A Different Kind of Love: The Untold Chapters

------------ Life of a Tyrant: Ajax - Part 1 ------------

Consciousness... It came to him in a moment. Like being born. His infant mind began to process new and interesting things, all around him. They were frightening and exciting at the same time, though he could not begin to comprehend them all. He didn't know the name for them, but what he felt was... Coldness. Discomfort. Warmth.

Pain.

"Oh, you poor, poor thing..." The voice whispered through his mind, sliding through his thoughts like a snake in the grass. It was soothing... Calming...

Motherly.

"Come to your mother, little one... Come to me..." With a shudder, his eyes still closed to the bright and wonderful world around him, he groped blindly. His hands swayed through the air for a few long moments before a presence was before him. Slender arms wrapped around his muscular frame, pulled him tight against a warm and welcoming busom... Soft words of comfort whispered into his ears, coaxing him, ushering him to calm his shivering. "Shh. Shh. It's okay. Relax, you're going to be fine, now... Come, everyone... Say hello to your new brother." He felt more sets of arms wrap around him, more bodies press close. Their soft words of encouragement calmed him. The pain in his body receeded. The confusion and anxiety melted away.

"What is his name, my queen?" Another voice said. Feminine. Light. Tender. He felt soft vibrations against his cheek as the motherly woman stroked a hand back through his hair. His wide eyes fluttered open as he looked up at her. Looking up into the beautiful visage of his mother. Of his queen. Of Chrysalis.

"Ajax."

"Focus now, Ajax." Lily reprimanded him again, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, yes, I understand..." He muttered. Progression had been easy. Under the firm hand of his mentor and his queen, Ajax had excelled at much everything he had done... So far. This one test, however, was tripping him up. Brow furrowed in concentration, he studied the problem.

Okay, so... If I move here, he might move there... If I move there, then he's going to move over there, and trap me here. But I could counter that by moving here, and setting myself up for... He was beginning to get angry. This was foolish! One like him should not be sitting on the other end of a table, staring down at tiny plastic pieces! Another gentle squeeze on his shoulder urged calmness. It seemed Lily was the only one who COULD calm him down.

It worked. Most of the time.

"Queen to E5." He announced, moving the chess piece accordingly. Almost immediately, his opponent spoke and moved his own piece on the other end of the board.

"Bishop to D3. Checkmate." Ajax watched the events unfold, a completely unprecedented move taking him almost entirely by surprise. He hadn't even SEEN that bishop! His mind scrambled to find a way out, a way he could block, a way he could counter and save his king. That pawn? No, it was blocking his king from a threatening rook. His queen? On the other side of an enemy pawn, and she couldn't move properly. His king couldn't move out of the bishop's line of attack without moving in the way of the rook or his opponent's queen. Lily sighed and reached over his shoulder to tip over his king, admitting his defeat.

"What..."

"You would have had him three moves ago if you hadn't moved your knight."

"But they're so useless! They can only move three spaces, and in such a wierd fashion!" Ajax argued, gesturing wildly at the table before him.

"They can attack from angles other pieces cannot. Don't underestimate the power of a knight, Ajax." Lily said quietly.

"This is useless!" Ajax moved on to another argument, sweeping his hand over the board before them. "This is complete... Bullshit! If I wanted to beat a man, I'd do it with my fists! Let's see you stop a punch with your thoughts, or a silly chess board!" He pointed angrily at the other lieutenant, an older changeling named Noth, who smiled up at him with crossed arms.

"If you hit me, Chrysalis will be angry." Ajax was lurching forward to make good his threat when the other changeling's words stopped him. "See. I just used my thoughts."

"Chrysalis wants changelings who can THINK, Ajax." Lily said from behind him. "That's why we're lieutenants, free of the influence of the Hive Mind. Chrysalis values different opinions. Different thought processes. That way she can look at problems from more than one angle. You aren't much good to her if you can't think for yourself, Ajax."

