Spike stirred a few times before his eyes opened. He was in a large cave, but he was alive, dry, and … warm! He grinned. He noticed that he was under a large furry blanket. He stretched, and it fell off. Oh. He was stark naked underneath it. He heard a crackling sound and turned to spot the source. A large fire was burning nearby, close enough for warmth to seep into his bones but far enough to avoid burning him. His pajama pants were hanging nearby, apparently drying out. He supposed they’d been removed to keep him from freezing more.

Spike was grateful, but still cautious. He knew the caves around Yakyakistan were infested with Yetis, having met a few himself. But he knew Yetis hated fire, and he doubted they would have covered a meal to keep it warm.

Something else had saved him then. Spike walked over to the fire and warmed his claws. He touched his pants. They were drier, but still pretty cold and wet. Modesty would have to wait, it seemed.

“Hello?” he called. There was no response, just a brief echo. Spike walked further into the cave.

It seemed unlived in. Spike spotted his reflection in a shiny wall. He grinned and puffed his chest out. Out of habit, he flexed, and said, “Lookin’ good, Spike! Lookin’ real good!” As Spike passed by, his reflection slipped on a patch of ice and fell on its butt, letting out an “Oof!” as the wind was knocked out of it.

Spike stared in shock as it rubbed at its head and grumbled. That hadn’t been his reflection, but an exact duplicate of him that had mirrored his movements to pretend to be his reflection. Spike had no idea what could have caused that, but he hadn’t been near the mirror pond, so…

“Thorax?” Spike asked carefully.

His doppelganger nodded with a sheepish grin. “H-hi!” the Changeling squeaked.

“Why are you naked?!”

“You needed my clothes more than I did…”

“What? I – oh. The blanket?” Spike guessed that that was actually the Drone’s Morph Suit. Thorax nodded.

Spike sighed. “I – jeeze … I’m sorry. For, for what I did.”

“I hurt your family. I hurt you. Your reaction was … understandable. And, no offense, but my brother hits harder than you do…” It was strange for Spike to see a sly grin on his own face.

“Yeah, but I dropped you off in the middle of nowhere!”

“You meant it as a kindness, and you were right, this was the best place for … someone like me to lie low.”

“Yeah, but…” Spike sighed. “I’ve just felt weird since then. I-”

Spike pulled Thorax into a hug and ran his cheek along the other Spike’s. He blinked in surprise. “Why’d I do that?”

“I think you just marked me,” Thorax said. “I … think I know why, I felt like I was dying after you left.”

Spike realized he was still tightly hugging a naked copy of himself. He quickly pulled away. “OK, that’s a little bit too narcissistic.”

Thorax grinned. “Do you always do that in front of the mirror?”

“Just when I think I’m alone!” Spike stammered.

Thorax laughed and changed back into himself. It was the first time Spike had seen the Drone even shirtless, let alone … holy heck he was hot! His chest was covered in lighter ridges of exoskeleton, and his wings were tucked into a beautiful carapace. His arms and legs were full of holes, but while alien, it was beautiful, as long as you didn’t have trypophobia. Thorax squeezed Spike’s arm gently. “C’mon, I have some things to explain…”

Spike allowed the Changeling to lead him back to the main cave chamber. Thorax sat and crossed his legs, looking thoughtful. “I … have good reason to believe that you’re my Al’serai,” he said.

“Your what?”

Thorax sighed. “The closest word in Ponish would be ‘Soulmate.’”

Spike snorted. “That’s an old mare’s tale impressionable fillies believe in.”

Thorax nodded. “For Ponies, and maybe for Dragons,” he added with a grin. “For Changelings, it’s very real, and a bit more than what you’re thinking.”

“What is an Al’serai?”

