A slice of life before A slice of Life

Dusk Shine against Four Mothers

A slice of life before A Slice of Life

You know… the episode…

Warning from Eris: NOT TO BE TAK3N SERIOUSLY!! aT LEAst the 1sT HAlf.

“WE ARE HERE TO SEE OUR GRANDFOALS!!!!!”

For a few tense moments, that left a giant ringing in every ear, for no one could hear. The walls had stopped shaking for a few moments and the surprising arrival of the parents and now, grandparents, was a definite chaotic event.

Dusk merely flicked his ears at the noise, having already placed a noise reducer in his ears when he sent his parents that letter. Spike had seemingly built an immunity to it, though he shook his head at what was to come.

When the double trouble of parents had checked their immediate grand foals, their eyes went wide and the magic holding their luggages dropped.

In front of them stood a black alicorn with deep purple mane and tail, a deep crimson set of eyes that filled his head. His wings were tucked to the side but that never seemed to escape his origins.

A changedling in black carapace but with a beautiful baby blue color that covered their wings, tail and eyes, leaving a sparkle to the mix. Though the sparkle was growing stronger for some reason.

A charcoal gray alicorn with deep green emerald eyes stood with black mane and tail. A bit of red adjourned his horn. While not glowing like his siblings, the colt stood with the confidence of a king.

Lastly, floating right in front of their faces, was Screwball. A light pink coated filly with a violet mane and tail with white highlights with dark violet and pink swirls for eyes. The fact that she was floating without any sort of magic was the real kicker, even if she was a foot away from their faces.

“Hi! I’m Screwball! Who are you?” The pink floating filly asked.

For a moment, neither Night Light nor Twilight Velvet moved, only blinking before suddenly… Screwball was grabbed in mid air and was squeezed tightly by her grandparents.

A squeak left the filly, like that of a rubber dog toy, as Dusk’s parents gushed and cried over the wonderful filly.

“Oh my goodness!” Twilight Velvet cried. “She is so adorable!”

“Absolutely a cutie filly!” Night Light confirmed.

A wave of concern came from the foals, seeing their sibling being squeezed that tightly. Screwball took it without complaint and laughed as she was hugged tightly and misshapen.

Eris in the meantime looked at Dusk in concern and confusion. The stallion gave a sigh and motioned for Eris to the back of the room. While not there yet, she understood that this was grandparents' time and not to be involved in this. She creeped to the back of the kitchen while she whispered, ‘Good Luck’, to the rest of the foals.

That only made it worse. The second that she left(unnoticed by the parents) and they finished squeezing Screwball, they immediately moved to the other foals. Nocturnal Night was the second to get their attention, for he was instantly wrapped in a light violet magic and yanked. Not to be left out, the other two, Umbra and even poor Mirage were pulled into a tightly knit family hug.

Thankfully, the strength was not enough to crush bones, but the cries, the tears and even the gushing of the grandparents over their foals was enough to make some huge weight fall off of them, especially Dusk.

He had given his parents details that he had four foals and they were all mixed species, but he knew that that wouldn’t deter his parents. Instead, this cemented that despite what he had been through with the mothers, they were still his blood and they were part of his life, regardless of their origins.

Spike gave a weary look and turned to Dusk. “So… what do we do?”

Dusk gave a shrug. “Wait it out. They’ve been wanting to be grandparents for a while. When they heard Cadence was pregnant, they practically begged to let them be there when she gave birth. This is the next best thing in their lives.” He paused and saw that they had also brought their languages though he had nowhere for them to stay. “I think this might be a daily thing for the week.”

The absolute need to hug and cry that they had grandfoals, had an immersive effect on them. The most obvious one was Mirage.

She was instantly bombarded with the love that she was receiving from her grandparents that she suddenly gained weight, then followed by her already sparkling aqua colors, to practically radiant in almost vibrant fashion. This was just the start.

While Screwball was already happy with the circumstances of being hugged by her grandparents, Nox and Umbra were a bit the odd ones out. Nox was more confused about receiving this much attention and love from the stallion and mare. Umbra was basking in the praise and adoration of it all, though he would hiss at being called ‘cute’.

