Your Loyal Subject

The following morning, the earth pony, alicorn, and changeling awoke to find that they still had very much the remnant of their wild night. So, they each took separate washrooms to get cleaned up... and Aversion and Scolus simply could not stop admiring their new, pumped forms.

If Luna didn't really love me before, she sure as buck will now! Aversion thought.

Heh, Scolus thought, looks like it's time 'Scol-runt' gets HIS time in the spotlight with the body of a changeling GOD!

So, with that, they all decided to start their day, with Scolus returning to the hive to receive his designated daily duties... but he knew all too well that it would take a turn for the surprise when his hive-brothers would see him.

The deviant changeling drone returned to his hive and found that the sleep chamber was empty, with all of the other hive members having awoken to get prepared for the daily tasks. He readied himself to walk into the main chamber.

Alright, Scolus thought, just walk right in there, Scol... and let them bask in your anatomical glory!

He then strutted into the main chamber, keeping a long, confident stride. Several of the changelings stopped and stared, dumbstruck, at the muscular drone.

"What in the...?"

"...Scolus? Is that you?"

"How the buck did you pack on all that meat under that chitin...?!"

Scolus did not answer and continued his stride, smirking with his eye partially narrowed. Glancing around the chamber, it really brought an alien, but exhilarating feeling to know that everypony in his hive could now see him for what he was, right then and there.

Yep, he thought, you will all WORSHIP ME! You'll all worship my muscles! I'M the new Alpha, now!

Scolus also happened to notice several of the female changelings were literally drooling as they had their gaze fixed on him, their eyes wide and tongues hanging out of their mouths. Some were even giving a crooked smile and blushing as he looked in their direction... and after a moment, he decided to tease the girls a little more by stopping and turning his backside to face them, peeking from around it at them.

Heh heh... Scolus thought, a smug grin across his face. …oh yeah! Gotta show off that big, bouncy bugbutt!

The female drones and warriors started giggling and timidly brushing their hooves against the hive floor, angling their heads down. This was probably the most fun Scolus had with his hivemates, but unfortunately, it did not last quite as long as he would have liked...

"DRONE SCOLUS!" a praetorian changeling guard announced, entering the chamber.

Scolus immediately stood at attention. "A-ah, yes sir! Awaiting orders!"

"We have just received an anonymous tip from one in your faction..." the high-ranking, large changeling spoke, glancing at Scolus' muscular physique, "...that you have undergone quite a transformation, here. Her Highness, Queen Chrysalis, would like to speak to you regarding this matter."

"O-oh... really?" Scolus asked. "But, I have... duties to attend to! Y'know, we gotta keep a tight schedule and keep our boat afloat?"

The praetorian glared. "...Her Highness wants to see you, NOW!"

"A-alright..." Scolus said, trying his best to calm his nerves. "...I-I'll go speak with the Queen..."

With that, he was escorted by the guards to Chrysalis' personal quarters, and along the way, he desperately tried to think of a way he could explain this sudden change to his queen. He had not thought this far ahead, being totally caught up with the fun last night, as well as hoping to make his hive-brothers jealous after all the times they bullied him. This was probably going to turn out very bad...

"Now then, Skull Egg..." Chrysalis spoke.

"...O-oh, um..." Scolus began. "...it's actually 'Scolus,' Your Highness..."

"Whatever." Chrysalis said. "In any case, it should be obvious why you are here. Simply take one look at your current form. Now, I would like for you to tell me exactly what happened that resulted in such a drastic alteration to your system."

Scolus sweated profusely. He struggled to come up with something in just a few seconds.

"...W-well..." he stammered. "...late growth spurt? Y'know, one can never predict these things, what with recessive traits that show up out of the blue?"

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes. "...I find it incredibly disrespectful that you have the nerve to lie to your Queen! And with such a straight face, no less."

Her horn then lit up a bright green, and Scolus was immobilized as he was levitated into the air. This really put him to the coals, and got his heart rate going sky-high.

"Now..." Chrysalis spoke. "...if you wish for me not to siphon every last wisp of positive emotional pony energy from your being, resulting in your slow, weary demise... you will tell me, right here, right now, how you managed to gain so much muscle mass!"

Scolus panted for a few moments. "...A-alright. Okay, Your Highness... I will tell you..."

"Go on..." Chrysalis said.

