Extraterrestrial #51

Chapters

Ch. 2: Empathy Sickness (Edited)
Ch. 3: The Pin Drops
Ch. 5: Tale Of An Oath / Tale Of Redemption
Ch. 6: I Will Go In Peace
Ch. 7: Long Flight To The NY
Ch. 8: Tale of the Ruler of Tender Uncertainty
Ch. 9: Tale of The Staff Whom God Will Strengthen
Ch. 10: Breaking the Inception Wall and The Cavalry Hath Arrived
Side Ch.: Tale of The Suspicious One (or) Tale of The Red Lamp
Ch. 11: Extended Tale of Redemption / Hanging on the Edge of Tomorrow
Corollary: What is a Draconequus?
Ch. 12: The Alien's New Mission: Refuse This Mission
Deleted chapter: One Nation Under Lelouch (Skippable)
Ch. 13: Tales of the Jailbirds
Ch. 14: A Conversation Of Four
Ch. 16: A Very, Very Mad Mind
Ch. 17: Start From The Bottom
Ch. 18: Synchro What?
Ch. 19: Where Are the Crowds?
Ch. 20: One of Us, One of Us
Ch. 21: I Have A Plan - Attack!
Ch. 22: Best Laid Plans Go to Waste
Ch. 23: Time-Skip
Ch. 1: They're Not Made of Cheese
Ch. 4: I Will Not Be Left Behind
Ch. 15: How Not To Explain My Little Pony To A Non-Brony

Ch. 2: Empathy Sickness (Edited)

Empathy Sickness

After utilizing my one-two-three-four leg moving pattern, I nudged the door that was ajar. This bug-like body must have had extra sensitive hearing, because the creak of the door sounded much louder than it had yesterday. My growling stomach, however, was louder than my door. I really hoped that this body I was now in could digest something other than pure emotion. With the door opened at a reasonable space, I walked out ("walked" is easier to say than "moved my legs in an awkwardly slow pattern" over and over).

I cannot sense my queen. Perhaps the distance is too great between us.

I stopped in place and blinked twice.

Where did that thought come from? I mentally asked. The only answer I received was another growl from my stomach.

"Wait your turn!" I hissed to the internal organ. Assuming I was just angry from hunger, I continued walking down the hall. Analyzing my mental stability would have to wait.

I was glad that the kitchen was just around the corner from the end of the hallway. I could only imagine the difficulty that a newly turned quadruped would have ascending or descending a staircase. Headaches and miscellaneous bruises were most likely. I had to cough to prevent myself from chuckling at the image. I gave my props to all the "ponified" people that were going to make a difference in the world. I was going to hold integrity and not laugh at their inevitable misfortune.

After all, I had a new challenge that some pony would probably laugh at me if they had the chance.

"Okay, Cier," I whispered, "It's just the fridge door. Nothing you can't handle."

I took a deep breath to psyche myself up. I attempted to jump up and grab the fridge handle between my hooves. That ended about as gracefully as anyone would expect... with me smashing face first into the refrigerator. This was immediately followed by me landing on my back, no doubt squishing my insect wings because of the two extra pains I felt back there. I quickly rolled over onto my stomach to relieve the pressure.

The pained groan that escaped my throat sounded kind of like what I remembered about the head crabs from Half-Life. That noise sent chills down my spine. My stomach was annoyingly reminding me that it still needed food. I briefly wondered if looking at certain websites would be faster than trying to raid the fridge. I then twisted my lips in a half frown at such a dirty thought.

I'm pretty sure that's not the kind of love changelings feed on anyway, I thoughtfully argued.

I shook my head with a sudden urge to take a cold shower. But the challenge of cleanliness would have to wait until after the challenge of nutrition was tackled. This time I took a different approach. Instead of running up to the door like an idiot, I tried crouching just barely in front of the fridge door handle. I jumped up with fangs bared.

Score! I thought as I managed to bite the handle, Wait... what do I do now?

First, it was the blown up doorknob and now my fangs were biting into the fridge handle. I was doing a pretty lousy job of controlling and properly using this changeling's body. I helplessly tried to swing my body to edge the fridge open, but to no avail. I then let my body go limp before opening my jaw wide enough to let go. Ironically, doing so let me sit on my rump like the ponies normally did in the cartoon.

At that moment, I heard a sound from back down the hallway. My black, misshapen ears perked up.

How did I forget about that? I thought. Unlike my college professors that were nice enough to recognize the messed up calendar, my dad's boss wasn't. He still needed to wake up and go to work... and the former was exactly what he was doing now.

Of all the days to sound like a smoke addict, why'd it have to be today? I thought as I waited for the footsteps to finally approach my position. There was no point in running or hiding. I'd get found out eventually, if not by my dad than by someone else somewhere. No pressure or anything. I mean, the worst case scenario was that I'd be a green puddle of roadkill.

"What on Earth... are you?" asked Dad in a genuinely confused tone as he looked down at the pony-shaped insect in the kitchen.

"Dad! It's me!" I exclaim-coughed. He didn't say anything more. He only tilted his head slightly to further express his confusion.

Here, try again.

"I'm Cier!" I cried out. I lifted a hoof to my lower jaw at the unexpected change in pitch. That had been... my voice. It was the voice I had as a human.

"Cier?" pondered Dad as he leaned down to take a closer look at me, "What... is this? What happened to you?"

"You remember that news report about all the extra days?" I asked.

"Yes..." he slowly answered, "But what does that have to do with... er, this?" He motioned an open palm at my condition.

"Funny story," I responded, "Well, not 'ha-ha' funny, but interesting to say the least."

Wagnesday
8:50 AM
Kitchen

By this point, Dad and I had moved to sitting in chairs at the table.

"So, this kind of thing is happening all over the world," Dad paraphrased.

"Yep," I nodded.

"Yet, for some unknown reason, you became a different kind of horse?" he inquired.

"It's called a changeling," I explained, "The primary aspects of it is that it's a creature capable of altering forms and feeding off the love of ponies."

He looked deep in thought for a moment before asking, "If you can change shape naturally, why didn't you just change into something that could open the fridge?"

"I... haven't really figured out how that power works yet," I blushed (at least I think I blushed) while rubbing my neck with a hoof.

"Come to think of it, can you even eat normal food anymore?" he wondered.

"That's what I was going to find out," I replied.

"Well, alright," he shrugged as he got up and went to the fridge himself, "There's some leftover pizza in here."

"Sounds great," I confirmed. He brought over the plate with the slice of goodness.

"Do you need help?" he offered as he set it down in front of me.

"I should be able to manage," I answered, "Thanks anyway."

I reached out my open mouth and my left fang seemed to snag a bite of the food. Then, that bite slid into my mouth as I started chewing. I learned something about changelings' tastebuds first hoof. It seemed that their sense of taste is muffled, if that's the right word for it. Any saltiness or grease was noticeable, but not that strong. I swallowed what didn't get caught on my fang pretty easily.

"Is it as good as it was last night?" asked Dad.

"Short answer: no," I replied, "Long answer: it's still edible. I'm just not tasting all the flavors that I thought sausage, onions, and pepperoni were supposed to have. For that matter, the cheese doesn't taste as cheesy. Does that make any sense?"

"Yeah, it does," he responded, "It's sort of like how Mom couldn't taste anything while she had that cold."

"Yeah," I muttered. I continued fang-shoveling the pizza into my mouth in relative silence.

Mom wasn't exactly on speaking terms with us right now. The last I heard from her was when she told me personally that she just had to leave for a while. She and Dad had gotten into an argument and I just wasn't a proper pacifist to settle that dispute. I probably left a bad impression on her just before she left the house. That was over two weeks ago.

Wagnesday
9:10 AM
Restroom

"You okay in there?" called Dad.

"Yeah! Just fine!" I hollered over the sound of running water. I was glad that the adjustments for the shower water were level with the tub faucet. I could just push the lever up or down to make more or less water come out. The bad news was that I had to settle for ice cold water since I couldn't turn the frigging temperature controls. All I could do was nudge the switch from faucet to shower and vice versa.

I decided not to bother with soap and shampoo. I wasn't about to trust my magic control after the doorknob incident. (Dad wasn't even mad about it. He said that it was amazing.) So, I had hopes that any bacteria that this changeling body gathered would freeze off or something. After about what felt like ten minutes, I shut off the water altogether.

As for towel drying, I plead the fifth.

"Alright, I'm done!" I called. The doorknob turned and the door opened to show my dad opening it.

"Thanks," I said with a small smile. Too big a smile would reveal too much fang for a gratuitous expression.

"Alright, I'm heading off to work," declared Dad as he walked around the house and gathered his stuff, "I assume you'll be fine by yourself today."

"Aren't I usually?" I asked rhetorically.

"Well, usually you aren't a... what did you call it?... changeling," he pointed out.

"Touché," I chuckled.

"Call if you need anything," he reminded me.

"Will do," I nodded, "See you later."

"See you," he echoed as he closed the front door behind him.

Wagnesday
10:00 AM
Cier Dylan's Bedroom

At first, using my laptop was a pleasantly challenging experience. I couldn't type with my holey hooves without hitting multiple buttons. So, I had to improvise by lodging a pencil into one of the holes. It didn't hurt, but it did feel a little uncomfortable. My typing speed was considerably slower, but eventually entering URL addresses became a feasible task for this changeling.

I had to do a little catching up on the news. Discord had set up a plethora of lookalikes. There was a real-world equivalent of the HLF called P.A.P.A. Lauren Faust and Tara Strong had gone missing yesterday. Yeah, I was a little worried about that, but there wasn't much that I could do from here. California seemed to live in its own little world pretending to be separate from the rest of the United States.

Playing most of the Flash games online was out of the question because they required precise hand-eye coordination. My pencil in hoof was hardly precise. All that was left to do was give another apology to all ten, er... nine of my watchers on FiMfiction that updates would be further delayed. I gave the subtle hint that I had become a creature of the badlands just outside of Equestria's border. Yeah, they'd understand or not give a care. I wasn't picky.

"I never thought I could get sick of the internet," I muttered, "But I suppose I can surprise even myself."

I decided to leave my computer on for the time being in case I needed it later. I hopped down from the chair and took another look in the mirror.

"Hm," I thought out loud, "Maybe it's time to test the extent of this body."

Attempting to alter forms on the spot was an unfamiliar action (obviously). At first, I tried to just picture different ponies in my head. This did not produce any better results than the magic I had tried earlier that day. There was no coat of green flames, no sound effect, or anything else that indicated that I was even remotely tapping into the one power that changelings were known to have. I still looked like a pony-beetle hybrid with fangs.

On a whim, I decided to close my eyes again and breathe.

Changing forms is pointless right now.

"Huh?" I asked as I opened my eyes.

????
????
????

"Who said that?" I added as I looked around the empty space that should have been my room but wasn't.

I have no name. It matters little in serving my queen. I am the fifty-first drone of her majesty Chrysalis.

"Well, that's disheartening," I responded while crossing what felt like my arms, "Mind if I call you Fifty-one?"

It makes little difference what you call me. My title is of no importance.

The voice sounded a lot like the half-coughing voice that I had when I first woke up today.

"Where are you anyway?" I asked.

Here. It seems I am in your mind. It also seems that you are in my body. This confuses me.

"Yeah," I chuckled, "You and me both."

From observing some of your mind's corridors, I have found that common courtesy requires that I ask for your title as well.

"Cier Dylan, community college student," I said while reaching out a hand pretending that Fifty-one would actually shake it. To my intrigue, something actually did shake my hand.

"So, how does this existing in the same time and space thing work?" I wondered, "Are we looking at a complete mind merge or one of us slowly fading into the other's subconscious?"

I do not know. But you seem to be a creature that does not rely on altering their shape for the sake of appearances.

"I try to keep things consistent, yes," I confirmed.

In that case, it would make optimal sense for you to maintain dominance.

"Really? Why's that?"

You have more personal experience with this world inhabited by humans. In your immediate area, there is no threat or mission that presses the necessity of changing forms.

"Did you not see what happened with the door knob, fridge, and towel?"

Improvisation appears to be one of your strengths, human.

"Are you sure we're still talking about me? I choke under pressure and I hardly ever take the initiative."

But you held your ground to face your father. While my race considers such action foolish, your race seems to view that as admirable and bold.

"So, what do you view that as?"

My view matters not. I just feel at liberty to let you know what it is.

"So... I can assume that there will be no random bursts of sucking the love out of the people that I care about?"

It wouldn't matter since my queen is not around to absorb it. If such actions will only serve to make you suffer, then I shall avoid feeding on love.

"One last question: how did you change my voice back to normal?"

A changeling can alter his or her voice to whatever they desire. Their form, however, is dependent on seeing an actual lifeform. Therefore, it will be impossible for you to assume the forms of the ponies you know just from memory.

"Oh... That makes sense, I guess."

Someling has to make sense when chaos is destroying the fabric of reality.

"True."

I suggest reassuming consciousness.

"How do I-?"

Wagnesday
1:00 PM
Cier Dylan's Bedroom

"-do that?" I asked as I blinked. Once again, I was looking at the changeling in the mirror. The daylight peeking in through the windows had already changed drastically. I looked at the analog clock on the back wall.

"I was in my own mind for three hours?!" I said in an exaggerated volume.

Geez, I thought while rubbing my head, Calm down, Cier. It was a learning experience, right?

My ear perked up at the sound of a knob turning. I assumed it was the front door. I awkwardly walked out of my room and into the hallway.

"Hey!" I hollered.

"Hey!" echoed my dad as he closed the door, "I thought you might be waiting for lunch considering the lack of hands to open stuff. So, I decided to stop by and check on you."

"Now that you mention it," I started.

I never got to finish that statement. The front window just randomly shattered. No, seriously. The glass just frigging shattered out of the frame.

"What the heck?" Dad and I shouted simultaneously. Curiosity getting the better of us, Dad opened the door again. He took a step outside as I followed him, miraculously not tripping over my hooves.

"What in the world?" I whispered at the sight.

Gun laws were strict in the state of California. So naturally, I was surprised when I saw the man standing just outside of a Corolla while wielding a semi-automatic pistol. The guy that came out of the driver's seat looked like he had a baseball cap with the initials "P.A." on it. He wasn't armed. The one in the front passenger side looked a bit out of place wearing a pair of brass knuckles. The fourth guy actually took out a Swiss-army knife. This group's weapon chemistry was way out of sync.

"What do you know?" chuckled the gunman turning to look at his colleagues, "That anonymous tip we got was right on the money. There is one of those ugly horses here."

"This is a private residence," Dad told the group, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Sure, gramps," called the driver, "We'll leave... just as soon as we put down that dumb animal next to you."

I am not a dumb animal!

Calm down, Fifty-one, I managed to mentally leash him, That guy's got a gun.

"Maybe you didn't hear him, pops," said the knife man with a voice that sounded like a smoker's, "That pony's gotta go."

"That pony," I interrupted, "Just so happens to be a changeling."

"Meh, all you mutated dogs look the same to me," shrugged the gunman. Remembering that this guy had a gun, I immediately resumed my tense shaking in place where I stood.

"So what's it gonna be gramps?" repeated the driver.

"You can't have my son," stated Dad flatly.

"Your loss, old man," the gunman shrugged again as he slowly moved his index finger.

I lowered my eyebrows (if I had those), "You wouldn't dare-"

*BANG*

My dad let out a yelp. I watched him clutch his left shoulder as the shirt started to turn red from what I could only assume was blood. My eyes went wide.

"Dad!" I yelped in trembling before turning back to the man who had fired the shot.

You... are my enemy.

It felt like I had been shunted behind a screen door in my mind. I could still see and feel what was happening. But beyond that, there was nothing. I heard the changeling growl escape my throat. I saw the green bolt of magic blast the pistol right out of the man's grasp and watched it fly across the street. Another bolt blasted the knife out of the smoker's grasp. I wanted to feel shocked, but my face was stuck in an expression of anger.

"I didn't sign up for this *es*t!" yelled the driver as he got back in and started the engine.

"Hey!" called the now gun-less man, "You don't leave until I say so!"

It was then that I heard a police's siren coming awfully close.

"Like I said," rushed the man opening his door, "Step on the gas!"

The other guys hastily followed their leader's example. The Corolla's tires screeched and the vehicle sped off just as a police car arrived on the scene and began chasing them. The screen door in my mind was lifted and I let out a gasp. Meanwhile, a motorcyclist officer drove up and stopped just on the lawn's edge.

"Excuse me," she stated, "What happened here?"

"Officer!" I hollered, "My dad's been shot! He needs an ambulance like right now!"

Wagnesday
3:00 PM
Hospital

I was getting some rather cautious looks from various folks in the waiting room. I let out a sigh as I stared at the floor. I couldn't blame them for their fear. I looked like a giant bug after all. I looked up to see someone in white uniform.

"How's my dad?" I asked directly. She looked at me in the same manner as the other people in there.

"He's doing much better," she replied after clearing her throat.

"Can I see him, please?" I begged while simultaneously wishing for smaller fangs. No luck was found in the latter.

"I... suppose," she answered. No doubt, she was wondering if exposing patients to pests was against health protocol.

My awkward walking probably wasn't earning any brownie points either. But, it was the only way I could move these four legs without falling over. I really needed to ask Fifty-one how my wings worked. His wings. Whatever.

Turns out, Dad was sitting upright with bandaging all around his shoulder and a bit around his waist to hold it all in place. He winced a little, but he was a trooper. That bullet had scraped his skin rather than going in and staying there. I was relieved to hear all of this.

"I'm just glad you're alive," I sighed in relief. He smiled and nodded.

"I...I thought... I was going... to lose you," I choked as something dripped from my eye.

How are you crying?

True men aren't afraid to cry! I mentally declared to Fifty-one.

No, I mean how are you crying? My race is incapable of shedding tears.

I hopped up on the table that Dad was sitting on and gave the best hug I could with holey hooves. He slowly returned the hug.

"I'm here," he affirmed.

I thought I was immune to it, but... it seems you're contracting Empathy Sickness. Very curious.

I let my tears stream out like there was no tomorrow. If having emotions meant that I was sick, then I didn't want to be well.

Author's Note

The "original" version of this chapter involved a Discord clone having transformed into Voldemort. 51 somehow inexplicably knew the Expelliarmus spell. "Dad" got hit by an Avada Kedavra and was saved through the "power of familial love".
Trust me. It was a mess.

Ch. 3: The Pin Drops

A/N: I've been given the clear by Hilltopper2 to release the chapter with a semi-spoiler moment.
If you're confused by what the spoiler is, go read his "Love and Music Theory".

The Pin Drops

Under some standard "take-it-easy" instructions given by the doctor, Dad was allowed to leave the hospital. That was a good thing, because I hadn't been looking forward to a long and lonely return trip. Of course, I shouldn't have expected things to get easier. As witnesses to a gang crime, we had to be taken by the police for questioning. I ended up resting my head on my dad's lap like a tired animal during the drive.

????
????
????

I guess I fell asleep. Though, it was strange that I could remember going to sleep if I had actually fallen asleep. I don't know. What started out as empty blackness gave way to an eerily green lit cavern. I looked around the entire place filled with various egg-shaped structures. Eventually, I saw one that stood out from the rest hanging from the ceiling. It looked like a neon cocoon, kind of like the one I saw Celestia in from the Season 2 ending. Only this one held a slightly different prize.

Cier Dylan.

"Um, hey, Fifty-one," I hesitated, "Did I interrupt something?"

I'm simply reliving the memory of a recovery. Your presence is hardly disturbing.

"Recovery? From what?"

Surely, you saw what became of my race in that... "show" that you watch.

"Don't call me 'Shirley' and if you're talking about the Canterlot wedding episodes, then yes, I did see that."

Then, you should understand that what I went through was... unpleasant.

"Yeah, I suppose getting catapulted by a force field would be uncomfortable. Sorry."

Your concern is unnecessary, although appreciated.

"I almost forgot," I interrupted, "What was with that mental shove when that gun got blasted?"

An instinctual reaction, I would surmise. Your father was in danger, so our combined instincts sought to remove the danger.

"You mean..." I paused, "I could have killed someone back there?"

No. I only aimed to destroy the threats. I never aimed to take lives.

"How did you know how to aim for the gun and knife with such precision?"

Did you honestly believe my queen would send my race into a battle without training them in precision targeting?

"Er... kinda?" I chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of my neck.

I heard a sigh.

You have a lot to learn, human.

"Well... thanks, I guess. You did save my dad without adding murder to my conscience."

Your gratitude is as unnecessary as your concern.

"Oh..." I looked away.

But, it is welcome.

I looked back up at him and cracked a smile.

"So, uh, any chance you might teach me how to use your wings?"

When the task becomes necessary, Cier Dylan. Not before.

I felt a tug on my head. The green-lit cavern started to fade from view.

"Come on, Cier," called Dad's voice, "Time to get up."

I tried to give an okay, but my mouth felt like it was occupied by something soft. I tried moving my jaw around. Finally, I just gave up and spat out whatever it was. I opened my eyes and looked at the object that had landed on the seat. It looked like a bunch of feathers and a torn-up... pillow sheet.

"Where did those come from?" asked Dad.

"I have absolutely no idea," I answered with just as much confusion.

Wagnesday
3:40 PM
Police Station

"So, my magic randomly kicked in and blasted the guys' weapons out of their hands," I finished.

"Hmm," hummed the officer at his desk while writing down something, "And what about you, Mr. Dylan?"

"My son's testimony is probably better than mine," Dad replied, "I was on the ground in pain, so I didn't see a whole lot after the gunshot."

"Uh-huh," said the officer turning back to me, "Just out of curiosity, kid, which pony are you?"

"None of them, sir," I answered honestly, "I turned into a changeling."

He paused, probably not expecting that answer.

"I see," he finally responded while taking more notes, "Fortunately, we've already apprehended the perpetrators. But as a precaution, we'll be sending one of our men to perform regular sweeps by your house just to make sure no one else tries anymore funny stuff. Oh, and Fillers will be driving you two home."

"Thank you, sir," I nodded.

"All in a day's work," he shrugged as if this were a regular occurrence. Maybe it was considering the number of anonymous transformed ponies and other creatures unaccounted for. I didn't know.

Wagnesday
5:30 PM
Living Room

We finally got all the glass cleaned up. Investigators had already come by and retrieved the bullets. I guess any evidence was good for them. Dad was wincing every so often, but he managed to use the broom just fine.

Meanwhile, Fifty-one must have assumed that glass handling required a bit of flight. My bug-like wings were buzzing as I held the dustpan in my mouth. After cleaning the glass, I hovered outside. Though, as soon as I had set up appropriate cover for the window, the wings puttered out and I hit my chin on the lawn.

When necessary and not before? I echoed in thought, I guess you forgot to say "and not after".

Dad managed to whip up some burgers for dinner. Having missed lunch, I quickly chewed and swallowed two patties with their buns and contents. When I came back to awareness, the table was slightly covered in various smudges of ketchup, onions, and crumbs. I let out a nervous chuckle. Dad topped it with a wholehearted guffaw.

I was relieved to hear that he still had his sense of humor. For the first time since this morning, it really felt like a normal day.

6:00 PM

*Knock* *Knock*

I was just heading back to my room when I heard the knocking. I thought of two possibilities of who could have been at the door. Option A, it was one of the police checking in on us during their rounds that the desk guy had told us about. Option B, it was somebody eager to write an interview about this latest development in "People Attack Ponies Association" news (I know that's not their real name. That's the joke). Dad used his good arm to open the door.

I turned around to see the visitor and blinked in surprise. Apparently, life decided to choose Option 3: flip the system. The one who stood there was not an officer or a reporter. It was a pony. She kind of looked like a ghost with a pure, white coat and a slightly off-white mane that stood up straight. I didn't know who she was and yet she seemed... familiar.

"Hi, can I help you?" inquired Dad politely as he still held the door.

"Terry, it's me," the pony responded. That voice... If my eyes hadn't been open before, then they were now.

"I...is that you, Arlene?" Dad hesitated.

"Mom?" I wondered aloud. The pony looked over at me. I stared at her blue irises. She held a look of confusion, which quickly melted into recognition. She slowly walked over, never once looking away.

"Cier," she whispered as she held up her hoof against my cheek, "Oh my ghost, they got you too."

That's an... interesting choice of words.

I was inclined to agree, but I was too distracted by the tears that started to form on Mom's eyes. Before I knew it, she had both of her hooves around me in a hug. I couldn't resist returning the embrace. At some point, Dad had leaned down and joined in the hug. There were so many questions that needed to be answered. But right now, this moment did not need to be spoiled.

Wagnesday
6:20 PM
Living Room

After Dad whipped up a quick salad and Mom just as quickly devoured it, there were discussions to be had.

Dad sat down in his chair while we exchanged stories. Mom had woken up as a pony early this morning. It was at that point that she realized that maybe the crazy news stories weren't so crazy after all. In hopes that she could recover some form of normalcy, she started running home. But her entire world had become so much bigger now and she had to leave her car parked right wherever the heck it was now. A smaller body without hands and feet kind of made the van unusable.

Mom was unsettled by some of the things she experienced on her way over. She kept hearing unusual whispers and every so often, it felt like some pony else ("Wait, some pony?" she paused before continuing) was moving her body for her. Yet, the feeling always passed away soon after with an eerie chill running through her entire body.

Wait a minute, I thought, A white earth pony, an off-white mane, "oh my ghost", and voices that haunt her?

Spirit Redeemer! I had a mental eureka moment, That was an OC pony I was just about to start writing about.

However, that thought was quickly brushed aside. At the point where she said that she arrived at the house, she asked why the window was covered.

Dad and I replayed the day's events verbally starting with the bullet crashing through the window. I think she was more shocked at the threat on Dad's life than she was about my magical sniping. She remained neutral about the hospital and police station part.

"When did the disease get you?" Mom asked me. At first, I was taken aback by how negatively she referred to the event. But then, I realized I couldn't really correct her. It's not like I could think of a good replacement word for what had happened aside from 'pandemic', 'situation', or 'dilemma'.

"This morning," I replied before adding, "I'm going to need a new phone, by the way."

"Why do you look so," she paused while looking for the word, "different from those creatures on the news?"

"They're called ponies," I pointed out before answering, "and it's because I'm a changeling."

"A change...ling?"

"Apparently, it's a creature that can feed on love and change shape," piped in Dad, "At least, that's what he told me."

"Change shape?" Mom was still clearly confused, "What does that even mean?"

"Well..." I started before Fifty-one interrupted my train of thought.

Remember what I said, human. My race can change as long as their target is actually there.

"Oh!" I smacked my hooves against each other in lieu of a snap, "Mom, can you turn to your right a bit?"

"Uh, sure," she complied, "But what does that have to do with...?"

I took a quick look at her cutie mark: a blue tulip. I gave a quick nod to myself before... doing whatever the heck I was doing. I wasn't really sure how to describe focusing on a pony's aura and copying it because it didn't really feel like anything. One minute, a burst of green flames flashed up past my line of sight. The next, the burst was all done.

"Woah," stated Dad in awe. Mom seemed to say the same thing voicelessly with her open jaw as she looked at me.

I looked down at where my black, holey hoof was. In its place I saw a whole, white hoof. I rubbed it along my head where I had no hairs just a second ago. A white, kind of prickly mane fought to stay upright. I turned my neck enough to look at the left side of my flank. A blue tulip cutie mark shone in the living room's light.

"Wow, it worked," I said happily before putting a hoof up to my mouth. I had spoken with an exact likeness of my mother's voice.

"And then some," I added.

"H-how is that even possible?" stammered the original. I'm not sure if it was Fifty-one's interference or my own will, but my disguise was soon removed in another burst of green flames.

"It's sort of a changeling's birthright," I answered in my own voice.

"Well, please don't do that again without my permission," Mom frowned.

"Alright, Mom," I nodded with a small smile, "Whatever you say."

She decided to go to bed early. Dad had some work to catch up on, so he grabbed his laptop and got to it.

Wagnesday
8:00 PM
Cier Dylan's Bedroom

I've been kind of slow with checking the internet as of late. One could only surf so quickly with a pencil as a button-pusher. Plus, the whole thug attack, hospital visit, lucid dream, and police station questioning took away most of the day. Things were that much more shocking when I finally did see the new turns of events.

"Hello, what's this?" I pondered as I looked at a featured link on Youtube. I heard a mental gasp from Fifty-one and my pencil fell to the floor.

My queen!

The video presented Chrysalis fighting Discord in Massachusetts.

Didn't see that one coming, I thought.

Ch. 5: Tale Of An Oath / Tale Of Redemption

Tale Of An Oath / Tale Of Redemption

Sunday, October 21, 2012
????
????

I didn't know where I was going. I didn't know what I was going to do. All I knew for sure was that I couldn't stay there. He raised his voice against me. There wasn't any need for that. Worst of all, he turned my son... my child... against me. I just had to go. Clearly, I wasn't welcome under my own roof.

Days blurred together. My van stopped at one place and then the next. A cheap hotel or a friend's house, I didn't care. As long as I wasn't causing grief for the people I cared about, that's all that mattered.

I don't know what compelled me that afternoon, but I decided to turn on the room's television. It seemed that I had cut right into the middle of a news conference. Though, I had to wonder why it looked like one of those old-school gaming costumes that was doing the talking.

"But this will not be the case for very long," said the... white creature(?), "Everyday, someone else is affected, and this will continue until..."

Whoever was in charge of these special effects was pretty good at making this construct show worried expressions.

"Yet, the most important thing I have to say yet is this," the voice of some off-screen woman continued, "To those that find themselves changed. If any of you find yourself to be an Element of Harmony, I need your help. You need to come to New York. No further comment."

I watched the costume/creature turn around and leave followed by a darker construct of similar shape. Were those things on their backs supposed to be wings? That didn't make any sense.

"That footage was taken earlier this morning," commented one of the usual reporters, "Craig McCracken and the rest of the staff have refused any further comments on the matter. In other news..."

But I had already stopped listening. It sickened me to think about the lengths that some people went for public attention. It was kind of sad, really, the number of hours they through away for the most obscure stunts that usually had more consequences than benefits.

Oh well, I thought as I turned back to my open laptop, Maybe I can get to level 20 on Bejeweled today.

Marsday(?)
????
The House of a Friend

"I just don't get it," she shook her head.

"Don't get what?" I inquired.

"How can my calendar suddenly have a new mark on it saying that today is some nonexistent day?" she clarified, "And how can the calendar suddenly hold all 365 of these nonexistent days in a single week?"

I looked at said calendar. Sure enough, the sight was baffling and... unusual. Then, I had an idea. I could just check what the day actually was on my phone and...

"Marsday?" I thought aloud, "Is this somebody's idea of a late April Fool's joke?"

"I don't know," she replied, "But looking at that thing right now is giving me a headache. I gotta go lie down."

"You do that," I encouraged, "I'm going to take a walk."

Marsday, I shook my head, What'll people think of next?

Wagnesday
8:30 AM
A Hotel Room

My body felt numb all over. My eyelids felt so heavy that I almost couldn't bother to move. Turning to look at the hotel's alarm clock, I noticed that it was quite a bit later than when I usually wake up. Normally, I'd wake up at six, regardless of what time zone I was in. In any case, I moved to shove off the blankets so that the air could help wake me up.

That's odd, I thought, I don't remember the blankets being that heavy last night.

I had to shove against them at least three more times. Finally, I felt the restricting covers leave me. But then...

Where are my feet?

I didn't know what I was looking at. I started shaking out of confusion and fear. The bright, white things shook with me. This couldn't be! What was going on?

"W-what i-is th-this?" I whimpered.

I slowly reached a hand down to further examine the things that were attached to me where my legs should have been. Upon doing so, I saw a third white thing. Now that I was looking a bit more closely at myself, I saw a slight protrusion taking up the space of my lower sight. It moved slightly whenever I opened my mouth.

"I'm going... to close... my eyes," I said between breaths, "and when... I open... them again, these things.... will be... gone."

At least, that's what I hoped would happen. Yet, after doing that, I was still seeing the white form that was trying to convince me that it was my body.

Okay, I thought, Maybe I've just... watched too much T.V. and... now I'm seeing things.

It was a weak argument and I knew I wasn't fooling myself. I never watched T.V. even when it was available.

Alright, new plan, I decided, Arlene, you're going to get up, walk to the restroom, and take a good long look at your reflection. Then, this whole messed up vision will go away.

Everything felt so different. My fingers and toes weren't responding. When I tried to stand on the floor, I ended up falling over on my side. I tried rolling up onto my hands and knees, but my limbs were bending in places that they shouldn't bend. Worst of all, I couldn't help feeling like I was being watched. That feeling was nonsensical since I was the only one in this bedroom, but the feeling lingered anyway.

You can do this, I thought to myself, Arm, arm, leg, leg...

Slowly and awkwardly, I started getting closer to the restroom. Thank the spirits I left it open last night. Although, the sink seemed a lot higher than it used to be. Last night, I had to bend over slightly just to wash my hands. This morning, however, the top was about level with my eyes.

I reached up one of my misshaped hands to the counter top, then the other. For the first time in my life since high school P.E., I performed a pull-up. I let out an audible grunt as I was able to lift my chin up and over. Now I could see myself and finally dispel this illusion.

What is that? I thought with eyes wide open.

It was fair question. I couldn't easily identify the image that was in the mirror. It looked like it had a face with eyes and a mouth, but they weren't mine. Plus, what had that type of nose besides some kind of animal? The colors of that face and hair standing on end looked like they belonged on a ghost. Ironically, the shade of blue that the image's irises had were the only things that did match mine.

"What... is that?" I voiced my initial thought.

Foreign noises made their way to my ears that were somehow now on top of my head. They resembled hushed whispers from multiple persons, but I couldn't identify a single word that they were saying. Falling onto my rear end, I reached up to try and cover my ears. It wasn't any use. The whispers continued without pause.

Randomly, the image of an old memory entered my mind.