As the foals received their warm and loving hugs from their grandparents, Dusk slowly walked over to them. “Hey Mom, hey dad.” He spoke, already feeling exhaustion starting to set in from their arrival. “Glad you two… can make it… to see my… foals…”

He didn’t know if they heard him or not but he felt awkward for his foals, though Mirage was practically glowing. He grew concerned. “Uh Mirage?”

The hybrid changeling gave no answer until… a very powerful but strong burst of magic left their mouth.

It was a burp. A very powerful and strong burp that actually caused the two parents to separate and be almost pushed back by the force of it. Once the magic of the burp left her, she promptly dropped down on the floor with a bloated belly once more and passed out.

Thorax, in his need to protect his sibling, forgo his disguise, which was a planter with eyes, and quickly zoomed to his sibling and checked. Dusk also was worried but reeled towards the undisguised changeling. Thorax relaxed and gave a small sigh of relief. “Mirage is okay, she is just in a… food coma.” He paused and realized that his profile was now in front and while he had switched into his changeling form, he also willingly helped out his sibling at possibly negative exposure.

Before anyone could be sent panicking, including THorax, Dusk quickly stood in front of him. “Mom, Dad, I know what you are thinking and while he is a changeling, he is a good one. This is Mirage’s older brother, so please, don’t freak out, I can vouch for him.”

For a tense moment, neither Twilight nor Night said anything until smiles formed on their faces. “Oh, Dusk,” His mother responded cheerfully, “-that is no problem at all, and while I am glad to know that he isn’t like the other changelings that attacked Canterlot, we were just surprised there weren’t anymore around here. Besides, he is not the first one that we have engaged with.”

Dusk blinked and cocked his head to the side, easing Thorax as a soft hoof was placed on his shoulder in assurance. “What do you mean-”

“Well,” Began his father, “-on the day of the wedding, your mother and I encounter a changeling. At first he tried to attack us, we think, but… well I didn’t want anything to happen to your mother so I quickly stood in front of it to defend her.”

He tried to sound masculine in his voice, even posing heroically but Twilight had none of it.

“Dear, no need to lie.” Night gave a small sigh and dropped his act. He hunched over.

“Okay, fine, I may or may not have… ran with your mother to-”

“Oh for Faust sake’s!” Twilight turned to Dusk and Thorax. “Your father screamed like a little filly, hid behind me and cowered. However before the changeling could do anything, I smacked him with my purse unconscious and brought him in the house before tying him down. Then we had a discussion about whether it was not nice trying to invade our home and kidnap ponies. This was after you exposed Cadence as Chrysalis and we ran away to get to safety.”

As she spoke, she gently lifted up Mirage and summoned pillows from upstairs and brought them down and laid them right on top. The hybrid muttered in her food coma, though her body continued to radiate with magic, a soft glow immenating around her.

“You know, once we began to really talk, Kevin turned out to be a nice changeling!”

“Kevin?” Dusk asked a bit incredulously. “The changeling was named-”

“Kevin?” Thorax finished, but with the same question. His ears wilted at the name but found some comfort in his status. “He… was still in Canterlot during the invasion? I thought he abandoned the hive long before…”

Twilight gave a sympathetic nod. “He did, deary and wouldn’t you believe that poor Kevin only joined the invasion to see if he could get some love from the wedding just to survive another week. Then when that ‘love-splosion’ happened, poor Kevin was slammed against the wall and knocked out for almost a week. We nursed him back to health, kept him hidden from the guards and sent him on his merry way a few weeks later.” She gave a small kiss on Mirage’s forehead, which made the hybrid glow brightly for a moment and she began to snore. “He was very thankful about it!”

“Indeed son,” His father pipped in. “He told us that there is a wedding here next week involving two donkeys, one of them a friend of a friend.”

“Said friend was a river-serpent named Steven Magnet! Imagine that, Befriending a river-serpent! And one who is also a famous one!”

