kid, would you rather be a prisoner here, or see what the world has to offer?” He closed the door behind me with magic, effectively making my decision for me. Probably for the better.

I was shaking slightly, but I was taking my steps, following behind the vice-captain.

He was right, of course. I’d rather see the world than be a prisoner… of sorts. Let’s be honest I was a prisoner in name only. They treated me too well to be considered one in the first place, and that was probably the reason why it felt wrong to leave.

Back there things were brought TO me; now I will have to actually earn my keep in any way I can. And while I had the backing of the Princess, I was rather fond of being looked after.

I fluffed my wings nervously.

That was one of the requests made to me by both Captain Shield and Celestia. One of three requests, following the points mission they gave me about a month ago.

Number one: I was to stay in my current shape until the situation between changelings and ponies has been resolved. I was in the shape of a snow-white pegasus stallion, with ice blue mane and tail, and a white streak in both of them. My cutie mark was a blue crescent moon, covered with fluffy clouds.

Number two: while going through the guard training I will be joined by a stallion with a familiar name… One Night Light to be precise. He is fully informed about who I am and would make sure that my situation is taken care of by the right ponies in order to prevent an incident should I, say, get injured. He will also probably be reporting my every move to either the Captain or the Princess. But that doesn’t bother me.

That name, Night Light, just about gave me a heart attack when I heard it. I even asked Shield Strike about him in order to confirm who he is. Blue coated with navy blue mane and tail and two moons as a cutie mark. I was going to hang out with Twilight Sparkles dad. Well, he isn’t a dad yet, but…

He’s about a year younger than me and has started his guard training four months ago. When I asked why a newbie was going to be keeping an eye on me I was first told that he’s not there to ‘spy’ on me, but rather as a companion and a friend for the tough times ahead. They apparently wanted someone close to my age to make it appear as two ponies/friends, who have started the journey together. I did not question it beyond that. Their reasoning seemed sound.

And lastly, number three: I was to keep the knowledge about changelings an absolute secret. No one other than Night Light and the officer I would meet today, outside of the team of ponies I worked with, knew who - or what - I was and I was to keep it that way. Not a problem. I would rather not be branded a monster or worse.

There was also a fourth request, and that was to regularly report for further tests and examinations over the course of my guard training. It is to keep an eye on my growth and to keep track of my body’s progress during the training. Once a month, that was it.

Neither I nor Armoured talked during our trip through the stupidly long hallway connecting my room to the outside world. I was lost in my thoughts over the last weeks' happenings, and I sensed no outstanding emotions from the stallion leading me. I did not wish to bother him as well with incessant questions. And I had quite a few of those.

We finally reached the end and stopped in front of a much smaller door leading to wherever this place was.

Armoured placed a hoof on the door itself and looked at me over his shoulder.

I gulped and nervously looked behind me, gathering my courage. I spread my wings wide and checked myself over for one more inspection; trying to prolong my leave as much as possible.

I was gifted a pair of saddlebags, hygiene necessities in the left one, and some instructions along with stuff I will need later (mainly documentation and some bits) in the right.

Also around my neck was a small pouch with two identifier crystal plates. One for Front and one for me.

After checking myself over, I took a deep shaky breath and nodded to vice-captain Saddle.

He gave me a smirk and opened the door. Equestria here I come.

…

‘I don’t know what I expected, but this wasn’t it.’ We were still walking.

After we left the hallway, several more sections followed, which gave me a good indication that we were rather deep in the Canterhorn Mountain. Not that that knowledge has been helpful, as it only made me feel more anxious about leaving now that we have been walking for what felt like thirty minutes.

“Sir?” I kept walking, Armoured twitched his ears in my direction. “How much longer till the exit.”

He chuckled, “Gotten sick of this facility already, did you?” I felt some amusement from him.

“It’s not that, but it feels like this place is larger than necessary, sir.” I pointed out with a frown. Another room, another door. This time he stopped.

“That’s because we have been going rather slow, lad. At a decent trot, you can get to the exit from your corridor in ten minutes.” He gave me a wink, before igniting his horn and opening the door in front of us. “Trust me, I checked.”

I must have zoned out after that because even with my changeling memory I was not able to remember much for about ten minutes. I did not care though; I was outside.

I now noticed that the building we left looked like an office building. The rest though…

Canterlot is beautiful.

The buildings were mostly in white, but there was plenty of colour everywhere else. Colourful ponies, colourful buildings, the smells, the sounds, chats, and some nearby vendors talking, the cacophony of emotions. I was so entranced I did not notice I was in someone's path.

“Oof!”

Books went flying and I was suddenly scrambling to pick them all up.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I started…

“No, no. It’s my fault, I should have been paying attention.” Came the voice of a young mare. I turned around and presented the fallen books, which were picked up by a pink aura.

The filly that picked them up looked familiar (blue eyes, grey fur, two-toned velvet and white stripes in her mane and tail) but I couldn’t put my claw as to why.

“I’m so sorry about that. I’m rather in a hurry but thank you for the help.” She said while trotting away.

I ‘hummed’ to myself keeping the filly in my eyesight, trying to remember why she was familiar to me. I managed to feel some amusement off of her before I lost her in the crowd. Suddenly I felt a tug on my tail and a laugh coming from Armoured Saddle.

“Easy there play-colt,” he chuckled. “You should get your head out of the clouds there; you are in the middle of the road.”

I had the common decency to look sheepish. But I swiftly composed myself and ran after the now, swiftly trotting white stallion.

“So where are we heading now, sir?” I tried to keep up with Saddle without bumping into too many ponies. I managed to avoid another incident, thankfully.

“We are going to the recruitment offices first. They are about thirty minutes away so I would like to get there as soon as possible.” Armoured did not slow down for a second.

“Trying to get rid of me already, sir?” I teased.

“HAH! Nonsense.” He shook his head, and I did not need to feel his emotions to taste amusement. “No, no, but I would like to reach there soon as I have a few more things to take care of, and the training has officially begun already.” He gave a crisp salute to a passing guard unit. They gave one back and carried on with their duties.

My ears pinned themselves against my head. If the guard training already started it means I’m late. Possibly due to the whole changeling thing. I now felt like I put too much stress on everyone in organising things.

“Oh,” I started, “I’m sorry for the inconvenience then.”

“It is not an inconvenience, and neither are you.” He turned around to me, his eyes burning into mine. I felt no anger coming from him, or any other negative emotion.

He kept his eyes on me until I nodded my head. He nodded his own head, with a gentle smile on his muzzle, and turned around gesturing for me to follow with his foreleg.

These ponies.

I shook my head with a smile on my own muzzle and followed him to the centre.

The whole time I tried to get as much out of this trip as I could, my wings and tail constantly twitching in excitement.

I spotted a minotaur and several griffons talking in the distance, sitting in a seating area of what I think was a bar of sorts.

Pegasi were flying overhead, there was magic everywhere and the emotions. So much to feel, so much taste and so much to remember. Happiness, sadness, anxiety, anger, so much so fast, I was getting lightheaded from it all.

I was overwhelmed by everything, and I loved every second of it.

Several times Saddle had to put me back onto the right track because of it. I even got called a ‘nosey tourist’ by a noble, if his clothes and posture were any indication.

We passed by several parks, with many ponies and foals either resting or playing in them. There was also a filly near one playing the violin, creating a relaxing atmosphere in this busy and bustling city.

I did not even try to talk to Saddle, the noises of the city would drown any conversation we could have unless I was close to him.

We were closing in to a large, white, stone gate with four fully armoured guards standing in front of it. The Vice-Captain passed by without any issues, a shimmer of magic following after him. I tried passing just as confidently without looking suspicious but I still jumped after some sort of magic sheet passed over me without any effect.

I was about to ask Saddle what that was, but I blanked at the sight before me once I turned around.

I was standing on a large platform, overlooking what I now saw was a ring around the whole mountain, spreading in large circular platforms. We were leaving the tallest plate, and there were several others further down that I could see from my majestic viewpoint. The vista was beautiful, and it truly showed the wealth and prestige of this city.

I finally shook my head and looked for the white stallion, spotting him a few meters ahead, talking to an Abyssinian in strange armour.

When I approached them, the cat left and Armoured gave me a smirk, pointing to a set of stairs going down into the second plate proper.

“Done sightseeing, Patch?”

“Night Front, sir.” I corrected him but he waved me off.

“That’s for when you integrate into the whole thing. For now, the only ponies that would hear us either don’t care or are on my payroll. Either case, we need to get going.” There was a scowl on his face for a moment, but it left just as quickly as it came. “I just got some news and I need to hurry this up I'm afraid.”

I nodded my head and we proceeded down the stairs and a hurried pace.

I kept up with him, but the trot gave me little time to appreciate the scenery of the city. Not that it bothered me much, he was in a hurry in the first place, and I will have plenty of time later to play tourist.

We trotted at a swift pace for several minutes until we reached a large and heavily decorated building. Banners were hanging from every front window, shields and swords were decorating the space in between and above the large, ornate door was the flag of the Kingdom of Equestria: two alicorns, one black and one white circling a horseshoe with the sun and the moon in the centre.

The flag made me again question Princess Luna’s existence, but I never found the right moment to ask Celestia about her. Asking the others felt wrong.

There were two guards fully decked out in armour and weapons guarding the open door. Armoured approached one and talked to him for a second while I absorbed the look of the building and the trip we took to get here so I don’t get lost.

I was suddenly motioned to enter with him, and I swiftly followed suit.

There was a shimmer of magic when we passed the door and suddenly I was greeted with the silence of an office building.

I turned my head around to examine the door, but a cleared throat made me jump up and follow Armoured Saddle.

The inside of the building was a mix of wood and white stone, with visible runes and etchings in several places. The walls were decorated with paintings of ponies, encouraging words, and occasional landscapes. There were even medals and trophy cases on cabinets doting the hallway we were walking through.

Third door down from the entrance we entered what was labelled as recruitment office. And I froze.

Sitting at the desk was a massive pegasus, easily as tall as the Captain, but with more muscle than I would care to count, and a tiny quill held in his segmented hooves. There was also a scowl on his face as he was writing, and for a moment I wanted to be anywhere BUT here.

“Oi, Tiny! I brought the colt.”

‘What kind of name is Tiny for this mammoth!’

‘Tiny’ raised his massive head and a smile split his muzzle, revealing a set of sharper canines on his upper jaw. He was peanut brown colour, with darker splotches on his fetlocks and rear end. He had no mane, but his tail was hickory brown. His mark was a grey slab of stone with a hammer and a chisel on the side.

“Armoured! On time as usual,” he got up from the desk, shaking himself off and spreading his very fluffy wings, making the office look MUCH smaller than It had any right to be, “and I see you brought the little rabbit with you.”

“Rabbit?” I whispered. Suddenly Armoured turned towards me and he radiated apprehension.

“Listen here, lad, I am needed elsewhere.” He started. “Normally I’d give you the run-around and show you the place, but I can’t. So I'm gonna leave you with Tiny here.” Saddle twitched his head, pointing his horn at the pegasus. “He knows who and what you are, and he will make sure you are taken care of. Afterwards, you will be on your own with Night Light. Is that ok?” He finally asked.

I nervously looked at the mountain behind him and nodded my head. “You go, sir. I will manage fine.”

The white stallion nodded appreciatively and started radiating pride. He smacked my shoulder and passed by me out the door. “That’s a good lad. Keep that good head on your shoulder and you will get far.”

The door closed and I was suddenly and painfully alone with a complete stranger. My mind raced for a moment before I shook my head, sat in military attention, and saluted.

“Private Night Front, reporting for recruitment, SIR!”

The pegasus looked at me over a moment before rearing his head back and laughing, snapping me out of my stance. He slowly trotted and sat down behind his desk motioning for me to approach. By the time I sat and removed my saddlebags, he calmed himself down.

“Heh, you got the nerve colt, well done. Most recruits try to run the moment they see me.” He started rummaging across his desk looking for something. The poor desk creaking all the while as he was opening and closing the drawers.

“I figured everyone wouldn’t just dump me into the deep waters without reason; also, why ‘Tiny’?” I had to ask; my curiosity wouldn’t let me pass it by otherwise. I tried poking at Newton's cradle on his desk (‘why does he even have one’) but my hoof was gently pushed away by a wing.

“It’s an old nickname from my youth.” He put a small stack of parchment in front of him and started looking through them, searching for something. I tried to sense his emotions, but I may as well have been searching a rock for water. There was nothing, no joy, no anger, no suspicion, or apprehension. “Now…” I was shaken from my thoughts by his voice, “they told me quite a bit about you, little rabbit. Not everything, mind you, but enough where I can get an idea of what I'm working with.

Now normally,” He started, picking three parchments out, he put the rest into the drawer and the three to the side, “there is a bit of a process here… a question-and-answer round, if you will. But both the princess and the captain are backing you up.” Suddenly there was a hint of anger flashing from him, the acrid taste of ash causing me to snort silently. “I don’t like when ponies go over my head for things like this, little rabbit. I prefer to test the mettle of my recruits and I loathe when somepony tries to pass me.

That being said…” He took an envelope and pushed it, and the three parchments to me, “I have heard nothing but good things about you, and it’s obvious your heart is in the right place, plus you have the guts to not run. If you made so much as a step back a moment ago, I would have refused you, Tartarus be, even if Princess Celestia backs you up. You get me?”

I instantly nodded my head, silently saying my thanks to whatever deity is helping me today. I took the offered scrolls and the envelope and was able to finally spot his name on a placard on the desk: Hard Tablet. Apt name.

“Now, little one, the envelope contains your key to the barracks room you will be sharing with Night Light. Again, normally, you would be in a larger multi-shared room, but with your circumstances, we made a small exception, don’t get used to it.” He got up from the desk and walked to the door, motioning for me to follow. “You’ll have a bit of a tough time earning your keep here, but keep your head to the grinder, and you will do fine. Bit of a rough start, but you should manage.”

He waited for me at the door, and after putting my saddlebags on, I followed after him.

“I will show you to the barracks and your room. Your schedule will be there, and any questions you may have you will find answered on those scrolls I gave you. Any other questions, ask either Night or your officer Stiff Edge. He also knows about you, but other than that, keep your true identity to yourself, little rabbit.”

“Yes, sir.” I followed the giant pony to my room. Hopefully, I’ll meet Night Light.

CH 16 (meeting new ponies)

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Patchwork

The two of us were walking through a few corridors with no word spoken. It was getting a bit awkward until we exited the building and entered a massive courtyard.

The yard was gigantic, with several sections made for different parts of training, some even repeating a few times. There were, of course, the running tracks, several sparring circles as well as a number of obstacle courses of various degrees of difficulty.

I was gawking at it until I spotted Hard Tablet a further away waiting for me with a smirk on his muzzle. I dashed towards him as he turned around and continued walking. I did my best to memorize the layout.

“This is how things are going to go, Night Front.” He started off. “Wake up early, physical training, breakfast, studies, lunch, studies, training, and then dinner. You will have a little break in between, and you are expected, especially you, to perform all of it without stopping. Are we clear so far?”

“Yes, sir.” Seemed simple enough so far.

“The whole thing lasts for three years, and after that, you have a choice; either commit and get an extra year of training or leave.”

“I’m committing,” I stated proudly.

“Heh.” He chuckled. “You don’t even know what you are getting into yet, little rabbit.”

“With all due respect, sir, Captain Strike put me through the wringer before I came here. I know what I’m getting into.” It’s true. Shield Strike made it abundantly clear that if I were to be a guard she would make sure I'm at the peak of what I can do right now.

“Maybe so, but believe me, this is different.”

After a good ten-minute walk, we came to a series of doors. Opening the rightmost one we entered a long hallway with doors on both sides every few meters. We were walking all the way to the end, entering a balcony that overlooked a small island of sorts, with the direct view of the mountain rising up in front of it.

Going right we walked for another minute until we came to a door where Hard finally stopped.

“You will be staying in this room.” He pointed at the door. “It’s a double bedroom usually reserved either for officers or on a request. It’s to be clean, clear, and ready for an inspection at any point, understood?”

I nodded silently, using my hoof to remove the key from the envelope. Putting the key in I turned to Hard Tablet only to see him looking at me with a frown on his face.

“Sir?”

He shook his head, a spike of amusement came from him, and he passed me by, mussing my mane up in the process.

“Think nothing of it, little rabbit. Just had something on my mind.” Before he left my sight he turned around and shouted. “Report tomorrow to Stiff Edge with Night Light, and that’s it! Good luck, colt, you’ll need it!

Night Light

I was sitting at one of two provided desks when I heard the door jiggle for a second. I dropped the quill next to the neatly organized schedule for the next couple of weeks and looked up.

The room was longer than wide. Immediately next to the door are two wardrobes, and across from it, there were two ponyquins, one of which was currently being used and covered in armor.

Next to the wardrobes was a small nightstand and past that were the bunk beds (mine was the bottom one, for now). Across from the beds were two desks with a small fridge in between, and next to the desks was a separate room that served as both the toilet and bathroom. All in all, a perfect place for two ponies in training for a guard.

But only starting from today.

Today I was supposed to welcome the changeling hybrid, Patchwork; or Night Front as he is called now. I did not even know what he looks like, and I’ll be honest, it made me a little bit nervous. Dinner passed by twenty minutes ago and I was starting to worry that he wouldn’t make it today. That thought was swiftly banished when the door jiggled again and opened.

In entered a strong-looking pegasus colt. He looked a bit older than me, with a snow-white coat, short ice-blue mane and tail, and white streak in both of them. I also noticed that he tied the back of his mane with a red band giving himself a ponytail.

He looked left and right, studying the room when his eyes landed on me. For a second a panicked look flashed on his face, his eyes as wide as saucers, then with a shake of his head, it was gone.

“Night Light, I presume.” He entered, closing the door behind him, and sitting down near the entrance.

“Precisely,” I confirmed with a smile on my muzzle. “And you must be the changeling, Patchwork. Correct?” I asked, wondering how he looks so much like a pony. He was supposed to be an entirely different species.

“Yea, but it’s Night Front in this form.” He took off the saddlebags, and then, looking over which bunk was empty, put them on the top, empty bunk.

“Right, right.” I nodded my head absentmindedly still trying to picture what he looked like. Using a burst of magic I cleared the desk, setting everything back to its intended place. When I turned around I noticed that Night Front was keeping a keen eye on me. “What?”

“A fellow perfectionist, are you?” He looked over the table appreciatively.

“Yes; everything has its place, and there is a place for everything,” I stated proudly, using my father’s favorite quote. “I was rather curious though…” he lifted his head and looked at me. I lifted my hoof and pointed at him, hoping that my silent question wasn’t offensive.

His eyes widened for a second before he nodded his head.

“I don’t mind,” he started off, “but just to warn you, there will be a flash of fire. It’s not dangerous and it won’t burn.” He scratched the back of his head with a hoof. “Also, a fair warning, I look VERY different in my natural form.”

I nodded my head, “I understand, but I was rather surprised to not see you in the natural form, after all, at this time there is nopony outside to notice you in the first place.”

He hummed before looking up. “Maybe so, but I cannot risk it.” He looked down straight into my eyes, and shivers ran down my spine for a moment. He looked very intense. “What I'm about to show you is a state secret, as you should know. It does NOT leave this room. Are we understood?”

I nodded again and awaited the transformation.

There was a flash of turquoise fire and in its place stood a powerful-looking insectoid creature the likes of which I never saw.

He looked very much like a pony, but he was covered in black, segmented, armor-looking plates leaving little unprotected with a separate turquoise midsection. His mane, tail, and eyes were the same, but his feathered wings were completely gone. What was left was a pair of diaphanous wings that buzzed lightly before disappearing in his back. He also had a short, curved horn and two antennae on his head on top of everything else. To top it all off, he also had claws, actual claws, on his forelegs.

He was almost half a head taller than me and looked extremely dangerous. On his chest was a tuft of fluff connecting to his back that made him look rather regal.

I must have been looking for a while because he started awkwardly shuffling.

“You can stop staring now, please.” Was his meek request.

“Sorry,” I apologized, turning my head to the side, “but I expected something much more monstrous with what I was told about your race.”

“Yea I get it.” He nodded his head and using his wings he climbed up to his bunk bed. “I would be grateful if I can stay in this form while we are here, it’s more comfortable.”

“I don’t mind at all.” He acknowledged me with a grunt and proceeded to empty his saddlebags, rummaging through them. I had plenty of more questions I wanted to ask but seems that he is distracted. No matter, I had three years and plenty of time to talk about the changelings.

Patchwork

I was making my bed when three sharp knocks interrupted the morning peace. Night Light was brushing his teeth in the bathroom. I like the colt, he’s very polite and we spent a good two hours just talking.

I quickly flashed into my Night Front disguise and dropped on the floor.

“It’s open.”

In entered an olive-green earth pony stallion. He had no mane to speak of, but his tail was lime-green and cut short. He wore no armor, and on his left shoulder was an officer badge.

“Officer on deck!” I immediately shouted with a salute and cringed at a crash coming from the bath. Night Light came out with a brush still in his mouth and saluted.

The newcomer chuckled and closed the door behind him with a hind hoof.

“At ease colts. I just came by to see what all the hubbub is about. You can drop the disguise, Patchwork, I want to see the real you.” He casually approached me. I only sensed curiosity and no deeper negative emotions.

Shrugging my shoulders, I flashed to myself, stretching, and buzzing my wings.

“You are Stiff Edge, sir?” I questioned remembering the chat with Hard Tablet yesterday.

“That I am, son.” He confirmed, circling, and appraising me like a predator. “I have to say, I’m a little bit disappointed. The way Strike talks about you, I expected you to spit lighting or something.”

“Actually…” Came a muffled voice from Light, toothbrush still in his mouth.

There was a few seconds of silence before he started laughing.

“Really? Like really, really?” He asked between laughs.

I nodded my head absentmindedly, ‘How is that weird, he can probably throw me across Canterlot, but me spitting lightning is weird.’

“Heh, you will have to show me that trick one day, bug-colt. In the meantime,” He went to the door still chuckling, “The training starts in ten minutes, don’t be late, colts. Also, Patchwork,” He turned to me before leaving, “be careful, Impulse Strike is here for today. Now he wants nothing to do with you, but that doesn’t mean we can do whatever. Keep your head down, do what you are told, and do NOT rise to any provocations. Are we clear?” He asked with a frown.

“Sir, yes sir.” I nodded with conviction. I won’t let him get to me again.

“Good, see you in ten.” He closed the door after him, and I a Light were getting ready for our day in Tartarus.

—----------------------------------

“All right gentlecolts. We finally got the last member of our twenty-four-pony group. Night Front here just arrived yesterday, and since he missed a good few months of practice he has a lot of catching up to do.” Stiff Edge was pacing in front of us, doing the whole drill sergeant thing keeping an eye if anyone is out of line.

“Now, I'm not going to make all of you fillies follow the pace he will get, but I do expect you to help him up when he drops. And he will drop.” He stood in front of me with a sneer. I could sense some darker emotions, but they were without focus. This was an act of sorts; I wouldn’t be calling him on it. I did make sure I don’t try to feed while I'm here though, to prevent an incident.

“All right fillies. Let’s start, light jog first. Turn left!” I swiftly followed the command. “And go, ten laps to start, move, move, move! Night Front start fast, no breaks, I want you to pound dirt!”

…

We were at our twentieth lap when I spotted Impulse Strike talking to Stiff Edge. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but I apparently caught the tail end of that convo as Impulse left in a huff.

“Everything ok, Front?” Asked one of the ponies I ran with between huffs.

“Yeah, yeah. Just wondering, who is that ‘tal over there?” I pointed with my muzzle, trying to look inconspicuous. I noticed Night Light looking at me from the corner of my eye.

“That’s Impulse Strike.” Came the reply from a pony in front of me. “One of the best instructors in the academy.”

“Do I hear you fillies talking? Double time! NOW!” Came the sudden order from Edge, and we started galloping until he said stop. I was already regretting waking up.

…

“Kill me…” I groaned; my empty breakfast tray to the side along with a bag of cookies I was chomping on.

“I think you did rather well, all things considered.” Night Light was sitting next to me, still finishing his breakfast.

“I’ll say.” Agreed an earth pony in front of me. “I thought you would keel over with how much he pushed you.”

“And you still got a way to go today, Front.” Claimed a unicorn to the earth pony’s left.

“You know, now that we have a group here of sorts,” started of a pegasus on my right, “Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself.”

“Well, I come from a long way away that’s for sure.”

“Do tell.” I pointed my hoof at the unicorn that said it. “Oh, Horn Point.” He was a bit thin but muscular. He was salmon pink with a splotch of white on his forehead. His mane and tail were light pink with a wavey pattern on both. He did not behave as refined as his looks would betray.

“Well, you know how decades ago some ponies tried to cross the Griffonstone area and the Celestial Sea?”

“No way, your family was one of those? I’m Bright Sheath.” The earth pony was on the shorter side. With golden-yellow fur and a very light-yellow mane and tail.

“Yea, more specifically, Night Light's family.”

Now all the attention was on Night Light who just shrugged.

“It was a long time ago, my family splintered, some left, some stayed. We didn’t keep in contact. In fact, I didn’t know we had any family left over there in the first place.” He said in between bites.

“There aren’t many left. I’m the last one with the name Night.” I shrugged. “Which was one of the reasons I came here in the first place. I wanted to see what my ancestral family is like, and I wanted to be a guard.” I chomped on another cookie. I offered one to Bright and the others at the table.

“So, what’s your cutie mark, if I may ask? I take it has something to do with clouds.” Asked the pegasus. I prompted him with my hoof. He was looking at it for a moment before it dawned on him. “Oh, oh, sorry. The name is Slow Wing.” A lapis-blue pegasus with a sky-blue mane and tail, both a bit frizzy.

“No worries. And yes, it has something to do with clouds. I’m good at being sneaky, but I don’t like it much.” I chuckled. “I prefer the loud and proud method.”

“Ha-ha, yeah!” That got me his approval and a high hoof, which I eagerly returned.

I stayed there chatting with them for another hour before we had to leave for our studies.

—----------------------------------

Playing catchup was not easy. While others continued their studies (types of weapons, which ones are they allowed to carry and where, etc) I had to start from the ground up. Mostly.

They essentially told me to go over the stuff I already know, cover the stuff I may have missed, and in a week I would be given a quick test to see how much they need to fix.

Not bad considering I skipped several months’ worth of training, but I still did not like it.

Oh well, nothing to it, I guess.

Night Light has proven to be a blessing in disguise. The stallion is not only an excessive note-taker (I’m not that much better either), but he also has the mind of a steel trap. Memorizing things was easy, understanding it where I started having some trouble. That’s where he and his impressive memory became useful. I would ask him questions constantly. He never complained, and after several bouts of apologizing he just said: “It’s good for me as well, as I get to refresh that section with you.”

The first week passed painfully. I struggled to keep up with the extra work they gave me, but the stallions haven’t let me fall. Especially the guys I met on the first day. They were with me every step of the way.

Right now, I was relaxing. It was Sunday, for me, and Restday for ponies. Seven days, four weeks, fourteen months, surprisingly similar. One day a week we are free to do whatever. I was bored so I was going through the four rules of the Guard.

Rule one: the simplest rule. Always be helpful.

Rule two: abide by the laws of the nation of Equestria.

Rule three: Protect the citizens and yourself.

And lastly, rule four: protect the crown.

Simple, easy, and to the point. Which is why the author of the book saw fit to expand, extrapolate and excessively exercise his right to truncate the rules into tiny pieces. Enough to draft a fifty-page book about. Very boring to read, but then again, I was bored as well.

I flipped the page with my claw, relaxing on my bed when the door opened. I immediately transformed into Night Front.

Night Light came in with a bright smile on his muzzle.

“How’d it go, Light?” I asked from my relaxed position transforming back into myself.

“It went great, just not how I planned.” He said happily. With a skip in his step, he started putting the pouch he had in the drawer next to the bed.

“Oh? What’s her name, and what happened.” I rolled over, putting the book on the top of the closet that was next to the nightstand.

“Her name is Bright Sparkle.” I felt the color drain from my face. “I was supposed to meet up with her sister, but from what I was told she was late for a class a week ago and had to do some extra studies to make up for it.” The longer he talked the worse I felt.

“What’s, um… what’s her sisters’ name?” I asked.

“Why? Interested?” He laughed. “Her name is Twilight Velvet. Such a shame, I really wanted to meet her, but I think I got something better.”

He went to shower, singing like a love-struck bird. I was sitting in the top bunk, holding my head, and hoping I could keep my stomach in.

CH 17 (free practice time)

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Patchwork

I decided I will not worry about Night Light and Bright Sparkle. There is still plenty of time for the actual relationship to happen. Me interfering will only make things worse.

Right now, I was leaping over the rocks and debris behind the academy. I wanted to find a secluded place where I can practice transformation in peace and far away from prying eyes. Sleeping would probably be a better option but I didn’t feel sleepy at all. Probably tomorrow.

“I think I’m far enough now.” Looking over my shoulder I noted where the academy is, spotting it a fair distance away. Using my Night Front disguise I flew for a bit, scouting out the area and trying to memorize it.

Landing behind an outcropping, I nodded to myself, satisfied with the chosen location.

What I wanted to do today was something I wasn’t able to do during my ‘incarceration’; I wanted to practice larger and more dangerous transformations: Pokémon, Tyranids, Zerg, dinosaurs, etcetera. My mind was full of ideas, and I wanted to try all of them at once.

But first…

I took a deep breath and transformed into a human. As close as I could get with my memory.

Looking over my hands and feet I felt very naked and uncomfortable. I had visible muscle and I felt fairly strong, but there is so much more I wanted to try.

Shifting back into Patchwork I sighed, feeling better about my form.

Taking another deeper breath, I shifted to a wider stance and focused… four legs, two pairs of massive tusks, a horned head with pincers, and a large, wide carapace with ridges. Keeping the form of the ultralisk in my mind I decided to go for a smaller version first.

In a flash of fire, I felt my body expand slightly, and before I knew it I looked like an ultralisk.

At first it was a bit confusing, moving appendages that were completely different from my own, but then I noticed that my body is visibly weaker than a standard ultralisk. The carapace was thinner, the tusks were hollow, and the musculature was far sleeker than the mammoth I remember it being in the opening cinematic.

I scratched my head with one of the smaller tusks. I need to figure this out. Maybe if I pour more of the resin into it.

Another flash and I was again disappointed at my abilities. I got a bit more bulk, but nothing more. Flashing back into myself I sat down and got to thinking.

…

Pokémon are out of the picture. None of their natural abilities translated into the transformation, making the shape essentially another colorful animal I can just replace with something more efficient. I can replicate some abilities with magic, but that relies on my magical knowledge which is currently lacking.

I spat a small lightning bolt out of sheer frustration, but at the very least testing out Pokémon gave me an idea of what I was lacking for the ultralisk.

What I missed is that, since I’m transforming out of memory I need to replace the things I need with something that’s fairly similar. I essentially needed to build an ultralisk from the ground up; muscle, bones, organs, shape, all needed to be replicated with the knowledge I had at my disposal.

Looking up at the sky I quickly gauged how much of the night I had left over, and then I sat down. I had everything I need, for the carapace I can simply use my own, it just needs to be restructured into something more powerful. Bones, I can use dragon bones. Organs? Have those, just need to reshape them. Muscle, dragon again, or a hydra.

Standing up I focused on shaping an ultralisk in my mind again, but this time I added the details necessary. A part of me noted that I have even saturated the surrounding area with mana as well, but right now I did not care why that happened.

Shifting my stance again and bracing myself I poured a fair amount of mana into this and then I felt the ground under me shift under my new weight. Looking down I noted that I was standing in a decently sized crater, the stone seemed to just be shaved off smoothly. But the form felt powerful. So powerful in fact that it felt like I could even harm Shield Strike easily. And the size wasn’t half bad either, as I have gained at least two bodies in height.

Swinging my new talons around and testing them I could easily smash and slash the nearby rocks. Which made me very excited.

Looking up, I saw that the moon is two-thirds done which made me decide to finish for tonight. Using my magic, I buried the crater and covered up the scratches, so they aren’t visible from the sky, and, flashing into Night Front, I made my way back to the academy.

I was happy with my current progress.

-----------------------------

‘Where the fuck did three months go.’ I asked myself, crossing off another day from the calendar.

The training, the studies, practicing the same thing for days, all helped to make the days blur together into long three months.

I am happy to report that I have caught up with others and their studies. I have also been paired up with Night Light and Bright Sheath when we go on our practice patrols or when we are practicing in teams.

I am, however, sad to report that Night Light and Bright Sparkle are incredibly happy together. And while I am glad and happy for Night, I am very worried about the future of Equestria. Which made me rethink telling Celestia about the show itself.

I had to remind myself that telling Celestia will put the country in even more danger as it increased the percentage for a worse outcome, and I could not risk that. Even if that percentage is low, I had to treat it as absolute certainty. I already changed things too much as it is with the introduction of alien technology among other things.

On another note, I am glad to say that I have significantly improved my ability to shapeshift even further. I even discovered why my first ultralisk transformation took a good chunk of the ground with it.

You see, I found out that if I pour mana into the surrounding area while transforming I could take that chunk with me to add into the overall mass. If I'm near enough material I can, essentially rip and use said material to further improve the shape. Which made me finally look into my transformation and how it operates.

What I found out shocked me, and I had to talk to White Light the next time I saw him.

During transformation, I am essentially turning my body into silly putty. Everything but the cores is shifted and morphed into the shape I want. The flash wasn’t there to hide the change, it was the by-product of it. I should have found out about this months ago, but I never cared back then about how it works. I could even, in the heat of battle, kill my opponent if I cannot control my transformation while on top of him.

’I think ‘m gonna be sick.’ No messing up my transformations, no thank you.

“Why are you studying magic?” Asked Night Light while polishing his armor.

‘I was lost in thought, but whatever.’ “What?”

“I asked: why are you studying magic?” He repeated himself, looking up to where I was chilling on my bed. “I thought you said you weren’t any good at it, so why bother?”

“Are you… Did you tell me I suck so much I shouldn’t even bother?” I asked incredulously looking at him over the edge of the bed.

“What?! No, no. I meant, why are you studying something you aren’t good at… Oh dear, that didn’t sound good either.” He gently facehooved (hooves are hard).

I chuckled, “Don’t worry, I got what you meant.” I closed the book as I couldn’t focus on it and put it on top of the dresser. “To answer your question: I am studying it because I want to be able to understand it. Just because I’m not that good with magic does not mean that I am limited by it.” I punctuated this by teleporting in front of him. His slack jaw was funny enough that I got a good laugh out of it.

Huffing, he continued polishing his armor. “If you can teleport like that, why are you saying you aren’t good with magic? Teleporting is complex.”

I joined him, grabbing a piece of his armor, and sitting down next to him. “Complex does not mean impossible. It’s not heavy on magic, just complicated to perform and I’m a natural multitasker.”

He blinked his eyes a couple of times before looking at me astonished, “That makes a surprising amount of sense.”

“Also, what most of you seem hard to grasp, I like learning for the sake of learning.” I shrugged, polishing the cannon guards. “I do not need a cutie mark to tell me I am good at something, or to tell me what I need to do, I like doing something for the sake of doing it. I have a drive to improve.”

“A drive to improve…” He whispered. Looking at him I could feel something click in place in his head, and suddenly he had a look of determination, all but throwing himself at polishing the breastplate.

We worked in silence for a few minutes. It was a nice, companionable silence until he decided to break it.

“You wanna meet her sister?” The question completely threw me off and I actually had to stop for a moment to get my bearings in order to look at him astonished for even asking me.

“I’m bucking sorry, what?”

“I asked, do you want to meet Bright’s sister? You sounded interested a couple of months ago and I heard that she is looking for friends.” He lifted his head and looked at me. “You are my good friend, so I thought you could be a good friend to her too.”

“Night, did you forget the fact that I am a bug-pony that needs to be in hiding for fear of what others might do to me if they find out?” I liked Night Light, he was indeed what ponies would call a ‘good friend’, but this felt like a bad idea. I would be tampering with the future of this world, and I wasn’t comfortable about it.

“You are a shapeshifter, and Night Front or Patchwork you are a good pony. I just hoped you could make somepony’s life better too.” I could see and sense that he was upset at my response, but not upset enough to dwell on it.

Thinking about it, he asked if I could be her friend. Which, in reality, didn’t mean I had to date her. For all I knew she wouldn't even consider me date material in the first place (‘that actually hurt my feelings a bit’).

“Fine,” I sighed, “I never said no, Light. I’m just worried…”

He looked at me with a beaming smile, “Nonsense. Both Bright and Velvet are fantastic mares, even if they find out, I'm one hundred percent sure they would keep their mouths shut. Come to think of it,” he scratched his chin with a hoof, “Sparkle did say that she hates gossipers, so I at least know that she won’t blab about it.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better, to be honest,” I grumbled putting the, now polished, cannon guard on the done pile. “But I will give it a try. So long as you aren’t setting me up for a date.”

“No,” he waved his hooves exaggeratingly in my direction while I gave him a deadpan look. “Look just, just give it a shot. If nothing else, you can be good friends.”

“Tell that mare of yours that you are breaking up, she obviously has you whipped if she talked you into this.” I quipped.

He gaped at me in shock, and I again laughed my ass off at his expression.

“So, are you going on that date?” Asked my sparring partner, a gray unicorn with a wavy mane and tail by the name of Star Fall.

“How do you know about that?” I asked him incredulously. We were waiting on our turn for the sparring ring, no magic, no striking, only shoves and takedowns.

“The whole group knows about it since you and Light were overheard talking about it.” He answered. In another ring, Light was sparring against another unicorn by the name of Golden Tail. He was winning.

“I haven’t decided. Kind of feels wrong to go on a setup date with someone I don’t know anything about.” I ground through grit teeth. I did not like when ponies gossip like this.

“Hey, relax my ‘tal. Nopony meant anything bad with it, we just heard the two of you talk about it when you were passin’ by.” He said placatingly, tapping me gently on the shoulder. “Besides, nothing wrong with going on a surprise date. It either works and you have a nice filly to spend time with, or it doesn’t, and you go your separate ways.”

He was right, of course. It’s not like I haven’t thought about it in the first place, but I had to consider the timeline as well. Night Light, however, already arranged everything, and the date would be in a week. He even showed me the location where the date would be held; a nice little place called Garden Nibble. A smallish, casual restaurant that offers seating in a very nicely decorated garden, with various bushes a pony can nibble on while they wait for their meal. He reserved a seat next to a velvet rose bush, a little bit on the nose if you ask me.

Anyway, while I haven’t decided yet, the thought on my mind right for the last week was to just go and get it over with and just act out to get her to leave, or something similar. I would feel like a heel for a while, but for the sake of the timeline, I would have to persevere.

Before I managed to tell him that I would probably go, we got called into the ring. He won, but it was close.

…

My clawed hoof flashed between my claws, a hoof, a talon, and then into pure claws from elbow to the tips, then lastly into a massive tusk before changing back into my clawed hoof.

My body was still sore from the exercise and the sparring, so I decided to practice on a small scale today.

Namely, I was trying to shift only parts of my body, while leaving the other parts on their own. Night Light was on the side doing homework (I did mine the moment we were done for today).

I raised my other clawed hoof… cloof… meh and started fiddling with its size. Every change in shape was followed by a swift flash of fire. From tiny to huge, the largest I could make my claws was the size of my head which wasn’t that large. I could, however, make them sharper easily, surprising me with the level of sharpness I could get.

“Just don’t hurt yourself with those.” Said Night Light from the side.

I turned to notice that he was looking at the large blades I essentially made my claws into with some trepidation.

“Don’t worry, Night,” I assured him, changing my claws back to their normal size and shape, “I got this.” He visibly relaxed and I chuckled and how sensitive these ponies were sometimes about things like this. This is why I prefer practicing on my own.

Lifting my claws to eye level I started studying them intently, but my mind was somewhere else.

I wasn’t sure about the whole date thing. It honestly feels like Night forgot what I was and is just doing this because he forgot that I am not a pony. Tartarus I have been out of that room for less than four months and I already have a date set up with a mare I know nothing about except what was shown on the show… Which wasn’t much.

I suddenly and violently shook my head, ‘What am I thinking, dating Twilight Velvet! THE Twilight Velvet, Twilight Sparkle’s mother.’

I turned to Night Light to tell him to cancel the date, but he preempted me.

“You know, Velvet is really looking forward to the date.” I closed my mouth with an audible click. “Both Sparkle and Velvet have been talking about it non-stop since the last time I went there. I do hope you hit it off, she is a genuinely nice mare as well, and you both deserve to be happy.”

“Well… I’m kind of looking forward to it too.” I lied. I am in so much trouble.

CH 18 (the date)

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Celestia

“Is she looking to start a war?” asked my wife, looking over the latest changeling reports with pursed lips.

I was worrying my own bottom lip looking over them, “No, she is looking for something.”

“We all know WHO she is looking for.” Stated Shaded Wing.

“Well, she ain’t getting ‘im.” Shield threw the report she was reading on the table.

“Maybe not, but she may increase the number of ponies they are taking.” Shaded put his own report on the table, and I used my magic to pick it up.

“We are still giving them the bottled love from Patchwork, don’t we? Or has Spell Scroll finally made a breakthrough?” I asked nopony in particular, hoping to get an answer from one of my captains and their seconds.

“Not to our knowledge, your Highness.” Piped up Shadow Step. “But we have managed to finally get in contact with a rogue element of the changelings.”

“Did we now?” I was surprised, as I had no idea that they were even looking for it. Shaded Wing must have kept this to himself in case things go poorly and he has to take the fall for a failed mission. “And what did that rogue changeling say? I hope we at least offered them something.”

“Well, she was spooked, that’s for one.” Shaded now took a scroll from under his wing and presented it to me. I gave it a quick read while they were talking amongst themselves.

It seems that ‘Dragonfly’ almost managed to elude us in Manehattan, but they managed to corner her and properly talk to her. She was offered a substantial amount of love pills should she help us, both by being studied and compared to what we already know and by helping us produce more love for the trade-offs. That should take some pressure from Patch and help us further in gaining the changelings' trust.

That is, of course, unless Chrysalis does something stupid and causes an all-out war to break out by pushing things too far. Hopefully, she isn’t that stupid.

“… he got a date.”

“Who got a date, my love?” I asked my wife. Putting the scroll down I picked up another one and unfurled it (“Seems that Impulse isn’t keeping his muzzle shut as much as I hoped. At least he isn’t mentioning changelings so far.”)

“Patch. He got himself a date set up with a Sparkle.” My wife had a wide grin on her muzzle, and I was eager to flash one of my own. Sparkle household was indeed a good choice. What they may lack in size they certainly make up for it in connections. I do not remember in the last century when a Sparkle was far from the throne, in some way or another. The current head of the household Aurora Sparkle and her husband Perfect Service are responsible for over half the castle's maids.

“That is fantastic. Does anypony know when?” My wife shrugged and Shadow Step facehooved hard enough to be heard.

Shaded chuckled, “In two days, your Highness. They are going to a small, casual restaurant called Garden Nibble. A nice place; I took my wife there about a month ago.”

“Speaking off…” Started Shadow, looking at me with a frown, “Do we HAVE to have members of our team shadow Patchwork in the first place?”

“Yes, we do.” Was my Shields’ immediate response, she opened her mouth to continue but I was faster.

“I know you may think that there is no need to do so, but I do have my reasons for it, my dear.”

Shadow wanted to respond, but a quick shake of her captain’s head dissuaded her.

“Your Highness?” Came a hoarse voice from my right. It seems that Parchment is still a bit sick from his cold. Why he insists on working, I do not know.

“Yes, Parchment?” I started putting everything in order in front of me, as I had a good idea why he was interrupting us.

“Your three o’clock is coming up, I know you wanted to meet with Lord Pants today without exceptions.” Lord Silky Pants was indeed an important meeting today, and I had to attend it without fail.

I gave my small team their future assignments and left the meeting room. Hopefully, it will continue to just stay that way. I do not need a war room in my castle, nor do I want one.

Patchwork

I was sweating bullets.

I am currently standing near the indicated meeting spot, on the corner of the main street called, well, Mane Street, and the crossing street called Saddle Road.

Today I was going on a date with Twilight Velvet. I am of half a mind to act out and leave, or make the date go horrible, but… I’m just not that kind of person. I’ll go through this date, have a nice time, and then I’ll just tell her that…

“Ha, you’re the stallion that cost me my test!” Came a shout on my left, making me jump all the way to the top of the building I was under. She nearly scared the fur off of me.

“Hey, you okay up there?” She shouted at me again, and I was rethinking my decision of going down. But she did not look mad, quite the opposite. I was to tread carefully.

“I’m okay,” I shouted back, gliding down in slow, lazy circles.

It gave me a good few seconds to get my bearing and study her as I was gliding.

She looked exactly as I remember her from our impromptu meeting/accident three months ago. He grey fur is shiny, clean, and healthy and her mane and tail have been well tended to. Her blue eyes beheld nothing but mirth, and for a second I got lost in them. Shaking my head, I noticed her smirk.

Huffing I landed in front of her with a soft clop. “My apologies, I was very much lost in thought.”

“’My apologies’? This is a casual date, my dear, no need to be so formal.” She came up to me and gave me a quick and gentle hug. One that I returned without thinking. Ponies were much more physical than humans.

“Sorry.” I apologized again. “My friend probably already told you my name,” I cleared my throat, swallowing dry (‘she is very pretty’), “but I’d rather introduce myself still.” I took a step back and bowed quickly with a flourishing wing thrown to the side, being still cautious not to hit any passer-byes, “The name is Night Front, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I sensed quite a bit of amusement and curiosity from her, and she returned my cordial introduction with a much simpler one, a hoofshake.

“The name is Twilight Velvet, and the pleasure is all mine.” After our hoofshake, I waved her over with a wing and we took our time going to the restaurant, we still had some extra time.

“So, you mind if we talk while we get there, or do you wish to wait?” She asked me after a minute of silence.

“I don’t mind talking, just a fair warning I’m not familiar with any current topics.”

“Nothing like that silly,” she laughed, it was a very pleasing laugh, someone would be very happy with her, “tell me a bit about yourself, what do you like, what’s your favorite color, favorite food, stuff like that.”

“Well, I’m similar to Night Light, I like for everything to have its place, I like to read and learn, but I also like to exercise and do stuff with my hooves. My favorite colors are pink and blue, my favorite food is chocolate-chip cookies and sweet stuff like that.” That got me a giggle and I smiled in return. I nudged her with a wing, prompting her with it to go on herself.

“Well, if you must know, I really like to read and I’m hoping to be an editor one day, I also like exciting stuff, like rollercoaster rides. My favorite color is purple, and my favorite food is my mom’s carrot lasagne.”

“What’s your favorite game?” Came out of my mouth, unfiltered. I just about facehooved when Velvet got in my face and with a swift and merciless ‘boop’ tagged me.

“Tag, you’re it!” She giggled, galloping off towards the restaurant at full tilt.

I shook my head with a sigh, but I couldn’t find it in me to hide my toothy grin. Shaking my body to limber myself up, I opened my pegasus wings and rocketed in her direction. I would be more at ease with my own wings, but these will do.

I got high enough up to not threaten the local pegasi weather ponies, but still high enough for her not to spot me when she turned her head to pick out her pursuer. She stopped and turned around, and I chose that moment to land slightly behind her with a gentle clop of my hooves. There is no way she heard it from the evening din of the streets.

“Night Front?” She questioned, slowly turning around.

I slowly raised my right hoof, waiting for just the right moment, and when she fully turned towards me, I booped her back causing her to jump back and create a sound between a shriek of fright and a sneeze.

“Tag.” I droned lazily jumping into the air and gliding the last few meters to the restaurant itself. I had a shit-eating grin on my muzzle, and it only grew bigger at the groan that came behind me.

“That was horrible.” She groused standing next to me.

“Maybe, but it was fun. Table for two, on the name Night Front.” I told the pegasus receptionist at the front.

“Night, Night… Night Front, here. Welcome, both of you to our little restaurant. Follow me, please.” She told us with a smile, grabbing two menus from the desk with her yellow wings.

We walked to the table, absorbing the cheerful atmosphere of the restaurant. Both of us were just glancing over at everything, and I made note of the various ponies I saw, and I filed them in my brain for later practice.

“This is your table.” She stopped next to a velvet rose bush and put the menus on the table.

I immediately moved over and pulled the chair for Velvet getting a raised eyebrow from her and the receptionist, but that swiftly changed into a large grin from both.

“Thank you.” Velvet chirped as I sat down on my own seat.

“Please, help yourselves to the roses while you wait for a waiter, and please, enjoy your meals.”

We both thanked her and opened up the menus. And suddenly I was completely lost.

I was never a restaurant person; I preferred takeaway and then eat in the comfort of my own home. So now, not only did I not recognize most of the food here as it had different names. I also had to know what the appetizer is and what…

“Lost?” Asked a sweet voice from across the table.

“Yeah, kind of,” I scratched behind my head sheepishly. “Honestly, I’ve never been to a place like this before, so I am kind of out of my depth here.”

“Oh, right, Light did say that you are not from around here.”

“In more ways than one,” I grumbled.

“Okay then, how about,” she took my menu in her magic and placed it on the side, “I order for us since you have been such a gentlecolt so far.” She smiled and I have again found myself smiling back, feeling an awfully familiar and very scary feeling welling up inside me.”

‘Oh, stars above, I am so screwed’.

…

The food arrived not long after. I got a fruit salad as an appetizer and afterward a strange-looking salad that looked and tasted sweet called Garden Nectar Salad. All in all, I loved it.

“Really?”

“Yup, to his face and everything. He made us collectively run thirty laps in a full gallop as punishment.” I recounted Slow Wing's wonderful belching contest and its woeful ending.

“Why all of you? I mean, wouldn’t just punishing him be good enough?” Asked Velvet in between bites of our dessert.

“It’s how guard training works, makes you stronger as a team if you are treated as a collective… Also, we were all kind of taking part. I was the referee, for some reason.”

“Eww, colts.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Why were you the referee in the first place?”

“Because I didn’t want to take part and they needed one. Least, that’s what they told me.” I shrugged my wings putting the fork down after my last bite.

“Hmm, I think we are done here.” She suddenly said, absentmindedly looking around.

I suddenly got a pit in my stomach, and it must have shown because she got a panicked look on her face.

“NO, no-no-no, nothing like that,” She waved her hooves franticly. “Look around hun, we are the last ones here.”

I did look around, we were the very last people here, all the other tables were cleared and set, the restaurant was getting ready to close.

“Buck, I didn’t really notice.” I half-whispered.

“Neither did I, but I enjoyed myself, so that might be why.” She said with a smile and a giggle. The ceiling suddenly got very interesting.

“Shall we?” She asked after another giggle.

“Let's.” I wanted to honestly scream. What was I doing here?

We walked in silence for a few minutes after we said our happy goodbye to the restaurant staff (leaving a nice tip to boot). It gave me a good while to stew in my own thoughts, and to decide what I want to do now.

It wouldn’t do good to lie to myself and say that I did not enjoy myself, Tartarus, I had fun. But it wouldn’t work.

Velvet is supposed to end up with Night Light, they are supposed to be together and have two wonderful kids that would go and do amazing things. I was just a bug, in every sense of the word.

Something warm, and slightly damp on my cheek shook me out of my thoughts. Looking to the side I noticed Velvet with closed eyes being AWFULLY close to me. She pulled back with a large smile while I watched her incredulously trying to piece everything together without running to the hills like a maniac screaming.

“Thank you for today, Night Front. I had fun,” she tilted her head to the side adorably. “We should do this again sometimes, but something simpler.”

I nodded my head numbly. The tingle of her lips on my cheek was an ever-present feeling.

“Umm, picnic?” I asked.

“Sure, I’d love a picnic,” she hopped a few times with glee. “How about next Restday? Not tomorrow, but next week.”

“Sure,” I continued to act like an idiot, but it seems to work as she laughed (at me I think) gave me another peck on the left cheek, and then pranced away happily. I think she said goodbye, but I was far too lost to react appropriately.

Shaking my head violently I opened my wings, not caring if I hit someone, and rocketed out of there as fast as I could.

I wasn’t paying attention to where, or how long I was flying. I wasn’t even paying attention that I was back to my buggy self. All I wanted was to rant and rave at myself. How could I fuck this up so much? I was supposed to be only a stumbling block here, nothing else.

She was supposed to have a bad date, Light was supposed to break up with Sparkle and then Velvet and Light would get together and that would be it!

I landed at the front door of my room at the academy. I was still myself, but I knew for a fact that no one was around anyway to notice me. At least, I hoped.

Opening the door I entered our room, spotting Night Light in bed and fast asleep. I went and had myself an invigorating shower, brushed my fangs, and climbed into the bed. I wasn’t tired, but a nap would be welcome.

Closing my eyes, all I could see was that beaming smile, and those beautiful eyes. I was royally fucked.

Wait… Royalty?

CH 19 (meeting the parent)

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Patchwork

I watched Night Light as he was sorting out his schedule for the day, and the next week. He was very meticulous about it, as was his entire desk.

I looked to the desk next to him, noticing that I have done the same thing with mine, everything was in its place, everything was nice and sorted out. The only thing I did not like to do is schedules. A schedule can always be messed up, something can get in the way of it or muss it up beyond fixing.

Night Lights weekly did look pretty though, all nice and colorful.

I decided that I had enough pretending to be asleep and yawned loudly. Night Light turned around with a smile on his muzzle.

“Morning, bud. How did the date go?” I immediately wanted to throw my pillow at him.

“It went fine, I enjoyed myself, we have a next one on the next Restday.” I droned out without any emotion.

Night Light looked at me funny for a moment but then shrugged and went back to his schedule. “So, what’s the plan for today then?”

“You got something?” I asked him, using my wings to buzz myself into the toilet.

“Nah, nothing overly much, probably grab some of the ‘tals and go try to find something to do.” I heard him from the main room.

“Sounds like a busy day then.” I did my business and left the bathroom. Walking over to the wardrobe I opened it up, finding a fresh bag of cookies. Celestia always sent some, every day a fresh bag, without fail. That mare is insane sometimes.

“You wanna join us?”

“Nah, not today,” I offered some of the cookies to him, which he took with glee. “I got something planned out that I need to see through.” I have decided that I need to talk to Celestia or Shield Strike about this Velvet business. But I first need to see if I can reach them in the first place. Captain Strike sometimes visits the academy, so I have to check when and if she is in the office, or if Armored is.

“That’s a shame, you will be missed, but if you have something then that’s ok.” He folded his finished calendar for the week and placed it in one of the drawers. I remembered which one so I can mess it up a bit later. “I just hope whatever your plan is today goes well.”

“I hope so too. I need to check if the Captain or Vice-Captain are here today. Or someone I can trust.” I said munching on the fresh cookies. I need to pace myself, but they are so good.

“Oh dear, something important?”

“No, nothing much, but I need to talk to them nonetheless.” I tied the bag down and put it back in the wardrobe for later. I’m going to read up on some more magic before I go as it was too early to do anything.

…

Walking down the academy field as Night Front I was making my way to the only pony I could ask about the main office, Hard Tablet.

I spotted some of my teammates as they were just now going for breakfast (it was ten in the morning) and I waved back at them, but I didn’t stop for a chat like I usually do.

“Oi, Front, you going to the offices?” I heard a shout from Front Lance, a blue-colored pegasus with a white splotch of fur on his chest.

“Yeh, what ’cha need?” I yelled back.

“Can you check if I got a letter? I’ve been expecting it.”

“Sure thing.” He waved at me as a thank you and I nodded back at him, knowing he can see it.

Entering the office area, I decided to check on Lance’s letter first. I made a beeline to the postal section, and before I even asked what I need the mare at the desk shook her head.

“I heard ya all the way here, don ’cha know. There ain’t nothin’ for that colt, yet.”

“Thank you Postal Care, I’ll let him know that it’ll probably arrive later.”

“Mhm.” She nodded her head at me and continued scribbling on a parchment.

Postal Care was a wonderful mare. She is getting on in the years, but her hearing is still just as sharp as ever and her eyes couldn’t be tricked, I tried, it didn’t end well for me. Her lemon-green coat was getting duller due to the greys as did her much darker mane she kept in a bun. Her horn, however, was well-groomed and sharp and I got the feeling she would be good to go with this job for another decade at least.

“Care, do you know if Hard Tablet is in today?”

“It’s Restday young colt, other than me finishing up my work, there is almost nopony here today, don ‘cha know.”

“Well, dang, I completely forgot about that.” And I did. I was studying up lightning magic so I can improve upon my own trick. Completely missed that it was a day off for nearly everyone else. “Do you know if there is any way to reach either Captain Strike or Vice-Captain Saddle?”

“I can draft them a quick letter, but I don’t know if it’ll reach them. They are busy ponies.” She did not even raise her head from the parchment.

“I will write it up myself ma’am. I’ll just put in that it’s from the bug-colt, they will know who it is from.”

She raised her head along with a raised eyebrow, but I didn’t elaborate. I took the nearby quill and drafted a quick letter with my true name as the signature and gave it to her.

She took the letter, sealed it, and put it in the correct post box without even looking at it. I knew either Shield or Armored would get the letter, Postal Care always made sure of it. I thanked the old mare and left the post.

It would seem that my current plan was placed on hold… But what do I do about it when I stand in front of Celestia. Do I just tell her WHY I’m so worried in the first place? Do I play matchmaker between Night Light and Velvet (‘I will just ignore that pang of jealousy’) and ruin not only his loving relationship with Sparkle but also my friendship? How much should I tell her in the first place?

SO many questions.

I think I’m going to join the other colts. I changed my mind; I need a drink.

…

‘Why can’t I get even tipsy?’ I asked myself for the third time that night.

I was currently carrying a drunk Night Light (he lost a bet), draped over my back, as he was trying to explain to everyone we passed about how much he loves Bright Sparkle. It was both utterly adorable and disheartening, as it showed me just how high of a mountain this issue has become for me. He genuinely loves her, and I have to somehow muck it up. I’m such a bastard.

“Night Light, is that you?”

“Night Front?”

“There… there…there she is. My beauty-beaut-beau… My lovely mare.” Slurred Night while trying to get off of me.

“What’s gotten into him?” Asked, what I assumed was Bright Sparkle. She was a shade brighter than her sister, with her coat being almost white, but her mane and her eye color were the same.

Looking at them, it dawned on me that they were twins with me only being able to tell the difference because they were standing next to each other. Velvet favored her left, while Bright favored her right. Velvet was a shade darker, and she did not have a small beauty mark on her left cheek. Thank the stars they weren’t identical twins, otherwise, I would lose my mind.

It seemed to give Night Light a slight pause as it took him several seconds to recognize which is which, but then he beelined straight towards his mare. Or at least he tried to.

“He lost a bet, got smashed in the process.” I tried not to laugh at his attempts to ‘woo’ his mare again.

“He’s drunk!” Bright practically shrieked. Night wobbled for a split second, nearly falling before he got his balance back.

“No-no-no-no, honey, sweety-bright, I lost a bet, I had, had, had… I lost a bet.” Both me and Velvet were laughing at Brights’ face as she tried to process Night Lights blurbs. “Patch,” I froze, “Front… Night, tell her.”

“Yes, do tell.” Bright Sparkle scowled at me with venom in her voice.

“Wait, why aren’t you drunk?” Asked Velvet skeptically. She was looking me up and down and I felt like a deer in the headlights.

“No salt fer Front, only cider.” Came more of Nights’ slurring.

“You had no salt. But you let him get drunk on it.” Sparkle was in my face, obviously furious.

“Hey, hey, I told him it was a bad idea, I did not think he was such a lightweight,” I lifted my hooves trying to placate her. “He was already drunk of the first, and by the second salt lick he was like this…”

“Anypony gots soem water.” Gurgled Night Light. He looked like he was trying to chew his teeth.

Bright, Velvet, and myself were looking at him as he tried to eat his own mouth… or at least I think that’s what he did.

“We should get him some water,” suggested Velvet and Bright immediately started nosing her boyfriend in an unknown direction whilst throwing me dirty looks over her shoulder. Velvet and I were following behind.

“Your sister seems to… dislike me.”

“Dislike is such a strong word. More like, she is mildly miffed at you.” Velvet was walking awfully close to me. Close enough to touch and I was feeling both elated and horrified, the mixture of emotions was unpleasant.

“She does know that this is not my fault, right?” I asked.

“Brighty was always a very protective pony, and she cares for Night Light. You should hear how she talks about him; it’s sickeningly sweet sometimes.”

“Ditto, Night Light makes me want to stuff a pillow in my ears sometimes. Where are we going, by the way?” I was curious as I was just following them to make sure Night Light is fine.

“Probably our place, since it’s not far from here.” She guessed with a curious frown. “You know, you could meet my folks while we are there, get that over with.”

I suddenly had over twenty scenarios running through my head, all so improbably silly that I had to violently shake my head to dislodge them. Velvet was looking at me curiously all the while. There may be some benefit to this though. If her parents didn’t approve, it would remove me from this equation… But how do I fix Night Light then?

“Velvet, can you help me with this… No honey, not now.” Bright was struggling with Night Light while trying to open the door, and I decided to intervene.

Approaching the two of them, I got my head under Night’s barrel and, lifting my neck, I rolled him down to my withers. He was a bit green in the face, but otherwise, he didn’t protest other than a loud groan.

“Lead the way, ma’am.” Sparkle looked at me for a moment before shaking her head and entering her home. Velvet followed after with a snicker.

For wealthy members of the nobility, their home was rather simple. There were no oversized gardens, massive patios, or sculptures of any kind. The house wasn’t particularly large either for the area. It was for all intents and purposes a homey place.

Entering the house, I ended up in a long but wide hallway, where all three of us could comfortably stand without crowding each other. There was a lavish but unassuming carpet leading all the way down the corridor to a closed door.

The walls were lined with portraits and various paintings of family members and moments in their life. There was a large and very ornate vase not far down, and next to it was a lovely little drawer with a stand. Five doorways lined the corridor and other than the door at the very end, all were open.

“Mom, Dad, we’re back!” Bright called out.

“And we got guests,” added Velvet, and with the noises Night was making I was getting uncomfortable.

“Oh darlings, please don’t tell me you got another unfortunate soul here. You know what happened last time.” Out of the rightmost door came an older, but still incredibly beautiful unicorn mare in probably her late forties. Her coat was the same shade as Velvets, her mane and tail were bright red, however, with two streaks of both gold and orange going through them. She had hardly any greys and moved with the skill of someone I would peg for a gymnast, fluidly and with grace. “Oh dear, what happened to poor Night Light?” She asked worriedly.

“He lost a bet ma’am, and unfortunately our mates decided to salt him,” I told the mare, as she started fussing over Night Light.

“The poor stallion got salted.” From the first doorway on the right came a burly earth pony stallion in his early fifties, based on the streaks of grey and the wrinkles around his eyes. Nonetheless, he still looked like he took care of himself. His brown coat stood in dark contrast with the rest of his family, but his blue eyes gave away his connection to his daughters, as did his mane and tail, which were straight, neatly trimmed, and two-toned white and black. “Come now, let’s get him watered up. I have some painkillers that would also do the trick. Bring him over.”

I followed the large stallion through the house ending up in the bathroom where a tub was slowly being filled with water.

“Okay, now, ease him down… Gently, like that. There you go.” No sooner said than done, Night Light was draped over the side of the tub, with his head lolling over the inner section.

The moment the water hit his nose he started slurping greedily and in short order he looked like there was life in his body.

“Now, let’s leave him to get his bearing, why don’t the two of us chat while he’s here.” We left the bathroom and stood in the hallway leading to it, while also keeping an eye on Night Light so he doesn’t drown himself. There was a sudden retching sound and I saw him hunched over the toilet before he went back to drinking. “Just let him get this out of his system.”

Suddenly a hoof was extended towards me, and I gingerly returned the hoof bump.

“The name is Perfect Service and based on my daughter’s description you are Night Front, I’m guessing.” He was scanning me over with a critical eye, but I did not let him intimidate me. I knew the spiel, I had to go through it two times before.

“Good guess, sir. I’m Night Front, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Your daughter speaks highly of you.” I could sense the rest of the family members around the house, especially Velvet who was eavesdropping not far from us.

“The pleasure is all mine, young colt. My daughter was simply gushing about the date she had and the picnic that was planned,” Both of us heard a groan from the side and quick retreating hooves.

Service chuckled and we both looked over at Night Light who seems to have finally calmed down somewhat and was now just sitting with his head held low.

“I am going to be honest here, Night Front, I have little reason to like you, other than you both making my daughters happy.” He shifted a bit, making him look much larger and a slight shiver went down my spine. “But both you are hiding something, and if Night Light didn’t assure me that it’s nothing malicious I wouldn’t be here talking to you, and you wouldn’t be entering my house.” He visibly calmed down and sighed, “My daughters are my world for me, Vel wanted nothing more than to see you again the moment she came home last time, so all I ask is that you treat her right. Got it?”

I silently nodded my head, getting a similar nod in return.

“I have to ask though, sir, how did you know we are keeping a secret?” I asked somewhat scared that my actual identity was uncovered.

Perfect walked over to the bathroom and unplugged the bath, letting the water run out. He whispered something to Night getting a nod from my friend before he walked back to me.

“It came up during my chat with Night Light here. He got very uncomfortable talking about his friend, a little prodding and I got the admittance. But he’s a good friend; he told me nothing and other than swearing by everything he holds dear that none of it is bad, I got nothing else out of him.” He then smirked, “After chatting a bit with Captain Strike she assured me as well.”

My eyes bugged out for a second, and Service barked out a thunderous laugh.

“The look on your face. Hah!” I closed my jaw with a click. “I am responsible for over half of that castle’s staff young colt; you don’t think that I wouldn’t make friends with the captain of the guard.”

“It never crossed my mind.” Perfect Service is a very vocal member of the Noble Council of Equestria, fighting for the rights of service workers and the like. He made a fair number of enemies over the years if what Velvet told me is true. I did not even consider he would be this well connected.

“Thank you, Perfect, sir.” Came a hoarse voice from approaching Night Light. He was still swaying from side to side, but it was much better now. He also had some color returned to his cheeks.

“Nonsense. Everypony ends up in a similar situation at least once in a lifetime, you are just lucky you ran into my daughters, otherwise, your morning might have been far worse, let me tell you.” Perfect Service laughed again, before shaking his head. His eyes were a little misty, and by the emotions I sensed, he was reliving a nice memory.

“Now,” he turned to both me and Night Light, “normally I would send you both home, but I don’t think that Light here should just go out in this state.” Light opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it.

“We have training tomorrow morning, he should…”

“He will be there tomorrow, bright and early I can promise you that, but I cannot in good conscience just let him go in his inebriated state,” he assured me.

Thinking over it for a bit, we agreed with him, and Night Light decided to stay the night and arrive to the academy early in the morning. I chatted with Velvets’ father for a few minutes and was then ushered out by Velvet.

“You know, you could stay the night as well, the house is big enough,” she looked down bashfully while making small circles on the ground with her hoof.

I barked a short laugh, startling her slightly, “Sorry, sorry, I did not mean to scare you.” I approached her and gave her a gentle peck on the cheek. ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?’ “But that may be a bit too much too fast.” I smiled at her which got me a smile back. Her emotions were a mix of happiness, love, and infatuation. I even took a small sample in between breaths. It was rather intoxicating.

“Yeah, you are right. Still, the offer IS on the table.”

“Tell you what, Vel, give it a few more dates and I’ll take you up on that offer.” ‘You IDIOT! Stop that!’

“It’s a deal.” She offered me a hoof that I eagerly hoof bumped, sealing my fate.

I took a step back, and with a powerful flap launched myself into the air and towards the academy.

CH 20 (realisation)

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Patchwork

The next morning, I was setting up my bed when Night Light wabbled in with a gigantic smile and a visible blush.

I was watching him for a few moments trying and failing to suppress a laugh. To me, it was obvious what happened by both the smell, and his wobbly walk.

“Shut up. Nothing happened.” He still had that smile on his muzzle as he went to the bathroom.

“Just remember to take a quick shower, or you’ll get it.” I heard a quiet curse from the bathroom before the shower was turned on.

…

I was looking straight ahead. Stiff Edge was trotting between us, making sure that we all were looking as stiff and immovable as statues. Our ears were the only thing that was allowed to move, and even that was in a jerky, robotic manner to give off an impression of stillness as much as possible.

“Block!” Came the sudden order and I unfurled my left wing. Next to me, Slow Wing did the same with his right. We nearly clipped Stiff Edge, but by the nod he gave us, that was the whole idea.

Bright Sheath in front of me moved with Edge, effectively blocking his pass, and getting a nod as well.

“Return!” I retracted the wing, noting the unicorn shields flickered out, and earth ponies went back to their original position.

I only half followed what was going on around me, letting my natural multitasking skill take over by instinct while I was thinking.

How do I fix the situation I put myself in?

Tomorrow I am going on a small picnic with Velvet… and I am looking forward to it. As is Velvet apparently.

Out of all the options I have so far, breaking up with her is the most logical one, but also the most painful.

“Block!” My wing went up, but poor Wing was a second too slow. “Slow Wing, I know that is your name, but you don’t have to actually be slow! On the ground, count it out, fifty!”

I mean, I like the mare, the problem is that after our interaction so far, I really like her. She has this pep that I always found attractive in women. And her daredevil attitude only made her more attractive. She is also very good looking.

“Night Front, are you paying attention!?” Stiff Edge was in my face yelling, and it took me a moment to come back to my senses. “I said on the ground and give me fifty.”

I got into the pony variation of a push up (which would be very awkward for a human), when suddenly an additional weight was added when Edge decided to stand on top of me. No rest for the wicked I guess.

…

Muzzles are totally a thing as a guard. You need permission from a superior, and an agreement from your squad mates as well as a written form after the fact, but you can muzzle an individual.

They are rarely used these days, but it still has their uses depending on the situation. Especially since thestrals, griffons, abyssinians and some other creatures of this world have a powerful bite. Powerful enough that muzzling is considered.

There is, of course, the other side of the whole thing, and according to the history book, Celestia has been trying to squash any such uses. This is why any unauthorised use of a muzzle is severely punished. Which makes me wonder how Impulse continued to do his job at the academy. Was he even punished? Would they even be able to punish him?

After all, I am supposed to be an unknown. And opening that can of worms would probably cause issues for everyone involved. And of course, it would open the changelings to the public, probably causing a backlash that would force the changelings into a worse situation which would…

“Hey, are you okay?” Asked Night Light from my left.

“Yeah, just remembered something,” I answered, swallowing thickly. I refocused on the class and ignored the worried look he gave me.

It did sting a bit that he wasn’t punished, other than a broken nose, but I guess, all things considered, maybe I’m just not informed well enough.

…

“Swing left!”

I twisted my neck to the left, the dull sword in my mouth making a sound as it cut through the air.

“Swing right!”

I hated this exercise the most.

The handle of the sword was in my mouth, its taste of dust and cloth all but permeating my nose and lungs.

“Stab!”

But we had to learn how to do this in case we needed it.

“Night Front, front and centre.” Came the order from Stiff Edge.

Twisting my neck and sheathing my sword, I walked to the front of the group, spotting trainer Impulse not far off with a scowl on his face.

“What did you do?” Whispered Edge. I shrugged my shoulders and approached Impulse Strike.

Before I closed in on Impulse, he lifted a scroll and unfurled it in front of me letting me read my own letter before incinerating it with his magic. I showed no emotion.

“Listen to me, and listen to me well, insect; you are here by the mercy of her highness and nothing else.” I stared blankly in front as he growled, “I find you trying something as stupid as bothering her again with your nonsense I will make sure you are out of the academy, and if you are lucky I will only kick you out, are we clear?” He snorted in my face; his face twisted with malice.

Sensing his emotion, I found nothing good, but it did not affect me this time. I was in control. Only then did I look at him.

“Your muzzle is crooked.”

“What?” Came the seething question.

“I said your muzzle is crooked, sir.” I then came closer to him, almost touching him; I kind of expected him to pull back, “I’m not afraid of you... Have a good day.” I turned around and walked away. I expected a rebuttal of some sort, but it never came.

Approaching Stiff Edge, I explained to him the situation and, after some scolding from him, I re-joined the team with our training. He did promise to get in contact with Shield Strike for me though.

…

“What happened there with Impulse, Night Front?” asked Slow Wing.

I looked up from dinner, and the notes I was writing down, spotting the usual team around the table: Slow Wing, Bright Sheath, Night Light, Horn Point, and a newcomer to our table (still part of our team) Advent Hoof, a blue earth pony stallion with a swirly mane and tail. The swirl pattern was in three colours: blue, white, and orange.

I also noticed that some of the other tables of our team had their ears trained on me. I decided to make up a lie on the spot.

“I applied for further training with Impulse Strike but was denied.”

“Wait, you wanted to leave us?!” Was Star Falls accusation.

“I wouldn’t say leave, I just wanted some extra training.” I went back to my dinner and notes, hoping the matter to be done.

“Aren’t they already pushing you hard enough?” Asked Bright.

“Oh please, Front has been gaining and passing us ever since he got here. Give him a few more months and he’s going to be ahead of us by a landslide.” Horn Point added his own two bits.

“Do you want to be an officer?”

I looked at Advent and was about to retort, but I stopped and thought about it for a minute.

Being an officer meant a higher paycheck, better facilities, more time to put into me as well as deal with the whole changeling thing. It would also put me closer to Shield Strike and Celestia. But then, why don’t I aim higher than that?

“Hm, maybe he wants to be the next Shield Strike?” Came from the table next to us.

“As if, he’s good, but not that good.”

“She is going to retire eventually. What with her illness and all.”

“Shield Strike is ill!?” The table next to us looked at me.

“Yeah, you didn’t know?” Asked the pegasus stallion next to Horn Point. Light blue fur and hair, by the name of Blue Dive. He shook his head at my shocked expression. “She has the ‘mega mana’ syndrome.”

“Oh? I did not know that.” I noticed that Night Light was finished with his meal and was packing up to leave.

I hastily finished my own, cleaned up after myself, packed my notes and ran after him after saying good night to the rest of our team.

“What is ‘mega mana’, Light?” I asked him as we were making our way back to our room.

“Mega mana, or ‘Blue’s burnout syndrome’, is when a pony’s core develops an instability.” We got to our dorm and entered. “Essentially a body produces so much mana it starts oversaturating and damaging the organs of the pony. There is no known cure for it, but with proper medication, you could live your life in some level of normalcy.”

“What do you mean.” I flashed back into myself and buzzed up to my bunk.

“The pills burn away excess mana, but that is it. I mean there are some ‘good’ things that come out of it,” he used his hooves as quotation marks, “like stronger body or stronger magic, depending on what race you are, but ultimately the body and the pills cannot keep up with the burnout. Earth ponies deal with it the best since their bodies are naturally stronger, but even then they don’t live as long as they could. It’s extremely rare though, like less than one percent rare.”

There were a few moments of silence before Night Light spoke.

“Why the sudden interest in something like this?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. “You never showed interest in the medical side of things before.”

I was about to answer when I saw it click in his head; his pupils widened, and he gasped.

“You worked with Shield Strike for two years.”

“Yeah, and I never noticed that she was ill.” I was upset at myself for it too. I had a great deal of respect for Captain Shield Strike, and finding out now that she carried a burden like this… I did not like it, I was slipping.

“Well, nothing to it now,” He took his calendar and ticked off a day and scribbled some lines on the bottom. “I suggest you don’t worry yourself too much about it, she would have mentioned it if it was important.”

“Yeah, you may be right.”

Shield Strike

“I want’s ta make tha’ bug-colt tha’ next Captain.”

Armoured said nothing but nodded, and Sunshine was looking at me like I have grown a second head.

“H-honey, are you sure about this, after all, he isn’t even officially a guard yet.”

“Neither was Saddle when ‘e was chosen,” I stated.

“True,” Saddle confirmed.

Celestia looked at Armoured, then at me and back at Armoured, “That is completely different, he comes from a military family with a long martial history.”

“Also true,” he again agreed.

“Fines then, how’s about mah’self as an example: I come from a family that has nothing to do with the military.”

“Indeed.” Nodded Saddle.

This time both I and my wife looked at Armoured, who was doing some paperwork while we were arguing.

“While true,” Celestia kept an eye on my second, “you were a guard trainee of high promise when you were chosen. Patch only just started his journey.”

I opened my mouth to retort but Saddle again did his thing.

“Mhm,” he nodded his head without even looking up from the parchments.

“Okay, I’m done.” I turned to my second. “Do YOU have anything to add Saddle, or are you just keeping a tally on us?”

“Both.”

We waited for a moment, but nothing came.

“And?” Asked my wife.

Armoured rolled up the parchment and sealed it before looking at both of us.

“While I agree with your selection, Captain,” I hoof-pumped at that, “I also agree with the Princess that it may be too soon.” I faltered a bit. He picked up another parchment from the pile and started scribbling on it. “Stranger choices have been made for the position before so him being a changeling won’t, well, change anything.

"But he is also a complete unknown to the rest of the world, and other than the false identity we made he doesn’t have anything to his name.” He lifted his head and looked at each of us in turn. “I suggest we wait and see how his training is progressing. Right now, he is doing exemplary, so he has that going for him, which is nice.” He then went right back to paperwork.

“I agree with him.”

“OH C’MON!” I threw both my forelegs in the air, “The sooner I starts tha’ train ‘im tha’ sooner I can ‘ave a competent replacement.”

Celestia said nothing and has left the room with a smug look on her muzzle, and I was left with the traitor.

‘I should check up on bug-colt,’ I thought with a sigh

Patchwork

‘Am I seriously doing this again, why?’ I asked myself as I was now double-checking the picnic basket.

My thoughts were swarming angrily as I was trying and failing, to figure out a way out of this date. Tartarus it was only the second date, why couldn’t I just man up and break it off.

I triple checked everything again.

Two juice bottles: apple and orange; sandwiches and some cookies for later. Night Light helped me as I was woefully unprepared for equestrian cuisine. Sugar, while welcome, simply isn’t as readily eaten as much as I could. So, I asked Night if he could help me make something simple.

After making sure everything was ready I looked around.

I was standing near a statue dedicated to Celestia, smack in the middle of a large square in the second plate. The Celestial Stone Square wasn’t far from a large park that ponies regularly used to relax with a picnic as it offered a magnificent view of the countryside.

‘Why am I doing this AGAIN!’ I growled out in my mind. Then I spotted her.

She walked slowly, which changed into prancing when she spotted me. Ears forward, her tail swishing from side to side and a large happy grin on her face. There were butterflies in my stomach, and I knew exactly why I was doing this again: I liked Velvet.

On our first date we spent several hours just chatting and getting to know one another, and thanks to Night Light I always knew, due to Sparkle, how Velvet felt about me. Ponies don’t take long to make a connection with one another, and I got that with Velvet. After the first date, she kept bumping into my mind like a pinball, even when I wasn’t thinking about how to get out… and let’s be honest here, I barely tried. I just couldn’t be the heel I knew I needed to be, and even if I was, I already messed things up irreparably by bumping into her on the day I left my ‘prison’.

“Heya Front.” She bounced over to me and gave me a peck on the cheek that send all sorts of tingles down my spine.

I need to talk to Celestia. She needs to know how much I screwed up.

“Hi Vel.” I decided to peck her back and was revelling in the redness of her cheeks, and the giggle that came with it. “Ready to get this show on the road?”

“Am I ever, lead the way handsome.” She took the basket from my hooves and offered hers. I took it and we slowly made our way over to the park.

CH 21 (Making another decision)

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Patchwork

“So, you know my mother is into ballet, and that my father owns a school for service staff,” Velvet started off while we were on a slow trot to the park, “and we talked about this and that during our previous date…” We entered the park, and Velvet stopped talking, focusing on finding us a good spot. I was also looking but was suddenly yanked to the side. Velvet obviously spotted a good place.

She kept dragging me for a good few seconds until I got my bearings. She was giggling all the while, and I couldn’t suppress a chuckle of my own.

Young love, it always did that; the giggles the caresses, the sweet nothings…

She finally let go of me and pranced in a circle she designated would be our picnic spot. I noticed that it was very close to the edge of the plate, and its guard rail.

As I set everything up she approached the stone railing and propping herself up with her forelegs she took a long whiff of the fresh air.

“Don’t jump, you have so much to live for,” I joked setting up the picnic.

“I get a feeling you wouldn’t let me fall in the first place,” she let out a melodic laugh, and the wind that picked up for a moment only added to the atmosphere.

I was watching her as the wind whipped her mane around as all thoughts of abandoning this path got crushed into nothing. Let’s be honest, the moment I came into the picture on this world everything was up for grabs. There is no way I would let some of the things happen the way it was supposed to if I could help it. It hurt, knowing I messed things up this badly with Velvet and Night, but it was out of my claws now.

“You bet your fuzzy tail I wouldn’t let you fall,” I growled out. Putting the basket on the blanket I approached her and looked over the countryside, thoroughly enjoying the view. Both of them.

“You know, the vista is over there,” Velvet giggled trying to gently force my muzzle to look at the sprawl.

“I know,” I chuckled, “but I made my choice.”

“Have you now?” She looked ahead but didn’t try to correct me again. “You know, I envy you pegasi. I always wished to be able to fly.” She waved her hooves around trying to encompass the magnitude of the sky in front of us. “The thrill of the fall, the open sky above, and the long, long drop. Rollercoasters have nothing on it.” She sighed wistfully.

“Hm, maybe I could help with that?” I jumped over the railing, letting my wings catch the thermals. I turned around and extended my hooves towards her.

It took her all but a second to contemplate before she took a running start and jumped over.

“Holy shit!” I scrambled to catch her and keep us up, nearly giving in to the temptation of flashing into my buggy self, but I was able to get a firm hold on her and keep us aloft with powerful flaps. “Are you out of your mind, filly!?”

She only laughed that melodic laugh of hers before the view caught up with her.

I maneuvered myself into a better hold, cradling her bridal style, and promptly started pumping my wings harder to gain some altitude and distance from the city.

It wasn’t easy, but I could manage. I carried her like that for roughly fifteen minutes before my forelegs started slightly burning. I did not do anything complex, just a simple flight forward and back but it seemed to be enough for her. She hasn’t spoken a word, just looked out towards the skyline, and occasionally looked down causing her already hammering heart to beat faster.

Whatever idea I had to ‘fix’ things may as well have been murdered in a back alley as she pointed pure and unfiltered love towards me, so much so that I almost choked on it.

I landed us on the chequered blanket near our basket and before I let set her down she craned her neck and kissed me gently on the lips.

I froze.

I stood on my hind legs, holding Velvet in my forelegs for a moment more before I shook my head and gently set her down. She had a look of worry on her face, and I had to fix it as soon as possible.

Gently cupping her head while her head was down I slowly pulled her towards me and kissed her back. I saw her eyes widen before they closed, and she let out an appreciative hum melting into the kiss.

We slowly separated, my heart hammering in my chest and I decided then and there that I would make absolutely sure that her future is as happy as I can make it. Even if I have to fight the nightmares of the future on my own.

“You - you really know how to steal a mare’s heart.” She bit her lower lip, looking into my eyes.

“It helps when I have someone like you around to inspire me.” I chuckled at her blush and laughed out loud when her stomach made itself known. I swiftly caressed her cheek with my wing, and we sat down to eat.

“So, you mind sharing a bit about your family, handsome?” She asked in between bites of her sandwich.

I took a large sip of apple juice as I thought about it.

“There isn’t much to say I’m afraid,” I looked at my own daffodil, honey, and tomato sandwich (weird combo but tasty), “My father is a lawyer, and my mother is an accountant. We aren’t as well off as your family, but we make do with what we have.” I stopped for a second to get my story straight and to consider how much I can transfer to what I had now.

“Those are both good occupations, lawyers are paid well here in Canterlot, so I doubt you were lacking.”

“I never said we did, but my father wasn’t some hot shot lawyer though, I had what I wanted as an only child, and I was happy with it. I was never wanting, outside of wants of a foal.”

“You were an only child?” She looked at me weirdly for some reason.

“Yep, and happy to be one as well. I never saw the appeal of having a sibling, but that may be simply because I don’t know better.” I took the second sandwich and took my time eating it.

“Having the undivided attention of your parents must have been a blessing then?”

“Not really…” Some pain managed to seep into my voice, and she reached with her hoof to grab mine in sympathy. I sighed, “If my parents married out of love that love was gone ages ago. My mother was rarely there for me, but my father…” this time I smiled, “My father was always there. He made sure to be there whenever I needed him, and I- whenever I think of my family my father is at the forefront of my mind.”

“What about your other family members? Friends?”

“Plenty of both, and all left behind when I came here. They weren’t happy about me leaving, but I had to leave, maybe one day I’ll…” I never noticed when she hugged me, but I returned it all the same. We stayed like that for who knows how many minutes.

I wanted to tell her the truth, not these half lies I have been living with for the past four months. Just one more reason to talk to Celestia. If Vel’s parents are so well connected maybe she will know if I could trust them with my secret.

I felt a light tug on my tail, and I spotted that our tails were now intertwined. Looking at Velvet she had a lovely blush, and she couldn’t meet my eyes. I only smiled and reached into the picnic basket taking the cookie bag.

“Let’s not dwell on my past though, here…” I offered her a cookie, which she eagerly grabbed with her magic. She took one dainty bite, but in the next moment the cookie was gone, and her cheeks were bulging like a chipmunk.

“These are fantastic!” She exclaimed grabbing another cookie. I ate mine at a more sedate pace, savoring the delicacy. “How did you make this; I need to know the recipe.” She looked at me with her big blue eyes and a small pout that made my heart skip a beat.

Unfortunately for her, I was raised on my younger cousin’s pouts of incredible cuteness overload, what Vel showed me barely ranked as a four out of ten.

“Sorry my dear, but that is a secret.” I winked at her, and her pout went up to eight, with big tearful eyes and slightly puffed-up cheeks. Seeing that I was a tough walnut to crack she added a sniffle and a whimper; I just about had a heart attack. Sighing I turned away, “Sorry, darling, but they were a gift, and I did not make them. I honestly don’t know the recipe.”

“Oh,” the weapons-grade cuteness disappeared, and I could feel my heart calm down. “Do you think you could ask whoever gifted this to you for it? I would really like to try making these.”

“I’ll… try asking, but I cannot make any promises.” I extended my wing and ran the primaries through her mane, making sure I was extra gentle, as my dexterity with them wasn’t as great as I would like it to be.

“Works for me, thank you.” That got me a peck on the cheek and a nuzzle. She then leaned into me, and we spent a good hour just chatting about how our days went. It was bliss.

…

I walked at a slow trot to the academy, with my thoughts being a muddled mess. On one claw, my decision to stick with Vel made me very happy; on another claw, it also made me feel guilty.

I messed up so many things with fucking this up and looking to the future, I can honestly say that my little ‘diary’ may as well be useless.

Nightmare Moon? I need the six elements, and I am now probably one mare short. Discord, same deal. Chrysalis is on my to-do list as early as I possibly can, so that is taken care of. Sombra? Oh, gods did I ever mess this one up. Tirek, Starlight, et cetera, are all a bigger issue now with Twilight Sparkle being possibly removed from the picture. Even if the multiverse theory may mean that AN element of magic would be born, I needed to think about Vel’s future now.

I couldn’t put this off any longer, Celestia needs to know, if not the whole thing, then at least enough where she could understand… and punish me appropriately should she wish so. But she is not taking Vel from me.

Arriving at the academy I made my way through its familiar corridors, my head a bit lighter but some lingering doubts were left over. Maybe Celestia can offer some help.

Opening the door to my room and entering I was immediately greeted by a bone-crushing hug from a red-furred pony with a familiar blue tattoo. Dropping the basket I opted not to move too much.

“Captain!” I croaked out through the creaking of my ribs.

“Evenin’ bug-colt, miss me?” She asked cheerfully after letting me go. I was breathing very carefully hoping she didn’t do more than bruise me.

“I actually did, ma’am. It is good to see you.” I missed most of the old team I worked with, and while I still see White Light on occasion, he told me has been busy with a new project as of late, but he never said what kind of project opting to be all mysterious when I asked.

“It’s good to see you too, Patch.” Strike walked over to one of the desks and moved the chair to face me as she sat down on it. “Now, tell me what’s been going on the past four months. I heard you got yourself a fillyfriend.” She winked at me.

I felt my body grow warmer with embarrassment as I flashed into my changeling form, taking the basket and putting it to the side.

“Yes, I got a fillyfriend, her name is Velvet, can we drop this already?” It felt embarrassing talking about this with Strike, like I was talking about my first crush with my parents. I noted that Night Light was missing, but he was probably out.

“No can do, bug colt, ah’ need the deets so ah’ can gives them ta’ Sunshine.” She laughed, and I got the feeling that she knew more about the date than I would like.

Sighing I sat down in front of her, “Fine, what do ya’ want to know, mom?”

She barked a laugh gain, slapping her knee, “Mom, eh bug-colt? Can’t say I’m a mom material, but I’ll do my best.”

My ears wilted and I growled, “It was a joke.” I ground out.

“Nope, ih’m a mom now, can’ts change ma’ mind ‘bout it.” She rubbed her hooves together as a predatory grin spread on her face. “So, tells me about ‘er: what’s she like, is she fun, what do you like about her, what does she look like, tell me everything.”

I sighed again while rolling my eyes at her, but it still filled me with warmth knowing she cares.

“I really like her,” I started off, “she’s like a bit of a daredevil from what she told me, she is fun to be around, I love her eyes, she is grey with a two-tone mane and blue eyes, and we went on a picnic today. There, happy now?”

“Nope, but it’ll do fer now. So, tell me, how is tha’ guard life treatin’ ya?”

“It’s been going fine, I guess,” I said, uncertain of what I should say. This whole meeting has become awkward for some reason.

“Ya guess?” She deadpanned, “C’mon ya got ’a give me something more than that, bug-colt.”

“What do you want me to say, captain,” I started gesturing wildly with my hooves, “You probably know more about what is going on in this place than me.” I snorted folding my forelegs in front of me, “For all I know you have someone tailing me day and night.”

“Well, yes I do, and yes I do.” I looked at her in shock, but she continued undeterred in a softer tone, “But my point is that I want to hear it from you, Patch. Like, how is the training going, did you make some friends, do you like the academy, did Impulse give you any issues, and so on.”

I was quiet for a moment, and she decided to continue.

“For the record, Patch, if ya wants ta’ know, we trust ya, bug-colt; the shadows are there, however for your safety, ya hear. We don’ts want anything ta’ happen to you.”

I nodded, rolling my eyes at their overprotectiveness, “Other than some issues with Impulse a few days ago everything is fine.”

“Aye, he told me about it, the prick. Why did you think that it was a good idea to send a message like that,” she scolded me, but it was still in a soft, motherly tone, “you have an open invitation to the castle itself at any point, why go around like this?”

“Cause I didn’t want to bother ponies,” I muttered.

“Patch, the day you become a bother to us will be a sad day indeed.” She put a hoof on my shoulder and smiled, “how about this, you want to speak to Sunshine I’m guessing…” I nodded my head.

“But I kind of wanted to say hi to you as well,” I scratched behind my head with my claws.

Strike pulled her hoof back with a laugh, “Heh, you don’t have to do that, but I appreciate it. But about this, next Restday hop on over to the castle later afternoon, and you and Sunshine can discuss whatever it is that’s bothering you. How’s that?” She asked with a smirk.

“Sure, sure thing.” I nodded buzzing my wings, “I’ll be there.”

CH 22 (Truth)

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Patchwork

I slowly trudged forward, enjoying the last of the sun rays before the evening came. I was closing on to Celestia’s castle and its massive gates.

The wall surrounding it left little to the imagination as the white castle and its myriad of towers easily rose over it.

Squinting my eyes, I could just about spot the pegasi patrols circling the massive building, with my diaphanous wings creating a phantom itch I wanted to scratch. I fluffed my pegasus wings instead and sped up my approach.

Velvet offered to accompany me on this little excursion, but I lied, telling her that the whole trip would be short and uninteresting in the first place. But I did promise to bring her over next time. She never did ask me WHY I went to the castle in the first place.

The moment I came close enough to the gates one of the guards, a unicorn, left his position to intercept me.

“Reason for the visit!” He all but shouted in a gruff voice causing my ears to temporarily pin themselves against my head.

I shuffled awkwardly in place for a moment, before answering, “I’m here to visit the Princess.” The guard raised an eyebrow. “I was told that I have free access to the castle at my leisure by Captain Shield Strike.”

“State your name and present identification.” Was his response, and I saw some of the onlookers point their hooves at me and whisper to each other. The guard however was an unmoving statue, barely even acknowledging me with so much as a look as it appeared that his eyes were focused on a dot above me.

“Patchwork,” I pulled out my identification crystal instead of Night Front one and presented it to him. His horn lit up for a split second and I felt some magic wash over the crystal itself.

“Identity confirmed sir; do you need an escort through the castle?” He asked in a much softer tone, and he was looking directly at me this time. It was a welcome change.

The whispers from the onlookers became much louder and I decided that it was time to leave before it became uncomfortable.

“Yes, please. I honestly have no idea where the Princess even is.” I admitted.

“If this is your first visit to the castle it is understandable, sir. Follow me.” He turned around and started walking at an even pace letting me catch up to him easily.

The unicorn guard briefly nodded to his pegasus companion, and we entered the castle courtyard proper.

The courtyard leading up to the castle was long and winding, with the garden taking up the majority of the space on the sides of the trail. I could hardly see anything on the sides from the foliage but when we finally reached the castle I was blown away.