“Some Ponies have a word … re-in-car-nation?” Thorax said, testing each syllable to make sure he said it right. “Some souls, some extraordinary souls, are Al’serai. They live multiple lives across time and worlds. And they always find each other, in each life they live. It’s a bond … I can’t put into words. It’s beyond love, beyond one lifetime. It’s …” Thorax laughed. “It’s why you feel the way you do, right now. It’s why when we separated, we both felt like we’d lost a vital part of our being.” Thorax gently took Spike’s claws, and placed them flat on his chest, as his own hand lay over Spike’s heart.

Spike’s eyes widened. Both their hearts were slowly beating in perfect synch. “OK, that’s sort of cool. And yeah, I’ve had a crush on you since, well, almost since you woke up in my ship, but … we’re soulmates?” he said with a laugh. “And what, I’ve known you over multiple lifetimes? I’m sorry, but I can’t believe that.”

“If I’m right, I could prove it…”

“How?”

“Do you trust me? Because I know how you feel about Changelings, and this could seem like mind control…”

That made Spike nervous. “What if you’re wrong?”

Thorax gave a reassuring smile. “Then absolutely nothing will happen. It only works if we are truly Al’serai, and if at least one of us is a Changeling in this life.”

Spike took a deep breath. “I don’t think you’d try to control me, and I’m curious. Go for it. Anything you need me to do?”

“Relax and let me in…” Thorax raised his fingers and pressed them to Spike’s temple. He closed his eyes and began to breathe slowly. “You should close your eyes too…”

Spike did. He felt a tingling seeping from Thorax into him. “OK, that’s kind of-”

A flood broke down the walls into Spike’s mind and he was suddenly somewhere else.

He walked through the corridors and out into the sun, stretching his wings as the rays warmed his exoskeleton. ‘Whoa!’ Spike thought. ‘Are these your memories?’

‘No, Spike,’ Thorax replied in his mind, ‘These are yours. Looks like you were a Changeling once. This is the Changeling Homeworld, so this is ages and ages ago… Long before Chrysalis…’

Spike walked through the lush grass, enjoying it squidging under his hooves. No, he wasn’t Spike, he was … Tarsus. ‘I’m a scholar!’ Spike thought in surprise.

‘The Soul varies little from life to life,’ Thorax replied. Spike thought it was cool that they could still talk.

Someone put their hands over his eyes. “Guess who?!” a voice called cheerfully. Tarsus pretended to think about it. “Hmm… Elytrum?” he guessed. The hands were removed, and Tarsus saw the Prince before him.

“Tarsus!” Gaster almost whined.

Tarsus chuckled. “Forgive me, majesty, I couldn’t resist.” He took the Prince’s hand and kissed it. “Are you excited for tonight?”

Gaster chuckled. “Excited, terrified, ready to throw up… I’ll get it all wrong!”

“You are the Prince of the Colony; you will do wonderfully. I’ll be with you every step of the way.” The two parted ways. Tarsus was excited beyond words for the upcoming festivities. The Prince had come of age and would choose his mate. Tarsus had an inkling of who Gaster would name…

The scene blurred to Gaster’s party. Drums filled the night, and Changelings whirled throughout the glades and sky in a night of celebration. Tarsus was nervous as well, he’d practiced, but this wasn’t another lecture he’d be giving.

At the appointed time, he walked to the center of the party, bowing lowly to the Prince. Gaster held up his arms and splayed his palms out flat. Tarsus joined his hands with the Prince’s, pressing his forehead to Gaster’s. The two Changelings began a slow, careful, highly choreographed dance. It was a mating dance, a sign that they would be sealed together. Each turn and step had centuries of meaning, although some of the motions had a decidedly sexual bent, for good reason.

‘Do Changelings still do this?’ Spike asked with wonder.

‘I don’t recognize any of this. We’ve … lost much,’ Thorax replied.

The dance concluded. The Prince and his consort were now mated. As the two basked in and fed on each other’s love, the Colony cheered wildly.

The scene shifted again. ‘Oh!’ Spike thought with embarrassment. ‘We’re…’

‘Making love,’ Thorax replied simply. ‘We were mates, and our love sustained the Colony.’

