Changing Honesty

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

"Boss, there's a hyperspace front approaching."

The large griffon named 'Boss', who moments ago simply looked out of the window in front of him, was sitting in his big ornate chair, slowly turning his head towards the creature that had called out to him.

The voice came from another, smaller griffon, who looked intently at a monitor in front of him, trying to not attract too much attention. His body language told me everything I needed to know about him. The slight twitch of his wings, the simple fact he was shrinking in on himself as he felt Boss' gaze on him. He was a coward and afraid of offending the larger griffon in any way.

During my time on this ship, I encountered many situations where Boss lost his temper and used his massive claws to rip the offender into pieces on the slightest provocation.

"Damn Equestrian scum," Boss said in his deep booming voice. "Get into position and cut them down if they dare to set a claw on my ship. I won't let stupid prey take my bits from me!" With a rage-filled screech, he slammed his right claw into the console next to him, destroying the sensitive equipment.

I was about to leave and get into position for the upcoming battle when he turned in my direction, his piercing green eyes boring into me, sending a shiver down my spine. Or, at least, that was what I made him believe. "Storm Shadow!" 'Why did I use my real name for this?' "Get into the hangar and kill the ponies that are trying to steal from me."

"Yes, Boss," I quickly said, keeping to my constructed personality of short replays. None of the griffons liked ponies that talked back to them. I needed to stay undercover for a little bit longer.

After taking a step towards the exit, I was yanked violently backwards. Boss was holding my tail in his claw. "And if you fail me," he licked his beak, "I will feast upon your worthless flesh, no matter if you're dead or alive."

I made sure to look put off by his remark, audibly gulping and looking slightly green in the face before obeying his orders and moving into the hangar. I knew nothing would happen in there; the Equestrians would be stupid to enter through the front door, so to speak.

Exiting the bridge, I slowly trotted through the dark corridors of our ship. There was no rush after all, the ponies hadn't arrived yet.

As soon as I got into position in the hangar, the deafening sound of our cannons opening fire forced my ears to lay flat against my skull. Like most griffon weaponry, they used explosives to launch projectiles at high speeds at the enemy. These weapons were far less effective than the magic-based weapons Equestria used, but without access to magic, it was the best griffons could field. The few griffons that were in the hangar with me gripped their rifles tightly in anticipation of the coming fight.

In a few seconds, the barrage simmered down to a few interspersed thuds. Sounds of small explosions echoed throughout the ship as it was systematically disarmed and disabled. No one spoke the entire time, waiting for the inevitable arrival of the strike teams.

A plan of attack started to form in my head that I would execute as soon as the attackers set hoof on the ship. Being a unicorn sucked, but pirates hired none of the other pony tribes, using us only for our magic. I had to make do with my lack of mobility, but all the pent-up frustration from working with this pirate scum gave me a big power boost, and that magic begged to be released. A massive shock wave washed through the ship and made the griffons stumble. The sound of metal scraping against metal made my hair stand on end. The ponies had made landfall.

'Showtime.'

After charging magic into my horn, I fired a concentrated magical beam at the two closest griffons. The green magic flickered like a flame as it flew through the air. They had no time to react, even their emotions were void of any fear before the spell detonated in a bright explosion right next to them. The force of it was strong enough to rip both of them to pieces, spreading severed limbs and other pieces of flesh throughout the hangar. Some of their feathers survived the initial fireball and were slowly falling to the floor as they burned to a crisp. A big smile crossed my muzzle after the smoke cleared and the large pool of blood on the floor became visible.

I enjoyed the sight for a moment longer before the other griffons got their act together. Their emotions were of shock and surprise as they trained their rifles on me, ready to open fire. Casting a portal below me brought me right behind one of them just as they pulled the trigger. He was too slow to turn around; I drew his sword with my magic and brought it down on his right wing, his scream of pain music to my ears as I slowly moved up towards the tip of his wing. I quickly brought the sword back down to cut his other wing off completely, contemplating taking it home as a trophy but deciding against it as the other griffons trained their rifles at me again.

The griffon in my grasp, screaming in agony, was unable to fight back. My smile never faltered as his fearful emotions flooded my senses. Using the body of the now-flightless griffon as a shield against the incoming rifle fire left me disappointed when he died from the first bullet that hit him. This was a calculated risk; these rifles did not have enough penetration to punch through the body in front of me. Another round followed quickly, entering his skull and splattering his blood and brain all over me.

Readying another spell, I fired at the nearest griffon, who tried to reload his rifle and wasn't paying enough attention to his surroundings. This magical beam was a lot less condensed than the first, and after impacting with his body, produced only a tiny explosion that tore a good chunk of his armour away, scorching the flesh below. The small piece of metal did not protect him from the fire that followed and quickly spread through his feathers, setting him completely ablaze within seconds. His screams of pain would be my musical backdrop for the fight against the last two griffons, who had finally decided to draw their swords and fight me in close combat. In most cases, this was the right choice when fighting a unicorn. Unfortunately for them, I was anything but a regular unicorn.

I had to give it to them, they were rather quick on their claws. One of them cut a deep gash into my side before I could discard my dead griffon and parry his strike. His smug smile and overconfidence were his downfall. My sword swung around, beheading him in return. His blood covered me almost entirely as I watched his head roll away a little before his body hit the floor.

A stinging feeling rocked my body as the last griffon used that brief distraction to plunge his sword deep into my side. I did not wince or stagger and simply blasted him with another fire lance. He, too, caught fire, the sight of him rolling on the ground trying to put it out - a worthwhile entertainment for the discomfort he had put me through. After a minute of him flailing around in a panic, he passed out, the pain too much for him to handle. I ended his life with a stab through his heart.

The aftermath of my hoofwork was visible around the hangar: two griffons splattered across the floor, walls and even ceiling; two griffons burned to death; a friendly-fire victim with cut-up wings and a split open head; and another who was missing his head entirely. After taking in the sight for a moment, my own state made itself known - blood dripping out of the two injuries I sustained during this fight.

With a shrug, I let green flames swirl around me and returned to my true form: a large changeling with slitted orange eyes, a mane and tail to match, a black carapace that acted as my armour and two red insect-like wings that buzzed for a moment before settling on my back. The cut on my side was now nothing more than a shallow scrape, and the stab wound was not even able to pierce through my tough natural armour.

I gave myself a quick shake, getting all the blood off of me before returning to my unicorn disguise in pristine condition. It was, after all, only a temporary disguise not meant for long-term infiltration, allowing it to be easily repaired with a simple shift of forms.

My inspection was cut short by an enormous explosion that came from somewhere within the ship - the last stand of the pirates as they detonated their Magic Core Bomb. This was my cue to return to the designated meeting point with the other infiltrators to allow the equestrian task force to do their job without us getting in their way.

However, before I could make even a single step, the doors separating the hangar from the hallway flew open. Readying a spell just in case one of the pirates escaped, I spotted a group of heavily armed and armoured ponies entering, allowing me to relax and the spell to fizzle out harmlessly. The fight was over, we won.

"On the ground NOW! Hoofs where I can see them! No funny business, you hear!" Rolling my eyes, I did as ordered, not wanting to give them any reason to attack before lighting a quick signal spell, a sign that we were on the same side of this conflict. Two of them, fresh out of training by the unsure look on their faces and the unease in their emotions, tightened their grips on their weapons for a moment before the leader of the group called out to me, easing them a little. "Why are you not with the others?" While waiting for my answer, she looked around the hangar. "By the goddess... what happened here?"

"I was unable to get to the meeting point and got into a fight with six griffons. I killed them and was planning on making my way to the others right now," I said in an emotionless, non-threatening tone.

Noticing that one of the earth ponies in the group was standing on a severed griffon wing, a small giggle escaped my lips. I could feel his emotional turmoil before he turned to the side and emptied his stomach contents on the floor. The group leader turned towards him, "Lieutenant Marble, get a hold of yourself. It's just a wing." 'I think I like her.'

