An Affliction of the Heart: Volume Two

Chapters

New Beginnings
Regifting
Homecoming
Instincts
Royalty
Exposition
Fantasy
Aurora
Sacrament
Unexpected Guest
Revelations
Resolution
Epilogue
Old Wounds

New Beginnings

Warden limped along the line of vibrant Crystal Ice Berries. They were some of the last Crystal Ice Berries in the entirety of Equestria. After the Crystal Empire disappeared, they had become almost extinct. Short of the Crystal Empire coming back, they would continue to be extremely exotic, and extremely rare. They didn’t look akin to regular crystal berries, whereas the normal crystal berries were a solid colour with a sheen and a faceted surface, Crystal Ice berries looked like a coloured ice orb, slightly transparent. Small rainbows painted the rows of berries, where the weak northern sunlight lanced through the berries and split into starbursts of colour.

Warden was wearing a thick fibre coat to guard against the cold, and underneath it, a gold engagement ring sat around the very base of his left wing. Written on the heavy gold band was the words ‘Property of Kuno’. Dragging a bucket behind him, Warden paused at every bush, picking the best berries from each and putting them into the bucket, before moving to the next bucket.

Up ahead, Kuno was happily flitting from row to row, in her natural form, the black of her chitin stark against the white of the snow. A red-and-yellow scarf was tied around her throat, fluttering in the wind as she moved. A gold engagement band was slid over the base of her horn, with the words ‘Property of Warden’ on it. She was so much faster than Warden with the berry picking, hovering in front of the bush and slapping the berries into the bucket she was carrying before moving on.

Green Hoof was fastest of all of them, but she was working at the far end of the field. She denied it vehemently, but Kuno obviously made her uneasy: the earth pony didn’t like going anywhere near the changeling.

Both Kuno and Green Hoof had tried to convince Warden not to help pick the berries, but Warden hated just sitting on the sidelines watching them work. A small amount of pain in his hoof wasn’t going to stop him from doing what he loved.

Once his bucket was filled, Warden dragged it back towards the storage shed, upending it into the large storage tub. The storage tub was just a giant bucket, with a tap at one end for letting liquid pour out once the berries were squashed. The berries, however, would have be pressed with a mechanical process, as it was far too cold to do it normally. Between frostbite and the possibility of the liquid freezing, they would have to use a special machine with a heating element at the base to ensure that the juice wouldn’t freeze.

Kuno came in behind Warden, upending her own bucket into the tub and then stacking it into his own empty bucket, turning towards him with a hoofful of berries. “These taste good!” Kuno attested, grinning as she stuck a red, and then a blue berry onto either one of her oversized canine teeth.

Warden grinned at that, shaking his head and leaning in, curling his tongue around one of her canines and tugging the blue berry free, biting it in half and then offering the other half back to the changeling.

Purring faintly, Kuno leaned in and locked her lips with his own, stealing away the half-a-berry with a happy hum and chewing at it happily.

“You two make me sick,” Green Hoof said with a slow shake of her head, dumping her bucket of berries into the tub and then making a motion with a hoof. “I’m starting to build up a sweat, I’m gonna take the rest of the afternoon off, yeah?”

Working up a sweat in the snow was bad, as the sweat itself would freeze and then rapidly cool your skin until you ended up with hypothermia.

Warden nodded, waving a hoof at the earth pony while Kuno giggled faintly.

Once Green Hoof had moved out of the shed and up towards the house, Kuno leaned in to whisper into his ear. “I think I make her uncomfortable.”

“The fact that you were impersonating me and trying to seduce her when I went into town that one time was pretty off-putting, I’ll guess,” Warden said with a sage nod.

Kuno rolled her eyes, giggling softly. “But watching you trying to explain it to her was so cute. It was adorable, what with you being all stuttery and uncertain.”

“Oh shush,” Warden said, placing a hoof over her lips. “C’mon, back up to the house before we freeze to the floor.”

“Race ya!” Kuno said, brushing past him and bursting out the door, tearing past Green Hoof in a headlong sprint towards the house.

Warden smiled and shook his head. Kuno knew he wouldn’t stand a chance of beating her, but he still jogged unsteadily after her, three hooves thudding the snowy path into a brown slurry. Green hoof just shook her head at them.

Kuno was sitting in the doorway, holding a hole-filled hoof up to her ear, shaking it. “My watch isn’t working real well these days, but it says that I won!”

“Good thing we weren’t racing for prizes,” Warden pointed out, leaving the door open for Green Hoof.

Kuno snorted once, throwing out a hoof to halt the pegasus, shaking her head slowly. “Nownow, Mr Warden, you know the penalty for being late to the finish line!”

Warden sighed faintly, rolling his eyes and shaking his head, before he leaned forwards and kissing the changeling full on the mouth, their lips pressing together. Kuno melted into the kiss, giving a low throbbing purr in the back of her throat, her wings quivering happily.

After a few moments, Kuno drew back, pushing at his chest with a hoof and huffing. “Hey! A kiss! Gotta keep it PG or Green Hoof will complain!”

Green Hoof scowled as she pushed past both of them, closing the door after herself. Warden just gave a wry grin.

Kuno pecked him on the lips again, before she slipped past him and down the hallway, padding towards the kitchen to start on dinner.

Warden headed upstairs, to the room he and Kuno shared, throwing off his cloak and then beginning to slowly stretch his wings. His right wing required a lot of effort. With a faint groan, he tugged at it with his hoof to get it to extend, gritting his teeth.

“It still worries you heaps, doesn’t it?” Kuno asked quietly from the doorway.

Warden nodded slowly, grimacing and then folding his wing tight to his back again, panting faintly at the pain.

“I... never told you, but I... took care of Sunshine and Daggertail,” Kuno said quietly.

Warden nodded again. “I know. I saw the reports. I was a prime suspect until they figured out that I was in the hospital unconscious the entire time. They suspect you, but... the case was closed, apparently. They couldn’t find any evidence.”

Kuno nodded mutely, and then tilted her head towards the stairs. “I’ve run us a bath. It’s heating up. I’ll run some of that wonder weed on your wing.”

Warden smiled at Kuno’s nickname for the Greenswathe Moss. It had special properties that deadened nerves when applied directly to the skin. It was mainly used by dentists and older ponies who had arthritis or other such harmful, long-term injuries.

“You go on ahead,” Warden said, making a motion with his chin. “I’m going to... well, grimace and moan a lot and then compose myself so you don’t see me being all weak.”

Kuno gave a wan smile, flitting across the room to hug the pegasus tightly, nuzzling her chin against his cheek gently, before bounding back across the room and down the stairs towards the bathroom.

Warden followed after the changeling several minutes later, wincing as he tried to extend his wing slowly back and forth, working the stiff muscles. Kuno was already in the bath, splashing about happily, frothing up the bubbles so that there was a thick film of them over the surface.

Carefully, Warden undid the magical engagement ring, twisting and turning it in just the right way so that it slipped off his wing, still a single, unbroken band. He placed it safely on the edge of the tub, and then pulled himself into it.

Kuno immediately paddled around behind him, wrapping her hooves around him and kissing at the side of his neck, wiggling to get comfortable.

“I can never feel my hooves after I use this stuff,” Kuno complained, reaching down a hoof for a glass jar of green liquid. She dribbled some across her hoof, and then began to knead it slowly into Warden’s right wing.

Warden bared his teeth, gritting them, before he slowly relaxed, giving a faint croon. “Ohhhh... that feels nice.”

Kuno gave a sudden giggle and a snort, shaking her head and rubbing extra firmly.

“What’s so funny?” Warden queried lazily over his shoulder.

Kuno gave an innocent giggle, rubbing her hoof along the leading edge of his wing slowly. “I was just contemplating the implications of replacing our bedside vaseline with this stuff.”

Warden paled. “You wouldn’t.”

Giggling more, Kuno shook her head. “But it’s an amusing image. ‘Is it in yet?’ ‘I don’t know!’ “

Warden slowly shook his head, grinning faintly. “You’re a terrible, terrible changeling.”

“And you love me,” Kuno chided, kissing his cheek gently, before holding out her hoof. “Hoof.”

Warden wriggled around to face the changeling, holding out his right hoof.

Kuno took it in her hooves, beginning to rub the Greenswarthe extract into his hoof, frowning down at it. “I shoulda have made Daggertail and Sunshine suffer a whole lot more...”

Warden gave a sympathetic smile at that, leaning forwards to nudge his nose against the changeling’s own. “What’s done is done. If it comes right down to it... I’d rather have a broken hoof and wing and have you, than to be whole and not have you.”

A soft ‘awww’ sound left Kuno’s, and she crooned, leaning forwards to kiss Warden gently. “You say the nicest things!”

Warden smiled, wrapping his hooves around the changeling and nosing into her neck gently. “Saving up affection and nice things I’ve said to trade in for a night with Spitfire.”

“Still a pervert,” Kuno said with a grin, licking his cheek. “And yet, the one time you walked into your room to find Spitfire in your bed, you demanded that I turn back to normal, saying something like ‘I want the real you’.”

Warden flushed faintly. “You keep bringing that up.”

“I wanna remind you what a sweet, over-the-top, romantic fool you are,” Kuno purred, hugging him tightly. “Plus, it’s so cute when you blush!”

Warden rolled his eyes with a soft snort, but smiled and kissed her gently. “So... are you ready to tell me what convinced you to come back, yet?”

Kuno frowned at that, drawing back from him and going quiet.

“I... saw a lot of things while I was away,” Kuno said, rubbing a hoof against her ear faintly. “I spent time with a lot of ponies. Married ponies, dating ponies... I even took the place of a couple that had been together for sixty years. There was so much love there. It was like being inundated in an ocean of it.”

Warden nodded, leaning gently against the side of the tub, carefully not on his bad wing.

“But... at the end of the day, I didn’t want them. I didn’t want any of that. I wanted your love, but most of all... I wanted you to be happy. You walked for miles with a broken hoof, with a half-done splint, faced down the guard captain and got beat up for me. That’s why I left... I knew I couldn’t do that.” Kuno shook her head pensively, frowning. “I was just... stunned by how much your love me for me could accomplish, and I knew I couldn’t measure up to that level of devotion. But then... after all that time away, I decided I wanted you to be the happiest you could be.”

Kuno paused then, and gave Warden a sly little grin. “And I decided that, ego aside, I could make you happier than any other silly pony.”

Warden smiled at that, wrapping his hooves around the changeling again, nosing into her neck. “Ego aside, huh?”

“Ego aside,” Kuno reiterated with a sage nod.

“I love how modest you are,” Warden teased.

“I am the most humble sentient being ever. Aint no one ever been as humble as me, because I’m the best at being humble!” Kuno attested, waving a hoof for emphasis.

“Silly,” Warden accused, kissing Kuno’s nose.

“And you love me,” Kuno responded, pulling him into another kiss. “And that makes you happy, which makes me happy, so everyone wins! Well, except for Green Hoof, because she has to see us being all sappy.”

“She can just deal with it,” Warden said with a smile, kissing the changeling again.

Warden was carefully lying on his left side, with a body pillow along the length of his form. His bad right hoof, and bad right wing, rested on the pillow for support. He hadn’t been able to sleep on his right side since the incident.

Kuno was snuggled up to his back, her nose buried between his wings, hooves slipped under the wings themselves to hold around his chest and hug him close to her smaller form, a smile on her face as she slept.

A faint rumbling awoke them both.

Warden opened an eye, blinking slowly, lifting his head from the pillow. “Huh? earthquake?”

Kuno gave a sleepy whine, pawing at his back weakly. “It’s just a tremor, go back to sleep.”

“Doesn’t feel like a tremor,” Warden murmured, frowning and furrowing his brow, pushing himself from the bed. Dropping down onto three hooves, the pegasus limped over to the window, peering out into the dark icy wastes.

Off to the north, the Northern Lights were being drowned out by light pollution. Some kind of bright magical light was glowing and flickering over the horizon, throwing up a massive white glow interspersed with floating feather-like glows, like white fireworks in the dark night.

Warden looked back over his shoulder with a deep frown. “Kuno... I think you’re gonna have to head into town.”

Kuno whined faintly, pushing herself to her hooves. “Wha? Why?”

“I... I think that’s a remnant of the Crystal Empire, and anything throwing up that kind of magic is bad news.”

Regifting

Warden limped as fast as he could, with Green Hoof at his side, urging him faster, pushing against his good wing with her shoulder, helping to make him move.

Both ponies cast fearful glances back over their shoulders at the building black cloud of darkness behind them. A pair of vibrant eyes appeared in the centre of it, staring at them as the cloud expanded and chased them.

“Go. Faster!” Green Hoof almost snarled, pushing Warden to greater speeds.

Warden, with tears in his eyes and teeth bared in pain, galloped all the faster in response. The increased pace required him to run on all fours, especially when his hooves slipped on the icy path. Each time his bad right hoof came down on the ground, he winced and cried out in pain, but still Green Hoof pushed him to greater speed.

“Hurry up! I can’t carry you!” Green Hoof insisted, pushing him harder with her shoulder, beating him with a hoof in worry. “Go! Go! Go!”

Warden almost wanted to hit the earth pony back, but he knew that she could have already been at the safety of the shield wall if she wasn’t there urging him onwards.

The shield wall shimmered ahead of them, curving up into the sky as a giant half-sphere. Snowflakes hit the side of the shield and seemed to just disperse.

And still, Warden and Green Hoof bounded through the blinding flurries of snow.

Kuno had left the day before, heading for the nearest Royal Guard station, to tell them of what had happened. A quick scouting flight by the changeling the moment the sun had come up had confirmed that the Crystal Empire was back, and it was under some kind of spell. All of the ponies were fast asleep, and a black cloud was hovering around the tower.

A little later in the day, Warden and Green Hoof had been sitting on a hilltop overlooking the large city when they saw the Guard Captain, Shining Armor, bounding away from the tower, firing magic bolts at the black cloud. The black cloud had immediately begun to chase the unicorn, hunting him. The moment the black cloud left the city, the shield wall had gone up, and Shining Armor had teleported somewhere. Neither Warden nor Green Hoof had any clue where he went. After some roaring and angry growls, the black cloud had caught sight of them and begun chasing them!

“C’mon! We’re almost there!” Green Hoof urged, pushing the pegasus harder and harder with her shoulder.

Warden panted hard as he tried his best to keep his balance. He didn’t have much cause for exercise with his injuries, and had let himself get rather unfit. “I hope that shield isn’t solid!”

“It won’t be!” Green Hoof panted in response, though she looked a little worried, biting her bottom lip as the bounded side-by-side across the snow.

The two ponies reached the barrier, and launched themselves at it, shoulders-first, as though to try and break through it.

There was a surprising lack of resistance as they reached the barrier, barrelling right through it, the two of them tumbling through the barrier and onto the green grass on the other side, rolling over and over.

Warden came to a painful halt, wincing and grimacing heavily, his ears pinning back.

The black cloud snarled in anger as it brushed against the barrier, the eyes within the mist glowing angrily as it was withheld from entering.

Green Hoof shook one of her hooves at the dark cloud in triumph, before turning to help Warden back up.

Warden grimaced, putting his weight carefully on three hooves and beginning to limp heavily as Green Hoof corralled him towards the central tower.

“Warden?” Shining Armor asked, sounding amazed to see the pegasus.

On reflex, Warden saluted, holding his right hoof against his brow.

“Stand down, you’re no longer in the guard, you have no need to salute me,” Shining Armor said with a shake of his head.

“Reflex, I guess,” Warden said with a wry smile.

Warden, Green Hoof, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were standing in the large throne room of the Crystal Empire palace. Cadance’s horn was constantly glowing, keeping the shield wall up.

Shining Armor gently nudged his wife, and his own horn began to glow. Cadance gave a sigh of relief, allowing her spell to drop, while Shining Armor kept the spell going.

“This is new and strange,” Warden said, moving towards the balcony and peering out over the city. Ponies in the street were waking up, starting to move around. “How long have you two been here for?”

“We’ve been here only an hour or so, teleported right from Canterlot,” Shining Armor said, coming to stand at the balcony as well, casting a worried gaze towards the shield wall. “We managed to get Sombre out of the city, and the shield is keeping him out, but we have no way to defeat him. Even the princesses couldn’t truly defeat him.”

Warden frowned deeply. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

Shining Armor looked sideways at the pegasus, taking note of his bad leg and wing, before shaking his head. “Realistically, no. Just pick a room in the palace here and wait it out. Celestia is sending help.”

Warden looked up as the door to his room opened, and a pink-faced powder-blue pegasus stepped inside, panting faintly.

“Kuno?” Warden asked, recognizing the form that Kuno took when they were in public.

Kuno nodded, looking about before shivering and dropping her changes, a flash of green light revealing the changeling standing there. She moved to the bed, pulling herself up onto it next to Warden, still panting faintly.

“Had to fly like the wind to outrun Sombrero,” Kuno said breathlessly, shaking her head. “Haven’t flown like that for years.”

Warden nodded, rolling the changeling over and beginning to knead a hoof against her wings slowly. Kuno gave a low groan, melting into the touch, resting her head on a hoof, peering out over the balcony lazily. “The entire Crystal Empire is back?”

“Apparently. All the ponies are waking up again now that Sombre has been forced out,” Warden said with a gentle nod, kissing the changeling’s neck. “I’m glad you made it through.”

“Almost didn’t!” Kuno said with a wrinkled nose. “The guard station wanted me to go all the way to Canterlot to brief Celestia in person. I escaped though.”

Warden snorted once. “That’s the Royal Guard for you.”

“Your ex-comrades,” Kuno teased, rolling over to face him, before hugging him tightly.

“I was only part time!” Warden protested, nudging her with his nose with a smile.

“So, is there anything we can do?” Kuno asked worriedly, looking outside at the shield wall.

Warden shook his head. “At least, not that I can do. Shining Armor gave me that look you give to a brand new recruit wanting to take on a dragon.”

Kuno raised a brow slowly. “That happens often enough that there’s a specific look?”

“You’d be surprised,” Warden said with a smile, leaning in to kiss her nose affectionately. “So we’re stuck in here until Sombre goes away.”

“Ugh. But our farm is outside the field!” Kuno stated with a huff.

Warden nodded. “Indeed. But it’ll be fine for a little while, I guess. A few days wouldn’t be so bad... but...”

“But what?” Kuno asked, ears perking.

“Well, the exclusivity-”

“-That’s not even a word!-”

“-of our Crystal Ice Berries is very much in question what with the Crystal Empire coming back...” Warden finished, frowning.

Kuno huffed, frowning deeply. “Well maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll all just die.”

Warden blinked slowly.

Kuno gave him her sweetest smile, batting her eyelids at him.

Warden just shook his head, bopping the changeling on the nose.

Three long, long days was the length of time that passed before Warden, Kuno, and Green hoof could return to the farm. Thankfully, Sombre hadn’t decided to destroy the place, and rather than some wilting in the berries, everything was untouched. Enough time had passed that the crystal sheen in their coats had faded, and Kuno especially was happy about this. She had looked quite strange as a crystal changeling.

Immediately, Warden, Kuno, and Green Hoof all set about feeding the vines more snowflakes. They had a very amazing process of moisture-consumption that was entirely magical in nature. Any snowflakes that fell near them were absorbed by the leaves of the vines, turned into nourishing water inside the vine and leaves themselves, to feed the growing berries. The two ponies and changeling took turns dumping buckets of snow over the crystal ice vines, and gathering the ripe berries from the second field. The berries weren’t locked into any seasonal produce, as they just needed bitter cold to flourish. Warden had decided to grow one field, and have the other in a state of harvest, so that there were always ripe berries to be had.

It was midway through this process that they got their visitors.

An entire family of crystal ponies forged their way through the snow to come to the field. An older grandfather pony, his daughter, her husband, and their two children.

The five of them just stared in silence at the house and the field. Warden noticed them, but was unsure what to say. Before he could make his mind up, the family turned to leave, beginning a sad, weary march back towards the Crystal Empire.

Warden limped after the family, calling after them. “Hey! Wait!”

The grandfather peeled off from the ground, turning to face Warden. “ ‘lo, youngster.”

Warden paused then, peering at the older pony in confusion. “What’re you all doing out here?”

The older pony frowned, and then gave a soft sigh. “We... had land out here. Before... Somber. A huge field of Ice Berries, a manor, pets...”

Warden’s ears pinned back at that, and he sat down on his rump, biting his bottom lip. “You owned that land?”

“Everything is gone,” the older pony said with a shake of his head. “The manor, the fields... everything is gone.”

Warden nodded gently. The house that was there was only a few decades old. No home would have lasted a thousand years.

“I... I don’t know what I can do to help, but... I do have more fields, and not enough workers to tend to them. You could work for me?” Warden offered hopefully.

The older pony paused at that, rubbing a hoof against his chin thoughtfully. “You got room for five ponies in that house?”

“More than enough,” Warden said with a warm smile.

“You got a deal, young un!” the older pony said, grinning and turning to his family, putting a hoof to his muzzle and whistling.

The four ponies looked back at that, before trudging towards them again.

“Our home is gone, but we’re gonna work for this nice pony, mmkay?” the older pony said.

The two adults nodded, and the children bounced in place. “We don’t have to go back to the city? Yay!”

Warden sat in the swinging chair, with Kuno snuggled up against his side, in her natural form. Neither of them had been able to work. Between Green Hoof, and the three new crystal ponies, there just wasn’t enough work to go around. The crystal ponies had proven themselves to be insanely fast workers. Warden wasn’t even sure how they did it so fast, it didn’t seem possible.

“This is... not what I was expecting,” Warden murmured, gently moving his hindlegs to keep the swinging chair rocking back and forth.

Kuno, in her pegasus form, nodded, kissing his neck gently. “It’s very... strange.”

“Aye... I don’t like watching them work and not being able to help,” Warden admitted, looking down at the floor of the swinging chair in a sad way.

“You were slowing them down, you know,” Kuno pointed out in a teasing manner, wrapping her hooves around him. “And now I have you to myself again, without all this work to get in the way.”

“I know, and I enjoy that... but... these people didn’t ask for this,” Warden said with a frown. “They used to own all this land, had a working staff of twelve ponies and eighteen fields. They were having a vacation in the city when the whole thing happened. And now they’re back and everything is gone...”

“Life is like that,” Kuno said with a soft frown, nuzzling into Warden’s neck. “What could we do about it?”

“...We could give them the farm,” Warden said quietly.

“What?” Kuno asked with a single blink.

“We could give them the farm,” Warden reiterated.