Tarsus was enjoying himself, but Spike felt a bit mortified. A small, traitorous part of his mind was taking notes though.

The scene again blurred. A new form, and a new life. Spike was an Earth Pony stallion. He worked out that this was the Middle Ages, long before the Unification. ‘I’m a vegetable merchant?!’ he thought in shock.

‘Quite a cute one, too…’ Thorax added.

Spike waited to see who Thorax would be this time. A russet farmer, apparently. Spike’s best supplier and customer. The two chatted happily over Spike’s stall, some flirting only they would recognize as such going on. Eventually, they slipped away into a sunny meadow, just the two of them.

Bargain Buys, Spike’s name in this life, pounced onto Top Soil, Thorax, knocking into the grass and attacking him with kisses. “I missed you,” Bargain breathed.

Top wound his fingers through Bargain’s mane. “I missed you as well.” They kissed again and again, before Bargain rolled off of him, and laced the fingers together, the two staring up at the sky. They could only be themselves in these stolen moments, but each was a treasure.

The scene changed yet again. Bargain and Top were on trial. They were accused of acts of perversion. Both held their grounds, speaking their piece. As they would not repent, they were sentenced to death.

At dawn the next day, Bargain and Top were each tied to a funeral pyre. They gave each other one last look as the flame was lit. The fire roared up around Bargain, but he would not confess. He would not take back what he had done.

The flames burned hotter and hotter; this would be the end. Bargain let out a groan. The way he had chosen to die was hotter than – Dragonfire!

Spike was turning cartwheels through the sky, letting out a jet of flame in shear joy. He recognized that sky, he was in the Dragonlands, although he was a full-grown Dragon. Yet another life.

Spike had flown small ships before, but this was an experience like no other. The joy of sky and wind meeting ground far below him.

Eventually, he made his way back to his cave, finding his Mate awaiting him. The large black dragon wound his neck around Spike’s and the two shared a moment of peace. Their shared hoard was truly impressive, befitting of –

‘Holy shit!’ Spike thought as he realized. ‘I was Dragon Lord!’

‘You are always Brave and Glorious, even if it doesn't feel like it…’

As the two dragons continued to playfully nip at each other, a group of hatchlings walked into the room, begging for attention. Spike felt himself tear up. ‘We … we had a family…’

‘Looks like…’ Spike couldn’t see Thorax, but he could feel a warm glow of pride coming from the Changeling.

A new life flashed before Spike’s eyes, followed by another and another. They were coming too fast now for him to tell who, or where, or what he was, but he could begin to see their souls, dancing together, across the worlds, and throughout the ages. I will find you, came a promise, I will always find you…

The … vision, or whatever it had been ended. Spike stared at Thorax, who was looking at him uncertainly.

Spike grabbed the Changeling and pulled him into a desperate, hungry kiss. When they finally managed to sperate, Spike panted. “Like, forty-nine different versions of me want to take you, right here, right now…”

“Always so eager, my Lord,” Thorax purred in flawless Draconic.

The voice wasn’t Thorax’s, but it was very familiar to part of Spike. Dragon Lord Pyre purred in Spike’s chest at his Mate’s voice.

Spike chuckled. “I can’t tell my memories, from … mine. Is that permanent?”

Thorax chuckled. “Our past selves woke up, but they’ll fade in a few days. In time, the memories will fade as well. We aren’t really supposed to have them.” Spike was disappointed by that, but he could understand it.

He nibbled at Thorax’s earfin. “Al’serai,” he murmured. “I found you…”

“You found me,” Thorax agreed as he pulled Spike in for a hug. The two of them just stayed like that for some time.

Spike was the first to break the silence. “I love you,” he realized. “I don’t even know you, but… I love you,” he chuckled. “I know … so much about you. More than you know about yourself. You know more about me than I know about myself. I don’t want to lose that… Can … can I get to know you? Properly in this life?”

