Meeting A Changeling Queen

Seven Years Before The End Of The World

"So you want me to believe that you're the former Queen of the Demon Realm, and you're her butler?" Raven deadpanned at the two figures standing in front of his desk. Captain Raven and his band of mercenary knights were stuck camping near the ancient temple Fetia. There have been reports of demon activity near the place, but they haven't found anything.

And thanks to certain influential nobles, the group of mercenaries have been stuck out here for weeks. They were leaving the Captain with nothing to do but to send out scouting parties and write boring reports. Raven only let these two strangers enter his camp and tent because of sheer boredom. But the Captain was starting to have second thoughts.

"Well, it's true! I am Luciela, one of the four great rulers of the demon realm! And the Velder kingdom will be invaded! Tell him, Ciel!" This came from a girl that looked no older than eleven years old and only stood at 4'8. She had long white hair that reached her legs. Two little horns were coming from her head, and she had two pointy ears. Lu also had light blue eyes with four-pointed stars as pupils. The 'demon' wore a dark blue dress that only reached her thighs, with a white ribbon near the top that was a blue four-pointed star. From under the dress was a long, thin tail with a heart-shaped tip at the end. What put it all together was the tiny black crown that sat on the side of Lu's head.

Raven didn't look impressed; he was only slightly amused. This caused the taller of the two to bend down and whispers to Lu. "I told you this wasn't going to work. "Said the one called Ciel. This earned him a quick kick to the shin from the young girl. The man yelped in pain and hopped on one foot. "W-what I meant to say was, you need to prepare."

Ciel was tall, standing at 6'2, only two inches taller than Raven. The man had pale skin, similar to Lu, and those pointed ears. They even had the same eye color and four-pointed star pupils. That's where the similarities ended between him and the child. Ciel looked around to be twenty-two years old, the same as Raven. He had short dark blue hair, and the bangs covered a black mark on his forehead.

The man's attire could only be described as business casual, with blue being a recurring color for him. The most notable thing was the chain around his neck and the two weapons holstered behind him. The chain had the same four-pointed star he saw on these two; it was odd. The holstered weapons caught Raven's attention; they were Gunblades. Gunblades were notoriously hard to use, requiring swordsmanship and reasonable mana control. In the hands of an amateur, they were an easy target; In the hands of a master, they were a force not to be reckoned with. Raven had to keep an eye on this one.

Leaning back into his chair, Raven started looking through his paperwork. "Okay, say if I believed you, why would demons want to help Humans? Many of them consider us nothing but vermin or playthings." Truth be told, Raven didn't know much about demons besides learning about them from dusty old tomes.

"Because this goes against Sultharen's will! He wanted peace between Demons and Humans." Lu all but shrieked, causing Raven and Ciel to flinch at her little outburst.

"For someone so small, she got a strong pair of lungs." The Captain thought to himself. He looked up from his paperwork to look at these odd strangers. Lu seemed ready to explode with anger if she didn't get her way. On the other hand, Ciel looked tired, as if this was a recurring thing. Honestly, Raven didn't care at this point, and he just wanted to see his beloved Seris again. He had nothing to lose by telling Commander Vanessa about the anonymous tip. "Fine, I'll pass this information off to my superiors. I'm keeping this all anonymous."

Lu jumped up and down in joy, "Finally, a Human with some common sense! You won't believe how often we've been rejected or thrown out of places!" The man wondered if he was one of the smarter ones or dumb ones to listen to these two; only time would tell.

"One more thing," Ciel spoke this time, which earned Raven's interest. "We also know where some of these demons are hiding and camping out." He said as if he was talking about how pleasant the weather was.

Raven felt his blood pressure rise as he heard this new revelation. Pinching the bridge of his nose with two fingers, he spoke. "Why didn't you start with that?" He just wanted to throw these morons out of his tent, but the Captain was better than that.

"Whoops, forgot about that. But it was so obvious where the demons were hiding... Unless." Lu had a smug look, and Raven knew what was coming. "You and your men are I.n.c.o.m.p.e.t.e.n.t." Raven wanted to spank this sassy little child and make her butler watch. But he kept his mouth shut and put on a fake smile.