Marble made an effort to stand at attention, his legs shaky and the last drops of vomit dripping down his muzzle.

"Do I have to send you through combat acclimatisation again?" she berated him.

"No, Ma'am," he said, the look of unease still clear on his face, "but seeing something like this for real is a lot different from seeing it in pictures."

The leader looked around at the rest of the group, all of them showing their discomfort in both their emotions and posture. "Alright, let's fan out and make sure there are no pirates hiding anywhere. Make sure to gather all the pieces scattered around so we can get a proper body count." After making sure her subordinates did as ordered, she approached me. "I don't like what you did here. There was no need to get this violent," she stated while putting her face in my biting range.

Holding my stoic, emotionless expression, I looked at her. While angry, she did not seem to be too offended by my actions and was simply stating facts. It was obvious that she had seen a lot of combat in her life. "I had to get to the meeting point, and the only way to get there was to get rid of the griffons here. What's wrong with enjoying myself a little while doing it?"

She was now muzzle-to-muzzle with me, "What's wrongis that it's unnecessarily cruel. They did not have to suffer like this." She pointed at the griffon that I ripped the wings off of. "From the looks of it, you tortured him by cutting his wings off slowly. I have to bring this up with the Admirals or even High Command."

"With all due respect, Ma'am, I only obey My Queen, and she couldn't care less about what I do to get my job done. From the look of it, I saved you a nasty fight. You should be grateful."

Her answer was a simple huff, and she turned away to help out her squad. I let a smirk cross my lips as I watched her leave. 'Ponies are too soft.'By this time, the rest of her team had gathered every griffon part and confirmed the count of six griffons. They returned to their sweep of the ship without saying another word to me.

I arrived at the meeting point shortly after. It was a small crew quarter, where the other three changelings inside immediately bowed before me and addressed me in unison, "We await your orders, your Highness."

Before addressing them, I looked them over, making sure none of them were injured. Their blue, glowing, pupilless eyes were looking at me, not blinking a single time as I scanned their bodies. One of them had a large cut on her right side, prompting me to get a closer look. Leaning down to her smaller form - I was more than a head taller than her - I looked at the wound for a long moment. It wasn't too deep and would heal on its own with some time, but I needed every changeling combat-ready and in top shape.

"Scythe, get a cocoon ready for her." The changeling in question got to work immediately, and I turned back to the injured 'ling. "Now, tell me what happened."

She turned away in embarrassment. Even though her emotions were unreadable - something every infiltrator worth a bit could do instinctually - her body language told me everything I needed to know. She knew there was no reason to lie to me, that I would pick up on it if she did anyway.

"I was on my way here as ordered, but when the boarding ship made contact, I stumbled and landed on a sharp piece of metal that cut right through my carapace. I was already close to this room and Scythe treated the injury."

With a quick wave of love towards the 'ling in question, I conveyed my thanks for his quick action, and there was a brief smile on his face before he continued to work on the cocoon.

The loud scraping sound of metal-on-metal was our sign to get back to work. The task force had done their job of clearing the pirate ship out. Ours was to go through it and dismantle everything before getting on the transport that was waiting for us nearby. It was a waste of resources, there was still a lot of functioning equipment on the ship, but equestrian law forced us to make sure everything was destroyed and as long as the Queen didn't say otherwise, we had to follow that law.

"Your Highness, the cocoon is ready."

With a quick nod to the injured 'ling, she climbed inside before Scythe sealed her in it. All that was left to do was point my horn at it and pour a lot of my stored love into it, starting the healing process before addressing the other two changelings, "Let's get to work. She should be healed by the time we are done."

They gave me a deep bow and started the long task of destroying the critical parts of the ship. After everything was dismantled, we would overload the core so it would detonate shortly after we left.

As expected, the healing process was finished right as we prepared the core, and we left the ship through a portal I had created.

The last part of our task was to wait for the explosion and then scan the area to make extra sure everything was destroyed - can't have salvagers stumble on any valuable tech that was stolen in the first place.

We watched the large fireball disintegrate the pirate ship for a moment before I sat down on the pilot seat, programmed our hyperspace route and powered up the Drive to get us home.

Author's Note

A big thanks to Resu for helping me with the editing process of the chapter.

A little bit of an explanation for the tags used: While the sex tag does not apply for a while, this story will contain sexual scenes later on and does generally not shy away from mentioning things of this kind. The scenes themself will be marked for those uncomfortable with the subject and can be freely skipped.

The Violence, Gore, and Death tags should be obvious after this chapter. If you're afraid it might get too extreme at points, worry not; this chapter is at the upper end of depictions of violence for the story.

I hope you enjoy the read, and feel free to leave feedback.

Chapter 2

After leaving the hyperspace, I stopped the ship just outside the restricted zone that surrounded the space station, waiting for Flight Control to contact us.

Shortly after, we were pinged, and I opened the voice communication unit via a small crystal next to my flight console.

"This is Lazarus Flight Control. You are about to enter a restricted traffic zone. State your intention."

I tapped the crystal again, allowing it to carry my voice. "Black One returning from mission. Sending code, please stand by." I channelled some magic into another crystal next to the communication one, sending them my unique magic signature to confirm my identity.

Discontent, I noted that it took a minute for the response to arrive. "Welcome home, Black One. You are clear for landing."

"Thank you, Lazarus. Black One out." With clearance to proceed, I pushed the accelerator forward, entering the final stretch of our journey home. A few more minutes later, the space station slowly came into view, the sight of it always bringing a smile to my face. It felt good to be home again, and I couldn't wait to feed on genuine love again; the watered down rations we had on us, no substitute for the real thing.

Lazarus Station was one of the largest Equestrian Navy shipyards, built in orbit of an uninhabitable ice planet and always bustling with activity, with more than a hundred thousand Equestrians living on it. The station itself had the typical cylindrical shape of many stations out there. What set it apart was the massive ring around it, the drydock, where ships were constantly repaired or built from scratch. Massive Magic Accelerators, weapons capable of firing magic at enormous ranges with devastating destructive power, were placed around this ring, providing security from any would-be attackers.

As we closed in on our hangar, a sense of unease settled over us - something felt off. The reason for it became painfully clear as we rounded the station. "By the Queens, what happened here?" I gasped, my jaw hanging open in sheer shock as I tried to comprehend the sight before us. The Celestial Hammer, Grand Admiral Celestia's personal ship, was slowly being guided into the dry dock by a few smaller vessels. The damage she had sustained was staggering, the usually bright sun core now only faintly glowing, and large holes marred her once-pristine white hull. It was a miracle she had made it back here in one piece.

"What could have possibly caused this much damage to one of the biggest ships the Navy has deployed?" I asked, not expecting an answer. My subordinate changelings shook their heads in unison, their shock about this revelation as clear on their faces as it was on mine.

We were quickly approaching our destination, so I ordered them back to their seats and prepared for landing. They vanished into the crew compartment without objection, and I made the last adjustments for our arrival.

I tapped another communication crystal, which directly connected me with our command centre. "Initiating automatic guidance." There was no need for the useless protocol that the ponies liked so much; the changelings in our command centre could feel my presence already.

"Everything is prepared, your Highness. The landing platform is clear, and the guidance system shows green," they immediately answered.

I relaxed in my seat, letting the automated docking system take over and waited for our transport to pass through the white shield that kept the air inside and set down smoothly inside the hangar. After shutting down the ship's core, we exited through the loading ramp and set hoof on our home station for the first time in weeks. The buzzing of wings and clanking of tools were a pleasant reminder that every changeling was hard at work.

I spread my wings, lifted myself into the air momentarily, and stretched every leg before continuing onward. 'First order of business, meeting with the Queen. She needs my mission report and I should inform her about the 'Hammer'.

