The Bizarre Life of a Secret Changeling Prince

Chapters

Prologue: The Choice
Chapter 1: Alternate Solutions
Chapter 2: Decisions Made & Insecurities Dug Up

Prologue: The Choice

In a small minka in Hokkaido Prefecture, the Changeling Royal Family of Imperial Neighpon—more specifically, they were the Morifumu Family—were all sitting in silence at a chabudai table. They were sipping sencha tea, chewing on the pieces of salmon from their shiozake dishes as they waited for someone to speak first. The quietness in the room was beginning to get a little awkward, especially whenever one of them glanced at one another, practically begging them to say something to break it.

Eventually, the slender male with a long dark cerulean mane, tied into a half-up half-down style with a sakura kanzashi holding it in place, and soft red eyes broke it by softly uttering, “What are we supposed to do? We… I can’t go through with this option.” He was the current Crown Prince of Neighhon and inheritor of the Chenji Colony, as well as the subservient husband of the trembling female with a short deep blue mane in front of him.

She responded through clenched teeth, “Is that so, my dearest Ume? It’s not like you had a choice in the matter in the first place.”

“Jasmine, there’s no need to be so hostile,” another female, Rikugun-Tai-i Himawari, protested, placing her teacup down before continuing with, “and he’s not the only one confused about this situation, for the God’s sake, this hasn’t happened in centuries!”

Ume sighed as he watched his wife take in a deep breath, releasing it to say in a much calmer tone, “alright, alright. But once again, it isn’t any of your choices on what we are to do in this situation; it is mine.”

“Even if they aren’t our children?” Ume asked softly, flinching back when Jasmine shot him a deadly glare.

“If only you knew the number of illegitimate children I have,” she stated without care when she saw him sink into his seat in humiliation as the others at the table gave him pitiful looks.

Silence once again befell them, and after a few minutes of them just staring down at their now cold plates of food, Himawari mumbled, “one of us should check on the princess, and I think that should be Ume.”

Rikugun-Shōsa Fuji added with a nod, “and his palace attendants could accompany him perhaps?” She gestured to the two males on either side of the prince, both of whom had a taregami hairstyle with differing colored manes and eyes, baby blue and amaranth, faces painted a pale orange and light turquoise respectively with heavy makeup to contrast them, dressed in colorful jūnihitoe dresses like the prince.

They both smiled at their prince, showing off their blackened fangs in the process. Ume raised his head and muttered for them to go ahead before him, ignoring their attempts to convince him to follow them. When they gave up and went to the other room, he sat up and stated, “our daughter is making the most difficult choice of her life right now, will you join me with her when she finally makes it?” He stared at his unamused wife, ignoring the fear tingling in his gut.

His wife ignored the question with a roll of her eyes, taking another sip of her tea as she tried to figure out what to say next. Before long she coldly concluded, “I should’ve known her flamboyant nature would come back to bite us in the ass eventually,” before wiping her hoof down her face, her deep grimace being enough to make everyone else at the table cringe.

When no one replied she harshly snapped, slamming her hoof onto the table, “why did no one inform me of her relationship with that… that street whore?!”

“Because none of us expected anything to come out of it! And it’s not like you care enough to pay attention to our daughter’s wellbeing!” Ume finally snapped back, baring his fangs in anger.

Jasmine’s eye twitched a few times, making the two female soldiers with them look towards the prince in worry over what her next move might be. Once the princess stood up from her spot and made her way around the table towards him, Ume just sighed and squeezed his eyes shut.

He was already prepared for the inevitable strike across his face.

Ume’s palace attendants both stopped in place when they heard a loud thud behind the shoji, whipping their heads around as they saw the shadows of the princess and soldiers moving around erratically behind the thin sheet and shouting profanities at each other. They managed to figure out the princess was yelling at them in her native tongue, Marpunino—more specifically, Carabaon dialect.

The blue-haired attendant whispered to his partner with wide eyes, “should we step in? What if the prince was hurt, Harlequin?” The answer to his question came in the form of the prince sliding the door open and closing it behind him, trembling as blood ran down his muzzle.

“Your majesty!” He exclaimed, running to the prince and taking his face into his hands as he examined the minor injury, noticing the small bruise on his nostril but the prince just waved his concerns off.

“I-I’m alright, Popillia. Let’s… Let’s just go check up on her…”

“Ume…” Harlequin quietly protested, but upon the firm shake of his prince’s head, he sighed and turned away from him, making his way to the shoji separating them from the young princess on the other side.

“Of course, your majesty,” Harlequin obeyed, quietly sliding the door open to reveal a curled-up female in the corner of the small room.

Once the three stepped inside they were able to hear soft chirping and cooing sounds… the sounds of happy newly hatched grubs. Ume took the lead and without hesitation, walked over to his daughter and gently stroked her light blue mane as he whispered, “hey, my darling princess. Forgive me for not coming in sooner; your mother made it hard for me to find a time to leave.”

“Hi papa,” she mumbled back in a weak voice.

Ume approached and sat next to her, asking in a gentle tone, "how are you faring? I can't imagine you're doing too well at the moment."

His daughter sat up straight, having no other answer than a feeble shrug.

“I think she wouldn’t be nearly as bitter if you didn’t hide the eggs before they hatched,” Popilla butted in to suggest, which made Harlequin nod in agreement.

“Most likely. If anything she would have disposed of them a lot earlier if she had caught wind of them, and for all we know, that would’ve been for the better.”

“Well, I wouldn’t put it that harshly.”

They quickly stopped talking when Ume shot them an irritated look before tilting his head towards the door, requesting through his clenched teeth, “would you two be a dear and grab us some refreshments, preferably some castella and sencha from the kitchen?” Thankfully they obediently listened before rushing out the room, making sure to shut the shoji behind them.

Tsubaki gave him a once over, noticing the minor injury on her father's usually flawless face.

“You’re hurt,” it wasn’t a question, just a mere and sad statement.

Ume wiped whatever blood had begun to trickle again, brushing her words off with, “it’s nothing to do with you, darling. Whatever is the problem… other than the obvious, of course,” it was a dumb question and he knew it but, he never was that good at small talk, the majority of what he said was rehearsed nonsense if he were to be completely honest.

“Geez, I don’t know!” She sarcastically snapped, “it’s not like you and mother are making me leave one of my grubs for dead… oh wait, that’s precisely what’s going on, isn’t it?”

“Please don’t raise your voice too much, your mother is already irritated enough right now,” Ume quietly pleaded, petrified at the idea of his wife laying a hoof on his daughter as she had him.

If anyone deserved the abuse it had to be his foolish self, not his sweetly naive little girl…

Ume sighed, “I know how you feel, it's not easy being in the public eye… especially when it’s something as controversial as this could be–”

“What would you know?!” his daughter snapped, glaring at him with tears streaming down her flushed cheeks, “the public loves you and can’t stand me! You’re a fashion icon, the tennin of Neighon, the changeling’s beloved prince! Even our rivals to the west adore you and despise mother and me!”

He had no response to her outburst, as everything she was saying was true to an extent. It had been hammered into him growing up that he must be the perfect face for their family: graceful, beautiful, kind, and above all, honorable to their family. To be anything else was practically a death sentence, and as much as he wanted to explain the pain this perfect image brought to him, he knew it just wasn’t the time to do so. Instead, he would let her vent her frustrations in a way he hadn’t been able to growing up in this damned family, it was the least he could do at this moment.