"I wouldn't say that!" He said through gritted teeth and false enthusiasm. "But I thank you for your help, citizens. And I believe the both of you should get a reward." Raven ducked under his desk and returned a few seconds later with a sack filled with ED. He opened the bag, showing that the man had filled it with golden coins. The two 'demons' were surprised by this and quickly made their way to collect their reward.

Lu marveled at how much money they had now, and Ciel inspected each coin to see if they were real. "Good, these two are broke; I could use this to my advantage." Raven finally had an opportunity to do some good for the kingdom instead of just being sent to fight other people's wars. " There's more where that came from, Find more of these camps, and I'll give you more ED."

Ciel looked at the mercenary skeptically and placed the bag of ED down. "A mercenary hiring others to do work, how odd?"

Which was true; Raven nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, I may be the Captain of Crow Mercenary Knights, but it comes with certain limitations because of my status as a commoner." He thought back to the day he was promoted to Captain; it was bittersweet. "I have full reigns when my men and I are being sent to fight in some kind of war. Like taking care of lizardmen in Bethma, not out of service or duty but profit."

"But when it comes to investigations or anything that doesn't involve conflict. I get stopped at every turn and have to write for every little thing. Did someone scrape their knee? Write a report. Was it raining today? Write a report. Did you find anything today, no? Write a report." Raven throws his paperwork onto his desk and lets out a frustrated sigh.

Ciel chuckled a bit after hearing Raven's reasoning. "If I didn't know any better, it sounds like the nobles are trying to get rid of you?"

"Hah! What gave you such an idea!" Raven laughed dryly and gave the Butler a cheeky smile. Raven stood up from his desk and walked around. "Now, I don't need to tell you that if any Velder soldier spots you, you need to run away?" The both of them nod at him. Raven Held his hand out towards Ciel. "Now, do we have a deal?"

"Keep the EDs coming, and we've got a deal." The Butler and Captain shook hands, but Lu placed her hand in the middle, and she didn't look too happy.

"You should be shaking my hand since I'm in charge!" The little Queen poofed up her cheeks in anger; she couldn't believe the blatant disrespect she had received. Raven and Ciel paused at this, and they started laughing. Lu's frown deepened. "What's so funny! Stop laughing! I'll get you back for this!"

Present Day, Trostylvania, Near Mushrump

The Outcasts were walking through the Trostylvania forest in the usual formation. All of them listened as Raven told his tale of the past. Meanwhile, the former Captain kept a close eye on his surroundings, watching for predators or potentially his next meal. "'That's how I met a Demon and half-demon. I found out that Ciel used to be fully Human." When he thought about it, he had much in common with that Butler.

"Golly, I can't believe it." Raven raised an eyebrow at Cozy's comment; what could she be up to now? "You can actually laugh!" The other foals around him started to snicker and giggle at the Human, being able to laugh. The Sassy pegasus flew near the Human, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "No offense, but you're like a plank of wood that can only smile stiffly."

"And this plank of wood gives spankings to disrespectful fillies," Cozy remembered who she was teasing and took the hint, and flew back. The foals around him stopped their giggling when they heard that. The Human was slightly offended by that comment. " I hadn't much reason to laugh, and when I find out what happened to Elrios, I'll have fewer reasons to laugh." The mood became gloomy after those words left Raven's mouth.

"You Really should stop doing that." The small voice in his head was right again.

Oleander cleared her throat, trying to cut through this awkward atmosphere. "I didn't know demons could look like Humans. Did you know this, Fred?" She asked the floating book beside her.

"Nope, but demons come in all different shapes and sizes." This piqued Raven's interest; maybe Fred could give him a clue about what happened to the Humans and the rest of the races.

"Fred. I wanted to ask you, do you know what happened, Elrios?" He asked the demonic book.

It took the Demon a few seconds before answering, and he sounded remorseful. "Sorry, friend, I've only been around for two-thousands years, and Humans were considered to be rumors when I was young."

"There goes another lead." What could have possibly caused the disappearance of humanity and perhaps a good chunk of Demons? This was so frustrating; if only he could find Glave, but knowing that bastard, he would keep things vague. Raven felt somepony nudge his shoulder and saw Xuez flying near him. "What happened to Lu and Ciel?" The colt asked, still wanting to hear the end of the story.

