Illuminating Aegis: Tales of the Changeling King

Chapters

Ignorance, Yet Knowledge
Passion, Yet Serenity
Chaos, Yet Harmony
Quiet Training, Future Generation
Meeting the Pint-Sized Dragon
Learning Your Race
Train The Force Within
Harvested Love
Scouting
Wings of Steel
Mayoral Duties
A Midnight Outing
Judgement
Faalo's First Cadence
Find Your Heart
Changing Night
Mission Time
Destination Crystal Empire
Freezing Shields
Festival of Shadows
Darkness Returned!
Passionate Nights
Writhing in Shadows
Reflections
Pledges and Knowledge
Lurking in the Shadows
The Dark Side of the Moon
Emotion, Yet Peace
Learning The Force
Living as a King of a Dying Race That Has Begun To Recover
Force Students

Ignorance, Yet Knowledge

The Apple family home was filled with a very welcoming warmth, one that managed to create what seemed like an aura around the home. As soon as he had stepped onto the porch, no... once he had stepped onto the very farm itself, Namiro had tasted the very familial love that radiated from the farm. Each tree was such a beacon of love that it had surprised him no other changelings were in the area. It was none of his business, but it was a nice thought to have as he felt the sweet taste on his tongue. It managed to remind him of bacon, by The Force did he miss bacon... Ponies did use the reptile-like creatures as substitutes for many things... perhaps they allowed griffons to use the lizard-creatures as substitute bacon? He would have to ask later, right now though, he had more pressing concerns at the moment.

He would have to explain to three families that their daughters wanted to start on a path that required many years of training and discipline in order to complete.

As if someone had sensed the very big changeling King he shifted back into his Astral Aegis disguise and checked his robes when the door opened. "Howdy..." Was Applejack's curt greeting. Namiro simply nodded and entered the home.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro was situated across from all three of the families that could attend; Applejack, Big Mac, Granny Smith and Applebloom as one group, Rarity and Sweetie Belle as another and the final group was a pegasus mare and earth pony stallion that appeared to be Scootaloo's parents. Needless to say, the ponies that weren't the Elements of Harmony were giving him fairly scrutinizing looks before he set down his cup of water.

"You are all here because the three fillies in this room requested to train in a very powerful force of the universe. I told them that I would speak with you all first regarding this decision since it is more than just an experiment to see what one is good at. The entrance into such a role requires a very special test as well, so even with your approval they may not all be able to join. Is there anything you would like to ask before I begin?" Namiro gave each of them a quick look as he let the question hang in the air for a few moments. "Alright, First off... This journey is one of discipline and understanding. The old Je'daii order was a group of peacemakers comprised of scholars, monks and diplomats. We see to negotiations as neutral, third-party witnesses or in-betweens. They'll learn everything they need to know about diplomacy, etiquette and combat for when a show of force is required."

"What sort of combat would be required?" The orange earth stallion asked as he reflexively wrapped an arm around Scootaloo.

"In the best case, none... but being trained in the art of using a lightsaber is a necessity as well as a tradition. A je'daii is only to draw their sword when they are ready to use it... and we should only use them when there is no other recourse available." Namiro explained. "The first part of training will be scholarly, so it will work alongside the local school so that the girls would still receive their education."

Namiro stood up with a small smile. "I don't require any of you to speak now, you are more than welcome to give the offer some time so that you can think about it and talk with each other, the Je'Daii temple that I am devoting resources to build within the hive will be open to any who wish to learn. Are there any questions that you have for me?"

Rarity seemed like she wanted to say something, though she hesitated when she tried to form the correct word choice. "Who... exactly... would be teaching them?"

"Should they have a connection to The Force, I will teach them directly..."

"Will we get to use those really cool swords that you have?" Sweetie Belle asked, garnering the curiosity of the other ponies in the room.

"You will be provided a training saber when your training in combat does begin, the worst it will do is cause bruising or minor burns... though once you are ready to be considered a padawan learner and even a Je'Daii knight yourselves, I will take you personally to the Crystal Empire so that you would be able to choose the crystals that would be used in the forging of your own sabers." He gave a gentle smile to each of the fillies. "I have little doubt that you three are Force Sensitive, it just requires refining that talent and giving it direction."

"Will we be able to visit them? Or them, us?" Scootaloo's mother asked.

"They would remain within the temple in most cases, although the temple will be open to visitors once it is complete so you will be able to visit them anytime you wish. Once their studies are complete and they are full-fledged apprentices they will join me on quests to seek knowledge so that it may be preserved."

Scootaloo's parents gave each other an unsure glance before her mother turned back to the disguised changeling. "We'll talk it over, how long will it be until this 'temple' is finished?"

"It should be done by the end of the week, though if I am not there when you arrive then the Queen of the hive, Patina, would be happy to take you on a tour of the grounds." Namiro stretched a bit as he tried to keep himself from falling asleep. "By the Force... why am I so tired?" he questioned mentally as he tried to come up with some idea about why he was suddenly feeling so drowsy. "Have them arrive all at once or when you reach a decision on the matter, I will be happy to train them as my apprentices. For now though I must bid you adieu, It is rather late in the day and I'm sure you are all excited to debate about such a momentous choice in the lives of these three fillies. I hope you all have a wonderful night and a safe walk to your homes for those who need to leave."

Namiro gave a respectful bow to each of the fillies' guardians before he made his way to the door and left, the cold night air did little to arouse his regular senses as he quickly began his walk towards the in-town entrance he had the drones make not long ago. "What in the world has come over me?" He muttered to himself as he picked up his pace down the well-trodden dirt road. With another yawn he leaned up against one of the town buildings using one of his arms to brace himself. His eyes threatened to close enough to leave him blind to the world as he tried to keep his legs from giving out in exhaustion.

As soft-furred arms wrapped gently around his chest from behind him he wanted to tense, to question why he hadn't sensed anyone come up behind him, to question why his body accepted this new presence so easily. His voice was lost though as the source of the delicate-looking arms cooed in his ear. "Don't worry my little buggy prince... I can't have you spoiling all the fun when my new apprentice comes to town... With how much you desire love though, I think you could use some yourself... don't you think?" His head nodded of its own accord, now that he thought about it, he did feel like he hadn't fed in a while. "How about you get some rest, I'm sure you're just so... exhausted..." He could taste the lust that this woman was giving off as his eyes tried to close again. The taste of fruit punch with just an extra hint of lemon made his mouth water as he slowly began to consume the emotion as if he had spent a week starving. A kind of wide, flat tongue brushed along the edge of his equine-like left ear, causing it to twitch as she reached the top, and sent a shiver of pleasure down his spine as he realized that no matter how much lust he was consuming, he wasn't feeling anywhere near as full as he was supposed to be.

A silver-furred hand rubbed against his muzzle and cheek as he felt all of his muscles relax, slowly sliding down the building due to the woman easing him down. "That's a good boy... we had to move our schedule up... but without you there to interrupt, we'll have everything back on track soon enough... Don't worry, you'll have the time you need for your temple, just relax..." The voice cooed as Namiro felt his eyes close and he lost feeling in the conscious world.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro awoke with a start, though he almost didn't realize that he had awoken when he thought he opened his eyes. He was in an expanse of nothing but darkness and shadows. He could see himself just fine, but anything further than a foot away... it was possible that there was an entire landscape he couldn't see in the dark.

As he stood he could feel the slight gnaw of hunger that kept him from his full height. As the pain of hunger began to grow though, a foul taste made itself known on his tongue... fear... the one emotion that he had tasted even with the slop enclosed in an airtight jar. Something wasn't right about it though.

He wouldn't feel hungry if he was eating something's fear...

...The feeling of fear was growing, the hunger increased...

Something was out there, just beyond what he could see...

Something he could tell was after him...

He couldn't let it catch him...

So he ran, the Changeling King began to run as fast as his legs could carry him in the opposite direction he was feeding from, he tried to cut off the feeding but it wouldn't let him. He tried to look back, to have his senses pierce the thick, oppressive darkness... he couldn't turn his head to see what felt like it was breathing down his neck. He tried to scream, to shout... to do something that required having a voice...

His voice wouldn't come though, he couldn't even hear the strangled gargle of pain that he knew his throat had made as he could feel the noise try to escape his throat. He was in a vacuum... there was nothing for the sound to reflect from. He couldn't even hear himself breathing as he felt his chest expand and contract faster and faster, the fear and hunger began to actually hurt as his entire body felt like it was burning with the exertion.

Just as he collapsed to his knees the shadows gave way to a sight he wished that he could trade to have the darkness back. As he was forced to watch the scene unfold before him though, the pain was given a new refreshing pal of ice cold dread.

Standing before a battered and bleeding changeling Queen, the Changeling King that Namiro saw made whatever he had for blood run cold as four emerald tendrils sprouted from it's back and pierced the monochrome form of Patina so that a spray of bodily fluids splashed onto the ground behind her before she slumped over. Forcing himself to tear his gaze away only made it worse as he could see little more than the ruins of a city and the corpses of changelings, griffons and ponies alike.

Passion, Yet Serenity

Through the burning hunger Namiro had realized he was sealed in a place with no connection to The Force, he wasn't afraid anymore though... the nightmarish vision around him had faded to little more than a blur as he passed through once his simulated emotions began to run dry. He couldn't even say he was bored because that would be an emotion to simulate as well, he felt... out of place... Without his constant connection to The Force he began to notice how most of the destruction and devastation was likely caused by his doppelganger in this world... the logical part of his mind had already debunked the world as nothing more than smoke and mirrors since a world with no creatures to use The Force would starve any remaining changelings.

It would also get very boring, very quickly... much as this fake world had.

The large changeling took a seat on what appeared to be a large boulder and began to think. "To be one with The Force... one must believe that The Force is always there... and that The Force will always find a way..." he mentally recited as he evened his breathing, thinking back to the lessons he had taken with Rin and her top warrior; Cluck Norris. A smile gently wormed its way onto his face as he brought up a mental picture of the two. It was that moment that the world seemed to shift, letting him sense the two other beings now standing in front of him.

The dream-construct Rin gave him a small smile, though it turned to a frown of concern when she had tried to speak. It seemed that no one in the nightmare/dream/thing that he was in could make sound. Even his own hoofsteps had been utterly silent as he walked along the battlefield. Due to the silence it had become easy to ignore the world, even his hunger made no sound and caused slight discomfort. With a small smile he thought up a table and one game that he had remembered particularly from his childhood.

With some luck the pieces on the game, and even the game board itself were able to retain the familiar red, green, blue and yellow colorations. With a small smile Namiro chose the green pieces, Cluck the red and Rin took the yellow. From there the most intense game of silent "Sorry" began to be played in what appeared to be a jazz-era inspired smoke-in room. Each player had a glass of water and a small bowl of peanuts to boot.

After about five minutes Cluck was the first to bet a peanut, Namiro raised him two. Seeing the challenges and refusing to back down Rin raised the stakes to five peanuts each.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro wiped his brow as he took a deep breath, he was only six paces out on his last piece while Cluck had a similar situation, It was Rin's turn to play and by the way she had immediately smirked when she looked at her card the Changeling could only guess that she had drawn the dreaded 'Sorry' card. Now it was up in the air, both of her opponents were on the cusp of victory and despite being in last place she could still decide who would still have a chance to make it to the finish first... and who would be sent home in bitter agony.

If only he had the stoic ease that the damn chicken seemed to radiate. It would take more than Armageddon to to even make a dent in that stoic facade. If it hadn't been for the fact the two of them had trained for what felt like months then Namiro certainly wouldn't have noticed the almost miniscule beads of sweat that were forming on the brow of the one-chicken-army. Namiro almost smirked as he realized that his poultry opponent realized just how much trouble he could have as well if she sent the one piece in her home after his one shot at victory.

She placed the card...

... both of her opponents' jaws dropped...

...somehow she had won the round...

Namiro blinked his eyes as he picked up the card in disbelief, not even caring as the chicken scrambled up to his shoulder while the kitsune sat with a smug smile on her face.

"I Win"

If your opponents have exactly one piece remaining outside of a safe zone while you have one piece in the safe zone, one in your home and two in play your forces surround your opponents' forces after destroying their homes in order to create a perfect pincer attack formation and dominate the battlefield. You win the Round.

Cluck Norris looked like he let out a squawk of irritation as he quickly got down and flipped the table.

"That was a bunch of bull... but... why's the card look exactly like it was part of the game?" Namiro replied as he sat in confusion and stared at the card. His thoughts drifted long enough for him to realize he was no longer sitting in the jazz room... no longer with his mentor and friends... nowhere but in a void, the hunger was back, it hurt... but... it didn't hurt at the same time. The quiet of the void that he was in finally set in as he realized the ringing in his ears that he had heard for most of his life wasn't even there to annoy him... At the moment... he was truly alone.

He thought back to his family, he had no idea what happened to them... he had no idea what happened to any of his friends except for Nick and even he had moved on to take over a country and was already training dark Jedi. His entire body went cold as his thoughts drifted to what his parents and little sister may have been reacting to what seemed like him just disappearing into thin air for no damn reason. He wanted to be angry, angry at the vendor who had sold his friends the datapads, angry that they had decided to go to that con, angry that... well... angry that he couldn't find the motivation for himself to become angry. If anything he was more ready to break down and sob until he got these emotions out.

Despite any of the bad things that had happened he still had it much better than what could have happened when he appeared. After being told about other Displaced who had been sent to their respective Equestrias and had been imprisoned for over ten centuries he certainly did thank The Force that his Celestia and Luna were understanding of the Displaced like him.

If only his family were here...

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

A small fire blazed to life as the night fell, a bronze-colored earth pony flicked the cap of his Zippo closed as he looked to the other two occupants of the campsite with a smile on his face. "How's this for a hunting trip, right girls?"

The light-blue pegasus mare, with a mane like cotton candy, giggled a little. "Certainly was a surprise..." She replied as she looked down at the unicorn filly that was dozing in her lap. "How long until we get to the town that map mentioned?"

The stallion sighed. "We still have three days of walking before we arrive..." He rolled open the map he had received once the three of them had woken up on their first night. "But... the marker on the map is showing our destination to be outside of Ponyville... perhaps we'll be able to stop by there and figure out what is going on..."

The mare nodded. "I hope Phillip is okay..."

"He's your son, Alice... He'll be fine." The earth pony replied. "If it weren't for your insistence on him taking those Karate classes when he was younger I'd probably be a bit worried too... but that weirdo with the shawl said he was here somewhere."

"Molly will be happy to see him at least... if we find him..."

"Of course we'll find him Alice, He's our son, how hard could he possibly be to miss in this world?"

"Did you not realize the part of our sudden 'trip' turning us into ponies?" Alice asked with a flat look. "What if he didn't even get changed into a pony, what if he was turned into something else?"

The stallion sighed. "He... will... be... fine... He's twenty-two, he can handle himself if he needs to."

Alice let out her own sigh as the little unicorn filly nuzzled into her side a bit more. "You're right... taking first watch?"

"Absolutely, apparently it's not safe enough to do without until we reach 'whitetail woods'." The stallion replied as he picked up the Remmington M-700 from where he had carefully set it against the log next to him. "Get to bed... I'll wake you in a few hours."

The pegasus mare nodded and shifted so that she was comfortable before she finally drifted off to sleep.

The night itself was quiet and filled with the gentle sounds of crickets chirping as the stallion's ears twitched occassionally, each twitch making sure that there wasn't a predator trying to sneak up on them.

Chaos, Yet Harmony

Wind whipped through the night air as a creature that was shaped like a pony pulled its cloak tighter around its body, the fingers clinked a little together even as it kept up the illusion of being real. Even the dull blue glow from its eyes had been reduced to keep its old travelling companions from getting suspicious. The time for travelling with others was over though and it had a message to deliver.

At this pace it would arrive before the Sith that it had picked up on its sensors, with any luck it would be able to infiltrate the town just before the Sith arrived so that the warning could be prepared.

The pony-creature let out a metallic version of a frustrated huff when four Timberwolves stalked out of the underbrush to surround it. Without even hesitating the pony-creature extended its metal right arm which clicked and whirred for a few seconds before sending a quick and powerful plasma shot at the Timberwolf in front of it. A loud, pained yelp was the response that the metal pony got as the burst struck the lead wolf in the face and sent the burning hunk of wood to the ground. With a series of growls that the remaining three Timberwolves seemed to understand that the metal pony was not a creature to be messed with as they began to back off. The metal pony gave a small nod as it continued on its journey to Ponyville, more specifically... the Changeling Hive beneath the town.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Patina sat in her personal chambers with an incredibly worried aura about her, less than an hour ago she had been informed that Namiro had been suffering a case of energy starvation which promptly led her to be reasonably panicked. Luckily one of the recent clutches had a drone that specialized in medical knowledge and had immediately seen to the curious case. Even without Namiro the hive was flourishing... but if she were to lose him...

She refused to think about it as she went back to pacing, it was strange but she could have sworn there hadn't been a groove in the floor a few minutes ago. Perhaps it would be best... if she didn't worry. After all, Namiro was hooked up to the Changeling equivalent of medical equipment... the hive was in great health... and for some strange reason Namiro had been stripped of his bond to the Force... Oh wait, that last one was bad...

With a deep breath Patina sat at the foot of her bed. She closed her eyes and thought back to a few of the exercises that Namiro had taught her for calming down, ones that definitely helped as they seemed to be fixated on reaching for something just outside of her reach. She had a good feeling that it was The Force that Namiro had explained to her about...

But if it was that easy to sense, why couldn't everyone be proficient in it? It certainly seemed like unicorns were, though Namiro had said that the Unicorns did it without realizing the connection. It was possible that his original teachings had been wrong... that was the biggest lesson that he had tried to convince her as they had made the move to Ponyville, he wanted to go back to the original Je'Daii teachings.

"There is no Light side... there is no Dark side... There is only The Force..." She mumbled to herself as she steadied her breathing and tried to gather her thoughts. In a way it was a lot like the changelings, they didn't want to take sides... they just wanted to survive, and her hive was Flourishing now that they had to expand the storerooms in the lower part of the hive to keep up with the sudden upswing in love harvested... love freely given...

Even now, the tantalizing scent of the willingly-given love seeped through the entire hive. It was too faint for ponies to smell, but even the most dull-witted of changelings could taste and smell the scent given off by the stores of love that these ponies had begun paying to give. Her mind drifted to a few of the requests her changelings had lately and promptly shuddered as she stuffed those memories back into the pit that she cleared specifically for them. Her mind worked to clear itself of anything that wasn't absolutely required...

...The voices of her children became background noise...

...The feeling of the floor under her faded away...

...All that was left... was a void... and the feeling of The Force just out of reach...

...She would be patient though, she had waited this long to thrive as the hives long ago once had, she could wait longer. Let it come to her instead of the other way around, let it flow naturally. It arrived as a trickle at first, like someone slowly turning a faucet on, but soon enough she could feel the new energy that seemed so familiar to her. She could taste how it had tasted, understood that this was what she had been feeding on when her children consumed love.

It felt like she was breathing for the first time as she inhaled deeply, The Force had finally reached out to her, with its new embrace she actually felt full. "So this is what he goes on about... I can't say I blame him..." She giggled as she felt her vision glaze over a little.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Trixie smiled darkly as she noticed the town ahead of her, her fingers played with the amulet around her neck as she let The Force flow through her and get a lay of where Twilight normally was. Without another word the unicorn made her way down the path and into town. Electricity seemed to dance across her light black cloak with each step, her dark smile slowly morphing into a more and more manic one as she could feel the anticipation building up in her skin. The Force wanted to be used and it was her job as a tool of The Force to use it, a crazed giggle nearly escaped her throat as she continued picturing every way imaginable she could use to listen to Twilight scream... but she finally settled on something a tad simpler...

She would cut Twilight off from her precious friends, banish her from the town. The unicorn shivered as she felt The Force agree with her decision. "This is going to be fun..." Trixie growled with a very dark smile.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro grit his teeth he deflected several blades away from him. Neither he nor his opponents wasted time with words as the phantoms had lit their crimson blades and rushed the changeling. With a more tenuous grasp on what little emotional energy he had left he shifted his stance to mimic the Soresu fighting style, emphasizing smaller movements and defense over offence. It wasn't taking up too much of his energy to be on the defensive, but five phantoms against one changeling that had little to no energy left in his system certainly had the odds stacked against the changeling.

"Why won't you assholes tire out already?" Namiro groaned as he continued his defense, a few times the blades had managed to graze him but his chitin still seemed to work properly even in the nightmare so even the grazes didn't do any significant damage. It was only a few more moments before it felt like the Changeling King accidentally took a step back into a hole and began to fall, Namiro quickly stowed his blade as he felt some sort of resistance build up around him. "There's no doubt that this is going to hurt..." He managed to groan internally before a deafening bang assaulted his ears.

Before a second darkness blinded him he saw the flash of something that looked like a cat that was on fire.

Quiet Training, Future Generation

The Je'Daii Temple wing of the hive was, forgive the pun, abuzz with life as Namiro walked down the main hall. The buzzing of changeling wings alongside the gentle flapping of pegasus wings melded with the gentle clack of hooves across the stone floor. Within the temple itself the very air seemed to be infused with the ambient Force Energy in the emotions of the students.

The temple itself was filled with students from all kinds of nations, from Minotaurs to Griffons and Zebras to Saddle Arabians, Namiro took several moments to look back at the memories of the temple itself growing mostly without his help. He sat at one of the benches placed strategically to the sides of the hall and let his gaze linger over each of the crystal mosaics that lined the walls of the hall to his right. Each one depicted a battle between the Sith and his own students, even now the Sith still made their presence known. It seemed more... ceremonial... than anything else by now though, he still sat to dinner every so often with the Princesses and right across from him at least once a month was a Sith Lord who had come to the court looking to debate a matter with one of the most powerful nations in the land.

He briefly let the thought of requesting to merge both organizations into one dance around his mind as a small smile crested his muzzle. That would be the day, wouldn't it? When the Sith returned to being Je'Daii and learned once more to study The Force instead of bend it to their will.

As his gaze began to waver to the left though a pang of pity shot through his body when the mosaic of the Bearers of Harmony, in the form of alicorns, came to his attention. Memories flashed across his mind of the moment the bearers had opened that crystal box and ascended. Celestia had told him that the spell Starswirl had been working on was supposed to make them all ascend, though when only Twilight had...

With hardly a sound the Changeling King stood once again and resumed his steady pace towards one of the lower floors of the Temple, passing several mixed groups of students on his way down. Most students gave him a wide berth as he walked, not surprising since he was quite literally almost twice their size. The world around him seemed to blur as he let his mind wander and let his hooves take him where they wanted to go.

His thoughts drifted back to the friends he had made in the past several years, that's all they seemed to be... memories. So much of his time lately was sequestered in the temple teaching the next generation. So many faces passed him that it had really become a blur to keep up with, he found himself forgetting names worse than when he had been a human. Was he truly the immortal that he had claimed to be all those years ago? It had certainly hurt when he had been decapitated, he bounced back though...

...funny how time can make light of death when it's merely a speed bump in the passage of time...

When his senses had returned to him Namiro found himself standing in the center of the only chamber that led directly from the third floor of the temple straight to the surface. Light from Celestia's sun warmed his chitin as he slowly sat down, letting the force caress his mind as his eyes closed once more.

Seven lightsabers lazily floated up from his belt as he let The Force flow through him. The first, a simple blade clad with dragon scales on the grip, hissed to life with a crimson blade. It swung in slow circles as it began to orbit the meditating changeling. The second blade, made with a more organic wood design that had three griffon feathers hanging from the base of the hilt, lit up with an orange blade while it spun just a bit faster at a slightly different angle from the red one.

The third blade looked... incomplete... its yellow core glinting in the sun as it sprung to life with a matching golden yellow blade that rotated horizontally around the changeling, each arc coming just a hair's breadth away from singeing the changeling's loose robe.

Namiro's familiar fourth saber, created with handgrips made from his own chitin, leapt to life with a green blade as it swung in a vertical arc around him. A small smile appeared on his face despite not actually looking at the display that was springing to life around him. Several students who were in the nearby rooms were drawn to the use of The Force and were awestruck as they watched the beautiful display.

A hilt made completely of blue crystal lit up next with a matching navy blade as it began to orbit in a more oblong, diagonal orbit around the large changeling in the center of the room. When this saber had been made he had taken up the moniker of 'The Rainbow Je'Daii' as he kept up his practice of telekinetic saber combat. All those years ago he had struggled to use more than two sabers purely with The Force, now...

A shell-trimmed hilt seemed to eagerly spring to life with a slightly darker, indigo blade as it swung the humming energy as if it were part of a wild ocean. The shells had been a gift from the merfolk of Marelantis, his surprise the day they had approached him was something that Patina had laughed at him for weeks over. Still... to see what most ponies considered to be an urban myth in real life.

The last blade had a smaller hilt, specifically designed to be wielded in one hand as the reflective steel began to shine with the light of the sun. It began to rotate slowly above the changeling's head as the violet blade hissed happily to life. Not a single blade was held by any physical hand as they all orbited around the changeling like a solar system, each rotation began to speed up... seconds ticked by as the humming of the blades began to fill the room with one of the most dangerous and spectacular lightshows known to ponykind.

The student onlookers held their breath as they watched the blades themselves begin to blur and become little more than deadly dervishes of light. More than one looked on in envy as they wished to get to the same level of concentration and harmony that it took to get where the Changeling King sat. Many felt a primal fear as they watched the display, knowing that this was him simply on a pre-selected course at only a portion of the speed he could truly bring to bear if he wanted.

Then one figure stepped up to the lights. A tall, bi-pedal fox with golden fur and piercing blue eyes. Her tail twitched once as the indigo blade passed by, twice as the crimson blade passed her and when the golden blade passed she sprinted. Her body moved in a calculated, smooth motion as she avoided each blade mere seconds before they could strike her. Like water over the stones in a stream her elegant form avoided each blade, ducking and diving at precisely the right time until she was finally in a kneeling position in front of the sitting changeling.

A white shoto blade sprung to life in her reverse-style grip and hovered mere centimeters away from the changeling's neck.

The seven rainbow blades slowed their orbits to a standstill as the smile grew on the changeling's face. One by one the colored blades descended back into their standby state before they made their way back to their respective places on Namiro's belt. The fox's blade hissed as it receded back into the shoto hilt it had spawned from as Namiro's eyes opened. "Excellent work Mileena..." He said quietly as he raised his arms in a 'hug me' motion.

The fox didn't need to be told twice as she leaned forward and snuggled with her adoptive father in a very cat-like manner complete with a slight purr as she curled up against him. She let out a happy sigh as she hugged her tail against her chest and her ears twitched playfully as Namiro's hand scratched in a particular spot behind her right ear.

Meeting the Pint-Sized Dragon

Leo was walking around Whitetail woods the day after Spike’s ‘quest’ when she found an empty clearing. This would do nicely. She thought walking into the middle of the clearing. “Since I am somewhat responsible for all the Digimon in this world I might as well take up the mantle of a Digimon sovereign.” Leo said marking the area before the wind started to kick up and the sky grew dark. “This does not look good…” She said before taking a defencive stance.

A dark emerald glow lit up through some of the nearby clouds, concentrating in a spot just above the clearing as it began to condense into a relatively small sphere of green energy. With a deafening burst the sphere was launched into the clearing with several black spheres trailing behind it. The green one shifted into the form of a pony-like creature just before it skipped a few times across the ground and landed in front of Leo.

The other five darker spheres had a bit more generous of a landing as they condensed into shadow-creatures that were vaguely humanoid in shape with red glowing eyes being the only indication of a face.

“Ok, I have some kind of injured pony that just materialized at my feet and shadow monsters surrounding us… I can guess that I’m not going to be able to walk away from this am I?” Leo asked no one in particular.

The creatures, silent as they were, drew several small metal objects from what appeared to be cloaks made entirely of darkness. With several hisses the objects brought crimson blades of energy into existence.

“Ok… I feel like I walked into a Star Wars convention now…” Leo said before proceeding to poke the downed pony with a foot until he woke up.

The tough chitin on the pony’s exterior didn’t seem to do much in response for several seconds. “You’re… not entirely wrong there…” The pony-creature groaned as he slowly pulled himself up from the dirt. “I’d be happy to explain… but as you can see…” He panted a little as he stood to his full height of at least a good eight feet tall, “Five against one really hasn’t been easy on me.”

“Ouch, well what's your side? and who are they?” Leo said stepping out from behind him. “If you're a good guy then I might help you, if not I’m flying out of here.” she added teasingly.

“Well… they’re Sith Phantoms if that helps…” He replied as he drew his own saber hilt, lighting up a green energy blade while he got back into a battle stance.

“then I shall help you young jedi.” Leo said trying to imitate Yoda's voice before materializing a Fireball in each of her hands.

The tall pony-like creature dashed towards one of the closer phantoms, locking his blade against the crimson one the phantom brandished as it tried a vertical cut. The four other phantoms began their charge against the two fighters.

“Not so fast little shadows~” Leo sang before throwing her fireballs at the two furthest phantoms causing them to explode before charging the remaining two that were going after the pony-creature.

The two remaining phantoms turned their attention towards Leo, one raised its right hand as lightning began to arc away from it to give cover to the last phantom.

“Ooh! trying to use lightning on me? nice try!” Leo shouted flapping her wings and taking to the air causing the lightning to miss. “Now eat my Mach punch!” She shouted dive bombing the phantom that tried to use lightning on her while punching it in the face.

The other phantom that tried to use the lightning as cover brought its saber to bear as it swung the angrily-humming blade at her.

The pony-creature seemed a bit more confident now that it was fighting one-on-one against the phantom that he had clashed with. “So, I hope you don’t mind… but… uh… what are you?” He called to Leo as he brought his blade across the wrist of the phantom he was dueling.

Leo dived to the side to avoid being hit by the red Lightsaber before replying, “I’m a Coronadramon, a one of a kind digimon.” she said as the phantom that tried to strike her accidently destroyed its partner that Leo had knocked down moments before. “You could say I’m the first of my kind, as well as the unintentional creator of all the digimon on this world. Blame Discord.”

With a quick flourish an emerald blade emerged from the back of the phantom the pony-creature was dueling. “Who?” He asked as the phantom faded away.

“Discord, the spirit of chaos. be glad you haven't met him, he’s a jerk. Tried using his magic on me causing it to rain digi-eggs all over equestria.” Leo replied before jumping over the last phantom and kicking it in the back.

As the phantoms faded the strange, giant, bug-pony creature began to look around. “I get the feeling that I must not be in my Equestria then… do you happen to know what Changelings are?”

“Oh, another displaced then?” Leo stated, “No, I don't believe this is your Equestria, If it was I would have noticed giant bipedal ponies around and i know what a changeling is, but you don’t look like any changelings I have ever seen in the show.” she added.

“Show?” The changeling asked with a confused look.

“You didn't know? where I came from before coming here this world was a show called ‘My little pony: Friendship is magic’.” Leo said while shrugging.

“Wait a minute… that was the logo on the plush toy I bought for my sister’s birthday at the convention…” The changeling said as he looked over at the digimon. “So… this whole world is based off of that show?”

“Nope! Multiverse theory, I don't really know how to explain it. But dang you didn't notice? I wish Doctor Who was here this is hilarious!” Leo said, bursting out laughing.

“I’m familiar with Multiverse theory… but I’ve never seen an episode of the show, I saw the plush and thought my sister would like it.” He put a hand to his chin. “Then again, I’m not too surprised… the Celestia and Luna from my world are displaced as well…”

“They are? that’s interesting… at least you know you’re safe then. By the way what’s your name? I’m Leo by the way.” Leo said while extending a paw.

The changeling smiled a little. “My name is Namiro, I’m a Changeling King.” He explained as he completed the handshake. His eyes darted away a little as he let the handshake go a little early. “I’m actually a tad worried about my hive back home… I don’t even know what happened while I was trapped in that nightmare.” He cast a sidelong glance at the digimon. “How did you bring me here anyway? Wasn’t the whole thing about ‘displaced’ due to being summoned by a token? I haven’t sent one out… I know that much.”

“Yeah… I don’t know how you got here but I could help you if you want.” Leo offered. “After all, I could ask my dad to send us to your world.” She said before pulling out her digivice.

Namiro rubbed the back of his head a little bit. “Well… if what happens while I’m on other worlds stays roughly consistent… then I’m normally pulled away from my world when there isn’t a major event going on that I need to worry about. So I guess a little bit of a break wouldn’t hurt…”

“If you say so… but if you plan on hanging out here for a bit you might want to disguise yourself as something with four legs, unless you want to cause a panic. After all the only thing with two legs the ponies in this area would trust besides centaurs would probably be me.” Leo said while eyeing Namiro.

He seemed to think about it for a moment before his entire form was engulfed in emerald flames. Once the flames cleared a much shorter earth-pony stallion stood in the same stance. “I’m not used to quadrupeds… so I’d rather not re-learn to walk… Do the ponies of your world already know about Displaced as well?”

“No… and I hope they never do. I don't want to be swarmed by weirdos and Twilight is bad enough as it is… if she finds out I’m not simply some new species but also from another world… I don't think I could avoid getting dissected.” Leo said before shivering.

A near-sinister smile seemed to curl up on the disguised changeling’s muzzle. “How… uh… Oh how do I put this… How sensitive is your Twilight?”

“What kind of sensitive?” Leo asked nervously.

“On the Equestria that I’m from… I have an open relationship with my Twilight, nothing intimate on that yet but she’s working up her confidence, I was thinking as a special way to at least get these heroes to know about us without dissecting you… I could play up the fact that I think I’m still on my world with the Twilight I’m in a relationship with.” Namiro explained. “I wouldn’t be too vulgar or anything like that, just a bit of harmless fun if she gets really flustered when talking about more mature topics.”

“Well that would be hilarious, but I would rather not shatter what's left of the timeline thank you.” Leo said.

“Okay, well… There’s a few things I’m going to need explained then… Has the Crystal Empire already appeared on this world?”

“No, Cadance and Shining Armor haven’t even gotten married yet.” Leo said raising an eyebrow. “why do you ask?” Leo added out of curiosity.

“Mostly due to the last major event I remember being when Sombra invaded the Crystal Empire with… well… less than an army of Sith.”

“Okay… so your Sombra is a sith lord, never would’ve thought of that… at least my Sombra won’t have an army unless… yeah, not going to jinx it.” Leo said.

Namiro nodded. “So, did you need help with anything?” The brown earth stallion asked. “I did find out from one of my Mentors that the Displaced are typically summoned for assistance.”

“Unless my dad decided to call you without warning me, which he most likely did not. The only reason I would need help is finding most of the digi-eggs that are scattered around Equestria. that or the force wanted you to meet me for some reason so it sent you here somehow…” Leo said while scratching her head.

“Perhaps I was sent here to relax a bit… know any good places to do so?”

“Unless you tell me what you like to do to pass the time, I don't think so.” Leo said. “But if you want we could go to sugarcube corner.” Leo said before facepalming. “I forgot, you're a changeling, you eat emotions, not food…”

Namiro gave a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head. “I can eat regular food just fine, it just gets converted differently than what normal beings are used to… so I don’t get any nutrition from it whatsoever… and uh… for what I usually do to pass the time… it tends to be voluntary harvesting of emotions for my Queen’s hive.”

“Ok… and now I’m worried for my chastity…” Leo said.

“You don’t need to be worried about that, I’m not into BDSM or anything like that.” Namiro explained as he leaned up against a nearby tree. “Aside from harvesting love though… I guess I just meditate and train with The Force… huh… I guess I really did lose a lot of my hobbies after coming to Equestria…”

“Well i'm up for training if you want to do that. I don't really have much to do around here yet, now that i think about it… the jedi had a council, why not start setting up a council of our own?” Leo asked excitedly.

“The Jedi Council was just made up of a small group of masters who tended to get the others to listen due to seniority than anything else… Though most of my organization on my Equestria is meant to follow the even older Je’Daii order.” He explained. “Yes, I understand they sound the same, but there’s actually an apostrophe after the ‘e’ and two ‘i’s on the end. It’s a different organization than the one most Star Wars fans know about.”

“Sounds interesting, i don’t know the difference but then again I wasn’t that hard core of a Star Wars fan. i spent most of my time watching Digimon.” Leo shrugged.

“Neither was I… I just happened to find out about the organization through a Wiki made specifically for Star Wars lore. The Jedi and the Je’Daii are different because the Jedi that were part of the decline of the Republic only believed that the Light side of the force was the way to live by… while the Je’Daii on the other hand believed that there was no light or dark side… just The Force.”

“These Je’Daii sound quite wise.” Said a voice from behind Namiro.

He nodded a little. “They were… had it not been for a splinter faction within their order that began to crave power then they would’ve likely achieved lasting peace in the galaxy.”

“I see, then I think my daughter would be a great ally to you then young one.” Said the voice.

Namiro shrugged. “Much of my world has actually learned to balance hedonism with temperance… or whatever word is required to mean that they practice in little bits… Anyway, I’d love to give her a tour sometime… when I know that I’m not just going to bring her into that nightmare I’m currently trapped in on my world.”

“You seem awfully calm young one… and I could send you back there and destroy that nightmare at the same time if you ask.” The voice said.

“Of course I’m calm… The Force rewards patience and understanding, now… if you would be so kind as to step out to where you can be seen, I can properly introduce myself to you.” Namiro replied.

“As you wish.” Said the voice before its presence vanished and a humanoid shaped being in a blue cloak materialized in front of Namiro. “My name is Crux, it’s nice to see you and my daughter are getting along.” He said.

“Well, I am a fairly amiable changeling. I tend to get along with those who don’t try to kill me.” Namiro replied with a broad smile. “What kind of things do you guys do for fun around here, I honestly could use a small vacation from the stress that has become ‘managing a hive’...”

“I would say I feel bad for you but I honestly don't… It’s nice to spend time with family… if only I could spend more time with the only member left of mine.” Crux said in a somber tone.

“Well, I’m here right now, we could find something to do that would give you guys time to spend together… hmm… now that I think about it I believe I want some of those toothsome delectables from the absolutely divine bakery in town.” Namiro explained as he began walking towards town.

“Why not, my other displaced should be fine for a while.” crux said before taking Leo’s hand and walking with her after Namiro.

“As a small note of importance…” Namiro started as he continued walking. “I have been cut off for the most part from The Force while I’m on other displaced worlds until a source that can tap into it can be established… so while I’m here there is a bit of feeding at some point that I’ll have to do.”

“Hahaha! You are too calm for your own good, have you not noticed the air around here? when you were dumped into this world a connection was forcibly established.” Crux said.

“I understand that, but the connection itself is too weak for me to either keep fed or semi-effectively use my Force abilities.”

“Well if you feed off of anyone at least make sure it’s not one of the main six, can’t change the timeline.” Leo said.

“I don’t need to be physically intimate with anyone in order to feed, Leo, it just tends to be easier that way since such a connection produces the most concentrated and sweetest of love. But trust me, the last time I fed on the energy Pinkie Pie gave off… I thought I was going to grow a cavity somehow.” The disguised changeling replied. “I’ll only have the sweets from Sugarcube corner…”

“Ok, since that has been cleared up let's go!” Leo said before spreading her wings and taking off.

Namiro sighed a little. “Earth stallion disguise, remember? Not able to fly without breaking disguise.” He muttered a little to himself afterward, “though perhaps she’s just flying ahead to let her friends know about the mutant pony who’s coming.”

“Don’t worry about that, I have it covered.” Crux said before teleporting them in front of Sugarcube Corner, and making a brown cloak materialize around Namiro before anypony could see him. “Don’t take off the cloak, it will make them think you’re one of leo’s friends by wearing it, and it comes with the extra feature of nobody being able to see what you look like on the inside.” He instructed.

“I do know a few digimon… I mean, I haven’t really tried to change into any since it hasn’t been something I needed to do… but I could turn into a Renamon or something like that…”

“Not a good idea, the only digimon they trust is me. seeing as all the other digimon are wild ones that try and attack them I can understand why.” Leo said having caught up on them.

He sighed a little. “Fine… I’ll be a bit slow about it but a feral pony won’t be too big of a deal then.” The changeling replied as he tried to keep the glow of his shifting flames to a very dim color.

“Now we just have to avoid Rarity and we should be fine.” Leo said before leading Namiro and Crux into Sugarcube corner. “Hey Pinkie! I brought a few friends that decided to stop by for a visit!” She said as soon as the three of them walked into the bakery.

Namiro brought the hood on his cloak back to reveal his brown earth pony visage and his dark green mane. “I’ve been travelling quite a bit and Leo was telling me this place is great for getting delicious food.”

“Indeed it is! But you already knew that didn't you?” Pinkie said appearing in front of Namiro.

“Well, hearsay and rumor.” He replied with a smile as he took a small step back. “Any open seats for a weary traveller?”

“Sure, I already knew you three were coming. Your private booth is over here.” Pinkie said leading them to a corner with a curtain. “And you need to talk more often when in town Crux, It's like you’re a ghost with how quiet you are!” She added before leaving.

Namiro sat down at the booth with a small sigh. “So frustrating on four hooves…” He muttered. “I’m still confused on how some worlds can deal with it.”

leo shrugged, “they manage, I don't know how either but they do.” she then turned to Crux “By the way, could you give Namiro a copy of my token?” she asked.

“Sure.” Crux said before handing Namiro a digivice.

The disguised changeling took the digivice which morphed into a lime green D-power digivice upon accepting its new owner. “...Second generation of the digivices, right?”

“No, thats a generation three digivice. It might work out, now we just have to get you a digimon!” Leo said before Pinkie delivered food to their booth.

The changeling’s eyes seemed to light up a little. “You mean like Renamon? I forget what the pre-digivolution stages are…”

“Eh, it's possible.” Leo said before chowing down on the pile of sugar cookies that was left in front of her.

Namiro took one of the sugar cookies as well, “What kinds of things went on since you got here then? Maybe we could swap stories.”

“Sure, and I can give you some information about the show to possibly help you in the future. unless the timeline is dead there…” Leo said before scarfing down the last of the cookies.

“I wouldn’t assume that my world follows a particular timeline… Chrysalis died on my world so I don’t know if that changed anything too much… let’s see… the queen of my hive is Shining Armor’s daughter…” He began.

“Shining has a daughter!?” Leo said.

“Yep, the last royal egg Chrysalis had lain before she died.” Namiro replied with a smile. “Fortunately Ponyville’s been keeping the hive fed ever since we moved out there.”

“So you made peace between the ponies and the changelings? yeah that and Chrysalis having a daughter are so far the only changes to the timeline i have noticed so far in your world.” Leo said.

“Well…” Namiro started hesitantly. “...Sombra’s still alive in my world…”

“A-and that is bad… that is VERY bad…” Leo stammered. “He was supposed to die in the original timeline…” She exclaimed in a very worried tone.

“He hasn’t resurfaced since he was defeated in the Crystal Empire on my world… but… I’d have to say I’m definitely a bit curious as to what he’s been up to ever since his master pulled him out of the line of fire when Rin helped defend the city.” Namiro replied pensively.

“Okay, PINKIE! check please!” Leo called before turning to Namiro. “We are going back to your world ASAP, I fear that something may be going on that you are unaware of and that’s never a good sign.” She told him before paying Pinkie and leading Namiro and Crux to the edge of ponyville.

“I was locked into a nightmare… how wouldn’t there be something going on that I didn’t know about? Something is obviously going on and the fact I was sent here instead of immediately woken up means it’s something that, for now, those in my world can handle.”

“Well good luck you two, and may the force always guide you Namiro.” Crux said before conjuring up a portal to Namiro’s world.

Namiro nodded. “And may you find light in even the deepest of darkness.”

Crux noded, a noticeable tear running down his hidden face. “Yes, and may the darkness never conquer your light…” He said before vanishing.

“Oh boy… I think you may have accidentally said something that upset him…” Leo said before jumping through the portal.

“I think it was more a phrase to keep him motivated… it seemed like something that he could use.” Namiro replied as he stepped in behind her

-Namiro’s Equestria-

Whitetail woods seemed to be, quiet, for the most part as the portal deposited the pair of Displaced into the lush, scenic forest. “Huh… Not much seems to have changed… though… Assuming I’m not creating a paradox like this, I can only assume that my unconscious body has mysteriously vanished from our healing chambers.” The Namiro, now undisguised, observed.

“Probably, usually when you go to another dimension your body is brought with you unless you don't have one.” Leo replied. “And i think i know when in the timeline you are…” She added as a giant fishbowl seemed to appear around Ponyville.

“And when would that be?” Namiro asked.

“Magic duel, in the episode Trixie obtains an evil ancient artifact that gives her the power of an alicorn and tries to exact revenge on Twilight…” Leo said.

“Seeing as the Alicorns here are those who are actually trained in The Force… this could potentially be very dangerous…” Namiro sighed as his shoulders sagged a little. “Come on, there’s a secret hive entrance nearby.”

“OK. Oh and a warning, the only way to remove the amulet is to have the wearer take it off themselves. no one else can remove it, although a lightsaber may be another story.” Leo said.

“It’s too dangerous to use in close quarters without risking the life of the wearer… you’re talking about putting a beam of concentrated plasma next to someone’s skin…” He hummed a little as he levitated a large boulder out of the way to reveal a small cave. “There is the Mind Trick technique… It works well on those with weak wills, I can only assume that this Trixie has a weak will based on what Twilight did tell me.”

“You would be surprised at what time can change…” Leo said following Namiro into the cave. “Oh, while we are still out of any combat situation. Here, I decided on what egg would be best to give you.” she said handing him a yellow digi-egg.

He carefully took the egg. “Thank you… We’ll keep it safe in the incubation chambers until it hatches.” As they continue down a set of corridors that were lit by green crystals the changeling turned to Leo again.

“You obviously dont remember how to hatch a digi-egg!” Leo chuckled. “Just rub it.” she explained with a smirk.

The changeling was hesitant to do so. “We’re going to be getting into a very intense situation… wouldn’t it be better to keep the young digimon away from such danger until a bit later?”

“You can store it in your digivice.” Leo shrugged. “But it’s going to need to fight eventually, how else is it going to evolve?” she asked as they rounded another corner.

“I understand that…” He replied as he placed a hand on the egg. “It’s just… I don’t know… it feels like there’s some portion of all this that I’m missing.” the armored hand gently rubbed along the smooth surface of the egg. The egg began to glow, and then it cracked before shattering leaving a newly hatched Viximon in Namiro's arms. It took exactly three seconds before the large, bulky and rather intimidating-looking changeling let out a fangirly squee and hugged the adorable little ball of fluff.

“Well, i see someone got their favorite digimon. although you still need to name it, after all names have power.” Leo chimed in to snap Namiro out of his fangirling.

At that the changeling held the little fluffball out to arm’s length with a narrowed gaze. “I… am terrible at coming up with names, Patina’s told me several times… so is there one in particular that you want little one?”

“It's a baby it doesn't know how to talk yet, so I recommend having this Patina help you name it. although you might want to be careful, while newborn digimon can’t talk they sure can fight…” Leo said laughing weakly.

“What about the ones from the first gen TV show where they were all at about the same stage…?”

“They had been alive for a while before that point in their lives.” Leo replied.

He rolled his eyes. “We’ll have to figure out a name for you later then you adorable little ball of fluff.” He said as he nuzzled the Viximon. It happily chirped in response before wriggling out of his arms and crawling onto his head while leaning against the mohawk-like fin on his head and falling asleep. “She’s so adorable!” He squealed quietly.

“I honestly am going to laugh if anyone sees you acting like this.” Leo said smiling. “By the way… Who is that female changeling that is storming over in our direction?” She added pointing.

Namiro winced a little. “Uh oh…” Was all he said before the large female brought her hand up quickly to smack the Changeling king across the cheek.

“You idiot! Who said you could just go and get knocked out and make me worried for your safety!” She shouted.

“Then you probably should know that if i hadn't stepped in he might have been killed.” Leo said feeling bad for the female changeling. “But then again it's not every day someone dropped in from a parallel world surrounded by Sith.” She started laughing on the inside at the torment that her new friend was going to get because of her talking.

“I’m just happy he’s alive…” The large female replied as she turned to the digimon. “My name is Queen Patina, I am the leader of this hive.”

“Ah, so you're the queen loverboy here wouldn't stop blabbing about?” Leo said while smirking. “My name is leo by the way, it's nice to meet you Patina.” she said holding out her paw to Patina.

The changeling Queen nodded a little as she completed the handshake. “So, am I to believe you are another of the Displaced then?”

“Yes and no, I’m more of a ‘half’ displaced. you see my father is a void being and my displacer.” leo said after pulling her paw back after the greeting.

“Well, I believe it may also be safe to assume that you may know why this Trixie unicorn has paraded into town and banished Twilight?” Patina asked as she began guiding the group through the cavern.

“Yes, but if i say too much I may affect the timestream. so if you don't mind I’m going to keep this as vague as possible.” Leo said before turning to Namiro.

“Trixie’s being affected by an evil artifact.” Namiro stated bluntly.

“Don’t forget that question you had for her!~” Leo said slightly annoyed at his bluntness.

“Oh yeah! Leo here wants you to teach her how to appreciate the more carnal desires of life.” He replied with a smile.

“Don’t make me fry you…” Leo warned while glaring at Namiro.

“You’re just like Twilight… can’t take a joke.” Namiro replied as they got to a large chamber that was filled with a dim, green light. “...what was the question?”

“He needs your help coming up with a name for the gift I gave him.” Leo deadpanned.

“Yep, she gave me an egg… it hatched already, but I am terrible at coming up with names.”

“Oh… She did, did she…” Patina replied with a slight glare at the digimon. “So she approves of you having an affair then?”

“What!? I would never encourage cheating! and he isn't my type.” Leo said with her eyes bulging to the size of dinner plates. “I may have created the egg but I have never… you know…” Leo said blushing.

“Ah, so you proposed to my husband…” Patina replied as she turned towards the digimon. “Mates in our society share eggs after all.”

“What is it with Ponies and misunderstandings!?” Leo cried.

Namiro burst out laughing. “Leo, did you forget that I already told you earlier that I have an open relationship with Twilight? The ponies of this world tend to have more open relationships and marriage is only used to signify a deeper connection that has nothing to do with sex.”

“I will get even with you for this…” Leo said before turning to Patina. “No I have not formed any kind of relationship with your mate other than as friends and nothing more. if you want to know how the egg was made…” Leo said before being interrupted.

Patina held up a hand to interrupt the explanation. “...It is fine, Changelings naturally have to have a bond with others in order to harvest love. Though what I said about a proposal of marriage was not a farce. I can preside over the proceedings myself if you would like. The exchange of nymphs is a tradition that harbors trust between two merging hives.”

“Interesting, but as I was saying. The egg is one of hundreds that appeared when Discord tried to use his magic on me when he escaped his stone prison.” Leo said while pouting.

“Hmm… you do work on a very large scale, not even I could produce that many at once, you must be incredibly virile to make so many at once.” The large queen said as she knelt down.

“Did I forget to mention my species are made of energy thus have no genitalia to speak of?” leo said trying to get Patina to drop the subject.

“But you clearly do… I’m surprised you haven’t commissioned Rarity for a pair of pants at least.” Patina explained. “While changelings have chitin to cover such private regions, you only appear to have fur.”

“I would get pants if my Rarity would let me but NO~ she has to try putting me in a dress every time she sees me!” Leo exclaimed before adding, “also the pants won't last long seeing as I can and eventually will change forms…”

“Well… once this mess with Trixie is finished I’m certain we can have our Rarity look into something, though you may want to have a bigger form… I’m not sure Namiro is interested in bedding such a small species.”

“I will never bed him. Plus my dad would never approve.” Leo said.

“Wow.. way to wound the pride there Leo…” Namiro huffed a bit. “It’s not like I’ve got more personality than just training and meditating or anything like that… but go ahead, insult me despite the wedding gift you gave.” He pretended to sniffle. “And here I was mentally preparing for which nymph I would give you in return.”

“Patina how do you like your kings? slightly roasted or char broiled?” Leo asked making a fireball appear in her hand.

“As long as he shares, I don’t mind if he has been given a proposal.” The Changeling Queen replied.

“Thats it… im out!” Leo said before flying away.

Namiro put a hand to his chin as he watched the little digimon fly away. “I do hope she doesn’t accidentally fly into the business sector… You did put more bouncers there, right luv?”

Patina nodded. “One of them will escort her to the meeting chamber if she wanders over that way, I’ve already got Jeeves preparing some tea.”

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Emerald-colored crystals lined the walls, which seemed to twist and turn like a maze, as Leo quickly dashed down one corridor after the next. “Great I’m lost…” She said before bumping into a changeling.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going, I was on my way back to the surface to bring the next round of customers. Am I to assume that you are part of the next assigned group?” The changeling asked politely as she dusted herself off.

“Group of what?” Leo asked, slightly confused.

“Paying customers, it’s alright if you’re shy though, all of the changelings we have on staff know about being gentle. We do have an opening in the south wing of the business area if you would prefer a private room away from some of the other patrons.”

“What do you serve here? I’m honestly lost, and dang Namiro didn’t give me a map…” Leo fumed.

“Well, since Changelings feed on the energy from emotions, with love and lust being the two most potent of energies, we offer services of pleasure in order to escape from the stress of daily life.”

“Oh…” Leo said blushing slightly. “No I will not be asking of any of those kinds of services!” She said before turning around and starting to walk away.

“Either way it would be best if you were with an escort, since this area tends to have paying customers still here before they finish their sessions, we wouldn’t want you to accidentally run into one.”

leo quickly turned around and walked over to the changeling, “Ok, I will be staying with you for now then. I do NOT want to get ‘intimate’ with ANYONE.” She said before hopping on the changelings shoulder.

“Hmm… Then what brings you to have business with Queen Namiro?” The changeling asked as she tapped a pen on the clipboard.

“He is a platonic friend, nothing more. I was here to drop him off after finding him knocked out and am also here to help him with a small emergency and hang out for a while... or at least untill he wouldn't stop teasing me...“ Leo confessed.

“What would be so wrong with being more than platonic with Namiro though?” The changeling asked out of genuine curiosity. “Our race can take whatever form we desire, and being female yourself it wouldn’t be that difficult to understand that you would be attracted to a male in such a position of power.” ‘She’ explained. “After all, a stronger changeling is able to protect their hive easier.”

“I'm not in the market for a relationship. I'm not ready for one nor do I want one. I have too much going on as it is for that, as well as even if he is a shapeshifter he is not my type.” Leo explained.

“And what do you consider to be ‘your type’?” The changeling asked as she began to make a few notes on the clipboard.

“I know about your hivemind so all I will tell you is I am not into anyone who I see as a male, even if they take the appearance of a female.” Leo said while giving the changeling a pointed look.

“Would that not be alienating our entire race though? Changelings are naturally androgynous, as such we have neither gender…”

“I'm not really alienating your species, just Namiro. His personality makes him stand out as a male specifically in my opinion so it's mostly about personality with species that are multiple or non gender-oriented.” Leo said shrugging.

