Douglas 2: The Douggenningby Captain_CannonChaptersWelcome to CanterlotMirror, MirrorThe Best MedicineBeing LovedBodiesSeeds of ChangeFighting Slaughter with SlaughterUnlikely AidKlaus's StoryHuntersRevenge is MagicOn the HorizonWelcome to Canterlot-TIME UNKNOWN There are three material things which I truly appreciate: books, coffee, and formalwear. I especially like neckties. I’m wearing my favorite one right now, a line of bright pink diamonds running down solid grey. The tie is just like me: mostly dull with a visible happy streak. Both the tie and my happiness are thanks to very special ponies. I wish there was somepony with me, but my tie has been my only real companion on my exodus. I’ve walked an immeasurable distance, and now I’ve reached a rather disappointing cliff. All I want from a cliff is a pleasant view, yet all I see stretched out in front of me is broken, dry wasteland, perfectly level. If I look down, the drop is level too, meeting the ground perpendicularly. It’s a big drop, by the way. Jumping would probably kill me. Since I like to keep things simple, this situation is pleasing because the solution is also simple. I just have to walk. -8 MONTHS EARLIER My name is Douglas, and I’m a librarian. I live in a town inhabited exclusively by myself, and ponies. I’ll let that sink in for a moment. Ahem. Anyway, the town I live in is called Ponyville, but right now I was touring the capital city of Canterlot. The world of Equestria is ruled by Princesses Luna and Celestia, the latter being the mentor to my friend Twilight Sparkle. That was the relationship that brought me here. In addition to Twilight, I was accompanied by my personal savior, Pinkie Pie. Apparently, Princess Celestia had spoken to Twilight, and asked that I be brought before her. Given the strangeness of Equestria compared to the world of humans I came from, I tried to give up being surprised, but I guess nopony ever expects to be summoned by magical pony royalty. Pinkie Pie was invited, but she said she couldn’t go. She inexplicably showed up on the train halfway through the trip, because Pinkie. I’m glad to have her with me. Twilight acted as a tour guide for the first day, practically marching us through the city. I’d be lying if I said I could recall any part of the avalanche of facts I was buried in. When the evening finally came, we approached the castle. This was the first royal palace I’ve ever seen, and…well… Holy shit. Okay, 2 things: it’s freaking enormous. I was more than dwarfed; it was as if my own size was inconsequential to the point of meaninglessness. At least I was dressed well, since the architecture made the sky look like dirt in comparison to the splendor of the structure before me. I felt like a grain of sugar looking at some monumental work of art. The three went to our room in the castle. The plan was to sleep, then speak to the princess in the morning. The only obstacle was the Lovecraftian nightmare that invaded our room. -Tuesday, 3:37 AM I like to think that living things which are inside out tend to not work. Apparently, that was a mistake. The thing in our room was almost entirely a mess of blood vessels latticed over meat colored with the pinks one associates with innards. When it moved, its parts slid over one another with a sound like pudding sharing coitus with gelatin. It was more or less shaped like a wolf, minus the head. At first I thought that there was a cuttlefish pasted onto its face, but then its five sideways eyelids peeled open, revealing eyes with no color, only luminescent gloss. At the moment, I was the only one awake, and I was completely immobilized. It turned towards Pinkie Pie. Fuck. No. I vaulted across the room, throwing myself at the monster, impacting it with my entire body at one time. The thing was unmoved, but at least I got its attention. I just needed to get it away from Pinkie. I grabbed the nearest thing in my vicinity and swung. The floor lamp cracked across its head, but when I swung a second time, the creature caught the bludgeon in its teeth and struck my abdomen. Both ponies were now awake, and understandably aghast. “Douglas, what…?” “Twilight, I need your help!” Twilight obliged me immediately, stunning the intruder with a bolt of magic. The pain was crippling, but I knew I had to keep my friends safe. I crawled to the intruder and forced myself to lift it. With no small effort, I threw it out the window. It plummeted several stories, but the agony overtook me before I could hear it land. -KLAUS POV This body will be mine. These ponies will belong to me. The world will be mine to play with. But I must wait. Douglas must be drained first. -DOUGLAS POV, Tuesday, 8:36 AM I know I broke something, and I doubt it was bone. Broken bones are simple; all you have to do is set the bone and let your body knit itself back together. I felt not like something had broken, but as if something had collapsed. The ungodly sensation permeating all my senses was so fierce that I couldn’t be moved. I lay huddled on the floor for about half an hour, waiting for Twilight to fetch a doctor, while Pinkie just lay at my side. The pain was searing, but the body pressed against my back kept me from unleashing the horrible sounds festering in my throat. I started to cry out when Pinkie got up, but the glow on my skin quickly silenced me as intense healing magic devoured the pain in my body. An unfamiliar voice spoke to me, one that seemed tempered by eons. “Do you feel well now, Douglas?” I put a hand to my stomach. The pain was utterly gone. I stood slowly to answer my healer, but found myself without words. I was unprepared for an invitation from royalty, but having royalty before me was something else entirely. The sheer majesty of this pony (who was nearly my own height) was almost enough to put me back on the floor. The navy of her coat was deep enough to depreciate all the light around the alicorn, and as I admired her she raised an eyebrow. “Twilight, is this behavior natural?” “I believe so, Princess Luna. This is Douglas’s first time in Canterlot, after all.” Luna. Of course, the mistress of the moon. It finally dawned on me that refusing to speak to this pony might not be the best thing to do. “Thank you, err…Princess. I-“ “You may call me Luna, Douglas.” “Uh, right. I feel a lot better, Luna, thank you.” “Excellent. In that case, it would be much appreciated if you would accompany me to my chambers. We have much to discuss.” “I can imagine…” Mirror, Mirror-KLAUS POV What power! I’m practically drooling at the prospect of controlling the very moon! But can I really subdue Douglas? There just may be enough magic in his body… -DOUGLAS POV, Tuesday, 9:08 AM “What I heard from Twilight was…unsettling, to say the least.” I couldn’t agree more. Luna went on. “There have been sightings of such creatures at the borders of Equestria, but until two days ago, I never suspected that they would arrive so quickly.” “Hold on, what happened two days ago?” “They abducted Celestia.” Wait. One of the princesses was captured by these things? I didn’t even need to ask for proof; I knew Luna was certain simply by looking at her. If this was the case, and these things were strong enough to kidnap a pony which raised the sun, then everypony was in unspeakable peril. But there was one question in particular which blazed in my mind: was I called here because Luna thought I had something to do with her sister’s disappearance? “Move, Douglas.” The fact that the voice I just heard never reached my ears was enough to make me panic. “I said, MOVE!” Crippling pain surged. All of the healing was undone, like a battery being emptied. I could feel myself slipping away as I saw Luna look at me. My vision went while Luna was speaking to me, asking if I was alright. Something else used my mouth to answer as the world of consciousness fell away. The last thing I felt was the sneer worming its way into my expression. “Better than alright, your majesty.” -LUNA POV, 9:14 AM I can recall each of the innumerable creatures I’ve seen through my countless years, but the human was an unknown. Had I any experience with humans, I might have been able to deal with whatever overcame Douglas at that moment. I could immediately recognize that something was amiss, and my first instinct was to bind him magically, but he lunged at me and seized my horn, and I immediately knew that something had taken control of the human. I would have been able to sense his power if he were strong enough to block my magic with his touch, yet I could only feel such strength now. All I knew was that as long as he held my horn, I could not fend him off. I attempted to fly, but his grip on me was such that I was now helpless. “Douglas, what are you doing?!” The cackle which emerged from Douglas’s throat was not his own. Having spoken to him, I knew Douglas’s voice to be deep, thickened by years of reading aloud. This shrill laughter stung my ears. It was more than noise, it was pure tonal chaos. “Me and Douglas look rather alike, don’t we, Princess?” So I was right. Whatever monstrosity before me was not Douglas, though it did inhabit his body, not to mention augmenting it. But what did he want? My answer came in the form of the object forcing its way past my lips. The thing probed its way into my mouth, nudging the back of my throat with its head. So this is what he wants. Good. This is a battle I can win. Carefully, I lifted my tongue and began to tease the underside of his member. His body trembled slightly as I went to work, coiling my tongue around and across the thick meat. His grip on my horn slackened, and I took this as my cue to draw my head back. I brought it back slowly, letting my mouth trail all the way down to the hilt, my nose touching his waist. He groaned at my efforts, and began to move his hips. I sucked greedily, closing my eyes as I concentrated on the sliding shaft. His ragged pants assured me that I was conquering his body. With one final push, he ejaculated. The amount of semen which I swallowed was staggering, rivaling some of the largest loads I had experienced in my long life. At the end of his climax, my horn was freed, and I immediately cocooned him in magic. Whatever was inside Douglas needed to be dealt with. -KLAUS POV Worth it. -DOUGLAS POV, 9:31 AM Did I make a mistake? Was I endangering the ponies around me by choosing to live with them? After the pain, my memories are a series of stills. It may not be clear, but I know what I did. I had violated another pony. Here I am in a cell, now. Maybe I shouldn’t leave it. “Stop crying, bookworm. You give yourself too much credit.” There he was again. Not in my ears, but in my head. Could I talk to him? “You can try, bookworm. Go to the mirror.” There was indeed a mirror, and I walked over to it. I leaned against the sink in front of it, locking eyes with my reflection. I’ve never been good at staring contests, but my reflection blinked first. “Damnit. I was gonna scare the crap out of you.” “You’re scaring me a little right now, actually.” “Oh, you’re much too kind.” “Enough with the crap. What the hell is going on?” “You’re awfully dim for a bookworm. Most people can tell when their reflection talks to them.” Then he laughed. The hellish cry was unbelievably loud and cruel, twisted to the point where I doubted that anyone, pony or human, could create such an evil sound. Evil…the word describes the sound itself better than it does its qualities. His laugh didn’t sound evil, it WAS evil itself. But I wasn’t scared. The last thing I needed right now was to be mocked by myself. “You’re awfully dim for a talking reflection. Most reflections don’t talk.” I half-expected more laughter, but instead my reflection’s features locked into a mask of rage. “No, I supposed they don’t. But none of that matters. What does matter is what I’m going to do once I’ve terminated you.” The façade of civility was gone. Whatever was in front of me had turned my face into an amalgam of menace, hatred, and fury. I tried to steel my own expression, but the grin I got in response destroyed my intimidating front. However, I wasn’t about to back down. “Who. Are you?” His grin only widened. “Just imagine what your friends will think. Their humble neighborhood coffee-maker, Douglas, finally snapped. I’ll ruin them all.” He spoke my name as if he were trying to vomit melodramatically. “Answer my question!” The laugh struck at me again, sending blocks of panic through my body. “Listen, bookworm. Don’t pretend you’re in charge. The longer you stay in this world, the more magic will leak into your body, and once there’s enough, there’ll be nothing left of you. I’m going to feast on the love of all of your friends, and there’s no way you can stop me. You’ll just make room for me if you kill yourself.” He was threatening my friends. I could see all of their faces in my mind, pained and tortured as this creature did what he pleased with my body. It was my turn to be angry. “TELL ME WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE!” “You’re rather fond of the pink one, aren’t you? Maybe I’ll tie her up and make her watch me have my fun with the others!” Pinkie Pie. No. NO! I roared, slamming both fists into the mirror. The crash was just more noise against that unholy laugh, moving from my ears back to my head. I screamed, blood running in rivulets from my knuckles, until my visitors came. The Best Medicine-LUNA POV, 9:36 AM There it was. The truth. I’ve known many things, and some are easier to forget. I wish I wasn’t right. He may not have told Douglas what he wanted, but I knew full well who was inside Douglas. Emperor Klaus. -FLUTTERSHY POV, 9:40 AM I’ve always been glad to have Douglas as a friend. I feel like I can say anything to him, and he’ll always like me. I was already in Canterlot trying to find something to help poor, sick Angel, but when Twilight and Pinkie Pie told me that Douglas was in trouble, I had to go see him. I don’t know what I thought I’d see when I got there, but finding him forlorn in a cell with bloodied knuckles was almost too much. I couldn’t run away, I owed him that much. “Umm…D-Douglas?” He looked up, and I could see his eyes. They looked like rocks, cold and dead. Twilight told me why he was done here, and I felt awful for him. All he wanted was a place where he could find happiness, and then this happens… “Douglas, do you want our help?” “Why?” “Because you have to come back to Ponyville! All the ponies like you, and we just want you to be safe!” He smiled slightly. “Fluttershy…” Then a guard came. “That’s enough. Time for you to go.” “Douglas, we need you! Come back!” The guard led me away from the cell, and I could only hope I’d helped somehow. -DOUGLAS POV, 11:54 PM Fluttershy was right. These ponies meant everything to me. Giving up meant abandoning them, and I couldn’t do that. “Douglas!” The voice came from above me. Twilight was speaking through the grate to the outside. “Twilight! What are you doing?” “Listen! I spoke to Luna. I know why she had you brought here!” “Because she thinks I’m responsible for the creatures?” “That’s what she said at first, but I think you can stop them!” “How?” “She said that when you were screaming, she figured out who was inside you.” I felt something stiffen at the base of my skull. Twilight went on. “She said his name is Klaus, and he’s extremely powerful. But I think that you can use him to stop those monst-AH!” At that moment, she lost her grip. Twilight didn’t fall far, and luckily she fell into the water. I considered what she said, and picked up a piece of the broken mirror. Part of my face sneered back at me from the shard. I spoke to the invader. “Can you get us out of here?” “Don’t bother. I won’t be used by a bookworm.” “What do you want.” Klaus blanched. “What did you just say?!” “What’ll it take to get us out of here?” Klaus smiled, as expression as jagged as the fragment I held. “We can discuss that once we’re free.” I dropped the piece of the mirror. “Do it.” -KLAUS POV I’d been accumulating strength steadily, and I’d spent quite a lot on Luna’s “lip service.” But with the bookworm willing to cooperate, everything would be much easier. It was time at last for Klaus to have some real fun. As I slid into Douglas’s body, I felt no resistance. Good. I stood up, stretched his limbs. No, MY limbs. I tore off Douglas’s suit jacket, tying strips over his ruined knuckles just in case I needed to punch something. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I’m going to punch things. Like these bars, for instance. My fist slid through the iron, the dissolving metal spitting acid onto those around it. Within seconds, the door in front of me was nothing more than a mess which needed cleaning. I stepped out casually, looking around. Two guard unicorns shouted at me, saving me the trouble of getting their attention. They shot bolts at me. I dodged one of the by twisting my upper body, but I caught the second one, letting it seep into my skin. I felt Douglas’s pain somewhere below my consciousness, but I didn’t care. The magic I was consuming was what the important part. I walked slowly, bolt after bolt striking my body. As I gained power, I could feel Douglas fading. That wasn’t good. If he blacked out, he’d drag me under with him. Let’s try a different approach. I flipped and landed on the ceiling, running upside down towards the guards. It was a little showy, but it had the desired effect. The guards were too stunned to attack. If my only goal was escape, I would have torn their spines out halfway and used them as garrotes, but I needed the bookworm for now, and I doubt he’d be thrilled with wanton slaughter. I kept running, past the unicorns and to the stairs. I descended rapidly, heading for the caves beneath the palace. I knew the underground well, and I could guide Douglas if I ran out of energy. A good idea as it turned out, since a phalanx of ponies had assembled to try to reclaim me. “Try” being the operative word, keep in mind. Nothing could stop me now. Besides, I knew my laugh bothered the bookworm. I took a deep breath and bellowed. Laughter truly is the best medicine, and the ailment was standing in formation before me. The guards in front of me dropped like flies as I wailed, pain chewing its way through their minds. After a few moments, only one guard stood, probably the leader of the group. He was stronger than the others. That was only to his detriment. The more he resisted, the more blood fell from his eyes. My laugh stopped at the same time as the guard leader’s heart. I frowned. I hate killing on accident. I continued, entering the caverns. -Thursday, 1:13 AM Light had long since abandoned us, but my kind knows innately how to sense without seeing. I was tired, and soon Douglas would have to take over. If this happened before we made it to the surface, that would be a problem. The bookworm didn’t have any of my gifts. I could feel my hold on the body slipping, and my movements became less coordinated. It was all I could do to trudge onward, desperate to find light. Then, like rubber, Douglas snapped back into place. Being Loved-DOUGLAS POV, 1:22 AM Klaus got us out of there, and I owed it to him to make it the rest of the way. He grumbled directions in my mind, and though I kept running into things, I persevered. “Klaus?” “What.” “What do you want now that we’re free?” “You’re already giving it to me.” “What do you-wait, did you hear that?” There was a hiss. Klaus became alert. “Listen very carefully, bookworm.” He was intense, more so than he’d been even when he was threatening me. “You’re going to say exactly what I tell you to say, understand, bookworm?” “Wait, to who?” Light entered my vision again, and I would have been blinded had it not been so dim, but it was something else too. It was green. I heard the scuttle of small feet against rock as the light came closer, and then I saw it. It was shaped like a pony, but not even Luna was that dark, nor have I seen anypony with gossamer wings or perforated limbs. It was the face, though, that told me this was not a pony. Ponies don’t have that hunger in their eyes, or teeth that could tear other ponies to ribbons. Klaus spoke. “Tell it to take you to the hive.” I did so, and the thing stared at me before turning around and walking away. It stopped after a while and turned, checking to see if I was following. Klaus was dead silent the entire time, but I could feel…something. Was he experiencing grief, or anger? We walked for some time before we came to an even smaller tunnel. My guide didn’t falter, and we delved even deeper into the depths of the cave. The air blowing through the tunnel was more like breath than a draft, and it made me feel like I was heading into something organic. I don’t know how long it took before we made it into the hub, but there were thousands of these things. And every single one was looking at me. -CELESTIA POV I can hear the Mother. She cries for her loved one to return to her. She believes that by taking me, she will have already won the invasion of Equestria. But I have faith in Douglas. He will gain the power he needs to destroy the invaders. If not… …the Eclipse will come. -PINKIE PIE POV, 10:48 AM “My decision is final, Pinkie Pie.” “But he’s not bad at all!” Luna was starting to bother me. How could she think Dougie was dangerous? Sure, there was the little issue when he first got here, but it was nothing me and Rarity couldn’t handle. Besides, it was lots of fun! “I don’t doubt you, Pinkie, or Douglas for all it matters. But the fact remains that I was attacked, and though I prevailed,” why was Luna licking her lips? “that didn’t stop him from attacking other guards.” I raised a hoof in argument, but she cut me off. “Did you know he killed one of them?” No, you big dumb princess, Dougie wouldn’t kill anyone! Luna kept going anyway. “Do you know what I have to do now? I have to tell a family that they’ve lost a brother, a husband, a son, and a father because of my neglect.” “You’re wrong! Dougie wouldn’t kill anyone! He can’t! You said it yourself, it’s that Klaus meanie who’s responsible!” “But he’s in Douglas’s body-“ “Dougie can beat him! Klaus is a no-good maniac, and Dougie WILL stop him!” I was breathing hard, and Luna was staring at me in disbelief. I guess princesses don’t get shouted at much, huh? “Pinkie, how can you possibly be so sure?” I didn’t even have to think of my answer to know what it was. All I had to do was think of everything Douglas was. Everything he was to me. I knew exactly what to tell Luna. “Because I LOVE HIM!” -KLAUS POV So I wasn’t absorbing magic after all. As the love poured into Douglas, I could hear the pony’s words. I suppose Pinkie Pie saved my life. Fuck. -DOUGLAS POV I’m actually horrified of public speaking. It’s not the idea of having to talk that gets to me, I just get disturbed simply by having too many people look at me at once. Right now, every cell in my body was rather upset. Klaus was merely irritated. “Just. Walk. Forward. Bookworm.” It wasn’t easy, and I fought my own muscles the whole way, but I took a step forward, and kept going. As I walked towards the center of the cavern, these creatures backed towards the walls and…bowed? I blazed a path through the kneeling entities, taking notice of one in particular. The wings, teeth, and holes were all present, but this one was distinctly feminine. Her head was adorned with sea-green, one strand falling prominently in front of her face, the rest draped gracefully along her back. From her forehead protruded a gnarled horn, like a dead tree demanding to exist. Her eyes were green and electrifying, and as my path continued to form, there was eventually open ground between us, and those eyes stopped me dead in my tracks. We stared at one another. Her gaze was filled with regality and dominance, while mine lacked any such features of confidence. Again, Klaus came to my aid. “Say her name.” Name? I concentrated, and from somewhere in my mind, a word surfaced. “Ch…chry…Chrysalis.” Her response was stark and immediate. “You are not our ruler.” Now she looked as if she was ready to gut me. Had Klaus brought me to my death? Somehow, I doubted it. He could have abandoned me in the caves, waited for me to perish. He needed me for something else. Meanwhile, Chrysalis continued to menace me. “We are the changelings, and my minions sense our emperor within you, but I see your true nature, human.” Klaus, I could use some help. “Tell her to bring a mirror if she wishes for her true ruler to return.” Again with the mirror. I was filled with dread at the thought of seeing Klaus control my form again, but I wasn’t about to jeopardize my current situation by improvising. “If you wish for your true ruler to return, you will bring a mirror.” “I will do no such thing. I am the queen of the changelings, and I shall remain such. Besides, you are not the emperor.” Klaus seemed amused. “Oh, I never saw this coming.” His sarcasm was thicker than bone. “Point at the others, tell them to fetch a mirror. Shout.” This tactic was successful. Chrysalis’s expression soured further as four changelings brought a mirror. I was not prepared for what was in the reflection, and neither was she. Though the face had my features and my choppy, disheveled hair, the hair was the same green as Chrysalis’s, and the yes the same as hers. My skin was dark just like the rest of the changelings, and when he lifted an arm, it was riddled with holes. I was sure that I was looking at Klaus’s own body. The emperor of the changelings. “My, my, Chrysalis. Aren’t we cheeky?” “Klaus. So it’s you after all.” “But of course. Now, to the matter at hand.” With that, he raised an arm. Green smoke seeped from the mirror in tendrils, creeping slowly towards Chrysalis. The more she back away, the faster the smoke approached, until it snaked around her and entered her through her mouth and nose. She began to pant heavily, and besides that sounds, all was quiet for a few moments until a second sound permeated the air. Drip. Drip. Drip. Bodies-CHRYSALIS POV I could feel the love pouring into Klaus’s vessel. He had regained much of his strength, but not his body. His body…my legs grew weak as the spell began to take its toll on my senses. Lust stormed through me, and I could feel my juice forming puddles at my feet. Klaus could crush my will effortlessly if this went on much longer. My only hope was to bend this vessel. This “Douglas.” “Douglas, take her.” I froze at those words, knowing full well of the fate Klaus had in mind. Then, the opportunity those words presented became clear to me. I extended my mind to Douglas. “Do as he says. I will help you destroy him.” Klaus would surely sense me communicating with Douglas, but the vessel’s seeming compliance seemed to appease the changeling. My subjects had fled silently by the time Douglas had begun to disrobe. At the sight of the fat stallionhood, I gasped, my surprise giving way to excitement. This was all mine. I pulled him close with my magic, nuzzling the inside of his thigh while I purred. I drew in his musk, letting my lungs fill with the fragrance of sex. I brought a hoof to the rod and stroked lightly. The poor dear was trembling. “Tell your queen, what are you called?” “Uh…Douglas.” I could feel his arousal. As his lust for me grew, I began to feed. His carnally-driven love was shallow and unsatisfying, but more importantly, he became the conduit I would need for my plan to succeed. I started channeling Klaus’s power into me. I usurped the emperor’s energy in the same way I pleasured Douglas: slowly at first, but with growing speed as my body craved more. I released his length, leaned in close, and planted the ghost of a kiss on the tip. I could taste his release, and I WANTED it. I started at the base, drawing a line up the middle with my tongue, then twirled circles around the head. Returning my lips to where they started, I let my mouth relax and open as I pushed Douglas’s member inside. His heart beat through me, and I could feel his pulse quicken through the instrument in my mouth. I let his meat stay where it was, flicking my tongue back and forth as I savored the hard shaft. He groaned, mere seconds away from release, and I let my lips fall away, wetness forming a glistening bridge between myself and my plaything. I pushed Douglas roughly to the ground. He seemed paralyzed, as if Klaus was doing something to him. No matter. Nothing would get in the way of my fun. I turned around and pressed my haunches against the warm pole, squeezing it with my backside. I began to grind, pulverizing him with my ass. I could feel it throb and twitch with slickness. I moaned as I realized that the wetness was my own. I let the rod slide through my haunches, until his pulsing head was poised at my entrance. I no longer had the will to tease him; I was going to have it NOW. I drove forward, pushing the cock as far into me as it would go, squeezing my walls against it when it wouldn’t go any further. I drew back, and pounded down again. As I hammered my flank against the human, I surveyed his body. What a strange, improbable creature. The hands were the most intriguing part of his anatomy, those strange and dexterous appendages. Forgoing my magic, I seized him by the wrists and brought his hands to my rear. He squeezed obediently as I continued to ride his fat dick. It was a glorious sensation, and I was filled as I never had quite been before. My tail swished back and forth of its own accord, and my tongue hung limply from my mouth. I felt amazing. Every part of me was tingling as I continued to stuff my insides with Douglas. But I could tease him even more, play with his mind. Let’s see, who are his friends? Peering into his memories, I saw the ponies who had aided in the failure of my previous scheme. No matter, I would still use them. I began to change, first into the farmer first. I giggled as my form changed in a flash of emerald light. His eyes widened as his orange friend continued to fuck him senseless. “Yah like that, sugarcube? Yah like plowin’ mah field?” He pushed into me harder. I cackled as I changed into the other librarian. “Oh, yes! Keep cataloging my insides!” Should the shy one be next? “Mmm…I just LOVE a real ANIMAL!” Now, the fashionista. “Oh, darling! You’re hard as diamond, and I looooooove diamonds!” Let’s be the rainbow one next. “Oh, yeah! You’re making me at least 20% wetter, baby!” Then, I changed into pink one. I only had time to squeal before Douglas suddenly grabbed me hard, lifting my entire body as he thrusted upwards and released inside me. The hot jets of fluid welled up in my deepest recesses, the stimulation firing my own orgasm. My body being was rocked with the sensation, undiluted pleasure racing against the blood in my veins. I lay atop the human, panting, collecting my energies. But something was amiss. Why could I not feel Klaus’s power? -KLAUS POV The fool thinks she can steal from me? Although my tether to Douglas was weakening, I could still use him. My power would travel to Douglas, and no further. Then, I could reclaim it. I stepped out of the mirror. Seeds of Change-DOUGLAS POV I’d lost all control over the situation a long time ago. After seeing Chrysalis turn into all my friends, I couldn’t move at all. Seeing them in such a lewd light only validated the fears I had about being near them. I knew what I was doing by thinking like this, and braced myself for a snide remark from Klaus. But…there was nothing. Had he manifested enough power to separate from me? I glanced at the mirror. He was facing away, and at first I thought that he had turned around, but then I realized that the mirror was reflecting his back. Klaus was standing in front of it. There was a horrible crash as one of the beasts pounced on Chrysalis. It was the same manner of beast which had attacked me and my companions back in Canterlot. Its teeth left several gashes in the queen’s side. Chrysalis wasn’t moving. I was. I seized the thing with one hand, and then my mind was just white noise. I tore one of its legs off at the joint and struck the monster in the ribs. The limb turned into acid when it hit, and with a grisly hissing, the beast’s ribcage fell open. The appendages of its mouth flailed miserably as its innards dropped to the ground. I watched it bleed dry. Klaus stared at me with a cocktail of fear and hate. Walking over to the weakly breathing body of Chrysalis, I bound her side with strips from my clothes and picked her up, carrying her away. Klaus shouted at me, but did nothing. I could care less what happened to Klaus. As I entered the tunnels once again, the dark overcame me, but this time, I was able to navigate it. I was free. I had plenty of questions, and Chrysalis would hopefully be able to help answer them when she came to, but that wasn’t important. What was important was the dying changeling I was carrying. Questions or not, I had to help her. Not because she was Klaus’s enemy, not because I owed her something, and not even because it was my job. I did it for one simple reason: it’s what Pinkie Pie would have done. By the time I’d made it back to Canterlot, Chrysalis’s blood had soaked through my makeshift bandages and begun to stain my skin. Her breath was becoming thinner, and I knew I had next to no time. I thought back to what had transpired in the hive. I’d clearly done something…did that mean I could heal her? I pulled away the strips. It looked like half of her side had been assaulted by a cheese grater. She winced in pain as I placed a hand on the wound. I concentrated, recalling my own wounds, recalling the sensation of Luna’s healing spell. Luna’s spell was gentle, like the moon embracing me and nursing me to health. The energy that punctured Chrysalis caused her to convulse as steam poured from the gashes in her skin. Her flesh began to undulate, stretching over the cuts as new skin knitted itself together. I had no idea how much pain I’d caused her, but she’d live. I hoped. -CHRYSALIS POV Changelings are born knowing only hunger, and I was no different, save one thing: I had a mentor. Tyrant or not, everything I knew about myself had been given to me by Klaus. I was more than his sultry concubine, I was his protégé. Everything I knew about magic, leadership, perseverance, and victory had been taught to me by the Emperor of the changelings. I could hear his voice in my head, that sadistic lilt which painted the colors of my world. “You are the strongest resource you will ever possess, Chrysalis. Remember that. Others are only tools. I am your tool; you use me to learn. You are my tool. I use you…to entertain myself. But above all, remember who you are, Chrysalis. You are a queen. Now, are you awake? Do you feel alright?” What? Klaus never said that to me. I tried to focus. Without opening my eyes, I could sense another presence, a changeling presence. It had to be Klaus. I opened my eyes. It was Douglas. I have made many mistakes in my lifetime, drawn many ill conclusions, but changelings can sense one another infallibly. There was only one before me, and it was the human. This mystery was soon overshadowed by another, however. The last thing I could remember was being mauled by that abomination, yet I bore no wound. This meant that Douglas had healed me. The very thought contradicted everything I knew. What I’d done to Douglas was typical behavior for me. I’d played with him, tormented him, and used him. I’d reduced him to the level of an object. But he saved my life. What drove the human? What could he possibly hunger for that would lead him to save me? Perhaps he enjoyed what I did to him, and I was to be a tool for him as he was for me, like I was for Klaus. Maybe it was Klaus’s influence which was motivating him, like it motivated me. I felt a coolness near my