"RRGH!" Angrily, Ajax smashed a large fist into the table, sending pieces flying in all directions across the clearing. They thumped into the grass as he stalked off moodily.

"Well, that escalated quickly..." Noth said, still sitting in his chair. His words chased Ajax off into the trees, the dark shadows concealing him from the bright sunlight. The last thing he heard was Lily's sigh as he slipped off and away.

"What do they know, anyways?" Ajax grumbled, walking inbetween tall, leafy oak trees and thick grass. Drones skittered and rushed along, lowering their heads as they passed. Any who didn't move quickly enough got a swift kick to the ribs in his anger. They didn't do anything more than lift an eyebrow at the hard blow, though he cracked ribs more than once. "Stupid chess... What a silly game." He shoved one drone aside on his way to his favorite brooding place. "It's black and white! Just like the pieces! You advance across the board, kill the enemy's pieces, and take their king hostage! For what it's worth, I could have just choked Noth and dragged him before Chrysalis... Stupid fucking game." Ajax finally made it to the cliffside, feeling the wind rush over his black skin. It whistled through the holes in his arms and legs, pushed and tugged at him as he let it wash over him.

Meanwhile, Lily had to report his failure to Chrysalis.

"He doesn't understand tact, subtelty, or strategy... Ajax feels if he can't sieze it by brute force, then it isn't worth siezing in the first place." She sighed. Chrysalis tapped her chin as she thought long and hard.

"Ajax isn't without his uses, though..." She finally said after a while. Lily arched an eyebrow, interested in her queen's take on the fledgeling Lieutenant's actions. "Brute force, tempered with tact and strategy, as you put it, can be a very valuable thing to have." Chrysalis had been pacing slowly, her slender, holed legs carrying her halfway across the meadow in the span of a single sentence. Lily stayed still, watching her queen think. "I think it's time for his first assignment."

"M-my queen, are you sure?" Lily asked, surprised. "I understand he's passed every evaluation you've had for him yet, but he's still as immature and childish as I was at his age."

"At his age, you could beath Noth at chess, and proved to be a worthy adversary for even myself." Chrysalis chuckled. "But you could hardly make a dent in anything with your punches and would rather dance around your opponent than strike them down. Your mind is keen already, Liliana. But you lack something Ajax has in abundance, and that is physical strength. You are a good balance for Ajax. Indeed, you seem to be one of the only ones who can rein him in. Go to his little brooding place. Tell him I need to speak to the two of you about your first team assignment." Lily sighed. An order was an order, and Chrysalis DID have a point... She saluted and left, her diaphanous wings carrying her above the treetops and off to the cliff Ajax often sulked at...

"Hey."

"What do YOU want?" Ajax snipped, staring off into the setting sun. The trees of the Everfree Forest stretched out underneath him, giving the changeling a view of the brilliant sunset. Lily sat next to him, dangling her legs over the edge of the cliff. "Don't sit next to me, what are you d-"

"Chrysalis wants to meet with us." Ajax stuttered as Lily cut him off, her own eyes focusing on the sunset.

"Wh... What for?" Ajax asked. Lily sighed.

"She's going to be giving us an assignment... I don't know anything more than that. I've come to fetch you." Ajax scoffed and stood, brushing his rear off and giving one last, lingering look at the sunset.

"I suppose we'd best go. Doesn't pay to keep Chrysalis waiting." Lily stood as well, patting his stomach with the back of her hand.

"Glad you see I could teach you SOMEthing in the year I've known ya." She teased, fluttering her wings before taking off. Ajax grumbled and caught up with her, both of them circling the clearing with their queen once before landing smoothly.

"Good. You work quickly, Lily." Chrysalis smiled between the two of them. "How was your chess game, Ajax?"

"Horrible, my queen." Ajax grumbled, glowering.