"Everyday, someone else is affected... To those that find themselves changed."

I...I... need... something... normal, I struggled to hear myself think with the myriad whispers still chatting.

"Home!" I shouted, "I need to go home!"

With only the harsh voices arguing for and against my new goal, I ran as quickly as I could on four legs. I fumbled a little with the hotel room's door handle, but eventually I managed to find some strength to pull that door. I ran through before it could close on itself. Panicking, I ran away from the other presences that may or may not have been there. I was too scared to look back.

Wagnesday
????
A Street

Clackety-clack. Clackety-clack. Arms and legs tread on the concrete. I didn't know how I was making so much noise while running barefoot. I didn't even care at this point. I just wanted the whispers to stop.

The whispers. So many whispers. They were filled with malice, despair, pain, and so many other intentions that I just couldn't identify. It was all I could do to keep my eyes open in spite of the headache the voices were causing me. I really, really wanted them to be quiet. Yet, they all refused my mental plea.

Some of the whispers were becoming more coherent. I wasn't sure if I was less or more terrified now that I could understand them.

Pull me out! The fire burns!

Everything feels so cold...

You living soul... why do you get to live?

Give me your body!

The last one felt a lot harsher than the other voices. Before I knew what was going on, a blurry veil of blue overtook my vision. I could still feel my legs running, but it wasn't me moving them. Whatever it was, caused my lip to curl up in a crooked smile.

I didn't like this feeling. I wanted to scream. I wanted this weird feeling to leave. But it seemed to hold on for dear life.

"What's the hurry, little lady?"

The voice had used my mouth to talk! I really felt like hyperventilating, but whatever was possessing my body refused to allow that. The presence actually managed to slow my legs down to a walking pace much slower than my initial run.

Let me go, please, I wanted to cry.

"Aw... that's a shame."

The blue veil lifted from my eyes and I immediately gasped in extra air. I shivered a little before I continued my long journey home. I had to get back. I just had to.

Wagnesday
????
Another Street

Please...please, make it stop, I mentally pleaded to no avail. I've run marathons before, but these voices were just adding extra tension where I didn't need it. I might have found it funny back when I didn't believe in ghosts. But now there were so many practically shouting in my ears with their torturous rasps.

Living was without purpose.

The chains... they drag me down.

Have to keep trying for vengeance.

How could I have lost so much? How could I have been so foolish?

Hey, pony. Are you okay?

This one seemed a bit more gentle and less malicious as my vision was suddenly filled with a lot more yellow.

Just leave me alone, ghost, I thought wearily, I want to go home.

"You look tired," the whisper commented using my mouth.

No, really? I forced as much sarcasm as I could spare into that thought, I hadn't noticed.

"What's your name?" it asked.

Not really feeling the energy left to ignore it, I answered with, Spirit Redeem- wait, no. I'm... Arlene.

Where did that other name come from?

"Nice to meet you, Arlene," the voice used my mouth to smile slightly, "I'm Peter."

Terrific, I thought without enthusiasm, Can you get out of my body now?

"Well, I could," whispered 'Peter', "But then you'd be subject to a lot of other ghosts' voices. Some of them aren't very friendly."

I really wished I could let out an exasperated sigh right then.

"Besides, wouldn't you like to take a break from all that running you were doing before?"

Huh? If I could widen my eyes, I would have, How did you...?

"It's not hard to guess your most recent memories," he answered before I could finish, "Your legs feel like they've just finished a 5 K."

I had no idea how to respond to that.

"And I can feel the home that you've been thinking about," he continued, "So just sit back, relax, and let me help you."

How do I know I can trust you? I asked the obvious question.

"Well, if you don't, you can always kick me out," he pointed out, "Just be sure you're ready for the headache of an afterlife when the other ghosts try to attach to you."

Again, I wished for the ability to sigh.

Alright, Peter, I thought reluctantly, Lead on.

He nodded my head once and continued traversing the road.

Wagnesday
????
A Familiar Street

It was starting to get dark out. I guess Peter was right about me being able to relax. I actually felt rested despite the fact that my body had been walking for hours on end. It was then that I saw the lights on in the house that I recognized.

It's time for you to go, Peter, I thought.

"You sure?" he asked, "It might be safer if I get you to the door first. I mean, I don't sense any other malicious ghosts nearby, but some of the curious ones might still be a nuisance."

I'm sure, I replied.

"Okay then," he whispered.

Oh, before you go, I interrupted, Why did you help me? There wasn't exactly anything to gain from doing so.

Peter used my mouth to exhale.

"Too many ghosts try to mess with the spiritually aware for their own sick pleasure," he said, "I figured the least I could do was be selfless and sort of even out the proportion."

Surely you must have had some reason beyond being a selfless hero, I urged.

"Well, alright," chuckled Peter, "I've always wanted to be a pony."

...what.

"Bye, Arlene!" he softly exclaimed and just like that, the yellow veil left my eyes and I had control of my body back.

I shook my head out of just plain confusion before walking up the path to my front door. My back felt really chilly despite it being covered in some layer of fur. I still heard some other voices, but they weren't nearly as invasive as the ones from before.

I hoped Terry would believe that I was me.

*Knock* *Knock*

Ch. 6: I Will Go In Peace

I Will Go In Peace

????
????
????

"How the heck does this even work?" I hollered.

Confused? Yeah well, so was I. One minute, I put my head down and moved the blankets in a flat position. I was all ready to go to sleep. The next, I was in a freaking reenactment of a light saber duel. Who had replaced Darth Vader's face? Who else but the changeling I've come to know and love?

I'm not sure. I was exploring one of your memories from earlier in your lifetime and then... this happened.

Confound Fifty-one and his ability to stay calm and monotonous while he's bashing a long red saber against mine. I don't know why, but my saber seemed to keep switching between blue and green colored light. The only body part of mine that I could easily see during this clash was my right hand.

I muttered, "It figures that my ninth grade teacher's obsession with that movie would be one of my strongest memories."

*Woo* *Woo* *Frzack!* *Woo* *Frzack!*

So I take it that literature teachers are not normally so transfixed on this kind of thing.

*Frzack!* *Frzack!* *Woo-woo* *Woo* *Frzack!*

"Correct," I affirmed, "Woah!"

My severed hand went flying into some dark corner along with my color-confused light saber. At the same time, Fifty-one lost the Vader outfit and his red saber shrunk into nonexistence. Suddenly, I moved the hand I thought had been severed and launched it forward pointing at my mental roommate.

"Objection!"

My open palm slammed down on a wooden stand in front of me. Now, I was in a large courthouse of sorts, but the layout was a bit different. Up to my left, there was a cage hanging from the ceiling holding a very familiar girl from a certain Japanese crossover.

"My video game addiction?" I turned to look in front of me, "Is that really the side of my mind you want to explore?"

Objection!

A deformed hoof slammed the stand on the opposite side of the courtroom.

It would seem that our consciences are swimming through your mind. Neither of us seems to be readily able to control what we will think of next.

"Wait," I held up an open palm, "I have evidence that can prove to the contrary!"

A screen-shaped board labeled "Court Record" popped up. An empty square of light highlighted different sections of it before it settled on a generic handgun.

"Take That!"

It felt as if time was frozen for a while as my vision of Fifty-one was suddenly zoomed in. Various percentages in labeled boxes pointed to different parts of his body. But I chose to target the desk in front of him with an "87%" chance of hitting. A few beeps were heard as my vision suddenly switched to a third-person view of myself. While it was nice that I could now see the rest of my body, I had to say that leather armor did not look good on me at all.

Time was still reluctant to move forward as I fired three shots from the handgun. The desk splintered from the first two shots. The third shot inexplicably made the wooden stand explode into thin, orderly shreds of wood. I was then shunted back into a first-person view.

????
????
????

As much as I hate to admit it, your training really did save my wings a few times.

I was back in the eerie, green caverns. I saw Fifty-one standing there staring at a particular egg-sac. Curious, I decided to walk over toward him.

I've gained new... feelings on this strange world and... I feel obligated to say this to you.

I slowed my pace a little as I saw that the contents of the egg-sac was another changeling. But, this one was sleeping.

Thank you.

"Who are you talking to?" I asked curiously.

Cier Dylan.

Fifty-one pointed a hoof at the changeling in the egg-sac.

Meet the thirteenth changeling under Her Majesty Chrysalis.

"Are there more of you in my mind?" I inquired. Out of panic, I started shaking.

No, the rest of my race is not really here. This is simply what I remember of... her.

I let out a relieved sigh before my curiosity returned.

"Was number Thirteen important to you?"

She was my superior.

He closed his eyes.

She made my life a living Tartarus every chance she had.

Fifty-one inhaled deeply before opening his eyes.

And yet... without her pushing my limitations, I could never have survived as long as I had. In a way, she's the reason I was able to deal with your father's attackers.

He turned his head to look at me directly.

I guess you can thank her for saving your father.

I shook my head in disagreement. Then I let out a short hum.

"Well, it may be true that she taught you how to aim your magic. However, what you did with that lesson is what saved my dad."

I crouched down on my knees to be more eye level with Fifty-one.

"And I'm sure it's what you did with her teachings that kept you alive in your homeland."

Are all humans naturally drawn to raise the self-esteem of others?

"No, but there are many people that try to help each other feel better out of the goodness of their hearts."

I heard him chuckle a bit at my words. Before this dream, I had never heard a bug chuckle before. I still haven't. What I was hearing was the chuckle of another man.

I guess I made the right decision letting you take primary control. You're a good human.

"You're not so bad yourself, Fifty-one," I responded with a smile.

Fried-zucchini-day
7:00 AM
Cier Dylan's Bedroom

"Come on, Cier," called my Dad, "Time to get up!"

I tried moving my head around a bit. Something wasn't quite right, though. My throat felt like something was being pulled down through it. As my sleepy haze left my eyes, I looked at the head of the bed where my pillow was supposed to be. About half of it was missing. What was left had cotton leaking out of the torn end.

"Are you frigging kidding me?" I asked no one in particular at the realization of what was sliding down my throat. I was not looking forward to whatever indigestion I was going to have later. Although, when I stopped to think about it, I realized that I hadn't ever really used the restroom yesterday or the day before.

Hey, Fifty-one! I directed my thoughts, Do changelings ever have to use the bathroom?

Almost all of the nutrition we ever consume is converted into energy to be used in our shape-shifting and our magic. Next to none of it is deposited as waste.

Next to none of it? I echoed, So what's the small amount that is wasted?

Do you remember seeing the substance that my race used to immobilize some of the ponies during the Canterlot invasion?

Yeah... Suddenly, I wasn't so sure that I wanted the answer.

You'd better hope that there's an enemy nearby for the rare occasion that you have to deposit wastes.

Sorry I asked, I thought while sticking out my tongue in disgust.

It's better if you know now, human. Would you rather have an accident later that leaves the waste on an ally?

I know, but still, I cringed, Ew.

Fried-zucchini-day
9:00 AM
*City Withheld* Airport

The largest luggage we had was Dad's suitcase. Mom and I didn't have much to bring, as we didn't really need clothes. (Though, Dad did pack complete sets for us in his suitcase in case we somehow changed back.) Currently, Mom had a small hand bag balanced on her back. The stuff I was bringing consisted of my laptop, charger, and a few pencils. All of which fit pretty darn snug in the laptop carrying case. The handle was in my mouth. I had to lift my head a bit higher than usual to avoid dragging the case along the floor as I walked.

Most of my worries about becoming green roadkill had dissipated. My worries about species prejudice, however, were not so quick to abandon me.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look at the giant bug!" shouted a hyper voice. To this, the recipient slowly turned to look while not really listening.

"Yes, it's really ni..." the towering woman gasped as she actually saw me. Without saying another word, she grabbed her child's hand and briskly walked away.

"Bye, giant buggy!" waved the kid with her other hand.

My carrying case started to drag a little.

"You okay?" asked Mom softly.

"Jurft fern," I mumbled through the handle. I knew that the little girl was just being exaggeratedly observant. But it still kind of hurt.

Cute kid.

Ladies and gentlemen, give a round of applause for the stand-up act of Fifty-one.

The line leading to the security check was kind of nerve-wracking. Every once in while as I looked up, I caught a disapproving glance from a random person like it was somehow my fault for being an abomination of the natural order. I could almost taste their implied hatred.

This isn't what hatred tastes like.

Come again? I perked my head up at Fifty-one's thought.

Hatred... tastes much more vile... revolting... what you'd imagine eating garbage is like.

Okay... I still wasn't sure where he was going with this.

These occasional feelings taste more... sour? No, bitter. This is the taste of... anxiety.

So they don't hate me. They're just scared of me, I concluded with a sigh, Fan-tipping-flastic.

That's not much better, is it?

Nope, I confirmed.

Fried-zucchini-day
9:30 AM
Gate *number withheld*

I decided to follow Mom's example and meditate while waiting to board the plane. I didn't want to waste my laptop's battery right now. Plus, I wanted to avoid making a scene while I was out in public.

*Bonk* "Ow!"

Apparently, life decided to take the scene to me. This time, the trouble took the form of three towering teenagers. I say towering because I had to look up to see their faces. If I wasn't so annoyed by the unwelcome hit, I would have found it amusing that they were each wearing a baseball cap of a primary color of light: red, green, and blue.

... and the one wearing red just punched me in the face!

"What is your problem?" I asked as politely as I could considering how ticked off I was.

"Gabe!" exclaimed the front boy while raising a fist.

"Nu!" shouted the second boy copying Gabe's fist raise.

"Maxwell!" cried out the third boy adding a third fist to the air.

"We are," they chorused, "Get Rid Of Slimy thingS! G.R.O.S.S.!"

I raised my left eyebrow. I didn't know what to question first: their extravagant catch phrase, their similarities to the Rowdy Rough Boys, or the uncanny, familiar sounding names.

"You do realize that 'things' starts with a 'T', right?" I pointed out.

Ah, Mr. Grammar Hitler. Of course you may have the first word.

"Shut up, freak!" yelled Gabe as he punched me again.

"Ow!" I grunted, "Why are you hitting me?"

"You ponies are the cancer of the world," snorted Gabe.

"And you need to get off our planet," continued Nu.

"Yeah, our mothers said so," smirked Max. At this, Gabe and Nu each performed a face palm.

"Maxwell, I thought we went over this," muttered Nu through gritted teeth.

"Leave that line out," remarked Gabe, "It makes it sound stupid."

"No offense," I interrupted, "but your message sounded pretty ludicrous to begin with."

"I said shut up!" shouted Gabe punching me again. He added another punch following the line, "And this one's for using made up words!"

But none of your words were fabricated.

Oh, you know how kids are, I thought back while wincing, They think all the big words that they don't understand are fake.

"Excuse me," coughed a voice that I wasn't expecting. It caught the attention of the three junior stooges. So, I decided to turn my head and look as well.

I saw an eerie glint in my Mom's eyes. It was like glowing, yellow lenses had taken the place of her eyes. Added to her already ghostly colors, she looked frigging terrifying. It must have been much more so to the three boys of G.R.O.S.T. Next thing I knew, they were running away, screaming about ghosts, and calling for their mommies.

She then turned her scary glare at me. I was momentarily pondering if I should be glad that I couldn't do number one. If I could, then the seat I was on would have been much wetter.

"You okay, pal?" asked the voice that was somehow whispering while simultaneously not whispering.

"Uh..." I paused trying to think of something coherent, "T...to whom do I have... the pleasure?"

"Nice to meet you too, Cier," it said with Mom's smile, "I'm Peter."

"Peter?" I echo while still completely confused, "I thought the other mind was Spirit Redeemer."

"Oh, she's in here too," nodded Peter, "I just figured I'd tag along. Never been to New York before."

I lifted a hoof to say something. Then, I put it back in front of my mouth struggling to find the right words.

"Take your time," Peter used Mom's hoof to wave dismissively.

"So, if you're possessing my mom," I finally settled on, "Then that means..."

"Yep, ghosts are real," he finished, "Though to be honest, most of them are jerks."

"Were you the one that gave us the warning about being careful yesterday?" I inquired.

"No," Peter shook Mom's head, "I have no clue who that was. Though, it sounds like good advice either way."

"Okay," I nodded slowly.

"Catch you later!" he waved as the yellow glow left Mom's eyes.

"Brr," she shivered, "I'm still not comfortable with that."

She took a moment to blink before asking, "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," I stammered, "Those boys didn't even scratch me and you were just possessed by some other ghost. Everything's fine."

"But you look kind of tense," she insisted.

I must admit that your stress levels feel fairly higher than usual.

"I just went through a few days where I became a changeling, my mom became a pony, and my dad got shot," I smiled forcibly, "Nothing surprises me anymore."

"Cier!" yelped Mom as the room did a ninety-degree turn and the floor raced to meet my cheek. Darkness swam in my vision and all sense of color faded.

????
????
????

Cier Dylan? I called out, Cier Dylan!

The human was sprawled out on the cavern in our minds. I was fairly certain that this nap he was taking was involuntary. I tried to look through his memories to see if this kind of reaction had occurred before. However, his mind's images were now fuzzy and distorted.

Frig, I thought. Carefully, I grabbed his shirt in my mouth and dragged him along the floor. Then, I sat him up against one of the empty sacs. As I turned to leave, I took one more look behind me.

Look after him, Thirteen, I requested of my memory. With a buzz from my wings, I was flying up and out of the chamber.

Ch. 7: Long Flight To The NY

Long Flight To The NY

Fried-zucchini-day
11:00 AM
Airborne Airplane

I opened my eyes and blinked. There was some weird feeling in my left ear. I guessed it was the change in air pressure. There were seats in front of me with the folding tables on their backs and I could feel the metal of the seat belt against my mid-section.

But, I don't remember getting on the plane, I thought.

"Oh, good morning, Fifty-one," said Mom from somewhere to the right.

"Wha?" I blurted as I turned to look at her, "Since when do you call me that, Mom?"

"Oh, sorry," she responded, "It's just that was who talked to me the last time you were awake."

"Huh?" I tilted my head still kind of confused.

Forgive me, Cier Dylan. I had to take over mobility while you were temporarily indisposed.

What happened? I asked him mentally.

The memory is clearer now. It seems you 'fainted'.

I can faint? I thought in disbelief.

Apparently.

"By any chance, did my voice sound rather scratchy last time?" I asked Mom.

"As a matter of fact, it did," she replied.

"So he did take over," I muttered.

"What?" she asked. Sometimes, I thought things aloud more often than I should.

"Sorry, I probably confused you," I waved a hoof dismissively, "Until you hear that scratchy voice again, just call me Cier."

"Okay, sure thing," nodded Mom slowly.

My right ear swiveled slightly at the faint sound of cart wheels.

"Can I get you ladies something to drink?" asked the flight attendant.

I surprised myself with a half cough, half laugh. I don't know why I found her choice of words so funny, but I did. I let out an upbeat sigh while wiping my eye.

"I'd like some water, please," I flashed a small smile. I think hearing my lower-than-lady pitch startled her. That or the fangs, I'm not sure which. She leaned backwards slightly as she lifted a hand over her heart area.

"U-uh, okay... water, right," she stammered as she poured some from the bottle into a cup of ice. Briefly, there was an awkwardness as to how I'd actually accept the drink since I kind of lacked dexterity at the moment. (Translation: no fingers.)

"I got it," declared Dad from my left. I nearly jumped, having forgotten that he was here too.

"Unsweetened tea, please," piped in Mom.

"Do you have Dr. Pepper?" asked Dad.

"We've got Mr. Pibb," offered the attendant.

"That'll work," smiled Dad.

Fried-zucchini-day
12:00 PM
Airborne Airplane

Aside from the brief gender confusion on behalf of the flight attendant, there honestly wasn't much that happened on this flight. I vaguely remembered a wise man saying that the journey was supposed to be more fulfilling than the eventual destination. Quite frankly, I couldn't see the wisdom of that saying applying to this particular travel. Nothing was happening.

"Oh my gosh," gasped a faint whisper.

Well... I suppose 'nothing' was a debatable term. I did hear a seat belt unbuckle. At the time, I just assumed someone was on their way to the lavatory. I figured I'd do what I usually did on long flights and just fall asleep. But then...

"A changeling! This is so cool!"

My eyes immediately snapped back open. Some random guy decided to lean over from the aisle and look closely at me with a disturbing smile. His look reminded me of what an obsessed fan boy looked like.

"Excuse me," said my disgruntled mother. The random guy happened to be leaning over her to look at me. However, Mom failed to grab his attention as much as I was somehow succeeding in. I wasn't even doing anything that interesting. Yet the way he stared at me, you would think I was creating the cure for AIDS or something.

"C...can I help you?" I managed to ask while simultaneously wishing that I could edge further away in my seat.

No response. He just stared at me while smiling disarmingly.

"May I glomp you?" he finally spoke.

D...did he just say...? But doesn't that word mean...?

Yeah, those were my thoughts too, Fifty-one, I replied mentally, Ad verbatim.

I briefly wondered if changelings could open their eyes any wider than I was opening mine.

"Um, I would prefer if you didn't," I replied with a nervous chuckle.

"But I love you," he whispered while staring into my soul. Ever heard of bad touch? Well, this was a bad watch.

"You don't even know me," I tried arguing.

Wait... do you taste that?

Taste what? I started replying until a faintly sweet something passed my tongue. Though, I don't know how. I was pretty sure I had nothing in my mouth.

Where did that come from? I wondered.

Look at his eyes!

What do you think I'm looking at? I retorted.

No, I mean really look at them. Notice something familiar?

I had no idea what I was looking for in those eyes. There wasn't anything distinct about them. They just looked like normal, bloodshot, and sleepless eyes that were straining to stare at their object of interest. His irises were sickly green. There were somewhat grayish bags under them.

Sickly green irises? I blinked. Sure enough, this guy's irises almost looked like they were pulsating green light. What did this guy have in his eyes? Electrified, toxic waste contact lenses?

It can't be! I never started! But it feels exactly like...

What is it, Fifty-one? I had to know, What's going on?

This human is overpowering my resistance to feeding on his love.

What?! I almost yelled my thoughts then and there, How is that even possible?

I don't know. Perhaps my control of my abilities are affected by this world differently. This involuntary feeding has never happened to me before.

If I wasn't panicking before, then I most certainly was now. This was bad. This guy was just staring intently. He probably didn't have a clue that he was slowly being drained of the love that he was radiating. Fifty-one and I didn't know how to cut off the channeling. The worst possible thing about this situation was... part of me liked the taste. (Insert emphasized shivering here.)

"Mister, snap out of it!" I yelped.

Not really thinking about what I was doing, I smacked my left, fore hoof against his cheek. Several things happened at once. The electric green tint seemed to flicker off, leaving behind more natural, dull green irises. The sweet taste left my mouth. Finally, the guy blinked his eyes and stood up a bit straighter.

"W...what just happened?" he asked after a brief pause.

"Thank you," grumbled Mom as her burden of a towering fan boy was suddenly relieved.

A familiar sound of the seat belt light broke the tension.

"Folks, we're entering an area of mild turbulence," informed the pilot via intercom, "We ask that you remain seated with your seat belts fastened during this time. Thank you."

"Um, yeah," the random guy muttered, "I'll... go do that."

"What's his problem?" murmured Mom after he had walked away.

I wish I knew for sure, Mom. I wish I knew.

"Are you all right?" she asked while turning to me, "You look kind of... green around the gills."

I was about to retort that I didn't even have gills when a rather pressured feeling hit me. Out of reinstated panic, I somehow grabbed paper bag from the seat pouch in front of me. My immediate thought was that I was glad that I had the barf bag ready this time. My second thought was about how disturbingly similar the vomit resembled disgustingly familiar green goop.

Yes, that is the substance we use for immobilizing our adversaries.

Ew, I thought with a frown.

Hey, don't worry. I think most of that was your pillow from this morning.

I suppose if there was any good thing that came out of this whole turn of events, it was that Fifty-one's sense of humor was improving. Though, we still needed to work on his timing.

????
????
????

I made a promise.

I intend to keep it.

But that enthusiastic human...

Why did he have to be the one to remind me of the delicious temptation?

I was so busy building up walls between Cier Dylan and his family, that I hadn't even considered the possibility...

As Chrysalis is my sovereign, I shall never be a wild animal again!

Author's Note

Alternate chapter title: The Chapter In Which Absolutely Nothing Happens
Sorry for the brevity, but I've got finals coming up followed immediately by a trip to the snow. That means my internet connection might be better or worse. I just didn't want to leave you hanging without at least some prior notice.

Ch. 8: Tale of the Ruler of Tender Uncertainty

A/N: Warning! Those that were confused by the Arlene chapter may be just as confused by this one.

Tale of the Ruler of Tender Uncertainty

I guess there was a part of me that somehow knew at least vaguely. Usually whenever Cier came home, he went right to his room to study, play video games, watch internet videos and other stuff. When I really thought about it, it made sense that he’d be watching kids’ cartoons like that in private. I’ve seen what verbal harassment could do to him in his earlier years. Now, he’s hesitant to trust any new face with his feelings.

I had half a mind to strangle the first guy that said, “Sticks and stones and may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” But, the other half decided that the man was probably dead anyway. There was no point in beating up a dead corpse after all.

Wagnesday
1:00 PM
Front Lawn

“This is a private residence,” I stated flatly, “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Sure, pops. We’ll leave… just as soon as we put down that beast of yours.”

“You can’t have my son,” I held my ground. Sure, I knew exactly what a gun was capable of, but that didn’t mean I was going to just let some yahoos waltz in and attack my son.

“Your loss, old man.”

“You wouldn’t dare-” started Cier.

*BANG!*

Burning pain ripped through my left shoulder. I could’ve sworn I heard a deep yell. It was probably me, now that I think about it. But, I had collapsed to my knees before I could fully comprehend the situation.

Is that my… blood? I thought as I looked at the red, growing stain, That’s not good. That’s not good… at all.

“Officer!” I heard Cier yell, “My dad needs an ambulance right now!”

Wagnesday
2:50 - 3:00 PM
Hospital

Well, I must admit that this wasn’t the worst day ever. I mean a light brush of skin and blood cells from my shoulder? This was nothing compared to that time I got plowed over by a careless snowboarder that was going way too fast for his own good. Besides, I was right-handed. At least I didn’t lose anything important.

Those little terrorists had threatened my son and they were more than willing to hurt anyone else who got in their way. I couldn’t overlook that with apathy.

No, Terry, stop, I thought, Someone needs you right here and now.

Cier was crying. First and foremost, I was a father. That meant I needed to be there for my son.

“I’m here,” I whispered as I returned his hug.

Wagnesday
5:20 - 5:30 PM
Living Room

This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve ever had to sweep up glass. Every few months or so, someone had a slip-up and one of our dishes broke all over the floor. Granted, this was a bit more than a dish. It was practically the entire front window. But that was all right. I still knew what to do.

Now, a sane man would probably question the validity of his son suddenly being a giant horsefly, or ‘changeling’ as he described it. Earlier this morning, I had questioned exactly that. Though, because of his particular mannerisms, his silent gestures, and his soft voice… all of it was how I knew Cier was in fact who he said he was.

Though, his ability to fly still baffled me. Wings of that span shouldn’t have been enough for him to lift, let alone hover. Frankly, I wasn’t sure how I was still so calm about the events. I guess it was because he was my son, first and foremost.

After I cleaned up the hilarious dinner mess, I went to work on what I could from home on my computer. With any luck, my absence from the office during those afternoon hours hadn’t left behind too much to do. Then again, I wasn’t one to rely on luck. That meant that there was plenty more to do.

Terrific, I thought.

6:00 PM

That voice… that inclination… it couldn’t be… but it had to be.

“I…is that you,” I fumbled a bit, “Arlene?”

“Mom?” gaped Cier.

The little, white horse turned to look at him. I almost immediately saw a glint of recognition in her eyes. She ever so slowly walked to him until she was within a hand’s reach. Although in her case, I guess it was a hoof’s reach.

“Cier?” she gasped, “Oh my ghost, they got you too.”

First and foremost, I was Arlene’s husband. That meant I needed to be there for my wife. Carefully, I leaned over to complete the group hug. We needed this moment of silence.

Threesday
7:00 AM
Bedroom

“Terry, we need to talk.”

The funny thing was that I had missed that orderly tone. Sure, life was never perfect. But, as long as I had Arlene by my side, everything felt better.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked while sitting up. I ignored the sting from my shoulder as best as I could. This was important.

“I saw that conference on the news the Sunday before last,” she started, “There’s supposed to be something important going on in New York.”

“You mean besides the stock exchange?” I smirked.

She just gave me… the look. First rule of the look: do not talk about the look.

“What’s the important something?” I tried redirecting back to her point.

“I don’t know for sure,” she admitted, “But it involved two of those ponies. I can’t really explain it. They just had this… regal air about them.”

“Okay,” I nodded trying to understand, “So what?”

“If Cier watches those particular ponies regularly,” Arlene deduced, “then there is a chance that he’s going to want to go to New York.”

“And we should be there with him,” I finished.

“Maybe we can find… I don’t know... a cure for this?” she wondered while using one of her legs(?) to point at herself. I wasn’t the world’s smartest man, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that she was talking about her change.

“I’ll get on it then,” I decided as I stood up next to the bed, “But first, how about some breakfast?”

Whatever had afflicted my wife and my son would soon be dealt with. First and foremost, I was the man of the house. That meant looking after my family, be it dangerous or supernatural. Without hesitation, I made plans to book our flight.

Next stop: New York.

Fried-Zucchini-Day
10:00 AM
Gate *number withheld*

“Cier!” Arlene’s voice yelled.

Immediately I started running over from the place I had been standing. Why I thought being closer to the boarding pass counter would make our seat section get called sooner, I’ll never know. I had to make my way passed several bored passengers-to-be. The occasional “excuse me” and “pardon me” left my mouth as I finally arrived at the scene.

“What happened?”

Way to go, brain, I thought to myself in sarcasm, Ask the standard questions first.

Cier was on his side on the floor and Arlene was gazing in worry. I really hoped nothing like the other day’s gang attack had just happened. Just as I leaned down to try and check, he began to stand up. He shook his head slowly. Maybe he had just gotten a little dizzy. But what had happened to leave those bruise marks on his face?

“Cier, are you okay?” I asked.

“Relatively speaking,” he responded with a rasp.

“What happened to your voice?” wondered Arlene.

“What I can see of his mind is blurry and incomplete,” he said, not really answering the question, “I’m left with my own voice while he is unconscious.”

“I don’t understand,” said Arlene shaking her head.

“Yeah, you mind filling us in?” I inquired.

“My apologies, Sir Father and Lady Mother,” he stated, “Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am the fifty-first drone of her majesty Chrysalis. You may refer to me as Fifty-one if you desire.”

“Wait…” muttered Arlene before gasping, “You’re the pony whose body Cier is in!”

“That is mostly correct,” replied Cier, I mean Fifty-one, “As it is, I am not a pony. Rather my race is composed of changelings.”

“If you’re in dominance now,” said Arlene, “does that mean that Cier is…?”

“He is still living,” rasped Fifty-one, “Though, I can’t seem to figure out why his thoughts are silent right now.”

“Do you think he fainted?” I thought out loud.

“Fainted?” echoed Fifty-one, “This word is new to me. What does it mean?”

“He was straining his smile against all of his stress a minute ago,” nodded Arlene.

“Perhaps his lack of calm breathing finally caught up to him,” I proposed, “Though, this would be the first time he’s been capable of cutting his own breath short like that.”

“Fainted,” mulled Fifty-one as he looked down. He looked back up before saying, “Yes. That word seems appropriate.”

Our conversation with the changeling was cut short when our seat section was called.

“Oh, that’s us!” I exclaimed.

“What about Cier?” piped in Arlene.

“Fifty-one can board with us,” I smiled, “I’m sure Cier will wake up eventually.”

“Very well, father,” nodded Fifty-one curtly, “Lead onward.”

First and foremost, I was simultaneously charmed and disturbed by a complete stranger calling me ‘father’.

Author's Note

Oh hey! The world's still here. That means that I can do this:
Backstory no jutsu!

Ch. 9: Tale of The Staff Whom God Will Strengthen

A/N: Gustaf Zuckermandel Sr. AKA "Big Zeke" (Am I doing it right, Ranakastrasz?)

Tale of the Staff Whom God Will Strengthen

Threesday
12:45 PM
Old Gas Station Convenience Store

The place was about as busy as ever. Which is to say, not at all. Some of last week's customers complained that it looked too old to be a real gas station. Personally, I preferred this old look. It gave the whole structure that rustic charm that the elderly appreciated for whatever reason. Hey, if it was good enough for me, it was good enough for everyone else.

So, I was gladly surprised when the bell rang during my personal ‘off duty’ hour. Last month’s issue of the ESPN magazine could wait.

“Big Zeke!” hollered the voice.

“Yo, Terry, my dawg,” I greeted, “What’s up?”

Terry was one of the most fun people I’ve ever met. He didn’t stick to traditional jokes. He timed his lines just right to the point that you’d think he had planned it to be funny. After not seeing him for so many years, I decided to reacquaint him with the usual hand clasp and friendly shoulder punch.

“Ow! Careful, I just got that arm bandaged up,” he winced.

“My bad, T, my bad,” I retracted while backing up a step. It was then that I noticed a couple of short critters standing nearby.

“And who do we have here?” I asked.

“Zeke, this is my wife, Arlene,” Terry pointed.

“Hello,” said the white one.

“And my son, Cier,” Terry continued.

“Uh, hi?” said the darker one. He kind of looked like he was a bit shy. I bet any normal folk would be shaking in their boots at the sight of two unusual creatures that sort of resembled little horses. I, on the other hand, was simply curious.

“Hoover dam,” I let out a chuckle, “Time’s sure are changing if you can marry other species.” I turned back up to look at Terry, “What’d I miss?”

Casually, he answered, “Apparently there’s a worldwide ‘disease’ of sorts that’s been turning people into horses from a cartoon. What was it called again, Cier?”