mouth. “Here, drink. I imagine you can’t be feeling too well.” His cupped hands held water. Those hands…he offered them to me. If he intended to use me, then he would have pointed to the water and told me to drink instead of fetching water for me, instead of nursing me, instead of…caring for me. I drank deeply, and every time I finished, he silently brought more water for me until I was satisfied. The question lingered in my mind. “Why are you helping me?” He stopped moving, and I could read his face. He was…unsure. This baffled me even further. Was there no reason whatsoever for the hospitality I was being shown? It took him a few moments before he spoke. “When I first came here to Equestria, I did something horrible. I hurt three other ponies, and it killed me inside. Made me want to be alone forever so I wouldn’t hurt another pony. There was one pony though, one of the ones I’d hurt, that cared about me and saved me. I guess I came to the conclusion that everypony deserves to be saved.” Nothing made sense anymore. Everypony deserved to be saved? Ridiculous! He receives nothing from that philosophy, nothing whatsoever! “How could you possibly believe such a sentiment? There’s nothing you could ever hope to gain from it!” “Yeah. That’s the entire point.” Fighting Slaughter with Slaughter-LUNA POV, Friday, 4:17 PM “Shining Armor, put up the barrier now!” Everything was in havoc. The castle had been breached five minutes ago, and the hallways were flooded with the monstrosities which had attacked Twilight and her friends. I moved briskly through the halls. Any creatures which approached me were incinerated as soon as they touched the shadows around me. I knew not what took place outside these walls, but right now, the castle needed to be purged. -DOUGLAS POV, 6:43 PM Chrysalis had mended my clothes with her magic. I still didn’t have my suit jacket, but I had something to protect me from the cold that also had the bonus of looking quite snazzy. She’d also pointed us in another direction, suggesting that since neither of us were exactly welcome faces in Canterlot at the moment, it may be best not to enter from beneath the castle. She didn’t walk at any diminished pace, but her movements still seemed slow. She had been like this for some time, occasionally lowering her head. I could understand that. A lot had happened to both of us. We emerged from the ground a good ways away from the city itself, soaked in dusk. There was still enough light out for us to cast shadows. There were spots of light in my own shadow, as if my limbs were riddled with holes. As we pressed towards the city, something seemed different. There was a magenta envelope covering the city. Chrysalis recognized it, pointing it out as a magical barrier which would bar entry. I could smell its energy, feel it in parts of my body which seemed foreign. We approached magical field. I closed my eyes, reaching out with the sensations in my body as I communed with the magic before me. I opened my eyes, and an entrance rippled open. I was prepared to face the royal guard when I arrived back in the city, willing to submit completely if necessary. I was not prepared for the warzone we encountered. The streets were riddled with dead ponies, most of them looking as if they’d been chewed open. There was little structural damage, but the real blemishes were the wolf-things prowling through the streets they’d conquered. I looked to the castle, where the walls were being scaled by the monsters. Canterlot had been invaded. I took in the bloodbath before me, taking note of all of the lost pony lives. Something inside me stirred. Not a changeling Emperor, but a force which cascaded through my being like mercury. “Chrysalis, go to the castle. I’ll deal with the city.” She simply nodded, becoming a dart of black and turquoise as she flew to the palace. I had other plans. I let that pool inside of me boil over, and the ground beneath me cracked audibly. Feasting creatures turned their attention to me and lunged. Raw anger lanced out from my chest, striking several of the things. I stepped through the new piles of ash, moving to the center of the city. Anything that jumped at me met various ends as they collided with the green streaks of power blasting my slowly building aura. Some collapsed in upon themselves, some exploded, some were impaled on pieces of their burst comrades, and some simply died. My rage only grew the more I killed. These creatures were destroying the perfect world I’d finally found. I was nothing but green fury by the time I was in the dead center of Canterlot. I tapped into the barrier again, turning it viridian as my eyes saw the entire city at once. I could see all of the invaders, both those within the confines of the shield as well as those in the legion approaching it. My vision was simultaneous, as was my retribution. A matrix of beams permeated the city as I struck dead the whole of Canterlot’s marauders. I collapsed the shield into a single point, and sent it at the newcomers. Whatever fates they met were inconsequential and deservedly horrible. -PINKIE PIE POV They took everypony they could and moved them into the basement. We were surrounded by guards, but they couldn’t keep us safe from the sounds coming from above. We could hear the noises the things made, a noise like a deflated balloon filled with paper going through a shredder. We could hear them cry as the guards attacked them. But the cries of those horrible things didn’t bother me. It was the screaming ponies. Every time I heard a pony scream, I was hearing a pony die. There was so much screaming. I huddled close to Twilight, and she put a hoof on my shoulder. If I closed my eyes, I felt like it was Dougie touching me. Dougie, where are you? The screaming got quieter after a few hours. It got real quiet for a few minutes. I wished Dougie was here. I wanted him with me so I could look up and see him okay. I just hoped that wherever he went off to, he was safe. There were so many ponies, all crammed together. Most of them were crying. The light sobbing was the only noise, and we were together in the stillness. One of the guards started shouting, then wiggly things grabbed his head. All the ponies started screaming when the guard’s head came off, and more of those beasts came into the room. I was so scared. Everypony tried to run, but there was no room. I thought we were all going to die. Then, a huge tentacle grabbed the monsters and crushed them. A giant green eye stared at us all, before the whole thing turned green and changed into… Unlikely Aid-CHRYSALIS POV I could see Luna being overwhelmed. She was vanquishing many of the beasts, but there were simply too many. I aimed for the window and broke through, my chimera maw brimming with flame, torching a row of creatures. I turned around and slammed a spiked manticore’s tail into the remaining beasts, and turned the rest to stone with my cockatrice eyes. I assumed my form and helped the princess to her feet. She was stammering “Wha…why…you…” “I’m going to aid you. Simple as that.” I could see the doubt in her face, but she shook it off and sent me to the cellar, where most of the ponies were being kept. My long fangs diced my opposition as I loped down halls with the speed of a sabre cat, and those who got too close to me were vaporized by the heat of a sunsprite. To think, this case had once been the stage for my own invasion of Canterlot. Now, I was saving it from another. I arrived at the basement to see one creature opening a guard, while another was being decapitated. My kraken tentacle seized and pulverized both of them. I looked into the shelter before taking my own shape. The ponies were all reasonably astonished to see me. Only one dared to approach me: the pink one. “Dougie sent you, didn’t he?” “That he did.” -LUNA POV I had no time to doubt Chrysalis. My kingdom was in danger, and I was willing to grab onto whatever sliver of hope I could. My sister taught me that. As I dashed to the throne room, my thoughts went to Celestia. She was more than my sister, she was my mentor. everything I knew about myself had been given to me by Celestia. Everything I knew about magic, leadership, perseverance, and compassion had been taught to me by the ruler of Equestria. I could hear her voice in my head, that gentle majesty which painted the colors of my world. “You are strong only when you can depend on your friends, Luna. Remember that. Everyone relies on each other. You rely on me for guidance. I rely on you for solace. But above all, remember who you are, Luna. You are a princess. Now…” The memories were drowned out by the roar outside. A matrix of green light permeated the city, before it swallowed the barrier and barreled into the distance. I knew that light, it was changeling magic. Had Chrysalis betrayed me? The bolt was still traveling I could see movement on the horizon, was it more of those creatures? The thought terrified me far more than any prospect of a vengeful queen. I quickly flew out a window, rising high into the night sky as I focused on the limits of my sight. There was surely another wave approaching, but I caught only a glimpse before the green magic struck. The blast was thunderous, shrinking to a pinprick of light before an enormous dome razed the area. It expanded rapidly, before dissipating. When the light cleared, I gasped. The landscape had been transformed to one I knew implicitly: lunar wasteland. The impact had chewed a crater from the earth, a barren crag. I whirled about, scanning the city for the source of this destruction. A single figure stood in the middle of the city, trails of carcasses stemming from where he stood. The figure was shrouded in green flame. It was not Chrysalis. It was Douglas. -PINKIE PIE POV “What are YOU doing here..ach!” Shining Armor just limped in from the other side of the room, and he looked really mad. Chrysalis did impersonate his wife and try to ruin his wedding, after all. He tried to move, but he fell. He’d looked really tired when he came in, but he was bleeding bad. Chrysalis teleported over him, and he started squirming on the ground. She rolled him over, and Twilight screamed. One of Shining’s back legs had been ripped off at the knee. Little wires hung from the stump. It was awful. Chrysalis finally said something. “Lie still.” She swung her mane into her mouth, and tore a good part of it off with her teeth. She moved it next to a struggling Shining Armor’s bad leg, who looked at her with a look of hate and confusion. He hit her a couple of times, but Chrysalis never moved, concentrating on joining the wound with her hair. When she’d wound the stump completely, she shot green light at the hair and the limb. Both of them glowed together, and when the glow faded, Shining had his leg back. He looked up at Chrysalis, who just walked towards the other ponies. A lot more of the ponies were hurt, but Chrysalis fixed them right up. They were scared of her at first, which was kinda fair, but now that she was helping, everypony started to trust her. I could see that this was all new to her by the way she acted almost nervous when ponies came to her and asked her for help. I was glad. I’d thought a lot about what she did in Canterlot. Sure, she was mean and scary, but she was just looking for food for the other changelings. She couldn’t be all bad. And here she was, helping out the ponies. Chrysalis was in the center of a big circle of ponies. She was healing the ones that needed it, and clumsily trying to comfort the ones who were crying. Meanwhile, Twilight was kneeling next to her brother. They didn’t talk, they just put their heads close to one another while Twilight cried. Shining Armor looked away suddenly, and pointed at the window. I looked too. Green light was everywhere! It flew all over the city, and even ate up the big bubble around Canterlot. I could sort of see something tall far away, and I had to go. I walked over to Chrysalis. “My Dougie’s still out there! Will you help me find him?” She looked at Twilight and Shining Armor. Twilight nodded to Chrysalis, and she nodded at me. We left together, with Chrysalis leading, and we stepped into the city. Klaus's Story-KLAUS POV I was free, but I was still incomplete. I should have foreseen my mistake. Chrysalis manipulated Douglas’s feelings, unlocking his love for the pink one, binding my power to him. Love is simple nourishment for the changelings, but it is far more to me. Though it may sustain me, it is the very antithesis of my being, and absorbing too much disrupts my equilibrium. My peons still served me, and I put my plan into motion. I would send some out to feed on love, while others would help my own feeding. A single changeling meekly accompanied me to the hidden recesses of the hive, through living rock only I knew how to traverse. For the first time in five thousand years, I entered my long sealed chambers. I turned to my lone entourage. It looked up at me full of adoration, as if it were a puppy looking at its long-lost master. I knelt, put a hand on its head, letting it experience affection for only a moment before I devoured it. My hunger conquered my senses, and I took the luxury of nostalgia. My mind wandered farther than it had in eons, back to when I was less…savage. To when I still had a family. I’d always been a good foal. I had a strong father, a gentle mother, and little brother. Each day was blissful in its simplicity. I would wake up to the train bells each morning, rouse my brother, and help with breakfast before leaving for school. We lived in the castle. My father was a guardsman, and my mother was the royal librarian. I was always torn between which of them I wanted to be when I grew up. The time I spent with my father was spent training. I learned magic from him, as well as the importance of strength, duty, and patience. When I was with my mother, she would read to me, and as her voice rendered the words from the pages, I would practically inhale them. The gifts my parents gave me shaped who I would become. I wanted the all-encompassing knowledge of my mother, and the imposing strength and discipline held by my father. I wanted the wisdom of the Canterlot archivist, and the power of a Canterlot sentinel. I learned, and I trained. At the end of the day, when I played with my brother, he liked to challenge me. He called his games “contests.” He make me race him through the gardens, asking me questions he couldn’t possibly know the answer to, and having me perform feats of magic he couldn’t possibly have done himself. When I had completed these trials, I’d help him practice levitation as I explained one of the subjects he’d asked about. Day in and day out, my prowess and intellect grew. But I still lacked a cutie mark, as did my brother. My classmates would tease me, but I was able to put up with it so long as I was the subject. When another guardspony came to mother and I one day, things became different. My brother had been hospitalized. He had stood up to a group of ponies who were taunting him. They beat him until he couldn’t move, then they dropped him off a balcony. Later, the doctor told us that his body would recover, but he’d suffered permanent brain damage. When my brother was released, nothing seemed amiss. He could function, and his memory was intact. He even accomplished his ritual of refusing to eat broccoli, for which he was chastised by mother. We only learned what was wrong when he bit her. That night, I asked him for the names of the ponies that had done this. Before long, Canterlot was abuzz with the news about the group of limbless foals who’d been drowned in a fountain. I got my cutie mark the day after. The bottom half was an anchor, and the top half was an axe, and together, both halves formed the image of a wicked smiling face. As I grew, I became cold. I entered the royal guard at a young age, and became a member of Celestia’s personal guard a few years later. I was charged with not only protecting Equestria’s leader, but also with providing counsel to whomever sought it from a colt of my status. But my passion for knowledge and power had died with my brother’s tormentors. One of my duties was to deal with enemies of the throne, ponies who posed a threat to the princess. “Exiled” was the term others used to describe the ones I captured. The term I used was “games”. I spent most of my time in the dungeons with ponies I’d captured. I’d open them up, or burn them, or mutilate them, or cut them deep and let them die slowly, but drowning them was always my favorite pastime. It was my secret passion, my special talent, and my giddy laughter was the only evidence I left. I’d come home, and nothing would be wrong, until the day my father was discharged. He was nothing but anger, and while he kept his peace in front of me, he told mother everything. He’d mistaken an innocent filly for a trespasser. Father said he’d called out to the filly, and when she refused to turn back, he was ordered to execute her. Celestia acted with grace, punishing him merely with honorable discharge for obeying an order to kill an innocent pony. I overheard everything he told mother. He ranted about the injustice, and he said he should’ve killed Celestia instead of that filly. Well, that was more than enough for me to make a call. I walked down the steps to the dungeon, giddy with anticipation. My father yelled and hollered from his cell, but he was too deep to be heard from beyond the door which I possessed the only key to. I walked into the cell. To me delight, he was happy to see me. I thought I was going to free him. I was silent, letting my smile do all the talking. It didn’t take him long to realize that there was no sympathy on my lips. My mouth had formed one wide crescent of pure malice. Hope abandoned him as I showed him my tools. I selected one fairly small knife, and hurled it past his head. He screamed as it