SEP 15 Friday.

I stare at the Changeling with a little concern. "Are you ok, Miss. Cicada? This is a test and if you are hurt we need to know as fast as possible." I use a tone I've started to use when dealing with hospital patients, a tone of clinical bluntness.

Cadance also looks a tad bit concerned, but after a moment she makes a few notes, probably something to do with the love magic she can sense, I'll have to ask for a copy later. The Changeling nods a bit shakily and takes a breath, "N-No, no. I'm, fine, it's just..." She slowly says, still looking very distracted.

I give her a moment and she looks at the ruby seemingly transfixed. "You- You said this gathers LOVE right? Like, you didn't get it from another Changeling or it doesn't need their help? Anything like that?" Her tone starts to regain its steadiness. I note the reaction for reference, it seems this is a bigger deal to Changelings than I thought.

I nod looking a tad bit confused. "Yes and no, it was based on the idea of how you described Changelings feed. It gathers love from around it and stores it, that's an oversimplification but it is accurate. It doesn't need anything else though." I will be honest as I need good data for later work, and lying won't give me good data.

Her breath quickens a bit and she looks, honestly I can't describe the emotions on her face. "I- oh, this is. OH! You- YOU ACTUALLY DID IT! You beautiful ponies! You did it!" She shouts a little but quickly regains control after glancing at Cadance. Even then she still looks absolutely thrilled, even shuffling from leg to leg as she sits like an impatient foal.

Cadance nearly giggles a bit at the outburst but hides it well, I nod and can't help but smile a small bit at her reaction. "Well, thank you. But I still actually need you to tell me if it's actually working, this is just a prototype after all." I tamper with her expectations, which doesn't work in the slightest.

She takes a few deep breaths to calm down and nods quickly. "Right, ok!" She seems to think for a moment. "Yes, I. It definitely worked, the amount of love in there was a good amount, I think, it's hard to sense it. But, it was EXTREMELY pure. I've- Well, I've never eaten love, or any emotion actually, that pure before."

I'm happy to hear it does work, the comment about purity is interesting though. "Good to know, can you tell me any downsides? Discomfort? Pain? Also, how does something like purity affect feeding?" I ask a few questions and flip to a new page to make more notes.

She tilts her head and the smile on her face shows off her many teeth, I wonder what function they have? Defense? "No? It felt a bit odd that I couldn't feel the love before putting my hoof inside, but that's it." That also confirms they can't sense the love easily. "And purity? A lot, It's complicated though."

I motion for her to continue with a hoof. "Well, you remember what I said about how we eat and make pure Emotion?" I nod. "Something important is that we can only pull emotion into us if it's close. Some have more range and some less, for me it's only six inches away from my shell, that's pretty normal from what I know." Now THAT is interesting.

The ruby has a range of ten feet, and with a better gem that could be extended much more, it seems I really did copy their method. "Normally Changelings pull all emotion into themselves, and skilled Changelings can pull emotions with more accuracy and concentrate that emotion into Pure Emotion, but that name isn't really accurate." She looks at the gem again with almost a wishful look.

She takes a breath. "I was never part of a hive, they are the best at making pure Emotion, but I've tried a few types, even pure love. But it's never fully pure, I'd say the best a Changeling can make is eighty percent of a single emotion, the rest being a mix of others." huh, it seems they have something like natural currency.

If they can only form something of that purity then it could mean a few things for us. "So, why does it matter? Purity I mean, is there a difference in effect for you? Is it better?" I ask, wanting more context as Cicada still seems distracted by her own thoughts on everything.

She nods quickly. "Yes, it's very important. It matters because we can only absorb so much emotion at one time, you can train to have a higher limit but there is a limit to how much we can eat, but not all emotions are equal. And gathering emotion takes effort, so if you expend too much effort for not enough food, you will still starve. It gets worse if you can only eat subpar emotions, you can stuff yourself and still not have enough."

