OCT 17 Saturday.

A moment after I leave the room Celestia follows behind, I stop for a moment and let her take the lead, I would have no idea where I'm going. "So how do you want to do this?" I ask while two guards fall in step behind us.

Celestia seems to put on a more reserved and calm tone and expression than when we were alone. "I'll mostly be there to observe the magic while you can ask questions and test anything that comes to mind, although they might be less casual with me there."

I nod my agreement and try to think of something to pass the time, these hallways are too damn long. A thought that does come to mind is alicorns, and the snake I met recently. The Ruby Snake I found was an aberrant member of its race, and that is a very rare thing.

Before I dive head first into this I probably should explain something. Aberrant is a term used to describe any being that is born different from the normal members of their species, this applies to all living beings, plants, animals, and even ponies.

A unique being is a living thing that has changed so much it can no longer be considered the same race as when it began, and it has to be the only one of its type.

A unique being normally comes from an aberrant member of a race, something is born slightly different and magic builds on that to change even more. While the process by which they change from one to the other is called magical metamorphosis.

So my question is this, are alicorns an aberrant of the pony race? Well, that's complicated in several ways.

Pony is not really one species, it's a collection of subspecies that all call themselves the same thing. Even earth ponies aren't like the common ancestor we all share, which are normally called the ancient-ponies. They were in the middle of the road and were just normal ponies that were also sentient.

How? We don't know, magic, gods, fate, so many things could be the cause but that's not the point. Alicorns are very rare when you compare them to the population of all ponies, so are they aberrant ponies? Or unique ponies? They do have traits from all ponies.

Wait... Do they share traits with Batponies? I'm actually not sure. Why not just ask? I turn to Celestia. "Something just occurred to me, and now I won't be able to sleep without knowing," I ask levelly and make sure to not be too informal around others, namely the guards.

Celestia is calm and nods. "Well, we don't want you losing sleep, what occurred to you?" She asks back, I can tell she wants to joke more but can't right now.

"An alicorn has traits from all ponies right?" She nods and looks interested. "Does that include Batponies?" In response, she once again nods.

"Yes, a good example is meat. All ponies can eat it but only Batponies require it and crave it, as do I. But I personally find it more interesting that the Batpony traits I have are not very prominent, it's mostly small unnoticed things." She explains.

I raise a brow. "Really? If it's less than the other types, then what type is the most prominent?"

"That's why I find it so interesting. All the others are much more balanced and seem like a more even split. but not the Batpony part, it is simply less. My best guess is because they have the largest difference between them and every other tribe of pony"

"Hu... that is odd." I retreat into my thoughts again. Maybe harmony has a role to play in that part? Or population size? Batponies do make up the smallest amount of the pony population. No matter the reason it does show alicorns have the traits, which leads me back to the same question.

I know alicorns come from harmony in some way, but what is harmony? Some force of fate? The collective will and emotion of all things? Just a straight-up god or an aspect of reality? I refocus, that doesn't matter right now, back to the question at hoof.

Aberrant ponies do exist, but it's not a common thing by any means, especially if that aberration is magical in nature. Ponies have more stable magic than most other beings, probably because of how much we interact with magic, but this also makes it less common to see changes in our magic.

I have read of a few cases of aberrant ponies while researching the snake and it's odd. The aberrations are normally very small, to the point most can live their entire lives without knowing about it, but some are bigger and more drastic. But there is a line where aberration meets simple genetic disorders, and from what I know they are hard to tell apart.

I'm about to throw my mind deeper down this rabbit hole but stop as we arrive at a door.

I slip on a professional mask and adjust my bags, I turn to Celestia as she looks back at me. "Ready when you are, your Majesty." I can't help but verbally jab her a bit. I see her swap out one of her golden hoof shoes and taps it twice, good she's being slightly paranoid, I approve.

She just smiles. "Then let's see how well your invention works, Mr. Evergreen." She grabs back and I realize that I don't enjoy being called Mr.

She opens the door and two guards walk in first with her next and me entering last. The room is mostly just as simple as before, but I'm surprised by what I see.

I see Cricket and Cicada bowing to Celestia as we enter, but I also see a Changeling I don't recognize. They have the same body shape and are also bowing, but even with my limited knowledge of changelings I can tell they aren't comfortable or happy.

Their deep green eyes and wings, they keep shifting to the guards and Celestia while they jitter slightly every once in a while. "Please stand." Celestia has that royal tone again but makes sure to not look too intimidating. "This is Mr. Evergreen, I believe you two have met him before?"

They all stand up and Cricket is the one to answer. "Yes, your Majesty." She keeps her words simple and calm.

