Heir of the Changelingsby kingofchaos00ChaptersA Royal RendezvousThe GuardianHome Sweet HomeA Royal RendezvousScootaloo was walking through the Everfree Forest, the moon low in the early spring night, and the shadows long and creeping. The path she walked wasn't on any map, or known by any. Even Zecora, who knew the forest better then most, wouldn't have found the path unless she knew it was there. Hundreds of insects, monsters, and other assorted creatures of the forest watched as the filly passed by, but none bothered her. They could sense she wasn't normal. Scootaloo eventually found herself emerging to a small, peaceful glade. The grass was just high enough to cover her hooves, and there were dots of wildflowers and dandelions throughout. And there, in the center of it all... Was Chrysalis. Scootaloo walked towards the royal Changeling, a frown deeply set onto her face. Scootaloo would have given anything to be anywhere else, but the price Chrysalis had spoken of was too high to pay to simply spurn the queen. Chrysalis turned her head down towards the filly, a small smile on her face, "Hello my dear child." The smile quickly turned into a frown as she beheld Scootaloo's appearance, "I so detest that form. I came to see my daughter not some common wretch with stunted wings!" Scootaloo sighed heavily, but complied with the veiled order. A green glow appeared around the filly as her orange form melted away to reveal her true, deadly appearance. Her form was black, shining like freshly polished obsidian. Her hooves were strong and straight, and along them were holes that spiraled up in such a way that when she flew quickly enough they created a haunting howl. Her wings were now much larger, and had the appearance of notched blades, however there was no question that these insect-like wings were more then big enough for powerful flying. All of this was made even more fearsome with the addition of a foot and a half of size to make this young mare, for a filly she was no more, into a deadly looking, if small, threat. The biggest change however was to her head. Her facial structure now was closer to her mothers, and her eyes went from their shining purple to a deep, emerald green. Her purple mane was now a deep forest green, and had changed to a slicked back series of spikes jutting out to her back with a small strand on both sides going outwards before curving back to shoot backwards like antennae. All of this was completed with a blade-like horn that jutted from her forehead until half way up, when it bent to move parallel to her head till it came to a dagger like point. Overall her entire figure gave off the sense that this young mare was fast, and deadly. Chrysalis however merely chuckled at the mare in front of her. "Of all my creations, you are still my crowning achievement." Chrysalis stated. The young Changeling glared at the queen with a deep hatred, and when she spoke it was with a rasp reminiscent of a snake, "I didn't come to talk mother! I came to tell you to go BUCK yourself!" Chrysalis frowned and put a hoof to her chest, a look of mock pain on her face, "Oh my darling! How you wound me with your cruel, cruel words. I only came to give you a warning!" The young mare's glare deepened into a scowl, "What warning could you possibly want to give me? You don't care about me at all! The only thing you want is another pawn!" The queens harsh laughter rang out across the clearing, each laugh like a blade across stone, "I simply wanted to let you know that your sisters are coming to visit." The changeling was struck dumb by this information, the shock so great that she had to step back to avoid falling, "What?! Here?!" The young changeling looked up to her queen, pleading for the reveal that this was just a sick game of hers, however nothing was forthcoming. After what seemed like a century Chrysalis moved to speak again, "The time is upon us my child, the Trials have begun, and your sisters are preparing for war. I only give you this warning as a chance to prepare in kind." The queen turned and began to walk away, "After all Catalyst," She stated the name with deep relish, "you always were my favorite daughter." And with that Chrysalis left her daughter alone, staring up towards her mothers fading silhouette, alone and afraid. Scootaloo ran as fast as she dared, her wings fluttering in fear and excitement. If she had wanted she could have teleported there in a moment, but she needed the chance to rally her thoughts. What should she say? "Hey Rainbow Dash! Listen I'm a changeling princess and Queen Chrysalis is my mother, and she is sending my insane sisters to kill me and since I don't want anyone to get hurt I'm running away. Just thought you would like to know! Keep being AWESOME for me!" Yeah... that wouldn't work. Maybe for Pinkie Pie, but