The station was divided into different sections, the largest being the civilian area, with homes and shops for everyone on board. The section of the station I was in right now was dedicated to us changelings - two large hangars with space for four transport ships each. These ships were the closest thing we had to something ponies were allowed to see, our other ships being highly classified and strictly off-limits for them. Our standing cooperation agreement with the ponies forbade them from even asking about our technology.

The most secure room and closely kept secret, the Trans Hive Communicator or THC, was located right behind the hangar. It used our emotional connection to allow instantaneous communication between our outposts. Only the ruling royal of an outpost was allowed to initiate communications to give status updates to the Queen. Swiftly moving towards the pedestal near the middle, I activated the device with a flick of my horn, allowing it to go through its start-up sequence.

I bowed as the image of Chrysalis appeared in the centre of the room, spreading my wings as a show of complete loyalty to her. "My Queen, it's an honour to be in your presence again," I said, my voice filled with reverence.

"Rise, Storm Shadow." I did as commanded and our eyes met for a split second. I got lost in her green-slitted eyes before averting my gaze to avoid offending her. If I were any other changeling, she would have killed me for the audacity to look her directly in the eyes. Fortunately, I was a changeling prince and nearly her social equal.

It also helped that I sired over three thousand eggs with her and would do so again if she asked me to, giving me more room for mistakes than others would get. I knew she held me in high regards, and that trust in me was something I would never betray. My status even allowed me to keep drones, capable of egg laying, around to replenish our numbers if need be, but I never saw a reason to do so, the constant influx of changelings moving here was enough to keep our numbers stable. "What do you have to report?" She asked after the brief pause.

"My Queen, our latest mission was a success; however, one of my drones sustained minor injuries. She was healed in a cocoon before we left," I said, hoping she would not take offence at the minor incident.

"How is your love storage doing?" she asked, her tone thankfully still neutral. "A healing cocoon can be taxing on your reserves."

"We are still doing well, My Queen. The amount of love we are gathering could sustain our changeling population twice over, but I don't want to strain the good relations with the ponies by increasing our numbers for no reason."

Chrysalis looked like she was thinking about something, her eyes subtly shifting from left to right. She returned her gaze to me a moment later. "Have you found love yourself yet?"

I blinked for a moment, confused by that sudden shift in topic. She had asked that before, and if I didn't know any better, she would have sounded concerned about my well-being. I knew better, though; I was expendable and replaceable, like any other changelings. Only the Queen mattered, and she would never worry about any of us. We simply followed her orders and were happy to do so. Her asking was a way to secure our love supplies and nothing more. "No, My Queen, my personality doesn't resonate well with ponies."

She gave me a fang-filled smirk. "You are my best warrior and infiltrator; the ponies are too soft to appreciate your skills." She relaxed her expression, returning back to her stoic self. "Now, is there anything more to report?"

"Yes, My Queen. When we arrived back home, we saw the Celestial Hammer being towed into the dry dock. We don't-"

She lifted a hoof and interrupted my attempt to explain. "I'm already aware of that situation. There was a fight against a Machine Dreadnought. The 'Hammer' and ‘Harmony’ sustained substantial damage during that fight. You will get new orders from the ponies soon. For now, enjoy some downtime; you earned it."

"Thank you, My Queen." I bowed again, and her image vanished. 'All this talk about finding a mate again... I'm a warrior and don't need a pony to hold me back!' Thinking about it for a moment made me remember how happy my changelings were when they found their own mate. 'What if I hide my true personality and act like a normal pony?' The thought of lying to a possible partner didn't sit right with me; I’d rather spend the rest of my extended lifetime alone.

A massive wave of magic energy ripped me out of my thoughts. The source of it was getting closer and closer, and I could already feel the temperature of the room rising. There was only one pony that could cause this. As soon as I exited the THC, the face of Grand Admiral Celestia greeted me. Saying she looked angry was an understatement, her multi-coloured mane billowing in an unfelt breeze. While she could mask her emotions, her expression was filled with rage, and the changelings escorting her stood as far away as possible so as not to give her any reason to be offended.

Most of her body was covered in bandages, her usually white coat marred with scorch marks and an eyepatch covering one of her eyes, some of her blood still clinging to it. A large cut, starting and ending just short of it, clearly marked the loss of said eye.

I stood at attention and saluted her. Our treaty with Equestria gave her some authority over us as long as it didn't affect the hive. "Ma'am, what brings you to our little corner of this station?"

"Are you Storm Shadow?" Her expression turned blank, and all her rage vanished in an instant.

'That is the stupidest question I have ever heard.' I was the only royal changeling on this station, and my status was obvious to anyone. Her ignorance about our race only made me mad. "Yes, Ma'am," I answered, suppressing my feelings.

"I want your changelings to perform around-the-clock sweeps of the area. My ship will be here for a while, and you will make sure the supply ships stay safe."

I had to suppress a smirk. Leave it to the Queen to know what was about to happen before anypony else did; my new mission had already arrived. Without the words of the Queen, I would have refused Celestia's demands and thrown her out immediately for the audacity to order us around. "As you wish, Ma'am, I will coordinate the efforts as soon as possible."

"The first ships will arrive in a few weeks. Make sure everything is ready by then." She turned around and left without giving me a chance to say anything more to her. It was no secret that Celestia disliked and distrusted changelings. Why she still held a grudge after almost two thousand years was a mystery to me, but there was nothing I could do about it. The assassination of one of her students was still heavy on her heart.

Setting up infiltration and scouting missions around this area would only take me a few minutes. All my changelings were perfectly capable of taking care of things on their own, giving me enough time to relax a little for once. 'Good, next up is getting some food, the healing cocoon really took it out of me.'

The room I headed to next was the love storage. It was the last area of the changeling section, and it was almost as secure as the THC room. Our housing units were in the same area as the ponies, and we made do with our single meeting room. After all, proper integration into the station's population was in our best interest. There was another room for us, but it was empty for now. It would be the hatchery if we ever needed it and would be even better secured than any other room once it was in use.

Approaching the love storage, two guards stood at the door, giving me a quick bow as I moved past them. The first thing anypony would notice were the massive tanks with pink glowing liquid inside. The storage held five of them, all filled up to the limit. I encouraged my changelings to use as much love as possible and not hold back, but we still gathered too much. This was a common problem for most outposts, as there was no need for dramatic expansion, and the ponies generally accepted our presence. My changelings outperformed any of them by a large margin.

It was hard to believe that our race was on the brink of starvation at some point. The years after the unification were especially hard on us. With no way of harvesting love discreetly and ponies unwilling to share freely, our numbers dwindled to less than a few hundred. That was the point where ponies started to take pity on us; seeing a starving changeling on the street was too much for them, and they started to open up to us. More and more stable pony-changeling relations formed, and after a few years, our race slowly recovered. Now, there are over two hundred million changelings spread around equestrian space, most of them in large hive-like groups living their lives doing mundane tasks amongst the ponies. Some of us formed smaller groups and worked on stations as infiltrators, like my changelings and me, and the rest lived in the main hive on Equus, serving the Queen directly.

I approached one of the large tanks. One of the love tenders, who had just looked up from his notes, approached me. "It's good to see you have returned, Your Highness. Did something happen, or are you here for a quick snack?"

"We had an injury, and I had to charge a cocoon," I responded. He made a quick note on the clipboard held in his green magic. While it was unnecessary to keep tabs on food consumption, I had ordered to keep it up in case we ran into any trouble.

I touched my horn to the container and fed. Nothing came close to the taste of pure love, and my reserves began to fill. We could consume all kinds of positive emotions, but love was by far the most filling, and we gathered a lot of it, allowing us to fill the storage with nothing but love. I leaned back again, savouring the taste for a moment longer, even letting out a little moan before opening my eyes. The level of love was noticeably lower now.