Raven cringed a bit at the memory of his last meeting with the duo. It wasn't entirely his fault, but he still regrets it. "I don't know; the last time I saw them was at my lowest. The Nasod made me.." He couldn't blame the Nasod on this; he wanted to do it even with mind control. "I executed fifteen Human soldiers." The revelation made some of the foals gasp in horror, which they should have. "That's when they found me-"

Without warning, Raven pulled out his sword and started looking around frantically. Many living things were in one area, but he didn't know what. It could be an ambush, a nearby settlement, or something else entirely. He looked back at his charges, who looked frightened. "Stay quiet and follow me closely." They all nodded and followed his orders.

Mushrump

True to its name, Mushrump is a small village filled with mushroom shape houses and buildings. The old village could be found between the Trosylvania forest and Flutter Valley. Mushrump hasn't hadn't had any occupants for centuries, maybe even more. Most hoof-made structures have been swept away by the sands of time, except for the mushroom homes.

Ambrosia and the rest of her hive were hiding in the mushroom houses. Only a few drones were brave enough to peek through the windows. Outside was a single cockatrice standing in the middle of the town, waiting and watching. The changelings could have quickly taken care of this, but they sensed the emotions of the others. They, too, were waiting and watching, most likely an ambush.

"But Why, though?" The Queen thought in confusion. Cockatrices were indeed territorial but not to this extent. Or was the whole area part of their territory? But that would be nonsense! "Stupid, cheating lizard chickens!" she grumbled to herself angrily. If she or her children weren't under the threat of petrification, they would have gone out there and slaughtered them all. "hm?"

Every Changeling nearby felt the emotions of nine different new creatures. Only eight were ponies, and they had standard emotional patterns with a hint of insecurity. But the last creature was undoubtedly not a pony; it felt more like a dragon, but that wasn't right either. They felt anger, hate, sorrow, bloodlust, shame, and guilt. The Changelings rubbed their horns out of instinct; it felt like they just stuck their horn into a block of dry ice.

"What in Tartarus was that?" One of her changelings whispered out in discomfort. They all saw it, the eight ponies and creatures coming out of the tree line. Ambrosia's jaw dropped; it was the creature from the newspaper, the Reaper! All Mother has blessed her this day; Or cursed her considering cockatrices surrounded them. "Oh, buck." Another one of her children whispered.

All of them watched as the cockatrice approached the group. The unicorn tried to warn the Reaper about something before she and the foals hid behind him. The cockatrice flew up and stared at the tall biped directly in its one eye. Everypony expected him to turn to stone, but nothing happened. He only stiffened up before grabbing the creature by its wings with his claw. Many ponies heard the sicking crunch of bones breaking as the Reaper crushed the cockatrice's wings. This caused the monster to screech out in pain; it thrashed about, trying to get out of the Reaper's grasp.

Everyling was stunned or scared by this creature's casual cruelty and his inability to be turned to stone. All except for Ambrosia; she wanted this creature, and she wanted him now!

Raven was disappointed, to say the least; he held the thrashing cockatrice in his claw. "Is that it? Petrification and Ponies are terrified of this thing?" He asked his charges, who had eyes closed, not wanting to be turned to stone.

Oleander grumbled and prodded the Human's leg with a hoof. "While I'm glad you weren't turned to stone, how in Faust are you immune?!" The legends said nothing about Humans being immune to petrification!

The Cyborg threw the now flightless bird high into the air. "I'm not immune; I'm highly resistant to the effects. Most humans will stiffen up for a few seconds when petrified, that's all." Raven started to gather the necessary amount of mana and channeled it all in his right arm. The spell matrix formed in his head as he stood there waiting.

It was Cozy's turn to be frustrated. "But that doesn't make any sense!" The filly yelled with her eyes closed.

"El came in six forms. One of them was light," Raven explained casually. "Light El was often used to turn demons and other creatures into stone. Except for Humans, as we were one of Elria's chosen." Oleander and Cozy moaned and groaned in frustration at that vague explanation. The group still didn't know what this 'El' was, and it was starting to get on their nerves. Sensing their frustration, the Cyborg decided to change the subject. "Open your eyes; I want to show you all what Human magic can do."