“M-my Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,” Cier quickly stammered before looking away from me again. He seemed embarrassed about his answer. I didn’t know why. Sometimes Li’l Z popped in and watched VHS tapes of his favorite cartoons. There was nothing wrong with grown men escaping into the world of animation from time to time.

“Cool, cool,” I said gently with a nod. This ‘disease’ must have been a recent one then. I really couldn’t see Terry and a pony doing… NC-17 material.

“So what can I do for you, brother from another mother?” I inquired.

"We need to get to New York as soon as possible to aid the potential solution to the situation," Terry answered, "The quickest way there is by flight, but there's just a little issue with the validity of two out of three of our I.D.s."

“Yeah, you probably look a lot older than your picture,” I said with a straight face. I didn’t hold it very long because in less than one second, Terry and I were chuckling as much as a couple drunkards.

“I think I get ya,” I smiled before heading to the backroom door. I gave it a couple knocks before letting my co-worker what was up.

“Yo, Li’l Z! I’ve got two ‘special assignments’ for you!”

A/N: Gustaf Zuckermandel Jr. AKA “Li’l Z”

Threesday
12:50 PM
My ‘Office’

On the rare occasion that somebody actually asks me what my occupation is, I typically tell them that I’m an artist. That’s not a lie. I have pulled together various works for commissions before. What I usually don’t tell them is what else I do behind the closed curtains.

I’m an artificial I.D. specialist. Tired of being you for some reason and want a believable alias? I’m your man. Need to change your birth date on your card? I can do that too. Want to look like a completely different person but can’t afford a plastic surgeon? That’s child’s play.

Honestly, these two ‘special assignments’ that Pop gave me were way too easy. Their names and ages weren't changing. They didn't even need convincing makeovers. The only things that were really changing were the photos officially pasted on the cards. Pfft. It was like tossing candy to babies.

I had a personal policy of answer all questions, ask none. I was an artist, not a paparazzi reporter. Even though the costumes of these kids tried to provoke my curiosity, I kept my eyes open and mouth shut. This was my work zone, not a chat room.

When all was said and done, the little boy and girl admired my results. I didn't need to brag. My work spoke for itself. A picture tells a thousand words. By that count, the Dylans had just received two thousand words.

“Color me impressed,” smiled Cier’s costume. How did the animatronics work on that, anyway?

“Are you sure this is legal?” asked Arlene from inside her white costume.

Time for part one of my policy, I thought.

“Strictly speaking, no,” I told her bluntly, “But then, this isn't a very strict practice.”

Her front limb lifted as if she was about to say something. Though, the comment seemed to die in her mouth as she switched to rubbing her chin. I began to wonder if I had been wrong about the costume theory and that this was actually her body. Her blinking didn't look mechanical at all.

Cier’s was obviously a costume, though. Those straight blue light bulbs for eyeballs were a dead giveaway.

“Thank you,” said Arlene.

“Sure, sure,” I waved with dismissal, “If you need anything else, be sure to drop by. Pop and I are always open.”

“Will do, Li’l Z,” nodded Terry as all three of them made their way out to the front.

Now, I thought as I pressed the ‘play’ button on my small television set, Where was I?

Animaniacs is the best show ever.

A/N: Gustaf Zuckermandel Sr. AKA “Big Zeke”

Fried-Zucchini-Day
12:00 AM
Backyard Trailer

I heard a lot of groaning from the opposite end of our humble abode. That seemed a bit unusual. Normally, I’m the one doing the groaning and it’s taken care of by nine at night with a quick number two. What was more unusual was how it sounded louder than my son’s snoring usually was. Not to mention, his snoring was never followed by him screaming.

With worry, I jumped from the bed and briskly walked over to where I saw the light on. The kitchen light showed what looked like Li’l Z. But, it wasn't until I walked a little closer that I could see what he was so worried about.

His right hand looked like a black stump.

A/N: Gustaf Zuckermandel Jr. AKA “Li’l Z”

Fried-Zucchini-Day
12:00 AM
Trailer Kitchen Area

At first, my hand was all numb. Next thing I knew, my whole back felt like it was frying in the sun. But that was impossible, because the sun wasn't even out at this hour. I let out another scream from the burning pain.

“Z!” shouted Pop. I looked over at him, but I could barely choke out my words now.

“Daddy,” I whispered, “Help… me…”

The few colors I could see slowly faded to nothing.

Author's Note

I guess Applejack's author got abducted by aliens or something.
So until I find out more concrete information, have another somewhat pointless backstory chapter.
Oh, yeah. One more thing: Happy New Year!

Ch. 10: Breaking the Inception Wall and The Cavalry Hath Arrived

A/N: We need to go deeper. I did mark this story with the “Random” tag after all.

Breaking the Inception Wall and The Cavalry Hath Arrived

---{Cier’s POV}

????
????
????

“I remember the friend who taught me the importance of giving part of oneself to ensure the benefit of another.”

“I remember the friend who showed me that the best way to stay loyal was to be truthful and straightforward, accepting the consequences.”

“And I remember the friend that helped me open up my personal bubble and did everything she could to make me happy.”

What was going on? Why was I just standing there and letting these three ponies monologue?

“What? That’s impossible!” I exclaimed, “This shouldn’t be happening!”

“You think you can destroy Harmony just by bringing out darker personalities.”

“But the spirit of those Elements lives on in us.”

“And the hearts of those that bear those Elements will stay alive as long as even one of us remembers.”

All I wanted to do right then was to get away. But, all I could do was cry out in terror as the combined efforts of Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight blasted me in the full spectrum of light.

????
????
????

She fell back to the floor. This was it! I could finish her right now.

The darkness cannot have me! her heart cried out against me, I must master it.

I opened my eyes in shock as her keyblade released a hail of dark arrows. Their very energy burned as they pierced my skin all over. My keyblade fell from my mouth as I crashed headfirst into the floor.

With all my remaining strength I watched Princess Luna walk over to look at me. I couldn’t help but smile sadly at my own demise.

“You make a good other,” I said softly as I felt my own essence fade away.

????
????
????

That one pony had made a mockery of my tournament long enough.

No matter, I thought, I will finish this Tundra… permanently.

This simple killing soon turned into a complicated task. Not only did her shape-shifting abilities rival my own, her experience in the different fighting styles made predicting her moves next to impossible.

I felt extremely cold as soon as she snapped my neck.

????
????
????

Nightmare Moon’s lightning surged through me.

Shadow’s Chaos Blast consumed me.

Fluttershy’s stare left me completely powerless.

I had no magic left to contend with the little girl named Blossom.

The clown shot my face.

The beast destroyed all my bones.

That man in red armor fired a rocket and destroyed me.

Larxene burned me.

Kratos had slain me.

I couldn’t think.

Chrono had stabbed me.

Xaldin’s lance tore through me.

My own lexicon had engulfed me.

The last thing I saw was the light of Izanagi-No-Okami.

????
????
????

My everything hurt. I could barely keep my eyes open.

“Stop,” I panted, “Please… no more.”

“Mask of flesh and blood,” she chanted, “Universe soar. The one crowned with man’s name. Carve a twin lotus into the wall of blue flame and await the blazing fires to reach the distant heavens.”

“Shirayuki, no!” I shouted.

“Hado 73,” she finished, “Soren Sokatsui!”

I was engulfed by the giant, blue fires crashing down upon me.

????
????
????

"By order of Princess Celestia," she declared with a bit of forced emphasis, "I command you all to climb through the nearest window!"

Who was this pink-haired punk to believe that she could order us to perform the most ridiculous and stupid actions? Yet, as soon as I laid my eyes on that weird red light in her eye, my body moved on its own. I tried to fight against the unknown force. But, it was futile. My eyes were forced to stare straight ahead as my body slowly fit itself through the rectangular frame.

I couldn’t even scream as I watched the ground race toward my fragile self.

????
????
????

“D-don’t you want us to be reunited?” I stammered while trying to back away.

Love was not in her eyes. Their bluish-white hue only shone with the look of one who had been betrayed: empty.

“You’ve done nothing but use me,” she spoke, “How many lives have I taken? How many more must I take? What kind of reunion justifies the horrible deeds that we’ve done?”

I backed into the wall. The disadvantage of no longer being a bodiless soul was that I couldn’t phase through walls anymore.

“Spirit Redeemer, please,” I tried again, “I only did this for you.”

“Crabapples!” she shouted, “That’s the lie you’ve been telling yourself this whole time! You… you’re no father of mine.”

She held the unobtainium dagger against my throat. I could already feel it eating away at my essence.

“I am through doing your dirty work for your benefit and the cost of my own sanity,” she continued, “See you in Tartarus.”

“No!”

Fried-Zucchini-Day
7:30 PM (Eastern Time)
Airplane

“No! Wait!” I yelled. My hooves ended up beating against a smooth surface.

“Well that sounds like a fun dream,” Mom remarked.

“Huh?” I blinked as I looked around and reassessed my surroundings.

It took at least half a minute for me to realize that the uncomfortable restraint against my midsection was my seatbelt. That smooth surface I had just kicked was the seat in front of me.

“We’re here,” Dad pointed to the window.

The low level of light outside showed the dark pavement that was a runway. At the rate that it was moving, that meant we were just taxiing now. It was only a matter of minutes before we would be arriving at a gate.

What was that all about? I wondered, That bad dream. Was I really in my own fan fictions?

But like most of my dreams, this one quickly faded to the point where I couldn’t remember the first thing that I had seen or done in it.

Any ideas, Fifty-one? I directed my thoughts to my other mind.

Sorry, I was in deep sleep while you were in REM sleep. I do not know what you were dreaming.

How’d you know what REM sleep is? I inquired.

I found out from your memory. You are quite the retainer when it comes to information.

Why, thank you, I grinned.

I hoped that this wouldn’t be the last time either of us would get to share compliments. I just couldn’t shake a nagging feeling that a final battle was about to begin.

---{#51’s POV}

????
????
????

Cier…

Although I could not see your dreams directly, I could still feel your emotions.

You dislike having all the attention. When you do have it, you feel guilty. You believe that others are more deserving.

Your subconscious forced you into states of pain and grief as if to make up for your guilt.

You have a strong sense of right and wrong. Yet, you expend that sense by judging yourself so harshly.

…

Kind of like how I’ve judged myself recently, huh?

A little humility is commendable, but self-demeaning is destructive.

---{Cier’s POV}

Fried-Zucchini-Day
7:35 PM (Eastern Time)
Airplane

The plane finally came to a stop and the pilot gave his standard procedure statement of ‘thank you for flying such-and-such’. Passengers started crowding the aisle. One of them actually dropped their bag from the overhead compartment. It was a bit painful to watch. I couldn’t imagine how bad it was for him.

Cier.

Huh? What’s up, Fifty-one? I thought back.

Let’s learn from the past and look forward, yeah?

Um, sure, I nodded as I picked up my laptop case by the handle in my mouth, Where did that thought come from?

We… shouldn’t live in constant regret. We should… aim to do better. That is a popular human path to take, right? To do better?

Well, yeah, I slightly smiled, That’s valid.

Good. I’m… glad.

“Ready to go?” asked Mom. Her small bag was already situated on her back.

“Af freddy af will ever me,” I muffled before setting my case down for a second. I restated, “As ready as I’ll ever be.” Then, I picked the case back up.

“Good answer,” Mom nodded as she walked into the aisle.

“Look out, dragon. Here we come,” added Dad as I stepped out of the row.

“Tefnifally, vee emeny if cured a draconequf,” I mumbled through the handle.

“What?” asked Dad.

Letting go of my luggage just to talk was soon becoming a hindrance. Still, it was necessary. I wasn't interested in melting my computer just to find out if I could use magic properly. I didn't want a repeat of my doorknob the other day.

“I said, ‘Technically, the enemy is called a draconequus’,” I repeated before biting onto the handle again.

“Oh,” Dad blinked, “What’s that?”

Fried-Zucchini-Day
7:40 PM (Eastern Time)
Gate *number withheld*

After finding some space out of the way, I told Dad about what I understood Discord to be. He had a head of a horse, a serpentine body, and a bunch of misplaced animal limbs. As far as abilities went, he was basically Q from Star Trek on opium. But, his intellect far surpassed his insanity.

“I see,” said Dad as he thought to himself.

“Sounds like a rip-roaring good time,” piped in a half-whisper.

“Honey, what happened to your voice?” wondered Dad. However, I already recognized that strange voice from before.

“Oh, hi again,” I greeted before exchanging names, “Dad, this is a ghost named Peter who can take over Mom’s body. Peter, this is my dad, Terry.”

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Dylan,” smiled the yellow-eyed ghost.

“Um, yeah,” said Dad with an unsure tone, “You too. How… exactly does this work?”

“As it turns out,” explained Peter, “Spirit Redeemer has high spiritual awareness. This allows her to hear and talk to ghosts and inadvertently let them overshadow her temporarily.”

“Well,” stated Dad flatly.

“I know,” I nodded, “Total mind-bomb, right?”

“That’s a good way to describe it,” he confirmed.

Mom blinked and the yellow glow left her eyes.

“So, he can just take over whenever he wants?” pondered Dad.

“Pretty much,” shivered Mom. The afterlife must be really cold.

“Well, I’ve officially lost my mind,” chuckled Dad, “Let’s go face Q!”

“To victory!” I exclaimed.

Let us do this. Leeroy Jenkins!

Don’t you mean Leeroy Wingkins? I questioned.

Who’s Leeroy Wingkins?

Never mind, I picked up my laptop case handle and started the long trot to the appropriate exit.

“Hey, Cier,” said Dad.

“Hm?” I responded with my currently muffled mouth.

“Who’s Spirit Redeemer?”

Couldn’t I just have two minutes where I can carry my luggage without having to stop? Forget Discord. Life was the one who had it out for me.

---{#51’s POV}

????
????
????

That presence…

It’s faint, but…

She is most assuredly closer now than she was while I was in the territory of “California”.

Your majesty, I will be there to support you.

This Empathy Sickness will not be my crutch. Rather, it will be the strength that adds to my discipline.

I will not fail you, my queen.

Author's Note

Bwaaaaam.
You thought my backstory character chapters were hard to follow?
You haven't seen anything yet.
...
In an unrelated note, I am back in school now. If this story had any frequency, it no longer will. Luckily, if Erishy's notice is anything to go by, I won't have to worry about updating this again until March.
See ya'll later.

Side Ch.: Tale of The Suspicious One (or) Tale of The Red Lamp

A/N: Is it cheating to have an outside universe character? Erica and Reid had this dual-Phineas-and-Ferb thing going on. Markus encountered a Mass Effect character. Tony met a Sword in the Stone character. What exactly constitutes fair game right now?

Tale of The Suspicious One, or Tale of The Red Lamp

---{??? POV}

????
????
????

I found it kind of funny, yet sad at the same time. The dream about when I was dying was the best one I’ve ever had. Still… that dream was nothing compared to the real thing.

Many Days Earlier
Several Hours Earlier
My Last Stand

“You’re going through with this, no matter what?” my best friend asked me.

“As planned,” I reaffirmed his understanding, “All of the world’s hatred is focused directly on me. Now, all that remains is to get rid of me and finally break the cycle of hatred.”

I handed him the mask that started this all.

“People will be able to meet not for an exchange of swords, but an exchange of words. Mankind will finally be able to move forward into the future,” I smiled. For the first time in years, this was an honest smile. It was not one forced for a photo shoot or one held to save face for my little sister. I was genuinely happy.

“And that’s…?” he opened his question.

“Yes,” I nodded.

Whatever Day Today Was
About 10 AM
Who Knows Where

I should be dead. Yet, here I was walking aimlessly on some populated streets. Just my luck, I didn’t have any Refrain to at least experience some familiarity. Sure, everything had familiar shapes and colors, but the physical layout was completely foreign to me. It was almost as if I were on an alien planet. Several questions filled my mind. Yet for once, I couldn’t figure out a single plan to calculate the correct strategy of answers.

How come I’m in my casual brown jacket?

Well, if I was going to start somewhere, then it might as well have been the most juvenile thought. Though, even juveniles had good questions now and again. Why was I in my casual outfit? Before I woke up, I was ruler of the world and wearing an over-the-top white robe of the royals.

At first I had assumed that my assassination hadn’t gone as I had planned and that I had somehow been revived. But, if that had been true, wouldn’t I have been in some medical facility getting treated for blood wounds? I may have been public enemy number one, but even prisoners of war had some treatment. I quickly dismissed the notion as I had woken up in the backyard of some house that had at least one dog with a loud bark.

Then, I thought that I might have just gone to some personal hell. That would have explained the lack of any blood or puncture wound on me. But, that had its own set of problems. For one, hell should have a repetitive torture that dragged on and on for all eternity, never letting me escape. Yet, I had escaped the nuisance of a dog barking just by going through a wooden gate and closing it behind me.

Just as a test that I didn’t think would work, I walked up to a guy standing outside his residence smoking a cigarette. Frankly, I didn’t expect my power would work. But if this was hell, then there was nothing for me to lose by trying.

“You there,” I looked at him hard with my left eye, “Tell me as much detailed information about our location as you can.”

To my surprise, he took a very familiar, spaced-out expression as his pupils seemed to widen.

“Sure, we’re in withheld city and county, California,” he said monotonously.

“Uh… thanks,” I blinked, “That’ll be all.” I noticed that he blinked in confusion before I turned to walk away.

California? That was a name that sounded like it was from pre-Britannia history books. What was the larger area called again? Ah yes, the United States of North America.

But why a world so much like a time before I was born? Had the gods sent me back in time to try and fix the corrupt hatred of mankind? I thought that they had learned their lesson that mistakes can’t be fixed in the past or present, only in the future.

Suddenly, the alien planet sounded like a much more plausible situation.

Wednesday
11:30 AM
The Streets

Another pedestrian that I had casually used my power on told me that the day was “Wag-nis-day”. That was a rather unusual way to pronounce Wednesday, but maybe that was a property of this alien planet. Still, I wasn’t ready to conform my own vocabulary to this world just yet. I still needed to perform some reconnaissance, figure out more about the playing board besides the location and day. But, at least progress was progress.

Then, like all well laid plans, something had to waste this one. In this case, it was the gurgling of my stomach. That buried any chances of this being hell. After all, dead men don’t need to eat. I never thought I’d have to think about where I got my next meal. Usually, Sayoko was in charge of the shopping.

Shopping. That right there introduced another problem. The only currency that I had in my wallet was in yen. I had a funny feeling that the people of this world wouldn’t accept that. As I passed what looked like a lower-class burger joint, I saw the “$” sign on one of its advertisements.

Swell, I thought in discouragement, I never thought I’d have to use Geass for petty reasons.

Casually, I walked into the ever-lively establishment. I caught myself half-drooling at the smell of grease and salt more than once, though I managed to cover the instances as fake coughs. I glanced over to see one particular guy typing away on his laptop while his food on the table had so far been untouched.

Well, I mentally chuckled, I guess it won’t be so petty after all.

I stood just next to his side, carefully watching him until he turned his head to face me. Gotcha!

“What?” he raised an eyebrow at my presence. This was almost too easy.

“You really need to use the restroom,” I suggested, “Don’t you?”

His pupils widened at that moment. Though, the rest of his face seemed blank.

“You’re right,” he nodded as he stood up and left everything. I allowed my lips to form the smallest of smirks before taking his seat. I took a bite of the lukewarm sandwich and ate some of the soggy fries before clicking on the internet browser.

Hmm, this guy’s home page is a news website, I noted, Let’s see… civil war in the Middle East, mass child killing in Connecticut, and… what’s this? “Person to Pony Phenomenon”?

The article described how individual people in several different locations were unexplainably turning into pastel equines from a cartoon called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Other details included how their supposed princesses were holding a meeting with six specific ones called the ‘Elements of Harmony’ in New York. Plus, some discombobulated nutjob under the apt name ‘Discord’ was causing mischief in the surrounding areas.

Are the news reporters really that desperate for attention? I wondered as I idly sipped from the soda straw. I looked up when I heard the door open to see… a small red horse and a slightly larger orange horse.

All of the liquid that was in my mouth quickly migrated to the window on my left.

“You know,” snorted the red horse with a woman’s voice, “You’re the second person I’ve come across today that’s done a spit take just by looking at me.”

“Sweetheart, he was obviously looking at me,” piped in the orange horse with a surprisingly baritone voice.

I looked at the example images on the article. I looked back at the horse couple. I looked back at the computer. I looked back to the right. I'm pretty sure my mouth was hanging open right then. In an attempt to save face, I quickly resumed eating my burger as if nothing was wrong. I even found a very intriguing ceiling tile to observe as I was chewing.

“Hee hee,” giggled the red one, “You’re funny. What’s your name?”

“Allen,” I replied automatically after finishing that bite, though I still averted my eyes from looking directly at her.

“Nice to meet you, Allen,” she responded happily, “I’m Charline and this is my fiancée, Kulugui.”

“Mm-hm,” I acknowledged uncaringly as I sipped my soda and actually swallowed the liquid this time.

“You’ve got beautiful purple eyes.”

I did a double-take at her choice of words. Why was she getting so friendly with a stranger? Although… that gave me an idea. I triggered my power on.

“If you two don’t mind, I’d like you to answer some questions,” I requested.

“Well, that depends on what type of questions they are,” responded the orange horse.

I couldn’t stop myself from letting out a small gasp.

He’s questioning the order, I thought, Does my Geass not work on these creatures? Quickly, I resumed my neutral expression, No, calm down. Maybe you can still work with this.

“Do either of you happen to know about this supposed ‘Pony Phenomenon’ that’s on the news?” I asked.

“Your guess is as good as any,” Kulugi shook his head.

“All I know for sure is that I went to sleep the other night as usual,” Charline added, “The next morning, I woke up with these four hooves and these.” A couple non-equine appendages wriggled for emphasis.

Wings? I wondered, What use would those be on a body larger than can be held up by that wingspan?

“Oh, I see,” I sighed as I looked back at the intriguing ceiling tile and munched another couple of fries.

“Well, we’re going to get milkshakes,” said Charline, “Maybe we’ll see you around.”

“Maybe,” I responded without commitment before muttering, “But I doubt it.”

“Later, Allen,” saluted Kulugi as they walked off.

My Geass didn’t work on them, I repeated the thought, What’s the real cause of this ‘Pony Phenomenon’? More importantly, do I even care?

The rest of my lunch told me that I didn’t care.

Wednesday
12:00 PM
On The Streets Again

I passed a couple more of those so-called ponies as I walked aimlessly. To reevaluate my earlier test of power, I tried to plant suggestions in their minds. The first one, I tried asking him if he could hop on one foot. He just raised an eyebrow at me like I was crazy (rightly so, I suppose). I requested the second one do a handstand. To my surprise, her eyes widened slightly before she monotonously agreed to follow the order.

What is going on? I wondered while continuing to walk, My power seems to work on any person just fine. But, it only works occasionally on these brightly colored toy horses.

Then, I stopped walking as it dawned on me.

Wait a minute… Charline… I never really saw her reaction. I only assumed it didn’t work because of Kalugi’s immediate rebuttal. Could it be that…? No, there wouldn’t be a point in trying it on her again. My power still only works on any given individual once.

I almost forgot about the half-empty cup of soda that was in my hand until I had crushed it. The paper folded and some of the remaining liquid dripped. Something about the feeling of the carbonated beverage running past my fingers made me smirk.

Heh, there’s no need to get so worked up. I’ve already got an idea of what I’m going to do next.

I chucked the cup at the nearest trash bin on the sidewalk.

I’ve been given yet another shot at life. This world will see a brighter future as well, or my name isn’t Lelouch Vi Britannia!

Author's Note

Marked as an unofficial side-chapter until I’m told otherwise.

Ch. 11: Extended Tale of Redemption / Hanging on the Edge of Tomorrow

A/N: Here’s a February update, if only to avoid the hammer by the group at the end of the month.

Extended Tale of Redemption / Hanging on the Edge of Tomorrow

---{Spirit Redeemer’s POV}

For the majority of my childhood, I didn't have a reason to be unhappy. I was at ease being an earth pony because I didn't have to worry about complicated magic or handling the weather. My mother was a gardener and we both assumed that I would be too. I excelled at maintaining the health of a particular flower called the blue tulip. Supposedly, the blue tulip was a rare diamond in the rough, but I always had a full bouquet ready for Mother to take for that one lucky customer on market day.

They say that a cutie mark is supposed to represent what makes a pony special. It was supposed to be this magical moment where you find out where you truly belonged in this big world. Additionally, what your name was tended to have an uncanny connection to your cutie mark and by extension your destiny. So if Mother thought that I was going to uphold the business of gardening and flower arrangements and my cutie mark was a blue tulip, why did she name me something as profound as Spirit Redeemer?

I suppose having a white, straight mane did make me look a bit ghostly. Mother commented that my hide reminded her of the white evening primrose. Still, "Redeemer" sounded like I would end up compensating for something or some pony. But... what would a girl who has never seen much beyond Ponyville compensate for?

????
????
????

I always felt warmth from the security blanket known as Luna’s night. I imagined that the stars were my guardian angels, watching over my humble abode near the forest’s edge. The moon acted as their archangel, leading them onward. Sometimes, I swear I could even hear snippets of the stars’ conversations, even though I could never quite make out the words. Regardless, the gentle lull from their utterances helped me to sleep soundly.

This was not the case tonight. While the stars still conversed softly, I looked up at the moon. I couldn’t be sure why I thought this was strange, but the guiding archangelic aura that usually radiated from the moon was absent. I’m no doomsayer, but I was thinking of some rather disheartening, worst-case scenarios. Was Princess Luna ill? Or… dare I say reaching the end of her rope?

Suddenly, a large red veil obscured my vision entirely. The whispers from the stars were all at once silenced. What in Equestria was going on?

“Spirit Redeemer…”

My mouth just moved and spoke in a voice that I had never heard before. I tried to say something, but my lips weren’t cooperating. This unearthly sensation had full control.

“… come.”

Against every instinct screaming at me to ignore that word, my hooves were already on the floor slowly traversing to the door.

What is this? I asked in thought seeing as my voice no longer worked, What’s happening to me?

“Outside, then we’ll discuss.”

Who are you and what do you want with me? I tried to sound demanding even though I was scared.

Whatever this presence was, it ignored my demand and forced me to push the door open. I could only watch while my movements were on autopilot. This was only more unnerving by the fact that everything around me had a red tint. Did this presence want me to be unnerved by a somewhat bloody scene? Because, it was working.

Eventually, I stopped walking and stood in front of the stone marker a few feet away from my house.

This is my father’s gravesite, I pointed out, Why are we…?

“There is something that only you can do.”

The voice used my hoof to start pawing at the dirt next to the stone. Slowly but surely, a metallic object came into view. About then, the other presence used my hoof to lift the object so that I could look at it more closely.

A knife? I questioned, What’s it doing here?

“A dagger made from harder-than-diamond unobtainium. You are the one who shall bring retribution. Spirit Redeemer… Gah!”

In just an instant, the red veil over my eyes cleared and the dagger passed through my hoof and clattered on the ground.

“Wh-What’s happening?” I finally managed to speak. But, it was for naught.

I looked at my raised hoof as it appeared to be getting more transparent and less solid. I tried to scream, but it didn’t make any sound.

I don’t… want to… die.

????
8:30 AM
A Bedroom

My eyelids felt as a released anchor feels on a boat. I was in a bed. That much I could tell. However, the thickness of the blankets was foreign to me. It took me at least three tries just to get them sufficiently off me.

I felt a little dizzy this morning. It felt like I had forgotten to walk, so I almost fell over a couple times. Some faint feeling was pointing me in the direction of the restroom. I wasn’t going to argue with my half-awake instincts. The sink was a bit higher than I was used to, so I ended up grabbing the edge and pulling myself up.

My eyes opened wide in realizing that I was falling. I landed on my rump with a small thud. That was when I heard them.

Voices. Countless indeterminate voices. These weren’t the gentle hushed tones that the stars I knew used. The utterances I was hearing now resembled harsh whispers of anger, hatred, fear, and depression all at once. I held my ears down to no avail.

Make it stop, I pleaded in thought even though no pony was around to respond, Make it stop!

“Home! I need to go home!” I shouted.

Well, that’s a great idea, I agreed with my outburst, But where is home?

I galloped out of that restroom and headed for the bedroom’s door. I managed to muscle my way through it and continued running toward what I hoped would be a safer place.

Wagnesday - Thorsday
Unknown Night Hour
Location Pending

I struggled to open my eyes. I guess I had been lying down, because I had to get up on my feet. I tried to look around, but a white, curling mist obscured most of the surrounding area. My most recent memory was one of taking the backseat of my own conscience while some pony named ‘Arlene’ held the reins.

Right now, I could barely identify various flowers growing in haphazard places in the ground. Roses, daffodils, daisies, buttercups, pansies, black-eyed susans… the types went on. Letting my curiosity be piqued, I trotted over to one particular flower in this garden of nowhere. A blue tulip stood out. All of the rest of the flowers had at least one twin. This one didn’t. With a small tug, I lifted it out of the ground.

Instantly, the opaque mist was blown away by a strange wind. I had to close my eyes against its strength. When I could look again, I saw someone that stood on two legs.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Arlene,” she stated calmly, “And you are?”

“Spirit Redeemer,” I answered without pause.

“So, you’re the creature I’ve been turned into.”

She didn’t even sound mad. In fact, she sounded more like she was making a casual observation.

“Honestly, I’m not sure how this even happened,” I shook my head.

“Guess it’s a bit of a moot point what happened,” chuckled Arlene humorlessly.

“I suppose the actual question is, ‘What do we do now’?”

“I don’t know about you,” she started, “but I’d kind of like to have my own body back.”

“And I’d like to be in control of my own actions,” I agreed, “So, judging from one of your recent memories, there’s just one solution.”

She nodded once. Hopefully, their highnesses Princess Celestia and Princess Luna could gather the Element bearers and figure out a solution to this… circumstance. All it would take was a trip to this ‘New York’ location.

“You seem all right, Ms. Arlene,” I smiled while holding up the tulip toward her.

“I guess you’re not all bad either, Spirit,” she responded while picking up the tulip in her hand.

On that word, the curly mist came back with a vengeance.

Thorsday
6:30 AM
Terry and Arlene’s Bedroom

My neck hurt to turn one way. I guess I must have slept on it wrong last night. Though, a more pressing question I was thinking of at the time was in regards to my mouth. It was a bit dry and it felt like I had been force-fed something.

Why does my mouth taste like quill feather? I wondered.

---{Cier’s POV}

Fried-Zucchini-Day
7:50 PM (Eastern Time)
Baggage Claim

I was tired of meditating for the day and decided to fill up some of my time by watching old episodes of Freeman’s Mind again. It was the episode where he found a rocket launcher and then was proceeding to scientifically disprove certain conspiracy theories.

“Mind reading! That was it!” Freeman declared, “Okay, let’s assume it exists. The tin foil hat people… What do they think? That it’s electromagnetic radiation? Then what do they think the tin is going to do?”

I found Freeman about to slip and fall way more amusing than I should have. I think I let loose a quiet chuckle. After screaming to the heavens, he proceeded to talk to himself like nothing had happened.

“So anyway, if it’s electromagnetic, you’d need a Faraday cage to block that and a tin foil hat doesn’t act like one. It’s not even grounded. In all likelihood, a chunk of metal on your head is going to conduct any signal that you’re worried about, not block it.”

That’s a rather large pool of insight.

I nodded to Fifty-one’s observation in silent agreement as a face-hugger leaped out of the pipe to the canyon below.

“Got it!” called Dad as he found his suitcase, “Ready to go, Cier?”

“Yeah,” I confirmed as I shut my laptop.

Author's Note

I'm running out of ways to fill the time of the events that Cier and his folks go through as the "last day" draws ever nearer.
In fact, I've already got a template for a possible scenario that takes place after the "epic climax".
Eh, maybe I'll just pass the time with an impromptu "Babs Seed" parody.
~Main six, main six,
What we gonna do?
You're all working off your tails
Some backgrounders had to bail
Main six, main six,
Discord's on the move
Elements of Harmony
Have to purge the entropy.
Main six, main six
We've just run out of tricks.
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.
...
Yeah(x5)~

Corollary: What is a Draconequus?

What is a Draconequus?

????
????
????

---{Cier's POV}
{# 51's POV}

Were I to ever meet Discord face-to-face, I'd most likely be paralyzed in uncertainty. That or I'd be forced to stand still while simultaneously shifting position. I know that doesn't make any sense, but there in lies the kicker. That draconequus is all about not making sense. So, it would make sense for him to make my situation as nonsensical as possible.

Still, in a hypothetical situation where he's somehow forced to sit still and not say a word, I'd like to say a few things directly to him.

Discord: Master of Chaos and Disharmony. Such a proud title you hold. You bring pain, cause unrest, and stir the otherwise peaceful minds into disarray and torment. But you already know this. You wonder what an insignificant human such as myself can say that you haven't already heard. Well, too bad. You're about to hear more of the same.

You can't guilt trip me by fooling me into thinking that you have emotions. For emotions are driven by a soul. A soul is capable of showing empathy by understanding when someone, some pony, or someling else has negative emotions and feel a similar weight on its own heart. A soul is able to feel guilty for wrongs they have committed against another individual.

I have to wonder how one refers to a creature without a soul. I have searched Cier's memories and I believe I have come across the perfect description of you. Discord, you are a Nobody. That's "Nobody" with a capital "N". Like a Nobody, you are capable of imitating and exploiting emotions of others without actually having any of your own. Out of any actual emotion you act like you have when others feel negatively, you choose to imitate pleasure. A Nobody acts the same way. Although they are incapable of truly feeling anything, they often emulate pleasure and sadism in the face of someling else's suffering.

