Gel turned to Twilight. "Okay, come over here and let's free our little Squeaky. You remember how to do it?"

Twilight nodded, sparing a glance back to Rarity and getting a warm smile. The unicorn seemed to understand why she looked back and the approval in Rarity's eyes made Twilight feel good. She turned back to Muffins and pinched with her magic, twisted and did it again. Her magic quickly moved the cage and scooped up the dazed parasprite into it just moments before it coughed and split into two!

Squeaky looked up, blinking a few times. She felt different she felt… she felt!

"How are you doing, Muffins?" Gel flicked the black-out cloth over the cage and turned to the unicorn mare.

Squeaky smiled and then the name hit her like a brick. "Muffins? Oh, I am Muffins!" She looked pleased at having her name back before her eyes went wide and Gel could easily smell a mare's arousal. "Holy Celestia…" Before anypony could help the unicorn flopped to her belly. Gel neatly plucked the amulet from her neck and watched as her body trembled and, in a moment, wings grew and her horn receded. There was a split second where she had both and it gave Gel a naughty idea.

"You are back Muffins. Rarity wanted to make sure you were okay and, for that matter, I did too. So, how was it?" Muffins was blinking rapidly, memories pouring over her in a wave. Being in the pod, doing anything anypony told her, losing her name and being Squeaky Clean.

Muffins looked up from where she had landed, a big smile on her snout. "It was the best thing ever. Thank you so much!" She was immediately on Twilight, hugging the alicorn.

"Hay, careful." Twilight said it before she thought and blanched immediately. "I didn't mean to, I really…" Rarity was looking right at the alicorn and grinning. Twilight closed her mouth and lowered her head.

"What's wrong?" Muffins looked between the two friends, not quite reading what either of them was thinking.

"It seems Miss Rarity was in the pod for the whole time we were away, how anypony could miss her being missing, I don't know, must have assumed she was off with us. It seems to have stirred some odd things up in the mare, Twilight is now most definitely her good little filly-slave, isn't that right Twi?" Twilight nodded. "And she was told not to speak, like a good filly."

Muffins started to giggle and snort. "What is her punishment? When I was a filly, it was a switch." Rarity nodded to the guess. "Oh, perfect…" Gel caught Muffins looking back at the cage wistfully.

Thankfully, before anything naughty managed to happen, there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Gel called, realizing that Twilight had her mouth clamped shut with a white hoof on the end of it.

Spike came in. "Hey Gel, Twi, Muffins… Rarity…" The last name the little dragon said with almost a sing-song style to it. "Letter Twilight, from Princess Cadance."

Rarity removed her hoof from Twilight's snout and gave her a little nod. "Later."

Twilight blushed as she took the letter from her friend. "Dear Princess Twilight, loathe as I am to have to ask you for help, we have been getting rumors of ponies going missing, of a unicorn stallion causing trouble. I think we both know this can mean just one thing. Please come at your earliest opportunity, Princess Cadance." Twilight turned to those present. "Sombra."

"So, I get why Twilight is here, and why we are with her. And I even get why Twilight's special somepony is here," Rainbow Dash was probing the problem like it was a scabbed-over wound, "but why is Muffins here?"

The mane six all looked at the mailmare, her derpy eyes wandering everywhere, her happy smile oddly infectious.

"I like her." Gel said, as if it was natural. "I think she can bring something we don't have." He reached out a leg and pulled the gray pegasus in close against him.

"An' what'd that be, exactly?" Applejack sounded skeptical, her eyes narrowing on the pair.

Twilight knew her friend would be useful but she hated to lie to her best friends. "I think she will be quite helpful, Dash, you are the fastest flier without a doubt," Rainbow, of course, posed, "but Muffins can fly for the whole day or more and still be fresh as a daisy." Twilight almost gave a relieved sigh, it wasn't a lie but it certainly wasn't the whole truth.

"If you say so, I trust you, Twilight." Fluttershy's soft voice put forward a support that none of the ponies could hope to question.

"So Sombra might be back? And he is foalnapping ponies?" Rarity steered the conversation back to the safest of topics. She trusted Twilight a little more, now, which surprised her in a good way. There was something about their deeper relationship that made her not only protective of the alicorn but also feel protected by her… Rarity had more thoughts in her head than just the mission.

Twilight nodded and hoofed around the letter. "This is all we know so far, when we arrive in the Crystal Empire I am sure Cadance will explain everything."

"You okay Muffins?" Gel's voice was soft, he had cuddled the seemingly small mare in against him. He felt… bigger again, as if that magic he had stolen from Chrysalis had woken something deep inside him, something hungry. That hungry part considered Twilight, Rarity and Muffins to be food and, although he would normally survive easily on just one pony, that hunger had made him drink deeply from all three the previous night. It scared him a little.

Looking up at her savior, the mailmare beamed with her confused expression. "I am Gel, are you okay?" Muffins was anything but confused, she reached a hoof up and rubbed the stallion's chest. It was a bit of an intimate gesture but she just felt… close to him. Life had become a lot more confusing, particularly for her mission.