I raise a concerned brow at that. "Wait, the first attempt to gather all emotions, is even viable as a food source?" It seems my first piece of work was not as effective as I originally thought.

She shakes her rapidly and shows a smile "No, it's still absolutely amazing, not as amazing as THIS but... Anyway, that problem comes from eating mostly negative emotions, you ponies are so happy that even that messy mix is enough to feed us, it's not that filling though. For other races, it can be more difficult." She explains before reaching out a hoof to touch the ruby very gently.

I made several notes on that. She looks back to me finally, "Right, purity. The more pure an emotion the easier it is to absorb, and the less is wasted on eating it. It's like, ugg. OH! Eating a soft food, you don't need to chew as much and it's easier. It's why Pure Emotion is better to eat." She moves a hoof away from the gem, almost looking afraid to damage it.

"Also, with better emotions, especially love, it lasts us longer and fills us more, it lets us overfeed. That l-love, was enough for the entire day for me, maybe more, I barely even absorbed any." She says that last part more to herself than me. "You, can I ask who made this? THIS is, I can't even describe what this means to us. I feel fuller than ever." I nearly shudder seeing that familiar look of reverence some ponies used when talking about Celestia. :By magic, FUCK no:

I nod with my best passive look. "Unfortunately no, I'm not allowed to tell you. But I can pass on your thanks to them." I say levelly while ignoring Cadance looking at me from the side. "Well, I would like to test it again, and I'd like you to try and guess the purity if you can, just a general range, nothing really accurate." I motion to the ruby and try to come off as less demanding.

She looks surprised at the offer and her eyes glance at the shield in the air. "Umm, how much?" I raise a brow. "I mean, this probably took a while to gather, consuming it all feels... Wasteful." She says uncertainty. From a society that values food so much I can see her point, but filling it as much as I did was easy by just walking around with it for a while in the city and my apartment.

I shrug a little. "We have plenty of time, so, just eat as much as you can. Stop if you feel anything out of place obviously, but let's see if love has much of an effect on you." I don't see why she can't eat her fill, and a part of me is just happy to see her so moved from my work. I did a good thing, and that is worth all the effort.

She still looks hesitant, but she reaches a hoof out to move it into the shield again. She closes her eyes to seemingly focus while taking a very deep breath. "O-ho, wow. Feels..." She seems to be enjoying gorging herself, probably a first for her. A moment later she moves her hoof back and takes a few quick breaths. "That was, awesome."

I take note that Changelings gain some satisfaction from eating, something to keep an eye on. "I feel, stuffed? Ya, that seems like the right word, this, is, AMAZING." She takes another breath and slouches a bit. I've noticed she's kept a more serious and mellow tone after finding out what I've made, maybe she's scared it will be taken away if she's too silly? I expect her to have some fear of food theft with the way she reacted so far.

She straightens up a bit and turns back to me. "That was, I'm not actually sure. Love that pure? I. I think it was above, ninety percent?" She says uncertainly. "But like I said, I've never eaten love this pure so take that with a big grain of salt." I finish making some notes and nod.

"Ok then, any way you can think of improving it?" She goes silent for a few moments before shaking her head. "Hmm, then I think we're done for the time being, we may call on you again if we need to test things more, are you willing? And I'd like you to also make a few notes on how long that love feeds you." I make a last note before putting my supplies away.

She nods excitedly. "Absolutely, I don't think I've ever felt this, great!" She bounces up happily and smiles at me with another teeth-filled smile. "Your Highness? Does that mean I am free to leave?" She turns to Cadance and even being next to Cadance doesn't seem to dampen her excited mood anymore.

Cadance jolts a tiny bit and puts down her own notes, what is she working on? Cadance nods with a regal posture. "Yes, I believe we're done for now, and it's getting very late in the day as it is. You may see yourself out if you don't have any more questions." She dismisses Cicada in a normal fashion for rulers.

