“So you’re the reason I reacted so quickly during that attack?”

“Did you think I’d leave you without any help at all, Phary? I may not have been able to put Felix Monilia around your neck, but I was able to share some abilities with you. For a moment, at least, you seemed to lose control of it after a bit.”

“I started thinking about what was going on and I lost my focus.”

“That would do it, yes.”

“Wait, wait, so Midlight – who’s apparently also alive – found you?” Ocellus interjected.

She, Fortuna, Thorax, Pharynx, and Apex were having lunch in Pharynx’s room, so the beta changeling could rest. Fortuna was sitting beside her older son, occasionally pausing in keeping up her end of the conversation so she could fuss over him.

“Yes, she found me – Phary, don’t sit like that, you’re going to aggravate the wound.”

“Nightburn is going to flip.” Ocellus muttered, taking a sip of her drink as Pharynx glared good-naturedly at his mother and promptly adjusted his position. “So then where is she?”

“Busy finishing a job I asked her to take care of.” Fortuna replied, biting into her steak. “We’ve become an invisible good force of sorts, between right and wrong. Obviously, we’ll protect more than our own kind, not that any creature has any idea we exist.”

“So wha’ is she doin’?” Apex asked, sitting up and wagging his tail.

“Oh, she’s dealing with mob bosses attempting a takeover of the Manehatten economy.” Fortuna rubbed his head gently. “I could tell you some stories of our adventures later, if you like.”

Apex nodded eagerly, clearly anticipating knowing more about the unreformed changeling’s mysterious actions as a secret warrior. Fortuna smiled, looking up at Thorax, who smiled at her shyly.

“I can’t believe Chrysalis never found either of you.” Thorax finally spoke, and Fortuna chuckled softly.

“Two reasons why, Thory. One, on top of using disguises, we went by aliases no changeling would ever connect with us.”

“Wha’ was yours?” Apex asked interestedly.

“My code name is Gilded Saber, Midlight’s is Songwing.” Fortuna explained, smiling. “Pretty clever code names, if I say so myself.”

“So what was the other reason?” Ocellus asked, clearly interested.

“Well, we’ve never had to deal with changelings themselves until now. We know their tricks, of course, but having been essentially stripped of our ranks and ready information supply, we couldn’t pinpoint the forces. We thought it was best to just leave them be, as Chrysalis clearly wasn’t plotting another big takeover.”

“But then what about the second invasion? When Chrysalis had all the royals replaced?”

“We’d heard of the attacks, but we weren’t near any of the targeted cities, we couldn’t get there in time. By the time we made it to Canterlot to attempt to subtly reveal the imposters, Chrysalis had been defeated. Imagine our surprise when we discovered just who defeated her.”

Thorax blushed sheepishly, while Apex beamed, puffing his chest up, and Pharynx chuckled softly.

“You made me proud, you two.” Fortuna smiled softly as she ate her meal.

“It was mostly Thorax.” Pharynx objected, but she merely smiled at him and reached to rub his head.

“Don’t sell yourself short Phary, you were right by his side the whole time, protecting him.” Fortuna smiled at her son, before turning to Apex. “So, you’ve got yourself a boyfriend, have you?”

Apex blushed and nodded shyly. “H-His name is Zenith.”

“How cute!” Fortuna smiled, then grinned. “I remember when Phary and Thory confessed to me about their first crushes.”

Pharynx and Thorax both turned bright red, swiftly looking away. Ocellus, on the other hoof, leaned closer with a wide, interested grin. “Who?!”

Fortuna chuckled. “Well, Thorax used to have a crush on Tibius, though he grew out of that. Phary used to have a huge crush on Hunter, I don’t know if he’s grown out of that one…”

“Hunter?!” Ocellus and Apex stared at Pharynx in shock, which he decidedly ignored, though he was still blushing hard.

“M-Mom, I have a girlfriend.”

“You do?!” Fortuna grinned wickedly. “Who?”

“Her name is Tempest Shadow. She’s a unicorn, Princess Twilight Sparkle’s personal guard.” Thorax informed Fortuna, who snickered.

“Can’t keep away from those strong warrior types, can you, Phary?”

“Thorax has a girlfriend too! A dragon named Ember!” Pharynx quickly announced loudly. Ocellus rolled over laughing at their attempts to throw the other under Fortuna's attention instead.

“Oh does he now?” Fortuna smirked at Thorax as he hid his face. “Ember? I seem to remember hearing something about a new Dragon Lord named Ember.”

“W-We’re… close.” Thorax admitted, blushing all while glaring playfully at Pharynx.

“Well, I’m very proud of you both.” Fortuna then turned to Ocellus with a shy smile. “I’m lesbian, you know.”

“So am I!” Ocellus replied eagerly, and the golden changeling/s smile widened, ruffling Ocellus’ head frill.

“Well then, I can’t wait to trade gossip with you about romantic endeavors.” Ocellus beamed as Apex clambered over to sit on Fortuna’s lap. She chuckled and put a hoof around him, holding him in place.

“For’una, is Midligh’ gonna come back too?”

“Oh, of course she is, little one. You know, you can call me Tuney like Phary does, if you like. Or Forty, anything you want to really.” Fortuna booped Apex's muzzle gently, and he giggled. “As I was saying, Middy and I’ve been sending messages to each other since I arrived. We like to keep in touch when we have different missions, make sure the other is safe.”

“Sounds like you might just love her.” Pharynx teased playfully, causing Fortuna to swat at him gently.

“Oh hush Phary, eat your food.” Fortuna said, blushing as she nudged his plate closer to him. The beta just smirked at her knowingly. “Anyway, she knows I decided to reveal myself, so no doubt she’ll be making her appearance as soon as she can grab our associate.”

“Associate? I thought you said she was alone in Manehattan.” Thorax questioned. Next to him, Pharynx had finished his food and was taking a drink of water.

“Oh, she is.” Fortuna ate calmly, pausing before continuing. “But we had another mission in play that our fellow decided he could tackle alone.”

“There’s three of you?” Ocellus asked.

“Well, yes, every good team has three or more creatures, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Who’s the third?” Apex piped up curiously. “Wha’s his code name?”

“Transmorpho.” Fortuna chuckled, taking a sip of her drink. “Pretty close to his actual name though, so I’m surprised noling ever caught onto him, he’s also pretty hard to miss.”

“So what’s his real name?” Thorax asked.

“Oh, his real name is Metamorphosis Brook.” Fortuna replied, finishing up her food. “Otherwise known as my cousin, and you and Phary’s biological father.”

Pharynx spat out the water onto Thorax, who was too stunned to react.

“Our what?!”

Author's Note

And on that note, I will see you in a couple weeks for the final edition of this series, Eternally Paternal!

~Melody Song