You are incapable of feeling pain. That is why you try to inflict it upon others. But the first act never truly satisfies you. So you keep applying torment and emotional turmoil again and again. Perhaps you hope to actually experience the feelings that you are devoid of, but that would be too orderly for a harbinger and manipulator of chaos such as yourself.

That's why you never outright produce or invent situations that guarantee a death. Death is an ultimate end of life. It is an absolute. Absolutes are pieces of order and you can't stand order because it bores you. So you keep your victims alive, but just barely. They are on mental thresholds. You want to see how far you can push your toys near the edge, without actually letting them impact with the ground. How many cracks can you make in a person's will? How much pressure can you place in a pony's thoughts? You constantly try to push the limits of how far you can rip their state of character without taking away their ability to live.

But I believe this makes you worse than a murderer or a common criminal. You are neither truly good nor fully committed to evil. You are a lukewarm entity that can neither be hot nor cold. Were God to give you judgment right here and now, he would spit you out of his mouth without hesitation.

Supposedly, those that walk the path of neutrality are anti-heroes. But you are not that sort of creature. For an anti-hero does things for his own benefit that ultimately nurture the greater good. You don't help the greater good exist, because you don't have anything that is good. Why do you think that your enemies refuse to end your life? They instead trap you because you cannot help right triumph over wrong whether you live or die.

Many people believe that you are meant to be a bigger and badder version of Q from Star Trek. Many admire you for this trait. To me, however, that just gives me more reason to dislike you. Is this supposed to be the comparison I'm making? If so, then I'm afraid you pale in comparison to the original, chaotic character. At least he served a worthwhile purpose. You on the other hand are just a copy. It's like the writers for your episodes just stuck Q in as an antagonist and hoped no one would notice how ultimately pointless your position would ultimately become. Novelty wears off and you've outlived your welcome.

My queen had a motivation for her otherwise questionable actions. I now realize that her plan was lacking in morality, but she was trying to provide for her subjects during her disturbance of the peace. You on the other hoof have no noteworthy motivation for messing up others' lives. You make people and ponies unhappy because it amuses you. You lack an ultimatum, an objective, an overarching goal.

At least Nightmare Moon had an appropriately paced backstory. A younger sister was driven to madness by being shunned by society and ignored by her older sister. That hits on so many areas that I can empathize with and I can therefore find her story that much more engaging when the conflict is resolved. In contrast, your backstory comes off as completely out of nowhere and could potentially be removed from the show completely without destroying anything else that happened canonically. Twilight could still learn that friendship reports don't have to be sent every week. Rarity could still learn the pride in her origin. Fluttershy could still learn the difference between internal and external conflicts. Rainbow Dash could still learn the fun in reading. Pinkie Pie could still learn how to take responsibility. Applejack could... well... still be the most mature friend of the group.

You mess up our worlds, draconequus.

You distort the fabric of life, Discord.

I will dutifully serve my queen.

I will find a cure for my mother.

And don't ever count me out!

---{Lelouch's POV}

????

It feels like I never left Japan. My outfit was different. The names of the people around me were all new. The mechanical capabilities were of a different variety than those of the Knightmare Frames. But the more I looked around, the more it felt like I was leading the Black Knights again. No one could see underneath my mask, but I smirked a little at the nostalgia of the situation that I was in now.

"We're all waiting for your announcement," Charline reminded me.

That woke me up from my state of half-awareness. I stole a glance at her before silently shaking my head out of stupor.

"Of course," I stated through the small microphone in my mask, "It's time for another miracle."

I looked on straight ahead. After a few days of studying the history of the United States of America, I was ready. It was time to show the world yet another one of my facades.

"Hear me, District of Columbia!" I declared with authority, "For too long, you have placed your own people under the foot of hypocrisy and corruption. Admirably, you preach against the wrongs of discrimination. Yet, you constantly placed the blame on people of opposing beliefs and ideologies. You sought to rid this country of its debt and yet you spend away collected taxes on projects that only digs America further into its economical grave."

The winds of justice understood my position and waved my cape as I held out my hand.

"We will not stand for this injustice any longer!" I cried out, "I am One... and we are the Knights of the Eclipse. The strong shall not reign over weak. Law will no longer be used to help the corrupt hold their desperate positions. All hopes and dreams will be given a chance except for those that dream of destroying the world from the inside out. It's time for a change!"

Pause for dramatic effect. Then, let my coattails of doom flap violently behind me.

"This land will soon be clean from its government filth and lies. Let it be known that it shall be called... the American Independent States!"

Author's Note

Any and all Season 3 references made in this or any of the PonyEarthverse fics are not meant to be known by the in-story characters. So if it sounds like I'm forgetting "Keep Calm and Flutter On", that's why. Cier has probably at most heard rumors of the "Crystal Empire". Fifty-one probably only has a few days worth of knowledge about his own world just after the events in "Canterlot Wedding".
...
The original draft had Cier/51 go on to talk about peanut3423's "unoriginal villain checklist", saying how Discord shares the traits of many unoriginal villains. He boasts, monologues, laughs maniacally, and yells when defeated. But, that part seemed to halt any flow that this corollary chapter had to begin with. So I cut it out.
...
The newest addition to my character roster is still unofficial for now. I still want to see what the other authors are up to.

Ch. 12: The Alien's New Mission: Refuse This Mission

A/N: It’s tough to schedule out an appropriate time for a full-out crossover. As such, I’m working with a bit of information sent via PM from another author. I apologize but take no responsibility if you experience a severe headache as you read this chapter.

The Alien’s New Mission: Refuse This Mission

---{#51’s POV}

Fried-Zucchini-Day
9:35 PM (Eastern Standard Time)
A Comfort Inn somewhere in the NYC

I…I didn’t understand. I had gone through all of that just to be told something as ridiculous as… what she had just communicated. How could this have happened?

Less than an hour ago
Just outside of the airport prior to a shuttle’s arrival

With permission from Cier, I regained dominance of the body for a short time. I tapped into a connection that was all but hereditary: the mind of the hive. Through it, I received and sent a steady stream of thoughts from myself and several others of my race in the relatively nearby area.

Concentrating my focus by keeping my eyes narrowed, I ignored most of the rest of the hive’s thought stream in favor of the one set of thoughts that mattered most. Those were the thought pulsations of my queen. I was here. I was ready. I was willing to do whatever her bidding may have been. Her words echoed through the multi-conscience.

"Mmm, yes... Drone... 51, is it? Your status? Good? Excellent. Is your host doing well? We are terribly busy. No time to chat. Dealing with an usurper..."

The emotions she was emitting felt like a mix of concern with simultaneous assurance that everything was going to be okay. It was such a conflicting feeling in my… something or other. Sure it was good news that Her Majesty Chrysalis was not harmed severely to the point that communication was impossible. But I was hoping that I, a loyal drone, could have offered some support when she needed it the most.

Fifty-one?

Cier’s thought pierced the plane in which I had rested my mind. With a reluctant sigh, I just… let go.

Return to the “present”

~Now and then, I think of when we were together…~

I didn’t know why I was hearing some soft-spoken male singing to the chorus of a guitar and a xylophone. I just felt very small and insignificant at that moment. My touch barely registered the feeling of the bed’s quilt underneath me.

~Like resignation to the end, always the end.~

Was my goal misguided? Did I not have a role to perform? All I desired was to protect and serve my queen until the end of my days. Was that too much to ask?

~I guess that I don’t need that though. Now you’re just somebody that I used to know.~

All right, enough of that!

????
????
????

I was back in the mental projection of my cavern. The familiar green glow was a little comforting, but not much in the way of recovering. Cier was at the opposite end. What I saw of him was a bit different than usual. Normally, I could read the human’s emotions better than I could read my own. Now, however, he seemed rather… deadpan? I think that was the right word.

“Talk to me, Fifty-one,” he motioned with a hand to approach him, “What happened?”

She - I averted direct eye contact, - had other matters to attend to.

“Who, Chrysalis?” Cier asked.

No, Drone 42. My eyelids felt glued at halfway closed. Then I practically shouted, Yes, Queen Chrysalis!

“Woah, chill!” He raised his arms defensively. “I’m just trying to figure out why you’re so depressed.”

Is my illness of emotion that obvious? I wondered with a sigh.

“I’ve been in your body for three days now,” he smirked, “I’ve picked up a few cues and gestures that you use when something is bothering you.”

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you sounded proud of that, I forced a chuckle.

“Well, yeah.” It was his turn to avoid eye contact. “But it’s nothing to brag about.”

Very well, Cier, I decided, If it will help, I will do my best to explain.

“Just help me help you help us both.” He pointed his hands at the respective pronouns.

I couldn’t help but just stare at him. I had no idea where he’d get such an obscure phrase.

“Really? You don’t recognize that reference?” He stared at me in disbelief before adding, “Maybe you should make your searches through my memory a more frequent venture.”

My ever growing empathy tells me that invasion of privacy is… not ethical, I admit.

“Yeah, I can see that,” he affirms with a nod, “All right, so tell me. What happened?”

I was able to reach my mind to allow thoughts to circulate and exchange with the other changelings in the general area.

“That’s great!” he exclaimed with genuine enthusiasm.

It felt… good and… familiar, but…

“But?” His enthusiasm dropped.

Well, I didn’t quite get all of the details. You have to understand. The hive mind isn’t mind reading. It’s a sharing of minds. At least, that’s what it seems to be.

“Well, I figured it was something like that.” He sat down on the rocky floor. “So then what happened?”

My queen, she… I cut off myself with a breath. How was I supposed to say this so that Cier would understand? I shook my head. He could interpret the information later. She was emitting a very strong emotion of concern. She mentioned an usurper.

“Oh,” he blinked in surprise, “Was she fighting Discord again?”

I don’t know, I shook my head again, My direct mental contact with her got cut off before I could ask for clarification. I started shivering involuntarily. I’ve never picked up so much concern before, least of all from her.

“Huh.” Cier closed his eyes in thought. “Perhaps it was the human mind in her body that you were talking to.”

No, I’m pretty sure I can recognize my own queen’s essence, I shot the idea down.

“Maybe, but don’t you think she and her human counterpart would have had time to forge a symbiotic relationship by now?” he pointed out, “We really have no idea how long she’s been on Earth.”

Yet, I can’t help but think that there was more to it.

“Like what?”

Well, there was also this… gentler feeling. For some reason, my hooves were making circular motions in front of me, but I barely noticed. It wasn’t as sweet as love, but it was somewhat… savory.

“Savory, huh?” Cier closed his eyes in thought again. “What emotion tastes savory to a changeling?”

That’s just it, I expressed my own confusion, I don’t know of a word for that kind of emotion. The closest I can come up with is… content, but even that didn’t seem completely right. It was when she was asking about my status. She wanted to know if I was good.

“‘Good’ is a rather subjective term, isn’t it?” he chuckled.

She even asked how my ‘host’ was doing. I’m guessing she meant you.

“Well, I’m doing fine, Chrysalis,” he chuckled again.

She can’t hear you, I commented, I’m not in touch with the hive mind right this second.

“I…I know,” he stopped chuckling, “That was a joke.”

Oh. I still did not understand the humor of the human race. Thankfully, he let it drop when he realized that I wasn’t laughing with him.

“So, we’re still going to go find her and help her out, right?” he pitched the new topic.

I don’t know. I looked away. She seemed to be giving the impression that she didn’t need anyling else’s help. Rather than giving me the order to find her location immediately, she gave a hasty farewell. What does that tell you?

“There must be a good reason,” Cier insisted. That got a quick scoff from me.

If only the rest of you humans had that kind of optimism.

“It has nothing to do with optimism or pessimism,” he shook his head, “I’m just being realistic.”

I had no argument to counter that. I just felt tired, an incredible feat considering that I was inside my own mind and not anywhere physically.

“Hey, Fifty-one.”

Yes, Cier?

“I think you need a pick-me up.” He reached a hand behind himself.

Pick-me up? That was a new phrase to me.

What do you have in mind? I suppose I could have read his mind to figure out, but I still found something moral in the right to privacy.

“Just something to break the ice,” he smirked.

His hand was immediately lifted beside his head. In his grasp was a familiar object from last night’s dream. My eyes snapped fully open when I heard the item’s “safety” turn off. The loud end of the item was pointed to the side of his temple.

Have you become insane?! I shouted, What are you doing?

“I’ll give you a hint in the form of one word,” he said with his smile unwavering.

I sat there completely dumbfounded. What was he going on about?

“Orpheus.”

But with that one word, I knew.

His finger pulled the trigger. Instead of an explosion of fire, I heard the shattering of glass. Blue shards of light started swirling around his head. A shadowy figure emerged from the darkness behind him. It resembled a much larger human being with a very different coloration. Its clothing looked like rags and it carried a harp-like instrument in its left hand.

Something in my mouth tasted pleasantly tart, almost sweet and sour. Confidence… Cier was radiating that emotion. Perhaps it was my Empathy Sickness, but I couldn’t help but start to feel that same confidence overwhelming me. My mouth curled into a crooked smile.

Very well, Cier, I announced, I’ll see your Evoker and raise you a Wild Card.

I held out a hoof pointing upward. Floating down slowly, a small rectangular light appeared just above my hoof. Lacking the fingers to perform the proper crushing, I improvised by lifting my other hoof just above this piece of light.

Izanagi. I pressed my hooves together and the light erupted into a flash of blue flames.

Above me, another human-shaped presence appeared. This one wore a black jacket that covered its body. A mask covered everything except its yellow eyes. It carried a very large two-handed blade.

“Let’s go!” shouted Cier.

Bring it on! I taunted.

8 Ziodynes, 4 Attack Rushes, and 2 Somas Later

Lying on the floor felt so nice. Cier and I couldn’t stop laughing, at least not for a long time. I don’t think I’ve felt this much positive energy since… well, ever.

Didn’t you say you didn't want us to dive into your video game addiction? I managed to ask between breaths.

“I think you needed it,” he answered dismissively.

You know, I think you’re right, I nodded, I did need that. Thank you.

“Anytime, pal.”

The adrenaline from the earlier combat was wearing off. I felt a bit more sluggish than usual. I had to fight a swaying feeling before I could stand up.

“By the way,” Cier added.

Yeah?

“Don’t worry too much. Even if Chrysalis doesn’t need you right now, I’m sure there’ll come a time later that she will.”

That was a mood killer. I wanted to believe him, but I didn’t know if I could.

“In the meantime, I still have to look for a cure for my mom. So, I’m probably going to need your help one way or another for that.”

I had an obligation with an ambiguous plan of action. I guess that was a start.

“What I’m trying to say is that you’re not useless. You have a purpose. We just need to find it and we’ll find it together.”

On anyling else, those words would have been empty. But this wasn’t just anyling. This was someone. This was a human and his emotions were sincere. I couldn’t help but smile at his authenticity.

Very well then, Cier, I nodded once as I reached out a hoof, flat side up, I accept your contract.

---{Cier's POV}

Smatterday

???? A.M. (Eastern Time)

Bedroom in the inn

That was good night. I couldn't remember everything that happened in the dream, but I felt like I had fun. I even managed to cheer up Fifty-one from last night's depression. I considered that a victory.

Idly, I ran my tongue along the inside of my mouth. I would have been happy that there weren't any feathers or pillowcases in it this morning. Unfortunately, I was too busy being confused.

It wasn't so much what was in my mouth. What bothered me was what wasn't in there.

Where's my right fang? I thought.

Author's Note

Once again, I exercise my "Random" tag. I've also got some good/bad news.
I kind of forgot what direction I wanted to take a certain "character". Because of this, I'm thinking of dropping him completely. If one of the other authors thinks they can implement the power of Geass more effectively, I say go for it. Take him.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, that's okay. You can ignore those last few statements.
Oh, and I guess proper etiquette requires the following statement.
The preceding work was a fan-based writing. Persona, Persona 2, Persona 3, and Persona 4 are all owned by Atlus, Koei, Square Enix, Ubisoft, and Katsura Hashino. Please support the official release.
There's "Gold" in a "Week" of one of those games.
*Punch*
Ow!

Deleted chapter: One Nation Under Lelouch (Skippable)

A/N: I originally had an idea that I thought would have been a funny and satisfying conclusion.
Now that I've had over two months to look it over, I realize that it was stupid and made me cringe.
It made me ask, "What the frappe was I thinking?" It was just so bad.
It doesn't even make the cut for what I'd consider an effort at an April Fools' chapter.
...
Still, I thought I'd at least show it to explain why I've decided to let Lelouch go and free him from my mess called a fan fiction story.
So without further ado, I give you the scrapped idea that I can only describe as...

The Abomination

---{Cier’s POV}

Seven Days After The Battle in New York
8:30 AM
The Dylan Residence

“Hah! Finally!” I pumped my fist in ecstasy.

After a few nights of staying up way later than I should have, I caught myself a Kyurem. At this point, some would probably have questioned whether using a Master Ball would have been better or more efficient. Not me. I stuck to my principles of putting effort into my games and I caught it in a Great Ball. Ha!

“Now,” I muttered to myself, “What to nickname you.”

I started to button-press in the letters for ‘Hyourinmaru’, but then stopped when I realized that there weren’t enough spaces. Shaking my head, I rapidly pressed the ‘B’ button to backtrack to the first letter. For a while I just sat there, staring at the two screens of my Nintendo DS.

You know, I thought, In the trailer for the Black and White 2 versions, Kyurem had two new forms. Hm… he was cold and emotionless when he was first introduced, but then was willing to change in the time after. That’s kind of like…

I smiled lightly. I knew what I was going to nickname Kyurem.

F… i… f… t… y… o… n… e.

“Cier!” hollered Dad, “There’s someone at the door that wants to see you!”

That was weird. I didn’t normally get visitors specifically looking for me. Quickly, I saved the game before shutting my DS.

“Coming!” I answered as I exited the room. I still hadn’t replaced the melted doorknob.

As I briskly entered the living room, I saw that friend of Dad’s.

“Oh, Mr. Big Zeke, sir,” I said, “What brings you by?”

“Well…” Big Zeke rubbed his neck a bit sheepishly, “Maybe you should see for yourself, brother.”

He turned around.

“Li’l Z, come over here!” Zeke hollered.

I raised an eyebrow, wondering why he was speaking to thin air. But then, I noticed the car that was parked out front. The sound of something clacking around the vehicle was what had my attention at the moment. When a figure came out from around Big Zeke’s car, my confused eyes opened to a full-blown surprised face.

“I… uh… wha..?” I fumbled for the right words.

Standing there was a black pony. Now wait just a minute! That wasn’t what was strange, because there were still people turning into ponies even after Discord’s ‘defeat’. What was strange was the specific features. She had a horn and wings, the signs of an alicorn. She also had a long purple mane, turqoise irises in her eyes, and a blue eighth note for a cutie mark.

“H-hi, Cier,” she stammered while waving a hoof nervously.

“T…T…Tundra Stanza?!” I cried out, “What the fu-?!”

My eyes were overtaken by a forceful, orange explosion.

Tale of The Suspicious One (part 2)

---{Lelouch’s POV}

“Heh heh heh heh,” I chuckled before letting out a full laugh, “HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!”

“Successful hit,” noted one of the commanders emotionlessly, “California has been wiped from the map.”

Despite the theoretical differences between Brittania’s empire and this government, the rules of power were relatively the same. Gaining dominance over the District of Columbia was easier than taking out Clovis. It was as if North America was just begging me to take over. Just now, nuclear missiles had wiped out one of the United States’ largest embarrassments. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the world’s hypocrisy and hatred would follow.

And my cackles echoed off the walls of the White House for all to hear. Even as I took a bite out of a slice of pepperoni, the echoes carried on.

"Now then..." I mulled.

Author's Note

…-dge. That’s what Cier was going to say. Fudge.
Sorry for making you sit through that mess.
Next month, I'm going back to posting the official chapters.

Ch. 13: Tales of the Jailbirds

A/N: For this fic, there is a not-so-clever pattern. Every chapter that starts with “Tale” starts from somebody else’s perspective that is neither Cier nor Fifty-one. Hopefully, I’ve got at least that much cleared up.

Tales of the Jailbirds

Tale of the Former Owner of a Pistol

---{??? POV}

???
???
Prison Cell

There was nothing but stupid stone walls as far as I could see. What wasn’t made of rock in here was either rusted piss or moldy *ess*. That was what life was right now: piss and *ess*. Drank piss for breakfast, ate *ess* for lunch, and if we were “good”, a nice serving of crap for supper. That was basically what it amounted to in this place called jail. Oh sure, they gave it fancy names like “water” and “beans”, but it all tasted like it came out of somebody’s *ah*.

I didn’t even do anything wrong. Everybody hated those hippie horses. I was just taking a job that animal control wasn’t. If those ponies were gone, then the days would reset to normal and we could all go on hating each other as usual. What was the problem?

As I stood there leaning against the stone wall, some weird background noise suddenly made itself clearer.

~Mother Feather Gentle Mare
I’m a…
I’m a…
I’m a…
Mother Feather Gentle Mare~

The *eff*? I thought.

Tale of the Former Brass-Knuckled Man

---{This guy’s POV}

???
???
Second Prison Cell

It was right there. The promise of cold, hard cash was right there. How the hell did I fall for such an empty deal? I don’t know what the boss was thinking, but I was now starting to think that maybe he didn’t get all of the facts straight from that anonymous client. He should have talked Mr. Mystery into paying upfront. Money like that doesn’t just fall into your hands the instant the job is completed.

People, animals, artificial intels, it didn’t matter to me. A target was a target and whoever was willing to pay me would get a painful beating on the sucker of their choice. Hell, I even got paid by one client that chose himself as the target. Assisted suicide: a gift from the most generous hired man on Earth.

When I decided to accept the job that the boss described, I didn’t think much when he said it was one of them pony creatures. It was just another target. An old guy got in the way and he took a bullet in the shoulder. Stupid old man.

Some strange beat interrupted my thoughts.

~D-D-Derpy Style

Derpy Style
Derp, derp, derp, derp
D-D-Derpy Style
Heyyyyyyyy, DJ-Pon3!

Yo, yo, yo, yo
D-D-Derpy Style~

What the hell? I thought, I didn’t even smoke anything!

Tale of the Former Owner of a Knife

---{What’s-his-name’s POV}

??
??
Another Prison Cell

Stupid anonymous call with the stupid anonymous tip about those stupid ponies in a job worth a stupid amount of money that the stupid boss didn’t even get. I was absolutely, adamantly angry with this stupid day. It wasn’t even a stupid pony. It looked more like some stupid bug-horse mutation… thing. What was this, stupid Alien vs. Predator? I didn’t have the stupid time for that stupid *ess*.

Now I found myself in this stupid audience area with stupid people that can’t even speak English like everybody else. This was stupid. And they were laughing. Stupid laugh tracks. I bet they weren’t even telling stupid jokes that were any good.

~I am Octavia
I am Octavia~

That voice! No… no, no, no, no! Not her again! Hadn’t that one stupid woman in my stupid life caused me enough stupid pain already? I had to cover my stupid ears with my hands just to reduce that stupid voice by one stupid decibel.

“Leave me alone!” I yelled, “You already took the kids! What more do you want from me?”

Tale of the Former Driver

---{Ladriew’s POV}

?
?
Yet Another Prison Cell

I didn’t sign up for this *ess*. I never asked for this. I didn’t want to be part of some assassin brotherhood, but I didn’t have any choice. I needed that frigging money for that… thing. Why didn’t they have… that thing anywhere in here? The “fresh” air was not good for my lungs if I didn’t get… that thing. I didn’t know what to do.

All I could do was lie down on the uncomfortable, stone bed while some background noise started getting louder. An accordion, a tuba, cymbals, and a banjo should never be joined like that.

“Oh, good gosh,” I moaned while rubbing my temples, “Make it stop. Change it to something else.”

The first tune stopped, only to be replaced by the same type of instruments playing something even more annoying.

“No sane person listens to polka anymore! Change it to something else!”

~When I was up late surfing and the mods were all asleep…~

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Tale of the Narrator:
The Window Between the Fourth Wall and You

---{Narrator’s POV}

Needless to say, none of these “esteemed colleagues” had very good nights. In contrast, let us look briefly at one of the forgotten dreams of our “heroes”.

---{Cier’s POV}

????
????
????

I launched forward a trademark kunai with chain. The knife sunk into his sternum.

“Get over here!” I ordered while yanking the chain toward me.

Well, if you insist.

My opponent’s hoof was suddenly glowing bright red. The flames surrounding it almost looked like a fierce bird. I just stared at that with my jaw dropped as the hoof collided with me.

Falcon… P-P-P-Punch!

I slid backwards a bit before regaining my footing. I rubbed my cheek with a fist before unleashing my inner fiery spirit. If it wasn’t a gold glowing aura surrounding me, I didn’t know what it was. I ran forward and unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks while shouting my war cry.

“At-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta!”

---{#51’s POV}

Each of his individual attacks weren’t doing much. I knew that. However, with my guard currently unavailable, I was forced to endure every single part of his combo. My face, as usual, was taking the brunt of the damage. I was barely able to back away as a much louder voice made itself known.

“Maximum!”

X-Factor, I declared while holding my hooves close before aiming them at the opponent, Shinku… Hadouken!

He got caught in the wide, blue blast of fire.

“Hyper Combo K.O.!”

Cier spun in place before falling onto his back.

“Player 2 wins!”

That was a good win, I commented as I readjusted my headband. I crossed my hooves while waiting for the page to turn.

---{Cier's POV}

Smatterday
6:00-ish A.M.
Bedroom inn

Where's my right fang? I thought while feeling the empty space that the larger tooth had occupied the past few days.

A small amount of light shined through the curtains. I used it to navigate around the bed and eventually reached the one tall mirror in this room. As I did a once over of my reflection, everything seemed normal... well, as far as being a changeling counting as normal goes. There were the same old bug wings, the same old holey hooves, the same old solid blue left eye, the same old black pupil in the right eye... wait.

What happened to my eye? I stared wide-eyed at the reflection. It seemed my right fang was missing and my right eye was more... pony-like with whites, a blue iris, and a black pupil.

Did I use the shape-shifting power while I was asleep? I wondered.

I looked back at the other bed. Mom and Dad were still sleeping. I didn't want to upset Mom by breaking my promise, but I had to check this out. With a stroke of instinct, I focused the green changeling fire around and assumed the form of Spirit Redeemer, white mane and all. As quickly as I had done that, I activated my power again.

This time, the green fires gave way to Fifty-one's normal look. I could feel my fang was back and I could see the solid blue eye had returned.

Huh, well that was weird, I shrugged as I wandered over and hopped back into bed.

Author's Note

For that one person that didn't bother commenting and asking what happened to that random group of thugs from chapter 2, here's something to keep you occupied.
So can you guess what the theme was for each character in this chapter?
...
Give up? These were all dream sequences. Congratulations for being able to move your mouse over a gray bar.
As for how they're listening to songs from the future... Um...
Crazy dream premonitions? :scootangel:
...
Oh, I almost forgot. That fang and eye difference Cier/Fifty-one had will come back.
Or will it?
...
~~I have to work on my subtlety.~~

Ch. 14: A Conversation Of Four

A/N: Non-canon dialogue! Go!

Cier: You know, Fifty-one? It just occurred to me.

51: What’s that, Cier Dylan?

Cier: We’re still in New York. It feels like we’ve been here for months.

51: But we’ve only been here for less than a day.

Cier: I know, right?

A/N: And now back to our regularly scheduled story.

A Conversation Of Four

---{Cier’s POV}

Smatterday
7:15 AM (Eastern Standard Time)
An Inn Bedroom

I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep since I woke up just an hour ago. I just sort of lied there on the bed as still as I could. The snores of my parents were slowly getting quieter. It wasn’t much longer until they got up and started shuffling around. I could hear joints cracking from early morning stiffness. My wings shivered and buzzed once.

I decided not to bother with a shower this morning. The handles weren’t exactly hoof-friendly. So the only hot water used by this room’s occupants was by Dad’s shower. Actually, I take that back. Mom ended up getting in there with him so that she had someone else to reach soap to certain positions.

I was too tired that morning to think of the witty puns such a situation could create.

After he got dressed and took a look at the time, Dad decided to head down the hall to grab some coffee. He told me he would find a little breakfast for me to if I wanted it. I didn’t object.

As soon as the door had closed, Mom shook her head and quickly scanned the room as if startled. Naturally, I wondered what had caused such a reaction.

“Are you okay, Mom?” I asked.

“That’s not my…” she started, “Oh, right! That’s what you call her.”

“Her?” I tilted me head before taking a closer look. I squinted as I stared at her eyes.

“Hm, no yellow eyes, so it can’t be Peter,” I muttered. I had a “Eureka!” moment and clapped my hooves once.

“Are you by chance Spirit Redeemer?” I inquired.

“Yes, that’s right,” she nodded.

“It’s a pleasure to formally meet you,” I grinned while reaching a hoof forward, “I’m Cier.”

She recoiled a bit before slowly reaching her own hoof to accept the shake. It felt slow and cautious and she quickly pulled her hoof away. It was as if she was worried that it had caught on fire or something.

“I’m sorry,” she told me, “It’s just… I’ve never actually seen a changeling up close before.”

“You and me both, girl,” I chuckled.

“But, aren’t you a changeling?” she wondered.

“I wasn’t always,” I responded, “This is technically Fifty-one’s body. I’m just along for the ride.”

“Oh, right… the merging thing,” she realized.

“Yeah, I’m guessing you and Arlene are just as confused as each other right now.”

“This whole thing is very disorienting, not to mention unnatural.”

“Heh, if only you knew what it was like for the ones that live here.”

“That’s another thing that confuses me. How did you recognize the word ‘changeling’ if they aren’t local to your world?”

“Grab a seat, girlfriend. This could take a while.”

“What?”

“Just a little figure of speech,” I dismissively waved a hoof, “Anyway, it all starts from this device we humans call a ‘television’. Have I lost you yet?”

“N-no, that’s fine,” she insisted, “I’m sure Arlene can fill in the gaps about some of the technology that I don’t understand.”

“Cool! That simplifies things. All right, so there’s this one particular program called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Originally intended for an audience of little girls and their families, it gained an unexpected following by somewhat older men especially on the internet. The term ‘brony’ got tossed around a lot. Since that boom in extra fans, many of the bronies started keeping up to date with this show and related content religiously. In the most recent episode, a particular race of antagonists was introduced called the changelings. That’s how many of the faithful viewers know exactly what a changeling is and what they look like.”

I took a few breaths not realizing how much I had said in a matter of seconds. Spirit Redeemer stared at me without blinking.

I hope I didn’t break her, I thought. I tried waving one of my holey hooves in front of her face to get a reaction.

“Cier Nadeem! How long have you been hiding this?!” Mom shouted.

The force of her voice combined with my jump of surprise sent me reeling back headfirst to the floor. A few stars grazed my vision before darkening.

---{#51’s POV}

I moved to sit up while rubbing the back of my head. I gasped when I realized that I was in dominance. A quick mental check showed me that Cier’s mind was still conscious. But for some reason, he had taken backseat control. I coughed before letting my slightly raspy voice be heard.

“That’s an impressive set of lungs you have there, Mrs. Dylan,” I complimented.

“Oh my ghost,” Mrs. Dylan muttered before raising a hoof to cover her mouth in shock, “Did I just make him faint again?”

“I don’t think so,” I shook my head, “I can still sense his mind, though his thoughts are a bit less pronounced. Why that is, I do not know.”

She let out a sigh of relief. I assumed it was because her son was okay.

“Forgive me for indulging, but why did you raise your voice?” I inquired.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you… at either of you,” she clarified, “I guess I just needed to let loose a lot of stress. Having a potential clue to whatever this whole situation is must have been the point that tipped me over. I’m sorry. Cier, if you can hear me…”

I closed my eyes and noticed a rather soft-textured taste that was otherwise flavorless. Yet, it was still a soothing feeling in my mouth.

“I taste his feeling of forgiveness,” I informed Mrs. Dylan, “I would surmise that means your apology has been accepted.”

“You… taste his forgiveness?” she looked at me incredulously.

“The changeling race is able to taste a wide range of emotions. Love is particularly sweet which is why we tend to feed on it the most.”

There was a silence in the room for several seconds. Cier would probably have described this as an awkward and disturbing quiet time. Mrs. Dylan let out a cough that was of the artificial sort.

“So, Fifty-one, tell me about yourself.”

At first, all I did was blink a couple times. I hadn’t expected that kind of discussion topic. Still, it didn’t seem harmful to satiate some of her curiosity.

“Very well,” I replied, “As I’ve told you before, I am the fifty-first drone of Her Majesty Queen Chrysalis. I like to hover in place, inflict easily healed pain on my subordinates, and assume the form of my hive’s various prisoners. Above all else, duty to my queen comes first. Any personal trifles and false emotions must be dropped where they arise.”

Mrs. Dylan grimaced. She looked rather ill, which was strange since she hadn’t even eaten yet this morning.

“Is that… really how your people operate?” she exhaled in what sounded like disbelief.

“Well, we never claimed to be perfect,” I shrugged, “It was all I had, all I ever knew.”

I broke eye contact and stared at a spot on the floor. I wasn’t sure why I did that. Right then, some unknown sensation forced me to look away from the pony standing in front of me.

“Or at least it was,” I continued, “But then I ended up in this world controlled by the mind of this human named Cier Dylan. Ever since then, I’ve started contracting emotions of my own: guilt, shame, anger, sadness, happiness, and concern. I’ve come to some disturbing conclusions. Maybe the changelings weren’t in the right for any of its actions. We just always did what our queen ordered because it was ‘for the good of the hive’.”

My hoof involuntarily started scraping left to right and back again along the floor.

“More recently, I received a nonchalant message from my brief connection with the hive mind. Queen Chrysalis… said she didn’t have time for me. She didn’t even ask for me to come find her and help. I’m starting to wonder if I have a purpose anymore.”

If I had been looking up, I might have noticed the brief, white glow in Spirit Redeemer’s eyes.