soared passed his head and stuck in the stone wall. I began to snicker, and threw another. He screamed again. I lifted a third, and he shut his eyes. I frowned at his attempt to deny me my fun. I launched the third knife, and it stuck into his muzzle. He cried out in pain, and I quickly twisted the knife, hearing the distinct sound of a bone splitting. The smile jumped right back onto my face as I started to laugh. I abandoned my tools and my magic, doing the rest with my bare hooves. I bit at his abdomen, exposing his ribs with my teeth. He begged to me, pleaded for his son to stop. I placed a hoof on one of his ribs when he told me he wanted to help me. He told me he loved me. I stopped. The room was silent, save for our panting. He tried his best to remain composed, but a single sob escaped him. I pulled up sharply on the rib. I hate crying. The bone snapped off easily, and he began to wail again. I laughed, admiring my work before I jammed the bone into my father’s neck and began to saw his throat open. Midway through, he became silent. I reached for the hole I’d made, pulling enough to see his still heart. I sighed, tossing the rib behind me, turning. I froze. I must have left the door unlocked, because a tiny princess Luna was standing before me. My mind was assaulted by a single word. Kill. She flew on her diminutive wings to the stairs, out of reach of my magic. I gave chase. I followed her through most of the castle as she tried to lose me in the hallways and corridors, but having personally hunted down many of the ponies I played with, I was an expert tracker. It wasn’t long before she made the mistake of looking back, and flew into a wall. I cast a sleeping spell immediately and brought her back to her room. To all the guards who passed me, I looked as if I was tending to the young princess who’d tired herself out. It was all I could do not to giggle at their mistake. I locked her chambers, and set her on her bed. I petrified her horn, rendering her helpless. I sat on the other side of the room, waiting for her to awaken with the patience of a hunter. I knew what I needed to do. As much as I wanted to murder her, I knew better. A dead princess would incite too many questions. No, I had to keep her silent, but alive. Her eyes opened slowly, blinking as she took in her surroundings. She gave a soft yawn before she noticed me. I put a hoof over her mouth as she tried to call for help, and I shook my head, drawing a line across my neck for good measure. She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried her magic. She gave me a look of fear when her powers failed her. I freed her mouth, and she obediently stayed quiet. I brought my cock to her lips, and rammed myself in. I played around with her mouth for a while, but there simply wasn’t enough room in the tiny orifice. I instead brought myself to her other lips, before realizing I would likely encounter the same problem. That left me with only one more option. I aimed slightly lower, prodding at the tailhole. Luna’s eyes widened in terror as I pushed slowly, and though the tears from her eyes conveyed the pain she was in, she did her best to keep silent. I continued. Her ass was extraordinarily tight, and it crushed my dick as I pumped in and out. Each push required considerable effort, but the sweet tenderness of her young insides was all the incentive I needed. Soft squeaks escaped her as I continued my work. I would have silenced her, but those sounds made me get even bigger inside of her and I kept thrusting. The fun I was having brought a grin to my face, and I filed the idea of rape away in my mind for future use. Yes…raping ponies was fun! My glee brought me over the edge as I finished inside Luna. The suction produced an audible smack as I withdrew from her. My ecstasy leaked from the diminutive princess, and I knew she feared me now. Her sister did not. The room became hot as the sunlight intensified. The door burst open, and the sun goddess entered. I was lifted into the air, held in place before Celestia. She never uttered. A sunbeam struck me, and I was ripped apart molecule by molecule. As my entire body was wracked with agony, I found it ironic that my own death was to be more painful than any of the ones I’d caused. I cackled as my form dissolved. Even then, I could not have imagined my fate. As I laughed, something happened. I began to eat Celestia’s magic, sending it away in each of the pieces she ripped from my body. They traveled along the sunbeam, falling deep into the earth. There, they grew. Celestia’s magic is fueled not only by the sun, but by her emotions. The bloodlust she felt when she killed me had bound to the same bloodlust in my soul. That magic changed my fragments, and each one grew into a changeling. The new changelings were like me: merciless, powerful, intelligent, and hungry. They hungered for the love which I lacked. They conquered a nearby village, and fed. My essence was in each of them, and as they reproduced, that essence grew stronger. Occasionally, enough of my soul would coalesce to form a unique changeling, a queen. These queens could harvest my essence, and they did so. It took hundreds of years, but my soul regenerated within one of the changelings. I was finally born. Hunters-THE ROC POV I serve the MOTHER. SHE will have what is HERS, because I will not fail. The one called DOUGLAS is my prey, and I will take…I’ve been spotted by the black alicorn. I must devise a new strategy. It is using the shadows to travel. The scent of its magic fills my nostrils. It will not stand in my way. There, off to the right! It emerges, lunging, charging with its horn. It gave me far too much time to react. I swatted with my multitudinous limbs, but it carved through them. This must be our captive’s counterpart. I do not know if it can kill me. It will not have the chance. I have my new strategy. From my severed limbs, I grew more Spawn. I had already sent plenty of Spawn to the city, but these would distract the alicorn. They did. I turned towards the target…and stopped. I could smell HIS power. He would not be taken easily. If I were to surprise HIM, I may be destroyed. I developed a third strategy. I dove for the pink. -CHRYSALIS POV I knew why Douglas was in such turmoil. He had just given me the gift of empathy, now he was losing it himself. I could see Klaus in him; not literally, but emotionally. The thrill of slaughter was beginning to overtake him, and he was transforming into the monster that used to be my emperor. But I was bound to another now, and he needed me. He was now more changeling than human, and if he couldn’t hold on to his humanity, I would help anchor him with his new identity. I put a hoof on his shoulder. “Douglas, I have something I must tell you.” He was utterly, eerily still. Changelings didn’t need to breathe, and now he had abandoned even that. “Go ahead.” His words were dead, lifeless and heavy. “Douglas, you don’t have to lose yourself. You’re a changeling now, but you are still a living creature capable of feeling. I can see your anguish, and I know why. You gave me a gift, and you think you’re losing it, but you have something to hold on to.” “Listen to her, Dougie. You’re my friend, for always and forever. Auntie Pinkie is here.” In the next moment, she wasn’t. A gargantuan creature plummeted from the sky. It was mostly mouth, and as it dove, I could see at least three rows of teeth in its open maw. Several jointed spikes jutted from its underside, and as it came racing down, one of them slid through Pinkie while the rest wrapped around her. It carried her off on wings of gore and leather, the entire maneuver taking place within fractions of a second. Neither I nor Douglas had the speed to react in time. Oh no. Douglas. I turned towards him. “Douglas, hold on!” “I’m a changeling, you said?” He met my gaze, and I backed away. His words were dripping with rage, and his stare could have skinned me alive. Words eluded me. Without waiting for an answer, his body bent and stretched as he became a winged centipede made of bones. He continued to stare at me for a moment, provided a lengthy view of his “head.” At the front end of his new shape were many rings of serrated mandibles which could have sawed diamonds into powder. He tore off after Pinkie’s captor. -THE ROC POV HE would follow. HIS contact with the pink suggested a bond. Its screams were insignificant. I flew towards a potential ambush site. I was fast, and the outcropping would provide ample space to conceal myself, if such action proved necessary. HE might not even struggle if I free it. It may be important enough to HIM to warrant surrender. The outcome was certain either way: I would retrieve DOUGLAS and bring HIM to the MOTHER. There was no chance of failure. Wait. I smelled DOUGLAS. HE was far too close. This is an impossibility. How could HE be so fast? HE can’t be. I turned, and saw…DOUGLAS? There was another creature. It was bigger than me, and I could smell it. It was DOUGLAS. I came to the outcropping, hitting the stone above my intended target, accidentally dropping the pink onto a ledge below. Impossible. I do not become confused. I do not make mistakes. I do not fail. I cannot fail. I cannot… -DOUGLAS POV The thing met my mouth. Within seconds, it was confetti. Pinkie had rolled inside a cave. She was still breathing, but the hole through her would fix that soon. Taking my own shape, I stepped towards her… Revenge is Magic-KLAUS POV I burst through the wall, tackled Douglas, and kept going. He tried to push against me, but he only had a fraction of my power, and I had just fed one hundreds of my minions. I was filled with the blood and power, and the bookworm had no chance of stopping me. No one would steal from me and live. As the rock was shredded around Douglas’s body, I realized that I had no plan. Of course I was going to kill him, but how? I slowed my pace, before my imagination saved the day and I turned back towards the cave. I held him by the neck, and slammed him into the ground. There was a sizeable pool of blood around the pink pony. I needed that blood. Grabbing the back of Douglas’s head, I pushed his face into the pony’s open wound. “You know, I haven’t drowned anyone in a while, bookworm.” It’d been much longer than I’d realized; so much so that I was drooling at the prospect. I channeled the blood back into the pony. Douglas was thrashing. I simply held him as he suffocated into the blood of his companion. I gave myself a mental pat on the back for my ingenuity. I’d drowned my victims in their own blood before, and even in my blood once or twice, but never in someone else’s. It was delightful. I could feel the familiar giddy bubbles fill my chest as my lips turned upwards in glee before breaking open in laughter. My elation blasted into me from many angles as the cave walls threw my laugh in every conceivable direction. Douglas finally stopped moving. It was tempting to leave him there, face-first in his friend, but I knew better. I had to check, in case there was more fun to be had. I bent him backwards, exposing his insides. Sure enough, his changeling heart was still. It was too bad. For good measure, a thin line of flame extended from my finger as I wrote on his organ. I was nearly done with the “was” in “Klaus was here” when Douglas opened his eyes. Blood covered his face, and his eyes bothered me, those jet-black portals shining in their darkness. This was not good. When I had been slain, my soul entered a new body, but I could still exist without that body. Was he the same? It had took decades of being a bookworm for me to unlock this power, but Douglas had freed himself from his flesh by…I didn’t even know. He was unnatural, a monster. How ironic. He stood, not even bothering to mend his broken frame. His torso swung freely as he lumbered towards me. I faced, him, waiting. He could inflict no harm on me, no pain I had not already endured. As soon as I thought this, he stopped walking, but his upper body continued to teeter precariously. He began to glow, before he disappeared. Did he flee from me? “You wish, Klaus.” -DOUGLAS POV My torment had begun when someone else had inhabited my body. Now, that torment would end in the opposite way. “So hurting you is a waste of time? Then I’ll just have to end you.” “Did…did you just…?” Klaus began to panic ostensibly as he came to terms with what I’d done. “NO! YOU CAN’T BE HERE! GET OUT!” “What’s wrong, Klaus?! I thought you loved torture!” “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, BOOKWORM?!” “I understand how you feel, you know. This is a lot of fun. I should have done this sooner!” Klaus froze as he regained his composure. “Get out before I smear the pony over the walls.” He was threatening Pinkie Pie. Unacceptable. “Are you sure you want me out? We were such good friends, you know.” I could feel Klaus’s face contort with hatred. Power was everything he knew, everything he lived for; the power to kill, maim, violate, and destroy. I was taking away all his power, and it was driving the madman mad. He turned, becoming a shapeless, writhing mass of blades and teeth, lunging towards Pinkie Pie. I stopped him dead in his tracks. “Uh-uh-uh. You have to cooperate if you want me to leave. No say the magic word.” I was torturing him like he’d tortured me, by grabbing hold of the things which glued his life together and pulling up by the roots. He roared in anger, changing shapes countless times as his fragile sanity eroded. I’d done my job too well, leaving nothing to reason with. It was now or never. I pulled away from him mind, and I returned to me own body. He did not return to his. As I held Klaus’s soul, he looked at the body I’d wrenched him from. He was full of fear at this moment. For the first time, he’d been truly threatened. He would never experience fear again. I bit down hard, sucking Klaus’s essence into me. I walked over to Pinkie. She was fading quickly. I, lifted her head, placed my mouth over hers, and breathed Klaus’s life force into her. Like Chrysalis, her flesh wound itself back together. She broke our kiss with a sudden gasp as life was fully restored to her, and she looked at me. She didn’t have to say that she loved me, and I didn’t have to say that I loved her. She simply kissed me again. When we were staring into each other’s eyes again, I felt…peace. She didn’t care what I’d done or what I’d become. She loved Douglas. “I have to go now, Pinkie. I’m going to keep you and Equestria safe.” She giggled, and pushed me to the ground. “You’re not allowed to leave yet, Dougie.” On the Horizon-DOUGLAS POV Swoop. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I want to do something, anything to show that I could still feel things. But I couldn’t. Swoop. There were so many dead ponies. None of them would ever laugh, or love, or dream ever again. The only thing I wanted was a single tear to prove to myself that I was still alive, but my body only answered with the percussion of my frozen heart. I knew what was happening. Klaus had stolen my humanity from me. Now, I’d used his power so much I was becoming more like the unfeeling parasite he is. I heard soft steps behind me. Not the creatures. I turned to face Chrysalis and…Pinkie Pie. I could feel the sheets of ice crack as my emotions stirred faintly. It was just like when I first came to Ponyville, she was saving me from myself. Swoop. I stumbled a few steps forward, and she closed the rest of the distance. I dropped to my knees, and she fell upon my neck. We held each other as close as we could. She was actually crying, while I was only attempting to. I let her cry into my chest. My arms closed all around her, my right hand resting on the back of her head. Chrysalis stood by us. Even she was crying. I felt dead, as if I were a copper statue erected in my own memory, being hugged in mourning. Swoop. “Dougie…” She stopped for a moment to look up at me. She gazed up at me with sky blue pools of compassion. She’d stopped crying for the moment. I put a finger against her face, drawing it slowly under her eyes, those eyes once so full of joy where tears should never venture. I wiped away those tears. They were they only ones I felt. SWOOP! -LUNA POV The approaching force had been decimated, save for one. It was enormous, and it was flying quickly. I charged towards the castle, needing to assess the threat. The wall was facing away from the moon, and I slipped into the shadow it cast. Moving through the shadows helped me relax as familiar darkness swallowed me. I took account of all that had happened. My sister had been kidnapped, our kingdom was devastated, Chrysalis was now an ally, and I no longer knew what Douglas was. His power was incomprehensible; it was likely Klaus had taken over. While Celestia was no doubt quite familiar with him, I knew him better. I could remember the day I discovered him, and how he became an even greater monster…