Each party member opened their eyes slowly, ensuring there wasn't any cockatrice around. They heard and saw the screaming flightless cockatrice come falling back down. "Now, I'll show you what a former knight of Velder could do." Raven took a wide stance and held his sword with hand and claw. Once his target came into range, Raven swung his blade downwards towards the ground.

"Flame Geyser!" The Outcasts watched as the Cyborg created a pillar of fire where he struck. This fire engulfs the cockatrice,
killing it and sending its corpse flying. Besides watching another living creature having its life cut short, the group was amazed by this. The corpse landed on one of the mushroom homes and slowly slid off. And yes, Raven was going to eat it later.

"YOU NEED TO TEACH ME THAT!" Amber cheered at the top of her lungs. The other foals gave the Human similar praises. Again, Raven couldn't help but feel the pride build up in his chest, even though he felt a little winded and someone half his age could perform the same attack but far better.

Oleander examined the area where the attack came from and found the ground to be cracked and split apart. Like its namesake, the skill did create a flame geyser. "Raven, why don't you use these more often?" She asked him while still examining the area.

"As I said before, my mana control isn't the greatest, and performing such attacks tires me out."Raven held his claw out and gestured towards it with a frown. "I have the Valasia Arm; it controls the amount of mana I need and use; the downside is that I can't use any of the spells or skills I learned from the Academy." The former knight had to start from scratch when he was 'saved' by the nasod.

Before he or anyone else could say anything, the group could hear screeching from the tree lines. A few seconds later, a massive cockatrice came running out. The ground shook with every step the monster made. As it got closer, it was clear that it was bigger than anything in the village. It even towered over Raven, being at least four times his size. It was enraged and was heading towards the Outcasts.

Raven acted quickly and started throwing orders out. "Everyone huddle around Oleander, and keep your eyes closed! Oleander put up a barrier, and I'll handle it!" Everypony followed his orders flawlessly, which made the former Captain proud. With nothing else to say, Raven charged toward his opponent.

The cockatrice swung its massive tail, trying to hit the Human. Raven jumped right over and slashed at the tail with his blade. The cut was shallow, but it got through the scales, leaving the creature wounded and bleeding. The beast shrieked again, much to the Human's annoyance.

It tried turning the Human into stone with its stare, but Raven would have none of it. "Grasp." He shot out a Valasia seed, which made contact with its left eye, destroying it. Vines sprouted out and started making their way inside the now-empty eye socket, trying to reach the brain. The cockatrice screamed in agony as the vines dug deeper into its skull. It even started using its wing to get it out, only to spread more of the Valasia.

"Guess turning people into stone was its only defense." Raven was slightly disappointed but would get a giant meal out of this. And if he could find lots of salt, he could make lizard jerky. Holding his claw out, the Human got the 'Invasion' skill ready. He wasn't for needless suffering so that he would end it with one attack.

As his claw took the required mana, a cold feeling washed over him. Again, Raven felt like he was being watched, and the air around him got colder. 'Captain, allow us.' The voices were back as well, the voices of his deceased men. The former Captain felt a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't dare turn around. 'Give us the order. We wish to spill blood as well.' Another one whispered.

"Trust in them, as they trusted in you." Spoke the small voice.

"They're not real!" He thought in a panic.

"They seek vengeance as do you; will you deny them this?"

"..."

Raven's mind became hazy as the doubt left him. He would kill the cockatrice, and it didn't matter how he did it. The former Captain could hear the soldiers' screams as they were cut down before him. The mercenaries spent their final moments cursing the one man who framed their Captain. The one-man who saw them as nothing but trash because they weren't born nobles!

"DEATH SCREAM!" Raven slashed at the air with his claw, throwing out Valasia. It took the form of a hunger maw with razor-sharp teeth. The Cyborg sent the creature flying forward, letting out a blood-curdling scream, sending chills down everypony's spine. The Maw sunk its fangs into the cockatrice's exposed chest, turning the scales into dust. The wraith took another bite, swallowing the lungs and stopping the beast's screams.

Raven stood there watching in cold indifference as his creation tried to sate its endless hunger. The once-proud cockatrice was reduced to dust, leaving only the head and tail. Thankfully, the Maw started to disappear as hell wanted its souls back.