After he let her cry it out a bit on his shoulder, he heard her take in a few deep breaths, “I’m barely seventeen…” Tsubaki eventually whimpered out with a sniffle, hanging her head down in shame.

Ume cringed, “I know, I know. If it was my decision you wouldn’t have been promised to someone so soon; I probably would’ve helped you choose someone else instead of Cicada… don’t tell anyone said this but I find her quite boring, it’s hard to blame you for finding interest in… what was his name again?”

Tsubaki seemed to brighten up at the mention of her mysterious lover, needing to forcibly hold back her chortle before blushing softly, answering with ease, “Danh Văn Trần… he says he comes from the capital of Vietrot. You know, he's honestly the sweetest boy I’ve ever met. He tells me I’m captivating and the loveliest being he’s ever laid his eyes on; knowing his handsome face, there’s no doubt he’s met countless others much better than me but he still chose me! And, and… oh father, he’s just wonderful!”

Ume couldn’t help but smile warmly at the sight of his daughter’s starstruck description of this boy, asking as he took her hooves into his own, “may I confess something to you?”

She nodded eagerly, intrigued at the idea of her father letting her in on his personal feelings for once; he normally bottled them up as she observed since she was younger.

“I would give just about anything to be in love for the first time again,” Ume confessed as he once again began to stroke his daughter’s unnaturally soft mane–meaning she must’ve soaked it in snail slime earlier that day, “understand that your mother and I did feel something for each other when we first started our courtship… what a spitfire and charmer she was, gods, how she made my foolish heart skip a beat with just a look. She was a highly respected aristocrat from the Fillypines and I was merely a softhearted Neighhon prince with too much on his plate. In retrospect, I might’ve been so desperate to be happy with my arranged marriage that I tricked myself into falling in love with her but then again, maybe it was real, even if it was just for a short moment.”

“Oh, don’t feed me that folly, papa!”

Ume froze as he saw the knowing look on his daughter’s face, she elaborated, “like no one sees the way you and Popillia sneak around behind mother’s back, if she wasn’t so busy trying to get into his bed as well she’d probably notice it too.” He flushed bright blue, immediately trying to derail the conversation back to his original point as he wasn’t comfortable with discussing his suddenly revived sex life with his stupidly smug daughter.

“My point still stands! The first time you fall in love will always be different from the second or third time it happens, you’re inexperienced and confused about what you feel, it’s life changing.”

"Yes, yes. I get it," Tsubaki giggled.

The shoji opened, making them both turn to see an exasperated looking Harlequin holding two trays, one in his mouth and the other with his magic. He levitated the tray out of his mouth to explain the absence of his companion, "Popillia has been snatched up by that old witch so, it's just me now... and my massive headache, please help me set these down before I pass out."

"Of course, Harlequin!" Ume immediately got up to take over holding both the trays, having significantly less trouble with levitating light objects due to personal training.

It was borderline idiotic how they didn't teach and train males how to use their magic properly, it would make simple tasks like this leagues easier than it currently was; but no, they were afraid of them taking advantage of that possible knowledge and believed that the males would have an uprising if they had that much power.

If only there was someone out there who could pull them out of this limited mindset, whether it was in Ume's lifetime or his children's didn't matter to him; he just wanted the best for those in pain at the moment.

And well, speak of the devil... or rather, that particularly controversial figure.

“Apparently Princess Celestia of Equestria wants to get into contact with us to discuss…” Himawari was holding a letter in her hooves, pausing as she read the next line a few times over, wanting to make sure she read that part right, “peace negotiations?”

Fuji gagged on her egg, spitting it out to furiously reply with, “Those dreadful ponies think they have the authority to speak to us, nonetheless discuss peace when they were the ones who struck first?! Do they not remember what they did to our species’ name? Calling us ‘heartless savages’ and saying that we feasted on emotions when we did nothing but defend ourselves against them!”

“This could be beneficial to us,” Jasmine muttered as she apparently ignored Fuji's tirade, tapping her chin in thought. “Regardless of our thoughts on them and their thoughts on us, if we can form an alliance we could eliminate any more issues between us. Not only that but tensions are rising here and it would be rather helpful if they helped us… quell those who talk too much about fantastical things, like how males deserve to be of equal standing to us, how utterly ridiculous!”

“I… suppose that’s true but,” Himawari hesitated to continue, only doing so when Jasmine gave her a nod of approval, “what if this is some sort of scheme to finally get us? We can’t put too much trust into a kingdom we’ve had a major conflict with since before any of us were born, we mustn’t let down our guard if we do speak to their princess!”

Jasmine grinned widely, “just my exact thought, Himawari!” She then caught sight of Ume’s attendants attempting to sneak past them with treat-filled trays held in their mouths.

“Oh Popillia, my enchanting boy, break out the saké won’t you; this is a discussion worth celebrating!”

Popillia was about to set down the tray to properly protest that he was busy but Harlequin levitated his own tray out of his mouth to say, “I suggest you listen, Popillia. I’ve got this so please, don’t disobey her orders, alright?” After looking between his red-haired companion and the impatient gaze of the princess at the table, he gulped and nodded.

"Of course, how could I be so silly to assume otherwise," he finally said, impressed with how he didn't cringe before or after saying that.

And judging by the perverse look in the princess's eye, this was going to be a long day for him.

Meanwhile, Ume and Tsubaki were looking down at the napping grubs in their crib, having abandoned their half eaten castella and long gone cold tea. Harlequin had left them be to make sure Popillia was alright in the other room. The both of them bore solemn looks on their faces, knowing that by the next day, one of them will be dead on the streets.

"Why must we do this? What if this isn't a curse like those dusty old books say, what if this is a miracle?" Tsubaki uttered, looking desperately to her father, silently pleading with him to take her side on this.

Unfortunately, her father was as kind as he was religious, meaning that he only had one answer to her blasphemous suggestion.

"As much as I hate to say this, it's not up to us to decide something like that; only the gods can rule what is right and wrong here, not us mere subjects of them. Sol ordered for things to be the way they are today for a reason, and that reason is because when the God of Death seduced the treacherous Goddess of War they birthed twins that were meant to bring the end of times. If it weren’t for our Sun God ordering for them to be killed immediately we wouldn't be here today, and ever since every twin born has brought nothing but curses to whatever family bears them. Haven't I explained this story to you more than once as a nymph already?"

Tsubaki rolled her eyes at his tangent, having forgotten just how dedicated he was to their cruel gods, to the point where it crossed his own morality at times; then again, it's impossible to be perfect so, there's her father's only flaw at its worst.

He seemed to sense her annoyance with him.

“You must understand that your mother only wants the best for us,” he reassured before being shoved back by his daughter.

“With the way mother treats you, are you completely sure of that?” Tsubaki replied with a cocked eyebrow.

Ume blinked a few times in thought, correcting himself with, “your mother wants the best for you; you are our only daughter together, and that means my duty to her is fulfilled until you take the crown instead of me. They will not approve of a male ruling this empire, especially when I have a powerful daughter such as you.”

“It’s not fair!” She wailed, throwing her hooves around his neck as she continued, “I never asked to be empress, why can’t we change the laws?! Aren’t we seen as gods here, why can’t mother do something if I’m that much of a disappointment to her–”

“Hush now, my darling princess,” Ume interjected, placing a hoof over her lips, “we mustn’t commit such an act of hubris like that, and... I don’t know why we can’t change the laws. It isn’t in my control and if I’m being completely honest, I didn’t ask for this role either.”