A migraine began to form in his head at everything his parents had just told him and while nothing about what they had said was really wrong, that fact it was his parents just sounded wrong. Like they should have no reason to be having his much excitement, let alone from changelings to receiving postcards from said changelings. He also knew that while they meant well, this was going to be way too much for him.

Thorax had noticed his discomfort but also read that what he thought would be a hostile group of ponies, they were in fact, very loving and full of it. Mirage was the literal fat proof of that right before him and he was becoming full just by being near them, not noticing how much of a glow he was creating around himself.

If this was from the parents, he would have no idea what would happen if he were to be around the actual Princess of Love.

The foals looked at their fallen sibling and whether it was a sign of worry or comfort remained an enigma to them. Screwball had fun poking at her sister’s bloated belly, watching it jiggle with each poke.

Dusk refocused on his parents. “Alright… well now that you are here to see the foals, do you plan on staying at a motel or something for the time being?”

“Of course Dusk, though I would think that now that you are a prince, you have plenty more responsibilities to handle now.” His mother began to pull out albums and even cameras. “So, while you go out and do your Prince-ly duties and such, your father and I can spend time with our grandfoals and start making memories together!”

“But I don’t-” Dusk began to object about having Prince duties but Spike elbowed him lightly. “What?” he asked him.

Spike leaned in a bit. “Uh… don’t you have two… ‘Prince-ly’ duties in the building in white to handle right now?”

Dusk blinked and realized he was right. He sighed and knew that this was indeed a ‘Prince-ly’ duty of his that he had to do. Two of them were currently awake, while two more remained comatosed.

“Right,” he grunted. Giving his parents another glance, he knew that his foals were going to be… mostly fine. Any case, he still opted to try and figure out what to do with the remaining two. Chrysalis could be given liquid love and that was the only real problem since it had to be a concentrated source. Silhouette still remained an enigma of borderline dangerous and stable levels of magic. He pushed past the thought and turned to Thorax, who watched his younger sibling getting dressed in baby foal clothing while remaining unconscious.

“Hey Thorax?” The black changeling turned to him. “Let's go for a walk, I need to plan for…” he paused and briefly glanced at his parents. “- a certain revival of someone.” Thorax understood and nodded. In a flash of green fire, he took on the disguise of Crystal Hoof. He then turned to his parents. “Mom, dad, me and Thorax are gonna go out for a walk.”

“No problem Dusky,” She was already setting up cameras, bibs, foal-like toys and more, as if to make up for the years of them being absent. “We want to get to know them and possibly spoil them if need be.”

Dusky slightly slumped. “Please don’t-”

“I’m coming too!” Spike cut him off, already pushing him and Thorax out the door. “I know I don’t want to be tied to what’s about to happen here.”

Somehow his brother got super strength and managed to push alicorn and changeling out the front door and closing it with his tail, leaving four foals in the hooves of grandparents.

They didn’t even get to see the humiliating outfit that Umbra was put into the moment they left.

Outside, Spike closed the door with his tail and pushed away from the two. “Alright, now that we are out, you two do whatever it is you need to, while I go and hang out with a Big Mac. I’m gonna see if he has any free time for O & O! See you two later!” With that, the little dragon waddled off in a hurry to the farm, leaving Dusk and Thorax.

Dusk watched him go and turned to Thorax. “Alright, let’s go for a walk.” Thorax followed.

He had no particular heading, so he opted for the market area where a busy street of vendors had done their daily routine of selling their products.

“So… any particular topic that you want to bring up?” He asked the disguised changeling.

For a moment, Thorax looked down in thought, his Crystal Hoof disguise glimmering in the sunlight, attracting a few ponies at his coat. He settled on one.

“If Chrysalis comes back, do you think the Princesses will allow changelings to live amongst ponies?”

Now that was a Tartarus of a question and while he knew he could give no direct response, he gave a steady nod. “Regardless of what is to become of Chrysalis, if you are willing to stand by my side, and perhaps with help of Mirage, we could make an appeal for changelings to be allowed Equestrian citizenship and/or to be allowed sanctuary for them.” A pause as he passed by Bon-Bon. “Let’s see what they think of them so far.

