Hearth’s Warming Eve was here once again. A day of friendship and harmony throughout the land of Equestria. It was just past midday when my squad mates arrived at the Appleloosa train station, all of them packing heavy saddlebags full of presents for the family members they were soon to visit.
Because of the holiday, general Iron Hoof allowed most of her soldiers to spend some time with their families, but she still needed some soldiers on the field. Being the captain of the squad, Morning Rays took the responsibility to stay, allowing his team to have a great holiday with their loved ones.
“You’re late!” Morning called out to his approaching friends with a sly smile. “How can you be late even for leaving on vacation?!” he asked in mockery, they weren’t exactly late since the train was still waiting for its passengers at the station, but once again Morning’s punctuality proved to be too much for his brothers and sisters in arms to keep up with.
“Hey, cut us some slack, captain! We had a lot of stuff to pack, you know?” Grey Shade shot back, giving Morning an epic brohoof as greetings.
“Aye mate, my sister made me pack about fourteen bottles of Appleloosa hard cider!” Blue Sea replied with a mocking salute, his voice wavering a bit in alcoholic delight. “My sister claims that no cider hits you harder than Appleloosa’s. If only Applejack heard her say this…” Blue Sea whispered in Morning’s ear like it was the most dangerous secret in all of Equestria.
Morning laughed at his friend, wondering how many bottles would actually survive the ride to Ponyville…
“I was ready about an hour ago but Lilie asked my assistance while shopping this morning,” Path Finder said stoically, pointing a hoof at the mare who blushed under a meek smile.
“Why don’t you visit your family, captain? I’m sure your parents would love to see you,” Lilie said, adjusting the weight of her heavy saddlebags with her wings.
Morning shook his head slightly. “I’ve sent them a Happy Hearth’s Warming letter earlier this morning, informing them that I won’t be able to come home for this year’s festivities. Besides, the general needs soldiers.”
Looking at each other with small frowns on their faces, Morning’s squad gave up, shoulders sagging in defeat. Saying their last goodbyes and happy holidays, they boarded the train and departed, leaving Morning at the station watching after the cars rolling away.
Better report back to General Iron Hoof… Morning thought. He spread his wings and took off toward the barracks.
Navigating through the empty barracks was always a weird feeling for Morning. He used to serve at Canterlot, the busiest and most populated city in all of Equestria, and because of that, Princess Celestia always made sure that the soldiers’ ward was always filled with well-trained soldiers and good equipment. Finding an empty barrack back then meant that something important, and potentially dangerous, has happened somewhere in the city. Seeing all the weapons and armor laying around with no soldiers to tend to them always made Morning feel uneasy, like a pack of monsters was about to attack at any second.
That sentiment was beginning to bring back some unwanted memories, so he quickly trotted through the deserted barracks and reached General Iron Hoof’s office. He knocked on the door twice, waiting for the general’s characteristic annoyed voice to bark for him to enter.
True to his expectation, a muffled voice could be heard through the hardwood door. “Come in!”
Morning swiftly entered the room, closing the door behind him and snapping into a salute. “Captain Morning Rays of the Special Changeling Hunter Forces reporting for duty, Ma'am!”
Upon hearing his voice, Iron Hoof took her eyes away from a pile of documents in front of her to look at Morning. “At ease, captain!” she commanded with a smile. “It’s good to see you here, Morning, I suppose you’re staying during the holiday?”
“Yes, Ma’am!” Morning replied, relaxing from his saluting posture.
“Good, the fact that you’re staying already makes me feel more comfortable.” The general nodded, gesturing with a hoof for Morning to sit down. Once he was comfortable, she proceeded, “Well, the last captured changeling was already sent to the Canterlot dungeon to stay with the others, so that leaves no inside threats to worry about. The thing is, we still need to watch the borders for possible changeling attacks. You’re free to pass the holiday here at Appleloosa or Dodge Junction if you want to, but I want a report back at ten PM Got it?”
“Yes, general.” Morning noded.
“Alright then, dismissed!” Iron Hoof barked one last time before bringing her focus back to her documents.