Welcome to Canterlot-TIME UNKNOWN There are three material things which I truly appreciate: books, coffee, and formalwear. I especially like neckties. I’m wearing my favorite one right now, a line of bright pink diamonds running down solid grey. The tie is just like me: mostly dull with a visible happy streak. Both the tie and my happiness are thanks to very special ponies. I wish there was somepony with me, but my tie has been my only real companion on my exodus. I’ve walked an immeasurable distance, and now I’ve reached a rather disappointing cliff. All I want from a cliff is a pleasant view, yet all I see stretched out in front of me is broken, dry wasteland, perfectly level. If I look down, the drop is level too, meeting the ground perpendicularly. It’s a big drop, by the way. Jumping would probably kill me. Since I like to keep things simple, this situation is pleasing because the solution is also simple. I just have to walk. -8 MONTHS EARLIER My name is Douglas, and I’m a librarian. I live in a town inhabited exclusively by myself, and ponies. I’ll let that sink in for a moment. Ahem. Anyway, the town I live in is called Ponyville, but right now I was touring the capital city of Canterlot. The world of Equestria is ruled by Princesses Luna and Celestia, the latter being the mentor to my friend Twilight Sparkle. That was the relationship that brought me here. In addition to Twilight, I was accompanied by my personal savior, Pinkie Pie. Apparently, Princess Celestia had spoken to Twilight, and asked that I be brought before her. Given the strangeness of Equestria compared to the world of humans I came from, I tried to give up being surprised, but I guess nopony ever expects to be summoned by magical pony royalty. Pinkie Pie was invited, but she said she couldn’t go. She inexplicably showed up on the train halfway through the trip, because Pinkie. I’m glad to have her with me. Twilight acted as a tour guide for the first day, practically marching us through the city. I’d be lying if I said I could recall any part of the avalanche of facts I was buried in. When the evening finally came, we approached the castle. This was the first royal palace I’ve ever seen, and…well… Holy shit. Okay, 2 things: it’s freaking enormous. I was more than dwarfed; it was as if my own size was inconsequential to the point of meaninglessness. At least I was dressed well, since the architecture made the sky look like dirt in comparison to the splendor of the structure before me. I felt like a grain of sugar looking at some monumental work of art. The three went to our room in the castle. The plan was to sleep, then speak to the princess in the morning. The only obstacle was the Lovecraftian nightmare that invaded our room. -Tuesday, 3:37 AM I like to think that living things which are inside out tend to not work. Apparently, that was a mistake. The thing in our room was almost entirely a mess of blood vessels latticed over meat colored with the pinks one associates with innards. When it moved, its parts slid over one another with a sound like pudding sharing coitus with gelatin. It was more or less shaped like a wolf, minus the head. At first I thought that there was a cuttlefish pasted onto its face, but then its five sideways eyelids peeled open, revealing eyes with no color, only luminescent gloss. At the moment, I was the only one awake, and I was completely immobilized. It turned towards Pinkie Pie. Fuck. No. I vaulted across the room, throwing myself at the monster, impacting it with my entire body at one time. The thing was unmoved, but at least I got its attention. I just needed to get it away from Pinkie. I grabbed the nearest thing in my vicinity and swung. The floor lamp cracked across its head, but when I swung a second time, the creature caught the bludgeon in its teeth and struck my abdomen. Both ponies were now awake, and understandably aghast. “Douglas, what…?” “Twilight, I need your help!” Twilight obliged me immediately, stunning the intruder with a bolt of magic. The pain was crippling, but I knew I had to keep my friends safe. I crawled to the intruder and forced myself to lift it. With no small effort, I threw it out the window. It plummeted several stories, but the agony overtook me before I could hear it land. -KLAUS POV This body will be mine. These ponies will belong to me. The world will be mine to play with. But I must wait. Douglas must be drained first. -DOUGLAS POV, Tuesday, 8:36 AM I know I broke something, and I doubt it was bone. Broken bones are simple; all you have to do is set the bone and let your body knit itself back together. I felt not like something had broken, but as if something had collapsed. The ungodly sensation permeating all my senses was so fierce that I couldn’t be moved. I lay huddled on the floor for about half an hour, waiting for Twilight to fetch a doctor, while Pinkie just lay at my side. The pain was searing, but the body pressed against my back kept me from unleashing the horrible sounds festering in my throat. I started to cry out when Pinkie got up, but the glow on my skin quickly silenced me as intense healing magic devoured the pain in my body. An unfamiliar voice spoke to me, one that seemed tempered by eons. “Do you feel well now, Douglas?” I put a hand to my stomach. The pain was utterly gone. I stood slowly to answer my healer, but found myself without words. I was unprepared for an invitation from royalty, but having royalty before me was something else entirely. The sheer majesty of this pony (who was nearly my own height) was almost enough to put me back on the floor. The navy of her coat was deep enough to depreciate all the light around the alicorn, and as I admired her she raised an eyebrow. “Twilight, is this behavior natural?” “I believe so, Princess Luna. This is Douglas’s first time in Canterlot, after all.” Luna. Of course, the mistress of the moon. It finally dawned on me that refusing to speak to this pony might not be the best thing to do. “Thank you, err…Princess. I-“ “You may call me Luna, Douglas.” “Uh, right. I feel a lot better, Luna, thank you.” “Excellent. In that case, it would be much appreciated if you would accompany me to my chambers. We have much to discuss.” “I can imagine…”
Mirror, Mirror-KLAUS POV What power! I’m practically drooling at the prospect of controlling the very moon! But can I really subdue Douglas? There just may be enough magic in his body… -DOUGLAS POV, Tuesday, 9:08 AM “What I heard from Twilight was…unsettling, to say the least.” I couldn’t agree more. Luna went on. “There have been sightings of such creatures at the borders of Equestria, but until two days ago, I never suspected that they would arrive so quickly.” “Hold on, what happened two days ago?” “They abducted Celestia.” Wait. One of the princesses was captured by these things? I didn’t even need to ask for proof; I knew Luna was certain simply by looking at her. If this was the case, and these things were strong enough to kidnap a pony which raised the sun, then everypony was in unspeakable peril. But there was one question in particular which blazed in my mind: was I called here because Luna thought I had something to do with her sister’s disappearance? “Move, Douglas.” The fact that the voice I just heard never reached my ears was enough to make me panic. “I said, MOVE!” Crippling pain surged. All of the healing was undone, like a battery being emptied. I could feel myself slipping away as I saw Luna look at me. My vision went while Luna was speaking to me, asking if I was alright. Something else used my mouth to answer as the world of consciousness fell away. The last thing I felt was the sneer worming its way into my expression. “Better than alright, your majesty.” -LUNA POV, 9:14 AM I can recall each of the innumerable creatures I’ve seen through my countless years, but the human was an unknown. Had I any experience with humans, I might have been able to deal with whatever overcame Douglas at that moment. I could immediately recognize that something was amiss, and my first instinct was to bind him magically, but he lunged at me and seized my horn, and I immediately knew that something had taken control of the human. I would have been able to sense his power if he were strong enough to block my magic with his touch, yet I could only feel such strength now. All I knew was that as long as he held my horn, I could not fend him off. I attempted to fly, but his grip on me was such that I was now helpless. “Douglas, what are you doing?!” The cackle which emerged from Douglas’s throat was not his own. Having spoken to him, I knew Douglas’s voice to be deep, thickened by years of reading aloud. This shrill laughter stung my ears. It was more than noise, it was pure tonal chaos. “Me and Douglas look rather alike, don’t we, Princess?” So I was right. Whatever monstrosity before me was not Douglas, though it did inhabit his body, not to mention augmenting it. But what did he want? My answer came in the form of the object forcing its way past my lips. The thing probed its way into my mouth, nudging the back of my throat with its head. So this is what he wants. Good. This is a battle I can win. Carefully, I lifted my tongue and began to tease the underside of his member. His body trembled slightly as I went to work, coiling my tongue around and across the thick meat. His grip on my horn slackened, and I took this as my cue to draw my head back. I brought it back slowly, letting my mouth trail all the way down to the hilt, my nose touching his waist. He groaned at my efforts, and began to move his hips. I sucked greedily, closing my eyes as I concentrated on the sliding shaft. His ragged pants assured me that I was conquering his body. With one final push, he ejaculated. The amount of semen which I swallowed was staggering, rivaling some of the largest loads I had experienced in my long life. At the end of his climax, my horn was freed, and I immediately cocooned him in magic. Whatever was inside Douglas needed to be dealt with. -KLAUS POV Worth it. -DOUGLAS POV, 9:31 AM Did I make a mistake? Was I endangering the ponies around me by choosing to live with them? After the pain, my memories are a series of stills. It may not be clear, but I know what I did. I had violated another pony. Here I am in a cell, now. Maybe I shouldn’t leave it. “Stop crying, bookworm. You give yourself too much credit.” There he was again. Not in my ears, but in my head. Could I talk to him? “You can try, bookworm. Go to the mirror.” There was indeed a mirror, and I walked over to it. I leaned against the sink in front of it, locking eyes with my reflection. I’ve never been good at staring contests, but my reflection blinked first. “Damnit. I was gonna scare the crap out of you.” “You’re scaring me a little right now, actually.” “Oh, you’re much too kind.” “Enough with the crap. What the hell is going on?” “You’re awfully dim for a bookworm. Most people can tell when their reflection talks to them.” Then he laughed. The hellish cry was unbelievably loud and cruel, twisted to the point where I doubted that anyone, pony or human, could create such an evil sound. Evil…the word describes the sound itself better than it does its qualities. His laugh didn’t sound evil, it WAS evil itself. But I wasn’t scared. The last thing I needed right now was to be mocked by myself. “You’re awfully dim for a talking reflection. Most reflections don’t talk.” I half-expected more laughter, but instead my reflection’s features locked into a mask of rage. “No, I supposed they don’t. But none of that matters. What does matter is what I’m going to do once I’ve terminated you.” The façade of civility was gone. Whatever was in front of me had turned my face into an amalgam of menace, hatred, and fury. I tried to steel my own expression, but the grin I got in response destroyed my intimidating front. However, I wasn’t about to back down. “Who. Are you?” His grin only widened. “Just imagine what your friends will think. Their humble neighborhood coffee-maker, Douglas, finally snapped. I’ll ruin them all.” He spoke my name as if he were trying to vomit melodramatically. “Answer my question!” The laugh struck at me again, sending blocks of panic through my body. “Listen, bookworm. Don’t pretend you’re in charge. The longer you stay in this world, the more magic will leak into your body, and once there’s enough, there’ll be nothing left of you. I’m going to feast on the love of all of your friends, and there’s no way you can stop me. You’ll just make room for me if you kill yourself.” He was threatening my friends. I could see all of their faces in my mind, pained and tortured as this creature did what he pleased with my body. It was my turn to be angry. “TELL ME WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE!” “You’re rather fond of the pink one, aren’t you? Maybe I’ll tie her up and make her watch me have my fun with the others!” Pinkie Pie. No. NO! I roared, slamming both fists into the mirror. The crash was just more noise against that unholy laugh, moving from my ears back to my head. I screamed, blood running in rivulets from my knuckles, until my visitors came.
The Best Medicine-LUNA POV, 9:36 AM There it was. The truth. I’ve known many things, and some are easier to forget. I wish I wasn’t right. He may not have told Douglas what he wanted, but I knew full well who was inside Douglas. Emperor Klaus. -FLUTTERSHY POV, 9:40 AM I’ve always been glad to have Douglas as a friend. I feel like I can say anything to him, and he’ll always like me. I was already in Canterlot trying to find something to help poor, sick Angel, but when Twilight and Pinkie Pie told me that Douglas was in trouble, I had to go see him. I don’t know what I thought I’d see when I got there, but finding him forlorn in a cell with bloodied knuckles was almost too much. I couldn’t run away, I owed him that much. “Umm…D-Douglas?” He looked up, and I could see his eyes. They looked like rocks, cold and dead. Twilight told me why he was done here, and I felt awful for him. All he wanted was a place where he could find happiness, and then this happens… “Douglas, do you want our help?” “Why?” “Because you have to come back to Ponyville! All the ponies like you, and we just want you to be safe!” He smiled slightly. “Fluttershy…” Then a guard came. “That’s enough. Time for you to go.” “Douglas, we need you! Come back!” The guard led me away from the cell, and I could only hope I’d helped somehow. -DOUGLAS POV, 11:54 PM Fluttershy was right. These ponies meant everything to me. Giving up meant abandoning them, and I couldn’t do that. “Douglas!” The voice came from above me. Twilight was speaking through the grate to the outside. “Twilight! What are you doing?” “Listen! I spoke to Luna. I know why she had you brought here!” “Because she thinks I’m responsible for the creatures?” “That’s what she said at first, but I think you can stop them!” “How?” “She said that when you were screaming, she figured out who was inside you.” I felt something stiffen at the base of my skull. Twilight went on. “She said his name is Klaus, and he’s extremely powerful. But I think that you can use him to stop those monst-AH!” At that moment, she lost her grip. Twilight didn’t fall far, and luckily she fell into the water. I considered what she said, and picked up a piece of the broken mirror. Part of my face sneered back at me from the shard. I spoke to the invader. “Can you get us out of here?” “Don’t bother. I won’t be used by a bookworm.” “What do you want.” Klaus blanched. “What did you just say?!” “What’ll it take to get us out of here?” Klaus smiled, as expression as jagged as the fragment I held. “We can discuss that once we’re free.” I dropped the piece of the mirror. “Do it.” -KLAUS POV I’d been accumulating strength steadily, and I’d spent quite a lot on Luna’s “lip service.” But with the bookworm willing to cooperate, everything would be much easier. It was time at last for Klaus to have some real fun. As I slid into Douglas’s body, I felt no resistance. Good. I stood up, stretched his limbs. No, MY limbs. I tore off Douglas’s suit jacket, tying strips over his ruined knuckles just in case I needed to punch something. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I’m going to punch things. Like these bars, for instance. My fist slid through the iron, the dissolving metal spitting acid onto those around it. Within seconds, the door in front of me was nothing more than a mess which needed cleaning. I stepped out casually, looking around. Two guard unicorns shouted at me, saving me the trouble of getting their attention. They shot bolts at me. I dodged one of the by twisting my upper body, but I caught the second one, letting it seep into my skin. I felt Douglas’s pain somewhere below my consciousness, but I didn’t care. The magic I was consuming was what the important part. I walked slowly, bolt after bolt striking my body. As I gained power, I could feel Douglas fading. That wasn’t good. If he blacked out, he’d drag me under with him. Let’s try a different approach. I flipped and landed on the ceiling, running upside down towards the guards. It was a little showy, but it had the desired effect. The guards were too stunned to attack. If my only goal was escape, I would have torn their spines out halfway and used them as garrotes, but I needed the bookworm for now, and I doubt he’d be thrilled with wanton slaughter. I kept running, past the unicorns and to the stairs. I descended rapidly, heading for the caves beneath the palace. I knew the underground well, and I could guide Douglas if I ran out of energy. A good idea as it turned out, since a phalanx of ponies had assembled to try to reclaim me. “Try” being the operative word, keep in mind. Nothing could stop me now. Besides, I knew my laugh bothered the bookworm. I took a deep breath and bellowed. Laughter truly is the best medicine, and the ailment was standing in formation before me. The guards in front of me dropped like flies as I wailed, pain chewing its way through their minds. After a few moments, only one guard stood, probably the leader of the group. He was stronger than the others. That was only to his detriment. The more he resisted, the more blood fell from his eyes. My laugh stopped at the same time as the guard leader’s heart. I frowned. I hate killing on accident. I continued, entering the caverns. -Thursday, 1:13 AM Light had long since abandoned us, but my kind knows innately how to sense without seeing. I was tired, and soon Douglas would have to take over. If this happened before we made it to the surface, that would be a problem. The bookworm didn’t have any of my gifts. I could feel my hold on the body slipping, and my movements became less coordinated. It was all I could do to trudge onward, desperate to find light. Then, like rubber, Douglas snapped back into place.
