Five Changelings In Equestria: The Monster Under The Bed

by Bucking Nonsense

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Romance, Changelings, Original Character, Comedy
Length: 14293

A changeling is asked to help scare away the monster hiding in a young filly's closet.

After being stranded in Manehatten, a changeling is saved by a young filly who is being terrorized by a monster hiding in her closet. After the horror has been taken care of, the changeling and the young filly become close friends... and the changeling and the filly's foster father become something more...

The second story in the the rebooted Cricket-Verse, aka the Nonsense-Verse

Published 2014-02-04 10:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-04-16 18:48:45 UTC

The Best Bed Bug Ever

"Achoo!"

If there is a single sight in the world more pathetic than a sick changeling on a rainy day, Ladybird had yet to find one. She was wet, she was miserable, and worst of all, she could not maintain a disguise...

Fun fact: when you sneeze, your brain quite literally shuts down for a split second. When a changeling loses consciousness, for any reason, their disguise drops. Thus, every time Ladybird sneezed, any disguise she had on would vanish... and she was sneezing at least once a minute. In this state, she couldn't secure any means of shelter, asides from a cardboard box in an alley.

In a way, she was very, very lucky. After Canterlot, she had ended up being launched at high speeds well away from the capital, and had ended up splashing down in the bay outside the city of Manehattan. Had her trajectory been even slightly off, she would have ended up as a rather spectacular stain on the side of one of the buildings. She was a pretty strong swimmer, and after reaching the surface, she was able to make her way to the docks. But from there, her luck had run out: in the last few weeks, she had encountered a number of problems, not the least of which was the fact she had picked up a cold during her swim that simply would not leave her be, and with winter on it's way, it was going to start getting worse...

Another fun fact: unlike mammals, insects store all of their fat in a single organ called a fat body. This organ performs a variety of biological functions. However, while changelings are insect-like, their diet is pure love energy: they don't have a fat body organ, since they never consume fat of any kind. This means that, while they don't gain weight like a pony does, they also don't have even a thin coating of body fat to keep their bodies warm. This makes them very susceptible to cold temperatures.

Ladybird was struggling to think of something that she could do. In other circumstances, she might "burn" love to boost her body temperature, but she'd already burned a good portion of her supply during the failed invasion. She had enough for a few days, at most, and if she burned it, she'd end up empty very quickly. During the winter, changelings would sort of "cuddle" together to stay warm in an underground hive. Not likely to happen here.

At a small gasp, the changeling looked up to see a small crystal pony filly staring at her. Well, that was just great. There was no way that she could deal with this: she felt too weak to run more than a dozen paces, and the way she was feeling right now, if she tried to capture the kid, the filly would probably trounce her. With another sneeze, the changeling resigned herself to what was about to come and closed her eyes. When she opened them, the little filly was gone...

...And was back a few minutes later with warm clothes, an umbrella, and cup of hot coffee.

"So let me see if I understand this," Ladybird said, a few minutes later, warming up nicely and walking home with the nice Crystal filly who had probably just saved her life. While a changeling can't digest food, they can swallow it, along with liquids, and after drinking a cup of hot coffee, they can be warmed up from the inside. She was already feeling a hundred times better. Her cold was greatly reduced, and she was only sneezing every few minutes now.

The filly, a cutie with a honey-colored coat, golden blond mane and tail, and big green eyes, had been smart enough to get hold of a full-body ensemble, enough to cover the changeling from hoof to head, with a nice big hood to top it all off, so in addition to being nice and toasty, nopony realized that a changeling was now walking down the streets. "You want me to get rid of the monster in your closet?"

The little filly, Honey Darling, nodded enthusiastically. "He comes out every night, and won't let me sleep in peace. He's really mean and scary. I tried telling daddy about him, but he just tells me it's my imagination."

Ladybird thought for a moment. This could be a once in a lifetime chance: an opportunity to have a warm place to stay for the winter was nothing to sneeze at, and she'd had it up to here with sneezing. But she'd have to play her cards just right...

"Tell you what," she said, a smile forming on her face, "I can do that for you. It sounds like you've got a standard bogeymane hiding in your closet. They're not that difficult to get rid of if you know how to handle them. Thing is, if I do that for you, a new one will probably sneak in after I leave, and you'll end up right back where you started..."

The little filly seemed a little sad after hearing about that, but then perked up, saying, "Well, what if you moved in?"

"Oh?" she asked, with mock surprise, "You'd let me stay in your house? A scary monster like me?"

Giggling, Honey said, "You're nowhere near as scary as the monster in my closet. Besides, if I have a nice monster like you under my bed, I'll be able to sleep a lot better at night."

Nice? Really? That was... actually, it was really sweet of her to say that.

"Alright, Honey," Ladybird said, with a genuine smile, "You talked me into it. I'll move in and take care of the monster in your closet. But where are you going to put me?"

Smiling, the crystal pony said, "There's plenty of room under my bed."

Well, Ladybird had slept in stranger places...

Getting inside of the apartment building that Honey Darling lived in had not been difficult. The weather was just cold enough to justify bundling up in general, and the filly was already wearing a scarf and earmuffs. Once inside the elevator, it was, according to Honey, a straight shot to the top floor.

This place was... ritzy. It was in one of the nicest parts of town. And when the filly hit the button to take them to the penthouse, Ladybird realized that this kid's parents must be loaded. Money didn't really matter to a changeling, since love wasn't something that could be bought at a store. However, she understood that money mattered a great deal to non-changelings. She may very well have hit the jackpot...

"Okay," Honey said, as the elevator rose, "When the elevator stops, you go left, I'll go right. My room is at the end of the hall on the right. I'll go and see daddy: he'll be in the kitchen, cooking dinner. Do you want me to sneak you something?"

It was sweet of her to ask, but Ladybird said, "No thanks, Honey. I don't eat pony food. We'll talk about what you'll need to feed me after we take care of the bogeymane. Deal?" Honey nodded, smiling.

After the elevator stopped, as directed, Ladybird turned left, and made her way to the little filly's room. It was a pretty standard little girl's room: There was a certain amount of pink-ness, and frilly-ness, to the entire room, as well as several stuffed animals of various sizes. A lot of this stuff seemed new. Not surprising: the Crystal Empire had only been back a few weeks. Odds were, Honey Darling was an orphan that had been adopted by somepony who lived here in Manehattan. Somepony with lots and lots of money. Looks like Ladybird wasn't the only one to hit the jackpot recently.

After shedding her nice, warm clothes, Lady walked over to the closed closet door, and placed her ear against it. She heard exactly what she expected: silence. Not the silence of mundane emptiness. Instead, it was the sort of silence from some supernatural force holding it's proverbial breath, keeping quiet so no one would notice that there was a lot more on the other side of this door than clothing. Definitely a bogeymane...

Honey Darling walked in, and saw the changeling listening at the door. Putting a hoof to her lips, Lady very quietly shushed the pony, then motioned for her to shut the door behind her. After the filly shut the door, Lady swung open the door, placed a hoof on the threshold between the closet and the room proper, and...

...It was like grabbing an eel. Something slick and slimy that wriggled relentlessly in it's efforts to escape your touch. It didn't want to be touched, or held, and if Ladybird hadn't known, with the sort of certainty that most would only assign to the sun rising each morning, that the monster was there, it would have escaped. Without that certainty, she wouldn't have been able to pierce the event horizon that separated the pocket dimension within from the real world. The thing inside straddled the line between real and unreal, and Ladybird was forcing it to come to this side of real, whether it wanted to or not. With a sound like a bubble popping, the imaginary space was disrupted, and the bogeymane was forced out.

No two bogeymanes look alike, but this one was odd, even by bogeymane standards. It appeared to be a chalk white pony with neither mane nor tail, and a blank white space where a face should be. It wore a well tailored suit with a bright red necktie. Two black tendrils wriggled from out of it's back. When it rose to it's hooves, it was clear that it's legs did not have anything like joints in them: the creature stood on legs like noodles.

With a smirk, Ladybird said to Honey Darling, "I thought you said this thing was scary?" The filly was staring at the creature in shock. Here was the monster that had haunted her for days, and the changeling had just dragged it out as if it were nothing. Well, the filly hadn't seen anything yet.

Picking up a teddybear, Ladybird smiled, and said, "What's your name, handsome?"