Morning was about to leave when an idea came to his mind. “General? May I do one last check-up at the abandoned changeling hive before proceeding to watch the city? I want to make sure that all suspect items have been secured.”
General Iron Hoof took a moment to ponder. She didn’t want to risk losing one of her best soldiers out there, but he had a good point, that abandoned hive may have some valuable information on where to find the main changeling hive… “Will you be careful and get away as soon as you find a potential threat?” she asked, wanting to make sure that Morning wasn’t going to do something stupid, like he had the tendency to.
“Yes, of course!” he shot back, straightening his stance into attention.
“... Alright then, you have my permission. Don’t. Screw. Up!” She emphasized, tapping her desk with a hoof.
“You can count on me, general!” Morning gave one last salute before taking off. The Badlands awaited him.
Morning landed at the entrance of the abandoned changeling hive. He had gathered his sword and a few of his sweet potions at his home before leaving for the Badlands. Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, he held a glass vial of the sweet potion with his left wing and unsheathed his sword. It was time to delve into the changeling nest.
As Morning went deeper and deeper into the hive, he noticed how different it looked from the last time he’d gone there. The walls had withered, several cracks running all around them. The previously opening and closing holes were all stagnated, some sporting sights of decomposition. The bioluminescent globes were out, leaving only saggy corpses of what they once were. The whole hive seemed to be… dead.
As Morning kept walking through the collapsing tunnels, he could hear what seemed to be heavy breathing coming from a tunnel to his left. Morning recognized that path, it was there that he found the changeling larva, Honeydew.
Morning’s grip on the sweet potion tightened as he dropped into a defensive position, cautiously walking forward. As he entered the chamber, he noticed that it was even worse than the rest of the hive. The hardened changeling goo that covered the walls was nothing more than empty husks, the tiny holes on the walls had collapsed, revealing a deeper part of the hive. The air had a thin layer of dust that made it really hard to breathe, Morning wondered if it was poisonous as he covered his muzzle with his free wing.
Morning was surprised when he found that, still stuck on the same wall as before, was the withered form of the changeling that tried to trick him. The changeling was a saddening sight to behold, a thin layer of dust covered its body, signaling that it was trapped down there for quite a while. Its insectoid eyes were cloudy and fading and it seemed skinny, has it been trapped here all this time? It’s been almost a month!
Its ears shot forward as Morning got closer. It tried to raise its head to see who it was but its head simply fell limply to its chest. “W-who’s there?” the changeling asked, its voice barely louder than a whisper.
Morning put his sword back to its sheath, approaching the changeling. “You okay there, buddy?”
The changeling immediately recognized the voice as it already heard this question before, its face turning into a scowl. “You… Did you come back to make fun of me? Go ahead, it’s not like I could stop you anyway…” The changeling was interrupted by a terrible coughing fit, followed by more heavy breathing as it tried to recompose itself.
Morning helped the changeling breathe more comfortably, raising its head with a hoof. “What happened to you?” he asked, genuinely worried about the creature.
The changeling was silent at first, feeling like it was being interrogated, but eventually gave up and answered, “My queen… left me here. I tend to mess up from time to time… My queen sentenced me to live with my last mistake…” The changeling coughed again.
So it did spend all this time hanging on the wall, Morning thought. What kind of queen sentences her subjects to such a horrible death? I need to do something…
Morning got his sword in his mouth and aimed it at the changeling’s neck. The changeling slightly raised its head to look at the weapon. It closed its eyes and waited for the blow that would end its suffering but instead, it felt the restraints on its front legs give out, shortly followed by its hind legs.
The changeling braced itself for the fall but caught by the soft touch of feathers in its carapace. Morning slowly lowered the changeling until it was resting comfortably on the hive’s floor.
Confused, the changeling began to ask, “W-what are you...”
“I want to help you,” Morning interrupted, his voice filled with determination, opening the sweet potion vial and bringing it to the changeling’s lips. “Here, drink this, it should help you regain some strength.”
Having nothing to lose, the changeling drank the unknown substance. Immediately, a strong rush of energy ran through its body, the sugary taste being complemented by a faint taste of love. What the hell was that thing?
