Out of the Swarm...

Chapter 1

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The inside of our hive wasn’t really an artistic or striking view. Dirt walls, dirt floor, and pale, glowing mushrooms whose bioluminescence matched the color of my eyes. Of our eyes. Their miniscule light wasn’t truly needed, at any rate, as my species had developed excellent night vision capabilities from hundreds of generations of living underground. I took little notice of the fungi as I navigated the monocolored passages, making my way to the surface.

The irony of our title was not lost on me. “Changelings”. And yet, we were all carbon copies of each other. The only difference between us was the pattern of our fori, the holes in our extremities that made other creatures immediately regard us as oversized bugs. Which we were, in actuality. Giant, sentient insects. Parasites.

One of my many brothers met up with me in the narrow confines, and we trekked to the exit tunnels together, catching up with one another as we went.

“Hey, Peili.” He clacked in our native tongue, using his wings and teeth to click and buzz the words. “Going hunting?”

It took me a fraction of a second longer than it should have to respond to him as I fought down my true intentions, choosing to play along with the idea of a hunt. “Yeah, it’s been almost a full moon cycle since the last time I ate.” My wings and chitin were proof of this, the iridescent sheen they usually held having faded to muted colors in the absence of food. I was also constantly tired throughout my duties, like I had just woken up and was still in a sleepy haze. If I waited any longer than a week or so to feed, I’d probably become a husk. Not that it mattered, if the night went as I planned it.

“Damn, that’s a while. Why haven’t you gone before now?” Kuva asked, concerned for me. He would complicate my plan if I let his emotions grow, and the lies dripped from my fangs with the same ease as breathing to try and shake him off.

“Too many duties to allow it. Mom - sorry, Her Majesty has been working me to the bone. Last time I asked to go a week ago, I almost got thrown out of the hive for not having all of the husks in the tunnels cleared in the hour since she gave me the order.” The cramped space was becoming gradually wider and lighter as we neared the open expanse, and our bodies could walk side by side without being squished together anymore. The upward slope of the floor also became more sparsely dotted with the mushrooms as we climbed.

“Shit, that’s rough.” He swore. Kuva had always had a rather filthy mouth, and it had gotten him a few days in a cocoon on more than one occasion. I never understood the habit, myself. There were other words that expressed the same thing. “Mind if I help you? It’s always more fun to work in pairs.”

Fun was not the word I would have picked for kidnapping and impersonating innocents. At least, not anymore. Maybe my kin still enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, but I found it to be parasitic and disgusting. Especially after the Siege a few months ago. There was one mare who kept showing up in my dreams, her face mixed with defiance and horror as I brought her before my Queen, then left to continue ravaging the city. I could still picture her perfectly, and often took her form at night, just to remind myself of what I had almost let her become.

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather go alone.” His face dropped at my rejection, but he understood. Sometimes, honesty works, too. I thought as we reached the top of the shaft. The full moon shone brightly overhead, at the crest of its journey.

We said our goodbyes as we left in opposite directions, his flight taking him further south, towards the desert, and mine taking a northerly path, towards the more forested areas. The masses of trees, however were not going to be my hunting grounds. In truth, I wasn’t here to feed at all. My heart hammered against my ribs as I contemplated the steps of my plan, making sure they wouldn’t fail, and if they did, that I had an escape route.

My destination lie past the forests, and over the plains following them. The city that I had taken part in trying to destroy was where I flew to, and it was there I hoped my atonement for my crimes lay.

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It was a very long flight from my nest, and by the time I could see the spires of the castle, the dawn’s pale aura had already claimed the east. As I passed over an unlit, semi-rural town, I slowed my flight from exhaustion and morphed into an androgynous, average pegasus with a dark brown coat and mahogany hair. His (...What was the damn thing called... Cutie Mark?) flank was emblazoned with a yellow hourglass. I recalled seeing him in the streets of... Canterlot, I believe was its name. I just wasn’t built for extended flights, and if I pushed it, my wings felt like they might fall off.

I landed just west of the small town, on the edge of a black forest, and prayed my disguise would hold through the day. If it didn’t, I might wake up dead.

I selected a rather tall, blackened tree and curled up underneath it for a rest, letting sleep capture me in just a few minutes.

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That was nice, I thought as I stretched, feeling my joints pop with delicious cracks. I should take naps more often. I turned to the mountain that the city was built into, and caught myself blankly staring for a few moments. Focus. Time to go ahead with the plan. Step one...

Step one, as it turned out, was by far the easiest task I had to complete. With a flash of green fire, my form shifted again, and I looked down at the white fur and golden armor I wore. The Royal Guards weren't so different from us, were they?

I took flight, guessing that I’d reach the city in just an hour or so, if I wasn’t obstructed.

Which, of course, I almost was.

About ten minutes after I left the edge of the forest, two more Pegasi guards joined me in my flight, taking position on either side of me. Our armor was all exactly the same, and assuming that their ranking system was basically like ours, I guessed that none present outranked the others.

“”What are your orders, Sergeant?” The one to my right barked. He hadn’t inclined his head to make any eye contact with me, and I quickly adopted his posture. Maybe this meeting wasn’t a bad thing, as it gave me time to practice the proper decorum I would need.

“Orders are to report to the Princess immediately upon arrival. I contain information for her ears only.” My voice was very deep, an exact match to his, and I tried to mimic the cadence of his words as best I could. Through the corner of my eye I saw him nod once, then become a statue with moving wings. I timed my wingbeats to match his, and the three of us flew in sync to the front gates of the Castle.

We all landed simultaneously, trotting up to the doors of the front hall and not pausing as the doors opened magically. The inside of the palace was vaguely familiar to me, and I knew that the Throne Room was up the stairs and to the right, at the end of the hall. I just had to pray that the Princess was there already.

The two ponies allowed me to pass them, and they flanked me from behind. Dammit, I started to feel tight around my chest as nerves got the better of me. Have to be perfect, now. No hesitation.

I picked up my head and puffed out my chest a bit more, thinking to myself that I was a guard, and that I belonged here. The staircase we quickly ascended, and I took the right turn, seeing that it was a straight shot to the Throne Room from here.

One tiny problem - there were no less than fifty ponies in front of the doors, all talking and clamoring to get inside and see their beloved Princess about something or other. Figuring that my form served as a VIP card, I trotted right past them, eyes locked forward, and approached the Unicorn guard on the left of the massive double doors. “Princess Celestia has requested my presence immediately upon my arrival. I need the Throne Room to be empty of all but her.” I recited from memory, snapping a stiff salute to the guard whose armor was far more intricate than mine.

He gave a grunt and nodded, stepping to the front of the line of waiting ponies and calling for silence. After explaining that the Day Court would have to be put on hold momentarily, and managing to quiet most of the groans and yells of disappointment and outrage, the guards on either side of the door open the portal to the expansive room for me.

As I trotted into the room after flashing one more salute (just in case), my heart roared with fear in my chest. Sitting with her back to the left side wall, on a tall, stone dais, Princess Celestia was listening with rapt attention to one of her subjects. Her eyes flickered to me as I trotted quickly to the foot of the throne, and narrowed slightly in suspicion. Clearly, she was not expecting me. I sank into a deep bow, waiting until the Earth pony on my right had finished speaking about her crops to open my muzzle.

I didn’t have to wait long. The light orange filly with poofy, clementine hair saw me, and hurriedly excused herself from the room, much to Celestia’s dismay. I was unmoving as the mare bowed again, then turned and trotted through the double doors, promising to finish her request after... whatever I was doing.

As I heard the doors close behind me, a bead of sweat rolled down my forehead, but I dared not move to wipe it away. I was amazed that I wasn’t shaking from nervousness, and that feeling of wonder doubled as she spoke to me directly.

“Yes, Sergeant? I trust that everything is well?” Her calm, musical voice flowed over me, and I allowed myself to relax slightly, straightening to look her in the eye.

Ponies have such weird eyes. They contained shades of many different colors, with circles inside circles, surrounded by white. They couldn’t be practical at all. How was one supposed to see at night?

Her magenta orbs also brought memories to the forefront of my mind, and I could picture with ease the last time I saw her eyes. She had been suspended from the ceiling, upside down in one of our cocoons, and she watched in terror as my Queen spoke to the ponies we brought before her. The fluid in the pod had sapped her of strength and magic, and she was, for one of the few times in her long life, completely helpless.

Now, her eyes seemed to pierce mine, and I saw the wisdom and age hidden behind her ageless face.

I took a deep breath, and I forced my eyes to stay on hers as I uttered these next words. “Princess Celestia... I’m so sorry.”

From my head down, green, magically-charged fire descended on my body, revealing the chitin hidden below fur and the creature that had infiltrated her palace yet again. She rose to all four hooves as she recognized me for what I was, and her horn glowed brightly with magic. I half expected her to snap my neck then and there, but as my transformation completed itself, she simply stood on her throne, head lowered and horn charged in case I moved.

I slowly lowered my head, adopting the most submissive stance I could without making any threatening moves, and I closed my eyes in anticipation of death.

A long, long time passed between us, neither moving or speaking. It was only after I felt like I had become a husk that she spoke, her beautiful and melodic tones marred by anger and trepidation.

“Changeling. What is it that you seek? Try to move from that spot,” She added as my hoof picked itself off the ground, “And I will kill you where you stand. Are we clear?”

I nodded slowly, speaking in the Equestrian tongue again, but this time with my own voice. It was fairly high for a male’s voice, compared to the ponies I had interacted with in my life, and there was an underlying, guttural tone to my words as I struggled to speak in this alien language.

“I have come here, alone and of my own free will, to seek atonement for crimes I have committed against you and your land.” When the only move she made was a narrowing of the eyes, I continued, pouring out all of the pent-up stress and regret I had built up over the months. “There was once a time where I enjoyed hunting with my brothers, seeing ponies and griffons and diamond dogs completely unaware of my presence while I fed off them. A few months ago, I was part of the attack that was orchestrated by my Queen, and at first, I was excited to have a chance at leading a coup against the most powerful country in the world.” As I spoke, I kept my head bowed, and I saw the magic gradually fade away from her horn.

“I was one of the fifteen Changelings sent to capture Princess Cadence and lock her below ground. I was in this palace, escorting six mares to my Queen while you were being held hostage. I...” My jaw locked as I thought back to the ruin of the city. “I almost burned the city to the ground. And I almost enjoyed it. Do you know what changed my mind about the whole affair?”

There was no response from her, but I didn’t wait for one. Instead, I shape-shifted once more, taking on the appearance of a mare with a light coat of grayish-brown hue, charcoal-striped hair, and some type of twisting symbol on her flank. When I spoke again, it was with her sophisticated voice. “This pony ran from me as I chased her through the streets. As I picked her up, carrying her off the ground and back towards the palace for one of the cocoons, she didn’t cry, or beg for mercy, or struggle against my grip.

“She turned to me as I carried her, and I couldn’t help but meet her eyes. She simply whispered, ‘You’re a monster.’” Her form slowly retreated into the green fire, leaving me behind again. “I looked around the city, seeing my brothers take pride in what they had done. Families of ponies were separated for no purpose other than to break their spirits easier. Guards were treated like vermin and beaten mercilessly.” I halted, clearing my throat and trying to maintain a composed voice. “I stopped flying, seeing her face filled with nothing but anger, and set her down on the ground. I surprised both of us when I let her gallop away.

“Please, Princess, know that I had a true change of heart at that moment.” Her horn was not charged anymore, but her posture still suggested that she expected me to attack her at any moment. “Know that I regret every second I spent in this city. But also know that I was not given a choice in the matter.” I paused, picking my head up slightly. “I was born into the hive as a soldier. Orders are - were the only thing that mattered to me. They were my purpose for living, and if I defied them, I would have been cast out and killed on sight by almost any living creature.

“I didn’t come here to ask that you forgive me. I... I know that what I did makes me a monster, and I can’t ever forgive myself for what I did.” I swallowed, taking a shaky breath. “I come before you today so that you may decide my punishment. I’m done living with the guilt and shame every day of my life. I don’t want to be a monster anymore.” I bit back a tiny sting in my eyes as I continued. “If you decide to kill me, or torture me, or lock me away, I will not protest. Do what you will. But know that I regret every second of my actions.” I bowed once more, my horn touching the stone as I closed my eyes and waited.

Minutes passed in silence between us. My heart fluttered in its cage as I heard her slowly walk down the steps towards me. She stopped, and I could sense her presence right in front of me. Shallow, fast breaths were all I could manage, and though I came here fully expecting to die, my body still begged me to run from her.

“Rise.” The soft word carried the power of the sun. I straightened from my bow, meeting her strange eyes again. She sat in front of me, seeming to be fairly relaxed, and her aura was infectious. I felt my heart slow down slightly, and I dropped to my haunches slowly, mimicking her. Her purple orbs moved between my teal ones, and after a minute of searching my soul for truth, she smiled.

“What is your name?” She inquired about me. Her smile looked like it belonged there.

“Peili.” I stated. Nothing more.

“Well met, Peili.” She inclined her head towards me, and I copied her without thinking. “Tell me, does your hive know of your decision to leave? I would imagine that you are all but exiled.”

I nodded as I swallowed. “Yes, I would be treated as a traitor and attacked on sight. As for leaving, I told no one.”

“I see,” she nodded slightly. “So you came here with every intent to die.” A nod from me, and she continued. “And you believe your actions so vile, so unforgivable, that you would be willing to give your life in an effort to redeem yourself?” Another slight nod from me, and she smiled more broadly. “You remind me of my sister. That is a good thing.” She added at my look of bewilderment.

She drew in slow, deep breaths, closing her eyes and reclining her head. I assumed she was thinking, though at this point, I was fairly sure it was not of a punishment. After a few moments, she faced me once more. “Tell me, Peili, were I to spare you any form of punishment, where would you go?”

She caught me off guard with her question, and for a moment, I was completely stuck. I hadn’t even spared a second of thought to the fact that the Princess would be this merciful, or what I would do in this scenario. “I...” I closed my mouth, turning to look out the windows lining the wall opposite the door. The city was clearly visible from here, and the buildings and streets looked inviting in the spring sun. “Here, I suppose. Though I know that can’t happen.”