"See..." Scolus began thinking quickly. "...I have taken the liberty of... altering my diet. It would allow me to develop more muscle fibers and hypertrophy them in the process."

"Really?" Chrysalis asked. "And what, may I ask, does this diet of yours consist of?"

Scolus had to really rack his brain to come up with an answer quickly. "...It's a healthy, organic salad of... Everfree watercress, along with some live crawdads, and a bit of pine resin for punch. From what I learned about the nutrients they all contain... they would aid immensely in muscle development for changelings!"

"So, let me get this straight." Chrysalis said. "You go against our code, living on a diet that is not at all part of the permitted foods, all for your own self gain?"

Scolus gulped. If there was one thing the hive agreed upon, it was that Chrysalis was not one to show mercy for anyone who violated what she wanted. However... her expression lightened up a bit.

"Well, normally I would have you tossed into the dungeon for violating our custom... but in light of your accelerated growth, I think you may have just given our race a massive advantage! So, I shall see to it that Everfree watercress, live crawdads, and pine resin are all incorporated into our diet! This shall yield a much stronger army that depends not on numbers alone!"

Following the brief meeting, Scolus was eventually let out of the chamber, as Chrysalis completely bought into his improvised lie. However, this got the changeling wondering...

She's gonna know I just made up a bunch of horseshit when she eventually realizes it doesn't work. He thought.

He tried his best to keep a straight face while being escorted out of Chrysalis' spire by the praetorian guards.

...Maybe I should see if I could request asylum in Equestria? Scolus thought. Or beg for it if they refuse? Offer hard labor and intel about the hive in exchange?

Blueblood happened to encounter Brutus' cronies on the previous day, and they had very much the same reaction as Brutus himself upon seeing the former Prince. However, with a bit of persuasion regarding getting back at Aversion, they all opened up to him.

They were able to distract the prison guards in such a coordinated fashion that they managed to break Brutus out of the Ponyville jail. From there, they informed him of what they planned to do once Aversion was to come around, to which he delightfully agreed with a wicked, evil smile.

"That's just like my broskis!" Brutus said. "Always pullin' through for me!"

So, they decided to wait around for Aversion to make his usual strolls through Ponyville. Once they saw him in the distance, as indicated by the color palette they could make out, the gang and Blueblood all huddled for a brief moment.

"Alright, the instant that little jerk passes this way, we'll all pounce him and beat him senseless!" Brutus said.

"Precisely!" Blueblood said. "Then, we shall take him prisoner and lock him away where nopony will ever find him! Then he can rot, knowing what a miserable little parasite he turned out to be!"

So, they waited for a couple of minutes before they heard the hoofsteps of Aversion approaching. They were a bit deeper than what the rest of them remembered, however. Regardless, they all jumped out and let out loud battle-cries as they rushed out.

Aversion jumped as the sudden noise and appearance caught him off guard. But the bullies and Blueblood all stopped upon realized how different Aversion looked.

"...What..."

"...The..."

"...Actual..."

"...Buck...?!"

Aversion got over his initial shock, and, realizing he was much taller than all of them, knew that they could do very little to hurt him now. It would, for once, be a fair fight. He stepped forward, grinning in an evil, delighted manner while staring down Brutus.

"Well, well..." Aversion spoke. "...what do we have here? A bully trying to pick on somepony who's now bigger than he is? And 'bigger' in more ways than one?"

"The hell happened to you?!" Brutus said. "You been takin' steroids, haven't you?"

"Nope!" Aversion said, standing on his hind legs and flexing a bit, as well as stretching. "Just some... ah... good, healthy exercise!"

Brutus scowled. "Y'know what? It doesn't matter! I'm gonna kick your fat ass anyway!"

"Try it, marebucker!" Aversion said.

Wasting no time, Brutus jumped at Aversion and attempted to hoof him in the face, but since Aversion had far superior strength, he was able to block and deflect the blow.

"Wow... sloppy." Aversion remarked.

"SHUT UP!" Brutus said, turning himself around to buck his former victim.

Aversion quickly shot himself upward via launching himself with his forelegs. Right as Brutus was about to kick him, he grabbed his bully by the fetlocks and spun him around like an Olympics hammer throw.

"WOAH-WOAH-WOAH-WOAH...!" Brutus yelled as he was being spun.

Aversion then released his grip on Brutus, sending him flying face-first into a pile of garbage bags that just so happened to be nearby. The red earth pony clumsily scrambled to try and free himself, but was too disoriented to succeed.