Morning could see the changeling’s eyes getting clearer and clearer, the potion worked! He waited for a few moments before helping the changeling sit up. “Feeling better?” he asked with a smile.
The changeling shook off the dust from his body before answering, “Y-yeah… a little bit…” A loud grumble emanated from the changeling’s stomach, causing the changeling to hold his belly in pain. “I-I am starving…”
This is a problem, thought Morning. Clearly, the changelings have left this area for a while now, the changeling was still too weak and there was no good source of love nearby that Morning could think off.
Than an idea took hold of his mind. It was crazy, maybe a dumb one, but it could work.
“Say, do you think you can still shapeshift?” Morning asked.
Unsure itself, the changeling lit up its horn with magic. Green flames started to swallow its body, leaving a lavender earth pony mare in its place.
Morning was taken by surprise by the new form as he completely forgot about the form the changeling used to trick him in the past. “Oh, hi there Purple Grace,” he said with a sly grin.
Inspecting its new form to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be, the changeling frowned at the name. “Yeah… it didn’t work so well the first time, but it’s the best I can do right now…”
Maybe my idea can work after all… Morning pondered, rubbing his chin with a hoof. “Say, it’s Hearth’s Warming Eve in Equestria. I’m willing to turn a blind eye for you to feed if you agree to only feed a little from each pony, and you have to stay by my side at all times. Do you agree?” Morning asked, offering a hoof to shake.
The changeling frowned at that, it didn’t need the pity of a pony to survive, it was a changeling! It could feed by itself if it were able to escape from the hive…
Another loud grumble made reality known as the changeling held its belly in pain again. The pony was right, maybe it needed help... “Okay pony, I accept your offer…” the changeling agreed reluctantly, the duo shaking hooves.
“Good.” Morning smiled. “My name is Morning Rays by the way… What should I call you?”
The changeling pondered for a bit, changelings didn’t really have a name, only a designation… “Y-you can call me… Purple Grace…” it replied shyly.
Oh, so it’s a female like Honey? Morning helped the changeling get up on its hooves and they both walked toward the exit of the hive. “So you’re a girl then?”
That got the changeling by surprise, a small green blush forming on its cheeks. “C-changeling drones don’t have a physical sex… But yes, I do identify myself as a female…”
Morning nodded at that, his mind filling with wandering thoughts. So maybe changelings prefer to take the form of ponies of the same sex they identify with? Hehe, so maybe I guessed Honey’s gender right as well? Honey! He was supposed to get her before heading back to Appleloosa
“Hey, I’ll have to make a quick stop home before heading to Appleloosa, okay?” Morning said.
The changeling looked at Morning in suspicion, but nodded her agreement.
The journey back home was an awkward one. Walking back would take too long so Morning offered to give Grace a ride on his back. She vigorously refused at first, but a couple of minutes of walking convinced her otherwise. As she tried to get up on his back, she tried to make as little contact with him as possible. She would jerk from side to side as he flapped his wings, making flight really challenging. After a few uncomfortable minutes of flight, they managed to safely land in front of his door.
As the changeling finally got her hooves on solid ground again, she picked up a weird aura coming from something inside Morning’s house, just behind the door. She took a few steps back and thought aloud, “There’s someone inside.”
Morning heard what she said and smiled, beckoning her with a hoof. “Don’t worry, I think you will like to meet her.”
Morning opened the door to reveal a white pegasus filly with orange mane and tail that matched Morning’s, her beautiful emerald eyes complimenting her big smile.
She pounced at Morning, giving his chest a tight hug which he gladly returned. “Morning!” she squeaked in delight at seeing her father back home.
“Hey Honey, it’s good to see you too! You’re ready to visit your friends at Appleloosa?” Morning asked, letting go of her.
“Yay!” the filly shouted, jumping on the couch in excitement.
Morning and Grace entered and closed the door behind them. Grace kept an inquisitive gaze locked on Honey, she could feel an eerily familiar aura coming from her, but she could find out what it was…
Morning left his saddlebags and sword at the kitchen’s counter and returned to the living room. Noticing Purple Grace’s gaze, he asked. “What’s wrong?”