Ignoring the moat and the crystal-clear water surrounding the castle the structure was massive, towering over everything around it. It was a beautiful mess of towers, domes, and triangles with the towers themselves going in whichever way and held only by a corridor connecting them. The whole thing was predominantly white, but the roofs were a nice spiral mix of oranges, gold, and purples giving the whole thing a mystical appearance.

What also stood out was the air and the atmosphere of the place.

While the atmosphere of the building gave off the vibe of high class and opulence the air was almost heavy with magic making the whole structure feel like its thrumming with power. I could only guess at how many enchantments, runes, spells, and whatnot were involved in its making.

Past the moat, and into the building, I was greeted with a long, lavishly decorated, hallway with a plush red carpet running down the middle. There weren’t as many doors as I assumed there would be, but there was a large ornate door at the very end, guarded by two guards.

The whole trip was done in silence with only the clop of our hooves following us.

The unicorn I was following motioned for me to wait while he approached an earth pony guard. They chatted for a few moments and then I was motioned again to follow. The talk was done in almost a whisper, the motions made barely any sound and I got a feeling that if I spoke I would break some sacred rule of the place. It also felt very, very awkward.

Entering one of the side doors I was led down several hallways, past what looked like a busy kitchen, past several towers, and by the time we reached a giant door with Celestia’s mark emblazoned on it, I was exhausted. Not physically, but more mentally. How could she live in a maze-like this without getting lost is beyond me.

“I will be leaving you here, sir. The Princess is in her private rooms, and you are expected. Have a nice evening.” He saluted me (without the smack) and left.

The door itself was large and was guarded by two heavily armored and armed ponies. Neither of them moved or acknowledged me in any way and the only indication of life was a slow and deep breath both took at nearly the same time.

Shrugging I approached the door and knocked.

I only waited a few seconds when the door opened and there stood Princess Celestia, in bunny slippers and a pink bathrobe, with her mane tied in a messy ponytail.

“Oh, my dear Patchwork, I honestly expected you to arrive a bit later.” She moved to the side and ushered me in with a wing.

“I can come by later if you want, Captain never specified…”

“Nonsense, you are here now, and that is that. You are always welcome in my home, no matter the time.”

The room I entered looked like a private office, but with plenty of charm.

The room was oval, with a small, but expensive-looking, desk immediately on the left of the main door. The rest of the room had several pillows strewn about, bookshelves lining the majority of the walls, and a cozy fireplace on the right. There were also two doors leading into other areas, but they were closed, and I didn’t want to make guesses where they led.

The room was illuminated by several mage lights that, in tandem with the colorful décor, made the room look comfortable and, above all else, expensive.

“You can drop the disguise, my dear. You are free to be yourself here.” She trotted past me with a steaming cup held in her magic from which she daintily took a sip from.

“I did not wish to risk it, just in case,” I said dropping the disguise. It felt good being myself again and I buzzed my wings in pleasure, stretching my back like a cat.

“There was nothing to risk, I can assure you.” She took another sip from the cup, pulling two large pillows and placing them opposite each other near the fireplace. “The ponies in this castle know who you are and are under oath and a spell to not utter a word outside of these walls.”

“Maybe I’m just paranoid then,” I admitted and sat down on the plush yellow pillow.

“Just ‘maybe’?” She tittered lying on her pink pillow. “Now, I haven’t seen you in a while; tell me about this filly, if you would.”

“I- “I faltered, “Velvet is, fantastic.” I sighed, lowering my head, “I really, really like her. She is constantly stuck in my head, and I look forward to seeing her every time.” I swallowed thickly and looked up at Celestia, readying myself for the plunge, “And that is where I have a problem.”

“Problem?” She looked at me astounded, “My dear, from what I have heard and from what you just told me I would wager things are moving ahead swimmingly.” She shook her head and placed the teacup next to her on the floor. “My dear, if something is bothering you, you can just come out and tell me. There is no need to beat around the bush.”

I was looking at her for a few minutes, processing what she said. Turning around I looked at the door behind me, then back at her.

Swallowing dry I decided to start this with something I practiced for a few days now.

“Do you know about this filly?” I asked hoarsely, pulling my strings, and transforming into Sunset Shimmer. I was so sure that the transformation was off, but her reaction proved otherwise.

Celestia’s eyes were wide as saucers, her mouth hung open and even her ethereal mane froze mid sway. I even saw a few tears form at the corners of her eyes.

Just as her initial reaction came, it disappeared just as swiftly; her eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips, her mane started billowing wildly and with a swift activation of her horn she cast several spells at an incredible speed. She then got up and removed her bathrobe. Lying back down she lifted her teacup and downed it like whiskey. Licking her lips and running her tongue over her teeth she focused on me, eyes drilling into mine.

“How do you know about Sunset?”

“What happened to her?” I asked.

“She disappeared through the mirror about five years ago, we argued, she wanted something from me I couldn’t give her and she… left.” Her voice cracked at that last bit, “So, how do you know about her?”

Swallowing again I decided to try another thing, transforming into Twilight Sparkle I used a bit of the nightmare prophecy, “On the longest day, after a thousand years, the stars will aid her escape.”

This time Celestia audibly gasped. She didn’t react to Twilight, but the prophecy got her up on her hooves and her horn was ignited. I honestly thought she was going to attack me, but I stayed in place.

She suddenly started pacing, muttering to herself all the while. She did that for a few minutes. She also left the room a few times for a minute or so.

Suddenly she plopped back onto the pillow in front of me with a teacup and a book in her magic. I thought it was tea, but my nose was assaulted by the scent of wine. She downed it again without even pausing to taste it.

“I can,” She started, “somewhat, somehow, put some pieces together on how you know about my Sunset. What I cannot put together, however, is how you know about a prophecy that resides deep within the restricted section of my library.” She put the book she held out in her magic in front of me and opened it. Pointing her hoof at the book I looked down spotting the aforementioned prophecy.

We lay there in silence for a few minutes, me reading the whole prophecy and her doing whatever she did. It was so silent in the room that I jumped when she spoke.

“My dear, I trust you. For two years I have done my absolute best with you, so please, tell me the truth: How do you know about these things?”

I gave it some thought before I looked up from the book and into Celestia's eyes.

Sighing I began the tale.

…

I didn’t tell her everything. Just enough that she could understand how I have this knowledge in the first place, and just enough to understand how I fucked up.

She was silent; deathly silent.

We have since moved to the bedroom and I was currently looking at Shield Strike who joined us about halfway through the tale. I had to repeat some things, but that was about it.

Shield was also quiet, but unlike Celestia, she wasn’t frowning. She just kept nodding her head every few seconds like she was having the most engaging conversation in her head.

I looked from Strike to Celestia who was looking out the balcony. She was still frowning, and her jaw was moving.

Me, I was terrified, and I was shaking. I did not care about what they would do to me after the fact, but I was utterly terrified about them cutting me off or worse. All the jokes about being my mother aside, Shield Strike and Celestia have been playing the part for most of the time of the last two and a half years. And while the idea of them adopting me did not sit well with me, I was, at least willing to admit that I viewed them as a motherly figure… one that I was always lacking as a human. My mind becoming younger also factored in.

Suddenly Strike barked out a laugh loud enough to cause me to jump and Celestia to violently twitch.

“Honey, I love you dearly, but what the buck was that about!” Celestia all but shouted in RCV causing my chest to reverberate as she whirled around to face her wife.

“I just…” She snerked, “You are both being ridiculous.”

“Excuse me!?” Celestia stomped forward and I started shying back, but a large red mass stepped in front of me.

“Look at you, Sunshine.” She pointed a hoof at her, “You are so shaken up about this that you aren’t even seeing a bigger picture.”

“Bigger picture? I just found out that the future of this country has been put on a tittering edge over a possibility that has been all but lost.”

“You think I wanted this to happen?” I asked in a half shout with my voice wavering halfway through.

“Be quiet you,” came the soft voice of Shield Strike.

“But…”

“Nopony is blaming you directly for this my dear, but the fact remains that your actions have set things in motion careening off some carefully laid tracks.” Celestia’s voice was stern and unyielding.

“But you are blaming him!” Shouted Shield, she started puffing up her fur and I could feel the room is getting saturated in magic. I could taste red on my tongue. “Maybe not directly but you are blaming him.”

“He is partially responsible for what has happened. Had we known…”

“Had we have known you would have done what? Send him who knows where and kept him away from everything?” I could feel her grinding her teeth and I wanted to be anywhere but here.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but I was suddenly being ushered towards the exit by Captain Strike. She was very gentle about it, and I reluctantly let her do it.

When we reached the outside hallway Strike closed the door and sighed turning to me.

“I’ll talk to her in a moment, I just wanted to remove you from the shouting match.”

“I could have said something, you know.” I was berating myself in my head for my cowardice. I should have done something, but the moment things have become serious I did the one thing I almost always did; I froze up and pulled away from the conflict.

“Nothing you could have said would have fixed it, believe me, you don’t get at her age without becoming as stubborn as the mountain we are sitting on.” Shield opened the door and was about to go back to clean my mess when she turned her head. “Go back to the academy, she will come to talk to you when her head is clear. Trust me, she will apologize to you. Even better, go to your filly, maybe some fun in the hay ought to help ya.”

“Hey!” I protested, but she closed the door with a barking laugh.

‘What happened there?’ I asked myself. I haven’t frozen like that in a long while. Tartarus I am an adult, younger mind or not.

“You guys wouldn’t know of a way to fix a mess with a mare you may or may not view as a mother?” I stupidly asked the guards at the door. As if they would answer me.

“I would suggest you leave the matter to the Captain, sir. Nopony knows the Princess better than Captain Strike.” Answered a mare on the left of the door. “Worst comes to worst I suggest you come back tomorrow and apologize if you think you messed up that badly.”

I nodded my head twice, thanked the good mare for the advice, and left to see Velvet, maybe Strike was right and all I needed was a loving hug. I had to double back and ask for directions.

Celestia

I was lying in my bed, looking at my wife’s sleeping form. I extended my wing and gently ran it through her mane causing her to stir, but not wake. She swatted at the wing and blindly grabbed my left foreleg, pulling it towards her.

I have been mulling over our argument ever since I have, reluctantly, admitted I may have handled the situation poorly.

In truth I have been looking for the next element bearers for centuries, always coming close, but ultimately failing. Sunset was a potential candidate, but…

In the end, to see a future possibility lost like this was a frustrating thing to learn, but I should never have let Patchwork feel the brunt of my frustration. Millenia passed and I am still that stubborn, blind, foolish filly that chased her sister into darkness.

Patchwork was not at fault here. He did not arrive at this world of his own volition, he most certainly did not plan to shake the future of the country by running into a filly, and he definitively did not…

‘I am still bitter about all that I guess,’ I thought. “He does deserve an apology though,” I whispered to nopony in particular.

I did not wish to chase away another… pony like I did Sunset. Patchwork isn’t her, but the fact still stands; if I don’t apologize he may come to resent me… himself, he will resent himself and it will cause him to lose something wholly precious.

“Why do I keep doing this, my love? Why do I not learn my lessons?” I whispered into the room.

My wife frowned for a moment and nuzzled the hoof she held.

I pulled the hoof back and gently pulled her closer to me with my wings. She hugged me tightly causing me to sigh and hug her back.

My mind was still too jumbled to sleep, I waited for morning thinking of the future, making plans, and thinking of the best way to apologize.

Patchwork

Opening my eyes, I spotted two things that caused my heart to stop: a strange new room, and Velvet’s sleeping face inches from mine.

I quickly ran through my memory from last night and breathed a sigh of relief; nothing happened. Or at least, nothing about which I should worry. While I do love Velvet, and while I would like to scratch that particular itch with another person for the first time in a while, I still held the opinion that two dates and about one month together are just passably enough. Maybe after the third official date.

I gently pulled myself out of the guest bed I was given, made a note at the time, and slowly made my way out of the room.

“Where are you going?” Came a gentle murmur from beneath the covers.

I turned around and felt my breath hitch in my throat.

She looked beautiful in the night light, mussed-up mane, soft glowing blue eyes… I wanted nothing more than to crawl back into the covers and hug her, whispering sweet nothings into her ears. But I have never missed practice, even when I got that cold a few months back.

“I’m sorry, love,” I apologized approaching the bed and giving her a gentle nuzzle she eagerly reciprocated, “but I got ‘a be back at the academy by seven or I’ll get in trouble.”

“’s not fair,” she mumbled, and I gave her another nuzzle and a kiss. I thought that would appease her for a moment, but she reached her hooves around my head pulling me closer and deepening the kiss.

I knew where this was going, I felt her body heat up, and unsurprisingly I felt my heat start to come up. I had a choice to make, and I could feel my heart making my decision for me.

“Wait here,” she broke the kiss and left the room.

For a moment I considered just leaving, but I had a very dry four years. Honestly, I was tired of self-pleasure and…

The door opened and closed again, and Velvet pranced over to the bed, dropping a very familiar-looking packet on the nightstand, and jumped onto the bed lying on her back. She opened her legs wide, and I about lost my mind.

Note to self, I need to thank her mother somehow for the flexibility lessons.

…

I still can’t believe I managed to leave the house without anyone stopping me. I’m almost ninety percent sure her parents knew what was going on.

Flying through the air, I was still slightly shivering from the early shower after our escapade. I made sure that I got the smell off of me.

‘Guess it’s true in a sense, eagerness trumps experience in some respects,’ I felt my cheeks heat up and I had to struggle to not bring up the memory again.

Shaking my head, I landed in the training area of the academy and was about to join my mates who were starting to take positions when I spotted a very familiar white coat not far from them making observations.

‘What is Celestia doing here?’ I asked myself while making a small detour heading straight for her.

I could hear a hush fall over my team as I approached her, but I paid them no mind. I ran over several scenarios in my head, and I decided that I would not take her attitude if she decided to continue from last night.

“Night Front, my dear.” She gleefully approached me and gave me a light nuzzle that I returned hesitantly. I noticed that my hesitation made her wince slightly, but it was expertly hidden with a giggle.

“Princess,” I greeted her back, understanding where my current situation is. Her being friendly is one thing, me being friendly back would send a whole lot of issues my way… as if this isn’t going to result in hundreds of questions later.

“Come we need to talk for a bit.” She extended her right-wing and slowly ushered me to the side and away from prying ears.

“I wish to apologize for last night.” She started as I turned around spotting Stiff Edge approaching and barking out orders.

“Its… fine.” It wasn’t fine, but I think she got the gist of it from my hesitation.

“No, no it is not.” She shook her head slowly, “I should never have blamed you for something like this, I should have never put the weight of a country’s future on your shoulders when you have done nothing to warrant it.”

“But it is partially my fault…”

“The only thing you are at fault is trying to… Yes, lieutenant?”

“Will this take long your Highness? We need to begin soon.” I spotted the rest of my team whispering among themselves while Stiff Edge stood in front of us.

“No lieutenant, this won’t take long at all. Give us five minutes and I will let Patchwork go back to his training. I might even spectate a bit, my wife has high hopes for him.”

“Very good ma’am. I will leave you to it.”

We watched him get back to barking out his orders getting everyone to quiet down and face forward.

“Now, as I was saying, my dear, the only thing you are at fault is for trying to take the blame for something you have no reason to blame yourself for.”

“But…”

“No buts,” she giggled, “you are not at fault here, Patch, not now, nor ever. Not for your heart, not for your behavior, and certainly not for being here, in this world. None of it is your fault.”

Sighing heavily, I lowered my head and nodded.

A kiss on my forehead got me to raise my head and give a shy smile.

“So, why don’t you go back to your exercise, my son.”

“Oh, my stars above,” I groaned, “She told you!” I nearly shouted putting my head in my hooves.

Celestia’s melodious laugh was the only thing heard across the practice yard.

CH 23 (first contact)

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Patchwork

I was prancing down the snowy street, on my way to a café where I was to meet Celestia in disguise.

I wanted to invite Velvet as well, but Celestia wanted to keep today on the down-low. Not that I mind, but after four months together with Velvet I kind of wanted to remove at least one level of secrecy between us. Vel did not mind my secrets, but she did mention that I have a whole mess of them.

I casually stuck out my tongue catching a few stray snowflakes, chuckling to myself all the while.

I was about to make a turn when something caught my attention.

There, on the other side of the street, was a pony waving at me. I knew I was the target, there was no one near me. I double-checked just to be sure.

The pony then waved me over and disappeared into a rather foreboding alley behind them.

Shrugging my wings, I checked how much time I have left for the meeting by checking the sun’s position. Flying over the street and landing near the entrance of the ally I started to psyche myself up just in case it was something dangerous.

I wasn’t worried much though.

Shield Strikes original training, plus the last four months of enhanced training I requested made sure that I can at the very least survive a scuffle even as a faux pegasus.

Entering the alleyway, it took a solid minute of walking until I spotted the terrified stallion checking every which way, making his head turn like a swivel. The side alley was deserted with only a few large trash bins lying around.

“I can’t buzzing believe it,” he finally turned around and I was shocked that I felt a void standing in front of me, “you are just prancing in the open acting like a fool. Didn’t you learn anything as an infiltrator?”

Then it clicked for me; he’s a changeling!

“Hey! Are you listening to me, newbie?” He asked while approaching me.

Without warning, he flashed into his changeling self and I audibly gasped.

He looked like less of a pony and more like an insect, with holes and cracks spreading throughout his chitin. No part of his body was safe, not even his fins which were missing bits and pieces in some cases.

He looked like my old self, his chitin covering the whole of his body, leaving only small gaps here and there for mobility. His midsection wasn’t colored though so the only color on his body were the eyes (the false eyelid) and the large elytra on his back which was indigo colored.

The whole time during my examination his face went from angry, to worried, to angry again. I had mere seconds to decide what to do now. Checking my resin levels, I flashed into my changeling self as a distraction.

The other ‘ling’s eyes bugged out when he saw me, and I used those precious seconds to do three things: first I aimed a wad of resin at his horn, preventing any magic from being cast, his head snapped back from the force of impact; secondly, I threw two giant wads of resin at his front hooves gluing him to the ground and thirdly I threw a powerful right hook to his face causing him to stagger and fold dropping to the ground. He wasn’t unconscious, but the stun gave me plenty of time to make sure he did not move or that he wasn’t calling for help.

“Now…” I shook myself changing back into Night Front, “what do I do with you?”

…

“And then you came looking for me, correct?” Asked Celestia as we were using a scrying orb to keep an eye on the locked-up changeling, while I was summarising the thirty minutes. The role reversal left me feeling weird about it.

“Yep, could have done without the teleport though,” I confirmed, rubbing my sore stomach. Short-range teleports I can do, long-range ones are where nausea comes to play. Lifting my head I took stock of the area we were in.

We were in a spartan room deep in the castle's dungeons. The room was small enough that it wasn’t cramped but that was about it. Next to the door were two short chairs and on my left was a room-spanning table. Under the table were some drawers and that was the extent of the décor.

Looking back at the scrying orb our changeling captive was currently lying on his side on the floor. He wasn’t talking, raging, or doing anything. I think he took my ‘betrayal’ rather poorly.

“What do we do about him, though?” I asked no one in particular.

“Why, we talk to him, of course!” Celestia announced in a chipper tone while moving to the door.

“Wait, what?” I scrambled to follow her, “Don’t we need a game plan here? We can’t just talk to him like this.” I buzzed my wings in light annoyance.

“Oh please, don’t be so dramatic, my dear. How do you think I approached you in the first place?” She extended her wing and drew me in for a half hug. The dungeon guards didn’t acknowledge it, but my face still lit up in embarrassment.

Approaching the cell, I grumbled my answer, “I was in the cell for six hours.”

“Yes, well, we were afraid. I won’t pretend that we could have approached your situation better in the first place.”

The cell was luckily not far down the hallway. Arriving there we noticed that the changeling hasn’t moved at all. His head was at such an angle that I wasn’t able to spot the a-m ring on his horn.

“Could you tell us your name, please?” Asked Celestia in a gentle but commanding tone. How she did that I had no idea; guess that centuries of ruling gives you such experience.

The changeling snorted but said nothing for a few minutes. I fidgeted the whole time.

“Mantis,” he answered after what felt like forever.

“Mantis, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Celestia, and this is Patchwork. We are here to talk with you.”

“Yo,” I greeted but without any enthusiasm.

The silence that followed was long, and I again started to fidget. I was about to speak when Mantis started getting up and turning towards us.

“How did you do it? How did you manage to make something like him?” He pointed a hoof at me.

“Hey!” I protested but a gentle wing on my back kept me at bay.

“I can assure you that we did not ‘make’ Patchwork in any way, shape, or form. He simply came to us like this.”

Mantis looked at me as if I had the answers, but I did not know what Celestias’ goal was, or if she even had one. Just talking did not give us the answers.

“Don’t look at him for answers,” She tittered, “after all his appearance in our world was beyond his understanding for the most part.”

My left eye started to twitch at that proclamation, and I wanted to shout at her, but her wing on my back tightened letting me know that I was to keep quiet. I still thought that this was a ludicrously stupid idea.

“‘Appearance in our world’? Is he like an alien or something?” Mantis asked.

“Something like that yes.” My eye continued twitching.

“Yea, right. The Queen did say that you are insane, but this takes the bug out of it.” Mantis shook his head in disbelief, “I mean, what kind of interrogation is this in the first place. I expected to be tortured, and not sold whatever kind of dung this is.”

“Whether you believe it or not, she is telling the truth. Although why she would tell you this is beyond me.” I muttered that last part.

“This is not an interrogation my dear, I said we are here to talk.” She stated calmly.

“Well, we are talking, what do you want? Either get to the point pony or leave me alone.”

“I am sorry if we are making you uncomfortable; I will get to the point of this conversation though.” Said Celestia.

“You see,” I interjected, “both I and Celestia would like to help changelings.”

“Help us? How? By turning our own against us! I didn't buy your first story what makes you think that I will buy this one?” He shook his head angrily.

“How can you be this stubborn?” I asked, “We are trying to offer you help and you won't even consider it? I...” I started feeling annoyed.

“I’m not stubborn. None of what you said makes any sense. Ponies are the reason we are starving in the first place!” He buzzed in agitation.

“We are responsible?” Questioned Celestia. “Young one, I don’t know where you heard that. Besides, I am willing to offer so much to help you, why would I starve you?”

“Offer? What exactly could you offer?”

I saw Mantis’s expression go slack and his mouth drop when Celestia summoned one of those stars forsaken love pills. I could already feel myself drooling even though I had barely any need for love nowadays. Mantis on the other claw was making a pool of saliva and I could see that it took significant willpower to get himself under control. He was visibly shaking.

“What,” he swallowed, “what is that?”

“This, little one, is a condensed love pill my researchers were able to make thanks to Patchworks' help.”

“So, you not only betrayed us, but you also sold our secrets out!?” He screeched at me.

“I was starving, and they wanted to help me. I had no prior affiliation with changelings in the first place, so I had no idea how things worked.” I clarified. He can screech at me all he wants, I did not care.

“And let me guess, that pill is poisoned?”

“Not at all,” Celestia tried to soothe the, now shivering, changeling. It looked like he was barely keeping himself in check and I understood his pain.

“How about this: I swear to you, as a Princess of Equestria that everything we said is nothing but pure truth. I will also give you this pill and give you until tomorrow to think once you are no longer starving.” Celestia pushed the pill with her magic through the bars and close to the poor ‘ling that looked like he would try to pry them open with his hooves alone.

He greedily grabbed the pill and with a final act of incredible will, he gave us one last look before nodding his head. After that, he skittered under the bunk bed and that was it.

Celestia and I left shortly after, talked for about an hour, and made a deal to meet here tomorrow with a note for Stiff Edge excusing me from the rest of the day of training. I would have to do some catch-up, but it would be worth it in the end. I was also to keep this a secret from Vel and that made me feel a little sour. Still, I was looking forward to tomorrow.

…

“Please… Please, please, please, please, puh-lease let me come with.” Begged Velvet and I just wanted to give in and be done with it.

“I told you, Vel, Celestia wants this to be kept a secret, I cannot just break her order like that.” We were nearing the castle gates, that’s how long I had to endure her begging and pleading.

“Oh, come on, you have so many secrets piled up I’m not even sure who I’m dating sometimes. Please, love, I just want to know what took so much of your attention yesterday,” she frowned. She was right, I did spend most of the day yesterday thinking about Mantis’s situation… probably too much.

I opened my mouth to object when I spotted Princess Celestia standing at the gate and talking to one of the guards. Velvet must have spotted her too because she went very quiet and pressed herself closer to me. I extended my left wing and pulled her even closer assuring her that things will be okay… to an extent.

“Oh, Patchwork. I see you brought a guest.” Celestia smiled at us, and I could feel Velvet shiver slightly under my wing. “Good, I am glad to finally be able to meet this mystery filly you keep talking so much about.”

“You talk about me with the Princess?” Questioned Velvet with an embarrassing whisper.

Celestia decided that I needed to be embarrassed as well because she tittered in delight.

“Oh yes. He is simply smitten with you. Patchwork just cannot stop talking about you.”

I sighed with my cheeks heating up when I caught what Celestia has been calling me the whole time. What’s worse, Velvet had caught it too as she mouthed the name while looking at me.

Celestia has been staring at us after that with an unreadable expression while I tried to come to grips with this current predicament.

“You haven’t told her anything, have you?” Celestia asked me and I grimaced at the disapproving tone in her voice.

“I thought I should keep it a secret until I talk to you about it.” I felt Velvet pull herself from under my wing with a pained expression that quickly disappeared.

Suddenly she turned to Celestia with an impish grin.

“So, he can tell me his secrets? He has your permission?” She hopped a few times in place with glee, happy that she gets to finally learn a bit more about me. I, however, dreaded that talk for several reasons.

“He always had my permission… To a degree.” This got Velvet to stop bouncing and settle down a bit. Celestia continued, “Patchwork is a bright colt, and I don’t think I need to explain to him that there are things that he needs to keep to himself. And, of course, I need you to understand, my dear,” Celestia ducked her head to look into Vel’s eyes, “I need your promise that what Patch tells you will be kept a strict secret from others, even your parents. Are we clear?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I swear I will keep his secrets between the two of us.” Velvet bowed deeply but she still had a grin on her face.

“Good. Now,” Celestia raised her head, “While I do not mind guests, miss Velvet, what myself and Patch will be doing today is between us. So, if you wish, I can provide you with a room until we finish, or you can go home and wait for your beloved there. It was a pleasure to meet you,” She turned around and started walking towards the castle leaving me and Vel alone.

“I think I’ll head home.” Vel turned to me, and her smile faded just a bit, “This sounds like it will take a while, and while I would like to see the castle I can do that later.” Approaching me she gave me a quick peck on the lips, “I will see you later, Patch. And then we will talk, okay?”

I stiffly nodded my head causing her ears to wilt, but she said nothing. Just as she was to leave I extended my wing and gently stopped her.

“Look, Vel… I’ll-I’ll talk, but… Just give me a chance, please.” I fumbled my words trying to explain the importance of this and failed.

“Night… Patch, I will always give you a chance. Nothing will change how I feel.” She smiled at me, and I returned it half-heartedly.

I strolled into the castle hoping that at least one thing today will go right.

CH 24 (the secret revealed)

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Patchwork

Celestia and I were standing in front of the cell that held Mantis, watching him as he cleaned the last of the ichor from his molt. I made a mental note to talk to him about how he was able to molt so quickly at a later date.

“For the record,” He surprised both of us by speaking first, “I thought for a few moments that that pill of yours is going to literally kill me from an overdose.”

I nodded my head in agreement, “Yeah, I can see it. I did warn you though.”

“That, you did.” Mantis raised his head, and I could see his green pony-like eyes. Getting up and approaching the cell door, he sat down in front of us. “So, you want to talk about yesterday.”

“Yes,” Celestia answered, “I would like to continue from yesterday. Have you given it a good thought? Are you willing to listen to us?” She fluffed her wings.

Mantis lowered his head in thought. Neither of us wanted to interrupt and both of us were willing to wait as long as necessary. I just hoped he would at least agree to listen.

“Okay,” he lifted his head but there was still doubt on his muzzle, “Tell me everything.”

…

It took a better part of two hours to tell the whole tale, start to finish, and answer all of his questions. By that point, we have moved into his cells and were all in various states of comfort. Celestia magicked a pillow for herself, I was pacing up and down the cell itself and Mantis was lying on the bottom bunk bed.

For a while, the only sound in the cell was my claws clacking on the floor from my pacing.

Suddenly, Mantis lifted his head and looked at Celestia.

“And you can verify everything he just told me?”

“Every word.”

It went quiet after that. I stopped pacing and sat down facing Mantis, waiting for his verdict.

“I can’t – I – Let’s say I believe you, what now? I am just an infiltrator, a high position one, but only one infiltrator, nonetheless.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but Celestia beat me to it.

“Now you can help us.” She looked at me before looking back at Mantis, “It is my firm belief, that Chrysalis would rather start a war than accept help from us…”

“You can say that again,” Mantis snorted, and I looked incredulously at Celestia.

“Seeing as that is the case, we have only two options open to us,” Celestia stood up and magicked her pillow away, “either we work towards removing Chrysalis and allow the changelings to pick a more suitable leader, or we find a replacement ourselves and challenge her rule.” She cleared her throat, “We also have the option of offering a better life to those that join Equestria in peace, but I doubt that will happen as long as your queen is in charge.”

“And who do you propose would challenge her? You?” Mantis hissed, uncurling himself from his position.

“No, not me.” Celestia fluffed her wings. “Me taking over would not be seen in a positive light by your kind. We need somepony else…” She looked at me this time, and I felt the hair at the back of my neck stand up.

Mantis also looked at me and he let out a thoughtful hum.

“He is bigger than an average changeling… probably stronger too.” He muttered.

I cleared my throat, uncomfortable with where this is going, “Maybe there is someone that could help us further?” I suggested.

Mantis hummed again, scratching his chin with a hoof. It was very noticeable how effective the pill was with healing him, as his body looked much better, with roughly over seventy percent of his holes missing. One more feeding and he would be fully healed.

“There is one… but I don’t know if she will help us. She doesn’t have a very high opinion of me.”

“Who is this mare, maybe we can talk to her.” Celestia offered, tilting her head to the side.

“My sister Dicty. She betray- abandoned the hive the first chance she got, calling Chrysalis a madling. Now that I can think somewhat clearly, I… Anyways, she loved studying changeling history, if there is anything that could help us, she would know it.”

“And do you know where she lives?” I asked, scratching behind my ears at an itch.

“Yes. Chrysalis tries to keep an eye on everyling that betrays us. Dragging them back to the hive could cause all sorts of issues if the changeling doesn’t cooperate, so she stopped doing that since the minotaurs killed over a dozen of us last time it was tried. She just cuts them off and keeps an eye on as many as she can. Ridiculous waste of effort.” He scoffed and I had to agree with him.

“Do you think you could convince her to help us in this endeavor?” Asked Celestia, “It would benefit us greatly if we had somepony as knowledgeable as her if what you told us is correct.”

“I can certainly try.” Mantis lied down and snorted, “Just… just give me a day to deal with all of this. I said I believe you, but this is still a bit too much.”

“Understandable, given everything said, I am truly grateful you are giving us your attention and your help. Come, Patch, let us give him some space.” We both left the cell, and we were about to leave when Celestia turned around and gave Mantis another pill.

“Here, heal yourself fully, when you wish to speak to us again, just let my guards know.”

“Will do,” Mantis answered.

…

“So, war?” I asked Celestia as we left the cells of Canterlot castle.

“Chrysalis has significantly increased her effort in both locating the changeling that is assisting us as well as capturing other ponies. And while we have, thus far, been able to thwart their efforts their increased activity can only be interpreted in so many ways.” We entered one of the side rooms that looked like a meeting room for officials; nicely decorated and comfortable looking with plenty of pillows and a low table on which a steaming pot was already waiting for us.

“Tea, I’m guessing?” I sat down in front of her on one of the pillows. Now that she knows about the show (in a sense), I wanted to ask some questions. More specifically, about Sunset.

“Zebrica berry tea, to be precise. A bit sour, but otherwise sweet and invigorating. I received a batch a few days ago, and I liked it.” She decided to lie down after making sure that the tea is ready. “Now, my dear, you haven’t said anything, but I had a feeling you wish to speak to me about something. Am I correct?” She poured some tea into a cup and levitated it towards me.

“You are,” I took the offered cup with a ‘thank you’ and blew on it. “I had this on my mind for a few months now. If it’s too personal it’s okay if you don’t wish to answer this, but what happened with Sunset?”

Celestia’s cup froze halfway to her mouth, and she got a painful, faraway look in her eyes. Her emotions started rolling as well, from sadness to anger, to depressed and wistful.

“Sorry for asking,” I immediately apologized, “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“It’s all right,” she dabbed at her eyes with a napkin she got from somewhere, “I do not mind telling this story.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “how much do you wish to know.”

I took a gulp of my delicious tea and looked at the ground thinking. Raising my head, I looked her in the eyes, “Not everything, just tell me what happened.”

“She was, is an orphan,” Celestia sighed, “I found her as she passed the entrance exam for my school for the gifted unicorns, and we slowly developed a bond… a powerful bond.” She took off her hoof guards and her peytral and put them on the side. “I thought I was doing a good job being a mother, but that all changed when I showed her the mirror.”

The same mirror that brought me here?” I asked.

“Yes,” she looked out the nearby window. “If a certain spell is applied to the mirror, it can show you a possible future of the pony standing in front of it. One look… one look and that sweet, darling filly I helped raise was nearly all but gone.” There was a tear going down her muzzle and I choked on the heavy emotions emanating from her.

“She saw herself as an alicorn, didn’t she?”

Celestia whipped her head around to face me with a shocked expression, but then she mirthlessly chuckled, “Yes, she saw herself as an alicorn and that was all she saw afterward.” She took another napkin from the tea tray and dabbed at her teary eyes. Seeing ponies cry is painful, doubly so if it's Celestia apparently. My chest started to tighten, and I cut off my empathic senses. “We started to argue, more and more. Both me and Shield tried to stop her from going down the path she put herself on. She wanted to be an alicorn, and it seemed there was nothing I could do to change her mind.”

There was a moment of silence where Celestia took a shaky breath, the only other sound was me sipping my tea. Celestia seemed to forget I was there for a moment, but then she looked at me and I was glad I cut off my senses.

“Then she left. She- Her hunt to become an alicorn led her to attempt several dangerous spells, and when one nearly backfired I had enough. We argued, we yelled at each other, and just when I thought I will finally reach her, she ran. Straight through the blasted mirror I callously left in the open.” There was a choked sob and I got up. I sat down next to her and gave her a wide hug, trying to get as much of her as I could under my claws. She sat up and wrapped me in a wing-hug and we just stayed there for a while.

“The mirror opens roughly every thirteen years and leads into a world far different from our own. I tried to chase her down, but it was in vain, I couldn’t find her,” She spoke softly.

“I could help,” I heard myself say with conviction.

“Oh, my dear, you cannot, you…”

“Yes I can, I know exactly where she is, and how to reach her.” I interrupted, “Next time the mirror opens, you just tell me, and I’ll bring her back, kicking and screaming if I have to.”

This got her to giggle, “I’ll think about it.”

…

I used the knocker that hung on the door of the Sparkle residence. Velvet’s mother Aurora opened the door.

“Oh, Night Front, it’s good to see you again, come in, come in.” She ushered me in and immediately started fussing over me. “You look so down sweetie, what’s gotten to you? Do you wish to talk? How about a cookie, I know you love those.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I’m just here because I promised to talk to Velvet about something.” That got her to frown a bit. It looked strange on her face, I have known this mare now for a few months, she was never without a smile in some shape or form.

“Oh, oh dear. Hopefully, it’s nothing bad. She has been treating you right has she? Or is it some other kind of talk?” She started walking to the kitchen.

“No, no, nothing like that, miss Sparkle. Well…” I thought about it for a moment, “You know how I got a few secrets?” She nodded her head, “Well, I got this, um, permission to tell Velvet a few things.”

“Oh, that’s what it’s about!” She laughed and started piling sweets on a plate, along with two glasses of orange juice. “Well, I hope it’s nothing too dramatic,” I swallowed heavily, “but in either case, here.” She gave me a tray with a full plate of sweets and the two glasses, “You two have fu~n.” She sang as she trotted out of the kitchen and into one of the side rooms.

I sighed and started making my own way to Velvet’s room with the tray firmly in my mouth. I could have used my magic and revealed myself, but I did not wish to spook them or worse. I would be doing a lot of revealing in the first place today. Better not overdo it.

Climbing up the stairs and making a beeline to Vel’s door, knocked on it twice and entered.

Velvet's room was a surprisingly simple affair for a mare her age, albeit a large one. Other than some basic amenities like a bed (which was against a wall opposite the door), and a desk (right next to the bed touching its bottom part), she had a gramophone (on a small table next to her desk), several large plush pillows in various colors strewn around the floor as well as a large wardrobe and a cabinet with always slightly open drawers (both on the immediate right of the door). The walls of the room were light pink with some blue ribbons here and there as decoration.

The only thing that stood out in her room were two large and very ornate chests filled to the brim with various toys and books that I was always on the verge of organizing, but Vel always managed to draw my attention from it.

“Night Front!” She greeted me from her desk, she must have been studying for her exams some of which was next week. “Or do you go by Patchwork?”

Dropping the tray off next to her, I gave her a quick peck and answered, “That depends on who I am talking to. Ponies like the Princess and the Captain call me Patchwork as that is my name, the others call me Night Front.”

“You are on a first-name basis with the Princess?!” She asked looking shocked.

“You only just now noticed?” I snorted, “Honestly though, that mare acts more like a mother sometimes than a friend. Not that I mind much, but it’s very jarring sometimes.”

“I can imagine. Why I wouldn’t believe it if the Princess acted like a mother to me, it would be weird.”

“It’s not as weird as it seems.” I countered. “But yeah, my name is actually Patchwork. Please keep it to yourself or when we are together.”

“Huh, so why Patchwork? I’m sorry but you don’t look patchy at all,” She giggled.

I chuckled as well, but then I lowered my head in thought. I need to be tactful with this. I don’t want to scare her or make her hate me.

“There is a reason for that…” I trailed off, moving away from her to the center of her room. “You see, I’m – I’m actually not a pony.” I closed my eyes and waited for a response. Sensing her emotions, I only felt amusement.

“Well, you look, smell, and act like a pony, so consider me fooled then.” She giggled again, but then she got serious. “Seriously Fro - Patch, stop beating around the bush. I can see it eating at you, I won’t freak out or something like that if you show me who, or what, you are.”

“You say that now,” I muttered but all that got me was a pillow in my face. “This is serious Velvet!” I about yelled, tossing the pillow away in a huff, “I am terrified here, this isn’t a joking matter.”

“I know you are terrified, I can see it from here, but I think that you are making a flame out of an ember, nothing you do could change my opinion of you… Unless you are, like, some kind of a pathological liar, then we might have an issue.” She shrugged.

I kept looking at her for a solid minute, trying and failing to find anything that would give me a reason to just give up on the whole thing, but nothing came forth. She just sat there, waiting for me to finally reveal myself and tell her my tale. Her emotions betrayed no negativity, not hatred, or that she is even upset at me, no. She is looking forward to learning my secret and that was it.

Sighing heavily, I lowered my head, “What you are about to see is a state secret. There is only a claw full of ponies that know what I am. My name is Patchwork, I am a pony/changeling hybrid from a different world. Please, don’t be afraid.” I pleaded. With practiced ease I let the flames wash over me, causing her to gasp in fear and jump to her hooves, but then her eyes went wide, and her mouth hung open when I finally stood uncovered in front of her.

I shut off my empathic senses and just sat there with my eyes closed, waiting for the final verdict.

Velvet

My heart was still hammering in my chest after the flaming pillar disappeared and I could only gape at what was leftover.

His white coat and blue mane were replaced with completely black armor-looking plates that covered his whole body. His mane was turquoise with a white stripe going through it and there was a tuft of fluff on his chest. He also had claws, actual claws on his forehooves.

He looked different, strange, exotic almost, but not ugly, or repulsive. Like those Kirins I read about. He looked scary though. Even if his nose crinkled in that cute manner he always gets when he is thinking.

But he probably wasn’t thinking. I was scared, but I could tell he was terrified. His legs, no his whole body trembled, and I could feel my own fear slowly be replaced with worry.

Getting on my hooves I approached him noting that he is a good head taller than me, which was half a head more than what he was before, which only made him look even scarier. He looked dangerous, and I could feel a part of me loving it despite my poor hammering heart.

Walking around him I spotted that his midsection was turquoise as well, like his mane.

He tensed for a moment when I got closer to him, and I could see some of the plates shift and move and I got very surprised when I spotted the muscle underneath. He looked more powerful now than as a pony.

‘Okay, I can do work with this,’ I thought with a nod. ‘He just looks a bit different, but I can still see Night Front there beneath all those plates.’

Making my decision, I made my way to his front and sat down.

‘He is still him, I can see it,’ I smiled. ‘Just gonna have to get used to the real him.’

Patchwork

Nothing happened for a few minutes. I heard her shift and just walk around me but otherwise nothing.

“You are… bigger.” Her trembling voice cut through the silence like a sword and opening my empathic sense I got a whole mess of things; fear, excitement, surprise, but not anger, hatred, or revulsion.

I smirked, “I am a bit bigger, I'm also taller, yes.” That got a very nice blush out of her, and I laughed at her stammering.

“You bucker,” she suddenly shouted and started pelting me with several pillows, “You seriously scared me there when you burst into fire, and you are making jokes now?!"

She kept hitting for a few seconds only to then hug me squeezing viciously for all she was worth.

I just sat there, with my heart hammering in my chest out of both fear and relief.

“You smell different.” She spoke and I froze.

“I'm sorry, what?”

“You smell different, it’s not a bad smell or unappealing, but it’s just different… You’re different.” She pulled away and craned her neck to look me in the eyes. There was no longer fear in hers, just curiosity, but there was still fear deep down. “Well, mostly different. You still sound and behave the same as Night Front I know and love.”

Pulling away and lying down on a nearby pillow, she relaxed and then giggled.

“You can relax silly; I’m not going to bite you or anything. What’s gotten into you?” She asked me tilting her head to the side.

“I just revealed a terrifying secret to my, hopefully still, marefriend and you are surprised that I’m tense?” I almost shouted at the ridiculousness of the situation, but I managed to control myself. ‘Take it for what it is I guess, she isn’t screaming, yet.’

“Hopefully? I am still your marefriend silly, you think I’m going to break up with you because you look different?” She glared at me, “My parents raised me better than that you know.”

“I know, I know… But I still - “I stuttered before she interrupted me.

“No! We are not having this,” she hit the pillow with a soft thump, “we are dealing with this right now,” She jumped to her hooves and approached me with a look that brokered no argument and I leaned back as if she will strike me, “You are my coltfriend, I am your marefriend. You looking like this changes nothing… Nothing!” I nodded my head rapidly hoping to calm her down, but she seemed on a roll, “You will tell me how, and what you are, you will tell me how you got here, and what happened to you, and then we will cuddle and talk until we are both comfortable with each other again, am I clear.”

I nodded my head again without questioning her, but inside I was counting my lucky stars that I found a mare like this.

‘I am such a lucky bastard’

…

We were lying next to each other, me in my changeling form and her being her adorable self. We spent the last ten minutes just chilling, relaxing, and I decided that was a good time as any to start.

“I’m not from this world, originally.”

“Mhm,” she nodded. There was a spike of excitement, but no fear.

“I was dragged here by a mare through a mirror of a sort. A magic experiment gone wrong.”

“So, she just, took you from your home?” She gasped. “What about your family, your friends?”

“Don’t know,” I took a shaky breath. “I never got to say goodbye to them.”

We were quiet for a few moments. I sensed sadness coming from her, and she surprised me with a hug. We stayed like that for a minute.

“After that,” I continued where I left off, “I spent the last two years learning how to use this body, while the ponies tried to learn as much as they could about changelings. I was their personal lab rat for the duration.”

She shook her head, “I’m sorry, but that sounds horrible.”

“It honestly wasn’t, minus a hitch here and there they actually treated me very nicely.” I chuckled at some of my fonder memories of the old team, “They treated me like I was a normal pony.”

“That’s sweet of them… but where do Princess Celestia and the Captain factor in?”

“Celestia visited me every week and we would just, talk. That’s how we became friends… or more, I’m not sure about the specifics.”

“What do you mean?” She shifted her weight more into me.

“I was honest with you when I told you about my family. I essentially had no mother figure as mine was cold and well, distant from me. Celestia and Shield Strike acted like mothers sometimes… Or acted more motherly as time went by.”

“But you don’t call them ‘mom’ do you?” She shifted again.

“It… feels strange to do so.” I shrugged. My wings buzzed and Vel turned her head to look at them, looking strangely transfixed by it. I started lightly buzzing them causing a light shimmering effect due to their own magic and she gasped with a happy smile on her face.

“They are very pretty.” She shifted her weight again and I frowned, “Your skin isn’t as soft as a pony’s though. Takes some getting used to.”

“It’s because it’s not skin, it's chitin. I am what is known as a bug-pony. Or a hybrid of one.” This time I shifted causing her to lean into me with a sigh. She did not move to correct herself.

“You don’t look like much of a bug. You look more like you are carrying armor though.”

“Yeah,” I sighed, “It’s because I’m still somehow growing. Parts are changing and shifting all the time, it is annoying.”

“You are still growing?” She asked with wide eyes. Sensing her emotions I felt some fear, but it was slowly being suppressed.

“Probably, I grew for almost half a head over the last four months, and my carapace feels tighter which is usually an indication that I will go through another growth spurt.”

“That is amazing, how tall do you think you will get?” She lay down on her side and started poking at my various plates.

“Don’t know to be honest.” I extended my left foreleg and ran a gentle claw through her hair which gave me a happy hum of contentment.

“Can you do that some more?” Her eyes started drooping as I kept running my claw through her mane.

“Anytime, love.”

I thought she nodded off when she slowly opened her eyes and looked at me.

“So, what are you now exactly?” She murmured.

“I am what you would call a changeling or a bug-pony by classification. A shapeshifter that can change into whatever creature you can think of.”

“Any creature?” Her eyes were wide as saucers, and she had a massive grin.

“Yes, just about any creature,” I chuckled.

She suddenly had a small frown and, slowly lifting her hoof, she moved my lips gently apart getting my mouth to open. I saw a shiver run down her spine and I got some more fear and surprisingly excitement coming off of her.

“What are those fangs for…” She muttered. “Do you eat meat?”

Slowly closing my mouth, I gave her hoof a gentle kiss before shaking my head.

“No, love, Those fangs are there for defense only. I have small venom sacks in my upper jaw that can put ponies to sleep. No, I eat two things actually: sweets, as you may have noticed, and emotions.”

She raised a beautiful eyebrow, “Emotions? How does that work?”

“Think of it like how your horn lights up when you use magic. Your emotions work the same way to me.”

“So, your feeding would probably drain me if your explanation had any truth to it, so why don’t I feel tired?” She closed her eyes in contentment as I continued to run my claws through her mane.

“Because I haven’t needed much in the first place. When I originally came to this world I was starving to such an extent that I would drain ponies severely on accident. Later I learned to control it and as time went on, and I was no longer starving, I needed less and less to sustain me.” I removed my claws from her mane causing her to give a pitiful whine which made me chuckle. “Now I need such a small amount that just being next to you, or other ponies is more than enough for me if I feel like eating it in the first place. The last time I ‘fed’ was three days ago.”

When she figured that I would no longer comb her mane with my claws she huffed and rolled back to her stomach.

Lighting up my horn I brought the juice glasses over to us. She followed the glasses with wide eyes, turning to look at my horn, then back to the glasses a few times.

“You can even do magic?!” She squeaked.

“Yup, but I’m not much of a spell caster in the first place. I prefer my shapeshifting abilities to anything else.”

We laid there in silence for a few minutes slowly sipping our juice.

“So… You said you were bigger… Can I see it?” The spit-take I did was legendary.

CH 25 (the sister)

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Chrysalis

“What do you mean ‘he’s missing’?” I hissed through grit teeth.

“He wasn’t at the standard meeting point, my Queen.” Bad news on top of bad news, “He wasn’t there the next day either, or the next after that.” The infiltrator swallowed hard, shaking at my presence.

“Are you insinuating he was captured?” I growled. One of my top infiltrators… captured? Impossible.

“It is a possibility, my Queen.” The infiltrator drone dared to make such suggestions and I roared with rage.

“Then find him!” I picked up the infiltrator and screeched in his face before tossing him to the side. I did not see where he landed, all that mattered is to find Mantis. He was looking for the traitor in Canterlot and if ponies have been diligent in their behavior he should have returned by now or at least sent a message.

Before I managed to sit down, my commander, Spine, cleared his throat. He did say that something happened, but I was still livid at this latest failure. He almost didn’t flinch when I turned to look at him.

“I am sorry, my Queen, but this needs to be addressed.”

“I will decide it’s import but speak.” I sat down on the throne and took a deep breath to calm myself down.

“We have found a cache of several bottles of love not far from the throne’s influence.” I could feel my head starting to pound, “We are assuming that the delivery has been made by the ponies based on the note that was left.”

“A note?” Curious. I waved my commander over with a hoof, massaging my temple with the other in order to stave off the headache.

My commander approached me with the note being held in his green magic, his black armor gleaming in the light streaming from the window behind the throne.

Taking the note, I read it and immediately felt my blood boil at the audacity.

‘We wish for peace between us,’ read the note.

I started laughing. It was a happy, gleeful laugh and I used my own hooves to clamp down my muzzle causing the other changelings in the room to raise their eyebrows and whisper to each other, while my heart hammered in my chest.

“Out!” I muttered between giggles, “Get, OUT!” I screamed with my magic sparking from my horn causing small bolts of electricity to spread. I still kept giggling. “And Spine make sure we catch the ponies next time!”

The room did not take long to empty out, with the laughter echoing and bouncing on the walls of the throne room.

It took several minutes for the laughter to subside, and every pang of pain from my wheezing lungs was terrifying. I haven’t lost control for such a long time, and I haven’t needed to push her down for so long…

There was no fight for control though. Pushing her down into the depths of our conscience took almost no effort, but I was still shaking after it was done.

But I still lost it.

For a moment I lost control of my body. For the first time in centuries, this wretched fool took the control of this body, and she has done it so easily. How? Why? When did I become so complacent that she could do it so effortlessly? So many questions.

The headache tripled in magnitude, and I spent the next five minutes screaming obscenities.

The ponies are having one success after another, new food is nearly impossible to acquire without drawing the eye of the populace, then one of my top infiltrators disappears, now this!

I need to be careful. There is still a fight in her… I should find someling to punish. That always works on her.

Patchwork

I was looking at Velvet as she was studying. We were spending some time together by hanging out in the park, lying on a clear patch of grass Vel made in the snow, me going over some of the things from my class, and she from hers. There was a heating crystal between us making the whole thing rather cozy.

Ever since I revealed myself to her things have gotten better for us. Sure, it is sometimes annoying when she makes requests but, overall, I was able to be my own self around her, and that made me feel more comfortable with her, and she with me.

Something that has been bothering me though is that Velvet keeps asking me to be myself even outside of her room or the academy room. She just doesn’t understand that it is a delicate situation at the moment and I have been thinking about how to broach the subject over the week.

Another thing that has been bothering me is the lack of updates from Mantis about his sister.

Celestia keeps saying that everything is under control, but I am starting to suspect that things are being kept from me on purpose. I did not like it.

Velvet was looking at me, I probably zoned out.

“Yes, love?” I asked.

She just smiled a large toothy smile and shook her head, going back to her book. Reading her emotions, I got nothing worrisome or that needed my attention, so I got back to my thinking.

Her reaction to my story wasn’t what I expected as well, so that was also on my mind for the last week.

I expected some fear, Tartarus, she was more afraid of the transformation than myself, and her lack of reaction was unnerving.

‘Night Light barely reacted the first time… Maybe I’m just overreacting with these ponies.’

“I still don’t get why you have to be transformed at all times.” I heard Vel say, and I rolled my eyes.

“Like I told you, the current situation between changelings and ponies is tumultuous at best,” I flipped to the next page of ‘Rules and Regulations’.

“It isn’t fair towards you, you know?” She crossed her forelegs in front of her.

“A lotta things ain’t fair, but we got to grit and bear it.”

“I know,” she sighed and I frowned.

“Excuse me, Night Front, sir.”

Both I and Velvet raised our heads and looked around. Next to us was a guard pony and a unicorn stallion I recognized as Parchment, Celestia’s aide. “Princess Celestia requested your presence as soon as you are able.”

I nodded my head and got up, with Velvet following after me. Putting my books into my saddlebags I took a deep breath and turned toward her.

“Vel, I’m going with Parchment to see what is going on, when I get back, I want the two of us to talk about the whole changeling thing. Is that okay?”

“What, no, I’m coming with.” She protested.

I opened my mouth to deny her, but Parchment stepped in, “The Princess never said that you need to come alone, sir. Lady Velvet may join us, provided that she remembers that this is a matter of state, if she cannot keep such information a secret I would suggest, Lady Velvet, that you wait for our return.”

“I can keep a secret,” she nodded with a frown on her face.

I wanted to argue, but I knew that that was a lost cause. She made up her mind.

…

It took a while to get from one plate of Canterlot city to the other, but that gave me plenty of time to think about various things. Velvet was also quiet, and her emotions now read a mess of things, but there was still love, and plenty of it pointed at me.

Looking around us I took stock of other ponies and creatures milling around and enjoying their day. Occasionally a snowball would make it's way close to us, but all that got was a giggle or a chuckle respectively as we watched foals play under the watchful eyes of their parents.

I wanted to join in and have occasionally thrown a snowball when I thought no one was looking, but Velvet had this happy and pleased smile on her muzzle whenever I looked at her. Just an outpouring of love.

Finally arriving at the castle, I was getting a little chilly as has Velvet if her lightly shivering body under my wing was any indication. We haven’t prepared ourselves for this kind of trip so now we were suffering consequences.

Velvet gasped loudly as we drew closer to the gates and cold slowly got replaced with excitement.

Into the building and down several corridors we ended up in front of a similar room as last time for entertaining dignitaries. With a loud knock from Parchment, we entered.

“Your Highness, I have retrieved him and a plus one, if you don’t mind.”

“I do not, Parchment.” Celestia nodded her head and pulled him aside for a quiet chat.

“That’s him, just like I told you Dicty.” Mantis pointed a hoof at me.

“I see him, but I don’t see what’s so special about him,” commented a changeling mare next to him.

Dicty for all intents and purposes was just another changeling drone, but what stood out was her completely healthy carapace and dark-red elytra on her back. She had no scars from the holes either, unlike her brother who still had some scars visible, but those would go away after one more molt. Also, compared to her brother she was a bit larger.

Pulling my wing away from Velvet, who tasted a bit of fear I approached the mare transforming into myself in between steps. The closer I got to her the more her eyebrows hiked up, and the moment she saw how I looked as a changeling her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.

“Name’s Patchwork, a pleasure to meet you, Miss Dicty.” I extended my claw for a shake.

“The pleasure is mine,” She spoke but she still had a bewildered look on her face. She turned to her brother with a scowl, “Why didn’t you tell me that he is an incomplete royal?”

“I’m a what now?” I asked, lowering my foreleg as her brother shrugged in my direction causing Dicty to facehoof.

“An incomplete royal is a changeling that is on the cusp of royalty, a changeling prince if you will.” Added Dicty after removing her hoof from her face.

“He’s a prince?” Whispered Vel behind me with an awed tone. I turned to look at her, and then back to Dicty.

“He isn’t a prince yet, pony. As I said, he is on the edge of becoming one.”

“And that explains quite a few things.” Celestia approached us and I saw Parchment quietly make his leave.

“What do you mean?”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Mantis suddenly got between us, then turned to Dicty, “Sister, I have been curious about your knowledge for a while now, how do you know he’s a royal? How do you know these things in the first place?”

“Does it matter?” Dicty shrugged.

There was a quiet knock on the door and Velvet went to open it. I saw her talk to somepony and then bring in a large tray in her magic. Turning my head back to Dicty and Mantis my ear twitched in Velvet's direction. The smell of sweets soon reached me.

“Yes it does,” Nodded Mantis and I silently agreed with him, “We need to know if this information is viable if we are to go on this ludicrous mission in the first place.”

I turned around the room looking for Velvet only to spot her and Celestia silently sipping on some tea. On the small table in the center of the room was a large tray of various sweets and a large pot that was still steaming. I walked over, nuzzled Vel, which she eagerly returned, and then grabbed a cup of tea for myself only to decide against it after the first sip. Dark teas aren’t my thing. I decided to go for the cake.

“It would be good to know that the information you possess did come from a viable source.” Celestia piped up.

Dicty sighed before going to a pair of saddlebags that were near one of the windows of the room.

“Chrysalis wasn’t always a paranoid tyrant, and while there aren’t many things written down about our kind there are a few things worth noting if you know where to look.” She opened up the saddlebags and grabbed a thick notebook that looked like it was scribbled on from end to end, “More specifically, if you know how to break in and copy various notes the lunatic keeps hidden in her vault. There are also other ways to know whether someling is a royal or not.” She looked at her brother pointedly.

“By the Queen, you stole from her vault,” whispered Mantis just loud enough for us to hear.

“I didn’t steal, I copied as much as I could. I couldn’t get everything in the first place, but I got most of her old diary as well as the diary of the first changeling prince, Endo. Not to mention all the digging I did while talking to older ‘lings.”

“Changelings had a prince?” I asked between bites of the cake.

“Emphasis on had,” Dicty approached Celestia and gave her the notes. Celestia took the notes and immediately began reading them. “The last entry of the late prince states that he was going to confront Chrysalis over her change in behavior. It is my firm belief that she killed him to prevent anyling from challenging the throne in the first place.”

“So how do you go from an incomplete prince to an actual one?” Asked Velvet from the side. We all turned to her making her squeak and try to make herself look as small as possible. I smiled and approached her running my claws through her mane.

“Hmm, there isn’t much written down about it for the most part.” Dicty approached Celestia and with a ‘please’ took the notes from her. Flipping through the pages for a few seconds she cleared her throat. “Day one hundred and four, Endo’s birth took far more out of our love stores that I would have liked, but my firstborn is finally ready to take the mantle. He is the first prince of our kind, and he will lead my children with wisdom and kindness. I truly hope the rest of my children accept him as he is as different from them as I am.” She closed the notes and gave them back to Celestia who put them on the table far from the crumbs and tea.

“It could be that the ritual is fairly simple,” Celestia had a thoughtful look on her muzzle, “We need a large amount of love and a unique individual on par with an alicorn.” This caused Mantis and Dicty to look at me and I started sweating.

“Must I?” I asked.

“Well, noling is forcing you, but you will probably become a full royal eventually, and if Chrysalis finds you she will see you as a challenger and, well, you will probably end up as Endo.” Dicty used a sledgehammer to smash my hopes about avoiding this whole scenario. I wanted to help the changelings, but if it would lead to me being in charge… I’m not ready for it.

“So, you either do it yourself and have the element of surprise or you will get to it eventually and the mad Queen will have your chitin… no pressure.” Added Mantis.

I gave it a good thought. What Mantis said has some truth to it, either I do it, or someone does it for me. Not literally in this case.

I looked at Velvet who would get dragged into this mess if I don’t act and made my decision. Looking at Celestia, then at Mantis and Dicty I nodded my head.

CH 26 (preparation)

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Mantis

We watched as the hybrid left with his pony lover, off to who knows where. Turning towards my sister I looked at her with a clear mind I barely possessed two weeks ago.

Gone were the holes I remember her having and in its place was a powerful, healthy carapace. No scaring, no weakness in plates.

Taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth to say something only to be interrupted by the pony Princess.

“Do you honestly believe that this could work? That he could ascend?” She asked while studying that notebook my sister brought.

Dicty shifted in place, making herself more comfortable, “I don’t see why not, he’s already partway there. I mean did you see him?”

“He’s a hybrid,” I shrugged my shoulders, “For all we know that’s how they all look.”

“There is more to it than just his looks, idiot. Sweet Celestia…” Said princess raised an eyebrow, “it’s been years and you still didn’t learn to see things beyond your muzzle.”

“Hey! I did learn.” I huffed indignantly, “It's why I became one of the top infiltrators in the first place.”

“Which tells me exactly how low the mad Queen has fallen.” Dicty snickered and I felt my blood starting to boil. I worked hard to be where I was. Especially since she left all those years ago.

“Excuse me,” the Princess approached us, “but I would like my query answered straight. What makes you think that he will ascend?”

Dicty went quiet for a few moments, and I took the time to calm down.

“It’s like this, Princess” Dicty started, and I perked my ears to hear this, “unlike ponies we changelings have a very specific growth path. Other than a few differences here and there, most of us are more or less the same. Black carapace, green eyes, fins.” She pointed at each mentioned bit with her hoof. “However, us changelings have senses that can help tell us apart more easily, and it’s those senses that are useful in this case. Patchwork, to me, stands apart not just in looks but in the way he feels. He essentially feels like Chrysalis; royal, powerful, above us… Kind of like yourself.”

Then it clicked for me, “So that’s what that was!”

“Now you get it!?” My sister teased. She turned to Celestia, “Anyway like I said, he already feels like a royal, which tells me that he is partway there. All he needs is a push.”

“I would have felt it easier if I had more practice at it,” I muttered.

“So why didn’t you,” Dicty teased again.

“Cause Chrysalis goes mad whenever someling tries to get a feel for her,” I shrugged and my sister frowned.

“It seems to me that she is more paranoid than I gave her credit for,” Muttered Celestia, and I silently agreed with her. “So, what do we need to for this ritual, other than large quantities of love?”

“Well, my working theory always was that it has something to do with our ability to molt.” Dicty explained, “It has always been a known fact that large amounts of love can allow our kind to force a molt. Molting in such a way always resulted in a stronger changeling.”

“How so?” The Princess asked. I decided to take a cookie. It was delicious.

“It has something to do with our bodies. The more love we get the more energy our body can use to strengthen itself during molts. Especially if we survived an ordeal.” Dicty rolled her hoof, “There is a limit to how strong we can get, especially as a normal changeling, but for a royal things are different. Tell me, Princess, if you would” My sister shot a pointed look, “Has he ever gone through a molt or a change where he completely changed the way he looked?”

“His very first cocooning,” It didn’t take long for her to answer. “He came out looking like he does now, but he was shorter.”

“So, if my sister is correct,” I approached the two of them with a cookie in my hoof, “a forced molt with a massive amount of love could result in actual royal growth. Maybe if we cocoon him in with a love infusion it might work even better.”

“You may be onto something, brother.” My sister agreed and I about purred at the praise given.

“So, it seems that we have a bit of preparation to make. Let’s get to it.” All three nodded to us and plans were made.

Patchwork

“I can’t believe you’re a prince.” Velvet exclaimed. We were in the privacy of her room. She was lying on her back on one of her pillows and kicking her legs up with glee.

“I’m not a prince,” I muttered out with distaste. I was rather peeved at the whole thing. I mean, in one claw being a prince would be cool, but on the other, the level of responsibility is not something one can just jump in without a care. It would also be annoying. Red tape always made me gag.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Vel flipped on her stomach with a worried look on her face.

“I said I’m not a prince,” I said out loud with more conviction. “I may look like one from their perspective but I’m not.”

“But it looks like they need you to be one.” She got off her pillow and approached me. She put a hoof on my chest and looked me in the eyes which got me to immediately calm down somewhat.

“Well, I don’t want to be one. I want to help them, sure, but being a prince? Fixing their whole messed-up situation? I’d rather not. I am perfectly content in having an easy life rather than needing to tell at least five people that I need to use the toilet.” I huffed indignantly.

“OK, so don’t.” Velvet giggled as she started messing with my tuft of fluff on my chest, “Just go to the toilet like a normal pony.”

“You know what I meant,” I snorted but I still ran a claw through her mane. “You know, you seem to be awfully happy that I have to become a royal changeling. If I didn’t know better I would think that you are with me because of my status.” That got me a scowl and a light shove.

“I loved you even before I knew how messed up your life actually is.” She crossed her forelegs and turned with a huff. She was adorable like that. “Besides, it is a dream of every mare and filly to one day marry her Prince Charming.” Velvet swooned cupping her hooves together.

I growled at that thinking of that snot-nosed bastard. Celestia managed to keep me well away from her descendants that visited the castle on occasion, but I still sometimes saw him strut around. I am almost one hundred percent sure that Prince Blueblood would be his son in the near future. Okay, fine the guy isn’t a total moron; he married a ‘commoner’ filly at a young age, and he gave me a happy wave when I spotted him a while ago, but his attitude is something I’m not sure I would tolerate. But now every filly and mare dream to be swept off their hooves by another member of the royal family.

A peck on my lips shook me out of my dark cloud and I looked down at Velvet.

“I now remembered that you wanted to talk to me about something today. What has been bothering you lately? Especially over the last week.” Sensing her emotions, I only got love and concern out of her, but it still got my mind to immediately jump to some unfounded fears.

Sighing I ran a claw through my mane, getting it stuck on the band holding it together.

Shaking my head, I pulled up one of Vel’s pillows with my magic and laid myself down on top of it.

I decided to talk about her constant asking to walk around as a changeling.

“Look, one of the reasons why I’ve been… angsty, is also one of the reasons why I don’t want to be a prince. It’s also why I can’t just walk around undisguised at the moment.”

“That’s a lot of reasons for one thing.” She lightly shoved me to the side with her nose and took her place next to me on the same pillow. It was cramped, but it made me happy all the same that she was so comfortable with me.

“It is,” I nodded. “The problem is Vel, that at the moment there is a silent war being led between ponies and changelings.” There, one more thing out in the open.

“A war?” Her eyes were wide and there was an undercurrent of fear slowly rising from her.

“Wrong choice of words on my side,” I backpedaled. “Look, the way things are, the changelings are currently being led by an egomaniac of a ruler that thinks of herself as Faust’s gift to this world.” I swallowed thickly as I decided to take the plunge, “They are taking ponies Vel. They are foalnapping everyone they can and forcibly feeding off of their emotions.”

That got a reaction. Velvet was now on her hooves and looking at me with wide eyes full of fear.

“Is that what today was about?” She asked in a quivering voice, “You want to stop this?”

“I do… but it’s not so simple,” I shook my head.

“How so, if they are taking ponies against their will that it should be simple: she needs to be stopped!” Vel all but shouted. The quiver in her voice made her look very vulnerable and I immediately got up and hugged her holding her tight.

“That’s what we want to stop, love. But they are starving. You haven’t seen it, but they can barely survive off of what they get.” I lowered my head and nuzzled the top of hers, being very careful with her horn.

“Why not look for alternatives?” She returned the nuzzle and wiggled trying to get as much of herself into the hug.

“Because she doesn’t let them, or some of them don’t want to?” I questioned it. Who knows how many of them see their current way of feeding as the only possibility. Who knows how many of them see themselves as superior. Tartarus there are some ponies even today that do that, so why not changelings.

Velvet sniffed, “So, how does this factor into you not wanting to be the prince.”

“Because I don’t know what to do, Velvet. I may be a decently smart individual, but I am no prince, or noble.” I sighed, “How am I supposed to get a race from the brink of starvation? What do I do when some of them refuse cooperation? If we return all the captured ponies, how will provide them food to compensate?” Now I sniffled.

“That’s a lot of big questions.” Velvet said with a quiet voice.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, just hugging each other and thinking. Fear was slowly ebbing away from her and was being replaced with rising confidence.

“Do you think that Princess Celestia has some plan to help?” She asked me while raising her head to kiss my chin.

“She probably does.” I nuzzled her again while stroking her mane with my claws, “Tartarus she was probably making plans since we decided to help them.”

“So maybe you should talk to her. She probably has an idea on how to help everypony.” There was a small smile on her face. I raised my head in thought.

“Probably, but I have some other reasons why I don’t want to be a prince.”

“Yea, you told me, lazybones.” She giggled at me, and I huffed in annoyance. Vel raised her hoof and gently turned my head to face her, “They need you Patch. You know that, right?” She asked softly.

“I know.” I nodded rubbing our noses together. They need someone to challenge Chrysalis and I am the only one at the moment that could do it without involving the ponies. I already wanted to do something about it, except now I’ll be saddled with more than just fighting Chrysalis.

Celestia

Shield was asleep, taking a nap and snoring the day away. Her snores weren’t bad, but they were constant. A perpetual reminder that she is alive.

Me on the other hoof, my mind was abuzz. I held Dicty’s notebook in front of me, open at a specific section, the last bits of Chrysalis’s diary entry.

“The parallels are there, how did I miss it,” I whispered trying not to wake my wife. Tears were slowly pooling in my eyes as the memories rushed back, as they did every time the subject is brought up.

Chrysalis was slowly losing the battle with the spirit she took in, and her journal entries were more and more frantic, with the last being a simple ‘goodbye’.

‘It couldn’t be…’ I always wondered what happened to my sister, what drove her to madness. Reading this entry and Endo’s heavy tears began to fall as I put the pieces together.

“She was possessed,” I tried to dab at the tears with a napkin but it was a losing battle. I heard shuffling from the couch causing me to try and stifle my hiccups.

I moved to my study, notebook in tow.

Putting the notebook down on my desk I took a deep shaky breath. This spirit… This Nightmare, had centuries to cause issues for everypony. It now became even more important that she is stopped.

It also gave me an idea of what happened to Luna. I needed the elements, maybe if we…

“No, first Chrysalis then we plan for Luna,” a hollow laugh escaped me. “To think, if he wasn’t here...” I failed once; I won’t let it happen again.

Patchwork

“You’ve been experimenting on other changelings?” I asked shocked. I was following behind White Light as we made our way to the dungeon level of Canterlot Castle. Velvet was slightly behind me munching on a breakfast donut.

“I didn’t ‘experiment’ on anypony. We examined those willing to go through with it and made comparisons.” He stated.

“Where did you even find more changelings? How… I mean how many are there anyway?” I was honestly surprised they found more in the first place. Right now, the amount of changelings I know outside of the hive is two, Dicty and her brother.

“Easy there, son. There are fewer of them than you think. We have only four that were willing to work with us, and ten of them altogether.” White Light confirmed as we followed him.

Finally reaching the cell we were looking for, Velvet looked green in her face as we watched Dicty, and Mantis prepare the cocoon I was supposed to be placed in. It only took them four days to finish it up and one day to fill it to the brim.

Celestia was to the side of the cocoon examining the love bottles that were left over as White Light approached the green mass to study it. Looking at the mountain of empty bottles, I wasn’t sure about my chances.

“You are going into that thing?” Velvet asked all the while looking like she would lose the donut she had just eaten.

“Think of it as a deep mud bath. Like that one you took a few months ago.” I examined the thing from afar. I honestly did not know if this would work, and I wasn’t looking forward to finding out. I have never tried absorbing the amount of love I would consume today.

“That’s completely different,” She swallowed heavily but her voice was indignant.

“It is not as different as you may think, my dear.” Confirmed Celestia as she was approaching the two of us. She gave me a nuzzle that I eagerly returned as Velvet shied back, but with a happy smile on her muzzle. “Are you ready, Patch? They are almost finished.”

I watched for a moment as Dicty and Mantis finished the cocoon. It was now or never.

“Yeah, let’s do this before I lose my nerve.”

CH 27 (ascension)

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Patchwork

Eating the two love pills before entering the cocoon was easy, even though it took me over ten minutes to shake off the daze. Entering was a bit harder as my legs were wobbly. Once I entered the cocoon proper was when the fun part started.

First I noticed that my vision was tinted pink, then the rest of my body started to tingle at first pleasantly but then it started to become painful. Gritting my teeth, I tried to relax so that I could enter the molting stage. But I couldn’t.

A burning sensation started to well up in my chest and when it reached its peak I blanked out.

…

Opening my eyes, I noticed from my blurry vision that the only pony in front of me was Celestia. She was lying on her legs looking at me. I tried to move but my body felt numb all over and my head was feeling like it was swimming in molasses.

She suddenly got up and approached the cocoon with her horn lighting up with its golden glow. I felt an itch behind my ear and then I could hear her voice.

“A push she said… Maybe… No… but…” She muttered tilting her head left, then right before she frowned, “You can see me, my dear colt?” I nodded slowly, “I will try something, but it will be up to you to grasp it.”

The numbness then made way for warmth that was slowly spreading through me. Then it became hotter and hotter until it was almost unbearable. I could see the liquid around me start to bubble and shift as I moved to try and get away from the warmth.

Then the haze lifted from my mind for a moment and what she said reached me. I tried to grasp the heat around me both physically and magically only to realize that the heat was coming from me.

Focusing my senses, I grit my teeth and dived into my own core trying to find the source, my source. I noticed that the cocoon was glowing blue before everything went black.

Dicty

Entering the cell area housing Patchwork, I let out a deep sigh. It has been almost a week since he entered the cocoon and so far there was no progress. I was hoping that something would happen on its own but at this point, I am certain that we made a mistake somewhere.

“…up to you to grasp it.” Celestia’s voice reached my ears causing them to twitch.

Making my way forward I stumbled as the temperature in the room suddenly shot up way past comfortable. I started panting and I cast a quick cooling down spell which barely did anything. Lifting my head up I noted that the two guards next to the cell door were drenched in sweat with the pegasus guard using his wings to fruitlessly cool himself down.

Reaching the cell, I was nearly blinded as a blue light exploded from the cocoon and I had to cover my eyes with my hooves closing my third eyelids for good measure.

Just as soon as the light came it dissipated and in the place of the cocoon was a large olive-green egg. Princess Celestia was sitting in front of it and her horn was glowing.

“What did you do?” I screeched in shock while rubbing the spots from my watery eyes.

“I gave him the push he needed,” She shrugged turning towards me.

“What?” I was confused. Chrysalis’s diary mentioned nothing about helping Endo ascend let alone giving him a ‘push’.

Celestia ‘hummed’ in thought looking up at the ceiling.

The moment I was able to see clearly I dashed past Celestia to the egg looking it over and tapping at random places that looked the weakest hoping for something to happen. I felt completely out of my depth at what to do.

“When Patchwork arrived to our world he was starving. Our fault entirely but what’s done is done.” Celestia looked at me, “Long story short I offered to feed him until he was satisfied as we had difficulties doing so with volunteers.”

Mantis told me the story, but I was a bit confused as to what it had to do with the situation here.

“I fed him several times until he was full,” She continued, “but it was on the last feeding that something happened. You see, as an alicorn, I have a unique magical core. Patchwork reached and took a small piece of that core whilst feeding and while my own core easily healed Patch kept the piece.” My eyes widened when I put the pieces together.

Celestia approached the egg, lifting a foreleg she ran her hoof across its surface.

“I originally thought that the piece he took would disappear as his body absorbed it, but his magic is a bit unique. It took that peace and made it its own, making him stronger. Over the two years I spent with him I noticed that his body and his magic were incredibly adaptive, able to use whatever challenges are thrown at him to grow stronger for it.”

“He became a prince through luck?” I muttered.

“I wouldn’t say that.” Celestia shook her head, “Something had to be there in the first place for him to grow into a prince. In either case, what I did today was to guide him to the right path. It was up to him to take it.” Lowering her hoof, she looked at me with a worried look on her face. “I’ll be honest, Dicty, I was afraid he would fail.”

Nodding my head, I looked at the egg, a testament to Patchwork’s success.

‘Now we just wait, I guess,’ I thought as I sat down.

Patchwork

I was standing in an area that was extremely familiar to me, as that episode was one of my favorites, even if it was flawed.

The star-filled field was massive and I could see no end to it. Streams of colorful energy and whisps of magic were constantly dancing around, appearing, and disappearing too swiftly for me to keep track of them.

Just as I was getting overwhelmed by visual stimuli I was grabbed into a tight hug by a mass of black chitin.

“My son. My darling nymph, you have no idea how proud I am of you.” Came a gleeful feminine voice from the wall of chitin that was crushing me.

“Air… Air!” I rasped.

Suddenly I was hooked under my arms and easily lifted into the air. Only then was I able to see who my assailant was while trying to catch my breath. My jaw hit the floor.

Chrysalis was standing in front of me on her hind legs, easily holding my weight and wearing a beaming, proud smile.

She looked different from the show. She was fuller, for the lack of a better word, like she was more than just bone and chitin. Her mane was straight and long but voluminous, almost reaching her hind legs. Her chitin looked healthy and full, gleaming in the light of the starfield.

I just hung there, held by her forelegs, my jaw open and my mind racing. She tilted her head to the side and frowned before gently putting me down.

“What is wrong my son? What is bothering you?” She looked around trying to spot what caused me to worry only to suddenly start laughing, “Of course, I almost forgot… No, wait, actually I did.” She laughed again and I could feel the starfield vibrate along as if it were laughing with her.

Shaking my head at her behavior I was able to finally see her in full.

She was tall, taller than Celestia by a full head. Her hair was a darker turquoise than mine and, as I previously noticed, was long covering nearly half her face with the way it fell. There was a long and curvy horn protruding between her locks that looked surprisingly fragile. The visible eye was green and full of warmth that made me feel fuzzy inside the longer I stared at it.

Her body was long and slender though, without the bulk Celestia had but the way her chitin moved told that she had plenty of power behind it. Her chitin was without any seams mine had, making her look less patchy and more like an actual changeling. Her midsection was fully green and segmented with the upper half being covered by bright green elytra that almost shimmered in the light of the astral field.

I must have zoned out as she cleared her throat to get my attention.

“My apologies, my dear. I have spent the last couple of days wandering this astral field waiting for you, I kind of lost myself in the moment.” She giggled again and I took a step back.

“Who, are you?”

“My dear, you are well aware of who I am,” there was a flash of fire and actual Chrysalis stood in front of me. She looked almost emaciated, with holes that have riddled her body. Only her mane and tail were spared, but even those looked limp and lifeless. Her eyes however shone with power, occasionally crackling with electricity. “This is who I actually am, my son… Or at least, what she made me.” She pointed to the right with her head.

Turning to where she pointed I spotted, far away from us, a sphere of pure black that flailed, squeaked and moved every which way trying to reach us. It looked like an unknown force was keeping it at bay though.

I took a tentative step towards it, but a large hoof on my shoulder stopped me.

“I wouldn’t approach it, my dearest. That thing is the very reason why you are here.” Chrysalis pulled me back and turned me away from the sphere.

Turning my senses to it I only sensed hatred, pure and unfiltered. Shaking my head, I looked towards the Chrysalis in front of me who again looked like a healthy changeling. I raised an eyebrow at her and she sighed sadly.

“A long, long time ago, when I was young and naive, a creature offered me help when I needed it. I took the offer and the creature, let it feed off of me, and help me.” The more she talked the more of the puzzle I was putting together and it wasn’t a pretty picture. “One day I woke up a passenger of my own body and I had to watch as that thing paraded me like a puppet.” She growled that last part and I watched as her features turned vicious and fierce as, what I assumed, her anger grew.

“You were possessed?” I whispered.

“I am possessed.” She sighed, her features softening, and she started walking away. Following her, I saw that the starfield started to shift and change. Slowly a path was being formed and we followed it.

Images started to show up, presenting my memories, sad to happy, proud, and embarrassed. She watched all of them with a smile, occasionally stopping to see a specific memory play out.

I watched as the memories of my old life passed us by, turning my head whenever I spotted a memory I particularly cherished… like when my uncle Jack and my dad helped me build my first pc. I was young then, but my dad still let me take a sip of his beer. It was disgusting. I smiled a teary smile watching that memory play out.

I felt a hoof on my shoulder and I was slowly and gently pulled into a hug, Chrysalis humming all the while letting me cry over what was lost.

We stayed like that for a few minutes. When I had enough I took one last look at the memories and with a deep shaky breath, I made a decision.

“How do I help you?” I croaked.

“Oh, my sweet nymph. After everything you have been through you still don’t even think twice before offering help.” She gave me one more hug before backing up slightly, “Unfortunately there is little you can do to help. Maybe if she was weaker and I had more energy I would be able to push her out of my body. But she feeds on hatred and anger. An antithesis to us changelings. You have no idea how many have died from hatred poisoning before she learned to control herself.” She lowered her head and we spent a minute in silence as she relived her memories and I contemplated what she told me.

As I was thinking I noticed that she has moved away and is looking at a particular memory, the last memory before I woke up in this place.

“Celestia had it right, you know.” Chrysalis spoke, “In order for a changeling to rise above they need a push from another, the rest is up to them.” She turned her head to me, “Same as I did for my Endo, she did for you. My two little princes. You would have been great friends.” She raised her hoof pointing it towards me and I felt like something was pulled out of me.

A small turquoise sphere with a star in the center shot out of my chest and into her waiting hoof. There was no pain, just surprise on my part. For a moment I thought that she tricked me, but it just didn’t add up.

“She cannot read my mind with any clarity, so she won’t know where you are or who, but she will know that a changeling ascended,” She looked at the sphere in her hoof as if it was the most precious thing in the universe, “Which means you have time, but not too much of it.” She raised her head and looked me in the eyes as she was slowly approaching me, “My son, you need to act fast, get stronger, challenge her rule, defeat her and save our race from centuries of pain and suffering.” Chrysalis stood in front of me and extended the hoof that held the sphere.

Extending my forelegs, I grabbed the sphere with my claws feeling a rush of power course through it and enter me in a torrent that caused me to curl into myself.

“Go now, my son. I recognize you as an ascendant. You are the spirit of changelings, OUR Spirit. I know you will succeed.” She looked at me with a smile as tears were pooling in her eyes.

I swore that that would not be the last time I see her.

Velvet

It has been almost a month since Patch entered the cocoon, and I missed him dearly.

I have been visiting as much as I could hoping that he would be awake but it was all in vain.

In that time, I managed to make friends with the other two changelings as well as got to know Princess Celestia a little bit better.

I asked Dicty a few times if she knows how long this usually takes and the answer was always no. We even went through the notes she took several times trying to piece things together but that was also a dead end.

“I see you are here again, my dear.” My ears twitched as Princess Celestia entered the cell.

Lifting my head I smiled at her, “I got ahead on my studies so I have a few days of peace.”

“That is good to hear, but I am worried that you may be spending too much time here.” She folded her legs underneath her and laid down next to me. “I see you have been looking through Dicty’s notebook again.”

Said notebook was laying down in front of me, open at the last diary entry of Queen Chrysalis that simply said ‘goodbye’.

“Yes, I spoke to Mantis when I saw him a few days ago and he told me what their current Queen is like. It made me want to reread the diary. She was a good Queen.”

“Yes, she was. Hopefully, she will be again.” That got me to hike my eyebrows up but I didn’t question it. Maybe the Princess had a plan to help Chrysalis.

Igniting my horn, I closed the notebook and placed it at my side. I will return it to Dicty before I leave.

Neither of us spoke or moved much until I left an hour later. I hope he wakes up soon.

Patchwork

The crack of my cocoon reached my ears sooner than the light emanating from outside did. I tried to move to free myself but it felt like my whole body fell asleep. Soon enough I noticed that I barely made any progress and I started trashing trying to get out.

A thundering of hooves reached my ears as I managed to get my head out and through bleary eyes, I spotted a changeling standing in front of me along with three other white blobs.

“Get the princess!” Shouted what I recognized as Dicty. She then flew closer to me and started helping me get out. If this was what it was like to be born I was dearly hoping I won’t have to make a repeat.

We were about halfway through, with her constantly giving me encouragement when suddenly the whole cocoon was enveloped in a golden glow and effortlessly ripped open. I was then caught in that same glow before I even touched the floor and brought over to a wall of white feathers. There was an immediate outpouring of love flowing toward me and only then did I notice how incredibly hungry I was. I opened my mouth only to have a bottle of pure love shoved in and I started to greedily drink from both sources.

“Eat up, my colt, there is more where that came from.”

“I don’t… I don’t want to do that again,” I croaked feeling like my vocal cords weren’t used in days.

“You won’t,” said Dicty. She held a piece of the cocoon in her hooves and I noted that it looked like a piece of a shell. Looking at the cocoon itself it surprised me that it had the shape of an egg. It certainly did not start as one.

“How long was I out?” I asked no one in particular, grumbling at the pain in my throat.

“One month,” spoke Celestia from above me. Raising my head slightly I noted that was almost as tall as her. Which meant I grew quite a bit.

I blindly waved my hooves around looking for another bottle when one was placed into my left claw and I went back to guzzling it.

It took several bottles of love for me to be satisfied.

…

‘I finally look like an actual changeling,’ I tilted my head.

I was standing in front of a full-length mirror designed for Celestia and placed in her personal study. I wanted to see myself after Dicty made an offhand comment about my looks ‘finally fitting in’.

My chitin finally looked solid top to bottom. No more patchwork pieces here and there with all the moving parts that took forever to clean and oil. Just a solid piece of flexible chitin that came in several large segments and I was happy for the change.

Most of the other things stayed the same though; my horn was still short and stubby; I still had my claws and two antennae as well as two pairs of wings which were a bit shorter than usual but much stronger. I also still had that stubborn tuft of fur on my chest that I considered cutting at some point.

There was one more noticeable difference that separated me from the rest of the changelings. The leftover segmented chitin now ran the full length of my stomach and up to my neck. It was colored turquoise and woven together tighter to the point where I couldn’t even put my claws between the plates.

I was picking at my new plates when a grey ballistic missile hit me causing me to stumble but not fall.

“You’re awake!” Came a happy cheer from my assailant.

“Yea, I didn’t think it would take this long.” I hugged Velvet causing her to let out a squeak and I had to loosen up a bit. She raised her head, I had to lower mine somewhat and we touched noses before kissing.

“She visited almost every day.” Celestia was at the doorway, wearing a happy smile.

“What did you tell your parents?” I asked Velvet who was playing with my fluff.

“I told them that you were visiting your family.” Velvet hugged me again before moving away and sitting down.

“Y'all are gonna have ta’ tell ‘em at some point bug-colt,” Shield Strike entered the room behind Celestia. Approaching me I noted that I was looking just barely above her. “Although I can’t call ya a colt anymore.”

“As wonderful as it is to see you on your hooves, my dear, there is something we need to talk about.” Celestia looked at Velvet and I pulled her closer, letting the Princess know that she stays. Smiling, Celestia closed the door behind her and cast several spells in rapid succession before sitting down in front of me.

“Ya know ya have ta’ keep this to yerself, Velvet?” Asked Shield and Velvet nodded her head.

“Part and parcel since he revealed himself. I wish there weren’t so many secrets,” She looked at me and then back to Strike, “but I’m starting to understand the need for them.”

“Good. Hopefully, we will reach a time soon where such secrets won’t be necessary.” Celestia summoned Dicty’s notebook and opened it to a specific page before showing it to me.

I took the notebook in my magic and gave it a quick read, swiftly grasping at what she wanted me to see.

“Ye, Chrysalis is possessed, I know.” I nodded before returning the notebook to my… pseudo mother. Chrysalis called me her son directly though, and I’m not sure what to think about that.

“That didn’t take long, how’d you know?” Asked Shield as she dragged a large pillow over to lie down on it.

“When I was… changing… ascending? Anyway. As I was going through the change I ended up in a field of stars.” I started off. Celestia’s eyes immediately widened when I mentioned the field, which told me she knew exactly what I was talking about.

“Field of stars?” Asked Shield raising an eyebrow. Velvet as well had a questioning look but then shook her head.

“I’ll explain to you later, honey. Go on Patch.” Celestia gestured with a wing.

“So, as I came too Chrysalis showed herself. She told me she was possessed, she even showed me the damn thing that possessed her. A spirit of pure hatred that feeds of it.”

“She could have lied,” Shrugged Shield Strike.

“I thought so as well at the beginning, but it just doesn’t add up.” I shook my head, “After she got fully possessed she killed Endo, and this Chrysalis helped me ascend in the first place.”

“So where does that leave us?” Velvet was looking up, deep in thought. Lowering her head and looking at all three of us all I could do was shrug. I honestly did not think that anything changed. Chrysalis still needs to be stopped, maybe even saved.

Spine

My body hurt from the morning exercise, but there was still work to do.

Walking through the corridors of the ever-shifting castle I was making my way to the Queen’s quarters. Occasionally I would have to stop and wait for the wall to open or I would take an alternate route.

I was annoyed.

Over the past month, the Queen’s behavior has gotten worse and more worrisome as days went by. She would occasionally giggle or laugh a happy laugh (something that I have never seen), or she would scream and rage for hours. It made working with her almost impossible, especially if she would start whispering to herself completely ignoring everything that was happening around her.

Even worse, more and more drones and soldiers reported sick from hatred poisoning whenever they were close to her, or in her vicinity. Not that she noticed. In fact, the very idea that the queen could produce so much hatred was suspicious in the first place. It certainly raised my suspicions.

Treasonous thoughts aside, it was time to work… if she is even willing to work today. In all honesty, the hive has been functioning more effectively now that she all but gave up on it.

A scream of rage suddenly reached me and I started pounding my hooves and buzzing my wings to reach the Queen as fast as I could.

Reaching her bedroom, I noticed that the door was ajar, which was unbelievable as Queen Chrysalis made sure the door is always closed and locked. In all my years of service, I have never seen that door be anything but closed. There were also a dozen other changelings around it looking very confused.

I debated opening the door and checking on her when her voice reached me.

“Where is he, you wretched queen!?” The question caused me to tilt my head. I felt hatred slowly building up and I have done my best to shut down my senses. I could hear the other guards and drones slowly backing away from the door and I couldn’t blame them.

“He won’t escape me, oh no. I’ll find him… I’ll find him and when I do I’ll make sure that you watch as I slowly rip his carapace off bit by bit.” The venom in her voice was palpable.

“What?” There was a surprise in her voice, which was then immediately replaced with a growl, “You dare? You DARE!” She screamed and I started to slowly back away from the door.

Then I heard a laugh. It was a cheerful, lovely laugh and it caused me to freeze in my tracks at the sheer strangeness of it. I have never heard Queen Chrysalis sound so… happy. Then she spoke and my jaw fell open at how different it sounded.

“You will never find him, parasite.” I swallowed thickly and approached the door, “But he is coming, I know he is. And he will finally save my children from your accursed existence.”

I was shaking but I managed to peek through the crack. Chrysalis was growling and I spotted her sitting in front of a mirror. But there was noling else in the room. Who was she talking to? Who is this ling she is looking for, and why is ‘he’ so dangerous? Too many questions.

I slowly pulled my head back as she started growling like a wild animal and I beat a hasty retreat. The sound of a broken mirror and her feral scream was the last thing I heard from her.

She probably won’t be working today either.

CH 28 (spying and discovery)

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Celestia

“What’s got your tail in a knot, love?” I raised my head from my paperwork spotting my wife at the door to my private quarters.

“Have you spoken to the academy trainers?” I ignored her question opting to keep frowning at the parchments on the desk. Igniting my horn, I cast a few privacy spells on the door.

Shaking her head with a frown, Shield approached the desk, “Ye, I ‘ave. They will increase his training to account for the new strength. Now answer my question, hun.”

Sighing I fixed the mess on the desk with a burst of magic. Looking to my left the ‘to do’ pile was still too large for my liking, but in all honesty, even after centuries of ruling, I have never seen it empty.

“We need a plan to deal with Chrysalis.” I got up from the desk and threw myself on one of the nearby pillows; a yellow one.

“Isn’t that what you have been doing for the past month with Dicty? Scootch aside.” Shield laid down next to me making the pillow feel cramped… in a good way.

“We have been putting the pieces together, yes.” I huffed twisting my head so that I can place it on my wife’s back.

“And you said it would take a couple of months to set things up, right?”

“Yes, to scout out the best position for a trap, gather the necessary resources, train up Patchwork and prepare him for his prince duties and free up my time so I can be there when it happens, etc.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“Patchwork does not wish to wait that long,” I snorted. Using my magic, I picked up the crown from my head and tossed it to the side on another pillow.

“Ah. So, you two have argued?” I couldn’t see it, but from the tone of her voice, she was frowning.

“It wasn’t much of an argument,” I rolled my eyes.

Shield was quiet for a few moments, “Do you want me to talk to him?”

“No need, my dear. With how much work is waiting for him, he won’t have much time to think about Chrysalis.” Freeing the wing that was stuck between me and my wife I hugged her with it.

“I just hope you are taking the colt's unpredictable nature into account,” Strike chuckled.

“There is nothing to take into account. If he gets it into his head to worry about Chrysalis again I will simply explain to him that these kinds of plans take time. He has listened to reason before, I do not see why he wouldn’t listen again.” I ran my nose through my wife’s mane nuzzling her in the process.

“Whatever you say, hun. I have a feeling this will blow up in your muzzle though.”

“It won’t.”

Mantis

“Do you think we should talk to him? He did leave in a huff.” I watched as Dicty took notes from a copy of Dr White Light’s report on Patchwork’s new body.

We were in a small room in the castle, with two beds that Princess Celestia graciously gave us while the whole Chrysalis/Patchwork situation is sorted out.

The room was very sparse, as per our request with only a singular desk sitting next to Dicty’s bed. She was currently hunched over it while I was lying on my side in my comfy bed.

“I don’t see why. Princess Celestia is right, a plan is being made and pieces are being put in place. All he needs is a bit of patience.” She didn’t even raise her head from the notebook.

Rolling over on my back I shifted a little to make myself more comfortable, “I kind of think we should have still told him about the plan.”

“It’s not much of a plan yet beyond the basics,” the scribbling has stopped and looking over I saw her rolling her head.

“We still should have told him. He is a big part of it, he should at least know we are not ignoring him.”

“You heard what the Princess told him; he has so much work waiting for him before he faces Chrysalis. He isn’t ready.”

“He isn’t a foal,” I frowned.

“Nopony… noling said that he is one, but he’s too impulsive. He just ascended; he is nowhere near ready yet to challenge Chrysalis.”