“But... this is your dream,” Kuno said, frowning deeply, her ears pinning back. “This is the fruition of everything you ever wanted.”

“Dreams change,” Warden said quietly.

“You have a new dream?” Kuno asked gently, nuzzling into him.

Warden nodded, leaning against her slightly and kissing her cheek. “Some days, my new dream is to just walk and fly like I used to...”

Kuno’s ears splayed back, and she hugged him firmly. “I’m sorry, Warden...”

“Don’t be,” Warden said with a bitterness in his tone. “It’s not your fault. And anyhow, the other dream I have... I just... I wanna get old with you. That’s it.”

Kuno stared at the pegasus for a long moment, tears brimming in her eyes, before she hugged him with a fierce intent. “You sweet-talking monster. You had better not be saying this just to get filthy, depraved sex!”

“That’d be a downgrade,” Warden teased, smiling and kissing her nose.

Kuno swatted him with a hoof, shaking her head. “Naughty pegasus!”

Warden smiled, leaning against the changed pegasus and rubbing his cheek against her own. “Just... I already have what I need to be happy... and this poor family. I could give them everything they need to be happy again. The adults don’t let on, but they don’t like working for somepony.”

kuno nodded gently. “I’ve seen that.”

“The grandfather is too close to the end to be bitter... but the kids? I don’t want to be somepony that just sits on the sidelines and earns money from other ponies’ work.” Warden sighed, shaking his head.

Nodding again, Kuno gently stroke a hoof over his good wing. “It’s up to you, Warden. Whatever decision you make, I’ll respect it.”

Warden looked out over the road leading away from the farm, where a carriage was trundling up along the rarely-used road.

“So, how long you going for?” the older pony asked, looking Warden up and down. “We’ll make sure the farm don’t fall into disrepair.”

Warden gave a wan smile, while pegasus Kuno pushed past, holding her most precious things in her hooves. Her collar, and the winged lion he had won for her at the fair so very long ago.

“I’m not coming back,” Warden stated.

The pony scratched his head. “You’re promoting me to farm manager?”

Warden shook his head slowly, reaching into his bag and pulling out the deed to the farm, passing it to the older pony.

The older pony’s eyes widened, and he blinked slowly, dumbstruck. “You’re... giving...”

“Giving you the farm, yes,” Warden said, wiggling the deed in front of his face gently. “Take it.”

The pony took the deed with shaking hooves, his eyes watering. “Thank you young’un, thank you. My children thank you, my grandchildren thank you, my entire family thanks you!”

Warden smiled, placing a hoof on the older pony’s shoulder. “Send me a bottle of wine once in a while, yeah?”

“I promise,” the pony said with an earnest nod, taking a step back so that Warden could climb into the carriage.

In far too short a time, Warden and Kuno were in the carriage, being borne back towards Ponyville.

“You don’t hate me for giving up the farm, do you?” Warden asked of Kuno, his tone concerned.

Kuno frowned a little bit. “Why would I?”

“Because you gave it to me as a gift in the first place...” Warden pointed out, pursing his lips.

Kuno smiled faintly, shifting closer to him and throwing her hooves around his neck. “It’s just a farm. I have you, and that’s all I need.”

Homecoming

A light rain was falling on the cottage when the carriage pulled up the long drive and stopped in front of it.

Warden stepped down out of the carriage carefully, followed shortly after by Kuno in her pegasus form. The light rain sprinkled down over their heads and wings, and Warden extended his left wing over Kuno to keep her dry. Kuno smile, nuzzling into his wing and then pressing close to his side, ducking her head to keep under the wing.

Both of them paused then, to stare at the cottage where it had all began. For Warden, it was where he had spent his happiest years with Swarm. It was where he had lived when he lost her, lost his battle with addiction, and lost his battles with Daggertail’s tyranny. It was also where he had found Kuno, where she had helped him out of the pits. It was a place of mixed feelings for him.

For Kuno, it was the cottage where she had fallen in love, where she had discovered the true meaning of the thing she fed upon.

The year since the incident with Sunshine and Daggertail’s cronies had left the building in a state of disrepair. The front windows were broken, with a single jagged shard of glass left in one pane. The front door was crooked from where it had been kicked in. One of the panes of glass were missing.

Warden walked up to the front door, while the draw-horses started unloading the luggage, erecting a flimsy shelter to place the bags under so the rain wouldn’t get to them immediately. Kuno kept close to his side, peering up at the dark cottage.

“No place like home, huh?” Kuno asked with a wry smile.

Warden nodded, pushing open the door and stepping inside.

Damp, mildew, and the scent of mold met their entrance. Water was seeping in from a crack in the roof, and was running down one of the walls, creating a dark stain in the carpet.

“Promising,” Warden stated, and waiting for Kuno to walk ahead a few steps before he shook himself off to get the beading water off his wings.

Warden followed after Kuno, as she twisted and shivered, her entire form flash green and revealing her true form. She cast her gaze back and forth, wrinkling her nose. “Smells... strange.”

“We had another tenant here for a few months. He was strangely obsessed with mushrooms,” Warden explained, grimacing. “Turns out he wasn’t a dab hoof at fixing things, either.”

“I hope our room is okay,” Kuno said, bounding away. A gasp from the changeling and then a low moan of apprehension didn’t lend itself to any kind of hope in Warden’s mind.

Peeking around the corner, Warden saw what Kuno was groaning about. The window in their former room had been shattered, and the rain was coming in uninhibited, splashing directly across the bed. The covers were visibly wet, and the entire thing had the moth-eaten, discoloured look of mildew. It wasn’t fit for a mouse to sleep on, let alone a pony and changeling.

“Lovely,” Warden said with a slow shake of his head and a soft sigh.

Kuno huffed. “I’m not sleeping on that. My chitin will get all discoloured.”

Warden nodded, frowning. “We’ll find somewhere to sleep. I’ll try get somewhere dry set up before nightfall.”

Warden hummed faintly as he banged nails into the walls, boarding up the broken windows, trying to keep the rain out. The bags had been dragged into the laundry, which was one of the only rooms, outside of the bathroom, that was completely dry. The laundry, however, had a cement floor, and that was no good for sleeping on.

Kuno say beside him, watching with interest.

“The last tenant must have been a slob,” Kuno said with a shake of her head, as she held up a board for Warden to nail in.

Warden nodded. “A bit, I guess. He grew mushrooms though. So a bit of moisture wouldn’t have bothered him too much.”

“Still!” Kuno huffed. “Left the house in such a shambles!”

“And I kept his security deposit,” Warden said with a wry smile. “I think I’ll use it to buy candy canes and alcohol.”

“And cotton candy!” Kuno said, bouncing in place slightly.

Warden grinned, nodding. “If only to see the smile on your face.”

Kuno beamed at him, giving him a toothy grin.

“So...” Kuno said after a few moments, “Now that Green Hoof is staying back at the farm and we’ll never see her again, did you ever do anything with her?”

“Do anything with her?” Warden asked blankly.

Kuno nodded.

Warden gave an awkward sound at that. “Erm... yeah. Once.”

The changeling tilted her head. “Tell me about it.”

“Well... we’d been drinking brandy to keep warm, the radiator was broken, and we were snuggling up to eachother for the warmth... and you’d been gone for like, eight months...” Warden trailed off awkwardly, his ears pinned back.

Kuno raised a brow. “Don’t feel the need to defend your actions. I am not exactly ‘chaste’ as it were. And I certainly wasn’t chaste while I was away.”

Warden blinked, feeling an unfair stab of jealousy.

Snorting once, Kuno nudged him. “Oh come on. It’s just sex. It’s just two bits of anatomy rubbing against eachother to create pleasurable friction for a while.”

“I know... but still...” Warden trailed off, still holding a nail against the board, frowning deeply. “I just...”

“You’re jealous. Males are naturally jealous,” Kuno said with a smile.

“Aye, indeed we are,” Warden admitted, smiling wryly.

“So... was she any good?” Kuno asked with a leer.

Warden chuckled. “A gentlestallion never tells.”

“So you’ll tell me every groan and grunt, huh?” Kuno teased.

“She was lousy,” Warden admitted, shuddering faintly. “All hooves and lips, drooling over my face.”

“So I was better than her?” Kuno asked brightly.

“Definitely,” Warden said, leaning sideways to kiss her nose. “You’re the best. Ever.”

“Not just saying that to make me feel awesome?” Kuno asked warily.

Warden shook his head. “There’s something there when I’m with you... something different. It feels like... well... it feels like when I with Swarm...”

An uneasy silence settled over them, and kuno hugged him tightly from behind. “I understand... I felt the same thing, too. I get more than just sustenance when we do that... so much more. It makes me feel... whole. Like there’s a piece of the puzzle that you’re fitting into.”

Warden coughed uneasily. “Graphic.”

Kuno rolled her eyes and swatted his good shoulder with a hoof. “Pervert.”

An easy silence settled between them, before Kuno asked, “Why didn’t you and Swarm ever have any kids?”

Warden paused at that, going quiet. “I... we were young... we tried once or twice. Or well, we tried a lot of times without that goal in mind, to be frank. But it never took. I’d been checked out for my guard duties, part of the complete physical. Swarm had an appointment scheduled for a fertility doctor, but that was.... well that was just before she died...”

Kuno nodded gently, rubbing her cheek against his neck slowly. “So you wanted kids?”

“Aye, kids would be nice,” Warden admitted, banging the last nail into place. “But I’m happy with you. Lord knows you’re enough of a child as it is.”

“You’re no better!” Kuno complained, poking her tongue out at him and giggling.

After dragging their bags into the laundry, Warden pulled the blankets and pillows out of one of the bags, and took them to the bathroom.

Kuno watched with a raised brow, blinking at Warden slowly as he laid a doona out at the base of the tub, and then crawled in atop it. With some wriggling, he managed to make room for the changeling, patting the part of the tub besides him.

“You want us to sleep... in the bathtub?” Kuno asked, staring at him.

Warden nodded. “Only dry place in the house.”

Giving a rather unsure expression, Kuno delicately lowered herself into the tub as well, splaying out besides the pegasus. Warden pulled a blanket over them, tucking the sides in nice and neat.

“Hey, this is kinda cozy!” Kuno said with a giggle, leaning in to nuzzle at Warden’s throat.

Warden nodded with a smile, licking Kuno’s nose happily. “Indeed. And it’s only for a night.”

“And here I thought baths were the most fun you could have in the tub,” Kuno said with a happy smile.

Warden raised a brow slowly. “Obviously I’ve never seduced you in the tub.”

“I am a terrible influence on you,” Kuno said with a smile, kissing his nose and then kissing him on the lips firmly, purring.

Warden smiled and hugged the changeling, kissing her in response and then nodding. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The two of them lapsed into silence then, and Warden stared into Kuno’s eyes, looking thoughtful.

“What’s the matter?” Kuno asked after a few moments.

“Oh... Nothing. Just thinking.” Warden rubbed a hoof against the back of his head, ruffling his mane sheepishly.

“Thinking about what?” Kuno queried.

“Do you really want to know?” Warden asked with a faint sigh.

Kuno nodded earnestly.

“I was just... thinking about the possibility that I’ve been under a changeling spell this entire time, and that I’d wake up next to you with it worn off...” Warden admitted, frowning slightly.

Kuno’s ears splayed back at that. “You’re scared of that?”

“Absolutely terrified,” Warden admitted, hugging the changeling close and rubbing his nose against her neck slowly.

“I don’t have you under a spell...” Kuno said quietly, frowning herself and hugging him tightly, careful of his wing and hoof.

“I know... but the thought is still there,” Warden said with an apologetic smile. “And it’s scary...”

Kuno nodded gently, nuzzling into his neck. “Nopony wants to feel as though they’re not in control.”

Warden drew back, shaking his head at her and frowning deeply. “No, no... it’s not that. I just...” Sighing faintly, he leaned in to kiss the changeling again, squeezing her with his hooves. “I’m just terrified that there’s even the remotest chance that I’d wake up one day and no longer be in love with you.”

Kuno blinked at that, feeling her heart melt, swallowing past the lump rising in her throat and blinking the tears out of her eyes, before she buried her nose against Warden’s throat and held him close.

Instincts

Warden rummaged through the cupboards, huffing faintly. “He moved everything!”

Kuno looked over his shoulder, a brow raised. “Whatcha looking for anyhow?”

The pegasus frowned to himself, pushing aside an empty box of cat food. “Liquid nails,” he explained, sitting back on his haunches with a huff. “But they’re gone.”

“Liquid nails?” Kuno asked, blinking once.

“Silicon. Comes in a tube about yay long,” Warden held out his hooves a fair distance from eachother. “Hardens into a kind of firm clear stuff when it’s exposed to air. Plugs leak real good.”

“Oh, to fix the roof!” Kuno said with a happy nod, cottoning on.

Warden nodded in response, snorting once. “But they’re gone. Lord knows where it went. Ugh.”

There was a short silence, before Warden gave an ‘ah-hah!’ and moved into the kitchen, coming up from a cupboard with a hoofful of candles.

“Candles?” Kuno asked blankly.

Warden nodded and smiled, motioning outside with his nose. “I’ll show you.”

Warden carefully stood on the roof, keeping his weight above the bearing beams so he wouldn’t fall through. Kuno was balanced besides him, her wings fluttering slowly to keep some of her weight off the roof itself.

Warden was shielding a candle from the downdraft of Kuno’s wings, holding it over the crack in the roofing where water was seeping through. He had a long piece of tin nailed down already, and was just sealing up the cracks with the dripping candlewax. It only had to hold until he could get some proper roofing supplies.

“So... Why are we here, Warden?” Kuno asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.

Warden looked up, raising a brow, a candle clasped between his teeth. He transferred the candle to his good hoof, pursing his lips. “Well, you’d like a bed to sleep on, and we need the bath for things like bubble baths and drowning small animals.”

Kuno shook her head, giggling faintly. “No, silly. Why are we back here. We could have gone anywhere. Even to the griffon kingdom, but you came all the way back here.”

“Well, I did have a house just lying around doing nothing,” Warden said, rubbing a hoof against his chin thoughtfully. “Other than that... it’s familiar. I know ponies here.”

The changeling raised a brow slowly, and then shook her head. “Warden, it’s me. I know there’s a reason you gave up the farm so easily. You wanted to come back here.”

Warden gave a wan smile at that, putting the candle aside, resting it against a hindleg so it wouldn’t roll off the roof. “You know me too well...” he admitted, frowning slightly for a moment, before looking up at her carefully. “I just... I want to grow aurora again.”

“The super-hard-to-grow, explosive, narcotic, addictive wonder-drug aurora?” Kuno asked with a tilt of her head.

Warden nodded slowly.

“And you want to grow it again?” Kuno asked with a slow shake of her head. “Are you crazy?”

Warden smiled and then nodded calmly. “Yup. But... outside of you, growing aurora is about the only thing I have to be proud of. You know there’s only three growers left in all of Equestria? I checked.”

“So you gave up your dream... just so you could go chasing after aurora?” Kuno asked, raising a brow and perking an ear.

Warden frowned at that, and then shook his head. “No, not just that. It was more... those ponies owned that land originally, and they deserved to have it back. And I have a fallback that I rather enjoy doing.”

Kuno nodded gently. “Practical.”

“And you came with me, so I have everything I need,” Warden added with a smile.

Kuno giggled faintly, waving a hoof. “Stop trying to be cute, that’s my job.”

Warden nodded, picking up the candle and then clenching it between his teeth, limping to the edge of the roof and then beginning to carefully step down over the crates he had to stack up to get onto the roof. He reminded himself to buy a ladder. Back when his wings worked, owning a ladder had seemed laughable. Not any more.

Kuno gracefully landed beside him, peering at him sideways. “What happened to your aurora plants when you were in the hospital?”

“They withered and died. One of Daggertail’s cronies tried to take over the operation, and tried to work the vines himself. He died.” Warden said emotionlessly.

“He died?” Kuno asked with a slow blink.

“I never told you that aurora is poisonous?” Warden asked casually.

Kuno’s eyes widened and she shuddered. “No!”

“Oh, well... it releases spores. Of the magic kind.” Warden paused, pointing with a hoof towards his garden. “That plant there releases spores that counter the effects. Grows like a weed. I guess he didn’t know that. By the time the doctors figured out why he was having trouble breathing, he was already too far gone.”

“You put me near a poisonous plant without telling me?!” Kuno asked, aghast.

Warden shrugged, giving a helpless laugh. “You were in no danger. So long as you came back to the house afterwards.”

“Ugh, this aurora stuff is so... dangerous and crazy!” Kuno complained. “Why does it have to be so complicated. Can’t it just do one thing and leave it at that?”

Warden shook his head. “I already told that it’s a spliced plant from several other variations of herbs and the like, right?”

“Right,” Kuno responded with a nod. “Unicorns trying to make a super-plant.”

“Well, super plants usually have super defenses. Defenses against being destroyed by bugs, or plagues, or anything like that. And when they combined them, they gave up before they managed to phase out the dangerous bits of the plants. The entire project was just... cancelled. Took a crazy unicorn by the name of Earth Waker to say ‘hey, why don’t I try grow this thing?’.

And even that takes a combination of special herbs that you have to steep in boiling water, and then pour that over the vine. You have to keep the vine in the correct positioning wherever it’s growing, because once the bulbs grow, they put weight on the vine itself and can snap it off...” Warden trailed off, wrinkling his nose. “It’s so hard to grow... but it’s so rewarding when you finally get it right.”

Kuno nodded, leaning sideways to kiss his cheek. “Whatever makes you happy, Warden. Do you... think that I should get a job?”

Warden blinked once. “What would you get a job doing?”

“I’ve picked up a lot of skills in my time,” Kuno stated with a slow smile.

Warden paused at that, and then splayed his ears. “You’re not thinking of starting up a whorehouse or something, are you?”

Kuno gave a gasp, swatting the pegasus on the shoulder. “Pervert!”

Warden slowly raised a brow at the changeling.

“Okay! But it was only for a few seconds, honest!” Kuno said with a giggle.

Warden shook his head, hugging the changeling tightly. “I... kinda don’t want you to get a job.”

“Whyever not?” Kuno asked curiously.

Warden paused at that, looking down at his hooves, kicking a pebble. “Well... if you get a job, you won’t be around as much. I kinda like how you’re just... always there whenever I want you.”

“Awww, you’re so sweet,” Kuno said with a smile, nudging the pegasus gently with her nose. “But you also enjoy eating. I can go without food for months with you around... but I’m afraid that you wouldn’t last very long without sustenance.”

Warden gave a nod at that. “But if I go get a permit for growing aurora, I’ll get a stipend from the royal treasury as long as I pledge to sell a certain amount of my crop to the government.”

Kuno blinked once. “Oh... then what are you waiting for?!”

“I gotta go to Canterlot for that,” Warden said with a wrinkled nose. “Judging from my last walk there... it’ll take three hours. Maybe four. And I still have to make sure the house is all watertight, and buy blankets, and get out stuff unpacked...”

“Silly,” Kuno said, kissing his nose gently. “Go and get your permit. I’ll unpack all the stuff for you, and catch up to you when I’m done. Just don’t get eaten by something on the road there, kay?”

“I promise I won’t intentionally die,” Warden said, crossing a hoof over his heart and then kissing the changeling gently. “See you in Canterlot, then!”

Warden huffed hard as he stepped through the large front gates of Canterlot, his chest heaving with the exertion. The heat was getting to him. After living in the snow for the better part of a year, he was exceptionally unused to the warmth and humidity.

There was a rustle of movement besides him, and Kuno, in her pegasus form, straightened up, stretching and yawning faintly. “Had a good walk?”

Warden gave a grunt of annoyance, pushing the changeling with a hoof and shaking his head. “Tease.”

Kuno giggled, holding up a pouch and wiggling it in front of him. “You forgot your money.”

Warden blinked, looking chagrined, and then took the bag of money, opening it up and then passing a hoofful of coins to the changeling. “Go get yourself something nice, like a cake or something.”

“Can I get another collar?!” Kuno asked immediately, bouncing in place slightly. “The old one is getting... old. And raggedy!”

“If you really want to,” Warden said with a faint laugh.

Kuno grinned, bounding away down the street without another word.

Warden headed straight for the castle, seeking an audience with Celestia. It was a long, boring process of waiting in line after that. Ahead of him, at least a dozen other ponies sought to see the princess with issues trivial and important. All of them were impatient, but Warden tried his best not to fidget too much. Slowly, the line dwindled.

Kuno arrived after nearly an hour of Warden sitting in the waiting room. She had a brown box in her hooves, apparently holding her new collar, and she was bouncing slightly in place, further confirming his suspicions.

“Oh, go on then, show me,” Warden said with a smile.

Kuno immediately popped the box open, producing a new red collar with gold banding on it. A neat line of stitchwork had been inlaid, which, upon close examination, said ‘Property of Warden’.

Warden just shook his head, smiling and kissing the pegasus on the cheek. “You are so goofy.”

“I can’t wait until we get home!” Kuno said with a happy little bounce. “I’ll even let you put another tether on it if you ask nicely!”

“You mean if I cave into your persistent begging?” Warden asked with a raised brow.

“Same difference!” Kuno said with an airy wave of a hoof, snuggling up against Warden’s side. She’d barely even gotten comfortable when a guardpony called, ‘Warden!’

“That’s me,” Warden said with a grimace, gently disentangling himself from the changed pegasus. “I’ll be back soon.”

Kuno huffed faintly, hugging the box containing her new collar to her chest, and watching him with a surly expression. “I want extra snuggles when you get back!”

Warden was gone for a long time. Longer than any other pony had been. It wasn’t long at all before Kuno was bored, and began to pore over the magazines left there as reading material. It was partway through reading an article on the differences between mules and ponies in socially strenuous circumstances, when she felt a tugging at her forehoof.

Kuno tilted the magazine away, peering down at the floor, where a very small unicorn foal was staring up at her with big, amazingly blue eyes. “Apple fwitter?” the baby asked in a garbled accent.

Blinking again, Kuno gave an uncertain frown. “I’m sorry little one... I don’t have any apple fritter.”

“Apple fwitter...?” the baby asked, in a much less enthusiastic tone.

Kuno bit her bottom lip, frowning slightly. She rummaged in the collar box for a few moments, coming up with a carefully wrapped donut she had been saving for a mid-flight snack on the way home. She held it out towards the baby. “Is this good enough?”

Wordlessly, the baby took the donut and gobbled it up. One moment it was there, the next it was just gone.