Snapping from her stupor, the changeling stuttered, “N-nothing!” She avoided Morning’s gaze for a while before asking, “Is she your daughter?” There was a strong connection of love between the two, so she must be Morning’s daughter, but still, why did she had such a strange aura?”
Laughing, Morning got Honey in his hooves and replied, “Well, yes and no… remember the soothing stone?” he asked back as he nodded to Honey, signaling her to drop her disguise. Emerald flames engulfed her body, burning away the pony facade to reveal a tiny version of a changeling drone, her little wings fluttering in delight and her insectoid emerald eyes shining with a child’s innocence.
Purple Grace almost stumbled back in shock, her mouth hanging open and eyes as wide as possible. “She’s the changeling grub?!”
Morning nodded with a smile. “Yes, once her egg hatched in my room I couldn't turn her over to my superior, she would have starved to death at the dungeon as we are barely managing to feed the changelings we’ve already captured. So, I took care of her.”
Grace blinked a few times to make sure she was seeing things right. Indeed, there was a baby changeling drone in a pony’s hooves, and yet, the love connection between the two kept as strong as before. How can a pony show such affection toward a changeling?
Grace could feel a strong impulse take hold of her body, she wanted, no, needed to feel the little changeling at her hooves.
Green flames engulfed Grace’s body as she turned back to her normal self, a squee of glee coming from Honey as she saw another changeling just like her.
“C-can I hold her? P-please?” the changeling pleaded.
“Sure,” Morning said, letting Honey back on the floor. She quickly ran toward the changeling, who caught her in her hooves like it was the most precious being in the world.
“You’re like me!” the little filly squealed in awe, her high-pitched voice sounding like music to Grace’s years.
“I am, little one…” Grace smiled, giving Honey a kiss on her forehead, making the filly giggle.
Morning admired the scene with happiness, it was good for Honey to meet somepo… someling of her own kind.
“You seem pretty happy.” He pointed out to Grace who simply nodded at first.
“I… I was born as part of the caretaker’s brood. It was our duty to tend to the young and see that they grew a healthy and good life so they could serve the queen,” she explained with a small smile, keeping her eyes locked with Honey’s. Her smile slowly faded as she continued, “I was about to have my very first broodling to care for… but I messed up…”
Morning remembered the day he got Honey’s egg, a wave of guilt hitting his mind. The changeling noticed his guilt and reassured him. “It wasn’t your fault… I was responsible for her, and I failed. I’m just glad she found somelin… somepony like you to take care of her.”
Morning wanted to say he was sorry, but he remained silent, thinking about what the changeling told him.
Grace let the baby back to her hooves and changed back to her pony form, Honey turned into her pegasus form shortly after, imitating her kin like some kind of a game.
“I wanna see my friends!” Honey announced, getting her attention back to Morning.
Morning laughed and went to his room to fetch a baby saddle, designed so that parents could carry their babies around without needing to hold them with their hooves. Morning had modified his baby saddle so he could fly safely with the baby strapped to him.
“Giddy up!” he said playfully, crouching down so she could reach the saddle. Once she was properly strapped, they walked outside the house and prepared to take off.
The short fly to Appleloosa was a lot smoother than the previous one. Grace was distracted, playing with Honey on Morning’s back, so she didn't squirm as much. A few minutes later, they’ve landed on the outskirts of Appleloosa.
The city was filled with Hearth’s Warming decorations. There were Hearth’s Warming lights everywhere! Gingerbread ponies stood on every door. An enormous candy cane arch was put at the city’s entrance, mistletoe hanging from it. There were snowflake figures scattered among the homes, even though the town was in the middle of the desert. A giant apple tree was decorated with colorful enchanted crystals, standing proudly in the middle of the main plaza for everypony to see. The setting sun illuminated a big star at its tip, showering the ponies underneath it with its golden light.
Ponies walked to and fro with their friends and families, happily singing Hearth’s Warming carols and lullabies.
Morning and Grace reached the marketplace and true enough, there was a lot of stands giving away candy and other goods. As Morning walked by, he quickly spotted the booth he was looking for.