He then glanced at the crib with a frown, “unfortunately for you, you’re not fully from this place and they will already criticize you for that. That isn’t your fault but they will most definitely see this as your fault so, don’t you think it’d be smartest to just listen to your mother? No matter how much we both don’t agree with her, it’s the only choice we have here…”

Tsubaki sighed. "What would be your choice? For who will stay I mean," she asked, knowing she wasn't capable of making the decision herself.

"Logically and honestly? The blue-haired one will be the best bet of keeping this scandal under wraps, the public would never believe you and Cicada birthed a grub of very clear Thayđổnese origin."

"Okay..."

Harlequin popped his head back in to warn, "the old witch is getting impatient, she wants your decision within the next few minutes!" Ume nodded before freezing, staring at the other male as a thought crossed him.

It was risky, risky enough to get him executed on the spot if he messed this up in any way, shape, or form. Not to mention his internal guilt of betraying his beliefs and devotion to the very gods he'd offend if he decided to go through with this insane plot. However, one look at his sniffling daughter made any doubts in his mind dissipate in an instant, "Harlequin, come here for a second, you too Tsubaki, lean in a bit... I have an idea, but I need both you to cooperate with me to a tee."

“Princess Tsubaki Morifumu has made her decision.”

The three females looked towards the quiet yet firm voice of Harlequin, who held one of the grubs in her arms; the one with the green tuft of hair on its head. Jasmine let out a dry laugh, “what? That coward and little girl couldn’t tell us themselves, shows just how pathetic they both truly are; imagine how this empire will be run when Ume and his aunt finally bite the dust.”

The guards ignored her words as they approached Harlequin, who stepped away from them to affirm, “Ume and Tsubaki both ordered for me to take care of this, none of you are permitted to join me; prince’s orders, not mine.”

Jasmine squinted her eyes at him in suspicion, having a gut feeling that something was off about this. So, before Harlequin could move from his spot, she stopped him by stepping in front of the exit.

“If I find out that either you or that miserable creature you call your cousin are deceiving me,” she leaned in so close to his face that their muzzles touched, spitting out, “you’ll both be fed to the sharks before you can even think of ever crossing me again.”

“I wouldn’t dream of such a thing, your majesty,” Harlequin bitterly replied with a roll of his eyes, pushing her away from him to walk straight out of the minka.

Ume then suddenly appeared by Jasmine’s side, cradling the blue-haired grub in his arms, “welcome the newest member of the royal family, Kiku Morifumu of the Neighpon Empire.”

Author's Note

i am back!!! and i am exhausted wow i am going to bed lmao, hope ya'll enjoy and plz leave thoughts/predictions/discussions in the comments!

Chapter 1: Alternate Solutions

“Wait–wait, what do you mean she was pregnant?!”

“It means exactly what it sounds like… Danh Văn Trần, was it? I think it says something that I spotted you immediately in one of the lower akasen districts but then again, from what I’ve been told this isn’t too different from your line of work back in Vietrot.”

Harlequin was sitting directly in front of the very culprit that knocked up his prince’s halfwitted daughter and got them into this mess in the first place; fortunately, their faces weren’t publicly known in the empire so he was more than comfortable throwing on a commoner’s yukata kimono with his long mane tied into a neatly braided bun.

Overall, he knew he looked good, especially since he got multiple keen looks from females on his way over here; although seeing just how much of a nervous wreck the other male looked to be also boosted his confidence so, maybe that’s what was making his ego feel stronger than usual.

They were sitting in a more secluded part of an unpopular seedy bar so luckily, not many were around to hear Danh’s little outburst; either that or they were too busy buying out prostitutes for the night to care to listen.

Danh sucked in a deep breath, “we-well… shit!” He began pulling hard on his long, stringy chartreuse mane as he tried his absolute best to keep himself by hyperventilating, not at all concerning the red-haired changeling across from him.

In fact, Harlequin was a bit annoyed at the moment with this sight, “for the gods’ sake, pull yourself together; what did you expect when you slept with her? That there wouldn’t be any sort of consequence for this, that you’d get your fill and skip onto the next hapless being’s bed without a second thought?”

Once Danh managed to get his breathing under control, he also got composed enough to feel offense at the harsh jabs towards him, “first of all… it’s not like that, it’s really not. Second of all, you don’t know me or what I’ve been through to get to this point so, I’d suggest you watch your tone before I walk straight out of this shithole.”

Harlequin didn’t feel fazed at all by the empty threat, however, he did know that his more hostile approach wouldn’t get him anywhere. So, he softened his tone as he said, “alright, alright. I’m sorry, it’s just been a long few days and I’ve been getting clues of where to find you from the sleaziest of creatures and it was frightening at times. I’m here with you purely because I was ordered to by the prince, and out of care for his daughter; no matter how much that girl frustrates me.”

That seemed to calm the other male just enough to relax in his seat, and Harlequin took in the appearance of the streetworker in front of him. If he were to force himself to be completely honest, Danh was, in plainest terms, very easy on the eye. He could tell that if they were in a more… different and nightly setting, he’d probably be quite the sight so to an extent, he could almost understand why Princess Tsubaki desired and burned for him. Despite all that, Harlequin was–believe it or not–happily married so he couldn’t bring himself to care too much for that possibility.

“What am I supposed to do about this?” Danh asked, not sounding impatient or angry with this revelation, instead his voice was now filled with genuine concern.

Harlequin sighed, “luckily for you, my prince has a kind heart and came up with a plan that will include your participation as a key part of it.” Judging by the confused look on his face, Harlequin figured he should elaborate a bit more in a hushed voice, “you see, it’s not just one grub that was born; it was two.”

Fear filled Danh’s eyes as he slapped a hoof over his mouth, clearly showing that he too knew the absolute taboo and stigma that surrounded it. After a few beats of silence he breathed out shakily, “Where… where are they?” Harlequin glanced around once more, making sure no one was eavesdropping before leaning as close as he could to the other male.

“One of them is in the palace as the second heir to the throne until the princess births a daughter, and the other is at my minka with my wife, Hornet, caring for it,” he honestly responded, noting the way Danh visibly relaxed with a sigh.

“Now I have a few personal questions just for peace of mind, how old are you?”

Danh tensed up again, answering with an ashamed sounding, “Seventeen; I turn eighteen in a few months.”

Harlequin bit his cheek in order to contain his shock, the male in front of him was much younger than he originally suspected; he was the same age as the young princess and was working on the streets. He ignored the growing guilt in his gut as he remembered his earlier harsh comments, but pushed it aside in order to learn more about him.

“Right,” he clicked his tongue, continuing, “and where do you currently live and what are the conditions?”

Danh sighed out, “you see, I grew up in poverty with my family in a small village–Chuồn Chuồn Village to be exact–in Vietrot, and let’s just say I wasn’t too happy with it. I ran away about two years ago to live in the capital since I believed that I’d somehow thrive there but, evidently, that wasn’t the case and now I live at the bar I also work at. It’s… not the greatest place to live, eh,” he shrugged with an eye roll, “that’s home for me I guess.”

“Why did you come here in the first place?” It was honestly what he wanted to understand the most, what point was there in coming here in the first place; he couldn’t have possibly planned to end up catching the eye of the princess, there was no logical way.