"So I heard. Don't fret. Chess just isn't your forte. What I have for the both of you next, though... Is." Both changelings waited patiently as their queen walked back and forth a few more times. She finally stopped, smiling at the two of them. "What do you know of Naga?" She asked quietly. Lily and Ajax shared a look before shrugging.

"Never heard of them."

"Nothing, my queen."

"I figured as much." Chrysalis advanced towards the both of them, smiling as she raised a hand to lay on their shoulders. "But that will change. I want you two to fly to Trottingham and begin researching them. Rumor has it there are several important tomes on the subject. While I have a drone who can read and research the books, his power isn't enough to shift INTO the naga. Rendezvous with him, take his place and one other, and begin researching them. When you return, I expect both of you to know enough about Naga to teach myself how to become one. You leave tomorrow morning. Rest up, disguise yourself as husband and wife, and fly to Trottingham. Within a year, I expect you two to have researched the topic and to have returned here." Chrysalis recieved a nod and a salute from both of them before she leaned in to kiss their cheeks. Her thin lips ignited Ajax's flesh, made him feel alive as she turned away and resumed pacing. Together, he and Lily left.

"So..." He said softly, casting a sidelong glance at Lily. "Husband and wife?"

He saw her swallow visibly.

Two days straight as the avian flew over the Everfree forest, and they were past it, headed North-East into the chilly air of the snowy mountains. Ajax wanted to stop off in Stalliongrad, which was a day's flight out of the way, but Lily insisted there would be time enough for a warm bed and food when they arrived in Trottingham. Grudgingly, Ajax followed her command, but only because Chrysalis had warned him not to disobey Lily. They found an abandoned Chimera cave to make camp in for the night, and after diguising the entrance, were able to build a fire to keep themselves warm. Changelings were not unused to sleeping on hard ground, so they curled up for the night and started to drift off.

"You know..." Ajax muttered softly.

"Hmm?" Lily muttered, curled against his chest, her wings tucked to her back.

"We should practice."

"Practice what?" Lily asked, shifting slightly. The feel of her body against his was so... Sexy. He felt the shifted avian inside of him warm to the feel of her slender body against his. "Oh, come on, Ajax..." Lily groaned.

"What? You want it just as much as I do..." His big hand slipped around to lay flat on her stomach, a devious grin spreading across his face. She wouldn't dare deny that she didn't want it. Lily was just as much of a deviant as he was. She shivered pleasurably, though she complained that the fire wasn't warm enough. "C'mon, babe." Ajax teased, propping himself up on his elbows as Lily went to stoke the fire with a thin stick. His desire stood up obvious and big, tenting the front of the tight pants he had shifted with. When Lily turned back, he was smoothly rubbing the shaft through his pants, grinning up at her.

"Ugh. Fine." She groaned, rolling her eyes.

"There's a good girl." Ajax teased, unceremoniously pushing his pants down. The thick length popped free, bobbing lewdly back and forth for a few moments as Lily fumbled at her own pants with numb fingers. She finally stepped out of them and her panties, exposing her crotch to him.

"Ooh... Shaved..." Ajax teased, beckoning her forward. She took a few hesitant steps before Ajax grasped her hips and pulled her forward to his mouth. She gave a soft gasp as his tongue roughly started lapping at her petals, slurping and sucking firmly.

"Aah! Hey, take it e-easy!" She whimpered, pulling at his hair. Ajax countered by shifting the long strands away, his head now covered in a soft fuzz. She had no purchase, so her fingers had to push at him. He muscled his way forward, nipping and sucking her clit. "Aahn!" She cried out, her hands now shaking as they stopped pushing and started scratching. Ajax only grunted and clamped his hands harder onto her thighs, licking even harder. Finished with tasting her, he leaned back, pulling Lily down onto his lap.

"On your knees." He growled. Lily shuddered and shakily fell to her knees, her fingers digging into his broad shoulders. One hand dove inbetween them to adjust, and when Ajax felt her lips spread apart, he roughly pulled her down.

"AAHN! Ajaaaaxx!" She cried out, arcing her back.