A voice sounded in her head. Well, not quite a voice: it was more like a collection of disjointed sounds cobbled together to form words, like a portrait formed by putting together a collection of pictures together in the right arrangement. It was, admittedly, kind of creepy, especially since most of those sounds were terrified whimpers. "I am Slendermane."

With a grin, Lady threw the teddybear as hard as she could. With a solid smack, as if she had thrown a brick, rather than a stuffed toy, the bear hit the bogeyman square in the lack-of-a-face. With a scream of anguish, the bogeymane fell to the ground, whimpering, as a scorch mark formed where it's face would be if it had one.

"Well, Skinny," Lady said as the filly watched, now grinning gleefully, "This is your eviction notice. I'm the only monster with permission to stay here, and I have no patience for a bully who preys on little fillies. If you're not out of here before bedtime, I'll hit you with this." She then picked up an over-sized fluffy bunny, almost as big as she was, with one hoof, and asked, "Are we clear?"

The bogeymane shuddered, then said, in it's cobbled together voice, "Crystal. Just let me gather my things, and I'll be gone."

She gave the horror a glare that made the creature shudder, then chuckled, and said with a snort, "Fine. Don't let it be said I ever forced anybogey out on the streets without letting them pack first. But don't dawdle."

The bogeymane nodded, then rushed back into the closet, closing the door behind him.

Honey Darling, staring up at the changeling in awe, grabbed hold of Lady's leg and started hugging her fiercely. "Thank you."

Lady had to admit, it was a good hug. "No problem. Now, would you be a dear and fetch me a blanket? I'm still a little bit chilly," she admitted, then sneezed. Well, that kind of ruined the tough girl image that she was going for, but the filly didn't seem to mind. "Ah, and maybe a book? The kind without pictures. It's been a while since I've cuddled up with something to read." The filly nodded, and dashed off.

"Daddy, the monster under my bed wants a blanket."

Well, that was a new one. As Brass Ring put down the book he'd been reading, the earth pony looked over at his foster daughter, and asked, "Oh? So now you're doing what the big, mean monster is telling you?" She'd been going on for a couple of weeks about this monster, and how scary it was. She'd taken to insisting that he leave the door open, and the hall light on, else the monster might jump out and eat her, or something.

It had been worrying. After the divorce, the young crystal pony had been having nothing but problems, this monster being the latest. Her grades at school had dropped noticeably, and he'd often peek in on her, only to see that she'd clearly just been crying. When his wife had left, making it clear she was never coming back, and that she didn't really care about him or the crystal pony that the two of them had adopted, it had hurt both of them deeply. You spend seven years with somepony, and you think you know them, only to find out they'd only hung around long enough that they could get half your money. He was still financially secure (he'd made a huge amount of money in the stock market, enough that, even with half gone, he was still in the league of Fancy Pants out in Canterlot), but their home in Manehattan just wasn't the same. His father had always told him that it was better to be poor and happy, than rich and miserable. At the time, he hadn't believed him, but now, well, he'd trade his penthouse suite and all his money just to hear his daughter laugh again.

His lovely daughter, Honey Darling, giggled(!), then said, "Oh no, daddy, that one's the old monster who lived in my closet. A new monster came in today, and got fed up with him really quick. She hit him with my teddy bear, yelled at him for being a big bully, then told him that if he didn't scram, she'd hit him with my fluffy bunny toy, too. He's packing up his things right now. She just wants a blanket because she's a bit cold."

Brass tried very hard to keep from laughing, but that was, quite honestly, the silliest thing he had ever heard. What an imagination she had. "Well, Honey, you know where the blankets are. And you might want to take her a pillow too. A monster like that sounds like a keeper. Best to stay on her good side."

Honey Darling nodded solemnly, then asked, "Oh, and she wanted a book, too. Preferably the kind without pictures."

Brass chuckled, then hoofed over the one he'd just been reading. It was a novel from one of his favorite authors, Page Turner, and he'd just read the last chapter when his daughter had walked in. "I just finished it. Feel free. I will want it back later, though. Oh, and dinner will be ready in an hour."

Honey took the book reverently, as though she were handling some sort of sacred relic, nodded, and then took off.

What an active imagination she had. But hey, if it helped her sleep better at night, he didn't mind if she started inventing new monsters to scare away the old ones...

"Okay, Miss Bird, I got you a blanket."

The monster under her bed smiled and took the blanket gratefully, then said, "Thank you, Honey. And you can just call me Lady."

Honey handed over the pillow, and then the book. Smiling cheerfully, she said, "Daddy also said you could have a pillow. And he had a book you could read, too. He will want it back, though."

Looking at the cover, Ladybird smiled and said, "Ah, Page Turner. Your daddy has good taste. I was hoping to get a peek at her latest." After a moment, she frowned, then asked, "Ah, if you don't mind my asking... um... where's your mom?"

Honey looked a little sad, then admitted, "She wasn't my real mommy, and she's not here anymore. Not-Mommy left a couple of weeks ago. She said that she never really liked daddy, or wanted to adopt a filly, she'd just played along so she could take daddy's money..." She looked as though she was about to cry...

Geez. What a terrible thing to do to a kid. Especially an orphan. Placing a hoof on top of the youngster's head, she said, "I'm sorry I brought that up. Look, sometimes a pony just doesn't know a good thing when they see it. I mean, a nice warm home, a guy as nice as your daddy, and a sweet kid like you? If I had that, I'd never turn my back on any of it, no matter how much money I was offered. If she's not smart enough to know something that simple, then you're better off without her. Besides, you still have a daddy who loves you, right?" Honey nodded, smiling. "Then that's more than enough for anypony."

After a moment, Honey Darling wiped at her eyes, smiled, nodded, then hugged Ladybird fiercely. "Thank you," she said. Lady could swear she felt tears trickling down her shoulder. More surprising, however, was the stream of love the little filly suddenly poured into her. While small in volume, it was... potent. More so than any love she had ever felt before. It was like suddenly having been given an expresso, when before all you'd ever had was weak tea. She felt like she could run a marathon... while juggling a trio of elephants. She'd have to keep herself on the lowest possible burn, or she'd start vibrating in place from the power she now felt...

Ladybird heard a sniffling sound from the closet. Turning her head, she saw the bogeymane standing there, wiping at where an eye would be with a hanky. "Great," the horror said, "Now I feel like a total jerk. I honestly had no idea. I'm sorry."

The changeling narrowed her eyes, glaring at the creature. After a moment, she raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Seriously?"

With a nod, the horror said, "Seriously. I'm a monster, but not that kind of monster. I thought I was just messing with a spoiled rich kid, not tormenting a filly who already had more than enough to be miserable about." Kneeling down, the creature rubbed Honey on top of the head with a tendril, and said, "I really am kind of fond of tykes like this one. Ah, but don't let that get out, or it'll ruin my reputation." Honey actually giggled, and then hugged the horror.

"It's okay. I forgive you."

It was hard to tell who was more surprised, Lady or Slender, but after a moment, the horror said, "Thank you. Look, I don't know if it'll ever be useful, but if you're ever scared, and you're someplace dark and scary, just say my name. I'll come running."

After a moment, Lady had a thought. "Hey, ummm, Slender, have you ever considered moving up to adults?"

The horror seemed surprised by the question, but then, after a moment, it's absence of a face twisted. If it had a face, the changeling would have sworn the creature was smiling. "You know, I had never really thought about it... but it might not be a bad idea. And I know just where to start." With a flick it's tendrils, the horror grabbed a suitcase out of the closet, along with a fedora. Slapping the hat upon it's head, Slendermane said, "Well, I should be going. A good night to you both..." And with that, the horror vanished.

Brass Ring was putting the finishing touches on supper. While he could certainly have hired somepony else to cook their meals, the earth pony had always preferred to do his own cooking and cleaning. It had always seemed a waste to pay somepony to do something that he was perfectly capable of doing himself. After he wiped a foreleg across his face to clear the sweat away, he saw, where before there had been only empty space, there was some sort of creature there. It was... ponyish, save for it's lack of features, and the pair of tendrils sprouting from it's back. While alien and terrifying, it didn't feel malevolent, as strange as that seemed. Maybe that was just the fact it was wearing a hat. Hats generally aren't scary or threatening.

After a moment, he asked, "Are you the one under the bed, or the one from the closet?"