Aversion turned to face Brutus' cronies, a firm glare fixed in his eyes. "...Who wants some?!"

With that, the bullies all began to step back, very slowly, and when Aversion came stomping in their direction, only then did they take off. Blueblood was the only one left at the scene.

"HEY!" the former Prince shouted. "Get back here, you cowards!"

"YEAH, RUN!" Aversion called out. "Run like the pathetic, insecure tough-guy-wannabes you are!"

He then directed his attention to Blueblood.

"Well... looks like we've got a volunteer!" Aversion said.

Blueblood scoffed. "Alright! You win this time... but next shall be a fair fight! Return to normal size! Only then do we have an honorable duel!"

Aversion could not help but chuckle at how Blueblood was trying to act all standoffish, yet he could still detect the level of fear he was attempting to mask.

"Blue-Blue!" came Discord's voice.

Both Aversion and Blueblood looked to see the draconequus in question slithering his way through the air toward them.

"There you are!" Discord said. "So, have you any idea how long I have been looking for you? You believe it is wise to run away?"

"Hey!" Blueblood protested. "I haven't gone outside of Ponyville! I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Nothing, you say? Hm?" Discord asked. "Then why is it that I just so happened to see you with those bullies, including a Mr. Brawn Brutus... who is supposed to be in jail right now?"

Blueblood bit his lower lip. "Look... could you please... not tell my Aunties?"

"Hmmm..." Discord hummed. "...mayhaps I will... if you are willing to work double what has been scheduled for you tomorrow!"

"Oh yeah," Aversion said. "And I have some more work that needs to be done at my house, too. So, you get to do that in addition to what you already have."

"What?!" Blueblood shouted.

"Hey, just remember," Aversion said, "this is good for you! It teaches you a lesson about life!"

"Now," Discord said, snapping his fingers and conjuring a leash and collar on Blueblood, "let's head on back now to your home-away-from-home, Blue-Blue!"

With that, the draconequus tugged the unicorn, who begrudgingly followed behind, his head hung low in bitter resentment.

"Hmph," Aversion uttered. "Just goes to show, you don't mess with the best! When life pulls you back, it'll eventually launch you forward like an arrow! And when you push too far forward forcefully... you just fall straight down!"

With that, the muscular earth pony continued on his way, gallantly striding through the town and catching the awed gazes of those who happened to see him.

Luna was doing fairly well overall, except...

There had been an incident during her sleep that has been haunting her throughout the day.

The shadow pony was now in the Dream Void, outside of Aversion's psyche. But this time, it looked angrier than ever. It's piercing, white, glowing eyes were nothing more than just triangles pointing downward at each other. It was also stalking her with its head tipped downward, as if trying to go for a very menacing death-glare. It continued to do this throughout the night.

Upon waking, Luna still had this bizarre occurrence fresh in her mind. She thought perhaps it was a good thing that it was no longer within Aversion's mind... but what if that was not the case? What if the entity could enter the mind of another pony?

This situation was becoming very sketchy at this point, and she knew she had to bring it up with her coltfriend. So later in the day, over lunch, she decided to voice her concern with Aversion.

"That shadow pony you saw came back?" he asked.

Luna nodded. "But this time, it was outside your mind's door."

Aversion lowered his gaze to the table with narrow eyes. "So, what do you make of all this, Lulu?"

"Avey..." Luna began. "...did anything happen in your life that seemed... dark, in nature? Did you happen to participate in any sort of ritual or demonic rite?"

Being an expert on demons and dark magic, Luna knew that things such as this did not happen for no reason. Even though she had never seen a demonic entity like the shadow pony, she knew it was not possible for it to end up with Aversion by accident.

"Well..." Aversion spoke. "...there was one incident back when I was younger... one that I was fearful I would regret later..."

Luna tilted her head. "So, what happened?"

"Maybe it would be best to go back to the very beginning, just to understand why I went through it." Aversion said.

A very pregnant silence hung in the air for some time.

"Alright," Luna said. "But you don't have to tell me the entire story; rather, we can both project ourselves into the past."

"Really?" Aversion asked.

"Yes," Luna said, "but it may have to wait until later tonight, after I sift through all of my paperwork, and get my general royal duties completed."

"Okay." Aversion said.

The two decided not to dwell too much on the matter, and simply went back to their meal, asking an occasional small-talk question, but otherwise saying nothing.