A knock on the door got us both to jump. I managed to recover first and after shouting ‘enter’ I rolled myself over on my stomach.

The door opened without so much as a squeak. Standing there is a light-blue pegasus mare in a maid outfit that gave a quick bow before turning to me “Mister Mantis, sir, Princess Celestia requested your presence.”

“Oh, what for?” I hopped off the bed and made my way to the door. I noticed Dicty shrugging from the corner of my eyes before ducking back to her notebook.

“I wasn’t told any specifics, only to bring you to her at your earliest convenience.”

“Okay then, lead the way miss.” I nodded my head, receiving a nod in return. Turning my head to my sister I was going to tell her that I’ll be back soon but I changed my mind. She wouldn’t care much for it in the first place.

Exiting the room, I sped up to catch up to the maid that waiting for me a bit further down the corridor.

…

After a few minutes of following the maid, we reached Celestia’s private quarters. After being announced and let in I entered an opulent room with lavishly decorated bookshelves.

I spotted Celestia slouched over a white desk with her sun emblazoned for all to see.

“Please take a seat, Mantis.” A blue pillow was placed in front of the desk and I sat down on it. “Just give me a moment please, I would like to finish this.” I nodded my head.

Only the scratching sound of the quill was heard and the occasional shuffling of parchments.

It took several minutes for the scratching to stop and Celestia’s sigh made me violently twitch from the suddenness of it, that’s how lost in thoughts I was.

“My apologies, that bit of parchmentwork needed taking care of.”

“It’s fine your Highness, I did not mind the wait.”

“Thank you,” Celestia smiled at me. “Now, as for the reason why you are here. This may sound as a… strange request, but I must insist on it.” Celestia got up from the desk and walked over to the lit fireplace and out of my eyesight. “I need you to spy on Patchwork.”

That got my ears to perk up and turn towards her with a raised eyebrow.

“Maybe spying is the wrong way of putting it,” She hummed to herself. “In either case, I need you to keep an eye on him. Discretely.”

For a moment I considered just nodding my head and getting on with my assignment, but this wasn’t Queen Chrysalis and I wasn’t the same changeling anymore.

“Why if I may ask?” I turned myself fully towards her but stayed on the pillow.

She spared a quick glance in my direction, “You may.” She did not provide anything else though.

“Um, why?”

Nodding her head, Celestia turned her head to me then back to the crackling fire, “After my argument with Patch, my wife made a point to tell me that if I don’t do something the situation will blow up in my muzzle.” Her shoulders slumped for a moment, “I do not wish for Patch to come to any harm, if it was up to me he would never face Chrysalis and would spend the rest of his new eternity living a happy and carefree life. But that is not to be.” She turned herself to me, “Patchwork is not like other ponies, he’s a bit unpredictable at times and I have a feeling that if he gets it into his head that he will try to challenge Chrysalis on his own. And I can’t have that,” She punctuated the statement with a firm stomp with her foreleg.

“You want me to make sure he doesn’t do that?”

“Yes,” Closing her eyes she nodded her head, “You will keep him occupied and a thestral guard already following him will notify me if he tries something foolish like leaving Canterlot on his own.” Opening her eyes, she focused on me.

“Would he even do something like that in the first place?” I tilted my head to the side.

“I do not know, and I do not wish to find out. In this case, I believe it is better to be safe than sorry.” Getting up and walking over to her desk again she sat down, “That is your assignment if you will have it.”

I gave it some thought. It’s true that Patch may be ill-prepared to challenge Chrysalis at this point in time but he also made a good point: the Queen will be looking for him. He is running out of time and while a few months may not be that much it’s still months of worry.

At the same time thought a plan is being made from what Dicty explained to me, and it will put Patch in a much more favourable position.

“Sure, I'm in.” I nodded my head and shrugged.

“Thank you,”

Spine

“Carrion,” entering the room that housed Chrysalis’s advisor, or vizir as she calls him, I spotted him hunched over the small resin desk. The old ling raised his head along with an eyebrow. He didn’t look that old at one hundred and twenty, but his time will be coming soon.

“Spine, what happened?” He asked in a gravelly voice.

“The Queen hasn’t shown up again. She is standing in the south main corridor and just muttering to herself.” I stomped my foreleg in frustration adding a buzz of my wings for good measure.

“Again,” He shook his head before using his magic to shuffle some parchments on his desk.

“What are we going to do, Carrion? She is either losing her mind or she has already lost it. We almost lost several litres of love just a few days ago because she entered the storage just oozing hatred. We need to do something.” I sat down hard.

“What can we do, Spine?” Carrion got up and limped around his desk stopping in front of me.

Carrion’s carapace was chipped and cracked in too many places to count, along with starvation holes that marred the bodies of every changeling for as long as we could remember. The only colour on his body is his very dark-yellow elytra which was almost invisible unless hit with the light.

There was very little light in the small sparse room in the first place. Only a single enchanted resin crystal on the desk provided any illumination in the room.

“There has to be something. The hive cannot function like this for long. Tartarus, if the ponies have not been providing us with love for the last couple of months we… I don’t even know what we would do.” My shoulders slumped under the weight of the situation. “Chrysalis practically gave up on leading this hive.”

“Our Queen has not given up on us,” He placed a hoof on my shoulder, “Just yesterday she gave me a set of orders in order to keep the hive running. She had led us and kept us fed for centuries and I doubt she will stop now just because she has things troubling her.”

“But…”

“How about this my young friend, I will talk to her tomorrow when she is in the mood and we will come to a better solution.” Carrion smiled at me and I felt my own lips tug into a small smile. “In the meantime, you are doing a fantastic job keeping us safe and sound.” He dropped the hoof and limped back to his desk. “I suggest we do not dawdle around too much though, especially since our queen is indisposed at the moment.”

I nodded my head and made to leave, “You will let me know if you found a solution?”

“You have my word, Spine.”

Nodding my head left the room. He was right, there was work to be done, and with Queen Chrysalis busy at the moment we need to step up and do our job. I hope a solution is found all the same though.

Carrion

I watched as the captain of our guard left the room, with his head just a little bit higher than when he came in.

Sighing I sat down slowly, making sure that my old legs did not give out on me. Using my magic, I forced some more light into the resin crystal making the room just a bit brighter.

“What can we do, my friend?” I muttered lifting the last entry of Chrysalis’s diary I found while trying to look for a solution to the queen's troubles. “What can we do?”

CH 29 (being found)

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Celestia

“Patchwork!” I raised my voice causing the napping changeling hybrid to jump awake.

“What-where-how!?” He stumbled, falling off of the pillow he was napping on and landing on his back. “Ow.”

“You know, my dear,” I ignited my horn moving the pillow to the side, lifting Patch up and setting him back on his legs, “most ponies would sell their lives off just to even glimpse the studies I am giving you for free.” I smiled at him shaking his head awake.

“But all this study to be a prince is just so boring,” He whined along with a stomping hoof for good measure.

“Maybe so, but it is necessary for your future.” I tutted, lifting, and sorting out the parchments I used for today’s study which was delegation.

“Why does all the ‘necessary’ stuff have to be so boring,” Patch muttered with distaste picking up his own notes and rolling them up. “Can we take a break, please?” He asked whilst opening his jaw in a powerful yawn.

Thinking for a moment I nodded my head when he looked at me and I laughed out loud when he clopped his hooves with joy hopping in place on his hind legs. He then dashed out of my personal study slamming the door open and startling the guards.

Shaking my head, I started putting away the scrolls I used into the various drawers and shelves occupying the walls of my study as well as closing the door with another burst of magic.

I stood up from my own pillow and, after stretching my legs, I approached my desk.

My eyes landed on White Light’s report on Patchwork’s new body and I picked it up with my magic giving it another quick look.

All in all, Patchwork was now stronger, faster, and more durable than before, now being able to physically compete with pegasi and earth ponies for both speed and endurance, respectively. His strength is still lacking compared to trained earth ponies.

His magical abilities are still surprisingly limited but I am assuming that it has something to do with his constant practice of shapeshifting. I never approached him about his ‘secret’ practice even though the reports about the creatures he has transformed into are…worrying. Most of his transformations could barely even be described as anything other than terrifying by the thestrals or even exceedingly dangerous, however, beyond pushing his abilities he has done nothing to warrant suspicion. I trust him, and to the thestrals that will have to be enough.

It has been a week and a half since he ascended and other than an occasional complaint about not being able to do enough for the changelings Patch has been compliant with my request for patience. He has been a bit more argumentative lately though. I will have to tell him about the plan soon, lest he decides to do something impulsive.

Picking up the last reports from the changeling border I skimmed through them reaffirming my suspicions from the last time I read them yesterday: something bad is happening in the changeling empire.

Changelings have been leaving the Badlands in groups, some even approaching my guards and requesting temporary asylum. The group that approached us refused to elaborate more when questioned beyond saying that staying near the queen has become too dangerous for them. Their group wasn’t large by any means, but even the fact that they are approaching us is shocking, to say the least.

I have requested Dicty to organize the escapees and a small cave system near the recently formed Dodge Junction has been made available for the small group of twenty.

My ears twitched as the door opened and I smelled chocolate.

“I got us donuts,” Patch announced, carrying a platter of donuts in his magic. He approached the desk and placed them on an empty spot. “What are you reading?”

“Latest reports from the Badlands region,” I answered grabbing a donut in my magic and taking a bite.

“Anything I can read?” Came the question.

Raising my head, I looked at Patchwork.

He was chewing his own donut at a respectable distance from my desk, a distance I never asked him to keep. He has been very vocal about not being a good, or willing leader for the changelings, and staying away from my paperwork meant that his opinion on the matter did not change.

Him asking to see the reports regardless, while commendable indicated to me that he was still conflicted about his current situation.

‘Not ready yet,’ I concluded.

“While there are some things I would like to hear your input on, I think you need a few more lessons before that,” I took another bite of the donut, noting that though his face was expressionless he still nodded in affirmative.

“Celestia?” He broke the short silence.

“Yes?”

“Can you teach me how to fight?” His voice was meek, but it did not waver.

“Yes, I can.”

Spine

I slammed my forehooves on the resin desk with as much force I could muster, causing the desk to crack and spill some of its contents all over the floor.

‘Another group left, and another couple of guards have reported for hatred poisoning,’ I growled, ‘And she does not care at all!’

Carrion has also been behaving strangely, speaking in riddles, and walking the halls muttering to himself. He has also been avoiding the Queen and his work as much as he could so much so that I was barely able to speak a few words with him. His daily reports are still regular and without any hidden messages.

I have managed to cut down on the poisoning issues by instructing anyling visiting the castle to not feed while on premises as the entire rooms have become thick with hatred. We even removed any love stored in the castle just in case, even though the Queen has been avoiding our love stores thankfully. I don’t know if it’s out of the mercy or if she just forgot about those at this point. She certainly hasn’t used them to eat.

There is another thing that has caused me some headaches; the Queen hasn’t eaten anything for over a week. She usually gets a hefty dose of pure love delivered to her quarters but lately any delivery was met with a firmly locked door. The preservation spells have been cast on the deliveries so they don’t spoil from the hatred, but, well, she just didn’t eat. And I’m not sure what she has been sustaining herself on as I haven’t spotted any new holes on her body. Her chitin has been radiating some unnatural-looking energies though.

Shaking my head, I started picking up all the loose parchments and quills that fell off the desk.

Her latest orders haven’t changed over the last few weeks: look for the traitor and find Mantis. If we do find the two though, given her state I am sure that their days would be numbered.

I still haven’t had any luck with capturing the ponies that have been making regular deliveries of love. The area the deliveries are made is cleared of any hiding places and it’s just outside the influence of the throne’s effect. Although, even if I do catch them I would probably just leave them be, if it weren’t for them our situation would have been far direr.

‘How do they even have so much love to give?’ I wondered as I put the last quill back on the desk. ‘How many lings are helping them?’

Sighing I ignited my horn and opened a hole in the wall interrupting a guard that looked like he was going to knock.

“Report.” I moved over behind the desk as the guard saluted me. I was going to go for a walk, but I guess not.

“Sir another delivery has been made, and… there was a message left for you.” The guard approached the desk and extended a hoof with a scroll held firmly in it.

I picked up the scroll and unfurled it using my magic, signaling to the guard with my hoof that he is free to go.

The message was written in infiltrator code and it took me a few minutes to decode it.

~Spine, I am sending you this message to let you know that I am fine. I also wish to warn you. Chrysalis is compromised. She is possessed by a monster that has no love or care for us. If you do not believe me here are the instructions on how to reach Chrysalis’s diary in the main vault. Mantis ~

I read and then re-read the message; only then did I notice some more written at the bottom.

~P.S. Also, there is a plan being worked on to hopefully fix our situation, the ponies will help. Keep Chrysalis busy. ~

I blinked twice and then re-re-read the message thinking that I must be on some hallucinogens as this made no sense. Mantis either betrayed us or…

Rolling up the scroll after memorizing its contents I incinerated it and walked out of my office. Let’s see if Mantis I just a traitor, or if I’ll need a really strong drink.

Chrysalis?

Walking through my own mindscape I made sure that the protections against my captor held and that there are no gaps in them through which she could finish the job and remove me.

At the same time, I was keeping an ‘eye’ on what was going on outside. She was checking out the throne making sure that the enchantments are still holding strong.

Dropping what I was doing I focused my will on subtly infusing her magic. I have been doing this for years whenever she isn’t paying attention. I quietly cheered to myself when I managed to cause another chip to the throne itself.

Thirty-two chips and counting at various places that would, if proper pressure is applied, cause the entire throne to fall in on itself. It would break the enchantments and give someling a chance to expose Chrysalis and the changelings to the world. Many of my children would be placed in danger as well, but this is the only thing I was able to do over the centuries.

After that, I returned back to the safety of my own private bubble and continued my safety patrol.

I was worried about Spine and Carrion. They both have been looking worn out when I saw them last a few days ago. Especially Carrion.

I have seen him less and less, and when I do he always looks at my captor with enough venom that I am genuinely surprised she hasn’t noticed it yet. I am worried that he may try something foolish.

Spine on the other hoof has yet to show any signs that he knows what is going on.

“My Queen?” I heard Spine’s voice coming from behind.

She, however, hasn’t reacted, opting to circle the throne inspecting every single angle.

“Queen Chrysalis?” Spine tried again and I spotted him out of the corner of her eyes. She hasn’t even acknowledged him.

Hearing him sigh I forced my head to tilt slightly to the side to keep him in my vision as much as possible. She was so distracted that she hasn’t even noticed that I took some control.

“My Queen, I request permission to enter the main vault,” My hopes soared and I immediately tried to exert some more control without her spotting me.

It took a few minutes, but I finally managed to get the mouth to move.

“Permission granted, my child,” She was so lost in her own little world that not even speaking got her attention.

Spine looked at me weirdly for a few moments without so much as moving a muscle. I could see the wheels turning in his head from his facial expressions.

Suddenly he frowned and nodded his head, turning around and leaving without saying a word.

I clopped my own hooves in my excitement skipping in place with hopes of having one more of my children being made aware of what happened.

I was so lost in my own joy at something finally happening that I failed to notice an attack at my own mind space that, while short, was extremely vicious. I scrambled to patch up the holes and strengthen the barrier at key places trying to make sure she doesn’t manage to breach it. Or take some more of my memories.

After several minutes of patching things up, a voice broke through my concentration.

“We found the traitor, my Queen.”

She immediately stopped and raised her head, perking her ears.

I felt my metaphorical stomach drop.

CH 30 (first bit of practice)

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Patchwork

I was standing in a flat location behind Celestia’s castle that we designated as our sparring area.

The entire location was cleared of anything that was valuable, and the walls of the castle were enchanted to withstand anything we could carelessly throw at it… or at least, what I would throw at it. Celestia seems far too capable to just miss like I will.

Speaking of Celestia she was standing several meters away from me, going through some last-minute paperwork and I was starting to question this decision. With everything that was piled onto me already and all the new stuff that was added, I hardly had any time for Velvet, but it seems that her college was piling just as much work onto her as well. Hopefully, we will have more time in the future.

Celestia magicked her paperwork away and started stretching her wings.

“All right, Patchwork. The rules will be simple, for now, use only magic in whatever manner you see fit to attack me,” I quirked an eyebrow. “We will stop when you get tired.”

“You aren’t going to defend yourself?” I questioned.

“I will, but, and I mean no offense, I will try to measure my strength so I do not hurt you too badly.” I frowned at that but made no comment.

Stretching my own body, I ignited my horn and prepared myself by widening my stance.

I wasn’t overly confident in my magical ability as I have unfortunately neglected some of its study in lieu of mastering my shapeshifting. I could probably hold my own though.

“Begin when ready, my dear.” Celestia lowered her head and ignited her own horn.

I took a few seconds to ready up my strategy, and to mentally prepare myself. Celestia made no move to attack me though, which made me slightly nervous.

Lowering my head, I charged my horn and fired a decently sized fireball, immediately after I prepared a shield in case she attacks me. The fireball splashed harmlessly against a briefly flickering shield and in the next moment I felt a slight tug on my left claw.

Raising my claw and shaking the feeling off without looking, I fired two more fireballs one after another only to throw myself on the ground when a decently sized mana blast broke through my fireballs and sailed over my head, barely missing me.

I followed up then with a blast of my own, jumping back on my hooves and to the side giving me another angle to fire from.

My magic blast was easily deflected to the side into the ground creating a small gash, and with a swish of her horn, a golden string of magic was thrown my way.

Jumping into the air to dodge the string I fired a focused beam of magic at its middle, cutting it in half, and following up by throwing several large icicles at Celestia, only to engage my wings when another string was shot in my direction, cutting the icicles in half, and hitting like a whip crack next to me.

Focusing my magic, I gently pulled on her mane causing it to cover her eyes giving me an opportunity to fire two more magic blasts. I dived to the side firing several more magical blasts in the process groaning as they just splashed harmlessly against her shield.

Moving her hair to the side, Celestia zeroed in on me without hesitation and her horn glowed brighter. Seven golden spheres of magic appeared above her head followed by a tinkle of a bell that summoned a large glowing phoenix that started circling the area.

She cast several more spells in rapid succession creating a few more spheres of fire and ice in various locations and I gulped loudly, rapidly making plans and ideas only to throw it all away once the phoenix divebombed me.

The fire bird opened its beak spitting out a fireball that I dodged by jumping into the air and engaging my wings. Whipping my head from left to right and focusing my magic I threw out a thin but fairly powerful beam of magic that cut the bird in half as well as clipped an icicle that flew at me from one of the spheres causing it to veer to the side.

Dodging a few more blasts of magic as well as a few fireballs I left some spheres of magical fire that were slowly getting smaller while I tried to avoid getting hit. When the spheres were ready, now looking like baseball-sized pulsing balls of anger, I landed behind Celestia and created a shield protecting me.

Using a decent chunk of my current mana, my horn glowed brightly with turquoise light and the spheres started flying under my control. Celestia turned her head towards me with a raised eyebrow and raised her own shield just in time to block a beam of concentrated fire magic that started firing at her from one of the spheres. My other spheres focused on Celestia’s own orbs easily dispatching them and focusing their firepower on her in hopes of taking her shield down.

This was the most powerful magic attack I could use and after the dust settled from the constant attacks I groaned loudly. Celestia was now turned towards me but without so much as a crack on the shield.

She then summoned spheres similar to mine, but much larger. With a loud thump, the spheres of fire were crushed to half their size immediately firing at me with powerful red beams that shredded the land around me whenever I managed to dodge.

I was feverishly dodging her attacks, but I could feel myself getting tired and my concentration slipping which proved dangerous when a beam of magic managed to clip my leg causing me to spin out of control with the force of the impact.

Bouncing off the ground and forcing me to use even more mana to keep my shell from breaking, I landed a decent distance from her.

With my mana reserves now being fairly low and my left leg shaking from the impact I slowly started getting up only to give up halfway.

“Three minutes. Not bad for your first time.” Celestia chirped happily passing by me as I slowly got up on my legs.

“Could be worse I guess,” I raised the leg she struck and made sure that there was no damage on the chitin. I was happy to find out that there was no visible damage and a small application of magic removed the phantom tingle that was leftover.

“Don’t think like that my dear, in the last three years you have barely ever practiced magic like this. You should be proud of yourself,” Celestia’s praise did feel good but I was still rather upset that I didn’t even manage to move her.

“If you say so,” Shaking my head I raised my head suddenly finding a full bottle of love in front of me, held in golden magic. Grabbing it, I opened the bottle and started chugging.

“We will take a small break and then we will continue,” Celestia disappeared in a flash and I was left behind, slowly emptying the love bottle.

I was hoping to at least scratch her.

Spine

Holding my head firmly in my hooves I tried to get rid of this splitting headache while massaging my temples.

In front of me, on my desk were two things that made me want to just toss everything in the nearest fire pit.

One set of scrolls was the copied diary of Queen Chrysalis, or at least as much as I could copy anyway. I have read the blasted thing several times top to bottom and a part of me was dearly hoping that what I have read was a joke. But I doubt it.

When I first read it I wanted to confront Chrysalis about this, but something told me that it was a horrendous idea. Talking to Carrion was also impossible as he has all but vanished in the last couple of days. All I know is that he is up to something as a few items have been removed from the storage by him. I have left a note on his desk letting him know that I wish to talk to him, and I hope he reads it. He never had a reason to doubt me before so I hope things work out on that end.

The second thing that gave me a headache is that some infiltrators have managed to find the ‘traitor’ that has been feeding info to ponies. An unknown changeling that has been going by the pony name of Night Front. I have sent an encoded message to Mantis hoping to get an answer from him, but something tells me that this is the ‘ling Chrysalis is looking for.

She has gone behind my back and ordered a bunch of infiltrators to look into Night Front and report anything they find as soon as possible. I managed to talk to one of the infiltrators and got him to agree to tell me what he finds first, but so far, if what I have read is correct I should consider Chrysalis an enemy to changelings.

‘I need to start working on a plan…’ I shook my head violently dispersing the thought before I could even solidify it.

If what I have read is correct and if what Mantis pointed out is true then something needs to be done to remove the parasite from the rightful Queen of the Hive. But what to do about it?

Carrion

‘I want to talk to you about something.’

Incinerating Spine’s note, I continued my hobbling through the halls of the ever-shifting castle trying to avoid as many patrols as possible. Either he knows about the Queen's secret or he’s fully loyal to her and wants to remove me silently.

Frowning I ended up taking a different turn and made for Spine’s office.

Opening my elytra, I pulled out a clear, perfectly cut crystal. Finding a small alcove, I held the crystal in front of me and focused my magic further imprinting the crystal with the necessary information from my memory along with a message. I couldn’t take the chances with Spine as he might try to stop me or kill me if he’s loyal. If he’s not loyal to her anymore then I need someling close to her that she won’t doubt.

‘Such a mess. I don’t know who to trust anymore.’

Pushing myself away from the alcove I put the crystal back under the elytra.

‘Maybe I should talk to Spine. But what if he’s with her? I haven’t even spoken to him in days.’

Closing in on his office I nodded to the guards in front of it.

“Soldiers, would you know if your Captain is present in his office?”

“No sir. The captain left his station an hour ago,” One of them confirmed.

I nodded my head stiffly, “Well then, you don’t mind if I leave a message for him on his desk?” I took a step forward igniting my horn with the proper spell to open the wall. When they didn’t stop me I proceeded forward through the opening making a beeline to the desk.

Writing a short, encoded note on one of the empty parchments I left it on the desk, and then, using my resin, I stuck the memory crystal under it, away from sight.

Nodding my head, I made to leave but spotting a burnt-up piece of parchment under the desk I picked it up to investigate.

The piece was tiny and according to the smell of burnt parchment it was recently burned, but there was a word left over with only half of it still legible. I froze when I recognized the horn writing.

‘So, he has read the diary.’ I incinerated the piece and made my way out of the office. ‘But if he hasn’t contacted me that means that he might not know that I have read it as well. Or he does know and that message of his was an attempt of reaching me.’

Stopping and turning around I made my decision and scrapped the current plan I had; namely detonating the throne and making it so that the ponies can reach us. The red explosive crystal under my elytra was itching but I needed to confirm this before I make a mistake.

Chrysalis won't assume that Spine is not loyal, she hasn’t even questioned my loyalty yet, but with her paranoia growing it’s only a matter of time before she starts throwing blame, or worse.

‘We don’t have anyling strong enough to challenge her, but maybe with Spine, I can work on a better plan. If I can trust him.’

CH 31 (Physical and Shapeshifting)

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Patchwork

“Have you rested?” Celestia asked me after teleporting back to our impromptu arena.

Putting the empty love bottle to the side, and reminding myself to throw it away later, I stopped for a moment to take note of my current state; fully fed, full love stores, mana reserves restored. After I was satisfied, I nodded my head and walked over to our starting area.

I had quite a bit of time to think about how to approach this challenge I placed on myself. I was focused.

Celestia ignited her horn and started removing her peytral and her hoof-guards placing them on the side and putting them under a shield bubble. I raised my eyebrow and she cleared her throat after standing in front of me.

“This second round will be physical only. Same rules apply, begin when ready.”

Snorting loudly, I lowered my stance and opened my wings.

We both stood still for a few seconds gauging our movements. Not spotting any openings I decided to make my own.

Buzzing my wings loudly I propelled myself forward as fast as I could aiming for her legs. Just as I was about to reach her, she opened her wings and jumped over me, buffeting me lightly with her wake.

Digging my claws into the dirt I swiftly turned around and chased after her. I wasn’t as fast as her, but I was better at air maneuvering.

Celestia dodged my swipes and kicks without fighting back until I managed to clip her hind leg with a punch. She then twisted around and threw a swift hind kick to my chest that I barely managed to block. The kick was powerful enough to push me back into the ground with my arms tingling from the impact.

I frowned but jumped quickly back into the air. I swiftly closed the distance between us throwing a punch the moment I got into range.

Celestia twisted her head to the side avoiding my punch and throwing her wing wrist at my head. Raising both of my claws I caught the wing and, grabbing tightly, I pulled the wing and Celestia along with it to the ground. I felt bad at her gasp of pain, but I grit my teeth and threw her to the ground when I was close enough to it. Just before she hit the ground though, she pulled her wings tightly to herself and hit the ground in a roll.

Chasing after her, I had to pull back when she jumped to her hooves in a whirlwind of feathers. She then dashed towards me and I had to dive to the side to avoid her. She did manage to clip my hind legs with her wing, but I was able to keep steady, turning myself around and running after her.

This time she held her ground and while I managed to get a few solid hits the few she got me with shook me to the core. Backing away I shook my head to clear the daze and started circling her.

Celestia pawed at the ground, snorting loudly.

Taking a deep breath, I lowered my stance and jumped into the fray. Trying to play it smart, I got up on my hind legs and started to throw punches boxing style keeping a close distance to her with my wings.

It seemed to catch her off guard based on her widened eyes and frantic dodging. But she quickly got her bearings and jumped back out of my range. I planned for this however and immediately engaged my wings swiftly closing the distance and surprising her with an uppercut that struck true knocking her head up.

I was about to celebrate my short victory, only for Celestia to follow through with a quick flip back, clipping my arms with the front of her hind hoof. Taking a step back I raised my arms in a block the very moment I noticed Celestia making a quick hop to close in and her hind hoof exploded with the speed I did not expect. My entire body vibrated with the force of the kick and I felt myself fly backward.

Closing my elytra before I landed on my back, with my arms stinging badly. Raising my head, I was shocked that she pushed me well over ten meters away. Looking over my arms I wasn’t surprised that the chitin was badly cracked and oozing greenish blood in a few places.

“I believe that we had enough, for now, my dear.” Celestia quickly donned her finery while approaching me.

I was still lying on my back, looking over the incredible damage she caused me with a single kick. It wasn’t difficult to admit to myself that I was slightly terrified of this mare’s strength.

Rolling back on my stomach I gingerly stood up.

“Hmm, I think I may have over did it,” Celestia looked at my injury with a sad expression. “Do you think you can heal this?”

“With enough love and a bit of time, yes,” I nodded my head and sat down removing a bit of pressure off my damaged plates.

Summoning several bottles of love, Celestia nodded, “Very well. Heal yourself up and we will resume tomorrow. I doubt your plates will fully heal in a few minutes.”

I opened a bottle and started drinking, forcing my body into overdrive with both my magic and my physical manipulation to heal the broken damage without issues. I reminded myself that according to Mantis my ability to self-heal is beyond rare from his experience. I helped teach him a few things but I’ve yet to see him use them.

“Patchwork? Are you listening to me, dear?”

I looked at her with a bottle still in my mouth and a raised eyebrow. She giggled and turned to leave.

“I said that we will continue this tomorrow. We have one more aspect of your abilities that I wish to see, then I will give you my opinion on where you need to improve and some advice along with extra training.”

“I… Okay.” I felt a bit drained with additional work piled up on top of me, but I needed more help if I was to challenge Chrysalis.

After finishing off the rest of the love bottles I picked up the empty trash and made my way to the castle to dump the waste. I was nearing the end of my first year in Equestria. Outside of my ‘prison’ anyway.

…

I was sitting in the practice area watching the sun slowly move from morning to midday.

Yesterday was painful but educational. It showed me where my faults are, and also gave me a few ideas on how to fix them. But if Chrysalis was as strong as Celestia, then I may as well already give up.

I violently shook my head after that thought. I would not allow myself to even entertain it. I WILL defeat Chrysalis and then I would drag that parasite out of her kicking and screaming if I have to.

‘That’s how it probably likes it anyway’, I thought in a huff.

Looking over the area we sparred in yesterday I was tracing the damage Celestia did. Large gashes in the dirt from her magic blasts and deep hoofprints and small craters where her punches and kicks missed.

“I suggest you don’t compare yourself to me, my dear,” Celestia spoke behind me.

Turning my head in her direction I noticed that Shield Strike has joined us today. She looked like she just woke up and there was a blue mist coming from her mouth that slowly got smaller the longer she breathed.

“Captain, you are gonna watch us today?”

“Ye, wan’ ta see wat’cha got bug-colt,” She yawned making her way to the base of the castle. Reaching the base, she waved her hoof in my direction the laid down in the large shadow.

Waiving back, I turned to look for Celestia, “How did you know what I was thinking?” I asked spotting her not far from me, examining one of the larger gashes.

“I did not, you were so concentrated on the damage to the landscape I just made a guess.” Raising her head, she made her way towards me, stopping just a few hoof steps away.

Shrugging I sat down and waited for her. She removed her peytral and hoof guards, placing them next to Shield who barely moved.

“This time I wish to see you fight with your shapeshifting ability. I will use whatever is at my disposal to defend myself this time though.”

I nodded my head and she reciprocated. Lowering her stance, Celestia ignited her horn.

“Do not hold back on my account though. Use whatever creature you can, whatever monster you know of, and do your very best. Begin when ready.”

The fact that she entered a fighting stance told me that she did not expect an easy fight.

I took a deep breath, letting it out through the nose. I closed my eyes and listened to the wind around letting it calm me down and ready me for an actual fight.

When I was ready, I opened my eyes and immediately transformed into a titanic snake, whipping my tail to the side, and smashing it into Celestia. She apparently did not expect such an attack, not its speed as I managed to land a clean hit launching her to the side.

Straightening herself and spreading her wings wide Celestia swiftly came to stop by burying her legs into the dirt creating more furrows, and immediately firing several magic blasts at me the moment she locked on to me.

Slithering between the magic attacks I closed the distance between us transforming into a rhinoceros and slamming in a golden shield that barely held me at full speed, cracking, and spider webbing only to snap into a solid state after a flash of her horn.

Celestia frowned and I was suddenly thrown to the side with a powerful strike that looked like a hammer from my periphery.

Transforming into the first bird that came to mind (a brown owl), I pumped my wings righting myself and swiftly ascending while dodging thin beams of red magic. Reducing my size as much as I could I transformed into a bit larger Colibri bird and flinching at the pressure from being squeezed like that, but I managed to slip away from the beams of magic giving me some breathing room.

Noticing that I ended up some distance from Celestia I landed and transformed into myself waiting for her next move.

Celestia raised her head high and her horn glowed brightly. I felt the temperature around me drop sharply and before I even got to feel the chill properly a sound like a gong sounded out and I jumped to the side without thinking barely managing to dodge a large block of ice.

Without looking back at the ice block, I made a mad dash towards Celestia transforming into a cheetah closing the distance between us in a flash. Jumping into the air to avoid another block of ice that flew at me I transformed, mid-air, into an elephant landing on top of a hastily raised golden shield that barely held for a moment before shattering while Celestia dove to the side avoiding my bulk. I did flinch though when a powerful blast of magic struck me, causing me to tilt slightly.

Shifting back into myself I jumped into the air nearly getting hit with a large golden spear. Dodging two more spears in the air I buzzed my wings loudly and turned to Celestia only to get a string of magic wrapped around one of my claws.

Pulling her head back and with a flash of her horn I was pulled towards her at incredible speed but I had a plan.

Pulling my free claw back I used up quite a bit of my resin in a small active transformation that I knew Celestia wouldn’t expect. When I was close enough to her and when she lowered her horn, I opened my wings slowing down significantly but rather painfully.

Raising her head slightly Celestia’s eyes widened but it was too late. My left claw clenched in a fist, now much larger and covered in additional plating slammed into her head.

My stomach dropped when I saw her fly to the side and bounce off the ground a couple of times landing well over twenty meters away in a heap.

“WOOHOO!” Strike whooped which got me to look at her in shock, “That’s how ya do it bug-colt.”

I was going to ask her if she is crazy, but a sharp spike in temperature got me to turn my head and look at where Celestia was.

Before I even knew what was happening, I found myself being dragged towards her standing form with horrifying force and stopping mere centimeters from her face. In the next blink, I was fully encased in a sphere of tightly packed dirt with only my head sticking out. I tried to wiggle but it was pointless.

Raising my eyes to her I saw her chew something for a moment only to spit out a bloody tooth. There was also a decent bruise forming on the right of her face along with a cut on her cheek that was swiftly closing the longer I looked at it.

“Oi! Bug-colt, get yer act together or she’ll bury ya!”

Shield’s shout shook me out of my stupor and with a flash of fire, I absorbed the rock surrounding me transforming into the largest green dragon I could, dwarfing Celestia.

But before I could act a blast of golden magic impacted my chest lifting me off the ground and launching me backward. Transforming back into myself I backflipped and with a buzz of my wings, I landed heavily just in time to be able to dodge another blast of magic. My jaw dropped when several weapons made of golden magic flew towards me forcing me to start dodging franticly swiftly switching between several active transformations that thickened my carapace so I can absorb some of the blows.

Landing on my back after a clip from a golden mace I scrambled to get up barely avoiding another blow from a hammer, but I did catch a beam of fire magic that shoved me deep into the ground.

“Had enough my dear?” Celestia asked but I barely heard it from my panting. Taking a few deep breaths to steady my breathing I dug myself up from the hole spotting her not far from me.

I got a few more gulps of air and then dashed towards the white alicorn forcing her to lower her head with her horn glowing brightly. Suddenly I found myself landing heavily on the ground tied down with several golden chains that barely allowed me to wiggle. I thrashed for a good minute with no progress only to stop when the chains tightened around me forcing some of the air out of my lungs.

In a bit of panic, I did the only thing that was left to me. Opening my mouth, I took aim and with a searing gurgle from my stomach, I used my trump card. With a powerful crack that caused my ears to vibrate, I launched a lightning bolt from my mouth striking and exploding against a hastily raised golden shield.

I did not know if I caused some damage but the chains disappeared and I slowly got up coughing all the way.

The temperature jumped up again causing me to sweat and with a powerful flap of white wings the smoke cleared revealing the Sun Princess, but with an additional large bruise that started spreading along her right side.

“That was not shapeshifting,” Celestia took a step forward only to disappear in a flash of light.

Before I could even find her I got struck by a powerful flash from my left side throwing me into the air. Opening my wings, I managed to stabilize myself, but I was shaking from the blow.

Barely managing to spot a beam of fire I dodged to the side only to get struck from the side I moved to, shoving me into a spiral and forcing me to close my wings before they got damaged. From the periphery, I was able to see Celestia but a strike at my side knocked me to the ground, bouncing off of it, and pushing the air out of my lungs.

I smacked hard into a wall from one of the side towers and my head started buzzing while the whole world wobbled. Landing hard with a painful grunt I rolled to the side and stayed there breathing heavily.

“Patc… work… Pa… Patchwork?” Celestia's muzzle was in front of me and it took some effort to focus on her. “Are you okay?”

I tried to lift my head, but all I got was a twitch. Celestia frowned and disappeared from my vision only to return a moment later with a pink pill held in her magic. Opening my mouth with some effort the pill was popped in and it spoke something of my levels of exhaustion that I hardly even felt the rush of love.

Suddenly I felt myself being lifted in a golden aura and turned around like I was on a podium causing me to raise an eyebrow when I faced Celestia.

“I was just checking that there is no severe damage to your chitin,” She gently placed me down on my side. “I don’t see anything that needs immediate attention. I’ll leave you be for a minute while you heal yourself up. Then we will talk.” I nodded my head and closed my eyes focusing on healing myself.

…

It took well over fifteen minutes to fix the cracks and splints in my chitin as well as to be able to stand back up. I would probably take another day to fix the entirety of the damage. Spotting Celestia and Strike in the shade of the castle with a veritable feast on a low table I slowly hobbled my way there.

Shield had her head buried in a salad and her wife ate daintily from her own bowl. I sat down far from both of them and ignited my horn picking up various sweet stuff from the offered bowls and piling them onto my plate.

“As it stands,” Celestia spoke between bites, “You have decent instincts when it comes to combat, but you are hesitant to hurt your opponent.”

“Ye, like ya had ‘er on the ropes before she smushed ya,” Shield spoke with a full mouth earning a ‘bap’ on the head with a wing from Celestia.

“Manners, dear. But yes, she is correct. You had a clear advantage at one point but decided to stay your hoof.”

“This was a sparring match; I can’t just go all out.” I shrugged biting on a slice of orange.

“Sparing match or not, there is a difference between going all out, and knowing your and your opponent’s limits,” She pushed her empty bowl to the side and faced me. “There is nothing wrong with fighting with all your might when I asked you to.”

I frowned but said nothing. She did ask me not to hold back.

“Your magic ability is certainly lacking, but you did hold your own. You did much better in physical combat and your shapeshifting ability in a fight is a tremendous advantage. We need to brush up your magic and physical abilities and get more actual combat experience under your belt,” She lifted an apple and cut it into small pieces using her magic. “I shall talk to the trainers at the academy and ‘transfer you’ to study under Shield Strike.”

I just kept chewing without saying a word. This new development would reduce some pressure and free up some of my time, but something told me that was wishful thinking.

CH 32 (She? makes a move)

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Carrion

“So that’s where we stand, huh? I knew a bit of it, but not this much.” Commented Spine after I summed up the entire situation for him. To be honest I was just glad he did not attack me as I feared.

“Yes, that is essentially our situation.” We were holed up in a small cave outside of the castle. The Queen will probably suspect us, but the last Spine saw her she was lost in her own mind again.

“So, you were just going to blow up the throne? What even gave you the idea that was a good plan in the first place?” Spine started pacing back and forth with his wings creating a weak buzz.

“I will admit, it is not my best idea, but… well… Let’s be honest up until today, I thought I was alone in this,” I shrugged slowly while making myself more comfortable. “What do we do now?”

Spine was still pacing, and I could see the gears in his head turn. My own head was full of ideas, but most of them were rather lacking.

“We need to confirm the suspicions first,” Spine spoke up and I looked at him, shocked he even suggested that.

“I think we have all the proof we already need, it’s unnecessary to put ourselves in danger like that.” I shook my head.

“I know, I know, but I still need to know that we are actually up against a parasite, or whatever is possessing the Queen.”

I shook my head, but I could see from his face that his mind was made up.

“How do you even suppose we do that in the first place? You know yourself that she does not react kindly to ‘lings sensing her in the first place.”

“With how distracted she is I doubt she would notice it anyway,” Spine shrugged and got up to leave.

“Wait!” I raised my voice, and Spine looked at me, “What if we, say, don’t confirm that Chrysalis is possessed?”

He had a thoughtful expression for a moment, then shrugged.

“Then we just assume that she has lost her mind. In either case, we need to do what is best for the hive, possessed or not, and right now, she isn’t the best for the hive.”

“You intend to challenge her?” I asked worriedly.

“What would that accomplish?” He turned to me, “I am a capable combatant, but I do not hold a candle to her in any capacity. However,” He looked up with a frown, “If the pieces I put together are correct, then there is an ascended changeling out there that could challenge her for us.”

This time I frowned, “So you intend to use this changeling?”

“Maybe. To be honest, we may be able to do something against her, but it will cost us heavily in both ling-power, and materials. And until I know what I’m dealing with and without the ascended, I do not wish to endanger our soldiers.” He turned around after that and left the cave.

Shaking my head, I slowly got up myself and made my way out. Spine was waiting for me at the entrance and my gut dropped for a moment, but he just snorted and made his way to the castle.

Chrysalis?

I was a bit mentally exhausted from constant attacks in the last couple of days, but my ‘barrier’ held true. That parasite gave me plenty of practice in getting it up to snuff over the centuries.

She was lost in her own little world again, and while I could get a sense of some of her thoughts I couldn’t risk being found out outside my fortress. Still, a little peep wouldn’t hurt.

Focusing myself I took a gander and spread my consciousness just a tiny bit, touching on the surface thoughts. I had to immediately pull my sense back at the overflow of hatred that radiated from them, but at least I knew what she was thinking about.

Battle plans. She was making large-scale battle plans and planting dormant hatred crystals around the castle in preparation for the battle that was inevitably going to happen. Whether it was going to be on her terms or not is a different matter altogether.

I frowned at the current crystal she was planting, and another swift excursion into her mind told me the location of a few of them, as well as that she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t even notice me… or if she did she did not care.

A wicked plan started hatching in my mind the moment I heard someling approaching. It would probably cause her to attack me the second she senses my activity, but I had to risk it.

Forcing myself into the driver seat I tilted my head slightly to the right, spotting Spine and Carrion out of the very corner of my eye. The parasite twitched slightly at the movement but did not react to my presence yet.

I could see the two lings whisper to one another, but it was quiet enough that I couldn’t hear it. I did feel their own senses gingerly touch mine and I just about jumped for joy at my first genuine contact in centuries. I almost giggled when their jaws hit the floor.

Frowning with new determination I threw myself at the task I have taken focusing a bit of magic on it.

Summoning a piece of parchment and an inked quill, I immediately started noting the locations of the hatred crystals as well as what the parasite was currently doing.

I could feel her slowly ‘waking up’ and after hastily writing down my own feelings towards the two ‘lings I dropped the parchment as close to them as I could.

Worried that it will draw the attention of the parasite I then focused my mind on my own attack and viciously twisted the magic she used into making the crystal. The small crystal detonated with a decent force shaking the parasite out of her stupor and I took that moment to hide into my own partition, reinforcing the ‘barrier’ with everything I had.

The attack was terrifying and I almost lost a piece of myself but I held true, and the elation that I felt when I noticed that the parchment was gone (along with the lings) made it all worth it.

Celestia

The door to my bedroom slammed shut with a loud ‘bang’ and my ears were twitching from the grumbling coming from my wife.

Looking over to make sure that she didn’t damage the door, I returned to my romance novel. The latest ‘Love and Joy’ came out yesterday and I managed to snag the very first copy, autographed of course.

“Anything happened in the academy?” I asked flipping to the next page causing me to gasp at the twist. ‘Miracle how could you?’

“I argued with Impulse Strike,” She growled out, slamming the bathroom door closed behind her.

I raised my head from the novel frowning. Shield doesn’t fire ponies without a reason; she is even less prone to slamming doors.

Getting up from my bed I made my way to the bathroom silently opening the door. Entering the bathroom, I spotted Shield next to the mirror vigorously rubbing her nose with a towel that was quickly becoming red.

“What happened?” I took the towel in my magic and tossed it to the side. Taking a new one and damping it, I gently turned my wife towards me with a wing tip and softly started cleaning her muzzle.

“I haven’t been to the academy in a while, did most of the work from here,” she fidgeted for a moment, “So I wanted to check up on a few things while I was there.”

“Mhm,” I tilted my head left then right checking for any damage and spotting a small cut on the right of her muzzle.

“Anyway, long story short, I found out that he has intercepted a letter from bug-colt to us, and apparently he really disagrees about Patch not training at the academy. And a few other things... Like trying to turn the professors against him,” she grumbled.

“How did you find out about the letter?” I magicked some magicless ointment from my alchemy drawer and gingerly applied a bit of it to the cut. Strike hissed but hasn’t moved.

“The ponies there came to talk to me the moment I came there, asking me questions… Honestly, I had to yell to them as well. Why didn’t they send me a report the moment he started this bucking crap?!” She slammed a hoof on the floor cracking the tiles and I immediately fixed it with some magic.

“What did they say about that?” I magicked the ointment away satisfied with my hoofwork.

“That the bucker told them that I know about it,” came some more growls.

“Sounds to me that he has been lying quite a bit,” I turned around and started walking out of the bathroom, with Shield following behind me.

“Yep.”

“So, you argued and then he attacked you?” I hopped back onto my bed, opening the book where I left off.

“Something like that,” Strike hopped up and squeezed herself under my wing.

“Mhm, and where is he now?”

“In the hospital,” Shield shrugged and I stopped reading.

“What?”

“Speaking of, I need ya ta fork over some bits.”

“Why?” I could feel my eyelid twitching.

“Let’s just say, ah made a new hole in tha academy.”

…

“A notice before termination?”

“Yes, Parchment, please deliver it to Impulse Strike in the Canterlot Primary,” I spoke without lifting my head from the parchmentwork.

Straight Parchment sighed, but picked up the scroll in his magic, “What has he done?”

“On top of illegally going through personal letters, he has been going around lying, discriminating against, and trying to remove a student from the academy without any proof other than the student not being a pony. And a few other things…” ‘Like going behind my back and spreading info he shouldn’t have,’ At least he hasn’t mentioned changelings yet.

“This is about lord Patch, isn’t it?”

I raised my head and an eyebrow at the ‘lord’ part, “It doesn’t matter who it is about, I built this country and its laws on equality of species, love, kindness, and tolerance. I will not let him cause such bigotry regardless of who the target is.”

“What about all the others that are going through the same thing?” Parchment turned around and made his way to the door.

“If you know some pony that is doing something like this, I would be very happy to deal with them. If there is proof of it.” I put another parchment into the ‘done’ pile.

“Very well, your Highness, I’ll keep that in mind,” The door closed and I sighed putting the quill down.

‘Can’t deal with everycreature, no matter how hard I try,’ I dragged my hooves down my muzzle in exasperation and twisted my neck from side to side stretching my sore muscles and getting a few satisfying pops.

A knock on the door made me twitch, “Yes?”

One of my guards (Standing Brace), entered the office with a crisp salute, “Ma’am, Mantis asks to speak to you. He says that it’s urgent and for your eyes only.”

Taking a parchment from the ‘to do’ pile I nodded my head and the door closed, opening a moment later.

Mantis entered without a disguise and looking at him I noted a few differences from when we first met.

He is a bit taller now, without any holes to speak of. His body had a healthy shine to it, and I noticed that he put on some bulk that fit him better than the scrawny appearance he had from starvation.

“Your Highness, I just got this and thought you should see it,” He used his magic to hoof me over a rolled-up, worn-looking scroll.

Unrolling it I took a moment to decipher the mess that was scrawled all over it, only to see that the message was decoded on the bottom by Mantis saving me the trouble.

~Mantis, Chrysalis has managed to find an ascended changeling among ponies and I think it’s connected to the last message you sent me.

I don’t know what she will do to them once she confirms it, but it cannot be good with all the muttering I managed to pick up from her. Mantis she has lost it, and I went through the diary you told me about. I can only hope that it is all a lie, but something tells me it’s not.

What is going on Mantis, I need something to work with. ~

“You sent them a message?” I was worried that he was spying on us.

“Yes, here is a copy of what I sent,” He gave me a second scroll and after a quick read I sighed. Looking at him I didn’t notice any dishonesty.

Giving him back the scroll I picked up an empty parchment and started writing a letter. Mantis just stood there waiting until I finished without moving a muscle. The letter was a quick summary of Patchwork and what the plan is without any significant detail.

“Is there any way for this to reach Spine without Chrysalis finding out?” I rolled up the scroll after making sure that the ink was dry.

“Yes Ma’am, if addressed to Spine with my seal there is no way that any ‘ling would read it.”

“Even Chrysalis?” I raised an eyebrow but gave him the scroll anyway.

“There isn’t a single message that goes to Chrysalis directly. Spine has to check it for security reasons,” He took the scroll and stuffed it under his open elytra closing it gingerly.

I frowned and opened my mouth but he intercepted me.

“Your Highness, I understand your worry, but I am one hundred percent certain that Spine will get the message without issues. I will even encode it just to be sure.”

Taking a deep breath I nodded my head, “Very well then, make it so.” Mantis gave me an equestrian salute, which surprised me, and turned around to leave. “Oh, Mantis.”

“Yes, Princess?” He stood at the door reaching with his magic to open it.

“Please don’t go behind my back with messages like this in the future. I understand that you trust this Spine, but you placed us all at significant risk with it. Please be more careful.” I crossed my hooves on the desk in front of me looking him directly in the eyes; he didn’t even flinch.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Nodding his head, he left my office and I went back to my work.

CH 33 (progress and loss)

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Patchwork

Opening my eyes, I was greeted with my Velvet’s beautiful face. Raising my right arm, I gently ran a claw down her neck which caused her to stir but not wake up; she was always a bit of a heavy sleeper.

Pulling her closer to me, I winced at the pain in my back from my overused muscles.

The training with Shield Strike over the last couple of days has pushed me beyond my limits in every way possible, causing me to feel regular muscle cramps for the first time in a while.

On top of that, I had new studies added along with the academy ones, but Shield refused to explain why. The only thing she did tell me is that it’ll be clear later. How much this ‘later’ is I had no idea.

This was the first night in weeks that I was able to spend with Velvet, and I cherished every moment by sleeping for barely an hour. A bit creepy probably but I don’t care, and she is none the wiser.

Placing my head on top of hers, making sure I was careful with her horn, I took a look around the room we were in.

It was a guest bedroom in Celestia’s castle big enough for two and with a large bathroom with a bathtub that saw immediate use the moment we spotted it. The cleaning took a bit after we thoroughly soaked everything in it, but the fun was worth it.

“Patch?” Her soft voice made my ears twitch, “It’s four in the morning, did you even sleep?”

“How’d you know I’m awake?” I gave the top of her head a nuzzle which she gently returned.

“You breathe differently when you sleep,” She pushed herself even deeper into my arms.

“Hmm, I just woke up.”

“Liar.”

“I swear Vel… Vel?” I whispered pulling my head back only to see her fast asleep.

Chuckling to myself, I closed my eyes and let myself drift off until morning.

…

Entering the sparing area behind the castle I immediately noticed a massive grey bubble surrounding the entire thing with Celestia sitting in the middle.

After two weeks of sparing with her and going through the exercises she gave me I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I was the first time I did it.

“Today will be a bit special, my dear,” She spoke before I even reached her and I frowned at the golden full-body armour she wore, with red and orange accents that made her look like a phoenix.

“How so?” I sat down not far from her looking over the, again, flat area. I’m assuming she flattened it before I showed up.

“I wish to test your full abilities now that you have some experience with this kind of combat,” She stretched her wings fully revealing that even her wing joints were armoured. “However, there will be no holding on your side whatsoever.” I opened my mouth to protest, but she interrupted me, “And I mean it, Patchwork. Every time I see you holding back I will punish you severely.”

After thinking it over for a moment I sighed.

“Fine, what’s the catch? And what’s with the shield?” I pointed one claw up.

“The shield is here for you, which also includes the ‘catch’. When I say you will not be holding back, I meant it,” She stood up and started pacing in front of me, her armour clanking with every step. “I am aware, through thestrals that have been keeping an eye on you, that you are FAR more capable when it comes to your transformations.”

That got my heart to sink for a bit but I kept listening in silence.

“The shield will only allow the designated ponies to enter through it, and a second layer will prevent any outsiders to see inside. This will keep your full abilities a secret which means you have no reason to restrict yourself,” She sat back down in front of me. “I will also fight back this time, instead of waiting for you to attack. I wish to see your full capabilities in order to gauge your current level now that you have some experience under your horn.”

Thinking over everything she said I had a shiver run down my spine for a moment. Usually, when we sparred she held back significantly by only attacking after I made my move, but this time she will be active. I did not feel confident about my chances. She did tell me to not hold back at all, which got me frowning.

Taking a deep breath and sighing heavily I nodded my head.

Celestia nodded back and stood up, prompting me to do the same.

“We will begin in three…” I got into a fighting stance with only slight trepidation, “two…” I felt my body heat up as I saturated the area around me in my magic, “one.”

Ducking immediately to dodge a magic beam I dashed forward transforming into a hydralisk at the same time using the higher mobility to move between Celestia’s blasts. I couldn’t fire the spines but the mobility did allow me to get close enough.

Suddenly a wall of golden magic slammed into me pushing me back. Transforming into myself I managed to push myself off the wall noting that I ended up at the same place I started at.

Flying up into the air, I started dodging various beams and mana weapons Celestia was throwing at me, ignoring the small damage I started to accumulate.

Managing to manoeuvre myself above Celestia I transformed into the largest thing I could without wasting my resin or my magic, a manticore.

Before I was able to get the drop on her, she disappeared in a flash of light.

Quickly spotting her on my left before she struck me I used my own short-range teleport to get into a better position and, transforming into a triceratops mid dash, I managed to slam into her shield hissing at the pain from my horn; I was where I wanted to be though.

Gathering a significant amount of material around me I quickly worked it over transforming into a Tyrranid Carnifex dwarfing her and causing Celestia’s mouth to drop.

With a swift and powerful swipe with the main talon, I slammed into the shield from the side nearly breaking it and tossing it and Celestia with it to the side. The golden orb along with Celestia smashed a fair distance away digging into the dirt, and cracking in it the process.

Seeing as Celestia was still shell-shocked I pushed the transformation a bit further into complexity transforming into a Hive Tyrant with four blades, unfortunately. Taking a deep breath and hoping this works, with a few modifications and a dash of magic, I screeched in her direction at the top of my lungs.

To my own surprise, the scream actually ripped at the ground making the air around me vibrate and making Celestia drop to her knees and the shield she summoned again shatter within seconds.

With wide terrified eyes, Celestia teleported away from me, and before I even knew what happened the whole area around me was flattened shoving me into the dirt with incredible force.

With a pained grunt, I barely managed to raise my head trying to find Celestia spotting her far away from me shaking her head. Hissing from pain at the force pushing me I opened my mouth and with some modification I blasted her with a lightning bolt that struck a hastily raised shield, detonating on impact, and removing the pressure off of me.

Transforming into myself I used the small respite from the thick dust cloud around Celestia to catch my breath.

It turned out to be a mistake as a magic blast cut through the dust cloud nearly hitting me, making me dodge to the side. It was all apparently a part of her plan because I just managed to see a flash of light from my periphery before I was launched into the air by something grunting in pain.

Using up some of my resin I fixed as much damage on my side as I could before reorienting myself in the air with a buzz of my wings. With a quick teleport, I was out of immediate danger but not out of trouble as Celestia zeroed in on me almost instantly.

After dodging various spells, I managed to find some time to get a few gulps of air in the crater I created when I transformed into a Carnifex. It did not last very long though as I had to dive out of it with a quick jump and a teleport after a beam of red magic started cutting the whole area up.

Noticing that I ended up fairly close to Celestia I quickly transformed into a Hell Knight dropping a heavy fist in an overhead strike. Missing by a few centimetres I decided to keep up the pressure by changing into a xenomorph and closing the distance between us.

Celestia tried to teleport but I managed to strike the side of her helmet with my long tail stunning her briefly only to nearly lose the same tail after a vicious stomp from her.

Jumping to the side I transformed into myself and spat a close-range lightning bolt which turned out to be a mistake as we both got caught in the explosion.

Landing on my back a few meters away I shook my head a quickly stood up to survey the damage wincing from the pain in my forelegs.

Looking down I saw several cracks along my forelegs and chest which I quickly repaired making me use up half of my current resin levels. Frowning I raised my head and looked through the dust cloud for Celestia.

Buzzing my wings, I got some distance away from my current location as a precaution and as the dust cloud settled I felt a swell of pride at the damage I did to her, even if I felt a pang of guilt from the pain I caused.

The entire right half of Celestia’s armour was twisted, warped, and torn in several places with a decent chunk of it missing from her shoulder. Underneath the ruined armour I noticed a scaled vest that was fastened to a few loosely hanging pieces. The vest itself was also damaged exposing the flesh underneath which was swiftly healing but still told me that the damage was extensive. Celestia herself had her eyes squeezed shut and her horn blazing with magic. When the glow stopped she was panting hard and loud enough that I could hear her.

Swallowing hard at the fact that I almost crippled Celestia I was about to call the sparring off when she spotted me in the sky. With a sigh and a grunt, she ripped the whole armour off of her with magic tossing the crumpled thing to the side and spreading out her stance along with her wings. After a flash of light, her body was momentarily glowing in various colours nearly immediately fixing any damage I made.

Spitting out another lightning bolt I was surprised when it struck a solid shield that didn’t even buckle or explode on contact with a smug Celestia looking at me underneath it.

Frowning I landed hard digging my claws into the dirt and with a flash of fire I transformed myself into a t-rex. With a roar, I sprinted at her only to snap my mouth into thin air after she teleported.

Roaring again, this time in pain after a blast of magic I quickly changed into myself, fixed the damage then got close to her in a series of swift teleports draining my low mana reserves but I still had enough for another shot at her.

Transforming into an ultralisk I smirked inwardly at her wide eyes but that hardly stopped the attack that was barrelling toward her and the heavy shield she put up.

Twisting my body to the side as much as the bulk allowed me to add more momentum, both of my right kaiser blades smashed into the shield easily shattering it, launching Celestia at incredible speeds.

She must have heavily enchanted her body as she managed to swiftly slow down and right herself, teleporting away before I even managed to reach her.

Transforming into myself I was grunting and groaning at the feeling of being so massively stretched out, and even though a decent amount of absorbed material still stayed with me, I was done. Slowly but surely my body started sending me signals of overexertion and I started shivering prompting me to sit down and breathe heavily for a few moments trying to settle myself.

“Much, much better, my dear,” Her praise shook me out of my daze, “I have to say, you had me genuinely scared there for a few moments.” Raising my head slightly I spotted her on my right slowly approaching me. There was a massive bruise on her left side but it was swiftly disappearing with every shaky step she took. Soon her fur looked just as pristine as it always was, without even a speck of dust on it.

“Yeah, well, it still wasn’t enough,” Letting myself drop on my stomach I rolled to my side and closed my eyes.

“Patchwork don’t put yourself down like that. Today was a fantastic showing of your abilities and I am truly impressed by what kind of resistance you can put out.”

“Yea, well, you are still holding back,” I muttered with my ears twitching at her steps. She stopped right next to me and I could feel her breath on my chitin. She was breathing fairly heavily.

“That may be so, but do not let it distract you from the fact that you, by yourself mind you, managed to nearly push me to my limits. And that is after only a few weeks of training.”

Snorting softly, I let her words wash over me making me feel slightly better about myself. I still hoped my full abilities would be able to take her down, but that was still beyond me.

“Honestly, what even are these monstrosities you transformed into? The human mind is a terrifying thing indeed,” She muttered and that caused me to chuckle.

Opening my eyes, I slowly got back up on my claws sitting down.

“You have no idea,” Looking around the landscape was completely trashed missing large chunks of land with giant swaths of it looking like a titan ran its fingers through it.

“Do tell, I am curious,” Celestia sat down next to me.

With a pop, the shield around us disappeared removing the grey filter that covered everything. Looking at the big blue sky above me I decided to regale her first with the tale that is the 40k universe and the Tyranids. Glory to the Emperor of Mankind.

Spine

I watched as Carrion’s face rapidly switched between expressions the longer he read through the letter the pony Princess sent us. I have already read through it twice memorising the whole thing top to bottom. The sun would set in a few minutes but there was still enough light to read.

“So that’s it,” He snorted igniting the letter with his magic and leaving only ashes, “we just wait until this ascended arrives to clean up the mess?”

“If the hive lasts that long,” I muttered.

Dragging his hooves down his face in exasperation Carrion got up to pace, something I haven’t seen in a long, long time.

“What about the changelings that they are, supposedly protecting?” He asked and I shrugged.

“They have been open with us since the get-go, from what I’m seeing.”

“How can you just trust them like that?” Carrion shook his head.

“I’m not, Carrion, but what can I do at this point? Our Queen is apparently possessed, and even if she isn’t right now she all but gave up on us. Our citizens are fleeing to protect their families, we can’t even feed ourselves within the castle walls anymore and the only ones that are doing something right now, the only ones that are helping us are the ones I have been taught to hate my whole life!” I didn’t even notice when Carrion got close to me and placed his hoof on my shoulder. Taking a deep breath and unclenching my jaw I felt my shoulder slump, “Even those crystals that the ‘true’ Queen told us about, what are we supposed to do with them?”

Patting my shoulders Carrion moved away from me and sat on the ridge overlooking the beginning of the Badlands desert.

We were outside of the Shifting Castle in a place where the verdant fields of Equestria end and the Badlands begin. In a straight flight path, it would take us roughly twenty minutes to get back to the castle at a lazy pace.

The whole area looked like some nymph took a quill and made an invisible line on the ground separating the green from the brown. The green was lush and colourful with pleasant scents and a soft feeling under the hoof, while the brown was jagged, sharp, and full of shapes under which one could hide to avoid the blasted sun.

“So, what do we do?” I asked out loud hoping for an answer out of the blue.

“We do what the changelings always did,” Carrion spoke up, “we change and adapt.”

“Even if that means accepting an enemy as an ally?” I approached and sat down next to him.

“Are they an enemy at this point?” He looked at me and I shrugged, scratching under my jaw with my hoof.

“Bah, I’ll start making plans in case the worse comes to worst,” Shaking myself of in an attempt to shake away the thoughts I jumped up to my hooves and started stretching.

“Am I included in them?” Carrion asked with a hint of mirth in his voice.

“You?” I barked a laugh, “Your plan was to blow yourself up along with the throne, if you are lucky I will task you with toilet duty after all this blows over.”

“Hmm, toilet duty would be a nice change of pace,” the bucker had the audacity to even think about it.

“Whatever,” I sighed but I couldn’t remove the grin from my muzzle, “I’ll go on ahead. I need to start looking into who I can trust and who I can’t. Do you need me to send someling to help ya back?”

“No need, I’ll take my time,” He smiled looking at the sunset.

Nodding my head, I opened up my wings and took the longer route by weaving between the rocks keeping low to the ground. Making sure that my eyes were always up for any lookouts or flyers I nearly collided with a few boulders, but I managed.

I was nearly at the castle while managing to avoid the housing area around when one of the walls suddenly got blasted outward and the Queen launched herself through the hole.

Shocked at her current behaviour, I nearly missed the direction she was flying at but the moment I put the pieces together my gut dropped.

Turning around and pushing magic into my wings I buzzed them for all they were worth hoping to catch up to her. The worst kinds of scenarios were playing through my head and I was praying to whatever gods listened that I was wrong.

There was no way to catch up to her though, and even at my top speed, it would still take me at least five minutes to reach the location we were in.

I saw a green comet land near Carrion’s location, and a few minutes later there were two flashes of green followed by a detonation.

I did not wish to think of the implications, but somehow I knew, my friend was gone.

I don’t know how long I was just flying in place, just lazily buzzing my wings, slowly floating down to the ground.

Stealing my nerves I flew the last bit of distance to the ridge, spotting Chrysalis looking over a large smoking crater where I left Carrion.

“My Queen,” I landed behind her with a bow, but I could not muster any sort of reverence I used to greet her with.

She turned her head to look at me and for a moment I felt less like a changeling and more like an insect, an ant, being looked upon by something much greater than it; there was nothing but pure hatred in those eyes.

“Carrion betrayed us,” She spoke, but there was no emotion in her voice, “do you know anything about it?” My mind was going wild with speculations, but someling telling her something was at the top of them.

“No, my queen I do not. We have not spoken in weeks,” I slowly raised my head lying for my life, but I did not approach her.

“Hmm,” She turned and walked past me, “Your face tells me you are grieving… Grieve, for now, he was your friend last I remember.”

I did not turn around, opting to keep looking at the… grave.

Before she flew away I could feel her gaze on me. With a loud buzz of her wings, she left me there and made her merry way back to the castle. I could even hear her humming to herself making my blood boil.

‘First I will find the bastard that did this to Carrion,’ I grit my teeth feeling them grind under pressure, ‘Then I will make sure that the bitch pays for it!’

CH 34 (plans and interuption)

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Spine

I woke up with a start, almost jumping to my hooves. I don’t know why though, but I could take a guess.

Shaking my head, I sat up looking around my office with bleary eyes, blinking the sleep away.

My office was never as clean and organized as Carrion’s, but it wasn’t a mess either. Today was an exception though. Parchments were everywhere, covering the floor making it almost impossible to walk without stepping on one. My desk was on my left, shattered into pieces, and gathered next to the wall.

‘I should make a bed in this office at some point,’ I yawned, stretching my neck.

Lowering my head, I looked through the parchments and I felt my gut drop for a moment. If Chrysalis came in, she would have all the reasons to just smite me in my sleep, so I guess my luck tossed me a bone here.

Closing my eyes, I ran through my recent memories before I fell asleep.

‘She was lost somewhere in the… north corridor. Good.’

Igniting my horn, I focused on cleaning up the mess that I left.

Sketches and maps of our little queendom as well as the castle, lists of ‘lings that I can fully trust and those that I could easily convince, plans and ideas to deal with the hatred crystals. There were also I few ideas on how to get Chrysalis distracted in order to give the ascended the time he needs, lists of materials I need, and lastly, a scrawled, crumpled, and scratched-out piece of parchment with only four words that were legible, bold, and underlined: cut off her head.

I smirked a bit when I picked it up, crumpling it up further and tossing it into my maw. I barely tasted the ink, and it probably wasn’t healthy for me, but I felt a bit better after swallowing it.

Looking around I spotted the last bit of parchments that were left as well as a hastily scrawled message.

~Went through the notes you gave me.

This is utterly insane, but I believe you. Can’t believe Carrion

managed to forget something like this, but he was old. Even our memory

isn’t flawless at that age I guess. Meet up at our usual, we will talk.

Scurry~

Crumpling up the message I pushed some more magic into my horn, igniting the letter.

‘How could you be so careless Carrion,’ I shook my head picking up the leftover notes that I managed to salvage from his office. I wasn’t able to save much of it, the Queen tore almost all of them apart, but it’s all that’s left of her old diary. Checking the vault, it was cleaned of any leftovers.

Making sure that the diary was safely secured and rolled up, I opened up my elytra and carefully placed them under the plate.

‘We really should get those pouches the ponies are using,’ I snored, finishing the clean-up.

Once I made sure that all the parchments were in one place I ignited my horn again easily turning the whole stack into ash. I didn’t need them anymore after memorizing all the information.

All that was left was the desk, but I’ll send someling I can trust to fix it.

Standing up I heard something clink and looking down I noticed the empty inkwell as well as a used-up quill.

With a frown, I kicked the inkwell to the side watching it bounce and clink along the floor until it hit the wall with a clatter.

Taking a deep breath to settle my nerves I ignited my horn opening a hole in the wall far away from my usual spot. Seeing as noling was in the corridor itself I exited the office and made my way to one of the few ‘pubs’ that changelings had in the resident section.

Time to start this rebellion.

…

Trotting through the resident section with a frown I made good time to the ‘pub’.

I had a deep frown on my face, making all the ‘lings that stood in front of me move out of my way. I wasn’t in a bad mood though; I wasn’t in a mood at all. I did take some time to look around though.

The resident section wasn’t much to look at compared to the stuff the ponies had. All the ‘houses’ were a uniform oval shape in various shades of green, tall enough to have an extra floor. The windows are circular, with a thin layer of resin allowing others to see through them, while the doors were made of wood and also circular. Made from processed resin, it is a durable house build but only recently did it start to feel… depressing.

There was no individuality to it, no colors or anything else that showed that we, the changelings, were just as varied as the ponies in our personalities. Just how much did this parasite take from us, while turning us into this. And why do I only now notice this?

‘Was I blind to it before?’ I shook my head taking a right turn and entering a fairly large building with a plaque above the wooden door saying, ‘Lovely Buzz’.

The moment I entered the whole pub fell silent, with various patrons slowly turning their heads to me.

I ran my eyes through the twenty or so lings that were sitting down with a chug nodding my head.

“Stupid buzzing idiot!” I heard a shout from the back of the room and Scurry weaved between tables to me, “In the armor!? Are you stupid or something?” Scurry got close to me and without warning, I got a smack on the head. It caused some of the patrons to gasp but Scurry did not care.

Frowning at him I cast a quick illusion spell making my armor invisible exposing the various holes on my carapace. They weren’t as numerous as some other ‘lings have it, but still.

“Better?” I asked with a huff making my way to a table in the back, away from everyling else.

“Yes. Alright, alright, get back to your drinks!” I heard him shout while I waved over the barling.

Ordering two chugs I sat down at the low circular table casting a quick silencing bubble around it. I doubt that my brother would pick a place that is dangerous but better safe than sorry. Scurry sat down in front of me still frowning, but from his expression, I could tell that there was more to it.

“How do you feel?” He asked with a tilt of his head. His voice, usually scratchy and crisp carried a soft undertone causing me to momentarily slump.

Scurry was, is one of the top infiltrators that focused more on teaching others lately rather than infiltrating. I think ponies call this ‘being retired’.

He was slim, and thin, which is a bit of a surprise given the training all the infiltrators go through and still keep up on a daily basis, and his body was riddled with holes. It was all a façade though.

Scurry was incredibly adept at illusions and I know for a fact that his body was hole-free top to bottom. From what he explained to me, he likes to visit some places in Equestria but he never specified which ones, and he always had a hidden supply of love that he absolutely loathed sharing, even with his brother.

He was also more feminine for a stallion, but I did not care.

The two chugs arrived, carried on a tray held with magic; small resin shot glasses filled with a sweet, thick liquid made from honey mushrooms that grow underground in Badlands with a small spoon of processed love.

The liquid itself was amber in color, with a pinkish hue and it’s the only known liquid that can get a changeling drunk. In the same way salt does to ponies. Takes less than four chugs though, it’s that potent. Which is why it’s drunk slowly, with some lings preferring to take licks of it rather than actually drink it.

Noling knows why we started calling it a chug, but there we go, it stuck.

Taking the two glasses off the tray with my magic, and passing one to my older brother, we both gave a nod of thanks to the barling and turned to each other.

“I’ve been… better. It’s not even Carrion’s death so much as everything else that accompanied it,” I lifted the glass with my hoof and swirled my tongue through it enjoying the flavor before tilting it to my lips. The sweetness made me shudder as I rarely partook in it, but I needed it. I’m one of the few lings that don’t particularly enjoy sweets.

“I can imagine. I haven’t been to the castle in months, but I heard the happenings every once in a while,” Scurry took a dainty sip from his own chug held in his magic. “I always thought that she was a bit high-strung but this is something else.”

“Bah,” I put the glass to my lips again and slurped the whole chug in, with my tongue cleaning up the glass completely, “calling her high-strung is underselling it. She has lost her mind completely.” I put the glass to the side and pushed it a little bit for good measure.

Scurry nodded his head but said nothing, opting to slowly sip his own glass looking at something above me.

We sat there quietly for several minutes, both of us lost in thought, but that was normal for us. As brothers we rarely talked to each other, only saying what is needed and that was okay for us.

“So, what’s the plan?” Scurry placed his own glass down, now half empty, and waved over the barling getting me another chug. This one I chose to savor.

“What, you don’t have one?” I teased with a smirk getting a smirk in return.

“You know I was never one with one for plan making, but I do have a few this time,” he took another sip while giving me a wink.

I wasn’t very amused by the wink, “Right now, one of the plans is to let the ponies in on the current situation. They have a plan of their own as well as an ace in the form of an ascended changeling.”

That got him to freeze with the chug in his mouth and if I could see his eyes they would be very wide now.

“I’m sorry, what now?” He asked after a full minute of processing.

“An ascended changeling, like the ‘Queen’. I don’t know how they got this Patchwork, but the pony princess is convinced he is able to take on Chrysalis.”

After a few seconds, he shook his head and then looked at his chug.

“Okay, let’s say I… believe that” he placed his drink gingerly to the side and clasped his hooves in front of him, “what else?”

“Right,” I leaned in with a nod, “the other part of the plan is two-fold: one, distract Chrysalis as much as possible to give the ascended as much time as possible…”

“Putting everyling in jeopardy,” he muttered but I continued anyway.

“And two, organize a ‘resistance’ and sabotage those hatred crystals I told you about. I don’t know what they are for, but they are one of the reasons why we can’t even eat in the castle anymore.”

Scurry looked deep in thought and I let him be while I went over the rest of the plans in my head, one of them being to gather plenty of explosive crystals that I can detonate with enough force that not even the ‘Queen’ could survive it.

“I have an idea,” he slowly drawled out.

Perking both of my ears I sat up a little bit straighter all but forgetting the half-empty chug next to me.

“I am supposed to go and… do my thing in a few days. Normally everyling knows that I am gone for a while, so…” He let me put the pieces together and I felt my mouth stretch out into a grin.

“I’ll give you a list of lings, patrol routes, and anything else you can use. What about your stash though?” I was worried that he might run out of his prized possession. He put too much value into his stock.

“Don’t worry about it. If ‘she’ gets her way I will probably lose it anyway. Either that or my life.” He shrugged and it took me a moment to realize that I was okay with his line of thinking.

I did not let it show on my muzzle though.

“Right. So here is the plan. You got a parchment?”

Celestia

I was going through something I never taught would ever find its way to my desk: a detailed report from a different ‘country’ on the current situation in the changeling queendom. This one was written by a changeling named Scurry. The older brother of captain Spine and the current ‘leader’ of the resistance.

The report was articulate, descriptive, and long, describing the current actions of the ‘resistance’, the mad queen’s movement, and the state of the citizens. Not much I could do about any of them except giving some advice here and there, but I would wager even that is enough at this point.

‘Major dissatisfaction with the populace… The queen is probably beyond care at this point and is focused solely on the resistance,’ I scratched at the side of my jaw with my hoof, inspecting it afterward. ‘I could do with a hooficure later today.’ It was still early in the morning so I had plenty of time.

Shaking my head off the useless thoughts (making a note of the hooficure though), I rolled up the response I finished writing and gave it to the changeling that stood next to Dicty in my private office.

Instinct looked a bit stout for a changeling but she held herself professionally, not even flinching when she met me.

Her body wasn’t as riddled with holes as Mantis’s carapace though, and her elytra was a lovely dark yellow which shone almost golden against the light of the office.

Instinct took the offered scroll, gave me a crisp salute, and left without speaking a word. She did transform into a beige earth pony before leaving though.

The whole time Dicty was staring into the distance with her eyes glazed over.

“Something on your mind, my dear?” I asked while stretching my wings.

She blinked her eyes a few times before looking at me.

“Just thinking about the whole situation,” She bit her lower lip, “I never once thought that everything would escalate like this in such a short amount of time.”

“That is how it is, usually. Things remain as status quo for a long time until the right spark is added,” I took a parchment from the ‘to do’ pile and frowned at the writing. ‘How many times did I tell them ‘no’ to this?’

“I wouldn’t categorize this as a ‘spark’ to be honest,” She muttered loud enough for me to hear then shuffled over to one of the free pillows. “By the way, how is the plan coming along?”

“It was already ready to go, and I was just waiting for Patchwork to get some confidence with his powers, but now…” I paused with the quill held in my magic above the signature for one of the new suggestions. ‘Three hundred thousand divided by two… no, no, no. One and a half.’ I added my own suggestion to the document and placed it to the side for later.

“I sent an explanation of the plan to Scurry just now, among other things, but all in all, it’s just about getting the pieces together,” I lifted my head up looking at the ceiling and going over the plan once more, “I already sent a message to scouts yesterday about sorting out the location and we will be good to go in about… two weeks maximum.”

“Good,” Dicty nodded, “hopefully Patch will be ready.”

“He will,” I smiled, then immediately frowned when a loud clop of heavy hooves at full gallop was heard through the door.

Using my magic, I opened the door before the galloping pony reached it revealing my wife with a bit of a panic in her eyes. I was on my hooves before she even spoke.

“We got a bit of a problem,” She was breathing heavily so it took a bit for the message to get through.

“What happened?” I circled my desk while closing the door with my magic, placing a few extra wards just in case. Dicty was also up with her ears perked.

“Twilight Velvet was attacked by a few changelings a couple of minutes ago,” I could hear a curse from Dicty but it was too quiet to recognize.

“How many, where and what is the damage?” I rattled out while igniting my horn preparing for a mass teleport.

“Four changelings, well trained, in one of the side alleys on the way to Velvet’s school. Damage is still assessed, but we know that her left foreleg was broken.”

I stopped mid-charge while establishing the location before looking down at her.

“How did you find out?” I fully charged my horn for three and focused intently on the entrance to Velvet’s school: Quill’s School of Higher Education.

In a flash, all three of us landed just short of the entrance and made our way following Shield to our destination. Dicty was in the form of a red unicorn mare with a white mane and tail and a white spark as the cutie mark

“Patchwork was walking with Vel to her school but he went to a nearby bakery to buy something and left her for a few minutes,” She took a left and we followed suit, “Silent Drop took her eyes off of her for a second opting to keep an eye on the bakery and Mantis followed Patch inside.” Taking a right turn down the street I saw the side ally that was cordoned by several guards.

“Anyway, there was a scream, Patch ran out and, well…” The guards moved away without even acknowledging us but they did stop Dicty. After a nod from me, they let her through and the two of us looked over the carnage.

There were several cracks in the stonework, the bins were trashed and several signs on the walls of magical impact with various elements.

“Apparently young Velvet can put up quite a fight, she took on all four of them and even took one down,” Shield laughed pointing at four changelings that were lying on their side with their legs and wings tied along with a wad of resins on each of their horns.

All four of them looked like they were tossed around viciously, with numerous cracks, burns, and even patches of frost on their chitins. I couldn’t say which one of them was male and which one female but they were all awake and scowling at us.

“Patchwork fought the rest?” Dicty asked approaching one of the changelings that was scowling at me.

“Ye,” Shield nodded, “by the time Silent Drop joined in one of them was out of the fight already, and the other three were closing in. Drop distracted them long enough for him to arrive and trash the rest.”

Raising my head and looking around I spotted Silent Drop to my left with a swollen left eye. Her right leather wing was also hanging a bit limply but she showed no sign of pain.

“Where is Patchwork now?” I asked my wife. From the corner of my eye, I saw the new Captain of Night Guard and spymaster, Shadow Step talking to a few ponies. She looked tired but attentive.

“We don’t know, ma’am,” Silent Drop spoke up, “He teleported out with her as soon as he could.”

Nodding my head with a ‘thank you’ I raised my head and ignited my horn.

Normally scanning for changelings is a bit difficult, but after so many spars with Patchwork, I was able to pick up his unique magic signature.

“Canterlot Primary,” I muttered, “He took her to the primary hospital,” I spoke up. “It isn’t that far from here, but he is probably drained from the teleportation.”

“Good, go check if they are okay, I’ll stay here,” My wife turned around and went to speak to Shadow and I turned to Dicty.

“Do you wish to join me?”

Dicty was still looking over the bound changelings, “No, I’ll stay here a bit longer and help out. You go ahead, your Highness.”

…

A quick teleport and some directions later I found Patchwork locked up in a room guarded by four guards (two unicorns, a pegasus, and an earth pony).

Letting the guards know that I will be entering in a few minutes I looked into Velvet’s situation.

A concussion, some bruises, and a broken foreleg. She was resting under the effect of pain removers and there was a nurse keeping her company along with a guard at her door.

Talking to her for a few minutes got me the full story corroborating what I already knew. I assured her that Patch will be looked after, I wished for her swift recovery and made sure that she was taken care of by the doctors.

Coming to the room housing Patchwork, I nodded to the guards and entered freezing at the door.

Patch was in his changeling form pacing like a caged animal with a heavy scowl on his face. The bed and table were pushed or shoved if the scratch marks on the ground are any indication, against the wall and the table had a small chunk of it missing. On the table was an a-m ring, split in two with one of the halves being severely cracked.

The window was also open letting in the cold air. Spring was coming but it was still a few weeks away.

‘Patchwork was always protective of Velvet,’ He continued pacing with a snarl, ‘This is probably tearing him apart.’

Moving into the room one of the unicorn guards entered with me placing himself between me and Patch.

The guard's hackles were raised and I could see his ears twitching with every step from the large changeling. I could also see the guard’s muscles tense up every time Patch came near and after igniting his horn I decided to act before an incident occurs. Lowering my head, I placed my muzzle next to the guard’s ear making him twitch.

“Please relax,” I whispered, “Patchwork is angry but he means us no harm.”

A jerky nod and an extinguished horn were my answer.

Raising my head, I approached Patchwork noting that he didn’t even acknowledge us. I opened my mouth to speak but a cleared throat from the window stopped me and made the guard jump.

“Don’t bother, your Highness,” Mantis spoke up from the open window shocking the guard further. Before he could call for alarm I closed his muzzle with my magic and cast a silencing spell over the whole room. “I tried getting his attention for fifteen minutes now without any success,” He entered the room and sat down next to me after closing the window.

Letting him pace in silence for a few minutes I frowned and shooed the two creatures out of the room leaving only myself and Patchwork.

That got a reaction out of him, as he stopped pacing and sat down with a snort.

Slowly approaching him, he lifted his head and growled out briefly stunning me with malice radiating from him.

“Celestia, I’m gonna rip her head off.”

CH 35 (mistakes were made)

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Patchwork

Celestia was talking. She was giving me pointers and I nodded when I was supposed to, but I felt numb all over.

Velvet was hurt, I panicked and teleported to the only place that made sense, a hospital… Looking like a changeling… in a public place. I’m such an idiot. The news spread like wildfire especially since I teleported in front of the damn door making me visible to everyone outside.

Now, two days after the incident, I had to go through an interview with several journalists (handpicked by Celestia of course) and I would be put through the wringer with various questions.

We already had a valid story that we would go with, namely that I was an exiled prince that sought asylum a while ago looking for help against Chrysalis. I spent years being studied while Celestia worked behind the scenes to ‘assist’ me when the time came. We were hoping that the story would be able to set everyone's perspective of changelings into something positive to start with in order to help the situation when Chrysalis is removed from power. The few that already knew about ‘lings would just have to keep their mouth shut, that included me.

Of course, nopony so far knew about Night Front outside of a small number of ponies making the whole situation at least a little bit more manageable. We did not have to do too much to keep it out of the public’s eye.

I also had a chat with Vel’s family introducing them to me, officially, and it went better than expected which I am glad for.

“Patchwork? Patchwork!” Celestia raised her voice and I shook myself out of my thoughts.

“Yes?” I spoke in a monotone; it was the only way to keep my voice steady as otherwise, the panic I was currently feeling would take over.

Celestia sighed with a shake of her head, and I was ushered into the room with over twenty ponies waiting on me.

I swallowed hard and stood next to her on the podium.

Velvet
Opening my eyes and rolling onto my left side I winced at the pain radiating from my foreleg. I couldn’t move it due to the cast but with the pain, I wouldn’t even want to, it was bad.

Gently rolling to my right I reached with my magic and rang the bell that was on my nightstand.

Only then did it register that I am still in the hospital; It’s been almost a week.

The room I was in was fairly simple, a single bed, a nightstand next to it with a pitcher of water and a small bed, a cabinet, a table with two pillows under it, and a small side room with a toilet and a shower.

Raising my head when the door opened I saw the nurse coming in, Sweetheart I think. An older earth pony mare with a pale pink coat. Her long pink mane was tied in a bun as was her tail but in a much looser one.

“My dear, it’s four in the morning, what’s wrong?” She approached the bed with a happy smile but her eyes were constantly darting to the far corner of the room.

Looking over to what had her worried I spotted Patchwork curled up but facing the door.

‘He’s finally asleep,’ I smiled.

“He still hasn’t left your side; did he even eat?” The nurse shook her head and I giggled.

“He tells me he does,” I looked back to Sweetheart who was a bit more relaxed now. “Don’t worry about him, he’s harmless.”

“Hard to agree to that when he looks so… dangerous,” She shivered a bit, before focusing back on me with a smile. “Now, what did you need, my dear? Let me guess, the pain woke you up?” I sheepishly nodded my head.

I got a nod back with a smile and after a quick ‘I’ll be right back’ she left the room. Patchwork didn’t even stir but I could see him opening and closing one eye, stubborn stallion.

Over the last week, I got to see the reaction other ponies had when they faced him. I was told by Patch that all of them were fairly afraid of him, but I never understood why. Other than the claws he hardly looked that different from us ponies, and always had this warm aura around him.

He did say that it has something to do with him being a predator or something along those lines, but when I asked him to explain he just laughed it off.

He shifted a bit in his corner and one of his eyes opened again, quickly closing it when he saw that I was looking at him.

“Patch?” I raised my voice slightly.

“Hmm?”

“If you don’t sleep in the next five minutes I will be very cross with you.”

Grumbling all the while, he got up and went to the door opening it with a huff which got me to giggle. I couldn’t hear what he was talking about or with who, but when he got back into his corner I could see a guard enter along with the nurse. The guard took his place next to the door looking over the entire room, and while I was slightly uncomfortable about it, the feeling quickly ebbed away.

The guards were a new addition when it became obvious that Patch wasn’t leaving my side even if, in his own word, Equestria started burning to ash. They changed in shifts and I was never able to tell which is which. There were two of them at all times in front of the door, except, well, now. Hopefully, this will get Patch to actually sleep. He hasn’t gotten a wink since I ended up here.

The nurse got to my bed carrying a small flask full of red liquid in her left hoof, looking at my coltfriend, who was circling a spot, with a frown.

“I thought he was asleep.”

“So did I, but he’ll do it now, don’t worry,” I took the offered potion and downed it without questioning. A brief worry overcame me that the potion might be poisoned, but my Patch was here, I had nothing to worry about.

“Good,” the nurse took back the empty flask and began fixing my sheets, “now, why don’t you try to get some more sleep. The potions we gave you are still working and the doctors are going to sort it out in a few days. You will need your rest.”

I nodded my head feeling the pain slowly receding, surprisingly enjoying the rocking from the bed as she straightened the bed sheets.

Closing my eyes, I wiggled a bit to get more comfortable and by the time the nurse left and the door closed, I could feel the sleep take over again.

…

I flipped the page with a frown, almost throwing the newspaper away with disgust.

“Oh, that is not a good face, my darling, you need to relax,” My mother spoke next to me.

She was visiting me today along with my sister, but Bright got bored at some point and left the room for a bit.

Mom was sitting on her personal pillow next to my bed and was currently reading a magazine ‘The Canter-Wonder’. A boring little magazine that follows the regular Canterlot rumour mill and its trends. My mother is not much for gossip, but one of her best friends is an author of one of the columns so she reads it regularly.

I was bored out of my mind and took up the ‘Equestrian Daily’ that was offered but that turned out to be a mistake.

“How can I relax when they are writing such dirt on Patch?” I did throw the damn thing, making it hit the wall and explode with paper falling everywhere.

My mother looked at me with a frown making me wince, but it did not deter me, I would have thrown it again. I did apologize though.

“I’m sorry mom.”

She got up and started cleaning the mess I made, “I know, that the Daily likes to write its ‘pieces’, but…” throwing the disheveled newspaper onto a nearby table she got back to her pillow, “You need to look at the situation from their perspective.”

Still frowning I rolled my uninjured hoof letting my mom know to continue. She liked to let us show if we wanted the subject to continue.

“Patchwork belongs to a race that barely anypony knows anything about, and suddenly he appeared, carrying my injured daughter to the hospital. How do you think the public would react to that?” She raised an eyebrow at me and I grit my teeth.

“That doesn’t give them the right to…”

“I know it doesn’t,” Walking over to the newspaper she opened it to the first page and the headline made my blood boil again. “Changeling called Patchwork, a precursor to an invasion, or something else?” My mother read out loud. “You know yourself how ponies are.

That got me to snort, “Yes, well, what about our family then?”

We had to tell the truth to my family after the incident. Both of us were afraid of it, but we felt it was the right thing to do after Celestia told us how much trouble Patchwork's‘ appearance’ caused. Better that they find out about it from us rather than a newspaper.

My father was reserved about it, opting to talk to Patch in private afterward (saying that he is satisfied after the talk), but my mom was ecstatic skipping around and bombarding my coltfriend with questions. My sister already didn’t like ‘Night Front’ very much so her opinion wasn’t changed (I expected some hate), but she did thank Patch for saving me, which is a win in my book. There was a bit of an episode with her when Patch told her that Night Light knows about him; I think I saw smoke from her tail.

“You know that our family was always a bit… unique,” She giggled and I joined in.

Hearing the sound of the door being opened we both turned our heads.

Patchwork entered the room with his head down and I got the sudden urge to leap over and hug him, but I had to settle for waiving him over and hugging his neck to the best of my current ability.

“What happened?” I asked him after he let go of the hug.

“Got into an argument with Celestia. It was… bad.”

“What was it about Patchwork?,” Mom was curious.

Patch looked at my mom at first like she had grown a second head only to shake his own.

“Jesus Christ, I’m sorry ma’am I didn’t notice you there,” Mom shook her head with a small smile but I was confused.

‘Who is this Jesus, this isn’t the first time I heard it?’

“Is this about the newspaper?” I spoke up in between the silence. I’ll bother him about this Jesus later.

“What news?”

I pointed my hoof at the discarded newspaper that was on the table. Patch ignited his horn and brought the paper close to him with his blueish magic.

“Oh that,” He casually tossed the news behind him getting a glare from my mom and a giggle from me, “that’s a load of nonsense. Everyone is worried and scared and these kinds of news are expected. Don’t pay much attention to it.”

I could feel my cheeks heat up in embarrassment and I could also feel my mom’s smug grin behind me. Huffing I looked away getting some laughter from the two of them which got me even redder.

“Anyway, I can’t tell all the details,” he sat down next to the bed on my right, “but it has something to do with the changelings and this attack on Velvet.” Both my mother and I rolled our hooves prompting him to continue.

Patchwork rolled his eyes at us, “Suffice to say that there is a plan but I am not… pleased with how long it would take to get it moving.”

“Well, I'm certain that the princess has it all well in hoof,” Patchwork opened his mouth to probably argue but my mom was already moving towards the door. “In either case, I shall leave the two of you for a few moments. I am rather parched and the water here is stale. Would the two of you like anything?” She asked picking up the pitcher

I shook my head and Patch probably did the same because mom left with a nod.

“So, what actually happened between you and Celestia?” I turned to Patch who curled up in his corner looking over the entire room.

He snorted loudly before speaking, “Like I said, she has a plan to deal with the changeling situation, but some recent events made her add some changes.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” I tilted my head to the side.

“The problem,” He got up and started pacing, “is that it will take almost a month to make a move with the current developments, and by that time Chrysalis could come after me or, stars forbid, after you again. I do not like the idea that we are simply waiting while that cunt gets to do whatever.” I flinched a bit at his language, but Patch was always crass when he got frustrated.

“Isn’t that why we have the guards here? To make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again?”

“It’s not enough. I don’t like this waiting,” He sat back down in his corner with a huff.

I couldn’t approach him for a hug or some cuddles (with my leg getting in the way), but I knew that the conversation was over… for now.

Making myself comfortable on the bed, I opted to just focus on some positive and loving memories hoping he at least understands that while not physically I am with him in spirit.

I saw him relax after a deep breath and I got a reward in the form of a quick wink. I winked back at him while blowing him a kiss and that was the extent of our interaction until mom came back along with Bright.

Patchwork

Can’t sleep, and it's three in the morning.

Velvet was breathing softly on the hospital bed, completely relaxed after the pain removal potion did its work.

They are fixing her leg tomorrow and after that, she will be home free. I will have to look into some medical magic, as I was completely lost when the doctor tried to explain it to me this morning.

From what I managed to understand, when it comes to breaks, they set the leg (or any other broken part), then give a few potions in order to promote the body’s ability to heal and some vitamins and minerals to provide the body with the stuff needed. After that, the pony’s body does its own magic by naturally healing and strengthening the broken connections. Only after all of that do the spells come into play speeding up the process and healing the damage.

It’s a slow process, but still much faster than anything humans could come up with yet, and it allows the body to create the necessary proteins and defenses for the future.

I did ask them why not just use the spells from the get go but the doctor looked at me like I have grown a second head. Apparently direct spell work could interfere with the healing process, at least that’s what I got out of it.

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath I opened them up again expanding my senses. I could immediately feel my blood boil as I sensed a pit of void I wasn’t familiar with walking around the corridor.

While changelings exude no emotions of their own (even though we have them) the feeling when sensing a changeling is… unique in its own right. Like touching someone’s thoughts in a sense.

Slowly getting up and walking towards the door I sat in front of it, waiting for the changeling to get closer.

She patrolled the corridor twice without alerting the guard before I decided to make my move.

Transforming myself into the nurse that was here half an hour ago (Red Cross, fully white, young pegasus mare with a red cross as a cutie mark) I opened the door and entered the hallway, closing the door behind me.

The two guards looked at me for a moment, their eyes widening before I gave them a quick signal with my ears.