Rainbow Dash deserved something a bit more tactful. That and Pinkie probably knew who she was already. After all... she was Pinkie Pie, and there was no telling what she knew. The little filly came to the hill just outside Ponyville where Rainbow Dash's cloud home was set up. She stared up towards the dark home, hoping beyond hope that she could find a reason to put off telling her. However, whatever gods were out there didn't like her, and the only thing between them was a short flight and a knock on the door. Scootaloo let out a single curse that would have earned her a boxing on the ears from Cherilee and a loss of recess. What she would give to have that be her biggest concern. The disguised princess looked up to her idols home, and let out a final breath before giving herself bigger wings and flying upwards to see Rainbow Dash. Author's Note Thoughts? Please leave below. Also here is a Pinkie And just for the first chapter... A Spike! The Guardian"Coward! Coward! Coward!" Each word was punctuated by the sound of wood shattering. Catalyst was deep in the Everfree, in a glade she set aside for sparring. Her entire frame shook with the shame she felt at her weakness from earlier. She was about to knock on Rainbows door, about to reveal her secret. Her heart was racing and her magic was a single shock away from a small explosion of energy. And then she felt it... Love. She could feel a strong flow of love coming from the house. Catalyst closed her eyes and looked with her natural second sight. All Changelings had a second form of vision that allowed them to see the emotions that pervaded the world, all of which manifested as a different color. Love was pink, fear green, anger red, ect. A pink pony shape was walking through the phantom walls towards a small, round creature colored a sharp green in fear. Tank Rainbow knelt down by her pet, and Catalyst could see the warm love flow from her to her dear friend. Tank slowly was filled with love for his master, and nuzzled her in affection, and eventually his love began to flow back into Rainbow. It was beautiful. Catalyst could feel tears on her eyes, and once again tried to knock, but the sight of those two being so happy had robbed her of her spirit. She couldn't bear to break up such a touching moment for her own sake. Catalyst slowly turned and flew back into the forest. She had been weak, and now it would take her who knows how long to work up the courage to come clean again. Time for her siblings to find Rainbow and the others. She kept hitting the tree in front of her with her blade construct, a sword formed out of pure magic. She gave no thought as to the placement of her strikes or any finesse in her movements, this was venting, pure and simple... At least until another magical blade, the same emerald color as her own, blocked her strike with a harsh ring, causing Catalyst to look towards her new sparring partner. She was fairly typical as far as changelings went. The only real differing thing about her was her wings, which had blood red streaks running through them, giving way to her name. Bloodwing. Bloodwing immediately drew her blade back to herself, and grabbed it in her mouth. She then lunged forward in a simple thrust which Catalyst easily parried. From there it became a dance of complex spins and pirouettes that were all blocked and returned with ever increasing speed. Eventually it reached a point that the sparring changelings appeared as simple blurs that met with harsh rings of magic clashing as they met, struggled for a moment, and then backed away to repeat their deadly dance. Of course Catalyst knew Bloodwing was playing with her the entire time. She had been one of the greatest gladiators in the entire swarm until she had accidently killed one of her opponents, and subsequently been forced to become her personal guardian, sworn to protect her until the Trials. Bloodwing proved this by ending the sparring with a quick disarming, bringing her blade up to Catalyst's neck with a grin as she proved, once again, just how good she was. Catalyst gave her a grin, "Cocky bitch. One day I'll win!" Bloodwing gave her a wink as she dispelled the blade before a brief flash of magic had her standing in the guise of the Queen, an inquisitive look on her face. Catalyst let out a heavy sigh as she met her old companion's eyes, "The Trials have begun, and my sisters are coming. Things are looking pretty bad." Her friend let out an understanding nod as she shifted forms again, this time to Rainbow Dash. Another sigh followed, "I couldn't do it. I was close, so very close, but in the end I chickened out and ran." Tears began to flow, "I'm going to fail Wing. I might as well just go let my sisters have their way with me!" Smack! Catalyst touched her cheek where she had just been struck, before slowly