He heard a chuckle in his head that sounded surprisingly pony-ish, then the words, "The closet. And I'm on my way out. I just wanted to apologize: I've been a poor tenant, and I can make no excuses for my terrible behavior. Ah, and I wanted to ask you just a quick couple of questions."

Nodding, Brass said, "Shoot." He'd not gotten as far as he had without having a great deal of courage. He'd stared down businessponies who thought they could destroy him financially in a heartbeat, and probably would have if they'd not lost their nerve before he did. He wasn't going to let something like this break his nerve.

The creature's voice sounded in his head, asking, "What was the name of your ex-wife?"

"Sugar Withers," Brass Ring said.

"And any idea where she is now?"

With a shrug, he said, "Last I heard, Van Hoover. Beyond that, I have no idea."

There was another chuckle, and the creature said, "More than enough to work with. Well, I should be going. I'll see myself out. Ah, and I would recommend that you treat the monster under your daughter's bed well: it's rare to find somebuggy willing to take on Slendermane for the sake of a child she just met. But that's just my opinion. Farewell." With that, the creature was gone.

After a moment, Brass walked over to his daughter's room. He could clearly hear giggling inside. Whatever was going on inside, it was clearly better than the crying he'd been hearing over the last few days. He knocked on the closed door, and said, "Honey, dinner's ready."

"Okay, daddy. I'll be right there," his daughter said. She definitely sounded much happier than before.

He turned away, then turned back a moment later, saying, "Oh, and tell the monster under your bed she's welcome to join us."

A week later, in Van Hoover, Sugar Withers, ex-wife to Brass Ring, and ex-mother to Honey Darling, was found curled up in a ball in her penthouse apartment, whimpering slightly, her normally bright purple coat and mane bone white. After an extended hospital stay, and a rather impressive number of medications, she was returned home, having been assured that the thing she had seen wasn't real. They were wrong. She insisted, from then on, that the lights in her home be kept on at all times, and had mysteriously developed an intense fear of individuals in well-tailored suits, as well as anypony wearing a necktie. She also refused to step into her walk-in closet, and in fact had it chained shut. Not that it helped in any way. He kept coming back to terrify her every night. She'd spend the rest of her long, unhappy life, trying, and failing, to have a good night's sleep. And all the money in the world is worth less than nothing if you're too miserable to enjoy it...

Slendermane, on the other hoof, was settling in just fine in his spacious new closet. He had to admit, moving up to adults had been the right decision: after all, it was rare to come across an adult with a teddy bear, or with any of the other traditional defenses against bogeymanes. As long as everypony around her kept believing he wasn't real, he could take as much fear as he wanted, whenever he wanted. It was all anybogey could want out of life...

The New Tenants

"So... the Headless Horse is real?"

Ladybird giggled at the question. When she'd walked into the dining room, undisguised, she'd been prepared for many things, but being invited to have a seat with Honey Darling and her foster father Brass Ring was not one of them. After introductions had been made, the two ponies and the changeling had been seated, and the three began chatting. Given recent events, it was no surprise that an unusual conversation topic came up...

"That's a simple question," Lady answered, "But it has a complicated answer. Now, I'm not an expert on the topic, so I can't say I know everything on the subject. However, I suppose I know a bit more than most ponies. A lot of this has a to do with magic, and the nature of an idea. This might get a little complicated, but try and bear with me."

Brass Ring and Honey Darling nodded, their attention focused on the changeling as they ate. While Lady thought that the food smelled delightful, being a changeling, she couldn't partake. Still, she was getting plenty of food from Honey: the little crystal pony was a practical dynamo of love energy.

Clearing her throat, Ladybird began. "Let's say that you have an idea of a scary creature. That idea will sit in your head, and odds are, it will quickly vanish: after all, it's just in your mind, you don't have anything to base it off of, so you know it's not real. However, let's say you decide to tell a story about that monster to somepony else, somepony who doesn't realize it's just a story. Because that pony believes it might exist, the idea begins to take the first steps toward existing."

Brass Ring, swallowing a mouthful of his salad, nodded, and said, "I think I can understand that. A lot of things start out as just an idea. It's like how a building starts out as just an idea in an architect's head, but once he starts sketching it on paper, it starts becoming real."

"Exactly," Lady said, smiling and nodding, "But that's just the start: Just one pony's belief isn't enough. Now, let's say you tell two ponies about this creature, and they both buy into it. Now, your description was probably pretty abstract, but the two ponies you tell will start adding details in their own heads. Then, both of these ponies tell other ponies, who add more details, and those ponies tell other ponies who add even more details, and before you know it, dozens, potentially hundreds of ponies now have the same general idea in their heads, with all sorts of stuff added on. At this point, a nightmare will form in the realm of dreams."

Honey Darling cocked her head to one side, and asked, "The realm of dreams?"

Giggling, the changeling said, "It probably has a more complex name, but that's what I've always called it. Whenever you go to sleep, your mind touches upon it. There are a lot of things there, most of which are good, or at least neutral. That includes the nightmares, believe it or not. A nightmare is basically just a complex idea with a lot of ponies believing in it at once, and because ponies believe that those creatures do scary things, then that's what they do. It's like... I guess you could say that it's just a character in a book at this point: it's only doing what the author says it should."

Brass Ring nodded in understanding, and asked, "Probably because it doesn't realize that it could do something else?"

"Ha, you've got it exactly right," Lady said, with a grin. "At this point, the nightmare doesn't have the ability to think like you or I. That kind of ability takes time: years, at least. The longer a nightmare is shared by a large number of ponies, the greater the likelihood that it will start to think, to question why it's doing what it does. Sooner or later, it decides to do something outside of the usual scope of its role... and finds that it can. At that point, it starts to think for itself, and to believe in itself."

Honey Darling raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Believe in itself?"

"Well, that's the best way I can put it," the changeling said, nodding, "It's a bit more deep than that, though: a lot of it has to do with philosophy, which is not my expertise. Once a nightmare believes in itself, though, it starts becoming real. When it becomes real enough to pass through the threshold between real and unreal, it becomes a bogeymane." Turning back to Brass Ring, Lady said, "So, in answer to your original question, Brass, the Headless Horse is somewhat real, but mostly unreal. Of course, the Headless Horse you would meet outside of a dream would be far different from what you would imagine. Bogeymanes will often give their own actions a far different rationalization than most ponies would: the Headless Horse would tell you that she doesn't chase little ponies because she wants to cause them harm, but because she desperately wants to cuddle anything cute that she sees."

Brass Ring raised an eyebrow and asked, "So you've met her?"

The changeling shrugged and said, "Once or twice, we've crossed paths. She's pleasant company, but a bit of an airhead. Not surprising, really, given that her head IS air."

Both Brass Ring and Honey Darling burst out laughing at that. After a moment, when the giggles died down, Honey asked, "So, first it's an idea, then a nightmare, then a bogeymane. What's next?"

Surprised, and confused, the changeling asked, "Next?"

"Well," Honey Darling began, a little more seriously than the changeling would have expected, "Once it gains the ability to pass through the threshold into what's real, what does it do next? When does it stop being unreally real, and becomes really real for real?" The crystal filly shook her head, then said, "Sorry, that made more sense in my head."

Chuckling, Brass Ring said, "I think what you mean is, is there a point where it stops being an idea completely, and becomes real?"

Ladybird rubbed her chin in thought and said, "That's a really good question, and one I don't have the answer to. What I can tell you is that a bogeymane has to absorb fear to maintain it's ability to cross the threshold, and it has to return back to the land of dreams regularly to maintain it's own existence. They also can't step out into the sun: artificial light, they can handle, but it weakens them. The sun is a completely different story: a nightmare can't exist in the light of day, and a bogeymane is just a stronger kind of nightmare. Too long in the sun, and the bogeymane kind of just... comes undone. Ceasing to be a nightmare completely is something I've never heard of, but like I said, I'm no expert."

Finishing the last bite of his food, Brass Ring nodded, and said, "Well, as fascinating as this has been, I think it's time for Honey to start getting ready for bed." Turning towards his daughter, he said, "Honey, be a doll and go get changed into your pajamas. Miss Bird and I will take care of the dishes. I'll come and tuck you in when we've finished."

The filly nodded enthusiastically, and headed off to her room.