"Like that, didja?" Ajax teased, flexing once inside of her. Her face screwed up in pleasure as he laid back. "Well, get to it." He twined his fingers behind his head, looking down to the spot where they met. "Practice." Lily knew better than to disobey him, especially when they got like this. If she didn't, he could get very... Irritiable. Slowly at first, she started moving her hips, gasping as he worked around inside of her. Finally, she got faster, moving better... While the two of them were just about as new to sex as any couple, they were quick studies... Soon enough, Lily was moving fast enough to grant them both pleasure.

"There it is..." Ajax groaned, squirming under her. "Ooh yeah..." He liked talking. It let her know how good she was doing. Lily panted atop him, her skin glistening with sweat now. Her hands rested on his broad chest as she moved faster. "There ya go, Liliana!" His hands unraveled and fell to her thighs, squeezing them with a devious grin. "Good girl. You're almost there..."

"Haahh..." She panted, her skin slippery with exertion now. Her hips were moving as fast as she could manage, bending and twisting him in all the right ways.

"Gonna cum!" He panted, squeezing her thighs. She gasped as he started to release, probably cumming herself, judging by how she shook. "Hnng!" Ajax grunted underneath her, his hips lifting to slide deeper and deeper into her as he came long and hard. "Hooohh..." With a soft moan, he finally relaxed, some of his seed spilling out onto his pulsing shaft. He pulled Lily down harder, flattening their lips with a deep, throaty groan. "That was good, babe." He groaned, feeling the blood leave his crotch. Lily, sweating and panting, could only nod in agreement. he rolled her over, onto her side, their lower halves pressed together still. Ajax fell asleep almost immediately. He held in his arms a shivering Lily, despite the post-sex warmth.

"Come ooooonn..." Ajax groaned, pressing close to Lily.

"Stop it. We're supposed to be brother and sister!" Lily pushed him away just barely, enough to slip inbetween him and book shelf.

"I'm so boored..." He complained, following after her. The Trottingham library was massive, to say the least... It 'Rivaled the great library of Canterlot itself!' Or so one of the many scribes would say... Lily and Ajax had been there two days and already the massive changeling was bored out of his mind. Lily pressed herself, tried to stick to her duties faithfully, but Ajax found it difficult to focus... Their contact, the drone Chrysalis had mentioned, had been forced to leave when questions started getting asked to him. He made the excuse of not feeling well, and put the original man back in his bed, still knocked unconscious. When he woke, he'd have a splitting headache and very little memory of the last few weeks... Meanwhile, Lily and Ajax had had to improvise. They abducted two other patrons, and were now using their nearby home for a de-facto base of operations while they studied.

"Can't we leave early today?" Ajax asked again.

"It's hardly lunchtime!" Lily whispered as loud as she dared in the hushed vault of books. Her fingers ran over the spines of the books, having finally located the section their contact had given them.

"So we call it an early day, go home to fuck, and hit it again tomorrow, refreshed and renewed. Whaddaya say?" Ajax teased, pressing close again. Lily's glare was enough to stop him, but not without a wayward grope of her breast. She swatted his hand and went back to the books.

"Look, you want to leave early, fine. Go walk around town. Get to know the people. But don't forget, you're Isiah Mildew, you live with your sister, and you're a papermaker by trade. No one will think twice of you. Or your smell." Ajax frowned and pinched her rear, rather roughly. The squeal he got in return made his smile grow even wider as he left Lily behind to her books and studies. He walked up and out of the lower recesses of the stuffy library and out onto the cold Canterlot streets.

The gentleman he had chosen was rather short with sandy-blonde hair. He and his sister had been grocery shopping the day he and Lily had nipped into town. Shifted into stray dogs, they followed the two people home, and were graciously invited in for a quick dinner.

"Oh, Isiah! Look! They're shivering with the cold."

"Everything here shivers with the cold, sister..." Isiah had said boredly, pushing open the door to their home.