“But then what of queen Patina? If she were to act as Namiro does, would you consider her male as well?”

“I honestly don't know, it's mostly about First impressions with these kinds of things.” Leo said putting a hand to her chin.

“Interesting…” The changeling replied. “What was it that imprinted Namiro as male to you?”

“The fact that I know that before he was a changeling he was a male of a species I am all too familiar with…” Leo replied.

“So, a female of Namiro’s species couldn’t have possibly acted the same?” The changeling observed. “But even so, before now has no bearing on what is in the present, and now… he is a Royal Changeling in charge of maintaining the mental and physical safety of this hive.” The changeling did let out a small chuckle. “I believe he still hasn’t gotten as comfortable being in a female form when Patina decides to be King for a while.”

“...” Leo’s brain decided to die right then at the thought of what the changeling in front of her just suggested. “Well…” Was all she could say at the moment without bursting out laughing.

“Changelings can adapt to a wide variety of tastes… Queen patina absolutely adores the fact that Namiro is still shy when it comes to being in front of such a strong changeling as a Queen.” The waiter let out a small sigh. “It’ll be too bad once she does start to get comfortable with it though… they’re already getting over some of the taboos that had been on the world Namiro had originally been from.” At that particular moment the digimon noticed a distinct difference between Namiro and Patina compared to the other changelings… The non-royals seemed to have regular tails instead of the serpent-like ones that Namiro and Patina had.

“Huh, interesting. Well i know that if she finds him being embarrassed is a turn on for her, suggest to her mating in public. that will REALLY make him squirm. It’s one of the most taboo things from his old world.” Leo said with a smug grin.

“The taboo seems to be shared with our world then, as it is considered more than vulgar and disrespectful to do so, it’s why we have separate chambers for our clients unless they prefer to enjoy voyeurism.”

“Huh, so this world does have common sense when it comes to these things… you learn something new every day. To be honest you're the only person i have ever talked to about things like this…” Leo said trailing off.

The changeling nodded. “We are a very understanding race, since we prefer to keep those we feed on comfortable and content in order to stay fed we need to learn things like this. So what makes a female such as yourself so against males?”

“Um… this is a bit embarrassing to admit, but for a time I was a male…” Leo said nervously. “Mostly, I grew up disguised as a male to hide from some some guys that were trying to capture me and make me into a weapon…” She explained.

“Perhaps it would be best to spend time with our hive then to become comfortable with things you had once been uncomfortable with? Namiro is getting over similar… disinterests... The more time he spends with Patina.”

“I’m ok, after all my species does not require one to be of a specific gender to produce offspring should they choose. So all I have to worry about is finding someone who I like for who they are mentally.” Leo replied.

“Is that not hypocritical of what you explained earlier then? You said that you didn’t find Namiro attractive simply because you saw him as male… if gender doesn’t matter for offspring with your species, can it not be with anyone that you find close enough to be deeper than friends with?”

“Yeah, I see what you mean but I just don’t see him that way.” Leo shrugged. “After all his personality isn’t my type to begin with so… yeah this is getting confusing…” She said facepalming.

“You do not like caring and protective types?” The changeling clarified.

“I like caring people, I just… I don't know how to explain how my mind works…” Leo groaned.

The changeling waved a hand to the massive cathedral-like room they entered. “Namiro has given us the chance to survive from the brink of extinction, letting his emotion flow freely to us… Even now he seeks to lift our race to even greater heights because from the moment he shared eggs with our queen he has considered all of the changelings of this hive to be his children just as Patina does.”

“That’s nice. It must be nice to know your mom…” Leo said in a sad tone.

“It is almost all we ever know, drones have such a short lifespan that in the past our hive mothers have had to be very distant, or else risk losing more than just a simple drone at the time when they expire… under Namiro’s guidance though, our race is living longer… Perhaps you too would be able to find some measure of companionship, if not courtship, within him if you were so inclined… We know that he would not turn you away. He spoke the same to Master Rin, another Displaced who seemed to have much the similar mindset.”

“No its ok. I would prefer to be in a relationship where it's just me and one other. Especially if said other has as long of an lifespan as I.” Leo said

“Barring any tragic circumstances… such as death by battle… Royal caste changelings do not fall to the sands of time.”

“My species is almost immortal, we can live until we are killed. and once we do die we just turn back into eggs.” Leo pointed out.

“You do realize you almost quoted the entire lifestyle of a changeling… don’t you?” Namiro said as they entered a much smaller, more comfortably-decorated room. Several chairs seemed to have what looked like waterbed cushions as their seats while a green crystal table had both of the Royal changelings and several guards nearby.

“I do hope you enjoyed the tour Miss Leo, but I must get back to my duty, do be sure to think on what we spoke about, for your own sake more than Namiro’s.” The changeling waiter requested as he gently removed the digimon from his shoulder.

“Later mister!” Leo called to the changeling in a childish voice before he left.

“Aaron, Our queen seems to prefer names from Namiro’s world.” He replied.

“Ok, bye Aaron. it was nice meeting you!” Leo said.

“It was good meeting you as well.” Aaron replied.

“So, did you enjoy the tour?” Patina asked as he leaned back in his seat.

“Tour? I wasn’t really paying attention to my surroundings…” Leo replied meekly. “And when did you gender swap? wait… did you two… nevermind. I don’t want to know!” she said before jumping onto one of the chairs and curling up like a cat.

Namiro giggled a little as she leaned forward. “We can swap at any time, and we only requested to have some tea prepared… I’ve actually taken a preference towards white needle tea, would you like a cup?”

“To be honest, I prefer peppermint with cream…” Leo said. “I feel like we are forgetting something though…” She said before Viximon jumped up and snuggled in next to her.

Patina sighed as he took a cup. “... Trixie already defeated Twilight, Fluttershy left about an hour ago to warn Twilight about the Amulet.” Patina explained. “We have confidence that Twilight will succeed.”

“So everything is going to schedule then?” Leo asked.

“Schedule?” Patina asked before he took a sip of the tea. “Perhaps you should try some, you may find that you like it.”

“Whoops… did I say that out loud? anyway I don't feel like experimenting with tea right now. don't want to be too out of it if things don't go as they are supposed to…” leo said.

“Yes, you did say that out loud, and pointedly at two beings who are not familiar with this show you spoke of.” Namiro replied as she poured a cup as well. “White needle isn’t a relaxant… at least, not as much of a relaxant as Zebrican Red is.”

“You suck at keeping secrets you know that right?” Leo replied.

“It’s difficult to keep secrets in a home of one hundred and thirty-five.” Patina replied.

“I hope This information never gets to the ponies… who knows how they will react. And on that note, just a warning but don't try to learn too much of the future. Lest there be consequences…” Leo said cryptically.

“And what of Luna and Celestia? They claim to be from… at least a world similar to Namiro’s.”

“Then let's hope they never learn of anything I have mentioned no matter what. If Celestia and Luna are displaced like us, It would be a fatal blow to your world should they learn of what I know.” Leo said.

“They knew Rin before I did…” Namiro replied. “They also spoke highly of a Void-Wandering Ronin named Gilgamesh… I’m fairly certain that they already know.”

“I fear for your future then.” Leo said.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Luna glared at her sister as they sat at the table once more having dinner. “I still think you’re a bit of an asshat for just letting the situation in ponyville happen…”

“What situation this time…?” Celestia sighed.

“All of them…” Luna growled.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

“Why do I get the feeling I ‘just called it’ as one would say?” Leo asked as a chill ran down her spine.

“Likely because Luna and Celestia already know the general gist of how this world is meant to play out… considering there is a lot of lore that even I am still digging up in my race’s past… the timeline that you are so adamant about not breaking may not even exist here.” Patina replied.

“If that is so, I don't know how much help I would be besides combat…” Leo said sadly.

Namiro smiled as she held a cup out for the digimon. “We could always use more friends.”

Leo accepted the tea, “You can never have enough true friends, only reason people have so few is because they are hard to come by.” Leo said in a sagely tone.

“Being able to turn into anything you want doesn’t hurt either…” Namiro replied as she leaned back in her seat. “Shapeshifting powers are awesome.”

“Yeah… You might want to be careful though, some displaced you meet in the future will be jealous of you because of that ability. Although… Shape shifting isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.” leo said sipping the tea.

“Well… let me know if you want to be the first displaced to test if consuming a non-changeling will let them be reborn as a hybrid.” Namiro replied as she emphasized her tail. “I kinda wonder if there’s a Cell displaced now that I think about it…”

“If you can imagine it it’s guaranteed to exist… so is the nature of the multiverse.” Leo quoted.

“So far as I’ve seen… Changelings from this world are pretty close to the villain from DBZ.” Namiro chuckled.

“Don’t even joke about that… you do know you might jinx one of your offspring into turning out like that right?” leo asked.

“Only the Royal Caste changelings have tails like ours…” Patina replied. “After a similar event in the past required new infiltrators be born without such beautiful tails…” He sighed as he stroked his own tail.

“Wise choice.” leo said. “Something with that kind of power should not be simply thrown around. it would be the same as asking for a supervillain to come around…” She added.

“It was originally designed to help our infiltrators collect love seamlessly while causing no harm to pony society…”

“Interesting. So, who wants to go watch the duel?” Leo asked.

Namiro had a pensive look as she straightened. “It’ll be a while before Twilight gets back if Fluttershy hasn’t returned yet… Something about what’s going on in Ponyville has me… nervous…”

Patina nodded. “Trixie Lulamoon arrived two days ago, she’s been radiating an aura of the Dark Side similar to what Sombra felt like.”

“So the situation is worse than I thought. All the more reason to get front row seats before the festivities begin.” Leo said with a creepy smile.

Namiro nodded, emerald flames racing up her form to shift back into the more familiar Changeling King. “You’re right… the Je’Daii are peacemakers, here to protect the innocent. It would be against everything I stand for if I were to let Trixie hurt the citizens of ponyville.”

“Just don't jump in until you're needed. we want Trixie to reveal as many of her cards as possible before we fight her so we don't accidentally kill ourselves.” Leo said before standing up.

“Right…” Patina replied. “Namiro will give you his half of the proposal gift after we have dealt with Trixie.”

“I’m never going to live this misunderstanding down, am I?” Leo sighed.

Namiro shook his head with a small chuckle as he looked over to the pair of guards that were in the room, each one drew a metal hilt similar to the one Namiro had for his saber. “It’s amazing what happens when you have an entire race that is made entirely of The Force yet still needs a noble caste in order to actually be sensitive to it…”

“Well, at least it isn't as confusing as digimon hierarchy. it's total chaos!” Leo said with a laugh. “And you might want to disguise yourself in a new form for this little mission.” She added.

Patina shook her head once the emerald flames died down. “We’re going in a small group, Changelings are already difficult to detect, we four are the ones who have actively trained to hide our presence within The Force. As long as we don’t simply waltz up to her and start swinging weapons around we’ll be fine. I’ve already got changelings evacuating ponies into the Je’Daii temple that Namiro commissioned.”

“Good, then this will be easier than I thought at the same time. Quick question, how do sith react to monsters that they don’t sense attacking them from out of nowhere?” Leo asked.

Namiro let out a sigh. “Leo, we’re here not to interfere… even you spoke about not having a ‘timeline’ interrupted. We will be observing unless the fight would go in a way that would not benefit this world… which would likely be when Trixie begins to win.”

“But that's why I asked the question, in case that does happen.” Leo said sweetly while making a pouty face.

“They react the same way they react to everything else, ‘kill it because I have power’...” The male changeling sighed as he walked over and pet her on the head. “It’s something that you have to watch out for because Darksiders let their emotions control them, leading to rages that are deadly even for their so called ‘allies’...”

Leo pouted even more, “Darn I was hoping to scare the pants off them…” She said in a childish tone. “Well, at least I know that should we get involved that I won't have to worry about the timeline in this world anymore. after all, us having to get involved means it’s mostly beyond hope. except for key events some of which I could tell you just because it would be funny.” She added cheering up.

“It is preferred that we take her alive though…” Patina added.

“Who said anything about killing?” Leo asked while looking at Patina with her head tilted.

Namiro frowned as he began walking out. “Because when the Sith are involved… things rarely end without bloodshed.”

“Well, they should hope I don't catch them harming innocents that are important to the future of your world. I can't control myself when a friend's future is put in question, especially if they have family.” Leo said getting serious.

“We can only hope.” Namiro replied as they began making their way to a new corridor, it was surprisingly roomy… then again it could also be due to the eight foot tall behemoths that led the hive.

“So is there anything about the future you have questions about? I can give some answers to things, but they may come out as riddles.” Leo said flying after Namiro.

The male changeling shook his head. “The Force will guide us as it wishes. Should an event happen, then it is The Force’s will.” He explained reverently.

“If you say so, but since I overheard about you taking interest in a certain purple bookworm I feel I should warn you. A purple mare with wings will take a test causing chaos throughout Ponyville until the six are restored, after which she will be adorned with feathers and eventually a home with more space than she could ever know what to do with.” Leo said cryptically.

“So you’re saying Twilight’s going to become an Alicorn because of a test that likely Celestia gives her and it will mess up the bearers of Harmony…” Namiro replied. “I’m rather good at riddles…”

“Crap, you weren't supposed to figure that one out until the day of the events comes around…” Leo said while making a scrunchy face.

“Trust me… Celestia is a Displaced, it’s possible that she’s already planning it.” Namiro explained as they got to the entrance of the hive, it seemed to exit just on the inside of the town.

“Well where to you want to sit? we need to be able to see and get to town hall easily while at the same time not get seen.” Leo said looking at Namiro.

“We’ll sit near Lyra’s home… she has a covered side porch that we can use.” Namiro replied as he pointed out the musician’s home just off of the main square.

“Ok, see you when the fight starts!” Leo said before disappearing into a bush as the fishbowl over ponyville began to disappear.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro sat quietly on what looked like a plastic lawn chair as he observed the magical rematch between Twilight and Trixie. “I don’t like this… Trixie’s losing on purpose…” he muttered. The queen next to him nodded.

“I can sense it as well, that amulet is doing far more than just what that book Fluttershy told me about said.” Patina sighed. “Are you sure that you’ll be able to handle her?”

The changeling king had a broad smile on his face as he looked out over the ‘aging’ spells that were being used. “I have no idea.” He explained honestly.

“Hey Namiro, can you hear me?” Came Leo’s voice from Namiro’s digivice.

“Yes, where are you?” Namiro replied as he held the Digivice up.

“Oh good, the communicator function works! I am currently hiding in a bush as close to the fight as I can get. give me the signal and I can provide backup.” Leo said.

“Good, what’s the signal?”

“Come up with something, preferably something that will throw Trixie off.” leo said as she returned to watching the ‘duel’ from the bushes for anything suspicious.

Namiro let out a small chuckle as he stowed the digivice away once Trixie took the necklace that was around Twilight’s neck.

“You really thought you could have the most powerful magical artifact Twilight? That you thought this mere trinket could fool me?” Trixie laughed as she dropped the necklace and crushed it underhoof. “The amulet I have is a limiter…” She explained darkly. “...But it appears you sought to force my hand in this matter.” With one small, smooth motion she removed the darker amulet just before Rainbow Dash sped past and snatched it away.

“A bluff like that is what got your cart crushed the first time Trixie!” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Houston, the timeline has changed! I repeat... the. timeline. has. changed!” Leo cried through the digivice.

“A necessary sacrifice.” Namiro replied as he got to his hooves. “She wasn’t bluffing about the amulet being a limiter… I could sense her presence spike in The Force as soon as she removed it. I hate to say this but I doubt either of us will be able to walk away from this unscathed.”

“I fear you may be right. When timelines deviate, it usually doesn't end well. That’s why I try to prevent it when I can.” Leo said.

Trixie looked at the airborne pegasus with a malicious smirk as she raised her hands. The red from her eyes not fading in the least before lighting arcs from her hand to the pegasus, forcing a scream of pain out of her just before she begins plummeting to the ground. Namiro scowled as he began to move from his hiding spot. “Well, If you could save Dash that would be very helpful, I’ll draw Trixie’s attention away from you.” The large changeling was hard to miss now that he wasn’t actively concealing his presence in The Force and lit his blade.

“Well… Just the changeling I wanted to see.” Trixie chuckled as she drew a curved saber hilt and pressed the activation plate, letting a crimson blade of plasma spring to life. “As much as I would love to end you at the moment though, I already have plans with Miss Sparkle here.” The dark unicorn explained as she fortunately did not notice the digimon that was rescuing her latest victim.

“Twilight, I’m with Namiro. come with me if you wish to live.” Leo whispered to Namiro’s Twilight before whisking her away to somewhere safe.

Namiro tensed as his blade sprung to life. “I can’t let you do that Trixie… You’ve steeped yourself too far in the dark side. I give you this one chance to leave safely, use this chance wisely.”

Trixie frowned as she noticed that Twilight was no longer in the marketplace. “It seems that I’ll just have to kill you instead of her. Oh well, I was hoping just to get rid of her and be done with it.” With only a few seconds hesitation her form blurred as she rushed the larger changeling.

Namiro grit his teeth as he brought his saber into a horizontal block. “I’m sorry Trixie… I truly am.” He shifted his grip to use one hand with his saber and unleashed a Force Push attack to send her skidding back. He barely got more than a few seconds to recover before she was back into the fray, swinging her blade faster than any untrained warrior possibly could.

“That certainly was a dirty trick…” Trixie complimented as she brought her blade down in a diagonal slash that forced Namiro to step back and send a quick strike towards Trixie’s weapon arm. “I thought you Je’Daii preferred not to use the force during a fight to harm your opponents?”

“It’s not harming you… I made sure of that.” He replied with a slight growl as his blade singed her sleeve.

“You’d better be willing to kill me then, because I’m not leaving until I have someone’s head mounted on a pike.” Trixie laughed as she began swinging and flourishing her blade faster, each swing interrupted by a loud hiss and deflection by Namiro’s emerald-colored blade. He remained silent as he began to press the attack, his size actually giving him an advantage as the light blue unicorn’s expression shifted from confidence to slight worry. “Well, this is a little unexpected.” She stated as she quickly shifted herself to spring away and change to a one-handed combat style. “But that is the essence of battle…”

Namiro’s eyes widened just before he brought his saber up to block another arc of lightning that shot at him, forcing him to grit his teeth as several stray branches of lightning managed to flow around his saber and struck his chitin to leave a few glowing orange marks. “...shit…” He groaned as he noticed Trixie add her other hand to the attack to increase the damage.

Trixie raised a brow as she noticed the strange box-like object at Namiro’s waist. “Oh my… another of those pesky summon tokens eh? Rin’s token doesn’t look like Sombra said it would, but it would just be a nuisance if you brought her back in.” The unicorn scoffed as she shifted her hand a little to arc some lightning at the device on his waist, managing to catch his hip with the arc and forcing him to a knee as he felt his muscles spasm in his leg. As the lightning hit the digivice it began to beep before starting to float and fired a beam of light into the air, temporarily blinding Trixie before it returned to normal.

Trixie brought her hands up to shield her eyes as the beam connected, once the light faded though Trixie shifted an arm and peeked around with one eye. “Huh… For some reason I thought that would do something significant…” She said with a mild amount of surprise. “Okay, let’s be a bit honest here, who thought that would stop me from being a Sith?”

Namiro slowly lifted one hand as he noticed the twinge of his leg muscles recede. “I did…” he admitted.

“Well… you were wrong.” She said with a smile as she let another arc of lightning shoot towards the large changeling and strike him in the chest at full force. He let out a grunt of pain as he was knocked off of his feet and sent skidding across the ground. “Oh that was fun…” Trixie said with a pleased smile.

Namiro grit his teeth as he struggled just to prop himself up on an elbow. “I’m guessing you’re a virgin then?”

Trixie blushed a bit as she stopped her approach. “Actually… no…”

“Oh… because you seem like the type to never get so-... NOW LEO!” Namiro shouted as he extended a hand to let his own arc of electricity soar at the unicorn, due to how weak it was though the unicorn batted the attack aside.

“YOU SHALL NOT HARM MY FRIEND’S WORLD ANY LONGER SHADOW DWELLER!” Leo roared as she pounced on Trixie. Once she was on Trixie’s back she began to emit fire from her hands before firing multiple fireballs into the unicorn.

Trixie let out a pained yelp as she thrashed around to get the Digimon off of her. “Get off!” She shouted as she let lightning crackle from her hands.

“As you wish.” Leo said as she jumped off Trixie before lighting her clothing on fire.

The unicorn quickly used The Force to extinguish the flames. “You’re going to regret that…” The unicorn growled as she narrowed her gaze, a blood-red aura seemed to faintly glow around her. “...You won’t live to see the end of the day…” The ground cracked as she pushed into a sprint that blurred her form again while a flash of red light lanced towards the Digimon.

“I doubt that.” Leo said before turning into a blur herself and began flying loops around Trixie. “After all, you don’t know what I am, fleshbag.” The digimon taunted.

“I know that you’re nothing but an animal to be crushed underhoof!” Trixie shouted as she slammed a lightning-charged fist into the ground and created a sphere of electricity around her that moved as she did.

“Oh that's cute, you're going to try and ram me with a energy bubble? and second of all, I. AM. NO. ANIMAL.” Leo said darkly.

Trixie quickly made a diagonal slash against Leo with her saber as lightning sparked off of her shield angrily. The lightsaber connected with Leo and sent her flying through a window in a blur to fast to be seen. The light blue mare smirked, “Not so tough now, are you? If you’re lucky I might just be willing to make you my pet.”

“You want to know something?” Came Leo’s voice from the building. “YOU just managed to make me angry.” She said as she walked out of the building while burning a hole in the wall.

“Aww… Did I make the little parasprite angry? Should I get some insecticide? Or will lightning do just fine?” Trixie taunted as she brought her saber back to a ready position. “You and your changeling play toy can die here, I have no qualms with that.” She began to laugh as she brought her saber back up and pointed the tip at the digimon. “After all… that’s all anyone would use these changeling monsters as…”

“If you think changelings are monsters, then you should know my kind’s name is monster... and for your insult towards me and my platonic friend You have forfeited your life.” leo said before black flames started to seep from her mouth.

Namiro raised a hand that occasionally twitched. “platonic lovers… you said it wrong… Leo…” he half-chuckled before one of the chuckles caused him to wince.

“Be glad I’m still in control of myself Namiro, or you would end up sharing the same fate as Trixie is about to have.” leo warned before inhaling.

A swirling vortex of violet energy ripped through the air behind Trixie as another unicorn stepped out, his coat was charcoal black just like his mane. “Trixie… It is time to leave…” He said quickly before he pulled her into the portal, letting it disappear behind them.

Leo let loose a black flame upon the ground where Trixie was standing just before she disappeared turning the ground to ash and burning her hooves off before she and the portal vanished with the stallion. “You get away for now, Sith...” Leo said as she began to calm herself down.

Namiro let out a groan of pain as he tried to get his body to let him up from the dirt. “...nope…” He grunted. “...body’s refusing to move…” he observed as he panted hard. “That lightning definitely hurt a lot… you alright Leo?”

“The only injury I have is to my pride, you shure that was a lightsaber and not just a glow in the dark baseball bat?” Leo said walking over to Namiro to give him a hand.

“Welp… in the way of the De’Jaii… pride is a necessary sacrifice…” He grunted in a slight daze. “And yes… it was a real saber… had she connected with my body it would have only take un pequenyo more force to p-pierce my chitin…” He slurred.

Patina made her way over to the pair with a small sigh. “I think you both should use a healing pod for a while… just… to be sure you’re alright…” she stated as she lifted one of Namiro’s arms over her shoulders.

“Shure, but I don't have any physical injuries right now so all it will do is restore my energy.” Leo pointed out while grabbing Namiro’s lightsaber and following after Patina.

The changeling queen nodded a little. “Restoring your energy is just as good… better to be safe than sorry.” She explained. “Perhaps by then we’ll be able to look into getting you trained in The Force so that we could have yet another sparring partner…”

“Sure! oh, I know I suggested this earlier... but why don't we start our own Je’Daii council?” Leo asked as an idea began forming in her head.

Patina shrugged. “Likely because we don’t need one… at the moment it is just Namiro and I that have begun training as part of the order… we have three possible students, but even that isn’t a guarantee that all three will be able to use The Force.” She gave a look to the digimon. “We would have to see if you too have the sensitivity needed to be able to use The Force…”

“Sure, but keep the idea in mind. After all, should you make more friends across the multiverse it may become a good idea to form a council one day.” Leo pointed out as she described her idea.

“We will…” The changeling queen replied as she guided Namiro back to the hive.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Patina sat with her legs crossed as she sat on one of the squishy gel chairs that seemed to adorn the entirety of the hive. “It’s good to hear that your recovery was complete Leo…” She said with a quiet smile. “Have you thought about whether you will be calling off the proposal and taking back your nymph then?”

“It's not a nymph and I never made a proposal in the first place. Also, there is the fact that once a digimon bonds with a partner they can not bond with another so I can't take it back even if I wanted to.” Leo points out.

“By giving him an egg you proposed to him… even in his injured state the medical drones that I have tending to him have told me that he is producing his half of the proposal gift as well… You may not have known it at the time, but to refuse this kind of agreement without taking back the egg you gave to him is one of the greatest signs of disrespect that you can do to our race…” She sighed. “You don’t have to go through with any bonding or anything like that… but once he has given you his egg… you will both be considered ‘wed’ under our traditions. Changelings ‘marry’ for different reasons than normal creatures do, I don’t know what it was you did to earn his trust so fast… but… He will be as loyal to you as he is to me.”

“Out of respect I will accept the egg. And as long as this is referred to as an alliance and not a marriage thing I will not mind. If you want to know how I gained his trust, I think it has to do with me saving his life or something like that…” leo said trying to negotiate the situation.

“A wedding to us is an alliance, every member of our hive will consider you as much part of the family as their own broodmates.”

“Fine… trying to make this less embarrassing is not going to happen I see... so I give up… it would be easier to figure out how pinkie sense works than negotiate this…” Leo said as she resigned to her fate.

“It’s not that bad…” Patina replied as she sat back in her seat. “...There will always be an ear willing to listen should you ever need someone to confide in.”

“True, but it doesn't make this any less embarrassing. after all, what am i going to tell everyone back home? they don’t know about the multiverse thing, and Chrysalis hasn’t invaded canterlot yet…” Leo sighed.

Patina waved a hand. “Just tell them that while you disappeared you accidentally got married to an alien, one of their leaders educated you and now you have a new family who’s willing to help if they need to.”

“I guess that will work.” Leo said as Viximon waddled into the room. “So have you decided on a name for it yet?” She asked motioning towards the baby digimon.

Patina gently scritched behind its ears. “I haven’t the faintest idea… she is adorable though, so perhaps we’ll think of a name that fits along that train of thought.”

“Just remember it won’t stay cute forever... unless you consider bipedal fox things ‘cute’.” Leo said.

“I will admit it would be a tad easier to think of a name if it had a gender or preferred gender…” Patina replied. “I can name a changeling easily since we prefer simple names, but for non-changelings… names tend to be far more important.”

“If it helps, it resembles the gender of its partner if it has one. otherwise they are genderless.” Leo mentioned.

“A bit more difficult since changelings are every gender…” Patina chuckled. “Royals just tend to be more comfortable when disguised as a particular gender.”

“Then since Namiro’s base gender is Male it will most likely be male.” Leo guessed, not exactly sure how this will turn out. “But then again, its evolutions tend to look somewhat female… so I would go with a name that would work for either gender.” She added while shrugging.

“I will think of something by the time Namiro is healed…” The changeling queen closed her eyes for a moment before she looked back to Leo. “Miss Rarity is on her way here to take your measurements, it seems she wanted to work with a supposedly fireproof new material she obtained. Do you have any problems with getting a pair of pants so that you don’t advertize your genderless gender to everyone?” She chuckled.

“Yes please…” Leo said blushing as she covered her nethers as best she could out of just noticing they were showing. “And just so you know I’m the only digimon that is considered officially female. its confusing, but yeah…” She added as her blush grew.

“You don’t have to worry while you’re here… Changelings are very familiar with not using garments.” The queen smiled as she got up to kneel next to the digimon. “Technically I’m in the nude as well…” she explained impishly. “The chitin is actually part of our skin.”

Leo’s blush threatened to cover her entire body at this new information as she tried to hide her face. “I did not need to know that!” She said.

Patina gently began to rub her ears with a smile. “You’re in a hive where it’s okay not to worry… relax a little while you’re here, you may just realize that a lot of your problems are ones that you have no control over and thus waste energy worrying about.”

“I know I have no control over most of my problems… but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s embarrassing. After all, how would I be seen if I acted certain ways around others… URGH! this is so confusing!” Leo whined.

Patina hummed a little as she gently picked up Leo and cradled her against her chest plate. “Why is it embarrassing?” She asked gently as she sat down, Viximon decided that instead of being left out it would leap up to cuddle next to Leo.

Leo went rigid when she was placed against Patina’s chest but calmed down a bit when Viximon decided to jump up and cuddle. “So, what should we do to pass the time?” Leo asked nervously.

“Perhaps you could tell me why you feel embarrassed? I could help you get over this little… phobia… of yours.” Patina offered. “I promise I won’t judge…” She teased as she gently poked Leo’s stomach.

“Eek! That tickles! As for why I am embarrassed is because I’m not used to being noticed and it’s even more embarrassing to have something about myself be pointed out that is considered inappropriate for being in public.” Leo said as she tried in vain to avoid Patina’s poking.

Patina nodded. “A valid concern… some ponies in the top noble circles think that it’s rather indecent for the Princesses to be wearing nothing but their gilded regalia during court… seeing as those are simply their crowns, necklaces, a pair of bracelets and a pair of slippers…” The changeling chuckled. “I guess it’s just the nobles being their stuffy selves though since most of them don’t even wear pants.” Patina gently scratched Leo’s stomach as she looked down at the little Digimon. “...So here the only thing you would have to worry about is being noticed since most ponies still don’t wear clothes here unless it’s work-related…”

“It’s still embarrassing…” Leo said trying to wiggle out of Patina’s grip.

Patina looked across the room as her grip relaxed a little. “...I… There’s a lot of work that we have in our future Leo… I can almost guarantee that there will be a long, dark time ahead soon… With your training one of the things you will have to abandon will be your fears… it’s a very bitter emotion that is more like a poison than a food… do you think you have the strength to abandon your fears?”

“Its not that I’m afraid, I’m just… I dont know how to explain…” Leo said.

“Embarrassment is borne of fear… you fear being noticed, so you seek not to be… Namiro was afraid he would lose what he once was, but he knows that because of the power a changeling has he could look like his old self at any time… He doesn’t fear never becoming his old self again anymore, he does fear what it would mean if he were to change though.” Patina explained as she rubbed the digimon in her arms. “He believes that if he were to let himself look like his old human form… that it would be nothing more than a mask… a facade to let him trick himself and think that he’s still human… I believe that makes him far stronger than he gives himself credit for.”

“I don't fear changing, I just don't like giving anyone the wrong opinion… for example, what if someone thought I was a Baby manticore? or i encountered a displaced and they thought I was a tramp or something if i wore no clothes? it doesn't help that the ponies I spend most of my time around are more animal like...” Leo pointed out/asked.

Patina rolled her eyes. “Then that’s their fault, Namiro told Rin that he doesn’t normally wear clothes because of his chitin and she didn’t mind.” The changeling queen let her finger trail along one of Leo’s ears. “Then why would it bother you? If you’re living with a species that has no taboos like you are familiar with… isn’t it a chance to start over as you now are instead of what you used to be?” she asked. “Neither you or Namiro are human anymore… embrace it… you have more possibilities open to you when you don’t think about the things you fear and let your mind embrace what you enjoy.”

“There is a tiny detail I forgot to mention… I grew up among and looked like a human, but I never was one…” Leo chuckled dryly.

The gel door to the room was pulled open by a pair of guard changelings as a white-coated unicorn mare walked into the room. “I’ll have to admit Patina… this place has undergone some rather nice improvements… then again anything better than Diamond dogs is an improvement.”

“I second that statement!” Leo said remembering that she looked like a cat even though she was a dragon, and we all know what happens when dogs see cats.

The mare looked towards the little digimon. “I take it that you are the Leo that I was informed about?”

“Hello Rarity. Its nice to meet another you, Just don't make me wear a dress please.” Leo said as she jumped out of Patina’s arms.

Rarity gave an appraising look to the digimon. “Honestly… I think that you may actually like one, no matter what outfits you do have you should have at least one…” She smiked a little as she knelt down to bring herself eye-to-eye with Leo. “I even had Namiro pay for one… so don’t be scared of just a bit of fabric.”

“Hehe… Yeah…” Leo replied as she started to slowly back away from Rarity.

“Anyway… The changeling that brought me informed me that you would also change the way you look so I’ll need measurements for those alternate forms as well in order to be sure you have something no matter what you change to.” Rarity said as she straightened up and levitated a measuring tape next to her.

“I cant turn into them yet, I just mentioned them because it will happen eventually.” Leo stated as she hid behind a chair.

Rarity pursed her lips as she debated about it. “I guess I can just set up the first pair then...“ she sighed as she also levitated up a notepad and pencil. “I’ll need you in a spot where I’ll be able to accurately see the tape against your fur though…”

“I’ll never wear a dress!” Leo cried as she began to run around the room randomly.

Rarity sighed a little as her magic reflexively reached out to catch the digimon. “Sweetie Belle… it is proper to have at least one… for now though we’re just taking the measurements for the pants and any undergarments you may want.”

“Ok...“ Leo said as she hung in Rarity's magic. The process itself was rather painless Rarity had been quite efficient in taking the measurements for her pants.

“Hmm… darling, what would you say about a dress that helped provide the illusion of being a bit taller while keeping your wings free?” She offered as she smiled.

“Why would I care about my height?” Leo asked before catching the second half of the sentence. “NO! I’LL NEVER WEAR A DRESS!” Leo cried as she struggled in vain.

“LEO! That is enough!” Patina said sternly. “Miss Rarity has taken some time away from other clients in order to give you something to help with your embarrassment regarding clothes… she does have a very keen eye for details so she does tend to have fairly good suggestions.” The changeling paused for a few seconds. “most of the time…”

“I’m sorry…” leo said as she went limp and made a pouty face.

“It’s alright dear… I’ve had to deal with plenty of children that believed a dress wouldn’t make them look good, but I have yet to have a design that I put together personally be a failure.” Rarity replied as she finished with the tape measure. “You’ve also got to be fitted for a robe anyway since Namiro has told me that’s what most of his order wears while at least training.” She let the magic holding Leo in place fade. “Trust me dear… I’ll make it look good.”

“Just make the robe blue please? I want it to resemble my dad's.” Leo whimpered.

Patina looked over to the door just as a changeling queen in a flowing emerald dress walked in. “You know Patina… I know that I didn’t want this at first… but… I look damn good in this…” Namiro replied as she struck an elegant pose as the lower half of the dress revealed her right leg and flowed much like a waterfall off of her form.

“...Namiro… Seeing you like that is just weird…” Leo said as she stared at her friend.

Namiro smirked as she brushed her willow-like hair back. “You’re just jealous.” She replied with a smirk.

“Why should I be jealous of you? eventually I will be able to turn into a monster that is larger than canterlot castle.” Leo said while rolling her eyes.

“Because… at least I look good in a dress.” Namiro replied with a smirk. “And you wish you could look this good.”

“Yes… that was a difficult design to get due to how much you can change your form… I’m just glad you settled on that look.” Rarity explained with an exhausted sigh.

“Someone remind me why I saved his life again?” Leo said as she facepalmed.

“Because you couldn’t wait to hook up with a dream gal like me.” Namiro replied as she walked over to Leo and gently pet her head.

Leo proceeded to punch namiro in the face causing him to fly across the room and get stuck in the wall. “I will let Patina tease me but I won't tolerate it from you, seeing as you're probably more durable being a Je’Daii and all.” Leo said.

She pulled herself from the wall. “You know… it’s incredibly rude to damage your host’s home…” Namiro explained as she straightened. “You know that Rarity spent a lot of time on this dress too, I don’t want it getting ruined.” Namiro scoffed a little. “Besides… I wasn’t teasing, I’m definitely that good looking…” she said as she slowly began to undress.

“Patina is better looking than you any day.” Leo deadpanned.

Namiro huffed. “And here I was getting all ready to train you in using The Force… I guess I’m not good enough to do that either.” She replied as she left the room.

“No I know you’re better than Patina at that. I’m just saying you can't beat someone who has been a shapeshifter than you in the looks department. she will constantly one up how you look.” Leo pointed out trying to make him see the logic to her opinion.

Patina chuckled a little. “I don’t know… Namiro got the hang of shapeshifting pretty quick… and everyone has different tastes, so it’s not all set in stone who is better.”

“Well… I must get back to my boutique, do you know how long you will be staying Leo?” Rarity asked.

“No, I don't know how long but I should be here long enough.” Leo told Rarity.

The mare nodded before she left, “I’ll have the pants done by the end of the week… any other articles you want?”

“Underwear, pants, blue cloak… That's all i can think of!” Leo told Rarity as she was leaving.

Patina looked over at Leo. “Well, Is there anything you would like to do before Namiro returns?” she asked with a small smile.

“I can't think of anything… what do you suggest we do?” leo said shrugging.

“Well… hmm… now that I actually have a guest I don’t know…” Patina said with slight surprise. “Being the queen of a hive tends to take up a lot of your time.” She put a finger to her chin. “With the services we provide to Ponyville we don’t need to harvest any love… and… well… most of the drones that aren’t working with our harvesting are working on expanding the hive.”

“So basically you have never thought about anything other than working on your hive and mating with Namiro before.” Leo said. “We will have to change that! We need to find something you can do that is fun and not related to working on your hive. After all, all work and no play makes life grow dull!” she chirped.

“Well...I wouldn’t say no play…” Patina smirked as she went back to petting Viximon.

Leo blushed at what Patina ment. “Ok… I-I don’t know what to think anymore…” She stuttered.

“Perhaps you’d be interested in seeing our hatchery… we’ve had quite a population boom since we moved to Ponyville.”

“Sure…” Leo said while trying to calm herself down but it didn't work.

“You know… if you want to, you could spend some time just with me so that you could relax… From what Namiro told me most of you displaced beings are more than of mature age where you’re originally from.” Patina offered. “I could help you get a bit more comfortable around here.”

“U-um… I don't know… I don't really know what species I was before I was displaced… let alone if I could pass as ‘mature’... I only looked human after all.” Leo stuttered as her blush spread across her whole body.

Patina chuckled a little as she pet the digimon. “Then come on… I’ll take you around the hive.” Viximon hopped up onto her shoulder and curled up into a fluffy ball.

Leo nodded as she slowly followed Patina out of the room. ‘Not now… this couldn't have possibly happened at a worse time…’ she thought as her body began to twitch and blush even more. Patina looked back at the digimon with a curious expression.

“Are you alright Leo?”

Leo froze when Patina noticed, “I-I dont think so…” She stuttered.

“Leo… what’s going on… do you need to see one of our medical drones again?” She asked as she quickly made her way to Leo’s side.

“I-It’s not a medical problem…” Leo said.

“We can’t help if we don’t know what’s wrong Leo…” Patina replied as she quickly picked up the digimon.

“I think i’m…” Leo whispered as she began to shake again. Patina leaned closer with a raised brow. “I think I’m going into…” Leo whispered again.

“Leo… you don’t have to be scared…” Patina explained as she gently rubbed Leo’s ear. As Patina rubbed Leo’s ear something in Leo was released as if it was being sealed and she crumpled to the floor.

“I-I just went into Heat…” Leo whimpered in horror.

“Hm… is that normally a biological function of your species?” Patina asked as she began carrying Leo to her chambers.

“Digimon can't go into heat!” Leo cried as her mind began to go numb.

“Your old species…” Patina corrected.

“That would require knowing what my dad is…” Leo said as she grasped to keep her mind in control of herself.

As they passed a pair of guards Patina knelt down to have one of them take Viximon. “Would you like to stay a while then and have some help getting through this?” Patina offered as they arrived at the royal chamber.

“Please, and don’t let anyone... Not even Namiro or my father know about it… I would never be able to look at them again…” Leo said.

“It would be best if you told your father about what happened, that way he could help find out what caused you to have such a biological change. Fortunately changelings aren’t able to get other species pregnant so you have nothing to fear here…”

“Lets hope your theory holds true…” Leo said.

Learning Your Race

A/N: Since there's a lot of info in the actual Author's note I can't quite put it at the top of this chapter but... characters will be talking about sexy times in this chapter. Fair warning, it continues from the death star patrol team ascii art until the end of the chapter.

Phillip took a deep breath as he let himself be embraced in The Force, his surroundings blurred until he saw that he was once again in the starry sea that The Force took shape in on this world. A smile grew on his face as he noticed the venerable unicorn sage nearby. "Hello Master Starswirl..." the changeling greeted quietly, the natural peace of their surroundings seemed to carry the sound easily to the elder unicorn.

Starswirl nodded a little and turned to face his latest student. "It is good to see you once again Phillip... or should I say, Namiro..."

"I..." Phillip hesitated, he actually had been thinking about that very thing from the moment he had spoken to the larger changeling Queen. It wasn't a bad name for sure, it just... it had more than just one meaning to him if he decided to accept it and every muscle in his body wanted him to take up the mantle that he had so proudly proclaimed to the Queen. "I don't know why I told her that was my name..." He admitted, watching the unicorn to see if there was any answers in the sage's smiling face.

As if out of habit, the grey unicorn began to stroke his beard as he pondered. "I would have to say..." He started after a few moments. "... that it's because it is the name The Force has given you in your new form." He gave a small nod as his look turned more pensive. "The Force here works... differently... than any other universe I have observed." With a blink the wizened sage looked over to the Changeling only to be caught off guard by the undivided attention he was receiving. He let out a small chuckle. "Ah, this takes me back... I feel like I am a teacher at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns again... Anyway... as I was saying. The Force here is finicky, yet pliable at the same time." Phillip let his tail curl up around his legs as he made sure not to miss a single detail. "Creatures not born on this world change over time, depending on how reliant on the force they are, until they become creatures that are native to this world... much as you have youngling."

"So... a person who isn't a force sensitive...?" Phillip prodded.

"It depends on their proximity to a force user... but a non-sensitive could likely experience changes very gradually over the span of years if left on their own. Little details that wouldn't register until the change was almost complete."

"And what I had said earlier?"

"That was likely The Force helping guide you to a decision, giving you a direction to follow that will lead you to your destination." Starswirl replied before looking back to the Royal Changeling. "And you... You've been given a very unique role in this world... one that can hinge the fate of your entire race. Do not squander the opportunity to learn and master the art of patience, as a changeling I can only assume that emotions are a key facet of your race. It is all too easy for one who relies on their emotions to let their anger and rage lead them down the path of the dark side."

Nami-... Phillip nodded, "I understand, Master, this is... quite a shock..." The changeling sighed as he looked at his surroundings. The world that he was in was more like what people wished space looked like, what sci-fi movies made space seem, but instead of an all encompassing black the background shimmered like an aurora.

"I would expect so... Celestia and Luna nearly lost their minds when they realized that they could never return home in the forms they once had..." Starswirl quickly grew a mischievous smirk on his face. "Although, once they changed into their alicorn forms I was loathe to admit that they made me regret my vow of chastity."

"You... never had a family?" Phillip asked, a tad confused at the fact he would ask such a question.

The grey unicorn chuckled. "Of course I had a family, I didn't just appear out of thin air my good boy. Although... it wasn't until just after the peak of my prime that I found myself breaking my vow to be chaste..." He looked down at his lap as his eyes filled with thoughts of the past. "She was an absolutely beautiful mare... a pegasus to boot. The more I think back the more it seemed like it could've turned into some tragic love story." He chuckled before looking up at the changeling again. "But you wouldn't want to hear the tale of an old codger like me..." He dismissed as he waved a hand.

Phillip smiled a bit more. "I'd love to hear it, as far as I know I'm under house arrest for quite some time until the Queen of the hive figures out what to do with me so I have all the time that we need."

Starswirl had a much warmer smile as he was encouraged. "Alright..." He starts quietly before clearing his throat. "...Her name was Spark Wind. Her original job before I had met her was as a weatherworker, specializing in storms..."

The grey unicorn regaled the changeling with his tale of how he had come to meet his wife, had been married with Celestia acting as the presiding priest, and how he had spent the last of a golden age teaching his wife and their children to let The Force flow through them naturally instead of trying to control it through brute strength. It brought a nice, warm feeling to the sagely unicorn as he watched the changeling listen to him like an eager, young student.

"I may have broken my vow... but The Force has thankfully forgiven me for the transgression, its understanding knows no bounds for mortal creatures like us." Starswirl sighed happily as it looked like he was reclining back on a rocking chair. "The Force wants to be used here... it's why unicorns are so naturally able to use it... it's why we sense so few disturbances here while there are unicorns everywhere in Equestria that are using even the most basic of levitation." He let out a winded sigh. "Oh... I haven't had a good lecture like that in centuries, it does an old unicorn good to pass on his knowledge..."

Phillip smiled. "It was certainly an enlightening experience, I will be sure to keep this lesson with me always."

Starswirl nodded again. "Yes... I don't doubt that you will..." The world around them began to shimmer and blur. "It seems our time together is up... Take your lessons with me to heart young Padawan... they'll guide you far in life."

Phillip bowed. "Of course Master..." He replied quietly before he once again saw the changeling queen that had a good two to three feet on his current height. Her serpent-like tail flicked back and forth as her eyes were once again scanning his body. The two of them were silent for quite a while, both appraising the other without trying to say anything. Phillip found his eyes lingering on the wide and generously curved hips of the changeling in front of him...

As if noticing exactly where his gaze was the Queen's tail framed the hip that she wasn't standing on and wrapped around her leg to the front in order for his eyes to track to a spot that her tail rested on so she could immediately make the male changeling blush through his dark chitin. Patina smiled as she tasted the flare of lust that spouted as his eyes had gone exactly where she hoped they would. "Good... at least he's got a desire for breeding... he could actually help..." She smirked as she crossed the room and knelt down to hold the smaller changeling's chin in her hand. "Don't worry... once you fully mature you can help produce drones... until then though... it looks like we're going to have to get to know each other." Patina smirked a little more as she sensed the wave of lust and embarrassment that flared up.

Phillip, for his part, couldn't seem to take his eyes off of the Queen's hips. An instinct deep down in his core wanted to know exactly how she felt under her chitinous armor and his mouth began to actually water a little as his mind quickly played out a few fantasies. Then she had walked over to him and held his muzzle like one would get the attention of a child, something about her dominant personality was setting him off... and he loved it. In a way, he couldn't wait to become fully grown in this world if he got such a gorgeous changeling with the stature of an amazonian all to himself as a reward for growing up. "...what do I have to learn?" He asked, mentally chastising himself when it came out as a slight whimper. She had him right where she wanted him, if she felt like it she could have probably simply had her way with him whenever she wanted... it wasn't like he knew the way out of the cave and the changelings here were her children, not his... yet...

He blinked once as his mind registered the last thought. He had to quickly turn his attention to the queen though as she let his muzzle go.

"First, you'll have to learn about being a Royal Caste Changeling." She stated as she got up once again. "Follow me, I'll explain in my chambers..." Without resistance Phillip got to his... hooves... and followed after the large queen.

She wasn't really that large, about eight feet compared to his mere five. Quickly he pondered about the change in his height as he made sure to stay somewhat close to the Queen. The more he focused on his own body the more he felt like he itched all over, like wearing a sweater that was just slightly too tight. He wanted to pull the chitin covering his body away, but for fear of being vulnerable he resisted the urge to start peeling it away.

Patina stretched the slime door that led to her personal chamber to create a small gap that the Proto-King could pass through before she let the slime jiggle back into place in a way that remided Phillip of Jell-O, he let himself have a small mental chuckle before looking around the chamber.

It was nice, very spartan, but any furniture that was there seemed to be made out of a combination of discarded chitin and the same slime as the doors. Phillip let out a small yelp as the Queen lifted him up and put him on one of the beanbag-like cushions near what looked to be a giant waterbed. "Stop whining, I'm not going to hurt you..." Patina groaned. "...as long as you don't threaten my hive that is." She added before sitting on the bed. It slowly sunk a little to caress her curves as she watched him intently, practically daring him to try something.

Phillip found that familiar desire returning as he watched the Queen sink just that tiny bit into the bed and had it mold around her. "So... what... uh... what first?"

Patina crossed her arms over her chest, just under the solid plate of curved chitin that covered what he expected to be a rounded chest. "Since you certainly weren't a changeling when my scouts brought you in... and you're a royal..." She sighed as it seemed she was physically struggling with what she was trying to say. "I'm going to... need... he-e-e-..." She grimaced as she tried to bite back the rising bile taste in her mouth. "I'm going... to need... your help..." She explained after a few deep breaths. "How much do you know already about changeling biology?"

Phillip shifted on the very comfortable slime bag-chair-thing and felt his tail curl around his left leg in embarrassment. "I know that Changelings feed on the energy given off by emotion... and... well... that's about it..."

"So a fairly empty slate then... no problem..." Patina sighed. "I can work with this... my mother had to work with about the same and so far I've been able to handle it." She took a deep breath before looking up to meet Phillip's eyes. "As a Royal Caste changeling you are a source for the hive mind of our people, you are one of the anchors that keep us alive."

Phillip quickly nodded, more than happy that he was getting a lesson about changelings instead of getting punished for anything.

"You're still in the Proto-Royal stage though, so the eggs you lay won't have the same capabilities as the ones I have lain."

Phillip put a hand up before she could continue, at her pause he asked his question. "Wait... Me? Laying eggs? Last I checked I was male..."

Patina nodded. "As a changeling you are naturally Androgynous, other races prefer to call our kind hermaphrodites. Drones that are set as infiltrators can be used for either gender without question, but Royal Changelings... while still androgynous, tend to favor one gender over the other. As a royal you have the capacity to lay eggs just like a queen does."

As she let the message sink in Phillip decided to throw out another question. "Okay... I can deal with the whole laying eggs thing when I have to get to that hurdle... but... two major issues are raising red flags in my mind. First, why did you bring me here instead of keeping me in my 'cell' that I had already been in so that you could certainly not have any threat posed to you? And second... Why trust me?"

Patina leaned forward enough to let Phillip notice the sag in her posture, the pose of a person in power who was nearly losing their will to go on. "Because... Both of those questions have the same answer." She starts "Despite how much I don't want to trust that you were sent by an old religion to help my hive... I have to... because if you're right, you could be the one helping to lead my hive into a golden age... where food would be plentiful and I wouldn't have to watch as my children slowly starved to death on what little love our infiltrators can bring back from where they've hidden."

Phillip moved as if The Force was guiding him once again, but this time it didn't feel so alien when he got up and closed the distance between them in a couple of strides. Without needing to think he quickly embraced the queen in a hug, her sitting form being about as tall as him while he was standing so he could put his muzzle against her neck while he simply let his emotions flow, concern being the most prominent as he simply felt like his entire body was warming up like the thermal blanket he had as a child and would use in the winter.

Patina blinked a few times as she suddenly felt the flood of concern, the sweet and tangy taste that practically begged her to take every last drop. It was only a few moments that she could resist the urge, in the end though she fell to her hunger and ravenously began to eat. The sweet and tangy taste on her tongue drove her mind into ecstasy as her link to the rest of the hive began to get filled with the absolutely divine taste that her starved children craved. There was something more though, a link that she couldn't subconsciously connect to, underneath the concern. She began to let her mind wander towards it as her hive began to feed eagerly on the sheer amount of energy this one King seemed to have stored up, she wandered closer... closer... each second trying to reach out to the broken link, imagining herself reaching for the handle of a door... grasping it... turning it gently... opening it...

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Phillip felt breathless as he laid on a very soft and very large bed... that sunk to fit his form... He also felt much, much lighter. He blinked a few times and looked down at his body. He was laying completely nude, only the chitin covering his hooves and forearms was still on. The light-green bands of his stomach were bulging in a stark contrast to his darker skin. "...what the hell just happened?" he thought with a startled confusion before he noticed the strong feminine hand that gently scratched his belly, he followed the arm with his eyes to see the Queen he could have sworn he was just hugging a few moments ago in all her nude glory with only the same chitin covering her that was covering him. His cheeks flushed as he noticed that she had a fairly modest D-size pair of breasts that had usually been covered by a solid piece of molded chitin, making a mental note to ask about that little addition he decided to continue examining the situation he now found himself in.

The first thing he noticed was that the Queen had just as bloated of a stomach as he did, the moment he shifted a little the arm he hadn't realized was under his back pulled him in for a tighter hug and the queen let out a mumbled coo against his neck before she gently let her graceful forked tongue run up the length of his neck, sending shivers of pleasure down his body. A name came to the forefront of his mind as he gazed at the Queen who had her muzzle buried in his neck, eager to take in his scent. "...Patina..." He started quietly, with her lack of reaction he said her name a little louder. "...Patina." Lucky for him it didn't take a third time as the insect-mare scrunched up her face, revealing the tips of two upper fangs before she relaxed and slowly began to blink.

"N-Namiro?" She asked groggily before she blinked a little faster to clear away a pink glow that had accumulated around her eyes. "Oh Namiro... That was amazing... I..." She stuttered before looking up at him with a smile. "You sounded so casual about being able to have eggs... but to be so willing... I... I can't thank you enough." She let out a small squeal of joy, which seemed a tad odd and comical coming out of a mare who was a foot and a half taller than-... wait... foot and a half?

"Patina... I'm going to need you not to be upset over this..." He started cautiously, getting her attention and a confused look. "...But all I can remember is hugging you right before I remembered being about as high as a kite... because before I hugged you I was three feet shorter than you..."

"You... don't remember...?" She asked with a small hurt tone, making Phillip kick himself mentally.

"I'm not going to lie... it wouldn't do either of us any good..." He started quickly, trying to salvage the situation. "...But I want to know... so that hopefully... I might be able to remember..."

"Oh... Okay..." She replied quietly, letting her gaze fall on both of their stomachs, it was also that moment that Namiro had realized that the Queen's tail was actually resting inside of his, like his had been a warm sleeve that was keeping her tail warm. "Well..." She started quietly, placing a small kiss on his chest that sent another ripple of pleasure through Phillip's body. "...I... I think I added your mind to my hive... I remember everything so perfectly... It... I don't know how to describe what I felt when my mind connected to yours... I... I guess the best I have to describe it is... full... I felt so full when I connected to your mind... but... I also felt that there was so much that I just had to have eggs with you... so I asked you... I asked you to take me, to fertilize a clutch. There were so many eggs, I was actually worried that I wouldn't be able to fit them all comfortably since I wasn't used to having so many..." Patina smiled as she nuzzled against Phillip's chest. "That amazing tone you used... I couldn't place it... it seemed like old Equestrian with a dash of modern Trottingham... Oh... I practically melted at that tone when you said you'd be willing to take some of the eggs."

"I'm guessing that's when I grew...?" Namiro asked.