The changeling reached inside, trying to express what that hungry part wanted. It was a beast, a monster. It was everything the changelings were feared because of. But it was content, it had three very tasty meals that, as far as its primitive mind could decipher, were dedicated to it and supported it. It was very content indeed. And it was growing. "I think I know what makes a queen changeling such a bitch." Gel felt the touch from the smaller pony, it was reassuring. "I think it is inside me…"

Muffins looked up. "I can… I think I can, stop you. But you can fight it, I know you can." Her mind was afire, though. He had just admitted two things to her. Chrysalis' madness was a trait among powerful changelings and, worse, that he had that trait.

"If I ever do anything to hurt anypony who you think doesn't deserve it, shut me down." Gel dropped the inky black ring into Muffins' care. The ring that could drain the magic from even an alicorn.

The pegasus cradled the powerful horn-blocker. She almost trembled with panic. "You trust me that much?" In reply Muffins got a nuzzle from the big stallion. "Then I trust you to never need it. Also, when we are back home again, I want you to hold me." She poked his chest, making sure the changeling knew what she meant.

Gel wasn't sure why, but keeping the mare safe from the accusations of Twilight's friends seemed like just the right thing to do then, after all, Twilight didn't need his help with them.

The station ahead came into view and the train began to slow. The mighty locomotive, dressed up with hearts and cuteness, was still a powerful engine and the train slowed in the expert care of the engineer driving it. At last, with a long whistle, the train jolted as it pulled into the station.

Twilight and her friends got up and started filing for the exit, leaving Gel and Muffins to bring up the rear. "Okay, so do we even know what might be going on?" Muffins looked up to him as all the royal treatment was laid out for Twilight and her friends.

"Not really, we are here to find out." Gel followed along, keeping close to Muffins. The pegasus had her typical getup, looking just like she was ready to deliver packages. Gel had seen what she had in that gear, had memories of her using some of the contents.

They walked along together in companionable silence, following all the way to the castle where guards stopped them at the gate. "No admittance!"

Gel stopped short then realized what was probably the problem. "We are with them, Twilight!"

The alicorn stopped and turned, giving a look to the guards which they clearly knew well enough was a 'what are you doing?' look.

The pair trotted to catch up and were soon entering the big throne room of the Crystal Empire. The vaulted ceiling was massive and ornate, light reflecting off crystals everywhere. On the throne at the end of the room, Cadance sat, staring impassively. "Next." She sounded bored.

"Presenting Princess of Magic and Friendship Twilight Sparkle, her friends and her suitor." A crystal pony to one side banged a heavy staff down three times after announcing them.

"Oh? Twilight? What are you doing here?" Cadance blinked a few times, climbing off her throne to trot down. Gel, Muffins, the mane six and every pony in attendance watched as the pair performed a foal dance together. "I have missed you, but what is wrong? You look worried."

"We got a letter from you…" Twilight floated it over and showed it to Cadance.

"This isn't right, I didn't send this." Cadance screwed the paper up in her pink magic and threw it aside. She smiled at Twilight, noticing her friends and Gel. She didn't bat an eyelash at him. "Sorry to waste your trip, but while you are here you should see your brother." Gel felt the wave of hot desire, love and pleasure waft from the pink alicorn, the moment she said the last word. It was as if all the love of every creature paled and the beast inside Gel sniffed the air.

But the love wasn't coming from who he thought. There was another pony nearby whose delight was greater than Cadance's. Gel found his head turning just as the red-pupiled green eyes opened. Gel's mouth opened, he hadn't met the stallion but he had heard the others describe him. "Sombra's here, it's a trap!"

Twilight was ahead of the rest of the ponies and looking at Cadance in shock as the mare reached behind her back with a hoof and produced a mask. It had slit-eyes and looked terrifying. "Cadance no-" She tried to pull back, to flee, but the mare that Twilight trusted more than any in the world clamped the controlling mask over her face. The thing seemed to latch on, pulling tight against her features. Something hissed near her nose and Twilight could smell the drug-laced air fed to her. She fell backwards and tried to use her magic to throw the thing off but, after a moment, the drugs reached her brain. The green magic seeping into her, through her eyes, was more invasive and demanding of her than the parasprites had been. It dug directly into her free will and, rather than locking away her thoughts, it poisoned them. She turned her head back to her friends, seeing enemies there, until more ponies leaped forward and clamped similar devices on their faces. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Appliejack… her head tilted to the last of her enemies.

Gel watched in shock as the masks were pushed onto his marefriend and her friends. He watched as they turned with glowing green eyes that reminded him instantly of Sombra's. He didn't think, the first thing he did was fall sideways into Muffins. He flowed over her, quickly building his own mask over her face and head. Then there was a plot in their face, Rarity had reacted enough to back up and Gel's heart trembled, the poor mare didn't deserve this and without thinking he pushed forward. His volume was great enough that it wasn't much of a stretch to flow up her body and over her head, he sealed her face just as the mask was pressed on. "Rarity, Muffins, I have you… I…"

The gas seeping into the limited air under it was instantly tasted by Gel and he moved quickly, pouring into Rarity's and Muffins' noses, creating breathing channels away from their faces. He felt them labor for breath a little but it was better than the alternative.