"Good, he has a few questions and something to ask your help with. I ask that you accommodate him as best you can." Celestia doesn't explain anything else and sits down a little out of the way so we have room. There is a pause as the Changelings see if she'll do anything, but Celestia stays silent and simply waits as a staff pony brings in tea for all of us.

I step forward and greet all of them with a nod. "A pleasure to see you again Miss, Cricket. Miss, Cicada." I keep myself even more professional than the last time we talked, I don't want to embarrass Celestia now, do I?

They seem to relax a little at my friendly demeanor. "Same, you need help with something?" Cricket is still the only one to talk, but before answering her I turn to the new Changeling.

"Before that, hello I don't believe we've met before. Shade Evergreen." I greet them calmly.

They seem very on edge, probably because of Celestia's presence. "..... Slither." I'm a little surprised to hear a male voice, and then it clicks. I doubt Celestia would try to pony-nap another Changeling without telling me, so this is probably the one we captured.

Well, at least they are out of the dungeon. I nod, "A pleasure, I have things to work on so I won't be taking up much of your time." I lie a little and walk over to the table in the room before placing the ruby on the table. Cicada smiles at it and immediately walks over to look it over.

"Miss, Cicada- ."

She interrupts me. "Just Cicada is fine."

I don't skip a beat and nod. "Cicada, this is something that needs your help in testing and I'd also like to ask you a few more questions. You remember what we talked about last time?" From what I remember she enjoyed talking about magic and that seems to still be the case.

She nods with a little excitement. "Ya, we talked about what and how we eat, is this about that?" She asks back while looking over the small ruby carefully.

I return her nod. "Yes, this is a prototype. Still being worked on, I've been tasked with asking for your help."

She smiles, as Cricket sits down next to her. Slither seems to just be glancing at Celestia and staying as far away from her as possible. "Ooo, this could be fun. What does it do?" She really does seem to like magic, my kind of person.

I gently lift the gem with my hoof. "This is an attempt to capture and store emotional magic for Changelings to eat." I don't beat around the bush and tell them bluntly, and the reaction is about what you'd expect.

Even the quiet Slither had their eyes widened somewhat. Cricket looked even more shocked, a shocked Changeling is not something I ever thought I'd see, but here we are. And Cicada looked both shocked and very excited. "Really!? How? Does it work?" She moves forward and gets a little too close for comfort.

I don't back up and thankfully Cricket pulls Cicada back a second later. As her excitement rises Cicada starts to buzz, literally. Turns out an excited Changeling can vibrate their wings slightly, I wonder why. I don't let myself get distracted and answer Cicada before she gets even more excited.

"How, is something I'm not allowed to tell you about. We don't know if it works and that's part of what we need help with, but that isn't the problem." She is disappointed but perks up a second later while staring at the ruby with interest. "The problem is that the prototype collects all emotional magic, we're just not sure if that will have any side effects or potential problems."

I grab the gem and activate it partly. This specific version of the spell can also partly release the magic, just like the normal emotional shield. "Tell me, what do you feel?" I question while taking out some paper and a quill.

Cicada is not jumping around anymore and seems almost transfixed by the gem, Cricket gets a little closer and is also interested, hell even Slither walks a little closer to the table. "Well, it's...." Cicada starts but is interrupted by Cricket.

"It's odd, it feels like everything was smashed together," I note that down quickly.

"Ya, it does, I wonder." There is a stretch of silence before Cricket shakes Cicada with what I presumed is an annoyed and worried expression.

"WHAT are you doing!? He just said it could have side effects and they didn't test it yet!" I'm a little confused by this, but it doesn't take me long to realize she just tried to feed off of the gathered magic. I turn to a guard that has a small white band that signifies they are a medic, I nod to them.

The guard immediately walks over to us and starts casting a few spells on Cicada, who protests. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just got caught up in the.... odd flavor." She says while moving her forelimbs around.

After a moment the medic turns to me and nods before moving back again, I give a quick nod in thanks before turning back to Cicada. "I'd ask that you please not worry us like that again. That being said, is there anything of note?"

Cicada is still inspecting the gem. "Hmmmm, OH, me?" I raise a brow and nod. "Umm, yes there is. It tastes odd, normally a pony's emotions are less mixed and more separate. It's really odd, it is edible and I feel fine, but the taste is somewhat... bland I guess?"

I take notes of everything that happens. "Normally all emotions taste different, this just sort of tasted like nothing, it's not unpleasant, just plain." She seems to think about that for a few moments. "It's like white bread, it's nice but eating it every day wouldn't be pleasant."