“Hey, Bon-Bon!” The creme mare with two toned mane and tail turned him, giving a brief smile.

“Oh, Hello Prince Dusk Shine! What can I do for you?” She then looked at Thorax, where she squinted a bit and some emotions passed over her, before professionally staying composed. “And who might this be?”

Dusk stopped right in front and he briefly remembered a phrase that was assigned to him about agents in town. “Oh… uh-” He lowered his head a bit so only she could hear. “The ‘cake' is not a lie, the cake holds vanilla, chocolate and coffee inside.”

She blinked at the phrase before she looked around, noticing no one close other than the disguised changeling before whispering back. “And her fat flanks are so big?”

Dusk snorted with a small smile. “Big enough to cover the sun.”

Bon-Bon nodded and her demeanor relaxed. “I see you are aware of ‘S.M.I.L.E’ then, Prince Dusk Shine.”

He gave a cutious nod, though the stupid grin remained on his face. “Yeah, and I couldn’t take Celestia serious when she told me the secret ‘phrase’ no matter how screwed up I was mentall during that time.”

Thorax was now thoroughly confused. “Um… what just happened right now?”

Bon-Bon gave the disguised changeling a once over. “And he is…”

Dusk laid a gentle hoof on him. “Right now, he is an ally and preferably a future friend, but I need him to help me with Chrysalis and perhaps help other changelings out there trying to make a living.”

Bon-Bon gave a steady look at him and for Thorax, it was unnerving because… her emotions were difficult to read. It was like staring at a wall, not being able to see through or around. She was this solid foundation of emotionless pony and in truth, scared him more than any hostile pony he had ever encountered.

After a moment more, her hardened features eased and her attitude changed to something more accommodating for him. “Well, I can’t fault you in trying to help the changelings.” Those were the first words she said, which really offset Thorax for he thought it would be something less positive. “As for Chrysalis,” Her face frowned at Dusk. “-You do realize she is on Equestria’s top ten list of most wanted/hated as well as ‘S.M.I.L.E’s too?”

Dusk nodded sadly. “I do, but…” He gave a small sigh. “-you should already be informed of my recent… arrivals that came with her, right?”

Bon-Bon echoed his sad nod. “I do and that is why my CO and the Princesses have not really done anything. We are seeing you from afar and just waiting. My intel says they are not on their mothers’ side but they can be swayed easily.”

Dusk’ nose wrinkled a bit and a small frown covered him. “You don’t have spies or ears in my home right now, do you?”

“I am not liberty to say, Prince Dusk Shine.” Bon answered quickly, though her face went sympathetic. “But know this that unlike before, we do have your back now and should they ever turn on you… the four villianesses, that is, that our job is to secure you at all cost.”

She then eyed Thorax once more. “And… while I don’t believe that the action of your mother should be attributed to all of your kind, I will give my best and most enduring talk to give the hive a positive chance to my superiors.” A pause then she gave the briefest and faintest of smiles. “You gotta be the one to prove me right.”

Without another word she gave a curt bow and walked off. Once gone, Thorax turned to him.

“Can you please explain to me what just happened?”

Dusk gave him an assuraning smile. “Just a little inside jab but basically… She knows you and you are safe with her. She is kinda like the… infiltrator that keeps Equestria safe from monsters, magical hazards and other threats.”

Thorax would have chittered or buzzed his wings in agitation or discomfort. “Am I one of those?”

Dusk shook his head. “No and for that, I am glad to say that if you can pass her, then so can other changelings.” A pause and he smiled as he looked about Ponyville. “Perhaps we can be more accepting than most other creatures give us credit for.”

Thorax enjoyed the sentiment and actually found comfort in his words. However he still had questions.

“So then… what does a ‘cake not being a lie’ and ‘flanks covering the sun’ have to do with Princess Celestia?”

Dusk held back a hard snort and smiled like a foal on Heartwarming. “Well… to put it simply, it's a phrase created for agents in Equestria. And what better phrase to create then one that sounds so blasphemous upon the ears around them?”

Thorax remained silent, studying him a bit longer before shaking his head in dismay. “I still have yet to understand you ponies and your insanity.”