Being Loved-DOUGLAS POV, 1:22 AM Klaus got us out of there, and I owed it to him to make it the rest of the way. He grumbled directions in my mind, and though I kept running into things, I persevered. “Klaus?” “What.” “What do you want now that we’re free?” “You’re already giving it to me.” “What do you-wait, did you hear that?” There was a hiss. Klaus became alert. “Listen very carefully, bookworm.” He was intense, more so than he’d been even when he was threatening me. “You’re going to say exactly what I tell you to say, understand, bookworm?” “Wait, to who?” Light entered my vision again, and I would have been blinded had it not been so dim, but it was something else too. It was green. I heard the scuttle of small feet against rock as the light came closer, and then I saw it. It was shaped like a pony, but not even Luna was that dark, nor have I seen anypony with gossamer wings or perforated limbs. It was the face, though, that told me this was not a pony. Ponies don’t have that hunger in their eyes, or teeth that could tear other ponies to ribbons. Klaus spoke. “Tell it to take you to the hive.” I did so, and the thing stared at me before turning around and walking away. It stopped after a while and turned, checking to see if I was following. Klaus was dead silent the entire time, but I could feel…something. Was he experiencing grief, or anger? We walked for some time before we came to an even smaller tunnel. My guide didn’t falter, and we delved even deeper into the depths of the cave. The air blowing through the tunnel was more like breath than a draft, and it made me feel like I was heading into something organic. I don’t know how long it took before we made it into the hub, but there were thousands of these things. And every single one was looking at me. -CELESTIA POV I can hear the Mother. She cries for her loved one to return to her. She believes that by taking me, she will have already won the invasion of Equestria. But I have faith in Douglas. He will gain the power he needs to destroy the invaders. If not… …the Eclipse will come. -PINKIE PIE POV, 10:48 AM “My decision is final, Pinkie Pie.” “But he’s not bad at all!” Luna was starting to bother me. How could she think Dougie was dangerous? Sure, there was the little issue when he first got here, but it was nothing me and Rarity couldn’t handle. Besides, it was lots of fun! “I don’t doubt you, Pinkie, or Douglas for all it matters. But the fact remains that I was attacked, and though I prevailed,” why was Luna licking her lips? “that didn’t stop him from attacking other guards.” I raised a hoof in argument, but she cut me off. “Did you know he killed one of them?” No, you big dumb princess, Dougie wouldn’t kill anyone! Luna kept going anyway. “Do you know what I have to do now? I have to tell a family that they’ve lost a brother, a husband, a son, and a father because of my neglect.” “You’re wrong! Dougie wouldn’t kill anyone! He can’t! You said it yourself, it’s that Klaus meanie who’s responsible!” “But he’s in Douglas’s body-“ “Dougie can beat him! Klaus is a no-good maniac, and Dougie WILL stop him!” I was breathing hard, and Luna was staring at me in disbelief. I guess princesses don’t get shouted at much, huh? “Pinkie, how can you possibly be so sure?” I didn’t even have to think of my answer to know what it was. All I had to do was think of everything Douglas was. Everything he was to me. I knew exactly what to tell Luna. “Because I LOVE HIM!” -KLAUS POV So I wasn’t absorbing magic after all. As the love poured into Douglas, I could hear the pony’s words. I suppose Pinkie Pie saved my life. Fuck. -DOUGLAS POV I’m actually horrified of public speaking. It’s not the idea of having to talk that gets to me, I just get disturbed simply by having too many people look at me at once. Right now, every cell in my body was rather upset. Klaus was merely irritated. “Just. Walk. Forward. Bookworm.” It wasn’t easy, and I fought my own muscles the whole way, but I took a step forward, and kept going. As I walked towards the center of the cavern, these creatures backed towards the walls and…bowed? I blazed a path through the kneeling entities, taking notice of one in particular. The wings, teeth, and holes were all present, but this one was distinctly feminine. Her head was adorned with sea-green, one strand falling prominently in front of her face, the rest draped gracefully along her back. From her forehead protruded a gnarled horn, like a dead tree demanding to exist. Her eyes were green and electrifying, and as my path continued to form, there was eventually open ground between us, and those eyes stopped me dead in my tracks. We stared at one another. Her gaze was filled with regality and dominance, while mine lacked any such features of confidence. Again, Klaus came to my aid. “Say her name.” Name? I concentrated, and from somewhere in my mind, a word surfaced. “Ch…chry…Chrysalis.” Her response was stark and immediate. “You are not our ruler.” Now she looked as if she was ready to gut me. Had Klaus brought me to my death? Somehow, I doubted it. He could have abandoned me in the caves, waited for me to perish. He needed me for something else. Meanwhile, Chrysalis continued to menace me. “We are the changelings, and my minions sense our emperor within you, but I see your true nature, human.” Klaus, I could use some help. “Tell her to bring a mirror if she wishes for her true ruler to return.” Again with the mirror. I was filled with dread at the thought of seeing Klaus control my form again, but I wasn’t about to jeopardize my current situation by improvising. “If you wish for your true ruler to return, you will bring a mirror.” “I will do no such thing. I am the queen of the changelings, and I shall remain such. Besides, you are not the emperor.” Klaus seemed amused. “Oh, I never saw this coming.” His sarcasm was thicker than bone. “Point at the others, tell them to fetch a mirror. Shout.” This tactic was successful. Chrysalis’s expression soured further as four changelings brought a mirror. I was not prepared for what was in the reflection, and neither was she. Though the face had my features and my choppy, disheveled hair, the hair was the same green as Chrysalis’s, and the yes the same as hers. My skin was dark just like the rest of the changelings, and when he lifted an arm, it was riddled with holes. I was sure that I was looking at Klaus’s own body. The emperor of the changelings. “My, my, Chrysalis. Aren’t we cheeky?” “Klaus. So it’s you after all.” “But of course. Now, to the matter at hand.” With that, he raised an arm. Green smoke seeped from the mirror in tendrils, creeping slowly towards Chrysalis. The more she back away, the faster the smoke approached, until it snaked around her and entered her through her mouth and nose. She began to pant heavily, and besides that sounds, all was quiet for a few moments until a second sound permeated the air. Drip. Drip. Drip.
Bodies-CHRYSALIS POV I could feel the love pouring into Klaus’s vessel. He had regained much of his strength, but not his body. His body…my legs grew weak as the spell began to take its toll on my senses. Lust stormed through me, and I could feel my juice forming puddles at my feet. Klaus could crush my will effortlessly if this went on much longer. My only hope was to bend this vessel. This “Douglas.” “Douglas, take her.” I froze at those words, knowing full well of the fate Klaus had in mind. Then, the opportunity those words presented became clear to me. I extended my mind to Douglas. “Do as he says. I will help you destroy him.” Klaus would surely sense me communicating with Douglas, but the vessel’s seeming compliance seemed to appease the changeling. My subjects had fled silently by the time Douglas had begun to disrobe. At the sight of the fat stallionhood, I gasped, my surprise giving way to excitement. This was all mine. I pulled him close with my magic, nuzzling the inside of his thigh while I purred. I drew in his musk, letting my lungs fill with the fragrance of sex. I brought a hoof to the rod and stroked lightly. The poor dear was trembling. “Tell your queen, what are you called?” “Uh…Douglas.” I could feel his arousal. As his lust for me grew, I began to feed. His carnally-driven love was shallow and unsatisfying, but more importantly, he became the conduit I would need for my plan to succeed. I started channeling Klaus’s power into me. I usurped the emperor’s energy in the same way I pleasured Douglas: slowly at first, but with growing speed as my body craved more. I released his length, leaned in close, and planted the ghost of a kiss on the tip. I could taste his release, and I WANTED it. I started at the base, drawing a line up the middle with my tongue, then twirled circles around the head. Returning my lips to where they started, I let my mouth relax and open as I pushed Douglas’s member inside. His heart beat through me, and I could feel his pulse quicken through the instrument in my mouth. I let his meat stay where it was, flicking my tongue back and forth as I savored the hard shaft. He groaned, mere seconds away from release, and I let my lips fall away, wetness forming a glistening bridge between myself and my plaything. I pushed Douglas roughly to the ground. He seemed paralyzed, as if Klaus was doing something to him. No matter. Nothing would get in the way of my fun. I turned around and pressed my haunches against the warm pole, squeezing it with my backside. I began to grind, pulverizing him with my ass. I could feel it throb and twitch with slickness. I moaned as I realized that the wetness was my own. I let the rod slide through my haunches, until his pulsing head was poised at my entrance. I no longer had the will to tease him; I was going to have it NOW. I drove forward, pushing the cock as far into me as it would go, squeezing my walls against it when it wouldn’t go any further. I drew back, and pounded down again. As I hammered my flank against the human, I surveyed his body. What a strange, improbable creature. The hands were the most intriguing part of his anatomy, those strange and dexterous appendages. Forgoing my magic, I seized him by the wrists and brought his hands to my rear. He squeezed obediently as I continued to ride his fat dick. It was a glorious sensation, and I was filled as I never had quite been before. My tail swished back and forth of its own accord, and my tongue hung limply from my mouth. I felt amazing. Every part of me was tingling as I continued to stuff my insides with Douglas. But I could tease him even more, play with his mind. Let’s see, who are his friends? Peering into his memories, I saw the ponies who had aided in the failure of my previous scheme. No matter, I would still use them. I began to change, first into the farmer first. I giggled as my form changed in a flash of emerald light. His eyes widened as his orange friend continued to fuck him senseless. “Yah like that, sugarcube? Yah like plowin’ mah field?” He pushed into me harder. I cackled as I changed into the other librarian. “Oh, yes! Keep cataloging my insides!” Should the shy one be next? “Mmm…I just LOVE a real ANIMAL!” Now, the fashionista. “Oh, darling! You’re hard as diamond, and I looooooove diamonds!” Let’s be the rainbow one next. “Oh, yeah! You’re making me at least 20% wetter, baby!” Then, I changed into pink one. I only had time to squeal before Douglas suddenly grabbed me hard, lifting my entire body as he thrusted upwards and released inside me. The hot jets of fluid welled up in my deepest recesses, the stimulation firing my own orgasm. My body being was rocked with the sensation, undiluted pleasure racing against the blood in my veins. I lay atop the human, panting, collecting my energies. But something was amiss. Why could I not feel Klaus’s power? -KLAUS POV The fool thinks she can steal from me? Although my tether to Douglas was weakening, I could still use him. My power would travel to Douglas, and no further. Then, I could reclaim it. I stepped out of the mirror.
Seeds of Change-DOUGLAS POV I’d lost all control over the situation a long time ago. After seeing Chrysalis turn into all my friends, I couldn’t move at all. Seeing them in such a lewd light only validated the fears I had about being near them. I knew what I was doing by thinking like this, and braced myself for a snide remark from Klaus. But…there was nothing. Had he manifested enough power to separate from me? I glanced at the mirror. He was facing away, and at first I thought that he had turned around, but then I realized that the mirror was reflecting his back. Klaus was standing in front of it. There was a horrible crash as one of the beasts pounced on Chrysalis. It was the same manner of beast which had attacked me and my companions back in Canterlot. Its teeth left several gashes in the queen’s side. Chrysalis wasn’t moving. I was. I seized the thing with one hand, and then my mind was just white noise. I tore one of its legs off at the joint and struck the monster in the ribs. The limb turned into acid when it hit, and with a grisly hissing, the beast’s ribcage fell open. The appendages of its mouth flailed miserably as its innards dropped to the ground. I watched it bleed dry. Klaus stared at me with a cocktail of fear and hate. Walking over to the weakly breathing body of Chrysalis, I bound her side with strips from my clothes and picked her up, carrying her away. Klaus shouted at me, but did nothing. I could care less what happened to Klaus. As I entered the tunnels once again, the dark overcame me, but this time, I was able to navigate it. I was free. I had plenty of questions, and Chrysalis would hopefully be able to help answer them when she came to, but that wasn’t important. What was important was the dying changeling I was carrying. Questions or not, I had to help her. Not because she was Klaus’s enemy, not because I owed her something, and not even because it was my job. I did it for one simple reason: it’s what Pinkie Pie would have done. By the time I’d made it back to Canterlot, Chrysalis’s blood had soaked through my makeshift bandages and begun to stain my skin. Her breath was becoming thinner, and I knew I had next to no time. I thought back to what had transpired in the hive. I’d clearly done something…did that mean I could heal her? I pulled away the strips. It looked like half of her side had been assaulted by a cheese grater. She winced in pain as I placed a hand on the wound. I concentrated, recalling my own wounds, recalling the sensation of Luna’s healing spell. Luna’s spell was gentle, like the moon embracing me and nursing me to health. The energy that punctured Chrysalis caused her to convulse as steam poured from the gashes in her skin. Her flesh began to undulate, stretching over the cuts as new skin knitted itself together. I had no idea how much pain I’d caused her, but she’d live. I hoped. -CHRYSALIS POV Changelings are born knowing only hunger, and I was no different, save one thing: I had a mentor. Tyrant or not, everything I knew about myself had been given to me by Klaus. I was more than his sultry concubine, I was his protégé. Everything I knew about magic, leadership, perseverance, and victory had been taught to me by the Emperor of the changelings. I could hear his voice in my head, that sadistic lilt which painted the colors of my world. “You are the strongest resource you will ever possess, Chrysalis. Remember that. Others are only tools. I am your tool; you use me to learn. You are my tool. I use you…to entertain myself. But above all, remember who you are, Chrysalis. You are a queen. Now, are you awake? Do you feel alright?” What? Klaus never said that to me. I tried to focus. Without opening my eyes, I could sense another presence, a changeling presence. It had to be Klaus. I opened my eyes. It was Douglas. I have made many mistakes in my lifetime, drawn many ill conclusions, but changelings can sense one another infallibly. There was only one before me, and it was the human. This mystery was soon overshadowed by another, however. The last thing I could remember was being mauled by that abomination, yet I bore no wound. This meant that Douglas had healed me. The very thought contradicted everything I knew. What I’d done to Douglas was typical behavior for me. I’d played with him, tormented him, and used him. I’d reduced him to the level of an object. But he saved my life. What drove the human? What could he possibly hunger for that would lead him to save me? Perhaps he enjoyed what I did to him, and I was to be a tool for him as he was for me, like I was for Klaus. Maybe it was Klaus’s influence which was motivating him, like it motivated me. I felt a coolness near my mouth. “Here, drink. I imagine you can’t be feeling too well.” His cupped hands held water. Those hands…he offered them to me. If he intended to use me, then he would have pointed to the water and told me to drink instead of fetching water for me, instead of nursing me, instead of…caring for me. I drank deeply, and every time I finished, he silently brought more water for me until I was satisfied. The question lingered in my mind. “Why are you helping me?” He stopped moving, and I could read his face. He was…unsure. This baffled me even further. Was there no reason whatsoever for the hospitality I was being shown? It took him a few moments before he spoke. “When I first came here to Equestria, I did something horrible. I hurt three other ponies, and it killed me inside. Made me want to be alone forever so I wouldn’t hurt another pony. There was one pony though, one of the ones I’d hurt, that cared about me and saved me. I guess I came to the conclusion that everypony deserves to be saved.” Nothing made sense anymore. Everypony deserved to be saved? Ridiculous! He receives nothing from that philosophy, nothing whatsoever! “How could you possibly believe such a sentiment? There’s nothing you could ever hope to gain from it!” “Yeah. That’s the entire point.”