"So," Brass Ring said, turning back towards the changeling, and said, "Now that it's just you and me, it's time we talked."

"Now," Brass Ring said, as the two of them washed dishes, "I can honestly say I appreciate what you've done so far for my daughter." He handed Lady a suds-covered plate to rinse off, then continued, "I've been worried about her, and while I didn't know there was a real monster in her closet, I did know that she's had a lot of problems lately."

Ladybird rinsed off the dish, then placed it on the drying rack. "She told me about the divorce," the changeling admitted with a sad nod. "Those are never fun, from what I've heard."

Brass sighed, and said, regretfully, "Yeah. And it's worse when it turns as ugly as ours did. The fact that my ex had admitted, in front of both myself and Honey, that she'd only stayed with the two of us as long as she had so she could wait out the pre-nup made it worse."

The changeling tilted her head to one side, then asked, confused, "Pre-nup?"

The earth pony shook his head, then said, "A prenuptial agreement. Basically, it's a contract: if a divorce does occur, it sets very specific conditions on who gets what. The pre-nup was my father's idea. I had just made my first million a few weeks before Sugar Withers and I met, and my dad insisted: he didn't like my ex, and was certain that she was only marrying me for my money. Turned out he was right."

Handing the changeling another dish, Brass continued, "Sugar hadn't liked the idea, but she went along with it. She'd raised a few objections, but I'd taken them as just being upset about how nopony seemed to believe that..." The earth pony stopped, then sighed, and said, "I guess there were signs, but I was just too blind to see them."

Taking the clean dish from Brass, Lady said, "Don't be too hard on yourself. Hindsight is always 20/20."

Brass chuckled, then, moving on to a large pot, said, "Thanks. Anyways, long story short, I owe you for helping my daughter, so... Honey said she made a deal with you, about letting you stay here?"

Lady shrugged, then said, "She said she had plenty of room under her bed, and I've slept in stranger places when the situation demanded it. With winter coming on, I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, as the old saying goes."

Brass nodded, and said, "Well, that will do for tonight, but tomorrow, I'll see about arranging something a little better for you. Like I said, I owe you, and I like to think I'm a pony who pays back his debts, no matter how large or small... and making my daughter happy is no small thing for me."

Lady rinsed out the pot after Brass handed it to her, and said, "Thanks. Look... I really don't want to cause you or your daughter any problems. She's a sweet kid, and you're a pretty nice guy yourself. There are things that I can do to keep what I look like, and what I am, under wraps, but... well, accidents can happen. I don't know what might happen if word gets out that I'm here, but I could get you in serious trouble if folks find out you were willingly harboring me, given what I am. So... what I'm saying is, if me being here becomes too much trouble, let me know. I'll take off."

Brass Ring sighed, then said, "As far as I know, there's no actual law against being a changeling. Given recent events, I admit, there might be a few problems if word got out that you're here, but legally, I don't think there would be a problem, even if you get found out. But I do appreciate you saying that."

Smiling, the changeling put the last dish on the rack and said, "Well, that's the dishes. Let's go tuck Honey in."

Honey Darling looked adorable in her little pink hoofie pajamas. Mind you, her facial expression was a lot fiercer than expected, but that was to be expected, given that she was holding a bogeymane at teddybear-point...

"Claws where I can see them," the filly said, holding her bear in front of her like a weapon... which in this case, it was. The bogeymane was cowering in the corner, it's forelimbs held up high.

Brass Ring stared at the little creature in shock, as did Lady, but for different reasons. For Brass Ring, it was simply because it was the second time in the last hour he'd seen a creature that he was certain, sixty-one minutes ago, didn't exist. For Ladybird, on the other hoof, it was because, well...

It was no larger than a colt Honey's age. In fact, it almost was a colt: It was ash gray, with a black mane. Red eyes, currently filled with abject terror, stared at the teddy bear, while a long, whiplike tail swished back and forth behind it. It's legs ended, instead of hooves, but instead with almost draconic talons. A pair of red, leathery wings flapped on it's back, but when at rest, they almost looked like a cape. From it's forehead there was a red horn, sharp and fierce-looking. While it's torso was pony-ish enough, just about everything else, including the shape of it's head, had a saurian aspect to it. All in all, it looked as though somepony had merged King Sombra with a dragon, then shrank the result to pint size...

Lady put two and two together...

"Young lady," Lady said, "Put that teddybear down this instant, and explain to me what one of YOUR nightmares is doing on this side of the closet."

Honey put down the teddybear, but kept it in easy reach if needed, then said, "That's what I'd like to know. I was in the middle of getting dressed when this... thing walked out of my closet. I remembered what you did with Slendermane, so I grabbed my Bobo Bear..."

It had walked out of her closet?

Lady walked over to the door of the closet in question, then waved her hoof through the threshold. There was nothing there, not even the tell-tale feeling of wrongness associated with an imaginary space...

Brass Ring, looking at the little creature, said, "I think it might have followed that Slendermane character here, then got lost in the closet."

Lady nodded, then turned over to the two ponies, and said, "That's what I'm thinking. The problem is, the big bogey has already shut the door behind him: there's no way back to where this little guy belongs here. The closet is just a closet now. But there's no way that thing could..."

Wait...

Placing a hoof against her forehead, Ladybird thought about this problem unrealistically...

King Sombra was real once. However, after his spectacular defeat, the evil monarch was gone... but not forgotten. Hundreds of ponies were still afraid of the villain, and were no doubt having nightmares about the dreaded wizard. All that fear had to go somewhere, so it ended up going to those nightmares instead. Fear granted the power to cross the threshold... So, potentially any nightmare of Sombra could, under the right circumstances, enter the real world, in spite of not being old enough to believe in itself. As it had with Exhibit A...

"Lady, hit it with the big fluffy bunny!"

Ladybird looked at the filly, who was glaring angrily at the little proto-nightmare. The creature was obviously terrified. After a moment, she said, "No."

Honey's head whipped around to look back at the changeling, and said, "But... but it's Sombra!"

Brass Ring shook his head and said, "No, it just looks like him. Its not any more like King Sombra than a picture of him is. And this isn't even a very good picture of him."

Turning back to the mini-bogey, Honey admitted, "Yeah, I guess I see your point. But what do we do with him?"

Ladybird had an idea...

"Well," the changeling said, a smile starting to form on her face, "He'll need a place to stay until we can find a way to send him back... and there's plenty of room in your closet." At Honey's shocked expression, Lady shrugged, and said, "Think of it like having a dog."

Looking at the creature again, Honey said, "Well, if he's a dog, he needs a name..."

Brass Ring, a smile forming on his face (likely from the absurdity of all this), said, "Well, how about Timor?"

Chuckling, Ladybird asked, "'Fear'? Seriously? Well, I guess it kinda works."

Tossing the teddybear onto her bed, Honey Darling crouched down a bit, then gestured to the micro-bogey and said, "Come here, Timmy." Surprisingly, the nightmare did so, then sat down in front of the filly. Honey Darling pointed at the closet and said, "Now, go into the closet like a good little monster, and go to sleep." Again, the nightmare did so, and promptly went to sleep, snoring loudly and enthusiastically.

Brass Ring sighed, then asked, in a theatrically loud voice, "Is there anything else that's planning on sleeping in my daughter's room? Anything else? Is there a monster in the hall closet that would like to join us? Feel free, we can have a big slumber party tonight."

There was a voice from the hallway that said, "No thanks, sir. I'm perfectly fine right here. I appreciate the offer, though."

Brass looked up at the ceiling, as if searching for some sort of sanity in a world now utterly devoid of reason, then sighed again, and said, "You know what, I could go in there and see what that is, but I don't think I could take any more shocks tonight. Honey, get in bed so I can tuck you in."

Giggling, Honey jumped on her bed, and was promptly tucked. Ladybird crawled under the bed, and, grabbing the blanket and pillow provided earlier, along with the book, and got herself comfortable. After a moment, Brass brought his head down to the changeling's level, then asked, "Would bunk beds be alright with you? I can have one brought in and put together tomorrow."

Rubbing her chin in thought, Lady considered, then nodded her head and said, "Sure. That could work."

As Brass Ring walked down the hallway to his room, he stopped by the hall closet, considered opening it, then decided against it. Instead, he asked, "Do you eat fear or love?"