“Frank yew,” the baby said, pulling itself up against the changed pegasus and snuggling in under her wing without hesitation, promptly falling sleep.

Warden came strutting out of the royal chambers with a decree held between his teeth. An official-looking seal rested on the rolled parchment.

Kuno looked up, giving a sigh of relief, beckoning him over closer.

Warden came to stand besides her, grinning. “I got it! I got the permit!”

“I knew you would,” Kuno said with a warm smile.

“Well, time to get going, then. A lot to prepare for!” Warden said, bouncing slightly in place.

Kuno gave a strained expression. “I can’t!”

“Whyever not?” Warden asked blankly.

Kuno delicately pulled her wing back, to reveal the sleeping foal under it, contentedly curled up there.

“You stole a foal?!” Warden asked, aghast.

“No!” Kuno protested immediately, huffing faintly. “What even... just... he sort of... just came up to me asking for food. And I didn’t know what to do and he just crawled up there and he’s so frigging cute!”

Warden suppressed a laugh, shaking his head. “The parents haven’t come hunting for him?”

“Not yet,” Kuno said, looking worriedly left and right. “They won’t think I stole him, will they?”

Warden’s response was interrupted by an earth pony galloping past, looking hurriedly into the room and then bounding to the next doorway.

With a shake of his head, Warden moved to the doorway, beckoning to the earth pony. The earth pony ran over to Warden, and then followed him to Kuno. Kuno lifted her wing again, revealing the little foal tucked under there.

The earth pony gave a relieved sigh and laughed. “Oh thank Celestia, I was having images of him finding the blasted balcony!”

Kuno smiled faintly, offering the foal to the pony. The earth pony took the foal in his hooves, and the little unicorn huffed and rolled over, mumbling something completely incoherent before falling back to sleep. “Thank you!” the earth pony said, before bolting off, presumably to take the foal back to it’s mother.

Kuno stared after him, looking wistful.

“Something the matter?” Warden asked curiously.

Kuno turned back towards him, and was silent for several long, long moments, before she said quietly. “I want a baby.”

Four hours. Four long hours of walking and talking, and Kuno and Warden finally arrived back at the cottage. They had decided on several things. Kuno wanted a baby, Warden wasn’t against the idea, and they’d already performed the prerequisite activities for a baby enough times on various occasions that it was almost completely impossible to fathom that they could ever succeed.

Kuno was the one who came to the ultimate conclusion though, as they were both stepping in the front door.

There was only one person in the entire world who knew enough about changelings to know if it was even possible for them to have a child together.

They would have to go see Queen Chrysalis.

Royalty

Kuno and Warden walked side-by-side, hooves kicking up puffs of dust from the barren, dry ground. The earth was the colour of mud, but there was no moisture here. Not in the Badlands.

It had been a full day since they had departed from the train at the stop closest to Badlands: Dodge City.

Kuno had opted to take the form of an earth pony for the trip, one of the regular forms that Warden was beginning to recognize. This iteration of Kuno was a little larger than warden, with a yellow coat and brown mane. She was singularly unimpressive and unremarkable, and that was fine with her.

Warden’s limp had become ever more pronounced the further south they went. He denied it, but his gimpy leg was paining him quite badly.

“So, how’re we gonna find your rellies?” Warden asked between clenched teeth, trying to make his tone seem normal.

“Oh, they’ll find us,” Kuno replied confidently.

“Couldn’t ask Celestia, or check the library?” Warden asked breathlessly. Coupled with the pain, he was severely unfit from never doing any exercise other than planting seeds and collecting berries.

“Celestia still thinks we’re all hatched from a single mother,” Kuno said with an exasperated shake of her head.

Warden mulled that over for several long seconds. “So... no eggs then?”

Kuno shook her head, pursing her lips.

Warden gave a long-suffering sigh. “And here I was thinking of the world's largest omelette.”

“So...” Warden asked, as they walked side-by-side down a narrow canyon. “What makes you think that Chrysalis would know all of this stuff?”

“She is the queen,” Kuno pointed out, with a helpless shrug of her shoulders. “If anypony knows, it would be Chrysalis.”

“And Chrysalis is definitely here in the Badlands?” Warden queried.

Kuno nodded grimly. “I can sense her. I was... part of the hive for a brief time, but I established a link with the collective when I was. It doesn’t take much to probe the link.”

“What’s that feel like, anyhow?” Warden asked curiously.

Kuno frowned at that, looking thoughtful. “Well... it’s sort of like a thousand voices whispering in the back of your mind. It’s really just white noise until you focus on a single whisper to understand. Sort of like... trying to hear a single conversation in a crowded room. It’s all just background noise.”

Warden gave a nod at that, pausing and then sitting down on his rump with a heavy sigh. “I need to rest.”

Kuno turned back towards him, sighing and shaking her head, moving to sit besides him. “You shouldn’t have come with me. Should have stayed at home and got your Aurora farm going.”

Grimacing faintly, Warden dropped down onto his stomach and stretched his bad hoof out, giving a faint groan of relief. “You know I’m not gonna let you out of my sight like that.”

“Afraid I won’t come back?” Kuno asked teasingly.

Warden went silent for a long moment, looking at his forehooves.

Kuno frowned, nudging her nose against his cheek gently. “You don’t really think that, do you?”

“I know it’s stupid...” Warden admitted, frowning at his hooves, rubbing at the dust with his good one. “But... every time I think of you going somewhere, my heart skips a beat and I think I might not ever see you again...”

Kuno made a soft, apologetic sound, throwing her hooves around his neck and squeezing gently. “I’m not going anywhere, Warden.”

“Chrysalis might have other ideas.” Warden looked up at Kuno, his ears drooping.

“She couldn’t keep me from you with her entire army,” Kuno said confidently, purring softly and nuzzling into his neck.

Warden lifted his good hoof to hook around Kuno’s middle, hugging her gently. “You know we could adopt, right?”

Kuno nodded gently, setting her jaw. “But it wouldn’t be the same. I want a foal. I want your foal.”

Blinking once, Warden tilted his head to the side. “Why is it so important to you?”

“What’s the closest two ponies can ever get?” Kuno asked suddenly.

Warden gave the changeling a long stare. “I guess... hugging? Kissing? Sex?”

Kuno nodded gently, and then gave him a level stare, locking her eyes with his own. “That’s what intimacy is. Two ponies trying to occupy the same space. Even if for just an instant. That’s what physical love is to me. It’s two ponies getting so close that they truly touch. Everything we do... when we kiss, our saliva doesn’t really mix. Our tongues don’t meld. Our hooves don’t really connect because they still belong to us. But a foal... a foal is part of us both. It’s proof that we came together for an instant, that our essences mixed.”

Warden nodded at that, gently nuzzling his cheek against her neck slowly. “I keep forgetting how deep you can be sometime.”

“I hide it behind goofiness,” Kuno said calmly, smiling and kissing his cheek. “If there was ever a pony I wanted to get that intimate with... it’s you, Warden. I want us to truly connect...”

“And?” Warden asked, pressing her for more with a knowing smile on his face.

“And foals are cute,” Kuno added with a helpless smile. “Plus, you and I? The foal will be a walking heart-attack factory!”

Warden nodded, gently nosing into his fiancee’s neck.

“I’m very proud of you, Warden,” Kuno said quietly.

Warden blinked once, raising a brow.

Kuno gave him a long, sober stare, before breaking into a goofy grin. “All of those openings and you didn’t make a single lewd joke!”

A cold night spent cuddled up to eachother in the light of glowing coals, and Warden and Kuno had progressed further into the Badlands than Warden had ever wanted to go. It had been miles since they had seen the last thing. There was no grass here, just dust, and jagged rocks thrusting themselves up through the earth like teeth.

“I wish Sunshine was still alive,” Kuno said suddenly.

Warden blinked once, unsure what to make of that. “Wha?”

“I killed him far too quickly,” Kuno said simply. “If it weren’t for him, we’d be there and back by now.”

“How far is it even to the hive?” Warden asked glumly, kicking a stone.

Kuno paused at that, looking thoughtful. “A while yet... at least another few hours.”

“After this is over, I’m going to sleep for like, eight years,” Warden stated, pausing again and sitting down heavily on his rump, stretching his bad hoof out in front of him.

Kuno nodded and splayed herself out besides him. “Kinda glad I chose a darker fur colour. You look like you rolled in the mud.” Kuno lifted a hoof, swatting his rump and then giggling at the puff of dust and the outline it left in his dirty fur.

“I need a bath,” Warden admitted, nodding once. “I might even drag you in with me.”

“I wouldn’t say no,” Kuno replied with a low purr, snuggling up against his side, pushing her way under his wing.

“You’re cute,” Warden said with a smile, nuzzling into her neck slowly.

“You’re just crawling for sex,” Kuno accused, swatting his rump.

Warden gave a wry smile at that. “Actually no, I’m a little too tired and worn out for something that strenuous.”

“A male turning down sex?” Kuno asked with a slow shake of her head, smiling faintly. “Now I really have seen it all.”

Eyes fluttering open, Warden stared up, and up, and up, into the eyes of a giant stonewolf.

Stonewolves were a rather less-publicized version of the timberwolves of the Everfree forest. Rather than being made of wood, these were composed entirely of jagged stones. A pair of glowing red eyes completed the terrifying ensemble.

Warden immediately backpedaled in reflexive fear, kicking at the dirt with his hooves, wincing in pain as he stretched his bad hoof, and his wings bumped against the rock behind him.

After several long moments, Warden managed to cogitate on the fact that there was a changeling standing behind the wolf.

Kuno stepped forwards calmly, looking up at the stonewolf. She lifted a hoof. The stonewolf snarled faintly, growling down at her, before leaning in and snuffling at her hoof for a moment, eyes narrowing. After a moment, it ‘arf!’ed and took a step backwards.

A soft hissing, clicking sound left the changeling, and it made a motion with a hoof.

“We have to follow him,” Kuno said calmly.

Warden nodded slowly, eyes wide, not taking his eyes off the wolf.

“Is this normal?” Warden whispered to Kuno, motioning towards the wolf following behind them.

Kuno shook her head, whispering back: “Chrysalis was talking about charming the stonewolves... but I didn’t think it was possible.”

“It’s kinda creepy,” Warden admitted quietly.

“Then it’s succeeding in its intent,” Kuno said with a wry smile.

Another hour of walking, this time with a stonewolf behind them, and they were at the base of the tower.

The tower was a giant black spire of something that looked rather like Kuno’s chitin. Hundreds of holes were visible along the sides of the spire, each of them filled with the glowing eyes of changeling, watching the new arrivals. Kuno gave an apologetic look to Warden, before a flash of green consumed her and she reverted back to her natural form.

Warden pressed close to his fiancee, afraid of losing her amongst the likenesses.

Up and up and up they were led, climbing a winding, zig-zagging staircase towards the top of the tower, until they emerged into the throne room.

The throne room was a large, open-air platform at the top of the tower. There were three giant floor-to-ceiling windows, that gently tapered to a smooth point at the ceiling. The windows themselves were comprised of what appeared to be hexagonal cells made of glass, giving the world outside a distorted, many-faceted appearance.

The stonewolf behind them pressed closer, and Warden jumped in place, yelping as he felt it’s nose against the small of his back, just above his tail. A large, stone paw lifted and pressed down on his back, quickly pinning him to the floor, and the stonewolf slunk up his form, until its nose was pressed against his forehead, red eyes staring down into his own.

Warden gave a faint whimper.

The stonewolf snorted once, and then stepped off him, walking towards one of the windows. A flash of green light consumed the stonewolf, and when it faded, Chrysalis was standing in its place.

“You come into our home... and you bring... this, with you?” Chryslis asked flatly.

Kuno shrunk back slightly, before glancing at Warden and then puffing her chest up, standing up straight and tall. “He is my fiancee.”

Chrysalis raised a brow at that, slowly turning back to face the pair. Her eyes narrowed slowly, and she gave a contemptuous snort. “He loves you despite of your species?” Kuno opened her mouth to respond, and Chrysalis lifted a hoof, halting her. “Let him speak himself. He has a tongue.”

Warden swallowed hard at that, his ears pinning back. “Y-yeah. I love her.”

“You would love a changeling?” Chrysalis asked, pressing close to the pegasus and trailing a hoof along his wing slowly, whispering into his ear, “You would willingly give yourself to a changeling?”

A tingle of magic arced between the queen and the pegasus, and Warden quivered faintly, his face slackening.

Kuno moved to stop the queen, and Chrysalis hissed at her dangerously, bringing the smaller changeling up short.

“Tell me, pegasus... you would give up everything for me?”

Warden existed in a grey haze, and Kuno was in front of him, asking him these questions. He nodded enthusiastically. “I would cross the sky for you, even with a broken wing.’

Chrysalis withdrew then, and the gray haze dropped. Warden blinked rapidly, lifting a hoof to his head and wincing.

“Dumb meat,” Chrysalis stated, waving a hoof dismissively. “It would take exceptional stupidity to love a changeling. I am unsurprised.” Kuno growled faintly, and Chrysalis rounded on her, eyes narrowing. “You would challenge me?” she asked silkily, her horn crackling with energy. Kuno shrunk back slightly, though her gaze was set.

Chrysalis snorted again, turning away. But before she turned, Warden caught something in her gaze as she stared at Kuno. He thought it might have been... envy.

“What did you come here for? Are you offering this dumb meat to me?” Chrysalis asked simply.

Kuno growled again, splaying her forehooves angrily. ‘Never!”

“Then speak, child. What is it?” Chrysalis asked, growling faintly.

“I...” Kuno trailed off, biting her bottom lip, deflating greatly. “I... want to know if it’s possible for us to have children.”

Chrysalis gave a low, low laugh at that, a building rumble in the back of her throat. “So it is not just the pegasus who is smitten?” she asked simply, giving a slow, malicious grin. “How different must you be raised where you come from to fall in love with a pony. What delicious irony.”

Kuno growled again, stamping a hoof. “I knew this would happen. Warden, we’re leaving.”

Chrysalis held up a single hoof, and it was a mark of how much power her presence had that both Kuno and Warden stopped mid-step.

“It would be... possible. You would have to be in pony form for the entirety of the conception, the carrying of the foal, and the birth. Any change magic would cause the foal to simply... cease to be.”

Kuno’s ears splayed back at that, and she frowned deeply. “I figured as much... but thank you for the confirmation.”

Chrysalis snorted once, waving a hoof. “Another mindless drone to add to the horde of ponies,” she stated flatly. “You sicken me. Leave my presence.”

Without another word, Chrysalis motioned towards the ceiling with her horn, and a long black staircase descended. The changeling queen stepped up the stairs, before they magically retracted, sealing the room from outside interference. Before the stairs were fully closed though, Warden caught sight of what appeared to be a tattered pony-plushie on Chrysalis’ bed. He was sure he saw a glimpse of a dirty blue mane, but then the stairs closed.

“She knew we were here the whole time?” Warden asked, rubbing a hoof against his temple.

“She probably sensed me the moment I entered the Badlands... probably came out to meet us as the stonewolf as some kind of reconnaissance,” Kuno said with a shake of her head. “C’mon, we’re leaving.”

As they were walking back through the horde of changeling, Warden was pushed to the ground by a changeling, and then a zap of magic hit him in the face. In an instant, Kuno was at his side, dragging him away. “C’mon, run!”

Warden bounded after her, his heart thudding in his ears, trying to wipe his face to figure out what had happened to it.

After a few minutes of running, Warden had to stop, taking shelter with Kuno behind a rock formation. Warden’s mind was buzzing with something from the magic hit, and it was hard to focus. “ugh, got me right in the face...” he murmured, rubbing a hoof against his cheek.

Kuno gave a worried frown, scooching closer to him and lifting her hooves to tenderly stroke over his cheeks. “Doesn’t look to be any damage... maybe an attempted stun? Doesn’t seem to have done much damage.”

Warden nodded, wincing faintly and grimacing. “Feels like my entire head is numb... or maybe just my mind. Like I haven’t slept in days.”

Kuno gave a worried frown at that, leaning forwards and kissing his nose, and then his lips, purring softly. “Let me kiss it better.”

Warden blinked once, his brows raising, before he purred faintly and leaned into the kiss, throwing a hoof around the changeling.

A smile spread across Kuno’s face, and she shifted closer, trailing a hoof down his form. “Doesn’t all this danger just excite you?” the changeling whispered faintly, a lustful note in her tone.

Warden nodded dumbly, pressing into Kuno’s form eagerly.

A roar from nearby made them both look up. Kuno’s eyes widening, and she leaned aside to peer towards the tower. “D-dragon!” she hissed in warning, pushing at Warden’s shoulder. “Hide!”

“They have a dragon?!” Warden asked, his eyes wide, pressing himself against the rock with a scared whimper.

“Y-yeah, that’s it!” Kuno stuttered. “They have a dragon!”

A shadow passed over them, and Warden looked up to see the golden eyes of a blue dragon staring straight down at them. “I-It sees us...” Warden whispered, clasping his hooves around Kuno tightly, staring fearfully up at the flying shape.

With a shake sigh, he pushed the changeling away, and then stepped away from the rock. “Run Kuno! I’ll distract it... I’d never outrun it anyhow. Run!”

Kuno glanced up at the dragon, back at him, and then immediately turned away, taking to the air and sprint-flying towards the tower at top speed.

Warden barely spared her a glance, focused on the dragon. He swallowed hard, closing his eyes as the dragon got closer.

A swoop of wings and Warden was snatched up by the dragon’s large paw, carried away.

Warden found it amazing that even in the claws of a dragon, he was getting bored. It had been a full hour since the dragon had swooped down and snatched him up, and now he was resting, albeit comfortably, in the dragon’s large paw. Escape was impossible. He had already tried to wiggle out. The fall to the ground would be fatal with his broken wing, either way.

Another half an hour, and Warden felt the paw shift. There was the sensation of them dropping, and then he was deposited delicately at the shore of a river. He blinked up at the dragon uncertainly, his eyes wide.

The dragon snorted once, smoke rising from its nostrils, staring down at him in response.

Warden gave an uncertain motion of a hoof. “Uh... hi there big dragon. Please don’t eat me?”

The dragon snorted again, seemingly amused. It twisted its head, leaning in close and staring at him. A large paw lifted, and a single claw extended.

Warden shirked back from the claw, closing his eyes and waiting for it to grind him into the ground. The clawtip delicately touched his forehead, and suddenly his mind cleared.

Suddenly, Warden was aware of everything. The magic blast in the crowd of changeling had worked. It had tricked him into thinking that the changeling he went with was Kuno. It hadn’t been!

Warden looked up at the dragon with a sudden new understanding, eyes wide. “K-Kuno?” he squeaked.

The dragon gave a wry smile at that, and then shivered all over. A flash of green encompassed its form, and a puff of smoke filled the air around it. Kuno came staggering out of the smoke, giving a cough that sent forth a single tongue of flame. She looked up at Warden with a weary smile.

“Bloody... changelings...” Kuno murmured, before she collapsed.

Exposition

Kuno stirred slowly, her eyes fluttering open and a low groan leaving her muzzle.

“Water,” the changeling croaked, her voice raspy.

A moment later, a water canteen was pressed against her lips, and she drew the end of it between her two large front teeth, suckling several large gulps of water. After several seconds, she drew back and panted hard for breath, blinking slowly up at Warden.

“How long have I been out for?” Kuno asked, trying her best to it up. The world tilted crazily, and she gave a low groan, immediately laying back down, closing her eyes.

“A day,” Warden said, as he stoppered the canteen and set it aside, frowning down at the changeling. A gentle hoof touched at her cheek, and then lifted one of her eyelids, peering down into the depths of her eye. Warden pursed his lips. “This would be so much easier if you had pupils.”

Kuno snorted once, pushing his hoof away and and then throwing a hoof over her face. “I feel terrible.”

“You turned into a dragon,” Warden pointed out, sitting down besides her, and then laying himself out gently along her side, rubbing a hoof down her form soothingly.

Kuno nodded, keeping her eyes closed and a hoof over her face. “Indeed I did.”

“I didn’t even know you could do that!” Warden gushed, wrapping his hooves around her. “That’s awesome.”

“Awesome and entirely death-defying,” Kuno murmured, squirming slightly in against the pegasus and nosing under his wing, pulling it over her face to block out the light.

“So it’s not a normal thing to do?” Warden asked, gently stroking a hoof down her form over her wings.

Kuno shook her head weakly. “I’ve only ever heard of one other changeling doing it. And that was my former Queen. An entire army of the Royal Guard where I’m from cornered my former queen... she turned into a dragon and decimated their ranks.”

Warden nodded gently, stroking a hoof down Kuno’s side slowly. “And what happened?”

“She died when she changed back,” Kuno stated simply.

Warden’s ears pinned back. “She... died?”

“The transformation takes energy, both ways. She was a very strong queen... maybe even as strong as Chrysalis. But the amount of energy needs to transfer that amount of mass... It gets harder and harder the larger you go. An alicorn is a small step up, a minotaur starts to get really strenuous and anything larger than that requires immense energy...” Kuno trailed off, nosing gently against Warden’s wing and giving a faint sigh. “At least she didn’t suffer... she just... died.”

“So... you’re not originally part of Chrysalis’ hive?” Warden queried.

Kuno shook her head against his wing. “No, my hive was from across the sea... I don’t really like to talk about it...”

Warden nodded gently at that, stroking his hoof soothingly down her form. “What... happened at the hive?”

“Which part specifically?” Kuno asked wearily.

“Well... all of it, really,” Warden said, rubbing his temple. “It’s all just a giant blur to me.”

“What do you remember?”

“I remember... waking up this morning. And heading towards the Badlands... But after that I can’t... remember...” Warden scrunched up his face, trying to concentrate, to focus.

Kuno nodded gently. “Changeling magic. It muddles your mind. It’s how we integrate with our target’s life at first.”

Warden nodded, frowning. “If I wasn’t trying to remember, then I wouldn’t even really notice...”

Carefully, Kuno peered around the edge of Warden’s wing, blinking up at the light slowly. “Well, first thing, we were met by a Stonewolf and a changeling.”

“Did it try to eat me?” Warden asked, concerned.

Kuno shook her head. “It was on a strict diet. No junk food.”

Warden rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, the stonewolf was Chrysalis-”

“-woah woah woah. the Stonewolf was Chrysalis?” Warden cut across her.

Kuno nodded once.

Warden blinked slowly. “But... why?”

“Reconnaissance.”

Warden raised a brow slowly. “But... why not just get a changeling there?”