Patina smiled as she slowly began to sit up and stretch. "Yes, you were so risque about it too... you asked me to give you a few moments and then you molted a layer of chitin right in front of me. It took all of my willpower not to pull you back on top of me... but you... oh... you did it anyway, as if you knew exactly what you were doing you slid your tail over mine and begged me for some of the eggs..." Patina hugged herself with a warm smile before looking down to stroke her swollen stomach.

Phillip sat up a little, propping himself up on his elbows as he finally remembered every detail that had happened between his hug and waking up again. He placed a hand on the Queen's shoulder, easing himself into a sitting position as she shivered. "So I let you give me some of our eggs... that way we could both take care of a clutch."

Patina smiled warmly as she leaned against Namiro, pulling him into a hug that let his head rest on top of her left breast. "Of course..." She cooed. That was also the moment he noticed that the holes he had seen on her arms and legs were significantly smaller.

"T-the holes..." He stuttered as his hand moved up to her arm.

"Thanks to you, they'll be gone within the next week..." Patina replied as she rubbed his sensitive skin. "...And as for your question before you fell asleep..." She continued, getting a look from the smaller Royal Changeling. "I'd be happy to keep you in my hive."

Namiro gave a small shudder as she hugged him more firmly, his sheer number of questions lost in the Queen's soft embrace.

Train The Force Within

Phillip took a deep breath, his eyes darted to each of the stalagmite-esque pillars of hardened goo, each pillar had one thin stone balanced on top of it. With another breath he raised the hilt for his lightsaber, the Avenger-model shape fitting smoothly in both of his hands as he used his right thumb to press the activator button and let his blade make a hiss as the beam of light extended out a meter in length before it began to hum contentedly.

Several changeling drones had gathered in the large chamber the new King had requested, their curiosity piqued as they saw the lime-green blade emerge from what many thought was a mace he was holding upside down. Several sets of wings fluttered eagerly as the nearly two-meter tall Changeling King let the blade spin once in a circle next to him as if trying to get used to the gyroscopic effect that resisted the blade's arc.

Namiro let his mind drift back to Starswirl's previous lecture...

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

The grey unicorn had a similarly colored grey saber lit in his hands as the two of them stood in the middle of separate rings. Both of them were surrounded by candlesticks, each one having a lit candle and all at various heights. "This is where you begin your learning of Cadences..."

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

He let out a breath as his blade began to swing, feeling The Force directing him as the blade quickly sliced the first two stones, the momentum of the blade simply making both of the remaining halves collapse onto each other in a neat pile as he continued. For the third and fourth he leapt into the air on each one, letting a smooth, flowing swing cut each one vertically so that they would land parallel to each other. He landed in a crouch, his blade immediately sweeping in a short arc to cut the top of another stone plate. Proceeding into a handspring backwards his saber lunged for a plate and stabbed it in the center, quickly pulling out of the stone and forcing it to fall backwards before he stood up and swung his saber behind him, letting the blade stop at shoulder level. He turned to see his saber embedded halfway in the last stone plate and he gave a small smirk before pressing the activation button again to have the saber hiss as the blade retracted back into its hilt.

The plate wobbled a little before finally toppling over, letting Namiro take a satisfied breath as he began to relax a little just before the sound of applause reached his ears. He looked around in confusion to notice the rather large audience his 'dance' had attracted. He began to blush as Patina approached him, smiling gently.

"Where did you learn such an interesting fighting style?" She asked with piqued interest as she eyed the deactivated lightsaber.

"It's not quite a fighting style..." Phillip admitted as he lifted his free hand up to have all of the cut stone plates hover slowly away from the small pillars he was practicing on. "It was a technique used to help balance one's self with The Force... They're called Faalo's Cadences... but I wasn't able to properly set them up since we don't quite have the right materials."

"What materials do you need?" Patina eyed the stalagmite-like platforms that the stone plates had been on.

"Well..." Namiro started, scratching the back of his head. "The primary item I would need are candles and candle sticks... after that about a hundred and ninety ball bearings... That's just for practicing the first cadence though... A LOT more are needed for the next two." He clipped the saber to the covertech belt system at his side and let out another sigh. "I... I'm actually nervous about doing just the first cadence... Nineteen candles... One hundred nintey ball bearings... the whole thing takes about an hour to complete if done right."

"Is there any kind of special rule for these 'cadences' that you are practicing?"

"For the first three you're not allowed to strike the candles or else you've failed." Phillip explained. "The target for the fourth one is the candles themselves... and the fifth is the hardest of all... I have to telekinetically control my saber and strike at the ball bearings in a very specific order." He took a deep breath. "One cadence at a time though... have to work with the first to refine my control of my saber."

Patina looked thoughtful for a few moments before she snapped her fingers. "That's it!" She smiled brightly, showing off two cute fangs. "There's a town not too far from here that I've had infiltrators in for a month or so now, they took on completely original identities so that they wouldn't have to worry as much about being detected as fakes."

"What's the name of the place?" Namiro asked as he picked up his robe.

"It's called Hardersfield, the place is practically a subsistence ghost town, but they may be able to help get the materials you need."

Namiro smiled as he brought his robe up to cover his head. "That's good... I'll be back soon then..." He says quietly as he leans towards the slightly taller mare and pulls her head down to place a kiss on her muzzle, which she returns with a slight moan as she pulls him into a warm hug.

"...I'll be counting the minutes, love..." Patina whispers, making Phillip chuckle.

"I'm sure you will, take care." He says quietly before letting himself become engulfed in a green flame, letting the fire douse itself to reveal a dark chestnut-colored stallion with a short-cropped dark green mane. He looked himself over quickly before he started making his way out of the hive, giving a small hum of approval.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Phillip covered his eyes as he finally stepped out into the sun after what was very likely an entire month underground, the soothing green lights of the cave were replaced by the harsh white of the sun...

...And it felt like he was going to cook in his clothes with how damn hot it was. In moments he had taken off his robe and top layer of tunic so that he only had his light undershirt and loose pants as he traveled along the sun-baked road away from the cave. After about an hour of walking he really started regretting that he hadn't brought a drinking sac with him... or money... why the hell was he out in this sun again? Oh yeah, He came to get a bunch of candles and quite likely several pounds of ball bearings. He let his mental link to the hive stretch out to meet the infiltrators of the town, looking to get a couple of them to help him create a small story about why he's visiting.

Namiro blinked a few times as the town finally came into view, he smiled as he sensed two of the infiltrators getting closer to him before he saw the wagon and two lizard-like creatures pulling it. One of the infiltrators, disguised as a cream-white unicorn mare with a similar butter-yellow mane got off the wagon with a slight frown of disapproval before she ushered the slightly-larger stallion into the wagon. He nodded a little before getting up into the wagon and practically collapsed on one of the benches under the wagon cover.

The infiltrator simply rolled her eyes before getting in behind the Proto-King and signaling the other infiltrator, disguised as a ruby-red pegasus stallion with an orange mane, to take them back to town. He let out a sharp order and snapped the reins to get the lizard-creatures pulling the cart to head back towards town. For the most part the ride was silent, the infiltrators talked back and forth between themselves over their mental link, adopting their usual small smiles as they reached the town again.

A light-green earth pony with a dark blue mane walked up to the wagon as it pulled into town. "Hey Crimson!" She called out to the driver, who waved back.

"Hey Jade Meadow, what's up?" He asked as the mare quickly swung herself up onto the cart.

"Oh... nothing much... what brings you out with the wagon?" The green earth pony asked.

"My sister and I had to go pick up one of our cousins from the train station, fool tried to walk the whole way and nearly collapsed from exhaustion just because he was impatient to wait for a ride." The red pegasus chuckled.

"Ah! I see, I guess that's the reason why your sis isn't up here with you then?"

"Yep, she's looking over the goofball until we get to the house, then it'll be my turn." Crimson Hunter explained.

The green mare narrowed her eyes playfully as she reclined on the wagon seat, being sure to show as much of her muscle that her fairly modest working clothes would let her. The tank top she was wearing stopped just a couple inches from her waist so that her stomach muscles could be seen and her shorts made sure to frame her generous curves that working as a heavy-lifter had built up.

Crimson smiled as he tasted the lust radiating from the mare, his sister began to carefully taste as well as she tended to their new King. "You know... I'm sure Cousin Aegis would be happy to join us later..." the infiltrator teased, smirking a little more as he sensed the flare of lust as she tried to stutter out a counterargument.

"I-... You... You know that I'm not into threesomes..." She blustered as she tried to regain her composure, biting her lip as she looked towards the sleeping form of the brown earth pony. "Well..." She continued with another flare of lust. "...I might be willing to try it... if he wants to though... I know a lot of stallions prefer herds of mares..." She blinked a little. "Wait... Aegis?" She asked as she looked at Crimson in confusion.

"Aegis Armor... he's lived his life kinda like those Tibraytan Shaolin monks... learning the art of self defense without killing." The disguised changeling explained.

"And... you really think that he'd be into a threesome with us? Those monks take that self-purity stuff really seriously..."

"He's not... quite as dedicated as them... that's why he left, he did so on good terms, but he left their order after learning from some of the best teachers." The changeling replied with a strained smile, sweating a little under her scrutinizing gaze.

She leaned back with a slightly suspicious look before looking at the brown earth pony who was passed out on the wagon bench again. "Still... only if he doesn't mind..." She lets out a sigh as they pass a carpentry shop. "Well, I gotta git goin'... See you later Crimson." The light green mare quickly hopped off the front of the cart and made her way inside the shop.

The disguised changeling let out a relieved sigh. "That was a close one..." He whispered as he spurred the rouncies to move a bit faster so they could get back to their cottage. He pulled into the small stable that they had and quickly unhitched the lizard quadrupeds to let them relax after the journey before making his way to the wagon again to help his sister get their 'cousin' inside.

Once inside the red changeling nodded to the cream one. "Alright Ivory... you go do... whatever it is you do during the day, I'll get Namiro ready." The cream changeling nodded and quickly left the house. Crimson turned back to their king with a small sigh. "Let's see... how much will it take for you to recover from being stupid...?" he muttered.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro woke up to the tantalizing scent of one of the sweetest scents he had ever smelled... Strawberry Cheesecake! He slowly blinked his eyes opening, adjusting to the interior lights of a cobblestone basement, a very cool cobblestone basement. The first thing he noticed was that he was on what felt like a Futon, patting the bed gently he realized that he was in his undisguised form as the shape of the bed didn't quite feel as comfortable as the bed he was used to sharing with Patina.

The very second thing he noticed was the red stallion in work jeans and nothing else sitting nearby with a clear cup of pink liquid that his senses were... enthusiastically... telling him to take.

The stallion nodded a little before he started to speak. "As great of a pleasure as it is to meet you King Namiro... that was a very stupid thing that you did."

Phillip blinked a couple more times as he slowly sat up. "Yes... I... I would have to admit that it was pretty dumb."

"Good, that saves me the trouble of needing to explain to yet another Royal how the independence of an infiltrator is key to remaining undetected." The red pegasus sighed as he held out the cup, blinking a little in surprise as the cup floated slowly out of his hand over to the Proto-Royal.

"Thank you..." Phillip said quietly before taking a small sip of the pink liquid. It tasted just as good as it smelled and had about the same consistency as a sports drink. He hesitated only a few seconds before drinking the rest of the glass down.

"Honestly... that's the first time I've ever seen a changeling wake up from exhaustion like that without at least half a jar of love." Crimson said as he got up, putting a lid on a nearby jar of similar pink liquid. "I take it you liked the taste though, it's the best emotion of them all..." He smiled as he fondly looked at the jar before placing it on a nearby shelf that had three other jars of liquid love placed above the shelves of other emotions in a rainbow-esque gradient.

Namiro narrowed his eyes curiously as he saw the arranged shelves. "Why collect more than just love?"

Crimson chuckled. "Because not all changelings prefer the sweet-tasting emotions..." He explained as he pulled a red jar off the shelf, the only filled red jar. "Ivory prefers spicy emotions like anger, that's why she goes out of her way to make sure her coltfriend and her argue over little things and have 'angry sex' as she likes to call it. I don't personally get why she likes the taste, but she's always smiling and bubbly the next morning after so I keep an extra stash of it in case Jade, my marefriend, has a stressful day I can harvest from."

The changeling king scrunched his nose as the infiltrator opened up the red jar, his eyes watered even as he quickly covered his nose, feeling assaulted by a mixture of ghost peppers and five alarm hot sauce. "Okay!" He choked. "You can cover the jar now..."

Crimson was all too happy to put the jar away and safely surrounded by the much-better tastes, even the bitter emotions seemed like a better option than spicy ones like that. "Anyway... it's better to have a wide variety stashed away..."

"So... Which emotions produce which colors?" Namiro asked, gaining a look from the infiltrator that made it seem like the King had grown a second head.

"Y-... you're serious?"

"I've only been a changeling for about a month... after being transported here from a different world, I'm still learning." Phillip grumbled.

Crimson sighed. "Fine... I'll give you a rundown..." He said as he picked up several of the jars, each one a solid color. He sets the red one down on a nearby table first. "First and foremost is anger... it's spicy and very few changelings enjoy the taste." He puts a green jar next to it. "Grief... very bitter, but if added to another emotion it can enhance the taste if you don't use too much." Next up was a jar of yellow liquid that made Namiro's jaw ache in anticipation. "Envy, sour, quite a few changelings find themselves attracted to the taste... but it certainly is an acquired taste."

He puts a jar of near-black liquid down. "This very dark brown one I, and many other changelings, hate the most... Fear... It's an astringent, or dry, taste and never seems to taste good with any other emotion... it has become the most plentiful after what our previous queen tried to do..." He lets out a sigh before turning his attention back to the shelves, letting the King notice at least three shelves holding five jars, sans the one on the table, each of the blackish liquid. "Ivory and I made sure to harvest that one completely out of the townsfolk though so they would be able to get along a lot better as well as accept new arrivals without panicking... That griffon they nearly chased off was a real sweetheart once you got to know her. If it weren't for Ivory and I, Gilda might not have been able to take her job at the inn."

"Yeah..." Namiro replied as he placed a hand on the infiltrator's shoulder. "...I understand, I've made it my personal quest to find a way to live peacefully among the races of this planet... there's so much we could learn from each other..."

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Jade Meadow had a playful smirk as she eased open the door to Crimson's house, she had seen Ivory out earlier already arguing with her coltfriend so the green mare knew that Crimson and Aegis would be home, alone... at least until tomorrow, since everyone who knew Ivory and Ebony understood that she only picked a fight when the two of them were going to be intimate. She eased her way across the fuzzy carpet, looking around to see if she could surprise her coltfriend so the two of them could at least get a nice moment alone before asking Aegis if he wanted to join in.

Not seeing the red pegasus she decided to sneak her way deeper in the house, noticing that the door to the basement was open. She smiled a little bit to herself as she carefully placed a hoof on the stone steps, happy that she didn't have to worry about any creaking floorboards. Her breath caught in her throat and she made herself as quiet as she could when she heard Crimson talking to who she assumed to be Aegis Armor.

"This very dark brown one I, and many other changelings, hate the most... Fear... It's an astringent, or dry, taste and never seems to taste good with any other emotion... it has become the most plentiful after what our previous queen tried to do..." She heard him explain before sighing. "Ivory and I made sure to harvest that one completely out of the townsfolk though so they would be able to get along a lot better as well as accept new arrivals without panicking... That griffon they nearly chased off was a real sweetheart once you got to know her. If it weren't for Ivory and I, Gilda might not have been able to take her job at the inn." She put her hand to her mouth as her eyes shrunk a little, she leaned around the corner just a little and nearly gasped at the sight of the pegasus she had been dating for the past month sitting next to a changeling that nearly towered over the red stallion even while sitting, between them were several jars filled with colored water. The one fact that kept her from running away screaming though... was that she wasn't afraid... she was shocked for absolute sure... but she wasn't scared.

"Do you love her...?" The larger changeling asked her coltfriend, earning a slightly confused look from her.

"I... I don't know what you mean..." He stutters hesitantly, getting the larger changeling to pull him in for a hug.

"Love... Crimson... Do you love her?" He asked again, taking a small breath before continuing his explanation. "If you were given the chance to tell her what you really are... would you take it? Would you rather be rid of the disguise and have her accept you for who you are? Not how you look?"

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro purposely turned the infiltrator away from the door as soon as he saw the jade-colored mare peek around it, immediately he began to direct the shock towards himself so that Crimson wouldn't notice that she saw them. The red stallion was leaning against his chest as he let out a sad sigh.

"I... I've had several opportunities too... every time she gave herself to me I could have told her... I wanted to tell her... but... I... I was afraid to... Ivory and I heard rumors about what the Equestrians were doing to changelings in Canterlot..."

"How much did you lie to her about...?" Phillip asked gently, making sure the mare in the doorway heard the question as he noticed her take a small step into the room, her shock being replaced by curiosity.

Crimson straightened himself a bit more, looking at the floor with a slight frown. "aside from not telling her I'm a changeling? Nothing... I... I don't know how I know... but every word that I told her... every compliment..." He hesitated a little as a blush crossed his face. "Every time I let her try a new one of her kinks out on me... I... I loved it..." He took a small breath as he seemed to find a bit of confidence. "If I had the opportunity I'd happily spend all day just laying in bed with her and watching her smile as she cuddled against my chest... making me feel so warm and full... and..." He slumped a little as he brought a hand to his face and scowled a little. "...I felt so guilty about my own selfishness... being so full while the rest of our family was practically starving... after the first time we had been together I... I made sure to only feed on what I needed to get through the day and send every ounce of extra that I had to the hive... The fact that I have three jars now is only because the rest of the hive has stopped needing... so... much...?" He paused as he looked to Namiro again. "Wait... I've been getting messages about... you've been feeding them?"

Phillip smiled as he ruffled the pegasus' mane. "As I said when the Queen asked me... I will say again... I'm here to help, just as much as you and your sister have helped this community." He let out a small smirk as he stopped. "And I think someone else has something to say..."

They both turned to see the green mare in the doorway, she squeaked a little when she realized she had been spotted and started to fidget under the larger changeling's smile and her coltfriend's utterly shocked look. It was quiet for several minutes before Namiro started speaking. "Come on over, don't be a stranger, I'm sure you have plenty of questions..." The Changeling King got up from his chair and stretched before offering the seat to her. With very timid steps she slowly closed the gap between them before cautiously taking the offered seat.

"T-thank you..." She said quietly, nodding a little to the larger changeling. Jade looked at Crimson with a curious look. "...So changelings... don't... uh..." She hesitated, trying to not sound insulting. At both of their inquisitive looks she continued, swallowing the lump in her throat. "... don't drain you of your emotion until you have no will to live?"

She was surprised as the larger changeling started to chuckle, which slowly grew into all out laughter. Crimson and Jade both shot him glares before they noticed what they had both done in sync and blushed. Once Namiro had begun to calm down he took a few small gasping laughs. "Oh... Oh I'm sorry... I... I don't know why I started laughing... hehe... but... that was just really funny..." He took a moment to compose himself with another breath. "To answer your question though... The worst we could do to your race is make it so you simply didn't give a damn about what was going on, even then it would only be temporary until your emotions built back up."

Jade made an 'oh' expression as the realization dawned on her about why there had been a few days where she just could have watched the world pass her by and not cared. "So... when I came to you on a stressing day..." She started as she looked at Crimson.

The red pegasus nodded and continued her thought. "I wanted to make you feel better so I drained the emotion that was stressing you out away..."

Jade leaned back in her seat with a stunned look. "I... Wow... I never could've thought..."

"It's because people stop asking questions... people find reasons to hate, so they stop understanding..." Phillip said as he knelt down in front of the mare, picking up her hand gently. "I was brought to this world to help make bonds that could last throughout the ages... Would you like to be our first success?" He asked quietly.

The green mare was quiet for several moments, her eyes switching back and forth between the changeling in front of her and her coltfriend before her gaze finally stayed on Crimson. "C-can... can I see... your real form?"

Namiro let go of the mare's hand as the infiltrator nodded, slowly standing before letting his entire body get engulfed in green flames that quickly faded to reveal a changeling with emerald eyes that matched its pony form as well as a physique that also quite closely matched. Jade slowly got up and took a slow step towards the infiltrator, Crimson's entire body tensed as he waited for her to scream and run.

As the Changeling King had expected, the mare brought her arms up around Crimson's neck and pulled him into a kiss that made the changeling's eyes widen in surprise before he started to relax and his wings began buzzing excitedly. When they parted the kiss Crimson had a slight pink tinge to the edge of his eyes that Jade took notice of. "Huh... no wonder I couldn't smell the cannabis when I entered your house..."

Phillip blinked. "Wait... Cannabis? You mean...?"

"Yes, I do... It's only illegal in Manehattan, but the police don't go out to bust stoners unless there's another reason they've been called to the scene." Jade replied with an amused roll of her eyes. "They've got better things to crack down on there." She looked between Crimson and the larger changeling a couple times. "Any problems with giving us a few minutes alone? Or would you rather get to the threesome now?"

Namiro held up both of his hands defensively. "No problems here, I'll be upstairs." He quickly changed into his earth pony disguise and went upstairs, chuckling to himself as he made sure to close the door and muffle the moans he heard coming from the basement.

Harvested Love

Namiro groaned as he... she... started to sit up. A hand almost immediately went to his-... her head as she began to look over herself. The form of the Royal changeling had more of the same rounded and smooth look as Patina had taken. She rubbed her eyes a little as she looked around the room, then blinked at the number of jars full of pink liquid had been stacked near the storage shelf. "Oh... wow... I... damn." She stumbled out as she shakily got to her hooves, using her tail against the bed to stabilize her new form.

The second thing she noticed was the empty chitin husk over near the table. "It was certainly a pleasure to harvest with you last night Namiro..." The deep voice had caught the Royal off-guard and caused her to yelp a little before directing her attention to the undisguised Infiltrator that was sitting next to the bed. He gave a small chuckle as he shakily got up. "I know that Royal changelings are able to store a lot of love, but you... wow... I... I think I know what Jade meant when she tried explaining that Cannabis stuff to me."

Namiro let out a small chuckle as well, closing her eyes to let emerald flames engulf her. As they faded, the stallion Aegis Armor stood in the Royal's place. "Yeah..." He began. "...I'm not sure even Cannabis is able to get us as high as straight love does." He shakes his head a few times and groans as he starts to arch his back again. "Wow... How many times did we go at it?"

"I lost track after twenty..." Crimson laughed before looking back to the Jade-green mare who was coated in several blobs of green slime. "I think we may have been a bit too much for her..."

"Too much for her? I could've sworn you were going to be too much for me!" Namiro chuckled as he stumbled over to the table. "Oh..." He moaned as he sat down. "I... I think I might just use a few of those examples with Patina."

Crimson smiled as he sat back down on the bed. "Mother would very much enjoy taking her time with you." He said as he pet the emerald-green mare's cheek, causing her to let out a groan as she began to wake up.

"Something... tastes like lemon pie..." the green mare slurred as she slowly sat up, smacking her lips a couple times. "...Oh yeah, your... uh..."

"Slime?" Namiro offered.

"Yeah! That stuff!" Jade replied with a small smile before putting a finger on her muzzle. "So... why does the slime taste like that again?"

Namiro and Crimson Hunter both shrug. "We don't know actually..." Crimson explains. "Every infiltrator has had similar results with the scent and taste being what our 'lovers' favor. Since you like that Lemon Meringue Pie stuff the slime that changelings make tastes and smells like it."

Jade opens her mouth, trying to say something but fumbling a few times before finally figuring out what to say. "You guys really are designed to please aren't you?"

Namiro gives a laugh. "We're androgynous... we shapeshift... the slime we make tastes like your favorite food... Yeah, I'd say we are."

"So... what do you guys make it from?"

"It's apparently what we make when we consume the same kinds of food non-changelings do." Namiro replied as he got up again, stretching once more. "I think it'll be a good idea for all of us to get clean..." He groans as his back gives a few satisfying pops.

Jade watches as his tail twitches with each pop. "You know... last night I forgot to ask why you two have different tails..."

"It's because Namiro is a Royal Caste changeling, the tails that they have are used to lay eggs for the hive." Crimson explained as they all began to make their way upstairs.

"At least, that's what we've known so far... with how flexible it is I wouldn't be surprised if there were other uses." The chestnut earth pony continued. "We'll probably find out a bit la-a-..." Namiro suddenly began to feel woozy as he reached the top of the steps, both the pony and changeling rushed to his side to catch him.

"Aegis!?" Jade exclaimed as she caught the disguised changeling, no matter how much both of them tried to wake him though, he wouldn't respond.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro looked around curiously, seeing several buildings made out of very expensive materials; stone, slate, anything that would help keep out the cold that he felt was blowing his robe around. Turning to his right he saw a surprised lineup of several ponies, they were a mix of each race.

There were three unicorns, two had white coats with manes of a cool color like purple and blue, while the third one had a violet coat and similar mane of purple shades. Two pegusai and two earth ponies accompanied them, one pegasus was yellow while the other was a fairly lovely cyan color while the earth ponies were orange and pink.

The one that drew his attention the most was the slightly larger pony that had a horn and wings, something Patina had explained to him was an Alicorn. They were all looking at either him or something to his left, so he took a chance and looked off to the other side, shifting his grip on the saber in his grip as he noticed what they were staring at.

Across from him in a plaza-like area was an ebony-coated unicorn with a cruel-looking red horn, he practically stank of the dark side and the absolute hate was enough to make Namiro grimace in disgust as the foul emotion made him take a step back. In one small motion he brought his saber up to his defensive neutral stance and lit up the light-blue blade. The Royal changeling grit his teeth as the unicorn drew a blood-red sword from his cloak.

Namiro shivered a little just before the vision began to flash, one moment he would be evenly clashing blades against the unicorn and the next he was struck by the evil blade. Each cut burned at his chitin and quickly made him start panting as the clearly more-experienced sorcerer had the advantage in melee combat. Another flash and Namiro knew the sorcerer was just toying with him, he was on his knees... his cloak in shreds and his saber hilt sliced cleanly in half on the ground between them. He scowled as the sorcerer laughed at him. "You thought that someone just barely out of their training could challenge me? That a mere apprentice could succeed where the others have failed?!"

The changeling spared a glance around him as the ebony unicorn laughed, around him were the injured bodies of many guards, even the bleeding body of the Alicorn that he had seen moments ago was a testament to this new sorcerer's strength. "You kneel before me... beaten, broken... and now... you will simply be a new resource for me to build an army... Changeling..." the unicorn gloated as he leveled his blade at the changeling that was scowling at him.

The unicorn laughed for only a few more seconds before the hiss of a lightsaber was heard and the last third of a crimson blade pierced through the unicorn's chest, only to retract a few moments later and let the stallion collapse in front of the newcomer; a black-winged male with a very familiar Relic-model lightsaber hilt.

With a dark chuckle the newcomer threw his favorite one-liner, "There's always a bigger fish..." before the vision began to blur and fade.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro blinked a few times as he realized that he could hear the sounds of a shower starting, everything was a bunch of blobs of color as he let out a groan. A red blob that he guessed was Crimson pressed something against his lips that got Namiro to focus his mind right quick as the spicy liquid made him cough and hack as his senses returned to him. "What... the... hell?" the Royal Changeling coughed.

"Anger, it's a great way to bring someone back to their senses."

Namiro gives another cough as he eyes the red-stained shot glass. "How long was I out?"

Jade looked over to him, still in the buff as she shook her tail at him a little. "About an hour, what happened?"

The Royal Changeling blinked and rubbed his throat a little before swallowing the lump in his throat. "I believe The Force gave me a vision... a Darksider that I know personally..." he shivers a little. "Once a friend, now an enemy..." the Royal took a breath as he began to compose himself. "I believe it may be something that will happen soon."

Crimson put a hand on the Royal's shoulder. "Let's get cleaned up first, then we'll worry about visions."

Scouting

Phillip shook himself for what felt like the tenth time in the past five minutes, getting the last of the water from his shower out of his simulated chestnut coat. Jade had been kind enough to keep the changelings' secret for now but she did press the issue about having them at least speak with the mayor to introduce the two races...

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Jade made frowned a little as the small group sat at the kitchen table, well, as she and Namiro sat at the table. Crimson was making some pancakes for the emerald mare while whistling a small tune. "You really should find a way to get the mare to introduce your race... Ponies around here respect the mare, if you guys can get her to vouch for you then it may not be too long before the rest of the town accepts you."

The Royal Changeling leaned a little in his chair, taking a small sip of the shot glass filled with recently-collected lust. "I... I understand that, what worries me though is that I've heard from Crimson about what happens to changelings who've been found out."

Jade waved a hand. "What? Those rumors about changelings being taken prisoner and then used to detect other changelings? The princesses wouldn't let something like that happen, Princess Celestia is one of the most benevolent rulers on the planet. She goes out of her way to keep a garden of endangered species just so that she can make sure that they do still exist on the planet, so she wouldn't just use a sentient race like changelings as tools."

Namiro took a large breath as he felt a nice buzz settle in the pit of his stomach. "I just... I don't want to put the Queen's hive at risk if it should go wrong..."

"I get ya..." Jade replied. "If you want to go that route though, reveal yourself as a solo-changeling seeking safety and refuge... probably in a more pony-sized form... but don't reveal any other changelings that may be in the area." She stretched to bring her hands behind her head while her tail flicked back and forth a little. "I'm telling you, introducing the town a little bit at a time to changelings would be a lot better than just doing something stupid like bringing half a swarm to town to introduce to the townsfolk."

"It's not like I was planning to just waltz down the street undisguised, Jade... I know a bit of tact is needed for this." Namiro replied as he rolled his eyes. "I just..."

Jade interrupted him with a smile. "You're worried about your new 'family'...?"

"Yeah..." the changeling admitted. "I don't want them getting hurt."

"We're a pretty understanding town as long as someone is willing to vouch for you... if you can convince the Mayor then you'll have a pretty strong point to rally around."

Namiro nodded. "I'll go talk to her... If we're lucky, this will be a way to get peace talks with the princesses started."

Jade smiled and leaned forward as Crimson brought over a plate of pancakes. "See, you gotta start small... when it seems like a huge task, take it in chunks and you'll be doing a lot of big stuff in no time!"

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro gulped a little as he hesitated outside of the door to town hall, if everything went well then his next stop would be the local blacksmith to look into the price of a hundred-ninety ball bearings and nineteen candlesticks so that he could find out how much he would have to work towards. Swallowing the small lump in his throat he slowly pushed the door open, revealing a small, likely-air conditioned, lobby that had a magenta earth pony stallion sitting at the desk as a secretary due to his fairly formal attire. He was wearing a white suit, although the arms had been trimmed off of the jacket and undershirt to give it as much breathing room as possible.

As he approached the desk the magenta stallion looked up. "Hello! How may I help you?" He asks with a cheery smile.

Namiro gave a small smile in return. "I'd like to speak with the Mayor, I'm a bit new in town so I was hoping to have a chance to speak with the mayor about some rumors that I've heard in the area."

"I'd be happy to check if you can speak with the mare, give me just a moment." The magenta stallion replies before he starts shuffling through a few nearby papers. After almost a minute he turns to the Chestnut earth pony. "The Mayor's schedule is clear until five so you can go right on in."

"Thank you very much, I hope not to take up too much of the Mayor's time." Namiro replied before making his way to the back office where he noticed a tan-colored mare with a grey mane sitting behind the desk.

"Hello sir!" She starts with a similar cheery smile. "How are you doing this lovely day?"

He takes a seat in front of the desk and smiles back. "I'm doing fairly well, I'd like to discuss a few rumors that have begun to sprout up..."

"Oh?" The mare asks. "What kind of rumors?" She hesitates only for a second before getting a dawning realization on her face. "Oh! you're probably referring to the rumors that we have changelings living in town!" the mare explained with a growing smile as she saw Namiro's growing shocked expression. "Don't worry, they're true and we have several members of the local guard out keeping an eye on the ponies we believe are changelings just to be sure they don't cause any trouble."

Namiro had been stunned, how had they been found out that easily? When had they been found out? He slowly shook his head and got his mind ready for speaking. "Well... Uh... who do you suspect is a changeling?"

"Well, the two that many in town believe are changelings would be Ivory Relief and Crimson Hunter." The tan mare explained with a small smile.

"How are you sure it is them?"

"That's an easy one..." the mare explained as she got up. "Ever since those two came to town the first emotion that seems to have been disappearing was fear, the first fears to be absent were fears about changelings sneaking into town and replacing the townsfolk."

That had thrown the Royal changeling for another loop, and all this time he had thought that they were being subtle.

"After that they've just been downright helpful around town and willing to do just about any job, with a fondness for construction. We're fine with them being here as long as they don't cause any trouble, those two have made this town the happiest it's been in years." She finished with a broad smile before looking back to the Chestnut stallion. "I don't doubt that you are one as well, as I know that those two specifically went out to retrieve you from the badlands against any sort of scheduled train dropoff." She smirked a bit wider at the changeling's stunned look that re-emerged with double the force. "We may be happy and naive, but we are not stupid. As long as the changelings that are here don't cause trouble and continue making our town a happy little town we have no need to report them to the Princesses. We'd rather not have a full military force coming through our town on the rumor that several ponies may be changelings."

Namiro blinked a few more times, trying to formulate any kind of response. The mare chuckled as she finished her route around half the desk to stand next to him. "Now... what brings you to my office... Mr. Armor?"

"I... Well... You've honestly caught me off guard here... I was expecting this to go... slightly differently." He stuttered as he shifts in his seat, keeping his eyes from being drawn to the mare's very full, round hips. "I... I was hoping to make an arrangement that could... help this town... and my race..." Despite his fairly adept will, his eyes still drift across her hips as she leans up against the desk in front of him. A well placed hand motions for him to look up and he obliged as the Mayor began to speak.

"Let's hear it, we might be able to get something... mutually beneficial... out of the deal." She giggled a little. "I believe we could even use this as a learning experience..."

Namiro nodded a little as his mouth felt a bit dry. Throughout his entire life as a human he had only had one woman he had ever been intimate with, and they had broken off their relationship to still be gaming buddies... what was happening to him now as a changeling? He had gotten into a relationship with another Royal Caste changeling who, admittedly, was fairly open about relationships, he made love to a changeling of the hive AND 'his' marefriend, and now... he was possibly being seduced by a mare that could possibly qualify to be his mother. He could only really think of one thing as he felt himself a bit entranced by the older mare. "...Life as a changeling is weird..."

He took a small breath to get his senses back. "I would like to propose moving some more changelings into town... not a lot... but a few more to help continue collecting the love needed to feed my hive as well as quell fear that changelings are some sort of soul-eating pony-bug."

The Mayor nodded. "That is a nice idea, perhaps we can arrange something like that." She gets her smirk back. "If you'd like... we could meet up later to relieve some stress, Celestia knows I have a fairly stressful time in office trying to keep things running smoothly here."

Without realizing it Namiro found himself nodding to her request almost eagerly as she leaned forward. She moaned as her lips connected with his, prompting him to moan as well as his hands fumbled to reach for her body. With practiced ease the tan mare took his wrists gently and guided his hands up to her breasts that were making a fairly modest bulge in her shirt. The moment she let go though she shivered as his hands quickly slid down her sides all the way to her hips, gently squeezing them like a lover would. She began to ease herself into his lap, rubbing the front of her tight business pants against his loose training tunic pants, letting her hands brace against his shoulders while she pressed her chest to his.

Then they broke the kiss, panting with the arousal in the air. The Mayor smirked, "I get off work at six... care to wait for me?" She asked playfully, causing the VERY aroused changeling to groan a little.

"I... Yes... but... What's your name?" He asks quickly, blinking away the pink haze that began to build up in his eyes.

The tan mare leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "Orchid Gem... What about you?"

"N-Namiro..." He began. "But... I also go by... Aegis... Armor..."

The mare gives a giggle. "I like the latter... and be sure to come by in this form... you look so handsome as an earth pony." She quickly gets up, making Aegis reach weakly out to her as she moves back to her seat behind the desk. "So, I'll have the plans drawn up and I'll speak with you later to finalize them, after having some time to relax of course." She explains with a smile at the dazed changeling.

With a sigh Namiro stood up and gave a small bow. "T-thank you for... thinking about my proposal..." He eventually managed to say as he cleared the pink haze from his eyes. It was a few seconds before he stumbled over to the door, taking a deep breath to compose himself before opening the door.

The magenta stallion was smirking as Namiro left, chuckling a little to himself as he went back to work.

Namiro stood out in the seemingly-blistering daylight of outside once more and finally rid himself of his arousal, trying to get his mind back on what he was supposed to do.

...Orchid...

"Shut up brain!" He grit his teeth as it seemed that his entire arousal hadn't passed but alas, he moved on and began making his way to the blacksmith's shop, looking to get a price on the ball bearings that he needed. He put a hand to his head as he tried to get his thoughts off of the mare. "Is every pony in this world obsessed with sex like that?" he began to wonder with growing horror. "What if the Princesses make that a requirement to simply take a look at the peace treaty?"

Each thought that went through his mind got progressively more Freudian until finally another voice chimed in. "Namiro..." Patina's voice replied in his head. "As funny and entertaining as that last one was... I really doubt that the princesses would have you submit them to bondage and teasing in order to approve of a peace treaty between our races."

That response halted him mid-step. "...I forgot that I was connected to the hive still..."

"Yeah, that can happen after a while if you don't actively focus on your links, I've had drones bring me strange things simply because I forgot I was connected to them all."

"... please don't laugh..." He pleaded, knowing that either she would ignore the request or at least act like she wasn't going to.

"too late for the request, although you have given me an idea to try when you get back..."

"Which one?"

"You'll find out when you get back." He could practically hear the fact that she was likely already toying with one of the many ideas that he proposed in his mind, he began to get a tad worried.

"...Am I going to regret giving you the idea?"

"...Maybe..." she teased.

His sense of dread came back two-fold as he started making his way quicker to the blacksmith's shop.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro was very unamused, the slight frown on his face said so as he watched the very muscled, and quite strangely-covered, earth pony mare with her back to him hammering out something on an anvil. Even without speaking up or having her turn around somehow he could already tell that her bra size was an E-cup and that her hips would fit absolutely perfectly into his in his undisguised form. His eye twitched in anger as his arousal flared up again, letting him praise The Force that he wasn't wearing tight pants.

"Really brain? Is sex all you're going to think about today?" He took a slow and deliberate breath as he mused waiting for a response.

Yes...

At that very moment he nearly lost his composure as he could've basically heard his own mind talking back to him but he quickly put on a smile as the accurately-estimated mare turned around to notice him with a slightly-fanged smile. The mare's piercing, catlike yellow eyes rooted him to the spot. "Well, Hiya! What's up?" she asks in an accent that Namiro could've sworn had a British undertone to it.

"I'm doing well, I was hoping to get a price estimation on some steel ball bearings..."

The mare smiled as she undid her apron, which covered her front and back, before unfolding a pair of leathery wings from her back. "Some ball bearings? Give me a sec to pull up the list and I'll get you the full monty on the price." She replied as she began to search through some metal cabinets.

"I... I hope you don't find this rude but... What kind of pony are you?" Namiro asked, not sure whether to wince or not as the mare slowed her search.

"Thestral... what's it to ya?" She explained with a slight edge to the question.

"Oh, nothing... I'm just curious, I've never seen a pony much like you before... I've only ever encountered earth ponies, pegusai and unicorns."

"Not surprised... After the fall of the Lunar Diarch most thestrals got the hell out of dodge since most ponies are absolutely gormless when it comes to deducing what's good and what's bad." The midnight-blue mare explained as she curled her wings back up, pulling out a small folder from the cabinet. "When the princess of the moon came back it was a big 'ol celebration for our race since it meant we might be able to come out of hiding without getting popped for looking like we do."

There was just something about the accent she was oh so subtly adding to her explanation that made the changeling lean to the side a little to get a nice view of the side of her hips, he felt another shiver run down his spine before she spoke up again.

"Oi! Dinner first, then if you can really impress, you might get some... till then we're talking business." The smith stated in a slightly-louder-than-normal tone. Namiro yelped a little as he realized he had been caught staring.

"Sorry... I... I don't know why I keep staring." He stuttered as a blush crossed his muzzle.

"Perhaps we should start with names then." The mare replied with a slightly amused smirk. "Name's Midnight Steel."

"N-... Astral Armor." He replied after a second of hesitation.

She looked him over and let her tongue stick out a little on the left side of her smirk. "Well, if you were a Thestral I'd probably be quick to jump ya, as you are though, it might take a bit of convincing."

"Perhaps tomorrow at a place of your choosing?" He replied quickly, not thinking about what he was saying.

She smirked a bit wider. "Sure, I'll stop by your place, I'm buying." the mare explained, stunning the changeling once more at how gender roles seemed to be quite a bit different in this world where being female was a better opportunity. "Now, 'bout them bearings?"

He stuttered for a few seconds before he finally found his voice. "I-... I need one hundred and ninety."

The mare blinked with a slightly surprised expression, although her pose didn't change. "One-ninety? Are ya sure?" At his nod she twisted her face in thought. After a few moments she finally looked back up at him. "It's gonna cost seven hundred sixty bits for the bearings, less if steel was plentiful round here... but it's not so it's a bit more expensive to get the materials to make 'em."

Namiro sighed as he heard the number, nonetheless he nodded. "Alright... I'm staying with Crimson Hunter and Ivory Relief... so... I'll be there."

The Thestral mare nodded before giving him a wink. "See ya there luv, Pick ya up at five." With a blush the disguised changeling quickly left the shop feeling more and more embarrassed as the day dragged on. He leaned up against the wall of Crimson's home once he finally reached the place before he slid down the wall and held a hand to his head. "...Oh... what did I do to deserve this?" He groaned with an exhausted sigh.

Wings of Steel

The room was dark, lit only by a single candle on a small table in the center of the room. Just outside of the illumination was a robed figure, his black robe matching his equally-ebony wings. "So we have a deal then?" The robed figure asked just barely above a whisper, with the silence in the room though, he seemed to be at least several meters taller than he actually was.

Across from him a wide-eyed griffon sat with his beak bound, his wings were tied to his side and he was shivering in his chair. The brown-coated griffon nodded quickly and winced as he saw the hooded griffon smile.

"Good..." He began with a silky venom. "...Then your daughter and I shall be wed at once, do not worry, I will produce an heir to your throne. Your nation will rise once again as a World Power." The figure slowly walked around the table to use his sharp claws on the griffon's bindings. "Remember... if you double-cross me... I don't even have to see you to kill you." He chuckled darkly.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

A violet unicorn shifted in her seat with either unease or excitement, considering the fact that she was on her way to a wedding it was very likely to be the latter, she threw a glance to the rest of the occupants of the train as the experimental Grav-Train sped along the tracks straight to the Griffon capital of Ebonspire.

The most noticeable occupant was an earth pony mare that seemed like bubblegum hopped up on energy drinks. She bounced all over the car, talking at a mile a second about the party she was going to be throwing for the wedding. It was only a few seconds before she did mention something that made the rest of the train car uneasy. "I hope that there aren't any mean changelings at the wedding though, we wouldn't want to go through a repeat of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence's wedding... you know... now that they're married, wouldn't they be known as King and Queen?" The mare started to continue on her seemingly-random train of thought as the violet mare looked at her remaining friends.

A very posh and well-dressed marshmallow-white unicorn with a deep violet mane sat off on one of the nearby booths enjoying a cup of tea on the surprisingly smooth ride. Her eyes cast a very lost-in-thought look on the liquid that she was drinking.

An orange earth pony mare and her cyan pegasus friend had stopped their arm-wrestle as they thought more on what the pink mare had said, it didn't take words for them to all know that aside from the pink mare they all had an uneasy pit in their stomach at the idea that yet another wedding may be ruined by changelings. Fortunately none had shown themselves over the past few months so it put most ponies' minds at... a little bit of ease.

The violet unicorn's gaze finally fell on her last friend, a butter-yellow pegasus with a soft pastel-pink mane was shivering in her seat at the thought of changelings possibly attacking again.

The mare sighed as she went over the scroll that had come in the middle of day court for her mentor's perusal.

Dear Rulers of Equestria,

You are invited to a wedding for the esteemed Griffon Princess, Lorna McCabe, and her esteemed husband to be, Nikolaus McNett. We also extend this invitation to the heroes of your country known as 'The Elements Of Harmony' and would be quite honored to have them attend the festivities. A mixture of dishes pertaining to herbivores and omnivores will be available so do not feel pressured to bring a dish, although extra cuisine from other countries will certainly be appreciated as the groom enjoys discovering delight in the chance to try a new recipe.

The Wedding will be in one week's time although we do hope that you decide to arrive early in order to partake in a bit of our culture without the rush of being in a wedding.

Twilight's eyes turned up from the letter to the small booth that Princess Luna, the midnight blue princess of the moon and stars, was sitting alone. Ever since Nightmare Night last year she seemed, quieter, much more pensive, for days at a time she had dedicated herself to study and research. The violet unicorn did notice a small stab of envy as she noticed that despite the days and nights of intensive research the lunar diarch never seemed to lose the athletic figure that Twilight could only wish she had.

Twilight knew that she considered the dark princess a friend, although no matter how hard she tried the lunar diarch never gave off any indication that she even had friends. The mare's mind drifted back to the meeting that her mentor had called after receiving the letter.

|-o-|

Twilight dashed through the halls of Canterlot Castle, many of the servants seeming to acrobatically avoid her as if expecting her to rush to meet with their princess. Panting and heaving, Twilight finally threw open the doors to Celestia's private study in concern only to have her expression switch to confusion as she was met with the sight of a sulking lunar diarch and positively ecstatic solar princess.

"Twilight! We've received wondrous news!" The larger white mare practically giggled as she got up. "The Griffon princess is about to get married and we have been invited to the wedding!"

"Yes, a wedding to our mortal enemies... what a joy..." The lunar diarch groaned before she took a chair. "I do not see why you sought peace with those carnivorous warmongers..."

Celestia shot her sister a glare that basically silenced any further argument that the darker mare would put up before she turned back to Twilight with a smile. "You and your friends are even invited! Be sure to grab Spike so that he can enjoy the wedding as well!"

|-o-|

Twilight bit her lip as she thought about the Princess' decision to bring Spike with them, since it could turn out absolutely horrible if the changelings are here as well. She shook her head and took another small breath to clear her head before looking back out the window to watch as the Griffon Empire grew in the distance. "It would be nice to have a small vacation from all this 'hero' business..." she thought idly as she placed a hoof on the windowsill.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Nikolaus stood in front of a full-body mirror, admiring the way his feathers and fur seemed to complement each other with his fur being a dark grey while his feathers were a silvery-white color. He let a claw rub along the length of his steel-grey beak for a few seconds before he began to chuckle. "You know... this is why I prefer being here, far less of a rainbow-friendship theme going on than with the ponies." He explained as he turned to a sulking female Griffon, her white plumage seemed puffed up a bit in irritation as she crossed her arms. "What's with the sour face, love? We're going to be married in a few days, it's a wondrous time for smiling and celebration!" The grey griffon cheered as he seemed to almost pirouette in place.

"Why do you seek my father's throne like this? Couldn't you just kill my old man and be done with it?" She snaps as her mood seems to sour even more.

Nikolaus gave a small sigh. "Because, this way your father will be able to hold his grandchildren in his arms before he dies... I may be a darksider but I'm not that cruel." He teases as he sits down next to her, prompting her to take a few irritated shuffles away. "Besides... This stops you from being hounded by suitors who would rather do the same thing while running this country into the ground. I have the technology and blueprints to bring this country into a new age of power." He coos, stroking her arm. She gives a light tug to try and remove herself from his touch, though not enough to matter as his hand travels up her arm, gently weaving through her fur as his left wing meets her right wing. Her quiet gasp was enough to get him started as he leaned forward to gently nibble at her neck, trailing tiny kisses up it until he reached where her ears would be. "I can love you... and you can love me... we will be married and your nation will rise even greater than that of Equestria. I want you to love me but you do not let me give you all of my love... It is emotion that makes the dark side stronger, make me stronger... and I will ensure that you become stronger in turn."

The white-feathered Griffon looked down at her lap as the silver-feathered male began to hug her close, her mind raced with the thought of learning to be as strong as him, remembering the day that she had first seen him.

(-oo-)

Three Months Previously

Lorna was sitting in the dining hall with her usual scowl, her favorite flight team had lost to the Equestrian Wonderbolts again this year. Her father had tried and failed several times to try and get her to talk once again especially since the dukes of his kingdom were attending dinner this evening to help discuss the country's financial situation and ways to bring them back to their former glory... as her grandfather had done... and his grandfather before him... and even his grandfather before him. Ever since Celestia and Luna had risen to power the Griffon Kingdom had done nothing but rot from the inside out as strong warriors were replaced with bureaucrats and politicians.

Lorna sank in her seat as she tuned out her latest suitor, the son of her father's most influential duke. She hadn't bothered to remember his name because she would still say no to the pompous prick in her side. All the griffons wanted nowadays was to get into her family's inner circle so that they could line their pockets while not making a single change to the country at large. If not for the weekly flights she had practically forced her father to agree to she would have gone absolutely mad from boredom and irritation... and nearly ripping the wings off of her first suitor hadn't hurt her chances of getting that flight either.

She scowled as a single thought went through her mind. "Please... PLEASE! Let something happen to make this place stop being so boring!"

Oddly enough, despite the number of times she had the same thought in the past, the universe decided to grant her request that day as a loud groan could be heard coming from the doors. Several of the guards in the room readied their shortspears as the doors seemed to groan even louder and several cracks in the walls could be seen from where they were normally bolted to their frames.

With an almighty cracking the doors were ripped from their hinges and flung down the hall, causing several of the dinner guests to back away from the heavy doors in fear.

Lorna had stood and backed away as well, but she had become more curious than anything else, normally it took two griffon soldiers to move even one of the doors, so ripping them off their hinges and ruining the door frames was quite a nearly-impossible feat without modern explosives.

As the dust settled a lone, robed figure stood in the doorway slowly lowering his hands. He was surrounded by the unconscious forms of several soldiers and simply stepped over the soldier that was on the ground in front of him.

"Who in the bloody hell are you?" One of the dukes screeched as his personal guards began to draw their swords.

The temperature of the room seemed to drop noticeably as the robed Griffon chuckled. "I am a wanderer, an adventurer... One could even say, an Overlord..." The mysterious Griffon began to take a few steps closer. "And I have come... To bring power back to a floundering nation on the edge of disaster."

"So... you wish to serve me?" Lorna's father asked with a slightly hopeful tone once the knowledge on how powerful this warrior could be began to sank into their heads.

"No..." The Griffon growled as he held his right claw out a little, letting a cross-shaped piece of metal quickly float to his hand. "I came to take over. We have two ways to do this though..." He began as the guards began to circle him. "I could kill every one of your guards as well as every griffon in this room... OR! ...I could take your daughter's claw in marriage, take your country as your heir and bring this nation back to an era of strength instead of bureaucracy."

Lorna's father scowled and narrowed his eyes in anger. "Those kinds of threats are not tolerated here, Guards! Seize him!" The moment he had given the order Lorna could just sense that her father had made a grave mistake, within the next few moments her sense would be proven right.

As several of the guards lunged forward, the robed Griffon moved as fluidly as water down a stream; The metal cross he had in his hand hissed as three crimson beams sprouted from the three ends he wasn't holding on to. The side blades only went out about the size of a dagger but the center blade stopped once it got to a meter length. Lorna gasped as it seemed that only a few seconds had passed, several loud static-like hisses were heard as the blade cleaved through spears, armor and flesh as easily as a hot knife through butter.

The decapitated corpses of half a dozen guards hit the ground with deep thumps while the robed griffon didn't even sport a scar. "One last chance..." He said with a smirk to the dead-quiet room. "...I kill everyone here... or I marry your daughter."

(-oo-)

Lorna let out a breathy moan as his beak kissed against a sensitive spot on her neck. So much was confusing about this Griffon who had barged into her father's dining hall and demanded her claw in marriage. When he was angry at an 'incompetent fool' he disciplined them with pain, infuriated about the number of idiots that had been raised above their station simply because they wanted more money. The only members of staff that he didn't harm were the servants, even if they messed up their jobs in fear the worst they got were stern 'stop cowering'-s before he sent them to continue on with their business.

She had been hesitant when he requested to share a room with his new bride, he had explained it as wanting to get her to be more comfortable around him... and surprisingly... with each passing day she had begun to admire him. He didn't suffer the idiocy of bureaucrats and was more than willing to whip their military into shape. Already he had put several designs from his 'datapad' in the claws of local smiths so that they could work on the Grav-Train that Canterlot had requested as well as advanced metallurgy that gave their soldiers better armor and weapons.

Not once had he been forceful with her, he never tried to take her body without permission... and each day her resistance to him began to wane as he tempted her with learning as his apprentice, to become his equal, to become the dark queen he needed to bring this nation to greatness once again. His arm between her wings braced her as he began to give her a passionate kiss, with surprising ease she leaned back to give him the dominant position as the two began to retire for the night. While he respected that she did not want an egg yet, he was more than determined to give her one before the year was out...

...And the more she thought about it... the more she started wanting to have one as well.

Mayoral Duties

Namiro gulped a little as he stood outside the door to town hall, it was surprising to him that a near-ghost town like this would have anything to keep Orchid Gem busy... but it wasn't his place to judge, he was an emotion-eating pony-bug after all. He toyed with the idea of feeding from the lust that would no doubt be around him tonight so that he could send it to Patina to process... It wasn't a terrible idea, and the mare was happy to have a stallion who was interested in her hips...

Before his train of thought could continue, the doors to the town hall opened to reveal the tan mare with the slightly-poofy grey mane. She smiled up at him and placed a hand lovingly on his shoulder. "Good, I was hoping that I didn't scare you off with how forward I was being." She leaned in close so that her breasts were pressed just underneath his pecs. His blush told her everything she needed to know before she began pulling on his wrist with surprising strength.

Namiro only had the chance to squeak in surprise before he was pulled down the street by the powerful mare. His mind went into overdrive as he was given a very generous view of her flanks and back. His thoughts raced across scenes of her on top of him, bouncing in pleasure as his tongue remembered the taste of lust from just last night.

Before he knew it they were standing outside of a fairly nice two-story home. "Well!" The mayor started with a proud smile. "Here it is! Come on in and I'll get some dinner around." She opened the door for him and he politely stepped inside, looking around in interest at the number of photos covering the walls. Orchid smiled as he noticed that most of the mares looked almost the exact same, sans their hairstyle. She laughed as she brought one of the square pictures to them that showed a tan mare with a wavy grey mane. "This is my cousin, she goes by Mayor Mare nowadays, if anything I think I'm the only member of our family who doesn't have a political name to them... I do wish she had kept her mane pink though, the grey just makes her look like the rest of us."

Aegis smiled as he looked at the picture. "I think she's probably jealous..."

Orchid chuckled. "I wouldn't doubt it, but our town has a mine, hers doesn't... well... not an official one anyway. The last letter that she sent me said something about some Diamond Dogs who had taken up residence in the area."