~Target. Close. Wait for the signal. ~

The left guard, a unicorn, was a bit more experienced as all I got was a nod of the head before he stood straight again. The other one, a pegasus, had a suspicious look on his face but didn’t challenge me.

The ‘unicorn mare’ passed me by without speaking a word, looking through a stack of papers, but I could see her eyes flicker towards me for a moment.

The corridor was L shaped as we were close to the edge of the building with the corner being immediately on my left.

Turning left I waited for the changeling to make her move while signaling the guards of my ambush. A quick jerky nod was all the answer I got and that’s all I needed.

Standing about two meters away from the edge of the corridor I sat down in wait while doing something I was told by Dicty should be nearly impossible: I was projecting my own emotions.

We managed to discover this ability several weeks ago and we surmised that it stems from my hybrid origins. I cannot do it for long, only a few minutes as it actively eats at my mana but I can do it. We found out about it by accident while we were practicing my sensing ability. I thought it useless until now and didn't get much practice with it, but I hope it would trick the ‘ling.

I kept the flow steady, imitating Velvet's current emotions but it seemed to have done the trick.

The changeling made her way to the door and entered.

I immediately dashed out of my hiding place, transform into myself, and gave a sharp whistle to the guards teleporting me to Vel’s room. I was a bit winded but I had enough strength for the confrontation.

The first thing I noted was that I am an idiot, almost telefragging myself into the wall, but I was luckily out of the danger and to the right of the changeling.

The changeling, looking like herself, hissed at me, before trying to make a dash to the window. She got clipped by the opening door though, throwing her off course and allowing the unicorn guard to fire a stun spell dazing the ‘ling.

This gave me enough time to restrain her horn with a wad of resin and pounce on her pinning her to the floor.

She started trashing but a quick smack to the head and clamping her neck down with my claws got her to calm down very quickly.

Velvet didn’t even stir.

“Get me something to restrain her,” I whispered and the pegasus guard pulled out a length of rope from his inner armor pocket.

The rope was quickly tied around her body by the unicorn securing her legs and elytra allowing me to get off of her. She did not look pleased with the situation or make any sound beyond a grunt.

“I’ll take care of her, sir,” The pegasus spoke up, lifting the ling into the air and securing her on his back.

“And tell them to bring some detectors when you come back, Icicle, it seems we will need them,” The unicorn piped up making sure that the ‘ling wasn’t moving.

Icicle gave a quick salute and dashed out the door.

“Good job, sir, thank you for assisting us. She must have entered through one of the side windows and we will look into it tomorrow,” The unicorn gave me a salute and smile leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

I was left alone with Vel, or so I thought.

Mantis was looking through the open window and I could hear a flap of leathery wings in the distance.

“I am always shocked at how effective you are,” he spoke up entering the room.

I just nodded my head and made my way to my usual corner. I could feel his eyes following my every move though and when I turned around I saw him sitting not far from me at the foot of Vel’s bed.

“What’s wrong?” He kept his voice lower to not wake my girlfriend. I doubted she would wake anyway as she slept through the ambush.

“This is the second time they tried to get her to get to me,” I mumbled loud enough for him to hear, “and I am starting to severely question Celestia’s plan to ‘wait’. What is going on there in the first place for her to extend the wait time?”

“It is a good plan though,” He idly scratched his chin shrugging and I growled. He knew more than he let on and it only pissed me off even more.

“It can be the best damn plan on the planet, but it won’t do us jack shit if this continues,” Velvet stirred, mumbling incoherently but didn’t wake.

“It’s obvious Chrysalis is trying to get a reaction out of you.”

“Well, it’s working,” I huffed. “I need to do something Mantis, waiting will only make things worse.”

Mantis frowned, “Listen Patch if you do something stupid, you could put everything in jeopardy. The plan, the ponies, the changelings, everything.”

“Maybe, but the worst-case scenario is something I cannot live with, even as a possibility,” I laid down on my belly, curling myself up, and closing my eyes looking away. I suddenly felt defeated.

Mantis was with us for a few more minutes before snorting loudly and walking away.

“I need to report this,” I heard him mutter before leaving through the window.

CH 36 (things are moving)

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Chrysalis

‘I cannot trust them,’ I watched as changelings ran around, leaving the throne room trying to fulfil my demands.

I should have shaken myself out of the stupor I was in for the last month and a half but it’s still not too late to fix the mistakes. The hate crystals have been placed all over the castle and I doubted anyling knew what they are until a small rabble started destroying them. That is what got me to snap back to reality. Plan C is shaky, but there are more letters in the alphabet.

Spine has diligently performed his duty, even after Carrion’s death but he is my prime suspect for how this ‘resistance’ has been so successful. But I cannot dispose of him just yet, too many lings see him as indispensable to just remove him.

I watched from my throne as he talked to my newly appointed advisor, Keratin. A young, bright, and optimistic ling that all but started kissing my hooves when I elevated him to this position. He is so eager to serve that I am looking forward to planting him within Spine’s inner circle. He and Spine were sitting close to the throne whispering to each other.

Suddenly one of the side walls opened and a ling ran in full gallop.

“My Queen!” Spectrum, my chief infiltrator ran into the throne room, panting heavily. “I have news.” He stopped not far from me in a deep bow. His lithe frame made his shell look too big for him, but his ability to shapeshift is second to none among my lings. The olive-green elytra on his back opened and he reached for a scroll presenting it to me in his magic.

“Good,” I took the scroll from him in my own magic and brought it to me. I cannot let Spine read through the scrolls anymore, I need to pretend I still trust him. “And this news better be more palatable than the last. Your inability to acquire one pony is making me question your ability to command.”

Unfurling the scroll and running my eyes over the report I could feel a grin starting to form on my lips.

‘They found their love stockpile. Well-guarded of course but I’m certain we could reach it,’ I read through the rest of the report. ‘He also found the lings helping the ponies, good.’

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Spine leave the room, on the dot, in order to do his latest ‘patrols’. He has been doing them regularly at the exact times with an excuse of weeding out the resistance from the castle. I couldn’t restrain a small giggle that left me at how the situation played out, now he won’t be here to hear my latest orders.

‘He will think I will fill him in afterwards,’ I shook my head and waved my hoof at Spectrum inviting him closer.

“I am pleased, Spectrum. I thought spending a month looking into this ascended ling would only continue bringing in failures but this is good,” I could see him puff his chest at the praise. “Your latest orders will be as follows: use whatever means necessary in order to take control over the love stockpile,” he nodded his head, “secondly, I want you to find and capture the lings that are assisting our enemies,” he frowned at that but nodded his head nonetheless, “and lastly, I want you to expand the capture attempts to the family circle of the ponies closest to this, Patchwork,” again a nod without a single spoken word. “Come to me in an hour Spectrum, we will look over the details.”

“My queen,” Keratin spoke up and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, causing him to give a hasty bow before speaking further, “Given our current situation wouldn’t a joint effort with Spine’s warriors provide better results?”

‘Keratin is still unaware of the games being played under his nose, I’ll keep it that way for now,’ I shook my head while quickly writing some extra orders on a piece of parchment giving it to still waiting Spectrum. He took the scroll, looked over it and stuffed it in his elytra.

“A good idea that I would usually endorse, but right now with the current unrests and now this resistance had spread Spine’s warriors a bit thin,” I turned to Spectrum dismissing him, “we will have to make do with what we have. Do not worry about Spine, he has too much on his plate as it is, there is no need to stress him further.”

“Of course, my Queen,” Keratin nodded his head and I watched as Spectrum left.

When the wall closed Keratin got up and stretched, “My Queen, if you do not mind, I would like to sort out the office I was given.”

“Go, I will summon you if you are needed,” I waved at him dismissively while rereading the scroll Spectrum brought.

Putting the scroll down I followed Keratin with my eyes as he left, I couldn’t trust him either.

‘She’ has been quiet as well for the last few days and a quick check ensured that she hasn’t tried anything. I should never have let her become so bold as she has been for almost a month, I’m fairly certain that ‘she’ was the one responsible for the few hatred crystals that have been destroyed.

I could feel my horn crackle with power as my anger started slowly bubbling.

The resistance, the unrest amongst the citizens, letting my own fears get the better of me, ‘her’ boldness… too many things have slipped my grasp. I needed to focus, I have ruled this place for centuries and I doubt I would lose my grip over it so easily.

‘There are still avenues and plans I could use and implement. I still haven’t lost,” Taking a clean, fresh sheet of parchment I started writing down what I could do to reinforce my rule and what I needed for Spectrum to succeed. ‘I need to get someling near the princess, and soon.’

Shield Strike

I watched as Celestia held her head in her hooves muttering and swearing for the past ten minutes. She was sitting at her desk with Parchment sitting next to her cleaning his monocle. I was in front of the desk chuckling all the while.

I took this time to go over the latest reports regarding changelings and write up new orders hoofing them over to the pegasus messenger. After a salute, he ran out of the room closing the door behind him with a slam.

“Ya know, hun, this could ‘ave been all avoided if yer just did somethings sooner,” The glare I received only made my already present grin widen.

“Love stores raided,” She jumped to her hooves with a growl and started pacing, “changelings missing, and now several of my officers have been replaced,” I could hear the sizzle of the carpet with every step she took but I didn’t have to worry. This whole room has been enchanted against fire to the point of imperviousness.

“Don’t forget the now regular attempts at Patchwork and…”

“This is no laughing matter Shield!” With wings spread wide Celestia whirled around looking at me with a glare and all I could do was laugh. She nearly knocked the monocle out of Parchment’s magic but he recovered without missing a beat.

“What do ya want me to do? Huh?” I met her glare with my own, my grin was still present, “I told ya we need to increase security, but you said the nobles would have raised a stink over it. I asked to add anti-ling detectors but you told me that that would send the wrong message to the populace. I told you that all this planning in the last month would blow up in your face and it did,” Her façade was slowly relaxing but she still had a frown.

“I just wanted to give Patch a fighting chance.”

“I know ya did,” I sat down giving myself a quick scratch behind the ear, “but now you are, what, on plan J? I’ve been telling ya fer years love that your need to protect everypony would bounce off that pretty ‘ead of yers, and now it did.”

That got her to start pacing again and I could see the gears turn in her head.

Patchwork has certainly grown stronger over the last month, staggeringly so. I did not know if he would be able to beat Chrysalis but just like him, I wanted something to happen. I’m not happy about the current state of things, but I will take what I can get.

“I thought that I would have more time,” Celestia mumbled, now sitting behind her desk again and scribbling furiously. Soon enough there were three scrolls levitating above her and a fourth one being written on.

“Parchment?”

“Yes madam,” He put his monocle on, now shining brilliantly.

“Please deliver this to Patchwork, as soon as possible,” the fourth scroll changed magics now being held in Parchments. “Tell him to read it, and not mention a word of it to anypony. Ask him how soon he could come so we can talk.”

“Absolutely, your Highness,” Stuffing the scroll in his vest he left closing the door quietly behind him.

“Shield, this is what I would like you to do for me, honey; give this one to Shadow Step and tell her to start preparing,” One of the scrolls was placed in front of me. “This one is for either Mantis or Dicty, whoever you spot first. If I recall, miss Dicty should be here today with a report on the changeling groups in the cave system near Macintosh Hills,” The second scroll was placed next to the first one.

“What about the other one?” I pointed a hoof at the last scroll still levitating next to her.

“This one is for me, a small list of things I will need,” She got up, stuffing the scroll in her peytral. “You were right, my Shield, I should have acted sooner.”

“Time for attack?” I got up and picked up the scrolls.

“Yes, time for the offensive.”

Patchwork

I wasn’t comfortable with leaving Vel alone after everything that’s been happening. But she was at home, and there were several ponies keeping an eye on all of them so I had to be content.

Looking through the window inside of the carriage I could see various ponies point their hooves at it, but I was sure it was not because of me; I was in the form of a different pony that didn’t even exist on this world anymore, Sunset. Being a female always felt strange though, like I was wearing a coat that wasn’t mine.

The snow was cleared a few days ago by unicorns and springtime officially started bringing the warm weather back. I did not enjoy the cold as much as I usually did. Different body and all that.

Parchment was quiet while looking through a stack of papers and giving short and to-the-point answers every time I tried to start a conversation.

Soon enough we arrived at the castle and I was ushered to Celestia’s private rooms. I had a quick chat with Shield Strike but she was busy and we couldn’t talk for long.

Entering the private office, I had to move to the side to let Mantis through who gave me a quick ‘hi’ before telling me he would wait for me outside.

The door closed with a golden glow and I looked around for Celestia.

“One moment, Patchwork, I’ll be right there,” I spotted the door to her bedroom open.

Nodding my head, I made my way to the empty fireplace out of habit and lay down on a blue cushion waiting for her.

It didn’t take her long to arrive and with a burst of her horn a tea set was placed in front of my cushion and she lay down on a pink pillow opposite of me.

“Now,” she shifted a bit making herself more comfortable, “you have read the scroll I sent you?”

“Yeah, I told you we should move against her sooner,” I watched her pick up the teapot in her magic pouring a steaming bright red tea into both of our cups.

“I know you did,” she sighed, “as has Shield. But you need to understand that I needed to prepare you for the confrontation ahead. You were not ready for Chrysalis before.”

“You think I am ready now?” I picked up my cup with magic lifting it to my lips and blowing on the scalding liquid gently.

“Honestly, no I do not, but at this point, we don’t have a choice,” Celestia took a sip of her own tea, flinching and blowing rapidly at the liquid.

“So, if things didn’t start happening now, how long would you have waited?” It stung, her saying that I wasn’t ready.

“I was now planning on collaborating with the changelings resistance,” that got me to raise an eyebrow but I didn’t ask any questions, “in order to move things forward faster but…” she took a sip of her tea, “I was reminded and it has dawned on me that we may be running out of time.”

“And what now?” I put the empty teacup down fluttering quietly with my wings.

“Now we make our move, against my better judgement,” Celestia stood up and walked over to her desk picking up a small and ornate box.

Opening the box, she pulled out two trinkets, a golden ring that looked surprisingly plain, and a black, cracked-looking bracelet that vibrated (or was it the air around it).

“The bracelet,” she picked it up with her magic and moved it to me, “used to belong to my sister. She threw it away during our… confrontation, but it will serve its purpose once more.”

I plucked it out of her magic rolling it around in my claws.

“Do not be fooled by its brittle looks, the enchantment on is well worth it,” she lied back on her pillow and placed the ring next to her on the floor with her hoof. The box was levitated out of my sight.

“If I’m sensing this correctly… it’s a shield spell?” I pulled the bracelet closer to my eyes inspecting the detail. What I thought were cracks was strange, see-through crystalline filling that made the whole thing look well worn.

“A very powerful shield enchantment not a spell. Luna was always a bit, paranoid, but it served her well for a long time,” Picking the bracelet with her magic she brought it over to herself; “It can absorb any magic around it and form a personal shield skin using it,” With a flash of her horn a golden, flickering field surrounded her coat only to disappear a moment later. The bracelet was placed back into my claws.

“There’s got to be more to it,” it took some wiggling but I managed to get it on my left arm.

“There is. The shield is as powerful as the magic it absorbs, but it has two fatal flaws: one, you need to combat somepony that can saturate the field around them with magic, like a unicorn or…”

“A changeling!”

“Yes, which is why we are using it now. The other flaw makes the bracelet finicky: the ring will overheat swiftly once you start using it, so not only can it not be used often, but it cannot be used for long,” Celestia crossed her hooves in front of her.

“That doesn’t make it very useful… I also probably won’t be able to use it once I shapeshift.”

“I believe you misunderstood me then, I said the bracelet will overheat once you start using it. It means you can charge it as much as you can to create a nearly impervious shield that will shrug off quite a bit of damage for a short time.”

I nodded my head at that thinking of the new possibilities I could use the bracelet for. Shaking myself out of my thoughts I looked over the ring next to Celestia and pointed a claw at it.

“What about the ring?”

“Ah, that,” She picked up the ring with her hooves rather than her magic, “this darling little thing is made specifically for alicorns,” She extended the hoof to me and I took the ring in my claws. “The ring took years to make and it should, theoretically, seal away an alicorn’s magic similarly to a normal a-m ring. I never tested it out of fear for what it would do to my connection to the sun, but every other test we did was fully successful.”

Rolling it around in my hooves I was surprised that such a small thing could do something like that, but I also wondered how it would fit Celestia’s larger frame. The ring was noticeably smaller than her horn.

Deciding to test it out, I lifted the ring and slowly started placing it around my own horn. I was shocked to find the ring slowly expanding to fit, and when I got it firmly around the base of the horn my jaw dropped.

“Powerful, isn’t it?” I started ripping at the ring getting the ring off as quickly as possible, “It completely cuts off any magic flow to the horn, and it seems to work even better on changelings,” I took a few deep breaths getting myself under control.

The blasted thing completely cut off every sense I had as a changeling along with my magic. I don’t think I would have been able to even shapeshift with it on.

Placing the ring on the floor, as far away from myself as possible, I shook my head and looked at Celestia.

“Anything else you could give me? A weapon? Some armour? Not that I’m not grateful for this, but… you know…”

Celestia sighed, “I wish I could give you more, but the armour wouldn’t fit, and you never trained how to use the weapons I have. Most of it wouldn’t even be useful to you as you rely heavily on your shapeshifting.”

Nodding my head I spared a quick glance at the ring, poking at it with my claw.

“So, what now?”

“Now I will explain to you what you need to do, and what I hope will happen. Then you will join Mantis for your mission. I hope you are ready Patch; you will be on your own for this.”

Celestia looked like she would do anything else than send me away like this, and her emotions were justifiably conflicted. It did not deter me though, we needed to make our move.

“Okay, lay it on me.”

CH 37 (the big scary forest)

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Patchwork

Velvet was absolutely livid, but her mother and father managed to calm her down enough to where I was able to say goodbye. I tried not to think about the consequences of leaving, as I had no intentions of dying to Chrysalis. I will make it up to Velvet when I come back.

Night Light didn’t take the news well either, but at least he was willing to go over the whole plan with me in order to see if we can improve my odds. We got a few things ironed out, but that was about it.

The academy wasn’t overly happy with me leaving either claiming that I have been too absent as of late, but Celestia assured me that I will be able to continue my study once I return. I would have to work hard to catch up or repeat the year but I would be able to continue regardless.

Leaving the city with Mantis was fairly simple and the tag-along wasn’t a bad company either.

“Thanks for the shades… you didn’t have to buy them though,” Silent Drop spoke up behind me through a yawn. Her nearly black fur, grey mane and leathery wings stood out heavily against the colourful palette of other ponies but at least that made her easy to recognise in the mass.

“I have plenty of bits and other than spoiling Velvet I had no need for them so far,” I was in a new disguise, or at least, new for this world, Big Macintosh. No pony would recognize me and Big Mac’s stature lets me walk around with something close to my height. I got too comfortable with being myself, taking the look of someone else felt like I’m hiding. I was kind of tired of doing that at this point.

“Perks of being a changeling prince I guess,” Mantis muttered next to me. He was in the shape of a griffon, with golden fur and dark brown plumage. We were to just call him Talon as that was a common enough name for griffons.

“Nothing to do with it, Talon. I just saved up a lot of bits since I didn’t need them,” We passed the large, golden gate that served as the entrance to Canterlot and made our way out.

The plan, the initial part of the plan, was fairly simple: reach the changeling queendom and join the local resistance. After that, we would coordinate with them to take down Chrysalis, hopefully without needing a direct confrontation. We have all agreed that fighting Chrysalis in head-on combat would be a very stupid idea, so that was out of the question.

Celestia wanted to come in disguise but the area around Chrysalis’s castle cancels out all magic other than changelings so she was out of the picture. Plus she had a country to run, so she couldn’t be away for long… regardless of what she said.

Even Silent Drop wouldn’t be following us inside the dome. Her task was to make sure we get to the changeling area as swiftly and safely as possible. She did carry a special quill and some parchment in order to keep Celestia informed of our progress along with travel provisions.

All three of us carried something for the trip in order to keep us fed, warm and sheltered.

I carried the heaviest stuff, namely tents, some weapons (just in case) and Silent Drop’s armour (which she will put on the moment we get some distance from Canterlot). Mantis being the second largest of us, carried food and Drop had everything else, including a map and a compass.

Drop also carried several pouches on her but when asked what was in there all I got was ‘essentials’.

The city of Canterlot, being as busy as it is, made things a bit difficult when leaving due to all the ponies coming and going at the gates, but other than sensing a few changelings in the crowd (two of which were swiftly detained without my assistance) we had no issues and we weren’t followed afterwards.

…

Normally in the pony world, entering the Everfree Forest was considered a ludicrous idea, but in actuality, a well-equipped and prepared team would have no issues being in it for a period of time.

While we had no time to go over all the dangers of the forest itself, Celestia and Shield Strike made sure that Mantis and myself had at least a decent amount of info to work with.

Removing the stuff I was carrying off my back, I watched as Silent Drop put her armour on.

“Finally,” Drop whispered donning her helmet, “I felt naked without my baby on.” Mantis just shook his head and I chuckled.

“A bit attached to your armour, are ya?” I shook my whole body like a wet dog and shifted back into myself with a burst of fire. I stretched my limbs for good measure as well, feeling great to be me again. A quick ping with my senses confirmed that we weren’t followed by any lings and I relaxed a bit.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” She waved her hoof at me, “Not all of us are blessed with natural armour like you guys.”

“Fair enough I suppose,” Mantis removed his saddlebags and transformed back into his changeling self, “but I never heard someling be so affectionate to their armour before.”

That got my ears to perk up, “Didn’t you two work together for a few months? This seems like something you would talk about.”

“We did work for a few months,” Drop spoke up putting her saddlebags back on, “but this bug kept it all professional so we never really spoke much in the first place.”

Mantis just shrugged, lifting his saddlebags with his magic, and setting them on his back.

“I hope you won’t do the same thing now, Mantis,” I put my own stuff on my back, “I’m kind of used to talking to you.”

“I’ll think about it,” He stood up and turned to Drop, “now… Where to, Drop.”

Silent already had a map in her hooves so now she laid it down on the ground for all of us to see. She took out the compass and glanced at it for a moment while I ignited my horn bathing the entire area in a turquoise light. Even though it was midday, the canopy was so thick in some areas that barely any sunlight got through. Some nearby animals scurried away from us but we were otherwise alone.

“Right we entered here,” She pointed at the area we entered with a stick she picked up, “and if we stick to this direction…” she pointed to her immediate right, “we should reach the old ruins.”

“Do you both mind if we stop at the ruins for a bit?” I asked, “There is something there I would like to check out before we continue on.”

Mantis and Silent looked at each other for a moment before they both shrugged.

“I don’t mind,” Drop rolled up the map and stuffed it in her armour. “But we are going to need to get there fast. It’s a big forest and if we hurry up we might reach it before sundown. We can also make a camp there as some of the bigger threats avoid the castle itself.”

“Okay,” I nodded my head. “Mantis and I will dash ahead and you follow closely behind us, with any luck we won’t run into anything dangerous, and it should give you enough time to react to our movement.”

“I can also give you instructions if we start to drift away. Thestrals have a fantastic sense of direction after all.”

“Good, let’s go then,” Mantis got into position facing the right direction and I followed suit. He did a quick count to three with his hooves and off we went.

The gallop through the forest made me feel all sorts of excited rather than scared or worried. After all the training with Celestia, Shield as well as my ascension there was a bit of a feeling of indestructibility that I never managed to shake off… even when Celestia served me a plate of whoop-ass. We ducked and weaved, avoiding the trees and fallen logs, and I enjoyed every second of the obstacle course.

Neither Mantis nor Drop felt the same though.

I could see Mantis’s ears constantly swivel at every sound that wasn’t us, and Drop’s emotions ranged from fear to nervousness, but she never slowed down.

She did have to correct us a few times before we drifted away too much but otherwise, our dash through the forest was uneventful, so much so that I even managed to enjoy the scenery as we ran while using Mantis, who was slightly ahead of me, to maintain the right direction.

The forest itself was beautiful and almost as colourful as ponies themselves. But there was a bit of an out worldly danger to it that made it look wild and untamed.

The trees ranged from massive, gnarled monstrosities that looked downright wicked in the shadows, to familiar stuff I used to see back home when I decided to leave my pc.

There were flowers everywhere, along with wines and bushes all colourful and lush making the forest extremely thick while leaving just a few clear spots we could just run through, most of the time.

We had to make a few detours to avoid conflict with the local fauna, as well as a couple of stops for others to catch their breath which allowed me to explore my surroundings a little bit.

I got to sniff a few flowers I recognised, from what Celestia managed to show me, I even tried some berries that Mantis assured me were ok to eat (for changelings at least) and the wildlife allowed me to practice my shapeshifting. Getting my mass down to the size of, say, a squirrel wasn’t as easy for me as it was for Mantis, but I never cared too much for that.

Butterflies, spiders (Drop screamed after I transformed into a titanic star spider), birds, manticores, timberwolves and many more were added to my repertoire or improved upon making me all sorts of excited for my future travels. I made a decision then and there that I want to see the rest of this world with Velvet.

“Why don’t you shapeshift like that?” I heard Silent ask Mantis. We were taking a small break near a patch of poison joke as the flower deterred anything from getting close, and unless we actually disturbed it we wouldn't be affected. After two hours of moving and running, we decided to take a small break and eat something.

“One I have no reason to, and two I am nowhere near as good at it as Patchwork.”

“So it’s not your special talent? Thank you.” She took the offered sandwich box from Mantis. I didn’t ask what the sandwiches were made with, but it looked like ham.

“Us changelings don’t have ‘special talents’,” Mantis snorted biting into a large caramel chunk cookie, “we practice until we get good at something. Some can just take it further.”

“That’s what’s called having a talent, Mantis,” I piped up taking a bite out of my muffin. ‘Strawberry filling, delicious.’

“I know what having a talent means, Patch, but this is different. We, changelings, don’t have talents, period. We pick what we like and push until we get good at it, and then push some more if we want to get better.”

Both myself and Silent looked at each other, “That still sounds like some of you have a talent,” I tilted my head, “but it sounds like you are like humans.”

“What’s a human?” Asked Drop and I sighed.

…

After a lengthy explanation of what humans are, what I am and how I ‘came to be’ along with a small scuffle with a pack of timberwolves before we left the clearing (horrible smell, surprisingly easy to fight against) we have reached the castle ruins at dusk.

The ruins themselves were massive and… depressing to look at.

It was obvious what happened here even from a quick glance as even time wasn’t able to erase the battle that transpired here.

The castle was covered with scorch marks and damaged stone looking like it melted from intense heat. Several pieces of old towers lay crumbled with their bases cleanly cut, blasted off or just torn apart.

Even the land around it still bore signs of battle as certain areas still felt warm or cold to the touch, or nothing grew around certain patches of dirt.

What didn’t suffer magic damage was slowly taken over by time and nature but even then it was easy to see just how magnificent this castle once was. I was actually shocked just how much of it was left still intact.

“You coming, Patch?” Drop shouted at me while I was standing in a daze looking at the old thing.

Following Mantis and Silent, we made our way into the old ruins past a surprisingly intact, and very ornate, door and into the throne room. That’s where I spotted the future of this country.

The Elements of Harmony, all five of them, waiting for their owners.

“Leave that old thing, it’s probably just a decoration,” Mantis couldn’t have been more wrong, but I said nothing.

Approaching the elements and fully opening my senses I was able to feel the power in them, still very much alive making me gasp in mild shock. One of the elements even pinged back at me, but it was so brief I almost mistook it for local mana well. I think it was Loyalty. I will have to talk with Celestia about this once we return.

Regardless I left the elements where they are and made my way to my companions who were setting up our little camp.

…

“Okay, I got to ask…,” Drop ignited the firewood she collected, “why aren’t you scared of this forest?” Mantis was setting up two tents (I had my own tent, but I wasn’t tired and was feeling lazy) and I was going through a scroll Celestia gave me to cast some simple protection over the area just in case.

Both of us changelings raised our heads and looked at her making her sigh and point her left hoof at me, stuffing the ignition gems in her pocket.

“Good question,” Mantis entered his tent, “I have been to this forest several times but it always unnerved me. This is your first time in here, right Patch?”

“It just doesn’t seem that scary to me,” I shrugged, rolling up the scroll once I was finished and stuffing it back into the saddlebags.

“What part of facing a pack of timberwolves didn’t seem scary to you?” Silent was looking at me like I grew a second head and all I could do was shrug again.

“Let’s not mention the manticores we had to avoid…” Mantis’s head popped out of the tent flap.

“Or the fact that you wanted to go ‘talk’ to them,” She made quotation signs with her hooves.

“Or the fact that you had a big, dumb grin the whole time we were running?” Both of them were now looking at me, and I tilted my head to the side.

“I’m sorry guys, but after sparring with Celestia over the past couple of weeks none of that seemed scary… Should it be?” I laid down next to the fire placing my saddlebags next to me and away from the flames.

After a moment of silence, Mantis shook his head pulling back into his tent and Drop laughed a screechy, high-pitched laugh.

“Ya know what Patchwork,” a soft ‘e-e-e-e’ giggle escaped her, “after everything you told me… I’m not even surprised.”

Rolling my eyes good-naturedly I waved my claws at her, “Just go to sleep Drop, I’ll keep an eye out tonight,” I pulled out a book from my bag and opened it where I left off. It was a romance novel; one Velvet suggested a few weeks ago and also one that was Celestia’s favourite, ‘Hooves of Love’… I am picking up some bad influence the longer I’m in this world.

“You won’t sleep?” She asked while entering the other free tent.

“Not for another day at least, I don’t need as much sleep as you guys do,” I frowned while reading the first paragraph (‘Betrayal! Why Rose!?’).

I didn’t hear any reply from her so I assumed that she went to sleep. Raising my head and looking at her stuff next to the tent I shook my head.

“A thestral that’s awake during the day, and she sleeps with her armour…” I muttered, “yet she thinks I’m impossible.”

…

The crisp, cool morning of the Everfree made me shiver lightly but that did not deter me. After telling to my two companions that I wish to check something (and that they should stay put (I made it an order after a complaint)) I made my way to what I thought was the cavern housing the Tree.

It took a few minutes to find it, but I managed. There wasn’t even anything protecting it from what I’ve seen.

I was taking slow and measured steps down the stairs that led to the tree, making sure that I avoided some of the plunder vines that were particularly sticking out. I wanted to explore the castle as well but I didn’t wish to waste too much time.

Stopping for a moment and looking around me I tried again to sense any protections that would guard the tree itself but finding none I refocused back on the vines themselves with a grunt. There weren’t as many of them as I feared, and most of the thicker ones were near the tree itself but I still wanted to keep away from them as much as possible. Their presence felt wrong somehow.

I still had some way to go to reach the tree, but I wanted to take my time with this.

Making a decision I instead opened my elytra and jumped the rest of the way slowing myself down with a gentle buzz. Landing I immediately jumped back avoiding a vine that slithered and wrapped itself around a rock jutting from the ground.

Igniting my horn, I burned the vine with a small fireball just to see what would happen. Surprisingly enough a decent length of the exposed vine immediately ignited and withered into ash.

That got me to raise an eyebrow as the vines themselves should be if not immune then at least resistant to magic. Approaching the part of the vine that didn’t burn I noted that not only was that part of the vine undamaged, making it look like it was cut rather than burned but it was also coated with a thin layer of viscous-looking fluid.

Firing another fireball at the undamaged part I wasn’t surprised when the fireball fizzled out the moment it touched the covered vine. I also made note that the part that was touched by the fireball was dry and void of the liquid cover.

Nodding my head, I decided to ignore the rest of the vines and I made my way toward the tree itself.

The blue, crystalline tree was massive, easily reaching the top of the cavern itself and taking over most of the free space with its roots and branches.

Even covered in places with vine-like tumours the tree itself was beautiful, emanating a soft blue glow and enough heat to make the area around it pleasantly warm. It also made me feel at peace, calming down my thoughts the closer I got to it to the point where I let out a content sigh when I got directly under it.

Sitting under the tree, in an area cleared from any vines, I looked up at the trunk first spotting the two cutie marks of Celestia and Luna. Raising my head further up I looked at the branches. I frowned when I saw that none of the branches themselves carried any of the future cutie marks, but instead five of the largest branches had a colourful socket for each of the elements.

I guess the tree modified itself after the new bearers were chosen. The centre from where the branches sprouted did have a socket for the element of magic.

I don’t know how long I spent there frowning at the tree, examining it, and trying to figure out how to help it, but eventually, I felt some prickling at the back of my mind. Focusing on the prickling sensation the words ‘Not yet’ started to play in my head for a few seconds.

Shortly after, an image entered my mind showing me Chrysalis, powerful and terrible beyond my expectations only to be replaced by a strong feeling of… righteousness. Encouraging words began to fill my mind making me feel far more optimistic than I had any right to be. I shook my head, dispelling the thoughts and the feeling.

I frowned “I don’t know if I’m ready or capable,” I spoke up, my voice creating a weak echo, “but I will do my best, nonetheless. Thank you for believing in me.” With a quick bow of my head, I stood up, feeling grateful for some reason.

Still frowning I nodded my head and turned around to leave. On my way out I made sure to burn as many of the unprotected parts of the vines as I could. A quiet, barely perceptible but sincere ‘thank you’ echoed in my head most of that morning.

CH 38 (the small group of 'lings)

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Patchwork

“I can’t believe we didn’t think of this before,” Silent Drop screeched near my ear. It didn’t hurt but it was uncomfortable.

I wanted to originally fly over the rest of the forest, but I was assured by both Drop and Mantis that flying over the Everfree can be extremely dangerous; so a gigantic wolf was the decision.

I made the body powerful enough that I had no reason to jump over smaller obstacles and I just smashed through everything else. There were a few patches of poison joke that I had to fully avoid, but other than that, in two hours we were out of the forest.

“Patch we are out, you can stop now,” Mantis spoke up directly into my ear and I grinned.

“Nah, I think I’ll keep going. I’m not even winded,” I growled out (talking normally isn’t easy with this kind of mouth). “Drop which way to Macintosh Hills?”

“Why Macintosh Hills?” She shouted to be heard over the wind.

“I wanna meet the changelings there before we enter the Badlands. Seems only right to make sure they are okay.”

“I could also see if my sister is doing fine as well, so why not,” I could hear Mantis speak up.

“Okay, okay, fine. But you need to stop Patch, I can’t look at the map like this.”

Digging my paws into the dirt I forced myself to a sharp stop, and my reward was two colorful curses as both Mantis and Drop flew over my head. They barely got their bearings with a buzz and a flap, but it was a close call. I snickered and it grew into a full belly laugh at the looks they gave me.

Continuing to curse in a language I didn’t understand Drop took out her map and the compass while I shifted into myself again. Mantis landed next to me with a buzz of his wings.

I took this time to look around me after shifting back into myself.

While there were still trees in this area, most of the actual land surrounding us is flat, grassy fields with various shrubbery, while berry bushes were the majority providing me with a quick snack.

Taking a few bites out of a bush that I recognized as raspberry, I continued to look over the rest of the area. I did spot what looked like a deer with a strange vest looking at us through the trees, and a quick ping with my sense revealed nothing but curiosity.

Looking away for a moment to Drop then looking back, I noticed that the deer turned around and galloped back into the forest making me shrug.

I saw that Mantis was plucking some of the berry bushes clean and placing all of the fruits in a bag, sealing it, and stuffing it in the saddlebags. Probably a good idea, I honestly didn’t know how much food he was carrying in the first place.

“All right, I have our heading,” Drop got our attention, “mind you I don’t know exactly WHERE these changelings are…”

“I do,” Mantis buzzed his wings, “Or at least I know the general location of it.”

“Good,” I shook off my bags and raised my head, “Then let’s get to it,” Jumping into the air I gathered a significant portion of my resin transforming into a dark brown Roc. Both of their jaws hit the floor at my size and I trilled, laughing at their stunned faces.

Landing I could see Mantis shaking his head before picking up my bags and flying up, landing on my back with a buzz of his wings.

Drop flew up to my face tilting her head left then right before sighing and landing on my head.

“You’ll probably be faster than me anyway,” She muttered.

After giving me the direction and Mantis telling me what to look out for, I spread my mighty wings and after a few wobbly flaps I blasted off.

Modifying my eyesight so I can see farther I turned my head around trying to spot Ponyville the moment I gained high enough altitude. We were on the other side of the forest but… there. Improving my eyesight even further and feeling the strain on my brain to process it all, I got my first sight of Ponyville.

I couldn’t see much, both from the forest and the cloud cover, but I did spot several houses as well as what looked like the bell tower. I also spotted a building mid-construction that looked like the town hall. Other than a few tiny spots of color I wasn’t able to actually see, let alone recognize anyone but that was fine by me. Most of the ponies I knew about weren’t even born yet.

Mentally shrugging I flapped my wings harder turning my head towards the horizon.

…

“Over there!” Mantis shouted in my ear making me flinch.

I couldn’t see where he was pointing but I started slowing myself down to a stop.

The moment I started flapping in place I could feel both of them jumping off of me giving me a chance to shift back into myself. I grabbed my stuff from Mantis’s magic and with him as the guide we made our dive. It wasn’t easy with all the wind at this height but we managed.

The Macintosh Hills are a sort of a barrier between Equestria, the Badlands, and the San Palomino Desert spreading in a fashion that made it almost look like a painter just took a measuring stick and drew a straight line between the three biomes.

Mind you, the hills themselves barely reached the desert, but the way they were formed encircled the Badlands making sure that at least some protection was offered against the elements. It wasn’t much mind you, but enough that instead of sand, rocks and stone ruled over the area. We weren’t entering the Badlands yet though, and we passed over the area that will once be the little town of Appleloosa. I even saw what I think was a herd of buffalo stampeding around.

After a few minutes, Mantis got our attention and pointed at what was a part of the mountain range that served as further protection of the Badlands region.

Stopping and lifting my right claw to shield my eyes from the sun I tried to figure out what he was pointing at, but I gave up quickly, and buzzing my wings harder I caught up to Mantis and Drop.

Flying side by side, we didn’t talk much and both of them seem to focus on keeping an eye on things while I enjoyed the new location as much as I could.

I felt a sudden strike of inspiration and focusing my senses to the maximum I sent out a ping powerful enough to make Mantis wobble a bit.

At first, nothing came back to me, making me wonder if we were lied to. Gathering up my magic and trying to extend the range of my sense I readied another ping in hopes of feeling at least one changeling but I stopped halfway.

It was faint, only one, small blip… like a light at the end of a long tunnel. There was a feeling of void, and then there was a bit of a shift, and suddenly I was assaulted by a wave of pings. There weren’t many of them, maybe a hundred, but these were my first changelings.

Turning my head to the side, I saw Mantis grin at me before he closed the third eyelid and sped forward in a burst of fire with Drop trailing behind him without much effort. I closed my own eyelid, gulping loudly out of nervousness, and I made my own way after them.

…

Rage.

Rage and cold fury were rattling around in my head making my horn crackle.

Mantis told me to wait a bit further away while he and Drop went ahead. Something about how my appearance may spook the others.

Then the lings started popping out from various crevices, armed with spears and swords, except I wasn’t even paying much attention to their weapons.

Every single one of those lings looked completely starved, with holes riddling their bodies. Even some of the smaller ones looked just as starved as the adults making me grind my teeth.

“Patch… Patch… Patchwork!”

“What!?” I snapped at what I recognized was Dicty.

“Are you alright?” Her voice was soft, without any of the challenge it usually carried.

“I’m fine,” I grumbled taking a step forward.

“Patchwork…” She moved in front of me blocking my way forward. I wasn’t that tall but I was still tall enough to look down at her with a frown. To her credit, she didn’t even flinch, “You being pissed off isn’t going to fix things, and they don’t need to see you like this. They are scared as it is. Calm. Down.”

She was right… she was right and it took a few deep breaths setting down my boiling emotions into something I would happily use later. Preferably to cave the mad queen’s skull in.

Seeing that I was able to get control over myself, Dicty moved to the side, following slightly behind me.

“Do you have ANY food for them?” I opened my wings and lifted myself up.

“It’s getting harder,” I heard her own wing buzz, “but we are managing. The few pony guards that are here with us are keeping us fed, but even they are starting to feel the strain at this point.”

“Do you think I could help?” Turning my head to look behind me, I spotted a few small holes on her foreleg chitin. It only made my frown deepen.

The fact that it took her over a minute to say something didn’t bode well, but by that point, we arrived landing in front of a group of about twenty lings. Some of them placed their weapons next to them while others kept them loosely held in their magic. Not one of them looked very pleased to see me.

“Yes, I think you can…” She approached the group and turned to me, “Patch, this is Incus, he is the de-facto leader of this group.” Incus had a deep frown on his face.

Incus was… older, I think… maybe a bit older than Dicty. I did not have a form of reference for his age as Dicty and Mantis were the only lings I ever spent time with. Nevertheless, he looked strong, with powerful muscles and thick chitin that was riddled with chips and cracks that I assumed came from combat. He held a strange-looking blade in his magic that looked like it was made wholly from obsidian. A falchion came to mind when I tried to place it into something familiar.

Ever since Mantis started getting fed properly he grew quite a bit, and I considered him to be a fairly tall changeling. Incus was almost a head taller and was just about able to look me in the eyes.

His elytra were violet, and upon opening for a quick buzz I almost did a double take at the two pairs of wings, with the second pair being barely even half that size. I privately considered that he could be a candidate for ascension in the future.

“Incus,” Dicty pointed a hoof at me, “this is Patchwork, the ascendant I told you about.”

Incus took two steps towards me, while some other lings took a step back. Raising his hoof he started poking and prodding at me with my chitin ‘straps’ on my chest and my antennae being his biggest interest.

“You a prince?” He finally spoke standing in front of me. His voice was surprisingly soft and tender.

“So I have been told,” I tilted my head to the side.

“Are you or aren’t you?” He raised his voice. I saw that the other lings started tensing up. Out of the corner of my eyes, I spotted Drop and Mantis exiting an almost hidden cave.

“That depends on you, Incus. If you need a prince, I’ll be the prince. If not ill happily leave you all be…” I tilted my head to the other side, “That is after I make sure that changelings have a better future and a certain Queen is taught a lesson.”

That got him to lower his head and squint at me, “So you think you can take her on?” That got everyone to perk their ears even higher.

“I was doubtful a few days ago…” I hummed to myself, looking over all of them and the small audience that started popping up from the cave, “But looking at your state now… I WILL take her down.”

I put every ounce of conviction I had into that statement and the relief on their faces was immediately visible. Incus as well, had a large grin splitting his face. The fear didn’t leave them, but at least it made me feel better that they didn’t flee at the sight of me.

…

I was panting heavily having my mana nearly fully drained. I felt weak and sore, and my horn was burning, but… they had food. They said that it tasted strange but palatable.

“That should hold us for a week, gives the pony guards time to recover,” Incus spoke up while approaching me.

I was lying down on my legs fairly deep within a cave system that was dug out to facilitate these hundred-or-so lings. They slept mostly in groups and there were two pairs of guards (both couples), rotating every month, making sure that if the ‘hive’ were discovered by someone else they would be protected according to equestrian law. The same guards have been keeping them extra fed over the last week (the new delivery of love was every two weeks) but since the food stores in Canterlot were raided several days ago they had to give more.

I could feel my mana slowly returning but for today we were stuck here. No way am I entering the Badlands without being as ready as I can be.

“Good, I told Drop to send a message to Celestia. Hopefully, she will be able to send some extra help,” I watched as Incus laid down next to me. Mantis and Dicty were assisting with gathering love while Drop was talking with the Princess. I have considered calling Celestia ‘mom’ for a while now, but it just doesn’t feel right… yet.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, “we were starting to consider… podding the guards just to make due. I’m glad we didn’t, they are good ponies, they don’t deserve to be podded.”

Looking at him I could see genuine concern on his face for the ponies and that made me feel happy for the future of changelings. It would seem that centuries of starvation made changelings able to hold tremendous control over their emotional state. There was still a haze there, as I was told by Mantis, but some lings were able to see through it. Incus was one of them.

Most of the other lings kept to themselves, away from pony guards, but so far I was able to spot at least ten that spent their time with them, talking, learning… The lings stayed away from me as much as possible though, acting as though I would lash out at the tiniest provocation.

Hopefully, when the Queen is taken down, and everyone properly fed, things would settle into something approaching normalcy.

“I’m glad you didn’t’. It wouldn’t harm the relations… much, but this way you at least have a group of guards that would happily accept changelings once the dust settles.”

“Are you sure that ponies would just... accept us?” I could see him tilt his head questioningly from the corner of my eye.

Turning my head to face him I spoke with conviction, “I am not giving up until they do. Both I and the pony princess managed to lay some decent foundation for changeling acceptance but it’s still in its infancy.” Standing up, I shook myself off, wobbling slightly, and made my way out of the small room of the cave. Incus followed shortly after speeding up to catch up to me.

“You need to understand Incus,” we entered a fairly large room where quite a few lings were gathered in groups chatting, “up until a few weeks ago only a small number of ponies knew about changelings in the first place, and most of them do not have a good opinion of them. Hopefully, the last big chat I had with Equestria’s journalists would convince the other part of the populace that you are all just… doing your best to survive. And that you need help.”

Walking over to an empty area of the room I sat down, with Incus following suit, and observed the lings and their interactions.

The room itself was fairly large with some ‘rough’ edges around the walls. I wasn’t sure whether the lings made this or if it was natural, but at several locations around the room, there were blue crystals on resin pedestals emitting a soft light that colored everything in a soft blue hue.

The chatter was mostly hushed and it was primarily adults with occasional younger ling in the group. The nymphs were next room over (opposite where we entered) just in case something happened, then everyone else could react on time.

Every once in a while I would spot someone glance over at me or just flat out look at me both with fear and curiosity, but with their eyes constantly covered I wasn’t able to tell what was going on in their head at first glance.

I chatted with the burly ling next to me about what Canterlot was like, and what the current and some future plans were until two small nymphs approached us. I wasn’t immediately able to tell their gender but I figured it out fairly quickly.

Both of them were fillies, and both of them were black with only their eyes and elytra being blue. Both of them also had holes that made a fresh wave of anger start bubbling in me but didn’t let it show on my face. They were also very adorable.

“’Scuse me, sir,” I squeed internally, “are you like queen Chrystalis?” The left one asked with a barely noticeable lisp. The nymph next to her nodded her head vigorously.

I opened my mouth to respond but a changeling mare raced into the room. She frantically looked around before spotting the two nymphs in front of me. There was a string of emotions running through her face only to settle on abject horror. Something didn’t feel right here, and after she dashed pulling the wiggling nymphs away from me I had a distinct feeling that it was about me.

With a flash of my horn a barrier formed behind the mare forcing her to stop pulling back. It probably wasn’t a good idea as some of the lings around the room jumped to their hooves with fear on their faces, but I was getting my answers. Dicty wasn’t here to play mediator.

Not everyone looked terrified though, some of the lings I recognized from outside, and I could only see confusion there. It would seem that the queen made more damage to her own than I originally thought.

“Incus,” I turned to him seeing him flinch and standing up, “mind explaining to me why this mare and the rest of them are so terrified of me?”

I could see him chewing on his words, but I didn’t wish to wait. Every second longer made the mare look all the more terrified and that wouldn’t do. I should have talked to him about this earlier, but I was busy producing love for them. Incus still kept quiet.

“Ma’am? Madam, would you please look at me?” I stood up and made two steps towards her. She flinched back but after a moment she looked at me. The two nymphs only looked confused at what the adults were doing. “Now, what is your name, if I may ask?”

“Sh-sh-sh- Shelter… My name is Shelter,” her voice was quivering but something caught my attention that I didn’t immediately notice, her eyes were fully open.

‘I guess there are exceptions to everything,’ I thought removing the barrier behind her and taking another step forward. She didn’t take a step back but she did huddle over the nymphs shielding them.

“Let me guess, miss Shelter, the Queen takes the young nymphs to education or something like that?” I took another step forward which only made her huddle even more and ignite her horn. That made me raise an eyebrow, and in a flash of fire I was the size of a nymph which was very uncomfortable but I grit through it.

My new form got her to extinguish her horn blinking rapidly at me and the rest of the changelings looked very confused by my new look. Shrugging my shoulders I sat down.

“I don’t know what the Queen did to make you so afraid of lings like me, and frankly I do not care, but I would like to make things clear, miss Shelter: I will NOT take your nymphs nor am I here to harm any one of you,” Looking around some of the tension seems to leave them. “I am here only to see if any of you need help before I proceed to the Badlands and nothing more. I am on a mission to remove the queen from power before she turns the entire world against us… or worse.” Transforming back to myself I stood up and took one more step towards Shelter.

She wasn’t huddling anymore and the two nymphs had a look of awe on their faces, lowering my head I spoke directly to her.

“I am sorry for whatever you went through, and I will make sure it never happens again, you have my word.”

I was about to turn around to leave, but then I remembered something. Lowering my head further and looking at the two nymphs I chuckled.

“She is called Chrysalis and I would hope I look cooler than her,” giving them both a sly wink, which got them to giggle, I turned around and left the room looking for Dicty. I couldn’t get the frown that started to form on my face to disappear and my mood was slowly getting worse.

‘Maybe I could get a room away from everyone else? It probably won’t help my situation but it would seem things are worse than I thought.’

CH 39 (entering the maw)

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Patchwork

“I wish to apologise,” Dicty caught me in the middle of breakfast. Very early breakfast. Other than the two guards patrolling I haven’t seen anyone else awake.

I was sitting at one of four resin tables that were set up in a large room deeper in the cave, with a bag of various berries opened up in front of me. Dicty stood next to me looking at a point in the wall.

“About yesterday?” She nodded, “There is nothing to apologise for, Dicty. It’s not your fault for what queen Bitch-bug did to them.”

“Maybe,” she shrugged sitting down and turning her head to look at me, “but I should have warned/prepared them better for your arrival… Did you even sleep?”

I shook my head, popping another berry into my mouth, “Tried but couldn’t. Kept thinking about that mare.”

“Good morning, miss Dicty… Your Highness,” I turned my head around and raised an eyebrow at Incus. He walked around the resin table I was sitting at and sat down. In his magic was a pink, wobbly sphere of diluted liquid love. He separated the thing into three smaller balls and offered one to each of us.

Igniting my own horn I took a tiny piece of my sphere and pushed the rest back to Incus. He took it with a surprised look on his face and Dicty took her own with a nod and a ‘thank you’.

“Your highness?” I questioned.

He rubbed his hooves anxiously before answering, “After you left yesterday I felt bad for not helping you with the situation… And after you asked to be left alone I thought I should do something,” With his magic, he took a small blob of love and brought it to his mouth.

“And that something meant calling me…” Incus raised his hoof and I stopped waiting for him to swallow.

“I gathered up a bunch of us and we all had a chat… Chrysalis was our leader for a long, LONG time, but she… well… let’s just say that she left a lot to be desired…” Taking another ‘bite’ of his meal he continued, “Then you show up out of nowhere and immediately offer us food, severely draining your magic. You comforted Shelter, organised more guards to come and help keep us fed and safe while at the same time you are on your way to confront Chrysalis in order to make a better future for us.”

I was feeling slightly embarrassed about someone else listing things off like that, I just did what was right. Turning to Dicty I noted that she was looking at me while literally slurping on her own love ball.

“You could have stayed in Canterlot,” I turned back to Incus, “you could have fled Equestria, you could have gone and killed the queen without even bothering with us…” He shook his head sadly, “Any way you did more for us than you had any right to, we just thought that… well… if you will be our prince or king in the future, we may as well accept you now.”

…

I left for Badlands in a better mood after a quick chat with a few more lings that found me while I waited for Mantis and Drop to wake up. Even Shelter came to say a fearful but genuine ‘thank you’ and I got to boop the two nymphs on the nose before we left.

Just before our small team left Celestia sent us a note that a few more guards will arrive in three days, so that was another weight off my shoulders.

The weather was nice and sunny, the sky was clear, and all three of us were flying over the rock formations that made the barrier protecting the Badlands from the worst of the desert’s elements. Thanks to that shield of mountains, canyons, cliffs, and hills, the area once just as green as the rest of Equestria didn’t turn into the desert like San Palomino.

We didn’t chat much as I spent most of the time zipping around and exploring the crevices, finding goats (they didn’t talk), sheep (some talked, AND we got directions) and various other types of animals that I eagerly practised my shapeshifting on.

After four hours of straight-up flying, we took a break, ate, and chat about the work Mantis and Drop did, I was curious.

I reminded myself that there was an easier way to enter Badlands but with the detour… oh well.

“You know…” I poked one of the sheep we were passing by while walking up the mountain, “I could have shifted into a big bird again and carried us over.”

“We agreed that you need to save your energy,” Silent said after gliding over next to me, “now stop poking the sheep, we are almost at the edge.”

It took us six hours altogether to reach an area from which we could enter the barrier. Raising my head I looked behind me at the tip of the mountain looming over us while Mantis buzzed above me.

Blinking twice and cursing myself for not knowing the names of these locations as well as I probably should I shook my head and ran after my two comrades. We would have to walk another hour but soon we would…

‘Damn… I think I’m actually getting scared now.’

…

Looking over the entirety of Badlands from our vantage point was both depressing and exhilarating. It reminded me of the first time I look upon Equestria from the Canterhorn mountain.

The landscape itself had its own jagged beauty, but it was obvious that almost nothing in terms of vegetation grew there. Or at least, nothing immediately visible.

There were some splotches of green near the border with Equestria and a line where the Badlands began, almost like a border where suddenly green wasn’t allowed. And there, still visible even from where we are, is the hive castle of the changelings.

Black spires stretched into the sky, with black plates, corridors that looked like tubes, and strange hole-like segments, the whole thing looked like something H. R. Giger made up and it sent shivers down my spine. I couldn’t spot any changelings flying around it, even with temporarily improved eyesight.

“The no-magic barrier should be a bit further in,” Mantis landed next to me and Drop, “I suggest we fly a bit closer and walk the rest of the way. We don’t want Silent to, well, drop midway there.”

“I’d like not to fall to my death as well,” She snorted pulling up the enchanted parchment and writing something on it.

I just nodded my head feeling the dread and nerves building up inside me.

Shaking my head and pursing my lips I opened my elytra and jumped with a grunt forcing myself forwards.

“Let’s get to it then,” I heard their wings buzz/flap, “the sooner we get there the sooner we can put this behind us.”

Spine

“He entered the Badlands,” Scurry and I sat down in a small room underground. It took a few weeks to find and set up a place from which the resistance could work from.

A small dome house at the very edge of the residence section was chosen and a deep branching underground system was made. Someling originally picked out a dome house near the castle with the idea that there was no way someling would be that stupid to put the resistance so close to her, but then again noling was.

So far the complex of rooms served for two things, meetings and storage of weapons, armour, food, and other things.

“He? I’m assuming you mean the ascended,” I could hear noise from outside the room, but that was lings picking up and moving things.

I told my brother a few days ago that Chrysalis is closing in on them so the whole operation was being moved to a safer location. Noling is happy about it, especially since they have finally settled in, but it is slowly becoming obvious to most of us that fear of her is greater than our devotion or patriotism.

I couldn’t do anything to slow her down anymore either as she has begun to suspect me, to the point where I have hardly any power as the captain left. My influence was slowly and strategically stripped and I had to either take it or fully reveal myself as an instigator.

“Yeah. He and two more; Mantis and a thestral,” both of our ears perked up when several pings of someling’s magic passed us, but it didn’t feel like it was meant for us so we decided to ignore it.

“A thestral? Do they know about the field surrounding us?”

“I sent one of my faster lings to help them, but they should know about it, both Celestia and I have talked about the field previously and, as I said, Mantis is with them.”

In the silence that followed I listened to the noises outside, occasionally sending short pings to check on the lings around me. Ever since I left the castle I felt like I was being followed but couldn’t find any evidence of it. At least we made some good progress with crystal destruction (we did a few other things, but those crystals were imperative).

Of course, the destruction of the hate crystals has enraged Chrysalis to the point where was foaming at the mouth, and I enjoyed myself immensely watching it, but it became apparent that the nymph gloves were off. Hence, the relocation, for everyling’s safety.

Suddenly my brother stood up, ears perked, head tilted to the side and a deep frown on his face. I tried to follow whatever he was focused on but I was interrupted by a ling entering our room panting heavily.

“Scurry, problem,” She rasped, “two groups of armoured lings are closing in on us. They are definitely coming here!”

“Spine, get out. If they found you here your head will roll,” Both of them ran out of the room leaving me alone.

Taking a deep breath I ignited my horn and opened a portal next to me stepping through and appearing in a closed alley just outside the castle.

The queen wasn’t the only one who could do portal magic, but it wasn’t easy to learn and I'm limited to doing it once a day due to mana requirements. Biting my lower lip I shook off the illusion making my armour visible again and I made my way to the throne room. I need to find out how she found them… was I actually followed? Why didn’t I notice it?

…

“Who told you to make thAT DECISION!?” She screeched at the top of her lungs. The ling she was yelling at was one of ‘my’ lieutenants, Rhinos.

He was a bit of an idiot but with an excellent combat sense, but the only reason he became a lieutenant was his absolute blind loyalty to Chrysalis.

His bright red elytra opened up with a loud buzz as he jumped back in obvious fear, “But, but… I thought that you wanted them captured?” he chittered with a scratchy voice.

“Yes I wanted them captured, but that was AFTER we confirmed their identity and ESPECIALLY AFTER the traitor upstart has arrived!” Chrysalis’s mane billowed and her horn crackled ominously. I was sitting close to the throne so I had to shuffle a bit back to not get hit by a stray discharge.

‘Arrived? Oh-oh.’ I had to let Scurry know as soon as possible. I suspected that she kept an eye on Patchwork, but how did she find out that he was coming so soon? I frowned with my eyes jumping between Rhinos and her.

‘Wait, does she even know that he is in Badlands right now? We may still be ahead here.’

“Now you ruined it, made them retreat, did we even capture their leader? Do we know where their next location is!? Did you accomplish ANYTHING!?” I could feel my chitin vibrate with her power and I swallowed thickly pulling back further away.

Keratin, who was also next to the throne, on the opposite side of me, looked at her with wide eyes.

“W-we… umm… we did capture two of their cohorts… My Queen.”

There was a loud and ominous crack and Rhinos crumpled to the ground, his head twisted at a… disturbing angle and her horn blazing with power.

I looked at the queen with wide eyes and a deep, terrifying pit in my stomach. She never killed. Well that’s a lie, she killed plenty, but those lings were proved traitors that tried to endanger us or foolish challenges to her power. In over forty years that I have served her she never flat out executed a ling for incompetence, she always much rather strip them of power and shoved them somewhere, like digging the tunnels for resources. After all, incompetence in one thing did not mean the lings weren't useful somewhere else… even if ‘somewhere else’ I lethally dangerous.

The guards around the throne room haven’t moved at all but I could see their muzzles scrunch up in fear. A few lings along with Keratin that were in the room with us were also looking at her with mouths open wide.

Noling spoke or moved other than her.

“Weeks of setting things up, almost gone up in smoke,” she sat down casually muttering just loud enough to be heard.

“Spine, bring me those two that were captured, I wish to interrogate them,” there was an air of indifference around her as she casually ignited her horn and with a flash of magic Rhinos’ body started turning to ash.

“My Queen, should I organise some trained interrogators for….” I stopped speaking the moment she turned to look at me.

“What part of ‘I wish to interrogate them’ did you not understand Spine?” She lazily waved her right hoof in the air. “Mind you, my captain, you are already on thin ice as it is because of your failure with dealing with this resistance and now you even failed at stopping this idiot for nearly ruining my plans.”

“My apologies, my Queen, but I wasn’t in the castle when he…”

“And why weren’t you here, hmm?” She raised a left brow ridge questioningly, “No matter, bring me the two captured lings, and Keratin, do make sure he does it.”

“Y-y-y-yes, your Highness,” Keratin stuttered after shaking off his fear-induced shock.

Snorting in frustration I followed behind him leaving the throne room, ‘I have to do something now, too many things have gone in her favour. But what?’

CH 40 (best laid plans...)

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Spine

“Keratin!” I had zero interest in Chrysalis ending me today (or tomorrow for that matter) but if I had to shout at Keratin to move one more time I’m just tossing him out the nearest hole I find.

He was visibly shaken, and I could clearly see the thoughts swirling in his head with every step he made.

Chrysalis has permanently changed her status with this move for several lings, from a terrifying but relatively reasonable queen to a feared tyrant who you have to be wary of at every move because she just might kill you for scratching your neck wrongly.

Of course, I wasn’t dealing with it any better, but I have seen her swift degradation over the last few months so it was a bit easier for me. It didn’t fill me with confidence though.

‘And that’s not even accounting for knowing about the parasite in the first place…’

“Why… why-why-why-why…” I heard Keratin mumble under his breath while I led us into the dungeons.

I was about to open the wall into the prisoner's area when he cleared his throat.

“I wish to talk to you about what happened…”

I turned to him with wide eyes, “And you wish to discuss it here? In the open, do you want her to smite you?”

“But why would she just-”

“Keratin, the why doesn’t matter… at all. She did it, it’s not the first time nor the last, you will just have to accept that,” I ignited my horn and opened the wall leading into a fairly large room with several holes in the wall and two of their entrances covered in resin.

“But it does matter,” he jumped in front of me cutting me off his voice trembling, I frowned and stepped back, “Chrysalis never told any of us her full plan, she spoke up against this rebellion on several occasions and how they have to be stopped. And now, she just executes the one that acquired her two prisoners to interrogate despite the fact that he worked blindly.”

Circling around him while he talked, I used my magic to pull two resin pods out of the hole with the prisoners inside them. They were knocked out and podded, just as the procedure, and releasing them out to escape would be a non-issue for me, but how do I get them out without anyling raising the alarm?

“Will you please listen to me, Spine!” Keratin shouted and this time I looked at him, stomping my hooves in frustration.

“Keratin, nothing you say will change what happened.”

“It will get me answers!” His voice cracked with panic.

“Answers you will not believe in the first place!” I roared back at him gathering magic in my horn.

With a ‘crack’ the cocoons opened and with another flash the two lings started to stir groggily, their hooves wiggling about.

“Spine…” I could hear Keratin whisper taking slow steps back.

I worked quickly, rousing the two lings, and getting them to their hooves, while I tried to figure out how to get them out of here as soon as possible. The portal spell would be the swiftest, but at the present mana levels, I would be severely drained, leaving me open to whatever she would do to me.

“You are working with them…” I paid no attention to him.

“Stand up… hurry,” I nudged the two of them up with my nose. One of them didn’t recognize me at first but the other did, making sorting them out easier.

“Oh no…” I heard Keratin wheeze and when I turned to him I froze.

“Up… up-up-up-up-UP-UP!” Flaring my horn to maximum and opening several walls behind me I watched in horror as Keratin disappeared into a green portal and the wall behind him slowly opened.

Standing on the other side of the wall, and a disappointed look on her muzzle, was Chrysalis.

“I followed out of curiosity, my dear Spine,” She grinned wickedly, “I am glad you proved me right.”

I could hear the pounding of the hooves behind me, followed by a squeak of fear but I knew that if turned around to check I would be dead.

“She closed the wall,” came the fearful mutter behind me, and a quick ping told me they are both alive.

Taking two steps in and laughing menacingly, Chrysalis’s horn glowed brightly but she was just a moment too slow.

Closing my eyes after an immediate, terrifying plan went through my head, I fired a blinding ball of light at her eyes. It was unexpected and made the blast of magic aimed for my head miss but I still gasped in shock when the floor next to me exploded sending me flying.

Opening my wings before I hit anything made me slow down and stop after a buzz, and another un-aimed flash of my magic made her scream in fury. I heard two more grunts on my right and that told me where the two lings are and a quick ping confirmed their location.

Opening my eyes, I buzzed my wings propelling myself forward to the two lings scooping them both in my forelegs as best as I could, and, pushing my horn to its maximum, I opened a portal outside of the castle a few hooves in front of me. Excruciating pain flared through my entire head and along my back and I could feel something crack somewhere on me but it didn’t matter.

“SPINE!” I heard her scream and the ground behind me exploded with an electrical crackle pushing all three of us out of the portal to the other side.

I swore that the time slowed down to a crawl as I looked around me through the flying rubble; lings looking up at us with huge eyes and opened mouths, the two lings in my forelegs holding tightly, and a trickle of blood coming out of the mouth on the one in my right. I also spotted Mantis along with two more lings next to him.

I could see him mouthing something but nothing reached me and my sluggish body barely moved and then everything went to shit.

The portal absolutely exploded with power, and something struck me in the back making me lose the feeling in my hind legs and causing all three of us to spiral out of control smashing into one of the dome houses beneath us.

“Spine!” Came a cry from Mantis and then the ground trembled as a roar came out of nowhere.

Twisting my spinning head to look at the portal and trying to ignore my hurt… everything I saw Chrysalis flying towards me with her face contorted in rage and her horn and wings crackling with green energy.

‘Shit.’

Chrysalis?

I screamed in anger as I watched the parasite close in on Spine and his two charges without me being able to do much of anything beyond making her miss twice, only for the world to shift to the side and a scream of pain echoed around my inner sanctum.

Focusing on trying to find out what happened I was briefly overwhelmed by pain and I could see my body fly through three castle walls before embedding itself into one that didn’t crumble.

Chrysalis dug herself out with a grunt, landing on unsteady hooves, and shakily approached the holes she made. There was a figure standing there and I about cried with relief.

Standing at the entry hole my body made, tall and regal, was Patchwork.

‘He must have attacked when she was focused on Spine. Wait, when did he get here?’

There was a flash of turquoise fire and Chrysalis had to dodge to the side to avoid a streak of blue flying towards us but something else struck her making our whole world spin.

And another strike…

And a third.

Then Chrysalis shrieked and in a flash of green magic the area around us burst, launching debris everywhere and I heard a grunt to the left.

Both Chrysalis and I looked to a pile of rubble that shifted for a moment before Patchwork shook off the pieces of the enchanted stone that molded itself back into a wall between us.

“You…” Chrysalis hissed with venom and I could feel her horn thrum with power.

With a grunt of effort, a pulse of green magic washed over the floor and walls of the castle making everything start shifting and moving, and before I could even understand what was going on the entire section of the castle was fully opened to the sky.

Except there was no Patchwork, nor anyling else there. Just the open air and a large number of lings looking up at us with utter fear on their faces.

Chrysalis was breathing heavily, hatred bubbling up and making her body crackle with sickly green magic.

“You…” She snarled and I felt her use her senses to scan everyling within the area looking for Patchwork.

As she did that I saw the walls of the castle slowly closing back up and my lings fearfully backing away but Chrysalis didn’t pay attention to anything opting to fume and rage while she fruitlessly searched.

I was left there, in an unknown corridor of the castle, hope rising and I continued watching as my tormentor shook with barely restrained fury and a hint of fear.

Patchwork

In all my time in Equestria, in the entire history of ideas I’ve had over the years, this was the dumbest.

Galloping through the unknown corridors of the shifting castle, in an unknown direction I dived through any hole I could find in hopes it would all eventually lead me to the throne room.

I was never supposed to confront Chrysalis directly, I was never supposed to run through the castle (‘Jump over the guard, knock the other one back gently’), I was supposed to reach the Badlands, get to the castle (‘shove this one’), find Spine get him out and coordinate with his brother (‘knock this one back’) to set up the best-case victory scenario against Chrysalis. After that, we would get rid of the throne so that this place can work with more than just lackadaisical changeling magic.

‘Did I just circle around?’ Looking around I failed to notice anything that I would be able to use as a guide effectively convincing me that I was utterly lost.

‘How did I end up here?’ I scratched my head trying not to think about my rash decision to tackle Chrysalis out of the sky.

Sighing in exasperation I sent out a ping hoping to find someone friendly that would be able to help me. There were a few confused pings returning to me but they were then all drowned out by a roar of fury as the whole castle shook and a rage-fuelled ping found me.

“Why am I so stupid!” I shouted to the heaves making a mad dash out of my current location and through the first hole in the wall I found before Chrysalis reached me.

I tried to remember where the throne room was in the show but the only thing I could recall was that it was fairly high up, overlooking the Badlands and that it had a sort of window looking out (‘did it actually have a window? Question for later.’). With all those things in mind, I started climbing up through the hive.

The hive itself looked like a strange, organic beehive, with the feeling under my claws being something akin to firm rubber concrete. There were holes opening at random intervals and when some of the guards saw me when I was passing through they would either shout at me or just stare in confusion. I did have some of them follow after me but I managed to lose them.

Bursting into a massive room when a large hole in one of the walls opened I knocked out the two guards that immediately rushed me and only then did I notice that I actually found my target, the throne room.

It was a massive, circular room surrounded by deep alcoves and walls filled with holes, all black and green, and with a huge, elevated, spiky throne that stood a bit further from the center and closer to a thin resin window that took over a large section of the wall behind the throne.

Only then did I remember that in the original story there was no window… go figure.

“Patchwork!” I heard a shout from my right.

Turning my head towards the shout I saw Mantis and a skinny changeling with lime-green elytra run through a hole in the wall that closed behind them.

“Stupid buzzing idiot!” The other changeling marched straight into my face, “Do you have any fucking idea how many weeks of planning you ruined?”

“Scurry, relax, he saved your brother and we reached the throne room.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw another ling enter the room, and then immediately duck into one of the crevices.

“And I am grateful for that, but it doesn’t change the fact that we are now swimming in a dung pool up to our necks,” Scurry stomped his hoof looking at me.

“Whatever,” I waved him off, which only seem to piss him off even more, and approached the throne, “all we have to do is destroy the throne and we got one thing done at least.”

My ears perked when several hoofbeats reached us and I could see Mantis mouth ‘oh buzz’ before we were surrounded by at least twenty armored changeling guards.

I honestly thought our odds were good when a powerful ping reached me, and I could feel a pit grow in my stomach when not only did I recognize it, but it was getting closer.

“Guys…” I started turning around, “we need to sort the throne… oof!” I grunted being shoved back by a tall mass of chitin.

Chrysalis arrived, and the consequences of my actions finally caught up to me.

CH 41 (confrontation, pt1)

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Patchwork

‘Even if you don’t, always try to act as if you have all the right cards in hoof,’ With that little lecture from Celestia firmly bouncing around my head I straightened up and shook myself off.

Chrysalis and her guards just kept standing there, no one made a move, no one spoke... it was unnerving.

I expected her to sneer, to rage, to attack me flat out, or even laugh maniacally, but she just stood there, horn crackling and wings buzzing. The only thing that gave any indication of her emotional state was a thick, heavy cloud of hatred rolling off of her in waves.

Steeling myself and taking a step forward I opened my senses while being careful that I wasn’t absorbing anything.

I was immediately relieved that I sensed two distinct emotions, the parasite, and the warm glow of concern and relief of the real Queen. The emotions carried something like what a fingerprint is and I reminded myself of what Mantis said a while ago: anyone trying to get a sense of Chrysalis was punished.

At a glance I noticed that more and more guards were entering the area making our chances to escape drop every second but looking at them, I doubted they would attack without an order. All of them looked confused, shocked a combination of two, or on alert, but their stance wasn’t aggressive.

“Parasite,” I nodded my head in greeting making her frown and grit her teeth, while some of the guards I could see gaped at my brazenness.

I could see Scurry out of the corner of my eye; he was doing something with his wings catching the attention of the guards in front of him, but I wasn’t able to see their reaction.

“So, the traitor of his own kind finally shows himself,” She raised her head looking down at me. “You who work with ponies, dance to their whims, have you come to shackle us all with their chains of ‘peace’?” She started pacing in front of me like a predator, eyes on me and me alone.

I frowned, feeling unprepared for this kind of engagement, she was perfectly willing to attack me when we were alone, but now she is pulling this off? Was she… Ah, she is probably set this up so they see me as an interloper and a traitor rather than anything else. A feeling of gratefulness washed over me for Celestia and the dreadfully boring lectures she gave me. Hopefully, I won’t mess up too much.

“Yes, well, we wouldn’t be in this position if you led our race with any sort of decency and reason,” I shrugged sweeping my claws over the guards in front of me, “Look at them; starving, frustrated, trodden on and… is that armor even maintained? Surely if you have done such a bang-up job as a queen, you would - “

“You dare question my leadership? My rule? Have ponies enslaved you so fully?” She hissed at me. Glancing to the side I saw that Mantis has moved in my field of vision mouthing ‘stall her’ to me.

“I’m not dancing to anyo-ling’s tune, or enslaved for that matter… And honestly…” I swept my gaze over the guards surrounding us,” What have the ponies done that is so bad? Have they attacked you? Have they challenged your sovereignty? Do you see a pony stand here in front of you or do you see a changeling?”

She laughed, “Pointless questions from one that has so thoroughly betrayed his own kind.”

“I’m not talking to you here,” This time I sneered making her bare her teeth at me, “I asked them!” I pointed my claw at the guards all around me. I now saw Mantis repeat some of the positions of his wings that Scurry did the moment the Mad Queen looked away, and it dawned on me that it was a message.

My surprise must have been showing as Chrysalis finally looked at the two of them her eyes suddenly small like pinpricks.

“There is someling in there…” came a whisper from the guard behind me.

I swiftly looked at the guard that whispered and following him I looked around as murmurs slowly started rising in vocalized shock almost like a wave. I don’t know what those two said with their message, but I could make a guess and with a nod, I decided to do something bold and stupid… but probably just stupid.

“Long ago…” I took a step towards Chrysalis enjoying as her face went through a bevy of emotions, “There was a queen. She led her changelings with love and compassion.” Both Mantis and Scurry looked at me like I have lost my mind. “But she was young, she was inexperienced, the whole race of changelings was new so she was scared. Scared and worried that she might fail her lings.” I started building my speech, and some storytelling hoping that the magic of this world worked as it did in the cartoon and make them feel the truth.

Chrysalis reared her head and laughed but to my ears it sounded like she was barely restraining herself, “Yes, and then I learned and grew, leading the powerful race of changelings out of the rut we were in. Honestly, what are you hoping to accomplish with this tale? Hmm?” That… backfired a bit…but I still had -

My ears perked as a steady, faint pulse reached me. A changeling ping with its origin being Chrysalis, but on a different frequency than her. It took a second to recognize it but I felt a grin forming when I did, and I had to quickly steady myself so my emotions do not draw attention to it. Chrysalis was so focused on me that she didn’t even notice but looking around I manage to spot a few guards who, with wide eyes and open mouths nodded their heads to every single beat.

“Lead them? When you, parasite, took over the real queen’s body you practically cut our population in half from the hatred you were leaking. Even now, you are pouring so much of it out that no changeling would be able to survive here if they tried to feed.” I raised my head as much as I could hoping my voice would reach everyone, “When did all of you get so blind, that a changeling stands in front of you practically oozing the one thing that is outright toxic to us and none of you question it?” Lowering my head I looked directly at her eyes, “Or have you all gone deaf as well that you cannot recognize the ping of the Queen when she begs to be heard?”

It started with Mantis and Scurry, first one then both of their ears perked up, twitching to the beat, and they looked at Chrysalis with wide eyes. Then I could see the guards around us focus on it, and lastly, Chrysalis looked down on herself.

I smirked seeing my victory slowly being written along the face of every guard in the room causing lings to point hooves, mutter, or in some cases shout questions hoping to get an answer from the one being that was currently looking at her chest with horror.

“Who are you?” Came a question behind me. It was just loud enough to be heard over the building cacophony with a frightened squeak coming from the ling when I turned to face him. He was the one that hid in the shadows before this whole mess started.

“Name is Patchwork. A pleasure to meet you,” I waved at him and he waved back with an unsure smile. “I’m just a changeling hoping to make things better. And you are?”

“My name is Keratin, and I am…” He looked behind me and his eyes widened with his ears splayed back and I cursed to myself.

I didn’t even see the flash of her horn (but I did hear the feral scream that came with it) before I was tackled by someone to the side. There was a massive explosion, launching us in every which direction (with my savior still clinging to me) followed by screams and shouts of panic and debris falling all around us with a thick smoke covering the area.

Raising my head all I could see through the smoke was a green glow and a crackle of energy coming from the center of the room along with two brightly glowing eyes that were focused solely on me.

A blast of energy struck her head from the right making her head jerk to the side with barely any discomfort from her face and that gave me a few precious seconds to teleport from under the ling that tackled me and into a better position. I felt my mouth drop and anger start to boil when I looked at the scene in front of me.

I was standing a few meters to her left and my eyes were glued to the huge hole she made and the pile of smoking bodies that surrounded it. I made note that it was Mantis that tackled me (and he was thankfully still breathing) and that Scurry was trying to get Chrysalis’s attention along with some other guard lings.

I took a deep breath, centered myself, exhaled, and turned to Chrysalis.

Scurry

She wasn’t even trying to fight us; it was more like she was trying to even comprehend that we were attacking her with everything we had. I was never a magic fighter; I was an infiltrator for a reason and I was cursing every second of it.

The room was still fairly full of changeling guards, some ran, some were just frozen wither fear of indecision, and some of them were making sure that the injured were moved from the battlefield, and that stupid idiot that was supposed to save us just stood there gawping!

There was a flash of light and a crack of magic on my left.

I found myself on my back, with my ears ringing and my brain trying to figure out what happened and why I couldn’t feel my left foreleg.

Moving my head side to side I saw that I was a few barrels away from my previous location (with a smoking crater next to it) and that there was a familiar-looking trail of green leading up to me.

Shaking my head of the dizziness, I cast a pony spell that would hopefully prevent me from keeling over in pain and started getting up on my three good legs grunting and panting all the while. I used a nearby stalagmite for balance bracing myself with my leftover shoulder.

I looked around trying to find Chrysalis when the explosions started flying for real.

Pinning my ears to my head to drown the shouting and the noise I saw a ling run up to me with a frown and tackle me making the pain flare up to the point where I almost lost consciousness. I did manage to see that a large boulder landed where I was standing a moment ago.

I could feel someling drag me out of the line of fire and then I saw Chrysalis fly through one of the walls with Patchwork in hot pursuit. If my eyes still worked correctly, she didn’t look too good and that made me happy.

Patchwork

I had Luna’s bracelet on my right arm and it was projecting a shimmering shield absorbing one of Chrysalis’s magic blasts. It was interesting how different she was from Celestia.

While the current monarch of ponykind liked to solidify her magic into weapons more than beam fire, Chrysalis was completely the opposite preferring to just throw magic in the forms of beams, bullets, and occasionally aimed detonation. She did pack a punch though.

‘Focus…’

I could feel the bracelet heating up swiftly and I jumped to the side to avoid another blast giving it time to cool down.

I never put in the effort (or never found the actual time) to get more familiar with it, and while it did frustrate me, right now it didn’t matter.

‘Focus!’

Ducking under a spell beam and using my magic to modify my left claw I buzzed close to Chrysalis while she was charging up and threw a wide swipe. She ducked to the side making me rip off some of the hive wall behind her but it placed her in a wonderful position for an uppercut with my unmodified right making her stagger.

While I had the bracelet on, I was limited in what I could do in terms of shapeshifting as it was too dangerous to roll it around while I did so… I did not know if I could keep it on me mid transformation or even after.

Spinning around I capitalized on her stagger and kicked out with a hind leg to her chest pushing her back making her grunt in pain and stumble. She managed to stay on her legs though and, as I was trying to continue my attack, she shook her head and with a flash of light, she was gone through a portal that closed before I was able to grab her fully by the tail.

Looking at the strands of green hair in my claws I ground my teeth, a good opportunity wasted! I could feel a shout of frustration building up but I was able to hold it down.

I did manage to do some decent damage to her with a surprise attack while she was focused on other lings, and the scuffle that came after it kept her off her footing, but with the bracelet on it didn’t amount to much. The fact that she was so full of openings and that her face was constantly contorted like she was waging another battle told me that the true queen made herself a nuisance to the parasite.

‘Which meant I just managed to fuck up both of our efforts!’ I fumed making the air around me ripple.

“The throne!” It finally dawned on me what I missed and I turned around galloping towards the nearest hole. I had the perfect opportunity to tear it down and I screwed up… again!

Galloping and buzzing my wings as fast as possible I passed by some changelings that were covered in green splotches and I slowed down making my gut twist.

I tried not to think about how many lives were lost when she started blasting at me but I took solace at the fact that I was able to get her away before she hurt more of them. She would pay for every changeling she injured…

‘Focus Patch, you are trying to save the other one, remember?’ With that thought I tried to remember how to get to the throne.

…

Slowly, and finally, entering the throne room for the second time, I first made sure that Chrysalis wasn’t there, and then I looked around.

The throne room was empty, with splashes of green blood and smoking craters being the only indicators of the clash, and by the look of it, as the blood was slowly absorbed and the craters were repaired, it wouldn’t be long until this ever-shifting castle looked good as new… it was rather creepy.

My ears twitched at the orders to evacuate reached me through the hole I entered before it closed and a new one opened right next to it. Shaking my head morosely I made my way forward.

I think I got maybe ten steps in when a portal opened in front of me and Chrysalis stepped out.

She looked even skinnier than she already was, with green energy crackling through her entire body. Her horn was vibrating with power and held in her magic, next to her horn, was a pitch-black crystal the size of my head.

There was a barely perceptible glow coming off of the crystal for another few seconds and then the whole thing crumbled into dust.

Her eyes followed the falling debris for a moment before looking at me and a malicious grin split her muzzle as all the chips and cracks I made on her body started to heal. Her chitin also started to create a sheen of green energy on it like a shield of sorts.

‘So that’s what the hatred crystals were for…’

Deciding that it was a liability for now I took off the bracelet and placed it around a stalagmite next to me. The a-m ring was hidden away in one of the alcoves that Mantis assured me was safe and I had a plan about getting it around her horn, but first…

Time for round two… And this time there would be no surprise attack to give me an edge. She looked to be in complete control this time.

“So, ‘Chrysalis’, what’s the plan after all of this?” I started circling her slowly saturating the room with my magic. It wasn’t easy, and there was some resistance but I managed. It did give me an idea though.

“She put on a thoughtful look while tapping her chin with a hoof, “Hmm, after I dispose of you? I intend to parade your corpse in front of Celestia as I finally move to take over Equestria.”

“Do you honestly think that changelings would follow you? After all of this?” I snorted waving my claw at the leftover damage that is slowly being repaired.

“They won’t know it,” she lowered her stance along with her horn. An unhinged grin split her face, “After all, I’ll make sure that noling would tell the tale of what happened here.”

There was barely a warning before a beam of concentrated magic aimed at me was fired.

Shifting into a xenomorph and pushing more magic into boosting my reflexes and reaction time I managed to dodge (the beam cut through the walls like it was made of paper), and, using my agility, I managed to swiftly close the distance by jumping from rock to rock. I had to change course a few times as she tried to pre-empt me, but I was faster like this.

I managed to get close enough to her to send a quick swipe with my tail but it was stopped by a green shield she put up. Ignoring my momentary panic at the fact that she can cast shields (‘why wouldn’t she!?’) I shifted into a hell knight and brought both fists down creating a web of cracks and making her grunt in exertion.

Pushing more energy and resin into it, I increased my size and weight slightly and pounded on the shield again cracking it only for her to dip through a portal under her.

There was a faint ping from the true queen behind me and I shifted into a black owl dodging the mana bullets that were sent after me. While it wasn’t dark here it still gave me a small advantage.

Pinging back as a thank you, I smiled when a frustrated scream was followed up by a reckless blast of magic. My joy was short-lived.

I shifted into myself trying to gain more maneuverability but something heavy, covered with a green glow, landed on my back, pushing me down and cracking my elytra. The pain made my head swim, but I was still able to feel my wings which was good. Before I reached the ground I managed to roll just enough to the side to clear the boulder before it crushed me underneath, but my lungs were still painfully emptied when I bounced off the floor causing me to wheeze.

Propping myself with my right claw on the rock that nearly crushed me and trying to catch my breath I stood up coming to the conclusion that I may need a top-up as well if I was to continue this. Following up on the previous train of thought if the castle is made out of material that constantly fixes itself and seemingly regenerates, what would it do if I turned it into resin? After all, I was almost empty. I started pulling my magic back into myself and focusing it entirely on the rock next to me, I need to mold it a little bit before I can use it.

“Chrysalis, Chrysalis, Chrysalis…” She was approaching me at a leisurely pace, kicking away at a few pebbles at me that were in her way with malicious glee, “I carried that name for centuries. It never felt like it… fit.”

“So what now? You will rename yourself now?” I grunted, ignoring the pebbles, taking a deep breath, and settling my rising panic before it could take root. It won't do me any good if I lost myself to fear.

“Why not? Maybe it’s high time I did…” I was suddenly yanked by my neck to her snarling muzzle, "I am Queen Husk, for that is all I will leave of you and this world once I am done here!” She smashed me into the ground making me yelp as my cheek cracked, and then threw me back into the rock I saturated to the point where it was glowing blue. One of my elytra fell off with a sickening crack but at that point… well I wasn’t thinking right now otherwise I’m sure I would be quaking in fear.

I picked up the elytra that fell off and fixed it back to myself along with the rest of the damage. I still had plenty of magic left thanks to all the training, but I was out of resin now, and I couldn’t waste the mana on transformations.

I was far from defeated, but I needed something extra to even things out as it was becoming fairly obvious that I was just as much out of my depth as I was with Celestia... and this would, hopefully, even the odds. Thankfully shifting my claws into something stronger took a negligible amount of mana and I shoved my clawed hoof as deep as I could into the shifting material.

“What are you doing?” She asked quirking her head to the side. Her obvious confusion stopped her advance.

“Doing something stupid,” I grinned focusing my magic on the chunk I pulled out with my claws before I shoved it in my mouth. It was still solid enough that I couldn’t chew it, but I did manage to swallow it. I had an inkling of an idea of what might happen but the pain that followed wasn’t it.

“This is your plan?” I heard her, but the tears of pain and heavy nausea made the world around me swim. “To poison yourself before I could kill you?” A large hoof was placed on the side of my head and began applying pressure to it, “If nothing else it brings me some joy knowing that you suffered before your demise. Your stupidity does take some bite out of it though.”

Raising my claw I sharpened one of the talons and jabbed into her leg on my head piercing the chitin on the second try. There was a shout of pain and a kick that launched me away but with the way I felt right now, I almost didn’t feel it. I didn’t even know where I landed as I tried to get to my hooves frantically.

There was some hope though, it was agonizingly slow, but I was able to feel my magic adapting, changing to process the lump I shoved into myself. It made my stomach curl in on itself, I wanted to vomit and the cramps were excruciating but it was working. It did dawn on me now though that this whole damn area was swimming in hatred and that it might have tainted my magic.

‘Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid…’

Another flash of green magic pulled from the rubble and threw me to the side smashing into the wall and sliding down to the ground with the bracelet and the stalagmite I placed it one landing close enough for me to reach it.

‘That might work,’ I took the bracelet, stood up, and with a buzz I launched myself into the nearest tunnel I could see through my teary eyes. She is playing with me, but that meant that I still had some time before she got tired of it.

“You know, Endo was a greater challenge than you are,” I heard her leering voice on my right. Using the bracelet I shielded the attack thrown my way but instead of dissipating the impact like it did the first few times, this time I was shoved into the wall by the force of the spell. The bracelet was drained, however, the last of the shield absorbed the impact. I couldn't waste any more time, I had to do this now.

‘Isolate the hatred, remember emotions are energy with a frequency saturated in magic,’ I thought as a burp bubbled out and I almost threw up but I managed to keep the chunk of the castle inside me. I did end up curling up when my whole body convulsed as it tried to remove the foul emotion. Using the bracelet’s absorbing ability to remove the hatred I tried to keep the only thing that was of value

“Pathetic,” came the mocking voice in front of me.

It was when the haze started lifting from my mind and when Chysa – Husk was visible again that I noticed my gambit worked. The cramps slowly receded, the pain ebbed away and the bracelet in my claws was glowing sickly green magic.

I blinked, teleporting to the side and dodging a blast of magic, and another blind teleport got me further away to give me some time to figure out what happened and if it truly worked.

“I am tired of these games, whelp!” She yelled loudly enough for me to hear. I prayed that I was far enough to give me enough time to sort myself out… again.

Looking around me I was in a small room now with four changeling guards huddled in a corner looking at me with wide eyes. Ignoring them I focused on myself.

In my stomach was now a lump of resin swishing and twisting like a snake making my stomach churn uncomfortably but not painfully. Using some of that resin to make myself taller I was pleasantly surprised when the small chunk I took started regenerating very slowly, and fully reform when I shifted back to my original size. Honestly, I could live with the discomfort… for now. The ramifications of what I just did would probably catch up to me later, right now this was gold.

“It worked! Fuck yes!” I whooped causing the four guards to flinch and move further away from me as far as the room allowed making me squeak out a sheepish apology.

I smiled, then frowned when I noticed that my mana reserves were half full and I was feeling tired and hungry which meant that I was on the back hoof and needed some love if I was to actually do what I was supposed to do.

A random hole opened to my right and I stepped out leaving the changelings to mutter to themselves as I made my way to the throne, again, with my mind calm and collected… again, only to run into a limping Mantis of all lings, along with two others I didn’t recognize.

“Patch, what in the name of all things insane is going on?” He shouted at me. I noticed that half of his indigo-colored elytra is missing (with a pink glow coming out of the hole for some reason) and that his right side was severely cracked oozing blood in several places.

“I’m making my way to the throne room…” I looked at him as an idea burst into my head like a lightbulb, “And I have a plan.” I grinned.

“Are you out of your buzzing mind!?” He screeched wincing when his wings tried to buzz. One of the diaphanous wings had a hole in it.

One of the lings huffed, “Mantis we are wasting time, we need to get out of here before we are caught up in this nonsense,” moving forward he ignited his horn and opened a hole in the wall making my jaw drop.

‘Okay, the first point on the list after this: learn how to do that!’

My injured friend looked after the ling that left making a motion to the other to leave as well before he turned to me.

“Patch, this whole thing has gone beyond control,” He pleaded, “we need to get out, sort it out because otherwise - “ I shut him by grabbing his mouth and keeping it closed, he wasn’t pleased with me.

“Mantis, I dug myself too deep to just run away. I cannot and will not, let her do this any longer,” I removed my claw off his mouth and he opened it to protest, “I won’t hear It. Either hear me out, or I’m doing this alone.”

“What do you want?” He growled through grit teeth after a moment of thought.

“You can still contact Silent Drop from here, right?” He nodded his head, “Good, I need you to tell her to send a message to Celestia the moment the throne is down, got it?” He nodded again.

There was a shockwave of a ping that ran through both of us causing me to shiver and Mantis to start shaking, ‘No more time!’

“Tell Celestia to come the moment the field is down; I’ll take care of the rest!” I got up to move but he grabbed me with a hoof.

“What the buzz are you talking about, can’t you defeat her!?”

“Not sure, but we are running out of time… By the way,” I shook of his hoof, “do you know where I can recharge on love?”

He looked at me for a second before opening his ruined elytra with a hiss of pain pulling out a pink love pill covered in green blood.

“The only one that survived. The others lost the safety enchantment and got spoiled with hatred when she tried to blast you.”

Smiling and swiping the pill from his hoof I threw it in my maw before pointing at a hole that was open for the past two minutes. The taste of ling blood made me shiver in disgust but I had bigger fish to fry.

“Get out of here Mantis, right now she was just playing with me.”

“That doesn’t fill me with confidence,” He snorted limping away.

“Don’t worry, I got this.” I gave him a thumbs up before I turned around and sprinted forward.

I could feel myself getting invigorated with energy, my thoughts clear up completely and the bruises I didn’t even know I had healed up.

‘Okay, round three bitch!’

CH 42 (Confrontation, pt2 and... victory?)

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Patchwork

I felt actually confident for the first time since I entered the Badlands, running through the hive trying to find either C - Husk or the throne room (even though at this point I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure where it was). A few leftover changelings tried to stop me, some even fired at me on sight but I either just jumped over them or took a different route. I’ll deal with them when the score is settled.

Luckily or unluckily, while springing through a familiar area of the castle, I ran into Husk.

She was hunched over, slowly draining another hatred crystal held in her magic, and it was becoming obvious that her body, even after centuries of being powered by hatred, was not able to handle the strain anymore. The holes spread even to her mane and tail, with clumps of her mane falling off, and a piece of her horn crumbling to dust. She seemed to pay no attention to it though.

Frowning I ran at her, tossing the bracelet to the side and transforming into a triceratops, piercing her elytra with my upper left horn, and carrying her trashing and screaming form through the hallway, the hatred crystal dropping with a ‘clink’.

Howling in pain, she started twisting and turning, hitting me with her flailing hooves in hopes to dislodge herself before she stopped and pointed an ignited horn at me. I panicked, transforming into myself, and turning my head to duck to the side, but all I got was a flash of VERY bright light. I grunted as sensory overload nearly fried my right eye and I had to slow down as my field of view was cut in half.

I stopped, rubbing gently with my claw at my teary right eye while using my left to find her. She was not far from me, shaking her head and turning to face me while blinking rapidly.

She was also fixing the hole I made in her wings, and the moment her eyes focused she fired several mana bullets at me. A portal opening to her left drove me to action and I almost forgot about my eye.

Dodging the bullets I dashed at her before she disappeared on me again and with two quick flashes I went from a cheetah to a xenomorph, closing the distance in a leap, making her eyes go wide.

Tackling her again, we tumbled through the portal and I tried to get a few swipes with my tail but with a twist, she rolled me around and I hit a wall with my back driving the air from my lungs.

With two quick strikes to my head with her forehooves, she got me dizzy enough to loosen my grip allowing her to wiggle away from me. She began lowering her head, her horn crackling menacingly, and I transformed into myself, drunkenly diving to the side.

Wheezing and panicking I shoved her without thinking breaking her concentration and causing her to discharge her spell into the wall launching us both into the air with the proximity of the explosion.