Thorax nodded. “I won’t let you go again. Not if I can help it. I want to get to know you too.”

Spike realized that he was very firmly pressed against his soulmate, and the two of them were still buck naked. Spike chuckled. “I’m kind of hoping the old versions of me quiet down soon, it’s going to be hard to behave…”

Spike let out an adorable squeak as Thorax effortlessly pinned him to the ground, straddling him with his hands locked around Spike’s wrists. Thorax didn’t know which version of him said it, but he was pretty sure it was all of him who purred, “Behaving is overrated sometimes…”

The two were cuddled up together by the fire. Spike was on cloud nine. Thorax chuckled. “You have the same sweet spots! That’s hysterical.”

Spike nodded. “Shuddup. You just have thousands of years of practice playing me like a fiddle you used back there.”

“Don’t tell me I was your first? Again.”

“Nah, but Spike,” Spike cleared his throat. “I,” he corrected, “have a long history of falling for the wrong guy.” He chuckled. “I still feel like a couple of hundred different people. That was just a fraction of our story, too, wasn’t it?”

Thorax nodded. “It goes back further than you can think.”

“I sort of get why we’re not supposed to keep those memories, but would I suffer karmic backlash or something if I wrote them down?”

“I’m not sure. I doubt you’ll be cursed or anything, but maybe only the highlights? Just to be safe.” Thorax then chuckled.

“What?” Spike asked as he craned to look at Thorax.

Thorax gave an embarrassed grin. “You were my first this time. I have less than no experience in this life. Luckily, old versions of me had plenty, so I knew what you’d like,” he finished as he playfully booped Spike on the nose.

Spike chuckled. “Faust, you are always such a dork! In every life! But you’re my dork, so I love it.” He then smooched his bug. He remembered something. “Our first life, well, not our first first, but the first I remembered with you … we were very different. I mean, Gaster didn’t look like he was starving.”

Thorax nodded. “If I’m remembering right, Changelings used to share love, not steal it. As we lost so much, and as Chrysalis took over and poisoned us, we became … this,” he finished flatly as held out his holey arm.

“You’re still cute,” Spike said with a grin, “But yeah, I was … more whole I guess as a Changeling way back then. I didn’t feel constantly empty. I wonder if I can love you enough to help?”

Thorax chuckled. “I think the metamorphosis is triggered by Changeling to Changeling shared love, otherwise I would have transformed by now.”

Spike frowned at that. He hated what Chrysalis had done. A fire of determination began to grow. “OK. So we’ll teach that to the Changelings.”

“You … want to go to the Hive?!”

“I want to kick Chrysalis off her throne myself!” Spike shouted. “But I’d need your help. We can help Changelings remember what they’re supposed to be!”

Thorax chuckled. “I’d tell you that’s impossible, but I know that wouldn’t change your mind…”

Spike nodded. “You and I have changed the world before. And, honestly, changing the destiny of the galaxy is sort of my family’s stock and trade in this life. We can do it, I promise.”

Thorax nodded. “I believe you.”

Spike sighed. “Going back there will be Hell, for both of us, but before then, we need to do something even harder.”

Thorax gave him a confused look. “What’s that?”

“I want to introduce you to my family.”

Thorax swallowed nervously. “Oh, Flark.”

Author's Note

Two updates in one day?! I must be sick or something.
So our boys have a longer shared history than they'd thought! Glad they found each other again. Sorry for the, uh, burning at the stake scene, but the Middle Ages would not have been a good time to be gay. At least they "lived" through it...

Spike introducing Thorax to his family couldn't possibly go horribly awry, right?

This is my first story where the downvotes outnumber the upvotes, probably because M/M gets downvoted automatically on this site, and probably because the story's crap. I'd still appreciate any comments if anyone is enjoying this at all, they help keep me going...
If nobody enjoys this, sorry to have wasted your time, but it's at least doing my mental health a bit of good.
Thanks!