"Your Highness, I don't mean to offend, but you should look for a mate. While we can sustain your hunger now, your feeding requirements would drain our stores dry in less than a year if anything disrupts our harvest." I could tell he was concerned about my well-being. As a love tender, he was trained to be more compassionate towards others, allowing him to judge our future love supply more accurately.

"I'm aware of that…" 'I should try to date a pony again. The Queen is right; I would be happier.' With a sigh, I left the room and returned to my apartment.

Author's Note

Thanks again to Resu for helping with the editing.

Chapter 3

Opening the door to my spacious apartment, the first thing I wanted to do was take a long, warm bath to get all the dirt off of me.I didn't need this much space, but my changelings would never accept me living in a small room. Being their prince, they wanted me to live as comfortably as possible.

My apartment had a bathroom with a shower and a bathtub, something that was unusual with the limited space on the station. The living room had a large table with space for at least six ponies and a small cooking area was set into the wall on the other side. Why I would ever need it was beyond me - it was mostly used to prepare a morning coffee. The last two doors led to two bedrooms, one larger than the other. There was easily enough space for four ponies to live comfortably here and I had it all to myself.

After filling the tub with water, I eased myself into it. The feeling was quite soothing on my carapace. Some ponies had asked me if I even noticed the water through my thick armour; they had no idea how good it felt to have the warmth surround every single joint in my body. After my bath, another advantage of being a changeling presented itself. I could dry myself in less than a minute with no wet fur dripping water all over the house. Even my short orange mane and long flowing tail, a trait unique to royal changelings, were quick to dry. Stumbling into my bed, sleep quickly took me.

I started the next day sleeping in and only awoke close to noon. Checking my PDA, a small device that could be worn around a leg and used to receive massages, I saw that one of my changelings had requested a meeting. Giving him a spot in an hour, I started my morning routine with brushing my teeth and combing my mane to make myself look presentable. The next step was to polish my carapace, something I took great pride in. It was my armour in combat, and as such, had to be kept in peak condition.

Going over every spot made me notice the chip from the fight with the griffons and brought a frown to my face. 'That's going to take weeks before the new plate grows in.' A changeling's carapace comprised of countless plates interlocking and overlapping each other to form a sturdy armour. As a royal, mine was even thicker, protecting me from even the heaviest blows that could cut a normal pony in half. Royal changelings can survive almost any injury, as long as they have enough love to fuel the regenerative process.

The last point in my routine was to get my horn back into shape. It had been a while since the last sharpening and the tip looked rather blunt, certainly not capable of impaling my enemies. I was a little envious of unicorns as they didn't need to do this as often. One advantage of a chipped changeling horn compared to a unicorn horn - it was quickly repaired, although it was tedious work. 'Now that I think about it, do unicorn horns even grow after they are fully developed?'

Finishing up with a couple of minutes to spare, I settled down at the table, waiting for the meeting.

A knock on the door alerted me to his arrival. "Enter," I shouted so he would hear me. The door opened and the changeling stepped inside, followed by a turquoise pegasus mare. Both of them bowed deeply. "Rise and take a seat." I said, my voice even in order to not frighten the mare.

They looked nervous as they seated themselves. In case of the pony, I could taste the fear despite my best efforts to look as unimposing as possible. It was not fear of me or changelings in particular, but of rejection. It was obvious to any careful observer why they wanted to speak to me.

Giving them my best parental smile - this was no task that needed my firm orders - I addressed them, "What can I do for both of you?" Looking at the changeling and getting a feel for him over our emotional connection, I recognised him as Steel Wrench, a mechanic on the station who worked in the Magic Core section. Changelings didn't really care about names that much, our connection with each other making it easy to identify who you are talking to, but for better integration, some of us took on more pony-like names to better fit in. Only a select few of us are given regular changeling names to highlight their position in the hive.

He came to me almost a year ago and asked to be married to the pony now sitting next to him, Split Cut if I recalled correctly.

"Your Highness, we wanted to ask you if we could start a family." Changelings could have normal pony foals if they stayed in their dedicated pony guise during intercourse. We had no restrictions in place for that, so there was no need to ask for permission, but my children did so anyway. I presume it was a way for them to show their respect for me. Of the two thousand and thirty-six changelings on this station, over four hundred were in a relationship with a pony, a big reason we gathered as much love as we did.

"Steel, you know you don't have to ask for permission," I said, mimicking the Queen's regal expression as best as I could.

"I know, your Highness. But it seemed right to do, anyway. Split is close to her heat cycle and we talked about it - we both want a foal." Looking between the two, I noticed she looked uncomfortable with us talking about it so openly.

"You have my blessing, and I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks dad," Steel said. A proud smile found itself on my muzzle when hearing that. I couldn't help but be proud of them. I was their Prince and my duty was to make their lives as comfortable as possible. Seeing them happy was all the reward I could ever ask for.

"Wait, he's your dad?" Split cut in, looking slightly shocked.

"I'm the father of quite a few changelings on this station," I clarified.

"I... You... What." Now she only looked confused, any lingering fear gone in an instant.

Steel planted a kiss on her lips. "As a prince he has the privilege to sire eggs with dedicated drones. Most of us are from his pairing with the Queen. We are biologically compelled to follow the sire of our eggs, if they are a royal, as well as the Queen.

“Before she sends a prince out to a new outpost, she makes sure they have a strong following of drones."

Acknowledging my position with one more bow, they left shortly thereafter.

Next on my to-do list was the training grounds. The Lieutenant of the station's guard force wanted me to give them a few pointers in combat. 'Not sure how much help I would be, but he asked for it.'

The central core of the station that the changeling section was part of also housed the guard training grounds and headquarter. Thanks to the lift system running through the station, everything was reachable in less than ten minutes. Only the outer industrial areas could take more time to reach.

I shifted into my permanent disguise and started my slow trot over to the training grounds. Walking through the large halls of the housing district, I passed through many green spaces that simulated an outdoor feeling and were filled with activity. Without windows to the outside, this was the most ‘open’ space the station could offer.

When I exited the lift in the central core, the scenery changed drastically. Gone were the inviting large halls, replaced with narrow corridors that snaked through the station, the sound of ponies hard at work echoing through them. Changeling and pony guards patrolled these corridors, looking for anypony that was not supposed to be here, this was a navy station, after all.

The closer I got, the more pronounced the sound of rifle fire and clanking of steel could be heard. 'They must have started without me already.' Checking the clock on my PDA, I shrugged and continued on my way, there were still ten minutes left before I was supposed to arrive.

Getting closer, two guards moved in front of me, blocking my entry. They wore the standard red uniform every pony on the station guard wore when out on simple patrol. A sword hangs on their side, one of their hoofs already gripping the handle, ready to strike at any intruder. In the close confines of space stations and ships swords were far more practical than spears. Of course, nothing could compete with magic - the reason why technology in personal weaponry never advanced past the basic melee weapon or rudimentary rifles. "Halt! What business do you have here?" One of them shouted.

I briefly flashed out of my disguise, showing them my royal changeling form before returning to my pegasus disguise. Even in this form, it was obvious I was a changeling. I kept my orange slitted eyes and my fangs, something no pony had and no cutie mark adorned my flanks. There was no need to blend in fully anymore like the old times where discovery meant certain doom.

My coat was a light blue colour, expertly groomed to perfection. Not a single hair was out of place. My above-average wings, meticulously preened, had not a single feather misaligned. My white mane and tail - freshly brushed. "Storm Shadow, I'm expected," I answered, giving both guards a quick glance.

One guard gave me a quick look, going a little lower with his gaze than was proper. His eyes lingering on something that was clearly missing between my legs. "Aren't you supposed to be a king?" His confusion was apparent in his emotions and his expression.