“Why not?” She seemed genuinely confused, and I arched an eyebrow at what was surely a joke made in poor taste.

“Look at me. I would be killed on sight. Even you almost attacked me as soon as I dropped my disguise.”

“Well, in fairness, you did take on the form of one of my guards and appear in front of me without any warning. But, you are correct, I was very close to subduing you without hearing your story first. And for that, Peili, I sincerely apologize.” She dropped her head low, like she believed that she owed me an apology. “But in regards to your desired residence, I fully believe that it is possible, perhaps not here, but in another town.”

My ears spiked and I tilted my head in a silent request for an elaboration. “There is a town not far from here called Ponyville, and my personal protege, Twilight Sparkle, lives there. I am certain that, should I ask, she would welcome you into her home and help you with building a new life.”

I felt my jaw hit the ground at her words, and it took longer than the flight here to process what she was saying. I tried to spurn its advances, but hope managed to wiggle its way into my heart. There was next to no chance of the Princess’ plan working, but still... There was a chance.

“I must warn you, however, that your inference about my subjects’ attitude towards you is sadly true. There are many things that I cannot do even as a sovereign, and changing the public’s opinion on a deeply-rooted belief, such as thinking that you are evil simply because you are a Changeling, is simply not within my powers. You will need to keep your head down, and find a form that you can wear on an everyday basis, whenever interaction with ponies outside of my student is necessary.”

She rose to her hooves, and I automatically did the same. The Princess walked to the windows, and I trailed right behind her, dragging my jaw across the tiles as she continued. “With my student’s help, the citizens of the country will, hopefully, realize your true nature and accept you over time. I will send a letter to the Unicorn, broadly explaining the situation and her new task as soon as you are ready to leave.” The Alicorn looked out at her country as she stood in front of the windows, with me on her right.

There were too many emotions running rampant in my mind to count, but Joy stood apart from the rest. Disbelief was also present. As I felt my monocolored eyes water, and I did the only thing I could think of. I rose to my hind hooves as tears dripped onto the floor, and wrapped my insecticidal hooves around her neck in an embrace. She jumped at the contact, like my body was electrified, but she didn't jerk away. Her hesitance was palpable as she moved her head, slowly bringing it to the side of mine and returning the gesture.

“Thank you...” I sobbed quietly into her mane. Some part of me that was not occupied with crying realized the otherworldly softness of her coat and hair, and it made the task of letting her go that much more difficult.

I dropped back onto the ground, using a forehoof to wipe away the streaks of wetness on my chitinous face. I looked to her, and the alien qualities of her eyes were now slightly tinged with pink. It was a familiar sight, the redness of a pony's eyes, and usually signaled that they had been crying. Tears of happiness, however, were not usually the type of tears adorning ponies faces when I laid hooves on them.

“I’m...” I cleared my throat before continuing, not wanting my voice to crack like it just had. “I’m ready to leave immediately, Princess.”

A thin scroll, a quill and an inkpot appeared out of thin air, wrapped in the golden aura of her magic. “I shall send her a notice at once. Be careful, Peili, and do not hesitate to contact me should you need something.”

I smiled softly, adorning the same guard disguise in a flash of fire and trotting for the door. Steps before I reached it, however, Celestia called out again.

“Peili?” I turned, and she beamed at me, haloed by the sun. “Thank you. For opening my eyes.”

My smile met hers, and I turned again, my steps holding a new vigor and energy as I exited. It was time to make for Ponyville. Time to start a new life.

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...And Into the Herd

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Chapter 2

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Ponies truly were strange creatures. They had no sense of practicality. I mean, who builds their home inside of a tree? Eventually, the bark will wither and decay, and there’s not much you can do to stop it. Termites must be a bother as well, not to mention birds flying everywhere you go.

Nevertheless, the house - excuse me, Town Library, as the sign above the door read (Who lives inside a library?) - seemed to be rather comfortable by pony standards, and the soft, yellow light from inside gave off a feeling of welcomeness.

I trotted up to the wooden door, tapping lightly with a hoof and bracing myself for the worst. I had no idea who Twilight Sparkle was, or what kind of pony she was, but I had (some) faith that Princess didn’t teach wackjobs. Through the wood, I heard a young, but masculine, voice volunteer to answer the door.

Swinging the door wide, the sight before me was slightly confusing. Celestia had forgotten to mention that there was also a baby dragon living with her student. This could get ugly if I didn’t play my cards right; a baby he may be, but he would still be able to breathe deadly flames at me, and his claws looked wickedly sharp in the setting sun’s rays.

No panic ensued at the threshold thanks to the form I had taken. What the dragon saw was a Pegasus pony of average build, with a black coat, short green mane, and vibrant teal eyes standing at the door. The voice he heard was not exactly feminine, but it was higher than most male’s voices. My posture was non-threatening, and I smiled in greeting before speaking.

“Hello, I’m looking for Twilight Sparkle? A mutual friend told me that she could be found here.” Good word choice. The less he knows, the better.

“Yeah, she’s upstairs in her bed right now, but I’ll get her. C’mon in.” He stepped out of the way, allowing me to enter, and I gave him a slight bow before setting hoof in the spacious lobby.

Books lined nearly every inch of the walls of the circular room, and a staircase sat towards the right, leading up to the second level. A kitchen was visible through a door to the left, and the air in the building was heavy, but pleasant.

“Twilight!” I almost jumped out of my coat (literally) at the exclamation from behind. “Somepony’s here to see you!” The dragon turned to me again, bowing with slight theatricality as he introduced himself. “I’m Spike, by the way. Twilight’s number-one assistant!”

“The name’s Peili.” A returned with a nod of my head. Well, off to a decent start, at least.

“Nice to meet you, Pay Lee. You need anything?”

I declined him with a wave of my hoof and a smile. “Thank you, but I’m all set for now.”

The dragon simply shrugged his tiny shoulders and walked off into the kitchen. I watched him go, his bipedal gait drawing my interest. Well, if the company she keeps is anything to go by, then I’m sure Twilight can’t be that bad.

As the dragon rounded the corner and closed the door, I heard a creak from the staircase on the right, and I turned to find a mare crouched on the top step, watching me with wide, cautious eyes. The pony’s lavender coat and indigo tresses immediately sparked a memory in my mind, and I was this close to taking her form in a kneejerk reaction. This was one of the mares I had escorted to my Queen during the Siege. Along with her five friends, I had watched her beat the ever-living pulp out of dozens of my brothers.

Fate had a twisted sense of humor, bringing us together again.

We froze in place, our eyes unwavering from each other for a few beats of my heart. I was the first to break the spell, slowly bowing my head so as not to alarm her. “Hello, Twilight Sparkle. My name is Peili. Since you seem to know who I am, I’m guessing that you’ve received Princess Celestia’s letter?”

“You’re a Changeling.” She blurted out.

I’ll take that as a “Yes”.

Her words were nothing but a statement of fact, and I saw no reason to take offense to them. I nodded in agreement, and another heartbeat passed before she spoke again. “Show me.”

A glance over my shoulder towards the kitchen told me that I was in the clear, for now. I would have to keep my guard up and disguise myself immediately should the dragon come in. Though Spike seemed genuine enough, there was little doubt of the reaction finding a Changeling in his home would produce. I turned back to Twilight, slowly nodding before letting the fire envelop me. The green flames licked their way down my body, displaying my true form to the world.

I watched the mare scoot backwards on the step, moving until her flanks hit the wall behind her as I transformed. Unable to back up any further, the Unicorn pushed herself up from the crouching position with her forehooves, flattening her back against said wall. It was obvious that my image terrified her, and this left a sour taste in the back of my throat, as well as a hint of anger in my mind. Just because I don’t look exactly like her, it doesn’t give her the right to be afraid. It’s not like she’s the most drop-dead gorgeous pony who ever lived.

An image of a Royal Guard, flat on his back with legs restrained by the green slime of our cocoons flashed through my mind. He was bloody, unconscious, and being stomped to death by me and two other Changelings. I remembered the sound of his ribs cracking under my hoof, and I had to repress a shudder that was running up my spine. The anger I was holding vanished. Yeah, she’s got plenty of reason to be afraid.

Again, I pushed those thoughts away, trying to show her that I was anything but the horror I felt and looked like at the moment. “I’m not going to hurt you, Twilight. Princess Celestia trusts me, and I would ask for some of that trust from you.” I sat back on my flank, trying to seem friendly and inviting, but having dozens of fori, twin, serrated fangs, and monocolored eyes did not quite fit that image.

Her eyes narrowed, saying that I had gained anything but her trust. “How do I know that it was actually Princess Celestia that wrote that letter? How can I be sure it’s not your Queen impersonating her?” Her back was still against the wall, but she somehow managed to look like she was on the offensive.

Well, points for not being fool who trusts too easily. There was, in reality, a very simple and accurate way for me to show her that there were no other Changelings in the area for dozens of miles, but convincing her to let me show her would require her trust. And she would only trust me once I proved that I could be trusted by showing her the lack of Changelings.

I mentally slapped myself in the face. The least I could do was try and reason with her if she objected. Princess Celestia's student had to be rational. Right?

"I can understand your distrust, and I won't call it misplaced. However, I can show you proof that your teacher is the real Celestia." Her ears perked at this, but again, her eyes became slitted.

"How?"

"I can sense all other Changelings around us for miles. It’s got something to do with our horns, and a bond all of us share because of them, but I won't pretend to know the details of how it works. Adult soldiers and workers in the hive show pupae their first view of the outside world by connecting their horns and showing them the land and Changelings around them. It helps establish a sense of family and awareness. By doing the same with our horns -"

"What?! You expect me to touch you?"

My jaw snapped shut as I curled my lips in anger, baring the needle points of my teeth and letting a deep snarl resonate from my throat. It was an instinctive move, and I corrected myself quickly, but the damage was done. Twilight’s horn was glowing slightly, just like Celestia’s was when she first saw my uncovered form. Her head was also lowered defensively, and the look in her eyes told me that she expected an attack at any moment. Clearly, this Unicorn did not take threats lightly.

Anger returned, and it frothed away in me, bubbling over into my chest. On top of that, I also felt incredibly let down by Twilight, and by the Princess. She said that Twilight would understand and help, but all I had been shown from Celestia’s personal student was distrust and contempt in the face of all my attempts to be respectful. That’s because you’re a monster. Look at you, snarling at her. What do you expect?

I took a deep breath, trying to keep venom and impatience out of my voice. “Okay, look.” I snapped. Not off to a great start on that no-venom thing. “I know that you’re scared of me, and I know you distrust me. I don’t know what I can do to convince you otherwise, so why don’t you just tell me what I have to do to earn your trust.” Trust, after all, was the key to happy, loving relationships, as well as the key to my survival. I wasn’t used to not having a pony’s trust, and it slightly unnerved me.

At this, the mare looked thoughtful, and her head tilted to the side. “Lie on your back.” She said slowly after a few seconds, like she disbelieved me and thought I would go back on my word.

I did think about disobeying at the thought of been treated like a dog, but I swallowed my pride and rolled over. It was my idea, after all.

The world turned upside-down, and I looked back so I could see her again. She relaxed a little, but as she cautiously started, she kept her eyes on me. Slow, careful steps down the wooden stairs carried her to the bottom, and I breathed a sigh of relief at the progress we were making.

That was as far as she walked before stopping. “Could you take a normal... sorry, different form? Please?”

My legs twitched with the thought of pouncing on her, and I was getting fed up with the pony. I should tell her to put a bag over her head before speaking to me. Better yet, I should put some holes in her legs so she looks “normal”.

I reeled in any violent thoughts with the fact that this mare was literally my one lifeline in this world. Ripping her throat out wouldn’t get me very far, now that I had no hive to go back to.

With great effort, I took the black pony’s form again, swapping his wings for a horn so our connection could still happen. Tension visibly left her shoulders and neck as she saw my new image, and that lit a fire under the cauldron of anger in my mind. “You’re going to have to get used to me, eventually. I’m not looking like this for the rest of my life.” I said through clenched teeth.

“I know,” She said apologetically, approaching me again. “Just bear with me.”

“Believe me, I’m trying.”

Ignoring my comment was the first diplomatic move she had made during our entire meeting, and I thanked her internally for that. She walked over to my head, looking more than a little nervous at being so close to me. Still, she was here. “So, how does this work?”

“I’ll do all the work, just make contact when I say so.” I closed my eyes, concentrating on the world around me, reaching out into the void of the air for miles in every direction. I sensed the walls of the library, and the buildings of the town, and even the castle on the side of the mountain. Wherever one of my brothers was, he would glow a vibrant green against the black of the map in my mind. My Queen would glow the same teal as my eyes.

“Okay, do it. Look for green and blue. Those colors represent Changelings.”

As soon as we connected, I could feel her presence on the ethereal cartography. She was a faint beacon of purple directly adjacent to me, but the only reason she was visible in the first place was because we were touching horns. Other than her, the landscape was the same color as my coat.

“I...” She started, before I felt a minor magic current flowing through me. The color of her presence spiked in intensity, now a vibrant violet. I guessed that she was somehow trying to amplify or expand the view of the world, but all she did was make my teeth tingle with power. “I don’t see anything except one green spot right next to me.”

“Am I, ah... interrupting something?” The dragon’s voice sounded from the door of the kitchen, and he sounded extremely embarrassed. If I could blush, I’d do so.

Twilight leapt backwards with a cry of fear, and the shining form vanished a second before I opened my eyes. I saw Spike’s cheeks reddening, and he was halfway through the door to the kitchen, paused in a recoiling posture.

Think fast.

Unfortunately, Twilight thought faster than I.

“No, Spike! We weren’t - I mean, our horns -”

“Our horns were touching,” I cut her off with a rather loud voice. I stood up as I spoke, rising to my hooves again. “Because she was simply showing me a spell of hers.” As long as I made sure that he knew we weren’t mating, I wouldn’t have to elaborate.

“Yes! That’s it!” Twilight added with a nervous laugh. While Spike seemed unconvinced of his friend’s lie, he was relieved enough to relax his shoulders and arms.