I didn’t travel far, bouncing of the opposite wall and landing in a heap with my ears ringing and my head pounding, but I was in a prime position to see her shakily stand up and leave the small hallway we ended up in. I had enough foresight to cover my eyes and ears with my claws to protect them from the shrapnel.

Opening my right eye once the world stopped spinning and finding out it wasn’t damaged, I cheered internally and stood up shaking off the ringing and the dizziness. A few shaky steps forward and I had to sit down as the world started spinning again. I felt a few cracks along my chitin that I had to fix while I tried to get my lungs to work properly again.

‘Breathe, in and out, settle down… and… go!’ I stood up and made my way out of the hallway only to deadpan when I found out that she is gone, again, and that I was lost… again!

“Okay, that’s it!” I muttered angrily to myself flashing into a Tyranid Tyrant Guard (no horns or anything extra on the carapace) and expanding my senses to the maximum.

The moment I located Husk a few rooms down I started running, quickly picking up speed and before I knew it I was smashing through the walls like a battering ram. An angry, out-of-patience battering ram.

When I reached the room she was in, I barely managed to register the second hatred crystal that she just tossed to the side before she tried to blast me with magic. Luckily, my carapace was thick enough that I was able to tank two blasts before I had to dodge but it gave me a chance to see where I was and that the crystal she tossed still had a good amount of hatred in it.

The room I was in wasn’t familiar but it was spacious and, based on the various weapons on the wall, I assumed it was the castle’s barracks... training grounds? Doesn’t matter. She didn’t waste time putting the weapons to use.

With her magic, she grabbed two large swords from the nearest rack and charged at me while also lifting any other weapons she passed by and throwing them in my direction along with a few magic blasts.

I had to flash into several smaller and agile forms (otter, cats, and some birds) to dodge all the incoming projectiles, especially magic ones, and I thanked whatever lucky stars that evasion was something that always came easy to me. But you cannot dodge forever and sometimes you had to take a few punches.

Continuing on the Tyranid line I flashed into the Hive Swarmlord, barely feeling the weapons bounce off my carapace, absolutely dwarfing Husk, and brandishing four swords fused to my four arms. I almost scraped the ceiling of the room with my back ridge but thankfully I still had plenty of room to move and I felt giddy when on a quick check I noticed that I still had a decent amount of hive resin in me.

I did feel a small amount of respect for Husk when she didn’t even slow her charge but her wide eyes did give away her surprise. She swung her swords and I did mine.

With a quick swipe of my upper arms, I smashed through the two swords, and with a downwards swing of my lower two, I tried to crush Husk.

She managed to dodge the swords by jumping to the side and casting a shield to protect herself from the flying debris. She did fire a quick blast of magic that managed to shove me back but I barely registered any pain.

Roaring, I regained my footing and charged at her readying my swords.

A crack of magical energy was all the warning I had before a powerful blast of her magic was aimed at my center mass but Husk could never realize just how nimble this form could be.

Pushing some magic into my upper left blade and sharpening it, I twisted my body to the right making the attack miss, and, taking a sideways step forward, I swung the sword in a wide arc. With my size and position, the blade made contact with the side wall but passed through it effortlessly, cutting into it without stopping or slowing down.

The spherical shield she swiftly summoned was so thick that I couldn’t see her inside it but that hardly mattered as my blade struck, severely cracking the shield, and launching her to the side and through the wall.

Shifting into myself I followed after her with a buzz of my wings only to growl angrily when I saw the portal close in the distance four rooms away. At this point, I could reasonably guess her plan, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to match up at some point with the hatred crystals recharging her as they did. But she couldn’t have many of them left. I landed in a long hallway she disappeared in and stomped my legs in frustration.

According to the guide Scurry sent to get me and Mantis here, she only had five of the hatred crystals left, and a quick count in my head left me with two intact ones remaining.

“Right, either take down the throne now or lose everything,” I mumbled taking a deep breath calming myself, and opening my senses. It took me almost a minute but I managed to find two strong sources of hatred and two smaller ones close to me. I had to strain myself to find them all in such a large castle, but I was able.

The two smaller sources were the crystals she never got to fully drain. Then there was one source far behind me, and another above that… moved!

I grinned buzzing my wings and launching myself down the first tunnel I saw keeping my senses open and climbing upwards as quickly as I managed.

…

‘The throne room again!?’ I took careful, measured steps forward swiveling my head left and right with my eyes trying to take as much of the room as possible. She wasn’t here, but I sensed her above me.

Frowning I decided that now or never was the moment to strike.

But before I could even move, a body wreathed in energy crashed down just in front of the throne cracking the ground around her and bringing down a shower of dust and rubble.

“You. WILL! DIE!” With a buzz of her wings, Husk revealed her shimmering carapace, fully charged if my senses were correct, and pissed beyond measure.

“Sweet merciful gods, just give me a break,” I sighed immediately jumping to the side with a yelp to dodge a beam of concentrated magic. ‘No more games, right…’

Husk screamed in fury as she fired blast after blast of magic, barely giving me a moment to even try and get closer. I shifted into various forms to try and give myself a chance for a counterattack but there was no end to the barrage. I was managing to advance ever so slowly.

While in the form of a raven I had to skid to stop mid-air nearly getting my head blown off by one of the aimed beams of magic and that was all the chance she needed to hit me.

I did manage to transform into the Pokémon Golem before I was hit, allowing me to absorb a decent amount of damage and smashing into the wall behind me. A quick fix of the crack in my shell where she struck me, and a shift into a Zergling I swiftly hopped away before I was stuck again.

“Stand, STILL!” She howled, enraged, swishing her head from side to side sending out a wide beam of magic that acted like a whip. She continued sweeping her head in wide arcs and I soon found myself at the receiving end of a net of magical rope that cut up everything in its path.

Xenomorph form was too big and too long so I used the only other option I had, a Genestealer. Using this more compact form and my magic to enhance my agility and reflexes to the maximum (giving myself a headache to boot), I started dodging and weaving through the net losing two claws in the process by rapidly closing the distance.

Just before I managed to get close enough to strike her, she lashed out, raising her head high and with a scream a wall of magic slammed into me, painfully shoving me into the air and back to my starting position.

I managed to stick the landing transforming into myself but her attack left her wide open. Taking aim I modified my throat to give me some extra protection and opened my mouth wide.

The first bolt of lightning that came out smashed into a flickering shield and immediately shattered it with an explosion, leaving Husk exposed, jaws open wide in shock. The second bolt made me wince in pain but it struck her dead center; It didn’t crack her carapace but the shimmer disappeared from it. The impact did launch her back however, making her hit the throne with a resounding crack.

I coughed shaking my head and massaging my throat and that gave her enough time to get up on shaky legs, with her right hind leg cracked and bleeding from the impact.

I took aim again, throwing caution to the wind and a plan on my mind when she took aim with her own horn and a snarl.

The bolt I fired was weaker than the first two, but it still caused my throat to burn painfully and cramp up.

It was faster than her attack though, exploding close enough to her that she stumbled back, closing her eyes when the debris started landing.

Taking my chance I sprinted forward as fast as I could at her, and at the throne.

At some point, she backed up and was nearly touching the thing and in the few moments it took for me to close the distance, I managed to realize two things: one, the throne had several long cracks on it that were clearly visible, and two I wasn’t fast enough to reach either her or the throne without retaliation, but my mind, still working faster thanks to the boost from my magic, came up with a quick and dirty solution.

Husk opened her eyes and aimed her horn at me and I jumped forward pulling my right arm back while my left was placed in front of me as a shield. There was a quick flash of fire and magic and my brain couldn’t handle the overload anymore making the adrenalin take over slowing things down.

My left arm grew thicker along with my entire carapace absorbing the blast of her spell, cracking at several places but staying whole. I managed to swing the injured arm to the side shoving her to my left just enough while my right arm, now looking like an ultralisk claw and strengthened to the maximum of my abilities, made a wide swing aimed at one of the cracks on the side of the throne.

I struck the throne, my eyes shut closed due to pain in my head and then everything exploded launching me through the air. Husk screamed loudly enough to be heard from the detonation and I felt something hit my back before I blacked out.

Silent Drop

I was bored out of my mind but on high alert. Two decades of guard training along with regular stealth missions assured me that I would be ready to move at the snap of a branch or the flutter of a leaf. It didn’t stave off the boredom of waiting though… or the frustration that followed.

I glanced around my area while I waited, pacing the length of the shallow cave I was in.

The cave was secured on the sides and the top by jutting rocks making it safe enough from prying eyes unless they knew where to look. The entrance was facing the road into the Badlands which meant that the hive was at my back.

Of course, the changelings could sense my emotions and find me that way, but I had a few alarms set up for just such an occasion. If needed I would be able to blast out of here with a good sprint and a few seconds away my magic would be back allowing me to fly again.

I was just under the anti-magic bubble of the hive with my saddlebags lying on my left propped up against its wall. On the ground on my right, written on a thin plate of green crystal that changelings use for long-range communication, was the hastily scribbled message from Mantis to wait for the bubble to drop and to contact Celestia immediately afterward.

The note also managed to roughly explain the ludicrous situation that ended up tossing the entire plan into the trash bin, causing me to panic for a solid minute before I was able to calm myself down.

‘One day, Patch! You couldn’t last one measly day!’ I snorted.

Although, after following Patchwork around, and keeping an eye on him for almost a year, I shouldn’t be surprised that he jumped in blindly the moment somepony was in danger. Even if it was a little thing such as somepony tripping he would be the first one to offer a hoof.

Shaking my head slowly and smirking I sat down looking out at what little sky I was able to see.

‘It’s been almost thirty minutes. What the buck are you doing Patch?’

I stood up and started pacing trying to get a feel for when my magic would return and I almost missed it. It was such a subtle change after spending thirty minutes here that it took me several precious seconds to realize what happened.

Without thinking I pounced on my saddlebag cursing at myself for not preparing sooner. There was a flash of green behind me and I turned to read the message before I tore the saddlebag open with my teeth.

Scurry

I was leaning at the door of the house, the illusion I threw on myself making me seem like I was just a random curious ling, wondering at what the buzz is going on.

In actuality my head still felt light, my missing leg hurt like Tartarus (the medical resin helped but only a little), and the cracks in my carapace itched but it was far and away better than what my brother went through.

He was missing both of his hind legs from the hock down; half of his elytra was sheered off and one of his wings was gone. The other wing wasn’t any better. The spiderweb of cracks that covered his chitin was just the cherry on top. There were four lings in the house behind me closing his wounds with resin while enough love for a cocoon was gathered.

I was watching with a frown as the stream of the guards running out of the castle turned to a trickle and now most of them were just standing staring at it. Some flinched when a particularly powerful explosion sounded off and some of the braver ones ran back in for, whatever their reason was.

I saw Mantis at some point run out and fly away with a green communication plate in his hooves and I could string together a general idea of what he was up to.

Turning around and limping to the house I shouted through the door, “I’m heading out!”

“Are you crazy!?” One of my lings yelled at me angrily, running up to me and grabbing my shoulders before I made my move, “You should be resting as we told you!”

Looking around to make sure that none of the guards were paying attention I looked at the ling in front of me, Troch.

“Mantis just left the castle with the com gem, I need to find out what’s going on,” I pushed him off and left before he got a word in.

Opening my elytra and flinching at the pain from the cracks, I buzzed up and in the direction Mantis left.

I was lucky that I was above ground but even then the shockwave from the detonation shoved me unceremoniously forward and the sound wave that followed probably ruptured my ears.

I landed face first and tumbled, the pain and jostling knocking off my illusion and making my teeth grind in pain but someling helped me stop. Again, I was lucky that, other than the ringing in my ears, I was able to hear other lings around me shout.

I gave my savior a ‘thank you’ even if I didn’t recognize them and a gasp along with a hoof pointing up got me to look at the castle.

I was just barely able to spot a changeling-shaped blur flying out of the front upper wall and that’s all I focused on. It looked very much like Patchwork.

Barely taking enough time to glance at the massive layer of cracks spreading at the top of the castle and the smoke coming out of the back, I jumped to my three hooves with a hiss.

Before I knew it, I was flying through the air at the smoke rising from one of the nearby housed love reserves.

“Lucky buzzing idiot!”

Patchwork

“…lucky… idiot!”

Everything hurt.

“Mantis!”

Where… What…

“Move! MOVE!”

My eyes were open and everything was swimming…

“YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!”

That… got me to snap my eyes open, lucid, and alert. I wasn’t aware when I stood up as my body felt like it was floating, but I was well and fully conscious when I tipped forward and landed on my snout, the pain of the fall jolting my body awake.

The agonizing stabs got me to curl up, making me fully aware that my shell was in a catastrophic condition, the broken pieces grinding together making my teeth itch on top of it. Buzzing my wings only made a squelching sound which caused the pain to flare up even further and I decided that staying in one place, on the ground, was good enough. But not just quite.

Taking two deep breaths I counted to three and stood up as gingerly as possible.

The small action only made my world swim and I sat down lowering my head and wheezing at the pain. One… two… on the third dry heave I threw up removing the still wiggling hive resin which was oddly covered in… pink?

“Pink?” I mumbled as the world got back into focus.

I was covered in it, and a quick lick identified it as love. Diluted love, but love, nonetheless. While it did diddly in fixing the damage to my carapace my body did absorb it, and it was probably the only reason I was even awake and almost full of magic in the first place.

“Patchwork!” The shout got me to raise my head.

‘That is… so many changelings…’

They were everywhere, huddled in groups, on the walls and roof of the dome houses, on the ground, and in the air. Everywhere… There was a respectable distance between me and them but the sheer mass made me feel rather anxious. And all their eyes were pointed at me.

“Patch!” My ears perked at the squeak of fear.

“Mantis,” I turned to my left spotting Mantis slowly moving back, body shaking and his pony-like eyes wide as saucers.

“Run!” Came the shout from my right and I had barely enough time to put a large shield protecting all three of us.

Thanks to the love I absorbed and the fact that I never used too much magic in the battle against Husk… ‘HUSK!? Jesus Christ!’

Using my magic I cleared the dust that swirled around us and raised another shield.

“EVERYTHING!” The guttural scream shook the air around me. “Centuries of work! Centuries of this pretend game!” Another blast of magic came, this time shoving me and the shield back but I managed to hold without cracking. “Centuries of ruling these witless IDIOTS!” Someone yelled ‘scatter!’ and the mass of lings started running for the hills including Mantis who scrambled as away when Husk’s horn started blazing.

“EVERYTHING!” I grit my teeth and closed my eyes as the blast of magic hit my shield, cracking it but not braking. Digging my claws into the dirt road to anchor myself I waited until the attack stopped pouring more mana into the shield. I was a third of my mana down when her magic stopped.

Opening my eyes I was finally able to see her.

Husk was standing on the ruins of a crumbled home, her shell in complete shambles. Blood was dripping from the numerous holes and cracks that ravaged her body while in some areas whole chunks of her carapace were missing. Her exposed flesh was pulsing with every jerky move.

By some miracle, her elytra looked intact, and her wings whole, allowing her to buzz angrily with every step she made.

Her left eye was not so lucky, with a long shard of obsidian sticking out.

Beaten and bruised, but not yet defeated she stood in front of me, snarling and fuming, as her horn (still whole somehow) sparked. I had no idea anymore how deep her pool of mana was and I was too late to realize that I was shaking in fear.

But not enough fear to stop me… not yet!

“Witless!?” I shouted the question back at her, along with sending a weak magic beam made to distract her until I gathered enough strength in me to move.

“Yes, Witless!” She used her cracked hoof to slap my magic to the side, “Spineless!” She threw a magic blast my way that shook the shield I put up, “Useless! Foolish! Annoying! Stupid! FOOLS!”

Every shout was punctuated by a spell blast. Every spell was followed by a buzz of her wings and a step forward.

I tried shielding myself but it became obvious fairly soon that the enraged ‘queen’ wouldn’t just drop dead. At some point I got my body to cooperate and I started dodging and firing my own spells at her.

“They are none of those things!” I argued back, jumping to the side with a yelp when a beam of dense magic cut through the ground next to me, “They aren’t yours to be used and discarded…” I dove behind one of the houses when a spell beam nearly sheered my mane off, Husk in pursuit.

“They are mine to do as I see fit!” I heard her as she just bulldozed through the house, covered in a shimmering green shield. “These ungrateful vermin wouldn’t be able to feed themselves let alone protect one another if it wasn’t for me!”

Changelings were ducking and diving along with me. She wasn’t specifically trying to hit them, but she wasn’t overly concerned about their well-being either slinging her spells at me indiscriminately. I had to take a detour several times because her spellfire would put other changelings in danger otherwise and after a minute of ducking, diving, and dodging I had to face the facts; she wasn’t stopping for anyone or anything.

Throwing myself to the side to shove another changeling out of the firing range, we both smashed through a pile of crates just as another house was demolished by Husk.

Standing up on unsteady hooves I noticed that the ground was littered with wood and… fruit!

Grabbing as many foodstuffs as I could in my magic I started weaving between the houses, popping a piece of fruit whenever I had a chance. It didn’t matter if it was poisonous or not at this point, in it went without any pomp or fanfare.

“Where are y~ou?” I heard her singsong a fair distance away. I didn’t even dare to use any of my abilities out of fear of her noticing me. “Where are you!?” She shrieked and the ground shook from a detonation. Then she went quiet.

“You wanted to protect these ingrates, right?“ She suddenly taunted and I felt my gut freeze when I heard a yelp that wasn’t hers. “Well!?”

‘It’s a trap… it’s a trap… it’s a trap,’ I chanted in my head but it was no use. When a crack sounded off followed by a scream all I saw was red.

I still had plenty of magic left, and I had only a tiny amount of resin from the food I just ate, but if I could last another ten minutes I’ll have more.

I sent out a quick ping, making sure that she could find me, and I started climbing the houses trying to think of a plan that would hopefully work.

The moment I cleared the ‘roof’ a beam of magic struck it, exploding and sending me along with pieces of roof flying.

Twisting around in the air, still very much pissed and shaking from adrenaline I managed to land on my hooves atop another nearby roof skidding to a halt. Husk was flying in my direction at top speed covered in green fire.

“Bitch! What did you do to them?!” I opened my mouth and took careful aim, screw the consequences!

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she yelled back moving in zigzag making my aim difficult, but not impossible. I knew how fast my little trick is.

I fired my lightning bolt just as she released a spread of spellfire that curved around it, followed by her summoning a quick shield that didn’t last a millisecond before detonating in her face.

I was coughing up blood due to strain on my throat, but I still had enough fortitude to put up a shield around me, protecting myself from her attack but not the roof I was standing on.

No wings meant no flight, and I dropped along with the rubble, but thanks to the shield I held, I was able to avoid further damage to my delicate carapace. I did have enough resin for a quick fix.

Patching up the worst of the damage and using all the resin I had at the moment, I dropped the shield and dug myself out of the ruins.

I should have been better prepared though.

A powerful blast of magic detonated next to me, tossing me into the air and showering me in shrapnel with something sharp hitting my left arm.

My arm felt numb for a split second, and then it exploded in pain, which only got worse when I landed hard, tumbling down the street. I skidded to a stop next to a small group of nymphs along with two adults who immediately started herding them away from the battlefield, their panic making my own rise up.

“I missed,” I heard Husk tsk, the clack of her hooves becoming louder by the second.

Lifting my left arm as much as I could I found a long sharp piece of shrapnel that pierced through it, just below the elbow. I could feel new cracks that formed on my carapace, but other than that… it… I still couldn’t give up.

Standing up, on my three good legs I started nosing at the little nymphs that lagged behind not even thinking about Husk. I should have, but I was tired. Tired and bruised.

Absentmindedly I raised a thick shield to block a magic blast but offered no resistance other than that.

“Pathetic,” she spat, “all that power wasted on the likes of you.”

“Better on me… than a cunt like you,” I muttered out but with no bite to it.

Charging up a half-assed spell, I was going to fire it, but then I changed my mind and dug deeper as my horn started crackling, with my spell growing along with my determination.

Suddenly Husk’s eyes widened as she put up a triple-layered shield and a golden beam of magic struck it, shoving both her and the shield back several meters.

I could feel the magic in my horn fizzle out as I lost my concentration in shock. Celestia flew over my head throwing spell after spell in wild abandon and both relief and exhaustion caught up to me making me almost drop to the ground.

A small whimper coming from the right made me straighten my back and out of the corner of my eye, I could see the small group from before huddling in a corner.

Turning my head to actually look at them, I noticed that the two adults had several cracks on their carapace and that their elytra were damaged.

‘That’s why they didn’t run,’ I stood up and started limping toward them, but I froze when an explosion shook the ground near us. I dove at them on instinct forming a shield around us to protect everyone from the debris.

Once the explosions moved away I felt two taps on my shield and our little impromptu huddle perked our ears.

Turning to face whoever was tapping I saw four changeling guards, one of them with a few cracks on his shell.

I dropped the shield.

“Is everyling alright?” The ‘tapper’ asked and my group started disentangling from each other.

“They are all safe sir, please watch over them,” I bowed and then turned around to leave.

“And what in great, green fires are you going to do in your condition?” One of them asked incredulously as my group was swiftly led away to safety by two other lings leaving just the three of us. At least I hoped they will be safe.

“The same thing that I came here for in the first place, sir: to help.”

All three of us looked up as a bright explosion lit up the sky and something black started falling down.

I turned around and was about to make my way toward the danger, but I was grabbed by my tail.

“Sir, I must insist,” the ‘tapper’ held my tail in his teeth, “you cannot go in your condition.”

“Then patch me up if you can, but I am going there regardless,” I told both of them.

…

The joint areas were fixed, the spike from my left arm removed and the hole plugged up with what they called medicinal resin. No idea what constituted the medicinal part but the pain receded enough that I could, somewhat, run.

I weaved as fast as I could between the domed houses making my way toward the fight that was finally winding down. I did stop here and there when a call for help was given or if I spotted someone that needed it.

It took a few minutes but the spell fire stopped fully as I rounded the corner of the street reaching Celestia and Husk just as their fight concluded. There were supposed to be houses here… and lots of them, I passed through this area when I arrived in this ‘city’. Now it was only rubble and ruins.

Husk, finally beaten, and in even worse shape than before, dragged herself up from a crater to her cracked hooves, her wild and unfocused eyes looking every which way until she spotted me. Three hatred crystals floated behind her, held in her magic for a few more seconds before they dropped with a quiet ‘clink’. When she got them, I could only guess.

“You!” She hissed, spittle and blood flying everywhere.

Her horn started crackling only to sputter out a few sparks. She looked up to it, her eyes going cross-eyed before she tried to light it up again.

“Gah!” She stomped her left foreleg causing the already cracked chitin to splinter further, “I’ll use my own hooves if I have to!” She took a wobbly start, only to trip and fall, muttering obscenities all the way.

I lowered myself into a fighting stance just to be sure, and Celestia landed right next to me a moment later. I noticed that there was a piece of her peytral hanging loose.

We both watched for almost a minute as Husk tried to get up on her legs, screaming, swearing up a storm, cursing us and every other living thing that she saw in front of her. Which included the changelings, who managed to find the courage to come out of their safe spots and see what all the raging was about.

“Patchwork?” I was nosed on the side by Celestia. “Are you all right my dear?”

Tearing my eyes from an increasingly disturbing display I turned to Celestia. I did notice that a large number of changelings were starting to gather around, but if their faces were any indication, they weren’t happy. There were a few of those unhappy faces pointed at us as well.

“I’m… fine.” I tilted my head to the side with some confusion at Celestia’s concerned face, “I think I’m on some form of pain medication of sort otherwise I don’t think I would be standing.”

I didn’t even blink and I suddenly found myself in a tight hug by both hooves and wings, a tiny sniffle escaping her, “Thank the stars!” She pulled back just enough for me to see her teary eyes, “When I got the message from Drop I did my damnest to get here as fast as possible.”

“Just in the nick of time too,” I chuckled, which got me another tight hug. I did grunt, some pain passing through whatever was coursing my system but I was… happy, relieved, and happy that it was over. For now. I returned the hug with all the strength I could muster.

“Here, I brought something just in case,” Celestia pulled out a bright pink pill from inside her peytral as she was wiping her tears away with the side of her hoof. Tears aside, she was smiling though and I caught a few changelings looking at us in complete stunned silence.

“Thanks, I…” My ears perked up and I turned my head, along with many other lings and Celestia, towards Husk.

She was lying on her side, clutching her head in her hooves and her repeated mutterings were getting louder.

“…no-no-no-no-no-nO-NO-NO-NO… Not now! Not… Stop… stop-stop-stop-stop-stop…” She continued muttering. The force with which she was pushing on her head was actually starting to crack the chitin on her face.

I had… an idea of what was happening, and opening my senses only confirmed it, but right now, I was out of ideas. I know I told myself that I would save her, or try to, but I had no idea how.

Her muttering had gone quiet though, too quiet and I swore for a moment that could hear something else in the whisper.

I took a step towards her, only for a white wing to immediately snap open in front of me.

“Patch…” I moved the wing gently to the side and hobbled forward, only then noticing that I carried the love pill in my left claw. It could wait a moment.

Other than the light wind blowing there was almost no sound around the area. No buzzing of the wings, no movement, not even a pebble. Which only made the quiet whispers become easily audible when I got close enough.

“Don’t you dare – get out – no – mine – my body – parasite – you need me – worthless – get out…” on and on it went. Until I got close enough for her to see me. Then the screaming actually began.

Trashing and screaming, yowling, and hissing, two voices and a whole mess of confusion. If this continued she would severely hurt herself but when both voices shouted ‘LOVE’ in unison, one half of the face bearing nothing but pure fear and the other hope I jumped to it without thinking.

I pounced, Celestia screamed my name making a mad dash for me if the sound of hooves was any indication, Husk was hitting me with whatever she could and I lifted my claw carrying the love pill and violently shoved it in her mouth breaking several of her teeth and clamping her mouth shut with both my claws.

She struggled for about a minute, screaming through a closed mouth until Celestia used her magic to hold her down along with six other changelings that joined in when trashing really began.

I was panting, my body hurt again, I was scared and confused but I did not want to let go.

And then she just… froze.

…

“Celestia…” I spoke, my voice shaking.

“Yes?”

“I… I need a shower.”

CH 43 (after the storm? Some more rain)

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Patchwork

Celestia left thirty minutes ago and according to her, she would be back in one week with help.

She would bring aid from Equestria in order to assist with fixing this mess and the food issue that has only been made worse by what happened today, namely, during the battle several of the large love reservoirs have been completely ruined by spells or lost to hatred Husk was leaking.

We are VERY low on love now and from what I was told it will only get worse if we/I don’t find a solution in the meantime.

So… now… I’m alone here. Drop is supposedly making her way to me, but until then all I have is Mantis to be the only friendly face in the sea of chitin.

‘I think I’m going to be sick again,’ I felt my claws twitch and my neck cramp, I felt nauseous I…

“Sir?”

“Yes?” I scraped at the ground but showed no other sign of my inner turmoil.

“Are you okay?”

I looked up and took a deep, long breath, ‘Think happy thoughts, Patch.’

I looked at the ling next to me, Keratin somehow survived the whole ordeal without so much as a scratch, and, though he took a bit of talking to, he offered to help keep things sort of organized.

“I’m just peachy,” I sounded manic, in whole honesty I blame the last hour on it, “Did we get an estimate at how much love we have left?”

“Well… umm…” Keratin was tapping his hooves together while looking rather anxious. I could not blame him. Everyone – ling, everyling, has been walking on eggshells around me ever since the fight stopped. Unfamiliarity with me and too much of Husk’s bad leadership is making them think I will start raining down punishments just because they don’t give me a good answer.

“If we dilute it further, two, three days. We need a lot of it to help the injured lings,” Scurry spoke up. He has been with me the whole time making sure that there is at least someo – ling was here that was… recognizable. It made the others listen to me more readily.

“Two to three days, two to three days…” I muttered, “What about the other podded beings you use to feed on? What’s their state?”

“Their state?” Keratin looked confused, “They are podded, we can use them as long as possible and as long as we are careful about it.”

I pinched my brow in frustration, “I need information, Keratin? What is their physical condition? Are they young, old, starving… Are we going quality over quantity? Are they… why are you looking at me like that?”

Several lings around me, including Scurry and Keratin, were looking at me like I lost my damn mind. I probably did if today was any indication… I didn’t even get my shower yet.

Scurry took the least amount of time to shake off the confusion, “I’ll go find out. Usually, the queen doesn’t care about it as long as we get love out of them.”

“Good, and please bring a report on it, I work better when I can see the numbers,” He nodded, buzzing away towards the castle.

‘One hour and I didn’t even move from the damn place,’ I looked behind me at the puddle of blood Husk was lying in just twenty minutes ago. She was shoved in a small love pool in order to keep the parasite as weakened as possible… if that was even working.

…

After action report.

I was sitting down at a resin table in front of the castle ‘gates’ while I waited for Scurry to find somewhere I can hole in. I am NOT using the castle for anything else other than giving the homeless lings a place to stay for as long as they need to.

Picking up the green light crystal fixture next to me (a thin resin stand with a green, glowing crystal on top of it) and pulling it closer so I can see the report I started reading.

One hundred and seventy-six obliterated houses, ‘Need to be made from scratch.’

Seventy-five houses that can still be used as a base for building, ‘But otherwise useless.’

Five hundred and forty-six houses that are missing a chunk or are barely holding together.

And… everything else was manageable. Over two thousand houses needed minor repairs, but that was it.

‘How the fuck did she feed all these lings?’ I read in shocked silence.

Shaking my head I continued.

Seventy-five dead-

I smashed the resin table I was using without thinking, breathing heavily through grit teeth. I wanted nothing more than to find the love pool that we stuck Husk in and twist her neck until…

‘Air… air…’

…

‘Okay… casualty report later…’ My arms are still shaking… ‘Fuck.’

…

A soft knock woke me up. It took me a moment to realize that I was on the ground looking up at the ceiling of the house they let me stay in… a dead ling’s house. I don’t even remember looking around it much in the first place, I just entered and threw myself at the paperwork.

I rolled to my side and stood up shaking myself off like a dog before stretching, ‘Don’t think about… what’s done is done, work on making it better.’ My ears twitched as raised voices came in through the closed window.

Looking out through the green tinted sheet of resin I saw two groups of lings arguing at the front door.

One side was with me, the other against, I tuned out the actual words as otherwise I would probably just crawl under the nearest rock and pray for Armageddon. I did feel better about the fact that the side arguing for me was bigger than the other.

There was another knock and the door opened.

“You should come and eat at some point,” Mantis spoke up, “You need the resin. I don’t think your carapace will survive for long otherwise.”

‘I really should eat something…’ I looked myself over, tracing all the cracks, chips, and holes that have been leftover since yesterday. I never got to fix them, there was always something else to do that was more important.

I heard the shuffle of parchment behind me and I turned around to see what he was doing before I refocused back on lings outside, “Seventy-five dead, two hundred and twenty-one injured and critical, and one hundred injured…”

“Did you even sleep?” He asked moving up to stand next to me.

“Just woke up on the floor actually,” I shrugged, watching the argument continue. “Did Drop arrive? How are our love stores?”

He was quiet for a moment; I couldn’t see his face so I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“Drop is with Dicty, they are arriving tomorrow along with the lings from those caves, and our love stores could be better. Thanks to your help we have a bit of extra love, but you must be drained, you should -”

Hooves were being pointed at, and arguments turned into swearing and charged horns.

“Good, keep me posted,” I ignited my horn and teleported in the middle of the two groups just as a rock was thrown. I caught it in my magic and settled it on the ground before it could hurt anyone.

“This is all your fault!” I pinned the ears to my head, but otherwise, I didn’t move a muscle as the shouting continued. I let them vent for a good few minutes, the cacophony becoming harsher and louder until a second rock came sailing through the air, hitting my ribs. It was dead silent after that.

‘At least a week until Celestia arrives with help…,’ I groused to myself picking up the rock that hit me off the floor with my right arm, ‘Could use some advice now.’

“Just so we are clear,” I lifted the rock and waved it over my head towards the angry folk, “I am not okay with throwing rocks at each other… Or magic for that matter,” I let the rock drop before sitting down. “Now, I have no problems with you all telling me what the issue is but arguing like this isn’t going to fix anything.”

“There wouldn’t be anything TO fix if you didn’t show up!” Someone shouted.

“Yes, you are right, because there would be nothing left of changelings when someone with a bigger ax to grind came after you,” I spoke up feeling dreadfully tired already.

“Our bubble would have protected us!”

“Like it did now?” I raised an eyebrow. That got them all to shut up, “Let me make something perfectly clear, just so we are on the same page, I am FULLY aware of what I did. But I don’t think any of you are realizing just how tight of a rope you were all walking on.”

Some of them looked confused, but I carried on regardless.

“That bubble was the only, the ONLY thing keeping you changelings safe from the world, on this continent,” I pointed my index claws to the ground for emphasis, “because stars forbid if you all were anywhere near the griffons or dragons, no one on this planet would even know you existed. That’s how fast you all would have been exterminated.” Some of them started to mutter until a voice in the back shouted.

“Our queen would have protected us!”

“From whom?” I spread my arms around showing them the houses around us, some still smoking since yesterday, “From me? From the pony princess?” Quiet, again, “Don’t kid yourself, if you walk out of Badlands undisguised there isn’t a single being outside that would hesitate to either chase you out or attack you on sight, and you can thank your ‘wonderful’ Queen for that. Changelings are hated, considered parasites, and a blight to any civilized nation on this planet without anything to provide worthy of note. Nothing beyond bare bones society and even if you showed the other beings what you can offer, most would have considered it a pathetic attempt at mimicry. Thanks to your ‘Queen’ the changelings could have disappeared off the face of this world and the only thing anyone else would think is ‘thank the stars’.” I ignited my horn, causing everyone to flinch, and teleported back to my room, picking up all the scattered parchments and then teleporting out.

“Now if you excuse me,” I continued not giving a crap anymore, “there is work to be done. I want to at least make sure that this race, my race, has a future in which I won't have to hide my daughter out of fear for her safety… or son, I’m not picky,” I shrugged shuffling all the reports in a neat stack with my magic. “Does ANYONE ELSE, have ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY!? NO? GOOD!” I walked at the angry lings fully expecting them to push me to the side or attack me. They opened the way through and I picked up the first report off the stack and started looking through it, ignoring everything else. I gave zero fucks about the other group behind me.

‘I need to find out how they dilute the love and what is the percentage… Resin stock is also low… need to also contact Shield… ten pools of love were ruined by hatred; we need to clear them up and use the other ones…’

Day two… start.

…

“Captain’s log; star date… something, something, numbers,” I was twirling a feather in my claws, my head was resting on the side of the desk and I was staring at the hive castle two houses down, “it has been ten thousand years – “

“It’s only been four days here, Patch –“ Silent spoke up next to me. I could hear the shuffling of parchment in her hooves.

“… It has been ten thousand years and I have begun hearing voices…”

I heard Scurry sigh, sitting opposite of me “He’s doing it again, he’s doing it again…” He muttered to himself. I could imagine him rubbing his temples, and a quick glance got me to see his right foreleg bob in a familiar motion. It did get me to smirk, but it was a brief, feeble thing.

“It isn’t that bad, Patch, pull yourself together,” Mantis was sitting next to Spectrum on the opposite side of the table. The chief infiltrator was fairly quick to join us after I explained myself.

“Fifty-five lings left, Mantis,” I murmured loud enough for him to hear. The feather slipped from my claw and I watched as it floated down, falling on my nose. I snorted, blowing it away. I felt miserable, “Who knows how many more will leave.”

“Well, you are getting us fed, Celestia should be arriving by the end of the week with the way things are going. The houses are getting repaired and things are being sorted out…” Scurry mouthed off, clearly displeased with me, “Yet you are the only one moping about it.”

“You cannot please everyling, sir, you said so yourself,” Spectrum added.

“Fine… those are the good things, and there is plenty of them, but there is just as many bad ones -” I raised my left claw to count down only for Drop to interrupt me.

“And you are going to focus only on the bad stuff and disregard the good?” I could see her raise an eyebrow at me in my mind’s eye.

Turning my head around, but still not lifting it off the table, I looked at the four people that were helping me with the reports and the paperwork. Other than Scurry (who was in a sour mood as his brother’s condition worsened (he’s hanging by a thread but still hanging)) everyone else was looking at me sympathetically.

“Fine…” I snorted lifting my head and straightening up, “Is Keratin here, I wanna send for some gatherers.”

“I doubt your magic has recovered since yesterday,” Mantis looked at me over the scroll held in his hooves.

“I took a sip of love this morning so I should be good to go for another day,” I picked up a scroll from the pile and dove in.

The sun would be down in a few hours and work kept piling up.

‘Things aren’t that bad but it's not getting better. Celestia never told me how draining this could be,’ I looked at the scroll in my claw, ‘Still less than a hundred dead… a lot of angry lings and absolutely no improvement on Husk’s/Chrysalis’s condition.’

‘If video games taught me anything, especially strategy games, it’s that we are tittering on resource loss, and it’s only a matter of days,’ I am a stopgap measure at this point, but I was feeling drained and I could feel a part of my shell weakening. ‘Soon I’ll have a hole, my first one in well over a year… Not sure if it's hunger or lack of resin though. I don’t actually feel hungry yet.’

I raised my head and took a deep breath… Time to get back to work.

CH 44 (awake)

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Dicty

Every… ling, was working, fixing the domes, bringing materials, helping the injured. And I was taking a well-earned break.

Sitting on the roof of a house overlooking one of the largest construction sections, I watched as Patch did his best to help. It took five lings to move what he did on his own, even with no transformation.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed someling landing on the roof, and a quick glance confirmed it as Scurry.

“Are you here to yell at me as well?” I asked him, taking a peek at his missing leg as he hobbled over to me.

“Why would I do that? You hated it here, so you left,” it took a bit of work, but he managed to lie down next to me with a grunt, “I hated it here and I made regular runs to Equestria.”

“Spectrum yelled.”

“Spectrum is a decent ling, but not very bright,” he scoffed.

“But he’s right though, I should have done something more instead of just… running away,” I raised an eye ridge when I spotted Mantis approaching Patch with scrolls held in his magic. I was far enough that I could see Patch slump in exhaustion.

“I don’t think he slept in the last five days,” Scurry rubbed his chin with a forehoof.

“Who, Patch?” My ears twitched at the worried tone of his voice, “He doesn’t need much sleep in the first place.”

“Just because he doesn’t need much sleep does not mean he isn’t getting tired,” Scurry shrugged, “but back on topic; running away seems like a viable strategy if you look at my brother and how he ended up.”

“How is he, anyway?” Spine was a good… replacement, it would be a right shame to lose him.

“He’s, doing well, my supplies are completely dry, but he will make it,” his face had an odd mix of emotions that I couldn’t place.

“Supplies?”

“Doesn’t matter and… is that a pony?”

I turned my head to where Scurry was looking and I had to stifle my laughter; Twilight Velvet, looking like she went through Tartarus, and two beat-up-looking lings just strolled through the leftover ruins.

“Patchwork, honey!” I heard her shout to get his attention but that wasn’t necessary.

Patch looked at her like he saw a ghost, eyes wide and jaw hanging open. I wish I was closer so I could see the details, but I did bust out laughing when he just dropped.

“For the love of…” I heard Scurry mutter before flying towards them, I was too busy laughing my flank off.

Mantis

“Are you out of your mind!?” I shouted at Velvet as three lings moved Patch’s unconscious body to the side and away from the construction.

“I could ask him the same question?” She pointed a hoof at Patch. I wish I had claws like him so I could pinch my nose in frustration.

“Are you out of your mind, pony!?” Scurry shouted landing just next to me. I could see his eye twitch.

“He just asked me that,” She threw her hooves up, and… was she angry? What in the world?

“Velvet, why are you here?” I hissed at her my eyes darting around as we started to get more and more attention. The other lings looked like they didn’t know what to do, first it was the thestral and now this.

“Patch needed my help, so I came to help. And I got a fun adventure out of it with these two,” She pointed at the two nervous-looking lings with her horn while she approached Patch’s unconscious form. He was probably asleep at this point, he needed it.
She lifted his head with her magic and gently placed it on her barrel, “You all can go back to what you were doing, I’m going to take a nap, it wasn’t easy getting here after all.” She made a shooing motion with her hoof, and I felt right eye twitch.

I could hear Scurry take a note from Patchworks book with a quiet ‘what the fuck?’ and I was considering just picking her up and shaking her until I got some proper answers. Dicty interrupted whatever was going to happen next though.

“All right, all right, everyling get back to work, show’s over!” My sisters shout got everyling to stand at attention before going back to whatever they were doing. I could see Velvet’s ears twitch from where she was curled up but other than that it became clear that she was out like a light.

Turning my head to look at my sister (after I figured out that Velvet was asleep) I noticed a smile on her face as she approached us. I could also just barely see Scurry as he was grinding his teeth while looking at Velvet.

“That mare is something else, isn’t she?” I could easily tell that she wanted to laugh about it with a few uncontrolled giggles bubbling up, “At least it fixes one of our problems.”

It took me a second to figure it out, but then I scoffed, “I truly doubt that one mare could feed our entire hive.”

“One mare, no, but she loves Patch with all her heart, and we also have the ten guards from that cave. It’s not ideal but…” She turned to look at Velvet and I did the same, “A willing pony can give more love than an unwilling one and if nothing else,” Dicty shrugged, “it will help improve pony–ling relationships.”

My sister was right, of course, but that didn’t change the fact that what Velvet did was beyond dangerous.

A flash of green got me to look at Scurry who was feeding off of Velvet, “What are you doing?” I tilted my head to the side in surprise as he smacked his lips with delight.

Dicty just shook her head, “I’m gonna get a few gatherers, just gonna tell them to be careful about it. Patch will lose his mind if we hurt her in any way.” This time I shook my head as she started walking to the castle.

“Are you sure you don’t want to be a captain again?” Scurry shouted after her making me facehoof. Her twitching ear and tail were the only reaction.

Silent Drop

I landed on one of the spires that dotted the castle and waited until a hole opened up for me to enter. It took about five minutes, my stomach growling while I waited. I was looking forward to trying the two lizards I caught not far from the castle; I knew they were edible if you remove the poison sack.

The moment a hole opened I jumped through and into my little slice of the castle. Nopony entered this area or even patrolled close by, so I had unfettered access to this room.

The small room had everything I needed, and that was a cloud to sleep on, space for my saddlebag, and a bucket… I missed plumbing.

Taking what tools I needed from the saddlebags, I got to cleaning and cooking my dinner. Some lings HAVE offered me their food, but it just wasn’t up to my palate; there is a lot they needed to learn about cooking.

Setting up so that the prepared lizards were cooking over a strong heating crystal, I rifled through my saddlebags looking for the quill and the book for communication with Celestia.

I told her about the current situation with Velvet (‘that mare is insane’) and Patch as well as the current situation with the love stores.

The response I got wasn’t exactly optimistic.

<I am glad that Velvet is safe, her family was worried sick when they found out she was missing.

As for us arriving, I am afraid that the nobles have caused quite a stir. They will be sorted out eventually, but in the meantime, I am not leaving Patch without aid.

White Light, along with some of his colleagues, should be arriving tomorrow; he has a few ideas on how to help.

I would also suggest that you talk to Patch and send a group of lings over to us as I’ll be able to get some volunteers who would be willing to help.

That is all I can do for now. Please apologize to Patchwork in my name and, please, keep an eye on him.

Princess Celestia.>

‘Well, that’s gonna make things difficult,’ I clicked my tongue tossing the book to the side. I ate my dinner without much thought and went to bed shortly after. I'll clean the mess in the morning.

…

“Well, that’s just brilliant,” Scurry frowned, making a stomping motion with his missing leg causing him to stumble. Day six just started and I already have a feeling it wasn't going to end well either.

“It’s not all bad,” Dicty shrugged, “White Light has been studying our kind for years now, he should be able to help us to some degree.”

I was sitting in the shadows of the house that served as an impromptu hub listening to the meeting of the ‘leaders’; Dicty, Mantis, Scurry, Keratin, Spectrum, and another ling that joined us this morning representing the locals, Ponera, a massive she-ling that must have been using some growth spells. There is no way a changeling can get that big without being a royal.

The meeting was taking place outside of the house, so we don’t wake Patch or Velvet. There were a few lings that tried to talk to the exhausted royal, but Ponera has been adamant that he takes proper rest. She is one of the few lings that eagerly welcomed Patchwork and his methods.

I watched as she shifted causing her silver elytra to shimmer in the sun, “I do not care who comes so as long as they are willing to help,” Her heavy but smooth voice was loud enough that my ears twitched every time she spoke.

“Of course, you would be all for it, I am not so willing to be ‘studied’ though. We need help to push through this not lessons,” Spectrum grumbled, and I could see Keratin agree with a nod and pursed lips. Out of six of them, Keratin was the least vocal, feeling better just following along and occasionally pitching in with a question.

“I understand how you feel about it, Spectrum, but believe me when I say that White Light will help us,” Mantis, along with his sister, has been the biggest proponent of ponies helping out with the current situation. I honestly expected Scurry to be one of them, given what I was told about him, but, in his words, just getting helped for nothing is a bit suspicious. I kind of agree with him.

“And he isn’t coming alone so that at least means that we have at least another group of ponies that would willingly share love with us,” Dicty was… her tone has been carrying an edge to it since yesterday. I didn’t get a chance to ask what was bothering her though.

“The only reason I’m even on board with this and not making a ruckus is that the princess let our gatherers go there and get some love,” Spectrum didn’t look angry, but he certainly didn’t look pleased either.

“I am more worried about what happens when the other stone drops; what will the ponies ask from us once all is said and done?” Scurry sat down and scratched at his stump while frowning.

“What makes you think we will want anything? Maybe we just want to help for the sake of helping?” My ears twitched when all six of them looked at me, along with some other lings passing by that heard me. The meeting was hardly in a secret location; a bit of a mistake if you ask me.

“That is a fair point, pony, but that is not how things work I'm afraid,” Ponera sent a sad little smile in my direction.

I just shrugged and got more comfortable.

‘I’ll check on Patch in a minute, I’ll be damned if I let anything happen to him now,’ I looked up and behind me, at the window to the room he and Velvet shared for now. I made sure that I would be alerted the moment the door is touched, or magic is cast in the room with four sensor gems. I never go on a mission without them.

Patchwork

I felt my nose and my antennae twitch before I even fully awoke. There was love in the air, literally.

Opening my eyes, I was first greeted with Velvet’s sleeping face making me frown and hiss. I would have words with her the moment she wakes up, but first.

Making sure that she was still asleep I rolled off the bed and, as quietly as I could, I left the room.

Opening my senses fully, I tried to find the source of the love, because it did not feel like my Velvet usually does, there was a certain weight and maturity to it. I let my legs go on autopilot and lead me to the source.

Out of the house I was in and the first thing I saw was changelings just sitting, eyes closed, and content look on their faces. Some of them had their wings quietly buzzing making the whole thing feel both eerie and magical at the same time. It kept me on edge, and I wasn’t sure what to think about this, but I certainly felt a healthy level of suspicion.

Another wave of love passed through me, making the changeling next to me sigh happily.

“Welcome back Patch, you better come and see this,” I recognized Drop’s voice coming close from my left.

I turned around and followed her without looking while I watched the changelings… bathe in love.

"How long was I out?"

"Almost two days," she answered and I stumbled.

"Two... Wow, I don't remember ever sleeping that long," I was honestly shocked and it caused me to nearly bump into several lings that were acting as almost hypnotized.

Shaking off my surprise I started paying more attention to my surroundings and focused on this, abnormal, behavior.

“When did this… trance start?” I asked, weaving between the transfixed lings.

“About an hour ago, you’ll see why in a moment, let’s fly.” Drop spread her wings and took off and I followed after her, my eyes still scanning through my surroundings.

The moment I gained some height I was able to see that the almost entire population was taken over by this, with only the nymphs being spared. Every single nymph I managed to see though was playing or exploring, like they were energized by something, dashing, no, galloping in every which way.

“There,” I followed the pointed hoof and I almost dropped out of shock.

Chrysalis was sitting on a roof of a love reservoir, swaying in the wind with her eyes closed and humming.

She looked like a mess, emaciated, carapace still damaged, mane in tatters but the smile she wore was blinding. Tears were freely flowing from her eyes and mixing with the dry pink splotches all over her body, but she did not care.

Another wave of love passed through me, and I became startlingly aware that I was on the same roof, sitting barely two meters away from her. My head was tilted to the side, and I could hear Drop giggling behind me.

Chrysalis’s eyes fluttered open, her green eyes without a hint of malice; the humming stopped as the flow of love lessened to a trickle.

“Hello, my son,” She smiled, happy tears still flowing, and I smiled in return.

CH 45 (a new dawn)

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Patchwork

‘This is becoming awkward’ I was gently patting Chrysalis’ back, five minutes after she started hugging me. We were sitting on the top of the dome I found her on, her larger frame holding tightly onto me, and it did not look like she would let go anytime soon.

I wasn’t even able to move much in the first place, as every time I tried to so much as shift my weight she would just pull me back towards her and start crying again. I stopped trying at this point and just focused on making her feel better.

“Do you… umm… need any help?” Silent Drop asked and I felt Chrysalis start shivering again.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, she is a friend,” I whispered to the newly freed queen while I indicated to Drop with my claws to come around so I can see her.

“Drop, could you find Mantis, Dicty, or someone else?” I mouthed to the thestral while trying not to make too much noise.

Drop didn’t question it, immediately launching herself into the air and flying off out of my sight leaving me alone with Chrissy.

Shifting my weight one more time to make myself more comfortable, making her squeeze me harder, I used my free left arm to pull her head a little bit lower so I could talk to her ear.

“Hey, you take all the time you need,” I whispered to her making her relax for a moment, “But I need to warn you that some lings will be coming in a moment. Okay?”

I got a shaky nod as an answer, “I’m sorry, my son.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” I hugged her harder, “absolutely nothing.”

“Thank you.”

It didn’t take long for a buzz and flapping of wings to reach us and I could feel Chrysalis start tightening again. A few comforting words got her to relax slightly but that was about it.

“Found Ponera and Spectrum,” a whisper to my ear made me jump as I didn’t hear Silent sneak up to me.

The two new arrivals entered my field of vision and both of them looked like a miracle was happening before their eyes, mouths wide open and Spectrum’s legs barely carrying him. I guess seeing their queen like this is an eye-opening moment after all the years of portraying herself as an untouchable wrathful goddess.

I heard of Ponera a few days ago, but Scurry was usually dealing with her and this was the first time I actually saw the giant changeling. I would like to talk to her later but for now…

An angry buzz of my wings got them to shake off their shock and look at me. Before they even could ask any questions I gave them their order.

“I need you two to go to the love pool we left the queen in and see if you can find Husk,” I saw Spectrum’s jaw set and Ponera mouth Husk, “if you do find her, use whatever means you can to restrain her and keep her there.”

Spectrum nodded his head and flew off while Ponera followed after him reluctantly.

I could feel my ears twitching as the… city, I guess, started waking up with shouts of surprise and the occasional buzz of the wings reached us. It was a matter of time until they found us and I wasn’t sure at this point if Chrysalis would be able to deal with it.

A deep resigned sigh tickled my left ear and I could feel her trying to relax and letting go of the vice grip she held me in.

“You are in desperate need of repair,” I told her as the scraping of her mangled chitin reached my ears.

“It will have to wait, I’m afraid,” Chrysalis straightened her back and pulled away from me. “I am fairly certain that my changelings would much rather assail me with questions first,” She obviously did not look forward to it if her voice was any indication.

“Well, too bad,” I shook myself of and stood up stretching my stiff legs, “I am their prince and you are their Queen, I’m fairly certain that they will listen if we ask them to be patient.”

Before Chrysalis could say anything I turned to our resident thestral, “Silent, would you mind finding the rest of the lead lings, Scurry preferably, and ask them to prepare a cocoon for their queen?”

“Are you going to be okay until then?” Drop’s emotions spoke of worry, but I truly doubted anyone would harm me or Chrysalis.

“We’ll be fine. I and her will slowly make our way to the headquarters on hoof,” hopefully a bit of exposure for Chrissy and my presence would keep everyone from going insane.

Silent’s eyes moved from the queen to me a few times before she shrugged and, with a strong flap of her wings, she blasted off.

“Are you certain that that is a good idea, my son?” I frowned slightly at her constant insinuation that I was her son, but I faced her with a smirk. I could see some lings flying a fair bit of distance away and pointing hooves in our direction as they rapidly approached us.

“Yeah, we’ll be just fine,” turning around and making a follow me gesture with my claws I made my way down the dome, “if worse come to worst I’ll protect you. But I doubt it. I’m fairly certain that everyone is just curious at this point.”

The buzz of her wings was the only indication that she was following me and when she landed on the ground next to me with a hiss of pain I turned my head to look at her.

“It will take us a bit of time to get to the dome I’m using, if you get tired of if the pain is too much let me know and I’ll figure something out. Okay?”

With a loud gulp and a nod of her head, we were off. There were a few lings around the dome and based on the way they were looking at us I knew that this was the right call.

‘Whoever is in charge of destiny here will probably be pissed off at me,’ I waved happily to a few bewildered lings as we were passing by them (Chrysalis repeating my action made their jaws drop), ‘But I don’t care. This is better than waiting almost fifty years for Thorax.’

…

The trip was, astoundingly, a relaxing affair for the first ten minutes, making Chrysalis’s gait more confident with every step we made. It made her incredible love ‘production’ flare up from a trickle to a soothing wave and I made a note to ask her about it after she was healed.

We did gather a large following of lings as we made our way to the dome near the castle I have been using for the past seven-ish days.

The changelings following us were mainly adults with only the nymphs having the courage to approach us and talk to Chrysalis. The other adults preferred to talk among themselves and follow us at a respectable distance with a small group of guards keeping an eye out for trouble that never came.

It became swiftly obvious to the other lings that this ‘new Queen’ genuinely cared about her people and especially the young ones and it also became obvious to me that I would develop a headache by the end of the day.

As her confidence grew Chrysalis went from a worried and shy ling to an ADHD, crack-fuelled maniac, turning our gentle walk into something akin to an infuriating game of tag where I had to catch the crazy Queen as her rapid change of behavior and manic movement was scaring everyone more than Husk did in years.

Every injured ling had to be either hugged or assured; every single nymph was either tickled or chased down and smooched; every show of fear or resentment made her start crying or profusely apologizing and on and on it went. I was both worried and laughing my ass off at her manic behavior but I hardly had it in me to actually stop her. She deserved to let loose like this.

What was supposed to be a thirty-minute walk turned into two hours of a rollercoaster of emotions for everyone including myself.

Still, even after two hours of frantic ‘exploration’ Chrysalis barely slowed down and even though I was developing a decent headache I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

My initial impression of Chrysalis when I saw her in the astral plane was that she was quick to action but very loving and full of life, a stark contrast from what I was told Husk’s behavior was.

I was worried, scared even, that after centuries of being led by Husk’s horrid existence the other lings wouldn’t be able to accept such a queen in the first place. They were hardly unruly with me, but it was obvious that they didn’t exactly believe in the little changes I made over the week.

However.

Chrysalis became finally tired after two and a half hours of running around and as I watched her leaning on large pillow someone brought out for her, and reminiscing out loud about the times before Husk, it became clearly visible that she will have her lings wrapped around her hoof.

She was surrounded on all sides by changelings of various ages (the nymphs being the closest, almost laying on top of her) all enraptured by her and her stories and questions flying all over the place. She didn’t shy away or appear to be frantic anymore (her emotions seem to have finally settled) and a large toothy smile didn’t waver not even for a second.

There were a few dissidents, of course there were, but they either had a look of deep disbelief or left the gathering with a huff and a grumble.

I spent the entire time walking around and asking the enraptured lings about those that left and very soon I had a list of about a hundred lings that were not pleased with the change in their queen.

The other ‘leaders’ along with Silent found me at some point as well and I gave them all something to do while I slipped away and took my time walking over to talk to Velvet.

Dicty was asked to keep an eye on security, Mantis continued with my list of unhappy lings, and Keratin was tasked with being a loyal huggle-bug. Apparently, Chrysalis found him adorable and nabbed him in a hug the moment she saw him. He protested, of course, but I didn’t stay long to hear how she ‘bought’ his loyalty.

…

The news of their queen spread like wildfire and I shook my head or chuckled every time I saw lings either run past me or fly over me. A few of them did stop to ask me some questions only to run towards Chrysalis the moment I told them she was awake.

Silent Drop followed me the whole time, expertly keeping to the shadows and only stepping out when lings approached me.

It took me almost half an hour to reach the dome I left Velvet in and by then midday has passed and the streets were desolate.

I could have talked to Drop during the trip to get an update on what had happened while I was napping but I chose to keep to myself. I had plenty on my mind as it is, and the long walk allowed me to sort it all out somewhat.

Chrysalis being able to feed the changelings by herself certainly made things significantly easier if she could do it on a regular basis. It also brought to question my ability to produce emotions as a changeling. Her ability to do so was certainly far superior to mine and it made me silently despair at how much Husk has ruined this society over the centuries. I could only guess how far the changelings could have come if the possession never happened.

Chrysalis being able to feed everyone on her own also meant good things for almost a thousand captured people of various races that have been kept in ‘storage’ in numerous tunnels under the castle. She sheer scope of the changeling love ‘production’ made me sick to my stomach the first time I heard about it, and my teeth still grit in frustration when I thought of it.

Now though, there is a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel, for everyone. There is still quite a bit of work to be done, but at least now I could deal with a few personal things.

‘First to deal with Velvet, then finally an actual shower… or a bath.’

CH 46

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Silent Drop didn’t follow me into the house and I was silently thankful for the privacy she gave us.

I… what was she thinking coming over? What if she got hurt? What if I couldn’t defeat Husk?

I couldn’t lie to myself and say that I wasn’t happy to see her, but…

The fact that someone considered me so important in their life to do something so reckless just to see me is the most romantic thing I will probably ever experience.

‘And that is also the reason why I’m so angry at her, it was too damn reckless.’ I shook my head and huffed trying to silence my inner bastard that was pointing a giant sign at me with the words ‘hypocrite’ glowing in neon colors. The floor suddenly looked very interesting.

The sparse room offered no way to quiet my inner demons though, but it did serve well to reaffirm my original resolve, the changelings deserved better.

The room, no the houses in general did not offer anything to an outsider in terms of personality, culture, or just about anything really.

Every single home I have entered in the last week was built the same; with identical rooms and corridors, simple and sparse furniture, and no variation in colors.

Heck, the room I was currently occupying (I would call it a living room, I guess) is the only part of the house that had any sort of variation in that SOMETIMES, lings would have two resin chests instead of three pushed against the walls and even that position rarely differed.

Snorting I glared at the chests, igniting my horn and doing the most rebellious thing I could think of right now, moving one of the chests half a meter to the side. Night Light will probably loathe me, and I could feel my own ocd rising but damn it, I needed the distraction.

Setting my thoughts I stood up and slowly made my way out of the room.

Up the stairs on the left, turn to the right and first door on the left. There is one more floor above me, but this one floor and this room are the most important.

Her emotions lacked any sort of ‘dullness’ I have come to associate with sleep in ponies and for a few moments I debated knocking. I also considered just slamming the door open and shouting at her, but that thought barely managed to coalesce in my mind before I tossed it to the side.

I missed her… I wanted to see her. This last week was horrible and I needed any comfort I could find.

It barely registered in my mind when I opened the door and entered, but I did notice a flash of blue when she shyly peeked one of her eyes open. The giddy smile she wore only made whatever anger at her melt away with warm fuzzies.

I hopped onto the soft resin construct that changelings call a bed, grabbed Velvet, and pulled her as close to me as my shell allowed me to without causing harm.

“I missed you,” I whispered in her ear. The flow of love turned into a torrent and I fed almost greedily from it.

“I missed you too, love,” She whispered back. “Please, don’t leave me like this again?”

I barely managed to nod before I noticed how tired I felt, ‘Maybe another nap won’t hurt.’

…

“He looks adorable, doesn’t he?” The giggle that followed made my ears twitch and my muzzle to scrunch. I couldn’t place that voice, and I refused to open my eyes to see who the offender was.

“He does, especially when he is like this,” another giggle, this voice I recognized as Velvets.

“Velvet?” I called out while trying to stretch my legs without moving. The only thing I got out of it was a cramp in my hips that made me hiss in discomfort. I still refused to open my eyes; hopefully, sleep will welcome me in her arms again, with or without Velvet.

“Yes, love?” She wasn’t far from the bed at least, but nowhere near close enough where I could snag her back into it.

I gave a quick ping with my sense confirming that the addition to our room is a changeling.

“Who is the changeling in our room, and WHY are they here?” I tried to sound serious and upset but even to my ears, it sounded like whining.

“Well my son, every mother should ensure her child is well after molting.”

“Hmm,” I lazily opened my left eye and raised my head to look at a grinning Chrysalis sitting at the foot of the bed.

Her chitin was fully and completely healed, shining, almost glimmering in the light that shone through the window. Gone were the emaciated shell and the holes that were the result of Husk's misuse and starvation.

There were some changes, however, that made my left eye ridge rise up.

Firstly, she made a small change to her mane, now having small curls at the very tips. Secondly, where she used to have a solid thorax now she had layered dark-green strips of chitin in the same way as my own. The color was dark enough that I almost didn’t see the seems from the rest of her chitin.

Lifting her right hoof for a cheerful wave I opened both of my eyes wide noticing that she now possessed claws. Short, thin, and gentle-looking claws that she wiggled for emphasis.

Giving one more quick look the only word that came to my mind was, motherly. She looked like a mother, like, if there was a picture in a dictionary next to the word ‘mother’ she would be in the picture.

She was a head taller than Celestia, full but not chubby, let alone fat. I couldn’t call her slim though.

The chitin was smooth, and… gentle looking. I kind of looked like if I tried to hug her that there would be a bit of softness to it. There were also a few additional seams in her chitin that I barely noticed, moving in a way that made it seem like a muscle. Not muscle in the same way that I have come to associate with Shield Strike, no heavy bulk, but just enough to serve as a warning to anyone actually stupid enough to try and shove her.

Blinking twice, I then looked myself over and hummed when I saw that my own chitin was fully healed as well.

Feeling my eyes roll over in exasperation I let my head drop back down.

“Velvet, how long was I out?”

“Almost three days, my son,” Chrysalis answered.

I frowned and was about to ask what happened when a gentle crackle of a bag reached my ear along with a crunch. Looking at Velvet not far from me, I noticed a brown paper bag held in her magic.

‘Where did that come from?’

Without prompting several small nuts were picked out of the bag by her magic and levitated over to me. I recognized them as kinkya nuts that Abyssinians like to eat. Very heavy, and high in calories and the nuts leave a nice, sweet aftertaste like vanilla. It reminded me of macadamia nuts.

I just opened my mouth and let Vel feed me, plus I got a quick peck on the tip of my nose afterward making me smile.

“Young Velvet here was worried when you didn’t wake up after both of you went back to napping,” Looking at Chrysalis she wore an easy and warm smile that almost lit up the room. “Looking over you we figured that the damage you didn’t fix finally caught up. Your body was starting to force a molt, and I’m honestly surprised that you let it get to such a drastic stage.”

The disapproving tone she used didn’t escape my notice. My father used the same time when I’ve done something particularly stupid.

“There was always something that needed to be done,” I muttered. Some amount of petulance did seep through and she ‘tisked’ in disapproval.

“Be that as it may, you need to take better care of yourself, my dear,” a soft scrape of her claws reached me as did her towering form. Looking up from my position on the bed, I wasn’t afraid of admitting that her looming presence was intimidating.

“Now,” she bent her head and gave me a quick peck just under my horn, “you get back on your claws, and join us all outside. Doctor White Light said that he would like to say ‘hello’ when you are up and about.”

“Yes, mom,” I rolled my eyes and then froze looking forward.

‘What did I just call her?’ My thought process halted as I tried to figure out why calling her ‘mom’ came so easily. I wasn’t even being sarcastic about it, but genuine.

Chrysalis, however, had a massive, blinding smile, the kind of smile some people would kill for.

That same smile didn’t so much as wiggle as she left the room, prancing happily, looking like she was floating on air… which she literally was. Her wings were buzzing with every hop she made.

The door shut after her and I huffed, already feeling drained.

Sighing, I turned to Velvet, “You wouldn’t happen to know if she messed with my mind, would ya?”

Velvet smiled and cooed at me rolling up the bag that still had some nuts in it, and placing it next to the bed.

She ran a hoof through my mane and gave me a gentle kiss between the eyes.

“I think it’s wonderful, to accept somepony like her as a mother,” Velvet pulled back a little only to boop my snout with hers. “She really cares about you. You should have seen her; when the news that you weren’t waking up reached her she just about collapsed. It was both adorable and, honestly, disturbing watching her panic like that… She acted like you were going to die the very instant she took her eyes off of you. Made me start panicking along with her as well.” Velvet huffed and I chuckled at her behavior.

“It's not as bad as she, most likely, made it out to be, but…”

“I know, I know,” she didn’t roll her eyes, but it was obvious that she was given a DETAILED explanation. “Regardless, you wouldn’t have died.”

“I wouldn’t have been fine either. I went through that cyclical crap when I came into Equestria, I don’t want to go through it again,” Her ears dropped at that.

I did tell her the full story of my arrival to Equestria a while ago, including some of the more painful details. She was fully aware of the whole feed-fix-heal-feed cycle that was later explained to me by Mantis. Modern changelings go through that cycle at least once in their life due to food shortage.

“Anyway,” I slowly sat up and shook my body into wakefulness, “I’ll try not to think about someone digging through my mind at my most vulnerable.”

“I really doubt she would do something so… vile,” Velvet was slightly green in the face. While she is slowly getting used to human humor, she still has a long way to go.

Hopping off the bed, and landing next to Vel, I leaned in and kissed her which she eagerly returned after a moment of surprise.

The moment the kiss ended though, I grabbed her by the head and ran my claws through her mane like a maniac, messing it all up. Her squeal of shock only made my ‘punishment’ even worse.

“Stop… STOP IT!” She tried to shove me and I back away, smirking all the while, as her eyes screamed bloody murder, “ What the BUCK was that for!? I don’t even have a brush you... you… maniac!”

“You know why I did it,” I stuck my tongue at her, opening my wings and jumping to the side when she tried to tackle me. “Also, don’t you mean a ‘mane-iac’?”

“Get back here!” I heard her scream at me, but I was out of the room and down the stairs in the blink of an eye.

The small rush to the main door made me want to stop and take stock of my freshly molted body, but the sound of galloping hooves certainly made stopping less appealing. I wasn’t worried about her hurting me (Vel is a pony, and her causing me pain in any way, shape, or form was a borderline impossibility), but Velvet can, and will, get very creative with her punishments when needed. Such as when she made me cookies, but some of the cookies were laced with spicy power and she made them so well I couldn't tell which ones were spicy and which ones weren’t (used to love spicy food, but since my transformation, I can’t stand it anymore).

Ignoring Velvet's screaming obscenities, I opened the door and exited the house.

‘Feels like I’ve been stuck in here for months.’

CH 47 (new day, new issues)

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Exiting the house I barely caught a flash of black passing me as Silent Drop made her way through the door feeling slightly annoyed.

Chuckling to myself I took a step forward only to immediately backtrack while trying to avoid a near collision with a changeling. It was obvious that he either didn’t notice me or didn’t care if his determined trot was anything to go by.

I was about to offer at least an apology but a voice from my left interrupted me.

“Don’t bother with it, sir.”

I let the words linger in the air for a moment, while still processing the situation. It took me a minute to sort my mind but eventually, I just shrugged and faced the changeling that stood in front of me.

“You know something about it?” I nodded my head in the direction of the other ‘ling.

It did cause me some surprise that the changeling in front of me looked… healthy. The carapace was still absolutely riddled with holes, but there was a shine to his chitin and the blazing red elytra on his back; a type of shine I have only noticed on Dicty, Mantis and Scurry, aside from myself and I guess Chrysalis now.

“Yeah,” he lowered his head with a heavy sigh, “ever since the ‘new’ Queen stepped up the arguments have only gotten worse.”

“It’s only been three days, what has she done?” I looked over to the black castle, only to notice that the castle itself, wasn’t black anymore… or at least, most of it wasn’t.

I felt my eyes slowly widen as I looked, and I also started to feel a familiar twitch in one of them.

The house I was currently in was a fair bit away from the castle, but not fair enough that I could see the whole structure without craning my head upwards.

“I kind of like it,” he sounded very happy about it. I glanced at him for a moment before refocusing on the castle itself.

Instead of looking like something H. R. Giger came up with, with long spiky towers that looked like needles, threatening to pierce the very sky, Chrysalis tried to go for completely the opposite.

Half of the black castle still looked, well, normal, the other half though was green and… covered in…

“Flowers?” Yep, there is the eye twitching again.

“I know, don’t they look fantastic?” Velvet’s excited voice came from behind me. I didn’t even hear when she left the house, I was that shocked. She seemed to have managed to straighten her hair though, from what I have managed to see.

“When, exactly, did she manage to grow flowers here? How did she even… Where did… Why?”

The more I looked around me, the more questions started popping up.

“Ponies have provided a lot of help with their magic, and it also kind of helped that the Queen hasn’t slept at all, other than the moult,” the changeling added that last bit almost as an afterthought and suddenly a concerned thought entered my mind.

“It seems like she is determined to remove everything Husk stood for,” came the voice of Drop from the shadows of the house, and I had my initial worry confirmed.

“Do you know where the queen is right now?” I asked the ling as I doubted Vel or Drop knew.

“Last I saw her she was heading to the city centre,” he chirped.

“The city what?” I stopped gawking at the castle and looked at the changeling. A city/town centre was something ‘lings were familiar with but, in their own words, not necessary. I kind of agreed, but I still wanted to add one in the future.

“Oh yeah,” he hopped in place happily, “the queen had some houses moved around. Now we have a proper city centre. It’s so much easier to move around now with something to orient around with.”

I could feel a headache forming, “Great, thanks for the info… um…”

“Oh, Bugsy,” He hopped again, buzzing his wings loudly.

“’Scuse me?” I heard Velvet snicker behind me as I leaned back in surprise. It then occurred to me that Chrysalis must have fed them over the last three days, which would cause their mind’s fog to clear up.

“Oh, my apologies, sir. It’s what some of the ponies called me, and I… kind of, liked it,” he posture and the shrug he added at the end told me that he tried to be nonchalant about it, but it was obvious that his newly found mental freedom was quite welcome. I somehow doubted that the rest of the lings took to their change as well as he did.

“Well, thanks Bugsy, I’ll see ya around,” that perked him up and he skipped away happily after a bow I did not expect to come. I could notice that some of the lings passing us by weren’t happy about it though.

“So,” Ignoring the other lings around us I turned to Velvet, “wanna go for a bit of a flight?” I was also trying to ignore the castle.

I had just enough time to open my wings and rear up before Velvet leapt into the air towards me followed by a happy squeal. I did manage to scoop her up, and before I could even try to scold her she grabbed around my neck and pulled me for a deep kiss.

Rolling my eyes at her playfulness and relaxing into the kiss I slowly started buzzing my wings harder and lifting us both up into the air.

Holding her bridal style I rose up far above the houses allowing me to survey the ‘city’ after our kiss broke.

The centre, which was smack middle of the town, was packed with ponies from what I could see. But something else also caught my eye and raised my worries the closer I got to it.

While Velvet was enjoying the flight, I was trying to figure out what the feeder pods were doing outside of the castle.

The pods are used to keep the captured beings alive, and most importantly healthy, for as long as possible while changelings extracted their emotions. Connected to a complex, and surprisingly well-designed, system, the pods kept the imprisoned people fed, sedated, and protected from illness.

Pulling the pods out of the castle… I hoped that they had a good reason for it.

I paid no attention to Velvet while she tried to get my attention (her emotions pointed at me and radiating worry), opting to speed up to a white-coated pony I managed to recognize as White Light as soon as I got close enough.

I immediately noticed that there was some thought put into this, as the pile of pods wasn’t even a quarter of the total amount, and, along with White Light there were several ponies that ran various scans and examinations on the people trapped within.

“Well, look who woke up!” White Light wore a large smile, but his whole body spoke of exhaustion, with matted white fur and his orange mane dangling lifelessly. He was also covered with grey pouches and heavy-looking golden saddlebags slung over his flanks.

“Doctor White, not that I’m not happy to see you… but are you doing okay?” I landed and gently lowered Velvet while not taking my eyes off him. I was looking for any signs that his blood pressure is spiking as the good doctor tended to forget his illness if he was busy.

“I’m doing just fine lad, oh…” His ears perked up and he turned his head to the right, “Total? You busy?”

A lime green unicorn head popped out from behind some of the pods, “Not particularly, ya need somethin’?” She had a surprisingly square muzzle for a mare and her deeper voice made my head tilt. The other ponies didn’t even blink at it, nor did the lings buzzing above us.

“Just roll these down to the done pile, for me if you don’t mind? I want to catch up to my friend here.”

The mare named Total turned to me with a curious tilt of her head.

“Ah, the changeling prince I heard so much about. Name’s Total Shift, a pleasure to meet ya,” Her lithe frame came into view from behind two podded minotaurs (‘that will be a bitch to explain once they wake up’).

“Likewise,” I gave her a polite nod and then refocused on White Light.

“It’s good to see you up and about, Patch,” he tilted his head to the side and started walking while Velvet and I followed him. “I was worried when Queen Chrysalis told me about the condition you ended up in.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” I rolled my eyes, but a hip check from Velvet next to me and a burst of annoyance followed by worry made me wonder what Chrysalis told her.

“I have to ask doc, what happened while I was out?” My ears perked up when someone called Velvet's name asking for help. A quick peck on the lips and an assurance that ‘she’ll be right back’ was all I got.

“Queen Chrysalis did,” I listened to the old doctor while I kept an eye on Velvet. She helped lift several pods without breaking a sweat. I frowned thinking that Twilight Sparkle’s talent for magic may come from her mother’s side.

‘Is it possible that she could be born even now, with us?’ I refocused back to White Light who was watching Velvet with wide eyes.

“It’s always astounding when a talented mage uses magic,” he muttered and I nodded absentmindedly. “Back on topic though.

Shortly after we arrived Chrysalis asked if a part of my team can assist with removing the pods from the castle.” He shrugged “I wanted to argue, but I had a feeling that she is hung up on it. Kind of like the Princess when she gets something on her mind.”

I chuckled remembering something Shield Strike told me, “Stubborn as the mountain she sits on.”

I saw him chew on his lips, trying and almost failing to stifle a burst of laughter, “That’s… one way of putting it. Very… apt.”

I watched him wrestle with himself for a few more seconds before I refocused back on Velvet and the pods she effortlessly moved around.

“So what was the situation in Equestria before you came here? Any issues?” I wanted to catch up to White Light, but I will have to talk to Chrysalis afterwards, both about the castle and the pod situation… also the fact that she did so much in just three days was concerning.

“Just a few small fires to put out; the Princess is already at it with fascinating fervour.”

“’Fascinating fervour’?” I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah…” he rubbed at his face with his left hoof, “Quite a few of the noble houses have caught wind about this changeling business and they are, were, trying to get something out of it.”

“I take it she didn’t approve?” My ears perked up and I watched as two ponies started arguing only to quiet down after a sharp whistle from Light.

“Pretty much. From what I’ve heard she wanted to ease things in at first (getting everypony ready for a new nation to rise up), but after a few nobles made an off-hoof comment about talking to you she came down on them like a mountain,” My eyes almost bugged out as I could, at this point, clearly imagine Celestia letting her maternal instincts take over. I have spent enough time with her to see that she clearly cared for me more than just a friend… I still wasn't sure where I stood though.

Dragging my claws down my muzzle in exasperation I could hear While Light laugh next to me, “This is what happens son when you get in Her good graces.” He patted me gently on my shoulder and started walking away, “I’ll keep an eye on your dear Velvet here, why don’t you try to talk to the Queen here? Convince her, that just throwing the pods out isn’t the best idea.”

“I doubt that she put it like that,” I stood up and followed after White Light, heading for velvet.

“No, but, with how eager she is to get rid of them…”

Letting those words hang in the air, I gave Velvet a quick nuzzle and with a buzz, I went to find Chrysalis.

CH 48 (hiding, or lost)

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Flying through the air above the changeling town, without a clear target and a passenger, allowed me to see something that caused my already elevated worries to spike even further; changelings, wherever I looked, worked with an almost fever pitch. There were plenty of lings that relaxed, but it became obvious that the entire town will look completely different by the end of the week.

“Where are they getting the resources for this,” I wondered out loud, “why is she… who is even ordering them around like this?”

Shaking my head and accepting that I won't be getting any answers until I find Chrysalis I continued my flight. I had no idea where she was, but flying without anyone or anything allowed me to set my thoughts straight.

I couldn’t just start pointing claws at her, she just got her body and freedom back less than a week ago, but I also had to accept the fact that no ordinary amount of work like this could be done in just three days without working changelings to the bone. At least that was my understanding of it. The pod situation had to be dealt with though.

Stopping to look around myself, I decided to quickly survey the area and the clouds of lings that were buzzing by me every once in a while.

They didn’t look tired or bothered… some of them seemed to be even chatting happily amongst each other. Looking around, it looked like they enjoyed the work if their tails, lazily waging left to right, were any indication.

‘Was I doing something wrong when I tried to lead them?’ I scratched my head, ‘I need some answers, pronto.’

Opening my senses I started looking for something, an indication of where Chryssy could be. With Husk it was easy, just look for a well of hatred, but now…

‘Note to self, find out what happened to Husk,’ I should have thought of that sooner.

Eventually, I just decided to ask where the Queen was.

…

I wasn’t in a hurry, still mulling over my thoughts, as I was strolling through the changed sections of the castle.

Interestingly enough, after the initial shock of seeing flowers in the Badlands (especially on a castle like this), I had to say… it wasn’t half bad.

When I actually looked at the place and ignored the patches of flowers, it became obvious that Chrysalis had a decent idea of what she was doing. Although, I had to ask why she wanted her castle to look like an overgrown mountain. The grey walls looked almost white in contrast to some areas that were still black… or almost black.

It took almost thirty minutes for me to find her and Keratin, but by then, I had to admit that walking through the changed areas certainly made me feel more relaxed and calm (fewer shadows to jump at).

‘Maybe that’s what Husk was going for; paranoia?’

One thing that did keep me frowning during the whole trip was that, while the castle looked peaceful, the air was practically vibrating with sounds of work, magic discharge, and changelings chatting. I had to even take a detour because entire sections were absolutely swarming with lings, and I was in no mood to talk with them.

Hearing them talk amongst each other did convince me that I was doing something wrong, as Chrysalis, in three days no less, managed to move several thousand changelings like a fine-oiled machine without so much as breaking stride.

But, when I finally stood in front of her (with Keratin sitting slightly behind her writing something on a piece of parchment), I could immediately tell that things were clearly not okay with her.

“Keratin?” He gave me a quick bow, moving the parchment to the side, “How long has she been like this?”

Chrysalis was standing, in the middle of the old throne room, and if I didn’t see her chest moving I could be easily convinced that she was a statue.

There was no twitching of the ears or tail. No buzzing of wings, moving, clacking of claws out of boredom… her breathing was slow, shallow, and long like her body fell into a coma. What was even creepier was that her eyes were facing forward, open wide, and teary, like she hasn’t blinked in a while. Why no one was panicking over this behavior was beyond me, and the only reason I wasn’t trying to immediately snap her out of this was that Keratin, and a few lings that were coming and going from the room, didn’t so much as acknowledge her stillness. Like everything was perfectly alright. A few of them did give me a quick bow (something that was starting to worry me as well, especially since they weren’t very trusting towards me in the first place), which meant they at least noticed that I was there… My eyes weren’t deceiving me.

“Oh?” He looked surprised like her unmoving form was something natural, “A couple of minutes, perhaps? She has been doing this for a while now.”

‘Hello headache my old friend,’ I pinched between my eyes in exasperation, “Doing what, and for how long, exactly?”

“Ah, right, details… Well, after you left for your forced molt three days ago she started going still like this every few hours. The flesh menders…”

‘Doctors’ I had to remind myself. Shell and chitin were repaired, but the flesh (and everything else) was mended.

“… Assured me that she is very much awake and healthy just… lost. A light bump on her muzzle snaps her out of it,” he shrugged without a care and I could feel my head starting to buzz with new worries and ideas. At this point, I wanted to strangle the clueless idiots (I kept that to myself though).

I had an urge to just snap Chrysalis out of it and get the whole reason I came here out of the way, but I had to hold myself back. I had some experience with comatose patients in my years of working as a nurse, but this situation was a bit different than what I faced before.

Granted, I did hear (and read) about cases where people would shut themselves from the outside world to such a similar degree, but that was, well… Trauma is trauma at the end of the day, but I worked with humans back then, not with changelings.

Slowly walking around Chrysalis’s still form I tried to take a quick stock of the state of her body, while I tried to find a solution.

“She is breathing but not blinking,” I muttered to myself and I could see from the corner of my eyes that Keratin took a step back, giving me space, “her legs are locked but her ears are fully perked…” I continued muttering.

Using my limited knowledge of horn cast magic I prodded gently at the still queen’s body trying to gauge her vital signs and comparing them to my own. I trusted the flesh menders when it came to healing a changeling, but something told me that they didn’t have much experience when it came to this kind of situation. Not that I was better, but I at least treated this situation with the gravitas it obviously needed.

After I finished the fourth circle (I noticed that there was a bit of a crowd around me now of about twenty confused lings), I had to conclude that physically she was, well, healthy.

Poking her magically got me no reaction, on the outside, but I could feel that her own magic poked at mine at first sharply only to settle a moment later and almost ‘relax’ into the prodding.

‘Awake and aware, just pulled back into her own mind… Possibly a side effect of being locked in for so long.’

“Keratin?” I spoke up without removing my eyes from Chrysalis. I circled from her side and sat down in front of her.

“Sir?”

“Could you, every time she does this, wake her up in continuously shorter intervals? Gently?” I raised my left claw and scratched the side of my head.

“How short are we talking about here sir?”

“Um…”

With a quick glance to the side, I spotted a ling with her right hoof raised up, like a child in a school. I let her know that she was free to speak with a quick nod, but I kept most of my attention on the still queen in front of me.

“They told us that she isn’t being hurt by this, so what’s the harm in letting her do it from time to time?”

I frowned, “Ever heard of trauma?” I buzzed my wings, raising myself slightly up until I was on eye level with Chrysalis and close enough to her muzzle that I could see the fine hairs on her chitin. I gently blew air at her eyes hoping for a reaction and I could feel myself smirk when her eyes fluttered closed for a second. They opened slowly though, too slowly.

“What would she have trauma off anyway?” Asked one of the lings, but, before I could comment a decent smack echoed around the throne room. Turning to see what happened I saw one of the lings rubbing the back of his head, while his neighbor looked livid.

“Buzzing idiot, you saw Husk and how she tried to kill us all barely a week ago. Imagine you were trapped with a jailer like her,” That statement caused a wave of murmurs to spread amongst the crowd.

‘Did she tell them about her entrapment?’ I felt my ears twitch and curiosity bubble.

“Sir?” I turned to Keratin, “The intervals?”

‘He seems more confident as well…’ I tilted my head to the side, ‘Why do I suddenly have the urge to buy him glasses?’

“Hm… How long do you let this go on for before you wake her?” Raising my claws I started poking and prodding at her ears. They twitched at every touch making me smirk again. I could feel a grin forming on my muzzle when I saw her start to frown. It was like watching a snail crawl around. The slowness of it was amusing.

“Roughly thirty minutes,” I could feel my grin turn into a frown again. “Originally she stayed like that for over an hour before we managed to get her to snap out of it. The menders told us that there is a good chance that she wouldn’t ‘come out’ on her own.”

I was still poking at her ears, but I wasn’t paying attention to Chrysalis at all, so I was very much surprised when I glanced at her and noted that she was looking at me, and with a wide evil grin on her muzzle. I was even more surprised when she grabbed me out of the air with lightning speed, pushed me to the ground, and then promptly sat on me.

“Keratin?” She asked while I was trying to figure out just what the fuck just happened. I wiggled around, trying to squeeze out of my current position, but, while she didn’t outright sit on me with her full weight, she did shift a bit making it almost impossible to get out without considerable effort on my part.

“Yes, my Queen?” I was facing the opposite direction from Keratin so I couldn’t see his face, but I could hear his grin. I could, however, clearly see the faces of those twenty-or-so lings that looked like they couldn’t decide whether to be shocked or laugh.

“Please, tell me, how long have I been out before my son decided to annoy me?” I did my utmost to look dignified and threatening while being sat on, as I could see a few of the lings in front of me shake with restrained laughter.

“Roughly ten minutes, my Queen,” I heard a soft click prompting me to twist my neck to the side so I could see where it came from. I was pleasantly surprised to see a silver pocket watch held in Keratin’s green magic, although the pain from my neck being in an awkward position didn’t allow me to look for long so I couldn’t tell any details.

Returning my head to a more natural position, I looked up only to see a grinning changeling queen looking at me like a cat that caught the canary, “Could you get off of me?”

“I’ll have to think about it?” She hummed thoughtfully, rubbing at her chin for emphasis, which only made my annoyance flare up.

“In case you haven’t noticed, we have company,” I ground the last part out between my teeth, and I could see that some of the lings looking at the spectacle had the decency to look embarrassed.

“Well,” I could hear her huff in her own exasperation, “maybe you should have thought about it when you decided to poke at me like a fascinating experiment.”

“Because you were a fascinating experiment,” I muttered.

She seemed to have heard me though as she sniffed haughtily and the weight on my back suddenly increased.

I yelped from the sudden pressure and tried to scramble away from the kooky queen.

“Get off ‘a me ya’ fat bug!” I grunted making her giggle.

She let me struggle under her for another few seconds before she stood up allowing me to slip away.

“Keratin, my dear,” she walked away while I tried to stretch my entire lower section, including the wings and elytra, “please poke me awake next time my son decides to pick at my ears.”

“Of course, your highness,” he kept himself composed, but I could see his lips twitching upwards. I decided to make some ‘changes’ to his notes later as punishment.

Glancing around between stretches I saw the crowd from before slowly dispersing, and with Chrysalis awake now was a good time as any to talk about the pods.

“Chrysalis?”

“Yes, my dear?” I had a feeling she wanted me to call her something else, but I didn’t want to feed that beast.

“About those pods in the… town center… You aren’t planning on just tossing them out?” The sheer look of disgust alleviated at least some of the worries.

“Toss them out? Absolutely not!” Keratin had to gall to smile and nod as if he wasn’t one of the changelings that didn't care about their condition, “But all of these poor creatures need to be returned back to their homes.”

She turned around to leave but I jumped in front of her, “That, may not be the best plan.”

I was surprised when she just stopped and sat down without complaints, “Please explain where my mistake is then.” Even Keratin looked gobsmacked.

Taking a moment to compose myself, I started explaining.

“Look,” I started pacing back and forth, her eyes following me the whole time, “most of these people have been in those pods for a long time now, right?” I looked at Keratin who nodded his head, “How do you think the podded people and their own would react if suddenly about fifty of them were returned… somewhere, hungry, thirsty, and weak?”

“Wouldn’t that be a heavy drain on our resources?” Asked Keratin. It was a decent point if it was made about a week ago.

“Resources that we probably have a lot more of now with her feeding the entire hive,” I pointed my snout at Chrysalis who frowned.

“Not precisely…” She spoke up, but her voice wavered for a moment, like the realization of her decision just now hit her.

Closing my eyes as a fresh headache started to form I turned to Chrysalis, “What’d you do?”

“We are… were, using all the resources we can in order to rapidly make this whole place…” The longer she talked the quieter her voice became. I was honestly preparing for a long, detailed speech in order to convince her as the whole thing seemed too rash to me.

It was astounding to watch her face as it started shifting through emotions, followed by her right claws clacking against the ground at a rapid pace. Seeing as she was distracted by her thoughts I turned to Keratin.

“About waking her up from her ‘coma’; start with fifteen minutes, and every time you wake her up reduce the next waking by, say, one minute,” When her claws stopped clacking I turned to see that she froze all over again. With what Keratin told me, I was beginning to believe that there is some sort of trigger to this condition.

“Is that really necessary, sir?” His words made me refocus on him, “It's obvious that she isn’t harming herself by doing this. I understand trauma may be a factor…”

I sighed, “She has a body now, Keratin; a body she is in charge of. She needs to eat, sleep… all that good stuff, even if she needs to sleep once or twice a week her body will need it. I wouldn’t be surprised that even sleeping might be an issue for her right now, given that it might feel like she is locked away again.”

“I… see,” He didn’t seem happy with it, but something told me he would listen and try to help.

I would also have to look into getting one of the menders to talk to a pony doctor (if one came with White Light) and get a crash course in psychology and psychiatry perhaps.

“Right now she needs us, Keratin,” I walked over to Chrysalis and raised a claw, ready to gently poke her on the snout. “Indulging her every whim may keep the actual scope of her trauma hidden until it's too late. We don’t need another Husk, even an opposite of her.”

Poking her on the snout, I questioned at first why they found this to be the best place to prod in order to wake her up, but it was quickly drowned in amusement at watching her muzzle slowly scrunch up in annoyance.

Just before annoyance changed into frustration she blinked rapidly and then glanced around her as if she only now became aware of where she is. She very much looked like someone who was jolted awake from a deep sleep.

I was about to ask her if she is okay, but she just smiled at me and turned to Keratin who immediately tried to look more professional. Again, I pictured him with glasses.

“Keratin, would you be a dear and get the other leaders to meet me at the town center? I am afraid I may have… overreacted. And please, ask doctor White Light if he is willing to forgive an old mare for her rashness.”

“Yes, my Queen,” A quick bow of his head and Keratin was out of the room in a second with Chrysalis trailing behind him at a slow pace.

I followed after her, deciding to do the respectful thing and stay slightly behind as she was, well, a Queen. She, however, surprised me by igniting her horn and pushing me to walk right next to her, and the symbolism wasn’t lost on me.

“You are a prince, Patchwork. I am assuming Celestia taught you a few things about leading, but as far as I am concerned you are my equal in voice and actions. Do not put yourself beneath me,” Confirming my assumptions, all I could do was nod. “Also, while I do not expect my every whim to be catered, I would like SOME concessions here and there, until I… recover,” She added with a wink.

‘Why can't anyone just pretend to be deaf,’ I groaned but nodded my head regardless.

CH 49 (removing the problem)

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Patchwork

I was trudging forward, head lowered from genuine exhaustion to… home I guess. Velvet’s presence certainly made the house we occupied, feel welcome. Even if it belonged to a dead ling.

I hoped that I would have to deal only with Chrysalis today, but, as it turns out… Honestly, I should have looked into the matter of Husk the moment Chrysalis was taken care of. I have only myself to blame, but for now, I needed a plan and I needed Celestia at this point.

Opening and passing through the door I was greeted with sounds of chatter that momentarily quieted down when I entered.

Raising my head, I saw Dicty sitting in the middle of the, well, sitting room, while Velvet was scanning through a series of parchments sticking to the wall by, what I’m guessing, magic. They were both looking at me, with Vel’s beaming smile being a wonderful sight to see.

“Dicty, good to see you,” I greeted her with a quick wave which she returned with a nod of her head.

“You look horrible, Patch. What happened?” She had her head tilted to the side but I paid little attention to her as I made a beeline to Velvet.

After a nice hug, a deep kiss, and a nibble of love I felt well enough to talk, and I had to be careful about what I would say. Both of them would catch on that I was planning something, and removing Husk from this place into somewhere actually secure would count as a ‘stupid’ plan in their eyes.

“Chrysalis had been teaching me how to produce love. I thought it was just a 'me' thing, but apparently, Endo could do it as well as her.”

“So it’s something all royal changelings can do, interesting.” Dicty seemed genuinely impressed, something I have learned from experience isn’t easy to do.

“So how did it go?” Velvet asked while still holding me in a tight grip. And while I did let go of the hug, I kept gently running my claws through her mane.

“Draining,” I sighed, “but I certainly made some great strides according to her,” All truths. Chryssy did help me improve my emotional and love production, and I was genuinely surprised when she told me that Endo could do it, just like she can. But the actual training took about an hour of the whole day.

“Well, I was chatting with Velvet here, but...” Dicty stood up, stretching her back and giving her wings a quick buzz, “I’ll leave the two of you alone so you can finally catch up.”

Velvet quickly disentangled herself from me and gave her friend a quick hug.

“Thank you for coming over Dicty. It’s nice to have a good friend around to talk to,” letting go of her ling friend, Velvet’s emotions were tinted with slight embarrassment, “especially since it’s hard to talk to most other changelings.”

“You need to remember; I spent years living among ponies. Give them some time Twilight, you’ll see,” A quick smile and she left the house, her elytra flashing red in the evening light as the door closed.

The moment Dicty left Velvet started nuzzling me and I went back to, essentially, combing her hair with my claws, “So what else did you do? I barely saw you today.”

Sighing I laid down on my side pulling my marefriend gently with me, we got comfortable on the hard resin floor and I had to resist the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose when today’s memories flashed through my head.

“That bad, huh?” Vel giggled and pulled herself closer to me.

“Let’s just say that Chrysalis needs a caretaker at all times, as well as someone that can tell her ‘no’ when she gets a stupid idea,” she hoped that the whole city will be not only good-as-new but completely changed within two weeks. Ponera, who we ran into while sorting the whole pod problem, didn’t seem as enthusiastic and it took both of us roughly an hour to fully explain the current situation to the recently awakened changeling queen.