"Prince, why?" I corrected, slightly tilting my head in confusion, playing along. Inwardly, I giggled at his expression. Messing with ponies was the best pastime possible.

"Hate to break it to you, but you're missing your stallion parts."

Making a show of it, I turned my head around and looked between my legs. "Yeah, and? This is a mare disguise, after all." I could see both of them turning a deep shade of red and one of them emitted the potent emotion of lust as he tried to get a peek under my tail. Lowering my voice to be as sensual as possible, I moved closer to his ear. "Interested?" It would be so easy to get one of them, but I was not looking for a quick fling. Love tasted far better, and if I wanted to find my own mate, that was the goal.

"Atten! Shun!" Both guards snapped to attention as a large grey earth pony walked out of the gates to the training grounds. This was Lieutenant Iron Hoof, the commander of the security guards on the space station. "Guards like you should not fall for simple changeling tricks," he bellowed, both of them shrinking back a little by the force of his voice. "Storm, follow me. The recruits are already waiting for that demonstration."

After making sure we were out of earshot, he turned towards me. "You know I hate it when you mess with my recruits. Not everypony knows you're playing a prank on them and are not interested in a quick fling, even though you're into stallions."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, giving him a slight pout.

"Oh please, anypony with eyes can see you checking out the stallions around you and if a mare makes her move, you wave her off. You were flirting with the two guards at the gate right now and the way you eyed one of them, you were ready to ask him out."

"I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't think they would survive me." My cheeks were heating up a little and it took considerable effort not to show the blush on my face. 'Stupid disguise.'

Iron Hoof stopped and fully turned towards me, his expression neutral, though his emotions were filled with concern and friendly undertones. "There's a bar at dock 9. That should be more up your alley."

He is a good pony and I knew he only wanted me to be happy. I was here when he was just a recruit twenty years ago and we instantly hit it off as friends. If he had swung that way, we could have been something more than friends. He was one of the few ponies who understood me and accepted my changeling behaviour and wouldn’t hold me back, but he was happily married.

'Maybe checking out that bar would be a good idea.' "And get a stallion disguise or they might not let you in," he continued before trotting onwards.

"Now, I have a few recruits that need some training in anti-pirate combat. High Command has ordered me to give them extra training and I'm out of griffons, mind giving me a claw?" A flash of green fire and I turned into a large griffon, the same I had called 'Boss' not too long ago. He looked me over for a moment. "Can you blunt your claws and beak?" Another slight flash of green fire and my claws were now training worthy. Iron Hoof nodded approvingly.

We entered the training room shortly after, ten other ponies already waiting for us. There were four large fighting rings and a few benches. To the side were shelves with practice weapons, including some real ones. All the recruits flinched slightly when they saw me, but none of them showed any interesting emotions. They were simply caught off-guard by a large griffon entering the room. 'Fresh out of training, I guess.'

"Listen up, recruits! I need a volunteer for this demonstration," Iron bellowed, pointing a hoof at one pony. "You, come up here." 'Typical, he always makes one of them “volunteer”, why does he even ask?' The pony walked up in front of us and Iron continued, "Recruit Lapis, tell me what you have to watch out for the most when fighting a griffon pirate."

Lapis held his head high before responding. "Sir, they have sharp claws and beaks that can easily kill a pony. They will show no mercy and will strike us down without hesitation."

"Very good," Iron said with a quick nod.

I cleared my throat and Iron turned to look at me, his right eye slightly twitching. "Pirates will cheat and do anything to win. Don't be fooled by them or you might end up as dinner. I have seen enough ponies landing on the dining tables because they thought the griffons would keep to their word," I added to the explanation of the recruit.

Some of the other recruits turned slightly green as my gaze wandered through them and a small smirk graced my beak. An armoured hoof slapped me on the back of the head moments later. "Don't make my recruits vomit on their first day."

"What? Ponies taste delicious," I whined. That was too much for one of them as he promptly emptied his stomach contents on the floor.

Iron face-hoofed and shook his head, but he could not hide the slight amusement in his emotions. He used to be just as bad in his early days as I was now. "Should have known you’d pull something like this." He locked eyes with another officer who was watching us and was not part of the training. "Clean this up!" He shouted before returning his gaze to the recruits. "Now, back to training."

The volunteered pony spoke up. "Is it true? Do griffons really eat ponies?" His emotions tasted strange. I never encountered something like it, but it looked like he was enjoying the image of a pony being eaten. Diving a little deeper, his emotions became stranger, even contradictory. Under the exterior of a guard lay something more that intrigued me.

Iron Hoof stomped on the ground, putting a stop to my train of thoughts. "Now, Storm will demonstrate how a griffon fights. Recruit, take a sword and get into position."

Lapis was about to pick up one of the training swords - "A real sword!" Iron shouted. The recruit hesitated, eventually picking up the correct tool. Iron knew he could not hurt me with it, but I could do without another dent in my carapace. "I want both of you to fight like you mean it."

"But Sir, what if I hurt him?" Lapis was still hesitant, his hoof slightly shaking as he moved towards the fighting ring.

'Interesting. He likes the idea of a pony getting hurt, but hurting another himself troubles him. What kind of soldier is he?' I thought to myself, trying to understand this strange pony.

"Recruit Lapis, he is a changeling. There is no way you could do any serious harm to him. Now get in there!" Iron shouted, getting Lapis to scurry.

After both of us got into position inside one of the rings, I made my move, giving him no time to react. With a powerful flap of my wings, I charged at him with the intent on ripping into him with my claws. They might be blunt, but I could still do serious damage to the hide of a pony. Not enough to kill, but a wrong move could land him in the infirmary for a few weeks. Lapis rolled to the side, avoiding my attack, but he hesitated when presented with the perfect opportunity to stab me - I had purposefully given him this opening, trying to see how he would react.

'Time for lesson number one, don't show mercy.' I turned around with a swipe of my left claw, making contact with his barrel, the force of the strike pushing him to the ground. The hit left a nasty looking cut on his side that was slowly dripping blood to the ground.

I did not expect him to ignore the pain so easily. He gave me a quick smirk before going for an attack of his own.This time, I had to avoid his sword thrust, barely getting out of reach, the tip of the sword slightly nicking my feathers. I lunged again, giving Lapis no time to return to a defensive stance, surprising him with my speed.

He was giving it his all at that point, no longer afraid of hurting me, but I still managed to sink the tip of my claws into his right side, a strike that would have gutted him if the claws were actually sharp. The pain inflicted by my attack must have been mind-numbing.

To my surprise, he quickly recovered and lunged at me again. 'How can he fight through so much pain?' This time I was too slow to avoid the attack. His sword cut deep into my side and the tip exiting the other side, going straight through my body. My disguise did its best to simulate the damage the attack caused, even though I’d prefer not to feel the cold steel shifting inside me. I let out a grunt of pain as Lapis let go of the weapon and stepped back, looking at me in pure horror. His feelings tasted correspondingly, he truly thought that he had severely injured me.

Iron Hoof moved up and pulled the sword out, spewing large amounts of blood, soaking the fur and feathers around the wound. "You okay?"

Green flames engulfed me and I returned to my changeling self. The attack had split one of my plates, the one that was already dented from my last fight. A grunt of pain left my mouth as I ripped the damaged plate off to prevent any further injuries. "Buck me, that's going to take weeks before a new plate grows in."

Iron looked at me slightly concerned. "Can you continue?"

"If you stick to practice swords. The plates are compromised and won't stop another attack like that. I don't want to risk severe injuries if I can help it."

Lapis approached me, his hoofsteps barely audible over the hushed conversations of the other recruits. "I'm so sorry I didn't want to hurt you."

I pulled him into a hug. "That last attack had some serious power behind it. It's been a while since somepony cracked a plate like that. You're pretty good with a sword." Lapis’ thoughts were rampant, jumping all over the place so quickly that I couldn’t keep up.