After a moment, the voice said, "Nope. Roaches, sir."

Brass raised an eyebrow, then said, "But... we don't have any roaches."

Cheerfully, the voice said, "You're welcome, sir."

"Right," Brass said, then paused for a moment. "Keep up the good work. Umm, would you mind if the two of us talked tomorrow? I mean, I would tonight, but with all that's happened..."

"I understand completely," the voice said, it's tone surprisingly chipper. "I'll pencil you in, sir."

Night And Day

"Hey Lady?"

Ladybird closed the novel she was reading, smiling. Little known fact: changelings have spectacular night vision. While it would be pitch black for a pony, it was practically daylight clear for Lady.

It was surprising that Honey was still awake. They'd gone to bed a couple of hours ago. In fact, she was certain that she'd heard the little filly snoring gently over the last hour. Clearing her throat, Lady asked, "What's wrong, Honey?"

The filly hesitated, then after a moment, she asked, "Are you alright down there?"

The changeling chuckled, and said, "I'm fine, Honey. I've slept in much less comfortable places than this." This was the plain and simple truth: a changeling slept anywhere that was safe. Comfort was a distant second to that concern.

"Okay," the filly said, then hesitated, before asking, "Are you sure? Because if you want up here..."

Ah, so that was it. No matter what their species may be, children are the same all over.

Suppressing a giggle, Lady asked, "Did you have a bad dream, Honey?"

"...Maybe."

"Okay, I'll be right up," Ladybird said, chuckling to herself. She had remained awake, just in case this happened.

Pulling her blanket, pillow, and borrowed book up with her, the changeling got up on the bed with Honey. It was a little bit of a tight fit, but there was just enough room for the two of them. After a little bit, Honey started snuggling up against Ladybird, then suddenly stopped.

"Your skin is really hard," the filly said, surprised.

"It's called a shell, sweetie. It's supposed to be hard," Lady said, her tone still light.

"Oh," Honey said, then thought for a moment. "Can't you, I dunno, change it?"

Ah, now there's a tricky subject. "It doesn't work that way, Honey. I can make myself look any way I like, but that's as far as it goes. I could make myself look like a pink fluffy pony with a coat of fur so thick that you could lose yourself in it, but it wouldn't change the fact that I'm still a thick-shelled bug underneath. Sorry."

"I didn't say it was bad," Honey said, giggling. "It's kind of nice. It just takes some getting used to."

Well that was sweet of her to say... and it seemed she really meant it, given that the filly promptly went back to sleep without further incident. It felt good to be looking after a little one again. Of all the things she had missed since the failure at Canterlot, the feeling of a little hatchling snuggled against her was something she'd missed more than anything else...

"Okay, Honey, have you got everything you need?"

Brass Ring smiled as his foster daughter checked over everything again. Backpack? Check. School books? Check. Watch? Check. Whistle? Check. Coat? Check. Lunch money? Check. Adorable little hat? Check. She was all set.

Grinning, the crystal filly said, "I've got everything I need, daddy."

Brass Ring knelt down, then gave his daughter a hug, and said, "Alright then. Have a good day at school, sweetheart. I'll see you this afternoon." With that, she was out the door and riding down the elevator.

Ladybird, a look of concern on her face, asked, "Are you sure it's alright for her to be walking to school on her own?"

The earth pony turned towards the changeling, and said, smiling, "Absolutely. The school is only a couple of blocks away, and there's an officer of the guard on every corner. The streets of Manehattan are among the safest in Equestria. Besides, she won't be walking alone: A half dozen other kids who live in this complex go to the same school she does, and her friend Babs will meet her at the front desk, with her big sister."

Smiling, Lady said, "That's good to hear." After a moment, the changeling looked a little uncomfortable, and asked, "So, um... what now?"

Brass Ring shrugged, and said, "I was invited to give a presentation today at Manehattan University to a group of business students. Nothing spectacular, and it shouldn't last more than an hour, really. Still, I'll be gone a good part of the day." After a moment's though, he added, "You're free to come along, if you want. It would be kind of dull here, all by yourself. Ah, Timor notwithstanding, of course."

The little proto-bogeymane was hiding in the closet. While he had responded well to Honey this morning, and enjoyed receiving attention from the filly, he didn't seem to want to leave the shadows. Given what sunlight could do to a nightmare, it was hardly unexpected. Timmy would probably be more active after sunset.

"Of course," Ladybird said. "I'd be happy to come. With my cold gone, I shouldn't have any problems maintaining a more appropriate appearance." With a flash, she put on a disguise, giving herself the appearance of a pegasus with a light red coat with a dusting of black freckles, along with a long, flowing black mane and coat. A cutie mark in the shape of a ladybug completed the ensemble.

"Wow," Brass Ring said, his jaw dropping. He'd heard about the changeling ability to change their appearance, but seeing it up close was something else entirely. The change in her appearance was nothing short of spectacular. She'd gone from an intimidating bug to a total knockout in the blink of an eye...

Chuckling, the changeling said, "Don't get too enamored, handsome. It's only skin deep."

Yeah, but what a skin...

Gathering his wits, Brass said, "That should do nicely. After the lecture is over, my schedule is clear for the day. On the way home, we'll swing by a place I know and pick up a bunk bed for you and Honey. I can put it together when we get back."

Raising an eyebrow, Lady asked, "Couldn't you pay someone to do that?"

With a raised eyebrow of his own, Brass asked, "Where would the fun in that be?"

"Sorry about not being able to walk home with you yesterday," Babs Seed said, blushing a little bit in embarrassment. She was walking along with Honey and the other students to school, escorted by the earth pony's older sister.

Honey Darling giggled, and said, "It's quite alright. When the principal asks you to talk with her, what can you do?" After coming home from a visit with family members in Ponyville, Babs had finally started standing up for herself against the bullies that had been pestering her, by telling her sister about the problem, as well as the teacher. Within a short time, the bullying had stopped for her... and when the bullies started targeting other kids, she'd told her teacher about the problem as well. Within a few days, the bullying behavior had stopped completely for the entire class.

Beaming with pride, Babs said, "Well, it was good news this time: The principal asked me to become a hall monitor." That got a gasp of awe from Honey: That was a pretty big honor, from what she'd been told.

Grinning cheerfully, Honey exclaimed, "That's great! I'm so happy for you!" After a moment, Honey said, "I made a new friend on the way home yesterday. Remind me at recess, and I'll tell you all about her."

Timur crept slowly out of the closet, careful to avoid the sunlight coming in from the window. He didn't like the sun: when he touched it, the light burned. Light bulbs and candles were bad enough, but sunlight was the worst thing ever...

Now that he was alone, save for whatever it was that dwelt in the hall closet, he decided that it was time to do some exploring. The world was large, and interesting, and he wanted to see more of it. His first stop was the bookcase. The young filly had a collection of books that had apparently been selected at random for a small child of indeterminate age. Since Timmy couldn't read, most of them were of little interest. As he turned away, his tail thumped the shelf, and a book fell off the top shelf and landed, wide open and pages side up. A voice emerged from the book...

"This is the letter 'A'. It's a vowel, and it can go 'Ai' or 'Ah'. Try it for yourself."

Timur stared in shock at the mysterious speaking relic, then decided to try doing as it requested.

"Ai. Ah."

The book exclaimed, "Great job!" Tim beamed with pride. He wasn't used to being praised. The book continued, with a new challenge. "A is for apple. Can you say 'Apple'?"

A far more challenging task. Undaunted, the bogeymane mustered all of his strength, and said, "Ah-Pul."

"Great job!"

"My father," Brass Ring began, addressing the assembled students in the auditorium, "was a fairly successful businesspony himself, and he taught me three very important rules. Don't try to sell shoes to a snake; don't try to sell flippers to a fish; and strive to create repeat customers, rather than trying to make a quick bit. Now, these might seem like very simple rules, but they are so often overlooked. Let's take a look at what they really mean."

"Don't try to sell shoes to a snake is very simple: Don't try to sell someone something they don't need." Gesturing towards the students around him, ponies all, he said, "If somecreature tried to sell you a pair of mittens, would you buy them?" This got an assortment of laughs from the students: ponies, since they have hooves instead of hands, had no use for such things. "Exactly. A set of four winter boots is all a pony needs to keep our hooves warm. Gloves are of no use to us. But every now and then, someone, possibly because they didn't do any real research, sends a crate over here with the other winter wear. Now, there's a small market for gloves, since not every creature in Equestria is a pony, but it's still a very small market, and more money can be made selling them elsewhere."