“So she could size us up before we got to the tower, I guess,” Kuno said helplessly. “I barely know her. It might be tradition.”

Warden nodded reasonably. “And after that?”

“Well, we went into the tower. And I spoke with Chrysalis.”

Warden frowned deeply, rubbing a hoof against his temple. “I remember... something like honeycomb.”

“The windows,” Kuno said with a slight smile. “They’re constructed from hexagonal pieces of glass. Makes them look a bit like honeycomb, yes.”

“And... a bed with a plushie on it,” Warden added, rubbing his temple.

Kuno pricked her ears upwards at that. “That’s... problematic.”

“Problematic?” Warden asked, raising a brow.

Kuno nodded. “She’s pining after Shining Armor.”

“Whatever gives you that idea?”

Pausing for a moment, Kuno tilted her head up to peer at Warden, a single ear perked. “Warden. She was going to marry him.”

“But that was for...” Warden trailed off, rubbing a hoof against his chin.

“Yeah. For nothing. You didn’t really think that her marrying him was an integral part of some evil plot to take over Canterlot? She could have done that any time she pleased. The marriage didn’t have anything to do with the whole thing. It was just convenient for her to do it all at once.”

“So Chrysalis is... in love with Shining Armor?” Warden asked faintly.

Kuno gave a thoughtful sound at that. “Perhaps. I don’t even know if she can feel love...”

Warden gave a nod at that, pausing and then hugging the changeling tightly. “I’m glad you’re not like the rest of your species.”

“All the cute and none of the personality, huh?” Kuno asked smugly.

Warden smiled, kissing her forehead. “Something like that. So... how’d I get hit with changeling magic? Was it Chrysalis?”

Kuno shook her head. “Chrysalis told us to get out. And as we were leaving, I was jumped from behind. You got dragged off by another changeling, I’m guessing that he used a spell on you to force you to project me onto him?”

Warden blinked slowly. “...Him?”

Kuno nodded simply. “Was definitely male, I saw that.”

Warden’s face drained of colour. “Nothing... happened, right?”

“Oh suuure,” Kuno crooned soothingly. “I got to you in time. I won’t tell you what Chrysalis put you through, though.”

Warden’s ears perked up.

“Suffice to say that it involved a double-ended toy with a vibrating function.” Kuno nodded once, her expression serious.

Warden stared at her. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m not,” Kuno giggled, booping his nose with her hoof and grinning innocently.

“So, you got dragged off... what were they hoping to achieve?” Warden queried, nosing in against her cheek slowly.

“I guess Chrysalis hasn’t been feeding them. It’s been nearly two years... They’re still out there in the Badlands. I haven’t heard whispers of her coming looking for anypony else, either. Could be signs of a civil war starting.”

Warden blinked slowly. “A changeling civil war? That sounds... complicated.”

Kuno nodded once. “Indeed.”

“And you turned into a dragon.” Warden pointed out.

Kuno gave a wry smile. “I did.”

“What’s it feel like?”

“Empowering!” Kuno gushed, wiggling slightly in place. “I was so freaking huge and everything was so small! I could have toppled that giant tower with a swipe of my tail!”

“You weren’t scared of dying?” Warden asked, his tone mildly concerned.

“I was in the grips of change-euphoria. The more energy we expend in the change, the more... well, alive we feel. Plus, I have something that my former queen never had.”

Warden raised a brow.

Kuno pushed closer, rubbing her nose against his own with a smile. “I have you.”

Warden smiled at that, shaking his head and nuzzling his cheek against her own. “So... did Chrysalis say if we could have kids?”

“She confirmed what I already suspected. I’d have to stay a pony for the entire length of time.”

“You already suspected?” Warden asked, frowning deeply.

“I wasn’t willing to risk the foal on unfounded speculation,” Kuno said, mirroring his frown. “I’m childish and goofy, but I’m not reckless.”

“Changing into a dragon notwithstanding.”

Kuno grinned at that, shaking her head. “That was a calculated risk. And I have a never-ending supply of love to recover with.”

Warden huffed at that, wrapping his hooves around the changeling and pulling her tight against his chest. “You just love me because I feed you.”

Kuno giggled, kissing and then nipping gently at his chin. “Plus you’re kinda handsome.”

“Pssh. Sweet talking me trying to get more food,” Warden accused, nudging her playfully.

Kuno just smiled, pulling him into a kiss.

“So...” Warden started, peering down at her. “We gonna go through with it?”

“The foal?”

“Yeah.”

“Definitely!” Kuno said with an earnest nod. “Especially now that I got confirmation from Chrysalis herself.”

Warden pondered on that for a long moment. “But, I foresee a problem.”

Kuno pricked an ear upwards.

“If you’re gonna be a pony for nine months, then there’ll be no more freaky changeling sex!” Warden protested, nudging her with his nose firmly.

Kuno giggled and shook her head. “I’m sure you’ll survive. It’s not like we can’t enjoy our physical attributes if we’re both ponies.”

Warden gave a nod and then a sly grin. “But, I was kinda thinking... these holes in your hooves...” Warden gave Kuno a significant glance.

Kuno rolled her eyes, giggling and swatting him with a hoof. “Pervert.”

After several more hours of recovery, Kuno decided that she was capable of basic locomotion, and she and Warden began the long walk back to Dodge City.

“So, what’s our plan?” Kuno asked. She had adopted the form of the earth pony again.

Warden raised a brow at her. “I figure we walk until we get to Dodge City, we catch the train, and enjoy eachothers company on the train itself. A sleeping car... a bottle of wine... those holes in your hooves...”

Kuno snorted, sidestepping and nudging him powerfully with her nose in rebuke. “I meant in a more grand scale!”

“Well, we can die and become flowers and the grass. The circle of life continues,” Warden said with a sage nod.

Kuno snorted and nudged him again. “Quit being difficult or I’ll grant those ideas you keep alluding to.”

Warden paled slightly, and then smiled faintly. “Okay, okay! Geeze. I figure... I’ll start up the farm first. Once I get some money together, we’ll have a nice wedding, and then you can go into pony mode for a loooong time and we have that foal you want.”

Kuno pondered on that. “Why not pony form before the wedding? It’d save time.”

“And mess up the wedding,” Warden pointed out.

“How so?” Kuno asked, bewildered.

Warden slowed his steps, frowning at the changeling. “I... well...”

Kuno raised a brow at him, likewise slowing. “Spit it out. Don’t want me looking fat in the photo’s or something?”

Warden shook his head, sidestepping towards the changeling and then wrapping a hoof around her shoulders. “I just... I feel like it’s important... I feel like I’d regret it if you were a pony at our wedding.”

Kuno blinked at that, confused. “What else am I supposed to go as, a rabbit?”

“As yourself,” Warden said flatly, peering at her for a long moment. “I want to lift your wedding veil for our first kiss as husband and wife, and I want to kiss you. I don’t want to be kissing a mask, some charade you’re putting on. I want it to be you.”

Kuno gave a slow smile at that, shaking her head and throwing her hooves around him in response, kissing him warmly. “You are so backwards, Warden. It’s still me, no matter what form I take... but I understand what you mean, and I’m happy that you care enough about it.”

Warden flushed faintly, his cheeks warming as he said quietly, “You think it’s stupid...”

Kuno shook her head, nuzzling her cheek against his own. “No, I really don’t. It’s actually rather... touching that somepony cares enough about me to want me as I am, changeling and all.”

“And why not?” Warden asked challengingly, nudging her with his nose and then kissing her warmly. “After all, you have the cute goofy teeth, lovely pupil-less eyes, bug wings, and in-built armor. Not to mention freaky hoof-holes... mhmm mhmm mhmm!” Warden affected a lecherous smile, his tail flicking back and forth behind him.

Kuno laughed, shaking her and hugging around his neck tightly. “I love you so much, you goof,” she whispered, kissing his nose.

Fantasy

“But I don’t want to!” Kuno protested, flailing a hoof at Warden in protest.

“She’s requested to meet you,” Warden said, exasperated.

“What does she want with me?!” Kuno whined, dancing in place anxiously.

Warden gave a helpless shrug. “I don’t even know! She just turned up with Shining Armor and asked to see you.”

It was the afternoon after they had returned home, and after an entire day of just lazing in the bath together, only pausing to swap out the water for warmer water, Kuno had taken a trip to Canterlot to get the Aurora seeds as she was much faster than Warden. Or rather, she had requested them.

The seeds themselves were being delivered by an armed Royal Guard escort, and as Warden had found it, at the head of the five-pony squad, were Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. A unicorn guard stood between two pegasi behind the prince and princess, with a small wooden box kept close to his chest.

Kuno whimpered faintly, her ears splaying back. “Do I have to?”

“I... could make up a terribly bad lie?” Warden offered helplessly.

Kuno sighed once, lowering her head. “Fine. I’ll see her. But if one of those guards even twitches then I’m blasting them off their hooves. Kindly go out and remind them all that I can turn into a bloody dragon before I go out there!”

Warden sighed faintly, shaking his head and then smiling, leaning forwards to kiss his fiancee before turning and heading outside. The five ponies were still there. The three guards in the back, and the prince and princess up front, sitting in the shade of the tree in the front yard. Warden made a helpless motion with his hoof as he go closer. “She’s coming out, Ma’am. But she ahh... wants me to remind you that she can ‘turn into a bloody dragon’ before she will.”

Shining Armor looked mildly alarmed, and Cadance merely smiled.

“Come out then, mighty dragon!” Cadance called cheerfully.

Kuno slunk out of the cottage, her head lowered, in her pegasus form. Her wings were slightly spread, ready to attack or evade. She stopped several lengths from the three of them, watching them warily.

“We’re not going to bite,” Cadance said softly, shaking her head at Kuno.

Kuno huffed, planting her rump. “I’m not coming any closer.”

Cadance pursed her lips at that, her horn glowing. Kuno’s eyes widened, and she squirmed slightly, finding herself locked in place. Cadance stalked towards her. Warden moved to impose himself between them, but Shining Armor blocked him deftly.

“Last time we locked horns, you came off much the worse,” Shining Armor reminded flatly.

Warden backed off a little bit, his ears pinning back, biting his bottom lip. “Don’t hurt her!” he called after Cadance, frowning worriedly.

Kuno growled faintly, working her hooves against the magic holding them down, her eyes slowly narrowing at the alicorn as Cadance stopped in front of her. “I’ll hurt you if you don’t let me go...”

Cadance snorted once, leaning down to be on the changed pegasus’ level. A hoof raised, touching at the changeling’s cheek gently.

Kuno winced, shying away.

Cadance snorted again, forcefully gripping the changeling’s cheek and then staring into her eyes. Kuno tried to defiantly meet her gaze, but gave up after no more than a few moments, looking away.

“Say that you love him,” Cadance ordered calmly. “Prove to me that I chose right.”

Kuno’s ears pinned back, and she whimpered faintly, before staring up at the princess. “I love him.”

Cadance gave a thoughtful hum at that, and her horned ceased glowing. She drew back then, giving a thin smile, turning to her husband. “I chose correctly.”

Warden was mystified, looking back and forth between the three of them.

Cadance stepped back over to her husband. “You understand, of course, that we had to be sure you weren’t under her spell?”

Warden frowned at this, pursing his lips. “I... guess.” He motioned towards Kuno, beckoning her over closer.

Kuno frowned deeply, cautiously making her way over closer to the trio, pressing up close against his side and wiggling under his wing, as though to hide herself. Warden lifted a hoof to wrap around her shoulders, holding her close as she glowered at the prince and princess from under the protection of his wing.

Shining Armor gave the changeling a long stare, his hoof twitching reflexively.

Cadance lifted a hoof to soothe her husband. “She’s fine, Shiny. She won’t harm him.”

Shining Armor didn’t look very releived.

“So... can we have the seeds?” Warden asked, holding out his good hoof.

Shining Armor frowned deeply, and then motioned to the two pegasus guards. “The plantation will be guarded. Constantly. The produce will be weighed at every picking. Understood?”

Warden nodded once, peering past the guard captain and at the two pegasi behind him. “Do they know... about Kuno?”

Shining Armor frowned at that, and then peered at the changeling. “They do not. It would be best to show them now, so that they might become acclimatised.”

Warden nudged Kuno gently. “Change, hun. It’ll be fine.”

Kuno looked up at her fiance for a long moment, biting her bottom lip. She took a single step away from him, ducking out from under his wing. She lowered her head, closing her eyes. Her entire form shimmered green, and she returned to her normal form.

The two pegasi jumped and cried out in alarm, reaching for their weapons. Warden immediately sidestepped, interposing himself between Kuno and the guards, wing coming up to protect her, covering her form as he glowered at the two guards. Kuno was the only one that heard Warden clench his teeth, gritting and grinding them at the pain of extending his bad wing.

Cadance and Shining Armor extended their hooves, stopping the two pegasi from lunging.

“She’s my fiance.” Warden glowered at the two pegasi, his eyes narrowing. “If you want to hurt her, you’ll have to go through me.”

The two pegasi looked back and forth between Kuno, Warden, and Shining Armor.

Shining Armor gave a soft nod, making a motion with his hoof. The two guards relaxed a little, but remained wary.

Warden lowered his wing slowly, clenching his teeth as he folded it tight to his side again.

The unicorn guard stepped forwards, eyeing Kuno in all her changeling glory with a wary, almost scared gaze, depositing the box in front of the two of them and then withdrawing quickly.

Warden clenched his teeth, scooping up the box and then nodding to the guards. “I’ll have to show the two of them where the plantation will be. Tomorrow, though. I need to inspect the seeds, make sure they’re viable.”

Shining Armor nodded once. “I’ll send them around in the morning.”

Warden nodded, lifted a hoof in salute. The five ponies turned, and then started back down the path, the two pegasi peeking back over their shoulders worriedly as they walked.

Clenching his teeth, Warden turned and began to walk in as dignified a way as he could towards the front door of the cottage, pushing it open. He made it two steps inside before he collapsed, clenching his teeth tightly and whimpering, his bad wing crimpled and half-extended.

Kuno followed him, frowning deeply and then gently touching him with a hoof. “I’ll get the wonder weed,” she murmured gently, as she moved off towards the kitchen.

Warden made a noncommittal sound, pushing the box in front of his nose with a hoof and then clicking it open. A trio of blood-red. tear-drop shaped seeds with pulsing yellow veins in them greeted him, sitting in a velvet-lined case. Warden’s sharp eye immediately noticed that the left-most seed was slightly bruised and shrivelled near the tip. It wouldn’t grow properly. He decided against using it. The remaining two, however, were perfect.

Kuno returned with the jar of green liquid in her hoof, unscrewing the lid by using a hole in her hoof like a bottle opener, and then dipping her hoof in the liquid, and smearing it across his wing.

Warden melted instantly, giving a low groan of relief. He closed the wooden box, and then scooped it close to him, resting his cheek on it and closing his eyes. “Oh sweet Celestia that feels good...”

Kuno giggled faintly, gently kneading at his wing. “Just relax Warden. Have a rest.”

Warden nodded faintly. He tried to open his mouth to ask Kuno how she felt about the guards, but he ended up just groaning faintly and passing out.

Warden awoke with a crooked neck from sleeping on the floor using a wooden box as a pillow. With a faint groan, he shifted and pulled himself up from his splayed position, disturbing Kuno in the process.

Kuno made a faint sound of annoyance at being awoke, huffing faintly and rubbing a hoof against her face.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to sleep on the bed?” Warden asked with a wry grin, scooping up the box containing the seeds.

Kuno huffed faintly, waving a hoof at him accusingly. “I could ask the same of you!”

Warden just smiled at that, shaking his head. “I’m going to go sit in a dark room and make sure these seeds are viable.”

Kuno tilted her head to the side. “Really?”

“Really.”

“I’ll come with,” Kuno stated immediately.

Warden hummed faintly, and then shrugged. “Welp, it can’t hurt. Just don’t touch the seeds or do anything to them once we’re in the room, kay?”

“Kay,” Kuno said, saluting seriously.

Warden led his fiancee into the room that had formerly been her prison, almost two entire years ago, and closed the door behind them. The lock had been broken by the previous tenant, but the door remained closed. Warden placed the wooden box on the desk, and then picked up a blanket off the bed, folding it in half and then covering the window with it, plunging the room into darkness.

There was a shuffle of movement, and then Warden flipped the lid of the box open, causing the faintest of yellow glows to emanate from inside, washing both his own and Kuno’s face in the pale light.

Kuno looked back and forth between the box and Warden. Warden gave a wry smile. “Excuse me for a moment.”

Warden turned and then put his full weight on his bad hoof, gritting his teeth and bearing down on it, twisting his hoof slightly. He winced and whimpered softly, shuddering a shaky exhalation.

Kuno bit her bottom lip, staring at her. “What are you doing?!”

Warden panted faintly, wincing and taking the weight off his hoof, lifting it to his eye and then rubbing faintly for a moment, before holding it out for appraisal, giving a weak smile. “Pegasus tears.”

“I can see that,” Kuno said, furrowing her brows deeply.

Warden smiled again, and then picked up one of the seeds, gently rubbing his hoof over it, soaking it in the faint moisture of his tears. The seed immediately flared with light, and a glowing yellow tendril began to grow from it. “I found that salty liquid works well. Tears work best, for some reason.”

“How in the name of Celestia did you discover this?” Kuno asked with a slow shake of her head.

Warden just gave her a sad smile. “Completely by accident, actually. It was kinda just after Swarm died... I was going into withdrawal from Aurora, and trying to get the seeds to sprout which they would not do...”

Kuno nodded at that, throwing a hoof around him and hugging him tightly. “So... the seeds are viable?”

Warden nodded, placing the seed down gently, and then picking up the other gingerly, smearing salty tears across it. It, too, sprouted, sprouting a violently yellow stalk.

“And the third?” Kuno asked.

Warden shook his head. “The seed is damaged. Probably was made like that.”

“How do you even get Aurora seeds?” Kuno asked, peering at him. “Do you get them off a vine somewhere? The guards looked at me kinda sideways when I requested Aurora...”

Warden smiled faintly, gently placing down the second seed, putting it back in its slot with the stalk facing outwards. “You create them. Requires a very special kind of magic that few unicorns know nowadays. They’re created on-demand. Most likely it was Celestia herself who made these three... I guess the apple seeds they used originally weren’t perfect. Or at least, that one wasn’t.” Warden pointed an accusing hoof at the lame seed, wrinkling his nose.

“Then how did Daggertail get hold of the seeds?” Kuno asked, tilting her head to the side.

“It’s possible to create a seed from an Aurora plant if you know what you’re doing... I’ve never looked it up myself, but it destroys the fruit itself. And when one fruit is worth a hundred bits...” Warden trailed off with a helpless shrug. “Plus, it requires a unicorn. So I’m pretty screwed for trying to do that.”

“So much of this needs to be done with unicorns,” Kuno said with a wrinkled nose, poking out her tongue in distaste.

Warden gave a wry smile. “Politics, really.”

“Politics?” Kuno asked, blinking once or twice.

“Politics.” Warden affirmed with a nod. “The unicorns wanted to be sure that their invention wouldn’t be stolen from them. So they ensured that it needed a unicorn to help create it. That way, the ponies couldn’t run off with their new wonder-plant.”

“Ugh, politics. You know that the literal translation of that word is ‘many blood sucking parasites’ right?” Kuno asked with a wrinkled nose.

Warden grinned at that, shaking his head. “I believe that’s what politics is at heart, anyway.”

Kuno made a sound of disgust. “I’m picturing unicorn lawyers creating these things, and writing tiny rules down on the husks.”

“They made a magically binding contract,” Warden pointed out with a faint smile. “A very crafty one.”

“Oh? and what would that be?” Kuno queried.

“Adding the poison to the plant,” Warden pointed out with a thing smile. “The plant that releases the neutralizing spores is a mix of aloe and mint, with some other things thrown in to make it release the spores into the air. Thing is, the unicorns never taught the earth ponies how to create this plant, so they could control the spread of Aurora by controlling the spread of the antidote.”

Kuno wrinkled her nose deeply. “That’s nasty...”

“Welcome to interspecies tension,” Warden said with a wave of a hoof.

“I could use a little interspecies tension,” Kuno said with an innocent smile. “Just remember, Warden. Once I’m pregnant, I’ll be a sobbing mess of hormones and any little thing you do wrong will be punished by an arbitrary length of time with no sex.”

Warden shuddered. “Whatever will I do? It’ll be like I’m single again and stuck with just my hoof. The horror.”

Kuno snorted once, rolling her eyes and leaning against him, batting her eyelashes up at him suggestively. “Don’t make me get the chains, Warden.”

“But what if I want you to get the chains?” Warden asked with a raised brow.

Kuno blinked once, and then gave a cheery smile. “Okay!” Without hesitation, Kuno started for the door.

Warden quickly dragged her back by the tail, shaking his head in earnest. “Nono! I was joking!”

Kuno giggled, curling around to hold his cheeks with her hooves and kiss his nose. “I know. I was gonna see how far you’d let me get, though.”

Warden shook his head, hugging around the changeling and rubbing his hooves down her back slowly. “I’ve been meaning to ask though... all those... things you do.”

“Things?” Kuno asked innocently, blinking up at him. “Those things you love?”

Nodding slowly, Warden rubbed at the base of her wings. “Aye, those things... why don’t you ever have... requests?”

“You mean depraved sexual fetishes that I constantly bug you about until you finally cave in and try them with me just for my enjoyment?” Kuno asked sweetly.

Warden gave a nervous laugh at that. “Heh... yeah. Those.”

Kuno gave a faint smile at that, peering up at him. “You’re afraid that I’m sacrificing my happiness just to make you happy?”

Warden gave a mute nod at that.

Kuno smiled and kissed his nose lovingly. “And that’s why I love you, you big softy. You’re always worried you’re doing something wrong.”

“But the fact remains!” Warden protested. “I haven’t gotten a single depraved fantasy from you! It’s always about my depravities.”

“Well... It’s me being selfish, really,” Kuno said with a faint smile.

Warden blinked slowly. “What.”

“Well, think about it, silly... I have my own fantasies. I would very much like to do some very depraved things to you involving rope and hot candle wax. Or honey and strawberries. Maybe even some whipped cream...” Kuno hummed thoughtfully, licking her lips.

Warden stared at his fiance for a long moment.

“But... my main fantasy is to feel your love, Warden. To feel the love you have for me. My fantasy is to have you holding me in your hooves and sleeping contentedly besides me, while I’m safe in the knowledge that I pleased you utterly, more than any other pony ever has, or ever could.” Kuno smiled up at her fiance, licking his nose once. “So I get my fantasy granted whenever I grant one of yours.”