“Oh, okay. You guys scared me for a moment... Wait, Peili? I thought you were a Pegasus?” His claw pointed to me, and the thoughts of how easily that fingertip could slice through my natural armor flared again. There was a very real chance of that weapon being used on me soon, especially if I couldn’t explain away his observation.

“I am.”

“He’s not!”

Twilight and I both started talking at the same time. I quickly snapped my head to her, trying to communicate with nothing but my eyes that she should let me handle this. She seemed to get the message, as her eyes dropped in embarrassment and resignation, and she remained silent.

“I am a Pegasus,” I started again, facing him and meeting his eyes. ”That was what the spell Twilight was showing me did. I just look like a Unicorn now, but the spell will undo itself whenever I want it to.”

His eyes lit up slightly, and he turned to the lavender pony, addressing her with an astonished voice. “Wow, Twi, you finally did it! You’ve been working on that spell for weeks, and I started to think you would never do it!”

“Gee, thanks Spike.” The Unicorn said sarcastically. She inclined her head up the steps as she looked to me. “Peili, could you come upstairs? I want to speak with you... privately.”

I nodded and followed her as she trotted up the wooden steps, giving the dragon a small smile as I did so. His eyes were wide with a mix of shock and mortification, and clearly, he remained unconvinced that intimate encounters were not taking place.

Twilight led me into her bedroom, and I immediately noticed that she had more books in here. Then again, she did live in a library. Most of the shelves housing the tomes were built into the wall, and there were few vacant areas. Her bed was on the floor above us, next to a large window, and the stairs leading up to it were on the right side. A writing desk (with even more books on it) sat under the ledge of her bed, and a few sealed scrolls and inkpots sat upon the wood. All in all, Twilight’s house was rather cozy, I decided.

The Unicorn stopped trotting as she reached the center of the room, and she turned, eyeing me suspiciously once more. “”How did you know that I was practising that spell?”

I sat on my haunches, hoping she would do the same, but not waiting for her to do so before answering. “I didn’t, really. I just said the first thing that came to mind that would both explain our position and prevent him from pressing the subject.”

The suspicion in her violet, alien eyes only deepened. “You came up with that awfully quickly. And it was a decent answer.”

“I’m a good liar.” I shrugged. “I have to be.”

“Why’s that?” At least she had sat down, if at a slightly further distance than most conversations took place at.

“My lifestyle requires it. If I can’t get ponies to trust me, I’ll starve.” Speaking of starving, my eyelids were a little heavy, and I could feel my Unicorn disguise trying to falter. It wasn’t difficult to keep it on, but I’d drop it as soon as I felt I could, whether or not Twilight agreed with it.

Her jaw tightened minutely, but whether it was from contempt, disgust or fear, I couldn’t tell. “You mean kidnapping ponies and mimicking their lives for another’s love.”

I sighed impatiently. “Yes, that’s what I meant by ‘lifestyle’. I’m not asking you to agree with it when even I don’t, but a little understanding would be nice.”

“You expect me to understand that? Those are crimes!” She looked accusatory, and I bit back another snarl at her words. Being on the defensive was not something I made a habit of, as it usually ended in a fight between me and a pissed off pony, wondering what had happened to their real husband, or daughter, or cousin. I repressed both a shudder and a recent memory, one of blood, tears, and venom-dripping fangs.

“They might be crimes to you, but I’m not bound by your laws.” My voice was lower than it wanted to be, but if she kept this up, that would change. “ Plus, I could accuse every single pony in Equestria of being a criminal if I bound them to Changeling laws!”

She looked like she wanted an explanation, and I figured I could kill two birds with one stone by providing one, getting her to stop pressing me, and maybe earn her trust for good. “In the hive, everything you do is for the betterment of your brothers. Whether you’re clearing the tunnels of husks (she flinched a little at the thought) to make room in case of an emergency, or you’re teaching pupas how to shape-shift, or you’re scouting sources of fresh food, there’s no such thing as selfishness. Do you know how many times I’ve seen somepony just walk by a starving, homeless stranger and not even have the decency to look at them? Or how many times I’ve seen foals bicker and fight over the smallest, stupidest things like toys or candy?”

Twilight was taken aback, and she looked slightly ashamed. Her expression was like a soothing balm for the negative feelings I was building up, and venting helped, as well. Speaking of venting, I could go for a little longer.

“Don’t try to hold yourself above me, Twilight, and don’t you dare try to look down on me. It’s not my fault I was born a Changeling.”

A moment of stunned silence passed. “I’m...” A small amount of fear could be heard mixed with her quiet sorrow, and it gave me a small amount of satisfaction to see and hear her cowed. “What did you mean,” She tried again, apparently switching her words. “When you said that you don’t agree with your lifestyle?””

Her tone had changed as drastically as the forms I could morph between, but it was as difficult to describe as color was to a larva. It would take more adjectives than I could possibly care to name, but “apologetic” fit nicely.

Though I wasn’t eager to explain myself in such detail to her, I saw how difficult it was for her to be in my company, especially when I was all but yelling at her. I figured that she deserved some faith from me.

“Even before the Siege of Canterlot, I always housed some doubts about being a Changeling. Now don’t get me wrong, I love all of my brothers to death, but I always found myself more relaxed in the company of ponies, rather than my own. After a few years of living a double life, one at the hive, another in a stranger’s home, I found that I was requesting permission to feed simply so I could be away from the hive for a little bit.”

Twilight was very slow, very cautious, unwilling to risk setting me off again. I didn’t bother spending the effort to get mad; I deserved that kind of treatment at this point. “You said that everything you did in your hive was unselfish. That seems hypocritical.”

Well, you caught me there. “I also said that I don’t agree with my lifestyle... but, you’re right. While part of me hated to leave them for those short days, another part just couldn’t handle being there anymore. Changeling hives don’t have the same... grace, as your cities and towns do, even if they are devoid of all practicality, and my brothers never talked about anything other feeding or their duties. I know I’m contradicting myself, and I know my actions are different than any other Changeling’s, but I’ve always felt like I should have been born as one of you.”

This, more than anything that had happened previously, had the greatest effect on the lavender pony. Her eyes were unseeing as she observed the floor like it contained the answers to life, and she was muttering under her breath about weddings and Changelings. Turning such a deeply-rooted belief, as Celestia had stated it, on its head and showing you something that flies in the face of everything you’ve been taught had to be difficult to come to terms with.

“Perhaps,” I asked as a way to break her long revelry, “You wouldn’t mind sharing some things about yourself? I don’t want to presume much, but Princess Celestia mentioned that she wished for me to become a resident here, correct?” Twilight’s eyes found mine, and she nodded, some of her earlier suspicion having left her expression. I smiled as warmly as I could. “We should get to know each other, then.” I held out my right foreleg, and though she flinched lightly, she didn’t back away. “I’m Peili.”

She stared uncomprehendingly at the hoof for a moment, forgetting what a proper introduction to somepony new usually entailed. It did make me substantially happier to see her own hoof rise from the ground towards mine, however slowly it went. Pausing for just a moment, her furry coat contacted the disguised chitin of my body, and we shook once, firmly. She smiled lightly, nodding to me, and the library seemed to become rather warm and secure at that moment.

“Twilight Sparkle.” Her leg pulled away first, and I copied her on instinct. “So, what did you want to know about me?”

I looked around her room for a moment, and a burning question forced itself to the front of my mind, forgotten in the drama of the last events, but rekindled by the sight of the wood.

“Well first, why in Celestia’s name do you live in a library?”

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I Get My Flank Kicked. Hard.

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Chapter 3

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I struggled with my mind, fighting against the haze and deliriousness that came with a lack of nutrition and a long night with friendly company. A rather pleasant dream of a purple Unicorn was slipping from my mind already, even though I prayed to whatever forces built this land to let me sleep for just five more minutes.

Half-formed thoughts flew through my head, ranging from the duties I didn’t have to perform today, to snippets of my conversation with Twilight from the previous night, to how delicious feeding off of even minor affection would be right now.

I have to feed. Soon.

I gave a rather large sigh, cracking open a chitinous eyelid, and immediately regretted it. I may have woken up in my fair share of houses and beds in the morning, but I was an underground creature by nature, and sunlight was not very high on my “Lovely Things to Wake Up To” list. The blinding light streamed through the large window above me, and the second the pain of the bright sun struck my highly-sensitive eyes, I knew that there was no way I could fall back asleep.

Even though I resigned myself to having to fully awake, it was a hell of a struggle to get my legs moving, as the temptation to just leave them be was strong with my tiredness. I had to consciously think about moving the muscles, lifting one leg and placing the hoof on the floor, twisting my torso, and moving another leg in my slow climb to my hooves. While Twilight had graciously offered me her bed for the night, claiming that the couch was fine with her, I declined in favor of the floor. Soft things didn’t hold the same sense of familiarity as the dirt of my hive... my former hive, I reminded myself.

A pang of homesickness swept through me, and the full force of the realization that I would never see my brothers again struck me. However, it was quickly thrown to the back of my mind when a rather powerful shudder of hunger hit my mind.

Fooood.

I didn’t have a stomach, but I’m sure it would give a loud rumble if it existed.

As I stood up on all fours (albeit a bit wobbly), I braved opening my eyes again, making sure I was facing away from the window. To my surprise, I saw the Unicorn still sleeping on her bed, wrapped up tightly in her sheets and blankets even though it must have been near mid-morning for the sunlight to reach me from the ground. Another thing we shared, then; a fondness for sleeping in.

I looked to the empty basket at the foot of her bed, thanking Spike for not being here, as mean as that sounds. Twilight had brought Spike to her friend Rarity’s so he could spend time with Sweetie Belle (who he apparently had quite the crush on) after making him swear to keep my existence a secret, under the threat of never getting a single gemstone ever again.

Seeing the pony brought our time spent together into a more focused view, and I could now recall most of last night. We had talked for well over a few hours, and both learned much about cultures we had both been warned against our entire lives.

Twilight had learned facts of my hive, though I was loathe to surrender the intricate workings of our society, like our military specs. The majority of my trust she may have had, but any information that could have been used against my brothers in a war was kept under lock and key. I also shied away from the more probing questions, such as the fates of impersonated ponies, and it was understood that such sensitive topics were not ready to be accessed at this early stage of our relationship. It was a common misconception that Changelings could feed off of all emotions, as opposed to only love and its close relatives, and along with that myth, I had debunked a host of others she brought forth.

She seemed rather interested with my natural form once she had gotten over most of her fear of it, and though I felt rather uncomfortable being observed so thoroughly, I found myself admiring her thirst and passion for knowledge. Ranging from why my eyes were teal, to the purpose of my fori, and all the way down to a Changeling’s reproductive system, Twilight’s scholarly inclinations knew no shame. Sketches were drawn, notes were taken, and she even tried to bring me to her basement so she could “monitor my brainwave patterns,” or something like that, but getting strapped into a machine was where I drew the line.

For me, Twilight shared more personal information about herself, from her tutelage under the Princess to her relationship with Spike and her friends, as well as general facts about the town, its history and surroundings. The Unicorn turned out to be a very friendly pony, miles away from the mare that had eyed me with distrust from the top of a staircase only hours ago. She was extremely intelligent, very driven, and modest to a fault. When asked about her more outspoken accomplishments, such as becoming the Element of Magic, she had become rather timid, always insisting that there was somepony else that deserved just as much credit. It was a rather endearing trait, to be honest.

Throughout the night, I could feel her emotions towards me gradually shift from fear to something like... respect. Acceptance. It didn’t alleviate my hunger, but it did bring a warm feeling to my chest.

The sunlight beat down on my back, but the glassy chitin covering it was resistant to heat. It ended up creating a rather heavenly condition in Twilight’s bedroom, and I forgot all thoughts of anything except enjoying the moment. It may have been my lingering exhaustion, coupled with the lack of feeding, but I think I fell asleep sitting upright.

“Gah!”

The sound of sheets ruffling, a surprised yelp, and the thud of a pony hitting the floor awoke me from the dream-like state. I blinked awake, though my eyelids refused to stay open for an extended period of time.

Twilight must have rolled onto the floor after she saw me. Understandable. Waking up to a Changeling sitting next to your bed must be an experience.

“You okay?” I asked in a slurred voice.

Her head poked out over the lip of the bed, her mane tangled and covering one eye. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She muttered, rubbing her head.

I nodded apologetically, slightly embarrassed for forgetting myself.

I let my eyes linger on hers for perhaps a moment too long, for she blushed slightly and looked away, standing up properly as she did so. I did the same, minus the blushing, of course.

Silence. There was really nothing except that in the stuffy, slowly-becoming-uncomfortable room. I looked, unseeing, at the shelves of books, trying to think of something (anything!) to say that would lessen the palpable feeling of awkwardness in the room.

Well, breakfast is what normally happens right after waking up. And even if I can’t eat it, pony food still smells fantastic.

“Should we-?”

“Want to-?”

Both of us had turned to the other, and we started and stopped simultaneously. Our ears flattened, and we again looked away.

“What were you going to say?” I quickly rebounded, not wanting to let the same thing happen when she undoubtedly went to ask what I was going to say.

The hoof that had been rubbing her head was now scratching at the back of her neck, and she swallowed almost audibly before answering. “Well, I know you can’t eat it, but I’m pretty hungry, so if you want, we could go downstairs and make something to eat?”

I smiled at her, laughing silently. “You read my mind. After you.” I motioned towards the stairs with my head. She returned my grin and moved for the door. I followed her downstairs, into the kitchen, and watched her start to work on what I presumed was a salad.

“Anything I can do to help?” I asked after a few moments. I wasn’t used to just standing around, and I itched to do something, even if it was menial.

She stopped slicing up a cucumber for a moment, looking around at the assortment of food she had around her. “Um, sorry, but there’s not really much to do with making a salad. Thank you for the offer, though.” She declined with a smile. It looked as though she were almost finished, anyway; there was already an assortment of fruits mixed in with the greens, and as Twilight dumped the cucumber slices into the mix, added a light dressing, and turned to stride towards the table. I followed, moving opposite her, and as she sat down, I copied her.

“So,” She started in between bites of food. “I know that you can only feed off of love and emotions similar to it, and I know you really need to feed, if the way your wings are drooping is any indication.”

I nodded, letting her continue and finish her thoughts before speaking.