It ended up being a bit of a wake-up call for Chrysalis as thus far the changelings followed her every whim without questioning it, a way of ruling that Husk thoroughly managed to ingrain into everyone around here. She thought that they listened to her out of love and respect. Some did, but not all.

Which is why I talked Ponera into keeping an eye on her new queen in an advisory position of sorts. Keratin was fantastic when it comes to keeping to a schedule and sorting out paperwork (no backbone though, probably why Husk chose him), but Chrysalis needed someone to tell her no until she is better and also someone that cares. Hopefully, I wasn’t making a mistake with that choice.

“She can’t be that bad off, Patch. I spoke to her several times while we were waiting on you, she isn’t a bad… erm… changeling.”

“No one said she is, Vel. Most of the lings seem to prefer her over Husk, but she got it into her head that the old ways need to be shoved aside without considering that the old parasite ruled for several centuries and that not everything she implemented is bad… hard as it is to accept,” I mean, she was a well of hatred but she managed to keep several thousand lings fed and safe… relatively, for a long time.

“So what would you like to keep from the old queen?” She asked and I frowned.

While I did agree that some stuff she did was good (Husk made sure that new ways of using resin, chitin repair, and warrior training were regularly looked into if they can be improved), the vast majority of her rule was designed to undermine every and all sense of individuality.

Several hundred years of rule ensured that changelings became a singular unit, one that can face nearly any challenge without questioning it or, and this is where the problems start, considering the consequence; those were for the queen to think about. Exemptions to the rule notwithstanding.

“I guess, the way that the current army is organized… the spy network,” I muttered for myself more so than for her, “their medicine could use an upgrade, but it’s obvious that they know what to do…”

A light poke on my nose returned my attention to Velvet, and a small kiss on the same place made me smile and pull her into a full kiss on the lips that was quickly growing in passion.

I was going to take things a step further, but a small shift in her emotions toward sadness felt like a handbrake being pulled. By the look on her face, she knew I noticed.

“I have to go home at some point,” Lowering her head and placing it on my chest she let out a quiet whimper, immediately causing me to curl up protectively around her.

“And soon I’m guessing, your college isn’t going to wait on you.”

“Yes… I should be able to catch up without too many issues, but I would have to leave soon,” Tightening her grip, she wiggled around a bit making herself comfortable. She let out an adorable sigh once she practically fused with me.

There was no doubt in my mind that she would be able to sort it all out without much fuss. Soon, however, implied ‘as soon as possible’; ponies did not have the luck of having a photographic memory, humans were in the same boat though.

Untangling myself slightly, I looked over my shoulder at the wall with all the parchments sticking to it.

“These are all the notes for the classes?” I started running my claws through her mane, making her hum in appreciation.

“As much as I could remember anyway. I tried to practice, a bit, but I kind of…”

“Yeh, your books are back home, because you thought it was a good idea to come here, not knowing…” I let out a low growl that came as a bit of a surprise. I knew my anger at her coming here would let itself known sooner or later.

All that got me though was a mewling protest and a trail of kisses up my neck along with her big watery eyes finding mine. It didn’t last long before I had to look away.

I should have never been surprised (or shocked) that she found her way here, Tartarus, I would have done the very same thing in her shoes, or worse…

“I wish I could at least send you letters,” It was a whisper, almost like it was meant for herself, and I immediately set my head racing trying to find a solution that could work for both of us, grinning like a madman when I thought of one, “Okay love, that’s a bit creepy,” looking down all I managed to see was a raised eyebrow.

“I might have a solution for us… I’ll just have to ask for a HUGE favor,” I whispered that last part for myself, “So, you want me to take you home tomorrow?” Suddenly I had a plan and another headache. I was hoping for some sleep, but I’ll have to find Silent Drop instead.

…

Flying high above the ground, making sure that I’m not too high for my passengers, I was making good time for Canterlot.

I was in the form of a Roc again, as large as I could make myself without being too uncomfortable.

Near the very top of my head, grinning like a lunatic for over an hour now, was my Velvet. Further down, near the middle of my back is doctor White Light who held onto Silent Drop for dear life, and two other lings that would help the good doctor with his cargo.

Held in Light’s magic was one of the feeder pods. I was told that a bit of trade was happening between changelings and ponies with it, but not what the lings would get out of it. White Light did tell me that he wanted to run the pod through some of the larger equipment back in his lab.

We have notified Celestia of our arrival and she has offered assistance with transporting the pod as a massive bird flying over Canterlot would likely spook the flighty populace. She would meet us about a third of the way there, and a purple flare would be used to get our attention.

It would be nice to see Celestia again, even if briefly.

To top it all off Silent had a pair of saddlebags on her with a very dangerous cargo that I hoped no one but us two knew about. She did explain to me, in detail, how stupid my plan is but she did agree to help me.

“Higher! HIGHER!” Vel screeched at the top of her lungs, holding onto the faux plumage at the top of my head. Her joy was like a blazing sun at this point, and I let out a loud happy caw, but I doubted she could hear it clearly from the winds.

Unfortunately for Velvet, I couldn’t fly higher than this (I was high enough as it is, a bit more and I would clear mount Canterhorn) without the magical protections, Cloudsdale and Canterlot offered she would be blasted clear off my back. Even now I was a bit apprehensive about the current height, but my marefriend was quite conscious about her safety. They all held on both physically and magically to me as my feathers could only provide so much protection.

Letting Velvet enjoy her thrill, I focused ahead using a bit of my magic to enhance my eyesight.

Scanning the horizon, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Celestia’s white fur or at least the gold of the guards but no luck. I will have to land soon, whether I want to or not, I was getting tired from holding this massive form, and I could see Canterlot in the distance, which meant that someone could see me as well.

My thoughts were interrupted by a purple flare breaking the canopy of the Everfree, just at the very edge of the south section. It would take me another minute to reach it but, at the very least this trip would be finally over.

Angling myself down I began my descent, making sure that I would be low enough to land without needing a sharp dive.

Two short caws were the signal for the flyers and by the time I reached the ground I should be free from my passengers and I was looking forward to being myself again. I felt like I will burst from how bloated I felt.

‘I could use the bathroom as well, now that I think about it.’

By the time I reached the ground, I could see a clearing between the trees where two large carriages were waiting on us, along with Celestia and eight guards.

I noticed that most of those eight guards had their helmets off, lying down on the ground and chatting away while Celestia was just exiting one of the carriages.

I landed lightly and shook myself back into my changeling from the moment I felt that everyone was off my back.

“Oh that feels so good,” I groaned in relief when my body settled back. Pushing my claws and hands forwards, I opened my elytra and buzzed loudly while I stretched my back. “I should practice my Shape duration more often, this…”

I had just enough time to spot a grey mess of fur when Velvet practically smashed our lips together.

“We HAVE to do that again,” was her breathless whisper in my ear after our kiss, and if emotions were any indication, she would be jumping on top of me in ways I…

A loud cough made us both jump apart. Thankfully, people couldn’t see how embarrassed I was due to my shell, but Velvet was beat-red and looking like she would much rather will the ground to swallow her whole right there and then. I wasn’t too proud to admit to myself that I was hoping for the same thing.

“Well, now that we prevented a possible disaster,” Celestia's voice had a barely perceptible crack to it making my head drop down along with my ears and I could just barely hear Velvet pray for a swift end, “It’s good to see you again, my dear.” She approached me and leaned in for a nuzzle at the side of my head.

I let my inner child free for a moment, grabbing her head gently mid-pass with my claws and holding it in place, genuinely enjoying her presence.

I could hear her gasp softly at my gesture, and I got a flow of happiness and affection from her emotions. I expected her to pull back at some point, especially since I wasn’t exactly clean in the first place, but she surprised me by pulling me into a hug and using her left wing as a shield of sorts, draping it over me.

I wasn’t on board with Chrysalis, I just recently met her, but Celestia? Maybe not to call her mom, but seeing her again after almost two weeks of hell, my emotions were clear on where she stood with me, along with Shield.

“You told me that ruling would be stressful,” a weak chuckle escaped me, “but something tells me you were underselling it.”

Slowly pulling back out of the hug I could see her shimmering eyes and a genuine smile.

“My dear, if I told you the truth you would have run for the hills, most possibly screaming all the way. I know I would have,” A quick wink told me she wasn’t entirely serious, and it did get a chuckle out of me. Giving a light tug to follow her and a wave with a wing for Velvet, the three of us entered one of the carriages and a minute later we were up in the air.

“Now… Velvet, my dear,” Vel stood at attention, swallowing a heavy lump, “Your parents are very… displeased with you. I managed to smooth things over with them, but it would be prudent to apologize first thing when you see them. Understood?” Slumping down with relief and nodding her head one would think that my marefriend was happy with this resolution, but all I could sense was trepidation.

Reaching over and pulling her close to me, I could see some confidence return to her and I got a quick nuzzle as a ‘thank you’ that I eagerly returned.

“I just hope they aren’t blaming Patch for this,” She asked and now I started to worry.

“They do not…” my ears perked up, “not entirely at least.” And down they go again. “However,” and up they went again, “I gave them a decent explanation about the current situation and they were very understanding.”

Vel and I gave her a quick nod, and I thought we would relax the rest of the way, but then Celestia turned to me.

“With that settled, Patch, I would like to hear about the situation in the Badlands. Getting messages from miss Drop is all well and good, but I would like to hear it from you, directly.”

Letting go of Velvet I shifted a bit in the seat. It was easy to leave the troubles behind me now that I am so far away from them, but I couldn’t, in clear conscience, just leave altogether. Not until I was sure that the situation there was sorted.

“It's… better now, love-wise, with Chrysalis awake. But there are still issues that need to be urgently addressed…,” a short burst of magic and she held a large parchment along with a quill, motioning with a wing for me to continue, “solid food is a bit of an issue, after Chrysalis went through a three-day binge with ‘fixing’ things.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow at that, and it was obvious that she had questions, but she didn’t interrupt me. After about a moment of deliberation, she refocused on me.

“Due to the current food issue we now have a lack of resin, which is affecting, well, just about everything,” I shrugged, trying to keep myself steady. Voicing these things out loud just me feel all the more conscious about them.

“Morale is fairly high though, and ever since she woke up, Chrysalis had kept the love production at a stable level.”

“I take it then that Husk’s influence has been sorted then?”

“Yes, a-nd…no. Husk herself is currently in… you’ll see when we get into the castle properly.”

“You brought that blasted thing here!?” Velvet’s voice was quiet but shrill.

“Brought what over?” Celestia questioned.

“Patch?” While my…While Celestia was calm and collected, Vel was panicking next to me. I did not know why she reacted like this and it made me question how much she was told. I would have to check later, but right now she was shaking me and her emotions were deeply tainted with fear.

I wasn’t a pony though, and the only thing her panic did was made me annoyed.

“Vel, you are panicking…”

“I know I’m panicking,” now she was scowling at me, “You are bringing a Wight to Equestria! Why?”

It took me a moment. I had to translate it three times in my head until I made sure that I heard the word correctly.

She spoke Equish, that much I was sure of, but the word sounded distinctly English.

But, as much as the word sounded familiar, I had no idea what she was talking about, or why she was panicking; in her current condition, Husk wouldn’t be able to hurt even a fly. I’ll have to ask about this ‘wight’ thing later.

“Umm Vel, hon, you know that she can’t even move right now, let alone do anything else?” I hoped that reminding her of Husk’s current condition would calm her down. With any luck, she knows about the creature’s current condition.

“And you are certain of it?”

“Patch,” and now Celestia was pitching in, “is there a particular reason why you brought her with you?” I knew she meant Husk, but for a split second my thought was ‘Velvet’.

“Yes actually, there are several reasons in fact,” I enunciated the word ‘several’ while looking pointedly at Velvet. Her emotions were still unsteady, but she was starting to calm down. It didn’t stop her from giving me a sideways stink-eye.

Giving her another moment to settle down I took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

In whole honesty, this was incredibly risky, for several reasons. Chief of which no one told me that Husk has separated from Chrysalis and that she was just… left near the same pool the newly saved queen was lying in for almost a full week.

I could feel another big headache heading my way when I remembered all the tiptoeing I had to do in the last twenty hours just to ensure no one, and I mean NO-ONE other than myself and Silent Drop, found out I was taking Husk.

It became essential to remove Husk from there (and also why I still felt the exhaustion from yesterday) after I found out what the changelings did to ‘secure’ her: they trapped her current form into a solid resin crystal and tossed it in the castle vault. Of course, they weren’t entirely stupid, as the resin crystal was so heavily enchanted that it was glowing. I did not want to risk testing the enchantments out, as my magical knowledge was lacking, but I knew enough to not worry about grabbing it.

Rubbing my temples as the memories from yesterday and last night trickled in I asked Celestia to postpone questions about Husk until we arrived at the castle.

I was just hoping that my gamble would pay off; after all, you need to study the monster to fight it. The Queen was saved, and next up, the princess and I had ample time to prepare.

CH 50 (safe but not sound)

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Chrysalis

‘He’ll be back.’

“My Queen”

“Yes, dear Ponera?”

“Are you okay, your Highness?”

I lowered my head to look at the large changeling mare, “I am doing quite well my dear,” I added a smile, but I doubt it was convincing, even to myself.

Something was poking me at the back of my mind like there was something I needed to do…

‘He needs to come back.’

I forced myself back into reality, to the front of my mind. I had to focus, I had to…

“Keratin, what is next on the itinerary?” A distraction, that’s what I need. I knew Keratin was right next to me. His core made the identification easy.

‘Note to self, teach Patchwork (‘please come back’) how to better identify changelings.’

“Well, my Queen, you did say that Spine was doing better and that you wished to check up on him today. After that…” He looked through the scroll in front of him. I noticed that I started relying quite a bit on his timekeeping ability, “…a visit to the town center. You wanted to see how the pod situation is progressing.”

An assistant, Patch said, rather than an advisor. Two positions I never thought about before, when I was younger…

‘Endo?’

I dove right back into my mind. There was a leak that needed to be fixed. Fix the leak before she…

“My Queen?” Back to the front. I barely managed to seal the memory leak.

Looking down I could see Dictyoptera frowning at me while standing behind Ponera. The giant she-ling in front of me looked worried, and I could guess why.

“Yes, my dears? How long was I out this time? Miss Dicty, is everything all right?”

“You were out for about a minute,” Dictyoptera spoke up, pre-empting Ponera, “I was trying to find you, to deliver a report about the rare resources, ma’am.”

Diving through the earliest memories on the subject I easily found the request Patch made of her before he left (‘He will return, he promised…’). He asked miss Dicty to look into rare materials that could be gathered around the Badlands; gems, metals, anything, and everything we could use in a trade with ponies.

“Ah, yes. Tell me, did you manage to find something we could use?”

“Yes, and no. I asked around and looked through our maps; according to the workers there are several locations with gems and metals that we could use around the castle and near enough for an expedition,” She did not look happy for some reason.

“All I hear is a ‘yes’, my dear…” I felt my head tilt to the side, “I am not hearing a ‘no’ however.” I felt an itch in my back and had to open my elytra for a quick buzz with my wings (‘When was the last time I used them?’)

“Well… It’s a similar issue that has been repeating since we started this mess. Other than gold and some materials like iron everything that wasn’t recognized the workers deemed either useless or they ignored it,” She huffed in annoyance and I could feel my displeasure rise slightly. She was, of course, correct, it was a repeating issue, “We have to look deeper into it, ask the ponies what can be used and what they need, and… We need to ask for more details or check if the infiltrators have any deeper knowledge or information about it,” She lowered her head in exasperation.

(‘He will be back… and then what?’)

“I did not think we would…” I shook my head to refocus and dislodge some stray thoughts and emotions.

I felt the pull this time, to return to the safety of my mind. To make the wall stronger, impenetrable, no monster will ever…

‘He’s my son, he will come back… But then what?’

“See if Spectrum could get us some insights into it, or if some of the ponies are willing to help. The sooner we can set up a trade with the ponies, maybe even other races, the sooner we can stop relying on theft and stand on our own hooves,” I stomped my right hoof for good measure, with the new claws creating a strange feeling I have yet to get used to. How does Patchwork work with these?

(‘He will leave again… He has Velvet…’)

Miss Dicty nodded her head and, after a quick bow, she left to complete this arduous task. The three of us, Ponera, Keratin, and myself, continued down the road, on our way to check on Spine.

(‘Patch has a pony he loves… So why not a changeling, one that would give him a reason to stay?’)

I felt my ears perk up, and I did not notice when I started prancing, or laughing. My two companions had large smiles on their muzzles, and that is all I needed. Everything would be just perfect.

Patchwork

Dropping off Velvet at her home came with a promise that I will come back to see her before I leave. She is, after all, one of the main reasons I came back to Canterlot in the first place.

I also apologized to her parents (Bright was absolutely fuming, refusing to even talk to me), and they were, more or less, accepting. They weren’t happy with the situation by any means, but Aurora, Velvet’s mom, was just as loving and fussy as I hoped she would be, while her father, Perfect, was a bit standoff-ish. There were no particularly negative emotions involved throughout the whole meeting and thus, I counted it as a success.

I also wanted to drop by the academy before I left to say hi to Night Light, but, first Husk, then Little Zap.

The ornate white and gold carriage bounced every now and again on the cobblestone streets once we left the Sparkle residence and I sighed heavily sinking into the plush red pillow within an equally red and silky interior. The lap of luxury I never thought I would have the privilege to feel and I knew that there is a fresh bottle of wine in one of the two doors that would be switched for a fresh one after every trip.

On our way directly to the palace, on Celestia’s orders, I closed my eyes and leaned on the carriage window (blinds were pulled, I don’t want the ponies to see me). My right ear twitched when I heard Drop shuffle her wings right next to me, the resin orb with Husk safely tucked into her saddlebag.

I could also hear Celestia while she was sorting through some paperwork while I settled my thoughts, now that I could relax a bit with Velvet being safe and sound. I asked for a few minutes of peace.

I could feel a frown and a headache coming up.

I was worried… Worried about Chrysalis, worried about Husk and how Celestia would react, worried about my future with Velvet, about changelings, what to do when I go back there… Worried, worried, worried…

I could feel a feather gently caress my right cheek and I opened one of my eyes to see Celestia looking at me with a gentle smile on her muzzle and worry in her eyes. It dawned on me that it would be so easy to just call her ‘mom’, but not yet not now.

Throwing out an easy smirk to calm her worries I elbowed Drop and pointed at the saddlebags on her back. She immediately started fishing for the orb after a nod while I yawned widely.

Celestia also magicked her paperwork away and cleared her throat, “So, if I may ask again, Patch: why exactly did you bring Husk here? A complete answer this time, please.”

With Velvet not among us now, I was able to speak freely.

“Well, I did bring Husk here for safekeeping, that wasn’t a lie…” I watched as a completely black resin orb was taken out of the bag by an apprehensive Drop and offered to me.

I took the orb in my magic and offered it to Celestia who looked even less willing to hold it.

“Don’t worry,” I chuckled, “far as I know she is in complete stasis. At least, she never responded to any of my pokes and prods with magic.”

“That does not exactly fill me with confidence,” She muttered. She still ignited her horn and brought the orb close to her.

I could tell that she was using her magic to scan the thing, tilting her head left and right as if she were looking for any imperfections.

I focused intently on her emotions the whole time. I was concerned that Husk might pull one last trick, or that, for some banal reason, Celestia might drop the orb, break it, and Husk would be able to run away.

I could also see Drop tensing from the corner of my eye and I felt my own body follow suit, ready for an attack or worse.

“BO!” I did not expect Celestia to do that, and neither did Silent.

I jumped, hitting my head and my horn on the ceiling making me grab my aching head with my claws, and Drop let out an ear-piercing ‘screep’ and lunged forward.

My ears were ringing and my eyes were blurry from my horn scraping the solid wood above me, but I could just barely see Celestia laugh her ass off all the while she held a befuddled Silent Drop in her magic.

“Oh the two of you are absolutely adorable,” Celestia managed to wheeze between gasps, but I barely heard it.

“Mwap… Mwap…” I saw Archer do it, so hopefully, it works. I did smile when the ringing slowly started to recede.

“Was that really necessary?” I asked the still giggling alicorn while she was setting down an irate thestral next to me.

“Yes, yes it was,” one last giggle escaped her, “with how tense the two of you were I simply HAD to take the opportunity.”

‘Yep… A mom… I already feel like strangling her.’ I could have done without the concussion though.

“Well, she is most certainly in there,” She rolled the orb in her magic one more time, “and alive. Although how and why is not something I honestly care to know about.”

“I was hoping we would be able to study her,” I raised my right arm and sharply poked the orb with one of my claws.

“Study her?” By the surprise in her voice, I guessed that Celestia didn’t even consider the option. “Why in the world would we risk something like that?” Ah, maybe I was wrong.

“No risk no reward,” I shrugged, “I would leave it for the lings to study her, but her presence is dangerous to us in more ways than it is for you or your ponies. Plus, you guys have more ways of restraining her.”

Two sharp knocks on the door got all three of us to look at it as a muffled voice came from the outside.

“We have arrived at the castle, ma’am.”

Nodding her head, Celestia motioned for the two of us to follow as she opened the carriage door and hopped out.

Following out after her, with Drop right behind me, I noticed that we stood directly in front of the castle, within the perimeter. The thick air of magic surrounding the entire location made Husk’s hatred emission drop down to barely a noticeable trickle. I wondered just how many spells Celestia placed on this place over the centuries.

A sharp poke on my side made me jump lightly and I thanked Silent for shaking me out of my thoughts.

Celestia waited for us in front of the open gates of her castle, the vile orb still in her magic.

“What would we even gain from studying this creature, my dear?” She asked once I’d gotten close. She turned around and entered her home and I went after her with a light trot, she was still the taller of the two of us.

Parchment, her assistant joined us almost immediately, following almost a full two steps behind us and he held a clipboard firmly at his side in a strange-looking saddlebag. I guessed it was designed to hold the clipboard itself as it fits snugly without any wiggle.

I am ashamed to admit that I never actually acknowledged the helpful stallion as he would do his best to blend into his surroundings (with a camouflage spell of some sort I’m guessing) whenever he wasn’t needed.

I managed a quick study of his features ignoring his raised eyebrow until a loud clearing of throat shook me out of my curiosity. All I managed to get was grey fur, a darker mane, and a kind but stern face.

“I will not say that there would be no benefits in studying Husk, Patchwork…” Celestia stood in front of an unassuming wall next to the throne. After a burst of magic though a small section of the wall opened revealing a round hole in which she inserted her horn, “I do not think you understand how dangerous of a threat she is, for everyONE involved.”

“I’m sorry, but I fail to see the danger. If she can be contained in a way that allows for detailed examination and study the only ‘threat’ she could represent is if anyone is gullible enough to actually fall for her schemes,” I faintly remembered that this wall opened into a safe that kept the elements during Discords opening episode.

I felt my jaw drop when a massive surge of magic spread throughout the room while the wall started folding itself outwards revealing a large unassuming and unadorned brown double door.

“Maybe for you, my dear, but you need to remember, we are ponies. It is not as easy for us to ignore a cry for help or believe a white lie as it is for you,” She approached me and lowered her head nuzzling me just under my left ear. “I will keep her in a place where nopony would be able to reach for now though. And I will let you know IF I agree to your proposition of studying her.”

I nodded my head and watched as the double door opened with her magic revealing nothing but sheer darkness on the other side.

If nothing else, I comforted myself in the fact that nobody other than Discord would ever be able to find Husk. But I’ll be damned if I ever let her be in peace.

‘Note to self, perhaps I should find Discord’s statue at some point.’

CH 51 (voice in a box, okay, but why a vobby?)

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Patchwork

Finding Little Zap was easier than I hoped.

Asking Parchment if he knew about Zap’s whereabouts got me her address in Canterlot in less than five minutes.
Apparently, since I last saw her over a year ago, she has been working closely with Celestia in order to bring cell phones to life in Equestria, and due to that she moved over to Canterlot from Trottingham a few months ago.

Flying over the streets of Canterlot in the form of a pegasus mare (butter-yellow, with an ice-blue mane and tail) I made my way to the third-highest plate of the city. I took my time as I was in no rush to return back to Badlands. Chrysalis was there, and with several lings keeping an eye on her I wasn’t worried about things going south… maybe I shouldn’t spend too much time here though.

The only problem I was facing right now is that I never left the plate of Canterlot that held the U.E.G. academy other than to visit Celestia. I had almost no idea what the other plates contained beyond some basic knowledge that I looked up when I was bored.

Because of that, I was guided by Silent Drop to my location. She lived in Canterlot for years and she could at the very least, get us close. She swooped down once at the plate checkpoint to get a confirmation of the directions but otherwise, it was an uneventful flight during which I spent the entirety of my time lost in thoughts of nothing.

…

Zap’s house wasn’t a mansion, but it wasn’t a small house either.

It still followed the white stone construction that the majority of Canterlot enjoyed aside from the colourful roofs that eerily reminded me of the middle-ages.

After a few more seconds of studying the outside (there were no decorations and based on the leftover boxes on the small front lawn I wondered what she was up to), I raised my left arm and knocked on the brown wooden door.

While the knock echoed I took some time to look around me.

I was still in the form of a mare, Silent Drop was behind me in the shadows of the buildings and I guessed she would stay outside once I go in, and the street behind me was still fairly busy at four in the afternoon.

I considered it a shame that Zap’s house is facing a side street and other than ponies going to and from work there wasn’t anything else of interest to see.

I still pony-watched, enjoying the sight of two little foals playing around their mother while she giggled at their antics… a sad pegasus with a wing covered in bandages watching at the sky as several flyers slowly glided over the city, I did not need to be a changeling to understand his emotions.

I watched as a minotaur in a suit carrying a briefcase rounded a corner when a loud sharp knock sounded off close to me.

Turning to look at the door I saw a retreating black hoof and a small burst of annoyance from Drop. Guess I got lost in thoughts again.

“Thank you, Drop,” All I got was a quick nod.

It didn’t take long for the door to open this time.

After a loud ‘coming!’ it took only a few seconds till the door handle rattled and some swearing could be heard.

When the door actually opened I had to look down to see the diminutive earth pony mare.

Little Zap’s banana-yellow fur and mane were matted and dusty, her face slightly sagged but her eyes were still very much awake. She looked up at me with a small frown and what I would like to call a pout, but I knew better.

“I’m sorry, miss, but I am rather busy at the moment…” She started off but I raised my left arm to stop her while I let my actual voice come through.

“Sorry to bother Zap, but would you be able to spare some time nonetheless?”

My deeper voice coming out froze her for a moment and I could see the gears in her head turning. She hasn’t seen me in over a year, and from what I knew she was very busy with the whole phone thing. I never looked into how far the project had come, maybe I should ask afterwards.

“Patch, is that you?” She asked lifting her brow in surprise.

“Yep, you mind if I come in?” I pointed at the doorway hoping that she wouldn’t be so busy for a quick favour. I could have probably asked Celestia bout this first, but I kind of did not want to go over Zap for this. Reverse engineering this technology and implementing it in Equestria meant a lot to her.

“Yea, of course, sure… just let me…” She turned around and shoved the door open wide and moved two boxes that were at the entrance out of the way.

I frowned and made a quick switch of species from a pegasus to a unicorn when I made sure that no one was looking.

Igniting my horn I entered the house and what I thought was one or two stray boxes turned out into a completely covered corridor.

“I’m sorry about this, but all of these arrived yesterday and I spent the whole day trying to fix it,” Zap spoke up from behind me in a huff while closing the door.

“Mhm…” I gave a cursory glance around me and I made note of all the labels on the boxes.

I let my magic fizzle out transforming into myself and causing the small earth pony behind me to gasp loudly in shock.

I pulled a bit more magic into my horn and I looked under me at Little Zap who stared with wide eyes, “Tell me, where are all these supposed to go?” I asked with a smile.

…

“Why didn’t you ask the delivery ponies for help?” I raised my voice so it could reach Zap in the kitchen while I finished with the last box in the basement.

It took about thirty minutes for her to point me to her basement and for me to organise all the boxes following the labels. Advanced magic may not be my strong suit but multitasking and arcanokinesis worked just fine. If Night Light was here he would have done this in less than five minutes, and probably neater.

Exiting the surprisingly spacious cellar (ducking my head so I wouldn’t rake my horn on the top of the doorway), I heard her voice from my left side.

“Because I wasn’t here when they made the delivery yesterday, and I did not want them to break anything,” there was some muttering as well but I couldn’t make it out.

In confirmation, I bobbed my head several times in understanding, mostly to myself, and closed the door behind me.

Looking to the left and right I took notice that the main corridor was completely bare of anything. Just bare white walls.

Directly in front of me was the kitchen, on the right, was the main door, to my far left, was a staircase and before that was an arch and a closed door after it.

Shrugging to myself I turned left twice, through the arch and I ended up in the living room, which was lavishly, but tastefully decorated in a look that I could only describe fluffy but homey.

The walls were filled with numerous paintings and coloured photographs of Zap and ponies that I presumed to belong to her family. Some of the paintings were small things, placed on the various shelves that surrounded a decently sized fireplace on the right side of the room. I took a quick peek at one of the pictures noticing an absolutely beaming younger Zap along with two older mares in a small group hug. I did not wish to jump to conclusions about who was who so I left it alone for now.

In the centre of the room was a decently sized wooden table on top of which Zap placed two steaming cups (coffee and tea based on the smell) next to a large plate full to the brim with doughnuts.

The floor was completely covered with a fuzzy white carpet with the very tips of its fluffy ends being coloured blue, and there were pillows EVERYWHERE.

Taking a step forward I quickly ran my claws through the carpet enjoying the feeling of fluff before I joined Little Zap who was sitting at the table on a red pillow.

“Thank you for the help,” I noticed that her fur was cleaned up. Probably while I was sorting out the basement.

“No worries. Happy to,” A gave her a quick smile and I lifted the steaming cup to my lips. The tea was… nice. It was fruity, and normally I would consider it delicious, but… I had to shamefully admit to myself that I got used to the quality of Celestia’s teas.

“I doubt you came over to help me with the boxes though,” she took a long sip of her coffee, holding the cup with her hooves, “so what’s up? Also, what happened to you?” She waved her hoof at me trying to encompass my new size and changes.

“Well… I am a prince now, kind of. A changeling Prince to be precise,” I started off but I only just now realized just how uncomfortable I was with using that title out loud. “And…”

“A prince?” She put the cup down much faster than she obviously wanted, if the slight jump she made after the loud ‘clink’ was any indication, I also tasted a small amount of…fear? from her, “A prince like Charming or more like… Princess Celestia?”

“Relax Zap,” I chuckled at her overreaction, “I’m like an alicorn, yes, but that’s about it. No political power here (‘Yet’).”

“That’s not the point,” she sighed heavily after face-hoofing, “This will cost me my job when Princess Celestia hears about this…”

“Hears about what?” One of my ears perked up and I tilted my head to the side, confused at her reaction, “That I offered my help to a pony that needed it? She would be disappointed if I DIDN’T help.”

She still shook her head muttering something under her breath.

I decided to move the subject into something less bothersome to keep her from freaking out over a wannabe princeling.

“So, about that favour, I was hoping to get?”

And, true to form, ponies being ponies, she went from worried and panicky to smiles and sunshine.

“Oh certainly, I was curious about that.”

“So…” I took a dramatic inhale, “I am working outside of Equestria, and it’ll stay that way for a while. The problem is, my marefriend cannot come with me so I was hoping your new phones would be able to help me with staying in contact with her.”

“AH, I heard you have a marefriend, congratulations,” She put on a warm smile, and I nodded my head in thank you, “but we don’t call them ‘phone’ anymore.”

She got up from her pillow and left the room and I was left there perplexed. The phone was a fine way to call such a device… why would they change that?

I mean the word certainly didn’t belong to this world, and using the word in Equish certainly made it feel like it didn’t belong… ‘I guess there is a reason to change the name.’

“We call them ‘vobbys’ now,” she chirped from behind me entering the room and carrying a decently sized box on her back, “or ‘vob’ if you want to be boring.” I could feel a part of me dying at the name.

With a quick wiggle, the box was slid onto the table and she pushed it closer to me. Grabbing the box with my claws I quickly opened it revealing two rows of four phones, one side coloured powder blue and the other a soft pink.

Gently scooping a pink one out I was immediately impressed.

The first time I was shown a fully functional product, back in the room/home, the phones were effectively the size of a brick and with the same colour. Two buttons and a screen, which was all there is to it.

This ‘new’ model, while still fairly large, was much sleeker with four more buttons added to the side (two on each side respectively) and a larger screen was dominating the front with two large buttons (a green button with a music note in the centre, and a red button with that same note and a slash over it).

Pressing a few of those buttons I wasn’t surprised that they had a bit of a typewriter feel to it. The buttons let out a solid ‘click’ when pressed and there was a much softer ‘click’ when let go.

Turing the whole thing around in my claws I noticed a frog-shaped indentation in the back of the case with five strange… clawed shapes around it. Looking at it from several angles did not yield any solutions so I glanced quickly at Zap only for a realisation to hit me when I saw her hooves wiggle.

My claws were much larger than the keratinous hooves of ponies, but it completely slipped my mind that pony hooves were segmented with limited gripping ability.

Turning the phone around, I made a quick change to my physique making me about the size of an average pony and placed my hoof-shaped palm into the groove. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily the whole thing fit, even if my claws couldn’t get a proper grip.

Transforming back into my normal size I flipped the phone again in my claws finding a power button at the very top above the screen. I did not wish to press it yet, but so far, the ponies made fantastic progress in the span of a year.

Nodding a couple of times in satisfaction I looked over at Zap, “I’m guessing they are linked?” I picked up a blue phone… vobby out of the box and placed both of them in front of me while pushing the box towards Zap.

“Yes,” she reached over and pulled the now lighter box closer to her and placed it on the floor on her left, “they are, were, the first few models we made before an epiphany struck us;” she shrugged, “long story short, the newer models currently in production will work in a similar way our radios work: several ponies will be in charge of linking the vobbys to one another based on the calls and messages to their intended targets.” There was a sour look on her face and her emotions were quickly flooded with annoyance.

“Not everything is going according to plans?” I asked. I couldn’t help but smirk a bit; I wanted them to have at least SOME trouble figuring this out. Two years is too short of a time for this kind of development, even with the ponies' talents.

“No, she huffed. We are still hashing out the details,” She picked up the cup again and gave it another slurp, making a face as I’m guessing the brew cooled down. A quick application of my magic warmed it right back up and she took a larger gulp with a smile, “We had to reach out to minotaurs for a bit of assistance, and you just know they are going to lord it over our heads for years to come.”

I did not know much about minotaurs other than their geo-position, but that was my own fault. I should look into other races and nations, especially now, it would be a great help to changelings to know more about other races… or maybe they already do… I’ll have to look into that when I get back.

“What you are trying to do is very similar to what they did in the old days on Earth,” I used my magic again on my own cup and with a large ‘gulp’ I downed the tea. I used the saucer that came with the cup to put an unassuming brown doughnut on it, “The phones about… what, fifty, sixty years ago used to be connected by wires and we had several booths in a city that were the hub for all the connections. The people in those booths were in charge of linking the caller with the person they wanted to call… a matter of fact, now that I think about it, don’t cell phones still use a similar system to a degree?” I thought out loud mostly to myself but I could feel several large flashes of emotion from Zap; anger being chief among them.

“You bucker! You never told us about any of it!” The clang that came from her cup when she slammed it on the table was fully intended this time it seems, “You could have saved us MONTHS of work. We didn’t even NEED to talk to the minotaurs if we knew this!”

The doughnut was halfway to my mouth, “Sorry?” I shrugged without any remorse before taking a bite of it… which I immediately regretted when I found out that there was coffee in it. “The history of phones and their development is long, complicated, and not something I cared to look deeper into. I know some basic stuff that I was taught in school and that’s about it,” I could tell that Zap was furious, but I was more focused on picking a different doughnut to remove the bitter taste from my mouth.

Letting out a series of grumbles and swears the yellow earth pony stomped out of the room and came back with a small stack of parchment and a quill with ink.

Sitting back down on the red pillow with a grunt she dumped everything on the table (she was far gentler with the ink) and turned to me with a mad glint in her eyes, “All right buster, you are going to tell me EVERYTHING you know about phones, start to finish, and I’ll probably let you go with those two, okay?” With both honey and venom dripping from her words all I could do was hope that Velvet won’t mind if I visit her late.

CH 52 (the short inbetween)

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Dicty

‘What is wrong with her this time?’ I dragged both of my hooves down my muzzle in frustration. ‘This is the third time she is crying today!’

Chrysalis held Keratin in a tight hug bawling her eyes out while Ponera did her best to comfort her. They were making a scene in the middle of the new town square and I couldn’t find the strength in me to deal with it.

Opening my wings and flying on the roof of one of the domes I kept an eye out for trouble while our new monarch managed to calm down… again. I was hoping that Spine woke up soon so that I can go back to Manehattan. I missed my old job.

The queen has been jumping from depressed to cheerful, from happy to crying ever since Patchwork left and it's only gotten worse. She didn’t freeze yet, which was also worrying me as that was another piece of today’s madness that didn’t fit.

“Patch and White Light are right, she needs help,” I watched as lings passed them by. A small few would scowl at Chrysalis' behavior, but their numbers dropped significantly. Being properly fed by the queen’s regular love output mellowed out the vast majority of changelings. Some left, refusing to accept the change, but those won’t be missed.

I felt my ears perk up when two passing earth ponies walked up to the queen.

I couldn’t hear what they talked about but their managing to calm her down in just under five minutes is a pleasant surprise.

One of them pulled Ponera to the side and both of them sat down just under me. I took a few steps towards the edge hoping I could pick up a few things from their chat.

I used one of Patchwork’s tricks and enhanced my hearing, cringing at first at the sudden influx of sound.

“…often?” That was the earth pony mare. Her brown coat was almost dark enough to be black.

“Usually, no,” Ponera answered, “but she has been like this since the prince left this morning.”

“Oh... Hmm,” the mare lowered her head in thought and she stayed like that for about a minute making both myself and Ponera look around awkwardly.

“Hazel?” All three of us raised our heads to look at the new arrival. The green-coated stallion left Chrysalis’s side and approached us with a light trot, “Do you think that Quick Input would be able to talk to her?” He gave a quick tilt of his head towards the, now significantly calmer, queen behind him.

“I was just thinking about the same thing, Vivid” Hazel smiled at her… co-worker? I didn’t have time to talk to these ponies much. “But you know that he hasn’t done something like this in years.”

“Eh, it’s like galloping; even a Canterlot unicorn can do it after a warm-up,” The stallion named Vivid shrugged his shoulders.

“What… who are you talking about?” I couldn’t see her muzzle well, but by her voice, Ponera was confused.

I, on the other hoof, heard enough.

Standing straight I opened my elytra and with a quick buzz, I rose into the air and made my way to one of the domes that housed the pony team.

I’ve spoken to Quick Input twice since his arrival. He struck me as a well-read and intelligent individual, but this is the first time I’ve heard that there may be more to him.

I regret that I never looked into the background of all the ponies that arrived here. We could have a counselor or a psychologist here with us among their number and…

“Stupid… gah… It’s just one thing after another since then… I should have just stayed in Manehattan,” I grumbled passing a few smaller groups of flying lings heading to and from work.

Well, I’m here, and we may have something somepony that could help the queen. Why none of us thought to ask before I am simply going to chalk it up to all of us being tired from constant work in the last two weeks.

Patchwork

The evening was gently rolling into place by the time I left Zap’s home.

She was positively fuming by the time it told her every bit of info I had on telecommunication development but I also saw her squeak and giggle like a madwoman so I have no idea what her problem is at the end of the day.

There was something about how she had a breakthrough moment but I did not ask her about the specifics.

After a quick apology to Drop for taking so long (she did not even make an attempt to enter the house (‘I have to sit down and talk to her about her ‘job’ at some point’)) I made my way back to Velvet in the form of Rainbow Blitz with just a bit darker fur color.

I got some hooves pointed at me by a local four-pony pegasi patrol making me question my choice in transformation but otherwise, there were no issues. Although it kind of makes me wonder…

‘I’ll have to look up some names at some point. I don’t want to step on any hooves if I shift into someone I know about only to cause an incident when the form is recognized.’

Landing at Velvet’s home, after a quick chat with her family I told Vel about another pony I wanted to visit, Night Light. Unfortunately, it is getting late, so I’ll have to extend my stay in Canterlot for another day. Hopefully, Chrysalis is handling things.

…

Morning greeted me in the form of my marefriend’s alarm clock.

The annoying thing woke me up from a good nap and I reached out to make it pay for doing its job.

Just as I was about to bring a claw on it the blaring stopped and I cracked one eye open to see what happened.

“I just happen to like that clock, love,” a quick glance above me showed a stern-looking Velvet, but her emotions betrayed her amusement.

Grabbing and tilting the clock so I can see the time, I frowned when the clock arms showed ten in the morning.

“Fuck… I need to get going…” I yawned and let go of the clock.

“Can’t you stay for breakfast,” Velvet hopped onto the bed and started nuzzling me and nipping at sensitive areas around my neck where the chitin was the thinnest and I let myself enjoy the affection.

Twisting around once I sat up, I grabbed her around her withers and pulled both of us down into the covers, her happy squeal turning into laughter when I started aggressively nuzzling her back.

Still laughing at my silliness Vel twisted around my grip until we were belly to belly and returned my rougher nuzzles with gentle ones. Twisting her neck around she all but guided me to the right spots and a few more gentle bites to my shoulders told me everything I needed to know.

…

Closing the door of Sparkle's residence behind me I looked over my current shape of Night Front.

I haven’t used it for a while now so I had to add a bit of height in order to ease some discomfort. I’ve gotten used to being myself so taking a smaller shape like a pegasus was certainly something I had to get used to, again.

‘I should practice more with smaller forms… or figure out how to deal with my organs. Other changelings probably don’t have this issue.’

Taking a deep breath of fresh Canterlot air I sighed enjoying the gentle warmth of the sun on my faux fur.

‘Need to visit Celestia and Shield before I leave.’

Returning back to the here and now, I took a quick glance around me and decided against flying. There will probably be a few ponies that will stop me for a quick chat with questions on my whereabouts, but that was a problem for later. If I even manage to run into them.

Taking a deep breath of fresh Canterlot air I shivered slightly in enjoyment knowing that warmer days were upon us as spring would be settling in. It used to be the other way around for me, I did not stand summer. Ah well, just one more thing that has changed since I got here.

I frowned for a moment, and, finding a nearby low wooden bench I settled down on my barrel, with my legs under me, for a minute to sort out some of my thoughts.

I have been in Equestria for roughly three years now… but between everything that has happened from then to now… looking at the city from the ground properly, seeing ponies mile about (a vast majority being unicorns), and the local bookstore being slowly decorated by its owner in lovely pink hearts… When even IS Hearts and Hooves Day?

Aside from seeing the ponies celebrate Heart’s Warming Eve during my ‘prison’ days I never actually paid any attention to the date. What about the dates of other holidays?

I know how to be a pony, but what about other stuff about their culture that goes unsaid?

Magic… I have neglected it badly especially since the whole training with Celestia started. And while I agree with her that I should focus on what I enjoy using and what I am the most proficient with (shapeshifting) I shouldn’t have ignored the rest.

I kept a close eye on the clock visible past the bookstore’s display while I made some decisions. I did not want to waste too much time as it has become a precious commodity at some point, but that needed to be addressed as well.

Sighing I opened my senses a bit to get a feeling of the ponies around me, passing by and moving through their lives.

There weren’t many foals outside, their exuberance is always welcome as is their sincerity (harsh though it may be sometimes), but there are plenty of others that I could feel out.

Mothers and fathers, or just couples, in general, trotting around made me especially smile since I could easily sense their love. Older couples made me sigh and almost melt into the low wooden bench as their love carried a feeling of maturity and depth clearly lacking in the younger couples. The younger ones however practically saturated the area to such a degree that I could almost describe it as a cloud of love.

Of course not everything was perfect.

Occasional sour emotions, anger, sadness, and distaste also floated about. Some of the older unicorns (particularly if they are well dressed) certainly took an affront to everything that passed them by if it didn’t fit their opinions.

Interestingly, their emotions were without focus, until a particularly nasty noble unicorn stallion passed by in a chariot.

His ugly emotions were full on blast and pointed at an earth pony mare and a unicorn stallion that entered a nearby café.

Thankfully, his chariot did not linger and in about twenty seconds he was out of sight, and out of mind. A dying breed of unicorn supremacists that barely accounted for less than half a percent of the city at this point… so I figured at least.

Shaking my head and snorting at the lingering emotions I let myself enjoy the view of the busy street for another ten minutes.

‘I need to celebrate Hearts and Hooves with Velvet. I missed too much because of ‘work’… I must do better.’

…

I knew that Night Light’s family belong to a minor noble line, but I did not expect such a… humble home.

“It's just a house,” I mumbled. I didn’t expect a mansion but… c’mon. “I guess it does explain a few things.”

Twilight Sparkle was shown on several occasions to be a humble pony… for lack of a better word. I have also used the word privileged on some occasions but a few of the fans always thought I put some negative connotations to it. I have not.

It doesn’t surprise me that Celestia took her as a student so readily if she ended up a mix of the best of both Twilight Velvet and Night Light: talented, intelligent, organized, and humble, along with the lack of many hardships a ‘normal’ life would give.

I haven’t read much about Light’s family as a whole, but one thing that stood out about them, from what the notes I was given, was that they could trace their lineage VERY far back, and, along with Sparkle's family lineage, they were staunch supporters of Celestia when she took the throne along with her sister.

Shrugging I took a look over the house before I knocked.

While the third plate did not have the crem-de-la-crem of society, several of the noble houses still had their homes located on them. Not many large mansions, heck I could probably count them on the four claws on my hoof, but you knew where they were… bloody things were gaudy enough to blind someone.

No, no; the third plate along with the fourth one seemed to be kind of a cutting-off point. I would call it a bridge but I would wager that is not how the nobles saw it. Especially the ‘last few’.

All that said, from what I was able to see from my trip today was that smaller, or lesser, noble houses still liked to flaunt their riches. Young money, or something along those lines.

This, however, was a normal house. A normal PONY house, but a house non the less.

It had the standard that I have come to associate with unicorns in Canterlot, namely, it wasn’t square, and there are two towers sticking out of the sides. I could almost see a telescope sticking out of one of the windows from the right tower if I tilted my head far enough.

Tall and cylindrical, the house walls were white, as was the majority of the city, with two stories above the ground floor, but the roof was in the shape of a turban, deep purple in color, and without any noticeable seams that I would able to use as a reference point for roofing tiles.

A quick glance around me confirmed that, barring an occasional typical square (standard) shaped house, every house that a unicorn either entered or left from, had a unique shape and design with a few similarities; gems being the most visible one.

At six points in the front (and probably in the back) of the house wall, starting from the middle left and right of the main door, are six blue gems in the shape of a triangle each in individual sockets. Each of those sockets was surrounded by what I could only guess is gold paint connecting to the other gems and encircling the entire wall creating a separation that I assumed showed where the floors are.

The fact that between each of those golden lines was a window only served to prove a point, but then I noticed that there were two windows on the left and right of the door, about half a meter further from the gems.

The outside did not have any form of illumination but, then again, it wasn’t necessary as just on my left was a tall light pole standing about two meters from the door. I’m guessing that in the evening the entire house is lit up like a lighthouse in a thunderstorm and with the way it looked, it may as well be.

I couldn’t see what was on the roof, but I know for a fact that there is a chimney (probably made from the same bullshit material as the rest of the house is made of), and of course, one or more decorations, sometimes in the shape of the lead family tree cutie mark.

The two towers on the side were on different elevations, one on the left just hugged the building on the side but it is facing the neighboring house and it's almost hidden from sight; the other was separated by a short ascending corridor and peaked a good meter above the roof.

Sighing I turned to look slightly up to the roof of a nearby low square house where I knew Drop made her temporary nest before I approached the house of my friend.

The heavy-looking wooden door had no bells (of course, this was Equestria) but hanging down in the middle was a decently sized knocker in the shape of a telescope.

Craning my neck to the right side I looked at the right tower where I could just barely see the edge of the window with the telescope.

Shaking my head I raised my left hoof and lifted the knocker using it twice. I cringed a bit at the loud noise coming from it and I wondered if someone would or had already filed a noise complaint.

“Coming!” Recognizing the voice coming from inside I focused my senses on the building but only Night Light’s emotions came through, slight annoyance, but predominantly happiness.

It took about a minute for the door to open, and Night Light to freeze with wide eyes.

“You’re back!” Joy exploded from him and I was pulled into a hug which I somewhat sheepishly returned. Other than Velvet I am still touch-shy compared to ponies.

“Not exactly back, my friend, only visiting,” His emotions dipped a bit to sadness, and I pulled my head back just to see his ears wilt back, “for now anyway.”

Letting go Night pulled back from the hug and stepped to the left inviting me inside with a hoof, “Well, if you are still busy then all I can say is: thanks for visiting,” he smiled.

Nodding my head in thanks I entered the house quickly wiping my hooves on the doormat before actually stepping in.

CH 53 (on the way back)

View Online

Patchwork

I froze before I even stepped properly into the house.

I could not, in good conscience call it messy, or disorganized, but it did make me wonder about my friend.

The ground floor was divided halfway by a wall into two even parts from what I could see, with the archway to the next room being near the far end. I could also spot a stairway following the curvature of the wall on the far side right next to the archway.

I was stepping into the living room directly, from what I managed to see, but it was the state of it that made me pause.

Other than the few necessities one would need to call a room a ‘living room’ in its very center (a light-green couch, a yellow low, pony armchair, a white stone framed fireplace, a brown wooden end-table, and a coffee table, a thin reddish carpet) the room could, in a way, only be described as organized chaos.

The wall I looked at, with the stairway leading up, has several wooden display shelves underneath the stairs that are sticking out slightly.

On my right is a meter-tall bookcase spanning the entire length of the wall up to the archway on the far right and on my left is a series of display cabinets and bookshelves in a pattern of cabinet-bookshelf-cabinet-bookshelf up until the fireplace facing the couch.

All of that is fine, just fine, what isn’t fine, however, is that every single shelf and empty section of wall was filled, covered to the brim with figurines, action figures, mini-figures, dolls, books, scrolls, pictures, frames, snow globes?, posters, and various other knick-knacks that I couldn’t figure out on first glance. The blue wallpaper was barely visible from all the pictures covering it.

What also isn’t okay is that in front of each shelf and bookcase is a stacked tower of four wooden boxes in various states, either open or closed, and each of those towers is surrounded by smaller boxes with numerous little figurines scattered around them. There was barely any space to move for even a unicorn let alone a pegasus like myself.

I vaguely remembered that Ogres and Oubliettes are a thing in Equestria as the figurines remind me of D&D, but it absolutely faded out of my mind at the sheer quantity of items on display here.

“Welcome to my home,” Night Light passed me by with a smile on his face. I could feel the eye twitch coming back with a vengeance, “could you just close the door behind you? Oh, and please don’t touch anything unless you can put it back where it belongs. Remember: everything has a place, and there is a place for everything.”

I think I closed the door; I know I heard a click, but fuck me… I felt my head tilt to the side when I saw how effortlessly my blue unicorn friend weaved between everything.

“Umm… Night?”

“Hmm,” he turned his head around and I could see something click in his head when he noticed my problem; this house was not made with wings in mind. “Oh, right, sorry… give me one minute.”

Three flashes of magic from his horn shoved some boxes and items to the side, the blinds were closed on the windows and the low armchair (with enough space on it to curl up) was slightly turned to the side to provide more space than needed for my Night Front disguise.

“Feel free to be yourself,” he chirped while going to, what I guessed is, the kitchen, “my folks aren’t here and they won’t be back for at least two hours.”

“Erm… Okay.”

A quick flash and I felt my horn just barely brush up against the ceiling, and it made me inwardly cringe a bit; I have gotten used to having more room to move.

Still, shrugging my feelings to the side I made my way to the armchair only to turn and lie on the couch with my legs under me. There is more space on it, and there were several figurines on the table next to the yellow lounger that I worried about knocking over somehow.

“So, how did the whole changeling thing go?” Came a shout from the kitchen.

“It’s still going. I traded one huge immediate problem with a smaller more annoying one,” I huffed in frustration.

The short quiet that followed allowed me to properly look through the room.

Now that I was in the center of it, I could see that there was far more space in the room than initially observed, even though the volume of stuff on the shelves still made me reel back slightly.

“Night,” I called to my friend, “what’s with all the boxes?” I traced the wooden boxes that blocked the majority of the room and the floor.

“Dad has been rearranging the figurines. He does it by season,” I focused on the visible upper shelves. I only now noticed that all of them featured yaks predominantly.

“Is this that O&O thing?” I asked looking at the end table that featured a fairly large yak holding a bagpipe-looking instrument in his front legs.

“Eh, some of it,” came a shout, “The Yak Companionship that you see there is from a griffon ga… Sweet Celestia!”

His shout of surprise made me jump and I found myself balancing precariously with two legs on the sofa and the other two sliding on the coffee table.

“I forgot how tall you are,” I frowned at his reaction, and a scratching sound made me look down. In order to get a better grip I scratched the table.

“Sorry about that, Light,” I moved back down to the couch, being very careful not to scratch it as well.

“Ah, no worries,” Night Light stepped into the room carrying a silver star-shaped tray with two glasses of juice in his magic.

Coming over and sitting down on the armchair he placed the tray on the table while looking me over, “Seriously, do you stop growing at some point?”

“I don’t think I’ve grown at all in the last, what, month, since I left,” Lifting the glass with my magic I took a sip of juice humming in delight at the taste of apple.

“You did,” he squinted tilting his head left then right, “by roughly five percent since I last saw you.”

“I didn’t notice the difference,” I shrugged.

“Maybe you should stop hanging around tall ponies then,” Night smirked and I stuck my tongue at him. “Seriously though, how are you doing? Are you finished with… whatever it was you had to leave for?”

With the glass halfway to my lips, I sighed before emptying the whole thing, “I’m doing fantastic,” I put the empty glass down, “on another note I’d rather swan-dive off of Canterlot with my wings tied down than go through all that again.”

I pursed my lips in distaste while Night pulled his head back in mild shock while mouthing the word ‘swan-dive’. He may not understand the word itself, but he is smart enough to know what I meant.

Shaking his head he looked at me sadly while sipping his own juice, “I’m sorry to hear that It was bad. Anything I can do to help? You aren’t going back there again?”

“Nothing you can help with, my friend,” I scratched behind my left ear, “and I have to go back. It’s not AS bad as it was, but… it wouldn’t feel right to just leave them all like that.”

“Sounds more like you would rather be anywhere else.”

“Just about,” I snorted, “but Celestia hasn’t given up on this country in, well, ever. I should follow her example.”

“True, but there is nothing honorable in breaking yourself over something you are struggling with,” a small sympathetic smile got me to smirk.

“The situation is not as simple as that, Night, but thank you nonetheless,” I let some silence slip between us for a moment. I never gave him the full information, but I did tell him some basics. “So how have things been here? Your parents left in a hurry or what?” I looked around at half-open boxes. Messy or not, something told me that Night’s family isn’t the type to just leave work half finished.

“Kind of. Some bigger noble houses have been raising a fuss over all the changeling stuff,” that got my ears to perk up. White Light told me a bit about the noble situation, but I also wanted to hear someone else’s opinion, “So they have started pulling smaller noble houses, like ours, to kind of, convince the Princess to… I don’t know, do something. They have their plans about the whole thing,” He continued and I felt a frown coming on.

“I heard a bit about it, but this only sounds like trouble.”

“It is trouble… At least, that’s what Mom and Dad say,” he gave it a quick noncommittal shrug. “Princess Celestia already told them all to give it a break…” Another shrug.

His disinterest gave me a short reminder that my blue unicorn friend is still young. Not THAT young, but still, just enough that big things like ‘politics’ aren’t AS important.

Still, maybe a bit of push in the right direction could make him understand how some things are at least important enough to pay attention to… Not that I was any better.

“What’s your opinion on this whole thing?” I smoothly rolled my left claw in his direction, prompting him to speak. I smirked at his incredulous look.

“Umm…” He coughed into his hoof, clearly uncomfortable about being put on the spot, even by his friend, “I think…” I couldn’t see his tail as he is sitting but his ears started twitching in the same way his eyes looked everywhere but at me.

“Take your time,” I know that his opinion would be well thought out. He just needs some encouragement now.

“Well… I kind of agree with nobles,” Now this I had to hear, he had my full attention, “But I also think that they aren’t doing it for the right reasons, and… a-and I think that Princess Celestia understands it.”

“Okay,” I drawled out, “why do you agree with them though?” I only had one side of the story so far. I will have to chat with Celestia before I leave… go back.

“Oh… um…” His eyes drifted up as he was thinking, “Well, from what mom and dad said the other, bigger… eh… nobles want to reach out and offer the changelings help in exchange for being able to, what was it, benefit from the natural resources of the Badlands.”

I rolled my claw again, prompting him to continue, which got me a smirk from him. It would seem I picked up some habits from my marefriend.

“Anyway,” I wiggled a bit to sit more comfortably, “I think we should offer our help. Changelings could be our allies, but not if we are doing it so that they owe us something… It’s what I think.”

“And I agree,” I happily chirped my approval. At the same time, I was concocting some ideas. I didn’t simply assume that nobles are either stupid or gullible, but maybe if I get Celestia and Chrysalis talking something good could come out of it. After all, if they are eager to pour bits our way for a few baubles I say let them… So as long as changelings don’t allow ponies to run the show. That will be a bit tricky to pull off.

I am happy to drop the top for a while more. I wanted to hear what my friend was up to since I left, no reason to dwell on political mind games any more than necessary.

…

I frowned heavily while looking over Celestia’s notes on the noble activity over the last couple of weeks… more specifically regarding changelings.

I wanted to shake off the foul mood I was in since about two in the afternoon but when I sent a quick message to Badlands (via a communication plate from one of the lings that come with me) I did not expect a near instant reply of ‘Everything is fine’. It pricked at the back of my head constantly and it made what little fur I had stand on end… I need to go back, and soon. But this cannot wait.

I needed more info on what the nobles wanted with changelings and who better to ask than, well, Celestia herself? I also tested the waters by calling her ‘mom’ when I found her and the look on her face, along with the cup of tea that just dropped when her magic stopped from shock was well worth it.

The punishment for wasting a good cup of tea (her words, not mine) is me, stuck under a large white wing, reading over notes while she brushes my mane and tail

Celestia was also mulling over my little idea from this morning about talking to Chrysalis, humming every once in a while, and making notes with a quill on a piece of parchment held in her magic at the same time. And I thought that my multitasking ability was good.

The notes she gave me weren’t very revealing. Even when I asked her Celestia looked like she wasn’t sure if I should see them or not, maybe she thinks I’m not ready or something.

Anyway, not detailed enough for my liking, but what I did find was good.

The larger, wealthier, noble houses ARE trying to organize a few expeditions into the Badlands in order to check for any deposits of either ore, gems, or anything else worth noting.

They have been pushing smaller houses to take part in order to make it seem like everyone is interested in this ‘new’ area and to reduce the flak they would get for going around Celestia’s order. They technically aren’t interfering with changelings (or me) but they are only… where was it… ah, ‘Worried about Equestria’s safety and its market’. All with an excuse to ‘help’ a new rising pony-like nation… bunch of bullshit

If I could talk to Chrysalis and sort out some patrols we could… (‘I did tell Dicty to look into the rare ores and minerals we could use for trade’).

“The lands are technically under changeling sovereignty even by Equestrian law,” I muttered out loud. Raising my head up in thought I scratched idly under my chin, a loud ‘hm’ from the side got my ear to twitch but nothing else, “Hollow Shades and the surrounding forests belong to Thestrals even if they are part of Equestria…

“Say,” I turned to look at Celestia who stopped writing at some point and focused entirely on me, “if we push the whole ‘the lands are ours and you do as we say’, would that cause some issues?”

“Depends on how far you ‘push’ It,” brush set to the side I got one quick squeeze with her wing before she stood up and fluffed both of her wings.

“So as long you keep the control to a reasonable level,” She pulled several scrolls from the nearby bookshelf, quickly unrolling them and then closing them after a glance, “I do not see why they, the nobles, would do anything to cause any trouble directly. Although, a bit of help to keep yourself safer…” A scroll stopped in front of me encased in golden magic after about five minutes of reading and writing. A short storm of paper left me honestly mesmerized.

“What’s in this?” I grabbed the scroll in my claw and a quick buzz of my wings got me up and on my legs.

“Something that you already know about,” I glanced at the scrolls in my claw, “A brief summary of what Thestrals did in order to secure their forest. Should provide ample help in the right hooves… or claws,” She smiled widely.

“Ah… What about my idea though?” Not knowing where to put the scroll in my claw I gingerly placed it under my elytra.

“To talk to Chrysalis? I would have to make some time, but I could just as well send someo-pony trustworthy with you.”

“True,” I agreed, but I still felt some disappointment. I want to spend more time with her, to get more used to… everything.

It must have shown on my face because I got a gentle nuzzle and a sad look from Celestia.

“I know you want me to be there with you, but it is, unfortunately, the position we found ourselves in; I have Equestria and you your changelings,” I nodded, agreeing but I also did not.

“Eventually, once Chrysalis settles back into power, you may step away from that position, but for now… please…”

‘Do not make this harder for everyone,’ were the unsaid words.

She is right, no matter how we both felt about it.

Knowing her she can and will make time to come and help, but she is needed here now, giving me time to prepare Changelings to the best of my ability.

Thankfully, Chrysalis seems to be able to take over once her mental state is sorted… Speaking of.

“You know, I could use a psychologist.”

…

Flying above Badlands, this time as myself (had to leave Canterlot as Night Front first though) I let the cold high-altitude air and wind brush my worries and issues away.

White Light stayed to continue his research (said that he would make his way back in a week) as did the changelings that came with us, Velvet was slightly more understanding but still upset and a psychologist would be on route as soon as possible.

At least Velvet was mollified with the phone but we have yet to actually test it. Hopefully, she won’t try to do something foolish again if it proves that it doesn’t work.

I checked on the saddlebags on my back to make sure that everything is still in it (the phone, Celestia’s scroll and four books I wanted to bring with me on magic and an anatomy book) before I started my slow descent to the only place I know that housed changelings.

Roughly three days away made me expect some changes to the place with what I have seen so far, so seeing the former black castle complete, looking like an off-white mountain hive with large patches of flowers looking like entrance and exit markers.

Tilting my head from side to side, trying to create a full picture in my mind, it kind of looked like a more jagged version of those cartoonish versions of a beehive I watched as a kid combined with an… anthill is the only thing that came to mind. If this is what changelings have to look forward to (a softer shade of a pony, with a shaper edge indicating something different) I could easily say I like it. Kind of reminds me of how the Crystal Empire looked pony made but clearly shaped by the rough location surrounding them, shaper edges, and crystal spires.

Letting myself fall into a soft dive I hoped for the best but prepared for the worst. Three days is enough time for things to go awry.

CH 54 (calling out)

View Online

Patchwork

Other than the occasional push with my wings the only thing that I let drag me down is gravity.

Since I left Canterlot alone (Drop was asked to stay but I wasn’t told why) very early in the morning and pushed myself as soon as I cleared a fair distance from the city, my arrival time to the hive made sure to leave plenty of daylight to enjoy the ragged beauty of Badlands as I fell. Particularly when compared to the almost smooth edges of the new changeling castle along with the surrounding domes.

For a brief moment I almost admitted to myself that the old look of the castle, with jagged sharp spires, actually fit the theme of the location better than the current one, but then again, perhaps this place looked different in the past… maybe.

Lazily turning around in a corkscrew I levelled myself to the ground and began a more controlled flight with the steady buzz of my wings becoming louder as I cleared the higher-altitude winds.

As apprehensive as I felt about coming back to this lair of trouble and headache I also couldn’t deny that a small amount of pride and joy easily took place next to my growing anxiety. The cocktail of emotions made for a strange feeling of both belonging and wanting to run away; something that I did not have much time to dwell on since busy work kept piling up.

‘I don’t see that many lings out and about,’ I squinted after enhancing my eyesight slightly, trying to see where the clouds of working lings disappeared to, ‘I would say that they finished their work, but I can still see at least one or two houses that could use a fix.’

I did not get any words from the ling communication plate before I left Canterlot so what is this?

I did not mind them taking a break, not at all, they deserved it, but I barely see anyone out and about. I wouldn’t say ‘deserted’ but there is certainly a lack of activity a city of several thousand should have.

Tilting my head left then right as I studied the just-about-fixed city, I almost failed to spot a small group of three changelings that flew towards me. Their faces did not look promising.

“You!” The middle one pointed a hoof at me the moment they came close enough to talk, “The so-called changeling Prince,” my anxiety started bubbling into something else, “fix this!”

He pointed at the castle and then flew away towards it before even… I wasn’t even given the time to ask what the fuck is going on. I wasn’t even the one that told them I was a prince, of any sort. Chrysalis…

I sighed trying to push down the frustration and anger that started slowly squashing my patience, “What the fuck happened this time?”

Pushing my wings a bit harder I swiftly caught up to the trio, passing them just as easily, and made my way to the main castle entrance, the ONLY entrance connected to the ground from what I knew.

Much like the other new entrance/exit holes it is surrounded by a layer of green, which I managed to confirm are leaves, ranging from small ones (barely the size of my frog) to four larger ones that could easily hide me under them. The four massive green leaves were placed above the areas where I knew a guard would stand providing effective protection against the sun and rain… if this place ever got some of it to begin with.

I landed just before entering the new castle proper but I wanted to ask a quick question to the three lings behind me. There were no guards at the front, something that really stood out as there were always four of them (two on each side) since I initially arrived here.

“Where are the ponies?” I asked before they landed. Other than an occasional flash of elytra I saw no other colours outside.

“We didn’t hurt them…” Oh… Great.

“Not what I asked,” I turned my head to the speaker on the left, a she-ling with light orange elytra. The only one of the three that didn’t scowl at me and she visibly flinched when I focused on her.

“Almost all of them are under strict surveillance in the tunnels, sir,” The ling on the right spoke and I had to turn my body a bit to see all three of them properly. His colours are what I would call ‘standard’. His scowl did not do anything for the negative emotions bubbling up, but his tone of voice was even and resolute. Other than the changeling in the middle, the other two did not look like I was the source of all trouble, which did help in keeping myself in check.

Quickly glancing down at the ground just to remind myself of the large swaths of tunnels spreading through nearly the entire location (not all of them connected), I decided to bring up the ‘almost’ part of the sentence.

“Almost?” No answer, “Look…” another sigh, and another attempt at keeping myself in check, “what happened to them.”

“Hey,” the middle one snarled which made my claws itch, “we didn’t hurt them, and they are safe in the tunnels. Just go and fix the queen!”

‘Well, that’s one thing confirmed.’

The other two lings looked at the middle one (I noticed that his elytra is almost black when his wings buzzed) with slight fear and for a brief moment, I could feel sparks running through my chitin.

“Free the ponies,” I barely managed to keep the anger from my voice.

“But they…” The middle started to raise his voice, but fuck that at this point.

“Did I fucking STUTTER!?” Fuck self-control. I turned around and made my way inside, past the large entrance. I never understood why this place didn’t have a gate of some sort.

…

‘Where would she even be?’ I had a general feeling of ‘here’, but that was about it.

I froze after the first corner was cleared though.

‘The void looks back at you, obviously,’ I snarked to myself looking at a wall, an actual wall, of changelings blocking the rest of the tunnel.

Other than their heads almost nothing else is visible, their third eyelid closed and their faces expressionless, facing forward and nowhere else. They clung to the walls, one on top of the other in such a way that I probably wouldn’t be able to squeeze anything smaller than a pin between them. A wall of black with blue dots that didn’t so much as acknowledge me.

Creepy, is the only thing that came to mind.

“Fuck it, through the wall it is,” I muttered more to myself than anyone else as I stepped forward.

I thought that they would try to bar my way forward in some way, but before I even got close enough to touch them several of them moved around creating an opening just large enough for my frame to pass. Their faces were still expressionless until I heard some shuffling behind me which got the entire front part of the ‘wall’ to tilt their heads to the same side and their left ear to twitch.

‘Fucking… I don’t care anymore,’ Squaring my shoulders I walked forward at a decent pace, into the darkness of chitin.

‘What could have caused this behaviour?’ I could feel myself calm down a bit as questions began rising up, ‘They were nowhere this protective when I fought Husk… Is it because they knew, deep down, that she wasn’t their queen?’ Questions upon questions.

Not that the answers would have mattered right now; I did speed up slightly though.

Wading through the sea of black chitin and colourful backs made me lose track of time easily (especially since any light barely managed to break through from the local light gems), but there is a bit of silver lining; the changelings knew where I needed to go. If I made a step in the wrong direction they wouldn’t open up a path until I made the right step with some gentle nudging by the surrounding ‘wall’.

Their behaviour reminded me of bees.

‘Don’t they surround a queen if she is in danger? I know they do it during transport.’ Something to look into. Maybe I’ll ask a few of them later what their thoughts were at the time.

Speeding up a bit more I got into an easy canter and spoke up to the mass, “Lead me to the Queen.”

…

‘I really need to buy a watch at some point,’ I grumbled in my own head.

I couldn’t run, as I would have smashed into other lings, but cantering gave me enough time to stew in my own turbulent thoughts. I tried to calm myself down, but, thinking about it now, since the attack on Velvet I barely slowed down.

The academy that I had to quit in the end, continuous training with Celestia with additions from Shield Strike…

‘I didn’t even try to look for her for a chat at least,’ I smacked my forehead and groaned, feeling anger bubbling up again. One of the two ponies that became more important to me than she should have, much like Celestia.

‘And she is on borrowed time as it is,’ I growled.

I felt my ears twitch as a male voice reached me. I wasn’t paying attention so I had a bit of difficulty making out what was said.

“I told you that they won’t let us in,” I hear a familiar voice up ahead, challenging whoever was with her to say something against it.

“I know Dicty, I just hoped we would be able to fix this,” Came another voice, but this one I did not recognise at all. But based on the emotions I felt at least I knew it was a pony.

Frowning I stepped through the mass and into a small clearing in the corridor.

Dicty along with a grey-coloured unicorn, with a pale-green mane, cut short and swept to the side and a longer tail, stood in front of ten changeling guards.

I saw changelings wear armour before, but it was something that barely counted as such; sheets of smooth black metal segments protecting their head, neck, chest, and hooves, while keeping their elytra free for flight. It blended seamlessly into their colours so it was always difficult to tell if they had it on at first glance. I will have to test out its effectiveness at some point.

This armour, however, while still black, was something I only saw a few times during the fight with Husk and only in passing. I never bothered going through my memories to look further into it, but now I think I should have.

These ten changelings are large, a good half a head taller than an average ling at the least and I somehow recognised a few of them, even though almost all changelings looked the same. I did recognise Ponera immediately on the far left.

The armour they wore was heavy, with massive plates protecting the front and making their back barely visible. The plates weren’t smooth like the smaller armours I saw but rough, with bumps and sharp edges at almost random locations on the plates. The black shine spoke of upkeep and I couldn’t tell how old the armour itself was.

The entire thing left little of the natural shell unprotected on the front, and other than a few segment separations being visible it is obvious that this armour wasn’t made with manoeuvrability in mind. Either that or there was some hidden mechanism to it.

Regardless of the armour, these ten guards stood in two rows in front of the door behind them, staring straight ahead, without so much as a twitch of their ears. There was about a body length of free space between them and the changeling wall on all sides and with the off-white, almost grey walls that the castle possessed now, they served almost as a light at the end of the tunnel, both figuratively and literally.

I shook myself out of my thoughts and cleared my throat, loudly.

The pony jumped with a yelp while Dicty gasped loudly and her ears started twitching wildly.

“One of you mind telling me exactly WHAT needs fixing?” The pony, I did not care about him right now, but Dicty was usually more observant, she should have heard me, “Also, how long has it been ‘broken’?”

The unicorn whirled around wearing a strained smile on his face while his emotions simply radiated fear and trepidation. I noticed that he started showing physical signs of older age with a few visible wrinkles surrounding his green eyes.

“Prince Patchwork,” I was already frowning, but I could feel my brow creese further, “s-so good to see you.”

Dicty did not turn around immediately. She took a deep breath before slowly turning to look at me with a resigned expression on her face. The unicorn pony took a small step backwards, both his ears and his tail pinned close to his body and he made a clumsy attempt to hide behind her.

Seeing as I wouldn’t probably get much of an answer out of him I looked to the she-ling.

“Dicty, why is there a…” I looked around me trying to find words for this phenomenon, "‘death-wall’ of changelings sealing almost all of the corridors in the castle?”

“Well…” She started off, “We were hoping that some counselling would help the Queen. You know, talk her worries away and…”

I nodded, not looking away from her, “And I am guessing that you found a professional and well-trained counsellor then?” I know that she did not, “One capable of dealing with several centuries of trauma?” The pony tried to make himself smaller behind her.

“Well…” The smaller tremble in her voice and a whine behind her got the air around me to crackle, “I was hoping… thinking that somepony talking to her/counselling her for now might provide temporary help. Or even give us something more to go on.” She did not look apologetic, and that only made me angrier.

There were too many implications there for me to unpack, and I did not have the time to deal with it, or at least it felt like I was running out of time in the first place.

Counselling, especially when dealing with trauma, is difficult as it is, but this was centuries of trauma. I doubt Chrysalis even knew what counselling entailed in the first place, and I’m a hundred per cent certain that the passage of time was something that she wasn’t even aware of for a long time. Given the situation, I could only assume that end result of the current situation is catastrophic.

I could feel both anxiety and frustration give way to anger and I found myself taking deep breaths in order to keep myself calm, at least on the outside.

“Pony?” I ignited my horn, picking the grey unicorn up from behind Dicty (which got me one more, louder yelp along with some thrashing) and placing him next to her so I could see him clearly, “What exactly did you talk about before this…” I waved my left arm trying to encompass the entirety of this situation, “exploded in your face?”

“We… um… w-w-we talked about her son,” he started trembling and I could see Dicty taking a few steady breaths.

‘You stupid son of a bi…’ I heard more than felt the ground under me scrape as my anger easily rose to the boiling point.

“The son she had to see die before her own eyes?” I growled out.

“Patch we didn’t know it would be this bad,” Dicty took a step forward, and her dark-red elytra flared, “she seemed to be fine and It looked like it was working and then… she just stopped.”

Normally I would be bothered about her lack of confidence and her voice losing strength, but the situation was so bad apparently the other lings felt their Queen needed absolute protection.

Pulling claws out of the grooves I left on the floor I walked forward sitting down between the she-ling and the unicorn, who scrambled to move to the side. Only one question remained right now.

“How long has she been like this?” The oppressive quiet that followed made my teeth grind, “How LONG!?”

“S-s-since y-yes...”

‘Nope! I’m fucking done!’

I buzzed my wings as loudly as possible, practically enforcing silence while I digested this new revelation. In hindsight, I should have gotten to a similar conclusion on my own.

This is going to require a heavier hand than I would normally be comfortable with.

“You, second on the left…” I looked at the changeling guard that immediately stepped forward, “take this,” I took off my saddlebag and placed it in front of him, “and take it my dome.”

The changeling lowered his head without question and grabbed the bag in his mouth before making his way past me.

“Patch,” Dicty raised her voice but I twitched my tail aggressively to the side while also raising my left arm along with a single claw silencing her. Two signs to be quiet, the pony one I never used before (there was no need for it) and the human one (something that still came as naturally as breathing).

“The four of you,” I pointed at the four remaining guards in the front row with my right index claw, “are getting these two of my sight and away from the Queen while I deal with this.”

Again, no words or nodding; they stepped forward and obeyed without question. Good.

“Patchwork,” she was more demanding now, but I am SO far beyond listening, “she needs our help.”

I raised my right claw stopping the four guards that were about to herd these two idiots out.

“I am well aware that she needs help, but right now I don’t have the time, the energy, or the patience to listen to your excuses for this fuck up. Get out.”

They didn’t protest further and I listened for a few seconds as the sound of their hooves grew distant.

“Does anyone know where Keratin is?” I asked while scratching an itch above my left shoulder. I asked more for myself than anyone else, I certainly did not expect a response or a reaction, but the wall behind me started whispering barely five seconds after the question left my mouth.

I swivelled my ears behind me hearing the words ‘Keratin’ and ‘Prince’ but that’s about it, until, about a minute later, I could hear galloping coming closer and closer. I waited more out of curiosity than anything else, as it also allowed me to focus on something else rather than my growing negative emotions.

By the time I turned myself fully to the corridor behind me, I could see the wall of changeling behinds part and a panting Keratin grinding to a halt and dropping into a deep bow, bending his left foreleg back.

“My Prince, you wanted to see me?” He asked between breaths. There was a certain reverence in his voice that I certainly did not hear before and it bothered me.

“Find Scurry and make sure that both ponies and changelings are back to work as soon as possible,” no pause, no second guessing, “gather up all the reports for myself and/or Chrysalis and have them ready for review the moment I sort this out.

“Before that find out whoever is responsible for the changeling guard rotations and either send them over to me or have them organise a patrol route near the border with Equestria, no heavy equipment, just light patrols. Any larger pony groups are to be brought to me immediately and smaller groups or a single pony are to be kept an eye on, but don't antagonise them. Got everything?”

“Yes, my Prince,” he did not rise from his bow, “Captain Spine regained consciousness two days ago and I was told that he is eager to get back to work.”

“Is he mobile?” I turned around and made my way to the door of what I assumed is the Queen’s chambers, I doubt she would be anywhere else right now. The five guards moved to the side wordlessly allowing me unobstructed access.

“I do not know.”

“Find out and let me know, either by a runner or personally, I don’t care which,” I ordered without looking back, pushing the door only to notice that it’s a pull one. There was a loud snap as a spark jumped between my claw and the door but I hardly felt it.

Grabbing a furrow on the door looking like something that would let a hoof latch onto, I pulled the door before looking over at the remaining guards behind me.

“Other than my orders make sure that no one, especially that grey pony, comes anywhere near this door until I say so. I don’t need all five of you here, only three will do, the rest make yourselves useful.”

I did not wait for confirmation, just closing the door behind me with a loud enough slam to send the message.

…

“What the fuck am I doing here,” I spent the last two minutes looking at the ground, “I’m a fucking nurse, I didn’t want any of this.”

My jaw was still clenched making my teeth practically grind against each other as I talked to myself.

“What the fuck… How…” Raising my head to look at the ceiling I tried to keep myself calm but I could feel my eyes starting to sting.

Lowering my head back to a more neutral position I shook myself almost like a dog. I needed to focus, I can break down later, and I need to focus on the now.

Looking at the room that I guessed once belonged to Husk I wasn’t surprised about the spartan furnishings.

The room was fairly large by changeling standards from what I noticed so far. Certainly smaller than anything I’ve seen in Celestia’s castle but still, if decently decorated and furnished I would say that there would still be plenty of room to walk around without feeling claustrophobic. At best I would estimate a good eight meters long and about four meters wide. With the way the door was placed, I was looking at the four-meter width part somewhere around the very middle of the room itself.

To the right stood a tall frame of what I could only guess belonged to a mirror if the shards underneath it are any indication. I’ll have to get that cleaned up at some point.

To the left at the far end stood a more ornate resin bed (the square frame of solid resin is actually adorned with some images I couldn’t place) and underneath it was a dark resin chest. The bed was in the middle of the wall leaving plenty of room on the sides.

Lying on the bed on her right side, with no covers, is Chrysalis and there is a small back shadow huddled in the corner, wide blue eyes focused on me. The she-ling (I have no idea how I can tell them so easily at this point and I did not care) was visibly shivering with a bucket in front of her.

Sighing I walked to her, “What are you doing here?” I asked the shivering bundle. I managed to sound calmer than I actually was.

When I got close enough I noticed that the bucket is full of water with a red cloth at the bottom of it, and I also noticed that the she-ling’s elytra is so dark that I almost mistook it for black. Instead, it’s just very dark green.

“I-I-I was just keeping the queen clean and comfortable, your Highness,” was her quivering answer.

I couldn’t be angry at her, nor would it be acceptable of me to just kick her out. She did give me an idea though.

“Stand up, please,” I pushed the bucket to the side with my magic, “I have a bit of a job for you.”

I waited for her to get up but I did not wait to see if she would follow. Walking over to the door I pushed it open wide enough for her to comfortably pass through. The soft clack of her hooves sped up and she sat down just outside of the door waiting for my request.

“Could you please bring me a glass of pure love and something sweet for her to eat,” I pointed at Chrysalis with a quick tilt of my head.

“Um… a-a-a glass…” She stuttered but then righted herself, “Of course, your Highness, I’ll bring them as soon as possible.”

“Take your time,” I managed a smile, “this might take a bit. Let her in when she comes back, knock three times on the door before entering though,” I spoke the last part loud enough for all three guards outside to hear.

A quick nod of confirmation and she was out in a flash.

Closing the door I noticed that I managed to calm down somewhat allowing me to keep my emotions in check. I will need it; cause I have no idea how long this would take.

Walking over to the left side of the bed and sitting down at the head of it I looked over Chrysalis’s still form facing me.

I couldn’t see any physical abnormalities; her eyes are closed and her face carried a neutral expression. There is no indication of any emotions on her which already worried me.

Raising my claws I decided to give her a few pokes first; a poke at her face, a couple of pokes at her neck, her belly, and behind the ears, all without any reaction from her. Within expectations so far.

Two more pokes at a bit more sensitive areas, the armpits under her forelegs and a sharp poke at her frog on her left foreleg. Again, no reaction, which got me frowning.

My poking got frantic and while I tried not to hurt her I got close to piercing her carapace and skin a few times which got me to change from mere poking into prodding and shoving. And my wordless grunts into continuous muttering of ‘c’mon, c’mon’.

After about five minutes, I gave up.

Sitting down I ignited my horn and started doing what I should have done from the get-go, magical poking… clearly, my skills knew no bounds.

Giving her body a scan would be pointless beyond telling me she is alive, which I could just as clearly see by her breathing, although breathing by itself is not the only sign of life.

Shaking my head and refocusing my thoughts I started using my magic to poke at her own, kind of like using a stethoscope to hear an abnormality in the lungs.

Some of the magic books I read a while ago spoke of layers of magic surrounding the very core of what a pony is, so to say. The layers of magic are sensitive to other magic interacting with it, which is how the other pony races are able to use it either to walk or shape the clouds and the weather, manipulate the earth or just the very fabric of reality around them. It is also why I was able to get Chrysalis’s attention the last time, as just poking at the magical fields that serve as a sort of ‘second skin’ could easily grab attention; it's like a sharper sensation of someone just barely touching your skin as a human but with magic. More of a pressure, less of a touch.

I needed to set a reminder for myself, one of the medical books I brought with me explained how to get a better understanding of the body’s condition by poking and working with those same fields in the first place.

Right now, all I got is frustration.

Her magic barely reacted to mine, unlike the last time. Though she turned inward back then, this time I felt she just shut herself off completely; pulled back in the deepest parts of her mind in a way that I had never seen before… but I did read about, in passing.

It made what little fur I had stand on end and I felt my stomach drop.

If she shut herself off so completely, so thoroughly, her body may as well be forfeit. Hunger, thirst, she is still breathing so it's not all bad, but how long with it stay like that?

I did not want her to die, to give up like that, after all the work that was put in, by me, by other changelings, we didn’t save her from one monster just so she could up and give in.

“C’mon… don’t do this to me…” I became more forceful with my magic while trying not to cause any damage, “I don’t want… I can’t do this on my own.”

It was, is, selfish of me, that after everything this poor woman went through, I want to saddle her with the responsibility of ruling a species, even though I made this choice of my own volition. Even if a part of myself understood that my situation was FAR from reasonable.

“What do I do? What do I do?” I kept trying to avoid the very core of her being, a core that every changeling possesses. A little complex thing that served as a perfect representation of our soul, and probably the only place where she could have ‘hidden’ at this point as I just about looked everywhere else… well, almost everywhere else; I am NOT looking literally everywhere.

“Chrysalis, wake up!” I shoved her, both physically and magically. I am frustrated again, angry even. Hopping onto the bed I knew what I should reasonably do, but I could feel my own mind fighting me on it, my younger mind that made me silly, cooky, a mind that was now frayed and looked for any help and comfort at the end of a very long month.

“Chrysalis, c’mon! C’mon!” I think I’ve been trying now for twenty minutes.

‘My eyes are stinging…’ I reached up and whipped off a bit of moisture which only made me more frantic, ‘I’m not that fucking young, fuck… control yourself, you're almost twenty!’

“Wake up, wake up, wake up,” I started poking at her core. I was trying to be gentle, but the core was much sturdier and better protected than I thought like there was a wall, a castle, with walls so thick it may as well be the core of a planet. I was knocking on the metal door with a stick for the effect it did.

Angry, stressed, and anxious, I didn’t want to do this alone. The changelings just about hated me in the first place, and if I had to lead them, on my own, like Celestia, I would probably never see Velvet again, or Celestia, or Shield, just like them, my old family… one that I was forced to leave without even a ‘goodbye’.

I’d be stuck here, in Badlands, barely understanding the people that I had to leave just over a month ago and I understood these new ones even less.

“Mom,” I whispered at first. My mind happily reminded me of that old cartoon where Simba saw his whole world collapse.

“Come on, mom… moM!” I couldn’t breathe, “MOM!”

‘Wait… why is the air crackling?’

Chrysalis

It kept repeating itself… the same memories, over and over again.

I couldn’t just… remove the memory… I don’t deserve the peace it would probably grant me to forget.

I watched as she killed him… again and again. Effortlessly, and with glee I never believed a single creature would be capable of.

He challenges her, proud, strong… my sweet little nymph… They fight… it looks like he might be able to do something… but she is only playing.

First the left wing, then the right. Then the elytra… and then the rest… in motions I could repeat as though they were my own, I realised with a sickening realisation.

~C’mon… don’t…~

Repeat.

Again.

He challenges her, proud, strong… my sweet little nymph… They fight… it looks like he might be able to do something…

~ What do I do? What do…~

Repeat.

He challenges her, proud, strong… my sweet little nymph… They fight… it looks like…

~ Chrysalis, wake…~

Repeat… Something feels different…

He challenges her, proud, strong… my sweet little nymph… They fight…

~ Wake up, wake up, wake…~

It did feel like waking up.

Repeat.

I am just barely able to tear my ‘eyes’ from the repeating memory and focus on the constant tapping on the walls of my sanctuary. Not the pounding I’ve gotten used to over the centuries, but the hurried tapping of someling in panic.

~ Mom…~

Patch? The whisper is so, so very faint.

He challenges her, proud, strong… my sweet little nymph…

My second son… My second chance at being a mother again, a REAL mother, even if he didn’t exactly agree with it. As long as he was willing to humour me, I would cherish even that much for as long as he allowed me to.

‘Did something happen?’ I felt a cold pit in my ‘gut’.

Repeat.

He challenges her, proud, strong…

~ Come on, mom…~

That is not the voice of someone who is in a good state, either of mind or of body.

‘Something is wrong!’ The memory was getting fuzzy. I was waking up, but it felt so slow.

Repeat.

He challenges her…

~…moM!~

He took Her away from here like I knew he would; it would be impossible to hide it. I could all but feel Her presence up until she was far away from Badlands. To keep me safe, I’m sure… to keep us all safe.

‘She is free, that has to be it!’ I need to wake up, I need to wake up now.

Repea…

~MOM!~

Patchwork

I was forced to jump of the bed when the resin padding started boiling and the frame cracked under the pressure of whatever was happening.

Chrysalis was standing up, very slowly, but it wasn’t the giggling, loving menace that wanted everyone to know that they are loved.

The soft features on her face and body were replaced by sharp, protruding edges and a furious visage that… fucking scared me.

Her green third eyelid was closed, obscuring her irises but her eyes are still glowing and sparking in a way that Husk only wished she could do.

If this is how I looked like at my worse, I had no idea how ponies even managed to get close to me.

With a deep guttural growl, she stood up to full height, turned around to face the rest of the room and jumped, the force of which turned the bed into splinters.

Less of a pony and more of an insect were my first thoughts, but then I scrambled to put as much room between me and her as possible. I’m barely aware of the wall until I squashed my elytra against it. Thankfully nothing broke.

She landed with a deafening crack and I saw the light pouring into the room when the door opened with a slam.

Both I and Chrysalis looked at the three stunned guards standing there, her with a snarl and myself in shock. All three of them bowed deeply the next second, with their helmets clanging off the floor with how fast they tried to prostrate themselves in front of her.

“Where is she!?”

‘Fuck me that that is terrifying,’ The rage along with the dual-tone voice that came from her made me actually huddle in the corner before I even became aware of it.

“Mom?” I tried raising my voice to be heard from the crackling of energy surrounding her, but it came out more as a raspy whisper.

She must have heard me because the speed at which she turned her head to look at me would have given any normal person a concussion just from the sheer force of the whiplash.

“Patch?” Like a light switch turned off things went from one hundred to zero in less than a second. No flash of power, no scary face… just… ‘poomf’ and ‘hey the soft is back’, “You are safe?”

“Just scared out of my mind, but, yeah...” I didn’t even finish the sentence properly and she scooped me into her arms.

The best hug I’ve gotten since I came to this world, and that was saying something.

CH 55 (talking it out)

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Patchwork

“I miss her…” I mumbled, loud enough to be heard.

My head is resting on Chrysalis’s back, on the small plate between her neck and elytra. We didn’t leave her room, opting to curl up in a corner while she was doing paperwork that Keratin brought over. We’ve been like this for almost an hour.

“Your mother, I’m guessing?” I told her that she should rest and eat/drink something, but she assured me that she feels fine. She also completely refused my help, snatching the parchments Keratin gave me out of my magic before I even managed to look at them, and any attempt of me to join her with work was humorously swatted to the side.

She did eat, after the small ling maid brought over several large pieces of fruit in a bowl and a resin glass full of undiluted love (I’m starting to realize that I had no idea how versatile resin is).

“Yes… her.”

“You do not sound very happy to admit it,” My left ear twitched at the sound of moving parchment and the door opening.

Lifting my head from its rather comfortable position I looked over my shoulder seeing four guards in regular armor entering the room with a large green bed frame.

“My apologies, your Highness,” spoke one of the guards, “but this is merely a temporary bed. They are making you a proper one as we speak.”

I saw Chrysalis raise her head before I placed my head back between her elytra and neck.

“There is no need for that, my dears,” I didn’t see her face, but I practically heard her smile, “a simple bed is perfectly fine for my needs.”

Four sets of hooves froze in, what I thought is, mid-step and a glance confirmed my guess.

“Umm…” I don’t remember seeing such confusion in a guard ever since I came to this world.

“Just put it in the same place the old one was, please,” she barely managed to hold in a giggle.

Closing my eyes I waited for the guards to leave before continuing our conversation in private. I wanted to get a few things off my chest.

I wasn’t happy to admit I missed my mother. I certainly missed my dad, my uncle, and aunts. I missed my friends, my two cousins, my grandparents… Tartarus, I even missed some of the patients from work. But on top of all of that, I missed my mother as well.

“She wasn’t a horrible mother…” I spoke up when the guards finally left and the door closed.

“Based on your voice, my dear, that does not sound like she was a good mother either,” I couldn’t find it in me to disagree.

“It feels like if I say it out loud that… I don’t know, it makes it more real,” I was clothed, I was fed, I had my toys and she made sure that had friends… but it never felt like there was love in it. Duty? Yes, but love? I’m still unsure.

She turned her head to look over her shoulder at me, “If any nymph has to question their mother’s love in the same way you do, even at your actual age, I would be considering removing that mare from them.”

“She read me bedtime stories,” I muttered.

“Well that just fixes EVERYTHING,” She snorted, rolled her eyes, and refocused back on the parchments.

I rolled my own eyes as well, but my eye roll was more at her reaction than her words. Actually, this is not the first time I had such a conversation… but not with someone with such a stance towards my mother. Even my father never called her a bad parent… but, the few times we spoke on the subject, he never said she was a good mom either.

“I’m guessing that all that,” I didn’t want to move so I tried to put more weight into the words than it was probably necessary, “is the reason why I got so attached to Celestia and Shield Strike… and you.”

That last part came out as more of a whisper, but by her body jerking slightly I understood she heard me.

“Do you… does it bother you?”

I shrugged as well as I could, “Not really. I like having someone like that in my life; someone that wants to show me unconditional love and kindness of a… real mom, I guess…

“I just think that for you, I’m more of a ‘replacement’ rather than anything else, for… you know,” I did not know how to say ‘dead son’ in any way that it would sound acceptable.

“Yes,” came the sigh after about a minute of silence, “and no.”

I waited patiently for her to continue. I did not want to force her into explaining herself, but I wanted her to at least confront this part of her if nothing else. If she freezes again, well, that one is on me.

“You remind me so much of him,” she finally spoke, “I am… stunned at the similarities. You look nothing alike, of course, but the way you think, the way you act… he never wanted to be a prince either. But when a situation called for it, he would be there for his changelings.

“He wanted to be a guard…” she continued, and I felt sadness wash over me in waves. It reminded me of the talk I had with Celestia about Sunset, “He wanted to find a nice mare, have a nice, small family and live a simple life for as long as possible.”

“Would you have let him?” I got up and moved until I stood in front of her before lying down with my legs under me. I am close enough that I wouldn’t need to strain much to poke her snout.

“Of course, I would,” She scoffed. “I did not have him so I could shackle him down with duties in the same way I was!” She waved her arms around for emphasis, the word shackle was a stumbling point though.