—---------------------------------

Thorax and Dusk walked around town, having no real heading, though the prince was hoping to see his friends. He decided to find the closest one which was Rarity at her Carousel Boutique.

Dusk entered through the door, hearing the little chime that came with it. A few moments later, a voice rang out. “I’ll be right there soon! Just give me a few moments, darling!” Rarity's voice came from the back.

“No rush, Rarity. It’s just me!”

A pause. “Dusk?” Then the mare in white with purple tail and mane came from the back with a quick trot. “Oh, hello.” She then turned to Crystal Hoof and her eyes lit up a bit at his crystal pony form. “And who might be your sparkling crystal pony friend?”

Thorax could feel the adoration and near insatiable lust for him radiating by her, though it was not directly at him but what he was. Actually rather what he pretended to be.

Dusk pointed him out. “This here is… uh Crystal Hoof and I… needed him to show him around Ponyville life and see how he can handle being around others.” He then brought up a smile. “Just like my foals, I kind of want to show him the friendly side of my-”

A squeal left her causing a horrible shiver to run over both males and their ears ringing. “YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THEM AS YOUR FOALS!!! EHEHEHE!!!” She was bouncing on her hooves as she heard him speak those words. Dusk was trying to gauge whether it was through anger or joy, but his dampening spell against loud voices was starting to wear off.

She then zoomed in on him. “OH! Are you here to tell me to be their designer? Please oh please! Dusk! Let me create their wonderful little outfits!”

Her whine just dampened his spell to lower levels and he repressed a shutter, giving her a weak smile. “Rarity, I appreciate that and, I would honestly like no pony else to do it-” She was about to squeal again but managed to silence her by placing a hoof on mouth to quiet her for a moment. “-But right now, like I told Pinkie Pie to keep it down low. I know that you want to spread the word, but please, keep the gossip to a minimal.”

“Aww, Dusky. You know how I love good gossip, especially for one so… scandalous.” Whether it was venomous envy, or sultry sweetness, he couldn’t tell. He would ask Thorax later.

Dusk sighed. “Please?”

Rarity pouted her upper lip before feigning a sigh of disappointment. “Fine, but you must also allow me to design your wardrobe for the next event and you must be present and not complain at all!”

Fear gripped his heart for he knew two things that came from Rarity and posing for her. One, you were not allowed to move and she would hold you deadly still, possibly prick you purpose if you didn’t. Two, you would be bored to death while she worked on you for hours.

Meekly, he tried something else. “Um… I’ll see if I can do something about that.” He then realized he had a changeling next to him. He turned to Thorax, but Crystal Hoof shook his head, as if reading his… emotions? Of fear? Pain? Annoyance?

“I don’t do anything like that. Besides, I am still not sure about… well anything on anypony here.” It was a half worded sentence with little thought but if he read Dusk’s emotions right, he would be a scapegoat for him.

Rarity blinked at this, focusing on Crystal Hoof. “Dusk, you say that you are showing him around, but why are you specifically-”

“He’s a changeling,” Dusk interrupted Rarity, causing both Rarity and Thorax to freeze in fear. Dusk quickly pushed on, though he remained a bit offensive. “And before you ask, no he is not an enemy nor does he want your love. In fact, he is trying to fit into pony society better. Also he is Mirage’s brother and they trust him.”

Rarity took all of this in as best as possible, doing all she could not to bring her fainting couch and fall, but something did sparkle in her eyes to prevent her from falling.

“Wait… they? And you said brother?”

Dusk nodded. “Yeah, and I believe that Thorax and perhaps other changelings can be a part of pony society if given the chance. They were desperate much like Chrysalis and they needed food. They only followed her orders, that was it. And yeah, Mirage is ‘they’, for ‘they’ haven’t found a gender they’re comfortable with.”

“It happens to a lot of us,” Thorax decides to break his disguise somewhat. “Many of us don’t know what we want to be in our lives until we settle on one or the other. Sometimes it takes years for it.”