“I would prefer to keep all parties undamaged and not have them displaced in the process, which would make this quite a bit more difficult.” She slowly chewed her salad between sentences, pondering and thinking of a course of action that would leave everyone in a winning (or at least, not-losing) situation. “How long did you say you would need?” She looked up at me with foreign eyes.

“That completely depends on the level of love the pony feels towards me. If they were deeply in love with me, maybe an hour, but if it were simply a schoolyard crush, it would likely take a full day in their... (I yawned, stretching my wings and forelegs)... company.”

She nodded slowly, gazing at her salad with a pensive stare. “And that would be enough to completely satisfy you, nothing more?”

I nodded, though she couldn’t see me. “Yes. Any longer, and I would start to become more powerful, which I’m not really looking to do at this point.”

She nodded slowly, and her horn lit up with an unexpected glow. A notebook, quill and inkpot landed on the table next to her, and she immediately set to work, scribbling and jotting notes down. “Well, the way I see it,” She paused to take a bite of her almost-finished salad. “The easiest and most efficient way to go about this would be for you to impersonate me.”

I eyed her quizzically, not sure where she was going with this, but already uncomfortable with the idea.

She looked up at me, probably due to my lack of a verbal reaction. “Think about it; you have to meet my friends sometime, and impersonating me would allow you to break the news of your arrival in your own way. Plus, with five ponies around you, wouldn’t that speed up your feeding process by quite a bit?”

My left wing twittered intermittently as I thought about her plan. “Would you be willing to give up your life for one of your friends?” I asked after a moment.

She turned her head and eyed me very quizzically, clearly put off by the question. “...Yes, I would. Without question.”

There was hesitance in her voice, but it was in regards to the suddenness and purpose of the question, not the answer itself. The absolute assuredness I got from her tone and eyes told me that there was no question as to the strength of her friendship.

“Then yes, your plan would work in terms of allowing me to feed. Sorry for the unexpectedness of the question, but I just needed to know the extent of your love for your friends. If they reciprocate your feelings, and I’m sure they do, then I would probably only need about ten minutes to feed.”

She nodded, assuring me that she was fine with my inquiries, and asked if I had any more. “Actually, yes, I do. How would I go about introducing our relationship?”

“I thought about that, actually. I thought we could simply bend the truth a little bit, and say that you’re studying abroad from Canterlot. It would cover your unexpected arrival, your prolonged time here, and we wouldn’t even have to lie that much.”

“Studying abroad for..?”

“Anything pertaining to Pegasi and magic, really. Cross-species spells, augmentation runes, genetics...” She petered out when she realized I had exactly zero understanding of anything she just said. “Anyway, that can be our story, and once they’re comfortable enough around you, we can find a way to show that you’re a Changeling.”

I thought about it for a while, running through all the possible scenarios I could think of. No plan was perfect, but this one was looking pretty solid. I was sure enough of myself that I would be able to maintain my disguise for less than an hour, and though having five pairs of eyes on me gave me a little pause, I wasn’t unduly worried. Still, there were ways for this to blow up in our face.

My left wing gave quite a large twitch. “We need a contingency plan in case something happens.”

Twilight nodded, her magic making the quill tap idly on the paper. “Did you have any ideas?”

“Well, I’m not sure exactly what you study here, but perhaps you could, for the purposes of this plan, be studying Changelings? It’s a long shot, but it’s better than nothing.”

She shook her head slowly. “No, at the moment I’m looking into the biology of flora native to Draconica, and Fluttershy already knows this. It’ll have to be something else, unrelated to my studies...”

We talked for a while, bouncing ideas off of eachother, brainstorming and refining our current plans. Well, it was mostly Twilight who spoke and organized the major components. I simply threw in little comments and revisions, but it seemed to work out for both of us well enough. After fifteen minutes or so, she seemed satisfied enough with our current plan of action, and I mirrored her feelings.

“Alright,” She started, levitating her empty bowl into the sink behind her. “I think we should be-”

Three light knocks sounded at the door, and all four ears at the table shot straight up and swiveled towards the lobby. We were frozen for the briefest of moments before Twilight spoke, trotting to the door of the kitchen. “Stay here until I come back.”

I nodded solemnly, morphing to the black Pegasus form. She swung the door shut behind her, and I instantly galloped over to it, pressing my ear against the door. As soon as Twilight opened the front door and I heard her gasp quietly, I figured our plan was next to useless. I turned my head towards the ceiling, thinking to myself that fate and whoever sat up above could go eat dirt for making the time spent during the conversation with Twilight circle the drain.

“And just how long were you going to wait to tell us, darling?” A slightly-accented voice chimed. Judging by Twilight’s descriptions of her friends, I assigned the name Rarity to this voice, and the name Applejack to the country voice that spoke next.

“Normally, ah’d call ya’ out for bein’ a little rude, Rarity, but knowin’ how long it took you to tell us about Shining Armor, ah’m on her side, Twi’.”

Shining Armor? She never mentioned...

“Is he here? I think the two of us have to talk.” The tomboyish voice sounded mildly annoyed, to put it lightly, but I really couldn’t assign a name to that one, yet. Not that I was so inclined to, after hearing the barely-contained threat in her tones.

“I am going to kill Spike...” I could just about hear Twilight’s mutter by pressing my ear flat against the wood, and Rarity answered hurriedly.

“Oh, don’t be too harsh on the poor thing, I all but tied him down and forced it out of him once I saw that something was off. He didn’t even hint at it too much, or on purpose, for that matter.”

It wasn’t until now that I picked up on a constant, rhythmic noise that sounded like a cross between a child’s squeak toy and a trampoline.

“Peili...?” Twilight asked nervously, signalling for me to come out.

To be honest, I wasn’t as nervous as I probably should have been, considering that there were at least three ponies outside that didn’t exactly sound overjoyed about my existence. If anything, I was kinda ticked off about the predicament.

Doesn’t matter, just focus on making them like you and you’ll be fine. Can’t be too hard, could it?

I opened the wooden door to the lobby, and through I felt dead tired, I stepped through with my head high and a mild grin on my face. I did, after all, live here, and it wouldn’t do to let others think otherwise. Why should I be frightened in my home?

As soon as I saw the five ponies standing next to Twilight inside the library, a veritable wall of emotions slammed into me, throwing me for an internal loop and making me forget where I was for a moment. I couldn’t even tell you what any of the ponies next to Twilight looked like. I grappled with these alien feelings of distrust, joy, curiosity, downright anger and the smallest twinge of affection, which I instantly latched onto without a conscious thought and tried to drain for sustenance. There were about forty-two other emotions pouring into me, but before I could analyze them I felt a sharp breeze on my face, bringing me back to the physical world.

When my eyes registered things again, I found that my vision was almost completely filled with blue fur. A cyan Pegasus with a vibrant, rainbow mane was right in my face, hovering about a foot above the ground and scowling at me with slitted eyes. The little hint of affection I had sensed a moment ago was gone, leaving me feeling even hungrier than before, and distrust was the most prominent emotion hitting me right now.

As soon as the mare spoke, I knew it was her that had made the veiled threat earlier. In case that wasn’t completely obvious right now.

It was a few moments before anypony spoke, but the sound of soft clop of hooves did register to me. I didn’t glance toward the sound - I never dropped my head or broke eye contact with the intimidating pony who was clearly Rainbow Dash, even though it was my first instinct, having lived under rule of a monarch who was known for her ill temper my whole life. Rainbow started flying backwards suddenly, as she was apparently being pulled back by her tail, though she beat her wings faster and was almost touching my snout once more.

“You seem alright. But if you hurt her, Celestia herself won’t be able to fix you after I’m done.” So saying, she let the orange pony, Applejack, drag her back towards the group.

“Tha’s enough, sugarcube. Jus’ calm down, he ain’t done nothing yet.”

I stared incredulously into Rainbow Dash’s magenta eyes, my brow furrowing in insult and confusion. “Excuse me? And who are you to be making threats like that when this is literally the first time you’ve seen me?”

Hot anger was pulsing through my body, though I really didn’t feel violent; whether I didn’t really have the energy, or I kept enough state of mind to realize that I was hopelessly outnumbered in event of a fight, I didn’t know, but the thought to hurt Rainbow Dash never crossed my mind. This was a verbal battle, and would be won as such.

With a sharp tug, Rainbow tore her tail away from her friend, landing on the ground and walking back towards me. “I’m Rainbow Dash; Twilight’s friend. And I am not going to let you become one of her regrets.”

“Rainbow-” Twilight started, and I could see her take a few steps towards us, but she was paid no heed by either of us.

“Oh, you’re her friend? Why haven’t I heard of you, then?” I lied, though she didn’t know that, or seem to care. Shut up, Peili. This isn’t going well...

At this, she just scoffed. “Really? You haven’t heard of Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in Equestria? Why don’t I believe you?”

“And just who, besides yourself, has proclaimed you the so-called ‘Fastest flyer’?” I arched an eyebrow and smirked a little, sure that this boasting mare was digging her own grave for me.

“Wanna take a trip to my house? I’ll show you my wall of trophies and commendations, and once you’re finished gawking, I might even accept your apology.”

MY apology?!

“So if you really are the ‘fastest in Equestria’, you wouldn’t have any trouble beating me in a race, right?”

The way Rainbow stifled her giggles, Twilight’s head dropped onto her hoof, and the rest of her friend’s eyes went wide with disbelief had a small part of me thinking that I may have just signed my own assassination contract, but I didn’t care enough at this moment; teaching this braggart a lesson in being humble dominated my thoughts.

“You are so on. Let’s go, right now.” I followed right behind her as she trotted out the door, cracking her neck and stretching her wings as she went.

“A short sprint, from here to...” I looked around at the sky, finding an odd cloud not too high and not too far away. “That cloud and back.” I finished, pointing it out to Rainbow with my false hoof. She nodded, finishing her stretches and assuming a racing stance. I lined up about a dozen feet away from her, assuming the same position she was in. “Twilight, do you mind?”

I looked to her, on my left, to see her wide-eyed and furiously shaking her head ‘no’. Doesn’t like being put on the spot, does she?

“I’ll do it!” a happy, singsong voice yelled out, and a bright pink Earth pony came bouncing - literally, bouncing - out of the group, stopping between us, and the sound she made as she came pronging over to us was the same sound I had heard before walking into the kitchen. In the time it took her to reach the center of Rainbow and I, she had somehow gotten hold of a starting pistol, checkered flag, and had drawn a chalk line at our hooves.

I’m going to assume that you’re Pinkie Pie. Just as hyper and random as Twilight described. I guess this means that I’ll never know where you got those items from, huh?

“On your marks...!” The enthusiastic mare shouted, raising the flag. I glanced at Rainbow, who was smirking as though she had already beat me, and my anger and burning desire to beat her kicked up another notch.

“Get set...!” Pinkie raised the pistol, and giggled slightly after looking at my cyan opponent. Glancing at her again, she was in the middle of yawning with her wings still by her side. The grin, however, was still stuck on her smug face.

“GO!”

As soon as the pony started to make a noise, I shot towards the cloud, accelerating to my top speed almost instantly. You’ve got this. What you lack in stamina, you make up for in speed.

I felt confident as I got halfway to the cloud without seeing a cyan pony on my right, and turning my head, there was nopony there. Just like I thought; she’s all mouth.

I reached the cloud, stopped short in mid air faster than any pony could've, thanks to my insecticidal wings that were hidden by feathers, turned, bucked the cloud, and shot back towards the chalk line. No sweat -

Rainbow hadn’t moved an inch. She hadn’t done anything, not even extended her wings! It wasn’t until she threw me a wink that she shot off the ground, whipping by me so fast the gust of wind from her flight blew me off course. I stopped flying for a moment, turning to see the Pegasus streaking towards a distant cloud, leaving a rainbow contrail in her wake. She reached the puffy dot in the sky faster than I had reached our original target, and before I knew it, she had turned and was flying back.

I didn’t even have the presence of mind to turn and try and beat her back to the finish. Perhaps it was due to the fact that, by the time I remembered we were in a race, she had already won, but the complete and utter disbelief buzzing around my head is what I attributed my delay to.

Twilight’s friends had congregated around Rainbow, some cheering, others giving her a hoof-bump. Twilight had her face in her hoof, but I could still see her crimson cheeks from here.

Wow. Just...

You do know that you have to go down there and own up to being beaten, right?

I blew a short gust of air through my nose in annoyance. I could tick myself off faster than anyone. But, I was right - I was beaten fairly, and I knew it. Shutting my wide-open jaw, I glided down to the chalk line, landing between Rainbow and the other four, and Twilight.

As soon as I landed, my entire body felt like lead; most of the energy I had left went into that race, and I knew I was going to pay for that starting right now.

No, it’s more than being tired; that was downright dangerous.

It was more than a feeling of sluggishness or drowsiness, it was like my limbs were turned to stone for all the effort required to move them. I couldn’t see my chitin right now, but I would assume that it would have been completely unreflective - the first sign of becoming a husk.

I could die very shortly because of that race. I knew that. What is wrong with me?!

“I didn’t tell you about Rainbow, did I?” Twilight asked in a regretful way, looking at me like she just cut my wing off.

It took my inhibited mind a second to process this, and even longer to respond. “You barely said anything about any of your friends - just their physical descriptions and basic personality traits.”

“Oh. Sorry.” She blushed slightly. “I don’t think I need to tell you, but Rainbow is the fastest flyer in Equestria. When she goes supersonic, she can even shatter the visible light spectrum, and the shockwave cascades across the sky in a rainbow, which can shatter solid stone.”

The rusty cogs of my brain snapped at that, leaving me blankly staring at the Unicorn. “What?”

Twilight turned her head and looked me straight in the eye. “She can break colors by flying faster than sounds, and the broken colors can break rocks.”

"Oh." I nodded appreciably, turning to the group again.

“Hey, Peili!”

The tiny hint of affection from before, the one my body so desperately craved, had returned. I drank down every single drop I could from it before it left again, and though it was minuscule, it was absolutely the thing I needed right now. Movement was even possible, and I turned to the pony that seemed to have a crush on me; Rainbow Dash.

“I was right; you’re not bad at all.” The cyan pony trotted over to me, extending a forehoof with a glance and smirk to Twilight. “Good game?”