Warden smiled at that, shaking his head and swallowing past the lump in his throat, wrapping his hooves around her tightly. “I must have been such a saint in a past life to deserve you,” he said with a grin, nuzzling his cheek against her own.

“Either that, or you were absolutely villainous,” Kuno retorted, grinning and nibbling gently at the base of his jaw.

Warden held his fiancee close, and then tugged her gently towards the bed with a grin. “Well c’mon then, I have a fantasy to grant you.”

Kuno smiled, pushing her pegasus gently onto the bed and then splaying herself atop him, licking and kissing down at his neck and throat. “So tell me then... while we’re having this little pre-foreplay heart-to-heart. Why exactly was it that you turned down Spitfire when I offered her to you? I know you wanted it.”

Warden blinked, his cheeks flushing faintly. “S’not my fault! She is a sexy pegasus!”

“Granted,” Kuno said with a grin, licking across his throat and up under his chin. “But still, you turned her down!”

“I turned you down,” Warden said with a shake of his head, wrapping his hooves around the changeling.

Kuno giggled, kissing his nose. “Semantics. Now, focus, Warden. Why did you turn me down?”

“Well... it wasn’t you,” Warden said with a huff, nudging her firmly with his nose.

Kuno blinked once. “Yes it was me.”

“It wasn’t you you.” Warden poked her nose gently. “It wasn’t Kuno. It was Spitfire.”

“You would prefer the real Spitfire?” Kuno asked with a giggle.

Warden rolled his eyes. “Yes and no.”

“Oh, that is such a cop-out! Give me a real answer!” Kuno demanded, huffing and nudging him firmly.

“Well, part of Spitfire’s allure is that she’s... well, Spitfire. One of the greatest flyers of this day and age. So that’s the ‘yes’. The ‘no’ is beause she’s not you,” Warden stated, nodding once.

Kuno blinked once. “But I’m just a changeling!”

“My changeling,” Warden corrected.

“But you could have had Spitfire,” Kuno pointed out, bewildered.

Warden gave a faint smile at that. “I know you probably won’t understand... I guess our minds just work better. But... you mean more to me than any other pony you could possibly imitate.”

“Even Princess Luna or Celestia?” Kuno offered with a wicked smile.

“Even those two,” Warden said with a faint shudder, wrapping his hooves around the changeling tightly and holding her close. “There is nopony I’d rather be intimate with at any time, than you.”

Kuno’s gaze softened at that, and she gently booped his nose with a hoof. “You’re such a sweety.”

Warden smiled, kissing her nose and rubbing his hooves against her wings slowly. “I know.”

“Time for your reward,” Kuno said sultrily, lifting a hoof and then beginning to suggestively lave her tongue around the edge of one of the holes in it, before pressing it down his form.

Warden’s eyes widened, and he squirmed faintly. “Y-you can’t be serious!”

Kuno paused, looking up at him and then bursting into laughter, leaning forwards to kiss his forehead, giggling. “No. But the look on your face... priceless.”

Aurora

Kuno yawned softly as she awoke, blinking several times and nuzzling faintly into Warden’s wings, giving a soft purr at the sensation of the soft feathers against her cheeks. As she wrapped her hooves around the pegasus, he stirred fitfully, yawning and stretching slowly.

A soft purr left the changeling, and she leaned in to nibble sleepily at the edges of his wings, careful with his crippled one. “Moooorning,” she chirped, rubbing her hooves against his back slowly.

Warden gave an incoherent sound and leaned back against the nibble and rubs of her hoof with a happy groan. “Morning.”

“So, whatcha got planned for today?” Kuno queried, pushing her nose between his wings to nuzzle gently at his spine.

Warden hummed thoughtfully, stretching, before saying with a weary sigh, “I should really plant these Aurora seedlings and set up the tracks...”

“Tracks?” Kuno asked, confused, wrapping her hooves around him.

Warden nodded, rolling over carefully to face Kuno and kissing her nose. “Tracks. Basically, I get a brush, some herbs, and I ‘paint’ a track up the side of the ravine. The Aurora should grow along the lines, really.”

Kuno pondered on that, before nodding. “You’ll need someone to fly up there, won’t you?”

Warden blinked once, before he gave a slow nod, looking suddenly sad. “Yeah... I guess I will.”

“Don’t worry,” Kuno said with a smile, kissing his nose. “I’m here for you, Warden. Just tell me what you need.”

Warden hummed thoughtfully at that, and then gave a sly smile. “Now if that were the case, we wouldn’t ever leave the bed.”

Kuno giggled, kissing his nose, chin, and then at the hollow of his throat. “I am a bad influence on you.”

“‘Bad’ is subjective,” Warden stated, wrapping his hooves around the changeling.

Warden hummed softly to himself as he cooked sausages in the frying pan. They were a special blend of vegetables and what stock wrapped in an edible skin of rolled and flattened caramel sugar. It was a high-energy breakfast that would last him the entire day, and he was planning on it being a big day.

There was already a plate beside him with several sausages on it, with a red sauce smattered along their length.

A sleepy Kuno emerged from the room, yawning and rubbing at one of her frills with a hoof, one eye closed, the other sleepily open as she scratched at an itch.

“Smells nice,” Kuno stated, creeping closer and then pushing herself up so that her front hooves were on the counter, peering at the sausages.

“They do,” Warden said with a smile. He tilted his head towards the plate. “Those’re mine. Yours are cooking.”

Kuno hummed faintly, and then gave a mischievous grin, “This one is mine!” she declared, snatching up a sausage in her hoof.

“That’s mine!” Warden huffed.

“Mine now!” Kuno cooed, pulling it up towards her mouth.

“I wouldn’t,” Warden stated, raising a single brow at her, “It’s -”

“-Mine!” Kuno finished for him, cutting across him with a grin, holding it up and giving a naughty grin as she delicately swirled her tongue along the underside of it.

Warden stared at the changeling for a long moment.

Grinning, Kuno swirled her tongue along it even further, drawing the first few inches into her muzzle and deliberately slowly coiling her tongue around it to visibly clean the red sauce from it.

Warden turned abruptly. “I’ll get the milk,” he stated calmly.

Kuno blinked at him, pulling off the sausage with a pop! and huffing faintly. “What? I’m trying to be a naughty, teasy changeling, the least you cou-”

Kuno trailed off, her muzzle suddenly parting wide as she exhaled hard, her eyes widening. She paused for several long moments before beginning to flail her forehooves, bouncing in place and looking about wildly.

Warden calmly offered his fiancee a glass of milk with an ‘I told you so’ expression.

Kuno snatched up the glass of milk, shoving it against her lips and then swallowing hard over and over again, whimpering in the back of her throat. Once it was drained, she splayed her hooves and then panted hard, tongue hanging out, bouncing in place in dismay.

“Hot?” Warden asked with a soft laugh.

“Y-you monster!” Kuno hissed, trying to scrape her tongue off with a hoof, huffing breaths hard and fast through her mouth.

Warden laughed, picking up the sausage from where she had dropped it on the counter, and then making short work of it with neat bites. He swallowed and then gave a quiver, humming happily. “Spicy.”

“How can you eat that?!” Kuno demanded to know, dragging herself over to the fridge to get another glass of milk. “It’s basically toxic waste!”

“You think a pony that grows vines for a living wouldn’t have wild jalapeno?” Warden asked with a wry smile. “Found a jar of jalapeno pepper powder I’d forgotten about. It’s aged well.”

Kuno huffed, rubbing her hoof over her tongue still, before drowning her tongue in several mouthfuls of milk.

Warden gave a helpless smile. “Told ya not to eat my food.”

“I didn’t know you’d dipped it in the sun!” Kuno whined.

Warden grinned at that. “Just... don’t rub your eyes. Or any other sensitive areas before you wash your hooves. Preferably a few times.”

Kuno pursed her lips, and then gave a sly grin. “Ohhhh... if you don’t become my personal slave while I’m pregnant, I’m replacing our bedside vaseline with that stuff.”

A slowly raising eyebrow was her response. “I think I’d notice.”

“Not if I zapped you a little,” Kuno said, her tone sweet as honey.

Warden shook his head slowly, leaning in to kiss her nose. “You wouldn’t risk damaging your most prized possession like that.”

Kuno whined faintly. “It’s not fair! I can’t even scare you any more because you know I won’t go through with it!”

“Oh you scare me deeply,” Warden said, kissing her nose again and nuzzling against her slowly, crooning, “Big bad changeling.”

Kuno huffed softly. “One day, you’re gonna come home to a changeling queen pinning you down and tying you up, and you won’t have anypony to blame but yourself!”

Warden grinned, kissing her cheek and neck gently. “Oh I dare you, Kuno. Tie me up and try to tease me. I bet I’d last longer than you would.”

Another faint whine left the changeling. “Don’t tempt me!”

“I already am,” Warden said with a sly grin, before turning away and returning to flipping the sausages. “Now, if you’re done making scary, hollow threats, we have some breakfast to eat so we can go plant some aurora.”

Kuno huffed softly, glowering, bottom lip poking out. “But I get to fellate one of the sausages and you have to at least pretend to be interested!”

Warden laughed, leaning sideways and kissing her cheek. “You’re a goof.”

“A sexy, seductive, alluring goof!” Kuno corrected with a snort.

“Sexy, seductive, alluring goof,” Warden agreed, smiling.

Kuno transformed into a pegasus for the trip to the ravine, holding the wooden case, with the two Aurora seedlings safely inside, between her wing, arguing that Warden might drop it.

Warden was limping along behind her, carrying a myriad of utensils. He had them stuffed into two buckets, carrying one between his wings and the other around his neck. He made an awkward sight, carrying the buckets stuffed with trowles, a small fold-out ladder strengthened by magic, bottles, jars, spray-bottles, and a jug of what appeared to be water.

The two made their way down the path through the mountain and to the covered ravine beyond. The water still trickled down the rock face, and the moss was growing more prolific than ever. The Aurora vines were gone, removed by a specialist team, examined, catalogued, and then destroyed during the Ponyville Organised Crime Inquest that Warden had been a witness in.

Unofficially, at least a dozen members of the courts knew that Kuno had committed murder in taking the life of Daggertail. Officially, Daggertail’s death was one of the most severe cases of suicide they’d ever come across.

Warden immediately removed a cementing trowel from his buckets, and then placed down the buckets themselves, moving towards the rock. “Just... wait there. I’ll get this done and then we can plant the seeds.”

Kuno sat down to watch, placing the box down gently while Warden began to literally carve a path up the length of the rocks with the trowel, scraping off the moss in a very specific pattern. He hummed as he worked, tenaciously climbing up the vines on the rocks, using his bad hoof to clear the path. He hissed faintly as he worked, in between the humming, looking strained, but he ignored the pain and continued. Once he had a branching path meticulously carved through the moss, he came back to the buckets. Carefully, he picked up the jar of clear liquid, and an dropper, inhaling deeply and holding his breath as he filled the dropper with the liquid.

“What’s that?” Kuno asked, as Warden screwed the lid back on tightly.

“Concentrated acid,” Warden said calmly, tilting the dropper to peer at the liquid within. Kuno stared. “Gotta scorch the rock or the moss will grow and stop the Aurora from taking the correct path.”

Kuno nodded, completely not understanding what he was saying. Warden just smiled. “You’ll see.”

Humming faintly, Warden pulled himself back up the rockface, and then began to drip the acid carefully across the trails he had made, burning the remaining moss entirely. A quick brush of his hoof over each acid-scorched area left it clean and bare. Warden was meticulous in his preparation, going over each area twice.

Once he had acid-treated the entire path, Warden emptied out the dropper and then cleaned it in the small stream of water in the centre of the ravine. He then picked up a jaw of purple liquid, and motioned for Kuno to bring over the seeds.

Kuno picked up the box, placing it down at the base of the clear trail that had been cut into the moss.

Warden flipped the box open, and then dug a trench carefully at the base of the path. He dug a little, stopped, dug some more, stopped, dug again, and then filled it in a little bit with a hoofful of dirt. With a hum, he dripped a few droplets of purple liquid into the hole, before gingerly placing the seedling in the hole he had made. He then dropped some of the purple liquid onto the seedling itself, and it immediately began to grow.

“Hold the stem gently against the rock. Don’t let it curl around your hoof,” Warden cautioned, as he clambered back up the rock.

Kuno gave a bewildered blink, pushing the stem gently against the rock. Warden began to carefully drop the purple liquid down the path of clear rock he had created.

“What’s that purple stuff?” Kuno asked, peering up at him.

Warden smiled, half-grimacing as he strained his hoof. “It’s a special extract that encourages growth in plants. A mix of hemlock, a special variety of chilli pepper, and an obnoxious weed.”

Kuno peered up at him for a moment, and then giggled. “You ground up a tax collector just for that stuff?”

Warden laughed, shaking his head. He pushed himself up the rock further, and then stumbled slightly, reaching with his bad hoof for a hoofhold. The obvious happened, and his hoof refused to take the weight, causing the pegasus to come tumbling off the rock with a loud thud!, landing in a splayed heap of wings and limbs.

Kuno frowned, releasing the plant and bounding over to him.

“Don’t leave the Aurora!” Warden hissed, his ears pinning back as he gingerly untangled himself.

Frowning deeply, Kuno meekly turned around and made her way back to the plant, carefully holding it against the rock. Warden limped over closer to her, and turned his head away to hide the faint shimmer of tears in his eyes as he grit his teeth and climbed the rock again.

“Are you okay?” Kuno asked, worried.

“‘m fine,” Warden murmured around his mouthful of dropper, returning to where he was before and beginning to drip the purple liquid across the path in the moss. After another ten minutes, the final droplet was placed.

“Do you want to do the honors?” Warden asked, holding out the dropper.

Kuno blinked once, ears pinning back. She gingerly took the dropper in one hoof. “What do I do?”

“The route is all prepped... just put a droplet on the top of the plant and hold it against the rock face,” Warden explained with a strained smile, sitting down heavily.

Kuno looked back and forth, biting her bottom lip. “You sure?”

“I’m sure,” Warden said breathlessly, settling himself down on his stomach, stretching out his wing slowly.

Giving one last, uncertain look at him, Kuno held the dropper over the plant, pushed it firmly up against the rock face, and then squeezed the end of the dropper, so a single droplet of purple liquid dropped down on top of the plant.

The Aurora plant immediately sprung to life. It grew almost an inch with that first droplet. Kuno gave a worried look, and held it firmly against the rock. The instant the plant found the purple trail, it began to suck the liquid into itself, the central vine immediately shooting up the rock face. Kuno watched with wide eyes as the plant grew and split into the channel that Warden had created and painted. In less than a minute, the plant was at full size, clinging to the rock face in the channel it had been presented with.

Warden gave a weary smile. “All done.”

Kuno blinked once, staring up at the plant. “It was so fast!”

Warden gave a proud smile. “Before I discovered how to ‘paint’ a path, Aurora had to be grown in the first stages with constant supervision. Somepony had to be there to hold it the entire time. Braces were too confining, and not intuitive enough.”

Kuno shook her head in amazement. “You really know your stuff.”

Warden motioned towards his cutie mark pointedly.

Rolling her eyes, Kuno moved to sit besides him, staring up at the vine. “So where are we planting the other seedling?”

“We’re not,” Warden stated.

Kuno blinked once, “Wha?”

“I don’t have anywhere else for the second seedling. And it’d be too much work. We only have three seeds in the first place in case the other two fail. Aurora fails a lot,” Warden pointed out with a weary smile. “The third seedling can be given to somepony else, I guess. Let them try to grow this stuff.”

Kuno nodded silently, and then leaned sideways, gently rubbing her hoof against his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Warden shook his head. “Not really.”

Pursing her lips, Kuno leaned in to kiss his cheek. “Want me to head back and get the Wonder Weed?”

Warden shook his head again. “I’ll be fine... just need a little while. You go on back, I’ll be back home before it gets dark.”

“And leave you alone out here?” Kuno asked, aghast.

Warden slowly raised a brow. “Yes, because the Aurora is going to eat me alive if you leave me alone.”

Kuno frowned deeply. “You know what I mean!”

“I’m a big pony now,” Warden said with a soft smile. “I just need to rest is all. Go home and bake a cake.”

“Cake?!” Kuno asked, bouncing in place, before she calmed and bit her bottom lip. “Stop distracting me!”

“Cake,” Warden repeated, pointing a hoof. “It’s at home.”

Kuno whined faintly, and then kissed him with a furious intent. “You are a mean pegasus and I will punish you.” She turned away from him, and then bounded away a few steps, spreading her wings and taking to the skies with eager beats. “After I bake cake!”

Sacrament

Kuno gently stroked her hoof through Warden’s mane, rubbing her cheek against his own soothingly. Night had fallen properly, and it was extremely dark, what with the cloud cover and the light drizzle. Warden hadn’t spoken for hours, and Kuno had left him to it, just hugging him and stroking her hoof against him reassuringly.

“Are you okay?” Kuno asked gently, kissing his forehead warmly.

Warden looked up at her, sniffling once, and then looking away. “I... I guess I am...”

Kuno nosed against him softly. “Are you sure?” she asked quietly, stroking a hoof slowly through his mane.

Warden nodded, licking his lips and rubbing a hoof against his eyes. “I just... it was a... there was this thing that existed... and I never knew about it... and it’s gone now. But I can’t... I can’t help but wonder what it would have been like... what could have been...”

Kuno nodded gently, hugging the pegasus tightly and soothingly stroking her hooves against his sides. “I understand.”

Warden took a deep, steadying breath, staring down at his hooves, his tail giving an uncertain flick back and forth. “It hurts...” he murmured softly, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “It hurts so bad.”

The changeling whined faintly, wrapping her hooves around him, squeezing tightly. “I’m sorry, Warden.”

“D-don’t be,” Warden said, shaking his head firmly.

Kuno blinked at that, tilting her head down a little to peer into his eyes. “What’re you saying?”

“I-It feels good,” Warden admitted, his ears pinning back, keeping his eyes closed. “It hurts... so much. But... I prefer it to hurt than to not feel anything. I need that pain. It’s part of me. I need that pain so I’ll know I haven’t forgotten Swarm...”

“I can’t... pretend to understand...” Kuno said gently, nudging his cheek with her own. “But I respect your emotions.”

“You think I’m stupid...” Warden murmured, shaking his head.

Kuno shook her head. “No, Warden,” she soothed, stroking his cheek with a hoof, holding him close.

“C-can you tolerate that? Knowing that there’s a part of me that doesn’t belong to you?” Warden asked plaintively, scratching at the ground with a hoof in a broken way. “Knowing that you’ll never get all of me? That I’m... damaged goods?”

Kuno frowned at that, squeezing him with her hooves. “My damaged goods. You... you were the first pony I ever met who liked me for me. You didn’t hate me just because of what I am. You fell in love with me, and you showed me what love truly is. You made me see it as more than a food source, and you changed my life entirely.”

Warden remained silent, resting his cheek against her neck, his eyes closed.

“If... If I lost you, I wouldn’t be able to continue. I’d just... curl up in the corner and cry until I died. I couldn’t handle that... I couldn’t go on living. I’d never smile again. I wouldn’t survive... the fact that you can still function as a pony on any level just... it surprises me. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for, Warden.”

Warden nodded against Kuno gently, his ears pinned back. “I-I guess...”

“And you’re terrified... not of losing anything, but because you feel like you’re forgetting her. I can only wish that someday, somepony will feel that strongly for me.”

Warden sighed faintly, wrapping his hooves around the changeling and squeezing her tightly. “You make me out to be some great prize.”

“You are a prize,” Kuno affirmed, squeezing him in response. “My prize.”

Warden nodded again, and gently stroked a hoof down her back, trailing over her wings. “I... I guess. Thank you, Kuno... for not telling me about... that... until I needed to hear it...”

Kuno hugged him tightly, gently stroking over his good wing. “I know there was somepony in your life before I came along. I know that... you were hurt by her passing. And that you’ll never truly be back to how you were before that... but I know I can at least make you happy. And you make me happy. And that’s what matters more than anything, right?”

Warden gave a faint smile at that, rubbing his cheek against Kuno’s neck gently. He looked from her, to the gravestone, and then back again, his ears pinning back. He opened his mouth to say something, and then stopped. closing his mouth and frowning.

“What is it?” Kuno asked gently, nuzzling him softly.

Warden looked away, head hanging slightly. “I-I still feel like I’m betraying Swarm...”

Kuno splayed her ears back. “Why?”

Pausing, Warden stared at Kuno, his brows furrowing, and his hoof scratching at the ground again. “Because... even though there’s a part of me that is devoted to Swarm... I know that deep down... in my ‘heart of hearts’... I love you more than I ever loved Swarm...”

Kuno’s cheeks flushed faintly at that, and she couldn’t help the smile spreading across her muzzle. “I... understand that you’re having mixed feelings, Warden. But I want to bounce and hug you so enthusiastically that I accidentally hurt your wing and hoof,” Kuno said matter-of-factly.

Warden gave a long-suffering sigh. “Very well then.”

Kuno bounced, pouncing on him and tackling him to the ground, hugging him tightly with her hooves, squeezing and kissing across his cheeks, neck, and face with a fervent enthusiasm. “I love you toooo!” she crooned, squeezing him tightly. “So, so much!”

Warden gave a helpless laugh, hugging the changeling tightly, wrapping both hooves around her and kissing her nose. “Thank you, Kuno... thank you for being you. You make my days brighter.”

Kuno placed a hoof over his mouth, rolling her eyes. “Don’t you go on with that sappy stuff or I’ll do that whole teasy, seductive defense mechanism you have no counter to.”

Rolling his own eyes in response, Warden kissed her nose again. “I’m not just saying it, Kuno. I mean it. I don’t know where I would be without you...”

“Probably still making aurora for Daggertail,” Kuno pointed out with a deep frown, hugging around him tightly. “You owe me a marriage, remember that.”

Warden smiled faintly. “How could I ever forget?”

“I know you can’t if I keep reminding you,” Kuno said, poking his chest, her expression serious.

Warden smiled, hugging the changeling tightly. His head turned slightly, and his eyes fell on Swarm’s gravestone, and he went quiet.

Kuno nuzzled him gently. “Don’t dwell on it, Warden. That never solves problems,” she murmured soothingly.

Warden nodded. “I... need to go into town. Give me a few hours?”