Rarity studied Crystal Hoof, a disguised changeling in front of her before sighing and nodding. “Okay, so outside the fact that there is a changeling in front of me and that you are trying to show him around pony society, hopefully trying to be allies?” She asked Dusk, whom in turn nodded. She then refocused on Crystal Hoof/Thorax and put a hoof to her chin in thought. “So… there is no possible way of convincing you to be a model for me by changing your shape in any way or form to please the little old me and her career?” She suddenly did the puppy eyes and pushed up her lip, forgetting the whole scenario about him being a changeling.

Thorax took a bit of a step back and felt the radiating love… not of actual interest but the love of her work. The love that she would put into her work, her passion of seeing something come to life. He dared say that she was in love with her work and he could feel it.

Too bad he was still full from Dusk’s parents as well as the love that did come from the surrounding area. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t feel comfortable right now being around other ponies yet, nor away from my siblings. I am still trying to see if there are other changelings around that may want to live amongst ponies.”

Rarity pouted in disappointment but nodded. “Fair enough darling, though I hope you do help other changelings. It would be a positively delightful if I could find a changeling worth posing or me so I can try many shapes and sizes and -”

The chime of the bell was heard, all three turned to a door opening and in came… a changeling… undisguised and in the open. All three blinked at the changeling in surprise.

“Hello,” His voice unaltered or shifted in any way, his intentions bare for them. “I was told that I can order a suit here for a friend of mine.”

They all gaped at him but it was Thorax who spoke out first. “Kevin?”

The undisguised changeling blinked and cocked his head to the side before bobbing his head. “Hello Thorax, nice to see you.” Whether he cared not about blowing the identity of another changeling fazed him or not, he looked unabided.

Once again, Thorax forgoed his disguise and walked up to Kevin. The other changeling gave him a once over. “Are you here for food then? Or are you still trying to make friends with ponies?”

For Dusk and Rarity, it was difficult to gauge his emotions, for he spoke in a flat tone, neither high nor low, neither catious nor serious. It was very ambient and even, but to Thorax, its spoke levels.

“I didn’t think I would see you again after you left the hive before the wedding.”

Kevin bobbed his head. “I left, but I remembered Chrysalis’s plan about the invasion, so I tagged along. However I didn’t want to hurt any of the civilians but my hunger got the best of me. If it hadn’t been for Prince Dusk Shine’s parents, I would have not made it.” His stoic attitude made it really hard to feel sorry for him, but the wilting and sniff from Thorax told both ponies that there was some weight to it.

“I-I’m sorry what you went through Kevin and to answer your previous question, yes and no. I am here to make friends, but no I am not here for food.”

Kevin focused on Thorax, seeing his lack of holes, sparkles in his wings, full belly and even a shine to his chintin. That couldn’t be said the same for Kevin but also, he was not starving per say. His holes were almost closed and his features did look clean but nothing compared to Thorax.

“So I see.” He paused then looked past him to the ponies who have been staring at them as if it was the strangest thing to date. “I apologize if I caused any alarm in any way,” His voice devoid of any real concern. “-but I was told that the shopkeeper here would help me get a suit for my friend. His wedding is next week and I wanted to get it ready for him.”

Rarity blinked, realizing he was talking to her and she withheld any prejudice or ill towards the changelings in her home. In fact, she blew that out of the water and gave a small nod. “I-I suppose I can take on a task though he would have to be here so I can measure him or unless your wrote down his measure-”

In a flash of green, Kevin changed into a donkey with droopy ears. Kevin matched him down to the soured expression, the dull blue color in his eyes. “Will this work?” He asked in the voice of Cranky Doodle.

Rarity’s eye twitched but then she squinted and put a hoof on her chin. “Tell me… uh, Kevin was it?” A nod. “This is Cranky Doodle, correct? The donkey that lives here?” Another nod. “Well um, while I do appreciate that you are taking his… um looks, I don’t suppose that you wouldn’t mind doing other characters for me, would you?”

It was an odd question for him but in a flash of green fire, Kevin was back. He cocked his head. “Other characters?”

Rarity bobbed her head and a sparkle showed in her eye. “Yes! Err… what I mean to say is that while I do Cranky's suit, I would also like to see if you can model for me a few other individuals.”