"Oh, really? What do you use the mine for?"

"Gems mostly, a little bit of iron... but for the most part we harvest gems to be used as crops for our local rock farm."

"Rock... farm?" Namiro asked in confusion as she put the picture back. "How does that work?"

Orchid chuckled as she leaned up against the chestnut colored stallion. "None of us really know, just that for some reason crystals mined in Equestria can be grown just like regular crops and absolutely thrive in dry environments if planted just below the surface."

The changeling in disguise shivered a little as his new form gave him all the sensitivity he had as a changeling when his chitin wasn't attached. His hands almost unconsciously shifted to her hips as she leaned against him. She rolled her head back a little to let out a breathy little moan. "Are you hungry?"

He was surprised as he let out a playful growl. "I haven't been hungry in the whole month I've stayed in this part of the world... but I wouldn't mind a taste of your lust..." The mare in his embrace moved forward a little so that she could turn around and press her chest against his.

"...So you don't need physical food?" She asked as she slowly began to crane her neck up to him, letting her lips hover mere millimeters from his.

He shook his head only a tiny bit. "No... Just... emotion..." He replied with a whisper as he leaned down to meet the mare's lips with his own. For a moment he let his senses bring in the lust from just the kiss and he knew it would be enough to make any changeling currently in the hive, aside from Patina, tipsy with pleasure. He moaned a little into the kiss as the slightly-shorter mare began to back him into her living room.

The disguised changeling landed on the couch with a slightly panting tan earth pony standing over him. As their eyes connected a blush crossed both of their muzzles. "Are you ready to relax?" Orchid asked with a slight giggle as she started to kneel down, letting her hips straddle his stomach and let her tail swish a few times between his knees. She let out another giggle as Namiro gave a small nod.

Her hands gently began to slide over his clothed chest, rubbing in small circles as she made her way lower. Once the strong, yet delicate, fingers reached his belt they deftly slid the straps apart so that each end could fall to the couch while barely making a sound. From there she easily slid the top of his tunic off to reveal a coat of fur that was a contrasting darker brown compared to the sand color of his shirt.

He tasted her lust in small sips, each one putting a happy buzz in his stomach as he could already just barely hear his belly gurgle while it converted the energy into the love-infused liquid he had seen in Crimson's house. He shivered in pleasure as the mare's fingers traced each muscle on his stomach, gently scratching and weaving through the fur, each flex of her fingers sent a new wave of pleasure through his body as he soon felt his eyelids getting heavy while the rest of his body wanted him to simply relax in the amazing massage.

When her fingers left his body though, he let out a groan of displeasure, cracking one eye open to figure out what she was doing... only to have both eyes call his attention to her as she began to unbutton her business shirt. His hands gently slid up her sides under her shirt as she took her time getting each button. He looked up only to see her biting her lip in a smile, prompting him to smile back as he flexed his fingers on her sides.

It was a wonderful feeling, no words needed to be said... no air needed to be wasted as she slid her shirt off to reveal a simple white bra holding up her breasts, though he still found his attention moving to her hips. She let out a giggle as she leaned forward, letting her somewhat-free breasts squish up against his chest as she planted light kisses on his neck. The chestnut stallion shivered with pleasure as the tan mare slowly began to slide her chest against his, squeaking a little in pleasure as his hands slowly began to slide her pants down just enough to caress the fuzz on her flanks where her crystal orchid cutie mark was. She began to groan and bounce a little in his lap as he rubbed the flowers on her hips, each finger sending jolts of pleasure through her body that the changeling fed off of that in turn caused him to keep going as he began to press a bit firmer into her hips.

Soon enough they broke their embrace, panting hard and smiling like fools as they both began to slide the tan mare's pants away, revealing more of her muscled and soft legs. She giggled as she felt his stiff rod pressing against the base of her tail. "You don't have underwear on... do you?"

He gave her a sheepish smile. "Well... this is the first time I've really been outside of the hive... I'm lucky I even had the tunic and pants..."

She giggled again as she began to shift her hips in his lap. "That's fine... makes it easier to get to you if there's a layer less..." she breathed into his ear, sending another wave of pleasure down his back. She bit her lip gently as she began to bounce a little faster, letting her round rump rub up against the bulge in his pants.

His fingers gently toyed with the lip of her panties before gently tugging them down, getting her to smile as he slowly revealed her moist sex. She loops her arms behind his head before pulling her against her breasts, making him blush heavily as the combined efforts of his hands and her hips start slowly sliding his pants out of the way.

"So... what... do you like... the most... about... me?" The fit mare asked as she teased his stiff rod with her soft rump.

Namiro shivered a bit as he let himself rub against her flanks with a quiet gasp. "I love... your hips... they're so... perfect..." He moans as he digs his fingers into her fur a bit more. "Soft... round... wide... the perfect size... to have foals with..."

The tan mare smiled down at him as she used her knees to prop herself up, letting her warm marehood hover just over his stallionhood. "Would you give me foals?" She asked with a look that was between questioning and blissful.

It took him just a moment to think about it before he smiled. "I'd start a herd and make sure every mare I had would have foals... for me... giving new life is always the most beautiful sight that I could ever witness..." He nuzzled against her chest again as he slowly began to pull her hips down to let his stallionhood get embraced by her warm folds, easily parting her entrance and sliding in as smoothly as putting on a glove.

He grit his teeth as he had to use all of his willpower not to blow his load right there and then, the embrace was amazing... the warmth of their bodies kept them both in a loop that threatened never ending pleasure as he slowly slid himself in deeper. His mind failed to register anything but the lust that was crashing over him in waves. He had no idea whether it was simply the fact that he had never fed off of lust in such large doses before but he began to feel very light headed as everything began to take on a pink tinge. His entire body had that same pleasant tingle that his stomach would have after taking a shot of lust.

When their hips met they paused, trying to recover their breath as they simply sat there... enjoying the rush of lust that ran across both of them in two different, yet oh so similar, ways. Namiro wouldn't have minded staying like that for quite a while, the warmth of her marehood was more than enough to keep him at attention, he knew that she would want to keep moving though...

It was almost agonizingly slow as he helped her start to bounce in his lap, like a train starting for the day, the slick sounds of their nethers rubbing together was enough to make him slide in just a bit faster the second time, soon they began to pick up the pace. She moaned happily into a kiss as her chest rubbed against his, his bucking hips helping to keep her marehood bouncing in his lap as the slick sounds of their love grew louder with each bounce.

No words were wasted, none could describe the feelings accurately enough anyway, only the moans of lovers filled the quiet air of the house as the night continued.

Within moments the disguised changeling knew he had rubbed something right as the mare gasped, each thrust after making her breath hitch in her throat as she rolled her head back in pleasure. Finally, Orchid let out a loud moan as her entire body shook with pleasure, coating both of their nether regions in her juices just seconds before Namiro drove himself as deep inside her as he could, gritting his teeth as he began to fill her marehood with his slime.

As they both began to come down from their highs, with Namiro's lasting quite a bit longer, the disguised changeling noticed that the tan mare who he had filled was laying on top of him with a content smile on her adorable face.

They had fallen asleep after they finished...

...and moved up to her bed somehow...

Namiro blinked a few times as he looked around the room, just like the rest of the town it seemed to be decorated in a more utilitarian vibe than anything else, doing away with any sort of unnecessary additions. He looked down again as the tan mare nuzzled against his dark brown chest. "...Huh... what did I do to deserve this?" he chuckled in amusement as he started to close his eyes once again.

A Midnight Outing

Was it a bad thing to want a slice of the world for yourself? The teachings of the Jedi Order seemed to believe so. If it was so bad to have emotion though... why did we have them in the first place? What about your own place in the world? In The Force? If changelings were creatures that were the physical forms of pure Force Entities... why did they need to feed on emotions? Why would a Force Sensitive Royal changeling have emotion?

Namiro mentally kicked himself as he began feeling himself coming down from his passion-induced high, the shower he had earlier hadn't done anything to help his mood either once he started to come down... He felt... over-full... like it wouldn't take too long for him to go from happy, to sad...

He subconsciously blocked his connection to the Hive so that Patina or the other changelings there wouldn't have his bad emotions souring what they were getting... but he knew he couldn't stay that way for too long, Patina would probably come to town herself if he did. He took a few deep breaths as he tried to even himself out. A gurgling in his stomach urged him to get back to Crimson's home as soon as possible because he knew that there was a lot of love he had harvested from the mayor of the town. Looking down he could tell that his stomach looked a little bit bloated compared to what it normally was. With another groan he began picking up his pace through town so that he could reach Crimson's house faster.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Crimson stared with wide eyes at the Changeling King as he filled up yet another quart-sized mason jar with the dark pink lust-infused slime. "By the gods... How did you manage to harvest that much in a single night!?" The infiltrator exclaimed as he looked at the twenty similar-sized and completely full mason jars sitting nearby. "Seriously! Even when Jade and I go at the kinky shit I manage to get just a jar's worth!"

Namiro grimaced as he finished filling the latest jar, having decided to start using his tail to fill the jars after the first three had been filled with a more gelatin-like slime. "I don't know! I've only been a changeling for less than two months... I'm no scholar, it could be because I don't HAVE to eat! How was I supposed to know that I was able to get five whole gallons out of last night!? Oh... Oh no... What if..." He starts to tense up as he realized that Midnight Steel was going to be picking him up today. "What if I get more from Midnight!? I don't even know how my stomach was able to hold five gallons of this stuff without making me look like I was overweight! What if I get more from her? What if-!"

He was cut off as the crimson pegasus smacked his mouth. "Shut up real quick... there's something different about this stuff..." He picked up one of the mason jars filled with near-water-consistency slime and set it on the nearby table. He quickly rushed upstairs for two of the shot glasses that Namiro was becoming quite familiar with, and filled one of them with the new, slightly darker pink slime. He took a tentative sniff before knocking back the shot and blinking as his eyes almost began to glow pink. "H-... holy... woah!" He stumbled a bit, managing to stand up because Namiro caught him. "T-t-thanks..." He stuttered as he almost seemed to struggle to stand.

"What happened?" Namiro asked quietly as he helped the tipsy changeling to a chair.

"I... I think... we need... Jade... here..." He slurs out just before his eyes droop closed and he begins to snore.

"Crimson? Aegis? Ivory?" Speak of the devil, there she was!

"Down here Ivory, got an experiment we need you to try!" Namiro called up as he quickly stepped over to the shelf of jars that Crimson had collected.

"Hey I just noticed the front door was unlocked and- Woah! What the hell happened in here?" Jade exclaimed as soon as she saw the number of pink-filled jars in the basement.

"Turns out your Mayor doesn't mind changelings..." Namiro groaned out as he set Crimson's jar of love-infused slime on the table. "I need you to do a taste test for me..."

"Taste test... for what?" Jade asked cautiously as she stepped around several of the jars.

The changeling quickly fills the two shot glasses with the two different sources of love. "These... Crimson's first, he tried mine and almost immediately passed out on me like he was drunk..." Namiro slid the shot glasses to the pony. "You're not a changeling so the feelings shouldn't be quite as intense..."

"Shouldn't...?" Jade asked with a questioning brow.

"Just..." Namiro sighed a little. "Can you please let me know what difference Crimson may have been trying to tell me?"

"Fine, one sec." She obliged as she picked up the first slime-filled glass first and sniffed it cautiously, smiling a little at the scent before quickly taking a drink and swishing it around in her mouth a few times before swallowing. She licked her lips with a smile before picking up the other glass and sniffing that one too, getting a slightly confused and intrigued look before she quickly drunk that one. Her eyes widened before she gave a few pounds to her chest and coughing. "Woah! What the hell did you put in that second glass?" She asked as she quickly began blinking.

It was soon apparent what Crimson had been trying to say as he began noticing the changes in Jade; Her eyes began to dilate, she began to take slower, more deliberate breaths. What surprised him most though was when her eyes faintly began to glow pink. "W-why is everything all pink?" She asked tentatively as she tried to find a seat, quickly helped by Namiro.

"Can you describe what the differences were?" He asked hesitantly as she began to blink away the pink tinge.

"Oh yeah... One of the best differences I can give is that Crimson's... was like wine... while yours... was like straight up moonshine..." Jade explained before looking up at him. "What was that stuff? It was awesome!"

"It was... uh... well..." Namiro bit his lip in hesitation as he picked up Crimson so that he could put the changeling infiltrator on the futon. "It was... slime... slime that... I... made..."

With most of the pink glow gone Jade began to look at him curiously. "Wait... you mean... that same stuff that...?" She stopped as she thought about the night the three of them had spent together, her eyes widening a little as the Changeling King nodded. "...and you had me drink it... and it tasted just as amazing as two nights ago..." At his continued nodding she leaned back and gave a small chuckle that slowly began to build until the chair she was sitting on threatened to let her fall off to the side.

"Oh! Oh that's hilarious!" She laughed. "You could be a pimp and a drug dealer at the same time!" this time she actually fell out of the chair as she continued laughing. "You wouldn't even have to go anywhere but to your clients in order to make more!"

Namiro frowned a little in embarrassment as his cheeks flushed, fortunately he only had to wait a few moments before her laughter started dying down. "So you're really not disgusted by how I got it?"

She shook her head. "Do you realize where we get milk from?" She retorted with a sarcastic brow. "we don't have one of those lizard creatures that run around this planet to harvest milk from because it's just better from mares and cows than it is from whatever those lizard creatures are called. Although it's typically from pregnant mares and cows, you'll end up knowing who has a job for that because they have quite a large number of foals or calves." Jade explained. "Cows are just much more efficient at it so they typically have the jobs longer."

Namiro had a very unamused look on his face yet again, "You know... maybe I should just drop my preconceptions on what would be considered weird to me normally... because apparently this world works on a completely different level than the world I was born on!" He exclaimed as he threw up his arms. "Apparently out of any orifice that I have I can 'milk' this slime that seems to be nutritional and delicious for non-changelings as much as it is for changelings!" He starts, getting out of his chair to finally start that mental breakdown that he knew he was going to go on at some point. "The herd mentality is a big draw for this world, making polygamy the norm instead of the exception!" He turned to the slightly-giggling green mare as he continued to fume. "And that's not even the most surprising part... for some Force-forsaken reason! No! I was asked out on a date by a mare, back where I'm from it was the guy who did the asking, it was known as being polite and chivalrous! Here? Nothing of the sort!" He sat down with an exhausted sigh. "I grew up in a world that began and originated with a more... oh... what the hell is the word I'm looking for..." He snapped his fingers a couple times before looking at Jade. "What's the opposite of Matriarchal?"

"Patriarchal?" the green mare offered.

"Patriarchal! That's it! Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Anyway, I grew up in a world that was Patriarchal throughout most of its history... and.. well..." He let out another sigh as he realized that once again the mental breakdown he knew he should have been having was mostly averted. "... for some reason I don't feel like that's a bad thing."

Jade let out a small chuckle. "Aegis... that's something you gotta learn about this world. There's something that a lot of country ponies from Equestria say and I think you'll like it." She explained, smiling at his attention. "If it don't feel wrong, keep doin' what yer doin'." She quoted in a damn good southern accent. "Just go with what your gut tells ya, you'll find a lot less griping that way."

Namiro let out a small chuckle, smiling as he rubbed his, finally flat again, stomach. "Yeah... I had such an overload of lust that I feel like I could eat a whole pony-..." He stopped as his eyes widened in shock, partially due to Jade starting to laugh again.

"Yeah, right! I'm sure you could gobble a pony up." the green mare laughed as the changeling got a devious smirk on his face.

"Oh you have no idea, back when I first got here I was easily able to stretch my stomach out to arm's length without it hurting... I could probably get it even further now that I'm taller." That killed her laughter quickly. "I have yet to actually test the theory... but I don't doubt that I could quite easily eat you with little discomfort..." She began to fidget. "...I wouldn't even have to chew, I could probably use my tail like a snake, swallow you whole..."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll go get it..." Namiro said after he quickly transformed back into his chestnut-brown earth pony disguise. Jade let out a breath as she felt a certain kind of frustration build up. Without hesitation her eyes turned towards the changeling asleep on the bed.

"...we're already in a relationship... he wouldn't mind..." She mentally justified as she quickly got up so that she could satisfy the perverse thoughts plaguing her mind.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Aegis Armor answered the door with a smile, wearing his usual tunic and pants. "Hey Midnight..."

"Hey Aegis..." The lithe and voluminous thestral replied. "You ready for a night out?"

"Sure, I don't know if there's any sort of restaurant that we could go to in town though..."

The thestral laughed as she began to pull him down the street. "There's this place that recently opened up right off of town square called Cracker Barrel. The owner, Saltine, actually cooks at the place while her husband Ale Barrel takes orders."

"Huh... sounds like the name of a restaurant I liked to go to back home..." Namiro replied as she pulled him along.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro was pleasantly surprised at the menu, since he was a Force Sensitive changeling though he didn't need to eat. He decided to go for something that was... hopefully... not considered too expensive; just a biscuit and gravy meal with a cup of ice water. On the plus side, he could still eat regular food without a problem... On the downside, he could feel that his body automatically seemed to start changing it into the thicker slime as soon as it hit his stomach so he was a bit worried for what that would mean if he were to ever actually be crazy enough to eat a pony.

That's happening to regular food though... I highly doubt that a live pony would count as regular food.

"I know that... but... does the rest of my body?"

I... you may have a point there...

He turned his attention back to the giggling mare. "Orchid told me a bit about you this morning..."

"Only good things I would hope..." Aegis replied with a small smile as he ate another piece of the biscuit.

She nodded. "She told me that she woke up with the most intense sense of relaxation she had in years because of you..."

Namiro shrugged. "I do try to do what I can for beautiful mares."

That got the thestral to raise a curious brow. "What about the ones that aren't beautiful?"

"That assumes that we both have the same standards of beauty. What I find beautiful could be an absolute mystery to you for the rest of your days while I create a herd that rivaled the great Mesud clan that ruled Saddle Arabia five hundred years ago... or you could find out within the next week..." His eyes widened a little as he was wracking his brain for a solution on how the heck he knew about the Mesud clan in a completely different country than the one he was currently in.

"Do you find me beautiful?" Midnight asked before taking a bite of chicken covered in gravy. "Or do you find omnivores disgusting?"

"I'm originally from a land of omnivores... and I like bacon quite a bit myself." He leaned forward, shifting his gaze left and right a little as she leaned in as well. "Pigs aren't.. uh... in the same category as cows are here... are they?" He asked with a bit of nervous concern.

"Nah... although they're usually kept to the more temperate areas of Equestria to hunt for truffles... bleeding heart ponies don't have the stuff in them to sell them to a butcher. More often than not I have to go to a griffon if I want to get what I need." She whispered back before sitting down. "Thestrals that stayed in Canterlot or near it somehow live off of a 'proxy' protein mixture. Complete hogwash is what it is, I tried some of the shite myself... nearly gagged on the taste. I'm surprised my kin in Canterlot are willing to stay there, thestrals away from the capital though can get the occasional griffon to sell 'em some meat for protein. It's why the thestrals near or in Canterlot have low birth rates I tell ya, the substitute's keepin' them malnourished."

"Why would thestrals need that much protein in the first place?" Namiro asked with interest.

Midnight smirked a little. "Curious earth pony ain't ya?" At his nod she chuckled. "Fine... It's a bit of lore passed down from before the time the Lunar Princess was banished." She took a bite out of her chicken and quickly swallowed it before continuing. "...Thestrals were made when ponies of the three tribes were 'crafted' by the lunar princess by being exposed to not only her magic, but the genetic material of various kinds of bats. With ponies that spent so much time around her while she pursued her gift of science many of them began to notice small changes, nearly unnoticeable unless pointed out by somepony else."

"Once the night princess began to notice though, her loyalest subjects volunteered to learn what it was like to be closer to the night. We loved our lunar princess... she gave us the soft light of the moon..." Midnight shook her head. "Anyway, it took many years but through her magic and scientific brilliance she helped create a true-breeding new tribe of ponies out of the mixture of various bats and ponies." She frowned a little as she leaned on the table a little. "We never had enough to help her though... loyal as our new race was... we simply weren't as numerous as the diurnal pony tribes..." Midnight let out a small sigh. "...She slowly felt her envy build for her sister until the day she lashed out... The solar 'princess' never knew what would happen... but we did... at least, what would happen to us if we stayed in Equestria. So the Thestrals secluded themselves, we built up our numbers before finally re-emerging into pony society at the request of the remaining princess."

She blinked as Aegis put his hand on hers. "... Well, don't worry... if anyone's going to accept you for being weird... it's certainly going to be me." He explained quietly

The strong thestral mare finally felt something new in her life, finally felt the desire to have someone in her life... something about this earth pony across from her gave her the inherent knowledge that she wanted him... but she'd still have to play a little hard to get, couldn't make the hunt easy after all.

Judgement

Lorna smirked as she spat out a glob of blood that had begun to accumulate in her beak from the last punch she had received. Her dark chuckling echoed in the room as she only rattled the chains keeping her affixed to the floor a little. "You guys must realize that Nikolaus isn't going to let you get away with this... right?" She braced for another strike, which knocked her away enough that her arms, chained to the floor, stopped her from falling too far away.

"Your... flame... isn't going to save you, no one in the castle knows what happened, it'll be like you got cold paws before the ceremony started." Lorna's captor gloated as he stooped down to grab the sore beak of the exhausted Griffon princess. "You're mine to do with as I please before I take that crown from your father's head."

Lorna winced a little as he threw her back to the floor before she began to chuckle again. "He knows... Nick always knows where I am... I don't know how long you kept me down here... but he's on his way now... I know it..." She gasped as her captor landed a solid kick to her gut.

"He's not coming... you will die down here." The Griffon spat before he turned around to leave. He stopped, Lorna smiled, as the sound of rending metal could be heard from further up in the cave. "What the hell?"

Lorna began to chuckle again, wincing a little with each laugh. "You're... going to die... down here." She managed to say between labored breaths.

The bulky Griffon scowled at her before quickly making his way to the door and slamming it shut, making the loud clunk of the lock being set in place before he strode down the hall with a scowl.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Lorna managed to ease herself back into a sitting position, shifting her dress a little to at least look somewhere near presentable despite the fact that it had quite a few bloodstains (Some of which weren't from her), after all... it wasn't good to have your lover walk in to you lying on the floor. So she waited, listening happily to what muffled screams she could hear through the heavy metal door. It was a bit difficult to move with the chains but she didn't mind, each passing second let the cries of pain get louder, letting her know that her fiance was getting closer.

It was nearly three minutes before the tip of her lover's red saber pierced the door where the lock was, letting him slide the door back with enough force to tear it from its sliding mounts. He gasped as he saw her and quickly deactivated his blade before putting it back on its clip. She weakly held her arms out, relaxing a little as the clamps snapped away as the dark grey and silver Griffon seemed to swoop over to her to pick her up in his arms. "It's alright... I'm here..." He cooed as he nuzzled her, hugging her close as he picked her up bridal style. "I'm getting you out of here..."

Lorna smiled as she leaned against her lover's neck, she chuckled inwardly as she thought about how much she had changed over the past few months. A year ago she would've laughed and punched whatever Griffon told her she'd be acting like a 'proper lady' and would be getting married, now? She was happily humming away as her husband-to-be took her away from the abandoned mine that she had been kept in as a prisoner. She cracked an eye open to take a look at some of the destruction that her lover had wrought, she actually had to keep from gasping as she took note of the grisly scene. Several Griffon, Diamond Dog and Minotaur mercenaries were impaled on whatever spike-like object could be found, some had limbs missing, it was like a scene she had read about in those musty old history tomes that her father made her read.

"This kingdom has rotted... It is time to trim away the diseased parts so that this empire can become strong once again." Nikolaus scowled as he looked at the corpses in disgust. "We will start by making an example of those who took you away on the day that was to be the most special. Once that is done we shall be wed immediately once you feel you are well enough to go through the ceremony."

Lorna nuzzled against her dark hero. "I would love that Nick... thank you..."

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Twilight, her friends, her mentor and her mentor's sister all looked on in confusion, matching much of the crowd that had assembled outside of a raised platform that was similar to a gallows... just without the noose fixtures. Twilight's ears twitched as she picked up little snippets of conversation.

"What do you think they did?"

"I don't know, I heard they were arrested in their homes..."

"In the middle of the night?"

"No, right in broad daylight."

"Caught when?"

"Just an hour ago, the new prince-to-be put the arrest warrant through."

The violet mare frowned a little in confusion as she tried to get a better view of the stage. She fortunately didn't have to wait long before the dark-colored Griffon, quite an exception to the norm in this part of Griffonia, strode onto the stage, the hilt of his lightsaber in hand. He stopped in the center of the stage, raising a claw to call for silence, which the crowd obeyed.

"My people... those of you who are soon to be the subjects that my life will be devoted to... I have come before you to give you an example of why I seek to have your compliance instead of your defiance." He let his hand lower before using it to draw attention to the Griffon nobles that were chained to the stage. "These... creatures..." He spat with a scowl on his face. "Were found guilty of a great many charges today. Among them; treason, assault, conspiracy to kill the heir to the throne of the kingdom..." Twilight thought she saw his eye twitch. "There are a good number of things that I tolerate... when I relieve King Roald to help usher in a new age of prosperity with all of you... there will be some crimes that will not be acceptable whatsoever... What is needed in this time of transition is strength and stability. I will provide that for all of you."

He turned to the first noble. "There are three main rules that my friends and I follow... do forgive me, my new subjects, but I am going to be quite crass here." He lights his blade, casting an ominous red glow on the first noble's face. "You don't fuck with a man's food..." He starts, bringing his blade quickly across the Griffon's chest, making the noble shout out in pain and leaving behind a blackened burn across his chest. "You don't FUCK with a man's woman..." He says a bit louder, making most of the crowd gasp and recoil back as he sliced off the noble's hand, leaving him chained to the stage by one hand. "And finally..." He continued, slicing through the Griffon's leg. "You don't fuck with a man's children..." He took a deep breath as he hovered the tip of the blade over the noble's chest. "And you broke rule number two..." He says loud enough for some of the closer spectators to hear before he drove his blade into the gasping noble's chest, holding it there until he stopped struggling.

"All of these nobles... if they could still be called that... want to see this country... see all of you... remain weak! No more! We shall prosper once again, we shall flourish!" He waves a hand to the crowd. "My citizens... you are my allies, my strength, all of my allies shall prosper!" He lets his blade point towards the two remaining nobles. "These creatures... rats in griffon clothing... are my enemies, none of my enemies will last against us!" To punctuate his exclamation his blade hissed as it cut through the neck of the second noble, letting the body fall to the ground with a dull thud.

Murmurs began to go through the crowd as they watched the display, the ponies winced at each strike (Fluttershy was letting muffled cries into Celestia's busom).

"My people, if you feel that I am doing something wrong, hesitate not to let me know... I welcome your knowledge, your insight, your suggestions." He says to them as he begins to pace. "But of all the things you feel to do, do not become traitors to this land... treason will not be acceptable. Treason... will be punishable by death." He explained as he deactivated his saber and clipped it back to his belt. The remaining chained noble looked on in confusion and slight fear. "Pray, all of you, that you never have such ideas as these monsters..." Nikolaus finished before turning to the last noble, his claws sparking with lightning, before raising both his hands in front of the trapped Griffon and unleashed enough lightning to kill the noble on contact, cooking him thoroughly as he could barely utter a scream of pain before his lifeless, smoking husk collapsed to the stage.

One last time he turned to the gathered crowd, the entire gathering silenced in fear, he cleared his throat quickly before smoothing over his crest. "These nobles wanted this country to rot from the inside out... I wish to make you all strong." He bowed a little before turning to his left and quietly walking off-stage.

Twilight stood rooted to the spot as some of the crowd started to disperse. Her shell-shocked mind tried to comprehend what she had just seen until a marble-white hand gently placed itself on her shoulder, causing her to look at the source.

Celestia had a small frown on her face as she gripped the unicorn's shoulder reassuringly.

"T-that... that can't possibly be legal..." Twilight said as she finally found her voice.

"As much as I wish it wasn't..." Celestia replied with a sigh as she pulled her student into a hug. "... the punishment for treason in Griffonia has always been death. I had been hoping that by coexisting with us the Griffons would finally be rid of their brutal punishments... it seems though that such a desire had not yet been removed." She lets out a small sigh. "Do you want to return to Equestria?" She asked as she looked between Twilight and her friends.

Each of the Element Bearers gave quick nods, prompting her to quickly inscribe a note to let the soon-to-be prince know that they would be heading back to their country due to the stress of the events that had happened. She quickly sent the message before teleporting all nine of their company back to the train.

It was a few moments afterward when a scroll had appeared in front of her.

I understand that what your subjects saw was quite shocking, do please make sure that they are alright. I did not wish to cause undue stress on them, only to prove a point to the subjects that I will soon be protecting.

That simple note had been enough to make the ancient mare smile a little. "At least he knows when to apologize..." She tucked the note away and slowly got up as she finally decided to take a better look at the train that they were returning on, amazed once more at how fast it was able to move without derailing.

Faalo's First Cadence

One week... It had been one whole week since changelings had been revealed to the ponies and Griffon of Hardersfield. Surprisingly... no one had panicked. They'd been uneasy at first, once they realized that the changelings weren't there to steal their souls or something they had actually warmed up surprisingly quickly to the drones that Namiro had brought back with him for the presentation. There were still infiltrators growing up in the hive though, so that the inhabitants of the town could have changeling friends that would last more than half a year.

Patina had even surprised him with a gift of over two hundred one-inch diameter spheres of rubbery goo. They weren't the same exactly as ball bearings, but hey... they'd work. All he needed now were the candles.

Right now though, he was taking another chance to train with his newest mentor... sorta...

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Starswirl sat across from his student, a broad smile across his face. "You're doing very well young padawan... this is our last training session together, from here on out you will have to find your own way in the world, find more who can teach you. Are you ready?"

Namiro slowly nodded his head. "Yes, Master."

Both slowly took a breath before Starswirl spoke. "I will teach you the ways of harmonizing with the force... to let the force flow through you... once complete, you will have to create your own personal blade. Upon completion of it The Force will recognize you as a fully-trained knight." Namiro nodded silently as he let his senses blur together, allowing him to see and sense The Force around him and within him. "You have learned and are on your way to mastering the two disciplines of Sense and Control, here... you will learn the discipline of Alter... Be wary young padawan, the Alter discipline allows you to manipulate the world around you and can easily cause harm if your will is left unchecked."

Namiro took a deep breath, feeling himself drawing power from The Force around him.

"As a changeling and a physical manifestation of The Force, we do not know where your limits lie when it comes to how well you can use the Alter discipline. To begin with Alter you must reach with your will to The Force around you, motion is not needed whatsoever, although many find focusing their efforts through their horn or another limb makes it easier to concentrate on the desired effect."

Namiro began to reach out, in a moment he could completely understand what Starswirl had meant when he spoke about altering the world. Within seconds he found his mind reaching out to even further parts of the world, One with The Force... Within his mind he could see himself soaring through vast, cloud-filled skies... Swimming in the cavernous depths of the oceans... gliding through the caverns and tunnels of various mountains. Not a single creature noticed him, he was in every spot... every location... he could hear the surface thoughts of thousands of creatures, all of it in a dull roar of names, places, lists, vices, disgusts. With a tremendous effort he brought his mind back to his body... his astral body... and collapsed on the fabricated ground, heaving as it seemed like he was going to violently get sick in his mind.

Starswirl leaned curiously over the changeling, gently rubbing in small circles down his back in order to ease the nausea. "My word..." The wizened sage began quietly. "...how did you do that?"

Once it seemed like he wasn't going to hurl Namiro slowly sat down. "I... I reached out... I... felt The Force... I... I became... one... with The Force..." He panted out with shuddering breaths. "I... I could hear... everyone... everything... animals... people... plants... rocks... I..." He trailed off as he held his head with a groan. "I... I think I'm just going to lay off on reaching out that far again... As nice as it was to visit the rest of the world, I'd rather not feel like I took an all-nighter to the face and spiked it with red bull and whiskey." He raised a hand as he stopped the curious stallion. "Don't ask... it started with a dare... and turned out to be the second-worst decision of my life. It ended with me spending a weekend vomiting into a toilet..."

"I... see..." Starswirl replied with caution as he took a couple steps back. "At least we know that as a changeling you can tap into the force like no mortal can... Hmm... Let me try something..." He closed his eyes. "I want you to focus on two names... Celestia... and Luna... I want you to envision them in your mind."

Namiro took a few more breaths before finally closing his eyes again. In his mind he began to repeat the two names over and over, each repetition somehow allowing him to understand more about them until he found himself floating in what seemed to be a starry version of a castle. He opened his eyes again and began to wander, letting his senses take him along the path he was supposed to go in order to see what he was supposed to see.

He stood outside a pair of massive double-doors, they looked like in real life they were some of the heaviest things in the world, since he was One with The Force though, he simply fazed through the doors, coming to a huge room that had several seats set up. As he finished flowing through the door everything was one big blur, each passing second gave him a clearer picture... the blurs solidified into the room... in the center was a desk, mahogany if the arrangement of The Force within was anything to go by. He smiled as he let a hand stroke the wood, it felt nice and strong.

He turned his head and blinked as he saw each of the powerfully-colored blurs take shape into a pony of some kind. The first that got his attention was a mass of radiant gold that threatened to blind him as it coalesced into the shape of a very matronly-looking mare. In his mind he quickly assigned the name Celestia as it felt... correct...

Next to her was a svelte midnight-blue blob that formed into the shape of a similar mare, Luna, everything about her seemed to be the right size for him, at least... until he finally did his final molt, but that was possibly still a ways off.

His attention was drawn to the remaining six sources like a moth to a flame, each one had a white core that glowed almost as intensely as Celestia's, but each one had a different outline that made a name immediately spring to his mind.

First was orange, it was strong, made him feel like it was a tree that weathered a hundred storms and was willing to weather a hundred more. He ran his hand along the front of the aura, feeling himself fill with that same strong feeling as memories began to flash quickly across his vision; trees, family, strength, competition... each of it having a hint of familial, earned pride behind it.... Honesty.

Second was a yellow aura, his hand caressed the side as he felt his entire body grow warm while gentle memories flashed for just moments across his mind; animals, friends, loneliness, happiness... Kindness.

He felt himself drawn to the third aura, like he couldn't escape it. It took his entire will not to embrace it as the light blue aura sifted between his hands. Pride, speed, daring, confidence... Loyalty, this aura called to him the most, it even brought a tear to his eye as memory after memory flashed across his vision, fleeting feelings of strong loyalty soaking each one. Loyalty... the one trait that he would respect for all time, the trait that every one of his friends respected...

Next was an off-white aura that made him smile as he brushed it, memories of giving, selflessness and true altruism flashed across his mind as it assigned the name Generosity... oddly enough it tasted like marshmallows.

Fifth was a light pink color, it struck him the hardest out of all... Depression, isolation, regret.. replaced by happiness, camaraderie, the desire to bring joy to every person it met regardless of who they were. They were feelings that Namiro had known all too well, the feelings that made him embrace the aura this time, gently holding the top of it against his chest as he wanted so badly to speak with the source of the aura and give them one more reason to hold on... one more reason to be happy... in his mind he assigned the name... Laughter.

Last, but certainly not least, was a powerful violet aura. It radiated the feeling one would get when you've accomplished something difficult, always seeking a new challenge just to see if it could be overcome. It also radiated fear, a fear of being alone, a fear of never being able to live up to its full potential... a fear of losing everyone it had grown close to. The realization that the source had so many that truly cared... Friendship.

Namiro backed away, he could feel the tears flowing freely from his eyes as he smiled at the group of friends, he could sense that the gold and midnight-blue source were now looking at him with surprise. He smiled a bit more as he spoke quietly. "They are true friends... they have bonds that will never be broken... perhaps one day I will be able to meet them and have bonds so strong, until then..." He turned to the surprised marble-white mare and similar dark-blue mare. "...Watch over them, they're important to this world... more so than any of us can imagine..." He closed his eyes once more, opening them to find himself sitting in the living room of Crimson's house with stains on his cheeks.

An ethereal image of Starswirl appeared before him. "You must construct your saber... find your crystal... and fulfill your destiny."

Namiro nodded as the image faded, the smile on his face still staying there with the memories that flashed across his mind.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Celestia and Luna looked at each other with unrivaled amounts of surprise as they noticed the source of why the Bearers of the Elements felt like they were being physically stimulated. Luna was the first to mouth the word 'changeling' as the girls sitting near them were regaining their composure.

Twilight shivered a bit as she looked over to her mentor. "What in the world was that?" She asked with a blush as she found herself covering her body out of embarrassment. Aside from Pinkie, who was still giggling at the feeling, her other friends certainly had similar reactions.

Celestia and Luna both shared another look before turning to the Element Bearers, Celestia spoke first. "It appears... that someone used the ability of astral projection to spy on us."

Luna continued where her sister left off. "We know not how much information they obtained, though we advise against speaking sensitive information should similar feelings arise once more."

"Spied on us?" Rainbow Dash asked as her deep crimson blush began to fade. "Did you guys get the source? where they are? Something that we could use to go and teach 'em not to mess with us like that?"

Luna managed to give her a smile. "We didn't get a very good look at the assailant... but we did cast a tracking spell on the essence that was with us, it will take a few days."

Celestia continued with her usual serene smile. "But we will get a location on who was just here..."

Twilight and her friends nodded as they recovered, put off of their appetites they decided to get up and head back to their rooms for the evening.

As the six friends left Celestia cast a worried look to her sister. "Luna... I..." She hesitated before the lunar princess cut her off.

"The last changeling so adept in the use of The Force was a monster, we must be sure that this one is not the same, how long until the spell has finished?"

"It should only be about a week." Celestia replied as she felt her body wanting to slump in her chair out of exhaustion.

"Then in a week we will go out personally and evaluate the threat." Luna replied as she got up. "We must ensure the safety of our country... We simply hope our skill with the blade has not rusted as much as thine own skill."

Celestia shot a small glare at her sister. "I haven't had the need to pick up my blade..."

"Practice should still be up on thy list of daily achievements." Luna curtly continued as she strode out of the room. "It would also help thee get back into thy once-proper form, confections have always been thy weakness sister."

Celestia hesitated a few seconds before blinking. "Did you just call me fat?"

"No..." Luna retorted. "We simply stated that thou needs to train with thy saber more." She smirked a little as she left the dining hall, leaving a stunned Celestia behind.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro's lightsaber struck along a fluid and quick path, each swing disintegrated a one-inch diameter ball of goo while leaving the candle underneath unscathed. While the changeling king focused solely on the candles and small spheres of goo that were orbiting around him like a solar system while they waited their turn, he had drawn quite a crowd.

Ponies that had never seen such an elegant weapon before were awed into silence, the changelings present didn't even dare to buzz their wings, everyone seemed to be transfixed on the sweeping lime-green blade as it disintegrated each ball of goo, continuing its arc as if nothing had impeded it in the first place. Each one barely made a hiss as the blade traveled its dance along each of the nineteen candles, each swing meticulously calculated. Every spectator was enjoying watching something that was the equivalent to an artist at work, each swing of the blade like a brush stroke on a canvas, their gaze was locked on every inch of the performance as the spheres danced in the air just before settling on an empty candle only to be sliced by the green saber moments later.

Finally... the last few spheres found their places snugly on their candles only moments before the lime-green blade burned its way through them as well, letting its bearer deactivate the blade and re-clip it to his belt as he brought his focus back to the world around him. He blinked a little as a moderately loud applause went through the gathered crowd, causing him to blush a bit as he pulled his robe a bit closer.

Crimson walked up to him with a smile and clapped the undisguised changeling king on the back. "Well, it looks like you have a lot of potential as a dancer if the whole monk-warrior thing doesn't pan out." He said with a small laugh. "Seriously though, how did you get so good with that thing?"

Namiro chuckled. "Practice, Crimson. Lots... And lots... Of practice." He explained as the two of them made their way into the crowd of changelings and ponies that had become their audience.

The day began to wane and for once... Patina realized that maybe... just maybe... Changelings and the other races of Equis could learn to live together. She'd do what no other queen in the history of the changelings had done; make peace and walk around undisguised among the races of the world. Patina smiled as she laid on her bed in the hive, perhaps tomorrow she would go and visit Namiro in Hardersfield now that several nurse drones were working on hatching the infiltrators that she had laid yesterday.

Find Your Heart

Nikolaus frowned a little as he strode through the halls of the castle, it pained him to see others stripped of their desires... for such chaos was the spice of life... as it was, he needed obedient soldiers. Each griffon, male or female hadn't mattered at the time, who was in the Griffonian military received personal training under the Darksider to handle the blaster weapons he had local smiths and scientists engineering. He scowled a little as he thought about the weapons, "Such random and clumsy pieces of hardware..." he looked to his saber, "... only someone who is Force-Sensitive though would be able to wield such a blade as deftly as I can..." He took a deep breath and sighed.

He stopped as he noticed a small... token... object on the floor in front of him. Using the Force he brought it up to his hands. As he turned it over he gave a small huff of curiosity as he heard the summoning-object's message play for him. "A fellow Dungeon Master... This may be worth taking a look into..." He turned the flat heart over in his claw a few times. "But for a later time..." He muttered as he stowed the token, letting his robe flow a little ominously as he continued down the hall to meet with his princess.

Opening the door to her chambers he smiled as he noticed that she had yet to get up for the day. "Training begins now..." He mentally chuckled as he extended a claw out to lift her off the bed without waking her. The faucet in her private bathroom was turned on for about a minute before turning off again with a small ball of water floating out of the open doorway as evidence of why the sink had turned on in the first place. The blanket that was covering fell away to reveal her naked form, which forced Nick to use a bit of willpower to keep himself from laughing, before the sphere of water rocketed towards the sleeping griffon, dousing her in cold water.

Lorna gave an undignified squawk of surprise as the ice-cold water splashed onto her bare stomach. After a bit of spluttering and flailing she noticed the slightly-smirking Darksider that she married. "What the hell did you do that for?!" She shouted as she tried to get over to him, only to notice she was suspended in that same telekinesis that those Equestrian ponies seemed to use.

"Training begins today... Your first lesson is simple... learn to sense The Force." He replies with a smirk as he drops her on the bed. "Get dried off and get ready for training."

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Nikolaus watched idly as Lorna sat cross-legged in the garden, scrunching her face up while trying to focus. “You need to focus while relaxing Lorna…”

“You keep telling me that but it makes no damn sense!” The princess snapped as she opened one eye to glare at him.

“When you relax, you can feel The Force… when you feel the force you can focus on it, relax and you’ll be able to feel The Force.” Nikolaus explained as he circled around her, pulling out the token he found earlier. “Take a look at this token for instance…” He started, gaining the griffon’s attention. “... it radiates the Dark Side, let your mind wander a little… bring it towards the token.”

Lorna shivered a little as she tried doing as he asked, closing her eyes and suddenly feeling a small cold feeling emanating from the object in his hand. “I… I can feel it... “

“Good… for now you will practice the Sense discipline, once you are competent with that we will move onto the next discipline.” He lectured as he makes his way over to a free spot in the garden. “I will show an example of the Alter discipline.”

Wisely, Lorna decided to move back as she watched her husband send electricity through his arms and into the token before it began to float into the air and radiate the Dark Side a bit more.

The ground cracked and split open into a seemingly bottomless pit as four large crystal pillars rose up around it. Soon two quadrupedal ponies in black skeletal-looking armor came out followed by a giant monster with sharp teeth and black, scaly hide. It wore some tattered pants and had large hooks and chains on its belt. Lastly was a fox with nine tails. That was the last one before the hole in the ground closed up without leaving a mark.

“Hello.” The fox said as she looked around but stopped on Nikolaus. “Oh, a fellow darkness user. Nice to make your acquaintance, my name is Rin.”

The dark-colored griffon nodded before giving a slight bow. “It is good to meet you Rin, my name is Nikolaus, though you may call me Nick. It is also a pleasure to know that there are other Dungeon Masters out in this multiverse.” He greets with a small smirk. He steps to the side a little to show the brown-colored female griffon next to him. “This is my wife… Princess Lorna.”

The darksider apprentice bowed a little and smiled. “Hello.” She says quickly before straightening herself.

Nikolaus gestured to the others that had emerged with the fox. “Who might they be?”

“The ponies are my bodyguards Swift and Unyielding Blade. They are strong warriors, trained since they were tiny tots. The big guy’s name is Table Top, a corpse collector I made to find me large dead bodies for my necromancy as well as fight.” She said as she gestured to each one. The corpse collector looked around disappointedly.

“This looks quiet. Does this mean we aren’t here to fight?” He asked with a slightly depressed tone.

Nick frowned a little at the mention of necromancy, though his small smirk returned shortly afterwards. “Sadly, this isn’t a time to fight. I simply wished to speak with the Displaced that had created the first activated Displaced token in this world.” He explained sweetly. “If we can reach an arrangement then it is quite possible that you will be able to join in battle.” The giant undead smiled at this.

“Well I’m here now so what would you like to talk about?” Rin asked.

“One thing that I would be interested in knowing would be what sort of mission types you tend to assign those that have your token.” He says with a musing tone.

“So far I only summoned other displaced if I needed immediate help or for a party. Well there was this one time to play a little D&D. My power as a Dungeon Keeper means I have minions including a large amount of the mindless and soulless undead like skeletons and flesh golems just in case I run into a problem that would get them killed. It's always good to have sacrificial pawns that are just moving shells to keep the others as safe as you can on the battle field.” Rin answered as she conjured some sofas for them to sit on while they talk.

“Hm, D&D eh…” Nick chuckles. “You’d probably fit right into my group then, we were a group of RPG players before coming to Equestria.” He takes a seat with Lorna and lets an arm wrap around her shoulders. “Perhaps once my friends and the other two displaced on this world come together we can spend a night slaying some dragons and killing princesses before saving the monsters.” He says with a small grin.

“Oh you will like my games. You see I’m skilled at making dark or cursed artifacts and I use this book that works with dreams. The book holder is the DM and can pull dreamers into a unified dream in the book holders imagination so it would be like being sucked into the D&D world. The book even makes a copy of the story created from the game to read later.” Rin said as she summoned a book. “Here is a copy of the game if you want to read it later.” She said as she hands it over.

He takes the book with a curious look before setting it down beside him. “I’ll certainly take a look at it later, I do quite like the way you play your games though… an RTS fan before you arrived to whatever Con that got you transported here?” He asks. “I was a wargame player myself, with Warhammer being my personal favorite.”

“Afraid I haven’t played. I have played many MMOs but mostly I liked RTS games.” She answered.

“On a slightly related note, how familiar are you with Star Wars?” Nick asked as he leaned back on his seat. Lorna decided to get up and move back over to where she was meditating once more.

“I’ve seen all of the movies and played some of the games but didn’t go full fan on it so more than likely I forgot a good deal of it. I was more into fantasy myself.” She said before she looked over at Lorna. “What’s she working on?”

Nick follows her gaze before turning back. “She’s working on the first discipline of The Force… Sense, to be able to do anything you must be able to sense the power that you are working with. She has quite a bit of potential, training is slow though.” He pursed the edges of his beak as he began to rub his chin in thought. “I would believe that at some point I could send apprentices of mine to you for training if you are in combat as much as your larger minion seems to allude to. In my personal experience it’s a fairly good idea to have a lightsaber that can cut through most materials.”

Rin just sighed. “I’ve fought in a few battles including on another world, really sick individuals in that one, all of their troops had soul cages that stole the souls of every innocent they killed and even their own if they fell in battle. As for real experience... I learned a spell that’s used in comic books that will quite literally suck you into the story. I used it to create a board game for training my minions.” She paused with a slightly thoughtful look. “Tell me, have you ever heard of Jumanji?” She questioned before smiling a little. “A friend of mine has already asked if I could make him one so I guess I can make you one as well. You can’t die in the game just get a game over and everything in that forest will attack the players including the immortal hunter Vanpelt.”

“Heard of it…” Nick said as he began to look up. “...Have you had to take control of your world yet?” He asked with a slight frown as his posture seems to switch from curious to ‘slumping onto your bed after a long day of work’.

Rin’s eye twitched at the question. “I don’t want to talk about it.” She said.

“Please forgive princess Rin but she was literally dragged kicking and screaming through her coronation and made a princess against her will. It took a bribe from princess Celestia and princess Luna to get her to talk to them again after they made her do that.” One of Rin’s guards said to him.

“Not like that…” Nick replied as his frown seemed to deepen. He shuffled his shoulders a little before sitting forward. Off to the side, Lorna’s wings seemed to sag a little, indicating she was listening. He took a small breath. “I came to this world… and every bit of it is rotting from the inside out…” He explained as he slowly brought his saber up for them to see, its cross-shape making it look like something a priest would carry around. “...Bureaucracy is poisoning this world as the upper class continue to step on those lower than them.” The darksider began to sit back once more. “It’s going to start with Griffonia… but this world will see an age of strength under me. The first two displaced to this world let it get into the terrible condition that it is in now.”

“I hope bureaumancy isn’t a thing here. I was surprised when I found out about it on my world. It’s the only form of dark magic with a worse rep than necromancy. As for your question no my world is for the most part peaceful. I showed up there before Celestia and Luna were even born and I took advantage of how new they were and taught them a few things. There is discrimination still but the higher ups can’t hurt the lower class. In fact Celly and Lulu somehow managed to set up the law so they must help the lower class to get more wealth and power for themselves. No one goes hungry, economy is good and you will be hard pressed to find an orphanage with more than two orphans in my world. I showed their parents and them how things could be early on so they were able to make the right plans by learning from human mistakes.” She answered with a proud smile.

He gives a shallow nod. “Not all worlds can be so peaceful… Celestia and Luna let their nations go… I wish that the ones in my world thought like the displaced that they are.” He makes a sour face as it seems like he’s about to spit off to the side before he thinks better of it and simply frowns. “...They let their world fall to the exact same problems that their original had.”

“I see...Just out of curiosity how are you planning to take over the world?” Rin asked with a small frown before looking off as if looking at something before opening a portal and letting a new pony in. A blue unicorn in a magician's get up covered in slime.

“You need to get your dog obedience training. Trixie has no interest in being inside her mouth.” She growled angrily as she pointed a hoof at Rin that was dripping with large globs of dog drool.

“Dog?” Nick asked with a raised brow. “As much as I do know that the Kitsune is an immortal trickster that gets more powerful with every tail they grow… How would a canine still keep a dog as a pet?”

“Easily, I feed her, play with her, take care of her and clean up after her. It’s not a question of species but intelligence. Would you like to meet my puppy?” She asked getting an alarmed look from the unicorn.

“no! Not while Trixie is here!” The ice-blue mare shouted with wide eyes before getting a slightly sheepish look. “Oh and Trixie should probably mention that the dog also buried Vinyl.” Trixie said as an afterthought causing Rin to groan.

“Excuse me a moment...” Rin said as she vanished into another portal only to return a little later. “Sorry, you can’t meet her, I had to dig up one of my employees and rub my puppy’s nose in the hole and put her in time out.”

Nick chuckled a little. “It’s not a big deal…” he started before fixing his eyes on Trixie. “I can sense quite a bit of potential with her… are you training her to be a darksider as well?”

Rin shook her head. “No the normal brand. I’m afraid the darkness just isn’t for her. But I am training her. At the moment shes working on focus, Trixie show him how far you are.” Trixie nodded before lighting up her horn. A good chunk of water came over from the fountain before taking the form of a foal and started playing on the ground. “Its a training exercise I invented called elemental puppet. Its just basic telekinesis but you need to concentrate on every moving part and shape to keep it perfect.”

Nikolaus lifted a claw towards the puppet, letting his influence spread over the water slowly to give the mare time to let go. She jerked back in surprise before letting it go and giving him an irritated look.The puppet shudders as he lets his hand drop, allowing him to turn his gaze back to Rin as the puppet started to change. “To answer your earlier question…” He began as the puppet seemed to writhe as the pony began to warp and distort, growing tentacles and spikes… going so far as to become barely a pony anymore. “...I will have the world follow me by choice. Any who won’t follow the Changeling King who emerged on this world will be under my rule. I will lead by example, much as my rival will. He will offer peace by understanding, I will offer peace by strength.”

Eerily, the once pony-like water construct looks at its previous master with an angry glare. It opens its fanged mouth wide as if preparing to lunge before shaking and falling to the ground with a wet splash as the disappearance of the dark energy in the air seemed to lift a previously-unnoticed weight from everyone’s shoulders. “I favored the side of chaos when I played Forty-K.”

Nick gave Trixie a small, pensive look. “Perhaps I could teach her… she certainly does have a bit of potential, but she needs the guiding hand of someone who succeeded in using the Dark Side to be able to pass through all three disciplines unscathed.”

“Trixie will stay with her current teacher.” Trixie said as she scooted closer to Rin, obviously not liking the proposal.

“That is fine for your current training, the offer will remain open should you decide you would like to learn our ways and not fall victim to the more sinister temptations.” Nick replied before turning the edge of his beak up in a smirk. “What did you think of the power you sensed though?”

“It was ok... Trixie guesses. But Trixie still thinks she will stick with princess Rin. Trixie likes her power more.” She replied.

Nick raised a curious, yet entertained, brow as he listened to the mare. The smirk on his face began to fade to a more genuine smile. “What about her power has you drawn to it? So far as I can tell she and I both use the same, if not similar, sources for our power.”

“You both use darkness but your power is more focused on destruction and domination as far as Trixie can detect. Though Rin has such powers they are more focused on protecting and healing. Trixie once witnessed Rin get disemboweled and she was able to put herself back together and heal herself without leaving a mark. She learned those skills in necromancy to help others. Its darkness yes but it’s the way she uses it that tells Trixie what kind of pon-… person she is and what kind of power she can offer. Trixie doesn't want power to destroy, she wants power to create and to mend and to be loved for it.” Trixie answered with conviction.

Nick began to chuckle as he started to stand. Not a harsh or evil chuckle… but a happy one, one that seemed… so much lighter than the tone the meeting of super powers had taken. “Rin, your apprentice may be better learned in the discipline of Sense than I first thought, while she does lack in Alter, she has a good idea for what she wants.” His chuckles slowly began to die down as he started walking over to the unicorn mare. “The thing is… true manipulation of the Dark Side… as I’m sure your teacher will tell you… Is as much about understanding as it is control.”

He starts to pace in front of them, noticing that Lorna had subtly moved her position so that she could watch them while acting like she was meditating. He took a deep breath. “I hope you guys like learning… this could take a while…” He says to the extras that had been brought in. “If not I could send for something you could all eat or enjoy while I speak with Rin and miss Trixie.” He offers.

The two knights shook their heads while one spoke. “Not while on duty.”

The corpse collector also shook his head. “Don’t eat, I’m dead. Got my brain eaten by a worm displaced.”