“Let’s just say my ‘line of work’ as you put it earlier, isn’t as accepted or tolerated there as it is here; I’m desperate for some kind of income and it’s not like I can get a good-paying job that’ll keep food on the table. I have no real work experience and my education doesn’t really pass basic homeschooling. It wasn’t too hard getting here since many Thayđổnese changelings come here either as immigrants or as students, seeing as I’m the age of a student it wouldn’t be hard to pass as one.”

Harlequin nodded as he took this information in, “I see… this makes the plan seem much less ethical. As deranged as it sounds, the alternative plan was to just go through with the original route of… you know.”

“Wait, wait! I have an idea myself, just please, hear me out.”

The red-haired changeling cocked an eyebrow, “go on?”

"See, I have two younger brothers back in my home country. One of them is sixteen and the other is four; my sixteen-year-old brother just recently got married so he'd be the perfect changeling to raise that grub. I can't raise a nymph where I am right now so please, don't make me carry this burden and mistake. It'll only result in both me and the grub suffering."

Harlequin raised an eyebrow as he watched the other begin to fumble around to grab something he had stashed underneath his kimono, eventually pulling out a candid black-and-white photo of three young changelings. Two of them looked to be in their pupa years while the youngest between them looked to be just entering their nymph years. Danh appeared to be the one on the right, having a small smile on his face while his supposed brother appeared to be in the middle of laughing as the photo was taken. “I assume that the one on the left is the one you trust to care for the grub?" He wanted to clarify, humming when the other slowly nodded.

He gave a pitiful look to the somber-looking Danh, saying, “if you wish to do so, I can let you spend some time with him before we–”

“I can’t. I’ll get attached if I even step into the same room as that poor grub, just… inform me when he’s with my brother and I’ll figure out what to do from there.”

“If that’s what you wish, then okay. What is your brother’s name?”

“His name is Netwing, birth name is Binh Văn Trần, I’ll give you whatever information you need to send my son there safely.”

Duy Văn Trần woke up to the sound of soft knocking against the wall of his tiny bedroom, making him groan softly before rubbing his eyes. He sat up, stretching a bit and hearing a few cracks, making him cringe slightly in disgust. After a few seconds of tiredly staring at his plain wall, he looked over to the entrance to his bedroom, which was separated by the hallway with a curtain–which his mother often corrected him by saying it was called a portière.

Standing there with a shy smile was his kindhearted father, Netwing. He was a middle-aged male with a mid-length dark green mane, stringy and cobwebby towards the edges, and his eyes were a darker green in comparison to his currently unruly hair. Duy’s mother once passive-aggressively commented ‘you know, your father used to be considered the loveliest changeling in the village… I wonder what happened.’

“Duy honey, have you seen my nón lá? I think I might’ve misplaced it again,” he asked with a bashful little giggle.

Duy blinked a few times before shrugging, “No I haven’t, sorry papa. Maybe you left it in the fields or something by accident?”

“Hey! I’m sure I’m not that irresponsible,” Netwing exasperatedly responded, leaning against the wall with a soft yawn.

Then he straightened up, clapped his hooves together and grinned, “let’s not worry about that right now, how about I start up breakfast! Does bò kho sound good with you–ooh! Or maybe trứng vịt lộn? I bought some from the marketplace yesterday for cheaper than usual; oh, you should’ve seen how packed it was, I swear I was standing in line for hours–”

Duy interjected with a warm smile, since he knew his father tended to go on long tangents, “either one is fine with me, and did you get any nước mía from the market?”

Netwing nodded, “Both it is! And yes we do, please don’t drink it all in one sitting again.”

The pupa male couldn’t help but snort as he started to get out of bed, “it sounds like you’re just stalling before working outside.” He grabbed his baby blue áo dài that he had neatly folded in front of his wooden bed.

“And so what if I am? It’s only 5:15 and that gives me plenty of time to do both; you can get dressed and check if the Nguyễn’s are up yet. Who knows, maybe you’ll see you know who again!” Netwing teased in a sing-songy voice before exiting Duy’s room.

It took everything in Duy to not cringe at that, just one day, a single day he wished to not be reminded of his soon-to-be arranged marriage with his fiancée, Mai Thị Nguyễn–or as she’s now known by her second name, Silkmoth. Sure she was pretty cool and fun to hang out with but at the same time, it kind of felt like they were moving too fast for his taste. If anything, he didn’t at all mind the idea of marrying her; in fact he could find himself feeling strong feelings of attraction towards her, especially when she was particularly affectionate with him one day.

On the other hoof, he also had been having strange thoughts about her brother that was a year older than them, Hieu Ngọc Nguyễn… considered the most lovely boy in their village aside from his equally beautiful and admired father, Dragonfly. However, Hieu didn’t quite act like how males their age were expected to act, and for some reason it made Duy feel… odd? Maybe it was discomfort at Hieu’s odd behavior or some sort of mild attraction he didn’t know how to process properly–

“Netwing, why the hell aren’t you clothed properly? You realize there’s a thing called common decency and respect for one’s body, right?”

Sounds like his mother, Stonefly, is also awake and already in an unsavory mood this morning. His earlier train of thought was lost as he began getting dressed in order to escape the inevitable scolding he’d receive if she caught him in his indecent state as well. Fortunately he had left his white yếm on from the previous day, meaning all he had to do was pull on and fasten the hooks on his áo dài and then start off his day.

So far it looked like another long morning of harvesting rice before the rest of the village wakes up, as Netwing always made sure to remind him every time they walked out the door with nón lás in their hooves; despite the fact they were only outside before the sun rose, making the hat’s function borderline useless.

But, oh well, that’s just his life and for now, he’d have it no other way.

Luckily for Duy, the Nguyễns were also wide awake and already collecting fish from the river by the village. He quickly ran over to the quietly chattering family, throwing his arms around the eldest daughter’s–his fiancée, who made a startled yelp as he nearly made them tumble backwards into the water; thankfully they were aided by Silkmoth’s mother, Orchid, who yanked them away from the river.

“Careful there, kid!” Orchid laughed, “we can’t have you catching sickness right now, especially with… wait, has your father told you yet?”

Duy pulled his face away from Silkmoth’s shoulder to look over at the sheepish-looking female, “huh? What are you talking about–”

“None of that now!” Orchid’s drop-dead gorgeous husband, Dragonfly, interjected with a wave of his hoof, continuing with a lighthearted tone, “how have things been with your father and mother? Have they been speaking about having another nymph yet, after all, I’m starting to think Netwing wants to compete with me!”

“Uhh… I’m not entirely sure? I’m pretty sure my father wants a grub but I don’t know what’s been going on between them lately,” Duy honestly felt a little confused at the moment, what was the female about to tell him?

Suddenly he felt Silkmoth nuzzle his cheek affectionately, “I’m sure they’re perfectly alright, maybe your father’s just too shy to bring it up to her. Although…” she dropped her voice to a low whisper in his ear, “we could make up for that, quite a few times, can’t we?”

That single sentence practically yanked him out of his previous thoughts and he suddenly had the flustered urge to change the subject, “how many fish did you manage to catch?!” he blurted out with a flushed green face.

Dragonfly playfully rolled his eyes as he gestured towards the other side of the river, where his youngest sons and daughter were attempting to catch fish with their mouths; a feat Duy thought was impossible before he once saw Hiệu, Silkmoth’s older brother, accomplish it.

Speaking of Hiệu, “Đức, Mình, Hướng! Quit that, you’re all going to fall in and cry like little grubs!” He hollered at the three nymphs, who all pouted at him in annoyance.

Duy felt his mouth go dry as he greeted the scowling male, “he-hey, Hiệu…” the older Changeling blinked a few times before glancing over at him with a soft smile.