I hesitantly accepted the offer, grasping her hoof back and looking around at all of Twilight’s friends while we shook. “To be clear, Twilight and I are not together in any way. We’re just...” I turned, looking over my shoulder, and her smile gave me all the approval I needed. “Friends.”

Glances were exchanged between all the ponies, some believing us, others doubting.

Rainbow dropped my foreleg, grinning all the while. “If you say so. Rainbow Dash. Nice to meet you.”

“Peili, from Canterlot.” I bowed slightly to her and her friends as she retreated into the line the other four had formed.

“Ah’m Applejack.” The stetson-wearing Earth pony nodded, though she didn’t really seem too pleased to be in my company. Neither did Rarity, who introduced herself just as formally, following the country mare. Both of their emotions towards me read as plain dislike, and I resolved myself to find out from Applejack, the Element of Honesty, just why that was.

“I’m Pinkie Pie, Ponyville’s Party Pony!” The bouncing mare exclaimed, and her chatter of a “Welcome Party” had to be hushed by all others so the yellow Pegasus could speak at last, though she made it seem as though it was against her will.

“I’m... Fluttershy.” She sank behind her extremely long, pink bangs, keeping her head low and eye contact to a minimum, though I did see a tiny smile on her lips.

Twilight stepped forward, addressing the group as a whole. “Peili is studying abroad from Canterlot with me, so he’ll be staying in the library for a while. And there is nothing-” She turned to Rainbow and Pinkie, who were giggling and whispering, “Between us. I just met him yesterday, okay?”

The five in general seemed to buy this, and an odd look from Applejack was really the only disagreeable thing to come out of the group. Twilight thanked her friends, then made an excuse for both her and myself to leave.

As the five left, Fluttershy with Pinkie, Rarity with Applejack, and Rainbow off to a low cloud, I turned to the Unicorn. “I’ll see you later, Twilight. I have to stay near Rainbow for as long as possible.”

I spread my wings and turned to the Pegasus, promising to explain later as Twilight questioned me, and flew up to the mare’s cloud, where she was lounging lazily.

“Oh, hey. Need something?” She asked quizzically upon seeing me. She sat up a little straighter as well.

I felt her emotions on me again, filling me up and slowly bringing life back to me, and even if I could only draw out our interaction for another hour or so, I would feel much better about going to sleep tonight.

Feed her ego and show hints of interest. She’ll love it, and that’ll be reciprocated. “Nothing in particular, I just wanted to talk for a bit, maybe about yourself. That really was impressive flying.” Though I would feel bad about manipulating her later, this was a very real life-or-death scenario, and I sectioned off my personal feelings for the time being.

“Naah, it was nothing.” She grinned, leaning back on her cloud. She nonchalantly kicked the lower half of her lounge, breaking it into two pieces, and pushed the other over to me. “But you’re not bad either. I was actually a little surprised at your speed.”

“Thanks.” I spoke for both the cloud and her half-compliment, which I let slide with only mild difficulty. I plopped onto the fluffy cushion, floating alongside my new best friend. “So how exactly does one become the fastest flyer in Equestria?”

We talked for a long time underneath Celestia’s sun, with me mostly asking about her and her achievements, and her making absolutely, positively sure that Twilight and I were not “a thing”. As I spent more time with her, I felt better and better as I fed off of her feelings, which only seemed to increase as we got better acquainted.

By the time we parted ways, it had to be around dinnertime in Ponyville, for the restaurants below were packed and Rainbow’s stomach was growling. She promised to catch up with me later as she flew off towards a castle-like cloud structure in the distance.

I think I’ll be just fine here in Ponyville.

Expansion of the Operation

View Online

Chapter 4

-(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(<o>)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)-

“Hey, nice job out there today! You’re gettin’ a lot better!”

I rubbed my left wing, feeling the fake feathers on my disguised hoof, trying to relieve some of the burning feeling racing through it. “Thanks,” I gasped, my lungs refusing to work properly after the workout. “But next time, why don’t we try avoiding the thunderheads?”

She laughed, her voice cracking slightly. “Where’s the fun in that? Besides, it builds character!”

I just shook my head as I walked back towards the library, too tired to bother responding as she floated a few feet above, off to my right side.

What Rainbow Dash said was true, though; I was getting quite a bit better at all sorts of flying day-to-day. Since the race we had when we first met, Dash had become a sort of impromptu-tutor to me, teaching me workouts and exercises for improving overall flight, and in those four weeks, I could fly faster, longer, and with much more precision. Her given reason for helping me out? “I just think that there’s a lot of potential in you, is all. And I’ll be damned if one of my friends isn’t at their absolute best!”

While I rather enjoyed the flights and the challenges she pushed on me, Dash as a pony could rub me the wrong way sometimes. She had next to no sense of humility when it came to flying, and her bragging and boasting soured the occasion many a time.

Twilight joined us as we passed the Town Hall, her saddlebags looking like they were full of important scrolls and documents as she trotted down the steps. “Hello, Rainbow Dash! Hey, Peili!” She smiled at us, matching my pace of a tired, groggy slug.

I smiled as warmly as I could at her as she came up alongside me, given the way I felt right now. I refolded my wings to my side and put my hoof back on the ground, the stiffness my feathered limbs had acquired making me wince slightly. Truth be told, I really didn’t have anything to complain about, as Dash’s little crush on me kept my strength flowing throughout our regime. Even now, I could feel her eyes and affection on me, slowly easing the tension from my joints and bringing vitality back into my body.

It made me feel guilty, leading her on for so long, pretending that I was clueless, but I was torn between trying to let her down gently and at the same time preserve what we had, or continuing the charade and maintaining the status quo. I kept trying to tell myself that, as long as things stayed as they were, everything would be fine, but my conviction of that belief weathered away with every flight as Dash became less and less subtle.

Twilight nudged me with her shoulder lightly, smirking once I had looked to her. It was that smirk; the one I got every single day after spending more than five minutes with Dash, the one slightly teasing and begging for details of our excursions.

I dismissed her with a sigh and a shake of the head, throwing in a small smile of my own in case the Unicorn thought me to be in a bad mood. I was glad when I saw the library not three blocks away, happy to be rid of Dash for a bit. I know that sounds horrible, but the moments in her company not spent working out and flying were terribly awkward and uncomfortable for me, especially when she made passes at me.

“I’m gonna take off, Scoot’s waiting for me at her clubhouse for a meet or something like that. I’ll see you guys,” She bumped my flank with hers, throwing in an indiscreet wink while she was at it. “Later.”

Exactly the type of thing that made me apprehensive of being around her. As she flew further and further away, I felt cold as her emotions left me, and my hooves felt like they had been dipped in cement somewhere along my journey. I shivered quietly for a moment, but the flash of negativity only lasted a moment as my body readjusted to the lack of love quickly.

“You have to acknowledge it at some point, Peili.”

I quirked an eyebrow at her. “What’s in the bag? Looks important.” I stated with feigned interest, trying my best to dance around the topic for as long as possible.

“Oh, various love letters, mushy sonnets, the like.” She returned, not missing a beat.

“Really? Who’s Mayor Mare’s special somepony?”

“Well, she’s very tight-lipped about it, but she keeps referencing a dark stallion with a green mane and teal eyes... Does he sound familiar to you?” Twilight sounded for all the world like the embodiment of innocence, but her emotions reeked of mockery.

I grinned at the opening she gave me in this verbal battle. “I can honestly say that I’m not a stallion, and I do not, in fact, have a green mane.”

She quickly looked around, checking to see if anypony had heard me, but there was next to no one in the streets of Ponyville right now, the sun having set a few minutes ago. “That reminds me, how are we going to break the news?” She asked, satisfied we were not being eavesdropped upon.

The door to the library was opened with an aura of her magic as we reached the landing, and I stepped back, letting her pass through the threshold before I did. It wasn’t until we were both inside the tree, surrounded by the glow of its candles and lanterns that I answered her.

“Truthfully, I haven’t given as much thought to the problem as I should have. Specifics are undecided, but perhaps having Celestia present would help ease the situation?” I made for the kitchen, through which the bathroom was located, intent on taking a shower in lieu of my workout.

“That seems like a good idea. Also, when-?”

A knock at the door cut her off mid sentence, and I slipped into the kitchen after she told me that she would get it. In my haste to get under the jets of hot water I had become fond of during my stay here, I didn’t bother knocking on the closed door first, so it was to my shame and disappointment when I was greeted with a softly humming Spike in the middle of taking a bubble bath.

The sound of the door hitting the wall roused him from the singing of a song he had more than likely made up, and his face went bright red at seeing me.

“Please tell me that this isn’t one of your marathon-long baths...” I asked dejectedly. If this was the case, there was next to no chance of me getting under the showerhead tonight.

“What?” He asked defensively. “I gotta maintain the smoothness of my scales for Sweetie, and unless you wanna go to a volcano and get some lava for me, I need this long in the water!”

“Can’t you just go down to the lake or something?” The baby dragon and I had already gone through this conversation numerous times, but I didn’t expect anything to change even as I asked this.

“It’s too cold in the lake. Besides, the lake doesn’t have bubbles.” He sunk further down into the soapy mass spilling out over the edges of the bathtub, resolute on staying there for as long as possible.

My ear twitched towards the kitchen as I heard Twilight speaking, but it didn’t sound like she was talking to anypony in particular. Still, better to see what she was talking about than listen to Spike for another quarter of the day. I couldn’t resist a parting shot before leaving, though.

“Alright, fine. But Spike?” I waited until he looked back at me, and seeing the slightly annoyed expression on his face made my next action all the sweeter.

As soon as his eyes were on me, I dropped my disguise as quickly as I could, revealing the Changeling underneath and taking a lunging step towards him, throwing in a quiet hissing sound through my teeth while I was at it. Watching the little purple biped jump out of his armored hide made the inability to take a shower seem much more manageable.

“I hate it when you do that!” He called out as I turned, walking back through the kitchen and stifling a yawn. I still had my devilish grin on my face as I peeked out into the main lobby, making sure it was just Twilight there and nopony else. Satisfied, I stepped through the portal, calling out to the Unicorn as I did so.

“Twilight? Did you say something?” I moved over to the table in the center of the room upon seeing one of her books lying on it, taking in the details of the cover. It was was a very deep blue, spiral notebook, decorated with white and purple stars and a swirling blue pattern on the top half, with two large, aqua stars to the left of the swirl.

It was odd for Twilight to leave books just lying around, especially ones that looked as special as this. As I got within a foot or two of the notebook, I could feel a slight aura of magic radiating out from it, which was odd, seeing as there was no Unicorn casting a spell on it right now.

“Sorry?” She called from upstairs, and I could hear her trotting down the steps shortly afterwards. “Oh! That’s a special delivery from the Princess!” She explained, seeing me gesture towards it. “There’s a spell she wants me to complete inside, but it’s a little late for that now, don’t you think?”

I nodded, and just in time to punctuate her point, I could feel another yawn coming.

She giggled warmly at me, throwing her head towards the stairs. “Why don’t you head to bed? You look like you could use some sleep after those workouts with Dash.”

I didn’t even look at the grin she had as I passed her, opting instead for a playful swat on the withers with my black and grey tail. “Goodnight, Egghead.” I called, ascending the stairs to her room.

A minute later, I was curled up between her bed and the large window once more. It was a while before I finally fell asleep, but my rest wasn’t as nice as I would have hoped for.

There was something... nagging at me that night. Buzzing away in the back of my head, disturbing every dream. Flashes of green floated everywhere, tiny specks in the corner of my eyes everywhere I looked.

As I blinked awake, unable to maintain sleep, the darkness of midnight greeted me. Luna’s moon was shining above, framed by Twi’s window, and its glow drew my eyes. The brightness blotted out my surroundings, allowing me to zone out and focus on the invading feeling plaguing my rest.

It was a vibrant green beacon in my head, floating far, far off in the distance. It barely seemed to move, but that was more than likely due to my perspective on it. The weariness I felt hindered my thoughts and speculations, so it wasn’t until the moon touched the edge of the window sill that the realization and terror gripped me, pulling me to consciousness in a heartbeat.

My holed wings shot out to either side of me reflexively, and I couldn’t keep my left one still as I rolled to my hooves, all but sprinting to Twilight’s bed once I stood up.

Just as I reared to try and shake her awake, I paused, thinking of the panic waking her in such a manner would introduce. I dropped to all fours after staying frozen in the air for a moment.

Should I even wake her?

Of course you should! What do you think she’ll assume happened if you - a Changeling in disguise - suddenly disappeared overnight?

What if she tries to stop me? I have to leave, now, and I’m not sure telling her the exact reason is the best plan of action.

She’ll understand. Friends always do, and you know she trusts you. Sure, she’ll be nervous, but it’s better than terrified, the way she would be if you left her in the dark.

I had a point. Informing her seemed like the best way to go at this point, and I really couldn’t afford to wait around and think this through any longer. So saying, I nudged her quite urgently on the shoulder with my hoof.

______________________________________________________________________________

My heart was racing and my wings were burning by the time I got within half a mile of the other Changeling. I had to drop to the forest floor and rest before I plummeted out of the sky.

The other knew I was here now, if he didn’t know before. I was absolutely certain of this, as the beacon of light rose a dozen metres or so, above the canopy of the Everfree, and flew straight towards me. It wouldn’t be long before he got here, maybe two minutes, and though I knew not their intentions, being caught off guard was never a good idea. So saying, I spread my hind legs slightly, lowering my torso to the ground, and making sure the other knew I was ready to defend myself. My left wing twitched slightly as I waited.

My breathing was still heavy as my ears perked at the sound of buzzing wings coming from directly ahead of me. The green light wasn’t more than half a kilometer away, now. I watched from my mind’s eye as it drew closer. Four hundred metres... three hundred... two... one...

A solid black form with glowing teal eyes dropped through the thicket of branches, landing fifty feet away from me. My breath caught in my throat as I looked on my brother, taking in the pattern of his fori, and my eyes went wide.

“Kuva?” I gaped, speaking in Equestrian tongue out of a habit born during the last four weeks.