---{Spirit Redeemer’s POV}

“It’s strange,” I muttered as Fifty-one looked back up, “I had only heard about the changelings recently and that was just by a warning of a royal guard passing by my cottage. They sounded like terrible beasts.”

He looked down and away from me again. Was there some suspicion that he now felt was affirmed by what I had just said?

“When I look at you,” I continued, “I see something else. The way you describe how you feel… makes me think that I’m talking to some pony. Some pony that’s feeling alone and rejected.”

“Where are you going with this?” he asked turning his solid blue eyes back to me.

“It pains me to see some pony that’s hurting so much. I…I don’t really know what to do.”

I hesitated, but then I put my hoof forward. Then I took another step… and another.

“But, we’re both strangers in a foreign land,” I felt something more as I kept moving forward, “These may not have been favorable circumstances, but maybe…”

I was right in front of him now. He looked as surprised as I was.

“Maybe we can get through this together. Fifty-one, would you like to be… friends?”

His mouth quivered for a second before holding in a small smile.

“Yes,” he nodded, “that would be… nice. Thank you, Miss Redeemer.”

“Please,” I smiled back, “Call me Spirit.”

Before I knew it, the changeling and I were hugging each other. My mind lost control of the situation almost just as quickly.

---{Arlene’s POV}

“I love you, Mom,” he said in a much healthier sounding voice.

“I love you too, Cier,” I responded. I almost didn’t want to let go of my son. Something urged me and I ended up breaking off anyway.

“Feel better?” I asked.

“Yeah, I do,” he answered, “Thanks.”

It was then that I noticed something off. My, er… Spirit’s hoof moved, no wait. Oh forget it. I moved my hoof involuntarily to point at the spot in question.

“What happened to your eye?” I exclaimed with restraint.

He gasped and reached up his hoof. Slowly, he turned his gaze toward the room’s mirror. He let out another gasp. His eye was no longer solid blue. It looked like it had white, with a blue iris, and a black pupil.

“It happened again,” he muttered.

“Again?” I raised my eyebrow.

“I noticed this earlier,” he responded, “I thought it was just a subconscious shape-shifting, but now it’s happened while I was awake. I don’t know what this means.”

I heard the door opening and I turned to see Terry slowly make his way in. His hands were full trying to balance two cups of coffee, the room key, and what I assumed was a juice bottle. He had a plastic-wrapped pastry in his mouth. His eyes were suddenly locked on Cier. The pastry went falling to the floor and the automatically closing door slammed behind him.

“What happened to your eye?” he exclaimed with restraint.

Cier responded in the most intelligent and well-thought-out way possible.

“I have no idea.”

Author's Note

*Sigh*
You don't know how happy I am to know that the "update once a month" rule is now less restrictive. I feel like I can take my time and not bore readers with the confusing and/or pointless backstory chapters.
Also, the area I'm in seems to be finally realizing that summer is approaching. Bad news: the heat is ridiculous. Good news: it's not too cold. :twilightsheepish:

Ch. 16: A Very, Very Mad Mind

A/N: Warning! This chapter is so confusing that even I don’t know where it’s going to end up. Actually, strike that. I know where the chapter ends, but I don’t know what’s going to happen between now and then.

A Very, Very Mad Mind

Smatterday
????
????

---{#51’s POV}

So much noise! Why was there so much noise? I don’t remember the hive mind being this loud. I struggled to hold my ears down, but the effort was useless in this realm of mental landscapes.

In the hive mind of Her Majesty Chrysalis, there was always a sense of calm even when five or ten of the drone minds had troubles unrelated to the hive. My queen knew how to give us the most numbing, emotionless thoughts that still gave us a sense that she cared.

This… I didn’t even know what this was! All of these thoughts… All of these worries… Urgh! There was no end to the fracas that bombarded my mind’s ear. If I couldn’t find a way out soon, there was a high probability that my skull would split like a melon. I hissed and I lashed, but the absolutely painful cacophony wouldn’t stop.

Queen Chrysalis! I shouted into the storm of thoughts, Where are you?

“Ah ha ha ha.”

I opened my mental eyes wide. In spite of all the noise that would not shut up, I somehow heard that chuckling more clearly than anything else. But… it wasn’t her. It wasn’t my queen. I didn’t like this voice.

“Chrysalis?” asked the voice almost mockingly, “Chryssie’s not fit to be the Sweet Potato queen, much less real royalty, like me…”

What? Who in the two worlds did this voice think they were? To refer to Her Majesty as a vegetable queen and calling her a fake was unforgivable. I bared my fangs in spite of being unable to actually attack the voice while trapped in this mess of other minds. I had no idea how much of my mind was vulnerable to this entity. I didn’t even get a sense of how close it was before I had been dragged into this space.

“Aren’t you glad you’re not one of those horrible humans anymore?” the voice cooed.

W-what? If I could choke on my own spit, I would have right then.

All of a sudden, a slight ringing noise flashed through my head like lightning. Unfamiliar images started flashing through my mind. What in the wide, brown badlands was all of this?

---{Cier’s POV}

Barriers expanded. Science and magic joined together. A potion paved way to a grenade. Uniforms with the letters P.E.R. dressed all sorts of ragged and professional-looking ponies. All of these and more were blurred together in images of television static. If I were in my body, my eyes would be shaking while being stuck open. My mouth could not form any word to describe these horrible, misconfigured images.

At some point, letters started forming in between the garbage images.

Celestia was staring with murderous eyes.

A unicorn stallion was arguing that his name was genderless.

The OC pony of Lauren Faust and a Discord look-alike laughed together.

HAIL

A proposal for “gryphonization” was addressed to a congress.

QUEEN

Twilight Sparkle said the f-bomb for the first time in her life.

MAB!

“~Bee, Cee, Beta, Gamma, Phi…~” sang a terribly off-key woman’s voice.

---{#51’s POV}

As if the nonsensical words and images weren’t enough, the voices I heard at the start of this awful encounter had come back in full. The shouting and complaints were indistinguishable. This was way too much. I needed to get out of here right now!

Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I yelled as my horn charged.

I started releasing green blasts in just about every direction that my mind could conceive in this place. I heard glass shatter. Still the voices persisted in making thinking a very painful task in itself. I fired more shots. Screens of various sizes seemed to crack all around me.

Eventually, the cracks in the mental area glass started joining together until it formed one giant circle made from the crooked-lined crack. It surrounded me, before the landscape shattered all around me. I felt myself falling. I tried flapping my wings as rapidly as I could, but I still kept falling.

---{Terry’s POV}

Smatterday
7:20 AM Eastern Time
The Inn Bedroom

I don’t know what happened. One second, Cier was talking to me. The next, he was on the floor tossing and turning in his sleep. How did that even happen? I don’t know.

I heard hissing and groaning escape his mouth. He was in pain. My son was in pain and I didn’t have a clue how to help him.

I turned to look at Arlene. She looked shocked and concerned as she stared at Cier. She didn’t know what to do either. Urgh, I felt so useless right then.

---{Arlene’s POV}

I could feel Spirit Redeemer somewhere inside looking at what I was seeing with just as much worry. She couldn’t help her friend Fifty-one, and I couldn’t help my child… my baby boy. Water started to form under my eyes.

Cier… I pleaded quietly, Please be okay.

---{Peter’s POV}

This was nudging futs. The ghostly unrest around that boy was crazy. Sure, most ghosts that wander the earth are soaked in negative emotions, but what I was sensing from around that boy was just plain crazy.

As I floated there next to Arlene, I thought I saw a faint glimmer of green from the changeling’s horn. It immediately dimmed, but glowed again. This repeated quite a few times. I didn’t know what to make of it.

Next thing I knew, the kid was up in the air. His wings were buzzing like crazy. His eyes were opened wide. A sound like a cross between a growl and a hiss came out of his mouth. He quickly zoomed around and went into the bathroom.

“The frig?” I whispered.

---{Cier’s POV}

I felt something wet against my face. I blinked a couple of times through the blurry view that I was seeing. My vision started clearing up and I could see a sink with a running faucet. The water was pouring out. My hooves and my face were wet. I looked up to the mirror and stared into my own changeling eye and pony eye.

“Huh?” I finally blurted out.

I could also feel a slight breeze behind me. My wings were flapping. Did I fly in here and start splashing myself? Weird, I couldn’t remember doing so.

“Cier,” my name was called slowly before Dad’s voice continued, “Are you alright?”

My head still hurt a little, but otherwise I thought I was doing okay.

“I think so,” I replied.

“What was that all about?” asked a partially whispering voice. Peter, I surmised.

I slowly hovered out of the bathroom. I dropped down onto the opposite bed before answering.

“I think Fifty-one and I have stumbled upon another scheme originating from this whole ponies-on-earth mess.”

“Another scheme?” echoed Dad.

I gave them the best explanation I could about what I had just been through. There was another hive network in the making besides Chrysalis’s. This one was being ruled by a changeling calling herself Mab. Though, her actual ruling capabilities were questionable as she couldn’t readily calm the members of her own faction. There was an eerie feeling of arrogance simply by sharing thought space with her.

Mab was apparently convinced that she was a real-world P.E.R. (Ponification for Earth’s Rebirth) agent. She held very strong feelings against humans. Most of the minds in her hive sounded like rebellious teenagers yelling and complaining about everything. Except hers was the loudest and most head-splitting of them all. Fifty-one was insulted that she called out meaningless letters for names instead of distinguishable numbers.

I wasn’t entirely sure how we managed to get out of that mind crushing experience. All I knew for sure was that it looked like Fifty-one was firing his magic in any direction he could aim. When the mental landscape was filled with enough cracks, there was a falling sensation. Next thing I knew, I had water all over my face.

“That would explain why your horn was glowing on and off,” commented Peter.

When I asked him what he meant by that, he and Dad took turns explaining what had been going on here in the real world. So a forced connection to Mab’s hive mind left my physical body in a state of sleep. I had been experiencing a world of hurt, but to anyone outside, it looked like I was having a really bad dream.

“Tsu,” I half-chuckled, “I kind of miss the dreams that were just dreams. Recently it’s just been mind channeling and mental conversations. No offense, Fifty-one.”

I see no offense to take.

I closed my eyes and let my mind wander.

---{#51’s POV}

I felt compelled to reconnect and assure myself that Her Majesty Chrysalis’s hive mind was still out there. Briefly, I extended my mind’s reach. I was blessed with a much more serene sea of thoughts. My queen still gave off the sense of being preoccupied, but she answered all the same.

“51? Did she get you? No?"

I relayed the events that had recently transpired while I was in Mab's hive mind.

"Hm. Yes. Well done. Please be sure to secure the well-being of those you can...”

Had I heard that correctly? Queen Chrysalis was… tasking me with the welfare of others. She was giving me a purpose. In the past, I would have thought that it wasn’t my right to feel anything. Given the circumstances, however, I couldn’t help it. My queen still had trust in me.

Yes, Your Majesty, I mentally nodded.

I was... so happy.

Author's Note

This chapter was made possible with the help of Hilltopper2.

Ch. 17: Start From The Bottom

A/N: Roll with it.

Start From The Bottom

---{Cier's POV}

Smatterday

7:45 AM Eastern Time

The Inn Bedroom

Fifty-one may have been happy, but I was anxious at his newly granted responsibility. He was going to have to save as many members of the hive as possible. Honestly, I wasn't too thrilled about having to go back into that mess of disjointed noises a second time. Plus, I had no idea what that Map, or whatever her name was, could do if she was expecting an actual interruption of her assimilation plans. We barely got out of there with sanity intact because she wasn't expecting us. What was that fake changeling queen capable of if she were given prep time?

Still, it was a slightly better plan than we had when this whole mess started. For those that weren't paying attention, Plan A simply involved finding the Element bearers in New York and "curing" Mom and I of our merging with the pony and changeling whose bodies we were currently inhabiting. But seeing as there was little chance of randomly running across them on a city-wide gallop, the next best plan was gathering potential allies to face-down against Discord, PAPA, and any of the other number of enemies that pony kind and changeling kin had unintentionally made simply by being on Earth.

Nobody said it would be easy.

"I'm going to need a vacation from this vacation when all's said and done," I said with a sigh.

But having a vacation on top of a vacation defeats the purpose of the original vacation.

Not now, Fifty-one, I thought while shaking my head. I'll explain it after we rescue one of the trapped changelings.

"So," interrupted Dad, "While you and Fifty-one are busy having a battle amongst this network of minds, what are the rest of us going to do?"

I tilted my head while looking at him. "What do you mean? You guys are intelligent adults. You can do whatever the heck you want to do."

"Yes," interrupted Mom, "but there's only so much we can do without feeling guilty of not helping fix up whatever big, horrifying situation we've gotten ourselves into."

I sighed. "Well, I'm not going to give you orders if that's what you're hoping for. If you want some advice, however..." I looked up at Dad specifically. "You can probably keep tabs on the outside of this hotel room and the internet. Keep the rest of us posted on whatever you can find about shenanigans and threatening group attempts both nearby and in the rest of this state."

I turned to about my eye level at Mom. "You should probably keep an eye on me. While my mind wanders, there's no telling what my body will do here in the real world. If I start attacking or setting things on fire or something, do whatever is in your power and Spirit Redeemer's power to calm me down."

I turned once more. "And you... can... uh..."

Um, what can Peter do that he hasn't already? I wondered.

"Go see what you can in areas that Dad can't easily get to," I finally decided, "Ghosts are pretty flexible when it comes to space, right?"

"Well, of course!" the apparition stated through Redeemer's mouth, "We don't need any space at all."

"Any other questions?" I thought I might as well ask. "Okay, see you when I get back."

All right, Fifty-one, I thought while taking a quadruped's meditation pose. You're up!

---{#51's POV}

Smatterday

????

I swear the amount of impossibly crowded voices were even louder and more unbearable than when I had first been pulled in. It was so hard to comprehend what I was trying to think. I needed to do... something. Get the coffee? No. Tell off my parents? What? No! Urgh! I couldn't hear myself think against everyling else in this sorry excuse for a hive.

Focus! I ordered myself. Concentrate! I... need to... save... as... urgh... many... as I... can!

It wouldn't be long before Mab figured out I was here again. I had to act fast. Normally, I was against the one at a time plan, but without my true queen to guide my path, gut reactions were my best option. I'd have to fix my mind against the mental will of one of these chatterboxes and isolate them.

So, in the absence of any better judgment, I concentrated my magic and blasted the closest screen in front of me. Then, I charged in with as much force as my mind could muster. The sound was akin to flesh being punched through glass.

I opened my eyes to a cavern. Its layout was very similar to my shared mind space with Cier. Thankfully, it was much quieter than Mab's hive mind. I noticed that the visible cocoons had a slightly different layout. Additionally, the atmosphere didn't feel as inviting as my home. Someling didn't want me here.

So, whose mind did I stroll across? I wondered.

Aw, come on! Really? another presence reverberated. Why would anyling need to break down my inner wall?

I whirled around. A creature of my race plopped in front of me. I felt the urge rise to bare my fangs, but I was here on her majesty's order to save, not to intimidate or kill. So, I held back my rage, opting to shake involuntarily instead.

I mean, I didn't exactly lock the do-ho-ho-hor! Not you! he stammered an exclamation.

Wait a minute. I recognized that hollow mental projection. Of course, the recognition only made me groan internally about how much more difficult this rescue effort would be. This was the last member of my kind that I wanted to come across. Taking a breath, I tried to remain calm.

It's been a while, Ninety-nine. I flexed my wings briefly. How are you holding up?

He gave me a cold stare. That was impressive considering that most of the other drones in the eighty and ninety values couldn't even manage that. His fangs showed in the snarl that I really wanted to show back to him.

You've got a lot of nerve showing up here, Fifty-one, he directed toward me, What? Was the physical beating not good enough for you? Now you're going to attack my mind?

He had me there. Not the mind attack, I mean he could hold the bruises I gave him in the past over my head. The emotion of guilt was creeping back up to my surface. Normally, I'd want nothing more than to cure my Empathy Sickness, but I might need it if I wanted any chance of saving members of the hive.

I sighed. Look, Ninety-nine...

Don't call me that! he spat, short of growling. I have a new life now. The great Queen Mab has granted me the title of Sigma!

I coughed down my urge to vomit at hearing the letter.

That's right! he continued while pounding his right hoof against his chest. I'm in the top eighteen! It's a rank that you could never hope to achieve.

Well, that was just great. The fake queen gave him an ego boost. As if gaining his trust wasn't already at a high enough level of difficulty.

Be that as it may, I thought-spoke, a rank like that doesn't mean much from an illegitimate royalty.

Hah! He smirked. You would say something like that. Face it, you bully, your precious queen has fallen flat on her hindquarters! The only hope that changelings have is in this new world ruled by a fresh leader. Her Majesty Mab is the perfect choice.

Uh-huh, I responded with a deadpanned expression, and just who told you this?

Queen Mab, duh! He rolled his eyes.

By Yggdrasil's grace, did I just enter a dungeon of what Cier called "Dark Souls" or something? I got it! This wasn't going to be an easy task. Please stop rubbing that in my face.

Listen, Nin- er... Sigma, I tried again, There's something much bigger than you or I going on right now.

You're dam right that there's something bigger! he willed his thoughts at me. The hive of Queen Mab shall spread and consume all of the changelings to her side and Chrysalis shall be crushed under her might.

I shook my head. Discord is out there causing havoc among this world's population of human, pony, changeling, and most likely other creatures. I know it seems hopeless, but perhaps together we can find a-

He chittered an equivalent to a laugh. Are you even listening to yourself right now? That is so cheesy. Not to mention, it doesn't sound anything like the Fifty-one I know. You're a big selfish cockroach that doesn't care who he steps on to get his kicks. He motioned one hoof to the side. Besides, everyling knows that it's impossible to fight the master of chaos himself. Why not join the winning side?

I stared at the floor of his mind. You know for all your prattling, you are right about one thing. I closed my eyes. I'm not the Fifty-one you know. Since my arrival on the new world, I've been forced to occupy the same space as a human. Forced to endure some rough times, I've since developed some... feelings.

Heh, how the mighty have fallen. He spat. You actually fell prey to the Empathy Sickness.

I took a deep breath before lifting my head. I opened my eyes, mustering my sincerity.

Ninety-nine/Sigma's eyes went wide. What the moss? What happened to your eye? What happened to your fang?

But I had bigger issues to attend to. Sigma... I've learned quite a bit while hanging around this human. One of those things I've learned is that maybe, just maybe... having emotions isn't such a bad thing. I could feel some liquid running along my right eye. And for every bit of pain I've taken out on you, for every right you have to be mad at me... I began trotting toward him.

S-Stay back! he hollered. It'll only take a second for me to contact Queen Mab and force your flank out!

... I'm sorry.

His jaw slowly moved down. By the time the jaw was done moving, I could practically see his uvula.

You... You apologized? He set his threatening hoof down. But, Fifty-one never apologizes.

It's true, I agreed. I never did apologize. But I think we can clearly see now. The changeling I was back then is not the same changeling I am right now.

I was right next to him now. He gasped when I laid my hooves around him.

I'm sorry. The tears flowed from my right eye more freely now. So very, very sorry.

This... This can't be right, he choked. These aren't crocodile tears. Your sadness tastes genuine.

I should hope so, I nearly chuckled, because I truly mean it.

I released him from the hug.

You're... not the Fifty-one I knew, he said after a pause. Who are you?

Someling that wants to save, I answered, as many of his allies as he can. Sigma, I want to save you.

I don't even know what to say to that. He shook his head. This human that you're bound to, what's his name?

I reached my hoof forward. Come with me and you can ask him yourself.

He looked at the hoof. But... I can't just leave. This new hive... what about Mab?

She is a mad ling that wishes the destruction of humanity, I told him bluntly, Nothing good can come from somebody intent on committing a species-wide genocide.

She never told me that... Sigma's eyes looked to the side.

I sighed and turned around. I understand. You don't have to make a decision right now, but...

I'm ready.

That caught me by surprise. I turned back to look at him. Are you sure? I can't guarantee that you'll ever get such a high ranking position ever again.

Hey, you've helped me out by reminding me of the changelings' original goal: to change.

I let a smile cross my face.

Hmm, maybe this Empathy Sickness isn't so bad after all, he admitted, Your happiness has a pleasant aftertaste.

We shared a chuckle at that.

All right then, I thought, Let's get going, Sigma.

Oh, stop that. He waved a hoof dismissively. You can call me by my real name if you really want to.

Smatterday

????

Chrysalis's Hive Mind

Huh, muttered Ninety-nine, I had forgotten how much more relaxing her majesty's hive was. It... feels like I've come home after a long, tiring journey.

In a way, it kind of is, I agreed as I allowed my thoughts to add an update to the overarching journal in which the hive mind remembered.

"Ah, welcome back, Ninety-nine. And you too, Fifty-one. Listen, I'm going to have to get back to you later. Some of these workers still can't get it through their thick skulls that they are not the real Applejack. Keep up the good work."

I don't recall her being so... erm, what's the word? Distracted.

I shrugged. I imagine she and her human are tied up with their own chaotic mess to deal with in this world.

Who is the human in her body?

I didn't quite catch it. The name escapes me, I admitted. L.J. something, maybe. Anyway, you wanted to meet the human attached to me, right? Let's go!

---{Cier's POV}

????

Cier's Mind

The weird thing about letting Fifty-one's mind wander a large mental landscape was that it left me in a semi-floating stance. It was almost like sleeping in a Kingdom Hearts drowning scene, only with less water. But I didn't have to wait long for my feet to 'touch' the surface.

"Hey, how'd it go, Fifty-one?" I waved at the incoming changeling. A second one was following right after him. "Who's your friend?"

Cier, this is Ninety-nine, he introduced. I walked over and took the newcomer's hoof in my hand.

"Ah, so the beginning of the rescue mission was a success. Nice to meet you," I greeted, "I'm Cier Dylan."

Wow, marveled Ninety-nine, He's a lot shorter than I thought he'd be.

I smiled nervously while trying to will an anime sweat drop into existence. "Shorter"? I had to lean down so that I wouldn't have to break my neck looking down at you.

Well, me becoming his new body probably didn't do him any favors, admitted Fifty-one abashedly.

I needed to change the subject from my Edward Elric Syndrome. "Hey, who's up for the video game corner of my mind?"

Ninety-nine looked perplexed. "Video game corner"? What's that?

Fifty-one smiled. Oh, you'll see.

A short, ascending guitar riff strung as the three, scrolling mats appeared on screen. Fifty-one had the microphone and I held the lead guitar.

So, when do I smack the red one again? asked Ninety-nine while looking at his drumsticks uncertainly.

"When the red key appears on your screen just before it escapes the bottom," I reminded him.

If all else fails, encouraged Fifty-one, go nuts!

"Well said!" I chuckled.

And with that, the song for our mental, virtual lives began to play.

"Get ready to rock!" declared the screen.

Author's Note

I'm sure I've said it before, but I'll say it again.
Inspirational bursts are random for me.

Ch. 18: Synchro What?

A/N: It's when you combine an Equestrian-

(Wait! I've suddenly stopped caring.)

Synchro What?

---{51's POV}

Smatterday

????

The Shared Mind Space of Cier Dylan and 51

"So... you never answered my question."

I turned to look at Ninety-nine and blinked. "I'm sorry. What question was that?"

"What happened to your eye?" he asked, "Also, why are you short one fang?"

I slowly lifted a hoof to the right side of my face. Gently, I rubbed against the smooth corner of my mouth. In a mirror conjured inside of the mind, I watched the blue iris swivel around the white of a pony's eye. The rest of me was still the same body that I was born with. As far as I could tell, these were the only two differences. But they stood out like purple fungi did back in the hive's caverns.

I sighed. "We haven't figured that out yet."

Cier Dylan held out his arms and shrugged his shoulders. "If it had happened on the day I woke up as a changeling, I would have chalked it up to an effect of the merge. But they didn't change until just this morning."

"Did you try altering them back to normal?" wondered Ninety-nine.

"I did," Cier affirmed, "but then they went right back to looking like that after about an hour."

"It's as if my body has accepted these features as a new default," I commented.

"Hmm," my fellow drone hummed, "I wonder if Mab would know anything about this."

"I'd sooner trust Discord," spat my mind partner, "and we all know what he's bound to do with an inch of trust."

Ninety-nine tilted his head. "Perform a mile-long sprint with it?"

"Pour it into a shower made from the badlands' dust?" I guessed.

Cier scratched the back of his neck. "Okay, maybe we don't know what he'd do." He sighed. "It's just as well. Nobody, no pony, and no ling could possibly understand what the heck goes on in his mind except himself."

"You have an... interesting way of thinking yourself, Cier," Ninety-nine stated hesitantly.

To that, Cier chuckled. "Well, I'm sure my thoughts are nothing compared to whoever you got synced with."

...

Is anyling else familiar with unsettling silent moments? Such silence could be filled with pins dropping, balloons popping, or a phonograph's record needle scratching. Though, the presence of such things wouldn't make the moment any less awkward. In this case, the mental projection of a mirror decided to shatter and evaporate. I didn't even hear the shards of glass over the unsettling atmosphere.

"Synced?" echoed Ninety-nine.

"It's short for synchronized," elaborated Cier.

"No, I know that." Ninety-nine shook his head. "What do you mean by 'whoever' I got synced with?"

I think I performed a double-take. "Wait, surely the human mind you bonded with made itself known by now."

He shook his head. "There wasn't any new mind, aside from some of the noisier recruits in Mab's hivemind."

I stared at the mental floor in puzzled thought. How could that be? Everyling that Discord brought into this world was merged with a mind that was once in a human's body. Cier and I had thought that that was at least one constant in his ever evolving convoluted mess of a plan. Sure, he was capable of breaking rules whenever he chose. But, that had seemed like a consistent factor with everyling in her majesty Chrysalis's hive. It even applied to the pony that had merged with Cier's mother.

Cier brought up one other concern. "Hey, Ninety-nine? Where is your physical body right now?"

Ninety-nine blinked. "I don't know for sure. Last I checked, I was resting in something that the other lettered drones called a 'subway' tunnel. I was able to stay sustained from the energy in Mab's hive and some rats."

"Gross." Cier looked away briefly.

"Huh?"

I shook my head. "Don't mind him. It seems that in human culture, it is a taboo to eat rodents of any sort due to potential diseases, sickness, and poison."

"Oh," Ninety-nine answered. Though, I could still taste his confusion.

"Anyway," I prompted, "are you certain that you didn't hear another mind when you first woke up in the humans' world?"

"Well, I'm not entirely sure," the underling said, "I mean, I was almost immediately exposed to Mab's far-reaching hivemind after waking up. It's a little difficult to remember which thoughts were in my head and which were in someling else's altogether."

"I can't blame you there," I said with a humorless chuckle. "That faker's hivemind is harder to navigate than the Arctic North during blizzard season."

"Wait, you guys have the Arctics?" Cier interrupted.

I ignored him. "Maybe now that you've re-attuned to the true hivemind, you'll be able to hear your innermost thoughts more easily. Perhaps then, the human you have inadvertently joined can reveal himself without all of the background chatter interrupting his train of thought."

"I guess it's worth a shot," Ninety-nine said with a nod.

"Definitely, comrade," I confirm with a gentle smile. "I'm going to verify the situation back in our location, then we'll be back to assist you."

Cier waved. "See you, Agent Double Nine!"

Ninety-nine returned the wave, albeit a bit more slowly. "To you as well, Cier of Dylan."

---{Cier's POV}

Smatterday

8:00 AM

The Inn Bedroom

I felt something wet and soft rubbing against my face. When I opened my eyes, I saw a white cloth being held up by an off-white hoof.

"What happened while I was out?" I asked.

Spirit Redeemer's hoof pulled away suddenly. "Well, Fifty-one started tearing up. So, I'm cleaning your face. It...It was your mother's idea." She looked away. Was that embarrassment I tasted?

"I didn't stay stop." I smiled cheekily.

"Y-You're clean enough," she stammered. She quickly hopped off the bed. She then proceeded to briskly trot to the restroom.

The room door opened as Dad stepped in. "Well, I haven't seen eye or foot of any potential P.A.P.A. agents, at least not around our area. The news still has smidgets of them here and there, but they're not exactly in high concentrations anywhere that we need to worry about."

"I can vouch for that!" called Peter from the restroom.

"So, was your mission a success?" Dad inquired.

"It's more like a work in progress," I admitted while flopping my chin onto the bedspread. "Fifty-one used up a lot of energy just to get to the core of one recruit's mind."

"Would another one of these help?" He procured another small sweet roll, partially unwrapped.

I smiled politely. "That's a good start." I started om nom nomming quietly.

"And hey! One out of several hundred isn't so bad," he proclaimed.

After swallowing, my head shook by itself.

"How do you do it?" asked the other voice in my throat.

"Do what?" echoed Dad.

"Look at such a slow development and remain so optimistic?" Fifty-one elaborated.

Dad shrugged. "It comes with experience. I've had plenty of days at work where I didn't get half the stuff done that I wanted to. But I always accomplished something."

"You are a strange man, Terry," Fifty-one concluded. "I can't help but like you."

Dad chuckled. "I could say the same about you."

Something tapped the window twice. Fifty-one turned our shared body to look over. I think if his sense of familiarity wasn't holding our seat steady, I would have fallen off the bed at the sight of another changeling hovering outside.

"Friend of yours?" asked Dad.

"Ninety-nine?"

Fifty-one made our wings buzz and he hovered over to the window. Dad walked over and slid it open.

"What are you doing here?" Fifty-one blinked. "How did you get here?"

"I'm... not positive," admitted the other changeling. "But I think our hivemind is even stronger here than we gave it credit for. I followed the link we had to each other straight to you."

I re-took possession and crossed the front hooves. "Heh. Friendship is Magic. Roll credits."

Ninety-nine and Dad tilted their heads. "Huh?"

I face-hoofed. "And I just remembered nobody here watches the E.W.W. videos." I shook my head. "Never mind." I gave a smile, hoping to save face. "Well, it's nice to finally meet you in person... in a sense."

Ninety-nine flew inside and stared really close. "Am I the only one unnerved from hearing the human's voice from Fifty-one's mouth?"

Fifty-one snorted. "Try living with it."

Dad closed the window. "Wait, doesn't he already?"

Ninety-nine shook his head. "I've tried to listen for them or search internally, but I can't hear another voice."

"Wait, what?" I dropped down to the floor on all fours.

The other changeling hovered down as well. "I mean... I saw another presence, but they have yet to speak. So, I have no idea what they sound like."

I sighed. "Weird is starting to become the new norm these days."

Mom stepped out of the bathroom while rubbing a towel over her head. "Preaching to the choir there." That's about when she spotted our new guest. "Oh... hello there."

Ninety-nine scratched the back of his head. "Um... hi?"

"Maybe we should do a quick meet-and-greet." I tapped my chest. "My name is Cier Dylan."

"I'm Terry, Cier's father." Dad did a short wave with his hand.

"My name is Arlene, the mother." Mom waved with her left hoof and set it down. The right hoof pulled the towel away as her other voice said, "And I'm Spirit Redeemer."

The guest nodded. "I am the Ninety-ninth Drone of Her Majesty Chrysalis." He looked back and forth between Spirit Redeemer and me. "Is it wrong for me to think that the human mind I saw in Cier's dream space had a stronger resemblance to Mr. Terry?"

"No offense taken." Mom chuckled. "I don't normally look like this. This is Spirit's body."

"I probably should've guessed that." He looked down briefly before turning back to me. "Have you made contact with any of the others?"

Fifty-one clicked in. "Our Queen is at least in the same state-area, last I checked."

Ninety-nine shook his head. "It seems I can only hear her voice when I'm tapping into your hive mind connection. Just how many things were stunted or rearranged upon our arrival in this world?"

Fifty-one made our wings buzz slightly. "Seven hundred thirty and counting, based on what he added to the humans' calendar days alone."

"I can't even begin to describe what's wrong with that." Ninety-nine sat down.

I sighed and attempted to shrug by reaching my hooves apart. "It's freaking Discord. What can we really expect?"

"That is a fair point." Ninety-nine nodded. "So, what do we do now?"

Spirit hung her towel away. "We were trying to get in contact with as many other ponies and changelings as possible, then work from there."

"Find some kind of cure, separate us from our unintentional human hosts, and get us all home." Fifty-one counted the first two steps on his hooves, then moved his right hoof for the third step.

"There is merit to strength in numbers," agreed Ninety-nine, "but there is also a hindrance. Too many of us grouped together in one spot will make mobilization difficult."

"By then, we're hoping to have enough magic users to protect ourselves from potential threats." Fifty-one nodded. "It's not fool-proof, but it's better than waiting around, trying to hide in isolation, and ultimately allowing agents to pick us off one by one."

Ninety-nine blinked. "Wow. With initiative like that, I'm surprised you never moved up the hive's rankings."

Fifty-one looked at him directly. "It's because I never used my initiative to kiss hoof to save face."

Ninety-nine punched his hooves together. "I knew those top ten drones weren't all they were made out to be."

"So, are you guys both going to fall asleep and try to find other changelings with your minds?" asked Dad.

Fifty-one looked up at him. "That might work for maybe one more drone, but we should probably try another approach to avoid another Mab incident."

Ninety-nine nodded. "If we're serious about this wide-contact approach, we should explore as much of this city as possible with occasional 'pings' into the hivemind. We're more likely to run into them on the move."

"Let's all stick together for today," I suggested. "A group of four should suffice for sufficient mobility and if necessary, covering tails."

"I guess that's okay." Mom ran a hoof through her mane.

"If that's what you gotta do." Dad walked around, grabbing a few small items around the room.

"Alright." Fifty-one turned us toward the door. "Here's to our first attempt."