turning to Wing with a shocked expression. Bloodwing stared at her with a glare that would give a cockatrice pause as she made it clear she wouldn't harbor that type of thinking. The princess felt a frown creep onto her face, "Yeah, I know. I just can't see a way out of this! If I kill them then I'll be the Queen, but if I lose then I die! I just can't win!" She stomped her hoof into the ground to try to vent her rebuilding frustration before reforming a blade from her magic, "Forget it. Lets just spar some more, and maybe this time I'll wipe that smugness off your face." And so the woods once again became a combination of magical strikes, shattering wood, and grunts of frustration as the sun rose and fell through the day. By the end of the day, the sun hidden by the trees leaving the glade in almost complete shadow, the two changelings were panting from a day of harsh, frantic exercise. "Huh...huh." Catalyst was almost ready to pass out from that! It had been a few weeks since Bloodwing had pushed her that hard, or for that long. The two of them let the silence of the glade consume them as they rested, their companionable silence all they needed. Eventually Catalyst turned back into Scootaloo, and spoke up. "Hey Wing?" She cocked an eyebrow at her. "Um... do you mind if I crash at your place tonight? I don't really feel like finding some treehouse or whatnot to sleep in." Catalyst rubbed her right hoof with her left, uneasy about asking such a thing of her friend/guardian. Bloodwing quickly shifted expressions from a quick wink, signifying approval, to a small quirked eyebrow questioning if Catalyst would be comfortable there. Catalyst nodded, "Yeah, sure. As long as you two don't mind..." With that she shifted forms back to Scootaloo. Bloodwing gave a small smile before flames surrounded her, and her natural form was gone. It had been replaced by a mare with a pure white coat with a shocking blue mane with bright blue highlights, and covering violet eyes were shades of a similar violet color. With a quick gesture down the road Vinyl Scratch and Scootaloo started their way home. Home Sweet HomeVinyl Scratch always loved the look of Ponyville in the sunset, it had been one of the things that always stayed the same about the quaint little place. The sunset, great people, and Pinkie Pie... always Pinkie Pie. Since she and her charge didn't feel the need to talk, Vinyl simply enjoyed the countryside as the walked along a small dirt path towards the home that she and Octavia had set up for themselves. Ah, Octavia! Just the thought of that mare brought a small spark of happiness to her chest! She had to be the luckiest changeling EVER to have won that mare's heart. Though it had started kinda rough, what with all the whipped cream, symphony music, and a small amount of wine (don't ask) that had ended up in a small fight, followed by a big date. Of course that had been before Catalyst and her had been joined at the hip. One of the many perks of being gladiator was the freedom to wander Equestria as you wished as long as you made your fight deadlines. Understandably once she had become a royal guardian she had had fewer and fewer opportunities to go on adventures and get tangled up in affairs outside the Changeling Royal Family, though in her opinion it was all worth it. Octavia was also rather understanding about the whole emotion feeding creature from a hive, and charged with protecting a princess shtick, and had been fawning over Cat ever since they had met. (Though Cat had always hated being treated like the princess she was, and Octavia, a natural born Canterlot pony, couldn't always keep the mannerisms down!) The two of them came to the top of a hill overlooking her and Oct's quaint little half and half house on the edge of town, just far enough that nopony would come and bug them unnecessarily, but also close enough that they were never seen as detached from the town proper. Scoots looked down at the house and had a frown come to her face, "What are we gonna tell Octavia? I can't just ask her to abandon everything and run away, and I would never want to separate you two!" Vinyl rolled her eyes at her charges words. Scoots had always been adamant about leaving Ponyville come the Trials, and to avoid causing trouble for anypony who wasn't already involved, while she on the other hoof was all for Scoots beating the stuffing out of the other princesses until they were so much paste on the ground. However, Scoots was adamant about leaving once she came clean to Rainbow Dash, so leaving it would be. They walked up to the front door, Vinyl listening all the while to Scoots' endless muttering about Octavia and how this would go. Vinyl knew that her wife was going to be fine, after all she was a tough mare, and had put up with all their Changeling