Fighting Slaughter with Slaughter-LUNA POV, Friday, 4:17 PM “Shining Armor, put up the barrier now!” Everything was in havoc. The castle had been breached five minutes ago, and the hallways were flooded with the monstrosities which had attacked Twilight and her friends. I moved briskly through the halls. Any creatures which approached me were incinerated as soon as they touched the shadows around me. I knew not what took place outside these walls, but right now, the castle needed to be purged. -DOUGLAS POV, 6:43 PM Chrysalis had mended my clothes with her magic. I still didn’t have my suit jacket, but I had something to protect me from the cold that also had the bonus of looking quite snazzy. She’d also pointed us in another direction, suggesting that since neither of us were exactly welcome faces in Canterlot at the moment, it may be best not to enter from beneath the castle. She didn’t walk at any diminished pace, but her movements still seemed slow. She had been like this for some time, occasionally lowering her head. I could understand that. A lot had happened to both of us. We emerged from the ground a good ways away from the city itself, soaked in dusk. There was still enough light out for us to cast shadows. There were spots of light in my own shadow, as if my limbs were riddled with holes. As we pressed towards the city, something seemed different. There was a magenta envelope covering the city. Chrysalis recognized it, pointing it out as a magical barrier which would bar entry. I could smell its energy, feel it in parts of my body which seemed foreign. We approached magical field. I closed my eyes, reaching out with the sensations in my body as I communed with the magic before me. I opened my eyes, and an entrance rippled open. I was prepared to face the royal guard when I arrived back in the city, willing to submit completely if necessary. I was not prepared for the warzone we encountered. The streets were riddled with dead ponies, most of them looking as if they’d been chewed open. There was little structural damage, but the real blemishes were the wolf-things prowling through the streets they’d conquered. I looked to the castle, where the walls were being scaled by the monsters. Canterlot had been invaded. I took in the bloodbath before me, taking note of all of the lost pony lives. Something inside me stirred. Not a changeling Emperor, but a force which cascaded through my being like mercury. “Chrysalis, go to the castle. I’ll deal with the city.” She simply nodded, becoming a dart of black and turquoise as she flew to the palace. I had other plans. I let that pool inside of me boil over, and the ground beneath me cracked audibly. Feasting creatures turned their attention to me and lunged. Raw anger lanced out from my chest, striking several of the things. I stepped through the new piles of ash, moving to the center of the city. Anything that jumped at me met various ends as they collided with the green streaks of power blasting my slowly building aura. Some collapsed in upon themselves, some exploded, some were impaled on pieces of their burst comrades, and some simply died. My rage only grew the more I killed. These creatures were destroying the perfect world I’d finally found. I was nothing but green fury by the time I was in the dead center of Canterlot. I tapped into the barrier again, turning it viridian as my eyes saw the entire city at once. I could see all of the invaders, both those within the confines of the shield as well as those in the legion approaching it. My vision was simultaneous, as was my retribution. A matrix of beams permeated the city as I struck dead the whole of Canterlot’s marauders. I collapsed the shield into a single point, and sent it at the newcomers. Whatever fates they met were inconsequential and deservedly horrible. -PINKIE PIE POV They took everypony they could and moved them into the basement. We were surrounded by guards, but they couldn’t keep us safe from the sounds coming from above. We could hear the noises the things made, a noise like a deflated balloon filled with paper going through a shredder. We could hear them cry as the guards attacked them. But the cries of those horrible things didn’t bother me. It was the screaming ponies. Every time I heard a pony scream, I was hearing a pony die. There was so much screaming. I huddled close to Twilight, and she put a hoof on my shoulder. If I closed my eyes, I felt like it was Dougie touching me. Dougie, where are you? The screaming got quieter after a few hours. It got real quiet for a few minutes. I wished Dougie was here. I wanted him with me so I could look up and see him okay. I just hoped that wherever he went off to, he was safe. There were so many ponies, all crammed together. Most of them were crying. The light sobbing was the only noise, and we were together in the stillness. One of the guards started shouting, then wiggly things grabbed his head. All the ponies started screaming when the guard’s head came off, and more of those beasts came into the room. I was so scared. Everypony tried to run, but there was no room. I thought we were all going to die. Then, a huge tentacle grabbed the monsters and crushed them. A giant green eye stared at us all, before the whole thing turned green and changed into…
Unlikely Aid-CHRYSALIS POV I could see Luna being overwhelmed. She was vanquishing many of the beasts, but there were simply too many. I aimed for the window and broke through, my chimera maw brimming with flame, torching a row of creatures. I turned around and slammed a spiked manticore’s tail into the remaining beasts, and turned the rest to stone with my cockatrice eyes. I assumed my form and helped the princess to her feet. She was stammering “Wha…why…you…” “I’m going to aid you. Simple as that.” I could see the doubt in her face, but she shook it off and sent me to the cellar, where most of the ponies were being kept. My long fangs diced my opposition as I loped down halls with the speed of a sabre cat, and those who got too close to me were vaporized by the heat of a sunsprite. To think, this case had once been the stage for my own invasion of Canterlot. Now, I was saving it from another. I arrived at the basement to see one creature opening a guard, while another was being decapitated. My kraken tentacle seized and pulverized both of them. I looked into the shelter before taking my own shape. The ponies were all reasonably astonished to see me. Only one dared to approach me: the pink one. “Dougie sent you, didn’t he?” “That he did.” -LUNA POV I had no time to doubt Chrysalis. My kingdom was in danger, and I was willing to grab onto whatever sliver of hope I could. My sister taught me that. As I dashed to the throne room, my thoughts went to Celestia. She was more than my sister, she was my mentor. everything I knew about myself had been given to me by Celestia. Everything I knew about magic, leadership, perseverance, and compassion had been taught to me by the ruler of Equestria. I could hear her voice in my head, that gentle majesty which painted the colors of my world. “You are strong only when you can depend on your friends, Luna. Remember that. Everyone relies on each other. You rely on me for guidance. I rely on you for solace. But above all, remember who you are, Luna. You are a princess. Now…” The memories were drowned out by the roar outside. A matrix of green light permeated the city, before it swallowed the barrier and barreled into the distance. I knew that light, it was changeling magic. Had Chrysalis betrayed me? The bolt was still traveling I could see movement on the horizon, was it more of those creatures? The thought terrified me far more than any prospect of a vengeful queen. I quickly flew out a window, rising high into the night sky as I focused on the limits of my sight. There was surely another wave approaching, but I caught only a glimpse before the green magic struck. The blast was thunderous, shrinking to a pinprick of light before an enormous dome razed the area. It expanded rapidly, before dissipating. When the light cleared, I gasped. The landscape had been transformed to one I knew implicitly: lunar wasteland. The impact had chewed a crater from the earth, a barren crag. I whirled about, scanning the city for the source of this destruction. A single figure stood in the middle of the city, trails of carcasses stemming from where he stood. The figure was shrouded in green flame. It was not Chrysalis. It was Douglas. -PINKIE PIE POV “What are YOU doing here..ach!” Shining Armor just limped in from the other side of the room, and he looked really mad. Chrysalis did impersonate his wife and try to ruin his wedding, after all. He tried to move, but he fell. He’d looked really tired when he came in, but he was bleeding bad. Chrysalis teleported over him, and he started squirming on the ground. She rolled him over, and Twilight screamed. One of Shining’s back legs had been ripped off at the knee. Little wires hung from the stump. It was awful. Chrysalis finally said something. “Lie still.” She swung her mane into her mouth, and tore a good part of it off with her teeth. She moved it next to a struggling Shining Armor’s bad leg, who looked at her with a look of hate and confusion. He hit her a couple of times, but Chrysalis never moved, concentrating on joining the wound with her hair. When she’d wound the stump completely, she shot green light at the hair and the limb. Both of them glowed together, and when the glow faded, Shining had his leg back. He looked up at Chrysalis, who just walked towards the other ponies. A lot more of the ponies were hurt, but Chrysalis fixed them right up. They were scared of her at first, which was kinda fair, but now that she was helping, everypony started to trust her. I could see that this was all new to her by the way she acted almost nervous when ponies came to her and asked her for help. I was glad. I’d thought a lot about what she did in Canterlot. Sure, she was mean and scary, but she was just looking for food for the other changelings. She couldn’t be all bad. And here she was, helping out the ponies. Chrysalis was in the center of a big circle of ponies. She was healing the ones that needed it, and clumsily trying to comfort the ones who were crying. Meanwhile, Twilight was kneeling next to her brother. They didn’t talk, they just put their heads close to one another while Twilight cried. Shining Armor looked away suddenly, and pointed at the window. I looked too. Green light was everywhere! It flew all over the city, and even ate up the big bubble around Canterlot. I could sort of see something tall far away, and I had to go. I walked over to Chrysalis. “My Dougie’s still out there! Will you help me find him?” She looked at Twilight and Shining Armor. Twilight nodded to Chrysalis, and she nodded at me. We left together, with Chrysalis leading, and we stepped into the city.