The booth belonged to the Apple family, Morning could see his friend Braeburn giving out apple pie slices, cinnamon apples, apple tarts and other kinds of apple goodness.
“Hey there, Braeburn!” Morning greeted his friend, extending a hoof to for him to bump.
“Howdy partner! Fancy seeing you around here, would you like a taste of our apple pies?” Braeburn offered kindly.
“Nah, I’m good, thanks. Honeydew here couldn’t wait a moment longer to play with her friends, are Apple Flora and Candy Apple around?” Morning asked, unstrapping Honey from his back and setting her down on the ground.
“Oh, indeed they are.” Braeburn replied. “Hey girls, look who’s here to see y’all!” he called.
Once the fillies came into view, Honey dashed toward them. “Girls!”
The fillies began to chat and play while Morning brought his attention back to Braeburn. “Can you keep an eye on them, pal?”
“Sure can partner! Have a nice evening!” Braeburn waved his goodbye.
Morning and Grace walked around the town, admiring the decorations. All mostly in silence, they only talked to each other to point out a thing or two. Morning could see Grace feeding from time to time and he was happy to know that she was keeping her part of the deal, causing no harm to the ponies that she fed upon.
A weird silence began to settle between them. Feeling uncomfortable, Morning tried to strike a conversation. “So… I always wanted to know, do you changelings really need love to survive? Can’t you live off something else?”
Grace was brought out of her feeding daze as she looked back at Morning. “We do need love. It helps our metabolism and fuels our magic. Our bodies can only go for so long without it,” she replied expertly. Noticing Morning’s sigh of defeat, she continued, “Normal food does help us with our hunger though. We changelings especially like sugary treats, but I guess you figured that already,” she said with a wink.
Morning pondered about it for a bit. “Has your kind ever tried to find love another way? Instead of stealing it, I mean?”
The changeling stopped her walk for a moment, looking at Morning with a saddened frown, then she answered, “Tell me, who would love creatures such as us? We have exoskeletons instead of coats, chitin instead of feathers. Fangs and insectoid eyes. Would anypony ever truly love us for what we really are?”
Morning wanted to reply, but he honestly didn’t know how to answer.
Taking his silence as an answer, Grace continued, “We need to hide, work from the shadows. We are a predator species like griffins and dragons, it’s just unfortunate that our prey have to be ponies. We try to avoid hurting ponies though since you’re our best source of love, but sometimes harsher actions need to be taken…” she concluded, saddened.
An impenetrable silence fell upon them once again, neither wanting to make eye contact with the other. Morning could feel a sore aura emanating from her, so he wanted to do something to distract her.
They walked by a flashy poster at a shop’s wall, it advertised an ice skating event that was happening during the holiday. Thinking it would be a great way to distract themselves Morning bumped her side. “Hey, wanna go ice skating?”
The changeling looked back at Morning, confused. “Ponies skate on ice? I’ve never seen ice before, but it sounds stupid.”
“Oh, come on! It’ll be fun!” Morning said again, poking Grace with his elbow.
“No!” The changeling stood her ground.
“How the hay did he manage to convince me to do this…” Grace grumbled to herself. She shakily walked with the ice skates strapped to her hooves, tripping every three steps toward a magically frozen arena. Her panicked expression mirrored on the sleek icy floor.
Morning awaited her at the arena, easily keeping his balance on the slippery ice. “Come on, Grace, I’ll catch you!” he called with a big smile.
Purple Grace took a look at the ice and took a few steps back, not wanting to enter the arena.
Laughing, Morning taunted her. “Come on, Grace! Are you a pony or a chicken?!”
With her dignity challenged, Grace angrily stomped her way into the arena. I’m neither, you jerk!
As soon as her first hoof hit the ice, her body went into a mad spin, completely crashing her sense of balance and sending her skidding on the floor like a ragdoll.
Morning laughed so hard that he almost hit the ground himself. Doing his best to contain his laughter, he skidded to her side to help her up. “Here, lean against me and follow my steps.”
Grace did a cute pout of annoyance, but did as he said. She leaned her shoulder against his, placing her hooves mimicking his pose.