shenanigans prior, so a small scale war would be nothing to pause for. Vinyl opened the door without any warning, sensing that Octavia was in the kitchen, already preparing dinner in preparation for her coming home. "That you darling? It'll be ready in just a second!" Octavia called out in her light, singsong voice. In response Vinyl nudged Scootaloo on the side, since she herself couldn't respond to announce their guest. "Um, I'm here too Oct! I hope that's okay?!" The response was immediate, "Oh, Scootaloo! Come in and make yourself at home! Dinner will be ready soon, and I made extra anyway!" Vinyl smiled at that. That was her Octavia, always thinking ahead. Without a word both of them began setting the table, and wondering what Octavia could have cooked up for tonight. Their question was soon answered as she brought out a large pot of spaghetti, layered in sauce and a special spice from her mother. It was enough to make both Vinyl and Scootaloo begin watering at the mouth from the smell. Octavia gave Scootaloo a small smile, and then began to dish out the food, "Well? Help yourselves!" Scootaloo needed no further prodding, tearing into the meal as if she hadn't eaten in days. Vinyl was more relaxed, enjoying the heat and the feeling of the food for all it was worth since she couldn't taste it. One of the number of downsides to her lack of a tongue. Octavia, always classy, took small, neat portions, and made sure to not drop a single bit of sauce. They managed to eat in relative silence for a while before Octavia asked about how their day went. What followed was a series of one word answers as Octavia slowly got Scootaloo to spill about the Trials. She probably could have gotten it faster from Vinyl, but she was always trying to act like a big sister towards the disguised princess, even if she didn't want it. Finally, after admitting to the entirety of her day, sans one visit to Rainbow, Scoots asked the big one, "What will you and Wing do?" Octavia paused, as if she HADN'T spent many an evening thinking about this with Vinyl. "Well dear, it's very simple. We are all staying here, and if any unwanted guests try to come in here, then they die. Easy as that." With that she went back to eating, in her mind closing the conversation then and there. Scootaloo was less convinced, and put both her front hooves table in frustration, "But you could get hurt! Or killed! And what will you do if any of my sisters show up and neither of us are here?!" Octavia looked at the princess with a cool gaze, and stared straight at Scootaloo with enough cold force to make her quietly sit down and keep her hooves off of the table. "I repeat Scootaloo," She replied, raising up a frying pan as she did so, "If they come in here, then they die. No ifs, ands, or buts!" With that she took a swing with the frying pan, almost taking off her wife's head as she did so. Octavia's declaration seemed to kill any conversation left, and quickly after Scootaloo was sent up to the guest bedroom by Octavia. She and Vinyl stayed downstairs and tended to the dishes. Octavia kept scrubbing at the bits of food left on the plates with enough force to make Vinyl scared that she would break the plates. Coming up behind her Vinyl put a hoof on her wife's shoulder. Octavia let out a deep breath, "I know love, but I just wish she would trust in me more. I have been with you both through thick and thin, and I am more then ready to fight with you both for our lives here! I just want everyone to come out of this happy..." She lowered her head, and in Vinyl's second sight she turned a deep orange, the color of frustration. Luckily Vinyl knew the cure. She slowly rubbed her mates shoulders, and made sure to get all the little knots that always seemed to be there whenever she massaged Octavia's shoulders. Oct gave out a small sigh, and the orange slowly turned into a more relaxed, content yellow. She turned around and gave Vinyl a short kiss, "Thank for that dear. I just wish I could do something like that fo-" Suddenly a loud knock came from the front of the house. Both of them looked towards the front door, wondering who could be there at this hour. Going into their practiced routine Octavia slowly approached the door, ready to pivot and buck the person on the other side into the Everfree. Vinyl kept her magic flowing underneath her disguise, ready to blast the pony on the other side, or to summon a sword to cut them down. However, both of them paused when they opened the door and saw who was on the other side. "Hey guys, sorry to disturb you, but I am here on business." stated Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. Vinyl looked at her wife's stunned face for a moment before returning to Twilight's concerned look as she waited for permission to come in. As the moment dragged on only one thing went through Vinyl's head... "Well shit!"