"We can't just LEAVE them out here! Ooh! We should adopt them! They'll be such good pets!"

"We aren't adopting any pets, sis... We can hardly feed ourselves."

"Nonsense. At LEAST let them come in for dinner. We can't just shoo them off."

"Ugh. Fine. But only a little."

Needless to say, they were able to stay close enough to learn more and more about the brother and sister, enough to take their places. Ajax grinned in memory of thumping Isiah over the head nice and good. He and Lily gagged, bound, and secured the two before taking their place. Now, the for last five days, the visited the Library every day, as apparently Isiah and his sister, Tina did. Still. Isiah had little money, and Tina was musician. They didn't have much to feed their prisoners.

Not that it mattered. Ajax would just as soon they starve than put them back, letting them spread rumors about how two changelings tied them up in their own basement for weeks. Sighing, Ajax turned his feet towards the residential district, deciding it best to just return to their house and wait for Lily. All the while, Chrysalis' final words to him played over and again in his head. It was the morning they left. Chrysalis had pulled him away from Lily just before they took off on their mission.

"Listen closely, Ajax." Chrysalis said softly. "Lily doesn't think you're ready for this mission, that you aren't smart enough. I think you're a perfect balance to her brain. Your strength and her wit. Listen to her orders, for she does know better than you. But don't be afraid to use your strength. To train it..." Chrysalis had leaned close then, whispering into his ear. "I want you... To kill as many as you can, without Lily knowing... Train your strength. Get used to killing others, not just feeding off of them..." Chrysalis grinned as she pulled back, her smile matching Ajax's own. "Go." She said, pushing him along. "And don't tell Lily my secret orders for your mission. She would not approve." Ajax had left, a devious smile on his face, already contemplating how he could get away with killing someone and not letting Lily know...

On his way, the perfect opportunity presented itself. This poor woman was walking her dog down the street, completely oblivious to Ajax or anything else. Dipping into one home's doorway, noting the windows all had closed shades, he shifted into another dog. He padded up behind the woman and her dog, playing the part of a stray.

"Oh, hello, little guy!" She said, just as Ajax went to go familiarize himself with the other pup. They sniffed at one another, even as the woman approached to scratch him on the head. Playing the part of a dumb animal, Ajax let her scratch his head, making a show of panting happily. "You're an awfully beautiful puppy. Where are your owners? You don't have a collar... Hmm... Tell you what, you can come home with us." She smiled and patted her thigh, urging him along. Smiling and panting contentedly, Ajax went along with it, his changeling mind delighting on the love she was pouring into him. It fed him better than a steak dinner. She led him two blocks back to her home, which he was glad to see was actually a fair distance away from any others. She didn't call out when she entered, and there was only one other pair of shoes at the front door... Probably hers.

He entered warily, his head low and ears flat against his head. She noted his hesitation and patted her thigh once more. "Come on, boy!" She said happily, urging him further into her own home.

Like the dumb bitch she was.

Just as soon as she turned her back, Ajax shifted, looming tall and powerful in his natural form. Regular human, male, and just about as bulky as anything, Ajax's muscles rippled as he closed the distance between the two of them in three easy strides. She turned around to see the human-disguised changeling, and just as her mouth opened in a scream, he shut it for her. For good.

The punch landed with a sickening crunch, snapping her head to the side. Her jaw hung at an odd angle as she fell backwards, hitting her head on the counter as she went. Blood sprayed across the countertop as she hit, and began to pool under her head once she fell to the ground. But her chest was still heaving. Ajax's chest was heaving. He looked down at the limp body beneath him, thrill and excitement pounding through his veins like the adrenaline that fueled his next few actions. He lifted her up, one hand across her face, and began ruthlessly pounding her skull into the countertop. Again and again the blows fell, spreading more blood, each blow landing with a sickening, gut-churning noise. He pounded until her body was limp. Until the head in his hands was deformed and bloody.

Until he stopped laughing.