Klaus's Story-KLAUS POV I was free, but I was still incomplete. I should have foreseen my mistake. Chrysalis manipulated Douglas’s feelings, unlocking his love for the pink one, binding my power to him. Love is simple nourishment for the changelings, but it is far more to me. Though it may sustain me, it is the very antithesis of my being, and absorbing too much disrupts my equilibrium. My peons still served me, and I put my plan into motion. I would send some out to feed on love, while others would help my own feeding. A single changeling meekly accompanied me to the hidden recesses of the hive, through living rock only I knew how to traverse. For the first time in five thousand years, I entered my long sealed chambers. I turned to my lone entourage. It looked up at me full of adoration, as if it were a puppy looking at its long-lost master. I knelt, put a hand on its head, letting it experience affection for only a moment before I devoured it. My hunger conquered my senses, and I took the luxury of nostalgia. My mind wandered farther than it had in eons, back to when I was less…savage. To when I still had a family. I’d always been a good foal. I had a strong father, a gentle mother, and little brother. Each day was blissful in its simplicity. I would wake up to the train bells each morning, rouse my brother, and help with breakfast before leaving for school. We lived in the castle. My father was a guardsman, and my mother was the royal librarian. I was always torn between which of them I wanted to be when I grew up. The time I spent with my father was spent training. I learned magic from him, as well as the importance of strength, duty, and patience. When I was with my mother, she would read to me, and as her voice rendered the words from the pages, I would practically inhale them. The gifts my parents gave me shaped who I would become. I wanted the all-encompassing knowledge of my mother, and the imposing strength and discipline held by my father. I wanted the wisdom of the Canterlot archivist, and the power of a Canterlot sentinel. I learned, and I trained. At the end of the day, when I played with my brother, he liked to challenge me. He called his games “contests.” He make me race him through the gardens, asking me questions he couldn’t possibly know the answer to, and having me perform feats of magic he couldn’t possibly have done himself. When I had completed these trials, I’d help him practice levitation as I explained one of the subjects he’d asked about. Day in and day out, my prowess and intellect grew. But I still lacked a cutie mark, as did my brother. My classmates would tease me, but I was able to put up with it so long as I was the subject. When another guardspony came to mother and I one day, things became different. My brother had been hospitalized. He had stood up to a group of ponies who were taunting him. They beat him until he couldn’t move, then they dropped him off a balcony. Later, the doctor told us that his body would recover, but he’d suffered permanent brain damage. When my brother was released, nothing seemed amiss. He could function, and his memory was intact. He even accomplished his ritual of refusing to eat broccoli, for which he was chastised by mother. We only learned what was wrong when he bit her. That night, I asked him for the names of the ponies that had done this. Before long, Canterlot was abuzz with the news about the group of limbless foals who’d been drowned in a fountain. I got my cutie mark the day after. The bottom half was an anchor, and the top half was an axe, and together, both halves formed the image of a wicked smiling face. As I grew, I became cold. I entered the royal guard at a young age, and became a member of Celestia’s personal guard a few years later. I was charged with not only protecting Equestria’s leader, but also with providing counsel to whomever sought it from a colt of my status. But my passion for knowledge and power had died with my brother’s tormentors. One of my duties was to deal with enemies of the throne, ponies who posed a threat to the princess. “Exiled” was the term others used to describe the ones I captured. The term I used was “games”. I spent most of my time in the dungeons with ponies I’d captured. I’d open them up, or burn them, or mutilate them, or cut them deep and let them die slowly, but drowning them was always my favorite pastime. It was my secret passion, my special talent, and my giddy laughter was the only evidence I left. I’d come home, and nothing would be wrong, until the day my father was discharged. He was nothing but anger, and while he kept his peace in front of me, he told mother everything. He’d mistaken an innocent filly for a trespasser. Father said he’d called out to the filly, and when she refused to turn back, he was ordered to execute her. Celestia acted with grace, punishing him merely with honorable discharge for obeying an order to kill an innocent pony. I overheard everything he told mother. He ranted about the injustice, and he said he should’ve killed Celestia instead of that filly. Well, that was more than enough for me to make a call. I walked down the steps to the dungeon, giddy with anticipation. My father yelled and hollered from his cell, but he was too deep to be heard from beyond the door which I possessed the only key to. I walked into the cell. To me delight, he was happy to see me. I thought I was going to free him. I was silent, letting my smile do all the talking. It didn’t take him long to realize that there was no sympathy on my lips. My mouth had formed one wide crescent of pure malice. Hope abandoned him as I showed him my tools. I selected one fairly small knife, and hurled it past his head. He screamed as it soared passed his head and stuck in the stone wall. I began to snicker, and threw another. He screamed again. I lifted a third, and he shut his eyes. I frowned at his attempt to deny me my fun. I launched the third knife, and it stuck into his muzzle. He cried out in pain, and I quickly twisted the knife, hearing the distinct sound of a bone splitting. The smile jumped right back onto my face as I started to laugh. I abandoned my tools and my magic, doing the rest with my bare hooves. I bit at his abdomen, exposing his ribs with my teeth. He begged to me, pleaded for his son to stop. I placed a hoof on one of his ribs when he told me he wanted to help me. He told me he loved me. I stopped. The room was silent, save for our panting. He tried his best to remain composed, but a single sob escaped him. I pulled up sharply on the rib. I hate crying. The bone snapped off easily, and he began to wail again. I laughed, admiring my work before I jammed the bone into my father’s neck and began to saw his throat open. Midway through, he became silent. I reached for the hole I’d made, pulling enough to see his still heart. I sighed, tossing the rib behind me, turning. I froze. I must have left the door unlocked, because a tiny princess Luna was standing before me. My mind was assaulted by a single word. Kill. She flew on her diminutive wings to the stairs, out of reach of my magic. I gave chase. I followed her through most of the castle as she tried to lose me in the hallways and corridors, but having personally hunted down many of the ponies I played with, I was an expert tracker. It wasn’t long before she made the mistake of looking back, and flew into a wall. I cast a sleeping spell immediately and brought her back to her room. To all the guards who passed me, I looked as if I was tending to the young princess who’d tired herself out. It was all I could do not to giggle at their mistake. I locked her chambers, and set her on her bed. I petrified her horn, rendering her helpless. I sat on the other side of the room, waiting for her to awaken with the patience of a hunter. I knew what I needed to do. As much as I wanted to murder her, I knew better. A dead princess would incite too many questions. No, I had to keep her silent, but alive. Her eyes opened slowly, blinking as she took in her surroundings. She gave a soft yawn before she noticed me. I put a hoof over her mouth as she tried to call for help, and I shook my head, drawing a line across my neck for good measure. She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried her magic. She gave me a look of fear when her powers failed her. I freed her mouth, and she obediently stayed quiet. I brought my cock to her lips, and rammed myself in. I played around with her mouth for a while, but there simply wasn’t enough room in the tiny orifice. I instead brought myself to her other lips, before realizing I would likely encounter the same problem. That left me with only one more option. I aimed slightly lower, prodding at the tailhole. Luna’s eyes widened in terror as I pushed slowly, and though the tears from her eyes conveyed the pain she was in, she did her best to keep silent. I continued. Her ass was extraordinarily tight, and it crushed my dick as I pumped in and out. Each push required considerable effort, but the sweet tenderness of her young insides was all the incentive I needed. Soft squeaks escaped her as I continued my work. I would have silenced her, but those sounds made me get even bigger inside of her and I kept thrusting. The fun I was having brought a grin to my face, and I filed the idea of rape away in my mind for future use. Yes…raping ponies was fun! My glee brought me over the edge as I finished inside Luna. The suction produced an audible smack as I withdrew from her. My ecstasy leaked from the diminutive princess, and I knew she feared me now. Her sister did not. The room became hot as the sunlight intensified. The door burst open, and the sun goddess entered. I was lifted into the air, held in place before Celestia. She never uttered. A sunbeam struck me, and I was ripped apart molecule by molecule. As my entire body was wracked with agony, I found it ironic that my own death was to be more painful than any of the ones I’d caused. I cackled as my form dissolved. Even then, I could not have imagined my fate. As I laughed, something happened. I began to eat Celestia’s magic, sending it away in each of the pieces she ripped from my body. They traveled along the sunbeam, falling deep into the earth. There, they grew. Celestia’s magic is fueled not only by the sun, but by her emotions. The bloodlust she felt when she killed me had bound to the same bloodlust in my soul. That magic changed my fragments, and each one grew into a changeling. The new changelings were like me: merciless, powerful, intelligent, and hungry. They hungered for the love which I lacked. They conquered a nearby village, and fed. My essence was in each of them, and as they reproduced, that essence grew stronger. Occasionally, enough of my soul would coalesce to form a unique changeling, a queen. These queens could harvest my essence, and they did so. It took hundreds of years, but my soul regenerated within one of the changelings. I was finally born.
Hunters-THE ROC POV I serve the MOTHER. SHE will have what is HERS, because I will not fail. The one called DOUGLAS is my prey, and I will take…I’ve been spotted by the black alicorn. I must devise a new strategy. It is using the shadows to travel. The scent of its magic fills my nostrils. It will not stand in my way. There, off to the right! It emerges, lunging, charging with its horn. It gave me far too much time to react. I swatted with my multitudinous limbs, but it carved through them. This must be our captive’s counterpart. I do not know if it can kill me. It will not have the chance. I have my new strategy. From my severed limbs, I grew more Spawn. I had already sent plenty of Spawn to the city, but these would distract the alicorn. They did. I turned towards the target…and stopped. I could smell HIS power. He would not be taken easily. If I were to surprise HIM, I may be destroyed. I developed a third strategy. I dove for the pink. -CHRYSALIS POV I knew why Douglas was in such turmoil. He had just given me the gift of empathy, now he was losing it himself. I could see Klaus in him; not literally, but emotionally. The thrill of slaughter was beginning to overtake him, and he was transforming into the monster that used to be my emperor. But I was bound to another now, and he needed me. He was now more changeling than human, and if he couldn’t hold on to his humanity, I would help anchor him with his new identity. I put a hoof on his shoulder. “Douglas, I have something I must tell you.” He was utterly, eerily still. Changelings didn’t need to breathe, and now he had abandoned even that. “Go ahead.” His words were dead, lifeless and heavy. “Douglas, you don’t have to lose yourself. You’re a changeling now, but you are still a living creature capable of feeling. I can see your anguish, and I know why. You gave me a gift, and you think you’re losing it, but you have something to hold on to.” “Listen to her, Dougie. You’re my friend, for always and forever. Auntie Pinkie is here.” In the next moment, she wasn’t. A gargantuan creature plummeted from the sky. It was mostly mouth, and as it dove, I could see at least three rows of teeth in its open maw. Several jointed spikes jutted from its underside, and as it came racing down, one of them slid through Pinkie while the rest wrapped around her. It carried her off on wings of gore and leather, the entire maneuver taking place within fractions of a second. Neither I nor Douglas had the speed to react in time. Oh no. Douglas. I turned towards him. “Douglas, hold on!” “I’m a changeling, you said?” He met my gaze, and I backed away. His words were dripping with rage, and his stare could have skinned me alive. Words eluded me. Without waiting for an answer, his body bent and stretched as he became a winged centipede made of bones. He continued to stare at me for a moment, provided a lengthy view of his “head.” At the front end of his new shape were many rings of serrated mandibles which could have sawed diamonds into powder. He tore off after Pinkie’s captor. -THE ROC POV HE would follow. HIS contact with the pink suggested a bond. Its screams were insignificant. I flew towards a potential ambush site. I was fast, and the outcropping would provide ample space to conceal myself, if such action proved necessary. HE might not even struggle if I free it. It may be important enough to HIM to warrant surrender. The outcome was certain either way: I would retrieve DOUGLAS and bring HIM to the MOTHER. There was no chance of failure. Wait. I smelled DOUGLAS. HE was far too close. This is an impossibility. How could HE be so fast? HE can’t be. I turned, and saw…DOUGLAS? There was another creature. It was bigger than me, and I could smell it. It was DOUGLAS. I came to the outcropping, hitting the stone above my intended target, accidentally dropping the pink onto a ledge below. Impossible. I do not become confused. I do not make mistakes. I do not fail. I cannot fail. I cannot… -DOUGLAS POV The thing met my mouth. Within seconds, it was confetti. Pinkie had rolled inside a cave. She was still breathing, but the hole through her would fix that soon. Taking my own shape, I stepped towards her…
Revenge is Magic-KLAUS POV I burst through the wall, tackled Douglas, and kept going. He tried to push against me, but he only had a fraction of my power, and I had just fed one hundreds of my minions. I was filled with the blood and power, and the bookworm had no chance of stopping me. No one would steal from me and live. As the rock was shredded around Douglas’s body, I realized that I had no plan. Of course I was going to kill him, but how? I slowed my pace, before my imagination saved the day and I turned back towards the cave. I held him by the neck, and slammed him into the ground. There was a sizeable pool of blood around the pink pony. I needed that blood. Grabbing the back of Douglas’s head, I pushed his face into the pony’s open wound. “You know, I haven’t drowned anyone in a while, bookworm.” It’d been much longer than I’d realized; so much so that I was drooling at the prospect. I channeled the blood back into the pony. Douglas was thrashing. I simply held him as he suffocated into the blood of his companion. I gave myself a mental pat on the back for my ingenuity. I’d drowned my victims in their own blood before, and even in my blood once or twice, but never in someone else’s. It was delightful. I could feel the familiar giddy bubbles fill my chest as my lips turned upwards in glee before breaking open in laughter. My elation blasted into me from many angles as the cave walls threw my laugh in every conceivable direction. Douglas finally stopped moving. It was tempting to leave him there, face-first in his friend, but I knew better. I had to check, in case there was more fun to be had. I bent him backwards, exposing his insides. Sure enough, his changeling heart was still. It was too bad. For good measure, a thin line of flame extended from my finger as I wrote on his organ. I was nearly done with the “was” in “Klaus was here” when Douglas opened his eyes. Blood covered his face, and his eyes bothered me, those jet-black portals shining in their darkness. This was not good. When I had been slain, my soul entered a new body, but I could still exist without that body. Was he the same? It had took decades of being a bookworm for me to unlock this power, but Douglas had freed himself from his flesh by…I didn’t even know. He was unnatural, a monster. How ironic. He stood, not even bothering to mend his broken frame. His torso swung freely as he lumbered towards me. I faced, him, waiting. He could inflict no harm on me, no pain I had not already endured. As soon as I thought this, he stopped walking, but his upper body continued to teeter precariously. He began to glow, before he disappeared. Did he flee from me? “You wish, Klaus.” -DOUGLAS POV My torment had begun when someone else had inhabited my body. Now, that torment would end in the opposite way. “So hurting you is a waste of time? Then I’ll just have to end you.” “Did…did you just…?” Klaus began to panic ostensibly as he came to terms with what I’d done. “NO! YOU CAN’T BE HERE! GET OUT!” “What’s wrong, Klaus?! I thought you loved torture!” “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, BOOKWORM?!” “I understand how you feel, you know. This is a lot of fun. I should have done this sooner!” Klaus froze as he regained his composure. “Get out before I smear the pony over the walls.” He was threatening Pinkie Pie. Unacceptable. “Are you sure you want me out? We were such good friends, you know.” I could feel Klaus’s face contort with hatred. Power was everything he knew, everything he lived for; the power to kill, maim, violate, and destroy. I was taking away all his power, and it was driving the madman mad. He turned, becoming a shapeless, writhing mass of blades and teeth, lunging towards Pinkie Pie. I stopped him dead in his tracks. “Uh-uh-uh. You have to cooperate if you want me to leave. No say the magic word.” I was torturing him like he’d tortured me, by grabbing hold of the things which glued his life together and pulling up by the roots. He roared in anger, changing shapes countless times as his fragile sanity eroded. I’d done my job too well, leaving nothing to reason with. It was now or never. I pulled away from him mind, and I returned to me own body. He did not return to his. As I held Klaus’s soul, he looked at the body I’d wrenched him from. He was full of fear at this moment. For the first time, he’d been truly threatened. He would never experience fear again. I bit down hard, sucking Klaus’s essence into me. I walked over to Pinkie. She was fading quickly. I, lifted her head, placed my mouth over hers, and breathed Klaus’s life force into her. Like Chrysalis, her flesh wound itself back together. She broke our kiss with a sudden gasp as life was fully restored to her, and she looked at me. She didn’t have to say that she loved me, and I didn’t have to say that I loved her. She simply kissed me again. When we were staring into each other’s eyes again, I felt…peace. She didn’t care what I’d done or what I’d become. She loved Douglas. “I have to go now, Pinkie. I’m going to keep you and Equestria safe.” She giggled, and pushed me to the ground. “You’re not allowed to leave yet, Dougie.”
On the Horizon-DOUGLAS POV Swoop. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I want to do something, anything to show that I could still feel things. But I couldn’t. Swoop. There were so many dead ponies. None of them would ever laugh, or love, or dream ever again. The only thing I wanted was a single tear to prove to myself that I was still alive, but my body only answered with the percussion of my frozen heart. I knew what was happening. Klaus had stolen my humanity from me. Now, I’d used his power so much I was becoming more like the unfeeling parasite he is. I heard soft steps behind me. Not the creatures. I turned to face Chrysalis and…Pinkie Pie. I could feel the sheets of ice crack as my emotions stirred faintly. It was just like when I first came to Ponyville, she was saving me from myself. Swoop. I stumbled a few steps forward, and she closed the rest of the distance. I dropped to my knees, and she fell upon my neck. We held each other as close as we could. She was actually crying, while I was only attempting to. I let her cry into my chest. My arms closed all around her, my right hand resting on the back of her head. Chrysalis stood by us. Even she was crying. I felt dead, as if I were a copper statue erected in my own memory, being hugged in mourning. Swoop. “Dougie…” She stopped for a moment to look up at me. She gazed up at me with sky blue pools of compassion. She’d stopped crying for the moment. I put a finger against her face, drawing it slowly under her eyes, those eyes once so full of joy where tears should never venture. I wiped away those tears. They were they only ones I felt. SWOOP! -LUNA POV The approaching force had been decimated, save for one. It was enormous, and it was flying quickly. I charged towards the castle, needing to assess the threat. The wall was facing away from the moon, and I slipped into the shadow it cast. Moving through the shadows helped me relax as familiar darkness swallowed me. I took account of all that had happened. My sister had been kidnapped, our kingdom was devastated, Chrysalis was now an ally, and I no longer knew what Douglas was. His power was incomprehensible; it was likely Klaus had taken over. While Celestia was no doubt quite familiar with him, I knew him better. I could remember the day I discovered him, and how he became an even greater monster…