"Back to training! Recruit Scorch, you’re next!"

Chapter 4

The evening after the training, I took Iron's advice and visited the club he referred me to. I had taken on the same griffon disguise from before and moved through the commercial areas of the station, looking for the entrance. The wide open corridors were lined with a plethora of advertisements and signs from a wide variety of different shops. Ponies and a few changelings alike spent most of their free time in this section, giving it a crowded feeling that no other section could match.

It took me a while to find the small sign 'Stallions Delight' hanging next to an unassuming door. Without Iron's directions, I would have never found the place. The entrance was hidden away through a small corridor and no sign in the main corridor pointed in its direction.

Giving a shrug at the strange name, I moved towards the entrance, already noticing bags of trash stacked on the side as well as strange tube-like objects strewn about on the ground. 'If Iron knew this place, why hasn't he come down with the security on it already?'

The large earth pony in front of the door stopped me as I approached. "Name!" he commanded, his emotions neutral and a stern look on his face. He had the typical bouncer look to him - muscular build and a short trimmed black mane.

"Gabriel Claw," I answered. 'Not giving this shady place my real name.'

He wrote my name on the list he was holding. "This is an exclusive club with a strict code of conduct; any disruptive behaviour will result in immediate and unpleasant consequences." His expression was still neutral, but his emotions betrayed his true feelings. He was already looking forward to kicking me out if I stepped out of line. I could respect that dedication to keep the ponies inside safe. "If you don't like it, you can turn around right now."

"No, that's alright with me. I'm in the mood for something special." I was still unsure what this special actually meant.

Stepping inside the slightly-smelling club made a lot of heads turn in my direction, making me feel somewhat uncomfortable. 'I hate attention, this is why I walk around as a pegasus most of the time.'

Looking at the surrounding ponies gave me a slight shiver - now that I got my discomfort under control I could taste the emotions they radiated outwards - the lust was thick in the air. Every pony in here was a stallion - I could have guessed that from the name alone - and the overly sexual scenes were somewhat discomforting. Sure, we changelings had no problems showing affection in public, even more so when only changelings were around, but seeing ponies be this open about it was a shocking experience.

On the main stage, two dancers in overly sexual outfits made out with each other to an audience of cheering onlookers. Every pony I laid eyes on wore some sort of leather or latex outfit with accessories I could not even begin to describe. Uncertain what to do, I decided to move towards the bar, noticing with a wince the stickiness of the floor.

"Storm, is that you?" Turning around towards the voice brought me almost muzzle-to-muzzle with the recruit from earlier - Lapis, if my memory was correct.

This was the first time I could take a proper look at him without being distracted by my combat instincts and all his armour. His coat was a vivid blue, his mane and tail almost black, both complementing each other rather nicely. His eyes - which were looking at me with a glimmer of hope - had a slightly darker blue colouration.

Looking over the outfit he wore took me fully off guard though, gone was the bulky armour he used during training - instead, he had a collar around his neck with a thin rope that connected to a ring around his tail, keeping it flagged high in the air. The short-black skirt that he wore would do nothing to hide his goods from the view of anyone standing behind him.

My eyes roamed all over his body. When I looked back up at him, he sported a decent blush.

As soon as our eyes met, he averted his gaze. "It's my first time here. I hope I'm not overdoing it," he said, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof.

It took me a few attempts to find my voice. "Yeah, I'm here for the first time as well. Didn't know what I was getting into before coming here."

He perked up as soon as the words left my mouth, his emotions beginning to stand out from the background. "Oh, how did you find the place? If you don't know what you're looking for, this place is impossible to find." He brushed up against me, slightly nuzzling his head on my neck.

'It's obvious to any blind pony what he wants.' I shook my head to clear that thought, the amount of lust in the air clouding my judgment. "A friend recommended the place. I'm not sure if it's the right place for me."

He moved away again, the feelings he was radiating for me weakening as well. "Why? If you're not into colts, your friend wouldn't recommend this place. It's a club for stallions to have a nice time, maybe even get laid."

He had taken my words as rejection. His posture slumped as his emotions started to drift to a darker place. I had no time to think about it too much. ‘I’d like to give it a try at least, maybe Iron is right.' "It's more the atmosphere," I said, giving his withers a small brush with my wing.

The grin he gave me instantly made my choice worth it. It had the same predatory qualities as a changeling smirk, speaking of interesting things to follow. "You love seeing me in this outfit, don’t you?" he asked while striking a pose.

I returned his smirk. "And you are radiating enough lust to feed dozens of changelings." The bright blush that stretched up his ears was very cute. "I'm not looking for a quick fling or something. That's what I meant by atmosphere." I pointed towards the couple I spotted earlier. "It looks like everypony here is in it for a quick roll in the hay."

"Not all of us. I wouldn't mind something more if you're interested." That was as subtle as an elephant in a glasshouse. He started nuzzling me again. "Why don't we take this to somewhere more appropriate?" Lapis asked.

Being able to feel his emotions gave me an unfair advantage. He was clearly interested in me, and the thought made me slightly giddy. He knew I was a changeling and still felt this way towards me. The only thing left was to see if he could accept me for who I am. The most important part of any changeling-pony relationship was an understanding for each other's culture, something most ponies unfortunately lacked. "Yeah, sure. Why not?"

There was a quick breath on my ear as he leaned in to whisper. "Want me to keep the outfit on?" 'Stupid disguise, why are griffons able to blush.' "That's a yes, isn’t it?" he finished with a giggle.

He led the way out of the club, giving me an excellent view of his plot with every step he took. With another gulp, I trotted up next to him. The only thing he changed about his outfit was that he untied his tail, allowing it to cover himself up in public. Indecency charges were the last thing we needed.

"So, where do you want to go?" I asked. The corridors were still filled with many ponies moving about. Some of them stopped to give the odd pony-griffon couple a quick glance, but moved on without making a fuzz. I couldn't blame them - griffons were even less seen on a space station than changelings.

"Up to you, I don't mind," Lapis answered. He leaned in again, placing his head on my shoulder, drawing even more attention.

"I don't eat pony food, so I don't know where any good restaurants are."

He tapped his chin, thinking about it for a moment. "There is a nice one just a block down from here near Dock 8. It's a bit pricey, but we can split the bill if it's okay for you."

I waved his concern off. "I'm in charge of the changelings here and have enough bits for a little restaurant."

"Oh yeah, you did look a little bigger than the other changelings I have seen around here. So, you're some sort of leader? How does that work with changelings? I thought they only followed their queen."

"Yes, orders from our Queen are absolute and not to be questioned, but there are other royals as well."

"So, you're under a princess or something?" He asked with slight confusion in his voice.

I gave a small chuckle as we continued on our way. "No, I'm a Changeling Prince. I'm under direct command of the Queen and every changeling on this station follows my orders." I stopped when I noticed Lapis was no longer walking with me. Turning around towards him, I saw him standing frozen in shock, his mouth hanging open as he gasped for air. "Are you alright, Lapis?"

"You... You're a... prince?" He stammered. I nodded in affirmation. Shaking his head, he continued, "Can I see your true self?" He must have mistook my slight flinch for apprehension. "You don't have to if you don't want to." His fear of saying something wrong was a little annoying, but we could work on that later. It was not a deal-breaker in my book.

"It's not that. I just dislike all the attention." I answered to dispel his fear. Closing my eyes, I let the green fire of my magic wash around me, returning me to my true form.

"Wow, didn't notice how huge you are... Well, tall, I mean…" A blush crept back on his face.

Leaning in towards him, I whispered. "I'm also larger than your average pony in 'that' area." His face was now almost completely red - it looked adorable.

He looked over my body and I held still, letting him take in all of my form the same as he had allowed me back in the club. In the end, he even looked underneath me and I could feel his disappointment in not finding what he was looking for. "That's so not fair. You got to see what I have to offer."

