An Unholy Matrimony

Chapter 3: Along Came a Spider

Archnid, true to her name, wove like a mad spider. Ever since the prior evening, her mind had been wracked with the memory of all she'd done to and with that alien. She had literally molested the stallion to exhaustion, and though he was breathing fairly well, she could not help but feel some twinge of guilt for having gone so far with this unknown creature. But that was not all that worried her. If this were the most of her predicament, she would not have asked for her adviser to come.

“So, my Queen,” hissed the adviser as he sat next to his mistress, “Why did you call me here? Is something the matter?”

“Indeed, Alric,” sighed the seductress as she sewed. “Since last evening, I have felt most strange... Not just physically, but mentally... I felt I should ask for the advice of somepony that I could trust to be civil about all this... Hence why you are here....”

“And just what is it that troubles you, milady?”

“Last evening, as I'm sure the hive-mind informed you, I took this human on a tour around our hive... And, as it so happened, the stallion took a particular interest in our spawning grounds. He asked about the many ponies that we had in those cocoons... And somehow, I still don't know how, it struck a sour note within me... it made me start to remember all those ponies we sucked dry... those poor souls we made into empty, dry husks, dooming us into further starvation... It made me feel a genuine sense of sorrow...then, when I started feeding on him...the love I tasted... It was so much purer than any other I had consumed! And that began to make me wonder... perhaps he is in love with me?”

Alric pondered for a moment, chuckling a bit. “Perhaps he is...after all, our forefathers have always told us the purest love comes from a heart truly bound...”

“Our forefathers also told us to never become emotionally invested in our target. Have you forgotten one of the most sacred of edicts we were taught as larvae? We do not make bonds with mortal creatures, especially if we are mimicking their lover!” Hissed the hive queen, staring coldly into Alric's eyes.

“Ah, but therein lies the difference...you aren't mimicking any one thing that he loved...rather, you are simply taking a form that he would find more comfort in...if anything, you're not changing to hide yourself from him at all; you're changing to make him favor you ever more!”

Archnid was stunned. Alric spoke truth. All this time, the changeling was trying to make herself better in the human's eyes... all the questions about his anatomy... his culture... his well-being....all this time, she was acting like a mother to the creature, and she was never aware of it until this moment.

“By the spirits...you are right! All this time, I was making myself seem like a kinder creature in his eyes...I made sure he was fed, made sure he had water to drink...I made his cocoon so that he could rest...and now look at me...As we speak, I'm tailoring this tunic for the creature! Before I rutted him like a mare in heat, he even spoke to me. He told me I wasn't a monster...he said that if I was, why would I care if he stayed alive or not? The stallion even thanked me for trying to make him more comfortable by imitating his form! Alric, do not think of me wrongly, but I think this stallion is starting to have an effect upon me...I'm feeling these strange emotions I've never felt...sorrow...regret...passion, even-”

“Love?” Alric interjected.

A silence fell upon the shore of the bedroom as Archnid continued to knit. Though faint, she was blushing. It was that faint kind of blush you don't see, but you can still feel. Her face grew warm as she pondered the concept, but the very idea embarrassed her. But, there was no denying it.

“Yes, Alric... as much as I hate to admit this to myself, I have fallen head over hoof for this alien... The very idea of it, however, both sickens me and frightens me...” the mare sighed, her lips forming a frown.

“Why is that, Milady? There is nothing wrong with being in love. Many of us are in love with one another.”

“And therein lies the problem. Our very laws forbid this kind of love! Ponies fear us, Alric. We are monsters to most of this damned world!”

“But not to him...”

The mare paused for a moment, looking to the creature, then back to Alric.

“What do you mean, 'Not to him'?” quieted the queen.

“Thank about it, your Highness. When you first introduced yourself to the human, indeed, he exhibited fear. Indeed, he showed apprehension. And as far as I noticed, after that, he had no qualms with you afterward. From what I heard, he was most frightened by your imitation of his kind, but none too seriously. If I had to guess, I'd say he is more intrigued than frightened...and if I might be so bold...perhaps he shares your love?”