“Good. Now, push with your left hooves while swaying your body to the right,” he instructed, guiding her steps with his own.
She did as instructed, pushing her body forward with her left hooves while swaying to the right.
“Now do the same on the other side,” he continued.
Left and right, left and right. Their bodies soon found their rhythm and they began skating on their own, one leaning against the other as they moved.
“That’s… actually fun…” Grace thought aloud.
“Yeah, and you’re doing great!” Morning praised her with a genuine smile, causing her to blush. She never received this kind of compliment before, she was always the one her hive mates would scream at for messing something up. It brought a warm feeling to her chest… something she has never felt before…
Their skating sped up as they got bolder, trying some new tricks along the way. As they tried to do a sharp turn a skating colt lost his balance in front of them and fell, Grace tried to dodge him but she lost her balance, closing her eyes as she braced herself for impact. Morning wrapped his wings around her in a protective embrace, absorbing the fall. The ice cut ugly bruises on his back and wings as small drops of blood painted the ice on their trail.
Grace opened her eyes in confusion, the impact never came as she found herself laying on top of Morning’s chest in a tight embrace.
Once they completely stopped, Morning let go of her. “A-are you okay Grace?” he asked between ragged breaths.
“I-I…” She began to say before noticing a small puddle of blood forming underneath him. Panic shot through her mind as she looked behind them, finding a small trail of blood that told her exactly what happened.
Her panicked mind was brought back to reality as Morning asked her again, “Grace, are you okay?”
“Am I okay? Are you okay?!” She shot back in worry. She got up from his chest and helped him turn over, gasping at the bad bruise on his back. “Sweet Queen Mother, your back!”
A unicorn that worked at the arena called to them in alarm, “Are you alright, Sir?”
Grace quickly balanced Morning on her shoulder and guided him out of the skating ring, searching frantically for a secluded place. Her eyes settled on an empty alley not far from them. “Follow me,” she instructed him softly. Upon reaching the alley, she turned back into her normal self and charged her horn with magic.
“What are you doing?” Morning asked, concerned that somepony might see her.
“Stay still, please,” she pleaded. Focusing her magic in the tip of her horn, she brought it close to Morning’s back and the magic began to painlessly close the wounds, healing the flesh and growing the fur around it.
Morning took a deep breath in surprise, feeling his pain disappear. “You changelings can heal?”
“All caretakers do, we tend to our wounded warriors who bravely defend the hive against invaders.” Her words echoed in her mind, changing more and more as they repeated.
Our warriors… My warrior…
She violently shook those thoughts away, there’s no way this would happen! But then, she noticed a faint, pink aura surrounding Morning and herself, a tiny bridge connecting the two as the aura flowed freely between them.
C-could it be?
Noticing the silver lights as the moon peeked over the horizon, Morning remembered he was supposed to pick up Honey so he cleared his throat to catch Grace’s attention. “Ahem. I-it’s getting late, I-I should get Honeydew home…”
“Y-yes of course!” Grace broke free of her wandering thoughts, quickly turning back into her lavender disguise so they could leave.
The duo stood underneath a mistletoe arc while waiting for Honey at the agreed meeting location. The moonlight filled the air with its mystical, soothing aura as it began its odyssey across the night sky.
“T-thank you for today… I had a wonderful time…” Grace said out of a sudden, taking Morning by surprise.
“Y-yeah, it was really fun hehe…” Morning replied, nervously.
An awkward silence fell upon them as a stealthy Honey inched forward toward Morning’s back, ready to pounce.
Grace would steal a few glances toward Morning, every single time she looked at him she could see that pink aura stream coming towards her, joining with her own halfway between them.
Could this be true love? she wondered. It was a far-fetched thought, even a dangerous one. But she couldn't stop the warm feeling in her chest every time she thought about it.
“Grace I-I…” Morning got her attention. But suddenly, a wild Honeydew appeared and tackled Morning’s back into a tight hug. It was super effective! The impact caused Morning to stumble toward Grace. Her eyes shot open in surprise as Morning’s lips met hers, lighting her face with a burning red blush.