“The same with you…” She pointed at me, gently poking my nose with her right index claw, “Once I can stand on my own four… two? hooves again, I have no problem with you… leaving. I may just need some help until then. I have no intention of keeping you away from Velvet either. She is a wonderful mare, and I am glad that you found a partner like her,” She gifted me a beautiful smile, and I could see that she is genuinely happy for me.

“Thank you,” I smiled back, “and I’m looking forward to seeing her properly again when I go back to Canterlot.”

Just like that, happiness was gone, but not her smile. She tried to hide it, but she isn’t Celestia. She may be able to fool an average ling or a pony, but not me; especially since I was taught how to read equine body language.

“Chrysalis,” I pulled myself a bit closer and gently placed my left claw on her own, “I’m sorry, but I never…” I abandoned that line of thought; I need to be softer now. But I also need her to understand that, with her being here, I want more for myself and especially Velvet. I am not ready to cut those ties if there is an out.

“I know…” She whispered, sounding broken. It hurt to see her wilt in front of me like this, her ears droopy, eyes watery and her shoulders slouched.

Shuffling as close as I could I pulled her in a hug which she returned. I may not be a counselor or a psychiatrist, but I sure as Tartarus knew how to comfort a hurting soul. I lightly nuzzled the left side of her neck, just under her chin, as that was the highest I could reach right now.

“I am not just going to disappear out of your life, and I am not going to just cut you off,” I pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes, “There are ways to talk now over larger distances and I WILL visit regularly.”

“But you won’t stay here,” her voice cracked slightly at the word ‘stay’.

“I won’t be gone either, or forever,” that got her to perk slightly. Seeing an improvement in her posture I continued, “Like I said I’ll visit… I’ll certainly stay for longer than a few days, and, one day I’ll bring over grandfoals… or grandnymphs? Eh, also, you are free to come over to Equestria. We can see the sights, visit the towns…” I was pulled into another hug, and a long and loving nuzzle left some dampness on the side of my face. I couldn’t stop a small chuckle escape my lips, “I’m not going anywhere out of your reach, just because someone is away doesn’t mean they aren’t a part of your life. It’s just gonna take a while before I can confidently call you mom… you know.”

“As long as you let me pretend, I do not mind,” She whispered just barely enough for me to hear.

“You don’t have to pretend,” I whispered back before I managed to stop myself.

…

‘I really wish she could meet Celestia already,’ I mused for a moment walking out of the castle after a few more hours of talking and helping with work (I finally managed to convince her), and after a good meal (mostly raw fruits; I need to look into castle cooking).

‘Should I apologize to Dicty after all of this?’ I opened my wing plates and rose into the air with a loud buzz. The sight of changelings buzzing or walking around was a far better sight than the empty ghost town, ‘Nah, let her stew in it a bit. She shouldn’t have lied in the first place… she should have at least let me in on this stupid shit.’

Thankfully the flight wasn’t long with ‘my’ dome being just a minute's flight from the castle; I’m tired and a nap would sound nice… I should fully test the phone as well.

I aligned myself with the street and I would have come for an easy landing a few meters from the door, but there was someone sitting in front of it.

Sitting, technically, in front of my door (more, like to the right side of the door) is a large changeling stallion. He isn’t tall compared to someone like Ponera, but he is almost as wide in the shoulders as me. I had to check my clawed hooves for a moment because it seemed from my vantage point that his hooves are larger than mine.

Then I noticed that he is wearing armor. Something between the ‘standard’ changeling armor and the heavily plated nightmare that the larger changelings wore. Unlike the heavy armor, which was left to look rough intentionally (I’m guessing), this one is smooth, and, unlike the lighter one, this one is visibly thicker.

He is certainly an imposing sight, even with the size difference between us, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that he is familiar to me.

I need to talk to Chrysalis about how I should go about recognizing the other changelings beyond just looking at their elytra. There has to be more to it.

When I got close enough, however, something started to click into position, and, after a quick check of my memories, I remembered three changelings flying through the air, while being chased by Husk. He certainly fits the bill, given the armor, the stature… Thinking about it again, I could probably hazard a guess who this is even with that basic information.

“Captain Spine, correct?” I let myself drop to the ground almost like a rock and approached him with a canter.

“Yes Sir,” He stood up and saluted in a way that was eerily similar to the pony salute, a tap with the right hoof to the left side of his chest. Instead of a single strike, he quickly tapped twice and held his hoof there, “I wished to talk to you if you have a few moments to spare.”

“Umm, sure… at… ease?” I stumbled with my words. I was never saluted before so this was completely new.

Passing by him I opened the door with my magic while giving him a quick invitation to enter with my claws.

“C’mon in, we can talk inside,” I called him just for good measure.

Looking around the main room, the living room, I tried to spot my saddlebags. When I didn’t see them I approached the two chests on the other side of the room to the right popping them both open with a wave of my horn. I heard the door close just a few seconds later along with a couple of measured steps.

“Just give me a moment to check something,” I smiled when I spotted the saddlebags in the right chest.

A quick check and I confirmed that everything was accounted for, especially the phone, and I left the bags inside the chest closing the lid with a satisfying ‘thunk’.

“How do you feel? I heard that you were up, but I did not expect you to be in your armor already,” I turned around putting on a sympathetic smile.

“I feel fine, sir. I was told that I should rest, but I’ve been resting long enough,” He held himself straight, and almost ramrod stiff, but his voice betrayed him.

“No offense, captain, but you very much sound like you need some ACTUAL rest,” Taking a few steps closer until I was a comfortable distance away instead of the full room length, it became immediately obvious that he has no holes to speak of. He must be feeling like a brand-new changeling then.

“I don’t… disagree… sir,” the fact that he didn’t challenge me spoke volumes of his exhaustion, “but there is work to be done and, ultimately, I would like some answers. If you are willing to indulge me, that is, your Highness.”

He did not bow, but by his tone of voice, he may as well be pleading.

I chuckled, “While there is ‘work to be done’, captain, I think you will find that we have things well in hoof for now.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but I raised my claws to forestall him, “Captain, I am serious about this. A lot has happened in the last… fuck… it’s gonna be a month soon…” I dragged my claws down my face in exasperation.

“Anyway,” I shook the stray thoughts away, “you will need a fresh mind along with a fresh body. I can answer a few questions, but then I must insist, you need to rest. Believe me when I say, captain, that the type of healing you went through is not something that will leave an individual feeling ‘refreshed’; if you catch my meaning.”

I watched as the last of the fight left him, but I still wanted to drive the point home.

“I will make it an order if necessary, captain. I’m sure that even… mother,” He quirked an eye ridge but didn’t say anything otherwise, “would say something along the same line.”

“She… actually did,” He avoided looking me in the eye.

“Well, there you have it,” I made myself comfortable by lying down on my belly and folding my legs under me. “But, like I said, I do not mind answering a few questions. I owe you that much at the very least.”

He did not follow my example, actually flinching slightly when I lowered myself down.

“Right… yes… well…” It is actually adorable how awkward he looked when his, supposed, prince lowered himself in front of him. He shuffled uncomfortably on his hooves for a few more seconds before lying down in front of me; I smiled the entire time trying to copy Celestia and her patience.

“So, where do you want to begin?” I asked once he settled.

“I’m not so sure, sir. Scurry, my brother, managed to explain a few things to me, but it only left me with more questions.

“You obviously defeated the tyrant… Husk, and then the ponies came… The Queen woke up at some point, the ponies are helping us so that we can return all the podded creatures back home because Her Highness is able to comfortably feed us… I am… lost.”

“Well, you seem to have a decent grasp of the situation if nothing else,” I almost shrugged, but I kept myself in check. I don’t need him to jump to conclusions on my body language of all things.

“So that’s all true?” His stupefied expression told me that he did not exactly believe his brother’s explanation.

“Pretty much,” This time I did shrug.

“I… Well, it’s obvious that you won the confrontation…”

“And the rest is very much happening as well,” I nodded, “Chrysalis, and myself to an extent, can produce love. Although she can do on such as scale that I simply cannot compare, I am still very young for a changeling ascendant.”

“We… w-w-we don’t have to worry about love anymore?”

His face went through a whole set of emotions that I should have found sad if anything, but all I could feel was anger.

More than once, since I started fixing this whole situation, I had to give changelings some breathing room so that they could come to the realization that the tyrant is no more. It has made me furious every single time with how much she has taken from them over the centuries.

Shelter, the poor mare trying to protect her two nymphs, was burned into my memory in ways that have nothing to do with eidetic memory.

I saw her for a few seconds shortly after her group came back, but I did not need to give her more stress than necessary, so I stayed away.

“Sir?”

Shaking myself out of my thoughts before I scratched the floor, again, I focused back on reality.

“Yeah, the love issues are taken care of. Originally I was planning on working together with Equestria and making sure that we have a steady supply of love, but with Queen Chrysalis’s proper return, our love issues are sorted for the foreseeable future.

“With that part sorted out,” I wiggled a little bit, making myself more comfortable, “it makes the pods unnecessary. I was trying to get rid of them even before this, but now… Well, it makes things easier.”

“What o you mean ‘trying to get rid of them’?” He frowned.

“We are returning them to their rightful home,” that got his eyes to widen, “hopefully without causing an incident. Or at the very least, they will believe that a change in changeling rule would make them amicable enough not to attack us.”

I am hoping that Celestia’s good words would help smooth things along. So many missing people returning at once? I know how most of the governments on Earth would react, and it isn’t good.

“There are also a lot of changes to the place, as you may have noticed. It is mostly up to the Queen, but we are trying to change a number of things, hopefully modernizing the changelings without overdoing it.”

“Where am I in this whole plan then? I saw Dicty walking around, is she my replacement?” His features softened slightly, but it is obvious that his mind was trying to chew through everything.

“No… At last, not that I know of,” She probably wants to go back to Manehattan at this point.

“I needed someone to cover for you since you were indisposed, and she stepped up. Not everyone listened,” I shrugged, “but most of them at the very least let her help. Something tells me she isn’t exactly liked.”

“She was supposed to be a new commander. My replacement as it was, and the queen wanted me to focus on training the troops in as large numbers as possible,” Now I was frowning. What kind of plans was Husk making?

“But then she ran away?”

“Yes…” He sighed, and I could practically see the weight set on his shoulders, “Didn’t know why, at the time, but… well…” Another even heavier sigh, “It doesn’t matter now. She put me back in command and that was it. At least now it kind of makes sense.”

I let his thoughts whirl for a few minutes in silence. I needed to go through a few more things as well, but I kind of wanted to call Velvet today.

“Anyway,” I shook him out of his thoughts. I stood up, opened the chest with my magic, and pulled the phone out of the bags, bringing it over to me in a cloud of controlled mana, “As I said, get some proper rest until tomorrow, and then we will sort you out. There is quite a bit of work that still needs to be done and I am going to need to go over a few things with you as well… Provided Chrysalis doesn’t need help with anything (‘Or help in general’). But if you ABSOLUTELY need to do something, I’d say, either find your brother, Scurry, or Spectrum and see if you can help them with something, or if they can properly bring you up to speed. Or maybe check with Dicty as well. I’m sure both of you have something to say to each other.”

“There is nothing to be said,” He stood up and shook himself, making the armor clink softly with the sharp movements, “but I will look around and see what I can do. I’ll take it easy though, sir.”

“Please do,” I nodded while looking through the device in my magic. I wanted to make absolutely sure that it isn’t damaged, “You just got out of the pod yourself,” I looked at him with a smirk, “No need to put yourself back in it so soon.”

He gave me a quick, jerky nod and then just stood there for about a minute. I could see him chewing on some words that he didn’t know how to give voice to.

“Go, Spine. We can talk things over in detail tomorrow;” I waved my claws towards the door, “you can also put everything on some parchment as well. It helps when you aren’t sure what to say.”

A few more seconds of silence and then another quick nod, “You are right sir, my apologies. Thank you for giving me your time… the former Queen would rarely if never spare some like this.”

“Well it’s a good thing I’m not her then,” I chuckled watching him lose a fight with a smirk that managed to escape him.

One salute and he was out the door.

“One more thing on the to-do pile,” I snorted scraping the floor with my left hind hoof.

With the phone still in my magic I made my way upstairs and into the room I shared with Velvet.

The large pink block with a screen taking over about seventy percent of the front, along with eight buttons (call end/start underneath the screen and a large button between them, four buttons on the side of the screen, and one large on /off button on the very top above the screen) may look primitive by my standards but considering that ponies have been working on it tirelessly for two years, it’s a miracle what they managed to achieve.

Hopping onto the bed the moment I entered the bedroom I turned on the phone and clicked the call button twice as Velvet was the only connection I could make. Then I made myself comfortable on my side and waited.

I vaguely remember the old days of phones and how long it took the younger me to send a message by clicking on the number keypad. I became better at it eventually, but it always annoyed me that it took seven clicks just to type out ‘bye’.

It was getting fairly late in the day, and she told me she would carry the phone with her at all times, and I KNEW that there would probably be some delay due to distance, but after five minutes of waiting I wanted to give up.

Just as I was about to stop the call and go grab something to eat, the screen flashed white for a second with green words ‘call accepted’ popping up. A moment later Velvet's beautiful face appeared and I was almost blinded by a brilliant smile.

“It works, it actually works!” She sang happily skipping in place while her phone stood still. I couldn’t see whether it was held in magic or not. “Mom, Dad! Look! LOOK!”

She all but threw the phone at them, and I could only laugh when I heard her father grunt in surprise as the screen was almost shoved into his mouth.

“Oh sweetie, I know you are happy, but I don’t think your father can see anything like that,” I heard her mother, Aurora, laugh in the background. The sound and the visuals weren’t as crisp as I was used to, there was a bit of static to it, but I did manage to hear and see them with little difficulty.

“How are you all doing?” I asked, “Any delay with my voice.”

“Sweet Celestia,” Velvet's father exclaimed looking at the phone with wide blue eyes, “I know you explained to us how it works, son, but never in my life did I imagine something like this.”

Velvet pulled the phone away from the brown earth-pony stallion and quickly pointed the screen at her mother who, while just as surprised (putting one hoof over her mouth in shock), still managed to give me a delightful little wave and a smile when she collected herself.

“We’re doing great,” Velvet's voice chimed in, and a second later her face showed up on my screen. I saw her move around the room and then sit next to her father on the red sofa with gold-painted details, “And there is a bit of a delay, but only by a few seconds.”

“Better than I expected,” far better than I hoped, “welcome to the future everyone, hope you like it,” I chuckled watching Velvet practically vibrate in her seat.

We tested the phone while I was there before leaving, but it's one thing to tell about long-distance communication, it’s entirely another to actually see it.

“I love the future,” I saw her father lean from the side, still watching in shock at the screen. Velvet moved the phone further away making the screen go fuzzy but I was able to see the entire sofa along with her mother who moved around it and hopped next to Velvet.

I wasn’t sure how long the battery would last (I did have the equipment in my bag to charge it, a single black wire connected to a gem that I could recharge; Zap said she wanted something that doesn’t rely on sockets), but I was sure that I could talk at length.

I already missed her, but I am still glad I could talk to Velvet like this.

CH 56 (board set anew)

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Celestia

I let a powerful yawn escape my lips, followed by a shudder as a cool breeze ran over my fur. Decorum wasn’t anywhere near my mind since the courtroom was currently empty of ponies… well, ponies that weren’t part of my castle staff anyway.

Spring is the season that made court work manageable, substituting four grueling hours (five days a week (barring Restday and Sunnyday)), for an hour or two a day. Most ponies like to indulge themselves during estrus season and that includes nobles.

This means less time arguing nonsense proposals with uppity nobles, and more time dealing with work that actually matters. There are other days, or weeks that could be used the same way, but estrus season is something that is assured. I don’t have to guess about that.

I giggled at a brief memory when I was discussing the topic of ‘heat’ with Patchwork. There wasn’t any innocent stuttering on his part, but he had this ridiculous notion that the entire country froze during springtime. Not the first time he had such silly ideas.

‘I wonder how changelings go through it? Dicty never mentioned it in the first place.’

Shaking off stray thoughts I refocused back on the parchmentwork in my magic, using the free time I have to sort out as much as possible while still being available for those that needed me.

“Hmm… One more of these…” Smiling I separated the parchment in front of me and set it with several others on the side, “Patchwork will be glad.”

While there are plenty of nobles that looked at the changeling situation as a means to quick bits, the majority of them have, thankfully, seen a potential ally that needed a helping hoof. Even fewer of them, however, showed just how generous our kind can be with notable philanthropists like lord Silky Pants providing donations in various ways.

The large interview he did months ago (along with several smaller ones I managed to convince him into) managed to paint changelings in a much grander light than I was hoping for, pulling on the heartstrings of ponies with fantastic success.

“And another one,” I sighed putting a parchment onto a small pile next to me that will be addressed as soon as possible, either by myself, Shield, or one of my advisors.

Just because many saw changelings as an abused race that needed help, there are always going to be outliers.

Some of the old noble houses, ones that are aware of changelings and their misdemeanor, have made it abundantly clear that the race of bug ponies is not to be trusted, even with Patch leading the charge. Thankfully, their number barely rose above five, but two of those houses (house Platinum and house Hurricane) are the ones leading the other smaller houses into a prospecting frenzy.

So far I have managed to keep them at bay until changelings settle into something resembling a functional society, but I will need to make a move on that chessboard sooner rather than later.

“Maybe I SHOULD schedule a meeting with Chrysalis…” I gently tapped the side of my chin with the writing feather I held in my magic. Frowning I took a small piece of parchment that I kept next to me for personal notes and wrote down a memo, “If I contact Patch I’ll be able to sort it out much faster,” I whispered mostly to myself.

Opening and closing of a door, along with a soft clop of hooves on my left got my ears to twitch.

A quick glance revealed a tired-looking Shadow Step making her way toward me while barely keeping her eyes open. Ever since her promotion a couple of months ago, she had a bit of a hard time adjusting to the amount of work. Shaded Wing made sure to help her out as much as possible, but he left Canterlot last week for Hollow Shades. According to him, his successor was ready to fully take over on her own.

“I take it there is a message that requires your own touch, Captain?” I smirked at her disheveled state. Her ‘shift’ did not start for another six hours, noon being a time of day I rarely saw her awake for.

She isn’t in her armor which allowed her dark blue, almost black fur to stand out even more against the white marble surrounding her. Her mane was a lighter shade of blue, along with her short tail, and while normally she wore her mane in a tight bun this time she had it held together by a band.

Her lithe frame is a complete contrast to my wife’s bulk, with taut muscles barely visible under the fur due to the colour of it, and mostly obscured by her membranous wings.

Without the armor her cutie mark is visible, but only a part of it; a single, large, bright blue thestral wing. Underneath the wing, hidden by her own fur is a barely detectable silhouette of a pony, sitting under the protection of the wing.

“I’m afraid so, your Highness,” She sat down at the bottom of the stairs leading up to my dais. She tried and failed to stifle a yawn before shaking herself awake, “It’s not particularly bad, but I would like to discuss it with you before I do something stupid.”

Raising my head from my parchments and catching the eye of the guards at the main door I gave them a quick sign with the wave of my wing to make sure we aren’t disturbed for a few minutes.

“Right then, Shadow, what is on your mind?”

It took her a second to realize I asked her a question.

“Yes… Well… What do I do about Patchwork’s security? I have pulled Silent Drop due to illness, and I haven’t assigned anypony, as per your request,” She straightened up slightly, finally waking up enough to keep herself from looking like a… what do they call it? A zombie?

“And, more importantly, your Highness, I got a notice from my shadows that several other races are starting to send their feelers into the changeling territory.”

Sighing I started to rub at my forehead with a hoof, “It was just a matter of time. I’m surprised they didn’t do so already. Do you have anypony that can work with changelings while providing protection for Patch?”

“I’m afraid I do not,” She shook her head, “Silent was on short notice as it was the first time around. Anypony else we send would be new, for the lack of a better word.”

Chewing on my lips I ran over the options in my head.

The other races looking at the happenings in the Badlands were expected. It was precisely why I requested Shadow to keep an eye on them so we could know when to act. Hopefully Patch and Doctor White Light have made some reasonable progress into the pods. If we could start returning creatures to their homes it would be a good step for changelings on the world stage.

‘Guess I will definitely have to meet Chrysalis.’

“Let’s see…” I put the parchments I still held in my magic to the side and lifted up my little note list, “Abyssinians, Minotaurs… Ambassador Hightalon should still be in Canterlot so that takes care of the North Provinces… Queen Novo usually doesn’t care about happenings outside but I doubt Husk never took any of them. Kirins? They almost never leave their little village. Deer? Even worse, they won’t even care...

“Thank you for the notice, Captain Shadow. Please ensure that your shadows keep an eye on the situation in the Badlands,” Step nodded her head in confirmation and I paused with my notes. Patch would look for a friend and not a guard.

“As far as Patch and his protection are concerned, well, for now, we will leave things as they are,” I shrugged with my wings. If what he told me of Chrysalis is true, she won’t let any harm come to him, “I will visit the changelings soon enough and we will look into things then.”

It took her a few seconds to process what I said, but after that, she looked wide awake.

“Are you sure that is a good idea, your Highness? Going there so soon?”

“Do not worry, Shadow. I am not leaving without preparation,” I sighed looking at the long list of meetings I have to look forward to.

“Why don’t you go and get proper rest, Captain? We can start sorting things out once you are rested.”

I watched as Shadow rummaged through her thoughts for a minute before she stood up, nodded, gave me a quick salute, and left the courtroom letting out a yawn on her way out.

“Now then,” I sighed again picking up the parchments with my magic, “Steel Feather?” I called out for one of the two pegasus guards in the room with me. He perked up and took two steps forward, “Would you please find out where Ambassador Hightalon is? Once you find him, and if he’s in the castle, please ask him if he’s willing to meet with me for a chat?”

I received a quick salute as a confirmation and he was out a moment later through the main door. It is just me now and five guard ponies (two of each race being the protocol).

The next document immediately caught my attention before I even picked up the feather.

“Funding request for a project…” I muttered, “By Shield?”

She wants to look into the mega-mana syndrome… I’ll talk to her about it later but for now… Granted.

Patchwork

Letting out a jaw-splitting yawn the moment I opened my eyes meant that, as far as sleep is concerned, I could use more sleep. Not that I needed much in the first place, but when I need it, I NEED it. However there is work to be done, so it’s time to get up.

Hopping out of the resin bed I stretched until a few satisfying pops in my back got me to shudder in relief and delight. My abilities could make stretching a non-issue; however, I like the motion of it too much.

Looking out the green-tinted window I confirmed that it is too early in the morning… like five or six o’clock.

Two weeks now since the incident in the castle and I have managed to pick up a few things from Chrysalis, but also I got to correct several of her issues. Like her habit of trying to deal with everything directly, stretching herself thin.

It took a while for her to accept that she doesn’t need to be present for everything, and that work can and sometimes should be delegated. Something Celestia told me she needed to learn in the early days.

I kind of expected the other lings I worked with to say something about it, but… I kind of did the same thing in the beginning (or similar), with the situation being slightly different. I guess they just like her presence enough not to mention anything.

Thankfully, Spine has been a great help in keeping both an eye on Chrysalis and letting me know when problems try to go around him.

Unlike Keratin, who (while helpful) will fold like a wet towel to a pleading look or a stern request/order Spine is a brick wall. He has asked me on several occasions now to either help his Queen or to stop further issues from springing up (particularly when she starts panicking if a changeling is hurt).

I felt a smile spring up on my face, ‘Two days without her freezing up. Hope it stays that way.’

The smile then just as swiftly left when I looked around the bedroom, making me sigh explosively.

Had to move out today.

The mother and father of the dead changeling would be moving back into their home today and I’ll be moving into a new ‘royal’ room set up in the castle. All of the homes have been fixed and rebuilt and it was time for me to stop avoiding the castle itself. I haven’t spoken to their parents at all though, or even met them directly, opting to send a changeling runner with a letter of thanks and an apology for all the pain I caused them… I probably shouldn’t blame myself for the death of their child, or any of the deaths caused by Husk, but I still feel guilty regardless. And I’ll probably carry that guilt for a while yet.

Snorting and looking around the room I picked up the modified saddlebag I left next to the bed last night.

Inside is everything I own in the Badlands (the parchments containing my notes and reports have already been moved), which did not amount to much in the first place: the phone, books, the a-m ring that I forgot to return, Luna’s bracelet (ditto on that one as well) and a resin jar containing the still wiggling chunk of castle that I turned into resin during the fight with Husk.

I was, and still am, surprised that they gave the thing back to me in the first place instead of studying or experimenting with it. If nothing else I expected them to return the chunk back to the castle and fix the hole that’s probably there but nope; it’s mine and mine alone.

Scurry is the one that ‘returned’ it to me about a week ago, so at least that tells me that something was done with it during that time, but since I don’t want to bother the bug about it, I don’t care. I’m of course not stupid enough to just start using the resin blob again without testing it… which I will do at a later date. There are a few experiments that I want to run on my body with it and I need a place where I can do it in secret.

Leaving the dome and closing the door behind me I made my way towards the castle on foot. I could fly, but looking above all I can see is a swarm of lings buzzing about.

Celestia is coming for a meeting in two days with myself and the Queen; mostly Chrysalis, but if I’m not present when she arrives I’ll be fairly miffed.

Due to that, everything is sent into overdrive… again, in order to get the place ready for a Royal delegation of ponies. Supposedly some ambassadors from other races would be coming as well. I have made myself abundantly clear how bad of an idea that is, but I was shut down by an overly enthusiastic Chrysalis.

‘Yup… start of the day, start of a headache,’ I frowned. The pods are, thankfully, sorted out and the ponies that have helped us with them will stay until Celestia comes. Then… I don’t know what the other nations will do. Hopefully, they will just take their people back without raking us over the coals or attacking us outright. I am fully expecting that they will request compensation, Tartarus I would be surprised if they didn’t, and I have told Chrysalis as much.

She refuses to drop her optimistic attitude, however, and while I think bursting that bubble would probably be better I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Whatever the case may be, the royal visit would be a test for everyone, and I wasn’t looking forward to it. I did NOT study for this test and I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to be grilled by strangers.

Taking a deep breath I let it out slowly through my mouth. I just need to push through just a little while longer and then I’ll, hopefully, be able to go back to something resembling a normal life, even for a little bit. I fully intend to spoil Velvet rotten when we both get older as a prince of changelings, but until then I want to have a normal house, a normal job, and a normal family… or at least a close approximation of it.

Coming under the shade of the castle’s ground entrance I sped up only taking the time to recognize the four salutes I was given with a nod. All three main entrances are continuously in use by changelings preparing the town for the visit, there is no need to linger any more than necessary.

The moment I stepped through into the castle I spotted Mantis, sitting near the entrance, who waved me down with a buzz of his wings.

“Patch!” He raised his voice, waving his head towards the small tunnel a few meters on his left, “This way.”

“Hey, Mantis… You my guide for today?” I smiled at him but he did not return it. He has been rather dour lately; probably due to his sister leaving a couple of days ago.

“Yeap. Since you rarely used this castle we thought you might not know where to go,” He twitched his ears twice up and down in a form of a shrug.

“Yeah, sorry, but I’m still not comfortable with this whole prince thing. I would be perfectly fine just, living in a house, you know.”

“I know. The Queen said that you may leave sometime in the future to live your life out in normalcy,” I walked slightly behind him, allowing him to lead me to the location of my room.

“I’m guessing you don’t approve? I’m not leaving forever you know?” We turned right, heading deeper into the castle.

“A few of us don’t approve. I really don’t see what’s so special living the life of a normal ling, so I’m guessing you are doing it for Velvet, or something similar.”

“You forgot I wasn’t always a royal or a changeling?” I raised an eye ridge even though he couldn’t see it. A brief pause in his walk told me that he has, indeed, forgotten.

“There are plenty of lings out there that would give their very core for the life you could lead here, Patch,” He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes and I couldn’t help but agree.

“I know. And I am fairly sure that most of them would have given up that position when they see the amount of work that needs to go into it,” I chuckled and I could just barely see his mouth quirk upwards from my vantage point.

“True, true…”

We walked in a silence that bordered on awkwardness for about a minute until we reached a fairly large single door with two changelings sitting on either side of it.

“Here we are, Patch,” Mantis sat down not far from the door, pointing at it with a hoof twirl in a very theatrical fashion that made me smile.

“I know the castle itself may be a bit confusing at first, but you’ll get used to it quickly, I promise,” he went very quiet after that, lowering his head and looking at the floor as if it had the answers he needed.

Deciding to give him a bit of space to think I walked to the door, opened it with my magic, and dropped the saddlebag inside without even looking. I’ll have plenty of time to look it over later.

“So what’s on your mind?” I asked once I approached him.

Raising his head he looked at me like he just saw me for the first time, and with a small twitch, he returned back from his mental journey. Looking at the floor again I saw him whisper something before looking back at me again.

“Would…” He looked down and then up at me one more time, “Would you be okay if I left for Equestria for a while?”

“Why… would I not be?” I asked with a decent amount of confusion tinting my words, “I am guessing it has something to do with Dicty leaving, right?”

By his wide-eyed stare, I assumed he expected a negative answer. Why would I say no to his, sort of, request, I have no idea.

“Yeah, kind of,” He got very quiet again for a few seconds before speaking again. I had to perk my ears really hard to hear him, “She… did not take the whole… she…” He took a deep breath and spoke up, “She told me that I am always welcome in her home. I don’t think she is ever coming back here again, especially after the last incident.

“I want to fix our relationship. I said some horrible things to her when she left the first time and this time… I didn’t say anything.”

“You want to make it right. That’s perfectly okay, Mantis,” I nodded my head for emphasis. Craning my neck and looking over to the right I could just barely see the corridor we used to get here. If I were to turn left when leaving the small hallway leading to my room I would be able to reach Mother’s room in less than ten seconds, “I am sure that mom would have no issues with it either. When do you plan to leave?”

I could see the gears turn in his head, “Next week? I’m not sure actually. It feels like I would be intruding on her.”

“Well, if what you told me is true then from where I’m standing it sounds like she is hoping for you to come over. I say, go for it Mantis. Family is important…” This time I looked down, hoping to see some answers that I knew I wouldn’t receive. My chance to say some things was taken and replaced with regret. I met Velvet, Celestia, Shield, and Night Light… but…

I could feel a small hoof being placed on my right shoulder causing me to look at the changeling next to me. The light frown he had on his face for the last couple of days has changed into a worried look and his eyes showed compassion.

Raising my left claw I gently pat his hoof before I straightened my saggy posture. I didn’t even notice how low I slumped.

“I’ll be fine, my friend. But you shouldn’t waste the chance. That’s my expert opinion,” I smirked at him.

…

Entering my room after saying goodbye to Mantis the first thing that I noticed was that it is of similar size to Chrysalis’s, with the only difference being a divider wall on the left keeping my bed hidden from sight.

Other than the bed there is a wardrobe across from it, with a small nightstand right next to the bed. The rest of the room contained a low square table with three pillows under it hugging the divider wall, and a desk with a decently sized chest next to it on the far right. The entire room is lit by several glow crystals hanging from the ceiling with a soft white light (something lings were confused with, they thought I would use green light for some unknown reason), and on the walls themselves there are several rows of empty shelves. One day I’ll fill them all with books and memories.

Other than the pillows the rest of the furniture was resin based and if I ever brought Velvet over for a visit I would imagine she would go to town with a paintbrush and I wouldn’t blame her. Green is a nice color, but there is too much of it here, even with the off-white walls of the new castle replacing the grey, black, and green of the old one… mostly black though.

Taking a few minutes to look the room over and check that everything is in place (including the parchments that have been placed in the chest) I unpacked the saddlebags and threw myself at the bed hoping for a nice nap without a damn alarm clock waking me up.

I had a meeting later in the day with Spine in regards to training and security reports but until then I had plenty of time.

CH 57 (comparison)

View Online

Patchwork

Finding Spine wasn’t difficult and after a refreshing two hours long nap I felt rested enough to deal with the Prince stuff.

Since I have spent more time around Chrysalis I learned from her just as much as I tried to teach her.

One of the more important things she taught me is how to feel for individual changelings and how to identify them through their cores; a trick that I sorely needed to master. Not that it was easy, it isn’t, but I can now accurately tell a stallion apart from mares without looking at them for a solid minute… or without them speaking.

The skill did not work well over long distances with pings, but within my sensory range (roughly a hundred meters) it worked just fine.

Not to say that Spine was easy to find, courtesy of one bored Queen.

Every time I sent a ping trying to pinpoint the changeling’s Captain she would send out a ping of her own on the same frequency blurring my senses. Even worse, the pings had a strange bubbly feeling making me giddy, which told me that she has quite a bit of fun messing with me. I guess it’s good practice in the end.

Fifteen minutes of messing around with Chrysalis later I found myself looking through a recently open hole behind the castle at the open space behind the structure.

Almost three months here in the Badlands and I have NEVER checked behind the castle itself.

The area behind the castle is flat, separated into seven sections and all… most of them are chock full of various equipment, like weights, ropes, and chains?, as well as a couple of mounds of rocks of varied sizes (the smallest one being about the size of a basketball by my estimate, and the largest about my height).

There is also a large section with three obstacle courses, an unobstructed track, and an area that I assumed is meant for sparring based on six dueling circles contained within it. All of it is eerily similar to the training area I used at the academy. Well, except for the ropes and chains… I wasn’t sure about those.

The well-equipped (but clearly worn) equipment area aside from the ling I am looking for is just finishing a lap along with six other changelings. They are all slowing down, but even with a decent distance between us, I could easily see the other five lings heaving while the captain is only slightly out of breath.

Just before I decided to jump out of the hole it closed and another opened a couple of meters down.

Briefly considering going to Chrysalis and asking her to teach me how to open holes in the castle I decided against it for now jumping through the newly opened hole.

Opening my wings I buzzed loudly before making my way over to Spine. It took almost thirty seconds to reach it, the training area is larger than it seemed from my previous location. It did give me some time to look around at changelings using all the equipment strewn about. I even saw the chains being used, which immediately reminded me of an exercise I used while I was in training to build neck muscles (we used a solid dumbbell, with a slightly longer handle, and a bite guard); the changeling is holding one end of the chain in his mouth and swings it from side to side in slow, wide, and deliberate motions. It made me wonder which method is superior.

Landing a couple of meters behind the five changelings I could just catch the last order to rest before the changelings tried to disperse, only to freeze when they saw me.

“Well, you heard the Captain lads, hop to it,” I pre-empted them before they could try to bow to me as well as throwing in a smile. With a quick nod and a salute they left and I looked at Spine, “You doin’ okay Cap?” I didn’t let my smile falter when I saw his hind legs shaking.

“I’m alright, sir. I’ve been lazy for long enough though, and I have to get back into shape,” He sat down and took a deep breath pushing it out in a puff of steam through his nose.

“No offense, Spine, but I would guess that you should have given your legs a bit more time to recover before you started doing laps with them,” I gave my wings a stretch with a light buzz before sitting down in front of him.

Spine looked at his legs, wiggled his hips to settle down more comfortably, and then looked up at me, “Could use a bit more exercise, sir. Speaking of exercise, when was the last time you sparred, Prince Patch?”

The question made me consider the line of thought that Captain Spine might be on and I couldn’t disagree with him. I need to keep my training up. I haven’t actually had time to do much on my own and without any equipment, but now that I know that there is something behind the castle I should get some use out of it.

“You know… Since my fight with Husk and the work that followed I barely had time to actually spar,” I raised my left claws and scratched at my chin thoughtfully.

“Ah,” Spine jumped up, “then you wouldn’t mind humoring an old soldier for a few minutes?” He took two steps towards the sparring field and waited for me to follow.

“I wouldn’t mind a scuffle, Captain, but I am not sure you… umm…”

“I am of no delusion I could fight you in a one-on-one combat, your Highness,” His canter is steady, but I couldn’t see anything in his gait that would serve as a warning. Maybe he is actually doing better than my initial observations, “I was hoping to get a better feel of what you can do, sir, and to give you a bit of a challenge if you are okay with it?”

“Sure… but I was thinking that would have our chat about the borders with Equestria first,” I frowned when his ears suddenly flattened themselves to his skull. I tried not to have any assumptions about it.

“I can assure you, sir, the situation is well in hoof,” He didn’t sound terse, but it still stung slightly. “I have lings patrolling the edges of our border at all times and if any pony tries to cross without a good reason they will be immediately podded and brought over for questioning.”

I could feel a slight panic start to settle in my gut for a moment before I squashed it flat with a deep breath.

“Spine, I do not mind you capturing ponies that have either attacked your lings or those that are trying to cause a mess but do not pod the ponies indiscriminately,” I kept my words even, making sure that nothing negative was given away from my voice. I wasn’t upset (yet), but I did not need to take out my annoyance on him given that he spent quite a bit of time out of commission.

“Sir,” He stopped mid-step to look up at me, “were you not to one ordering us to make sure that ponies did not do anything illegal on our lands?”

“I did not order…,” I am a prince, anything I say would sound like an order, I forgot, “All I said now is that we shouldn’t just pod them without a good reason. If they attack us on sight, sure, capture them and bring them over for questioning, but if they leave without causing problems then just take their name and their cutie mark,” I reasoned, “no need to burn bridges so soon.”

“Burn bridges?” He raised an eye ridge at me and I just shook my head. Shrugging he made his way past the sparring field and towards a group of four larger lings making use of the weight area.

I stayed back while Spine talked to his soldiers, taking some time to check over where I stand in terms of sparing again.

I did not feel as indestructible as I did months ago before Husk, but there is a lingering feeling that even without my shapeshifting abilities I would be able to kick ass. Thinking of shapeshifting, I ran a quick check over my resin levels feeling a slight annoyance that I am barely a third full. Should be more than enough, given my size, but if I knew what was coming I would have eaten something.

‘Note to self, keep yourself at least half full,’ My mind briefly flashed to that jar of resin in my room. Maybe I can do something with it, like take small chunks of it in a pendant or something similar.

Returning back to reality just as Spine approached me I noticed that now there are four larger changelings behind him, three stallions and one mare. Looking at them from left to right, I just barely managed to see their elytra; brown, golden yellow, bright orange and the mare’s cover is sky blue.

“Well, sir, still interested in that spar?” Spine asked trotting past me and moving over to the sparring circles.

“Against all four of them?” I gave the four in front of me a nod and a smile which got me four sharp salutes. They made their way to the grizzled captain and I followed behind them.

“One-on-one for now,” Spine shouted out. I heard a large gulp from the, now, far-right stallion with a brown elytra, “After that, we will see. I mean, you fought the false Queen alone, I’m fairly sure one changeling is not much of a challenge.”

“She also kicked my ass in the end,” I muttered to myself. I looked over the four changelings whose backs is turned to me and asked loud enough for all of them to hear, “So what’s up with all this size increase? I heard you guys are called ‘The Smashers’ or something similar.”

I did not want to make fun of the naming conventions, especially since I spent so much time with ponies (hearing a stallion say ‘cutie-mark’ still makes me want to giggle), but ‘The Smashers’ is not a name I can take seriously.

But since I have thrown myself into work for the last two weeks I barely had time to chat about the stuff beyond modernising the changeling society. Most of the basic laws I started adding once I took over from Husk have finally settled in (a system that doesn’t rely on a royals complete presence, worker rights, removing mandatory conscription, etc.) so that means I had barely enough time to look into other stuff. I’ll have to make a list of things that are finished and that still needs to be done at some point; it’ll hopefully help me focus on the right changes and improvements that will both shorten my time here and give Chrysalis an easier workload so she can enjoy herself a little bit and get the proper help that she needs.

“I thought you and Keratin talked about it already?” Spine finally stopped near the largest of six dueling circles.

“Other than the name of the group and that Husk kept them far away from anything, he couldn’t tell me any details. He simply didn’t know,” I sat down not far from him and shrugged afterward.

“The Guard Smashers was the epitome of what a normal changeling could reach in physical power,” I entered the ring while the changeling Captain explained. I walked over to the other end standing opposite of him with the castle to my left, “At least, that was the case when we had limited access to love compared to now.”

“So, I’m guessing you can make them larger?” The mare approached first stretching her neck as she made her way over. She stood about four meters away in front of me without any visible signs of worry.

“Not in size, no. No matter how much love is poured into them I doubt they could ever get larger… But carapace strength and thickness? Stronger muscles? More of them? Now that we have love to spare we could actually experiment and see where the limits of our kind lie.”

“So as long as it's voluntary, and no one gets hurt,” I nodded towards the mare in front of me and she moved.

Opening her elytra and buzzing loudly, she hurled forward in zigzag using her legs and her wings in a burst of speed I could only see in pegasi and griffins. Her bulk seems to be more than just for show. Still, I doubt she could hold that speed for long.

She jumped left to right while closing the short distance and before I knew it, a solid hook struck me to the left side of my muzzle waking me up from my daydream.

My face tingled from her strike but compared to Shield, Celestia, or Husk this barely even triggered my fighting senses. The sting did give me enough of a drive to jump back and avoid the follow-up with her right hoof.

Just as my legs touched the ground I used the same method she did to give myself an extra push. Unfortunately for her, I am larger and faster, smashing into her with my shoulder before she could recover from her miss. I could just barely spot the shock on her face from the corner of my eye before physics caught up with her, and her lungs emptied in an explosive wheeze.

As she landed a good three meters away in a painful roll I almost got caught by surprise as I noticed Spine nod to someone outside of my periphery. The loud buzz of wings is all the warning I got before one of the three stallions tried to clip my head from behind, and while I wasn’t exactly happy that they went for a sneak attack, I did manage to dodge by diving to the right making sure at the same time that my roll wasn’t ruined by my opened wings.

“What happened to the one-on-one?” I shouted midjump.

Coming out of my roll just in time to duck to the right again, I only managed to see a golden yellow flash pass me by before I focused on the still gasping mare, dashing at her. I rarely had a chance to practice combat against multiple opponents, but the theory was always a good fallback: keep an eye on all but focus on one. Shield Strike has thoroughly beaten the fear and worry over attacking a woman combatant out of me, but I still felt a small twinge at the back of my mind. This isn’t Shield or an alicorn, I had to be a bit more careful.

“Think of it as a challenge, my Prince,” I could hear the smile in his voice, but I did not want to lose my target so I just chose to scowl at a point above the mare.

Regardless of my thoughts, she is a skilled fighter as, by the time I got closer to her, she got her footing and lowered herself into an aggressive stance. Her wings are slightly opened and she is ready if still out of breath… or so she thought I guessed.

Tilting one of my ears back to make sure I’m not caught by surprise again from the stallion behind me, I ground to a halt right in front of the mare tilting myself to the left, catching her off guard just enough not to react when I raised my right claw and lifted her off the ground.

Slightly surprised at her weight I hold her awkwardly at the thickest part of her neck (slightly above her chest plate) giving her just enough time to realize her situation before I slammed her to the ground, back first, in a wide arc and emptying her lungs for the second time, followed by a direct punch to the chest. I didn’t hear any cracking from her plates, which lessened my worry about overdoing it, but only a little, as her mouth opened in a wordless yelp.

Leaving the poor mare painfully gasping for breath I quickly glanced at the captain, who gave another nod to the two remaining lings. I raised my head and looked behind my left shoulder just in time to see the stallion with brown elytra cautiously step forward and move over to his colleague who is scowling at me. I’m surprised I wasn’t double-teamed, but then they started whispering to each other and I took that as an incentive to get myself into the game, so to say.

“So…” I turned around to face the two lings leaving the mare under my claws to catch her breath. It’s a sparring match, not a fight, nor war, “Why so few of them? Why something like them in the first place? I got the feeling like you guys were lacking love in the first place.”

I glanced to my left at the blue-plated mare when she started moving to leave the ring once she got on her hooves, heaving the whole time. She could join back in, but so far, I have two targets to focus on.

There is a tone of regret in Spine’s voice when he spoke, “According to the old queen, they are failures.” The two stallions in front of me frowned angrily and separated to the left and right independently. I pulled back slightly so I could keep both of them in my sight, “She’s been trying, to my knowledge, to make some kind of changeling monstrosities for a long time now… Something about giants chitinous monsters that would tower over even her that she could use in a final assault on Equestria.”

Just as the captain stopped talking, the golden yellow stallion on my left sped up, dipping completely behind my field of vision which got me to immediately focus to my right at the brown ling, but I did not turn fully.

“I’ve been keeping them strictly underground, protecting the pods, away from… Husk. She never said it, but it was an unsaid warning that they would be killed on sight if she had to deal with them… Good fighters, loyal changelings, wasted,” Spine continued, his voice becoming more strained at the end, just as a buzzing coming from a similar direction behind me served as an alert to an incoming attack.

The brown ling in front of me moved for an attack at a decent gallop as well, and I opened my wings with a quick snap of my elytra, jumping forward towards him first (making him slow down and brace), then quickly changing direction and going for the golden plated ling.

The moment my second target slowed down, closing his gilded elytra to protect the wings, I dug my claws into the ground and swerved to the right with a loud buzz of my dual wings, refacing the brown-plated ling whose wide eyes spoke volumes of his surprise.

I did not have enough time to do anything fancy, my little move got both of the lings to come very close to me, or enough time to hold too much back, so I took a quick jump forward and threw a left hook at the head of the brown ling stallion knocking him to my right and, turning with the momentum, I barely managed to catch the golden ling missile to my chest with enough force to knock me on my back. I just managed to close my wings in time, with my elytra scraping the dust off the ground making it extra uncomfortable.

I received several solid strikes to the flexible abdominal plates from both sides by the ling on top of me, but other than making me heavily exhale (and slightly hurt), I did not hurt enough to worry too much. The changeling didn’t try to secure my arms opting to continue raining blows and if I let it go for much longer I would be in trouble.

I have little time before the other ling gets his bearings, and with the ling on top of me making himself a nuisance I needed to get myself into the fight properly.

I didn’t even try to grab at his forelegs (the flailing, striking limbs would make it hard as it is), so I just grabbed him by the shoulders and rolled us both to the right side just as the brown ling stood up and shook his head. He is about three meters away, giving me a few spare seconds.

The golden stallion underneath me did not slow down with his punches (which started to get to me) even with me straddling him, but two quick punches with my right arm, one to the head and another directly down to his chest, got him wheezing and trying to curl into himself.

A sharp whistle behind me got my ears to perk up, “Lupine!”

My eyes and head snapped up and I looked around me which cost me precious time I did not have.

Two loud, buzzing beats of wings coming from left and right put me on high alert as I tensed up and I grit my teeth. Lowering my eyes back down on the ling underneath me, I gave him one last punch to his ribs when he twisted to the side in an attempt to wiggle out from under me, and that was enough time for one of the to get right next to me.

The strike got me right between the ribs cracking two of the flexible plates, bruising my insides, and launching me off of the ling I was sitting on. I barely got to wheeze out the air from my lungs when something slammed into me from my left with enough force to bounce twice off the ground a fair distance away.

“You doing okay sir?” Spine shouted my way, and I wanted to answer him; but my ribs hurt, my head was swimming with every gasp, and boy oh boy am I seeing red.

‘Right, time to take this seriously,’ I snorted into the ground.

Standing up took a bit of effort, and a quick application of resin fixed the cracks (the damage was too extensive for a quick magic fix). I waved Spine off when I saw him take a step into the ring and I faced the trio in front of me with a stare.

The other two helped their downed friend up, and I had to give it to them… they knew how to take a hit. The golden one still had the grit to carry on.

The trio of golden, orange, and brown huddled for a moment while still keeping an eye on me and I took the time to calm down and get my breathing in order.

Still upset, but no longer pissed off enough to mangle them, I took one deep breath and lurched forward with both my wings and legs. I didn’t want to beat them to a pulp, but I’m still gonna bruise them something fierce.

The brown and the golden stallions moved left and right respectively while the orange one decided it was a good idea to charge me head-on. Big mistake.

Giving myself another burst of speed I quickly closed the gap between us and it really did not matter that he tried to go for my head with a jump, left foreleg curled up and ready for a punch.

Jumping along with him, I used my longer reach to grab his head, covering nearly his whole face with my frog, and shoving him down with nearly my full strength. I had to quickly let go as I did not want to rip his head off by accident. The painful yelp and the sound of grinding dirt told me everything I needed to know.

Forcing myself down with a quick burst of wings behind… Lupine, I quickly glanced around me before I was caught unawares.

Seeing their teammate eating dirt the other two beelined towards me and instead of moving to intercept either of them directly, I instead grabbed the orange ling under me by his left hind leg and tossed him as hard as I could at the golden ling in front of me before turning around and going after the brown one.

He, at the very least, was smart enough to slow down and prepare himself, but it ultimately did not matter.

My right haymaker missed when he jumped to his left, but I followed up by planting my arms into the dirt and pulling my hind legs towards myself in a wide arc, clipping his chin with the left hoof. Moving with the momentum, I spun around and chased my target down with a buzz of wings and claws tightened into a fist. I couldn’t knock him out, my own experience could attest to that, but three nearly unblocked punches and he is lying on the ground, groaning, and moaning.

With the loud sound of singular hoofbeats reaching my ears, I turned to see only one changeling galloping towards me. The golden one is the only one left and he crumpled like a sheet of paper after I jumped to the side and landed a powerful punch to the stomach lifting him off the ground before I let him drop. He should have given up, no point in risking permanent damage to prove a point.

Noticing that my own breathing is laboured I tried to steady it by taking large breaths through my nose and letting it out through my mouth.

'Stronger than normal changelings certainly, but not enough.'

It took me roughly five breaths until I could call myself calm, the three lings were still groaning by the time I straightened myself and walked over to Spine and a distinctly shivering changeling mare with wide eyes.

“So… ‘Bout that talk of the border,” Spine’s heavy sigh got me to grin. It’s nice to give other people headaches for a change.

CH 58 (preparing for politics)

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Celestia

‘If anypony ever thought that ruling a country, even after over a thousand years, is easy… Well, hopefully, they can take over, I need a break,’ I glared at the stack of parchments on my workstation.

I barely even had my breakfast before throwing myself at work. Barely even enough time to make my wife comfortable after her experiments from yesterday.

Taking a, rather large, gulp of wine from the tall wine glass on my desk, I wrote down a reminder on a sheet of parchment to look over the archives or ask Miss Dusty Writ to look into it…

‘Delegate, Celestia… Delegate’ I added my archivist’s name to the note and then resumed my glare at the documents.

“Ya’ know, ya’ will burn a hole in ‘em one day if ya’ keep this up?” My wife’s snarky comment got me only to glance in her direction but that is about it. She is lounging on a pile of pillows I put together for her comfort right in front of an empty fireplace. If I looked at her for longer I would get even more upset than I already am.

Her matted fur and currently muted colors are a direct result of experimentation in order to fix mms. When I gave the go-ahead for the funding of hers and Doctor Salve’s project I did not think they would immediately start. Though, in all honesty, after looking through the notes Thick Salve provided it made sense that they would start as soon as they did; he made good use of all that we have learned from Patchwork over the course of two years.

‘Should I feel bad that I hoped they would use somepony else?’ The intrusive thought made me shake my head before I glanced at my wife again, ‘I should… but…’

Biting my lower lip I refocused back to work. I needed to go over as much as I can so that my political visit to Badlands can go without issues… Especially since it has turned into such a titanic issue.

“Ya know I can help ya? Right?”

“No honey,” I sighed, “Doctor Salve was very specific that you need to rest as much as you can.”

She laughed, and if I looked up I would be able to see a small amount of blue mist leaving her mouth with every exhale. The burn tablets barely kept the worst of the illness at bay lately.

“I ain’t a foal, Sunny, a bit of parchmentwork ain’t gonna kill me,” I heard a soft grunt escape her lips and I looked up only to see her stand and move ever so slowly to me. Away from the warm pillows, around the desk, and right into my extended wing. The moment she made herself comfortable under my left wing, I closed it as gently as I could, which got me a nice reward in the form of a happy sigh and a kiss just above my jaw.

“There isn’t much you can do to help, love,” I gave her a long and loving nuzzle but getting back to work became secondary. Gazing down into her eyes, I let myself get lost in them for a moment before I managed to look away, “The nobles are just trying to go around me.”

“The Badlands thing again?” She reached out with her right hoof for the parchment and I used my own right hoof to stop it. Lifting her right hoof with my own I gave it a kiss right above her fetlock and then lowered it down. She frowned at my refusal to let her lift even a piece of parchment, but it did not dissuade me.

“Yes, they are bringing up an old, very old, land ownership deed.”

“We used to own Badlands?” She asked and I bit the inside of my cheek in thought.

“Not exactly owned. It’s a preserved piece of document that is even older than me,” Her eyes were wide with surprise. There aren’t many documents that can claim the same, “But yes, during the unification of the tribes Queen Platinum tried to expand the borders as far as she could, spurred by Commander Hurricane. They thought that with all three tribes living together now one day we would need more land to house everypony.”

Shield let out a snort, probably suppressing her laughter, “Seriously?”

“Oh yes. Technically, one-third of the Badlands belong to Equestria and the Crown,” I nodded sagely and continued ignoring her gasp of shock. “However, several years of failed attempts at prospecting later added an amendment on a separate document. We were present for that one, I should add, stating that the area had nothing worthwhile, and as such Platinum relinquished the lands to whoever wanted it… Nopony did,” I shrugged with my wings making Shield squirm under it.

“How did they even find that document then?” She reached out for my desk again only for me to intercept her with my hoof and repeat my previous action but kissing higher up her leg. She was frowning again, but it did not reach her eyes.

“I’m fairly certain that most of the larger and older houses have a copy of every land-owning deed. They used to wave them around like flags, just to lord it over everypony that didn’t acquiesce to their demands. Completely oblivious to the fact that just because my political power isn’t fully exercised anymore to such a degree (‘I don’t remember the last time I did something like that’) I can, at any point, remove that privilege from them. Platinum made absolutely sure that nopony could bully us around and start a civil or tribal war over lands and such.”

“It’s good to be a Princess, huh?” Her smile turned predatory for a moment and I had to agree. There are some nice benefits to being a Princess.

We stayed like that for a minute, her under my wing and nuzzling my neck as I considered the subject of politics.

While the explanation of the law at large is true, the current situation is nowhere near as simple as that.

The nobility, their groups, both parliamentary and private as well as private enterprises have been stalled as long as I could. Majorly, their ‘demands’ have been reasonable and I would approve most of them, but with the changelings situation being as uncompromising as it is, I couldn’t, in good conscience just let my ponies run loose. I do not think that Chrysalis or her people are gullible, or foolish to not see when somepony is trying to trick them but with so many of them…

A low grumble from under my wing got me to perk my ears and look at my Shield out of the corner of my eye. Smiling I sent a quick message to the kitchen for some of her favourite snacks before I stole a kiss. May as well take a break before going back to work.

…

“Parchment?” I glanced at my assistant, who is working on his own desk. We are using a dual office close to the throne room, one often utilized in situations like this, when we need to go over parchmentwork as fast as possible without involving other ponies.

I wanted to get as much work out of the way so that my trip to Badlands can go as smoothly as I can make it. While I knew that the ponies I will leave in charge during my absence would be able to handle most of the problems coming their way, the less they need to worry about, the better.

The afternoon sun illuminated the entire office making the gem lights useless.

“Yes, madam?” He didn’t raise his head, nor did I expect him. Two parchments did make their way to me, carried by his white magic, and placed on a small pile that I’m going through.

Picking up a copy of my weekly schedule I looked over it. I did not spot any new additions or meetings which confused me; King Truehorn is supposed to arrive in a couple of days and the representative of the Northern Griffon Provinces already made her nest in one of the guest rooms.

I was actually hoping to accompany Shield to her three o’clock mms tests today, but she asked me not to, and that scared me. Burying myself in work seemed like the only good distraction even if work was the major plan today… I should visit young Velvet and call Patch with her vobby.

Sighing I dropped the schedule from my magic without even looking where it fell, “Do we have an exact time of King Truehorn’s arrival?”

“No madam,” he answered immediately, “But we know that lady Sahara would be arriving tomorrow along with her brother, sir Ifferit.”

I sighed again, making me feel like a leaky balloon. I have been sighing a lot lately, so much so that my wife said she would start making a tally for it… My night captain stated that she should install a ‘sigh jar’ next to the throne.

Three parchments floated over to me, and I scanned quickly through them adding my own signature at the bottom along with a seal. We may not clear everything from the to-do pile, but we should be able to deal with a sizable chunk of it which isn’t really worth the headache I would develop by the end of the day.

“I expected her father to come…” I muttered more to myself, but Parchment spoke up.

“I will assume that they are making plans in case something goes wrong…” I opened my mouth to say that Abyssinians always plan like that but he continued, “Besides, I assumed that it is a test for the poor kits,” Parchment raised his head a looked at me with a hint of sadness in his eyes, “after all, their mother already passed, and their father isn’t as young as he was.”

“Yes… Jasper is… not doing well. I should visit my friend these days, when all of this is finally dealt with,” Despite my slight annoyance at it I sighed again.

A sharp clicking sound of something hitting glass got me to look at Parchment, a jar with a single bit in it was gingerly placed on the table.

I did not sigh a fourth time, “Parchment…”

“Yes, madam?”

I eyed the jar for a few seconds before adding five more bits to it which got me a raised eyebrow.

“Advance payment,” lowering my head, I returned to work while trying to ignore my assistant’s small smirk.

…

Evening came and night fell.

Parchment and I finished the laborious work for today, Shield Strike is back home and sleeping off the effects of whatever tests they were running, and I am taking a long walk in the gardens after switching the celestial orbs. As ever, her moon still disagreed with me touching it, regardless of the centuries we have now spent together.

Looking up at the softly glowing moon I let my memories and emotions take over for a moment, but nowadays, my memories are looked over from a new light. I’ve yet to do anything with Husk, she is still in my vault, but I am not sure if I wish to do anything in the first place. I know what Patch would do… but there is still a part of me that thinks my original plan would eventually bear fruit. Maybe it’s finally time to sit down and rethink my approach while there is still time to plan.

“Well… It is unusual for the ruler of the day, to bask in the night,” Came a deep, raspy but still distinctly feminine voice from my left. I recognized her as the NGP representative.

Discretely dabbing at my eyes with a napkin, I turned my head to look at the griffon once I ensured that my face was dry.

Greta Talonpoint, the representative of the Northern Griffon Provinces. A collection of three griffon kingdoms that managed to survive the fall of Griffonstone, but only just. While the majestic crown city of Griffons still exists, its condition and the condition of the citizens that still occupy the region leave a lot to be desired.

The three kingdoms, surviving by beak and claw, managed some semblance of order and function in the beginning, but over time they managed to fight off the worst of their psychological vices. These days, they consider themselves separate from the main area of the old griffon kingdom, and though their combined numbers barely reach five hundred thousand everycreature considers them a separate entity. That is even considering the griffons of Equestria.

“Lady Greta,” I smiled and nodded my head in greeting, “If I may notice, you are not the type to be awake at this time either.”

The old hen joined me, circling around and sitting down on the grass on my right serving as a small reminder that the northern griffons prefer to keep their weaker side turned towards whom they consider allies. An interesting trait when more of them are in the same area.

Looking down at her, her standard brown plumage and fur did nothing to hide the muscle that she obviously still worked on, even in her older age.

Not the biggest of griffons, the only thing that did stand out on her are her bright blue piercing eyes that scowled at the moon hanging above us. Looking away from her scowling visage, I focused my sight on the countryside.

“I was about to go and rest, but then I noticed somecreature with white fur walking around the gardens. I wished to talk to you a bit before the others arrive, we will not have as much time then.”

“Oh?” A small twitch of my ears is all the reaction I allowed myself, “Anything in particular, you wish to speak about?” I could make a guess though.

The silence did not drag long, but it thankfully allowed me to think up several responses that she might find more acceptable than the truth.

“Look… Celestia,” a rather blunt beginning… I could feel myself frowning already, “we all know that since you announced your little pet project- “

“Neither he, nor his kind are a ‘project’ and certainly not ‘pets’, Greta,” I tried, but a bit of edge did slip through my lips.

“They aren’t ponies either. And his kind has assured that no love would exist between them and us,” She certainly did not keep the bite out of her voice.

“Led by a maniac whose sole purpose was hatred and destruction. The changelings are writing a new chapter in their lives and thus far I have seen nothing worth worrying about,” A remarkable species now that their tormentor has been removed from the equation. I am proud of what Patch has accomplished.

“That may be your opinion, Princess. My leaders do not see the same, and it makes me question the situation as well.”

“We can trust them…” I heard feathers fluffing and I looked down at her. She pointed her piercing eyes at me.

“You say that, but the only reason they haven’t been killed off is…” Her plumage is puffed up and she takes a deep breath to calm herself down. “There is a standing order, for the last several centuries, even before the collapse of Griffonstone, that stated all changelings are to be executed on sight. And while the populace has forgotten about their threat, you can be assured that the kings and those that work with them are aware of this order. I do not know about the minotaurs and Truehorn, but I was told, without any usual wordplay, if should I find any issues with my visit this order is to be further enforced.”

“You would attack them during the visit?” I raised an eyebrow.

“No,” she shook her head as her feathers straightened out, “but they will know of our opinion; the NGP will not welcome them.”

The new silence that fell between us felt oppressive, but not overly so. But not enough to prevent any questions.

“I thought that the provinces and the griffons, in general, had very little to do with changelings,” I sat down on the cool grass, “what with the sea separating our countries.”

“That is because we never let them. Their kind is sneaky, and their shapeshifting is impeccable, but they aren’t griffons,” She went silent for about a minute before speaking again. “Sixty-seven attempts over the last three hundred years. My king would have liked this information to not leave our kingdom, but I think you should know it. Sixty-seven, along with a confirmation of two hundred and fifteen killed changelings, we never let a single one leave and we noted down EVERY attempt they made, and where.”

“Not a single one?” Worry settled in my stomach. I knew that other races would never approach such a situation the way my ponies would, but I did not consider extermination to be an immediate option.

“Well, not entirely. I think about… what was it… a hundred or so years ago a changeling was sent back with a message for their ‘queen’. There have been no known incursions since,” She shrugged. “It’s not something that is widely known, as I said, other than the kings, their retainers, and their personal guards no other grif even knows of them. But the order is known and… well… I am here to deliver the warning, should it be required.”

“Will you not even give them a chance?” I did not wish to plead for Patchwork’s sake, but I will if necessary.

“They will get their chance,” She stood up and slowly made to leave, “but I wanted you to know how thin of ice they stood on. A warning, to one we consider an ally. Good night Celestia, may the north winds bring you a peaceful sleep.”

…

Lunch was dealt with, and my wife and I made our way to the train station to welcome the royal siblings and their entourage. While I initially wanted to walk to the train station, taking the carriage turned out to be a smart idea. The red, richly decorated, and plush, velvet interior along with its soft, cloud filled, benches allowed Shield to rest and focus on other comforts. And while she kept her opinions mostly to herself, there was little doubt in my mind that kicking Greta out of the castle, or even the country for that matter, is a very appealing idea. The string of curses my shield let out during breakfast told me that even indirectly threatening Patchwork would not be forgotten. I wasn’t one for holding grudges, but were I a lesser mare, Greta would be at the very least teleported to the nearest large body of water.

Shield Strike, lounging opposite of me on her right side, and her head lying on a cushion, let out another thundering grumble and I giggled causing her to grumble again, much more softly, and letting out a snort.

“Honey, we are going to greet Sahara and Ifferit… please calm down,” I cooed while standing up from my seat and taking a step towards her. My carriage allowed me such freedom of movement and I am always grateful for it.

“The kid shouldn’t be going through al’a this,” I lowered my head and nuzzled her neck.

“It isn’t all that bad, honey,” I laid down on the carriage floor, the soft carpet making the position quite comfortable, “it just means that Patch will have to be careful during our visit. And we both know that he is a smart colt. He will manage and have the two of us there along with him and Chrysalis. He will do fine, my love.” I kissed right under her left eye first, then gently trailing kisses down her face to her neck.

Sighing as she began to relax, I smiled and kissed her on the lips when she finally lifted her head and turned to face me.

“Can't let me fume, can't ya?”

“No, love, I cannot. You are nowhere near as pretty when you are angry,” I giggled at her mock hurt and laughed when she started playfully shoving me.

Not one to let others shove me around, even my own wife, I started pushing her back, barely even putting any strength into it. Shoving, and ducking between her hooves for a kiss, or a peck, a nuzzle, even a lick. More and more, all the while laughing like silly school fillies. An excellent way to have her relax… we still had at least twenty minutes until we reach the train station, more than enough time…

…

Her snickering and giggling only made my own embarrassment rise further than it already was. Having a bit of fun to blow off some steam? Sure, no problem. Going at it like savages and making the entire white carriage practically shake?

“Bucking filly… last time I let you have your way like this,” I muttered to myself. Shield must have heard me because her snickers turned into guffaws and her breath turned into blue mist.

She never leaked so much mana before these experiments, and while a dark pit settled in my stomach, I trusted Shield. My embarrassment changed into worry, but I kept it from showing on my face.

“We are here to welcome our friends and allies,” I gently chided my wife. It hardly did anything to stop her from still laughing, “We should at least attempt SOME level of decency.”

No way to clean ourselves, and only my magic kept the worst of it from assaulting the noses of those around us, we sat in a waiting area within the train station and railway section reserved for royal cars and any visiting dignitaries, separate from the main building by a large door and a pair of guards. I was told that the train would arrive in less than five minutes.

Other than four lavish, white, and gold benches with red pillows on them, the ten-barrel-in-length and twenty barrels in width room is surprisingly sparse, with three white doors on the right of the main entrance leading into a toilet, a safe deposit for items before transporting them to the castle and a corridor leading to the local restaurant connected to the train station.

We are sitting in front of one of the benches placed at the other end of the room, opposite the main door with the other doors on our left. There are about four barrels between us and the train tracks, so we are away from any danger and even then, is a golden railing there, just in case.

“What? We are decent?” My love stated with a snicker.

“We smell like beasts in heat,” I whispered that last part just loud enough for her to hear despite nopony being in this area of the station other than the two of us and the four guards that came with us.

“And ya’ made sure that we don’t knock them off’a their hooves,” She patted me gently on the cheek with her left forehoof while I glared down at her.

A loud, shrill whistle of a train coming into the station interrupted my rebuttal, but I would not let her smug attitude stand like this. Quickly swooping in while she turned to look at the train, I did the only ‘adult’ thing I could think of and licked at her ear, root to tip making her freeze in her tracks and sending a visible shiver down her spine. Some would consider my punishment foalish, but they did not know my wife as well as I do.

Swiftly pulling my head back and making myself more presentable with a burst of magic, I watched from the corner of my eye as her ears started vibrating slightly and her face twist into a grimace as she tried and almost failed to keep her tail from lifting. The murderous look she sent my way by the time the train came through the gate and stopped with a screech made the whole thing worth it.

Giving her a smug cheeky grin, I stood up and made my way to the leading car that housed the passengers and waited for the door to open.

“-telling you both,” came the loud bombastic voice that immediately recognized as the bull king Truehorn, “I cannot wait until we eventually get to smash these bugs into oblivion!” Truehorn let out a loud bombastic laugh and leaped out of the cart and made his way straight towards me.

I could hear my wife growl from where she stood, and I barely managed to keep my ears from pinning themselves to my head in frustration.

‘It’s never easy, isn’t it?’

CH 59 (knowing is half the battle)

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Celestia

“A duel…” The look of exasperation spoke volumes of Patch’s opinion on the matter, “Of course, he wants a duel.” He sighed, and his shoulders sagged even further. While I have used vobbys before when talking to Shield, I am still surprised by how detailed the little screens are, “I have to get back into proper shape then.”

Both Twilight and Strike raised their heads and looked at the screen held in front of me in my magic.

The three of us are relaxing in my bedroom while Twilight is letting us use her device.

I am lying on a red carpet in front of the fireplace, forelegs crossed in front of me, no regalia, and the only other thing held in my magic is a large cup of Abyssinian black tea.

Velvet and Shield are barely a wingtip distance away, lying on their sides and going through the unicorn’s school project. Young Velvet initially worked on it on her own, but my wife decided to offer some help with research.

Once we got the pleasantries out of the way, after connecting with Patch, I told him of the current state of the situation with the creatures that would be coming with me for a visit in two days.

“In shape? You don’t look out of shape,” Velvet rolled around a bit until she faced the little device directly. I moved the vobby to the side so that Patch could see all three of us, “You look handsome… and hot…” Shaking her head, a brief flash of embarrassment passed her features and I giggled softly, while my wife snorted, trying her best not to laugh at the lingering aftereffects of the heat.

“Not in the way you are thinking about, love…” he smiled lovingly at her, “I’ve recently been in a sparring match, and it took me a couple of seconds until I got into the swing of things.”

“I hope ya didn’t lose, colt,” I turned my head to see my wife gingerly stand up and stretch, letting me marvel at her stunning physique, even after her torturous tests.

“Nah, still kicked their plots. All four of them, no shapeshifting,” He stated proudly. I just managed to see Velvet roll her eyes at him.

“Good…” My wife approved, approaching me in a quick step and kissing me, “That means ya only need to refresh your mentality and tha’s it. But you’re a natural, colt. If ya keep a sparing regimen once a week, you’ll do fine.” She sat close to me, and I extended my left wing embracing her with it.

“Thanks, ma’am,” he stood a bit straighter after the praise. It also didn’t escape my notice that the way he said ‘ma’am’ was just a mumble away from ‘mom’ and by the glimmer in Shield’s eye, she noticed it too.

“Anything else I need to know? Anyone else that wants a piece of us?” His slouch wasn’t as noticeable this time.

“No, my dear. The twins are keeping their opinions to themselves (but it's obvious that they do not have the hate of their elders), and Lady Talonpoint made her intentions clear.”

“I’m still surprised that it's only the four of you… Saddle Arabians, Hippogriffs, Fish-folk, Deer…” Patch raised his arm, extending a claw for every race that didn’t come, “I at least expected Hippos to send someone.”

“Nah, makes sense if ya dealt with ‘em before…” Shield shrugged, “Hippogriffs and Deer folk keep ta’ themselves, and I doubt they are bothered about Changelings; Fish-folk don’t care, and Saddle Arabians, though their ties to Equestria are deep, they tend to deal with Abyssinians more than us since they live so close to each other.”

“And I'm guessing they trust both Equestria and the Abyssia to do the right thing regarding the situation,” the conclusion made I saw one of Patch’s ears perk up, followed by the other. He developed a thoughtful look on his face for a moment, looking up somewhere above the vobby before speaking, “Any advice about a duel with a Minotaur you can give me, so I can ready myself for it?”

“Heavy armor, heavy weapons, not very nimble but tough and strong,” Strike spoke up before I did. Patch glanced in her direction but otherwise kept focused on a spot beyond the screen and Shield continued, “They aren’t as strong as an earth pony at their best, but they are still freakishly strong, and if ya’ aren’t careful their attacks can come from odd angles ‘cos of their height and being able to use their arms freely.”

“And- “

“Also be careful of their horns. A ‘taur won't try to gore ya, but their horns should not be forgotten ‘bout,” She interrupted him, but he did not mind. Rather, he flashed her a quick smile, nodded, and in the brief quiet I could hear the scratching of a quill.

“Got it…” he refocused back on us, “last thing… shapeshifting, ye’ or nah?”

“Go for it, colt, wow him.”

“Really?” Both he and Velvet asked nearly at the same time.

“Indeed,” I nodded, “unlike griffons who like to keep their duels on an equal playing field, minotaurs, on the other hoof, care not for what advantages or disadvantages one possesses. As long as the victory is achieved within the predetermined rules of the duel itself, they do not care about the hows.

“A fair warning though, my son,” a brief smile split his muzzle, but he quickly got it under control at the tone of my voice, “King Truehorn, your challenger… do not hold back against him under any circumstance.”

I saw him open his mouth, likely to speak against it, but I continued, “I do mean it, Patchwork. Spirit Truehorn may not be an ascendant like you, me, and Chrysalis, but he is as close to it as a mortal can be. He is undeniably powerful; he challenges himself regularly through combat and if you hold back against him, he will hurt you,” A brief glance to my left showed a very worried Twilight, but thus far she kept to herself.

“Can you beat him in a duel?” He asked after a moment of silence.

“It is not a question whether I can best him or not, the question is: can you? You are strong, my dear, of that there is no doubt, but you still have a decent way to go before you can call yourself a force in terms of sheer power.”

Patchwork

I… did not know what to say to that. Celestia calling herself a ‘force’ I got that, but the way she used the words now to me seemed like she included Truehorn into it… Oh boy.

“Right… I’ll put myself through some paces.”

“Atta colt,” Shield smiled, showing off her pearly whites.

“Princess… the charge…” I heard my Velvet speak up. I really miss her and I’m going to spend as long as it takes to make all this up to her once I return to Canterlot.

“Ah yes… Anything else you wish to speak about before we leave, my dear?” All three of them looked sad and even with the distance, and through the phone, I could feel that same sadness.

“No… nothing for now…” Sighing I let my head drop, “We almost got everything ready for the visit so… I guess I’ll see the two of you in two days, yeah?”

“Yes, I believe that we are all looking forward to it,” a smile, a wave, and a kiss were sent to me from Celestia, Shield, and Velvet respectively, and the call ended leaving me alone in my room.

Just as a precaution, I looked at my own battery charge, and, confirming that there was still plenty of juice in it, I tossed it with my magic over to the other side of my room and onto the bed.

‘I should go and get some workout in then, one way or another.’

…

“A…” A tilt of the head to the left, “Spar?” A tilt of the head to the right.

Took me about twenty minutes into the exercises outside of the castle to get an idea to ask Chrysalis if she could help me. However, with the way she is looking at me right now, like if I asked if water is wet, I doubt that she would.

Her room is just as spartan as it was when I came in the first time around, with only a bed, a chest, and a mirror, with the only difference being a small door added on the far side of the room which will lead to the bathroom once a few things are figured out (changeling feeding habits makes plumbing all but unnecessary for most of the stuff… which is vile if one were to ask me, all will be implemented as soon as possible).

“Yeah… I want to get into a good mental state for a, very possible, duel once the visitors arrive.”

Her face went through several emotions before she rolled her eyes looking utterly unimpressed, “Why would anyone want to fight you in the first place?”

“Not a fight, a duel…” This time I rolled my eyes.

Scoffing, she stood up, walked over to her chest, opened it, and picked up a mane brush from it.

“Call it whatever you wish, my son,” Walking over and sitting down behind me, small shivers ran down my spine when she removed my band and started gently brushing my mane, “but the only thing that matters is that you will get hurt at the end of the day. And I will not have it.” The last three words were accompanied by three stomps for emphasis.

“And if a duel helps us with minotaurs?” Another shiver as she pulled the brush from the roots to the tips.

“So, the minotaurs…” a low growl escaped her, but it hardly affected the brush. “Who is it… a prince… No, no… Wait, wait… Did the king have a daughter? Or are they sending a representative?”

Turning my head to look behind me I had just enough time to see a contemplative look on her face, her right claws idly scratching under her chin before her magic turned my head back forward slowly but certainly.

“It’s the king… Spirit Truehorn if I got it right,” Deciding to relax I let my shoulders slouch down and I enjoyed the brushing.

“The king? I don’t think she ever sent someone over the sea for a while…” She muttered, “Regardless, maybe I should be the one to duel him instead of you.”

“Look,” Shaking my head vigorously I forced her to stop the brushing. Turning my head around I looked her in the eyes, “Me or you, no matter who he challenges we both need some practice so that we don’t embarrass ourselves, at the very least.”

“And you think you can accomplish such a level of proficiency in a meager two days?” She waved her claw, gesturing me to turn around and I reluctantly turned, but not before sending another scowl at her.

“Well,” I started, “I managed to challenge Husk with only a couple of months of training with Celestia.”

“And I’m fairly certain that both Celestia AND her wife made sure that you got as much time as you needed to achieve this level of ability,” she tutted taping me lightly on my shoulder with the brush.

“Are you saying that I cannot beat a minotaur?” I put as much incredulity in my voice as I could.

“Well… I may be a mare out of time, my son, but from what I know, you do not become a king of all minotaurs without being a powerful warrior yourself… But” She interrupted the moment I inhaled to speak, “since this obviously matters a lot to you…” A deep sigh, “Very well.”

“Yes!” I pumped my right arm in victory.

The red band was placed back into my mane tying it into a tight ponytail and the brush went floating past me, carried in green magic, and put into the still open trunk which was then closed with a clack.

“And I just fixed your mane…” Her despondent voice did not deter me.

“You are making a flame out of an ember, it’ll be fine,” I lowered my upper body into a deep stretch, followed by shaking myself like a dog and a grunt before standing up.

Chrysalis stood up and moved back half a step from me with a happy smile on her muzzle until I got up and waved her over while walking to the door.

“Wait!? You don’t mean now?” The mix of both surprise and shock on her face almost made me burst out in laughter.

“Yeah,” I snickered, “I mean, we have a bit of time, and we also have only two days to get some practice in.”

Opening the door to the hallway, I flashed her a quick smile, waved her over again, and made my way outside. I’m slightly nervous, but also very curious about how she fights.

…

I’ve gone from slightly nervous to nervous.

While the walk to the sparring area wasn’t long by our standards (longer legs, longer strides), it still gave me plenty of time to remember that both Shield Strike, Celestia, and Husk kicked my ass in some way or another, but, while Chrysalis has not actually fought in literal centuries, she is still a demigod with several of my lifetimes in physical and magical development. I may have an advantage in recent experience and shapeshifting, and if I capitalize on it, I may be able to edge a victory out of this…

‘I need to remember that this is practice and NOT a competition,’ I shook the more competitive thoughts out of my head and focused on the plan of action.

“Son…” I perked and turned my ears to better hear behind me. I also turned my head slightly to my right while paying attention to where I was going, “I need to ask again; do we HAVE to do this?”

Making sure that I was walking straight, I turned my head as much as I could to the right, so I could see her.

The usual cheerfulness and confidence were, at some point, replaced with withdrawn insecurity. Her head, her shoulders, her ears all of it lowered so that she looks small.

“Don’t think of it as a fight, Mom,” I guess a bit more convincing couldn’t hurt, “think of it as exercise.”

“Wouldn’t someone else be better suited for this ‘exercise’?” I could hear the quotation marks in that sentence, and it only helped in getting me to roll my eyes.

For all her worry, I noticed that she still followed me.

“Do you know anyone that could spar with me without getting severely…” I whipped my head around to look at her and though she still looked insecure that smirk was unmistakable. “No… it would not,” I growled through gritted teeth while trying to ignore my twitching eye.

“Very well then, off we go,” and back to the cheerful bouncy bug-pony as she pranced ahead of me. And though she looked unbothered now, her twitching tail betrayed the insecurity she felt. Still, this time I followed her as we broke through the shadows of the castle and into the ‘backyard’ making our way to the sparring circles.

‘Should at the very least keep an eye on her… I don’t want to cause a relapse.’

The rest of the trip went by in silence, all two minutes of it, but it gave me plenty of time to sort my mind out on how I wanted to approach this.

While against Husk I did my absolute best, without holding myself back, our battle was far away from everyone else. Meaning no one, other than Husk and maybe Chrysalis amongst changelings saw the number of truly alien creatures that I could shapeshift into, which meant fewer questions, which was fine, but it also meant that I was somewhat forcing myself into limitations that I was getting increasingly tired of. Limitations are fine, to a degree, but they also mean that, when push came to shove, I would need to shed those same limitations, both physically and mentally which will not do anymore. I’ll put on a mask for when I finally live with Velvet, but only so that I can keep the pressure off my family in the future… other than that… the minotaur king will be in for a rude awakening in a couple of days.

‘Do I want to put Chrysalis through it though?’ I frowned ‘Gotta start somewhere.’ Sighing I noticed that we finally reached the sparring circles, and while I let my mind wander Chrysalis moved over to one of the farther circles and sat down in the middle of it.

“I am still unsure about this,” She rubbed at her left forearm anxiously while I made my way to her.

“As am I,” I spoke honestly. I stopped my approach a few meters away from her which gave me plenty of room for a good dash, “but unless you have some other changelings that could help me with this, on MY level or yours… or unless you have some ‘brothers’ or ‘sisters’ for me to help with this, then THIS is our only option.”

The short, intense look of concentration on her face once the words ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’ came out of my mouth sent a wave of chills down my spine in a way nothing so far did.

“No… no… nothing for now,” Scratching her chin for about a minute she finally let out a sigh and allowed her head to drop while standing up on all fours, “Guess I will have to do, for now. I hoped that I would never have to do something like this again… this… fighting.”

“We aren’t fighting, mom. This is you, teaching me, how to fight like a proper changeling,” I smiled as did she. The twinkle in her eye told me that she got to the main point of this exercise at last… and, that I will be a heap of pain by the end of this.

CH 60 (opening the cage)

View Online

Patchwork

Running back into the castle to grab something we can use as a stopwatch I asked one of the ponies I ran into if they could help. By the time I returned to the sparring circles, which took approximately twenty minutes (according to the old-fashioned alarm clock held in my magic), I chuckled at the changeling queen who was lying down in the same place I left her, head resting on her forearms, and humming a happy tune to herself.

“Got it!” I announced my arrival while using a button on the back of the clock to set up an alarm, “What do you think? Five minutes?”

“Five minutes for what, exactly?” She stopped humming and I could see only her right eye open and follow me when I got close to her.

“The sparring match?” I still held the clock in my magic, but I stopped the setup until she acknowledged the event… again.

Sighing she started slowly getting up, stretching all four visible limbs, and lastly followed by a loud buzz from her wings, “Are you certain of this, Patch? I need to ask again.”

“Yes, I am,” Frowning and pursing my lips I hit the alarm clock and placed it outside of the ring before I hopped twice until I stood about three meters away from her. Lowering myself down into a fighting position, ready to pounce, I took a deep breath through my nose and let it out through my mouth, my mind focusing on the here and now.

“Very well,” only slightly widening her stance, Chrysalis ignited her horn, but only slightly, “begin when ready.”

I lunged at her, claws forward and I saw flames of transformation lick at my body, but then a strike interrupted me halfway through the jump. Curling into a ball, I practically saw the air leave my lungs, and I barely had the time to grunt (let alone get any airtime) before a green flash, followed by another, stronger, strike came from the left side, hitting my ribs and slamming me into the ground.

I think I bounced twice, but the pain from my stomach and ribs made any pain that followed barely register properly.

My chest burned, and I had to force myself into a quasi-stretch before I managed to inhale as much air as I could before my lungs cramped again. That gave me enough time to clear my head a bit and fall back on a trick Shield taught me if I find myself in such situations; small, measured breaths, in and out…

A shadow fell over me and I felt myself gently rolled to the side as Chrysalis’s worried face took over my entire vision. She searched for something, her eyes darting all over, and, after a moment, her features scrunched up and I could feel the pain ebb away as my muscles relaxed. A quick lookup showed me her glowing horn, answering that question.

“Ever… heard of… taking it…” I tried to get out as my chest finally settled, “easy?”

“That was me taking it easy,” she sighed, cupping my head with her claws, and placing a soft kiss just beneath my horn. “I did warn you.”

“I know you did, but that still felt like too much,” Going through my body with my internal senses I didn’t find any leftover damage, so I stood up, prompting Chryssy to do the same. Grabbing the alarm clock, I turned off the alarm before it sounded off, “Husk never hit me with such a force… and I know for a fact that Celestia never actually used her full arsenal of spells and powers during our spar…”

“I am not Celestia,” She stated matter-of-factly, “as far as Husk… I made myself a complete nuisance during that event, and even more so, Husk used up massive quantities of her magic to keep this body from eroding into nothingness due to hatred.”

She took the clock out of my magic into her own and placed it outside of the ring before moving to the same starting distance I set in the beginning facing me with a frown.

“Furthermore…” she continued while I confirmed my suspicions about the fight with Husk, “the minotaur king will not be holding back during your duel, and you wished to spar in order to better prepare yourself… correct?”

“Right…” I lowered myself down into a pouncing stance, “So just out of curiosity… where do you stand compared to Celestia?”

“I do not know,” she shrugged, “I never met her directly. But, for now, begin when ready.”

This time I didn’t pounce recklessly, studying her as I looked over my options. Her horn is again ignited, but only lightly, and her own stance didn’t tell me much, but since she hit like a truck… somehow… I’m guessing that defense would be the better part of the offense.

Twisting myself around to the right, I let my transformation loose shifting myself into a smaller (but no less armoured) ankylosaur, with the form settling in just as a strong attack to my right side pushed me to the left. The heavy-set plates absorbed most of the impact, but there was still enough force there to change the trajectory of my tail swing making it miss as I didn’t feel any striking feedback.

Chrysalis’s attack also allowed me to let my momentum carry me back which got me to face her again.

Swinging her head in a downward motion I had just enough time to transform again into an otter as a thick, barely see-through pocket of air slammed into the ground right where my head was a moment ago with enough force to crack it and kick up dust. The soft particles barely even had time to settle before they were cleared away by a pulse of her horn.

“That was… impressively fast shapeshifting,” she commented, clearly surprised, but not enough to stop her from attacking again, this time doing a quick twitching motion in a reverse nod.

The moment I felt air gather under me I started moving, shifting into a xenomorph, and closing the distance between us as swiftly as I could.

The alien transformation certainly caught her of guard (if her step back and hanging mouth are any indication), but she clearly wasn’t as stunned as I was when a blaze of green fire took over her form and a manticore claw came down knocking me to the ground.

Rolling out of the drop I shelved my surprise for later as the manticore released a roar and pounced.

Using the alien’s nimble body, I managed to scurry under the red scorpion cat, but not without interruptions as I was forced to veer right to avoid a swipe with her tail.

Taking the opportunity provided, while she was recovering from her pounce, I shifted into a large, plated rhinoceros (the extra heavy plates would protect me from any surprises) and charged giving my muscles an extra burst of speed with magic to reduce the distance between us as fast as I could. Not fast enough though.

Just before I managed to reach her, I noticed a curved horn pop out of the manticore's forehead and a thick, green shield sprung up between us. I had no intention of stopping though, and I slammed into it with enough force and speed that Chrysalis had barely any time to anchor it, cracking the shield and piercing it with my horn.

Continuing my rush, I pushed the shield into the wide-eyed manticore who flashed back into the changeling queen and her horn glowed brighter as she tried and failed to anchor the shield. She didn’t even have time to brace when the shield smashed into her, with my horn missing her shoulder by a couple of centimeters.

Twisting, and then rolling to the side as the shield shattered due to the impact, and Chrysalis’s interrupted concentration, she managed to avoid my continuous dash and subsequent trampling. I had to immediately transform into a smaller shape though (a falcon), as my ‘shield slam’ would barely even shake her, but her positioning would allow for an unfettered attack on my side. This proved correct when several dense bullets of air whizzed past me as I made a tight turn to the right while keeping an eye on Chrysalis to the best of my abilities.

I used up quite a bit of resin, but I still have enough for one more, larger, transformation, and I put it to effective use.

With the direction of my turn, I would end up directly in front of Chrysalis in a moment and a few lucky dodges ensured exactly that.

Based on her head movement when she uses magic, I noticed that she tries to manipulate the surrounding air, rather than casting actual spells, in a way that leaves little useless movement (at least in my eyes). So then, when she raised her head after one of her attacks missed, I guessed that the next attack would come from above. I needed something nimble enough for an attack but protected enough to get through her attack… or I could try to interrupt her again. A warrior would be a viable choice.

As I shape-shifted into a powerfully built Tyranid warrior (as large, and basic looking as I could make it… roughly two and a half meters high) the brief pause in her channeling, followed by a shocked gasp, gave me enough time to get closer to her and swipe at the side of her head with my claws held tightly into a fist (I did not wish to cut her).

The moment my fist connected to her head I knew that simply punching would barely matter, and the fact that she barely flinched cemented it. But I wasn’t finished yet, and this body is far stronger and versatile than it initially looked.

Widening my stance and making sure that I was as stable as I could be, I used the initial twist in my body from the punch to get more momentum and swung to the right with an open-clawed hand. She didn’t even manage to turn her head fully to face me when my left claw hooked her head right above her neck, lifting her surprisingly heavy body off the ground and slamming her down as hard as I could, cracking the ground under her bulk.

I had just enough time to hear a painful yelp from her when her attack, which I thought I interrupted, hit me to the left side of my monstrous head with enough strength to bury me into the ground. If I hadn’t designed the head and neck to be as thick and strong as I did, there is a good chance something important would have broken. As it was though, I changed into myself and continued lying on the side with my vision swimming and my head painfully throbbing. I had such a tough time focusing on anything that I couldn’t even enjoy the landscape my head was facing until a wave of soothing, gentle magic washed over me, reducing the throb of pain into something easier to ignore and my vision refocusing with a snap.

Noticing that I am on my right side, I lifted my left arm and ran a claw along the left side of my head and muzzle trying to feel for any leftover damage as it sometimes tends to persist even if I shapeshift. Luckily, there is nothing, or if there was, the healing magic sorted it out.

“What kind of monstrous creatures are these, my son?” Chrysalis asked and I could feel her lying down and leaning against my back. With her clear voice making my left ear twitch I lifted and turned my head just enough to see where she was.

Confirming that her position is parallel to mine, lying down on her legs, I let my head drop back down to where it was.

“Created by humanity, adapted by me,” I mumbled out just loud enough for her to hear.

“Created?” There was a slight panic in her voice which made me smirk.

“Not in the way you think… More like… imagined, than actually created,” I heard her let out a relieving sigh as well as felt her muscles relax along my back.

“How… did you manage to create such transformations? They don’t exist in our world, there is nothing to learn and…”

“Experimentation and application of what I know. Using the knowledge I have of other creatures and combining it into the monstrosities you saw…” A quick glance told me that I had her undivided attention, “Once I realized how the process of transformation works, a bit of practice gave me quite a repertoire of things I can change into. I must be very careful with most of it though.”

“How so? Too dangerous?”

I nodded my head, feeling the dust and dirt shift under my right cheek, “in more ways than one. At some point during my battle against Husk, I transformed into something called a Swarmlord. If Husk couldn’t shield herself properly, I could have cleaved her in half… I wasn’t thinking straight at the time, only of victory.”

That was a mistake that could have cost everyone greatly.

“I would actually like to see this ‘Swarm Lord’,” She spoke, and I turned my head around as much as I could, wide-eyed. “What? If what I have seen so far is so unique and powerful, I am curious about what other kinds of monstrosities you can shapeshift into.”

Her matter-of-fact tone and shrugging only made my surprise greater, but I decided to just go for it, nonetheless.

“Yeah, sure,” this time I shrugged, rolling onto my belly when I ensured my head was clear and my body pain-free. I did stand up slowly, just as an extra precaution. Just because I couldn’t be knocked out doesn’t mean that I couldn’t get dizzy.

“Wait? Right now?” Her shocked tone only made me smirk.

Opening my wings I took flight, lifting myself up high enough to survey the area; I needed a large enough rock as I did not wish to ruin the spar rings.

“Yeah, why not?” I’m high enough that I had to raise my voice. Spotting a two-meter large boulder a bit further away from the castle, I smiled buzzing forward so that I could pick it up without overstraining my magic with distance.

I did not hear her response but when I returned, boulder in tow and sweat forming on my brow (it is fairly heavy), her worried face did make me roll my eyes which changed a worried crease into a firm frown.

“Don’t worry about it. I got this,” I grinned letting the boulder drop with a crash.

“I am not worried about your shapeshifting abilities my son, but rather the reaction of our changelings.”

“Bah… you worry over nothing,” I waved her with a snort and clawed wave before landing on the chunk of rock. I made a show of tapping and checking my landing spot before I nodded with purpose and saturated the rock with as much magic as I could without causing it to glow.

“What are you doing?” She asked and I lifted my head along with an eyebrow.

Chrysalis approached, confusion clear on her face, and started poking at the boulder in front of her with a claw in various places.

Letting out a loud gasp at her brazen attitude I started swatting at her claws more for theatrics than anything, “Hey! Back of! This is my rock!”

She didn’t understand in the beginning, but as soon as she saw that I was messing about she huffed, raising her snout as high as she could, before stepping back a fair bit of distance.

“Fine!” Chrysalis made her tone as haughty and nasally as possible, “But you and that piece of stone better provide adequate entertainment.”

“Well then,” I let my inner fire build-up, preparing for a bit of spectacle, “prepare to be wow-ed.”

Sitting up, and wobble a bit as I settled my balance, I rubbed my claws letting out a malicious cackle before I let small turquoise embers lick at my chitin. Lifting both of my claws as high as I could over my head, and buzzing my wings for extra support, I grunted pulling my claws down and slamming down at the rock releasing all the heat that I let build up in a torrent of flames that managed to engulf both myself and the stone under me.

I didn’t see her reaction, I kept focused on the transformation, but I did hear her yelp. Smirking inwardly, I decided to up the ante by letting the transformation play out bit by bit instead of just going at it. It took quite a bit of effort to do so, and I started feeling the mental strain quickly.

First, the mass started forming… growing, and I started with the carapace, the back ridges, and the tube-like growths as the fire flared out. The details of the body, invisible to her, quickly took shape and I’m relieved that I didn’t have to spend hours trying to set everything up like I had to do in the beginning almost a year ago.

Once I got sufficiently tall and bulky, I let the tail burst out of the fire, long and flexible, covered in sea-blue plates with pinkish, white skin underneath. Ending in two-pronged claws, I waved the tail around snapping the two claws whenever it pointed in Chrysalis’s direction.