“It’s good to see you, Duy, I see you’re doing well this fine morning. Also, mind you it’s far more appropriate to call me by my second name, Cricket.”

“Right, right! Forgive me, Cricket,” Duy corrected before burying his still bright green face back into his fiancée’s chest, hearing her snort out a laugh.

Silkmoth proceeded to press a soft kiss to the tip of his horn before releasing him from her grip, mumbling that she was going to go snatch her younger siblings up before they hurt themselves before flying across the river. Duy stayed in place, not having the energy to walk back to his family’s stilt house… then again breakfast could almost be ready so that was almost motivating enough to turn back.

Cricket’s muzzle twitched a few times before looking behind him, “your father is heading over here, I can tell from his scent… it’s melancholy mixed with sexual frustration, it’s bordering on smelling like straight depression.”

It should be concerning how that sentence didn’t really phase Duy but at the same time, you’d have to be both blind and deaf to not notice the tension between his parents; that and his home’s walls were thin enough that he could hear practically everything, it was beginning to get a bit awkward and he genuinely needed to address that fact with his parents at some point.

Dragonfly glared at his son, “oh hush, Cricket, you didn’t have to put it that harshly.”

“It’s true though; not my fault he can’t get it up back at home,” thankfully Duy didn’t hear that last part as he grumbled it just quietly enough, but he still earned a sharp jab to the side from his father.

Duy squinted in order to see his father coming into view, on his back was a half-full basket of rice, no doubt quickly collected with the assistance of magic; a taboo for males in their culture to use it but then again, no one else but the Nguyễns were up to witness it so, it’s not that big of a deal. Netwing stopped at one point, appearing to keep his distance away from the Nguyễns as he gestured to Duy to come over to him, which he quickly obeyed.

Once he was next to his father he asked, “papa, do you think we can talk a bit when we get back inside? I think Orchid was trying to tell me something but I’m not quite sure what it was about.”

Netwing’s eye twitched a few times before he slowly turned his head towards the quietly chatting couple across from them, “oh, is that so? We can discuss it over breakfast, your mother is finishing it up for me as I have to go harvest our share of the rice fields as soon as possible.”

Duy sighed out, “if you say so, papa.” His ear twitched as he began to pick up on the conversation between Orchid and Dragonfly, and from what he could hear it was mainly cheesy compliments and playful teasing between the two.

“Oh, aren’t you just the loveliest sight I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing!” Orchid giggled as she tugged her grinning husband close to her, pressing a few soft kisses to his cheek as they both let out barely contained laughs of pure, unadulterated joy.

It was quite a sweet sight, sweet enough to make Duy smile a little at the clearly happy couple. Then he looked at his father’s harsh glare towards them, and once he really thought about it, it started to make sense why Netwing held some sort of animosity towards them despite wanting Duy to marry the eldest daughter. The Nguyễn family was everything they weren’t, having more money in comparison to the rest of the villagers, were always fed and satisfied with how things were, had the most loving parents Duy had ever seen, and not only that, they also produced the most beautiful nymphs in Chuồn Chuồn Village.

Dragonfly himself had the prettiest mane in the village, with a lustrous tea green color that shone in the sunlight, just barely reaching his sylphlike shoulders; it contrasted beautifully with his jade green eyes. Meanwhile Orchid had a less shiny fern green mane–which complimented her deeper green eyes–that was long enough to reach her elbows, but as with tradition, she kept it in a tight ponytail. Cricket himself deeply resembled his mother–albeit with a shorter and choppier mane–while Silkmoth was a complete copy of her father. She even had his long, lustrous mane that she let grow below her shoulders; something completely unprecedented in their conservative village.

His thoughts were interrupted by a full basket of fish plopping down in front of him, and a bored sounding voice saying, “hey, my dad told me earlier that we should give some to you guys; something about wanting to have dinner with you guys or something, I don’t really know.” Duy realized after a moment of confusion that it was the Nguyễn's middle child, Stickbug, a rather awkward and gangly male with a dull green mane and a constant look of boredom on his face.

‘A-ah, thank you, Stickbug,” Duy awkwardly stammered out as he pulled the basket closer to him, watching as the younger changeling stalked away from him.

A sudden feminine voice shook him to his core, “son, do you mind heading home with that right now? I need to speak to your father for a moment.” Duy immediately realized it was his mother, Stonefly, a bitter and overly stern female who had the constant attitude of ‘if I’m miserable that means everyone around me has to be miserable too’ to a tee. Even her mane was dull despite having an emerald green color to it, making her almost uninteresting to look at if Duy had to be honest.

“Alright, mother,” he softly replied, beginning to push the basket away instead of daring to use his magic–as weak and under trained as it was–in front of his mother, partially out of fear of angering her and also because he knew he’d pass out after a few minutes of doing so, meaning there was no point in even trying what would be the ‘easier’ option.

Netwing hadn’t noticed Stonefly’s presence yet, instead still focusing the couple in front of him. Envy and sadness bubbling in his gut the more he stared at them, wondering why he hadn’t been granted the same happiness as them. Although… There was a specific reason his marriage with Stonefly had gone downhill, and it wasn’t even his fault in the first place.

“Netwing.”

Ah, speak of the devil.

“Stonefly,” he softly said as he noticed his wife joining his side, with an unimpressed look on her usually stone-cold face–pun not intended.

Once she was sure Duy was far away enough, she sighed out, “I will never understand why exactly you decided to take him under your care, he is nothing but a danger to us and this entire village.”

Netwing shrugged as he answered honestly, “my family has always had a bad habit of dumping their responsibilities onto me, it was to be expected even at that time in our youth. I’m surprised I haven’t heard anything from Hà Nội in a while from my little brother…” he frowned as he mumbled, “I just hope he’s alright, I’ve heard from around the village that those who… work on the streets aren’t really tolerated by Chrysalis’s followers, my poor dearest brother is sadly not an exception to that.”

“You do realize that we should also be hightailing it out of here as well, right?”

Netwing blinked a few times at her in confusion, “what do you mean? We’re hidden in the highlands, Chrysalis’s followers have been congregating exclusively in the North. If anything, we're safest here, and definitely much safer than those around us.”

“Are you seriously that foolish?” Stonefly scoffed, “I guess word hasn’t spread among the gossiping males for once in a lifetime; a few villages on the Central Coast have been attacked or ransacked by her followers in just the last three weeks. From what I’ve been hearing she’s trying to recruit as many allies as possible, and I’m sure that more than enough males like yourself are desperate to ‘prove themselves as worthy soldiers’ to the Gods… it’s a hot pile of bullshit, honestly. It won't be long before they hear of our presence here.”

Netwing took in a deep breath, not allowing himself to express the absolute paranoia that began to build up in his chest, “I’m sure that we’ll be fine; worst case scenario we’ll just move farther west and in an even worse outcome, we'll just have to seek refuge in Cantlebodia.”

"And risk coming into contact with the Phlasa Btau R Colony? You and I both know what they think of Thayđổnese Changelings! We'd be dead on the spot the moment they suspect we have anything to do with Chrysalis. Not only that but we still need to prepare for Duy’s marriage to Silkmoth, and the boy doesn’t even have his second name; you know, the sign of his maturity that you’re pretending isn’t there yet?” Stonefly asked in a sarcastic tone.

“I know, I know. I should’ve taken him to the naming ceremony a few years ago but you can’t blame me for being paranoid, and I don’t see why we can’t just give him a second name ourselves!”