For a split second, they could feel each other’s warmth through their soft lips.
In a split second, they parted ways.
Their whole bodies froze up like statues as Honey bounced around between them in excitement. No one dared to say a word, but for Grace, there were no words that needed to be said. She could not only see a stronger bond being formed between their auras, she could feel it. It fed into the warm feeling she was having in her chest. Like rekindling a dying flame. It was love, and it wasn’t directed at her lavender pony facade, it was directed at her and her alone. She’d never felt something like this before.
Maybe there is somepony willing to love me for who I am…
The second flight back home was even more uncomfortable than the first, as both Morning and Grace were unable to say a word to each other. Morning quicky dropped Honey home and, without thinking, flew Grace back to the entrance to her hive.
After they safely landed, they just sat there, facing away from each other, both trying to say something but neither succeeding. A couple of minutes have passed and Morning finally mustered the courage to break the silence.
“T-thank you…”
“HuH?” Grace asked in confusion, back in her changeling self.
“For keeping your promise, I mean. You didn’t harm anypony as you fed on them… Thank you,” Morning clarified, taking a quick glance her way.
“No, I-I should be the one thanking you. You saved me, you know?” Grace replied, taking a quick glance at him as well.
Morning diverged his eyes, looking at the hive’s entrance. “What are you gonna do now?” Worry was clear in his voice.
Grace let out a heavy sigh of defeat. “I don’t know… I can’t go back to my hive… I was left as dead here so they won’t accept me. Maybe I’ll stay here, try to start over.” Grace fell silent for a short while before leaving a soft whisper. “I’ll never forget your kindness…”
Having not quite caught what she said, Morning turned his gaze toward her. He was caught by surprise completely as Grace backed him against the wall and kissed him deeply on the lips. Their kiss was a bit shy at first, but it got more intimate as they got acquainted with each other’s touch. Morning's hooves dangled limply at his side as he was too shy to hold Grace. Feeling him holding back, Grace leaned more into the kiss, grabbing his hooves with her own, earning a soft coo from Morning.
She could feel his heart racing on his chest as his coat touched her carapace, every heartbeat feeding into the flame within her chest. The aura around them shone so bright that it turned into a beacon, signaling to every nearby changeling about their union. Grace could taste the sweet taste of love on Morning’s kiss, giving her an urge to feed. And feed she did.
The kiss went from passionate to wild as Grace brushed Morning’s lips with her long, serpentine tongue. Granting her access, Morning and Grace’s appendages danced together in an intricate choreography of dominance. Grace’s longer muscle allowed her to explore Morning’s mouth, collecting more and more of that sweet taste of love. Eventually, Morning’s thicker and stronger muscle won the battle and pushed the war front into Grace’s mouth. He could feel her sharp fangs as he caressed her mouth with his tongue, earning a loud moan of pleasure from Grace.
Their kiss lasted for several seconds before they reluctantly parted ways for that much-needed air. Panting heavily, the duo lost themselves in the other’s gaze as they held a silent talk. There was no need for a hivemind to know what the other was thinking.
Grace pressed Morning’s hooves against the wall as she went for another, tamer kiss. No more hunger, only passion.
Grace’s horn gave off a soft green glow as Morning felt a weird sensation on his front and hind legs. Parting the kiss, Morning quickly found himself bound to the wall by the typically hardened changeling goo. His eyes went wide in realization as Grace watched him squirm with a nasty grim.
She gently raised his head with her hooves and said with a mocking tone before flying away, “Don’t worry mister, I’ll rescue you tomorrow!”
Morning instantly remembered this sentence. It was the last thing he said to her before leaving. Now that the roles have changed, the only thing he could do was pray that she actually comes back tomorrow and plays his part of the role with one last line to say.
“Hehe, you jerk…”
…
I’m totally getting late for my report...
Author's Note
Here's my Christmas gift to you guys! Hope you like it 
As always, please let me know of ways I can improve so I can write better stories for you!
Now I got to tend to a house filled to the brim with all my relatives till the start of the next year! 
Bye! 
-T.M.W.D.
Chapter edited by: EverfreePony