Brass allowed a brief pause as the students took notes, then continued. "The second rule, don't sell flippers to a fish, can be a little bit trickier. It basically means, don't try to sell someone something that they already have. To explain this in detail, I'll give you an example: the story of how I made my first million." The students leaned forward, listening intently.

"Now, as many of you know, Minotauria has a culture built upon the idea of machismo: a minotaur is supposed to be very strong, athletic, courageous, and all that other good stuff. So, you would assume that items such as barbells, exercise equipment, sporting goods, and the like would sell if exported there, right?" There were a few nods in the crowd. "That same assumption has been made by dozens of former merchants who are now paupers. Minotaurs are fully capable of producing their own goods in those fields, and, since they don't have to be imported, are able to charge lower prices when selling to their own kind. If fact, if you were to pick up a barbell anywhere in Equestria, and check where it was made, it would tell you that it was made in Minotauria. I made my first million when I invested in a venture to do something that, at first glance, seemed insane: selling more... feminine items to minotaurs."

Clapping his hooves, the lights went low, and a projector displayed against the wall behind Brass an image of a minotaur. The one in question was a titanic specimen, with muscles layered upon muscles, with even more muscles atop them. The royal robes and crown that he wore made his identity clear, but Brass provided it anyways. "This is King Ferdinand of Minotauria, one of the mightiest beings in the world, and one of the few individuals that can claim to be as old as Celestia and Luna. He is regarded by his subjects as one of the most masculine minotaurs to have ever lived."

The projector went through several images: Ferdinand, in his garden, smelling flowers; Ferdinand, in a black unitard, dancing in a ballet; Ferdinand, before an easel, painting a sunset; Ferdinand, wearing an apron and baking cupcakes; Ferdinand, smiling, petting a fuzzy kitten sitting in his lap; and many others besides. This got chuckles from the assembled students, and when the projection stopped, Brass was smiling a bit himself.

"Minotaurian culture is built upon a very complex concept of machismo. Being macho is about more than just roaring loudly and punching others. One of the greatest accomplishments that a minotaur can hope to aspire to is being so masculine that you can perform tasks normally considered feminine, and still look macho doing them. In fact, it can be considered the ultimate expression of masculinity, in their eyes. However, minotaurs don't produce many such items themselves, so by exporting them, the expedition I invested in was able to give a massive return on the original investment. So much so that I personally funded a dozen other such expeditions, all of which were equally successful. If you want to be successful, find something that somepony, or somecreature, out there will want, and supply it."

That got more than a few nods from the assembled students. It made a lot of sense, when you really sat and thought about it.

"The third concept is one that far too many shady businessponies overlook, and end up getting themselves in hot water. For this, I'll give you a very recent example. Two rather shady characters, Flim and Flam, decided to go to the Crystal Empire and sell modern day conveniences to the Crystal Ponies. This would have been a good idea, but they decided to sell those items at absurdly inflated prices, to the point where only the very wealthy could afford them. The two brothers might have gotten away with it, had it not been for the fact that Princess Cadance and Shining Armor passed by."

A few chuckles emerged from the students assembled. The results of that incident had been in the papers recently...

"Now, what these two brothers failed to realize was, a thousand years ago, there were some rather... quaint methods of dealing with salesponies who tried that kind of thing. The law didn't protect shady businessponies like it does now, and it was often common practice to tar and feather the perpetrators, 'confiscate' their goods and money, and run them out of town." This got a few shocked gasps from the assembled students. "Different times, you understand. In those days, everypony had to rely on each other, and if you proved yourself to be dishonest, then the common practice was to make certain you weren't going to take advantage of somepony else. The Crystal Empire was actually rather relaxed about such things: other villages in Equestria were much more severe. Cadance and Shining Armor prevented the classic punishment from occurring, of course, but the brothers were required to refund the overcharge, and sell the rest of their goods at a more reasonable price. Given a choice between that and a tar and feathering, the brothers agreed. Afterwards, a restriction was imposed on travel to the city for the next five weeks while the populace was educated regarding the wonders of the modern world, as well as while their laws, regulations, and even their currency were brought up to current standards."

This caused a murmur of discussion, which Brass allowed to continue for a minute or two, then continued.

"This wasn't a popular decision, at least with a number of merchants who were planning similar schemes to the one Flim and Flam attempted, but it proved to be necessary: history is filled with cases where a more advanced culture began trade with a recently opened, less educated one... and exploited the less advanced culture mercilessly. Celestia wasn't about to stand by while such a thing happened to our fellow ponies, especially when it is instigated by our fellow ponies. Besides, it will take time before the city would have goods to trade with the rest of the world: Sombra had prevented his subjects from planting more than the minimum necessary to feed themselves, and while the mines they were forced to labor in provided ample raw material, it will take time to turn that material into finished goods for sale. When the restriction lifts in five weeks, you can expect a massive economic boom, both for the city, and for the rest of Equestria."

Again, there was a forest of nods.

"Had Flim and Flam decided, rather than trying to make a quick bit off of the Crystal Ponies, to instead work on building a long term relationship with the Crystal Ponies based on fair and honest trade, they might have gotten their hoof in the door on an untapped market of consumers that could very easily have made them wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. Instead, no pony in the city will trade with them, now that they know that the two can't be trusted. Their greed for an immediate profit has ruined that opportunity for them."

Brass cleared his throat, then continued. "The best advice I can give you is to treat every customer you deal with fairly, and honestly. Nopony wants to deal with a swindler, and word can spread very, very quickly if you trick someone out of their hard earned money. The inverse is also true: a reputation for being a fair, honest businesspony will get you far more customers, and far more repeat business. That reputation can take a very, very long time to build, and a second to destroy. Build it, treasure it, and protect it."

That got a solid round of applause. Brass smiled, then said, "Now, since we have a bit of time left, I thought we might do a thought exercise. I mentioned earlier how I earned my first million by opening a market that nopony knew existed. Now, let me show you something."

Another clap of the hooves, and an image of a young changeling with a big blue ribbon, holding a sign that said "Free Hugs" appeared on the wall behind him. While there were a few glares at the image, there were far more "awwww"s and "how cute"s. Ling was an adorable little changeling, and had become something of a media darling since her appearance a few weeks ago.

"This," Brass said, "is Ling. She is a changeling that was stranded in Canterlot after the invasion. She has since been adopted, and is being raised by ponies. Because of her, we have learned far more about changelings in the last four weeks than any other species has learned in a thousand years... and has given us hope that one day, changelings may cease to be enemies, but instead be our friends."

A loud murmur of conversation followed that pronouncement. After a moment, Brass Ring cleared his throat, loudly, and everypony immediately fell silent.

"So this is my question: What would you sell to a changeling?"

The silence that followed was deafening, and after a moment, a mousy looking earth pony with big eyeglasses that gave her an owlish appearance raised a hoof. In a shy voice, she said, "Cosmetics."

That got a huge laugh out of the assembled ponies... except for Brass, whose expression remained neutral. When the laughter died down, Brass asked the blushing earth pony, "Why?"

Hesitantly, the mare continued, "Um, well, I just thought that, you know, changelings can make themselves look like anyone, but that's like wearing a costume: they can make themselves look like somepony beautiful, but that doesn't change what they look like underneath. But what girl doesn't want to make themselves look pretty? To feel good about how they look? Cosmetics would be a start, but there's also stuff like dresses and jewelry, too..."

Brass clapped his hooves together, and said, "Well said. Anypony else have any ideas?"

"Z is for Zebra. Can you say Zerbra?"

"Zee-bra!"

"Very good!"

Babs was stunned to hear about Honey's new friend during recess, to say the least.

"You mean to tell me, she's almost as old as your dad... and she doesn't have a cutie mark?"

"Um, well," Honey began, "I don't know if changelings get cutie marks..."

Grinning, Babs asked, "Well, there's one way to find out, right?"

"So," Brass asked, grinning, "How much of that was stuff you'd be interested in?"

The pair were walking home, Brass pulling a cart with the new bunk bed behind him. He'd made certain that the bed would be large enough for an adult to sleep in, but had a ladder that would allow a filly Honey's age to be able to climb up and down effortlessly, even in the dark. Safety first.