Stonefly scoffed, “because it’s practically blasphemy, I want him to receive his second name and get that wedding ceremony over with as soon as possible. It’s in less than three weeks and you haven’t even told him yet, haven’t you? Next thing you know he’ll be stuck in the same situation your absolute harlot of an older brother put himself in with the literal crown princess of Neighpon.”

“Watch it.”

“Fine, that was a little harsh but it’s the truth.”

They both shared a cold glare towards one another before Netwing decided to change the subject in order to keep himself from strangling the cruel female in front of him, “look I was thinking about something, and I genuinely do not care if you agree with me or not.”

“Oh wow, because I already care so much about what you do or what you stand for,” she mocked with a roll of her eyes.

Netwing decided to ignore that.

“I was considering having him spend time away from the village, before he gets married, of course. I just want him to feel free just a little bit longer, even if it’s just for a week or two,” he confessed.

“First of all, he’s getting married to Silkmoth in less than three weeks and second of all, where exactly do you even want him to feel freedom?”

“Thay Đổi, it’s where I’ll tell my brother to go hide out at; it gives me an excuse to get him away from Hà Nội so, it’ll be hitting two birds with one stone. Besides, Duy can just come back a day or two before the wedding ceremony.”

His wife looked caught off guard, "The capital? And with it's recent infestation of ponies trying to 'help out' our country? Ugh, even the vile Kỳ Lân have started moving there as well; you know I can't stand either of them, especially after the Kỳ Lân were held responsible for the unexpected crop fire in Đom Đóm Village south from us. Oh! And the horrid Dragons as well, haven't they been stealing from the locals there?"

Netwing didn't have the energy to disagree with her assumption that the Kỳ lân were responsible for that incident, seeing that whenever something like that went wrong, Changelings would immediately blame the Kỳ Lân or the Dragons if they were also locals. Overall, he genuinely couldn't bring himself to care that the creatures indigenous to this land were becoming more and more prominent in Changeling societies, it had nothing to do with him and they literally lived in the highlands of Vietrot; meaning that they were among the very few mainly Changeling Villages in the entire area.

Stonefly then scrunched her nose in distaste as she remembered something else her husband had brought up, “and not only that, you want to send him to stay with your up-and-coming hooch maid of a brother? Not that I’m opposing Duy's absence but Odonata of all whores?”

“Odonata is a kindhearted soul,” Netwing corrected through his teeth, biting his tongue from snapping at his wife’s plain disrespect towards his young brother, “he’s estranged from us purely because of our father’s disapproval over his behavior, and he was younger when he acted out; I'm sure he's matured somewhat since then.”

“Whatever, just hope that brat doesn’t run back crying because he saw something in the city he wasn’t supposed to see. And I wonder if that brother of yours finally took up a career similar to you-know-who, and for all we know you-know-who has already been fraternizing with the Equestrians and bringing even more shame to your family name–”

“For the Gods’ sake, can you just quit it!”

Author's Note

this feels like it took me longer than it should've to write lmao :twilightblush:

Rough Translations:
Chuồn Chuồn - translates to Odonata, coincidentally the same name as one of our characters.
Thay đổi () - roughly translates to change, and I basically use this to define their Changeling "ethnicity".
Nón lá - this is basically the rice farmer hat that many of you may be familiar with.
Bò kho - Vietnamese pot-roast beef stew (yes Changelings do eat meat, I portray them as both omnivores and capable of consuming emotions).
Trứng vịt lộn - this is that one dish with the fertilized egg, where you can see the bird embryo in it (surprisingly pretty popular in southeast Asian countries).
Nước mía - sugarcane juice.
áo dài - Vietnam's national dress.
Yếm - it resembles a western halter top but was once widely used by Vietnamese women as an undergarment.
Phlasa Btau R - is the best translation I could get for "change" in Khmer (Cambodia's language).
Kỳ lân - Mythical creature known in some countries in both east Asia and southeast Asia (in the show they're known as kirin, but I use the Vietnamese spelling since well this is set in a country based on Vietnam).

Chapter 2: Decisions Made & Insecurities Dug Up

“Papa, what do you think Orchid was going to tell me? She brought up that I should avoid getting sick because of something coming up, do you have any idea of what she’s talking about?” Duy asked as he poked at the noodles in his bowl with chopsticks, using just enough of his magic to properly hold his utensils.

The Trần family had returned home just an hour before, with fresh bowls of food set in front of them, courtesy of Netwing’s hard work of cooking breakfast as quickly and efficiently as possible. Duy wasn’t the biggest fan of trứng vịt lộn–which he had pushed to the side of the table–when it was from the from the marketplace, as whoever sold it probably cooked it improperly and it always made Duy feel sick after eating it; if only his father had the patience to cook it himself that day, it would’ve tasted delicious if he had.

Netwing seemed to avoid his question by pointing out the bowl his son clearly pushed aside, “do you want some coriander to add onto your duck egg? You shouldn’t let it go cold.”

Duy decided to entertain his father for a bit, “you know I don’t like the ones sold in the marketplace, I thought you were going to make it yourself.”

“You are the one who said either breakfast dish was perfectly fine with you,” Netwing shrugged, but it was clear he was relieved at the thought of his son not noticing the obvious subject change.

Then it was made apparent that Duy didn’t want to avoid his earlier question, “so what was Orchid going to say? You very obviously know something I don’t.”

His father stammered out, “it-it’s really nothing, sweetheart. I promise that it’s nothing you need to worry about–” his mouth was suddenly clamped shut, and his eyes went wide in shock.

Duy was confused as to what just happened until he glanced at his mother, who’s horn was illuminated as she glared at his father. It took him a moment to realize she had used her magic on Netwing, and before he could say anything about this act of reverence, she said, “there’s no point in lying about something so trivial, you absolute halfwit. Duy,” he locked eyes with her and made it clear he was listening with a nod, so she continued with, “your wedding day is in around three weeks and you’ll officially be married to the Nguyễn’s daughter. I don’t want to hear a single complaint out of you, Lễ Chạm Ngỏ happened two whole years ago; you’re sixteen years old and should’ve been out of the house by fifteen if it was my decision.”

She finally released her husband, who rubbed his sore jaw as he glared at her. Then he quietly grumbled to her, “you know exactly why I prolonged it.”

Duy looked back down at his bowl, feeling a pit form in his stomach. He… wasn’t sure how to feel or react, and he wasn’t stupid enough to try and argue against his mother’s word. All he could do at the moment was keep his mouth shut with a subservient nod of his head, forcing himself to take a sip of his nước mía in order to appear composed at this sudden news. Stonefly had made a good point, he was lucky to have had an extra year of time to himself and from what she was suggesting, that was thanks to his father being overprotective of him.

Stonefly gave him a look of approval, seeming to be happy with his lack of protest at the decision made without his knowledge. Then she used her magic to levitate a roll of newspaper from the counter towards her, saying to the scowling Netwing, “and to wipe that sour look off your face, I got your newspaper. I better hear a thanks from you; I swear prices have been rising since the Equestrians stepped foot in Vietrot, gods forbid we start getting charged whatever they’re charging the Changelings in the capital!”

Netwing rolled his eyes at her rants and simply skimmed over the main headline, reading the sentence below it out loud with widened eyes, “Empress Momo of Neighpon claims neutrality over the conflict sparking in Vietrot’s colony of Thay Đổi, and is leaving any military decisions up to Princess Hoa Dao; a decision that has shocked the capital.”