The mare's eyes shot wide as she considered all this, her head turning to the alien stallion.

“How could such a being love me? I am nothing more than a demon in the general shape of a mare! I am a creature whose main means of survival entails seducing intelligent creatures and extracting their love to sate us all! I have practically placed this... thing into a coma! How could he love something like me?” whimpered the willowy queen.

“You already explained that much; the human gave you solace when you doubted yourself. He did not see you as a monster or daemon. He saw you as a graceful and benevolent creature... a being capable of compassion and kindness. He showed appreciation towards your attempts at matching him, and fully came to terms with his fate, even if it was just to be a slave and prisoner... if you ask me, that is honest love,” her adviser said, smiling.

Archnid blushed even more now, visibly embarrassed by how correct Alric was in his oration. Everything that he had just spoken was absolutely correct, and it shocked her. Truly, the hive-mind is capable of strange and wondrous things. Then, an interesting thought occurred to her.

“You are correct in your assumptions, Alric,” Stated the seductress. “Perhaps this alien DOES love me... but we have overlooked one thing...”

“And that would be?”

“As you may recall, this Human did not come from Equestria. From what you have told me, he comes from another world -or perhaps even another universe- altogether. Whatever world that is, it did not have changelings, surely. Ponies, perhaps even less likely. We have imprisoned him in this gilded cage of perversions and pleasures, Alric.... surely; he pines for his home again. Surely, he wishes to escape and see his own loved ones, as with the ponies we have caught many times before... we barely even know how he even ended up here in the first place, other than perhaps magic or some form of random happenstance. However he ended up in this place, it does not change the fact that we stole this creature from the world he knew to fulfill our own agendas.”

“That may be true, Archnid, but riddle me this. If he so desperately wishes to leave, then why had he only attempted to do so once, when you were asleep?”

Archnid blushed once again, searching through the collective conscience of the hive-mind. She examined the events that had occurred last morning. He saw the human dig out of his cocoon and try to sneak away... but something kept him from proceeding. He shook like a leaf in a thunderstorm, and then turned tail, back to the bed...going back, she recalled the conversations they had...there was undeniable proof...

“That may be, Alric... but I am still not completely sure that he would want to stay here...after all, this place is not the most welcoming of homes...”

“Then why not ask him?” Alric asked, looking the human.

“Beg pardon?” Muttered the mare as she cocked her head

“Why not ask whether or not he wants to go home? If he truly cares for you, and for this race, he will stay...”

A final blush took the mare's face before she looked to Alric once more.

“I suppose that would not be a bad idea...thank you, Alric...” she hummed, hugging the stallion.

“That is what I am for, your Greatness.” Alric chuckled.

Just as one problem resolved itself, another took its place.

“There still lies one problem in all of this, however...” she sighed, looking to the human once more. “More likely than not, since I can drain love from him enough to exhaust him, he is mortal....and that presents a whole other problem...he is just as likely to become a changeling as the ponies, if we are not careful... and I would not want that to happen...”

Alric paused for a moment, but grinned moments later.

“There are ways around this, my queen...”

Archnid turned to look at her adviser.

“Oh?” She asked, cocking her head. “How so?”

“There exist magics that allow for two beings to take a piece of themselves into each other’s' body. However, it has not been done for many years now, because it presents great risk...”

Archid didn't like the sound of that. That meant there was a serious catch.

“What kind of risk?”

“Simply put, my queen... if both parties do not completely consent, or if the spell were not properly executed...the two of you could very well die...”

Those last few words stuck Archnid like knives to her heart. It physically hurt her. The idea of losing not just herself, but the human in turn shook her to her core.

“And...the reward?” She quivered.

“Theoretically, it could endow him with the same nonstandard lifespan we all have, with the ability to feed upon, as well as generate, emotion. In addition, he may also attain the ability to change his form as we do...”

“And myself?”

“Potentially, you could gain the ability to generate emotion, and perhaps a better capacity to change to a human shape...although I am not entirely sure...”

“And you are sure that such a spell exists?”