“Fair enough…” Nick replied before turning once more to Trixie. “You see, one who uses The Dark Side must learn a true balance between many things or else fall to the darkness itself.” He starts as he begins pacing again. “You wish to heal, but to learn to heal you must also know how to harm… you need to understand how damage is done if you are to learn how it can be reversed.” He looks over to Rin. “With your example earlier Trixie, it would be a small trifle to assume that Rin here knows how to easily cause such a wound… am I correct?” he asks Rin.

“Trixie’s point still stands. She will stay with Rin. But what of you? Trixie knows you can disembowel but do you hold the reverse knowledge?” Trixie countered. She was right up leaning next to Rin now.

Nick gave a light laugh. “Of course, an understanding of The Force allows one to heal as much as they can harm… with enough will a very powerful practitioner could reverse death itself... “ He frowns and starts to grimace a little as he gets to the end. “Though… to bring someone back from the dead after they have been deceased for quite some time angers The Force… it is blasphemy for the light and dark side… Recently dead may be saved if you are lucky, but the backlash from the long-dead could kill you as a replacement.” He lets out a sigh as he looks to the sky again. “you say that I focus on control and destruction… yet it is only one small facet that you have seen… Within this very city I have simply opened my embrace to those who would like to be strong, the soldiers you can see around the castle welcomed my power to help bring them into a new, true, golden age… I can heal as well, if not better, than any tribal shaman or hospital in this kingdom. Yet who am I to say who should and should not be saved? When given power, responsibility and patience become as key as any other facet of study. Focusing on one element leaves you with with too many weaknesses. To become a darksider, you must balance all the disciplines. Your power would come from the force of your emotions… but you would have to learn how to sense what was right for the situation, control your emotions and alter the world around you to make it suit your needs.”

“Yes, I am powerful when it comes to control and destruction… but I do not focus solely on those two traits.”

“Weren't you paying attention? Rin isn’t teaching Trixie darkness. Trixie doesn’t want darkness. Trixie is happy with the everyday variety she just needs to be taught how to master it. And even if Trixie did your speech just proves that Rin also knows the opposite side to get where she is so there will be no need to go to you and leave the place she has now.” Trixie said with a scowl.

Nick sighed. “Oh well… at least your world has a dungeon master to keep it in line eventually. I never stated that you would have to leave Rin’s service, simply that if you were curious, it would take dedication and that I have a spot welcome for visitors.” He turned to Rin with a slight chuckle. “Sorry about the speech though, it’s not often I get to talk to others about the power that I have to control… It gets to be a bit much at times.” He apologized. “Hopefully soon my old friends will be able to converse with me again.”

“Its ok, I’m happy with Trixie’s choice when tempted. I’m proud of how far she has come. When she first showed up she probably would have dived head first into darkness without a thought and you know how that would have turned out.” Rin said as she patted Trixie on the back.

“Then it’s quite possible that she may want to speak with my friend Phillip… although these days he tends to go by Namiro.” Nick offered. “He’s currently helping feed a changeling hive and is learning to become truly one with The Force without needing to die first.”

The griffon princess slowly walked over with a slightly confused expression. “How… how could you possibly know this?”

“The Force gave me a vision… one that I believe is completely true, it also means that I must head to the Crystal Empire soon.” Nikolaus replied.

Lorna narrowed her eyes a little. “But… The crystal empire is a myth, cooked up by those pony princesses as a way to stroke their own ego.”

“Though she doesn't like how she said it shes right. Such a place can’t exist right?” Trixie asked as she looked up at Rin.

“Actually it’s the next big event to happen in our world so I should make some preparations when we get back.” Rin said as she looked up in thought causing Trixie’s jaw to drop.

Nick gave another lighthearted chuckle. “Don’t be so surprised Trixie, The Dungeon Master is supposed to know at least a little bit of the script ahead of time. That way they can prepare the heroes to meet the villain.” He paused a moment before looking towards the northwest. “It’ll also be the perfect area to find saber crystals once it reappears, I could certainly use a supply for when I start to train acolytes.”

“I must admit I’m a little curious about the physics behind the light saber. Despite similarities I was displaced as a dungeon keeper which has nothing to do with star wars.” Rin said as she scratched her head.

“Fortunately, I have the base design blueprints on me. The sabers themselves can be constructed by anyone, although they are best left to the hands of the Force Sensitive since it takes a certain understanding of The Force to wield one effectively and not risk slicing off a limb.” The dark griffon replied. “There are several parts needed for it; the power cell, the hand grip, an activation plate, a safety, belt ring… a blade length adjuster for models you’d like to switch up the blade size on, although that tends to be more for dueling blades… the emitter matrix, a recharge socket, a setup of lenses that would focus the energy, the power conduit itself and the crystals that would go in the saber. The crystals can be any number from a single crystal to three crystals although you really only need one.” He lists off. “Typically The Force would give a vision to the apprentice about what style of blade they would need for their preferred method of combat.”

“Different worlds run on different rules. It’s not called the force in mine and it doesn't give visions like that unfortunately.” Rin said with a shrug.

“Does your world not have ‘seers’? Nick asked. “Beings who, truthfully or not, claim to see the future through visions and divinations?”

“Oh you misunderstand what I meant is it doesn't give visions on how to make anything. We do get predictions of the future they just need a little deciphering first as they are given in riddles. It makes those who see it work for each one.” Rin answered.

“Well, either way… To create a saber, one would have to meditate with the crystals they would like to use, tuning themselves and the crystals with their source of power. This can be anywhere from three days to a whole month spent in meditiation, though the vision is usually caused by the unwavering focus.” Nick explained as he sat back down on the couch he had sat on earlier, letting his wing out to embrace the princess that he had married as she sat down with a frustrated sigh.

“Are you guys done yet? I don’t think I even paid this much attention in the private courses my father was paying for while I was growing up…” The female griffon groaned.

Nick laughed a little. “In time you might get to be as talkative as us… oh well…” He sighs before turning to Rin. “Once I finally begin training Acolytes I may seek to send them to you for combat experience… would you have any problems with that?”

“Not so long as you don’t send me any troubled students. I’m afraid I don’t have time for those between being a dungeon keeper and an Equestrian princess. But I am working on a little project that might work well with that. I’m calling it The Arcade and it uses the comic book magic I mentioned I used to create Jumanji on a larger scale. I’m trying to cram as many environments and enemies to make it like the X-men’s danger room so there is something to work on everything. Though admittedly it will take some time to build such a thing.” Rin sighed as her shoulders slumped.

“Of course, I would expect nothing less than perfect discipline from my Acolytes once they are able to arrive. We will have to end our chat here though, as there is some news coming in from one of my border agents, it appears that Luna has found out about my friend. Perhaps we could arrange a playdate between him and Trixie the next time you’re in town?” Nick chuckled.

“I’m sure that would be nice. But before you send any of your Acolytes my way make sure they don't take the fact that my home is full of the undead negatively and do anything negative. Yes, I even have undead in my employ even older than the princesses but they came about naturally. I attracted ghosts and vampires that already existed in the land of the living and none of them have ever seen the afterlife by their own will. I help the ones that get trapped move on and employ the ones that want to stay.” Rin said in a lecturing tone.

Nick waved a claw. “Thats fine, as long as you’re not trying to resurrect someone then my acolytes will simply follow orders. They may not get along well with the undead you have but they won’t be hostile.” He explained as the portal began energizing to life once more.

With a nod rin shouted out. “Alright, it’s time to go home.” Rin called out causing the corpse collector to groan as he lifted himself up and then hopped into the hole in the floor followed by Trixie, Rin and finally the two knights before the hole in the ground sealed shut leaving no sign that it had ever been there.

Nick took a deep breath as he got up from the seat he was in. “Oh darn… I forgot to give her a holocron… oh well, looks like she’ll have to get the saber blueprints next time.” He laughed as he flared his wings, getting his bride to run her claws across the broad feathers. He shivered a little before growling playfully. “In a bit love… you still have a bit more training to do after lunch.”

Changing Night

Namiro was smiling as he waved to a pony/changeling couple that was sitting outside of the Cracker Barrel enjoying a late dinner. "...I think I might bring Midnight Steel back there some time... the food wasn't bad." He mused with a small chuckle as he let his senses wander. For the most part the town was quiet, since they had learned that the changelings weren't there to hurt anyone the guards also seemed to relax a bit more around them.

He frowned a little as he realized that he hadn't noticed anyone in town that was truly Force-sensitive though. Despite the unicorns being able to tap into it naturally, they weren't quite as sensitive to it as those eight sources he had felt earlier. His datapad had already informed him that if he were to produce infiltrators then he would be able to have force-sensitive changelings... he didn't want to be the one in charge of that though, it was already difficult enough with his own training, he still had yet to make his own saber as well despite having completed the first Cadence. The changeling king rubbed the bridge of his muzzle before his ears perked up, his senses catching the taste of a powerful force user approaching. He turned at almost the same time as the other occupants of the town around him to watch as a chariot pulled by winged reptile-like creatures descended, flanked by several armored Thestrals.

Namiro kept a neutral face as the chariot landed in the center of town, causing the entire town to become as quiet as a graveyard as a beautiful mare gracefully stood and stepped out of the chariot. "...Oh my... such an exquisite physique..." the changeling king thought as he watched her step with all the grace he would expect of an aristocratic vampire. The mare was actually nearly as tall as he was, quite possibly an inch or so taller than Patina, so he had no troubles meeting her gaze as the two of them stood as giants among children.

She stopped several meters away, studying him as much as he was studying her. The dress she was wearing certainly did reveal quite a bit of fur as it seemed to cover just the bare essentials, the silky material seemed to hug her form perfectly while giving her plenty of freedom to move within, Namiro could've sworn that he could see the strap-less bra that was holding up her chest.

The guards tensed up as Luna shifted her stance. "So... Thou art the changeling Force-User our sister discovered." She asked in more of a statement way, which was stupid to deny now that she was practically on the changeling's doorstep.

He nodded. "I am Changeling King Namiro, Guardian of The Force." The taller changeling declared with a tone of authority that almost made him blink in surprise. "Am I to assume that I am speaking to the Displaced who has taken the name Luna?" In his mind Phillip reeled back in surprise. "There are others like me?"

Yes, there are many like you within the Multiverse, some benevolent, many malevolent, given the awareness you now have you must prepare yourself quickly to defend your new world with the assistance of those you can call allies.

The princess blinked as she had her mind process the question. She gave him an inquisitive look before nodding. "Yes, can we assume that thee art one as well?"

Namiro nodded, "I learned much when I connected truly with The Force in this world, bits of information that come and go as they are needed..." His eyes seemed to stop on the twin sabers attached to her loose belt.

"Thy vision should stay upon a guest's face, rather than on their bosom." Luna chided as her guards leveled spears at the large changeling.

"I was simply noticing your sabers, the entire time I've been here I've only found my own saber to practice with."

"Art thou implying a duel?" Luna asked with a smirk.

"No!" Namiro replied as he held up a hand. "Simply a sparring match, I know already that I would not be able to beat you in a duel."

The lunar princess seemed to debate the offer for a moment before unclipping one of the saber hilts from her belt. "Since thou only hast one blade We shall only use one as well." She looked to her guards. "Stand down, this sparring match shall require a fairly decent amount of space for us to practice properly." The guards seem a little hesitant, though they do follow her orders and stand aside before the princess clicks the activator plate on her Jade Fire model lightsaber, emitting a midnight-blue blade that has a night sky-colored core. She quickly adjusted a small gold knob on the back-side of the hilt, getting Namiro to smile as he unclipped his Avenger-model hilt and turned a similar knob on his before lighting up the lime-green blade. The princess gracefully brought her blade up in one hand, pointing the tip towards the changeling, giving him pause as he realized that the alicorn's hilt had a dueling curve to it.

"So... a Makashi specialist..." Namiro mused as he got into his stance.

"A keen eye..." The princess replied. "...I do quite favor one on one duels, they are a way to best gauge one's opponent are they not?" She questioned with a smile.

Namiro gave a small chuckle as he found himself switching to a more Makashi-style stance now that his saber was about the size of a shoto for him. "Quite, one can find a true rival on the battlefield." He replied before the two of them seemed to fade to a midnight-blue and a dark green blur.

For the two duelists the world around them seemed to slow down as they seemed to be locked in a fencing match, "So Princess... how do we tell who has won the spar?" Namiro asked as he sent a swing toward's the mare's shoulder.

The lunar princess dodged with ease, letting the beam of her blade sear across the arm of her opponent's robe. "We shall simply go until one of us gives in." She smirked as the pattern of parries and blocks continued, letting their blades become a swirl of blue and green, hissing and sparking at each other as the two of them seemed alone and trapped in an exotic dance. Luna gave an impressed hum as the green blade nearly grazed the clasp of her dress. "You're fairly good for a left-haded duelist, yet you have evenly-placed armor... why is that?" She slowly began to pick up her pace, letting her attacks put her on the offensive as her opponent began putting more concentration into defense.

"Because... it's how my body works, I prefer a balance and am working on ambidexterity..." Namiro replied.

"So you're not giving your all in this match?" Luna inquired with a quirked brow.

"To be fair, neither are you." He answered as she dodged another swing at the clasp holding her dress together.

Luna frowned a little. "If your actions are to be taken into account We think you may be trying to disrobe Us..."

"It's not my fault you came in only a light dress, besides... with a beautiful body like yours, why hide it?" Namiro countered, letting his blade hiss once more against the alicorn's blade.

"For the same reason thou use a robe." Luna replied without missing a beat as the two of them began to kick up a small dust cloud.

"I only use the robe when I'm tending to my Force Guardian duties or if it's really cold out... so..." He says as he starts to smirk. "You're saying you tend to walk around the palace or Canterlot in the nude when you're not doing princess duties?" The changeling began to chuckle as he tasted the flare of anger and embarrassment that came with his estimation.

"You will regret that guess!" Luna growled as she began to swing even faster, her strikes bringing down enough power to push his defenses back as more of his robes began to singe. Despite the onslaught though he could only smirk.

"...You never said I was wrong..." He laughed as he switched to his right hand mid-parry. "Besides, I wouldn't doubt that you get many stallions asking for your hand because of that amazingly beautiful body." Once he had switched to his right hand it was clear that his right was his dominant side since Luna found herself getting pushed back towards the center of their makeshift dueling ring made of curious onlookers.

"Your training is impeccable, we are surprised that there is a changeling with such talent." Luna remarked as she began to compose herself once more as she realized that she was being put on equal ground. With her favored style being a dual-saber type she was quite a bit rusty when it came to single-blade dueling.

"That's because I'm much like you... once a being from another world that was assimilated into this one, I just happened to absolutely love lightsaber combat. It was a decent practice method for keeping in-shape alongside freerunning practice around town."

"Parkour?" Luna replied with a chuckle. "The martial art of running away?"

Namiro laughed alongside her as his blade once again came dangerously close to searing away the clasp that was holding her dress up. "It's one of the handiest martial arts there is, when you can free run your mind subconsciously plans out several methods to escape any room that you enter. It's why I loved the assassin's creed games."

"Our personal favorite was the second one, Ezio was such a dashing rogue."

"As good as the second one was, I'd have to place my favorite at either Brotherhood or Revelations, both had excellent parkour mechanics as well as lots of fun weapons to use in order to mess with guards." Namiro explained as Luna dodged another swing. "I also quite enjoyed how you could train your apprentices in Brotherhood."

Luna nodded, getting another graze across the changeling's arm. "It was certainly fun to... wait a second, you are from our time period on earth?" She asked as the two of them spit off.

"It depends, how far along the assassin's creed timeline were you?"

"The third game of the series had just been announced."

"Then you were over a year behind when you were transported, The fourth game had been out for three months when I was brought here."

Luna looked stunned as she lowered her saber. "B-... But... My sister and I have been here for nearly three millennia... How could only one year have passed in our world?"

"...void logic?" Namiro replied with a shrug. "Does this mean the spar is over?"

"Consider this a tie... for now." Luna replied as she deactivated her saber and turned to get back in her chariot, much to the hesitant chagrin of the thestral knights that accompanied her.

"Luna!" Namiro called, getting the princess' attention. "I was serious about you having an amazing figure, go make those stuck up nobles crazy." He said with a smirk, getting the princess to laugh a little.

"We shall see, for now we must tend to our loyal thestrals... Sadly they have been very mistreated in the many years that we were gone."

"I heard... you have my condolences."

Luna gave another chuckle. "To think... we finally met a changeling that wasn't bent on the destruction or subjugation of our ponies."

"Maybe this will be the first step towards peace between the races of the planet?" Namiro offered.

"It is a nice thought to entertain, but we do not hold out for what seems impossible." Luna replied as she looked off towards Canterlot. "We hope to see thee again Namiro, King of the Changelings..."

"I would be delighted to have you visit again as well Princess Luna of Equestria." Namiro replied with a bow before the chariot began to take off. As it disappeared into the distance Namiro looked down at his saber once more, now that he was a full-size changeling king he needed to make a saber with a longer hilt and blade to accommodate his new form. He was done growing, as far as he could tell, so it would only be proper to get a new blade. "Perhaps using chitin... it's resistant enough to energy damage..." he mused as he clipped his saber back to his belt and continued his trek through town, pondering the new developments that were in progress.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Patina walked down the corridors of her hive, each green crystal that lit their home seemed to give off a new energy. She listened to the several times that Namiro had meditated in their chambers, this... Sense... that he talked about, she could feel something just beyond her reach... something that was practically calling to her... whispering promises of safety like what Namiro provided. She wanted to know what he knew... she wanted to become Force-Sensitive as he called it...

It was a strange feeling to feel like such an alien in the midst of her own home. None of her children could sense the power that was calling to her, Namiro had said that his 'datapad' explained only the infiltrator offspring of a Force-Sensitive royal could sense The Force as well, for the first time in her life Patina wanted to truly learn about the origin of the Changelings before The Great Fall of their race. The Hive's memories could only reach back to the time after The Great Fall, she had lived thousands...no... millions of lives of the changelings after the fall, but not a single changeling mind remained in the hive from before.

Had they not been recycled? Absorbed by their queen to make a new generation of changelings from the body of one near its end... She let out a sigh as she leaned with her back against a wall, her tail twitched in irritation once more as her mind sifted through the memories of millions of her ancestors' children like a powerful machine. It seemed that the tradition of reusing the bodies of the nearly-ended must have started after the fall... it was the only explanation, not a single memory showed that the tradition had been in place before.

"...If a changeling died... would that changeling's knowledge be lost forever to the hive?" Patina wondered as her tail curled around her legs. "It couldn't possibly... a changeling attached to a hive would share its knowledge to every other member of the hive so that it could never be lost..." Her shoulders began to sag a little as she continued, each dig at each memory, each queen and king before, finally revealed one memory that was cracked... crumbling... but still there, frayed at the edges, but still viewable. Gingerly, she began to prod her mind into the memory, trying to keep it from falling apart.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Firestar, a powerful sorceress from Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, was sprinting for her life. She dared not look back, lest she trip over the brush in her way as she sped deeper and deeper into the Everfree. The blood-orange colored mare let her magic flow through her hand as she made several sweeping motions blindly behind her, her left hand caressing her slightly-swollen belly as she continued to run. Tears welled up in her eyes as she fled towards the one place that her pursuers would never go... the one place that was nearly more dangerous than the Everfree Forest.

... The Castle of the Old Ones...

Firestar was nearly gasping for breath as she finally reached the statue-guarded entrance to the mysterious castle. One statue was of a serpentine creature that seemed to be a random amalgamation of various animals from ponies to dragons, while the other statue was of a very familiar race... a Changeling...

The weakened sorceress stumbled her way past the entrance of the castle and into the looming darkness within. The red-orange mare let out a small whimper of pain as she braced herself against a wall, slowly sliding down into a semi-sitting position.

She let out a squeak and began to shiver as it seemed like several creatures were moving in the darkness, her eyes adjusted too slowly as they approached with glowing red eyes.

She finally saw them as tan skeletal ponies with strange black boxes pointed at her. "Halt..." the closest said in a demanding monotone. "Identify yourself." The creature sounded like what several of her colleagues estimated the old machines to sound like. For only a few moments she hesitated.

"...I... I am... Firestar, ex-protege of Princess Celestia..."

"Stand and submit to scanning or we will open fire." The machine responded.

"I... I'm exhausted... I lack the strength to stand." She whimpered as she struggled to shift her legs under her.

A second machine, this one with a blue stripe running down the front of its head, leaned towards the first and spoke in a slightly quieter monotone. "Sir, pheromone scans reveal that she is with child, Lord Diaz would-..." the blue-striped machine was cut off as the first one raised a skeletal hand.

"Understood corporal..." The first one, which she now noticed had a red stripe along its face, replied before pointing at two of the tan ones. "You two! Help her up and bring her to the scanner."

Firestar couldn't put up any resistance as she was lifted by two of the skeleton-like ponies and eased to her feet. Their hooves made a strange kind of clicking sound instead of the normal clop when their hooves struck the floor. She was led quite a bit further into the castle as several crossbow-like objects with similar black boxes as the skeletal ponies seemed to track the group. They all stopped outside of a huge ebony-black door.

The red skeletal pony motioned for the blue one to do something and the subordinate nodded before going up to the door and pressing a button. Almost immediately the large circle in the center of the door that she thought was just a decoration began to glow red, bathing the nearby area in a blood-like glow.

"State your number and objective..." The door rumbled loudly.

The blue-striped pony looked up at the red disk. "Combat Drone Three-Seven-Seven, patrol squad one has located a local within the castle. We wish to bring the mare before Lord Diaz so that he may decide what to do with her."

"Bring the mare forward, scanning shall begin once she stands before this unit."

"She requires assistance to stand, it appears that she has exhausted herself while fleeing from unknown pursuers, likely the targets that activated the perimeter defenses."

"Understood, two units may assist her in the scan."

Firestar grunted a little as the two 'drones' on either side of her that had an arm slung over their very uncomfortable shoulders helped to get her in front of the door. "Begin scan." the drone to her left spoke before a red light was emitted from the door to a spot above her head before it expanded out in a V. The door seemed to hum as the light began traveling down her body, though it paused just after it finished scanning her stomach and quickly moved back up.

The V-shaped beam of light shifted into a red cone that seemed to spin around her slightly swollen stomach before the light switched to purple. "Changeling life force detected, transport immediately to Lord Diaz." The door rumbled before the light shut off and the door began to split down the middle, sliding apart to grant them entrance to what appeared to be something out of what the jesters of Celestia's court would imagine the future to be like. The walls seemed to be some sort of clear material and gave her a perfect view of large objects that were... assembling more of the skeleton-like ponies. Everything moved in a pattern, it moved as if it had specific instructions being given to it... but from where she was no sound could be heard.

Each step that they took while she was being assisted seemed to help get some of her energy back but now she realized just how over-spent she was on energy as she felt like her legs would collapse under her if she didn't have the drones keeping her up. She marveled at the massive arrays of machines that were putting together an army that looked like it could decimate any country by sheer numbers alone. "Wh-what is this place?" She stuttered out, getting the drone on her right to answer her.

"Combat Drone Manufacturing base Codename: Aurealis. This installation is used to manufacture Combat Drones and store extra supplies gained while deep mining."

"Mining for what?"

"That's classified." The drone on her left replied. "Only functions allowed to know by civilian personnel are mining and assembly operations."

Firestar sighed as she finally felt some feeling return to her legs. They passed another large door, not quite as large as the first, that quickly hissed open to reveal a throne room with a large changeling atop it... no... not quite a changeling. Its body made similar clicking and whirring sounds as it stood. Most of its body was metal, although there were a few organic parts that she could see on its arms and legs, even the Mohawk-like fin on its head seemed to be half-metal.

"So, she is carrying the last Changeling Queen... it is most unfortunate..." The large man seemed to partially-wheeze out. "What is your name little pony?"

Firestar shivered a little as she tried to stand on her own. "Fire-... Firestar... sir..."

The robotic changeling nodded as he began to walk closer. "I am sorry that you must carry such a burden young Firestar, but whichever changeling laid this egg inside of you trusted you more than any other... You will have the protection of my army and may stay as long as you wish, under one condition..."

"Wh-what condition?"

"I must remove the knowledge of our race from you and your child's mind... You will still know what we are, but any memories from before our great fall will be removed so that we can give this race a brand new start, one that is not so tainted." He explained. "Accept and you will be given sanctuary that will never fail, decline and you shall be sent on your way to deal with the world on your own."

She didn't want to remove the memories, anything she had learned about the changelings from her husband... but... she didn't want to leave, this castle promised safety... the castle promised a place where she could love her daughter and not need to worry about whether Celestia would kill them both. The blood-orange mare looked up to the mostly-machine changeling and nodded. "I accept your terms..." She said quietly.

Diaz' tail lifted up, the needle point shifting so that the entrance of his tail was the size of the mare's horn before he put it to her horn, quickly letting it slide to the base as Firestar gasped. Her legs buckled under her and the only reason why she hadn't collapsed to the floor was the drones on either side of her keeping her alive. A strange pleasure washed over her as exhaustion matched it shortly behind, the magic she had spent years training and growing seemed to seep out of her horn like a flood as her mind began to forget... forget.. ... forget... ... ... everything... She watched as the magic she was releasing sent bulges down the mechanical changeling's tail that disappeared into the thicker portions before making his stomach glow gently brighter with her crimson aura. She fought to keep her eyes open. His voice gently assured her.

"Rest... you are safe now... your daughter is safe here... Celestia will not harm you here." With that prompting she finally let her eyes close and her senses dull until she woke up again.

|-o-| |-o-|

Firestar opened her eyes to see the ceiling of a very nice, quite advanced, room. Against her back was the soft, plush sheets of a bed that conformed oh-so-perfectly to her body and growing belly. Her magic was coming back, nothing too different about it aside from the fact it was now a milk-white color instead of the crimson she had been familiar with since she was a filly. She tugged back the comforter to show her larger stomach and smiled. "So strange how you changelings can stretch so much and not feel or cause any pain..." She mumbled as she began to stroke her stomach lovingly. "I can't wait to teach you about the world... Rose..." She cooed before the memory began to fade and distort from age

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Patina held a hand to her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. "Changelings... Changelings almost..." she couldn't even bring herself to finish the thought before several drones made their way over to her, quickly embracing her in a way that always somehow seemed to make her happier... especially when Namiro did it. She had to tell him... to let him see the memory... he might be able to find out more than she could...

Mission Time

Patina nuzzled against Namiro as he stood once more at the entrance of the cavern that led to their home. "Please... make sure you come back safe..." She murmured as she gave him a sensitive kiss on the neck. His hand comes up to caress her muzzle as he pursed his lips.

"I... I can't guarantee that I'll be safe... but I'll use every last drop of my power to make sure your father is safe." Namiro replied before breaking off their embrace. "I'll try to be back as soon as I can." He turned quickly to give her a kiss before starting his way out of the cave.

Taking a deep breath Namiro began to let The Force flow through him, feel it coursing through his legs, his knees bent just before he took off in an incredibly fast sprint and kicked up a dust cloud behind him as he made his way to the train station.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro chuckled a little as he realized that he had sped through the whole five mile hike in only a few minutes. His chuckling died down though as he realized that getting on the train as a changeling would possibly get him in trouble wherever the train stopped. With a slight frown he began to think for a solution, only to smack his forehead and shift into his chestnut-colored earth pony form as he made his way up to the station.

A pegasus was sitting behind the counter, Sea Breeze if he remembered correctly... it seemed to be her time of the month to take the conductor job, she seemed to be doing some sort of crossword puzzle in pen.

"Hey Sea Breeze." Namiro called as he approached the booth. "I'd like a ticket to The Crystal Empire."

The light-blue mare quickly picked herself up from the floor because she certainly did not scream like a filly and collapse out of her chair when she was startled, not scared, by Astral Aegis calling to her from less than a meter away. "Crystal... Empire?" She asked hesitantly, bringing up her list of locations. "No price for the Crystal Empire... must be a place that hasn't been updated by the train depot yet... at least, not here anyway. Uh... You're going to have to make a trip to one of the places that are on the list, I'd say Canterlot, so that you can board a train to the Crystal Empire from there."

"That's fine, how much for a ticket to Canterlot?"

"That'll be fifty-four bits." Sea Breeze replied.

He lets out a small sigh as he puts the bits on the counter. "One-way to Canterlot please."

"Comin' right up!" She replied with a smile before punching a ticket and passing it to him. "Train should be here in an hour, so I hope you brought something to do till then." The light blue pegasus said before going back to her crossword puzzle.

Namiro found a seat that was mostly-shaded and pulled out his saber, closing his eyes and letting his senses meditate on The Force as he began to disassemble and reassemble his saber, studying each component so that he would know how to build his own true saber. The Force in his current crystal was weak, unfocused... it wasn't a proper saber crystal. He would have to remedy that soon so that he could continue his training further.

Sea Breeze slowly moved her newspaper out of the way as she noticed the advanced blade being picked apart so easily. "...woah..." She whispered as she watched each piece of the saber come apart and hover in the air like a Three-Dimensional diagram of the mace-like weapon. What stunned her the most was that as an Earth Pony, Astral Aegis was able to make everything hover as if he were a unicorn.

Soon enough the saber hilt assembled itself just before the sound of a train whistle was heard in the distance. Namiro quickly clipped the saber to his belt and made his way over to the waiting platform as the train slowed down. The boarding and departing process was quick, as usual, for this station. Not many ponies ever wanted to come to the badlands since so little grew well out here. Namiro had no trouble with selecting a seat on one of the better sections near the front of the train as the huge, rumbling machine began to make its way down the track. The steady click-clack of the train on the tracks began to ease the disguised changeling into a nice slumber for the day and a half journey it would take to reach Canterlot. His eyelids drooped and soon enough he felt the comfortable embrace of sleep.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro blinked as he found himself sitting in a vast, starry landscape... no... he was on a hillside... looking up at the stars. He felt... content... as he watched the night sky. Each star he understood could hold just as much, if not more, life than the planet he was currently on. Something felt off though as he looked at the sky, letting his tail twitch as he saw one of the stars start to get a little brighter before it winked out of existence. The moment it disappeared though, he felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Over a billion lives were suddenly silenced...

Namiro scowled as his brain seemed to be working against him. He slowly sat up as he noticed a slightly familiar presence nearby.

"We were wondering why there was a new presence in the dream realm..." Luna said as she landed gracefully next to him.

Namiro simply shrugged. "Hitching a train ride to the Crystal Empire..."

Luna gave him a curious look. "Why would thee need to go there, not even the citizens of Canterlot know of its reappearance."

"The force gave a vision... I need to be there. If you'd really like to help, a ticket arranged for 'Astral Aegis' directly to the empire would be nice."

"Woulds't thou like company? Our sister seeks to send the Elements Of Harmony to the empire in order to make sure that all is well."

Namiro put a hand to his chin in thought. "It would be nice... although I don't want them to know I'm a changeling yet... they would probably react badly to it."

"Thou will have to tell them eventually."

"Yeah... but I already know that they will learn of my true nature while they are in the empire."

Luna gave a small hum. "We shall see, for now... we shall speak with our sister, to see if we can arrange a ticket for Astral Aegis to take a trip with the Elements to the Crystal Empire."

"Thank you Luna... It is good to see you again as well."

The lunar alicorn blushed a little. "We... I... enjoy seeing... you... again too..." She stuttered out.

"You'll find the right stallion... heck... if you'd like to try... I can be whatever you need..." Namiro offered as he placed his hand on hers, getting her to turn towards him with a blush just as his dream form shifted to become a tall midnight-blue alicorn stallion. "I won't be able to give you a child... but I can certainly appreciate beauty for what it is..."

She quickly drew her hand away as her eyes widened. "I... uh... we... We are being woken, we will speak to thee at a later time..." she said quickly before getting up and flying away, letting the dream world waver and fade as Phillip began to wake up.

"Huh... see you around princess..." He chuckled.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro blinked awake as the train began to pull into the station, he couldn't believe that he let himself sleep for an entire day... but... well... it wasn't that entertaining of a train ride anyway. He slowly got up and let his back give a few nice pops before groaning and getting his cloak over his shoulders. He turned his hood up before leaving the train.

The disguised changeling let out a sigh as he noticed several sets of guards, one of each pair being a unicorn, that were casting a spell over various ponies who were departing the platform. Using force sneak would arouse suspicion since it would make them sense no one where he was standing... perhaps...

A smirk crossed his face for a few seconds as he made his way to the end of the nearest line. He could only chuckle quietly to himself as he prepared The Force for what he was about to do as the line grew shorter.

The unicorn guard cast the spell over the pony in front of him...

The pony was cleared...

Namiro stepped up...

"You've already cast the spell on me." He mumbled as he gave a subtle wave of his hand.

The guard gained a slightly spaced-out look. "He's good..." The unicorn said as he waved Namiro through.

"He just stepped... up..." the second guard starts to interrupt before Namiro waved his hand again.

"Your partner is right..."

"You're right Scale... Go right on in sir." The earth pony says in a similar dazed tone.

"Thank you very much... such nice boys." Namiro says with a smile and a nod to each one before he continues on his way, chuckling silently to himself as he makes his way down the street to the official entrance of Canterlot.

A bored-looking pink unicorn mare with a pastel-yellow mane is sitting at the booth. "Name...?" She asks as she lights up her horn in an almost-clear aura, demonstrating for the disguised changeling a fairly weak connection to The Force.

"Astral Aegis." Namiro replied as he watched her use her 'magic' to write his name on the sign in ledger.

"Okay, you're all set, have a wonderful day and please enjoy your stay in wonderful, sunny Canterlot." She recites, letting her magic open the gate next to her booth. Namiro gave a slight bow before taking his first step into the City Proper.

All around him were lavishly decorated homes that stunk of greed and arrogance. A bitter, sour taste made itself known on his tongue as he began to make his way deeper into the city. Already he could smell another bitter smell that reminded him of paper and ink mixed with an infinite sadness, although for some reason that one was coming from The Force in small pockets around the city. The flavortext for one of his favorite Magic: The Gathering cards came to mind at that moment.

Prahv... Where much work is done to make sure nothing is accomplished

He gave a small chuckle as he searched for a specific type of clothing shop... One that would hopefully sell winter-weather gear that he could take to the Frozen North. After several minutes of searching, and the absolutely-disgusting black licorice taste of scorn from the nobles around him, he finally found a decent clothes shop that he could look into getting a good set of severe weather gear from.

"Well! Hello there friend!" came the booming voice of a fairly large minotaur. "What can Kalaz Nikov do for you today?" He asked jovially as the earth pony meandered into the shop.

"I'm looking for a set of cold weather gear, something that will let me get further than the train station for an expedition up north."

"Ah! I see... Chilly place, the north. Much like my ex-wife... Frigid sow..." He seemed to jump a little as he moved around the shop. "No need to think about evil mistresses though! For Nikov will find the best outfit to keep your little hoovsies warm on your journey through frigid women... I mean climates." The minotaur replied without even breaking his stride or smile. "Are you looking for something with fake fur? real fur? thick? Usable as a nice blanket?"

"I'm going to be travelling to a city that is protected by a magical barrier, once I'm inside the climate will be more like what's around here. So something that I can hopefully slip into and out of easily."

"Ah! No problem, Nikov has just the outfit for you then little earth pony!" He exclaimed with a broad smile before diving behind the counter and rummaging in the back room for several minutes. Namiro took the chance to browse some of the selections of clothing available as he heard the minotaur rummaging. It brought a smile to his face as he noticed that all of the outfits in the store had to have been hand-crafted and unique to create such intricate details and have small traces of love seeping off of them.

"Ok friend!" The minotaur called, garnering the disguised changeling's attention. "Take a look at... THIS!" He says as he pulls out a set of thick travelling clothes; a brown trenchcoat with a fur trim around the neck and hood line, a one-piece thick travelling suit, a pair of nice gloves that were layered to be fingered and mittened as well as a sturdy pair of travelling boots. If it weren't for the fact that the entire outfit was different shades of dirt-brown it would have been an exact match to his father's deer hunting outfit.

"How much?" Namiro asked as he approached the counter.

"Two hundred twelve bits." Nikov replied. "Would charge more, but business is slow right now so most everything is on sale."

It was a stretch, but fishing out all but the last twelve bits he had he put the coins on the counter and the minotaur smiled as the disguised changeling started packing the clothes into a satchel-bag that Crimson Hunter had purchased for him. "Thank you so much, I'm going to get quite a bit of use out of this."

"That is good to hear friend! Perhaps you could spread the word of Kalaz Nikov's fine wares?"

"Of course my friend, I wouldn't dream of doing something else." Namiro replies as he finished packing his bag. "I may even stop by the next time I'm in town."

"Wonderful! And if you happen to be in the Minotaur capital, Minos, you should look up my brother... Oleg Sander, he's a good Minotaur and great with making fine metal items."

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro stood outside of the gates of the palace, the entire trip from the market square to the gate of the castle where the guards searching specifically for Astral Aegis took about ten whole minutes. The guards themselves had been slightly surprised when they found out the pony they were looking for was an earth pony like him... but a summons from the Lunar princess wasn't an order to be ignored.

The gate slowly opened and the guards began to guide him through the grounds of the absolutely-massive castle. It was actually an amazingly lovely setup, he could see immediately how much care and love that the gardeners put into making the place look as beautiful as it was. "This place is beautiful..." He breathed just before they stepped into the first major room of the castle, the sheer size of the castle was breathtaking.

"Yeah, the princesses oversee most of the changes or additions to the castle now that both of them are in the seats of power that they belong in." The unicorn stallion to Namiro's left explained.

"Only the best for the rulers of the country..." The guard on his right replied with a near-undetectable sigh.

The disguised changeling decided to file away that little tidbit of information for later use. "I can certainly see that, the detail and quality of just... everything... is so exquisite."

"Wasn't like that a few months ago..." The guard on his right continued. "Damn changelings overpowered all of our forces and wiped us aside like we were foals..." He starts to scowl.

"Private..." The guard to Astral's left warns.

"Sorry Corporal, won't happen again." The right guard replies. They all stop outside of the main audience chamber. "This is your stop Astral Aegis, once you are finished with your audience we will escort you to the entrance of the castle again."

"Thank you good sirs..." Namiro replied with a smile before slowly opening the door to reveal a near-empty audience chamber. The door closed quickly behind him as he stepped inside, sealing him and the only other occupant of the room away from the world.

"Good afternoon Astral Aegis, it is good that thou were able to answer our summons." Luna says in her regal tone. "We shall be having a private audience while our sister speaks with her student about the mission thou shalt accompany them on."

Namiro nodded. "I am happy to help, since being given permission to go to the Crystal Empire would be much more comfortable than needing to stow away on a train heading north."

Luna gave a small smirk. "Quite..." She giggled before lighting up her horn and having a train ticket float from the arm of her chair to the air in front of him. "This ticket will allow for you to accompany the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony to the capital city of the Crystal Empire that our niece and her husband rule."

Namiro took the ticket from the air. "It is an honor to assist in whatever way I can."

"Our sister's student shall be leaving upon the first train upon the morn, until then her friends shall be staying in the castle with her until their departure. We have made arrangements so that thee shall 'bunk' with the dragon Spike while Twilight Sparkle and her friends shall be sharing a room." Luna explained. "The guards that escorted you inside have had the situation explained to them and have been debriefed on their new location to escort you to."

"Well then, let us not keep the girls and dragon waiting, tonight may very well be an excellent bonding experience." Namiro replied with a smile.

Luna nodded and lit up her horn to open the doors again. "guards... escort our guest to the room he will be sharing with Sir Spike." Both of the guards saluted and the Private brought his hand up to politely tell the changeling to follow their lead.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

The walk was actually nice, they passed several stained-glass windows that seemed to simply be there to add a bit more color to the otherwise sterile-white castle. He couldn't quite tell how long they had been walking, nor did he care, simply that he was enjoying the journey. Moments later he began to hear a slightly-muffled conversation.

"A bodyguard dear? Are you sure?"

"Yes Rarity, Celestia and Luna are having him stay with Spike for the night while we're in Canterlot."

"Whadda we need a fancy shmancy body guard fer? We can handle takin' a trip ta see yer brother and sister in law."

"Yeah! I bet he'll be a wimp just like the other guards that the princesses keep around! I'll show him what a real mare can do!"

Namiro chuckled a little at the mental imagery.

"I bet he'll be super fun and party-rific! The princesses wouldn't send us anywhere with one of those regular grumpy McGrumperson guards that they keep around!" The guards that were escorting him had actually managed to catch that line and were now frowning a bit in unison.

"We can be fun..." The private replied before turning to Namiro. "You believe we have a sense of humor, right? That it's just the job that makes us have to be so serious all the time..."

"Of course I do, you two seem like really cool guys... maybe once all this Crystal Empire business is over we can go to a local spot and just get to know each other."

The private nodded. "I'm private Swift Wing." The private introduced before pointing at the other guard. "He's Corporal Star Sign."

"It's good to know you both, but I can't keep my new potential friends from waiting too long, they might start getting antsy."

"Oh wow! That one was a doozy!"

"Oh my, Pinkie dear, are you all right?"

"I... I think y'all better duck an' cover... A doozie like that might jus' be somethin' we need ta avoid."

"Girls..." Came Twilight's unamused voice. "The last time she had a 'doozie' like that it was something that turned out to be incredibly simple... just unexpected..."

Namiro gave a small chuckle as he stepped up to the door.

"Yeah, it might be a cool doozie like... uh... The princesses assigned us one of those bat pony mares! Do you know how cool that would be?"

The disguised changeling began opening the door, causing all the voices to become silent as he saw a group of mares that matched the colors of the auras he had seen several days prior, making several memories flash across his mind again. He quickly composed himself and looked between all six of them and the lizard-like creature that was standing next to the violet unicorn mare. "Hello everyone, I will be your bodyguard for this journey." He said with a small smile that quickly turned into a concerned frown as the white unicorn mare put a hand to her head and let out a wail before fainting. "That could've gone better..."

Destination Crystal Empire

Twilight was understandably confused, her day had started out with being summoned to canterlot for a not-quite test before being told by her mentor that she and Luna had chosen a bodyguard to accompany her and her friends to the Crystal Empire. Rainbow Dash and Applejack had been the only two against the idea at first, though they consented easily enough when Celestia told them about an ongoing threat to the safety of the Empire. While no actual battles were estimated, since the six of them would be going as moral support for the beleaguered couple now ruling the Crystal Empire, it was quite a dangerous journey to go on without some help.

So her friends did what they did best when it came to estimating the unknown...

They expected sub-par results.

(-o-)

"Darling, I understand that the princesses want our safety in mind... but do you really think that they would assign us guards from the royal guard that is here? Any time any sort of threat came up in recent history the guards were tossed aside like foals' dolls." Rarity and Rainbow Dash had both brought up points that the guards were really just there for decoration nowadays and the conversation had continued as such until the door had opened, revealing a rather simply-clad earth pony stallion that had a dirt-brown robe to match his chestnut-brown coat and charcoal-black mane.

At the sight of the dust that settled in an aura-like cloud around his hooves Rarity had fainted onto her fainting couch... that nobody could explain the appearance of...

"Spike... did you bring Rarity's couch?" was Twilight's first question.

"Of course not, I wouldn't have been able to carry it and all of her luggage!" Spike replied with slight shock at the random appearance of the fainting furniture.

Pinkie quickly seemed to appear in front of the new stallion. "Hey! How ya doin?" She asked quickly. "My name's Pinkie Pie and I love parties! Do you love parties? Since my Pinkie sense told me that our bodyguard doesn't have a lot of friends I'm gonna throw you a party so you can have a bunch of friends! What kind of cupcakes do you like?" She seemed to ramble out in one breath, leaving most of her conscious friends with semi-amused looks as they watched their seemingly-random friend's antics.

Namiro took a small breath. "Well... I'm doing good so far, my name is Astral Aegis.." He paused for a few seconds. "I like parties, just not really big ones and I prefer strawberry." He replied with a small smile as he began to make his way over to the unclaimed bed and past the stunned faces of Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Twilight watched with slightly-piqued interest as he slipped out of his robe, revealing the tunic-like outfit underneath as well as his very well-built arms.

"So... The princesses said you were gonna protect Twilight and her friends... but, you don't look like a royal guard." Spike asked as he hopped up on the bed.

Aegis smiled as he folded up the robe. "That's because I'm not a royal guard, I'm a wandering knight."

"What kind of knight doesn't wear armor?" Rainbow Dash scoffed as she tried to hide her blush.

"The one that doesn't get hit." Namiro explained. "I don't need armor because I don't have to worry about physical damage."

Twilight finally decided to chime in. "That thing at your hip, what is it?" She asked as she pointed to the saber hilt clipped to Namiro's belt.

He took it off with a small smile. "This is a lightsaber, an elegant tool for a group of very skilled swordsmen."

Rarity finally decided to wake up with a mumble about evil dirt or something like that. "Oh dear... I just had the most terrible nightmare Twilight." She started, prompting the violet mare to ask what was wrong. "The bodyguard that was supposed to be a handsome, dashing soldier turned out to be an absolutely dirty vagabond... it was terrible..."

Namiro frowned a bit at the insult. "I did recently finish traversing an Equestrian desert, thank you very much."

Rarity turned around with a gasp. "Oh my word! It wasn't a nightmare!" She exclaimed before noticing his now-uncovered arms and base physique. "We just HAVE to get you an outfit that will look better than those drab robes!"

Namiro was very unamused as he took a small breath. "As much as I appreciate the outright disrespect to my organization and upbringing... I'm going to have to decline the offer."

Rarity had a challenging frown of her own. "Disrespect? Darling, the only disrespect to your form are those robes that hide your amazing physique."

"These robes are a sign of humility, part of the Vow of Poverty that I took when I became part of the Je'daii Order." Namiro explained.

"Poverty? Why would you voluntarily live with no sort of income whatsoever?" Rarity balked.

The disguised changeling was really starting to get annoyed with this prissy mare, but he took another breath... it was always better to be calm. "To teach humility and selflessness. I am only to have the equipment that I need in order to continue my journey, to donate money to those who need it and to help those who cannot help themselves. By understanding how those who lack resources live we may better ourselves." He explained before pointing to the satchel that he placed on the bed. "Besides, I have all of the winter gear that I need."

Twilight decided to put herself between the two ponies before things could escalate further. "Well... it's starting to get pretty late... so... we've all got to get ready to go in the morning." She explained with a sheepish grin as she started to push her friend out of the room. "Come on girls! We need to get some shut eye!"

Once all six of the mares were out of the room Namiro turned his head to the dragon that was still sitting on his bed. "...Mares..." The disguised changeling sighed, earning a sympathetic nod from the dragon.

"Yeah... I'm just glad that Celestia told Twilight to bring me with her... whenever they go off to have an adventure I usually have to miss out on everything and stay back at the library to keep it open for the absolutely zero ponies who actually use it." The violet dragon let out a sigh. "We've had two ponies total come to use the library... and one of them hadn't even realized it was a library."

"Well, you at least get to see this one..."

Spike let out a small scoff. "Yeah... for whatever good that'll do me... Twilight will probably just have me hang around the boring palace or local library all day so that I don't 'get into trouble'..." He explained with a small scowl. "Twilight still treats me like a baby even though I'm fourteen years old..."

Namiro nodded. "I actually really do understand how you feel... Though that does bring up a small question... How much information do you have about dragons in this part of the world?"

The purple dragon frowned. "Only the information that Twilight's been able to get from testing various spells on me..." He replies.

"Interesting... Where I come from there's quite a bit of lore surrounding dragons... although where I'm from we've never seen an actual dragon."

"How did your home have dragon lore if you've never seen a dragon?" Spike asked.

"Because, according to the lore, there were several dragon slayers that had to learn about dragons in order to keep them from destroying our homes. Most of it was speculation, like how long they could live if left alone... but most of the detailed stuff is how to keep them from killing you." Namiro explained as he leaned back on the bed.

"I... I'm actually not surprised... The last time I was around dragons they tried to get me to smash a phoenix egg." Spike sighed. "It's when I realized that I'm practically nothing like an actual dragon..."

"What is your definition of an actual dragon?" Namiro asked with a curious smirk.

"Strong... big..." He starts listing off before frowning. "...mean..."

Namiro let out a small chuckle. "Where I am from, dragons were believed to be as varied as the populace was... able to be as tyrranical as the most evil overlord... or as benevolent as a guardian. It all depended on how they lived their lives."

Spike started to actually smile a bit. From there it was easier and easier for the two of them to enjoy their time simply talking about various things like Spike's comic preferences, the role-playing games that Aegis enjoyed, as well as a great number of other subjects until the light from Celestia's sun finally faded for the night to arrive.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

The group stood outside of the train station, patiently waiting for the ticket booth to open and accept their admission. Fortunately they didn't have to wait long before they were allowed onto the train. Aside from needing to use a subtle mind trick on a scanning guard there weren't any problems for Namiro to get on the train without incident.

Within minutes the train was finally rolling down the track as the group seemed to split off into multiple smaller groups. Rarity pulled Twilight aside and began to talk to her as Namiro was conversing with Spike a few cabins down. Pinkie and Fluttershy had made their way to the dining car as Rainbow Dash and Applejack sat in the lounge.

"Twilight dear..." Rarity started, getting the violet mare's attention. "...I... I believe that Aegis and I may have gotten off on the wrong hoof... and... well..."

"You'd like to apologize?" Twilight suggested.

"Good heavens no! I stand by what I had said about the filth and those clothes that look absolutely terrible on him, he certainly needs something more flattering to his form instead of hiding it under all those robes." Rarity blanched as she thought back to their first meeting. "Just... I could use some help to get him to see that... so perhaps... you could do your friend Rarity a favor and maybe... get him to like you so he wants to make himself look a bit more presentable?" She asked with a sheepish smile. Before Twilight could object she continued on, "He is a rather attractive stallion after all, and if he does fall for you it could be a win-win for you both!"

"Rarity! Why would you even suggest something like that?"

The marshmallow-white unicorn rolled her eyes. "Oh please darling, it's not like I'm asking you to sleep with him on the first date... just... get him to like you, you're a smart mare, I believe you could get him to." Her smile began to turn devious. "Unless you don't believe that there could be anything you could possibly learn about getting a stallion to like you..."

Twilight blustered for a few moments before bringing her hands up. "Woah! Hey! I know I have a book in the library about getting the attention of a stallion!"

"Have you ever put it into practice?" Rarity asked with a chiding look. "I know that I could teach you a lot more than any book ever could."

Twilight scoffed. "Like what?"

Rarity smirked again. "Like simply being able to walk into a room and go to a spot that will put your flank as the closest body part to a male and they will make sure to turn and look, even if you're quiet as a cat."

"Pfft... That's a load of horseapples and you know it." Twilight replied.

"Then how about you try it, prove me wrong..." Rarity challenged. "No book will tell you what a lady knows by intuition."

"Fine! I'll do it, and when I prove you wrong, you'll stay quiet about insulting Aegis about his outfit, deal?"

"As much as I would rather he have a presentable outfit... deal." Rarity replies with a slight frown as they clap hands together and give a single shake. Once they finished their deal Twilight let out a sigh before heading to her cabin and grabbing a book.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Rainbow Dash chuckled quietly as she reclined back in the lounge chair that she was sitting in. "Hey AJ..." She whispered as she quickly eyed the dragon and brown stallion that was sitting with their back to the door of the lounge.

"What?" Applejack asked with slight confusion. "An' why are ya whisperin'?"

"Shh... Twilight just came in without Rares. How much you wanna bet she finally tricked Twilight into that flank test of hers?" Rainbow asked.

"Rainbow... as pretty as our little bookworm is, she's so dense when it comes ta stallions that she'd have a better chance findin' a mare." Applejack sighed as she rolled her eyes, turning to give a quick glance at the violet mare.

"I'm going with twenty bits." Dash said confidently.

"...Thirty an' you got a deal."

"Done." Dash replied with a smirk as she watched Twilight out of the corner of her eye.

For her part, Twilight felt an incredible amount of embarrassment as she sat on one of the counter stools in a position that made her flank the closest part to Astral Aegis while still letting her see if Rarity's theory had any proof to it. Her ear twitched a little as she opened up her book and pretended to be reading.

Namiro twitched his ear as he tasted the sweetly-sour taste of embarrassment, he didn't quite know how that was the taste of embarrassment but that was what came to mind as he tasted the emotion, the taste had him turn his head a little before his eyes locked onto the sight of the lovely violet unicorn from earlier. His eyes tracked her tail as it idly swished to frame her skirted rump. "...why is she wearing a skirt if we're heading north...?" There was another spike of embarrassment that brought his eyes up to her face to notice her blush. Then it clicked in his head and he started to laugh internally. "She was expecting me to look, well... I can't say that she's not attractive..."

Twilight held up the experiment for a few more minutes until Spike managed to get the stallion's attention before she finally got up and quickly made her way out of the room. Her ears were burning as they pressed against her head, "Why did Rarity have to be right about that?!"

"So..." The drawl on the 'o' forced her to groan as she could practically hear her fashionista friend bragging already.

Twilight sighed after a few seconds. "You were right..."

"I knew that I was dear. It's easy to tell what a stallion likes all based on where he looks at his first glance." Rarity explained as she sat down in the cabin with the violet unicorn. "If his gaze is slightly below yours then he prefers breasts, while lower than that is a stallion who should certainly be worth looking into a bit better. Stallions who prefer a mare's flanks are ones who are more willing to take their time and worship your body."

"I... really don't think that's how it works." Twilight replied cautiously.

"Of course it does Twilight... That's why I was right about him being a stallion who would react better to you showing off a bit of your flanks." Twilight gave a sigh as her friend continued on about having the proper attire to woo a stallion like Aegis...

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro chuckled as he watched the orange farm pony pass the cyan pegasus a bag of coins.

"I really wish she wouldn't do that..." Spike said with a frown as they both watched Twilight leave. "She knows that I'm growing up and everything... "

"If the lore where I'm from is right you don't have to worry about being accosted by potential girlfriends until you're twenty six." Namiro chuckled. "Be happy about it, women are crazy as sin."

"I know... but Twilight's only my adopted mother... and... well..." Spike blushed as he shifted in his seat.

"You... wait..." Namiro squinted his eyes as he started thinking. "You've... got a crush on..."

"Rarity... but... well... Twilight's beautiful in a lot of similar ways..." He says as his blush grows a bit more. "Just... don't tell her I said that..."

"Said what?" Aegis replied with a smile.

"That I called he-..." Spike was interrupted as Aegis put a finger to the dragon's lips.

"When I say 'said what?' that's your cue to say 'exactly'..." Namiro explained. "Get my drift?"

"Oh!" Spike replied with a look of understanding. "I get ya... Although... do... do you have any tips about getting Rarity to notice me?" He asked. "I... I get the feeling that she doesn't care... but... I want to at least try to show her that I want to be in her life..."

"Honestly, I don't find myself liking her all that much, so I wouldn't be able to help too well with that. It seems to me though, that you're still at that stage in your life where you are considered a child, with her being a full-grown adult and all... it may be better to pursue someone else." Namiro explained. At the dragon's depressed sigh Namiro put his hand on the little dragon's shoulder. "Don't worry about it... The day you find someone will be the day you stop looking, it's eluding you because you're trying too hard to look for what you want."