“In other words, we’re shit out of luck if we’re completely invaded,” his wife shrugged with a mirthless smile.

Duy, on the other hoof, didn’t quite understand or care much about what was being discussed. He just sighed softly and took a bite out of his food, chewing slowly as he watched his father look more and more bewildered by whatever he was reading in the paper.

Netwing was searching desperately for a somewhat positive headline in the papers he held, holding some sliver of hope that the current conflict hadn't erased all the good his country had to offer. Where was the talk of the Tết coming in just a few short months, the newest fashion trends and mane styles inspired by the celebrity mares of Equestria, heck, he'd even take a trashy gossip section over every single title he was skimming through! Eventually he gave up with a disappointed frown, setting the newspaper down and rubbing his eyes, being reminded that the dull ache behind them was due to him refusing to buy reading glasses... no need in making him more insecure and aware of his clearly debilitating body.

His wife quickly snatched it up with her magic, flipping through the pages with an almost satisfied hum; it was as if she were happy with her initial suspicions being confirmed through just a few words written on some piece of paper. "So it really is all about Neighpon and the conflict," she commented while glancing at her exhausted husband, "

"The Chenjinese have no control over what's written over here, it's whatever can grab the attention of the locals around here," Netwing weakly argued as he pulled his hooves away from his face to look back at his wife.

Stonefly simply scoffed with disgusted look on her face, “I really can’t stand the Chenjinese, blech! Even just saying it makes me sick; thinking they have the authority to say they ‘own’ our country when our empress is still sitting on her throne in Thay Đổi.”

Now, here's the thing, Duy knew his feeling of pride towards his country of Vietrot came from his mother, which was a stark contrast to the almost… detached aura his father gave off whenever she started to go on about how their colony deserved independence from the ‘aristocratic cockroaches in Chenji’ but, if Duy was being completely honest, he didn’t understand the tension all too much. The Changelings in Neighpon couldn’t be that bad right? They were Changelings just like him and his parents, and probably had families to feed and protect so, what was her reason for being so hostile towards them? Heck, even the more patriotic Changelings around the village didn't seem to this much personal resentment towards the Chenjinese so, what's with her?

“You do realize her still being on that throne is purely symbolic right?” Netwing replied to her with an exasperated look, “and she's only considered a puppet princess after the Chenjinese overthrew our monarchy a few decades ago—combined with the most recent mess those elitist Unicorns from Prance nearly put us through just ten years ago. She's still sitting safe and sound in that palace out of necessity in case our country goes to war again–”

“We’re already in a war, Netwing, yet not a single drone has been born out of that Changeling,” Stonefly interjected with a wave of her hoof, her eye twitched as she saw Netwing open his mouth to retort, slamming her hoof on the table as she snapped, “and don’t even say it hasn’t been officially declared as a war, we both know that doesn’t matter! Chrysalis has already managed to influence the North and has made tensions with the Neighpon Empire even worse. It’s only a matter of time before she manages to take over the capital in the South, we’re all damned once she does.”

The silence in the room was incredibly loud, and Duy felt as though his nervous gulp was audible to not just his parents, but the entire village at this point. This was awkward and he really needed to change the subject onto something more lighthearted, he hated being reminded of the conflict currently ripping his country apart; so what better thing was there to talk about then–

“So about my marriage to Silkmoth! I think it’d be best if we started practicing for our wedding ceremony as soon as possible, preferably tomorrow night! Right after we have dinner with her family like Stickbug suggested earlier, right? Doesn’t that sound really fun? Ooh, and maybe I can even convince Dragonfly to help me put extensions on my mane to make me look like one of those supermodels from Chenji; you know, like Majushage Matsumoto or Asagao Yamaguchi?" he knew he was word vomiting at the moment but, he was trying his best to forget what his mother had said and this was the only way he knew how.

He was becoming more and more aware by the minute how much he despised hearing about politics from his parents and the current issues surrounding his beloved country, and all he could do as a male of his age was pray to the gods and his ancestors that it will all pass over soon. He should only be focusing on the trivial stuff coming up, like the Tết Nguyên Đán, yeah, that sounded nice. He'll be spending time with his future wife and maybe preparing for the idea of having a family, it was only a matter of time.

His parents shared a look, and after a few moments of silence Stonefly scoffed out, "fine, whatever. We need to discuss the finer details of the official ceremony coming up, and I don't need him embarrassing us in front of everybody if he doesn't practice tomorrow."

"I agree," Netwing sighed, not finding any reason to argue with his wife's decision for once.

He then got up, quietly murmuring about needing to change out of his sweaty clothes before putting his half-eaten plates away and leaving the room. Duy’s mother took this as a chance to also push her trứng vịt lộn aside, mumbling, “I think it’s high time you explain to him that you’re supposed to eat this within an hour and not leave it out overnight. It’s no wonder you keep getting sick from this.”

Stonefly then got up from the table and made her way out of the kitchen, likely following Netwing to their shared bedroom; leaving Duy alone to deal with her leftovers alongside his.

Unfortunately for him, he had completely lost his appetite.

“Can’t you do anything different for once,” Stonefly grumbled once she pulled away from her husband’s lips.

Her and her husband were currently curled up on their small bed, attempting for the nth time that week to be intimate for once. They both figured they had a little time to try it out again while their son was busy cleaning up the kitchen and hopefully his room if he listened to what his father ordered the night before. Now unfortunately for them, she had a severe lack of patience and he couldn't stand her snarky remarks that happened nearly every time they even try to do something.

Netwing gave her a dirty look as he attempted to push her off of his chest, “perverted old hag,” he retorted with less bite than usual.

She stifled a cackle as she laid beside him, “oh please, you’re one to talk. Whatever happened to you? Where’s the passionate boy I met in our youth, did he disappear alongside his estranged harlot of a brother?”

"For once can you not bring Odonata into this!"

"I was actually talking about the other one," she smirked.

Netwing attempted to think of a proper response, but couldn't think of a single one that could possibly hurt her in return. "Whatever," was all he could say to not further escalate that argument again.

A part of him was tempted to just roll out of bed and go help his son clean up, but another part was willing to ignore her comments and just go back to trying if she wasn't already turned off. "Do you want me to go back on top or something?" Stonefly questioned with a cocked eyebrow, not looking impressed at all with him just laying there in thought.

"Oh please," he retorted, "like you'd allow it to go any other way, that position is practically a given with us."

"Maybe I would allow it to go any other way if it weren't for your," she pointed downwards, "issues down there."

Netwing bit his cheek, face flushing at the implication his 'issue' was like an STD or something. "Well, I'm sorry but there's no changing my little 'issue'," he mumbled as he rolled onto his side to instead face the wall, not in the mood to keep looking at her.

Stonefly, in turn, scooted further away from him, purposely grumbling loud enough for her already embarrassed husband to hear, "it's not like I willingly married you while knowing about you were sterile, it's no wonder my parents think of me as a joke."

Netwing glared at his wife as he sat up, “oh really! Then if my fertility issues bother you so much, why don’t you go find some other form of entertainment?! I’m not stopping you because I can’t bring myself to care at this point.”

She rolled her eyes while responding with, “too much time and work to find someone else willing to do so, besides why bother when you’re right here and not unwilling to engage with me every other night. But I do think it’d be fun to damage your ego even more by taking in one of those Kỳ Lân as a lover; to think a wretched beast like that could possibly satisfy me more than you isn’t too far fetched, don’t you think?”