“Rest assured, my Queen. We shall find it. Although, that much may take us some time. So, while we search, why not have a talk with the creature and ask his opinion?” Alric asked bowing.

“I will, my adviser...as soon as this tunic is finished...”

And so the queen resumed to her weaving, looking to the human with a smile.

As I awoke for my third day of possible escapades, I was greeted by two familiar visages. The first was the shore of the watering hole, complete with violet water lapping at my toes. The second was the changeling queen, holding what looked to be a violet tunic in her hooves.

“Ah, you've joined us in the waking world again...how marvelous...” Hummed the mare as she helped me up. “I have made you something to wear... you must be cold.”

For a moment, I looked to the tunic, taking it in my own hands and caressing it. The tunic was of such an unbelievable quality. It felt like finely woven silk, and shone almost as if it were made of mithril...tough as nails, yet light as a feather, and soft. So soft and light, I felt like it would just disappear! As I slipped it on, my feelings of bliss continued. It had such breath that I had not felt in anything else I'd even worn! It was almost as if I were wearing nothing at all!

I could do nothing more than bow before this creature and say a kind “Thank you” for such a boon.

“Think of it as a token of my gratitude...” hummed the queen as she smiled and lowered down to me. “I want to speak with you about something...would you come with me?”

I took a moment of thought to consider, but arose and mounted up with a smile. Taking note of my mounting, the queen took flight to a sight I had seen not long ago; the Chamber of Time. The sundial told me it was almost sundown, and the moon would be rising soon. As I dismounted, I asked her what she wanted this private talk for.

“Well...as you may presently be aware, the relationship between you and I has, in a word, evolved...” Explained Archid, lying down.

“Evolved?” I quipped, sitting with crossed legs.

“Yes...though our first impression was rather...rocky...you seem to have taken quite a liking to this place...these creatures...and I'd like you to know...they know what you did...”

My eyes shot wide.

“I do not blame you for your actions, however. As a creature in a world not your own, you feel an obligation to at least try to escape... But something kept you, and you turned back... Then, when I doubted my existence, and that of my subjects... You reassured me I was doing good... Then, after I harvested you... I felt something from your love... It tasted of something much richer... much... cleaner...much purer than what I'd tasted before... And it was then I knew...”

The demon mare drew close to me.

“That I loved you...”

As she finished that tirade, she stood and began to circle me.

“My adviser is gathering some special magics... Magics that have been around since before our time... With those, I offer you a choice; You can choose to be allowed to return from whence you came...back to your own world... but at the cost of all memory of this whole escapade wiped from your mind, and every trace of me ever existing being lost. If you share my sentiments of love, and find anything related to our partnership, and accept it as truth...you will return to me... Or, if you so desire... you can choose to stay here. I will use an ancient magic to make infuse the both of us with a partition of our soul and genes, effectively making us into hybrids. However, like any magic of that type, it comes at a risk and a price: You will never be allowed to return home to where you once lived, and the process of doing this may kill us both...”

The queen lifted my chin up.

“Should it succeed, however...you should gain my capacity to transform and consume emotion, while still retaining your human ability of generating your own...and I would effectively become more human...thus giving you something to eat...”

The matriarch turned to the sundial.

“You do not need to give me your answer this moment. I will give you until the next moonrise to ponder your decision...but I suggest you choose wisely. You will not leave this room unattended. If you attempt escape, you will be captured, and I will assume you wish to go home, and will cast the spell. However, I will make it even more difficult for you to return. Do I make myself clear, Human?”

I stood and knelt before her.

“You need not tell me a second time, Archnid,” I said, a rather knightly tone to my voice.

“Good. I will hold you to that word,” Archnid hissed, taking flight away from my location.

As I looked to the skylight before me, it dawned on me that I would have little but dread on my mind as I was left to make my decision.

It was true that I missed my old home, but in the few days I have spent here, I spent a rather comfortable experience. Though it was a bit unnerving to be around what were essentially parasites, at least these parasites were merciful (and in my view, intelligent) enough to preserve me as long as possible. That, and for one to win the favor of a queen was something of considerable status. She was kindly enough to allow me the use of her bed, and more so to fashion me a tunic to wear.