Blinking, Kuno perked her ears up. “What? Whatever for?”

“I need to... settle some things,” Warden said with a gentle nod. “I just have to do it, okay? I’ll be back before too long. Don’t eat all the cake, I’ll bring you back something nice.”

Kuno huffed faintly, drawing back and then nodding once. “I suppose. But you had better be back in time for naughty things.”

Warden smiled. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Warden returned to the cottage a full two hours later, a pack slung over his shoulder, the end of it gripped in his mouth.

Kuno was sitting by the front door in a chair, licking a bowl of icing happily, a spoon stuck through one of the holes in her hooves. She looked up as she noticed Warden, frowning slightly. “Whatcha got in there?”

“Stuff,” Warden said, placing down the pack gently and then stepping inside. He pushed a painting aside, and reached into the hole in the wall behind it, courtesy of the previous tenant, and grabbed something from within.

Kuno stared after him. “Warden, what’re you doing?”

“You know me,” Warden stated, raising a brow at her. “Guess.”

“I... don’t know,” Kuno murmured.

Warden pointed with a hoof, towards the sky. “That cloud up there. Meet me there.”

Kuno stared. “What?”

“The cloud. Go lie on it,” Warden stated with a wave of a hoof. He opened up the package he had retrieved from in the wall, and pulled a small bag of powder from inside it. Somewhere within the package, a bell jingled. Warden squinted, scrunching up his nose, and then opened the little powder pouch and inhaled hard. Immediately, he sneezed and coughed, turning his head and wincing. “Oh wow...” he murmured, swaying slightly.

Kuno stared at him with wide eyes. “Warden, you’re scaring me.”

“Race you to the cloud!” Warden said with a giddy grin, slinging the pack over his back and then bounding away from the front door, spreading his wings and springing into the air.

Kuno’s eyes widened further, and she stared at him, mouth agape, blinking rapidly. After several long moments, she snapped out of it, and bounded uncertainly after him, leaping into the air after him. After only a few moments, she caught up to him. His wingbeats were unsure, the wingbeats in a cadence of a pegasus whom hadn’t flown for more than a year.

“H-how are you flying?!” Kuno called out.

Warden grinned sideways at her, his eyes slightly glassy. “The magic of greenery! The cloud!” he called, pointing up at the cloud, twisting in the air and beating his way up towards it.

Kuno followed after him, wings flapping at the air much faster than his large ones, bearing her up towards the cloud.

The pegasus and changeling both thudded down to a gentle landing on the cloud, and Warden immediately rolled atop the changeling, kissing her with a firm fervour.

Kuno purred, kissing him in response, humming happily. “How is this possible?”

Warden smiled again. “Been powdering the Wonder Weed for months now in preparation. Carefully mixed it with some stimulants so it won’t knock me out immediately. My entire body is slightly numb. Feels like I’m wearing a thick, blubbery glove.”

“Why did you do this to yourself?!” Kuno asked, concerned, her eyes wide.

Warden smiled, rolling over onto his back and splaying out besides her. “Because I’m going to regret this so much in the morning.”

“Regret what?” Kuno asked, completely bewildered.

“Doing all of this up here, instead of on the ground,” Warden said with a smile, digging around in his pack. He came up with a chestpiece, which he began to strap to his chest. And then a helmet, and then the greaves, and the shoes. He held his hooves out. “Help me into this? I can’t do it myself.”

Warily, Kuno stepped closer, picking up the helmet, frowning down at it. It was a very fancy helmet, white and gold, sleek and handsome.

“Y-you’re not... going to jump off here, are you?” Kuno asked with a deep frown.

Warden laughed, shaking his head and taking the helmet from her, sliding it over his head. Immediately, he looked at least twice as awesome as he did beforehoof. “In Shining Armor’s best dress-armor?” Warden asked with a sly grin. “Definitely not. He’d kill me after he finished scraping me out of it.”

“Warden... you’re scaring me,” Kuno murmured.

Smiling, Warden dug back into the pack, coming up with two final objects, holding them out.

Kuno stared, her eyes slowly widening.

The first object was a hornring, like the gold one around her horn. But this ring was white gold inlaid with actual proper gold, and a perfectly etched inscription: Property of Warden.

The second object was a collar, white instead of red, threaded in gold and with gold-plated lettering declaring ‘KUNO’. A white-gold bell hung from the front of it, with a white ribbon trailing from the bottom of it.

“W-Warden, t-these are-” Kuno stammered.

Warden shook the ring and collar gently. “C’mon, put them on!”

With shaking hooves, Kuno took the collar and ring, removing the current ones she was wearing and then replacing them with the new white-gold versions.

“I-I didn’t get you a-any...” Kuno murmured, a faint whine in her voice.

Warden shook his head, shushing her. “You can get me one later. For now, help me into my armor.”

Kuno stepped closer to him, beginning to gently tug the clasps closed, helping her fiance into the armor. When she was done, he looked positively awesome, dressed nose-to-hoof in white and gold armor, gleaming in the moonlight.

There was a soft, distant ‘pop’, and Warden motioned with his nose.

Kuno gasped faintly, staring out across the countryside to where fireworks were beginning to boom and spark in the distance.

“F-fireworks as well?” she asked hesitantly, staring at them.

“Pulled out all the stops,” Warden said with a smile.

“B-but w-who-”

Kuno never got to finish her sentence as there was a rustle of wings, and Princess Cadance landed on the cloud next to them, looking back and forth.

Warden raised a brow, looking at his future wife with a wild grin.

Kuno flushed faintly, her ears pinning back, adjusting her new collar with a breathless smile.

Both Warden and Kuno stepped forwards, to stand side-by-side in front of Princess Cadance. Cadance produced a small black book with stars on the cover, and opened it to the relevant page, smiling at them both over the top of it.

“We are gathered here today-”

Unexpected Guest

Kuno stared off into the distance, to where blue, yellow, and red fireworks burst in brilliant fashion against the night sky. Cadance had left moments before and was receding into a speck in the distance, having declared Warden and Kuno husband and wife.

Kuno seemed stunned, her eyes glassy and wings splayed back against her body, her ears pinned back.

“Are you okay?” Warden asked stepping up behind her, gently stroking a hoof down her form.

“We’re married,” Kuno murmured softly, her gaze not wavering from the fireworks. “Married.”

Warden paused at that, not trusting her tone. “I-is that a problem?”

Kuno turned to stare at him, her eyes focusing slowly. “I... I just... I’m married,” she said hoarsely, her voice breaking. “I-I feel like my chest is going to explode.”

Warden smiled softly at that, moving to hug around the changeling with both of his forehooves, a firm, squeezing embrace. “Just breathe deep. Calm yourself.”

Kuno stared up at him, her bottom lip quivering. “I-I’m so happy I want to c-cry...”

A soft laugh left the pegasus, and he nuzzled against her cheek gently. “You can cry if you want to... wife.”

Kuno peered up at him listlessly, her ears pinning back. “I’m married,” she whispered, before squeezing him fiercely. “T-this is the best night of my life.”

“Now now,” Warden said with a wiggle of a hoof. “Gotta hold a little bit back for the honeymoon.”

Kuno draw back slightly, sitting down on her haunches and almost reverently batting a paw against her new white-gold bell. “How did you do all this?”

Warden hummed thoughtfully at that. “I went to Ponyville, paid for express mail to Canterlot to get Cadance and some good dress-armor brought down, went and set up the fireworks... and everything else I’d already been planning for quite some time.”

A faint smile lit Kuno’s face. “You look very dashing in your armor. Do you feel okay? That stuff you inhaled won’t inhibit you too much, will it?”

Warden shook his head gently. “It’s powdered ‘Wonder Weed’ as you call it. Took me ages to get a concentration that powerful, but as you can see, it works wonders.” Warden proceeded to extend his bad wing, stretching it out until the bone clicked and scraped with a horrible sound. He winced at the sound, folding his wing back against his side. “Probably shouldn’t do that too often.”

Kuno nodded in agreement, pressing up against his side. “We should totally conceive our child... right here on this cloud.”

A soft laugh left Warden, and he nudged her gently with his nose. “Already planning on the psychological scarring you’ll impart to our child, hmm?”

“It’s romantic!” Kuno said with a huff, banging a hoof against his armored shoulder.

“I... kinda wanted our first... ‘time’ as a married couple to be... us,” Warden admitted quietly. “Just me, and you. No pain, no awkwardness, and no changed form.”

Kuno’s gaze softened, and she leaned up to kiss him tenderly. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

Warden smiled, wrapping a hoof around Kuno’s middle and gently kissing her nose. “So... wanna do it?” he asked with a grin, “Awkward segue aside.”

Kuno nodded, her eyes flashing hungrily. “I’ve never wanted somepony more than right now.”

Warden and Kuno landed with a rush of displaced air in front of their home. Warden wobbled a bit as he landed wincing and folding his wing tight to his side.

“Starting to wear off?” Kuno asked sympathetically.

Warden gave a strained smile. “If it wasn’t wearing off, we’d still be a tangle of sweaty limbs up on the cloud.”

“So that’s why you lasted so long!” Kuno said, poking her tongue out at him teasingly.

Warden gave a helpless smile and a shrug of his shoulders. “S’not my fault you’re so good at that stuff. It’s like you have tons of practise and are made to be enjoyable.”

Kuno rolled her eyes, rubbing against his side amorously. “Well, I am a changeling. If we weren’t good at sex then we’d be pretty lame seducers.”

A thoughtful hum left Warden’s throat. “How do I know you’re not really a terrible lay and just using changeling magic afterwards to make me think it was the best in the world?”

Kuno smiled deviously at that. “I guess you’ll never know. Either way, you get awesome sex, right? And you’re male. So that’s all that should matter.”

Warden paused at that, peering sideways at her. “You... do enjoy it right? It’s not just... like... a meal to you, is it?”

Kuno sobered at that, her ears pinning back. “With the others... yes. It was... mechanical. Boring. It was like chewing food. Sure, I enjoyed it sometimes, but there’s never been a time when I did things with you that they ended up being lame or a chore. Some of the stallions and mares I’ve been with, I had to kind of... force myself to go through with it. It was more of a chore.”

Warden raised a brow at her. “Mares? You mean you’ve... pretended to be male?”

Kuno splayed her ears further. “Once or twice. I never stayed as male for long and it was always a last resort.” The changeling shuddered softly, “I could never get used to the... the erm... well...” Kuno made a vague motion towards her hindquarters with a hoof.

“Having a penis?” Warden offered with a sly grin.

Kuno nodded slowly. “It’s just...” The changeling flailed a forehoof at him. “It’s all floppy and weird and it doesn’t listen to you! It’s like a rebellious teenager!”

Warden laughed and shook his head. “And yet you seem to be rather fond of mine.”

Kuno thumped his shoulder with a hoof. “Pervert!”

“I don’t think you can insult me with that word after what you did to me,” Warden said with a sly grin.

Kuno snorted and rubbed up against him again, wrapping her hooves around his neck and clinging to him tightly, nuzzling into his neck. “You might be a sick depraved pervert, but I love you.”

Warden smiled, nuzzling his cheek against her. “And you belong in a zoo, but I married you.”

“I keep waiting for my libido to fall through the floor and my aggression to rise,” Kuno said with a giggle.

“Any luck?” Warden raised a brow, smiling.

Kuno shook her head. “Nope. Feeling more fond of you, actually. I guess I’ll just have to smother you with affection.”

Warden smiled, stepping up and opening the front door for her. “So... any idea on who you’ll be for nine months?”

Kuno stepped inside, pausing to look in the mirror, brow furrowing. “I... I was thinking the pegasus with the blue mane. I won’t dare to change anything while I’m pregnant... so I’ll be stuck with whatever mane, and whatever else I choose.”

“Sure you don’t want to be a unicorn for the duration? That way, you’ll have magic to do stuff,” Warden pointed out, pulling the front door closed and delicately twisting off his white-gold wedding band, gently placing it on a stand by the front door. He stepped over to the changeling, and began to gently undo her collar.

Kuno lifted her chin to allow the collar to be undone, so Warden could take it and put it next to his wing band. Once they were undone, Warden returned with her regular collar, slipping it over her neck and doing it up.

“Well... you like the pegasus more,” Kuno pointed out with a sly grin, batting at the bell on her collar curiously. She smiled when it chimed.

Warden paused at that, and then gave a slightly strained smile. “It was that obvious, huh?”

Kuno nodded, peering up at him. “And I’m gonna be stuck for nine months. It’d be pretty selfish to get you stuck with an inferior pony.”

Warden snorted once, nudging her with his nose as he slipped his wing band back on. “You’re the one that’s gonna be stuck as a single form. I’d prefer you to be comfortable.”

Kuno hummed at that, looking thoughtful. “I guess... I’d prefer to be a pegasus anyhow.”

“Why is that?” Warden asked, trailing a hoof down over her irridescent wings.

“Because, I can fly as a pegasus. I’ll take quick transport over walking, any day,” Kuno said with a wrinkle of her nose.

“Lazy,” Warden said with a smile, nudging her with his nose.

“Practical!” Kuno said, nudging him with a hoof. “Now. It’s my wedding night. I’m supposed to get cake.”

Warden’s face fell. “I err... didn’t have enough time to get a cake. What with the bad wing and hoof... I’d need to have made an entire second trip.”

Kuno’s ears splayed, and she gave a long sigh, before nuzzling against him soothingly. “I forgive you.”

A slow, sly grin stretched across Warden’s face, and he made a motion towards the kitchen with his head. “So I had it delivered.”

Kuno thumped his shoulder with a hoof. “Quit teasing!”

Warden smiled, kissing her nose gently. “I just like seeing your face go from hopeful, to sad, to gleeful.”

“You’re gonna see it get angry in a minute,” Kuno threatened, kissing his nose in response and then circling around him, bounding towards the kitchen.

Warden entered the kitchen to find Kuno sitting on her rump and staring at the cake with a tilted head. She looked over her shoulder at him, “It’s... white.”

“And?” Warden asked, bewildered.

“White wedding cakes always hide fruit cake underneath them!” Kuno whined, pawing at the floor helplessly.

Warden laughed faintly. “It’s white chocolate. The cake itself is mudcake and vanilla mixed together.”

Kuno’s face lit up. “Chocolate!” she said, bouncing slightly in place before springing on the cake, not even waiting for a knife. She flicked her wings upwards, and then downwards, twisting and cutting a pair of neat line in the cake. Humming happily, she brushed some crumbs off her wings and then began to extract the slice of cake she had made. The cake itself had white icing, and the actual cake was a mix of deep brown, and creamy vanilla white. The two different cake batters had mixed and created a fascinating series of shapes where they met.

Kuno peered at the dual-flavour cake, and then looked up at her husband, head tilting slightly to the side. “Is this... is this supposed to be symbolise anything?”

Warden looked away, his cheeks flushing. He shook his head. “Erm... no.”

Kuno raised a brow slowly. “You’re a terrible liar, Warden.”

Warden chuckled softly, kicking a forehoof against the floor faintly. “I know.”

“So?” Kuno asked, “Spit it out.”

“It’s just... silly,” Warden said with a huff, shaking his head.

Kuno rolled her eyes, taking some of the icing and smearing it along his lips playfully. “You can tell me. I’m your wife, remember?”

Warden gave a faint sigh. “But it’s corny and stupid and makes me feel all ashamed and squirmy.”

Kuno giggled, licking the icing off his lips happily. “You’re cute when you’re all ashamed and squirmy.”

Warden huffed, nudging her with his nose. “Fine. It’s just... meant to symbolise us.”

“We’re cake?” Kuno asked, raising a brow.

Warden stared at her for a long moment.

“I don’t really think that!” Kuno said defensively, waving her slice of cake at him. “I’m being sarcastic!”

Warden raised a brow, and then shook his head. “It’s just meant to be... well, us. Vanilla and chocolate. They’re not really meant to go together at all... but when they do, it’s beautiful.”

Kuno expression softened, and she leaned forwards to kiss him tenderly. “Awww, you’re so sweet.”

Warden gave a wry smile at that. “Sweet and corny.”

“Like crystal corn!” Kuno said with an earnest nod, devouring her slice of cake with neat bites, and then beginning to lick the icing from her hooves.

“Everything with you is about food,” Warden said with a shake of his head.

“You’ll still love me if I get fat, right?” Kuno asked, giving him her best puppy-dog-eyes.

Warden laughed and shook his head, bumping his nose against her own. “How could I say ‘no’ to those eyes?”

Warden was laying on his left side, stretched out, completely out of it after the Wonder Weed had worn off. It had become increasingly more painful and stressful for him, and he had just crawled into bed and passed out. Kuno was snuggled up against his side, her nose between his wings and hooves around his middle, holding him close. She always chose where she would sleep, whether in his hooves, or against his wings, and she usually opted for his wings. They made great pillows.

There was a soft sound at the bedside, and Kuno rolled over, blinking blearily. A pair of green eyes greeted her.

Kuno yelped, leaping up into a sitting position, her eyes wide. “C-chrysalis?!”

Warden stirred faintly, giving a soft mumble and twitching.

Chrysalis lifted a hoof, making a ‘quiet’ motion.

Kuno stared.

“Wouldn’t want to interrupt your new husbands sleep, would you?” Chrysalis murmured with a sly smile.

Kuno’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Why are you here?”

The changeling queen stretched slightly, giving her wings a flicker. “I told you, when I accepted you to the hive, that there would be a repayment needed. I am here for my payment.”

Revelations

Kuno narrowed her eyes slowly at her former queen. “What could I possibly offer you?” she asked, her tone no more than a low growl. “I will not give you Warden.”

Chrysalis gave a quiet, dismissive laugh. “As though I would want a crippled pegasus such as he. No, what I want from you is much more tangible, and much more... valuable.” The changeling queen threw the sleeping Warden a contemptuous glance. “One: You will hide me, until a time of my choosing. Two: You will give me love energy. Enough to sustain myself. And three: You will teach me what... tricks. What magic you used to so subtly force him to fall in love with you.”

Kuno’s eyes narrowed slowly, and she looked to the sleeping form of Warden, and then back to Chrysalis. “I will not discuss this here. Outside.”

Chrysalis gave a polite nod at that, rising and stepping quietly out of the room, heading for the front door. Kuno gently stroked at Warden’s wing, before she slid off the bed and followed.

Once outside, Kuno turned to confront the queen. “I will not give you all of my love. I need to at least retain some of it.”

Chrysalis nodded once. “Very well. Give what you can.”

Kuno pursed her lips, and then stepped up to the queen, placing a hoof on her chest. A faint green glow emanated from her hoof, the love energy seeping into the larger changelings form.

“I can’t hide you here, Chrysalis,” Kuno said as she stepped back, shaking her head once. “The royal guard will be here to ensure that the Aurora crop is tended to. They’ll find you. They already know one changeling resides here.”

“Tch, very well then. You will teach me your spell though,” Chrysalis stated flatly, waving a hoof. “Or I will undo it and destroy this lovely little home you’ve created for yourself.”

Kuno’s ears pinned back, and she looked down at her hooves. “I don’t have him under a spell.”

“I am your queen, Kuno. I can taste the magic upon him. It is subtle... but it is there,” Chrysalis accused, waving a hoof.

“It’s just there because I’m around him so much and because I’m constantly feeding from his love,” Kuno said, looking away, refusing to meet the queen’s eyes.

Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed, and she gave a contemptuous snort. “Tell me, subject,” Chrysalis reached forwards with a hoof, gripping the changeling’s chin and forcing her head around, green eyes boring into Kuno’s blue. “Tell me about how you learned this spell.”

Kuno struggled faintly in place, trying to break eye contact and failing miserably. “I... I... my former queen was on her death’s bed. Her army was decimated, and I was one of the last changelings under her rule. She was old. Some say over a thousand years. She was a master in the art of subtle seductions, as she called it. She found that... through careful manipulation and encouragement, and a certain spell, she could make a pony fall in love with her almost naturally... the spell worked for so long that she could keep a pony close for their entire lifetime... take love for decades insteads of days...”

Chrysalis nodded eagerly. “Yesss.... tell me more.”

“S-she passed the spell onto three of us before she died... told us to find somewhere quiet... find somepony with sympathy... she didn’t want us taking over a hive with so few members...” Kuno struggled fitfully, straining with the effort of trying to break away.

“And the spell?” Chrysalis asked, her tone silky-soft. “Give it to me, subject.”

Kuno shook her head vociferously. “Love should be earned, not taken!”

Chrysalis laughed softly, a note of evil in her tone. “Who are you to talk of love, whelp? You who have done naught but steal it for so long? I cause no long-term harm with my machinations... but you, you have ruined his life.”

Kuno shook her head helplessly. “I have not! I’ve healed him, after the death of his wife!”

Chrysalis gave a soft, almost maniacal laugh. “And if you do not give me your spell, then your new husband will be finding out far more about his darling wife than he ever wanted to.”

Kuno shuddered and jerked at that, as though physically struck. Her voice was no more than a whisper as she said, “Y-you wouldn’t...”

“I have been usurped, Kuno,” Chrysalis said, her tone returning to it’s silky-soft, and utterly terrifying state. “I have nothing to lose. I am a cornered animal. And you know that a cornered animal is the most dangerous. Try me, dear changeling. Your tears will be delicious.”

Kuno splayed her ears back, turning her head away. “Y-you’re going to ruin their marriage...”

Chrysalis licked her lips deviously. “Indeed I am. I will have Shining Armor kneeling at my hooves and that bitch in the ground. I won’t make the same mistake of merely containing her, this time.”

A soft whine left the changeling, and she struggled again.

“Stop resisting,” Chrysalis whispered, a hoof lifting to gently, soothingly rub down Kuno’s cheek, while her eyes bored into the smaller changelings’. “Relax and give me what I want...”

Kuno whimpered softly, but slowly went still, her form drooping and head hanging, eyes glassing over.

“Theeeere it is,” Chrysalis hissed eagerly, leaning forwards to gently touch her horn to the changelings. There was a burst of bright green magic, and Kuno bounced back several feet from the shock, landing on her rump, dazed. Chrysalis laughed softly, waving a hoof. “Thank you, subject. You have been much help.”

By the time Kuno managed to collect herself and look up, Chrysalis was gone.

A pair of wide blue eyes were watching her from the half-open front door.

Kuno winced faintly, rising to her hooves. “S-she wanted our love,” Kuno muttered, lowering her head.

Warden stared at her, stiffening slightly.

Kuno’s ears pinned back further. “H-how much did you hear, Warden?”