Author's Note

You know what? Flip it! I don't care if this is canon or not canon to the larger narrative multiverse that is/was the group's wide-reaching story arc anymore. From now on, I'm going to try writing this as I see fit.
Of course, it'll probably still have long in-real-time gaps where I flat-out don't submit any chapters to the public eye. But that tends to be par for my course.

Ch. 19: Where Are the Crowds?

A/N: Geography and Culture were not my best subjects. Viewer discretion is advised.

Where Are the Crowds?

9:30 AM

Smatterday

Somewhere in Brooklyn

---(Cier's POV)

I'd have to ask my journal to forgive me later for the lack of specifics. It was kind of difficult to determine exactly where in the Brooklyn county we were. Also, there were an awful lot of cotton candy stands overseen by creepy, older men. I had heard a rumor that 'weird in New York is normal', but... I wasn't sure where the nugget of truth ended and where something actually bizarre started. A random lady swept me off my hooves, petted me behind the ears, set me back down, and then ran away screaming something like 'all of a hack bar'.

The phrase 'I don't even' was starting to look a little weak right then. Fifty-one was trying to explain to me how to use the hive mind naturally. I had already read some of his memory for that information earlier that day, but I think he was trying to give me something else to think about. It helped a little when I started hearing a slight 'ping' in the distance. The mental sound was coming from across the bridge. Ninety-nine confirmed that he could also hear it.

"There are fewer cars than I imagined there would be." Peter's yellow eyes glowed on Spirit's face.

Ninety-nine took one look at the combination of presences in that pony body and shook his head. "Nothing surprises me anymore."

"Still, traffic does seem kind of light for this area." Dad put his hands in his pockets.

"Maybe they're waiting around for the night life?" I looked up at him.

"Maybe..." Dad shrugged.

Mom's spine shivered as she came back. "You'd think having a furry hide would make me feel a lot warmer."

"Want me to carry you, Arl?" Dad held out his hands with the palms up.

"No thank you." She shook her head. "Spirit and I are both old enough to pull our own weight."

Dad smiled in surrender and put his hands back in his pockets. We continued our walk (easier to say than one walk and three trots) along the bridge's length. There were a few cars passing by on the road part, but there was a lot of space between the back of one car and the front of the next. It was very different from the 'less rush, more hour' traffic I had anticipated. I was starting to doubt my own suggestion from less than a minute ago.

Still, the semi-sweetness I smelled from Mom and Dad helped my internal tension to be slightly more bearable. The mental ping from the other side of the bridge was slowly growing louder. By the time we managed to cross the bridge completely, I was starting to hear something akin to radio static. Except, it was less annoying than that. Maybe I was biased, considering I was currently part bug and buzzing was something normal to my ears.

"We're getting closer." Ninety-nine looked at Mom and Dad when he said that.

"Yeah, roughly... that direction." I held my hoof up and out. "The pattern is more consistent."

"What pattern?" Mom tilted her head.

"We're pretty much following your two leads here." Dad glanced at Ninety-nine and me.

"The hive mind of our queen is very distinct," explained Ninety-nine, "and holds a pattern shared by all of her subjects."

"Uh-huh..." Dad slowly nodded.

I swiveled my hoof in a circular direction. "Think of it like... Morse Code for changelings."

"Hmm." Mom shook her head. "Is this something else that Discord shoved upon you?"

"Not at all," replied Ninety-nine. "It's actually one of the few things we have that's still mostly intact."

"Oh." She rubbed a hoof under her ear. "I thought nothing could get weirder than having ghosts invade my personal space, but this makes a close second."

"So, where does New York in general fit on that weirdness scale?" Dad looked down with a thin smile.

"Third," was the unanimous response from the rest of us.

Static-esque crackling gave way to a few syllables echoing against my mind. We were getting closer to the next potential hive mind. Control slipped to Fifty-one as he and Ninety-nine crawled up the bricks of an alley wall. Somehow, I had forgotten that was one of the things changelings could do. The signal started to sound like more fluent as the two stepped onto a fire escape platform.

Is someling out there?

We are here now, answered Ninety-nine in kind. Look outside the window.

Silence reigned for a few seconds. Blinds shifted slightly. A dark hoof appeared, followed by a solid eye of purple. A second later, the presence shoved the sliding window to the side. It mostly looked like a changeling, except his frill was red and he had purple eyes instead of blue. Fifty-one's memory revealed this changeling to be something the hive called a select few that were "free from the ranks".

Oh gosh... He exhaled as if relieved. I got scared when I thought I was the only one that had turned into this... thing.

Fifty-one and Ninety-nine blinked. Apparently, they weren't quite sure what to think of this changeling. The personality was very different from what they were expecting.

"That's probably his human mind thinking right now," I guessed. "Dig a little deeper and we should find the changeling you guys are more familiar with."

"Hmm, I suppose that would make sense." Ninety-nine shrugged.

Wait, were you guys... not people that transformed?

"Sort of... it's a little more complicated than that." I swiveled a hoof in place before tapping my chest. "My name is Cier, but the body you're seeing belongs to the Fifty-First Drone."

Our buddy nodded. "And I am the Ninety-Ninth, though my human personality is dormant for reasons I can't figure out."

The less restricted changeling nodded slowly. Okay... my name is Imannue. The voice in my head calls itself Pharynx.

"Out of curiosity, why do you not speak out loud, Imannue?" I asked.

Immanue cleared his throat. "Hear English. Okay. No say English. Bad, bad, bad." He shook his head.

"Ah, got it." I nodded. "Still, that was said pretty well for a non-native speaker."

Eh heh, thank you. He smiled sheepishly and scratched his frill. Had to figure out how to say the important things, right? He turned to the right. Want to come inside?

I smiled. "Sure, but I'd also like to get my parents up here if that's possible."

He leaned out the window and looked down to the left. Oh... I... see the family resemblance?

I laughed and sat down. "It's a long story. How about we get all of the parts up here and we can tell it together?"

Immanue the Pharynx flew down and triggered the ladder on the fire escape. With a little support on either side from Ninety-nine and myself, Dad lifted and carried Mom up the ladder. Dad joked about getting to carry her after all. She halfheartedly told him to shut up and planted a kiss on his cheek. Despite the otherwise dirty alley, the air tasted sweet for a few seconds. Once we were all inside Immanue's apartment room, we sat down at various spots on the floor.

I held my front hooves apart in front of me. "It all began on what seemed like a normal weekend..."

10:25 AM

Smatterday

Immanue's Apartment - Somewhere in Brooklyn

"... and that lead us to here."

Immanue blinked. You got picked up by a random woman and then she ran away while shouting, "God is great!"?

"I don't know." I shrugged and my wings involuntarily buzzed. "It was too weird for me to remember the exact phrasing."

Okay... He rubbed the underside of his muzzle before holding his hoof to the side. One last question: How did you know about the parts you weren't there for?

"Because my mom told me her story back we reunited at our house." I idly rubbed a hoof against my frill. "Did I forget to mention that part?"

Uh, no. He shook his head. Sorry, I forgot. I was trying to listen to everything.

Mom turned to give a concerned look at Dad. "How is your shoulder doing by the way?"

"It still aches a little, but I can at least use it." Dad shifted weight from one leg to the other. "How about your ghost sense? Is that bothering you?"

She leaned against him. "Not as much. According to Peter, the local apparitions are too busy fighting amongst each other to notice a singular person they can overshadow."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Dad gently scratched Mom's mane behind her ears.

I returned my attention to our host. "So, what have you been up to?"

Immanue tilted his head. I've never heard of the show My Little Pony before. Why did I get shoved into one of their bodies when it's only supposed to affect the followers?

"That was the pattern about the initial victims." I held a hoof, flat-side up. "Since then, I guess Discord has been gradually altering his rule set. Knowing how a logic-defying powerhouse operates, the mind merging might extend to all of the two worlds' populations before the end of the week."

"But if your altered calendars are correct..." interrupted Ninety-nine, "... that would be equivalent to one year in your world's time."

I crossed my hooves and looked down. "Exactly."

If he is like a god in terms of power, is there even anything we can do to stop this? Immanue flicked his tongue out like a nervous snake.

"The heroes of Equestria and their close friends and family are all planning to meet up in New York." I smiled. "By the show's records, they face the magical forces of evil on a regular basis. If anyone can stop Discord's current scheme, it's them. Fifty-one's been tasked by Queen Chrysalis to gather as many members of the hive as he can. I have a hunch magical disruptions on this scale will need as many helping to restore harmony as possible."

Imannue's ears flopped. That sounds more like a hope than an actual plan.

"I still can't get used to Pharynx expressing like that," muttered Ninety-nine.

I trotted over and gave Immanue a pat on the back. "Trust me, hope tends to have physical substance to it when it comes to these little ponies. We just have to be ready to help it when it does."

He presses one hoof against the other on the floor. Pharynx says that sounds ridiculous... in less appropriate terms.

"Wait, you can hear him clearly?" wondered Ninety-nine. "Why can't we sense his mind at all?"

I hummed. "If Immanue's merge was recent, it's possible that the changeling's real mind hasn't had time to surface and regain dominance yet."

"That's how it was for Spirit and me," mentioned Mom.

"Same for 51 and myself." I nodded.

Immanue idly scratched one leg with the other. Should... I be worried? He's not exactly the nicest person... changeling... I've met.

Ninety-nine shook his head. "He should be relatively harmless, given all of our current circumstances. Just don't threaten his brother if we happen to find him."

I tilted my head. "Wait... I thought all of the changelings were brothers and/or sisters."

Fifty-one took over and cleared his throat. "While every drone in Chrysalis's hive is of the same blood, we consider hatchlings born in the same egg sac to be broodmates. That is what we term as 'brothers'."

I blinked. "Oh. Wait, why didn't you just relay that to me mentally?"

He deadpanned. "I figured it would be faster to explain it to everyone that didn't know all at once."

"Hmm." I slowly nodded. "Good point."

Immanue looked at me with wide eyes. Wh...What was that?

Ninety-nine held a hoof to his head. "Trust me, their ability to swap dominance so quickly disturbs me as well."

Spirit closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm afraid we'll have to get used to that. Weirdness is a usual factor when it comes to the mechanized schemes of Discord."

Immanue looked down at his hooves again. What have I gotten into?

"Heh." I smiled. "We didn't ask for this situation either. But we'll get through it somehow."

Alright. He slowly nodded. I don't know much about a lot of things, but I'll try to help anyway I can.

"But will he help?" wondered Ninety-nine.

Immanue put a hoof to his chest and closed his eyes for a bit. I couldn't help but lean in a bit from the anticipation.

He opened his eyes and looked at us. "Pharynx help, but no like."

...

Dad was the first to laugh. This was soon followed by Mom and me. Ninety-nine simply smiled and shook his head.

Did I... say my words wrong? wondered Immanue.

"Apparently, that's their rather human way of acceptance," commented Ninety-nine. "They're a little weird themselves, but they've been good company so far."

Okay... Immanue tilted his head.

11:00 AM

Smatterday

Somewhere in Brooklyn

Ninety-nine explained how the hive mind worked to Immanue while the rest of us took a breather. Well, Dad took a rest. Mom started trotting in place for no reason. I decided to see if I could crawl along the wall without Fifty-one's input. I got up to the indent where the wall met the ceiling. That's when gravity chose to pull me back toward the floor. Upon impact, I instinctively hissed in pain.

"Urgh..." Fifty-one interjected through our mouth and he turned over. "How about next time, you practice crawling down instead of stalling in one place?"

"Or... maybe don't do that kind of thing at all?" Mom had stopped her one-spot walk.

"You going to be okay?" asked Dad after sitting up.

I rubbed a hoof against my back and along my wings. "I'll be fine. I think I was more shocked than hurt."

Dad nodded. "Alright, but take it easy for now."

"Will do." I stood up on all fours.

Wait... do you guys hear that? asked Immanue.

I perked my ears up and heard a pattern of pings. "It's a faint signal. Either it's really far away..."

"... or someling isn't doing so well," finished Ninety-nine.

"Guess we're heading out again." Dad grunted as he got up.

"Guess so..." Mom reluctantly reached up her front hooves so Dad could pick her up.

Fifty-one took dominance and he and Ninety-nine took point out the apartment's front door. Dad carried Mom and followed after us. Immanue managed to find a hole in his hoof for his room key and covered the rear of the group. I heard the buzzing of our changeling wings as we hurried along the street. We passed a random smoker and a beggar and a hot dog vendor that didn't even look twice at us.

As the pinging signal started to gain a little volume, I felt sort of surreal. This air was... heavy... and not just from pollution. Buildings blurred into each other. My center of gravity started feeling like it was going in all sorts of directions. Our flight felt like a spiral. Then suddenly, everything just clicked back into itself. The surrounding decorations and signs with foreign symbols indicated Chinatown.

That's when I saw the random mare crawling on the road. Her hide looked like a mix between black and purple. Yet, her mane resembled that of a frill. Ninety-nine and I crossed, yanking her to the opposite sidewalk before a yellow cab sped right down the center of the road. It honked its horn and the driver shouted something like he was driving here. I took a moment to catch my breath and got a better look at the mare.

She was a changeling in the same state as Fifty-one's body: a missing fang and an eye that looked more like that of a pony's. Though, her pony eye's iris was violet. As for the rest, her appearance seemed familiar somehow.

"So hungry..." she moaned.

Fifty-one cleared his throat. "Number Thirteen, I presume?"

Author's Note

Yep, I'm bringing in an interpretation of Pharynx into this story. I think that's kind of within the same spirit as what I was doing when I started writing this: including characters without necessarily knowing what to do with them right then and there.

Ch. 20: One of Us, One of Us

---{Cier's POV}

12:00 PM

Smatterday

Chinatown - Manhattan

At the rate the new girl was devouring hot dogs, you would have thought she was in a contest or something. I guess the shove into a changeling's body meant she lost her money and she couldn't find a handout. I'm not sure when Dad decided to pack a Benjamin Franklin in his wallet, but the hot dog vendor accepted it for "damages". I couldn't really smell anything from the food itself, but the scent of ravenous hunger made me sick to my stomach. Fifty-one didn't have any explanation for that.

Ninety-nine broke the silence. "So... who are you? Are you Thirteen or are you the human mind?"

She belched and wiped a hoof across her mouth. "Um... neither... both... hard to explain."

I think we've got time. Immanue twitched his wings.

"Well..." She twiddled her hooves under her muzzle. "I can hear... both Thirteen and Ashley in the back of my mind... but I also have thoughts that don't completely belong to either of them?"

I sighed before Fifty-one's voice muttered, "No consistency when Discord is involved."

"At least you're feeling better now that you've had a meal, right?" Dad chuckled.

"Yes... I am." She nodded. "Thank you..."

"Terry." Dad held down his hand and shook her hoof.

Mom flicked her own ear. "So... if you're neither of your other two selves, what would you like to be called?"

The changeling mare blinked and looked up a little. "Um... if I had to choose a name, I think I'd like... 'Thursday'."

"Huh?" I titled my head. "But that's just a day."

"I think it sounds pretty cool," she insisted with a pout.

I held up my front hooves in surrender. "Alright. Thursday it is then."

We went around the rest of our names' introductions at least a couple times for Thursday's benefit. As we walked along, we managed to learn a few things about her. At least, she told us what she was willing to reveal about her three selves. Aside from what Fifty-one knew about Thirteen, Ashley was just trying to get home one day when the change hit her all at once. She was stuck outside her house with no idea of how to use Thirteen's body. After scraping by for a few days with whatever she could find on the streets, the continued bodily changes happened. That included the loss of her fang, the alteration to her eye, and some of her outer body.

"And... the birth of your third mind?" I tilted my head again.

"Yeah, that was... weird." She chuckled nervously. "I know, that sounds like an understatement, but I'm really not sure how else to describe it." Her ears flopped against her head. "I remember both of their lives, but I can't really claim either as my own. Yet here I am, unwittingly controlling both of them with no way of getting them out aside from saying aloud the things I hear them think."

Immanue rubbed his hooves against the area above his eyes. My head hurts.

"It is rather difficult to all take in." Ninety-nine crossed his front hooves.

"Hmm..." I mulled over this information. "It kind of sounds like a theory some guy made about the Pokemon Hydreigon, about how two consciences gave way to a third upon its evolution that didn't truly belong to either. Except in this case, she doesn't have three mouths."

Mom shook her head. "You watch way too many YouTube videos about other people playing video games."

I rolled my eyes. "Right, because watching other people's videos on Facebook about playing Farmville is so different."

Dad patted both of our heads. "Now, now... you both know how I feel about flirting inside the family."

"Terry!/Dad!" Mom and I pulled away from his touch and got red in our respective faces.

Thursday blinked at our exchange. "Is something going on?"

I... think this is normal, said Immanue uncertainly.

"Just let them work it out." Ninety-nine waved a hoof dismissively. "They'll be fine."

He was right. We managed to set our little dispute about doing as someone says and not as someone does. At least, we managed to stop and change the topic. Rather, Dad changed it.

"How many more changeling-ponies do we need to find and where do we go with them?"

I rubbed the wrist area of my hoof. "As many as possible would be preferable... and most likely the same base that Celestia and the six main ponies end up."

"And how will we know where that is?" asked Mom.

I nodded firmly. "The epicenter of a giant explosion that's surrounded with a rainbow light."

Ninety-nine flicked his tongue. "Makes sense to me."

Thursday nodded too. "Sounds about right."

Immanue blinked. You're... serious.

"You really think that's what it will look like?" Mom looked at me incredulously.

"Mom, the magic of friendship is the show's go-to as a Deus Ex Machina and it almost always looks like colors exploded." I crossed my front hooves. "I'm positive that we'll be able to find the place that way."

Dad shrugged. "Okay."

"It's not a bad assumption." Spirit's voice was heard as she moved her hoof along the sidewalk.

It was about right then that I heard a cacophony of voices, noises, and buzzing. It was physically hurting, even as I squinted and held my ears down. I could see similar reactions in Ninety-nine, Immanue, and Thursday. Mom tilted her head. I think she asked if we were alright, but I couldn't tell with all of the extra buzzing I heard inside my head. Dad looked up and stood agape.

I fought the pain and looked up in the same direction. At first, it looked like a thin cloud was rising over the buildings. Then, I could see the actual consistency. It was a swarm... of changelings. They flew around in a swirling and zigzagging pattern. Now, why was this a bad sight to behold? Well, it may have had something to do with the giant green dominatrix with the long yet frizzy hairstyle levitating herself above the swarm.

Augh! It's that... demon... from my nightmares. Immanue managed to squeeze words through the noise and pain.

"The false queen: Mab," Ninety-nine and Fifty-one said together.

"Urgh..." Thursday moaned. "What... is she... doing?"

We didn't have long to find out. Mab held out a fist in front of herself. In the next, she turned it into a sharp thumbs-down. The swarm under her slammed itself against various buildings, breaking apart glass and neon lights to shower across the street. Some screams from people were heard only to be drowned out by the buzzing of several wings.

"We... guh... have to... stop her..." I fought to stand. The growing headache and echoing white noise wasn't helping.

"With what?" Ninety-nine nearly tripped just taking a couple steps forward. "They're so... many. We're... so few."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Mab's laugh somehow boomed over the sound of her swarm and their mishmash of thoughts. "We are a legion! Cower, human garbage! Behold the future that all life shall become!"

Cier's... right... we have to... try. Her words... they're poison... in my ears. Immanue crawled over next to us.

"Heh." Thursday chuckled humorlessly as she dragged herself over. "Me, myself, and I want to shut her up too."

"You can't get in a fight!" Mom looked at me and held her hooves on my shoulders. "This is a real threat!"

"That's why we have to take this seriously, Mom." I gently pushed her hooves away. "Dad, you and Mom get as far away from here as you can! We might not be able to stop all of them, but we'll sure as heck slow some of them down."

"Uh, alright." Dad picked her up. "Whether you succeed or fail, make sure you come back to us. Got it?"

"You got it." I nodded, watching them go before turning my attention to the incoming swarm.

Pharynx says we're not going to win this, commented Immanue.

I opened up my wings. "Tell him to shove his opinion down his mental throat and just help you fight."

There is no need; he heard you say that. Immanue opened his own wings.

Ninety-nine and Thursday followed our suit. In the next moment, all four changelings of our rag-tag team were racing into the sky. There was a cross between war cries and guttural screeches emitted from our throats as we made contact with the attackers. Turning my hooves into an uppercut, and forward jab, and a back kick, I managed to subdue three of the swarm. I saw Ninety-nine knock a couple heads into each other. Thursday did a lot of spin-kicking. Immanue seemed to lose his initial rage for a neutral expression as he whacked away four changelings by attacking their neck areas.

"Why do you resist, changeling brethren?" Mab's voice bellowed. "Our purpose remains the same. Why not join the side that will outlive humanity? I'll even let you be my captains."

"Shut up!/Be quiet!/Never!/Piss off!"

All four of us knocked a changeling in her direction at the same time. They collided with her face, her hair, and her chest.

She scrapped the twitching drones off herself. "You want to end this with violence? Have it your way then!"

As I tried to soar up and strike Mab directly, I suddenly felt a bunch of weights clamp down on top of me. At least seven units of her changeling army were grabbing one of my body parts and forcing me to drop. I got a brief sight of the rest of my team struggling against similar chokeholds. I yelled out until I felt a heavy impact with the ground.

My world went silent. I clenched my teeth, struggling to keep my eyes open. I could see the enemies' wings buzzing. All I could hear for sure was a loud thumping... a heartbeat. Aside from some numb pains, I couldn't feel my legs. I tried to stand up, but my position barely shifted.

Well, that probably wasn't more than two minutes, I mentally lamented.

To be fair, it was a few seconds longer than I thought we'd last in a swarm situation, commented Fifty-one.

The green dominatrix floated in my peripheral vision. She was probably laughing or something. Maybe it was a false disappointment in children that would never belong to her. I didn't know. I wasn't insane enough to understand her mind set, and frankly I didn't want to be.

Something clawed at her face. I couldn't tell what it was, but it looked blue and translucent. Somewhere behind it were some bright, yellow eyes. I'd describe more, but I was starting to feel really out of it. Slowly, the lights turned out for my conscious brain.

??????

A lucid dream

Cier!

I groaned as I lifted my head. "I'm up. I'm up. What's going on... Fifty-one?"

I looked around my surroundings. It was some cross between a green-and-black cavern system and a purple mountainous landscape. The place looked like nighttime. I guess that figured. We were only ever here while we slept in the waking world.

Are you okay?

When, I saw the changeling whose body I possessed, I was kind of confused. "Um... did you get bigger?"

Not exactly. Somehow you look like me now, even here.

"What do you...?" I looked down at what should have been my hand. It was the familiar black, holey hoof I had been walking around with. I reached up with it and felt around my head. The frill, the muzzle, the currently uneven fang distribution in my mouth... it was just like real life was currently.

I'm not sure what to make of this turn, admitted Fifty-one.

I faked a laugh. "I guess... my mind finally caught up with the reality that I'm really... a part of you now."

Cier... Fifty-one's ears flopped. You're still you, no matter what you look like.

I shook my head. "Anyway, what were we doing before falling asleep?"

I think we were fighting against the false queen. He spun around, without moving a limb. And a huge portion of my pack that was subservient to her.

"Uh-oh, does that mean we lost?" I walked up next to him.

I don't think so. Fifty-one held up a hoof to point out the expanse of this joined mind space. If we had, we'd more than likely be surrounded by the many television screens of her fake hive, full of static and backchat. Yet, here we are: safe and sound in our own shared mind.

"So then... what did happen?" I still had no answer.

He looked down. You'd probably think I'm crazy if I told you.

"Buddy at this point, we've had way too many weird things happen to us for me to consider any concept farfetched." I patted him on the back. "What'd you see?"

He lifted his eye level to look straight ahead. That Peter guy's ghost looked like a giant werewolf, while still clinging onto Spirit Redeemer's body as a center somehow. He jumped over the swarm and pummeled Mab over and over.

I blinked my two different eyes. "I'm not sure what I expected."

After that, the changelings looked like they came back to their senses. I lost consciousness right after, though. I have no idea what's going to happen when we wake up.

"Well hey, at least you managed to see a lot more than I recalled." I smiled slightly.

I'm sure you could have seen just as much, had our roles been reversed.

He sat down on the cavern floor. I said nothing for a while. Our long silence in this dark place was only interrupted by the occasional echo of water dripping. I decided to lie down for a nap. So far, the drawbacks of inception-esque dreaming didn't really apply to us.

Smatterday

6:30 PM

Some Lounging Warehouse in Brooklyn

"So then I found out there was still a bit of a heart deep down inside me that was just waiting to grow three sizes that day!" Something sounded like a high-pitched spring in between the young lady's voice.

"Um... are you sure you're not thinking about Grinch Stole Christmas... maybe?" A different voice was holding back and actually trying to whisper.

"No, no, no! I'm definitely talking about my jump-started love life!" The first chipper voice resumed.

"Heh, you seem like you'd be a hoot at parties." It was a guy this time. I didn't recognize it.

"Me? Nah, not so much." The first voice denied. "But if you're talking about the other me that isn't me, than yes! That's kind of her thing on a regular basis."

I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes. "You know I can hear you all talking, right?"

"Oh gosh," the held back voice replied. "I'm so sorry. I'll just shut up now."

I turned my head to look at the owner of that voice. "No, you're fine, Miss..." I stopped and blinked at the sight of a faded yellow and pink. "... Fluttershy?"

"Actually, I um... kind of prefer to be called Ericashy." She fiddled with the glasses that did not look like they fit very well on her face. "Anyway, how are-"

"How're ya doing?!" The owner of the chipper voice turned out to be covered in cotton candy pink. "Nice to meet you! What's your name? Oh! You're a changeling! That's so cool! I didn't know there were so many that merged with changelings. Well, I mean... sure there was Chryssie a few days ago, but I really didn't know how much of her hive was caught up in this whole shebang."

I blinked again. "Um... Pinkie Pie, could you please back up just a few inches? I'm a little uncomfortable right now."

"Oops! Sorry!" She hopped back several feet in one bounce. "By the way, name's actually James."

I sat up a little and put a hoof over my chest area. "Cier Dylan." I looked around the bed I was sitting on. It looked like a fold-up, spring mattress. "Um... by any chance, did you happen to see my parents and friends? Er... my mom's kind of a ghost-whisperer earth pony, long story there. And my dad is still human and about, uh... yea tall." I tried to illustrate with my hoof, but it didn't quite reach to Dad's height.

The guy's voice from earlier spoke up from a doorway I hadn't immediately spotted. "Mom's resting in this room right now."

After digging my way out of the blanket, I practically jumped off the bed and galloped over. I barrelled past a dark cyan unicorn, apologizing quickly before I continued. After a short distance, I saw Mom face-up on another fold-up mattress. I slowly approached, wondering if she was alright after going through what Fifty-one had described as a werewolf ghost taking her over.

Her slow, loud snoring convinced me to stop worrying. That was Mom alright. I chuckled and/or hiccuped. I wasn't entirely sure I could tell the difference.

Come on, don't cry Cier. Fifty-one thought to just me. If you do, you're making me cry too, literally.

I rubbed my eyes and sat there, barely registering Mom's steady percussion section of snoring. I was surprised at feeling the touch of another hoof on where my shoulders would be if I had any. When I looked to the opposite side, it was the unicorn I had accidentally bumped into. It looked like a stallion with gray hairs in his mane. Though, considering the Mayor of Ponyville dyed her mane gray, I couldn't immediately tell if that said anything about this guy's age.

"H-Hey, man." I smiled nervously. "If this is about bumping into you earlier, I'm sorry. Okay? I was just... charged with emotion."

"I know that." His expression remained patient and calm. "That's just how you react in the moment of an unusual situation. I don't always accommodate as well as I should, but I do try to understand what's going on when you're stressed."

I tilted my head. "Do I... know you?"

He practically beamed. "Don't let the sudden plastic surgery fool you. It's still me in here. I just might not be able to open fridges like I used to do."

My eyes went wide. I used that expression a lot, but I didn't care. "Dad?!"

"Yeah... looks like the pony pox got me too." He chuckled.

"Th-That's another thing entirely than what you're referring to, but... I digress." I slowly reached around and hugged him back. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." He shook his head. "Now our hugs fit each other again."

"Eyyyyyy!" hollered Pinkie Pie's voice.

"Really, James?" Somehow Flutter/Ericashy's voice echoed in the small hallway.

"What? It was too easy to resist." Pinkie/James giggled.

Author's Note

Like I said, I'm sort of doing my own thing now. I'm not completely separating the original idea, but I figured I'd be a little too restricted in what I could write if I had to wait and coordinate a collab chapter. So... I guess this is where I step off into "non-canon" territory for this universe.

Ch. 21: I Have A Plan - Attack!

"Mokuba, ready the thermal charges." ~Abridged Seto Kaiba

---{Cier's POV}

Smatterday

6:45 PM

Lounging Warehouse in Brooklyn

As it turned out, the rest of our makeshift Suicide Squad was resting in yet another section of the warehouse. I suppose with large enough sliders, a place can have all kinds of sections. Ninety-nine was nibbling on what looked like a protein bar. Thursday was eager to hop over and hug me. Neither Fifty-one nor I was completely comfortable with her particular touch, what with part of her being the changeling that had blasted our organs with magic on a regular basis.

Immanue was in a bit of a different state. When I found his spot, a small pillow had lodged itself into his mouth. He awoke with a muffled coughing fit before spitting the soft obstacle out. He patted his chest while clearing his throat. His eyes moved to look at me. I saw something a little more... serious.

"You look like spoiled chitin, Fifty-one." His voice sounded raspier.

Fifty-one took over and deadpanned. "Nice to see you too, Pharynx."

"Was the pillow your idea of a joke?" Pharynx glared.

"No, sir." Fifty-one held a hoof to the side. "It appears to be an effect that Discord inadvertently applied to signify the first time we shared a dream and control with our human... passengers, for lack of a better word."

That makes no sense at all. The telepathy sounded like Immanue again.

I forced a chuckle. "It's Discord. Making sense of his agenda is impossible." I glanced around. "Say... what happened to the changelings that were freed from Mab's control?"

Ninety-nine swallowed. "They're widely split on how to proceed. Some of them are in the next warehouse over, ready to take the fight to Discord once they have Queen Chrysalis's word. Others decided to flee, getting as far away from this city as possible."

"And there are a bunch that just want to sit by and watch," added Thursday. She shook her head, getting some mane hair over her pony-like eye. "I guess they had enough fighting when they were being controlled by a fake queen."

"Dumb cowards." Pharynx imitated the sound of a spit. "They're in too deep to not get involved. The things that happen during the next days will affect every last one of them."

"I don't think it's dumb." Ninety-nine shook his head. "They want to avoid making the same mistake of following a poser's fake hive mind. Holding a position gives less of a chance to mobilize and ruin things."

Pharynx slowly looked over at him. "Tch. How long have you been talking? I don't recall you being this chatty back at the hive."

"I got help growing a spine of sorts." Ninety-nine glanced over at me.

"Huh." Pharynx blinked. "I don't know if I like that."

Fifty-one ran his tongue over his left fang. "Like it or not, this world is changing all of us. We have to adapt if we want to survive in it long enough to get back home."

"You think I don't already know that?" Pharynx's wings buzzed slowly and emitted his scent of annoyance.

"He's talking to all of us, Pharynx," commented Thursday. "It's a general reminder."

"Hmph." Pharynx hopped off the couch and trotted around. "I'm going to work on debriefing the rest of the pack."

"Try to be gentle with them." Thursday leaned over and called out, "Most of them are being controlled by human minds."

"Whatever," he responded before trotting out of sight.

"Is he always this grumpy?" I tilted my head.

"Yes." Ninety-nine firmly nodded.

"Yes." Thursday hopped back onto a seat.

"Yes." Fifty-one rolled our eyes before sighing.

"And no one tried to cheer him up?" I rolled a hoof in the air.

Thursday massaged her temples. "From what Thirteen remembers, Pharynx was never the touchy-feely kind of changeling."

"Unless you count the times he teased his brother by making him hit himself," pointed out Ninety-nine while looking right at Thursday.

"After he roared away everyling else from a particular chamber," added Fifty-one. "Shape-shifted into a large monster form every time before doing that."

"I'm beginning to see why empathy was so hard to come by in your hive." I chuckled nervously.

Ninety-nine shrugged and his wings briefly buzzed. "We just ate love. We didn't start understanding it until we got dragged into this world."

"Yeah, I got that impression." I rubbed one hoof over the other front hoof.

Smatterday

7:30 PM

Some Warehouse in Brooklyn

Ericashy and James had left a few minutes ago after making sure everyone was settled. They had given us an address where they expected Nicole in Celestia's body to be set up when the Elements were all together and ready to start... whatever was meant to be done. The person bonded with Rarity was still missing in action. But with most of the bearers, their siblings, and Spike accounted for, she couldn't be too far off.

Meanwhile, I sort of sat back in my own mind while Fifty-one got reacquainted with the members of his hive that had chosen to stay. Numbers and names sort of flew over my head. In my not really staring into space, I imagined a place with stars above and a cavern floor under my hooves. This place was quiet, save for the distant conversation of changelings and their linked minds.

...

"What are you doing here all by yourself?"

My conscience turned and stared. "Who's asking?"

It looked like Ninety-nine. "Just a guy trying to survive in this unfair world."

I decided to guess it wasn't him. "I can only imagine what waking up and finding out you're in an alien body does to that perspective."

The other guy shrugged. "Still unfair, but with another food source added to the list of unfulfilled needs."

"Hmm." I kept my response to the short sound.

"You still haven't said what you're doing here." He sat down next to me.

I shook my head. "Everything I know about the changelings is second-hand information. Fifty-one would be better at interacting with them than I would."

"Come on, you're not living on the streets." He lightly tapped me on the side. "You can afford to chat lightly about pointless nothings. Most of these aliens have people in them too."

"I know, but... I'm not that great at just talking to people I don't know." I looked out at the imaginary space.