But what about my family? While it was dysfunctional, as a lot of them often are, I still felt for my family, and my friends...was it worth abandoning them just for this place? My family was doting enough, but sometimes, I worried for how close I was coming to losing them... If I went back, and they were gone, I'd regret having returned... As for my friends, very few of them were faithful to me, while the rest only longed to keep me as an instrument for their humor. They would all try for me to inadvertently humiliate myself until I realized it was happening. With very few people at my side, which parasites did I prefer? The ones who sought to extract my humor for their hubris, or the anonymous many who simply wanted my love and adoration?

As I lay my weary self to rest upon the black floor, the contemplation of my future only got that much simpler...

Alric had moved to the throne room in the time that he had been given, preparing the most mysterious and dangerous ritual he'd ever known. Should this fail, not only could the Queen die, but their primary source of food, as well! He continually worried as he further saw to the completion of the basic ritual itself. Was this grand reward worth the high stakes? Did all the books splayed across the court floor, the stark white arcane star, and the rolled away carpet all have a proper end goal to their use?

Only time would tell.

His mistress approached from the hall, smiling.

“I can see that you have been hard at work, my adviser...” mused Archnid with a smile.

“All for you my queen...are you sure that you are willing to do this?”

“If it will be that great of a benefit to this hive, I am willing to take risks...”

“Have you told the human of this?”

“Yes; I have given him his ultimatum. Come moonrise tomorrow, we'll know the truth.”

“Excellent. I should be ready to do either spell by then...”

“Wonderful...” hummed the mare as she looked to the throne. “If it goes according to plan, we will need another throne...”

As I awoke in the evening, the moon shined on me again, my violet tunic glowing in the silver light. As I stood to regain my bearings once again, it occurred to me that the tunic only barely went past my waist. Well, at the very least, I was flaccid still. My eyes turned to the skylight, and then to the sundial.

Any moment from now, I thought, she would return to present her offer again, and then, the moment of truth would come. I stood in that room half-nude on bated breath as I awaited the return of the queen. Time seemed to move much slower, even though I had made my decision. What was meant to be minutes drug on as if they were hours. I watched the doorway in anticipation, simply begging myself that she'd come.

And then, hoofsteps began to clip and clop closer to me. A buzzing rang in my head, starting to hum as it drew nearer to me. It was deep, rich, and harmonic. A light aura of amethyst glowed on the floor as my eyes drew to the gaze of none other than Her Majesty, Archnid. She smiled, bearing her alabaster fangs to me. I began to smile in turn.

“Your face tells me something very good...I take it you have a good word for me?”

I nodded, approaching as I began to run my fingers through her mane.

“I do...I've been thinking long and hard about it...and while I may regret it...I'm going to stay here...with you...”

For a moment, I took her hoof and pecked it, much to the embarrassment of the Queen.

“You shan't regret it, little one...”

The mare lowered her backside, allowing me to climb on and cling to her as she resumed flight.

The atmosphere was leagues different. I felt the radiance of many drones as they looked toward me, expressions hopeful and pleading.

This would be my last day as a man.

As the Queen had promised, she and the human arrived in the throne room. Alric advised them to sit at the east and west points of the spell circle, the two of them kneeling. Alric stood at the north, beginning to chant in an ancient language as his horn began to glow a deep purple, illuminating the floor they were standing on. The two who chose to opt into this dark communion took a simultaneous gasp as the gaseous forms of their spirits began to rise. One was the queen's violet mare, while the other was the human's blue self. Like snakes, they slithered about the air, becoming intertwined as they held each other in a meaningful embrace. Then, in a few moments, the two released each other, circling around as they became stained with each other’s' energy, eventually returning to their original hosts, facilitating another gasp.