Ladybird blushed a little, before admitting, "You know, I honestly hadn't thought about what kind of things I'd want to buy if I had money of my own, but I admit, that first girl may have the right idea. Just because I'm, ah, unique, doesn't mean I don't like looking good from time to time."

Chuckling, Brass said, "It was a very astute observation, wasn't it? I think she has a real future ahead of her."

Rolling her eyes, Lady said, "Well, obviously she does, now that you've offered her an internship."

The mare, Bright Idea, had been ecstatic at having been offered the opportunity to work as an intern for one of the companies that Brass owned. If she was as smart as her name implied, she'd definitely go far...

The earth pony laughed out loud, and said, "Well, I have an eye for talent, and I try my hardest not to let an opportunity pass me by."

Meanwhile, in a seedy dockside warehouse...

Monster Mash looked at the photograph, a grin upon his face. "Finally. Are you certain she's the one?"

His underling, but one of many, bowed low, his dull grey robes obscuring his appearance. "As certain as we can be, milord. It took considerable effort to confirm it, given the, ah, antiquity of the records available, but the signs are all there, the most important of which is the collection of creatures gathering around her..."

Mash laughed aloud, a grin upon his face. His black coat seemed to drink the light from the room, and his splash of red mane and tail rippled as he shook with mirth. After a moment, he regained his composure, and asked, "Oh yes, a changeling, a bogeymane, and... what else was it?"

The cloaked minion said, "We are uncertain, milord: it is not something common to this area. However, we feel that, given an opportunity, the creature would freely join us."

The tall, powerfully built unicorn considered this, then dismissed it as unimportant. "That is of little importance at the moment. The creatures that surround her, the pony that has adopted her, they are secondary concerns. Honey Darling is all that matters. I will need to speak with her, before Nightmare Night ends."

The underling knelt again, and said, "It will be as you say. However, I should mention that it will not be as simple as we would like: she is watched over nearly every hour of the day, as well as the night."

Mash's eyes narrowed, and with a flash of his horn, his hooves transformed into vicious looking claws, his flat teeth turned sharp and cruel, and his eyes turned wickedly reptilian. His coat became scales, with a line of spines running down his back. The voice that echoed from his mouth struck a primal chord of terror in the heart of the listener.

"AND YOU THINK THAT MATTERS TO ME? DO YOU THINK THAT ANY FORCE IN THIS CITY COULD STOP ME?"

The minion cowered, and said, "Please forgive me, milord, I meant no disrespect."

The unicorn's horn flashed again, and Monster Mash returned to normal, his face wreathed in smiles once again. "Apology accepted. I suppose I should not be so quick to anger. You did raise a valid point. It would be best if this is resolved without making a scene." Mash's expression turned serious, as he continued, saying, "However, we are running on a very strict deadline. She must part with her birthright, willingly, before midnight, Nightmare Night, or it will become a part of her forever... something that cannot be allowed. That gives us only three days..."

"...Luckily, I have a plan."

Meanwhile, Neffy, the Jorogumo, also known as the monster in the hall closet, had butterflies in her stomach, both literally and figuratively: an insectivore could not afford to be picky. She had given herself away when she had spoken yesterday. She was now incredibly nervous: depending on the results of the interview this the evening, she may be asked to leave. She couldn't say why it was so important that she stay, but the thought of leaving here was more than she could bear...

She heard the door to the penthouse open and close, and, steeling herself, she got out of the closet.

Brass Ring's jaw dropped. The creature that stepped out of the hall closet was... unexpected, to say the least.

She looked almost like a pony, unless you gave her a closer examination. Her color pattern was dark blue with bands of yellow across her legs and her body, with red spots speckling her torso. She was in her early teens, maybe eight years older than Honey was. And were it not for the fangs, she'd look almost normal.

Ladybird broke the silence, asking, "What are you?"

Blushing, the creature bowed, and said, "You can call me Neffy, sir. I'm a Jorogumo."

Brass Ring asked, "What's a Jorogumo?"

Neffy sighed, then said, "It's easiest just to show you, sir." Her legs bent at odd angles, then split, so that instead of four, she now had eight, and her eyes split apart, so that instead of two, there were now eight of those as well. Her torso changed, and swelled, and within a few seconds, they were staring at a spider... that came up to Ladybird's shoulders in height.

"Oh," Brass said, more than a little startled. That was not something that an arachnophobe should have sprung on him without warning. "Okay. Ummm, would you mind, ah, changing back... before I start freaking out?"

The spider nodded, and changed back promptly. Once she was suitably arranged in a pony-ish configuration, she sat down, her expression nervous.

"Okay," Brass said, regaining his composure, "Now, before we start talking about what you were doing in my closet, and whether or not you can stay there, I have a bunk bed I need to put together. I would consider it a favor if you would help me out." Given that he was now allowing a changeling to stay in his house, along with a bogeymane, he supposed that he should keep an open mind...

Neffy nodded, smiling, "I'd be happy to, sir."

Some Assembly Required

"So, what were you doing, hiding in the hall closet?"

Lady couldn't help but notice how nervous Neffy looked when Brass asked that question. It was clear that the jorogumo was not the most outspoken at the best of times, and this definitely wasn't the best of times for her. As the three worked together to assemble the new bunk bed, Brass had decided that it was time to play twenty questions, regardless.

Lady wasn't certain how she felt about the spidery creature. While she certainly didn't seem harmful, the arachnid made her uneasy. Possibly because, while Ladybird was a creature that 'ate' love, the jorogumo was a creature that ate living creatures in a much more literal sense... including ponies and changelings, potentially...

While Neffy held two pieces of wood together for Brass Rink to connect them, she said, "Well, it's a bit of a long story. My clan back in Nippon is more than a little backward. They think that the world was just fine the way it was a few centuries ago, when yōkai like us were preying upon the weak and defenseless, and that nothing should ever change. In spite of the fact that we can survive just fine on things other than ponies, there were more than a few who were violently against the change in diet, even if it meant peaceful coexistence. My mother and father might not have been quite as bad as the rest, but when my grandparents or the rest of the clan put pressure on them, my parents caved, every single time. And nobuggy ever bothered to ask me how I felt about any of it."

With a shrug, the jorogumo said, "My grandparents were planning, as a 'coming of age', to have me eat a pony. That's not something I wanted on my conscience. Cockroaches were fine with me, always have been. There's tons of them, and everypony considers them a pest. But eating a pony? I don't care if every jorogumo was doing it a thousand years ago, it's wrong, it always was wrong, and it will always be wrong." Sighing, Neffy continued with a regretful voice, "But if I refused, tradition says that my parents would have to eat me. I'm... fairly sure that my parents would refuse, but that would mean the rest of the clan would eat them and me together. So... I decided to run away just before the ceremony."

Ladybird, now a bit puzzled, asked, "But why come to Equestria?"

Giggling, Neffy said, "Well, in spite of the disapproval of my grandparents, I was able to make friends outside of the clan, including a kitsune named Momo. She and my other friends pooled together enough money to buy a ticket on a boat overseas, and Momo asked her great uncle, Kokkuri, where I should go."

Brass, having finished putting together the bottom bed, handed a plank over to Ladybird, then asked, "And why would this Kokkuri character know where you should go?"

With another giggle, Neffy said, "Well, Kokkuri-san is a really, really, really famous onmyoji. I guess you'd say he's the Nippon version of a wizard. And a scholar. And a sage. He does a little bit of everything. He's probably as old as princess Celestia, or maybe even older. He's also, in addition to all of that, the single greatest oracle in Nippon, if not the entire world. I can tell you for certain that if there's anything that he doesn't know about the past, present, or the future, it probably isn't worth knowing. Since Momo is his favorite niece, he decided to share a bit of his wisdom with us, and said that the best place I could go would be Equestria. Didn't say why, just that it was the one place I could go where I could find a safe haven."

Neffy looked more than a little sad about that, though. Lady could understand why: Even if she was safe, and her parents were probably safe as well, it meant she would never see them, or her friends, ever again...

"Okay, so that explains why you ended up here in Equestria," Brass said, nodding, before hammering in a few nails. When he finished, he asked, "But why were you here in my hall closet?"