"Well... we don't know how long we'll be stuck like this." He grabbed some dust and let it float on some unseen wind. "Might as well make it comfy."

"You're certainly optimistic." I raised my nonexistent brow.

"I don't have a lot I can lose," he pointed out. "At worst, I break even no matter what happens."

I don't know why, but I chuckled right then.

"How about we start with each other?" He held out his hoof. "Name's Luxuri."

"Cier." I shook his hoof with my own.

The imaginary space faded away. The real room with real changelings came back into focus. I slowly pulled my hoof away from Ninety-nine's. I could still see Luxuri's kind gaze in his eyes. I blinked a couple of times.

That wasn't so bad, was it? asked Fifty-one via thought.

"How did you do that?" I muttered.

Hive mind, remember? He reached up our hoof and tapped his head. I can let the minds of other changelings and their proxies in and out.

"Oh." I moved the hoof he already had up to perform a face-hoof. "You think I'd be used to that by now."

To be fair, I don't have much control when someling like Queen Chrysalis wants a word. He smiled slightly. Say, why don't we go grab a bite from that snack pile over on the table?

My stomach decided to growl in agreement with the sentiment.

"Holy crud! I haven't eaten since breakfast!" My eyes widened before I made a dash for the food.

????

Lucid dream space

My black cloak flapped as I ran along rooftops. I summoned a couple of Kingdom Keys, then promptly transformed them into the Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades. Thursday was jumping around in the same direction as I was going. I could see the yellow kunai knives in her grip. Ninety-nine was levitating a dark book next to him as he ran.

As for Pharynx, he had taken on the form of a giant gray spider. In addition to the expected limbs, he had several flying Nobodies at his side. Laser cannons were attached to his back. On top of that, he kept spitting acid, forcing us to constantly shift running patterns.

Thursday spun around, throwing a kunai at each of the floating Nobodies. She managed to destroy three, but the fourth one ducked and spun around. The motion smacked the cloaked changeling mare into a window, crashing through the glass and frame. Ninety-nine grunted and sent forth a trail of flying pages from his equipped book. The paper wrapped around the remaining Nobody, then promptly flattened it out into a well-illustrated picture.

I jumped around the spider's legs, slashing with one of my keys at each joint. The spider roared and shot lasers all over the place. I got hit a few times, but I still had some health to keep going. Ninety-nine held his book open in front of himself and cast a few Blizzard spells at the laser cannons. Since the shots were halted, I could jump up to the spider's back uninterrupted.

"You think you can strike me down?!" bellowed Pharynx.

The Limit Break's light surrounded me and my impractical swords. "Watch me!"

I felt myself darting around at impossible angles. My Keyblades sounded exactly like beam katanas as they slammed into the spider's back. I counted fourteen slashes, seven from each of my weapons. A web shot out of nowhere and pinned me just above the spider's merciless eyes. I struggled, but couldn't get out of the webbing. The laser cannons were starting to melt the ice around them. Ninety-nine tried casting fire magic at the webs, but it was slower than the ice was melting.

"Thundaga!"

Thursday made the play with the gigantic, magic lightning bolt. It shattered the laser cannons and a good portion of the target's backbone. Bright spheres surrounded each of us, granting the experience and the new skills that came with that.

...

When I looked around, multiple changelings were sitting in a circle around a campfire. From where I was sitting, I could see Fifty-one, two Ninety-nines, two Pharynges, two Thirteens and one Thursday. Seeing as how I no longer had hands in this dream realm, I imagined the extra changelings were actually the human minds, with Thursday being an extra conscience in Thirteen's composite body.

"I... so lost," commented the Pharynx with Immanue's voice.

"Cier must dream about a lot of video games." The not-raspy Thirteen chuckled (Ashley, I'm guessing).

I scratched the back of my neck. "The dreams about the video games are a more recent thing."

"They aren't so bad places to visit." Luxuri shrugged.

Pharynx crossed his front hooves. "Hmph. Well, at least you have some place where you can pretend you're not weaklings."

"It looked like you were having fun." Fifty-one tossed a loose stick at the fire before looking at Pharynx.

"I was just humoring you all." Pharynx looked away.

"Right..." The raspy Thirteen rolled her eyes.

"Anyway!" Thursday clapped her hooves together once. "Was there something we wanted to discuss as a group?"

"Yeah." Ninety-nine nodded. "When we head over to Celestia's base of operations, we should expect to run into some resistance from Discord's underlings and/or anti-pony gangs. We need a plan."

"Why don't we just wipe out every obstacle in our way?" Pharynx turned back to the group. "That'd be the most efficient."

"We just finished trying to stop a group of changelings trying to destroy anything and everything." Thirteen shook her head. "There's no point using a method that has already been tried and failed."

"Plus, it's kind of immoral to randomly beat up people without reason." I held one hoof out to my side.

Pharynx sighed and spat at the imaginary fire, causing it to release a puff of steam. "Do you have a better idea?"

The original Fifty-one nodded. "We need to stick together for safekeeping. That's the strength of our hive: numbers. We'll head toward the address and wait for further orders. If any of us get attacked, respond with enough force to drive the threat off, but not eliminate anyone that could potentially change their heart."

"Hopefully our queen is still in the right state of her mind." Ninety-nine fiddled with a small pebble. "Conflict with unusual enemies on top of empathy sickness could lead to an unpleasant madness."

"Discord could probably choose to make any of us go mad at any time," pointed out Thirteen. "We shouldn't let what we can't see halt our efforts to correct his destructive path."

"Yeah! Preach on!" Thursday lifted her front hooves high.

Ashley blinked her solid changeling eyes. "Is that... really what I sound like from the outside?"

"Well, it's possible that I've got some unique personality mixed in." Thursday chuckled nervously. "Kind of happens when neither of you are driving."

"Okay, any questions or comments about the plan as it stands?" I looked around.

"H-How far is... place?" Immanue looked like he was shivering slightly.

I looked at the piece of paper. "They said it was about twenty minutes on hoof. For the twenty-two other changelings that decided to stay with us, we might be looking at double that time to mobilize all of them."

"Okay... can do." Immanue nodded and sat back. The rest of the group held their peace.

Fifty-one pulled out a small bucket. "If that's all, we can break for tonight."

As he poured the water on the fire, a different man's voice started singing through the mental space.

~If you take a life, do you know what you'll give?~

Author's Note

Yeah, so... I've completely forgotten the list of made-up days from the original PonyEarthVerse. I can remember as far as Smatterday, but nothing after that. I guess it was a good thing that I broke off "canon". Otherwise, I'd have some questions to answer in later chapters. Instead, let's create a completely different list of questions to answer. Makes sense, right?

Learn from my mistakes so you don't make the same ones.

Ch. 22: Best Laid Plans Go to Waste

"Always be ready to adapt, especially when it's inconvenient." ~Somebody... probably... Okay, I made that one up.

---{Cier's POV}

Slightly-Cloudy-Day

8:00 AM

Outside of Warehouse in Brooklyn

Odds were that we wouldn't like how it would end. I'm not sure why that thought crossed my mind the way it did. In any case, we had our makeshift squadron of changelings plus Mom and Dad at the front. Immanue/Pharynx stayed at the back to ensure that no-ling got lost. Still, I couldn't help but feel nervous.

"You're doing a great thing, Cier." Dad smiled at me. I found his currently ponified expression to be both encouraging and funny.

"Thanks, but... are you sure you aren't a little biased?" I gave him a half-frown look.

"No, but look at how far you've come." He did a singular arc motion with his hoof. "You took the initiative and brought us out of the house with purpose, you found more people that share in your current situation (including Mom and me), you actually stood your ground against an army for the sake of others. And now you-whoa!"

In his attempt to utilize both of his front limbs to emphasize his point, he tripped over himself. Mom rushed his side to examine the damage. It wasn't anything visible. Later, Dad would tell the story as just losing "some momentum." I couldn't blame him. He was the most recent in our group to try and figure out the four-legged walk.

"... are leading a crowd to the next safe house." He chuckled. "That isn't something you would have done years ago, or even six months ago."

"I'm pretty sure Fifty-one had something to do with that." I glanced away.

"Is that what he told you?" Dad shook his head. "That didn't seem like him however long ago either. If I recall your joint explanation correctly, his rank meant that he was actually less than qualified to be a leader. I think your ever-growing ability to take charge of matters rubbed off on him, not just his qualities onto you."

Your father's right, thought Fifty-one, If you hadn't been the initial driver during my first day in your world, I probably would have sat still in one place while waiting for orders that would never arrive. In a way, you saved me.

"Huh..." I smelled... a fresh scent of emotion. It was both of their confidence in me. "Maybe you're right."

Pharynx's mind echoed in my head. Look alive, maggots and weaklings! We've got some hooded freaks on our tail!

Explain, responded Fifty-one.

One of, uh... Immanue's thought-voice piped in. How do you say... 'street gangs'? They have melee weapons. His presence morphed straight back into Pharynx. My intimidation only scared away two of them. Three are still walking toward us with murderous intent.

Maybe they'll stop if we keep moving and get off what they consider 'their turf', suggested Thursday.

"Are you okay, Cier?" Mom popped up beside me. "You went quiet mid-sentence."

I tried to whisper to them. "Try not to make any sudden movements to look, but there are some armed gang members following us."

"What?" She looked anyway. "How could you possibly-"

"Hive mind." I looked forward. "Whatever the other changelings want me to hear can be shared directly by thoughts."

"So, should we pick up the pace?" wondered Dad. "You mentioned before that we shouldn't get in a fight except as a last resort."

Negative, Thirteen. I could almost hear Pharynx shaking his head as he thought to us. Anger isn't this foul unless the owner intends to follow through with action. They want blood, not property. Squad E, arm yourselves for a counter-attack!

Well, chitin. Fifty-one mentally groaned. "Terry, Arlene, please stay near the middle of the group for safety." Squad D, prepare to assist! Squads A through C, protect our pony companions no matter what!

Several affirmations echoed in the hive mind. There were a couple questioning thoughts, most likely the other human minds that weren't completely used to changeling tactics. Still, the changeling bodies complied with the orders. I could sense magical charges from the back of the group. A second later, I heard some gunshots and two people yell out in pain.

Targets disabled, said Pharynx. They'll live, in case any of you are squeamish about that kind of thing.

Is everyling okay? wondered Thursday's thought-voice.

There was a bit of a grunt before Pharynx responded. We lost one of our drones. But we can't stick around. The scared enemies from earlier might have heard the shots and will try to find us. We need to move!

I wanted to take the fallen with us, but I also knew that could encumber our movement. Hissing at myself as much as the situation, I took some deliberately louder steps to convince our swarm to keep going. With a little threatening encouragement from the Pharynx, the rest resigned to follow.

"M-Maybe I can at least... channel their spirit for a bit..." suggested Spirit.

"Wait until we're all at the safe house... please." I briefly squeezed my eyes shut. "I don't want to lose any more of us right now."

"Is there... anything I can do for you?" asked Dad.

"Not unless you've spontaneously figured out how to use your unicorn magic." I flashed him a half-smile with my muzzle.

"Alright." He nodded. "Just... let me know if a way does show up."

Didn't you randomly figure out how to use my magic when you triggered it the first time? wondered Fifty-one specifically at me.

I thought back, It was more of an accident, and I don't want Dad's first experience to be that much of a magic-based meltdown.

Unicorns like Twilight are the exception, not the rule. I doubt this stallion could produce a spell that destructive.

I shook my head. For all we know, the show deliberately underestimated other ponies' powers just to highlight how amazing Twilight was. I mean, nobody wrote an episode where they made human bodies completely vanish before merging what was left into Equestrian foreigners. If they missed that detail, what else did they leave out?

It sounded like his sigh echoed in my mind. I get your point.

8:45 AM

We cut some more corners in relative silence. Eventually, we came across a series of yellow-roofed warehouses. There were signs of grime and graffiti along the outer walls. Most of it was unintelligible symbols that I couldn't even begin to pronounce. Still, the number near the door matched the address.

Pharynx and five other changelings agreed to stand by on lookout while the rest of us went inside to confirm the location and situation. I got an eerie sense of tension as the door slid open like that red door toward the end of the Death Note anime. Thankfully, there was no sign of an SPK task force or a Kira. Instead, there were a few dividers up like at our previous sleeping location. Some of the sections had desks and decor while others had well-made beds.

In one of those beds, there was a face I had seen before, but I was also seeing for the first time. It was a pale, almost-white mare's face with a tall horn and long, wavy mane. She was sleeping soundly; the sheet over her was slowly rising and falling.

"Sweet Celestia..." Thursday whispered, "... literally."

"So that's Lauren Faust?" Mom murmured.

"That's what the news report said." I nodded.

"Gosh, so the two of them were Discord's first victims." Luxuri held his/Ninety-nine's head low. "Makes you wonder how they managed to keep going in spite of all that went on."

"Maybe we should let her rest for now," suggested Dad while waving a hoof in a general direction away from this bed.

The sleeping face smiled. "That's quite alright, sir. But I appreciate the thought."

There was a collective gasp and a holding of breath among the swarm. Mom and Dad instinctively bent one hoof down to a kneel. Maybe that was actually Spirit and the other pony. I couldn't really know.

Celestia/Faust gently pushed the sheet aside and sat up on the bed. Even without her regalia, she looked like a royal. She looked much taller than I was expecting. Although as I thought that, it occurred to me that I was currently much shorter than usual. Maybe that was it.

"Good morning, everyone." She shuffled her big feathers on either side. "I take it you found the place alright?"

She lifted the flat side of her right hoof up. Mom and Dad stood straight at the same time. There was a mix of scents I was picking up from them. I couldn't discern what the main emotion was. Fifty-one just smelled baffled. Wait... I could smell Fifty-one's emotions apart from my own? Since when could I do that?

9:45 AM

Introductions and descriptions took a while, since there were at least two names to mention for each body present. After that, we tried to inform Celestia/Faust about our current situation. Several times, members of the traveling group ended up interrupting each other for clarifications, comments, and doubts about how the events came to pass. In contrast, the white alicorn sitting there listened intently and patiently, occasionally nodding at the last changeling or pony to speak.

"And... I guess that about sums it up." I idly scratched behind my frill.

"By the way, what should we call you?" piped up Thursday. "Princess Celestia? Lauren? Or some other third thing?"

"Either name is fine." She smiled. "Both of us can hear you. This goes to every-creature. If you need the space, feel free to stay for as long as you need."

Some of the changelings in our group started crawling on the walls to look around the warehouse in depth. Others kept their hooves on the ground as they got comfortable. I took a seat on my haunch while I let Fifty-one project a hive mind update to Chrysalis.

"Yeah, sorry. Still caught up in Massachusetts. Can you handle the drones that are with you there for now, 51? Thanks."

Understood, my queen. Fifty-one opened his eyes and looked down.

"She trusts you to take care of us." I smiled with the side of my mouth that lacked a fang. "I say she's right to do so."

Heh, didn't we just have this conversation in reverse earlier? He wiped his left eye.

I looked over to Dad and Mom. From the way Dad was looking at a small wrench and how Celestia was talking to him, I guessed they were practicing his unicorn's magic. I was sure it would be fine. At least, I was pretty sure it would be. I decided to distract myself with my own hive mind call.

Anything happen out there? I idly walked along the inside wall's perimeter.

Negative, replied Pharynx. Just a couple homeless individuals leaning against different walls of other buildings.

Alright, just keep us posted. I nodded.

As if you needed to tell me that. It almost sounded like he spit in the hive mind landscape before he disconnected.

"You're getting better at doing that," commented Fifty-one to me in his dual voice.

Thanks. I took a break from my walk just before reaching the ceiling. "It's kind of exciting, getting more versatile together."

I'm glad you're feeling better. He thought. You sound more lively and natural when you stay positive.

"Huh. Really?" My tongue flicked out involuntarily. "I hardly noticed."

It's true, he insisted. Your mood right now feels real and moving is effortless. It's a lot easier to switch control back and forth as needed than when you're upset and driven by my instinct. At the risk of myself sounding cliche, just smile. It feels great.

"I'll do my best," I agreed.

Author's Note

I know this uploading pace is probably a pain on the readers, but my mind doesn't like to cooperate with whatever it considers a non-priority task. It tends to disagree with me regarding the classifications of priority tasks.

So... the person writing for Chrysalis that I occasionally bounced off for reference stopped writing years ago. I can't imagine I'll be all that good at writing this character instead, but I'll give it a shot in whatever increments this particular story requires.

Ch. 23: Time-Skip

"You either die, or you live long enough." ~Corollary paraphrasing some hero and/or villain.

---{Cier's POV}

Electric-Boogaloo-Day

2:45 PM

Unconfirmed Position, New York

Even with Discord tossed back into Equestria, the effects of his world-merging scheme were still not quite resolved. Every few days, another person found themselves a mental passenger in a poor Equestrian's body trapped on Earth. The calendar was still a wreck, but the school boards across the country were trying to come to agreement on when educational work could resume. If the rumors were anything to believe, I'd be going back in about fourteen days.

The Element bearers were still in a flux between themselves and their original people. However, they agreed to remain on Earth for as long as was necessary to 'cure' the ponies and other creatures. There was also a portal ready for Equestrians to go home, but it could only transfer three at a time before the Elements' magic had to recharge. But I understood that they couldn't really make the rules. The Elements were magical, peace-restoring artifacts that could only work via talking ponies. I was grateful that this solution existed at all.

Mom, Dad, and I had our turn today at this hour. I looked down at my hole-riddled hoof one more time. Fifty-one and I were... really going to be separated. I was happy for him, and yet... there was also a small pocket of emptiness in what I should have been feeling. It wasn't something I could explain exactly.

It was kind of unreal, trotting through a room guarded by a few members of S.W.A.T., N.Y.P.D., and other miscellaneous forces. I also couldn't fully believe when we actually entered the slightly larger back room. Each of the main cast, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle... and another Twilight Sparkle were gathered together. I kind of understood that Twilight had been split between two people on Earth, but seeing it was still a bit of a shock compared to hearing it.

Plus, I had to mentally remind myself that it wasn't just those seven ponies offering their aid. The people and the chaotically created fusion minds were putting in their time and help as well. I tasted a subtle love going into this project. I might have drooled a little, but I hastily wiped the corners of my mouth before stepping forward.

Magic danced around the room, drawing connections between the light of the five necklaces and two halves of the tiara. Dad was levitated off the ground first. It pulled up Mom and myself soon after. The air around me felt warmer for a moment. It was over before I knew it, and I opened my eyes to see my hands on the ground.

"Heh heh, nice pajamas."

I looked toward the voice and quickly sat up straight on my knees. "That's the first thing you say upon being yourself again?"

Fifty-one looked about what I was expecting him to look like. Although... he reached up one of his black hooves and I noticed he still had the leftover pony eye and missing fang on his face. "Well, it was either that or a generic 'I'm me again'. Learn to laugh at yourself."

I chuckled as I pressed my palms against my thighs.

"I don't think I ever got your name," commented Dad to his unicorn other.

"Fashion Plate!" The dark green pony grinned widely. "And might I say what a stupendous wardrobe you're decked in today?"

"Oh, thank you." Dad's smile was a little smaller physically, but I could see the feeling in his eyes.

"If you're going to comment on the fact that I'm wearing a night gown..." started Mom.

"No, no, no." Spirit Redeemer waved her hooves in front of herself. "It's... nice."

In a way, this was our first real hello. Yet, it was also going to be a very real goodbye. Aside from laughing at a few more of the small talk gestures and jokes, I don't think the emotional weight ever hit me until much later. But right there, right then... it was as Spirit had said. It was nice. It truly was.

"So... do you still see empathy as a sickness?" I asked.

"If it is, then I don't particularly want the cure." Fifty-one simultaneously laughed and hissed. He then cleared his throat. "A-hem. I actually think these emotions that I'm growing into might be useful for the future. Maybe... we can figure out how to co-exist with the ponies and other creatures when we get home."

"And that is what we humans call a positive attitude." I gave him a thumbs-up.

Fifty-one nodded. "Are you still afraid to be in positions of leadership?"

"Completely terrified." I crossed my arms, before slowly lowering them to my sides. "But, I'm not entirely closed to the idea if the need arises."

"And that is what we changelings call practicality." He winked his solid blue eye.

The time was closing in. Fashion Plate and Spirit Redeemer waved at us before stepping through the portal to Equestria. Fifty-one held out his hoof. I met his hoof with my gentle fist. He then turned around, took a galloping start and finished entry into the portal by flying through.

Upon his departure, the portal's energy dimmed to an empty gate. The seven ponies breathed heavily or groaned. They looked tired as they headed off to recover in their own ways. I turned around and looked at Mom and Dad. I don't remember who hugged first, or what was the second hug's name, but I-Don't-Give-A-Darn was still shortstop.

Silly-Putty-Day

12:15 PM

Dylan Residence, California

I pulled out a slice of leftover pizza and I recalled my first taste of sustenance as a changeling. It had texture that day, but a much milder taste profile than I was expecting. I never really considered a food to be nostalgic before. The immersion in the memory faded, however, when I tasted the toppings in full. Refrigeration had cranked up the spicy sausage to quite the level. I had to chug down my entire glass of water just to resume normal breathing.

After that little wake-up jolt, I walked over to the kitchen to refill my glass. For some reason that I couldn't explain, I spat a little into the sink. Before I turned away completely, I stopped and caught sight of something strange. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. But even after wiping my arm across my face and blinking a few times, I could still see it. A little green goop was stuck to the edge of the top of the drain.

Still confused, I slowly walked back to the table. Maybe I was seeing things, I reasoned. That couldn't have been from my spit that resembled changeling waste. It had to have just been wet, shriveled peppers. Right?

There was a knock on the door, followed by the doorbell's ring. Normally, I didn't answer the door when I was home by myself. But after seeing a familiar face through the peephole, I decided to make an exception.

"Hello, Mr. Big Zeke, sir." I did a half-wave with my hand while holding the door a quarter of the way open. "What brings you by?"

“Well…” Big Zeke rubbed his neck a bit sheepishly. “Maybe you should see for yourself, brother.” He turned around. “Li’l Z, come over here!”

I raised an eyebrow, wondering why he was speaking to thin air. But then, I heard something whoosh repeatedly. A pair of wings was accompanied by a dark pegasus pony with a light mane hovering down and standing next to Zeke. I blinked twice.

“I… uh… huh.” I fumbled for the right words. "He looks exactly like Thunderlane."

"I can't get this costume off!" The pegasus stallion exclaimed. He nibbled at his foreleg for emphasis. "How'd you get yours off?"

I coughed. "Well, for starters, it's not a costume. That's your actual body right now." I opened the door the rest of the way. "You guys want to come in and have a seat? This could take a while to explain."

---{51's POV}

Humpty-Dumpty-Day

1:00 PM

Spirit Redeemer's Cottage, Whitetail Woods

Now that changelings weren't completely committed to invasions and destroying our primary food source, some of them decided to branch out on their own. Understandably, some ponies were still uneasy about the idea of us wandering around freely and out in the open. But that was okay. We were all still adjusting after that whole merging universes incident started. Personally, I asked Spirit if I could stay with her for the time being. She agreed right away, before I could even voice what I thought might be some counter-questions.

The pegasi were working on making the weather colder for the coming winter. I thought I might as well help Spirit rake some leaves into piles for future disposal. It was as I was scratching the rake against a third pile that I turned and saw something rather peculiar. Spirit was... skipping.

Here's the thing. I knew that most other ponies would skip all the time and not bat an eye about such an action. But the Spirit Redeemer I had come to know as a friend would never do such a thing. Even in her happiest moments, she would be more apt to faint on the spot than to frolic through the flowers. Much less, she would ever do so through her own flower garden. It was only when I managed to see her briefly open her eyes that I could piece together what was going on.

Her eyes were glazed in a yellow-ish glow.

I face-hoofed. "Chrysalis darn it, Peter."

"I'm sorry, 51. Would you mind darning it for me? I'm a little busy at the moment."

I sighed and set down the rake gently. I took to the low sky to chase after the pony-loving ghost. I had to stop him from destroying more of Spirit's life work. I contemplated flying in for a side-tackle, but discarded the idea because of the flowers still under hoof. Mentally, I kicked myself. For my next idea, I would have to go against everything my combat trainers had ever taught me.

"Yo, Peter!" I called out while holding my hooves on either side of my muzzle. "Stop stepping on Spirit's garden!"

He slid to a stop on all fours. "Huh? Oh! Sorry. Lost myself in the moment." He leaned his head back as an eerie ring shook the nearby atmosphere.

Spirit shook herself along her spine and tail. "Thank you. I don't know why he couldn't hear me pleading with him." She carefully stepped along the dirt to stop crushing the flowers.

I shook my head and crossed my hooves while my wings kept me up. "For someone who lost his physical life, he doesn't act much older than a newborn hatchling."

"I wouldn't put it that far." Spirit wiggled her hoof next to her face. "He's just happy to cross something off his bucket list."

"But, he's already dead." I pointed out.

"All the more reason to be carefree." She shrugged her shoulder. "At least, I think that's how he sees it."

Before I could ask for further clarification, I heard the hive mind go off.

"Actually, could you come over here, 51? There's a favor I need to ask of you discretely."

I lowered my head and frowned.

"What's wrong?" asked Spirit.

I gave her a weary smile. "Looks like my work break is over. I think I'll be gone for the rest of the day."

"Oh." She nodded slowly. "I understand. Well, uh..." She slowly reached her hooves around me and squeezed. "Good luck."

"Eh heh." I hugged her back for a moment before pulling away. "I'll be back."

"Okay, see you soon." She nodded and waved.

I turned around and flew higher. It would take a few hours to get back to the hive from here. But I wasn't too worried about that. Instead, I distracted my mind from the journey with a singular question: Why did Spirit's parting emotional state smell so... delectably sweet?

Author's Note

Once upon a time, I might have wanted this to go on indefinitely. But... as much as I lack skill in writing a conclusion, I feel like I have to put an end to certain things before I can focus on other things. There are other places I need to focus my mental energy, and I can't do that if I'm constantly worried about how to end a story that I started over six years ago.
...
So... for better or worse, this is where Extraterrestrial #51 ends. No cancellation. No more mysterious update. It's done.

Ch. 1: They're Not Made of Cheese

They're Not Made of Cheese

Tonight was an average Tuesday night. Well, that's not really true if one counts the fact that none of the existing calendars labeled it as a Tuesday. My computer, the online timelines, and even my physical calendar now told me that the day was called "Thorsday". That made no sense whatsoever. But then again, how could I expect things to make sense where Discord was involved?

It was a little over a week ago when the worldwide phenomenon became public. Lauren Faust, the creator and first executive producer of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, held a press conference. Yeah, that was relatively big news in itself. What made it bigger news was how she looked. She was Princess Celestia. I'm not joking. It wasn't a costume, an elaborate prank, or digital recreation. She was the flesh and fur Celestia!

I remember my jaw dropping pretty far when I saw this on Equestria Daily. I don't quite recall every detail that she covered. All I caught distinctly was that bronies were starting to turn into ponies, Discord was real, and that the Element of Harmony bearers needed to come to New York as soon as possible. Shaking myself out of shock, I quickly went to double-check this situation with other websites. This conference was surprisingly one of the top stories on CNN. There was also a mess of Twitter comments about the "ponification". The video of the conference on Youtube was getting several comments from likers, haters, and those that were just plain confused. Though, this did give me the information that Tara Strong had become Luna (which is kind of odd, because I always assumed Luna was Tabitha St Germain's forte).

I'm not sure whether I was amazed or disappointed at how little the event actually affected my personal life. I still went to school, still took exams, and still played my Nintendo DS during free time (still trying to catch Kyurem on my copy of Pokemon Black Version. The walkthroughs made that look a whole lot easier). I was amazed that I could maintain my diligence as a socially awkward student working towards an accounting major. At the same time, I was disappointed that I brushed off the news of increasing real-world pastel ponies just like I ignored the War on Terror. I guess attempting to go about business as usual was my coping mechanism for when things got strange.

Anyway, last night was the second night of Discord's made up weekdays, "Thorsday". Seriously, Discord? You used the god of thunder to name a day? Odinson would have been ashamed if he ever met you. That, or he'd use his hammer to pummel you and then toss you into the sun like he did to Raiden in that one episode of Death Battle. Whichever came first, I guess. Though, judging from that slightly more recent video of your clone pretending to be Slenderman's illegitimate cousin SCP-173, I would guess that you weren't going to try to fight gods anytime soon.

Interestingly, my college professors sent messages to all their students that read, "Due to system malfunctions and confusion of actual days, all classes at this time are cancelled until further notice." That happened on Monday, er "Marsday". (Sheesh, Discord, was there anything I couldn't blame on you?) Still, I wasn't complaining about getting school off for the next couple of weeks. Though, if they were going to be cancelled for the length of time that Discord had turned a week into, that would mean that I wouldn't ever step on campus for a whole year. That was great as a vacation, but not so great for how much longer I'd have to wait to finally get a degree and possibly secure a job in this failing economy. Victory was bittersweet.

After apologizing to the ten watchers I had on FiMfiction for taking so long to update, I shutdown my laptop and got ready for bed. I was glad that some things would never change.

Wagnesday
8:30 AM
Cier Dylan's Bedroom

~HEYYYYYY! Sexy lady!
Op, op, op, op, Oppa Gangnam Style!~

Daughter of Athena! I thought in annoyance, Why the frig did I pick that Korean pop star as my phone's alarm?

I extended out my arm to silence the noise that dared to interrupt my slumber. I heard a crash and a crinkle before the ruckus subsided. I groaned in shame.

"Great, I just killed my phone," is what I would have said if I didn't stop on the fourth word. The reason I stopped was because my voice didn't sound as smooth and... tenor as usual. In fact, it sounded like a messed up cross between a cough and a harsh whisper.

"Fan-tipping-flastic," I hacked (I wasn't really coughing, but it sure sounded like it.), "I've killed my phone and I've got a cold."

I lied there for a bit just staring at the ceiling, which was only interrupted by my occasional, slow blinking. Sighing through my allegedly scratchy throat, I decided that I might as well get up. Some doctors said that bed rest was the best treatment for a cold. Others said that staying active and drinking plenty of fluids was the better option. I respected the advice of the second category of doctors.

Though, as I tried to edge myself to sit up and get out of bed, a part of my leg got caught up in the twisted blankets. The blankets hit the floor followed immediately by my belly and my chin.

This is a bad sign, I thought.

I tried to lift myself on my hands and knees. As soon as I had, however, my legs felt like they were fully straightened out. That didn't make any sense. My back still felt as though it were parallel to the floor. I decided to try and take a look at how my body could be in a comfortable quadruped position.

"What?" I stammer-coughed.

Where my pajama-covered legs should have been, there were instead black limbs with what looked like transparent holes in them. Had the ponification pandemic finally claimed me as well? But if that were the case, what kind of pony had holes in their legs... and a blue shell that resembled a beetle's wings? Suddenly filled with the desire to find a mirror, I attempted to hurriedly crawl. I was immediately stopped by my chin hitting the floor again.

How could I believe those liar fan fics? I berated myself, I'm in a completely different body! Of course I need to relearn walking.

Slowly straightening my legs out again, I rose to the height that this pony body could lift me. I then decided to slowly advance my legs in a simple one-two-three-four pattern. It was tedious and slow. To an outsider, I probably looked really ridiculous while mobilizing, but it beat joining the floor in matrimony. After what felt like ages, I finally managed to look at myself in the full-length bedroom mirror.

"What the frig?" I whisper-hacked.

I was not in a pony's body. Oh, no. I was way off with my first assumption. Those solid blue eyes with just a white light for a pupil, those fangs, those holes in those coal-black limbs, and that short curved horn belonged to only one creature from the Equestrian universe.

I stared in shock and a bit of horror at the changeling in the mirror as he in turn looked in shock at me.

Wagnesday
8:35 AM
Cier Dylan's Bedroom

Breathe, Cier! Breathe! urged my thoughts. I hadn't realized I had been holding my breath for so long. As a result, my inhaling and exhaling were somewhat long and ragged. I closed my eyes to help ease my breathing down to calmer levels. After that, I slowly opened them to look at the creature in the looking-glass.

How could this happen? I thought, The bronies were supposed to turn into ponies. Why am I a monster?

A changeling was basically a mindless drone who served no one but their queen. Its primary source of nutrition was love energy that it devoured from its victims. Like swarms of locusts, they destroyed lands and terrorized the city of Canterlot. The only word that could describe such a creature was monster.

Oh, sure. The fandom could pretend otherwise. The community could write stories of reformed changelings. They could draw "kawaii" pictures of baby changelings. They could even write songs that questioned if they were really so bad. But in the end, I knew better. The show was the only canonical information on these mother flippers. Changelings were heartless through and through. That's why they had to, in essence, steal the hearts of ponies.

So why did I become one of them? I asked mentally. With a rasp, I sighed knowing fully well that I wasn't going to find that answer by just standing there and gawking at my reflection. Interestingly enough, a gurgling noise that vibrated my torso area provided the perfect distraction.

"Can changelings even eat solid food?" I mutter-wheezed. There was only one way to find out.

But first, there was one major obstacle I had overlooked after waking up this morning. The doorknob was perfect for fingers to wrap around and twist. This was not made for a hoof or whatever a changeling's front limb was called. (I opted to just call it hoof for future simplicity.)

"Wait, duh!" I donked myself on the head, "I'm a changeling. Magic should be a breeze."

Oh, how wrong was I? Let me count the ways. Closing my eyes and pretending to use the force produced zero results. Aiming my horn at the knob and verbally saying, "Alohamora," also did nothing. I even tried saying, "Accio door!" I was getting frustrated to the point of haphazardly scraping the door just underneath the knob repeatedly with my messed up excuses for hooves. I was starting to get really upset at myself for not being able to do something as mundane as opening a door.