Muffins felt the tight grip all around her and for an instant felt as safe as safe could be, but then she saw the mask pressed onto Rarity's face, the faces of her friends all now with those staring green eyes. She tried to speak, tried to yell to move but, in the end, fate saw to it that something very odd was to happen. One of Cadance's guards, their eyes now softly glowing green, dashed forward with a mask to fit onto Muffins but they tripped and slammed into the little bit of Gel that was bridging the gap between the two encased mares.

Gel screamed, something inside him tore in two, but his perception revealed it to be more than just inside. He was looking at Rarity's encased body, while looking back at Muffins, similarly trapped. "I think… Rarity move!"

Rarity's legs seemed to know what to do and she danced out of the way of the pony charging her, she danced on hooves that were more agile than she had ever known them to be. Even under the mask that obscured her vision down to slits, she could see that her odd dancing was keeping her from harm. Gel, Gel was doing this! She helped, her horn lit and threw the masked Rainbow Dash aside as the mind-controlled pegasus tried to stop her. "We have to go, Rarity, come on. Muffins is opening a path."

"Rarity is coming, hold them back a little longer." Gel's words reassured Muffins she spun about, using the training and technique she had built herself. Wings, hooves, head and body all played a part in Muffins' dance, she used the momentum gained from spinning around one pony to bring her hoof into the shoulder of another. The fact that 'other' was Twilight, she had to leave out of her brain.

Gel was amazed at how Muffins was fighting so many ponies but, one thing he did notice, the controlled ponies used no magic. He started to emulate some of her actions with Rarity's body, the force of her movements bringing her closer and closer to where Muffins kept the door clear. "Rarity, the doors please." Gel whispered it into the white mare's ears as she was sent somersaulting out of the room.

"Come on, let's move." Rarity heard the words and her legs were already reacting, it helped that she trusted Gel and had felt him around her before, but even that night he hadn't taken this much control. Her body moved with a harmony that she had never believed she would have and, better, it freed her up to employ her horn and focus on targets at range. Guards with glowing eyes tried desperately to stop the two mares but nothing could be done. Even when blasts of magic came, a flickering blue wall of force blocked them just long enough for Muffins to hurl herself forward, wings folding down so only the tips guided her in a spin.

The mask on Rarity clanged to the ground but Muffins watched as it was picked back up by her magic. She couldn't talk, to suggest anything, her body felt amazing though, even with Gel all around her she was still able to work as if she had not a single thing on. The first time she felt the changeling help was a bit unsettling, she felt weight shift to a hoof as a large door was slammed in front of them but with the extra mass pushing forward she crashed through the wood and landed easily on the other side. A mare could get used to this.

The fight continued, it was like every pony in the city was under the despot's control, the two forms were tireless, well, at least Rarity was. Muffins felt her muscles start to really burn as they reached the edge of the urban sprawl and as the pair made a mad dash for the trees she lifted her wings and flew. The mass of… Gel, shifted away from her mouth and Muffins managed to gasp. "Thank you! Keep going!"

Below, Rarity was pounding her hooves, running like she had never before. A lady didn't run, a lady didn't box in the cheeks of half of the Crystal Empire, and a lady would have gotten caught and be wearing a mask. Her own face was freed and Rarity found a whoop of delight coming from her. "We made it! Oh wow that was amazing I-" She felt herself dodge to the side as an angry red bolt flew past. "We need to find somewhere safe!"

They ran, and ran, and when even Muffins got tired they slowed and Gel walked them. Plodding their hooves forward relentlessly.

"Gel, are you okay?" Muffins looked back over herself, she looked dangerous, a black and deadly form, even her mane and tail were covered. Only her gray wings and head were free. "I didn't know you could split like this."

"I… I didn't either." The voice was strained, a little. "I won't say it didn't hurt, but I think I am okay. I feel hungry though."

"We can stop and get some wild berries." Rarity said, before realizing that Gel wasn't just a normal pony. "Oh… oh!" The unicorn blushed hotly. "Oh my… uh…"

A ripple ran up the unicorn's body, feeling like nothing she had ever felt before but… it was nice. "It's okay, I can feed while you sleep, if you… uh, don't mind." Gel sounded a little down, and Rarity realized with good reason.

"We will free them, you will see." Her conviction strengthened Gel and he tried to focus but that hungry self was a lot stronger now, almost like it grew with power inside him the hungrier he got. "Are you al-" Rarity's eye flew open as she felt some of the changeling work into her vaginal passage, stretching her a bit before puffing out.

"You need to feed Gel." Muffins smiled, her eyes closing. "Then feed, you have earned it."

Author's Note

No rest for the wicked(ly awesome). Gel and his friends have a new mission, right when they were trying to work out all their feelings about the old one.

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