His features were steely, unreadable, but the emotions pouring off of him resonated with contempt and disappointment, though the former was much, much more apparent. He remained absolutely silent, unmoving except for the slight flaring of his nostrils.

I shook my head in disbelief, my breathing still coming in a slightly labored fashion. “What...?”

“How, fucking, dare you?” He clicked with his wings and teeth. Menacingly, he started taking slow strides towards me, and I backed at an equal pace, not out of fear, but to buy time.

“Kuva...”

“Peili, shut the fuck up. I don’t give a rat’s ass why you left and betrayed all of us, and I don’t want to hear your bullshit.”

His steps grew slightly longer and faster, and I tried increasing my pace as well, only to have my flank hit a tree painfully. My head dropped defensively, and a low snarl ripped through clenched teeth as a warning to him.

He plowed right through the sound, completely unfazed. “The fact is, you’re a traitor. I can tell just by the scents rolling off of you. You’ve been spending a lot of time with ponies.”

“Let me speak!”

He never slowed. As he drew nearer, I had to quickly circle to the right to slow his advance. I ran, and he mirrored me, causing us to stalk around each other, both low and tensed.

“Kuva, I had to leave. I couldn’t stay-”

“I already told you,” he interrupted dangerously, “I don’t care. I didn’t come looking for you to hear an explanation, I came here to make you realize that you abandoned me without a single fucking glance backwards.” He growled at me, closing in slowly.

“I’ve been feeding almost daily for the past month, and I bet that I could rip your head off with a single foreleg. Even if I were about to become a husk, I wouldn’t get more than a few scratches from you on any given day.”

“I know, that’s why you were in the Honor Guard.”

I backed away, but he was gaining.

“Kuva, please...”

No response. He wasn’t more than five feet away, now.

“KUVA!”

He leapt, and I reacted on instinct. As he came flying towards me, teeth bared, I buckled my right legs and rolled to the side, dodging his grapple. I came back up quickly, spinning to face him, and he did the same.

“Hey! Relax!”

“Shut up!” He hissed. He attacked again, though he stayed on his hooves in case I rolled again. He raised his left leg to swipe at my head as he lunged, but my reflexes made me duck under it. I kicked with my back legs in one powerful motion, lifting my head at the same time and driving my horn into his upper right foreleg.

His momentum and my attack sent him toppling to my right with a shriek, and I pulled my horn out as he fell, slashing him across the chest and neck with the razor-point. I heard a sickening crunch as his full weight crushed his extended wing underneath him.

Yellowish-green blood trickled down my forehead and his wide wounds. I could hear him whimpering softly from the pain, and his agony was not lost on me. I couldn’t even try to look at him, instead staring at the ground, shaking slightly while a frenzy of emotions battered around in my chest and throat.

A sharp cry and a soft *thump* sounded from him, and I guessed that he had tried to stand up, only to flop right back down again. Tears stung my eyes, and though I squeezed my eyelids tightly, he noticed almost immediately. A painful, coarse laugh was barked out by him.

“I don’t understand you, Peili. Why can’t you just grow the fuck up and be a real Changeling?” He spoke in Equestrian now, unable to move his wing without pure agony piercing him.

I had to swallow my snarl, but even so, he got the rise out of me that he was fishing for. I raised my head, meeting his stare unbreakingly. “Changelings are monsters. There has to be some part of you that sees this.”

He tried to shift, and I heard another crack from his pinned limb. He groaned slightly, but it didn’t stop him. “I see a traitor that left his home behind. Yeah, we might be monsters in their eyes, but look at what they do to us on sight. All they have to do is look at us before deciding that we’re vermin and need to die like cockroaches.”

He winced after every breath, and it tore me to pieces to see him like this, even though his words kept a fire burning inside me. “That’s because we’re nothing but parasites to them! All we do is kidnap, use, then kill them!”

“If they would give us a chance, we could be something more! We wouldn’t have to hide and kill just to survive!”

“What do you think I’ve been doing for the past month? Sitting on my flank and sucking my hoof?! I’ve been living with a mare, learning from her, and she’s been doing the same from me! I even have the blessing of the Princess!”

He stared up at me, most of the malice gone from his eyes and aura, replaced with blank shock. I pressed this advantage, hoping to make him see my goals.

“I left because I couldn’t take the guilt and shame of almost burning a city to the ground over half a year ago. I went to their castle with the full intention of dying, but the Princess spared me, and said that I could help her kingdom by opening ponies’ eyes to what a Changeling really is. She sent me to live with her student, and she treats me the same way she does the ponies she met over two years ago.

“Don’t you see, Kuva? I’m trying to help everyone here, Changelings and ponies. If I can get them to see us as equals, we can live in harmony!”

His jaw was wide open, gaping with the story I thrust at him and leaving him in disbelief. “I... I had no idea, Peili...”

I shook my head slightly, feeling the last embers of my anger die down. “If you had let me explain...” I glanced at his wounds, and his leg repeatedly drew my gaze. The slashes I inflicted on his chest weren’t too bad, but the open hole was as large as one of his fori and constantly trickling blood. I gave a slight huff, smirking at him. “You bull headed idiot.”

He returned the gesture, and though his tone was airy, it was strained. “Ah, screw you. Now help me up, my wing fucking kills.”

My head shook again, and I looked to the foliage around us for something to use as a bandage. “Not yet, we need to patch your leg.”

I spotted some large ferns hanging off to our right, and I galloped over to them, hearing him mutter behind me as I departed. “Thanks for the reminder, that feels like it’s on fire, too.”

“You big baby,” I grabbed the bases of two ferns that were about the size of my leg in my jaw, being careful not to rip them to shreds with my teeth. “It’s just a flesh wound.” I mumbled around them, dragging them to his side.

I dropped the plants, moving my nose to his injured leg and looking around it. Thankfully, my horn didn’t puncture the other side or break off any small pieces in the wound, or this would be much more complicated. “I’m really sorry, but you’re going to have to extend your leg so I can wrap it.”

He gave a deep, nervous sigh, nodding lightly. I could almost picture the muscle inside flexing as he groaned, moving his limb away from his body and shaking from the pain. I set to work instantly, bringing one fern over the wound and draping it across so that the tip hung from the other side. I had the plant tied around his foreleg a few seconds later, but a small part of the hole still peeked out. I saw the tears in the corners of his eyes, and quickly had the other fern fully covering the injury.

“Alright, relax,” I muttered, taking most of the weight of his leg on my nose and guiding it back to his side. “That’s all set.”

“Thanks, I think. When did you become a combat medic?” He half laughed, half groaned.

“Never, unfortunately. I have no idea if what I just did helped in any major way, but at least there’s pressure on it. I’ll have to ask Fluttershy about treating injuries sometime.”

“Fluttershy?” He asked, quirking a brow.

“One of the ponies I’ve met in Ponyville. She works with animals and treats their wounds all the time. Now...” I walked around behind him after grabbing a stick off the ground and placing it in front of him. “Bite down on that, because this is going to hurt.” I pushed my nose under the blades of his back, signalling my intention.

“Oh, fuck.” I heard him snatch the wood off the ground, grunting apprehensively a moment later.

I pushed upwards with my neck, bringing him off of his side and onto his hooves. I heard his wing crack as it readjusted to being free, as well as the sound of agonized shrieks and a stick snapping violently in half.

As he stood upright, I hastily moved my head and shoulders under his torso, lifting him onto my back. I didn’t trust him to be able to handle his own weight just yet. Though he wasn’t too heavy, I wasn’t entirely convinced that I could make the trek back to town in one journey.

I felt him shuddering and shaking on top of me, and though I didn’t actually get a good look at his wing, I knew it would be far from fixed at this point. Hopefully, Fluttershy or somepony in town would be able to help us.

After a few moments, he had calmed down for the most part. “You okay?”

He drew in several deep breaths, and even managed to keep most of them from shaking. “Yeah, I’m good. Know where we’re going?”

I grunted in affirmation, setting off through the trees towards Ponyville.

______________________________________________________________________________

I walked for a number of hours, though my pace was hindered by the lack of a distinct trail as well as the rather loud idiot on my back, but even through his near-constant protests and mumbles, he stayed on my back. Picking our way through dense trees, brambles and thorns, and even having to half-swim, half-fly across a wide river depleted my energy quickly. By the time I could see the lightening of the sky as the night came to a close, I was absolutely exhausted, and ready to drop within the next hour or so. Changelings were not built for carrying things long distances; that's why we have cocoons.

Kuva was asleep, as he had been for an hour or so, but I had to wake him when I saw lights in the distance of the otherwise-pitch forest. A few smart flicks across the cheek with the tip of my wing got his attention.

“Hmmwhat?” He moaned, displeased at being woken up.

“I need you to get off for a minute, I see something ahead.” I whispered to him, assuming that whatever lay ahead was hostile.

I felt his chin brush my shoulder as he turned his head, looking forward, and he suddenly became much less relaxed on me. “Right...”

I found a fallen log for him to rest on, and, slowly and carefully, I set him against the wooden surface. I helped him prop his leg up and elevate the wound, but my stomach dropped when I caught sight of the ferns; the parts of green covering the wound were wet and completely stained through with pus-colored ooze, which I knew to be his blood. I was unsure if the makeshift bandages were even slowing the blood loss, but I knew enough not to remove the ferns and check.

I also finally got to see his wing, and almost immediately wished I hadn't looked. His translucent appendage looked like a piece of crumpled foil, split and cracked and bent in all manner of angles. The dark, sea-green color it was supposed to take was very pale, as the base of his wing had become swollen and engorged, cutting off his blood.

My chest felt as frozen as the tundras surrounding the Crystal Empire. He may lose his wing because of me.

This also presented a new problem; since Kuva’s wounds were startlingly more severe than I had first thought, I wouldn’t be able to rest before scouting out whatever was ahead, like I wanted to. Now, I had to pray to whoever laid above that there was some sort of aid available to us from the lights.

“Sit tight, I’ll only be a minute.” I shot over to him, morphing into my standard black Pegasus form.

“And if you don’t come back?”

I clenched my jaw a few times as the weight of his words settled on me. “If that’s the case,” I whispered, turning to him. “Then I’m sorry. And I love you.”

He giggled ruthlessly at me for a few moments. “You big, sappy oaf. Get outta here.” He smirked.

I snapped a mock salute to him before cautiously picking my way towards the lights. I kept my torso as low to the ground as I could, moving or sidestepping twigs that might give me away. The sounds of various wildlife animals helped mask my approach, and it wasn’t more than three minutes before I could make out a distinct shape from which the light was pouring through.

It was a large and twisted tree, but it was not menacing or threatening looking. The two tribal masks and the bottle filled with various liquids might deter somepony from thinking otherwise, but this looked to be a traditional zebra-style home. I cheered inwardly; zebras were masters at brewing and using potions and poultices, and even if we couldn’t persuade the house’s occupants to help us, we could always snatch some medical books and medicinal herbs.

The front door of the hut opened suddenly, and I retreated further into the brush, hiding in the deep shadows cast by the lights of the hut. I observed a cloaked figure stepping out, her brown garment not concealing her various golden bracelets or earring. This was good, as it helped me recognize her.

“Zecora!” I shouted, trotting out of the trees towards her.

She jumped at the sound of her name, but her composure was resumed instantly upon seeing me. She dropped her hood and grinned before speaking. “Ah, Peili, it has been a while. Though you look like you have been through bog and bile.”

She was probably right, and I could feel dozens of scratches and nicks on my form, but there really wasn’t any room in my exhausted mind for that. “I know, and that’s a long story. I’ll tell you later, but I need your help first.”

“Your breaths are deep and your words are rushed. Tell me, what is causing you this fuss?”

I paused, choosing my next words with great care. “How much do you know of Changelings?” I phrased this slowly, cautious to her reaction.

Her head tilted and eyes narrowed, but she didn’t look put off by me. “Little knowledge do I possess, but that is better than none, yes?”

I sighed deeply, thinking that Kuva may not have a chance at keeping his wing after all. “Would you try to help one? He’s wounded badly, and I can’t give him the care he needs.”

Her hesitation was born of suspicion of me, not of helping a Changeling, that much I could tell. It was a moment full of tension as she evaluated me with nothing but her eyes, and it was a great relief when she finally spoke. “Bring him here, I will do what I must. But Peili, after this, there is much to be discussed.”

I nodded, and we turned away from each other, setting off in our respective directions. While she went back to her hut, presumably to prepare her supplies, I raced back through the forest, quickly reaching my brother.

“So? What you’d find?” He asked, seemingly nervous at my rushed pace.

I smiled openly, helping him to his hooves and lifting him back onto me. “A friend. She’s going to help you out, Kuva.”

He slumped on my shoulders, breathing a relaxed sigh. “‘Bout time I caught a break.”

“Listen, she doesn’t know that I’m a Changeling, but I think she has her suspicions. If the subject comes up, let me handle it.” I felt his chin bump against me as he nodded.

In a minute, we were at Zecora’s front door, and the portal seemed to open of its own accord after I knocked twice. Stepping through, I felt the hot atmosphere hit me like a wave, and quickly found the zebra at a large cauldron in the center of the room, mixing together vials of liquid and some various herbs.

“Come in, lay him down, and then we must meet,” She gestured to the far side of her hut, where a small mattress lay beneath a window. “I need you to tell me of the wounds we must treat.”

I followed her instructions, setting my brother on the yellow bedspread with caution before trotting to her side. “He’s got a mild gash across his chest and neck, nothing too bad,” I started, not waiting for any signal. She nodded along with my words, gathering different vials and tonics as I described more of his condition. “There’s a deep, wide hole in his upper foreleg, and I’m worried that it’s still bleeding, even though I wrapped it. His wing looks like the worst; it’s very swollen at the base, cutting off his blood, and it’s cracked and bent everywhere.”

She took three wooden bowls from the side of the cauldron, scooping the mixture inside the black pot into the bowls and filling them about halfway. Quickly, she poured different solutions and crushed herbs into the three bowls, and all three turned different colors. One was a deep, blood red, another was a pastel green, and the last was completely clear and looked gelatinous.

She handed me the bowl with the clear paste inside before grabbing the remainders, moving to Kuva’s side. I followed behind her with the bowl in my mouth, reaching my brother in seconds. He was on his right side, facing us, wing clearly displayed in all its sickening horror. I don’t think Zecora even batted an eyelash at the sight.