"Maybe later. Let's get something to eat, ponies are already watching us strangely."

And there was his smirk again, his emotions warning me of what he was about to suggest. "I don't mind. We can go over there," -His hoof pointed to a small hallway- "and you can show me how large you are while mounting me."

I swatted him with one of my wings. Ponies tended to believe our wings to be fragile, but they were no less durable than pony wings. We mostly lacked the dexterity to use them like pegasi, but swatting a pesky stallion on the nose was totally doable.

The waiter at the entrance of the restaurant eyed us for a moment before silently leading us to an empty table.

"I was half expecting some dress code or something when he looked at us funny," I said as we sat down.

Lapis shrugged. "Nah, that's not something you find on a space station. I think it's more the unusual pairing of a changeling and a pony."

A waitress approached our table. "What can I get you two, lovebirds?"

I was about to ask for simple water when Lapis cut in. "Why don't you bring us a bottle of the Colt Grande?" She nodded and swiftly vanished to get our order.

I liked his attitude. I feared he would be socially awkward at first, but it looked like he enjoyed taking charge, something I could get behind. A strong and assertive mate was something changelings found attractive. It was a sign that he could produce healthy offspring.

As soon as the waitress was out of sight, Lapis remembered something he should have asked sooner. "Oh right, how many bits can we spend?"

I quickly calculated what I had at hoof before answering, "Thousand bits?"

He looked at me slack-jawed before composing himself. "Right, prince... We're not going to spend that much, I promise."

I waved him off again. If Equestria did one thing right, it was paying their officers adequately. Even Iron Hoof had trouble spending all the bits he earned and he was 'only' a Lieutenant.

The waitress returned with our wine shortly after. "Have you already made a choice for your food?"

I shrugged and Lapis quickly selected two dishes for both of us. "You can eat normal food, right?" He asked.

"Yes, but I don't get full from it. I like the taste of it from time to time, though. Most changelings tend to cook some food. It is more of a recreation for them and helps bonding with their mate."

He let out a small laugh. "Good. I was worried I would have to eat both dishes."

He took a sip of the wine. I looked him directly in the eyes before emptying the glass in one gulp - the taste was commendable. There was no risk of getting drunk from it - our metabolism didn't work that way.

After putting the empty glass down, I spotted Lapis eyeing me intently. "If I have to carry your drunk flank home, I'm going to be very cross."

Without breaking eye contact, I took the bottle and started drinking straight out of it. His eyes went comically wide and I had to stifle a laugh. "Changelings can't get drunk," I said after putting the now-half-empty bottle down.

"Anything else I need to know about changelings before we get too far into this?"

A devious smile made its way onto my muzzle. "Our males lay eggs into the host during sex, so you might have to carry a few of them from time to time."

He went pale and looked towards the exit for a moment, panic slowly making itself known in his emotions. I burst out laughing.

"Ha, ha. Jerk." Lapis said, punching me in the shoulder.

It took me a moment to get my laughter back under control before I could speak up again. "Sorry, but I always wanted to make that joke."

He looked at me in shock. "Wait, you never dated before? That's something I find hard to believe; you're surprisingly easy to get along with."

"I am a changeling prince. That alone keeps most of them away. With the ability to sense their emotions, most attempts at dating die before they even get started," I explained.

"That sounds awful."

"I have accepted that I might never find a mate of my own. For now, we should see where this is going."

There was a moment of silence before Lapis spoke back up. "So, is there anything I should know about sex with a changeling? If this is going to become something more, I don't want to find out we're not compatible in bed later on."

"Oh, how forward of you." I fluttered my eyes at him, making him blush again.

He shook his head with a slight giggle. "You can read my emotions, no sense in hiding them."

"You're right. I can feel the 'love' coming from you." I made sure to make quotes with my hoofs at the word love because it was not quite the right word yet, but ponies had no other words to describe it properly. "And no, there is not much difference between a pony and a changeling when it comes to sex. What is different is that every changeling could give birth to a foal, regardless of gender."

"Wait, what... How is that going to work?"

"Well, I could disguise myself as a mare and you impregnate me. My magic would force me to remain in that form until the foal was born. It's a genetic relic from the time we used long-term impersonation to get food. Back then, it was vital for us to blend in as much as possible. And disguising ourselves as a mare often yielded better results in love harvesting."

A moment later, the waitress returned with our food. Lapis had ordered a nice-looking salad for himself and some sort of fried fish for me. "Is there a reason you ordered fish for me?" I asked.

He blushed again and tried to suppress his emotions. "I might have wanted to see those sharp fangs at work."

'Wow, this guy is as kinky as Tartarus.' Cutting a piece of fish, I made a show of biting into it, exposing my fangs before letting them slowly pierce the piece of fish in my magic. I could feel his rising lust bubble up inside of him, but he kept it in check.

"Buck, that's hot."

The rest of the meal went on in silence, both of us enjoying our food. After finishing the last bite, I spoke up again. "So why don't you tell me a little about you?"

"What's there to tell?" He too, ate his last bite and swallowed before continuing. "My full name is Lapis Venture. I'm from a large family of archaeologists. I chose to go into the army and, after training, I ended up here. I just turned 23 a few weeks ago. By the way, how old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

I gave him a shrug. "I don't mind, but you might want to hold on to something."

He giggled. "It's not like you're going to say ten or something. I know you changelings mature very fast, but you're in charge and must have a lot of experience under you if you made it this far."

"I'm 323 years old."

He looked at me, dumbfounded. "You're joking again, right? I thought you lived only as long as ponies, at best."

"Yeah, but I'm a royal changeling. We don't exactly age. I could easily reach a thousand years, but after that, my usefulness to the changelings declines, marking the end of my life."

"So, you royals live as long as you are useful?" Lapis asked and I nodded. "That's kind of cruel."

"Not really, it's biologically ingrained in us to not be a burden to the Hive. Even the Queen would end her life if she ever felt useless."

"Wait, you're telling me Queen Chrysalis, who ruled the changelings for almost three thousand years, would just step down?"

"Yes, but the chance of having a better queen is almost zero. Before her ascension to the throne, most queens only lived for around a hundred years before being replaced. There was never a better queen than Chrysalis."

"Wow." Lapis looked in awe. "I knew she was smart and powerful, but that." Hearing this level of fascination for our culture was not something I expected from a pony. He locked eyes with me and deflated slightly, something must have given him the idea he had said something disrespectful.

The smile I gave him made him visibly relax. "Anyway, anything you want to know about me?" he asked.

I smirked. "Yes, but we should talk about that in a more private setting."

He shook his head and mockingly pouted. "You already want under my tail?"

His emotions told me he would be up for it, but I was not. "No, we only met after all. I'm just curious. As you said, I want this to last, so we should get all of the talking out of the way first. And a restaurant isn’t the right place for that."

He didn’t object to me covering the bill. After I paid, we made our way towards my apartment, which was closer and had a lot more room.

Chapter 5

Lapis must have been very eager to see what a royal’s chambers looked like judging by how swiftly he started to gorge his eyes on everything in sight. "Not what I was expecting for royalty, but then again, there isn't much luxury on a space station."

"It's more than I need. The only thing I regularly use is the bathtub." I answered with a smile on my face as I watched him zip through every room.

Lapis opened door after door before finding the bathroom. "Wow, that's like three times bigger than my small, little shower room - and even that is luxury. Most guards have to use the showers in the barracks."

"Never thought about that. Every changeling has a small space for themself, but they like the company of others, a house for a single pony could easily house three or four changelings. This, in comparison, is like a palace, but the others would never stand for it if I didn't have the best of the best available to me."

After giving himself a small tour of the apartment, Lapis settled down on a cushion by the table. He had even bound his tail back up when I was not looking. "So, let's get the talking out of the way," he said after getting comfortable. "What do you want to know?"