The jurogumo looked a little awkward as she admitted, "I'm not sure. From the moment I got off the boat a week ago, I just felt... drawn here. I couldn't really explain it. I mean, I can leave here, and for a little while, I'll be fine, but then all of a sudden, without realizing it, I start walking back here. By the time I realize what's happened, I'm back in the hall closet. Sorry, sir."

Brass Ring rolled his eyes, and said, "For the last time, Neffy, please drop the 'sir'. I'm not even thirty yet, and hearing a girl your age call me 'sir' makes me feel old."

Ladybird giggled a little at that: she'd assumed that Brass was a bit older, being a father and all, but she'd been surprised to find the pony was only twenty-seven. Ladybird was only twenty-three herself...

"Well, if you don't know why you're here, you don't know," Ladybird said, philosophically. "It's a weird world we live in, so there might be some sort of magical thing going on. It'll probably pass, given time."

Brass nodded in agreement, and admitted, "Yeah, that sounds about right. Given our recent bogeymane problem, it's safe to say that something weird is going on. We'll give it a week or two, and if things persist, I can look into getting an expert sent in to see what's going on, and how it can be fixed. Not that I have a problem with you staying here, mind you," the earth pony added quickly, surprising both Neffy and Lady, "You're very polite, which is hard to find these days, and you've more than earned your keep, keeping the roaches under control. I just feel that, if you're staying, it should be because you want to, not because some supernatural force compels you to."

Bowing deeply, Neffy said, "Thank you very much, Brass-sama. I greatly appreciate your hospitality."

With a chuckle, Brass said, "Please, you can just call me Brass."

Ladybird smiled as she helped secure the last portion of the wooden frame of the bunk bed. She couldn't argue with Brass' assessment of the spidery creature, and... well, it would be nice to have somebuggy to talk with who was just as much an outsider here as she was...

Timor was surprised to hear about this 'Nippon' place. While the bogeymane understood that there was more to the world than just the closet and the room beyond, it was startling to hear that there was so much world outside to see. Having come across the magic talking book had awakened a deep sense of curiosity in the creature, and the revelation of the wide world outside of this room had only served to strengthen it. He wanted to learn more...

"Well, I'll ask her if it would be alright," Honey Darling said, a little ambivalent about the idea. It might sound weird, but Honey wasn't sure she wanted to 'share' Ladybird just yet. Call it childish, but she was, in fact, a child, after all. "I'll have to ask her first, and if she says it's okay, you can come over. It's not that I think she'll say no, of course, it's just that, you know, with what happened a little while ago, she's... I guess you'd say she has every reason to be a little bit worried about others knowing about her."

Babs Seed in nodded in understanding, then said, "It's cool. Let me know what she says."

"Milord, I have news most urgent!"

Monster Mash turned towards the approaching underling, surprise clear on his face. What in the world could be this urgent, that they would interrupt him during his meditation? "Out with it," he said, suspecting the worst of all worst possible news...

"Milord," the underling said, bowing low. The outline of wings under his cloak, combined with the beak poking out from the hood announced him to be a griffin, or at least something like one. "The Jabberwock is on the move. While it is difficult to say what his intended destination may be, it is clear that he is moving in this direction." The underling immediately ducked, fearful of his master's temper.

"Rise, and go tell the others to ready themselves," Monster Mash said, his voice icy cold. "We have three days to complete our primary objective, and this changes nothing. Fearsome as he may be, the Jabberwock is but one. So long as we secure our goal, we are more than a match for him. And tell Bandersnatch that I need to see him immediately: this will require an adjustment to our plans, so I will need to brief him on his role."

Relieved, the underling bowed deeply, then turned, and left quickly, his back legs briefly showing as hooves, rather than lion's paws, and revealing him as a hippogriff. Monster Mash had forgotten he'd had one of those in his ranks. There were so many different creatures amongst his followers, it was difficult to keep track of them all...

Monster Mash turned away, staring out a window, towards the sun. Muttering to himself, the unicorn said, "Celestia will not be pleased, nor will Luna, but this will require a bit less subtlety than I had planned. If father gets his paws on her first..."

Luna was enjoying her evening tea before she began her duties for the night. Canterlot palace was a bustle of activity during the day, but the nights were, much like the princess herself, much more calm and controlled. Much more formal. An aide approached with the day's news.

"I have several important pieces of new for you tonight," the aide said, bowing deeply. "Things are going well for the preparations for Nightmare Night. No major concerns to report on that front. The few minor issues that remain are being dealt with as promptly and efficiently as possible"

Luna nodded, satisfied to hear that. After last year's incident, she wanted to make certain that nothing would go wrong...

"The Crownless King has been spotted in Manehattan. As Celestia suspected, it appears that he has no intention of causing a scene. While his exact reasons for being there are unknown, he and his underlings have kept to themselves. We will continue to monitor the situation."

Monster Mash, the Crownless King, the Landless Lord, the Sovereign of the Open Road, lord of all exiles and outcasts, had never been a popular figure with the royalty of the world, since, as per ancient law, his kingdom was everywhere and nowhere. He and his followers were free to travel anywhere they pleased, so long as they did no harm to anyone. While definitely an irritation to many leaders, since part of his role meant that he took in those who were punished unjustly, or were exiled or ostracized through no fault of their own, he nevertheless was a vital figure, who played a major part in maintaining the harmony of the world.

After all, when you don't fit in, and have noplace else to go, who else can you turn to but other exiles like yourself?

"Keep me posted," Luna said, nodding. Before taking a sip of her tea, she said, "Continue."

The aide bowed, then said, "Finally, there was an odd incident in Van Hoover. A group of street thugs were found, covered in injuries implying that they were attacked by a small army of creatures, but upon questioning, insisted that there was only one attacker. It appears they tried to rob this individual of a fine gold watch he carried, and their intended victim set about defending himself with surprising ferocity. What makes this so unusual is that, when asked to describe the individual, they began speaking jibberish. It's believed to be magical in nature, so the local guard wished to know if you might know what it means. I have a copy of what they were muttering, when you're ready."

Luna said, "Proceed," then took another sip of her tea. She knew a dozen spells that could cause the effect that was being described, and what these thugs had been muttering would go a long way in determining which spell was used...

The aide cleared his throat, and began, saying, "'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe."

The aide got no further than that, as Luna performed what is commonly known as a spit take, and the liquid in quesion erupted with such speed that it went all the way from the throne to the doorway on the opposite side of the throne room, and hit with enough power to knock the doors open wide. Rising to her hooves, the princess barked out, "I want all guards on high alert. Notify the Manehattan constabulary to ready for a major magical event. Send them a copy of Order 'Carroll', so they'll be briefed on what to expect. Get a message to the Crownless King notifying him of this immediately. While I expect he is aware, it is best to take no chances. When Celestia wakes, notify her of all of this as well. Tell her that the Jabberwock is in Equestria. She will know what it means, and what must be done."

This was the last thing she needed when she was preparing for Nightmare Night: A confrontation between the last Crownless King and the current one could end up leveling the entire city...

Thump, thump, thump, thump...

For weeks, he had wandered, aimless, in search of someplace he could go. He had never fit in with the rest of his kind, but had not minded; After all, in spite of his immense size, they'd still treated him well. However, now that his kind were scattered, he'd felt utterly lost...

Thump, thump, thump, thump...

But now he felt something inexplicable pulling him. Calling him. Guiding him. Leading him...

...To Manehattan.

Thump, thump, thump, thump...

His massive hooves shook the ground with each and every step as he walked. The towering brute of a changeling moved with a slow, steady pace, careful not to step on anything that couldn't bear his weight. After all, if there was one thing Goliath "Bird Eater" Spider understood, it was that he was too big for such a tiny world...

Author's Note

Kokkuri-san is the subject of a game not unlike Ouija in the western world. The idea of Kokkuri is that you ask an all-knowing kitsune spirit for answers to your questions. The good news is, Kokkuri knows the answers to every question you can ask. The bad news is, you may not like the answer, and Kokkuri, being a kitsune, a natural-born trickster, is not above lying to you for his own amusement. It's advised you not play this game, since some questions you'll be happier not hearing the answer to: How happy would you be, knowing the exact day you will die, or knowing that you will never find true love?

As for Jabberwock, I should hope you already know about it. If not, look it up on Wikipedia.