Feeling the strain during the show-off I had to bring things to a close, so while she couldn’t see the legs from the fire, I let the four thick arms explode from the center, brandishing four long, curved, thick blades that while plain to look at are sharp enough to cut through anything if I used enough magic. Covered in sea-blue plates with pale pinkish skin underneath, I flexed the powerful arms, bringing them close to my chest (blades included), and then, with an explosion of fire, I threw my arms wide letting out a magickly enhanced, ear-piercing roar that cracked the ground around me as I showed the world at large the power I now wielded. Of course, I’m hidden away from the world behind a massive castle in the middle of nowhere (Badlands) but it’s the thought that counts right now.

I let the moment linger, savoring the shouts of surprise I heard in the distance while I held the pose for a few seconds. But when I looked down at Chrysalis the reaction was not what I expected.

“Oh, my skies and stars, you. Look! AMAZING!” The high-pitched squeal and excited hopping in place were not on my reaction lists. The imitation of Pinkie Pie is spot on though, large toothy grin included.

“EH?” I could see a mass of changelings exit the castle out of my periphery, but my sight was squarely focused on the giddy queen in front of me.

“Oh, you look so fearsome,” Zipping around me at speeds that I found dizzying she started poking and prodding at the plates and flesh alike, “And the plates feel so strong! What… how did you? Dragon scales, it must be it. I thought all the transformations you used were mere copies, but oh my goodness this looks so real and so amazing…”

The rambling kept going on and on, and I just let my arms drop in exasperation, letting out a sigh as well just to show my disappointment with the current situation. The thirty-odd changelings in light armor and two in heavy, stopped just shy of the dueling circle and watched with either fear or bemusement as their crazy Queen poked at nearly every single part of me… it’s embarrassing. Thankfully, some lings figured out what was going on, leaving with either a smirk on their muzzles or a shake of their heads.

“Are you DONE!?” I raised my voice after about five minutes of letting her poke at me without stopping or slowing down. Not to deny the demigoddess though, from what I managed to deduce from her rapid rambling she managed to guess a fair bit of my transformation process, but not enough to get a clear enough picture.

Finally deciding that enough was enough, I changed back into myself after I noticed that she was either ignoring me or fully in her own world and by then, all the changelings had dispersed. Dropping from almost four meters down to about a meter and sixty-five centimeters did nothing to slow her down as by the time the fire fully died out she almost teleported in my face, practically smashing our noses together.

“Youhavetoshowmehowtodothat!”

“Excuse me?” I pulled my head back slightly, trying not to laugh at her manic grin and the sparking eyes.

“Teach me. Show me. Explain it to me,” For every word I took a step back, and she took a step forward keeping up with me, “I want to be able to do at least half the things you can, and I never had time before my incarceration to ever learn more about it. So please, teach me!”

“Umm… sure?” I barely finished the sentence before she scooped me in her arms and squeezed me to the point my shell started creaking. “Under one condition though,” I managed to croak out.

“Anything!” She readily agreed. Putting me down with surprising gentleness given her excitable state I nonetheless took two steps back leaving her bouncing in place.

“Teach me how to fight better as a changeling.”

She stopped bouncing and frowned while looking at a spot above me, deep in thought.

“We have barely two days left,” she spoke after about a minute of thinking. “I’m not nearly as proficient of a fighter compared to Celestia, my son. I do not have the experience she has acquired over the centuries.”

“True,” it isn’t hard to agree with that statement, “but you have been a changeling far longer than I have. I wasn’t even born a changeling to begin with. I’m certain there is quite a bit of learning and training we can squeeze in two days.”

“Very well, Patchwork. I would suggest you prepare yourself; the next day and a half will be quite painful.”

CH 61 (the welcome)

View Online

Patchwork

Letting my head hit the squishy resin that passes for a pillow is like a balm I did not know I needed. Muscles I didn’t think I had burned in ways that I can’t explain even after the regeneration (and subsequent emergency molt) provided by the pods. Tartarus, even the flesh menders that helped me with healing were starting to worry about how much strain I was putting my body through.

Regardless, it became clear in the last day and a half that I had severely underestimated Chrysalis. Far worse than I did Celestia in any case. The pony princess is an alicorn of considerable age, experience, and power if a bit out of practice; I knew that she would be dangerous when we sparred and practiced… but Chrysalis? What the Queen lacked in power she more than made up with ferocity, twice over.

No trick or plan worked more than once, nor did my transformations. The moment I launched an attack she would already have a counter-attack ready or in the works, and she. Did. Not. Let. UP! I have never considered this, but centuries of being involved in mental warfare against Husk made sure that Chrysalis’s mind worked at speeds that I could compare to a comic book supercomputer. At least, that’s the only conclusion that I can produce.

“Ow,” I moaned painfully as I rolled onto my left side.

What’s worse, is that I hardly even had to explain to her the intricacies of my shapeshifting before she figured it out. Less than thirty minutes into my explanation she was able to copy even my more complex transformations. Even more so, once I taught her further about Tyranids (she prefers them over Zerg, something about how the former looked ‘better’ than the latter) she changed into a Tyranid Zoanthrope to my absolute shock and crushed a nearby slab of rock into fine powder with, in her own words, less magic than it took to lift a single bit of the ground. After a close inspection, I learned that I simply lacked, not in magical ability, but power and mana connections. She simply had a better, and more complex nervous and magical system in her body than me. I would like to learn more about it at some point, but, as it would seem, my lack of magical strength and ability stems from my not being able to use magic as well as others could. Shapeshifting though, I certainly had an advantage over her.

While she can copy me, and create her own transformations with correct guidance, I have quickly noticed that she certainly struggles when it comes to reshaping her actual body and that she lacks ingenuity and imagination. Case in point, during our shapeshifting practice, I managed to change my changeling body into something closer to a Zerg bug form (using ultralisk as a template) while she struggled to change just her claws into something different.

Whatever the case may be, she made the last day and a half into a living nightmare every time we sparred, and when we rested, she filled my head with ideas and insights that made my head creak by the time I went to bed yesterday. It’s apparent that her abilities, knowledge, and experience aren’t the reason why she fell to Husk. She is a demigod, very much like Celestia.

Opening my bleary eyes to look at the empty wall I forced myself to relax. I needed sleep, desperately and even the light hunger I felt didn’t bother me. Tomorrow, the representatives are coming… or at least, one representative, two direct rulers, and two members of the royalty. A group, most of whom we needed to impress and prove that, if nothing else, changelings were no longer a threat that needed immediate execution on sight. Ponies we can work with (easily even), the Abyssinians need to be convinced, but if the Minotaurs and Griffons want nothing to do with us, I’d be fine with that; they can take their people and leave without any complaints.

As for the duel…

Closing my eyes again, I ran over my ideas for the fight tomorrow. It won’t be like with Husk, but if anything, I can and will do more. If he wants to duel me instead of Chrysalis, of course.

…

“-ir… S… Sir?”

I felt an itch in my right hand, but this alarm clock has a voice…

“Wh-Wha’?” I muttered, trying to move my sluggish brain into some form of functionality.

“Sir, please.”

Finally managing to barely open my left eye, I turned my head to the right. My blurry vision took a few seconds to focus showing me a worried-looking changeling mare with a French main hat on her head, in front of her horn.

Noticing that I’m lying on my back, I took my time to fully stretch followed by a lazy roll to my right. Since my brain was still swimming through a swamp of sorts, I asked the first thing that came to my mind, hoping that I sounded at least understandable.

“What’s on your head?”

“Excuse me, sir?” She tilted her head to the left and perked her right ear.

Chewing on empty to get some sense into my mouth I swallowed a small amount of sleeping venom I accidentally released. We are immune to it anyway, so I didn’t care.

“Wha… What is that on your head?” I yawned between words but at least I’m certain that this came out as actual words.

“Oh, this? She pointed her left hoof at the hat, “I kept it from my previous job, back in Equestria.”

She wore a wistful smile for a moment before schooling her features again.

“You were a maid, I’m guessing?” Yawning one more time I figured that there must be an important reason I’m being woken up… Ah, fuck. Sighing I rolled onto my stomach and then slowly slid off my bed.

“Yes,” She skipped in place with a happy smile on her face at the memory, “I worked for Lady Cloud Cover, in Cloudsdale for six years.”

“Why’d you quit?” I noticed a green pitcher full of water and a green glass next to it on the nightstand. Igniting my horn, I slowly grabbed both and poured the water into the glass, emptying it in a single gulp, and then repeating it two more times. Only then did I feel awake.

“I… didn’t,” Lowering my head to look at her, as her tone of voice more than implied sadness, I wasn’t surprised to see her low-hanging head and wilted ears. She sniffed once, lifted her head, and turned to face me while looking as dignified as she could, “Lady Cover died of old age. Her son… didn’t… they asked me to leave soon after. I never asked why.

“The old Queen never let anyling near her, and I was sent to work in the mines four years ago. Now though,” A small smile touched her face, “with the new Queen, I got a new chance to do what I like.”

“Oh, and that is?” Turning around wasn’t an issue, there was plenty of room after I moved the bed directly to the wall along with pushing the nightstand closer to it. I prefer to lean my back onto the wall itself during sleep, an old habit.

“Oh, I’ll be in charge of the new maid team,” She passed by me with a skip in her step after a short bow. The level of enthusiasm she showed did not make waking up feel any better though.

I felt my brow rise slightly once what she said wormed itself into my brain.

“New maid team? Since when?” Noticing that the room’s door was open, and the ‘maid’ was trotting to it, I followed slowly after her. I needed to find a clock, or at least check the sun to get my bearings on the current hour.

“Since this morning,” She turned around and looked at me with a raised eyebrow (she is certainly more open than the maids in the Canterlot castle), “It's almost noon, sir. The queen said that they will be back with the representatives in an hour.”

‘Oh fuck,’ Well, I’m wide awake now.

Chrysalis

Lying, belly down, on an outcropping (around three barrels above ground) I had a full view of the entrance to the Badlands. With me are four changeling soldiers, two of the larger ling guards (which Patch wanted to call Primaris lings, for some reason), and Captain Spine. All out of their armor, despite their protests.

‘So nerve-wracking…’ With Patch asleep thanks to yesterday’s exercise, I have the perfect excuse to greet the representatives on my own.

‘I failed once to secure the future for my changelings… I won’t do so again,” I felt myself drift back within again, and, with a shake of my head, I refocused. Looking around I took a moment to reassure myself, ‘At least this time, I have actual help, instead of a demon promising riches.’

Looking around one more time, this time out of boredom, I looked up to make sure that we had enough time by the position of the sun. It’s around ten in the morning, plenty of time.

The location we chose to wait for the delegates is right at the barrier between Equestria and Badlands, roughly twenty-barrel lengths away from the greenery. I so desperately wanted to explore, to feel the grass under my hooves and belly…

‘How long has it been since I have even smelled a flower?’ I felt my head tilt from left to right as I pondered.

A short intrusive thought got into my head, and I tried hard to ignore it… but at the same time, I really wanted to order one of the guard lings to pick various flowers for me to smell and taste.

Alas, I am not that kind of mare…

“Spine?”

“Yes, ma’am?” He answered.

Standing up slowly, I hopped off the edge of the outcropping landing softly with the help of my wings. Turning my head to look behind me, I noted that Spine was also lying, belly down, under the shade of the ledge I rested on. His eyes are closed, and he is taking deep breaths looking for all intents and purposes as if he’s asleep.

I knew that the other six lings were around us, hidden in the shadows (much like Spine is). They were all communicating using our sensory pings, but that is a new system that Husk never practiced so I needed to learn from the ground up.

Tilting my head left, then right, I ‘listened’ their pings until I had enough.

“Please let me know when the representatives get close to the border,” I had just enough time to see his eyes open wide before I faced the greenery in front of me.

My steps are slow and unsure. Husk never left Badlands unless absolutely necessary, opting to make any excuses she could to stay in her castle and act mighty. Due to that, I rarely saw anything other than the blacks of the castle, the brown and greys of the rocks around it, and, occasionally, the blue of the sky ever since my imprisonment.

Over five hundred years…

Stopping, I looked down at the new additions to my frame that I was still getting used to, but that have proven particularly useful: my claws… and the fact that I just barely touched grass with them.

Switching between looking up and down several times, I took a deep breath, thoroughly enjoying the ‘new’ (old) scents (and several actually new ones) before I took a brave step forward.

The steps slowly turned into prancing… then a run… a gallop… I don’t know when, but at some point, I found myself crying and laughing like a madmare, overjoyed at the new world I got to experience.

In less than five minutes my shell was scratched up from running into branches, splattered in several places from berry bushes I rolled through, and my claws and hooves were smeared from skidding along the grass whenever I could.

I’m a mess… but a happy mess.

I didn’t feel my mind pull on me, dragging me inside, and I knew, for a fact, that I was just a big transformation away from reaching Canterlot within a day if I wanted to visit Patchwork and Velvet in the future.

Finding a small ‘cave’ of sorts in the rocks, surrounded by tree roots, I squeezed in and made myself comfortable. I let the other know where I was with a ping, and I closed my eyes easily. This time, I didn’t have to take a deep breath before I fell asleep.

…

“My Queen?”

Though sleep came easy this time, my senses were still active. So, it did not take me long to wake up and crawl out of the cave.

“Thank you, Spine,” Closing my eyes I took my time to stretch my tingling limbs, only opening them when the last vestiges of sleep left me. By the time I was standing straight, Spine was gone but the rustling of leaves on my left told me where he had gone.

Taking a deep breath in order to settle my rising nerves, I used my magic and gave myself a quick touch-up to remove all the dirt and grime, fix my scratched-up shell, and ‘brush’ my mane. Only after all of that, did I make my way back to the Badlands barrier entrance.

“How far away are they?” I raised my voice slightly to be heard.

I sensed my Captain about twenty barrels away, and when I cleared the leaves, I could see him as well.

“They should be here in a couple of minutes, your Highness. You’ve been out for roughly an hour,” Nodding my head, mostly to myself, I passed by the jagged pillars of rock that served as an impromptu gateway into the rough Badland terrain.

I enjoyed the feel of grass under my hooves for five more minutes until the clack of claws on stone reached my ears. At that point, I turned around and faced the greenery once more, except this time I was able to spot a large white dot slowly approaching.

Sighing I sat down and straightened my back making myself look as regal as possible.

“Time to welcome them,” With a loud buzz of my wings I got my children moving.

The two largest lings took their positions on my left and right, slightly behind me. The four smaller lings positioned themselves behind the larger ones (two on my right and two on my left) and Spine sat down directly on my left. Now it is just a matter of patience.

…

The massive leading carriage that eventually stopped several barrels away from us was a thing of beauty that made me raise an eye ridge in slight envy.

Roughly ten barrels long and four barrels wide, with two windows on the left and a large door on the right, the white monstrosity of a carriage also had a good two and a half barrels of height. It was pulled on four large sets of wooden wheels evenly set to leave enough room for the door to open and to handle the size of their load. The four earth ponies pulling the whole thing looked like they were forged from mountains themselves almost reaching the size of the ‘Primaris’ guards, but easily making it up with their sheer bulk.

There wasn’t much decoration on the window side (the window frame looked to be made of solid gold from where I stood), with three gemstones under them. An opal, a garnet, and an amethyst, all polished into a round shape and set up along the bottom length of the carriage, front to back (with garnet at the back and the opal on the front).

On the door section of the carriage, there are two golden suns on the left and right of the door, at first looking like an image, but with a slight thickness that I barely noticed I concluded that it’s more than just two paintings. What those two reliefs are made of wasn’t something that I wanted to bother myself.

The rest of the transport frame wasn’t a mere block of wood, with its edges decorated with thin bands of gold in the shape of rising flames that gathered up on the roof of the vehicle, crowning it with a golden halo of still fire.

I couldn’t see the back, but on the very front of the thing is a large white flag of Equestria (with two alicorns circling a sun/moon) covering the entire face of it.

I noticed one wider ‘carriage’ behind the equestrian one, but I opted not to move much, especially when the door opened and a massive, but attractive, red earth pony mare hopped out.

“Oh, wow…” She whistled the moment she spotted me, “Ya knows wha’ Sunshine? Patch never mentioned tha’ she a looker.”

‘Ah… Shield Strike I bet.’ I raised an eyeridge at her comment, but otherwise, I didn’t react.

I did not notice when a large, muscular, sky-blue minotaur disembarked from one of the carriages, but I did notice the golden, bejeweled, crown on his head, between his horns. He took even, measured steps stopping only slightly behind the red mare.

“This is, preferably, a diplomatic mission, Captain Strike… Such comments should be kept to yourself,” He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Easily as tall as me, he wore no armor to speak of, beyond the crown and several visible pieces of jewelry (one on each ear and two rings on the fingers of the right hand), instead choosing to go for a tight sleeveless…robe? The white robe, held securely around his waist by a golden rope, almost reached his hooves, but it did not hide the bulky muscles that were still clearly visible.

Unlike the bulls of old though, his blue eyes held reason and kindness that I never had the privilege of seeing in my youth. Interestingly though, his horns aren’t nearly as large as the old minotaur horns, and to even further compound this, his horns are cut after roughly two hoof lengths and the ends have gold caps attached to them. His black mane is short and unkempt looking, but his beard is full, immaculately braided, and reaching down to his stomach with no additions to it.

He looks both younger than I would have assumed, but also older, based on the only visible wrinkles being around his eyes.

“’Kept to mah self’, he says?” Captain Strike looked up at his with a smirk on her muzzle, “I don’t remember you complaining when I calleds ya ‘fine lookin’.”

“Shield…” A feminine sigh made me look towards the door of the equestrian carriage. I couldn’t see much beyond four golden armoured hooves and soft, rainbow tail but I assumed that Princess Celestia is behind the door.

“Fair is fair, Celestia,” The minotaur king, Spirit Truehorn (I assumed) spoke in a supporting tone, raising his left arm into a single-shoulder shrug. Looking at me, he smirked, “Though I will admit… She does carry an alien sort of beauty for which you are just as famed.”

I’m not sure whether I should be flattered or shocked at the brazen compliment.

Then the door closed after two more ponies hopped out, a familiar one (Velvet) and an unfamiliar young blue unicorn stallion, and then I felt my jaw drop when the most beautiful creature I ever laid my eyes on showed herself once the door closed.

‘She is married…’, I had to remind myself, ‘She is MARRIED!’ I would not have any issues admitting (if asked) that I would, gladly, fight Shield Strike for the right to win the hoof of her wife. Regardless of how vile that thought makes me feel.

I have seen her, but only a hoof full of times through Patchwork’s memories, but Husk never saw her, never even looked for her directly (and if she did, she took the memories with her when I finally removed her). Even before that, I had heard of Celestia, but actually meeting her… now I am certain (that had I been a better leader) things would have probably been different, were I not so proud.

Now though…

“Though I wish not to wait longer, conversing on the borders of these lands is not something befitting us,” A male Abyssinian revealed himself from just behind King Truehorn.

His height reached just below the minotaur’s chin, and he is covered from top to bottom in flowing blue robes that hid the entirety of his body, only leaving a slit around his eyes revealing dark-grey fur and golden yellow eyes.

“Ah, to be so young,” Truehorn smirked in good humor, and I finally managed to shake myself out of my trance.

Opening my senses to get a better feeling of my visitors I got a nice medley of emotions; amusement from the majority of equestrians, the minotaur king is largely curious, the abyssinian is nervous… To my knowledge, I am missing two more individuals from the traveling group, and focusing a bit further, I got a decent amount of negative emotions from inside the equestrian carriage, and another strong feeling of boredom way in the back.

‘Right…’ I swallowed hard and took a step forward.

“Welcome, dear representatives and rulers of faraway lands. I greet you, as the rightful Queen of changelings.”

My one and only chance to fix the wrongs of my past. To prove to myself that, unlike before, I don’t need to sell my soul and body to a demon. That I have learned my lesson and do not harbor any foolish pride.

“My name is Chrysalis,” I raised my right claw and placed it on my chest. “And we all hope to prove that we, at the very least, if not allies, are not enemies anymore.”

I could feel their intense stares on me as I kept my pose, and though their emotions had not changed (with King Spirit running his right hand through his beard while the other rested on his hip), the silence slowly turned oppressive.

“Well… that’s a grim proclamation,” Spoke the blue unicorn behind Celestia.

CH 62 (A duel before the duel)

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Patchwork

‘Getting really tired of waiting.’

Pacing up and down in front of the main castle entrance did not help matters either. Occasionally I would glance around, making sure that I was not interfering with any comings and goings of the changelings, but mostly I kept my gaze firmly focused on the ‘street’ that the castle faced.

Since Chrysalis left well over two hours ago, and since the representatives would be brought here, there isn’t much point in me wandering about ‘looking’ for them.

I wasn’t angry or upset (if I slept like a log, it meant that I needed it), and even though I probably should have been frustrated at the situation, the only thing I felt was dread.

All the preparation that has been done in order to make the visitors feel welcome was majorly superficial in my opinion, but still necessary. It did not, however, include anything resembling a parade, a show of arms, or anything culturally meaningful. Compatible and edible food was acquired, rooms and furnishing set up (within the castle) and the changelings were thoroughly prepared to keep the chances for a problem arising to a minimum.

I didn’t prepare a speech, much less a presentation. And while now I wish I did something more; it has finally dawned on me that I should have taken the ‘prince’ aspect of my situation a bit more seriously at the very least.

Looking around me, though, I wasn’t even sure where to start.

“I think I’m going to have to ask Celestia for some remedial lessons,” I mumbled after finally sitting down. Letting my head drop slightly, I sighed, “If I ever find the time for such a thing.”

“Sir!”

Snapping to attention from my gloomy thoughts, I looked up above the domes just in time to see a changeling in light armor force himself to stop in front of me. Based on his labored breathing I found myself quickly standing up straight and getting ready for trouble, but his face spoke of worry rather than panic.

“The representatives are here, Sir!” He landed in front of me and saluted, tapping the left side of his chest twice with his right hoof, gulping air the whole time, “They’ll be at the castle in a few minutes.”

It took me a second for the words to click in my head, but that was enough time to make some decisions.

“Excellent soldier, go and get some rest.”

After a nod the changeling left, still breathing heavily, and I took a deep, steadying breath of my own letting it out slowly from my mouth.

Straightening myself so that I at least looked confident, I made my way under the castle entrance and towards a small alcove to the right where I knew Keratin hid while I paced like a caged animal.

“Oi, Keratin? You there?” I could ‘feel’ his core, so I knew he was there, but it didn’t hurt to be polite.

“Yes, your Highness. I’m here,” it didn’t take him long to hop out of his ‘safe space’.

“Excellent,” smiling mostly to myself I looked around us catching the eyes of a guard passing by.

Waving him over, along with another ling guard that was next to him, I put some finishing touches to my little plan in my head. Hopefully, it won't turn the situation into complete chaos.

…

‘A few minutes’ turned out to be close to fifteen minutes, which gave me more than enough time to set up a small welcome; twenty changelings, ten on each side of the street (eight Primaris and twelve regular changelings) in full armor and standing at attention with about a meter between the ten of them.

It wasn’t much of a welcoming committee, not compared to what the other leaders could do, but it would have to do.

I wasn’t pacing anymore (I had to sit down at some point), and I also had a few extra changelings join me in waiting, namely Keratin and Spectrum. I would have liked Scurry to join us as well, but ever since his leg was healed he left for Equestria, promising he would be back by the end of the month.

By the time I could see the visitors and Chrysalis, along with their entourage, my eyes were firmly wide for several reasons.

Firstly, Chrysalis, Celestia (in her peytral), and Shield Strike (no armor, and two brown pouches on her front legs) are leading the small procession, with the red earth-pony mare prancing between the two ascendants (Celestia on her left and Chrysalis on her right). Shield is smirking, occasionally glancing at Chrysalis, who is trying to look everywhere except to her right where Celestia is. Celestia on the other claw, may as well be taking a leisurely stroll across the gardens, occasionally using her wings to wave to changelings that were starting to gather around the road leading up to the castle.

Every once in a while, I saw the alicorn mare speak and Chrysalis would respond, but they were too far for me to hear. Also, the way that the changeling Queen walked reminded me oddly of those old movies where the geek would finally go on a date with her crush; a stiff kind of walk, where you have no fucking idea where to put your hands and where everything is more interesting than… the person…

‘Motherfuuuuuu… Right, headache for later,’ I sighed explosively, lowering my head.

Raising my head back up I could feel my eyes go wide again, but my heart also started to skip for joy.

Right behind the leading trio, is Velvet… my beautiful Velvet, talking to Spine on her right. Her grey coat is clean, shiny, and healthy-looking, and her mane and tail seem to be freshly groomed. I couldn’t help myself and my tail started slowly swishing when I stood up.

My surprise started growing even further when I spotted Night Light opposite of Velvet on Spine’s right. I didn’t mind seeing my best friend visiting, but I’m still stunned that Celestia brought him along.

I couldn’t see the minotaur king, but behind Spine, I could just barely make out the brown feathers of a griffon lioness with Ponera walking next to her.

The procession was getting close enough that I could make out the details without any eye enhancements, but by then Velvet noticed me and saw her smile widely, sending me a quick air-smooch.

“Oi, bug-colt!” I focused on Shield (dropping my smile slightly as well; I liked her, but she wasn’t Velvet), who looked like she was barely containing her laughter. Both Celestia and Chrysalis looked at her with raised eyebrow/ridge, “Guess what we found out!?” I could just barely see Chrysalis’s eyes widen and a slight look, of what I would guess, panic cross her features before she resigned to whatever fate Strike had for her.

They were now close enough, and Shield waved me over as she moved forward. I lowered my head and tilted my left ear to hear her whisper while covering her mouth with her hoof making us both look like conspirators to some state secret, “Yer Queen has a crush.”

The pony Captain snickered, eyes closed, but my face couldn’t be flatter as I focused on a spot on the ground.

“So as long as she didn’t kiss anyone… It’s not you or Celestia?” I whispered back in a monotone.

Waging eyebrows was all the answer I got while she moved back to stand next to Celestia.

Not dignifying her actions with a response, but not bothering to change my expression I watched as the rest of the procession lined up in front of us with the four… five, representatives standing at the front while Chrysalis moved to stand next to me.

Chrysalis standing on my left, Captain Spine on my right, and the rest of the leaders are behind us. In front of Chrysalis, about three meters away stood Celestia, and Shield Strike on her left. The griffon lioness stood on Celestia’s right, King Spirit, with his arms crossed in front of him, stood on the griffon's right and the cat folk on the left of Shield Strike, both of them with arms held behind their back… I think.

Chrysalis and I sent each other a quick smile and I stood a bit straighter, focusing on the other visitors. The two Abyssinian representatives are the only ones whose eyes visibly scanned the small row of guards I placed on both sides of the road, with the Primaris guards drawing the majority of their attention.

If I didn’t know they were cat folk, I wouldn’t be able to even guess what they look like, that’s how covered up with clothing they are. Only their eyes and the surrounding fur are visible revealing dark-grey fuzz under the blue clothes and off-white under the pink ones. Their golden eyes darted from left to right almost the whole time.

One wearing blue, the other soft, almost salmon-pink, their clothing reminded me of those, middle eastern burkas, but with barely visible embellishments running through it in symbols that I couldn’t recognize but were nonetheless similar to the scrips of the same area. The flowing, swirling, and curvy letters weren’t just thrown about but had a place that wasn’t visible from all the clothing, following the contours of their body.

I tried to find something that would indicate where the clothing separated into different pieces, like a hood, pants, or anything… but nothing. I simply couldn’t tell, and given the weather of Badlands and Equestria I wondered if the clothing was ceremonial, cultural, or merely the result of the region they lived in.

Given that I couldn’t satisfy my curiosity I decided to focus on the other representatives, but I secretly hoped that I would see them at some point without all the layers.

‘That… feels like a strange thought.’ I focused on the griffon.

The griffon lioness looked old, but only as far as her fur and some extra wrinkles around her eyes could tell me. Her body still carried a fair bit of muscle and the extra greys that I could see between the fur and the feathers only accentuated it.

Her bright blue piercing eyes are solely focused on Chrysalis and her emotions were kept even, so much so that I started considering that some sort of training was involved.

When her eyes found mine, I had to force myself to look away from their intensity and I found myself looking everywhere but at them. The small flash of amusement from her only fuelled the embarrassment I started to feel.

Compared to the twins she barely wore anything; a green, thin, cloth sash was draped diagonally over the right side of her neck and looping under her left leg. On, what I would assume is the very middle of the sash (right under her neck and on her chest region), are three small golden cubes with some small intricate details that I couldn’t make out, placed right next to each other, and under them is what looks like a brown leather wallet. The ‘wallet’ itself wasn’t open, and from what I could see it was attached to the sash with no visible seams. I assumed that it carried a form of identification.

The only other thing that I could see on her from my position was a long handle (‘I think it’s wrapped in leather’) that I assumed belonged to a sword, sticking out from her right side. Hopefully, we would give her no reason to use it.

Spirit Truehorn…

Taller than me, and with massive muscles, looking at him now (and comparing him to the two only minotaurs I’ve seen thus far), I could easily tell that he is no ordinary bull. And that our duel (should he wish to carry it out) would not be an easy victory for me.

The Roman-like toga hid almost nothing of his physique, and though I could feel a small amount of fear building up in me, I opted to focus on his emotions. Curiosity, excitement, worry… and underneath all of that, when I focused harder, fury, rolling like waves but otherwise well hidden.

Swallowing hard and stepping slightly forward, when I noticed that no one spoke up for almost a minute, I gave a light bow to each of the representatives. I also managed to just barely catch a swift nod and a smile from Celestia, which managed to reassure me.

“Welcome, all of you, to our humble slice of the Badlands,” I ignored the slight panic starting to brew inside my head. “I’m guessing that Queen Chrysalis welcomed you already, but there is no reason for me not to do the same. It doesn’t hurt to be polite,” Truehorn and Celestia smiled, but the lioness frowned.

“I’m assuming you have already met Captain Spine,” I tilted my head to my left, but otherwise I kept my eyes forward, “but the two others joining me are Keratin, the Queen’s advisor, and Spectrum, our chief infiltrator.”

I heard the two lings step forward when called but since they were behind me, I couldn’t see their faces. Regardless…

I opened my mouth to continue but Chrysalis pre-empted me, “I know that there are a great many things to discuss, that all of you have (quite rightly) many questions, but, I would like to have you all well rested and fed before we begin.”

We have your rooms set up to the best of our abilities. Once you have all recovered from your journey we can begin tomorrow morning after breakfast,” She didn’t mention that their rooms had some resin decorations that were supposed to represent their own.

“Each of you will have a personal guard that will assist you in navigating our shifting castle, and I encourage you all to ask them any questions about changelings you may have,” This time I spoke up. “And please, though we don’t have much to offer in terms of sights, I warmly welcome you to explore this place. Who knows, maybe you’ll find something interesting about us.”

…

Three sharp knocks interrupted my pacing.

The moment we settled all of the visitors in their rooms I locked myself in my own. While I would like nothing more than to spend some time with Velvet right now I had to settle my thoughts first into something less panicky. I would even like to talk to Night Light if nothing else than to ask him why he’s here. Not that I minded his presence, but I was merely curious.

Three more knocks shook me out of my thoughts again.

Approaching the door to my room, I removed the magical lock I had placed on it and opened the door. The changeling guard standing in front of it looked worried.

“Sir, my apologies for disturbing you…”

“No apologies needed, what’s up?” I gave him a reassuring smile, which quickly disappeared once I raised my head and noticed King Truehorn standing a few meters away.

“I would like to speak to you, prince. If you have some time to spare, of course,” His tone is even, and his voice deep, but soft. Chrysalis was the one that took him to his room so I didn’t even get the chance to hear him speak properly other than a ‘thank you’. He wasn’t demanding my attention, but he wasn’t pleading for it either, I could say no and that would be that. I’m not that kind of person though.

“Even if I didn’t have the time, sir, I would make some. Please, come in,” Putting up the smile again I stepped aside and motioned for him to enter once the guard moved out of the way.

“Thank you, young Prince.”

Looking at the guard I easily got his attention and, after requesting some simple food and drink that I could offer the King, I entered the room and closed the door behind me.

“Not much for decoration, I assume?” He asked, facing away from me, stretching his arms wide for emphasis.

Sitting in front of the closed door I tried to shake of the nervousness, “Nothing like that.” Igniting my horn I lifted the low table and two pillows setting them up next to Truehorn, “Since Husk's defeat I barely had any time for myself, and this room was set up fairly recently. Don’t have much to put here anyway…” I trailed off as the large minotaur shrugged and then promptly sat down on the pillow closest to him once he noticed it was there.

Sitting down opposite of him, I only then noticed that he wasn’t sitting, per se, but more like kneeling on the pillow, Japanese style.

“Yes… Husk…” He grumbled more to himself, “I am surprised, was, surprised when Celestia told me the story of the happenings here, in the Badlands. We paid little attention to the goings on within this area… up until recently at least.” He stroked his beard in though, running the large fingers of his right hand around the braid.

“I’m surprised that she was left to her own devices for this long, all things considered,” I shrugged.

“Do not misunderstand, young prince,” He didn’t frown, his face looked calm, but his emotions spoke of brief anger, “the only reason that ‘she’ was left to run unchecked are the Badlands themselves… that and Celestia.”

“Oh?” I tilted my head to the right.

“Yes,” Sitting further into the cushion, he placed both of his hands on his knees, “the rocky barrier protecting the Badlands offers the kind of tactical protection that even a proper fortress lacks. Climbing over it? Unseen? Impossible,” He scoffed, “and Celestia would never allow a war party to go through her country. Especially one equipped for extermination.”

“Why not enter through the other side?” I spoke of the second entrance through the rocky barrier. Further south there was another opening, much wider than the one with Equestria, but also far more dangerous… or so I’ve heard.

“We considered it, but too costly. Especially since ‘Husk’ and her cohorts barely made the effort of crossing the sea,” He leaned forward, his eyes almost boring through mine. I instinctively pulled my head back slightly as he continued, “But make no mistake, we were well aware of every minotaur that went missing within Equestrian territory.” Lifting his left hand he poked at the top of the resin table with a finger, “And I want them back; if our races are ever to consider ANY friendly relations.”

Though he showed no physical or even emotional signs of anger, I did not delude myself with his calm exterior. I also doubted that his current speech was something he actually wanted to talk about.

“And you can have them, all of them in fact,” I nodded my head in confirmation, “but not just yet.” He raised his left eyebrow but didn’t comment further, “Since Husk cared little for their well-being we have been trying for a while to get their physical health to an acceptable level. It is a slow process though.”

“Why?”

“Lack of resources I’m afraid…” I shrugged, trailing off when three knocks echoed through the room.

Turning my head towards the door I ignited my horn and opened it. A changeling mare quickly entered spouting excuses the whole time for interrupting. After quelling her worries and thanking her for the delivery of a large bowl of fruits and two large resin glasses of juice. We both thanked her and she left just as quickly as she came once I picked up her cargo and placed it on the table before she did, with one glass for Spirit and one for me.

“Aside from being short on food,” I continued once the mare left and the door closed, “we weren’t sure about just releasing all the podded creatures without a safety net for both sides. There was, also, a hefty amount of fear on my side as well. I wasn’t sure about how the other nations would react when a large number of their citizens just showed back to their homes without a proper explanation.”

“And you didn’t deem it important to notify the other nations of the developments?” he picked up an apple from the pile of fruits and bit into it with a crunch.

“Celestia knew of it,” He frowned once I spoke, changing his expression for the first time since coming to my room. “I had no means of contacting outside nations without putting my changelings at significant risk. Husk burned a lot of bridges over the centuries, and while I never wanted to keep the information about the changes from others, the threat of swift retribution meant that I only had equestrians to rely on, as they were aware of the situation from the get-go and they promised to assist.”

The quiet that followed allowed me to grab the glass of juice and take a big sip, thoroughly enjoying the taste of apple juice.

“Which all brings me to the reason why I came here,” he lifted his glass and emptied it in four quick gulps. “I will not bore you right now with too many details, but a duel will be issued by minotaur standards, and YOU are the one who will meet me on the field.”

“Why me, and not Chrysalis?” I asked out of genuine curiosity that he apparently didn’t recognize.

“Are you refusing?” He raised his voice and some of his façade fell away when anger flashed over his features.

“I am not. I’m only curious about why me instead of the Queen?” I tried not to move, but I could feel my hind legs shaking.

“A number of reasons, all listed here,” He reached with his left arm, moving the bottom of the toga to the side revealing a pouch lying on his leg and connected to a belt around his waist by a strap. Pulling out a scroll tied with a red rope and a golden wax seal on the rope itself he reached over the table and placed the scroll in front of me, “You are free to challenge any and all points of contention written on the scroll, but you will find that all of them are fair.” He stood up after grabbing another apple.

“Should I read this now?” I lifted the scroll to eye level with my claws studying the rope and the knot with the seal.

“Once I leave, yes.” Throwing the apple into the air he deftly caught it, “If you disagree with anything within that scroll you are free to come and speak with me on the matter. However, unless there are no issues, I will see you tomorrow afternoon on the field of battle, yes?”

Thinking about it for about a minute I raised my head from the scroll and looked at the large minotaur waiting at the door. Placing the scroll back on the table I nodded my head which got me a nod in return and he left without a word, apple in tow.

CH 63 (Pre-Duel Chats)

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Patchwork

~Duel of Atonement~

~Issued by His Highness Spirit Truehorn~

~Due to the fact that the former leader of changelings, one ‘Husk’, is either dethroned, killed, or otherwise removed from power, and owing to the circumstances that the ‘new’ queen, one Chrysalis, spent an inordinate amount of time ‘incarcerated’, the duty of the challenge/duel will be placed upon the next available ruler/leader accepted by the populace.~

~As the ruler of one of the injured parties, I hereby issue a duel (non-refusable) to one Patchwork, the Prince of Changelings, in the name of Minotaurs.~

~The duel will be held based on the laws of Minos, with the rules explained before the duel itself clearly and understandably the day after the summons has been issued, at noon (twenty-fifth of Root, nine-hundred and sixty-four A.E.).~

~The reasons for the summons are, as follows:

· Repeated unauthorized entry within the borders and the cities of Minos.

· Repeated attacks upon the populace of Minos.

· Repeated attempts at calfnapping, thievery, ‘impersonation’, abduction, and numerous petty crimes within the borders of Minos.

· Repeated…~

Five more points of ‘Repeated’ later and I reached the small number of minotaurs that, I'm guessing, are currently in pods. Even with their names written down, it would not matter as I found no forms of identification on them that I could recognise and I was told a while ago that the infiltrator would keep any such proof of identity in the first place. Hopefully, Spirit has more than just a list of their names.

Going over the scroll one more time to make sure that everything was properly memorised I placed it on the table.

I… really couldn’t challenge any of the points listed in the summons. I could challenge calfnapping, given that changelings, in general, did not take young of any species. The unfocused and youthful emotions of children do not provide nearly enough, so… hooray for efficiency?

Rerolling the Spirit’s scroll I put it back on the low table and rummaging through the chest at the foot of my bed I found an empty scroll. Making a small reminder for myself to check if all the infiltrators had been notified of the rule change, I folded the parchment and placed it on the nightstand next to the bed.

‘I won’t challenge any of the points.’ I shrugged internally while staring at the floor, ‘Spirit at least went through the effort of being reasonable with his… well… demand.’ Even if I did challenge the reasons for the duel, the fact of the matter is: changelings did those things… led by Husk. And she is somewhere in Celestia’s vault now, and given Chrysalis’s improving mental state is still, well, improving, I’m not surprised that he chose me as a scapegoat. It didn’t mean that I was happy with it, but I at least took some solace in the fact that it wasn’t a duel to the death. Not much, but it didn’t send me into a depressing spiral.

Shaking my head to dislodge the stray thoughts, I decided, since I would be put under quite a bit of stress tomorrow, that I wanted to spend some time with my girlfriend. Maybe even Celestia and Shield. Tartarus, I’d like to chat with Night Light as well; I’m certain that he would enjoy a small tour.

Tossing the rest of my thoughts out the proverbial window, I opened the door of my room, ready to leave.

…

I barely even left the hallway where my room was located when Velvet's voice reached me.

“Thank you again for taking me to see him, Captain Spine.”

“Hrm,” The grunt sounded like an agreement to my ears, and I sat down waiting for them. I did not have to wait long.

It took barely five seconds before the two of them turned the corner and came into view.

Seeing Velvet’s beautiful face made me almost forget about the duel tomorrow and the smile she sent me when I was spotted made even my core hum from joy. I didn’t even see when Spine left, all I was concerned with was the mare in front of me.

Pulling her in for a kiss the moment she hopped into my arms I savoured the kiss like a man dying of thirst that was given a tall glass of water. The happy hum she let out only made my heart soar higher.

“Mh…” She jerked her head back, as if she only just remembered something, “Before I forget, Princess Celestia wants to talk to you at some point today.”

Tilting my head to the side I gave her a quick peck on the nose with my lips before she could react, “Sure thing, love. You want me to go now, or?”

Raising her forelegs, she gently grabbed my head and pulled it closer to her for a long and loving nuzzle, “Nah. She said it wasn’t urgent, and-“ she looked at me with half-lidded eyes, “-I kind of want to see that room of yours.”

Though I had a good idea of what she wanted (and her emotions easily confirmed it) and how eagerly she wanted it, I started sweating bullets.

If my experience with women told me anything, it’s that nothing bothers them more than an empty room… or at least an undecorated one. And while Velvet in my eyes is perfect, there is no way that she would approve of the state of it in some way, shape or form.

Admittedly, I would like to personalise the room to some degree, but that was not a discussion that I would like to have now. Simple is more than enough.

My expression must have told her everything because she just rolled her eyes and ‘tsk-ed’.

“Come on, it cannot be THAT bad,” pulling herself out of my embrace she walked right past me as I tried to come up with a decent enough excuse. “Knowing you, love,” she continued while walking towards the door, “it’s probably just empty.”

“’s not ‘mpty,” I muttered sullenly but followed after her.

The guards at the door did nothing to stop her from entering (jokes aside, if they did… oh boy), and with a quick flash of her horn, the door was wide open.

The moment she entered I heard a hum, “I kind of expected it to be bigger.” I saw her head left and by the time I entered the room and closed the door I heard a ‘squeak’, followed by a ‘hop’.

“So, how are you liking the bed?” I asked igniting my horn and moving the table, the pillows, the glasses, and the fruit bowl together over to the separating wall. The scroll I kept with me as I made my way past the separation, placing it in the chest without looking as I kept my eyes on Velvet.

Languidly stretching while keeping her back turned to me she let out a low groan and wiggled her hips allowing me a clear view of her, near hourglass figure; something that still surprised me. Ponies and horses in my world, while still fascinating creatures looked nothing like ponies here.

“Enjoying the show, love?” The sly, over-the-shoulder look she gave me snapped me out of my thoughts in less than a second.

“Yup,” I gave her a jerky nod, still transfixed by her figure. It did not stop me from jumping onto the bed, “I thought your heat ended a while ago?” She turned on her back and I was pulled into her embrace the moment I got close to her, with her lips finding mine not a second later.

“Yeah… it won’t stop me from enjoying the leftover heat now will it,” I didn’t even get to reply to her before she kissed me again.

…

That eager little distraction dealt with; I left Velvet happily snoozing on the bed while I found the nearest rain cloud to clean myself. I did leave a message letting her know where I would be, namely Celestia’s room. She did ask me to come at some point during the day.

Even though finding a cloud was a hassle (had to leave the castle to find one), using magic to fill it up with enough moisture took less than a minute.

A quick ‘shower’ later, I was back in the castle and making my way over to the area where we placed the rooms of our visitors. Enough rooms to house the representatives and their entourage, and with enough space and beds to make sure none of them slept on the floor unless they wanted to.

Given the fact that I still didn’t know how to open holes in the castle, it took me several minutes to reach their section.

Each of the leader rooms had one changeling guard and one guard of their own (in order); a pony guard for equestrians, a huge, heavily armoured minotaur for their king, an Abyssinian wearing a purple, full-body cloak stood at the door of the twins and the changeling guard… was sound asleep?

“What the fuck?” I frowned, tilting my head to the side in confusion.

The other guards in the room didn’t even acknowledge it, so I’m assuming that this is something that has been going on for a while now. Still…

Still keeping my frown I straightened myself up and started approaching the Abyssinian and the sleeping ling.

Each step closer to my targets changed the emotions in the room from something approaching boredom (dull emotions with a sort of emptiness that came and went in flashes), into alertness, with the minotaur showing the least and the pony the most reaction. His eyes followed me as I passed him by and based on his emotions I could tell that he had an inner battle of sorts.

My eyes quickly flicked to the griffon standing in front of the door of the NP representative. Much like the griffoness Greta, I couldn’t read his emotions at all making me both curious and worried. My old human instincts however were telling me that he was watching me, which actually made me uncomfortable.

Unlike Greta though, the griffon wore armour, with strange silvery plates peeking through well-crafted, dark-brown leather (‘Yep that’s leather, no doubt about it… I think.’) vest, with two straps barely visible under his tan wings. He certainly wasn’t taller than a standard pony, but with the added bulk from the armour, he certainly looked large.

Regardless, I was getting close enough to hear the light snores of the curled-up changeling when I heard the door to the equestrian room open. When I got near the Abyssinian, I opened my mouth to talk to him, but a shout from behind made me stop.

“Oi, bug-colt!”

A wave of drowsiness hit me like a hammer and I forced myself to pull back before my legs gave out.

“Fua-… the fuck?” Shaking my head it became quickly obvious that whatever got to me went away the moment I got some distance. And the questions I had now multiplied before I even had any idea what happened.

“Sorry ‘bout that, Aussar. Bug-colt doesn’t know,” I heard Shield Strike on my left, and by the time I glanced at her the cat was bowing deeply (similar to what I saw Chinese people do, with arms held stiffly to the side) in front of me, moving almost between blinks.

“No apology necessary, Captain,” the cat spoke in a light, male voice (but with a heavy Indian accent). “it is I, who should apologise.” He raised from the bow but did not remove the heavy hood on his head. I could barely make out a very dark brown fur from the hood's shadow, “My people, your Highness… our guards, we… tend to keep to ourselves…”

The cat’s emotions moved in strange ‘waves’ making the emotions of ponies seem almost overwhelming by comparison. Agitation gave way to worry, worry to fear, fear to resignation and then acceptance, all going through as if a ball was rolling down a corridor in a steady rhythm… ‘Artificial’ came to mind.

“Tha’ twins can clear it up for ya later, Patch, ah’ promise,” Shield piped up from the side and I frowned while going through the situation in my head.

I also just barely noticed that the sleeping ling started to slowly stir, so whatever the guard did wasn’t permanent on others either and it was an ability that can be turned off at will… at least that’s what I was guessing.

“How about this, sir… Aussar?” A quick visible nod of his head prompted me to continue, “I will check up with you after I visit with equestrians and we will get a better understanding of the situation. Is that acceptable?”

It took him less than a second to answer, “It is, your Highness. You indeed are as patient as I have heard. I shall speak with Lady Sahara and Lord Ifferit and they will make things clear.”

I raised an eye-ridge at his wording, but nodded, nonetheless. I was confused by his compliment, and at his… decision to involve his leaders. But I guess I simply don’t know enough about their ways.

A feeling of Shield’s tail gently hitting my left hindleg sent me enough of a message to know that the conversation was done, and I had just enough time to turn around and take a step when a brief feeling of a magic field being deployed washed over my back, but I’m assuming it needs to hit my brain or my core to work properly.

I glanced back one more time at the sleeping ling and I walked with Shield Strike past the door to the pony room.

…

Celestia was pacing.

Not the usual pacing I’ve come to associate with her, the one where she was thinking, or planning.

No, no.

This was the kind of pacing that one would do when they have done something stupid and are trying to fix it. I would know, I’ve done it plenty before.

“Oi, Sunshine, ‘e’s here!” The door didn’t even close properly before Shield announced our arrival, making Celestia first flinch, then almost jump when the words registered in her head.

She whirled around to look at us, as her pacing had her look to the left of the door, and the pined ears and even a slightly tucked-in tail told me enough of her state of mind that I didn’t even need to dip into her emotions; anxiety, deep worry and shame?

“Patch…” The quick strides she took to reach me barely even gave me enough time to look around the room and I was swiftly snatched into a hug and a nuzzle. I saw Shield roll her eyes and head towards the resin bed that was set along the furthest wall to the right.

“What’s going on?” I asked no one in particular, but Celestia answered as the large earth pony leapt on the bed with all the grace of a rock. Turning around on the bed in the same way dogs would, Shield curled up, looking at us.

“I am so sorry about this whole situation with Spirit. If I had known…”

“What happened with Spirit?” I pulled back from the hug just enough to look her in the eyes while I ignored her turbulent, anxiety-riddled emotions, “Did you do something?” I asked, letting confusion tint my voice.

Slowly letting go of the hug, but giving me one more parting nuzzle, she began pacing again in front of me while I sat down, my arms still in a half-hug position. She must be really distressed if she is flitting around like that.

“I convinced Spirit to duel with you because I thought that Chrysalis was still in a horrible state. I thought… Velvet never…” Tripping over the words, she stopped, took a deep breath to recentre herself, and then continued, “I assumed, obviously incorrectly, that Chrysalis would be too weak or unable to fight someone like Truehorn, so I managed to convince him that if he duelled you…”

“Oh…” Was I managed to get out. There was a slight sense of betrayal that I quickly squashed down without a second thought. But the new situation I found myself in certainly sent my brain into thinking about how I could get out of this situation. But even then, even then…

“It doesn’t change a thing,” I saw Shield raise an eyebrow but otherwise not saying anything. Celestia though, nodded her head grimly.

“I figured as much,” taking in a deep, heavy breath, she let it out. Her exhale left slowly and deliberately, just as a new set of emotions set in… one I could only describe as disgust, aimed at herself, “which only makes me feel worse about the situation I put you in. I never wanted you to fight one such as him.”

The way she phrased that made me question what little I knew about the situation of my duel, “I get that he might be strong-,” a snort came from Shield as a frown creased her brow, “but he cannot be that bad.”

“My son,” I could feel my breath hitch for a moment, and a feeling of love rise from my chest, “he will never be as powerful as, say, myself, my sister, or possibly, Chrysalis. But he comes very close, and, unlike us, his power isn’t tempered with time. He will come at you with the power of a demi-god and the temper of a mortal warrior. He will be fierce, quick, and he will fight you with the intent to make YOU suffer for the folly of another.”

“So… what… Do I just, stand there and take it?” I shrugged.

“Buck no!” Shield jumped to her hooves and Celestia violently shook her head in clear denial.

“Absolutely not. You have done nothing to incur such wrath, and even your changelings… well, what choice did they have in this whole situation?” Her fur rippled for a brief moment from power and she ruffled her feathers to compose herself. “No, my dear, you will challenge him, head-on, but I will not let you do this unprepared. Not that I was going to anyway,” that last part was stated so matter-of-factly that I if there was any doubt in my heart that she would just shove into a battle I wasn’t ready for she has completely dispelled it.

“Okay then… what do I do and how do I do it?”

…

I managed to run into Night Light on the way back to my room after about an hour of probing Celestia for information. I think probing, but it's more like, she told me exactly how to fight a minotaur… and I shuddered again after remembering the details in the information she provided.

‘Vital points… joints… how to move… not everything will be useful… but how the fuck does one get that kind of detail from?’ Her quiet muttering of ‘Luna would know better’ at the end made what little hairs I had stand on end.

‘I keep forgetting that this woman probably saw more wars and battles than almost anything else on this planet,’ Shaking my head I carried on.

My chat with Light didn’t take long. He spent most of the day being guided through the castle by Keratin who, according to Night, volunteered. The exhausted unicorn wanted to go over the things he wrote down, but was looking forward to chatting with me tomorrow… If I feel like talking after the beatdown.

I was hoping that the Abyssinian twins would talk to me before I left, but the sister, Sahara, assured me that we would have our talk after tomorrow, but (for now) she assured me, as the future ruler of her kind no less, that her stay is more than acceptable, and that the snoozing ling is not an issue I should concern myself with. Should they need anything, the changeling would be woken up. Supposedly (and this was added almost like an afterthought), the changeling Captain agreed to it. I will talk with Spine about with, should I see him on the way to my quarters. But, for now, I’ll see the matter as settled.

I also considered talking to Lady Greta, but decided against it, because I have spent over an hour with Celestia and Shield, and the evening was slowly encroaching. I passed a group of lings, ones designated as cooks and waiters passing me by on the corridors and heading towards the visitors' area but otherwise, my trip was unobstructed. That is until I ran into Chrysalis.

She sat in front of an opening in the castle wall, one I assumed she made herself, showing the little town of changelings buzzing around. The light breeze pulled lightly on her blue-green hair (with the flashes of light showing that hers is more green than blue), and her eyes were wide open, looking around, darting here and there as she kept an eye on her people.

Sitting next to her (after she wiggled to the side without losing focus, making a bit more space for me), I buzzed my wings for a moment just as a bit of stretch.

Taking a short breath I was about to speak, but her deep inhale interrupted me.

“Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine something like this.”

“A place for changelings?” I tilted my left ear towards her so I didn’t miss a thing.

“A peaceful place for changelings,” she corrected me before continuing, but only after a brief pause, “one that would allow even me for a moment of peace. You have done a fantastic job getting us here.”

Her praise made me clear my throat in slight discomfort, “It never felt like I did much in the first place. I was floundering about most of the time.”

“Nonsense. You should have been there to see MY failures,” she shook her head with a rueful expression. She closed the hole in front of us with a flash of her horn too swift for me to register even properly, “And even now, you will be taking the punishment instead of me.”

“You can always fight instead of me, ya know?” I shrugged sitting up just enough to turn towards her.

“I can’t,” She lowered her head, and, since I couldn’t read her emotions, all I could was read her body language; and it spoke of shame… much like Celestia. Looking at me from the corner of her eyes, she elaborated, “ I already tried to speak to the minotaur king before he came to you. His mind is set and the document is written. I think, at this point, that he wants to fight you on a principle, rather than anything else.”

“Ah well,” I shrugged again, “guess I’ll have to beat him into submission then.”

“You shouldn’t be doing any of it! I should have been me!” She raised her voice and stood up turning to face me, and I spotted two changeling guards entering the corridor we were in. Their faces and the slow retreat told me just how much they wanted to avoid the current situation. Whether out of fear or respect, I wasn’t sure though, some of the old issues still cropped up. Back to Chrysalis though, I didn’t miss the bitterness in her voice.

“Maybe,” I countered, “I would have done it, nonetheless. But even if the situation was reversed, I would have offered myself.”

“Why?” The questioning whisper made my ears twitch.

I took almost a full minute to consider what I wanted to say. To protect her, the changelings… to be a bit selfish, I’d like to be seen as a sort of hero by them, but most of all… because they all went through enough. She can call it stupidity if she so wishes.

“Why not?” I smiled, and the answer I decided on visibly stunned her with its silliness and, just as an added cherry on top, I stuck my tongue out at her. I sat there for just long enough to see her jaw drop, after that, I stood up myself, gave her a quick tender nuzzle and made my way back.

She doesn’t need to know everything. There is plenty of time for that. And I get to test myself one last time until at least Nightmare Moon comes back.

CH 64 (the duel)

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Patchwork

‘No idea what time it is…’ I blinked twice, all but studying Velvet’s sleeping face, or at least the left side of her face since a pillow obstructed her right.

She didn’t bring a clock with her, but I left instructions for someone to ‘wake me’ shortly after nine in the morning. No idea how long she will sleep this time around since our last round of vertical tango left her exhausted… wish it did the same for me.

Watching as her forehooves twitched slightly as she dreamt, I closed my eyes, hoping for sleep, but instead, I started going over the duel tomorrow in my head. My resin stomach churned twice, but otherwise, I was relaxed.

Though slightly revolting on the second swallow, the resin piece caused zero problems other than occasionally twisting around like a snake. I wanted to study that thing in more detail, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a trump card that I couldn’t waste (or wouldn’t).

Poking around with my magic now did yield a few interesting titbits of info, even if I did confirm it back during the fight with Husk. Namely, the thing does its best to maintain its mass, behaving almost like organic tissue and slowly, sluggishly, regenerating back, unless I undo what I did; in that, case it immediately returns to its original mass. Only now did I notice though that it seems to be drawing a miniscule amount of my mana into it during the regeneration process, I am guessing to maintain the energy needed.

I couldn’t do much with it, as any flash of light would likely bother Velvet, but at the very least, I made sure that THAT part of my understanding made sense. I’ll be able to fight tomorrow with at least some measure of security, knowing that I won’t just immediately run out of resin. Sure, I could use magic as a substitute for most of it, but that is a last-ditch measure at this point.

I felt my thoughts drift towards what I know of Spirit, from what Celestia and Shield managed to tell me. He isn’t secretive about his equipment, but according to the alicorn mare, she NEVER saw him fight. That part, he likes to keep to himself, for some reason.

‘I’ll be hilarious if he’s all bark and no bite,’ I snickered to myself, only to flinch when Velvet stirred for a second.

Since I was lying on my left, I reached over with my free right arm and pulled her closer. The adorable sigh and a sleepy nuzzle made me smile.

Returning my thoughts to the King, his equipment, though extensive, is preferably a maul, a war hammer, a knife (which, according to Shield, may as well be a sword based on its size), a pre-drawn crossbow on his back, and a set of heavy war armour.

I was, however, assured by Celestia that I should expect anything from him as he, supposedly, knows how to wield a fair number of weapons.

A lot of iffy information, but I can at least say that I was warned to be cautious and ready for anything. It’s something that I was already assuming, but it’s good to have it confirmed.

Feeling a slight tingle in my eyes, I blinked twice before letting sleep take over. I’ll probably sleep for an hour, but it beats waiting for tomorrow.

…

“Would you believe me if I told you that I’m here on Princess’s request?” Night Light’s voice came from slightly behind me.

Considering the weird resin in my stomach, I wasn’t feeling hungry at all, so I went for a short walk while Velvet went for breakfast with the other equestrians. I was then found by Night who wanted to explore the castle some more since he ate much earlier than the rest. He spotted me at the main castle entrance, and my first question after the morning pleasantries was the reason for his arrival.

“Why’d Celestia ask you for something like this? Don’t get me wrong, my friend, I’m glad that you are here…” I told Velvet that I would be here so she could find me after her meal.

“But I'm an unexpected arrival, I get it,” He finished my sentence instead of me, and I nodded in agreement. “Honestly, not sure. I’m guessing that she only brought me with her so I could see my friend again, which I'm always happy to do.”

The short, companionable, silence that followed was interrupted when I turned my head to look at Night and ask him about his training only to spot an irate-looking Chrysalis approaching us from one of the side corridors.

“Patchwork…” given the fair bit of distance between us, her raising her voice before even reaching me certainly made some alarm bells go off in my head, “I was told that you decided to leave-“ She made a glance at Night Light; seemingly only now noticing that he was here.

Light, who fully turned to face Chrysalis, seemed to know that something was off, “I’ll be over there, Patch.” He pointed at a small alcove in a side wall where Keratin usually liked to go if he had to wait for someone near the exit.

Nodding my head in confirmation, I turned and sat down, waiting for the Queen to come closer. Hopefully, whatever I did isn’t so bad.

“I will not be long, Mr. Light, thank you,” The moment she got a nod of confirmation, followed by a short bow, she turned to me, frowning, and I suddenly wanted to leave.

She sat down within an arm’s reach of me, making her height suddenly very noticeable. I felt like a child about to be scolded, and the silence that she let fester as her continued frown barely wavered only made the feeling worse.

“Son…” She immediately paused, and her features softened, “please remember, next time, that you are a prince and that you should not let yourself be ‘convinced’ that others know better. Especially regarding the security of our guests and our lings.”

“This is about the Abyssinian security, isn’t it?” At her nod, I continued, “I assumed (‘wrongly, apparently’) that it’s more of a cultural issue,” not knowing what else to do with myself, I shrugged.

“I assumed the same but have ordered the situation be remedied regardless. The changeling guards are there for more than just security, you know that.

“Interestingly enough, Princess Celestia told me later that, while trustworthy and honourable, the Abyssinians tend to try their best to ‘maintain’ their ways when visiting other countries. I’m guessing they worry about what the scary changelings would do to them here though,” she muttered that last part mostly to herself.

“Well… that explains that I suppose,” this time I frowned as I looked down.

“I would still prefer you stay more vigilant;” She continued, “I know that you wish to spend some time with your marefriend and have a family life, but please keep in mind that even then, you have a title and responsibilities that will follow you.”

“Yes ma’am, I’ll be sure to remember it,” Smiling at me, she ran a gentle claw down the side of my face.

“Please do,” she pulled her arm back, “I’ll leave you two colts to continue catching up. And… Patch, I’m again sorry that you have to take part in the duel, nonetheless. I’ll make sure that you don’t have to deal with the results of my failures anymore.”

“Just don’t get yourself in new troubles in the process, ye?”

Smirking at me, she shook her head and left.

“Well, seems that if you can’t find trouble, you make it,” Night Light's voice came from my right and I did the only sensible thing by lightly shoving him. He took it in stride, and I only lightly flinched when he tried to push me.

Noon would be soon upon us, and I wished to relax as much as possible before that.

…

The meeting between all of us will be held early in the evening, to give the Minotaur king some time to recover from the duel we were heading to. I would not be taking part in the meeting directly, but I would be there in an advisory position to Chrysalis as she manages her best.

We reasoned that she, more so than myself, needs to convince the others that our kind is trustworthy. Especially since I will, hopefully, spend most of my time in Equestria; at least until Velvet and I have our fill or… she passes away, which is something I’d rather not think about yet.

Now though…

Walking through the castle corridors, we (Chrysalis, the representatives, some of their entourage, and myself) are heading to an area behind the castle that has been completely cleared for the duel between me and Truehorn. It isn’t far, and it was cleared by a group of lings and overseen by one of the Minotaur king’s people.

Walking next to me (on my right), his heavily armoured hoof steps making the ground under me tremble, is King Spirit. In front of us is Chrysalis, with the rest of the representatives (serving as witnesses) following behind us.

Thus far, the only way I could describe Truehorn’s golden armour is: titanic; making the already large Minotaur look mountainous.

Reminding me eerily of a medieval version of a Space Marine armour, the whole setup looked far too simple for a King and at the same time there was enough detail to show that it is, indeed, something no ordinary citizen (or soldier) could acquire.

Because of the large, rounded shoulder armour (that reached almost to his elbows, very much like a Space Marine), I couldn’t see his helm presently, but when I saw it the first time, it looked like a thick bull-skull (with holes on the side to allow horns to slip through), and three small extensions above the ‘brow’ that looked like a crown.

The shoulder armour, while just as massive as the one on the Astartes, still had its differences, with the top of the plates having indentations that would allow for the king to raise his arms without the armour hitting his horns or head… but not by much. He certainly wouldn’t be able to scratch his back.

Aside from its size, and blue coloured strips on the bottom edges of the armour, there was no decoration on the shoulder plates. The only two things that I managed to spot are a blue image of a glyph in the shape of the letter ‘Y’ on the right shoulder and an image of a blue heavy maul on his left shoulder.

The solid chest piece, while slightly more intricate, still looked fairly plain and extended forward in a smooth curve covering his entire chest and most of his abdomen with several smaller, interlocking, plates underneath it protecting the rest of his stomach and ribs but allowing enough give for the wearer to bend. Hopefully, there is something underneath that armour, because if one of those plates broke…

‘Now there is an additional strategy I can employ.’

The only addition to the plate is a relief of two golden, small (naked?) Minotaurs in a heated battle, crossing their twohanded swords in front of them and standing sideways placed at the very centre of the chest plate, right between the shoulder plates.

Other than a pristine blue loincloth, the rest of the armour seemed to be solid segments protecting his forearms, thighs, shins (With two segmented flats that protected the very front of his hooves), and with two armoured gloves. Between the plates, I could just barely see glimpses of chain mail links, so I'm guessing the entirety of his body under the armour is covered in the stuff.

The very last two, and most interesting things, are a quiet hum following his every step as well as a strange, bumpy texture of his armour.

Tilting my head so that I could examine the armour but still see where I was going, I tried to see in better detail while pushing as much magic into my eyes without causing pain.

What I managed to discern worried me greatly, as the entirety of his armour was covered in minuscule etchings of runes/glyphs. Not a single piece of metal was spared, not even the Minotaur decorations on the chest plate.

Straightening myself back up, I tried to get a better sense of the surrounding magic only to immediately stop what I was doing. The amount of magic in that armour would probably be enough to shrug off anything Celestia could throw at it, barring being dipped into the sun itself. Why he would bring something this valuable and powerful for a simple duel is beyond me.

‘Such a waste of materials. No cape though… Can’t exploit that bit of weakness, eh, Edna?’

I wanted to look behind me at the large Minotaur guard (the same one that was guarding the door to the king’s room) that carried a massive, two-handed battle hammer wrapped in a blue cloth. Same as his armour, the hammer simply radiated magic. I knew Celestia felt it as well because last I saw her eyes kept darting towards it. I was just glad he would only use the hammer and not everything else I was told he could.

Finally leaving the castle ground, the open sky greeted us, and from what little I’d seen it was noon.

“Can’t believe I’m doing this,” I sigh, mostly to myself. A deep rumble made me tilt my ears to the right.

“Even in my kingdom these kinds of duels are rare, I admit,” The king grumbled, making me frown.

“Then why are we doing this? Seems like needless violence.”

“Somecreature needs to take responsibility-“ He started explaining, but I interrupted… feeling rather heated.

“Shouldn’t that someone be Husk?” I tried to keep my emotions in check, but I still couldn’t contain a small growl that escaped me.

“A creature that you have handed to Celestia, who she then locked away in her vault?” I felt his emotions start rolling, and some of his deep storm of anger started bubbling up, “The same being that no creature knows anything about? For all everycreature knows, your Queen is the very same one that got all her bells rang until she saw reason and gave up one name for the other.”

After a short silence, he took a deep breath and continued, “The political situation we found ourselves in is far more complicated than you understand. This duel is quite literally the simplest, and fastest way for our laws, the Minotaur laws, to be upheld, and that some justice can be served. My people will accept it. As for Husk… I can assure you; she will get hers.”

I let his words sink in, feeling a sudden urge to ask all sorts of questions and get some insight into what was happening behind the scenes, but I kept it to myself. There was one question that I needed to give voice to.

“That is you, then… what about others?” Twitching my head slightly to the side, I tried to indicate the people behind us without being too obvious. He seems to have understood or is merely guessing.

“The ponies have Celestia, and she is too much of an optimist far as I’m concerned, the equestrians will follow her. The other though? That is up to Chrysalis and how she plays her cards. You will have to forgive me, but I do not care what they decided upon.”

The silence that followed felt heavy, and as his words bounced around my head without stopping, I started to feel my anger bubble up along with a decent helping of helplessness.

All the games, stories, and movies I watched made the whole job of being a hero look so easy; go in, beat the bad guy, fix the city and that’s it.

This was worse than going through my first job, where I had to prove to both others and myself that all the education I got, along with goodwill, wasn’t misplaced. Except now, there was so much more to it, and I had no idea how much more was even involved. Fixing a city (basically the only thing I was doing the majority of the time, along with paperwork) made me now feel like a child playing with blocks while my parents did taxes.

Shaking my head to dislodge as much as I could, I decided to lean on a tried-and-true method of taking things as they come. I’m here, that’s it.

“We are here, everyone,” Chrysalis announced and I suddenly felt every nerve in my body light up in anxiousness making me feel like running. With Husk, there were plenty of nerves, but now I managed to thoroughly work myself up into an anxious mess. It also didn’t help that I was, essentially, forced into this duel to improve our relations with Minotaurs, even if the reasons seemed sound.

“If you would step with me, Prince Patchwork,” King Spirit spoke up and I followed him with my eyes, only taking a step when I was certain where he was headed.

The area that was cleared for the duel became an open field of dirt and cracked ground, that I couldn’t even guess the size of. From one end of the field to the other, or from the first rock I saw to the closest opposite one, I’m guessing that it could at least fit a football field. I have no idea why such a large space was necessary, but if nothing else, I have plenty of material that I can use if the living resin in my stomach ends up lacking.

Following Spirit until about the centre of our arena, I sat down when he stopped and tried to settle my nerves. There were about three meters between us, which gave me some measure of time to react to him.

Turning around to face me, the armoured bull lifted his right arm to his neck, and with two sharp clicks, I assumed the helmet was set free as he gently lifted it off his head and held it under his right arm.

Twisting around halfway to his left, he extended his left arm behind him, and only then did I notice the bull guard that stood behind him. It took only a moment for his guard to unwrap the blue cloth, releasing the hammer from its binds. The massive, golden war hammer was a sight to behold.

Looking like something that actually came out of a video game, the handle was something that my eyes immediately went to, telling me that there was a considerable advantage in length that I would have to deal with.

With a glossy finish, the brown, wooden handle was, by my guess, at least a meter and a half long, maybe even longer, ending in a small golden sphere the size of a tennis ball with a ring of the same colour keeping it attached to the handle.

Along the rest of the shaft, at four separate places, are thin strips of golden metal, spaced out evenly and from what I was able to see, each of the strips had a line of runes.

Unlike the pristine, unblemished handle and its attachments, the head of the hammer showed clear signs of use. With smears, scratches, cuts, and grooves, but no chips or cracks. The golden hammerhead, clearly made of metal, had a flat, unadorned, backside, and a front embellished with something that looked like a furious minotaur head, with horns curving along the side just barely touching the end. The eyes of the hammerhead, however, were something that drew my attention next, as they shone with blue light that looked like it was coming out from inside the hammer itself serving as further proof of the magic within it. I couldn’t even see if there was anything inlaid within the eyes from the glow.

A sharp, metal snap, followed by another got my attention and I had to stop distracting myself with, admittedly, fantastic-looking gear. If this were a game, Spirit would definitely have end-game gear.

“Before we begin,” he rotated his hammer, placing it down on its head, “I need to explain the rules of the duel.

“The duel will follow several rules; number one,” he raised one finger, “we fight until one of us gives up, loses consciousness or one hour is up…”

‘One fucking hour!’ I felt my eye ridges hike up in surprise.

“Number two,” he continued, “we use whatever means necessary, whatever strengths we have to fight to our fullest. And lastly, number three, we shall not maim or attempt to take the other’s life.”

Raising my right claw like a schoolboy I waited until he nodded his head but with a raised eyebrow. He couldn’t hide a small smirk though, and I did not need to sense his emotion to guess his amusement.

“What if there is an accident?” I asked only to flinch when his anger surged.

“I suggest you do not make an ‘accident’.” He rumbled like a thundercloud, his voice loud like a thundercrack without raising it.

‘Point taken.’

“Now, lastly, since you did not do so before, do you wish to challenge any of the points written in your summons?” He continued, more calmly.

Surprised at his question, I chewed through my thoughts for a moment, “Not… really? Should I?”

Raising both his eyebrows in surprise, he nodded his head, “Yes, you technically should. By tradition in our country, every summons will have at least one point that will allow for the challenged party to, well, challenge said point. It usually amounts to nothing, the duel will still go on, but sometimes (in very rare occasions mind you), the challenged points, even a minor one, can stop the duel altogether.”

“So can I-?” I started, some measure of hope rising, only to be cut off by an angry snort and another flare of anger.

“No!” Deftly snapping the helmet back on his head he hefted the large hammer (the hammerhead was larger than my head) and pointed it at me, “You may challenge a point, but this duel WILL go through. If for no other reason, but as punishment for not doing something about your wretched ruler earlier.”

It took a second for me to realise what he meant by it, ‘Oh fuck! He doesn’t know… Celestia never told him!’

“Fine then…” Standing up and widening my stance I readied myself, “Nothing I say will change anything then anyway.”

“Very well.” Switching up so that the hammer is held in both hands parallel to him, he relaxed his arms, “Begin when ready.”

I suddenly found myself unable to move. Not because of a spell of any kind, but because (even with my perfect memory), I simply couldn’t remember any tips that I was given.

Far as my brain is concerned, I was suddenly thrown in front of a massive minotaur warrior and I had to fight him.

I lifted my left claw to steady myself better and I may as well have fired a starting gun because Spirit grunted and sprinted towards me. My only other warning was the hum of his armour getting closer, the three meters being crossed in less than a blink, and my instincts screamed at me to duck.

Obeying, I lowered my head and bent in the knees which allowed me to just barely feel the breeze when his hammer ‘whooshed’ above me.

I wanted to jump back and get some semblance of plan or readiness, but I had just enough time to see him twirl around, and by the time I lifted myself from my prone position his left leg exploded kicking me in the chest with enough force to lift me off my legs.

Flipping backwards I opened my wings and quickly glanced at my chest, but other than a dull throb I found no visible damage.

The distance I got from his kick and my short glide gave me about a second to shake my head and focus on what was happening which also served to jostle the marbles in my head.

By the time Spirit reached me, I was halfway through my transformation which means that his hammer felt like a mosquito bite when he hit the massive moose-like antlers of a Banbaro. I unfortunately haven’t had a lot of time to play Monster Hunter, but this was one of the few monsters that stayed in my head as the coolest looking.

Shoving the hammer to the side with the flick of my head, I swept my large horns from left to right, striking the minotaur king with its flat side and launching him backwards. Feeling myself getting back into the right mental state I immediately started sprinting on my powerful legs towards my opponent. The heavy fur certainly made the Badlands noon sun feel like a furnace, but it would do for a few moments.

By the time I reached him the king was already on his legs and hopping to his left. The new position left my right side exposed and I had to think fast.

Using the gained momentum I transformed myself into a falcon and I banked hard to the left, making him completely miss by a wide margin and allowing me a few precious seconds to gain some distance and land transforming into myself and facing my recovering enemy.

Quickly checking my resin levels (as I have used a large chunk of it for Banbaro), I settled my nerves when I re-re-reconfirmed the magical properties of the living resin I made.

Spirit roared, clearly displeased, “Is this your best?”, his emotions showed a clear and slow rise of the buried fury he had a tight leash on.

“In my defence, I was busy for a couple of months,” I joked while starting to slowly move to my right, circling him. I had a good ten meters between us, no way he would manage to catch me by surprise again.

“Excuses!” He spat out, “A warrior should always keep his skills sharp.”

“What’s the point of fighting for the people if I were to abandon them for ‘practice’!” I shouted back, before dashing forward at him, full tilt. The triceratops transformation served me well in the past and I hoped that now it would do the same, and it didn’t take me long before changed and pounded dirt while aiming my right horn at him.

“Again, excuses and mindset of a calf!” Unphased by the rush of another massive creature, Truehorn charged me as well, which surprised me enough not to be able to react to the incoming hammer swing from the left and I braced for impact.

Surprising me again, Spirit twisted his hammer mid-swing, going from a hook to an uppercut with the force of the impact hitting me like a freight train and I felt my forelegs being lifted of the ground cleanly stopping me in my tracks.

Gritting through the pain I forced myself to twist to the right before I landed, allowing for my tail (which I quickly changed into that of an ankylosaur) to score a good hit with a wide swing.

Hearing him grunt in pain, and still feeling the slight numbness in my jaw, I continued twisting and going through the motions with a plan to chase him down, but I had to make a quick transition into a smaller transformation of a nimble tiger, followed by a dive to the left when he swung his hammer at me.

I did not expect him to recover this quickly, but with his hammer missing me I suddenly found myself in a nice position for an attack and I decided to make the most of it.

Trying not to think too much about the rules of the engagement, I transformed while swinging my right tiger paw.

The Pokémon Hitmonchan, with the right modifications, could throw a straight punch that can go through rocks (tested and approved by myself) so a good overhand punch from a crouch, aimed at the thinner metal of his abdomen, got Spirit to double over and wheeze out, but I had to immediately jump away from a feeble, still dangerous, one-handed swing with his hammer.

Not giving him much time to recover, I jumped forward again while transforming into a Hell Knight and I started raining blow after blow while pushing some extra magic into my fists and spiking them for more damage.

Trying to defend himself with one arm proved futile and I saw him drop his hammer, but boxing was something I had experience in, along with the bipedal movement.

With no throne that I had to focus on, and no people that I needed to protect I let myself cut loose full and I started shoving as much magic and resin I could into reinforcing my punches and soon enough I went from grunting to roaring. The ringing of metal being struck drowned almost any other noise, and the dents started showing, even if my fists hurt from hitting the armour.

Pushing the bull king down with my larger bulk I started tearing at the right shoulder pad, twisting it, and pulling it until it hung loosely from his back. Taking a second to catch my breath gave the king all the time to move away from me and pick up his hammer. I then watched in completely stunned silence as his armour first rippled and then started fixing itself.

“You-“ he panted and I continued staring at his healing armour, “you still have much… much to learn… calf. You had your victory… now… Yet you decided to stop,” twisting his head around as much as his helmet allowed him, he fixed me with a furious stare. I noticed with some trepidation that his eyes started glowing blue, “I will not give you the same chance a second time!”

I had a brief moment to remember that minotaurs tend to grow stronger with adrenaline much like humans, before his armour started glowing the same blue light as his eyes shone brightly and an enraged roar shook the ground around me.

Hearing a shout of surprise from the onlookers got me to move and I just barely managed to dodge a diagonal swipe from the right that came much faster than expected.

Transforming back into myself I did my best to keep my distance, but his hammer may as well be weighing nothing with the speed he kept swinging. There was barely any wasted movement though, the strikes flowing from one attack to another and retreating soon proved the only option.

Jumping to the air when one of his attacks missed, I opened my elytra and buzzed backwards as fast as I could getting a good ten-meter distance between us. Only then did I notice that several places of my body felt bruised like I wasn’t able to avoid most of the swings.

Since underestimating my opponents seemed to be a usual thing, I was, once again, shocked when Spirit aimed his hammer at me in the same way one would a Gatling gun in movies, and a crack of lightning knocked me out of the sky. The ‘hit’ itself didn’t hurt, but it may as well have fried every nerve in my body, making me spasm and flail when I landed for a good few seconds. With clenched teeth, I couldn’t shout in pain, but I sure as Tartarus could growl. I was also getting pissed.

“I suggest you start taking this seriously, calf,” he admonished me as I tried to get my feet under me again. “I am giving you this one singular warning out of, the surprising respect and hospitality, that you and Chrysalis have thus far shown us. But I will not have my duty, status, and strength, be mocked like this over some misplaced feelings of guilt or responsibility,” I managed to get some control of my limbs and turning my head I saw him point his hammer at me while holding it only with his left hand. The glow around him persisted, “This is a shameful showing of one who has bested an ascendant. Show me the warrior who marched to his death for the sake of his people!”

“Fine,” I muttered while spitting out some saliva mixed with green blood.

‘Yeah… no more kids gloves. I’m sorry Velvet, sorry, Night Light…’

Thanks to the living resin my magic reserves were still plentiful, even with all the buffing I did. I can do this.

Still a bit shaky I managed to stand up relatively steady, and with a nod (mostly for myself) I started stripping away whatever mental barriers I placed on myself. I couldn’t take long though, not only was I in the middle of a duel, but I doubted that Truehorn would just let me get the lot off of my mind.

‘Time to see if using the whole living resin ruins it.’

Straightening I physically shook myself, to limber up and nodded at Spirit, wasting only a couple of seconds.

He didn’t immediately acknowledge it, but he did crouch down slightly hefting the hammer and readying himself.

Unfortunately for him, I wasn’t messing around anymore.

Anjanath, another powerful monster from Monster Hunter that stayed in my head due to its interesting look was one of the very few creatures outside of the dragon that I could make my plan work due to its large bulk. If I remember, this creature could reach over four meters in height and with my abilities and training I can push that even further.

With a massive flash of fire, I used almost all of the resin in my stomach but I managed to get Spirit to flinch when he looked at me. The shouts of surprise coming from the sidelines also didn’t go unnoticed.

By my estimate, now six meters tall, the vulture-looking t-rex (slight difference in the form of a longer snout, a nasal crest and two dorsal fins that would expand when agitated and covered with quill-like fur up to his bald head, I stomped my legs, extended my frills, and roared at the top of my lungs as I pushed my magic in the monster’s throat.

Spirit had about two seconds to move, and he did, dashing at me when he got himself under control, but I was ready.

Normally, Anjanath can spit fire, but with the large, unfurled sails on my back and my modifications I can safely do something much better: fire an equivalent of a fire beam.

I was improvising mostly, so when I fired (practically deafening myself with depressurisation), and Spirit tried to dodge I was completely surprised when I hit the bulky left shoulder armour, piercing it at the point of impact and throwing the bull off his course.

Completely tearing the lower part of the armour, near the elbow, the beam continued, piercing, and blasting through several rocks behind the minotaur king and I had to shut it off when my head started veering upwards from the recoil.

Still focused on the fight (and seeing that Spirit was getting back to his hooves), I quickly changed back to myself (and the resin level returned as well) and, using the form of a cheetah I sprinted at him, using even more magic to enhance even that speed.

Since I reached melee range in less than a second I had just enough time to shapeshift again into Hellboy (albeit naked), since his stature and a larger right hand allowed me to be both nimble and strike in close range without causing severe damage (‘I’ll consider my earlier miss a lucky accident’).

Dodging a flimsy hammer thrust by twisting my body to the right, I put myself in the best position to fully drive my right, enhanced, stone fist into his chest. I had to twist the punch a bit to not get stuck around the haft of the hammer, but the strike did land cracking his armour and launching him backwards.

I wasn’t able to get unscathed though, as Spirit grunted, pulling his left arm back and managing to catch my right shoulder with his weapon, which made me tumble forward, but with a quick flash, I turned into myself and rolled with the fall.

Wanting to continue with my advantage, I pounced at the king the moment I got my legs under me, shapeshifting into a Tyranid warrior with a blade fused to my right arm which I swung downwards. I aimed at the handle of Truehorn’s hammer hoping to get an important advantage but he surprised me yet again.

I had just enough time to register his twisting of the middle golden strip on the handle and a thick, blue aura surrounded him hugging his armour like a second skin.

Not knowing what it was, and assuming that it was a shield of sort, I tried to slow my blade down but I still hit it hard enough to crack the sword. It made my teeth itch as the blade was still a part of me, even if there was almost no actual part of me in it.

Capitalising on my moment of weakness, Spirit twisted the strip again, shutting the field off, and thrust his hammer forward, shoving me and making me stumble. I had just enough time to flash into myself and put up a shield around me when a follow-up heavy hammer swing hit me from my left, breaking my shield and launching me to the side.

Bouncing twice off the ground and skidding to a halt, I tried to ignore the ache in my side and the throb of pain in my horn but the distance I gained from his attack gave me time to shakily stand up and see a bulldozer sprinting towards me. His ruined shoulder armour protested the whole way with loud metallic squeaks.

‘His armour didn’t heal…’

Feeling several cracks on my plate I considered using my magic to fix it, but the drain would be too severe and I needed everything I had.

‘But the resin… I can’t…’ Perhaps foolishly I ended up using my magic to fix the damage, draining my reserves.

Trying to stand up I wobbled slightly, which proved to be a blessing in disguise as my slight swaying allowed me to dodge a wide diagonal, upward swing that Spirit aimed at my left weakened side. However, even though he fully exposed his right side to me, if I didn’t do something all he had to do was pull the hammer down and crush me, which didn’t give me too much time.

Focusing I ignited my horn and teleported forward a couple of meters forward and up, allowing me to catch myself with my wings. I didn’t want to telefrag myself into the ground on accident.

The crash that sounded off behind me made me flinch and turn around and by the time he pulled his hammer out of the ground, I was already transforming into one of my two trump cards: the Swarmlord… with no visible reaction from the king.

Velvet’s scream of fear when she spotted me did tear at my soul though, but I had to focus, even if my heart was no longer in this battle. It only made me angrier though.

‘Fucking didn’t want any of this! Again!’

I needed to stun the king before I did anything though, and the magically amplified scream seemed like an obvious choice since I did not know if his armour could withstand my lightning, and getting close would put me at risk in my weakened state.

Taking a deep lungful of air, I laced my entire throat and lungs with magic and let it all loose. I forgot to protect my ears though so I made my ears ring as well.

Truehorn tried to shield himself again, but the amplified scream tore through the air, cracking the ground and easily ripping the shielding skin off of him and making the bull king fall to his knees, shouting in pain. It also seemed to have done something to the runes on the armour as well, as the whole thing started glitching and sparking like it was running on electricity.

The shouts of shock and surprise from the sidelines got me to turn my head, to quickly glance at them, but since I didn’t see anything that required my attention (other than making me feel like a villain) I took a few steps forward to cut down his hammer to size and end this duel.

I must have also done more damage to the armour than I thought as pieces started to fall off at the weaker areas around the abdomen. The left damaged shoulder plate also completely detached and slid off showing that it was held on with nothing but magic. Apparently, the fire beam did more than just damage it.

King Truehorn must have been pissed though as, with a bloodcurdling roar, he stood up and charged me. I managed to notice that his eyes weren’t just glowing but were blazing with power, and his weakened armour started glowing as well.

I did manage to dodge his first swing, and he dodged my swings with my two left arms to the right aimed at his axe again, but he hit me on his second attempt. Hard!

The overhead swing that came from his left crashed into my left shoulder, breaking it, making me shout in pain and driving me to the ground. I didn’t even have the time to register the fall properly when another golf swing hit my side and actually lifted my whole bulk off the ground.

The pain made it hard to focus, and I had no idea where I was since the world was spinning. But my head became crystal clear when I landed on the ground right on the broken shoulder. I wanted to scream from the pain, but I only managed to grunt and grit my teeth, completely livid.

“Surrender!” The howl of fury made my eyes snap to the enraged king, but other than another grunt of pain I said nothing. I could be just as stubborn as he is, and the word ‘surrender’ sounded like the worst kind of offence.

‘I didn’t want to fucking do this in the FIRST fucking place!’ Screaming in my head I changed back into myself, using a lot of magic and living resin to fix the damage of the deeper tissue in the shoulder.

“Fuck you!” I shouted back at him, lying on my side. It came out hoarse which made me wonder if I missed something during the last minute.

“Fury is a good motivator, calf, but it will not win you this battle. YIELD!” He roared jabbing the hammer in my direction. He was panting heavily, eyes glowing, but still rearing to go.

“I said FUCK! YOU!” Seeing red I started standing up and I could hear some shouts from the back, but it was just white noise at this point.

Absorbing the entirety of the resin and pushing my magic to my absolute limit, I saturated the area around me. I couldn’t kill him, I wasn’t that far gone, but I’d at least break that hammer and a few bones.

I didn’t want any fancy transformation, just myself, so when the fire erupted around me I may as well have been shoved in a tunnel from rage.

Celestia

“…FUCK YOU!” Patch roared and I pinned my ears back. He sounded so desperate.

I had to extend my wing to stop Shield from forcing herself onto the battlefield as it would cause us more trouble than necessary for the changelings. Though rare, duels like this were still held in high regard and interfering in them carries political ramifications that can easily reach the throne.

“I want to be there as much as you Strike, but Spirit-”

“Do I look like I bucking care!?” She growled, interrupting me, and shoving my wing back roughly, but with still enough care not to hurt it.

She took a step forward, but a large shadow stepped in front of us in the form of a minotaur guard.

“Outta my way!”

“You will not interfere, Captain,” The surprisingly soft voice from the bull got Shield to stop for a moment but that was about it.

Her eyes started glowing and she craned her head to look him in the eyes before she growled.

“I’m telling you only once Iron; out. Of. MY. WAY!”

Interposing myself between my wife and the bull I was about to try to calm her down more directly but I started to feel… something.

I could feel magic stir behind me in Patchwork’s direction. Deep, powerful magic that he had no way of reaching normally. Magic, that felt strangely familiar.

“Celestia…”

The panicked whisper from Queen Chrysalis got me to turn around just in time to see a massive column of fire erupt from Patch. The fire wasn’t blue, but golden and green… a strange combination of colours that revealed a monstrosity in its place once it dispersed.

Feeling a strange pull from my magic reserves I instantly knew what happened, ‘The old piece of my core! I thought there was no connection!’ I was transfixed by the creature Patchwork became, that I did not care about my magic.

Not as tall as some of the other horrors that he used he still towered over Spirit, but the changes in his physical form more than made up for it.

His sleek armoured plates turned into thick, heavy-looking plates, which reminded me of his old ‘patchy’ form, with the plates themselves looking coarse and scaly. There were ridges here and there, almost like whatever he wanted to create couldn’t manifest properly. If someone got caught up in those it would hurt.

The elytra also got some changes, closing off completely and becoming a singular protective shield that reached his dock, covering it slightly. It just barely allowed his tail to furiously lash around.

There wasn’t much change to his hind legs, but his arms were certainly bigger, easily reaching the width of tree trunks. His claws though…

I watched on multiple occasions as those claws tenderly combed through Twilight Velvet’s mane, or even my own on occasion. Poking at balloons and bubbles if he spotted some in the street without popping them…

The long, serrated blades he created now would not be able to handle anything with any level of tenderness and care. I could see them twitch and curl in the large hole he made, easily leaving gashes in the cracked, dry dirt. I’m convinced, just by looking, that any creature within his grasp would simply fall apart in mangled pieces.

Lastly, I couldn’t see his face since he was facing away from us, and the long, tangled mess that became his mane covered it entirely. But based on the growling that came from it, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to see his face either, which only made me feel bad.

A glance at Velvet’s face showed only abject horror and Night Light did not do any better, even if his face looked stoic. The hackles on his neck were visibly raised and his tail was firmly pinned under him.

Suddenly a roar shook the air around us and I turned to watch as Patch charged his opponent.

Patchwork

I noticed that even after the transformation my magic still saturated the surrounding area, and even though I felt drained I was still pulling magic from somewhere.

Did not care much though.

Flexing to settle into the transformation and using the time of stupefied silence to get a feel for the improved limbs I considered for a moment that this transformation shocked them more than anything I’ve shown them in this duel.

Still furious, but starting to feel faint, I scraped the bottom of my mana pool and roared my challenge, shaking the king out of his stunned stupor. And then I pounced.

Either I was slow, or he moved faster than I did, either case I missed, crashing into the ground when my legs gave out, and I had to scramble to stand before he attacked me. I wasn’t fast enough though.

I was halfway up when I spotted a hammer head coming at me from my right but I was starting to feel too dizzy to move fast enough. I did manage to flick my head to the left side when the hammer struck my right cheek reducing the damage slightly. The cheek plate did crack though, but the pain from it allowed me to shake off the dizziness long enough to take a swipe at the bull king, hitting and launching him backwards, and finally making him drop the hammer, along with several plates of metal that looked like it belonged to gloves.

Grumbling to myself, I slowly stood up, still feeling rather angry. It did cross my mind for a moment that I foolishly let myself get angry enough to drain myself. Surrender was an option…

Sitting, I put my new, heavy, and unnecessarily dangerous claws on the hammer, and looked around for Spirit. His helmet was off, and his eyes were wide; he was also shouting something at me.

Snorting, I pressed down on the hammer and pulled on anything that was left in my magic tank to destroy it. I saw some electricity arc around my snout when a crack reached my ears.

Chrysalis

I sprinted as fast as I could to stop Patch before he severely hurt himself. Draining magic from both myself and Celestia wasn’t much of a problem until his draining reached depths that I, nor apparently her, liked to use.

Celestia easily kept the pace right next to me when the hammer cracked sending a blue shockwave in all directions. Opening my wings and jumping I tried to brace myself, but a golden shield sprung in front of us that barely absorbed the impact.

I reinforced the shield using my magic before it fully cracked and I quickly glanced backwards to make sure everyone was safe.

“Oh, my goodness…”

Celestia’s shocked whisper got me to immediately snap my head and look in Patch’s direction.

He was lying on his side, and in his normal shape, but the area around him… about twenty barrels and up to our shield was grass. Blue… green… turquoise grass.

It wasn’t tall, nor did it cover the whole area, with brown patches here and there, but when I landed it felt like the same grass that I ran through yesterday.

“It’s his magic,” Celestia whispered, her shield flickering out. I quickly made my way to Patch after turning my shield off. I can figure out how he did this grass thing later.

I also noticed Truehorn running towards my son and worry settled in my stomach that he might attack him, making me hurry.

Reaching him before myself I saw the bull completely ignore his shattered hammer, lift my son’s head, and put it next to his ear, gently put it down after a second of listening, and then placing his massive head on my son’s barrel. He had to twist his head and ear around so he didn’t hurt Patch with his horns.

“He’s breathing,” He spoke up when I ground to a halt next to them. Letting out a breath I didn’t know I held I heard him continue, “I cannot tell much else, but I hear a heartbeat, so I'm guessing he’s alright.

Igniting my horn I checked on his core and by the time Celestia joined us, I confirmed that it was undamaged.

“He’s alright?” The pony princess asked and I nodded.

“The idiot is probably completely drained,” I groused, still relieved though, “but he’s alive.”

I saw and felt the relief wash over Celestia, but another more interesting feeling of excitement and joy came from the bull king making me raise an eye ridge in his direction. He was still kneeling in front of Patch so he probably didn’t see it. I did notice that his hands were shaking though.

I also noticed the shattered remains of the hammer not far from us.

“I apologise for the destruction of your relic-“

“Nonsense,” He immediately snorted, interrupting me. He rose when a golden glow covered Patch, lifting him and depositing him on Celestia's back. “I can see the Hearth gem is still intact, the rest can be easily reforged. Besides,” he let out a booming laugh, “I enjoyed myself immensely in this duel. A challenge like this is hard to come by nowadays!”

Shaking my head in wonder, I looked around one more time.

Celestia was already on her way back to the castle (I could see young Velvet gallop towards her), and King Spirit dug out the bright, blue gem from the hammer remains while that guard of his collected the remains into the cloth the hammer was wrapped in.

A quick scan of the area confirmed that the magic still saturating it was Patch’s, but I had no idea what to do about it. I’ll have to ask a few of my lings to look into it.