Spike let out a sigh. "I get that... I just..."

"Just... be you Spike, you don't need to try and be anyone else." Namiro explained. "The one who is right for you will be someone who accepts you because you are you..."

"Okay..." Spike replied quietly. "...Do you think that I might be-... actually... nevermind." Spike let out a sigh as he got up. "I'm gonna take a nap, wake me up when we get to the station."

"Alright Spike, see you in a few hours then." Namiro replied as he looked out the window of the lounge.

Freezing Shields

Astral Aegis stood at the exit of the train in his winter weather gear, incredibly happy that he had come so prepared. "Alright everyone, if you're ready, let's get to the city." He called back to the six mares and dragon before he stepped onto the train platform. The disguised changeling's eyes scanned the blizzard before his senses caught onto the determined emotions heading towards him from the north. He pointed his arm out. "Come on, let's meet our escort so we can get there quicker."

"How do you know he's that way?" Twilight asked over the whistling winds.

"Special training, let's get going... leave anything non-essential here." Namiro explained. "Spike! That means most of the luggage!"

Rarity let out a growl as she walked up to Aegis. "I'll have you know, that the luggage my dear Spikey Wikey is carrying is for my career! It is essential to everything I'll be doing!"

"Fine but if it becomes a decision between your life and your luggage, the luggage is going to be collecting snow." Aegis replied as he brought his saber to a ready position and began to make his way off of the platform. "Don't fall behind!"

Rainbow Dash was one of the members of the group who certainly hated the walk that they were taking, Seriously! She wasn't able to fly at all without risking the performance of her wings and it hurt like hell to walk in this cold! She grumbled to herself as she hugged the outfit she had brought tighter, not quite prepared for the cold of this level. She stopped as the group noticed that Astral Aegis walked up to her and took his thick overcoat off, one that Rarity and Applejack were convinced had real fur on it, before he draped it over her.

"Can't have you girls freezing to death out here." He said as the scarf covering his muzzle seemed to take on a smile while he still had the somewhat-thick undershirt on.

"Hey! Twily!" Came a voice that sounded distinctly like a surfer-stereotype or what a douchebag thought was the cool way to sound. Namiro turned quickly and had to bite his lip to keep from laughing as he thought a Hoth rebel soldier was walking towards them. "Twily! How did you girls know that the city was this way?"

The violet unicorn pulled the unicorn stallion in for a hug. "Astral Aegis said he was leading us to yo-..."

"Everyone Run!" Namiro called as he lit up his saber, the girls looked around in confusion before several red blades lit up the area behind them. Shining Armor quickly let Twilight go and mimicked Namiro's call as he drew a small hilt from his waist, it was actually decorated a lot to resemble the hilt of a rapier, to match the green one that Astral Aegis lit up. The chestnut-brown earth pony looked to the heavily-clothed unicorn. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be..." He says with a small breath before he brought his sword up to block the red blade with an ice-blue energy beam. "Nice Lightfoil by the way."

Namiro smirked as he brought his blade to a vertical parry position. "Nope, LightSABER, mine's the real deal."

"Wait... Does that mean..." Shining started as he did a quick slash to the dark-cloaked pony that was holding the blade that was attacking him.

"That I'm a Force-Sensitive... Yes!" Aegis replied as he used a swift Cho Mai maneuver to slice off his opponent's weapon hand, causing the cloaked unicorn to let out a shout of pain before seeming to vanish into the shadows.

"Man... You gotta teach me how to get one of those..." Shining said with an impressed tone as the two of them slowly began moving their way back to town.

"There's only... two... three... five of these guys left, I'll show you once we finish dealing with them."

"STOP IGNORING US!" One of the pegasus-like cloaked ponies shouted as he rushed at the disguised changeling, leaving himself wide open for an attack that brought Aegis' light green blade through his arm. "OH GOD MY ARM!"

"For your information, we're not ignoring you... you're just that unskilled." Shining explained.

Suddenly the two warriors felt a new cold that sent a chill down their spine that wasn't related to the blizzard swirling around them. "Hmm... Unskilled eh...?" Said a smooth voice that simply dripped with venom. "How about I even the odds..."

Shining let out a pained shout as he felt something drive itself into his horn, his eyes watered from the pain that seemed like someone was driving a spike through his skull. He could barely hear the hiss of saber blades as his new ally brought his saber up to strike at several of their attackers. He couldn't let them win here though, with all of his strength he brought himself up to his hooves and began trudging to the city, each step cleared his mind enough to see his friend... ally... was right behind him, the earth pony's lime-green blade cutting smoothly through the air as he kept the group of darksiders back.

Neither of them really noticed how far they had moved until the warm embrace of the shield surrounding the city accepted them both, transforming the landscape around them from a frigid wasteland into a sunny, warm oasis. Aegis and Shining Armor both collapsed onto the ground once inside the barrier, only then did shining armor notice the crystals that were attached to the earth stallion's arm. "W-what?" He panted as he slowly dragged himself up from the dirt.

"it... It's a crystal... that... cuts you off... from the Force..." Namiro panted heavily as his entire world began to spin.

"They're over here girls!"

"Hurry up! They look like they need a hospital!"

Aegis' world slowly blurred as he found himself fading out of consciousness. "...Damnit... Stupid Sith..." he thought with a groan as he faintly registered someone picking him up as he seemed to view their path in flashes. His arm felt painfully-numb as it felt like it was twitching without being able to control it, his left leg began to get that pins-and-needles feeling even though it was his left arm that got the spike in it. His breathing had become quite heavy just before he finally registered being inside a castle, a bit tacky from how it was made completely out of crystal... but it wasn't overly-so. It would've just been more ridiculous if it was a really weird design like a tree or something like that.

Namiro could barely react before the pony that was holding him up was quickly removed from her position, sending him reeling a little as he stumbled. He grunted in pain as something impacted his chest and sent him flying across the room. He let out another groan as he slid across the crystal floor for a few more feet before he felt his emerald-flame transformation set him back to the right size and species.

He blinked a few times and grimaced as he noticed the shocked and angered looks of the various gathered ponies. "Well... shit... there goes the surprise..." he mumbled as he reached for the crystal.

"Cease your moving! By order of the princess of the Crystal Empire you are under arrest, changeling." One of the guards growled.

"On what charges?" Namiro countered. "Am I being arrested because I saved her husband? Should I have left him to die out there in the blizzard when we were attacked?" Namiro wrapped a hand around the crystal. "You'll find that I have done nothing unlawful since I arrived aside from possibly bleeding on the floor... although I would have to apologize to the cleaning staff for that."

Several of the guards cast confused glances between each other before a couple looked to Cadence for the charges.

The pink alicorn mare had a scowl on her face as she remembered her week before the day her wedding was supposed to take place. "Because you changelings invaded Equestria and threatened the royal family. As such you will be tried for your war crimes."

Namiro scoffed before gripping the crystal and quickly yanking it out, gritting his teeth as he dropped to a knee... really wishing he had some sort of anesthetic instead as he could slowly feel some of the numbness being replaced by lancing pain. "Pain is better than numb... just... focus on healing Phillip... focus on healing..." he mentally chanted as he stood back up. "I can tell you exactly why I'm here... and am still willing to complete my mission despite your racist tendencies."

Cadence let out a small scowl as she listened. "Fine, why are you here Changeling?"

Namiro used his right hand to indicate the white unicorn stallion that had several crystals growing on his horn. "Because his daughter had a vision and sent me to protect him."

Except for the soldiers, everyone in the room gasped before the Element bearers and Cadence turned to Shining Armor. For his part, Shining Armor was very eloquent. "...I have a daughter?!" He exclaimed with surprise as he recoiled back, trying to think of how he could possibly have a daughter. "How!? The only mare I've been intimate with was Cadence!"

The pink alicorn actually seemed a little shocked. "You've never been that intimate with me..."

"That's because Chrysalis was disguised as you when Shining lost his virginity... helping the queen to give birth to my mate, Changeling Queen Patina." Namiro explained as he stood up, finally feeling only a small headache as he stood. "She had a vision that her father was in danger and sent me to protect him..."

The guards didn't seem to move, though the Element bearers certainly looked a bit warier of him. Fluttershy was the one who actually spoke. "A-are you going to... be okay...?" She asked hesitantly as she took a half-step forward. "That wound looks pretty bad..."

"I'll be fine... thank you for your concern Fluttershy." Namiro replied with a small nod of his head.

Cadence turned to Namiro. "How can we trust that you are telling the truth? Chrysalis herself lied about her plan, she even impersonated me badly in order to try and conquer my home..."

Namiro frowned. "Because ALL of the changelings that attacked Canterlot on your wedding day are dead. Killed by you and your husband."

"Yet here you stand before us, an example that there are other changelings out there with the possibility that our home could be at risk from you parasites again." Cadence growled as she tried to keep most of her focus on the shield around the city.

"The only hive remaining in existence belongs to Shining Armor's daughter. Would she send me here to protect her father if she wanted to conquer Equestria?"

"To lower our guard and keep us weak."

Namiro shook his head with a sigh. "This is stupid, I've done nothing wrong, I saved your husband from whatever dark side power is out there and trying to get in AND I nearly lost my life doing it... I don't even get a simple 'thank you for keeping the prince of the empire safe' out of this so I'm just going to leave because clearly extra help is not appreciated." He huffed before reaching towards his discarded lightsaber and using the force to bring it back to his hand. He winced a little before clipping it back to his belt. "Call me when you are finished being a racist arse Cadence." He grumbled as he began to march his way out of the building... taking several turns... followed by a pair of guards the whole way... until he finally realized something...

"You, orange... what's your name?" Namiro snapped to one of the Crystal empire guards.

"Uh... F-flash Sentry..." The recruit stuttered out before the other guard used a wing to cuff the private in the back of the head.

"How do I get out of here, I was fading in and out of consciousness when I was brought in so I'm thoroughly lost."

The two guards looked at the changeling with mild surprise. "Down this hall, second door to the left leads back to the main hall that you were in with the Elements and the Princess... the big, open doors across from you will be the way out into the courtyard."

The Royal Changeling rubbed his chin a little with his right hand, flexing his left hand against his side as feeling was starting to come back. "I see... Well... I'll be in town." He says before striding out the aforementioned door and then across the room, much to the surprise of the mares he had arrived with, before making his way out onto the street.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Twilight turned to her old babysitter with a slightly confused look. "You were going to arrest him just because he was a changeling?"

The pink alicorn let out a sigh. "I... No... It's just, for those two weeks I was trapped in that cave with Chrysalis taunting me about replacing me... I thought she had been bluffing that she had taken Shining's virginity..." She looked over to the blushing ex-guard captain with a sigh. "It wasn't any sort of experience that I would like to have again any time ever..."

"I get that Cadence, but he's actually a changeling! A changeling that isn't hostile to Equestria! Do you know how much research I could do with him? About him? Or even about the changeling race as a whole?"

"Wow Twily... you're uh... you're taking the whole... 'you've been travelling the past day and a half with a changeling'-thing pretty well..." Shining said with a slight smile.

"That's because I get a new chance at studying something new! I never got to study any of the changelings that invaded Canterlot, and if what he's saying is actually true then we were really close to having the changelings go extinct! I just have to study him!"

"What about the test you're supposed to be doing here in the empire dear?"

"Yeah, y'all are supposed ta be helpin' make sure that Sombra feller don't come back into the Crystal Empire."

Twilight let out a small groan as she looked between her friends and the door that Namiro had walked out of. She grimaced a little as her mind tried to decide on what she wanted to do. "If he's here to help he'll still be here after Sombra is dealt with..." She finally decided as she turned to her friends. "Yeah... Let's deal with Sombra first."

Festival of Shadows

Namiro gave a look to each of the ponies flanking him, one a Junior Officer Pegasus while the other was a recruit unicorn. "Any particular reason why you two are following me?"

Private Flash Sentry was the first to speak. "Well... Princess Cadence and her husband, Prince Shining Armor, wanted to make sure that you were good on your word that you weren't here to attack... added to the fact that you didn't try to attack either of us in the castle... she believed it would be a good idea to keep familiar faces instead of new ones."

Namiro waved his hand. "Yeah... I get it, do either of you know a good place to get an energy drink around here?"

"Energy drink?" The pegasus, Second Lieutenant Storm Wind, had asked with a curious look.

"Yeah, I don't like the taste of coffee and I'm not really in the mood for tea right now." Namiro replied. "I need something that'll... well... I actually don't know why I asked for an energy drink but right now I just need something that's not water." He explained before giving the pegasus a strange look. "Why did she put an officer in with the rookie anyway? Is it because both of your ranks would classify you both as rookies?"

The brown-grey pegasus blustered for a few moments before he straightened his uniform. "I am not a rookie... like him."

"Of course you are, if your ranks are anything like the ranks back where I'm from, Sentry here is a new recruit for what would equate to either the army or marines, while you are an officer fresh out of Officer Candidate School." Namiro examined, placing a hand on his chin. "You've had about as much actual battle experience as Sentry, you've certainly had training to understand the battle... but you've never been in one." That let the pegasus seethe a little as he fell silent. Namiro gently pet his back. "Don't worry, you still get to hang out with me, and knowing my luck... you'll get battle experience soon enough."

"How do you know?" Sentry asked with a quirked brow.

"Because, I've been able to nearly-complete my training as a Force Guardian, uninterrupted. That means that either I have incredible luck, or the next battle I'm in is going to be extremely difficult, with the groups of roleplaying that I've been part of, it's much more likely to be the latter."

Nikolaus chuckled quietly to himself as he listened to his friend's explanation, combining more earthy tones to his outfit alongside the Force Sneak skill he was able to avoid the changeling's detection so far. "so my friend... on this world you become a changeling... how... interesting." He mulled it over as he took a sip of the warm tea that he had ordered. "Yet how fitting... always willing to learn and change... This will be an interesting little game." He mutters as he pulls out the heart token from Rin and a flat hexagram-shaped holocron. He brought the heart up closer to his beak and whispered a message to it. "Rin... I may have need of your forces, and bring the big guy, I think he'll enjoy taking down Sith." He smiled as he watched the changeling and his two-pony entourage continue around the city. He may not have found the necromancy to be tasteful, but she had explained to him that it wasn't bringing someone back from the beyond... simply using the resources just floating around. He may not have been a Je'daii, but it was still in poor taste to bring someone back from the beyond. He let out a small sigh as he gazed up at the evening sky, unlike his attentive friend he had heard the announcements from the Element bearers that the Crystal Fair was going to be held in a few days' time. "they're working quickly... perhaps... too quickly..." He thought with worry. "Sombra will be forced to speed up his plans... or the girls themselves may get sloppy..." He looks back to the street, noticing the smiles of the ponies around him and frowns a little. "I hate to involve her in this... but we may need Rin's help against... Them..."

With a fluid motion he got up from his seat and wrapped his cloak over his wings and shoulders, pulling up the hood to cover most of his face as he continued along his way. His cloak billowed a little as he made sure to keep a swift pace, he could already feel the two sources of tainted dark side energy flowing into the city. "The shield isn't strong enough anymore... not with the Prince out of commission."

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro sat back as he finished his sip of the Wyssin tea his new friend had introduced him to. "Wow... this... is really what I needed..." He sighed as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose.

Flash Sentry smiled, his helmet sitting off to the side as he took his own drink. "See, what did I tell you? you just needed to unwind a little, like lieutenant grumpy-pants over there." he giggled a bit at his own joke.

Storm Wind, who's cup of tea remained untouched, shot a small glare at the two blushing stallions. "That's because I still have standards and don't resort to this intoxicant while I'm on duty." He growls. "If anything you should be reported over this."

"Storm..." Namiro said with a slight slur. "You need to chill the hell out... You two are my foalsitters for as long as Cadence wants you to watch me... as much as I don't like using the term... Flash here knows that I'm not just going to be stupid enough to nom his neck while I'm feeling this... this... euphoric..." With a yawn the large changeling leans back against the booth seat. "Besides... I bet you wish you could get some of your princesses..." He says with a slight smirk.

"What the blazes are you talking about?" Storm asked as he gave the changeling a frustrated look.

"Celestia may not be my type, but I'm fairly confident that if you were given the chance to be with one of the princesses, no strings attached, you'd do it... I'm betting you'd go for Celestia though, that soft aura, that divine figure... I'm just glad that you guys use completely-natural sweeteners otherwise there would be a much bigger problem to deal with than what the royal sweet tooth wants for the day."

That... managed to shut the Lieutenant up with a blush. "You know... I'm surprised you're not trying to knock me the hell out." The Wyssin-addled changeling said as he gave the Lieutenant a look. "I'm trying to actually see where your buttons are and despite having the fighting prowess of a toddler, you guys have the discipline to rival the military back home... then again, back home I would've been going home already with three fractured bones and quite possibly a bloody face." He looked back at his once-injured left arm. "Though... I'm slightly interested in testing out just how durable I am... if anything I should have died from blood loss."

"I was actually wondering about that myself... How did you not die?" Flash asked.

"A mixture of Force Heal and my own Changeling ability... I think..." Namiro admitted.

"Are you going to the festival?" the orange unicorn asked, much to the Royal Changeling's confusion.

"What festival?"

"The Crystal Heart Festival, the Element Bearers have been going around town announcing that they're going to get the festival ready in a few days."

"Huh..." Namiro replied. "I should probably go to that, it might be nice."

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

The first twenty-four hours in the Crystal Empire hadn't been all that special, Namiro had actually noticed that the Crystal Ponies were smiling a bit more now that the Elements had announced the festival. What had surprised him most was that a large portion of the ponies here were familiar with the Changeling Race in general while a few of the more adventurous Crystal Ponies must have been far more comfortable with them since more than one approached him to see if they could feed him some love after such a long dry spell under the iron fist of their old King. While he had politely turned down the offers, several made sure to leave some form of contact information so he could get back in touch if he ever wanted a night in the Empire.

...That had been embarrassing when he had been approached by one of the staff of the Crystal Palace who had asked him without realizing the Princess had been in the room. The maid had fled the room with a blush that rivaled Cadence's while the princess of love looked at him with shock.

For his part, Namiro simply shrugged. "It's been like that the whole time... mares, stallions... all of them see a changeling and see it as a way to relieve some stress." At her indignant look he shrugged again. "Patina and I have an open relationship, I'd still rather be with someone who's in it for the long haul instead of a one-night-fling."

"I don't know how you managed to trick the populace-...."

"Not trick, simply walked among... there's a difference. They... are trying to get in MY pants... not the other way around. Technically, since I'm Force-Sensitive I don't need to feed either." Namiro interrupted. "Anyways... I better get back to Pinkie, she said something about a tasting contest and I'm rather curious about what she's baking."

He left a flabbergasted pink pony princess in the middle of the room just as Rarity, Applejack and Twilight had returned. "Uh... Cadence... are you okay?"

"I... have never seen... any other pony with such a disregard for royalty..." Cadence replied as if in a stupor, while Twilight was a bit confused Rarity managed to have some dawning realization.

"Was he... Was he rude to you your highness?"

Cadence shook her head to try and regain her composure. "I... I guess you could say that, he certainly doesn't hold any deference to the ruling class... despite... or probably because of... being a king himself."

"That is no excuse for him to be rude, I shall speak to this ruffian myself!" Rarity seethed before marching out the door with Twilight in nearby pursuit.

"Rarity! What are you doing?"

"Giving that good for nothing changeling a piece of my mind! One does not simply dismiss my friends, yes Twilight I consider Cadence to be a friend to all of us, and then walk about like it isn't a big deal." Rarity replied. "Besides, he was brought on this trip to protect us as well as asked by this 'Patina' to protect your brother. How much of either of those has he been doing while you and the rest of us have been frantically searching for The Crystal Heart?"

Twilight sighed in defeat. "None of it... but... Celestia told me that I had to do this alone..."

Rarity rolled her eyes. "I'm starting to get the feeling that none of us care about that little rule, if this is such a big deal you should really take the advice you gave dear Applejack when she became so workaholic." The mare frowned as she noticed the changeling walking around the square, said frown deepening as yet another crystal pony spoke with him before he waved them away with a smile. "Darling, I'm going to need you to not interfere with this... please... it's for your own good." Rarity seemed to hiss.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro chuckled to himself as he put away the mailing address that the Crystal earth mare had given him. His eyes clouded a little in thought though as he thought back to his talk with Cadence. "I shouldn't have just left her like that... but she did initially throw me across a room... and threatened to imprison me just for being a changeling... but... they did recently get over a scare about changelings... Damnit! Why did this have to be such a confusing issue?" He was snapped out of his thoughts as a white hand grabbed the lip of his chest chitin and pulled him down to awkwardly bend as he came face to face with the Element of Generosity... and she was pissed.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Twilight stood wide-eyed at her friend, who had simply turned the changeling to face her and began scolding him about his behavior in the Crystal Empire. What had been even more surprising was his response when she had finished her little tirade.

The changeling blinked owlishly at her as his mind digested the scolding he had just received from the element of Generosity about how he shouldn't be so rude to a princess even if he is royalty himself. When he finally was given a chance to speak he took a small breath. "You... are absolutely right Miss Rarity, I... I haven't quite felt... myself since I arrived here. I really should apologize to her, although it may take a while for me to get over being threatened with imprisonment just because of my race. It really wouldn't be much different than you being arrested simply because you are a unicorn." Namiro straightened himself and patted down his chest chitin. "I... My vision has been clouded, I can sense the Dark Side and it's starting to affect how I've been acting."

Both mares were stunned as he quietly turned and continued walking. "Be sure to find everything you need for the Crystal Fair that you are looking to set up... The ponies here are counting on you six."

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro sat on the roof of a house within the city, something about this place had forced him to act so... differently. Being in the castle upset the emotions he could feel, being near the edge of the barrier got him the same result. He placed a hand to his head before his ears twitched. "I know you're there Pinkie..."

"Woah... you must be really good at hide and seek!" The party pony replied as she sat down next to the changeling. "so... what'cha up here for?" She asked curiously.

"Well... I..." He lets out a sigh. "I have a bad feeling about being here..."

"What kind of bad feeling? Cuz I see you got a frown, and it's my job to turn frowns upside down!" Pinkie proclaimed proudly.

Namiro gave a small smile as he looked the mare over. "Yeah, I could tell by all those balloons you have sewn into your outfit." He went back to looking over the landscape with a slight frown. "But that's the thing... Just beyond this shield that is covering the city we have a monster just waiting to ruin the lives of everyone here."

"But Twilight and our friends, and you too don't forget, are here to stop him! We're gonna kick that meanie pants out and make sure he doesn't hurt any other ponies." She gets up and holds her hand out to him. "And then we're gonna bring you back to Ponyville so I can give you a 'Welcome To Ponyville' party... or a 'happy you're not trying to conquer Equestria' party... maybe both. Either way it'll let me test out my new party cannon!" She beamed as he took her hand, smiling the whole time.

"I'd love to have a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party." He says before holding up a finger. "On one condition though..."

"What's that?"

"My queen gets to come as well, She doesn't get out of the Hive enough and I'd love to have her finally meet her father."

"Of course it's okay! We'll even make the party for her too! Oh wow... I gotta make a lot of cake, since it's gonna be a huge party!" She gasped before seeming to rocket off and flip the bird to the laws of physics simply by the virtue of her existing.

Namiro sighed once again as he found himself drawn towards one of the abandoned mineshafts. "Perhaps I could find a crystal to forge a proper saber with..." He mumbled as he quickly descended the home and sprinted towards the crystal mine. Once inside the mine Namiro could simply feel how saturated with The Force that these crystals were, none of the ones near the surface called to him though... they spoke of other names, sometimes even other tongues, but none of the ones so close spoke to him. He could hear it faintly... one that began to speak to him... whispering his name as he let The Force guide him through the mine along the tracks. Each step made the whisper become louder in his head, each call to him leading him deeper and deeper into the mine until he finally found himself standing in front of a lime-green outcropping of crystals. The cacophony of sound reduced once more to a whisper on the wind as he looked over the huge crystal vein.

what caught his attention were the three smaller crystals that looked as if they were perfect for the taking, no... begging to be removed from their fairly dark home and brought to the field of battle. They were not impatient... but neither were they silent like the crystal in his saber already. "As if I have a lightfoil in my possession instead of a true saber." They wanted to be used, only when necessary though.

He gently held his hand out below the three crystals. With a chiming crack each gem fell into his open palm. Each one radiated a calm, eager feeling as they finally found the warrior who would use them to their true potential. He closed his hand around each one as he felt The Force flow through them and into him. "Each one has a different purpose... only one will be used as a blade..." he realized as he was stowing the gems away in one of the pockets of his one-piece outfit. "Perhaps... the force seeks to counsel me as well..." He let his feet walk on autopilot as his mind began to get lost in thought once again.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro hesitated as he reached the mouth of the cave, the city had grown oddly silent despite it being midday. He looked around in confusion a little just before noticing that the shield around the city was starting to fade. "...That can't be good..." He groaned as he took off towards the castle.

Darkness Returned!

Namiro panted a little as he reached the Palace courtyard where several Crystal ponies were huddling in a panic around the shattered remains of a false Crystal Heart. “That’s not good… not good at all…” He muttered before turning towards a source of Dark Side energy that was manifesting as a cloud of smoke.

“...Crystals…” A gravelly voice hissed as the cloud grew, sending out spheres of smoke that landed in the city. “Take the Crystals my warriors!”

“Namiro…” The voice managed to catch the attention of the changeling, drawing his gaze towards a black and grey Griffon. “We have to get rid of these Sith!” He calls before charging off, drawing and lighting a crimson saber as several black robed unicorns began making their way towards the palace with similar crimson blades.

The changeling quickly took off after him, lighting up his lime-green saber on its minimum settings. “N-Nick!? When did you get here?”

“I arrived just after you did. There’s no time to explain though-...” The griffon was interrupted as the large cloud of smoke shot towards them, both of the non-Sith leapt out of the way, though Namiro winced as he felt something cut across his arm.

“Son of a-!” His eyes widen as the familiar feeling of those deadly force-stealing crystals begins to grow along his arm. Dark-robed unicorns surrounded Namiro and Nikolaus as the two of them leveled their blades, each of the ones surrounding the changeling and griffon had a strange type of metal armor on. The unicorns lit up their blades as well, unleashing a bright blood-red haze over the battlefield as screams could be heard in the background.

Nikolaus let his lightning power up the Dungeon Keeper charm once again “Rin! We need you here!” He shouts as he tosses the charm back towards one of the smaller ruined buildings.

The ground behind them cracked and opened into a dungeon keeper portal before the two black knights from before came out followed by Rin.

“Ok what...oh my.” Said Rin as she got a look of concentration on her face resulting in the portal kicking up again and a small army of skeletons crawled out followed by two mares. The first one was a white unicorn with an electric blue mane and stylish glasses while the other was a grey earth pony with a black mane and a pink bowtie. Next to come out was something that looked like a filly wraith that floated out and flew around Rin. Then the portal opened much wider and a large metal ship with a giant fox mask on the front floated up from it’s depths and into the sky, manned by green ghost ponies. The ship’s cannons already swerving about as if trying to pick a target. Lastly to come out was the hulking Corpse Collector who had a look on his face like a kid in a candy store. With that the portal closed and Rin charged up her magick and hit Namiro with a healing spell that heals most wounds but avoided the area with the crystals.

“Ok, kind of sudden but I think I’m ready.” Rin said as she crouched in a fighting stance.

The large changeling panted a bit as the elite guard closed in around them. “Well… as nice as that was… there wasn’t… too much… of a change…” He all but wheezed out as he brought his blade up in a defensive position.

“Rin! I can help Namiro with the elites here, I need you to make sure the Crystal ponies are safe, Twilight’s almost got the Crystal Heart in place. If you could at least slow Sombra down that would help a lot.” Nick called over the blizzard as he brought his blade to bear on one of the elite guards, mimicked by the changeling as he brought a lime-green saber against the red-colored one of the elite warriors.

“...Alright but my minions and I are getting out of dodge before they use that thing. Love magic and my magic have proven to make a volatile mix.” Rin said as she charged up her magic and shouted out. “Move out to defend the citizens! Get them safely to the palace!” Before casting her spell causing one of the elite guards to flash and change the colors of their robes from black to red and he quickly turned on his fellows killing one thanks to the surprise. “Keep an eye on that one! The turn coat spell doesn't last long!”

“The magic works differently here, as long as you don’t intend to harm the empire, it won’t affect you… that’s why it will destroy Sombra!” Nick replied as he ducked a saber swing and sliced the leg off of one of the unicorns before bringing his blade into the stallion’s chest. As Rin and some of her minions moved out but the skeletons charged forward and attacked the forces. Most of the attacking Sith were still alive, despite the initial surprise, and it seemed that their robes had been reinforced with The Force to make them as durable as metal armor. Still, numbers were definitely to the advantage of the skeletons as several Sith acolytes were overwhelmed by the undead horde that was basically running rampant through the city.

Namiro readjusted the grip on his blade as he struck out at another of the guards, the impact not even leaving a mark as the Sith warrior was sent sprawling. “So… you’re Rin… It’s good to meet a new friend… but we’ll have to chat later…” He pants as he gives a small glance back at the Kitsune.

“Ya, likewise. Do survive this please while I go on my rescue mission.” Rin replied before she cast a spell on herself and ran off at high speeds followed by the two mares and the ship, knight's, corpse collector and wraith at a slower pace.

Namiro looked over at Nick quickly. “Well, friend… what have you been up to while I was… becoming a king?” He chuckled hollowly as he deflected a saber blade.

“Oh, nothing much… pretty much doing the same.” Nick chuckled back. These warriors had the advantage though, their speed matched the changeling with ease, he couldn't possibly let out any force powers at this sort of range without taking the risk of killing them. Namiro frowned as he studied the quick movements of each Sith elite, it was difficult, since he had to keep moving. Each slash came dangerously close to striking him as he managed to just barely deflect a blade that was made to decapitate or dis-arm him.

"How are you guys so persistent?" Namiro asked the silent warrior that simply glared at him with evil red eyes under his hood.

"They're corrupted by the Dark Side, slaves to their emotions..." Nick replied. "...You need to learn about the Dark side in a way that won't let you get corrupted like these unicorns... Now that I think about it, Rin might be the best option once this battle is over.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Rarity scowled as she lit up the white-bladed lightfoil that was given to her. “Those… those… Bastards! Will pay for ruining my mane!” She shouted as she stomped out of the castle, followed closely by several guards that were armed with spears. “Boys… you need to escort your citizens to the castle… please do be good lads and do that…” Rarity requested calmly as she strode out of the castle, put off by the red-bladed attackers fighting against the undead horde. “Okay… who brought the dead?” She sighs with a slight frown.

“This way everypony! You’re almost there. Nice and orderly ple- WA!” A cultured voice called out before a small stampede of crystal ponies came charging up to the palace. When Rarity turned she was surprised to see the renowned cellist Octavia who managed to move to the other side of the street with surprising speed to avoid the panicked ponies. “Or you can act like Vinyl’s groupies.” The grey earth pony deadpanned as she stepped back and let some skeletons rub by without batting an eye.

“O-Octavia?” Rarity asked in shock as she cautiously approached the mare. “You’re looking a bit more… Um…” She hesitated as she flourished her left hand a little, trying to find the word to use. Octavia looked over to Rarity as she walked up to her with some confusion at first before turning into recognition. “Well… Feral…” Rarity floundered as she gave the grey mare a once-over. “Whatever did you do to your eyes Darling? They used to be such a lovely shade of violet.” She held one arm under her modest bosom while keeping her white saber at the ready.

“Oh, that. Well you know how it is. Crazed ponies on a quest for murder tried to get information and I got caught in the crossfire and, well...They killed me. Thanks to getting a little blood from a vampire on me during the fight I got turned so...ya. That happened.” Octavia said uncomfortably, obviously not sure if she should even be telling Rarity this.

“I see…It is too bad that you turn into a feral earth pony as a vampire... though… if you wouldn’t mind, I have a few unicorns that need to be taught how to properly treat a lady…” She growls before casting a depressed look at the frayed and burnt end of what was once an elegant curl. She takes a small breath before looking back out at the gathered Sith. “These men will know one way… or another… Care to join me?” She asks.

“I am not feral! I have full control of my actions.” Octavia said indignantly. “That being said I am here with some others to find crystal ponies and get them to safety but I guess I could look for them and join you. Any who would aim for the mane deserves a good thrashing.”

“Oh no Darling, Feral is the term for ponies born as quadrupeds… a fairly rare occurrence but still one that happens nonetheless. Poor dears…” Rarity explained as she seemed to make a few gemstones appear out of the air before they sailed through the air into the arm of one of the Sith warriors. “Oh… as disgusting as it is for a lady to enjoy such an action, I can’t help but find I don’t mind since they’ve taken the cheap shot.”

“Oh..I see. My mistake. You see I’m not your Octavia but one from another dimension. One where everypony is like this. This is my first time world hopping and I must say it is a shame that such an amazing place have it’s first viewing in such a state.” She said sadly as she lifted a piece of broken crystal wall bigger than the two of them combined and threw it like a beach ball as a group of sith warriors charging at them.

Two of the warriors barely managed to dodge the wall while the rest were crushed. Rarity made a face like she had just sucked on a lemon. “Those stains will be so hard to get out…” She sighed as she made her way forward. “Tell me dear, how much different is your world compared to mine?” the marshmallow-white unicorn asked with a heightened sense of curiosity.

“I’m afraid I don’t know. As I said this is my first trip with princess Rin and I haven’t been here long.” Octavia answered with an apologetic frown.

“Well then, perhaps you can tell me a bit about yours… and then perhaps I can compare it to mine and give you a better look?” Rarity suggested as she brought her blade up to deflect the warrior’s blade. “Really dear? You call yourselves Sith warriors and even a weekend fencing practitioner can deflect your attacks?” She taunts.

The unicorn mare in the black robes growls a little at the fashionista before bringing her blade down heavily in an overhead strike but Octavia struck forth with a hoof and knocked her back and into a wall.

“My condition does come with it’s perks. Super speed and strength are nice at times.” Octavia said as she watched the sith warrior fly.

Rarity brought her blade up again to stop the crimson blade of the last warrior. “That’s all well and good, although we really should be finishing off these louts so that we can find dear Fluttershy.” Octavia’s eyes widened at those words.

“Fluttershy is alone out here? Well why didn’t you say so sooner?” Octavia said as she turned around to give the last Sith a strong buck.

Rarity let out a small grimace. “Well… she’s not alone alone… just… she’s got a small group of guard with her, one I believe was named Flash Sentry… I do hope the young man hasn’t gotten himself hurt in all this mess while protecting her.” Rarity let her free hand flip her mane a little as she started her way out into the city. “Well, we had best get going… no clue where that good for nothing Sombra is.”

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Fluttershy had a very uncharacteristic scowl on her face… there were also several bodies of Sith warriors strewn about on the ground as she was slowly breathing. The red saber that she had taken from one of the warriors was clenched so tightly in one hand that it was making her knuckles white.

“O-oh my…” Rarity stuttered as she took a few cautious steps towards the jousting arena.

“...Well...I’m not entirely certain about this but I think i found a difference in our worlds.” Octavia said in surprise as she looked at Fluttershy.

As soon as she noticed the two other ponies that were approaching Fluttershy looked down at the saber in her hand and quickly let go of it with an ‘eep’ of surprise while recoiling away like it was a snake. Quickly regaining her composure she raced over to Rarity to pull her into a firm hug. “Omigosh Rarity! Are you alright!? Those mean Sith hurt a lot of the ponies before I got here and then they cut off Mister Sentry’s hand right in front of me… I’m so sorry… I… I just…” the timid pegasus quickly tried to explain why there were now many more Sith bodies fading into a black mist before she simply began to bawl into her friend’s embrace.

Rarity gently stroked her friend’s back. “There, there Fluttershy… you only did it to protect the others… you saved so many… I’m proud of you.”

“R-really?” Fluttershy asked with a slight sniff, smiling once Rarity had nodded. She turned her head a little to see the pony standing next to her before letting out an adorable little squee. “Oh my! Octavia! I… I never knew you were a feral! I saw your concert at the Grand Galloping Gala this year, did you have Vinyl make an illusion so that you wouldn’t get any bad press?” She asked with concern as she quickly knelt down to give the pony a reassuring hug.

“One side!” Vinyl’s voice shouted out as she ran by on all fours, carting several wagons that were tied together like a train with crystal ponies riding in them and another quadrupedal pony in black armor standing on top, ready to attack anything that went after the passengers. This sight was visible for only a short time before the train had moved on.

...And Fluttershy seemed to have missed it as she managed to lift up Octavia with a surprising amount of strength that even managed to make Rarity and most of the onlooking Anthro ponies gasp in surprise. Fluttershy looked around in slight confusion for a few seconds before simply shrugging. “What? I have to take care of a bear at home… what do you think he does if he gets a sliver in his paw?” She turned her attention back to Octavia to give her a hug. “Don’t worry Octavia, I’ll make sure you get home to your wife.”

“That’s thoughtful and all but I can take care of myself dear.” Octavia said politely before pushing the mare’s arms open and landing on the floor like a cat and backing up a short distance with super speed.

Rarity put a hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Really Fluttershy… this Octavia is not from our world…” At the mare’s confused look Rarity shook her head. “We’ll have time to talk later, it’s best to get everypony to safety now.”

“Indeed, everypony please gather round so we can get you to the palace.” Octavia called out to the crystal ponies and Flash. Each of the anthro ponies complied to the request, Fluttershy helped the injured guard over to the rest of the group.

“O-okay… w-w-we’re ready…” Fluttershy stuttered. Rarity gave Octavia a nod as the last of the ponies gathered around.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Pinkie had a manic grin on her face as several of the Sith warriors nearby hesitated, the black masks they wore were covering looks of worry or fear as the pink party mare had four cannons pointed at them. “There’s just one thing you boys-...”

“Hey!”

“-And girl, have to ask yourselves… ‘do I feel lucky?’...” She pulled on a cord attached to one of the cannons and placed a pair of aviator shades over her eyes. “well… do ya? Punks?” She smirked as a loud, mechanical whirring sound could be heard as the cannons seemed to simply multiply until there was a wall of artillery simply aimed at the Sith warriors. Their nerves were shaken as a pink light began to emanate from within most of the barrels, most split and bolted for the nearest cover as Pinkie simply pulled a second cord.

And on that day… a loud, thunderous boom echoed across the planet Equus, signaling that the ultimate weapon in party artillery had finally been fired.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

“Sister… dost thou still think it a good idea that neither of us go? What if Namiro proves to be not enough for Sombra?” Luna asked as she let her revolving chair continue to spin while giving her sister an irate look every few seconds.

“Luna, I am completely sure that Twilight will be able to handle-...” Celestia stopped mid-sentence as the two of them were knocked over from the shockwave of the Party Artillery Wall (PAW, patent pending). Celestia was the first to recover. “...On second thought Sister… it may be a good idea for us both to check on their progress…”

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Applejack was panting a little as she frowned at the warriors surrounding her. “Consarnit all! Why’d ya have ta join his side? Ya coulda jus’ been fine, friendly folk…” The farm mare grumbled as she hefted a spear from one of the injured Crystal Guards. “I’mma have ta fix that though.” Several of the Sith warriors turned their attention to the approaching skeletons just before Applejack facepalmed. “Really now? Someone dun’ gone and raised the dead, have y’all got no respect?!” She shouted as she brought the spear up.

There was a blast and a cry of pain as one of the sith was taken down by a magic blast before several more flew at the Sith warriors from behind as a train of tied together carts pulled by what looks like a feral Vinyl Scratch pulled up and unlatched herself and another pony in black armor jumped off and took a defensive stance.

“Need some help?” Vinyl asked Applejack as she glared at the black cloaked ponies.

The farm mare gave a small confused look at Vinyl before shrugging. “I guess… but if those undead belong ta y’all we’re gonna be havin’ words after this.” She replied as she brought the spear up defensively as well.

The Sith warriors were distracted by the large number of undead that were in between the groups of ponies.

“Hey, don’t bash the undead. Just because a heart doesn't beat doesn't mean it can’t break.” Vinyl said with a frown. “Besides it’s my boss you want to talk to. She’s the one doing the hoodoo voodoo.” Vinyl said before charging forward at super speed and tearing into the enemy forces.

“The dead should be laid to rest, it’s only respectful to those that died, not ta bring ‘em back. Nothin’ but a mockery o’ life with that kind o’ fiddle faddle.” Applejack replies as she brings her spear to bear on another of the warriors, driving the blunt end into his stomach and leaving him in a busted heap on the ground. “Messin’ with life like that is just invitin’ some evil bein’ from beyond ta wreck yer livelihood.”

“Those are just moving bodies without souls or minds. Rin doesn't do the kind of necromancy you’re talking about. And as an undead myself I find what you said offensive.” Vinyl said as she grabbed one of the Sith warriors that was knocked down by the leg and used him as a bludgeoning weapon against the others.

“Bringin’ the dead back ta life is never a good thing. It’s filled with the same sortsa magic mumbo jumbo that keeps these Sith guys goin!” Applejack retorted, snapping off the tip of the spear so that she could just use the rest of the weapon as a pretty firm staff.

“Yea... I can see talking to you about this is a waste of time. I’m not going to debate the rights of the dead and what the living think the rights of the dead are with you. You’ve never been dead so you can’t know what we want.” Vinyl said with annoyance as she ran up to two of the last three sith and bashed their heads together with enough force to break their skulls.

“That’s another thing…” Applejack scolded as she clubbed the last one into unconsciousness. “It’s always kill with the undead, never about keepin’ people alive.” She frowns as she turns to make her way to the castle. “Thanks fer the help…” She calls back.

“Hey I wouldn’t kill them if they weren’t killing themselves! And I already saw several living on your side killing them! On my way to the last drop off at the palace I saw that Fluttershy has a higher body count in this battle than I do so far!” Vinyl called out in irritation before turning to the injured guards. “Alright, anypony that needs a ride to the palace, which looks like all of you, get in the carts.” She said as she and the black knight got to work helping them into the makeshift train.

Applejack chuckled as she made her way towards the castle. “Yeah… right… Fluttershy with a bodycount… girl wouldn’t hurt a fly.” She looked up in slight confusion as a massive shadow began making its way towards the castle. “...Uh oh…”

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Spike was nervous as he clutched the Crystal Heart to his chest, his own heart was racing a mile a minute as he leapt from outcropping to outcropping trying to keep the heart out of Sombra’s possession. “Give it here, Boy!” The gravelly voice of the ex-dictator growled out as the cloud of smoke that the Sith Legionnaire was riding on made its way towards him. The dragon panted a little in fear as he continued shambling his way across the outside of the Crystal Palace, the only other way he could go was down, but… he would very much rather get down a safer way. He yelped in panic as he was lifted off the ground and started flying downward but when he looked behind him he was surprised to see it wasn’t Sombra that had him but some kind of ghost-like filly. She was black, shadowy and had very dragon-like eyes.

“Good work! You take care of him and I’ll play with rocky here.” A large fox called out as they passed her by.

Sombra growled at the interloper. “You will not have my empire you simple knave… you do not grasp the concept of how much power I have.”

“Oh, are we monaloging now? Ok.” Rin said before she cleared her throat into her paw. Then her body was covered in a black flame and the air was filled with wailing as ghost filled the sky and with a voice that echoed with power Rin spoke. “Do not presume yourself stronger against one you have never faced you fool! For I am the ruler of the dead and now you see that the restless spirits of all those who died under your rule and their loved ones who couldn’t stand to see their loved ones suffer in life come forth to take vengeance on you and drag your withered soul into the deepest pits to your damnation!” She shouted out as the specters surrounding them moved closer with looks of murderous rage.

Sombra simply smirked as his form began to solidify, the smoky contrail that once followed him hardening into armor that shined even without the sun, blood-red runes etched into the armor glowed with an evil aura. “Is that really all the power you have now Rin? You were much stronger when you were first summoned a thousand years ago… before the Princesses placed that ban on necromancy.” He laughed as he stepped away from the shadows with a straight, ebony-black blade that had its own aura of malevolence. “Really… it seems I came over-prepared this time. You don’t even have your pathetic displaced princess friends to come to your aid.”

Rin blinked in confusion at his words. “This is the first time I’ve met you. But I do know someone who got a message from his future self so I guess I can time travel later to play with you again. That’s actually a little boring if you think about it. If I’m going back in time to trash you in my future but your past...what does that say about your chances of winning against me now?” She said with a grin.

“It means that I get to continue on, knowing that I am stronger now than you were then, even in the past you could not truly defeat me…” He replies as he brings his blade up, unleashing a barrage of crystals at her.

“So foolish.” Rin said as she moved around the attack with super speed. “Time is something you don’t mess with lightly lest you risk changing something important to you in the future. Now that I know I face you again I’ll need to hold back so you live for me to fight you know.” Rin countered.

“You’re bluffing… you had twice the strength a thousand years ago, you stand no chance against me now!” He replies as he brings his blade down in a rapid arc towards her side.

“And yet I was there to fight you in my future.” She said with a cheeky grin as the sword went through her and she and the ghosts evaporated into nothing. Revealing that he had been fighting an illusion. In his moment of surprise a green barrier formed around his torso leaving his head and legs outside as he was filled with pain as it started sucking the energy out of him and his armor.

He grits his teeth before smiling. “No matter… if I die here, then at least I get to destroy that changeling before he ascends… as well as that unicorn he loves so much…” He begins to chuckle as he notices a black tendril make its way out of what seemed to be nothing simply to pull him away from the barrier with nary an effort.

”Now is not the time… it is too soon…” a strange bass-voice spoke before forcing the Sith to disappear in a mist like his soldiers. Within moments a warm blue light quickly surrounded the city as the biting cold of the blizzard outside began to fade… along with the clouds that were blocking the light…

“Well that was ominous.” Rin said as she came out of her hiding place. “Guess I should start collecting my skellys. With no more enemies to fight they’re going to start getting into some rather uncomfortable places wandering around.” She said as she closed her eyes and soon skeletons started disappearing off the streets.

“Uhm… Hello?... Anyone out there?” Comes a timid voice from inside the castle. “If… uh… if anyone could help me down… that would be great!” Twilight called.

“One moment...Ok got them all.” Rin said before using a portal to get to the top tower. “One portal to the ground floor coming right up.” Rin said as she created a hole inside Twilight's prison.

The humanoid mare ‘eep’s a little as she hesitantly inches toward the portal. She gulps and tries to steady her nerves before stepping into the portal with closed eyes. She opened one eye to look around.

“Oh Twilight! Darling! It’s so good to see you’re okay!” Rarity says as all of Twilight’s friends gather her in a group hug.

“Well that was something. I almost had Sombra there but it looks like he was the puppet and his master decided he was worth saving. I wonder who that was.” Rin said as she popped out of the hole in the ground and let it close up. “Now where is Nightmare? She should be down here since she was the one to give the baby dragon the lift down.” She asked before the wraith like filly flew up to her and rubbed her head against Rin’s side. “Yes you did very good.” The fox praised as she petted the wraith.

Nick approached the Kitsune with a smile, followed closely by Namiro, “It is good to see you again Rin…” The griffon greeted.

“It's good to see you again to. By the way, you wouldn’t happen to have those schematics on you would you? Last time I forgot them.” She said with a sheepish smile.

Nick chuckled as he held out a triangular holocron. “The schematics for a Lightfoil, this way you don’t need to have a force-sensitive person using it.”

“Ohh that's good. I’ll make one for Cluck Norris too. Of all my minions he’s the most likely to get good use out of one. That chicken is a monster in a fight.” She said happily as she took the holocron and sent it to her home with her magic.

Nick took out a hexagon-shaped holocron and the token for Rin and passed them to the changeling. “This is the last time I can help you… I have my own schedule I have to keep now that I’m a king… See you later homie.” He chuckles before he seems to disappear with a *Vwoop*

Namiro’s smile seemed to fall a little as he looked down at the token and holocron before looking at Rin. “So… you’re… a darksider?”

“I guess you can say that. Are you familiar with the dungeon keeper games?” She asked him.

“I… actually can’t say I’ve ever heard of them.” the changeling replied.

“Well it is an old franchise and they ruined it by trying to make a free to play mobile version. It's a game where you play like a dungeon master.You build a dungeon and different rooms attract different creatures and heroes invade or you fight other dungeon keepers. The point is my body produces the dark stuff naturally. I can’t use anything but dark magic so I work with it.” She said with a shrug.

“Well, Nick told me… while we were fighting… that in order for me to have actual balance I would have to learn about the light AND dark side. He told me that, perhaps you would be a good mentor to teach me about the Dark side without corrupting me.” Namiro gave a small sigh as he rubbed his recently-freed arm. “Can you teach me?”

“Hmmmm… Lets run a test shall we?” Rin asked as she summoned a samurai sword with a decorative white handle showing mermaid ponies playing in the water and the blade itself gave off a blue glow.

“Where do we have to go for this test?” Namiro asked.

“A far off place would be best. This sword in an enchanted weapon I created to give me some breathing space on the battlefield. It was meant to conjure a wave of water but I went all out and failed to realise how much in power I had grown so one swing of this thing can create a tidal wave and that’s not something I thing the crystal ponies want suddenly appearing in their city.” Rin said before creating a portal. “See you in the badlands.”

His eyes widen, “NO!” He shouts, drawing attention to them as his hands go up. He quickly coughs into his hand and quiets down a little. “There’s uh… practically nowhere on this world where you could use that blade without killing at least one person…”

“...very well we’ll do this in my world.” She said as the portal closes and opens again and she jumps through.

He takes a few moments to send a message along the hive link that hopefully he would be back soon, but that Patina’s father was safe. He swallows nervously before Nick appears again and quickly looks through the portal.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

“Oh, Rin! There’s something I forgot to let you know…” Nick called with a smile.

“What?” her voice echoed through the hole.

“Since he’s a royal changeling… well.. a changeling in general, don’t worry about having him change to suit your tastes. I don’t think he’ll have as good of a connection to The Force while he’s in your world, so he may get his first taste of hunger.” Nick explained with a smile. “See ya!”

Rin just shook her head before closing the portal and presenting the blade. “First thing you must know is using the darkness won’t always have the same result for when you try to use the light with the same technique. This sword was made with a lot of darkness and weapons like that are known as cursed weapons. It has no will or mind but it does have instinct and if you pick up this weapon it will try to take you over. By doing this you will get your first taste of what it's like to have the darkness try to take you over. This is the best way to test how well you can control the darkness without letting it control you as it can be stopped by just taking the blade away.” Rin said before driving the blade into the ground. “This is your test. Pick up the Rusalka Kusugurimasu and maintain control.”

Namiro looked at the blade for a second, frowning as he pulled out the two halves of his saber hilt. “How fast should it start to affect me?” He asks quietly as he lets his small connection to The Force gently stow the two pieces away.

“It's not going to ease into it. Like I said it has no mind or soul so the moment you take hold of it the blade will attack full force to take over. Don't worry about going super soldier on me, it will make you attack with reckless abandonment like my skeletons if it does take over so I would be able to take the blade from you easily regardless of your training thus far.” Rin answered.

“Well, I am no fool, I know that the first time I try I will fail.” the changeling sighs as he reaches out for the handle of the blade. When griped the handle his eyes widened into a trance His smooth plates that were covering his body began to warp and sprout small spikes at the edges. He began to laugh as he pulled it out of the ground and clumsily charged at Rin with the blade raised to strike.

“No resistance at all...Lovely.” Rin deadpanned before using her magic to pull the blade from his grasp. “Now that you felt what it’s like do you still want to do this? If so then I’m going to need to look into your mind to see what kind of guy you are. Refusal or resistance will lead to my refusal to teach you. I can't just start teaching this stuff to the wrong kind of people or it will end horribly.”

He collapses to the ground, panting as his form slowly shifts back to normal. “I… There are some things… that I would prefer… you do not pry… for the safety… of my mate… and her hive.” He pants as he slowly tries to drag himself up from the dirt. “I’ll make it… obvious… where I would not dare… risk my mate’s trust.”

“I’m not going to dig into memories, that goes against my moral code. That method would take forever anyways. I’m just going to go into your subconscious where you can tell no lies and wear no mask. What I will see will be a reflection of who you are, not memories. Just so you know anyone who can teach you what your looking for and doesn't do this isn’t someone you want to learn it from. I need to know you, the real you to be sure you're safe to teach this to...Well as safe as it gets.” She said with a wave of her paw.

He slowly eases himself onto his rump, panting and regaining his composure. “Alright…” He replies quietly as he takes one more deep breath in and out. Rin nods and her eyes glowed green as she makes contact with his mind and immediately dives deep into the darkest depths. When the connection was broken Rin nodded.

“I saw a shining castle with many inside. The walls were strong telling me you are protective of them. Those you love perhaps? I want you to remember them. Let them be your light when the darkness tries to consume you. First things first is you need to understand that the darkness is by its nature, it’s ravenous. It hungers and that's why it's stronger than equivalent amount of light. It feeds to grow stronger and the more you feed it the stronger it gets. But the stronger it gets the more it tries to take so the first thing we're working on is how to cut it off. I’m not going to lie this is going to be extremely unpleasant. Are you ready to begin?” Rin asked. The changeling nods as he stands up again, re-focusing himself as he stands taller than the kitsune.

“Then I’m going to reach out to you with my darkness. It will be weak at first and I will be ready to pull it back if you start to lose to it. It will try to make you feel what it wants so it can gorge itself. It will show you what it can to make you hate or be afraid. I want you to give it something else. If it wants you to hate and shows your loved ones being attacked, focus on your decision to protect them rather than take vengeance.” Rin said as a black cloud reached from one of her tails and touched his horn. The next thing he saw was a dark place. When he moved around he heard a sickening, sloshing sound and looked down to see that he was standing in a pool of blood, flesh and organs.

The changeling took a deep breath. “Okay… flash ‘horror’ game level as level one… gotta start somewhere…” He says as he grits his teeth. ”This… is going to take a while…” he mentally groaned as he could already feel his inner Force reserves ebbing away now that he wasn’t on his ‘home’ Equestria.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt something move in the gory pool that he was standing in and the feel of several things squirming up his legs and grasping at his ankles. The sound of crying filled the air as the form of Sombra emerged from the shadows.

“Oh, I’m glad to see that you finally made it. We were beginning to think you wouldn't show.” He said arrogantly. “Come out my dear. Our guest has arrived.” The distorted form of Sombra said with a sinister smile. A new sloshing sound soon began and what came out was a horror indeed. It was the form of his beloved queen. Only her exoskeleton was cracked and broken and she was missing several parts of her body. Large nails with chains attached to them were driven into her flesh and where her eyes should be were empty sockets. Her mouth hangs open with maggots squirming about inside, feasting on her dead flesh.

The only reaction that Namiro gave was a tiny twitch of his right eye. “I already know that this is not real…” The changeling starts to draw Force power through the green crystal in his pouch. “Begone specter of lies…” He growls.