I took a deep breath. 'Why is this so difficult to talk about? I can feel his interest in me. He is a pony who could be compatible with me. Why am I hesitating?' "What's up with your outfit? I don't remember ever seeing anything like that before."

He stood up and moved around in a full circle, showing off his muscular body. "You like it? I have a set of nice panties in my bag as well and a saddle if you're into that." Another of his smirks. "And a few toys if you want something more 'in-depth'," he finished with a wink.

I was glad changelings could not blush. I just gave him a deadpan look. He nearly broke out into laughter at seeing the look on my face. "You're too easy. I'm into all sorts of things, but I like dressing like a mare - makes me feel sexy." Something in his emotions turned darker, but I couldn't get a good read on it yet. "If you don't like it, just say the word and I will find something else to wear." He quickly added.

"And what about the pain? Never seen a pony fight through pain as easily as you have during our spar."

"This type of pain has always been something I could push through," Lapis answered. While true, I could feel that he was hiding something from me. "You didn't mind hurting me that much, either. I saw your smile when you hit me." He said, trying to distract me from my question.

"It's a changeling thing," I said. He clearly wanted to hear more, judging by his expression. "My duty as prince is to protect my changelings. I had to go through years of training to be worthy of this position. In addition to that, my status as royal 'ling grants me some biological advantages, instincts we call them.

“If I enter my combat mode, my body switches from processing positive emotions to negative ones, like fear. It's a powerful boost to my combat abilities, but it sacrifices any form of self-preservation. For a normal changeling, this would be lethal, but a royal can endure it for a few weeks without any ill effects. Over the years, I have gained a taste for fear. That's why I enjoy hurting others so much."

Lapis was listening intently to my explanation, even scooting closer to my side. I was ready for him to leave me like any normal pony would after hearing that. "Buck, that sounds hot. You're going to tell me a few stories about your encounters. I want all the gory details."

'I think he's insane… I love it.' Getting a read on his emotions was becoming a lot more difficult; there were so many different and contradicting feelings that made it hard to pick them out. There was something he was not telling me, but pressing him now would likely push him away and end any chances I had with him.

Thinking about a good story to tell, I started out slow with the encounter during my last mission. When I told him how I blew up two griffons and a pony of the equestrian task force vomited from the sight, he smiled at me, enraptured by the story.

He didn't hold it against me that I took some enjoyment out of hurting others and even torturing them. With the ability to detect subtle lies, I never noticed anything other than an interest in what I told him. The undertone of love was always present, no matter what I said.

Before I could make any remark on that, somepony knocked on the door. One of my changelings entered with a note held in his magic. He took a few sniffs of the air before noticing Lapis sitting next to me and gave me a sly smirk, exposing his fangs a little. "Massage from the Queen. She has new orders for you, your Highness."

A quick flick of my magic and I took the note from him. "Thank you."

"It was my honour, My Prince and Prince Consort." He gave Lapis and me a deep bow, his muzzle almost touching the ground, before leaving.

Lapis's confusion about the strange interaction was clear in his emotions and his expression. "Is that something that happens often?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"Them bowing or the consort thing?" He nodded to both. "Yes, they always bow to me when it's official business. In more relaxed settings, some of them call me father. And for the consort thing, if we become a thing, then yes, but he was just making a joke at my expense this time."

"Oh." Lapis thought for a moment. "They don't expect me to give them orders, do they?"

I shook my head with a slight snort. "No, they will treat you as royalty, but you have no authority over them. When it comes to the Hive and the changelings, you will be expected to follow my orders. Refusing to do so could get you into deep trouble."

Another of his smirks and a seductive wink. "I can do that, Master."

His lust had filled the entire room by now. Any changeling walking in here would have a hard time keeping it down. Even I was starting to feel the effects of it.

To distract myself from the surrounding emotions, I opened the message and read it to myself.

"Storm Shadow, your new orders are to keep a lookout for pirate activity around the dry dock where Celestia's ship is being rebuilt. High Command is expecting heightened pirate activity due to the increase in shipments and I have to agree with them on that. Any infiltration missions are set on hold for the time being and I expect you to work together with the ponies. Within this message is the royal seal, allowing you to take command of the station's security forces to guarantee the mission's success. Above all else, the continued good relations with our food is our top priority. Queen Chrysalis."

It was not hard to read between the lines. This mission was a publicity stunt and nothing more. Our need for secure shipping routes was almost non-existent - all outposts were self-sufficient, after all.

Lapis looked at me expectantly. There was no reason not to tell him about it; he would get informed of the situation by tomorrow, anyway. "I got my new mission. I will take command of the guards on this station to guarantee the security during the rebuild of the Celestial Hammer."

His expression fell. "Oh." I could feel his sorrow and moved closer to him, placing a wing on his back and motioned him to continue voicing his concern. "Well, if you're my superior officer, we can't be together."

"Good thing we changelings don't care about most of your pony rules. We are perfectly capable of separating personal life from duty." His emotions brightened in an instant. 'Did he really think I would push him away just because of this?' "And it's only temporary, anyway. After the mission, Iron Hoof will be back in charge." I let him sort out his emotions for a moment and used that time to look at the clock. "Do you want me to take you to your home? It's getting late."

"Can I stay the night? We don't have to do anything, but I would like to get to know you better. We could cuddle a bit and get to know each other better. I still have so many questions."

"We can take a bath together if you like," I said, watching his expression closely. Shared bathing was something ponies did regularly with friends and I wanted to get a feel for his true feelings. He hid his emotions very well if he was against the idea of taking a bath together. His answer was a single nod and a bright blush on his cheeks at the thought of it.

Filling the tub with water took no time at all. I was the first to step into the warm water, taking a relaxed position on my back with only my head poking out.

When I opened my eyes again, Lapis was stepping in opposite to me. I felt his back hoofs brushing up against my own. A small giggle escaped his lips when he moved closer to me and began to trail his front hooves up my leg. I was about to stop him, but his emotions stopped me in my tracks. For the first time since we met, he tasted happy. All his worries had evaporated.

'Why is it bothering me so much? Why do I want to take it slow?' I thought to myself. Any other changeling would jump on the opportunity to mate with a pony. Why was I hesitating? Lapis clearly had feelings for me. His hoofs pressed between my legs and I jumped, a moan escaping my lips.

Lapis hastily withdrew, shaking. His emotions turned full of worry and fear. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. You said to take it slow." A tear rolled down his cheek as panic overtook his features. "Sorry, Storm, please give me another chance. I'm going to do better, I promise."

Enveloping him in my magic, I brought him to me - his back resting on my stomach as I gently patted him on his head. "Everything is fine. You can tell me if something is bothering you. Don't keep your feelings bottled up, Lapis."

"I..." he stammered. His emotions turned into a swirling mess. "It's nothing." He leaned his head back against my shoulder, quietly sobbing as I cleaned his mane. He only calmed down after we finished our bath. I needed to get to the bottom of this, but for now, Lapis needed a strong shoulder to lean against. I was sure he would tell me in time.

Getting dry and ready for bed took some time, a pony’s coat was not easy to dry. I had offered Lapis to sleep with me in my bed, something ponies did often even with simple friends, and he reluctantly agreed.

A quick flash of green and I was back in my pegasus disguise, the small amount of confusion emitting from Lapis taking me off guard. I remembered that he had never seen me in this form before and explained. "I like to sleep in my disguise. It's a lot more comfortable this way."

Lapis was a little unsure of that. "But you're a mare… I don't…"

"For this to work, you have to get used to this form as well. It's the form I will wear most of the time." I hopped into bed, patting the mattress beside me to get him to move.

After a short moment, he jumped in as well and put his legs around me. "You're right, and you do look cute like this as well." I was glad he couldn't see my blush from this angle.

I quickly drifted off to sleep.