“Will that cost extra?”

“Oie! Contraire darling! I would pay you if you can duplicate multiple ponies for me, Kevin!”

Transforming back, he bobbed his head up and down. “Okay.”

“Excellent!” She turned to Dusk and THorax. “Well, I suppose you two are free to go.” She waved them off quickly and began to conjure or levitate quilts, needles, paper and more overhead at rapid pace.

Dusk and Thorax took that as their cue to leave and they did. However as soon as the door opened and was closed behind them, out of nowhere, Bon-Bon dropped right in front of them, startling both. Thorax shrieked while Dusk jumped in fright. “Bon-Bon! What the tartarus!?”

The candy mare had given them both a look. “I just had a report that ponies spotted a changeling out in the open and headed here. I already knew that you went with him,” She pointed at Thorax, “-but one that just casually walks by without a disguise! That’s just begging for the guard to come down here.”

Dusk gave a small grunt at the sudden yelling. “Relax, Sweetie Drops!” The mare gave a dark glare at him at her code name and he countered it back albeit with more authority. “The one who came in was friendly as well. In fact, according to Thorax, he abandoned the hive before the invasion. He only came here to get a suit for his friend whose getting married next week.”

Bon-Bon a.k.a Agent Sweetie Drops, gave him a long hard glare before renting and giving a small sigh. “It would do us good if we got a warning of some kind and-”

“Kevin does his own thing.” Thorax cut her off, something hesitantly. “H-He doesn’t really like to hide himself.”

“Wait Kevin?” Bon-Bon asked, suddenly her voice and attitude changed. “Kevin? As in the ‘Kevin’ who helped ‘S.M.I.L.E’ get in contact with Steve Magnet?” Now she was both static and annoyed, much to the displeasure of Dusk and Thorax. “He is the whole reason we were able to get contact with the ‘River-Serpents’ in the first place. He was wearing a disguise then!” Thorax merely shrugged.

This infuriated the agent, stomping her hoof on the floor. “And now I have to report there are two changelings in Ponyville. One in disguise and one without!”

“Kevin is harmless.” Thorax defended. “He is right now with Rarity trying to get a suit made for his friend. And possibly helping her make other suits for clients.”

“Ugh, now we have an Element Bearer responsible and Celestia knows what-”

“No, even she doesn’t know.” Dusk snarked, cutting her off. “And I would like to keep it that way. As is, I told the Princesses my plan on trying to revive the others and deal with them. The changelings-” He gave a small shuffle of his hoof. “-just so happen to be part of the plan.”

“How?” Demanded Bon-Bon.

“Does it matter?”

“Yes!”

Dusk gave a small grunt at her attitude. “Well for one thing, Nightmare and Eris are already awake.” Bon-Bon was about to open her mouth to yell but he quickly added. “And they are fine but still a bit drained right now, so they are harmless.” A snort left Bon-Bon. “Mostly.”

A small glance at Thorax. “And for his mother?”

That caused a deep and unnerving chill to run down the spine of Thorax as that line was unveiled, though it was not worth trying to antagonize another pony, let alone one who is a possible assassin or agent of some kind.

Dusk waved it off. “She will be handled, as will Silhouette.”

Bon-Bon sighed heavily, her anger and frustration painting over her face. “You're not making my life easier, you know?”

“I am not the one who volunteered to do spy missions for a prince and his friends in one of the most crazy towns in all of Equestria.”

Bon’s nose wrinkled. “Touche.” She replied. Then she gave a small nod to the Boutique. “So… Kevin is in there right?” Receiving a nod from both, she sighed once more. “Alright, well if he is the only other changeling there, I can hopefully talk to him about keeping his disguise up until the laws for changelings… well change.”

“Good luck,” Thorax offered. “He isn’t one for rules and he has a habit of… annoying others.”

Bon-Bon gave a huff and walked past them, entering the boutique and closing the door. They then looked at each other and moved on.

Dusk and Thorax, in disguise, moved through Ponyville, not really speaking but just trying to gauge what to do next.