“I heard everything,” Warden said in a hoarse voice, opening the door further and stepping outside, his eyes narrowing on the changeling. “Change it back. Turn off the magic.”

“Warden-,” Kuno started urgently.

“-Don’t even try it,” Warden stated flatly, waving a hoof angrily. “Whatever spell you have me under. Whatever it is you did to me. Reverse it.”

Kuno’s ears pinned back, and she shook her head. “I-I can’t...”

Warden’s eyes flashed angrily. “Do it or I’m leaving.”

“W-Warden...” Kuno whined.

Warden stamped a hoof impatiently.

Whimpering faintly, Kuno took a step towards him, closing her eyes and brushing her horn across his chest gently. “P-please don’t hate me...” she whispered, as the green magic flashed across his form.

Warden shuddered, recoiling at the sensation of the magic. He stared down at the changeling, at his wife, his eyes narrowing slowly. His breathing picked up, intensifying, and his wings stiffened, his bad wing scraping and grating as the bones shifted. He barely even noticed the pain.

There was a long silence, suddenly punctuated by Warden cracking his hoof across Kuno’s cheek in a vicious back-hoofswipe, sending the changeling reeling. “Get away from me,” he hissed, his tone a whisper of suppressed rage and anger.

Kuno’s ears pinned back further, and she nursed her cheek with a hoof, nodding mutely and turning away, beginning to walk down the long path towards Ponyville.

Warden’s chest heaved. His vision was blurred by tears and he could barely see the ground in front of him. He had flown partway towards his destination, ignoring the protests of his wing. It has felt like fire burning directly in his wing joints, but it fortified him somehow: forced him not to dwell on the other pain threatening to swallow him up. The old oak tree was a shadow superimposed against the starry night sky. Warden could barely see anything through the tears, and he couldn’t even tell if he was crying from the pain or the loss.

Warden collapsed at the foot of Swarm’s grave, splaying out heavily on his good hoof, extending his bad one in front of him and staring up at the headstone. This was his place to think, and to mourn. This was where he went when it all got too much. And it was far, far too much for him to handle at that moment.

“H-hey hun,” Warden said with a shuddering exhalation, staring up at the gravestone. “G-guess I’m not too good on keeping my promises, h-huh?”

Warden lifted his good hoof, kneading against his wing slowly, trying to work out the knots in the disused muscles. The entire region was agony, but he didn’t even care at that point. Adrenaline had flushed his form so strongly that he was barely even aware of the pain.

“I-I got married tonight... or last night. I don’t even know what day it is. I-I thought she was everything. I thought she was more than you,” Warden murmured, shaking his head. “B-but she was... she had me under a spell.” Warden paused then, biting his tongue so hard he tasted blood. “I-It was all a lie. I-I forced her to l-lift her spell and... and... and I don’t love her any more...”

Warden buried his face in his hooves, biting down hard on his tongue again until he felt the blood dribbling from his mouth. “I-I loved her so much and it was just a l-lie...”

There was the rustle of movement from behind him, and then a soft query: “Warden?”

“Leave!” Warden hissed, rounding on Kuno, raising a hoof to strike her.

Kuno stood her ground, rising to her full height and setting her jaw. “I-I can’t leave. Not until I’ve explained.”

“You’ve explained enough!” Warden spat, lunging forwards and smashing Kuno across the cheek and brow with the full force of his bad hoof. The blow unbalanced the changeling, and she spat out a glob of blood, while Warden limped backwards, biting his bottom lip and holding his injured hoof in pain.

“I have not,” Kuno said flatly, spitting another glob of blood onto the ground. “I know... I know that you hate me now. But I have to... I have to say what I have to say. And then I’ll leave. You’ll never hear from me again.”

Warden grit his teeth, moving to hit the changeling again. His bad hoof gave out, and he sprawled in the grass clumsily, clutching at his bad hoof and hissing in suppressed anger. Kuno casually stepped on his good hoof, holding it in place. With his good hoof pinned, Warden was basically captive.

“Listen to me, Warden,” Kuno hissed angrily. “I...” her expression softened, and her head lowered slightly. “I have to thank you.”

“Let me up!” Warden hissed venomously. “Let me up and I’ll give you so much more to be thankful for!”

Kuno shook her head gently. “I told you that when I left, I left because I didn’t understand what love was... I wasn’t lying, Warden. I... I used the spell on you when I first got you tied up, all those years ago... it takes a long time for it to take hold. It’s... it’s really subtle.”

“Two-faced bitch!” Warden spat, curling around and striking at her with a hind-hoof. The blow caught her square on the chin, sending her reeling backwards, shaking her head to try and clear it, nose bleeding.

Kuno sniffed faintly, spitting out another small dribble of blood, before continuing on doggedly. “You started falling in love me... and that’s exactly what I needed. I needed that love, to survive. I didn’t really care that I was manipulating you... at first.”

Warden growled faintly, rising unsteadily to his hooves and beginning to circle around the changeling.

Kuno ignored his aggressive movements, calmly continuing her story. “And then you started to love me, more and more. I felt it. I felt your pain at losing Swarm... and then Daggertail’s thugs got at you. You walked miles with a broken leg to get me... that was the first time I’d ever felt guilty about using my powers to trick love from another pony. It was... odd. I didn’t know how to... handle it. So... I ran away.”

“You should have stayed gone!” Warden hissed, taking another swing at her.

Kuno saw it coming a mile off, but let the ringing blow land, snapping her head to the left. She staggered slightly, before facing front again, continuing her story. “I spent most of that year trying to understand love... trying to find out what it was. I never lied to you about that. I was... bothered by it all.”

“Why did you even bother coming back?!” Warden hissed, his hooves digging into the grass. “Did you get hungry?!”

Kuno shook her head gently, giving him a lopsided, bruised, and bloody smile. “I came back because... I love you.”

Warden growled faintly in rebuke. “You don’t love me!”

Kuno shrugged. “Perhaps I don’t. But... I had hurt you when I left. I knew I had. And I felt... guilty. I knew that... with the spell in place, the happiest you would ever be would be in my hooves.”

“So I’m a sympathy case?!” Warden hissed, beating a hoof against the ground, biting his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. “I’m just some forlorn little lost foal for you to look after to get free food?!”

Kuno shook her head gently. “I know that you can’t understand Warden... we don’t think alike. You’ll never understand. maybe I don’t understand love, but... I think I have a firm grasp on it. Love is... willing to give up your happiness to make them happy. Love is that warm little feeling you get when you see that person smile. Love is... being happy even if you’re hurting, just because the other person is near.” Kuno smiled faintly, giving a soft sigh. “So thank you, Warden. Thank you for showing me what love is.”

“You have no idea what love is!” Warden yelled, stamping his hoof against the ground again, his voice wavering. “You come in here with your m-magic and make me love you, even after I lost S-swarm, and you keep it going, and going, and going. We got married, Kuno! And it was a lie! Just a fucking lie!”

“I understand that you’re angry, Warden...” Kuno said softly.

“Is it obvious?!” Warden asked, turning and striking her across the cheek with as much force as he could muster. Kuno took the hit full across the brow, wincing backwards and then straightening up with a strained smile, panting faintly.

“Don’t you understand, Warden?” Kuno asked softly, shaking her head. “I... I felt guilty about this. I wanted to tell you. But... I didn’t want to break your heart...”

“Well you failed!” Warden hissed vehemently.

“You would have been happier if you’d never found out. You would have loved me, I would have loved you... we could have had a family together. I just... I just wanted you to be happy. I wanted to see you smile, because I love you,” Kuno murmured gently.

Warden shook his head rapidly. “Y-you’re lying.”

“You can hate me if you want, Warden. I’ll not leave here until you realise the truth, though. If I leave here with you like this... then you’ll probably kill yourself. And I can’t live with that,” Kuno said with a shake of her head.

Warden clasped both hooves over his ears to block out her words. “That would be better! It wouldn’t hurt any more!”

Kuno took an unsteady step closer to him, her balance a little off from the repeated blow. “Warden, I’m sorry that I hurt you. And I do love you. If I didn’t love you, I’d just put you back under the spell and be done with it.”

Warden ground his hooves against his temple helplessly. “T-that would almost be better,” he admitted, sniffling faintly. “I-I just want all the pain to stop.”

“Pain tells us we’re alive,” Kuno said gently, taking another soft step towards him, and then wrapping a hoof gently around his shoulders.

Warden pushed at her with his bad hoof, trying to keep her at bay. “L-leave me alone you t-two-face f-fucking liar...”

Kuno gently shook her head. “I can’t, Warden. I really wish I could just... walk away. It would be easier for both of us. But I can’t control my heart. Hate me all you want, but... I love you. You have to know that.”

“Why?” Warden asked plaintively, staring up at her with red-rimmed eyes. “W-why did you keep the charade going for so long?”

Kuno shushed him gently with a hoof. “Because I love you.”

Warden went through several different stages. Crying, depression, more crying, sadness, anger. By the time he had stabilised, Kuno had borne several more blows. Her nose and chin were caked with drying blood, and the area around both eyes was bruised and discoloured.

It had been almost an hour since Warden had last spoken, and Kuno deemed that enough time had passed.

Gently, Kuno rose to her hooves, and began to limp away. “Goodbye, Warden... you won’t see me again, I promise.”

Kuno was a full dozen steps away before a softly croaked sentence stopped her. “D-don’t go.”

Pausing, Kuno looked back over her shoulder, a strained smile on her muzzle. “Need to hit me some more to feel better?”

“Yes,” Warden stated, his voice hoarse.

Kuno limped back towards him, sitting down on her haunches and staring at him sideways, tensing her form slightly.

Warden raised a hoof as though to hit her, and then fell across her, clinging to her form with his forehooves, burying his face against her neck. “Y-you lied to me...” he murmured hoarsely. “You lied to me and put me under a spell and I hate you for it...”

Kuno nodded stiffly, automatically stroking a hoof through his mane. “I know...” she whispered softly. “I’m a monster.”

“Y-you lied to me. Even after my wife died... after everything I went through... you lied to me...” Warden reiterated.

Kuno remained silent, biting her bottom lip and looking away.

“You... lied to me for so long. Even after I got my wing and hoof broken for you... you lied to me. You let me believe that I was actually in love with you...” Warden stated, peering up at her with red eyes.

Kuno nodded again, not saying anything to defend herself.

“A-and... you hurt me,” Warden whispered, his ears pinning back. “You hurt me more than the loss of my wife... you used magic on me and tricked me... and then hurt me...”

Kuno sighed softly, nodding again. “I’m a monster.”

Warden stared up at her, his bottom lip quivering slightly. “B-but you came back. Even after you left for a year... you came back. You... you made me happy. And you stayed with me, even though I’m broken and crippled... you stayed with me for so long. Y-you gave up whatever life you could life you could have to be with me. You were even planning on staying as a pony for nine months so that we could have a child...” Warden muttered, his voice choking up slightly. His gaze fell, and he buried his nose against her.

“I... just... I don’t know what to feel any more. I h-hate you for what you did...” Warden said, shaking his head gently.

Kuno nodded softly, stroking a hoof through his mane. “You should...”

“B-but... I...” Warden looked up at her, his bottom lip quivering slightly.

Kuno stared down at him, her head tilting slightly to one side. Gently, she asked, “Yes?”

Warden crawled slightly closer to her, wrapping his hooves around her neck and pulling her down onto his level, kissing her full on the mouth with a tender motion. He held the kiss for several seconds, pulling back with tears in his eyes. “I-I hate you Kuno... I hate you for what you did... but... but I love you. I love you more than ever... I love you for all that you sacrificed for me... for all that you did for me. For everything.”

Kuno’s gaze softened, and she wrapped her hooves around him tightly. “I love you too, Warden. I really, really do. No magic, no tricks... I love you.”

Warden stared up at her, swallowing past the lump in his throat. “C-can you forgive me, Kuno?” he asked gently, lifting a hoof to try and wipe some of the blood from her chin.

Kuno’s ears pinned back and her eyes watered up slightly as she leaned down to kiss him full on the mouth, holding him close. “There’s n-nothing to forgive, Warden.”

Warden nodded gently, hooking a hoof around her neck and holding close to her, rubbing his cheek against her own gently. “I... it’s just... so much to take in all at once.”

Kuno nodded, kissing him furiously, clinging to him. “I know, I know. I’m sorry Warden... I’m sorry. B-but y-you’re back now and oh sweet goddess I was so afraid of losing you after all of th-”

Warden lifted a hoof gently to shush her. “I know, Kuno. I know.” He stared up at her, staring into her eyes, before kissing her nose and then her lips gently. “Gotta pick your lip up, Kuno. We still have a honeymoon to have. And a foal to make.”

Kuno’s ears pinned back, and tears spilled down her face as she hugged him tightly to her chest, squeezing him intently. “I-I was so afraid you’d hate me f-forever...”

Hooking a hoof around her neck, Warden trailed a slew of kisses gently across her cheek and chin. “How could I ever hate you, Kuno? You’re my wife. And even... even without the magic. Love is stronger than that. Love is stronger than magic, Kuno. And it’ll win through in the end.”

Kuno slumped against him, squeezing him with her hooves. “I’m just glad it won through before you murdered me. And you’re getting all corny again, Warden.”

Warden smiled crookedly, laying his nose against her own and staring into her eyes. “Shut up, I’m having a moment.”

Kuno just smiled, kissing him tenderly. “P-promise you’ll never leave me?”

Warden wrapped his hooves around his wife, holding her close. “So long as you promise you’ll never stop loving me.”

Resolution

“How did you know where I’d be?” Warden asked quietly, his head on his hooves, staring at Swarm’s grave.

Kuno raised a brow, looking at him sideways, her expression quizzical.

Warden gave a soft laugh, burying his nose against his hooves. “I guess that is kind of a stupid question...”

“We always seem to have our big emotional moments right here, in front of your ex-wife,” Kuno said with a faint, wry smile.

Warden nodded gently, rubbing his nose with a hoof. “How... how hard was it for you to keep it a secret for so long?”

Kuno’s ears splayed back. “I wish I could say it was easy... but it was so hard...” She shook her head slowly, rubbing at her cheek with a hoof, frowning deeply. “Especially when you kept telling me how in love with me you were... and how your greatest fear was waking up one day and not being in love with me in any more...”

Warden nodded gently, looking up at her. “So it was pretty hard, huh?”

Kuno nodded gently. “Indeed... the guilt was tearing at my insides... but I resolved to make you happy. I... I didn’t think that we could survive you finding out that it had been a spell all along. And... and I was terrified of losing you. I know I’m probably a monster... but between having you know the truth, and losing you, or you being blissfully unaware and happy with me... I’d take you being happy with me every time.”

Warden nodded again, rising to his hooves shakily and wrapping his forehooves around the changeling, kissing her neck gently. “I understand. It... must have been really bad.”

“How are you so understanding?” Kuno asked, pinning her ears back and sniffing faintly, kissing the bridge of his nose.

“I put myself in your place,” Warden said simply.

“Explain,” Kuno said, confused.

“Well... you had this weak stallion show you sympathy... you used this spell on him, you started to siphon love from him... And then... you started to fall in love with him. You left because you couldn’t handle the guilt... but you decided that he’d be happiest if you were with him to keep him happy... and that kept you happy. But the more time you spend with him, the more attached he grew to you... You did everything for him, you were in love with him. You turned into a dragon for him... but always, there was this terrible secret hanging over it that it was all just... a spell. A facade. He wasn’t really in love with you...” Warden trailed off, scratching a hoof against his cheek delicately. “You kept it a secret because you care about me, and because you love me.”

Kuno sniffed faintly, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I-I don’t deserve you,” she whispered softly, looking away.

Warden shook his head, pulling the changeling’s head around so he could lay a gentle kiss against her lips. “Life isn’t fair. Take the good things and hold onto them with both hooves. I know I’m not going to let you go, no matter what.” Warden pressed close to the changeling, holding around her tightly with his hooves. “Even if you’re not perfect... even if you’re a monster... you’re my monster. You’re my...” Warden licked his lips nervously, before finishing quietly: “You’re my sunshine.”

Kuno’s ears splayed and she melted a little on the inside, squeezing Warden tightly with her hooves, sniffing faintly and nuzzling into his neck. “I-I love you Warden... I-I love you so much.”

“I know,” Warden said with a gentle smile.

Warden and Kuno arrived back at their home nearly an hour after they started walking. Warden had injured his hoof repeatedly when he struck her, and he needed support to even get back home, limping heavily, leaning on the changeling.

Kuno, for her part, was already beginning to heal. The trauma Warden had imparted on her face in his rage was already fading, and Kuno was returning to her usual cute self.

Warden stumbled and splayed out right in the middle of the hallway once he got inside the front door, resting his head on his good hoof and closing his eyes.

Kuno picked her way around him, rolling her eyes slightly. She headed to the kitchen, digging out a slice of wedding cake and stuffing her muzzle with it, before heading back towards the front door.

“Where’re you going?” Warden asked wearily.

Kuno raised a brow down at him. “You heard my entire conversation with Chrysalis, right?”

Warden nodded meekly.

“Then you know that she is in possession of a magic spell that can allow her access to a pony’s heart through subtle manipulation. And she’s hell-bent on getting at Shining Armor,” Kuno pointed out calmly, opening the front door.

Warden groaned faintly, pushing himself to his hooves. Kuno paused at the front door, looking back over her shoulder with a frown. “You don’t have to come with me. I’m just going to go warn Cadance and Shining Armor of what is going to happen.”

Warden shook his head, stumbling over to the panting in the hallway and pushing it aside, reaching down into the wall to pull out the packet of powdered Greenswathe. He opened it up, frowning slightly. “You’re going to be potentially facing a changeling queen, and I doubt you’ll be able to turn into a dragon this time around... Not to mention that you have to convince Shining Armor that there’s a subtle spell that his wife can’t detect. They’d instantly be suspicious of you for so many reasons. It’ll just be easier with me there.”

Kuno paused at that, and then gave a gentle nod. “You’re right.”

Warden gave a faint smile, and then pressed the packet against his nose, inhaling hard. He paused as he drew back, scrunching up his face and then sneezing repeatedly. A shiver passed down his form, and then he bounced slightly in place, nodding once. “I’m ready, let’s go.”

Kuno gave him an uncertain look, ears pinning back. “I’m not letting you fly there.”

“There isn’t exactly a train outside,” Warden stated flatly.

Kuno nodded once, pushing the door open and stepping outside. Her form shivered, and with a flash of green, the shape of a griffon resolved itself, nearly twice as large as Warden.

Warden stared. “I didn’t realise griffons were so huge.”

“They’re not,” Kuno said, clicking her new beak impatiently. “Climb on.”

Warden delicately stepped over to his now-griffon wife, climbing carefully up onto her back.

“Hold on around my chest, not my neck. And don’t pull out any feathers,” Kuno stated flatly, clicking her wicked-looking beak for punctuation.

Warden nodded, wrapping his hooves around her.

Kuno extended her new, massive wingspan, and then leapt into the air, darting off towards Canterlot.

Nearly half an hour later, Kuno landed at the outskirts of Canterlot, and Warden stumbled off her back, staggering slightly and then slowly stretching.

Kuno shuddered and reverted back to her default non-changeling form: the white pegasus with blue mane and tail.

“So...what’s our plan?” Warden asked, rubbing his forehead and stretching slowly.

Kuno hummed thoughtfully. “Well... it’s not morning yet. Night court is probably still in session. Hopefully Shining Armor is on call. I know they keep a few guards on hoof during the court.”

Warden raised a brow at her slowly. “How do you know all this?”

Kuno gave a faint giggle at that, shaking her head. “We took over Canterlot once, remember?”

“Ahhh, right,” Warden said, scratching his head with a hoof.

“So...” Kuno said, shifting her weight from side-to-side awkwardly. “We’re cool... right?”

Warden raised a brow. “You need to ask?”

Kuno nodded, nudging him and beginning to walk into the sleepy Canterlot.

Warden sighed faintly. “I love you, Kuno. You’re a changeling. Surely you can feel it.”

“But it was so... sudden. You went from... hating me, to loving me, in a few hours. I feel like... like maybe the spell came back or something...” Kuno admitted, ears flattening as she looked away.

Warden shook his head, giving a faint smile, stopping and then pulling Kuno around to face him, a hoof on her chin. He leaned in to kiss her nose gently. “I love you, Kuno. And it isn’t magic this time... and even if it is somehow magic, that’s fine. The point is... you’ve done enough for me so far for me to fall in love for you anyway. It just... took me a few hours to get over the urge to beat you senseless.”

Kuno smiled, kissing his nose and then continuing to walk towards the castle. “Thank you for being so awesome, Warden.”

“Hey, it’s not like a lot of choices,” Warden teased, wiggling a hoof at her. “And I’m married to you. Kinda stuck!”

“Mine forever,” Kuno purred, pressing close to him as they walked, kissing his neck happily.

“Focus, Kuno,” Warden said with a faint smile. “We have a prince to save.”

The two Dark Guards at the front gates of the Royal Palace reluctantly moved aside to allow the two pegasi into the court when Warden announced to them that he had an urgent message for Shining Armor on behalf of the Reserve Guard. Technically, Warden hadn’t been a member of the Reserve Guard since the court hearings where he had defended his actions in keeping company with a changeling. He had been ‘temporarily withdrawn’ from the Reserve Guard program pending the court’s decision, and had simply never gone back.

Kuno and Warden walked through the front gates, and then immediately headed for the night court building.

Another pair of guards stood aside to allow them into the building itself, and Warden and Kuno stepped inside the doors.

Princess Cadance and Princess Luna were both sitting on a throne each, being addressed by a farmer who had a complaint about a swarm of parasprites ripping down his barn, which he needed to house feed his cattle for the coming season.

Kuno paused and sat down at the side of the court, and Warden sat next to her, blinking once. “No rush?”

Kuno shook her head gently. “No rush. It’s a subtle spell that I gave her... and it takes a long time for it to work. And it requires a certain amount of non-magical work. It’d take quite a long time for her to actually get anywhere... which begs the question of how exactly she intends to get that close to Shining Armor with any kind of regularity...”

Warden hummed thoughtfully, rubbing a hoof against his chin, and then scrunching up his nose.

“Wonder Weed messing with your senses?” Kuno asked with a faint smile.

Warden nodded, poking out his tongue in distaste. “Can’t taste anything and my fur feels like a thick glove.”

Kuno giggled, before she stiffened, whirling to face the door.