A Royal RendezvousScootaloo was walking through the Everfree Forest, the moon low in the early spring night, and the shadows long and creeping. The path she walked wasn't on any map, or known by any. Even Zecora, who knew the forest better then most, wouldn't have found the path unless she knew it was there. Hundreds of insects, monsters, and other assorted creatures of the forest watched as the filly passed by, but none bothered her. They could sense she wasn't normal. Scootaloo eventually found herself emerging to a small, peaceful glade. The grass was just high enough to cover her hooves, and there were dots of wildflowers and dandelions throughout. And there, in the center of it all... Was Chrysalis. Scootaloo walked towards the royal Changeling, a frown deeply set onto her face. Scootaloo would have given anything to be anywhere else, but the price Chrysalis had spoken of was too high to pay to simply spurn the queen. Chrysalis turned her head down towards the filly, a small smile on her face, "Hello my dear child." The smile quickly turned into a frown as she beheld Scootaloo's appearance, "I so detest that form. I came to see my daughter not some common wretch with stunted wings!" Scootaloo sighed heavily, but complied with the veiled order. A green glow appeared around the filly as her orange form melted away to reveal her true, deadly appearance. Her form was black, shining like freshly polished obsidian. Her hooves were strong and straight, and along them were holes that spiraled up in such a way that when she flew quickly enough they created a haunting howl. Her wings were now much larger, and had the appearance of notched blades, however there was no question that these insect-like wings were more then big enough for powerful flying. All of this was made even more fearsome with the addition of a foot and a half of size to make this young mare, for a filly she was no more, into a deadly looking, if small, threat. The biggest change however was to her head. Her facial structure now was closer to her mothers, and her eyes went from their shining purple to a deep, emerald green. Her purple mane was now a deep forest green, and had changed to a slicked back series of spikes jutting out to her back with a small strand on both sides going outwards before curving back to shoot backwards like antennae. All of this was completed with a blade-like horn that jutted from her forehead until half way up, when it bent to move parallel to her head till it came to a dagger like point. Overall her entire figure gave off the sense that this young mare was fast, and deadly. Chrysalis however merely chuckled at the mare in front of her. "Of all my creations, you are still my crowning achievement." Chrysalis stated. The young Changeling glared at the queen with a deep hatred, and when she spoke it was with a rasp reminiscent of a snake, "I didn't come to talk mother! I came to tell you to go BUCK yourself!" Chrysalis frowned and put a hoof to her chest, a look of mock pain on her face, "Oh my darling! How you wound me with your cruel, cruel words. I only came to give you a warning!" The young mare's glare deepened into a scowl, "What warning could you possibly want to give me? You don't care about me at all! The only thing you want is another pawn!" The queens harsh laughter rang out across the clearing, each laugh like a blade across stone, "I simply wanted to let you know that your sisters are coming to visit." The changeling was struck dumb by this information, the shock so great that she had to step back to avoid falling, "What?! Here?!" The young changeling looked up to her queen, pleading for the reveal that this was just a sick game of hers, however nothing was forthcoming. After what seemed like a century Chrysalis moved to speak again, "The time is upon us my child, the Trials have begun, and your sisters are preparing for war. I only give you this warning as a chance to prepare in kind." The queen turned and began to walk away, "After all Catalyst," She stated the name with deep relish, "you always were my favorite daughter." And with that Chrysalis left her daughter alone, staring up towards her mothers fading silhouette, alone and afraid. Scootaloo ran as fast as she dared, her wings fluttering in fear and excitement. If she had wanted she could have teleported there in a moment, but she needed the chance to rally her thoughts. What should she say? "Hey Rainbow Dash! Listen I'm a changeling princess and Queen Chrysalis is my mother, and she is sending my insane sisters to kill me and since I don't want anyone to get hurt I'm running away. Just thought you would like to know! Keep being AWESOME for me!" Yeah... that wouldn't work. Maybe for Pinkie Pie, but Rainbow Dash deserved something a bit more