Cicada stands up and bows quickly before turning back to me and looking uncertain. "Can I, tell, Cricket? You remember her right?" She is clearly excited to share the information with her friend but also nervous about everything. "Oh! And, can you send my thanks to whoever made this? I know you said you would but, I really do want to thank them, or hug them." She rambles on a bit and seems happy about everything.

I shrug after a moment as I can't see a reason why not. "Do you have any problem with that, Your Highness?" Cadance shakes her head while still focusing on her notes. "Then you're free to do so, just make sure it doesn't leave you two. I'm no expert on the law but this is very strictly need to know." I use a very authoritative tone and a warning tone at the end.

She pauses for a moment, her excitement put to the side so she can nod seriously. "Understood. I can promise you I won't tell anyone else, I am NOT risking something like this." She smiles again and moves a bit away from the table. "Thank you for the food, have a good night Your Highness, Mr. Mysterious." She says brightly before bouncing out of the room like a certain pink pony I know.

I wait until she's out of the room before turning back to Cadance, who's already relaxing a bit as the sun finally sets outside the window. "Mr. Mysterious? Great, now of all times I find a decent alias." I throw out a small joke to try and break any tension from interacting with an unknown being. "At least things went well, but I can already see a few places to improve things a bit, it mostly seems done though." I move the ruby back into my saddlebags while flipping through my extensive notes.

Cadance puts down her notes with a smile as I cast a magical light in the now-dark room above the table. She giggles a bit, "It would certainly be a more fitting name, kind of obvious though, and likely to be found out. But it seems you have another mare after you all the same, two already, just don't break Aunt's heart." I just glare a bit at the smug smile she has.

I sigh and deflate a bit. "Fantastic, it's like Veil Winter all over again." A thought strikes me and my ears perk up. "Actually, that's not a bad idea. It would be convenient as well, same for whenever Changelings become public knowledge." I comment out loud and add my notes.

She looks curious. "Thinking of adding it to your list of other spells? Well, you are well known by this point, and we wouldn't have to make another fake identity." She brings over some tea but stops drinking after noticing it's now cold. "As for revealing them, what makes you think that's the plan? They are doing fine in the shadows." She asks with curiosity, but also a very natural tone.

I just tilt my head a bit and chuckle. "Better question, do you think Celestia can be convinced to not do just that? Oh, she'll be slow and careful about it, but she will do it. Those pockets of hiveless Changelings were part of her little ponies the second she realized they existed and weren't a threat." I say with confidence and some humor.

Celestia is simply not the type to leave anypony in such a position if she can do something about it. Cadance nods with a laugh and smiles, "You sure have a lot of faith in her, not unplaced but still a lot." I don't deny that, Celestia is a skilled pony when it comes to ruling. "It's cute how much you trust her, and amazing how much she trusts you." She teases me for the first time in a while.

I pause and look back up to her with a slight blush trying to ignore that. I put my notes away again and stand up, "And just like that, I think I'm ready to get to my room and sort my notes before bed. All while I ignore most of what you say." I tease her back, or at least try to.

She places a hoof over her heart. "Oh, how those words wound my poor heart, just like I WILL wound your pride when I tell Aunty that you, secretly, like...." I pause mid-turn and look back at her. "Romance novels." My ears are slightly pinned back as my eyes widen. "Or maybe I won't, who knows?" That damned smile is still on her face.

I open my mouth before closing it. "I- I, hmm." I smile a bit after a moment. "Well, if I can't get to you, I'll get to your stallion." I see her look a bit surprised. "Or maybe not, he already suffered enough, his poor pelvis. Also, try a nurse outfit next time, he's going to LOVE it." I say with a smug smile before shrugging. "Or maybe I'm lying, I tend to do that a lot." I finish with a laugh.

Her eyes widen a bit and she blushes for a moment before showing me an odd look. "You really got into those books, huh? To come up with a nurse outfit, I mean, a good idea, maybe I'll pass it on to another mare." She hints bluntly and I feel a slight blush overcome me at the thought.