"How dare this filthy creature attack what belongs to me! Raven wanted to make this creature suffer longer, hear it scream even more! It was a shame that Valasia turned the blood to dust; he wanted to bathe in- "What the fuck?" He said in horror. Raven shook his head at these disturbing thoughts. "What's wrong with me? I never thought like this, right?"
Then he looked at his opponent's remains, nothing but a head and tail. Finally, he stared at his claw and thought about the new skill he had created.

"What am I becoming?"

"Raven, is it safe to come out yet? We don't hear screaming anymore?"Moon Charm called out. Raven looked up and saw that his charges still had their eyes closed and the barrier up. He thanked the goddess for this because he didn't want them to see the horror he had just committed.

"Yes, it's safe to come out." He ran to the group, still trying to shake off those horrible thoughts. Oleander brought the barrier down and opened her eyes like everypony else. "Is everyone okay?" Raven asked the group sounding a bit shaken.

Moon Charm gave their protector a big smile. "Of course, thanks to you! But." Her smile was replaced with worry. "We heard screaming, and you don't look so hot. Are you okay?" She asked, worried for her friend.

The bat pony was correct; Raven looked pale and uneasy, written all over his face. "Yes, I'll be fine; I have a lot to think about. As for the screaming, I-" A miracle came to the Human in the form of a squeaky door opening, which brought everyone's attention towards the disturbance.

The Outcasts watched a changeling walk out of one of the mushroom homes. But not just any changeling, a Changeling Queen!
The Queen had sea greenish-black chitin and orange carapace, with some orange marks running across her body. She had a very long orange mane and tail; they were so long they touched the floor. Her wings were transparent and only had two holes. Her horn was surprisingly average, with a slight curve and a single hole in the middle. The sclera of her eyes was lime green, while the color of her eyes was a dull green.

The Queen skipped over to the group without a care in the world while humming something. Oleander saw this and lit up her horn. While the foals hid behind Raven, knowing what was approaching them. Raven had his sword at the ready, but he was curious. The Changeling saw this, slowed her skipping, and gave all of them a smile. " Woah there, I come in peace. You saved me and my Hive. I'm here to give my thanks and reward you."

"As if we'll trus-" Oleander began, only for Raven to stop her with a claw. She frowned at the human but trusted his judgment. Taking this as her queue to come closer, the Queen continued skipping until she was a few hoof steps away from the Human.

"Your name?" Raven asked.

She gave the Human a slight bow and answered. " My name is Ambrosia, Queen of the Honeycomb Hive. I already know who you are, handsome." She gave him a wink and a playful smile. Ambrosia examined the Human closely, liking what she was seeing.

" Really, how?" Raven asked while keeping a straight face, even though he felt very uncomfortable being stared at as if he was a piece of meat. He prayed to the goddess that she was just only hungry.

"The Newspaper, silly!" She giggled at the Human. "They say you're a Hooyman, but lots of ponies call you the 'Reaper,' But we can talk about that later; I want to give you your reward." Ambrosia turned around, bent down slightly, and lifted her tail, exposing her bits to Raven. "I think you'll like it~." She said while shaking her hips, and the smell of honey was thick in the air.

Oleander gasped and blushed, covering her muzzle with her hooves. Cozy frowned in disgust at what she was seeing. Xuez covered his eyes while blushing madly. Night looked on in amazement, earning him a smack behind the head from Dew. Moon Charm covered her eyes, not wanting to be part of this. Amber and Jade looked confused.

Raven stood there staring at the Queen's bits that were clearly winking at him. He wondered how his life led to this, a bug horse wanting to mate with him. The Human wanted to cry and find the nearest cliff to jump off of. "I haven't been awake for a week, and I already want to kill myself."

footnote:
Raven
NEW ACTIVE SKILL

Death Scream - - Raven summons the dead from hell. With the power of Valasia, he turns them into wraiths that will devour anything in their path. 20% chance to create more maws if the target is bigger than a pony.

[Horrorcorn Twilight Sparkle]

[Art by rockin_candies]

Author's Note

Alright! I got another chapter out! Also yeah, I'm using game logic for Raven not turning into stone. But I always thought it was funny that they just stiffen up in-game and then fall over.

Also, I have to thank rockin_candies for drawing Horrorcorn Twilight for me!