Life as a Secret Changeling Prince

James found that it was pretty easy to fly while carrying Lily, now that he had her on his back. Which made it easier to follow Burnt Oak into the city, though he wasn’t exactly sure where they were going.

Once Burnt stopped in front of a door to a small home, he figured that this was where Odonata lived. The stallion opened the door and quietly said, “I brought James, he might be able to help,” someone answered in a country accent, “oh thank goodness!”

James could tell instantly that it was Pear Butter, so now he was even more confused as he was lead in. He looked around the small room and immediately noticed what Burnt wanted him to see, it was two small green eggs wrapped in a blanket.

Odonata was laying down next to them, simply staring at them with a warm smile. “So... why’d you bring me here?” James questioned, going over to sit by Odonata after setting Lily down.

She went over to sit by the eggs as well, looking at them with a fascinated look in her eyes, “where did you get them? They’re pretty!” Odonata giggled, “they’re from my belly, sweetheart.”

She gasped, “really?! How did you do that?” The Changeling blushed as he glanced at Burnt Oak, who looked just as confused as Pear Butter (who was rapidly flipping through a book labeled ‘Changeling Reproduction’).

“Umm... magic?” He answered, though it came out sounding like a question.

Pear said to herself, “h-how is this even possible?! You’re fully male, I’ve never seen something like this happen before—“

“Isn’t this normal with you guys too?” James questioned, raising an eyebrow, but Odonata commented, “that’s what I said!”

Burnt Oak shook his head, “no, this is very much not normal! Can you explain this?” He pointed at the eggs, which were then scooped up by Odonata as he quietly cooed to them in Thaydonese.

James rolled his eyes, “I can’t believe this is the emergency you guys called me here for, hand me that book won’t you, unnie?” Pear placed it in his hooves, he held it with his magic as he glanced at the table of contents.

Then he flipped to the page that would explain it and shoved it in Burnt’s direction, “you can read right?” James teased, only to be given a half-hearted glare in return.

Burnt read aloud, “‘the Changeling species is famous for being considered intersex, in a case of emergency (such as war/declining population) or simply out of choice, a male can give birth to eggs just as a female can. While not actually being hermaphrodites (though there have been a few cases), they appear fully as their birth sex, reproduction is an entirely different subject when it comes to genitalia.’”

The two Changelings had amused looks on their faces, so James voiced their shared thoughts, “do you understand our sexual reproduction now? Or does Odie here really need to prove he’s telling the truth by showing himself?”

Then Lily piped up, “show what?” James flushed bright green, he had forgotten the filly was with them, she had been so quiet.

“Nothing kid,” he grumbled, swearing that he could hear Odonata stifle his giggles.

Pear gave James a strange look, “why didn’t you ever mention this to us? It’s kind of a big difference between our species.”

“No one ever asked,” James answered.

She looked at Burnt, then at Odonata, realizing, “so that means that those eggs are from...”

Odonata nodded with a sweet smile, “mhm, they’re from me and Oakie.”

“A-are you sure they’re mine?” The stallion blurted out, making Odonata scrunch his nose in confusion.

Then he understood what his lover was suggested, “seriously?”

“I-I mean... darlin’, it hasn’t been that long, how could you have laid them that quickly?” He explained, feeling bad for offending his lover.

James sighed, “you guys really don’t know much about us, it’s been a year Burnt. Anyways, it’s possible because it doesn’t take long at all,” he pointed at Odonata’s stomach, “you see, it only takes three weeks for the egg to develop in there, then it comes out. You’ll just have to wait three months for them to hatch... which reminds me, you have twins!”

His friend frowned, “yeah, now I know I can’t tell my family a thing about this. As my father told me, ‘twins are a curse from the Goddess Carita’, like grubs aren’t always a blessing.”

He kissed the tops of his eggs, cradling them gently in his arms, “I can’t ever see them as bad luck, they’re my grubs and I’m going to raise them the best way I can... that is, if you want to keep your promise Oakie,” he looked up at the stallion, who didn’t seem to understand at first.

“I can’t raise them here, not with the knowledge that Flygon is going to fall. You need to, at the very least, take them to Equestria, even if you don’t bring me,” Odonata said as he looked sadly at his eggs.

Burnt Oak shook his head, whispering, “no no, hun’, it’s not going to fall. We’ll make sure of it,” he caressed Odonata’s cheek with his hoof, “and what makes you think I won’t bring you to Equestria with me?”

“Because I know better,” Odonata mumbled as he laid the eggs back down, it hurt James to know that he wasn’t wrong.

So many Changelings were going to be left behind, either by lovers, friends, or even their own family once they got the chance. They couldn’t trust the Equestrians but at the same time, they were their only chance to get out of the country before Chrysalis invaded it.

“She won’t win, she can’t,” Pear tried to console him, but Odonata shook his head.

“It’s useless going against her, so many Changelings are switching sides for one of two reasons. Either they’re afraid to go against her, or they’re smart enough to know that joining her is the best option.”

The ponies looked confused, “but we thought you all hated her?” Burnt Oak questioned. “We do hate her, but that doesn’t mean she’s a bad leader. She cares about her subjects, even though she’s subjecting them to a terrible way of living,” James explained as he shrugged.

He then looked at Odonata, saying, “I really wish I could stay longer but I need to go, the General wanted me to assist him with some business. That means you’re leaving too, Lily,” he looked down at the filly, who was observing the eggs.

“Do we have to?” She whined, “I wanna stay longer, the eggies are pretty!”

“Sorry Lily, but your grandfather is probably wondering where you are. I’m probably going to get chewed out for being late,” James grumbled.

Burnt laughed as he wrapped an arm around Odonata, pulling him close to him, “James the most you’re gonna get is a slap on the wrist, the old guy sees you as his son at this point!”

The teenager glared at him, “he does not!” It didn’t help when Pear added, “from what Bright Mac tells me, he really does.”

“The traitor!” James pouted.

Lily snickered at his expression, then she squealed when he picked her up with his magic, placing her on his back once again. “I’ll see you all later, who knows how long this errand will take me... especially since I’m bringing this one along,”

Odonata offered, “she can come see the grubs when they hatch, it’ll happen in three months after all.”

The filly eagerly agreed, “that sounds fun!” She then waved goodbye to them.

James then kindly bid them farewell, leaving the home with a smile on his face.

It would never not please him to see his friends, they really were becoming part of his life. Hopefully they’ll stay a part of it for a long time, he couldn’t imagining losing them. Bright Mac, Odonata, Burnt Oak, and Pear Butter, they felt like family to him.

“Hey James,” Lily said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Yes Lily?”

She yawned before nuzzling her face into his mane, “when we get married, are you going to lay eggs too?”

He stopped dead in his tracks, blushing fiercely as he shouted, “LILY!”

“Just asking!”