For a moment, a dead silence took them before both their eyes glowed bright magenta, the two of them keeling as they howled out in pain. The queen's skin began to pale and bleach, the human's becoming even more so than it had been previously. The holes in the mare's legs began to mend as the hooves began to splinter off into individual appendages. The human let out a curdling groan as parts of his limbs slowly melted away, the bone and sinew reshaping in the process. While the mare's mane and wings did not recede, during these moments of pain, her horn began to crumble like ash, leaving an amethyst gem on her forehead as her muzzle began to recede. Her crown was one of the few things that were left completely untouched by the transformation. The human's suffering was far from over as his stomach began to lose its opacity, becoming a mix of magenta and white, forming a proper thorax. Clumps of his hair began to fall as it became more like the silky film of the Queen's mane, its saturation slowly fading away. Chitinous black plates erupted from his shoulder blades as a pair of large, wasp-like wings spread out from his back, fluttering wildly. From his forehead came the most seething, searing pain of all as his mind’s eye became adorned with the same gem as the Queen had.

Eventually, it was all too much for the two of them as they keeled off into slumber.

My god... Never have I felt such an absolute, unadulterated pain as grand and as grueling as what I just felt. The fact I was even conscious enough to dream was a frankly astounding testament to my willpower... that is, except for the fact that I couldn't move... As my eyes drifted about, they centered around a strange arachnid. I was never much a spider expert; personally, I hated them with a passion. It didn't take much to decide this looked either like a recluse or a widow, based on its pattern, but I was more focused on trying to drive it out of my subconscious as it crept up to me. It bore a set of razor-sharp fangs as its eight violet eyes gleamed to me. I let out a gasp just moments before the fangs dug into me...

Archnid found herself awakening in a rather verdant field. As her eyes looked about, she noticed that she was no longer the black, chitinous mare that she was familiar with. Rather, she was a pale figure that she only assumed was a proper female human. Her hair was still of a vibrant hue, but it was mildly muted, and like the rest of her body, was whole. What a strange form she had assumed.

Before her stood the human from before, having taken a much more statuesque figure than she had recalled. The both of them were beneath a large tree bearing apples, and both of them were bare as the day that they were born. The human helped his queen rise from the grass to partake in an apple from the tree above. The queen looked to this red fruit with noticeable apprehension, but decided to try it, sinking her teeth into it. As she did so, a strange taste came to her. It was juicy, but a subtle taste of abject wrongness overcame her. A bitter taste that told her that there was no longer any going back from what she had just chosen to do. The field around her began to crumble away as the sky turned purest white above her, heat spreading from each direction as the human disappeared, herself being engulfed in the ephemeral flames encroaching before her.

I and the queen began to rise in the next few instants. We unleashed dry gasps as our eyes snapped open, beholding the throne room again. The two of us began to behold each other’s new forms. While in shape, I was almost unchanged, my body was riddled with holes as a changeling's often was. My skin was markedly paler than I remembered. My hair, which was long and of a brunette hue, had lost its saturation, with a texture not unlike silk. Where my stomach once was, there was now a thorax, complete with a purple pigment to it. Perhaps the two most interesting changes, however, were my development of wings, and the fact each of my fingers and toes now ended in sharp, menacing, black claws.

As I looked to Archnid, her majesty was greater than I'd ever anticipated. She was of a barren, Venus-like quality that kept me in an equal measure of silence as she scanned me. I dared to find her of a legitimately appealing figure. She managed to perfectly emulate the human form to an almost uncanny degree, which surprised me to no end.

The two of us spent the next few moments exploring each other, acting as if we were halves a mirror. We both had a degree of disbelief. This could have very well killed us both, but instead, it united us. We had imparted something from each other, and in turn, we inherited a piece of ourselves. She gained my humanity, and I gained...well...whatever the term for her kind was. We both looked longingly into each others' eyes before pulling together into a tight, loving embrace.

“Oh, what a glorious success this has been!” cried the queen as her new, human tears rolled down my shoulder. “I cannot express my gratitude to you enough!”

Not knowing her own strength, I felt crushed in the mare's mint-conditioned arms. My lungs deflated as I flailed about, trying to get her attention.

“I think you already are!” I choked, trying to pry myself free.

“Oh! I'm sorry!”