tactful. That and Pinkie probably knew who she was already. After all... she was Pinkie Pie, and there was no telling what she knew. The little filly came to the hill just outside Ponyville where Rainbow Dash's cloud home was set up. She stared up towards the dark home, hoping beyond hope that she could find a reason to put off telling her. However, whatever gods were out there didn't like her, and the only thing between them was a short flight and a knock on the door. Scootaloo let out a single curse that would have earned her a boxing on the ears from Cherilee and a loss of recess. What she would give to have that be her biggest concern. The disguised princess looked up to her idols home, and let out a final breath before giving herself bigger wings and flying upwards to see Rainbow Dash. Author's Note Thoughts? Please leave below. Also here is a Pinkie And just for the first chapter... A Spike!
The Guardian"Coward! Coward! Coward!" Each word was punctuated by the sound of wood shattering. Catalyst was deep in the Everfree, in a glade she set aside for sparring. Her entire frame shook with the shame she felt at her weakness from earlier. She was about to knock on Rainbows door, about to reveal her secret. Her heart was racing and her magic was a single shock away from a small explosion of energy. And then she felt it... Love. She could feel a strong flow of love coming from the house. Catalyst closed her eyes and looked with her natural second sight. All Changelings had a second form of vision that allowed them to see the emotions that pervaded the world, all of which manifested as a different color. Love was pink, fear green, anger red, ect. A pink pony shape was walking through the phantom walls towards a small, round creature colored a sharp green in fear. Tank Rainbow knelt down by her pet, and Catalyst could see the warm love flow from her to her dear friend. Tank slowly was filled with love for his master, and nuzzled her in affection, and eventually his love began to flow back into Rainbow. It was beautiful. Catalyst could feel tears on her eyes, and once again tried to knock, but the sight of those two being so happy had robbed her of her spirit. She couldn't bear to break up such a touching moment for her own sake. Catalyst slowly turned and flew back into the forest. She had been weak, and now it would take her who knows how long to work up the courage to come clean again. Time for her siblings to find Rainbow and the others. She kept hitting the tree in front of her with her blade construct, a sword formed out of pure magic. She gave no thought as to the placement of her strikes or any finesse in her movements, this was venting, pure and simple... At least until another magical blade, the same emerald color as her own, blocked her strike with a harsh ring, causing Catalyst to look towards her new sparring partner. She was fairly typical as far as changelings went. The only real differing thing about her was her wings, which had blood red streaks running through them, giving way to her name. Bloodwing. Bloodwing immediately drew her blade back to herself, and grabbed it in her mouth. She then lunged forward in a simple thrust which Catalyst easily parried. From there it became a dance of complex spins and pirouettes that were all blocked and returned with ever increasing speed. Eventually it reached a point that the sparring changelings appeared as simple blurs that met with harsh rings of magic clashing as they met, struggled for a moment, and then backed away to repeat their deadly dance. Of course Catalyst knew Bloodwing was playing with her the entire time. She had been one of the greatest gladiators in the entire swarm until she had accidently killed one of her opponents, and subsequently been forced to become her personal guardian, sworn to protect her until the Trials. Bloodwing proved this by ending the sparring with a quick disarming, bringing her blade up to Catalyst's neck with a grin as she proved, once again, just how good she was. Catalyst gave her a grin, "Cocky bitch. One day I'll win!" Bloodwing gave her a wink as she dispelled the blade before a brief flash of magic had her standing in the guise of the Queen, an inquisitive look on her face. Catalyst let out a heavy sigh as she met her old companion's eyes, "The Trials have begun, and my sisters are coming. Things are looking pretty bad." Her friend let out an understanding nod as she shifted forms again, this time to Rainbow Dash. Another sigh followed, "I couldn't do it. I was close, so very close, but in the end I chickened out and ran." Tears began to flow, "I'm going to fail Wing. I might as well just go let my sisters have their way with me!" Smack! Catalyst touched her cheek where she had just been struck, before slowly turning to Wing with a shocked expression. Bloodwing