Illuminating Aegis: Tales of the Changeling King

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.