A sigh of relief came as I was released, a bit lethargic from her once again having inadvertently drained some of my love. Moments later, I regained myself and brought my bride into my own embrace, feeling a rush of pleasure through myself as well. As our lips touched for the first true time in all our altercations, our tongues exploring the expanses of our cheeks and mouths, a great, warm, sweet feeling overtook as both. We were locked in an embrace of pleasure as we indulged in our unholy matrimony. Eventually, it dawned on us that we could and were currently feeding off each other, and stopped, settling for a longing look into each others' eyes.

“So...” Archnid hummed, running her hand down my spine before lowering my head into her bosom. “It would seem that you are stuck here...”

I nodded, looking up to her.

“I feel you should be rewarded for your kindness, dear boy...” said the mare as she stood, wobbly on her new legs as I helped to brace her. “So...how about you and I return to our room and we make a little love?”

She did not need to tell me a second time. With all the haste I could muster, I leaped into her arms, letting her whisk me away. We let the wind roll through our manes as the drones looked in awe at their queen. I was ready to give this mare as much of my manly juices as I could muster.

The bed itself had been restored to a proper condition, the lavender sheets glistening like diamond as we lied upon it. The chatoyance of it gave me a feeling of warmth and loviness that I bathed in for a moment, before the two of us joined eyes again.

“So, my lovely,” hummed the Queen, gazing at me with a sly, “come hither” stare, “seeing as I sucked you dry last time... how about you return the favor this time?”

Her eyes glinted like emeralds as she rested her soft, ginger hands on my new shoulder blades. She puckered her lips to me as she fluttered her eyes to me. She gazed at me with a star that, when paired with her posture, hypnotized me. It vexed me, perplexed me, and told me that she wanted to simply want nothing more than to have sex with me! She laid on all fours, her face down in the pillows as her rear was angled toward me. The scent of her marehood wafted into my nose, dancing into my nostrils and titillating me with its flavor... It was a scent that drove me to near madness, sending my every pore into a trance as I complied. I rested on my knees, grasping at her flanks as my clawed fingers dug in. The mare gasped in a cute manner before I began the true ritual.

As I slid my member carefully within the membranes of the mare's vagina, I felt once again the tiny fingers fondle and fold onto my shaft. As it did before, it locked me in place, leaving me to begin thrusting. The friction of those strange fingers helped to increase our shared pleasure, making me take the changeling queen with greater conviction than I had prior. More and more the scent of the mare's clitoris wafted its way into my nose, sending me into a dazed trance, reducing me to little more than the beast which I had become. All the while, the dulcet moans of her Majesty kept me afloat. Even as my knees began to wobble and buckle beneath me, the claws about my cock held me tight in its grip, and kept me aloft like a knight's lance.

Eventually, the cage that had secured my snake began to squeeze as my load began to fire into the mare's vagina like a rifle into a sandbag. I felt my own seed spilling back onto my scrotum as a feeling of exhausted satisfaction washed over me. A pleasant silence carried in the room as we laid prone, myself awaiting for Archnid's little vaginal clamps to detach from me so that I could pull out. I hugged my queen gingerly, my hands absentmindedly taking hold of her bosom before I felt my limp dick flop flaccidly back to me. In a moment, she turned, allowing my head to rest upon her chest pillow as she stroked my mane.

“Sleep well, my king-to-be...for it seems you are not quite ready...”

I didn't even care what she just said. I was willing to rest after such a trying experience. For a moment, she lifted me in her hands and planted a tender kiss upon my lips.

“What was that for?” I asked, half-lidded as I nuzzled her neck.

“For good fortune...”

Moments later, I fell limp into her arms, passing into sleep.

My dreams were rather odd this evening. I could not make out the explicit detail of it, but it appeared I was having a dream of my own birth. You know, the dream in which you are given an abridged version of your new life. Dreams tend not to last too long, so a dream in which a life new to you is often played as if it were cut into a home movie. What I saw and felt was my own birth... my first feeding time with my queen... my first true hunt... it felt strange, sure, but at the same time, I felt remarkably within my own place. I felt like I belonged... for a moment, I saw a particularly interesting image.