“So…” Dusk tried to start a conversation. “Anything that you need to know here or want to find out?”

Thorax gave a small shake of his head. “Nothing that would seem relevant. It’s still scary for me just being around so many ponies without feeling like at any moment, they might want to attack me.”

Dusk bobbed his head. “I got that same feeling when I got my wings.” He gave his tucked wings a small flap before shaking his head. “When the world heard of a male alicorn, I had half the populace trying to court me. Most females, few males, but I really couldn’t deal with any of them due to my…handicap.”

Thorax glanced at him. “You seem fine now. If anything, your emotions have been pure and have no ill intentions for me, Mirage or your foals.”

Dusk gave a small huff. “You think that I am not damaged?”

“I didn’t say that. I said that your emotions have not impacted your decisions that would normally mess with others. I can safely be around you because you are projecting what you need to and want to, not hiding it or trying to remain undetected.” A small and rare smile touched the disguised changeling. “You would make a terrible changeling.”

An amused snort left the alicorn. “Whether that’s a compliment or insult, I don’t care, but thanks.” He then sighed as the duo hit the town center hall. “Now, let’s tackle a serious issue. Chrysalis will return and she would most likely want her hive back, right?”

A firm and slow nod left Thorax. “And my understanding is that with the hive disbanded, she ain’t gonna be too happy about that, right?” Another nod. “And now that she has a… heir to the throne.” A pause then he stared at Thorax with a lifted brow and tilted head. “Wait, aren’t you in line for the throne.”

“Well I-”

And CUUUUUUUUUUUUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

‘A megaphone was thrown down on the floor.’

Eris - “Author! What the fuck is this shit? What does this have to do with the story!? My fucking story!?!

…

“What do you mean you don’t know?! None of this makes sense or belongs in the fucking script!”

…

“Then… where the hell is the sex at?”

…

… Dusk Shine moaned as he mounted Thorax, his breath barring down his neck, just as he was about to-

“THAT’S not what I meant, asshole!” Rips the scene from the page and throws it away. “No sane dumbass wants to read shit like this! You need to get your act together, start posting more stories about me and the girls getting are pussies wet and fucked! You need to skip what ever you had for this stupid interlewed you planned and get back to us! Got it?! No divergence! No straying from the original plot! And no back plot!”

“Just get to the point, skip all this bullshit and move on!” Storms off in fury, muttering about ‘inability to stay in continuity’ and ‘sticking to the fucking script.’

….

Screwball - “Hey author?”

…

“Don’t get mad, we all have our days off and on, some good, some bad, but in the end, it’s what makes us happy and you should only do this when you are happy, right?
Not doing it because you feel obligated, or you have to but because you want to enjoy it. I can’t read the clop but I know that you like to involve a lot of dialogue in there, so maybe it's a nice job and be happy you can build up a scene instead of those… weird pornos they make.”

…

“Well, whatever you were doing here, I hope it didn’t take too long to write and in the next chapter, it would be elaborated a bit more.”

…

“Ok, good luck!”

Thanks Screwball… for keeping my insanity fun…

Dedicated: For those that keep my spirits high, my hopes in grasp, my writing strong, and my happiness to achievable levels.

Thanks for 10 years of My Little Pony. Your friendship, your magic keeps me sane and insane, for better and the best, thank you all.

Author's Note

This was just a half filler that you take as you want and not to be an actual chapter, unless you consider what is on here cannon, but the truth of the matter is, this was all in my head and had to be played out like this or I would lose my mind.
I am perfectly insane with the most logical and illogical habit of throwing my words around. Most part makes no sense but others don't see it.

Ive been praised for my work, almost all of the stories here and you have no idea how happy I am that when I see something that makes no sense, but you all do, I brake down in tears of joy to see that it does. I lose my shit because of it and I realized that my insanity is not reclusive but visible and others can read it and I am so happy that for 10 years that Ive been here, YOU all have read my work and say.... Good job.

So thank you all once again for 10 years of dealing, reading and understanding my insanity!!! Thank yoU!!!!!

Also sorry not sorry but this was a weird one!