stared at her with a glare that would give a cockatrice pause as she made it clear she wouldn't harbor that type of thinking. The princess felt a frown creep onto her face, "Yeah, I know. I just can't see a way out of this! If I kill them then I'll be the Queen, but if I lose then I die! I just can't win!" She stomped her hoof into the ground to try to vent her rebuilding frustration before reforming a blade from her magic, "Forget it. Lets just spar some more, and maybe this time I'll wipe that smugness off your face." And so the woods once again became a combination of magical strikes, shattering wood, and grunts of frustration as the sun rose and fell through the day. By the end of the day, the sun hidden by the trees leaving the glade in almost complete shadow, the two changelings were panting from a day of harsh, frantic exercise. "Huh...huh." Catalyst was almost ready to pass out from that! It had been a few weeks since Bloodwing had pushed her that hard, or for that long. The two of them let the silence of the glade consume them as they rested, their companionable silence all they needed. Eventually Catalyst turned back into Scootaloo, and spoke up. "Hey Wing?" She cocked an eyebrow at her. "Um... do you mind if I crash at your place tonight? I don't really feel like finding some treehouse or whatnot to sleep in." Catalyst rubbed her right hoof with her left, uneasy about asking such a thing of her friend/guardian. Bloodwing quickly shifted expressions from a quick wink, signifying approval, to a small quirked eyebrow questioning if Catalyst would be comfortable there. Catalyst nodded, "Yeah, sure. As long as you two don't mind..." With that she shifted forms back to Scootaloo. Bloodwing gave a small smile before flames surrounded her, and her natural form was gone. It had been replaced by a mare with a pure white coat with a shocking blue mane with bright blue highlights, and covering violet eyes were shades of a similar violet color. With a quick gesture down the road Vinyl Scratch and Scootaloo started their way home.
Home Sweet HomeVinyl Scratch always loved the look of Ponyville in the sunset, it had been one of the things that always stayed the same about the quaint little place. The sunset, great people, and Pinkie Pie... always Pinkie Pie. Since she and her charge didn't feel the need to talk, Vinyl simply enjoyed the countryside as the walked along a small dirt path towards the home that she and Octavia had set up for themselves. Ah, Octavia! Just the thought of that mare brought a small spark of happiness to her chest! She had to be the luckiest changeling EVER to have won that mare's heart. Though it had started kinda rough, what with all the whipped cream, symphony music, and a small amount of wine (don't ask) that had ended up in a small fight, followed by a big date. Of course that had been before Catalyst and her had been joined at the hip. One of the many perks of being gladiator was the freedom to wander Equestria as you wished as long as you made your fight deadlines. Understandably once she had become a royal guardian she had had fewer and fewer opportunities to go on adventures and get tangled up in affairs outside the Changeling Royal Family, though in her opinion it was all worth it. Octavia was also rather understanding about the whole emotion feeding creature from a hive, and charged with protecting a princess shtick, and had been fawning over Cat ever since they had met. (Though Cat had always hated being treated like the princess she was, and Octavia, a natural born Canterlot pony, couldn't always keep the mannerisms down!) The two of them came to the top of a hill overlooking her and Oct's quaint little half and half house on the edge of town, just far enough that nopony would come and bug them unnecessarily, but also close enough that they were never seen as detached from the town proper. Scoots looked down at the house and had a frown come to her face, "What are we gonna tell Octavia? I can't just ask her to abandon everything and run away, and I would never want to separate you two!" Vinyl rolled her eyes at her charges words. Scoots had always been adamant about leaving Ponyville come the Trials, and to avoid causing trouble for anypony who wasn't already involved, while she on the other hoof was all for Scoots beating the stuffing out of the other princesses until they were so much paste on the ground. However, Scoots was adamant about leaving once she came clean to Rainbow Dash, so leaving it would be. They walked up to the front door, Vinyl listening all the while to Scoots' endless muttering about Octavia and how this would go. Vinyl knew that her wife was going to be fine, after all she was a tough mare, and had put up with all their Changeling shenanigans prior, so a small scale war would be