I was no longer in the shape of a drone, but rather in my own human form, bare as an autumn tree and curled in fetal position. Around me I could hear many hissing noises, the heat from several ounces of bated breath. A chaotic chorus cornered me as I heard strange phrases in my heads. Welcomes, salutations, invitations, offers for food...all of which rebounded in my head as if it were an echo chamber. I felt disturbed, but also strangely euphoric. I felt a warm glow of love arcing to me. Their adoration and appreciation filled me like several hearty meals. I felt many legs and hooves wrap around me like cloaks and mantles as my dream self eventually blacked out.

In mere moments, I snapped awake, taking as dry a breath as I could have ever taken in ages, my head ripping clean through the cocoon I was apparently sleeping inside. For several moments, I was quiet, focusing on cherishing as many breaths as I could take. Then I examined myself. In the time I was slumbering, my body had changed. No longer in the form of a man, I looked around, only for my eyes to once again meet the queen, having returned to her own shape with her mane wrapped about my neck.

“Ah, my dear Patriarch... welcome again to the conscious world,” chuckled the changeling queen as she wrapped her forelegs across my shoulders. “Did your sleep go well?”

I smiled, letting my wings flutter. “I slept about as well as I've slept the last few evenings, my Queen,” I hummed back, letting my smile out.

“Ah, wondrous!” Squealed the mare as her own pair fluttered before me. “Would it be rude for me to ask you to accompany me for a nice trip?”

I looked to her before I stood up and stood by her side. “I don't think I can fly, milady...” I hummed, a blush coming off my carapace.

“That won't be a problem, milord...” Archnid giggled, taking hold of me. “Just close your eyes and clear your head...I'll fix this right up...”

For a moment, our horns touched, and my balance shifted. My hooves split to toes and fingers, and my shape changed to something I was more used to... I felt something strange protrude from my neck. My hide felt tougher, and my mane much shorter.

“You may open them now...”

Obeying her desire, I looked to myself. My skin was pale, as it was before, but rather than the translucent thorax and claws and such, I had violet tattoos across most of my upper body, and on my legs.

“How...did you know I liked this appearance?” I asked Archnid, awestruck.

“Let us just say that in the time you were asleep, we had plenty of time to...learn of you, if that is the proper expression...”

For a moment, I blushed, but chuckled as I once again mounted my lady, letting her carry me off to some nondescript place as I held onto her. Through the caves and tunnels we winded through, taking another deep look into the expanse before us. The drones paid little mind this time around, instead filling me with congratulations and salutations throughout ad nauseum. This gave me an almost blinding headache as I tried to get the attention of the queen. But, as if this connection to the hive mind gave her some form of clairvoyance, she demanded the voices stop. In fact, I could hear her in my head.

Spare this one your flippantry, demanded she, willing the voices inside my mind to cease. It is clear to see he is not yet used to using the hive mind...

With this, I thanked her, clearing my head.

Think nothing of it... we should be arriving shortly.

After some time had passed, what I saw was a visage that I never thought I would see in my days. It was that forbidden fruit that I chose not to seek and covet: The hive entrance. Before the mouth splayed out an expanse of wastes. An oddly colorful expanse of yellow-brown dust, sparsely decorated with flowered cacti. The sun was glowing at the horizon as we beheld its gilded splendor.

“Look well, my king,” stated the shapeshifting queen as she looked to me. “for this is our kingdom. Someday soon, our domain shall grow...”

For a moment, the queen fondled her stomach.

“But for now, we shall focus on expanding our generation...”

A calm silence passed by as we both stared at the sunset. I understood fully what she meant, and I knew it would be a repercussion of frogging the same mare twice in a row. I would have an even greater responsibility at my hands soon, but for now, all that mattered was that I now made myself a bed to lay in and a loving mistress.

“Incidentally,” asked the mare, her eyes turning to me, “what will you be willing to call yourself? After all, I cannot just keep calling you Human and My King forever...”

I pondered names as she stroked my short mane. I was husband to a spider mare, so I must establish a new identity to befit my predicament. I took another pleasant look at the sunlight and ran my fingers through her mane.

“Call me...Recluse...”

~Fin