I take a breath as my body gets a really bad idea. :lesson learned, don't think about that, at least not around others: Cadance smiles in a way I haven't seen before as she stands up before walking over to me. She reaches out a wing, and pats me on the head. "Thanks for the suggestion, now let's get you into bed, I need to go find Shining." Her tone is weirdly, cheery.

I decide to ignore the tone and expression she has for my own safety. :Sorry Shining, or maybe you're welcome? I guess it depends on if he survives tonight: I just nod as we both leave the room. I go quiet as she seems a bit lost in her own thoughts as I'm led down a few hallways and to a door. "This is your room, see you tomorrow." She says happily before walking off.

I watch her walk away before shaking my head a little. "Mares." I open the door and settle into the room for the night.

POV shift Cadance

I walk down the hallway and approach the doors of my personal quarters, I keep my stride even and regal as I pass my guards before closing the door behind me.

After entering I noticed my little knight wasn't here yet, I'll have to wait a bit longer then, a shame. I relax my stance and happily walk over to a small drawer desk with several of my personal things on it. I open a drawer and take out a thick bound book with a wooden cover, and a name inscribed on it. Love Diary III

I smile and bring over my new, 'notes' to add. It started off small and simple, like most things. When I was still in school I'd see a few ponies act cute together, so I started writing down my thoughts on different couples. :I was really into classical romance then wasn't I?:

The idea of a pony and their romantic savior, I eventually learned not all love was like that, but I kept up my... Hobby. Little notes on different ponies, sometimes ideas as well, and occasionally I would, nudge a pony in the right direction. Only rarely though, meddling too much can be a bad thing, I learned that very quickly.

So, after making some notes about Shade's tests, I spent some time on Shade and my Aunty. Who has been nothing but adorable for the past few months, the sheer romance is almost unbearable. At least Shade is a bit more thoughtful and aware of things.

But Aunty, she's something else altogether. I may know a lot about love, and I can sense a great many things about it as well, yet I am not all-knowing. Love is not simple, and sensing it is even more complicated, it doesn't help that such an active emotion as love changes so often.

A single day could, and can, break or make a lifelong love. Even then I can sense that Shade has something, maybe not full love, but a seed perhaps. An uncertain and undetermined seed, but a seed all the same. Aunty is much harder to read though, both in magic and personality.

With Shade, I can just tease him to get a reaction or be blunt and honest to get my answers. But Aunty is far from easy to tease, and very good at using a great many words, to say nothing at all. I do feel, something there but it's muddled, not by her feelings though.

I can't tell if it's some protection, or because she's an alicorn, but I am unable to get a clear image of her love. Not even just for Shade, but her feelings and love for anypony are clouded from my senses. I'm not sure why or how, but it's definitely not her love being uncertain, I know what that feels like, and this is not that.

I never really paid much detailed attention to her love before though, a misstep in hindsight. But even if clouded, I know there is something there, but what? I refocus on the page and look over several ideas and a small list of locations drawn next to them, but I still haven't found it.

Months of looking and I CAN'T find it! Every registry and property office has NOTHING that could point me in the right direction. But all my ideas for nudging, Shade and Aunty in some direction, but I need a good staging ground. And what better place than the private getaway they both share?

It would be so perfect to set up a date there, or even just to watch them interact alone to get more ideas. But it's being stubborn, and I'm tempted to get my hooves on Shade to get some answers. This place is very important to both of them though, I can't disrupt that.

My thoughts are disrupted as my chamber doors are opened without a knock. I smile as only one pony does that, "Hello, my little knight." I turn to him and he freezes mid-step before he can say anything. He looks at me for a moment before taking a step back.

The door quickly shuts behind him and locks, he quickly looks at the door and back to me. "Buck." He mutters quietly.

I smile wider at that. "Correct."

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :}
Current year is 995

So, changelings never had much information about how they eat and all that. So I just said fuck it and tired making my one rules here, tell me what you think.

Poor, poor, Shining. Don't expect to see him next chapter. And no, the word count has nothing to do with this chapter's ending, I swear.