Breathe, Cier, my thoughts insisted. I obliged by closing my eyes and inhaling deeply before exhaling. I looked at the doorknob again if I could try one last thing. Magic wasn't a verbal thing in Equestria after all. It required years of study to control properly. Still, maybe gentleness and patience were the keys here.

Reducto. I heard the sound of a small firework as I watched a thin, green beam reach out to the doorknob. There was an explosion of green smoke and I had to look away from the bright light that resulted. When I could see again, the knob literally melted from its position. The door swung inward slightly without the piece of metal holding it shut.

What happened to gentle and patient? I thought to myself, How am I supposed to explain that to my dad?

Idly, I bit my hole-filled hoof in anxiety. While it didn't hurt that much, I immediately spat and removed it from my mouth.

That isn't cheese, I chuckled insincerely.

Ch. 4: I Will Not Be Left Behind

I Will Not Be Left Behind

????
????
A Place I Call Home

"Get up, drone. You're stronger than this."

I only hissed in response.

I was never fond of the top twenty-five changelings. All they ever did for the hive was grind the lower drones into the ground with their so-called "training". Worst of all, they were complete sycophants in the eyes of Her Majesty. Such was the order of my race. Those that provided our queen with the most love were given promotions to positions that held no hoof work. The rest served as their personal stepping stones.

Thirteen was an exceptionally frustrating superior. She always knew exactly which parts of her opponent to attack so that the damage would be invisible to others, but the most painful to her victim. I suppose that's why she earned my queen's respect. I learned a lot from her unforgiving lessons. But, I would never give Thirteen the satisfaction of knowing that her techniques have been useful.

Twenty-two was in charge of shape-shifting training. I don't know why. He just sat in his recovery egg sac while his underlings practiced taking the forms of prisoners. Come to think of it, I don't believe Twenty-two has ever been injured. Resting in recovery was hardly doing his light-weight muscles any favors. Yet, he hasn't atrophied for the past nineteen years. Asking out of turn was grounds for the torture chamber, however, so I never asked him why he stayed in there.

Today, I decided to take out my aggression on Ninety-nine. He always provided an appropriate scapegoat that I could blast with my frustration without repercussions. I could see in his eyes that he wanted to whimper, but he refused to let any noise aside from a growl to leave his mouth. He understood that imitating the emotions of ponies was pointless around here.

I am the fifty-first drone of Her Majesty Queen Chrysalis. I have no sympathy.

At least, that's what I thought.

????
????
Someplace Unfamiliar To Me

Where was I? There was a distinct lack of comforting caverns. Yet, when I tried to voice my confusion, I found even my own thoughts to be muffled. Some other force was taking dominance.

"Fan-tipping-flastic. I've killed my phone and I've caught a cold."

What? Why was I saying these things? My race did not catch viruses. I couldn't believe I would even consider such a ridiculous notion. Also, what was a... "fohn"?

I felt numb to any motion that my body seemed to make on its own accord. It ignored my will to take reasonable flight and properly view my surroundings. Instead, it seemed to waddle in a rather undignified manner toward a reflective panel. Why was my own face shocked to see me?

That's when a feeling of an earthquake crossed with a tornado rattled my mind. Recollections of someling else's life and their inner thoughts flashed through, insisting that the memories belonged to me. I wanted to hold my head. I wanted to shake out the sheer pain of these impossible images but my body refused to move. The sound of my heavy breaths brought the images to a sudden halt.

A human. The entity that was in my body and controlling it was a human. The idea was nonsense, but it was the only thing I could realize without any other viable evidence in my vicinity. Absentmindedly, I tried to feel out the presence of Her Majesty.

I cannot sense my queen, I thought, Perhaps the distance is too great between us.

Apparently, my thoughts had volume to them, because the human guiding my body stopped and blinked.

Where did that thought come from?

????
????
Outside The Unfamiliar Building

"Dad!"

I saw the father of this human fall to his knees. Something twitched inside me. There was an unusual urge guiding my conscience. Was I... feeling something? It tasted of vengeful rage.

You... are my enemy, I thought with a growl. Thirteen would have been a smirk of all fangs if she ever saw me use her precision training in my magic. A couple blasts left the threatening humans weaponless. But, Cier Dylan was quick to regain his control as a rapidly changing whistle noise sounded.

????
????
After Returning to the Human's Home

A pony was here. I knew that the draconequus had started something like this between the worlds, but I hadn't anticipated meeting one of his victims so soon. I was even less expectant of this being Cier Dylan's mother. I didn't understand why she had cried her exclamation to a ghost. I thought ponies normally voiced their emotional outbursts to their princesses. Celestia or Luna, for example.

"Change shape?" asked Arlene/Spirit Redeemer, "What does that even mean?"

Remember what I said human, I decided to remind Cier Dylan, My race can change as long as their target is actually there.

He was too easily impressed by the ability I used almost every day back home.

Later that evening, he was using my hoof with that uncomfortable pencil. Still, he probably understood his technology better than I did, so I didn't object. However, when he opened up something with a motion picture, I practically threw that stick to the ground in shock.

My queen! I silently exclaimed. Her Majesty Chrysalis was facing the draconequus that had started this mess.

Didn't see that one coming.

Neither did I, Cier Dylan. Neither did I.

Threesday
8:30 AM
Cier Dylan's Bedroom

While I could get up without an alarm, having one always made it easier to convince myself not to go back to sleep. I mean, it certainly helped make early school mornings more productive. I'm pretty sure today would have been Thursday if it were a normal week. Though, I saw that my calendar impossibly marked today as "Threesday".

Heh, three, I mentally chuckled, The number that Valve can't count to.

How does a valve count in the first place?

You know how to search my memories, Fifty-one, I reminded him, You can figure it out.

I waited for about fifteen seconds as he presumably went memory searching.

A production joke. I don't know why but I find that... somewhat amusing.

Maybe I'm rubbing off on you, I joked.

Yes, I suppose I would be affected by your Empathy Sickness.

You say that like it's a bad thing, I smirked. If he were physically right next to me, I would have playfully elbowed him.

If I start caring about others, I might hesitate when tasks become necessary in service of my queen.

Concern and compassion aren't a weakness, I seriously thought, In fact, mankind has proven time and time again that feeling empathy and showing kindness may be the strongest sides of humanity.

Forgive me if I remain skeptical.

Another strength of us humans is that we can agree to disagree, I added.

The discussion of the minds seemed to end there. In any case, I figured I might as well do Fifty-one a favor. I now knew roughly where Chrysalis was. Chances were that she would head to New York with all the events that had happened regarding that city recently. There was just one problem. I was all the way back here in California. New York was on the opposite coast. How was I going to get there?

Driving over, even starting now, would probably mean missing several events of importance especially with Discord involved. Flying over there was even less feasible. As tough a bugger as Fifty-one was, I doubted that I could use his wings to cover that distance without food and rest. Plus, I kind of looked the part of one of Equestria's enemies, so any true fan of the show might whack me on sight. Heck, even non-fans might whack me just because of my insectoid appearance.

Then, there was the thought about taking a plane flight. While that was probably the most feasible option, it came with its own set of problems. Plane tickets were frigging expensive especially when purchased at the last possible minute. There were I.D. checks for passengers of ages eighteen and older. (Yes, I was older than that.) I currently didn't look anything like my I.D. picture. Last but not least, I got airsick really easily.

*Gurgle* *Urgle*

I guessed that worry would have to wait until after breakfast. Something did smell good down the hall.

Threesday
8:35 AM
Kitchen

It was a good thing I wasn't Derpy, or I might have had an orgasm at the muffins set before me. As it was, I only barely registered any taste as I munched on the baked goods. Yeah, changeling taste buds were just some of the things I wouldn't miss after getting back my body.

Dad was walking around picking up like he normally does. If I hadn't witnessed the gunshot myself, I never would have known that his shoulder was really injured just yesterday. After eating my fill of muffins that smelled good but tasted bland, I followed him into the living room.

Mom was on the couch, still in the body of Spirit Redeemer. She kind of looked like she was sleeping in a crouched pose. Although, I saw her briefly open one eye as I approached her.

"Good morning," she smiled before closing her eye again, "How are you?"

"I'm fine," I answered before inquiring, "What are you doing?"

"For some reason, I have this strong urge to meditate," she replied, "like it'll somehow appease the phantoms in my head."

"Oh," I said, though not entirely sure I knew what she meant, "Is it working?"

"Right now, sort of," she exhaled, "Besides yours and mine, I'm only hearing one other voice. It... says that it's the one whose body I'm in."

"I know that feeling," I nodded, "Well, I'll leave you two alone for the time being." If she was going to have to use that pony's body, then it would be a good idea for them to get properly acquainted.

I walked over to Dad, who was already doing something on his laptop.

Might as well tell him sooner than later, I thought, Right?

"Hey, Dad, do you have a minute?" I piped up.

"Sure, what's up?" he responded without taking his eyes off the screen.

Threesday
8:45 AM
Living Room

Basically, I told him about my most recent discovery and the current dilemma. Chrysalis was on the east coast. Fifty-one was antsy to be with his queen. I needed transport to New York as soon as possible. As of a little over twenty-four hours ago, my I.D. had become useless.

With a straight face, Dad said, "You'll be happy to know that I've taken the liberty to book a flight for us tomorrow morning."

Wow... I was not expecting that.

"The price was a bit steep, but that's nothing new for airlines," he added.

I chuckled at the truth in his words. Then, a thought gave me pause.

"Wait... us?" I pondered.

"Yep," he nodded, "Mom and I had a little discussion before you woke up. We had a feeling you'd end up asking something like this and we've decided that we're going with you."

"Man, you guys are good," I muttered with a smirk.

Though, something else was still bothering me.

"What about the I.D. checks?" I asked in concern, "Mom and I don't look anything like our pictures."

"That's partially what I'm working on right now," he replied still typing away.

"Huh?" I tilted my head in confusion. He seemed to finish whatever he was doing and shut his laptop before standing up.

"I'll show you what I mean during my lunch hour," he promised as he gathered his work items. He gave Mom a quick kiss before heading out the door.

"I don't get it," I shook my head.

"I guess we'll find out after noon," guessed Mom while still meditating.

"How did you know I was going to ask about going to New York?" I asked her.

"I tend to pay attention to details when I watch the news," was her answer, "It just stuck to me when that one pony said, 'New York'."

Satisfied with her answer, I went back to my room for my daily dose of internet.

A Dance Dance Revolution question and answer special starring Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie? I looked in awe, This I gotta see.

Threesday
12:45 PM
A... Gas Station?

"What are we doing here?" I asked. It seemed like we drove quite a ways just to arrive at a run-down station. It must have been pretty old. The gas price sign still had numbers under three dollars.

"You'll see," he remained vague. After opening the doors to let Mom and I out of the Prius, Dad walked on over to what appeared to be this station's convenience store. There was actually a catchy jingling noise when he opened the door.

"Big Zeke!" he called. There was one man in there sitting on the counter reading a magazine. Upon hearing my Dad's voice, he looked up almost immediately. His indifferent expression changed to a friendly smile.

"Yo, Terry my dawg!" he returned by slapping Dad's hand in a firm grasp before giving him a shoulder pat. I guessed this was 'Big Zeke'.

"Ow, careful, I just got that bandaged up," winced Dad.

"My bad, T, my bad," Big Zeke backed off a little before turning to look down, "And who do we have here?"

"Zeke, this is my wife, Arlene," Dad responded.

"Hello," Mom nodded.

"And my son, Cier," Dad continued.

"Uh, hi?" I greeted while moving my hoof as if to grab my shoulder... which I didn't have anymore.

"Hoover dam," chuckled Big Zeke, "Time's sure are changing if you can marry other species. What did I miss?"

"Apparently there's a worldwide 'disease' of sorts that's been turning people into horses from a cartoon," answered Dad, "What was it called again, Cier?"

I didn't like being put on the spot like that. Some shred of stubbornness in me still felt uneasy about sharing my opinion about what society called a show for little girls. Nevertheless, I didn't want to be rude.

"M-my Little Pony: Friendship is Magic," I managed to blurt out before averting my eyes. There was a bit of an awkward pause.

"Cool, cool," said Big Zeke with a nod, "So what can I do for you, brother from another mother?"

"We need to get to New York as soon as possible to aid the potential solution to the situation," explained Dad, "The quickest way there is by flight, but there's just a little issue with the validity of two out of three of our I.D.s."

"Yeah, you probably look a lot older than your picture," responded Big Zeke. He and Dad shared a laugh.

"I think I get ya," nodded Big Zeke as he walked over to a door that was out of the way from the rest of the convenience store.

"Yo, Li'l Z!" he hollered to the other side, "I've got two 'special assignments' for you!"

Threesday
12:50 PM
Back of the Convenience Store

Wow, I never expected to see this kind of equipment in such a place. It turned out that Li'l Z was a natural at making alias I.D.s. He was also Big Zeke's son. That made sense since he pretty much looked like a younger Big Zeke.

After Mom and I had our individual pictures taken, Li'l Z got to work with a few keystrokes and clicks. In just a short time, I was holding a genuine California I.D. with my name and Fifty-one's face on it. Well, technically Dad was holding it at an angle which I could look at it, but it was the thought that counted.

"Color me impressed," I said with a small smile.

"Are you sure this is legal?" pondered Mom as she looked up.

"Strictly speaking, no," answered Li'l Z, "But then, this isn't a very strict practice."

Mom looked like she was about to say something but then put a hoof to her mouth. Her mutter came across as a cough.

"Thank you," she finally settled on.

"Sure, sure," waved Li'l Z almost dismissively, "If you need anything else, be sure to drop by. Pop and I are always open."

"Will do, Li'l Z," responded Dad.

Out of a last minute decision, Dad bought three Power bars from the front of the store. Big Zeke went right back to reading his magazine as soon as Mom, Dad, and I started heading out.

"See you later, Gustaf!" Dad called before walking out.

"You too, Terrance!" called Big Zeke without looking up.

"Gustaf?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Yeah, we're on a first-name basis," Dad answered.

So, does that make 'Big Zeke' his nickname? I silently wondered as I hopped into the car.

I was amazed at Mom's dexterity. Holding the bar between both hooves, all she had to do was twist her head a bit for the wrapper to open sufficiently. I almost felt like I was cheating using a fang to pierce my wrapper.

????
????
????

My recovery sac... It feels so cold now...

Why would you purposefully throw your life in harm's way for another?

I do not strive to be the strongest. What would be the point of chasing an impossible dream?

Even if the only goal is to be a servant of a higher power...

I must live.

Threesday
1:45 PM
Living Room

I lifted my head. The visions of some dream slowly faded to the point that I couldn't remember them. I also couldn't remember when I had gotten on the couch, but that was where I was. I let out a yawn as I stretched my hooves. I felt my wings give a quick buzz before they became still. I felt a chilly breeze along my back.

Wait, I thought, That breeze isn't coming from the direction of the broken window.

I turned my head to the right and saw something that shouldn't have been possible. An earth pony with whited-out eyes was floating in midair.

"Mom!" I exclaimed with eyes open wide. She slowly moved her lips, but the voice that emerged sounded like a cross between a demon and a vocaloid program.

"Be... careful..." it whisper-shouted.

As quickly as her levitation show began, it ended. She fell to the floor sprawled out. Fairly concerned, I hopped off the couch and trotted over as quickly as I could manage.

"Mom?" I voiced.

She moved one of her hooves to rub her head and she let out a groan.

"What happened?" she asked in her normal voice. I was relieved that her blue irises had returned to normal as well.

"Well, besides your impromptu phantom message," I informed, "Nothing at all."

"I..." she started, "I was talking to... Spirit Redeemer and then... something else shoved us both into a corner and...and... I don't remember what happened after that."

"I'm guessing it was that 'something' that said, 'Be careful'," I noted, "Any idea what that could mean?"

"Beats the heck out of me," Mom shook her head.

"Let's hope something like that doesn't happen at the airport tomorrow," I remarked half-seriously.

"Yeah," agreed Mom, "That would be more than a little embarrassing."

Ch. 15: How Not To Explain My Little Pony To A Non-Brony

A/N: Sometimes in the writing process, you just have to grind. It doesn’t matter if that means wheels and/or teeth.

How Not To Explain My Little Pony To A Non-Brony

---{Cier’s POV}

Smatterday
7:17 AM Eastern time
An Inn Bedroom

I looked at the mirror one more time. My left eye wasn’t any less blue than it was before. In comparison, my right eye had altered completely. In a world where there was news of people turning into ponies, suddenly having the big eyes with an iris that vivid shouldn’t have been so surprising. However, being a changeling and having a pony’s eye without having voluntarily changing it was very unnerving. What the heck was going on?

“Is this some kind of changeling disease?” I muttered.

No, not that I’ve ever encountered, Fifty-one replied. I imagined if I could see him, he would have been shaking his head to emphasize that he didn’t know.

“Well.”

I turned after nearly jumping out of my skin (metaphorically). For a minute, I had forgotten that Dad was in the room with me. At that moment, I also remembered that Mom was in the room too. Sheesh, and here I was basically talking to myself again.

“Considering I’ve seen a ghost take control of Mom, I can’t say that a different eye look is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,” Dad smirked a little.

I let out a relieved sigh. Count on Dad to be so understanding even when he doesn’t understand.

“I suppose we really shouldn’t have expected the strangeness to stop just because we already changed,” Mom added with a chuckle.

“Yeah,” I agreed, “It’s probably only going to get weirder from here onward.”

“Now that we’re in agreement, how would you like something to eat?” asked Dad as he picked up the still wrapped-up Danish.

Whatever this changeling body had for a stomach, it decided to gurgle for my answer.

“How do you hold a coffee cup without hands?” I wondered.

“Mm-mm,” Mom hummed over her sip while shrugging with the opposite shoulder. She lowered her cup slightly before continuing, “I guess I just didn’t really think about it.”

I thought it over while sticking the last nibble of my pastry on my fang and somehow scarfing it into my mouth. So not thinking about it actually helped the hoof manipulate objects despite the lack of finger dexterity. Score one for the fanfic writers.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Mom piped in.

“What is it?” I prompted.

“Could you explain that show that these pony creatures come from?”

“Explain it?” I echoed.

“Yeah,” added Dad, “You kind of gave me a summarized version, but I still don’t quite understand.”

“Maybe if we understood the source, we might have a better chance of finding out how to go about fixing the problem,” elaborated Mom.

Huh. Now that I thought about it, it was sort of strange. I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone in precise detail what the show was about. The closest I had come to doing that was just telling other fans how I had come to admire the show. Well then, I guess this was as good a place to start practicing.

“Alright,” I nodded once, “Where to start? I guess the beginning’s probably the best place. Let me think.”

---{#51’s POV}

I had forgotten much of the history regarding my home and the surrounding lands when I found myself in this world of the humans. So, I decided to pay close attention to Cier Dylan’s explanation of this ‘show’ that he and thousands of other humans had watched.

It apparently began with a small excerpt involving two of the ponies’ princesses. They were sisters that acted as caretakers for the sun and moon. The elder guided the greater light and the younger moved the lesser light. Harmony existed in their land for many years. But this was not meant to last.

I found myself confused upon the explanation that the younger sister was corrupted by jealousy. It was natural for ponies to sleep at night and rejuvenate themselves. Why would she be angry at them for following their nature? Though, it seemed that a lack of recognition of her beautiful moon and night sky were catalysts for a terrifying transformation. My queen in all her years was never able to create a brand new form of darkness and hatred. No, Nightmare Moon was a completely different form of transforming magic.

Based on what Cier could piece together, the Elements of Harmony were unable to act as truly purifying magic without at least two bearers. The most that Celestia could do with them alone was trap her corrupted sister into the moon itself for one thousand years.

Closer to the present day came Twilight Sparkle. She was a bright student of the quantifiable side of magic, but she lacked the emotional bonds. So in response to her discovery of the evidence that pointed toward Nightmare Moon’s return, Celestia tasked Twilight with overseeing the preparations for the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. More importantly, she was asked to make friends.

This would lead to introductions with four ponies in charge of specific items on her checklist as well as one pony that just wanted to make Twilight feel welcome and have fun. These five ponies that she met eventually turned out to be the next chosen bearers of the five known Elements of Harmony. The earth pony Applejack was the bearer of Honesty. The pegasus known as Fluttershy represented the spirit of Kindness. The earth pony called Pinkie Pie wielded Laughter. The unicorn Rarity was granted the power of Generosity. Finally, the pegasus known as Rainbow Dash was Loyalty’s bearer.

These five Elements would shine together and unlock the sixth Element to be wielded by Twilight Sparkle herself. That Element that represented the spirit of friendship was Magic. When all six were synchronized, Nightmare Moon’s dark powers crumbled and allowed Princess Luna to return to her true form. Following the reunion with her sister, Celestia decreed that Twilight should live in Ponyville and continue to study the magic of friendship.

The ‘episodes’ following the pilot were a mix of ridiculousness and importance. Twilight Sparkle was given two tickets to an event that piqued her interest: the Grand Galloping Gala. At this, I wondered what the big deal was. She didn’t seem like the party-going type based on her previous emotional description while living in Canterlot prior. But I digress.

There were a bunch of shenanigans pulled by her five closest friends in ‘The Ticket Master’. Each had their own reason for desiring the extra ticket to the event. Each tried a bribing tactic within their personality. Finally, she gave up and told all of her friends that she didn’t want to leave any pony out. Twilight sent both of the tickets back having learned a lesson. Sharing your blessings is good, but it’s not always possible to share them with every single one of your friends. The ending was a bit anticlimactic with Celestia wondering why Twilight hadn’t said so in the first place. Seven more tickets were sent so that all of the Element bearers and Twilight’s assistant Spike could go.

The pony called Applejack was the next focused character. It was the harvesting season for the apple orchard and Applejack insisted on taking care of all the work after her brother had been injured. After saving the town of Ponyville from a herd of stampeding cows, she was praised as the most dependable pony. I wondered why the Element of Honesty was doing a better job of being dependable than the Element of Loyalty, but didn’t bother to interrupt. In any case, Twilight went to investigate why Applejack was so tired.

She offered to help Applejack who outright refused. This earth pony was rather stubborn and wished to stick to her word to harvest every apple in the orchard by herself. Her family pride was at risk. At least, that’s what her attitude seemed to convey. But after trying to balance her heavy workload with favors for the rest of her friends, it was apparent that she was fatigued and unstable. After finally seeing the last expanse of Sweet Apple Acres and refusing Twilight’s help multiple times, Applejack finally acted as the bigger mare and accepted the offer of outside help. This ended up being the best choice since Twilight’s portrayed magic was rather advanced.

The bearers of Laughter and Loyalty started forging a stronger friendship in the next ‘episode’. Though, I wasn’t sure how effective a friendship was when it relied on playing the feelings of other friends. Even Pinkie Pie herself started questioning the lines that could be crossed when facing the choice of pranking the bearer of Kindness. Eventually, this pranking spree led to the introduction of the griffon Gilda.

Pinkie Pie took notice when Rainbow Dash’s old friend was a disturber of the peace, a petty thief, and a most unkind individual toward Fluttershy. Pinkie decided to try her usual party antics to befriend Gilda in order to connect in a polite way rather than an aggressive one. However, her true colors were revealed and Rainbow decided that Gilda wasn’t as cool as she thought she was. Twilight learned the lesson that true friends will stay with true friends.

Another one-time character was introduced in ‘Boast Busters’. A traveling magician calling herself the Great and Powerful Trixie exaggerated her abilities to a crowd and wooed most of them with parlor tricks not uncommon for human world magicians. Three of Twilight’s friends immediately showed distaste for the claims that Trixie made. I was inclined to agree. Magic was a rather common occurrence considering the number of unicorns in Equestria. How exactly did performing smoke and mirror illusions prove that she was better than the levitators, teleporters, and object conjurers that also shared her land?

Shortly thereafter, two of her most enthusiastic fans created a situation that not even her ‘Great and Powerful’ magic could handle. It was up to Twilight Sparkle to use some of her newly practiced magic to remove an Ursa Minor from the town. In any case, Trixie ran away with what was left of her dignity in a smoke cloud reminiscent of stealthy escape tactics. Cier was not very happy that he remembered all of that.

An exploration was taken of the bearer of Kindness in ‘Dragonshy’. Even though she had shown fondness when meeting a baby dragon, Fluttershy had a deep fear of adult dragons. After a mountain climb that could very well have ended their lives, the ponies took turns with different approaches to convince a dragon to leave its cave. The sight of her friends getting pushed around by this dragon gave Fluttershy a sudden burst in resolve. She stood up and told the dragon off for his behavior before softening up and convincing him to fly away.

The next ‘episode’ had a scenario where three different natures clashed. The bearer of Honesty held a straightforward nature. The bearer of Generosity focused on little details. The bearer of Magic had a do-it-by-the-book nature. Twilight Sparkle learned that even though her friends were very different, they could still get along if they accepted each other’s differences. Though, I wondered how a slumber party was enough to show such a moral.

A zebra named Zecora was introduced in ‘Bridle Gossip’. The ponies were unfamiliar with her and thus began spreading rumors that shrouded her in mystery. What struck me as odd was Cier’s description of how the filly known as Apple Bloom was the only one to keep a level head from start to finish. After a bad run with the plant Poison Joke and an herbal bath cure, Twilight reported how one should not judge the cover of a book. It was both a literal and a metaphorical lesson.

Pesky, small creatures known as parasprites were the cause of ‘The Swarm of the Century’. Although they seemed harmless at first glance, they were actually quite the hoof full considering their bottomless appetites and their ability to multiply simply by vomiting. Pinkie Pie was doing what she knew would get rid of them, but she never took the time to fully explain why she needed instruments even when she was given ample opportunity to do so.

Ponyville had a day for wrapping up winter. Cutie marks were something that needed time to be earned rather than forced. Cheaters didn’t prosper even in the fall. Dressmaking was not so easy when the bearer of Generosity’s friends looked their gift horse in the mouth. Pinkie Pie’s randomness just couldn’t be explained no matter how much study was put into it.

The ‘Sonic Rainboom’ was a rather fascinating phenomenon when Rainbow Dash could simultaneously break the sound barrier and the visible light spectrum. Naturally, I was skeptical that any living creature could reach such a speed. Still, I wasn’t about to object the possibility. After all, it was just last week that I didn’t think I could cross into different worlds. But, here I was now.

Fluttershy used an ability over animals that granted her the title of ‘Stare Master’. The fillies Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle could not figure out their actual talents even when they were plain to see for the audience. This led to a rather show-stopping finish. Rarity proved that she could handle herself in a bad situation even though she gave off the impression of being delicate. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle learned the importance of trust and when secret feelings should be told.

A tribe of buffalo had a traditional stampeding ground through the planted orchard of Appleloosa. This caused a conflict between ponies and buffalo that amusingly resolved with pie. Following that was confusion on Fluttershy’s part not knowing how the life cycle of a phoenix worked. I couldn’t really blame her since I also didn’t know phoenixes revitalized themselves via their own ashes.

The ‘Cutie Mark Chronicles’ managed to tie together the friendships of the Element bearing ponies before they met each other. It was all thanks to Rainbow Dash’s first Sonic Rainboom. ‘Owl’s Well That Ends Well’ gave Twilight a pet owl. It also touched on Spike’s insecure nature and his fear of becoming obsolete in Twilight’s eyes. Though, that was nothing in comparison to how the bearer of Laughter became undone in her state of insane depression. I didn’t know a mane could pop like that.

The last episode of the first ‘Season’ brought the Grand Galloping Gala to an actuality. Mentioned at the beginning and middle ‘episodes’, the six bearers arrived and tried to realize their dreams during the night. Sadly for them, their dreams were essentially shattered and the ballroom essentially came crashing down. Also, I vowed never to piss off the bearer of Kindness to the degree that the garden animals had. Just the description of her breakdown caused me to mentally shiver.

---{Cier’s POV}

I took a long drink from the juice bottle that Dad had opened for me. Sure, I couldn’t really taste the vitamin C, but I was willing to hydrate myself however possible.

“Where was I?” I pondered, “Oh yeah.”

---{#51’s POV}

The second ‘Season’ introduced Equestria’s newest antagonist and our current situation’s nuisance: Discord. As the master of chaos, he defied the Harmony that existed in Equestria by nature. The spell that had originally sealed him in stone had weakened. It was up to the newest bearers of the Elements to seal him again. However, the draconequus tricked them into participating in a game where he slowly bent the wills of the individual ponies. The corruption led them to personify the exact opposite of what their Elements were.

Fluttershy seemed to have the most resilience against Discord’s suggestive tone. It was amusing to hear how she managed to ‘counter-troll’ him. Alas, the story had to move on and Discord broke his own “no magic” rule to make her cruel. When Rainbow Dash abandoned her friends after falling into disloyalty, Twilight Sparkle tried to use Spike as a replacement bearer. This didn’t work and led to a group separation.

But after rediscovering the magic of friendship, Twilight gained a memory restoration spell that successfully countered Discord’s influence over the rest of her friends. Discord’s overconfidence became his weakness and the Elements of Harmony turned him into a statue once again. A normal entity would look for revenge. Cier and I both understood that Discord was anything but a normal entity.

The next ‘episode’ introduced Twilight Sparkle’s mental breakdown. It also addressed the hindering limitations set in place when Twilight ‘had’ to send a letter about friendship every week. Celestia reminded her that she did not need such restricting deadlines to know that Twilight was a wonderful student. She further decreed that the rest of Twilight’s friends could send friendship reports whenever they chose.

Luna started to learn how to interact with the modern Ponyville and how to have fun at an event that capitalized on her dark past. Rarity and Sweetie Belle learned what being sisters truly meant. Apple Bloom learned that being honest with oneself was what every heart desires. Rainbow Dash gained a pet tortoise and named him Tank. She also got spoon-fed the lesson of humility by way of the ‘Mysterious Mare-Do-Well’. Cier showed a bit of discomfort reciting what he knew from that event. I’m still not sure why.

Rarity gained a reputation among the Canterlot elite. However, she also learned the importance of accepting your origins. Spike and pretty much everyone in Ponyville learned about what happens when a dragon’s greed consumes him. It also may have hinted a love relationship between Spike and Rarity. I felt uncertain as to how a dragon-pony relationship would work, but I wasn’t interrupting Cier to find out.

A holiday known as ‘Hearth’s Warming Eve’ explained how the three pony tribes came together to form Equestria. Though, Cier commented how divided and confused that this episode left the fans of the show. Apple Bloom learned to appreciate her Granny Smith a little more. Pinkie Pie learned how to take responsibility and why taking care of babies isn’t all fun and games. Though, his description of pony foal care was much more hectic and somewhat more disturbing than some of the hatchlings I had seen back at the hive.

Applejack learned that it’s okay to do your best even if you don’t win everything. True friends remain your friends regardless of the good or bad. Cier took some time to talk about how a certain backlash regarding the pegasus named Derpy caused some fan drama. The censorship didn’t bother him so much as the immaturity of certain viewers’ responses to said decision. Though, he perked right back up as he remembered how Applejack “didn’t learn anything” in the next episode.

Rainbow Dash gained a fondness for a certain book series and learned to accept that side of herself. The Cutie Mark Crusader fillies learned that true love can’t be forced. Pinkie Pie learned that different ponies require different approaches before becoming her friends. Twilight Sparkle found a one-use time travel spell and essentially created a bootstrap paradox.

Spike learned the difference between who he is and what he is. Fluttershy learned how to tackle the demons of the past with her present-day confidence and the needs of her friends. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle found out the hard way that earning cutie marks doesn’t happen via breaking all their bonds. Twilight taught Pinkie how important looking at the situation without making hasty assumptions is.

Finally, came the moment in history I was uncertain about reliving. Thankfully, the invasion of Canterlot wasn’t described right away. Instead, it followed the suspicions of Twilight Sparkle that something was wrong with her old foal sitter. She followed the wrong tactics and lashed out verbally without presenting any concrete evidence. This gave ‘Cadance’ the opportunity to garner the sympathy of every pony around Twilight before trapping her in the caverns underneath.

It was strange hearing Cier describe the events after that. I didn’t recall any instance where Her Majesty Chrysalis actually sang her intentions or about her victory. Though, I did recall getting beaten up by allied hoof kicks. Yeah, maybe choosing the forms of our enemies while not directly facing them hadn’t been the best choice on our part. Still, I thought that the overall capture of the six Element bearers had been a relatively proud moment. What wasn’t so pleasant for me was how I got physically shoved out of the city by this bright pink force.

Cier went on to describe a much happier wedding ceremony. The real Princess Cadance was the complete opposite of my queen’s impersonation in terms of tastes and personality. No wonder Twilight Sparkle had suspicions so early on.

Hearing all of these events was a little unnerving, yet at the same time very surreal. This was all news to me, but I had known some of these things already. It was an unusual feeling that I couldn’t really describe in words.

---{Cier’s POV}

“And that’s pretty much the whole show so far. There have been spoiler clips regarding a new setting in the upcoming Season 3, but I don’t know the specifics about that.”

I waited for a bit, wondering how much of what I had said had sunk in. While I waited, I took another swig from the juice bottle.

“Wow, that’s… wow,” commented Dad.

“It’s certainly something,” murmured Mom, “The Ursa Minor would have explained that shaking noise I heard that day.”

“Huh?” I looked at her in confusion.

“Sorry,” she said with a shake of her head, “I think Spirit somehow spoke just then.”

“Oh, no worries,” I responded dismissively, “If she’s got words to contribute, let’s let her talk.”

“She said that’s all she had to say,” Mom told.

“Ah,” I stated in understanding.

*CRACK*

“Augh!”

My head. What the heck? Where the heck did this pain come from?!

---{#51’s POV}

I hissed in discomfort as I fell from the bed.

Author's Note

Next time on...
*CRACK*
What the-?
*CRACK*
*static*
Don't bother resisting.
Assimilation is imminent.
A-hahahaha!