There was the reverberating sound of magic, and then the doors were pushed open by Queen Chrysalis herself. The slumped forms of two struggling guards were visible just outside the door, the both of them trying to force themselves up from a green magical glow holding them firm to the ground.

Warden’s eyes widened, and Kuno leapt to her feet. They were all beat to the punch by Princess Luna, who threw herself from her throne and towards the changeling queen, squaring her stance. A flash of blue engulfed the princess’s form, and suddenly, she was encased in stylish silver armor from nose to hooves.

“Release my guards immediately!” Princess Luna demanded, a hoof lifting imperiously.

Chrysalis gave a snort of contempt, and her horn magic faded. The guards immediately rose, scooping up their spears and moving to stand on either side of the queen, points of their spears pointing inwards.

Kuno’s eyes narrowed, before they widened slightly, and she murmured. “Oh you sneaky bitch...”

Warden opened his mouth to ask for an explanation when Chrysalis gave a shrug of her shoulders. “I am here to turn myself in. My hive has exiled me. I wish to... impart information on their destruction to you.”

Luna stiffened slightly, staring at the changeling queen from under her helm, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“This seems a bad plan,” Warden stated with a frown.

Kuno turned towards him slightly, hissing an explanation: “Guess who’s going to be interrogating her?”

As though to confirm Kuno’s suspicions, Chrysalis tossed her mane, eyes narrowing dangerously. “I will only divulge this information to your highest guard. He should remember me quite well.”

Princess Luna looked back over her shoulder at Princess Cadance. The princess of love was looking mutinous, standing on splayed legs, breathing hard with suppressed rage. “Throw her in the dungeon! We can deal with her later!”

Princess Luna turned back to face the queen, and nodded once. “To the dungeon.”

Chrysalis gave a contemptuous snort, sneering faintly at the two princess’s. The two guards pressed closer, their spears almost touching her sides.

“Very well,” Chrysalis spat, allowing herself to be crowded towards the dungeons.

Kuno frowned, biting her bottom lip.

“Why didn’t you stop them?” Warden asked, his ears pinning back.

Kuno looked back at him, frowning deeply. “A changeling trying to interrupt a queen from being locked up in the dungeon?”

Warden paused at that, and then nodded quietly. “What do we do?”

“I don’t think Chrysalis even noticed me. So... we get the three princess’s and Shining Armor in a room together, and we lay it all out. Everything. We just have to hope they believe us.” Kuno said uncertainly.

“We could go home...?” Warden offered quietly.

Kuno frowned deeply. “What?”

“We could just go home,” Warden reiterated, looking away. “Shining Armor exacerbated my injuries when he kept me from you... I owe him no allegiance.”

Shaking her head, Kuno gently nudged him. “You know that if we just walked away, you’d never forgive yourself.”

Warden sighed softly. “I know...”

Kuno smiled, nudging his cheek with her nose. “Good, now get me an audience with Celestia and the rest of ‘em, pet.”

Warden rolled his eyes, kissing Kuno on the cheek. “You know you’re only supposed to call me that when I’m wearing the collar and the leash.”

Kuno giggled, nuzzling his gently, wrapping a hoof around him to stop him from leaving. “I... I love that we haven’t changed. Despite everything...”

Warden smiled, disentangling himself from his wife. “I know, hun, I know,” he murmured, kissing her cheek, “But we can discuss this later, when we’re not trying to save people.”

Kuno pursed her lips and nodded, pouting, “Emergencies always getting in the way of my naughties.”

Warden smiled, pushing away from her and heading for Cadance.

Kuno looked very small as she sat in front of Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor and six of the Royal Guard. Kuno was in her true form, her wings twitching nervously. Warden was sitting a little bit behind her, looking out of place.

“Chrysalis came to my home and demanded a... spell from me. It was a legacy of my old hive. A... it’s a potent love spell that takes effect over a long time. It’s very subtle, and you need to know what you’re looking for...”

“And how do we know you haven’t used this spell on Warden?” Celestia asked bluntly.

Kuno stammered at that, unsure.

Warden stepped forward. “Allow me,” he said gently, touching Kuno’s shoulder with a hoof.

Kuno nodded, lowering her head.

Warden lifted his head. “Kuno had me under her spell for... nearly two years. I have no idea. I thought that all of my feelings were mutual.”

“And this is no longer the case?” Luna asked, raising a brow.

Warden nodded once. “She lifted the spell recently. A few hours ago, in fact.”

“And yet you stand with her now?” Cadance asked, her eyes narrowing.

“I...” Warden paused, looking back at his wife. “She lifted the spell and I wasn’t in love with her any more. I... assaulted her, physically, several times. But... once I had time to think it over... I fell in love with her again... or for the first time. However you want to look at it.”

“You... realise that we cannot accept your witness, Warden?” Shining Armor stated flatly. “You have been alone with somepony who has, through your admission and her own, access to magic that muddles your mind.”

Warden nodded gently at that. “Do whatever you need to confirm this. But we have this information... and we couldn’t just sit on it.”

“Even after what I did to you in the courtyard two years ago?” Shining Armor asked calmly.

Warden gave a slow exhale, chewing on his tongue. “I was all for going back to our nice bed, considering this is the second time in twenty-four hours that I’ve needed to dose myself up with greenswathe powder to get around.”

“So... in the last twenty-four hours, you have been married, fell out of love with, and then fell back in love with, a changeling, whom has had you under a magic spell for two years subtly manipulating your emotions, only for Queen Chrysalis to come and steal the spell from your changeling wife... which is presumably what set into effect the chain of events that led to you finding about it?” Cadance asked with a raised brow.

Warden gave a single nod. “In short.”

Cadance shook her head slowly, while Luna and Celestia leaned close to eachother to exchange a short burst of whispered conversation.

“So... how do you two propose that we deal with this situation?” Shining Armor asked. “We can’t confirm your story, and if the magic does as you say it does... it would be a dangerous, insidious thing to combat.”

Kuno lifted her head, taking a step forwards. “I have an idea on how to deal with this.”

Warden laid down, resting his head on his hooves. He passed out almost instantly.

Warden and pegasus Kuno were led by an inconspicuous Royal Guard entourage to a covered carriage. Warden climbed up into it, rubbing his head, sitting down on the seat, while Kuno sat on the other side. The guard closed the door, and the carriage jolted as it started down the long path towards Ponyville.

“What’d I miss?” Warden asked, rubbing his forehead.

“Well.... Chrysalis is boned. And not in the good, happy way,” Kuno said with a soft giggle.

“How so?” Warden asked, sniffling faintly and rubbing his eyes.

“Well, I used my spell on Shining Armor under close observation of all three princesses. Cadance was the first to figure out how to ‘sniff out’ the spell, and Luna was the first to be able to lift it. I don’t think that Chrysalis knows I was there. And even if she did sense me, she’s in the dungeon now,” Kuno said with a smug smile. “And the spell is now rendered completely useless. They’ll just lift it every time she uses it.”

“They’re not going to do anything more than that?” Warden asked blankly.

Kuno raised a brow at him, a sly grin stretching her muzzle. “Not when she’s telling them changeling secrets of her own free will.”

“Why would she do that?” Warden asked uncertainly.

“Because,” Kuno began, waving a hoof, “That’s her endgame plan. I’m not sure on the details, but the gist of it is that she’ll be in the dungeon, waiting. Shining Armor will be the one to tend to her, and she’ll use her magic to make him slowly fall in love with her. Eventually, she’d be able to engineer her escape and get away, taking him with her. And she’d get him always in there with her through promises of information.”

“So... they’re manipulating her while she thinks that she’s manipulating them?” Warden asked blankly.

“Yup,” Kuno said with a grin. “Or they could just not have Shining Armor be her keeper.”

Warden sat back at that, frowning deeply and saying with heavy sarcasm, “Geeze... trying to get her jailor to fall in love with her. Who even does that?”

“Somepony who’s desperate and knows when she’s onto a good thing,” Kuno said with a soft smile.

Warden grinned at that, taking one of her hooves in his own and tugging her over to his side of the carriage, leaning in to kiss her neck and cheek slowly. “So no big fight and climatic moment?”

“The world doesn’t work like that,” Kuno chided, poking his nose with a hoof.

Warden cast his gaze at the door, and then tugged the curtain across the window to give them more privacy. “I bet we could get a climatic moment right here, if we wanted.”

Kuno gave a naughty giggle at that, looking up at her husband and then nuzzling into his cheek affectionately. “You don’t want to mull it over to make sure you actually love me?”

“I already know I love you,” Warden whispered, kissing Kuno’s nose tenderly and wrapping his hooves around her back, holding her close. “Now shut up and let’s make a baby.”

Kuno giggled again, purring and pressing close to him. “I love you too, Warden. Now gift me the magic of pro-creation, fatness, and hormonal rage.”

Epilogue

Warden huffed, delicately twisting the aurora fruit from its stem and letting it drop gently into his good hoof, before he passed it carefully to one of the guards behind him.

There were a total of four royal guards assisting him in the harvesting process, taking the fruits from him and placing them into velvet-lined cases designed to keep the delicate fruits from bruising and spoiling.

Warden was in a hurry, trying to be fast and be careful at the same time. He had already dropped one fruit when he tried to use his bad hoof to speed things up. The resultant magical ‘firework’ explosions had forced Warden to slow down and be more careful. Not to mention he owed one of the guards a new chest piece as his was now tinted a bright, vibrant pink instead of gold.

The reason Warden was in such a hurry was because he had received word that morning that Kuno was having the foal!

The previous night, Kuno had complained about stomach pains, and Warden had immediately dosed himself up with Greenswathe and basically dragged the heavily-pregnant pegasus changeling to the Ponyville hospital. But then Warden had to leave. He knew the growing timetable, and for optimal results, the aurora needed to be harvested that day.

And then the messenger had shown up and told him that Kuno was having the foal.

And thus, Warden was in a hurry: moving as fast as he could without risking more fruits. The swollen yellow-and-red fruits were being packaged away, and Warden was on the last few. The guards, somehow, lacked the ability to remove the fruit from the stems without ‘coring’ the fruit. The swollen flesh was actually very fragile, and it required a very specific twist and yank to get the stem to break without tugging the core and seeds of the fruit out in their entirety.

Kuno had been, for want of a better term, a ‘hormonal bitch’ throughout the entire pregnancy. As Warden soon found, changelings were largely unable to deal with hormonal emotion changes. Kuno had gone from an amorous horny ‘I want you right now!’ attitude, to ‘why are you so useless?!’ and ‘I don’t even know why I love you!’ to ‘please forgive me, I love you and I’m sorry’ in the amount of time it took Warden to get her bloated form into the bath.

But, when Warden had his wife curled up in bed with him, with him snuggled against her back and a hoof gently rubbing at her swollen stomach, it was impossible not to forgive her.

And now, he was missing the birth! He had tried his best to promise her that he would be there to hold her hoof throughout it. Kuno hid it well, but she was scared.

But then he had to go and harvest the aurora or risk it all spoiling.

Warden gave a weary sigh as he tugged down the final fruit and passed it off to one of the guards.

“I’ll be back... erm... later!” Warden said, as he turned on his hooves and hobbled as fast away down the ravine as he could.

Dosed up on greenswathe powder, Warden landed heavily in front of the hospital, sprawling out for several long seconds and gritting his teeth. The powder was losing its effectiveness as his body gained resistance against it. Pretty soon, it wouldn’t even be enough to allow him to walk on his bad hoof properly.

Panting, face pink from the pain, Warden hobbled through the front doors of the hospital and then immediately bolted up the stairs to the second floor, bounding down the hallway, dodging a nurse coming out of a room, and skidding to a halt in front of one of the rooms.

Looking in, Warden saw his wife laying in bed, a blue bundle in her hooves as she stared down into the bundle with such a look of love on her face that Warden couldn’t bring himself to step into the room and disturb her.

Warden wasn’t sure how long he stood there, watching his wife staring down into the bundle. Eventually, Kuno looked up, and caught sight of him, beckoning to him urgently.

Warden slipped into the room, skidding to a halt in front of the bed, leaning over carefully.

“L-look Warden... w-we have a f-foal,” Kuno whispered, her voice breaking, tears of happiness in her eyes as she held out the bundle.

Gently, Warden took the bundle from her, pulling aside a fold of cloth to reveal the young pegasus within. She was a soft, powder blue from nose to hooves, with a blonde mane and the most beautiful green eyes staring up at him as she quietly observed him, cooing faintly.

Warden swallowed hard, staring down at his daughter with a rapt expression. A giggle broke him from his reverie, and he looked up sharply, cheeks flushing.

“She’s mesmerizing, isn’t she?” Kuno whispered.

Warden nodded wordlessly, pulling himself up onto the bed with his wife and pressing his cheek against her own lovingly. “Sorry I wasn’t here for the birth, Kuno... I have no excuse.”

“I forgive you,” Kuno whispered, kissing his cheek gently. “Warden... we have a daughter.”

Warden smiled, leaning against his wife and wrapping a hoof around her middle, holding her close as they both stared down into the bundle that held their daughter.

“She’s like me,” Kuno said, smiling and spreading the bundle slightly to show him the bell she had affixed to the foal’s tail with a red ribbon. The bell jingled, and immediately, the foal curled around slightly, chuffing at the bell and nudging it with her nose, seemingly enjoying the high-pitched jingle it made.

Warden smiled, feeling his heart melt, a lump rising in his throat. “Just like her mother...”

The foal nudged the bell again, and then sneezed violently, rocking the bundle with the violence of the motion, blinking rapidly and shaking her head. Kuno giggled softly, motioning with her nose towards the baby.

Warden blinked, his brows furrowing. When she sneezed, the foal’s eyes had changed from vivid green to a vibrant, lovely pink.

“J-Just like her mother,” Warden murmured past the lump in his throat, smiling and kissing Kuno’s cheek. “So... have you got any ideas for a name?”

Kuno looked away, biting her bottom lip, and then gave him a long stare, looking slightly nervous. “I-I... I was thinking that... m-maybe... ‘Swarm’?”

Warden’s ears pinned back at that, and he felt tears rising to his eyes as he pressed his cheek against Kuno’s gently, staring down at his daughter. His heart seemingly swelled to twice the size and melted simultaneously, and he shuddered, feeling a strange, joyous warmth in his chest. His voice wavered and broke with emotion as he stared down at his daughter, and whispered,

“Welcome to the family, Swarm.”

Old Wounds

A soft drizzle washed down over Warden’s wings, and he peered up at the sky with a long-suffering expression, water dripping off his nose. He lifted his left wing to cover himself slightly, his right wing aching far too much to extend properly. His limp was as bad as ever, and his pace was slow.

Kuno had been gone for a while now, and he was quite certain she wouldn’t be returning looking for him for at least a little while. Her sweet tooth would keep her in front of the oven for an hour at least, and licking the bowl for another hour.

Warden just needed time alone, time to think and work it all out. His intended target lay ahead, visible past the soft patter of raindrops: the old apple tree under which his first wife was buried.

Warden stepped in under the sheltering canopy of leaves and shook his wing off, giving a faint groan and dropping onto his stomach in front of the grave, staring at the headstone, resting his head on his hooves. Water dripped onto his nose from the branches of the tree, but he ignored it.

It was several long minutes before he spoke.

“H-hi Swarm. Long time no talk, I guess. What’s it been, almost two years now? I...” Warden trailed off, burying his nose between his hooves and closing his eyes. “I think I’m in love. I know, I know... I’ve already been married, you were the love of my life, and we spent so much time together... but... this is different. It’s so... so much more powerful.”

Warden paused then, shaking his head and staring glumly at the gravestone of his dead wife, biting his bottom lip.

“I remember how it felt when I was with you... how it made me happy... and warm. I was content. I was the happiest I’d ever been in my life... and then you were gone, and it was the worst time of my life. And now... now I’m going to marry Kuno... and I’m... I’m even happier than I was when I was with you.” Warden bit his bottom lip again, clenching his eyes closed and grinding his hooves against the ground slowly. “But... I... I just feel so guilty. What did I do to deserve Kuno? What did I do to deserve you? What right do I have to just turn around now that you’re gone and move onto something that’s better?”

Warden sighed, hanging his head.

“I don’t even know if it’s just... time has numbed it all... or if I really do love Kuno more than I loved you... but I feel like I’m... moving on. I know I said that I was moving on, that I was going to live for me... that I was going to be strong and not get stepped on...” Warden bit his bottom lip again, creeping closer to the grave and digging a gentle furrow in the earth, tipping a seed into the divot and then covering it over gently. “I-I brought you a flower... it was one of your favorites.”

Warden drew back then, sitting on his haunches and staring at his forehooves.

“I’m just... so scared of losing you again, Swarm. And I don’t mean in a literal sense. I mean in an emotional sense... Even when I was with Kuno, there was always this... little part of me, somewhere deep inside that was hollow. It was your place. That dull, aching throb in my heart reminded me of everything I lost to get here. It kept me grounded, made me who I am... and now it’s gone.” Warden scraped a hoof against the ground helplessly, staring at the gravestone. “It’s just... it’s gone. And I... I can’t live with that. I can’t live with myself if I can just... forget you. I can’t tolerate myself if I can just throw you aside like a broken toy...”

Warden sighed faintly, dropping back down onto his chest and staring at the gravestone, resting his head on his hooves like a faithful dog waiting for his owner to return.

“Warden?” a voice asked softly.

Warden lifted his head slowly, peering back over his shoulder at Kuno. She was in her natural form, and the soft drizzle made her chitin shine in the dying light of the setting sun.

“Warden... are you okay?” Kuno asked, coming to sit besides him, gently pushing her nose against his shoulder, lifting a hoof to lay over him reassuringly.

“No,” Warden said with a slow shake of his head. “I’m not okay.”

Kuno gave a sympathetic nod, laying herself out beside him and gently licking at his neck. “Talk to me, Warden.”

“We’re getting married,” Warden stated.

“Aye,” Kuno murmured, nodding once. “Are you... getting cold hooves?”

Warden shook his head slowly. “I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life,” Warden murmured brokenly.

Kuno blinked, her ears splaying back. “Then... what’s the problem?”

Warden looked from Kuno, to the gravestone, and then back again. “You don’t understand... you can’t understand. Your mind doesn’t work like that.”

Kuno pursed her lips. “Try me.”

Warden nodded gently, leaning against the changeling. “I’ve... always been pretty torn up about Swarm’s... passing. I could have saved her and I didn’t. I lost the most valuable thing in my life because of my shortcomings... There’s always been a part of me, deep down inside that just... it was black. Empty. Hollow. It was a wretched, seething pit of agony and the only way I could cope with it was to ignore it...”

Kuno gently pushed her nose against his cheek, nuzzling him reassuringly.

“It was... the part of my heart that Swarm took with her when she died. It was always empty and black and painful... but now it’s gone. And I... didn’t even notice it was leaving.” Warden bit his bottom lip, almost drawing blood. “She was my wife and I’m just... just... over her?! I’m a monster. Only a monster could look back at their dead wife and feel calm.”

Kuno gently pulled him against her with her hoof, nuzzling soothingly into his neck. “You’re not a monster, Warden.”

“I’m a heartless bastard and I don’t deserve you,” Warden said bitterly, forcing back tears. “She was my life and I feel... nothing.”

“She was your life,” Kuno murmured softly, nuzzling her nose against his cheek gently, giving it a kiss. “I am your life now.”

“I just... I just replaced her...” Warden murmured brokenly. “I found somepony better and just... replaced her. I failed her, and I don’t even have the decency to hurt about it any more...”

“Time heals all injuries,” Kuno murmured soothingly, nuzzling her nose against him reassuringly. “Warden... did you get any... letters from the hospital after Swarm passed away?”

Warden immediately looked up at Kuno. Her tone was tactful, careful, and delicate. She was tip-toeing around something. “I... threw them on the fire. I didn’t care to read them.”

Kuno’s ears pinned back at that, and she looked away, biting her bottom lip. “I... when you were in the hospital, unconscious all that time... I did a bit of snooping.”

“Snooping,” Warden repeated flatly.

“I... Swarm is an unusual name for a pony. I thought that maybe... she was a changeling, or something. Just a stupid theory I had that I had to disprove. I searched the records and well... I found the autopsy report for Swarm.”

“What’re you getting at?” Warden asked bluntly, in no mood for verbal games.

Kuno pinned her ears back. “Well...the original report says that she died due to complications resulting from her cancer... but... the autopsy didn’t say that.”

Warden stared at Kuno for a long moment, silent.

“I didn’t want to tell you... I didn’t tell you sooner because it’s just... reopening old wounds. Making you relive all this pain... and just adding to it. And I don’t like seeing you hurt, but...” Kuno trailed off, biting her bottom lip, before taking a deep breath, steeling herself. “The autopsy revealed that Swarm died due to complications arising from both her cancer and... the foal...”

Warden looked up sharply, his eyes widening. “F-foal?” he asked. He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him.

Kuno nodded gently. “The medication they were giving her for the cancer caused her to have an extremely early miscarriage... none of the nurses noticed the signs... and the strain caused heart problems, and... Warden... I’m sorry.”

Warden gave a slow exhale, feeling tears springing into his eyes. He swallowed them down hard, trying his best to even out his breathing. A fiery spike of pain was twisting in his chest, like someone had shoved a dagger into his side. It took him several tries to be able to speak, his bottom lip quivering. “S-she was p-pregnant?”

Kuno nodded gently. “Her outlook was bleak without the medicine she needed... probably why she didn’t tell anypony. She wouldn’t have made it another month...”

“D-did they k-know what the f-foal was?” Warden managed to ask.

Kuno looked away, frowning. “Warden...”

“Tell me,” Warden hissed.

Kuno paused at that, her ears splaying, before she nodded gently. “It was a unicorn... a little colt...”

Warden bit his bottom lip so hard that he tasted blood, turning away and staggering a few steps to the side, hanging his head and trying to steady his breathing, panting raggedly at the ground.

Kuno stepped over to her fiance, gently wrapping her hooves around him.

Warden pushed her away firmly, looking away, a single dribble of blood sliding down his chin.

Kuno came back at him doggedly, wrapping her hooves around him tightly. Warden struggled again, his ears pinning back, his eyes rimmed in red. “S-she was p-pregnant...” he whimpered brokenly.

“Let it all out, Warden,” Kuno murmured softly, rocking him gently back and forth.

Warden dissolved into her embrace, burying his nose against her neck and howling in pain, squeezing her tightly with both hooves, the pain in his crippled hoof irrelevant against the screaming agony stabbing into his chest. Kuno held him, soothing him as best she could while he wept brokenly in her hooves.