I stop at that. "Can you think of any reason for that?"

She tilts her head. "Maybe? It could be all the emotions canceling themselves out." I motion for her to continue. "Some Changelings can use specific emotions to counter other ones, it's not precise in any way but it does work." I knew they could manipulate emotions but that is interesting.

"What do you think of this as a food source? And further, do you have any ideas to help our work?" I ask, feedback is important after all. Before she can answer there is a knock on the door, a guard walks in and quickly whispers something to Celestia while we all go silent.

Celestia stands up and looks at all of us. "It seems something demands my attention, please report to me later." She says that last part to me, I give a single nod, and she doesn't say anything else before leaving us alone with the guards. This is around the time our meeting should have normally ended so she's probably just heading back to work.

I turn back to Cicada but stop as Slither walks over to the table, I'm surprised by the massive shift in his body language. He goes from reserved and skittish to confident. He seems to want to say something to me but Cicada speaks first. "Well, to answer your questions. It would work just fine, but living off of only this would not be fun. As for ideas, you could try collecting a specific emotion?"

It's the obvious solution, but still something to point out. "Yes, that's something we've considered. Can you think of any way to accomplish that?" But before I can answer we're interrupted.

"And who are you, pony?" I'm thrown off by the interruption and the hostile tone he takes with me, his body also shows an almost arrogant side.

Well, this should be interesting. "I work for the princess." I am blunt and make it clear that's all he's getting.

He doesn't take this well and even moves closer to the table. "In what way? You come in here demanding answers, for this? No, this is something else." I have no idea what he's talking about, but I keep my calm even as a guard behind me starts to move over.

I hold up a hoof. "It's fine." The guard backs off. I take a moment and really look over this Changeling, it seems I get to meet an asshole today. I keep my professional tone and answer him. "Yes and no. This is about feeding Changelings, but it's also about learning more, you are unlike anything we hav-"

"OH! Don't give me that nonsense. This is about you wanting to win." Cicada and Cricket look very annoyed and a little alarmed at his words.

"SLITHER! We talked about this, accusing them will get us nowhere fast." Cricket says while trying to shut him up. Seems Slither is like me, a somewhat cynical and paranoid person.

I interrupt them all with a stern tone. "No need Ms. Cricket," I say with a calm tone, this guy is nothing compared to some people I've talked to before, and I know just how to shut him down. "And Mr. Slither." He turns to me with what I know is an angry expression, he even hisses slightly. "Please don't interrupt again." I turn back to Cicada. "Continue please."

She raises a brow as Slither just gets more angry at my disregard. "Well, I don't know how to help there. But if you do try I would recommend trying to gather positive emotions, they are for the most part more filling for us." I nod my thanks and note that down.

"Are there any emotions that you consider easier to collect?" This doesn't have much to do with this topic as I collect emotions in a different way, but I'm curious.

"Hey! Don't ignore me." I ignore him. Both Cicada and Cricket seem to understand what I'm doing and decide to do the same. "HEY!" He shrugs again.

Cicada for her part seems to be trying not to laugh as Slither steams over us ignoring him. "Normally simple emotions are easier, but not by that much, and they are also less filling. It's a trade-off that can be hard to balance."

I nod. "Well, I only have-" I'm interrupted again.

"PONY! DON'T IGNORE ME!" He keeps shouting, and I keep ignoring him, after a moment of me finishing a note he just storms off to the other side of the room. The best way to deal with people like that is simple, ignore them.

"I only have one question left. You talked about pure emotion last time, could you produce some if we provide enough raw emotion?"

Cicada shrugs. Cricket answers me, "I know how, but I'm not good at it so I'll need a lot. And this stuff probably won't work." She points at the shield. "It's too mixed for me to separate, I'm simply not skilled enough."

I give both of them a small smile. "Well, I believe that's all. Thank you both for your time today." I turn to Slither. "Same to you Mr. Slither." I make sure to sound genuine.

"BUCK YOU, WEAK PONY!" He says that like an insult, I simply keep my smile and nod.

Cicada nods with a smile at Slither's response. "It's no problem, this seems important and I'm glad to help." She seems happy despite our company.

Cricket also nods. "Same, please thank the ponies working on it for me." I know she's probably just being diplomatic, but the gesture is still appreciated.

"Then I wish you all a good day." I end the conversation and leave the room with a glance at the brooding Slither, fucking with him more could be fun. I hum a tune while walking through the hallways, today was fun, despite that damned glitter. I can't help but chuckle at the memory, I'll get her back for that.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :D
Current year is 993

Angy Changeling. Also this chapter might not be that interesting, but I felt is was important.