“Specter of lies? Foolish child, just because this vision isn’t real you think it won’t come to pass? You’re trying to gain the power of darkness for a reason. You can’t do it you know. I will consume you and once all that you are is twisted into my likeness you will be the one doing arts and crafts.” Sombra said as he gestures to the image of his beloved. “Assuming she’s still there when you get back. You think the Sith will take the loss of the Crystal Empire lying down? And what did you do once the fighting was over? You left. Who's to say she isn't in my clutches already? Her screams sounding off like a beautiful symphony?” He asked as he drove his fist into her stomach to fill the area with wails of agony.

Namiro smirked. “Because… This is a typical horror trope…” He explained, his mind cooling down a little as he places his hands behind his back. His smirk tells all across his speech. “Because the real Sombra never knew about Patina despite me informing Prince Shining Armor of his daughter, as I never mentioned her anywhere near him. The real Sombra also has no idea where to find her due to her not being a Force Sensitive.” His confidence grew as he began to wade through the gore, walking as if it weren’t there. “You wouldn’t hurt her anyway… the chance to turn her into your own personal pleasure mare would be too much of a temptation to harm her like that, since without me you would have no royal caste changeling to create more changeling spies for you.” He stopped mere inches from Sombra’s face. “And last, but certainly not least, is that I AM going to succeed so that there will be no mystery as to who will come out on top next time. Dark is not evil, just as Light is not always good… You won’t find me an easy target…” The changeling scowled as he brought his right hand up and let it hover less than an inch away from Sombra’s chest before using the Force Push ability...or at least tried to.

“That won't work here boy. You're in the darkness now and only the darkness holds power here.” The fake Sombra said with a smile before using his own Force Push to launch him back and into the pool where he felt a sharp pain as a piece of rib bone punctured his abdomen. “Time to change tactics. Tell yourself it’s not real all you want. Pain is pain.” Sombra said as he approached while using the force to pull jagged pieces of bone from the pool and prepared to let them fly like shrapnel at the changeling.

Namiro pulled himself up and quickly removed the piece of bone from his body. “Pain is an illusion… Pain does not exist… Pain is not something to be feared. I will not let you control me… you will never have power over me.” He replies calmly as he tries to lets loose another Force Push.

“Still thinking like a light sider. If you want to stop me you must overcome me yourself. Without the help of the Force.” Sombra said with a dark chuckle as he drew his blade.

“I will no longer be without The Force, The Force is connected to every being in the world, whether they feel its influence or not, a Changeling is connected intricately.” He unleashes more and more, not caring how much of what surrounded them he sent flying. “The Force is part of me, using the Force to defeat you will be overcoming you myself!” There was a loud crack as a piece of Sombra’s face fractured though he showed no sign of feeling it.

“If that's true then show me.” Sombr said with a snarl as he launched himself forward and moved his blade to chop off the changeling’s head. Namiro scowled as he felt the last of his reserves drain, forcing him to his knees as his vision blurred. Mentally he reached around desperately, looking for The Force, just enough to send Sombra back. “Tired? If you don't feed the darkness then you can’t overpower me!” Sombra said as he grabbed him in his telekinetic grasp before smashing the changeling into the fake queen.

Namiro gagged and gasped as he tried to get up, his muscles shook with each inch as he ignored everything around him. He continued to reach, searching for what he had to do, trying to figure out why he couldn’t use his emotions to fuel The Force anymore. He grit his teeth as he shakily began to stand, each movement felt like he was shimmying through a tunnel filled with glass. He stood defiant, but… it was more a trait of the Light… he didn’t care for the Dark Side, he hadn’t ever thought about using the Dark Side for anything, he was a learner, a thinker, what would emotions ever really matter to someone who uses The Force as a tool as much as The Force treats them as a tool?

That was the thing though, here… now… the last of his Force Reserves had run out, he didn’t have any of the emotions he once thought he had. He felt… cold… empty… hollow. ”...Is this how Patina feels? Is this how her… no… our children feel?” He thought back to his time on earth, he thought back to the franchise that started his nerd-dom, the one scene that caught his attention…

How feel you?

Cold, sir.

Afraid are you?

No, sir.

See through you we can.

Be mindful of your feelings.

Your thoughts dwell on your mother.

I miss her.

Afraid to lose her I think, hmm?

What has that got to do with anything?

Everything! Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.

As a changeling, he had no feelings on his own, just as impassive as The Force was. He had no feelings for the Dark Side to feed on. ”So… what do I do?” he starts to shift a little with hesitation. He took a small breath before fixing a neutral look on Sombra. “Rin… we need to end this for now…” At his words the darkness around him melted away and he was sitting in the wastelands once more as the darkness was pulled back into Rin. He lets out a shuddered breath before collapsing onto the ground with a groan as the ground knocked the wind out of him.

“What went wrong?” Rin asked him with a tone of confusion. “It’s like you completely shut up and let nothing out for the darkness.”

“I… I wouldn’t say it went wrong… I… I realised something.” He replies. “I, as a changeling, have no emotion for the Dark Side to use. I know how emotions are supposed to feel, and when I’m connected to The Force I can feel them… but here… I ran out… and I feel like I went an entire week without lunch or dinner…”

“...that can be a problem. The darkness would be able to deplete your reserves pretty fast if that's the case. Which means any training you get would need to be done on your world.” Rin said with a groan.

“Or find a way for me to start generating my own emotions while I’m here…” Namiro replied. “...The only way I can think of that is having someone to feed on the emotions of while I’m here.” He does actually try to hide a blush that was starting to show on his chitin-covered cheeks.

“Hmmm, changelings of this world don’t have that problem. The just can’t feed off the emotions of changelings.” Rin said as she scratched her chin in thought. “I would give you the built up emotions my changelings collected from me when I was in heat for a week but they’re pregnant now so that’s for the babies…”

Namiro shook his head. “I wouldn’t ask to use your resources for it anyway. A Royal Caste changeling is the most resource-heavy kind of changeling there is. In order to keep me back up for as long as I was already I would need a new supply every hour.” He sighs as he manages to roll onto his back as he feeds on the Force energy emitting from the green crystal in his pocket.

“...Changelings aren't well liked here at the moment. The invasion was too recent. The shrunken changelings haven't even gotten used to living in the toy city yet. I think we would need to bring in a large number of people from your world to sustain you for that.” Rin said with a frown.

The changeling chuckled. “How long ago were you in heat? I might’ve missed the perfect source of energy to continue the training daily by however long ago that was.” He slowly begins to sit up again, still shaking with a lack of energy. “Even then… I would probably only need two or three non-changelings… without it.” Rin just sighed.

“I can't stay in your world to train you as I’m dealing with a war here and I need to be here...I’m sending you back for now. Make some preparations and find some volunteers to feed you and use my token when you have everything ready.” Rin said as she opened another portal.

Namiro quickly fished out one of the three crystals he had obtained from the Crystal mine. “Here… I… I believe this will work the same way your token does.” He says as he holds the lime-green crystal out to her. Rin takes it with her magic and gives a nod before turning to the portal.

“Time to come home!” At her shout the non-skeletal forces she brought came through.

“Oh man! The look on Applejack’s face when she found out Flutters has a bodycount!” Vinyl said as she laughed hysterically.

“There is nothing funny about death Vinyl!” The grey mare chastised.

“...Fluttershy...has a...Nevermind. It's time to get back home.” Rin said before they all seemed to disappear. “Well I’ll see you later.” She said with a wave as she waited for Namiro to use the portal.

He smiled a little as he shakily stood. “You know… the Kitsune is actually one of my favorite parts of Japanese lore… It’s an interesting choice and can actually say a lot about you without realizing it.” He began to walk towards the portal. “It was good to meet you Rin…”

“It was good meeting you as well. I’ll ready a place for you and the guests you bring to feed you whenever you’re ready to start again.” Rin said with a smile. The changeling smiles a little bit more before stepping through the portal.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro blinked as he came face to face with a very large crowd of ponies. Two of them looked on in particular curiosity, causing the winded changeling to let out a sheepish chuckle. "H-hey princesses..."

Luna had a slightly amused look while Celestia had a bit more of a stern-mother look. "So, when were you going to let us know that you met with one of our old allies?" the taller mare asked.

"To be fair, I only met her today... and Nick was the one who gave me the token..."

Luna gave a small chuckle. "We do not blame thee... when we found out about our sister's... restrictions... on the art of necromancy we worried for bringing our old battle comrade to this world. Her token still is locked away in the hall of heroes."

"Wait... Y'all were okay with that stuff?!" Applejack shouted indignantly. "That necro-mangy-stuff ain't got no respect for those who passed on!"

Luna sighed. "What you are referring to, dear Applejack, is not true necromancy. You speak of the manipulations of those spellcasters who have been falsely led to believe that necromancy would extend one's life past death." The lunar diarch explained with a sour look. "True necromancy comes from studying and understanding the fine line between life and death in order to respect that line. Many true necromancers seek to only continue their studies in isolation without the bother of day to day life, much like our dear friend Rin. Necromancy is no more evil or foul than divination. It is the intent behind the spell that chooses whether the spell is evil or not." She gave a narrowed look at the marble-colored solar princess. "Although It makes us wonder how much false lore our sister deigned to spread during our absence..."

"Luna... I already said I was sorry about the Nightmare night tale..." Celestia groaned. "Let's just enjoy our time here... like we said we would..."

Namiro spoke up next, raising his hands with a small chuckle. "To be honest... I'd much rather relax for a while too... I did a little bit of training while I was over in Rin's world for Force-knows-how-long... and I'm exhausted."

"Thou were't gone but five minutes." Luna replied. "Two before our sister and I arrived, then three after."

"...Really?!"

"Yes Namiro, It appears that everything was alright in the end anyway, aside from needing to send a few guards to Canterlot in order to volunteer for various new prosthetics." Celestia explained.

That got a quirked eyebrow from the changeling. "Prosthetics?"

"Several of the guards were injured while protecting the civilians of the Crystal Empire. A mechanic in Canterlot has been quite vocal about her mechanical limbs being better than the normal prosthetics due to requiring no magic to function."

Applejack gave a frustrated huff. "It's still not right... messin' with the dead like that."

"The Force does not approve of it either... but sometimes we must do what we do not like in order to protect." Namiro said quietly as he walked up to the farm mare. "Rin is a good person, we will try not to call on her too much though... deal?"

The farm mare seemed to think it over for a bit, not quite wanting to take the word of a changeling... but then again, the Princesses were friends with her at one point. "...Fine..." She sighed, taking the changeling's outstretched hand in her own. "but it doesn't mean I gotta like it..."

"Wouldn't expect any less." Namiro replied. "Now... Lets PARTY!" He cheered, instantly drawing a huge grin from one particular pink party mare in the crowd.

Passionate Nights

"Hehe... L-Luna... Ca-eep! Can't we just... talk about this?!" Namiro let out a somewhat feminine squeak as he narrowly missed a mithril handaxe, that was much too large for a regular pony to use... seriously... any regular pony would consider it a big battle axe, that embedded itself into the wall next to him.

"Nay! Foul charlatan of space! We shall have our revenge for thy destruction of our fleet!" The navy-blue princess seethed as she continued chasing the unarmed changeling through the halls of Canterlot, passing by a couple of changelings that were nervously standing by some of the castle staff. Most of the changelings in the castle had come at Namiro's request so that the populace of Equestria could be eased into meeting changelings.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

"It's like getting into a creek or a pool..." The changeling had noted as he sat across from the two rulers of Equestria, his long tail giving a few idle twitches as he weaved his fingers together. "You have to start with a couple undisguised changelings at a time... two... maybe four... something to let them 'test the water' of having a completely new species living among them. There's already a bunch of changelings just in Equestria that are looking to be fed on the love that they cannot make on their own."

Celestia shifted a little in her seat. "Yes... it's something that I do wish that our subjects would embrace, with the fiasco at the wedding though, most ponies that know about changelings are afraid of what they could do instead of what they will do." She brought a hand to her muzzle and tried to rub the stress away.

"Thou hast become too soft on thy subjects in our absence Sister dearest..." Luna scolded. "We spoke of making Equestria a strong nation in its own right before I finally succumbed to the Dark Side, what happened to thy vision of progressive knowledge and learning?"

The alabaster mare slowly stood and crossed her arms under her breasts, casting a look out over the nearby balcony as her wings gave a sad ruffle. "Much changed Luna... Very much in our world changed when you were imprisoned..."

"We know... the world does not have as many monsters as it did when we left, ponies do not fear to leave their homes for the risk of what could eat them."

"Not just that Luna." Celestia replied. "With the disappearance of threats in the night... all of our forces have become lax. Our own guards weren't able to repel an invasion... WE RELY ON SIX BARELY DRINKING AGE MARES WHO HAVE NO PREVIOUS MILITARY TRAINING IN ORDER TO DEFEND OUR NATION FROM MAJOR THREATS!" The alabaster mare leaned forward just enough to brace herself on the balcony railing. "We have truly fallen so far... on the outside we look to be one of the strongest nations in the world... but on the inside... bureaucracy halts progress, unicorn supremacists that I tried to watch out for have found a way in and are making my life miserable with their incessant desires to push their own agenda instead of the agenda that would benefit the common pony." She let out a sob as she slowly collapsed to her knees. "Nobility used to mean something... it used to mean leaders who sought to better the lives of their subjects... now it just means wealth and privilege to step all over those who depend on you for protection, to make them fear what you would do to them just because you may have been inconvenienced by something they cannot control."

Luna's face broke from the slight frown it had taken to sporting lately and actually began to show concern as she walked over to her sister. "Why did they start acting this way? How could it have gotten like this?"

"It was my own fault... I spent centuries mourning you, by the time I had finally recovered enough to take over once again the damage had already begun. Stories about your evil that I tried to quell were twisted and reintroduced to the public by later authors, Unicorns in Canterlot already made themselves the only noble class ponies in the city, with everypony else struggling just to stand. I tried to help the other ponies of the country... it would last only for a generation or two before falling to greed and corruption... I've had to take to dealing with matters personally so that everypony could get a fair chance to plead their case without a biased judge overruling them. Ninety percent of the currently-employed judicial system is made of Unicorns Luna... I have no idea how many of that percent aren't biased for unicorns in any way."

Namiro eased himself into a sitting position on one side of the distraught mare while Luna took the other side. "We could have the judicial system made up of at least one changeling to each court... Changelings are great for discovering lies, they had to specialize in them for so long it's going to be a side effect that they'll be naturally good at seeing through them. It'll be a way to help keep the courts neutral in every case." He smiled a little as he gave her a firm hug. "Introducing the Changelings into the country will be a great boon to both races... I'll talk to Patina about having some changelings here in the castle, that way we can start slow."

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

The changeling king dodged another axe as it sailed overhead. "You know that throwing those could potentially hurt someone, Right!?"

"Only thee shall be on the receiving end of pain you cheating bastard!" Luna shouted as she continued to give chase to the changeling. They both weaved through, over and around pillars, carts and other obstacles as they sprinted through the castle. "We shall see who claims military superiority when thou has an axe sticking out of thy back!"

"It's just a game Luna! Chill the hell out!"

"We fought on battlefields centuries before you did whelp! Thou could not possibly suggest that thy forces were superior in any way!"

"You challenged me to space battles... with nothing more than pilots against my pilots and marines! Of course I was going to win!"

"The pilots had mines to destroy thy interior systems!"

"And the marines had rockets and better man to man firepower than pilots!" Namiro leapt to his right as yet another axe sunk into the pillar he had been running towards. "How the hell are you getting so many axes? where the hell are you carrying them!?"

"That is none of your business!" Luna replied as she threw another intricately carved axe. "Now stop running and take thy punishment like the stallion that you are!"

"I refuse!" Namiro shouted before being covered in green flames only to let the fire disperse and reveal his changeling queen form instead of a changeling king. "I'm not going to stop running till you stop throwing axes at me!" She shouted back to the angry lunar princess.

"That's going to be a while!"

"I know!" Namiro reached out for The Force as she tried to think of a plan to escape the crazy mare, but her options were running out. Luna had been trained as a guardian, same as Namiro had, her ability to match in speed was uncanny... if anything it was through either sheer luck or out of Luna having more fun than she led on that was keeping the lunar princess from catching the changeling. After a few minutes of nothing but silence from the lunar princess though the royal changeling began to slow down, looking around to try and find the raging mare. "Wh-what? Luna?" She tentatively called once she realized that she was now in a part of the castle she had never been in before. With a deep breath the changeling queen let her transformation flames wrap over her form, turning him back into the gender he was most comfortable with as he let out a long sigh. "Just... great..." he muttered as he opened the nearest door, trying to get an idea of where he was.

Namiro's eye twitched as he saw the room. Lavish decorations of the night sky decorated the walls, the four-poster bed had the lunar princess' cutie mark stamped practically everywhere and there was a telescope on the balcony that was aimed towards the stars. "Do you like our room...?" The silky voice of the lunar princess caused him to tense as her soft, strong arms slowly slid up his chest while she pressed her breasts to his back. Her muzzle rubbed against the changeling's armored neck and still caused him to let out a shudder of pleasure as she gently began walking him forward. Her horn lit up as the door closed behind them. "You have led us on for quite long enough... Tonight we shall enjoy each other's company in the most intimate of ways." Her horn began to glow again as she rubbed it along the changeling King's cheek.

Namiro noticed the effect immediately as he started to shift uncomfortably. "That cheeky devil... using magical Viagra on me..." He wanted to growl in frustration but it was more one of pleasure as the night princess simply let one of her hands rub along the plate covering her prize. "You... you planned this... didn't you?"

The mare simply giggled. "We heard from Rarity that thou were to hopefully begin courting miss Sparkle soon... as one of the rulers of Equestria we exercise the option to bed with the groom to be so that we may be sure thou would'st be fit to court our sister's student." She smiled as the changeling's tail wrapped around her left leg. "Besides... we have a great amount of stress pent up that we would love to simply let go of in a passionate night."

The royal changeling let out a muffled groan as Luna gave his neck chitin a small lick. His entire body nearly turned into jelly as she rubbed against him, he could actually taste the lust in her voice as she stopped just in front of the bed. "W-what is it you would like to do first... my princess?" He asks shakily as the edge of his vision starts to tint pink.

A hum was her reply as she gently pushed him onto the bed, "I think we'll start with getting all of that heavy chitin off of you... it must be difficult wearing it all the time..."

Namiro chuckled. "Your speech is slipping." He slowly shifted around on the bed to face her and have his eyes widen as he noticed the very revealing outfit she was wearing.

"I've been practicing with Twilight... it's a hard habit to kick. It looks like you finally took notice of my outfit... how do you like it?" Luna replied with a smile as she eased herself into his lap, straddling his hips as she hung her arms around his neck.

"It suits you well..." He squeaked out. Luna gently reached down to grab his left hand, guiding it along her barely-covered thigh and up her side. "I... I like it..." the changeling stuttered as the lunar princess placed his hand on her chest, he felt his eagerness trying to pry free of his chitin when he felt her erect nipple against the palm of his hand. "You're not wearing anything underneath...?" He breathed as more of a statement.

She shook her head and used her other hand to guide his remaining hand across his chest and peel away the chitin. "Spending a thousand years in isolation tends to make one care less about the consequences of living without clothes underneath the outer layer... Nightmare moon had me prancing around in nothing but her armor. As nice as the cold metal felt against my skin, it wasn't comfortable to wear as long as I had been..." The night princess leaned forward a little to lick his uncovered chest, sending a jolt of pleasure through the changeling's body that made him shiver again. "Too cold?" Luna asked quietly.

Namiro quickly shook his head. "Very pleasing..." he moaned gently as he let his left thumb rub over the thinly-covered nipple she had him attached to. "aren't we... taking this a bit... fast though?"

Luna gently pushed him back, giving her a better position to plant small kisses on his chest. "We're not taking this fast... we're enjoying a night together... no strings attached..." she sat up again to slide away the thin fabric that was covering her torso. "If you were as immortal as my sister and I we could try a relationship that would last longer... but a night of pleasure is better than not loving at all."

He blinked a few times. "Luna... are you saying... You've never had a serious relationship?"

The dark mare shook her head. "Back when we were first displaced from our world... no... I believe it was about a hundred years afterward... I was the first to take on a serious relationship with some of our subjects. Back then their lives were so short... barely more than fifty would they live. I was the first to mate with one of our subjects... the resulting unicorn was far more powerful than their brethren... back then levitating a weapon was considered a feat of incredible power... every few generations our ponies lived longer lives and my sister and I would have to add to the gene pool once again in order to make sure that every pony born would eventually have more potential than the last generation." Luna explained as she idly used Namiro's hands to peel away more chitin. "despite how cushy the ponies of this generation have it... they still are quite a bit stronger than the ponies that founded Equestria before our rule."

Namiro let out a hiss of pleasure as he finally noticed how much of his chitin she had him peel off while he was paying attention to her story. He could feel almost every inch of his body shivering with pleasure as she rubbed her warm core against his stomach. She leaned down to whisper in his ear as her free-hanging breasts pressed against his muzzle. "Would you like to get rid of that last piece...? I can't imagine it's too comfortable at the moment..."

"You're absolutely... right..." Namiro groaned as his hips bucked a little out of frustration. "...I'll let this be a one night stand... for now... but I will get you back for this..."

Luna cocked her head a little out of curiosity. "Oh...? And how will you do that?"

"When I get more free time... I'll be taking you to a theater." He replied without missing a beat. "That way we can have a proper date." Luna blinked a little as she listened to him. "I'm familiar with the fact that Equestrians favor the herd relationship to a monogamous one... Changelings aren't squeamish about a lot of things, so I'll be able to get used to it..."

Luna's eyes began to water a little as a blush crossed her face. "We... I... shall think about it Namiro... and thank you for the offer."

"Of course..." The changeling replied as he peeled away the last piece of chitin that was keeping Luna from getting what she wanted.

Writhing in Shadows

Sombra let out a howl of pain as another black tendril lashed across his almost-nude form, the glistening ebony tendril left an angry scar across his back as it struck. Several similar scars adorned his form, one was even bleeding as his once-immaculate coat of shimmering charcoal black was now marked with several red or pale scars. He kept his gaze fixed on the ground as he grit his teeth, another tendril lashed out because of his earlier howl.

It was how his life had become after his fall... He found a new master, a new Sith Lord... and he was punished for making even a squeak out of line. Lashed across the face for saying anything aside from "I deserve this, master" or any other phrases where he accepted his harsh master's demands. Letting out any sound of pain or discomfort would earn him another lash, failure of a mission would earn ten, some would even bleed from being struck in the same place more than once. Only once had he received praise, and even then it had been hollow...

"You nearly spoiled the surprise Sombra..." a voice growled from the darkness. Sombra closed his eyes as he prepared to receive yet another strike. "But... His master hesitated, relaxing the tendril and continuing as if she was ignoring him. "...This message could spur on the Princesses if Rin spoke with them... She hasn't even told the Changeling of what Sombra said specifically..." Sombra could feel the smile in his master's voice. "Yes... This could be just the nudge we need, with Nikolaus pushing the changeling towards the Dark Side already... it will only be a matter of time before he is mine..."

Sombra collapsed to the ground as his master unlatched the shackles keeping him hung in the center of the room. He quickly scrambled to his hands and knees in his usual position of servitude. "Would you like me to send a message, Master?" He winced a little as he heard one of the tendrils draw closer.

"Seek out the one named Trixie... give her this amulet... I believe you may enjoy the little family reunion."

Sombra quickly looked up, getting only a glimpse of the amulet before he spoke. "Family?" He reeled back as one of the semi-transparent tentacles slashed across his face, making him hiss in pain as a warm liquid ran down his cheek.

"Yes... Family..." His master replied with that same smiling tone.

"Y-yes, master... your will be done." Sombra managed to say with a growl as he reached out for the amulet his master had presented. "What am I to tell her of its effects?"

His master let out a chuckle. "Simply let her know it will make her stronger even than Celestia... I will do the rest."

"Of course, Master..." Sombra replied as he slowly got into a standing bow and began to back away. He turned and snapped his fingers, his horn lit up for a few seconds as the armor he had worn in the Battle of the Crystal City seemed to simply melt onto him from the shadows. A frown etched onto his face as he left his master's sanctuary, his mind full of nothing... that way his master could not spy on what he was actually thinking. "...f-family?" he seemed to repeat over and over again as he quietly made his way back to the surface of the world and disguised himself as a plain dark-orange pegasus.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro held Patina close as they walked to the entrance of their new home, a hive located just beneath Ponyville. The entrance was still a little ways outside of Ponyville, due to occupying the old Diamond Dog den that used to be in the area, but for the most part the ponies of Ponyville seemed... less than scared over it. Sure there had been the death threats that Namiro had expected, he wouldn't have had any problem with that though, but the thing that had thrown him off the most was just how jaded the ponies of Ponyville seemed to be now that the Bearers of the Elements were well-known public heroes and how monsters seemed to attack the town every other week. It was... definitely surreal to know that after the first panicked sprint indoors, the fact that the changelings were being led by the Elements instead of leading them seemed to get the ponies out of their homes and more curious about the prospect of changelings being so close by.

"You know... I knew that Twilight told me the ponies here would be fine with us being neighbors... but I really can't say I expected them to adjust this well, this quickly..." Namiro said as he hugged Patina a bit closer.

"Well... we are providing a valuable service to Ponyville... all for free..." His queen replied with a giggle as she looked back towards the hive entrance. "We might not get to the same size that my mother had when she had invaded Canterlot... I certainly hope we never get that big... but we'll be able to keep the hive fed." She smirked a little as she nuzzled against him again. "A certain alicorn told me that you've got the hots for a certain bookworm in this town..."

Namiro chuckled. "She's got the hots for me... but... I wouldn't mind indulging her if she wanted to. Though I believe she would rather I looked like Astral Aegis again."

"I bet she's read up completely on the Ponysutra... It's always the quiet ones that have the weirdest fetishes after all."

"How do you even know about either of those things? I thought you were just a couple years old?"

Patina gave him a look. "Hive mind... My body may not be older than most school-age foals but my mind is completely that of an adult." She flicked his nose with her tail. "You know... ever since you molted out of the Proto stage you've gotten to look so handsome with that crest of yours. Do you think Rin turned you down because she's a lesbian?"

Namiro blinked a few times. "Why do you think she turned me down?"

"She could very likely have fed you just on friendly cuddles... admittedly she would've had to do that for a few hours straight if it was meant to be a platonic friendship... but the fact that she had you arrange to bring someone with you the next time you set up the training means she might not be interested in stallions... you think she likes to be the one in the dominant position?"

"I... you... What's got your mind on sex all of a sudden?" Namiro stuttered as he blushed, tinting his dark-green chitin with a nice rosy-red color.

"Sorry... It's the link, with our race simply running a restaurant-style bordello it's just becoming the most efficient way to harvest love and keep the hive fed." She sighed as she nuzzled him again. "With so many of our infiltrators focused on harvesting love instead of hiding for their lives the link has started getting creative in the ways we extract pleasure and lust..."

"I overheard while I was in that section of the hive... It sounded like they were reciting off a menu at a restaurant." He chuckled again. "Though, I think we should start charging a bit. While we only need what we can make, we'll need some method of income to blow on frivolities... Get a waterbed only to replace the water mattress with your slime bed, deck out the rooms we use for love harvesting so that ponies can feel a mix of their world and ours... buy some art and stuff so that we can have decorations for non-harvesting visitors."

"Of course, love..." Patina replied as she kissed his cheek. "Now get going, I believe you've got a couple hours before your date and I spoke with miss Rarity to get you fitted for a suit in your earth stallion form."

Namiro hefted himself off of the stone bench he had shaped when they started their new hive. "You know... if you keep spoiling me like this it might lead to us being bad role models for our hive." He let out an involuntary yelp as the queen smacked his flank.

"Just get going, be a good boy and play nice with the fashionista."

"No promises, she'd probably throw me out of the store if she ever visited our harvesting center." Namiro laughed as he started the trek to Ponyville. He hadn't been lying when he said they needed to start charging... they were basically advertising a hotel that lets you feed changelings... all for free... it was like a petting zoo full of bug-ponies... that happened to be able to shapeshift into whatever you wanted. The changeling king blinked in surprise as he realized just how weird some of the requests could possibly get. It was a good thing that Equestrians actually practiced a policy of surprisingly-affordable healthcare. "...That's probably how Applejack's grandma was around for the founding of the town..." he muttered as he made his way into town, idly waving at a few ponies as he strolled through town. "I can't help but feel something bad is going to happen... this transition is going way too smoothly..." he thought with slight suspicion as he continued walking down the road towards Carousel boutique.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

"Namiro... Aegis... whatever you want to call yourself... could you please stop moving? It's hard to get the pins just right if you keep doing so."

"Well if you'd stop poking me with them to see if I can still feel my chitin I'd probably stop moving around so much!"

"I swear, you're more fussy than Rainbow Dash."

"Hey!"

"Not now Dash, I'm trying to finish up our 'friend's' suit."

"You had the measurements an hour ago, you had the suit itself prepped before I arrived! How could we possibly need more time on this?"

Rarity gave a huff as she straightened up. "You have an absolutely terrible fashion sense darling, Twilight already got her dress and I don't want you to ruin either ensemble by having your outfit be... sub-par. My work is always to be my next greatest creation! Moving forward to bigger and better projects."

Namiro let out a sigh as he looked at the still-blushing Rainbow Dash. He mentally chuckled as he remembered the look on her face when he had transformed in front of them both, he did give them fair warning that he didn't have any clothes that fit his stallion size. The first thing Rarity had done was sew him up a set of underwear... more like a loincloth but it honestly didn't matter to him. As a changeling he practically walked around naked anyway, oddly enough there was typically enough fur on a pony's body that they could walk around with nothing on and it wouldn't have been a problem. Rarity made sure to end that little trend as often as possible, putting on sales and special deals as long as it got ponies in her outfits or allowed her to customize one for them.

Even Rainbow Dash was more often in a form-fitting outfit with a sports bra that helped streamline her look and reduce wind drag. The first time Namiro had commented on it she blushed and practically strutted like a peacock at the compliment. The blush she was sporting now though... Her face was practically dyed a reddish-purple color when she had seen his transformation. Her wings had flared up immediately and she tried to act like she wasn't impressed.

He had later found out when he spoke to Big Mac that he and the changeling were officially at the 'most virile'-looking of stallions in Ponyville.

Who was he to complain though? Changelings had to appear attractive to get love, so it certainly made sense. There also seemed to be something about darker, more earth-toned coats on stallions that just drove mares wild. Namiro smirked as Rainbow Dash made eye contact with him again, practically forcing her wings to flare out with an audiable 'fwip' sound before she turned away, struggling to get her small wings under control. That was another thing that had given him pause throughout the days that he had been staying in Ponyville... Luna and Celestia, even Patina and him, had huge wings... very majestic in the case of the princesses... Yet the regular pegasus ponies' wings seemed like they should have been vestigial. Pegasai were more than capable of keeping themselves aloft though with wings the size of a swan's when they were full grown.

...There had to be magical shenanigans involved. Pegasus kids had wings the same size as free range chicken wings but more than half of them were able to fly.

And then there was the shit about being able to walk on clouds! That was shenanigans if he ever saw it.

"Aaannnd... Done!" Rarity cheered, breaking Namiro's train of thought. "See what happens when you keep your mind on a pretty mare instead of the outfit?"

"What?" Namiro stumbled as he looked at the fashion mare.

Rarity flipped her mane with a smile. "While Rainbow Dash may not be the most elegant of mares, I can see that you quite enjoyed staring at her wings."

"I was debating in my head why the Princesses have a much larger and natural-looking wingspan than a regular pegasus..."

"Of course you were Darling." Rarity replied with a knowing smile. "Now, because your mate Patina arranged some gems as payment for this suit... and at the moment your hive is a non-profit organization... I've decided to discount this outfit for you. Consider it a gift towards helping to... mend our relationship." She smiles innocently. "After all, with my help you'll have some style yet." She took a deep breath and let it out a few seconds later. "Do be gentle with Twilight, this is her first relationship after all." The white mare cooed before pulling the stallion so his muzzle was only a few inches from hers. "Because if you so much as hurt her in any way I'll make sure you go back to the badlands and pray to whatever divine you pray to that I don't find you again." She had a near-manic grin. "Am I clear?"

"...crystal..."

"Good!" Rarity replied as she straightened up with her innocent smile. "Ta ta darling!" The disguised changeling bolted out of that shop like his life depended on it.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro took a deep breath as he stood outside of the door to Shady Oaks library, "Okay... I can do this... it's not like I'm risking my life due to this being the student of the Solar Diarch, friend of the Lunar Diarch and friend of half a dozen very strong and protective mares..." He lets out the breath as a sigh before he knocked on the door to the Library.

"It's open!" Was Spike's call from inside. "It IS a library after all!"

Namiro gently pushed open the door with a smile. "It's also someone's place of residence so it's only polite to knock before entering..."

Spike rolled his eyes before going back to the comic he was reading on the far side of the lounge area. "Whatever..." Spike dismissed. "Twilight's almost ready for your date, I'm actually a bit surprised she agreed..."

"Don't worry Spike, I'm surprised as well. Ponies simply have been a very xenophobic species their entire lives... And I really understand why..."

"What do you mean?" Spike asked.

Namiro walked over to the lounge area and sat down across from the now-attentive dragon. "Well, I can assume that you know ponies are herbivores... right?" At Spike's nod he continued. "Good, then you would also know that they are surrounded by a lot of predator species... Dragons, Griffons, I don't know if Minotaurs count but I know that Changelings do... Ponies are a prey species, so they would naturally get skittish around so many sharp claws and teeth."

"But... they're just fine around me..." Spike countered.

"That's because you're domesticated, you're docile... you won't kill them because you are hungry. They don't know if a strange Griffon, Dragon or Diamond Dog will make a meal out of them just because they're hungry." Namiro replied with a smile. "Even I have a tendency from time to time to want to feed off of these ponies, I don't have to... but I still can... I think that's why I produce more refined love than any other changeling in the hive..."

"Refined... love?"

"It's the food for changelings that we store away because our bodies don't consume it immediately." The disguised changeling explained. "I've found out that most changelings burn about a quart of refined love a day when ample supply is available. I haven't quite been able to test how much I need but Patina actually manages about three to five times that amount depending on what she has to do."

"Fascinating..." The earth pony and dragon turned to see the Violet-colored unicorn standing at the base of the steps leading up to the residential area. "Sorry... I just... this is a perfect opportunity to learn about a new culture!"

Spike chuckled. "If she had the ability to not get eaten by a full grown dragon she'd ask them so many questions that they would wonder why they hadn't eaten her."

"Oh hush!" Twilight scolded as she flicked him with her tail as she passed the little dragon. "I'll be back by ten, make sure you're in bed Spike."

"Yes Mom..." He sighed as he picked up his comic again.

Twilight turned to face the rather dapper-looking changeling. "Wow... Rarity really made you look good."

"You would expect any less of your friend?" Namiro chuckled.

"Of course not!" Twilight huffed a little as she took his arm and escorted him out of the library. "It's just... you look good."

"Thank you Twilight... you look good as well." He could taste the strawberry-sweet flavor of her embarrassment and attraction, it was certainly going to be an interesting night out.

Reflections

Namiro stumbled a little as he stepped out of the portal that had let him return... home... from the world of his most recent master, Rin the Kitsune. Taking in his surroundings he had noticed that he was definitely in a forest of some kind, with Canterlot Mountain looming in the distance and the lack of oppressive darkness he could only assume that he had been landed somewhere in Whitetail Woods. "At least I get to enjoy a nice walk home while I think..." He let out a small sigh as his hooves began to slowly plod down the well-trodden dirt road leading to the little semi-swamp town of Ponyville.

The large changeling had almost immediately lost himself in thought as he continued thinking back to the lessons Rin had been teaching him, a smile curled the edge of his muzzle as he thought back to Rin's most elite soldier... Cluck Norris. Even at the stun settings that crazy chicken managed to whup the larger changeling's flank three ways from Sunday, after the initial mirth and subsequent surprise though the two of them had gotten along very amicably. While it was still a bit difficult to understand the language of Chicken, the one-chicken-army had been a good battle mentor alongside the Kitsune, with the latter being there to teach him purely of technique to hone his control over the Dark Side.

That had been the most difficult part, even now he didn't consider himself skilled enough to use the power, the Dark Side relied heavily on using your emotions to influence The Force, not simply your will. He had taken one of the fox's biggest lessons to heart though. "...The Darkness is always hungry, it seeks to feed on everything." He muttered to himself as he felt his reserves of energy begin to rise again now that he was back in a world that had an active connection to The Force. It was a feeling that just didn't sit right in his... well... he had actually found out that it wasn't actually a stomach with some of the memories that had been shared with him over the hive mind.

"What am I doing?" He asked quietly as he crested a small hill, the town ahead was cast in a soft orange glow from the dying light of the sunset. Despite being so close to his new home he slowly sat himself down and quietly stared at the village in the distance.

Applejack had a confused look on her face as she noticed the changeling the size of the Princesses sitting on the path. He'd been gone a few days so far and the large Queen changeling had explained it to the group that another being like him had called for his help, a teacher of his...

She was hesitant at first but her curiosity had won out. "hey there Sugarcube, what'cha sittin' round here for?"

The changeling didn't move, he didn't even flinch. He took a small breath as just a small twitch of his eyes scanning over the town showed he was still alive. "I... I don't know... Thinking, I guess."

"Bout what?" The farm mare asked as she gently put down the basket of apples strapped to her back and sat down next to him, keeping a fairly decent space away from that strange tail of his.

He took another breath. "It's hard to explain... On one hand, I lost everything to come to this world... I lost most of my old friends, I lost every member of my old family... I can't say I was particularly close to anyone but my parents and little sister..." Applejack's eyes widened a little at his explanation. "But on the other hand... I've found Patina, Nick... you guy-... girls... and each changeling in that hive that I would willingly die for in order to protect. Nick told me that I would have to find a way to use both the Light and Dark side of The Force to be able to save this world... but I never wanted to be a hero, I didn't want to be a leader... I just wanted to be me... if anything, being a Jedi should be a career where I pass on the mentality of self-discipline and the desire to be an example of kindness and modesty."

Applejack sat next to him quietly, unsure of what to say at the moment, so the changeling continued. "But now, I'm apparently a king of a race that was once risking extinction... I'm in the steps of a precarious position and if I take just the wrong step... this whole world could be in much worse trouble than it ever had been before."

He was cut off as an orange-coated hand gripped his shoulder tightly, he turned his head and his green eyes met the mare's almost equally-emerald-green eyes. "I know how ya feel Sugarcube... maybe not with some of the whole 'in a diff'rent world' stuff... but I know what it's like ta lose family... What it's like ta suddenly feel like yer the reason why the world isn't fallin' apart. Trus' me when I say this... Keep yerself open with yer friends, ya may not be able ta bear the weight of yer burdens on yer own... but bearin' it with yer friends makes it easier."

His muzzle trembled as a small smile embraced him. It dropped a little as he tried to ask something, he hesitated though as he tried to ask.

"What is it Sugarcube?" The orange mare asked with a curious tilt of her head.

Namiro let out a sigh, "I... I just have a lot of problems with myself, things that affected me before I came to this world... but I just want to ask you for one thing tonight..."

"An' that is?"

"...C-can I have a hug?" He asked timidly as a blush spread across his face. "I know that it might seem a bit weird... but... just something completely platonic..."

Applejack had a smile of her own grow on her muzzle. "Of course Sugarcube..." She replied as she pulled him into a firm hug. Neither of them really realized how long they stayed like that until Applejack actually noticed that the sun was almost finished setting. The two of them broke the embrace and stood, ready to head back to their homes for the night.

"Applejack..."

"Yeah?"

"...Thanks... I know I should say it more often to you guys... but... thanks."

"The Apple family is always there ta help a friend out, we're dependable like that."

"I got the feeling, if she'll have me though... I think I'd like to go out to dinner again with Twilight."

The farm mare laughed a little. "I'll see if one o' the girls will be able ta get her nice and ready for ya."

With those last words of parting, the changeling and earth pony went their separate ways. It gave Namiro a lot to think about, but it also gave him a bit of clarity in the mare's words. He looked to the sky and his eyes fixated on one star in particular, the single brightest one in the sky. An old nursery rhyme chanted its way through his mind.

"Starlight, Starbright, first star I see tonight... I wish I may, I wish I might... Have this wish I wish tonight..." The edges of his vision blurred a bit as water began to build up in the corners of his eyes. "Please... make sure my family is safe..."

Pledges and Knowledge

"... You're serious?"

"Of course, we talked it over with our sisters an' they think it's a great idea!"

"Yeah! Rarity said it would be... Constructive for our energy."

"What about you Scootaloo? You seem to be relatively quiet regarding all of this." Namiro asked as he turned to the orange pegasus.

Said orange pegasus growled a little as she looked at the other two fillies. "They told me that Rainbow Dash thought it would be cool..."

The Changeling King stepped over to Scootaloo and knelt down, bringing him down to only slightly taller than most mares in ponyville. "Scootaloo... I want all three of you to realize that in order to learn how to use The Force, it takes dedication, intelligence and most of all, patience. If you three aren't willing to dedicate a large portion of your lives to the study and will of The Force, then seek a different option. This is the journey of seven thousand steps, by taking the first... you promise to take the last." All three of the fillies looked a bit nervous as he explained, it wasn't unexpected though, the path to becoming a Force User was definitely one that required discipline. "You need not answer now, I want you three to go home, talk to your families and guardians... I will speak with each of them and inform them of what kind of commitment this is as well as how much responsibility comes with it."

The three fillies nodded and walked back towards Sweet Apple Acres, leaving the large changeling to sigh as he watched them leave. "I just know Rainbow Dash is gonna be aggressive about this..." he groaned as he rubbed his face. "On the plus side... I can get that one unicorn to make the robes... ugh... but I have no money!" He continued grumbling to himself as he turned towards the secret hive entrance several trees down. The tunnels were a bit weird to get used to at first, but nothing that didn't make him recall his years of playing a block-oriented mining game to get just a little bit of enjoyment out of the mental planning that was going through his mind.

He stopped...

"...I actually have an idea for this... this could work." A smile slowly began to curl on his muzzle once more as he reached his mind over the link that had become so familiar to him, it was second nature to him now. The idle thoughts of just over a hundred drones and exactly ten infiltrators sifted through and merged with his own thoughts... it was kind of like social media, except that it was only your kids talking to you. "Huh... that got weird for a second there..." the changeling king mused as he slowed his pace. His mind worked seemingly on overdrive compared to what he was used to. "I used to struggle just to remember the names of coworkers... now I'm helping my... my Queen... direct an entire hive"

"You're a Royal-Caste changeling Namiro, it's what we do. We plan, we direct and we rule." Patina explained as her mind brushed against his. "You should come to our chambers though... it's gotten rather cold since you left to train. I hope you didn't spend all of your time over there bedding that wolf..."

Namiro sighed a little as he prepared to get into a conversation that he had been having with his Queen for quite some time. "She's a kitsune, and no... I think she's only interested in women and would consider it weird even if I did change into a female... I also am still getting around some of my mental boundaries myself thank you very much."

"Did she at least give you any juicy tips... perhaps supply you with food while you were there?"

Namiro pinched the bridge of his muzzle as he thought back to the training, the emotional cost alone had led him to realize how weak of a connection to The Force other worlds seemed to be, though the crystal he had given to Rin began bringing a better connection to her world with The Force... it was a weak link, like a faucet turned on the lowest setting it could in order to use a steady stream of water to fill a pitcher. The Force had spoken to him though, in a sense, the Midichlorians of his world were multiplying and traveling across the Void to Rin's world, there wasn't enough to truly have a Force Sensitive person yet but only time would tell if Rin would have Force warriors in her employ.

They had shared a completely platonic hug though... one that friends could comfortably say they would do. A lot about the Kitsune managed to unnerve him though, her practice of necromancy being one of the major features. No matter how much those who served her would defend it, the art itself turned his stomach. Even The Force itself nearly shouted in his ear at how much it disliked being used in such a manner. It was not his place to condone or deny though. "There is no emotion, only peace..." The Dark Side required emotions, but as a changeling he didn't naturally have them, The Force only had him simulate having them, it was the will of The Force for him to be full of emotion. "There is no ignorance, only knowledge..." he had made it his personal quest that should he encounter more Displaced, that he would learn why they do as they do, why they use what methods they have. He would no longer remain ignorant of the world. "There is no passion, only serenity..." Rin told him of Displaced that would take their fights to zealous extremes, the Holocron that Nick had given him led to an artifact known as the Genji Gauntlets, a pair of gauntlets that would summon a warrior who's sole purpose was to wage war without death. He would seek out this artifact, he would find this warrior... and he would begin learning once again. "There is no chaos, only harmony..." Balance, balance was everything. Without chaos, order would grow stale and crumble. Without order, chaos would fade to nothing. Without good there would be no evil and vice versa. He was here because a great evil was going to descend onto this land. "There is no death, there is only The Force." Once he finished the mantra of the Jedi Order Namiro took a deep breath. "These five tenets will be the core of my new order..." he pledged quietly in the dimly lit hallway. "With these tenets, this world shall become strong... we will endure, we shall thrive and we will stand together as one." He took a small breath as he looked forward, his eyes began to have a dim green glow as he held up the hilt of his newest saber. It was modeled after the Guardian style of hilt but the changeling chitin from his own body added a more organic curvature to the length of the hilt. "We shall not fall, in the light there is darkness... but within that darkness is yet another light." He grasped the hilt with both hands and used his right thumb to press the button that activated his emerald-green blade with a hiss before it began to emit a pleasing and familiar hum. "For that is how we all are, bound neither to darkness nor light... equal in the eyes of The Force."

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro took a long, shuddered breath as Patina ran her hand along his uncovered chest. "You know... I've been meaning to ask. What kinds of old information have you been polishing in that hive mind of yours?" He chuckled as he ran his own hand through Patina's willow-like mane.

The slightly-smaller changeling Queen let out a small giggle as she nuzzled her lover's bare chest. "I've been uncovering some... interesting bits of information that fell out of practice a while ago due to the risk of some changelings seceding from the hive..."

"Oh?" Namiro asked with curiosity as he gently rubbed his leg between hers and caused her to blush. "What kind of information?"

Patina frowned a bit as she wrapped her legs around Namiro's leg, hugging him close out of comfort. "Well, you know how we... transferred eggs... right...?"

The male changeling blushed as he thought back to the very pleasing interaction between their tails. "Yeah..." he mumbled as he let his fingers on his right hand play with his Queen's mane while his left hand gently stroked her smooth, bare back.

Patina shivered a little as she felt herself instinctually feeding on the love that was practically seeping through the changeling King's skin. "Well... the canal in our tails is apparently a two-way thing for more than just changelings..."

"Yeah, I remember you saying something about how we recycle drones that are injured or are not able to work anymore... I'm pretty sure I have an idea on how that works but..." He quirked a brow as he looked down over the curvaceous form of the large Queen. "It works on more than just changelings?"

Patina nodded, her left index finger traced small circles on Namiro's pecs. "The memory is a bit fuzzy regarding what happens afterward... but the tail like we royals have used to be a common body part among drones and infiltrators as well."

"Why don't they have the tails anymore?"

"A few found out just how flexible it could be... so a few infiltrators experimented when they went out on a harvest... they found that they could engulf ponies just like the royals could with changelings, except that instead of recycling them and laying new eggs... they could absorb their targets, allowing them to shapeshift so perfectly that disguise-detection spells wouldn't pick them up and they would be able to be a perfect double, relationships would still spawn non-changeling offspring and sometimes the drones themselves would learn to adapt pony emotions into their understanding..."

"Let me guess, someone abused that power?" Namiro offered.

"Just the opposite actually." Patina replied. "They found themselves so enamoured with the pony lifestyle that they gave up their old identities as changelings and stopped responding to the hive." She let out a sigh as she rested her muzzle against Namiro's neck. "They told such perfect lies to the ponies that they began to believe the lies themselves, they stopped harvesting for the hive, severed ties to the hivemind, adopted their target's life as their own and were accepted by pony society... with the ponies none the wiser." The Queen hugged her King as close as she could, her entire body shook with barely held-back sobs. "The royals in charge back then knew that there was such a risk in future generations if the infiltrators and drones were to keep the tails, so they changed future eggs... bore the nymphs with a mane-like tail instead of the beautiful ones that we royals have... so that there would not be a risk of our children abandoning the hive again."

Namiro hugged Patina reassuringly as his mind quickly processed what she meant, sifted through the memories she brought forward and began to understand. "Patina..." He started quietly in order to get her to stop crying and turn her attention to his face. "...We can't change the past... we can only learn from it, I promise to help you see this hive grow... these are OUR children now, not just yours alone." He let his chin nuzzle her mane. "We'll show this world once again that Changelings can be a force of good in the world... okay..." A slow nod against his chin was her response. "Good, I've got a few drones clearing out a space that we could use as a new Force Temple, but we'll need to start charging ponies for service, since we'll need to buy certain supplies if we can't find a way to barter for them."

"I actually started talking to the Mayor and Celestia while you were gone... Since we harvest love as a food source, we would be able to be considered a business as long as we kept children away from our place of business."

"That's fine, I'm already planning out how the hive would be situated and am definitely keeping the temple on the opposite side of the hive."

The changeling Queen smiled. "Things are going to get better." She cooed.

Lurking in the Shadows

Trixie Lulamoon, former stage magician and travelling showpony... The Great and Powerful Trixie... that was what she called herself at one point, life was good... in a way, she had money, she had food, she even had her cart. What did she have now? nothing.

The light-blue unicorn grit her teeth as she sat on the curb of some street in Hoofington whose name she hadn't bothered to learn. Tears stung at her eyes as she tried to think of what to do, she couldn't even get booked for a children's party in order to attempt to pay for repairs to her cart. She let out a sigh as she reached into the shoulder-slung bag hanging at her side. "Who am I kidding... I'd have to buy a whole new cart..." She muttered as she pulled out a glass bottle. She examined the cap of the bottle for a few seconds before she began to look for a window sill or something of the sort, it was only a few seconds before she stood outside the window of a closed antique shop with the cap of the bottle hooked against the ledge of the windowsill.

The ex-performer gently placed the bottom of her right fist on top of the cap to aim before she brought it up and sharply back down. A dull thud later the cap popped off the bottle as the mare looked at the fresh bottle of booze in her left hand. "Lets see how the last of my savings taste..." She groaned with a slight grimace as she brought the bottle to her lips. A single mouthful later her face twisted into a deeper frown as she fought the urge to let the bile in her throat out. "Tastes like farm..." once she felt like she wasn't going to lose what little she had eaten that day she brought the bottle to her mouth again.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

When Trixie regained her senses she let out a groan, though something was off. She wasn't laying on the cold ground, she was in a bed... and she was in a robe. The light-blue mare shot into a sitting position, only to bring her hand to her head as she felt a spike of pain shoot through her head.

"You are in quite the predicament..." A smooth baritone spoke from just outside her field of view. "...You've lost everything, but here you have a very rare opportunity."

"W-what... what are you talking about?" Trixie groaned as she turned to see a robed figure in the doorway of the modest-looking guest room. As her vision starts to get sharper she noticed him hold out a strange amulet.

"This artifact is called the Alicorn Amulet..." The winged-unicorn design of the gunmetal-grey iron surrounding a brilliant red gem certainly did draw her attention. "...It was crafted in an age long-past, the process of creating it is only known to three individuals. This tool was made specifically to amplify your magic, no matter which tribe you're part of."

"Yes...?" Trixie prompted, leaning forward a bit as she was hooked on his words.

"I will give this amulet to you, I will teach you how to use your new powers, and in return... I only ask that you absolutely destroy that wench, Twilight Sparkle." The stallion growled.

Trixie gasped once she realized what was being asked of her and her eyes drifted down to the Amulet again. Her muzzle curled into a sinister smile that seemed to somehow reveal the new elation that rose in her chest. "I'm game." She replied simply as she saw her reflection in the mirror-like sheen of the red gem.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Deep underground, deeper even than she suspected most diamond dogs dared to dig, Trixie let out a yelp of pain as a feedback burst from her magic... no, The Dark Side struck across her arms and sent lightning-webbed scars up the length of both arms. Fortunately for her the scars were light and would heal over in a matter of hours, as she learned from the first few days of being exposed to such energy, but each time the patterns seemed to have a favorite design and thus the scars started to heal a bit slower. The being across from her though... not so fortunate. Tears streamed from the face of a unicorn that was far more pale than her original yellow color had indicated, her vibrant orange mane seemed to have grayed quite a bit. She was curled in the fetal position whimpering as every movement of her body, even the involuntary ones, caused her pain as each muscle twitched like her life depended on it.

"Pathetic..." Sombra growled as he looked at the stunned disciple in front of him. "You aren't focusing, your anger is your weapon... visualize this mare to be Twilight Sparkle, let her taste your wrath. If you waver in your will the Dark Side will swallow you whole and you will be left as nothing but an empty husk of what you once were. Do you want that to happen?" He lifted the light-blue mare by one of her wrists and noticed that she was more than a little concussed from the feedback. "Dammit... She'll lose herself to the amulet if she stays like this..." He lifted her up and hefted her over his shoulder. A small, hopeful thought crossed his mind when he idly noticed that she was definitely a little heavier than when she had passed out drunk in the fake antique shop he was running.

He used his magic to move food to his prisoner and checked her horn-restraint idly before he took his several-greats-granddaughter out of the training room and into the rather large cavernous room that looked like something Spas would dream of becoming. The bath area was constantly run using natural heat vents to keep the water at a fairly even temperature and fresh, a gentle waterfall of warm water mimicked a shower that they could use when needed and he had added several bits of greenery and artificial lighting to be a surface away from the sun. He sighed as he set Trixie down on one of the vacant seats he had molded out of stone before he went to search for several cleaning supplies.

Satisfied that he had everything he began to strip down, moving on to Trixie when he had finished with himself. He carried the cleaning supplies in a crimson-colored aura as he carried Trixie in his arms over to the warm bath area. He gently set her into the water, letting it come up to just below the top of her breasts before he took the brush out of his magical grip and began to scrub away the grime and dirt that clung to the light blue mare's coat with a blush across his nose that he would only ever admit was because of the warm water.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Trixie hummed a little as she started to wake up, her whole body was wrapped in an absolutely amazing warmth as just about every inch felt like she just received the best spa treatment in her life. Her eyes began to open slowly so that she could get used to the light when she realized just why she felt so good. She almost screamed in rage... almost... if he hadn't hit that one absolutely heavenly spot on the inside of her right thigh with the coat brush within seconds of her vision focusing.

"You need to take better care of yourself..." Sombra grumbled as he continued to brush down her leg without taking his eyes off of his hands. "She never needs to know..." he thought to himself as he grit his teeth while he tried to resist the urge to compliment her body. "Your hooves are cracked and your coat is caked in almost an entire year's worth of muck. I don't care if you used to travel a lot, you should still have found a stream every so often and cleaned yourself thoroughly."