nothing to pause for. Vinyl opened the door without any warning, sensing that Octavia was in the kitchen, already preparing dinner in preparation for her coming home. "That you darling? It'll be ready in just a second!" Octavia called out in her light, singsong voice. In response Vinyl nudged Scootaloo on the side, since she herself couldn't respond to announce their guest. "Um, I'm here too Oct! I hope that's okay?!" The response was immediate, "Oh, Scootaloo! Come in and make yourself at home! Dinner will be ready soon, and I made extra anyway!" Vinyl smiled at that. That was her Octavia, always thinking ahead. Without a word both of them began setting the table, and wondering what Octavia could have cooked up for tonight. Their question was soon answered as she brought out a large pot of spaghetti, layered in sauce and a special spice from her mother. It was enough to make both Vinyl and Scootaloo begin watering at the mouth from the smell. Octavia gave Scootaloo a small smile, and then began to dish out the food, "Well? Help yourselves!" Scootaloo needed no further prodding, tearing into the meal as if she hadn't eaten in days. Vinyl was more relaxed, enjoying the heat and the feeling of the food for all it was worth since she couldn't taste it. One of the number of downsides to her lack of a tongue. Octavia, always classy, took small, neat portions, and made sure to not drop a single bit of sauce. They managed to eat in relative silence for a while before Octavia asked about how their day went. What followed was a series of one word answers as Octavia slowly got Scootaloo to spill about the Trials. She probably could have gotten it faster from Vinyl, but she was always trying to act like a big sister towards the disguised princess, even if she didn't want it. Finally, after admitting to the entirety of her day, sans one visit to Rainbow, Scoots asked the big one, "What will you and Wing do?" Octavia paused, as if she HADN'T spent many an evening thinking about this with Vinyl. "Well dear, it's very simple. We are all staying here, and if any unwanted guests try to come in here, then they die. Easy as that." With that she went back to eating, in her mind closing the conversation then and there. Scootaloo was less convinced, and put both her front hooves table in frustration, "But you could get hurt! Or killed! And what will you do if any of my sisters show up and neither of us are here?!" Octavia looked at the princess with a cool gaze, and stared straight at Scootaloo with enough cold force to make her quietly sit down and keep her hooves off of the table. "I repeat Scootaloo," She replied, raising up a frying pan as she did so, "If they come in here, then they die. No ifs, ands, or buts!" With that she took a swing with the frying pan, almost taking off her wife's head as she did so. Octavia's declaration seemed to kill any conversation left, and quickly after Scootaloo was sent up to the guest bedroom by Octavia. She and Vinyl stayed downstairs and tended to the dishes. Octavia kept scrubbing at the bits of food left on the plates with enough force to make Vinyl scared that she would break the plates. Coming up behind her Vinyl put a hoof on her wife's shoulder. Octavia let out a deep breath, "I know love, but I just wish she would trust in me more. I have been with you both through thick and thin, and I am more then ready to fight with you both for our lives here! I just want everyone to come out of this happy..." She lowered her head, and in Vinyl's second sight she turned a deep orange, the color of frustration. Luckily Vinyl knew the cure. She slowly rubbed her mates shoulders, and made sure to get all the little knots that always seemed to be there whenever she massaged Octavia's shoulders. Oct gave out a small sigh, and the orange slowly turned into a more relaxed, content yellow. She turned around and gave Vinyl a short kiss, "Thank for that dear. I just wish I could do something like that fo-" Suddenly a loud knock came from the front of the house. Both of them looked towards the front door, wondering who could be there at this hour. Going into their practiced routine Octavia slowly approached the door, ready to pivot and buck the person on the other side into the Everfree. Vinyl kept her magic flowing underneath her disguise, ready to blast the pony on the other side, or to summon a sword to cut them down. However, both of them paused when they opened the door and saw who was on the other side. "Hey guys, sorry to disturb you, but I am here on business." stated Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. Vinyl looked at her wife's stunned face for a moment before returning to Twilight's concerned look as she waited for permission to come in. As the moment dragged on only one thing went through Vinyl's head... "Well shit!"