“Your bowl,” She mumbled, setting down her two before continuing. ”Will ease the pain of his wounds. Apply it to his chest, and the leg will come soon.”

I did as she said, scooping a little bit of the paste with my hoof and moving to his front.

“This isn’t gonna hurt, is it?” Kuva eyed my gooey hoof wearily, backing away a fraction of an inch.

“You are such a wuss!”

“You can go to hel-ooooh.” I pushed my hoof at him, smearing the gel across his gash, and he immediately let go of all tension in his body. “Know what? Keep going. That feels great...” I slathered some more of the paste onto his chest, completely covering his wound in it.

“See? Not so bad... Kuva?” My brother was out cold in the blink of an eye, and I figured that was cause for some alarm. “Zecora?”

The zebra was examining his wing, but she did not even glance at me before answering. “A mild sedative is in the gel. I had to add it so he would not yell.” Just as she finished, a rag soaked with the crimson mixture was pulled up by her teeth, and she gently draped it across the swollen knot at the base of my brother’s wing. I guessed that it was supposed to reduce the swelling or something to that effect, but there was no time to ask as she moved to the ferns around his leg.

Taking the tied knots in her teeth and pulling, the plants fell off the bed and revealed the hole underneath. “My oh my, you are no liar. This wound looks like it is full of ire.” The edges of the puncture were inflamed, making the black chitin around it puff up angrily. “Take some of this green, rub it here, and all that is ill will disappear.”

In a moment, I had the aforementioned cloth in my mouth, and I could smell nothing but the potent scent of the solution as it stung my nose. Wanting to put the dripping rag down as soon as I could, I guided it to Kuva’s leg wound and dabbed around it, hearing a rather painful hiss when it contacted flesh and thanking the stars that my brother was asleep.

“Inside, too?” I muttered around the cloth, turning to the zebra. She had taken the cloth off of his wing, and was soaking it in the red solution again. I was surprised to see how small the base of his appendage had become already, and cracked a ghost of a smile at the returning color it brought.

Zecora simply nodded, bringing the rag back to the knot. I resumed my task, bringing the rag to his wound again and lightly touching all of the surfaces I could reach with the rag. After a few seconds, the hissing noise came from inside the wound as well as out, and I set the cloth back into its bowl. I heard cracks from the right as Zecora readjusted his wing, and I was suddenly glad I was occupied so I didn’t have to see the process.

“What now?” I asked, but to my surprise, the mare shook her head, causing the golden rings around her neck to clatter lightly. I stepped out of her way as she brought over some proper bandages, applying them the his leg wound after some of the clear gel was rubbed on it.

“Now we let this poor soul rest. Both you and I have done our best.”

“He’s going to be fine, right? He won’t lose the wing or anything?”

She nodded, gathering the three bowls and balancing them on her head, using her ears to keep them from falling. “I believe that his chances are very good. Though I urge you to not let him walk or fly, understood?” I gave my affirmation, and she trotted over to the cauldron, replacing the bowls before looking around at the shelves covering the walls. “A trip into Ponyville must I make. Not long, I assure you, will I take. While I am gone, try to sleep. I see the way your eyes weep.”

“Thank you so much,” I said, bowing slightly. “I can’t think of a way to repay you for this.”

“An explanation of this Changeling will suffice. Now and go and rest, I will not tell you thrice!” She added with a smirk.

With another small bow, I turned, walking with heavy hoofsteps to my brother’s bedside. I heard the door shut while I curled up beside the bed, sighing at finally being able to lay down. I could hear the call of morning birds as they got ready for the day. As I drifted off to sleep, it was no small comfort to me to know that my brother was above me, and that he would be alright.

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How To React When Confronted With An Alicorn Princess

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Chapter 5

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I think I might have set a new personal best for the longest time I had ever slept in one go - by the time I was conscious again, the sun had already set, and the moon was high in the sky. I blinked a few times as I became accustomed to the candlelight in the hut, but there was no pain; only two lonely pillars of wax burned on windowsills of opposite walls, and their light was gentle enough for even my sleepy eyes.

Even so, I could see the room in perfect detail, from the cold cauldron in the center to the straw mat a short distance away, and the striped figure lying on the woven bedding. Zecora breathed lightly, with her back to me, and it occurred to me after a moment that the only reason for her not to use her own bed was because it was still occupied.

Sure enough, I picked my head up from my hooves to find my brother still snoozing on the mattress above. I smirked when I saw his wing, as it nearly resembled a perfectly healthy limb, save for the small, slightly-pulsing knot still present at the base. The zebra had the appendage fully extended, propped up by a thin splint, but the wooden supports didn’t look like they would be uncomfortable to wear.

Still laying down, I stretched my legs, cracked my neck, and extended my disguised wings a few times. Standing up, I took a quick peek at Kuva's leg wound. The bandages were snow white, though Zecora may have changed them at some point. His chest also looked fine, with the gash healing nicely.

Moonlight streamed through the window above me as a cloud unblocked the sphere, and it struck me that the current setup of the hut was a bit like the library.

Twilight’s going to freak when she sees Kuva. Actually, she’s probably having a heart attack about me right now.

Should I head into town and bring her up to speed? It might be a good idea for her to find out about Kuva before actually meeting him. I could be there and back well before sunrise. She’s more than likely still up at this point anyway.

I looked back at my zebra host, still motionless and quiet. Kuva might wake up during the night, but he couldn’t move without assistance, so I needn’t worry about him looking for me.

Well, what’s holding you back?

Nothing came to mind after a few moments, so I trotted over to the front door as quietly as I could. My steps must not have been quite as soundless as I thought, as Zecora stopped me a few feet from the door.

“Ah, Peili, you are awake!” she whispered, stifling a yawn while rolling to her hooves. “Though it seems you have a trip to make.”

I froze, glancing at the door and back to the zebra, who was apparently wide awake. “I didn’t mean to wake you, I was just going to tell Twilight about the situation...” I said quickly, glancing at Kuva, but she simply shook her head.

“Nonsense, I only just returned, but there are a few things that you must learn. First, I hope you do not feel betrayed, but arrangements with Twilight have already been made.” At my curious look, she trotted past me and stepped outside, motioning me to follow. Kuva had been stirring since we began talking, and we silently agreed that the more rest he got, the better.

The night was mild, breezy and beautiful in the Everfree. Nocturnal life was going this way and that, but the quiet volume of the animals allowed for conversation between the two of us.

“You told Twilight about him?” The accusatory tone in my voice must have been more pronounced than I intended, as Zecora lowered her muzzle slightly in defense.

“Does it matter from whom Twilight learned about the other? Either way, tonight she would find out about your brother.”

“It matters because you could have... my brother?” I slowed down in my assault as I actually realized what Zecora said.

“I know who and what you are, Peili. Twilight told me of your origin, but I do not care, frankly. You would have shown yourself to me anyway, yes? Please know the Unicorn thought she told me for the best.”

“You’re right, I would have shown you, but that’s not the point.” I snapped back.

The last time someone did what they thought was best for me, I was swept along in an invasion of Canterlot.

You’re bending that slightly; you full-heartedly agreed on and enjoyed attacking the city.

Only at first! And we got our flanks kicked, didn’t we? One-sixth of the hive hasn’t returned home! We still don’t know what happened to them...

My chest started to tighten as I remembered my brothers that were still lost, but Zecora nipped any of those feelings in the bud.

“You want to have full control of your life; I understand this, but do not let us cause you strife. The result is the same, and you have been saved a flight. In the process, you avoided a terrible fright.” Zecora went wide-eyed immediately after finishing her last sentence, looking like she saw a Timberwolf behind me.

“What fright...?”

“I’m sorry, truly, I should not have spoken.” Zecora glanced into one of her hut’s windows. “Perhaps you should depart when Kuva has awoken. His wounds I checked, and they will recover soon. Provided, of course, you return if they need a boon.” The zebra trotted back to the door, giving an apologetic look in the process. “I apologize, but the day has been very long. Would asking to sleep be doing something wrong?”

I shook my head “no” after biting back any further questions or protests. This was her hut after all, and both my brother and I owed her a great debt. If she wanted us gone, we would have to leave, though there were a few choice things I thought about saying to her.

I watched her move from through her window. Back inside, she crept over to her bedroll, laying back down on the straw mat and becoming motionless once more.

I stared out at the Everfree for a while afterwards, thinking about her and Twilight.

You know that Zecora’s right - she saved you time, energy, and an awkward conversation. More than that, she knew Twilight would be worried about you, and took initiative in telling her about you and Kuva. She truly does care.

Even so, I undoubtedly would have handled the situation with Twilight better. For instance, Zecora couldn’t have known that I wanted to tell Twilight about my plan to move ahead and tell her friends about being a Changeling. It’s only going to get harder to hide my identity now that I suddenly have an injured twin brother. Maybe Rainbow will even back off a little. I thought with a smirk.

Speaking of being a Changeling, I dropped my Pegasus form in a flash of green fire. No point in worrying now that the turtle was out of the bag.

... Cat. The expression is cat, not turtle... I think.

I looked to the moon, surrounded by the twinkling stars that covered every inch of the inky dark. The little blips of light were the same color as the fungi back in my hive. An odd thought crossed my mind as I looked around. Surely these similarities can’t all be caused by nature? This whole planet, the stars, everything out there had to have been designed by something. Somepony. Celestia, maybe. Is she powerful enough to do that? What about her sister?

My eyes roved the infinite expanse for a few moments longer. With a sigh, I turned and walked back to the hut. Not three steps in, I was halted by a hiss from the bed.

“What are you doing?” Kuva sounded like he was panicking, and he had even pushed himself upright on his good foreleg to stare at me with wide eyes.

I stopped short, shaking my head in confusion, trying as best I could to indicate the slightly-snoring zebra in the room. In response, he motioned me over to the bed hurriedly. I stepped lightly to his side, asking what the matter was.

“You’re not shapeshifted! You’re a Changeling!” He indicated the rest of my body frantically, nervously glancing over my shoulder.

“Kuva, relax.” I put my foreleg on his shoulder, pushing him back down to the mattress. “She spoke to Twilight, my friend in Ponyville, and she knows almost everything.”

At this, he seemed extremely suspicious. “Just like that, Zecora’s fine with you being a Changeling? And who’s this Twilight to just go around telling the first pony that asks?”

“I’m sure Zecora had her thoughts beforehand. It’s not hard to figure out, what with me carrying you in here when any actual pony would have left you for dead. Or killed you. And Twilight... she did what was best. She knows Zecora much better than I, and I trust both of them.”

He still seemed agitated, but after applying a little more pressure, Kuva let me push him back down, signaling his agreement on the matter. “Fine.” He stifled a yawn with his good hoof, and I jumped at the opening.

“Get as much rest as you can, Kuva. You’ll need it.”

He was obviously still annoyed with me, judging by his expression, but he didn’t disagree. I was guessing that there was still a little of Zecora’s sedative in his bloodstream, because it didn’t take long for him to go back to sleep. I thought about doing the same for a moment, and when a sore spot on my right ribs from sleeping on them for so long became apparent, I curled up on my left side, intent on getting a few more hours of sleep.

Owls hooted, crickets chirped, and eventually, the Everfree’s sounds drifted away, replaced by dreams of flight, spellbooks, and an angry swarm of Changelings.

______________________________________________________________________________

Kuva threw his injured leg, wrapped up tight in a fresh bandage, over my withers. I had told him repeatedly that I didn’t mind carrying him, but apparently I had put a hole in his pride along with his leg.

I didn’t really support any of his weight, I just kept him from accidentally using his injured limb. He seemed to manage fine on three legs, and Zecora held the door open for us as we steadily approached.

“On your goals and journeys I wish you well, and be careful of the secrets you tell. Most will not be as passive as I, for they will think your whole mission a lie.” The zebra warned, giving us a serious look.

I bowed as deeply as I could, and I felt Kuva lower his head as well.

“Thank you, Zecora.” I said, meeting her eyes.

“Yeah, I owe you a wing and a leg.”

The zebra thought nothing of it, moving out of the doorway to make room for us. With another “thank you!” called over my shoulder, Kuva and I were on the path back to Ponyville.

My brother and I walked for a few minutes in silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but both of us knew we had something to say. Kuva spoke first.

“About the forest...” He was uncharacteristically hesitant in his speech, but I didn’t push him. I figured it would be better to have him explain his side rather than interrupt and just draw it out, so I remained quiet. “You have to realize, I’ve been searching for you for the past two weeks. When you didn’t come back... I knew you weren’t dead. You wouldn’t let that happen. There were rumors in the hive that you had been killed, or worse, that you’d deserted. I couldn’t believe that you were a traitor, until I sensed you in Ponyville...”

“I understand, Kuva.” I spoke softly, gently nudging him with my shoulder. “I know full well that traitors are kill-on-sight targets. Though if you had just let me explain...”

“You wouldn’t have made me a cripple.” He smirked. “So explain, then. Why did you leave?”

I started from the beginning, with the Siege and the grayish-brown mare. I told him how that changed me, and of the months afterwards. I told him about my plan to die in the castle, and about Celestia’s benevolence. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, her friends, I covered everything I could about my time in the town. Lastly, I told him about my overarching plan.

“When we get back to town, I’m going to summon Princess Celestia. I want her there when we reveal ourselves, both as protection and as the voice of reason. I think that being Changelings will go over well enough with most of them after some time. Honestly, I’m the most apprehensive about Applejack and Rainbow Dash.”

“You know,” Kuva cut in, speaking for the first time in about fifteen minutes. “Twilight and her friends sound a lot like the six ponies who stopped the Siege.”

“Well, they definitely helped. Mostly, it was Twilight’s brother and one of the Princesses, but Twilight and her friends enabled the other two to act.”

“So they’re most-wanted enemies numbers three through eight to our Queen. Also kill-on-sight targets.” His tone was not accusatory, he was simply stating facts. Nonetheless, I wanted to know where he was going with this.

“That’s right.” I stated simply, shifting my tone to show I was defensive. Kuva picked up on that signal instantly.