Trixie went from complete bliss to a very uncharacteristic shyness as she wrapped her arms over her bare chest. The blush that formed on her muzzle only increased as she let her eyes trail over his form, tracing each inch of every white and red scar that lined his arms and chest, she could only guess that he had more on his back but she didn't dare ask to see. "I'm sorry..." She squeaked out, feeling like she was being chastised by her pa-... mother... once again.

"Don't be sorry. Be sure to check your hooves for damage, I can't be around to clean you, clothe you and feed you every time you fall unconscious." The ebony unicorn stallion replied as he moved the brush down her legs. His ears twitched as he picked up the almost-silent gasp she let out once his brush met her hoof. With a small nod he moved her right leg away and got up, giving her a very generous view of what he had to work with before taking his place on her other side and began to work on her other leg. "Once you can use your lighting without the feedback burst we'll start on saber techniques." He explained as he moved the brush in short, round strokes.

"Yes, master..." She replied quietly as she tried to keep her eyes off of the very muscled stallion that was giving her admittedly-thin frame more than just a little TLC. "Why? why is he hesitating...? Does he not like me? Perhaps... it's something else... or...-" Her thoughts were interrupted as he brushed a particularly sensitive spot right behind her knee and forced her to let out an involuntary moan of pleasure. The two of them seemed frozen in time as she brought both of her hands up to her mouth in embarrassment. Her wide eyes and pinprick pupils drifted towards the equally wide-eyed stallion as the brush had stopped mid-stroke at the sudden interruption.

The two of them stayed like that for several minutes before he started to brush her again, avoiding the back of her knee as he continued with the treatment. Once finished with her legs he shifted position so that both of her hooves were in his lap as he levitated the coat brush away from the bath and grabbed the hoof file. She bit her lip as he gently used his thumb to massage the frog of her hoof as he filed away at her left hoof first, then the right. The silence continued between them until he used his magic to pass her the mane-brush.

"Run it through each section of your mane Fifty times, it will make sure that you have anything that isn't your mane out and you will look much more presentable when you style it." The stallion explained before he got up to make his way over to the waterfall.

"How do you know so much about stuff like this?" Trixie blurted in confusion as she sat up, exposing her chest to the slightly-cold air.

It took Sombra a few seconds to respond. "When I was prince of the Crystal Empire, I had to learn these things because back then... before I found the power of the Dark Side, the castle staff was far more busy tending to my older sister and were stretched thin across the castle. I had one of my sister's hoofmaidens teach me so that I wouldn't have to use up unnecessary resources."

She watched him walk over to the waterfall, giving her a good look at his heavily-scarred back, before she finally started running the brush through her mane and counted each stroke. Her mind drifted a bit as she said the number of strokes aloud, it drifted to scenes that she would never share to anyone, many of which brought a deeper blush to her cheeks.

...One of which actually involved the mare that was the focus of her hate... That one was a fantasy that she would take to the grave, not even Luna would pry it from her mind...

Training would proceed similarly along the next month... though the ex-performer noticed that Sombra was sharing the bath with her more and more often, offering to groom her (either out of courtesy or some other reason, she still had yet to figure out which.) and sent her mind into such bliss that she knew all it would take was one wrong move for her to accidentally make a new mess that she would have to clean up. While she was focused completely in-training, since she didn't want a repeat of the feedback burst again, whenever she had free time that wasn't dedicated to study she would find her mind wandering to the dark stallion that was so much more gentle than he let on.

"Perhaps... Perhaps tomorrow..." she hesitatingly promised herself as she walked towards the spa-bath and noticed the dark stallion already standing in the ankle-deep water under the waterfall, even from so far away she could see how well he groomed himself when he had the chance.

The Dark Side of the Moon

Electricity seemed to charge the air as Trixie let her hands gently fall to her sides, her chest expanded as she took a deep breath before letting the cool air past her lips in its mad rush to bring her more oxygen. Her muzzle curled into the same smile she had the first time Sombra had offered her the Alicorn Amulet. Her pupils faded from their hate-filled crimson color to their natural violet color while the light-blue electricity dispersed into the ground around her.

The two remaining occupants of the room were silent as their eyes met, neither one needed to speak in order to understand what was needed. The dark stallion, with his dominating crimson eyes, crossed the room so that he could stop only a couple of hoof-paces away. A robed arm moved forward to offer his student a single red gem that was quickly accepted with the grace that a pious individual would show to a member of the clergy for their faith. She took a knee as she stowed the gem, watching as her mentor took out the hilt of his saber, the curve brought the emitter of the blade nearly parallel with his arm as he lit the blood-colored blade with a hiss.

Trixie shivered a little, whether in slight fear or slight pleasure she could not tell, as the hum of the blade passed by both of her ears. She could nearly feel the heat of the plasma beam on each of her shoulders as the silent ceremony proceeded. Their only witness to this proud moment was the burnt and withered corpse of a unicorn stallion who's Force power had been drained beyond the point of recovery, the body still smoked with trails leading up from several places that the unicorn mare's lightning had struck. There was a small pause, just long enough for anyone who wanted to reject this honorary title and proclaim that his student was not worthy of the power she was being bestowed... No one spoke up though, everyone in attendance found the kneeling unicorn mare to be fully worthy of the responsibility that Sombra was bestowing upon his student.

Those who had their doubts held their tongues, likely out of fear, though far more probably due to the guarantee of death should they speak out against a dark lord. Such a question would go unanswered though as the two Dark Side warriors left the room, the stone door began to grind into place... the last sliver of light that remained because of the hallway shrunk onto the single occupant of the room... his name would be forgotten to history, several would search for him... but none would find him. He had begged for death, embraced the specter as a friend when his body finally gave out... Evil had a name now... shadows and darkness embraced the silent corpse as the door slid into place.

Trixie Lulamoon... Dark Sorceress of the Force, power was her toy, The Force would bend to her will. Nothing would stand in the way of her taking her vengeance against that violet unicorn that had ruined her life.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Trixie blushed as she sat on her bed, the simple cot had become more and more comfortable over the course of... well... however long she had been down here. Sombra had several small constructs working a farm underground while the crops grew due to an artificial sun-like crystal, so they didn't go to the surface together. Sombra would head up to the Antique Shop on the surface every other day or so in order to keep up appearances as he made sure to keep himself disguised but Trixie had spent what felt like an eternity in this miniature paradise.

Each time she had these moments to herself her mind would drift off to the stallion who had become her mentor. He had nursed her back to health, every act that he did with her seemed to go against what he was teaching her about the Dark Side, he didn't seem to have any problems with treating her as his equal. She practically was his equal now but... she had been his student, he had been harsh when she would fail her lessons, he expressed his pride when she had passed his tests though. Several marks along her stomach and arms were able to attest to her skill at avoiding danger, had she not been able to turn the attacks into grazing hits and continue then he would have ended her in their first lightsaber duel. She had persisted though... and he had rewarded her.

Her violet gaze seemed locked on the ruby-red crystal in the palm of her hand, The Force had already given her a vision for what design she would require in order to utilize her abilities to the fullest, but her mind buzzed as it went over every bit of information it could possibly latch onto about the much more personal and intimate act it seemed to have been when he finally presented her with the very same crystal she had seen him synthesize from his own magic.

He gave her a piece of himself, that way no matter where she was... as long as she had the saber that she would construct around this crystal, his strength would be her strength as well. She held the crystal close to her chest as her horn lit up with its familiar purple aura, her new sensitivity to The Force had granted her an understanding far deeper than any unicorn had ever delved before. Magic became trivial compared to her new power and the Alicorn Amulet would only widen the gap further.

The pieces of her saber orbited around her in slow circles as she let go of the crystal so that it could be the focus of the orbit. The hilt itself was curved like her mentor's, though the curve was a little more pronounced so that the crescent moon shape would be noticeable. The emitter of the blade had a gentle crescent shape of its own, letting her saber emit at a wider angle at the base to help with parrying. A smile graced her lips as she watched the crystal slowly become encased in all of the electronics and casings that would merge to become her new saber.

Once the blade itself was complete she gingerly reached out for the ice-blue hilt and tenderly wrapped her fingers around the firm, molded grip. The rush of... it could only be described as 'completeness'... that went through her body nearly made her feel like that week she had been working on the Wyssin farm; mild euphoria, dizzyness and a feeling like she could truly breathe for the first time in her life. It was like a massive weight had been lifted from her shoulders. All of that was just from taking the hilt in her grip... her mind drifted to what it would feel like if she did more. Her thumb idly brushed the polished, round activator plate on the top of the saber's hilt. "Maybe... if I just...-

As her thumb pressed the activator and the blade hissed to life, the purr that reached her ears was one that she couldn't tell whether it had come from her blade or her own throat, a wave of pleasure shivered its way up her spine as she listened to the gentle hum of one of the deadliest weapons on the planet. "I hold in my hand a weapon far more elegant than any lightfoil that a stuck up Canterlot Snob may have... a weapon more deadly than any cannon in the Princess' arsenal..." her left hand idly found its way to her bare navel, gently tracing the bottom of her stomach as her breathing seemed to get just a little heavier. "... I could get used to this..."

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Trixie slowly tried to breathe as she timidly walked the remaining few meters to the spa-bath that Sombra had made sure was kept completely orderly by the constructs that he had made. Her heart was pounding in her chest, each step made her mind flash back to almost exactly how she had felt when she could smell the breath of the Ursa Minor and noticed just how close one of its teeth had come to impaling her skull. Every nerve in her body was telling her to run, every muscle was frozen in place... and her brain wasn't being of any help at any point. Even her heart was panicking about what she would find now that she knew Sombra was in the room ahead.

"Moron... he'll notice that you already bathed... it's obvious, since you did just an hour before he got home..."

"It was necessary! I wasn't going to just sit in my room and smell like that for a whole hour... or walk into the bath smelling like that with him here! He might get the idea that my estrus had started!" Trixie yelled at her traitorous mind.

"Does that really mean he'll let you do what you plan to do?" Her mind retorted with an obvious invisible look of disbelief that one would find on a condescending teenager.

"We'll never know until we try..." Trixie thought in response as she took a deep breath and pushed open the door that had somehow come closer to her during her mental debate. The scene she saw was perfect, exactly as she had planned in her head. "Plan A is still a-go." she confirmed with a small smile. "Hopefully we won't have to resort to plan B"

"...Plan B? You never said anything about Plan B! What the hell is Plan B?"

"Improvise..." she replied to her mind's irksome questioning with a much more confident and suave tone than she thought she would have.

Sombra was laying in the shallows of the bath with his back to the light-blue mare that had entered, if course he had already known she was there, but it wasn't something for him to worry about. He took a deep breath as his nose registered a few smells that seemed faintly familiar, the names all seemed to elude him though. His left ear twitched though as Trixie got into the water next to him and prompted him to open his left eye out of curiosity. The first thing in his vision were the soft, supple breasts that nearly filled his vision. "...C?" he thought with a rather impressed look on his face before his eye began to look up towards her face. "Play it cool... you've almost got everything moving along smoothly... soon you won't have to worry about your-..."

Trixie held up the coat brush that was strapped to her left hand. "You've been so... helpful... may I brush your coat today?" She asked quietly as a streak of crimson crossed her muzzle. That moment was when he began to notice just how smooth her coat was and how it caught the light that had been suspiciously tinted the color of the early stages of sunset.

"Sure..." He replied cautiously as he watched her lean forward. It was obvious that she had been paying attention to how he had brushed her coat as the brush played across his body, each small swirl of the brush began to soothe some of the tension he had in his abs. The light blue mare picked up her pace just a little when she heard his sigh of relaxation. Her hand hesitated only a moment before she began to scrub higher on his body, getting the brush to move in small strokes along his muscled abs to just below his pectoral muscles. Even with the brush in the way she could still feel how hard he had trained himself, if she felt so powerful with her current physique, he must have the strength of a god.

"You... uh... do you lift weights?" she asked timidly as the brush started along his left pec.

He thought for a few moments before he nodded. "Nothing too strenuous, there were stallions back in my empire who used to make a sport out of throwing trees across a field. They were powerful, but I didn't need to build up as much as them."

"Oh... I've heard about that sport... It's really popular in the Crystal Empire right now, I'd heard that even the prince was practicing in order to help with PR up there."

Sombra nodded. "They Usurped my throne and my workers, making them go from workers who would have a better economy to subsistence farmers... Farmers! That pathetic pony princess and her wimp of a husband turned my subjects from hard workers that had a profit in their country into ponies who have to have their lives supplemented with the fat of Equestria!" He growled as he began to sit up, causing Trixie to lean back a bit when his right arm lit up with lightning. A quick wave of his hand and a deep growl forced the electricity to leap from his outstretched hand to one of the taller plants growing on a mossy rock... the plant's upper half promptly exploded before the remainder caught fire. Sombra slumped back in the bath with a groan so that Trixie could hesitantly continue massaging his chest with the brush. "They didn't like working under me, pfft... of course they didn't like work, it was work! You're not supposed to enjoy Work, if you enjoy it it's not Work. Equestria's jobs based on cutie marks are nothing but a glorified paid hobby system. They get paid to pursue hobbies while the 'Princess' works her ass into a rut to keep the country running."

Trixie nodded as she began to brush the right side of his chest. "Looking back on my life, I would have to say the same thing... I used to enjoy being a performer... then the Hecklers just got worse and worse."

"Exactly, you did such a good job at what you did, without any sort of help, that those who paid you for the time you put into painstakingly making sure your act was perfect became more and more greedy. When I was ruling the Crystal Empire the crystal ponies worked for a living, but none of my subjects ever went hungry... they weren't poor... and none of the nobles came to my court demanding to demolish an entire district of houses belonging to those less fortunate in order to have just enough space to put their private pool that only they could use." Sombra explained as he seemed to have some difficulty keeping the frown on his face once Trixie began scrubbing his side. Actually... he finally took notice of her position once he felt her tail swish between his legs, putting him at half mast once his eyes popped open and he realized that the unicorn mare was straddling his stomach while she brushed his side. "Trixie... what are you-..."

He was interrupted as she slowly drew the brush along his side, hitting just the right spots to make his breath hitch in his throat as her tail continued to twitch. He was struck speechless as her soft breasts pressed against his chest, his own hands betrayed his currently-panicking mind as they gently slid along the seemingly-frail frame of the ex-performer's thighs.

"Dammit hands! She's related to us!"

"So is possibly three quarters of Equestria and likely ninety percent of the Crystal Empire."

"That makes it even worse!"

"Chill bro, there's like... fifty or more generations between us, the bloodline is so muddled that it's practically like being with a completely different person entirely... besides... when it's all over you get to say 'doesn't matter, had sex'..."

Sombra was quiet, on the outside he was locked in surprise as Trixie's lips met his own, her tongue wrestling with his brought a blush to his muzzle just as red as Trixie's. "...Damn you and your logic..." he mentally growled.

"That's because you know I'm right."

Trixie moaned into the kiss as she felt her body heat up. The kind of bliss she was in was just like when she had first taken hold of her saber only magnified tenfold. She nearly let out a scream of pleasure right when their lips met if it hadn't been for the immense amount of self control he had taught her for the past several weeks. Even with all of her training though, she wanted to feel him inside of her, scraping the shaft she was fondling with her tail alongside her inner walls. Her body clenched in excitement as the thought raced across her mind. Something about the kiss must have excited her mentor as well, since his stallionhood had stiffened to the point where it framed her rump almost perfectly. A few moments later she broke the kiss, leaving both of them panting for air as she looked down at him with just as much lust as she saw in his eyes. "Take me..." She pleaded almost silently as the words left her lips.

With that one plea, a million thoughts raced across the stallion's mind, one finally stuck enough to make him ask in response. "Are you a virgin...?"

Trixie leaned up a little more, tears formed at the edge of her eyes as she looked directly down to avoid his gaze. It took a few moments before she finally shook her head back and forth at what seemed like a snail's pace.

"...Good..." Sombra said with a relieved sigh, causing her to look up quickly in surprise. "It means you have to know what this would possibly entail... and that you at least have an idea of what you're doing." He let his hands grip her sides in order to pull her closer to him for another deep kiss. "...Doesn't matter, had sex indeed..."

"That's my line!"

Trixie was silently leaping with joy in her mind as she connected their kiss, her hands found purchase against the chiseled muscles of the ebony stallion below her. His hands quickly found their place once more on her hips as they helped her adjust her position enough so that she could feel the head of his stiff rod pressing against her warm folds.

"Are you ready?" He whispered, the deep baritone of his voice sounded like a drumbeat against her ears. She couldn't find the capacity to speak though, so the light blue unicorn simply gave a small nod and let her mind get washed away in the sea of pleasure that came with the head of his cock stretching her inner walls. When he finally stopped having enough movement to slide in her mind was hit by rapid-fire smaller waves of pleasure as he began to bounce her in his lap, each downward bounce brought her lower on the rod he was impaling her with while each inch rubbed against as much of her flesh as it could.

Her breath came in ragged pants as he thrusted against each bounce, each warm breath wafted across his neck as she was forced to break the kiss. The sloshing of the water around them reached her ears and only served to get her more and more excited as the seconds ticked by. She began to pick up her pace as she felt the bounces getting smaller and smaller until a single shiver up her entire spine and the feeling of his hips pressing against hers signaled that she was completely full and any movement would be nothing more than sheer bliss. Her legs wrapped tightly around Sombra's waist as she kissed her way up to the base of his ear. "P-please..." She panted heavily, getting him to shiver in her and release yet another small wave of pleasure up her spine. "Promise... Promise you won't leave me..." She begged. "I don't... want to be... alone again..."

Sombra shifted his hands along her back, tracing every muscle as he pulled her into a firm hug. "You won't be alone... I will stay with you." He growled with pleasure as he kissed her cheek, "I promise..."

From there on our everything that happened to Trixie felt like pure elation, starting when he had begun to slowly slide his stallionhood out of her, leaving just the head inside of her when the first wave of her orgasm forced her to tense up. She could tell that her mentor fought the urge to leap that cliff of pleasure with her but found out why a few seconds later as he started to slide himself back in, fitting his cock inside of her like a glove. Each time he would thrust he'd pick up the pace and before she knew it they both heard her trying to take her air in gasping breaths until he finally forced himself to hilt inside of her, unleashing an orgasm of his own that triggered another of hers.

When Trixie finally came down from the white-lighted high that the simultaneous orgasm had produced she blinked several times to realize that she was laying with her top half draped over the edge of the bath walkway while her lower half was in the warm water. She craned her head to look behind her once she felt something rubbing between her legs and saw that Sombra was on his knees behind her with his waist at her rump. Her look must have said what was on her mind because he gave a small chuckle.

"Your hands are free, if this next part gets to be a bit too much give three solid pounds against the tile on your right... alright?" She gave a slightly confused nod before he drew his hips back, dragging the top of his cock against her pussy in a way that caused her to shiver enough to turn her head back towards where it had originally been looking when she regained her sense. Her breath hitched as he started to slide in again, but the feeling was different... her breathing became a bit more labored... like it was incredibly hard, though not impossible, to breathe.

It took several seconds, and The Force tightening around her throat just a little more, to realize that Sombra was using the choking technique to restrict her oxygen intake. Each thrust and lack of oxygen in each breath caused the euphoria to jump back on overdrive through her system as she began to shift her hips back to meet with his.

It was amazing, each thrust threatened to have less oxygen than the last, her heart was beating at what felt like several miles a minute as her vision began to get spotted at the edges with each labored breath. A single, powerful thrust that connected his hips with hers and made her feel the head of his cock at the entrance of her womb was enough to make her scream out in pleasure as her own powerful orgasm caused her to tense up all around him, milking him for every ounce of pleasure that he could give while coating both of them in her cum. As her lungs emptied of what was left of her oxygen the Force Choke finally lifted so that Trixie could breathe once again through thick gulps of air.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

A black-coated hand gently turned Trixie over in the bath as the unicorn mare's breathing slowly returned to normal, gradually changing from heavy panting to relaxed coos as the brush attached to Sombra's right hand gently scrubbed at the lower part of her belly. "You've taken my lessons very well Trixie..."

"Of course... you're a wonderful teacher Sombra... maybe... maybe we can do this again sometime soon?" Trixie cooed as she reached up a hand to stroke the smooth coat of the stallion's cheek.

"Certainly, maybe even tomorrow if you're up for it." Sombra replied.

"I would appreciate that." Trixie hummed as her eyes drifted closed and her hand delicately slid down his chest.

Emotion, Yet Peace

Surprisingly enough... ponies turned out to be very hedonistic in a way. With such a large gender difference between male and female ponies, three mares to every stallion born, many mares found themselves to be quite overjoyed with the thought of playing out their wildest fantasies.

Namiro was unamused.

The changeling king had made sure to put as much space, winding corridors and solid stone between the residential area and the business area of the hive. Some ponies had some really weird fetishes...

Namiro sighed as he sat on the stone chair that had been set at the front of the temple, drones were working quickly to carve out recesses for holocrons to be held when he finally had the funds to make more. His datapad held relatively easy-to-understand plans for how to build the holocrons as well as most of the curriculum of the Jedi Order. After Twilight's third attempt at nearly borrowing the datapad permanently he made sure to add several layers of security to the datapad itself, such as a handprint scanner as well as a five digit number lock.

She stopped trying to break the security when he threatened to completely erase the data in the pad.

Things were looking up though, the hive was full of love, Namiro was currently cuddling his queen while stroking her swollen stomach as he mentally counted how many more eggs were going to be laid. They had already planned that this clutch would be infiltrator-caste changelings so that they could have more changelings working within the business area.

"It's still weird to be living in a polygamous society you know..." The changeling king said as Patina let her hand gently stroke his Mohawk-like crest.

"We'll get that weird feeling to vanish soon enough... Has Twilight shown some interest in my invitation yet?" Patina cooed as she hugged her mate closer.

Namiro rolled his eyes. "You already know she's still shy about that..."

"I know, but I think she'll come around eventually."

"I don't want to rush her into it..."

"Rush? She's a Twenty-one year old pony who is still a virgin and scared of sex!" Patina exclaimed. "With how many books she reads daily I wouldn't be surprised to know that she already has found out the propaganda clips they showed to her while she was still learning in Canterlot were nothing but a showcase of what could happen if you're not careful."

Namiro let out a sigh as he let his fingers run along the molded plate that covered Patina's chest. "She's got a lot on her mind... Nick has the griffons arming themselves in armor and weaponry advances that far outpace what Equestria has for their military, the guard platoons assigned to the princesses are as ineffectual as the local law enforcement and from what I heard, Celestia must have been high on something when she asked her civilian student to take her civilian friends to the lair of a dragon and politely ask it to leave."

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Luna gave her sister yet another small glare as Celestia twitched her ears. "What? Somepony talking about you?"

"Isn't that usually what happens when your ears ring? or was that burning...?"

"I still think you're an idiot sometimes." Luna pouted, causing the alabaster mare to sigh.

"What is it this time?"

"What is it this time? What is it this time?" Luna's voice began to get a bit louder, several of the castle staff wisely fled the room. "You have been sending those girls on suicide missions! You and I are trained warriors, well... I'm not so sure about you since all you do here is sit on your ass and listen to nobles demanding to have an entire district of houses demolished so that they can have enough room for their private pool... But a thousand years ago we commanded respect, our nobles were warriors alongside us, not spoiled children demanding more allowance to sit around and do nothing!" Luna vented. "And let's not forget about your own student... a barely drinking-age mare who you made sure not to give any sort of combat training to that you sent with her five non-military friends to evict a damn dragon!"

"That wasn't my fault!" Celestia replied with a huff.

"Oh no!?" The dark alicorn replied with an air of disbelief as she cleared her throat to mock her sister. "...I have a really funny idea sister, lets send a letter to the student that is so obsessed with appearing perfect in my eyes that she caused a riot in Ponyville over a stuffed doll that you are still seeing dreams of just because she thought you might send her back to magical kindergarten over missing a single friendship letter and ask her to get rid of the dragon. I'll even tell her I have a garrison of guards on standby. She'll send a really funny response, let's say that Fluttershy is the most crucial part of the plan!" Celestia wilted a little under the abnormally heated look her sister was giving her. "Yes... It was oh so funny to receive Twilight's response, because she couldn't possibly know that you hadn't been serious about having a librarian, farmer, veterinarian, tailor, baker and weather pony do the job that the local police or OUR MILITARY should have done."

The entire room was quiet as Luna took her seat. "Face it Celestia... Our country has grown weak and complacent in my absence. This... King Nikolaus... is showing us that the time for peace as it stands now is over, few noble families... the Sparkle family included... only have lightfoils as eldest child heirlooms. Our most advanced weapon is a spear... a metal and wood spear... Need I remind you that Griffonia is being armed with plasma sabers and plasma beam rifles?"

Celestia let out a sigh. "No... perhaps now is the time to see if Twilight truly is Force Sensitive." The white mare leaned back in her seat as she cast her gaze out the window of the lavish dining hall, seeing the quaint little town of Ponyville perfectly from where she sat. "She has a lot of potential and raw power... perhaps she may surpass us and ascend as we had Sister."

"If she does, we can only hope that if she does ascend, that her friends shall ascend with her..."

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

"What did the police do when that dragon-thing was going on?" Patina asked as she took a sip of her tea.

Rarity chuckled a little as she set down her cup, she gave a small look around her kitchen, spotless as ever. "I believe the senior officer was 'bravely cowering under his desk' as he put it when I called them up while the rookie was out panicking under a local park bench just in front of the police station since the rest of the force happened to be off on holiday that day."

The two mares burst out in laughter just before the door to the boutique opened. "Rarity!" came the squeaky voice of the fashionista's younger sister. "Mom and Dad are abandoning me at your place for the week again!" she called.

Rarity let out a small sigh. "We're in the kitchen Sweetie..."

"We?" The off-white unicorn filly stopped as soon as she had taken notice of the much larger occupant of the room. "Woah... you're big..." the filly said in slight awe.

"Sweetie!" Rarity hissed. "That is very rude."

Patina held up a hand with a gentle smile. "It's fine Rarity, I'm a Royal changeling, I'm supposed to be big." She turned to the little unicorn filly. "Rarity told me that you and your friends are on a quest for something..."

"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle said as she snapped out of her confusion. "Applebloom, Scootaloo and I are looking for our cutie marks." Now that she was out of her trance though she began to ask questions at the speed of Pinkie Pie when it came to the changeling standing... sitting... in front of her.

Patina let her hand gently rub Sweetie's left ear between her fingers and the effect was almost instant, much to Rarity's surprise, the filly's eyes drooped a little as she seemed to have stopped mid-question while her body started relaxing. "I'd be happy to answer some questions Sweetie, how about getting up here with the big mares so that you can be part of the conversation?"

Sweetie Belle let out a mumbled "Mmhm..." and a slow nod. She raised her arms so that she could be picked up by the large changeling and shifted her legs so that she could sit in the mare's lap sideways.

Patina leaned the unicorn filly against her in a very motherly embrace. "So... what do you think that you and your sister want to hear first?"

Rarity was stunned as she watched the whole display, never before had she seen her sister so much as sit still for a minute, let alone allow someone she just met to pick her up like this. The fashionista wasn't jealous in too many ways, but... it was just the way the changeling held her sister that caused her to pause when Sweetie asked her question. The gentle embrace... the hand stroking the filly's ear... the quiet, motherly sounds that the changeling made. That was probably what made her most jealous, yeah... that was it... she had mommy issues and her sister was getting a lot of attention. She had to really resist the urge to roll her eyes and groan in frustration.

"Why's your belly so round?"

Patina smiled as she shifted Sweetie's position just enough to let the filly's left ear rest on her belly while she continued to rub the filly's right ear. "It's because I'm waiting on my children to be born."

"How many?" Sweetie asked as she brought a hand up to feel the ridged belly of the changeling.

"With this clutch it feels like five... I'll know exactly how many later this week though. Changelings grow really quickly, maybe you'd like to stop by the hive and see a few of the nymphs?"

Sweetie gasped and sat up quickly, turning her attention to her sister. "Oh Rarity please! Can I?"

"Oh... I..." The white mare bit her lip as she mulled the idea over in her head.

"Of course, we would recommend adult supervision, so that our own drones and someone related to her will be able to watch over them... so you're invited as well Rarity." Patina offered. "We could even go today since you already set today aside as your day off. It'll be fun!"

It took the white mare a few more mements before she relented with a sigh. "Fine... Give me a few minutes to get ready."

Learning The Force

Phillip would have let out a groan if it was possible. Wherever he was though, it didn't give him any sort of physical body to be worried about. He could have been floating in this mass-less energy-like state for centuries and for some odd reason... he couldn't have possibly cared...

Sure, if he focused enough he was able to make a swirling mass similar to a hand appear so fortunately with concentration he could be 'real' in a sense. Though he still couldn't give himself a true form here...

Phillip shifted his attention around until he noticed something in the formless ocean that he floated in. "Wait... what... Another being! SOCIAL INTERACTION!" He thought to himself as he tried to will himself over to the new entity.

As if the area was reacting to his thoughts he quickly found himself floating over to this new presence that seemed to look directly at him. It was a tad strange as he began to make the figure out clearer. It was a pony, not quite of the four-legged variety, more so of the furry community variety he had come to know due to his long years of scanning the internet and finding promising bits of research that could help his friends. The pony-creature stood about the same height as him while still having quite the emotive face for an equine.

"Who might you be?" The... stallion... asked.

Phillip tried as much as he could to speak, not having a physical body kinda made that more than a little difficult though, he wanted to explain to the strange unicorn-horse-man-thing that he was supposed to be with his friends at a gaming convention but no matter how hard he tried the pure energy form that he seemed to be just refused to speak so he simply floated down a little with a feeling of frustration.

"Hmm... such frustration, can you not speak?" The dark grey stallion asked rhetorically before stroking his long beard. "To shine so brightly within The Force while still being alive... not an easy feat nowadays..."

At the mention of one of his particularly favorite pieces of sci-fi lore Phillip's attention turned immediately to the unicorn stallion, curiosity overriding his earlier frustration. The stallion let out a small chuckle. "Such a quick emotional change, may I perhaps be viewing the first force-sensitive changeling in history?" As the feeling shifted to confusion the stallion let out another chuckle. "It may be best if this old spirit helped to refine your control of the force... you can sense it quite well, now you must learn the control aspect, perhaps when you know control you shall be able to speak and understand yourself within the Force."

With that little interaction the stallion, who introduced himself properly as Starswirl the Bearded, began helping Phillip understand and control the force within himself. Through trial and error, and a monumental amount of effort, Phillip finally had a humanoid shape to work with in the vast expanse that Starswirl had explained was The Force.

It was also no small amount of relief that Phillip received when he finally managed to get his voice back. "Starswirl... You spoke about a creature called a Changeling... what exactly is that?" He asked as he sat across from the venerable unicorn.

The Unicorn smiled at the inquisitive force conscious. "Do forgive me youngling... I had been under the impression that you were one because you were trying to communicate with emotion. I would be happy to explain; Changelings themselves are a race similar to ponies like me... but they are almost entirely a physical manifestation of force entities. Many of them haven't been able to be detected by the force simply because of how well they blend in with it on an unconscious level, as such it has been debatable whether they've ever had force sensitive members of their species."

"I see... It would certainly be interesting to be a changeling then..."

"It would definitely be nice to speak with an intelligent changeling... the last time I had encountered one he was of the royal caste and was able to drain anyone he came across of the force... leaving them a withered husk of what they used to be." Starswirl explained with slight melancholy, "If you do turn out to be a changeling I would like to request that you at least attempt peace with the rulers of Equestria..."

"And who are they?" Phillip asked.

"Two beings much like yourself... They've come to be known in this world as Luna and Celestia, they'll understand your plight and you can help usher in a coexistence of peace between the ponies and changelings..."

"If I happen to be a changeling..." Phillip added.

"Of course, of course... IF you happen to be a changeling." Starswirl amended before stroking his beard. "But it is entirely possible... considering the more you seem to think about them the more your astral form is starting to resemble them."

Phillip quickly looked down in surprise, noticing that his once-ethereal form had begun to solidify. He could feel his skin, but on top of that he started noticing armor that resembled an ant's or beetle's chitin, his breathing was actually another new feature he noticed as he looked at his swiftly changing form.

"You know, despite not being naturally born a changeling, you're taking this surprisingly well..." Starswirl observed.

"Well... A long time ago I came to grips with the quote 'go with the flow'... I took it as 'you might as well deal with what you have'. Its been working for me so far so I just work with what I get." Phillip replied as he started to stand. "Humans are actually surprisingly adaptable like that..."

"Yes, Celestia and Luna proved similar when they changed... Both are such kind girls, I do hope you get the chance to meet them." Starswirl replied.

"And the looks on their faces when I tell them that I had some personal training under their mentor... that ought to be funny."

"Quite right... well, it seems that you had better go, I get the feeling that you are to be roused from your slumber by your new race."

Phillip found the sea fading away as his body seemed to flex into a semi-fetal position. He was still floating, so that wasn't anything too different. The more he felt his new ears twitch, a feeling he was slowly getting used to as his mind was rationalizing all of the crazy stuff that was going down, the more he could hear the sounds of people approaching while deep in somewhat muffled conversation.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

A humanoid pony swiftly made her way down towards where the food stores for her subjects were held, her generous curves only moved a little as she picked up her pace, a confused frown threatened to mar her otherwise fairly beautiful face. She slowed only as she got within viewing distance of the chamber where her changeling drones kept the creatures that they stored for harvesting love from. One particular creature had been an oddity ever since it arrived in their storage so it wasn't hard to point out the pod as several harvesters came up to her and started grovelling and pleading for their lives. She let out a small sigh as she thought back to how her mother used to treat her drones, it wasn't something she truly wanted to revisit.

But this damned creature was so infuriating, first it refused so adamantly to provide love despite being in one of their suspension dreams and now one of the workers had reported noticing it change... The damn thing wasn't a changeling! It certainly wasn't when her scouts had brought it in, unconscious and vulnerable, so how could it have possibly changed?

Queen Patina's serpentine tail swished irately back and forth, the needle-like tip swinging dangerously close to a few drones as she walked up to the pod that held the creature her scouts had found. With a slight snarl she brought her tail up and used the tip to pierce the thin film of the pod before sliding it downward and letting its contents spill out onto the floor...

...Only to step back in surprise as a very well-built and solid changeling slid out onto the floor in front of her, spluttering and coughing just a bit before he started to turn his gaze upward. Patina felt heat rush to her face as her eyes scanned over the very similar, yet very male-oriented, form before her. Her astonishment and surprise returned two-fold when she noticed the serpentine tail that only the royal caste of the changelings had, she could tell just by looking over him that there was something special there... then he decided to speak...

He slowly brought up a hand and waved it a little. "...Yo" before one of her drones seemed to act out of reflexive defense of the queen and quickly punched him across the jaw, managing to knock him out with the single hit despite her changelings' weakened state. Patina brought her hand to her face and slowly dragged down in irritation before noticing the changeling that had punched the royal at least had the decency to look embarrassed for what it had done.

She looked to one of the other drones. "Pick him up... I have some questions for him..." She commanded before turning on her hooves and pointedly making her way out of the storage area. "Why did I have to be the one saddled with this crap?" she thought with irritation as her tail began to lash back and forth once again. "And why a Proto-King? Why not a Queen? At least that way I could have a bit of help!" Nothing she tried seemed to improve her mood at all as she continued along the dimly-lit corridors with several changelings following her. Once she arrived in what appeared to be a throne room she had the changelings carrying the proto-king place him on the floor several meters away from her throne. "Warriors, prepare yourselves..." She said calmly as the drones with thicker chitin drew swords, made from the same material as their armor, out of leather sheathes that hung at their sides.

And so they waited for the new Changeling King to awaken from the assault-induced slumber he had been subjected to.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Phillip let out a groan as he slowly managed to bring himself back into consciousness. "Jeez... How long was I out?" he thought with a similar groan before looking around and partially regretting the action as his eyes scanned across several other humanoid ponies that looked a lot like him. The main difference though was that their arms and legs had holes in them, while his were definitely solid. He also noticed that only one of the changelings had a thick tail like he could feel himself having. His ears instinctually folded back as the definitely-female looking changeling spoke to him.

"Who are you?" She started, her entire posture radiated power... to a normal person anyway... Something about his new form though was able to see through the powerful facade, he could actually tell in the back of his mind that all of the changelings around him were brittle enough that just the wrong gust of wind could blow them to dust. Each of the changelings in the room seemed to be stunned as they sensed the concern emanating from the Proto-King before them.

Patina's eyes widened as she felt the flood of emotion simply radiating from him, she had to resist the urge to get closer the way her drones were trying to do. She could already sense that more of the nearby changelings were making their way to the throne room because they could practically taste this new well of food, her mental link to the rest of the hive was already buzzing with questions as the not-so-essential changelings had to actively keep from dropping what they were doing so that they could feed. Even the ones on vital duties in the hive were taking notice of the strange source of emotional energy. Faster than the Proto-King could react Patina had risen to her hooves and crossed the distance between them in order to lift him up by the lip of his chest chitin, displaying much more strength than the King could have estimated as she bodily lifted him off the floor with a scowl.

"What kind of creature are you!?" She snarled. "No changeling would give emotion that freely... How could you not be starving with such frivolity!? Answer me you enigma!"

Startled by the Changeling Royal's sudden mood shift Phillip found himself floundering in his speech as he tried to find the words to use, even with the anger that he knew she was feeling he couldn't sense a drop of it. He did, however, notice that the Queen's eyes were searching over his body and looking for any sign of deception. "I... I am a tool of The Force..." His mind finally had his mouth form the words, they sounded so alien and familiar at the same time as it seemed he was talking on autopilot. "My name is King Namiro, I have been sent by The Force to aid your people..." It seemed to do the trick as the Queen gently began to put him back down, eyeing him warily as he took a few steps back.

"Why have you not tried to take control of my hive?" She asks hesitantly.

"It is not mine to control... only to help." Phillip replied as he let his senses waft around him like a breeze, flowing outward in waves as he tried to get a feel for what exactly he was supposed to be 'protecting'. To say he was stunned was actually an overstatement, it was quite underwhelming to know that he could easily have fit the changelings in his old rented house and still have room to move between bodies. It actually made him a bit sad as several of them seemed to recoil in fear, only the queen throwing up a bastion-like wall around her hive-mind kept him from getting a better count of how many there were. It was also that exact moment when he realized that scanning the hive was probably a bad idea as the Queen's scowl came back.

He idly realized that he could faintly hear the sound of an order being given but the Queen hadn't spoken to give the soldiers an order to do anything, they still pointed their weapons as one of the soldiers began to escort him to what seemed to be a holding cell quite a distance away from the Queen.

It wasn't all that bad... the cell itself was fairly comfortable... from the design it could hardly be called a cell anyway, it actually looked like she just gave him his own room... with a door made out of thick, green sludge but he could deal with that... Hopefully...

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

The more time Phillip spent examining his new body the more he felt that urge to have a mental breakdown, that he was completely expecting to happen sooner or later by the way, continued to fade and was replaced by more of a serene calm. The first thing he had studied when he realized that he was alone was the chitin that covered his body; It was definitely durable, a tad flexible but only to a small extent, and completely by accident he realized that he could peel it off like he used to do to sticker pages as a kid. The skin underneath was fairly sensitive to touch though so he quickly had put the thigh chitin back on, letting the covering meld with his skin once again.

The second thing he started to examine was the slightly-transparent stomach area he had. After gingerly removing the chitin covering his abdomen he revealed three green bands that started just past his sides and crossed over his stomach. He pinched the top of the ribbed bands across his abdomen and slowly started to pull, carefully extending outward to see how far it could stretch before causing any sort of discomfort. His eyes widened in surprise as it easily was pliable enough to stretch out to arm's length without hurting so he tried another little experiment, letting his free hand get a pinch of one of the bands on his lower stomach to repeat the process while still having his first hand extended. Once the rubbery flesh stretched to accommodate his experiment he let both pinches of skin go and they quickly melded back into place without even leaving a single mark. "Woah..." He practically whispered. "I could probably eat a pig whole and not feel a thing..." He took a few quiet moments to think about his new biology. "Voreaphiles the internet over would have a field day if I ever went back home... at least... if I still looked like this." He mused as he started to chuckle, his entire body shivering in delight as the chuckles quickly evolved into amused laughter.

Once the laughing started to die down he let out a few more tiny chuckles as he began to examine his serpentine tail. Along the top it was covered with thick chitin plates that were spaced far enough apart to let him mimic a scorpion if he wanted to. It was so... strange... to be looking at his tail, he was able to move it idly as if it were a very flexible arm, he could make his tail curl around his leg like a snake too. "I look like a pony version of Cell..." he mused as he examined more of his tail's flexibility, taking particular interest in the tip of his tail that felt a bit different from the rest of his tail. With a bit of concentration he was able to get the needle-like point to take on a thicker, rounded shape to make his tail actually look like the tail of a snake and back again to the needle point.

"Is it bad that I'm using the opportunity to examine my body to stave off a panic attack?" He wondered aloud as he had the tip of his tail flex and shift from the needle like tip to an opening like his favorite villain had when he was absorbing the androids. "Yep... definitely weird... but... not bad..." He answered himself as he let his tail relax into the needle shape again.

He sat against the back wall and closed his eyes as he reached out with his mind once more for the sea of power that he had met Starswirl in however long ago that was.

Living as a King of a Dying Race That Has Begun To Recover

Patina had a frustrated look on her face as she glared at the King across from her, so far he had managed to slip past all of her defenses and narrowed her forces down to just a scant few. She hadn't been the only one to suffer though, the King had lost a little more than half his units as well, her strategic emplacements of mines and snipers had delayed the bulk of his forces across Kashyyk for the first half of the match, but his conquests on other planets and in space had given him an edge that her machine army simply couldn't handle. It started small, He was an absolute beast in the space battles, quickly taking a light craft to enter her hangar and surprise her troops before they could mount a defense, destroying her defenses, life support and engines before simply letting himself sacrifice the soldier to spawn as a pilot and make bombing runs against her frigates and whatever sensitive systems were still undamaged on her capital ship.

The accumulated points of several worlds had allowed him to unlock everything but the commander unit, one that he didn't mind not having for the duration of the game. If he won this match he would have more than enough points to unlock the commander unit and place yet another annoying fleet on the map.

She clenched her teeth as she noticed his laid-back posture while his forces tore through her own, she was down to one command point that was contested all because she couldn't get a moment's peace to take the point for the separatists. Every hit was a risk that her remaining unit would die and then her side would lose even though she still had fifty in reserve all because he played with a total domination strategy that started with a pincer attack to force her into the middle of a two-front battle.

Namiro chuckled a little as his sniper took aim at the unsuspecting droid unit. "I love this game... maybe next time you should choose to join me instead of oppose me." He suggested before hitting the shoulder button of the digital controller and having his sniper make the droid's head explode, finishing off Patina's last hope of at least being able to withstand the onslaught. Soon enough the command point filled in blue on his screen as the symbol of the Galactic Republic replaced the CIS symbol.

Patina let go of the controller in her hands and pouted as it simply floated there. "How can you beat me with the same tactic over and over again?" She growled as a timer counted down on her side of the screen.

Phillip reclined back a little more and let his hands brush against the mohawk-like crest he had grown over the past few days. "Two main things, love... First... The pincer attack in any military strategy is effective when you can execute it, forcing an enemy to fight on two fronts reduces their effectiveness on both and Second; the special resources and units, when my units are constantly healing because of that bacta tank bonus you are pretty much doomed from the start. I didn't even have to worry about the hero bonus in half of those battles." He explained with a smirk as the round ended in a republic victory. "I think I'd make a fairly decent military leader... but hey, I'm just here to help you." He chuckled.

Patina let out a sigh as she examined the controller for the fourth time in the last two hours. "Such an interesting style..."

"Yeah, video games back home were pretty awesome, I'm happy that my datapad came with a holo-vid version of both the battlefront games though." He says as he picks up the Versafunction88 replica datapad. Memories of the comic convention that his friends had attended came back to him; How he had driven the group in his dad's old Dodge Stratus, enjoying the different booths set up, how the five of them had found the one guy selling props for various franchises, giving them a great bundle deal of just under two hundred bucks each for the replica datapads. Phillip looked down at the little plush derpy that was sitting next to his 'chair' and sighed as he picked it up, resting it on his stomach chitin and sighing as his smile shifted quickly to a frown.

"...Why did you have that pony doll with you when you arrived anyway?" Patina asked curiously as she watched him, slowly getting up so that she could ease herself onto the bag next to him, hugging his head to her chest again. "It's not even in the right shape..."

Namiro let out a small breath as he began to tear up. "I bought it at a convention for my sister... she absolutely loves horses... when I saw the comics about the My Little Pony franchise I thought I might as well get her something for her birthday while I was there." He shifted a little, letting his cheek rest against the larger changeling's neck as she pet him, trying to get him to relax a bit more. He took a deep breath as he tried to compose himself a bit better, closing his eyes for a few moments and getting his emotions back under control. "I don't even know how long I've been here... so I don't know if I've already missed her birthday."

Patina bit her lip a little, looking at the plush toy and then to the still-growing Proto-King in her embrace. "You could get lucky and have her come to this world as well..."

Phillip let out a chuckle. "Yeah... That'd be great... she'd probaby go nuts over me, as much as she's like a regular girl, she doesn't shy away from bugs..." His eyes take on a distant look as the smile returns to his face. "I remember when she brought home one of those little trapper cages used to keep a small snake or little crickets in... she had a freaking tarantula in it, scared mom half to death when she saw it." He let out a small giggle. "I... I was actually a little scared of it too, it was huge compared to other spiders I had seen... it didn't help that I shared the same 'creeped out by spiders' fear that my mom had. Dad had to explain to her that we couldn't keep it because it was scaring Mom, he made a deal with her that when she was older... he'd get her a pet snake and would help take care of it as long as the cage was kept in a safe place that Mom wouldn't have to walk through."

Patina smiled as she tasted the sweet happiness that was radiating off of the smaller changeling. "It sounds like your parents were a tad more rational than mine..."

"Patina..." Namiro began. "...Who are your parents?"

The Changeling Queen's smile fell a little as she heard the question, "I... I never met my father... but... I know who he is..." She explained, hugging Namiro closer like a teddy bear. "The main thing I know about him is that he made my mother sad... sad that she couldn't be accepted by him without being in a disguise..."

Phillip gently pet her arm and put the little pony plush between them.

"He was an amazing stallion... strong, caring... noble..." She explained quietly. "Mom had spent her last days before his wedding wishing that she could tell him who she was... why she needed his love so badly... he drove her insane with how much love he had, figuratively and... I suppose literally." She took a breath as she pulled up the memories her mother had implanted in her. "It made her actually feel jealousy... She was able to make a swarm of a hive just off of feeding from him for a day. With his love under her command she was hoping to at least put herself in a position to bargain with Celestia and Luna."

"Wow... she... she really did want the best for her race..."

"She did... but... after being starved for so long... such a plentiful source of love had driven her mad, she got aggressive, faltered in her disguise... kept the pony she was impersonating outside of a cocoon... and in the end... it had led her to losing the one shot she had for peace... My father and his real wife managed to break her mental hold on him and unleashed a spell that overcharged her body with love energy, slowly poisoning her as she was flung from Canterlot... In a last ditch effort she had one Royal changeling egg from the seed she had collected from him the night before the wedding... me... I hatched before she passed away, I watched her die in my arms, pleading with me to forgive her for bringing me into such a harsh world... begging that I not make the same mistakes she had..." Patina blinked as she noticed her voice crack and waver on the last couple sentences as water seemed to be falling from her eyes.

Namiro shifted so that he could hold Patina's head against his chest. he quickly peeled away the chitin covering the sensitive skin, biting back the moan that tried to escape him as he held the side of her face against his soft, sensitive flesh. "It's okay..." He cooed. "Let it out... It hurts... I know..." He says quietly, prompting the Queen to nuzzle against him a bit more as he watched more tears flow from her eyes.

Patina was surprised as she accepted his embrace and noticed the tears flowing so freely, she couldn't wrap her mind around what was going on, she hadn't cried... ever... before now... Why would she do so now? She hadn't cried when her mother had died, she hadn't cried when she found out her father had married someone else without even caring what happened to the Changeling that he had produced a child with, why now? Why in the embrace of a changeling... who had been single-handedly feeding her hive without any signs of fatigue... for almost an entire week... That was when she felt it, she could taste the bitter taste of sadness. It wasn't coming from him though... she felt it... right in her chest. She focused her senses on it and willed it up, away from the rest of her, picturing something similar to an egg as a mysterious pressure seemed to leave her shoulders.

Phillip watched with curiosity as a bulge made its way up Patina's throat, it wouldn't have been the first time he saw something as strange as when he saw several changelings hacking up a thick slime that quickly made a bond like cement. He let her lean away from his chest as the bulge reached her jaw just before she spit up a small egg-shaped sack of goo that was a sickly blue-green color, just looking at it made him need to resist the urge to begin crying. "Uh... Patina... What's that?" Namiro asked cautiously.

Patina was quiet for a few moments as she looked down at the egg-like object before crushing it with a small frown. "The sadness that a Changeling Queen had built up... I... Thank you for helping bring it to my attention..." She stated quietly, pensively, before looking up to him and kissing his chest, forcing him to gasp out a little this time. "I actually feel much better now that I don't have that disgusting emotion in me..."

"I..." He started with a slight stutter as she continued to kiss him, causing gentle ripples of pleasure to ride through his body. "I really wish it had been that easy for me to get rid of my bad emotions... while I... ooh... while I was on... earth..." He shuddered as she moved the little plush pony off to the side of their cushion before she shifted positions to straddle her hips over his armored stomach.

"Maybe... but you're a changeling now... a changeling that seems to follow a really old religion... but a changeling nonetheless..." Patina cooed as she leaned down to plant more kisses on his chest.

Phillip raised a finger to put it on her muzzle and stop her before she could get any more 'in the mood'. "You know... you keep calling The Force an old religion... care to explain that a bit?" He asks with a slightly confused look as he fought to keep his own desires in check.

The larger Changeling pouted just a little, giving in only because she could sense the desire that the King was hiding just below his other emotions. With a small sigh she began to explain. "I... don't have a complete knowledge of it because Changelings have had to live in hiding and starvation for so long that we stopped following any major belief... but an old saying between Royal Changelings was once 'May the Force be with you'... It was apparently used as a good luck saying whenever they were going off to do something that had a risk of some sort to it... Other than that the details are a bit fuzzy."

Namiro frowned a little. "I'm going to have to teach you then... perhaps you could learn under me when I finish my training..." At her confused look he continued. "I'm not technically a fully-fledged force-user... I'm still an apprentice, although I've found a new mentor who can help where my previous one left off..."

"Okay... It would be nice to know what you could do when fully trained anyway... and... I'll learn about your Force..." Patina said before shifting her hips. "But only after another clutch of eggs..."

Phillip wanted to laugh a little, this bug was managing to make most of his life for the past few days revolve around sex and learning about his race. He decided to settle on a sigh. "Fine... after another clutch." He relented as she slid her hands down his chest, peeling away the top of the chitin covering his stomach as she rubbed the plate covering her nethers against the plate covering his.

The past few days of intimacy hadn't been solely about sex for the sake of propagation of the species though, he had learned so much about the androgynous species and she had managed to catch him off guard a few times when she transformed into a Changeling King that nearly made him feel like a child again, she had thought she was being reassuring by telling him that it was more like a late teenager, it didn't help too much. The first time he had tried to bring up an argument that he wasn't actually attracted to the same sex she had effortlessly shot it down saying that even if he was a King and she was a Queen they were still the same sex because of the innate Androgynous nature of changelings. A few times he had thought about shape shifting into a Queen to see what it would be like to be on the receiving end...

... but that would have to wait until he was a tad more comfortable with exploring his newfound libido with more than just seeing how many times the two of them could go at it in a day. Patina had laughed when they pierced the skin of her bed the second time they had been intimate, nearly flooding the floor of the queen's chambers with a slime that had a slightly thicker consistency than water and didn't turn into adhesive when it spread.

He had a small smile on his face as the Queen laid her head against his chest, letting her insect wings buzz happily while she fed on the love that he was freely giving. He had seen her run the gamut of every emotion he had known except suicidal depression... and he would be more than happy to never experience that one from her. He had been the only link in the hive that didn't feed on the energy that the queen was harvesting, not that he needed to... he was completely full from the sustenance that The Force provided him with.

He let his right hand gently weave through her mane that reminded him of a weeping willow tree, she cooed with a content sound before her tail began to wrap around his, entwining them like a helix as she kissed his chest, forcing him to send flares of lust through their link.

Force Students

Namiro took a deep breath as he let his senses become one with The Force around him, he could feel the link that he was a part of as well as many of the ponies from Ponyville. Even the unicorns in town barely sensed him as his mind lazily washed over all of them. Thoughts were muted as he swam through the energy of the world, each passing second gave him more and more clarity on his power and his limits as he tried to keep himself from simply getting lost once again. His attention began to focus though as it seemed three ponies noticed him...

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Sweetie Belle shivered a little in her seat as she felt like she was being watched. "Uh... g-girls... did you feel that?"

Scootaloo gave a nervous look around. "Yeah, but... I don't see anyone..." She replied as she tried checking for any unicorns around Sugarcube Corner.

"Girls... I think that mighta been that same feelin' that we've been gettin' fer the past week... innit?" Applebloom asked as she idly sucked on the straw in her milkshake.

The light-stone colored unicorn filly nodded as she picked up her milkshake. "Yeah! You think... you think it might be because of those Changelings?"

"I did hear that one of them has those weird Unicorn powers without using his horn..."

"Hey!"

Scootaloo shrugged. "What? Unicorn magic is weird!"

Sweetie Belle glared at her friend. "I don't call Pegasus magic weird!"

"That's because Pegasus magic is awesome." Scootaloo smirked. "Just ask Rainbow Dash."

"Girls! I really don' think now's the best time ta be fightan over somethin' like that-..." Applebloom's eyes went wide as she had a sudden flash of inspiration. "Girls... what about us learning those powers that changeling guy has!"

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shared nervous looks. "Uh..." Sweetie started. "I... don't know if my parents would approve of it..."

Scootaloo shrugged a little. "I could ask Miss Brightside... but... I don't think that we're allowed in that changeling cave-home-thing..." she explained. "You know... stranger danger and all that..."

"When has that stopped you before? Do I really need ta bring up the cardboard box incident?"

"NO!" was the synchronized shout from both Sweetie and Scootaloo. "Besides..." Scootaloo replied. "...That penguin was weird and we got out of there all right."

"Exactly! I'm gonna ask Applejack if I can learn from him." Applebloom said with a smug smile.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Deep within the confines of the new Changeling Hive, Namiro shuddered as he quickly opened his eyes. He tossed a few quick glances around the chamber before he let out another shudder and whispered to himself. "...I sense a large disturbance in The Force..." As if confirming his fears, another shudder went through his body.