“Can we stop this conversation and just get ready to leave for the Nguyễn's place? It's already almost noon and we're clearly going nowhere with it,” Netwing groaned, wiping his hoof down his face in exasperation.

A loud guffaw escaped Stonefly, "Seriously, you're jealous!? My, my, my loveliest Binh," her sarcasm dripped off her lips like venom but... it still served to send a shiver up Netwing's spine.

He was almost completely sure the last time she uttered his birth name was during their wedding night, and it served to do nothing but make his breath hitch in a disgusting mixture of awful heartache and faint arousal. By the gods he was not in the mood to do this right now, especially after she had so blatantly called out his deepest insecurity about himself! He wouldn't... he couldn't let himself feel weak in the knees around her, not like he used to when things were much different.

"You would really be hurt if I slept with a Kỳ Lân, or is it just your pride that hurts at the thought?" She asked, sounding nearly genuine if it weren't for the shit-eating grin on her stupidly alluring face.

Netwing pushed away the dull ache in his chest by instead snapping back at her, "I. Don't. Care. In fact, I hope you leave me for one and torment them instead of me! Anything I've 'done to you' was never intentional or something I chose on my own accord, and you know this!" He started moving towards his dresser, using his magic to open his drawers as he used his hooves to start untying the tiny hooks on his áo dài's front flap as he continued his rant, "I still can't believe there was a time I was excited to spend the rest of my life with you, and I even dreamed of starting a family with you but clearly that can't happen because it's apparently my fault! You're not the only one who has a family that's ashamed of them, and I absolutely despise how you act like that."

As he carelessly tossed his now undone áo dài to the side, taking a moment to pause his rant to debate with himself if he should keep his yếm on or change it for a cleaner one. This ended up distracting him from the hoofsteps behind him; a gasp escaped his lips as he was suddenly roughly grabbed by his mane, being pulled harshly backwards to face his wife.

"U-uh?! Stonefly—"

She proceeded to yank him into a possessive kiss, ignoring his feeble attempts to push her away from him. Netwing whimpered in discomfort as she attempted to deepen the kiss, and once it was clear he wasn't going to let her go further, she pulled away from his lips with an audible 'smack'. Her husband looked as though he wanted to shrink in on himself, and at the moment she couldn't bring herself to care about his abashed state.

"No matter how much we both hate this arrangement," she hissed against his ear, "you're still mine until the day we die, and even though I can't stand your mere presence at times; you're still just pretty enough to keep me somewhat entertained, even if it's fading with age. Understand, my darling Binh?"

Netwing nodded, lips quivering as he tried his best to hold back his urge to cry at her words. However, he listened to that voice in the back of his head, giving him hope by telling him that she was finally done with her cruelty towards him and would let go any second now.

That little voice turned out to be completely wrong as something else seemed to cross her mind, and one of her hooves cupped his cheek as a sickly sweet smile spread across her lips, "oh, and another little thing I've been concerned about; and I'm sure you can quell those minor... fears of mine if you're just honest with me."

"Wha-what?" Netwing stammered, not liking her sudden shift of tone.

Was she about to yell at him about pushing the wedding of their son back until he was sixteen, about how much he babied and protected Duy from the outside world because he was too weak-willed and it was his 'fragile nature as a male' that was causing it? Or was it the original issue they've fought about for years, the idiotic decision he made sixteen whole years ago to take in his bastard of a nephew to save his brother's neck?

"Did you really think I didn't notice you eying Orchid this morning?"

Wait, what?

"I mean, are you seriously that shameless, especially when her own loyal husband is right there?" She sneered with an empty laugh, causing a look of complete confusion to slowly appear on Netwing's face as he processed her words.

He shook his head desperately, "no, no, no! I swear there's nothing like that going on, I promise!" He might've not cared if she were to become unfaithful to him but he was petrified of doing the same, and he would never stoop low enough to seduce someone else's wife... even if he couldn't stand Dragonfly.

Stonefly simply stared at him with a scowl, before leaning forward again to sniff sharply at his neck. Once she was completely sure she couldn't smell a hint of Orchid's scent—as well as not finding the sour scent of uncertainty or dishonesty emanating from him—she released him from her grasp with a harsh shove back towards his dresser. "Put on something pretty for once, won't you," was all she said before she left him alone to sulk.

Netwing sucked in a deep breath, trying his hardest to get rid of the lump in his throat. He could get through this, if he's as strong as he believes he can be, he'll be alright. A part of him was tempted to throw on one of his more ratty áo bà ba just to spite her but then again, was he really in the mood to deal with her dirty looks all day? He could also just put his áo dài back on if he was willing to ignore the fact he was sweating in it earlier, as he stupidly decided to wear that instead of one one his áo bà bas while picking up rice from the fields.

He couldn't bring himself to care at the moment, finally getting back up to switch out his white yếm for a vermillion one; he figured the special occasion called for the more festive color. The only thing he could convince himself to wear at the moment was the loose yếm and a black váy đụp that was just long enough to brush against the floor once he pulled it on. He then dug through his drawers to find a canary yellow silk sash to wrap around his waist, tying it just tight enough to make his waist look slimmer than usual. His mane was easier to figure out since his go-to style was a sleek bun, using snail slime to make it silky rather than stringy; and decorated with two hairpins, each having little apricot blossoms carved at the ends.

After one look in the dingy mirror, he smiled weakly at himself while brushing away loose strands of his mane; for once he felt... almost beautiful.

You know, maybe that's enough for him.

Whatever else happened right after that was a bit of a blur, as he was suddenly standing next to his wife by the front door. She had said something to him about Duy leaving to go hang out with a friend while they spoke to the Nguyễns; she had also ordered him to go straight to the Nguyễn's house at around 6:00 for dinner so they had no reason to worry about snatching him up later.

Netwing tried his best to ignore her stares towards him, instead choosing to stare straight down at the floor. "Not what I had in mind," Stonefly admitted while lifting his chin with her hoof, her lecherous gaze making him cringe in annoyance, "but, I'm definitely not complaining."

Author's Note

guess who's back 😀

leave thoughts and predictions down below!!

Translations:
Bò kho - Vietnamese pot-roast beef stew (yes Changelings do eat meat, I portray them as both omnivores and capable of consuming emotions).
Trứng vịt lộn - this is that one dish with the fertilized egg, where you can see the bird embryo in it (surprisingly pretty popular in southeast Asian countries).
Nước mía - sugarcane juice.
áo dài - Vietnam's national dress.
Yếm - it resembles a western halter top but was once widely used by Vietnamese women as an undergarment.
Kỳ lân - Mythical creature known in some countries in both east Asia and southeast Asia (in the show they're known as kirin, but I use the Vietnamese spelling since well this is set in a country based on Vietnam).
Lễ Chạm Ngỏ - easiest way to explain this is basically a pre-engagement ceremony, where the parents of the bride/groom to be will meet and discuss if their children should get married to one another.
Chenji - Change in Japanese, and I use this for Changeling "ethnicity" Chenjinese, from Neighpon (Japan).
Tết Nguyên Đán/Tết - one of the most important celebrations in Vietnam, the festival of the first day of the new year.
Váy đụp - a long black skirt thats often paired with the yếm.

Bonus
Majushage Matsumoto: minor reference to Japanese supermodel Hiroko Matsumoto
Asagao Yamaguchi: minor reference to Japanese supermodel Sayoko Yamaguchi