“I understand why you’re staying with them, Peili, and I’m not saying that you’re wrong. I just want you to see what a compromising situation you've put yourself and them in. I’m not the only Changeling out looking for you. What if one of them finds us?”

“I would assume that they would tell Her Majesty about us. What she would do about it, I’m not sure. The hive cannot afford another war right now, so I highly doubt she would take the chance and try to kill us using brute force. I suppose an assassination attempt is possible, but we would sense them coming from miles away. Realistically, no matter what she wants to do, I don’t think she can touch us.”

Kuva nodded slowly, chewing my words over for a moment. He seemed satisfied enough, because the conversation shifted back to us revealing ourselves. “Now, what about being nervous about Applejack and Rainbow?”

“Applejack hasn’t liked me from the start. I’ve spoken to her about it, and she was kind enough to be completely honest and straight with me. She thinks that I’m hiding something from everypony. Something huge. Being the Element of Honesty, she kinda has a sixth sense about liars. As for Rainbow... I don’t see our relationship surviving the event. What will happen when the pony she’s been flying with and hitting on for weeks completely changes everything you thought you knew about them?”

Kuva met my eyes as he spoke his next words. “You’re not changing everything. You’re hardly changing anything! And she’s supposed to represent Loyalty, right? You’re still the same pony she thought you were, you just look different, that’s all.”

“You seriously think it’s going to be as simple as that? It goes further than just looking different; I’ve been feeding off of her daily, lying to her face at every encounter, and leading her on for weeks. If she doesn’t buck me into next week after she finds out, it will be a legitimate miracle.”

My brother smirked evilly as he spoke. “It sounds like she already wants to buck you into next week.”

I rolled my eyes back for lack of a satisfying retort. “Anyway, what do you think of this? Are you okay with showing yourself?”

Kuva was silent for a while. The trees around the path we walked had thinned significantly by the time he answered me.

“If everything goes according to plan, and their Princess is as forgiving as you say she is, then... yeah, I’ll trust you on this. You do know that something is going to horribly fuck up, though?”

“Of course something will go wrong. Something always does. Then again, we’re both still alive, aren’t we?”

“That might change if the rest of the town gets wind of us. Last time I got caught feeding, Baltimare went into a city-fucking-wide lockdown. Luckily, I was outside the walls by the time they got the gates closed and Pegasi in the air, but still...”

I knew what he meant. Ponyville’s residents may have, at the very least, accepted me, but the Siege was still fresh in everypony’s heads. “That’s why Celestia will be there. If things do happen to get out of hand, she alone should be able to calm them down. When’s the last time you heard of a single pony in Equestria disliking or distrusting her?”

He shrugged in a non-committal way. “I guess. Like I said, I’ll back you on this, if only because I really have no other options. Just one question...”

“Shoot.” I answered, observing the morning sky once more.

“Say everything goes perfectly. Twilight and her friends don’t give a shit about you being a Changeling, everything is fine and dandy, et cetera. What happens next?”

“Well like Celestia said, eventually, getting Equestria to accept Changelings in general would be the master plan, though that will take years.”

“And how would you do this, the whole ‘Let’s Join Hooves and Be Happy!’ plan? Don’t tell me you’re going to fuckin’ wing it?”

“No! There’s too much at stake for that! Believe me, Twilight, the Princess and I will think of something. Obviously, we have to start small, with select groups of ponies, then move onto the town, and other towns from there.”

“And what about us?”

“You’re going to stay with me? I would have thought you wanted to go back to the hive-”

“No, Peili, I mean, what about Changelings? You’ll have to make them a part of the plan as well, or opening everypony’s minds to the idea of “all Changelings are friendly” will blow up so hard that I honestly don’t believe Equestria will ever recover from the resulting invasion. Her Majesty won’t let something like that pass up.”

I actually stopped short, pondering his words while staring at the dirt of the forest while my mind raced ahead. “Oh, shit, you’re right.”

What was that, the third time you’ve ever used a cuss word?

This is serious, and Kuva’s absolutely right. The hive completely slipped my mind. We’ll need to find a way to get them on board before going full-scale.

The hive can’t attack us. Not really. Full-on invasion, they’re dead, and they only take a small percent of Equestria with them. Which means that any diplomatic solution would be the best route for both parties.

“Celestia’s not stupid; she’ll have thought of this before, and might even have a plan ready. Even if she doesn’t, we can make plans. But you’re right, Kuva, that’s got to be the next priority.” I raised my head, coming level with his eyes. “Whatever I used to think about you, you are one of the most intelligent beings I have ever met.”

He gave me a backwards smirk, tilting his head and quirking a brow slightly. “And just what did you used to think about me?”

I pretended to look like I was shying away from the question, breaking eye contact and grimacing slightly. “Well, it’s not like you figured out which tunnels led up to the surface and which led to the main Antechambers until you were almost two...” I glanced at him, and seeing his mouth wide open in shock brought an internal smile to me. “But hey! Look at how you turned out! Almost able to feed yourself, and you sort of know how to throw a punch!”

Kuva turned away, biting his lip and smirking slightly. He knew I was joking, but his lack of a retort would be driving him crazy.

“Know what?” He bust out laughing, pushing me with a bit of force and snapping his uninjured wing against my ribs. “Fuck. You.”

I laughed along with him, glad that, even though I had nearly crippled him, we were still brothers.

We settled down fairly quickly after hearing a rather ominous growl from close by, as well as a very putrid odor, and we both agreed that the denizens of the Everfree Forest were not creatures you wanted to be attracting attention from. Words were exchanged very quietly from then on.

We didn’t have to maintain our pseudo-silence for very long, however; the trees and canopy around and above us were thinning out very rapidly, and the trail beneath our hooves was well defined. After another minute of walking, the silhouettes of buildings could be seen.

“Can you shapeshift without trouble? Twilight is the only one who knows about you, and we’re in no condition to be fighting off a town full of ponies.” I asked, crouching behind a tree and adopting my standard Pegasus form.

We both eyed his splinted wing nervously, familiar with the effects shifting while injured could bring. None of the effects were altogether pleasant; extreme pain, the re-breaking and re-opening of limbs and wounds, and other things like that were common when adopting another form with recent injuries.

“Help me get this off, first. My wing’s gonna change shape and bust this open.”

I slid out from under his leg, telling him to sit on his flank and relax. I examined the splint, looking for buckles and knots in order to figure out how, if possible on his new wing, to reattach it. I found that Zecora had made it simple enough, and a few seconds and some knots pulled later, I had it disassembled.

“What about the bandage?” I asked, laying the wooden splint on the dirt.

He shook his head, glancing at the white wraps. “I’ll make my leg the same size. Any preferences?” He asked, in reference to his transformation.

“Obviously, it will help your wing if it were to stay visible, so be a Pegasus. That will help with keeping up the appearance of being brothers. Darker colors, similar eyes, standard things like that. Other than that, it’s up to you, but don’t forget the Cutie Mark.” I displayed the one I chose for myself a month ago, a rectangular, silver mirror.

He thought for a moment, nodding his head a few times and taking a deep breath. “This might really suck.” He was understandably nervous, and I pushed a medium-sized branch over to him. “Thanks a bunch. If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be going through this shit right now, anyway.” He commented dryly. I let his remarks slide, knowing that I’d be saying very similar things if we were to swap places. He picked up the branch with his serrated teeth, glanced at his injured limb once more, and shut his eyes.

The branch was splintered instantly, but the rushing sound of his shift did not obscure the cracking at all. His higher-pitched whine quickly petered out into a snarl, and his good foreleg shook slightly, almost synchronized with his growl.

Before me stood somepony that I would absolutely call my brother. Kuva had a dark greenish coat with a slight grey tinge, as well as no additional markings anywhere that I could see. When he finally opened his eyes after a moment, they matched the standard teal of a Changeling’s eyes perfectly. His hair was the same shade green as mine, with lighter, faded highlights and streaks. The mark on his flank scared me a little, however; Kuva had chosen a green flame to be his personal symbol. Although Cutie Marks were very ambiguous by nature, his was a little too resemblant of the fire that flashed when Changelings shifted for my taste.

The odds of somepony recognizing the fire and making the connection to Changelings are ludicrous. He’ll be absolutely fine.

“Fuck me!” He snarled, baring his now-flattened teeth. We both looked at the extended, feathered wing he had kept outstretched, and surprisingly, I wasn’t disgusted with the sight before me. Sure, there were slight ruffles in the same place there had been tiny, hairline fractures in the membrane, but other than that, the wing looked fine. There was no way for the splint to fit over the new limb, though; his Pegasus wing was almost double the size of his actual wing.

“Are you good, Kuva?”

His leg had stopped its rapid shaking by now, though his breaths were still deep. “Yeah.” He muttered through clenched teeth, clearly not intent on conversation.

I left it at that, nodding and moving back to his injured leg after destroying the splint. Though there was little chance of anything finding it and an abysmally small chance of its purpose ever being discovered, years of a lifestyle of secrets had taught me to cover any and all tracks.

“Okay, let’s move.”

Emerging from the wooded area, my brother and I crept out into civilization after seeing nopony else on the streets. Though we were both disguised, I had no doubt that we would be the center of attention anywhere in Equestria due to our predicament.

Kuva nodded, walking alongside me again. I steered us to the left once we hit an avenue, recognizing Sugarcube Corner and making a path to the library. What struck me as extremely odd was the fact that there was absolutely no life on the walkways of the town. I understand that Ponyville was not a bustling city of thousands of inhabitants, but there were no vendors open, no lights over restaurants, no paperfoals going about... Absolutely nothing.

“Something is very off right now.” I whispered. I kept my voice low as a reflex; suspicious places warranted caution on all levels, including the amount of noise one made. “Come on, let’s keep going.”

I picked up the pace, making sure Kuva could stay with me, of course. I looked at every storefront, in every houses' windows, searched every alley as we passed. The only thing to cross our paths was a lone cat. It mewled, inspecting us, but hastily took off after we showed it no interest.

Kuva slowed down slightly. “Peili, check out Canterlot.” He indicated the distant castle with an upward nod of his head.

We stopped about a block before the library as I turned my head to observe the capital. Large explosions of color decorated the sky around the high towers, and if I closed my eyes and concentrated extremely hard, I could just barely hear the sounds of cheers echoing over the empty, otherwise silent countryside.

“Do you hear that?” I asked, turning to Kuva. He nodded, brow furrowed and eyes shut while he focused. “If there are fireworks, then nothing overtly horrible could have happened, right? Maybe we just missed a holiday or something.” I spoke more for myself than my brother, hoping desperately that everything was fine.

Moving on after another moment observing the castle and the apparent celebration, Kuva and I reached the front doors of the library. I didn’t expect anypony to answer if I knocked, but I told Kuva to do so anyway while I flew up to the balcony. There was a loose pane of glass I had used to enter before that Twilight could easily fix with her magic, and I knocked it to the floor with a shove from my shoulder. Charms placed along the walls of the library would eventually alert Twilight of a break-in, but I doubt I had to worry about that yet.

I called out a few times for Spike and Twilight, but I got the exact reaction I expected; nothing. I could hear Kuva knocking on the door below, but as I made my way to the staircase from Twilight’s room, I noticed that same embroidered notebook from the night before Kuva found me. I could still sense the slight aura of magic pouring off of its pages.

That book creeps me out. Something’s up with it.

Even if I had wanted to touch or read it, Kuva was still pounding on the door below, and caution should always be placed over curiosity. I tore my eyes off the book, trotting down the stairs to the main room.

“I’m here, Kuva! There’s nopony-”

My heart leapt into my throat when I caught sight of the wooden floor beside the central table. Burned into the oak was Twilight’s Cutie Mark, a perfect, pony-sized replica on the floorboards. I couldn’t smell anything resembling fire or smoke, but there was no doubt about the heavy, lingering aura of an extremely powerful spell.

What the hell happened? Nopony in town, that weird book, and now this?!

I felt every limb go cold, and I swore, my heart froze over. Is Twilight dead?

I sprinted over to the door, pulling it open and all but dragging Kuva inside. He might have started to protest, but I couldn’t even hear him at this point; there was a slight ringing in my ears, along with a near constant buzzing from my left wing as it twitched.

“Kuva, listen to me! I need to get over to Canterlot right now and see what happened to Twilight and everypony else. I’ll be back as soon as I figure everything out. Don’t touch anything, especially the burn mark or the blue notebook upstairs. I’ll be back!”

Honestly, I don’t remember taking off. I can’t really remember anything past seeing Kuva’s bewildered face, but I suddenly felt strong winds in my face. The Castle was straight ahead of me, and thanks to Rainbow’s workouts, I could probably get to the capital in about ten minutes if I pushed myself.

The breeze felt like it was against me, but I was pushing myself as hard as I could at this point, so it was difficult to tell. The fireworks had died down, but in their place, I could make out another shape above the towers of the castle. It was too far away to yet be distinctive, but even so, if it was near the city, it must know what was going on. I changed my course slightly, moving to intercept whatever seemed to be heading towards me.

In a few moments, I could start to make out the colors of the... chariot, I think. There seemed to be Pegasi in front of the larger object, and as I got closer, I could make out the shape of another pony behind the two guards. The other pony was sitting on a gold and purple carriage, emblazoned with a magenta star, and I could see her lavender wings flared out to either side. She stood abruptly, presumably seeing me, and a wave of her hoof had the chariot hovering in the air.

I slowed down as my brain quickly registered the details of the mare on the chariot and the symbol of the front.

Lavender mare, six-point star, wings, horn... It wasn’t until the mare and I were within twenty feet of each other that it clicked.

“...Peili?”

Twilight looked absolutely dumbfounded at my presence. Her face and wings were really the only things I could see of her, and her voice was nearly drowned out by my heartbeat in my ears.

Before I knew it, the wind was stinging my face again. There was a mountain range in front of me, and the Everfree to my left. My destination wasn’t really set, but it was a safe bet that it was on the opposite end of the world from the Alicorn with Twilight’s face.

-(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(O)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)--(o)-

Evolutionary Ideals

by LEPShot

Out of the Swarm...

...And Into the Herd

I Get My Flank Kicked. Hard.

Expansion of the Operation

How To React When Confronted With An Alicorn Princess